Temple Responds to Mass Shooting in Monterey Park, California
The joy of Lunar New Year celebrations in Los Angeles and across the world were shattered by the senseless murder of 10 people in a ballroom dance studio on Saturday night. Our hearts are heavy with this news and we ask, when does it end? How many more must die before we make necessary policy change?
A week ago, we observed a day in honor of MLK, whose life was cut short by gun violence. The night of MLK’s assassination, Senator Robert Kennedy said (excerpted):
It is not the concern of any one race. The victims of the violence are black and white, rich and poor, young and old, famous and unknown. They are, most important of all, human beings whom other human beings loved and needed. No one—no matter where he lives or what he does—can be certain who will suffer from some senseless act of bloodshed. And yet it goes on and on…Surely this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our hearts brothers and countrymen once again.
His words resonate powerfully today, as they did at the Cleveland City Club, April 5, 1968. May each of us do our part, in partnership with the Healer of the Broken Hearted, to bind the wounds among us through raising our voices for change.
See below for online resources and as always, Temple staff and clergy are here and available to you. Click here to connect with a member of our clergy or contact Meredith Pryzant, Director of Member Support.
Mental Health Resources
- Herefortexas.com offers a mental health navigation line through the Grant Halliburton Foundation.
- Managing Your Distress in the Aftermath of a Shooting, APA.org
- The Blue Dove Foundation is home to many mental health resources with a Jewish lens. They also offer a Misheberach (prayer of healing) for mental health.
- Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas encourages anyone to reach out at 972.437.9950 to speak to a counselor.
Resources for Talking to Our Children
- The Anti Defamation League (ADL) provides resources such as Empowering Young People in the Aftermath of Hate which provides age appropriate content and important reminders for those facilitating the conversation.
- This article from Union for Reform Judaism explains how to explain painful circumstances to your children.
- How to Talk to Young People about Gun Violence, Anti-Defamation League (ADL)