AI2010_09_09

T HURSDAY, S EPTEMBER 9, 2010 • 1 T ISHREI , 5771 • S HABBOS

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Amberley Unplugged— end of summer party

By Nicole Simon Assistant Editor On Saturday, Aug. 28, over 200 young adults turned out for the last get together of the Jewish year. The party was the fifth edition of Amberley Unplugged, which was created and hosted by the Jewish Federation’s Young Adult Division (YAD). The social event was an outreach and networking effort that drew a huge response among the area’s young adults and attracted many new people to the Federation’s largest young people’s event.

The party was open to Jewish young adults, ages 21-45. The crowd enjoyed the live acoustic band “The Fibbs,” an open bar, appetizers and desserts under the stars in the tented shared backyards of the Guttman and Guigui families—a few blocks from Adath Israel Synagogue in Amberley Village. S’mores were made over the fire pit, attendees

entered into a drawing for the chance to win craft beers and Soho Sushi gift cards, and the free valet parking aided the numerous guests in getting to the event. There, young Jewish people of all denominations got a chance to catch up with old friends, greeted former Cincinnatians in for the weekend, and last, but most importantly, welcomed the newest members of the Cincinnati Jewish community.

“Amberley Unplugged is an important event for YAD as it helps to further develop a Jewish sense of community — a desired sentiment among Jewish young adults,” noted Felicia Zakem, development officer of YAD. “We had over 200 people in attendance this year, which was an increase of almost 20 percent over last year.

Many of them were new faces to Amberley Unplugged.” She futher noted how AU was created out of a desire to have a fun, inclusive and low-key way to bring Jewish young adults together.

YAD’s goals are to connect Jewish young adults while giving back to the community, supporting Israel and learning about the Jewish community.

YAD offers programs and events with meaning, including social action, networking opportunities and leadership development all with the goal to identify and educate young adults to become active members of the Jewish community as future leaders and philanthropists.

“The party was certainly a success — even though the fireblower never showed up,” added committee member Josh Rothstein and Amberley Unplugged attendee.

“Much of the young Jewish professional community did and seemed to have a great time!

People who have never come to events before came to AU, [and] many folks who didn’t know each other prior made new friends, and of course, all in all, it was well attended.”

Workum announces new director The Workum Fund would like to announce the hiring of Brett Stern as their new program director.

Stern will be taking the place of Nancy Seltz who is retiring after seven years of dedicated service as the executive director.

The Workum Fund has been in existence for 94 years. Since 1987, it has placed Jewish college students from Cincinnati in paid summer internship positions with local Jewish organizations. Through these internships, college students gain valuable work experience.

Workum interns attend weekly seminars as a group and benefit

from the mentoring of a supervisor.

The internships also lay the groundwork for involvement in the Jewish community after college, either as a professional or as a volunteer.

A former Workum intern herself, Stern previously held positions as the director of Mercaz Conservative High School and as the assistant director of Education and Youth Programs of Isaac M. Wise Temple. She holds Master’s degrees in both Jewish Communal Service and Nonprofit Management from Brandeis University, and a B.A. in Jewish Studies and Sociology from

Indiana University.

“I am thrilled to be part of such an outstanding organization,” said Stern. “As a former intern myself, I can attest to the wonderful work that the Workum Fund does. As my first job in the organized Jewish community, my Workum internship convinced me to pursue a career in the Jewish community. As I begin this new position, it feels as though things are coming full circle.”

The board of directors of the Workum Fund wishes Nancy Seltz the best of luck in her retirement, and thanks her for seven years of exemplary service!

Wise Temple High Holy Day Mitzvah Bag Project Wise Temple will launch its annual High Holy Day Mitzvah Bag Project to raise food for the Freestore Foodbank. Bags will be distributed to Temple members during both evening and morning services on Rosh Hashanah.

Congregants are asked to fill their bags and return them to the temple on Yom Kippur.

Freestore Foodbank reports that the number of people it regularly serves has doubled over the last three years. Last year’s contribution from the Temple was over 17,000 pounds of food. This year the goal is to exceed that total by bringing a larger Yom Kippur

offering in order to meet Cincinnati’s increasing need and Freestore Foodbank’s goal of distributing 16.2 million pounds.

Since Wise Temple initiated this idea over 20 years ago, it has contributed 582,000 pounds of food for Cincinnati’s hungry.

Brian MacConnell, vice president of communications at Freestore Foodbank states, “We have seen a dramatic increase in requests to help serve the emergency needs of low-income people in 20 counties throughout the Tristate who might otherwise go hungry. We count on the donations from the Wise Temple congrega-

tion to help fulfill the needs of the disadvantaged in our community.

We are grateful and proud to have Wise Temple’s support and quite simply, we could not do it without collections such as these.”

Food items needed include: soup, canned fruits and vegetables, macaroni and cheese, cereal, rice, tuna, chicken, ham, beef stew, beans, chili with meat and beans, spaghetti and meatballs. In addition, personal care items needed include: shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste and toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products and disposable diapers. Nothing in a glass container can be accepted.

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Wise Temple Brotherhood celebrates Sukkot It is said that Sukkot is the holiday of joy, and the men of the Isaac M. Wise Temple definitely agree.

Over the years, the members of the Wise Temple Brotherhood have made it their mission to celebrate Sukkot to its fullest. This year will be no exception.

For the seventh year, the Wise Temple Brotherhood is continuing its sukkah-building initiative.

Realizing that many people enjoy celebrating Sukkot at home, but lack the resources to build their own sukkah, several members of the group have designed a sukkah structure, gathered the necessary materials, and made their ready-to-assem-

ble sukkah kits available for purchase to members of the congregation. This year, the brothers are looking forward to assisting former clients set up their sukkahs for the holiday.

In addition to the sukkah kit project, the Wise Temple Brotherhood contributes to the observance of this festival by hosting its annual Sukkot Camp-Out. This year, the camp-out will be held on Saturday, Sept. 25. “This is always a highlight of our programmatic year,” commented event chairperson Lew Ebstein. “It is always so great to see so many people gathering around our congrega-

tional sukkah.”

In addition to the regular individuals and families who will once again participate in this program, members of the Wise Temple YoFI Group will join the Brotherhood for a special cook-out dinner. YoFI stands for “Young Family Involvement,” and is Wise Temple’s way to reach out and engage families with younger children.

Following the meal, the group plans to gather around a campfire so that they can make s’mores, sing songs, and partake in a meaningful Havdalah service, which officially separates Shabbat from the rest of the week.

After the campfire, individuals and families who opt to stay overnight will make their way to their tents in Wise Temple’s South Field. The children are sure to enjoy playing by moonlight and flashlight. In the morning, the campers will eat breakfast together before breaking down the tents and preparing for Religious School.

Brotherhood president, Dr. Andy Markiewitz, notes, “We have done this camp-out for several years now, and it keeps growing and growing.

We look forward to this year’s event and to share in the enthusiasm for this annual Wise Temple Brotherhood Sukkot celebration.”

JCC fall programs start with ‘free try it’ week Fall programs at the J begin the week of Sunday, Oct. 3. Before that, adults and teens can try several fall programs, including dancing, acting, sports and fitness, for free during the JCC “free try it” week, Sept. 12 – 17. A complete list of “free try it” week classes (for all ages) is available at the JCC and on their website. Advance registration is required by Sept. 10 for all “free try it” classes, and by Sept. 26 for all fall programs.

Beginning this fall, the UC College Conservatory of Music Prep Department will run the dance program at the J. There are classes like intermediate ballet (for women, ages16+), ballet (for ages 11 – 17), and stretch & strengthen (for women, ages16+). Other popular

JCC adult dance programs offered this fall include Israeli dancing, adult tap, Ballet for Life, and Ballet Fit. Playhouse in the Park returns to offer theater programs at the J. Drama enthusiasts will enjoy their acting fundamentals and improvisation classes (for adults, ages 18+).

The JCC offers a new “Glee” program for adults and teens (ages 16+) interested in recreational music making through song in a non-competitive environment.

Creative adults and teens (ages 16+) can explore different art media in the new JCC scarves and jewelry making or greeting card-making art workshops. Professional artist and educator, Judy Workman, will teach both classes.

An array of JCC sports programs for adults (ages 16+) resumes in September. This includes a men’s fall basketball league, co-ed pick-up soccer, and men’s fall softball league. There’s also a new teen basketball league for boys (in grades 9 – 12) starting in October.

JCC fall fitness programs include an 8-week triathlon training course (ages 18+); Stroller Pump, a fitness class for new moms; and the long-running JCC cardiovascular wellness & rehab program.

Starting Sept. 21, the JCC will offer a new twist on their effective weight management program: “Commit to be Fit: Couples Edition.” This 12-week version of TV’s “Biggest Loser: Couples

Edition” is a complete weight-loss program featuring team competitions and one-on-one coaching by JCC personal trainers and nutritionists from Jewish Hospital. This popular fall program for J Members (ages 16+) fills quickly.

In addition to sports and fitness programs, adults in the community can try JCC Jewish Life and Learning programs like the Florence Melton Adult MiniSchool Jewish literacy classes and conversational Hebrew during the JCC’s “free try it” week, Sept. 12 – 17. These Jewish-based programs and several others will run as a complete series when JCC fall programs start the week of Oct. 3.

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Grand Sukkot celebration— The Sukkah Trot Chabad Jewish Center is delighted to give families the opportunity to celebrate the joyful holiday of Sukkot in a unique and charming way—with The Sukkah Trot. Families will travel throughout local neighborhoods in horse-drawn wagons, visiting various sukkahs, or special outdoor booths, built for the holiday since Biblical times. Each stop will be filled with Sukkot fun. All are invited to join with family and friends in celebrating Sukkot’s message of joyful Jewish unity.

The Sukkah Trot will be held on Sunday, Sept. 26, from 2 -4 p.m. The horse-drawn carriages will leave promptly at 2:15 p.m. from Hopewell Meadows Park.

Reservations should be made by Sept. 19 to ensure a place in the wagons. Call the Chabad Jewish Center, or visit us online to make a

reservation or for more information.

Sukkot is a Biblical holiday, which commemorates the protective clouds that surrounded the Jewish nation as they wandered in the desert. It is celebrated by eating and rejoicing in a hut covered by bamboos or palm branches, for eight days. Jews also take four plants; a citron, palm, willows and myrtle and bless then shake them together on each of the eight days.

“Eating together in a temporary hut signifies our trust in G-d and His constant protection over us.

Taking the four kinds of plants together is reminiscent of bringing all types of Jews together as equals,” said Rabbi Berel Cohen, youth director of Chabad Jewish Center. “This message of faith, protection and unity is particularly relevant, along with Sukkot’s emphasis on joyful celebration.”

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Enjoy free family events at the J This year, the Mayerson JCC offers several free family events, and all are open to the public. The first of these free family programs at the J is this Sunday, Sept. 12 (noon – 4 p.m.) as part of the tristate’s “Community Arts Centers Day” sponsored by the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr. Foundation.

The Mayerson JCC, along with 26 other community arts centers, will open their doors for free on Sunday, Sept. 12 sharing art, music and dance activities designed to connect local communities.

“On this day people all across Greater Cincinnati will have a chance to visit these wonderful neighborhood assets,” said Ruth

Dickey from the Clifton Cultural Arts Center.

“The Mayerson JCC promotes and produces quality arts programs throughout the year, and we’re proud to be a part of Community Arts Centers Day,” added Courtney Cummings, JCC cultural arts coordinator.

At 1 p.m. at the J, popular children’s music entertainer Marc Rossio, known as “The Marvelous Toy,” will entertain everyone with interactive songs and sing-alongs in the Amberley Room. Between 2 – 2:45 p.m., professional artist and educator Judy Workman will host a puppet-making craft workshop for kids (ages 7+) in the art room.

At 3 p.m., Workman will lead a greeting card art workshop for adults (ages 16+). All these JCC activities are free.

Throughout the afternoon, guests can view artwork created by JCC program participants, campers, and Early Childhood School students, as well as take turns playing the colorful piano located at the JCC’s front entrance (part of the “Play Me, I’m Yours” program celebrating 150 years of Cincinnati Public Radio).

