Beth Israel Congregation rebuilds after arson, saying "there's healing that comes"

0:00Shabbat shalom. This Friday, Beth Israel Congregation's Shabbat service in Jackson, Mississippi started like most others.

0:15But that night, the congregation was not in a synagogue. They met in a nearby church that had offered its worship space for the occasion. After the trauma of last Shabbat's arson attack on your beloved congregational home, I'm sure you are still shaken by the harm. It is caused not only to your building, but to your sense of well-being. Just after the previous week's service, Beth Israel's synagogue was attacked. According to investigators, an arsonist broke into the building and set a massive fire that destroyed many parts of the historic synagogue. The library sustained extensive fire damage.

0:49And as you go back toward the sanctuary, the fire damage is not as great, but there is smoke damage throughout the entire building. Therefore, the Beth Israel congregation would not be able to utilize this building for an extended period of time. That's Charles Felton, chief of investigations at the Jackson Fire Department. The suspect was later caught by law enforcement and indicted by a grand jury. He told the FBI that he set fire to the building because of its Jewish ties. Beth Israel is the only synagogue in Jackson, and this is not the first time the congregation has been attacked. In the late 1960s, the synagogue and the rabbi's home were bombed by the KKK in retaliation for the congregation's work on behalf of civil rights.

1:34But on Friday and Saturday, the Beth Israel congregation pressed on. The attack was filled with hate, but the Shabbat is filled with love. Dr. King taught us that darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that. So together, let's banish the darkness. Shabbat Shalom. Consider this. Religious language emphasizing an appeal to the humanity of all people, whatever their race or religion, is foundational to the civil rights movement. But how do people in religious communities move forward in that spirit after a violent attack?

2:21From NPR, I'm Sarah McCammon.

2:33It's Consider This from NPR News. There is healing that comes. That's what the rabbi, leading the first services since the arson attack at Beth Israel's synagogue, told those gathered in Jackson, Mississippi, on Friday night. It was the second time the synagogue has been attacked, the first during the height of the civil rights movement. Rachel Myers, a leader of the congregation's religious school, has focused on finding the words to answer her students' questions about how Jewish life in the community will continue after their place of worship was devastated by the fire. We invited Rachel Myers to talk with us about how she, the children, and the congregation are doing.

3:13First, I asked her about the messages she took from the weekend's services. You know, our spiritual leader, Ben Russell, did a fantastic job of really setting the tone. You know, he was prompting us to be joyous and resilient. I'm always the first one to kind of give a woohoo. Like, I just feel like, you know, if there's a time to celebrate, there's a time to celebrate. And it truly did feel like that. I was struck by the fact that you said it was a joyful service, even after everything. Yes, yes. And that just, I think that's a Jewish tradition. I think there is such a Jewish tradition to need to find joy together.

3:52The prayers are meant to be uplifting. They're meant to bring us together. This morning, I did get choked up at the very first prayer. It's called Matovu.

4:12You're supposed to say it right when you enter a sanctuary to kind of be grateful to be in a sacred space together. And we'll continue to sing that same song. We'll continue.

4:28When I met with the Sunday school kids the very next day, I was very intent to show them photos of what happened inside the building so that they could see what was done to us. And then we immediately started dreaming of what we were going to do next. And they had some great ideas for things that they want in our next space. You know, I was teaching them that Jewish people are resilient and we do not cower in fear and we continue. We rebuild. We'll be stronger together. What were those conversations with the kids like? Some of them asked why. Why would someone do this to us? And, you know, I had to repeat that it wasn't really time for us to try to answer that yet.

5:07You know, we'll learn more about the person who did this and why. But what was important is that we were together. And even though our sacred space was attacked and destroyed, we can make sacred spaces together. And when we're together, like, we can be Jewish. And I couldn't help but think about 1967. This building had been bombed then. And I asked them, like, you know, what did they do after the bombing? And they knew the Jewish congregation had kept going. People worked to make it. And so I asked them, you know, what should we do now? And they were so sweet. They just said, be more Jewish than ever.

5:47What do they mean by that? What does that look like? It means we do Hebrew as an act of resistance. You know, being a young person and trying to learn a new language is very difficult. And, you know, you can imagine like little kids, they're going to complain about doing the work. But now it's an act of resistance. Now us learning our traditions, us learning this language, us practicing Judaism out loud is a sign and is a symbol that we do not cower in fear, that we are a strong people, that Judaism is important to us just the same way it was important to the generations before us. You mentioned the attack in the 1960s.

6:27Beth Israel, as I understand it, is the only synagogue in Jackson. It has a long history with the civil rights movement. That attack in the 1960s was carried out by the Ku Klux Klan. And one of the reasons was the rabbi at the time was supporting the civil rights movement. How do you think about that legacy in a moment like this? I couldn't help but put myself in their shoes. What did the congregation do then? What were the leaders working towards? Whether or not that they were in the spot to align themselves with the civil rights movement at a time that was quite violent and difficult. myself putting in the congregation now, I have to align myself with things that are violent and difficult.

7:13That choice wasn't given to us, to me. And that's what I'm leading with the kids as well. It is our responsibility as this Jewish community in the Deep South to be educators about Judaism, to be inclusive, to be welcoming, to be loud about our Judaism in a way that people understand us and there can be more love and appreciation than the hatred that we've seen. Were there some items you were able to recover? A lot of the items in the building will be able to be recovered and cleaned, but the majority of what was in that library space is no longer. The artifacts that we recover will tell a story of a congregation that has been attacked twice, but is stronger than ever and continues to remain.

8:07Those scrolls have their own history, don't they? There was one in the lobby behind a glass case, which was the Holocaust Torah. So decades ago, we have Holocaust survivors here in the congregation, And they had worked to get a Torah that was from Prague, you know, that was damaged during the Holocaust. And it was on display in our congregation as a reminder of never again. And that one was able to be salvaged? And that one was able to be salvaged, yes. You know, the idea of the humanity of all people, whatever their race or religion, has been a part of the movement for civil rights for a long time.

8:48Is there anything that comes to mind from the Jewish tradition as you think about and as you talk to the kids about how to move forward? The one thing that keeps getting me, keeps making me weep is music. And I'm playing some of these Jewish songs that I really haven't listened to in a long time. And one of them is this song called Kehillah Kadosha, which means holy community. and how each of us really must work. It's holy work, but we have to work to maintain a Jewish congregation, to maintain Jewish life. We have to put in the work to make this world a better place. And whether that's our Jewish community or it's the entire faith community of Jackson or it's the world, it is up to us.

9:32It is up to us. And I feel that more than ever. I really do this week. Rachel Myers is a leader of the religious school at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi. Thank you so much. Thank you, Sarah. This episode was produced by Henry Larson and Avery Keatley with additional reporting from Shamira Muhammad of Mississippi Public Broadcasting. It was edited by Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan.

10:08It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Sarah McCammon.