Blood Continues to Flow

Let us beg our Creator that even a conceited hunt for the right words to condemn last night's shooting, means at very least, that we are not completely numb. 

©2015, http://www.dailymail.co.uk.

Solidarity

For sure, words cannot even come close.  But it's nothing new to grope for words, even when they do not suffice.  Here is my feeble venture to ally with persons of kin; with those butchered and maimed in a South Carolina church last night.  I did not know the victims personally, but they helped to define the glory of God, in their common, everyday lives.  I hope then, that we can all agree, it remains decent and acceptable to search for words, despite that they elude us.What happened on Wednesday night, 17 June, 2015 corresponding to the new moon of Tammuz 5775 at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston South Carolina, is an act of war against my fellow Americans. It occurred on American soil.  It was perpetrated in violation of all that I believe as a a responsible dad, an American Conservative Rabbi, as a patriot, a Jew, the son of a Shoah survivor, a Who fan. A native of The Capital District in Upstate New York. Whatever.  

Yes, many affronts before God are perpetrated.  Daily.  And they should all be condemned.  Yes, many are condemned, however most are surely forgotten. Verbal condemnation is often futile, but it can be a start.

No one need explain why s/he feels obligated to condemn the murders committed June 17, 2015 in Charleston South Carolina.

A dear and trusted friend, far away, asked me rhetorically, “who doesn’t condemn this?” And I thought, well, yes I suppose, since I am a big humanitarian who loves all God’s creations, then a public condemnation is needless.  Heck, it might even be a celebrated fact that I implicitly condemn all such things.  Alas, I do not qualify in any such venerated category.  Therefore, I maintain that to be unmoved to verbal condemnation of this shooting, may actually be a violation of God's image, and perhaps even of God's covenant with a certain nation; The covenant which forbids me to stand idly by the blood of my sibling.

I Am Free To Condemn

Oxymoronically, I do condemn a different thing, and that is the prerequisite to scrupulously obtain any license—religious, political or ideological—before any calls of condemnation are made.  A straight out condemnation, of this bigoted war-like massacre of my brothers and sisters, needs no authorization.  That applies even if the condemnation appears redundant or spare.  Can a simple condemnation at this moment—at the intentional slaying of nine humans before the world's eyes— be superfluous?  Did these slayings occur on a battlefield?  Was this shooting done within the context of a declared war?  What is it—precisely—that established these nine worshippers at a church on a Wednesday night, as combatants?  It was their birth.  Perhaps there are no words, other than something which appears sanctimonious.  Too bad.  

Prayer Is Not Enough

I want more than prayer.  I want more than tacit compassion.  I have had enough. Enough of my own idleness at the suffering.  Enough excuses that the blood of my sibling is not also mine.  Mere stupefaction doesn't cut it.  I want to push the limits of my God-given life-force, my science, and my Judaism, to believe that at the end, that the enterprises of religion, nationhood, and harmony aren't all just clubs for concealing primacy.  We can do so much better, people. We must.


A follower of Judaism believes all human bloodshed provides sufficient grounds to reduce the volume of a cup at a seder.  But folks, that’s the paltry minimum.  And for whom? An Egyptian! For an avowed enemy, am I required to conduct this rite at the annual Passover seder; it is encoded within my tradition!  But what about rites in recognition of fellow Americans, slain for their pigmentation?  We shared humanity, citizenship, vulnerabilities . . . we were one.  To me, this massacre is more like a geyser surging from everyone's cup.

Yes, prayer is essential.  But I wonder if prayer alone serves an adequate measure of solidarity with those executed laying in pools of blood?  Does prayer alone cut it, at a time when our greatest values as Jews, Americans, and humans are being put to the test?  Therefore, my joy isn’t simply reduced or vexed by last night's shooting.  My sorry, dust, and dirt-humanity hovers over the ditch where the bodies were found.  I and the perpetrator are face to face.    


By what hierarchy do we measure cold-blooded murder?  Shootings of this variety are horribly common.  One would be more than plenty.   

May It Be Your Will

Let us pray then, that we be empowered by God to heal; to begin healing with words, and to heal the wound upon our species, called racism.  God, may it be Your will to enlighten us toward a definition of our sage's exhortation: "(Though) completion of the task is not upon me, I am also forbidden to desist from the task."  Let us beg of our Creator that even a conceited hunt for adequate words to condemn this shooting, signifies at very least, that I am not completely numb; that I have not lost my humanity.

Hechi Kedusha When it's Late. Get ready, start yawning . .. .. Discuss!

Kol Yoshvei Tevel. On your mark, get set . . . . Discuss!

Duchaning - Ready, Set . . .Discuss!

Welcome

Hi Shtiblers,
I've taken the liberty of creating the first Shtibl Blog. It's called "Shtiblog." The name's patented so don't touch. Play nice. Now, feel free to post as you like. Whatever the cause. Just be civil. No mean names. No l'shon hara.

That's all.

Have fun,
-Chaim