Mass Shootings and Strange Rituals: Why Every Life Still Matters

💀 What Zombie shows reveals about compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, and how Torah teaches us to remember. #Shoftim #parashahoftheweek

What does #thewalkingdead teach us about compassion in a world that grows numb? Think of Sheriff Rick Grimes. In the first episode, he honors the fallen stranger ("we will always remember him") before his empathy fades. Likewise, our hearts risk hardening in the face of relentless tragedy. This sermon explores how constant exposure to mass shootings and global horrors leads to compassion fatigue—as described in NPR’s  “Another Mass Shooting? ‘Compassion Fatigue’ Is a Natural Reaction” and psychic numbing, which was unpacked by the APA in their article “COVID-19 & Psychic Numbing.”

Together, they demonstrate how numbers can often overshadow human stories. Torah offers a different way forward. Through Ramban’s vision of “circumcising the heart,” the haunting ritual of the Eglah Arufah, Seforno’s call to spare the trees, and Ibn Ezra’s demand for a culture that cherishes life, Judaism insists that every individual soul matters—even amid war. This week, we speak the names of Harper Lillian Moyski (10) and Fletcher Merkel (8)—two children whose lives cannot be reduced to statistics. In Elul, may we resist numbness, remember the names, and soften our hearts—so compassion remains our sacred response.

📖 Texts: Deuteronomy 21 (Eglah Arufah), Ramban, Seforno, Ibn Ezra, Mishnah Sanhedrin Articles

📰: Another Mass Shooting? ‘Compassion Fatigue’ Is a Natural Reaction” - https://www.npr.org/sections/health-s...

Paul Slovic observes the ‘psychic numbing’ of COVID-19 - https://www.apa.org/members/content/c...

🕯️ Remembering: Harper Lillian Moyski (10) & Fletcher Merkel (8)

➡️ Watch to discover how Torah challenges us to resist numbness, remember names, and soften our hearts in a world that too often forgets.

https://youtu.be/ES6VfgI4FGk?si=xwBOmw6JgxtkjLJ3

----more----