23 January 2026
Question
I was at the Bondi terror attack with my kids. They go back to school next week, and there will be police at the gate. But that won’t make them feel safe. They saw police running, scared, from the shooting. How do I tell them they are safe when their protectors didn’t protect them?
Answer
You can’t tell them something you don’t believe yourself.
Police are human. They train, they prepare, and put their lives on the line to protect others. We are grateful for them. But they are not all-powerful. No human system is. Your children didn’t imagine what they saw. Something in their sense of safety broke, and pretending otherwise will not heal it.
Judaism never taught that safety comes from people alone.
We are commanded to do everything reasonable to protect ourselves. Locks, guards, police, planning, and vigilance all matter. At the same time, Judaism teaches that human protection has limits. Ultimately, life and death are not decided by a uniform or a weapon. They are in G-d’s hands.
That does not excuse evil, failure, or responsibility. People are still accountable for what they do and what they fail to do. But the end result is up to G-d.
That raises the hardest question of all. Where was G-d at Bondi? Why did He allow this?
We do not have an answer to that. And anyone who claims they do is not being honest. What we do know is this: no one leaves this world a moment before their time. No bullet decides that. No terrorist decides that.
Some were taken. Some were spared. You and your children were spared.
There is a story that helps put words to this.
Rabbi Ulman’s mother, in her nineties, was at the attack. When the shooting began, she thought this might be the end. She was too frail to run and too weak to drop to the ground. So she calmly turned and began to walk away.
Bullets were flying. People were hit. She walked out unharmed.
Her granddaughter’s husband was killed.
Later, she asked, “Why him and not me?”
Her daughter-in-law answered simply, “Because it wasn’t your time.”
That was not an explanation. It was an acceptance of the limits of what we can know.
So what do you tell your children?
Tell them the truth, in words they can carry.
Tell them that police do their best, but they are not superheroes.
Tell them that something frightening happened, and it is normal to feel scared and even angry.
Explain that safety does not mean you never get hurt. Safety means you are held, watched over, and not alone. G-d did not abandon you. You are still here for a reason.
Faith does not make fear disappear. It keeps fear from owning us.
And that is enough to take the next step forward.
