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War of the WorldsChukat 5765 Sermon, July 8, 2005Rabbi Ben Sharff On Wednesday, Joy and I went to see the latest blockbuster from Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise, a remake of H.G. Well's War of the Worlds. I must say the effects in the movie were absolutely incredible. It was an experience on an epic scale, yet in true Spielberg style; you saw it through the eyes of the prototypical "everyman" played by Tom Cruise. In War of the Worlds, Cruise's character is a deeply flawed absent father who struggles to save his family from nameless and faceless alien attackers. Now for those of you who have not seen it, I promise not to give away the ending, but as I understand it, it does not stray to far from the original radio play, which happened back in 1938, only a little bit before my time. Following the first attack by the aliens, Tom's character Ray gathers up his son and daughter into a mini-van to race away from the menace. Of course the first question Rachel, played by Dakota Fanning, asks is: is it terrorists? Terrorist such a simple word that can strike us cold. Terrorism, the nameless, faceless fear. In many ways it has become modern evil of the world. And ever since that fateful day already almost four years past, we have become increasingly sensitized to the word. But we have enjoyed a period of relative calm until this past Thursday when they struck through cowardly acts against our sister nation across the Atlantic. England, amidst the celebration of receiving the 2012 summer Olympiad, now is in the process of mourning her victims, a feeling we here know all too well. I certainly cannot describe what some of you may of felt, but I felt a knot in the middle of my stomach when I heard the news from my wife. I got up and turned on the news to see Katie Couric repeat over and over again the same news, attempting to interview both experts and survivors who could recall the sights and sounds of the attacks. All the while wondering what drives men to do such evil? Why must people resort to attacking and killing innocents when there are better ways to resolve our problems in the world? How is one to respond to such events? What are we to do? We try to be a little more vigilant in our every day life noticing left luggage at the airport or an unattended backpack at the mall. We watch the news soberly like that which came across our televisions yesterday, and then we go about our lives. As our compatriots in Israel would say, this is the most important thing one can do. One needs to go on living every day. One needs to keep appreciating their loved ones, and thank God for each day that goes without violence. And yet like an aching back that slowly stops hurting us over time, we forget. We become so successful in living our lives that we forget to appreciate our loved ones as much. We forget to enjoy each day that goes by without violence, until we have one that shakes us from our slumber. Part of the issue is it is human nature. Human beings are survivors, and the only way to survive is to keep going on with our lives. But this survival can also have a numbing effect. When we hear of soldiers dying in Iraq, it doesn't tug at our heartstrings as much as it once did. Each time it is almost a little bit easier to get up from off of the mat. But I also think part of the problem is that the word "terrorism" is thrown about to readily, to easily. When one wants to start a panic, they just have to utter the phrase. Hence it seems whenever an event occurs, our first thought, like Dakota Fanning's is: "Is it terrorists?" And when some are not throwing the word or phrase causally around, we will more often than not, find them being portrayed as the key bad guys in our movies, since the Cold War has ended. And in that way they become almost unreal or surreal, less objects of fear, and more the idea of something happening far away. And this is where I think our heritage, our unique experience as a people can be our guide. Who knows better than the Jews the nameless fear that can keep people awake at night? Who knows better than the Jews random acts of violence? In many ways what we are facing in this modern world, we Jews have faced for over two-thousand years, and through it all we have survived. As the prophet Isaiah says, "Comfort your people, take comfort." Isaiah, or more likely a second prophet named Isaiah spoke these words to the Israelite people in the midst of their first exile from Jerusalem. The Israelites were scared and lost in the wilderness of Babylon. Isaiah spoke words to comfort to them. He helped them to see that a return to Israel was imminent; all the Israelites needed to do was return to God. Of course today the solution isn't quite so simple. People have returned to God so much in these recent days that God's words of comfort and consolation have been lost in words of self-righteousness and absolutism. Some are even demanding violence in the name of God, which as we know all to well, can lead down a dangerous path. In this week's Haftarah from the Book of Judges, a boy by the name of Yiftach was born to his father Gilead. However Gilead fathered Yiftach with a woman who was not his wife. Therefore Yiftach was scorned and banished by his half-brothers, the legitimate sons of Gilead. As time passed, the Ammonites a neighboring people decided to attack Israel. Israel needed a military leader, and they sought out Yiftach. And when they came to him Yiftach asked a fair question, "You hated me; you drove me out of my father's house; now, when you're in trouble, why do you come to me?" The answer was of course no real answer at all, but after promising Yiftach leadership over all of Giliad, he agreed to fight against the Ammonites, whom he easily dispatched with the help of God. According to our tradition: we ponder first, then we pray, then we communicate, and then we find the right course of action. This is the key to allowing us to both survive and live on while the nameless fear continues to wander in and out of our midst. Our tradition teaches us to have a unique sense of perspective. This perspective begins first with the assumption that we as a people will survive. Whether we have to seek out the help of someone like Yiftach, or we seek the strength within our own hearts, our heritage has taught us we will live on. We continue to teach the next generation for this very reason as we are commanded to do every time we recite the V'Ahavta. However survival is only the first step. The second step is to live our lives in the face of adversity; to keep living our lives our way. In the wake of attacks it is all to easy to sit and become glued to the television set waiting for something new to be mentioned. All the while forgetting that despite a reporter's best efforts, news tends comes slowly only small bits and pieces at a time. After watching five minutes of the Today Show, I realized Katie had repeated herself repeatedly. I turned it off knowing that it would take awhile before more useful information would come out. But survival and living our lives are only the beginning. The most important step, the most significant is to continue our work here and abroad to alleviate the conditions that lead desperate men to do desperate deeds. The causes are too many to name but they include poverty, injustice, ignorance, intolerance, and many more. Our tradition teaches us again and again to speak out and do something about all of these issues. The author of Deuteronomy tells us never to forget the stranger, the widow, or the orphan in our midst. The Micah the prophet told us to seek justice and pursue it. The reason for this is as Isaiah tells us, that in the days to come, each and every human being shall be exalted, and the Eternal's Presence shall be revealed. So instead of hiding from this nameless fear, we need to be out standing up to it. We need to continue to confront wrongs wherever we see them. We need to keep looking after the stranger, the widow, and the poor in our midst. We need to continue to demand of our politicians that they seek solutions and not just squabble over committee appointments. For inaction is the worst response one can have against a nameless fear. Even us here in Tucson have power to help repair the world. Our actions here, like chaos theory teaches us about a butterfly flapping its wings, can have a profound effect upon the world well beyond its original intention. All we have to do is act. May God grant us strength to continue to strive being good people and making the world better, so that terror has fewer places to thrive. And may the movies such as War of the Worlds be one day, just that, movies, and not allegories for larger real evils. And may we continue to have the strength to seek peace and justice and pursue it wherever it exists.
Cain Yehi Ratzon, May this be God's will.
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