Jewish Life Now Sept Oct 2023

ChaiFlicks

The hottest Jewish streaming platform

YUVAL DAVID

SHAYNA MAYDELE

Jewish dog influencer takes Manhattan

LIORA REZ

Creating real consequences for antisemitic actions

Actor, Activist, and Global

LIORA REZ

“Antisemitism isn’t just a Jewish problemit’s an American problem.”

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023

PUBLISHER

Cindy Saltzman

ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Cindy Saltzman

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Debra Rich Gettleman

ART DIRECTOR

Tamara Kopper

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Ellen Braunstein

Sergio Carmona

Tara Dublin

Debra Rich Gettleman

Allison Mintz

Masada Siegel

Eva Trieger

Publisher Mediaport LLC

ORJewishlife.com

The content and opinions in JewishLife Now ® do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers, staff or contractors. Articles and columns are for informational purposes only and not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, Jewish Life Now ®, and its agents, publishers, employees and contractors will not be held responsible for the misuse of any information contained herein. The publishers reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement of products or services.

“ INSPIRING THE WORLD ONE JEW AT A TIME ”

“I said that!”

DAVID BECKHAM FOOTBALLER BUSINESSMAN PHILANTHROPIST

“I am part of the Jewish community and I am proud to say it.”

Soccer superstar David Beckham speaking at a UK Synagogue recently.

CHRISTINA AGUILERA SINGER SONGWRITER ACTOR

“Shalom Israel! You are so beautiful. It’s so fun to be here. It took too long.

Your love always helped me. It is an honor for me to be here in your beautiful country and to experience all of this...so inspired.”

Christina Aguilera greeting the crowd during her first concert in Israel.

HELEN MIRREN ACTOR

“I believe in Israel. I believe in the existence of Israel. And I believe Israel has to go forward into the future for the rest of eternity.”

Dame Helen Mirren currently starring in Golda

“Like Jerusalem, where Jewish, Armenian, Christian, Muslim, and other communities live side by side, we are also a multi-ethnic, multinational, and multi-religious city. New York City is the Tel Aviv of America, and Tel Aviv is the New York of Israel."

New York Mayor Eric Adams on his recent trip to Israel

“Tel Aviv, I love you so much, words can’t explain”

Artist and Rapper NLE Choppa after his performance in Israel

“The entire business model has been changed by streaming, digital and AI. If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble. We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines and big business who care more about Wall Street than you and your family.”

Head of the Sag-Aftra Union Fran Drescher

NLC CHOPPA .ARTIST RAPPER

ERIC ADDAMS MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY

FRAN DRESCHER ACTOR HEAD OF THE SAG-AFTRA UNION

“Don’t forget that we served together in the army, that we helped each other with a flat tire on the side of the road, we sat on the beach with a watermelon, that we made noise in the cinema, that we shared a ward in the hospital.” That we donated, that we received, that we traveled together in Israel. That we recommended in Facebook groups, that we united as Gilad Shalit, that we paid for soldiers with falafel, that we applauded doctors in Corona. We gave a shekel at the intersection, that we met at the shows. That we built a country from the ruins after two thousand years of exile. Just don’t forget”

ANDREW GARFIELD ACTOR

‘The first thing about my Judaism that has impacted my career is the empathy I’ve gained...the ancestral memory, threat and survival of annihilation- we have faced as a people, can only enhance our empathy.”

Actor Andrew Garfield (Spiderman)

A unifying message to the protestors from Israeli Singer Yuval Dayan

celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Poppy BearThe

Garden That Overslept.

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Jewish Dog Creates Cultural Phenomenon

Shayna Maydele opens up about Jewish life, love, and standing up to hate

By Debra Rich Gettleman

Wait, you don’t want to talk to me?”

Heidi Silverstone asks at the onset of our interview.

“Well, it’s not that.” I gently explain. “I appreciate your translating. But I really need to talk to her; to look into her eyes and see how she feels and what she’s experiencing in order to best tell her story. Plus, I can only tell if she’s being honest by direct eye-to-eye connection.”

With a bit of disappointment, Heidi fades into the background and allows Shayna Maydele to step into the camera lens.”

DEBRA RICH GETTLEMAN (DRG): Hello

Shayna Maydele. You are really so beautiful.

Shayna Maydele looks away with a coy sense of knowing and humility.

DRG: Shayna, let’s start with the question on everyone’s mind. Are you in a relationship right now?

SHAYNA MAYDELE (SM) : Maydele.

DRG: Pardon?

SM: My name. It’s Shayna Maydele. That’s what I prefer. A lot of people call me Shayna. So, it’s fine. But I like to go by my full name, Debbie.

I cringe at the diminutive version of “Debra”, the name I insist people use when addressing me .

DRG: Touché, my insightful friend. Touché. But

back to the question of romance.

SM: Well, there is one dog in particular. C-H-A-R-L-I-E.

DRG: I’m curiuos why you are spelling his name, Shayna Maydele. Although it is impressive that you can spell that well.

TRANSLATOR/HEIDI: Sorry. That’s on me. I spelled his name because if I say it out loud, she’ll go crazy.

DRG: Understood.

SM: I love him. When I go to the dog park, I will stare at the gate until he gets there.

DRG: How sweet.

SM: I’m also a very…amorous dog. I do what a lot of us do at the dog park, which I probably shouldn’t. I do that a lot.

DRG: I so appreciate your honesty. I’m only seeking the truth, what readers really want to know.

SM: I enjoy physical intimacy. I’m not going to lie.

DRG: Is it hard though, being a star like yourself? Is it hard when you go to the dog park, and everyone wants to get close to you and be with you? Do you like “common folk?”

SM: Absolutely. I love dogs. But I really love people. It’s so cute. A lot of people stand around the edge of the park, just inside the fence. People who don’t even have dogs. They watch me. Sometimes,

I’ll run right over and let them pick me up. Heidi will ask them if they’d like to pet me. I’ve never had anyone say no.

DRG: I love knowing that Shayna. I mean Shayna Maydele. Because some of the stars that I talk to, they just…they don’t like people gawking at them. It makes them feel disconnected.

SM: When I first got to Heidi’s home in NY, we would walk down the street, and you know, there are people everywhere. I can just tell when I’ve caught someone’s eye, I see the desire to touch me. And I always encourage it. I just love attention from people. It takes us forever to walk even one block. It’s especially fun to walk by restaurants and see people look up lovingly.

DRG: That brings me to the question of food. What is your favorite food?

SM: Well, I’m an extremely picky eater. But I love anything with feathers in it. Fowl is my fave; chicken, turkey, you name it. I just adore Thanksgiving.

DRG: Speaking of holidays. What is your favorite Jewish holiday?

SM: Definitely Passover. I mean it’s so food intense and Heidi always makes turkey on Passover because it feeds a lot of people. She also cooks a fabulous brisket which I love. And gefilte fish is another winner in my book.

DRG: Red or White horseradish?

SM: I’ve tried both. Not a fan. I’m more of a purist.

DRG: This is all fascinating. But what I really want to know is what does being Jewish really mean to you?

SM: Debra, that’s an excellent question. I came out of my Jewish shell the first time I put on a kippah (yarmulke). It was overwhelming. I was glowing. The cameras began to flash and suddenly I was wishing people all across the world a Shabbat Shalom on Instagram. The reaction was palpable. So, I continued to do that for Shabbat and other Jewish holidays.

DRG: I understand you enjoy photo shoots.

SM: Full disclosure, I love when all of the attention is focused on me. I have a great staff with Heidi who is a fabulous stylist and very

accomplished amateur photographer. She works with her husband Rob. They think he’s the “dog wrangler,” so I play along and let him think he’s in charge.

DRG: I’ve heard though that you tease a lot during those shoots, looking away when they want you to smile at the camera.

SM: Between you and me, I do that to make things a little more fun. When Rob and Heidi have to work a little to get the shot, it’s like a game to me. And the photos are so much more engaging and real. But the bottom line is that I love sharing my Judaism through photos. It really allows me to connect to Jews all around the globe. And it’s all about building community with us Jews, don’t you think?

DRG: I do. For sure. But I do have a delicate issue to raise. Have you ever experienced anti-semitism in response to your posts?

SM: I’m sorry to say that, yes, I have. As you know, I’m a very proud Jewish doggy.  Sadly, my cuteness and explanations of Jewish customs are not immune to antisemitic comments.  Luckily, those comments are rare, but each time I receive one, it hurts.  I want my postings to be lighthearted, fun and a safe place to share my Jewishness. So, when I see an antisemitic comment, I delete it and block the account that posted it.  There is no room for hate on my Instagram account.

Shayna Maydele celebrates Shabbat. Shayna Maydele

DRG: What about future plans. Are you considering plans for a tv pilot or a film?

SM: Not at the moment. But I wouldn’t be against it. If there’s an agent out there who’s interested, feel free to reach out.

DRG: Well, I think that’s the next natural step in your progression. I mean, Benji was just some dog when he started.

Shayna Maydele looks at me blankly.

SM: Benji?

Another one of those “I’m old” moments washes over me.

DRG: Never mind. He was a big star back in the day.

SM: What I really love, Debra, is the way I’ve been able to meet so many wonderful people through Instagram. I just got a private message from a person in England who saw my picture in the newspaper and reached out. We had such a charming conversation. I love how this allows me to create Jewish community connection. And it’s not only Jews who follow me. A lot of people associate Jews with Orthodox Jews. But I’m conservative. And I so enjoy explaining things about conservative and reform Judaism. For example, yes, I’m a female. But I wear a kippah. And that’s okay.

DRG: You’re like a cultural ambassador. You break down old stereotypes and show a really cool Jewish canine doing really cool stuff. That’s what we do at Jewish Life Now, only with humans…mostly.

And you’ve formed some lifelong friendships through Instagram, haven’t you?

SM: I have. There’s a non-Jewish woman in Greece who is so fascinated by our religion that she sends me things she comes across that are Jewish and shares things with me about her religion. This one woman noticed on Instagram that I was in Baltimore and she had two cousins of mine (both Coton deTulears). We met up and have become dear friends. I met another family in Costa Rica who now live in Florida and we’ve stayed close.

DRG: I have to ask you. Do you know how many followers you have?

Again Shayna Maydele humbly smiles and gazes down.

SM: It’s hard to say. But I’d guestimate a bit over 18,000.

DRG: 18? That’s meaningful

Shayna Maydele laughs.

DRG: And what about merch?

SM: No plans at the moment. But I’m considering a line of sweaters. Maybe other clothing.

DRG: Tiaras?

SM: Too pretentious. But, maybe a kippah collection.

DRG: Speaking of pretentious, I understand you have the same breeder as Barbra Streisand.

SM: Yes, I do. But Babs’ dogs are just ordinary folk like me. Frankly, it’s the owners who get giddy about stuff like that. ♦

celebrates Passover with charoset. Shayna Maydele celebrates Simchat Torah. Shayna Maydele always learning.

SEPTEMBER 2023

CHLOE SHERMAN

Chloe Sherman’s 90s iconic Jewish lesbian photo is featured in her debut monograph “Renegades: San Francisco: The 1990s.” Renown lesbian artist, Chloe Sherman defines her iconic photo, “Kindred Spirits,” on display at her summer 2023 exhibit at San Francisco’s Schlomer Haus Gallery, as an intersection of her Jewish heritage, queer identity, and her art. “My values, my identity, my art are all revealed in this work,” she reveals in a recent “Lilith” magazine article.

“Kindred Spirits, 1994” by Chloe Sherman (pictured).

BARRY DILLER

Barry Diller, major Hollywood mogul, warns that if the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, which now includes the actors union SAG-AFTRA, continues for much longer it could mean the end of the entertainment industry as we know it. Diller set a September first deadline for the strikes to end if Hollywood is to avert catastrophe.

BEN & JERRYS’

What a way to celebrate our country’s independence. This past July 4th, Ben & Jerrys’ infamous ice cream company released a half-baked message to the world that the US shouldn’t even exist because the company believes that the United States was founded on “stolen land” that rightfully belongs to the Native Americans. They suggested the first step towards recompense would be giving back Mount Rushmore.

