To Our Faithful Partners in Justice and Peace,
As you know, we at Temple Israel of Boston are writing to you with heavy hearts. As communities of faith, we have all been through so much together, joy and sorrow. And now we find ourselves in yet another moment of deep grief, with the Jewish community having just suffered the worst attack on American Jews in US History.
As we grapple with the most appropriate response, particularly as we prepare for our first Shabbat since the attack, one thing we know is clear: this disaster will not scare us away from our faith. The synagogue has been the Home to the Jewish people for millennia, and we will not cower from this attack on our home.
Therefore, we are planning for this Shabbat to have a focus on Comfort, Community, and Courage. We are inviting you, our friends partners in the work of tikkun olam (“repairing the world”), to be with us this Friday evening for our Shabbat service. And given how much love this community has felt in the last 3 days from you, having you present with us in worship would be such a powerful reminder to our community that we are not alone, as Jews- we are together, as lovers of peace and pursuers of justice.
Our service will begin this Friday at Temple Israel at 6pm. We would love for you to extend this invitation to the 6pm service to your communities and constituencies as well- because Shabbat is a time of kindling light, and right now we find so much light, and feel so much warmth, from the love of our interfaith friends.
If you are able to join us for our Shabbat service, please reply to [email protected]. We would love to have a sense of who will be with us.
With love and gratitude,
Rabbi Matt Soffer