Question:

I am 15 years old, and I am extremely angry with G-d right now. In the last two years, I have had a friend commit suicide, and another die while experimenting with sniffing glue. And now my grandfather just suffered a severe accident.

I know that we are responsible for our actions, but my faith is becoming weak. If G-d is so powerful, why does He let these accidents happen?

Answer:

These are difficult questions, and it is good that you are asking them. It shows that you are a sensitive and thinking soul.

And to be angry at G-d is not such a bad thing either. It means that G-d is real to you. You can't be angry with an imaginary character. Your anger shows the strength of your faith, not its weakness.

Ultimately the question of why G-d lets people die and suffer cannot and should not be answered. It remains a mystery, and it's better that way. If we could explain it, we could live with it, and that would be awful. Rather we should be bothered by suffering, and therefore seek to minimize it.

But consider the alternative. Imagine a world in which there were no accidents. You could take a risk and nothing would ever go wrong. You could act foolishly and irresponsibly and there would be no consequences. Would life be real? Would we value life if it were never at risk? Would every day be precious if we were guaranteed of a tomorrow?

The answer is no. If our actions never had consequences, we would take life for granted. There would be no reason to put effort into making life meaningful, to care for ourselves and others. We would lose the drive to be good and do good.

The fragility and impermanence of life teaches us to value every moment. We are not here forever. Neither are our loved ones. We must cherish the time we have and make sure we contribute positively to the world while we are here.

None of this explains why people suffer. One day we will see the big picture - that the soul's story began long before we were born, it continues long after our death, and this lifetime is just a small part of a big journey. But until that time, our mission is to eradicate suffering, not explain it, and rather than fear death, embrace life.

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