Last Saturday morning my colleague in Poway had a day that began similarly to that of many Rabbis. He welcomed a larger than normal crowd into his Synagogue. It was Shabbat, Passover and a day on which Jews recite the Yizkor (memorial) prayer. He led the services and directed the Torah reading, all while welcoming Jewish people of all backgrounds into his congregation.

On Shabbat and Holidays, it is a tradition to read the “Haftora”, a portion from the Prophets. On that day, we read from Isaiah (10:32-12:6). We read the prophet’s vision that there will come a time when “a wolf shall live with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie with a kid.” We read about a future that we, as spiritual leaders, work every day to make a reality.

It was then that Rabbi Goldstein’s day became markedly different than ours. While we read about peace and redemption, he experienced violence and witnessed murder. While we envisioned the light at the end of the dark tunnel of our exile, he stared down the dark barrel of a terrorist’s gun. While we looked forward to the time that our nation will finally be whole, his body was broken by bullets fired by an evil-doer.

In times of pain, people often turn to their Rabbis for comfort. But when we hear of these awful tragedies, as we do all too often these days, we are often at a loss for words. When it is one of our own who suffered, when it could have been any one of us, it is even harder to know how to respond. What can we say in response to violence? What can we do to counter this hate?

This week Rabbi Goldstein responding in the way we were taught by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, and fought darkness with light. In every interview, at every opportunity he asked that all of those listening do another Mitzvah. He asked men to put on the tefillin that he cannot lay on his bandaged arm. He asked women to light Shabbat candles in memory of his dear friend Lori Kaye, who can no longer bring that light into her own home. And he asked that all Jews #ShareShabbat, by going to Shul this Shabbat and bringing along a friend who might not be a regular.

Alongside steps that are being taken to stop these attacks in their tracks, there are things that we can do to prevent this evil from fostering in the first place. The Rebbe encouraged schools to focus not just on the retention of knowledge & facts, but on character building with an emphasis on the universal moral and ethical values that are the basis of a peaceful and civilized society. The Rebbe advocated for this cause because he believed that every single child can be trained to develop an appreciation for life, even if they are not getting an education that overtly addresses these values. Students can think about their life mission, contemplate the value of life (their own and others), and reflect on their higher power and purpose as they will be taught at home.

We fight evil with good. We fight hatred with love. We fight ignorance with education. We fight darkness with light.I