Tikkun’s Spiritual Response to the Assassination of Osama bin Laden

[TomClash]

http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/tikkuns-spiritual-response-to-the-assassination-of-osama-bin-laden

There is no question that Osama bin Laden, as the leader of al-Qaida, was implicated in or directly responsible for the deaths of many, many people, most likely including the more than 3,000 American and, women, and children who were killed in the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. But it was nevertheless upsetting and shocking to witness the exultation in the media last night when bin Laden’s killing was announced. Never should the killing of a human being be an occasion for such celebration — even in circumstances that involve actual self-defense against mortal danger. Not only does such a raucous display of pleasure in response to the killing of another disrespect the sacredness of every human life; it also inherently undermines the moral character and worthiness of those responsible for the death itself. If the United States seeks to place itself on a higher moral ground than those who commit immoral acts against our people, we must all conduct ourselves in a way that manifests our empathy and compassion for all of humanity, for every human person, and also manifest our awareness of the tragic distortions in human relations across the globe that still hurl human beings into the horrors of ongoing violence and war.

<snip>

The Jewish tradition has much to say on the killing of our vicious and even murderous enemies. When Pharaoh’s troops were drowning in the Reed Sea as they sought to re-enslave or kill the Israelites, the angels began to sing praises (the Hallel prayers: Psalms 113-118). God proclaimed:

“My children (the Egyptians) are sinking in the sea, and you are singing praises?” Yet God did not silence the Israelites, knowing that at that moment it would be hard for humans not to celebrate the death of an oppressor. Nevertheless, the Jewish tradition then instituted two practices in accord with God’s response: First, that the Hallel prayers would be cut down to a partial saying of some of the psalms on the last six days of Passover. And second, that when we do the Seder on Passover and recite the plagues that were used against the Egyptians to get them to free the Jews, we put our finger in the cup of wine, symbolic of our joy, and dip out a drop of wine for each plague — this symbolizes that our cup of joy cannot be full if our own liberation requires the death of those who were part of the oppressor society.

It is the loss of this consciousness by almost every society on the planet that is a real source for concern and mourning. For far too many people, the war on terrorism seems to be an extension of the football games where we cheer on our team: “USA! USA! Hey, you are tough!”

[villager]

1. Absolutely. Been thinking of mentioning that Passover tradition of "diminishing your cup."

in order to temper one's own potential "giddiness" at the perishing of an enemy...

[TomClash]

21. I thought it was a noble, humane and eloquent piece

Not surprising coming from Peter Gabel and Michael Lerner.

[Luminous Animal]

2. A very thoughtful response. Thank you for posting it.

[ProSense]

3. A religious leader

responds to the "assassination of Osama bin Laden"?

Assassination? Really?

[Luminous Animal]

8. An assassination is a murder of someone by suddent or surprise attack.

And that is what happened.

[ProSense]

9. An assassination

implies that the person was killed for political reasons. Osama bin Laden was a most wanted terrorist.

[Luminous Animal]

11. There have been plenty of military assassinations.

The U.S. assassinated Viet Cong supporters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Program

And it is no secret that we attempted to assassinate Castro several times.

[ProSense]

13. "The U.S. assassinated Viet Cong supporters."

Regardless, bin Laden was not assassinated.


"And it is no secret that we attempted to assassinate Castro several times."

That's political. Still, Castro and bin Laden are the same?

[TomClash]

22. I don't understand

How was killing Osama bin Laden apolitical?

Saying that he was "a most wanted terrorist" is meaningless because terrorism is a military tactic.

[xchrom]

4. Recommend

[phasma ex machina]

5. It sickens me to witness America worshiping its god of violence

with high priests singing praises to torture.

Facing the Myth of Redemptive Violence

The belief that violence "saves" is so successful because it doesn't seem to be mythic in the least. Violence simply appears to be the nature of things. It's what works. It seems inevitable, the last and, often, the first resort in conflicts. If a god is what you turn to when all else fails, violence certainly functions as a god. What people overlook, then, is the religious character of violence. It demands from its devotees an absolute obedience- unto-death.

This Myth of Redemptive Violence is the real myth of the modern world. It, and not Judaism or Christianity or Islam, is the dominant religion in our society today. (link)

[Karenina]

20. Food for thought. Thanks for the link.

Another snippet:

The Myth of Redemptive Violence is the simplest, laziest, most exciting, uncomplicated, irrational, and primitive depiction of evil the world has even known. Furthermore, its orientation toward evil is one into which virtually all modern children (boys especially) are socialised in the process of maturation. Children select this mythic structure because they have already been led, by culturally reinforced cues and role models, to resonate with its simplistic view of reality. Its presence everywhere is not the result of a conspiracy of Babylonian priests secretly buying up the mass media with Iraqi oil money, but a function of values endlessly reinforced by the Domination System. By making violence pleasurable, fascinating, and entertaining, the Powers are able to delude people into compliance with a system that is cheating them of their very lives.

