By this time, we know that among the nearly 200 people murdered by terrorists in Mumbai, six were Jews. Our hearts break. Few of us can imagine the pain or horror … to lose a son, daughter, sibling or parent. Many and varied have been the responses to the question, “What do we do now?” Let me begin to answer the question with a question: How can I possibly respond without exploiting those who were murdered?
I fear using this tragedy as an opportunity, simply because some of the victims were Jewish. After all, nearly every day, we could point to a tragedy where terrorists murder innocents; this transcends religion, race, ethnicity and geography.
If we responded in an equally passionate way to every victim, we would have no energy left — psychological or physical — for anything else. How could we function?
But the Mumbai attack strikes us closer to home because Jews were among those targeted. Yet, are we not all created in the image of God?
But there I go … I use this tragedy as a pretext to communicate my message … my lesson.
This is my quandary.
Let me therefore keep my words brief, before I paint myself into a logical corner that I cannot escape: At this time, let us reflect upon the power of freewill. We can cause evil; we can remove evil. Whether we like it or not, when we learn of tragedy — whether a block from home or 1,000 miles — we should not be apathetic or devoid of emotion. As part of our temple family, we have a responsibility to respond, somehow and someway.
So what can we do?
We have no idea of the affect of our words and deeds. So before we speak, before we act, let’s pause if only for an instant to put ourselves in the shoes of “the other.” After all, we are all “the other” to someone else.
For this reason, we are far from powerless. Quite the contrary. We are powerful. Let us use our power for the good.
