Reflecting On Sept. 11 This Shavuot
We're Still God's Children
SIMCHA TZIPPY COHEN
Special to the Jewish News
T
hirty-three hundred years
ago, God gave us His Torah
[the holiday of Shavuot
marking that began at sun-
down Thursday]. At this momentous
occasion in history, God also took us to
be His people forever. Over the last
thousands of years, and especially in the
last 100 years, we, His people, have
been persecuted to unfathomable
dimensions.
One may start to question whether
God still holds us to be His people.
Often, people wonder how we can be
God's children and still be persecuted
so. The answer to this difficult ques-
tion can be found in a very unlikely
place: the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on
America. Through all the fire, terror
and horror of
that day, one
can see amaz-
ing miracles
that took
place.
Miracles that
show that
through it all,
God is still
watching
over us.
In New
Simcha Tzippy Cohen
York City,
around me because I never know what
could happen tomorrow.
Of course, I've always been a Jew, but
it means something different for me
now Before the tragedy, being a Jew
meant praying, believing in something
with others, and Israel. Now, it means
those things and more. Like every
American teen, I have a full schedule,
but a priority for me is helping other
Jews. Whether it's visiting the Jewish
Home for Aged and dancing with the
residents, or attending community
events, being with Jews has definitely
become a major factor in life for me.
Offering to help with little kids in
daycare or
bringing in
food for Yad
Ezra, the
Berkley-
based kosher
bank, is
something
that can
affect other
people's lives
enough for
them to take
a
step in the
Shannon Fink
Torateinu relates to the theme of free-
dom. Each Shavuot, the Book of Ruth
is recited because it describes Ruth's
decision to dedicate herself whole-
heartedly to
Judaism.
Similarly,
the strong
religious alle-
giance that is
commemo-
rated on
Shavuot is
depicted in
the Israelites'
receiving of
the Torah.
They show
Susan Goldis
they freely accept the Torah with
unconditional fidelity when they
proclaim, "Nakseh Veneeshmah" (We
will do and we will observe.) Upon
this declaration, the Israelites prove
they will commit themselves entirely
to God's requests.
During the holiday of Shavuot, we
recognize that both Ruth and the
Israelites freely chose loyalty and
absolute adherence to Judaism. In
modern times, the issue of free
choice is still a main riff between the
western world and Islamic ideology.
While Judaism recognizes the need
for free decision, the Islamic world
turns its back on this essential value.
Religion is founded upon principles
of morality, yet morality cannot exist
without freedom. Sept. 11 was perpe-
trated by a group of people who had
Give To Others While You Can
SHANNON FINK
Special to the Jewish News
INT ith Shavuot here, we
remember that God gave
the Torah to the Jewish
people. And giving of
oneself has been uppermost in my
thoughts. I think since the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks on America, selfless
giving has become more important
than at any other time. When the sui-
cide bombings started, I learned a very
valuable lesson: to take in everything
Torah And Terrorism
SUSAN GOLDIS
Special to the Jewish News
T
he rights that we take for
granted in America are a
mere caprice to millions
around the world. We are
ensured _the right to practice religion,
without fear of terror or threat.
Yet on the morning of Sept. 11,
Jews realized that freedom is not so
secure. The attack on America made
us wake up to the calamities that
Israelis experience daily.
This year, recent events parade
through our minds as we celebrate
receiving the Torah during the festival
of Shavuot. This holiday of Matan
5/17
2002
104
there is a group of religious Jewish men
who have their own ambulance net-
work; 85 of these men were at the
World Trade Center helping the rescue
effort. They were all in different places
when the towers collapsed; everyone
could hear in their walkie-talkies the
cries of the other men who were blind-
ed by smoke and thought they weren't
going to make it. In the end, every sin-
gle one of these men made it out alive,
each with a harrowing tale of how he
made it. There were buses that traveled
every day from Lakewood, N.J., to the
World Trade Center. On the day of
the attacks, more than one bus lost its
way — thereby saving all the people
inside it. On the day of the attacks,
prayers in synagogue were longer than
usual because it was before Yom
Kippur; therefore, many men came
late to work. On the morning of the
attacks, there was a memorial for
someone who had been killed 30 days
earlier; many of his co-workers came
to his memorial and didn't make it to
work.
These are just a few out of the thou-
sands of stories like this.
If you look for the miracles,
you'll find them. And there is no
doubt in my mind that God hasn't
forgotten us. ❑
Simcha Tzippy Cohen, 17, is a senior at
Beth Jacob in Oak Park and president of
the student council She attends Agudas
Yisroel-Mogen Abraham in Southfield.
Her parents are Golda and Rabbi Avi
Cohen of Southfield.
right direction. Helping others is
something that is so important for
everyone. There are others who don't
have what we do; and if we all help
each other, there is a guarantee of
everyone surviving through the hardest
of times.
Being a Jew is unique: We were the
ones chosen to receive God's sacred
book. We have to give of ourselves, as
if there were no tomorrow. ❑
Shannon Fink, 17, daughter of Kathy
and Harvey Fink, is an 11 th-grader. at
Lahser High School in Bloomfield Hills
and a member of Temple Israel.
skewed ethics under immoral leader-
ship. In light of recent events, Jews
must use the Torah's teachings of
leading an ethical life to stand against
the repression of freedom.
Just as we once chose to uncondi-
tionally accept the Torah, modern
Jews must reinforce their choice to
stand by Israel. This Shavuot, we
must remember our ancestors' com-
mitment of Nakseh Veneeshmah and
use the same passion in our attack on
terrorism. ❑
Susan Goldis, 17, is a junior at the
Jewish Academy of Metropolitan
Detroit. She is the daughter of Cheryl
and Alex Goldis of Bloomfield Hills
and a member of Congregation Beth
Ahm in West Bloomfield.