JTF.ORG Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Masha on March 13, 2011, 04:13:00 PM
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Why did a tragedy like this have to happen to the Japanese people, who are smart, industrious, ethical, and civilized? I can think of much more "deserving" candidates. Why didn't this happen in Somalia, for example? It is times like these when it becomes very difficult to discern the guiding hand of the Creator.
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Why did a tragedy like this have to happen to the Japanese people, who are smart, industrious, ethical, and civilized? I can think of much more "deserving" candidates. Why didn't this happen in Somalia, for example? It is times like these when it becomes very difficult to discern the guiding hand of the Creator.
I am sorry that you feel like this. I understand the feeling but you must understand that Hashem is constantly testing the righteous to make sure that they are truly righteous and not just pretending to be. In times of troubles the righteous rise to the challenge while the wicked are destroyed. Even the righteous who die in the calamity are rewarded in the world to come. We believe that suffering is an atonement for sin, and that while Hashem deals with his people in kindness there are times that he exhibits his anger.
I hope you will look further into the very hard to comprehend concepts of emmunah and bitachon and do not allow the question of why the righteous suffer while the wicked sometimes prosper...
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Why did a tragedy like this have to happen to the Japanese people, who are smart, industrious, ethical, and civilized? I can think of much more "deserving" candidates. Why didn't this happen in Somalia, for example? It is times like these when it becomes very difficult to discern the guiding hand of the Creator.
This may be because the Japanese sided with the Nazi's in WW2 and their horrific crimes in China.
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This may be because the Japanese sided with the Nazi's in WW2 and their horrific crimes in China.
It may be, but that raises the question... Why are the descendants of those who sided with the Nazis being punished for their fathers sins?
I know Japanese people today and they are not Nazis..
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Given what the Japanese did to the Chinese purely for the sake of expansion and monetary gain in WWII it's hard for me to imagine someone calling the Japanese ethical and civilized.
Nonetheless, I do feel this is a tragedy and many innocent were harmed. We can never know God's ways.
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This may be because the Japanese sided with the Nazi's in WW2 and their horrific crimes in China.
Though do innocent civilians deserve this?
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The japanese refused to give there jews to hitler ysv because they were in a debt to one jew that financed there millitary to the soviets in the japan soviet war. So i do feel sorry for the japanese people. Most of the japanese people i met are pro israel.
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Yeah well we'll never understand and we just have to trust Hashem. There's no point in trying to ask these questions. We can't fathom it. Just pray that no good people will have to suffer.
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Why did a tragedy like this have to happen to the Japanese people, who are smart, industrious, ethical, and civilized? I can think of much more "deserving" candidates. Why didn't this happen in Somalia, for example? It is times like these when it becomes very difficult to discern the guiding hand of the Creator.
Masha, this is my sentiment, exactly! I have many great friends among Japanese people - they are some of the most dignified people in the world and one is very blessed to have them as friends! Only Japan could withstand such an enormous catastrophe and emerge, relatively, unscathed. I truly hope that the next catastrophe will be visited on much more deserving people. Bushehr, Riyadh, Mecca comes to mind!
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Masha, this is my sentiment, exactly! I have many great friends among Japanese people - they are some of the most dignified people in the world and one is very blessed to have them as friends! Only Japan could withstand such an enormous catastrophe and emerge, relatively, unscathed. I truly hope that the next catastrophe will be visited on much more deserving people. Bushehr, Riyadh, Mecca comes to mind!
To the believer, there are no questions. To the non-believer, there are no answers.
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My dad said he visited Japan once and was absolutely amazed at how civilized they were compared to Americans. I think it's horrible they got hurt like that.
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Japan will cover before Haiti does.
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Masha, this is my sentiment, exactly! I have many great friends among Japanese people - they are some of the most dignified people in the world and one is very blessed to have them as friends! Only Japan could withstand such an enormous catastrophe and emerge, relatively, unscathed. I truly hope that the next catastrophe will be visited on much more deserving people. Bushehr, Riyadh, Mecca comes to mind!
Bushehr most diffidently!!!! If America and Israel can't destroy Iran's nuclear program, God must do it!!
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The Japanese are not a perfect people but certainly not savages like Arab Muslim Nazis and African Nazis....and other third world countries.
So I feel bad. I don't know why Gd does most things. But I do believe that there is perfect justice after this world...Chaim has explained a Jewish perspective very well on this topic...of why bad things happen to good people and good things to bad people that get away with it. It's a way of Gd having us to choose righteousness in this life in a manner of free will and not for an expectation of rewards in this lifetime (although we should continue to hope for it). In the end, when we die, those who were righteous will get Heaven and the evil will get Hell.
So I believe with perfect faith, that Gd will exercise true justice for the afterlife and the world to come.
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The Japanese are not a perfect people but certainly not savages like Arab Muslim Nazis and African Nazis....and other third world countries.
