Even in the frigid 34 degrees, torrential downpour (with flash flood warnings blaring in sync on everyone’s personal phones), thousands of citizens and law enforcement gathered to pay their respects to the hero Detective Joseph Seals.

While my hand holding my umbrella was beginning to show signs of frostbite, the law enforcement officers in the crowd saluted at solemn attention as the drenching, arctic monsoon rain concealed any traces of tears.

A beautiful and haunting send-off for a true hero of our law enforcement community.

A few takeaways from Det. Seals’ untimely passing:

Det. Seals was the best that our law enforcement has to offer.

He was a family man who understood that keeping the streets safe will give his children the best chances at survival.

He also understood the concept of taking action.

Through his dedication to action, and because he didn’t wait for someone else to act, Detective Seals ended up saving the lives of 50 children and potentially others.

In our daily lives there will be instances that require someone to take action.

These actions could be as benign as people looking for volunteers to visit the sick, to make a minyan at a mourner’s home, to join a community committee, or even the more complex types of action like sticking up for a weaker student against a bully, calling 911 to report a suspicious package, or joining a rally to bring awareness to a situation that is important to you.

In most instances we have an easy way out by saying “someone else will handle this” or “someone more qualified will take care of this.”

Recently I have had a realization that no one else is coming to handle it.

There is no one more qualified coming to deal with the situation.

We are all depending on you.

We need to be the activists.

We need to be those who take action.

This was demonstrated once again this week by Lihi, an Israeli who stood up for another Jew against a rabid anti-Semite in the subway.

Detective Seals understood this.

He had come to this realization, and that understanding is what made him the hero (unfortunately deceased) that he will be remembered for.

Our sages seem to have agreed:

אם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי? לִי

וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי? אֲנִי

וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתַי? אֵימָתַי

We can no longer live in a society of indifference, or inaction.

The global Jewish community’s future depends on it.

Andrew Harary lives in Englewood with his wife Leah and their two daughters.