Pittsburgh Joins for Unity Concert
Over 1500 people from all walks of life gathered at a unity concert in Pittsburgh with music stars Avraham Fried, Lipa Schmeltzer and Shulem Lemmer.
Photos: Alex and Liv Pasquarelli
Over 1500 men, women and children from all walks of life gathered in Pittsburgh for a communal day of healing and unity concert on Sunday.
The event was held at the Congregation Beth Shalom Ballroom, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, just a mile away from the recent anti-Semitic shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue that left 11 people dead and 6 injured.
The event opened with inspiring words from the Head Shliach of Western PA, Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, followed by mishnayos and Kaddish by Rabbi Daniel Yolkut.
Singer Shulem Lemmer then led the crowd in an emotional Keil Molei Rachamim in memory of the victims.
Rabbi Elchonon Friedman, Rabbi of Bnai Emunoh Chabad – Greenfield and the event’s organizer, emceed the event.
Rabbi Shlomo Silverman from Chabad of CMU spoke about the activities Chabad on campus has done since the tragedy.
World-renowned Jewish music superstars Avraham Fried, Shulem Lemmer and Lipa Schmeltzer each performed, at times together. They were joined on stage by the Bochurim from Yeshiva Schools for an upbeat “Chazak.”
The event truly uplifted the crowd, and many people put on Tefillin in the merit of the victims.
“This event definitely brought back a lot of joy to the community,” one of the organizers said. “Someone told me she hasn’t seen this kind of mood by anyone since the shooting. This is just the beginning, we will continue to grow stronger together!”
The event was arranged by Rabbi Elchonon Friedman along with Yitzi Goldwasser. Special thanks to Sruly Meyer for musical production.
Source: Collive.com