Tikkun Olam? Try preventive maintenance.

In the wake of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, I was horrified to find this blog post from the past summer.

We Deserve Better
How insightful was he, that he really understood an essential truth about the government. Despite continuous calls for sensible gun control and mental health care, our elected leaders in Washington knew that it would fade away in time. Unless there is a dramatic turnaround in the mid-term elections, I fear that that the status quo will remain unchanged, and school shootings will resume. I shouldn’t have to include in my daily morning prayers that God should watch over my wife and daughter, both teachers, and keep them safe. Where are our leaders?

Where are our teachers?

Who is that calling for more victim disarmament? Rabbi Jeffrey Myers… of the Tree of Life Synagogue. Their teacher.

Tikkun olam: “repair of the world”

It sounds nice. In theory, it is; though the concept has been corrupted. But, as a technician with decades of life experience, I can offer an improvement on the concept.

Fixing problems is good. It’s necessary from time to time. But I learned a long time ago that a little basic maintenance prevents the need for a lot of repairs.

Since gun-controlling victim disarmers often resort to a cars:guns analogy, let me preempt that.

In calling for gun control to fix the problem of violent crime, Rabbi Myers does the equivalent of “fixing” the problem of flat tires by encouraging everyone to remove them from their vehicles. True, one won’t have much of a flat-and-I-left-the-jack-in-the-garage problem, but you still aren’t going anywhere.

And you’re left at the mercy of those who didn’t give up their tires. With luck, you’ll only encounter good-spirited types who’ll offer you — stranded at the side of the road — a ride.

Or you might meet with those who’ll extort you for a ride, or worse.

Did Rabbi Myers teach his people to “fix” violence by ridding themselves of the tools to deal with it? Did he point out that evil bastards, who’d happily reenact the Shoah, still exist and aren’t surrendering their weapons?

Let me address something else. Shannon Watts whines that someone will say those people should have been armed.

Yes. I do. A history of armed defenders in places of worship does show they can save lives.

And then there’s this idiot.

Trump kept saying in his chat with reporters that if there was an armed guard inside the synagogue that the “numbers” would have been a lot lower . The fact is if there was no guns at all , there wouldn’t have been a shooter in the first place. Get a grip

Get a grip on reality, Horan. Guns exist. Anti-semitic lunatics exist. For that matter, Knife-wielding lunatics exist, as well bombers.

Armed defenders should have existed.

There would be a lot less grief, rage, pain, and fear to “repair” if someone had done some preventive maintenance.

Maccabees or Basel

Warsaw Uprising or Auschwitz?

Youth With a Mission or Tree of Life Synagogue?

Any rational person should understand the value of preemptive protection — preventive maintenance, but Jews have thousands of years of experience from which they should have learned.

Teach, rabbis.


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4 thoughts on “Tikkun Olam? Try preventive maintenance.”

  1. Great article! I just want to respond to one statement from Rabbi Myers that is irking me:

    I shouldn’t have to include in my daily morning prayers that God should watch over my wife and daughter, both teachers, and keep them safe.

    What the Hell are you praying for, then?

    As a personal example: My wife is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, and I pray daily for God to watch over her, our children, and our home, and to keep them all safe.

    Yes, I pray for that even when they don’t have plans to go anywhere.

    Yes, I pray for that even on days I’m not working and am staying with them, and can watch over them myself. Let’s face it: It’s a big responsibility being a husband and father, and there’s nothing wrong with asking for a little help from The Man Upstairs.

    My question for Rabbi Myers is: If guns were banned and (miraculously) school shootings were eliminated entirely, would you then STOP praying for your wife’s and daughter’s safety?

    If the answer is “No”, then tell me why the presence of guns and gun rights is so particularly alarming, when every study shows the mundane drive to and from school is several orders of magnitude more dangerous than anything that could happen at school.

    But honestly, I’m more concerned over the state of his soul – not to mention his family life – if the answer is “Yes”.

    1. I have made no secret of the fact that I am a Christian, 100 percent sold out for Jesus, Bible believing, etc. As such, I try to be a scholar of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. When I find scripture that comes from the New Testament, I give it trust and believe it is Ex Nihilo, or if I have it right, G-d breathed.
      Jesus was asked, how should we pray, and He gave not a formula, but merely a pattern. He started with recognizing G-d was above all, and alone Holy. Then He prayed that G-D’s plan would be completed on this Earth. And then, He prayed for our very real, very human needs. Asking for food, forgiveness, and faithfulness.
      Our G-D wants us to have a dialogue with Him all of the time, about the things that go through our minds through out the day. It is through that kind of experience with G-d that allows us to come boldly, saying, Abba, Father. It is how He wants us to be able to share in His riches right now.
      I don’t claim to have a lease on the truth that no one else can figure it out much better than I. It is just how I understand it, from my study of it. I am always happy to change as I learn and grow. I enjoy being asked to consider things that are weakness my thoughts
      May everyone be blessed, and encouraged to study the Bible on their own, and never take the word of just one person.

  2. These are Jews who have either lost their way and or do not have G-d in their hearts at all. Sold out to “Social Justice”.

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