Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Three Pa. Jewish congregations show spunk
Memorial of massacre token of perseverance
Two years ago, the three congregations sharing space at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue relocated after an anti-Semitic gunman killed 11 worshippers. In March, the congregations dispersed from their new locations because of the coronavirus pandemic and switched to virtual services.
On Tuesday, as they again mourn those killed on Oct. 27, 2018, they’ll also celebrate the resilience that has enabled them to persevere.
Maggie Feinstein of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, which has been supporting those affected by the attack, was impressed by how the congregations have coped with the pandemic.
“They started phone chains, thought about ways to reach their vulnerable population,” she said. “I found it incredibly inspiring that these three congregations, when crisis hit, knew how to pull together as a community and not leave anybody behind.”
The centerpiece of the commemorations is an online ceremony Tuesday that includes a performance by world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma of a piece by Jewish composer Ernest Bloch.
And a day of community service is being organized for Sunday by the Pittsburgh branch of Repair the World, a Jewish nonprofit. Activities include a blood drive, food distribution and cleanups of Jewish cemeteries.
Coinciding with the commemoration will be publication of an anthology of essays by Pittsburgh-area writers, reflecting on how the attack affected them and their community. Co-editor Beth Kissileff is the wife of Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, who took shelter in a supply closet with three members of his New Light congregation during the attack. One of them, 87-year-old Melvin Wax,left the closet before it was safe as a result
of his deafness and was shot dead.
Most of the commemorations were planned by a group that included the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, the Jewish Community Center and members of the three congregations. One of the group’s co-chairs lost her brother in the shooting; the other lost her mother.
Organizers have strived to offer emotional support. One-on-one counseling will be offered virtually, and there’s a tent set up near the synagogue where people can access in-person support from humans and comfort dogs in a socially distanced environment.
Planning committee member and Rabbi Amy Bardack, director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Federation, said the pandemic posed challenges.
“Once you can’t do everything in person, there aren’t as many opportunities for healing,” she said. “Last year we had chaplains, therapists helping people face to face.
That can’t happen this year.”
Of the three congregations based in the synagogue in 2018, only Tree of Life, the host, plans to return when the building reopens after renovation. There’s no timeline yet for that project. The congregation has hired consultants to help with logistics and wants to accommodate other organizations and activities.
Nearby Chatham University and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh are expected to share some of the reconfigured space. There also will be a memorial to those killed in the attack.
Before the pandemic, Tree of Life was holding services at Rodef Shalom, a historic temple completed in 1907. But since March, in-person worship and group activities have been halted in favor of virtual gatherings.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers said his appearances on Zoom and Facebook, livestreamed from his living room, have gained a loyal following, including a woman in Australia who joins Tuesday classes in which he discusses prayers offered the preceding Friday.
“During the pandemic, people are seeking community,” he said. “We try in any way to help them find solace and hope and inspiration.”
A second congregation, Dor Hadash, also had been worshipping at Rodef Shalom and plans to return there once the pandemic eases enough to allow in-person services, according to its president, Donna Coufal.
She said Dor Hadash has remained politically active, engaging on issues such as racial justice and gun violence.
The third, New Light, had been at the Beth Shalom synagogue in the same Squirrel Hill neighborhood where the attack occurred. Congregation co-president Stephen Cohen said the arrangement has worked well and New Light plans to remain there long term.
Of the three, only New Light has resumed in-person services, but Cohen said most members, many of whom are over 70, remain wary and participate via Zoom. The 15 or so who attend in person wear masks and sit at least 6 feet apart.
“Before March, we were beginning to re-create our community, and then on March 23 it all falls apart,” Cohen said, referring to the imposition of a stay-at-home order. “We have adapted as best we can.”
The idea for the anthology arose from conversations among New Light members, encouraged by Kissileff, an author and essayist. She recruited as co-editor Eric Lidji, a Pittsburgh-based historian who has overseen efforts to preserve documentation of the 2018 attack.
They in turn brought in 22 other writers, journalists, academics and rabbis to contribute to the anthology, “Bound in the Bond of Life.”
The entries include poetry, oral history and an essay by Carnegie Mellon University historian Laura Zittrain Eisenberg about the memorials that sprang up outside the synagogue after the attack and items left there: flowers, candles, a guitar, a pair of sneakers.
We have heard plenty about the major retail chains that have closed or filed for bankruptcy in recent months, less so about businesses that are continuing to weather the storm. Reduced cash flows, operating restrictions and uncertainty have created a challenging business environment, and according to the online business review site Yelp, a modest 1.1 percent of Southern Nevada businesses have permanently closed. That means the vast majority of businesses have remained open despite these challenging times.
We hear about the pervasive issue of homelessness and the rising numbers during times of deep economic crisis. In Nevada, homelessness climbed during the Great Recession and is likely on the rise today. But we hear little about the fact that more Nevadans are realizing the American Dream of homeownership. In fact, the homeownership rate across the state is an estimated 59 percent, up notably from under 54 percent just five years ago.
We read reports over the summer about the state budget deficit and the cuts needed to balance the budget. The legislative special session ultimately did include budget cuts completely overshadowing all the programs state lawmakers were able to preserve under remarkably difficult circumstances. To be fair, legislators were able to add back more than $ 138 million to restore funding to many
We read about crimes in our community every day although we don’t often hear about declining crime rates, crimes that were prevented or lives that were saved because emergency medical response vehicles were quickly on scene. In Southern Nevada, Las Vegas police reported an 8 percent decline in overall crime in 2019, which was driven by a 16 percent decline in violent crimes. All major violent crime categories dropped by doubledigits, with homicides plummeting 33 percent and robberies falling 25 percent.
This year has had more than its share of troubling news, and the media is right to report it. But while we navigate these stressful and uncertain times with our families, co-workers and neighbors, it is worth taking a moment to recognize and consider the good news that may not make headlines but still shapes our world, our state and this community in positive ways.
For the record, 89,000 planes have landed safely at McCarran International Airport so far this year.