Podcast Summary: Beth Israel Congregation Rebuilds After Arson, Saying "There's Healing That Comes"

Consider This from NPR – January 18, 2026
Host: Sarah McCammon
Featured Guest: Rachel Myers, leader of the Beth Israel Congregation’s religious school (Jackson, MS)

Episode Overview

This episode centers on the aftermath of a devastating arson attack on Beth Israel Congregation, the only synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi. The discussion focuses on the congregation’s resilience, the healing process, and the community’s response in the context of both current trauma and past attacks tied to the civil rights era. Through interviews and reflections, the episode emphasizes how faith communities process violence and rebuild, carrying forward lessons of resistance and unity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Immediate Aftermath and Community Response

• Shabbat Service in a Church:
  Beth Israel’s first Shabbat service after the fire was held in a neighboring church that generously offered its space, reflecting interfaith support in times of crisis.
  (00:03)

• The Attack:
  The arsonist specifically targeted the building for its Jewish ties. The fire destroyed much of the synagogue, especially the library.
  (00:34–00:45 — Charles Felton, Jackson Fire Department Chief of Investigations)

• Historical Resonance:
  This attack echoes another from the late 1960s, when the KKK bombed the synagogue and rabbi’s home for supporting civil rights.
  (01:05–01:56)

2. Messages of Hope, Healing, and Resilience

• Quoting Dr. King:
  Charles Felton, at the service, invoked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

  “The attack was filled with hate, but the Shabbat is filled with love. Dr. King taught us that darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that. So together, let's banish the darkness.”
  (01:38 — Charles Felton)

• Rabbi’s Message:
  “There is healing that comes,” said the rabbi leading the first post-arson service, setting the tone for moving forward in faith and unity.
  (03:32)

3. Processing Trauma and Teaching Resilience

• Maintaining Joy Despite Grief:
  Rachel Myers shares how the service was “joyful and resilient,” focusing on celebration even in loss:

  “You know, our spiritual leader, Ben Russell, did a fantastic job…prompting us to be joyful and resilient. I'm always the first one to kind of give a woohoo…if there's a time to celebrate, there's a time to celebrate.”
  (04:15–04:40 — Rachel Myers)

• Uplifting Jewish Tradition:
  Rachel Myers highlights the tradition to “find joy together,” especially through communal prayers like Ma Tovu. Even in pain, these songs unite the community and offer comfort.
  (04:40–05:20 — Rachel Myers)

• Educating Children:
  Myers describes honest but hopeful conversations with the congregation’s school children:

  “I was teaching them that Jewish people are resilient and we do not cower in fear. And we continue, we rebuild. We'll be stronger together.”
  (05:33 — Rachel Myers)

• Acting in Defiance and Tradition:
  Children’s response:

  “…They just said, be more Jewish than ever.”
  (06:38 — Rachel Myers)

  Myers explains:

  “It means we do Hebrew as an act of resistance…us learning our traditions, us learning this language, us practicing Judaism out loud is a sign and is a symbol that we do not cower in fear…”
  (06:46–07:22 — Rachel Myers)

4. Historic Legacy and Civic Duty

• Civil Rights Legacy:
  The synagogue’s history in the Civil Rights Movement—having been bombed in 1967 for supporting racial justice—frames today’s resilience as a continuation of a broader struggle for justice and equality.
  (07:22–08:42)

• Responsibility to Educate and Include:
  Myers sees it as the community’s job in the Deep South “to be educators about Judaism, to be inclusive, to be welcoming, to be loud about our Judaism in a way that people understand us.”
  (08:28 — Rachel Myers)

5. Salvaging Artifacts and Memory

• Destruction and Recovery:
  Most of the library’s artifacts are lost, but some items can be recovered and “will tell a story of a congregation that has been attacked twice but is stronger than ever and continues to remain.”
  (08:44–09:05 — Rachel Myers)

• The Holocaust Torah:
  The congregation preserved a Torah scroll from Prague, damaged during the Holocaust—a powerful symbol of survival:

  “There was one in the lobby…which was the Holocaust Torah…And that one was able to be salvaged.”
  (09:07–09:35 — Rachel Myers)

6. Foundations for Healing and Future Action

• Music as Comfort and Mobilization:
  Myers is drawn to Jewish songs, such as Kehilah Kedosha (“holy community”), that highlight the holy work required to sustain community and strive for a better world.

  “It is up to us. And I feel that more than ever, I really do this week.”
  (09:51–10:34 — Rachel Myers)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Community Response:

  “The attack was filled with hate, but the Shabbat is filled with love.” (01:38 — Charles Felton)

• On Teaching Children:

  “We do Hebrew as an act of resistance…us learning this language, us practicing Judaism out loud is a symbol that we do not cower in fear.”
  (06:46–07:22 — Rachel Myers)

• On Music and Healing:

  “The one thing that keeps getting me, keeps, you know, making me weep is music…each of us really must work. It's holy work…”
  (09:51–10:34 — Rachel Myers)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:03] – Shabbat service held in a church after arson
• [00:34] – Details of the fire and its impact on the building
• [01:05] – Historical context: previous attacks in the 1960s
• [01:38] – Dr. King’s words and community message
• [04:15] – Joy and resilience at the first service post-arson
• [05:33] – Talking with children about trauma and rebuilding
• [06:38] – “Be more Jewish than ever”—children’s message
• [06:46–07:22] – Practicing traditions as an act of resistance
• [08:44–09:05] – Recovery and meaning of lost and saved artifacts
• [09:07–09:35] – Holocaust Torah’s survival
• [09:51–10:34] – Music and the holy work of community

Tone and Closing Thoughts

Throughout the episode, the tone balances sorrow and steadfastness, grief and hope. Through direct testimony and collective memory, the voices of Beth Israel’s community model how devotion to faith, education, and mutual responsibility can overcome violence and hatred—rekindling light in the face of darkness.