I am sure that most Rabbis addressing their congregations tonight have changed the topic of their sermons in light of the horrors of the past week. Indeed, as I said at the service we held last Wednesday night in our sanctuary – the world in which we live today is vastly different from the world in which we lived just a few days ago.
This despicable act of terror has changed our lives forever.
All of us here tonight remember life-changing moments:
- I was not alive on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
- I vaguely remember November 22, 1963 – the day that JFK was assassinated.
- But I vividly remember Yom Kippur -- 5734 – October 6, 1973 – when Israel barely survived a surprise attack by her neighbors.
- I remember November 19th, 1977 – when Anwar Sadat stepped off of an airplane onto the tarmac of Ben Gurion Airport.
- I remember January 28, 1986 when the Space shuttle Challenger, exploded in midair.
- I remember November 4, 1995 -- when Yigal Amir murdered Yitzhak Rabin in cold blood.
The world is different now.
We are different now.
In the aftermath of the unspeakable tragedy that has fallen on our nation; as the painful reports of casualties become clearer every day; as the unreal images of the deformed Manhattan skyline and the gaping hole in the Pentagon become etched into our consciousness, we have had come to grips with a new reality.
The world has become a very small place. Our nation faces the prospect of war – a war unlike any other that we have ever experienced; a war that will probably involve a long, difficult and brutal campaign. We will join with many nations in the goal of eradicating the evil of terrorism from our midst.
Tonight, I am not going to try to make any sense out of this tragedy – I am not going to find words of comfort- for there can be no sense and no comfort in the face of obscenity.
Tonight, instead, on this Erev Rosh Ha-Shanah – this beginning of a new year, all that I can do is to focus on the implications of the past few days and look ahead to the future.
Our first response must be to direct our thoughts, prayers and resources to the many victims of these despicable acts, and to their families and friends. We hold them in our hearts and pray that God will comfort them in their time of suffering and grief. May God grant a refuah shleimah – a complete healing - to those injured. Now is a time for reaching out -- for donating blood and dollars to help in the relief effort.
We next must fulfill the vital mitzvah of nichum avelim -- comforting the bereaved families who lost loved ones in airplanes and office buildings. We have seen and heard of men and women who perished fighting valiantly to rescue others, who were buried alive in debris and who were incinerated in an instant as Hell dropped on them from the skies. We must remember and honor them all. Most of us here tonight do not have immediate family members who died. Yet many of us have heard the stories and read the terrifying accounts; we have friends and friends of friends who have lost loved ones – the circle of connections is very small.
Third, we must be very careful to avoid placing blame for these events on ethnic or religious groups. The reports that have circulated regarding attacks and abuse that have been leveled on the Islamic and Arabic communities in America are frightening and disgusting. Those who carried out these acts, if indeed, they are members of fundamentalist, radical Islamic terror cells -- do not represent all Muslims – any more than Yigal Amir – the murderer of Yitzhak Rabin – represents all Jews. As Jews, we know more than anything the danger of stereotyping and pogroms. I commend our leaders for condemning these kinds of attacks and rhetoric.
Fourth, our nation must resist – with all of our strength and resolve, calls for revenge. Justice must be done, yes. The perpetrators of these vile acts must be hunted down and ultimately, held accountable for their actions. War has been declared and it seems certain that our nation will respond. But there is a difference between the search for justice and the craving for revenge.
Last Shabbat morning, at Torah study, we were discussing the essence of the High Holy Days. One of the most essential aspects of this of year is the process of Cheshbon Ha-nefesh: taking stock in our selves and our souls. We look back at the year that has past and look ahead to the future. In order for our Cheshbon to be truly successful, we need to be still – we need time to reflect on all that has happened to us – the good and the bad – and we need to be thoughtful as we prepare ourselves for all that is to come. So too, our nation must go through this process in the days and weeks to come. We need to be cautious and careful.
In Hebrew, the word for justice is Tzedek. Tzedek also means righteousness. Revenge is not righteousness. Revenge is blood-lust. We cannot allow ourselves to become like them. Whatever response our President and his advisors formulate, I pray that we do not strike out of anger, frustration or a need to demonstrate our military might. We need to bring the perpetrators of these crimes -- and all who support them -- to justice. But in our search for justice, we must never forget that we are called to righteousness as well.
Fifth: Our world has been changed forever. We no longer can take our safety and security for granted. Now our nation can understand what our brothers, sisters, friends and colleagues in Israel have known all along: the realities of living life under a constant heightened state of awareness due to the threat of terror. Israelis have learned the unfortunate necessity of being ever vigilant. At the same time, as any visitor to Israel knows, life goes on - and it does so with a remarkable vibrancy and vitality.
