Why Do Human Systems Fail?
The world feels unfair for a reason. Learn how emunah reframes injustice and shows why Hashem’s plan is deeper than what we see.
IncHuman systems fail when we need justice most because they are made by people and reflect human limitations, not Absolute truth.
We live in a generation that puts enormous faith in human systems — laws, courts, rights, diplomacy. These systems are presented as the pillars of morality and the guardians of justice. But every so often, Hashem lifts the curtain and reminds us: these systems are mere tools, and sometimes broken ones.
A 2023 Global Survey by Edelman found that over 60% of people believe institutions no longer serve them fairly. What people feel in their gut — the Torah told us thousands of years ago.
What Does a Missile Warning Teach About Emunah?
It was a beautiful Purim day, the kind that feels like a quiet hug after a long winter.
My wife was dressed as a butterfly, my youngest as a donut — pink frosting and all — and we were walking to a Chabad Beit Knesset to hear the Megillah. The sun felt sweet on our faces, like a fresh batch of oznei Haman (hamentashen cookies), and for a moment, everything felt light.
Then the phone buzzed. Not a siren — a warning from the Home Front Command. Incoming missiles in ten minutes.
We kept walking.
When we arrived, the room was full. Babies in strollers. Elderly in wheelchairs. Children in costumes. On the other side of the mechitza (the separation between men and women’s sections), my wife stood with our daughter — a paramedic-in-training with Magen David Adom. Magen David Adom handles over 2 million emergency calls annually, often under conditions most people could never imagine. She desires to save lives.
Then, during the reading of the Megillah, just as Haman’s name echoed — the booms began.
First one. Then another. Then something else. Rapid fire from the sky — Cluster bombs.
Directed at civilians. At families. At children in costumes. At people in Beit Knesset serving Hashem.
And in that moment, something became painfully clear.
Do Human Rights Become Performance Instead of Justice?
The world speaks endlessly about “human rights.”
But when those rights are enforced against only one side… they are no longer rights. They are a performance.
Even bodies like the United Nations Human Rights Council have faced repeated criticism for selective enforcement — highlighting some conflicts while ignoring others. When justice becomes selective, it stops being justice.
Why Does the Torah Begin with Creation Instead of Law?
The Torah begins with creation instead of law to establish Hashem’s authority over the world before defining justice.1 Because before we talk about law — we must establish Authority.
We must recognize Who has the authority over the law and what His laws are that determine what justice is.
Who Defines Justice According to the Torah?
According to the Torah, Hashem defines justice because He created the world and determines how it operates.
Rashi (Bereishit 1:1) writes: “The entire world belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He.” This is not just a belief — it is the foundation of ownership, justice, and moral authority itself.
When nations accuse us of theft, of injustice, of wrongdoing — we answer not with politics, but with truth: the One who made the land gave it, removed it, and returned it to His children. History bends to His will, not to human opinion.
Empires who made their own “rules” have risen and fallen. The Mongols. The Europeans. The Americans. Each claiming legitimacy through conquest, policy, or power.
But Hashem doesn’t consult history books.
He writes them.
Why Does Israel’s Survival Defy Natural Logic?
Israel’s survival defies natural logic because its continued existence cannot be explained by size, population, or military strength alone.
Israel — a country roughly 1% the size of Iran — has fought multiple wars in a short time span, yet always emerged standing.
Iran has a population of over 85 million, compared to Israel’s roughly 9 million — a nearly 10:1 difference. Iran vastly outweighs Israel in military manpower, regional influence with proxies, and artillery/armor.2 By conventional logic, the outcomes should be predictable.
They are not.
That’s because we are not living inside a purely logical system.
Hashem is showing us something.
Not through speeches. Through reality itself.
Does Emunah Mean Ignoring Human Rights?
Emunah does not mean ignoring human rights; it means judging them according to Divine justice rather than by human opinion.
As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote in his book Morality, “When morality loses its anchor in something higher, it becomes whatever society decides it is.” The Torah doesn’t shift with society — it defines it.
When human rights – feigning to reflect what Hashem’s Torah dictates as moral or immoral – become distorted from His values, or when human rights become selective or completely inverted… they stop being justice altogether.
The Navi (Prophet) Isaiah reduces all of Divine service to one word: justice.3
Justice is not determined by consensus. It is determined by Hashem.
Nobody confers blessing on the UN or ICC for administering judgment to anyone. Three times a day, in the Shemonei Esrei, we bless God by stating:
Blessed are You, Hashem, the King Who loves righteousness and judgment. 4
How Should Jews Respond to Global Opposition?
