Tree of Life
The scars will last forever—on the body and building, in the mind and national psyche. October 27th, 2018, a gunman fueled by hate, amplified by internet poison, killed 11 Jewish worshipers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA. Those lost belonged to 3 different congregations—Dor Hadash, New Light, Tree of Life. Bullet holes and disarray showed the path of the shooter. The places where people fell, marked by missing carpet—buried with the perished. Prayer books, sacred objects, drywall, laced with bullet holes in a children’s classroom—all collected as evidence. By some miracle, the stained-glass windows that celebrate Jewish history in the US and Pittsburgh, survived intact. Survival and resilience are the legacy here. Those who lost loved ones, lifelong friends, and family continue on. Some say they will never enter the building again. Others dream of a new space dedicated to understanding what drives antisemitism and all forms of hate as they move toward the light.
