RETIREMENT LIVING

spirituality >> Torah portion

Can We Stop
The Violence?

Parshat Vayeira: Genesis 18:1-22:24;
Kings 4:1-4:37.

D

rive-by shootings. Midday
robberies of gas stations,
banks, stores. Neighborhoods
where gangs rule the streets, espe-
cially at night. These are some of the
phenomena that we hear of
daily in our news, that seem
to occur both in urban
and suburban areas. There
seems to be a breakdown in
our whole justice system.
And yet, as we read in
this week's Torah portion,
Vayeira, these scenes could
easily have come out of
Sodom and Gemorrah in
the days of Abraham and
Lot. When Lot invites the
two "visitors" (angels) into
his house, the Torah tells us that every
single person in Sodom gathered in
front of his house and demanded that
he hand over the visitors to the mob.
The midrash Genesis Rabbah 3:6
has them saying to Lot, "Have we
appointed you as a judge over us so
that you should introduce new laws?
Our law since ancient time is that
every stranger who comes here is mal-
treated and robbed!"
How did this situation come about?
What has happened to our own soci-
ety to allow these forms of violence
and corruption? Why was it that
Abraham, in contrast, lived in peace
with his neighbors and had his tent
open on all sides?
Perhaps we can find an answer in
the experience of Iraqi author Najem
Wali, who wrote in a 2008 Hadassah
Magazine article about the evolution
of his attitude toward Israel. He grew
up being told that the Jews were noth-
ing but a bunch of Zionist gangs that
would ultimately be wiped off the
map. But after visiting Israel twice in
2007 he wrote:
"I found out what the Arab coun-
tries are afraid of ... that their citizens
will visit Israel ... they will compare
the rights of Israeli citizens to those of
citizens of their countries ... discover
that those Palestinians have the same
basic rights as all the other citizens ...
that they can express themselves free-
ly, live by their traditions and establish
political parties?"
In other words, by perpetuating lies
and fears — prejudice and fanati-
cism can grow. Wasn't this true in Nazi

Germany where Jews were depicted
in the media as rodents and blamed
for society's ills? When such lies about
other humans are spread, then fear
breeds all kinds of horrible defenses.
The value of human life is
gone, and only the needs
of the individual count. We
see this today all over the
world — in Afghanistan,
in Gaza and in the gang-
infested neighborhoods of
some of our communities.
What can we do about
this, especially when we
feel the problem is so much
bigger than what any one
of us could handle? But act-
ing as if we are helpless will
only spur the growth of violence until
it knocks on our doors someday.
We must speak out, urging our gov-
ernment leaders, our judges and our
safety officials to act powerfully and
together to stop this growing violence.
We must teach the youth of our com-
munities to resolve their conflicts
peacefully and to find positive outlets
for their energies and talents. We must
model respect for all human life and be
involved with relieving poverty, helping
others find jobs, getting a decent educa-
tion, and working together with people
of all faiths and ethnicities.
Can we answer Abraham's plea to
God — that our community should
not be destroyed if there are at least 10
righteous human beings here? Let us
bravely come forward and be counted
by participating in any one of the
many organizations in Detroit and in
our world that are working to stop the
violence and promote peace, prosper-
ity, understanding and respect for all
life! E-1

Rabbi Dorit Edut teaches at the Downtown
Synagogue and is head of the Detroit

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