Police vehicles are deployed near the vicinity of the home of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect Robert Bowers’ home in Baldwin borough, suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 27, 2018. REUTERS/John Altdorfer
I got the chills when I heard about the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Shabbat morning that left 11 worshippers dead and many others injured, including police officers.
For the rabid Jew-hater who entered the synagogue, it must have been a devil’s paradise: Look at all those Jews in one place!
I have had that dark thought for years, and have never shared it with anyone. The thought usually comes when I’m in synagogue. I look at all the Jews around me and think: My God, it’d be so easy for any Jew-hater with a gun to walk in and start mowing us down.
And then I think: There are thousands of similar “Jew houses” throughout our country that are such easy prey for Jew haters. In virtually any town in America, a Jew-hater with a gun has the pick of the litter.
So, when I heard about the Pittsburgh tragedy, a tiny voice inside me asked: What took the bastards so long?
We Jews in America are eons away from the days of pogroms and inquisitions, when many of our ancestors had to worship underground. We live in a wide open country, with celebrity rabbis, beautiful buildings and, above all, freedom—the freedom to worship as we please.
But a free society doesn’t mean a society free of evil.
Evil can’t be legislated away. The same freedom that allows the greatness of a Martin Luther King allows the darkness of a Robert Bowers. We’re free to love, but we’re also free to hate. We’re free to choose happiness, but we’re also free to choose misery.
To be able to enter a house of worship and murder innocent souls must be the height of depravity; the height of misery. I think of all the Tree of Life families whose lives have been suddenly shattered, whose futures have been irreparably darkened.
We go to synagogue to connect with community, to schmooze with friends, to hear words of wisdom, to pray with God. We don’t go to risk our lives– we go to elevate them.
Tragedies like the one at the Tree of Life can shake our faith and weaken our resolve.
But after we internalize tragedies, there’s also a human tendency to look to the future. It’s a coping mechanism, a way of showing resiliency. We ask: “Now what?”
It turns out that “Now What?” was the title of a recent sermon by the spiritual leader of the Tree of Life synagogue, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers.
“We have passed through the non-stop Fall holiday phase, hopefully feeling grateful for the life that God has blessed us with,” the rabbi says. “We have now entered a nearly two-month period without any holiday celebrations until Chanukah. Now what? What can fill the gap?”
He then proceeds to make several suggestions. Here are the first two:
1. “Commit to attending weekday morning minyan once per week. By doing so, you will ensure a minyan for those of us reciting Kaddish, be it as mourners or for a yahrtzeit. You will also have the opportunity to enjoy breakfast with a lovely community of fellow congregants.”
2. “Attend either Friday evening services or Shabbat morning services once per month. Friday evening services are one hour, filled with singing and joy. Shabbat morning services are less than 2 ½ hours, complete with Torah discussion and a delicious Kiddush lunch.”
It’s hard to read those words without them breaking your heart.
The Devil’s Paradise in Pittsburgh : https://ift.tt/2Ppuihl
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