A Rude Awakening

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I had the TV on in the background, just as I always do. I usually listen with half an ear to the local news and the weather report, but this morning I heard a string of words that caused me to pay closer attention:

Bulldozer. Terrorists. Jerusalem.

I couldn't quite piece together what had happened from the news report, so I quickly logged onto the Jerusalem Post website and learned that a Palestinian man crashed a bulldozer into two buses and several cars, wrecking havoc at a busy Jerusalem intersection.

My initial reaction evoked the numbness I experienced upon first hearing about the shooting at Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in March, except that this time I had little desire to chicken out of my trip. Back then, my acceptance to JTS was so fresh that it seemed early enough to change my mind about spending a year in Israel. Now that I'm less than two months from my impending departure, things are more definite. I've given my notice at work, subletted my NYC apartment, and found a place to live in Israel. But instead of trying to reverse this decision in the interest of fear, my motive is now one of resolve. Yes, my Jerusalem apartment is just a short walk from the site of today's attack. But let's not forget that I live on Manhattan's Upper East Side, a seemingly safe neighborhood that has seen not one but TWO construction crane collapses in a matter of months -- and didn't the late Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle crash his plane into a building just ten blocks from mine a few years ago? The day of the March yeshiva shooting was the same day an explosive went off in Times Square, but that didn't stop me from heading over there to attend Rachel's birthday party later that evening. And then, of course, there's 9/11.

Whether caused by accident or by an inexcusable act of terrorism, the sad reality is that anything can happen at anytime or any place. We can't let the wrongdoings of a few evil people in this world change the way we live our lives, because it's anyone's guess as to what tomorrow might bring. For now, let's just hope that it brings joy and peace, especially to those mourning tonight in Jerusalem.