Evil and Suffering and the Problem of Divine Silence
“With all the evil and all the suffering that is in the world and that Jews have undergone throughout history, as a people, we've always been focused on being a moral and creative force in the world. And if Jews are about anything, we're about the faith in what could be faith in the future.”— Dr. Elliott Malamet
In this Special School of Living Jewishly podcast for Tisha b'av, Dr. Elliott Malamet explores various explanations for why there is suffering, and God’s silent role in each.
Through various texts and philosophies, this episode hopes to bring clarity to why there is human suffering and why humans (specifically Jews) blame or do not blame God. Referencing a text by psychoanalyst Dr. R.W. Fairburn, Elliott explores why “it's better to be a sinner in a world ruled by God, than a saint in a world ruled by the devil.”
Elliott also explores the idea of the covenant between Jews and God, that if you do good, you get good. If you receive or experience bad things, you must have done something wrong – but is that truly the case?
Tune in to dive deeply into this fascinating topic with Dr. Elliott Malamet.
This episode discusses:
✔ What are we willing to overlook in order to protect God's reputation?
✔ If not God, whom or what are we willing to blame for the presence of suffering?
✔ What's the mindset that underlies an approach to suffering in which you blame yourself?
Highlights:
00:01 Introduction
00:52 The silence of God
02:04 Ancient and modern explanations
03:05 Why does God allow suffering?
06:45 Blaming oneself for suffering
12:00 The issue of covenant
15:34 If we do good, we get good
20:09 The free will defense
22:51 “Stuff happens”
25:40 What does it all mean to us as Jews?
30:11 In closing
Links:
Find the source sheet at https://www.schooloflivingjewishly.com/
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Shalom!