The Weeping Prophet of El Paso

This week's haftarah portion, a selection from the prophets, is from Jeremiah. Often described as the "Weeping Prophet," Jeremiah lived in Jerusalem in the 6th century BCE.

He preached through the reign of five kings, and he is said to have authored the books of Kings and Lamentations, in addition to his own book or prophecies.

He is often compared to Moses, and his son Ezekiel followed in the family business: scolding the Jewish people. From his name we get the English word jeremiad, "a cautionary or angry harangue."

AJ Heschel saw Jeremiah as a middle-man of sorts, writing,
"Standing before the people he pleaded for God;
Standing before God he pleaded for his people."



In this week's verses, there is rebuke and warning, and great disappointment on the part of God.

וָאָבִ֤יא אֶתְכֶם֙ אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ הַכַּרְמֶ֔ל לֶאֱכֹ֥ל פִּרְיָ֖הּ וְטוּבָ֑הּ וַתָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ וַתְּטַמְּא֣וּ אֶת־אַרְצִ֔י וְנַחֲלָתִ֥י שַׂמְתֶּ֖ם לְתוֹעֵבָֽה׃

I brought you to this country of farm land 

To enjoy its fruit and its bounty; 

But you came and defiled My land, 

You made My possession abhorrent.

Jeremiah 2:7

I imagine Jeremiah standing in the paring lot
of a mall in El Paso, surveying a
country of farm land defiled.

Jeremiah counts the victims
20 dead
26 injured
blood in the aisles of a WalMart
lights
     cameras
          news helicopters covering the
              action

"To enjoy its fruit and its bounty,"
he quotes himself.
Is this how they farm the land?
If this is what they are reaping,
What kind of seeds did they sow?

Perennial fear
Annual hatred
Succulent violence
Climbing vines of supremacy
Deeply rooted suspicion
Shade-hardy racism

And the land is defiled
and abhorrent
before its creator.

Standing before the people
Jeremiah pleads

Standing before God
Jeremiah pleads

For the Kid with a Gun

Hi,

You don't know me. I'm just some random adult on the internet who is thinking about you today.

I am wondering if you will be inspired by the school shooting yesterday in Highlands Ranch.

I am wondering if you have spent today on the Internet, looking up the details of Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Arapahoe and imagining yourself with the gun, wandering through the hallways, shooting your fellow students, your teachers, your principal.

I am wondering how the fantasy ends for you -- shot down in a blaze of glory? Wrestled to the ground and walked out in cuffs? Blasting off your own head with your final round?

I am wondering if you go to my child's school.

I am wondering if your parents own handguns or rifles they don't secure properly. And I am wondering if they taught you how to handle them safely as a child and are trusting you to remember those lessons, so you don't shoot yourself or a friend accidentally, tragically.

I am wondering if they every imagined that you would shoot someone on purpose, and that learning how to handle a gun safely wasn't enough.

I am wondering if you have made a plan you're just waiting to carry out. I am wondering if there is a sign or signal you are waiting for.

I am wondering if you have tried to tell your friends and family about your intentions and have they missed the cues.

I am wondering if any of us really know the signs to look for.

I am wondering if there are any signs at all.

I am wondering if you idolize previous mass shooters, see their 'fans' on the Internet and think, I want that for myself.

I am wondering if you walked up to me right now, would I sense anything was off? Would I be able to tell murderous intention from teenage sulky reticence?

I am wondering if you are cruel. I am wondering if you are violent. I am wondering if this will be the first time you injure another human being.

I am wondering whether you're broadcasting your intent on the dark corners of the internet and are people are cheering you on, encouraging you.

I am wondering if your parents know about your struggles and have done everything in their power to help.

I am wondering again if they've locked up their guns.

I am wondering if you understand mortality on more than a superficial level.

I am wondering if we have failed to teach you the value of one human life.

I am wondering if we have failed to teach you how to be kind, and how to accept kindness.

I am wondering if we have simply never said clearly enough that hurting other people is not OK.

I am wondering when you learned, and when you forgot, the lesson about treating others as you would want to be treated.

I am wondering what else on earth could satisfy your blood lust and enable you to solve your problem a different way.

I am wondering if we glamorize villains to our own detriment. I am wondering how many docu-series, documentaries, and 'tortured hero' shows you have watched.

I am wondering if I should have any sympathy for you at all.

I am wondering if you can be stopped.

I am wondering again if you go to my child's school.

Dear Parents (II)

Shalom Religious School Families,

It has been exactly six months since I wrote a very similar letter to you on a somewhat similar Saturday night. Once again, we come out of Shabbat reeling from news of another shooting at a Jewish institution -- this time the Altman Family Chabad Community Center in Poway, California.

Today was not only Shabbat, a day of peace, it was also the final day of Passover, the holiday where we teach our children a story of terrible oppression and a miraculous journey to freedom. We are all wrestling with and trying to process this latest shooting. The early news is that the killer, a 19-year-old male, hated Jews and espoused some of the most harmful and ludicrous conspiracy theories about us.

One person lost her life and at least three people were injured. These congregants had come to synagogue for the exact same reasons we do: to study, to pray, to observe the ending of a holiday, to say Kaddish and observe Yizkor, the Jewish memorial service.

Some have physical wounds to recover from, and we will pray for the complete healing of the victims:
We will mourn the dead.
We will come together as a community to grieve, question, and try to wrap our minds around yet another violent attack on Jews.
We will fight against all forms of anti-Semitism and not shy away because the task is hard. As our sages taught,
      It is not your duty to complete the work.
      Not up to you to finish it.
      But neither are you free to desist from it. (Pirke Avot 2:20,21)

My continuing task is to create a supportive and welcoming Jewish community for you and your children. In that spirit, Religious School will open tomorrow morning as usual at 9:00 am. Please come inside with your children for the all-school shira, which this week includes a special performance by the kids in our PreK/B'resheet program.

Security
... Remind your children that the adults who work at Har Shalom care about their safety. We do this in all sorts of ways: having buildings that lock, having an adult with them at all times, having a security guard onsite, etc. Their teachers will review safety procedures with them -- not to alarm, but to reassure.

A Space for Parents
Please take the time to escort your children into the sanctuary tomorrow and join us for our beginning-of-the-day shira (song) and tefillah (prayer) sessions. We will sing songs of peace and hope, and songs that remind us of our place in healing the world.

After the children are dismissed, we will have time to gather as parents before the community-wide service at 10:00am. We will have an opportunity to draw strength and ideas from one another, and we can discuss how to talk about these events with our children.

Letting the Children Lead
I know not every child will be aware of the attack in Poway, especially the littlest ones. In the classrooms, the teachers will let the children be the guides. There will be space for them to express their feelings and share concerns, and the teachers will be a calm, reassuring presence.

If you have any questions about tomorrow's schedule, security, or just want to let me know something about your children in particular in advance of school, just reply to this email..

You and your children are dear to me, and I look forward to seeing you at school, where we will learn, pray, sing, and study the ways of peace together. May we be strengthened by our kehilah kedosha, our holy community.

B'shalom,

Susan