Jewish Pittsburghers focus on Passover traditions as synagogue shooting trial looms
PITTSBURGH — As the afternoon light fades into evening on Wednesday, thousands of Jews across the Pittsburgh region will sit down with family and friends for their Passover Seder, a show of resilience and strength weeks before the trial for the alleged Tree of Life shooter is scheduled to begin.
Traditional foods and wine symbolizing the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt will be passed around the table during the ritual feast. While conversations will focus on the holiday's history, they may shift as the Jewish community remembers the 11 killed in the Oct. 27, 2018 shooting at the Squirrel Hill synagogue.
For many, the holiday is an opportunity to honor those who died while showing that adversity will not stop them from celebrating their religion.
“We are resilient as Jews,” Beth Shalom congregant Mindy Shreve said. “We've always been. I think we don't like the haters to win and want to continue with our traditions and practices.”
This year’s eight-day holiday ends less than two weeks before the April 24 trial begins for the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.
The gunman killed 11 people: Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Malinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil and David Rosenthal, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax, Irving Younger.
Others were wounded, including four police officers.
At Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill, Rabbi Seth Adelson said leaders are discussing how to prepare themselves and their congregants for upcoming trial.
But regardless of the trial’s outcome, he said, “I can say proudly that we as Jews, we will continue what we're doing.
“While we grieve for those whom we have lost,” Adelson said, “we cannot succumb to fear that some may be feeling. .... It’s essential in this time of growing antisemitism, antisemitic activity in the United States, that we continue doing what we do loudly and proudly and not be intimidated.”
During the first night of the holiday, families often gather together in their homes. Shreve plans to attend a Seder with about 80 people, some of whom are extended family. It is the first time since the pandemic she will attend the event.
On the second night, she attends a Seder at someone's home, a place she's been going to for the past 20 years.
Passover is one of the most meaningful gatherings of the year for Jewish families.
The traditional meal features various foods including matzah, or flat unleavened bread, to symbolize going from slavery to freedom. It requires those celebrating the holiday to drink four cups of wine or grape juice. Many Seders include a re-enactment of the Exodus story.
The focus on Jewish traditions is the best way to honor those killed in the shooting, Shreve said.
“For the dear souls that we lost — we all knew many of them, if not all — this is what they would want us to do,” Shreve said. “That's how they lived their lives as Jews and I think they would want us to continue our traditions in their memory.”
Rabbi Daniel Fellman, of Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill, said the shooting “cast a shadow over everything.” But he knows those in his congregation won't hold back from celebrating their traditions.
“The reaction to the shooting consistently has been this is not going to stop us from being Jews and being free in our country,” Fellman said.
Temple Sinai does not host a congregational Seder. They do, however, connect those who need a place to go for the holiday with people hosting the traditional dinner in their homes.
At Beth Shalom, a congressional Seder is scheduled for the second night of Passover.
The focus on Jewish traditions and history, Adelson said, is “essential in understanding who we are as Jews.” It shows centuries of resilience from the religious group as they survived empires, periods of oppression and persecution.
“One of the essential features of Jewish life is continuing to do what we do despite all that we have faced as a people,” Adelson said. “We expect that we will continue to do that.”
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