During the Holocaust, a rabbi by the name of Rabbi Ephraim Oshry was asked some horrific questions. Jews came to the rabbi for guidance and rulings on Jewish law that were reakky ghastly and grim.
One question he received came from a father whose son was destined for death. The father asked if he was allowed to bribe the Nazi guard to have his son released. The question stemmed from the repugnant reality that if the guard agreed, he would simply take another person in place of the son. Therefore the bribe was effectively murdering someone else.
Rabbi Oshry wrote his rulings on scraps of paper, most of which were torn from the bags of cement he carried as a forced laborer.
He buried his rulings which he was able to retrieve after the war.
He published all the legal opinions he wrote on those heart rending inquiries under the title “Responsa from the Depths”.
Rabbi Oshry said that the maintenance of Jewish life in the face of such horror was an integral part of Jewish resistance. Many who asked those questions did not survive, but their souls would live on.
He said “their souls were in the questions”.
Just the other day, a venerable rabbi by the name of Rabbi Asher Weiss, was also asked some difficult questions about how to maintain Jewish life and Jewish ritual, in the face of tremendous adversity.
A recently wounded year 20 year old soldier had some practical questions to pose to the rabbi.
In his recent deployment in the IDF, he was seriously wounded, and had lost both legs and his right arm and had injured his left hand. He asked about how he should don his Tefillin, and how he should ritually wash his hands, issues that are vastly complicated by his injuries.
But it was his last question that brought Rabbi Weiss to tears.
He explained that he would be receiving prosthetics for his legs and hand and he wanted to know when is the appropriate time to make the Shehechiyanu blessing. Should he recite the blessing when he receives the prosthetics, or when he puts them on for the first time.
Rabbi Weiss had never heard such a query.
The blessing of Shehechiyanu celebrates gratitude to Gd for sustaining us in life till that moment. It’s a way to express to Gd appreciation for arriving at this moment and celebrating new possessions or special experiences.
This soldier wants to know when to make this blessing?
Over the loss of three of his four limbs?
He is still blessing Gd?
No wonder the Rabbi was brought to tears. As Rabbi Weiss shared the experience he said in wonder, these are Tzadikim, these are holy and righteous people.
As Rabbi Oshry had once penned, the shining soul of this young man is revealed in his questions.
It is humbling.

It is Day 279 and we don’t have an end in sight.
But we have our children fighting on our behalf.
Their questions reveal their deep inner faith which is not shaken by things they cannot understand. The questions do not paralyze them, they continue to live and to serve.
This week’s Torah portion is Chukat. It shares the laws of the red heifer.
There are different categories of laws. Some are called Mishpatim. These are laws that are comprehensible and rational. They also may be accompanied by a reason or outcome attained by fulfilling the commandment.
These laws “make sense”.
There is another category of laws which is entitled Chukim. These are commandments which are not accompanied by explanation, and we don’t understand the rationale for the commandment.
Charlene Aminoff, a Torah teacher from NY explains this challenging concept with a pithy saying
“You may not understand the how, but as long as you trust the Who, who gave it to you, you don’t need to be able to comprehend every how”
The red heifer is the Biblical ritual which is part of the purification process.
If someone came in contact with a dead person, they would have to undergo a ritual purification process before they could enter the Tabernacle or the Temple.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks elucidates by explaining that Judaism is a religion of life. Therefore when someone comes in contact with death, they need to purify themselves before they enter a holy place, a place that celebrates life.
The red heifer is burned and it’s ashes are dissolved in water, water which symbolizes life.
“Gd lives in life”
Life is full of unanswerable questions.
But it is still life.
And each person makes a choice how to live that life, what kind of questions they want to ask, which will reflect the life they are aspiring to live.
Are we asking Why, as in why me? Which in Hebrew translates to Lama למה?
Or are we asking the question LMa, same letters, only a tiny difference in the vowel.
But it changes the whole perspective.
The question is no longer Why, but What for?
What purpose can I achieve with the circumstances or challenges that are placed before me by Gd, the Who, in Whom I place my trust, knowing that the circumstance is there for the good, even if it’s hard to see it, even if it’s not rational, even if there is no good explanation, even if it is a chok.
Shortly after Rabbi Weiss shared the unimaginable and irrational, haunting yet uplifting questions posed to him by the 20 year old soldier, a clip made its rounds on social media.
It depicted our soldier, after all each and everyone is ours, we cry with them and celebrate our own, being called up to a wedding ceremony to bestow a blessing under the Chuppah.
To the sounds of singing and clapping we see this angelic looking young man whirring towards the Chuppa in his wheelchair, the stumps where his legs once were on full view. He joyfully bestows a blessing on the bride and groom and extends his one arm in a hug to the groom as he concludes the bracha.
Despite the challenges, this young man is only looking for the blessings.
May they all come true so we may say Shehechiyanu together.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!