Rabbi Miriam wrote this Friday night about the Paris attacks:
"As we helplessly watch the terror unfold in Paris, holding our collective breath as we listen to a rising death toll, may we not dismiss these feelings of horror. May our compassion for our fellow human beings fuel each of us in this dark world, to search for light, to work for justice, to pray with our fellow human, and to live the promise of Shabbat - wholeness, peace, community in everything we do. Our hearts, yet again, are in Paris. Bon courage Paris, notre coeurs sont avec vous."
You are all welcome to come to Shabbat service this Friday 20 Nov. more details soon.
What other information or news coverage have you seen that was meaningful? What are you thinking about our living in the light of these attacks and those in Beruit?
I think it is really neat how the U.S. is standing behind Paris and is supporting them in this time of tragedy. There were about 100+ people injured in the bombings and many of those were civilians enjoying a concert in Paris. Even Facebook is supporting Paris during this tragedy by allowing people to change their profile picture to the Paris Flag.
ReplyDeleteI love what Rabbi Miriam said. We, as human beings, need to support each other in times like these. Even though it is in a different country, we need to support Paris because we never know when something like this could happen in the U.S. One thing that I found interesting was that, because of these attack in Paris, the U.S. is taking precautions. At the Bengals Monday Night Football game, they upped security to ensure the safety of the people attending the game, and to make sure that something like the Paris attacks does not happen here.
ReplyDeleteFrance was there for us in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and even though the number effected now is not nearly as many as it was in 2001 the US is there for France. This could happen again and it could be somewhere in the US. I've seen things on Facebook saying "Why are bombings in other countries not publicized but this one is?" As tragic as any bombing or act of terrorism is, we don't publicize the ones in other countries as much because it happens a lot over there. An attack in Paris seems like a more notable atrocity because it happened in a famous city that people are interested in than when it happens in an already war torn country.
ReplyDeleteAs I write this exactly one week after the attacks, I remember watching the night unfold. I was working and the pharmacist where I work told all of us what happened, so we decided to follow live news coverage of it on my phone and did so for almost 2 hours. We watched it beginning when the police invaded the Bataclan. It was terrifying to follow it in real time as opposed to learning about it in hindsight because all I thought about was the people being murdered right that second.
ReplyDeleteThe reactions within the past week have been both disgusting and beautiful, and everything in between. I disagree with governors refusing refugees: these are exactly the people the refugees are running away from! Though I believe it's a good idea to heighten the security to ensure we aren't letting terrorists in, to refuse all of them is just wrong. I found this video about how France is still welcoming refugees even after the attacks: https://www.facebook.com/ajplusenglish/videos/646255488849295/?fref=nf
And this article about a Syrian family who has settled in our area: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/11/17/first-ones-here-syrian-family-settles/75902946/
By far, my favorite reaction has been that of this little boy and his father, who explains to him that the flowers and candles will protect them from the guns. Absolutely beautiful. https://www.facebook.com/jrous92/videos/10156190732035487/?pnref=story
Watching the news they talk about how Paris has closed schools and public areas and they have stepped up their military on the public streets to watch for terrorist attacks. This must be frightening for the citizens to watch this unfold and they helpless watch as their once gorgeous and peaceful country turns to look more like a war zone. Many questions must be plaguing the citizens about what their future will look like in the city. I hope a tragedy like this won't happen again, but with Thanksgiving coming up it does raise concerns of whether their will be another attack with so many airlines traveling. I love rabbi Miriam's words about this event and how she tells us to seek out the light rather than stare into the darkness. This is a time in our world when we need to find the positive to outweigh the devastating events that we see on the news every day.
ReplyDeleteThe tragedy in Paris was heartbreaking. It was very inspiring to see Rabbi Miriam speak about fueling from this tragedy and using it to bring some light in this dark world. He speaks of all the things we should do to make the world around us a better place to live. We cannot do it alone, it takes a whole community to move past times like these and find a way to make the world a better place.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad what happened in Paris but, it also show how bias the media is. After the attack there was so much media and social media support for France that it and still drowns out what happened in Beruit or even in Mali. Is it France is a European country or it is a first world county that people do expect that this to happen?
ReplyDeleteObviously what happened in Paris is tragic. But it is really hard for me to read all the negative things people are posting on Facebook as twitter about Muslims. There is so much more to the faith than people like to realize. It is so easy to make general assumptions about people based on their faith and that is really sad to see. I hate to see all the people I am "friends" with sound so ignorant. It is really sad that people are being judged based on something they have no control over.
ReplyDeleteObviously what happened in Paris is tragic. But it is really hard for me to read all the negative things people are posting on Facebook as twitter about Muslims. There is so much more to the faith than people like to realize. It is so easy to make general assumptions about people based on their faith and that is really sad to see. I hate to see all the people I am "friends" with sound so ignorant. It is really sad that people are being judged based on something they have no control over.
ReplyDeleteObviously what happened in Paris is tragic. But it is really hard for me to read all the negative things people are posting on Facebook as twitter about Muslims. There is so much more to the faith than people like to realize. It is so easy to make general assumptions about people based on their faith and that is really sad to see. I hate to see all the people I am "friends" with sound so ignorant. It is really sad that people are being judged based on something they have no control over.
ReplyDelete