AI2010_09_09_ROSH

ROSH HASHANAH 5771

Marcelle Lobar, 10, Rockwern Academy

Samantha Winkler, 11, Rockwern Academy

Alex Scheier, 10, Rockwern Academy

Lindsay Fisher, 10, Rockwern Academy

2010 Rosh Hashanah Cover Coloring Contest Runner-Ups

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

ROSH HASHANAH

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5770 in Cincinnati: Year in Review

By Elijah Plymesser Assistant Editor The year 5770 started with a move by the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education (CHHE) from its location at HUC to the Rockwern Academy in Montgomery. The move was made in order to make what the CHHE had to offer closer and more accesible to the younger generations of Jews in Cincinnati.

The beginning of October brought big news with the appointment of Michael Fisher to the office of president and CEO of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, with his term having begun at the beginning of 2010. October also saw Bill and Arlene Katz being honored with the American Jewish Committee’s Community Service Award, as well as the Mercaz Hebrew High School being selected to take part in a leaderhsip seminar at Brandeis University. Cedar Village continued to make waves by becoming the first retirement community to visit Israel twice as well as sponsor a B’nai Mitzvah mission.

October concluded with a terrifying display of brutality, as 93year-old Ida Martin of Roselawn was stabbed on the side of Summit Road, suffering fatal wounds. Her killer was mentally unstable and apprehended later that week.

As November came around HUC celebrated its 135th anniversary as well as a rededication of the Klau Library. Another anniversary for November was the 40th year of Marx Bagels.

Plans for moving the sale of Jewish Hospital started to gain ground, with the first Cincinnati City Council public hearing held in order to discuss the impact of the Jewish Hospital’s sale on the medical community in the region.

Also, Michal Oestreicher was appointed to the board of the Jewish Foundation this same month as a result of Michael Fisher’s resignation (to move to Children’s). Other honors that month included Marc Levitt receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ronald McDonald Charities Red Tie Gala.

December saw the beginning of mediation talks between the Jewish Hospital and the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati to discuss the imminent sale. Northern Hills Synagogue also started planning for its 50th anniversary year (2010) with numerous events scheduled throughout the year. Author Jon Entine visited Northern Hills Synagogue in early January to discuss his new book and research on the gentic origins of the Jewish people.

On December 20, 2009 Cincinnati suffered a great loss with the death of John “Jack” Benjamin.

January 17 saw the loss of Joyce Elaine Heiman at the age of 80. She was a cherished member of the Jewish Community, always active. Her legacy will undoubtedly be remembered by Cincinnati through her contributions and the achievements of her children and grandchildren.

The prominent lawyer, who was 95 years old, was the founder of law practice Benjamin, Yocum and Heather. A less permanent loss occured at the end of 2009 with the resignation of Rabbi Moshe Meirovich, of Congregation Ohav Shalom, who moved to Toronto in order to be closer to his family.

January 17 saw the loss of Joyce Elaine Heiman at the age of 80. She was a cherished member of the Jewish Community, always active. Her legacy will undoubtedly be remembered by Cincinnati through her contributions and the achievements of her children and grandchildren.

There was big news in January when Rockwern Academy anounced that it would no longer be having a 7th and 8th grade class for the upcoming school year. In February we saw the great success of the Jewish Federation’s Super Sunday fundraising campaign, which raised over $328,000.

One of the most attended events this past year was Saul Singer’s visit to the JCC to discuss his new book “Start-Up Nation.”

He spoke to a full house on the business and technological merits of the new state, some much needed good news after a year of bad press surrounding the Gaza War. March saw the death of prominent HUC professor Dr. Matitiahu Tsevat, who passed away March 13, at the age of 96. He was a friendly face around HUC and taught mostly of the esoteric, focusing on extinct languages, precursors to biblical Hebrew. Less than a month later, a colleague of Tsevat, Dr. Ellis Rivkin passed away. He was the Adolph S. Ochs Professor Emeritus of Jewish History at HUC. The tail end of 5770 saw some wonderful news in the form of a $1 million gift to the University of Cincinnati’s Judaic Studies Dept. from the Kim and Gary Heiman Family Foundation. The gift will serve to greatly expand both the breadth and depth of the Judaic Studies department as well as allow for more Judaic Studies majors.

Here’s to a 5771 with even more success and happiness!

WISHING EVERYONE A HEALTHY & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing you the blessings of good health, good fortune, and happiness in the New Year.

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Year in Review September 24 — The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education (CHHE) will move its offices to Rockwern Academy, along with its exhibits and activities. The move should be completed by Oct. 1. CEO Shep Englander, of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, said, “We believe that CHHE’s move to Rockwern Academy will serve not only the economic imperatives brought about by current market conditions, but its more centralized location will enable the organization to broaden its visibility and inspirational, educational reach throughout the entire tristate area.”

Michael Fisher was elected as incoming president of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

October 1 — Rockwern Academy’s graduating 8th grade class marked their momentous occasion with a gift of artwork to the school. The 2009 8th grade class created a large, vivid mural about Israel for display in the Rockwern Library. The mural

and CEO of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, starting on Jan. 1, 2010. Fisher had been a member of the Cincinnati Children's board of trustees for five years. Fisher will take the position held by James Anderson for the past 12 years. Anderson

Rockwern’s graduating class presenting their gift to the school, a beautiful mural.

Stop in for your Holiday Trays and our line of Pareve Pastries!

combines beauty and humor; landscapes with beach scenes, Israeli landmarks and Israeli people.

Jewish Family Service and the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education honored Stanley M. Chesley for his work over the decades to social justice and restitution for Holocaust survivors in Cincinnati and worldwide.

Benyamin Begin, a member of Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, and a minister of government, visited Ohio from Sept. 9-11. He is the son of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin and an Israeli politician as well as a geologist.

He visited and spoke at several events in Cleveland and Columbus, and was accompanied

by Consul General of Israel to the Mid-Atlantic Region, Daniel Kutner.

October 8 — Michael Fisher was elected to be the next president

had also been a member of the Board of Trustees before being chosen CEO and his professional experience was outside healthcare.

October 15 — Arlene and Bill Katz will receive the American Jewish Committee’s Communtiy

Service Award at an Initial Gifts Reception on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at the Jewish Community Center.

“We selected Arlene and Bill for this honor because of their outstanding volunteer roles and civic accomplishments,” said Patti Heldman, AJC Cincinnati Chapter president.

The director of the Mercaz Conservative Hebrew High School, Dara Wood, as well as the school itself were selected to participate in a leadership seminar for principals of community Hebrew high schools. The Institute for Informal Education (IJE) at Brandeis University has been selected to direct this new leadership seminar.

October 22 — Cedar Village retirement community made history, becoming the first Jewish home for the aged to visit the Jewish homeland twice and the first to sponsor a B’nai Mitzvah Mission.

The first Cedar Village mission to Israel took place in 2007 and has continued since. This past year nine residents, ranging from ages 65 to 96, as well as four staff members, celebrated their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Cincinnati hosted it 8th annual breast cancer brick auction at the JCC. It was a unique fundraiser for breast cancer research, advocacy and support.

October 29 — On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Ida Martin, a 93-year-old grandmother of 11 was tragically stabbed around 6 p.m. on Summit Road in Roselawn, across the street from the old JCC. She died shortly afterward in surgery at University Hospital. Her killer was a mentally ill individual who had stopped taking his medication, James House III. Martin’s tragic death reverberated throughout the community and a candlelight vigil was held in her remembrance, as well as a memorial being constructed near her place of death.

Cedar Village residents on their second annual trip to Israel.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

Arna Poupko-Fisher speaking at the Jewish Federation’s Major Gifts dinner.

Jewish Federation of Cincinnati launched their 2010 campaign at Major Gifts dinner.

The Major Gifts dinner raised over $300,000 with 175 people in attendance. The push for 2010 fundraising was a result of the financial crisis and the Federation’s endowment having been decreased 20 percent.

November 5 — Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion celebrated its 135th anniversary on Nov. 2nd. Along with the anniversary celebration there was a rededication of the new Klau library. The board also announced that it intended to continue having all four campuses of HUC-JIR, welcome news to Cincinnatians in particular.

The Cincinnati City Council held its first public hearing on the sale of the Jewish Hospital on Oct. 27. This first hearing was scheduled to explore the impact and influence of the sale of the Jewish Hospital on the University Hospital and on medical education in the region. It is the first of three proposed city council meetings, convened by council members Y. Laketa Cole and Roxanne Qualls.

November 12 — Martin Fletcher, NBC’s bureau chief and prize winning foreign correspondent, spoke at the J on Nov. 8. He spent most of the evening talking to an older audience about his motivation as a war correspondent. In his own words, “When you are a war correspondent, the game you play goes like this: if you lose, you die, and if you win, you get to do it again, and watch friends die, until you die or retire.”

Middle East and Islam scholar John L. Esposito will lecture at Xavier University on “Muslims and the West” Nov. 16 and 18.

Marx Hot Bagels celebrated its 40th anniversary, having been founded in 1969. John Marx launched his career as the bagelman originally in Roselawn, back when he states “it was fun.”

November

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Michael

ROSH HASHANAH Oestreicher was appointed to the Jewish Foundation board. The position was opened as a result of Michael Fisher’s resignation. In an interview with The American Israelite, Oestreicher explained that the board position “was never on my radar.” Gary Heiman, the foundation’s president, phoned one day and that was it. “His expertise in mergers and acquisitions are of particular benefit as we finalize the sale of the Jewish Hospital to Mercy Health Partners, Inc.,” Heiman stated.

The Cincinnati City Council has held its second meeting convened by Y. Laketa Cole and Roxanne Qualls in order to “look at the question of access to health care in the region given some of the significant changes we are seeing.” On Tuesday, Nov. 10 the second of the set of three meetings was held at the Avondale Pride Center. This hearing’s purpose was specifically focused on the question of indigent care and answering the question, “What is the regional situation with respect to the demand for care and the distribution of need with a focus on access to care and indigent care?”

Many of these answers were delivered by Judith Warren, MPH, executive director of Health Care Access Now. November 26 — Jessa Ullner, a participant on the Jewish Federation’s Israel experience suffered from a liver complication during the middle of the trip, bringing her “within an inch” of death. A genetic complication resulted in copper flowing from her liver, travelling and damaging nearby organs, like her kidneys and then on to her lungs and approaching her brain. Ullner was taken to Hadassah Hospital where her condition worsened, and with not enough time to fly her back to New York the situation was dire. Hadassah managed to clear out 16 seats on an El Al flight and set up a makeshift ICU to keep her alive, just long enough to receive a transplant in

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WISHING ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY A

Happy New Year Ed and Nina Paul Lainey, Maxwell, Jacob Zac, Nic and Amanda, & Ali

Michael Oestreicher, the newest appointee to the Board of the Jewish Foundation.

New York. Jessa survived with no permanent damage.

Dr. Marc Levitt was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Red Tie Gala to benefit Ronald McDonald Charities of Greater Cincinnati. Levitt, along with his mentor Dr. Alberto Pena were awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards.

December 3 — On Friday Dec. 11, the Jewish Hospital will enter into mediation with the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, Fort Hamilton Hospital, as well as UC College of Medicine, University Hospital and University of Cincinnati Physicians.

The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education reopened after its move to Rockwern Academy in Montgomery. The reopening also served as a commemoration for Kristallnacht.

During the ceremony, Holocaust survivor Werner Coppel spoke about seeing his synagogue destroyed, and of experiencing and surviving Auschwitz. Other guest speakers followed and Rockwern students read poems and performed a dance. The change in location provides a better strategic location to work with Jewish youth as well as providing more space for offices and exhibits.

Marc Levitt was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from Ronald McDonald Charities.

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Rockwern Academy students and staff delivered over 5,000 items.

December 10 — Over-the-Rhine Jewish benefit raises funds for Over-the-Rhine organizations. The event raised $4,300 for three Overthe-Rhine non-profits: the OTR Soup Kitchen, Freestore Food Bank, and Revitalization Initiative.

Mayor Mark Mallory attended the event held at Rockdale Temple.

The evening was structured to support small group discussions focused upon the value of diversity in Over-The-Rhine.

Rockwern Academy staff and students helped deliver over 5,000 food items to the Jewish Family Services food pantry in Golf Manor and also to Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen in Over-the- Rhine.

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Happy New Year Steve & Beatrice Rosedale Ronnie & Dina Wilheim

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December 17 — Northern Hills Synagogue plans to celebrate its 50th anniversary throughout the year of 2010, beginning with the Golden Jubilee Gala to be held on Jan. 23, 2010. There will be numerous throwback ‘50s games like a sock hop, as well as a special shabbat service held to commemorate the congregation’s first meeting. Long-term members are to be honored for their service to the congregation. The year of celebration will conclude with a scholarin-residence weekend in November 2010. The featured scholar will be Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles.

Photographs of The Cincinnati Lions annual Women’s Philanthropy Lion of Judah Luncheon were published in this week’s American Israelite. The event was held at the house of Marilyn Zemboch with a keynote address given by Sue Fishkoff.

The event, co-chaired by Janet Cohen and Cindy Guttman, raised $125,000 for the 2010 Community Campaign.

December 24 — Cedar Village begins its second annual Eight over Eighty event. The nominations began for the May 2, 2010

event, which recognizes and honors eight senior adults, 80 years old or older, who have dedicated their time, talent and lives to the Jewish community. All honorees will be inducted into the Cedar Village Jewish Senior Hall of Fame on that day.

Cincinnati area reform congregations, the Union for Reform Judaism and Hebrew Union College sponsored an introduction to Judaism course, taught by Rabbi Margaret Meyer. The class was 14 sessions long and taught on Wednesdays. Rabbi Meyer is a Cincinnati native and has taught the course before as well.

Author Jon Entine discussed his research on the genetic origins of the Jewish people at Northern Hills Synagogue. Entine explains his findings set forth in his recent book “Abraham’s Children: Race, Identity and the DNA of the Chosen People.” The author has won over 20 awards, including Emmys for specials on reform movements in China and the Soviet Union. He was the longtime producer for Tom Brokaw at NBC news, as well as a producer for ABC. December 31 — John “Jack”

Renowned Cincinnati lawyer John ” Jack” Benjamin passed away on December 20, 2009.

Benjamin, a prominent Cincinnati attorney for six decades, died on Sunday, Dec. 20 at the Courtyard

at The Seasons. He was 95 years old. Mr. Benjamin was born in 1914 in St. Petersburg, Russia and his father died when he was only 2 years old. Following a difficult escape from Russia in 1918, along with his mother and brother, he immigrated to Cincinnati in 1920, thanks to the sponsorship of his uncle, Oscar Berman. Mr. Benjamin attended Avondale School and Hughes High School before graduating from Bexley High School in Columbus, Ohio.

