Dear Friends,
This week has been a challenging one for our community and our nation. Images of klansmen and neo-Nazis spewing their message of hatred, xenophobia, and vitriol towards African Americans, members of the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and of course Jews fill us with disgust, anger, and fear.
It should come as no surprise to you that while the clergy of Stephen Wise Temple support our constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression, we vigorously condemn racism, fascism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and all those who incite others to acts of murderous violence like the hateful ideology that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, of blessed memory.
We call on the President and his entire administration to consistently and unequivocally repudiate this type of hatred and to refrain from making dangerous moral equivalencies that would place Nazis and those who oppose them in the same category.
Many of you have reached out to us this week with questions about what we can do as individuals and as a community to make things better. We offer a few immediate suggestions and will be providing additional ones in the weeks to come:
  • Join us this Shabbat for worship where we will turn, as we always do, to our tradition for comfort and inspiration. Months ago, we planned a special commemoration and celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love for this Friday evening. We hope that some of the most important and influential songs of that time will uplift our spirits and inspire our souls. Gather with your community this evening at 6:15 or tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.
  • Participate in the Reform Movement’s #BeTheLight initiative in order to oppose voices and images of hatred.
At Wise Temple, we are honored to serve a diverse community that includes Jews and non-Jews of different backgrounds, ideologies, and political affiliations. We believe that there are many paths to the divine and that there are many ways to answer the prophet’s call that we “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” Our community should always be a place where kavod (respect) is modeled in all of our interactions, including in the ways we open ourselves to listening to and learning from one another. This we affirm: there is nothing partisan about standing up to bigots and racists, whether they come from the political right or left. It is a cause that must unite us.
We believe with every fiber of our beings that our tradition commands us to aspire to become our better selves: God’s partners in repairing the world. Speaking out against hatred and actively working with others to combat these forces is core to who we are as Jews and as Americans. 
With prayers for a Sabbath of peace for our community and nation,
Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin
Rabbi Eli Herscher
Rabbi David Woznica
Rabbi Ron Stern
Rabbi Josh Knobel
Rabbi Sari Laufer
Cantor Emma Lutz