God's power

If you've read Lauren's post (and you should) you'll see that issues of God's power confront us immediately upon entering into the study of this massechet, which is nor surprising giving the topic rain and weather in general, which is, traditionally all about God's power.

I could not help noticing, then, this article, from Haaretz, which struck me as a disturbing take on just how much power God exerts in our world.

Here is the quote from the article which caught my eye:

Shas party spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel, told followers in remarks broadcast on Monday that Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed in combat because they did not observe Jewish religious laws. "Is it any wonder if, heaven forbid, soldiers are killed in a war?" Rabbi Yosef said during his weekly Saturday night sermon.

Nice, huh?