Sometimes the Torah comes to tell us messages that make us feel uncomfortable, or that we don't want to hear. Sometimes it's language and its teachings are seemingly incomprehensible. Sometimes, though, it states a message that is so obvious, so clearly truthful, and so universal - that it, quite simply, speaks to its divine origins, for sure.
Take Devarim 19:11: "There shall not be shed blood that is innocent in the Midst of your Land that H' your G-d gives to you as an inheritance, for then there would be upon you blood(s)." (The parenthesized "s" is the literal, plural translation, which is often translated as "blood," which is not really accurate since the first "blood" mentioned in the verse is in the singular.)
How often do we actually really think and absorb this message - that when a wrongdoing is done to one, it is a stain - a mark, a mark of shame, and collective failure - on us all. That we even allowed this to happen in the first place. There was ... some sort of teaching I learned informally several times, perhaps a Midrash (?) - that when something bad happens in society and a kohen is still ministering, that kohen bears some of the blame (because had he been truly dialed into the spiritual messaging, the wrongdoing wouldn't have happened in the first place).
There is easy finger-pointing and blame-shifting. Not that any of it is wrong, all of it is actually true! - but here's the secret, it's that we're all to blame on some level. Earlier I mentioned that this wasn't necessarily an uncomfortable truth - but, upon further reflection, it most definitely is - that when something bad happens, sure, the responsible parties must be held accountable, but we must take that highly uneasy next step and look internally, that how could we let this happen, even if it is across the globe. Because since there is full unity in H's eternal universe, one person's actions, thought, or even, maybe, emotion, can have a massive, real, and immediate impact on everyone else.
A clear message - innocent blood spilled is bloods upon ourselves (perhaps the blood of the wrongdoer and the blood of the victim) - and we must confront ourselves if we are ever to make a true and lasting impact.
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