theodicy- Apologetic of Yah’s goodness, omnipotence, and divine justice, in view of extant injustice, evil, and trauma.
“So that those from the east and those from the west will know that there is none besides Me— I am Yahweh; there is no other. I form light, I create darkness; I make well-being, I create woe; I, Yahweh, do all these things.”
ישעיה
45:6,7
“Come, let us return to Yahweh; for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has struck, and He will bind our wounds”.
הושע
6:1
“Yahweh kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol, and He brings up”.
שמואל א
2:6,7
“Yahweh will send on you curses, disasters and frustration in everything you set out to do, until you are destroyed and quickly perish, because of your evil actions in abandoning Me.”
“See now that I, yes, I, am He; and there is no god besides Me. I put to death, and I make alive. I wound, and I heal; no one saves anyone from My hand.”
דברים
28:20,
32:39
At midnight Yahweh killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.
שמות
12:49
“At one time, I may speak about uprooting, breaking down and destroying a nation or kingdom;”
ירמיה
18:7
“Don’t both bad things and good proceed from the mouth of The Most High?”
איכה
3:38
I couldn’t believe the chyron. I was in my room, typing about Sukkot. Kobe Bryant has been killed in a helicopter crash. I’m sorry … what? I was in total denial. This heartbreaking news felt so surreal. I checked the internet to see if credible news sources were echoing this. They were. I checked Instagram. My timeline was inundated with posts about Kobe. People eulogizing him. Sharing humorous anecdotes and warm memories they curated. Laughs they shared with him.
Then I read that Kobe’s 13 year old daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, was on that same helicopter. Unfortunately, she did not survive either. I later found out that there were seven other people on that private helicopter. Why didn’t I care as much about them, as I did about the deaths of two celebrity Israelites? Surely, every life is precious to Yahweh. (Yechezqel 18:32, Shimon Bet 3:9) I went for a drive to the gas station. After parking my vehicle, I sent an I love you text to my Mom and younger brother Dominique. Then I prayed. Tragic events like these are what turned my Dad into a deist. I found this out after having a two hour conversation with him at a Starbucks. Easily one of my favorite conversations I’ve had in a while. A reminder of what a beautiful, encyclopedic mind my Dad has.
I tearfully just asked Yah to help me fathom why events like these transpire. News anchors and reports say that the nine were flying through thick fog in Calabasas, California, which diminished visibility. Who sent the fog? Man or Yahweh? What do the abovementioned Scriptures teach me about Yah? Growing up, I was taught that good comes Yah, and bad comes from Satan, right? However, how come those Scriptures challenge me, to test this pet doctrine with the Bible? Cognitive dissonance, party of one.
I don’t have all the answers. Yet our Omniscient El Yahweh does. So I go to Him, questioning. To me, this is a sobering reminder of the brevity, unpredictability, even the fragility of life. Simultaneously, it’s also a golden opportunity to treasure every breath, every heartbeat, that Yah grants you and I. A time to be comforted by the realities of the resurrection of our dead beloved ones, coupled with everlasting life, through trust in Yahshua, our Rabbi, our Savior. (Romans 6:23, Yochanan Aleph 5:13, Ibrim 6:2, Daniel 12:2, Yochanan 5:28,29)
May Yah comfort and console all of the families and people, affected by this abrupt, sobering, incalculable event.
Have I told someone that I love/appreciate them? Perhaps now is the time?
Leb Tahor 