Y1322jd final by Jewish Federation of CNY

11 KISLEV 5774 • NOVEMBER 14, 2013 • VOLUME XXXVII, NUMBER 22 • PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID, SYRACUSE, NY

Jewish Foundation Teen Funders make grants By Annie Weiss A group of Central New York Jewish teenagers who make up the B’nai Mitzvah Fund Program met on October 6 to disperse some of their b’nai mitzvah money to a worthy cause. The teenagers had approximately two hours to decide where the money should go. They had $2,075 and had received several proposals from various charities, so they had choose the ones where they felt their money would “do the most good.” In the end, they distributed their money to six different causes, including grants to the Rabbi Jacob Epstein High School of Jewish Studies, Hillel at Syracuse University, Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund Inc., Arc of Onondaga, Hospice of Central New York and Encounter. The amounts of the awards and their proposed uses are: $375 will go to the Rabbi Jacob Epstein High School of Jewish Studies. The money is to go to three SU Holocaust education students. They will teach the Epstein High School students about the Kindertransport rescue movement, which happened during the Holocaust.

The Teen Funders of the Foundation of Central New York B’nai Mitzvah Fund recently met to allocate money to various organizations. Seated (l-r): Jacob Snell, Annie Weiss, Adam Kiewe, Ella Kornfeld and Julia Berse Skeval. Standing: Eli Weiss, Rebecca Margolis, Jacob Charlamb, Sarah Young, Hadar Pepperstone, Brian Charlamb, Aaron Costanza and Marissa Lipschutz. Also contributing but unable to attend were Rachel Diamond, Lauren Goldberg, Sam Griffiths and Jacob Moskow. $500 will be given to Hillel at Syracuse University to support student travel costs for a spring break trip to Moore, OK. The

students plan on spending their spring break rebuilding homes damaged in a tornado. $200 was designated for the Carol M.

Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund Inc., with the request that the money be directed toward cancer research. $300 was awarded to Arc of Onondaga for a grant to provide individuals with disabilities and their families the opportunity for children with special needs to visit the zoo. $400 will be presented to Hospice of Central New York to enhance Hospice’s “Camp Healing Hearts,” an annual camp intended to help children cope with the death of loved ones. Hospice was given the grant to enhance the children’s camp experience. $300 will be provided to Encounter, an organization dedicated to helping solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The money will go toward providing scholarships to future educators and rabbis for a two-day tour of the West Bank. The teens’ reasoning was that it would be a gift that keeps on giving, as the educators and rabbis will teach others about their experience. After their meeting, the participants agreed that they had “contributed something positive to the people of Central New York.” Their next meeting will be held on Sunday, May 4.

SHDS auction called a “Feast for Foodies” By Phyllis Zames Syracuse Hebrew Day School will hold its annual auction fund-raiser on Sunday, November 17, from 4-7 pm, at Temple Adath Yeshurun. “What could be a better combination than Jews and food?” asked Syracuse Hebrew Day School Co-Head of School Lori Tenenbaum. “So our auction is called ‘A Feast for Foodies,’” answered Co-head Barbara Davis. She explained, “We have an incredible assortment of food-related baskets featuring coffees, teas, spices, meats, sweets, gluten-free foods, wines, cheeses and chocolates.” Tenenbaum added, “There are gift certificates to dozens of area restaurants, paired with tickets to cultural events. There are family fun packages and children’s theme party baskets – literally something for everyone.” Board Chair Tamar Margolis said, “The day school’s annual auction is a tradition. It raises funds to support our scholarship

L-r: Syracuse Hebrew Day School first grade students Matthew Blumenthal, Leora Zames, Caitlyn Cohen, Zachary Fellman and Griffin Margolis posed with some of the baskets ready for bidding at the Syracuse Hebrew Day School’s “Feast for Foodies” auction on Sunday, November 17. program because the day school works hard to assure that every child who wants a day school education will be able to get one.” In

addition to food baskets, the auction catalog features various trips, sports items, Judaica and jewelry. Auction Chair Stacy Seidman

added, “We will also have tapas and treats throughout the event, and entertainment by the Temple Adath choir and the Baby Boomers Band. We want everyone to have a wonderful time!” Margolis said, “Collecting the items and sponsorships, and arranging and wrapping the baskets, takes a lot of work and dozens of parents are involved in the process.” In addition, day school students hold a “Penny Auction” of their own, where the children have the opportunity to bid on small gifts, learning the auction process and making mathematical choices to focus on risk and reward. Members of Club 56, the school’s leadership group of fifth and sixth grade students, will work at the auction as an act of community service. The Syracuse Hebrew Day School is a kindergarten-sixth grade elementary school with dual curricula in both general and Jewish studies. It will celebrate its 54th, triple chai, anniversary this year.

Pew survey of U.S. Jews: soaring intermarriage, assimilation rates By Uriel Heilman NEW YORK (JTA) – There are a lot more Jews in America than you may have thought – an estimated 6.8 million, according to a new study. But a growing proportion of them are unlikely to raise their children Jewish or connect with Jewish institutions. The proportion of Jews who say they have no religion and are Jewish only on the basis of ancestry, ethnicity or culture is growing rapidly, and two-thirds of them are not raising

their children Jewish at all. Overall, the intermarriage rate is at 58 percent, up from 43 percent in 1990 and 17 percent in 1970. Among non-Orthodox Jews, the intermarriage rate is 71 percent. The data on Jewish engagement come from the Pew Research Center Survey of U.S. Jews, a telephone survey of 3,475 Jews nationwide conducted between February and June and released on October 1. The population estimate, released September 30, comes from a synthesis of existing survey

data conducted by the Steinhardt Social Research Institute and the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University. While the Steinhardt/Cohen study, called “American Jewish Population Estimates:

2012,” is likely to be a matter of some debate by demographers and social scientists, it is the Pew study that offers an in-depth portrait that may influence Jewish policymaking for years to come. See “Pew” on page 11

C A N D L E L I G H T I N G A N D P A R AS H A November 15...........4:24 pm........................................................... Parasha-Vayeshev November 22...........4:18 pm............................................ Parasha-Miketz-Chanukah November 29...........4:14 pm............................................................Parasha-Vayigash

INSIDE THIS ISSUE AIPAC speaker

Museum stirs debate

Chanukah is coming

Local synagogues will sponsor an A Belgian museum on the Red A cookbook author offers recipes AIPAC speaker, who will discuss the Star Line prompts protests for its for the joint Thanksgiving and Middle East, on November 20. universal migration focus. Chanukah celebration this year. Story on page 3 Story on page 9 Story on page 10

PLUS Chanukah Gifts.......................... 9 Home & Real Estate................ 13 Calendar Highlights................14 Obituaries..................................15

JEWISH OBSERVER ■ november 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774

a matter of opinion Jews have special reasons to remember JFK on 50th anniversary of assassination By Ira Stoll (JTA) – As the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination approaches, we Jews have our own special reasons to mourn. The conventional community memory of Kennedy would be enough by itself. JFK overcame the legacy of his father, President Franklin Roosevelt’s notoriously appeasement-minded ambassador to Britain on the eve of World War II, Joseph Kennedy, to build a warm relationship with American Jews. As Warren Bass recounted a decade ago in his book “Support Any Friend,” the U.S.-Israel alliance advanced significantly with JFK’s approval of the sale of HAWK – short for Homing All the Way Killer – missiles to Israel. President Kennedy appointed Arthur Goldberg as labor secretary and then to the Supreme Court, Abraham Ribicoff as secretary of health, education and welfare, and Mortimer Caplin as internal revenue commissioner. Even a strangely large number of the Gentiles in his administration had Jewish roots: Speechwriter Ted Sorensen was a self-described “Danish Russian Jewish Unitarian,” while Treasury secretary Douglas Dillon and White House aide Arthur Schlesinger Jr. both had Jewish immigrant grandfathers. In the closing days of the 1960 campaign, Kennedy held separate rallies in New York’s garment district with David Dubinsky’s International Ladies’Garment Workers’Union and with the rival Amalgamated Clothing Workers, which also was heavily Jewish. In conducting research for my new book,

“JFK, Conservative,” I came across two lesser-known pieces of evidence that shed new light on Kennedy’s positive views about the American Jewish community and the warmth of his relationship with it. The first was a tape recording of a meeting between Kennedy and American civil rights leaders following the March on Washington in 1963. The Oval Office recording system became famous under Nixon, but it was active in the Kennedy years as well, and it captured some fascinating interactions. With the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the White House following his “I Have a Dream Speech,” Kennedy launched into a discussion not of the need for federal civil rights legislation, but rather of what blacks could do to help themselves. “Now, isn’t it possible for the Negro community to take the lead in committing major emphasis upon the responsibility of these families, even if they’re split and all the rest of the problems they have, on educating their children?” Kennedy asked/lectured. “Now, in my opinion, the Jewish community, which suffered a good deal under discrimination, and what a great effort they made, which I think has made their role influential, was in education: education of their children. And therefore they’ve been able to establish a pretty strong position for themselves.” Kennedy added, “With all the influence that all you gentlemen have in the Negro community... [you] really have to concentrate on what I think the Jewish community has done on educating their children, on making them stay in school, and all the rest.”

a matter of opinion How to stop killing in the name of God By Rabbi Avi Weiss (JTA) – Belief in God is at the core of my very being. But that belief is sometimes challenged by the scores of innocents killed over the millennia in God’s name, from biblical times to the present day. Dozens were killed recently at a shopping mall in Kenya by terrorists demanding to know if those they were confronting were Muslim. If Muslim, they were spared; if not, they were murdered. One man who claimed to be Muslim was asked to name Muhammad’s mother. When he could not, he was summarily shot in the head. The day after the mall attack began, dozens of Christians were murdered at a prayer service in Pakistan. And yes, though they are aberrations, it must be said there have been Jews who have murdered in the name of God, like the perpetrator of the Hebron massacre 20 years ago. The late writer Christopher Hitchens cited horrors like these to argue that we are better off without God. It is an understandable reaction. But ethics derived completely from human civilization also have their weaknesses. If ethics comes solely from the human being, from the human mind, from human reason – it is relative. As Freud is purported to have said, when it comes to self-deception, human beings are geniuses. If Hitler were asked whether the murder of six million Jews was ethical, he would say it was. The same is true of the godless communist regimes that murdered millions during the course of the 20th century. But even if ethics without God has its flaws, Hitchens’ challenge still must be addressed. Ethics with God often doesn’t

seem much better. There are, I believe, some necessary ingredients for a belief in an ethical God, a God whose ethics are critical to a just and better world, a God whose presence I always feel. The first ingredient is that a true God must make room for believers in other gods. This is the position of Rabbi Menachem ben Shlomo Ha-Me’iri, who believed that all human beings demand equal protection, regardless of their faith, as long as they are “members of a society based on laws and morality.” In contemporary terms, Me’iri is saying that we are obligated to treat every person, whatever the person’s belief or nonbelief, as we would a fellow Jew. The second criterion is that God must welcome, and even demand, to be challenged. God’s covenantal relationship with human beings means that there are times when we are encouraged to question and even protest God’s mandates. This goes back to the time of Abraham, who challenged God’s decision to destroy the city of Sodom. The midrash teaches that God rewarded Abraham with direct revelation of prophecy because of his commitment to fight for the rights of the righteous. Another example is Moses, who is commanded to go to war against Sihon, but attempts to first make peace. God, the midrash tells us, accedes to Moses’ initiative. As my son, Dov Weiss, observed in his doctoral dissertation on man’s challenges to God, “God’s response to Moses is striking as God concedes to Moses’s ethical sensibilities and ratifies this less militant approach into law.” Given this relationship between humans See “Stop” on page 12

