I dont doubt that there is a lot of unobserved evil and unrelized wickedness in our Jewish lives in all of our communities. I disagree that this is the reason for this terrible tragedy, but if this is on our minds this is our job to look at ourselves and find what is pleasing to our Creator and eliminate that which is wicked and heretical. The idea that we are living in too much of a materially glamorized world is a possiblity. I have never been to this particular community but I will tell you that I have known great men who drive toyotas and wicked men who drive Range Rovers. That said, it is not the way of our people to always look at our own as if we are the enemy. We are not.
But one thing I will say about this horrible tragedy… we must be observant of those in our communities and those who are Jews and try to get to know each and every Jew we come in contact with in our lives. It is not acceptable for a jew to live alone or to be without the support of others whether they be from the synagogue or the family or somewhere else. There is a true thing called mental health in all of our communities. If we are cohesive it may help improve our mental health. The idea that we shun the idea of seeing a mental health physician or that we must shun someone who does is wickedness and I can assure you that our Creator is very dissatisfied with our approach to those with mental health concerns in our communities. How many times have you heard the comment made that someone has a “meshuganah” outlook or that he is mentally unstabile? How many times have you heard snide remarkds about the yidden family that has a person who has a psychiatrist or has been in the hospital? This is a good concern and we should make our communities well aware that we do not tolerate or allow the sickness of mental incapacity or mental illness to go unchecked, undiagnosed and untreated. And yes, our communities need to start talking about this and making improvements in our perceptions and awareness of mental health problems. We are not immune no matter what our family is known for and what our standing is in our synagogues anc communities.