He went on to The Ohio State University where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated in 1939 with honors from Yale Law School. In 1942 he married Helen Ades of Lexington, Ky., and during WWII he served as a first lieutenant paratrooper with the 13th Airborne Division in France and Germany. Until the age of 92 Mr. Benjamin went daily to his office at Benjamin, Yocum and Heather, the law practice that he had founded in the 1950s and guided for over 50 years.

Rabbi Moshe Meirovich of Congregation Ohav Shalom had his last day with the congregation on Dec. 28. He is leaving for Toronto in order to better take care of his parents, who are in their early 90s, and has fortunately found a new congregation very near to his parents and brother there. Although he will be more than 400 miles away, Meirovich will continue to work with his B’nai Mitzvah students via “skype.”

January 14 — The Rockwern Academy Board of Trustees voted unanimously to not offer 7th and 8th grades for the 2010-2011 school year. The families in those grades, as well as the faculty, were informed immediately. Describing the decision as one that was “proactive” and “business-minded,” head of school Peter Cline explained the 57 year old institution had made this decision twice before. In a letter to Rockwern parents, board president Barry Finestone stated, “The sacrifices in quality that would have been necessary in order to make grades 7 and 8 financially viable were simply not acceptable to the school’s leadership. The numbers for 7th grade in 2011-2012 look strong, and it is our intention at this time to offer 7th grade during that school year.”

A Cincinnati student of Yeshiva University, Josh Zimmerman took it upon himself to aid the Jewish National Fund in helping Jewish evacuees from Gaza. Under the leadership of Josh Zimmerman, 12 YU students” are in Halutza Sands helping to build permanent homes, community centers and schools for the displaced families. The group succeeded in raising over $20,000 for

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

Northern Hills Synagogue won multiple national awards this year.

“Blueprint Negev” a JNF program focusing on populating the Negev and raising living conditions there.

Zimmerman and his classmates chose to do so within the context of helping the Gaza evacuees.

Northern Hills Synagogue garnered several awards at the International Convention of the United Synogogue of Conservative Judaism, held this past December in New Jersey. Two of the awards were Solomon Schechter Awards, presented in honor of Dr. Solomon Schechter, founder of the United Synagogue.

Programming was the focus of the awards. NHS also received a Gold award for fundraising and a Silver award for Worship and Ritual.

January 21 — On Sunday, January 17, Joyce Elaine Heiman passed away in the company of her family. She was 80 years old.

According to her son, Dr. Harry Heiman, his mother viewed helping others as an expression of the human need to reach out and connect with others. Along with her husband of over 60 years, Mrs. Heiman leaves three sons and their wives, Gary and Kim Heiman, Mark and Richie Heiman and Harry Heiman and Abby Friedman, as well as grandchildren Isaac, Danielle, Alex, Eli, Thea, Aaron and Tim. The UC College Conservatory of Music (CCM) performed a concert in remembrance of the Holocaust. Billed as “A Musical Legacy: Three Works, from Three Centuries and Two Continents” the concert took place in the historic Plum Street Temple. It marks the United Nations Day of Holocaust Remembrance.

Featured in the performance were three compositions never before performed together.

Adath Israel became home to five homeless families as a participant in the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN), during the last week of 2009—the week of Christmas. Families accepted into

IHN receive overnight shelter and three meals a day from participating congregations. They stay for one week before moving on to the next congregation in the network.

February 4 — The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s Super

Jason Mellman volunteers during this year’s “Super Sunday” which raised over $300,000 for the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.

Sunday fundraiser held on Jan. 31, surpassed the target of $250,000 as well as shadowing last year’s $328,000 raise. Over 200 volunteers worked the phones, beginning at 8:30 in the morning. Of the total raised this year, $50,000 were matching funds from PNC bank.

Representative Steve Driehaus, State Senator Eric Kearney, State Representative Connie Pillach and City Council members Chris Monzel and Jeff Berding were among the VIPs present at the event.

The Rockwern Academy unveiled plans for financial assistance for preschool and grades K8 following a large hike in tuition this past year. The new financial assistance program, called Flexible Multi-Year Tuition, is designed to address the issue of middle-class student families who

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often choose to leave the school instead of taking financial assistance. FMYT, similar to traditional financial aid, gives the school the ability to take into the account each families’ particular circumstances. Peter Cline stated, “Our goal is that families who want a Rockwern education should be able to afford that education.”

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO OUR FRIENDS

February 11 — The Wise Temple Brotherhood’s Sixth Annual Chicken Soup Cookoff was a “clucking success.” Emceed by Hagit Limor from WCPO, the crowd jammed the Wise parking lot. Izzy’s won the most coveted award, the People’s Choice Award, for their chicken noodle soup.

Kroger Blue Ash won first place for best Matzo Ball in the Professional Division, McAllister’s won Most Original for their Mexican Tortilla Soup, and Trio’s won best Chicken Noodle. There were over 800 in attendance, and the event donated over 29 gallons of soup and 64 Manishewitz cartons to the Overthe-Rhine Soup Kitchen.

Hadassah held their 2010 Education Day this past month, sponsored by Jewish Family Service and focused on the different attribute and problems of four generations. The participants, led

by JFS’s Linda Kean, were split into groups by generation to explore their various values and common cultural experiences. In the end each generation reported their findings to the whole group.

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February 18 — Dr. Rick Hodes— who was appointed by the American Joint Distribution Committee in 1990 to provide medical care to Ethiopian Jews awaiting immigration to Israel— was in Cincinnati Feb. 22 for a series of briefings with community leaders and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center physicians and administrators. In addition to his work with Ethiopian Jews, Hodes also provides general medical care in a non-sectarian JDC program at Ethiopia’s Mother Theresa Mission where he works with heart disease, spine disease and cancer patients.

Juniors and Seniors from Isaac M. Wise Temple traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the L’Taken seminar on lobbying and the legislative process, sponsored by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

Specifically the mission for the trip was to explore social action issues with experts, and how to use this expertise to write speeches that would urge members of congress to take action.

February 25 — Four local comedians performed at Temple Sholom; Alex Stone, Mike Cody, John Bunyan and Keith Sanders.

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Ettinger, the former Consul General of Israel to the Southwestern United States. His topic was “US-Israel 2010: A Mutually Beneficial Two Way Street.” The event was organized to kick off the annual Israel Bonds campaign, which is vital to Israel’s economic strength.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wise Temple students take a trip to D.C. to explore the ins and outs of lobbying.

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Stone has entertained audiences at colleges and clubs across the country.

Wise Temple’s Critical Topics Committee presented a panel to discuss the impact of prisons and prisoners on Cincinnati and Communities nationwide.

Professor Marian Brown Bettman, Professor of Clinical Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, served as a moderator. The panelists included Terry Collins, past director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, as well as David Yost, Delaware County Prosecutor and David Singleton, an attorney and executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center.

March 4 — Jewish Hospital sale to Mercy Healthcare Partners is concluded. Foundation president Gary Heiman stated, “With the sale of the Jewish Hospital, one chapter of our history has ended and a new one has begun for our Jewish community...more than 150 years ago, Jewish leadership determined that the community needed to build and operate our own hospital because Jewish patients were often unable to gain access to quality medical treatment. Jewish doctors were generally not welcome on the staffs of other hospitals.

Thankfully, today that is no longer the case, and the Jewish community has similarly urgent, but different needs.”

The Cincinnati Choral Society honored Dr. Leon and Beverly Lichtin for their support over the past 25 years. The couple has been

on the Board of Trustees of the Choral Society for this time and led many fundraising efforts.

March 11 — Saul Singer, coauthor of “Start-Up Nation—The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle,” came to Cincinnati

Cincinnati Choral Society honors Dr. Leon and Beverly Lichtin.

Tuesday, March 16 for an evening presentation at the JCC. With more companies listed on the NASDAQ exchange than all of Continental Europe, and with the highest density of start-ups in the world—one for every 1,844 Israelis, the Jewish State is hitting its stride as a world leader in new, technologically sophisticated businesses. A dessert followed the reception.

State of Israel Bonds held a dessert reception at the home of Diane and Dr. Alan Weber. The keynote speaker there was Yoram

March 18 — Israeli Soldier Sgt. Benjamin Anthony, founder of “Our Soldiers Speak” spoke at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He served behind enemy lines in Israel’s most recent Gaza campaign (Operation Cast Lead).

He formed “Our Soldiers Speak” to bring the IDF’s “proud truth from the front line of Israel’s battlefields to people everywhere.”

The 2010 Workum Scholarship recipients were announced.

Recipients were Sara Coyle, intern for Cedar Village; Samuel Lindner, intern at the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education; Sarah Perlman, intern for the marketing department of the JCC, Samantha Rheingold, intern for Hillel; Benjamin Robinson, intern at the American Jewish Archives; Sarah Ungar, intern at Jewish Family Service; and Jacob Warren, intern for the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.

Congregation B’nai Tikvah held a discussion panel on female image, entitled “Made in G-d’s Image.” It brought together women from around the community to discuss different aspects of feminine beauty. A panel of seven women from different professions discussed their personal experiences as well as experiences from within the workplace. The panel devoted much attention to the unrealistic portrayal of women and body image in the mainstream media.

March 25 — Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati completed its first year and elected new officers and board members. Elected to serve as officers for a one year term are Jan Armstrong Cobb, president; Elinor Ziv, vice president; Norman Frankel, treasurer; and Bradley Kaplan, secretery.

New Trustees elected to the three year term were Michael Bergman, Alan Brown, Tovah Kirschner and Joshua Shapiro. Tom Rinsky and Mack Evans were re-elected to

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

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Day celebration featured Israeli singer Dganit Daddo and took place at the JCC. Daddo is the star of the Israeli National theater, Habima. She performed traditional as well as contemporary Jewish and Israeli music.

The Blue Ash Kroger hosted a model matzah bakery this Passover.

another term.

The Blue Ash Kroger hosted a Model Matzah Bakery. The Model Matzah Bakery was modeled after an authentic Shmurah Matzah bakery, where all Matzah is handmade and baked in an authentic brick oven. Participants winnowed and ground wheat stalks into flour, kneaded and rolled the dough before baking their Matzah.

April 1— Professor Matitiahu Tsevat passed away March 13, 2010 at the age of 96. Dr. Tsevat was an esteemed professor of

Longtime HUC-JIR professor Dr. Matitiahu Tsevat passed away this past March at the age of 96.

Jewish Studies and administrator at HUC-JIR. He taught graduate courses at HUC-JIR in extinct languages. Born in Germany in 1913, Dr. Tsevat was raised by Zionist parents in Germany. He moved to Israel, then Mandate Palestine in 1938 and eventually took up studies at Hebrew University where he earned his MA in 1948 in Bible Studies. He was ordained in 1953 with his Ph.D from HUC in Cincinnati. He was married to Miriam Tsevat.

April 8— Kosher food to remain at bigg’s after Remke takeover.

The American Jewish Committee Cincinnati Chapter honored Kay Geiger, regional vice

president of PNC Bank with the 2010 Civic Achievement Award.

The award recognized Geiger’s professional and civic accomplishments as well as her philanthropic commitments. The dinner not only honored Ms. Geiger but also raised funds for the global advocacy and human rights work of the AJC. The keynote speaker was Dr. David C. Hodge, president of Miami University.

The National Council of Jewish Women celebrates 115 years of service to children, women and families in the greater Cincinnati area on April 15 with a luncheon at Cedar Village.

April 15— The JCC held a Yom Hashoah commemoration event Sunday, April 11. The event was attended by more than 500 members of the community and featured candle lighting, music, prayer, special readings and a keynote presentation by New York Times journalist Joseph Berger.

The event opened with the Rockwern Academy Choir, which was led by Idit Moss.

Israel Memorial Day “Yom Hazikaron” observance took place at the Cedar Village Retirement community. The evening ceremony included a memorial service and a film. The film, titled “She touched the Sky,” chronicles the life and death of the only female soldier killed during the 2006 Lebanon War, Sgt. Keren Tendler.

The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s Israel Independence

April 22— Dr. Ellis Rivkin, professor, scholar and mentor died April 7, 2010. He had a 50 year career as the Adolph S. Ochs Professor Emeritus of Jewish History at Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. Dr. Rivkin earned his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees from Johns Hopkins University and moved to Cincinnati in 1949 after being appointed assistant professor of Jewish History at HUC. Dr. David Ellenson, president of HUC, spoke at his memorial service, and gave tribute to the mentor of many. Dr. Rivkin published five

Wishing all my Family and Friends a Happy New Year To the Jewish Community, Rayman Barrett

THE COOPER FAMILY Dr. Ellis Rivkin, professor and scholar at HUC-JIR passed away this past year on April 7, 2009.

books and authored more than 100 scholarly articles. He also established the Globalist Research Foundation in 1977. The organization publishes analyses about international affairs and the Middle East. Dr. Rivkin is survived by his wife of 70 years, Zelda Zafren Rivkin, and many children and grandchildren.

April 29— The National Council of Jewish Women Cincinnati Chapter announced their new identity at their 115th anniversary event, the NCJW Cinncinati Fund, and then announced its program of philanthropy and service by awarding $27,000 in grants to nine local organizations: Cedar Village, Clovernook Center for the Blind,

Israel scouts perform at this year’s Yom Haatzmaut ceremony at Rockwern Academy.

Wishes the Jewish Community a Happy New Year!

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Council on Child Abuse, Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati, Jewish Early Learning Cooperative, Jewish Family Service, Planned Parenthood, Pleasant Ridge Montessori School, and United Cerebral Palsy were this year’s recipients.

Jewish Family Service delivered over 430 meals this past Passover. More than 120 volunteers participated in the 12th annual Dr. Samuel S. Rockwern Passover Delivery.

AJC announced its annual Lazarus Awards at Rockdale Temple. The award recognized the contributions young people make to their community. There were 10 finalists. The Junior class winner was Katie Langrebe of Madeira High School. The winner of the Senior Class was Meghan Marth of Sycamore High School.

Wolfs for their contributions to the planning of the new JCC, as well as David’s continued involvement with JCC operations. They are proud supporters of the arts.

May 6—Jewish Vocational Services celebrated its 70th anniversary as well as unveiled and showed off its renovations to the Blue Ash building. There was a building rededication as well as a ribbon cutting and many other events throughout the day. The dessert reception featured speaker Michael Loban, co-founder and chief marketing officer of InfoTrust, a social media marketing firm.