There will be another free family event at the J on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m., featuring an award-winning EVENTS on page 21

Wise Temple seniors look forward to an eventful year The Isaac M. Wise Temple Senior Adults recently unveiled their plans for the fall and winter of 20102011. Their calendar is filled with a combination of social, educational and religious activities.

The Wise Temple Senior Adult Committee was formed more than 13 years ago when several members of the professional and lay-leadership realized how beneficial it would be to have programs specifically available to the older adult population. Since that time, the committee has blossomed into a vibrant and active group that sponsors monthly events for senior adults.

This year, the Senior Adult Committee has arranged for a wide array of programming. On Thursday, Sept. 23, members of the

committee will help lead the Isaac M. Wise Temple Sukkot Morning Service. Following the service, there will be a special Sukkot luncheon, which will feature a talk by Wise Temple Librarian Andrea Rapp.

Rapp will speak on the subject of “ushpizin” – the ancestral figures who are said to visit us during this holiday. However, Rapp’s ushpizin program will focus on stories of Wise Temple’s former leadership who are now of blessed memory.

Other highlights of the season include a talk with local celebrity Jane Heimlich, a visit to the Cincinnati Center for Holocaust Education, the showing of “Lost in Yonkers” with a discussion led by therapist Dr. Karen Gail Lewis, and a presentation by Cincinnati food

Community’s Jewish day schools outline needs with Jewish Federation CINCINNATI — Cincinnati’s Jewish day schools have not been immune to the lingering effects of the country’s turbulent economy.

Challenged by declines in funding and increasing competition for students, the schools are working to find ways to reduce costs while still ensuring that any Jewish child in Cincinnati can have access to a high-quality Jewish education.

Recently, volunteers from the Jewish Federation’s Planning and Allocations Council of Jewish Life & Learning (CJLL) made site visits to Cincinnati’s three Jewish day schools—Cincinnati Hebrew Day

School (CHDS), Rockwern Academy and the Regional Institute for Torah and Secular Studies (RITSS)—in order the learn more about each institution’s needs and to make funding recommendations to the Planning and Allocations Committee.

Meeting with school leaders — Rabbi Yuval Kernerman (CHDS Principal), Peter Cline (Rockwern Academy Principal), and Rabbi Ezriel Dzaloszynski, (RITSS Principal)— the volunteer council members gathered information SCHOOLS on page 21

critic Polly Campbell. All of these programs are sponsored by the Wise Temple Senior Adults, but are open to everyone, regardless of age.

Chairperson Suzanne Voos remarked, “We are very proud of our offerings this year. Our committee is fantastic, and has put a lot of thought and energy into these and other events. I know that it will be an inspiring year for us.”

If you wish to learn more about the Wise Temple Senior Adults and their other upcoming highlights of the year, please contact Wise Temple.

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Pioneering exchange program of Children’s Hospital with Israeli hospitals CINCINNATI — A comprehensive professional exchange program between leading pediatric clinical, academic and research institutions in Israel and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center initiated in 2009—is moving forward with several major collaborative projects now planned in pediatric clinical care, research, education and technology.

Leaders from Cincinnati Children’s —along with Cincinnati area business and Jewish communal leaders— participated in a commission trip to Israel last year planned and facilitated by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. That trip—along with a June 2010 visit by representatives of Cincinnati Children’s — has led to identifying Israel’s Hadassah Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, and Schneider Children’s Hospital as a few of the optimal institutions for collaboration.

The partnership’s collaborations will focus on new opportunities for systemic learning and cooperation— and for individual exchanges among nurses, physicians and researchers. The goals are to improve clinical care for children around the world, more expertly train pediatric providers and scientists, and make research advances that benefit children

worldwide. “Medical systems that provide complex and sophisticated care can benefit from sharing information and experiences with similar organizations and partners,” said Frederick Ryckman, M.D., professor of Surgery/Transplantation and vice president of System Capacity and Perioperative Operations at Cincinnati Children’s. “For example, Cincinnati Children’s can offer training and services in disciplines that are not presently available in Israel, such as infant transplant, colorectal care and other complex care plans that support our mission of being the leader in improving child health.”

Israel also has an advanced healthcare system with excellent clinical care, research and cutting edge technology. “Israel is a unique healthcare partner for Cincinnati Children’s,” added Marc Levitt, M.D., associate director, Colorectal Center for Children. “We envision collaborations in many innovative clinical and research areas. There is much we can learn from Israel in such areas as trauma, disaster response and genetic disorders, among many others. When our clinicians collaborate, many patients who need complex care will benefit from the programmatic expertise at Cincinnati Children’s. These

“Medical systems that provide complex and sophisticated care can benefit from sharing information and experiences with similar organizations and partners,” Frederick Ryckman, M.D.

children and their families will be able to remain at home for care as similar programs are developed in Israel.”

While physicians and clinicians from Cincinnati Children’s will travel to Israel for information sharing and training, the exchange program will also bring Israeli doctors, nurses, patients and their families to Cincinnati for training, joint research projects and treatment. Though many have spent time in larger American cities in the past, most will be visiting Cincinnati for the first time.

During the 2010 mission, Shary Levitt, director of Donor Cultivation at the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, spent some time with Israeli doctors and nurses who wanted to know more about Cincinnati—and about the

character and quality of Cincinnati’s Jewish community.

Levitt explained that while they are here, the Jewish Federation’s MyFamily-on-Call program as well as the orthodox community’s Bikur Cholim program will help coordinate accommodations, offer friendship and support, and provide assistance in accessing community services such as schools, synagogues, social service agencies and recreational facilities.

“The MyFamily-On-Call and Bikur Cholim programs have been invaluable sources of support for families who have come to Cincinnati for medical care at Children’s Hospital,” said Levitt.

“Committee members have done everything from picking families up from the airport and providing temporary cribs, high chairs and car seats, to connecting families with Jewish agencies such as the JCC, Rockwern Academy, Jewish Family Service (JFS) and Cincinnati Hebrew Day School (CHDS). And when the families need emotional support and advice, committee members are there for them as well.”

Dr. Menachem Bitan, an Israeli physician who spent a year working at Cincinnati Children’s, told colleagues that he was able to concentrate on his work in Cincinnati because he did not have to worry about how his family was acclimating to the community. In fact, they were happy and thriving. “The Jewish Federation is an important community partner to support this exchange,” noted Michelle Kohn, International Regional Manager of Cincinnati Children’s. “Because hospitality is such an important part of Israeli culture, the Jewish Federation’s ability to provide a warm welcome and offer things like Sabbath dinners with local families and invitations to Jewish holiday celebrations becomes extremely important. These types of experiences in Cincinnati will further strengthen the excellent reputation Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has in Israel.”

“The Jewish Federation is the primary bridge between Cincinnati and Israel, sponsoring mutually beneficial cultural, educational and economic partnerships,” said Shep Englander, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. “We are delighted to collaborate with one of America’s premier institutions, Cincinnati Children’s, to launch this ground breaking partnership, which will create significant medical and economic benefits in Cincinnati and in Israel. It is inspiring to see Israel’s global leadership in innovation and technology strengthening our region.”

Several key projects of the exchange are already being planned. Pediatric neurosurgeons at Hadassah Hospital have requested additional training in surgery for seizures at Cincinnati Children’s. “Hadassah Hospital will be sending their neurosurgeon to spend two weeks with our neurosurgeons here at Cincinnati Children’s,” said Dr. Levitt. “We also are working closely with Schneider Children’s Hospital and Hadassah Hospital in the area of pediatric colorectal surgery. A nurse will be visiting Cincinnati to learn unique colorectal nursing skills while Hadassah Hospital is sending a surgical fellow to train for one year in this area.”

Partnership participants believe the exchange program has the potential to become a major program here and in Israel. Marc E. Rothenberg, M.D., Ph.D., director of Allergy and Immunology and director of the Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders at Cincinnati Children’s, says that “We share common interests in three key areas: pediatric clinical care, research and education. While these are major focus areas for the Cincinnati Children’s global program, there are few partnering countries that offer development in all three areas.”

According to Dr. Rothenberg, the research partnerships with Israel are crucial. “Israel is a world leader in innovation, particularly in the sciences, and this is an area that will greatly benefit us in improving global research impact through innovative, gamechanging research,” he says. “We are also working to identify Israeli bio-tech companies which have technologies that synergize with or complement work that is ongoing at Cincinnati Children’s.”

Rothenberg says that Cincinnati Children’s is also a powerhouse in pediatric research, with a particular PROGRAM on page 19

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Bradley University offers kosher food options to students

By Kath Conver Guest Columnist PEORIA, ILL. — College students who observe Jewish dietary laws now have food that meet their needs at Bradley University.

This fall the University began offering certified kosher sandwiches, salads and frozen foods in residence hall cafeterias and food courts on campus. The sandwiches and salads, prepared in a special kosher kitchen, sold out the first day.

“It’s an investment of time, energy, attention and resources on the part of the University to ensure that the highest standard of kosher

observance is maintained,” said Dr. Seth Katz, faculty advisor to Bradley Hillel. “What it means is that students who keep kosher, who are observant, who may be attending orthodox or conservative Jewish high schools, will have a new option for college.”

Bradley is working to increase the geographic diversity of its student population and views the kosher food service as an attractive option for prospective students as well as a service for those with religious or special dietary needs. The University plans to expand the service in the future.

One of Bradley’s residence hall food preparation areas will be ren-

ovated later this year to include separate dairy and meat kitchens, and in the fall of 2011 one residence hall will provide full kosher meal service Sunday through Friday. Bradley Hillel offers a kosher dinner on Friday.

The food is certified by Rabbi Eli Langsam of Chabad Lubavitch of Peoria. “We’re very grateful that the food service and Bradley president, Joanne Glasser, have made it a priority to provide kosher food for current and future students,” Langsam said.

The kosher food is available to the general public and as a catering alternative to groups and organizations.

As recession drags on, middleclass families forced to turn to Jewish food banks

By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Robert M., 58, worked for a news organization in the San Francisco Bay area until September 2008, when he lost his job in layoffs that eliminated 15 percent of the company’s workforce nationwide.

Robert had eight months of savings. They ran out in six months.

After 14 months of unemployment, in December 2009 Robert turned to San Francisco’s Jewish Family and Children’s Services for help with rent, utilities and, hardest of all, food.

“It was gut wrenching,” said Robert, who asked that his last name not be used. “I’d contributed a lot to charities over the years, including JFCS. My wife and I gave to the food bank regularly. Now we were on the other side.”

It sounds apocryphal: Former donors to a Jewish charity reduced to seeking help from that very same organization. But as more and more Jews are caught up in the recession, now two years running, food banks across the United States are reporting the same phenomenon. Middleclass Jews, professional Jews, young people with families — they’re out of work, their savings are gone, and they are showing up for help at Jewish social service agencies.

With unemployment extensions about to run out for many, the problem is expected to worsen.

“In addition to the poor and the working poor, which we’ve always served, there’s been a substantial increase the past 18 months among

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The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty delivered Rosh Hashanah food packages throughout New York City in September 2009.

the middle and upper-middle class who are not in a position to make it, yet are not poor enough to get benefits” from government, said William Rapfogel, CEO and executive director of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty in New York.

Even so, the myth persists that Jews are affluent.

“There is denial of the degree of need in the Jewish community,” said Barbara Levy Gradet, executive director of Jewish Community Services in Baltimore. “We have young families as well as retired people looking for work. This is an equal-opportunity recession.”

The Met Council in New York,

which serves the largest number of Jewish poor in the nation, distributes food packages at 60 sites in New York City’s five boroughs, part of the $3.5 million in food aid it gives out every year.

Fifteen thousand households receive the packages — up from 9,000 a year-and-a-half ago — and virtually all are Jewish. Whereas before the recession the Met Council saw a lot of haredi Orthodox families and the elderly, there has been a dramatic increase over the last two years in non-haredi Orthodox families and the non-observant, Rapfogel said.

MIDDLE-CLASS on page 21

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‘Being Erica’ TV character transfixes Toronto Jews

By Renee Ghert-Zand Jewish Telegraphic Agency PALO ALTO, Calif. (JTA) — A young woman with long auburn hair sits surrounded by friends and family in her mother’s living room while holding a tiny baby on a pillow in her lap.

