Tuesday Morning Torah – March 13, 2018
Good morning. I hope you are all enjoying this snowy day! Who would believe that we are less than three weeks away from Passover. This morning, I have a few things on my mind that I would like to share with you, in no particular order.
1. Speaking of Passover- please consider joining us for our annual community seder, and feel free to bring friends and family! This year, we are back to the first night- Friday, March 30th. For more information, click here.
2. I recently returned from our Torat El delegation to the national AIPAC policy conference. For those who are interested in checking out the numerous videos of speakers on a wide range of topics- click here.
3. I know that many of us this week and next are following the national movement to address issues of gun violence in this country. Between the national school walk out scheduled for tomorrow at 10am across the country, and the “March for Our Lives” that is scheduled for Shabbat, March 24th- this is something that is very much on all of our minds. As I have said way too many times to count, in my understanding of Judaism while owning a gun is justifiable, as a general rule ours is a religion that places responsibility over rights. There is no doubt in my mind that our ancient rabbis would support measures to ensure that weapons of any kind are used in the safest way possible. While we may disagree about the solutions to this problem, as individuals who strive to lead meaningful Jewish lives we must not be afraid to stand up and demand that our political leaders work to find a solution to this national epidemic.
In the end, whether you are planning on marching, making donations, writing letters, or making calls to your local representatives about this issue- I urge you to take this moment in our history seriously as a person of faith.
**To educate yourselves further on this issue in Judaism, here is one article of many that I would recommend.
Stay safe and warm today!
