I don't follow the news, but this was hard to miss. It seem to me that these events are a reflection of the diffult times we are living in. As always, our response should be to strenghen our emunah somehow. I heard the following story this Shabbos.
Once the Besht was discussing parshas Mishpatim with his student Dov Bear (the future Maggid). The Baal Shem was explaining that the mishpatim are also an expression of Hashem's will. Reb Dov Bear expression his confusion about this, how could logicaly based laws of civil jurisprudence, that humanity would derive independent of the revelation at Sinai, be expressions of Gods infinite will? A good question, so the Besht told his student to go to a certain place, sit down and see what transpires. One condition: don't involve yourself, whatever happens.
So Reb Dov Bear went to where he was told to go. It was far off, next to an obsure swimming hole near a road. He sat next to a tree where no one could see him. Soon enough someone showed up to take a dip, a rich man thinking he was alone, he went swimming and returned to his carraige. Unknowingly, he left his wallet, which was full of money. Reb Dov Bear wanted to call out and tell him but he remembered his promise to his teacher.
Afterwards, someone else came to jump in the water. He found the money which had no indetification marks; no one was to be seen anywhere, so he toos the wallet. Of course Reb Dov Bear wanted to intercede and tell the man whose money it was but he had made a promise to his teacher.
Again, another man came to take a swim and while he was there the rich man returned with a servant looking for his money which they could not find. They saw the lone swimmer and assumed that he stole the money, they accused him and in response to his denials they beat him up. Reb Dov Bear witness the entire event but because of his promise, he could not do anything to help out. He returned to the Besht utterly confused.
The Baal Shem Tov told him that, in a previous life, the rich man and the one who found the wallet were litigants in a dispute over money. The judge ruled for the rich man but his reasoning was incorrect. So justice was done, the rich man lost exactly what he should have previously, and the other man found what was justly his. But what about the third man, the one who got beat up, asked Reb Dov Bear? The Besht answered, oh him, he was the judge.
The gemarah in Makos 10b, also says something similar to this, in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish. One person murders inadvertently and another intentionally and there are no witnesses to both events. So Hashem sends them to the same place, and the intentional murderer is killed inadvertently by the (previous) inadvertent killer in the front of witnesses (sending him to exile). Both get what they deserve. Point is, Hashem's justice is perfect, we just don't (and can't) understand the big picture.
