Thread by @RabbiHarvey

A timely and emotional thread on where Judaism stands on gun violence and gun control. While I was hesitant to publish this lesson immediately, I was reminded by many that if I had waited...another tragedy would have occurred most likely. So here we go: #thread #gunviolence

As a rabbi, I’ve had the horrible privilege of writing and speaking about the countless mass shootings that have occurred in this country. I wrote after Sandy Hook, after Las Vegas, after Orlando. And here I am again, writing because somehow we have not moved an inch.../1

as the blood of men, women, and children cry out from the ground. In the mid-19th century, Rabbi David Einhorn stood at the pulpit of Har Sinai in Baltimore and gave a sermon on an issue many would have considered a “hot topic” of the time: the topic of slavery. /2

...He stood in front of his congregation, many of whom were slave owners and slavery supporters, and gave a well-researched, emotional sermon about why slavery should be abolished, why it was immoral, and why as Jews we should stand against it. /3

The sermon, as you can probably imagine, received a great deal of negative response: congregants walked out, congregants disagreed, congregants complained. But Rabbi Einhorn remained quiet all week, listening to the words of his congregants, until the next Shabbat.../4

...when he once again stood at the pulpit. That week, he gave a stronger sermon as to why he identified as an abolitionist and why his congregation should as well. He began his sermon with these words: “It seems I was not clear last week.” And what happened? /5

...Congregants walked out, congregants disagreed, congregants complained. A week went by, and the next week, he stood at the pulpit for a third time and said “I apologize for my last two sermons. Apparently I have not been clear,” after which he gave one of the strongest.../6

... Jewish sermons ever recorded against slavery.

Why did Rabbi Einhorn do this? Because he understood the job of a rabbi, and the role of a teacher. The rabbi must be the Jewish authority of a synagogue, pushing the boundaries, and transforming the minds of congregants.../7

...even in the face of adversity. It is up to rabbis around the country to speak out after this week of more gun violence, more death.

The problem of gun violence in our country stems from not only white fragility, toxic masculinity, and fundamentalist beliefs.../8

... of constitutional law, but mostly it stems from the issue of radical individualism in America. This is the basis for the lack of any gun control laws, and the lack of empathy for the grieving parents and siblings of those who have died from gun violence.../9

...But one could also argue (and I do) that radical individualism in America is also responsible for the anti-vax movements, anti-mask, lack of empathetic immigration laws, as well as larger issues of homelessness, racism, and homophobia. Why? /10

Because the radical individualist American thinks: “The public are strangers, they said. What do they do for me? What can I get out of this?” Psychologists and cultural anthropologists have pointed out that this way of thinking is becoming more and more pervasive in society. /11

However, there is nothing LESS Jewish than this individualistic thought. Judaism in itself is, and always has been, a religion or culture of community. One need only glance through our understandings of worship, how we grieve, how we eat, the need for the minyan.../12

..., to understand that we are not meant to do much alone. More than that, the biblical and rabbinic writings have plenty to say about communal responsibility. We are told in Deuteronomy 16:20 not to pursue individual liberty but “Justice, Justice.” /13

Judaism knows nothing of “charity,” the idea of the individual to give from your heart, but rather the concept of “tzedakah,” which obligates each citizen to create and maintain a just and equal society. We are commanded over and over in our Torah not to love ourselves.../14

...but to love our neighbors as ourselves. We see these messages over and over again in the teachings of our sages. Pirkei Avot 2:5 tells us “Do not separate yourself from the community,” meaning that we cannot value our individualism over the values of the community. /15

More clearly, the Talmud Shevuot 39a, tells us that “All Jews are responsible for one another.” And then there’s the Midrash: /16

True, we Jews have always been grateful to the autonomy given to American citizens to build their own destiny, but just as Jews recoil at the anti-vax movement, or those who refuse to even engage in conversations about gun control.../17

..., we recoil at those yelling about constitutional freedom to live (and most likely die) at their choosing. We do so because we still hear the words of our Talmud, Bava Kama 46a, which teaches: /18

In other words, individual freedoms, whether to own a vicious dog, or in this case an unsecured gun, or the purchase of an assault rifle, cease when those freedoms will inflict direct, preventable harm on another. Among those protesting regulations meant to safeguard us all../19

..., we have seen too many signs that read, “My freedom doesn’t end where your fear begins.” No, it doesn’t, but in Judaism, your freedom DOES end when danger to me begins.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a famous social justice rabbi who marched../20

... with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., once said: “In a free society, only some may be guilty, but all are responsible.” And we are all responsible. Isaiah told us to “beat [our] swords into plowshares, And [our] spears into pruning hooks.” /21

...The Psalms told us to “depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Leviticus 19, in the Hebrew, tells us, Lo Ta’amod Al Dam Rei’echa, has several translations, all relevant, but the most pertinent would be “Do not profit by the blood of your fellow.../22

...and “Do not stand on your neighbors blood.”
But, to borrow one of our favorite gun control words, there is a loophole. Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah, explains:
/23

The loophole, as the RAMBAM explains, is that if you must own a gun, you are obligated to keep it in a safe, locked and secure in order to not accidentally cause death and bring blood upon your house.
I must note that while the Torah and our Jewish sages may have made.../24

... allowances for weapons, their views on them are clear. The Talmud, Shabbat 63a tells us: /25

Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion is that of the minority, likening weapons as “ornaments;” but the sages disagreed, and the majority opinion was that displaying weapons around on Shabbat in the public domain is “nothing other than reprehensible.” /26

...In other words, there is nothing beautiful about carrying guns, certainly not on Shabbat. They are not ornaments to show or take pride in, but reprehensible parts of society which, as the rabbis hope, will be removed and unnecessary in the future. /27

Finally, the following text from the Bereshit Rabbah (21:13) further idealizes the land free of weapons, "The Rabbis, commenting on the words: 'He placed at the East of the Garden of Eden the Cherubim and the flaming sword' say.../28

...'At the East of the Garden of Eden at the very spot where stood the Cherubim with the flaming sword - there was Gehenna created.'

So, in conclusion, Judaism has always emphasized communal responsibility, felt very strongly about how guns and weapons in general are.../29

...nothing to take pride in, and that the blood of our children cry out from the ground and we are ALL responsible. This goes far beyond the commandment of "thou shalt not murder." It is not the responsibility of the shooters alone, but those who do nothing to prevent it.
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