She is the sandek at the brit of her cousin’s son, having agreed to take on this honorary role — the one who holds the baby — to please her father, a Reform rabbi who is the mohel. But just as her father is about to perform the circumcision, the young woman faints. Her father moves in just in time, grabbing the newborn before she falls to the ground.

Meet Erica Strange, a bright and attractive Jewish woman in her early 30s living in a hip neighborhood in downtown Toronto and working in book publishing.

Erica is the fictional, time-traveling, eponymous lead character played by Erin Karpluk in the hit Canadian TV series “Being Erica.”

The show begins its third season on CBC Television on Sept. 22.

With much of the character derived from the life experience of the show’s creator and executive producer, Jana Sinyor, this fictional 30-something Toronto Jew is resonating with many young Canadian Jews who see in her something of themselves.

“Erica is Jewish like I’m Jewish: It’s not in your face, but at the same time it’s not just by the way,” said Ramona Carmelly, a professional opera singer in Toronto. “You really feel her Jewishness, even though ‘Being Erica’ is not a Jewish show.”

But some Jewish viewers are irked by the Jewish portrayal of Erica. One viewer, Pearl Gropper Berman, said the laissez-faire way in which the show treats Erica’s dating non-Jewish men and her sister’s intermarriage is not representative of Canadian Jews.

“I believe the daughter of a Toronto rabbi would be more engaged in the Jewish community,” Berman said. “Toronto’s Jewish community is much more conservative, and the decisionmaking surrounding dating someone non-Jewish would be more prominent.”

Regardless of how accurate a portrait “Being Erica” paints of the contemporary Canadian Jew, it gives the larger Canadian viewing public some idea of what it’s like to be young and Jewish in Toronto —and that has inspired pride even among many of the show’s Jewish critics.

Synagogues seek ways to keep, draw members in time of recession

By Jessica Pauline Ogilvie Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Courtesy of Temple Street Productions

Actress Erin Karpluk, left, who plays Erica Strange on the hit Canadian drama “Being Erica,” with the show’s creator, Jana Sinyor, on location.

Rabbi Erin Polonsky of Toronto’s Temple Sinai said she watches “Being Erica” despite her disappointment with how the show handles certain Jewish topics.

Berman also admitted to liking the show despite its Jewish shortcomings.

“It’s very cool to have a character on TV who is Jewish but also smart, pretty, complicated and funny,” she said.

Sinyor, Erica’s creator, said this was intentional.

“I purposely make characters as specific as possible in every way in order for them to be universally appealing,” Sinyor told JTA. “Everyone comes from somewhere, and I chose to make Erica Jewish because that is where I come from and what I know best.”

On the show, Erica deals with the ups and downs of romantic relationships, dramas with friends and lots of family mishegas. She sees a therapist who, rather than prescribing Prozac or employing standard psychoanalysis, uses time travel to treat Erica, sending her into the past, future and alternate realities to work through her issues.

Several episodes in the first two seasons of the show had heavy doses of Jewish culture, from one set on Yom Kippur to another that flashes back to Erica’s bat mitzvah. The way Erica’s Judaism is weaved into her identity is typical of modern Canadian Jews, some fans say.

Moshe Saadon, a sound technician in the film and TV industry who also happens to be a cantor, is

one of several rabbinic advisers Sinyor has used to help her stage Jewish scenes and episodes.

Saadon arranged for his historic Beach Synagogue to serve as a location set, supplied religious items, and played a gabbai and a rabbi in two different episodes. In one he officiated at the intermarriage of Erica’s sister.

Saadon said he is impressed by the earnestness with which the show’s actors take on the Jewish aspects of their portrayals. Jewish cast members have helped other actors with Hebrew pronunciations.

Sinyor emphasized that she is “not speaking for Jews as a whole,” but she said the show purposely addresses Jewish issues, such as interfaith dating and opposition to circumcision.

In the brit episode, Erica tells her father in an emotional outburst, “It’s awful! You’re cutting a baby without anesthetic for no good reason. I don’t get it! I should never have agreed to participate.”

Sinyor counts herself among the small percentage of Toronto Jews who refused to have their sons circumcised.

Marci Stepak O’Connor, a Jew from Toronto now living in Montreal and married to a Catholic, says she is a fan because Erica is not complacent about her Jewishness — or anything in her life.

“Being Jewish means constantly questioning,” she said.

“Being Erica” is distributed in the United States and 85 other countries through BBC Worldwide.

LOS ANGELES (Jewish Journal) — Since the recession began two years ago, cutting back has become a way of life for many families. And with the cost of belonging to a synagogue seemingly higher than ever, many Jewish families believe they have to decide whether belonging to a temple is worth the price.

In response, synagogues have had to find creative ways to appeal to financially strapped families or face dwindling membership.

The average price of synagogue membership in Los Angeles for a family with children hovers at about $2,500. For those who want better seats during the High Holidays or child care, the costs only rise.

Jay Sanderson, president of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, has heard from rabbis throughout the community about the difficulties that rising fees have caused. It’s a dilemma that has been reflected throughout the United States.

“Hundreds and hundreds of families across Los Angeles are leaving synagogues because of the economic crisis,” he said. “This is a very significant community problem.”

At Sinai Temple in Westwood, one of the largest Conservative synagogues in the Los Angeles area, the annual membership dues of $2,570 for families with children aged 17 and under includes tickets for unreserved seating at High Holidays services.

In the 2009-10 fiscal year, Sinai membership decreased for the first time in years, said Rachel Feldman, the synagogue’s membership coordinator, from 2,150 member families the previous year to 2,000.

“We had more resignations last year than [in] years before,” Feldman said, adding that resignations also exceeded new memberships for the first time in years.

Synagogues typically offer the possibility of reduced fees to members or prospective members in need. Not surprisingly, the number of families receiving dues relief has increased since the recession began.

Feldman estimates that in fiscal year 2009-10, aid was provided to approximately 60 families, up from 30 or 35 before the economic downturn.

At Temple Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, membership numbers have stayed the same, according to

executive director Malcolm Katz, but like Sinai, more families have sought financial assistance. With dues for a family at $2,670 per year, Katz estimated that 25 to 30 percent of families received help in the past fiscal year; the number had been closer to 20 percent in prior years.

The temple’s goal, as it is with others, is to avoid losing members or turning away those who wish to join.

“Our objective is to keep our members if we possibly can,” Katz said. “We don’t want people to leave only because they say they can’t afford it.”

To keep a balanced budget and allow more families to receive aid who need it, many synagogues have cut back on spending. At Valley Beth Shalom, that meant skipping annual salary increases and maintaining the same dues, a change from years past.

“Typically we will both raise dues and give salary increases in a given year,” Katz said. “But we got through last year OK.” Many synagogues also are bolstering their efforts to draw in new members. Most have established programs for young couples and singles, for whom dues are drastically lower. And more events, social networking and word-ofmouth efforts are cropping up.

Sinai’s young professional group, called ATID, recently hosted a luncheon for prospective members.

“We did a ‘nosh and network’ event for potential new and returning members,” ATID director Stacey Zackin said. “We told them about what ATID does and [featured] a couple of established Sinai Temple members.”

Sinai’s Rabbi David Wolpe also launched his own Facebook account this year and now has 1,656 followers.

For those who simply can’t pay dues to a synagogue, or don’t want to, there’s always the option of attending one of Los Angeles’ lowcost or free High Holidays services.

While they may not provide the year-round community of a temple membership, they do offer a connection to Judaism that many want.

Bayit Shelanu, Hebrew for “our house,” is such an organization.

Housed annually in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom at UCLA, the allvolunteer group offers free Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services open to the public.

SYNAGOGUES on page 22

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

NATIONAL

9

In new play, Patinkin tackles an Anne Frank obsession

By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency BERKELEY, Calif. (JTA) — Mandy Patinkin says he only plays Jewish characters.

Che Guevara, his Tony Awardwinning role in the 1980 Broadway play, “Evita?” Jewish.

Inigo “prepare to die” Montoya in “The Princess Bride?” Also Jewish.

“Everything I do is Jewish. It’s who I am. It’s my soul,” said Patinkin, 57, whose 30-year career on stage and screen ranges from Barbra Streisand’s love interest in “Yentl” to “Mamaloshen,” his traveling celebration of Yiddish music.

Patinkin spoke to JTA from the rehearsal space at the Berkeley Repertory Theater, where he is preparing for the Sept. 16 opening of “Compulsion,” a new play about the world’s enduring fascination with Anne Frank.

“Compulsion” is playwright Rinne Groff’s fictionalized tale of the true story of Meyer Levin, an ambitious writer obsessed for 30 years with producing his own theatrical version of Anne’s diary, a right he claims was stolen from him by the people behind the 1955 Broadway play “The Diary of Anne Frank.” The new play is a co-production of the Yale Repertory Theatre, where it premiered in January; Berkeley Rep, where it runs through Oct. 31; and the Public Theater in New York, where it opens next February.

The intensity Patinkin brings to his work stands him in good stead to play Sid Silver, the Levin character in “Compulsion.” Silver, like Levin, is seared by images from the concentration camps and absorbed with bringing what he believed was Anne’s true message to the world versus what he called the “de-Judaized” version of the Broadway play and later Hollywood film.

“Anne was not a universalist, she was a Jewish idealist,” Patinkin said. “That was the core of [Levin’s] argument.”

It was playwrights Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and producer Kermit Bloomgarden who universalized Anne’s story for American audiences in the 1950s.

That was their goal, Groff says, perhaps understandably. Anne’s diary was, after all, the first widely published account of the horrors of the Holocaust, before the searing works by Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi.

Groff’s play “didn’t just speak to me, it shouted at me,” said Patinkin, who read the script last year and immediately told director

Oskar Eustis it would be “illegal” for the play to be put on without him. “I was stunned at how it hit a nerve in my soul, on so many levels.”

Patinkin says his Jewish identity was “shaken to the core” by a recent trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau and Theresienstadt concentration camps.

“It was the sound of the train tracks that finally undid me,” he said. “I was headed back to Warsaw to continue to other places, and I had to stop; I couldn’t go any further. I couldn’t separate out how I was going to get off, go to a pretty hotel and have a nice meal, but if I closed my eyes, those sounds would have been taking me to a gas chamber.”

Saying he “can’t understand” how people can sit by and let something like the Holocaust happen, Patinkin added, “You can say I’m naive, that I don’t get it, but neither did Anne. She believed, as she says repeatedly and as we repeat in this play, that people are really good at heart.”

But “Compulsion” isn’t about Anne. It’s about one man’s obsession with Anne and, by extension, Groff says, the notion of many that only they truly understand the young diarist.

That was Levin’s mishegas, too. He read Anne’s diary in the late 1940s and extracted a verbal agreement from her father, Otto, to the stage rights. But Levin’s version was deemed unsuitable, other writers were brought in and Levin sued the bunch of them, including Otto Frank. He won, they appealed and the case was settled by a panel of “Jewish experts” who awarded Levin $15,000 in damages while ordering him to give up his quest.

Levin never did, and that’s the heart of “Compulsion.”

“It’s about his obsession with an idealistic vision of humanity that this child represented, and his core belief that it must be respected, protected and guarded in perpetuity, and rekindled every day,” Patinkin said. “This play asks us to what degree are we willing to go for what we believe in? Is the cost worth it? Are we living in a world of endless compromise?”

Patinkin has a long involvement with Jewish and Israeli causes. He received the 2000 Peace Award from Americans for Peace Now, is a board member of the Jewish sustainability nonprofit Hazon and supports the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.

He said his activism stems from the lessons he learned growing up at Rodfei Zedek on Chicago’s South Side, as well as at

the family dinner table.

“Forgiveness, compassion — rachmones — and tikkun olam,” Patinkin said. “It’s pretty simple.

Repair the world — my world, your world, our children’s world, the Middle East world, the world of the environment, health care, ethics, all those worlds.”

Years ago, New York theater impresario Joseph Papp told him to be careful what opinions he expressed about Israel in Jewish circles.

“He said, you’re going to make a good deal of your living from your community, and if you offend them, they may take a long time, if ever, to forgive you. So understand the risk,” Patinkin recalls. But, Patinkin says, the “desperate need” for peace in the Middle East leaves no room for niceties.

