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This past week I attended the fifth annual Eradicate H Global Summit here in Pittsburgh. It was created five years ago by Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg and Laura Ellsworth as a response to the massacre in Tree of Life as a positive step, with its title answering the question of what it is about. With the gathering the week before Rosh Hashanah, it was just not possible to attend the entire summit, so I compromised and attended half, with the remaining half devoted to crafting two more sermons, this blog, my Friday evening remarks, and a High Holy Day greeting to my Cantorial colleagues in my role as president of the Cantors Assembly.

I regularly came home from the previous four conferences a bit overwhelmed with the heaviness of the state of our country and the world insofar as the H word is concerned. I sort of expected the same reaction but can pleasantly share that this was not the case. Perhaps this was a continued component of the healing process for me. What changed? I’ve sort of tongue in cheek remarked that this is the annual reunion of the club that no one wants to or should belong to. But I found renewed strength, comfort and support by reuniting with the members of my club, as we draw strength from each other. It is a special and unique family that we are part of, sadly growing in numbers every day. I’d like to share a few snippets of how this year was different for me.

There was a gathering of the newly formed “Survivor Working Group”, composed of people who have experienced a mass shooting. There were three new attendees at the summit who joined us. One was a young woman who had experienced a mass shooting fifteen years ago and had not found the support she needed to cope with her trauma. She went about studying and getting degrees in counseling and started an organization that supports people who are experiencing trauma. She took her own experiences and made them a foundation to help others. Truly inspiring. The second was a young woman and her mother. The young woman survived the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs in 2022 when her best friend jumped in front of her to protect her. He died, and despite sustaining nine shots, she too survived. The response by so many parties in Colorado Springs was far from optimal or even helpful, so this young woman took it upon herself to begin to speak to community governments and law enforcement about lessons learned to prevent these from happening in their communities. Equally inspiring. I introduced myself personally after our two-hour meeting and welcomed her to our club. In further conversation at dinner, having no idea what to expect from the summit, she has now discovered a vast support system that she did not know she had that will embrace her, support her, and encourage her to continue to do the work that she has assumed.

There is much good going on in the world, but sadly we never hear of it. Perhaps this brief look inside offers you hope as well. This being the last blog of 5785, I offer my Jewish readers my prayers for a new year of health and joy for you and yours.