Shalom! - Chronicle Online/The WORD 03/19/2026

Weekly On-line Rabbi's D'var-TorahMarch 19, 2026

3 Nisan 5786

Parashat Vayikra

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a week since the attempted attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan. It still feels like it just happened. 

And because the story had the best possible ending—no fatalities and only one minor injury—we can take a moment to notice something genuinely uplifting that emerged from it. The response of Temple Israel’s Chaldean neighbors was simply incredible. 

For those who may not know, the Chaldean community is a distinct Catholic community with roots in Iraq, and their primary language is Aramaic—the language of the Talmud. The largest Chaldean population outside of Iraq is actually in Michigan, and the Shenandoah Country Club across the street from Temple Israel functions as a central hub for that community. 

As soon as leaders at the country club realized what was unfolding across the street, they acted without hesitation. They opened their doors, inviting Temple Israel’s students and staff to shelter in the ballroom, and made their facility available for law enforcement to establish a command center. About 100 children were brought to the club, while another 40 were taken in by a nearby Chaldean family who somehow managed to fit them all into their home. 

Because of that warmth and care, most of the Temple Israel children experienced the day not as a trauma, but as an unexpected adventure—meeting police officers and firefighters, surrounded by adults who made them feel safe. They didn’t fully grasp that they had evacuated in response to a violent threat. In Jewish language, we would say that the Chaldean community performed a mitzvah—they fulfilled a sacred obligation to care for others in a moment of need. 

And even after all of that—after hosting the children, feeding them, and helping reunite families—the Chaldean community still wasn’t finished. Last Friday night, they opened their doors once again and hosted more than 1,000 Temple Israel members for a Shabbat service. 

In truth, the Jewish and Chaldean communities in the Detroit area have long shared a quiet understanding. There’s something about the experience of living as minority communities—often in places that have not always been welcoming—that creates a natural bond. That bond was already there. Now, it’s deeper. 

In this week’s Torah portion, we read about the shelamim offering, which shares its root with the word shalom. It wasn’t only an offering to God; it was also a shared meal among people. We see a fuller picture of this in I Samuel 9, where a group gathers to partake in such a meal together. 

Here’s how it worked: a person would bring an offering and invite others to join. Part would go to God, part to the priests, and the rest would be shared by everyone present. It was, at its core, a meal of connection and peace—one person extending their blessings outward, creating community in the process. The Torah reminds us that part of our responsibility in this world is not only to live before God, but to reach toward one another. 

Last week in Michigan, the Chaldean community reached out to their Jewish neighbors in peace. We shouldn’t need a moment of crisis to remind us to reach out to our neighbors in peace.

Shalom,

RAF.