August, 16, 2000
This T"u B'Av, a day in the Jewish calendar for joy and love, the world watched as 116 men slowly perished on a Russian submarine at the bottom of the Barents Sea, only 330 feet from the surface. Granted, weather conditions made rescue nearly impossible. However, I, and countless others, was still glued to the TV screen checking the news every two hours as I nursed, then one month old, Gavriel. At one time the Soviet Union had the best submarine rescue system. With the fall of the USSR those boats were sold for scrap, too costly to maintain.
The US immediately offered aid, in any form needed, but the offer was ignored, neither accepted nor rejected. Three days after the sinking Russia finally asked for help from Britain. Why did it take three days, each day the possibility of rescue diminishing. Can we, as human beings, be so xenophobic as to allow the lives of 116 to slip away due to pride, fear, or worse, political agenda.
In Judaism, we are taught saving a life overrides all. Usually we refer to this a pikuach nefesh, but that does not fully cover the need. The rule of pikuach nefesh refers only to the immediate community. Rather, it is for reasons of Tikkun Olam that we care for the greater human community. Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, is especially important during the season of Tisha B'Av, a time when the Great Temples of Jerusalem were destroyed, the city burned because of sinat hinam, senseless hatred. Once again in this season souls are allowed to slip from this world because we hate and fear more than we love.
Not only among countries does this feeling flow. While many rejoice in the choice of Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman as the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate. Again feelings of sinat hinam flow, from within the Democratic Party itself, from the head of a NAACP chapter, Louis Farakhan, and Al Sharpton.
October 31, 2010
It's amazing how human nature never seems to change. These words could have been written in so many moments before the sinking of the Kursk, and in so many moments since. Sometimes we seem to be on the brink of destruction, but the I look back on moments like this, and I wonder if we always seem to be ready to hate.
