Jewish congregations pray, grieve at synagogue services

The Associated Press

12 months ago

A family with Israel flags attends Shabbat services at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, Fla., ... — A family with Israel flags attends Shabbat services at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, Fla., on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. Tears flowed as the rabbis led about 300 congregants in praying for peace, for safety for the people of Israel and the soldiers defending it, and especially for the hostages taken in Hamas’ brutal attack. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell’Orto)

A woman prays at Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue in Tondano, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. An Indonesian rabbi at the only synagogue in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation called on Saturday for peace and an an end to the fightings in Israel and Gaza. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Senior Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz, seated, left, Rabbi Robert Davis and Cantor Juval Porat lead Shabbat services at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, Fla., on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. The rabbis spoke to the congregation’s shock, fear and anger after Hamas’ brutal attack and urged the faithful to turn those emotions into solidarity and support for Israel, the hostages and peace. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell’Orto)

Senior Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz poses for a portrait after leading Shabbat services at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, Fla., on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. In her sermon, Pomerantz urged the congregation to channel the fear, anger and shock that Israel and the Jewish people are facing “an existential moment” into help for each other and for relief efforts in Israel. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell’Orto)

Cantor Juval Porat, right, and Rabbi Robert Davis lead Shabbat services at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, Fla., on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. While Porat’s parents hunkered down in a safe room in northern Israel, the cantor tried to focus on selecting hymns that would bring solace but also an opportunity to grieve to the 300 congregants. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell’Orto)

Jews in communities far from Israel gathered at synagogues this weekend for Shabbat services held amid the ongoing war ignited by Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel a week earlier. Rabbis led prayers of peace and shared grief with their congregations. At many synagogues security was tight.

The deadly Hamas attack is not just another geopolitical event for Jewish people, explained one U.S. rabbi. It is dredging up generations of visceral trauma, especially in Pittsburgh — the city scarred by the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.

“More Jews were killed last Shabbat … than on any other day since the Holocaust,” said Rabbi Daniel Fellman during a service at Temple Sinai. “It isn’t that Hamas wants the destruction of Israel. It’s that Hamas wants the destruction of you and me.

“The world deserves better, the Palestinian people deserve better, and we need to do better.”

Despite that anguish, Fellman’s congregation — and others across the world — heeded the words of an Israeli soldier who had urged worshippers “to go sing and dance, go make sure that every person in the world hears us singing this prayer this Shabbat.”

Fellman urged an understanding that all people are connected, including Jews, Christians and Muslims.

“They are all our brothers and sisters, and when one of us hurts, we all hurt.”

In Washington, police cruisers with flashing lights parked outside during services at Adas Israel Congregation, a prominent Conservative synagogue. Rabbi Aaron Alexander reminded congregants that this week’s liturgy repeated the Hebrew refrain to “free the captives.” He evoked the Israelis held hostage and Palestinians trapped in Gaza.

At Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor, New York, Rabbi Daniel Geffen urged his congregation to stay strong and uphold the teachings of the Torah.

“I understand the anger. I share that anger. I don’t think I’ve been angrier,” Geffen said. “Tradition teaches us another way.”

As he spoke, Geffen dabbed away his tears with tissues. The rabbi, a pacifist, explained how that ideology was being tested by the attack.

It’s a “slippery slope of rage,” he said, and now is the time to unite behind Israel. “Do not abandon our people.”

In Los Angeles, Rabbi Nicole Guzik strongly denounced the Hamas attack and praised her Sinai Temple community for its resilience amid their heartbreak.

“You are showing Hamas — the bearers of evil, the champions of terror — that they will never break the Jewish spirit,” she said to applause from the 1,200 or so congregants.