As Yom Kipour nears (tonight), we Jews reflect on our souls. Here is a rabbi's speech that I feel is food for thought for everyone. A little long but worth reading. Laurent > > > > "WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW" > > > > I speak to you today as your rabbi and I'm not sure I know what to say. I > > wish I was articulate enough to be able to put into words the empty > feeling that has enveloped all of us. I wish I was wise enough to be able to make > > some sense out of all that has unfolded before our very eyes. And if it > is difficult for me, just think of my colleague who writes in an email: "I > have been running back and forth to two families whose children are missing and > > presumed dead in the World Trade Center. One was a new bride I married > > seven months ago. Halachik question: when do I do the funerals? After a > > body is found? Or, as I suggested, after all hope of recovery is lost, > even with no body. Any advice is appreciated." > > > > Who knows what to say? Indeed, even before the horror of last week it was > > difficult to prepare my words for this day. Israel has been on my mind > > every day this year and the situation there has caused me sleepless > nights. > > What should a rabbi say in looking at a world where there are children in > > Israel who have to go to school wearing bullet proof vests. And there are > > children in America who have to go to school worrying whether their > parents will come home at night from the office buildings they work in. > > > > So today I speak to you about here and there - America, this week > > and Israel, this year. I want to show you how the two are connected - and > > yet so different. To do so I don't depend upon my own thoughts, rather, I > > base my thoughts on those of three other rabbis - all of whom are gone, > all of whose words live on: a rabbi in Jerusalem, my father, and a "giant" of > > our people. > > > > There was a famous rabbi and preacher who lived in Israel by the > > name of Rabbi Sholomo Schwadron, known throughout the Jewish world as the > > Maggid of Jerusalem, the "speaker, the preacher of Jerusalem." He was a > > speaker from the old school. The fire and brimstone . . . the tears, the > > laughter . . . but mostly the stories. The one story with which he is > most associated, his classic, is the story of Meirka. One day Rabbi Schwadron > > was sitting in his home in Jerusalem when he suddenly heard a passing > scream from the alleyway outside his window. In a moment, his wife ran into the > > house yelling that little Meir, the grandson of the Gabbai of their shul, > > had fallen and was bleeding profusely from a gash over his eye. The rabbi > > and his wife ran outside, the rabbi picking up the child while his wife > held a wet towel over the child's cut, trying to control the bleeding. Rabbi > > Schwadron began running through the alleyway to the main street, rushing > as fast as his legs would carry him, to get the child to a doctor. But as > they rushed up the hill, a pious, elderly woman was walking toward them and she > > called out in Yiddish: "Reb Sholomo - Reb Sholomo - ess is nit daw vos tzu > > daigen. Ess is nit daw vos tzu daigen. There's nothing to worry about. > > You don't have to rush. Der Ebeshter vet helfen. God will take care of > > him." But, as the rabbi and his wife passed directly in front of this > > elderly woman, she looked down and realized that the bleeding child was > her own grandson. She began to shriek uncontrollably, "Gevalt! Meirka! > Meirka! Gevalt!" And she passed out. Rabbi Schwadron transformed that scream of > > "Meirka" into a catchword lesson. He would say, "If it's not my Meirka, > > it's easy to say, 'Don't worry, nothing is wrong, God will surely help.' > > But when it's my Meirka, it's a different story!" > > > > What America confronted one day last week, the State of Israel confronted > > every day for the past year. Israelis have been living in a state of > > terror. But outside of Israel, few seemed to care, few seemed to > > understand. So much of what happened last week in America brought to mind > > so much that happens every day in Israel. After the planes crashed into > the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, it was hard to use your cell phones > > because everybody was calling somebody to make sure everything was okay. > > That happens every time a car bomb or suicide bomber or drive-by shooting > > takes place in Israel. The only difference is, Israel is such a small > > country that when you get through on your phone you discover if you didn't > > know the person killed, your next door neighbor most certainly did! Last > > Tuesday night I got a phone call in the middle of the night. It was our > > friends in Israel making sure that my kids hadn't been in New York. > They're the friends in Israel I call every time a bomb goes off there to make