The Enduring Battle Between Chaos and Order: A Jewish Call to Action

A Jewish Reflection on Resilience and Divine Partnership Amidst the Forces of Darkness

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And a wind from God moved over the surface of the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2)

These opening words of the Torah are often seen as a triumphant declaration of creation, the moment when God brought forth all that exists from nothingness. But a closer reading reveals a more nuanced truth: before the act of creation, there was chaos. "Tohu va’vohu"—without form and void. Darkness covered the face of the deep. These primordial forces of chaos were already present, lurking, and threatening to engulf all of creation. It is only through the divine will of God that order emerges, bringing light, life, and meaning into existence.

This theology—where chaos is not annihilated but restrained—resonates deeply with the world we live in today. For many years, I have held a belief that chaos or perhaps evil exists as a constant in the universe. It is not a force that can be entirely eradicated, for it is interwoven into the very fabric of our world. Yet, it is the role of God, God’s creations, and all who fear God to stand against it, to build and sustain what is good, just, and holy in the universe.

A Rupture in Our World

In the aftermath of the October 7 massacres, this belief took on a new urgency. There was a rupture in our lived experience, as the forces of chaos seemed to break free from their restraints, running wild and rampant across our midst. It felt as if the fragile balance between order and chaos had tipped, plunging us into a darkened reality where the evils of radical Islamic fundamentalism, the disassociation from Zionism, and a pervasive, hysterical wave of antisemitism surged through American society and Western Civilization.

This rupture echoes the darkest moments in Jewish history. From the Crusades to the pogroms, and through the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust, we have witnessed time and again how chaos and evil can sweep through the world with devastating force. Yet, throughout these atrocities, our people have not only survived but also found ways to rebuild, resist, and restore order. To paraphrase the words of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, in Kol Dodi Rofek, reflecting on the Holocaust, we do not ask about the hidden ways of the Almighty, but instead, we focus on the task at hand—the practical action that is incumbent upon us to undertake.

Chaos and Order in the Jewish Tradition

The Jewish people have long understood this tension between chaos and order, good and evil. In the Torah and Talmud, we are taught that creation itself is an ongoing process. The forces of chaos are never fully subdued, and the act of creation—of making meaning, of fostering justice and holiness—is a continual one.

The prophet Isaiah declares, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I, the Lord, do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7). Here, Isaiah reminds us that even the darkness and chaos that exists in the world is part of God’s creation, and thus, it serves a purpose. It is not our role to question why chaos exists, but to accept that it does, and to rise to the challenge of confronting it.

This challenge is embodied in the rituals of the High Holy Days. As we approach the Days of Awe, we confront the reality of chaos in our own lives. The Unetanah Tokef poem reminds us that “who will live and who will die” is determined in the balance between divine justice and mercy. The Avodah service, which recalls the ancient rituals of atonement in the Temple, is a plea for the purification of the community and the restoration of order to a world that teeters on the brink of chaos.

But, the High Holy Days are not only a time for personal reflection. They are a time for collective reckoning. We stand together as a people—Am Yisrael—united in our plea for mercy, for guidance, and for strength to confront the chaos that threatens to undo the world. It is in this unity that we find the strength to resist the forces of darkness and build anew.

The Teachings of Medieval Rabbis: Resilience in the Face of Chaos

Medieval Jewish rabbis, who lived through some of the darkest periods of persecution, offer us a profound example of resilience. During the Crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries, Jewish communities were devastated by massacres as Christian zealotry ran rampant across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake. In these times, Jewish sages turned to faith, study, and communal resilience to counteract the forces of chaos.

One such figure was Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, better known as Rashi (1040-1105), whose commentaries on the Torah and Talmud became pillars of Jewish learning. Rashi lived through the First Crusade, which saw the slaughter of thousands of Jews in the Rhineland. Despite the immense tragedy surrounding him, Rashi continued his work of clarifying and preserving Jewish texts. His commentary on Genesis speaks to the idea that creation—and, by extension, our world—is an ongoing process of bringing order from chaos. “The earth was formless and void,” Rashi explains, was not a state of permanence, but rather a stage in the divine process that eventually leads to light, purpose, and sanctity.

