Kabbalah Kronicles 15 – God is a Comedian, Part II

The Kabbalah Kronicles 15 – God is a Comedian, Part II

Uncle Zally / Zalman Velvel

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Last week, I wrote about the movie, “Oh, God!” which is appearing currently in reruns on cable.

It was made in 1977, and the plot of the film has God, played by George Burns, a comedian, appearing to a supermarket assistant manager, played by John Denver, a famous folk singer, and telling him to sound out the message to the world that:

“Life works, if you have faith in it, and the God who created it.”

The movie conflicts with the second principle of Kabbalah. In the movie, God admits He made everything, and that He loves us, but He denies that everything happens with His approval. Rather, the movie suggests that God sits back and lets Man run the world, and Man has the choice to make things better, or mess it up.

There is a quote from Voltaire used in the movie:

“God is a comedian, playing to an audience that is afraid to laugh.”

What is the truth? Is the movie right, or Kabbalah?

In my humble opinion, I believe the movie is more correct. Why? The facts on the ground.

Remember, Kabbalah was kept secret until 300 years ago, when it was unveiled to help the Hassidic people remain strong in the face of terrible suffering in Russia. They were not allowed basic freedom, they were taxed into poverty, imprisoned without trials, and suffered atrocities at the hands of Cossacks.

Finally, most of them left Russia, because the suffering had no end. After 200 years, the people who controlled Russia and perpetrated the suffering, refused to stop.

And God did not interfere. (Like He did to Pharaoh in Exodus.) 200 years is a long time to wait for God to change things that are truly terrible, and against His 10 commandments.

The Hassidic people were, after all, human. How much suffering must a people take before they say “No more!” and fight back, if fighting back is possible, or leave, if it is not. There is a limit to how much someone’s Faith in God running things can overcome real suffering.

However, it is testament to how well the Kabbalah principles work, that a people can survive 200 years of great suffering by believing in them. How long would the people of America last today against suffering like that? We’ve had five years of recession and many are in a depressed state of mind. Can you imagine 200 years of recession, coupled with police atrocities? How many have the spiritual tools to cope with that?

The weakness of the second principle of Kabbalah, in my humble opinion, is that if you believe God is involved with everything, every tiny detail, then that belief tends to makes one dependent, rather than pro-active. Instead of leaving after 10 years of suffering, you wait 200 years.

So, if God is not running the world completely, down to the tiniest detail, how much control is He exerting?

I don’t know. And I doubt that any other Man, or Woman, knows too. The only one who knows is God.

And He isn’t telling.

Why? Because as every Comedian knows, surprise is the most important part of comedy. And God loves surprises. Just look at the weather.