Rabbi David Wolpe tells a classic story of speaking to a group of American Jews in Tulsa, Oklahoma at their JCC about God. He was trying to make the case that God loves them. But he could see that his words were not resonating. Being the seasoned speaker that he is, he decided to take a bit of a gamble. He stopped his prepared remarks and said: If you think God loves you, please rise. In the entire large amphitheater which sat hundreds of people, exactly one person stood up. So Rabbi Wolpe tried again. If you think God loves you, please stand up. Nobody else got up. Just the one man standing. At last Rabbi Wolpe turned to that man and said, Sir, you believe that God loves you? I do indeed, he said. What is your name? Oral Roberts.
Oral Roberts was a Christian televangelist. He was the only one in the Jewish Community Center that believed that God loves us. That lack of ease with God is built into our very name: Israel, the one who struggles with God.
This story happened years before October 7. If it were hard for Jews to connect with a loving God before October 7, how much harder is it for us to believe in God’s love after October 7.
As we approach the one-year anniversary of October 7, is there any God we can believe in?
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