Do you remember Charles Schultz? Of course you do! He was the father of the Peanuts gang. In one of his cartoon strips, Linus grasped hold of his security blanket, which, of course, is very dear to him. But Snoopy the beagle snatches the blanket from Linus and flies through the door in cold mid-winter with Linus suspended in mid-air, holding onto the blanket for dear life.

Outside in the snow, a fierce battle between the two ensues. At last Linus wins, clutches his blanket, and stands, exhausted but triumphant, at the front door.

His sister, Lucy, admonishes him, "Are you crazy? It's cold outside! You can catch pneumonia rolling around out there in the snow."

Linus replies, "The struggle for security knows no season!"

Indeed, it is true.

Where do we find our security after last Tuesday? Truth is, much of our daily effort is directed toward making and keeping ourselves secure, providing "security blankets" for ourselves and those whom we love. In one sense, of course, this is good and appropriate. In fact, it is absolutely essential, for we do not feel okay about our lives if we don't feel secure.

I thought for a while that our daughter Jennifer would have to have her wedding dress fashioned out of her security blanket! I mean, Jennifer went nowhere without that blankie. Finally, year by year, little by little, we were able to reduce its size to a small patch of cloth which we still cherish.

I think, whether we are a nation, a family, or an individual, we have our own form of security blanket. And, last Tuesday, our nation's security blanket was viciously torn from our hands, as we watched those twin towers dissolve into dust-the dust of human souls, which is certainly more precious than the dust of concrete and steel.

Someone said recently that we have made tremendous progress throughout history in our quest to be civilized, to the point that now when we go to bed at night, we lock the door, check the floodlights, turn the deadbolt, and activate the security system.

Whereas those natives, who still live in the jungles where it all began, when they go to sleep at night they still leave their door unlocked, if they even have a door! Yes, the quest for security is timeless and universal. Security is a deeply-embedded desire within our human nature. As Baudelaire observes in one his journals:

Life is a hospital in which each patient believes he will recover, if only he is moved to another bed.

This is the recurring theme in the Psalms, especially.

"In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust. . . . Deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily; be thou my strong rock, for a house of defense to save me."

Now I want to close this morning with this thought. Several have asked me since last Tuesday, "Rabbi, where was God? Where does God come into the picture?"  Be assured-God did not hijack a jet liner!

• God does not hate!
• God does not become a weapon of sadistic torture and death!
• But God cannot stop humans who are determined to be such.

We do not worship a God who wills any human suffering or tragedy; rather, we worship the God who consoles and heals and moves all of us toward wholeness and greater wisdom.

We do not worship a God who carelessly looks away while parts of a human family are annihilated; rather, we worship the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps, whose heart is ripped apart when those lovingly created by the divine hands are brutalized. No one in all the world carries a heavier grief from last Tuesday than God. And we ask you, Holy One, to spread over us, our people, and our nation, Your sheltering presence. For we sorely need you!