But here’s the irony, Chief of the Nulhegan Band of The Coosuk Abenaki Nation, Don Stevens noted that if the ice cream maker is “sincere,” it should reach out to him as the company’s corporate headquarters — located at 30 Community Dr. in South Burlington, Vt. — is situated on Western Abanaki land.

CLASSIQ

Classiq , an Israeli startup that aims to make it easier for developers to create quantum algorithms and applications, joined major worldwide companies NVIDIA and Rolls-Royce in making what the firms described as a quantum computing breakthrough aimed at bringing ever-increasing efficiency to jet engines.

Dr. Yehuda Naveh, Co-founder & CTO, Nir Minerbi, Co-Founder & CEO, and Amir Naveh, Co-founder & Chief product officer (pictured).

CHLOE SHERMAN

BARRY DILLEER

BEN & JERRY’S

DAVID ZASLAV

David Zaslav , the CEO and president of Warner Bros. Discovery, found himself in hot water after firing CNN CEO Chris Licht. Licht lasted just 13 months on the job. He replaced the embattled Jeff Zucker, who was forced out after serving nine years as the CNN chief because of a scandal involving an affair he had with a subordinate.

SARAH SILVERMANN

The guiding principle of comedy is to never steal another comic’s jokes. For stand-up comic, actor, and writer, Sarah Silverman , that premise applies to life as well. That’s why Silverman is suing OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Meta/Facebook for copyright infringements. Silverman and a cadre of other authors are accusing both companies of using their work without permission or compensation.

AI programs basically rewrite other people’s work, sometimes with major changes, sometimes without. But Silverman claims that programs like ChatGPT who summarize copyrighted books when prompted by users, are violating copyright laws by mirroring a writer’s original concept, idea, or unique, style.

JIM DUKHOVNY

Got an extra $300,000 lying around to help save the planet? Well, if you do, you are one step closer to buying a fully electric flying car. Alef Aeronautics CEO, Jim Dukhovny , son of a Jewish immigrant from Kyiv, Ukraine, received a legal thumbs up from the FAA to start testing his Model A fully electric flying car. Alef’s flying car has the potential to rid the world of two majorly destructive problems: highway traffic and greenhouse gas emissions. While the cost of the Model A is a bit out of reach for most consumers, in a recent Jewish News of Northern California story, Dukhovny said that his dream is to produce an affordable commuter flying car within the decade.

NOT SO KOSHER & GHISLAINE MAXWELL

Ghislaine Maxwell has found her Jewish faith in prison. While she never acknowledged her Jewish paternal roots until sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex abuse ring, Maxwell has declared herself a Jewess which happens to come with a few perks; better food and additional time-off for Shabbat and holidays.

ROSALIND WISEMAN

SARAH SILVERMAN

JIM DUKHOVNY

GHISLAINE MAXWELL

POTREPRENUER

Lilach Mazor revels in her newest strain of menopause fighting marijuana.

By Tara Dublin

“It’s a different time nows. It’s OUR time.”

~Lilach Mazor

When Jewish Life Now last spoke with “potrepreneur” Lilach Mazor Power in 2020, the legalization of marijuana in her state of Arizona was on the docket and had not yet been passed.

At the time, the aptly named Power, now 44, had already spent years enduring the frustrations of the highs and lows--pun intended--of creating The Giving Tree , her dream vision of a wellness dispensary come true.

More than just a place to swing by to grab a preroll on your way out for the night, the Giving Tree is focused on guiding customers seeking pain relief from a more organic source. The idea grew from discussions with her husband, Keith, an emergency medicine physician, regarding better pathways to pain management to treat the whole body with a combination of Western and Eastern approaches.

The locals who underestimated the Israeli-born Power at first did so at their own detriment. While

she had to downplay the cannabis connection at first when opening her wellness center, women in particular would approach her and quietly tell her how much they enjoyed the plant’s recreational use.

Opening the Giving Tree allowed Power to tap into her true passions over the last decade. The marijuana industry is disproportionally maledominated. But after years of hard work, Power has set herself apart and made a name for herself as vice president of the Arizona Dispensaries Association. In January 2023, she announced a new position as president of the board of directors for the Arizona Dispensaries Association (ADA) .

Power helped create the Kindred and Katatonic cannabis lifestyle lines, but her proudest creation and biggest passion is her brand, Revelry, which she and her partner Stef Swiergol seemed to have specifically designed for me (but also for others slogging through perimenopause and menopause or those who have come out the other side of it).

The Revelry line helps ease the myriad symptoms

and side effects of what comedian Samantha Bee calls “reverse puberty.”

While Power feels she’s just beginning her own journey, she also wants to expand the conversation around perimenopause and menopause because women aren’t nearly educated enough regarding the final third of our lives.

Menopause is spoken about in whispers. But Power is lifting her voice to shake off that stigma.

“We create our communities with women,” Lilach told me, “So I wanted to create this evolution, a celebration of our community.”

At the same time, Power, the mother of two sons ages 13 and 9, is also still working to remove the stigma of those who prefer marijuana either to ease their pain or to just enjoy recreationally. “We don’t have to hide it,” she told Jewish Life Now in 2020, and in the subsequent years she’s been able to be a much more vocal advocate for the myriad uses of cannabis.

As often dangerous opioids still dominate the

Revelry, a specifically designed strain for those slogging through perimenopause and menopause.

The stylish interior at Giving Tree’s establishment.

Strains on display educate guests on brand and marijuana use as a whole. Incorporating interactive, informative displays throughout, Giving Tree Dispensary is as aesthetically pleasing as it is informative.

national discussion regarding pain, many in the cannabis industry are advocating to decriminilize marijuana at the federal level so that it can be offered as a legitimate alternative by prescribing physicians.

The health benefits of the full plant are already well-known, and Power has a hand in growing the carefully cultivated strains at Giving Tree. A decade ago, she had to rely on illegal pot farmers to help her literally grow her business. But over the last three years since it’s been legalized in Arizona, Power has been able to find experts in what one of my grower friends has cleverly dubbed “Potany” to create new strains targeted for specific needs.

“It’s a different time now,” Power says. “It’s OUR time.” ♦

Visit The Giving Tree at 701 W Union Hills Drive in Phoenix, AZ and check out their website: https://givingtreedispensary.com/

WHAT HAPPENED TO ELLEN GREENBERG?

By Tara Dublin

The grieving parents of Ellen Greenberg, the beloved Philadelphia teacher who was slain twelve years ago, have never stopped fighting to clear their daughter’s name after her brutal stabbing death in 2011 was ruled a suicide.

Josh and Sandee Greenberg have never stopped believing Ellen was murdered, and their fight has dragged on for far longer than any grieving parents should ever have to endure.

According to the Greenbergs’ Change.org petition, the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Officer, at the insistence of the Philadelphia Police, “suspiciously reversed itself” regarding the cause weeks after Ellen’s death was ruled a homicide.

Ellen Greenberg was just 27 when she was found by her fiancé Sam

Reviewing the file and the crime scene photographs and the medical examiner’s photographs, I don’t know how you come to that conclusion (of suicide).

~Guy D’Andrea (former homicide prosecutor )

Josh and Sandee Greenberg

3D Technology proves Greenberg did not commit suicide

Goldberg on January 26, 2011, after he returned from the gym but couldn’t get back inside of their apartment because the swing bar lock was in use from the inside.

After he forced himself inside, Goldberg discovered Ellen’s body in the kitchen with more than 20 stab wounds to her chest, abdomen, head, and neck, according to the investigation report.

The weapon, a 10-inch knife, remained in Greenberg’s chest. Later, the coroner counted eleven separate stab wounds to the back of Ellen’s neck.

Ellen’s death was initially ruled a homicide, but later was changed to a suicide. Police investigators only found Greenberg’s DNA on the knife and on her clothes, and there were no signs of foul play.

Ellen was also taking a potent combination of psychotropic drugs to treat an unnamed issue she was said to be “struggling with” at the time of her death.

After visiting her psychiatrist on January 12th, 17, and 19th, Ellen was prescribed Zoloft first, then switched to a “low dose” of Xanax. After “no success,” she was prescribed Ambien and Klonopin.

The combination of those drugs, which all have powerful side effects including suicidal idealization, may have influenced the M.E.’s decision to reverse the cause of death.

But top forensic pathologists all agreed the case was highly suspicious of murder. In fact, the City’s own neuropathologist, based on her own exam of Ellen’s spinal column injury, testified the wound was consistent with Ellen being stabbed after she was already dead, which rules out any possibility that Ellen stabbed herself.

Ellen’s case was reopened in September 2022, and her parents are seeking to have her cause of death adjusted Ellen’s to “Homicide” or “Undetermined.”

According to former homicide prosecutor Guy

D’Andrea, Ellen’s cause death should already have been changed to “undetermined.”

Four key pieces of evidence led D’Andrea to question the M.E.’s reversal to rule Ellen’s death a suicide:

•Ellen had a wound on the top of her head, not something she could’ve inflicted on herself.

•She was found seated upright with blood that had dripped sideways across her face, indicating that she had been moved.

•She had a large number of bruises at different stages of healing.

•Her fiance claimed that he broke the locked door down when crime scene photos show the latch still attached to both the door and the frame.

Goldberg claimed he had to break down the door. But the lock was still intact when police arrived.

“Reviewing the file and the crime scene photographs and the medical examiner’s photographs, I don’t know how you come to that conclusion (of suicide),” D’Andrea said. “In all my years of experience, and all of the homicides that I’ve done, and suicides, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The Greenbergs have brought two civil suits in the last few years, and they estimate they’ve spent half a million dollars trying to bring some closure to the unimaginable. The second of the Greenbergs’ civil suits accuses the police, prosecutors and ME officials involved in the case of “individual and willful misconduct and participating in a conspiracy to cover-up the murder of Ellen R. Greenberg.” That suit seeks unspecified monetary damages.

The Greenbergs continue to lean on their community as well as the online “netizens” who’ve been vigilant about keeping Ellen’s name and story in the news.

Holding their local politicians accountable via social media has also proven to be an effective way to make sure more people are aware of Ellen’s story. ♦

To support the Greenbergs in their continuing fight for justice for Ellen, please sign their petition

TO LIFE, TO LIFE, L’CHAIFLICKS

By Debra Rich Gettleman

My first question for Neil Friedman, founder of Menemsha films and cofounder of the Jewish and Israeli streaming service ChaiFlicks, was, “What started this passion for Jewish media, specifically film and television?”

I was expecting the usual answer about going to the movies back in the day with a parent or friend and getting hooked. What I didn’t expect was to hear that it all started with Neil’s mom’s brother, uncle Allen, and his second wedding. You see, Uncle Allen (Allen Susman) was a hot shot Harvard attorney working for Universal pictures. He represented the studio and a host of A-list Hollywood biggies.

When Al’s friend, Marlon (Brando, that is), hosted Al’s wedding reception at his home in the Hollywood Hills, 12 year old middle class Neil from Queens found himself pretty impressed at the star-studded guest list which included Wally Cox, Andy Williams, and Elke Sommer, to name a few.

“The New Black” (original Hebrew title “Shababnikim”), a hit Israeli series following four rebellious students at a Jerusalem yeshiva.

L’CHAIFLICKS

CHAIFLICKS

Neil’s folks were not in the entertainment biz at all. They were kitchen equipment suppliers to hospitals and restaurants in New York. Mom was originally from Boston and Dad from New York. The family biz was known as the Bloomingdale’s of the Bowery because they were housed in Manhattan’s Cooper Square. But Neil’s mom discouraged him from sticking with the family business. So, Neil went the road of many young Jewish men at the time. A double major in ethnic studies and film from University of Pennsylvania, followed by a law degree.

After a stint in corporate law, Neil ended up as an entertainment attorney. He ultimately decided to move into the film distribution biz. and founded Menemsha films in 2003. Influenced by his heritage and passion for film,

he gathered 10 films and sent them to his “advisors,” mom and dad. They all agreed that his first acquisition should be a film called “Gloomy Sunday.”

“My parents were instrumental in the beginning,” Neil explains. “At that point, I didn’t have the confidence to trust what I liked without their insights. I was self-taught for sure, and ‘Gloomy Sunday’ was beginners luck.” Well, he also did his due diligence. “Gloomy Sunday” had run for two years straight in Christchurch New Zealand. It ended up running for 70 weeks in Boston and a whopping 54 weeks in LA. “Gloomy Sunday” turned into a bright spot and to date holds the record as Menemsha film’s greatest success.

