2 years after Tree of Life shooting, pandemic has 'retraumatized people'

As leaders of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community mark two years since the Oct. 27, 2018, shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue, they are realizing that the second year can actually be harder than the first for survivors and relatives of those who died in the attack.

“There are people who still ask why,” said Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, one of those who made it out alive after a gunman burst into the synagogue and shot 11 people to death. “I think, for many of my congregation, the hardest piece right now is the fact that we are displaced twice — once after 10/27 and then a second time because of the pandemic, where we now self-quarantine. It has retraumatized many people.”

The pandemic has exacerbated grief by limiting the healing of human connection, he said. “We’re a tactile species. We like to hug, kiss, touch. Those are things we cannot do, which makes it harder for people to enjoy that embrace and the comfort that comes from it.”

Last year, the Trib produced the following documentary in memory of those who lost their lives in the synagogue shooting.

The 11 people who died in the attack are Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil and David Rosenthal, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax and Irving Younger. They were from the three congregations that used the synagogue: Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light.

Maggie Feinstein, director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, said this year’s observance feels different from the one held a year ago.

“The physical distancing, combined with the emotional intensity of the election building up, definitely changes the feelings that people are having,” Feinstein said. “It is difficult to take apart the pieces of you that are parenting while your kids are learning virtually, and trying to work in a new way that is totally foreign — and also feeling the coming of fall with the familiar reminders of the shootings.”

With that in mind, the 10.27 Healing Partnership is offering drop-in counseling as part of Tuesday’s commemoration events.

A canopy will be set up across from the Tree of Life building for in-person healing and counseling support from Jewish Family and Community Services, featuring canine teams from the Center for Victims. Virtual support also will be provided via Zoom.

“What I’ve learned from some of my colleagues and partners from other communities that have experienced mass violence is that the second anniversary can be harder. And that’s in the best of circumstances in a ‘normal year,’ ” Feinstein said.

“It can be confusing. The first year you expect that feeling of dread and the sadness that can come with it. The second year is a little more difficult to anticipate emotionally, what we’ll feel and what’s coming up for us.”

Feinstein said loneliness and isolation are the hallmarks of trauma that they are frequently trying to combat.

“There’s a feeling that ‘the pain that I feel no one could understand. The sadness I feel no one could understand.’ This year, there is the extra challenge of figuring out what to do about that. That’s why we are providing in-person and virtual options,” she said. “Nobody has to feel alone.”

Myers, who has been livestreaming services from his living room since March 13, said he has good days and not-so-good days.

“I’d like to think that my trajectory is in a positive direction and that I continue to heal a little bit each day,” Myers said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be totally healed. It’s just going to be an ongoing process of healing and working through what happened, day by day by day for the rest of my life.”

Myers said knowing a plan is in place for a reopening of the Tree of Life synagogue is a source of hope and optimism.

“Having plans will help people. All of us are eager to get back into our beloved building,” Myers said. “We also know that it just takes time. As I learned from a contractor friend many years ago, ‘measure twice, cut once.’ It has to be done carefully.”

In the meantime, Myers is looking out for his flock.

“I think our community here has learned that they’re not alone. For the Tree of Life, we’re a community, we’re a family, we’re here for each other. If one is in pain, we’re all in pain, and that’s the way it has continued since that day.”