EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

Punishing The Just

ere's the problem: This Yom
know is the victim of sexual abuse by
Kippur, as in years past,
her parents? Can it be when my
huge numbers of Jews will
cousin died so young of cancer so
many years ago? Can it be when my
say words they don't believe.
Some will think about that for a fleet-
friend's sister, before she turned 10,
ing moment, then go with the flow.
was struck dead by a hit-and-run dri-
Others — particularly those not in
ver?
synagogue — already will have made
And then there's the Holocaust.
their views clear.
Were the victims all not
Indeed, in various ways on
righteous in their way? Was
this coming Day Of Atone-
this their reward? I do not
ment, synagogue-goers will
seek to confuse innocence
with righteousness, but
privately, and in unison,
rather feel that they blend
acknowledge sins before God
while petitioning for forgive-
in such cases.
The theme is not new.
ness, health and success.
Underlying it all is a belief
Rabbi Harold Kushner
made a national sensation
that God will reward those
who are righteous, or who
of it a few years ago in his
NEIL RUBIN
best-selling book When Bad
follow Judaism's broad ethical
Senio r Editor
Things Happen to Good Peo-
and specific ritual command-
ple. But it left me unsatis-
ments.
fied. It acknowledged pain,
It's not a concept limited
but did not give a lasting answer to
to Yom Kippur. Regular worshippers
what must be an always-evolving
often chant these words of Psalm 92:
response.
The righteous shall flourish as the
Some people answer the concern
palm tree,
this way: The reward of the righteous
Growing mighty as the cedar of
will be granted in Heaven. Sorry, that's
Lebanon .. .
unacceptable. Those left to struggle
To praise the Lord for His Justice,
with loss — which means all of us —
Our Rock, in whom there is no
are decidedly not focused on post-life
unrighteousness.
reward.
It's a lovely poetic thought, similar
Then there's this answer: Who are
to those conjured in the rest of our
we to understand God's infinitely
remarkable liturgy. Is it acceptable?
complex reasons? True enough, but
Can it be when a not-yet-teen girl I
still not enough. After all, we hold
Neil Rubin can be reached via e-mail
humans responsible for their actions.
at nrubin@jewishtimes.com
Why not God?

E

,

in our country, we are all more sen-
sitive to the potential for violence.
Currently, MPA is providing a com-
munity-outreach program to Michi-
gan school systems and interested
others to educate our state about the
warning signs of violent behavior
and what to do when they are recog-
nized.
Elena F. Brand
licensed psychologist,
Farmington Hills

Thanks For
Sale Coverage

We were very impressed with, and
grateful for, your article regarding our
annual Brandeis University National
Women's Committee Used Book Sale
("Booked For Browsing," Aug. 27).

Your grasp of the importance of
this sale to the community, and your
understanding of the tremendous
effort put forth by the members of
the Women's Committee and the
several hundred volunteers who will-
ingly assist us every year, encourage
us to continue our efforts in this
endeavor.
Our heartfelt thanks to the Jewish
News for the excellent coverage.
Joan Braun
president,
Vivian Koblin
Nora Peisner
Marcia Scarr
chapter presidium,
Brandeis University
National Women's Cornmittee
Greater Detroit Chapter
Oak Park

It's a question that deserves vastly
more attention than this column, but
a thought that does not receive
enough contemplation. As we begin to
wrestle with it, we must acknowledge
the problem of how accepting Jews are

This Yom
Kippur, I hope
all of us struggle
with the eternal
nature of what
we read.

of their tradition. We don't fight with
it enough — which actually is part of
the tradition.
But that does not solve our prob-
lem. As we head back to synagogue for
Yom Kippur, many of us do so out of
habit. After all, it's what Jews do.
Certainly, some do so out of corn-
mandment.
This year, I hope all of us struggle
with the eternal nature of what we
read.
The many renditions of essentially
a few themes is there for a reason —

to give us different ways in which to
relate to the message.
So this Yom Kippur, take a few
minutes to ignore the services. Take
one prayer whose melody you like;
pore over its English. What do you
think it's supposed to mean? Do you
buy it? If not, wrestle with it. We all
have existential questions. Now is the
time to return to them. They, too, are
part of the Jewish experience.
As for my dilemma, I have arrived
at an acceptable answer — likely to
change by this time next year: The
righteous are not rewarded in this life-
time, but their ideas triumph.
We see it decades later as Nazis
well into their 80s are still hunted
down and, as a result, the world sets
up tribunals for crimes against
humanity in other conflicts. We see it
as a century of Jewish-Arab hatred
takes hesitant, and at times violent,
steps down a vastly long path of rec-
onciliation. We see it with the demise
of communism, an ideology that
murdered millions. (China's next,
thank God.) And we see it at the
dawn of a new Christian millennium
in which a remarkable pope, in the
twilight of his reign, begins an era of
once unthinkable theological recon-
ciliation. And most important, we see
it in how we cherish the sweet mem-
ories of those no longer here.
It is all justice, even though none of
it will be fully understood in our life-
time. And this Yom Kippur, it brings
me comfort. Pl

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