America is reeling.
Today is one of the darkest days in our country’s history and we cannot ignore it.
A bullet has torn through the very soul of our nation, striking at democracy itself.
It wasn’t only Charlie who fell. We’re all bleeding, staggering under the weight of the pain and shock, forced to grapple with what happens when debate is replaced by bullets and ideas are met with blood rather than rebuttal.
We mourn for Charlie.
We mourn for his wife, left shattered without her husband.
We mourn for his two children, left fatherless in the most unimaginable way.
And yes—we mourn for ourselves, our country, our neighbors, coworkers and loved ones.
We’re standing at the edge of a terrifying abyss and we need to stop and ask ourselves some hard questions:
How did we get here?
How have we allowed hatred to consume us to the extent that disagreement becomes a death sentence?
What kind of culture have we built that values human life less than a political opinion?
These are not questions that can be answered in one day. This is a long, ongoing conversation that needs to happen. We need to come together—from all edges of the political spectrum—and figure out how to get back to a place where it’s OK to disagree, to debate, to argue, without resorting to violence. We cannot shrug this off and simply go on with our lives.
This is not something that can be resolved on the spot, but we’re all reeling and need something action-based that we can do right now.
Our sages teach us that even in the pitch dark of night, there is always a spark of light waiting to be revealed.
How can we start to chip away at the darkness currently enveloping our nation?
We can shoot “bullets” of our own—“bullets” of love and kindness. “Bullets” of compassion and understanding. “Bullets” of holiness and spirituality.
Every good deed, every prayer, every kind word, is like a flare shot back against the darkness. And as our Sages teach, it only takes a small amount of light to banish widespread darkness.
So today, in the face of this tragedy, let’s commit to fighting back in the only way that matters: Not with rage. Not with revenge. But with light.
Go out and do acts of kindness.
Light Shabbat candles.
Eat a kosher lunch.
Say a blessing over your food.
Put on tefillin.
Go to shul.
Do it for Charlie.
Do it for his wife and children.
Do it for America.
We can’t bring Charlie back, but we can work towards bringing back what we’ve lost.
If America is to heal, it will not be through hate.
It will be through each of us carrying Charlie’s memory as a torch, pushing back the darkness with acts of goodness and light.