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Our Son Uriel's Light: Reflections on tragedy and Emunah
173 pages, Hardcover
Published July 29, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 28, 2025
Amongst American Jewry, ‘When Bad Things Happen to Good People’ by Rabbi Harold Kushner is one of the most influential theological books of the last 50 years. While not written from an orthodox perspective, it nonetheless did influence the overall orthodox community as it launched discussions on the topic. It forced orthodox rabbis to respond to Kushner’s approach, given the book being on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Kusher was not the first to deal with the issue of theodicy, of reconciling how a beneficent God can allow evil to exist, which is an existential question that is not new. The Book of Job is 2,500 years old and deals with it.
Trying to understand why God does certain things is inherently unknowable. As Rav Yosef Albo wrote in Sefer Ha'ikrim - If I knew Him, I would be Him.
Understanding God's purpose was possible when prophecy existed, as they were God’s conduits and could explain things. In the absence of prophecy, any attempt to fully explain the why is a guaranteed fruitless endeavor. It is akin to a Rorschach test, where there is ambiguity and an infinite number of possible answers.
Two recent books, both by sensitive, faith-based authors, focus on how to deal with when grave things happen, rather than exploring the unknowable why, with a faith-based approach.
The subtitle of Our Son Uriel's Light (Mosaica Press) is Reflections on Tragedy and Emunah. Here, Rabbi Elon Soniker eloquently reflects, but never questions, the events of his newborn son's early demise.
Uriel was born on June 17, 2022, with severe brain damage after experiencing a significant brain injury during labor. From his first moments of life, he was connected to a ventilator to help him breathe, a reflex and skill that he sadly did not have.
Soniker is the rabbi of Congregation Anshei Shalom in West Hempstead, NY, and the book is in part the communications with his community during Uriel’s short life. The book is a testament to the power of a Jewish community.
The power of the book is that Soniker shows how his son's brief life had a lasting impact on his family and community. The book extends that circle to anyone who can read this powerful book of reflections.
The book is a collection of speeches and writings delivered by Rabbi Soniker during Uriel’s brief life, and those given in the following years on his yartzeit—most of these center around emunah and bitachon, and the myriad challenges involved.
The 9th of Av fell on August 7, 2002, and sadly, it was the day of Uriel’s levaya. Due to his compromised health situation since birth, there was no shiva.
Not only does it take a village to raise a child, but the entire community can also be there to support one another. Soniker beautifully writes how he and his wife were inspired and supported by his community during the times they were dealing with Uriel.
It’s appropriate to close with an observation from Rabbi Binyamin Yudin in the Summer 2025 issue of Hakira. He said that when he was a young Rabbi, a relatively young man in his community, in his late 20s, passed away. Rabbi Yudin did not know Rabbi Berel Wein, but somehow got the idea to call him for guidance.
Rabbi Wein quoted the Chafetz Chaim regarding the bitter waters of Parashas B’shalach, saying in Yiddish, that while “you can say it is bitter, you can’t say that it is bad”.
In other words, we believe that while you and I do not understand why the 29-year-old young man had to die, it is ok for us to say and feel that it is a bitter pill, we cannot say that it is bad. We just do not understand it.
Rabbi Yudin said that the insight helped his faith mature over time. As a Rav, he was exposed to great and bitter moments in life. He was forced to grapple with them, and to think about that insight from the Chafetz Chaim, strengthened his faith.
Kusher was not the first to deal with the issue of theodicy, of reconciling how a beneficent God can allow evil to exist, which is an existential question that is not new. The Book of Job is 2,500 years old and deals with it.
Trying to understand why God does certain things is inherently unknowable. As Rav Yosef Albo wrote in Sefer Ha'ikrim - If I knew Him, I would be Him.
Understanding God's purpose was possible when prophecy existed, as they were God’s conduits and could explain things. In the absence of prophecy, any attempt to fully explain the why is a guaranteed fruitless endeavor. It is akin to a Rorschach test, where there is ambiguity and an infinite number of possible answers.
Two recent books, both by sensitive, faith-based authors, focus on how to deal with when grave things happen, rather than exploring the unknowable why, with a faith-based approach.
The subtitle of Our Son Uriel's Light (Mosaica Press) is Reflections on Tragedy and Emunah. Here, Rabbi Elon Soniker eloquently reflects, but never questions, the events of his newborn son's early demise.
Uriel was born on June 17, 2022, with severe brain damage after experiencing a significant brain injury during labor. From his first moments of life, he was connected to a ventilator to help him breathe, a reflex and skill that he sadly did not have.
Soniker is the rabbi of Congregation Anshei Shalom in West Hempstead, NY, and the book is in part the communications with his community during Uriel’s short life. The book is a testament to the power of a Jewish community.
The power of the book is that Soniker shows how his son's brief life had a lasting impact on his family and community. The book extends that circle to anyone who can read this powerful book of reflections.
The book is a collection of speeches and writings delivered by Rabbi Soniker during Uriel’s brief life, and those given in the following years on his yartzeit—most of these center around emunah and bitachon, and the myriad challenges involved.
The 9th of Av fell on August 7, 2002, and sadly, it was the day of Uriel’s levaya. Due to his compromised health situation since birth, there was no shiva.
Not only does it take a village to raise a child, but the entire community can also be there to support one another. Soniker beautifully writes how he and his wife were inspired and supported by his community during the times they were dealing with Uriel.
It’s appropriate to close with an observation from Rabbi Binyamin Yudin in the Summer 2025 issue of Hakira. He said that when he was a young Rabbi, a relatively young man in his community, in his late 20s, passed away. Rabbi Yudin did not know Rabbi Berel Wein, but somehow got the idea to call him for guidance.
Rabbi Wein quoted the Chafetz Chaim regarding the bitter waters of Parashas B’shalach, saying in Yiddish, that while “you can say it is bitter, you can’t say that it is bad”.
In other words, we believe that while you and I do not understand why the 29-year-old young man had to die, it is ok for us to say and feel that it is a bitter pill, we cannot say that it is bad. We just do not understand it.
Rabbi Yudin said that the insight helped his faith mature over time. As a Rav, he was exposed to great and bitter moments in life. He was forced to grapple with them, and to think about that insight from the Chafetz Chaim, strengthened his faith.
December 15, 2025
This is a powerful collection of writings. While I struggle with similar but very different challenges to what the rabbi experienced, I found his writings both comforting and challenging. Despite the pain, Rabbi Soniker has a deep faith and trust in G-d that I don't think I can match. I need to know the why in my suffering, it haunts me, and yet I don't know. I will likely never know. Rabbi Soniker provides many thoughtful writings on how to deal with our suffering, why it might not be the bad that it seems to be, and more. I'm glad I was able to read this collection and gain a deeper understanding. I still have doubts and questions for G-d, but these readings helped settle me somewhat.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews