The Right Way to Do Things

Longtime readers of my blog may be aware of my utter distaste for attempts at theodicy in the wake of disaster. We saw it last summer after the disengagement, and we saw it after Hurricane Katrina. We hear about theodicy from both Rabbis and laymen.

So I was heartened to read about a letter published by Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, and Rav Aharon Leib Steinman, in regards to the war in Israel. These Gedolim set an example with their words for anyone who ever attempted to ascribe specific outcomes to specific misdeeds. According to this article, Rav Elyashiv and Rav Steinman explain in their letter that though they do not know what caused the escalation of the situation in Israel, people should nevertheless examine their deeds. There is a tremendous distinction between what these Gedolim are recommending, which is an instrospective look at one's deeds with an eye toward improvement, and the theodicy that I have expressed distaste for in the past - where people claim to know the specific shortcomings in our actions that cause God to dole out retribution of specific outcomes. While every tragedy or disaster is a collective opportunity to examine and improve our actions, only God knows which deed in particular is the "one" that needs improvement - if it is even just one.

Rav Steinman and Rav Elyashiv do suggest in their letter some specific deeds for the community to improve upon, such as, first and foremost, the avoidance of conflicts:

"One should do anything so at least he didn't fail doing the opposite of charity, meaning causing harm to his friends or the public."

The rabbis said that even in times when the Jewish people had foreign elements in their midst there was no conflict among the people. "We used to face the war and win, while it is not the case at times of conflict, may the All-merciful protect us, and we need to try our best to have peace between the people."

Keeping Shabbat is mentioned as well:

Keeping Shabbat is also a major point in the letter. "It is well-known that God almighty likes the Shabbat keeping, and the opposite is hated."

The rabbis also ask not contribute to desecration of Shabbat in cases that are not life-threatening and one should not sponsor places that desecrate the Shabbat. "This is one the things that should be accepted – do not despise the Shabbat," they rabbis ruled.

And attention to modesty gets a mention:

The rabbis also touched on the subject of modesty "that needs correcting, since when there is no modesty, God will ignore our requests."

But all of these suggestions are done in a positive manner, with an eye toward improvement - not with exhortations of God's wrath and all-knowing declarations of how we ourselves brought that wrath upon us. It is important to note that when Gedolim who actually know what they are talking about address these issues, they show us how it's done. None of the ridiculous omniscience and claimed knowledge of God's will that we hear from lowly bloggers and some local Rabbanim in the wake of bad things happening. Just recommendations of which areas in our lives show particular room for improvement, and most importantly, this point:

Concluding the letter, the rabbis explain that they do not know what the reasons for the troubles are, "But clearly anything we strengthen could be useful for God to let up his wrath."

I am perfectly willing to accept that any good deeds that we can strengthen, particularly in the arena of avoiding interpersonal conflict, can only help. It's only when the attitude becomes only about exhortations that God is particularly incensed by a specific misdeed that I get steamed.