Osama Bin Laden – What a manhunt!

History’s largest and costliest manhunt has finally ended as the man who has been branded the very face of evil has been killed. For an entire decade, onlookers have been gripped by the unfolding of events, with the grand and successful climax igniting a global frenzy.

The entire game of tag between CIA and Osama would be quite humorous if it weren’t so serious. The man was practically staring the CIA in the face for ten years, only they were totally clueless. Convinced that he was roughing it out in some remote underground cave, officials missed the more obvious location, which was exactly where he turned out to be. Genius, if you ask me. Who’d have thought the world’s most wanted terrorist was living it up in a Pakistani suburb right under the military’s nose?

The Ba’al Shem Tov taught that from everything one sees or hears, he must derive a lesson and apply it to his personal life.

I don’t know of a single person on this planet who is not searching for meaning in their lives. In our endless quest for inspiration, very often we tend to look in the wrong places. How often do we hear of women who have spent years vigorously climbing the career ladder, desperate to achieve and to succeed, only to realize too late that they have missed the chance to bear children, to nurture a life? The world’s holiday resorts are overflowing with people craving meaning and enjoyment, yet as they book their next vacation they find that, sadly, sipping a cocktail on a sunny beach does little to inspire and much to leave one feeling empty and deflated.

As Jews, we have a unique opportunity to lead a rich and moving life, for the solution has been handed to us, indeed it stares us in the face so we have no need to seek inspiration in our jobs and in our vacations. When a person devotes himself to G-d in any way, he connects to a higher power, something larger than himself and larger than life itself. So if you’re feeling hollow, try a session of shul on Shabbat morning. Nourish your soul by opening a book of Torah. You’ll be surprised how something as simple as giving charity can leave you feeling elated.

One of the major reactions to Osama’s death is the demand for proof that he has really been destroyed. All the fretting is in vain, because the truth is that Bin Laden has been dead for years. The Talmud teaches us that an evil man is considered dead even as he lives and breathes. The moment Bin Laden decided to dedicate his life to terrorist is the moment that he died. Farewell Osama, may you join all the other enemies of Israel together with Hitler, Haman, Stalin and Pharaoh.