10 Years Ago Today...

Ten (eh-ser) עשר
Today (ha'yom) היום
Change (l'sha-not) לשנות


10 Years Ago Today I...
- was 13 years old and in the 8th grade at Percy Julian Middle School
- thought that I wanted to go to Washington University in St. Louis and become a doctor like the rest of my family
- was beginning to learn about the US government and study for my constitution test
- was celebrating the fact that my birthday just narrowly missed falling on Yom Kippur
- was beginning to think about the next year when I would be a freshman in high school at OPRF
- could go to an airport less than an hour before my flight and still get to the gate before boarding time
- was sitting on a bus when another student told us that the third world war had started (this was her interpretation of the events on 9/11)
- was sitting in all of my classes watching the news unfold, watching the towers collapse one after another, and doing math because our math teacher refused to let us watch the news
- had no idea who Al Qaeda, the Taliban or Osama Bin Laden were and thought that terrorist attacks only happened in Israel
- didn't understand why groups of people around the world could hate each other so much that they choose to kill themselves and others over it


Today I am...
- a graduate of OPRFHS and Indiana University - Bloomington with a degree in Jewish Studies
- studying to be a rabbi at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion
- thinking about all of the work that I have to do before the high holidays in a few weeks
- living in Israel for the year
- learning about people who have such a strong connection to the land of Israel that they are willing to fight and die to protect their homeland
- celebrating the fact that my birthday this year falls on the second day of Rosh Hashanah
- listening to the events occurring in the Middle East with a heavy but hopeful heart
- not understanding how it is that groups of people around the world can hate each other so much that they choose to kill themselves and others over this hatred


10 years ago, events happened that changed the United States of America, and the world at large. While 10 years is a long time, and many things have changed, at the same time there are some things that have changed very little. For my generation, this is the pearl harbor, or the assassination of JFK. We will always remember exactly where we were when we first heard of these terrorist attacks, and for the most part, will remember exactly how our days played out. Generations before us have experienced the same thing, whether it was hearing of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the assassination of JFK, or any other tragic event. These are events that have become a part of our collective memory, and it is important for people to be able to tell their personal stories so that when generations to come feel that they may have no connection to a specific event that happened prior to their birth, they have people to turn to that can remind them of what life was like: prior to that day, on the day, and after the day of these sorts of events. 


As we remember the events of 10 years ago, we not only remember the actions of the terrorists, but those that gave their lives to help and protect others. This past weekend my classmates and I spent a weekend in the north of Israel. One of our speakers spoke to how life is an obligation, not a choice. For the people who fought valiantly on the plans so that fewer people would be harmed, for the policemen and firefighters who bravely entered the burning towers, and for anyone who did anything to help a fellow human on 9/11, they all lived their lives as an obligation not a choice. We can only hope that the rest of us are able to live up to the standards that were set for us 10 years ago today on 9/11/2011. זיכרונם לברכה - May their memories be for a blessing.