This Land is My Land

Hello again and welcome to "This Land is My Land." we've just returned from Uman where we spent Rosh Hashanah with Rebbe Nachman and some 10,000 Breslover Chassidim. It was there we heard the terrible news of the Arab attack against the US. Our hearts go out for the victims of the barbaric Arabian murders and our sympathies to all those who suffered, those who are still suffering, and those to whom the immense suffering of this tragedy is still yet to affect.

We mourn the loss of life of the hijacked jet which crashed near Pittsburgh.
We mourn the loss of life of the hijacked jet which crashed into the first of the two towers.
We mourn the loss of life of the hijacked jet which crashed into the second of the two towers.
We mourn the loss of life of the hijacked jet which crashed into the Pentagon building. We mourn the loss of life of those killed in the Pentagon.
We mourn the loss of life of those who were killed in a most hideous manner, in the wanton, deliberate destruction of the Twin Towers by the barbarians.
We mourn the suffering of those who were fortunate to escape the burning infernos. And we rejoice in their salvation.
We mourn the suffering of those who were unfortunate enough to lose their livelihoods while we rejoice in their physical salvation.

As of today, there are some 7,000-8,000 people who were murdered in cold blood by a diabolic plot of murderous Arabs. If we reckon that every human being has family, close friends and community, then 7,000 people translate as some 50,000 people who are suffering directly as a result of a band of Arabian terrorists. For each one has a spouse, parents, grandparents, children, siblings, their children and families, each has their close friends, etc. Thus we join in the mourning of those suffering – who are left with the question "WHY?!" "WHAT FOR?!" "TO WHAT PURPOSE?!"

Thus, most of all, we mourn the birth of Yishmael (the wild creature), as eloquently described by Rabbi Chiya (see essay #16 and #17), who, without a single expression of remorse, without a single millisecond of hesitation, willingly caused the death and destruction of so many people – as well as ruining the lives of their loved ones and the livelihood of millions of people – with a glee, satisfaction and heartfelt pride that the Nazis, Spanish Inquisitors and Genghis Khan would have been hard-pressed to match. This was displayed to the entire world via the media until those same "freedom of speech" networks were warned off by the Arabs and ceased showing the footage of the Arabs rejoicing while New York burned. So much for their "fair reporting" of the news.

As discussed in previous essays, God's judgment is unfathomable. We cannot comprehend even in the most simple logical manner the magnitude of this terrorist act, let alone ever actually make sense of it. But, as with every tragedy, there is some lesson we must glean from it, to help improve our lives and in order to continue building a better future. To begin with, we must first see what the world's "leading power" has to say for itself, in terms of past positions and its present pending postulations.

Make no mistake about it, the United States Government, though deploring the loss of life, isn't too greatly upset abot it. After all, with a population of more than 250,000,000(!) the number of deaths are quite insignificant. As proof, we cite the loss of the many hundreds of lives of Israelis in the Holy Land during the past year due to the thousands of terrorist attacks. If we compare the proportion of deaths per capita from terrorists attacks, the percentage of Israelis killed is greater than those killed in the States. Yet, we have seen that the US government has ALWAYS urged "restraint" as the means of combating terrorism. Thus, though for us poor simple law-abiding citizens even the loss of one human being is unconscionable, US government policy dictates that a "few" deaths are "tolerable." Then what is all the governmental hullabaloo about the terrorist attack? Because it struck at the heart of America – it's financial and defense centers – in short, its pride was finally cut open and exposed to the core.

The solution now, as seen by those knights of the round table in the oval office, is how to square the equation without getting lost in the pentagonal maze of triangular rhetoric. In other words, having supported terrorism for the past several decades, how can the government extricate itself without soiling itself too badly. Ridiculous you say?! After all, the government has repeatedly denounced terrorism! But sadly enough, it has supported it all these years.

