HurricaneSandy had strewn loss and devastation on its previous touchdowns inCentral America. Now as it barreled ever closer to the North American coastline presidential polls were relegated to the back burner. Residents of coastal areas were urged to evacuate. Generators batteries and flashlights were snatched from the shelves schools cancelled businesses ground to a halt andNew York City’s famed subway system closed.

The weathermen were right this time.Sandyhit and hit hard spewing waves of debris over homes and businesses sweeping away children from parents and uprooting trees with casual ease. Millions of homes were plunged into cold and darkness a majorNew Yorkhospital was forced to evacuate its patients dozens of innocents killed.

A week later citizens are still limping back to routine facing staggering damages and a prolonged painful cleanup campaign.

Sandy may be gone but the images of those furious gray waves swallowing up civilization — and the sense of human fragility in the face of Divine might — won’t recede for a long long time.

With Surgical Precision

Long Island NY

The insurance people have suddenly become very frum: “It was an act of G-d” they say. The media not as religious wrote of “the power of the storm” or “nature’s fury.”

But we know better. Koheles (3:14) says “V’haElokim asah sheyiru m’lefanav — G-d has acted so that man should stand in awe of him.” The early part of the Kuzari quotes a philosopher who was perfectly comfortable believing in a Creator. He just couldn’t imagine that G-d cares enough to be involved on a daily basis. All of a sudden here He is in our lives — with surgical precision. This tree down that one not this house flooded that one tranquil.

I can’t speak for others. But for the past week I have heard our brothers and sisters some who have lost everything declare with full faith “I accept it all from Hashem.”

We left town because of an enforced evacuation and returned to darkness. Our house was flooded rare seforim ruined manuscripts lost. We couldn’t participate in a Shabbos bar mitzvah and since our cell phones weren’t working we stopped by just to say mazel tov. Suddenly in the house next door to the bar mitzvah a minyan for Minchah-Maariv was beginning. Even better the bar mitzvah bochur was davening for the amud in honor of his bo bayom. So we danced said divrei Torah made a l’chayim and felt that “the Jews had light and gladness and joy.”

— Rabbi Yaakov Feitman

 To read the rest of this story please buy this issue of Mishpacha. To sign up for a weekly subscription click here.