Security provisions, inside and outside our Shuls

 

Below is a request I made to the representative of Anglo Jewry:

I have been a CST volunteer for over ten years in the Stamford Hill area and had training to be an effective CST operative.

Having cleared my credentials, I think that we ought to ensure that the tail is not wagging the dog:

The synagogues are here to live a Jewish life.

The CST is here to protect Jewish life.

Without synagogues, I’m not sure there’s a need for the CST – regardless of its rich and colourful history (e.g. the unrest at Cable Street before WWII).

Rabbonim throughout the ages exhorted their communities to guard the sanctity of the Shul, by refraining from regarding this hallowed place as a meeting place for shmoozing.  The destruction of places of Tefilloh has many a time been attributed to the sad state of decorum that prevailed during Davening and Leyning.

So, perhaps the CST (or any other outfit – whether in existence or one that might need to be set up from the ground up), should have teams of volunteers who will ensure – בדרכי נועם and with sensitivity – that decorum in Shul is not disregarded.

May the Shomer Yisroel bring security within the walls of Synagogues as well outside them, Omen.