“Blessed be God”
The men prayed
Talleisim on shoulders
Tefillin wrapped tightly
In horrific irony
“Allahu akbar – God is the greatest,”
The terrorists proclaimed
With meat cleavers and guns in hand
Staining the Islamic image
Silencing its peace loving sentiments
Stealing and misrepresenting the faith from its true adherents.
Five Israelis dead…
Four Rabbis who kept Torah
Continually on their lips
And one Druze police officer
Who put his life on the line protecting them
24 children left in mourning
The security of sanctuaries shattered.
The Quran teaches:
“The taking of one innocent life
is like taking all of Mankind…
and the saving of one life
is like saving all of Mankind”
(Holy Qur’an, 5:33)
The Talmud teaches
“Whoever destroys a soul
it is as if he destroyed an entire world.
Whoever saves a life,
it is as if he saved an entire world.”
(Sanhedrin 37a)
This is not a battle between
An Islamic God and Jewish God
They are one and the same.
This is battle between
those with violence stained souls
and those with peace loving hearts.
Do not let terrorists destroy
Prospects for peace
In our holy land, in our holy city,
In our hearts, and in our minds.
Do not let radicals kill
Prayers, faith, and futures.
Pray for peace in Jerusalem
Invest in peace promoting organizations
in Israel, in Gaza, and the West Bank.
Pursue peace in the world.
Blessed be God
in whose image we are created
and who has endowed us
with the ability to make peace.
3 Responses
A black day indeed. So long as killers such as these are considered heroes within their communities, peace is but a dream. And, sadly, so long as Jews want peace more than our enemies do, our longing for peace can only be a FOOL’S dream and something to be used and exploited against us.
Jeremy–the terrorists who perpetrated this act are not the Palestinian people. If we let them be the whole Palestinian people, then we are the ones looking for a way out of making peace. There will always be a few extremists, on both sides, who will do whatever possible to stop efforts toward peace. It is up to us to go forward, linking up with the many on the other side who wish peace. Together we can do this!
Jews should strive for peace, it is a moral imperative. But, as we do so, we should understand that peace is simply not realistic and that peace is a long, long way away.