New Zealand Massacre and reflections on our visit to a Mosque.

We woke up yesterday (Friday) to the devastating news that a White Nationalist Terrorist went into two Mosques in New Zealand and shot 50 Muslims while they were in the middle of praying. As soon as we heard, Rabbanit Fruchter and I knew that we had to do something to reach out to our local Mosque. We remembered how touched we were by so many people of other faiths attending our Friday Night Tefilah (service) on the shabbat after Pittsburgh so we really wanted to reciprocate. We contacted the Imam and president of a Mosque a few miles from our synagogue (both of whom we have relationships with) and expressed our condolences. We were warmly invited to attend their Friday Jummah prayer service.

A number of Beth Sholom members (and other clergy) joined our group. When we arrived, we saw a police car at the entrance. Unfortunately, this made us “feel at home” as now, unfortunately, this is a common sight at most shuls. We entered the Mosque and were struck by how warm and welcoming they were. And also how visibly moved they were by our presence.

After introductory prayers, there Imam got up and began his very powerful sermon. One part of the sermon brought tears to my eyes. He talked about the horrific nature of the shooter killing people in the middle of prayer. He encouraged people to imagine what it would be like if the shooter came in to their Mosque in Potomac, right then while they were praying. When the Imam said this I looked around and saw the very real fear of being Muslim in our country.

The reason this impacted me so much is that I vividly remember saying almost the same exact words to our synagogue on the shabbat after Pittsburgh and I remember the fear in the eyes of my own congregants. This was all the more complicated (and at the same time clarifying) by the fact that if an anti-Muslim shooter would have come to that Mosque in Potomac (instead of New Zealand) this past Friday, then among the victims, might have been members of my synagogue who were there in solidarity.

These thoughts of course were on my mind as we read Parshat Zachor (the commandment to remember Amalek and the terrible acts that they did to us). There is an obvious question. Why Amalek? It is true that Amalek attacked us but many other nations harmed us much more. The Egyptians enslaved us for hundreds of years and killed our babies. The Babylonians and Romans destroyed our temples and sent us into Exile. What did Amalek do that is so terrible that the Torah says that G-d is in an eternal battle with them?

If we read the verses carefully, the answer jumps out. The text says that when Amalek attacked - ויזנב בך. This comes from hebrew word Zanav (or tail). This would literally be translated as, “They (the Amalekites) tailed us.” Ibn Ezra tells us that this means that they attacked from the tail or rear and went after “the weak who did not have strength” and fell behind. Other commentaries point out that the victims were people who (for whatever reason) fell out of the Clouds of Glory that were the safety net of the Jewish People. So Amalek attacks the weak, the vulnerable those who for whatever reason don’t have social safety net.

When a racist shooter goes into an unprotected church in Charleston and kills nine African Americans who are at Bible Study, this is Amalek.

When an anti-semitic shooter goes into a synagogue in Pittsburgh and attacks the mostly elderly (and some disabled) congregants who were in the back of the shul, this is Amalek.

And when someone goes filming on Facebook Live on a shooting rampage in two Mosques in New Zealand, this is Amalek.

We don’t know the identities of the victims yet, but I have heard that many were immigrants, some were refugees from Syria. People who are running from conflict. Tired and vulnerable. This is Amalek.

So what do we do to fight Amalek? (This is not a political/security question. I will leave at up to the experts and security professionals.) I am asking a spiritual/ethical question. What should we do?

I grew up with the idea that when we see sin in others, we have to look inward and ask where have we fallen short. When we see other jews who are not keeping shabbat or Kashrut, we must ask what is missing in our observance that other jews are not wanting to take this on. Etc etc.

So when we see Amalek in others, (in addition to demanding that our society does everything to defend the defenseless), we must ask if there is any Amalek within us. This is the path of Mussar.

I think about this with a סור מרע, ועשה טוב (turn away from evil and then do good).

First the “turn away from evil.” I read some excerpts of the shooter’s manifesto. This is my reaction to his Manifesto. It is definitely true that nobody who know would ever contemplate going into a Mosque and killing people. However, I definitely know people who have said similar things (and in similar ways) to what was said in the Manifesto. Let me be clear. Policy arguments about immigration and borders and security are completely appropriate. But if you find yourself saying things about immigrants and Muslims in similar ways that appear in the Manifesto, you have to ask yourself about the Amalek within you. Words (and the way we say things) really matter and can have tragic results.

(As an aside, I think the same thing about those who are very critical of Israel. I am 100% in favor of policy debates and arguments about various actions that Israel has taken. But when language of “peaceful” critics sounds very similar to the language of terrorists (“zionist enemy” etc) then the peaceful activists have to ask themselves hard questions about Amalek within themselves.)

So that is the סור מרע (turning from evil). We must do everything to remove any trace of Amalek from our hearts.

Here is the עשה טוב (doing the good). I know it is a cliche but sometimes cliches are right on. “We must fight hate with love.” How do we respond to hateful shooting in a Mosque? By going to a Mosque and standing in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters. We felt this so deeply both when we visited the Mosque yesterday and when our shul was full of people of other faiths on the shabbat after Pittsburgh. I was so moved to see rabbis and shuls from across the country visiting Mosques yesterday. I pray that our love, solidarity and support will overpower the hate.

I want to conclude with a prayer the kind of which I have never done before in a sermon. There is a story behind this prayer. I was looking over my email history with the Imam from the Mosque. Unfortunately, almost every email is a condolence email. In 2017 I reached out to him to express my condolences and offer support after a shooting at a Mosque in Quebec City. In 2018, he wrote me a very similar email after Pittsburgh. Then, yesterday, I once again wrote him an email after New Zealand. I told him that we have to stop sending condolence emails to each other. We have to write each other (and get together) for good things.

Well I did end up finding one email that was not about a bad thing. Two years ago, his Mosque was doing renovations and they were renting the social hall of the church next door. The Imam emailed before Eid (their biggest holiday of the year) and asked if they could use our parking lot for their expected very large crowd. We were able to accomodate and everything went well. Well just yesterday, I discovered an email that he sent me after Eid. Here it is

Dear Rabbi Nissan,

I wanted to sincerely thank you for accommodating us last week. I wanted you to know that in my sermon, I closed with a special prayer for you, your family, and your congregation. I hope you will pass this sentiment on to your community.

Best wishes for the rest of the summer and hoping we can meet again soon.

Best,

Tarek

First I am sorry that I did not see it and pass it on to the shul (I guess I am doing it now!).

Second, I was so moved by the fact that the Imam offered a prayer for our community in the middle of what is probably the most important sermon of the year.

The least I can do is reciprocate right now.

I would like to offer a prayer for Imam Tarek, his family and his community. We saw first hand their fear. We know that fear. We pray for you. We pray for all Mosques, Churches and Synagogues, people of all faiths. We pray that G-d prevents any form of Amalek from causing harm and we pray that G-d help us remove any trace of Amalek from our hearts and souls. We commit to love, support and solidarity. May G-d’s light and love shine on all of us and protect us.