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Amid Israeli Deaths in Gaza War, How Do We Accept All the Evil in the World?

Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in this handout picture released on March 5, 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS

This week, the news of multiple IDF casualties in Gaza came like a gut punch, leaving us breathless with grief. Initially, we were told that there was one casualty and multiple wounded in an attack. Then we learned there were so many wounded soldiers that they had to be medevaced by helicopter to multiple hospitals. Names were sent out for us to pray for, and thousands worldwide recited Tehillim. Eventually, news filtered out that five soldiers had been killed in the tragic incident.

What was particularly difficult for my wife and me is that these young soldiers were all from our son Meir’s unit, Haredim Tzanhanim (“Chetz”), part of Battalion 202 of the Paratroopers Brigade. Their names: Staff Sergeant Betzalel David Shashuah, Sergeant Ilan Cohen, Sergeant Daniel Chemu, Staff Sergeant Gilad Arye Boim, and Captain Roy Beit Yaakov.

Only last week, Meir was asked to switch to Captain Beit Yaakov’s unit as they forged ahead into Gaza, but he opted to stay with his current unit – a decision that may very well have saved his life. This did nothing to soften the blow. The devastating news overwhelmed him. Attending his friends’ funerals was shattering and painfully brought home to him, and us, that war is not a game.

Unlike the youngsters of Western countries, who have the luxury to indulge in idealistic political protests, Israel’s emerging generation faces death and tragedy as they protect their homes, their families, and their country.

But what was particularly devastating about this tragedy is that the source of the artillery was not Hamas terrorists. Rather, it was ‘friendly fire,’ that horrible term meaning the casualties were caused by their own comrades mistakenly targeting them.

This particular incident occurred during a tense confrontation in Jabaliya, where IDF troops were stationed on the first floor of a three-story building. While maintaining their position, an IDF tank spotted a barrel protruding from a window and, despite being outside its designated sector, fired shells in response. Tragically, the incident resulted in the troop casualties.

This tragic event highlights the profound and often painful complexities of understanding and explaining the presence of evil and suffering in the world. Different theological perspectives provide varying interpretations of evil, each attempting to reconcile the existence of a benevolent and omnipotent deity with the reality of human suffering.

The first, mainstream view, is that of the Rambam (Maimonides), who posits that instead of blaming God for the evils of the world, we should be blaming our fellow man. If someone pulls out a gun and shoots a group of people, that’s a bad person committing murder, not God wreaking havoc.

But what about natural disasters, like earthquakes and tornadoes? The Rambam has an explanation for that too. According to him, these are the unfortunate side effects of a world that operates according to the unwavering laws of nature. For example, our world could not exist without the force of gravity. As a result of that force, a coconut can fall off a palm tree and land on someone’s head, killing them. That chance occurrence is the price we pay for a functioning universe.

But then there is the view of the Izhbitzer Rebbe, the iconoclastic nineteenth-century Hasidic master who often challenged mainstream rabbinic interpretations. His view is radically different from the Rambam’s and is based on the first verse of Parshat Emor (Lev 21:1): אֱמֹר אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם לְנֶפֶשׁ לֹא יִטַּמָּא בְּעַמָּיו – “Speak to the priests, sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall defile himself for a dead person among his people.”

The priest, explains the Izhbitzer, is the paradigm of an individual who refuses to dismiss anything in life as a chance occurrence. It is God and only God who runs everything. You can’t blame the forces of nature, one’s fellow man, or some random happenstance for what goes wrong, because every detail of anything that happens is under God’s control. Human agency and natural laws are all subject to divine providence, and nothing happens without God’s will.

The trouble is that this heightened faith in God’s all-encompassing power can paradoxically lead to a diminishment of faith. The “kohen” must accept incomprehensible evil as being the handiwork of God. That’s a tough expectation because one might come to think of God as the source of inexplicable evil. Therefore, the Torah warns, “none shall defile himself for a dead person among his people.” Don’t allow yourself to be pulled into the “impurity” of challenging God’s actions. Inevitably, there will be questions about the application of God’s attribute of justice – about death, suffering, and pain – but those questions and objections must not lead to a loss of faith.

The root of the Hebrew word for speech used in the pasuk is A-M-R, which the Zohar interprets to mean “a whisper.” “Where is God’s mercy?” “Where is His compassion?” These are legitimate questions, but they should remain whispers and never become the dominant voice. A faint whisper in the background, softly echoing in your ear, is fine – but ultimately, we must never lose faith.

The problem of evil and suffering is not some kind of lofty theological or philosophical issue; it is a deeply personal and existential one. When confronted with tragic events, such as the loss of five wonderful IDF soldiers in a friendly fire incident in Gaza, people naturally seek explanations and meaning.

The Rambam’s approach offers a way to understand these events as part of a broader human context, where suffering results from human actions and the inherent risks of living in a world governed by natural laws. This perspective can be comforting because it suggests that if we improve our decision-making and our understanding of nature, we can mitigate suffering.

But the Izhbitzer’s perspective is much deeper. It calls for profound faith and trust in divine providence. His view challenges individuals to see God’s hand in every event, even those that seem senseless and cruel. It requires a profound acceptance of the mysteries of God’s will and an unwavering belief that everything happens for a reason, even if that reason is beyond human comprehension.

These two perspectives offer different ways to navigate the complexities of faith in the face of suffering. The Rambam’s approach encourages human responsibility and rational understanding, while the Izhbitzer’s view fosters a deep, sometimes challenging, reliance on divine providence. Both perspectives have their strengths and can provide comfort and guidance depending on one’s faith and understanding.

The tragic loss of the five IDF soldiers in Gaza serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the profound and often painful questions surrounding the presence of evil and suffering in the world. Whether one finds solace in the Rambam’s rational approach or the Izhbitzer’s call for deep faith in divine providence, the search for meaning in the face of tragedy is a fundamental aspect of the human experience.

Indeed, it is via this ongoing search that we can meaningfully grapple with the complexities of faith and justice, and the nature of existence itself. Hopefully, in the process, it can give us the comfort we all need.

The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.

The post Amid Israeli Deaths in Gaza War, How Do We Accept All the Evil in the World? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy

Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.

“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”

The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.

“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.

Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.

The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.

Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.

Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”

The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool

i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.

The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.

The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.

The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.

The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.

The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.

The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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