Just five days ago, Saturday morning, I faced evil and the worst darkness of all time, right in our own house of worship, right at Chabad of Poway
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hat an incredible sight was Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, both hands bandaged in blue casts, black hat firmly on his head, his chin high, speaking in the Rose Garden about his rebbe and the power of transforming darkness into light.
And how incredibly bizarre was his journey to that moment. Only five days before he had briefly stepped out of his sanctuary in Poway, California, to wash his hands and ready himself to read that day’s haftarah. And just at that moment, after answering a question about Yizkor from longtime member Lori Kaye, did a deranged gunman walk into the shul and take aim. First he shot Mrs. Kaye. Then he came for the rabbi. Hands up to protect himself, the bullets hit Rabbi Goldstein’s fingers. Then the gun jammed. Then Rabbi Goldstein shooed the children out of the shul. Then a congregant, army veteran Oscar Stewart, who had only started to attend the shul in August, rushed the shooter and chased him out of the building.
Five days later, Rabbi Goldstein was standing at a podium in the Rose Garden, thanking President Trump for his kind words in a difficult time.
Just five days ago, Saturday morning, I faced evil and the worst darkness of all time, right in our own house of worship, right at Chabad of Poway. I faced him and I had to make a decision: Do I run and hide? Or do I stand tall and fight, and protect all those that are there? We cannot control what others do, but we can control how we react.
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