Justice is something we talk about a great deal. We, as Jews, are fighters for a just world. We’re actively pushing for a world where wrongs are made right. In the words of the prophet Isiah: “Let every valley be raised, every hill and mount made low. Let the crooked be made straight. And the ridges become a plain”. (Isiah 40:4) These words are so clear and instructive to us, the pain of those in the depths need to be relieved. We must help people overcome burdens that seem insurmountable. The things in this world that aren’t right are our responsibility to make right. These are the meanings behind this verse. It calls on us to fight for our world. This vision of the world didn’t begin with the Prophets but rather it began in the תורה/Torah. We find throughout the תורה we’re not to afflict the stranger, we’re not to keep but to return lost objects to their owners, and we’re not allowed to show favor to the rich and powerful, or the poor and unpowerful. All of these are justice values in our tradition. We’re not permitted to give up on any of these values.
We have a sacred obligation to fulfill the words of פרקי אבות/Pirkei Avot: “לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה/It is not your responsibility to complete the task but you cannot stop trying". (פרקי אבות 2:16) We live in a world that’s beyond any single one of us to repair by ourselves but we’re not allowed to stop trying to fix it. Individuals can and do have an impact in this world, and yet we all know we’ll never complete this sacred work alone… we need our community. The idea of not being allowed to stop trying is the recognition that we all know we’ll never get this task done, but we won’t stop trying until our dying breath.
The number 10 is a sacred number to our people. 10 commandments, 10 plagues, 10 generations from Adam to Noah and from Noah to Abraham, and of course the number of people it takes to make a minyan… 10. In thinking about the idea of minyan, we recall the number for that sacred act is derived from the 10 faithless spies who said we couldn’t conquer the Land of Israel. Whenever we gather a minyan to pray, we undo their damage. Gathering and being together is a sacred thing to do.
As I think about the number 10 and making a minyan right now, I think of a group of people who shouldn’t be linked together at all. On October 7th, two people were working as bartenders at a music festival in Israel (Alexander Lobanov and Eden Yerushalmi). One person went to the music festival with his girlfriend who was murdered (Almog Sarusi), two others went to the festival to have a good time and ended up saving numerous lives with their bravery (Ori Danino and Hersh Goldberg-Polin), and one person went to her childhood kibbutz to visit her mother who was murdered in front of her (Carmel Gat). These six souls were kidnapped and held captive in the depths of hell for over 300 days only to be murdered by their captors. They did nothing to their captors to be held against their will and they did nothing to be murdered, and yet they are gone. Six souls. Yesterday morning two teachers (Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie), and two 14-year-old kids (Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn), went to their school, Apalachee High School here in Georgia, and never went home. They did nothing to warrant being murdered. They were at their school and yet now they’re gone. These 10 sacred souls are gone because of the hatred and terror of one group, and because of the out of control culture of gun violence. They might feel very disconnected to some, but to me they’re two sides of the same coin: Victims of injustice in our world.
פרשת שופטים/Parshat Shoftim, is about the justice system and the need for a world that’s rooted in justice. The famous verse צדק צדק תרדף/Justice… Justice… you shall pursue (דברים 16:20) is found here and it reminds us justice can only come through just means and we all have a sacred obligation to go out and make justice happen. We cannot sit back and wait for the opportunity to appear. We must be shouting from the rooftops and demanding justice for Hamas’ six innocent victims. Hamas is a terrorist organization without any morality or belief in the humanity of anyone other than themselves. Any attempt to humanize them, or lend their terror some sort of moral equivalency, is only enabling them and is morally bankrupt. The world must be unafraid to call a spade a spade, and to call their terror terrorism. Anything less is not just, and not helpful, in the pursuit of justice. The four victims of the school shooter need justice. In fact, all students and teachers need justice. The fact that schools have become battle fields is a deep wound in the fabric of America. It’s a national epidemic, tragedy and something no amount of atonement will ever fix. We have to take a deep look in the mirror and recognize we’re all guilty for what we’ve allowed to become of our society. A culture of violence, a media glorifying that culture, a mental health pandemic we refuse to acknowledge or provide adequate access to help, a system that refuses to discuss access to firearms and ammunition, a culture of division that refuses to accept we don’t have the answers and that we need to learn to listen. I’m tired of thoughts and prayers. We need to pursue justice. The recipe each of us thinks is the right solution isn’t going to work. We all need to work together and address every aspect of this pandemic. Only then will we begin to find a way out of this self-inflicted wound.
10 people did nothing to deserve losing their lives. 10 people aren’t home with their families because we have much work to do. We have to demand justice and pledge ourselves to that justice so we can begin to build a world that’s worthy of having God in it and is worthy of the holiness that were these 10 people stolen from us.
May all their memories be a blessing. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Hearshen
FunRaising Trivia Night Motzei Shabbat, Nov 23rd 7:00p to 9:00p Hosted by Michelle Rich, Debbie Cohen Sobel & Leah Kaplan. Featuring NYC Trivia Host Gabe Rich. An Italian vegetarian dinner will be served. All proceeds to benefit Congregation Or VeShalom.
Community Service Projects Thanksgiving 2024 Sunday, Nov 24th 9:00a to 1:00p OVS is partnering with JF&CS to prepare Thanksgiving meals for people living in group housing and care packages for care givers.
Learn to Chant the Torah Wednesday, Dec 4th 7:00p to 9:00p Learn to chant the Torah with Rabbi Gutierrez. This series begins on Tuesday, November 12 through January. There will be no classes Thanksgiving week or during winter break. RSVP requested. Class is offered free of charge.
Town Brookhaven Holiday Kickoff Thursday, Dec 5th 6:00p to 8:30p Join Rabbi Hearshen, friends & family from OVS and the greater community of Brookhaven for this special event. There will be a Giant Hanukkiah, Dance & Musical Performances, Merchant Specials, Character Meet & Greet, and More. No RSVP necessary. Be sure to stop by the OVS table for some goodies!
Cash Raffle 2024 Sunday, Dec 8th 11:00a to 4:00p Enter to win our 50/50 cash raffle. Winner will be drawn at the end of the Sisterhood Bazaar on Sunday, December 8. You do not have to be present to win.
Hanukkah Bazaar and Food Festival Sunday, Dec 8th 11:00a to 4:00p The OVS Sisterhood Hanukkah Bazaar & Food Festival will feature food, shopping and lots of games and activities for children.
Comedy Night FunRaiser Motzei Shabbat, Dec 14th 7:30p to 10:30p Join us for a fun night of comedy featuring our very own Louis Galanti & Lily Maslia providing opening comedy sets for Atlanta legend Jerry Farber. All proceeds to benefit OVS.
Annual General Membership Meeting Sunday, Dec 15th 10:00a to 11:30a The meeting this year is being offered in person and on Zoom. We need a quorum to vote at the Meeting. Please make every effort to attend.
