Maybe Change Is Possible
In the spring of 2018, under the leadership of Rabbi Matalon, responding to the deepening polarization and deteriorating quality of life in America, B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in NYC undertook an unusual project. Thirteen members, including two rabbis, participated in an exchange with 10 members of the Michigan Corrections Organization, the union of corrections officers in Michigan (MCO). They wanted to create a bridge between Christians and Jews, the liberal East Coast and the so-called heartland of America, between progressives and conservatives. “Over three days together in Lansing, MI, followed by three days in Manhattan, we asked: How can we deepen our understanding and address our preconceived notions of the “other” in American life? What about conservatism could progressives come to value, honor and learn from; and vice versa? Could learning from others about their values and experiences help identify solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems? We hoped that the exchange would be meaningful and provocative, but we never expected that we would develop such a profound relationship with MCO, with a depth that would lead MCO members to travel to New York in November to share their love and support with us.”
At the end of the Shabbat services that Saturday, Rabbi Matalon introduced three young men, probably in their late thirties, officers in the Michigan Correction Organization, who came to New York. They had made the trip from Michigan to read a letter to us that they had written after the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue. Standing in the front of the congregation where the rabbis usually are, in front of the ark where the Torahs are kept, they took turns reading the long letter from the MCO. They were Christians, they said, and some of them had never known a Jewish person before.
“We are writing today as conservative, patriotic Americans,” they began. “We believe America is indeed an exceptional place that has served as a unique symbol and model to the world. As such, we have seen enough of the divisive politics that separates our country and are calling for an end to any rhetoric that confuses hate and fear mongering with patriotism. We were shocked, angered, and saddened to learn that a man filled with hate for Jews entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh PA and committed a horrific act of terror on Jewish Americans peacefully at worship. We are literally sick over what happened and at times have had no words to describe it. Although this was the madness of one twisted individual, we can no longer turn a blind eye to the people and places where this kind of hatred is fueled. As Americans, we all understand what terrorism looks and sounds like and should fear this example the most because the perpetrator is an American. We feel connected to this tragedy through our Jewish friends and family and our shared religious traditions. …we understand this was an attack on all of us. We wish to convey to you that we grieve this loss of Jewish American lives and that we care about the safety of your community. We condemn anti-Semitism in all of its malignant manifestations.”
The synagogue was silent. We listened to these young men, saw their serious faces, saw their emotion. They were probably the age of my son, who’d grown up in the Midwest, played ball with people like this and made life-long friends. At the end, the whole congregation (probably more than five hundred people, all rose as one in a standing ovation that lasted for a long, long time. Ever since the first sentences of the letter, tears had been streaming down my face. I was filled with gratitude, awe, and yes love for these men who now found themselves at a different place, intellectually, emotionally and ethically. They were Christians, true to the teachings of their faith, as they stood in our synagogue, giving and receiving love. I don’t know that I’ve ever witnessed anything more moving. I could see that the exchange my synagogue had organized, six months before the shooting at Squirrel Hill, had been transformative for everyone involved. It was a grass roots effort to spread peace and understanding.
Who knows, how many other efforts might be going on around the country, even as I write?
Click here for more about the event and to read the letter in its entirety.