I am reposting this blog on the first anniversary of the Haitian earthquake:
It is far easier to work for the BNN, the Biblical News Network, and report on thousands of years and cities of Jewish history, than it is to work for CNN and report on everything that is happening all over the world today. I can digest the history at my own pace. I can cry with the Jews of 14th century Majorca and rejoice with 16th century communities in Russia. I cannot, however, cry over all the tragedies that occur each day, here and now. We are swamped with news and have all become practiced New Yorkers at blocking out so much of what is happening right before our eyes.
We cannot block out tragedies such as the recent earthquake in Haiti, but we are so overwhelmed by its magnitude that, while most shake their heads in sorrow, and many send checks, few of us know what to do. Once the gates are forced open, there is a tidal wave of awareness of all the suffering around us and we begin to ask,