In October 1973 the Egyptian
and Syrian armies attacked Israel on the morning of Yom Kippur, the Day
Atonement, when all Jews spend the day in Synagogue, fasting and praying. Many lives were lost in those first hours of
fighting. I heard of a man who went to
his rabbi a few days later and told him: “When I heard the news about the
fighting in Israel, I slammed my prayer book shut and walked out of the
synagogue. I said to myself, ‘If God is
going to let young Jewish boys be killed for defending their country on Yom
Kippur I am not going to sit here reciting psalms to Him.’
I walked out of Temple and spent the rest of
the holiday sitting at home, angry at God.
Now, three days later, I feel embarrassed by what I did. I feel guilty for walking out on the Yom Kippur
service and I want to know what I can do to make up for it.
The rabbi told him, “You have
nothing to feel guilty about and nothing to apologize for. Your slamming the book down and storming out
was probably the most sincere prayer anybody offered in synagogue all day
long. The God I believe in is not so
fragile that you hurt Him by being angry at Him, or so petty that he will hold
it against you for being upset with Him.
I believe He is just as upset about people being killed in the war as
you are, and He respects good, clean, honest anger as much as you and I do, and
a lot more than He respects mumbled prayers by people going through the
motions.” -Rabbi Harold Kushner
Comments