Making Sense of The Senseless

Making Sense of the Senseless The Surfside tragedy has been on my mind, and now Tisha b’Av is coming up on Sunday, July 18. Tisha b’av, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av, is a day historically marked by Jewish tragedy. As a nation, we mourn and "sit shiva" for the loss of our holy Temple in Jerusalem. It’s also the anniversary of an astonishing collection of national calamities. 3333 years ago on this day, the Jews cried after the spies reported that Israel was a hostile, impenetrable Land. 2607 years ago on this day, the First Holy Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. 1951 years ago on this day, the Second Holy Temple was destroyed by the Romans. 925 years ago on this day, the First Crusade was declared, which wiped out 10,000 Jews. 731 years ago on this day, the Jews were expelled from England. 529 year ago on this day, the Jews were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula. 107 years ago, Germany declared war on Russia, sparking the First, and eventually leading to the Second World War. 79 years ago on this day, deportations from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka began. 16 years ago today, the borders of Gush Katif, Israel were sealed as Jews were forced to evacuate Jews from their homes in Israel for the first time in history. This chilling list reminds us that it's a national and historical day of tragedy and mourning. Many follow the guidelines of shiva. We sit on low chairs, do not make small talk, and focus on the loss. We also fast, refraining from both food and drink until nightfall. We sing special hymns and poems that lament the loss and destruction (join us at JFX - see flyer above). We pray that our Temple may be rebuilt soon, in our holy city, Jerusalem, that our nation unite in peace and brotherhood, and that we may know no more sorrow. Although the tragedy did not take place on Tisha b’av, Surfside feels like it’s in the spirit of the season. The collapse of the Champlain Towers condo complex was the third in a bizarre series of accidents that severely impacted the Jewish community: first, the Meron tragedy this past May, where Jews who had gathered to celebrate the holiday of Lag ba-Omer were crushed by the crowds, and where 45 people died, with many more injured and traumatized. Second, the collapse of a bleachers in the Chassidic community of Karlin-Stolin in Israel shortly thereafter, killing two people and injuring dozens. And now, the collapse of the Surfside, Florida building, where the number of dead has not yet been confirmed because so many are still unaccounted for, making it impossible for many to even mourn their loved ones properly. Some have tried to make sense of the tragedies, noting the macabre common denominator of people being crushed to death. I opt for another angle: I cannot make sense of it at all. It is scary, it is seemingly senseless, it is frightening for the very reason that it could have happened to anyone. I’ve been in large scary crowds. I considered going to Meron many times, although I never actually made it. I even vacationed in Surfside this past February, in a condo complex one block away from Champlain Towers. No, it does not make any sense. Not to my feeble human brain. See, in order to go about our lives, we rely on the law of probability. The probability is that I won’t get into a car accident today. The probability is that even if I get Covid, I won’t die. The probability is that my plane will arrive at its destination and I will be safe. And then strange, grotesque things happen that shake up our sense of security and stability. We start to ask, “Why is this happening?” and “Could it happen again?” and “Could it have been prevented?” Our brains want desperately to make sense of tragedy, to reclaim the control of probabilities. But the truth is, no matter how many boxes we tick off of “things we could have done,” we can’t manage every eventuality. Only God runs the world. That reality is perhaps the most frightening of all. Tisha b’av reminds us that tragedy has been part of the fabric of Jewish history. On it, and every single day of the year, we pray for better times. For peace, for stability, for health, for happiness. Amen, may it be so. Shabbat Shalom, Ruchi