Word came from 600 miles away, but it could not have felt closer to home. The horrifying news arrived while many here were still in shul. It sounded surreal and yet all too familiar.

A shooter had invaded a place of worship, on Shabbat, shouting, “All Jews must die.” And Jews did die. Others were injured, including police officers who came to confront and ultimately capture the evil that invaded Tree of Life synagogue that Saturday morning.

Once we absorbed the reality of the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history, we knew we must respond. Security was our primary concern, but we also recognized the need to comfort, to unite and to assure.

As the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, we have long understood the need for community preparedness and response. Last year, in the wake of bomb threats and the desecration of Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, we hired Scott Biondo, a former law enforcement officer, to serve as our community security director. 

Just minutes after the Pittsburgh attack, we activated the RAVE alert system, which we created four years ago after an attack on the community in Kansas City to keep our agencies and synagogues aware of the incident. Biondo’s ongoing relationships with local law enforcement helped to create a coordinated response immediately, sending police to our congregations to alert and protect them before Shabbat services ended for the morning.

When we knew our community was safe, we moved quickly to respond in a variety of other ways. As we did, we began to hear from a steady stream of leadership from other communities. 

One of the first messages of condolence and support that I and other Jewish leaders received was from Dr. Helal Ekramuddin, the chairman of the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis. 

“You are not alone,” he said. We are together.”

That togetherness was on display the next day. In just 36 hours, a community vigil against hate was planned. Fifteen hundred community members rearranged their weekends to show their support and resolve. A deeply moving interfaith service was led by representatives from the Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities. It also featured state and federal officials who stood up with me to denounce hate and provide affirmative steps people could take.

I couldn’t possibly name all of the people who came together on their weekend to make this event happen, but I did want to express my gratitude to Maharat Rori Picker Neiss, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC); Rabbi Noah Arnow, president of the St. Louis Rabbinical Association; Rabbi Moshe Shulman, president of the St. Louis Rabbinical Council; and Lynn Wittels, CEO of the Jewish Community Center, and her extensive staff, for their partnership with Federation to mobilize our community in such a short time for this important solidarity event.

As if that weren’t enough, just a few hours after the vigil I was heartened to see a capacity crowd at Federation for the annual Rubin Feldman Holocaust Memorial Lecture. A partnership between the Holocaust Museum and Aish Ha-Torah, the event was highlighted by beautiful remarks by Rubin and Gloria Feldman’s daughter Cheryl, who linked the subject of Holocaust education to the events in Pittsburgh.

As the workweek dawned, it was clear to me that we needed to do something immediately to respond to the security concerns of our community.We convened two meetings at our Kaplan Feldman Complex, where leaders of local Jewish schools, congregations and institutions could speak directly with Biondo, along with members of local police and the FBI. 

They came with questions and reviewed best practices, all with understanding that despite the increase in hate and concern, the probability of any kind of attack remains exceedingly low. They wanted to know how to provide security and how to answer congregants’ questions about that security. They worried about how they were going to fund efforts to make their facilities more secure. They asked when, or if, our sense of security will be restored. 

Because of their reasonable concerns and need to provide a sense of calm to their students, congregants and members, Federation stepped up to provide aid. Thanks to the leadership of Federation Board chair Gerry Greiman, by the end of the week we authorized a grant program to cover their temporary increased security needs. 

A Jewish community must not be defined by those who hate us, but by the values, beauty and wisdom of our tradition. So, earlier last week, we began publishing the efforts by the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Federations of North America to mobilize all Jewish communities to attend a service during Shabbat as a show of solidarity, resilience and affirmation in the face of the attacks. 

Thousands of Jews and non-Jews attended our congregations last Shabbat, where we stood shoulder to shoulder to demonstrate that hate will not win. Our clergy once again provided outstanding spiritual and emotional support to a region still grieving. 

Our religion teaches us how to respond when dire events such as  the Pittsburgh attack happen. The Torah guides us. Our rabbis instruct us. It’s easy to say the words, harder to put these principles into action. What we have to remember in these difficult days is that no one is born to hate based on skin color, country of origin or another person’s faith. 

Such hatred must be taught. 

If hate can be learned, then it can be unlearned. The only way to combat that hate is through education. And the work of the Anti-Defamation League, Holocaust Museum and JCRC in our  community stand as exemplary institutions to continue fighting against the corrosive rhetoric of our public sphere today. 

The volunteers and professional leadership of our communal institutions stepped up throughout our region. In the past few years, we have re-created a Jewish Federation to be a foundation, not an umbrella, to support the work of others. I am grateful for the thousands in our community who have invested in us so that we can provide these services. 

And I hope we never need to draw on them again. 

Andrew Rehfeld is President and CEO of Jewish Federation of St. Louis.