Jonathan Drake-Reuters
This is another Shabbat filled with anger, grief, and tragic loss. Seventeen children and teachers were murdered in their school.
I believe that we will be God damned if each of us does not join to protect our children from the ravages of gun violence.
I was taught that I was not to live in the Valley of Gehinom; I was to live in the Holy City of Light on the hill above. I was taught that we did not practice child sacrifice and Abraham’s hand was stayed by an Angel of God. Those in that valley of horrible shadows of death who practiced the slaughter of their children defiled the Divine Name.
If we do not forcefully act to reign in this barbarism, then we live in the Valley of Gehinom and we all are damned. To the voices that try to keep us from taking action, I must turn a deaf ear and join the fight to save the lives of our innocents. For some, because this horror never directly touches them, it keeps them from acting. But these steady attacks clearly establish that no one is safe from this wanton ubiquitous violence. So to those yet unmoved to action, I ask you directly, “Are you willing to send your child off to school tomorrow explicitly saying goodbye for the final time, content knowing they may become the next statistic?”
This Shabbat we cannot just welcome her and seek refuge within her. We must strive to merit this gift. We must rise up to demand and implement responsible ways to curb gun violence. Our children’s lives are at stake.
Praying that we may find Shalom in this Shabbat.
