(JEWISH GROUP) At U.S. Synagogues, Calls for Peace and Too Many Emotions to Process

At Temple Micah in Washington, the synagogue’s incoming president was preparing on Saturday to fulfill his duty to inform the congregation about routine business when he paused and took a breath, seeming to take in the gravity of the moment. Then he spoke.

“These are just announcements, and I’m getting emotional,” Brent Goldfarb said, before composing himself.

For many American Jews who attended service on this day, there were too many emotions to process. Horror and grief, fury and defiance. Fear for loved ones, for innocent lives caught in the middle, for the future. And the sheer weight of it all seemed overwhelming.

So being together, no matter their individual beliefs, brought a measure of solace.

“What I needed to do was get out of my house and be with my community,” said Isabel Hochman, 23, who attended the Saturday morning Sabbath service at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Manhattan.

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