Rabbi Cheryl Klein, one of the clergy whose Pittsburgh congregations were directly impacted by the attack in the Tree of Life building on October 27, 2018, presented on the topic of “Contemplating Jewish Memory” in a virtual presentation as part of the Daniel Pearl Education Center Speaker Series.
A replay of Rabbi Klein’s presentation is available here.
Rabbi Klein served as the cantor at Congregation Dor Hadash in Pittsburgh when her congregation was the target of the worst anti-Semitic violent massacre in U.S. history. Eleven congregants were murdered and six injured that day in a mass shooting that devastated the Pittsburgh Jewish community and sent shock waves across the country and around the world.
Rabbi Klein, who in the aftermath of the attack became interim rabbi at Dor Hadash, connected Jewish history and how, over the generations, Jews have always dealt with hatred and anti-Semitism, with the attack on the Tree of Life building. She also shared her thoughts on how “remembering” may be used as a tool for healing and resilience.
“We cannot even imagine the experience of being a clergy member and then having to lead your congregation following this kind of tragedy,” said Dr. Andy Boyarsky, chair of the Daniel Pearl Education Center. “As we said at that time, there is no way to make sense of senseless violence.”
Today, Rabbi Klein serves as cantor emerita of Reconstructionist Congregation Dor Hadash after having served her congregation for 33 years. Receiving rabbinical ordination has strengthened Rabbi Klein’s conviction to serve and preserve Jewish tradition as an officiant at life cycle events and ritual services and as a public speaker, teacher and writer.
A native Pittsburgher, Rabbi Klein is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, earning a Master’s in Teaching, and was the Head of the School of Advanced Jewish Studies (SAJS) in Pittsburgh for a number of years. She and her husband Mark are the proud parents of a daughter, three sons and their children’s spouses, along with several grandchildren.
Recent speakers in the Daniel Pearl Education Center Speaker Series have included: Tali Nates, a noted historian and founder and executive director of the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre in South Africa; Mark Newhouse, renowned author of the The Devil’s Bookkeeper Holocaust fiction series, and Lauren Hersh, executive director of World Without Exploitation, an organization dedicated to the eradication of human trafficking. Previous speakers have included: Dr. Perry Brickman, who was the subject of a documentary, “From Silence to Recognition: Confronting Discrimination in Emory’s Dental School History”; Dr. Berndt Wollschlaeger, the son of a decorated Nazi tank commander who traveled to Israel, converted to Judaism and later served in the Israel Defense Forces; representatives of Seton Hall University as part of the showing of Sister Rose’s Passion, a documentary film that examines the life of Sister Rose Thering, a Roman Catholic nun and former professor at Seton Hall University who battled anti-Semitism within her church and contributed to a historic Vatican declaration that Jews were not collectively responsible for the death of Jesus; Sheryl Olitzky, co-founder of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom; legendary high school basketball coach Bob Hurley, who spoke about providing opportunities and guidance to underprivileged youth; and best-selling author Yvette Manessis Corporon (Something Beautiful Happened), who spoke about survival and courage in the face of evil; and the Tyler Clementi Foundation’s Jane Clementi, who lost her son Tyler to suicide after he became the victim of homophobic cyber bullying.