Solidarity Shabbat: We Stand with Pittsburgh
The Jewish community is inviting ALL to #ShowUpForShabbat on Friday evening or Saturday morning. I plan to go attend the Shabbat service at one of our local synagogues tomorrow evening. I first checked their website to be sure that this particular congregation was supporting #ShowUpForShabbat and welcoming non-Jews during their time of mourning.
From the WaPo Acts of Faith email newsletter today (p.s. the editor is Jewish)
Dear Acts of Faith readers,
I know all of you are well aware of the
tragic religion news this week — the murder of 11 worshipers at Tree of
Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the deadliest attack on American Jews in
history.
As we learn more about the victims and the alleged perpetrator and watched how a grieving city handled a tumultuous presidential visit, I have been struck by the support offered to the Jewish community by other people of faith.
Clergy of all faiths helped organize vigils
across the nation, and spoke out about the need to respond not only
with empathy but with policies to reduce mass shootings and with renewed
efforts to root out anti-Semitism in public discourse. Here in
Washington, dozens of clergy crowded to the front of Adas Israel
synagogue on Monday night, where the city’s mayor and the governors
of Virginia and Maryland pledged their determination to eradicate
anti-Semitism in our region. Across the country, Muslim Americans
contributed more than $150,000 for the shooting victims: “This could
have very well been at a mosque or a Hindu temple,” the organizer of the
fundraising campaign told The Post’s Allison Klein.
Jewish groups are urging Jews and non-Jews
alike to #ShowUpforShabbat by attending Friday or Saturday services this
weekend in a show of solidarity, and Muslim, Sikh and Christian
congregations are inviting their members to attend services at a
synagogue. “After Oak Creek,
the Jewish community resoundingly stood by Sikh Americans, and this
time we encourage our whole community to stand with our Jewish brothers
and sisters,” Sikh activists wrote in an email to Sikhs across the
country.
And in my own text messages, the friends
and acquaintances who sent tidings of strength, as I spent the week
reporting on anti-Semitism, included many people of deep faith. An
evangelical woman I met earlier this year while working on stories about
Southern Baptists texted me, “God sees and hears suffering and his
heart breaks. It’s only right that ours should too.” A Muslim man I
interviewed wrote, “I know it’s a hard day being a Jew but you will
never walk alone.” A longtime friend who works in evangelical ministry
emailed, “This is so horrible, there are no words.” A dear Muslim friend
said that amid the heartbreak, he was inspired by stories of interfaith
collaboration: “That’s what America has always meant to me.”
All of us — especially those of us who find
our solace or wisdom or important relationships within the walls of a
house of worship — feel viscerally the horror of a sanctuary being
violated by violence. We love these sacred spaces. We love the people
who make them sacred.
And in times of tragedy, it’s clear: We love one another, too.
Thanks for posting that, Anne. I wish there were a Jewish synagogue here where one could attend a service in solidarity. I will certainly remember them at perpetual adoration today.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, you must really be in the cornfields, like Jean. There are at least half dozen synagogues within a 15 minute drive of my house. I am going to one that is 5 minutes away - where I have attended multiple bat/bar mitzvahs over the years. It's popular with our neighbors!
DeleteThere is a thriving Jewish community in Omaha, but it is 90 miles from here. There are three synagogues there. There is also the interesting Tri-Faith Center in Omaha, which is a Jewish, Muslim, and Christian initiative.
DeleteBut there is pretty much no Jewish presence outstate. One memory from my childhood in western Nebraska is that there was a terrible car accident on the highway near my hometown, in which a child was killed. The family was Jewish. They wanted to say Kaddish at the mortuary; I understood that the participants in that as a formal ritual need to be Jewish. Anyway there was a Jewish man in North Platte, 50 miles away. He came and said Kaddish with them. He wasn't a rabbi, in fact he was married to a Catholic. But he was the nearest Jew available. I don't know what they did about having a minyan; I'm pretty sure there weren't ten people altogether.
Thanks for this post.
ReplyDeleteCleveland has many Jewish synagogues. There is a general post at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland with links to all the varieties of synagogues. Nothing however at specific synagogues about welcoming.
Friday evening is our annual parish celebration of All Soul's Day, which this year is actually on All Soul's Day. It is a choir event.