Rashi's teachings, written amid destruction, remind us that even when chaos threatens to consume us, our task is to continue creating, studying, and building. This is how Jewish communities in medieval Europe resisted chaos, not only through physical survival but through intellectual and spiritual perseverance.

Similarly, the great medieval philosopher and physician, Maimonides (1138-1204), who lived through the violent upheavals of the Almohad persecutions in Spain and North Africa, urged Jews to seek stability through wisdom and ethical living. In his Guide for the Perplexed, Maimonides writes, "The evil in the universe is due to matter; all evils, all defects, are connected with matter." For Maimonides, the forces of chaos and evil are inherent in the physical world. Yet, through reason, moral action, and devotion to God, we can rise above these forces, striving toward the perfection of our souls.

The Holocaust and the Response of Faith

The Shoah (Holocaust), the greatest rupture in modern Jewish history, once again confronted the Jewish people with the raw force of chaos. The systematic extermination of six million Jews revealed the depths of evil that humanity could reach. And yet, even in the face of this unparalleled atrocity, Jewish thinkers like Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto (1889-1943), urged his followers to maintain faith and resilience.

In his Esh Kodesh (Holy Fire), written in the depths of the Warsaw Ghetto, Rabbi Shapira acknowledged the overwhelming chaos and despair engulfing the Jewish people. He did not shy away from the horror of what was happening but also called upon his followers to find meaning in their suffering. He wrote, “Even when the Jewish people are broken and shattered, their faith remains whole.” The Rebbe's words, written in the midst of one of the greatest tragedies the world has ever known, stand as a testament to the enduring power of faith in the face of chaos.

Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits (1908-1992), reflecting on the Holocaust, articulated a theology of faith amidst destruction. In his work Faith After the Holocaust, Berkovits grappled with the question of how one can maintain belief in God after such profound evil. He concluded that while we cannot understand the ways of God, our response must be one of commitment to life, justice, and the continuation of the Jewish people. He wrote, "The real question is not where was God during the Holocaust, but where was man."

Building Amid Chaos: A Call to Unity

The lesson we learn from these great sages and from the legacy of the Crusades and the Holocaust is that chaos is an ever-present force in the universe, but it is our responsibility to resist it through faith, action, and unity. We cannot control the existence of chaos, but we can determine how we respond to it. Whether through study, prayer, or moral action, Jewish resilience is built on our ability to create order, goodness, and holiness in the face of darkness.

As we approach the High Holy Days, the themes of reflection, repentance, and renewal remind us that while chaos is a constant, so too is the opportunity for redemption. The poem of Unetanah Tokef confronts us with the fragility of life—“Who will live and who will die”—but it also reminds us that through teshuvah (repentance), tefilah (prayer), and tzedakah (charity), we can avert the harshness of the decree. We may not be able to eliminate chaos, but we can diminish its impact by fostering goodness, unity, and faith.

Let us draw from the wisdom of Rashi, Maimonides, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto, and all those who have persevered through the darkest chapters of our history, and recommit ourselves to being God's partners in the ongoing work of creation, bringing light into the void. Chaos may always be present, but so too is our power to resist it—through faith in God, unity as a people, and an unwavering commitment to justice and righteousness. As we approach the High Holy Days, let us stand together in prayer and reflection, drawing strength from our ancestors who faced chaos yet remained resilient. Their courage reminds us that creation is never complete—it is our sacred task, as it was theirs, to bring order out of the chaos, to build goodness in a world of darkness, and to remain united as a people devoted to life, justice, and holiness.

May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life, and may we find the strength to confront the chaos of our time with faith, resilience, and unity.