CLEARWATER, Fla. — Rabbi David Weizman may have a home at Congregation Beth Shalom in Clearwater, but he says his home is in Israel.

“We feel like that’s our home too,” he said.

Weizman and his congregation have been devastated by what’s happening in Israel.

This weekend was supposed to be a celebration of a holiday, instead, it was wrapped with worry not only for the strangers impacted by the war but for the loved ones, like Weizman’s son, who’s studying right now in Jerusalem.

“He texts me first,” Weizman said about his recent conversations with his son. “He goes, you know, ‘can I call, is now a good time?’ And then he texts back. He goes, ‘Oh, the siren went off. I have to call you later.’ So, they go to the bomb shelter and he calls me like 15 or 20 minutes later.”

Thankfully, his son is OK and Weizman and members of his congregation are checking in constantly with people over there.

“Most of the time we're just trying to hold back the tears,” he said.

But like so many people impacted by this war, Weizman keeps the faith.

Here in Clearwater, though, security for his congregation is important, which is why they’ve ramped up a law enforcement presence and in-house security.

“The first couple of times you have to go through something like this, you know, it's just, like, really sort of depressing, you know?” Weizman said. “And then you kind of get jaded to an event like, OK, here we go again. We got to do this.”

Despite this, Weizman is resilient and faithful through all the adversity.

“You know, heartbroken, but you have to just, like, keep putting one foot in front of the other,” he said.

It’s that perseverance that keeps him going amid these horrific moments happening in his home across the sea.