Near the doors to our synagogue there is a guard We say "hello" to them They say "hello" back The greeter says "shabbat shalom" to us We smile and say "shabbat shalom" back It is fake An echo of the past The guard doesn't smile The guard is solemn The guard is armed The guard is here for a reason The doors to our synagogue stay closed now They have ever since the shootings started Locked Someone needs to let us in And where there used to be multiple greeters Joyously welcoming everyone through wide open doors Into a room fined with the sound of voices and children playing Now there is silence Shabbat shalom A test Do you belong? They taught us in religious school and in the kids service on Saturday mornings If you see anyone or anything that could possibly be suspicious report them immediately [immediately should be underlined] To a parent, to a teacher, to a coordinator To any adult [any should be underlined] Third to fifth grade We made cards for a mosque after there was a shooting at one saying we were sorry, saying we understood Reminding them there were people who cared We were shown the cards they'd sent us We were told about the shootings as they happened It could have been us who were murdered We knew that We had lockdown drills We were told what to do if it happened at our synagogue They said coming to religious school being part of the synagogue even being Jewish was an act of resistance It was true It still is This is what it means to be Jewish This is why we are proud why we have to be Because if we weren't proud we wouldn't be strong enough to keep resisting
Note: What this poem doesn't say is that the kids service was for children under five. The older children were given examples.
