Rabbi's Corner

Message from the Rabbi

"הוה said to Moses: Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come at will into the Shrine behind the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest he die; for I appear in the cloud over the cover." (Leviticus 16:2)
This verse comes right after the death of Aaron’s two sons. It comes to teach two very important life lessons.  1. Returning to the place of tragedy is horribly painful and 2. When tragedy strikes we may instinctively lash out.  
After personal or national tragedy, the scene of the event can become a memorial with the specifics of the horror left as a reminder of the fright of that day.  We need only recall what has become of the location of the Nova festival in Israel.  Some have made it a place of pilgrimage, needing to see for themselves the place.  
Once we see with our own eyes our response may be rage. In that rage we may retaliate with violence. This, too, has been some people's reaction to October 7th. 

This one verse from the Torah explains this will only perpetuate the violence we inflict and feel has been perpetrated against us.