Accepting the Unknown

This Shabbat is called שבת שירה as we read אז ישיר celebrating crossing the Red Sea.

One of the well known verses is מי כמוכה בא-לים ה׳, Who is like You among the heavenly powers? Rabbi Soloveitchik says that the word אלם means to be silent.

This silence is meant to teach us that not all questions are meant to be answered. Scholars cannot resolve all difficulties. Sometimes the response to difficult questions is תיקו, that we must wait for Eliyahu Hanavi to answer all questions.

The Rav goes further to say that this תיקו applies to our individual lives. Anyone who feels entitled to understand why he was confronted with difficulties throughout life, he is a fool.

Likewise, unanswerable, unexplained tragedies have accompanied Jews throughout history. We are taught to make a Bracha for bad news as well as good news. Our commitment to Hashem and the Torah demands that we faithfully accept whatever comes our way-whether we understand it or not. Shabbat Shalom