For blacks, the president’s advice might have been good, patronizing, beside the point or all of the above. But for Jews, it encapsulated the way Kennedy admired them and saw them as a success story of American immigrant upward mobility. An example of that trajectory was the Jewish attorney Lewis Weinstein, who built a close relationship with Kennedy and is the source of the second piece of evidence. Weinstein had been born in Lithuania in 1905. He had come to America when he was 15 months old, graduated from Harvard and its law school, served in the army on Eisenhower’s staff during World War II, and had returned to become a partner at the Boston law firm of Foley, Hoag and Eliot. One day in the summer of 1946, Weinstein’s partner Thomas Eliot, whose grandfather Charles had been president of Harvard, walked into Weinstein’s office and said, “Lou, meet Jack Kennedy.” From this classic Boston political moment – the Brahmin lawyer introducing the Irish Catholic politician to a Jewish partner who could help him raise campaign contributions – an enduring relationship began. The relationship came into play later when the plight of Soviet Jewry was starting to emerge as a concern for American Jews. And this particular anecdote is at least a partial corrective to the claim in Gal Beckerman’s well-received 2010 history “When They Come for Us We’ll Be Gone” that Soviet Jewry “was an issue that John F. Kennedy ignored.” It is true that American Jewish organizations were rebuffed when they tried the usual route – having friendly members of Congress contact the State Department. The assistant secretary of state for congressional relations, Frederick Dutton, sent Senator Keating of New York a long letter acknowledging that Russian synagogues had been closed and Jewish cemeteries desecrated as part of “the long-term Soviet campaign against religion generally,” but fretting that the American government could not do much about it. “It is doubtful if further protestations

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would be helpful to the Jews in the Soviet Union,” the letter concluded. But that was not the end of the story. Weinstein, as he later recounted in a littlenoticed 1985 article for the journal American Jewish History, went to Robert Kennedy and succeeded in having a mention of the Soviet closing of synagogues included in President Kennedy’s September 1963 speech to the United Nations General Assembly. Weinstein persuaded the president to have Averell Harriman raise the matter with Khrushchev during Harriman’s negotiating mission to Moscow on arms control. And in a White House meeting with President Kennedy in November 1963, Weinstein, who was soon to take over as chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, launched into a plea on the issue. “You know, it’s getting pretty bad,” Weinstein said. “There are murder trials going on. They call them economic trials, but the defendant is always a Jew. He’s charged with black market [trading] or something else like that, he’s always convicted and executed. They’re murder trials, in which the defendant is murdered and not the murderer.” Weinstein told Kennedy that Soviet authorities had closed the gates, slowing the flow of Jewish refugees out of Russia to a trickle. And he said no American president had intervened with the Russian authorities on behalf of the Jews since President Theodore Roosevelt had protested to Czar Nicholas II after the Kishinev massacre. Kennedy replied: “Well, here’s one president who’s ready to do something.” Kennedy told Weinstein to organize a conference in Washington about the Soviet Jewry issue. The president told Weinstein to schedule the meeting for sometime soon after Kennedy returned from an upcoming political trip to Dallas. Ira Stoll is the author of “JFK, Conservative,” was published on October 15 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. He was managing editor of the Forward and North American editor of The Jerusalem Post. All articles, announcements and photographs must be received by noon Wednesday, 15 days prior to publication date. Articles must be typed, double spaced and include the name of a contact person and a daytime telephone number. E-mail submissions are encouraged and may be sent to JewishObserverCNY@gmail.com. The Jewish Observer reserves the right to edit any copy. Signed letters to the editor are welcomed: they should not exceed 250 words. Names will be withheld at the discretion of the editor. All material in this newspaper has been copyrighted and is exclusive property of the Jewish Observer and cannot be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. Views and opinions expressed by our writers, columnists, advertisers and by our readers do not necessarily reflect the publisher’s and editors’ points of view, nor that of the Jewish Federation of Central New York. The newspaper reserves the right to cancel any advertisements at any time. This newspaper is not liable for the content of any errors appearing in the advertisements beyond the cost of the space occupied. The advertiser assumes responsibility for errors in telephone orders. The Jewish Observer does not assume responsibility for the kashrut of any product or service advertised in this paper.

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NOVEMBER 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774 ■

AROUND CENTRAL NEW YORK AIPAC speaker at TAY By Pamela Wells Temple Adath Yeshurun will host a speaker on Wednesday, November 20, at 7:30 pm, to brief the Central New York community on the most recent events in Israel’s region. The speaker, Dr. Sharon Goldman, is the Northeast region political director of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. Her presentation

JCC SRO concert

There will be a free concert by Seniors Reaching Out on Sunday, November 17, at 2 pm, at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse. SRO is co-sponsored by the JCC and Salt City Center for the Performing Arts. The program began in 2011 and new members are welcome to join. SRO is composed of men and women ages 50 and older. Directed by Shirley Reidenbaugh, it performs especially for assisted living centers, senior centers and other seniorrelated facilities. The November program will present its newest offering, “Readers and Singers.” For more information, contact JCC Director of Senior Programs Leesa Paul at 445-2040, ext. 104, or lpaul@ jccsyr.org.

will be “Meltdown in the Middle East: Implications for America and Israel.” A dessert reception will follow. Dietary laws will be observed. Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse Rabbi Evan Shore said, “Dr. Goldman is an incredibly dynamic speaker who has a talent for explaining complex issues in plain English. She has a doctorate in political science from Yale, and she has her finger on the pulse of the American Congress, upon whom Israel depends for the support she needs to defend herself.” AIPAC National Council member Steve Wells, of Cazenovia, said, “Syria is in chaos and Iran is continuing to build uranium-enriching centrifuges. I can think of no better time for us to educate ourselves on the dangers facing Israel than right now. We must do everything within our power to remain vigilant to these evolving threats.” Local synagogues sponsoring the evening include Chabad House at Syracuse University, Chabad-Lubavitch of Central New York, Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, Temple Adath Yeshurun, Temple Concord and Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse. Reservations have been requested and may be made by contacting Sarah Walsh at 917-210-6329 or swalsh@ AIPAC.org.

Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center senior dining menu November 18-22 Monday – Swedish meatballs over noodles Tuesday – grilled cheese Wednesday – meatloaf with gravy Thursday – baked stuffed fish Friday – herb-roasted chicken November 25-29 Monday – apricot chicken Tuesday – salmon filet Wednesday – turkey with gravy Thursday – closed for Thanksgiving Friday – closed for Thanksgiving The Bobbi Epstein Lewis JCC Senior Adult Dining

Program, catered by Tiffany’s Catering Company at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center, offers kosher lunches served Monday-Friday at noon. Reservations are required by noon on the previous business day and there is a suggested contribution per meal. The menu is subject to change. The program is funded by a grant from the Onondaga County Department of Aging and Youth and the New York State Office for the Aging, with additional funds provided by the JCC and United Way of Central New York. To attend, one need not be Jewish or a member of the JCC. For more information or to make a reservation, contact Leesa Paul at 445-2360, ext. 104, or lpaul@jccsyr.org.

Jerry Silverman: Not just talk when Federations meet in Israel for G.A. The conference, Rosenblatt wrote, was “a By Uriel Heilman microcosm of its parent body, the Jewish FederaNEW YORK (JTA) – This time, it’s not going tions of North America: an impressive collection to be just talking. There’s going to be listening of committed, caring professional and lay people and debating – and, eventually, action. spread too thin and lacking in focus, and giving That’s what Jerry Silverman, CEO of the the impression of following rather than leading Jewish Federations of North America, says will at a critical juncture in Jewish life.” distinguish this year’s General Assembly, which In his interview with JTA, Silverman is slated for November 10-12 in Jerusalem, from acknowledged that recent assemblies have past G.A. conferences. “We have really changed the format of the Jerry Silverman, fallen short, particularly when it comes to G.A. to really create debate in varying forms,” CEO of the Jewish producing outcomes. “I don’t think we’ve done the best job of using Silverman told JTA. “It’s about really creating Federations of North the great debate and dialogue on the challenges America, at the 2012 the G.A.,” he said. “We’ve had wonderful disof our times.” General Assembly cussions but we haven’t concretized them. One The first showcase of the new approach came in Baltimore, MD. of the things we’re very committed to coming out of this G.A. within a very short time period on the afternoon before the conference’s formal (Photo by JFNA) is concretizing what we do, creating a call to opening, when some 250 young adults convened action around certain areas.” for a “shuk” (Hebrew for marketplace) to debate and See “G.A.” on page 10 contribute ideas to “tackle key challenges facing Jewish communities and Israel – according to the five themes on the main G.A. agenda.” The themes are Israel and philanthropy, Israel and world Jewry, Israel as incubator, Israel on the global stage, and Israel’s civil society. “We don’t know what they’re going to say,” Silverman said. “They’re young people who have varying opinions, both through them or their friends who are less affiliated and whatnot. The idea is to hear.” Silverman’s pledge for a G.A. make-over this year follows efforts in the past few years to open up conference planning to input from individual Federations and outside groups. But such efforts have failed to win over critics, including some Federation executives and observers, who say the G.A. has been declining in excitement and importance. Following last year’s conference in Baltimore, the editor and publisher of The New York Jewish Week, Gary Rosenblatt, wrote a column calling for a “radical rethinking” of the G.A. to “reverse its slow slide toward irrelevance.”

