The Pride of New York

Growing up in New York it was ingrained in me at an early age to take pride in being a New Yorker. I was taught that it is a privilege to live in the Big Apple. I was constantly reminded that New York has the greatest museums, restaurants, theatre productions, subway system, and of course the best people. There is a big sign on the Belt Parkway near the border of Brooklyn and Queens that sums it up well; the sign declares “Leaving Brooklyn: Fuhgeddaboudit” (see attachment for picture). How can one have the audacity to even leave one part of New York for another part of New York? It is not even an option to leave the city! In fact, any other city in the United States is referred to by New Yorkers as “out of town”, which implies New York is the center of the world and everything is simply out of the loop.
The center of New York’s pride is the skyline, which embraces Manhattan. It symbolizes how “advanced” New York is from its counterparts throughout the world. No other city in the world has nearly as many skyscrapers as New York. A standard downtown in the average U.S. city has at most four buildings that exceed 23 stories. Before 9/11 the peak of this pride was the Twin Towers and the Empire State Building. Every summer, one of my camp trips was to travel to the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. As a child, every time I was on Manhattan Island I always looked up into the sky to see the top of these two enormous buildings.
We are now almost 8 years removed from that horrific day in September. Every time I see a picture of the current New York Skyline I am reminded of that tragic day. I think about the almost 2,000 victims that were murdered. I am reminded of the heroism displayed by the fire fighters who gave up their lives for others. I also think about the Towers I loved so much as a child that are no longer there.
Several years ago I went to visit Ground Zero (the former sight of the Twin Towers). I was in disbelief that I was looking at the spot where the Towers once proudly stood. It hit me loud and clear that the peak of the pride of New York is no loner standing. The summer camps are going to have to pencil in the Empire State Building because there is no longer a 107th floor of the World Trade Center.

Questions for the Shabbos Table: Yesterday was the fast of the 17th (of the Hebrew month) of Tammuz. The 17th of Tammuz is the first day of the three-week period where the Jewish people mourn the destruction of our holy Temples our source of pride. It is supposed to be a time for us to reflect and think about our tragic loss, and what it means to us. The problem lies in the fact that since the destruction happened so many years ago, it is hard for us to internalize the loss and feel genuine pain. How do we work on developing the sensitivity to appreciate the loss of the Temple? How do we arrive at the point that when we visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem or even see a picture of it, we understand that it is a picture of tragedy? How do we develop an understanding that we are not supposed to just have a wall; we are supposed to have an entire Temple? How do we work on coming to the realization that 2,000 years ago the Jewish people lost our source of pride?