Many years ago I read his book, because this question is something that frum people quietly ask themselves, not in a public forum, not wanting to brand themselves "apikorsim." I heard this discussed in shul by survivors who were dragged thru hell just a few years prior. I heard this question come up in very frum Shiva houses. This is discussed openly in kaballa seforim and no one accuses them of being "apikorsim."
But the question is a lot stronger than their answers.
So because of my curiosity of what Kushner would say, I read the book cover to cover as it is very easy reading.
It seems that Harold Kushner a Conservative or Reform rabbi lost a child and because of this loss he decided to put pen to paper and take a shot at it.
I was very disappointed with his answer. He did find comfort in his answer, but I found it very disturbing.
He basically tells people who have had a tragedy such as losing a child, not to take it personally, since Hashem is not the one who masterminded this, since Hashem doesn't target you or your family personally, Hashem, according to his hypotheses, lets the world run its course with absolutely no intervention (chas ve'sholom), and therefore events like the Holocaust and pogroms happen. It left me asking myself, how did Kushner find any comfort in that?
A frum Jew that goes through an enormous tragedy such as losing a child doesn't want to hear that Hashem just "walked away, and let the world just happen." I don't think that he gets any comfort in that. He wants to know that there was a divine purpose for this child to be born, to this particular family , and that this child was given x amount of years to fulfill his or her mission and tasks in this world and that Hashem is actually the One orchestrating all this and that this is all part of His plan. Knowing that it was not just a "coincidence" but was part of a greater plan, does give some comfort to the grieving family, the fact that Kushner didn't believe in this, is very sad, and it is even sadder, knowing that his book was a best seller, meaning that many people who were looking for answers may have found this book still wanting.
May Hashem comfort all those who have had these losses!
Rabbi Harold Kushner, one of the most influential congregational rabbis of the 20th century whose works of popular theology reached millions of people outside the synagogue, has died.
Kushner, who turned 88 on April 3, died Friday in Canton, Massachusetts, just miles from the synagogue where he had been rabbi laureate for more than three decades.
Kushner’s fairly conventional trajectory as a Conservative rabbi was altered shortly after arriving at Temple Israel of Natick when, on the day his daughter Ariel was born, his 3-year-old son Aaron was diagnosed with a fatal premature aging condition, progeria.