On October 27, 2018, I wake up and praise God it is another Saturday; it is another Shabbat. I listen to synagogue services online. My heart swells as I listen to songs sung by a beautiful cantor's voice. I find myself continually praising God for this glorious day and this wonderful day of rest.
As I make my way to the kitchen to brew some tea, I notice my mom has the television on. I see images of people fleeing a building and swarms of police flash on the screen. Being Shabbat, I do not allow myself to read the words scrolling across the bottom of the monitor. It is God's holy day. I do not want to spoil a holy day with the world's problems.
I make tea for my mom and deliver it to her. She tells me, "There's been a shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Several people are dead." My breath catches in my throat and tears fill me eyes. I know this was an act of anti-semitism. I know this was a targeted shooting.
I immediately think back to the man who had just attended Bible study with me. His wicked words against the Jews and against Israel float through my mind. I am grateful at this moment for God directing this man into my life. I am grateful God has allowed me to witness how intense hatred toward God's chosen people is still alive and well all over the world, including right here in my own neck of the woods. I thank God for preparing my heart and mind for this event. I also reflect that if the shooter was a little more educated about history, he would have waited two weeks to enact his hatred. In two weeks, on November 9, it is to be the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht--The Night of Broken Glass. Instead, this man's act of violence only prepares synagogues across the U.S. and the world that although it has been 80 years since the Jews were intensely persecuted under Hitler's regime, the world has changed little. Although there may no longer be a centralized unit of hatred toward the Jews, there is still an active group of individuals around the world plotting and scheming ways to terrorize God's chosen people.
On Saturday evening, I log on to Facebook. There at the top of my newsfeed is a statement from one of my Jewish friends. She states her immense sorrow about the day's events. She also shares how she has been a victim of hate crimes her whole life because she is a Jew. My heart breaks as I read her remarks. My mind wants to reject that anti-semitism is alive and well, but I know Jews around the world are constantly being persecuted. My soul mourns. Perhaps, nothing will ever change until Messiah sits on His throne.
"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, 'Look! This is something new'? It was here already long ago; it was here before our time. No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them." (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11)
(For Part One click here)
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