Shabbat, A Week After Pittsburgh

This Shabbat was a week after the attack in Pittsburgh.

Along with other synagogues around the USA, ours held a special service this Shabbat, appropriately hash tagged in this day of social media as #ShowUpForShabbat, both to show the community will not be intimidated and dissuaded from attending synagogue, but more importantly to together join in honoring and commemorating the eleven victims of the attack:

-Joyce Fienberg, 75;
-Richard Gottfried, 65;
-Rose Mallinger, 97;
-Jerry Rabinowitz, 66;
-Cecil Rosenthal, 59;
-David Rosenthal, 54, (brother of Cecil);
-Bernice Simon, 84;
-Sylvan Simon, 86, (husband of Bernice);
-Daniel Stein, 71;
-Melvin Wax, 88; and
-Irving Younger, 69.

Eleven memorial candles burned on the bima during the service.

We also said a prayer for healing of those injured in the attack and specifically named the brave officers wounded in responding to the attack:

Officers Daniel Mead, Michael Smidga, Anthony Burke and Timothy Matson all of whom were injured by gunfire as they attempted to stop the shooter at the synagogue.
Officer John Persin suffered a hearing injury, and Officer Tyler Pashel injured his knee during the incident.

May they all be swiftly healed.

There was a rather large turnout for a Shabbat morning service, and the sermon was very powerful in addressing that these kinds of attacks can happen as much as we did not believe they would, even here in the USA, as they have happened around the world. The sermon also was focusing on the need for good deeds and outspokenness to balance the evil of this attack and that these sort of attacks will not stop Jews being Jews and continuing to worship as we will.

A very meaningful singing by the congregation of God Bless America followed.

Quite a powerful service.