Adrian Humphreys and Ari David Blaff
National Post, Oct. 5, 2024
“There was a giant inverted red triangle painted on the welcome sign. That is a known symbol for literally killing Jews, it means, ‘this is a target, kill Jews here.’ That was it for me. I was done.”
The soaring brick façade and sparse windows of Congregation Machzikei Hadas are easily mistaken for a school or a prison, its faddish 1970s architecture masking the Ottawa synagogue’s century-old roots. Inside, Rabbi Idan Scher tends a congregation of about 350 Jewish families cycling through their religious calendar and life’s unstoppable milestones.
In the year since the October 7 attacks on Israel, along with marriages, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs and funerals, Scher found himself vexed by something new.
“One thing that has really stood out,” Scher said, “is the number of times I’ve been asked, ‘When do we know?’” He paused before making sure the meaning of the question was clear. … [To read the full article, click here]