February 20, 2025|כ"ב שבט ה' אלפים תשפ"ה Find God in the Shadows: Faith Amid Tragedy By Rabbi Jonathan Muskat

As we grapple with the tragic deaths of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, we are confronted with a profound sense of finality. Many of us may be asking: How can we relate to a God who allowed this to happen? This question is not new. It echoes through history, whispered in anguish and shouted in despair whenever tragedy strikes, and the human heart searches for God amidst the ruins.

We asked this question after the destruction of Betar. The Bar Kochba revolt was crushed; tens of thousands were slaughtered, and hope seemed utterly lost. Where was God? Then, a miracle occurred: the bodies of the slain were granted burial, and despite lying exposed for months, they did not decompose. The rabbis responded not with despair but with faith. They established the blessing of ha-tov v’ha-meitiv—acknowledging God’s goodness even in the darkest moments. They taught us to find faint glimmers of divine presence, to celebrate the shards of light piercing through tragedy.

Centuries later, we faced the abyss of the Holocaust, an unparalleled depth of human suffering. Why did six million have to perish? We have no answer. Yet, just a few years after that unimaginable horror, the modern State of Israel was born—a miracle of survival, resilience, and divine providence. We did not understand why God allowed the Shoah, but we saw His hand in the rebuilding and restoration of the Jewish people in their homeland.

Today, we ask again: Where was God on October 7th? Where was He as innocent lives were taken and terror engulfed our people? We do not have answers to these agonizing questions, but we can still perceive His presence. We see God’s hand in the miraculous failure of Iranian missile systems during their attacks on Israel. We see it in the dismantling of Syrian power and the weakening of Hezbollah. God’s presence does not erase the pain, but it reminds us that even amidst devastation, His guiding light remains, steady and unwavering.

And now, as we confront the brutal murders of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, our hearts break once more. How can we endure such horror? Yet even today, miracles shine through. Five bombs were planned to detonate on buses across Israel tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. By what can only be called a twist of fate, their timers were set incorrectly. Three bombs exploded at 9 p.m. on empty buses, while the other two were discovered in time, sparing countless lives. In this, we perceive the faint but steady hand of God guiding us forward.

This story is both timeless and symmetrical: destruction, despair—and yet, always—a flicker of hope. From the massacres of Betar to the ashes of the Holocaust, from the atrocities of October 7th to the heartbreak of today, we search for God. And we find Him—not in explanations, but in the resilience of our people, the miracles of survival, and the moments of divine grace that light our path.

We do not understand why tragedy strikes. But we believe. We respond. We rebuild. And we find God, even in the darkest places.