sure > > their kids weren't hurt! > > > > Tragically, last Tuesday night Americans went to sleep for the first > > time understanding what life in Israel is like. Because suddenly it was > our Meirka! Suddenly we understood what it's like being transfixed in front > of your television watching scenes of horror and destruction and senseless > > bloodshed being brought right into your living room. Israelis live with > > this every day! There's no country in the world that is being forced to > > confront what Israel confronts. You're afraid to go into a store, or get > on a bus. You have your wife call you when she gets home from work. Every > > package you carry has to be searched, every school guarded, every face to > be watched. There's constant news coming across the radio of another > shooting, another murder of an innocent Israeli. > > > > We, as Americans, have been devastated by the horrifying images that > > have been brought into our lives from the crash scenes in New York and > > Washington. In Israel there are heart wrenching, gut wrenching scenes > like these taking place every day. > > > > Scenes like those of Shalevet Pass. Shalevet was all of 10 months old > when her mother took her out in stroller for a walk in Hebron. A Palestinian > > sniper put Shalevet in the crosshairs of his gun and killed her. 10 > months old! They targeted a 10 month old baby! It's hard to believe someone can > > hate so much to kill an innocent 10 month old . . . but now as Americans > we know it's possible. It's happened . . . to our Meirkas. > > > > Or there's the story of Moti and Tzira Schiyveschuurder. One summer day > > they went to eat at Jerusalem's popular Sbarro pizzeria when the suicide > > bomber attacked. He killed Moti and Tzirah and three of their children. > > The other two children were injured. One of them attended the funeral of > > her parents and siblings in a wheelchair while getting an intravenous > drip. > > You know how upsetting the horrifying scenes of carnage and destruction in > > New York and Washington were. Well, forgive me for upsetting you, but I > > have to describe to you the scene in the Sbarro pizzeria when the suicide > > bomber struck. Jack Kelly, a reporter from USA Today, was sitting right > > across the street when that bomb in Sbarro went off. Here's how he > > described it on the front page of USA Today: "The explosion was deafening > > and sent out a burst of heat that could be felt far down the street. It > > blew out windows and threw tables and chairs into the air. Victims' arms > > and legs rained down onto the street. Three men, who had been eating > pizza inside, were catapulted out of the chairs they had been sitting on. When > > they hit the ground, their heads separated from their bodies and rolled > down the street. Dozens of men, women and children, their bodies punctured by > > nails from the bomb, began dropping in pain. One woman had six nails in > her neck. Another had a nail in her left eye. > > > > "Two men, one with a six inch piece of glass in his right temple, the > other with glass shards in his calf, fell to the ground bleeding. A passerby > > tried to comfort them but broke down crying. As he walked away, he > tripped on a decapitated body and fell. Next to them, a man groaned in pain, > "Help me, I'm dying," he said. His legs had been blown off and blood poured > from where his torso had been. > > > > "Meanwhile, yards away, a little girl about three years old, her face > > covered with glass, walked among the bodies calling her mother's name. > > Seconds later, she found her. The girl told her mother to get up. But > the mother, apparently already dead, didn't respond. The girl, still unaware > of what had happened, was led away in hysterics by an Israeli policewoman. > > > > "Dozens of ambulances arrived over the next thirty minutes to cart > > off the dead and injured as relatives began arriving. Rabbis, with white > > gloves, raced around the street picking up pieces of flesh. One rabbi > found a small hand splattered against a white Subaru parked outside the > > restaurant. "It's of a girl," Rabbi Moshe Aaron said. "She was probably > 5 or 6, the same age as my daughter." He gently put it into a bag. "I wish > I could say there won't be anything like this tragedy again," Rabbi Aaron > > said. "But it's just a matter of time until another bomber kills more of > > us. It will be like this until the end of time." > > > > It was right there on the front page of USA Today but nobody around the > > world wanted to believe these scenes were really happening. Nobody could > > comprehend that there could be such hatred. Nobody wanted to accept that > > there are people in this world capable of such cruelty and barbarism. > Well, now we know! Our Meirka has been hit. And in response you didn't hear > > anyone in America calling for "negotiations" with Osama bin-Laden. No