Jewish Observer of September 13, 2018

Page 1

4 TISHREI 5779 • SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 • VOLUME XXXIX, NUMBER 18 • PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID, SYRACUSE, NY

The impact of the Jewish Community Foundation of CNY BY MARK FIELD Mark Field gave these remarks at the annual meeting of the Jewish Foundation of Central New York on August 21. Hans Rosling, medical doctor, statistician, humanitarian and author, wrote, “The world cannot be understood without numbers, and it cannot be understood by numbers alone.” To help us understand the impact the Foundation’s dollars are currently having on the community, I’d like to share some brief stories. The Rabbi Jacob Epstein High School

for Jewish Studies started a program a few years ago to encourage volunteerism. The program is called Shalshelet, which means “chains” in Hebrew. This word conveys two important ideas: chains can link together values and people, but chains also warn us that they are only as strong as their weakest link. The Epstein program offered the students the opportunity to be teachers’ aides at the Syracuse Community Hebrew School and other religious schools. Prior to the program, only two students had been

volunteering. The program offered the kids a small stipend to consider helping out and donating their time. In the first year, 12 kids joined the program; the following year, 27 kids joined – more than half the school. With the cost of the program increasing, the school asked the Federation to increase its allocation to cover the increased cost. The Federation granted this request and was able to do so without robbing Peter to pay Paul, or to put that in more Jewish terms, without debiting Isaac to credit Jacob.

Staying with education, the Syracuse Hebrew Day School, an important part of our community for decades, is having enrollment challenges. The school has asked the Federation to help pay for a consultant to help the school learn how to market what it has to offer more effectively. Funds are also needed to help bridge the budget shortfall until enrollment builds. Once again, because more dollars are available due to the Foundation, we were able to meet their current needs. See “Foundation” on page 2

Moshe Alfasi is the new community educator BY JACKIE MIRON You may have seen a new face in the Jewish community at one of the various Jewish educational locations. Moshe Alfasi has been hired as the new community educator. He is here through the work of CoJO (the Council of Jewish Organizations) to hire a teacher to be shared among various Jewish venues in the community. CoJO is a group of Jewish community

lay and professional leaders who meet regularly to discuss initiatives to enhance, strengthen and expand the Jewish community. At a CoJO meeting earlier this year, the need for a part-time Jewish educator at the various schools and agencies was discussed. Jewish leaders of the various institutions scheduled Alfasi’s time so it would fit the community’s needs. Alfasi will serve in a daily, weekly

and “as-needed” capacity at the Syracuse Hebrew Day School, Rabbi Jacob Epstein School for Jewish Studies, Temple Adath Yeshurun Religious School, Syracuse Community Hebrew School and the Jewish Community Center. SHDS Head of School Lori Tenenbaum will oversee his position and provide him with a base of operations. Alfasi came from Israel in July with his wife, Gal, a Ph.D. candidate at Syracuse

University, and their 2-year-old daughter, Netta, who attends the Early Childhood Development Program at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center. They live in Liverpool and said they “are excited to be in Central New York.” Although they explored opportunities in bigger cities for Gal’s program in Holocaust studies, smaller town life drew their

See “Alfasi” on page 2

The Jewish Observer’s recent survey BY BETTE SIEGEL In late spring 2018, the Jewish Federation of Central New York asked Robert Tornberg, an evaluation consultant with the R/E/D (Research, Evaluation, Development) Group, if he would create a survey about the Jewish Observer to help Federation learn how the JO could better

serve the needs of the community. The survey was disseminated by e-mail to all of the JO subscribers whose e-mails were known to the JO staff. A decided majority of respondents were 41 years old or older. No one below age 25 responded and only 12 individuals between 25 and 40 completed it. However, of the total

Spotlight

A passport to Jewish life in Syracuse BY MICKEY LEBOWITZ Our Jewish community would like to invite Jewish people who are either new to the area, or in the area but not associated with any Jewish organizations, to come and get to know us. The Council of Jewish Organizations’ mission statement is “to develop enduring collegial relationships among Syracuse Jewish organizations, to foster collaboration and coordination, and to make our community more cohesive and vibrant.” Through the hard work and generosity of the members of CoJO, a “passport” has been developed that offers our “new friends” the opportunity to learn who we are, what we do and how we do it, much of it free of charge or at a reduced cost. It is the belief of the council that relationships are what matters most, and the intent behind this passport offering is to extend the arm and open our hands and welcome people to what we think is a vibrant, active, caring and loving Jewish community.

To obtain a passport, our new friends would only need to reach out to a participating organization. These include the four synagogues (Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse, Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, Temple Adath Yeshurun and Temple Concord), Menorah Park, the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse, the Syracuse Hebrew Day School and the Rabbi Jacob H. Epstein School for Jewish Studies. The passport is good for one year from the time a person received it. A thank you goes out to the CoJO group, all of the participating organizations and synagogues, and the Jewish Federation of Central New York for supporting this initiative. A special thank you goes to our community partners at Hillel and especially to the JCC staff who produced the actual passport. For further information, contact the entity you wish to visit first or Mickey Lebowitz at leboruff@gmail.com.

of readers who responded, 72 percent indicated that the JO is “extremely important” for the community and all but 10 individuals said that it was “extremely/ somewhat important.” It was clear from the respondents that the JO is important for the community. Most people read the paper shortly after it arrives and they prefer a print format. There was an overwhelming message that the respondents most appreciate the JO for its coverage of local and community issues, i.e. information from the syna-

gogues and community organizations. In fact, they want that coverage expanded. Respondents pay attention to the ads, which they indicated have some influence on where they do business. A certain portion of readership would prefer an online version. An online version already exists (www.jewishfederationcny.org) and it is undergoing examination for improvement. A significant percentage read the front page. Coverage of Israel received the

See “Survey” on page 2

C A N D L E L I G H T I N G A N D P A R AS H A

September 14.................. 6:58 pm....................Parashat Vayelech-Shabbat Shuvah September 18.................. 6:51 pm................................................. Erev Yom Kippur September 21.................. 6:46 pm..................................................Parashat Haazinu September 23.................. 6:42 pm...........................................................Erev Sukkot September 23......... after 7:40 pm ................................................................. Sukkot September 28.................. 6:33 pm.................................................... Parashat Sukkot September 30.................. 6:29 pm...........................................Erev Shemini Atzeret October 1................ after 7:28 pm.............................................. Erev Simchat Torah

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Sisterhood Symposium

Young leaders

Holiday services

The annual Sisterhood Symposium The Feder ation has begun Local synagogues announce their on October 16 will look at “Jewish recruitment efforts for its Young Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Leadership class of 2020. Families Today.” Simchat Torah celebrations. Story on page 3 Story on page 2 Stories on pages 4 and 8

PLUS Financial Planning................. 6 Obituaries................................. 7 Calendar Highlights............... 8 Classifieds................................ 8


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.