Rockwern Academy Tribute honored Barry and Ellen Finestone as well as Mary Lee Sirkin for their impact on the community in a wide variety of ways. Sirkin, a speech and hearing therapist as well as educator was honored for

May 27— The Mayerson JCC won several national awards for several of its programs and communication efforts at the JCC’s North America Biennial held in Atlanta, Ga. The Mayerson JCC was awarded for developing novel service models on which other JCCs may borrow from. They also won communications awards for exceptional efforts in marketing.

B’nai Brith held its annual memorial service to honor Jewish soldiers lost during wartime duty at the Robert S. Kraft memorial garden in the Covedale Cemetery.

Honored speakers were Rep. Steve Driehaus and State Rep. Robert Mecklenborg. Representing the military was LTC Shaun D. House.

John Stein succeeded Patti Heldman as the American Jewish Committee president; he will begin his term at the annual meeting on June 2.

The HUC presidential medallion was presented to Major General Sidney Sachnow. The award is given to people who embody the guiding ethics and principles for which HUC-JIR stands. He is the only Holocaust survivor to reach the rank of general in the history of the U.S. military.

Mary Lee Sirkin was honored

by Rockwern Academy for all the years of important work she has done with children in the Jewish community.

her many years of service and dedication to the Rockwern Academy Preschool (formerly Yavneh Day School).

Zahava Rendler was awarded the Walter Hattenbach Award for Excellence in Teaching for her work with the Adath Israel Congregation school. The award was presented to Ms. Rendler by Sharon Wasserberg, the director of education.

May 13— The JCC honored Nancy and David Wolf at their 16th annual JCC Adams Golf Classic. The JCC is honoring the

May 20— Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati announced Walnut Hills cemetery tour in conjunction with the Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis and the American Jewish Archives.

There was a brief memorial service to honor those buried in the cemetery.

Mercaz Conservative Hebrew High School held its graduation on April 25. Deborah Backman and Benjamin Lee were recipients of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s Nate Kaplan Award for outstanding Jewish studies. In addition seven graduates received an enriched diploma.

June 3— The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati held its 113th annual meeting with over 300 members of the community in attendance. The meeting was entitled “From Recovery to Growth” and focused largely on moving on from the economic downturn. It was held May 25 at the Mayerson JCC and began with a video report from outgoing president Beth Guttman.

HUC-JIR ordained 11 new rabbis in the historic Plum Street Temple. The ordained were as follows: Barbara Block, Emily Dunn, Jean Eglinton, Jason Holtz, Emily Huebscher, Amy Ross, Scott Segal, Dena Shaffer, Sarah Smiley, Michael Weinstein and Benjamin Zeidman. Dr. David

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Aaron delivered the ordination address.

The Jewish Discovery Center dedicated a Torah honoring Sam and Rachel Boymel. The renowned philanthropists are both Holocaust survivors.

June 10— Cedar Village was presented with the national “Excellence in Programming” award by AJAS (the Association of Jewish Aging Services) at their National Conference in Atlanta.

The award was presented for the B’nai Mitzvah Mission, which took place in 2009.

June 17— On Sunday, June 6, the Jewish Discovery Center, Mason’s “Center for Jewish Life,” held 200

The Jewish Discovery Center dedicated a Torah honoring philanthropists Sam and Rachel Boymel.

people from the surrounding counties who turned out to celebrate the historic dedication of the community Torah. Sam and Rachel Boymel, international philanthropists and Cincinnati residents, were honored for their leadership and for dedicating the scroll to their families who perished in the Holocaust.

The Northern Hills Synagogue is to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a commemorative service on Friday, June 25. As part of the service, multi-generational families will speak about their experiences and recollections.

June 24 —Over the course of June, Wise Temple held celebratory services for Senior Rabbi Lewis H. Kamrass’s 25th year. Earlier this month, a special Shabbat service was held at the historic Plum Street Temple and the next evening, 600 people dined and danced at Cincinnati Music Hall.

July 1— The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education marks the 15th year of Holocaust Studies for Educators, a graduate level course designed to equip teachers with the tools to teach the Holocaust and its lessons. This year, the course is being named in honor of survivors, Roma and Sam Kaltman, by their daughter and

ROSH HASHANAH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

Kollel—Mr. and Mrs. Gene Mesh.

July 22 — Congregation B’nai Tikvah Center for Reconstructionist Judaism honored attorney Carl Morganstern— a Harvard grad and the shul’s patriarch and principle benefactor.

Northern Hills SynagogueCongregation B’nai Avraham Men’s Club is again sponsoring its annual picnic at Weller Park on Sunday, August 22.

Wise Temple celebrated Rabbi Lewis Kamrass’ 25th year at Wise Temple.

son-in-law, Sandy Kaltman and John Isidor.

July 8 — Temple Sholom welcomes new Rabbi—Miriam Terlinchamp. The rabbi “embraces our vision of being an intimate and inclusive Reform Jewish congregation,” stated Marcy Ziek, president of Temple Sholom.

JNF announced it will honor

Temple Sholom welcomed new Rabbi—Miriam Terlinchamp.

Mary Ellen and Tom Cody with the Tree of Life Award. The award is presented to individuals who are dedicated to their community, the cause of American-Israeli friendship, and devotion to peace and security of human life.

JNF honored Tom and Mary Cody with the Tree of Life award this year.

July 15—On the Sunday before Shavuot, the Cincinnati Community Kollel celebrated a hachnasas sefer Torah in conjunction with the Kollel’s annual fundraising event. The sefer Torah was dedicated by friends of the

July 29 — The Department of Judaic Students received a $1 million gift from the Kim and Gary Heiman Family Foundation. The gift will directly enhance the department’s offerings and future projects such as the Center for Jewish Cultures and Ideas.

The local bigg’s grocery wonsecond place in Manischewitz Company’s first ever retailer diplay contest in honor of Jewish Heritage Month.

King’s Supermaket in Short Hills, N.J. came in first.

August 5— Local rabbi, Laura Baum of Congregation Beth Adam in Loveland, has recently been named on a list of the 50 most influential female rabbis in America. Baum’s work on the website, OurJewishCommunity— the world’s first online synagogue, which reaches people on an international level—is a main reason for her inclusion on the list.

August 12 — Past president of Temple Sholom, Mauri Willis, has been chosen as one of the 30 members of the HUC-JIR search committee. The search committee is looking for a replacement for Rabbi Eric Yoffie, former president of HUC-JIR.

Rabbi Laura Baum of Congregation Beth Adam was named one of America’s 50 most influential female rabbis.

also created a need for more room in the already crowded parking lot.

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Susan Brenner was awarded the Women’s Philanthropy Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award from the Jewish Federations of North America.

August 19 — HUC-JIR has received an $11 million grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation in order to foster cooperation between different Jewish denominations. In addition to HUC-JIR, the Jim Jospeh Foundation also gave roughly $11 million each to the Modern Orthodox Yeshiva University and to the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

August 26 — Jewish Family Service recently moved locations to the Mayerson JCC. They are sharing an office with the Jewish Federation.

Susan Brenner was honored with the Women’s Philanthropy Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award from the Jewish Federations of North America.

September 2 — The Mayerson JCC began construction on a new parking lot in order to keep up with continuing growth. The Jewish Family Service move has

Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

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ROSH HASHANAH - Builds Bridges - Advances Security - Promotes Human Rights - Supports Israel - Strengthens Jewish Life

Best wishes for a peaceful New Year John M. Stein, President

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Death Notices SHAWN, Bernice, age 86, died on August 27, 2009; 7 Elul, 5769.

MINSON, Nancy J., age 63, died on September 8, 2009; 19 Elul, 5769.

WASSERMAN, Sylvia, age 100, died on September 12, 2009; 23 Elul, 5769.

GOTTSCHALK, Dr. Alfred, age 79, died on September 12, 2009; 23 Elul, 5769 ROSBAC, Edmond J., age 84, died on September 14, 2009; 25 Elul, 5769 LEVIN, Robert H., Ph.D., age 93, died on September 22, 2009; 4 Tishrei, 5770.

STOLLER, Katie, age 94, died on September 24, 2009; 6 Tishrei, 5770.

GRAD, Martin, age 90, died on September 25, 2009; 7 Tishrei BAKST, Robert L., age 81, died on October 11, 2009; 23 Tishrei, 5770.

DAVIS, Bertram, age 89, died on October 12, 2009; 25 Tishrei, 5770.

FRIEDMAN, Carl Bud, age 85, died on October 14, 2009; 26 Tishrei, 5770.

BING, Lawrence L. ” Lonnie” III (aka Jay Corry), age 60, died on October 17, 2009; 29 Tishrei, 5770.

MARTIN, Ida S., age 93, died on October 20, 2009; 3 Cheshvan, 5770.

LEWIN, David H., age 77, died on October 21, 2009; 4 Cheshvan, 5770.

MILGRAM, Ethel, age 99, died on October 22, 2009; 4 Cheshvan, 5770.

KRAUS, Janice, age 84, died on October 24, 2009; 6 Cheshvan, 5770.

FARBER, Moisey, age 85, died on October 26, 2009; 8 Cheshvan, 5770.

WOLPA, Patricia, age 80, died on October 27, 2009; 9 Cheshvan, 5770.

1 Kislev, 5770.

STEINBERG, Howard, age 77, died on November 18, 2009; 1 Kislev, 5770.

HYMON, Harold L, age 87, died on November 28, 2009; 11 Kislev, 5770.

GOLDMAN, Mark Steven, age 49, died on November 28, 2009; 12 Kislev, 5770.

LIEBSCHUTZ, Edith, age 90, died on December 6, 2009; 19 Kislev, 5770.

CHARKINS, Bertha, age 96, died on December 7, 2009; 21 Kislev, 5770.

NAGLER, Allen, age 83, died on December 11, 2009; 24 Kislev 5770.

ROTHSTEIN, Rose, age 94, died on December 18, 2009; 1 Tevet, 5770 SKUROW, Marian, age 83, died on December 18, 2009; 2 Tevet, 5770.

Best Wishes SINGER, Irvin, age 88, died on Happy New December 22, 2009; 5 Tevet, 5770.

GOLDSTEIN, Theodore, age 761.3200 BENJAMIN, John ” Jack,” age 90, died on October 29, 2009; 11 95, died on December 20, 2009; Cheshvan, 5770 4 Tevet, 5770.

MEYER, Norma, age 83, died HOROWITZ, Myer G., age 85, on November 1, 2009; 15 died on December 22, 2009; 5 Cheshvan, 5770.

Tevet, 5770.

SACHSENDORFER, Ellen HOFFMAN, Myron, age 92, Teggart, age 56, died on November 2, 2009; 16 Cheshvan, died on December 24, 2009; 7 Tevet, 5770.

5770.

LUTCHIN, Shirley, age 86, died on November 6, 2009; 19 Cheshvan, 5770.

RUBIN, Dr. Mark, age 65, died on December 28, 2009; 11 Tevet, 5770.

ROTH, Eileen C., age 88, died on November 9, 2009; 22 Cheshvan, 5770.

APPEL, Norman, age 85, died on December 28, 2009; 11 Tevet, 5770.

GLASSMAN, Jay S, age 90, died on November 14, 2009; 27 Cheshvan, 5770.

KOENIGSBERG, Harry, age 95, died on December 29, 2009; 12 Tevet, 5770.

GLICK, Mildred Bernstein, age 101, died on November 17, 2009;

SHARE, Hannah, age 72, died on December 30. 2009; 13 Tevet, 5770.

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

STERN,JR., Joseph, age 74, died on January 2, 2010; 16 Tevet, 5770.

MEISEL, Elvin; age 82; died on January 3, 2010; 17 Tevet, 5770.

SHOCHAT, Joseph, age 74, died on January 3, 2010; 17 Tevet, 5770.

LEVINSON, Henry, age 61, died on January 4, 2010; 18 Tevet 5770.

ROTH, Marlene, age 76, died on January 5, 2010; 19 Tevet, 5770.

MINTZ, Arlene, age 70, died on January 5, 2010; 20 Tevet, 5770.

KELLEY, Helen, age 98, died on January 10, 2010; 24 Tevet, 5770.

FRANK, Annette, age 96, died on January 16, 2010; 2 Shevat, 5770.

HEIMAN, Joyce, age 80, died on January 17, 2010; 3 Shevat, 5770.

CROWN, Herbert, age 83, died on January 19, 2010; 4 Shevat, 5770.

WEISSMAN, Bertha, age 97, died on January 20, 2010; 5 Shevat, 5770.

COHEN, Ruth, age 99, died on January 21, 2010; 6 Shevat, 5770.

SCHREIBER, Harriette, age 83, died on January 22, 2010; 7 Shevat, 5770.

SIMON, Lori, age 52, died on January 25, 2010; 10 Shevat, 5770.

STEINER, Edna S., age 106, died on January 25, 2010; 10 Shevat, 5770.

KOHN, Marian D., age 90, died on January 26, 2010; 12 Shevat, 5770.

FORMAN, Arnold, age 76, died on January 27, 2010; 12 Shevat, 5770.

STEWART, Cyndi Weiser, age 45, died on January 30, 2010; 15 Shevat, 5770.

WATTS, Elaine, age 57, died on January 30, 2010; 16 Shevat, 5770.

ROSH HASHANAH

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KOLSTEIN, Philip L., age 73, died on February 4, 2010; 20 Shevat, 5770.

RISHTY, Eli, age 85, died on February 13, 2010; 29 Shevat, 5770.

TOBIN, Bertha, age 98, died on February 5, 2010; 22 Shevat, 5770.

HONIG, Rhea, age 88, died on February 13, 2010; 29 Shevat, 5770.

ADAMS, Roy, age 94, died on February 7, 2010; 23 Shevat, 5770.

WEINBERG, Irwin C., age 90, died on February 21, 2010; 7 Adar, 5770.

PRICE, Celia Oscherwitz, age 81, died on February 7, 2010; 23 Shevat, 5770.

WOLF, Richad E., M.D., age 96, died on February 23, 2010; 9 Adar, 5770.

BENJAMIN, Betty R., age 90, died on February 7, 2010; 24 Shevat, 5770.

GOLDBERG, Estelle Pearlman, age 96, died on February 26, 2010; 12 Adar, 5770.

BARON, Helen S., age 97, died on February 8, 2010; 24 Shevat, 5770.

RUBENSTEIN, Walter A., age 81, died on February 27, 2010; 13 Adar, 5770.

WITTSTEIN, Rabbi Joel Ira, age 74, died on January 28, 2010; 13 Shevat, 5770.

