It was a dark week in American history, with explosive devices sent to more than a dozen individuals and a shooter opening fire in a Pittsburgh synagogue, leaving nearly a dozen dead.

A day following the shooting, a group of Fountain Hills residents came together to shine some light into the darkness. The Chabad Edelman Jewish Center in Fountain Hills hosted a crowd of more than 100 on Sunday, Oct. 28; all individuals who came together to share in prayer and fellowship in honor of those victims on the other side of the country.

Rabbi Mendy Lipskier’s message was one of hope, refusing to let acts of terror overshadow the type of unity on display right here in our community.

Rabbi Lipskier called for everyone to stand against evil in these troubled times, noting that “we can shape the world that we live in by the way we live. Every act of darkness must inspire us with more acts of light.”

That light shone through in Fountain Hills on Sunday, and it’s a light we hope to see grow in intensity around the community and beyond.