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For God's sake, do something!

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Opinion

By Rabbi Rick Sherwin

I have a number of friends who own and/or carry guns. Even as we respectfully debate the relationship between guns and violence, we all agree that semi-automatic and assault weapons must be regulated, if not eliminated from the public domain.

With spiritual hugs of condolence to the families of 17 High School students in Parkland, Florida, we stand by them with the commitment to care, not to simply return to our lives after we offer thoughts and prayers...

I was very moved by the words of Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism:

"I can imagine the Holy One sobbing along with us, distraught over the senseless bloodshed we’ve collectively allowed to happen. Human care for one another, is what is desperately needed right now. What's also needed is action. While every person of conscience must be shocked and outraged by the frequency of these horrific mass shootings, no person of intelligence can be surprised."

After the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, NV, the deadliest in modern American history, Daryl Messinger wrote:

"Each time, the country goes back to business as usual. As the body count grows, with new scenes of senseless slaughter, nothing changes. Thoughts, prayer, and words are appropriate – but they’re not sufficient."

...Our task remains: to challenge America's conscience and to heed the biblical injunction that we must not stand idly by the blood of our neighbor.

Rabbi Rick Sherwin, a graduate of UCLA, was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Rabbi Rick’s passion is filling spiritual services and interfaith educational programs with creativity, relevance, dialogue, and humor.

Rabbi Rick Sherwin

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