9/11 Reflections - 10 Years Later
Where were you on 9/11?
I’m sure you didn’t need to think too deeply to remember the answer. To us, citizens of the USA, this shocking day – similar to President Kennedy’s assassination and the attack on Pearl Harbor - is etched in our minds; leaving a powerful impression and an everlasting memory.
(I, for one, was in Tokyo in a home without a television set, trying eagerly to find out what was going on via the internet (which was overloaded with traffic) and via the phone with my parents who lived in Manhattan.)
On 9/11 and the days that followed, we all heard the same sincere sentiments expressed: "This is a day that will change our nation forever". "Life will not be the same again". Etc.
And for a short while following 9/11, those reactions and responses were so palpable and real. I remember walking the streets of Manhattan feeling a sense of unity and brotherhood pervading the atmosphere. People were actually kinder and nicer to each other. People flocked to synagogues that year for the High Holidays in numbers that were unheard of in previous years. The number of mitzvahs that were performed in the days and weeks following the catastrophe was remarkable.
And here we are 10 years later.
Yes, things have changed. We can no longer carry our deodorant and shampoo on the airplane and we semi-disrobe every time we enter the security line in the airport. But how much remains from the personal resolve towards goodness that echoed across this land ten years ago?
Such is human nature. As powerful, as shocking, and as motivating as 9/11 was, the catastrophe alone was not enough to permanently move us. An external experience or force motivates us, but it doesn’t change us. To truly transform we need to use that motivation generated by an 9/11 and use it as a starter to ignite inner conviction – our Godly soul and drive.
And so, as we sit back and reflect on this 9/11 commemorative weekend, let us try to conjure up the feelings we had on that day. Let us resurrect that commitment to G‑d and goodness. And let us channel that resolve towards a tangible holy act.
Though there’s so much more to say on this 10th anniversary (at least more than the space of this column will allow me) allow me conclude with the following:
If a handful of terrorists managed to turn our world upside down, let us not underestimate the power of each of us to turn it upright.
Each and every mitzvah – even one woman kindling a Shabbat candle, one man donning tefillin, one more hour of Torah study – can and does illuminate this world; filling it with an aura of holiness. Each act of goodness and kindness brings us closer to the realization of the mission and purpose of creation – the bring G‑d down to earth.
May you and your family be inscribed and sealed for a joyous, healthy, and sweet new year.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Raleigh Resnick
