A Prayer for Squirrel Hill—And for American Jewry – The Pittsburgh synagogue killings show that dormant hatreds have reawakened. Franklin Foer Staff writer for The Atlantic.

“…The Sabbath is a rupture in the architecture of time, a day set apart. For those who practice the ritual, it is a moment of disconnection from the week—a temporal void that is supposed to be kept clear of work, technology, and concern for material things. The Sabbath has evolved, by design, to be a moment of vulnerability, where secular armor is placed in the spiritual locker, permitting connection with God…In response to this massacre, every synagogue will protect itself with great security, with more cameras and more guards. They will do what is necessary to create a sense of safety, which will also invariably inhibit the sense of escaping from the secular world. The gunman committed a crime on Shabbat, and it will reverberate as a crime against Shabbat…When I pray in synagogue next, I will mourn the human beings who were murdered as they participated in the ritual celebrating the miracle of existence, who weren’t able to finish their prayer for the healing of the world. With a sunken stomach, I will feel connected to the arc of Jewish history.”