KURTZMAN, Tome Friedman, age 57, died on March 3, 2010; 17 Adar, 5770.

RICHMAN, Jerome, age 73, died on February 3, 2010; 19 Shevat, 5770.

SHORE, Frances M., age 100, died on March 5, 2010; 19 Adar, 5770.

STEARN, Judy Deckelbaum, age 59, died on February 4, 2010; 20 Shevat, 5770.

ARENSTEIN, Leo, age 83, died on March 9, 2010; 22 Adar, 5770.

ADAMS, Roy, age 94, died on February 7, 2010; 23 Shevat, 5770.

BLUESTEIN, Joan, age 89, died on February 10, 2010; 26 Shevat, 5770.

ACH, Doris Dever, age 71, died on February 10, 2010; 26 Shevat, 5770.

LEVY, Martin B., age 82, died on February 11, 2010; 27 Shevat, 5770.

HEILBURN, Leonard W., age 88, died on February 12, 2010; 28 Shevat, 5770.

MARGOLIN, Shirlee G., age 76, died on March 9, 2010; 23 Adar, 5770.

SHAPIRO, Sylvia R., age 86, died on March 10, 2010; 24 Adar, 5770.

KAPLAN, Eugene H., age 90, died on March 12, 2010; 27 Adar, 5770.

TSEVAT, Matitiahu, age 96, died on March 13, 2010; 27 Adar, 5770.

TROY, Roslyn, age 91, died on March 13, 2010; 27 Adar, 5770.

DRINNAN, Caroline, age 55, died on February 17, 2010; 3 Adar, 5770.

RISHTY, Eli, age 85, died on February 13, 2010; 29 Shevat, 5770.

LEVY, Joseph, age 72, died on March 16, 2010; 1 Nissan, 5770.

HEILBRUN, Leonard W., age 88, died on February 12, 2010; 28 Shevat, 5770.

RUBIN, Seymour, age 86, died on March 17, 2010; 2 Nissan, 5770.

BOCHNER, Ruth vanGelder, age 91, died on February 13, 2010; 29 Shevat, 5770.

GLASSER, Stanley, age 83, died on March 19, 2010; 4 Nissan, 5770.

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Wishing all our family and friends a year of health and happiness Jorian & Neil, David & Marisa Roth

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ROSH HASHANAH

EINHORN, Lawrence M., age 74, died on April 20, 2010; 6 Iyar, 5770.

WEINSTEIN, Annette, age 68, died on April 30, 2010; 16 Iyar, 5770.

GOLDBERG, Marvin ” Bro,” age 79, died on April 21, 2010; 7 Iyar, 5770.

SPIEVACK, Paula, age 59, died on May 7, 2010; 23 Iyar, 5770.

WEIL, Cher, age 56, died on April 22, 2010; 8 Iyar, 5770.

KURTZ, Craig R., age 49, died on April 22, 2010; 9 Iyar, 5770.

CASUTO, David, age 83, died on April 29, 2010; 15 Iyar, 5770.

SCHWARTZ, Irving, age 87, died on April 30, 2010; 16 Iyar, 5770.

COHEN, Herbert, age 80, died on May 16, 2010; 3 Sivan, 5770.

GRUBER, Bernie, age 93, died on May 18, 2010; 5 Sivan, 5770.

CARTER, Edith, age 95, died on May 19, 2010; 6 Sivan, 5770.

PINSKY, Minnie, age 93, died on May 20, 2010; 7 Sivan, 5770.

CAPLAN, Sylvia, age 75, died on May 27, 2010; 14 Sivan, 5770.

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

REVELSON, Jill, age 65, died on May 28, 2010; 15 Sivan, 5770.

PRITZ, Benjamin L., age 89 died on June 6, 2010; 24 Sivan, 5770.

GOODMAN, Ph.D., Stanford M., age 71, died on June 11, 2010; 29 Sivan, 5770.

KASSEL, Terry Sonkin, age 64, died on June 12, 2010; 30 Sivan, 5770.

PLOTKIN, Myron R., age 72, died on June 15, 2010; 3 Tammuz, 5770.

APPLEBAUM, Shirley, age 86, died on June 19, 2010; 7 Tammuz, 5770.

JACOBS, Barbara ” Bobbie,” age 77, died on June 22, 2010; 10 Tammuz, 5770.

KAPSON, Sidney S., age 90, died on June 26, 2010; 14 Tammuz, 5770.

MILLER, Freda, age 88, died on June 28, 2010; 16 Tammuz, 5770.

HILB, Nelly S., age 98, died on July 8, 2010; 26 Tammuz 5770.

POMERANTZ, Ida, age 95, died on July 12, 2010; 2 Av 5770.

ZILBERBERG, Sanford I., age 59, died on July 13, 2010; 2 Av 5770.

WOLFSON, David, age 93, died on July 15, 2010; 4 Av, 5770 PENN, Zelda, age 73, died on July 15, 2010; 4 Av, 5770.

COHEN, Frances Orey, age 60 died on July 19, 2010; 8 Av, 5770.

GREENBERG, David B., age 81, died on July 25, 2010; 14 Av, 5770.

BERGER, Boris, age 85, died on July 29, 2010; 19 Av, 5770.

NOCHE, Belle, age 96, died on July 30, 2010; 20 Av, 5770.

DOMBAR, Abrom, age 98, died on August 2, 2010; 22 Av, 5770.

BUCHWALD, Mildred, age 88, died on August 1, 2010; 21 Av, 5770.

AMARANT, Esther Gabel, age 94, died on August 3, 2010; 23 Av, 5770.

COHEN, Carolyn S., age 92, died on August 9, 2010; 29 Av, 5770.

KIRTCHIK, Gladys age 92, died on August 10, 2010; 30 Av, 5770.

SARASON, Cornelia S. age 96 died on August 14, 2010; 4 Elul, 5770.

VAN DAVIS, Barbara Rubel, age 67, died on August 13, 2010; 3 Elul, 5770.

HERSHEY, Dr. Daniel age 79, died on August 19, 2010; 9 Elul, 5770.

TSEVAT, Miriam, age 93, died on August 22, 2010; 12 Elul, 5770.

BLUMBERG, Morton, age 82, died on August 28, 2010; 18 Elul, 5770.

MARMER, Milton N., age 91, died on August 29, 2010; 19 Elul, 5770.

Wishes the Greater Cincinnati Jewish Community a Year of Health and Happiness DEVINDER S. MANGAT, M.D., F.A.C.S. DANIEL G. KUY, M.D., F.A.C.S. ALLISON M. HOLZAPFEL, M.D., F.A.C.S.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

ROSH HASHANAH

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5770 in Israel: Diplomatic crises, but economic prosperity

9102 TOWNE CENTRE DRIVE • WEST CHESTER, OH 45069 (513) 874-PINT • www.dinglehouse.com

By Leslie Susser Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM (JTA) — For Israel, the Jewish year 5770 was characterized by ups and downs in relations with the United States, a virtual stalemate in Middle East peacemaking and growing international alienation.

Last November, after months of intense U.S. pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a temporary freeze on new construction building in West Bank settlements — a move designed to create conditions for a renewal of peace talks with the Palestinians.

But the freeze was only for 10 months, did not include some 3,000 units already started and did not apply to construction in eastern Jerusalem.

The Palestinians, convinced that President Obama would exert even heavier pressure on Israel on the core issues of dispute — borders, Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees and the nature of a future Palestinian state — without their having to negotiate, highlighted the lacunae and rejected calls to return to the peace table.

As a compromise, special U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell proposed indirect negotiations under U.S. auspices. By early March, both sides had agreed to “proximity talks,” with Mitchell shuttling between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden traveled to the region to announce the breakthrough, but during his visit an Israeli Interior Ministry planning committee approved plans for 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo, a Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem on the east side of the pre-1967 border — what most of the world still considers the West Bank.

The move prompted the Palestinians to retract their agreement to participate in proximity talks and infuriated the Obama administration. U.S. officials blamed Israel for what they saw as a deliberate slight calculated to torpedo their peace efforts.

In an angry 43-minute telephone conversation, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reprimanded Netanyahu, insisting that Israel freeze the Ramat Shlomo project and agree to discuss all the core issues in the proximity talks. Netanyahu explained that the planning committee’s announcement had taken his government by surprise as much as it had the Americans, made it clear that there would be no building in Ramat Shlomo for at least two years, and agreed to put the core issues on the table.

Parallel to the U.S.-led peace-

Ketiva Ve-Chatima Tovah

U.N.

The U.N. report on the Gaza war by Richard Goldstone, pictured above, found Israel guilty of possible war crimes and became a diplomatic headache for the Jewish state.

making endeavor, the Palestinians stepped up unilateral efforts to create a framework for statehood, focusing on law and order, economic viability and institution building.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad made no secret of his intention to have “a well-functioning state in just about every facet of activity” by mid2011, irrespective of whether any peace agreement with Israel had been reached.

After weeks of bickering, the proximity talks finally were launched in early May, after the Palestinians received the go-ahead from the Arab League. Neither side expected to achieve much. It seemed both had agreed primarily to engage to avoid American censure.

With ties strained between Washington and Jerusalem, Obama invited Netanyahu to the White House for a meeting that was to patch up the strains in the relationship and provide a positive image in contrast with an earlier, low-profile meeting in March that included no public component or photo op.

The meeting was delayed sever-

al weeks due to Israel’s commando raid aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla from Turkey on May 31. But when the two leaders finally met on July 6, the two projected a public display of warmth. The meeting resulted in no new pressure on Israel. Rather, the Americans exhorted the Palestinians to move from proximity talks, which were not making headway, to direct negotiations between the parties — the position favored by Israel.

The meeting also cleared up earlier tensions over Israel’s presumed nuclear weapons program.

In late May, the United States had backed the final communique of a monthlong Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty Review Conference calling for a nuclearfree Middle East and calling specifically on Israel to sign the NPT. In their meeting, Obama assured Netanyahu that despite his long-term vision of a world free of nuclear weapons, the United States would continue to back Israel’s policy of nuclear ambiguity under which Israel does not confirm or deny possession of nuclear weapons or sign the NPT.

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ROSH HASHANAH

WWW.AMERICANISRAELITE.COM

Moti Milrod / Pool / Flash90 / JTA

The Israeli Navy, seen here approaching one of a flotilla of Gazabound ships, clashed with Turkish activists aboard one of the ships.

Although Israel and the United States were in agreement that Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, Israel was skeptical about the international communitys willingness to take significant action to prevent it. In mid-February, the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, came to Israel to underline Washington's opposition to a pre-emptive Israeli strike on Iran.

“I worry a great deal about the unintended consequences” of an attack against Iran, Mullen said. The prospect of an Israeli strike, however, significantly diminished following the adoption in early June of new, tougher sanctions against Iran by the U.N. Security Council.

Perhaps the year’s most prominent development was a major erosion of Israel’s international standing. The downward trend began with the Goldstone report on the Gaza war, released in September 2009, which accused Israel of possible “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” in its war with Hamas in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009.

Although the report was widely dismissed as biased and deeply flawed, the damage to Israel’s image was devastating, and critics of Israel used the Goldstone report to hammer away at its reputation.

The Israeli military refuted some of the report’s central accusations, but the perception that Israel used disproportionate force to quell the rocket fire from Gaza remained embedded in international public opinion.

An early manifestation of new boldness among Israel’s European critics came last December, when Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt led an initiative to have the EU recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state — a move eventually quashed by Israel’s European allies, with France, Germany and the Czech Republic playing dominant roles.

Israel suffered another major PR setback when agents believed to be from the Mossad intelligence agency were accused of using

forged foreign passports in the January assassination in Dubai of Mahmoud Mabhouh, a senior Hamas official involved in arms smuggling. Several countries expelled Israeli diplomats. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the assassination.

The year’s worst PR disaster for Israel came in the May 31 flotilla incident: Nine Turkish citizens were killed when Israel intercepted a ship carrying aid material bound for Hamas-controlled Gaza, which was under Israeli blockade. Though Israel released videos showing its soldiers were attacked when they boarded the ship, a worldwide storm of protest erupted. The anger against Israel resulted in the first-ever Israeli commission of inquiry with an international presence and the easing of Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

The main diplomatic casualty of the flotilla affair was Israel’s already strained strategic relationship with Turkey. In 2008, the two countries had been close enough for Ankara to mediate between Israel and Syria. But since the war with Hamas in Gaza, Turkey, a key regional power broker with an Islamist government, had been vehemently critical of Israel while ostensibly moving away from the West and edging closer to Iran.

Relations between Israel and Syria, Iran’s closest ally, oscillated between hopes for a resumption of peace talks and fears of war. French President Nicolas Sarkozy tried his hand at mediation, hosting both Netanyahu and Syrian President Bashar Assad at a multinational conference last November. But the two never met, and by early April Sarkozy had given up, complaining to Israeli President Shimon Peres about Netanyahu’s lack of cooperation.

The Syrians had insisted that Netanyahu first commit to Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights as a basis for negotiations, a demand the Israeli prime minister rejected.

Tensions flared in early February, with Assad accusing Israel of leading the region into war, and then again in May, with Netanyahu charging that Iran was trying to drag

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President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 6, 2010.

Israel into war with Syria.

Despite Assad’s talk about “strategic” readiness for peace with Israel, the Syrians continued to transfer sophisticated weapons to the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Of particular concern to Israeli military planners was the supply of GPS-guided M-600 missiles, which for the first time gave Hezbollah the capacity to pinpoint specific targets in Israel as far away as Tel Aviv.

Iran also tried to supply Hezbollah by sea. On Nov. 3, 2009, Israeli naval commandos intercepted a cargo of more than 3,000 Iranian-made rockets destined for Hezbollah on the Francop, an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged vessel sailing from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

In the face of the growing threat from the Iranian axis — Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas — Israel significantly augmented its missile and rocket defenses. In January, the Iron Dome system designed to intercept short-range projectiles passed final tests, and in June Israel launched the Ofek 9 spy satellite, enhancing intelligence gathering over Iran.

Moreover, despite the political differences, Israeli-American defense ties remained strong and intimate. For example, in late October 2009, the two armies jointly tested the interoperability of their

highly sophisticated defense systems against incoming ballistic missiles.

Despite its diplomatic difficulties and strategic challenges, Israel’s economy prospered, with the most dramatic development the discovery in June of a huge natural gas reserve off the Israeli coast. The field, called Leviathan, is estimated to contain about 15 trillion cubic feet of gas, nearly twice as much as the adjacent Tamar field discovered the year before.

According to Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau, Israel now has enough gas to supply all its needs “for the next 50 to 70 years.”

