The contrast is provocative. On the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, a rainbow appears over Ground Zero, and a bolt of lightning strikes a crane above the Grand Mosque in Mecca, killing over 100 people.
The rainbow was beautiful and made for a moving natural memorial for the victims of that horrible day.
But it pains me to think that some people might take a dose of schadenfreude at the deaths in Mecca. It is one thing to take relief in the demise of one’s enemy: even the Psalmist does so. It is another thing altogether to be cheered by the deaths of what appear to be innocent human beings in the act of peaceful worship.
We must mourn the dead of Mecca as we mourn the loss of refugees crossing the Mediterranean or the dead in the blast in India: as innocent victims of a tragedy.
G-d has his reasons for everything. It is not for us to presume to know or understand his reasons.
Hebrew Hutong 
Leave a Reply