He continued talking about this for about ten minutes and I empathized with his pain. I was struggling within myself, searching for an answer. I prayed silently to the Ribbono Shel Olam for help. Then I got an idea.
“What was your profession?”
“Me? Why, I was a justice of the Supreme Court of the Borough of Queens. I sat on the bench for over twenty years. And do you know, that in all of that time the Federal Supreme Court only repealed two of my cases. That says a lot. I researched all my cases, and my ruling was overturned only twice.”
He did not realize it, but he had just played into my hands.
“That is a wonderful record. I bet you disappointed a lot of people. Every trial has two sides. You decided against one of them. And the lawyer who lost must have muttered under his breath. Of course, he would not say anything out loud. That would be contempt of court. But outside the court he must have cursed you and your decision. He probably felt that you were terribly wrong in your judgment, had not sized up the case properly, or had misconstrued the evidence. But you stuck to your guns. You had researched the case thoroughly and you were absolutely convinced that your decision was the law. It did not matter that the other person did not understand. That is the law. The law is often cold. It is harsh. It is difficult to accept. It often hurts and is painful. But that is the law!
“G-d is the ultimate Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Universe. Many times, He must hand down decisions that we puny mortals cannot, for the life of us, fathom. It does not make sense. It looks wrong and harsh. But G-d knows better. He has taken everything into consideration; all the past and future. All the ramifications have been accounted for. In the end, He has made His decision, and we have to accept it. You know why? Because that is the law! It hurts, it is painful. We do not understand. But that is the law.
“You lost a son. It was a very great tragedy. You have suffered overwhelming grief. But you were a justice of the Supreme Court. You understand. That is the law.”
He stared at me for a moment, and then dropped his head. He repeated over and over again, “That is the law. That is the law.”
He raised his head. “You know, Rabbi, no one ever explained it to me that way. That is the law. I must accept it. Because that is the law.”
He looked at me and asked, “Do you think I can get kosher food in this hospital?”
