A week ago, we witnessed a shocking and horrific murder. It made national news. There were cries for revolution and protest. Commentators took to the networks to decry the incident. They predicted uprisings and outrage. While I feel Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric was deeply offensive when it came to minority groups, specifically African-Americans and the LGBTQ community, I do not celebrate the downfall of another human being. As God reminds us when we are fleeing Egypt, every loss is egregious in the eyes of God.
That same day, there was a school shooting at a high school in Colorado. There was barely any coverage.
As I write this, there have been 304 mass shootings in the U.S. so far in 2025, killing 302 people and injuring over thirteen hundred. A mass shooting consists of an incident wherein 4 or more people are killed or injured. Since 2018, there have been nearly 250 school shootings in this country.
We are the only country in the world in which there are more guns than people. While the NRA maintains an unflinching hold on U.S. leadership, commonsense gun legislation is denied once and again. We don’t have universal background checks. We don’t have an assault rifle ban (anymore). We don’t have ‘red flag laws’ that would remove guns from those deemed a threat to themselves or others.
Our theme this year will be “With Liberty and Justice for All.” The phrase hearkens to the Pledge of Allegiance, those famed words we recited at school each morning when we were young and wide-eyed. It was easier to believe in an America of inclusivity and possibility when we were kids. It was easier to believe in a level of fairness and unity. It was easier to believe in a world that made sense, a world with civility and order. We’d place our hand over our heart and say the words, affirming our commitment to a big American, an American for all of us. As adults, well, sometimes it’s harder to imagine that big, bold America.
The plague of gun violence is just one of the issues our nation faces that would have us consider and re-consider what liberty and justice really look like these days. Who gets the benefit of the doubt? Who gets the maximum punishment? Why the shared propensity to hold up the tenets of the Constitution vigorously around some issues while reading it leniently around others? Those who fight endlessly in the name of free speech often have little trouble placing bibles in public schools in seemingly clear violation of the separation of church and state. Why? Why do we forever seek to expand access when it comes to guns and the Second Amendment but work tirelessly to limit access when it comes to voting and the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
What does it mean to be a Jew in this complicated America precisely now, as we approach 250 years of the American experiment? Where do we fit in? Do we experience the same level of freedom and opportunity today that our parents and grandparents did? Or do we have more? Do we experience a sense of liberty? Do our college students? Have we experienced a true level of justice when it comes to being victimized by hate speech or antisemitism? Where does the First Amendment fit in when it comes to varying views on Israel and Zionism?
This year, we will think carefully and honestly about our American Jewish existence. We will look back on American Jewish history. We will examine the texts, sing the songs and try the foods that have informed the American Jewish story. We will consider the American Jewish heroes of yesterday and today. We will express gratitude that this place has provided us with safe haven and opportunity in ways that virtually no other land has. Together, we will wonder out loud how we can continue to build up a nation of acceptance and compassion for our children and grandchildren.
May it be a sweet, healthy and happy year for us and our loved ones. Amen.
