Praying For You
When Tragedy Struck Denver’s Jewish Community
The outpouring of support from family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and even random social media followers in response to the tragic murder of Shmuel Silverberg outside of my son’s Jewish school in Denver has been so heartwarming.
Friends in Israel, Florida, France, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Saudi Arabia, St. Louis, Denver, L.A., and many more places sent me messages and called to offer their heartfelt support and condolences. For the deceased’s family, the Denver Jewish community in turmoil after the tragic events, and for me personally since my son heard the gun shots and was in the same building no more than fifty yards away where the murder of his close friend and study partner took place.
While I’m quite spiritual many days, I sometimes find religion and God difficult during times of tragedy. When teens are kidnapped and raped in Nigeria, I can’t find God. When a synagogue or night club is shot up by a mad hateful gunman, I have trouble discovering higher purpose. When a government-sponsored brutal knee digs into someone’s neck, I don’t see the hand of an almighty being. When my son’s friend is chased down an alley, into his school, and murdered in cold blood for no reason, God seems like a fantasy to me.
