It did not take long for Rabbi Groh’s sermon to go viral. Many of the congregants forwarded it to their friends as soon as Temple Brit Kodesh made it available on social media. Rabbi Groh spent a couple of days after Rosh Hashanah speaking with media from far and wide. He met in his office with the reporter from the Miami Herald. He spoke on the phone with the editor of the Jerusalem Post and the Washington Post. He appeared via internet on a CNN evening program and a local NBC affiliate. Each reporter asked the same questions. How was Ukraine different? Could antisemitism in the US ever reach the crescendo it did in Ukraine? Was there still a future for the Jewish people here in America?
One by one, he told them about Rabbi Poznanski and Charleston. He told them that America was unique. He told them that all Americans had come too far to give up on the promise of their country now. Yes, there was a lot of work left to do, and he was not prepared to give up. And despite the infinite love and pride American Jews have for the State of Israel, America too held the promise of home for a powerful and proud Jewish community. Despite the danger of the current climate, the road ahead was still paved with hope that America could one day realize its promise. America would one day be a home for all faiths, races, and ethnicities. And the truth is, Rabbi Groh concluded, if it can’t be done here, then it will never be done anywhere.