Good News & Bad News -- CHRONICLE Online/The WORD 01/30/25

Weekly On-line Rabbi's D'var-Torah

January 30, 2025

1 Shevat 5785

Parashat Bo

Just this morning in my Talmud class, we started the final chapter in the tractate of Berachot, and WOW!—it was just what I needed today.  It really hit the spot.

Here’s what we learned: “One is obligated to recite a blessing for the bad [in one’s life] just as one recites a blessing for the good [in one’s life].”  (See BT Berachot 54a.)

Today’s news is filled with both great news and terrible news. On the positive side, Israel welcomed home eight more hostages freed from captivity. Arbel Yahoud, Agam Berger, Gadi Mozes, Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat and Rumnao Surasak all left Gaza today. That makes a total of 15 hostages released during the most recent ceasefire. While it’s not enough, it is still wonderful news.

It’s easy to say a blessing upon hearing this good news. The blessing that rabbis of the Talmud formulated for us is: “Praised are You, Adonai our God, Power of the universe, Who is good and Who does good—הַטּוֹב וְהַמֵּטִיב.“ We are grateful for the goodness in God’s world.

On the negative side, of course, we have all been watching with horror as the rescue operation has transitioned to a salvage operation at the site of the plane crash near Reagan Airport in DC. It appears that there will be no survivors. We are just starting to hear the stories of the people who were on those aircraft—their lives having ended far too soon.

Finding the right words after such a disaster is much more difficult. Offering up a blessing after such a disaster seems counterintuitive. However, the rabbis realized that we need God in our most difficult moments, and maybe by reaching out to God, we will find the strength we need to go on. So, the words that the rabbis have given us for such moments are: “Praised are You, Adonai our God, Power of the universe, the Judge of truth—דַּיַּין הָאֱמֶת.“ When we are not ready to accept the bad news as real, God is there to help us deal with the truth.

Some days, we only need one or the other of these two blessings. Clearly, today, we are swinging back and forth between them.

Shalom,

RAF.