Straight shooting

Editorial

A lot of kids don't know how far a bullet can go. And leaders at some Jewish congregations apparently don't know how far it is appropriate to go in instructing young people.

The observation about the reach of a bullet was offered by a 12-year-old participant in a gun safety program at Congregation Beth Emek in Northern California. A story in this issue details the Reform temple's gun safety classes, complete with field trips to a local shooting range, intended to help protect youngsters from becoming victims of accidental or deliberate misuse of firearms. The story also outlines the controversy the program has generated among community members.

The growing number of gun-related incidents in communities across the United States, including a frightening spate of schoolyard shootings in the past year, makes a case for teaching gun safety to our children. The ready availability of weapons, even with the launching this week of mandatory background checks for all gun purchasers, is a source of anxiety for most parents. According to the instructor in Beth Emek's program, guns are a fact of life in America.

Still, do they belong in the synagogue? As a sampling of Valley spiritual leaders indicate, the answer is "no." Nor does it seem appropriate to set forth a Jewish rationale for teaching gun safety.

As one program advocate says, pikuach nefesh (saving a life) is a Jewish value, and learning about gun safety can save lives. But, as Rabbi Ken Segel of Temple Beth Israel points out, the sanctity of life and finding peaceful ways to deal with one another are also Jewish values.

Rather than turning our temples into fortresses, we can offer our children programs designed to reduce violence in the classroom, on the playground, in the mall and on the street, through learning alternate means of dispute resolution. We serve our children better by teaching the art of dialogue rather than the art of firearms. That means using synagogue youth groups for teaching straight talking, not straight shooting.

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