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Introducing nonIsraeli institutions facing new Jewish Europeans to boycotts — by Israelis Jewish life

By Marcy Oster Jewish Telegraphic Agency

By Ruth Ellen Gruber Jewish Telegraphic Agency PITIGLIANO, Italy (JTA) — In Italy, where there are only about 25,000 affiliated Jews in a population of 60 million, most Italians have never knowingly met a Jew. “It’s unfortunate,” said the Italian Jewish activist Sira Fatucci, “but in Italy Jews and the Jewish experience are often mostly known through the Holocaust.”

Fatucci is the national coordinator in Italy for the annual European Day of Jewish Culture, an annual transborder celebration of Jewish traditions and creativity that takes place in more than 20 countries on the continent on the first Sunday of September — this year, Sept. 5.

Synagogues, Jewish museums and even ritual baths and cemeteries are open to the public, and hundreds of seminars, exhibits, lectures, book fairs, art installations, concerts, performances and guided tours are offered.

The main goal is to educate the non-Jewish public about Jews and

Judaism in order to demystify the Jewish world and combat antiJewish prejudice.

“What we are trying to do is to show the living part of Judaism — to show life,” Fatucci said. “What we want to do is to use culture as an antidote to ignorance and antiSemitism.”

Some 700 people flock to Culture Day events each year in Pitigliano, a rust-colored hilltown in southern Tuscany that once had such a flourishing Jewish community that it was known as Little Jerusalem.

Most local Jews moved away before World War II, and today only four Jews live here in a total population of 4,000. But in recent years the medieval ghetto area has become an important local attraction. The town produces kosher wine, and a new shop sells souvenir packets of matzah and Jewish pastries.

Culture Day events here include kosher food and wine tastings, guided tours, art exhibits and an open-air klezmer concert.

EUROPEANS on page 22

Using private eyes to fight the problem of ‘chained wives’

By Dina Kraft Jewish Telegraphic Agency NETIVOT, Israel (JTA) — Ariella Dadon still marvels at being free.

For more than 2 1/2 years she was married to a man she describes as unfaithful, physically violent and emotionally abusive. For four years she struggled to get a divorce. But the rabbinical court ruled repeatedly that she needed to bring in “proof” of her husband’s infidelities.

“I had the names and addresses of the women he cheated on me with, but they wanted photos and I asked, ‘Where can I get those?’” said Dadon, 30.

Dadon asked the court, known as the Beit Din Ha’Rabbanim, to subpoena the women to testify, but it never did.

Desperate and exhausted, Dadon, an otherwise upbeat young woman with long dark curls, turned to an organization that helps women whose husbands refuse to grant a Jewish writ of divorce, or get.

Mavoi Satum — Hebrew for “dead end” — offered her a novel solution: the services of a private investigator.

On his first day, the investigator snapped photos of her then-husband emerging from a car and into the home of a girlfriend. On the second day he photographed him with another woman.

The photos did the trick.

The judges, who long had said there was no room for reconciliation in such a marriage but nevertheless had demanded the evidence, ordered Dadon’s husband — once he finally showed up in court under police arrest a few months later — to grant the divorce.

Mavoi Satum, which provides legal and practical assistance to women like Dadon, as well as general advocacy and lobbying on the issue, decided several years ago to start using private investigators to help put pressure on recalcitrant husbands to grant divorces.

WIVES on page 22

JERUSALEM (JTA) — By now it would seem that Israelis are accustomed to calls for boycotts of Israeli products and institutions.

Many, however, may have been caught off guard this summer when those calls came from inside Israel.

In two separate incidents over the past few weeks, Israelis issued a call for boycott or announced a boycott of an Israeli institution for political reasons. One protest came from the right, directed at an Israeli university with allegedly “antiZionist” professors on staff; one came from the left, directed at an Israeli theater in the West Bank.

The boycotts from within may mark a new front in Israel’s political battles.

For the time being, mainstream Israeli figures are condemning both boycotts.

“Culture is a bridge in society, and political disputes should be left outside cultural life and art,” Israel’s minister of culture and sport, Limor Livnat, said in response to the theater boycott.

The latest boycott call came after several Israeli theater companies announced plans to stage productions at a new theater in Ariel, a Jewish city of 20,000 in the West Bank. The $10 million cultural center in Ariel, which was built partly with government funding, is scheduled to open Nov. 8. It will be the first major theater in a Jewish settlement, most of which are smaller bedroom communities.

As the theater schedule came to light, nearly 60 Israeli theater professionals signed a petition last weekend saying they would refuse to perform at the new venue or in any West Bank settlement. On Tuesday, about 150 academics and authors signed a letter supporting the petition.

“We will not take part in any kind of cultural activity beyond the Green Line, take part in discussions and seminars, or lecture in any kind of academic setting in these settlements,” the letter said.

“My contract with the theater says explicitly that I am obligated to perform within the State of Israel — and Ariel is not part of the state,” director and actor Oded Kotler, a boycott petition signer, told Army Radio.

The Ariel boycott call follows on the heels of a call to boycott Ben-Gurion University issued by the campus group Im Tirtzu, which says that professors in the university’s department of politics and government harbor anti-Zionist biases and are silencing students’ Zionist viewpoints.

Neve Gordon, the head of the

Yossi Zeliger / Flash 90 / JTA

The new cultural center in the West Bank city of Ariel, where some Israeli actors have refused to perform, is scheduled to open in November 2010.

university’s department of politics and government, has called for a “social, economic and political boycott of Israel.”

University President Rivka Carmi condemned Gordon’s call but has not dismissed the department chief.

“The fact that I condemn his statements doesn’t mean I can fire him,” she told the Jerusalem Post.

“You cannot fire someone for their political opinions.”

University spokesman Amir Rozenblit said that the university complies with the quality and content requirements of the Israeli Council for Higher Education, and that it hires faculty members based solely on their professional and academic qualifications, not political opinions.

Im Tirtzu’s threat to approach Ben-Gurion University donors for failing to dismiss its “anti-Zionist” staff prompted some Im Tirtzu supporters in the United States to rethink their support for the organization.

Meanwhile, Ben-Gurion University condemned the boycott call by Im Tirtzu.

“Just as university president Prof. Rivka Carmi harshly condemned those who called for an international boycott of Israel, so too the university denounces any group that calls for a boycott of any Israeli university based on the opinions of its academic faculty members,” Rozenblit said.

This week, the Israeli media were buzzing with opinion-makers debating the Ariel affair.

In Haaretz, columnist Akiva Eldar suggested that artists who oppose Israel’s presence in the West Bank use the opportunity to stage performances for settlers that would prompt them to think twice about the occupation. Another of the daily’s columnists, Gideon Levy, countered that Israeli theaters would be boycotted internationally

if they forced actors to perform in the West Bank.

Many voiced outrage that government funding goes to the theaters whose members are now calling for the boycott.

“The theaters that suck up the state’s money owe their dose of culture to the taxpayers,” Eitan Haber wrote in Ynet. “So, first get on stage and perform, and only later you can head to anti-settlement protests if you wish, even in Ariel.”

On Sunday, the Israeli prime minister weighed in.

“The last thing we need at this time is to be under such an attack — I mean this attempt at a boycott from within,” Benjamin Netanyahu said. “I do not want to deny the right of any person, of any artist, to hold to a political opinion. He or she can express this opinion. But we, as a government, do not need to fund boycotts. We do not have to support boycotts directed at Israeli citizens in any manner whatsoever.”

Netanyahu, Livnat and other government ministers have threatened to sanction theaters that refuse to perform in West Bank venues.

The Habima, Khan, Beersheba and Cameri theaters are all scheduled to stage productions in Ariel.

The theaters each received about $2.5 million to $3 million from the ministry of culture and sport, according to an official in Livnat’s office. The ministry was not involved in funding the theater in Ariel, which is located about 10 miles inside the West Bank and is the fifth-largest Jewish settlement in the territory.

The theaters issued a collective statement saying that the scheduled Ariel productions will go on, but that they would “respect the political opinions of their actors.” The theaters are consulting with their legal advisers on how to proceed with artists who refuse to perform in the West Bank, a culture ministry official told JTA.

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DINING OUT

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Chicken and Liver and Brisket, Oh My!

By Marilyn Gale Dining Editor A Jewish barbecue with a twist (as if barbecue and Jewish weren’t enough), chicken liver with schmaltz and holiday brisket like your mother and grandmother made in the days of yore. A carryout reminiscent of when delicatessens were serving gigantic matzo balls, filling enough to be called dinner. Kenny Tessel, and his lovely BarBe Que doll (flash backward to Patty Playpal 35 years ago), are your hosts. BarBe Que, ordered through a catalogue under item “European Large Bust Mannequin,” wears a bikini top with the pattern of the American flag. She stands on the sidewalk outside the eatery. Needless to say, this clever advertising doll grabs the attention of walkers and motorists on Reading Road, in the village of Reading. Having spent a number of years in Los Angeles, Tessel learned the art of staging, or was it marketing, or how to capture the minds of his tribesmen.

I talked with Tessel—high energy baby boomer, Walnut Hills High school graduate, Cincinnati Jewish community born and bred—wearing his Ohio University t-shirt. His passion to provide old fashioned Jewish food, even allowing schmaltz on the premises, is endearing. He credits the sweetness and generosity of his grandmother Jean and mother Joy as his inspirations. Possessing a resume that lists a few celebrities whom Tessel cooked for while living in California, he is clearly a man who likes to feed.

So K.T.’s has the right value.

Portions are large. Tessel gave me a half-smoked chicken and I easily had enough for three meals. He is particular about his food; for example, he tells me cole slaw is at its best after three days of soaking in the vinegar and spices. That is his opinion. He’ll tell his customers that, offering them a taste if, according to him, it is not at its peak of flavor. A blunt directness is part of Tessel’s charm.

Since K.T.’s is a carry out, there is a waiting room. Plenty of books and magazines adorn the coffee table, walls and shelves.

The diversity of the reading mate-

K.T.’s Barbecue is one-of-a-kind in the Queen city.

Kenny Tessel and BarBe Que are your hosts at this lively carry out.

rial reveals Tessel’s multifaceted nature. A book of award winning short stories by O’Henry, the movie script of Titanic, People magazine, or a coffee table book entitled “The Art of French Cooking” might be found among the papers and objects sprawled on the furniture. If you don’t want to sit while waiting for your food, you can walk around the room, looking at the celebrity pictures on the wall, autographed to Tessel, wishing him well on his endeavor into Jewish Barbeque.

Though BarBe Que gets the attention, it is the scrumptious food that keeps customers from all over the city coming back to this colorful carry out, just north of Cincinnati.

Homemade chopped liver with schmaltz, now doesn’t that conjure up memories of watching Grandma pushing the liver, eggs and onions into the meat grinder? What emerged from Grandma’s cookery were snake like sausages, so tasty

when mixed with the yellow stuff that was kept in the refrigerator, especially when smeared on Shabbos rye bread with caraway seeds. Talk about an iron energy boost. How about trying the glutenfree flourless chocolate cake for the folks with sensitive stomachs?

Everything is homemade; everything is made from scratch—no rushed pre-mixed frozen edibles at

K.T.’s half-smoked chicken turns a regular meal into a feast.

K.T.’s. Roasted brisket bakes in the ovens for four to five hours; if you want it smoked, plan on six hours for cooking time. Tessel suggests you give him two days advance notice for catering, especially if it is for a Shabbat or holiday meal.

“Food is synonymous with Jewish family,” said Tessel. “Most ethnic groups would agree that food equals nurturing which equals family. I was raised where if you didn’t have leftovers and extras after a big meal, you didn’t have enough – how’s that for a mathematical equation?” With that philosophical cultural value, Tessel wisely has extras on the menu. To make the sandwiches thicker, you can double the amount of meat by 50 percent, affectionately referred to as “stuff it.” His pungent sauce can also be ordered “extra” for a mere $0.25 a serving. So, sink your teeth into a beef brisket sandwich dripping with barbeque sauce, served with chips and pickles on a hoagie bun for $5.99; make it husky size for under $8.00 and you’ll get enough protein for two days.

Vegetarians, do not despair!

Tessel does wonders with soups such as Cuban bean and mama mushroom barley – he boasts 24 people on the waiting list to be called when he makes the latter one. Side items consist of collard greens (after all, it is a barbecue place), blackeye pea salad (Southern influence on Cincinnati Jewish community) and a vinegary Carolina-style cole slaw. Macaroni and cheese and a vegetarian white bean chili can always be purchased in entrée size servings.

