This October 27th marks the first anniversary of the Shabbat mass shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life building — the most brutal anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history. To commemorate the yahrtzheits of the 11 victims whose lives were lost while attending synagogue that day, we offer three powerful ways to reflect, honor their memories and show our solidarity as one united Jewish community.
Honoring The Tree of Life: A Yahrtzeit Commemoration
On Sunday, October 27th, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., our Jewish Federation-supported Board of Rabbis will host a commemoration event at the National Museum of American Jewish History. Entitled “Exploring Personal and Communal Response to Trauma,” it will feature members of the Greater Philadelphia Jewish community sharing remarks, memorial prayers, and a presentation by psychiatrist and pastoral counselor Dr. Michelle Friedman about personal and communal responses one year after the horrific shooting. This event, cosponsored by the Jewish Federation and ADL Philadelphia — is free and open to the entire community, but advance registration is requested; register here.
Pause With Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh community will gather on October 27th at 5:00 p.m. for a public memorial service — and since we can’t all join them in person, the Jewish Federations of North America have arranged for the next best thing. All are invited to sign up for a reminder via text message to pause for a moment of quiet remembrance and Kaddish, followed by a link to virtually join Pittsburgh’s local service, as well as an opportunity to text a message of solidarity. For more information and to register, click here.
#ShowUpForShabbat
Last year, millions of people of all faiths nationwide rallied around the hashtag #ShowUpForShabbat, flocking to synagogues in an expression of unity and defiance. In Greater Philadelphia, many shuls were packed to capacity! For the one-year anniversary, let’s once again heed the call to #ShowUpForShabbat on October 25-26, 2019, and raise our collective voice for a world free of anti-Semitism, hate and bigotry of every kind. To find a congregation near you, click here.