After building Menemsha into a major distributor of Jewish and Israeli art films and collecting a cadre of film festival awards around the globe, Friedman decided to expand into other areas of media. In 2020, he and co-founders

Chaiflicks Co-founders: Bill Weiner, Neil Friedman and Heidi Bogin Oshin

I work off the premise that if I like it, others will too.

~Neil Friedman

“The Lesson”, named best series at the 2022 Cannes International Series Festival

CHAIFLICKS

Heidi Bogin Oshin and Bill Weiner launched ChaiFlicks, the hottest new Jewish and Israeli entertainment streaming service, which showcases award-winning and critically acclaimed Jewish films, TV series, and documentaries.

With over 1700 hours of content, ChaiFlicks is building audiences and gaining notoriety around the world. Their latest TV hit, “The Lesson,” which originally aired on Israel's public broadcaster Kan11, made it into the top 10 list of most watched shows on Netflix Israel two weeks in a row.

“The Lesson”, named best series at the 2022 Cannes International Series Festival focuses on the relationship between a troubled high school civics teacher, Amir, (played by Israeli-star Doron BenDavid) and his 17-year-old student, Leanne, (played by Maya Landsmann.) Raising socio-political issues around racism (Palestinian and Israeli) and the power of social media, “The Lesson” was named best drama series at the Israeli Television Academy Awards In

TOP 10 SERIES ON ChaiFlicks

2023. Maya Landsmann won best lead actress for the series at that same awards ceremony.

Choosing 20-25 projects a year, out of 300 to 400 potentials is not an easy task. “You really can’t make a mistake,” Neil shares. We want to curate at the highest level all the time. We look for variety.” He adds, “Good luck plays a part. But good luck doesn’t last forever.” A savvy businessman and a realist, Friedman confides, “We’re gonna make a mistake. We have to roll with that.” But it sure hasn’t happened yet.

“So, how do you pick the right projects?” I ask, “I work off the premise that if I like it, others will too,” Friedman explains. “And I never watch something once. I watch it 2 or 3 times before I form an opinion.” But he also credits his incredible partners Bogin Oshin and Weiner and insists that acquisitions are a group effort in which the three balance each other out to choose the best projects.

Neil marvels at how many Jewish stories are out there. “We’re a small percent of the population, he notes, “But we have a disproportionate amount of

5 1 4 3 2 "Shababnikim” a/k/a

The New Black"Seasons 1 and 2 on the channel with Season 3 scheduled for launch first quarter 2024

"The Lesson"recently launched to great success

"Checkout"Seasons 1,2 and 3 on the channel with Season 4 launching 4th quarter 2023

"Unchained" "Asylum City"

Jewish programming.” With a wealth of Jewish stories and no shortage of great storytellers to share them, it’s no wonder ChaiFlicks is gaining popularity.

Spreading the word about ChaiFlicks is today’s focus. “It’s a grass roots marketing effort. We reach people by word of mouth,” He laughs and tells me about one of his favorite marketing campaigns. “We offered Rabbis an $18/year subscription hoping they would use it and share the great programing with congregants and followers.” That kind of thoughtful outreach and specific networking is part of what drives ChaiFlicks’ success.

And for ChaiFlicks, it’s all about giving viewers a sense of artistic connection to the stories that have brought us to this point in our Jewish evolution. Friedman dubs ChaiFlicks “The number one platform for Jewish storytelling.” He goes on in a recent article in Variety to say, “ChaiFlicks has a uniquely devoted audience that has come to expect the highest quality Jewish programming curated from all over the world,” Additional ChaiFlicks hits include the Swiss series, “Labyrinth of Peace”

and the hit film “The Women’s Balcony.” But at the top of ChaiFlicks’ TV series apex, is “The New Black” (original Hebrew title “Shababnikim”), a hit Israeli series following four rebellious students at a Jerusalem yeshiva.

As the most watched show of any of ChaiFlicks’ 20 or so series, “Shababnikim” was the foundation of the platform’s launch. Maybe that’s because it’s not a show that only appeals to Jewish audiences. With eight award nominations by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television, “Shababnikim” has become a classic, “religiously” watched by a vast audience of Jews and non-Jews alike. Incidentally, the show took home four of those eight awards including Best Comedy, Best Comedy Script, and Best Comedy Actor.

While Friedman doesn’t see himself as religiously observant, he tells me,“I’m culturally Jewish. I’m just interested in Jewish stories, history, cultural history. Our stories never end. It’s a part of our history. There were twelve tribes and they all went separate ways. Now we have a million stories to tell.” ♦

9 8 7 6 10

"Significant Other" Seasons 1 and 2 "Labyrinth of Peace" Swiss series

"Wartime Girls"Polish series with Seasons 1,2 and 3 already launched with Season 4 to be launched in November 2023

"Yid-Life Crisis"

Canadian series "Srugim"

The number one classic Israeli series

BUFFALO COLLECTION: Exploring the Timeless Elegance and Spirit of the American West

By Allison Mintz

Buffalo Collection, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, has been a prominent fixture for the past 12 years. Co-founded by Michael and Laura Levenberg, the showroom gallery aims to create exceptional pieces that embody the heritage and beauty of the American West. With a deep appreciation for Western design and craftsmanship, the founders have paved the way for the gallery’s success. Today, Buffalo Collection remains dedicated to its original vision by curating a stunning array of furniture, fine art, jewelry, clothing, and collectibles that seamlessly blend functionality with timeless elegance. Although, there is a prominent nod to the American West, Buffalo Collection has so much more to offer and truly caters to everyone’s style.

Buffalo Collection stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of Western heritage in Scottsdale, Arizona.

BUFFALO COLLECTION

What sets Buffalo Collection apart is its unwavering commitment to quality craftsmanship. Each piece undergoes meticulous handcrafting by skilled artisans, ensuring the highest standards of excellence. From the initial design phase to the final finishing touches, every step of the creation process is infused with passion and attention to detail. “We have over 50 colors of our American Bison Leather and can design any style and trim our customers are looking for,” says Levenberg. “We want people to get exactly what they want so they can be proud and enjoy their custom piece for a lifetime. We are creating timeless pieces that can be passed down from generation to generation. These are heirloom quality like our grandparents had.”

Buffalo Collection’s roots trace back to a bison ranch in Colorado. The hides were preserved and utilized in crafting high-quality furniture capable of withstanding the demands of family and everyday life. With the expertise of a fourthgeneration artisan craftsman, they successfully designed furniture that combines exceptional durability with natural beauty. One of the most stunning pieces in the showroom is a buffalo hide sofa that was built over 17 years ago. “Many people over the years have wanted to purchase that sofa, but we want our customers to see how beautiful the piece can be, even after being in the showroom for so long” says Levenberg.

From stately buffalo leather sofas and chairs to intricately carved wooden dining tables and accessories, every piece in the collection exemplifies the brand’s commitment to excellence. Customers can explore a variety of styles, finishes, and materials, enabling them to curate a truly unique and captivating ambiance in their spaces. “I enjoy people

Applique Pillow Saddle

coming into the showroom and taking their time. I want them to remember their time here and that everything is warm and inviting” said Levenberg.

An important aspect of Buffalo Collection is its ecoconscious approach to furniture production. The company prioritizes responsible sourcing of materials, placing emphasis on sustainable and reclaimed wood, as well as ethically sourced buffalo hides. By embracing these eco-friendly practices, Buffalo Collection contributes to the preservation of natural resources while ensuring the longevity and authenticity of its products.

In 2021, Michael and Laura expanded their business to open the Buffalo Boutique, which is just a few doors down from their gallery. Here, customers can purchase fine jewelry, everyday jewelry, clothing, handbags, journals, and other household items. This boutique provides designs inspired by Native American and Western cultures. It is the ideal place to find a unique gift for yourself or for someone special.

Over the years, Buffalo Collection has garnered a loyal following among discerning customers who value the fusion of style and substance. Homeowners, interior designers, and businesses seeking to create an atmosphere of rustic elegance can find everything they need amongst the store’s exquisite offerings. The knowledgeable and friendly staff at Buffalo Collection provide exceptional service, guiding customers through their selections, and offering valuable insights into design possibilities.

Whether it’s decorating a cozy home or a commercial space, Buffalo Collection provides customized design solutions. Its team of talented professionals collaborates closely with clients to understand their unique preferences and requirements, crafting bespoke furniture and decor that perfectly complement the desired ambiance. From private residences to upscale lodges and corporate offices, Buffalo Collection adds a unique warmth to spaces of all sizes and purposes.

Buffalo Collection stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of Western heritage in Scottsdale, Arizona. Through its unwavering commitment to artisan craftsmanship, sustainable practices, and tailored design solutions, the brand continues to captivate customers and preserve the rich cultural traditions of the American West. ♦

To order or shop online go to www.buffalocollection.com and www.buffaloboutique.com .If you’re in the Scottsdale area visit Buffalo Collection at 7044 E. Fifth Avenue, Scottsdale, Arizona and Buffalo Boutique at 7032 E. Fifth Avenue, Scottsdale, Arizona.

We want people to get exactly what they want so they can be proud and enjoy their custom piece for a lifetime. We are creating timeless pieces that can be passed down from generation to generation. These are heirloom quality like our grandparents had.

~Michael Levenberg

Michael and Laura Levenberg

Inspired decorative displays run throughout the showroom.

#HIPTHEATRE

By Debra Rich Gettleman

You know that hilarious story about the two interns at a Jewish publication struggling with their latest assignment: how to rebrand Zionism as progressive, #girlboss, and Gen Z via Instagram?

No? Well, I guess you don’t know about Jewish Plays Project (JPP) then. JPP is the nation’s leading development house for contemporary Jewish theatre. It’s an innovative organization that holds annual competitions that challenge emerging

playwrights to explore their own Jewish voice and their community identity. They also have built in an engagement strategy that includes Jewish communities in the vetting, selection, and championing of these new plays. Oh, and did I mention that they’ve developed 55 plays so far, and of those, 36 have been fully produced in NY, London, Tel Aviv, Canada and the US and performed in front of over 100,000 audience members. How cool is that?

That story I mentioned above is the theme of ZIONISTA RISING , by Alexa Derman, and it’s won the 12 th Annual Jewish Playwriting Contest. “The play,” described as, “A hilarious, sharp-witted play about the American Jewish obsession with Israel,” was selected from six finalists. And unlike most playwriting competitions, which use a cadre of theatre elitists as judges, JPP self describes as, “A radical experiment in artistic democracy and collective action.” It takes people like you and me to make it work. This year’s selection team included over 500 audience members in 9 cities in the U.S. and Israel, including Silicon Valley, Boston, Houston, Charlotte, Chicago, Fairfax, Hartford, Tel Aviv, and New York City.

ZIONISTA RISING , according to the JPP website, “Tackles one of the most critical Jewish conversations today - how to navigate the 21st Century relationship to Zionism - not to the actual, existing, complex State of Israel, but to the longstanding, intellectually fraught, and constantly shifting idea of Zionism.” And here’s the thing, it’s hysterical to boot.

As a theatre artist and playwright myself, I believe the best way to open minds and conversations is through humor, and Alexa Derman knows just how to do that.

I spoke with JPP’s Founder and Executive Artistic Director, David Winitsky about how JPP started and his plans for the future.

Debra Gettleman (DG) : You know I’m a big fan of JPP. I follow you, get your newsletters, and I’d love to hear about JPP’s origin story.

David Winitsky (DW) : I’m what you’d call a “late-in-life” Jew. I grew up in suburban Philadelphia, where they coined the term “JAP.” The Jewish life that was going on when I was a kid, was about who had the best drugs and the nicest car. And so, I had my Bar Mitzvah and I was out.

DG: And now you’re heading one of the leading Jewish storytelling organizations in the country. How did that happen?

DW: Flash forward many years. I met my wife. We got married. We have kids. And I find myself connected to this cycle of Jewish life again. And the Jewish conversation that I come back to, is talking

Founder and Executive Director David Winitsky

about social justice, and economic justice, and racial justice, and new approaches to the Middle East. And I’m thinking, well, this the same thing that’s happening in my theatrical life. Why are these two things not happening at the same time?