Shabbat dinner can be ordered for $10.99 per person—brisket, potatoes, carrots, gravy and chicken. K.T.’s Barbecue complete menu is available for catering. Tessel said, “If you (the customer) don’t see what you are looking for, I’d be happy to work with you to customize the menu of your choosing.”

I asked about future plans.

Tessel wants to enlarge his ethnic cooking and get a bigger place that still is in easy access for his tribesmen to purchase quality, homecooked food. “White fish, lox, sable, yes, there is a need for that aspect of Jewish food to flourish in the Queen city,” said Tessel. I hoped his statement meant his plans included our Jewish sushi. Also, I wouldn’t object if Tessel added matzo ball soup to the menu.

So stop by this lively carry out.

See BarBe Que adorned in a prayer shawl and kippah. Eat a robust sandwich and enjoy. Make Jewish ethnic eating a priority in the new year.

K.T.’s Barbecue & Deli 8501 Reading Road Reading, OH 45215 513-761-0200

DINING OUT

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

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OPINION

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From the Publisher

Sincerely, Netanel ( Ted ) Deutsch

Do you have something to say? E-mail your letter to editor@americanisraelite.com

Dear Editor, I understand the Jewish Federation’s need to consolidate and work toward greater efficiencies due to economic downturns (re: “JFS moves to JCC,” 8/26/10). What I do not understand is the idea that “shared space” with this particular agency (JFS, with Adoption Connection and soon Big Bros./Big Sis.) was the best answer. I personally saw the space on the first day of operation in the new location, and it does provide for closed door interaction for JFS clients – but I do not know to what extent. I found it difficult, as a JFS client and not a current JCC member, to walk through the JCC lobby after telling the front desk where I was headed. (Yes, I could have simply said I had a meeting.)

The fact that I asked about using an elevator, when I appear to be able-bodied, raised eyebrows, too.

I then found the JFS receptionist temporarily housed in an upstairs hallway with no privacy or soundproofing at all. My therapist came to greet me and apologized that the phones were not working well. In fact, much of the staff still needed “phone training.” We were able to close an office door and place a plac-

ard on the door to show that we were “in session.” The office had two chairs, a small table, a telephone on the floor and a carton containing a desk (yet to be built). There were no shelving units, file cabinets or work tables set up in those offices, but counselors were expected to see clients.

To add to this dysfunction [pun intended], there does not appear to be a back way out of the facility after your JFS appointment. How many distraught or teary-eyed clients do you need to see to be sure that JFS’ move to the JCC campus is not a good choice for Cincinnati? (Contrary to popular belief, not everything is resolved in therapy.)

I do understand that it takes some time to get set up in new office space and that the Jewish Federation has limited staff to put toward these multiple processes and procedures. Did anyone think to keep JFS in their old space one more month and get the space ready for them ahead of time? More importantly, did anyone in the soon to be “tight knit, most functional and collaborative Jewish Community of its size” ever look at how much space there is NOT at the Mayerson JCC on the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati

Campus? I have visited nearby Indianapolis, Ind. and Louisville, Ky.’s campuses and our “state of the art” facility leaves much to be desired. It may have “state of the art” exercise equipment, but there is more to a Jewish community campus than working out. I personally could not give mega dollars to see a larger space be built in Cincinnati. I do truly appreciate the Mayerson Foundation, Jewish Foundation and other family and friends’ gifts to make a new campus possible – but did they really think it would be large enough for the community they envisioned for the future?

Have Mr. Shep Englander or Ms. Beth Schwartz given up their offices for “shared open space” to accommodate the privacy needs of JFS’ clients? Have conference rooms been sacrificed by other agencies, in order to build private office space for those who need it? Has the JCC found a way for JFS clients to arrive and/or depart from a private entrance? Heck, I recall more than 25 years ago, that Wise Center’s (then new) building had a private door from the Rabbi’s study!!!

Sincerely, Name withheld upon request Cincinnati, OH

T EST Y OUR T ORAH KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEK’S PORTION: ROSH HASAHANA 1. Who did Hashem “remember”? a.) Avraham b.) Sarah c.) Yishmael 2. How did Hashem remember the person in question one? a.) Found wells b.) Gave birth to a child c.) Saved from dying in the desert 3. Who suggested to remove Ishmael from the house? a.) Hashem 5. C 22:14 Avrahom knew this was the place where Hashem would make a place of worship and sacrifice. Rashi

The New Year has come early this year, so the entire staff and I have had to scramble to get everything done for this most important issue of the year. I guess that’s just how the month of Elul is—always tugging at us to get moving on one item or another. I suppose that we should always be reflecting on how to improve ourselves along with elevating our neshama (soul). How to improve our relationships, how to repair all those relationships that we all need to work on. I know I am human because I make so many mistakes, and I make them constantly.

Getting upset and overreacting when I shouldn’t. Scolding someone over a mistake I have made myself in the past. Getting angry at the amount of schnorring that goes on in this community by people who can afford to pay for things and yet feel entitled to have their hand out. There I go again looking at things in the wrong perspective.

This month is a month of reflection and for some it can be painful, sometimes too painful. I know for me that I struggle and I ask my friends and family and they also struggle. With trying to live up to our own high standards, surely mistakes are going to happen along the way. Sure seems to me that a few of the people I meet

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

b.) Avraham c.) Sarah 4. Why did they make the suggestion? a.) Did not want to split the inheritance money with him b.) He was a bad influence on Isaac c.) He wanted to align with Egypt 5. Where is the place that Hashem sees? a.) Hebron b.) Be'er Sheva c.) Mount Moriah

3. C 21:94. B 21:10 Sarah did not want Ishmael's bad influence to effect Isaac, therefore she felt he needed to be banished from the house.

L’Shana Tova

think they have it at bay, that they are perfect, they don’t need any improvement. I hope to someday feel that way but I am a realist, I will always feel during Elul that I need to do this, fix that, apologize for something I have said or done, make changes as I am written down for a new year.

On a housekeeping note, many of you who signed up for our special promotion to receive the paper this last year—or it’s possible one of your friends signed you up—will be receiving a renewal notice from the paper soon or in the near future. We at the paper hope you have found the paper to be engaging, interesting and relevant. We hope that you look forward to receiving it every week and that you plan on renewing and supporting the paper. We are asking for your help; please send in your payment when you receive the notice. I am sure you know that all newspapers are struggling and we are no different. You can also read us online now if that fits your schedule better. We have also been adding names that have come in from other marketing programs. Rest assured that we have no plans to sell or give your name and address to anyone else now or in the future. I am well aware of everyone’s concerns and have those same concerns myself.

One of the greatest pleasures I have in the course of my public life is the ability to ask for forgiveness as the Publisher of The American Israelite. In that spirit, and in the spirit of Yom Kippur, I ask everyone who reads this paper, and that I know, to forgive me for anything I have done that has harmed or upset you this past year. If I have angered you in any way, shape or form, please forgive me. I will try to do better this upcoming year. If you would like me to personally tell you this I would be more than happy to say it to you in person. Please let me know so that we can both begin the New Year with a clean slate.

Written by Rabbi Dov Aaron Wise

ANSWERS 1. B 21:1 2. B 21:2

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

JEWISH LIFE

17

Sedra of the Week

By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

SHABBAT SHALOM: ROSH HASHANA

There are three curious aspects about this period surrounding the Days of Awe that I would like to attempt to analyze. The Bible defines our Jewish New Year’s Day, “A Day of the broken sound of the shofar – it shall be a Truah for you.” What is the real message of the sound of the shofar?

Secondly, throughout this period, we recite special Penitential Prayers (Slichot). What is the significance of these prayers?

Finally, the High Priest (Kohen Gadol) is commanded to enter the innermost part of the sanctuary – known as the Holy of Holies – only twice a year on the same day, Yom Kippur – the Day of Forgiveness. The first time he enters he offers incense in a very difficult act of Divine service. The second time, toward the end of the day, he goes in to this most sacred of places without any specific function mandated by the Bible.

What is the significance of this second entry into such a holy place?

The broken, staccato sound of the shofar (truah) is identified by the sages of the Talmud as either three sighs or nine sobs. These sounds cannot but remind us of an infant’s wailing, which is perhaps the most primal sound we know.

What is the baby seeking when he looks up at his mother and cries in this way? The most primal need within every human being is the need for love. The most frightening experience is to feel alienated, alone and unloved. Our most fundamental human need is to be loved unconditionally.

It is precisely this unconditional love which our Parent in Heaven is willing to give to His children on earth. The Hasidic disciples of the revered Rebbe Menahem Mendel of Kotzk once asked him, “Why is it that in Kabbalistic and Hassidic lore the Almighty is referred to as the Shekhinah, usually translated as ‘Divine presence’; after all, the Hebrew noun Shekhinah is a feminine noun, we are living in a

“Still the father watches his wife as she changes the diaper; sees how she tenderly kisses the baby, as she cleans it. She accepts her child with its filth and that is precisely the way G-d accepts us with His Divine and unconditional love.” very patriarchal society, ought Gd not be referred to by a masculine noun?”

The Kotzker Rebbe smiled and explained with an analogy which might be a bit anachronistic, but which contains a most profound message “It is the way of the world,” he said, “that when a father comes home after a difficult day’s work, he derives great relaxation from playing with his infant child, but once the baby messes its diaper, he gives the baby to its mother to clean it up. Still the father watches his wife as she changes the diaper; sees how she tenderly kisses the baby, as she cleans it. She accepts her child with its filth and that is precisely the way G-d accepts us with His Divine and unconditional love.”

This is the true meaning of our Penitential Prayers. Again and again we repeat the names or partial descriptions of G-d which the Almighty revealed to Moses as the great prophet stood at the cleft of a rock: “Lord, Lord (Y-HVH) G-d of Compassion (Rahum) and Freely-giving Love (Hanun), long suffering, full of kindness and truth…..” (Exodus 34:6) Our sages explain that “the Lord of Love” is written twice because G-d loves us before we sin and G-d still loves us after we sin. The Hebrew word for compassion (rahum) is built on the Hebrew noun rehem which means womb. G-d loves us unconditionally just like a mother loves a child of her womb unconditionally. The Shofar sound is a human cry for love. The Penitential Prayer is G-d’s loving response to our tearful request.

The High Priest, who serves as a representative of the entire Jewish people spends Yom Kippur engaged in presenting sacrificial offerings to the Divine. At the end of the day, he enters the Holy of Holies just as he is, with no offering at all. He is asking G-d to accept him just as he is. And this is precisely the meaning of the very last request of the Penitential Prayers “Avinu Malkaynu” (Our Father, our King): “be gracious to us and answer us because we have no worthy deeds to speak up for us; do for us an act of charity, an unconditional loving kindness and save us.” And we actually sing these words out loud in order to express our joy in a G-d who loves us unconditionally.

Someone once went to Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov and asked him what was the proper way to repent. The rabbi told him to make two separate piles of papers.

On one pile, he should write the names of all those people for whom he did favors; in the second pile he should write the names of all those people who wronged him.

He must then make a fire and cast both piles into the flames in order to demonstrate that just as G-d loves us unconditionally, we must love every other human being unconditionally as well – and we must never expect any reward or thanks for the good things we do.

Shabbat Shalom and may you all enjoy a good and blessed New Year.

Shlomo Riskin Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone Chief Rabbi — Efrat Israel

MODERN ORTHODOX SERVICE Daily Minyan for Shacharit, Mincha, Maariv, Shabbat Morning Service and Shalosh Seudas.

Kiddush follows Shabbat Morning Services

RABBI HANAN BALK & ASSISTANT RABBI STUART LAVENDA

6442 Stover Ave • 531-6654 • golfmanorsynagogue.org

Over 125 years in Cincinnati and 10 years at Cornell.

