Of Earthquakes and Tragedies

“…in order that His awe shall be upon your faces, so that you shall not sin.” (Shemot 20:17) 
 
 

Beyond Nature 

During the times of the Baal Shem Tov, there was once a horrific earthquake, and thousands of people lost their lives. Seeing this tragedy as an act of Hashgacha Pratit, Divine Intervention, many Jews were inspired to rectify their behaviors and return to Hashem through teshuvah. 
 

However, there was one Rabbi who was well versed in the sciences. Based on his calculations, the timing and location of this earthquake was logical and could easily be explained through science. Therefore, he felt that this was clearly a natural disaster and not the result of Divine Intervention being sent into this world for the sake of inspiring teshuvah. 
 

The Baal Shem Tov, seeing the Rabbi’s response with his Ruach HaKodesh, decided to travel to him. When they met, the Baal Shem Tov told him: “When Yitro heard about Kriyat Yam Suf, the Splitting of the Red Sea, he wasn’t inspired to convert. It was only after he learned about the war with Amalek that he decided to join the Jewish people. Why was that the case? After Kriyat Yam Suf, Amalek told the world that it was not a miracle, rather it was an act of nature easily explainable through the science of earthquakes and tsunamis. That is precisely the reason – even after seeing the miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf – Amalek was not afraid to wage war against the Jewish people.” 
 

“However,” the Baal Shem Tov continued, “after seeing the Jews miraculously defeat Amalek, which was completely beyond any logical explanation, Yitro understood that Kriyat Yam Suf was also Hashgacha Pratit and not an act of nature or happenstance.”  
 

Seeing the Divine Intervention

The Sefer HaBrit expounds on this concept (Maamar 10, Chapter 5) and explains, that even though it seems that according to the laws of nature that Hashem created, there needs to be an earthquake from time to time, they can occur in uninhabited locations. Therefore, when we see that Hashem brings an event like that to a specific place in the world that is populated, where many people perish as a result of this Heavenly calculation, and causes a tremendous tumult in the world as a result, we need to understand that this happened with Hashgacha Pratit, a Divine Intervention that is exacting and that determined that those souls – who need to leave this world according to Divine calculation from the Heavens – should leave this world through such an event; that tragedy was intended to inspire the Jews to return to Hashem through teshuvah. 
 

Hashgacha Pratit can clearly be seen even within the tragedy, in the earthquake itself, through the stories of the survivors. We hear stories of people who – through Divine Intervention – were not home during the quake when their home collapsed; which would have clearly killed them. There have been incredible stories of people – even young children – who were trapped a long time beneath rubble, without fresh air, water or food, and yet they survived. 
 

Throughout history we have seen powerful and potent examples of earthquakes, where there were many victims, but nearly all the Jews survived, as was the case in the Turkey in 5448 and in the Holy Land in 5687. 
 

I was in Mexico City in 5746 after a tremendous earthquake hit the city. I was told there, that over 100,000 people lost their lives in that tragedy, but, not a single Jewish life was lost. 

When I was in Los Angeles in 5754 after an earthquake, witnesses told me that the local Kaiser Hospital had collapsed on two sides except for the middle section (see picture). The scientists, engineers, and rescue workers could not explain it. Many said that the only logical explanation was Hashgacha Pratit. There were Jews in the middle section. Clearly, Hashem wanted their lives spared and for them to be inspired to do teshuvah. 

Purpose in Tragedy

In the Drashot HaRan (Drush 6), the Ran explains that when Hashem brings an earthquake to a distant place that is occupied by non-Jews, its purpose is to rouse the Jews to teshuvah. The tragedy frightens them and they realize that if they do not heed the warning and change their behaviors, the tragedies will come closer to home. 
 

After the great earthquake in 5687, the Chafetz Chaim published his maamar (article), “Why Have You Fallen Asleep”. In that publication, he explains that since we do not have prophets nowadays who can warn the Jewish people to change their behaviors and do teshuvah, Hashem sends other messengers in the form of world events like earthquakes. 
 

Chazal revealed this concept to us in the Yerushalmi (Brachot 5:2) and in the Midrash (Tehillim 104) when they taught that earthquakes demonstrate that people have become lost to the sins of promiscuity. Chazal similarity taught (Bereishit Rabba 49:6) that Sodom had become infested with promiscuous and adulterous behavior, and as a result, Hashem brought earthquakes that lasted for a period of 25 years in an attempt to rouse them to teshuvah. When they did not heed the warning, He destroyed them. 
 

The foundation for the principle can be found in the Generation of the Flood. They were promiscuous and neglected to set up proper families. They committed adultery. And this pained Hashem who did not create the world for waste as it says (Yeshayahu 45:18), “He did not create it for a waste… ” Therefore, it was fitting in that generation for the world to return to nothingness. And, Hashem did so with the flood.  
 

Tremors as a Reminder 

We see this same idea at Mattan Torah: 
 

The Zohar HaKodesh (Balak 192b) explains, that before Mattan Torah, Hashem offered the Torah to the sons of Yishmael. However, they rejected the Torah because they did not feel that they could observe the commandment “You shall not commit adultery“. Then, there was an earthquake as it says in Shoftim (5:4), “the earth trembled”. The world was hanging in the balance once again at risk of being turned into nothingness if the Jews did not accept the Torah. 
 

This is the meaning of the Chazal which teaches that the entire earth trembled at Mattan Torah. Hashem wanted the Jews to realize through this earthquake, that the entire world’s existence is dependent on them refraining from sins. This is what our pasuk means, “Fear not, for God has come in order to exalt you, and in order that His awe shall be upon your faces, so that you shall not sin”. 
 

While I was in Los Angeles in 5754, I said that the earthquake occurred during the week of Parshat Yitro when we read about Mattan Torah and how the earth shook, to remind us that the purpose of an earthquake is to remind us to resist the temptation to sin, particularly in matters of promiscuity and adultery, as we read in this week’s Parsha. 
 

May it be His Will, that through strengthening our safeguards from sin and from unclean technological devices that lead to sin, we should merit to be saved from all tragedy, pain, and suffering. 

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The Kalever Rebbe is the seventh Rebbe of the Kaalov Chasidic dynasty, begun by his ancestor who was born to his previously childless parents after receiving a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov zy”a, and later learned under the Maggid of Mezeritch zt”l. The Rebbe has been involved in outreach for more than 30 years, and writes weekly emails on understanding current issues through the Torah. You can sign up at  www.kaalov.org.