David and Cecil Rosenthal, brothers in their 50s, were almost always in the synagogue, greeting everyone who came with a "Good Shabbos" and a ready prayer book. Joyce Fienberg, 75, prayed there every day after her husband's death. And Melvin Wax, 88, took on so many tasks — from leading services to changing light bulbs — that one friend described his role there as "everything but the cantor."
The shooting rampage at the Tree of Life synagogue left 11 people dead, including the Rosenthal brothers, Ms. Fienberg and Mr. Wax. Many of those who perished were advanced in years. Some, like Rose Mallinger, who was 97, were alive while the Holocaust was devastating Jewish communities around Europe. They were the steady anchors of a faith community that had changed over the years but persisted as a source of devotion, camaraderie and memory.
"The people who were there are the ones who kept this community going, who made things happen," said Diane Rosenthal, a sister of the Rosenthal brothers. "I imagine they probably greeted this guy. This place was so part of their lives, a place where they could go and be welcomed at any time and where they were part of the fabric."
The dead included three women and eight men ranging in age from 54 to 97. Among them were an accountant, a teacher, a dentist and a husband and wife, Bernice and Sylvan Simon of Wilkinsburg, Pa., who were 84 and 86.
Daniel Stein, 71, had recently become a grandfather. Jerry Rabinowitz was a doctor and lived in the town of Edgewood Borough, and Irving Younger, 69, in Mt. Washington.
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