To my dear Temple Beth David family,
I am writing to you amidst tears as we hear the news of the mass murder of our siblings at the Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha Congregation in Pittsburgh. The thoughts and prayers of our entire community go out to those who lost their lives for simply worshipping as Jews. We pray for all of those who are still in the hospital and for all who suffered physical and mental trauma from today’s terrorist attack. We pray for the healing of their bodies, of their minds, their souls, and of our shared community. We call out, begging for change, praying that You will hear our cries.
The full details of today’s tragedy are not yet known. In the coming days, we will learn more about the souls taken from us, of their loves and passions, the joy that they brought to and found in this world. In learning, more tears will be shed, our hearts will break again and again as we try to comprehend the incomprehensible, this manifestation of pure hatred against our family, our loved ones, our people.
What is clear now, in the moments immediately after this tragedy, is that this was an act of hatred. An attack on Jews throughout our country and the world. This was not an isolated incident but comes at the crest of a wave of anti-Semitism that has been building as we approach the elections. We have an obligation as a community of Jews to stand as witnesses to this hate, to see it as a frightening pattern, and to demand its end.
Tikkun Olam, the idea that we must participate in the repairing of, in the perfecting of the world, is an idea that has its origins in issues of law, in matters of justice. When the idea of Tikkun Olam first appears, the rabbis teach us that to fix the world we must write the law in such a way to protect the disenfranchised, that we must preemptively take power away from those who would abuse it. We must think of how everything could go wrong, and what we need to do in order to make sure it doesn’t. In essence, that we must set the rules of society not with an eye towards what has been, but with both the hope for what could be and the fear of what might be.
In the days and weeks after this tragedy, as we as a people, as a country, come together to ask “What can be done? Where can we go from here?” let us answer by looking toward our future, through the lens of Tikkun Olam, and think of what could be, what might be, if only we stand together to fix the world.
May this world soon be healed,
Rabbi David G. Winship