Jews should respond to global opposition by strengthening emunah and relying on Hashem rather than seeking validation from shifting human systems.
Why waste our energy trying to win arguments in the court of global opinion? Why exhaust ourselves proving we are “right” according to systems that shift like sand?
Hashem is orchestrating events on a scale that no institution can replicate. Trillions of dollars. Billions of data points. Entire militaries — all of it bending, subtly or dramatically, to His will.
We turn upward because global opposition isn’t theory.
It’s our shared experience.
🌱A nation survives what should have destroyed it.
🕊️ A people endures what should have erased them.
🕯️A story continues when it should have ended long ago.
Does Emunah Change How We Handle Fear and Injustice?
Emunah changes how we handle fear and injustice by replacing the need for control with trust in Hashem’s plan. Since everything comes from Hashem — not just the good, but the confusing, the painful, the unfair — our job changes.
We stop trying to control everything. We start trying to understand our role within it.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
🔹 Trust that even when the system feels broken, the Source is not
🔹 Strengthen daily connection to Hashem — even in small moments
🔹 Choose faith over fear, even when fear feels more logical
You can build your life on shifting sand…or on the One who made the sand.
In all our wars since October 7, we killed over 75,000 people5. Most were terrorists. This is similar to the number of Persians we killed when King Achashverosh let us fight against anyone trying to fulfill Haman’s decree to slaughter all Jews. Megillat Esther (9:16) records that approximately 75,000 enemies were defeated during Purim.
We serve God by celebrating Chanukah, when we killed many thousands of Greeks. The UN would have condemn us as murderers yet, like Purim, we celebrate Chanukah every year, and the Creator of the universe blesses us.
Thousands of years ago, Hashem commanded Gidon the Judge to destroy our enemies, and he killed 120,000.6 When the Assyrians surrounded Jerusalem and King Hezekiah prayed to Hashem to save us, God killed 185,000 terrorists7.
If these miracles happened today, the UN and ICC would brand Israel as human rights violators and guilty of genocide. They would put God, our King Who reigns over kings, on trial as well.
The real human atrocity is that these globalist cartels refuse to acknowledge the inherent goodness and justice in Hashem’s judgment.
What Is the Essence of Emunah in an Upside-Down World?
The bottom line of emunah is to fear Hashem and follow His commandments, regardless of how the world defines justice. Kohelet says it plainly:
The end of the matter, everything having been heard, fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the entire man. For every deed God will bring to judgment-for every hidden thing, whether good or bad. (Kohelet 12:13-14)
Fear God. Keep His commandments. That is the whole person.
Not because the world will applaud it. But because it’s real. It’s what God commands.
Once you see that clearly — even in a world that feels upside down…you stand upright.
Key Takeaways
- Human justice systems fail because they are limited and inconsistent; emunah reframes justice as rooted in Hashem’s authority rather than shifting human standards or selective enforcement.
- Emunah means trusting Hashem in real, immediate situations rather than in abstract belief, allowing a person to remain steady even when fear, danger, or uncertainty feel overwhelming.
- Human rights lose meaning when applied selectively, and the Torah teaches that true justice requires consistency grounded in Divine authority, not public opinion or global consensus.
- The Torah begins with creation to establish that Hashem owns the world and defines justice, making Divine authority the foundation for understanding morality and truth.
- Israel’s survival highlights that outcomes are not determined by power, size, or logic alone, but reflects a deeper reality where Hashem guides history beyond natural explanation.
- Emunah does not reject human values but evaluates them through Torah principles, ensuring that morality remains stable, consistent, and aligned with Divine truth.
- Living with emunah shifts focus from controlling outcomes to trusting Hashem’s plan, allowing a person to face fear, injustice, and uncertainty with clarity, purpose, and inner stability.
Editor’s Notes:
1 The God of Creation and the Land of Israel – citing Rashi on Bereshit (Genesis) 1:1
2 Britannica, Who is More Powerful, Iran or Israel?
3 Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 56:1, 1:11-17, 33:15
4 The 11th blessing of Shemoneh Esrei, Hashivah Shofteinu (Restore our Judges)
6 Shoftim (Book of Judges) 8:10
7 II Melachim (Second Book of Kings) 19:35 and in Yeshayahu 37:36 (Yeshayahu was the prophet who delivered Hashem’s promise to protect Jerusalem to King Hezekiah)
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