So I feel bad. I don't know why Gd does most things. But I do believe that there is perfect justice after this world...Chaim has explained a Jewish perspective very well on this topic...of why bad things happen to good people and good things to bad people that get away with it. It's a way of Gd having us to choose righteousness in this life in a manner of free will and not for an expectation of rewards in this lifetime (although we should continue to hope for it). In the end, when we die, those who were righteous will get Heaven and the evil will get Hell.
So I believe with perfect faith, that Gd will exercise true justice for the afterlife and the world to come.
There is no such thing as a "perfect people". Perfection is for G_d! Japan is not a third world country.
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It's a fact that the Japanese are a smart and industrious people and obviously I am not saying that those who died because of the earthquake "deserved" what happened to them.
Let's not forget, though, the many atrocities committed by the Japanese during WWII and their alliance with the Nazis. It's also a fact that the Japanese have been very cruel and barbaric at times. Moreover, they have been very reluctant to acknowledge their crimes.
Also, women have a very inferior status and individual rights are quite restricted in traditional Japanese society. Overall, I think Western influence has changed Japanese mentalities for the better, especially as the Japanese have been quite capable of discriminating between what was good and was bad in Western influence.
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I think trying to find divine reason for every natural disaster is kind of foolish. This is a natural world created by God that we live in that is governed by the laws of physics that only a perfect intelligence like God could have designed. The fact you can die from an earthquake on a random day is not proof God is unjust. Every person has the chance to lead a good life and be rewarded in the world to come where there are no random natural disasters. :)
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It doesn't cost the US a penny for what happened in Japan.
In Hades...I'm sorry, Haiti, it put the US further in debt.
Just like the hurricane in Texas, where mostly white people suffered, it didn't cost tax payers much. But in New Orleans, a negro hell-hole, it put the US further into debt.
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I think trying to find divine reason for every natural disaster is kind of foolish.
I agree. As I have already mentioned in other threads, I would certainly not interpret every natural catastrophe that occurs on this planet as a divine punishment. I find it irrational to assume that there is necessarily a will and an intention behind a natural phenomenon. Science describes clearly and accurately the chain of causes and consequences that leads to such events.
Moreover, such an assumption, as you rightly point out, leads to foolish criticisms of G-d's justice.
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I think that every even that happens natural or not is Gd's will. I think Gd has already preplanned the beginning of time to the end of time.
Therefore, this natural disaster in Japan, no matter how sad it is to us, was Gd's will...I just don't know what that will is..and when it comes down to nations which are not as evil in our eyes which suffer like this, it's harder to accept and understand why Gd would do such a thing.
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I think trying to find divine reason for every natural disaster is kind of foolish. This is a natural world created by G-d that we live in that is governed by the laws of physics that only a perfect intelligence like G-d could have designed. The fact you can die from an earthquake on a random day is not proof G-d is unjust. Every person has the chance to lead a good life and be rewarded in the world to come where there are no random natural disasters. :)
I tend to believe along the lines of what you said here.
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My ex-girlfriend is Japanese, I called her, she was in the north with her family, thank God she's fine. I am very sorry for the good Japanese people. May God have mercy on the souls of the killed people.
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It may be, but that raises the question... Why are the descendants of those who sided with the Nazis being punished for their fathers sins?
I know Japanese people today and they are not Nazis..
agreed, they are very hard working and respectful people.
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Let me be clear up-front that I too feel awful for the Japanese, and I plan to contribute to the relief effort.
But as one earlier posted noted, the Japanese committed horrific atrocities on the Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, etc, during the Second World War. Someone once said that the difference between the Nazis and the hard-core Japanese imperialists was that there was no Asian version of Simon Wiesenthal to press for justice after the original military hearings were ended.
The lesson of the Second World War is that even a civilized nation can collectively go stark raving mad. I thought about that a lot in the Fall of 2008, when seeing even grown people react to Obama.
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It doesn't cost the US a penny for what happened in Japan.
In Hades...I'm sorry, Haiti, it put the US further in debt.
Just like the hurricane in Texas, where mostly white people suffered, it didn't cost tax payers much. But in New Orleans, a negro hell-hole, it put the US further into debt.
Unlike Japan
I'm sure Haiti will always resent the US.
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It doesn't cost the US a penny for what happened in Japan.
In Hades...I'm sorry, Haiti, it put the US further in debt.
Just like the hurricane in Texas, where mostly white people suffered, it didn't cost tax payers much. But in New Orleans, a negro hell-hole, it put the US further into debt.
it actually does, since the US navy is helping over there.
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If only this happened in Ramallah, Jordan and Lebanon...
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If only this happened in Ramallah, Jordan and Lebanon...
I hope there is not a Tsunami in Ramallah, Jordan & Lebanon because such a tsunami would also {without miraculous intervention} wipe out much of Israel.
Now if the earth would open up underneath each of those places and swallow the arab rats whole, allowing them to free-fall to the depths of gehennom, that would be more likely. In a way this would mimic the story of Korach who, along with all of his followers, were swallowed by the mouth of the earth which opened beneath them.
