This past week the South Florida Jewish community ushered in the Days of Awe, a time for reflection and for worship. Jews attending Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services likely encountered what has evolved into an unfortunate but necessary ritual: security.

The need for security to be a part of our religious lives is unfortunate, but essential. The recent anniversary of 9/11 served not only as a memorial, but also as a chilling reminder of how the world has changed.

This past summer, the nation experienced a wave of hate that spawned ideologically motivated violence including a tragic shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., by an anti-Semitic white supremacist and a plot by extremists to bomb two synagogues in New York.

Unfortunately, South Florida, and Miami in particular, are not immune. The Islamic School of Miami, a mosque in West Kendall, was riddled with bullets in January and its windows were smashed in June. St. Ann's Mission in Naranja has been targeted by vandals more than a dozen times during the last year, the latest incident occurring a few weeks ago. Last year, the Chabad Shul in Miami Beach was burned down -- a case that still remains unsolved. A few days after the fire, the words ``stop 4 Hitler'' were discovered painted on a stop sign in front of the Chabad of Parkland, along with swastikas spray-painted on the walls desecrating the synagogue on the eve of Yom Hashoah -- Holocaust Memorial Day.

These events and others compel the ritual of security to be integrated into the culture of all our community's religious institutions. However, as the Jewish community has learned, security does not have to come at the expense of maintaining an open and welcoming religious environment. Moreover, it can be implemented in a reasonable manner that preserves not only an institution's culture, but also its budget.

The events in our community compel yet another ritual: our community joining together to speak out against hate wherever it occurs. Attacks against houses of worship as a result of hatred and bigotry are un-American, undemocratic and, ultimately, constitute an attack against American society as a whole.

Such cowardly acts attempt to threaten, intimidate and harass entire communities, and we must unify to prevent the victims of such hatred from feeling isolated and alone. A united voice of community leaders, government officials and clergy coming together to denounce such acts of hate sets the right tone and leads by example.

Unfortunately, the Jewish community knows all too well the need for security for religious institutions. But we also know the comfort and security of a community standing together to condemn hate when it occurs. Together, these two rituals will help ensure that our houses of worship will flourish, our community will be stronger and that this will be a truly sweet and healthy new year.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.