Responding To the Unexpected Piska in the Midst of Our Lives

    Chapter 26th of Parshat Pinchas begins with a rare scriptural occurrence: 

    What the Masoretic note refers to as a Piska B’emtzah HaPasuk, a break right in the middle of the verse. Your Chumash probably shows it, but it is seen most dramatically in the Torah scroll. The pasuk begins, Vayehi Acharei Hamageifah, “and it was after the plague.” Then the rest of that line is left empty and the verse picks up on the next line with the rest of that verse. Usually there is a Piska, space in the Torah scroll only at the end of an idea, and occasionally there will be a space at the end of a verse. But here there is a pause between when the Torah tells us about a disastrous event, and what the response to that difficult situation was going to be. 

    This week the Jewish community experienced a Piska B’emtzah HaPasuk, an unexpected and tragic event: the collapse of a condo building in Surfside. I believe that our parsha may shed light on how to respond to such difficult circumstances. First, a Piska. By placing a break after mention of the plague, the Torah teaches us that the natural and legitimate first response to tragedy is a break. Piska B’emtzah HaPasuk. No words. Just silence. 

    After the pause, Hashem commands Moshe and Elazar to conduct a census of the People. Rashi suggests an explanation by way of a parable: If the flock that a shepherd has been watching is attacked by wolves, after the attack the shepherd will take a count to see how many survived. So, too, Moshe after this plague counts the people to see how many perished and how many are left.

     There are those Piskas, those unexpected events in life, that leave us speechless, as well as bereft of any way to put the event into perspective. We are confronted with tragedy and are forced to admit that tragedy is part of our lived experience. Oftentimes there’s nothing we can do about it. In those situations all we can do is what Rashi says the shepherd does after a wolf attack: note and record the loss without any semblance of consolation. There are times when any bright side is impossible to see, when we are dealing with a full-fledged tragedy. 

    Such is the feeling many of us have in the aftermath of the condo collapse in Surfside. No words, no lessons, just tears and questions, which must be accompanied by a sense of solidaritywith the families and communities of the victims. 

    In response to the plague, Hashem tells Moshe Se’u, which literally means to lift up. Hashem tells Moshe that one appropriate response to an inexplicable tragedy is to elevate each person and appreciate the value of every individual.

    The tragedy in Surfside is unfolding during the three weeks during which we mourn the national tragedy of the destruction of the Temple. The appropriate response to this recent tragedy is similar to the approach our tradition has recommended when confronting the tragedy of Churban Beit Hamikdash: Ahavat Yisrael. Appreciate the value of each person. Just as the Talmud assures consolation to those who properly mourn for Jerusalem, we pray that Hashem provides strength and consolation to help us process tragedies in productive and meaningful ways.