For those of us in North America, what words are adequate to this week’s domestic horrors happening in close succession and dominating headlines: the murder by gun of four people in Nashville and the murder with a van of ten and injury of countless others in Toronto? What actions can we take?
Our hearts break for everyone affected by these heinous acts. We are inspired by those people who acted to stop the perpetrators and who rushed to help the injured. As Reconstructionists, we understand them to be bringing the divine precepts of justice and healing to life. And our Reconstructionist orientation urges us to marry any religious sentiment to action. We can act in the realm of gemilut hasadim (acts of lovingkindness) by providing care or support for people affected by these or related acts. We can act in the realm of tikkun olam (social justice) by working on a structural level on any of the complex issues surrounding these actions. We cry. We comfort each other. We pray. And we act to repair this broken world.
