What is worth sacrificing for...
March 23, 2002

The Torah reading for this morning deals with the sacrifices our ancestors brought to the sanctuary as their way of drawing closer to God. Their sacrifice was a material one - an animal, grain from the field. I imagine that for our ancestors that was indeed giving up a lot. In those days, people hardly had the kind of expendable wealth that we do today. So to bring a lamb to the sanctuary, to donate part of their harvest, was a hardship, a sacrifice.

Hardship and sacrifice are at the heart of the human experience - and not just in ancient times. A week ago Monday, we commemorated the six-month anniversary of the terrorists attack against America. I am thinking about the 3,000 korbanot, sacrifices, that ascended to heaven in the towers' flames, just as ancient sacrifices went up in flames on the altar in the sanctuary. I am thinking about the documentary about the Twin Tower attack shown on CBS TV on the eve of the anniversary. It was shot by a French cameraman who happened to be at the scene because he and his brother were producing a documentary on firefighters. Through the lense of his camera, we saw actual footage of firefighters and rescue workers risking and, in all too many cases, giving their lives, in an attempt to save the victims of that horrendous act of terror. The bravery of New York's firefighters, police and rescue workers, their physical and inner strength, their willingness to incur sacrifice, personify the reason why Osma Bin Laden and others of his ilk, will never succeed in their attempts to undermine our nation.

Our generation is not the only one that has incurred terrible losses for the sake of preserving our great nation. Recently, I came across an article about the 56 men who signed America's Declaration of Independence in 1776. It detailed the dreadful price these men paid to ensure that future generations of Americans would live in freedom. Let me tell you what befell a few of those 56 signers. Five were captured by the British, tortured and hanged as traitors. Two lost sons who served in the Revolutionary army. Nine died of wounds suffered while fighting in the Revolutionary War or from the hardships of the war.

Carter Braxton, a wealthy planter and exporter, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He was forced to sell his home and properties to pay his debts. He died in poverty. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr. noted that the British General, Corwallis, had taken over his home for his headquarters. Nonetheless, he urged General George Washington to open fire on his home which was destroyed. Thomas Nelson Jr. died bankrupt.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she lay dying. For more than a year, he lived in forests and caves. When he returned home, he found his wife dead and buried; his thirteen children had vanished; his fields and gristmill had been laid to waste. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

It is said that everything worth having can only been gotten through sacrifice. The story of these early American patriots remind us that blood and tears are the price we must often pay for the blessings that mean the most.

Our brethren in Israel know that truth all too well. The blessing they seek is to live normal lives in their Jewish homeland. Yet, every week there are terrorist atrocities. Commuters on a bus, children eating in a pizza parlor, families celebrating a bar mitzvah, teenagers dancing at a disco, students studying in a school, and soldiers and police trying to protect them are targets simply because they want to live proudly as Jews in a Jewish state.

A colleague recently received a letter from his daughter who made aliyah five years ago and lives in Jerusalem. She speaks about the hardship of living in these times in Israel. Nonetheless, she declares, unequivocally, that she and her five million fellow Jewish citizens are there to stay. They will not be defeated. These are her words: "We are learning to live our lives differently. Instead of going out to a café, I will be bringing the café to me. Our usual Friday brunch of brewed coffee and french toast at Bagel Bite is being moved to my apartment. It will be cheaper and safer that way, and we will have just as much fun. Physically I am OK and am learning to deal with new stresses in daily life. We all cry a little easier, but we have also learned to celebrate the little things and the not so little things. Babies are still being born; it is the season of weddings; and I am going to a Bar Mitzvah in two weeks. It is pretty much spring here. The sandals are coming out of the closet, and the jackets have been put away. We take walks in the sun when we can, just to remember the simple things, and take pleasure in them.

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for all of Israel. Write a letter to a soldier, or to a victim of terror in the hospital, talk about Israel, think about Israel, read a magazine about Israel, find a website about Israel, sing Israeli songs, dance Israeli dances. We aren't going anywhere. We will always be here, whatever turn our lives make take." What comes to my mind is a statement found in the Talmud uttered by Rabbi Akiba. He said: "It was only through suffering and adversity that Israel obtained these three priceless gifts: the Torah, the land of Israel and the world to come.

With regard to the land of Israel, that suffering and adversity is on-going - as the three suicide bombings in Israel this week demonstrate. And what are the prospects for the future. Certainly, the Zinni mission and the Saudi Peace Plan offer a glimmer of hope of cessation to the killing. However, personally, I am not optimistic at this moment. I don't see any signs that the Palestinians are ready to end the terror. In fact, I believe that their successes in killing over 300 Israelis in the last 18 months, have emboldened them. Even more than that, I believe that they now think that they can wear Israelis down and eventually take over the whole land of Israel which many analysts have long held was their goal all along.

But Hirsch Goodman, writing in the Jerusalem Report, assures us that "This is a war the Palestinians are going to lose and with painful costs." He wrote: "Until now Israel has responded like an occupier, not as an army that is defending its country in time of war. That is going to change if the killing continues. As for those who think that sophisticated weapons don't count in low-intensity, urban conflict, they should think again. The side that has the night-vision, heat detecting capabilities, armored vehicles, helicopters, missiles, advanced intelligence-gathering capabilities, smart weapons and the dozens of other elements that apply, has the clear advantage. Ask the Taliban. The Palestinians are going to pay a bitter price for Arafat's unrealizable dream of an Israel destroyed." Then he adds this important point. "Of course real victory will have to come in the form of a negotiated settlement to end the conflict. And Israel has the strength to make that happen."

Because of the indomitable spirit of the our brethren in Israel and their commitment to solving the conflict between them and their Palestinian neighbors, peace will come to Israel - one day. Especially at this season of the year, we dare to dream of a better future. For even as we celebrate on Passover the redemption that came to our ancestors in Egypt, we look forward to a future redemption. This is the hope that Passover keeps alive. As the last line of the haftarah this morning promises, Elijah, the prophet is waiting in the wings for God's instruction to return to earth to proclaim that the peace of the Messianic age is at hand. It's a wonderful hope, a tremendous dream. It's realization cannot come too soon.

Shabbat Shalom, Hag sameach. Have a zisen, a joyous, Pesach.