November 2001 Ich Bin Ein New Yorker By Rabbi Alvin Kass When President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin during the infamous Soviet blockade, he shouted in an affirmation of solidarity with the besieged inhabitants of the German capital: Ich bin ein Berliner. Notwithstanding the horrible events that brought down the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, I feel proud to say: Ich bin ein New Yorker. Ironically these suicide attacks may well have inspired New York's finest hour. There was an outpouring of love which was nothing short of overwhelming. Judging from the multitudes who came from all over to help, a lot of people outside New York also wanted to affirm at least temporarily: Ich bin ein New Yorker. In 35 years of service as a chaplain for the New York City Police Department, it dwarfed anything else that I had ever experienced. A couple of hours after the attack, I surveyed the Ground Zero area to see if I could be of help. The sight was sickening. It was a veritable war zone. Destruction was everywhere. The smoke was so thick, I thought it was the middle of the night. It was impossible to walk around without a mask because the air was suffused with gas, ash, and other irritating substances flying about. It was incredible to think that those Twin Towers were no longer standing. I recalled an incident over twenty years ago, when I was called in by the police to persuade a Jewish man not to jump from the World Trade Center. Fortunately, that episode worked out well. I was then called to Police Headquarters where I stayed until close to 3:00 A.M. working with my colleagues in the police chaplaincy to offer strength and comfort to families of police officers who were unaccounted for. There was a whole team of psychologists and counselors who were at hand to share in these sacred labors. Throughout the night, the Police Department's top brass kept everyone informed regarding the latest developments. Even these veterans who had seen every conceivable phenomenon had tears in their eyes as they spoke. Of course, the most painful part of this whole experience for me has been the knowledge that beautiful and wonderful people whom I have known and loved for many years perished in this senseless ordeal. The attack on the World Trade Center brought out the best and the worst in the human spirit. Those who executed this sordid scheme represent the most nefarious ingredient of the human personality. On theother hand, the heroism, courage, self-sacrifice, nobility, and generosity evoked by the attack validate our profoundest beliefs in man's redemptive potential. These two sides of our character are what Judaism refers to as the yetzerhatov (good inclination), and the yetzer hara (bad inclination). Every person oscillates between these two poles. Our challenge is to engage in conduct which promotes the positive side of our nature. Sometimes, we wonder how God could have created a world where such terrible things happen. But that is the price of God's gift of freedom. The saga of history is filled with instances of men and women exercising their free will in an evil way which hurts many innocent people. It is, however, encouraging to know that people can rise to the exalted level of goodness and virtue. May the glory of the human spirit made manifest inthe World Trade Center disaster continue to elevate our better nature for a long time to come.