one > > said he should still be considered a "partner-for-peace." No one called > for American concessions. No one urged "restraint." Instead the Washington > > Post op-ed page last Wednesday contained articles with headlines, "We must > > fight this war," "Destroy the network," "Hidden hand of horror," > "American holy war," "To war, not to court," "End of illusion." That's how Americans rightfully responded when our Meirka was hurt. But when the people of > > Israel have fallen victim to terrorism, there are always those around the > > world who will say: "you've got to sit down and negotiate, you've got to > > stop the settlements, you've got to pull back the borders, you've got to > > give up the land, you've got to accept their "right of return" - then > > they'll be satisfied! Then they'll make peace!" Well, maybe now the > world knows . . . maybe now it will see things differently. > > > > Did you see those Palestinians dancing in the streets in celebration of > the Pentagon and Twin Towers being blown up? Well, that's how they dance > every time they kill an Israeli. You tell me, bad enough that the Palestinians > > killed two Israeli soldiers who made a wrong turn into Ramallah. Did they > > have also have to lynch them and tear them apart limb by limb, and then > > throw them out of a second floor window, with a crowd cheering them on? > Did they have to hold up their blood stained hands in glee? Bad enough that > > Palestinians killed 14 year old Koby Mandell and his friend, Yosef Ishran, > > in Tekoa. But why did the murderers have to mutilate the bodies so badly > > that they could only be identified through their dental records? And in > > Egypt, a country with which we're supposed to be at peace and have normal > > relations, why is the number one hit song entitled, "I Hate Israel." And > > did the Egyptian press syndicate really have to give its highest honor to > > Ahmed Ragab, who published a column in the government newspaper Al Akhbar > > entitled, "Thanks to Hitler," praising the Nazi extermination of the Jews. > > How come there is so much unmitigated hatred? This is because of > > "settlements?" Because we don't give them enough? Forget it! Maybe now > > the world understands that after Israel exited from Lebanon, after it > signed peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt, after it offered to return 99% of > the Golan Heights to Syria, after having offered a Palestinian State under the > > leadership of Yassir Arafat which would rule 98% of the Palestinian > > population, after being willing to share parts of Jerusalem . . . after > all > > this, perhaps now the world understands: THEY STILL HATE OUR GUTS! Rabbi > > Schwardron was right: when it's your Meirka, you suddenly see things > > differently. Last week America came to the realization that its fight > > against terrorism is a battle that Israel has been fighting for a long > time now. > > > > But having said all this, I am saddened to say the two situations are > > different. And here I turn to the wisdom of my father, of blessed memory. > > There's a famous verse in the Book of Lamentations describing the city of > > Jerusalem after its destruction: "Bochaw sivkah balailah v'dimoso al > > lechewah ein law menachem m'kol ohavehaw - she weepeth sore in the night > and > > her tears are on her cheeks. She hath none to comfort her among all her > > lovers." And my father beautifully described what the real tragedy here > > was. It wasn't simply that the temple had been destroyed. It wasn't > simply > > its "cries" at night. The real tragedy, the real source of anguish, was > > that the "tears were left on her cheeks, she had none to comfort her." > Bad > > enough the temple was destroyed, Jerusalem in ruins. Bad enough that the > > Jewish people were suffering. Even worse was the fact that there was no > one > > who even came to offer a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. No one who > > came to offer any comfort or consolation. > > > > As bad as what the people of Israel have experienced this year, the worst > > part of it was the worlds reaction to it. Look at what happened last week > > when terrorism hit us here in America. World leaders called with support. > > NATO offered to go to war. The European Union rallied around us. The > U.N. > > Security Council immediately, unanimously, sided with us. Yasir Arafat > gave blood . . . (who would want his blood!) From all over the world there > came expressions of sympathy, support, compassion and understanding. But this > > whole year, when Israel was under attack by terrorists, what did it get > from the world community? You know how many terrorist attacks took place in > > Israel this year? 6000. Since last Rosh Hashana, 167 Israelis have been > > killed by snipers, bus bombings and at the hands of suicide bombers. 