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TIME FOR CHANGE

Rabbi Aaron Starr is convinced the
time has come for change and is orga-
nizing a group to address the problem
of mass shootings.
“What must we
do when the time
for ‘thoughts and
prayers’ has come to
an end, and the time
for action has long
since arrived?” he
asked in a sermon
Rabbi Aaron Starr
delivered on Feb.
17 at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield that was
posted on Facebook. “Our Torah, too,
makes it clear that there is an obliga-
tion — not a right, the Torah does
not speak of rights — an obligation
to defend one’s self and to defend the
lives of innocents.”
Starr said his sermon has received
a lot of attention, and that while he
does not have the answers, he is striv-
ing to find some by forming a group to
explore partnerships and determine
reasonable next steps.
“The issue of gun violence
in schools is not Republican or
Democrat, not left or right,” he told
the Jewish News. “The question is,
what can we do together? How can
we in our role as community leaders
and organizers bring people together?
Even if our successes are small to
begin with, they can snowball. I don’t
think we need to seek broad, sweep-
ing change because that will not be
successful. We are looking for rational,
practical solutions. I am optimistic,
and I am looking forward to learning
what we can do on every level.”

PONDERING ACTION

Many Michigan schools were on win-
ter break Feb. 19-23, the week after
the shooting, among them Frankel
Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield.
Yet school head Rabbi Azaryah Cohen
did hear from at least one student
expressing the desire
to do something —
though he’s not yet
sure what form that
will take.
“Social justice
is on our students’
minds in general,
and we want them
Rabbi Azaryah
thinking about these
Cohen
things and what
sorts of actions we
— and they — can take,” Cohen said.
“We’ll meet with the students once
we’re back in school.”
Like many other educational insti-
tutions, Frankel uses security cam-
eras and bulletproof glass to shore
its defenses and recently received a
Homeland Security grant to enhance
security.
“With improving technology and

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March 1 • 2018

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safety measures, there are always
additions you can make to isolate
and neutralize threats,” Cohen said.
“Regulation is only part of the answer.
As a society, we need to look at every-
thing from how we treat individuals
struggling with emotional illness to
the forms of entertainment and media
that affect our sensitivity and the sen-
sitivity of our children.”

TEENS FIND A VOICE

Online videos from the shooting
scene, friends of friends of the fallen
and the fact that four of the dead
were scheduled to attend the same
Chabad Teen Network convention
he just escorted teens to in New York
has given this tragedy “a weird close-
ness” to Metro Detroit, said Rabbi
Yarden Blumstein, teen director at the
Friendship Circle.
There has been a lot of talk of gun
control among
teens, Blumstein
said, as well as the
need to address
mental health issues
and, ultimately, a
“seize the day” men-
tality. “We think we
have tons of time,”
Rabbi Yarden
he said, “but the
Blumstein
only real thing we
have is what is right
in front of us.”
Many of the young people with
whom Blumstein has spoken
expressed pride in the activism arising
from Florida students.
“They are a little proud of their
fellow teens standing up and taking
action,” he said. “I think now people
will realize the power that teens have.
Even teens underestimated teens —
this is the wake-up call that they have
a lot of power.”
Hillel’s Freedman, who at press time
wasn’t sure if his school would join the
National School Walkout on March 14,
agreed.
“The voices of these high-schoolers
are incredible and very powerful.
Anyone who says that high school stu-
dents can’t be articulate and coherent
about issues really doesn’t understand
high school kids. But most of them
can’t vote, so they should be hugely
encouraging their parents and teach-
ers to get out into the voting booth,”
he said.
Zach Shanbom and his mother
plan to attend the March for Our Lives
Rally on March 24 in Washington, D.C.
“We’re trying to get something
positive out of this,” he said. “There is
no need for an 18-year-old to have a
weapon of war for any reason. I don’t
think change will happen overnight or
next week, but the kids from school
are not going away, and they won’t
until some positive change comes out
of this.” •