On Fridays, we email two Elul Thoughts, out of respect for those of us who choose not to look at email on Shabbat. We wish you a blessed and restful Shabbat and hope you continue finding inspiration in our Elul Thoughts.
Rabbi David Young
25 years ago today, I was walking through the Jerusalem campus of Hebrew Union College when I got a call from my mother. She told me of a terrible accident in New York at the World Trade Center as I was walking to class. A few minutes into the call she said, “Oh my God, another plane just hit the other tower. This is no accident.” With those words, “this is no accident,” my world view changed.
Being 5000 miles away from home created a feeling of isolation for my wife Natalie and me as well as for a lot of our classmates. We had gotten used to experiencing terror with an unspoken understanding that we would eventually leave and return to the US where it was safe. Suddenly we felt like we had nobody to turn to. We felt so alone.
But we did find people. We found each other. Our class of cantorial, rabbinical, and education students became incredibly close as we huddled in one of two apartments for two and a half days. We watched the news, we watched mindless comedies, we held each other, and we prayed.
As we come to the 25th anniversary of that horrible time in American history, may we find our people, huddle together, hold each other, and move forward as a strong, committed community celebrating a beautiful new year. May 5787 be a year of working toward peace and working positively with those who others try to make our enemy.