Faith in the Presence of Evil

by Nina Fondiller Woldin

I am reminded daily of the chaos in our world which seems to be growing more and more intense. Often I hear the situation described as the struggle between good and evil, which has led some to ask, “Why would God permit evil to exist?” Or, “How do we reconcile faith in the presence of evil?”

“How do we reconcile faith in the presence of evil?”

The answer that I like best is from Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: 

“When I first stood at Auschwitz-Birkenau the question that haunted me was not, ‘Where was God?’ God was in the command, ‘You shall not murder.’ God was in the words, ‘You shall not oppress the stranger.’ God was saying to humanity, ‘Your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.’ … God does not save us from ourselves. That, according to the Talmud, is why creating man was such a risk that the angels advised against it. The question that haunts me after the Holocaust, as it does today in this new age of chaos, is ‘Where is man?’”

Please join us tomorrow, Tuesday, August 6 to explore this topic through texts, conversation, and even music!
Here is the link to register.