DG: And your answer to that question?

DW: What I found is that in 2011, there was a really great hunger within the artistic community. We’ve been telling the same Jewish stories over and over again in the theatre. If some theatre is going to produce a Jewish play, it’s going to be “Fiddler” or “Anne Frank,” or another Holocaust play, or maybe Neil Simon. That’s not who we are anymore. That’s very mid-20th century and we need to update the conversation. That’s really been our defining mission: to identify, develop, and advocate for 21st century Jewish people.

DG: It’s funny. That’s exactly what we are doing with Jewish Life Now. We’re a very different kind of contemporary Jewish lifestyle magazine. Our motto is “Your tribe with a new vibe.” Now, I know a lot about you and your credentials are mind blowing. You’re a Storahtelling/LabShul Maven, a 2014-17 UpStart National Fellow, a 2013 LABA Artist Fellow, and a 2011 PresenTense New York City Fellow. And you’re currently a Fellow at UJA’s Institute for Jewish Executive Leadership at Columbia Business School. But how did your career in theatre start? Were you ever an actor?

DW: Not really. My background is that I was a math major at Cornell. I had been involved in performance mostly as a musician. I was in band courses all through high school and college and I was pretty good at it. But my senior year of college, a friend of mine asked me to direct something for his theatre company at Cornell, and I was like, “Sure. I’ll give it a try.” The first time I sat in a director’s chair, it was like, “Oh. This is right. This is what I’m interested in.

DG: Ok, so you founded JPP in 2011?

DW: Right. I was playing around with the idea for this company, and I realized that at that time, Jewish theatre companies, standalone producing companies, were going out of business. Two major NY companies, American Jewish Theatre and Jewish Rep had gone out of business before that. Around the country, these companies were all going out

The core part of it, the thing that I think is so, so Jewish about what we do, is that it is not just enough that one person reads a play and has a response. It’s one person reads a play and argues it out with another person. It’s partner learning.

~ David Winitsky

of business. So, I was like, “I probably should pay attention to this. Like, this is probably a bad way to go.” Then I read this very interesting study. It found that Jews wanted to see Jewish culture in non-Jewish venues and non-Jewish culture in Jewish venues. They wanted to see their big Jewish play at the big regional theatre in their city, and they wanted to see the gospel church at their synagogue.

DG: Fascinating.

DW: It’s totally fascinating. Our goal here is to identify the right material, this new kind of theatre, this theatre that was bringing the contemporary Jewish conversation onto the stage and get that to the best producers.

DG: Do you have plans to extend into film or television?

DW: It’s definitely something that I’ve been playing with. There is the same need in other media as well, the need to create a better pipeline for this kind of material. In these 13 years, we’ve really honed a set of guidelines and ways of thinking about what it means to be a 21st century Jewish play or a Jewish story. What that actually looks like.

DG: And how did the playwriting competition come to be.

DW: Well, I realized we don’t need to produce the work ourselves. The win for us is when a play of ours gets produced, wherever the right venue for it is. I wanted to set up the company to be a pipeline, a

source of material for producers. At the same time, a colleague of mine at the local JCC asked if I’d be interested in doing something with new playwrights, maybe a contest.

That was the birth of the Jewish playwriting contest. And it’s been a ten-fold success and our signature ever since.

DG: How many submissions to you get annually for the contest?

DW: W’e’re up to about 300 submissions a year.

DG: Impressive. And then you narrow them down and invite us regular folks to weigh in to select the winning play? And that’s what you mean by artistic democracy. But does the buck stop with you?

DW: Eventually, somebody needs to make a decision. We have an artistic panel of about 80 readers around the country and the world. And then we have a very well-developed community process

that brings us to 8 or 9 cities every year, with somewhere between five hundred and six hundred people responding on the community level. My staff and I ultimately have to make the decision of which six plays we are going to work on. But we’re going to do that by taking extremely seriously the input, voices, and passions of these communities we’re working with.

DG: How can a group become one of your reading communities?

DW: If you can get ten people together, we can make it happen.

DG: It’s a really novel concept.

DW: Yes, and the core part of it, the thing that I think is so, so Jewish about what we do, is that it is not just enough that one person reads a play and has a response. It’s one person reads a play and argues it out with another person. It’s partner learning, right?

DG: Like a chavurah?

DW: Exactly.

If you’re interested in becoming a part of the JPP process, it’s as easy as getting together a group of ten readers in your community. JPP connects you with the year’s Jewish Playwriting Contest finalist plays. You and your chavurah read, discuss, and evaluate the plays and determine their relevance and importance to contemporary Jewish ideas. Then you vote on the top three plays for your region.

Then attend the national celebration in June with your community to see videos of the top three plays chosen nationally and find out the winner.

If you love stories, art, and entertainment, this is a perfect way to get involved in a process of storytelling that brings together theatre artists and community members to engage in thoughtful conversation about your personal and community relationship to the contemporary Jewish experience. ♦

You can read more about JPP here.

Left to right: This year’s finalists, Alexa Derman (Zionista Rising) contest winner, Ron Elisha (Misappropriation) Beth Kander - Return (Teshuvah), Stephen Kaplan (Un Hombre: A Golem Story), Audrey Lang (Birdie and Cait and The Book of Life, and Carey Perloff (Vienna, Vienna, Vienna).

EXPLORE ALL AVENUES Traversing the city of Jerusa

By Masada Siegel

The Jaffa Gate as seen at night.

AVENUES lem

“Would you like to go to the ‘Ninja Park’?” former Arizona resident and Jerusalem based Rabbi Ian Pear of Shir Hadash asked my son Jacob on his first trip to Jerusalem.

Jacob enthusiastically responded, “Yes.”

Moments later, after spending time at his warm and inclusive synagogue, he and his six-year-old son BJ dropped us off in the center of the new city.

Jerusalem is known for taking people to new heights, and our experience at Sacher Park, which has the best playground I have ever seen filled with rope bridges, sky high towers, stringy thingies and even a DJ booth was supernatural.

Needless to say, much in the Jerusalem spirit, I reached new levels as I found myself wearing a dress, climbing up an intricate rope ladder and sliding down much to the delight of my son.

Jerusalem is filled with a myriad of historical sites, activities and adventures that capture the attention of all age groups. The city is constantly discovering new ancient sites and building new modern ones, making it is a multilayered city in every respect.

The Old City of Jerusalem has always made me feel as if I was falling into a fairytale, walking through the pages of a living vibrant history that comes alive the moment I walk through the Jaffa gate.

There are a few ways to wander towards the Jewish Quarter, either walk through the Shuk, walk along the inside walls of the city, or try the Ramparts walk.

The Ramparts walk was built by Suleiman the Magnificent about 485 years ago and two areas are accessible to tourists. One side will take you towards the Jewish Quarter, where you will exit right near the Western Wall. The other direction leads visitors through the rooftops of the Muslim Quarter where you will exit right into the Muslim section of the Shuk.

The place to buy tickets is at a store right near the entrance of the Jaffa Gate.

Once you have entered the Jewish Quarter, there are a myriad of alleyways to wander and discover history right beneath your feet.

Walk through the shops at the Cardo and head towards Hurva Square, a great place to relax and

grab a bite to eat. The square provides plenty of places to sit as well as elegant jewelry stores and Judaica shops. Be sure to check out Esther’s Gallery store also known as Silver Point Judaica.

I bought a few items from the owner Esther who then gave me some red strings to bring back to Arizona. I asked her to also bless them, and all the recipients have reported unusual good luck after putting them on.

I then stopped by Jeff Seidel’s Student Center right off the main square of the Jewish Quarter. Seidel caters to student travelers, and young people studying abroad primarily at Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, and IDC University. If anyone wants a Shabbat dinner or to study more about Judaism, he is the man to speak with as he has been doing Jewish outreach for decades and his exuberance for all aspects of Judaism is inspiring and infectious.

As you make your way towards the Western Wall, stop in at Off the Wall Spice Shop. It is located in the narrow alleyway that takes visitors towards the Kotel and it has an excellent array of spices and teas and the packaging makes them travel friendly.

Mere steps aways and often overlooked is the Burnt House Museum which showcases an excavated house from the Second temple period. The museum takes visitors on a time travel experience with a short but poignant movie explaining the history prior and when the house was burned

down. After a brief tour head down the steps towards the Western Wall where the world truly opens up and the intersection of history unfolds.

One of my favorite activities was taking the Western Wall Tunnel Tours. I have walked through them at three different times, and each experience is vastly different because the excavations are ongoing and each day new discoveries are being made. It is truly remarkable to be able to touch the past. (Be sure to get tickets online or at least 24 hours before as tours sell out quickly.)

Visitors can hurl themselves back into the future when leaving the Old City, and a favorite way to travel was on the light rail, just be sure to get transit passes at a drugstore before you go for a ride.

There are a myriad of places to explore from the famous Mahane Yehudah, where the shopkeepers will tempt you with tantalizing treats ranging from fruits to the bakery Marzipan where the freshly baked goods are mouthwatering and the prices excellent.

Jerusalem boasts many meaningful places to visit, from the Israel museum which is always impressive to the somber 9/11 Living Memorial Monument that was created in 2009 by JNFUSA. It is the only memorial outside of the United States that includes all the names of the victims. This 30-foot bronze sculpture depicts an American flag waving and transforming into a flame, and a metal shard from the ruins of the Twin Towers is shown at the bottom of the monument.

No trip to Israel is complete without a visit to Yad Vashem. While incredibly sad, it is also a testament to the will, tenacity and true superheroes that emerged from the ashes of World War II, many of whom participated in fighting for the creation of the State of Israel.

Jerusalem presents endless activities for all ages; the hardest part is deciding what to do first. ♦

Western Wall Tunnel

Colorful umbrellas float magically above pedestrian Yoel Moshe Salomon Street with galleries, ceramics, arts jewelry and clothing shops.

SHANA TOVA

A New Year. A New Season. A chance to start over and write your next chapter. The shofar calls us to wake up and pay attention to life, to mend broken relationships, to live intentionally. May the sweetness of apples and honey bring you a year overflowing with the sweetness of life’s moments. #RoshHashanah #Newyear #shanatova.

Lesser Known Facts About ROSH HASHANAH

HEAD OF THE YEAR

Although considered to be the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah does not mean “New Year” in Hebrew. The translation is actually “Head of the Year.” Just like your head (or more specifically, your brain) tells your body what to do, your actions and behavior on Rosh Hashanah have far-reaching consequences for the entire year.

Among the many

blessings in Deuteronomy 28 we read, “God will make you the head, not the tail,” and it is customary in some communities at the meal on the night of Rosh Hashanah to recite this blessing, ending it with the words, “may it be so.”

It is also customary to then eat the head of a fish, but for those who are squeamish you can substitute gummy fish or fish-shaped crackers for the real thing.

PASS THE POMEGRANATE, NOT THE PICKLES

Pomegranates, apples and honey are all foods that are symbolic to the holiday of Rosh Hashanah.

Every pomegranate is believed to contain 613 seeds. This number just happens to be identical to the number of mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah. So, eating a pomegranate can be a symbolic way to display the

desire to fulfill the mitzvot.

The pomegranate is also written about in the Bible as one of the seven species identified within the land of Israel, and the fruit is depicted on the Temple King Solomon built in Jerusalem. We all know that eating apples dipped in honey helps make the new year a sweet one. But did you know that the opposite holds true as well? If you refrain from eating pickles, lemons and

other sour foods at this time, you most certainly will avoid an unpleasant year ahead.

NEVER ON SUNDAY, WEDNESDAY OR FRIDAY

The first morning of Rosh Hashanah can be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Shabbat –never Sunday, Wednesday or Friday. If Rosh Hashanah were to fall on a Friday, Yom Kippur would fall on a Sunday. But since Yom

Kippur shouldn’t fall on the day before or after Shabbat, as two consecutive days when preparing food and burying the dead is prohibited, this could be problematic.

