Erev Va-et’chanan 5771 The London Riots on Shabbat Nachamu Rabbi Aaron Goldstein 12 August 2011

Rabbi Pete Tobias said on Monday night over social media networks whilst I was leading our commemorative service, “Tisha b'Av the anniversary of the destruction some 2500 plus years ago of when the Babylonians carried off the treasures from the burning Temple in Jerusalem; today the citizens of London take treasures from their modern day temples - sports goods & TVs from shops & supermarkets.”

Since then, we have been overloaded with imagery, sights, sounds and words through every media. First there was shock and the fear that the riots might spread to our own neighbourhoods or for someone who lived in an area reported as suffering from attacks. Next came the sense of outrage. For many it was of the wanton destruction of property but most especially of the livelihoods and in some instances lives of innocents. There was outrage at the utter lawlessness and disrespect of any authority. For others there was outrage at a broken society, with blame laid at every possible door.

Then came the return of the politicians from their holidays. Their right to holiday wherever they choose is not in doubt in any balanced mind. However, those locations and their inability to communicate in the streets presented a stark if crass example of diverse societal realities. These riots have divided communities and outraged many who live in them for being tainted by the actions of a minority within them. It has also brought fear of retribution.

There is so much that is right about our British society that we should not lose sight of or fail to celebrate. Those who made atrocious comparisons between the riots in London with the Blitz and Syria today should be ashamed of themselves; as should every media outlet that has fanned the flames of the rioter’s fires and perpetuated the rioting into mythology. This is not World War 2 and thank God, for us, we do not live in Syria right now. Rather this country is still one of the safest and most comfortable places to live on this planet.

Yet we do our society a disservice by focusing only on the other and not ourselves. The pre-exilic prophets of Israel prophesied of future destruction wrought by God if the Israelites did not mend their ways. The exilic and post-exilic prophets placed the blame firmly with the behaviour of Israelite society and urged them to repent and change so that God would forgive them and bring them return. The Rabbis took up the prophetic themes and midrashim flourished that the destruction of the Second Temple was the result of a variety of behavioural ills in Israelite society. Through it all, the love and fear of God and the observance of God’s moral code as laid out in the Torah was the barometer of behaviour.

As we all calm down, we know that much of what we do is right but also that in each one of us an attitude or behaviour must change to perfect our society. Angry responses that punish without then addressing the root causes of crime are irresponsible. Slogans are not needed but actions that we can all take. Anger without analysis and then action do not befit a responsible citizen. It is too easy to hold up the example of the successful graduate of Oxbridge who came on a scholarship from a deprived housing estate in Lewisham or Tottenham. It is harder to show love to the unloved.

The words that resonated most with me were from those who work with the deprived, not as an exception but every day: youth, social and community workers. This I read from a youth worker.

“When we saw my boyfriend’s bike being stolen by two hooded monsters, we ran out to get in back. I saw the youth in their faces, and shouted ‘stop I’m a youth worker!’ After some reasoning he gave the bike back. My boyfriend walked back to re-chain to our friend’s bike, but I remained. I couldn’t just let them go without asking why? He told me ‘what man, I gave the bike back?’. I replied, ‘I don’t care about the bike. It’s just a bike. I care about you. What about you? What are you good at?’ He looked at me, his smaller friend silent the whole time. ‘What are you good at!’ I yelled. ‘Nothing’. Tears pricked my eyes. Familiar tears. The ones I leave the classroom sometimes to have in the toilet. ‘Don’t say that. Don’t say nothing.’ He had no words for me. ‘You’re better than this. You’re better than being a thief.’ He was silent. What he didn’t do was run away or get angry. He didn’t pull out whatever it was he cut the bike lock with and he didn’t jab it in me. He simply looked at me, without any answers.

So if you have a brother, a cousin, a neighbour, nephew or niece you know suffers neglect: now is the time to call more often. Now is the time to get them cutting your grass for pocket money. Taking them to the supermarket, showing them to cook a hot meal from scratch. Now is the time to introduce you to their teachers and listen to their dreams. Now is certainly the time. (Melissa Jane Knight, MSc, BA Hons, Specialist Youth Worker, SE London, http://sydenham.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6558).”

To my mind this is the voice of an exilic prophet. In my language, it is an attempt to fulfill the love and fear of God and observance of God’s moral code as laid out in the Torah. It challenges us with universal truth in the face of animal instincts to protect our selves. It also provides us with an honest acknowledgment of action that might scare us, yet at times like these, we are reminded of the result of inaction.

We began the week with the desolate words of Lamentations, the megillah for Tisha B’Av. May it end with the words that we shall now read from the Prophet Isaiah as he preached unwavering trust in a God who would surely restore Israel to its homeland on this Shabbat Nachamu and then the coda to Lamentations.