SHANAH TOVA u METUKAH!
_______________________________________________________________
Stuart Krantz
“Let’s roll.” Never before has a simple two-word phrase come to hold so much meaning to an entire country and its people.
“Let’s roll.” The ultimate embodiment of pure American strength, courage and resolve.
“Let’s roll.” And roll they did: Mark Bingham, Jeremy Glick, Tom Burnett and Todd Beamer, the speaker of the phrase, stormed the cabin of United Airlines flight 93, which had been hijacked by four radical terrorists who killed innocent people in the name of God. On the morning of September 11, 2001, United 93 was shrouded in clouds of pure evil.
“Let’s roll” shattered the mist. Beamer, Bingham and the rest of the indescribably brave people on United 93 had the courage to stare death in the face and declare, “We will not go silently.” They knew full well of the ugly beasts sitting with box cutters in the cockpit, preparing to fly a plane of innocents into the legendary building that represented the center of democracy, freedom and ambition. Knowing their time was up, the passengers of United 93 decided to wrench back the hands of the clocks of their lives, and in doing so, ensured that the clocks of countless thousands of others would continue to tick on.
How can we ever live up to the standard of being an American that these brave men and women set for us? How can we call ourselves Americans when we will never in our lifetime be able to accomplish what these Americans did? Well, the answer is simple.
“Let’s roll.” And let’s keep on rolling. If ever you are faced with the choice of taking action or fading away without so much as a whisper, choose the path of United 93. Choose to ignore fate. Take your destiny into your own hands. Your life is what you make it. Don’t ever let anyone ever tell you otherwise.
When placed in a difficult situation, look to United 93 and remember that you are an American. Americans fight for our freedoms and our right to live free of tyranny and persecution. When Muhammad Attah and his chums came over the loudspeaker and said that if anyone tried to rush the cabin, a bomb would be set off, did Todd Beamer slouch down in his seat and prepare himself to die?
For the sake of all that is good in the world, Todd Beamer did not consign himself to death. He stood up, organized the passengers, and fought for America. They say never to bring a knife to a gunfight. Todd Beamer brought a beverage cart. The Oracle salesman, who only a few hours prior was just an average American, restored faith in America and in humanity (after quite a trying day) by uttering one phrase.
“Let’s roll.” Appropriately enough, Shakespeare’s 93rd sonnet describes the actions of the passengers of United 93 perfectly.
“But heav’n in thy creation did decree
That in thy face sweet love should ever dwell
Whate’er thy thoughts or thy heart’s workings be/
Thy looks should nothing thence but sweetness tell.”
When God created you, Shakespeare says, He decided that your face would always represent love. Because that’s what Todd Beamer and the rest of the heroes of United 93 were fighting for: love. The September 11th attacks were some of the coldest acts of pure hatred in memory. Beamer, Bingham, and the rest of them fought for the polar opposite.
That is the American spirit: to fight for love, freedom, and our right to live. We should all be so lucky to do so in our lives. If you ever hate, take a step back and think of the disgrace you’re bringing to the people of United 93 and all the other victims of the September 11 attacks who died for your ability to live.
They died because they were free and because they represented all that is right in the world. America is what is right in this world.
“Let’s roll.” And let’s keep on rolling.
(Stu Krantz is a 15-year-old student at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD. He interns for the Washington Jewish Week and is CIJR Director Prof. Frederick Krantz’s grandson.) (Top)
_______________________________________________________________
THE SHOFAR’S CALL: ROSH HASHANAH 5773
Baruch Cohen,
Publications Chairman, CIJR
In memory of beloved Malca z”l
“Renew our days of old” – Lamentations 5:21
On New Year’s Day, Rosh Hashanah, we remember. The People of Israel remembers its unique function to make the world a better place, and recalls its successes and its failures. The central theme of New Year’s Day, the beginning of the world, is the power of memory itself. Memory establishes the continuity of the generations. For Judaism New Year’s Day is not only the anniversary of Creation, but also–and more importantly–the renewal of Creation.
On Rosh Hashanah, the shofar’s blast reminds the Jewish peole to renew their commitments as Jews, inspiring us to overcome the menace of global anti-semitism, the Iranian hatred against the Jewish people, and the unending regional terrorist threats against the Jewish State of Israel.
The sounding of the shofar reminds us of our mighty and proud Israel Defence Forces, of their acts of heroism and the just and ethical values which the IDF proudly stands for, despite continuing assaults and genocidal threats against the State of Israel and the Jewish people by terrorist gangs and states.
Our world is in deep crisis. We are facing hatred and horror, and with the failed “Arab Spring”, increasingly intensified anti-Israel attitudes. The orchestration of hate against the State of Israel, the outrageous claim the Zionism equals racism and fascism, and the stigmatization of Israel remind us today of the ugly climate, the anguish and the fear of the 1930’s.
But the shofar’s sounding also reminds us of the just, ethical values of Judaism. Judaism regards the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) as the days of celebration of creation and of renewal, of a new beginning for individuals and for Am Yisrael, the people of Israel.
The sound of the shofar is a call for peace and the harmonious gathering of all people.
Tzedek, Tzedek, Tirdof: Justice, Justice you shall follow! (Deuteronomy 16:20)
Happy New Year of all our CIJR family and friends. May 5773 be a year of peace for Am Yisrael, for the State of Israel, and for the entire world. (Top)
___________________________________________________________________________
DEUTERONOMY, THE BOOK OF JEWISH SOVEREIGNTY
Moshe Dann
Jeruslalem Post, Sept 5, 2012
The last “book” of Torah, Devarim (words), is also called Deuteronomy because it contains many laws especially relevant to the conquering and settlement of Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel) that were not presented in the first four books.
It reflects the transition from the end of one period to the anticipation of another. Having been enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years, having escaped and wandered the desert for 40 years, the Jewish people are about to experience a new leader and engage in “taking possession” of Canaan, Eretz Yisrael.
Although these words are politically loaded today, historically they are commonplace. Jewish sovereignty, however, is different. It is nationalism not as a political entity, but as a spiritual ideal.
Moving from wandering in wilderness to establishing a homeland, from tribal encampments to cities, from nomadic exile to permanent settlement, the Jewish people will have to fight wars. At least as important, moreover, they struggle to establish a Jewish civilization in the midst of foreign inhabitants and idolatry. All of this requires inner fortitude and national unity that had never been tested.
No doubt the Israelites were unsure of their mission and whether they were up to it. It is therefore no surprise that this section of Torah is filled with exhortations not to be afraid, and promises that things will turn out well if they will observe the commandments and build, in the land which God promised them, a society that will reflect God’s oneness and majesty.
Moses’ directive is clear: take possession of the land, your inheritance from God, the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, a land of blessings – and curses, depending on how one behaves. Unlike other conquerors, the Jewish people did not seek power, but rather to create a place dedicated to a spiritual purpose, a civilization focused on Shechina – God’s presence.
The essence of Jewish sovereignty is that Eretz Yisrael belongs to God. God is sovereign, and the sovereignty of the Jewish people derives from that.
The right to rule does not depend on one’s ability to conquer, but on what one does afterwards.
To accomplish its task the Jewish people needs a country, a physical representation of a spiritual direction, a political entity with laws and institutions – Jewish sovereignty. The word that appears in Torah to describe the initial stages of this process is “lareshet,” from the root yud-resh-shin (inherit). Understanding of the word depends on its context: conquest, taking control and establishing one’s authority – sovereignty – as a spiritual act mandated by God.
Translated as “taking possession,” lareshet appears many times, often in connection with nun-het-lamed-taf, which is also translated as inheritance.
Although in Hebrew the “roots” are of three letters, they come in “families” which have a common two-letter root and a common meaning. These cognates, sort of “brothers” or “cousins” of yud-resh-shin, include: yerusha/morasha (inheritance); rashut (authority, ownership) from the root resh-alef-shin; rashum (registered) from the root resh-shin-mem; reshut (permission) from the root resh-shin-heh; rechush (property) and rachash (acquire) from the root resh-kaf-shin – all expressions of concepts of legal rights and relationship to property.
To whom, however, did the land belong? The land which the Jews conquered and occupied was inhabited by various tribes, city-states and powerful kings, some native and others not, like Hittites from what is now Turkey and Philistines from what is now Greece.
What right did Jews have to conquer this territory and occupy it? Even more problematic, why were they commanded to annihilate and/or expel those who would not accept Jewish sovereignty? And why only in Eretz Yisrael? Perhaps anticipating this challenge, Torah emphasizes over and over the sanctity of this specific area and the purpose of Jewish conquest and sovereignty: the establishment of an earthly kingdom that would reflect the Kingdom of God.
The problem was not what others might say, since until the rise of international bodies like the League of Nations and the United Nations only a few generations ago, conquering someone else’s land was perfectly acceptable. Land and property were taken by the more powerful, often provoking wars, without objection – except by the victims. Who cared if the Jews conquered Canaan/Eretz Yisrael? The Jewish people cared. Torah and Jewish law have much to say about these practical issues, and apply a unique set of principles and values to them. The commandment to take possession (lareshet) is not only a statement of power, but exercising the legitimate right of inheritance – a legitimacy grounded in God’s promise and in the purpose of the act. Establishing one’s ownership and responsibility (reshut) is the basis for Jewish sovereignty (ribonut).
Reshut implies law, the inherent right to taking control over one’s inherited property, the legitimacy of ownership and the exercise of authority. But lareshet means carrying out the act, thereby creating a new reality.
Unlike modern concepts of political self-determination, Jewish sovereignty is unique because it represents the national and religious focus of the Jewish people in an entity, a commonwealth and a civilization. Grounded in four millennia of history, Jewish sovereignty is both the institutions of statehood and the dimensions of the destiny of the Jewish people. Both national and transnational, its form is specific, but its content is transcendent. It occupies space, but exists in the realm of time.
Lareshet – taking possession of what belongs to you – means not only to occupy and extend authority, but to be mindful of what you do with that authority. As an expression of Jewish sovereignty, the State of Israel is consistent with this meaning.
The sovereignty of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael is not only a political act, but a moral and spiritual one. Jewish sovereignty, therefore, does not depend on what the international community decides, but on what Torah commands – redeeming Eretz Yisrael by returning it to the Jewish people, enacting a system of just and fair laws, hukkim u’mishpatim, that express the values of human dignity and the concept that God is One. (Top)
________________________________________________________________
CANDIDLY SPEAKING: ROSH HASHANA –
A TIME TO REJOICE
Isi Leibler
Jerusalem Post, September 12, 2012
For religious Jews, Rosh Hashana is traditionally a time to apply ourselves towards tshuva – a form of self-critical introspection combined with a spiritual commitment to improve our ethical conduct in the forthcoming year. We also pray to the Almighty to watch over us and our loved ones and grant us a shana tova – a good year.
Alas, in recent years, our masochistic tendencies have encouraged many of us to overlook the big picture and fail to appreciate the fundamentally positive reality of our current status. Some of us became so obsessed with the negative challenges confronting us, that instead of rejoicing, we exuded gloom and doom.
Of course our situation is far from being entirely rosy and today the Jewish nation state has become the surrogate for traditional anti-Semitism which is reflected in the intensifying global resentment and burning hatred directed against us.
We face the peril of a nuclear Iran led by religious extremists who openly proclaim their genocidal intentions.
The proliferation of Islamic fundamentalism throughout the region is now even threatening the peace treaty with Egypt, potentially our most dangerous adversary.
The combined power of the Islamic and rogue states has aggravated our isolation in the international arena.
Yet instead of radiating despair, after praying to return to Israel throughout the course of 2,000 years of exile, during which time our forefathers endured uninterrupted cycles of discrimination, expulsion, persecution and murder, we should surely be exuberant for being privileged to live in our own homeland at the height of the Jewish renaissance.
We should rejoice that in the wake of the great tragedy and horror of the Holocaust, we rose like a phoenix from the ashes, resurrected our nationhood and witnessed an ingathering of exiles from all corners of the world.
We can take pride that a combination of impoverished Holocaust survivors, Jewish refugees from Islamic countries, former Soviet Jews and a diverse mélange of religious, racial, social and ethnic Jews from all corners of the globe found haven in Israel and were molded and integrated into a robust nation. We should celebrate that the highly symbolic number of 6 million Jews now reside in Israel.
We should be celebrating the fact that today we have overcome powerlessness and that the IDF provides us with the capacity to defeat a combined onslaught against us from all our adversaries.
We generated a vibrant culture and transformed Hebrew into a dynamic living language, which until only a few hundred years ago was restricted to Jewish prayer, ancient texts and Jewish scholarship. We created universities and Nobel Prize laureates far in excess proportion to our numbers. We are today indisputably the center for Jewish scholarship and there is more Torah learning here than existed in pre-war Europe.
Despite being surrounded by neighbors seeking our destruction, we forged a Jewish state which retained its democratic ethos. Since its inception, all citizens enjoy “complete equality of social and political rights” and “freedom of religion and conscience, language, education and culture.” We promote gender equality with particular emphasis on the rights of women. We boast a society based on law in which presidents and prime ministers are held to a higher standard of the law than the man in the street – no mean achievement….
Israel’s economy is an extraordinary success story. With limited natural resources and an ingathering of exiles comprised primarily of penniless refugees, Israel, which was basically arid land, has bloomed and emerged as one of the most resilient economies in the world. Our scientific and technological achievements are exceptional and we represent the second most advanced hi-tech startup nation in the world, exceeded only by the United States.
Binyamin Netanyahu’s initiative in 2005 to persuade Stanley Fischer, one of the most talented economists in the world, to accept the role of governor of the Bank of Israel was a master stroke.
It largely contributed toward Israel being one of the very few countries which, until now, has averted a recession despite the global economic meltdown and hopefully will also enable us to minimize the painful effects we must endure in the coming year as a consequence of the ongoing downturn in Europe. Of course, there is also room for improvement and the constructive element within the social protest movement reflects the desire for greater equality.
We still face great challenges externally having lost the “sympathy” of many nations of the world, which in 1967 were preparing to weep for us in the belief that we were confronting annihilation. In contrast, today much of the global hatred against us emanates from the fact that we are no longer an underdog as well as resentment of the IDF’s ability to defend us from the barbarians at our gates.
If forced to choose between enjoying the world’s sympathy by being powerless victims or finding ourselves globally isolated because of our capacity to defend ourselves, most of us would unhesitatingly choose the latter.
We must not become blasé or take our blessings for granted. However, as we move towards 5773, if we take into account our incredible achievements, we surely have every reason to celebrate that our nation has emerged as the most extraordinary and miraculous success story of the past century. Above all, we should thank the Almighty and rejoice that we are the generation blessed to be living in a Jewish state.
Am Yisrael Hai and Shana Tova..(Top)
-
-
For Israel On Campus, Time To Show The Love
Times of Israel, September 13, 2012,
Stephen Kuperberg -
_______________________
-
Ten Affirmations For A Peaceful Year
Jewish Press, September 13th, 2012
Gary Tolchinsky -
____________________
-
Borderline Views: The Majesty of the Cantor
Jerusalem Post, September 10, 2012
David Newman -
_____________________
-
The gold medalist who came back from the dead
Jewish Press, September 13th, 2012
Aaron Kalman
Visit CIJR’s Bi-Weekly Webzine: Israzine.
CIJR’s ISRANET Daily Briefing is available by e-mail.
Please urge colleagues, friends, and family to visit our website for more information on our ISRANET series.
To join our distribution list, or to unsubscribe, visit us at https://isranet.org/.
The ISRANET Daily Briefing is a service of CIJR. We hope that you find it useful and that you will support it and our pro-Israel educational work by forwarding a minimum $90.00 tax-deductible contribution [please send a cheque or VISA/MasterCard information to CIJR (see cover page for address)]. All donations include a membership-subscription to our respected quarterly ISRAFAX print magazine, which will be mailed to your home.
CIJR’s ISRANET Daily Briefing attempts to convey a wide variety of opinions on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world for its readers’ educational and research purposes. Reprinted articles and documents express the opinions of their authors, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research.