HAPPY NOT BOISTEROUS

While Rosh Hashanah is considered a happy holiday, it is also a time for renewal, reflection and thanks. So while in many ways it is an uplifting holiday, and many attend synagogue, it is not

celebrated with raucous parties as is often the case on the December 31 New Year’s Eve.

NO NAPPING

Even though napping on Shabbat is considered a physical pleasure and therefore a mitzvah (and a proper way to celebrate the day of rest), on Rosh Hashanah we make a point of not napping.

Some people will even stay awake at night so as not to waste a precious moment on something as trivial as shuteye. The Talmud states that if one sleeps at the beginning of the year – i.e., on Rosh Hashanah – his good fortune also sleeps.

COMFORT ON A PLATE:

How Pacific NW Chef Sonya Sanford braids the Jewish diaspora into every dish

By Tara Dublin

That may be the underlying theme of all Jewish holidays, which is perhaps why every traditional holiday meal is focused on the pure comfort and pleasure of tucking into a plate full of food prepared with and surrounded by love.

In her new cookbook, Braids: Recipes From My Pacific Northwest Jewish Kitchen , Chef Sonya Sanford explores those feelings as she weaves her unique life experiences with the traditional recipes handed down for generations from our ancestors.

The recipes in Braids are inspired by Sanford’s experience growing up in a Soviet Jewish immigrant home in the Pacific Northwest, by her adventures in living and cooking in cities along the West Coast and Hawaii, and running her own restaurant, Beetroot Market & Deli, in Portland, Oregon.

Born in Seattle to Soviet-immigrant parents, Sonya graduated from Reed College in Portland and spent her early professional life working in the film industry in Los Angeles before pivoting to a career as a chef.

Soon after moving back to Portland, Sonya opened Beetroot. Specializing in Jewish diasporic cuisine, Ukrainian and Soviet food, and Pacific Northwest seasonal cooking, she regularly contributes to The Nosher. She also co-hosts Food Friends , a weekly podcast all about home cooking, with her close friend, Kari Lauritzen .

“They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!”

I would say that Jewish food, in its essence across the Diaspora, is centered on comfort.

~Sonya Sanford

Zakuski — an assortment of small dishes and appetizers. This includes a spread of smoked and cured fish like

pickled herring, smoked mackerel, homemade gravlax or gefilte fish. There would also be salads and spreads,

like pashtet (chopped liver), eggplant caviar, pickled mushrooms, marinated red peppers and salad Olivier.

A golden loaf of challah was then sliced and shared, served alongside thick pieces of dark Russian brown bread.

Ahead of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Jewish Life Now spoke to Sonya about her love for both cooking and teaching others just how simple it can be to start making their own food memories. (some answers have been edited for clarity)

JEWISH LIFE NOW: What is your favorite food memory centered around the High Holidays?

SONYA SANFORD: When I think about the High Holidays, I immediately recall sitting around my grandmother’s table. She came from Ukraine, and in our family, it was traditional to have a fourcourse meal that always started with “zakuski” – a huge spread of salads and dips, gefilte fish and smoked fish, and/or chopped liver. I always piled my plate full of eggplant caviar, homemade gravlax, and her marinated peppers... and challah of course.

JLN: That sounds so good, I can taste it right now. What is it about Jewish food that makes it just so comforting, even for non-Jews?

SS: I would say that Jewish food, in its essence across the Diaspora, is centered on comfort. Many Jewish dishes are designed to be shared, and often there’s a spiritual purpose behind certain mainstay foods – whether that’s a meal eaten around the Shabbat table, prepared for Pesach, or even one that’s dropped off at a community member’s doorstep during a time of need.

Additionally, whether you’re making Ashkenazi-style brisket or a Sephardic hamin, the roots of most Jewish cuisine is rooted in simple ingredients, done well. It’s hard for that not to be comforting? To be fair, this is true of many cuisines who doesn’t like a good dumpling, a bowl of saucy pasta, a heartwarming curry... and also, who doesn’t like a lox and bagel or a potato boureka?

JLN: People who have never tried them! Which is a great lead in to my next question: If you could cook one Jewish meal as an example of what our history would look like on a plate, what would it be?

SS: The most wonderful thing about Jewish food is how incredibly varied it is across the diaspora. For me, one of Jewish food’s only defining traits is the laws of kashrut; and even that has evolved in recent years.

I love our rich culinary diversity; and it’s hard for me to pinpoint a meal that defines all of Jewish

COMFORT ON A PLATE

cuisine. I love that a Jewish meal can mean bourekas and harira, kneidlach and gefilte fish, gondi and tahdig, schnitzel and salatim, or a fish masala and malpua. Perhaps the one meal I would cook would attempt to include many of these dishes.

That said, if I were to cook one meal that was an example of my own Jewish lineage and family’s story it would be a feast of challah and brown bread, borscht, smoked fish, latkes, and honey cake served with fruit preserves.

JLN: Which all sounds amazing, if not a bit intimidating for a novice chef. What would you recommend as a “starter Jewish meal” for anyone who might be a bit overwhelmed by such a deep and delicious history?

SS: I think one of the best meals a novice chef can master is chicken soup. It’s endlessly versatile and foundational to so many Jewish folks. It’s also very hard to mess up. Once you learn to make a basic chicken soup, you can start building from there – add-on noodles, matzo balls, and eventually even homemade kreplach.

I also think challah is a wonderful gateway bread if you’re learning to bake. It’s far more forgiving and simpler than many other bread recipes, and even if your loaf ends up a little misshapen or under-proofed, or any number of “imperfections”, everyone is always thrilled to share a homebaked braided bread.

JLN: If only I had enough stomachs to eat everything we’ve talked about! Since we’re coming up on the New Year, who would be sitting around your table at your dream Rosh Hashanah dinner?

SS: Rosh Hashanah is my favorite holiday, and almost every year my table is filled with friends and family; some are Jewish, some are not, some are local, and some come to visit from afar.

If I could invite anyone on the planet to join our annual gathering it would be Mel Brooks, Ina and Jeffrey Garten, and Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. ♦

Learn more about Chef Sonya Sanford on her website: www.sonyastanford.com

Sami Tamimi

Mel Brooks

Ina and Jeffrey Garten

Yotam Ottolenghi

Opposite page: Matzo Ball Soup, Instant Pot Georgian Pomegranate Chicken. This page: Apple and Honey Ruffle Milk Pie, Challahs

SWEET TOOTH

POMEGRANATE SORBET

5-10 minutes prep time • 2-3 hours in freezer • 5 minutes to process/serve

INGREDIENTS

1 3/ cups water

1 3/ cups sugar

2 tablespoons honey

Few sprigs fresh mint

2 cups freshly squeezed

pomegranate juice (from 4 large pomegranates) or bottled juice

Juice of half a lemon

Mint to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

MAKE SYRUP: Combine water, sugar, honey and mint. Boil 2-3 minutes until sugar dissolves. Turn off heat and set aside to cool.

Squeeze pomegranates and lemon half.

Combine syrup with juices and let cool.

Extract the mint and pour the liquid into a 9×13 baking dish. Transfer to freezer.

Let freeze for 1.5 hours. Mix with a fork and put back in freezer. Repeat process until firm, then process in food processor and pour back into the dish. Freeze 4-6 hours.

Serve garnished with mint.

By Haim Silberstein • israel21c.org

TAYGLACH

1 cup candied cherries

1 cup almonds

1 cup broken walnut pieces

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup water

1 lb. honey

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

A pinch of salt

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 eggs

3 Tablespoons oil

INGREDIENTS INSTRUCTIONS

Place the honey, water, lemon juice and sugar in a very large, heavy pot, about 6 quarts. Heat to boiling and continue to simmer gently.

While the honey syrup is heating, Mix the eggs, oil, spices and salt together. Sift the baking powder and flour and add to the liquid. Mix together until the mixture forms a sticky dough. Dust with flour and roll out into 8 or 9 ropes about 3/4 inch thick, cut into pieces about 3/4

inch long. Drop the pieces of dough into the boiling syrup and simmer slowly for about an hour. Stir every 10 minutes and add more boiling water as needed, about 1/3 cup at a time.

While the tayglach is cooking, place aluminum foil on a cookie sheet and grease the foil.

Set aside.

Ten minutes before the hour is up, add the nuts and cherries. Stir well and add more water if needed. The tayglach is done when it is a deep mahogany color, a rich, golden

brown. Spoon the tayglach on the greased cookie sheet and spread out. Let cool and form the tayglach into small groups of a few tayglach and some nuts and cherries. Let cool and put into a bowl. Cover lightly.

By Joni Schockett myjewishlearning.com

Crunchy dough boiled in honey.

MOIST CHOCOLATE APPLE CAKE WITH COCONUT CREAM GANACHE*

INGREDIENTS INSTRUCTIONS

APPLE MIXTURE:

3 apples, preferably green or pink lady, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of cloves

CAKE BATTER:

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup safflower oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

3/4 cup water

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground espresso coffee

COCONUT GANACHE

GLAZE:

1 cup room temperature coconut cream, mixed well

200 grams (7 ounces)

dark chocolate

1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 350F(175C).

In a medium bowl, combine chopped apples with brown sugar and spices. Mix well and set aside.

Line a 10-inch tube pan with baking paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and water.

Sift in dry ingredients

and whisk to combine.

Fold in apple mixture, and pour into pan.

Bake 55-60 minutes.

For ganache: Heat coconut cream in the microwave for one minute. Break chocolate up into squares and let sit in the hot cream. Stir until fully dissolved. Add honey for a shiny finish.

Flip cake out of the pan when it is cool enough to touch.

Let cool completely and drizzle with the coconut ganache.

*The coconut flavor isn’t detectable here and is used for parve reasons. You can also swap out the coconut cream for regular whipping cream.

By Haim Silberstein israel21c.org

FISH OR FOWL?

Mix up your menu this Rosh Hashanah.

INGREDIENTS

Meatballs

1 egg

GROUND CHICKEN SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS

2 tbsp bread crumb or matzo meal

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp back pepper

1 1/2 lbs ground chicken, white or dark meat

Sauce

1 1/2 cups ketchup

2 cups Ginger ale

INSTRUCTIONS

1. PREPARE GROUND CHICKEN MIXTURE: In a large bowl, mix together the egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Add ground chicken and combine evenly but lightly. Don't over mix or meatballs will be tough. I shape one clean hand like an open claw and mix it that way.

2. BOIL SAUCE: Add ketchup and ginger ale to a medium to large pot. Bring to boil over medium high heat.

3. FORM MEATBALLS AND ADD TO SAUCE: Have a bowl of water nearby to wet your hands. as the mixture is sticky. Grab a little blob of chicken mixture and flop it back and forth between your two hands to lightly form a ball – about 1 1/2 inches/3.8 cm. Doesn't have to be perfectly round. Try not to handle too much. Gently drop the meatball in the boiling sauce. Repeat using the entire mixture. You will get about 25-30 meatballs. Alternatively, form all meatballs and then drop them in one at a time.

Gently swirl the pot on the stove top to 'stir' the meatballs and sauce. Stirring with a spoon can break them apart. After 5 minutes they will be solid enough to stir.

4. COOK MEATBALLS: Lower heat to medium-low heat and simmer for 1 hour, covered. Partially uncover the pot and cook another 30 minutes. Stir, then uncover pot and cook another 30 minutes. Sauce will thicken (it will coat the back of a spoon) and even thicken more with standing or in the fridge. Total cook time is 2 hours. If you're in a rush, 90 minutes will be fine with the cover off for the last 45 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed e.g. a squeeze of lemon juice if too sweet or a bit more salt.

CANADIAN MAPLE CEDAR PLANK SALMON

EQUIPMENT

Untreated cedar plank

INGREDIENTS

2 salmon fillets with skin on one side – 3/4 to 1 pound (about 1-1.5 inch thick) chopped parsley for garnish (optional) sea salt for finishing

Glaze

2 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoon pure Maple Syrup (or brown sugar)

2 tablespoon grainy or old fashioned mustard

2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon minced garlic (1 clove)

1 teaspoon cornstarch (this will help glaze adhere to salmon)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. SOAK THE PLANK: Soak a plank in cold water for 10 minutes for a 1/4 inch plank (or 30-60 minutes for 1/2 inch plank). I use a thin plank and just toss it out when I'm done. Cedar planks are great for salmon as they provide a gentle smoky taste.

