Rabbi's Blog

Shalom,

I hope your holiday season is going well and that you are getting some meaningful family time, rejuvenating your soul. As the secular New Year comes to a close, The Interfaith Council of Yorktown wanted you to know that we support all people's of faith who are rodfei shalom - seekers of peace. To that end, many of the houses of worship in our area united in support of the following statement, which has been released to the media.

May it's words give you warmth and hope during this season,

Rabbi Robbie
 

To the members of the Yorktown community,

A few short weeks ago, on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, some of our diverse Yorktown faith communities--Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist-- came together in prayer and celebration of our common values. Standing in front of this beautiful congregation, we members of the clergy put our arms around one another and prayed for peace and blessings for all. In this moment, we embraced not only one another, but also the ideals upon which our nation was built.

These ideals include our diversity, our religious freedom and the idea that we are all bound together as one American people. In our country, we defend one another’s rights and we fight for freedom. We recognize that we are predominantly a nation of immigrants, who came seeking a better life from around the globe. The same words at the base of the Statue of Liberty that welcomed many of our fore-parents remain a beacon, reminding us that America opens its heart and doors to those who are oppressed.

In recent days, our hearts have been filled with sadness as we have watched our Muslim neighbors—our American brothers and sisters—become the target of hate, suspicion and violence across our country. American Muslims have seen their mosques defaced and burned, and have been harassed in their own hometowns. A leading presidential candidate has even proposed a complete ban on Muslim immigration and suggested that Muslims in our own country be forced to carry special identification cards.

As members of the clergy, we must point out that these proposals violate the fundamental freedom of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment. Hatred, violence and prejudice violate the precepts of all of our faiths as well. Our religious traditions demand of us that we treat others with kindness, compassion and human dignity. We are called upon to welcome the stranger, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to act with righteousness.

We entreat our Yorktown community to stand up to this wave of intolerance that threatens to engulf us. We are a community of good and decent people, who have the power to make a difference in this world. If we give in to the fear which is consuming our nation, we will cease to be American in the most basic sense—a nation of freedom for all. We will also cease to live our lives according to the beautiful faiths that coexist in our community. Let us make good on the promise of our Interfaith Thanksgiving service—the promise that we will stand together in peace and friendship.

The Yorktown Interfaith Clergy Group

Rev. Karen Brammer, Fourth Unitarian Society
Rev. Chip Low, First Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Gwyneth MacKenzie Murphy, Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin
Rev. Iwy Patel-Yatri, United Methodist Church of Shrub Oak
Zead Ramadan, Hudson Valley Islamic Community Center
Rev. Tami Seidel, First Presbyterian Church
Rev. Paul Tesshin Silverman, Tetsugyuji Zen Temple
Rabbi Seth Sternstein, Yorktown Jewish Center
Cantor Jamie Tortorello-Allen, Temple Beth Am
Rabbi Robert Weiner, Temple Beth Am
The Rev. Claire Woodley , St. Mary's Episcopal Church

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