STRONGER THAN HATE KSU vigil evokes feelings of compassion

JANE KAUFMAN | STAFF REPORTER jkaufman@cjn.org | @jkaufmancjn

Kent State University students, faculty, staff, administration and clergy gathered Oct. 29 to share their sadness over the loss of 11 lives in a Pittsburgh synagogue on Shabbat morning, Oct. 27.

The nearly hourlong vigil at Risman Plaza drew about 200 people. It started quietly, with the lighting of candles in memory of the losses at the Tree of Life Congregation and with students signing condolence notes in magic markers on a poster-sized banner.

Rabbi Moshe Sasonkin, who leads Chabad at Kent, opened the service with the song, “Kol Ha’Olam Kulo,” the words of Reb Nachman of Bratslav, in both Hebrew and English: “The world is a narrow bridge, and the main thing to recall is to have no fear at all.”

Sasonkin said Jews always arise stronger after they are attacked.

“We will shine stronger,” he said. “People can try to cut down all of the flowers in the world, but they can’t cut down the spring. We are the spring.

“Acts of goodness, acts of kindness,” he said. “That will be viral.”

He chanted the Me Shebeirach, the prayer for healing, calling to mind both the two civilians and the four police officers wounded in the shootings. He sang the 23rd Psalm in Hebrew, with a student reading the translation.

“I am and always will be an unapologetic Jew,” said Lauren Novick, a junior and Hillel student board president, who also helped organize the event. “Darkness has always been – and sadly, will always be – part of our world. We are its only antidote, we are the helpers Mr. Rogers taught us about.”

“Upon hearing of the tragedy at (the)

Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill on Saturday, my own heart was fractured,” said Shay Little, KSU’s vice president of student affairs, quoted from the Book of Joshua. “These events remind us of our greater vision to be change agents that spark epic thinking and meaningful voice to better our society.

“This event reminds us of the commonalities we all share and propel us forward to show our communities how we respect our neighbors, gather together peacefully, and show kindness to one another,” Little said.

Kent student Leah Popkin, who is from Pittsburgh, quoted the Talmudic expression often translated as, “You are not obliged to complete the task, but you must not desist from it.”

Ezra Katz read a poem by a rabbi that included the words, “Teach us to believe that we can rise up against tragedy.”

Rabbi Michael Ross, who is the rabbi for KSU’s Hillel and Temple Beth Shalom in Hudson, closed the service.

“When I found out the news Saturday morning, I was devastated and something in me died,” he said. “My ease about public discourse, civil discourse was gone. So, we are devastated by the loss and the vulnerability.”

He said clergy of other faiths reached out with emails and telephone calls that helped him. Flowers left on the temple steps Oct. 28 did as well.

He said he hopes to move beyond debate and toward dialogue, toward listening, “to allow the story of the person in.”

Ross read Psalm 121 responsively; chanted the memorial prayer, El Malei Rachamim; and recited the Mourner’s Kaddish. He invited those in attendance to follow their own tradition as to whether to join him for the full recitation or to respond.

“We can now begin to peek at the future and begin to think about hope,” he said. “One source of hope is how we are studying here together.”

To end the service, the group sang Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me,” with freshman Max Tuber playing guitar.

Tuber, of Columbus, learned the song from his Camp Wise songbook. He said he felt it was important to stand with the

Jewish people.

“I just want to offer my support to the Jewish people,” Tuber said. “And I think that as a community, we need to really be strong and comfort each other, and I think the key thing is just to be together.”

Among those attending the service were KSU President Beverly Warren and Todd A. Diacon, executive vice president and provost.

“I want to be vocal and show my support so this never happens again,” said Lily Richman, president of Chabad and a fifthyear student in psychology who lives in Solon. She read translations for Sasonkin during the service.

Adam Hirsh, executive director of KSU Hillel, said Jewish students needed the vigil, but so did the campus as a whole.

“We needed to give students an opportunity to be together,” he said. “It was never a question of if, it was a question of when we were going to do it.”