Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Some things are hard to accept. The world is supposed to be a good place, mostly wholesome and happy. Yet there are evil acts that ruin everything. Yesterday a border police officer, Asil Sawaed, was murdered by a 13-year-old boy. What's going on here?
Among the Ten Commandments that we read last Shabbat is this: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." A Midrash explains that the word for "other" (acher) is similar to the word for "delay" (ichur). We can see the connection between these words "since they (other gods) delay goodness from coming into the world."
In other words, the bad delays the appearance of the good. What a horrible price we have paid throughout history for this delay that prevents arrival of the good, due to those who worship other gods -- of terror, war, violence, and anti-Semitism.
But Rav Kook found a comforting and empowering message in these same words. Evil only delays goodness. Ultimately, the warped perspective that sends a 13-year-old to murder cannot long endure. Even the most vile acts cannot deter the eventual and inevitable arrival of all that is good as -- one day soon -- all that is evil will be vanquished.
