“I don’t speak because I have the power to speak; I speak because I don’t have the power to remain silent.” – Rabbi A.Y. Kook
Today I must speak, once again, in solidarity with other victimized groups across our country. The tragic and heinous events this morning at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh PA close a week of terror, threats, and violence seen at homes, offices, and grocery stores around the nation. The attack in Pittsburgh hits particularly close to home for me. I work at a synagogue. I am not clergy, but when I get up to go to the office it is in a building, a place of worship. I see myself in the conservative congregants of Pennsylvania. Many people I know were the conservative congregants of Pennsylvania, celebrating Shabbat morning services in the building where I work, at the exact same time as those praying one state away.
A day of peace, a day of rest has become anything but. Despite the many voices, the many details, the many opinions that barrage us from all directions, including from the direction of the White House, my synagogue has always understood the circumstances under which we, as a minority, exist in this world. The security measures in place throughout the building during the week as well as during Shabbat and other celebrations are always instituted in collaboration with local law enforcement. I understand the necessity of locked entrances and security personnel. Yet, I sit through every conversation, every drill, every moment, wishing these preparations were not necessary.
I pray I will never be tested in the way the Tree of Life Synagogue was this morning. I pray the precautions I work under will be enough. Even more so I pray that one day I will live in a world where I will not need to lock doors against any and all who desire a place of respite and prayer.
“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). May we one day live in a world where we can completely, and safely be everything the Torah teaches us to be.