Sharing the Tree of Life

Tree of Life -- Gustav Klimt

When we lived in Halifax the rental home which was our first abode was close to both of the city's synagogues, one Reformed and the other Orthodox. One Saturday morning we were out and about and as we passed them we were startled to see guards at the front entrances while people gathered for worship. Was this necessary? Obviously the congregations felt that it was, and may have taken this step because of past experiences.

When was the last time you saw security at the door of a church in Canada? Sadly, it does happen in gun-crazy America, and the churches of many Black congregations now take extra precautions because of murderous attacks.

Too often there is a great divide between Christians congregations who worship a Jew who is recognized as the Christ and the far fewer Jewish congregations of our countries. In Christian churches we may read from the beautiful gospel of John which has been used through the centuries to justify anti-Jewish hatred. Recently Protestants celebrated Martin Luther who infamously wrote an essay called "The Jews and Their Lies." Many of us have attended a concert of Bach's St. John Passion which continues to be the source of controversy, although through the centuries Jews, including Felix Mendelsohn, were proponents of Bach's music. We share the "tree of life" yet Christianity has a history of anti-Jewish sentiment and violence.

All this brings us to the horrific incident at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, yesterday. Yet another white gunman with an assault rifle stormed the Tree of Life synagogue and murdered eleven worshippers and injured others, as well as several police officers who responded. As is often the case, the perpetrator was taken alive -- have you noticed how often white mass murderers survive police response? This was clearly a hate crime by a man who sent the signal he was about to kill others on a social media site used by racists. It is sickening.

Today Jewish places of worship will be guarded by police across Canada on the request of their leaders. Vancouver and St. John's may be a long way from Pittsburgh, but anti-Jewish sentiment has no boundaries and caution will be exercised.

I hope that Christian congregations around the world will offer up prayers of solidarity and even repentance today with our Jewish sisters and brothers.

Here is the Twitter statement by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis in  response to yesterday's atrocity: