Tree of Life

On Saturday, while I was warmed and welcomed by my Monroe Eitz Chaim/Tree of Life synagogue, a bloody rampage and ultimately the murder of eleven Jewish worshippers was unfolding in Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life.
On social media the gunman, fueled by our current volatile political climate and rhetoric, ranted and twisted reality against HIAS, Jews and immigrants. HIAS is an agency which exemplifies Jewish values and works with our government to help refugees find welcome, safety and freedom.
HIAS assisted my parents and my two brothers, when they escaped to America during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
In the 1940s, my parents survived forced labor and concentration camps during the Holocaust.
My father’s parents, his three brothers and many of our other relatives were killed in Nazi occupied Europe, for the sole reason of being Jewish.
They wanted a safer life for their family - part of me is now grateful that they are not alive to witness the resurgence of antisemitism around the world and in our America. A 57 percent spike in 2017 compared to the year before, in acts of harassment vandalism, bomb threats, assaults and now escalating into murder.
The Torah portion read in synagogues around the world last Shabbat/Saturday was about Abraham and Sarah welcoming strangers into their tent.
Our Eitz Chaim/Tree of Life doors are open, as are the doors to most houses of worship. The idea of armed guards standing at our threshold is as absurd and antithetical to our trust and prayers for peace and well-being, as the idea of arming me, an 8th grade teacher.
On my drive to work in Middletown this week, I am assaulted by a brightly lit neon billboard advertising yet another gun show within a few blocks of my middle school, an elementary and a high school.
How many weapons will be sold in my school district this weekend, and for what purpose?
How many more lockdown and Active Shooter drills do we tolerate in the guise of school safety?
My 8th grade classroom is a vibrant mix of nationalities, colors and religions. These students need role models who will not be bribed by the NRA; leaders who denounce white supremacists, homophobes, racists and bigots; leaders who model respect, empathy, love for the stranger who is a productive member of society and seeks a better life in our America.
They need leaders who strive to bring about a peaceful, clean future.
And we need to keep our thresholds as open and inviting as Sarah and Abraham’s tent.
Judy Ronay
Monroe