There are no words. I feel crippling sadness. It is a sadness for families who have suffered loss. It is a sadness for beautiful children and adults who will not live out the fullness of their days. It is a crippling sadness for a community that has lost 21 beautiful souls. It is a crippling sadness for every parent in this country who is forced to wonder, as they send their treasure out into the world, “Is my child safe?”.  But I am also feeling pain, anger, frustration and helplessness. The evil of Uvalde, Texas happening so close to the evil of Buffalo, New York just increases the anguish. Why should the names of so many towns and schools and synagogues and churches, be reminders of tragedy and evil?

These horrendous acts of violence and death; these acts pure evil keep occurring. It has to force us to question whether we are doing everything possible to put a stop to it. At Deuteronomy 30:19 Moses tells the Israelites to “Choose Life!”.  I question whether we, as a nation, are doing our best to choose life.

We need to work together to fix this problem. We should not blame this issue or that issue, this person or that person, this group or that group. Finger pointing is a formula for isolation which only creates more problems. What our federal and state representatives need to do is to sit together, have an honest discussion, and develop a workable solution on many fronts. 

While we have not yet been provided with a good answer to stopping these horrific events, there are groups actively seeking solutions. Terri Robinovitz is a congregant of the JCC of LBI. She, and her family, suffered the loss of her beautiful granddaughter, Alyssa Alhadeff, to the shooter at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Valentine’s Day in 2018. Terri and her family could not sit on the sidelines after the tragedy. Instead they started “Make Our Schools Safe” a nonprofit organization with a mission to “Empower students and staff to help create and maintain a culture of safety and vigilance in a secure school environment”. The organization has been instrumental in getting the Alyssa’s Law passed in New Jersey and Florida. Additionally, the Alyssa’s Law was incorporated into a nationwide law called the Safer Schools Act, H.R. 2727 which is now in Congress.

This bipartisan legislation would provide grants to public elementary and secondary schools to conduct independent security risk assessments and make hard security improvements such as video monitoring and alert notification equipment.

If you would like to discuss “Make Our Schools Safe”, or other issues, you should feel free to contact Terri Robinovitz at terirobin@aol.com, or feel free to call her at 609-501-1171.

Pray for an end to all violence. 

Here is a prayer by Rabbi Naomi Levy:

A Prayer for the Children 

and The Teachers, 

Victims of the School Shooting 

at Robb Elementary School, 

Uvalde, Texas 

Our hearts are breaking, God,

As our we mourn 

innocent children 

and their teachers.

The loss is overwhelming.

Send comfort and strength, God, 

to grieving parents,

To siblings, family and friends 

in this time of shock and mourning.

Shield them from despair.

Send healing to the schoolchildren who are lost and frightened

Whose eyes witnessed unfathomable horrors.

Ease their pain, God,

Let their fears give way to hope.

Let their cries give way once more 

to laughter.

Bless us, God,

Work through us.

Turn our helplessness into action.

Teach us to believe that we can rise up from this tragedy

With a renewed faith 

in the goodness of our society.

Shield us from indifference

And from our tendency to forget.

Open our hearts, open our hands.

Innocent blood is calling out to us 

to act and pass the laws 

that will stop gun violence. 

Remind us that we must commit ourselves to prevent further bloodshed

With all our hearts and souls.

Teach us perseverance and dedication.

Let us rise up as one 

in a time of soul-searching and repair

So that all children can go to school 

in peace, God,

Let them be safe.

God of the brokenhearted,

God of the living, God of the dead,

Gather the souls of the victims

Into Your eternal shelter.

Let them find peace in Your presence, God.

Their lives have ended

But their lights can never be extinguished.

May they shine on us always

And illuminate our way.

Amen.

I am always available to discuss this or any other issues with you.

With Great Sadness – Rabbi Michael S. Jay