By the Grace of G-d
Dear Friend,
The world at large has become a smaller place thanks to advances in communication and travel.
When it comes to the Jewish world we have become an even more tightknit family than ever before.
If you ‘bump into’ a Jew you never met before and talk to them for a few minutes, you will likely discover that you know someone in common. If you didn’t find anyone you know in common, you have not spoken long enough. Or one of you is not keeping track on all of there friends.
This week the Jewish world has been focused on the Chabad Poway Synagogue Shooting
Have you ever heard of Poway before?
It wasn’t a place I had heard of much. Till just now after Pessach. As the news of the horrific attack started breaking. Very soon we all knew the name Lori Kaye. Lori had been killed by a gunman simply because she was a Jew and was in Synagogue.
I didn’t think I knew any of the Jewish community of Poway. But by Sunday afternoon I learned that even out here in Thailand there were some people who had actually belonged to the congregation of Chabad of Poway. They shared their personal feelings and thoughts and it made it the attack even more personal.
But then something quite unusual happened. I am still not sure what it means. But it is too ‘coincidental’ to just be a coincidence. What I mean to say is that while everything is always Divine Providence, sometimes you see it even more openly than other times.
On Monday, two days after the attack, I was looking through the USA Chabad of Thailand account. There was a deposit into the bank on Sunday the 28th of April.
A name on one of the checks that we had just deposited jumped out at me.
Howard N. Kaye M.D.
Lori L. Gilbert
Poway, CA
It was a check that was written in February. To the Chiang Mai branch of Chabad of Thailand. As it was an American check it had been sent for deposit to our nonprofit account in the USA. It had taken almost three months from the date that they check was written. I don’t know why it took so long to send the check to the bank, but the fact is that only on April 28th did Lori’s check finally make it to be deposited in the bank.
Exactly a day after she was tragically killed.
I have not yet been able to confirm with the family when and where Lori visited. But the timing of this deposit left me with my mouth open. I am sure that you too will find this juxtaposition unusual and thus I share it.
What is the message?
One message may be a reminder for all of us who are blessed to be alive. We must remember that what goes with a person for eternity is their good deeds.
Another message may be that even after the passing of a near and dear one, life must go on with vitality and optimist and joy.
Our Sages taught that the souls of those who pass on, desire that their loved ones not mourn excessively but move on and live life joyously.
The way Lori’s funeral was described was that it was ‘defiantly optimistic’. Her family and her community will go forward with strength and vitality.
The consummate timing of this check deposit means that after Lori’s death as she was waiting to be buried, she was giving tzedaka. Lori’s was empowering the continuation of joyous Jewish life even as she no longer lived physically. And not just close to home. In far off Thailand of all places.
May Lori’s memory be a blessing.
The Torah portion this week speaks about the death of the two sons of Aharon. The Torah describes their passing as being an even that ‘sanctified G-d’s name’.
No one can understand the ways of G-d and we may never justify when something bad happens to someone else.
Yet it is undeniable that somehow through her tragic passing, Lori has made an impact of epic proportion to the world at large.
The message regarding the need to focus on teaching all inhabitants of the world about Universal Morality has been broadcast from one of the most public and powerful places in the world. The White House.
From the lawn of the White House, Rabbi Goldstein spoke about the Rebbe’s impassioned call for reintroducing morality into the American society by instituting a ‘moment of silence’ into the daily school schedule.
Click here to read more about the ‘Moment of Silence’
I am not giving explanations… Far be it from me to voice opinions on such sensitive and painful things. I am just pointing out things that I think may be of interest to you. Hopefully providing food for thought.
I would like to finish with a story I just heard about a tragic event that took place thirty-nine years ago.
On Friday night May 2nd 1980, a group of Jews walking through the streets of Chevron were attacked by terrorists. Six Jews were murdered. The tragedy was a colossal one.
Two days later on Sunday May 4th was Lag Ba’omer. Chabad Houses all over Israel traditionally organize joyous parades for the children on Lag Ba’omer.
The Chabad of Kiryat Arba (neighboring Chevron) was not sure what to do. One the one hand, their region was plunged into deep sorrow. On the other hand, Lag Baomer is a joyous holiday. They were in doubt. Should they continue their celebration as planned? Or perhaps it would be viewed as insensitive and they should ‘let it go’ for this year.
When a person has a doubt they ask the Rebbe. And ask they did. A few hours later they received a brief message from the Rebbe’s secretary.
The Rebbe quoted a passage from the Talmud. The Talmud speaks about a scenario that a funeral procession and a procession leading a bride to her marriage arrive at a one lane passageway. Who has right of way? Who gets precedence?
The Talmud says. ‘you move the deceased to the side and make way for the bride’.
מעבירין את המת מלפני הכלה
The commentaries explain that Hashem created the world to be inhabited and settled. Marriage is a process of continuation of life. It thus takes precedence.
The Shluchim understood what the Rebbe was telling them. Life needed to go on. Especially a day like Lag Baomer which is such an important spiritual day.
The Lag Baomer celebration in the Chevron area went on as planned. The Jews of the area were inspired and uplifted.
This is the message I would like to leave you with.
Those who are obligated to sit shiva must mourn for seven days as proscribed.
We all need to empathize and reach out to offer comfort.
But we dare not fall into a misguided heaviness of mood. It is all too easy and tempting to walk away from horror and tragedy with a downcast desponded spirit. We must not wallow in morbid and tragic projections.
We need to focus on continuing to LIVE.
On a practical level, safety and security needs must be reassessed at Jewish institutions all over the world. This is critical.
But most importantly we need to FILL the Synagogues!
We need to walk proudly and joyously as Jews.
Now more than ever before we need to act in a way that brings light to the world around us.
We need to add in our Mitzvah observance.
Encourage our fellow Jews to do one more mitzvah.
Unabashedly share the message of the rules of morality predicated on belief in one G-d with all the inhabitants of the world.
Through adding in acts of goodness and kindness we will merit the ultimate time of peace, when the ‘wolf will lie with the lamb’ with the coming of Mashiach speedily in our days NOW.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yosef Kantor