Quiet Holiness — Temple Adath Israel

Sunday morning in the South.

The Lord’s Day.

A clear blue sky.

Winter sun doing its quiet work.

I stepped out of the hotel with a cup of coffee and turned around the corner. Across from the small-town courthouse, beside the towering Baptist church, it stood.

Not what I expected.

Temple Adath Israel.

The Jewish community has been part of this Cleveland of the South for over 100 years.

Ms. Cohen was unlocking the doors. She’s been running the Sunday school since the 1990s, back when her own kids were young. This morning, she was preparing to welcome her eight students.

In a town of roughly 11,000, Adath Israel is home to just 27 Jewish families—mostly volunteer-led, held together by devotion, memory, and love.

After a brief conversation, I continued on my way, coffee still warm, heart even warmer. Ms. Cohen and the children of Adath Israel made my soul shine a little brighter on this brisk winter morning.

Think back upon quiet holiness you’ve stumbled upon when you least expected it.