2. HEAT THE GRILL TO HIGH.

3. MAKE THE GLAZE : Place all glaze ingredients in a microwaveable bowl or measuring cup. Stir.

Microwave for 1 minute on high. Glaze will be slightly thickened. Let cool for 5 minutes if using part as a marinade

(Note 1). Alternatively, place ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer on medium heat for a few minutes until thickened.

3. GRILL PLANKED SALMON:

Note 2. Pat plank dry. Spray with oil. Place salmon on top of plank, skin side down. Brush salmon with 1/3 of glaze. Place plank on grate of barbecue, close cover and grill for 3 minutes for

thinner plank (a little longer if using a thicker plank) until plank starts charring and smoking. Have a glass of water on hand in case of flare ups. Brush 1/3 more glaze on top of salmon. Turn off burner/heat under the salmon (salmon should now be on indirect heat) and close lid. The other burner(s) should still be left on high or med-high heat with the temperature of the BBQ at about 425F-450F/218232C.

Cook for another 7 minutes or until salmon just begins to turn opaque.

Instant thermometer will show an internal core temperature of 130-135F/54.4-57C (temp will rise while resting). Salmon should be a warm pink in the thickest part. Drizzle with remaining glaze. Rest salmon for 5 minutes loosely covered with a foil.

4. SERVE: Slide a spatula between the skin and the salmon. The salmon will lift right off leaving the skin on the charred wood plank. Transfer to a plate. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired and some good sea salt and/or lemon zest.

For further ideas and tips see:

TWO KOOKS IN A KITCHEN

twokooksinthekitchen.com

TIKUN OLAM

may be the best cure for holiday loneliness

‘REPAIRING THE WORLD” or Tikkun

Olam, is such a well-known concept in Jewish life that it almost borders on being a cliché. But of course, it is not. The importance of making the world a better place through acts of kindness and compassion is taught to us from an early age and is a tenant of Judaism. And though helping others is admirable, by helping  others, you can also help yourself as Tikkun Olam is  a powerful antidote to loneliness.

While many anticipate the holidays as a time to rejoice with family and friends, others dread the loneliness that can accompany the holiday season, particularly for those who may be separated from loved ones or who do not have a strong support network. However, Tikkun Olam provides a way to transcend this sense of isolation and build bridges with others, creating a sense of connection and community that can last long after the holiday season has ended.

By focusing on the needs of others, one can also gain perspective on their own challenges and struggles, and find a new sense of meaning and purpose in their lives. While many find fulfillment by volunteering at non-profit organizations, even a call to a friend or family member who may be struggling or lonely is equally important. The important thing is to do something.  It’s not about thinking about ways to improve the world or help others. It’s about taking action in the here and now. Helping others is free, but the reward is priceless.

Here are a few suggestions of Tikkun Olam that you can do during Rosh Hashanah or any time of the year:

1. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or food bank to help provide meals to those in need.

2. Visit elderly residents at a nursing home or assisted living facility to brighten their day and offer companionship.

3. Collect and donate clothes, blankets, or other items to a homeless shelter or organization that supports those experiencing homelessness.

4. Participate in a community clean-up effort to help keep your local area clean and attractive.

5. Volunteer at a charitable organization or find a cause that aligns with your values and passions and start contributing.

6. Write letters or make phone calls to elected representatives or government officials to voice your concerns about issues affecting your community.

7. Plant trees or participate in an environmental restoration project to help improve the health of the planet.

8. Participate in a march or rally to support a cause you believe in, such as racial justice, climate action, or immigrant rights.

9. Volunteer at an animal shelter or rescue.

10. Volunteer at a hotline serving those with mental health emergencies.

PET APPRECIATION this Rosh Hashanah

By Debra Rich Gettleman

In the category of “more is more,” Jewish tradition not only celebrates Rosh Hashana, our most renowned new year’s holiday, but we actually have four distinct new year celebrations. In addition to Rosh Hashanah, we recognize Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees, the first day of

Nisan, The New Year of Kings, when Passover takes place, and a fourth New Year of the Hebrew calendar that has been steadily gaining recognition is Rosh Hashanah La’Behemot, the New Year for Domesticated Animals.

Rosh Hashanah

La’Behemot is a day to reflect on our relationships with our

domesticated animals. It offers us a chance to consider how we take care of them, how we nurture them, how we love them, and how we can improve on all counts. The holiday encourages us to examine the lives we provide for the animals who depend on us for survival.

We’re not just talking about Fido either. The

category of behemah (domesticated animals) includes livestock and all work animals we employ. In fact, Jewish texts tell us to allow our animals the same Shabbat rest and rewards we enjoy ourselves, including feeding them first, before we sit down for our own Shabbat feast.

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YUVAL DAVID

TV Star, Activist, Filmmaker and Global

Storyteller

By Debra Rich Gettleman

Yuval David is one of those “got it all” kind of people. He’s super handsome, outrageously talented, deeply thoughtful, and genuinely cares about other people and the world. He actually sounds too good to be true. But I sat down with him and learned that this prolific creative believes in boldly expressing his truth and vulnerability in the roles he takes on, the stories he tells, and the causes he passionately supports.

DEBRA RICH GETTLEMAN (DRG): Here’s the thing, you’re everything.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone who does more than you. I mean, actor, speaker, advocate, activist, Zionist, filmmaker…How do you do it all?

While I hoped that somewhat metaphorical question might be a nice conversation starter, it didn’t quite go according to plan.

YUVAL DAVID (YD): Why, is it confusing for you?

DRG: Excuse me?

YD: Is it confusing?

Like, who is this guy who does too much?

I was definitely taken aback by his question. He was sincerely searching for the meaning of my inquiry which I wasn’t at all used to. It made me uncomfortable. Unlike so many people these days, he was truly listening to what I was saying.

DRG: No. No. Not confusing at all, just in awe. And wondering, when did this start? Were you raised in a family of doers?

YD: Yes. My grandparents, my maternal grandparents are Holocaust survivors and well-known heroes of the war. And my mom and my aunts didn’t really have aunts and uncles. On my paternal side, my grandmother and all of her older siblings fled Poland right before the Nazis closed the borders. Her parents went back to Poland to take care of last affairs and had a very tragic story. She was a little girl raised by her siblings.

My paternal grandfather was second-generation Israeli. His family fled the pogroms of Russia.

I was raised with the understanding that my grandparents worked very hard and survived these travesties in order to afford me with this lifestyle. And my parents had their own challenges. So, I understood that my life isn’t only my own.

I am of my family and I’m of my people and I’m for my family and I’m for my people. So, I better make the most of it.

That also comes with its own burden because I thought I couldn’t complain about anything. If something bad happened to me, I just thought I couldn’t complain about it. I’ve survived terrorist incidents, I was raped as a teenager, I had so many

I understood that my life isn’t only my own. I am of my family and I’m of my people and I’m for my family and I’m for my people. So, I better make the most of it.

~Yuval David

near-death experiences because I’m also really into adventure sports. But I just never thought it was okay to complain about those things because nothing is as bad as the Holocaust. Quite a burden.

DRG: That’s a lot for a young person to bear.

YD: It is. Putting things in perspective is absolutely important and I never embrace the victimhood narrative. I embrace the resilience narrative. And that’s how I do everything I do. I’m resilient. I’m passionate. I am very ambitious. I just want to better myself. I want to better other people. I don’t believe in perfection, but I do believe in greatness.

DRG: Wow.

Do you ever feel splintered?

YD: Oh, I definitely feel splintered. And then I think, well, what do I do with those splinters?

Do I try to put some wood glue and re-use them? Do I sandpaper them and polish them down and smooth them out? Or do I allow the splinter to grow into an additional branch; into something new? Those are all calculated decisions. But I also like to be spontaneous and silly and go with the flow. I come from the improv world. I’ve always been into improv comedy and improv theatre, and improv dance.

It’s like being an athlete of life. You train. You have your personal trainers, your physical therapists, your coaches, and you exercise and work out. Then you practice and you practice, and you practice. Then you just do the thing and see what happens, and you make the most of it and that’s life.

DRG: I look at you. I read your press. I’m a follower and a fan.

But did you ever see this coming? Did you ever think you would represent a country to the world? I mean, is that daunting? Did you ever think you would have that kind of influence?

Yuval stopped for a moment. He looked at me with that same probing stare.

YD: How do you see me representing a country?

Again, I felt a pang of panic. Had I overstepped? I’m so used to people just talking about what they want to

talk about rather than focusing on what information I’m attempting to gather. Having this smart, sensitive man actually listening to me for clarity, was unnerving. It forced me to really think.

DRG: I feel like you represent Israel to the US in many ways. As a performer, a filmmaker, a storyteller, a Zionist, a Justice Warrior, all of those things.

And I wonder if you feel that?

YD: Yes, and it’s something that I speak about in many of these talks that I give.

I’m invited as a keynote speaker and workshop leader and panelist.

I talk about how everybody is an activist, why everybody needs to see themselves as an advocate and understand that they are an advocate. Because you are an advocate for yourself, for your family, for your friends, and for your community.

Once you recognize that, you recognize that you now also advocate for those who are connected to that; your society, your state, your nation, your people, your peoplehood, your nationalities.

That also puts a greater level of responsibility on your life because you recognize that if you do something great, it’s not just a success for you, it’s a

success for your people.

And if you do something not so great, that’s also a reflection on all of your people.

DRG: So everyone is connected, responsible for each other?

YD: Absolutely. I’m an inclusion activist who practices radical acceptance. Part of that means I must also help other people have a seat at the table, because if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.

And we know that. We’ve been, as a Jewish people, we’ve been on the menu for thousands of years, and it doesn’t matter how many great things we do and how many people we aid in the civil rights and the social justice arenas, or how Israel is oftentimes the first nation, or one of the first nations, who goes to help in environmental and humanitarian crises around the world.

Yet, Israel still is held to this double standard, just like the Jewish people are, regarding so many things and we’re so easily criticized.

In your life, Debra, you also are a person who does a lot; as a writer, an actor, a reinvention specialist, a career coach. I see what you do. I’ve looked you up.

Now this is unheard of. He looked me up. He’s an

Far left:Yuval David: Actor/ Host/Filmmaker.

Left: Yuval David speaks about Jewish advocacy and activism.

award-winning actor, tv host, and filmmaker. I’m stunned.

YD: You do a lot and you’ve probably experienced antisemitism. And I can say that with confidence because you’re a doer. And maybe I only know doers, but doers will experience antisemitism. Whether it’s an off-color comment, a joke at our expense, an actual verbal attack, or a physical attack, and we need to be prepared for that.

DRG: You’re absolutely right. I feel like people use stereotypes to limit other people’s power.

YD: Yes. And, because we’ve absorbed the narratives that other people have put upon us, we are limiting ourselves. We are a people who constantly get rebranded by other people. We can’t embrace the narratives of those who are against us. But we do it time and time again. And then sometimes because Jewish humor is what it is, it’s very self-deprecating. So, we’ll make a joke about ourselves because it’s easier.

Jewish humor comes from Jewish pain. Humor comes from recognizing the ups and the downs.

My grandmother was one of the most beautiful, good-hearted, kind, hopeful, optimistic, passionate people I’ve ever met. She would say that the Jewish people have always had the choice to cry and cry. But we, as a Jewish people, have had the brilliance to laugh and cry.

DRG: Let’s go back to those near-death experiences and adventure sports. What’s that about?

YD: Something that I do recognize with all the many things that I do is I’m a team player. I’m not into team sports, but I’m a team player. I’m an adventure sports enthusiast.

Skiing is my passion and I do like the crazy double black diamonds.

I go to surf and scuba dive and water ski and

wakeboard.

I’m all into individual sports, but I’m a team player everywhere else.

Yes, with a lot of the things that I do, collaboration is key.

DRG: With your spirit of optimism and positivity, which is truly inspiring, do you get down? What gets you down?

Yuval’s reaction suggests that this time I might have made him feel slightly off kilter. He took a few beats before responding.

YD: Oh wow, I get down regularly. There are so many things in life that I find upsetting.

