The world has definitely changed since last September 11.
An American recently told a reporter: "I would like to live
in Western Europe. To live a good life, a quiet life, not the
life of a world power that is worried about the peace of the
entire planet, that attracts hatred, jealousy and terror. I
would like to live an anonymous life in an anonymous
country."
Then last week, the French authorities announced that they
had credible warnings of plans by Al Qaeda, the worldwide
Moslem terrorist organization founded by Osama Bin Laden, to
carry out large-scale attacks in France, Germany and Belgium.
The countries of the European Union set up an international
task force to try to frustrate the planned attacks.
For centuries perhaps one of the quietest and most peaceful
areas of the world was the South Pacific island of Bali, now
part of Indonesia. An island "paradise" its main industry was
Australian and European tourism. It is almost invariably
rated as one of the most beautiful tourist spots in the
world. An Israeli travel agent who visited it dozens of times
said, "In international tourism there was a feeling that this
was one of the most protected spots in the world. The feeling
one had there was that no one would even throw a stone at
anyone."
Now Bali has joined the 21st century. A vicious bomb (or
bombs) murdered almost 200 and injured many more. Most of the
dead and wounded were Australians, who regarded Bali as their
own vacation spot.
Australia also felt that terror was a problem for the rest of
the world. No more. The prime minister of Australia said that
his people would have to accept that their "wonderful
isolation" is over. The forces of terror seek them out.
The sense of security that so many people enjoyed until
recently is a relatively modern feeling. For most of recorded
history, people lived under constant threats. They could be
set upon by roving marauders, or could suffer natural
disasters like fires or floods. Very few individuals felt a
sense of security as strong as much of the world felt up
until a year ago.
The Torah has always taught: "Happy is he who puts his trust
in Hashem" (Tehillim 40:5). Now it is very clear that
only one who puts his trust in Hashem can attain any real
security.
Maran HaRav Shach, whose first yahrtzeit was last
week, often spoke about the importance of realizing fully
that our source of security is Hashem, and nothing else.
Addressing those who felt that the State of Israel
"guarantees" the safety of the Jewish people, Maran wrote:
"Do not think that we suffered the Holocaust only because we
had no state. That is not the case. The state does not
guarantee our existence, even if we had five million
[citizens] or more. Chas vesholom if there is a war
between the great powers, of what value is all this with
today's technology? Even if we were strong, this would mean
nothing against a great power."
The nisoyon of developing a false sense of security is
much smaller than it was. The daily headlines make it all too
clear that we should only trust in Hashem.
