Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 November 1995 — Page 4

22. 195E

We must remain one people

*r 1AEB1 SHIOMO CKAVDALL

TV ium tits if Hr firs ir* regiiUr sms of speoa. srnmmf i* •nomnt nows rmc womm: putozatuM nr tin zmar -rauimitaT rntmooi}» Thr Post one Dpmum We jPSisrrrm suck smtumi nr jnainmcrur. I ftanc tx>+r>Tr you thif mommi: with. 2 thfficuh messagt A diffiruh mess^gt t«ecaui* 1 ieei 2 nesponsfcuiiry to rebate ttr cim icwjtf and sonrhoar dann m+ari our Kspcmst should bt to the murder erf Israel's Prime Munster ’I'nrha*. Rabm This is a difftruh tasa because 1, as a rebpous Zmmsi ree* soonewna- lesponsitiie jor wha took pace las: Saruidat rich! nr Tel Ar.n No! persorv ain *sponsibje but mduectn smee the assassir is > produn of the same insntutians of •ee - nc a which I studied fc is for this reasor thai all Orthodos orgar.izations of even stnpe ah n necessan to condenui. m the strongest

terms possible the horrific muraererf YsrhakRabir. Uniortunattn c mat- not nave neer as obvious as 1 a fust imagined This week more thar one of my congregants challenged me and were somewnat unsure of how I would respond For, after all. 1 have no: beer shy m sharing my opinions regarding the policies erf the present government Or Rosh Hashanah after we reac the story erf me binding of Isaac someone posed me following quesaor. "The Torah tells us that G-d commanded Abraham to sacrifice ms sor Isaac But a the end of the story only at angel tells him not to What happened’’ Why didn't G-d issue the instruction not to kill?" Conversely, why couldn't an angei have communicated the original instruction m the first place'’ The answer is that tr order to issue e "do not kill'

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order, an angel ts sufficient But a command to "kill" requires G-d himself Hen* painful it is that there was one lew m Israel who did not understand this simple tact How dare he use the Torah as an excuse for murdering another human being 1 How dare anyone use Haiacha — lewish law — as an excuse and rational izat 10r for committing such an evil act 1 Thee is no greater cMhd fiaskem — desecration of G-d's name — than this Allow me to share with you a few of the condemnations that I came across this week Broken hearted and despondent we bitterly mourn the loss erf Mr Yitzhak Rabin, the Prime Minister of Israel We share the family's anguish From the depths of our hearts and our pam, we call for sincere and far-reaching efforts to enhance national unity and love of our fellow lews. On this sacred day, we feel a sacred obligation to search our hearts on an individual, ideological. political, and national level — regarding our direction m the past and in the future, m terms of both substance and form At his time of crisis, we should not seek to accuse others or to absolve ourselves erf responsibility, but Tmo-mme Wireles* E-mail

rather to fully accept responsibility for our actions We are particularly pained by the fact that the perpetrator of this abominable murder grew out of the community with which we are identified, acting out of distortion of its values We fully recognize our special obligation to examine our own camp, in order to ensure its holiness and morality Out of a deep feeling that "It is a time of travail for Jacob," we turn in prayer to he Almighty that he bring us salvation. Wih broken hearts, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein Rav Yehuda Amital 1 received the following statement from the offices of the chief rabbinate in Israel: The Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbis Israel Lau and Eliahu Bakshi Doron, as well as the members of the Chief Rabbinate Council, expressed profound shock at this abhorrent deed, and concern and anxiety that this terrible act will give rise to polarization and produce a deep rift among he

people, endangering the very survival of the lewish people 10 the land of Israel The Chief Rabbinate Council declares that marginal groups have no authority to use Jewish law (halachah) as a pretense to support their views, and hat the sole authority to speak in the name erf lewish law- is the Chief Rabbinate Council and the Torah scholars recognizer by the CoundL At this difficult tuire, the Chief Rabbir a :e Council appeals to the entire Jewish people to unite as one to search their souls, while respecting their follow men and upholding the Divine commandment to "Love thy neighbor as thyself " As for me. die most painful part of Yitzhak Rabin's murder was that his tembie tragedy was perpetrated "m the name of G-d ' There are those who learn from the Torah and immerse themselves in it, and allow it to guide them in the course of their lives. But very sadly we also Continued m page 6

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Community Calendar THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23 JCC closed for Thanksgiving TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28 JFGI Philanthropic Committee Meeting, 6 pm NCJW Board Meeting at JCC, 7 JO pm Jewish Federation Board Meeting of Directors at BJE, 7 JO p m THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30 JCRC Community Mission, 8 am. JFGI Financial Seminar, "Taxes" at Lion's Head Clubhouse 9 am. -12 pm. JFGI Financial Seminar, "Taxes" at Lion's Head Clubhouse, 7 pm. HAI Board of Director's Meeting, 7:45 pm

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