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Thought for the Day: Telling My Granddaughter Why the Jews Have to Suffer

It is always a treat when a grandchild calls. We have one, nearly 11, who is quite a conversationalist. She called erev Shabbos and, after the usual "what's new at school", "how's the weather", she asked, "Zeidy, since HaShem promised that He will always take care of us and we'll always win, why do we have to have wars?"

Yikes.

After a short pause to think of what to say, I told her this: You know how sometimes when you get sick, your mommy and daddy make you take pills or even get a shot? And they tell you that it hurts/tastes bad now, but it will make you better? When a Jew does aveiros it makes our neshama sick. The suffering is because we made ourselves sick, and the difficult things that happen to us are part of the cure.

I felt pretty good about that answer. True, and on a level that a 10 year old could understand. Then she asked, "So the Jews who did aveiros caused the war?"

"Yikes" doesn't begin to describe the pit I felt in my stomach. Fortunately, I had just heard a shiur from R' Cziment about the prohibition against taking revenge on another Jew. I had also merited to hear R' Lehrfield, the rosh yeshiva of Beis Yisrael, in the week after October 7.

After a less short pause to gather my thoughts and think how to express this to a 10 year old, I told her: The Torah says we are not allowed to take revenge on another Jew. But why not? Isn't that just making things fair? Chazal ask that question and explain with a mashal. Suppose you are holding a knife in your right hand and cutting a vegetable in your left hand (which you should not do, btw), and you cut your left hand. Does your left hand want to take revenge on your right hand? "No," she giggled. Why not? Because the hands are just part of one person. Klal Yisrael is like one person. So, if you are coughing, do you get mad at your lungs? Of course not! But you do know that the infection is in your lungs and you need to take care of that.

I continued: On October 7, Klal Yisrael got attacked at a place where there was extraordinary chillul Shabbos. That means that Klal Yisrael is weak in the way we keep Shabbos. That's why Bubbie and I have started learning a new sefer on hilchos Shabbos. We also are now lighting candles five minutes early.

I believe I gave her good answers. I also believe that HaShem gave me the right words to say in the merit of her innocence and sincerity.

She thought it over and replied, "I'm going to be more careful about muktzeh! My teacher told us that we never know what will help, even the smallest thing."

That's a big thing for a little girl to say. I could not be more proud.

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