Thoughts for the Yom Kippur Al Het by Neil Einleger
I rarely get to shul on Sabbath, but the last Shabbat I was here, Rabbi Avi Winokur was on the pulpit along with Terri Novick — the dynamic duo, as it were. Rabbi Avi decided to dispense with his sermon about Labor Day and instead told a parable of who guilt is assigned to… and it made me think of one word: indifference — and how all are complicit.
For the sin of indifference… I am the children sitting in the pew in Minnesota, helpless, defenseless, and vulnerable. I am also the shooter, confused, mentally unstable. I did nothing to address either issue.
I am the four people who lost their lives in the firestorm at the Church of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan. I am Thomas Jacob Sanford, Iraqi war veteran, yet troubled by the Mormon religion. I am you, the person who stands gape-mouthed at yet another senseless killing — and I did nothing to address my indifference.
I am the senior citizen, broke, starving, on financial aid and struggling after working my whole life. I am also the government, uncaring, bureaucratic, and impenetrable. I have done nothing to address the issue.
I am the temple-goer: happy, depressed, alone, with companions; full of joy, full of worry. I am the clergy, with the enormous responsibility of consoling and guiding my congregants. I have done little to address the issue.
I am the citizen of America — wealthy, poor, irate, and frustrated — struggling with freedom. I am the elected official, overwhelmed with the myriad of problems that affect my constituents. Unable to bring change, I have done little to address the issue.
I am the viewer of media, in a quandary over the suppression of free speech, free thought, and free will. I am the media conglomerate who suppresses the right to defend liberty and thought; I engage in doublespeak. I am faceless. I am indifferent. I have done nothing to assuage my guilt.
I am Charlie Kirk — arrogant, mean-spirited, yet not worthy of falling prey to an assassin’s bullet. I am Charlie Kirk’s assassin — my beliefs and dark thoughts are allowed to proliferate in a country that has become indifferent to violence, because it is everywhere, and we have become numb. I am a soul who has done nothing about it.
I am Israel — proud, defiant, a haven for the oppressed of the world. I am a Palestinian living in Gaza, without hope, without a home, under the knuckle of a terrorist regime using me as a shield. And yet… though I try, the world and myself remain indifferent.
I am a citizen of the world. I have hope. I have dreams. I want to live in the country my forefathers envisioned so many years ago. I am regret. I am the conscience of my people. I have done little to affect change towards the better.
We are all guilty. We are all innocent. We live to fight indifference, yet accept it every day.