Once children have been indoctrinated into the expectations of a dominator society, they may never outgrow the need to locate all evil outside themselves. Even as adults they tend to scapegoat others for all that is wrong in the world. They continue to depend on group identification and the upholding of social norms for a sense of well-being.

[bobbolink]

30. "Once children have been indoctrinated into the expectations of a dominator society, they may never

outgrow the need to locate all evil outside themselves."

That is excellent. Something we could all benefit from meditating upon.

Thank you for pulling this out!

[marions ghost]

6. It was grotesque

"Never should the killing of a human being be an occasion for such celebration" :thumbsup:

Yes, the problem is that it's reduced to a game. And even reduced to a game, we did not win it.

Closure OK. Celebration = Not.

Horrible to see.

[The Doctor.]

7. Well, there are two ways to look at it (at least);

1) It is bad to express joy over the involuntary death of another human being, for that does indeed feed into the spirit of tyranny that pervades human consciousness.

2) It is good that anyone who deliberately causes the deaths of many innocent people is permanently removed from civilization... one way or another.

I am glad he is dead, but it is sad to me that we did not get to pursue true justice that comes out of discovery of the motives of the accused. True justice is only achieved when all of the intricate machinations, true motivations, and all other factors are considered so that guilt can be weighed, measured, and allocated properly. Only then can the real roots of evil be found and dug out of civilized society.

[bobbolink]

14. Beautiful post. Thank you.

One of the things that is bothering me about all the celebrations, is that people ARE seeing this as "closure".

I don't think it is. First, I'm not sure we really know to what degree he was involved.

But that is not all that important.

What is important to remember is that he tapped into anger that was already there. Without him, that anger may be rudderless for a while, but it is still there, and as far as I can see, our nation is doing nothing to understand that anger, and find ways of solving it.

Until then, the same thing continues..............

[The Doctor.]

15. Very well put.

So long as the impetus exists, someone will utilize it.

Remove the fire from your enemy's cauldron, and they will soon disappear without a single shot fired.

[bobbolink]

28. "Remove the fire from your enemy's cauldron, and they will soon disappear without a single shot

fired."

Is that original with you? Very poetic, and very true.

You know, if someone like me can figure this out, why can't the great chess players in charge figure it out?

[BrightKnight]

10. He was a malignant tumor and now he is gone. I prefer to think that he is alive

and suffering unimaginable horrors. I would bury him in a sewage treatment plant. I guess that it is my loss but I can't entirely understand what you are saying. I agree that Human life is precious and Human dignity is worth fighting for. I saw what happened on 9/11 and I can feel nothing but rage and hate for bin Laden.

[Leopolds Ghost]

18. Bin Laden was a disgusting human being but we must not imagine he acted in isolation

[Teaser]

12. don't care one way or the other

.

[David__77]

16. That is a wonderful religious humanist view.

I concur. Some people take an evil path, but humanity is something precious, in the image of God.

[Leopolds Ghost]

17. In before the secular center-right attack Tikkun for being religious nutjobs

Who can't appreciate that everyone has the right to enjoy violence and retribution however they see fit, because there is no higher morality, no right answer, etc. and therefore no point in striving to be better than the animals we're fighting against, except in the narrow utilitarian sense of keeping up appearances for the sake of maintaining a secure material society that publically deplores certain things while privately exulting in it.

I'm sure there are plenty of secular New Yorkers who voted for Bush instead of Kerry for this exact reason. What's the point in hewing to a progressive cause if there is no objective right answer to progress to? If that were the case then the free market really IS the only God, which is not true.

[sabrina 1]

19. Very nice post, thank you! n/t

[johnroshan]

23. Beautiful!

Its extremely disconcerting to find so many people rejoicing in the death of an enemy.

Its not only the military that is being dehumanized, its our whole civilization! I only see it getting worse in future.

[Octafish]

24. “My children are sinking in the sea, and you are singing praises?”

Thank you, Tikkun. Exactly.

Thank you, TomClash.

[TomClash]

25. Tikkun is a great journal

Few Christians are as close to Christ as Rabbi Lerner.

[bobbolink]

27. May I modestly proclaim that he published something of mine? ^_^

http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/poverty-is-the-worst-form-of-violence-gandhi-notes-from-the-homeless

[TomClash]

31. Congratulations

You should be proud.

[RegieRocker]

26. There are many on here that feel as you and have also stated as such.

We try.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

29. Ahhh, that's more like it. :)

Sanity. We need more of it.