JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: …As we approach the 10th anniversary of this tragedy, we can search in Parashat Ki Tetzei for a way to respond to it. The parashah ends with the verses about Amalek’s attack on the Israelites, shortly after they left Egypt (Deut. 25:17–19). The Torah says, “Remember what Amalek did to you . . . when you were famished and weary, [they] cut down the stragglers in your rear” (v. 18). According to the JPS translation, the words v’lo yarei Elohim (and not fearing God) at the very end of this verse refer not to the Israelites, as one might think, but to Amalek. The enemy did not fear the Divine, and so they attacked. The paragraph goes on to say that when the people of Israel reach their own land and are at peace, they should blot out all memory of Amalek itself, but always remember what Amalek did…
An ongoing response to 9/11 can now be proposed. As the parashah mandates, we can try to forget the man who plotted 9/11, who no longer walks the face of the earth, and others like him who preceded him. But what we have to remember every minute of every day is how to build a society in which the most vulnerable and defenseless individuals—the poor, the physically and mentally disabled, religious and racial minorities, foreign immigrants, the frail elderly, children, women—are not exploited by those in power. We have to create an expectation for brother to protect brother, and sister to look after sister. Our compassion, suggests the Torah, must even extend to animals. In such an environment, the strong will not take advantage of the weak. It may take many years, but ultimately good will flourish and evil atrophy…. (more)
