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July 2003

For Face of God Article (2003)

Hidden Face of God
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Note

For Face of God Book (1994)

See Rav Hutner’s Pachad Yitzchak on two kinds of providence: hashgachat tzaddik v’ra lo – the providence of the righteous who suffer – and hashgachat rasha v’tov lo – the providence of the wicked who prosper – recommended by Y. Elman. Elman will be sending me, in the near future, copies of two of his reprints on evil and suffering, which may be relevant to my projected expansion of The Face of God to book length.
Hidden Face of God

Note

For Face of God Revision (1994)

What is the paytan trying to tell us? We know, of course, of the anachronisms of the piece. The framework about the tyrant and his daughter is also probably a convenient literary fiction. But what's his point? I believe that a careful reading will yield the message: the martyrdom of these giants – and by extension any suffering – is not to be simplistically interpreted as punishment for any specific or even general sin. גזירה היא מלפני as the Divine response is sufficient evidence that the suffering is decreed by God for His own reasons though they seem quite arbitrary to humans, even such spiritual giants as R. Ishmael.Moreover, the only one to mention the theme of suffering as punishment is—the tyrant, who declares his sadism as punishment for the Jews in place of their ancestors who sinned by selling Joseph into slavery! (Indeed, this may even have been a disguised polemic against Christianity which held that we are guilty of deicide, etc.)
Hidden Face of God

Correspondence

Letter about "The Face of God" (2006)

As I think you know, I am not by nature a meddler, but in this case I feel that the cause is worth the inconvenience of mediation. I have only one interest: to protect the Orthodox community from any more cynicism and hillul Hashem. That having been said, and with full knowledge that I have not discussed this at all with [name], I here offer you two parallel statements that I would like to propose to [name], if indeed both of you will agree to this plan. If you do not, then there is no reason for me to continue my efforts – which will be a relief to me, and probably to you as well. Here are the two statements that I suggest you approve for me to present to [name]. (1) “I am aware of all the pain and grief that has occurred because of the strife between myself and certain people at [synagogue], and I wish it were not so. I regret that this has gone on for some months. I believe it is time for reconciliation, in which all who have injured others by word or deed, whether intentionally or unintentionally, express contrition for their actions. I certainly include myself in that category, and hope that others will, in all honesty and modesty, come forth and do the same.” (2) “I am sorry that I was involved in the controversy which has caused so much grief for our synagogue, and that many people have been hurt. For my part, I regret any responsibility I may bear for this state of affairs, and hope that others will do likewise.” I ask of you now not to decide between them, choosing one and rejecting the other, but to give me your order of preference – which first, and which second. While the proposed statements are not engraved in stone, they present us with an opportunity to be oseh shalom. Revising them so that they make the statement stronger or weaker, to any appreciable extent, may well result in scuttling the entire effort and make eventual reconciliation even more remote. If neither of these is acceptable to you, please be open with me and tell me. If you can manage…
Hidden Face of God