600 > > Israeli children have become orphans. Thousands of Jews, many of them > > children, permanently disabled. And the world couldn't care less. And I > > want to know - WHY? > > > > I prayed so hard for a peace agreement to come out of the Camp David > Summit. > > I was prepared to accept most any and every Israeli concession in order to > > attain peace. And Israel did, in fact, make just about every concession > > possible, offering the Palestinians a Palestinian State, the return of > over > > 90% of the territories including parts of the Old City of Jerusalem, and > > partial control of the Temple Mount. But the Palestinians turned it down, > > and made no counter-offer. It was sad, it was terrible. But the one > > consolation I had was in being able to say to myself: at least now the > world > > knows who is at fault in the Arab/Israeli crisis. President Clinton and > all his advisors went publicly on record as saying it was Arafat's fault. At > > least now, I felt, no matter what happens, the world will stand with > Israel, > > recognizing the difficulty - if not impossibility - of negotiating with > the Palestinian Authority. I was wrong! Terribly wrong! The world turned > > against us once again. The Palestinians revert to terror and everything > > Israel does to protect itself is condemned by the Western governments. > > Blockade their cities? No good! Rubber bullets? No good! Shoot at > their > > snipers? No good! Withhold their taxes? No good! Target their suicide > > bombers? No good! Seize their properties? No good! Every time Israel > > responded to a Palestinian attack, Western governments accused Israel's > > response of being "reprehensible," "excessive," "disproportionate," > > "provocative," "an escalation," etc. etc. On the same day that there > were > > two car bombings in Jerusalem, Russia criticized Israel for the escalation > > of Palestinian/Israel violence. Russia annihilates countless Chechnyans, > > but it criticizes Israel. Britain sent hit-teams to Gibraltar to wipe out > > members of the IRA, but it criticizes Israel. America bombed Qadafi. By > > mistake, we killed his daughter - that didn't stop us from crimethodically > > to eliminate this universal inconvenience. So let all the Arabs and > > Palestinians remember, "That people smarter, more efficient, better > equipped > > and more dedicated than them failed to destroy the Jewish people. And if > > the Germans couldn't do it, then the Palestinians are never going to be > able > > to do it. Let the Palestinians see where the Jews were five short decades > > ago and think about where we are today. Let it sink into their heads - > and > > into the head of every other Palestinian and Arab and Ayatollah and Hamas > > leader and neo-Nazi. They ripped the gold from our teeth and yet we've > > built a world leading high-tech country. They can say we went like lambs > to > > the slaughter, but now we have a country of our own that is a nuclear > > superpower. If Auschwitz couldn't destroy us, they never will. And the > > sooner they, and others, realize it the better off the whole world will > be." > > > > > > Similarly, here in America, let the word go out to all those who hate us > and > > seek to see us fall. We've been down before. Remember when Russia put up > > Sputnik? Remember when we used helicopters to flee from Saigon? Remember > > when Japan and Germany wee producing the most advanced cars and cameras? > > Remember? Remember what people said? "America has lost it!" "America is > > not what it used to be! Others will soon surpass it." Remember what we > > did? We did what Americans do best. We picked ourselves up by our > > boot-straps and put American ingenuity to work. And now we are the only > > super-power in the world. You can bend us but you'll never break us! You > > can call us the "Great Satan," but we know that we are the greatest > country > > on the face of the globe. Nobody has done what we - the American people - > > have done. As a Canadian television commentator, Gordon Sinclair, once > put > > it: " . . . it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous > > and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth. Germany, > Japan > > and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy, were lifted out of the debris > of > > war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other > > billions in debts . . . When France was in danger of collapse in 1956, it > > was Americans who propped it up and their reward was to be insulted and > > swindled on the streets of Paris . . . When earthquakes hit distant > cities, > > it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring 59 American > > communities were flattened by tornadoes - nobody helped. The Marshall > Plan > > and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into discouraged > countries > > . . . I can name you 500 times when the Americans raced to the help of > other > > people