New Voices Editorial, Opinion by New Voices Editorial Board
At least one member of the New Voices editorial board
sat in a meeting of their Hillel board this week at which a discussion of
security spontaneously took its place on top of the agenda. We assure you it was
not the first such discussion in a Jewish organization this week, nor the first
on a college campus, nor the first in a Hillel board meeting – nor will it be
the last. In light of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,
Conn. last Friday, a new discourse about security, mental health policy and gun
control grips the nation. We limit these editorials to subjects that matter to Jews and to college students. We believe that an editorial about the tragedy in Newtown is not out of place here because we believe the issues of mental health and gun violence raised by these killings are Jewish issues as well as student issues.
The tragedy of Newtown is a Jewish issue.
It’s not a Jewish issue just because we Jews know what it’s like to live in fear of random acts of mass violence. It’s not a Jewish issue because the youngest child murdered in Newtown, 6-year-old Noah Pozner, was a Jew. And it’s not a Jewish issue because Rabbi Saul Praver of Newtown has been visibly active in his efforts to support the grieving families of Newtown.
It’s a Jewish issue because taking the life of another is our most basic sin. Our tradition tells us that God’s creation of humanity began with the creation of one single human being to teach us that taking the life of one person is like destroying an entire world. Last Friday, 27 worlds were destroyed. As the Jewish community of America, preventing more destruction is incumbent upon us. (And if you turned up your nose as you read this paragraph because you think it an oversimplification of Judaism, consider that some elements of Judaism may be just that simple.)
The tragedy of Newtown is a student issue.
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