Friday, February 16, 2018

Tragedy in Parkland

We are all saddened and horrified beyond words by what happened in Parkland on Wednesday. Parkland is not some place we’ve never heard of. It’s right here. I lived 2.5 miles from that school when I first started this blog. My children have many friends who went there. My daughter had known one of the victims since she was a baby. I know teachers who work there. I can think of at least one of our congregants whose children attended that school. And two grandchildren of our congregants attend there now; one of whom was in a classroom where the shooting occurred. She lost three friends. It’s real for us. Very real. Unfortunately, all too real. Yes we mourn. Yes we question. Yes we grieve. Yes we are angry. We look for answers, but are there any really? And then we look to blame. And it’s easy to throw blame around. Too easy. We can blame and we can make excuses and we can say if only….. But that should not be and cannot be our response. So what should our response be? And more to the point as Jews, as a synagogue, as the rabbi, what can I say to make any sense out of this? In a way I don’t really know what to say. I could talk about gun control. After all, what kind of society do we live in where there is no right to shout fire in a crowded theatre but there is a right to shoot bullets in a crowded classroom? I could talk about the need for more mental health services in schools and elsewhere. But we’ve cut so many guidance counselors in the schools because we can’t afford them. I could talk about how it just might be better to arm teachers and have more police presence in our schools because that will solve the problems. Of course that takes away resources from the real purpose of our schools. But it’s okay. And I could talk about the catchphrase, “If you see something say something.” But do we really have the ability to know what a real threat is and what’s not? And can we just detain and search anyone who posts anything that might be suspicious? But I’m not an expert on those issues and all I’d be doing is offering my opinion. But here is something I do know and can and need to talk about. The purpose of our society, our government is to protect its citizens. That must come first. Everything else depends on and flows from that. If we are not safe, if our families are not safe, if our schools and other communal institutions are not safe, then nothing else matters because there will be nothing else. That is the primary responsibility of our leaders and our government. And shirking that responsibility endangers lives as we’ve seen far too often in recent years. But here in shul, we also turn to each other, to God, and to our tradition, not only for comfort but, if not for answers, then hopefully for some guidance. So where was God on Wednesday? How could God allow this to happen? And let us blame God are some standard responses to tragedy. But I will tell you that we do not sit here today and blame God. God did not allow this to happen. We did. We did by our own indifference and inaction. God has given us the resources and ability to avert tragedy and to save lives. If we don’t avail ourselves of that, then the blame falls on us, not on God. It is why on the cover of the Ark in the Tabernacle sat two winged creatures made of brass. They were called Keruvim, or in English, cherubs! These two Keruvim were placed facing one another as a sign of closeness between the people and God. But at other times, when the people weren't acting properly, the Keruvim would turn and face away from each other, signifying a breach in that relationship. Whenever God appeared to Moses He would appear from between the faces of these Keruvim. What does this come to teach us especially today? Where is God? God is present when two people face each other and are close to each other! On the other hand, when is God absent? God is absent whenever people, like those keruvim, turn away from each other. When we fail to see and feel for each other; when we turn a blind eye to another’s problems or to society’s failings. God is absent whenever a person insults another or harms another. God is absent when people make racist, sexist, homophobic, or anti-Semitic statements, failing to see the humanity in the other. And God is absent when seventeen innocent people, most teenagers, are murdered because we have turned away from each other. But in that Tabernacle God was present between the human faces of the Keruvim when we acted, with compassion, with understanding, with our desire not only to be close to one another but to see that someone has a problem and then doing what we can to help that person. And the resources we should be expending to do that are far more beneficial to the person and to society than the false security of metal detectors. Not only today as we grieve, but each and every day, we should be asking ourselves this question. If the Temple was still standing, would the Keruvim be facing towards each other, or would they be facing away from each other? If they are facing towards each other, let us consider why that is so. And then let us strive to ensure that they continue to do so. But if they are facing away from each other, as they are today, let us also consider why. And then let us vow to do our best to take whatever actions we need to take to insure that we have a society where we face each other with love and compassion, that we remain in that position so that together we can build a better society for all, a society which supports each other, especially those who need it the most, and a society which then God, seeing how we face each other, does truly shed His grace on thee. Yes, let us mourn. Yes, let us pray for the families of those that lost their lives. But let us also remember that while God accepts our prayers, as Jews we don’t just pray for problems to go away. We are a religion and a people of action, of deeds. So let us not just sit and believe and hope and pray that things will change but rather let us do what God and Judaism demand of us. That we act, we act, and we act, to create the type of society, country and community we all know we are capable of creating, without excuses and without blame. In the words of the great sage Hillel, “Im Lo Achshav Aimatai.” If Not Now, When? Shabbat Shalom