To Taste The Sweetness
We are living in days in which light and darkness are mixed together. We are witnessing times when the lines between good and evil seem to be blurred, or totally non-existent.
When terror raises its ugly head, there are many well-meaning people who would rather try to explain away the root causes of this evil than confront and stop its rampage. This desire may be seen as laudable, and even logical, except that hesitancy regarding direct confrontation with evil is perceived by that evil simply as impotent weakness. Yet, in a world wherein confusion reins, it is this trend of avoidance that is taking hold.
Yet, terrorism for the sake of terror cannot be anything but darkness. The purposeful murder of innocents, for whatever ideal, cannot be construed as light. In a world suffering under a fog of confusion regarding values, everything becomes relative and simple truths are deemed "unsophisticated."
In this part of the world, clear thinking becomes critical for survival. Twenty years of the same type of cloudy judgment by Israel's leaders has sown much pain and heartache in this battered land. Yitzchak Rabin, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon and at times even Binyamin Netanyahu has been swayed by the lure of easy, yet unattainable, solutions. By so doing, they have all tilled and prepared the ground that nourishes evil and terror.
However, in the midst of all this pain and heartache, the people have, by necessity, become stronger and more determined. In the midst of sorrow, they have had to make decisions to reach beyond it, to the positive and the good. It is that optimism and strength that will eventually guide this people to safer and more secure harbors.
Such is the reality of this period of the people's journey to their destiny. The birth pangs of this nation invariably involve a painful mixture of destruction and hope. In order to survive the destruction, one must continually focus on vision and hope. Never before have the choices been so clear and evident. These are choices between the yearning for anonymity and for self-effacement by part of our people, and the courageous and faithful resoluteness of the healthier and more vibrant part.
As we enter the season of the Days of Awe, we must remember that Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) is not only the Day of Judgment, but it is also a time of choices.
We must, in the midst of hardship, choose to focus on vision and destiny, rather than on hopelessness and fear. We must decide to connect with that which is noble and courageous in our people, and distance ourselves from the cowardly, self-serving actions of those who claim to be our leadership.
In these days, we bless each other with the traditional blessing, "May you have a good and sweet new year." As faithful Jews, we believe that all things are ultimately for the good, but we pray that G-d allows us to also sense the sweetness of those same things.
May we all be inscribed for a good and sweet new year.
