Rabbi's Blog

I have no words to describe what an amazing week we just had at the Centre. Our visiting scholar-in-residence, Rabbi Tatz, over the course of a week, lectured to over 2000 people with many hearing Rabbi Tatz speak more than one time. Right before Shabbat, I sent out a video encouraging everyone to come to the Centre to be inspired by Rabbi Tatz and to show solidarity with our fellow brothers and sisters in Pittsburgh. I have no words because this past Friday night we had almost 300 people here for dinner and we had more than that Shabbat morning! So why do I say I have no words when I seem to be sharing many words? As I got up to introduce Rabbi Tatz and to speak about Pittsburgh, I literally lost my voice. I didn’t know what I was going to say but I knew I had a lot to say and yet, I had no words. And what was meant to be a pretty solemn introduction of Rabbi Tatz, it turned into something whimsical. Later that day, Rifky said how appropriate it was that I lost my voice because we are not theologians blessed with divine inspiration. Hence, there are no words that can provide real answers to such sorrow and tragedy. There are no formulas to give, to provide answers to the mysteries of G-Ds ways. My prayer to all of us is that the tragedy that our Jewish family was hit with last week, should not paralyze us in our Jewish behaviour but rather embolden us. Sadly but heroically, we have faced spiritual and physical challenges since we became a nation at Mt Sinai. And yet we are not only surviving….but thriving! May Hashem avenge their blood and may we know no more times where we have no words.