Life Vs. Terror: a 9/11 Anthology

We've survived. We've cleared the rubble and picked up the pieces of our shattered pride and shocked economy; we even have a design in the works for a new glorious World Trade Center, complete with a memorial to our dead. We've deposed the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam in Iraq. We have these big fat x-ray machines in our airports and patrol cars watching our bridges. Bin Laden's on the run or at least lying low.

And still we're in the thick of battle, in this war of life versus terror. Turns out that this battle has been going on all along, only we avoided looking it in the face. It's not an equal fight. One side has human bombs and lethal poisons and hateful determination and absolutely no scruples. The other side has goodwill and moral inhibitions and hesitant smiles and kind words and small charitable acts. It's no equal fight, since a single hesitant good deed is a billion times more powerful than all the bombs in the world.

Life shall triumph, as it always has. As it did when eight men and women survived the Great Flood in an ark and emerged to resettle and repopulate the earth. As it did when 70 souls descended into exile and slavery, to climb out four generations later as a vibrant people with a mission to bring freedom and sanctity to the entire world. As it did when Mordechai refused to bow to Haman and when the Maccabees refused to accept the desecration of the Holy Temple. As it did when the free world defeated Hitler, and when the evil of Stalinism crumbled to dust just 15 years ago. Life shall triumph, for life is so much stronger than terror.

Numerous times since 9/11 I've read and re-read the articles that our editors and contributors at Chabad.org have written on the great war of life against terror. Each time I did so, I found myself encouraged, reaffirmed in my faith in the goodness of G-d's world. If that was my experience, perhaps it may be yours as well. Here, then, is an updated collection: