Posted on January 31, 2025 by Rabbi David Katz
The night before last I watched in horror pictures of the collision of two aircraft in Washington D.C. It was heart breaking. “There but for the grace of God go I…” – is this not what many of us imagine as we witness a tragedy? It could have been me.
When a ship sinks and lives are lost the headlines often refer to the victims as souls. “One hundred human souls were lost,” and we are immediately empathetic because we recognize ourselves as souls, part of the sea of humanity, given form and allowed to exist for a brief time on earth without knowing when or how our lives will conclude. We know that our bodies are not eternal; they are vulnerable, and ultimately perishable and it often takes a tragedy – a picture of a building collapse, or a starving baby or victim of war – that makes our hearts cry in recognition that we are all human beings, all mortal.
Our tradition counsels us that there are many ways to feel soulful that do not depend on experiencing or witnessing tragedy. When we sing with others we feel a special bond and kinship, when we attend a baby naming we all take joy that a soul has a new body, when we recite the kiddush, sip the sweet wine and shout – “L’chayim,” we celebrate life, and when we recite the “shehechianu” we express happy relief that we have made it to a special occasion. In fact, one of the chief functions of a Shabbat service is to cast ourselves as souls gathering as one community, to offer our gratitude to God. We devote one full day a week to express appreciation.
An air crash may be a stark reminder that life is fragile and that we all hang by a thread, not knowing what tomorrow will bring but we Jews are obligated to create a metaphysical picture to live by and live within, a picture that helps us absorb the shock of tragedy. Not after, but before the day of disaster we should be saying, “There but for the grace of God go I.” Every day and with every breath we take we should be appreciating the gift of life.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Katz
