[Avodah] Unanswerable Questions

[Jay F. Shachter]

Sometimes, in life, we are faced with unanswerable questions.

I recently experienced this myself, while I was reading Avodah Vol 43
Issue 26, and found myself confronted with the following question:

> 
> Comment to blog discussing a girl?s elementary school?s gemara celebration
> two thoughts If it's not a mitzvah for women to learn gemara, why wouldn't
> we say ????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?
> 
> ?"?: ??? ??? ???? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???, ?????: ?? ?? ????? ?' ????.
> 
> and why (for boys as well) don't we follow ???? ???? ???? ??? ? ???? ??
> 
> ??? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??? ????
> ??????
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Bsorot tovot
> 

There are all sorts of glib answers that we are trained to utter, when
we are faced with the unanswerable questions of life -- like "Gam Zu
Ltovah", or "Kal Man D`avid Raxmana Ltav `Avid" -- but even while
uttering them, we feel that they are inadequate.  So it is here.
Sometimes, the only answer we can give, is silence.


               Jay F. ("Yaakov") Shachter
               6424 North Whipple Street
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               When Martin Buber was a schoolboy, it must have been
               no fun at all playing tag with him during recess.