Hebrew is not commonly spoken, let alone sung, in Latter-day Saint temples.
Last week, a Latter-day Saint leader and a group of Utah’s Jewish leaders suddenly found themselves singing Psalm 133 together, in Hebrew, in a sealing room at the end of a tour during the public open house of the Taylorsville Utah Temple.
They will never forget it, and not just because it was in Hebrew.
“Chills were rising on our skin and tears were forming in our eyes, and when we finished we all knew that we had just been a part of and witnessed something very special and very meaningful that really took our breath away,” said Alex Shapiro, executive director of the United Jewish Federation of Utah.
The spontaneity made it special, but it’s important to note that the moment didn’t appear ex nihilo. It was built on a shared love of scripture. And of temples. And covenants. But most of all, it doesn’t happen without friendship and trust.
Shapiro, whose children are rare fourth-generation Jewish Utahns, has been friends for about 15 years now with Rob Howell, senior manager of interfaith relations for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They’ve attended multiple temple open houses in that time. They’re part of an interfaith group that meets for lunch about every six weeks.
Shapiro says every temple tour has been special. He described them as heartwarming, and noted that President Jeffrey R. Holland led one tour for his group during the Draper Utah Temple open house in 2009. But, he said, last week’s tour ended up differently than the rest.
Shapiro invites different groups of Jewish leaders with him each time. This time, he gathered up 18 for the tour, which was joined by Howell and some other Latter-day Saints who foster interfaith relations.
Read more about this powerful example of interfaith unity on Deseret News.
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