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Black, sweeping lines form an outline of a tree on the brick wall that once displayed the Tree of Life in Mississippi\u2019s largest synagogue<\/a>. <\/p>\n The commemorative brass plaque was damaged but withstood a fire<\/a> that was intentionally set earlier this year at Beth Israel Congregation\u2019s house of worship in northeast Jackson. Flames traced the trunk, branches and brass leaves that contain inscriptions of congregants\u2019 birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. <\/p>\n The plaque has been sent to be restored by specialists, along with five of the synagogue\u2019s Torahs and religious tapestries. For now, Rachel Myers, a congregation leader who teaches the synagogue\u2019s religious school, taped up a picture of a tree drawn by one of the congregation\u2019s children. <\/p>\n \u201cHe wanted to make sure that we keep that Tree of Life going,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Children\u2019s drawings represent how Myers and the congregation have used the arson to remind each other about the importance of resilience and faith. <\/p>\n A Madison County man, Stephen Spencer Pittman, awaits trial<\/a> in what prosecutors say was an antisemitic attack. Pittman \u2013 who usually goes by his middle name \u2013 has pleaded not guilty to three federal charges of arson, damage to religious property and using fire to commit a felony. <\/p>\n Pittman was arrested hours after the fire at a local hospital where he was being treated for severe burns. He allegedly confessed his crimes to law enforcement and referred to Beth Israel as the \u201csynagogue of Satan,\u201d according to a federal court document<\/a> filed days later. Surveillance video<\/a> from inside the synagogue showed a man splashing liquid, and prosecutors allege that after Pittman set the fire, he called his dad<\/a> and \u201claughed as he told his father what he did and said he finally got them.\u201d<\/p>\n Myers said the fire only made members of the congregation stronger. It has even made teaching Hebrew to the young people a little easier, she said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to keep doing this, because someone wants us to stop,\u201d she said Sunday as congregation officials opened the synagogue to local media. <\/p>\n Earlier in the day, some 60 congregation members walked through the synagogue for the first time since the fire in the predawn hours of Jan. 10. What they saw was much different from the synagogue they had known, said Sarah Thomas, the congregation\u2019s first vice president, who has been a member all 37 years of her life. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was a good chance to see what it is now and then start to dream and hope for what it will look like when we\u2019re back in here as a community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Instead of walls covered in tapestries and other artworks, congregants saw mostly barren cinderblock, windows of shattered glass, and tall, empty rafters \u2013 the result of the fire revealing asbestos in the ceiling. <\/p>\n \u201cAll along all of these walls were holy scriptures, prayer books and other works of art you can\u2019t find anywhere else,\u201d Zach Shemper, the congregation president, said as he stood in the now-empty library where surveillance video showed the attacker breaking into the building and pouring accelerant. <\/p>\n The arson destroyed many of those objects, including two Torahs housed in the library where the first flames were set. <\/p>\n A faint smell of soot could still be detected in the building, as the heating and air conditioning system has yet to be remediated, Thomas said. But the cleanup work is 95% complete. <\/p>\n In concert with a local architect, congregation leaders hope construction will start by late summer, with the goal of hosting services in the building by the Jewish New Year in October 2027. Asbestos abatement alone will cost $2 million, but the total cost of rebuilding is not yet known without bids from construction companies. <\/p>\n To buoy congregants\u2019 spirits during the walk through, Myers taped art works created in her classes throughout the synagogue. And without prompting, many congregants started discussing improvements they hoped to see in the space \u2013 specifically, the need for more freezers in the kitchen, which plays a key role in the congregation\u2019s annual bazaar that includes classic Jewish meals. <\/p>\n \u201cOur congregation is already thinking about ways to invite the public back here in the space,\u201d Myers said. <\/p>\n Thomas was excited to see that one of the pictures was made by her daughter, Ruby. Underneath the words to a Hebrew song that Myers taught the children about strength, Ruby drew bright blue water overcoming red flames, producing a triumphant rainbow. <\/p>\n \u201cWhatever this one person thought he was going to do,\u201d Myers said, \u201cit only made us stronger.\u201d <\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n This story was originally published by Mississippi Today<\/a> and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n