The Best Medicine Is To Show Up
“How are you feeling? Are you ok?”, has become the constant refrain since we heard the news about the horrendous stabbing in Golders Green on Wednesday. I was in the middle of a rabbinic Beit Din, welcoming new people who are returning to Judaism or becoming Jewish, and it was quite an emotionally charged day for us all. It has been emotionally charged for us all for weeks now, with most conversations circling about what we think is going on, and people’s perception of fear, worry and danger. We are living in difficult and scary times, and we are living in a country that takes it seriously. There are many voices clamouring for attention, some with legitimate questions and others who mainly seem to want to stoke fear and throw blame around. We need to be discerning in who we listen to, and what their agenda is.
The response from the government, local government, and the police is something to be grateful for. They don't always get it right, but they are trying very hard in a continuously changing and complex landscape. And though the measures they are taking are not always visible to us, there is a lot of work behind the scenes going on as well.
One comment by a member struck me last week, she said “the best requital to the attacks is joy”, celebrating and continuing our Jewish lives as always. And so it was a balm to be with the youngest members of our Chavurah on Friday who loudly and joyfully were making challah cloths during Young Shabbat. The best medicine right now is to show up, and to encourage others to show up too. Coming to events and services is a reminder that we live in relative peace, that we have Jewish lives and communities to grow, and that we will not be cowed by what is happening.
Next Friday we will celebrate Shabbat and nature, and what happens when we leave our lawns to grow (No Mow May). If you haven’t watched David Attenborough’s new series of Secret Gardens, and all the astonishing wildlife that lives right under our noses, give yourself the joy of discovering the amazing amount of animals that our gardens support.
Join our youngest as we have a Family Shabbat on Saturday 9th in the morning, created by them and for them, with children and teens creating and writing their understanding of prayers and Shabbat. It is promising to be joyful, and an important way to show them that even when times are difficult, we still gather. Let us make sure that we teach them a Judaism of life, not of fear.
And on 10th May there is a March Against Antisemitism where the whole larger community is coming together, and where representatives from Progressive Judaism will also be speaking. Please keep an eye out for more details in the newsletter on Sunday.
The Security group will be present at any of the events at Eden Primary School and on Saturday 9th they will say a few words about what we are doing and can answer any questions you might have.
I keep in mind the words of Rabbi Daniel Walker, the rabbi of Heaton Park Synagogue, who in the Panorama episode about Antisemitism said: “Whilst recognising that things are not OK, I am relentlessly positive. I choose to believe that the good will do what needs doing and that society will become a better place.”
Shabbat Shalom