JEWISH OBSERVER

Florida reunion

The fifth Syracuse reunion for Florida residents and snowbirds will be held on Sunday, February 23, from 11 am-3 pm, at the South Florida Civic Center on Jog Road in Delray Beach. There will be a modest charge to attend. All proceeds will go to the Syracuse Cemeteries Association. Participants should bring their own food and drinks. For more information, contact Barbara Naditch at 561865-1253, barbaranaditch@gmail.com or 7075 Vivaldi Ln., Delray Beach, FL 33446; or Sandy Diamond at 561-638-8114, sanshel23@att.net or 7620A Lexington Club Blvd., Delray Beach, FL 33446.

Keep up with community news

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ november 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774

congregational notes Congregation Beth SholomChevra Shas Z’MIRAH Shabbat The Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas sanctuary will hold Z’mirah Shabbat, featuring prayerful music, on Friday, November 15, at 6 pm. Cantor Robert Lieberman will lead services, accompanied by Jonathan Dinkin on piano and Mark Wolfe on drums. Those in attendance will be encouraged to participate in the davening. Z’mirah Shabbat is the term used by CBS-CS to designate a service that includes musical instruments. Lieberman has served as a pulpit cantor since his graduation from and accreditation by the Jewish Theological Seminary Cantorial School in 1987, and has appeared locally in various musical venues. Dinkin has composed numerous songs and also arranged liturgical music. Wolfe is a member of the local Keyna Hora Klezmer band. For more information, contact the CBS-CS office at 446-9570 or office@ cbscs.org. Family activities Several family-centered activities will be held from Friday-Sunday, November 15-17, at Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas. They will include Kids Sharing Shabbat, a family service and a Family Fun Day at the Museum of Science and Technology. There will also be a pajama Havdalah for young families. Kids Sharing Shabbat will be held on Friday, November 15, at 5:30 pm, and will be a way for young families with children younger than third grade to celebrate Shabbat as a family and community. The event will include prayers, songs, stories, challah and a kiddush, all geared for the youngest children. The CBS-CS monthly family service geared for children will be held on Saturday, November 16, at 10:30 am, for pre-kindergarten-fourth grade, their parents and siblings. A special siddur will be used for the service, which will include songs and stories. Families will be encouraged to stay for kiddush with the entire congregation. CBS-CS families will visit the MOST on Sunday, November 17, from 1:45-4 pm, for an afternoon of “discovery and learning.” In addition to all of the exhibits, the group will have a private room available for socializing and a snack. Later in the afternoon, participating teenagers will attend an IMAX movie. There will be a charge for entrance to the museum and the IMAX movie. For more information or to make a reservation,

contact Ora Jezer at orjezer@gmail.com. The first pajama Havdalah of the program year will be held on Saturday, November 23, at 5:45 pm. The program will be for families with the youngest children. Children and parents have been encouraged to attend wearing pajamas for Havdalah, stories, songs, a light dinner and a craft activity. For more information about these events, contact Julie Tornberg at director@cbscs. org or 701-2685. CBS-CS Sisterhood The CBS-CS Sisterhood will continue its expanded array of programming on Saturday, November 16, at 7 pm, when all CBS-CS women will be invited to the social hall. After Havdalah, participants will watch the movie “The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler,” based on the Polish social worker who smuggled nearly 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. Refreshments will include popcorn and drinks. The program was planned by the Z’havah group within the CBS-CS Sisterhood. The group works to engage women under age 50 in Sisterhood, as well as in the life of the congregation. CBS-CS Sisterhood will continue its biweekly walks around Green Lakes, with the next meeting on Tuesday, November 19, at 10 am, at the Green Lakes Boathouse. For more information, contact the CBS-CS office at 446-9570 or office@ cbscs.org. Thanksgiving celebration with Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church CBS-CS and its neighbors at Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church will continue their tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving together on Sunday, November 24, from 4-6 pm. This year will feature an expanded social action component. Due to Thanksgiving and Chanukah coinciding, CBS-CS Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone and Reverend Peter Shidemantle have chosen “Miracles” as the theme for this year’s celebration. The program will look to both traditions to help participants “rethink how they define miracles and hopefully expand everyone’s appreciation for everyday miracles.” The joint celebration will begin in the CBS-CS sanctuary and feature an adult choir of members from both congregations. Afterward, there will be refreshments and music by the Keyna Hora Klezmer band. Participants at the program will make See “CBS-CS” on page 9

Temple Adath Yeshurun

Temple Adath Yeshurun Hazak members attended the group’s annual paid-up membership luncheon on October 20. The Little Jazz Trio provided musical entertainment and attendees sang “Happy Birthday” to Marilyn Steinberg, who celebrated her birthday that day. Sitting (l-r): Rita Shapiro, Esther Hurwitz and Steinberg. Standing: Hannah Groskin, Shirley Small, Cindy Goldstein and Nancy Holstein.

Temple Adath Yeshurun’s pre-kindergarten and kindergarten class recently learned about Shabbat. L-r: Dean Bratslavsky, Ari Gnacik, Leo Charlamb and teacher Laurie Horowitz.

Temple Concord Seasoned Citizens The Temple Concord Seasoned Citizens seniors group will meet at The Oaks on Tuesday, November 19, at 2 pm, to listen to a representative of the New York State Attorney General’s Office who will speak about scams, particularly those targeting senior citizens. Janis Martin, the Seasoned Citizens coordinator, said, “This topic is very timely and it is important information that our senior citizens should hear.” The event will be free and open to the public. Cinemagogue Temple Concord’s film series will continue on Saturday, November 23, at 7 pm, with a cinematic double feature, “Everything is Illuminated” and “West Bank Story.” The first film is the screen adaption of the novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer. The main character is a young Jewish American, Jonathan (Elijah Wood), who collects memorabilia from his own family. He is fascinated by a woman he has never met because she saved his grandfather during World War II when his home village was destroyed by the Nazis. With only a photo and city name for clues, Jonathan travels to Ukraine to look for her. His search brings him into contact with various characters, including someone from the past who helps him understand everything in his present.

The second film is a 22-minute musical comedy, “West Bank Story.” An Israeli soldier and a Palestinian food stand cashier fall in love. However, their families each own a falafel stand in the West Bank and the two restaurants are competitors. The film is a parody of “West Side Story,” an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet.” The picture has won various awards at many film festivals around the world and an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 2007. Concessions will be available. The films will be free, although donations will be appreciated. Chanukah Dinner By Stephanie Marshall Temple Concord will celebrate Chanukah “deli style” this year on Friday, November 29, at 6 pm, followed by Shabbat services at 7:30 pm. Dinner coordinator Judith Stander said, “Thanksgivukkah will be an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime celebration on Thursday. Only an outstanding New York-style latkes and deli dinner on Friday could continue the joint celebration of Chanukah and Shabbat.” This year’s menu will include latkes to go with the deli meat. Reservations are required by Thursday, November 21. To make a reservation or for more information, contact the TC office at 475-9952. See “TC” on page 5

NOVEMBER 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774 ■

Defensive driving course at The Oaks The Oaks will offer a defensive driving course through AAA auto insurance at a discounted rate on Tuesday and Thursday, December 3 and 5, from 6-9 pm, in the social center of the residence. At the completion of the six-hour course, participants will receive a certificate

to mail to their insurance company for a three-year discount on their car insurance. The course will be open to the public and reservations are required by Monday, November 25. To make a reservation, call the Oaks at 449-3309.

Liberal groups praise ENDA passage By JTA staff WASHINGTON (JTA) – An array of liberal Jewish groups lauded the U.S. Senate for passing a bill that would extend federal anti-discrimination protections to gays. “Today’s bipartisan Senate passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is an overdue and historic accomplishment in our nation’s effort to end workplace discrimination for the LGBT community,” Rabbi David Saperstein, the director of the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, said on November 8. “ENDA will extend federal workplace protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, who deserve to be judged on the merits of their work, not on whom they love,” said Saperstein, who has for years been among those leading advocacy for such a bill. The bill was passed 64-32, with the support of all 55 senators in the Democratic caucus and nine Republicans. Also praising its passage were the National Council of Jewish Women, the AntiDefamation League, B’nai B’rith International, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the American Jewish Committee.

TC After School program The second after school program of the year, which will be about Chanukah, will be held on Sunday, November 24, at noon. Following lunch, participants will celebrate with eight group games and individual contests, each featuring a Chanukah theme. Among the activities will be an obstacle course, a latke-flipping contest and a race to light the chanukiah. The TC religious school holds four after school programs during the year for parents and students. Katan-Con Some of the youngest TC members will make Chanukah candles in Katan-Con, a social group for families with children, from toddlers-first grade, on Sunday, November 24, at 3 pm. Last year’s event resulted in each family

Expressing concern about the passage was Agudath Israel of America, saying its final version “fails to adequately take into account the rights of religious entities.” Agudath Israel, an umbrella for haredi Orthodox groups, noted that the bill has a religious exemption, but said “it is not clear which religious entities or activities come within its parameters.” Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who voted in favor of the final version, had offered an amendment that would have extended protections to religiously affiliated private businesses, but proponents of the bill kept it from being included, saying the loophole could ultimately exempt virtually any business. The Orthodox Union, another Orthodox group, did not release a statement. But when asked, its Washington director, Nathan Diament, singled out for praise Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) for inserting into the bill bans on government retaliation against organizations that seek religious exemptions. The bill now goes to the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives. Leaders there have suggested they will not bring it to a vote.

JEWISH OBSERVER

Community synagogue youth events By Kathy Scott Local synagogue youth met on October 19 at Abbott Farms in Baldwinsville for an outdoor program in the corn maze after dark. The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse provided the transportation to the farm. Youth from fifth-12th grade were invited to attend the community synagogue event, and 26 youths attended. The Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse Director of Children and Teen Services Amy Bisnett, who helped organize the event, said, “In spite of the less-than-optimal weather conditions, the spirit and energy of the youth that attended were positive. These gatherings are an opportunity for our young to build relationships with other youth in our community.”

Among the upcoming youth events is a middle school bounce for children in fiftheighth grade on Saturday, December 14, from 7:30-10 pm, at the JCC. The evening will feature an inflatable moon bounce, Ga-ga, a movie and snacks. The JCC will hold its 13th annual Battle of the Bands for students in seventh-12th grade on Saturday, January 18, from 7:30 pm-midnight, at the SPOT in ShoppingTown Mall. For students in fifth-12th grade, there will be a mystery bus community event on Saturday, March 1, at a time to be announced. High school participants will travel by limousine to an unknown destination. For more information, contact a synagogue youth advisor, the JCC or the SPOT at 445-2360.

