Lessons from Lahaina 

Before I attempt to put this mumbo jumbo of emotions, tears, terror, and thoughts down onto paper, I want to make a big caveat – the disaster stands as it is. I am no tzaddik to tell you why Hashem did this as the judgements came down in Heaven (although if I hear something from Rabbi Arush shlita, I will update this article!). I do not intend to point fingers at anyone and certainly not to blame the victims, G-d forbid. 

However, Rabbi Arush mentions in The Garden of Emuna that Hashem is constantly sending us messages and that part of emuna is recognizing that we are supposed to look for lessons and meaning in what happens to us. Someone who wakes up to try to understand Hashem’s messages and fix his mistakes will have Hashem whisper to him (so to speak), instead of waiting for the Creator of the World to slap him, and then hit him, and then even kick him or worse, G-d forbid. It is in this light that I attempt to share with you a few thoughts. 

First off, Rabbi Arush always reminds us that whenever the worst happens, Hashem should save us, that emuna never changes. Everything Hashem does is good and for the best, even if it’s sometimes impossible to understand in this world. “I don’t understand, I only believe, that everything is for the best.” 

The goal here is not to attempt to say that this terrible tragedy is good. Anyone who says that what happened is good is verifiably crazy! It is a terrible thing to have even one person die in a fire, forget about the reality in Lahaina. The point is to recognize that we are not God Almighty. He sees and knows what we cannot see and know. If we could see everything in Heaven with all the truth Hashem sees, we would also be able to understand the good in what happened.  

In Rabbi Arush’s words, emuna is to leave what the rational intellect can and cannot understand, and to go up to the world of emuna, which recognizes that spiritual reality often does not jive with good and bad as we can see it with our rational minds. Rabbi Arush discusses this at length in The Garden of Emuna as well, especially with the story of the toddler who was killed and later his righteous father passed away.  

Additionally, as explained in the article on Chok Toda – The Law of Gratitude, we never, ever say thank you for someone else’s suffering. We must hold both opposites at the same time – compassion and assistance and loving-kindness to those who lost loved ones and possessions and survivors, while holding onto the emuna that somehow this is for the best and Hashem knows what He is doing even if we certainly cannot. We can and should thank Hashem for our own suffering, including our suffering over what happened to someone else – but not for their suffering. We are never happy for anyone else’s suffering! We only want good for everyone else – they should be happy, healthy, and have everything good in this world and the Next! 

One lesson that struck me was the dozens of people who were saved by jumping into the Pacific Ocean. I saw the story of one family that was saved by jumping into the water. They said that they specifically stayed close to the water in case they needed to escape into the ocean, and in the end, it did come to that. 

The Sages compare Torah to water, and Jews are compared to fish. A Jew without Torah is literally a fish out of water. And fires come because of machloket, disagreements and hatred, and especially machloket against a true tzaddik. And to me personally, emuna is AIR. Without emuna, I am choking on the weight of all the suffering, both my own struggles and what is happening around me. The weight of it all makes me feel like I can’t breathe – but with emuna, I can take a deep breath and know I am in the best Hands ever. 

Rabbi Arush discusses in his article Don’t Let Them Fool You that there is no benefit to getting involved in talking about anyone else. If the information is true, it’s evil speech (lashon hara) and if it’s false it’s even worse, it’s motzei shem ra (slander). Either way, you lose – and there is nothing to gain! 

So, run away from the fire! Don’t talk about anyone else! And if someone tries to talk to you, tell them that you’ve got enough to work on yourself – no time, no energy, I don’t want to hear anything about anyone else! They should live and be well, not interested!  

And jump into the water! Stay close to the Torah! Put a mask on to keep out the smoke of evil speech and gossip, turn your back, and focus on breathing in fresh air. You can live a day or two without water, but only a minute or two without air. Make sure to keep your body healthy with fresh air and lots of water – and your soul healthy with lots of Torah and learning emuna! And there are far too many miracle stories to count of people who started learning 2 laws a day of the laws of proper speech… 

And of course, there is the famous Banyan Tree. I grew up Reform and visited Maui many times in my childhood. Oh, how I loved that Banyan tree! With the many trunks coming back down, and the tendrils dropping from the tree itself, it made me feel like a gigantic mother with a hundred arms hugging me.  

Although a lot of the tree was charred, the roots and parts of the main trunk are still green. The Governor says the tree is still alive, drinking water and making sap, although they will need to wait until it flowers to know exactly how much of it survived. Personally, I am awed by this reality. Everything around it is totally flattened, and somehow that tree had enough water in it to not be totally burned into ashes!  

Again, I think about the power of Torah and emuna to enable a person to survive any inferno and weather any storm G-d forbid, then put down new roots and flower anew. Rabbi Arush calls emuna “the power to cope.”  

The Jewish people are also like that Banyan tree. No matter what, and no matter how hard the antisemites try and try again – Hashem promises we will never be totally destroyed. We’ve weathered much more than one fire, only to put down new roots and to flower again. Just the fact that we are still around after almost 2,000 years of exile is its own proof of God’s existence, because it’s a total miracle. 

Hashem should help everyone affected by the fire and send consolation and strength to those still waiting to hear news about the more than 1,000 people currently missing. 

*** 

Rachel Avrahami grew up in Los Angeles, CA, USA in a far-off valley where she was one of only a handful of Jews in a public high school of thousands. She found Hashem in the urban jungle of the university. Rachel was privileged to read one of the first copies of The Garden of Emuna in English, and the rest, as they say, is history. She made Aliyah and immediately began working at Breslev Israel.   
  
Rachel is now the Editor of Breslev Israel’s English website. She welcomes questions, comments, articles, and personal stories to her email: rachel.avrahami@breslev.co.il.