How to Strengthen Faith in the Face of Such a Disaster? Rabbi Zamir Cohen Responds

In a special talk given by Rabbi Zamir Cohen following the great disaster, he addressed the following questions raised by the interviewer: What does Hashem want from us during such a difficult time? What is the meaning of acceptance in any field? How can such a great disaster occur in such a holy place? And how do we strengthen our faith in the face of such a disaster?

"The revered Rabbi David Batzri once told me, if we were prophets, the Creator of the Universe would speak to us as He spoke to Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. We are not prophets, and therefore Hashem speaks to us from within reality," Rabbi Zamir Cohen begins his words, explaining that one must pay attention to every detail. One must always assess from the verses and the message, what might be wrong.

"There is a verse in the Torah: 'And now, Israel, what does Hashem your God ask of you but to fear Hashem your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, and to serve Hashem your God with all your heart and with all your soul.' The word 'what' is the gematria of the painful number of the casualties in the disaster. During the time of King David, when there was a plague, David instituted that everyone say 100 blessings each day. Now, the terrible number 45 symbolizes to us the word 'what.' What does Hashem demand from you?

"On the words in the continuation of the verse 'to walk in all His ways,' the Talmud answers in Sifrei: 'Just as the Holy One is called gracious, so should you be gracious; just as the Holy One is called merciful, so should you be merciful; just as the Holy One is called righteous, so should you be righteous; just as the Holy One is called holy, so should you be holy.'

"A person needs to adhere to the ways of Hashem," Rabbi Zamir calls out. "There is talk of an investigative committee, who is to blame. But the truth is that we need to establish an investigative committee within ourselves. Each person needs to set up an internal investigative committee in their own heart. In what are they right, in what are they wrong?

"We need to pay attention to the issue of unity, where in the past year there have been many attacks - one against the other, and the government - still not united. A few years ago when our esteemed Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was with us, there were left and right blocks, and our esteemed Rabbi would decide who would be the Prime Minister. Today, it is decided by Mansour Abbas. Comparatively different, this is exactly what is written: 'And the foreigner who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher.' This obliges the Members of Knesset and decision-makers - who is a Jew?

"According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 70% of those immigrating to Israel are non-Jews. Thus the government is cutting the branch on which it sits. How can one bring a majority of non-Jews to the country, and expect afterward to have a Jewish government? These are things that the people also need to wake up to. Most of the people believe and love tradition, but a small number, receiving large budgets from Europe, incite the people against the Torah, against the mitzvot. There is a verse in the Torah: 'The rabble who were among them had greedy desires, and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, "Who will give us meat to eat?"' When the fringe begins to sin - they negatively influence the people of Israel.

"We need to conduct a self-accounting. Hashem is awakening us to conduct a self-accounting and to correct," emphasizes Rabbi Zamir.

How can such a great disaster occur in such a holy place?

"How can such a great disaster occur in such a holy place?" Rabbi Zamir Cohen is asked and answers: "The answer is found in the verses of the Torah themselves. At the dedication of the Tabernacle, where Nadav and Avihu, the two sons of the high priest, perished, who was the joyous celebrant. Aaron was silent, but Moses said to him: 'I will be sanctified by those who come near Me.' That is what causes the greatest shock. If criminals and murderers were to die, everyone would understand that criminals and murderers kill each other.

"In this very place, with these holy people, in a holy place, on the anniversary of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai - a man who passed away 2000 years ago, more than half a million visit his grave. This shock is meant to awaken the people of Israel. This very question: How could anything like this happen? Little children, young people, the elderly, children from all communities. These are things that shake it, and they need to awaken us.

(Photo: David Cohen / Flash 90)

"What is unity? We all know how sometimes there are quarrels between brothers over inheritances. Inheritance disputes, neighbor disputes. Extending balconies, additions to buildings. This is the time when each person needs to do a soul search. Remove the anger. The insistence. Even now to make one phone call to a brother and say: Let's leave the whole financial issue aside, do you want this money? Take it. The main thing is that we will have unity and love between us. So it is also between neighbors.

"A person who sacrifices for unity, there is no doubt that Hashem will give him twice as much from other places. Even if he feels 'I am right, and losing money unfairly.' But when a father sees one child giving up for another to achieve unity – the father will open his wallet and give to the child who forfeited," Rabbi Zamir emphasizes.

What is the meaning of acceptance, in any field?

Rabbi Zamir Cohen explains: "There are two paths that the Torah teaches us, that a person should strive to be perfect in both: in the commandments between a person and their fellow, and in the commandments between a person and the divine. There are people who are extraordinarily kind to others, but do not observe tefillin, Shabbat, mikvah and purity, and more, and there are those who strictly observe the commandments between a person and the divine, but neglect the commandments between a person and their fellow. Every person should be perfect in both, and engage in soul-searching.

