We read the words of the Psalmist in our daily liturgy: God heals the broken-hearted and binds their wounds.

We know that God achieves the miraculous medicine of binding wounds and healing pain with the help of deputies on this earth. That is you, and that is me.

This past Monday morning, in a small gesture to be God’s partner in that healing process, I visited the French Consulate and met with Consul General Bertrand Lortholary. On behalf of the Board of Rabbis and our Temple community I expressed our condolences to the people of France. I was joined by leaders of different faiths in another act of solidarity, unity and fraternity post tragedy.

There are many paths one can take after this event. We can remind ourselves we are all Israeli, now. These attacks on innocent victims who were sucking the marrow of life, at cafes, concerts and sports stadiums is a story we Jews have read before.

We can also remind ourselves that tragedy works as a magnet pulling disparate forces together. The Paris terror has reminded us in the Northeast that sad truth as well.

Perhaps most poignant is a teaching by my colleague, Reverend Marcos Miranda. He said, we believers will always take faith and love and unity as our weapons of choice to combat your hate where you use missiles and bullets and bombs.”

In the wake of such a tragedy, that is the ultimate take away. May we arm ourselves with those potent weapons and fight back forcefully to those that seek to extinguish the light of our love and future.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner