'We are together in this, fellow humans'
Photo/Mike LovettAttendees of the vigil put their arms around each other and joined in song.
The Brandeis community came together Tuesday in Usdan Student Center to mourn the victims of the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Attendees, mostly students, sat cross-legged on the floor, filling International Lounge. Campus spiritual and religious leaders and students spoke during the vigil, which included music, prayer and a reading of a letter of support from the Islamic Society of Boston. Eleven candles were lit, one for each of the victims.
"We find our affinity groups as places where we are comfortable, where we strengthen our own identity, but the ultimate goal of a strong and confident identity is the security and the ability to turn to every human being and treat them with respect and compassion," said Rabbi Liza Stern, director of spiritual and religious life at Brandeis. "We are together in this, fellow humans."
Rabbi Seth Winberg, executive director of Brandeis Hillel, acknowledged the two African Americans killed in a recent shooting at a grocery store in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, as well as the victims of other hate crimes, and decried the pattern of demonizing and marginalizing groups of people that has led to violence in America. He urged participants to find strength in each other.
"At a time when it can feel incredibly dark, look around you, there is so much more light and goodness in the world, and you being here together demonstrates that," Winberg said.
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