In this past Shabbat (Beth-El, April 17, 2026), Rabbi Uri Lam spoke about tragedy and celebration, drawing on the teachings of the great sage Maimonides.

This is a special Shabbat, known as Shabbat Tekumá, between Yom HaShoah and Yom HaAtzmaut. It symbolizes the transition from tragedy to celebration, from destruction to the rebuilding of a people.

In the 12th century, the great sage Maimonides, the Rambam, explained in his Guide for the Perplexed (vol. 3, ch. 12) that “Genesis can only occur through destruction; and without the destruction of individual members of the species, the species itself would not exist permanently…” A harsh statement, if taken out of context. We tend to think that a species continues through life, not through the death of its members.

In our times, in the 21st century, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks taught that Jewish tradition has always been dedicated to making the living body a vehicle for the Divine Presence. For him, the reason is simple. The world we inhabit is the one God created and declared to be “very good.”

Yet this “very good world” is not easy to understand. Outside, there are wars and deaths; hopes rise and vanish in a breath. In this week’s Torah portion, the birth of a girl apparently causes more suffering to the mother than the birth of a boy, making her........

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