Question:
Dear Rabbi,
I was talking about the Australian wildfires with a guy from my Yeshivah and he asked me whether there were any yidden affected and he doesn’t care about the goyim. What should I have answered him to stop this terrible idea that we shouldn’t care about goyim at all? After all, Hashem said on the Mitzrim “מעשי ידי טובעין בים ואתם אומרים שירה״. Thank you very much!
Answer:
It is definitely the correct thing for us to care about all of H-shem’s creations, however this is quite a high level, and not everyone is really holding at that magreida. On the otherhand though, there the source that you are quoting is different than this. The Midrash that you are quoting is referring to singing and dancing that they perished, which is specifically showing outward joy at their demise, that is much worse than this.
Best wishes
The notion if no Jews are affected, then it’s inconsequential to him, runs contrary to the teaching of our Sages.
יבמות דף סג, א
אמר רבי אלעזר בר אבינא: אין פורענות באה לעולם אלא בשביל ישראל
פירש”י, בשביל ישראל. ליראם כדי שיחזרו בתשובה
The Talmud (Yevamos 63a) teaches, that any misfortune that happen in this world, is for the purpose of Am Yisroel.
Rashi (ad loc.) expalins, that it’s done to *frighten* them, so that they should repent from their sins.
This teaching applies to every single Jew, regardless whether he knew any of those affected, or not, or what religion those affected belonged to.
Nobody’s perfect and free from sin. Hashem is reminding us, that he has multitude ways of sending misfortune upon people, and we therefore need to become better people, so that we aren’t G-d forbid caught up in some other tragedy, closer to home.
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