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Has the world changed since September 11th? The short answer to that question is, yes and no: Yes, we all witnessed, literally - via live television images of the devastation - the most destructive terrorist assault ever perpetrated; no, the world continues to be scarred by violence, huge divisions between ‘North’ and ‘South’, ‘East’ and ‘West’, gigantic discrepancies between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’, the powerful and the powerless. The world hasn’t changed – couldn’t change - in less than six months. But have we learnt anything that can help us to change the world into a better, safer place – a realm of justice and peace for all humanity? It’s probably much too early to formulate decent responses to that question. But, whether we have learnt anything or not, the events of September 11th have taught humanity many lessons. Some of these lessons had already been repeated many times during the last century – and we still haven’t learnt from them. One of these lessons concerns the distortion of religious beliefs into creeds of hatred and violence. All the world religions share common values about the integrity and dignity of each human life, and the need to treat everyone with justice and compassion. All the world religions call on their adherents to relinquish violence and evil and create peace and goodness. And yet, the world over, we find people defaming, maiming and killing others in the name of their religion. It’s not just a Muslim problem – it’s a Christian problem, a Hindu problem – and, yes, a Jewish problem, too. With Purim on the horizon, a time when we ‘remember’ the numberless times our people has been persecuted and butchered by numerous Haman-look-alikes over the centuries, we also have a duty to remember that it was on Purim six years ago, that Hebron-resident Dr Baruch Goldstein rampaged into the mosque next to the Cave of Machpelah, and gunned down sixteen Muslims at prayer. Sadly, although he acted alone, Goldstein had many supporters, and his grave has become a shrine for the ‘faithful’. An extreme interpretation of their faith can lead people to believe that God only loves them and their co-religionists. Unfortunately, as a result of the over-exposure of religious extremism in the media in recent years, ‘Religion’ has become a dirty word. It’s up to all those for whom religion means, peace, justice and compassion for all God’s children, to do what we can to promote these values and to act on them – both locally and globally. Religion can be the ‘scourge of humanity’ – the catalogue of horrors perpetrated in God’s name is almost endless - but we can make it a blessing. ©
Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah |
