The below text is a copy of the sermon that this writer delivered for Shabbat Shof’tim at Or Shalom Synagogue in Vancouver, BC on August 15, 2026. The writer is a former Jewish prison chaplain and co-founder of the group “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty,” with roughly 5,000 members across Israel and the world. The service was recorded and one can watch the sermon online starting at minute 1:26 here, as well. 

___________________________

(I dedicate this D’var Torah, this sermon, to my beloved paternal grandfather Jacob Zoosman, Yaakov ben Avraham (1890-1975). These words are delivered on his 51st yahrzeit. Zichrono Livracha – May his memory be an everlasting blessing, and his neshama/his spirit a loving guide for us all…)

Profound gratitude to Or Shalom for offering this bimah – this platform – to share my views on the death penalty – a topic that some might construe as “political,” but that I maintain is a human rights issue.  Long before 2020, when I co-founded “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” – which now approaches 5000 members – and long before I became involved with its parent organization Death Penalty Action and its Director Abe Bonowitz – I served as Jewish Prison Chaplain for three years for the federal correctional facilities across British Columbia. There, I personally witnessed the devastating impact of retributive justice and the cycle of violence, and just how much any human being can indeed change. That experience helped shape who I am today and my views about the death penalty.

That said, I recognize that not everyone shares my perspective (just as I myself once supported the death penalty.)’. Given the inherently contentious nature of this issue (an issue with which our tradition nonetheless demands we grapple, as we do in this Torah portion), I want to emphasize that the opinions you will hear from me today are just that. They do not reflect any official position of this congregation and community, no matter how much I might desire otherwise in my heart of hearts…As our Talmudic tradition models, we can conclude with: “Teiku” – that is, we can surely agree to disagree l’Sheim Shamayim – for the Sake of Heaven – and that is okay.

I also want to apologize ahead of time for going over my ten-minute limit. I tried my best, but alas, in the end, I failed miserably. I take full responsibility for that and pledge to make proper teshuvah (repentance ) on the approaching Day of Atonement Yom Kippur. I pray that you can forgive me for making us late to the kiddush lunch…

Two days ago, on Thursday, a veritable mass execution took place in the United States. Three lethal injections occurred all within 24 hours south of the border – in Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Alabama. As at every execution, the members of L’chaim participated in online vigils for each of these, hosted by Death Penalty Action. We offered memorial prayers – Eil Malei Rachamims –  and shared about the lives of the victims of the crimes that led to those executions. We also chanted final prayers – including Psalm 23 in Hebrew – for those being led to the slaughter. As executions continue to ramp up in the States, we now do this roughly once a week, and more often of late, twice. Occasionally, but rarely, it’s three times a week. This Thursday was the first time since L’chaim began in 2020 that we had to hold three vigils on the same day…I hope never to have to do so again, but I fear it is only the beginning.

In a horrific synchronicity, this American triple execution day occurred during the very same week that Jews across the world join us here at Or Shalom Synagogue in Vancouver, BC in reading the parsha (portion) of the Torah called Shof’tim (“Judges”) Deuteronomy 16:18 – 21:9. This section of the Hebrew Bible includes the famous lex talionis Torah verse: “ayin tachat ayin” – an eye for an eye (Deut. 19: 21). (The full verse reads: “Nor must you show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”) Many rabbis and students of Torah use this opportunity to discuss their interpretation of Judaism’s approaches to the death penalty. The members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” from across Israel and the world have marked this somber occasion by republishing our past sermons about this Torah portion, including one I delivered at Congregation Beth Israel here in Vancouver three years ago.

One cannot overstate the relevance of the topic of capital punishment for world Jewry in 2026. Just a few months ago, Israel enacted two new highly contentious laws calling for the death penalty. Meanwhile, the government of Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy, is executing its own citizens daily, and at a monstrous pace. In the United States, Robert Bowers, the perpetrator of the 2018 mass murder at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)