Good afternoon everyone....
I am away from my congregation right now. I wrote this sermon in response to the attack in Pittsburgh. My ritual director delivered it on my behalf. For those of you who were not in shul this past Shabbat, here is the sermon.
R/SCG
Friends, I am away this Shabbat. I wish that I were not. I would like to be standing in front of you, sharing the impact of what happened last Shabbat in Pittsburgh with you. I have asked Larry to share my thoughts with you. He has graciously agreed.
You are familiar with this by now. When one of these attacks happens, I start my sermons with a list of attacks. I will do so again now. York, 1190. Expulsion from Spain...1492. Hevron, 1929. Kristallnacht, Babi Yar, Warsaw, Nehariyah, Toulouse, the Hyper-Cachere in Paris, and now, Pittsburgh. I would love to be able to say that we should be surprised. However, the long chain of Jewish history sadly says only that we have only been witness to another chapter.
We are all familiar with Mr. Rogers' famous statement - "look for the helpers." As this attack took place in Mr. Rogers' neighbourhood - he lived in Squirrel Hill, we should look to those words. Why should we look for the helpers? It is not to cast aside our own responsibility. Not at all. Rather, looking for them reminds us that despite the fact that evil happens, the helpers, those who will not accept such evil, are there. They are there, and they are the clear majority. And no, they do not accept such evil.
Let us look at both the helpers and at those who do not accept such evil. We take note of the Pittsburgh police chief, who was holding back tears as he reported on what happened. And we take note of his policemen, who were injured in the line of duty trying to protect the congregation. We take note of thousands of people in Pittsburgh, here in Toronto, and in many places beyond, who made makeshift memorials at the scene, who stood side by side with their Jewish neighbours at countless vigils and said "no! You are part of our community. You are our neighbours. You are our friends."
The shul's MP, Ali Ehsassi, delivered a note and a small gift for the shul this week. His note says that our community has no place for hate. MP Blair and Premier Ford spoke to the Jewish community on Monday at Toronto's vigil. This was not about the vote. This was about human decency, and we have seen far more of that than the violence that the shooter was able to muster.
Many doctors take the Hippocratic oath upon graduation. Jewish doctors do not. They take the Oath of Maimonides, which says "may I never see in the patient anything other than a fellow creature in pain." We take note then of Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, who led the medical team that treated the shooter. "He is some mother's son...My job is to care for him." All Dr. Cohen saw was a fellow creature in pain. The hate that drove the shooter has no place in the Jewish community, and Dr. Cohen made sure of that.
And now we come back home. You, my friends, in our home, have joined thousands of our fellow Jews everywhere doing what now carries significance far beyond the simple act of going to shul. Your presence here today is an emphatic statement that we will not be cowered. We will not cease walking into our shuls. We will not allow those who wish to chase Jews away from their synagogues to succeed. This is our home. We claim it. We will never be scared in our home, and we will most certainly not be chased from it.
At the beginning of our parashah this week, we learn of the death of Sarah. As we draw towards the end, we learn about the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivkah. Rashi brings an absolutely lovely piece of Midrash on this text. He writes:
שֶׁכָּל זְמַן שֶׁשָּׂרָה קַיֶּמֶת הָיָה נֵר דָּלוּק מֵעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת לְעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת וּבְרָכָה מְצוּיָה בָּעִסָּה וְעָנָן קָשׁוּר עַל הָאֹהֶל, וּמִשֶּׁמֵּתָה פָּסְקוּ, וּכְשֶׁבָּאת רִבְקָה חָזְרוּ
When Sarah was alive, there was a candle that burned from Shabbat to Shabbat, blessing was found in the bread, and a divine cloud hovered over the tent. When she died, that ceased, and when Rivkah came, it all returned.
And we look. Someone tried to snuff out that candle. For 11 Jews, he succeeded. But when we look and see the outpouring of grief from the entire world, when we see those who rush towards gunfire, when we see a police chief hold back tears, when we see a doctor give vivid testimony to his oath, when we see makeshift memorials, when we see vigils, the light of what is good and proper in the world is relit, and will burn from Shabbat to Shabbat ever more brightly. And when we see all of the response, truly that divine cloud continues to hover over us.
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