My Congregant Was in that Dance Bar Shooting

My Congregant Was in the Dance Bar Shooting by Rabbi Paul Kipnes It’s 4:37 am And I’m lying awake. I’m aghast with what happened, And what’s really at stake. That this there gunman went a-shooting, In a country western dance bar, And I knew that our temple’s kid Would not have been far From the raucous line dancing Choreographed arms swinging, those leg bends For an evening of release He’d be there dancing with his friends Oy, I worried about my congregant, So I jumped on Facebook to check Yes he survived this here shooting - Then I realized, what the heck!? Just last week we were in my office After that synagogue shooting in Squirrel Hill He asked me, “Rabbi, how do we deal with it all,” He was frightened and sad, not shrill. He was despondent, he was angry He was sick of it all, He came by to think it through With his own Rabbi Paul Who sat there thinking to myself, You know he ain’t really that wrong, Because it’s long been out of hand And we’re just scraping along So muttering phrases of comfort, Listening, and offering him hope, Staying away from meaningless “thoughts and prayers” Oy, it feels like a sick joke. I told him to speak up, Since he had an objection Go out, get involved In this upcoming election Because the randomness of this violence And the pervasiveness of it all: It’s in churches and synagogues, kids’ schools, concerts, movie theaters, supermarkets, restaurants, discos... (INSERT the latest shooting location), And the local shopping mall. Still I told him, “While there’s no guarantee of safety The odds are quite slim” That he’d face such a shooting That it could happen to him. Now not a week later, He was in that shooting melee... Thankfully he survived that there horror And he will live on another day. So I sent him a message, Included the Birkat HaGomel prayer I let him and his parents know That I’m available, I am here Yet, how do I counsel The next one who comes by for support Whose fears they want me to allay Whose worry they want me to thwart? Do I tell them, “Don’t worry” Do I tell them, “No, not you,” Rather I’ll tell them the truth: “No one knows... now whatcha gonna do?” And to the rest of you dear ones, Watching from afar, here’s my plea Remember that last week at this time, It was about someone else, not him (and not we) ‘Course don’t lose perspective No, don’t lose your head, ‘Except that tomorrow it just might be Your loved ones who are dead And we’d cry there together Mourning what could have been If our leaders had just done their jobs Making hard decisions, like adult women and men. Yes I’m here if you need me To cry, listen, and hold you, But none of that’s gonna stop shooting So let’s find something else that we can do. ‘Cause it’s our kids, it’s our friends It’s our dance clubs in our city So stand up and speak out, Then go join an anti-gun-violence political action committee.