However I did find some interesting congregations program wise, including one whose rabbi I have taken a course from. So I am bookmarking it. I have been looking for some time for an excuse to attend services, so perhaps I will do that in the coming weeks.
We don't have any synagogues in the cornfield, where a Presbyterian is exotic, but those who are so inclined might want to say kaddish and offer a donation to an organization that fights hate crimes.
ReplyDeleteGlorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world
which He has created according to His will.
May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days,
and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon;
and say, Amen.
May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.
Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored,
adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He,
beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that
are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us
and for all Israel; and say, Amen.
He who creates peace in His celestial heights,
may He create peace for us and for all Israel;
and say, Amen.
Jean, thanks for the Kaddish prayer. I printed it off.
DeleteYou can contribute to the Tree of Life fundraiser here: Muslims United for Pittsburg Synagogue c/o Celebrate Mercy http://www.celebratemercy.com/donate
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jimmy. Those who want to give directly to Tree of Life Synagogue, Pittsburgh, can go here: https://www.tolols.org/give
DeleteJean, thanks for the kaddish. I have prayed it at the funerals of family of some of our neighbors - a very moving experience. Thanks to both you and Jimmie for the links for donations. Another group that fights hate is the Southern Poverty Law Center.
ReplyDeleteThe ex-wife of one of my nephews is Jewish, as are his two daughters, my great-nieces. They share custody and have an excellent relationship. She writes for several non-traditional outlets (Huff Post, The Elephant Journal etc) and also has her own blog. This is what she wrote
On Friday nights, we walk past the police officer who stands outside the gates of our synagogue. The girls smile and wave at him as we enter for Shabbat services. The girls haven’t experienced Jewish life without police presence. There are officers who guard their Jewish Day School during the week and officers who greet them as they enter the Jewish Community Center. It is part of life. They don’t question it, it just is, because, we are Jews.
I worry, but I refuse to stop doing what we do and being who we are.
It was Shabbat yesterday, so I didn’t look at the news. I still didn’t know what had happened when I dropped my eldest daughter off at another congregation for her friend’s Bat Mitzvah. I wasn’t concerned when I saw the police officer outside, because, that’s just how it is, just in case. Yet, in the back of my mind, I am prepared that if someone wants to do something bad, they will find a way.
The horrific, senseless tragedy that occurred yesterday at the Tree of Life synagogue is haunting; I’m shaken. It could have been any of us, greeting our fellow congregants, catching up on the week as we prepare for prayer.
I was on a mountain in the mid afternoon when I received the news through a message from a friend. I was alone; there was no one else around. It was silent and peaceful; the opposite of the environment miles and miles away. I sat there, shocked, wrought with emotion, mourning the innocent souls who lost their lives and for the families who now have to learn to live without them. I cried for their congregation, for their community, for our Jewish community, for all of us. I picked up 11 rocks and placed them next to each other. I said Kaddish.
And then, I started to ask G-d, “Why?” I stopped myself. In this week's Torah portion, Vayeira, which was read yesterday, G-d calls upon Abraham, to test him, again. Abraham doesn’t ask why he’s being tested, instead, he responds: Hineni. Here I am. He has complete faith and trust in G-d.
Hineni. Here I am. Here you are. Here we are.
The Jewish faith is a faith of action, and today, the day after this tragedy, we are being called to do something. What can we do and how can we prevent this from happening again?
We must overcome our feelings of helplessness and be like Abraham. Our voices have power and when we come together in our moral outrage, we have the strength to create change.
"Your voice is your vote."
We can vote.
We can vote to change the trajectory of our children’s future by electing leaders who will help us prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again.
And maybe, our children will know a world where they can walk into their houses of worship without having to worry.
Yesterday, I drove past a large Jewish complex near my home while during errands. It has a large synagogue, the biggest Jewish Community Center in the area, a senior citizens' home, and a school. There has been tightened security around the school for many years. They have a metal gate that can be quickly closed to prevent cars/trucks from getting in. But yesterday I noticed something else that was not usual - there were large police SUVs also blocking all entrances to the school. How many people go to church on Sunday taking a police presence for granted? How many of their kids go to parochial school where police are always present - when it's the norm?
Anne, many thanks for this post ... I hadn't heard of this.
ReplyDelete