The Jews have always been witnesses to acts of violence throughout history and now in modern America, across the country we are spectators of periodic carnage. 

Is this going to be the new norm? 

These acts always bring us all together in grief and reflection inside and outside of religious buildings but are we as a nation politically doing enough to ensure this does not happen? 

These questions need to be thought about and acted on. Gun control in some form can be the answer also better screening for emotional problems that as we have seen can escalate out of control.  Parents also need to take more responsibility for what their children are doing when they are with them or not.

The religious community teaches us that we should be more humane towards our fellow man, maybe we need to look at ourselves and see where we actually went astray and forge a new generation that goes to the extreme in their ferocity towards one another.

The Jewish community leaders must stress to their congregants that to live in fear is not living.  We must live our lives everyday and hope that we can change this climate of aggression that has permeated our lives and we must try and dare to be happy!