Egalitarian • 8100 Cornell Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45249 (513) 489-3399 • www.ohavshalom.org

3100 LONGMEADOW LANE • CINCINNATI, OH 45236 791-1330 • www.templesholom.net Miriam Terlinchamp, Rabbi Marcy Ziek, President Gerry H. Walter, Rabbi Emeritus September 10 8:00 pm Shabbat Shuvah Evening Service September 11 10:30 am Shabbat Shuvah Morning Service Call the Temple Office for the High Holy Days Worship Schedule

September 17 8:00 pm Kol Nidre Service September 18 10:30 amYom Kippur Morning Service

18

JEWZ IN THE NEWZ

Jewz in the Newz

By Nate Bloom Contributing Columnist NEW TV SEASON, SOME NEW SHOWS (MORE TO COME) “High School Musical,” an original Disney made-for-TV film, was a surprise huge hit and it, and its sequels, made the leading members of the young cast household names among the tween set. But, except for Zac Efron (who is often misidentified as Jewish; my research indicates he has one Jewish grandparent)—the rest of the stars haven’t been in any other follow-up film or TV hits.

ASHLEY TISDALE, 25, whose mother is Jewish, played bad girl Sharpay Evans in “Musical.” If she is very lucky, her new CW series, “Hellcats,” will give Tisdale the follow-up hit that her career really needs. (Started on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at 9PM. Check listings for encore showings this week. Also available online).

“Hellcats” centers on Marti (Alyson Michalka), a smart-butpoor college student who loses her scholarship. She has no choice but to try and join the school’s big-time cheerleading squad because cheerleaders get financial aid. Her roommate, Savannah (Tisdale), a peppy but tough girl, is the head of the squad.

Premiering on Wednesday, Sept. 15, on NBC, is the drama “Outlaws” (10PM). Jimmy Smits (“L.A. Law,” “NYPD Blue”) stars as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice who resigns his seat, returns to the practice of law and puts together a small law firm to seek justice for the “little guy.” One of the firm’s lawyers is named Al Druzinsky (David Ramsey). Ramsey, an African-American, just told “Jet” magazine that Druzinsky is supposed to have been adopted by a Jewish couple, who will be seen in a later episode. Ramsey is best known for playing the confidential informant/boyfriend of Dexter’s sister (a cop) on Showtime’s “Dexter.”

NEW FLICKS, MAYBE COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU The following movies all open in limited release on Friday, Sept.

10. If any do big box office in their first week or two, then you can be sure they will hit a theater near you. If not, you’ll probably have to look for the DVD release to see the flick.

“The Extra Man” is a comic romp built on the friendship of one young eccentric (Paul Dano) with an even wilder eccentric (KEVIN KLINE, 62). Dano plays a (straight) teacher at a fancy prep

school who likes to wear women’s underwear. His garment choice is exposed, as it were, and he is forced to resign. He moves to New York City and gets a magazine job, where he meets his love interest (Katie Holmes). But most of the flick is about his wild urban adventures with Henry (Kline), an indigent playwright who rents him a room. Henry makes a few bucks escorting wealthy widows to society functions. Playing one of these widows is Broadway acting legend MARIAN SELDES, 82.

The film is directed and cowritten by the husband-and-wife team of Robert Pulcini and SHARI SPRINGER BERMAN, 46, (“American Splendor”). It’s based on a novel by JONATHAN AMES (HBO’s “Bored to Death”), who contributed to the screenplay.

In 2008, JOAQUIN PHOENIX, (best actor Oscar nominee for “Walk the Line”), announced he was retiring from acting in favor of a budding career as a rap musician. Questions were asked, now and then, like: Was this an elaborate hoax? Was, or is Joaquin, now 35, mentally ill? The new documentary, “I’m Still Here,” might answer these questions, as well as providing an indepth look at career re-invention.

Filmed over two years, the documentary is the work of actor Casey Affleck, the brother of Ben; the best friend of Joaquin, and the husband of Joaquin’s sister, former actress SUMMER PHOENIX, 31. The Phoenix siblings (including the late, talented actor RIVER PHOENIX) are the children of a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father. Joaquin has long described himself as non-religious.

By the way, Casey and Summer have continued the Phoenix family tradition of colorful names. They have two young sons, named Indiana August Affleck and Atticus Affleck.

“The Virginity Hit” seems to be an attempt to combine raunchy humor and genuine romantic moments. It doesn’t appear to be just another stupid teen movie.

But, it’s hard to say for sure since almost everyone connected to the flick is a virtual unknown. There are a lot of “Jewish names” among the cast, but I was only able to confirm that one is Jewish— JACOB DAVICH, 20, the third lead.

His father, MARVIN DAVICH, is a prolific and Emmy winning composer of music for TV. Jacob’s parents belong to a Los Angeles synagogue.

The plot is simple—four friends use a video camera and their Internet savvy to chronicle their buddy’s attempt to lose his virginity.

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FROM THE PAGES 100 Years Ago Rabbi Jacob Mielziner, of the Reading Road Temple, has returned from a trip through the Thousand Islands, Lake Champlain, Lake George and New York, where he visited his brother, the artist.

The body of David M. Hyman, secretary of the Chicago Mercantile Company, who died suddenly August 24, in Paris, while touring with his wife and daughter, reached Chicago Sept. 3. Mr. Hyman was born and reared in Cincinnati and

has many relatives here.

Mrs. Joseph Schmidt, of 3120 Harvard Avenue, had as her guests, Mr. Leopold Schmidt and Miss Yetta Schmidt, of Chicago, the father and sister of Mr. Schmidt. She is now entertaining her brother and sister, Mr. A. Newman and Miss Dorothy Newman, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Later Mrs. Schmidt expects as visitors Mr. and Mrs. Lipman M. Kaiser, of San Francisco, Calif., a well-known businessman of that

city, and a member of the firm Hirsh & Kaiser.

Mrs. Clara Lehman, wife of Lippman Lehman, died Saturday night, Sept. 3, at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Ida Benjamin, 819 Oak Street. She is survived by her husband and two sons; Ben Lehman, of Ft. Wayne, Ind., and Isaac Lehman, of Chicago, and two daughters, Mrs. Ida Benjamin and Mrs. Harry Meiss. — September 8, 1910

75 Years Ago Declaring that “courts are established in the interests of the citizens and not for the benefits of the judges and the lawyers,” Mr. William Hyman, president of B’nai B’rith, and candidate for judge of Municipal Court on the nonpartisan judicial ballot, has drawn up a platform for improvement of court procedure and to administer the law more efficiently from the standpoint of litigants as well as those concerned with court procedure.

Mr. and Mrs. Pep Golden recently returned from the East where they enjoyed New York with a number of famous actors and dancers, including Ned Wayburn, Sammy Burns, Lucille Stoddard and Russell Markert.

The Pep Golden Studios, resuming fall activities, offer various kinds of interesting work for both children and adults.

Situated at Sixth and Main Streets, the studios are beautifully

equipped, and Mr. and Mrs. Golden invite their friends to come and see the many new ideas which are being taught in their classes.

Drs. Samuel Seltz, Aaron Grollman and Rudolph M. Zodikoff and Mr. Lee Shapiro have returned from a fishing trip in Michigan.

Miss Emma Kohnky, who was at the Jewish Hospital as a result of injuries received in a fall, is recovering nicely at her home. — September 12, 1935

50 Years Ago Oscar Levine, 3826 Washington Avenue, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Funeral services were held at the Weil Funeral Home, Friday, Sept. 2, Dr. Samuel Wohl officiating.

Interment was in United Jewish Cemetery in Walnut Hills.

Survivors include his son, Daniel Levine; his daughter, Mrs. Leonard Strauss, of New York City; one brother, Nathan Levine, and two grandchildren.

Mr. Levine was founder of Hyde

Park Clothes Inc., and a member of Wise Temple.

Dr. Louis M. Youngerman, spiritual leader of Keneseth Israel in Allentown, Pa., and a native of Cincinnati, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 23.

During nearly 11 years as rabbi there, he had become a force in the civic life of the community.

Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Ruth Weinstein Youngerman, four children Eva, George, David and

Elizabeth; his mother Mrs. David Youngerman of Cincinnati; and two brothers, Jacob Youngerman of Cincinnati, and Dr. William Youngerman of Champaign, Ill. Dr. Theodore H. Wohl, president of the Cincinnati Psychological Association, was invited to participate in a symposium on “Disabled Children and Youth” at the National Convention of American Psychological Association in Chicago. —September 8, 1960

25 Years Ago Gary H. Rabiner, Cincinnati businessman and community leader, has accepted chairmanship of the Cincinnati chapter of the Associates of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Mr. Rabiner has been active in civic and national organizations.

Jewish Vocational Service will provide vocational placement and counseling service to the Dayton Jewish community beginning Sept.

12, 1985.

Peter Bloch, chairman of JVS, announced that these services have been requested by the Dayton Jewish Federation to meet the vocational needs of the community.

Diane Goodman, placement counselor and Judy Lempert, vocational counselor, will be the JVS staff members participating in the project.

Their services will include development of job seeking skills, assistance in obtaining appropriate employment, evaluation of vocational poten-

tial and exploration of career options.

Mrs. Irma Z. Blumenthal passed away Sept. 5.

She is survived by her daughter, Laura Jane Blumenthal of Los Angeles; a brother, Frederic W. Ziv of Cincinnati; a niece, Frederica Z. Yamin of Tarzana, Calif.; and a nephew, William S. Ziv of Cincinnati.

She was the wife of the late Lawrence Blumenthal.

— September 12, 1985

10 Years Ago Dr. Alan Weber of Cincinnati is the new president of Jewish National Fund’s Southern Ohio Region. Dr. Weber will oversee an area that includes Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Louisville and Lexington.

In addition to his involvement with JNF, Dr. Weber is an active member of Adath Israel Synagogue and served as president of its Men’s Club. He is also a committed member of Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity.

Dr. Weber, an orthodontist, in private practice, is married to the former Diane Ackerman. They have two children, David and Jamie.

Rose Rosenstein, 87, passed away on August 21, 2000. Mrs. Rosenstein was born in Newport, Ky., to the late Max and Pauline Schindler. Mrs. Rosenstein’s husband, the late Israel Rosenstein, predeceased her on July 6, 1985. She is survived by a son, Melvin Rosenstein, of Aventura, Fla. Mrs.

Rosenstein was the sister of Mrs. Bess Klebanow, of Golf Manor, and her late husband Morris Klebanow; Harriet Kaplan and her husband, Herb, of Dayton, Ohio; the late Sam Schindler and his wife, the late Ethel Schindler; and the late Florence Faierman. She is survived by a brother-in-law, Mrs. Faierman’s husband, Lou of Finneytown, Ohio. Mrs. Rosenstein is also survived by an extended family. — September 7, 2000

CLASSIFIEDS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

COMMUNITY DIRECTORY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS Big Brothers/Big Sisters Assoc.

(513) 761-3200 • bigbrobigsis.org Beth Tevilah Mikveh Society (513) 821-6679 Camp Ashreinu (513) 702-1513 Camp at the J (513) 722-7226 • mayersonjcc.org Camp Livingston (513) 793-5554 • camplivingston.com Cedar Village (513) 336-3183 • cedar-village.org Chevra Kadisha (513) 396-6426 Halom House (513) 791-2912 • halomhouse.com Hillel Jewish Student Center (513) 221-6728 • hillelcincinnati.org Jewish Community Center (513) 761-7500 • mayersonjcc.org Jewish Community Relations Council (513) 985-1501 Jewish Family Service (513) 469-1188 • jfscinti.org Jewish Federation of Cincinnati (513) 985-1500 • shalomcincy.org Jewish Foundation (513) 792-2715 Jewish Information Network (513) 985-1514 Jewish Vocational Service (513) 985-0515 • jvscinti.org Kesher (513) 766-3348 Plum Street Temple Historic Preservation Fund (513) 793-2556 The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education (513) 487-3055 • holocaustandhumanity.org Vaad Hoier (513) 731-4671 CONGREGATIONS Adath Israel Congregation (513) 793-1800 • adath-israel.org Beit Chaverim (513) 335-5812 Beth Israel Congregation (513) 868-2049 • bethisraelcongregation.net Congregation Beth Adam (513) 985-0400 • bethadam.org Congregation B’nai Tikvah (513) 759-5356 • bnai-tikvah.org Congregation B’nai Tzedek (513) 984-3393 • bnaitzedek.us

Congregation Ohav Shalom (513) 489-3399 • ohavshalom.org Golf Manor Synagogue (513) 531-6654 • golfmanorsynagogue.org Isaac M. Wise Temple (513) 793-2556 • wisetemple.org Kehilas B’nai Israel (513) 761-0769 Northern Hills Synagogue (513) 931-6038 • nhs-cba.org Rockdale Temple (513) 891-9900 • rockdaletemple.org Temple Beth Shalom (513) 422-8313 • tbsohio.org Temple Sholom (513) 791-1330 • templesholom.net The Valley Temple (513) 761-3555 • valleytemple.com EDUCATION Chabad Blue Ash (513) 793-5200 • chabadba.com HUC-JIR (513) 221-1875 • huc.edu JCC Early Childhood School (513) 793-2122 • mayersonjcc.org Mercaz High School (513) 792-5082 x104 • mercazhs.org Reform Jewish High School (513) 469-6406 • crjhs.org Regional Institute Torah & Secular Studies (513) 631-0083 Rockwern Academy (513) 984-3770 • rockwernacademy.org ORGANIZATIONS American Jewish Committee (513) 621-4020 • ajc.org American Friends of Magen David Adom (513) 521-1197 • afmda.org B’nai B’rith (513) 984-1999 Hadassah (513) 821-6157 • cincinnati-hadassah.org Jewish National Fund (513) 794-1300 • jnf.org Jewish War Veterans (513) 459-0111 • jwv.org NA’AMAT (513) 984-3805 • naamat.org National Council of Jewish Women (513) 891-9583 • ncjw.org State of Israel Bonds (513) 793-4440 • israelbonds.com Women’s American ORT (513) 985-1512 • ortamerica.org.org

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JCC from page 4 In addition to offering a broad range of wellness programs that provide relief from everyday stresses, the JCC Senior Life program (for ages 60+) has special day trips planned each month this fall.