Israel's response to terrorism over the years is an instructive model for our nation. Terrorists seek to destabilize and demoralize the civic life, the democratic freedoms, and the will of the nations targeted. Through decades of experiencing terrorism, Israel's determined maintenance of its civic will, cultural norms, and vibrant democracy – and its ability to fight terrorism forcefully while maintaining a high degree of civil liberties and societal normalcy is a powerful inspiration and model for America. Indeed this has been Israel's finest victory against the efforts of those that seek its destruction.
Although we note Palestinian Chairman Yassir Arafat's statement condemning the attacks, the image of Palestinians dancing in the streets in the West Bank and Gaza during America's darkest hour will be etched in the collective memory of all Americans. While this does not reflect on all Palestinians, on the day in which America's freedom was under attack, too many chose to celebrate with murderers and the enemies of freedom. These spontaneous celebrations were mirror reflections of similar demonstrations in the territories when Iraqi missiles were fired on Tel Aviv during the Gulf War. The fact that these celebrations occurred in the shadow of the anti-Semitic debacle in Durban also makes us pause and re-consider the sincerity of our former partners for peace. Tomorrow morning, I will speak about the current situation in Israel and how we must respond as American Jews and as Zionists. But tonight, I want to direct the rest of my remarks towards the relationship of our national tragedy to these Yamim Noraim - these days of awe.
Most of us, on Tuesday, were glued to our Television sets, radios and the internet. In this age of instant information, every citizen in the United States, and I would wager, a vast number of people around the free world, saw the horrific events the instant that they took place. We all had a shared vocabulary – a shared experience of horror. There was no need to ask one another on Tuesday “how are you doing?” -- We all knew what everyone was feeling.
The terrorists who carried out these attacks knew what they were doing. They wanted to strike fear into the heart of every American citizen. They succeeded. They wanted to send us the following message:
You are not safe. You can build fences and pretend to be isolated and removed from the difficulties of the so-called “outside world,” but ultimately, you are vulnerable. We know your weaknesses and we will take advantage of them – whenever and wherever we choose to do so.
The targets that the terrorists hit were carefully chosen to both inflict maximum casualties as well as to attack what they perceived as central American values. To the terrorists, the World Trade Towers were the center and symbol of American Capitalism. Their prominence in the New York City skyline and the many banks, brokerage houses, and financial institutions they contained were the perfect icons of evil.
If the World Trade Towers were to these terrorists the ultimate expression of American Capitalism, the Pentagon was the center of the United States Military machine. It was a symbol for them of arrogance and abuse of power.
Money and power – that’s what they wanted to attack last Tuesday. That is how our enemies see us . The goal of the terrorists was to hold up a mirror to the United States of America and force us to look at what they perceived as our ugliness.
We know that, in many parts of the world, America is a symbol of corporate greed and creeping globalism . To our enemies, America is franchised food, Hollywood glitter and mass-produced mediocrity. We represent military intervention and Global protectionism. They see us as the ones who train the police, supply the weapons of oppression and reap the profits wrenched out of the misery of the underclass.
This is how our enemies see us – how do we see ourselves?
My friends, tonight is Rosh Ha-Shanah. Tonight, our tradition teaches, we begin a process of self-examination. We ask ourselves difficult questions. We confront our flaws and weaknesses. At the same time, we celebrate our strengths.
And so, let us ask ourselves this question: Are money and power truly what we, as Americans are all about? Were these terrorists correct in their assessment of our society and its values? Or is there something else – something deeper that resonates in our souls….. ?
One of the most powerful prayers of these High Holy Days is the Unetaneh Tokef.
It states:
וּנְתַנֶּה תּוֹקֶף קְדֻשַּׁת הַיּוֹם
U'natanah tokeph kedushat ha-yom
"Let us declare the greatness of this day. (we say) it is awesome and full of dread. For on this day your dominion is exalted and your throne established in steadfast love. There in truth you reign. In truth you are judge and arbiter, council and witness. You write and you seal. You record and you recount...you open the book of our days and what is written there proclaims itself, who shall live and who shall die. It bears the signature of every human being."
Many of us (myself included) have a difficult time with this prayer. It reeks of pre-determination – of a God who is like Santa Claus – “making a list and checking it twice, looking to see who’s naughty or nice….” -- and then acting out in retribution for our mistakes and missteps.
In light of the horror of the past week, this prayer takes on a whole different meaning. Aside from the terrorists who committed them, only the likes of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell are brazen and callous enough to state these attacks were some kind of divine punishment on America for our behavior and values.
But maybe we’re reading this text wrong. Maybe instead of reading the prayer as a declaration of “Who shall live” ….. We should read it as a question that asks us: “How shall we live?”
