Like all other tragedies, the calamity of September 11, the subsequent anthrax scare and the war in Afghanistan have put the "blamers" to work full-time. Blaming is the most neurotic of all human behavioral patterns. Pointing accusatory fingers to explain wrongdoing is the greatest of all "cop-outs." It obscures our responsibility to right wrongs and to prevent them from happening again. Society has paid a very heavy price for the indulgence in blame. Jews, more than all others, seek explanations rather than defenses and, more importantly, protection and prevention. Reasons for suffering are much less significant than avoidance. The act of blaming distracts and creates a plethora of apocrypha and outright lies.
Blamers in the aftermath of September 11 created crazed stories. One accused the Mossad of convincing pilots to commit suicide. Another claimed that rabbis called four thousand Jews the day before to tell them not to show up for work at the World Trade Center. Ridiculous, you say? Numerous Internet articles revealed that many people believe these blatant and disgusting lies. On the other hand, both latent and overt anti-Semites accuse Jews for the hatred some Moslems feel for Americans, saying they hate us because of our one-sided support of Israel, which is completely false. Then there are Jews who attack other Jews and place the blame for September 11 on those who live in so-called Israeli settlements. Others falsely blame fervently Orthodox Jews for conflicts between them and other Jewish movements, another absurdity.
Anti-Semites and hateful terrorists are demagogues who exploit the human need to blame and the cowardly desire to be diverted from reality to declare, "It's not my fault." It's no different from the ill-behaved student whose immediate defense is, "I didn't do it. He did."
Americans and society in general face a long war and a serious challenge to civilization as we know it. Meanwhile, Israel is at the crossroads of the worst threat to its existence since 1948. We can't stop the propagandists and hate mongers who will seek us out again with a modernization of the old blood libels. The current war is the most threatening event in the annals of human history. Purveyors of this war are angry madmen who lust to dominate all of humankind, not only Jews and Christians but the vast majority of Moslems, as well. However, Jews are especially vulnerable, and blaming each other is, heaven forbid, a ticket to apocalypse.
Unity, much like love, is an oft-repeated word now reduced to mundane meaningless. Yet, just as love remains the cornerstone of human virtue and strength, unity among Jews and all freedom-loving people is the quintessential need of our time. Internal back-biting and neurotic distraction must be strenuously avoided. We are not the enemy. The hate mongers and terrorists are our exclusive adversaries.
Humankind has never been as threatened as it is today, but never has the human race faced potential for a new dawning of universal peace and brotherhood. A confrontation that includes the threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of demonic individuals who lust for death, including their own, is an unprecedented awakening. Man, and more specifically, Jews have a singular choice: unite or perish; love or hate, without alternatives.
I would replace blame with prayer, the proverbial source of hope and inspiration. Israel faces new challenges imposed by terrorists who do not seek peace or resolution. World Jewry once again is falsely accused, reminding Jews who surrendered their Judaism and Jewishness to assimilation that they have no disguises. The hateful remind them of their Jewish identity and heritage. Committed Jews need to reach out with greater love and bonding. Hashem chose us from among all people to lead the way by example. If we love each other, we may well lead all of G-d's children to do the same.
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Rabbi Grossman, former President of the Rabbinical Council of America, is the Chairman of the Board of Religious Zionists of America.
Blamers in the aftermath of September 11 created crazed stories. One accused the Mossad of convincing pilots to commit suicide. Another claimed that rabbis called four thousand Jews the day before to tell them not to show up for work at the World Trade Center. Ridiculous, you say? Numerous Internet articles revealed that many people believe these blatant and disgusting lies. On the other hand, both latent and overt anti-Semites accuse Jews for the hatred some Moslems feel for Americans, saying they hate us because of our one-sided support of Israel, which is completely false. Then there are Jews who attack other Jews and place the blame for September 11 on those who live in so-called Israeli settlements. Others falsely blame fervently Orthodox Jews for conflicts between them and other Jewish movements, another absurdity.
Anti-Semites and hateful terrorists are demagogues who exploit the human need to blame and the cowardly desire to be diverted from reality to declare, "It's not my fault." It's no different from the ill-behaved student whose immediate defense is, "I didn't do it. He did."
Americans and society in general face a long war and a serious challenge to civilization as we know it. Meanwhile, Israel is at the crossroads of the worst threat to its existence since 1948. We can't stop the propagandists and hate mongers who will seek us out again with a modernization of the old blood libels. The current war is the most threatening event in the annals of human history. Purveyors of this war are angry madmen who lust to dominate all of humankind, not only Jews and Christians but the vast majority of Moslems, as well. However, Jews are especially vulnerable, and blaming each other is, heaven forbid, a ticket to apocalypse.
Unity, much like love, is an oft-repeated word now reduced to mundane meaningless. Yet, just as love remains the cornerstone of human virtue and strength, unity among Jews and all freedom-loving people is the quintessential need of our time. Internal back-biting and neurotic distraction must be strenuously avoided. We are not the enemy. The hate mongers and terrorists are our exclusive adversaries.
Humankind has never been as threatened as it is today, but never has the human race faced potential for a new dawning of universal peace and brotherhood. A confrontation that includes the threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of demonic individuals who lust for death, including their own, is an unprecedented awakening. Man, and more specifically, Jews have a singular choice: unite or perish; love or hate, without alternatives.
I would replace blame with prayer, the proverbial source of hope and inspiration. Israel faces new challenges imposed by terrorists who do not seek peace or resolution. World Jewry once again is falsely accused, reminding Jews who surrendered their Judaism and Jewishness to assimilation that they have no disguises. The hateful remind them of their Jewish identity and heritage. Committed Jews need to reach out with greater love and bonding. Hashem chose us from among all people to lead the way by example. If we love each other, we may well lead all of G-d's children to do the same.
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Rabbi Grossman, former President of the Rabbinical Council of America, is the Chairman of the Board of Religious Zionists of America.