8 | MARCH 21 • 2024 

Yiddish Limerick by Rachel Kapen

 Happy Purim!

On Purim di Megilla we read
Af Esther un Mordechai der Yid.
 Un ven Haman HaRasha mir vel hern
 a bissl meshuge mir vel vern.
A frayliche yontef nit nor far a kid.

der Yid: the Jew
Un ven: and when
Haman HaRasha: Haman the wicked
mir vel hern: we will hear.
a bissl meshuge: a little crazy
mir vel vern: we will become
A frayliche yontef: a happy holiday
nit nor: not only
far: for

essay
Are You There, God? 
It’s Me, Shayla.
A

nyone who knows me 
knows I love asking 
questions, wondering 
about the world around me. It is 
why I love journalism. It com-
bines two things I 
love, asking ques-
tions and writing. 
One big question 
I am wondering is 
where is God?
My mom said 
God gave man 
free will. But at 
what point does free will become 
“too free?” At what point does 
God say, “This has gone too far” 
and try to resolve the issues man 
has made? How will we know we 
are getting close to that point?
Ever since the events of Oct 
7, I have felt lost. Tikkun olam, 
to repair the world, is such an 
important ideal in Judaism. But 
does the world need to be bro-
ken down for us to repair it? Do 
we need to be broken down? 
I asked my mom what we as a 
Jewish people could have done 
to deserve this. Have we not 
been living up to the standards 
the label “God’s chosen people” 
brings? 
I have never doubted that 
God exists, and I still don’t. I 
simply want to question His 
motives. I would love to inter-
view God and ask why. Why 
did all those Israelis have their 
lives taken away too soon? Why 
does Hamas still have hostages? 
Why has Hamas not agreed to 
a ceasefire when asked over and 
over again? And, most impor-
tantly, why does the world not 
believe us?
Fake news is everywhere on 
social media. I cannot count 
how many “friends” I have 

unfollowed due to them sharing 
false news about Israel. Why 
are lies easier to spread than 
the truth? Why are lies easier to 
believe than the truth? 
God might have given peo-
ple free will, but apparently He 
didn’t give everyone common 
sense. Video proof? It’s wrong. 
Countless news articles? They’re 
wrong. Can be found written 
in historic documents? History 
has it wrong. Why are people so 
blind to what is right in front of 
them? 
We pray for the hostages to 
be released. We pray for the 
destruction of Hamas. We pray 
for the safety of the Jewish stu-
dents who are facing antisemitic 
attacks on their campuses. We 
pray and we ask God to look 
after our loved ones, but where 
is the sign that He is listening 
to us? 
Why is justice lacking for 
those who seek to live life with-
out hate being spewed at them 
everywhere they turn? If we were 
all born in God’s image, does that 
mean God chose to place this 
level of hatred on Earth? 
Are my questions even worth 
asking if I know that there is 
no good answer or even any 
answer? 
I have asked many questions, 
but there is only one I truly want 
answered:
Are you there, God? It’s me, 
Shayla. 

Shayla Mostyn is in her second year in 

the Honors College at Eastern Michigan 

University, majoring in sociology with a 

minor in journalism. She is president of 

Hillel at EMU, a writer for the Eastern 

Echo, social media manager for the 

Center for Jewish Studies at EMU and is 

a #EAmbassador for EMU.

Shayla 
Mostyn

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