Yes, the Synagogue Hostage Situation Was About the Jews

It had been a glorious Shabbat at our synagogue, Temple Israel in West Palm Beach, Florida. We began with our service in honor of the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., which we shared with community leaders and members of the Historic Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. On Shabbat morning, we studied Torah together, finding new meaning in the haftarah story of Deborah. A young man celebrated becoming bar mitzvah in the presence of his family and our community, teaching us about the Jewish sources of empathy.