A Jewish Approach

The greatest gift one can give a person tormented by a life-threatening disease or intractable pain is the knowledge that his or her suffering is not meaningless nor does it occur by chance. The late Rabbi Yitzchok Kirzner, the world-renowned teacher and lecturer, confronted this dilemma during his own illness. He dug into his vast fund of knowledge, mining gems of understanding, wisdom and faith that he could pass on to others. Those gems had a special meaning for him and his listeners, because he was growing as his illness progressed.

Why do people suffer? Where is Divine justice? What purpose can there be in the suffering of children? Unafraid to ask the questions that dwell in the inner recesses of our minds, Rabbi Kirzner discussed them forthrightly, with crisp honesty and intense realism, in a series of lectures.

He was not overwhelmed, and he took his listeners and now his readers with him on his journey, sharing the intimate revelations of a soul that withstood all doubts and triumphed over the numbing effects of pain.

Masterfully adapted for this book by noted author Yonason Rosenblum, Rabbi Kirzner’s words live on, bringing hope and serenity to those who most need to find meaning in adversity.