As Jewish congregations across the country are grieving over and reflecting on the shootings that claimed 11 lives at a synagogue in Pittsburgh last Saturday, security is at the top of people’s minds.

That’s the case at a temple like Congregation Beth Shalom of the Blue Hills.

“My first rule in life, as a father, is safety first,” said Rabbi Fred Benjamin, who has led Milton’s sole Jewish congregation for more than a decade.

Noting that 10 of the congregation’s 140 families come from Dorchester, Mattapan, and Hyde Park, the rabbi said that there has been an outpouring of support from the broader community, with religious groups as well as members of law enforcement coming to the temple to show solidarity.

The question of security at Jewish temples comes with a spectrum of answers ranging from militarized synagogues to locking doors during services. For Rabbi Benjamin, the conversation over whether to lock doors during Sabbath services is now under way, though nobody wishes it were necessary.

“That’s a conversation that’s happening, and believe you me it’s unpleasant because who’s going to want to stand at the door and let someone in? They want to be at services… That’s an open question I think we have to ask it.”

Temple security, the rabbi said, “is a balance of openness, but not foolishness.”

The idea of locking the temple doors doesn’t sit well with David Mabel of Mattapan, the former owner of the Ice Creamsmith in Lower Mills and a four-decade member of Beth Shalom of the Blue Hills. But he says it could be a necessity.

“Sometimes you have to say, unfortunately, better safe than sorry. I’m not sure about big events, but on a regular Sabbath service when there are not that many people who are there and around I would say perhaps it’s a good idea,” he said.

But he’s not in favor of armed guards. “It’s a foolish notion, because, as I said, it would be quite expensive for every church and synagogue and mosque to have armed guards. “And for another thing,” he noted, “you’re starting to move towards a police state.”

At a vigil against hate on Boston Common the day after the tragedy in Pittsburgh, the crowd cheered as speakers including Mayor Marty Walsh and US Sen. Ed Markey talked about the need for love in the face of hate.

Hilary Marcus of Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in Newton said she doesn’t want the temple to have locked doors on the Sabbath. “I’d like there to be maybe community meetings to figure out what people want to feel safe... but people need to be able to walk in and not go through a metal detector to come to synagogue, or church,” she said.

These questions raise an important issue for temples: How to provide a sanctuary without creating a fortress. That’s according to Rabbi William Hamilton, of Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline, where there’s a massive renovation under way as part of the celebration of the temple’s 100th anniversary. 

With a grand re-opening coming up Saturday, it’s a joyous season at the synagogue. But Rabbi Hamilton says it will also be a day on which congregations across the country will gather in mourning.

“We are entering a completely restored and renewed space this coming Shabbat — a Shabbat on which we are encouraging alongside every other Jewish community across North America to fill our sanctuaries in response to the horrors,” he said.

The renovation has taken 15 months, at a cost of more than $10 million. Hamilton says the design incorporates state-of-the-art security measures. In addition to armed guards, there are cameras around the premises, and a streamlined entry and exit system.

At Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland, Rabbi Danny Burkeman said, “our hearts were broken” for the Tree of Life community. And we were aware that this would cause some anxiety amongst our own congregation.”

The synagogue shooting has also sparked a discussion over whether or not temples should have armed guards — something President Trump suggested could have prevented the killing.

Rabbi Burkeman said he has consulted with law enforcement, including Wayland’s chief of police. With the police stations just minutes away, he said, the congregation has decided armed guards are not necessary.

But he’s not an absolutist on the idea:

“One of the highest values within Judaism is the idea of pikuach nefesh, which means ‘to save a life.’ You can break virtually any other commandment... in order to save a life,” he said. “And so if we were given advice that [involved armed guards] because of feeling that this would help save lives, then that’s something that, Jewishly, we would feel an obligation to respond to.”

The country is facing a rise in anti-Semitic acts, and not even a week has passed since the worst synagogue attack in American history. But Rabbi Burkeman says he’s grateful that the time for armed guards has not arrived at his temple.

The Reporter and WBUR 90.9FM, Boston’s NPR News Station, have a partnership in which the news organizations share resources to collaborate on stories. Simón Rios is a WBUR reporter who is currently working from the Dorchester Reporter newsroom. He may be reached at srios@wbur.org.