Menorah Park gift shop At right, l-r: Menorah Park gift shop manager Janis Martin and volunteer Rita Shapiro posed together. The shop is open to the public on Thursdays from 2-5 pm and Fridays from 10 amnoon and 1-3 pm.

Continued from page 4 making a set of beeswax candles in time for Chanukah. Registration will be required and may be made by contacting event organizers Aaron and Amy Spitzer at judahs_dad@ twcny.rr.com.

Modern Hebrew Class Temple Concord and Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas are jointly offering adult Hebrew classes this year. Beginning and intermediate Hebrew classes are being held at CBS-CS. A modern Hebrew class will be offered at Temple Concord on Fridays from 9-10 am. The first class was held on November 8. The classes will run through February 28, with no class on November 29 or December 27. There is a fee to participate. To sign up or for more information, contact Stephanie Marshall at dcl@ templeconcord.org or 475-9952.

ÊVisit the JO online at http://jewishfederationcny.org and click on Jewish Observer

JEWISH OBSERVER ■ november 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774

Norwich Jewish Center

By James Fertig James Fertig is the son of two Holocaust survivors. He graduated from Lehigh as an electrical engineer and worked briefly in that field. Eventually, he attended the Syracuse University College of Law and settled in Norwich. He is on the Board of Directors and is a trustee of the Norwich Jewish Center. In April 2008, Norwich had a small Jewish community – maybe 40 people – attending services monthly, but they

observed the holidays communally. The local community organized about 100 years ago. A centennial celebration will be held in 2014. The community grew to a large degree as a result of events in Europe in the ‘30s and ‘40s, to the extent that a full-time rabbi lived in Norwich. There was a Hebrew school and services were conducted weekly. The community bought the Eaton Mansion, which was architecturally rendered by a Syracuse firm and is now on the national register of

At left: The Norwich Jewish Center was vandalized in 2008, including this d e s t ro y e d s a n c t u a r y entrance.

At left: The sanctuary entrance has been restored.

Syracuse Jewish Cemeteries Association (SJCA) Appeal for the Continuing Repair of the SJCA-Administered Cemeteries Anonymous $17,805 Elaine Abrams $36 Esther Adelson $118 Mark Adler $360 Richard and Maxine Alderman $50 Ellen Andrews $25 Sidney and Shirley Ashkin $54 George and Miriam Barrows $118 Peter and Barbara Baum $54 Helene and Gary Becker $36 Stanley Becker $36 William and Phyllis Berinstein $500 Bruce and Gail Berlin $18 Christopher Skeval and Carrie Berse $36 Shirley Berson $18 Ivy Besdin $118 Bet Havarim $641 Birnbaum Funeral Service $250 Martin and Ethel Black $54 Miriam Bladen $35 Audrey Branse $18 Dr. and Mrs. James Brodsky $118 Steven and Lynn Bronstein $118 Suggie Brumberger $54 Robert Buck $10 Jeanette Buff $20 Toby Stove Cannon $36 Gary and Bonnie Carney $360 Jayne and Larry Charlamb $118 Jack and Marcia Cohen $118 Stuart Cohen $300 Loren Cohn $118 Judie Rice in memory of the Cynkus Family $54 Barbara and Leslie Davis $36 Gary and Arlene Davis $118 Arthur Diamond $54 Dolores Diamond $18 Jonathan and Aveeya Dinkin $360 Lewis and Elaine Dubroff $250 Kevin Dushay $200 Jane Elkin $18 Lawrence Ellison $100 Margret Ksander and Richard Ellison $54 Robert Ellison $36 Mark and Marci Erlebacher $118 Iris Evans $36 Betty Feinberg $36 Florence Feldman $54 Sarah Feldman $54 Melissa and Rabbi Daniel Fellman $100

Contributions received as of November 8, 2013

Mark and Sue Field $54 Robert Finkelstein $36 Harley and Nadzieja Finkelstein $118 Sandra Rappaport Fiske and Jordan Fiske $36 Roberta Flatlow $300 Evelyn Fox $18 Heidi and David Francey $118 Judith Franklin $360 Howard Friedman $118 Pauline Friedman $36 Linda Fuhrman $36 Boris and Yelena Geyfman $36 Victor and Harlene Gilels $36 Rosalind Gingold $54 Sandra K. Gingold $360 Seymour and Anne Ginsburg $10 Victor and Carol Ginsky $118 Lois Goldberg $360 Norma Goldberg $118 Ellen Golden $36 Marvin Goldenberg $500 Harry Goldman $54 Michael and Wendy Evers Gordon Dr. David Grass $54 Asher and Joanne Greenhouse $36 Hannah Groskin $36 Norma Groskin $54 Sylvia Groskin $20 In memory of David and Irving Hammer $118 Victor and Celaine Hershdorfer $300 Carol Davis Hershman $118 Yaacov and Sharon Glazier Hochstein $54 Alex and Chuckie Holstein $360 Nancy Holstein $18 Sanford and Marlene Holstein $36 Sara Isgur $18 Rene Isserlis $118 Harriet Jachles $54 Jewish Federation of CNY $10,000 Rhea and Rabbi Daniel Jezer $100 Lee and Lori, and Rose Kalin/Franklin $270 Sheldon and Mateele Kall $1,000 Gertrude Kamp $108 Ronnie Katzowitz $18 Ronald Kavanagh $36 Louise Koppelman $36 Tess and Allen Kosoff $118 David and Betty Kravetz $18

In memory of Paul Kussner $36 Judy Laffer $36 Bill and Lois Lakehomer $36 Adrienne LeBlang $118 Elliott Lessen $118 Benjamin and Susan Levine $360 Mark and Jeannette Levinsohn $36 Marilyn Levy $54 Larry Liberman $25 Gabrielle and Keith Linzer $36 Marilyn Lipsy $36 Robin and Bud London $500 Ronald and Heidi Lowenstein $360 Jay Lurie $54 Elinor Lynne $36 Howard and Margo Lynne $36 Jack Lyon $118 Bobbi and Cliff Malzman $36 Arnold and Marilyn Manheim $118 Martin and Ruth Mann $100 Stan and Helen Marcum $36 David and Julia Hafftka Marshall $54 Shush Martin $36 Peter and Nancy Matlow $100 Meryl Novor-Meadvin and Michael Meadvin $118 Regina Meadvin $54 Michael and Sandra Meltzer $36 Stephen and Elaine Meltzer $118 Herb and Ilene Mendel $100 Judi and Larry Metzger $36 Daniel Miller $36 Robert and Carole Millstein $36 Randie Mosenthal $18 Michael and Joy Moss $118 Judith Palmer $118 Rabbi Andrew and Cantor Paula Pepperstone $100 Eileen Phillips $500 Todd and Sarah Pinsky $500 Marilyn Pinsky $118 Stephanie Pinsky $118 Lynn Raichelson $100 Joseph and Dale Roth $36 Sandra and Eli Roth $36 David and Susan Rothenberg $180 Larry Rothenberg $118 Ada Rothschild $36 Ellen Rothschild $118 Mel and Madeline Rubenstein $54

Bobbie Rudolph $36 Richard Rudolph $36 Selma Schlessinger $54 Sharon Schloss $54 In memory of Elaine Schwartz $118 Sandra and Phillip Schwartz $54 Steven and Laurie Segal $54 Connie and Larry Semel $360 Bertram C. Serling $36 Barbara Shapiro $54 Marla and Steve Share $36 Michael and Amy Shaw $36 Leah and Rabbi Charles Sherman $100 Melvyn Shindler $360 Deborah and Rabbi Evan Shore $100 Bette and Don Siegel $36 David and Lisa Silverman $118 Robert and Harriet Silverman $54 Paul Silverstein $136 David and Barbara Simon $54 Shirley Sims $360 Steven and Robin Sisskind $500 Malcolm and Sandra Smith $36 Sally Sokolsky $54 Murray and Carole Solomon $25 Estate of Avron Spector $10,000 Seymour Spevak $54 Judith Stander $36 Arthur and Dorothy Steinberg $36 Carol and Peter Steinberg Yaffe $54 Richard and Pamela Strauss $36 Barbara Sutton $36 Jeffrey Swartz $118 Syracuse Jewish Children’s Foundation $1,000 Reva Tankle $118 Sandy and Delia Temes $108 Peter and Sandra Townsend $54 Louis Orbach and Anastasia Urtz $54 Geta Vogel $118 Steve and Fran Volinsky $100 Irving Wagner $54 Larry and Lynn Wallace $118 Ruth Wandner $36 Anita and Howard Weinberger $100 Allan Weinreb $54 Richard Wilkins $36 Roslyn Wilkins $36 Milton and Shir-Lee Ziegler $54 Sandra Ziegler $100 Marsha and Aaron Zimmerman $100

historic places. However, as in so many cases, as the community aged, the children were drawn to cities and other locations. As a consequence, the community again became small, but the membership was still devoted to it. In April 2008, three teenagers broke into the building and destroyed everything that was made of glass – regular, leaded and stained – damaged many doorways and staircases, as well as religious items and furniture. Many people believed the community would not recover. The situation was complicated by insufficient insurance and the need for an entirely new roof and heating system. At first, services were held in a local church, and then for several years, back in the center, but within view of all the broken bookcases, doors, windows, staircases and banisters, as well as the missing stained and leaded glass. A Keck glass collection was largely damaged. Henry Keck was a well-known Syracuse glassmaker and artist trained in the Tiffany tradition in the early 1900s. The damaged collection was visible at all times as the Center use continued. Without the funds to repair available locally, a few colleges and universities were approached to see if their arts students might want to undertake repair of the glass as a learning experience and possibly as part of their curriculum. A letter was sent explaining what had transpired to thenSyracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor. She was said to have been “moved” by what she read, and passed the request to Harvey Teres, professor and then head of the SU Judaic Studies Program. He traveled to Norwich to see the damage first-hand and what remnants remained – and he brought a master glass artisan, John Dobbs, of Fayetteville, who was said to have been “moved to tears” as he saw the turn-of-the-century glasswork destroyed. Teres was similarly affected. The three boys – all under 16 – faced justice in Family Court, as a decision had been made not to classify the destruction as a hate crime, notwithstanding that the boys had written inflammatory racist and antisemitic slogans on a black board in the upstairs school. When Cantor heard what had transpired, she seeded the restoration effort by pledging $25,000 from her discretionary fund, if the Center could match it. A massive effort was made to raise funds from former members and their families, Jewish communities in Syracuse, Binghamton and elsewhere, as well as businesses near and far. Solicitations were made throughout Chenango County since the destruction affected not only the Jewish Center, but the Eaton Home, an icon in the development of Norwich, since the Eatons had propelled Norwich Pharmaceuticals as a major industry and employer in the area. Foundations in Syracuse, Binghamton and Norwich rose to the occasion, as many felt “the story and injustice spoke for itself.” SU also held a fund-raiser in Norwich for the Center, continuing to show its involvement in many local communities through Scholarship in Action. In addition, SU permitted donations to be made through its website. It took five years, but funds sufficient to bring the Center back to a functional state were raised. Five years were required to repair the delicate leaded and stained glass, and repair or replace the damaged woodwork. The Keck Glass Collection is still under repair. Close to 150 people attended a Dedication of the Restoration held on October 6. The event marked a time to remember how institutions, people and organizations responded – and to be thankful. It was also an occasion to remember how others had not responded so well, perhaps in antisemitic ways. The Jewish Center of Norwich now looks to the future, expecting to “sustain, improve and maintain” the former Eaton Mansion as a home to the local Jewish community, and as “an icon in Norwich that it had once been.” The Center continues to raise funds for the building restoration effort. The hope is to make the structure “as magnificent as it once was.” Readers in the Syracuse Jewish community should know that their response far exceeded that of many other communities outside of Norwich. Donations can be mailed to the Norwich Jewish Center Restoration Project, 72 S. Broad St., Norwich, NY 13815.

