by Rabbi Samuel J. Levine, Head of School
The Torah reading concludes with a case worthy of an episode of CSI. A murder victim is found in a field. The elders of the nearest town are required to perform a ritual that is accompanied by the statement, "Our hands have not spilled this blood." Do we really suspect the elders of having committed this crime? The commentaries all deal with this question and are unanimous in explaining that obviously the elders did not commit murder. But as Rashi, Ibn Ezra and others point out, the elders tolerated an environment that allowed for a murder to take place in their community. In some measure, say these commentaries, the Torah holds thee elders complicit in this heinous act and for this reason they are compelled to make this statement. At the very least, they must examine their community's part in this tragedy.
The powerful lesson here is that we are responsible for what happens in our community. If people do not have sufficient funds to buy food for Shabbat, if families cannot afford to give their children a Torah education, if there are people who feel lonely and unwelcome when they come to our school, our shul or our neighborhood, it is our communal responsibility to help improve their lot. We must, as individuals and as a community, be able to say, "Our hands have not spilled this blood."
Shabbat Shalom
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