At the beginning of Shabbat, Pittsburgh begins to heal

PITTSBURGH – They gathered in the closed street as the sun began to dive to the horizon. The men and women, in the shadow of the massive concrete façade of Tree of Life, stood beyond the yellow police tape that still surrounds the building.

Here, under a traffic light and in the middle of the traffic noise, they turned to the east – towards Israel – and began their prayers.

Friday night, across the city, this ritual has been repeated in homes and synagogues. This group wanted to ensure that these evening prayers, which marked the beginning of Shabbat, continue at Tree of Life, even though the bloody sanctuary remains a crime scene, a place where eleven people seek the comfort of the services. of the morning of the dead.

"When you went to the funeral, you learned how dedicated they were to Shabbat," said Sam Weinberg, director of Hillel Academy in Pittsburgh. He asked his students to gather here for Shabbat prayers, and many of them came, some donning yarmulkes in Black and Gold Steelers.

"It would have been a shame not to have them here," he said.

It's been almost a week since a man broke into this synagogue in the heart of the historic Squirrel Hill Jewish neighborhood, killing some of the most dedicated devotees and undermining the sense of security that Jews feel in the country. But even as Tree of Life remained a crime scene and the victims remained in the hospital, people lit Shabbat candles, prayed, shared meals and tried to regain a sense of peace.

About a mile away, the 69-year-old Myriam Gumerman's house, an eclectic crowd, gathered to observe Shabbat. There was her friend Elkhaili Oumallal, a translator and student at a 35-year-old community college, whom she had made friends with as a passenger of her Uber. Oumallal is a Muslim and a Jewish gumerman, but both were raised in Morocco.

Then come his neighbors: a Jewish couple from Amsterdam and a Christian couple – Anne Curtis and Tim Clark – who have lived in the neighborhood for more than four decades.

For Curtis, the dinner was an extension of Pittsburgh's neo-neo concept, a local slang that means "curious," but also conveys a sense of concern for neighbors. In the days following the shooting, she phoned neighbors and texted them to make sure they were safe.

"The heart is that we take care of everyone," said Curtis.

Gumerman started the Sabbath by lighting a dozen yahrzeit candles, one for each of the victims and one twelfth for those still in the hospital. Candles are normally lit on the anniversary of the death of loved ones.

Many of these victims belonged to the New Light congregation, which had regularly gathered at Tree of Life. But that night, they had to move to Beth Shalom Street for Shabbat services. People were piling up in the benches of the huge sanctuary.

"Tonight, I really want to shut up," Rabbi Jonathan Perlman told the faithful. "Because there are no words."

Instead, the rabbi invited the faithful to come to the front of the chapel to share their favorite memories of the victims and give each other words of strength to each other.

A man, dressed more formally than usual during a Friday service, said he made it to the memory of the victim Melvin Wax, who had put all his efforts even for services casual.

Many people laughed sharing the memories of his penchant for jokes. He was very well versed in Hebrew and very intelligent.

After the testimonies, Perlman declared that the congregation would survive despite the evil.

"We will continue, Congregation New Light," he said.