Friends of justice and those who value human life all over the world are celebrating the victory of American forces over one of the great forces of evil in our world in the past two decades, Osama bin Laden, who was killed by American Special Ops in Pakistan. And celebrate we must! On this Yom HaShoah, commemorated in the Diaspora on Sunday and in Israel, today, Monday, we remember the millions for whom there was no worldly justice. So let us celebrate that sometimes we are able to carry out justice on earth; sometimes we are given the power to vanquish our enemies. From the Song at the Sea to the Song of Devorah and to the chants of the Star Spangled Banner and “USA, USA”, let us sing a “shira chadasha”, a new song, that this victory will be only the beginning of a final and sustained victory over hatred, terrorism which usually centers around the Jewish people and the Jewish state. Kudos to President Obama – great work and a great speech – the US military – pulling this off despite a helicopter crashing – and to the United States in general, which is fighting the good war with her greatest ally, Israel. As our great prophetess Devorah said, “Kein yovdu kol oyvecha Hashem” – just as Bin Laden was vanquished so may all of God’s enemies be vanquished, with God’s help and with our efforts.
Rabbi Asher Lopatin
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