For more information or to make a donation, contact Bill Berinstein at 472-6341 or williamberinstein@hotmail.com

Yes, I want to support the SJCA and help preserve these sacred spaces by making a donation today. Enclosed is our tax-deductible contribution to the SJCA: ¨ $36 ¨ $54 ¨ $118 ¨ $360 ¨ $500 ¨ $1,000 ¨ $5,000 ¨ $ OTHER Name:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Email:__________________________________________________________________ ¨ Mark here if you want your contribution to remain anonymous and do not want your name and donation to appear in The Jewish Observer of Central New York. * Your personal information will not be distributed to third parties for marketing purposes.

Please mail to: Syracuse Jewish Cemeteries Association, Inc., PO Box 741, DeWitt, NY 13214

The destroyed landing was seen in 2008. Plywood held the stained glass together, and virtually all of the glass in the building was destroyed.

NOVEMBER 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774 ■

JEWISH OBSERVER

To Brighten the Festival of Lights

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ november 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774

When privacy is an issue age that can be caused by privacy violations, they recommended that one limit privacy settings when using any type of social media. They also cautioned that the terms of service with each site are constantly changing, so Pepperstone noted, “Subscribers would be wise to revisit their settings often.” The program concluded with a questionand-answer session. The event was made possible through the help of table and community sponsors. Next year’s event will be held on Wednesday, October 29.

By Nick Finlayson The fourth Sisterhood Symposium was held on October 23 in the Anne and Hy Miller Auditorium at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse. The audience of 130 women and guests dined on a dinner provided and served by Tiffany’s Catering. While attendees ate dinner, there was a fashion walk coordinated by Melissa James Boutique, of Fayetteville. This year’s theme of “Friendship, Privacy and Freedom: Social Media and Relationships on the Internet” included

speakers Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone of Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas and Jasmine E. McNealy, J.D., Ph.D., of the University of Kentucky. The topics discussed included what the speakers considered a common struggle with social media, the question of privacy. The speakers addressed questions such as whether companies such as Google and Facebook have a right to play “big brother” to view, use, sell and interpret subscribers’ information however they choose, and who takes ownership of what happens on the

site. Pepperstone spoke about the derivatives of social media, while paralleling the legality with references to Torah and Torah commentary. McNealy also talked about the realities of what exists, while discussing how present day law interprets social media and how it needs to be constantly updated with legislation and the First Amendment. Both speakers’ interpretations were considered to be in close alignment, and both Pepperstone and McNealy told anecdotes where privacy violations raised significant issues. In order to minimize the actual dam-

L-r: Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community of Syracuse Executive Director Marci Erlebacher and event coordinator Nancy Belkowitz introduced the speaker at the 2013 Sisterhood Symposium held at the JCC on October 23.

L-r: Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone, of Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, and Jasmine E. McNealy, J.D., Ph.D., of the University of Kentucky, spoke on the issue of Internet privacy.

The 2013 Sisterhood Symposium drew an attendance of 130 people.

Ljuba Davis Ensemble bringing life to growing Ladino music scene By Talia Lavin NEW YORK (JTA) – Avraham Pengas, a veteran bouzouki player, says few Ashkenazic musicians can make Sephardic music come alive. Ljuba Davis, he says, is “absolutely” one of them. Davis (her first name is pronounced LYOO-bah) is the lead singer of the Ljuba Davis Ladino Ensemble, a group that performs Ladino and Sephardic music. The group features an oud (a lute of Middle East

origin), the bouzouki (a Greek four-stringed instrument), classical Spanish guitar and lively percussion. Its musicians are equally diverse. Pengas, 60, was born in Athens, Greece. Nadav Lev, the guitarist, grew up on a kibbutz in Israel. Percussionist Osama Farouk hails from Egypt. And oud player Rachid Halihal grew up in Morocco. The ensemble’s diversity reflects the nature of the Ladino language,

At right: Ljuba Davis presides over an ensemble of diverse musicians performing music in Ladino.

See “Music” on page 14

C H A N U K A H Greetings

Once again this year, The Jewish Observer is inviting its readers and local organizations to extend Chanukah greetings to the community by purchasing a Chanukah greeting ad, which will appear in our November 28 issue (Deadline: Nov. 19). Chanukah begins this year on the evening of Nov. 27. You may choose from the designs, messages and sizes shown here - more are available. You may also choose your own message, as long as it fits into the space of the greeting you select. (Custom designs available upon request.) The price of the small greeting is $18 (styles B & E), the medium one is $36 (styles D & F) and the largest one (not shown) is $68 (actual size is 2 col. x 4”). To ensure that your greeting is published, please contact Bonnie Rozen at 1-800-779-7896, ext. 244 or bonnie@thereportergroup.org. Checks can be made payable to The Reporter Group and sent to: The Jewish Observer of CNY, 500 Clubhouse Rd., Vestal, NY 13850.

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JEWISH OBSERVER

Oaks mitzvah project

L-r: Jan Edwards, Owen Shapiro, Oaks resident Muriel Shapiro and (in the background) The Oaks’ marketing director, Beth Beach, supported The Oaks’ October mitzvah project. Oaks residents (l-r) Helen Sheppard, Sylvia Gilman and others participated in the Oaks at Menorah Park’s October mitzvah project, which made chocolate chip cookies for Sarah House, a provider of lodging for patients and families of patients seeking medical care outside of their own community. It is the only residence of its kind in the Syracuse area. Other Oaks residents involved with the project included Hadassah Fendius, Judy Cramer, Ethyl Fullenbaum, Jane Rodefeld, Marilyn Nord and Roz Gingold.

CBS-CS

Continued from page 4 bag lunches for the Samaritan Center again, but there will be a couple of differences this year. The bags will be made of durable cloth, and will include more snacks, adhesive bandages and sunglasses, along with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit. Both congregations are working with their religious schools to bring all of the supplies to make the bag lunches. Donations toward the project, either in the form of specific items or gift cards to local grocery stores, will be appreciated. To make a donation or for more information, contact Julie Tornberg, director of youth and education, at director@cbscs.org or 701-2685.

L-r: Beth and Irwin Goldberg, with Tom Reitano on the piano, helped out at the Oaks.

Museum on Belgian shipping line stirs debate on Holocaust history By Cnaan Liphshiz ANTWERP, Belgium (JTA) – With the confidence befitting a septuagenarian grandmother, Ellen BledsoeRodriguez briskly leads her family past the beer stalls and DJs that dot the Flemish capital’s historic port on sunny autumn days. Bledsoe-Rodriguez is uninterested in such diversions. She and nine of her relatives had traveled 5,600 miles from California for the recent opening of a museum devoted to the Red Star Line, the maritime travel company that nearly a century ago transported her mother and two million others from war-torn Europe to Ellis Island. “I knew this would be an emotional experience, but I underestimated how emotional it would be,” Bledsoe-Rodriguez told JTA while retracing her mother’s footsteps into the red-brick terminal she had passed through in 1921 as a third-class passenger from Russia, fleeing the pogroms and persecution that preceded the near annihilation of European Jewry.

At right: Ellen Bledsoe-Rodriguez near a marker on September 29 honoring her mother, Basia Cohen, one of the many Jews who fled Europe on a Red Star Line vessel. (Photo by Cnaan Liphshiz)

See “Museum” on page 12

Holiday toy shopping tips (NAPSI) – Getting that perfect holiday toy can be easier said you’ll give yourself more time to enjoy the holiday, focus on than done. By dedicating some time in advance, you can buy selecting just the right items and not miss some of the popular toys that are meaningful, but also provide added play experiences toys sure to fly off shelves. To understand more about a toy’s for months to come. Jim Silver, toy expert and editor-in-chief of function and appropriateness, visit its manufacturer’s website. TimetoPlayMag.com, says that having a variety of toys helps children use different play skills and styles. To make your holiday toy shopping easier, here are a few tips to consider: 1. Think long-term: Some toys are all about the “wow and now” and are likely to be tossed aside once the novelty wears off. To extend the play span of toys, look for items that have play extensions beyond the box. This can include accessories that add on to the main toy, online content that adds to the storytelling, or multipurpose toys that add value. 2. Set your budget: Decide whether you want to buy one big, impressive gift or several moderately priced gifts. If you have children of similar ages, consider if a single, costly gift can be shared. Shared playtime makes for great childhood memories while encouraging cooperation. With millions of households owning iPads, toys that are integrated with iPad apps can be an affordable way to encourage family play and leverage the household’s existing tablet. 3. Balance is key: It’s important when selecting a toy to take into consideration the age of the child for whom you are purchasing it. Add variety by giving some BRACELETS high-tech toys complemented by • Facials • Massage basic toys, such as dolls and cars. • Permanent Make-up The ability for kids to role-play • Manicures/Pedicures • Gift Certiﬁcates • And more! and create their own stories with toys and play sets should not be underestimated. Allowing kids to generate their own stories helps foster creativity and imagination. 4. Start early: If you can make 7237 Highbridge Rd., Fayetteville, NY 13066 your shopping list early and buy 315-637-4741 a few key gifts ahead of the rush,

Hanukkah just got a little easier!

