Thousands gather for vigil honoring victims in Squirrel Hill shooting
More than 3,000 people from the Pittsburgh community turned out for a vigil Saturday night for an interfaith candlelight vigil of Hebrew and English songs and hymns to honor the
11 victims of the mass shooting earlier in the day at a Squirrel Hill synagogue.
As the Jewish Sabbath ended at sundown, students from Allderdice High School who organized the vigil, led the gathering at the intersection of Murray and Forbes avenues with a “prayer for healing.”
The vigil began at Sixth Presbyterian Church, where the pews were filled to capacity and people stood all along the walls and sat on the floor where there was space.
The Rev. Vincent Kolb of Sixth Presbyterian, located across the street from the Jewish Community Center, began by alluding to a former worshiper in those pews, the late Fred “Mister” Rogers.
Heeding his message of “love, neighborliness and peace,” he said, “it is in that spirit of neighborliness that we gather here tonight to be allies to our Jewish neighbors who have been victimized and traumatized by this tragedy.”
He added: “We gather because we are heartbroken but also to show zero tolerance for anti-Semitic speech, anti-Semitic behavior and anti-Semitic violence.” That drew a standing ovation.
Rabbi Keren Gorban of Temple Sinai, which like other Squirrel Hill synagogues went in lockdown Saturday morning, had the crowd learn and repeat a chant in Hebrew for: "May you spread your shelter of peace over us.”
And Wasi Mohamed, executive director of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, said Muslims had already raised $15,000 to aid the Pittsburgh Jewish community in its response to the tragedy.
“Obviously we're all heartbroken, but how many of you are angry?” he said as hands raised all over. “And how could we not be? People were stolen from us.”
He read Quranic verse that says the way to respond to an evil deed is with a better deed. He said the Jewish community has done that all along.
“I cannot walk 10 feet in this city without seeing something great the Jewish community has done,” he said, citing charitable efforts such as refugee resettlement of Muslims and others.
Rev. Kolb led in a recitation of the 23rd Psalm, beginning, ”The Lord is my shepherd…." and he also quoted a Bible verse resonant with the tragedy: “We long for a day when the leaves of the tree of life will be for the healing of all the peoples.”
As darkness gathered outside, signaling the end of the Jewish Shabbat at sundown, the indoor portion of the vigil concluded and participants joined hundreds of others who had been waiting outside.
The students and others sang a series of songs, including Havdalah, a prayer marking the end of Shabbat.
One student said she had learned about anti-Semitic violence as a matter of history, but “this is Squirrel Hill,” she said.
At one point late in the vigil, the crowd began a chant: “Vote! Vote! Vote!”
Many in the crowd blamed the rhetoric of President Donald Trump and his allies, which they said fomented dangerous divisions against immigrants, refugees and others.
Jamie Forrest of Squirrel Hill said he feels “primarily a deep sadness” over events.
He lived in New York City during and after the 9/11 attacks, and “it has a very similar feeling to me,” in which life is dramatically changed after the attacks.
Even after the formal vigil concluded, many stayed and continued to sing heartily.
One participant, Olivia Tucker, said the Jewish community remains strongly committed to the biblical mandate to “love the stranger in your midst.”
"I am a different Jew today than I was yesterday," said Sophia Levin, a sophomore at Allderdice. "I hope that the Jew I am today will be stronger."
Tree of Life synagogue, Miss Levin said, "used to be where my grandparents went and where my mother went."
While the students spoke in a damp, drizzling rain, inside the nearby Jewish Community Center, family members waited anxiously for news of their missing loved ones.
Allderdice students who organized the vigil at Forbes and Murray avenues included Isabel Smith, Peyton Klein, Marina Godley-Fisher, Rebecca Glickman and Emily Pressman.
James McCoy, principal of Allderdice, attended the vigil as did Debbie Genter, a social worker at the school. Ms. Genter said students contacted her throughout the day. Mr. McCoy said he and his staff would meet Sunday morning to plan for the coming week because so many Allderdice students have been affected by the shooting.
Marina Godley-Fisher, who lives on Denniston Street, learned about the shooting from a neighbor who awakened her.
"My whole street was blocked off," she said.
Later, she gathered with her classmates at a Starbuck's at Forbes and Murray to plan the vigil.
"None of us wanted to be alone. It was a little bit too scary," Miss Godley-Fisher added.
Dozens of people also gathered in prayer outside the Tree of Life synagogue Saturday night to honor the people who died. Many sang. Some stood silently. Some held candles.
At the end Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld of the Lubavitch Center reminded the people gathered that, no matter how difficult or challenging the circumstances, they can continue to promote goodness in the world.
Goodness, he said after the service, chases away darkness.
great strategy....up next, abortion clinics, low income day care centers and caravan death squads 
My mind is just too pure
