In our class this semester we have focused a great deal on early American history, specifically the Massachusetts Bay Colony and religious issues associated with its development. While thinking about the terrorism in Boston, I was reminded that the history of colonial America spills over with violent events. While violence in the past and present differ in motivation and intention, there is no doubt still the "terror" invoked by the act.
In The Unredeemed Captive, John Demos examines the 1704 attack by a French and Native American war party on the Puritan English settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts. While the English had been battling French and Native foes, the attack on the village was unexpected and took its toll. Demos writes "Finally: the sum of the losses sustained, the massacre's full measure...Killed, 'in town,' 39 - and in the 'meadow fight,'an additional nine soldiers....Thus the 'slaine' altogether make 48. Captured, and now bound for Canada, 112. Alive at home - that is, the survivors - 140 (including ten remaining 'garrison soldiers'" (Demos 24).
In his syndicated newspaper column this week, the "God Squad" writer, Rabbi Marc Gellman, offered a further historical and biblical interpretation of the terrorism in Boston which I thought was quite thoughtful and timely - see below.
The Bible and Boston
Only once in the Bible does God command us to remember one of our enemies. His name was Amalek. In Deuteronomy 25:17-19 (KJV) we read:"Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of
Amalek attacked the weak ones at the rear of the march. By choosing to attack the elderly and the young, the vulnerable and slow in the rear of the great Exodus, he guaranteed that he would be able to kill the maximum number of people with the least risk to his soldiers.
After the attack by Amalek in the Bible, God commands Moses, "Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven...the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation." (Exodus 17:14,16).
The enemy we must never forget is also the enemy of God in every generation. Amalek is more than a man; he is a symbol, a symbol of terrorism, or radical evil in every generation where the Messiah has still not come or come again. Amalek was the first terrorist and on Monday, Amalek visited
As I sat transfixed, sorrowful and angry before the television screen bringing me no news but revelatory images, one image caught my eye, as I'm sure it did yours. It was the picture of the first moments after the first explosion and it showed an older runner going wobbly kneed and collapsing in the street. In a brief report in
"...the runner in what is quickly becoming the iconic photo, who is being aided by police after being knocked to the ground by the explosion, looks to be older. He is somebody who likely took around five hours to complete the race. He is a civilian not only in the political sense, but in the athletic sense. In other words, it seems likely that whoever was responsible for the explosions--assuming somebody was responsible--was deliberately targeting ordinary decent folk rather than the superstars. And, whatever message they were intended to convey, the explosions created the impression that being ordinary is no protection against extraordinary horror. That feeling is the definition of being terrorized."
I think I know the message the killer or killers were intending to convey: Amalek is not dead. I also know the message we must send back to Amalek: We will not forget you! Our deceptively calm and terror-free existence since 9/11 has not seduced us into forgetting you.
Our memory of your tactics in seeking out the old runners will not terrorize us into stopping the race and hiding in our houses. Our public places and our public celebrations will not end because of what happened in
We do not yet know the name you chose in
An old rabbinic legend teaches that the reason God led the people in the Exodus with "a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night" was not to show the people the right direction, but rather to show them the right speed. The march out of the house of bondage was to proceed only at the speed of the slowest person in the march. That way, the strong did not get too far ahead of the weak. That way, the strong did not lose touch with the weak.
The war against Amalek is a slow war, but it is a war we're not fighting alone. We are together, and we are being led through falling and blood, through dust and despair to freedom.
May God comfort the souls of the victims of Amalek in
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