Why, Sandy? Why?

Last week, before the devastating onslaught of Hurricane Sandy, my six-year-old daughter, Rosie, asked me, “Tatty, who created G-d?”

Her question made me think of Abraham, who, at the age of 99, merits a visit from G-d Himself. It’s a “get well” visit, during his post-circumcision pain. We read about the visit in this week’s Torah portion.

When the fifth Chabad Rebbe, the Rebbe Rashab, was a young child of five, he came home from cheder in tears and asked his grandfather, the Tzemach Tzedek, “Why did G-d reveal Himself to Abraham, but not to me?”

When the Rebbe related the episode, he used it as an example. If only we would all desire G-d’s revelation as deeply as this child. If only we would all cry out to Him!

Hurricane Sandy bore down on the Northeast this week, causing massive devastation to millions of people. Schools and businesses closed down for days, the entire New York City came to a standstill, hundreds of areas are still flooded, people are still stranded, airports are closed and early estimates suggest damages of at least $25 billion.

I feel certain, that Hurricane Sandy is G-d’s way of communicating with us. What is He saying? I honestly have no idea. Why did He do it this way? I don’t know that either.

My close friend, Rabbi Eli Goodman, Chabad rabbi in Long Beach, NY, evacuated with his family to a friend’s house before the storm. He returned to find his home completely devastated. A concrete slab broke open the front door and the entire place was flooded. Thank G-d they are all safe, but all their possessions are ruined, covered with sand, seaweed and flood water. There is nothing left.

My brother-in-law, Rabbi Schapiro, in Hoboken had the entire first floor of his home engulfed in flood waters. Everything there was destroyed, and the house needs extensive work.

Thankfully, we ourselves were not hit hard, but our preschool was closed for two days nonetheless.

And these are from the “better” stories.

Dozens of people lost their lives to Sandy’s wrath. Entire communities will need to rebuild from scratch. And people everywhere are shaken by the magnitude and ferocity of the hurricane.

We’re all asking ourselves – why? How? We live in one of the most progressive countries in the world. How could a storm do so much damage? We are not bad people. Why did G-d wreak this havoc upon us?

We don’t know. He hasn’t told us, and we can’t speak on His behalf. But we can look for meaning for ourselves. 

And that’s what I’ll do. The lesson I took from Sandy is: Remember.

Remember that all our experiences are intended to teach us something about our service of the Creator. We know that from the Baal Shem Tov.

Remember that although we live in the most powerful country in the world, home of Wall Street and the stock exchange, we are not the ones who made it powerful.

Remember that we are entirely dependent upon G-d.

Remember that it’s only an illusion that we control our own lives.

Remember that, ultimately, G-d runs the world.

Despite the small ups and downs of day-to-day life, most of us live on a higher standard than 90% of the world. It’s only too easy to begin to attribute that to our own hard work and success. But that’s where we go wrong. Do we work hard? Absolutely. Do we have input into our success? Definitely. But who has the final say? Not us. G-d.

Why G-d brought this terrible tragedy that caused such extensive damage and loss of life, I don’t know, and I will never know.

But the lesson I took from Sandy for my own life is: Stop. Reconsider. Recognize.

We are not in charge.