I am still in shock. I haven’t written about what happened in Boston on Monday other than on my Facebook page. But what the city of Boston and our nation experienced is exactly what Israel experiences on a regular basis and throughout the Second Intifada. A bombing on a city street where people were gathered intended to kill and maim. That is what happened in Boston on Monday. My hearts go out to the families who lost loved ones. And my heart goes out to those who were injured. Some still in critical condition. Some who lost limbs. Some who are still in shock. And we still don’t know who the perpetrators of this heinous crime are. We may never know whether it was domestic or foreign terrorism, but we do have to remain a nation committed to our values of equality, liberty and freedom of speech. When terror strikes, the tendency is to clamp down so that these bedrock values won’t interfere in catching the criminals. But we must ensure that America continues to thrive and that our determination to overcome such enmity will happen through the continued heroism of first responders, doctors and nurses, family members and the kindness of strangers on streets who pitched in together to help.
Today we count the omer -the days between Passover and Shavuot-it is a week of Netzach-or endurance. We shall endure and we will outlast and outflank such evil at every turn. Endurance is what a marathoner needs. Let it inspire us all.