Harold Kushner

American rabbi/author (1935 - )

• || At The Bottom

• 1966 -- The diagnosis hardly seemed believable.  Harold Kushner, a 31-year-old rabbi from Natick, Massachusetts, listened as the doctor explained that his 3-year-old son Aaron was suffering from a rare genetic disease called progeria, which causes a child to age so rapidly that they rarely live beyond their teenage years.  Kushner was distraught with grief, and he suddenly realized that the usual words of comfort -- the advice he gave to members of his congregation during traumatic moments of their lives -- were completely useless.  He couldn't believe, for example, that God would have any reason to afflict Aaron with such a terrible illness.  What had his son ever done to hurt anyone?  Aaron was innocent; moreover, he came from a family whose commitment to God was profound.  How could this have happened?  Kushner had no way to answer the question, and his uncertainty caused him to question whether he could even continue as a rabbi.  All he knew anymore was that his precious child was going to die, and that somehow God had allowed this to happen.

• || At The Top

• 1984 -- Harold Kushner never expected to write a best seller, but when Random House published When Bad Things Happen to Good People in 1981, he wound up doing exactly that.  By 1984, the book had sold more than 2 million copies, had been translated into eight languages, and had remained on the New York Times bestseller list for an entire year.  The book featured Kushner's reflections on the meaning of suffering, especially the most common question that people ask during a time of trial -- "Why me?"  Kushner argued that good people endure terrible events not because God wants them to, but rather because God simply cannot control everything. Rather than ask God why He allowed something terrible to happen, Kushner urged his readers to ask God for guidance on how to use their own suffering as inspiration to bring something good into the world. Following the success of his first book, Kushner has gone on to write eleven more popular titles about religion and the search for meaning.  His work has earned him a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jewish Book Council, and he remains one of the most popular religious writers of his generation.

• || The Comeback

• When he learned of Aaron's prognosis, Harold Kushner's grief was profound.  Rather than walk away from serving his faith, however, Kushner used his son's illness as an opportunity to reflect on his own assumptions about God and the meaning of suffering.  By the time Aaron died of a heart attack in 1977, just one day after he turned 14, Kushner had come to believe that God was not responsible for his death.  Kushner believed that God did not allow bad things to happen -- nor could he prevent bad things from happening -- but that instead He inspired people to be generous and helpful and brave in the face of challenges.  As Kushner explained in his first book, his son served "by facing up so bravely to his illness and to the problems caused by his appearance. I know that his friends and schoolmates were affected by his courage and by the way he managed to live a full life despite his limitations. And I know that people who knew our family were moved to handle the difficult times of their own lives with more hope and courage when they saw our example. I take these as instances of God moving people here on earth to help other people in need." For his own part, Kushner decided before Aaron's death that he would honor his memory by writing a book that might help others to endure life's most difficult moments.