As soon as I received the news about the deadly earthquake in Turkey this week, I did a lot of consulting and halachic and administrative guidance for rescue team missions in Israel and around the world with Jewish rescuers who went out to help save lives and wanted to be prepared accordingly, in regards to what is prohibited and permitted on Shabbat, in terms of the mandatory processes regarding honoring the dead in the various religions, The methods of treatment and identification in a multi-casualty event and the forensic and halachic methods of treatment and identification during earthquake events, events for which I was involved in writing the report and the professional response on the subject, as well as planning and control during rescue activities and exercises.
In events of this kind, the State of Israel has always been one of the first to offer aid forces, and therefore has acquired extensive experience and a reputation for the professionalism of the rescue and identification teams who carry out their work with dedication while maintaining values, ethics and human dignity.
IDF forces rescue survivors from the earthquake in Turkey // Photo: IDF spokesperson
The weighty questions in many such events are, and deal with the priority of treatment, risking forces to save the citizens of a foreign country, aid to an enemy country (Syria) and more, which are added to the questions facing the observant that we have mentioned here.
All the questions have clear and abundant answers that place the person who was created in the human image - in the center.
In light of the number of countries assisting in the rescue efforts and their cooperation, it seems that at this time all the countries of the world are overcoming their ideological and political differences and uniting in a heroic effort with the hope of rescuing as many people as possible from under the ruins of the buildings.
Of the natural disasters, earthquakes seem to be the most complex and documented in history.
In the Bible there are several evidences of significant earthquakes, the most explicit of which was in the days of King Uzziah, as stated in the prophet Amos and Isaiah, where it is described that the day of Isaiah's consecration to the prophet was on the 'Day of the Earthquake'. Referring to this earthquake, the prophet Zechariah prophesies and says, Nestem֙ מִפּנֵ֣י הר֔עַש בִֵּ֖י ִֻּיָּ֣ה" (Zechariah 14:5).
This noise, which occurred approximately 2,800 years ago, left its mark on the findings discovered by archaeologists in recent years, and at one of the conferences to present the discoveries, the researchers shared that this earthquake was probably one of the strongest and most damaging in antiquity, when evidence of its occurrence was discovered in excavations conducted at various sites throughout Israel such as Hatzor, Gezer, Tel Runun, and Tel Tzfit-Gat, and excavations carried out in recent years in the City of David, indicate that the earthquake probably also affected Jerusalem.
IDF forces in a rescue operation in Turkey, photo: Yifat Ehrlich
Judaism treats earthquakes with ambivalence.
On the one hand, Sage sources indicate the noise as a traumatic and negative event, as reflected in the prophecy of the prophet Zechariah, who recalled the noise from the time of King Uzziah who tried to burn incense illegally and became a leper, as a result of which the earth shook violently, threatening to swallow him and everything he had and hurt him, as It happened to Korah and his committee that they tried to burn incense illegally (as stated in Enchuma Cho, 13).
On the other hand, the prophet Isaiah, who experienced the noise in a different way, describes the event with a positive eye, when the source of the noise stems from a spectacle of God in which the angels are seen in supreme and unique holiness.
This is also the case in the prophecy of the prophet Ezekiel, who sees God's glory and his glory precisely from the great noise, and as they say in every prayer in the minyan that is not in the evening: "And let me be filled with a spirit, and I will hear after the voice of a great noise, blessed be the glory of God from his place" (Ezekiel 3:12).
It seems that beyond the movements of the tectonic plates that take place below the surface, and which physically and geologically cause the earthquakes, Judaism has dealt with the question of the essence of the event and its broad meanings in the spiritual, religious and values field.
A man walks near the ruins of a building in the Turkish city of Tay, photo: Getty Images
The sources of Sages are full of many pictorial descriptions regarding the earthquakes occurring in the world, but the whole purpose of the descriptions is to convey a positive and spiritual message for learning processes among the people.
Thus, for example, the Gemara in Tractate Barchot (NT) discusses the manner in which the "horrors" occur - a name borrowed in Judaism for earthquakes, and cites a story in which Rabbi Katima experienced an earthquake. The Gemara discusses whether the earthquakes can be attributed to the cries of God or To "clapping his hands" with each other, or from the very act of placing the Creator's feet on the pedestal at his feet.
Another example of images related to earthquakes appears in the book of Psalms, where King David described the abilities of the Creator and wrote: "Hambִּ֣יט ל֭ורז וְִּע֑֑ד יִַּ֖ע בְהִ֣ים וֽיֽעֱשָֽׁנו" (Psalms 44, 42).
It is understood that since in the Jewish faith the Creator does not have a body or the likeness of the body, then this is a pictorial description whose purpose is to illustrate the greatness of the Creator, and the fact that despite the severe tragic consequences of the earthquakes, no matter how big and powerful they are, they are not random but directed to time and place in accordance with the Creator's decisions.
This is the basis of the understanding that dominates the Jewish concept, that every event that happens in the world has a reason and a motive.
Construction in the city of Adana that was destroyed by the earthquake that hit Turkey, photo: Reuters
The uniqueness of the occasion is even accompanied by the blessing that must be said when you feel an earthquake, and according to the Mishnah in Tractate Barakhot (N.D. 4:1): "On the old man (comets) and on the horrors (earthquakes) and on the lightning, and on the thunder, and on the winds, he says: 'Blessed is his power that fills the world'.
On the mountains "And there are those who say to bless also 'doing an act of Genesis', when according to Halacha it is forbidden to bless only one blessing.
But despite the blessings that show the power of Hashem, Judaism saw the earthquakes as a disaster on a national scale that must be done to protect itself from its damage and consequences.
And as it is stated in the Shulchan Aruch (1966 section 4): "At the time of the loud noise they fast and blow the trumpets... as well as for the noise and the winds which bring down the building and kill, they fast and warn against them". ) wrote that they do not wait as in Lent for rains "but judge immediately" (Tanit).
Let's all hope that there will be no more casualties, and that the rescue teams will have success in the holy work.
A woman walks among the ruins in the city of Kermanmarsh in Turkey, photo: Reuters
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us