Rabbi Howard Morrison

(Taken from Rabbi Mark Angel's Jewish Ideas)

Dear Congregational Family,

Today is the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, "The Night of Broken Glass," named after the windows of Jewish businesses and homes that were shattered during the  overnight of November 9-10, 1938. Most synagogues throughout Germany, Austria, and the annexed Czechoslovakian Sudetenland were plundered and set alight that night. Thousands of Jewish businesses were damaged, and 30,000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps.

Who could imagine that unbridled hatred and anti-Jewish venom could have led to such violence, pillage, and murder?

The ongoing message is to remain vigilant, to fight against all forms of anti-Semitism, bigotry, and racism. Once hatred takes root in society, the consequences can be devastating for everyone.

The Prophets of the Bible foresaw a time when people will no longer devote their energies to war and destructive hatred. We are, unfortunately, not yet living in such an ideal world.

But each person can either bring us closer to the goal, or drag us further from it.

Sincerely, 

Rabbi Howard Morrison