Dear Fellow Congregants,

 

It is with the utmost grief and sadness that we reach out to you as a member of the Naples Jewish Congregation. We are stunned and dismayed at the tragedy that took place in Pittsburgh this past Shabbat morning. The Jewish community gathered there as usual for worship services at Tree of Life Synagogue and were heinously gunned down for being Jews worshiping.  Aside from the unspeakable murder of 11 souls, the hatred and vitriol that accompanied the slaughter is mind boggling.

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We as a community are devastated.   Mere words seem empty at this point in time. We can pray and we will. We can hold onto each other and we will.  We can go on and we will. But nothing we can say or do will ever bring those people back to their families. Senseless tragedies like this one often leave us feeling adrift and vulnerable and looking for answers where there are none. The only answer that we think of can be found is in ourselves as we draw upon our resilience we have mustered in the past in response to similar tragedies which allows us to move forward together as a community.

 

There are no real answers to our queries, only a sense that we can work together to forge a better and more hopeful future.

Please know that as a congregation, your Board of Directors, along with Rabbi Herman, will be discussing the twin issues of safety and security together. We will also check with the Federation and other congregations as to their security precautions, so that we keep everyone safe and put our members' minds atease.We will also have a discussion with the UU as to their security measures.

 

On this coming Friday night, November 2 at 7:30 pm, NJC will be joining in a Shabbat of Solidarity at Temple Shalom. It will be a community-wide Shabbat service where we stand with the Pittsburgh Jewish Community and against hate, bigotry and intolerance. Please join us at Temple Shalom for this very important Shabbat service.

 

If anyone wants to speak with Rabbi Herman about this tragedy or any related incidents, please contact him at rebbeherman@gmail.com or at 860-335- 7825.

 

Let  us move forward together with strength, hope and vision.

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Shalom Uvracha,

Stephen McCloskey, President

Rabbi Howard Herman DD