Osama Bin Laden, the favorite choice as the perpetrator of these atrocious acts (though it is still unproven) is a Saudi. The Saudis have supported Yasir Arafat from the day he founded the PLO back in the 1960s. They have held the world as hostages in the "Monopoly Oil Game." Yet the government has been a very close friend and supporter of the Saudis. Can anyone truly believe that the Saudis have totally renounced Osama Bin Laden and any connection to him? Does anyone truly believe that the other Arab states denounce terrorism and Bin Laden? Yet, the three stooges (President and Secretaries of State and Defense) are now forming a coalition of anti-terror nations which includes Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Pakistan, and of course, Yasir and the PLO. And they even tried to draft the Taliban from Afghanistan! What wisdom! What sagacity! What courage! What cynicism! And what a pity upon the unsuspecting world.

But what does this mean to us? After all, we are struggling to survive in our Land? Even as the world "leaders" are shooting off at the mouth against terrorists – if we read their lips properly – people are being shot at and killed in Israel, the Arab violence remains unabated, and are accompanied by those "leaders" unending calls for restraint. This, as aircraft carriers and warplanes are converging on Afghanistan, readying to lay to waste a country which lies in ruin by the hand of its own leaders! Barnum and Baily couldn't put on a better circus. But the Pentagon was attacked and the Twin Towers were laid to waste, taking with them thousands of innocent victims. What lesson does this carry for us?

If we look at it from a defense point of view, we clearly see King David's prophecy (Psalms 127:1), "If God does not watch a city, the watchman's guarding it is in vain." It is only by Divine providence that we can survive in a world filled with murderous wild creatures, those who commit atrocities without the slightest cell of human compassion. It is up to us to arouse this Divine Providence, which, as explained in earlier essays, is directly connected to the sanctity of the Holy Land (Essay #4, and #8). And, as Rebbe Nachman explains, the way to arouse Divine Providence is to subdue avarice, the lust for wealth and money (Likutey Moharan I, 13:1). Thus the two targets chosen by the Arab murderers were not random choices by God. They are to teach us to develop our faith and our reliance upon God, as One Who protects, as the ONLY ONE Who can protect. For how can anyone ever guard himself against a single terrorist or a small group of people who present themselves as your friendly neighbors and best friends yet seek your total death and destruction. Only God can know their thoughts and protect us, if we invoke His compassion and Providence. And to invoke that Providence, web must cleanse ourselves of any immoral or illegal business transactions.

As our Sages teach, the Generation of the Flood were steeped in everything illegal. They worshipped idols, engaged in immorality, in adultery, homosexuality and even bestiality. Yet, despite their gross behavior, the decree against them which sealed their fate as victims of the Flood, was their business immorality – which translated as theft and larceny (see Rashi on Genesis 6:13). We must make sure to repay our loans. We must make sure to deal honestly. We must keep our word. We must pay our bills and settle our accounts.

Interestingly, the Shulchan Arukh applies these same ideas to Yom Kippur, which is just hours away! What sense does it make to ask God for forgiveness if we have no intention of changing our ways? How can I ask God forgiveness if I hurt the other person and took or kept back from him, that which is rightfully his? So I must make amends. And as I rectify my deeds, I invoke God's Providence, God's Compassion. I can effect His forgiveness and merit to a good inscription in the Book of Life, amongst the righteous.

And, just as I merit by correcting my financial dealings to invoke God's providence upon me, so to, do my deeds invoke an arousal of God's Providence upon all mankind. This enables us to benefit from His Providence to the extent that the sanctity of the Holy Land is revealed and that the long Arabian nights of exile and death be defeated by the radiance of His light and life. May we all merit to repent properly and to thereby merit to be inscribed in the Book of Life, with a full forgiveness of all sin, a return to God and a spiritually satiating way of life, a life of good health and prosperity, and that this year will see the Coming of Mashiach, the Redemption of Israel and the Building of the Holy Temple, in OUR Land, speedily, Amen.

A g'mar chatimah tovah to all,
Chaim Kramer