Experts have described the finds, which could contain as much as one-fifth of America’s known gas reserves or twice that of Britain’s, as a potential geopolitical gamechanger.

As a mark of its increasing economic power, Israel was admitted in May to the OECD, which incorporates the world’s most developed nations. Netanyahu described Israel’s admittance as a “seal of approval” that would attract investors.

And despite the continued aftershocks of the international economic crisis, Israel’s economic performance remained robust, with growth of 3.4 percent in the first quarter of 2010 following the 4.4 percent growth of the last quarter of 2009.

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The second day of Rosh Hashanah: To be (in shul) or not to be

By Suzanne Kurtz Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON (JTA) — Steven Levine is matter-of-fact about his family’s upcoming plans for Rosh Hashanah.

At the dinner table with his wife, Leslie, everyone will share resolutions, round-robin style. He will take the day off from his job at the U.S. Olympic Committee and his three children won’t go to school in order to attend synagogue.

But only on the first day — it is no two-day holiday for this family.

“It’s all cost-benefit analysis,” says Levine, 45, a risk-management director from suburban Denver.

The local public school is still open on the Jewish New Year and vacation time is tight at work.

“With other obligations and commitments,” he says, “we do the best we can.”

“I suppose there’s a bit of a feeling of guilt for not doing more, but I’ve rationalized it that the second day is not significant.”

During her time as a congregational Reform rabbi, C. Michelle Greenberg had a different experience: She was not expected to lead synagogue services — if the synagogue even had services — on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

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“There’s no choir and no piano.

We take out the Torah and study text as a community. It’s a much more intimate service.”

Rabbi Isaac Jeret Greenberg, 37, an educator now living in the San Francisco Bay area, says the second day often would become a chance for her “to celebrate as a participant” at another synagogue.

With its seemingly red-headed stepchild status outside the more traditional segments of the Jewish community, what is the significance of the second day of Rosh Hashanah, anyway?

When the ancient Israelites started celebrating the “head of the year” 2,000 years ago it was, in fact, a one-day holiday. But with no convenient wall calendar to indicate the actual day to celebrate, they relied on trustworthy witnesses to report to the Sages at the Sanhedrin, or Supreme Court, a new moon sighting. Shortly thereafter a series of smoke signals would alert the scattered communities that it was time to start the holiday.

The ineffectiveness of this communication system was not lost on the Sages. They declared Rosh Hashanah a two-day holiday, or a “Yoma Arichta,” one long day of 48 hours, to ensure that Jews everywhere were celebrating at approximately the same time.

Yet as Mark Leuchter, director of Jewish studies at Temple University, points out, despite “its root traditions, Rosh Hashanah has changed dramatically in 2,000 years,” and “we don’t do it the way our ancient forefathers did it.”

Nor is there any need for smoke signals today.

“The only part of the original recipe that we’ve retained” is the practice of observing the holiday for 48 hours, Leuchter says. “Now we do it not because we have to but because we used to. It ties us back to a hallowed antiquity.”

Menachem Schmidt, a ChabadLubavitch rabbi in Philadelphia, says beyond the historic reasons for observing two days, “There is also a spiritual reason for needing 48 hours for the holiday.”

Rosh Hashanah is a time when every individual affirms his own relationship with God, and “the second day is an equal part of that process,” Schmidt says. There is a new light in the world, he says,

“and it takes two days to accomplish that.”

With the drop-off rate in synagogue attendance from the first to the second day at approximately 75 percent, Rabbi Isaac Jeret of Congregation Ner Tamid in Los Angeles says that, “As a rabbi, what to do on the second day of Rosh Hashanah is a fascinating question, and I look at it as very important to have different offerings” the first day and the second day.

On the first day, when he expects some 2,000 attendees — many not even belonging to the Conservative synagogue — the service has musical accompaniment and Jeret gives a longer sermon. On the second day, “it is shulgoers day,” he says, and the service reflects that.

“There’s no choir and no piano,” he says. “We take out the Torah and study text as a community. It’s a much more intimate service.”

Rabbi Charles Arian of the Conservative Beth Jacob Synagogue in Norwich, Conn., says he makes no secret of the fact that he would get rid of the second day on the Jewish festival holidays of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Passover and Shavuot, which are tacked on to remind Diaspora Jews that they are not observing the holidays in the land of Israel.

But Rosh Hashanah, he says, “It really is different.”

One reason, Arian explains, is that it is the only Jewish holiday that is also a rosh chodesh, or a new month. But, he adds, a “complete repeat of what you did [the day] before” is not necessary. He says wearing new clothes or eating a new fruit (like a pomegranate or an apple) also makes the second day of Rosh Hashanah different and meaningful.

For Ephraim “Fry” Wernick, 33, heading to Dallas to spend Rosh Hashanah with his family may not be different from years past, but it will be meaningful.

He says the first day of the holiday may seem more important, but the Washington-based lawyer will attend services at a nearby traditional synagogue on both days.

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Understanding the lost art of repentance and its urgency

By Louis E. Newman NORTHFIELD, Minn. (JTA) — In the past several months I have had some version of the following exchange several times. I tell a friend that I’ve just finished a book on repentance, and they respond that they find the subject of forgiveness very interesting. It’s psychologically so much healthier to forgive than to hold on to resentments, they say, signaling that they appreciate the importance of the subject.

The confusion of repentance and forgiveness is widespread, it seems, and also very telling.

Forgiveness, I explain, is what we are called on to do when we have been wronged by others. It is about our willingness to be generous and compassionate with those whose behavior was hurtful and unwarranted.

Repentance, by contrast, is what we are called on to do when we have wronged others. It involves confession of our transgressions, feeling remorseful, making an apology, seeking forgiveness (hence the confusion in the minds of so many), offering restitution, soul-searching and ultimately uprooting old patterns of behavior from our lives.

In these weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it seems that the need to understand what repentance is and why it matters is more urgent than ever.

Forgiveness is difficult and rare, to be sure, but I want to suggest that engaging in real repentance is far more difficult, more easily misunderstood and far less frequently practiced. Despite the many dozens of sermons that our rabbis have given on the subject of repentance, the process of repenting remains something of a mystery to most Jews (and, of course, not only Jews). Many never take seriously the need for repentance.

Others start out on the path of repentance but give up when they encounter one of the many obstacles along the way.

Repentance, in our time, has become a lost art. Consider several examples, which I suspect all of us will find familiar.

• The family member who regularly deflects any suggestion that he or she has done something to hurt others by insisting repeatedly that it’s really someone else’s fault; • The boss who can acknowledge making mistakes but can never quite say the words ” I’m sorry,” or worse, can say the words but not express genuine remorse; • The spouse who cheats on a partner and apologizes profusely, but who is utterly unprepared to do the hard work of restoring the trust that he or she has undermined;

• The friend who has a habit of speaking harshly or acting impulsively, but lacks the self-awareness to explore the real roots of those dysfunctional patterns of behavior; The person who has promised repeatedly to reform her ways — to give up smoking, to make more time for her children, to be less judgmental of others — yet continually falls back into old patterns.

In light of these examples — and hardly a day goes by when we don’t encounter others — we do well to ask: What makes genuine repentance so difficult? And why should we even bother trying?

Repentance, what Jewish tradition has called teshuvah — “turning” or “returning” — entails nothing less than a radical transformation of our selves and our relationship to others. It requires profound psychological self-awareness, which includes both recognizing our own moral blind spots and exploring the character traits that cause our moral lapses in the first place.

It demands that we take full responsibility for our behavior, without hesitation or equivocation, and then take action to undo the effects of that behavior on others.

And if this were not enough, Judaism teaches that the process of teshuvah is never really finished.

Each time we have an opportunity to make the same mistake again, we need to renounce the past and choose a different path.

So doing teshuvah is literally an endless process. Forgiving others for their transgressions against us is a piece of cake by comparison.

There are many obstacles on the path to true repentance: ego, selfdeception, dishonesty and stubbornness, to name just a few.

Because we all want the approval of those we love, it is tempting to cover up or minimize any actions that might cause us to lose their affection. Because we all know that others expect us to make amends when we hurt them, it is tempting to feign remorse and utter empty words of apology.

But counterfeit repentance, like counterfeit currency, has no value. We can’t restore our integrity or repair our relationships with others by merely pretending to repent; there are no shortcuts to an ethical life.

All of which explains why genuine repentance is so rare. The work of examining our selves and repairing the relationships we have broken is arduous and always has been.

The culture in which we live only compounds the difficulties.

The expectation that we can find a quick fix for every problem that arises makes us less prepared to engage in the long, morally

demanding work of teshuvah, and even less inclined to try. When virtual friends take the place of real relationships, we lose the impetus to cultivate the sort of emotional honesty that teshuvah requires of us.

The costs of ignoring the work of repentance are not easily quantifiable, but the evidence is all around us. We see it in the lives of public figures — politicians and corporate executives — who get caught in some deceitful or fraudulent behavior, and then baldly deny it.

We see it on daytime television shows, where people confess their transgressions before a live audience for their entertainment, never displaying a hint of the contrition or soul searching that is the mark of repentance.

Most of all, we know it in those quiet moments in our own lives when we recognize that we are not living up to our own moral standards, yet don’t know how to restore our own sense of wholeness and integrity.

The ultimate benefit of doing teshuvah is that it offers us a way to overcome our past precisely because we have confronted and taken full responsibility for it. It enables us to escape the sense of guilt — in some cases, even despair — with which many of us live.

In its place, we come to live with self-acceptance and hope because we know that moral renewal is always a possibility. We may even discover, as the ancient rabbis taught, that through repentance our transgressions can be transformed into merits. The rewards of doing teshuvah are commensurate with the effort we expend.

This year when we celebrate the Ten Days of Repentance, which are the holiest days on the Jewish calendar, we would do well to focus on what repentance is and what it is not. Surely it is easier to think of this as a time to forgive others for their transgressions against us. But it is far more rewarding to remember that this time is really a gift, an opportunity to engage in searching moral introspection about the ways in which we have harmed others and so failed to be our best selves.

Tradition has laid out the path to follow, as well as how we can work with our internal resistance and what we stand to gain in the process. All that we require is an accurate understanding of what is required of us and the will to begin anew.

(Louis E. Newman is the John M. and Elizabeth W. Musser Professor of Religion and the Humphrey Doermann Professor of Liberal Learning at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.)

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Keeping kosher — but just on holidays

By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — When I’m invited to a Shabbat or holiday meal in a Jewish home, I always bring kosher wine. Not just that, I try to make it Israeli.

It’s not because I keep kosher.

And it’s not because the people I’m visiting necessarily keep kosher either. So if wine by any other name smells as sweet, why bother?

I know I’m not alone — plenty of Jews who ordinarily ignore the laws of kashrut buy kosher wine for Shabbat, stock their pantries with kosher-for-Passover food every spring and pay extra for kosher catering at their simchas.

Hypocritical? Yes, if you believe that procuring and ingesting kosher food has merit only within the context of a fully observant lifestyle.

But that construct holds sway today mainly at the far ends of the observance spectrum, among those fervent Orthodox who don’t tolerate any deviation from kashrut and the few remaining Classical Reform Jews who are hostile to Jewish rituals in general, including kashrut.

Increasing numbers of American Jews, however, do not consider the kosher diet a Divine commandment but an expression of Jewish identity, a mark of membership in the tribe. As such, it is a moving target. Putting kosher food on the table does not signal one’s denominational affiliation or level of observance so much as the strength of one’s connection to Jewish history, Jewish community and even the land of Israel.

It’s a different, very modern and specifically Western way of looking at Jewish dietary practice.

Let’s look at the numbers.

According to the Mintel International Group, a market research firm that releases periodic reports on the kosher industry, more than 40 percent of the food sold in American supermarkets is koshercertified. The group’s January 2009 report claimed that $195 billion of the previous year’s $400 billion in food sales came from kosher products, an astounding figure given that Jews make up less than 3 percent of the population and most don’t even keep kosher.

Sure, most of that kosher-certified food represents mainstream products such as Heinz ketchup and Tropicana orange juice that consumers buy without regard to its kosher status. More telling is the same report’s figure of $12.5 billion in sales within the dedicated kosher market, meaning products pur-

Sue Fishkoff

Kosher food manufacturers depend on the Jewish holidays for the bulk of their annual sales (photo from Kosherfest 2008).

chased because of the kosher label.

Who’s buying this food?

Many are non-Jews who believe that kosher food, especially kosher meat and poultry, is safer, healthier and of higher quality than its nonkosher counterpart. Others are nonJews whose moral or religious beliefs are satisfied by kosher certification: Muslims who buy kosher meat when halal is unavailable and vegetarians who seek a “D” symbol indicating a meatless product fall into this category. They might be lactose-intolerant, assured by a pareve label that a product contains no dairy; the reasons are myriad.

But many of the people who buy kosher food on purpose are Jewish but nonobservant. Some of them buy kosher products for the same reason as non-Jews; they believe it’s safer or of higher quality. Many more, however, do it for reasons of community, tradition and Jewish identity.

This is particularly true on the Jewish holidays, which have become times for nonobservant Jews to connect with their history by setting Jewish food on the table.

Many Jews who don’t keep kosher the rest of the year buy kosher wine and matzah for Passover, sometimes out of respect for parents or grandparents, sometimes because it makes them feel more Jewish and sometimes because of an inchoate feeling that it would be wrong to do otherwise.

For its January 2009 report, Mintel surveyed 2,500 adults about their food-buying habits. Thirteen percent, or 335 respondents, said they regularly buy kosher food.

Of the 86 percent who said they were not observant Jews, 25 percent said they buy kosher food out of respect for their own or their partner’s family traditions.

Researchers interpreted that to mean they are Jewish, simply not kosher observant. And more than

half said they buy kosher products “occasionally,” which the researchers chalked up to Passover, Rosh Hashanah and impending visits by the in-laws.

Food manufacturers are well aware of this holiday shopping phenomenon. Manufacturers of socalled traditional kosher foods such as matzah and gefilte fish typically do 40 percent of their business strictly at Passover. Spokesmen for the Manischewitz Company put that figure at 50 percent.

When I was researching my book about kashrut and the kosher food industry, “Kosher Nation: Why More and More of America’s Food Answers to a Higher Authority,” I spoke to many selfdescribed nonobservant or partially observant Jews who bring out the kosher food on sacred occasions.

One woman in Glenview, Ill., told me that she keeps a kosherstyle home, meaning she does not bring in pork or shellfish, but she will buy packaged food products without kosher symbols. She keeps ” kosher by ingredient,” reading the labels to make sure a product contains no lard or other clearly non-kosher ingredients.

