This week’s edition of JCC State of Mind was written by Maggie Feinstein, Director, 10.27 Healing Partnership
This week there were over ten events throughout Pittsburgh that invited each of us to learn about one another, share a meal together, or face some difficult questions in order to understand and care for each other better as neighbors. These events were part of the national United Against Hate Week, which seeks to reject hate and build a better and more united world.
A new coalition which emerged from the organic reactions of community members to the 2018 synagogue attack, Stand For All Pittsburgh, sparked local involvement in this awareness-building campaign and represents a partnership of organizations committed to standing with people who are vulnerable in the face of hate. Both the 10.27 Healing Partnership and the JCC’s Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement are excited to be active participants of this critically important endeavor.
In the immediate days and weeks following October 27, 2018, people instinctively stood together to honor Joyce, Rose, Jerry, Rich, Dan, Cecil, David, Bernice, Sylvan, Mel and Irving and to show solidarity with Pittsburgh’s Jewish community. Our city – from elected officials to religious leaders and community organizers – felt the horror of how they were killed, and we appreciated a deep sense of care and connection from across all of Pittsburgh. Every year at the commemoration we remember this simple fact: The legacy of these 11 community members involves continuing to nurture and build community through mutual care for each other.
While United Against Hate Week and commemorating 10/27 were not intended to coincide on the calendar, there are many reasons why they make sense together. Over the course of the last seven years, we have learned firsthand that all acts of hate bring with them the reverberating impact of vicarious resilience and community building. Time and time again, we continue to show up for one another to confront hate and its pervasive consequences despite so many of us feeling overwhelmed by the need to address it at all.
My response to this is to ask folks to release the urge to be perfect, to reject the all-or-nothing mentality, and to lean into the healthy reciprocity of healing. As Pirkei Avot tells us, “You are not required to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” We have witnessed ourselves that people do not need to arrive at the exact right time while doing the exact right thing in order to be helpful. United Against Hate Week and the 10/27 commemoration remind us of all the acts of solidarity, kindness, and warmth since that fateful day in 2018. As long as we act in small ways when we can, there is no scarcity of people who care. United Against Hate Week is not a cure to hate, but a reminder of all the ways we can use the power we have, no matter how small, to take our turn to stand up and be there for one another.
May we remember the 11 people who were taken from us on October 27, 2018, and may we all build the energy of compassion and togetherness across our community. We invite you to gather with us to study, commemorate, and do acts of service in our shared community. Learn more HERE.
Wishing you and your families a Shabbat shalom,
Maggie Feinstein
Director, 10.27 Healing Partnership
