On Friday as we entered Shabbos, the devastating news of the deadly attack on schoolchildren and their teachers was just beginning to emerge in its full details. As we lit the 7th candle of Chanukah and kindled the Shabbat candles the immensity of the tragedy was on our minds although we didn’t yet know the full extent of the murder.
On Shabbos morning, I was reading the weekly portion and the various Haftorah readings that could be read for yesterday’s Shabbat and in doing so I read a powerful story of King Solomon that I would like to share, as I believe the message is timely and appropriate in light of the tragedy in Connecticut.
Many years ago during the reign of King Solomon, two women once came to the King in the midst of a big argument. The two women had lived in the same house and had both given birth to a young child on the same day. Unfortunately, one baby passed away several days after birth and in a moment of distress and anguish over the loss of her young baby the mother went and switched her dead baby for the other lady’s healthy baby.
When morning came the other mother woke up and looked with horror at the dead baby in her room, but she quickly realized that this baby was not hers and something is wrong. When she went to see the other lady and sees her holding her child she got what happened and tried to ask for her baby back. No amount of begging and cajoling seemed to influence the lady to return the child, so the two women went to King Solomon to solve their dispute.
King Solomon heard the dispute, and after a few minutes of thought, he came back with his decision. He instructed one of the guards who were standing there that in a few moments he is to take a sword and split the baby in half, and this way both mothers will have half the baby and the dispute will be resolved in a fair manner.
King Solomon hadn’t even finished his sentence, when one mother let out a shriek and cried out, NO! No King Solomon, better give my baby to the other mother and let the child live, I would rather give up the ability to raise my child than to see my child die! Upon hearing her dramatic emotional appeal, King Solomon instructed that the child be given to her, saying, that only a true mother would be willing to have such sacrifice, only a true mother would be willing to give up her raising her own child rather than to see a painful act happen to her child. Following the story, the Jewish people realized King Solomon’s wisdom and what his goal was in the first place when he suggested splitting the baby.
King Solomon was telling the people something profound, a mother’s natural love for her child is profound and infinitely deeper than logic. Only a mother would be willing to forgo raising her child despite all the pain and emotional loss that would involve, as long as it meant that the child will live. Only a mother will do anything for her child as the love is beyond logic and is deeper than superficial feelings alone.
On Saturday morning as I read the story and thought of the tragedy that had happened the day before, King Solomon’s message regarding a mother’s love for her child struck me with a sharp and painful realization of the terrible loss that had just occurred. To think of all the mothers and the tremendous love they have for the children, and the terrible void that they now feel. To think of all the young innocent souls who were gunned down in a matter of minutes. To think of the twenty mothers who are never going to be able to hold their young children again, and whose one last hug and physical contact with their young beautiful child will be when they carry the casket to the funeral. When thinking of all of them, one can’t help but realize the terrible extent of this evil carnage and the painful senseless loss of life and tragedy that has been left in its wake.
When the mothers gave their last hugs and waves that morning as the children stepped up the stairs of the yellow school buses, how could they have ever imagined how the day will yet unfold. The mothers of the children would probably have done anything and been willing to sacrifice everything in order to save their child, and now with one murderous bullet their young lives have been snuffed out and they will never be able to laugh, hug or cry with their child.
We all are in a state of shock and mourning as we hear about the individual tragedies of each child and teacher, and the stories of bravery of those who used their very last moments to save others. The tragedy that happened so close to home and in a place that we all consider to be a sacred place of safety for children will be one that we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
Words cannot explain the scope and meaning of the tragedy and when hearing of tragedies like this we must pause and reflect. We must pause and ask G-d to help our society and prevent such evils from occurring again, we must pause and think of our children for a few extra minutes a day, we must pause and give extra love to our loved ones and children, and we must pause and think what can we do to make a difference to eradicate such evil.
As we near the final hours of the holiday of Chanukah, the message of the Menorah and its flames representing dispelling darkness through light, are a message that we can all take away. We may live in a neighboring state, and our ability to tangibly make a difference to the grieving families and community may be somewhat limited. Yet at the same time, we must remind ourselves that we can make our own difference at countering this evil by adding in light, by making our community a better place, by reaching out to our neighbors, by calling up someone who could use a friendly call, by adding in our good deeds and Mitzvot, and by doing our part in adding incremental light to make the world a better place.
Each bit of light that we add to our communities and society will be a tribute to the memory of all the children and adults who were gunned down, and will have a ripple effect at bettering the world around us. Each additional loving moment with our children and each moment of attention that we give them will be a tribute to all the victims and will help us value each and every child in our families and community. Let’s give them an extra hug, an extra dose of attention, show them that we love them and care for them, and let us treasure every moment with them.
In addition, each act of kindness and spiritual good deed that we do in our communities will be a tribute and an act of solidarity with the mothers who will never be able to hold their children again and to the memory of the victims, and will reflect our reaction at countering this evil atrocity by making the world around us a better place.
If you would like to volunteer to be part of a Better Community through committing to another Mitzvah, or through giving extra charity, or through volunteering your time and efforts to befriend and help others in our community, please post your comments below or email us at [email protected]