June 3, 2025
I am sitting down to write this message to you on Monday afternoon, which is the afternoon of Shavuot—the day we celebrate standing at Sinai to receive the gift of Torah. It is also 24 hours after the heinous antisemitic attack in Boulder, CO, on Jews walking to encourage the release of the hostages. My heart goes out to the victims as we pray for their recovery. It is the second attack on Jews in American streets in the past two weeks, and this one has left me reeling because the emotions of the two are compounded. I am also saddened by the lack of outreach from anyone, anywhere, in the interfaith community.
Yelling “Free Palestine” and “End Zionists” while hurling explosives at Jews should fill every American with anger and inspire all of us to stand up and say, “We won’t let that happen here ever again!” When anti-Israel and anti-Jewish protesters gathered on college campuses and said “Globalize the Intifada,” this is what they were talking about. I lived through the Second Intifada. I know what it’s like to walk next to a bus or into a supermarket or sit down at a café in Jerusalem, always looking over your shoulder, fearful that it might explode. Killing or hurting Jews in America will not “Free Palestine”; it will not help Palestinians. The victims in Sunday’s attack were between the ages of 52 and 88; the 88-year-old was a Holocaust survivor. Can you imagine? She endured the worst evil humanity has ever known, and on the free streets of America, she was terrorized again for being Jewish.
In this moment, I am reminded of a Midrash (a story or interpretation about something in the Torah) about Abraham and a test of his identity and faith. The rabbis tell us a story about Nimrod, who challenged Abraham and said they should worship the fire. Abraham responded, “Perhaps they should worship water, which quenches fire.” Nimrod acquiesced and said, “Let’s worship water.” Then Abraham challenged him again and said, “Let’s worship the clouds, which hold the water.” The seemingly circular conversation continues and frustrates Nimrod, who scolds Abraham for piling on words, before saying they should bow to the fire. Nimrod said to him, “I shall cast you into the fire, and let your God come and save you from it.” Abraham was thrown into the pit for his belief and identity, and he survived. On Sunday, Jews were literally thrown into the fire of a Molotov cocktail, and we ask ourselves: will we emerge like Abraham?
The Midrash tells us that it was God who saved Abraham. For us, it might be God who will come to save us, but perhaps it will be the choices we make. When we are thrown into the fiery furnace, it is easy to run away from the flames and retreat to our own homes. Judaism has prevailed for centuries because so many of us chose not to hide. Conversos hid their identities from the public but still practiced Judaism at home. Other communities decided that even amid the fears at the hands of Czars or other oppressors, they would not give up. On Sunday evening, I taught such a lesson from Rabbi Kalonymos Kalman Shapira, the Rabbi of the Warsaw Ghetto, who illegally brought his community together inside the ghetto under the threat of death. In February 1942, he taught about how the hope for immediate salvation might actually make us hopeless, and he reminded us that salvation may just come later, and we should keep hoping and keep living our lives Jewishly.
It is my hope that we, as a Jewish community, will continue to show up! Please show up for Shabbat on Friday to honor our board. Please show up for Shabbat on June 13th to celebrate Pride. Please show up to watch the film October 8 on June 11th. If we are offering a program, please consider showing up! Safety and security are our top priority. If you have questions or concerns about our security protocols, please reach out to Debbie Vinocur, our Executive Director. We do not publicize our plans for security reasons, but she would be happy to speak with you.
These are difficult times that stir in us profound emotions and deep questions. We are all navigating these uncharted waters—hopefully together. May we all have the strength to step forward with love and not with anger.
With profound sadness and filled with prayers for all the victims,
Rabbi Rick Kellner