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ november 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774

For Thanksgivukkah celebrations, planning and simplicity lighten the load

By Helen Nash NEW YORK (JTA) – The phenomenon this year of Chanukah and Thanksgiving coinciding could mean even larger family gatherings than usual. So here are some tips: Plan the menus well ahead of the special celebration, and pick recipes that are easy to follow and make them well in advance. This way, cooks can enjoy their company. Have a few appetizers available as guests arrive and dinner isn’t ready. One of my favorites is hummus, which I like to serve with cucumbers, radishes, bell peppers and toasted pita triangles. My recipe uses canned chickpeas, which makes it easy to prepare and is a huge time-saver. Hummus can also keep in the refrigerator for awhile, so it can be prepared toward the beginning of the week. I like to start my holiday gatherings with soup, and for Chanukah-Thanksgiving I suggest Barley Soup with Miso. It’s a delicious variation on the traditional mushroom barley that most of us know (and love) from childhood. This recipe is vegetarian, it’s a perfect fall dish and can be made ahead of time because it freezes well. What would Thanksgiving be without turkey? And Chanukah without latkes? My roast turkey is surprisingly easy to make. For Chanukah, I like to make a Grated Potato Pancake, which is ideal when you are expecting many guests. (For another potato recipe, try the baked latkes dish in my latest cookbook, “Helen Nash’s New Kosher Cuisine.”) Another holiday favorite for the holidays is Osso Buco (Braised Veal Shanks); make it ahead of time. To end the festive meal for this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, I recommend everyone’s favorite – brownies. The fudgy treats can be cut into any size or shape. They freeze well and can be served with sorbet or fruit. Hummus Makes about 10 servings as an hors d’oeuvre or dip Makes 6 appetizer servings My family and friends always love this creamy dish, which can be found all over the world. Since hummus refrigerates well, I try to keep it on hand as a nutritious snack for my children and grandchildren. The canned chickpeas make this version less garlicky than the norm because the garlic is baked first. 8 unpeeled garlic cloves One 15.5-ounce can Goya chickpeas, drained 3 Tbsp. tahini (sesame paste) ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tsp. kosher salt ¼ tsp. ground cumin 1 /3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cold water Wrap the garlic tightly in a piece of foil. Bake in a toaster oven at 350° for 15 minutes, or until soft. Remove and let cool until you can handle the cloves. Squeeze the pulp from each clove into a food processor.

G.A.

One of the top priority areas, he said, will be what to do about the findings of the recent Pew Research Center’s survey of U.S. Jewry, which has alarmed many community leaders. The survey paints a portrait of a rapidly assimilating American Jewish community, particularly among young people. Silverman said initially that he wasn’t planning to add discussion of the Pew survey to the G.A., but he later shifted course. Now, he said, the plan is for everyone from Federation presidents and executives on down to debate and discuss the Pew survey, and to follow up on the discussions with concrete action – task forces, working groups, pilot programs. “There are going to be real actions that will be taken post-G.A. from this,” Silverman said. Most of the conference will be devoted to Israel, as is typical for the conferences held in Israel (the G.A. location rotates annually and is held every five years in Jerusalem). Speakers will include Israel’s prime minister and president, government ministers, Jerusalem’s mayor, and CEOs of such Israeli companies as SodaStream and El Al. More than 2,500 people, including Israelis, are expected to attend. Some of the Americans will be coming early for Federation “missions” to Israel. Nearly all the speakers will be squeezed into a single day at the conference. Though the G.A. is billed as a three-day affair, the conference part really was just one full day of sessions, on November 11, preceded by an opening plenary the evening before. On November 12, instead of sessions at the Jerusalem convention center, G.A. participants were dispatched to locations throughout the city for Jewish learning experiences. Sites included the Shalom Hartman Institute, the Schechter Institute and Hebrew Union College. Afterward, they visited partner programs in Jerusalem that receive federation support. Later in the day, following

Add the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, salt and cumin. Pulse until smooth, adding water through the feed tube until the mixture is creamy and has a mayonnaise-like consistency. Season to taste. Barley Soup with Miso Makes 12 servings The addition of miso adds a delicate Asian flavor; the bright green dill, a nice jolt of color. 2 medium onions 3 garlic cloves 4 celery stalks, peeled 4 medium carrots, peeled 1 lb. white mushrooms 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil ½ cup medium pearl barley 8 cups vegetable broth 1 bunch fresh dill 2 Tbsp. barley miso paste (You can buy barley miso in most health-food stores.) Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper It is easy to chop the vegetables in a food processor. Quarter the onions and garlic, and pulse in the food processor until coarse; remove to a bowl. Cut the celery and carrots into large pieces. Pulse them separately until coarse, and add to the onions and garlic. Wipe the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and cut them in quarters. Pulse until coarse and set aside. (If you chop everything together, the vegetables will become mushy.) Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Saute the onions, garlic, celery and carrots for 1 minute. Add the barley and broth, and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the soup along with half the dill. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the barley is tender. Remove and discard the dill. Stir in the miso and season to taste with salt and pepper. Snip the remaining dill for garnish. Grated Potato Pancake Makes 12 servings This large pancake is fun to serve to a large gathering – you just cut it into cake-like wedges – and it’s not greasy. Another plus: You can prepare it ahead of time and reheat before serving. 4 large Idaho baking potatoes Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil Peel and quarter the potatoes. If you are not grating them immediately, place them in a bowl of cold water to prevent discoloration. Using the medium grating attachment of a food processor, grate the potatoes coarsely. Place in a dish towel and wring dry to remove the liquid. Transfer to a bowl. Season

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a stop at City Hall, conference-goers reconvened in Safra Square and walked together to the Western Wall, or Kotel, a walk called “heavy on symbolism.” The Federations have thrown their support behind the proposal to upgrade and expand the Robinson’s Arch area of the Western Wall for use by egalitarian and women’s prayer groups. There was a session featuring Women of the Wall, the liberal group that has challenged the status quo by holding women’s prayer quorums at the holy site, and Women for the Wall, the traditionalist group that has sought to thwart those ambitions and maintain the status quo there. The mass walk to the Western Wall, Silverman said, “is a show of Jewish unity to underscore the centrality of Jerusalem and that there is a place for all Jews at the Kotel.” The G.A. also covered the issue of civil marriage in Israel. Asked if the Jewish Federations intended to weigh in as it had done on the Western Wall controversy, Silverman said the immediate purpose of the session is to help American Jews understand the issue, which pits Israel’s Chief Rabbinate against Israelis who want more freedom about how, and whom, they can marry. One subject not slated for discussion at the G.A. was the Palestinian-Israeli conflict because the Federations, like the Israeli prime minister, are on the record supporting a two-state solution and negotiations are ongoing. Whatever happened at this G.A., next year could see a new CEO for the Jewish Federations. Silverman is in the last year of his five-year contract and no CEO in the 13year history of the Federation umbrella organization has lasted more than five years. Silverman said that’s not on his mind. “It’s one of those things that I don’t spend time on, that I don’t think about,” he said. “It’s not part of who I am culturally. I’ll sit with my board at some point and have a dialogue. Right now I’m trying to stay focused.”

well with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet. Add the potatoes, patting them down firmly with a spatula to flatten them and even out the edges. Cook over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, until the bottom is golden. Invert the pancake onto a plate and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet to heat. Slide the pancake back into the skillet. Pat it down again with the spatula and cook for another 8 minutes, or until the underside is golden. Invert onto a platter and cut into the desired number of slices. Roast Turkey Makes 12-14 servings You do not have to wait for Thanksgiving to serve this dish, as it is easy to make and quite tasty. I often serve it when I have many guests to feed. 14-lb. turkey 3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice 3 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce Freshly ground black pepper 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1 cup dry white wine 2 onions 5 sprigs rosemary 5 Tbsp. unsalted margarine, melted Preheat the oven to 325°. Discard any excess fat from the turkey. Rinse it inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Season the skin and the cavity with the lemon juice, soy sauce and pepper. Combine the orange juice and wine in a measuring cup with a spout. (This makes pouring easier.) Thinly slice one of the onions and set it aside. Cut the other onion in quarters and place it in the cavity along with the rosemary sprigs. Brush the turkey with the margarine and place it on its side in a roasting pan. Scatter the sliced onion around the pan. Roast the turkey for 30 minutes, basting with the orange juice-wine mixture. Turn the turkey on its other side and roast for another 30 minutes, continuing to baste. Turn the turkey breast side up and, continuing to baste, roast for 20 minutes. For the final 20 minutes, place the turkey breast side down. (If the drumsticks begin to get too brown, cover the ends with foil.) The turkey is ready when the drumsticks move easily in their sockets and the juices run clear. (The total cooking time is about 1 hour, 40 minutes, or about 7 minutes per pound.) A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast should read 160°. Remove the turkey from the oven and cover it tightly with heavy foil. Let it stand for 30 minutes. (This allows the juices to flow back into the tissues.) Place it on a cutting board. Pour the contents of the roasting pan into a small saucepan. Put the saucepan in the freezer for about 10 minutes, so the grease can quickly rise to the top. (This makes it easier to remove.) To serve: Skim off the fat and reheat the pan juices. Discard the onion and rosemary from the cavity and carve the turkey. Serve with the juices. Easy Brownies Makes 7 dozen 1-inch squares These fudgy bite-size brownies can be cut into any size. 16 Tbsp. unsalted margarine, at room temperature, plus 1 Tbsp. for greasing the pan 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus 1 Tbsp. for dusting the pan 5 ounces good-quality imported semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces Scant 1¾ cups sugar 4 large eggs, room temperature 1 tsp. vanilla extract Generous 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9x13x2-inch baking pan with wax paper. Grease the paper with 1 tablespoon of the margarine and dust it with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Invert and tap the pan to shake out the excess flour. Place the remaining margarine and the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Cover and set over simmering water. Stir from time to time until all is melted. Remove the top from the double boiler. Using a wooden spoon, gradually add the sugar, stirring continuously until the chocolate is smooth. Stir in 1 egg at a time until well mixed. Add the vanilla and flour and blend well. Stir in the chopped nuts. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, tilting the pan to spread the batter evenly. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is slightly firm to the touch and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out moist. Cool on a wire rack. Run a metal spatula around the sides of the pan to loosen the brownies. Invert the pan onto a board and cut into squares. Note: These brownies freeze well. Place them side by side in an air-tight plastic container, with wax paper between the layers.

NOVEMBER 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774 ■

JEWISH OBSERVER

The Slingshot effect: Do innovators reap rewards from annual list? By Julie Wiener NEW YORK (JTA) – The biblical David used a slingshot to kill Goliath, thus earning the attention of King Saul. Today, Jewish organizations are trying to use Slingshot, an annual guide of the 50 “most innovative organizations and projects,” to capture the attention of donors. The ninth installment of the guide was released in October. Launched in 2005 by a group of donors in their 20s and 30s, the guide evaluates North American Jewish organizations based on “their innovative approach, the impact they have in their work, the leadership they have in their sector, and their effectiveness at achieving results.” Inclusion in Slingshot offers “a stamp of recognition,” said Vivian Stadlin, co-director of Eden Village Camp, a 4-year-old overnight camp focused on environmental sustainability that has appeared in Slingshot for several

Campers at Eden Village Camp, one of 50 Jewish groups named in Slingshot’s 2013 guide to Jewish innovation.

consecutive years. “Even if a prospective parent doesn’t know about Slingshot, to be able to say we appear in the Slingshot list of 50 most innovative Jewish groups puts people at ease,” she added. “It gives the sense that they’re climbing aboard a winning ship.” Ed Case, CEO of InterfaithFamily, a website offering resources for interfaith families and one of the standard bearers, said making the Slingshot list offers a “heksher,” or seal of approval, “especially for new organizations getting started.” Whether Slingshot inclusion has a financial benefit is an open question. Guide inclusion does not come with any monetary reward, although those that make the list are eligible to receive grants through the Slingshot Fund. Case said his group has received grants from small foundations See “Slingshot” on page 14

Pew

Continued from page 1 than Jews generally. In addition, while past Jews say they always or usually light Sabbath candles, and Among the more notable findings of surveys showed about half of respondents about 22 percent reported keeping kosher at home. the Pew survey: While most of those surveyed by Pew said they felt a raised as Orthodox were no longer Ortho Overall, 22 percent of U.S. Jews dedox, the Orthodox retention rate appears to strong connection to Israel, and 23 percent reported having scribe themselves as having no religion, be improving, with just a 17 percent falloff visited the Jewish state more than once, the respondents and the survey finds they are much less expressed significant reservations about the current Israeli among 18- to 29-year-olds. connected to Jewish organizations and Most denominational switching government’s policies vis-a-vis the Palestinians. Forty-four much less likely to be raising their children among American Jews, however, remains percent said West Bank settlement construction hurts Israel’s Jewish. Broken down by age, 32 percent in the direction of less traditional Judaism. security interests, and only 17 percent said continued settleof Jews born after 1980 – the so-called millennial generation – identify as Jews A Pew survey of U.S. Jews In the Pew survey, 90 percent of those ment construction is helpful to Israeli security. Thirty-eight of no religion, compared to 19 percent of found soaring intermarriage who identified as Jews by religion and percent of respondents said the Israeli government is making baby boomers and just 7 percent of Jews and assimilation rates.(Photo by are raising children said they are raising a sincere peace effort with the Palestinians. Shutterstock) The Pew survey also asked respondents about what it them Jewish. By comparison, less than born before 1927. means to be Jewish, offering several options. The most popu Emotional attachment to Israel has held steady over the one-third of those who identified themselves as Jews of last decade, with 69 percent of respondents saying they feel no religion are raising their kids as Jewish. Among inmar- lar element was remembering the Holocaust at 73 percent, attached or very attached to Israel. Forty-three percent of ried Jews, 96 percent are raising their children as Jews by followed by leading an ethical life at 69 percent. Fifty-six religion (as opposed to ethnicity), compared to 45 percent percent cited working for justice and equality; 43 percent respondents said they had been to Israel. said caring about Israel; 42 percent said having a good sense among intermarried Jews. Far more respondents said having a good sense of humor On Jewish observance, some 70 percent of respondents of humor; and 19 percent said observing Jewish law. was essential to their Jewish identity than observing Jewish Sixty-two percent of respondents said being Jewish is to the Pew survey said they participated in a Passover seder law – 42 percent compared to 19 percent. Approximately one-quarter of Jews said religion is very in 2012 and 53 percent said they fasted for all or part of primarily a matter of ancestry and culture; 15 percent said important in their lives, compared to 56 percent among Yom Kippur that year. The numbers represent declines it was mainly a matter of religion. Most Jews said it is not from the 2000-01 NJPS, which found seder participation necessary to believe in God to be Jewish. In the survey, Americans generally. Less than one-third of American Jews say they belong to rates at 78 percent and Yom Kippur fasting at 60 percent. 60 percent said a person cannot be Jewish and believe that a synagogue. Twenty-three percent of U.S. Jews say they The new Pew survey found that about 23 percent of U.S. Jesus is the messiah. attend synagogue at least once or twice a month, compared with 62 percent of U.S. Christians. The Pew study is the first comprehensive national survey of American Jews in more than a decade. The last one, the This list represents ALL the donors to the 2013 JO Appeal from September 16 through November 5, 2013. 2000-01 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS), was This is NOT the Federation Annual Campaign list, which will appear in January. conducted by the umbrella organization of North American Thank you for your generosity. If you have not yet given, it’s not too late. Jewish Federations and counted 5.2 million Jews, includTo give online, click on the tzedakah box on our home page, www.jewishfederationcny.org. ing children. But critics said that study’s methodology was After you’ve filled in your donation details and clicked on “Review Donation and Continue,” click on flawed and undercounted American Jews. “I would like my donation to go to” and type JO Appeal in the box – or call Bette Siegel at 445-2040 ext. 116. Both the Pew survey and the Steinhardt/Brandeis study WE’VE ALMOST REACHED OUR GOAL... put the number of U.S. Jewish adults at about 5.3 million, including Jews who do not identify as Jewish by religion. The SO FAR, WE HAVE RECEIVED $33,674! We could not do this without you! Steinhardt/Brandeis study counted an additional 1.6 million Esther Adelson Leonard Koldin Jewish children for a total of 6.8 million Jews in America. Sarah Alpert Jay and Linda Land The Pew study counted 1.3 million Jewish children. Sam and Tracy Alpert Paul and Linda Liberman Overall, Jews make up about 2.2 percent of Americans, Albert Azria Beth and Jim MacCrindle according to Pew. By comparison, 6.06 million Jews live in Neal and Nomi Bergman Stephen and Frances Merrill Israel, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics. Because of the differences in methodologies between Mel and Phyllis Besdin Beverly B. Miller the new surveys and the NJPS, the increased number of Michael and Donna Bome William and Rosemary Pooler U.S. Jews likely overstates any actual growth. Roberta Braen Deborah Sobell and Richard Prussin Leonard Saxe, one of the authors of the Steinhardt/ Sidney and Kristin Cominsky Ann Robinson Brandeis study, told JTA there has been some growth Carl and Judith Crosley Joseph and Lynne Romano during the last decade, but he could not put a number on Anna Fazio Peter and Robin Rosenbaum it. Saxe attributed the growth to the immigration of RusEugene Domack and Judith Friedman Kenneth and Carol Rosenberg sian-speaking Jews, programs to bolster Jewish identity Kenneth and Catherine Gale James and Melanie Roth and shifts in attitude that have enabled many children of Rita Geller Mario and Ines Rovito interfaith marriages to be raised with a Jewish identity. The Pew study found that about 10 percent of American Jews Samuel Gramet Suresh and Linda Santanam are former Soviet Jews or their children. Sharon Grundel Adolph and Naomi Schayes About 65 percent of American Jews live in just six Ronda Hegeman Philip and Joan Schuls states, according to the Steinhardt/Cohen estimates: New Yaacov and Sharon Hochstein Harold and Marjorie Schwartz York (20 percent), California (14 percent), Florida (12 Varda Holland-Witter Robert and Carolee Smith percent), New Jersey (8 percent), Massachusetts (5 percent) Danielle Masursky and Larry Jacowitz Gwen Kay and Jef Sneider and Pennsylvania (5 percent). The other four states in the Andrew Ursino and Janet Jaffe Vera Stein top 10 – Illinois, Maryland, Texas and Ohio – add another Robert and Sue Ann Kayne Fredda Sacharow and Steven Stern 15 percent. The three most Jewish metropolitan areas are New York, South Florida and Los Angeles. James and Jessie Kerr-Whitt Howard and Ellen Weinstein Among Jewish denominations, the Reform movement Patricia Klein Martin and Linda Weiss remains the largest: 35 percent of respondents identified as Reform, according to the Pew study. The second-largest group is Jews of no denomination (30 percent), followed by Conservative (18 percent) and Orthodox (10 percent). As with other studies, the Pew study found that the Orthodox 5655 Thompson Road, DeWitt, New York 13214 share of theAmerican Jewish population is likely to grow because Orthodox Jews tend to be younger and have larger families Tel: 315-445-0161 • Fax: 315-445-1559 • www.jewishfederationcny.org

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ november 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774

With electromagnetics and metal caps, Israeli companies aim to zap brain diseases

By Ben Sales JERUSALEM (JTA) – It looks like a futuristic salon hair dryer. Connected to a computer by a bright orange strip, the half-cube with rounded corners sits comfortably atop the head, a coil of wires resting on the skull. As a doctor stands at the computer, the patient gets comfortable. A few seconds later, a brief electromagnetic pulse hits the head. Do this every weekday for six weeks, doctors tell Alzheimer’s

NEWS IN bRIEF From JTA

Israeli emergency responders heading to typhoon-ravaged Philippines

The Israeli disaster relief organization IsraAid is sending an emergency response team to the Philippines to the areas hardest hit by Typhoon Haivan. The nonprofit group’s team of medical professionals and trauma and relief specialists were scheduled to arrive in the Philippines on Nov. 11, working primarily in Tacloban City in Leyte. A larger team is expected to land by the end of that week, according to IsraAid. The death toll in the typhoon, which made landfall in the central Philippines on Nov. 8, could be at least 10,000, according to reports that emerged on Nov. 10, citing local officials. At least half a million people also have been left homeless by the devastating typhoon. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee has begun collecting funds for relief efforts. JDC representatives are consulting with local authorities, the Filipino Jewish community and global partners to assess the immediate needs of the survivors, and said it will send a team to the area to assess the situation on the ground. “Our heartfelt prayers go out to the Filipino people in the wake of yesterday’s deadly storm,” Alan Gill, JDC’s chief executive officer, said over the Nov. 10 weekend. “We immediately activated our network of global partners and will leverage our previous experience in the region to provide immediate, strategic relief to survivors in their time of need.” An Israeli diving instructor who was visiting the small Philippines Island of Malapscua and was believed to be missing in the storm was located early Nov. 10. Hagar Klein, 23, had not been in touch with her family since the previous week, Ynet reported. Most Israelis living in the Philippines are centered near the capital of Manila, which was not affected in any meaningful way by the typhoon.

