Rabbi’s Update 3/6/2026
- rabbi423
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Dear Friends:
As you surely know, yet another synagogue attack took place yesterday in West Bloomfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Temple Israel, the site of the attack, states that it is the largest Reform synagogue in the United States.
Fortunately, the only person who was killed was the attacker, a naturalized American citizen originally from Lebanon, who drove his truck through the doors, into the building, and down a hall. A fire started in the building -- news reports are still unclear precisely how -- and Temple Israel’s armed security guards “neutralized” the attacker, who died from his wounds. The synagogue’s head of security was lightly injured but is OK and several first responders were treated for smoke inhalation.
At the time of the attack there were about 140 pre-schoolers in the building, as well as the pre-school staff and synagogue staff and clergy. They were all successfully evacuated to the Iraqi Christian (Chaldean) country club which is across the street from the synagogue. The country club welcomed, fed, and sheltered everyone who was evacuated from the synagogue until they were released and reunited with their families.
Throughout the country local police departments increased their patrols and protective presence at synagogues and other Jewish institutions. When I left our shul yesterday afternoon there were two cruisers from the Montgomery County Police Department in our parking lot. This morning I received an email from the Police Department letting me know that these increased patrols would continue and giving me contact info for the precinct which serves our area.
Two weeks ago during my Shabbat morning drasha I shared some figures on security spending within the American Jewish community:
Jewish institutions in 2025 spent about $765 million on security, according to the Jewish Federations of North America
The average Jewish institution spends 14 percent of its budget on security
Jewish day schools spend an average of $807 per pupil each year on security
I mentioned during that same drasha how prior to the Tree of Life massacre in 2018, on most Shabbat mornings I opened the building by myself and the first thing I did was to unlock the doors to the sanctuary wing. I would then go about my pre-service tasks, most of them conducted with my back to the door. In 2018 we started locking the doors and eventually we received security grants that allowed us to hire the security guards we have for services and other activities. When we first started locking doors, I would receive complaints about the inconvenience. Not infrequently I would come to the shul to discover a door propped open, and I would lock it and go find the person who had propped it open to let them know. I can’t recall the last time this happened. Sadly, we are more security conscious than we used to be. But it is consciousness, preparation, and training that averts tragedies.
A few other reminders:
With the change to Daylight Saving Time this past week, our Zoom havdalah will no longer be at 7 pm weekly but will change as sunset gets later. Havdalah on Saturday night March 14 will be held at 8 pm.
As a reminder, we “reset” our MiSheberach list every year at Pesach and Rosh Hashanah. If you have asked for a name to be added to our list and want it to remain, please contact the office before Pesach to ask that it be kept
Names not “renewed” will be removed from the list. And as always, if you have given a name and it no longer needs to be on the list, please let us know.
Forms for the sale of chametz as well as Passover guidance are now available:
If you or someone you know is in need because of having been laid off, or has lost benefits of some type and needs immediate help, please let me know. I can access limited funds through the Jewish Federation almost immediately. For longer-term help, the Hebrew Free Loan Society will loan up to $18,000 interest-free and the Jewish Federation has set up a hotline to access assistance at 703-JCARING.
As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 at the shul. For my drop-in hours, you do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building.
As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org rather than through the synagogue office. I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment; if you want to speak with me it’s best to make an appointment rather than assuming I will be there when you stop by.
Additionally, if you know of a Kehilat Shalom congregant or another member of our Jewish community who could use a phone call, please let me know.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Charles L. Arian
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