in trouble. Can you name even one time when someone else raced to > > the Americans in trouble . . . Stand proud, America. Wear it proudly." > > > > We can stand proud as Americans! The day after the bombing of the > Pentagon > > and World Trade Center, the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem was reopened. > > Israel rebuilt from its ashes and America will do the same. But for now, > > where do we - as Americans and as Jews - go from here? We go to the > wisdom > > of Rabbi Akiva, the great sage of the Mishna and Talmud. What Rabbi Akiva > > taught more than anything else was hope and love. Rabbi Akiva was an > > eternal optimist. When others cried when they saw wolves prowling the > ruins > > of the second temple, Akiva was able to find in this scene a message of > > hope. When everybody else saw nothing but destruction and gloom, only > Rabbi > > Akiva saw the arrival of the Messiah in Bar-Kochba, despite the iron hand > of > > the Romans. Only Rabbi Akiva could begin to study Torah at 40 and become > a > > Torah giant, because he believed. And it was, of course, Rabbi Akiva who > > taught that you must love your neighbor as yourself, because hope and > > optimism have their roots in love. We are a loving people. Even when we > > struggle against a horrible enemy, we do not bomb their pizzerias, nor do > we > > spray gunfire into their nursery schools. We do not preach hatred nor > teach > > that heavenly rewards await the suicide bomber who kills as many Jews as > > possible. We are, thank God, a people of love. > > > > Yes, we Jews are a people of love. And so are we Americans. The last few > > days there have been so many heartbreaking stories in newspapers and on > > television of people who lost relatives and friends last week. One of the > > many that brought me to tears was the story of Howard Lutnick, the > Chairman > > and Chief Executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, a little known firm but one of > the > > more important ones in America's financial community. Cantor Fitzgerald > has > > 2300 employees world wide. About 1000 worked at the company's > headquarters > > on the 101st, 103rd, 104th and 105th floors of One World Trade Center, the > > first tower hit in Tuesday's attack. Of the 1000 workers, everyone who > was > > at work that morning, nearly 700 are still unaccounted for. Howard > Lutnick, > > the Chairman of the company, has lost nearly 700 of his employees; one of > > whom was his brother. > > > > I watched this powerful executive crying his heart out on television, and > I > > cried with him. I love my brothers so much that I could so feel his pain. > > He went on to tell how over 200 of his employees who hadn't been in their > > offices on that fateful day, came to work on Thursday morning at a hotel > > where they met. That's the spirit of America! Mr. Lutnick addressed > them. > > He didn't call for vengeance. He didn't cry out in anger. Rather, he > said > > he would do everything humanly possible to make sure that the families of > > those who had died would always be provided for. That's the love of > > America. And then, he told them to go home. He said, "In the scheme of > > things, your jobs are not what's important. What's important is what you > > have at home. Go home and hug your children and your loved ones." That's > > the love of America. And that's what we, as Americans and as Jews, must > do. > > We may never be able to change those "out there" who hate us, but we can > > most certainly draw closer to those closer to home who love us. Hug your > > children and spouses. Say thanks next time you see a policeman or > fireman. > > In a world filled with so much hatred, we as individuals must show that we > > live by the words of the song, "What the world needs now is love, sweet > > love." > > > > Stand proud with America, and purchase a bond to let the people of Israel > > know that you stand with them as well. These are historic times we are > > living through. These are challenging times . . . but we will rise to the > > challenge; as Americans and as Jews, here and there. And we, American > Jews, > > are doubly blessed. Blessed to be a part of a great country, blessed to > be > > a part of a great people. As this New Year begins: "May each of us find > the > > way to cleanse our souls of despair . . . to raise our spirits to > Godliness > > . . . to open our hearts to righteousness." Reach out and touch the ones > > you love . . . hear the shofar's voice . . .taste the apples and honey . . > . > > and try to make this a sweeter year." > > > > By holding firm, by staying true to our democratic principles and values, > by > > exhibiting "love, sweet love," . . . both America and Israel will continue > > to be a blessing for all mankind. Amen. > > > > ) copyright 2001 by Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg. All rights reserved.
