As the executive director of a synagogue, I read the daily security briefs from Secure Community Network and engage in regular security updates with my colleagues and friends in Jewish communal spaces across the country.

I never imagined that the security risks we talk about every day would literally be at the entry to our spiritual home.

On Thursday, our synagogue, Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, was attacked by an individual with the intention of causing harm to our community.

As my friend Rabbi Brian Stoller of Temple Beth-El of Great Neck shared in his sermon the next evening, “This is a scary time for Jews in America. And sadly, it can feel like a scary time to work in a synagogue.”

Our houses of worship — Jewish or otherwise — should never feel that way.

At Temple Israel, we say that every staff member is part of our temple family. We are extremely fortunate that all of our staff and community members — along with more than 100 children in our early childhood center — returned to the warm embrace of friends, family and the greater community after Thursday’s events.

And we pray for and express great gratitude to our security team, who bravely responded and ran towards the attacker. Their training and experience saved lives that day.

Our temple, like those across the United........

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