Thou Shalt Not Kill, right mom?

I've taken some flak in the past for telling people I don't keep the news on when my son is in the room. In fact, I don't watch much news, other than the bits I catch before I jump in the shower in the morning. I figure, if it's newsy enough I'll read about it on the internet.

In fact nearly 10 years ago I was blaring music, with the TV on mute, while I got ready to head off to work when I saw the first tower on fire. We didn't know then that we were under attack. It appeared to be a weird accident. My husband worked two blocks away. He saw the second plane hit and got what must have been the last train out of Grand Central Station. He walked in the door as the towers collapsed. My son was playing with a toy on the floor giggling while we sobbed uncontrollably.

The story has been retold and retold by so many people describing their personal experience with the morning of 9/11. That's the brief version of mine.

The rage I, and every American, carried around in the days, weeks and months following the attacks was at times overwhelming.

So, why didn't I feel relief this morning when I flipped on the Today Show and saw the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed? I didn't even feel happy. I just sort of felt, "Well, it's about time."

This morning I left on the news. I wanted my son to watch it. I tried to explain that the man who was behind the 9/11 attacks had been killed.

"We killed him?"

"Yes."

"We killed him?"

"Yes."

"I know that this is a good thing, but as Jews aren't we taught not to kill? And not to be happy when people are killed?"

"Um...."

"Wasn't there that story in the Haggadah about God yelling at the Jews for being happy that the Egyptians who were chasing us out of Egypt were killed in the Red Sea?"

"Ummm...."

I'll tell you what I said, completely caught off guard and still processing the death of this monster, but tell me what you would have said.

I said, "Well, I'm really proud of you for thinking about that. And yes, generally that's true, like in the story of the Jews escaping Egypt, but there is also a lot in the bible about justice. And, at times, God has been pretty vengeful--remember Noah's Arc? He doesn't have a lot of tolerance for evil."

"Osama murdered thousands of Americans when you were a baby and has done the same to many others. Think about Hitler. There are just some people who are so evil that they deserve to die. And, you should know, he shot at the soldiers and tried to kill them."

"Yeah, ok."

"This is a historic occasion. I want you to remember it. It will be talked about for a very long time and I want you to remember it."

"Ok, should I wear a hoodie?"

And our morning shifted back into it's regular routine.