I’m a vulnerable, sensitive person. That’s where my strength and bravery and courage and my own wisdom come from, from being a sensitive, vulnerable person who is affected by my environment. It’s what I choose to do with that that allows me to be a doer. Saying, okay, here’s an issue. What am I going to do about it? Do I wait for somebody else? I’m also, because I’m both American and Israeli, I have the cultural traits of both people, and impatience is an issue I deal with.

DRG: How do you pull yourself out of it when you feel down?

YD: Well, if I hit a down spot, I meditate. I breathe. I listen to my body. I let myself cry. I let myself, you know, have the comfort food that I want and watch some mindless entertainment on one of the many streaming platforms.

Or I create. I’ve created web series. I even won an Emmy for one short, which I created because I had a need to combine improv comedy, improv acting, guerrilla theatre and uplifting other people.

Because when I’m down, I recognize that I can also be in service of and for others and that will both uplift me and uplift them at the same time. And it puts my downness in perspective because I’m doing something for somebody else.

DRG: So, what about upcoming films or projects? What do you want people to look for?

YD: So I have a television show that I’m not able to say too much about.

I can tell you that it’s going to be on FX and Hulu and it comes out at the end of the year.

And I’m an actor in that.

In addition to that, I have another web series which is coming out soon. We are in production with it. It is very exciting because it combines a lot of my passions within the acting, filmmaking, and advocacy space. In addition to that, I’m on the news as a news commentator regularly.

I can’t wait for these projects to come out because then people will be seeing a lot more of me. And hopefully, I will be inspiring other people to do their best, to be the cream that rises to the top.

DRG: That’s a very interesting way of putting it.

YD: There’s so much content out there. I want to create the best stuff, the greatest, the most compelling content that’s out there. And I try to help other people do that.

So I hope that the things that I’m doing, that are coming up soon will inspire other people to do the same and do it better.

We exchange pleasantries. I ask him to send me some personal photos for the article. Not something everyone else has. I don’t want a Hollywood picture of him on a set, or a formal shot of him speaking at some Jewish National Fund dinner, or Israeli Embassy meeting. I want something that shows who he really is.

YD: Oh. I’ve got these photos. No one uses them. They’re kind of goofy. But I Iove them.

He’s excitedly looking through his files of photos.

DRG: I love goofy. Please send them my way.

YD: They’re me. You, because of who you are and what you do, will enjoy them, but you’ll probably also understand why they’re never used.

He leaves me with that one final reminder. That in this interview, an interview all about him, he managed to pay attention to me. He made me feel valued. Like we were collaborating. “You, because of who you are and what you do, will enjoy them.”

Yuval David is a rare combination of genuine kindness, depth of spirit, strong ambition, and unrelenting optimism. He’s funny and real, intelligent and quirky, creative and outrageously talented. Keep your eyes open. You’ll be seeing a lot more of him.

Yuval David kisses his trophy after winning his first Emmy Award at the Emmy Awards ceremony, hosted by the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter.

The Jewish people have always had the choice to cry and cry. But we, as a Jewish people, have had the brilliance to laugh and cry.

~Yuval David

StopAntisemitism Isn’t Giving Up. Neither Should You.

By Masada Siegel

Liora Rez, Executive Director of StopAntisemitism would love to be put out of work but the reality is StopAntisemitism is busier than ever.

Rez created the organization in 2018 as a response to the ever-increasing number of antisemitic incidents. StopAntisemitism publicly exposes antisemitic behavior and creates real consequences for perpetrators. A refugee from the former Soviet Union, Rez personally experienced antisemitism and understands that one can’t just stand by and watch it unfold. Therefore, her watchdog organization exposes antisemites wherever they are, from college campuses to corporations.

We model the saying that ‘actions speak louder than words’ every day by upholding our mission statement.

~ Liora Rez

StopAntisemitism encourages people to report any occurrence of antisemitism. Then the organization investigates, verifies, and spreads the information to media and law enforcement. In 2022, 1900 incidents were reported, 260 incidents were investigated and handled by StopAntisemitism.

The numbers reported for antisemitism are staggering and only getting worse. In 2022 the ADL reported 3,697 antisemitic incidents throughout the United States, a 36% increase from the 2,717 incidents tabulated in 2021. It was also the largest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

Rez explains, “In less than five years, we’ve grown to reach more than ten million people a month via our digital platforms, website, and weekly mailers. Amid record-breaking antisemitism, there is clearly a demand for our brand of activism. Jews are tired of anodyne statements that don’t have a real-world impact; our focus on accountability is the cornerstone of StopAntisemitism’s model.”

She also raises the fact that Jews are far more disproportionately targeted for hate incidents than other populations. Yet, the national antisemitism crisis discussions have been “twisted by whataboutism, minimization, and sometimes open sympathy for antisemites”. That is why Rez stresses that now, more than ever, the Jewish community needs to know that someone is fighting for them and won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

StopAntisemitism’s research has found that while young people may be less prejudiced overall, they are increasingly ignorant about the Holocaust and the nature of antisemitism.  This information has led the organization to meet people where they are, which means operating online where the next generation

is living, learning, and socializing.

What matters most to the organization is that it is making a difference in people’s lives and helping them deal with difficult circumstances.

Rez remarks, “It’s incredibly fulfilling every time we’re successful in getting appropriate charges brought against a perpetrator, or even just allowing the victim to tell their story when the media won’t. Watching them realize that their voice matters and that we truly are in their corner is the best form of validation we receive.”

The goal of the organization is always having impact and producing real world results.

“We count our success not in the statements we release, but in the people we help and the antisemites we hold accountable. We model the saying that ‘actions speak louder than words’ every day by upholding our mission statement.”

Fighting antisemitism must be a team effort and Rez has a three-step solution plan that outlines what to do if you witness or are the victim of antisemitism.

BE VIGILANT. As always, if you see something, say something.

DISCUSS ANTISEMITISM WITH YOUR SOCIAL CIRCLE

- don’t avoid the topic as raising awareness makes people more comfortable talking about their own experiences.

BE VOCAL. Get involved in your community. Go to city council meetings, call your elected representatives, and share StopAntisemitism’s content on social media.

The organization not only touches millions of people, but its activism has also had tangible results. With StopAntisemitism’s help, antisemitic students have been expelled, antisemitic employees have been fired, and antisemitic political activists have been exposed and embarrassed. ♦

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There’s also the educational piece of sharing about Black racism and Jewish antisemitism. You have these horrific stories in history about hate for just who you are on both sides, and some of it still goes on today.

~Richard Cuenca Head of Posnack School

The Alcee L. Hastings Broward Black-Jewish Alliance brought together Jewish and Black students from South Florida.

Florida Jewish and Black high school students learn from each other

By Sergio Carmona

Throughout the 2022-23 school year, Jewish and Black high school students from Broward County in South Florida united to dialogue, have meals and tour different museums and learning centers. Through these experiences, both groups learned about antisemitism and racism while exploring each other’s cultures and similarities.

The Alcee L. Hastings Broward Black-Jewish Alliance, named in honor of the late politician who died in April 2021, involved the participation of 30 high school students from David Posnack Jewish Day School in Davie, FL who were in a cohort with students from Boyd H. Anderson High School, a predominately Black school in Lauderdale Lakes, FL, throughout last school year.

The alliance, which was founded in July 2021, is under the umbrella of the Jewish Federation of Broward County.

STUDENTS

Evan J. Goldman, the Federation›s executive director for public affairs and one of the alliance›s co-founders, said both the Jewish and Black students of the program can learn that “antisemitism and racism are two sides of the same coin.”

“Today, white supremacists and [literal] Neo-Nazis are fueling hate like never before,” Goldman continued, “They’re also working hard to divide people. That’s why the need for collaboration, partnership and friendship between the Black and Jewish communities is more important than ever.”

Audra P. Berg, the Federation’s president and CEO, said, “For our community, I think it’s extremely important for us to be in partnership with the broader community throughout Broward.”

“A lot of what we do is dependent on having strong relationships with other groups,” Berg continued.

Denise Lettau, the alliance chair who is a Jew of color, said, “The reason why I’m one of the [alliance] co-founders, together with Evan Goldman and Alcee Hastings Jr, is to reestablish and restrengthen the historic alliance between the Black and the Jewish communities.”

“I know there were some instances, mostly in the 80’s, that did kind of somewhat fracture the union, but I still believe it’s a very strong coalition,” Lettau continued.

The program last year included Zoom meetings, lunches, discussions, and visits to places like the Old Dillard Museum, which is the site of the first Black school in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and the Mania and Max Nudel Holocaust Learning Center in Davie. The cohort culminated with a trip to Washington DC in April 2023.

Goldman said the synergy between the Black and Jewish students stood out the most during the DC trip, as they had been meeting together for nearly a year.

Students from Boyd H. Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes, FL at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC in April 2023 for the Alcee L. Hastings Broward Black-Jewish Alliance.

“By the time they arrived in Washington DC, they were a cohesive unit,” Goldman said.

Among the DC trip’s highlights included both groups of students touring the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture together.

Two high school students from Posnack School, whose last names could not be disclosed by the school, shared their thoughts.

“The trip and this whole experience offered me the closest opportunity that I’ve had to really form connections with and have important conversations with members of the Black community,” said Ryan C.

Gabriella S. said,”It was really impactful for me to learn about African American history as well as their experiences in modern society, and to relate that to the Jewish American experience as well the issues that we as Jews faced during and after the Holocaust and how both situations [struggles of Jewish and Black communities] are similar.”

Richard Cuenca, head of Posnack School, said the program provided wonderful educational and social opportunities for students at both schools.

“There’s the socialization piece of it with our Posnack School students having lunch and dinner together with Boyd Anderson students, sharing their experiences together, talking about what teenagers talk about, being on a first-name basis with each other and traveling to DC together,” Cuenca said. “ There’s also the educational piece of sharing about Black racism and Jewish antisemitism. You have these horrific stories in history about hate for just who you are on both sides, and some of it still goes on today.”

Cuenca continued, “I think it was empowering and enlightening for both groups of students to learn about that, hear about that and make it real to them and apply it to their own life and so forth.”

James F. Griffin, II, principal at Boyd H. Anderson, thought it was meaningful for the Black students at his school to get together with the Jewish students, as he felt the alliance helped them learn from another culture and history, while diminishing any fears of the unknown for them.

Aniah Miller, a student at Boyd H. Anderson, said, “In history class, we learn about the Holocaust, but being on this program and going to the museum in Washington really helped me learn more about the depth of it.” ♦

A replica of the sign—with the inscription “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Makes One Free”)—that was above the original entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland; in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.

A statue of the Mexico City Olympic protest in which American medalists Tommie Smith, left, and John Carlos raised glovedfists during the “Star-Spangled Banner” in 1968.

SMART COOKIES

By Debra Rich Gettleman

In 2008, three modern orthodox women, Laurie Wexler, Sara Portman Milner, and Dina Leener, all guided by a sweet tooth and a passion to repair the world, came up with an idea of using pastry arts and baking to help young adults with learning differences find meaningful employment.

They met with government leaders and service providers to fully understand the plight of job scarcity for these young people in the Metro DC area. Then in May of 2009, Sunflower Bakery opened their 501(c)3 non-profit 8-month pilot program in a Potomac, MD donated kitchen at Sholom Congregation and began offering vocational training in pastry arts and baking.

The bakery idea wasn’t based on some whimsical sentiment. The three founders actually commissioned a study by an MBA class at American University’s Kogod School of Business that showed a real demand in the local kosher sector for baked goods. In 2010 Sunflower Bakery moved into a 1200 square foot warehouse in Gaithersburg, WA with donated bakery equipment and the support of the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services. Then, in 2011, they opened the Pastry Arts Program. Sunflower’s kosher/pareve bakery has grown and expanded over the years, and now occupies its new home in Rockville, MD where they offer both the Pastry Arts and Hospitality Employment Training programs.

Why baking? According to Executive Director, Jody Tick, “It’s consistency, recipe following, and structure. It’s also repetition. All things we see a need for in this industry.”

“A significant percentage of our students fall in the autism spectrum,” she tells me. “Pastry Arts is our signature training program. It’s been with us from the beginning.” In 2015 they opened Café Sunflower, a collaboration of Sunflower Bakery along with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes. The Cafe expanded employment training and employment opportunities to adults with learning differences in frontof-house operations and customer service.

