Twin Towers of Smoke

Continued from page 3

But I do not stop here. Interestingly enough, the phrase "Timrot Ashan", towers of smoke, that appears in Yoel appears but one other time in TaNaCH. There are twin towers of smoke in the Bible. The second one appears in Shir HaShirim (3:6), and there it is a very different image. "Mi zot olah min hamidbar?" King Solomon asks the question, who is this that rises up out of the desolation of the desert "ketimrot ashan"--like a tower of smoke "Mikuteret mor ulevonah mikol avkat rochel"--spreading its aroma of myrrh and frankincense, with all of the fine spices of the apothecary. As opposed to Yoel, where the tower of smoke was associated with blood and fire, obviously, this is meant to be some type of positive image associated with the tower of smoke.

Here I want to explain a bit about the history of a Midrash. I will start by quoting that Midrash in the way one can find it in Rabbenu Bachaya (Shmot 25:10). For Rabbenu Bachaya, it evokes images best known to us from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Says Rabbenu Bachaya, "Kol hanisim shena'asu leyisroel"--All of the miracles that were done for Israel "Hayu na'asim ba'aron"--they were all done through the Ark, the Ark of the Torah, the Ark where the Divine Presence resides. And Bachaya continues (and here I present only the translation), as it says, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was traveling before them, and it was killing the snakes and the scorpions, and it was killing all of the enemies of Israel. Said Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat in the name of Rabbi Yose ben Zimra, two sparks emerged from between the two staves of the Ark. Those sparks killed the snakes and the scorpions and they burned the thorns. The smoke rose and spread all over the world, and the world was sweetened by the smell of this smoke. The nations of the world responded and said, "Who is this rising up out of the desert? It is a tower of smoke spreading its sweet scent of myrrh and frankincense, and all of the spices of the apothecary."

Obviously, this is a source that speaks to our desire for justice, to the removal of evil from this world and to the glorious consequences that will come on that day. That would seem to be something about which all decent people could agree. However, in Shir HaShirim Rabbah (3:8), this Midrash is carried a step further and is said to represent a clash of values. Some of the nations of the world, says the Midrash, understood this manifestation coming from the desert to mean that G-d was the fire and G-d was the smoke. The truth, of course, is that the power of justice came from the Ark, from the Torah in the Ark and from the presence of G-d in the Ark. The Midrash is a reminder that for many in the world, including those who perpetrated this act and even for some who oppose them, physical power is the be-all and end-all. For Jews, it is the power of G-d, the power of the ideas and values of Torah that are the controlling principles in all areas of life. Those were the true sources of power that created the sweet aroma in the Midrash, not the raw power of fire and destruction.

In the months ahead, we are going to be sorely tested in terms of those values, and we must remember that at the base of this tower of smoke from Shir HaShirim, it is those values which created the tower and which need to lead us.

So here you have it. Within Tanach, we are presented with twin towers as we had twin towers before Tuesday, and as we have them no longer. These are twin towers of smoke. There is the tower of Yoel with its fire, its blood, its destruction and its symbolic representation of many of the tragedies of Jewish history. On the other hand, there is the tower of smoke mentioned in Shir HaShirim. That is a very different tower. It is a tower of justice, a tower of Jewish values, a tower of Torah. It is that second tower that will eventually dissipate the first and bring us what we seek so desperately this week.

I am going to end with one last remarkable source that with a few small word changes, really expresses all of our hopes and all of our emotions this day. A little bit of background to the source needs to come first. I am sure you all know that in the early years of the last century, America was considered the great Midbar--the great spiritual desert, and that there was real concern on the part of the Rabbinic authorities in Europe when anyone contemplated going to America, because they were afraid that the immigrant would be lost to Judaism. Rabbi Meir Simcha HaCohen of Dvinsk, the Meshech Chochmah (Vayikrah 19:18), writes the following words in that regard: "This is true even of Jews in the Diaspora, that even though they are forced to flee to America, (the great desert) nonetheless, they will not be scattered, and they will not be lost. Instead, in all places that they reach, they join with one another, they become communities and groups working together for the sake of Torah and service with many acts of charity and good deeds. Therefore, there is fulfilled in them, "Who is this who rises from the desert? It is a tower of smoke spreading its sweet scent of myrrh and frankincense, and all of the spices of the apothecary."

Those words could be written with slight changes about America today. I will provide that paraphrase as follows. Here in America, in New York and Washington, there are patches of ground that have become sites of searing desolation, veritable deserts in the sense of places where life has become impossible and where wreckage and ruin is the only thing that we can find. But America will not scatter, America will not shatter, America will not be lost. In all places where Americans are, we will come together, we will join one another and we will become communities and groups working in service, doing great acts of charity and marvelous and heroic good deeds. In us, then, as proud citizens of this country will be fulfilled the verse, "Who is this rising up from the desert as a tower of smoke? It is a tower of smoke spreading its sweet scent of myrrh and frankincense, and all of the spices of the apothecary."

Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk concludes as follows: "And this teaches us about G-d's Divine and Personal Providence." It is that Divine and Personal Providence that we pray for this day, and that we hope and trust we will find during the days, months, and years ahead. May it appear in the tower of smoke of Shir HaShirim that will rise to overcome the symbolism of the tower of smoke in Yoel, and the terrible searing imagery of the tower of smoke that we have lived with since last Tuesday. May G-d grant all of us strength and blessing. Shabbat Shalom to you all.