The Lakewood Vaad released the following statement to YWN on Monday morning:

The Lakewood Vaad, on behalf of the Lakewood Orthodox Jewish community, joins in the grief of the families of the victims and of the greater Pittsburgh Jewish community, in mourning the tragic death of eleven innocent Jewish worshippers who lost their lives during Sabbath prayer services.

May the All-mighty comfort their families.

In consultation with our Rabbinic leadership, our thousands of rabbinical students, as well as the rest of the Lakewood community, will be joining in special prayers after the reading of the Torah tomorrow. This will be followed by the recital of Tehillim (Psalms) to pray for memory of those brutally slaughtered by a maniacal hater, as well as those injured, both physically and in spirit.

We beseech the All-mighty, on behalf of all the Jewish people across the globe, to finally rid the world of the terrible plague of anti-Semitism and baseless hatred. May we, along with the millions of individuals of goodwill from all faiths across the county and the civilized world, each do our part to repair the world from evil under the sovereignty of the All-mighty.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)