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IT'S NOT FAIRby Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon "When will the righteous be rewarded, when will evil vanish from the earth? " Inevitably, the question comes right at the end of an Adult Education Academy Class or a Bar Mitzvah lesson: "Rabbi, this learning stuff is all well and good, but why do terrible things happen to good people? If God is good, why isn't life fair?" And I'm supposed to have a good, honest, satisfying answer. In our hearts we want the good guys to get rewarded and the bad guys to get punished. Why doesn't it work that way? In Israel they have a great expression when they are distressed, made up of equal parts simple Hebrew and American kvetch-"Zeh lo fair". Which means, well, "that ain't fair." And it certainly seems that in the case of so many of life's vicissitudes, zeh lo fair is probably a reasonable, if unsatisfying, response. I am susceptible to these feelings, too. There is a musical solo during the Rosh Hashana morning service-this year, Dr. Bill Dever will sing it-that has long been popular here at Temple Emanu-El, Uv'chen tzadikim. It is part of the Kedushah, the sanctification of God's name, and it is upbeat and positively cheery: "Uv'chen tzadikim yiru v'yismachu, viysharim ya'alozu, vachasidim b'rina yagilu, the righteous shall see and exult, the upright take delight, the pious sing with joy?" A beautiful, bright image for one of the holiest of holy days. But whenever I hear Uv'chen tzadikim, I always want to say, "OK, God, so when will all this take place? When will the righteous be rewarded, when will evil vanish from the earth? When will I find that there truly is a plan and purpose and meaning to life?" The answer our liturgy gives is Messianic, and also circular. A day will come, we are promised in the machzor (High Holy Day prayerbook), when all will acknowledge God's rule in the world, and then war and famine and hatred will disappear, and peace and contentment reign. I pray for the day when all that will come to pass. But, in the meantime, I like to use another prayer, written by the Australian writer Michael Leunig: We search and we search and yet find no meaning. The search for meaning leads to despair. And when we are broken the heart finds its moment To fly and to feel and to work as it will Through the darkness and mystery and wild contradiction. For this is its freedom, its need and its calling: This is its magic, its strength and its knowing. To heal and make meaning while we walk or lie dreaming; To give birth to love within our surrender; To mother our faith, our spirit and yearning; While we stumble in darkness the heart makes our meaning And offers it into our life and creation That we may give meaning to life and creation For we only give meaning we do not find meaning; The thing we can't find is the thing we shall give. To make love complete and to honor creation. In the coming Rosh Hashana, the birthday of the world that honors all creation, may we learn allow our hearts to be open, so that we can, inadvertently, create meaning for ourselves, our congregation, our community, and our world. Rhody, Boaz, Gabriel and I join in wishing you a shanah tovah umetukah, a good and sweet New Year of blessing. From the September 1999 Temple Times |
