Comments on: Twin Towers and Twin Temples http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2005/08/11/twin-towers-and-twin-temples/ A Journal of Jewish Thought and Opinion Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:37:35 +0000 hourly 1 By: Francine Marino http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2005/08/11/twin-towers-and-twin-temples/comment-page-1/#comment-24403 Francine Marino Wed, 17 Aug 2005 17:46:35 +0000 http://www.cross-currents.com/?p=395#comment-24403 Why is it an "almost irrational emotion" to grieve at the sight of the bare Manhattan skyline? The gap left by the destruction of the Twin Towers only reminds one of the murder of 2,749 innocent people in a brutal terror attack. Surely it is natural to grieve and to empathize with their bereaved families who are alive and suffering, in a deeper way, than for those who suffered in the time of the Churban. The Eish Kodesh, the Admor of Piaseczna, (a.k.a. The Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto) who perished in the Shoa, left behind a moving legacy in his collection of drashot on Parshat Hashavua. In his final entry, the one on Shabbat Chazon, (the Shabbat of two weeks ago), he pointed out that there is no mourning like that for tragedies we actually see and feel ourselves. He added that the mourning and tears he and his congregants experienced in years past on Tisha B'Av was based on hearing, reading, learning. But it was only, during the Shoa, when they were witnessing tragedies with their own eyes ("chazon, lachazot"= vision, to see), and experiencing them first-hand that they realized what a pale imitation of grief their Tisha B'Av sentiments in previous years had been. I know too many people who manage to cry on Tisha B'Av, but have no tears for friends or neighbours who have experienced tragic pain. Now that's disturbing. Why is it an “almost irrational emotion” to grieve at the sight of the bare Manhattan skyline? The gap left by the destruction of the Twin Towers only reminds one of the murder of 2,749 innocent people in a brutal terror attack. Surely it is natural to grieve and to empathize with their bereaved families who are alive and suffering, in a deeper way, than for those who suffered in the time of the Churban.

The Eish Kodesh, the Admor of Piaseczna, (a.k.a. The Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto) who perished in the Shoa, left behind a moving legacy in his collection of drashot on Parshat Hashavua. In his final entry, the one on Shabbat Chazon, (the Shabbat of two weeks ago), he pointed out that there is no mourning like that for tragedies we actually see and feel ourselves. He added that the mourning and tears he and his congregants experienced in years past on Tisha B’Av was based on hearing, reading, learning.

But it was only, during the Shoa, when they were witnessing tragedies with their own eyes (“chazon, lachazot”= vision, to see), and experiencing them first-hand that they realized what a pale imitation of grief their Tisha B’Av sentiments in previous years had been.

I know too many people who manage to cry on Tisha B’Av, but have no tears for friends or neighbours who have experienced tragic pain. Now that’s disturbing.

]]> By: Chava Orah http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2005/08/11/twin-towers-and-twin-temples/comment-page-1/#comment-23738 Chava Orah Fri, 12 Aug 2005 21:56:29 +0000 http://www.cross-currents.com/?p=395#comment-23738 Rebbetzin Feldman: I loved your article, and I truly hope that the Rabbi will let you write more often. But, one thing disturbs me: do I really have to do the laundry on the tenth of Av? Can't I just put it off a few more days and allow the sense of mourning to linger? Rebbetzin Feldman:
I loved your article, and I truly hope that the Rabbi will let you write more often. But, one thing disturbs me: do I really have to do the laundry on the tenth of Av? Can’t I just put it off a few more days and allow the sense of mourning to linger?

]]> By: Nechama & Tehila Grossman http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2005/08/11/twin-towers-and-twin-temples/comment-page-1/#comment-23735 Nechama & Tehila Grossman Fri, 12 Aug 2005 21:49:25 +0000 http://www.cross-currents.com/?p=395#comment-23735 We were very touched by Rebbetzin Feldman's poignant description of her recent visit to New York. But, why did she need to travel to Lower Manhattan? Doesn't she know anyone in Passaic? You can see the Manhattan skyline from the top of Ascension St. We were very touched by Rebbetzin Feldman’s poignant description of her recent visit to New York. But, why did she need to travel to Lower Manhattan? Doesn’t she know anyone in Passaic? You can see the Manhattan skyline from the top of Ascension St.

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