To me, that is the essence of these Yamim Noraim. These Sacred days are not about God’s judgment. Rather they force us to examine closely the way in which we live our lives. What values do we represent? Do we like what we see? What changes must we make? How do we come to understand the world in which we live and the society that we are creating?
Difficult questions. Are we really - as the terrorists who struck us so viciously believe - only all about money and power? Or is there something else – something deeper and more essential that gives us and our lives meaning and purpose?
I think there is – I know there is. I say this as a proud American and as a Jew.
In his sermon at the National Cathedral on Friday, Billy Graham spoke of how the walls of the world trade center may have been destroyed, but the foundation upon which they were built still remains (I never thought that I would quote Billy Graham in a sermon on Rosh Ha Shanah – but he took my idea and said it first…..). For Graham, the foundation of our nation is God. I agree with that concept, but I would take it a step further. You see, for Jews, there are three basic foundations upon which everything else rests. These are God, Torah and Israel. These three fundamental concepts not only make life worth living – but they are essential for understanding why we are here in the first place.
And it is around these three basic concepts that we can, indeed we must respond to the horrors of last week.
So let us turn to God.
To understand how a belief in and relationship with God is essential to shaping our national and individual values, we first must come to an understanding of our own holiness. To have faith is to state that we believe that life is not accidental – it is to come to grips with the fact that we are here on earth for a reason – for a purpose. Life is a gift from God: your life, my life, all life.
If it is true that the perpetrators of the violence on Tuesday were, in fact, Islamic Fundamentalists, they were able to justify their actions by believing that they were carrying out in’sh-allah -- the will of God.
On Tuesday, at the Civic Plaza, and then again last Friday night, I said the following from this pulpit:
Whoever perpetrated these evil acts believed that they were carrying out the will of their god. Let me state here and how: their god is not our God.
- We believe in a God who teaches us to see the sanctity in all life.
- We believe in a God who teaches us to love one another
- We believe in a God who desires peace.
- We believe in a God who gives us courage and strength.
Torah is essential in shaping the way we live our lives – not only through the observances of the mitzvot, but also in its most basic form. Torah is about learning – it is about ensuring that every person in our society receives a decent education. To state that Torah is one of the pillars of our life is to guarantee that ignorance will be eradicated.
- You see, ignorance breeds hatred.
- Ignorance is the enemy of freedom.
- Ignorance breeds suicide bombers.
- Ignorance is a greater threat to world peace than a thousand terrorists.
To bring Torah into the world is to work for peace.
In our siddur we read:
עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ. וְתמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר:
דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נעַם וְכָל נְתִיבותֶיהָ שָׁלום:
הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ ה' אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה. חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם:
Eitz cha-yim hi la-ma-cha-zi-kim bah, v’to-m’che-ha m’u-shar.
D’ra-che-ha dar-chei no-am, v’chol n’ti-vo-te-ha shalom.
It is a tree of life to those who hold it fast, and all who cling to it find happiness. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace.
To bring Torah into the world is to work for peace.
Finally, we come to Israel.
As Jews, Israel means more than land, or even nationality. Israel represents the power and necessity of community.
If the events of last week have taught us nothing else, we have learned how much we need each other. In the aftermath of our tragedy, our nation has come together. We have joined together in prayer, we have shared and given freely of our resources, our blood. We have held on to each other to give comfort, to find support, to reassure one another that our spirit will not break.
The Talmud teaches: Kol Yisrael Aravim zeh ba zeh – all Israel is responsible for each other. This past week we have learned – the entire world is responsible for one another.
Who was not moved by the images of the Star Spangled Banner being sung in London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral? Or the tears shed in Paris, and Prague and countless other capitals and cities. The blasts in New York, Washington and Pittsburgh that were heard round the world have taught us just how small the planet is upon which we live. Our community must join together to create a global community – united in our desire to find holiness – to allow God’s presence to shine through the pain. We need to teach tolerance – and wipe out ignorance and bigotry. And we need to create communities of support and love.
My friends, the terrorists who murdered over 5000 men, women and children last Tuesday thought that they were attacking the values of our nation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Through their barbarous actions, they have united us – as a nation and as a world that cried out for peace and justice.
We need God –we need to remember that we were created in the image of God.
We need Torah – we need to eradicate ignorance and teach peace.
We need Israel – we need a community that cares for one another.
Our values of God, Torah and Israel have stood for 4,000 years – and they can withstand the impact of a thousand attacks.
Today marks the beginning of a New Year. Last Tuesday, we saw the beginnings of a new world.
May the coming New Year, 5762, bring us hope that our values will prevail in the face of darkness. May we continue to find healing and hope in the promise of tomorrow.
Ken Yehi Ratzon – may this be God’s will.
AMEN¬