This includes a tour of Plum Street Temple on Sept. 16, and a trip to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory on Oct. 21. JCC cultural arts programs (for ages 50+) include a new movie production class where adults will learn how to create stop animation movies.

For more information about JCC “free try it” programs or the entire range of JCC fall programs, contact the Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson JCC on The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Campus or visit their website.

PROGRAM from page 6 focus on molecular sciences. As such, Cincinnati Children’s will provide Israeli physicians and researchers with superior research opportunities. “These opportunities are in education, clinical testing/refinement, and access to research funding through grants and foundations,” Dr. Rothenberg explains.

Recently, Dr. Rothenberg applied for research funding with Dr. Ariel Munitz, an adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s and an assistant professor at Tel Aviv University. They have been awarded a coveted U.S./Israel BiNational Grant.

Dee Ellingwood, senior vice president for Planning and Business Development at Cincinnati Children’s says that while the aim is for the Israel Exchange Program to become a self-sustaining model over time, funding is needed to help establish some of the initial collaborations and to build momentum for the partnership with Israel. “We have a unique window of opportunity and very willing partners in Israel,” he says. “Given the strong connection Cincinnati community members have to Israel and to helping children being treated at home, we hope this program will appeal to local donors as philanthropic support of the program is critical to this effort.”

Dr. Rothenberg says he hopes the program will bring a dozen Israeli doctors to Cincinnati Children’s this fiscal year. “It certainly has the potential to bring many more in the future,” he noted.

“Visits may range from short-term observations lasting a week or two, to formal clinical training of one to three years. It also may include research projects that can range from several months to several years. These collaborations have the potential to last a lifetime.”

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SoCal So Cool: 50 miles of pure pleasure Wandering Jew

By Janet Steinberg Travel Editor

Los Angeles: The Start of a Southern Sojourn PART 1 OF A SERIES The vibrant City of Angels is a city I have visited numerous times.

From there I have often driven directly down the California coast to San Diego. Little did I know what I was missing in that strip inbetween.

On my last visit to Southern California (SoCal, as it is known to the locals), I was determined to find out what lies between.

However, before setting out to discover the nooks and crannies of the coastline, I planned a stop in Los Angeles for my granddaughter’s 13th birthday celebration.

The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza was the perfect starting point for this occasion. Located adjacent to Beverly Hills, on the fashionable West Side of Los Angeles, the hotel affords a contemporary style that is luxurious, yet casual and comfortable. It was the perfect spot in which my husband and I could entertain our family.

For those who opt for Regency Club accommodations, the hotel’s Regency Club Room was amazing.

If so desired, you could spend the entire day in this lobby-level room without opening your wallet. The Club Room comes complete with comfy furniture, flat screen TVs, free high-speed internet, a communal dining table, and complimentary

food, food and more food.

Breakfasts included lox and bagel, assorted cheeses, fresh bakery goods, fresh fruit salad, juices, and a refrigerator stocked with an assortment of beverages that are available throughout the afternoon and evening. In the afternoon, there were also bowls of Granny Smith apples, trail mix, cashews, sinful brownies, and freshly baked cookies. At cocktail hour, out came the complimentary hot and cold horsd’oeuvres. A fully stocked honor bar was there for those who opted for alcoholic beverages.

Our granddaughter Tess’s birthday celebration began in a chic cabana overlooking Century Plaza’s newly renovated swimming pool. The tastefully furnished cabana came complete with a TV, stocked refrigerator and fruit.

We grown-ups lounged in comfort while the grandkids swam. I must confess, I stole away for a 1-hour massage in the luxe Equinox Spa adjacent to the pool. (I don’t think they even missed me.)

The birthday celebration continued in Breeze, the hotel’s awardwinning restaurant that serves seasonal California Cuisine and fresh sushi. The piece de resistance came at the dinner’s finale, when Tess was presented with a chocolate replica of the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.

No trip to “LA-LA Land” would be complete without a window-shopping stroll past the ritzy shops and glitzy restaurants on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

Dubbed “The Province of Beverly Hills,” this idyllic province claims to be “America’s only European city.” It melds the elegance of Paris, the dazzle of Cannes, the exuberance of Baden-Baden, and the conviviality of Florence.

In 1920, when Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. decided to build their Tudor-style mansion Pickfair in Beverly Hills, it was nothing more than a bean field.

Other glamorous movie stars followed Pickford and Fairbanks and that 5.9 square miles of farmland soon became a golden ghetto.

Jewish “Starchitect” Frank Gehry’s undulating stainless steel Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The magical Getty Center as seen from one of its gardens.

Today, this stretch of land—situated between downtown L.A. and the Pacific Ocean—is the quintessential symbol of the opulent California life. It is a place where the streets are lined with a bevy of Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Mercedes and Jaguars.

Amid all of the sybaritic indulgences of Beverly Hills is the sobering Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance. This high tech, hands-on museum centers on the dynamics of racism and prejudice in America and the history of the Holocaust. It also focuses on the major issues of intolerance.

The Museum’s collection of archives and documents include: original letters of Anne Frank, artifacts from Auschwitz, art from Theresienstadt, a bunk bed from the Majdanek death camp, and a flag sewn by Mauthausen inmates for their American liberators.

L.A.’s visual arts achieved a new level with the 1990 opening of architect Richard Meier’s Getty Center. From the moment you board the Getty’s tram that transports you three-quarters of a mile up the hill to the Getty Center, you’ll know the stage is set for a spectacular performance.

Draped over two hilltop ridges, the Getty Center is a magical mélange of the fluidity of glass and metal, and the roughhewn look of travertine marble.

Lots of travertine marble…some 16,000 tons of it.

The Skirball Cultural Center is another cultural attraction in “LALA Land.” Israeli architect Moshe Safdie chose to build his Skirball Cultural Center into the bottom of a hillside in the Sepulveda Pass where

Sepulveda, Mulholland and the 405-Freeway come together. When asked why he chose this site, within walking distance of nowhere, Safdie replied: “The site was chosen for perfect Los Angeles reasons: the city’s Jews live in the Valley, in Beverly Hills, and in West Los Angeles.” The Center’s core museum exhibition, Visions and Values: Jewish Life from Antiquity to America, has been described as “a story told through objects.”

The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza sculpted in Chocolate...a birthday surprise for 13-year old Tess.

Between cultural arts and fine arts, one must take a lunch break for the city’s culinary arts. L.A. has always been a trendsetter when it comes to the tastes of the nation.

The city’s myriad of lunch offerings range from the ridiculous to the sublime. On this recent visit I experienced both.

Pink’s might well be the most famous hot dog stand in the country.

Their renowned all-beef chili-dog, that comes complete with a large warm bun, oversized hot dog, mustard, onions, and thick chili, sold for 10 cents in 1939. At the time of my visit, it sold for a whopping $3.30. Unlike any other hot dog stand, Pink’s has its own parking lot attendant. Located at the same location for 69 years, Pink’s can be

found by following the aroma of fresh meaty chili to a crowd of people standing in line for an average of 30 minutes. Ridiculous!

The Conservatory Grill, the bright and airy rooftop bar/grill atop the classically elegant Montage Hotel, serves breathtaking views of the Hollywood Hills along with fresh, healthy California cuisine.

Take your choice of zestfully flavored soups, salads and sandwiches.

The Heirloom tomato salad is amazing. However, if you crave a hot dog, and Pink’s is not your style, the Conservatory’s all-beef, quarter-pound hot dog is smothered with sauerkraut and grilled onions and slathered with stoneground mustard. At the time of my visit, it sold for $12. Sublime!

Culture came to Los Angeles…big time…since the 2003 opening of the $274-million Walt Disney Concert Hall. Jewish “Starchitect” Frank Gehry’s undulating stainless steel masterpiece has forever changed the image of Los Angeles just as his Guggenheim Museum forever changed the image of Bilbao, Spain.

And what would Los Angeles, that “gaudy shop window of wretched excess,” be without its Hollywood? The hub of the movie business from the 1920s to the 1940s, Hollywood fell into a state of drugs and disrepair in the 1950s. However, in the last decade Tinseltown (as it was known in its heyday) began its ascent to the top again.

Who knows, in Hollywood you may even catch a rising star!

Janet Steinberg is the winner of 38 national Travel Writer Awards.

NEWS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

EVENTS from page 5 play performed by Playhouse in the Park. The JCC is the only place where people can see this familyfriendly performance for free.

The show, entitled “Happy Worst Day Ever,” tells the story of an unlikely friendship between two 6th graders. The play (recommended for audiences ages 7+) explores the character’s personal differences and opens up questions of self identity, school SCHOOLS from page 5 about the unique challenges faced by each institution.

For both CHDS and RITSS, more scholarship funding is needed to offset tuition costs for families; and to address rising operational expenditures brought on by steady increases in enrollment.

CHDS’ enrollment in the lower grades has been growing steadily, while RITSS’ reputation as a high school of excellence for young Jewish women attracts students from throughout the country.

MIDDLE-CLASS from page 7 One of the Met Council’s new clients is a 53-year-old grandmother who had an administrative job in a Jewish day school but was laid off in June 2009. She’s still collecting unemployment, which she supplemented a few times with food vouchers from the Met Council.

“I’m looking to work,” she told JTA. “I’m not looking to collect Medicaid or food stamps. It’s very hard when you have to depend on your children to help you. It’s not a good feeling.”

It’s impossible to know just how many Jewish poor there are in America. A 2004 study by the federation umbrella organization — now known as the Jewish Federations of North America — found 730,000 Jewish individuals, or about 15 percent of the country’s Jewish population, living in economic distress either below or slightly above the federal poverty standard. That was before the current recession.

The federal poverty guidelines themselves are woefully outdated, say many experts in the field. They are set at $10,830 annually for an individual and $22,050 annually for a family of four.

“Today, $10,000 does not seem livable,” said Joshua Protas, vice president and Washington director of the Jewish Council on Public Affairs.

The JCPA is working in Washington to prevent proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP (formerly known as the federal Food Stamps program), as well as the child nutrition reauthorization bill, which provides 19.4 million children with free or subsidized school

21

cliques, peer pressure and the power of popular media.

This Playhouse in the Park production was written by Arlene Hutton, noted playwright of “Last Train to Nibroc,” which premiered in 2009. According to The Los Angeles Times, “Had Arlene Hutton been around during Broadway’s golden age, her finely wrought plays might rank with those of William Inge or Horton Foote. Among postmodern dramatists, Hutton stands apart, relying

on traditional techniques in an era where such values grow ever rarer.” The New York Times added, “Ms. Hutton never mistakes theater for social studies, and we are all the better for it.”

