Norvel Goff, a district presiding elder at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, said the following: “We stand in solidarity, but we also solicit your prayers for the family members who have lost loved ones here tonight.”
Tonight and tomorrow, as we gather for our Shabbat services, we will read the names of the 9 individuals whose lives were taken so tragically, victims of senseless hatred. These souls had come together for sacred study, for fellowship and community. Just as in our times of need we have received words of comfort from others, and now we can share words and support with those in need.
And so, we respond to this tragedy by saying: Our prayers are with you. The prayers from our mouths for sure, but the prayers from our hands, and our votes, and our work as well. The Mayor’s Office in Charleston has set up a fund to help those whose lives have been shattered; please consider contributing here. This is a chance for us, as a Jewish community, as a global community, to say that among the values we hold most high is that of ahavat chesed – love of compassion. Senseless hatred has no place in the world we choose to begin building today.