But when her children were growing up, she said she made the family home kosher for Passover every spring. They’d put all the bread, pasta, cereals and other nonPassover foods in a pantry, which she would lock for the duration of the holiday. The kids would draw skulls and crossbones on the door to indicate it was off-limits for the next eight days. She also bought kosher-for-Passover food items, even though those same foods without kosher symbols were good enough the rest of the year.

“Partly it was how I was raised,” she told me. “Partly it’s a way to identify as Jewish. And partly it’s to honor my forefathers and foremothers.”

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New Conservative machzor tries for accessibility, inspiration

By Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — This Rosh Hashanah, worshipers in Conservative congregations across North America will find themselves using a new machzor.

More than 150,000 copies of the High Holidays prayer book, Mahzor Lev Shalem, have been pre-sold, representing orders from nearly 130 of some 650 affiliated congregations.

The strong interest might stem from “dissatisfaction with all previous machzors,” said Rabbi Stuart Kelman of Berkeley, Calif., a member of the committee that produced the prayer book.

Lev Shalem in one sense is a response to two oft-heard criticisms of the Conservative movement: that it is too elitist and too intellectual.

For starters, the entire Hebrew text is translated into English, and parts that might be said aloud are transliterated to allow those without Hebrew knowledge to participate in group call and response.

“It’s a great expression of the tremendous desire of the Conservative rabbinate to share the tradition we are so steeped in with people wherever they are, and not to wait for them to become scholars to appreciate it,” said Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, president of the Rabbinical Assembly, the Conservative body that produced the book.

For experienced worshipers who want a Hebrew text unencumbered by directions indicating where one should stand and sit, subtle signals like the icon of a bowing man offer what Conservative leaders hope will be a rich, free-flowing davening experience.

Commentary and exposition fills the right side of each doublepage spread. The left side is for poems, meditations and alternative readings.

Ten rabbis and cantors spent 12 years putting together the machzor, meeting twice a month for more than a decade.

Each of 10 regular contributors took one or two assignments, and the entire group read and commented on each other’s work.

Kelman wrote the commentaries for the evening and morning Sh’ma and its blessings, for example, while Rabbi Leonard Gordon of the Germantown Jewish Centre outside Philadelphia wrote the commentary for Kol Nidrei and the Torah and Haftarah readings.

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This page of the new Lev Shalem machzor displays the traditional Al Chet list of sins juxtaposed with an alternative meditation on sins against the earth penned by Jewish Theological Seminary Dean Daniel Nevins.

The groups also translated the Hebrew text into English and read it aloud to make sure it flowed, so those who cannot “feel” the meaning of the Hebrew can use the English for real prayer.

Some who saw early versions of the machzor, which was tested in six congregations, say it answers a need articulated by Conservative laypeople as well as clergy.

“There is a cadre of congregants that is really looking for spiritual connection,” said one Conservative rabbi, Geoffrey Haber of Congregation Mishkan Tefila in Chestnut Hill, Mass., in a YouTube video that is being used in an unusual PR campaign to promote the prayer book. “Oftentimes our movement can be focused on the intellectual rather than the spiritual, and people are really thirsting for that. I think this machzor speaks to that.”

Along with the content modifications, Lev Shalem is aesthetically pleasing. It weighs less than 2 pounds., is printed on fine paper and uses a typeface that has been specially designed and copyrighted.

Like the new daily and Shabbat prayer book released concurrently by the Israeli Masorti movement, Lev Shalem is being presented as a prayer book for all Jews rather than as a Conservative text.

“We’ve got everyone from [the late Israeli poet] Yehuda Amichai to the Lubavitcher rebbe,” said committee chair Rabbi Edward Feld of Northampton, Mass., senior editor of the project. “It does not represent any single theological perspective.”

Feld spent weeks poring

through the rare book room at the Jewish Theological Seminary, mining more than 60 old prayer books for long-forgotten piyyutim, or liturgical poems, to include along with modern meditations.

On one page is an 11th-century poem on the new year by Joseph Ibn Abitur of Spain. On another is “For the Sin of Destroying God’s Creation,” JTS Dean Daniel Nevins’ environmentally sensitive version of the Al-Chet, the traditional confessional list of sins recited during Yom Kippur services.

The way the texts are put together is in keeping with Conservative values, Feld said.

“We include myriad Jewish voices, allowing them to be in conversation with each other,” Feld said. “In that sense it’s a deeply Conservative text because the movement at its best is about the conversations that can take place between tradition and a 21st-century sensibility.”

The entire traditional text is included, with a few modifications. The matriarchs are included as an option on the same page as the traditional Amidah prayer that refers only to the patriarchs.

Kelman says that’s progress from the most recent Conservative prayer book, which relegates the matriarchs to a separate page.

The Conservative leadership hopes the new machzor will help worshipers deepen their synagogue experience. Those who produced it, however, have less lofty expectations of their first encounter with the book from the other side of the pulpit.

“In all likelihood,” Kelman said, “I’ll be looking for mistakes.”

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The Yom Kippur sermon that helped spur the Soviet Jewry movement

By Gal Beckerman Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — On a fall day in 1963, Abraham Joshua Heschel unburdened his soul.

Speaking the truth without regard for whether it scandalized or hurt was something he would do fairly often in that decade of social upheaval. Already branded as an eccentric and an outsider, that year he had met the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for the first time, beginning a close friendship that would deepen his involvement in the civil rights movement. The two eventually would offer the most endearing and enduring image of the now long dead black-Jewish alliance when they walked arm and arm to Selma, Ala., in protest, garlands of flowers around their necks.

But in September 1963, Heschel’s audience was Jewish – a gathering of rabbis at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. His speech would be read aloud that Yom Kippur at hundreds of congregations across the country. It was a sermon that set in motion one of the great engines of what would soon be known as the Soviet Jewry movement: guilt.

Heschel was angry and ashamed that American Jews were not more engaged in helping their brethren in the Soviet Union. There was mounting evidence that these Jews were stuck in an increasingly untenable situation. Every element of their Jewish identity, from religious life to cultural expression, had been brutally squashed. At the same time, the avenues to assimilation were blocked – if nothing else, their internal passports singled them out for discrimination by identifying them as Jews. The option of abandoning the Soviet Union for good was not even a possibility.

Heschel looked at the Jews of America – most of them themselves only two generations removed from the Pale of Settlement – and could not believe that they were responding with little more than sadness and resignation “What is called for is not a silent sigh but a voice of moral compassion and indignation, the sublime and inspired screaming of a prophet uttered by a whole community,” Heschel lectured the assembled rabbis.

Then he made his most searing argument. This was not the first time that American Jews had been impotent when it came to helping other Jews, Heschel told them.

“We have been guilty more

than once of failure to be concerned, of a failure to cry out, and failure may have become our habit,” he told them.

Heschel was referring, of course, to the Holocaust. And it was effective. Whether or not American Jews deserved to bear this historical burden – whether there was anything more they could have done – is irrelevant. In the early 1960s, just as consciousness of the extent of the genocide was bubbling up, so too was a painful recognition that as millions of their brethren were murdered in Europe, this increasingly stabile

Gal Beckerman

Gal Beckerman

and prosperous community could hardly organize themselves to put on a single rally.

This guilt would blossom into what for some time now has been an obsessive concentration on the Holocaust, one that many have rightly come to see as an extremely corrosive development – the constant memorializing eclipsing so much else about Jewish identity.

But what has been forgotten is that before every Jewish community had its own memorial and museum, there was the guilt and the need to do something about it.

I’ve been exploring the Soviet Jewry movement over the past five years for a forthcoming book.

Throughout its 25-year history, the need to caste away this heavy burden was present at nearly every moment. But I also came to see it as a positive element. American Jews mobilized, went up against an American administration and became a more assertive community partly as a way of clearing their collective conscience.

Guilt was present when a group of NASA scientists in Cleveland, Ohio, decided in 1963, after reading the then slim literature of the Holocaust, that they had to do something for those Soviet Jews now suffering “spiritual genocide” and started the first grass-roots Soviet Jewry group. It was also present in New York the following year at the inaugural mass meeting of what would soon be known as

the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry. One of the students offered to sing a ditty he had come up with for their first protest. Its refrain was “History shall not repeat.”

Guilt, leavened with anger, also was present in Rabbi Meir Kahane’s slogan “Never again,” when he hijacked the movement in the early 1970s. In 1971 he rallied a thousand young people to be arrested in Washington, D.C., near the Soviet Embassy with the words, “I’m asking you to do today what Jews didn’t do while the gas chambers were burning. Sit down in the streets of Washington.”

And in 1987 when a quartermillion people marched in Washington for Soviet Jewry, greeting Gorbachev on his first visit to the United States, guilt dripped from Elie Wiesel’s words: “Too many of us were silent then.

We are not silent today.”

But this guilt was not about wallowing. It was directed, focused. I heard the same line from the many activists I interviewed for the book: They did not want their children to ask the same question of them that they had asked their parents: What had they done to help Jews during the war?

As a result, the movement acted as a sort of catalyst. By cleansing the conscience, it allowed these Jews to be assertive. It emboldened them to act with a confidence they had never before exhibited on American soil.

Never was this truer than during the fight for the Jackson-Vanik amendment from 1972 to 1975.

The Jewish community went up against the president – and won.

They wanted Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger to temper their pursuit of detente and make any improved trade relationship with the Soviets contingent on freer emigration.

Here, too, the Holocaust was not far away. The amendment was inspired by a new tax the Soviets wanted to levy on departing emigrants: They would have to pay back the state for their education.

An editorial cartoon in the Los Angeles Times captured the feeling this tax inspired by showing a caricature of two almost identical prisoners: The first held out an arm tattooed with a number from a concentration camp and was captioned “Germany, 1936”; the second had the same tattooed arm and was captioned “Russia, 1972.” The difference was the numbers on the second arm had a dollar sign in front of it.

SERMON on page 24

ROSH HASHANAH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

‘Who by Fire, Who by Water’: Is our fate determined on Yom Kippur?

By Lawrence A. Hoffman Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — High on the list of Jewish martyr stories still retold, or at least alluded to, every Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is the terrible medieval tale of Rabbi Amnon of Mainz. For refusing to appear before the Bishop of Regensburg, who had requested that Amnon become a Christian, he had his limbs hacked off. What was left of him was arrayed alongside his severed parts and returned home in time for Rosh Hashanah.

As the chazan reached the climax of services that day, Amnon interrupted with a beautiful liturgical poem, and was promptly transported to his heavenly abode.

Three days later he appeared to the saintly Rabbi Kalonymos to teach him the poem and instruct him to spread it everywhere.

That poem, the Un’taneh Tokef, now is a centerpiece of the High Holy Days liturgy.

So goes the story, which is still told annually in many a synagogue before Un’taneh Tokef and its twofold message: First, that “On Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed: who will live and who will die, who by fire, who by water ... who by earthquake, who by plague [and so forth]” ; but second, that “penitence, prayer, and charity” can somehow alleviate the hardship of the decree.

It is hard to know which is more troubling: the prayer or the story of its authorship. “Who by Fire, Who by Water” (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2010), the first volume in the “Prayers of Awe” series, chronicles the fascinating controversy that surrounds them both.

The problem with the prayer is that it seems patently scandalous.

Was the fate of the 9/11 victims predetermined on the prior Yom Kippur? Did they die because they were insufficiently penitent, prayerful or charitable?

The problem with the story is that it is hardly a message that inaugurates a new year with spiritual promise. Besides, it is pure fiction — there never was a Rabbi Amnon of Mainz. “aMNoN” is a rearrangement of the letters in the Hebrew Ne’eMaN, “faithful.”

This is a morality tale of a putative “Rabbi Faithful” who stood fast in the face of adversity.

The poem probably was composed as early as the fifth or sixth century by a Byzantine Jewish genius named Yannai, who symbolized anything but Jewish martyrdom in the face of inhuman persecution. Yannai personified a

Jewish literary efflorescence rarely matched in the millennium-and-ahalf following.

Perhaps the story we should be telling every Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish potential for artistic brilliance, Judaism as a well of creative potential, not Judaism as the religion of the persecuted masses. Un’taneh Tokef illustrates classic liturgical poetry at its best, an abundance of biblical and rabbinic allusions wed to clever Hebrew wordplay and alliterative excellence.

But what about the poem’s troubling message? While the first half of “Who by Fire, Who by Water” provides the truly stunning story behind the myth and the poem (alongside an annotated translation of both), the second half elicits commentaries from some 40 thoughtful contributors who tell us how they handle the poem’s message.

Here, arguing over the poem’s merits, are rabbis and laypeople; men and women from all denominations of Jewish life (some of them artists, writers, scholars, teachers and musicians); from around the world and spanning generations. Prayer book editors from Europe and North America wrangle over whether to include it, fudge its message or trash it.

Modern feminist and professor Wendy Zierler surveys Un’taneh Tokef as a theme in modern literature.

Israeli professor Dalia Marx recalls how the poem emerged anew as a symbol of Israelis dying in the Yom Kippur War of her youth. Bible professor Marc Brettler provides the biblical backdrop for the poem, and several writers subject it to literary analysis, exposing its very many poetic virtues.

Author and scholar Erica Brown plays with the image of God as writer of our fate: What kind of writing would God prefer?

Fiction? Journalism? Scholarship?

“Who shall live and who shall die?

The answer is ‘Me!’” concludes Rabbi Edward Feinstein, in his insistence that Un’taneh Tokef speaks directly to our most cherished illusion — that we are in charge of our fate, when in fact we are painfully out of control.

Isn’t that the whole point of the High Holy Days, delivered, in Rabbi David Stern’s judgment, “with the poetic force of a two-byfour?”

But still, does God really work that way? Does the God of Judaism write real-life obituaries in advance, not just fiction, journalism or whatever?

No, says Rabbi Delphine

Horveilleur of Paris, the very idea is unpalatable. The poem’s theology is “infantilizing.” But it is a poem, with all the complexities of Shakespeare, Keats or Cummings, and requiring all the interpretation they do. It may not even be about God at all, so much as it is about us.

Perhaps the poem’s real climactic claim is that even though “our origin is dust and our end is dust,” we yet carry God’s name in our very being.

“We are part of something everlasting,” says Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso.

Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig concurs: “We may write books, create foundations, generate ideas, found or revitalize synagogues that will nurture generations long after we have died.”

Both the poem’s authorship and its message matter profoundly.

Which Jewish type we emphasize, Amnon the martyr or Yannai the poet, will determine what Judaism we hand to the next generation.

The dizzying panoply of commentaries gathered here ask and answer the core religious questions of our time: Who is God? What is fate? How do humans matter? What spiritual truths can carry us forward when mortality’s harsh reality becomes finally unavoidable?

