On October 9, 2019, the Jewish community around the world celebrated Yom Kippur: a day of forgiveness. However, a service in Halle, Germany was interrupted by the sound of a loud “boom,” almost like a metal object had fallen.
The service was paused by the rabbi, and congregants crowded around a small security camera to see a man dressed in all black, surrounded by smoke, standing in front of the wooden doors to the synagogue.
Another “boom” was heard, and the congregants quickly realized these sounds were gunshots. The man in black’s homemade weapons had malfunctioned as he screamed and cursed, trying to get into the locked synagogue. In frustration, the man, who was later identified as Stephan Balliet, shot and killed a woman driving by and then drove down the street to a Turkish shop and killed another man.
A young American, originally from Boston but now living in Berlin, was attending the service after being invited to spend Yom Kippur in Halle. He spoke on the attack that if it had happened in America, it would have been a massacre. “God bless the Germans with their gun-control laws,” he said, but gun-control laws are a topic for another day.
As the gunshots ceased and Ballietdrove away, the rabbi continued with the service while the synagogue was on lockdown. They ignored all of the commotions outside and trusted that they would be safe in a house of worship.
On October 27, 2018, 4,182 miles from Halle in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, eleven were killed during an anti-Semitic attack at the Tree of Life synagogue. This was named the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States.
Yet, the next week, services went on at the Tree of Life synagogue, just like the synagogue in Halle continued to pray, even as they were under attack.
My Yom Kippur was spent like the majority of Jews around the world, in services at my local synagogue. Crazy enough, without having knowledge of the attacks currently happening across the world, my rabbi’s sermon reflected the core principle of Judaism and what has kept the community alive for thousands of years
Converting to the Jewish religion is a tedious and rigorous process. The first thing converters are taught is not the rules of Shabbat or how to read Hebrew—it is about the importance of being a good person. It’s about being kind to others, inclusive and accepting of all people, and giving back to the community.
These values are the basis of the Jewish religion, and frankly, what has sustained us even through numerous attempts of persecution. The Jewish community stands together through all times, and keeps going—just as both synagogues kept going during the terrorist attacks in Halle and Pittsburgh. Standing together as one supportive community is such a simple principle, but it is one that has saved us time and time again.