An NDG congregation is praising an anonymous neighbour, after finding a single red rose and a note of condolence on the Synagogue steps, Sunday morning.
“To tell you the truth, right now, the Jewish people around the world are feeling very vulnerable,” said Cantor Daniel Benlolo of the Shaare Zedek Congregation.
The discovery of the rose came Sunday morning after a particularly emotional morning of services.
The note reads, “Please accept our sincere sympathies in the event of the tragedy in Pittsburgh. Your community is in our prayers in this difficult time. – Your Muslim neighbours.”
“This simple rose and this simple card just show you that sometimes you just have to stop and look at the beauty in the world instead of looking at the darkness,” Benlolo said in an interview CJAD 800.
The rose will be dried, framed, and displayed in the synagogue to serve as a reminder of the good in the world.
“There is love. There is humanity. Because of that we go forward,” Benlolo said. “The post was very clear to say that they stand with us at this time and that the Muslim community is standing with us at this time.”
Boufeldja Benabdallah, co-founder of the Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City, where 6 Muslims were killed during evening prayer, in January of last year is also speaking out.
"We understand very well the pain that Jewish families feel and we are wholeheartedly with them," he said in a statement.
Shaare Zedek will hold a solidarity Shabbat next Saturday, to mark one week since the shooting that took 11 Jewish lives.
Benlolo, who has strong ties with the interfaith community, says he hopes people from all faiths come to join hands and stand against intolerance and hate.