Tree of Life members say playing baseball ‘is about clearing minds’

The worst mbadacre of Jews in American history is not something from the history books for Howard Elson and Stan Lederman.

It’s real for the Pittsburgh men who were in Fort Myers playing baseball.

They are members of the Tree of Life synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. On Oct. 27, 11 members of their congregation were killed by an anti-Semitic gunman.

Mr. Elson and Mr. Lederman played for the Maine Woods team in the Roy Hobbs World Series, an adult amateur baseball event held in Lee County every fall.

They are in Fort Myers for the tournament through this weekend. They probably never needed baseball more.

Mr. Lederman, a 69-year-old third baseman, made a fine stop of a hard smash in a game on a JetBlue Park practice field, forcing a runner out at third to end an inning. A teammate shouted, “Way to go! Stan the man!”

He wasn’t Stan the Jewish guy. He was Stan the third baseman. But what happened is never far from his mind, even on Lee County ballfields.

“We will get through this,” Mr. Lederman said. “We will overcome it. That’s Jewish history. It will repeat itself again. It’s inevitable.”

But so is the Jewish response.

“It will never discourage Jewish people from being Jewish people,” said Mr. Lederman, whose wife, Lynette, was once the synagogue president. “It’s just the way it is.”

Mr. Elson, a former president of the synagogue, said he lives about three blocks from the Tree of Life and was home when he heard the news. The neighborhood was locked down. Authorities didn’t know if the gunman was acting alone or had accomplices.

“I’m behind a locked door holding a baseball bat,” Mr. Elson said.

The alleged gunman used a weapon far more lethal than a bat.

“I’m going up against an AR-15,” Mr. Elson said.

Fortunately, the gunman never approached his home. Last week, Mr. Elson and Mr. Lederman used baseball bats for their intended purpose. The Roy Hobbs World Series was a welcome escape.

“This year is not about hits and runs,” Mr. Lederman said. “It’s about clearing my mind.”

Mr. Lederman revels in his time at the World Series.

“I’ll tell you what I do every year,” Mr. Lederman said. “The first day, I say to myself out loud and I pound my glove and I say, ‘you’re 71 years old. You’re standing on a major-league baseball field. You’re playing in a game that means something.’ It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Mr. Lederman and Mr. Elson don’t want to blame hateful political rhetoric for what happened in Squirrel Hill.

“This is about dead people,” Mr. Lederman said. “I knew all 11. OK?”

A visit to the Maine Woods dugout last week looking for them showed they were blissfully immersed in baseball.

Mr. Lederman wore No. 9. He was asked if he wore it like legendary slugger Ted Williams, who wore that number when he played for the Boston Red Sox.

“Like Bill Mazeroski,” said Mr. Lederman, a Pirates fan referring to Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski who played for the Pirates.

Mr. Elson wore No. 21. That’s the same number worn by the greatest Pirate ever – Roberto Clemente. Was Mr. Elson wearing No. 21 like Clemente?

“No, like Howard Elson,” Mr. Elson said with a smile.

They don’t seem intimidated.

“Jews are never intimidated,” Mr. Lederman said.

He then added, “I’m never going to be intimidated.”

Brian Simon is a former sportscaster who certainly knows a great deal about baseball. But of far more importance for this discussion is his role as executive director of the Jewish Federation of Lee and Charlotte Counties.

“The Tree of Life tragedy was the realization of a threat that we’ve known about for years — that a disturbed individual with a gun could attack a vulnerable group of Jews,” Mr. Simon said. “Our defenses have been up. Even before the tragedy, the doors of the Federation were always locked — you have to be buzzed in. We typically hire police protection for large gathering. At least some of our local synagogues have similar security protocol, but this attack will no doubt lead to increased security measures.”

Mr. Simon is also a former president of Temple Judea in Fort Myers. The Pittsburgh terrorist attack was not a surprise to many Jews.

“Before that happened it always was a fear,” Mr. Simon said.

That it happened far away in Pittsburgh doesn’t lessen the impact for Mr. Simon.

“We all feel it,” Mr. Simon said. “It could have happened anywhere.”

The outpouring of support from people of other faiths or even no faiths has been heartwarming to many in the Jewish community. But Mr. Simon is also well aware that not all people are of good cheer.

“This is a reminder,” Mr. Simon said, “that people still hate us.”

They hate people such as the Rosenthal Brothers, who were in their 50s and were among the 11 killed in the Tree of Life. The brothers had a developmental disorder called Fragile X syndrome and were greeters who welcomed folks to the synagogue.

Mr. Elson has fond memories of joking with Cecil Rosenthal, who was 59.

“When I was president he would shake my hand, wag his finger at me and say, ‘You’re in trouble, I’m telling the rabbi,’” Mr. Elson said. “I would go right back at him and say, ‘No, you’re in trouble. I’m telling the rabbi.’ I did that every single week.”

Those encounters are now over because of one maniac with hate and an AR-15.

As Mr. Elson waited at home during the lockdown he knew it was bad. He knew there were friends of his killed.

“It was horrible knowing it was our synagogue,” Mr. Elson said. “You’re waiting for the names.”

Then the names came.

Cecil Rosenthal.
David Rosenthal.
Joyce Fienberg.
Richard Gottfried.
Rose Mallinger.
Jerry Rabinowitz.
Bernice Simon and
Sylvan Simon.
Daniel Stern.
Melvin Wax.
Irving Younger.

In the wake of the attack, the reaction of their city has buoyed the spirits of Mr.

Elson and Mr. Lederman. These sports fans were touched when the Pittsburgh Steelers took time away from the NFL season.

“The entire Steeler team including the head coach walked up the street en mbade and went to the funeral to pay their respects,” Mr. Lederman said. “That’s one of the reasons the city of Pittsburgh is a special place.”

But not the only one. …

Other houses of worship in Squirrel Hill have opened their hearts and wallets.

“Including the Islamic Center and that’s what I was getting at about the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh,” Mr. Lederman said. “The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh has raised almost $200,000 for the Jewish community.”

Attacks can happen even in neighborhoods such as Squirrel Hill, which Mr. Lederman said is “idyllic” and “gorgeous.”

“It doesn’t matter where you are,” Mr. Lederman said. “They get in a car and drive in your neighborhood and shoot somebody.” ¦