Several more free family events will be offered at the J this year. These include: Sunday, Oct. 10: Daniel Pearl World Music Day’s “Harmony for Humanity” concert, with performances by local choirs and bands from synagogues, churches and

community groups.

Friday, Nov. 12: An intergenerational birthday party with children’s author Deborah Lakritz (as part of the JCC speaker series, Authors Out Loud).

Sunday, Dec. 5: Families can come together for a fun and meaningful Hanukkah celebration at the JCC “Giving, Giggles, and Gelt” program, presented by One Candle for Tzedakah. The Mayerson JCC, along with the JCC Association and other JCCs

across the country, will premier Shalom Sesame’s new Hanukkah film.

All free family events held at the J after September 2010 are made possible by a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. For more information about free family events at the Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson JCC on The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Campus, contact Courtney Cummings or visit their website.

Rockwern Academy draws students from all over the city —but must compete for enrollment with other private and public schools.

Council of Jewish Life and Learning volunteer Pammy Moss Samuelson observed that, “The challenges that Rockwern Academy is facing are reflective of the day school challenges that are being experienced nationwide — providing a high quality Judaic and secular education that is affordable for our families.”

All three of the community’s day schools are widely recognized

for their outstanding curricula and strong student performance on standardized tests. Said CJLL member Sandy Kaltman, “When I visited CHDS, I was impressed with the passion of the administrators for providing the highest possible quality of Jewish day school education.” Heather Kaplan, who visited RITSS, was also impressed. “RITSS’s reputation for academic excellence is well deserved.”

Council member Tamar Smith said that, “The Jewish community of Cincinnati boasts three vibrant

institutions that serve the educational needs of our Jewish families. I am extraordinarily grateful to the broad spectrum of Cincinnati Jewry who, over generations, has built schools like these and continues to nurture them so they can provide the highest secular and Jewish education to our children.”

“It is crucial that these schools succeed so that families are not faced with the agonizing decision to either send their children away to school or leave Cincinnati entirely,” noted Billy Bie, co-chair

of the Council of Jewish Life and Learning.

Nearly 100 members of the community have committed themselves to experiencing first-hand the programs and initiatives for which the community’s agencies are requesting funding. It is believed that this deeper level of engagement—which will include input from clients as well as staff—will result in more insightful recommendations to the Planning and Allocations Committee and more efficient distribution of the Jewish Federation’s available funds.

lunches, among other things.

“That includes a substantial Jewish population,” Protas said.

Ironically, the U.S. Senate recently passed its version of the bill that proposed funding in part by making additional cuts to SNAP. The JCPA is trying to head off similar cannibalization in the House of Representatives version of the bill.

In addition, the Washington office of the Jewish Federations is working to prevent a proposed 25 percent reduction in the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which provides supplemental economic relief to millions of Americans through faith-based community programs and public providers. The cuts would be for fiscal year 2011, which begins Oct. 1.

But many Jews in desperate economic straits fall outside the purview of these federal programs. For them, the private Jewish charities are their only lifeline.

In Chicago, 42,000 people — 20 percent of the region’s Jewish population — received emergency food assistance through the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago between June 2008 and July 2010. That represents a 24 percent increase from the previous two years.

In another twist, Jews in their 50s and early 60s are trying to access the agency’s older adult services program, which traditionally serves much older individuals.

San Francisco’s Jewish Family and Children’s Services, which serves about 65,000 mainly Jewish individuals a year, had one food pantry two years ago. Now the organization has five, one in each county it covers.

Executive director Anita Friedman

says two-thirds of the program’s food clients signed up within the past year.

“There has always been a small group of chronically poor in our community, but the tsunami is the thousands who have recently lost their jobs,” she said. “Insurance, banking, finance, the tourist industry, anything related to real estate — all these have been really hurt.”

In Baltimore, Jewish Community Services helped 25,000 of the region’s 90,000 Jews over the past year with everything from food

aid to employment assistance. The usual short-term programs of one or two months are no longer enough, Gradet says. Clients now need help for six months to a year.

In 2007, the organization spent $750,000 in housing and food assistance. In the past year it spent $1.2 million.

Gradet says former government workers — attorneys, money managers and other white-collar professionals — have been showing up asking for help.

Thankfully, say those in charge of these food programs, the Jewish community has stepped up to help out with donations and volunteering their time. In Baltimore, a recent half-million-dollar matching grant from a local donor was quickly matched by other contributions from the community. Other cities report similar gestures.

“The Jewish community is very sensitive to these issues and is very generous,” Friedman said. “It’s a blessing.”

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membership, camp, day schools, Israel trips, so that those who can’t afford it are still able to participate.”

To that end, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles is working to hire someone to collaborate with Jewish community leaders and figure out how to be more inclusive, and perhaps how to temper the growing cost of being Jewish.

But not everyone is as concerned. ATID’s Zackin believes that

during times of stress, people are more willing to seek out spiritual guidance and religious community, and if temples can find a way to make themselves more financially accessible, people will be happy to join.

“People’s enthusiasm for community seems to continue to build,” she said. “When other areas of their lives are tentative, they seem to want more discussions about how they can keep their spirit thriving.”

EUROPEANS from page 10

WIVES from page 10

“There’s a lot of ignorance, but a lot of curiosity about Jews,” said Claudia Elmi, who works at Pitigliano’s Jewish museum, which opened in the 1990s and now attracts 22,000 to 24,000 visitors a year — the vast majority non-Jews.

“But the Jews were seen as closed, or even physically closed off,” she said. “The open doors of the Day of Culture are very important.”

Tourists line up to tour the Jewish museum and the synagogue, a 16th-century gem that fell into ruin following World War II and was rebuilt and reopened in 1995.

They make their way down steep stairs into the former mikvah and matzah bakery, which are located in rough-hewn subterranean chambers carved into the solid rock.

“We didn’t know anything about Judaism before coming here,” said Rosanna and Paolo, tourists from Padova who visited Pitiligano’s Jewish sites a week before Culture Day. “We learned a lot here, particularly about the religious rituals and kosher food.”

Now in its 11th year, Culture Day is loosely coordinated by the European Council of Jewish Communities, B'nai B'rith Europe and the Red de Juderias, a Jewish tourism route linking 15 Spanish cities.

Countries participating this year include Belgium, BosniaHerzegovina, Croatia, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Holland, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. This year’s theme is "Art and Judaism."

Each country makes its own programs, and depends on local resources and volunteers to host, plan and carry out activities. Thus in some countries, only a few events take place: Norway will have a klezmer concert and lecture in Oslo; Bosnia has only an art exhibit in Sarajevo.

Elsewhere, a varied feast may stretch for several days. In Britain, this year's activities last until Sept.

15 and include dozens of events in London and more than 20 other cities.

Jewish art "is both distinctive and universal" said Lena StanleyClamp, the director of the London-

Often the task of a private investigator is simply to find the husband and bring him to the Beit Din Ha’Rabbanim, the religious court overseen by the haredi Orthodox-dominated Chief Rabbinate that oversees matters of marriage and divorce in Israel.

Even if there are orders for a husband’s arrest, the police often do not manage to find him.

“I’ve always said using private detectives is an extremely important route to be able to have because it strengthens women who feel like they have no power anymore, who feel helpless,” said Gittit Nachliel, Mavoi Satum’s lawyer and an advocate who represents the organization’s clients in the rabbinic courts.

“And sometimes, for example, the man lives with another woman but there is no way to prove it, so we saw the importance of being able to hire a detective,” she said.

But now, with the economic downturn taking a heavy toll on nonprofit organizations, Mavoi Satum has had to suspend the detective service following a 20 percent decrease in funding over the past two years.

A few weeks ago, Mavoi Satum managed to raise money for an Ethiopian Israeli woman to use a private investigator at a cost of about $200 an hour; it was the organization’s first such case since funding floundered. Federations and family foundations fund the group.

For 15 years, since Mavoi Satum was launched, it has assisted some 50 women a year at a cost of some $300,000, helping them on a practical level in the rabbinic courts and offering other support like psychological counseling.

“We fight on all fronts,” Nachliel said. “If you are able to put pressure on the husband, ultimately he does give” the religious divorce decree. Under traditional Jewish law, the get must be presented by the husband to the wife for a divorce to take place.

The situation leaves women in a fairly powerless position, dependent on their husbands to release them from a marriage.

According to at least one study, by Bar-Ilan University, some 40,000 women in Israel have been refused gets in Israel since 1995.

A rabbi who is an official in the Israeli Chief Rabbinate dismissed such figures as exaggerated.

“There are problems as there are in every system, but they are the exceptions,” he said, adding that the court was compassionate to the plight of women — an assertion challenged by advocates for the women.

According to Nachliel, the religious courts have become even more conservative and stringent in their rulings in recent years, making the use of private investigators an especially important tool.

An investigator who has worked for Mavoi Satum — a former police detective who agreed to be identified only by his first name, Boaz — said his efforts mostly involve trying to locate husbands. Aware that they are being pursed by their wives and the authorities, they often live on the move and only rarely live in apartments registered under their own names, Boaz said.

One husband he followed lived with another woman and had children with her.

“I get a photograph of him and to the places he might be and track down various leads,” Boaz said.

“It can take a long time to finally catch up with him, which is part of why this can be an expensive undertaking.”

In one case, after much difficulty, the ex-detective finally caught up with the husband — after discovering that he had been checked into a mental hospital.

Boaz found out when he was going to be released and helped coordinate with the police for his arrest.

A Mavoi Satum-hired detective also helped in the case of Galia Iron, 51, a Jerusalem mother of four who spent nearly three years trying to track down her husband of 22 years. He went to work one day and never came home, leaving her with saddled with $200,000 of debt.

Her husband refused to appear at rabbinical court hearings and there was no way to trace his whereabouts, she said, because he kept moving.

“He had no desire to give me a get,” Iron said. “He was much happier with things as they were — that the authorities would come to me for his debts as long as we were still married.”

LEVINTHAL, Mildred, age 99, died on Septmeber 4, 2010; 25 Elul, 5770 ENGELMAN, Steven Terry, age 51, died on September 5, 2010; 26 Elul, 5770 SALTZMAN, Bernard E., age 92, died on September 6, 2010; 27 Elul, 5770

SYNAGOGUES from page 8 Rabbi Jan Goldstein, who leads the services, estimates that they draw 350 to 500 worshipers each year. He emphasizes that they are geared toward those with no other place to pray.

“We are especially for the unaffiliated,” he said, “people who are searching for ways to get back [to being] involved” with the Jewish community.

As the reality of Jews seeking alternative places to worship — or simply forgoing a connection to the Jewish community — sets in, the federation’s Sanderson expressed his concern that the trend would trickle into other parts of Jewish life.

“It deeply concerns me that we are going to start seeing this at every institution,” he said. “We need to create a communitywide effort to raise funds for synagogue

Ruth Ellen Gruber

Tourists shop in a store in the former Jewish district that sells kosher wine, matzah, Jewish pastries and souvenirs.

based European Association for Jewish Culture. "It certainly speaks to and is enjoyed by people of all backgrounds."

Italy is by far the European Day of Jewish Culture's most enthusiastic participant. Thanks to Fatucci and her army of volunteers and communal organizers, it has grown to become a high-profile fixture on the late-summer calendar, with events and activities up and down the Italian boot.

Last year's events attracted 62,000 people -- about one-third the total number who attended Jewish Culture Day events around the continent and about twice the number of Jews in Italy.

This year, activities are being staged in 62 towns, cities and villages, including many places -- like Pitigliano -- where few or no Jews live.

"There is a great curiosity about Jews and Jewish culture here, so the opportunity to engage in a Jewish

cultural activity is very attractive," Fatucci said. "The Day of Jewish Culture became a reference point for this."

Part of the success, she said, was due to the fact that Culture Day in Italy is so well organized and publicized. Jewish communities work closely with public and private institutions, and the event receives government support and recognition.

But, Fatucci added, Jewish heritage in Italy encompasses a remarkably rich and varied array of treasures -- Roman-era Jewish catacombs in Rome, medieval mikvahs, Baroque synagogues, and the historic ghetto and centuries-old Jewish cemetery in Venice.

"Italy is the country of art, par excellence," Fatucci said. "But in many places, people have lived side by side with fragments of Jewish culture without knowing anything about them -- or even knowing they were there."

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