blogs/brentspodek

This Guest Teaching is from BHA Board Member, Jesse Lunin-Pack.

This past Sunday I travelled with a group of community members down to New York City for the No Hate - No Fear rally against anti-Semitism put together by a variety of major Jewish organizations.  It had been a long time since I had attended a major rally, and I was not entirely sure what we all hoped to accomplish, but it somehow felt very important for me to be there.

I got on the Metro North train at the Cold Spring station and met up with a group of BHA folks who had saved me a seat when they boarded in Beacon.  Additionally, we were joined in Cold Spring by some members of the Phillipstown Reform Synagogue. It was already feeling like the Jewish community was coming together for something big, and as we travelled ever closer to Grand Central it became obvious that there was a large contingent on the train heading in for the same reason that we were.

We took the subway downtown and met up with Cantor Ellen and other friends close to Foley Square where the march began.  As we unfurled our rainbow BHA flag we received many compliments and questions about its symbolism, while games of Jewish geography broke out all around us.  The NYPD was out in force to keep us safe, supplemented by State Troopers and the Jewish volunteer Community Security Service. It was obvious that a massive amount of coordination had been completed in a very short timeframe.

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge in a crowd of 25,000 like-minded people demonstrating against hatred and fear was indeed a powerful and uplifting experience.  As someone who has devoted considerable effort to securing our historic building in Beacon, it felt great to be in a safe space and among friends.

In the days since the march I have realized how lucky we are to have our BHA community.  While the vast majority of the marchers in NYC were Jews (on the more liberal end of the spectrum), in Beacon we have strong positive relationships with the other faith communities, and these communities have come out to support us in our times of vulnerability - without our having to ask.  While at the rally there was palpable tension between the more Haredi speakers and the more assimilated demonstrators, at BHA we have agreed to welcome all levels of observance equally, and when we disagree with each other, we do so with respect.

It was indeed sad that in 2020 we all felt the need to demonstrate against anti-Semitism and senseless Jew hatred.  And while I will continue to work to make sure that our community is secure in these uncertain times, I feel very fortunate to be a part of the open, accepting, questioning, and vibrant Jewish community that is Beacon Hebrew Alliance.