"There are many secrets in the Jewish Star of David," says Rabbi Zamir Cohen, noting that the base of the Star of David was etched on the Temple Menorah. "There is a lily flower which is 3 leaves on 3 flowers. The upright and inverted triangle are material and spirit, as well as male and female. If we erase the diagonals, we will get heaven and earth. We are on earth. Every action we do here – goes up to heaven – and then the abundance descends to the earth and influences below.

"The Zohar says about the verse: 'A ladder placed on the earth, and its top reaching to heaven.' The person is placed here and feels: 'I have taken upon myself a small acceptance, observing Shabbat, tefillin, blessing the food, a woman strengthening in modesty, head covering, kippah, tzitzit. Every person strengthens in something and thinks it's a small thing. But as in physics – you can extract a lot of energy from a little material, so every action someone does here – immediately activates spiritual systems. That's what the Zohar says in the portion of Emor. A person acts below – and it affects above – and thus a very large abundance descends upon us. Every material action someone does, putting on tefillin, giving charity – they're dealing with material, yet immediately activating spiritual systems.

Does such a big disaster serve as a warning signal?

"It is not pleasant to talk about warning signals," Rabbi Zamir answers, "but this is an important point. The Torah itself says so. A father doesn't like to hit the children; when there is no choice, he shakes them with a blow. The Torah says: 'And if you will go with Me in contrariness… I will go with you in contrariness of anger.' If people will say 'It happens, it happens that people fall.' If you ignore the small warning signal, Hashem enlarges the warning signal.

"When the people of Israel strengthen themselves – we are saying to Hashem that we are not saying it is by chance. When a person does not say 'it is by chance,' but strengthens themselves. Every person who takes upon themselves an acceptance – nullifies the need for further warning signals. In itself, there is increased protection and defense for the people of Israel.

"The Ramban writes about people who say it is by chance and does not concern them: 'This is a cruel way, for it causes greater troubles.'

How to strengthen faith in the face of such a disaster?

"There are 2 main points that must be taken into consideration, especially since everything happened so suddenly," says Rabbi Zamir Cohen. "They offer great strengthening and also great comfort in this grave disaster. One - the great foundation of the persistence of the soul. It is written in the Torah: 'And Hashem God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.'

"The human being is composed of body and soul. The Ari writes that the person himself is spiritual, and the body is merely clothing. At the funeral, one must know that they are burying the body, we buried the clothing, not the person himself. All that a body is needed for in this world – is for the body to serve as a fitness machine, for when there is a body, there are desires and tests, and through withstanding the test – the soul builds and grows.

"But the true person is not body. It is written in Kohelet: 'And the dust returns to the ground as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.' When a person dies – they do not truly die. And this is something that the families and acquaintances need to consider. That person who has passed is alive and existing, he shed the clothing and the body, yet he still exists. We cry over the separation, but not because he is not existing, because he does exist.

"The second point – one of the 13 principles we have in Judaism is the resurrection from the dead. The Talmud compares a person buried in the ground to a seed buried in the ground that sprouts and grows, from one seed may come ten. If one pays attention, the miracle of a seed growing is greater than that of the resurrection of the dead, yet because we have become accustomed to a sprouting seed, while resurrection – we have not.

"For if we take someone who grew up all their life at the pole, and show them that through a seed a stalk will grow and at its head ten, it is like placing one phone in the ground, and from it grows an antenna with ten phones on its head. It seems absurd, but the sages compare the things.

"The Creator of the World created many ways to provide food for mankind. Why did He choose specifically the way of burying in the earth and then sprouting? To provide an answer to someone wondering: 'We buried a person. Now it seems that he does not exist at all. Will we talk again? Will he rise again to life? Hashem replies: Do not wonder. Look at the plant world and you will see that there – from one I grow ten. Surely, I can resurrect the dead. And one should consider: The Creator of the World who created the world ex nihilo, is it difficult for Him to revive the dead?

Three times a day we say: "And You are trustworthy to revive the dead." We need to consider that this separation is temporary. How temporary? Not long. In the Book of Daniel, we see that all of history is found there – from the first exile until the coming of the Messiah, and the sages of Israel always checked at what station we are. Currently, we are in the period where Daniel sees the Messiah riding on clouds of heaven, and receiving honor and greatness, and immediately afterward it is written: 'And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.' He does not even call them dead, like a child sleeping in bed. A mother talks to him and he doesn't answer, but she knows: Soon it will be morning, and he will rise. So the dead are called 'those that sleep in the dust of the earth,' and soon they will rise. We must strengthen ourselves with the knowledge of the persistence of the soul and the resurrection of the dead.

Rabbi ends his words with a blessing for the wounded and those who are strengthening in this difficult time: "The communal strengthening everywhere they are, the acceptances they take on, unity and love among the people of Israel, may all stand in merit for comfort and healing for all the wounded, and may Hashem watch over the people of Israel and the soldiers of Israel, and may we soon merit a complete redemption."

See Rabbi Zamir Cohen's full statement following the disaster at Meron: