Day of Horror, Day of Hope

Day of Horror, Day of Hope

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

April 16, 2013

The horror of yesterday’s events hasn’t subsided yet.   As I stepped outside my home this morning it seemed to me that a cloud of smoke was hanging over downtown Boston.  Of course it wasn’t.  It was only the sadness in the air, and the dust that was slowly settling to the ground.

The graphic pictures in the media, the interviews, the heartbreaking stories of tragedy, horror and heroism bring to mind so many other events that have shaped our young century.  Patriots’ Day 2013 will remain etched in our memory along with other dark days and nights.  It will never feel the same again.

It’s still too early to identify perpetrators and to point fingers at any individual or organization, and we must be careful not to do so until all the evidence has been gathered and sifted through.  However, patterns can be perceived. 

Yesterday was Patriots’ Day, commemorating the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.  America was born to be a place of refuge.  It became a haven for the poor and persecuted.  It provided new hope for millions who sought freedom of thought and faith and who hoped to leave old prejudices behind them.  Patriots’ Day is Boston’s day of pride for its role in the events that shaped this New World.  That Patriots’ Day was chosen for the running of the Boston Marathon—an event bringing together a diverse multitude of peoples, faiths and cultures—represents not only a commemoration of our past, but also the present and future hopes that America stands for.

Boston is still a haven for immigrants.  My own neighborhood has seen a demographic shift from housing built for veterans of World War II, to people of Italian descent, to Latinos and, most recently, to immigrants from Russia and the Far East.  Just down the street from us is Moody Street in Waltham, a strip of shops and restaurants representing every conceivable nationality and culture.

The terrorists chose Boston, the Boston Marathon and Patriots’ Day as the setting for their vile deed of hatred and violence because these are all about what America always was and still is today—a champion of freedom and diversity.

The media had converged on Copley Square, the finish line of the marathon, assuring the terrorists of the widest possible publicity.  What they didn’t take into consideration, however, was the excellent security that prevented a greater horror yet, and the immediate presence of a great medical support team.  As horrible as the bombings were, the results could have been more devastating.

There are lessons to be learned.

Somewhere out there, someone is hailing yesterday’s horrific events as acts of heroism.  It is cowards, however, who plant bombs in trashcans, aiming to hurt innocent bystanders. 

Terrorism seeks to plant fear in our hearts.  Instead, what we saw yesterday was an outpouring of love, support, encouragement, prayer and hope.  People opened up their homes and hearts, doing everything they could to alleviate the pain and horror.  Messages of support poured in from around the world.  Instead of the divisive effect the terrorists had hoped for, there was unity borne of grief and sadness.  That is true heroism.

For me personally, yesterday was a doubly sad day.  I was remembering the fallen of the State of Israel’s wars—more than 25,000 in its 65 years.  There was Yoram, my next door neighbor who fell in the Six Day War; Eli, a family member, who fell during the Yom Kippur War; and Gadi Manela, a true hero, a friend to me and brother to my brother, who was killed chasing terrorists in the Jordan Valley in 1968.

Today is Israel’s 65^th Independence Day.  It is a day I normally celebrate joyfully, with blue-and-white flying colors.  Today, however, I’m wearing a black ribbon over my heart.  I grieve for the heavy price of defending freedom.  I grieve for the 8-year old boy who was killed yesterday after running out to hug his father, his hero, who had just crossed the Boston Marathon Finish Line.  I grieve for the other two dead, and for the many who are still in hospitals fighting for their lives, and I grieve for the hundred plus spectators and runners who are maimed, injured and awaiting months and years of therapy—both physical and psychological.

Of the many factors America and Israel have in common, there is one thing I wish we didn’t share:  Terrorism.  But the truth is that we do.  It is the heavy price we pay for our freedom.  Terrorism has not cowed Israelis; it won’t make Americans run for cover either.  It only serves to reinforce in us our purpose and resolve.

On this 65^th Independence Day of the State of Israel, may God bless and keep Israel strong, safe and secure. 

On this day of sadness and hope in Boston, may God keep America strong and guide it along its path and purpose of providing safety, shelter and hope for all humanity.

God bless America.