Shaken Boulder Jews Transforms Tragedy Into Unity and Purpose

by Moshe New – chabad.org

On the eve of Shavuot, as Jews worldwide prepared to celebrate the giving of the Torah and the festival of first fruits, a horrific antisemitic attack shattered the peace at the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colo. Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman attacked a group of Jews participating in a Run for Their Lives march, which aims to bring attention to the plight of Israelis still being held captive by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza. Using Molotov cocktails and a makeshift flamethrower, Soliman left 12 people badly wounded.

Rebbetzin Chanie Scheiner of Chabad-Lubavitch of Boulder, who had participated in previous Run for Their Lives marches, was home preparing to host the Shavuot celebration at Chabad instead of joining the weekly walk that Sunday afternoon.

Scheiner was taking cheesecakes—a traditional Shavuot treat and staple of the festival—out of the oven when she noticed that she’d missed a call. She didn’t think too much of it and thought she’d call back soon. Her phone kept buzzing, so she finally checked to see what was happening. That’s when everything changed.

“One of my close friends was at the scene and called me. Then I started seeing the texts,” Scheiner recalled. “I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Here were people walking to bring awareness to a suffering plight to show that we across the world care—and this happened to them.”

The juxtaposition of preparing for the joyous holiday while learning of the attack on her fellow community members created a surreal moment for Scheiner. “It’s a beautiful city with mountains in the background. People are kind. The community gets along well,” she said of Boulder. “You’ll never meet a nicer, more united Jewish community.”

An Attack That Left a City Reeling

Soliman’s Sunday afternoon attack on the peaceful demonstrators shook Boulder. They’d been walking to raise awareness for the 58 hostages still held in Gaza when Soliman bega to rain Molotov cocktails on them while roaring antisemitic slurs. The dozen injured people range in age between 25 to 88, including a Holocaust survivor.

For Rabbi Pesach Scheiner of Chabad of Boulder, the reaction was immediate. “People were shaken,” he told Chabad.org. “Thank G‑d, it wasn’t lethal, but the impact was immediate and far-reaching.”

Despite the approach of Shavuot, which began Sunday evening, and lasted through Tuesday night, Chabad mobilized quickly. “People were reaching out to us from the community and even more from outside the community, especially as it became a national news story. People from around the world wanted to know how they could help,” Scheiner said.

The best way to help? Increasing in Jewish practice, said the rabbi.

“We put together a call for people to come to hear the Ten Commandments on Shavuot,” he said. “We had a great response. People told us they came because of that. It really hit home. People who don’t typically come to synagogue came.”

The Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—urged men, women and children to hear the Ten Commandments at synagogue.

“By listening to the Ten Commandments on Shavuot morning,” the Rebbe explained at a gathering in 1980. “The words of Torah will be engraved in the hearts and minds of the children. And through them, the Torah will be etched within their parents and grandparents with even greater intensity. Thus, the Ten Commandments, which include within them the entire Torah, will become a part of our lives throughout the entire year.”

During the Ten Commandments reading, Rabbi Scheiner spoke to the assembled crowd, leaving “politics at the door,” he said. “Antisemitism has been around for eons, and it comes because some people don’t like the Jewish people’s message, which comes from the Torah. But we are proud of our message of morality and values and faith.”

‘Coming Together’

The response to the attack has brought together Boulder’s diverse community in unprecedented ways. The Boulder Jewish Community Center has organized multiple healing events, co-hosted by Chabad, including a community gathering and mental health support services.

Rabbi Yisroel Wilhelm—who leads the Rohr Chabad Center at the University of Colorado—shared that it has been an incredibly challenging few days, but ones of hope as well.

“We’ve seen an incredible amount of Jewish pride that has come out,” Wilhelm said. “Usually, we have 20 to 30 people join us for Shavuot, and this year, more than 100 community members and alumni came together to be able to celebrate Shavuot, which is the ultimate Jewish response to hate. When they show us hate, we respond with an endless amount of light and Jewish pride.

The annual Boulder Jewish Festival, marking its 30th anniversary, will also proceed as planned on Sunday, June 8, but has been reimagined to focus on healing and supporting the victims. A bigger crowd is expected.

As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Chanie Scheiner draws strength from her family’s legacy of resilience. “I am blessed to be from a nation that is resilient; it’s in our DNA,” she said. “I am blessed to be the daughter of Holocaust survivors. My father’s parents and siblings were massacred in Hlybokaye, a small city near Vilna. My mother came from Vienna and lost much of her family too.”

“Our parents never taught us to hate. They didn’t dwell on what they didn’t have. They taught us to focus on light,” she said.

The Scheiners are channeling their community’s response into positive action. At the upcoming Boulder Jewish Festival, Chabad will operate two booths: one offering kosher food (the only kosher option at the festival) and another featuring tefillin, crafts and interactive Jewish experiences.

“We want to be ‘pro-Semitic’ in opposition to antisemitism,” she explained.

‘This Is Bigger Than Boulder’

Rabbi Scheiner believes this attack may serve as a wake-up call for Jewish communities nationwide. “We need to be aware of the dangers that exist now,” he said. “This is bigger than Boulder—it’s the second attack in a short amount of time.”

Yet rather than retreating, the Boulder Jewish community is doubling down on its commitment to Jewish life and values. Said the rabbi: “Boulder will be an example of the Jewish capacity for renewal, healing and hope.”