Wednesday, March 27, 2019

My devar Torah in Interfaith service in memory of those murdered at Christchurch, New Zealand at Queensboro Community College



I was invited to represent the Jewish community at a program sponsored by Muslim students at Queensboro Community College. It was held theKuperber Holocaust resource Center and archives. Below is my devar Torah.

Shalom Akeichem.

Once again people of faith have come together to find strength, love, and compassion in the wake of שינת חינם
baseless hatred. We mourn the senseless murder of our Muslim brothers and sisters in a mosque at Christchurch, New Zealand.

Every Sabbath in the synagogue we read the weekly Torah portion. In this week’s Torah reading two of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, died tragically. In the face of these deaths, the Torah records that “Aaron was silent.” A commentator on this verse writes, “The Torah usually doesn’t call attention to someone not speaking. What, then, is the unusual significance of Aaron’s silence? That he accepted God’s decree without protest? That his anguish was too great for him to put into words? That he was tempted to burst out in anger at the unfairness of what had happened to his family but was able to restrain himself? Perhaps the text is suggesting that there are more possibilities-and more power-in silence than in words.”

I appreciate Aaron’s silence when I heard about this tragedy. I felt all those emotions and more. I know that my mere words can’t convey the depth of my sorrow, pain, and empathy to all those who are grieving the 50 men, women, and children murdered only because they were Muslim. I hope that my very presence here as a representative Jewish people speaks volumes of my love and concern. You are not alone in your grief.

Maybe some of you have seen California’s magnificent Sequoias.  Did you know that these trees, some of which are as tall as a skyscraper, have roots practically at surface level?  A lone sequoia’s roots are so shallow that it can hardly stand up to a strong breeze.  So how do they grow so tall?  They spring up in groves, and their roots intertwine.  In other words, they hold each other up – they give each other the strength necessary to withstand the angriest winds.  And it is the same with us.  Alone we can complain kvetch. . . alone we will know pain.  But when we are together . . . we can stand anything.

My Jewish tradition teaches us never to despair because you are not alone. You have your home community, your school community, and your religious community ready to help you in any way they can. You are not alone. Beyond these communities good people here and abroad are doing more than just standing by your side. For example, this past Sunday I saw the off Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish. At the conclusion of the play the cast announced that they are collecting money to help the survivors at Christchurch. I saw people donate generously as they left the theater. You are not alone.

I would like to conclude with the prayer for peace found in my prayer book:
May we see the day when war and bloodshed cease, when a great piece will embrace the whole world. Then nation will not threaten nation and humankind will not again know war. For all who live on earth shall realize we have not come into being to hate or to destroy. We have come into being to praise, to labor, and to love.

Compassionate God bless all of humanity with the power of compassion. Fulfill the promise conveyed in Scripture: I will bring peace to the land, and you shall lie down and no one shall terrify you. I will rid the land of vicious beasts and it shall not be ravaged by war. Let love and justice flow like a mighty stream. Let peace fill the earth as waters fill the sea. And let us say: amen.