[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 134 (Friday, August 9, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





            RECOGNIZING REMARKS OF RABBI DR. ISRAEL ZOBERMAN

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                        HON. A. DONALD McEACHIN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 9, 2019

  Mr. McEACHIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to include in the Record a 
statement from Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman, founder and spiritual leader 
of Temple Lev Tikvah in Virginia Beach, and the representative of the 
Jewish community at the City of Chesapeake's civic occasions.

           Consider ``Day of Caring'' To Honor Beach Victims

                     (By Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman)

       At this trying and beclouded time of grief and sorrow, we 
     gradually and painfully come to grips with the enormity of 
     our losses diminishing us all as well as our newly discovered 
     vulnerabilities. Our beloved Virginia Beach and the entire 
     Hampton Roads community lost its beautiful but dangerously 
     blinding innocence on that fateful Friday afternoon. How 
     could we imagine that the mass shootings in other regions 
     would not reach us too? Truth to be told no one is insulated 
     and immune in the wide American landscape. What happens 
     around us near and far is bound to affect us at home. 
     However, we are obligated to protect ourselves as best as we 
     can given whatever limitations we face.
       We are called upon now to pick up together the shattered 
     pieces of a complex and confounding reality to reemerge 
     rededicated and reenergized to make our threatened world, 
     inwardly and outwardly, a safer home and better place for one 
     and all. Our fallen 12 heroes who so callously and cowardly 
     were taken from their loving families, co-workers, neighbors, 
     friends and all of us, deserve no less. For their cherished 
     memories' sake and our very survival and future let us engage 
     more than ever with those around us, particularly the ones we 
     deem to be beyond our intimate circle of close associates.
       We acknowledge that the social phenomenon of alienation is 
     a hallmark of our challenging times. Pleasant surprises do 
     await us when willing to reach out beyond the familiar and 
     engage others in simple but far-reaching acts of human 
     interaction that hitherto we regarded as too threatening and 
     non-consequential. There is much to be learned, gained and 
     prevented by exercising our extraordinary ability of ordinary 
     communication in our wonderfully diverse human environment in 
     Hampton Roads in which too many may feel lonely, unnoticed 
     and undervalued.
       So called ``strangers'' cease to be strangers once we 
     encounter and appreciate our common humanity and shared 
     American dream in which we all have a critical stake. The 
     Bible wisely instructs us that a celebration is not complete 
     without including the strangers in our midst so they may 
     transform their status, claiming their rightful place in 
     society and in our hearts. Spreading more and more conscious 
     but random acts of kindness and goodness in our shared garden 
     of life and civic exchange, is bound to grow beneficial 
     returns in kind. At times a reassuring smile and a generous 
     act on the road and in the office can go a long way and even 
     stymie road and office rage.
       Our democratic and educational institutions on all levels 
     demand our involvement and support that necessary change 
     should occur. Surely prudent and common-sense gun control 
     legislation along with an accountable and responsible mental 
     health system are on the agenda. Are we waiting for more mass 
     shootings' tragedies, oceans of tears and cries of family 
     survivors of different languages and geographies, and heart-
     wrenching memorial services to propel us into action? Ought 
     we not teach, beginning at one's home, that each finite human 
     life is of infinite worth, and each of us is an entire, 
     irreplaceable universe of purpose and meaning reflecting the 
     Most High? We are witnesses to what irreparable damage can be 
     done by a few minutes of unchecked madness and unrelenting 
     evil, using weapons of mass destruction equipped with 
     silencers. Let us not allow a corrosive culture of death to 
     replace a promising culture of life.
       It would be advantageous for our entire nation to take a 
     day out for national soul-searching and resolve to delve into 
     issues that should be paramount on our American agenda. A day 
     in which we engage in discussions and activities toward 
     healing our nation, creating a ``National Day of Caring'' 
     that would create a ripple effect. The slogan ``VB Strong'' 
     has joined us to the sorrowful and hurting family of 
     previously affected communities, even as we pray and plan 
     that our Virginia Beach is the last in such an unenviable 
     category of suffering. I suggest that we be better served by 
     the slogan, ``VB Cares,'' which is ultimately the source of 
     authentic strength. What befell us will surely not define us, 
     but we cannot deny it. It may yet refine us to become more 
     compassionate, considerate and connected with each other. My 
     99-year-old mom, a Polish Holocaust survivor, called me from 
     Israel that dark day, asking, ``What's happening to 
     America?''

       Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman is the founder and spiritual 
     leader of Temple Lev Tikvah in Virginia Beach. He is Honorary 
     Senior Rabbi Scholar at Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church 
     in Virginia Beach. He represents the Jewish community at the 
     city of Chesapeake's civic occasions.

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