Sukkis 2025: Rabbi Blech – Special Edition
by devadmin | October 10, 2025 12:19 am
Raboyseyee and Ladies,
Shoin, with Shmini Atzeres and Simchas Torah upcoming, I was going to write another special edition…but, I just finished reading this amazing book titled “Dear God, Why?” by Rabbi Benjamin Blech, and decided that I must share my thoughts and comments as if I was mamish writing a review. It’s available on Amazon where I got mine; get yours here, https://www.amazon.com/Dear-God-Why-Benjamin-Blech/dp/1939738148
Here we go.
There are questions that human beings have asked since the dawn of history, questions that pierce the heart and trouble the soul. None has proven more agonizing, more enduring, and more universal than this: If God is good and all-powerful, why does He allow suffering, tragedy, and evil? Of late, this topic has been on my mind as more people I know are suffering with something. This question is the ancient problem of theodicy, one that has confounded philosophers, theologians, and believers for millennia.
With the publication of Dear God, Why? Rabbi Benjamin Blech -a person who has inspired me since the early 1980’s-has given us what may be the clearest, most cogent, and most compassionate response yet offered to this question. It is no exaggeration to say that this book is a landmark—not only in Jewish thought, but in the broader search for religious meaning across faith traditions.
A Master Teacher and a Trusted Guide
Rabbi Blech is not new to confronting life’s most profound challenges. For decades, he has been a rabbi, a professor, and an author of more than twenty books. His works have reached readers across the globe—from The Sistine Secrets, translated into sixteen languages and a bestseller in twenty-six countries, to his acclaimed volumes on Jewish law, history, and spirituality. Time and again, he has demonstrated an unparalleled gift for making the deepest of ideas both understandable and compelling. Truth be told, you will find my name in his first book and another was inspired by me.
What sets Rabbi Blech apart is not only his erudition but his humanity. Those who have had the privilege of hearing him teach know that his words are suffused with warmth, empathy, and faith. He has spent a lifetime counseling individuals in moments of despair, helping them navigate the dark valleys of grief, illness, and loss. This pastoral experience informs every page of Dear God, Why? The book is not an abstract philosophical treatise, but a lifeline extended to real human beings searching for hope.
The Problem of Theodicy Confronted
From Iyov’s (Job’s) anguished cry in the heylige Novee to contemporary headlines filled with tragedy, the problem of evil never loses its urgency. Skeptics have pointed to suffering as the strongest argument against belief in God, while believers have struggled to reconcile their faith with the reality of a broken world.
Rabbi Blech tackles this challenge with intellectual honesty and moral clarity. He does not shy away from the depth of the question. Rather, he frames it as the very arena in which faith is tested and refined. In his characteristic style—logical, lucid, yet profoundly moving—he unfolds an approach rooted in the Jewish tradition yet resonant with all who seek meaning.
For Rabbi Blech, suffering is not meaningless, nor is it evidence of divine indifference. Instead, he argues, it is bound up with the very purpose of existence: to grow, to choose, to sanctify, and ultimately to prepare the world for redemption. He presents this not as a simplistic “answer,” but as a tapestry of insights that together illuminate the mystery.
Faith Without Evasion
What makes Dear God, Why? so powerful is that it avoids the pitfalls that plague many treatments of this subject. Rabbi Blech does not minimize the pain of tragedy. He does not offer clichés or platitudes. Instead, he validates the reality of human anguish while showing how faith can endure—even flourish—in its presence. He keeps it real!
His method is quintessentially rabbinic: drawing upon classical sources, weaving together Talmud, Midrash, medieval philosophy, Chassidic thought, and modern scholarship. But he also brings in personal stories, contemporary experiences, and even interfaith perspectives. The result is a book that is both profoundly Jewish and universally human.
Readers will encounter explanations that are intellectually satisfying, but more importantly, spiritually sustaining. Rabbi Blech reminds us that asking “Why?” is itself a sacred act, for it keeps the dialogue with God alive. He encourages us to see suffering not as the end of faith but as its beginning.
A Culmination of a Lifetime’s Work
For those familiar with Rabbi Blech’s previous writings, Dear God, Why? represents the culmination of a lifelong journey. His earlier works—on Torah, Jewish belief, the Holocaust, and interfaith dialogue—have consistently addressed the most pressing issues of our time. This new book distills his decades of scholarship and teaching into a response to the ultimate question.
One senses, in reading this volume, that Rabbi Blech has poured into it not only his knowledge but his soul. It carries the authority of a sage who has walked with his people through joy and sorrow, who has comforted the mourner and celebrated with the bride, who has wrestled with God and never let go.
A Book for All People of Faith
Although steeped in Jewish tradition, this book transcends boundaries. Christians, Muslims, and indeed anyone who believes in a God of goodness will find here wisdom and consolation. The questions Rabbi Blech addresses are not Jewish questions; they are human questions. And his answers resonate with a clarity that can only come from a voice of faith that is both rooted and universal.
Conclusion: A Rare Achievement
In Dear God, Why?, Rabbi Benjamin Blech has accomplished what few before him have managed: to provide a response to the problem of theodicy that is at once intellectually rigorous, emotionally honest, and spiritually uplifting. This book will surely take its place alongside the great classics of religious thought.
For anyone who has ever asked “Why do bad things happen to good people?”—and who among us has not?—this book is indispensable. It deserves to be read slowly, reflected upon deeply, and shared widely.
Rabbi Blech has given us not only a book, but a gift: the gift of faith strengthened in the face of mystery, of hope in the midst of suffering, of light that shines in darkness. That, ultimately, is why Dear God, Why? is more than a book—it is a blessing.
In his ninth decade and a tenth-generation rabbi, he’s as vibrant and relevant as ever. I dare say that I would not have ever taken to writing without his influence.
A Gittin Moed- Moadim B’simcha!
The Heylige Oisvorfer Ruv
Yitz Grossman
Source URL: https://oisvorfer.com/sukkis-2025-rabbi-blech-special-edition/