When one enters a house of mourning to pay a condolence call, Jewish tradition posits that one waits for the mourners to initiate the conversation. If the mourners wish to just sit silently, so too are we supposed to sit silently with them. If they have no words for you, that’s fine. This visit is…
I logged onto Twitter on Saturday night to find a message from Alan Dershowitz. “The both sides argument is always proper,” he tweeted. “Blaming only one side— the “other” side— is too easy. The shoe on the other foot test requires that you condemn your side’s bigots along with their side’s.” “Shootings at places of…
Just over a week ago, an avowed anti-Semite walked into a synagogue here in the United States, armed with a weapon designed for soldiers at war, and murdered 11 Jews while they were praying on the Sabbath. The extraordinary violence was as shocking as it was heartbreaking, but the anger that fueled the violence –…
Soon after the shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh last week, a GoFundMe was set up to raise money for the victims’ families, as well as repair the building damaged by the gunfire. The GoFundMe has so far raised more than $1.1 million in only eight days — but other Pittsburgh Jewish…
Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood has known hatred and heartbreak — the heavily African-American church was one of two in East Liberty that were burned down in 1971 in suspected racist arson attacks. Now, the 1,500-member church is supporting another local house of worship that was attacked in a hate…
I have been asked, repeatedly, by non-Orthodox Jews about the “Orthodox response to Pittsburgh.” What a strange question. After all, the American Orthodox Jewish community has undoubtedly been plunged into mourning over the Pittsburgh shooting victims. Still, I sense a frustration here, among progressives seeking emotional responses from the Orthodox — and I want to…
Author’s note: This article is based on reporting from Friday evening and Saturday morning services at synagogues in Pittsburgh. I informed all people quoted in conversation that I am a reporter and have been reporting in Pittsburgh, and honored pre-arranged requests to keep public statements given at the gatherings off the record. “We mourn for…
On Friday afternoon, the community laid Rose Mallinger, the oldest victim of Saturday’s massacre, to rest. That means the city’s procession of funerals ended with just enough time to let the community prepare for the first Sabbath after the shooting. Friday evening, a number of special services are planned throughout the city, in addition to…
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