New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came to Jerusalem August 26 on a nine-hour lightning solidarity trip that included visiting survivors of the suicide bombing that murdered 21 civilians and lighting a candle at the spot where the attack occurred.

He also visited the Western Wall, and then took a bus ride on the No. 2 route on which the bomber struck. It happens to be the bus line I take home everyday from work at Aish HaTorah in the Old City. I didn't plan it, but 1 found myself on the same bus as Mayor Bloomberg - along with Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, former New York City mayor Ed Koch, 30 security guards, 40 reporters and 10 other regular passengers like me crammed in the middle. And I had to pay for this ride?

I told the Associated Press reporter who interviewed me that I thought it was terrific the mayor had come to show his support and care, and that everyone should do the same, I would have told Mayor Bloomberg so directly, but the cameraman's elbow pressing down on my chest - not to mention those 30 security guards - prevented me.

When 1 got home later and told my wife - who has pleaded with me to stop taking buses - about my surreal ride, she was relieved. "I was hoping you would end up taking that bus home. It's the only one I knew for sure wouldn't be bombed."

She had a point. With all those mayors on the bus, we were totally safe.

Then it hit me: Am I, or my neighbor, or some guy named Mayer worth any less than Mayor Bloomberg? Is the average Israeli citizen's blood really so cheap? Shouldn't we all feel that safe and secure riding the bus home?

PART OF the problem is how we define victory over the terrorists. I hear it all the time: Being afraid to go out for dinner, ride the bus or send our kids on an outing is "giving in to terror."

Mayor Bloomberg's ride on the no. 2 bus was meant to send a message to Arab killers. "You cannot let terrorists win," he said.

I said the same thing to the AP reporter who asked me how I felt traveling on the bus. "You have to carry on living, otherwise you're giving into terror."

But perhaps the truth is exactly the opposite. Carrying on a normal life as if nothing had really happened is giving in to tenor.

Just imagine if after last week's horrific suicide bombing 500,000 Israeli citizens said, "Enough! We are no longer taking the bus. We are no longer going downtown. We are no longer sending our kids to school - until we can feel as safe as Michael Bloomberg."

That would be a powerful statement: that we are simply unwilling to accept the terror. Our government's reaction would be very different from what it is now.

Israelis refer to this relentless onslaught as the matzav - the situation. The Post's Caroline Glick points out the danger in this label. A situation is something we learn to tolerate; we get used to it. After a bombing or a drive-by shooting, we're shaken for a few hours, at most for a few days. The daily failed attempts at murdering our people no longer even register. Yes, it's terrible, but we need to move on and live with it.

Actually, by accepting the "situation" we are giving in to terror. We need to start calling it what it really is: war. At stake is not our willingness to take the bus; at stake is our very survival on our ancient homeland.

Wars need to be fought and won with the conviction that victory is the only option.

AS JEWS, we recognize that our response to this ongoing war of terror needs to be not only in the physical realm; the underlying spiritual causes need to be addressed as well. The physical world reflects the spiritual realm and can be used as a window to understand the specific areas of growth we need to work on.

We frequently fall into a similar trap vis-a-vis our spiritual growth by viewing our personal shortcomings as a matzav - a situation that, yes, we need to deal with, but all too often learn how to tolerate.

We are now into the Hebrew month of Elul, a period of introspection leading up to the High Holy Days. Let's not allow ourselves to go back to "normal life."

With the merit of collective spiritual growth, may the Almighty bring true peace to the region and to our own inner lives.

And may there be no need for those 30 security guards on Mayor Bloomberg's next visit to Israel.

The writer is the co-editor of Aish.com and director of Research and Development for Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem.

Nechemia Coopersmith, Jerusalem Post, September 7, 2003