The assassination attempt on former President Trump was a horrific act in a tense political environment. It terrified the nation. It rattled our civil society. Trump survived, shaken, with a bloodied ear. Tragically, the attack took the life of a father of two children, and critically wounded two others. We should pause to grieve for them.

The horror and shock of a fraught political environment might take some by surprise, but for most of us who have watched for years with angst, this attack is a gross result of a population filled with pent up rage and fear. In the hands of mostly men with battle-ready mentalities, their irrational response to their rage and fear is violence.

American political history isn’t without its share of assassination attempts and fatal shootings. But that history should have warned us against raising the temperature in a political environment that was already polarized and weaponized. Guns, torches, and an attack on the nation’s capital should have prepared us for an anything-could-happen scenario. Perhaps the secret service was prepared for such an event, but they missed a young man with an arsenal of weapons who made his way to the roof and fired.

Our nation has a lot of work ahead of it. Our times are filled with tension that hasn’t been experienced for generations. The pressure points are weakening and the rage is spilling out. We have to do better. We all need to participate in fashioning the nation we need.

At Friday night Shabbat services, before we sing “Shalom Rav,” our familiar and favorite song for peace, I often comment that it’s not enough to sing about peace. We have to dedicate ourselves to work for peace. It begins at home with our words and then with our hands to reach out and make a positive difference. The song can inspire us, but it remains for us to do the work that makes for lasting peace.

Shalom Rav. Let’s pray for political leaders who step into the fray. Let’s pray for those who are innocent victims of our times. Let’s pray for the peace of our nation. Let’s pray for the peace of all nations and the innocent people who strive for freedom, every day.

Then let’s work for political leaders who step into the fray and work for peace for all of us. Let’s work for the innocent and vulnerable among us. Let’s work for the peace of all nations with people who join hands and strive for freedom.

Oseh Shalom Bimromav, Hu Ya’aseh Shalom Aleinu
עשה שלום במרומיו הוא יעשה שלום עלינו
May the One who causes peace to reign above,
Cause peace to reign upon all of us.

L’Shalom,