(excerpted from Rabbi Alex’s Rosh Hashanah Day sermon. The full text is available below.)
“Twenty years have passed since 9/11 and yet memories of that day linger as if they happened yesterday. In the space of a few hours, our faith in God and humanity was shaken to its core. Could we ever look at the world around us in the same way again? Would we ever feel safe?
September 11, 2001 represents a liminal moment in the history of our country and world. All of us old enough to remember, remember vividly the sights and sounds of what should have been a quiet Tuesday in an otherwise forgettable week.
Close your eyes and try to picture exactly where you were, who you were with, and what you were doing in the early morning hours of September 11, 2001. How much of it still comes back to you?
For me, it was the sunshine on my face as I prepared for the first day of classes in my second year at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. It was around 8:30 in the morning and I had just called my sister Mara in New York City for her 24th birthday. She told me I might want to check out CNN. An hour later, after watching the towers fall on the tiny television in my room, I tried to call her back. There was no answer.
The rest of the day is somewhat of a blur. I remember heading to classes and being told everything had been canceled, watching hours and hours of tv coverage, and, I remember crying. Nothing would ever be the same ever again.”
Take a moment now to write down a few reflections you have about where you were that day. Send them to me. I would love to share them at our Friday night service tonight.
Below are my complete sermons from Monday night and Tuesday morning
Finding our own way back home together
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xHrqFfRinw[/embedyt]
Learning to live in the shadow of 9/11
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0du9phbZxg[/embedyt]
Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah,
Rabbi Alex