Throughout the Talmud we find questions and answers. Sometimes questions with no answers, תיקו. This is a reality in life. We find ourselves with a question for which we can’t find an appropriate or satisfactory answer. Greater minds then ours, have grappled with difficult questions, trying to find truthful answers. Sometimes they came to the conclusion, that there just is no answer.
It’s not the end of the world, when we have an unanswered question. That doesn’t necessarily mean there is none. There may very well be an answer, just we haven’t merited to find it yet. It maybe due to our lack of understanding, which we need to accept. Let’s face it, no human being exists that understands and knows everything. There are things that we understand, that others don’t and there are things that others understand, that we don’t. It has been said, “no one dies from a question”.
It’s healthy to ask and to be inquisitive. To want to discover, solve a riddle and get to the truth. The Torah says “If your son will ask what is this service about, you shall tell him”. This is how we learn and mature throughout life. By questioning, learning and moving on. We must however make sure, that unanswered questions in religion don’t affect our faith and trust in Hashem. Usually unresolved questions come from a lack of sufficient information. The more knowledge and understanding we gain about a subject, the less questions we are likely to have. When it comes to unanswered questions of a religious nature, it is worthwhile asking ourselves before becoming disenchanted, if the great leaders of the past or present generation also had the same unanswered questions? Probably not. That means there is an answer out there. If we truthfully search hard enough we might find it. One of the great sages of the Musser movement once said, “if a mortal human being asks too many questions concerning Hashem’s leadership, he may be called upon to face his Creator before his time was really supposed to be up, to have all his questions answered. Rest assured, in heaven for sure there is an answer to every question. Sometimes we just lack the comprehension down here. We don’t like to think that way. Our ego finds it difficult to imagine and make peace with the phenomenon, that sometimes our abilities are somewhat limited. Truthfully speaking they are. Hashem created the world this way, with limitations. Think about it. Do our hands have unlimited reaching power? Is the distance our feet can walk unlimited? Can our eyes see everything? Do our ears always hear what is being said? Can we smell sweet aromas in the distance? The answer is, no. Hashem created human beings with limitations. So to, the jelly in our brains have been created with limitations. No two mindsets are the same. How much one can and can’t understand is a gift from Hashem. כי ה’ יתן חכמה, מפיו דעת ותבונה.
Knowing this truth brings peace of mind. Understanding that we don’t and can’t understand everything, is an important step to living with tranquility. Since we live in challenging times, a world of trial and tribulation, there may be times when we will have to make peace with some difficult experiences we encounter and hear about. Best to just surrender to Hashem, trust in his leadership and let go. It’s all right for unpleasant news and hardships to touch our hearts, but we must be careful not to allow them to penetrate into our hearts, where we can no longer function. We can never allow ourselves to get down and out, depressed, quit or get angry at Hashem. Let’s understand that Hashem created us to question and explore, to seek truthful answers and to try and make sense of all that is occurring around us and in the world. We are curious human beings always interested in news, always asking, why. Inquisitive, in order to protect ourselves and know the best way to deal with life. It is normal and healthy. Dovid Hamelech however gave us the best advice on how to live with peace of mind even when there is turmoil in the world and questions beg for answers, “בטח בה’ ועשה טוב” Live with trust in Hashem and do good. Rest assured there will come a time when no question will be left unanswered. May we merit the appearance of אליהו הנביא in our time.
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