In January of 2020, Sunflower moved into their new Sunflower

Laurie Wexler

Dina Leener

Sara Portman Milner

SMART COOKIES

Bakery Employee Training Center and opened Sunflower Bakeshop in March 2020, just before COVID hit. With a new production kitchen, a dedicated training kitchen, classroom space, offices, and a small retail bakeshop where Sunflower’s Pastry Arts students receive customer service training, the new space was ready to take on students.

Then we all know what happened. The pandemic. But the founders used the shutdown to pilot a new training program, Hospitality. Tick tells me, “We now have two major training programs, Pastry Arts and Hospitality. Our strategic three-year plan is to grow our programs to train more students with learning differences.” In addition to baking and pastry art, the new Hospitality program trains students in customer service, front of house, food handling, and order filling.

In their Pastry Arts program, they start with all students doing the same tasks at the same time in the same order. In learning phases two and three, students begin to work on different assignments. They have varied schedules, multiple tasks, and time constraints. Tick reminds me, “We do everything to prepare them for work in a competitive employment venue.”

Sunflower even has a job coach and offers job services which teach students how to search for employment, write resumes, and interview. And, because they know their students so deeply, they’re really good at job matching. “We look at the job requirements and the work environment to match the right student with the best opportunity,” Tick assures me.

The dedicated Sunflower team doesn’t lose touch with their students once they’re gainfully employed. They reach out on a regular basis and spend a lot of time educating their 60+ employer partners. “A lot happens on the employer side,” Tick states. “They may not be familiar with working with employees that have different learning styles. However, it’s really a win-win. Our students are more dependable than many other entry-level workers. They’re happy to be part of the team, happy to be contributing members of society. Dependability and loyalty are huge factors in our students’ success.”

In June 2020, Sunflower moved the Cafe Employment Training Program to their new Employee Training Center in Rockville and renamed it their Hospitality Employment Training Program. Sunflower also incorporated bread baking into its Pastry Arts curriculum in the summer of 2020 and began selling challah and rolls. In February 2021, Sunflower started its shipping program with shipments of hamantaschen nationwide for the holiday of Purim. “We have redefined hamantaschen,” Tick proudly announces.

“The Sunflower experience is transformational,” she beams, “Students come in and they don’t leave as the same people. The growth, self-confidence, and selfesteem are life changing.” ♦

Check out Sunflower Bakery for pick-up, delivery, or online ordering at www.sunflowerbakery.org info@sunflowerbakery.org

Dependability and loyalty are huge factors in our students’ success.

~ Jody Tick Executive Director

SPINNING A YARN

By Ellen Braunstein

Laurie Kimmelstiel weaves Jewish prayer shawls on a traditional Swedish loom. Their softness, their comfort, their beautiful design envelops the wearers, allowing them to focus on prayer and God’s presence.

“It separates them from the rest of the world,” says Kimmelstiel of New York. Her spiritually-guided weaving is informed by hiddur mitzvah, she says, “the concept of creating beautiful Judaica to enhance the observance of Jewish rituals.”

The tallit, she says, should be beautiful, elegant and exceptional, rather than some manufactured fabric, stiff and uncomfortable, that has no meaning.

Kimmelstiel has been creating textile art for 45 years. Along the way, she has mastered the art of knitting and crocheting, calling it “a source of calm in my life.”

She regularly teaches knitting. At one time, she offered lessons to recovering addicts in workshops organized by BigVision. NYC. “It was probably one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. I still keep in touch with a lot of the young people I taught to knit.”

She is co-author of “Exquisite Little Knits” and many of her knitting and crochet designs and patterns have been featured in books and magazines. Her mainstay though is weaving - custom tallitot

The tallit, she says, should be beautiful, elegant and exceptional, rather than some manufactured fabric, stiff and uncomfortable, that has no meaning.

for 13-year-olds celebrating their bar and bat mitzvah and people of all ages as well. Some well-known cantors and rabbis wear her tallitot. She also creates tallit bags, chuppahs, challah and matzah covers.

Her customers are worldwide. White Ridge Crafts, as her company is called, is advertised through word of mouth, a Facebook page and an Instagram account.

Kimmelstiel’s mother was a seamstress and sewed most of her daughter’s clothes. Kimmelstiel’s daughter, Rebecca Kevelson, is a knitter who owns a yarn company and is a knitwear designer.

“My interest developed in college. My master’s degree is in American social history and a lot of that has to do with craft,” said Kimmelstiel, who has worked in museums.

She did not learn to weave until she finished graduate school. Along the way, she picked up basic skills in Navajo and African weaving. A nun was one of her great weaving teachers.

“Thirty years ago, I decided to weave a tallit for my husband and that led to tallitot for people in my community who saw his and asked me to make them for their children’s b’nai mitzvah.”

The cost of Kimmelstiel’s custom tallitot range from $800 to $1,500. It takes approximately 50 hours to complete each prayer shawl. “The process of weaving is a long and complicated one,” she shares.

Kimmelstiel meets with her clients for sometimes close to an hour to discuss color and design. “I ask people if there’s something about the parsha they’ll be reading for their bar/bat mitzvah that inspires them.”

She incorporates numbers of stripes, in some cases, 18 stripes on each side, signifying chai or life. “So, the wearer is surrounded by life,” she tells me.

“When it’s a bar or bat mitzvah child, I have them

come with family members to tie the last corner of the tzitzit, ritual fringes, as the child puts it on for the first time and says a special prayer for that moment.”

“As a parent,” Kimmelstiel explains, “This is one of the most meaningful times. It’s hard to have this experience or witness a family seeing their child in a tallit before their bar or bat mitzvah and not be brought to tears.”

Kimmelstiel is observant and belongs to two synagogues near her homes in White Plains and Stephentown, New York.

Her husband, Fred, is a surgeon, a potter and a beekeeper. “It’s utterly fascinating and he’s pretty serious about beekeeping. Bees pollinate and are responsible for every kind of plant you can imagine. And honey is the most wonderous substance for our health and well being.”

Kimmelstiel helps with the marketing of Golden Road Honey, which is a big seller for Rosh Hashanah. Weaving and the fiber arts occupy the rest of her time.

“It’s a real labor of love,” she says of the tallitot. “I want people to feel or experience joy, comfort, happiness and spirituality – a connection with our past and traditions.” ♦

For more information about Kimmelstiel hand-woven tallitot and other fiber arts, call her at (914) 260-8860 or email

whiteridgecrafts@gmail.com

GOLDEN ROAD HONEY

100% Pure & Natural Honey

Pure and natural honey that is harvested from our apiaries in New York State’s Upper Hudson Valley. goldenroadhoney.com

It’s a real labor of love.

~Laurie Kimmelstiel

HEY MILLENIALS, Welcome to Better Friday Nights

By Tara Dublin

It’s hard enough to get Gen Z to look up from TikTok, let alone regularly sit down to share a proper meal and interact with others.

So, imagine how much harder it might be to get younger generations of Jewish Americans to come together every Friday night for Shabbat.

Welcome to OneTable , “A better way to Friday,” shana kinder!

Taking the negativity out of your oneg, One Table is a national non-profit inspired by ancient Jewish wisdom and empowers young folks (21-39ish) to find, share, and enjoy Shabbat to make the most of their Friday nights.

By meeting in person instead of over Zoom, OneTable fosters connection for a generation of young people who are often too electronically plugged in to truly connect offline. Just this year alone, OneTable has supported 3,600 unique hosts across the country in creating nearly 20,000 dinners and 112,000 seats at the table for over 33,000 Shabbat diners.

At a OneTable Shabbat dinner, people can get together to slow down and unplug from the previous week. It’s about creating a new intention in their lives to build meaningful communities fostered by connections made in person.

Held in private homes, the dinner menus and guests may vary, but the message remains the same: everyone is welcome to join the conversation and share in the amazing meals.

OneTable takes a DIY approach to Shabbat while offering custom-tailored support, coaching, and online resources to make the Shabbat dinner ritual personally meaningful. Hosts can receive financial boosts in the form of “Nourishment Credits” if cost is an issue.

The OneTable formula is definitely having an impact across the country. A recent in-house survey of respondents said that because of OneTable:

87% find meaning in spending time with community on Shabbat.

72% say Shabbat adds a spiritual dimension to their Friday night.

65% try to pause and relax at the end of the week.

53% eel Friday night is different from the rest of the week.

If you’re interested in hosting your own OneTable Shabbat dinner, or finding one you can join in your city, please https://dinners.onetable.org/

Memoir Offers Lessons in the Journey from Coping to Thriving

By Eva Trieger

Ialways find it serendipitous when things fall into my lap when I’m needing them most. Allow me to explain. I’ve just finished reading an autobiographical book by broadcast journalist and talk show host, Joanne Greene. Greene, a take-charge, fully present go-getter was humbled by a traumatic and devastating car accident.  By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go , provides not only a highly personal account of the pain, suffering, and acceptance associated with the event but offers lessons in coping and eventually, thriving. Greene has courageously and graciously invited the reader to grow with her and overcome the obstacles beyond her control. What perfect timing as we perch on the cusp of the month of Elul! The book is the perfect reminder that our Jewish

lives are in the hands of Hashem, regardless of how much we believe we’re in charge!

Greene’s memoir opens with her stepping into the crosswalk in front of the JCC, where she works, and the synagogue where she worships, when she is slammed by a car and sent up into the air before landing on the ground. Amazingly, she did not suffer head injuries from the impact but did sustain four breaks in her pelvis. What follows is her journey of healing that required so much more than just knitting bones and physical therapy. Greene had to learn to rely on her husband, friends, family, and community. Fortunately, her Jewish values and faith, and connection to the Jewish community, provided her with tools to handle that which initially seemed incomprehensible and intolerable.

I was struck by Greene’s acknowledgment that this cataclysmic occurrence did not only affect her life. Fred, her husband of more than 34 years, stepped up to the plate in ways she could not have imagined. He was with her through every torturous step, providing nourishment, moral support, and creative problemsolving for mobility and positioning issues. The two had met in 1978 when both had worked for San Francisco radio station, KSAN FM. The pair raised two sons, both of whom observed the love, commitment, and devotion of their parents to one another and to their family.

The book is much more about resilience, determination, and the realization that life cannot be lived at 100 mph. It must be savored slowly, taking time to really experience every morsel of the savory banquet that is uniquely catered just for us. Greene, though not of her volition, was forced to pace herself and acknowledge her need for occasional time-outs. While she loves her friends, at times the energy required was just too much.

While the trauma of being hit by a car may have been the catalyst for Greene’s memoir, her sojourn brought her to a new reality and required great introspection enabling her to tune into her purpose, her connection to life, and the creation of a legacy. Along the way, Greene experienced additional health hurdles, a few simchot, and an ever-increasing appreciation for staying present and open to the full range of experiences, viewed through the lens of uplifting Jewish values.  While we enter into Elul and take stock of who we are and where we’re going,  By Accident , reminds us of the gift of looking inward in order to grow outward.

Honeymoon Israel connects to couples

Honeymoon Israel has a vision that every committed couple with at least one Jewish partner should possess the knowledge, inspiration, support system, and sense of belonging to build a family with meaningful connections to Jewish life and the Jewish people, thereby enhancing and strengthening the Jewish community.

For many young couples, there’s no easy way in to Jewish life, especially during those critical years when they’re in permanent relationships and deciding how to shape their lives and family.

Honeymoon Israel offers a way in: immersive group travel to Israel that lets couples encounter and explore history, tradition, and identity on their own terms. We engage couples in an openended inquiry into how they connect to Jewish life and how they’ll incorporate Jewish values and traditions into their families. We support couples in their own exploration and foster the organic development of community.

Honeymoon Israel operates in New York, Miami, Phoenix, Seattle, and San Diego. If you’re ready to apply for HMI or have questions about deadlines, and trip dates for all open application cycles, email them at applications@honeymoonisrael.org.

In Loving Memory of Leni Reiss z"l

Beloved wife, mother, journalist, involved community member and contributing editor for Jewish Life Now.

We continue to grow from your insights, talents and advice.

®

May her name forever be a blessing.