Modulate
November 29th, 2008 by Leora
Bad news is all over. If you take it all in, if you identify with every single story on the news, you will not be able to function. On the other hand, if you bury your head in the sand, you will not understand who is attacking whom and how it might effect you and your family.
My father was a young teen living in Brooklyn, New York during World War II. He told me that sometimes, when he is in a basement and he sees someone with heavy boots walking by, he imagines in his head that the boots belong to Nazi soldiers. They don’t, and thanks to brave American, British and Russian soldiers the Nazis never set foot in New York, but that early memory of terror still lives inside. Even in those days when news came only through newspaper or radio, it resonated in the head of a young person.
On Friday morning, concerned about the situation in Mumbai, I looked in Twitter and read the tweet of an also concerned person: ” Is it just me or is this situation in Mumbai w/ the Rabbis driving you crazy too? I’m obsessed & worried as if I knew them.” I tweeted back (you only get 140 characters in these tweets): “it is a skill to learn to back off of the news and to modulate. Let it in in bits, but then get back to your life.”
And now I am going to take my own advice and post only a few of the memorable posts in response to the horrible tragedy in Mumbai:
- Jacob Da Jew: Thoughts on Mumbai
- Baila: 14 million in Mumbai and they find Chabad
- Joshua Pundit: Chabad Rabbi and his wife murdered in Mumbai
- magiceye in Mumbai: Peace at Last
- Hadassah Sabo: Needless Slaughter
- Ilana-Davita: On Rabbi Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg
- Pamela Geller: Moshe Turns Two Today
- Westbankmama: Terrorists may have stayed at Chabad to scope it out
- Melanie Phillips: The War Against Civilisation
- Indian Jews are scared for the first time in 2,500 years
- Jack: Were they tortured in Mumbai?
- Mimi: A candle for the victims of Mumbai
- Israel Matzav: Crying for and with Moshe Holtzberg
- Woman Honor Thyself: Why Do Muslims Kill Jews?
- A blog devoted to the Holtzberg’s Efforts in Mumbai (ht: Lady-Light)
May the families find comfort. May the world understand good and evil and find a proper path to deal with the evil.
I look forward to posting Today’s Flowers tomorrow. That meme is always a source of comfort for me.
Beautifully written. Thank you for sharing the links.
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Amidst all the horror, what sticks in my mind the most is the idea that that little baby turned two yesterday, just two, without his parents there to hold him. He has lost everything that was familiar to him, never to be regained, and he’s too young to even remember that life used to be good.
The baby’s turning two yesterday also shocked and pained me.
“May the world understand good and evil and find a proper path to deal with the evil.”
You said that so well.
I’m just heartbroken over this.
It just seemed so unreal. We had the live feed blasting from the computer, and I forgot to call my baby and say “happy birthday.”
Great post
Leora, I’m so sorry for the loss of so many good people in Mumbai. Especially those that were there in Chabad House to do good.
Thanks for the link.
Mary, thanks for your nice note about Chabad. These two, husband and wife, sounded like they were such loving, hard-working, warm people. All the losses are sad, but that this couple was targeted is so horrific.
It is terrible.
I don’t think I will ever understand how a human being can take the life of another. All through history, will it never end? All most of us want is a world where we can live in peace and to love our fellow man. It is heartbreaking to read once again that so many lives have been taken. You have written an eloquent post. I will read the links you’ve given us.