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Japan is very civilized, yes they were butchers in WW2 but I think unlike Muslims or Nazis, Japan learned their error on humanity. They will recover I know the Asian mentality when the going is hard it is time to pick up and do. They are not like Haiti cause Japanese are human beings that believe in hard work that they do for themselves. I feel terrible about this, imagine having everything your family, your house everything your cherish one minute and gone the next. If this happened in Mecca on the other hand during the visit to that stupid rock I would be smirking and partying. But to human beings who are suffering that is different. They are one of the few countries in the far east that isn't under communist control or military dictatorship. Now if a tornado with an earthquake hits Hamas can I have a block party and you are all invited?
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Yeah, I agree with the general gist of the comments herein--it's too bad this happened to the Japs and, for sure, there are better candidates for such devastation. Moreover, I must say, although I agree with Chaim on his recent show regarding his condemnations of Japs during WWII, I don't think they're similar today and ARE civilized. I much rather help them than those nasty Indo-rats!
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Japan will rise from the ruins, no doubt. but I feel sorry for the loss of so many innocent people.
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If only this happened in Ramallah, Jordan and Lebanon...
I know
Even though Someone like Jeff Rense would make up story's about the Israeli's using a supposed earthquake machine.
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Why did a tragedy like this have to happen to the Japanese people, who are smart, industrious, ethical, and civilized? I can think of much more "deserving" candidates. Why didn't this happen in Somalia, for example? It is times like these when it becomes very difficult to discern the guiding hand of the Creator.
I have to agree 100% with Chaim on Ask JTF, this is seriously one of the stupidest posts ever. How about saving some of this sympathy for the Fogel family?
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I have to agree 100% with Chaim on Ask JTF, this is seriously one of the stupidest posts ever. How about saving some of this sympathy for the Fogel family?
It is possible to feel the tragedy at Itamar and also feel sorry for what happened in Japan. Although to us Jews the terrorist act in Itamar is worse, but the number of victims of the Japan disaster is in the 100,000s...
We must remember that although Jews need to take care of Jews first, we must also remember to be concerned with all humanity. I feel the loss of the Jewish family far worse than the Japan crisis, but that does not mean that I completely forget about the loss of life in Japan.
I must admit I have not heard Chaims opinion on the topic..
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Obviously we can't compare tragedies.... we're not G-d. If a good gentile dies it's nothing to celebrate about. If he was truly a good gentile, Hashem will take care of him.
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Everyone participating in this thread and viewing it should see this link.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2010/3/0311_01.html
Please note the date of the press release.
Top > Announcement > Press Releases(Statements) > Statement by Press Secretary on the decision of the Government of Israel regarding the construction of housing units at settlements in West Bank including East Jerusalem
Statement by Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the decision of the Government of Israel regarding the construction of housing units at settlements in West Bank including East Jerusalem
March 11, 2010
Japanese
1. The Government of Japan deplores the decisions of the Government of Israel to give permission for the construction of 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem in addition to 112 units in West Bank just after the Israeli and Palestinian leadership’s acceptance of the start of indirect talks. The Government of Japan does not recognize any act that prejudges the final status of Jerusalem and the territories in the pre-1967 borders. Japan demands that the plans should not be implemented.
2. The Government of Japan continues to request strongly that both parties will act in a way that enhances mutual confidence. Japan sincerely hopes that the indirect talks in the peace process will swiftly develop into the resumption of direct talks between the two parties.
(END)
Just sayin'
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It is possible to feel the tragedy at Itamar and also feel sorry for what happened in Japan. Although to us Jews the terrorist act in Itamar is worse, but the number of victims of the Japan disaster is in the 100,000s...
We must remember that although Jews need to take care of Jews first, we must also remember to be concerned with all humanity. I feel the loss of the Jewish family far worse than the Japan crisis, but that does not mean that I completely forget about the loss of life in Japan.
I must admit I have not heard Chaims opinion on the topic..
Japan is a country with means.... I am sure at the end of the day that they will make themselves whole... When Japan was riding high on the hog some years back they had a great deal of criticism for American Industry... It was good to see they got a taste of how things can go very wrong with the Toyota Scandal... This situation was the icing on the cake... They should have shut down the power plants after the quake... They insisted in keeping them powered up which was a big mistake... All I can say as an American is " Remember Pearl Harbor "
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Everyone participating in this thread and viewing it should see this link.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2010/3/0311_01.html
Please note the date of the press release.
Just sayin'
By all means, all nations/govts in the world today are evil...Some are more obviously evil than others. My question is, why did Gd choose a less obviously evil nation or a closet evil nation like Japan instead an open Nazi country like Iran?
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By all means, all nations/govts in the world today are evil...Some are more obviously evil than others. My question is, why did Gd choose a less obviously evil nation or a closet evil nation like Japan instead an open Nazi country like Iran?
I don't pretend to know why G-d does anything.
Was just adding some information. I could even propose an answer to your question, but honestly I don't think I know why this happened although I do agree with the points Chaim made in ask JTF.
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I've learned never to ask why Hashem does things.