“Science or religion? Which will survive?” posited Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver in a 1925 sermon, as quoted in the 1967 book, “Therefore Choose Life: Selected Sermons, Addresses, and Writings of Abba Hillel Silver.”
Both, he answers. “Without religion, science is a dreadful destroyer, a machine that will crush the very man who invented it…. Religion without science is a helpless thing…. Science and religion are friends. God created his world by wisdom and the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.”
Science and religion were indeed not at odds last Sunday, Feb. 26, when rebbetzin and Jewish educator B. Devorah Shmotkin, environmental scientist Daniel Weber, Ph.D., and psychiatrist Jeffrey Taxman, M.D., spoke as members of a panel on the topic, “Hurricanes, Tsunamis and Earthquakes: How Can We, As Jews, Find Meaning in Natural Disasters?”
Part of the community-wide Day of Discovery, which was presented by the Coalition for Jewish Learning and held at Cardinal Stritch University, the panel discussion focused on the natural disasters that have taken place around the globe in the last 14 months.
Faced with the awesome and terrible power of God in the form of hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes, human beings struggle to comprehend God’s purpose. The seemingly senseless destruction shocks and confuses us. We wonder why God has abandoned us.
Quoting a young yeshiva student who traveled to Thailand to help the victims of the December 2004 tsunami, Shmotkin said, “‘God,’ I cried, ‘where were you on that ominous Sunday morning?’”
“Then he remembered a homily he had heard. Moses asked God to see his glory, and God said, ‘You cannot see my glory but you will see my back. You will see me in hindsight when you reflect on what happened.’”
The student thought about the people from around the world who had dropped everything to come help.
He thought about the Thai people who, despite their own suffering, showed so much kindness toward them and who had so little but shared their meager food supplies.
Looking back, he saw God’s presence in the goodness of people, Shmotkin said.
“These events show us that we can never be just for ourselves,” Shmotkin said.
Asking, knowing, responding
The perspectives of the environmental scientist and the psychiatrist offered some similar ideas.
Weber described four environments in which catastrophic natural events have created and continuously contribute to beneficial environments.
In one such place, the North American prairie, some of the world’s richest soil is forged in dry conditions that spawn constant natural wild fires. And in another, important to our identity as Jews, the Dead Sea was formed from a series of traumatic earthquakes.
But, Weber warned, some disasters are caused or exacerbated by choices people make, such as the denuding of land and illegal mines in the Philippines and the resulting mudslides. In New Orleans, too, human choice led to destruction after Hurricane Katrina, where levees had not been properly maintained.
Taxman, who has traveled to assist disaster victims in Jordan, Ground Zero in New York City, Sri Lanka and New Orleans also referred to human-made environmental problems.
In Sri Lanka, he found that the villagers had weakened the reef that would have provided a natural protective barrier to their land by mining it for lime and calcium, which they sold.
But he, too, saw God’s back in terrible situations. Though people tell him they admire his generosity in aiding people in distress, he said that he feels compelled to do such work.
“To be able to do this kind of work is extremely self-gratifying. It’s not so selfless,” he said. “It is extremely rewarding to see the best in people,” as they pull together to help one another. “If we could only apply those lessons to everyday life….”
“We are all siblings, children of the same God,” Taxman said, as he compared the perspectives of Jews, Christians and Muslims. “We are all cut from the same cloth” and “part of our calling as Jews is to do and to see what we have in common with each other.”
Jody Hirsh, Jewish educator at the Harry & Rose Family Jewish Community Center, moderated the panel.
Afterward, several local Jewish educators were honored at CJL’s annual teacher recognition event. Leah Robbins, a teacher at the Children’s Lubavitch Living and Learning Center, was honored as Educator of the Year.
Robin Boroda of Hillel Academy and Mary Beaumont-Wishne of Yeshiva Elementary School were honored as co-recipients of the Gill Incentive for Teachers (GIFT) Award for innovative programs they developed for their classrooms. The GIFT Award was created in memory of Norman Gill and includes a monetary award of $500.
In addition, Barbara Altman was honored for 36 years of service as an educator with a Double Chai Award.
Tziporah Altman-Shafer, Nancy Dowling, Beth Draper, Nina Edelman, Sarah-ann Friedman, Sigrid Gullickson, Joyce Gutzke, Judith Havice, Laurie Herman, Chavah Kintis, Barbara Lutsky, Marge Meyers, Roberta Schaalman, Bonnie Shafrin, Judy Silbermann, Stisha Steigman and David Wolfson were honored for 18 years of service as educators with Chai Awards.
The Day of Discovery included more than 40 different learning sessions, covering a wide array of topics. Often in small groups, community members learned about Jewish culture, history, Jewish texts and current events.
The daylong learning event was presented in partnership with the JCC, the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis and many co-sponsoring organizations, agencies and synagogues.
It was supported in part by the Jewish Community Foundation, the endowment development program at the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. CJL is the federation’s education program.
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