Reflections from Our Clergy
To our Beth El Community,
We wanted to reach out to let you know that you have been in our thoughts. The horrors that befell our fellow Jews in Squirrel Hill this past Shabbat have left us all feeling heartbroken.
Days later, the sadness still lingers, the tragedy feels surreal, the communal loss and grief are palpable. There are a handful of our congregants who have special connections to the Tree of Life Synagogue; who grew up there, have family there and lost loved ones there. For these personal losses - we are truly sorry.
After some days of grieving, we now ask ourselves: how do we cope with feelings of sorrow and helplessness when confronted with senseless hatred? We look that hatred in the face and we respond with resolve and determination. A determination to be agents of change, to work to fix the systemic failures within our society, and to refuse to let hate and destruction have the last word.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: “There are three ascending levels of mourning: with tears — that is the lowest. With silence — that is higher. And with a song — that is the highest.” We imagine that all three of these responses to tragedy have a place in our journey through grief. We cried our tears, we spent time quietly thinking and working through what happened and what is next? And now, this Shabbat, we will come together in song.
We hope that you will join us in solidarity with the Baltimore Jewish community, and Jews around the world, this coming Shabbat morning at 10 AM. During the course of services we will be holding a special Memorial Service to honor the eleven Jews who lost their lives in the Pittsburgh attack. We will recite their names, observe a moment of silence in their honor, recall their stories, and pray for their souls and for a better world and for peace and safety for all.
Together we will pray as if our prayers have the power to change our world and then return to our world after Shabbat and act as though everything depends on us.
Most importantly, let us now work together to ensure that those who lost their lives did not die in vain. Let their light shine brightly today, tomorrow and always and may their memories be a blessing.
With love and compassion,
Your Beth El Clergy
