Bitterness of Suffering- My friend's child was recently killed in a drive-by shooting (he was an innocent bystander) and she is so angry at God for taking him away. Can you offer a suggestion for how she can process this, because I don't… More »
Handicap: Why?- A woman in our neighborhood has spina bifada. It's so heart-breaking to see. And it has me wondering: Why do some people suffer and others seem to have it so easy? It is not evenly divided between "good" people and… More »
Martyrdom & Sanctifying God's Name- In the Yizkor memorial prayer which we say on the holidays, we commemorate the souls of the martyrs who were "killed, murdered, slaughtered, burned, drowned and strangled" for the sanctification of the Name. This raises two questions: Why is it… More »
Natural Disasters- I have watched the horror of hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes, plus hundreds of thousands of people wiped out in a tsunami. What is the spiritual reason behind all this? More »
Struggle- I have been in a year-long legal battle with someone who is trying to literally destroy my life. This has been the biggest challenge I have faced in 25 years (when I lost $5 million in a business deal gone… More »
Suffering as Atonement- I have heard it said that the hurt we suffer is an atonement for our mistakes. But if someone hurt me, how can it be atonement for my mistakes? Not that I never make mistakes, but they are often totally… More »
Suffering of Children- I believe that God is just, yet I cannot reconcile this with the countless innocent children lost in the Holocaust. Did these children do terrible misdeeds? How can we justify God allowing this terrible suffering? More »
Suffering Through Others- You wrote that the hurt we suffer is atonement for the mistakes we make. This puzzles me. If someone hurt me, how can it be atonement for my mistakes? Not that I never make mistakes, but they are often totally… More »
Suffering: Why?- I have had a very difficult life, beset by illness, unemployment, and disappointment from those who had pledged to care for me. I am having trouble seeing the benevolent God in all this. What do you say, rabbi? More »
The Book of Job and Satan’s Power- I recently began studying the Book of Job and several things strike me as strange right from the start. God praises Job before Satan, and Satan is unimpressed, claiming that he is only righteous because his life is so comfortable.… More »
The Holocaust: Why?- The pain and tragedy of the Holocaust is so enormous and unfathomable. Why did it happen? More »
Why Bad Things Happen- If God is omnipotent and merciful as the Bible claims, why do bad things happen to good people? More »
You Know More Hebrew Words Than You Think
