Kol Dodi Dofek - Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik
- Michel Benhayim
- il y a 9 heures
- 1 min de lecture
In his famous work “Kol Dodi Dofek” (The Song of Songs 5, 2), Rabbi Soloveitchik begins by addressing the issue of evil and suffering in the world:
“One of the deepest of mysteries, troubling Judaism from the dawn of its existence, is the problem of suffering. At a propitious moment of Divine compassion, Moses, the master of all prophets, pleaded before the Lord of All to be enlightened as to the workings of this impenetrable phenomenon.”
He refuses to deny the existence of evil:
“Evil is a fact that cannot be denied. There is evil in the world. There are suffering and agony, and death pangs. He who would deceive himself by ignoring the split in existence and by romanticizing life is but a fool and a fabricator of illusions. It is impossible to conquer monstrous evil with philosophical-speculative thought.”
In “Kol Dodi Dofek”, Rabbi Soloveitchik finds the answer to evil in the distinction between גּוֹרָל “fate” and יִעוּד “destiny”. A person with a “fateful existence,” or a forced existence, lives with the mindset that “you live because you have to.” This person is helpless in the face of evil. However, a person with a “destiny-driven existence” has hope because they take an active role in their life.
“Our identity as Jews is not just as a camp but also as a congregation. We need to recover our vision of what it is to be God’s witnesses on Earth.”
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
Commentaires