From the Rabbi's Desk

We live in times that many of us never imagined could happen. We live in a world where we have abandoned family and friends because we cannot practice civility and understanding. We live in times where we claim to love but instead we employ words of hate. We live in times where we have chosen division over civility. Today we live in a world where we have created numerous “others” we don’t care for and who we dehumanize on a regular basis. This world we live has many implications, and for the most part, they aren’t positive.

Last Shabbat, as supporters of the previous president of the United States gathered to hear him speak, something unthinkable happened. A man climbed a building with a gun in his hand and, we presume, with hatred and malice in his heart. He opened fire on former President Trump and his supporters. Four people were shot at that time: the former president, two people who were seriously injured and one person who lost his life. Within moments, the Secret Service and law enforcement were able to take out the shooter who was also killed, but not before his reign of terror showered down on the rally in Pennsylvania.

Thankfully, the assassin failed to murder former President Trump, but the damage was severe and something that we can’t merely move forward from. To begin, we need to acknowledge the other victims: Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief who dove to cover and protect his family was killed that day. May his memory be for a blessing. He was guilty of nothing. He woke up that morning and chose to participate in an essential American action of showing support for his political beliefs. Nobody should ever be hurt or killed for what they believe or who they support. David Dutchand and James Copenhaver were also shot that day. Thankfully, they’ve been stabilized and are expected to recover from their injuries. Again, all they did was choose to support the candidate they felt is best for our country. All they did was attend an event to show their support. They were targeted not for who they were as individuals but for a group they belonged to. It’s tragic, it’s wrong, it’s criminal and it’s not the world we should live in.

Former President Trump was shot as well, and by sheer luck, the bullet was mere inches from the target and he survived with a minor injury. The outcome could have been so much worse. Thankfully it wasn’t and that’s something all Americans need to acknowledge. We cannot continue to live in a country that treats the people we don’t agree with as the “other”. We cannot continue to allow our words to be divisive and hateful. We cannot continue to point fingers outwardly and ignore our own complicit behaviors and statements. We’ve gone down a path we need to walk away from before more damage is done. Every one of us is entitled to our political views and to support the people we each think is best for our country and for our values. We don’t have the right to remove the humanity from people who see the world differently.

Balak was a king who had endless amounts of power and yet he lived in fear of the “other”. In this case, the “other” was us, the children of Israel. He was so worried that he hired a professional “curser” to help him to hurt us in some spiritual way. Balak had heard that Bilam was powerful and “who he blessed was blessed and whoever he cursed was cursed”. The parsha goes on to tell of Bilam’s attempts to curse us time and again and that ultimately, he was only able to bless us with the words of מה טובו/Mah Tovu, “How wonderful are your tents…” We still use these words today to rejoice about how much we’ve built and how wonderful our Jewish world is for us, the Jewish people. It’s essential that we recognize we’re celebrating our joy in who we are and not looking down on others for not being part of our community or our religion.

The phenomenon of “othering” is something that doesn’t end well. When we dehumanize and demonize people, we create a world where violence prospers. When we create a world where we blame the other side for all our ills, we create a society that lacks basic empathy and understanding. We have real differences in our country and in our world. We have real things that divide us and those should be, and are, legitimate things to debate. But when sincere debate turns into personal attacks, we find ourselves in a world that lacks sanctity and basic and fundamental understanding. We’re way too far down this path. We’ve allowed ourselves to be in a society that’s more divided than it is united. Now is the time to slam on the brakes and reverse course. Now is the time to acknowledge the humanity on the other side. Now is the time to fight for the soul of our country and not against each other. Now is the time to reach out to those you disagree with, not to change their minds, but to understand the way they see the world. Now is the time to sit down and talk and acknowledge that the “other” is not the “other”, but is made in the Image of God and has every bit of the same inherent value you have in you.