I wanna be a tackle

Flight attendants, prepare for departure-cross check. Every time we get to that part of the take off, my wife and I cannot help but look right, then left, and quote from parshat Shemot, V’who yifen ko v’cho, v’ain ish. This is the verse that describes Moshe when he witnessed the Egyptian taskmaster, beating the Israelite slave, seemingly to death. Moses turns one way and then the other, and sees that there is no one else to intervene; no one else to take responsibility for human life and for justice, Moshe strikes the Egyptian, OK, maybe a little too hard.

How many of us are ready to intervene on behalf of others when we see injustice or when we sense danger? Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab seemed like a well behaved young man, but when passengers around him heard popping noises like a firecracker and saw that his pant leg and the wall were on fire, they realized that this was a terrorist attack. He was immediately overpowered by passengers and crew aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253, minutes before it was due to land in Detroit from the Dutch capital Amsterdam. Dutch tourist Jasper Schuringa, credited with tackling the suspect first, is being hailed as a hero by fans on the internet. The 32-year-old Dutch filmmaker said when he heard a bang and smelled smoke he felt immediately it was a terrorist attack.

Juval Aviv, author of The Complete Terrorism Survival Guide, a former Israeli special agent upon whom the movie Munich is based, and now security consultant, had said that terrorists would never try to highjack planes again because they know that the passengers would not be passive. Well, he was right about that last part. Aviv contends that effective security measures depend on the vigilance and awareness of the populace, where each individual takes responsibility for anything suspicious. This is the Israeli mentality, and they learned the hard way. If you happen to leave your knapsack or hand bag unattended, someone yells, hefetz hashuud. People quickly evacuate the area, the bomb squad suddenly appears, and they blow up your lunch. People in Israel are always looking out to the right, and to the left. Americans need to do the same.

Looking out for each other is an ideal that the Torah models in the behavior of Moshe Rebenu, who comes to the aid of the vulnerable. Maybe he could have played left offensive tackle on a football team, the one who protects the blind side of the quarterback. Sandra Bullock narrates the importance of this position so aptly in the beginning of the movie, The Blind Side. It’s the true story of Michael Oher, except that he actually plays right tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. The narrative in the motion picture depicts Oher’s white mother, Leigh Anne Tuohy, explaining his duty as offensive tackle by making an analogy to family. The team is your family, she says, and it is your job to protect your family. That is what resonates so well for us, the Jewish people. However, sometimes we need to be reminded that charity, justice and righteousness begin at home. Tieftach et yadcha l’achicha ha’evyion, open you hand to your kinsman in need. That is not to say that we Jews should not support other causes in the greater society and the world; we do. But the Jewish community is our extended family, and this is the year that we need to protect our Jewish institutions and organizations so they don’t take the big hit from the blind side, and end up playing their last game. Insure that The Jewish Federation has the resources to help them. Imagine that the ball is snapped, the players are all in motion and you are the offensive tackle. V’who yifen ko v’cho, v’ain ish, you look this way and the other, and then you realize, it’s all up to me. Let us all take that kind of responsibility for our Jewish Community and keep the ball moving forward.

Hazak v’amatz

May you be strengthened,

The Rabbinically Speaking column is provided as a public service by the Jewish Press in cooperation with the Pinellas County Board of Rabbis. Columns are assigned, on a rotating basis by the board.