I am sure everyone has read testimonies and seen videos from the catastrophe which befell the Jewish community in Israel last week. It is the greatest civilian casualty event in the history of the State of Israel claiming the lives of 45 religious men and boys. Although it is a tragedy that is difficult to comprehend we are duty-bound to introspect. There are many stories about the individuals that were killed, their contributions and their righteousness. Obviously when any person is faced with a tragedy or death this impacts the person's family and friends. They mourn the loss on a very personal level and try to learn from the actions of the deceased as well as take to heart actions they can take to improve themselves. Of course when there is any tragedy the specific tragedy impacts the entire history and existence of our people as a whole, but I would venture to say the acute messaging from above is directed at those people most closely impacted.

In a case like the tragedy that occured last week though, I believe we need to approach it very differently. This isn't a personal tragedy, the message isn't to the family and friends, it is a national tragedy. This should "speak" to everyone in our nation. This is a jolt and an awakening. We are warned in this week's Parsha that when the Jewish People don't follow the dictates of the Torah, punishment will befall them. When the punishment befalls them they will act with disregard and just consider it a coincidence. The punishment will continue until the nation finally wakes up. The Rambam states that when a person doesn't take to heart the tragedy and just continues in their way, brushing it off as coincidence, the person is considered cruel. For us to look back at last week and brush it off is utter cruelty. These 45 holy souls died to send us a message. It is our duty to try our best to understand that message and improve our ways.   

Shabbat Shalom,

Heath