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ROSH HASHANAH

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The meaning of the shofar, and the how-to

By David Olivestone The Orthodox Union

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NEW YORK (JTA) — Sounding the shofar in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah is the high point of my year.

No other mitzvah in Judaism is so dependent on a personal skill or entails such high drama. And, at least for me, no other mitzvah renders quite the same sense of achievement and fulfillment.

I often hear people talk about the awakening power of the sound of the shofar — how awesome a moment or how inspiring an experience it is for them to hear it. For me, it is both a very public and an intensely personal experience.

As I approach the bimah, I find myself quite alone, concentrating intently on what I have to do. Yet I am also highly conscious of being surrounded by hundreds of people who are relying on my ability to enable them to fulfill the central observance of the day.

In Numbers 29:1, the Torah designates the first day of the seventh month, that is Rosh Hashanah, as “a day of blowing the shofar.” The Oral Law, as interpreted by the rabbis, sets out a number of regulations concerning both the instrument itself and the manner in which it is to be sounded.

The shofar must be fashioned out of a ram’s horn. With the smaller end cut off, the horn is straightened out a little by heating it, so that a hole can be bored through it. A mouthpiece is formed out of the horn itself. No finger holes or reed or valves — such as you would find on other wind or brass instruments — may be added to help vary the notes.

Thus, the only control you have over the notes is how you use your lips and your tongue.

SERMON from page 22 American Jews made this guilt productive. The Soviet Jewry movement became as much about saving themselves as it was about saving this far-off community of Jews.

When I started working on the book, I was drawn by a need to understand the world after the war.

My grandparents all survived death camps and lost much of their families. And yet, by the time I knew them, they had raised families and were happy, well-adjusted people.

As curious as I was about what

How to Blow To produce a note, first use your tongue to moisten the extreme right-hand corner of your lips, and place the shofar firmly against them in that spot. With your lips tightly closed, make a tiny hole in them where the shofar is, and then force air into it as if you were making a Bronx cheer (a rasping sound), but without actually producing such a rude noise.

If you get it right, a bright and powerful note will emerge from the shofar. The tighter you squeeze the shofar against your lips, the higher the note that you will sound. It’s not necessary to puff out your cheeks; breathe in and hold the breath in your chest, letting it out slowly to control the length of the note.

The Three Mandatory Sounds The sequence and the length of the notes must follow the established pattern with great accuracy.

The three mandatory sounds are designed to awaken thoughts of repentance and of subservience to God in the mind of the listener.

First comes the teki’ah, a long, clear note of alarm. This is used to bracket each of the other sounds, which are meant to be evocative of crying. The shevarim, a three-part note, suggests the sound of sighing or moaning. The teru’ah, consisting of nine rapid-fire staccato sounds, dramatically echoes the sobbing of someone in despair.

One hundred notes, in various combinations, are sounded at intervals throughout the Rosh Hashanah service, and each set is capped by a teki’ah gedolah, an extra-long note in which many also hear a sign of strength and hope.

Not too many people persevere enough to become really proficient at blowing the shofar. Many happened to them in those camps, I also wanted to understand what went into this transformation. The same was true on a much larger scale. How did American Jews scrub out that terrible stain?

The answer, it seems, was contained in the Soviet Jewry movement. Here Jews were able to work out those feelings, answer Heschel’s lament.

A few months before his speech in 1963, a reporter from the Yiddish newspaper the DayMorning Journal asked Heschel where he had been in 1943. He answered mournfully that he had

of those who do so learned the skill from their fathers at a very young age, as I did myself. But each year, it takes much practice over a month or so both to perfect the notes once again and to retool the muscles of the lips and the strength of the lungs.

The Sound of My Thoughts Since there’s no real way of controlling the quality of the shofar’s sound, you can never be 100 percent confident that the right sound will emerge. So whatever spiritual thoughts I might try to have as I prepare myself to sound the shofar usually evaporate as I begin, and I am left simply hoping that, despite my trepidation, the notes will come out as perfectly as they did when I was practicing.

Yet being in control of the shofar’s power is an extraordinary privilege and responsibility.

Sometimes I like to think that the next teki’ah or the next shevarim could be the one that carries the congregation’s prayers soaring to the heavens. Sometimes I pray that this wordless animal sound that I am producing will have the ability to take the place of the prayers that are unspoken — those that words are inadequate to express.

I will not deny that I enjoy the congratulations and the handshakes that are offered to me after I sound the last teki’ah gedolah.

And what am I thinking at this point, when it’s all over? That in just one year, with God’s help, I will get to do it again.

(David Olivestone, senior communications officer at the Orthodox Union, has blown the shofar at Cong. Ohab Zedek, a prominent 138-year-old Orthodox synagogue in New York, for the past 23 years.) just arrived in America, did not speak the language well and commanded no attention from the Jewish leadership.

Still, he said, ” This does not mean that I consider myself innocent. I am very guilty. I have no rest.”

If not for him, then for the next generation, Soviet Jewry offered that rest.

(Gal Beckerman is a writer at the Forward and the author of ” When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry,” in bookstores Sept. 23.)

ROSH HASHANAH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

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Training for Neilah: Doing the prep for Yom Kippur’s finale

By Edmon J. Rodman Jewish Telegraphic Agency LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Neilah is coming. Please rise.

On Yom Kippur for the past 15 years, as a lay cantor I have led the Neilah service for the small congregation to which I belong, the Movable Minyan in Los Angeles.

Neilah means “locking,” as in “locking the gates of repentance,” a motif that runs through this last service of a day of fasting.

During the service, the ark is open. You stand for an hour and ask one last time for forgiveness, all the while trying not to check your voicemail for an answer.

Are you ready?

Some years, as I’m chanting away, the time and the service seem to sail by; if I’m not watchful, the service will end too soon.

Other years, time stops. My legs and back ache, my singing voice weakens, my focus wanders and the vowels under the Hebrew seem to move around.

What’s the difference?

After doing this for so long, I have learned there are a number of ways to prepare — actions that will help you stand and focus, getting you to the closing gates, before the final shofar blows.

Call it Neilah training.

•Acquaint yourself with the liturgy. Regardless of where you find yourself on Yom Kippur, in the last seat of your suburban synagogue’s social hall or up close and personal in a downtown shteibel of 30, open a machzor, the High Holy Days prayer book, beforehand.

Up until the year I first led Neilah, I remember standing there, sneaking a peek at my watch every 15 minutes and giving an inner geshrei, “When is this gonna be over?”

The difference between then and now is knowing what’s coming. The journey on which Neilah takes you—through pages of awesome acts—is more meaningful and shorter when you know the way.

ArtScroll publishes an excellent machzor, footnoted and annotated, which like the best theater program or liner notes explains everything.

For Neilah it advises, quoting from the Mishnah, that the service “is virtually the last opportunity for sincere repentance.” The notes go on to suggest that we rouse ourselves “to pray with concentration, feeling and intensity, despite

the weariness.”

• Reset your clock. With texting and Facebook, voicemail and Twitter, it’s an imgrat world, with immediate gratification, and even instant spiritualization, a downloadable app. We think we can go where we want spiritually in two minutes, and all for a buck.

Leave the devices at home and go natural with solar time. Check out the sun’s height when Neilah starts. The service will end by sundown. Shadows grow longer as the day progresses, and then they are gone. That’s your clock.

As the sun sets, Avinu Malkeinu arrives and you are calmly ready to say “open the gates of heaven to our prayer.”

• Prepare physically. Neilah is the time when the center doesn’t hold.

You’re antsy, sometimes hot and always hungry; that’s part of the idea. But you don’t want to be too hungry.

What has worked for me the night before is not rushing the last meal. Allow plenty of time to sit and relax at the table. Most authorities suggest a meal low in salt, and high in carbohydrates and protein. Like the ex-baseball player Wade Boggs, I like chicken before the big game.

My wife, Brenda, who also is a service leader for our Neilah service, is a coffee drinker. She finds that gradually cutting back on caffeine for 10 days before yontif gets her to the gate.

“Yoga is wonderful in the midafternoon of Yom Kippur,” adds my friend Rabbi Avivah Erlick, who also has a yoga teaching certification.

To relieve stress, restore energy and open yourself up to the potential of the day, Erlick suggests using several stretching yoga positions.

•Remove all obstacles. Genesha is the Hindu deity that is supposed to remove all obstacles from your path. Represented as man with the head of an elephant, I have sometimes wondered: Would this guy be enough to clear my way?

The Jewish approach to path clearing at this time of year, especially with relationships, asks that you consider your actions of the past year, and if they fall short, make amends. It’s the avoidance of making amends, giving apologies, saying, “selichah,” I’m sorry, that I know weighs me down some years as I approach the time of Neilah.

Calling someone you have offended on the phone puts the

Viduy, the day’s final confession, “of these things we have been guilty” fully into play.

One year a friend and I, members of the same Jewish organization, had a serious disagreement over the group’s direction. At meetings we wouldn’t even say hi.

I remember thinking: What had I done? This isn’t my fault. Why should I be the one to apologize?

Whatever it was, I needed to call. I paced, I balked. What would I say? I wasn’t even sure where on the Viduy’s acrostic of wrongdoing my offense actually fit in.

Finally I was set to say “I am sorry for what I said,” figuring it was my mouth that got me into trouble, “and for any offense I have done to you.”

I dialed. He picked up. I said hello, and before I could blurt it out, my friend said simply, “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too,” I answered, later feeling that I was now ready for Neilah.

• Wear white. I know, it’s after Labor Day, but it’s OK. White represents spiritual purity, and along with doing the spiritual prep, that just might get you through the gates.

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Tasting a new sweetness in Rosh Hashanah

By Edmon J. Rodman Jewish Telegraphic Agency

L’SHANA TOVA Wishing our friends and family a happy and healthy New Year Drs. Robyn & Lester Suna, Michael & Elise

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — What flavor is your Jewish New Year?

For most, since childhood, Rosh Hashanah begins with apples dipped in honey. Custom has Jews eating them together supposedly to ensure a sweet new year.

Over time they have become a ritual comfort food. But what if we like change?

What if you don’t like apples, or honey, or find the combination a drip too saccharine for your tastes?

If the good quality of time we choose to celebrate is sweetness, I want to revel in a different kind of sweet.

Does eating the same old thing portend we will have the same old year? Does habit have us singing, “Apples dipped in honey on Rosh Hashanah, blah?”

You don’t need food dehydrators and molecular gastronomy to come up with something better.

Just follow your nose, taste buds, Jewish history and ritual.

At this time of year, we dine on so much food symbolism. Two noteworthy symbols: round challah, for the continuity of the

Jewish year, with some even deco- into your wallet; Rosh Hashanah is rated with wings or ladders antici- an auspicious time to make somepating our spiritual ascent; and one else’s new year sweet as well. pomegranates, their seeds repreMoving beyond food, at this senting the commandment to be time of year we should be thinking fruitful and multiply. about the “land of milk and Before we say a blessing and honey,” and that sounds a lot like eat, why not first consider what we a drink. What about raising a glass want our food to represent? for a sweet and healthy year?

For a different new year, one With their myriad ruby red filled with as many new experi- seeds, antioxidant-rich pomegranences as the seeds of the pome- ates have a holiday significance, granate, a new combination is in reminding us of both mitzvot and order. Unless someone is planning fertility; all the good deeds and to open a Rosh Hashanah food perhaps new babies we intend to truck, we will need to come up surround ourselves with in the with our own. coming year.

New combos can be as easy as We can toast the year with a apples and honey, providing new glass of pomegranate juice, sweetways to feed our heads at the head ened further by serving it with a of the year. slice of orange on the rim of the To start, let’s not stick with glass. Pomegranates and oranges honey. According to Claudia are agricultural products of modRoden, author of “The Book of ern-day Israel.

Jewish Food,” “Beekeeping not Street, At the High1100, Holy Day season’s Ohio 644isLinn Suite Cincinnati, mentioned in the Bible, and it is end they give us another reason to 513.842.0706 believed that every mention of sing “L’shana Ha’baah, rrose@americaninsurnet.com honey in the Pentateuch refers to Yerushalayim,” next year in date honey.”

Jerusalem.

“Let me take hold its branchChocolate has all the right stuff es,” says a verse of the Song of to bring us Jewish New Year joy.

Songs, which refers to the tamar, For a Jewish connection, Rabbi the date palm.

Debra Prinz on her blog “Jews on Since we want to bring more the Chocolate Trail” has amply Torah into our lives at this time of demonstrated the involvement of year, then in our search for a new Jewish traders and producers in the combo, let’s begin with dates. chocolate trade.

Many already use them as an Your favorite fruit or berries ingredient of charoset for the dipped in melted chocolate can Passover table. easily introduce a sweet new year.

Pairing dates with another But if I have my choice of ancient food, ice cream — it dates chocolate-infused ways to bring in back to 400 BCE Rome, around Rosh Hashanah, it’s a chocolate the time of the prophet Malachi — egg cream every time. A treat with provides a kid- and adult-friendly a Jewish history, many historians treat to begin 5771. say the drink dates back to early So chop up a few dates and 1900s Brooklyn. Louis Auster, a sprinkle them onto some vanilla Jewish Brooklyn candy store ice cream or frozen yogurt. Think owner, is said to have created the of a refreshing new year with fizzy chocolate drink. many satisfying acts of loving To make a chocolate egg kindess. Serve and say “L’shana cream, traditionalists recommend tova umetukah,” wishing you a using only Fox’s U-Bet, still made sweet new year. in Brooklyn. The ritual calls for a Another traditional approach to little milk and some chocolate a sweet new year is eating taiglach, syrup; add cold soda water and stir literally “little dough,” small vigorously. pieces of dough boiled in honey.

The bubbles represent the What about substituting anoth- sparkle we all need to begin a new er form of cooked dough, one with year; their sweet effervescence can which many Jews are even more get us written onto that big menu familiar: crispy chow mein noo- of life. Chocolate mixed in seltzer dles? We already eat them at on Rosh Hashanah, yes!

Christmas; apparently even On Rosh Hashanah, sound the Supreme Court nominee Elena shofar. But in the quiet that folKagan. So why not on a Jewish lows, listen for the fizz. holiday?

For dipping, use the bright red (Edmon J. Rodman is a JTA sweet and sour sauce, of course. columnist who writes on Jewish Let the dipping remind you to dip life from Los Angeles.)

Happy New Yea

Ronald Rose, CLU, Ch

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

ROSH HASHANAH

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Before the Yom Kippur fast, cholent offers comfort

By Linda Morel Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — At a surprise 40th birthday party for a friend, her mother stood at their stove stirring a huge cauldron of simmering stew.

