Once again, we have commemorated 9/11. 23 years. While each commemoration is unique, this year is it hard to imagine marking this day in the midst of a post-October 7th year.
Most people are unfamiliar, but Israel is the only country outside the United States to host a 9/11 memorial mentioning every name murdered on that day.
This week, as a Sinai Temple Religious School, under the leadership of Danielle Kassin, we visited Engine 59 of the Los Angeles Fire Department to thank them for their work in saving lives every day.
The Torah teaches us the mitzvah to return one’s lost donkey to their neighbor. The Torah continues that you also must return a piece of clothing, as simple as an inanimate object as well. Rashi comments that this commandment exists so that we do not pretend that we do not see these objects.
Each year, we commemorate an event such as 9/11. We must not pretend that it did not exist. We must recognize the horror of that day but also continue to acknowledge the miraculous goodness that was demonstrated from first responders and from good Samaritans.
At Fire Station 59, we received a beautiful tour and learned that a firefighting team is a family. They cook for each other, they clean for each other, and ultimately, they take care of each other.
We as civilians hear the sirens and often take for granted the work they do. As we concluded our tour, we recited the Pledge of Allegiance, sang the Star Spangled Banner and Oseh Shalom, and blew the shofar. I explained the call of the shofar was the original siren that wakes us up.
Yes, it is a difficult world. But there is so much good, so much love, and so much peace, if as Rashi says, we do not pretend that it does not exist.
