Comments on: God Bless the Whole World – No Exceptions

By: Ari

Ari — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 18:45:58 +0000

Want to know what “created in the image of G-d means?” It means we have free choice. That just like nothing restricts Him from his actions, we have the ability to do good in this world or bad. When we choose good, we become like Him. When we choose bad, we used the choice that He gave us.

By: Lisa Mer

Lisa Mer — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 13:54:20 +0000

Chris, thank you for your post. It has been on my mind the last couple of weeks; how to reconcile evil/violence with holding compassion for all…
Rabbi Latz’s sermon last night on this topic added another reminder for me, when he asked us to think of someone we didn’t like/hated…and how I could so quickly think of one particular person who has done a terrible act (against me personally)…and for him to ask if it was possible to open our hearts…
I have it in me to be hateful, rageful, angry…I don’t want to admit that most days, but felt it very strongly last night.
Making it personal for me, knowing each of us has a story and acknowledging that even “she” has a soul…and is perhaps not awake yet to the hurt she has inflicted…I can find a thread of compassion. Compassion for her struggle, for her unmet needs, for not having learned how to include vs exclude. As Rabbi Latz said, this does not condone behavior or mean I need to forgive, but I’m trying to grasp the importance of the idea you posited for the kind of person I want to be in the world. Maybe, from this place of compassion (albeit stingy right now), I may be better able to take action to repair the world from love rather than fear or anger.

By: Nachman

Nachman — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 23:06:07 +0000

Mr. Bargeron wrote:

“I do not condone the actions that you describe, nor do I condone any behavior that harms another human being.”

Backing out of “[G-d] bless the whole world, no exceptions” I see. There *are* exceptions. Is that it?

“My point is that despite this discomfort, we cannot declare that those who do evil are wholly other than us. We share the common holiness, purity, and promise inherent in God’s creation.”

*facepalm*

I’m at a loss. I have no idea were people get this stuff from.

By: Chris Bargeron

Chris Bargeron — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 03:26:11 +0000

I do not condone the actions that you describe, nor do I condone any behavior that harms another human being.

I assert that Judaism teaches that human beings are created in God’s image, and that our souls are originally pure. This applies to everyone. A person’s actions, even if immoral, cannot change what God has created.

The distance between the holy purity of God’s creation and the evil actions of some people is a deeply troubling mystery that cannot be fully comprehended.

My point is that despite this discomfort, we cannot declare that those who do evil are wholly other than us. We share the common holiness, purity, and promise inherent in God’s creation.