What We Learn From the Convergence of 9-11, the Syria Decision, and the Jewish Days of Repentance

My photo at Seattle's Safeco Field taken 9-11-05

It's a Jewish principle that when things come in threes, they're symbols for past, present and future.

Today is the convergence of three emotionally-charged events, and the "principle of threes" seems to hold.

With the twelfth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and United Flight 93, we recall the shock of our vulnerability, and continue to mourn the horrendous losses perpetrated by al-Qaeda suicide bombers. This is our reminder of the past, even as it influences our lives daily via ongoing security precautions and suspicion.

In the present, politicians and pundits mull the best response to Syria's use of poison gas on its populace. Secretary of State John Kerry says he'll meet with Russia to work out an agreement in which Syria would surrender its gas stores. This after his urging a "limited air strike" that Pres. Obama pushed as recently as last night: "The purpose of this strike would be to deter Assad from using chemical weapons, to degrade his regime’s ability to use them, and to make clear to the world that we will not tolerate their use," the President broadcast.

Pres. Obama justifying 'limited air strike' on Syria, 9-10-13

Meanwhile, both Republicans and Democrats remain divided on whether an expensive gesture so long after Assad's Aug. 21 chemical attack would accomplish anything other than repeat the displeasure Pres. Obama has already expressed. However, now that Russia has Syria's acquiescence on the possibility of relinquishing its chemical weapons, the President's argument for his "limited air strike" seems wimpy and even irrelevant.

The present includes tension and potential for frightening--or peaceful--consequences.

The third simultaneous occurrence is the Jewish "Ten Days of Repentance," in which we search our souls, redress our wrongs and beg God and those we harmed for forgiveness. We hold that certain times of year are imbued with spiritual characteristics, and these days just before Yom Kippur, the most fateful in our calendar, brim with intensity, not only because of our personal evaluation and correction, but because our sincerity and effort will determine events in the coming year. In other words, our contrition and resolve to do better now will influence what happens to us in the coming months: the future.

Today is an opportunity to mourn and learn from 9-11; to discern carefully and ask for guidance as law-makers make the decision about Syria; and to right our personal courses in anticipation and preparation for consequences in the future.

Here in the Northwest, summer's heat lingers, even as the leaves on maples burnish. The beauty of God's physical world is vibrant and apparent. His influence on non-material events is easy to dismiss, but just as pertinent. Perhaps some sensitivity to the confluence of the physical and the spiritual can improve the chances that these three coalesce for the best.

Looking at Imperfections

In the midst of the most solemn ten days of the Jewish calendar--the time between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, when only fervent prayers, giving charity and repentance can affect God's plan for us over the coming year--newspapers remind us that most everybody else is still obsessed with the superficial and mundane.  Like whether space between front teeth is the latest rage in sexy looks.

OK, that and New York's Fashion Week, which seems to be just as important as politics, natural disasters and financial crises.

But the front page story in the Wall Street Journal about gap-toothed models being the new fad because their frontal lapse gives them "authenticity" did bring a close-mouthed smirk.  How about the authenticity of really yellow teeth?  Or the authenticity of wrinkles?  "I think people want to see something different, something off," said a casting director choosing models for designers. The editor of W Magazine said younger generations eschew the photoshopped perfection of the digital age: "It's a love for the imperfect and the authentic," he opined.

The article goes on to talk about various models and celebrities with spaces between their front teeth--most of whom are otherwise perfect.  Admittedly, embracing dental abnormalities consoles me, since my parents could not afford orthodontia, and, though my front incisors are solidly together, my lower teeth are staggered and my canines only fashionable with the popularity of Twilight.

With snaggle-teeth trendy, I can now focus on less apparent but more serious imperfections.  Like recalling and righting the many affronts and missteps in my behavior over the past year.  Like incorporating more uplifting and giving activities in my daily routine; not just promising to do them and conveniently allowing other "urgent" events to intervene.  Like developing discipline so that I maximize productivity instead of succumbing to easy and undemanding stuff, like internet browsing and email.

Models' smile-styles and the Ten Days of Repentance form the ideal juxtaposition. Makes me grin--gap-teeth or no.

Taking Stock

Well, I survived. Every time I go into Yom Kippur, I'm not quite sure if God will actually grant me another year. I still don't know for sure, but at least He didn't knock me off the planet today. My fast was pretty easy and the service was actually inspriational--as much as all day in synagogue can be. There's a jumble of emotions throughout the services, including a few non-verbal moments when I don't know if I'm connecting with God, or just thinking I'm connecting with God...but it's intense and even tearful.

I've done the break-fast dishes and it's late, but I was shocked, downright shocked to see that the stock market took a further tumble, down 679 points today. Most in the last 90 minutes of trading. That brings the market down 2,251 points in a week, a drop of nearly 21%, almost as bad as "Black Monday" in 1987 when the Dow sank 22%.

This is dizzying as far as our savings. However, we had a lovely meal this evening with some good friends. We are alive and so far still have jobs and school. But the financial news is scary and I'm afraid won't help our side in the election, just three weeks away. Actually, it helps neither side--I think the nation is stunned and we'll just hold onto our seats as this roller coaster swishes us into the breeze.

My Life Flashed Before my Eyes...on the eve of Yom Kippur

Last night, my life flashed before my eyes. Thank God, I was not on the verge of death, though some say that on the eve of Yom Kippur, we are in such a state. Last night, I saw flashes of all my memorable moments since 2003, in fractions-of-a-second glimpses. I was mesmerized; I couldn't budge, as time moved before me; my daughter went from a gangly little girl to beautiful young woman; my son from pre-pubescent child to a young man nearly six feet tall. The seasons changed as I stared, with afternoons in the swimming pool shifting to autumn pumpkin fields and falling leaves, to snow-covered driveways with kids on sleds, through Passovers in Phoenix, San Diego, Hawaii, Los Angeles, and tulip fields of blindingly brilliant color.

All on my computer screen.

I had installed a new printer, one that works through a local internet connection, and upon its settling in on my hard drive, the web offered me the chance to start up. Click! And suddenly all the photos in my "My Pictures" file--about 19,000 of them--started appearing in front of me. Apparently, I'd inadvertently started up a photo editing and organizing program that needed to download all my photos so I could use it. Never mind that I've got several other brands of the same kind of software (my favorite by far is Microsoft Picture It! because it offers you one button none of the others do: "sharpen or blur." If the photo is a gooey mess, one shift of this slider gives you sharpness! Amazing! It's rescued and perfected many an underlit snapshot).

But I took this display of my life as more than just an internet quirk. On the eve of Yom Kippur, I assigned it an almost mystical significance. It allowed me to realize how very blessed I am, how free from any real problems, and to pledge (ble nedar!) to be worthy of such riches by applying myself to mitzvot and Torah study with greater dedication. It inspired me to take Yom Kippur even more seriously--I think of the word 'pleading'--that the coming year allows me to continue with the same opportunities, creating the same types of marvelous memories, that I saw last night on my computer screen.

Maybe this sounds hokey. Like most people, I do see Yom Kippur as a challenge, something difficult to get through. But of course it's the opposite; it's a means toward liberation, a clean slate. I wish all my Jewish friends g'mar chatima tova, may you be sealed for a good and sweet year, and may you enjoy each moment as much as I've enjoyed mine.