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Monday, March 30, 2015

Fire theodicy: Wallenstein


As a community can we please resolve not to tolerate conclusions such as the one reached by Zecharia Wallenstein? He is the clown who allowed himself to be videotaped giving a religious explanation for the fire that killed 7 children.

His conclusions are too stupid and too convoluted to summarize in full, but briefly Wallenstein worships a monster God, and this monster God murdered seven innocent children in a specific way because He doesn't like it when we use the 18 minutes to finish our shabbos presentations. See it here

Now I want to be fair. I don't think Wallenstein's approach is entirely invalid. I agree that its proper and constructive to introspect after a tragedy. I support any efforts at self-improvement.

But what I can not abide - what I insist that we as a community refuse to tolerate - is this idea that we have the ability to reliably uncover whatever one-to-one connections between tragedy and sins that may exist.

You can use the fire to strengthen your shabbos observance if you wish - that's fine - but don't allow yourself to become convinced, as Wallenstein has become convinced,  that God murdered seven children for the sake of delivering this message to you. God's ways are inscrutable.  



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