We remember
Although Sunday marks a year since the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, Butler County's Jewish community still sheds tears.
Michal Gray-Schaffer, cantor at the Congregation B'nai Abraham Synagogue on North Main Street in Butler, hopes people remember that the 11 people killed in the anti-Semitic shooting were individuals and irreplaceable members of the community, much more than just victims of Robert Bowers, 47, who allegedly opened fire that day at morning services.
“They were all such good people,” Gray-Schaffer said. “They were people who contributed back to their communities in all different ways.”
She said some volunteered at food banks, others supported Israeli wounded war veterans. A dentist who was killed donated many hours of free dental care to the needy.
“This was a real loss to the community,” Gray-Schaffer said.
Knew victims
One of the victims, Rose Mallinger, 97, was a friend of Gray-Schaffer. She said Mallinger often walked to nearby appointments, shops, restaurants or Giant Eagle to get groceries in her Squirrel Hill neighborhood.
“She had a lot of life left,” Gray-Schaffer said. “I still tear up when I think of her. We were just so fond of one another.”
Mallinger's son and daughter-in-law, Alan and Lauren Mallinger, are members at Congregation B'nai Abraham, and attended Rosh Hashanah services there in September.
Gray-Schaffer said the couple talked about “10/27,” which is how the Jewish Federation wants the Tree of Life shooting to be recognized and known.
“Her son said he thinks Rose would have wanted him to bring me her love,” Gray-Schaffer said. “She was a sweet old lady who wasn't really old. She was 97 years young.”
Gray-Schaffer also knew Cecil and David Rosenthal, the two special-needs men who were gunned down in the attack.
“For me, it's personal,” she said of the shooting.
Increased security
Since the horrific events at Tree of Life, Congregation B'nai Abraham has had an armed security person at services and festivals at the synagogue.
At the high holy days of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah in September, many of those in the pews hadn't been to services in a year.
Synagogue officials decided to place a poster on the wall that informed congregation members of the run-hide-fight theory in case an active shooter were to enter the building.A meditation was hung nearby to comfort members reading the posters.“We had to somehow walk the fine line of not upsetting people, but let them know what to do in case of an active shooter,” Gray-Schaffer said. “It's very hard and probably impossible, but we tried.”She said she touched on the subject at the beginning of the high holy day services.“We acknowledged the procedures and then did a meditation to take us away from that and back into a place where we could pray and do our services,” Gray-Schaffer said.'They were always kind'Like Gray-Schaffer, Jack Cohen, president of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau and founder of the Cranberry Jewish Community group, was also familiar with many of the 11 people who were gunned down at Tree of Life.Cohen also knew the Rosenthal brothers when they were younger. He said as men, the brothers involved themselves in nearly every way in their synagogue.“Everyone knew they were special and not in the means that they were different,” Cohen said of Cecil and David. “They were always kind and they always had smiles on their faces.”He said his brother-in-law is a fireman whose station is less than two blocks from Tree of Life.“Every day, those boys would go over and talk to the firemen,” Cohen said. “They were that type of folks, who cared about their community every day.”Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, who ran into the synagogue from another room when he heard the gunshots to see if he could treat anyone, was the family physician of Cohen's late parents and was Cohen's sister's doctor.In addition, the brother of a Cranberry Jewish Community member was killed in the attack.Must be addressed“And what have we learned? Nothing,” Cohen said. “We see this happen time after time after time and all we do is argue about why it happened.”He said many have looked to leaders to correct the situation, and still nothing has been accomplished.“If this is how we live now, we have to reconcile that in our minds,” Cohen said. “It's devastating to families, the community and country.”Gray-Schaffer agrees that the hatred and violent tendencies that cause mass shootings must be addressed.“It doesn't seem like a lot has changed as far as people learning to respect one another's differences,” she said. “I'd like to see — from the top down — respect for human beings' differences. The differences are beautiful.”Gray-Schaffer attempted to characterize the effect the shooting has had on the region's Jewish community.“If you save a life, you save the world, and likewise, if you take away a life, you've taken away the world,” she said.
WHAT: Community gathering on one-year anniversary of the Tree of Life tragedyWHEN: 5 to 6 p.m. SundayWHERE: Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum, 4141 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213ADMISSION: Free to attend. Large screens will be set up outside for overflow crowds.
