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Monday, October 10, 2005
I'm Disaster Weary
My wife always makes fun of me because whenever there is a disaster occurring, I become riveted to the TV. I watched the tsunami, London subway bombings and Hurricane Katrina coverage for hours. It seems like there have been way too many disasters this year. In the past week alone we have witnessed flooding on the East Coast of the United States, a deadly mudslide in Guatemala and the massive earthquake in Pakistan and India. With every disaster we have made a donation to the many relief agencies, and will continue to do so. Thousands of people have died, but this time I haven't watched any of them on TV. I don't know why for sure, but I think it may have to do with the fact the we are in the midst of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
I sat in synagogue the other day and as always, was struck by the words of the U'netaneh Tokef portion of the prayer. This is the central part of the service, in my eyes, where the central purpose of the day is laid out:
All mankind will pass before You like members of the flock. Like a shepherd pasturing his flock, making sheep pass under his staff, so shall You cause to pass, count, calculate, and consider the soul of all the living; and You shall apportion the fixed needs of all Your creatures and inscribe their verdict.
And then the text continues:
...how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die at his predestined time and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword, who by beast, who by famine, who by thirst, who by storm, who by plague, who by strangulation, and who by stoning. Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquillity and who will suffer, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted.
The difference for me this year is that I paid closer attention to the different ways that people would "pass from the earth" and to the other things that could happen to them. Whereas in previous years many seemed far-fetched and archaic, this year "water, fire, thirst, storms and plagues" were much more real. There were people who lost there homes in the tsunami and in New Orleans who could not "rest" and now "wander." Many people died before their time.
But not only does it say that God considers how many will pass, but it also says He considers how many will be created. In the last year, I was blessed to become a father to my newborn son. Perhaps it is selfish and unworldly, but this Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, I choose to focus on that aspect of the holiday because I have never been able to before. There seem to have been so many terrible natural disasters in the last year and I feel privileged to have my own little private miracle at home. May this coming year be devoid of any more disasters and full of miracles for all. - posted by wanderer @ 10:30 PM
