When Asher Meza made a video of himself passing a gun around to members of his congregation, it raised some questions in the community about weapons in shul. Predictably, Bnai Brith weighed in with a denunciation of Jews carrying and training in weapons.
"Weapons, especially … an automatic rifle, have no place in a synagogue," said Tommy Baer.
Yossel Kranz of Chabad of Virginia stated as follows.
"From a Jewish perspective, his philosophy and ideas have no standing whatsoever."
The video was made the night of the attempted assassination of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords, a time when emotions were running high across the nation about gun violence.
There is a range of opinions in the Jewish community about guns, ranging from repudiation to Meir Kahane's famous "For Every Jew a 22." declaration.
For the sake of readers I am including the controversial video with a note to Asher Meza.
Asher. It would have been preferable to wait until after havdalah to start passing a gun around if it is not necessary to defend human life. Please be more careful next time you have to educate your congregants about weapons use and safety. May you never need to fire your weapon.
PS. I liked the song.
Click below for article with video
http://globetribune.info/2011/01/20/gun-...