So What Is the Solution?

Magazine articles, as opposed to books or long essays, tend to focus on narrow issues. And so in my previous article, “Mashiach Is Not the Solution,” I focused on particular points that are actually part of a wider topic. Some of the feedback indicated that a larger and more structured outline would be appreciated. Here is my attempt to do that, albeit within the limited framework of an article.

First, let us reframe our question about “solutions.” Hashem is the source of solutions; our job is to perform the tasks we were charged with to the best of our abilities. The pasuk (Mishlei 16:1) says, “l’adam maarchei lev — man has the ability to set his heart right; but u’mei’Hashem maaneh lashon — it is Hashem Who puts the words in our mouths — i.e., the finished product is Hashem’s domain.”

The question we need to ask ourselves, therefore, is not “What is the solution?” but rather, “What are my obligations, and what is the best that I can do in this situation?”

More precisely, our question is, “When a person faces difficulty, adversity, challenge, suffering, tragedy, etc., what action is incumbent upon him?”