ABSTRACT
In the Jewish community today, there is little patience with a theology of suffering. Wiesel's image of God hanging on the gallows, the very image that for Jews represents a tragic and unredeemable loss of innocence and faith, evokes for Christians echoes of the crucifixion and raises the possibility—even the promise—of a redemption that will yet come out of all this suffering. All religious traditions, in one way or another, give expression to the human search for meaning in the face of unpredictable tragedy and loss. The person seeking to offer consolation must be willing to be in the presence of another's pain, without attempting to justify it or explain it away. "And they both wept." Nothing more or less is asked of the friend offering comfort. Crying out for help then becomes an important religious act. It is an act that affirms at least the possibility of a response, the possibility of a continuing relationship with God.
