Why Do Some Rabbis Claim To Know The Reason For Suffering?
Dear Jew in the City,A terrible tragedy befell the Jewish people this week when seven innocent children were killed in a fire in Brooklyn. As we mourn and attempt to comfort each other through this great sorrow I have heard that there are rabbis who claim to “know” the reason these precious souls were taken from us. From time to time you’ll hear that a rabbi or leader in the Jewish community publicly assigns blame to certain groups or actions after a tragedy occurs. Is this an appropriate way to think and talk in terms of Torah philosophy?-Troubled
Dear Troubled-Thanks for your question. I too am troubled by the people who claim to know the workings of God (as are the several rabbis and rebbetzins I consulted with about this topic), especially since prophecy ended two thousand years ago.
There is an example from Tanach (the Jewish Bible) of people who claim to know why suffering occurs: In the book of Job, when Job loses his family, his property and becomes sick, his friends come over to tell him he is to blame.
