On October 27, 2018, gunfire erupted inside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood during Saturday morning worship. A gunman armed with multiple firearms shot his way into the building, shouting antisemitic invective and killing eleven worshippers from three congregations that shared the space—Tree of Life, New Light, and Dor Hadash. The attack was the deadliest antisemitic assault in American history, leaving a community in shock and grief.
Among those who would help lead the congregation through the aftermath was Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, age 70, who began serving as spiritual leader just over a year before the tragedy struck. On Friday, July 17, Myers was honored at a retirement dinner held at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh, bringing an eight-year chapter of his rabbinate to a close. He is retiring this month after guiding Tree of Life through the darkest period in its history.
The weight of those early days left deep marks. After presiding over multiple funerals for his slain congregants, Myers found himself struggling to pray. “There was this emptiness to it,” he recalls. His search for spiritual solace led him to the biblical Book of Psalms, where he read through all 150 chapters in order, seeking inspiration and connection to his faith. When he reached Psalm 121, the words finally resonated: “My help comes from God, maker of the heavens and the Earth.” “There it was,” Myers says. “My faith did have the answers. It just took time to be able to find them.”
Myers’ path to that moment of spiritual restoration was marked by extraordinary responsibility. A newly appointed leader forced to counsel grieving families, oversee funerals, and hold together a shattered congregation while processing his own trauma. “He was really just a new rabbi and hardly broken in yet, and we went through the thing that we went through,” said Audrey Glickman, a survivor of the attack. “He has steered a constant ship and taken care of everyone, and I think he has earned himself a rest.”
Over the nearly eight years since the shooting, the congregation worked to grieve and heal. The community endured a lengthy trial that concluded with the conviction and death sentence of the gunman, Robert Bowers. The congregation also weathered the COVID-19 pandemic and marked the groundbreaking for a new building to replace the closed synagogue structure. Throughout these challenges, Myers stood as a steady presence.
In his farewell remarks to the congregation on July 17, Myers spoke with his characteristic blend of scriptural and popular culture references. He quoted from the Book of Psalms, the Beatles, and the Broadway musical “Rent.” When discussing his focus on the congregation’s needs before his own, he invoked Star Trek: “As Mr. Spock says in ‘Star Trek II,’ the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” He thanked congregants, clergy, public officials, and police officers who had supported the community.
Now, Myers is ready for his next chapter. He plans to return to his native New Jersey to be near his daughter and granddaughter. He hopes to catch up on reading, do some writing, and check items off his bucket list with his wife. He also intends to work on healing his own inner wounds after prioritizing the congregation’s needs for so long.
The congregation itself faces a hopeful future. About fifty Jewish families, many with young children, have recently joined Tree of Life, bringing fresh energy and ideas to the community. Robin Friedman, current president of the congregation, called Myers’ departure “bittersweet,” reflecting on how he was “the right guy at the right time.” The community has shown resilience in a broader context as well—Tree of Life developed a meaningful bond with Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, another congregation that survived a mass shooting. When Myers testified during the trial, the pastor of Mother Emanuel, the Rev. Eric Manning, sat in the courtroom in solidarity.
As Myers steps away from his role, the congregation looks ahead with renewed purpose. One survivor expressed the community’s determination: “We intend not to let the shooter win and not to fade away into history.” The rabbi who helped guide them through the unimaginable is confident that Tree of Life’s mission continues. “My mission has come to a conclusion to the best that I could,” Myers said in an interview. “It was time for the next chapter also for the Tree of Life. It’s time to step aside so that there is space for new voices.”