9/11 Ten Years Later - Have we learned anything?

It's 10 years later. Looking back, have we learned the necessary lessons? Have we learned anything at all?

For most of us, 9/11 was our first first-hand exposure to pure evil. We got to see from up close what our brothers and sisters in Israel have experienced for decades: pure, unadulterated evil, in the form of human monsters who have absolutely no regard for human life.

Have we grown from the experience?

Have we gained clarity on the importance of stamping out evil, or have we reverted back to our old ways of apologizing for our foes?

Have we as a society gained the courage to stand up proudly in the correctness of our cause, or has fighting evildoers become a matter of opinion and your particular political point of view?

Are we passionately pursuing our G-d given mandate to make the world a place where goodness prevails, or are we too preoccupied with how we'll be viewed by the bad guys and their sympathizers?

These are not, in my view, political questions. They're moral ones. Are we a moral people who clearly know right from wrong, or do we continue to equivocate?

It's Rosh Hashana time, time for an honest look at ourselves. The macro is a reflection of the micro. Perhaps if we introduced more moral clarity into our personal lives, we'd have the requisite resolve to defeat the enemies of goodness on a global level.

The Creator granted us free choice in all our moral choices. Fighting evil is a moral choice.

The Torah spells it out in two simple words:

Choose life!

Rabbi Shalom M Paltiel