I awoke today to the terrible news of a shooting yesterday evening in Newton, apparently during a scuffle between pro-Israel demonstrators and someone passing by who physically accosted one or more of the demonstrators, and was then shot by one of the demonstrators. This appears to be all of the information available as I write this; the man who was shot sustained life-threatening injuries. I want to add my prayers for healing to all those who were injured during this frightening incident.
This violence close to home comes during a week of so much violence around the world, from Gaza to Israel to Ukraine to Sudan to Haiti and beyond. There is a famous rabbinic teaching that kol Yisrael aravim zeh b’zeh – all of the Jewish people are mixed up together, bound together. I would expand this to say that all of humanity is bound up together. Distant conflicts are not so far away. Whether we are linked by personal ties, by the complicity of our government, or simply by the fact of being human, the safety, the freedom, the wellbeing of all of us are truly bound up together.
In a few weeks, we will be marking the anniversary of October 7. There are a few different communal gatherings being organized which I wanted to let our community know about (we will be marking the losses of October 7 and the months after at our afternoon Eleh Ezereh service on Yom Kippur):
Combined Jewish Philanthropies and partner organizations are inviting the larger Boston Jewish community to An Evening of Remembrance & Hope at the Wang Theater in Boston, at 7pm. “This evening will give us the opportunity to be with one another, and to grieve as a community. The event will feature stories from those most directly affected on or by October 7, music to heal our souls, inspiring speakers to remind us of the resilient spirit of Israel and Israelis, and opportunities to mourn, honor survivors and heroes, and fill one another with strength and hope for our collective future.” Tickets (which are free) are required, go to this link for more information and to register.
There will also be a gathering, Every Life a Universe, sponsored by IfNotNow, on that day, although details of time and location are TBD. The event will be an opportunity to mourn both Israeli and Palestian lives lost in the past year, and to “hold one another through immense grief for every life stolen, and make t'shuvah – reckoning with who we have been this past year and who we will be in 5785." To find out more, go to this link.
May this Shabbat bring the blessing of healing to all in need of healing, and the blessing of peace to us all.
