The St. Louis Jewish community is invited to participate in three upcoming events this weekend in support of Israel. Two will be held locally, while one will be hosted in Jerusalem and shown live on social media.
The Empty Shabbat Table
When: Friday, Nov. 3 from 4 to 6 p.m.
Where: Shaw Park’s Enterprise Pavilion.
On Friday night, the Empty Shabbat Table Gathering will take place here in St. Louis.
The settings at the table, along with their empty seats, represent each of Hamas’ captives in Gaza. It’s meant as a Shabbat table and continues the series of events that have been symbolically set for the hostages in cities across the United States, Israel and around the world. In other displays, strollers or teddy bears have been arrayed to represent the captive children.
STL For Israel
When: Sunday, Nov. 5 from 3 to 5 p.m.
Where: 41 S. Central Ave, Clayton, Mo., 63105 (In Memorial Park)
In continued response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, Jewish and Christian communities in the St. Louis area are coming together in a prayerful public display of solidarity against terrorism and antisemitism. According to the organizer’s website, STLForIsrael.com, Sunday’s gathering is a public demonstration of humility and solidarity in the form of a hope rally and silent prayer protest.
“In the spirit of the Western/Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, we are creating a human “wall” composed of Jews and Gentiles who are committed to standing together and working for peace,” said Pastor Jonathan, “JT” Thomas, President of Civil Righteousness. Inc. a non-profit focusing on spiritual reconciliation and restorative justice.
The Saint Louis Wailing Wall
As one of Jerusalem’s holiest sites, the Western Wall is a place where people from around the world make pilgrimage to pray. Visitors often place written prayers in the cracks between the stones. Europeans in the late 1800s began referring to it as “the weeping place” and today in the West it is known as “The Wailing Wall.”
In 1904, a 1:1 replica of The Western Wall was erected in Forest Park as part of the World’s Fair.
“One hundred and nineteen years later, we are gathering in a similar spirit to symbolically resurrect this wall of prayer in St. Louis, with ourselves as living stones,” said Thomas.
What to expect
Demonstrators will rally together in song and hear words of hope-filled inspiration at the beginning of the rally.
“We will then spend time standing side-by-side wearing a white piece of tape over our mouths with a one-word prayer inscribed upon it,” said Thomas.
The tape over the mouths symbolizes the more than 1,400 Israelis killed in the Hamas attack, who Thomas says “can no longer raise their voices because their lives have been extinguished through horrific acts of violence. We honor them with our silence, while also making a powerful public statement.”
International Memorial Ceremony
When: Sunday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. CST
Where: Livestreamed on Facebook from Jerusalem
The national institutions: the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency of Israel, the Jewish National Fund and Keren Hayesod invite Jews worldwide to participate in a global memorial ceremony.
“Thirty days after Hamas’s murderous terror attack on the 7th of October 2023, on the holiday of Simchat Torah, we will honor the memory of the fallen, and hold a memorial service in the National Institutions Building, with the participation of Jewish communities from around the globe,” the institutions said in a release.
The main international ceremony will be held in Jerusalem and will be live-streamed on Facebook. The organizers are inviting Jewish communities around the globe to participate.
Check out these Facebook pages for live stream access:
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