The chicken, flanken, potatoes, carrots, dried peas and barley in the pot emitted an aroma that made the offerings prepared by the caterer brought in by my friend’s husband pale in comparison.

“This is Lynda’s favorite food,” her mother said, dipping a ladle into the depth of the pot and asking me to take a taste.

I wasn’t expecting to swoon.

“What is this?” I asked.

“Cholent, a Sabbath stew,” she said. “But in our family, we eat it all the time."

This party 22 years ago was the first time I had even heard the word.

I immediately asked for her recipe, which I have been making ever since.

With Yom Kippur beginning this year on a Friday (Sept. 17), it occurred to me that the best thing to eat before the fast begins would be chicken cholent. Many Jews customarily consume chicken and rice on erev Yom Kippur.

A one-pot meal brimming with nutritious foods, cholent is a traditional Sabbath dish.

However, it is usually served for lunch on Saturdays or as a hot meal immediately after the Havdalah service that brings Shabbat to an end.

Cholent is an ideal hot meal for Sabbath observers, who do not cook or perform any work from Friday at sundown until Shabbat ends 24 hours later.

My friend’s mother, who was born in Germany in the 1920s, told me that every Friday before dusk the Jewish women in their neighborhood brought pots full of raw stew ingredients to the Jewish bakery. With sundown approaching, the women would place their stew pots in the oven, just minutes before the baker turned off his oven to observe Shabbat.

Over the next 24 hours, the meat, potatoes and barley, which started out swimming in water, turned into a chunky, mouth-watering cholent to be served steaming hot immediately after the Sabbath.

A signature dish of Ashkenazim, cholent can be made from almost anything. One reason is because in the Old Country, Jews were poor and threw any scrap of food they could find into their stews. However, a traditional cholent is made with meat and

meat bones, potatoes, beans and barley. More modern recipes for vegetarian cholents dotted with tofu now abound.

Not to be outdone, Sephardim for centuries have prepared spectacular Sabbath stews infused with the most marvelous seasoning. These aromatic recipes are often called hamim, or hot in Hebrew.

In Morocco, this style of stew is called Tagine, named for the conical pots in which the dish is prepared. Sabbath stews hail from Egypt, Iraq, Syria and any country where Jews have settled.

Jewish women in Morocco traditionally have paid a non-Jew to set up a pile of hot coals. Before sundown on the Sabbath, they carried their tagines full of stew ingredients and sunk them into the coals. Guarding against thieves, the non-Jew watched over their food, which barely bubbled on red hot coals that gradually cooled over the course of a full day.

The key to a good cholent, hamim or tagine is to gently simmer the medley of ingredients for many hours. Original recipes entailed 24 hours of low-heat cooking. However, many people new to this lengthy preparation are hesitant to keep food on a fire overnight while they are sleeping.

Most recipes turn out well after six to eight hours with the right amount of water. Cholent is a flexible and forgiving dish that can be made in Crockpots, inside the oven or on a stovetop.

Detractors of cholent, and there are only a few, complain that the stews are brown and unappetizing, with ingredients blurring together until they lose their characteristics. Yet I find the blend of flavors irresistible and have learned that by adding some ingredients with perky colors, such as tomatoes and carrots, you can overcome the potential of ending up with a khaki-colored meal.

With erev Yom Kippur falling as the Sabbath begins, this one-pot meal is ideal to serve before the fast. A hearty dish that is filling but not fancy, cholent is in line with Yom Kippur’s solemn theme.

As it can be prepared hours in advance, cholent is a practical dish for home cooks who want to avoid the last-minute rush that often precedes arriving at Kol Nidre services on time.

I suggest serving rice with your stew of choice. It’s easy to digest, and rice is a balanced accompaniment to a one-pot meal brimming with vegetables and chicken.

Whether it’s cholent, hamim or tagine, a hearty hot stew on this

special night carries the warmth and tradition that our ancestors bestowed on our parents and grandparents as they lit Sabbath candles every Friday evening and once a year atoned for their sins.

A word about water: Most stew recipes do not indicate how much water is needed, which many cooks find maddening. However, it’s almost impossible to gauge quantities of water because so many factors influence the result, such as temperature and consistency of the heat and the thickness of the pot.

However, if you add too much water to the pot, you’ll end up with soup, which is not a terrible fate. Should this happen, it can be remedied by leaving the pot uncovered and raising the flame to cook off some of the excess water.

If you put too little water into the pot, the ingredients are in danger of drying out or even burning.

You can always add more water and stir it to combine evenly.

Keep an eye on the pot to check for water levels. Stir at least once every half hour. Ideally the ingredients in your cholent should yield a thickened gravy. However, it doesn’t matter how a cholent turns out because thick or thin, this foolproof dish is always delicious and sustaining.

Reisenfeld & Associates, LPA, LLC ATTORNEYS AT L AW Wishing All Our Family and Friends a Happy New Year Sylvan & Beryl Reisenfeld Bradley & Constance Reisenfeld and Children

B28

ROSH HASHANAH

The following recipes are by Linda Morel.

CHICKEN CHOLENT (Ashkenazi Style) (Meat) Ingredients: No-stick vegetable spray, optional 8 skinless chicken thighs 4 sweet potatoes 8 carrots 1 parsnip 1 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 pound string beans, cut in half horizontally 1 tablespoon dill, minced Salt to taste 8 tablespoons parsley, minced, optional garnish Equipment: Use a large stockpot, preferably of the stick-resistant variety.

Preparation: If not using a stick-resistant pot, spray its interior generously with no-stick vegetable spray.

Rinse chicken under cold water and place in the pot.

Scrape skin from sweet potatoes and cut each into 8 chunks.

Scrape carrots and parsnip and cut into 1-inch chunks. To the pot, add the sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnip, onion, garlic, string beans and dill.

Add enough cold water to just cover the ingredients. They shouldn’t slog around in excess water. Gently stir ingredients.

Cover the pot and place it on a medium-high flame until the water simmers. Reduce to the lowest possible flame. Let cholent simmer for 6 to 8 hours, or longer if you’ve got the time, until the gravy thickens. For safety sake, do not leave cholent pot unattended.

Add salt to taste. However, for the erev Yom Kippur meal, use salt sparingly so as not to cause thirst and undue comfort during the fast.

Serve over rice in large soup bowls. Garnish with parsley, if

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using.

Yield: 8 servings CHICKEN TAGINE (Moroccan Style) (Meat) Ingredients: No-stick vegetable spray, optional 8 skinless chicken thighs 4 white potatoes 1 large onion, chopped 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger root, skinned and chopped 1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes 1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas 2 or 3 zucchini, diced large 4 tomatoes, chopped 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon Salt to taste 8 tablespoons cilantro, minced, optional garnish Equipment: Use a large stockpot, preferably of the stick-resistant variety.

Preparation: If not using a stick-resistant

Linda Morel

Cholent, a Jewish slow-cooking stew, is the perfect pre-fast dinner, writes Linda Morel.

pot, spray its interior generously with no-stick vegetable spray.

Rinse chicken under cold water and place in the pot.

Scrape skin from potatoes and cut each into 8 chunks. To the pot, add chicken, potatoes, onion, ginger, canned tomatoes, chickpeas, zucchini, chopped tomatoes, cumin and cinnamon.

Add enough cold water to the pot to just cover the ingredients.

They shouldn’t slog around in excess water. Gently stir ingredients. Cover the pot and place it on a medium-high flame until the water simmers. Reduce to the lowest possible flame.

Let tagine simmer for 6 to 8 hours, or longer if you’ve got the time, until the gravy thickens. For safety sake, do not leave cholent pot unattended.

When ready, add salt to taste.

However, for the erev Yom Kippur meal, use salt sparingly so as not to cause thirst and undue discomfort during the fast.

Serve over rice in large soup bowls. Garnish with cilantro, if using.

Yield: 8 servings FOOL-PROOF RICE (Pareve) Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil

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2 cups of uncooked rice 4 1/4 cups water Salt to taste Preparation: Rice may quadruple in size while cooking, so select a large, deep pot. Heat oil inside the pot on a medium flame for 1-2 minutes. Pour the rice into the pot and stir until each grain of rice is lightly coated with oil.

Add salt and stir to combine.

However, for the erev Yom Kippur meal, use salt sparingly so as not to cause thirst and undue discomfort during the fast.

Continue stirring until rice appears translucent, about 2 more minutes. Pour in water and stir again. Cover pot and drop heat to a low flame.

Check rice’s progress after 10 minutes. If it appears to be soaking up most of the water, add more water 1/4 cup at a time. Stir to combine and cover pot again.

In another 10 to 15 minutes, rice should have absorbed all the water and be ready to eat. Take it off the flame and let it rest for 12 minutes in a covered pot. Move immediately into a serving bowl.

At the table, spoon rice into individual soup bowls and ladle cholent or tagine on top of it.

Yield: 8 servings

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ROSH HASHANAH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

B29

Exploring Jewish ancestry through food

By Linda Morel Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — Teiglach came along with Tina Wasserman when she moved to Dallas in the 1980s.

Wasserman, a cooking teacher and the food columnist for Reform Judaism magazine, didn’t literally transport clumps of the sticky pastries whose dough is wrapped around nuts and simmered in honey syrup. But among her most cherished possessions, she packed her recipe for the traditional Rosh Hashanah sweet hailing from Lithuania.

“No one had seen it down here,” said Wasserman, the author of “Entree to Judaism: A Culinary Exploration of the Jewish Diaspora” (URJ Press, 2010), until she served the dessert to her new friends.

She then introduced the recipe in cooking classes. Before long, teiglach became part of the Jewish culinary scene in Dallas.

The incident is typical of how Jewish foods have traveled around the world, says Wasserman, whose goal in writing her cookbook was to educate about Jewish culture while providing sensational recipes that tell the story of Jewish history.

As Jews migrated from country to country, they carried their recipes and kiddush cups. Like Johnny Appleseed, they spread their favorite foods. But they also adapted to the cuisines they encountered wherever they went.

“I wanted to create a link to our ancestry through food,” said Wasserman, who feels that such a connection will keep Judaism alive.

“Food is the most direct connection in our brain to memory,” said Wasserman.

She began assembling recipes for “Entree to Judaism” with a question: What makes a food Jewish from a historical viewpoint? Her conclusion: Kosher laws and Sabbath observance were the reasons for the invention and evolution of Jewish recipes.

For instance, Wasserman says that Caponata, the popular Italian appetizer of simmered eggplants,

tomatoes and peppers, is a 500year-old Sabbath dish. During the Spanish Inquisition when Spain occupied Sicily, 40,000 Jews fled to mainland Italy to escape persecution, bringing with them this make-ahead recipe that can be served cold or at room temperature.

“I tried to put the foods we love into a context,” Wasserman said, explaining that she wanted to breathe life into Jewish culinary history.

Each recipe in her cookbook includes the story of its origins, when and why it was eaten, and who cherished it enough to bring the preparation method to a new part of the world.

Ever wondered why some Ashkenazim eat kreplach at Rosh Hashanah? During the Middle Ages, Jews from Central and Eastern Europe sealed their dishes in pouches of dough and wore them as amulets. Because they didn’t want to waste this precious food, they put it into soup.

“Most of our food customs come from the Middle Ages,” said Wasserman.

Jews needed stories to give them hope during the Crusades, when anti-Semitism flourished.

While Ashkenazim dip apples in honey to connote sweetness in the New Year, Turkish Jews convey the same wishes by partaking in Dulce de Manzana, sweet apple preserves infused with rose water, the signature flavor of many Sephardic pastries.

Dulce de Manzana is the first of 20 dairy foods Wasserman serves at the bagels and lox buffet she and her husband host at their home each Rosh Hashanah following the Tashlich ceremony when Jews, often in large groups, cast away their sins from the previous year by throwing small pieces of bread into a natural body of flowing water such as a river, lake or ocean.

The Wassermans for the past five years have invited to the meal about 110 guests, including the five rabbis from their Dallas synagogue, Temple Emanuel, the fourth largest Reform congregation in America.

International Jewish foods fea-

tured in “Entree to Judaism” are found on their buffet table.

Wasserman not only prepares each dish herself but posts a small sign explaining its origin. Many of the deliciously exotic recipes hail from Sephardic countries.

One of Wasserman’s favorite recipes is Syrian Eggplant with Pomegranate Molasses, which is similar in consistency to babagonoush. Pomegranates are traditionally eaten at Rosh Hashanah because their seeds symbolize prosperity in the New Year. The recipe is great as an appetizer, hors d’oeuvres, first course salad or part of a meze assortment, an array of appetizers typical of Sephardic cuisine.

“I’m all about connecting to the Jewish community at large,” said Wasserman, whose website, cookingandmore, creates a community around food. “We’re a

Wishing you a Happy & Healthy New Year Lawrence, Arthur and JD Kurtzman

shrinking population who used to live everywhere in the world.”

The following recipe is by Tina Wasserman from “Entree to Judaism.”

DULCE DE MANZANA (Apple Preserves) Pareve This Rosh Hashanah, try dipping challah into this sweet treat that Turkish Sephardic Jews eat to wish each other a sweet New Year.

Ingredients: 3 cups granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups water 2 pounds apples, Jonagold, Gala, or Delicious Juice of 1/2 lemon 1 tablespoon rose water or 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 cup slivered almonds Preparation: Place the sugar and water in a

3-quart saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

While the mixture is heating, peel the apples and grate them by hand with a coarse grater. Immediately add the apples to the hot sugar syrup.

Reduce the temperature to medium and cook for 30-45 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is quite thick. Stir the mixture occasionally to prevent sticking.

While the mixture is cooking, toast the almond in a 350-degree oven for 4 minutes, or until lightly golden. Set aside.

When the mixture is thickened (it will get thicker when it cools), add the rose water or vanilla. Place in an open container until cool. The toasted almonds may be added to the mixture at this time or sprinkled on top as a garnish just before serving. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 3-4 cups

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L'SHANA TOVA Thank you for a great year and we look forward to serving you and the community this year.

WE

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A

HAPPY

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5771.

Marianna Bettman and family Stephanie Davis-Novak and family Netanel (Ted) Deutsch and family Marilyn Gale and family Christie Halko and family Alexia Kadish and family Lev Lokshin and family Millard H. Mack and family Barbara L. Morgenstern and family Elijah Plymesser and family Nicole Simon and family Joseph D. Stange and family Janet Steinberg and family Patty Youkilis and family and all contributing editors, writers, photographers & staff members.