Yesterday afternoon I watched news of the synagogue attack in West Bloomfield, MI, glued to the screen as reporters tried to piece together what had happened. We now know that a heavily armed man rammed a car filled with explosives into Temple Israel, one of the nation’s largest reform congregations—and the home of a Jewish preschool. Trained and prepared security guards jumped into action, neutralizing the attacker and averting an unthinkably worse tragedy. One security guard was injured.
I had to step away from the coverage to get to my own Jewish preschool, where my sister was visiting as the special guest reader in my daughter’s class. I took my sister through the metal detectors, greeted the security guards by name, and introduced her to them. She showed her ID and was welcomed in.
I waited in the school’s common area as my sister read two books to my daughter’s class: The Tiger Who Came to Tea, and My Sister is Sleeping, a very cute PJ Library book that arrived in our lives just as we were about to welcome our second daughter this past summer. It felt surreal to be sitting there, knowing that Jewish children in West Bloomfield were being evacuated at that very moment to the nearby JCC, where they were reunited with their parents. The videos of teachers and staff carrying children out of the building are extremely hard to watch. But I keep replaying them, over and over again.
So many of us drop our kids off at JCCs, Jewish daycares, and Jewish schools every single day. We ferry them through the security that we've come to expect at all of our institutions and leave them in the hands of the most wonderful educators and staff members, many of whom are not Jewish themselves. We regularly interact with security guards whose job it is to keep us safe in our Jewish spaces.
I'm so grateful to all of them. It feels like a miracle that the Temple Israel attack wasn’t worse, but it’s actually something far more earthbound: the synagogue staff and security team there had trained for exactly this situation.
I've actually been to the JCC in West Bloomfield, for a live taping of my old podcast Unorthodox back in 2019. We’ve always said that was one of our favorite shows, and that was because the community was so hospitable. We stayed for nearly an hour after the show talking to people, and got invited to, of all things, an Earth, Wind & Fire concert the next night in celebration of a local Jewish organization’s 50th anniversary. I got to dance and sing my heart out alongside this special Jewish community. I’ll never forget it.
It feels like this could have happened anywhere—and still might. It’s easy to feel scared, and I definitely do. But it’s also important to remember that this thing we’re being targeted for, our Jewish identity, is something incredibly special. I don’t want to live in fear of being Jewish. I want to celebrate being Jewish.
That’s what GOLDA was created to do: bring brightness, even in dark times. So today I’m offering four easy ways to bring some Jewish light into your life at the end of an uneasy week. It’s Shabbat, the perfect time to take a deep breath, hug your family or friends, and remember that we’re lucky to be part of this beautiful, proud tradition.
Bless Your Children
One of the most special parts of Shabbat is that it offers us the chance to bless our children at the end of every week. Here’s Rabbi Diana Fersko’s step-by-step guide to doing so. (Far-flung grandparents, aunts, and uncles: phone or FaceTime counts too!)
Read a Jewish Book
Supporting Jewish authors is as easy as it is rewarding. I got an early copy of longtime Chicago Tribune food columnist Leah Eskin’s forthcoming novel, Like Wafers in Honey, which I am loving. For something that feels both dystopian and eerily prescient in this moment, try Benjamin Resnick’s Next Stop. And for a festive kitchen treat, pre-order Adeena Sussman’s newest cookbook, Zariz.
Buy Something Jewish
Ahyin founder Micaela Ezra gave me one of her beautiful pink chai scarves just before I gave birth to my daughter this summer. I like to think it brings both of us a bit of extra Jewish protection, while also being exceptionally chic.
Show Up to a Jewish Space
It’s important that we not fear being Jewish in public. That could mean showing up to an event at your local JCC, walking into a synagogue for a service, or checking out a Jewish film festival. While you’re there, thank a security team member.
If you need some inspiration, I have a bunch of events coming up, both virtual and in-person. You can find out more here.
Shabbat Shalom and stay GOLDA,
Stephanie