In less than two weeks, our Pittsburgh Jewish community will mark four years since the horrible antisemitic attack at the Tree of Life Building in Squirrel Hill. It’s hard to believe four years have passed since that unfathomable day when eleven of our community members lives were lost and two others were shot. I know I will never forget that day, nor will I ever forget the outpouring of support and the way our community came together.

There is a myriad of events being planned by the 10-27 Healing Partnership and Repair the World. I encourage you to find the ways to remember that are most meaningful for you. You can see all the programs at 1027healingpartnership.org.

Additionally, HBO will be airing a documentary about the shooting called “A Tree of Life – The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting” on October 26th. The trailer can be seen below.

With all of the programs coming up, it is important that everyone take care of themselves. The 10-27 Healing Partnership is available if you need any support. Federation was proud to help give initial financial backing to get the 10-27 Healing Partnership up and running as their work in our community has been critical.

Depending on your practice, on Monday or Tuesday we will mark Simchat Torah. We complete the annual cycle of Torah readings and begin the whole process all over again. While it is the same exact text every single year, our jobs are to look at that text in different ways and take away new learnings and insights. It’s important that we find new ways to read and understand the text because we must continue to grow and change.

Looking forward to seeing so many of you on Thursday, October 20th at our 2023 Campaign Kickoff event at Nova Place. If you haven’t yet registered, you can do so by midnight on October 18. Like the cycle of Torah reading, our Community Campaign relaunches every year in the fall with new and growing needs.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach.