This is a Lament that Never Ends…

This is a lament that never ends …

Another mass killing
Another person who transformed a weapon
Into the angel of death,
Into the plague of the death of the firstborn
(and then some),
Into a modern herem, the biblical command to exterminate
Men, women, children, all.

This time it was Boulder,
Before that it was San Diego, Las Vegas, Orlando,
San Bernadino,
Charleston,
Marysville,
Newton,
Aurora Colorado … and let us say “Amen.”

We could tour the country, bathed in the blood,
But not the blood of the lamb.
These sacrifices don’t cleanse,
They don’t atone,
They don’t renew.

What is idolatry? Allowing the same sin to repeat again
And again and again. Worshiping the interpretation
Of the law so that killing is frequent,
Widespread, almost normal.
Aren’t we told to live by our faith?

Why does this lament never end?
Because we wring our hands,
offer yet more prayers,
succor the victims,
mouth bland platitudes,

… And wait for the next time.

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson is the Abner & Roslyn Goldstine Dean’s Chair and professor of philosophy at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.