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and God, it is important not to overstep – that is, it is important to confront God with reverence and humility. But it is equally important not to silence our inner ethical voices. Such give and take is not an expression of defiance but of mutual love. As the midrash says, “Any love that does not include challenging each other is not true love.” While this midrash deals with interpersonal relationships, it can be extended to apply to our relationship with God. In simple terms this would mean, if God commands us to kill an innocent, we have the responsibility to question, to challenge, to confront God. This is the dynamic of our covenantal relationship. This is what God wants from us. Indeed, the God I believe in categorically rejects the targeted killing of innocents. From this perspective, the Jewish doctrine of belief is a hybrid. It is not the ethics of the human being alone, nor is it derived from God alone. It is an interfacing of the two, with each demanding proper behavior from the other. This is the synthesis of the Written Law, which comes from God, and the Oral Law, centered on human input, which – with divine mandate – explicates the written one. From this synthesis – from the Talmud, the commentaries, the codes of law, the rabbinic responsa – emerges an unequivocal and absolute conclusion: Murder in the name of God is obscene, a desecration of God’s name. A story is told about Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig, two prominent 20th century philosophers. After eight years of writing to each other Rosenzweig, who was a bit younger, wrote a poem in which he asked Buber if he could address him using the word du, the German intimate expression of friendship. Buber agreed. Rosenzweig then said: Thank you. I’ll always say du, but in my heart I will continue to say sie – the more formal German term for the other – reflective of my deep respect for you. Rosenzweig’s concept is an accurate reflection of our relationship with an ethical God. Questioning with respect. Challenging with reverence. Confronting with humility. And holding each other mutually accountable. Rabbi Avi Weiss is the founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Maharat, and senior rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in New York. His new book, “Holistic Prayer,” will soon be published by Maggid Press.

patients, and you’ll feel your brain come back to life. The technique, known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, uses electromagnetic waves to penetrate the brain and activate underused neural connections. Two Israeli companies are hoping it will change the way brain diseases are treated. “This is the first time in neuroscience that we have a noninvasive tool to directly penetrate and influence deep structures of the brain in a targeted way,” said Ronen Segal, the chief technology officer of Brainsway, based in Jerusaslem. “No shocks, no hospitalization. You come into the clinic, you sit in the chair for 20 minutes, you get a series of electromagnetic zaps.” Unlike electroshock therapy, now known as electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT – a risky and controversial procedure long used to counteract severe depression and other disorders – TMS targets specific regions of the brain rather than the whole organ and at a much lower intensity. Unlike ECT, Brainsway’s clinical trials show TMS carries almost no risk of seizure. Brainsway is working on using TMS to combat a range of diseases. The company received approval this year from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat depression with TMS, and has European Union permission to use the technique to treat 10 diseases or disorders, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and autism, even tobacco addiction. Other drug addictions and obesity are next on the company’s list. Another Israeli company, Neuronix, focuses on Alzheimer’s, which affects five million Americans – a number sure to rise as the baby boomer generation ages. “Every emotion, thought or action starts with electric activity in the brain,” Segal said. “The problem is if you have too much or too little activity, you get a brain disorder.” In a person suffering from depression, for example, the section of the brain that regulates mood isn’t as active as it should be. Electromagnetic pulses targeting that section

Museum To Bledsoe-Rodriguez, the Red Star Line is symbolic of her mother’s will to survive. But to city officials in Antwerp, which funded the $25 million museum, it is a reflection on the “universal quest for happiness” and a response to growing interest in general immigration trends. “For Belgians, the Red Star Line is reminiscent of the belle epoque, but it means something very different to Jews,” said Michael Boyden, a Belgian literary historian at Sweden’s University of Upsala, who published a critical oped about the museum in the Flemish-language De Morgen daily. “The museum seems to me like a missed opportunity to research these different narratives more deeply.” Debates over whether European history is properly understood in particularist or universalist ways are not new in Europe. In recent years, several commemoration projects in Belgium and Holland have been marred by conflict between those seeking to engage wide audiences with universal themes and activists who argue that the fading memory of the Jewish genocide requires specifically combating the antisemitism that made it possible. Luc Verheyen, the museum’s project coordinator, said the museum does not skirt the “tragic element” of European emigration. But it also aims to celebrate the contributions of notables such as Albert Einstein, who boarded a Red Star Line vessel in 1933 bound for New York. “The museum helps illuminate a forgotten story of 60 million Europeans who left for all kinds of reasons,” Verheyen said. The Red Star Line operated from 1871-1934, a period that coincided with some of the worst antisemitic persecution in history. During the line’s 63 years, Jews accounted for at least a quarter of its passengers taken across the Atlantic Ocean in dozens of ships. Historians say the actual percentage may have been much higher. The first wave of Jewish passengers – including BledsoeRodriguez’s mother, Basia Cohen – were escaping pogroms in czarist Russia. Later waves were fleeing anti-Jewish agitation and the rise of the Nazis. For many years, the Red Star Line offered kosher food to its Jewish clientele. Cohen left her home at 11 with her mother and five siblings in the hopes of reuniting with her father, a bankrupt beet farmer who had left years earlier. The Cohens spent three weeks in squalid dormitories with 1,500 passengers aboard the ship. At Ellis Island, they were quarantined for eight months because of scalp fungus. “Somehow the experience at Ellis Island had aged us, we didn’t want to sing anymore,” Cohen said in an interview before her death in 1993. “We were all grown up.” Among the later refugees was Einstein, whose resignation letter to the Prussian Academy of Sciences, on display at the museum, was written on Red Star Line stationery. The Jewish dimension is hardly overlooked in the twostory museum. But the exhibition “emphasizes the universal

stimulate brain cells to fire, restoring them to a normal level of activity, Segal says, and teaching them to be more active in the long-term. For Alzheimer’s patients, treatment entails an additional step. Patients who receive Neuronix’s electromagnetic pulse have less than a minute of increased brain activity. During that window, a computer screen flashes a simple task meant to exercise the affected region of the brain – asking patients, in one example, whether two sentences mean the same thing. Affirming that “The salad has tomatoes” equals “There are tomatoes in the salad” helps sustain the short-term benefit of TMS therapy. “To understand [the sentences], to process them, to understand whether they have the same meaning, is a challenge,” said Orly Bar, Neuronix’s vice president for marketing. “We want to get to a point where the mechanism improves.” While both companies emphasize that treatment should complement existing medication, not replace it, clinical trials show that TMS can be more effective in counteracting Alzheimer’s than current medications. And unlike pills that enter the bloodstream, the electromagnetic zaps have no side effects. “We know there’s medicine that works on the same mechanism,” Bar said. “There’s no contradiction. They can work together great.” Neuronix and Brainsway were both featured at Braintech Israel 2013, a conference in October highlighting Israel’s growing brain technology industry. Along with medical advancements, the conference showcased innovation in fields such as brain modeling and mind-control gaming. “It’s widely accepted that we’ve made a lot of progress in heart disease and cancer,” said Miri Polachek, executive director of Israel Brain Technologies, the nonprofit that organized the conference. “The one area where we need to make a big push is the field of brain research. It’s no longer science fiction. You can see these things becoming real.”

Continued from page 9

The Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp has drawn criticism for portraying the exodus of Europeans during the Holocaust in universal terms. (Photo by Red Star Line Museum) character of migration,” the city wrote in a statement. The official booklet on the museum describes it as “a universal human story about the pursuit of happiness, a story we can all relate to.” That sort of universalizing of history has prompted protests from Jewish leaders who argue that it degrades the uniquely Jewish character of the Holocaust. The opening last year of Belgium’s main Holocaust museum at Mechelen was delayed over criticism that its broad mission of defending human rights risked “obfuscation as to the scale of the Shoah and banalization,” according to Eli Ringer of the Flemish Forum of Jewish Organizations. In neighboring Holland, the remembrance of German soldiers along with their Jewish and non-Jewish victims during memorial ceremonies for World War II victims led to acrimonious debates and legal action. In May 2012, a Dutch court, responding to a petition filed by a Jewish group, issued an injunction against the commemoration of German soldiers in the town of Vorden. “Commemoration needs to draw lessons or it’s a sterile affair,” said Joel Rubinfeld, co-chairman of the Brusselsbased European Jewish Parliament and past president of Belgium’s main Jewish umbrella group. “There are lessons to be drawn from Jewish emigration from Europe, and presenting them as part of a larger population shift doesn’t help in a time when antisemitism is once more driving some Jews out of Europe.” Bledsoe-Rodriguez takes a less critical view. “No one died in my family in the Holocaust,” she said. “If not for Red Star Line, we might be in a different museum right now – a museum for Holocaust victims.”

NOVEMBER 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774 ■

JEWISH OBSERVER

Through Jewish filmmaker’s lens, Detroit revival looks much less sunny By Yaffa Klugerman DETROIT (JTA) – Take heart, America. Together we can save Detroit while earning some fabulous prizes. For a mere $500, you can have an abandoned home. Pony up $25,000 and get your name name engraved on City Hall. A cool $50 million will earn you the deed to the Detroit Zoo. That’s the offer pitched by an enthusiastic, earnestlooking young woman in the first episode of the satiric web series “Detroit (Blank) City,” which appeared on the Kickstarter fund-raising site early this year. The campaign left many viewers scratching their heads. Was the $500 million campaign to save Detroit for real? Was filmmaker Oren Goldenberg serious? Turns out, he was – sort of. The Kickstarter effort was legitimate, though its goal was to raise $15,000 to fund a six-part video series, not millions to bail out a city that was soon to declare the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history. And it ended not with the restoration of a great American metropolis but with a private donor’s pledge of $3,000 to create the first two episodes. “For me, it was really cathartic,” Goldenberg, 29, told JTA. “I needed to laugh about the tragedies that are happening to the city because it’s unbearable to think of how absurd it is.” Goldenberg witnesses those tragedies daily. He lives in downtown Detroit and has created countless films about a place that once was an emblem of American industrial might and now ranks among the country’s fastest shrinking cities. Through his company, Cass Corridor Films, Goldenberg has won widespread acclaim – most recently

from the prestigious Michigan-based Kresge Foundation, which awarded him $25,000 and named him its 2013 Visual Arts Fellow. The satirical style of the Kickstarter videos is new for Goldenberg, but the point is much the same as much of his other work. Rather than jump aboard the Let’s Save Detroit bandwagon – a mantra repeated often in these parts – Goldenberg laments the privatization of a city once renowned for its public sector, questioning the motivations of those who have made its renewal a cause celebre. In so doing, he makes a lot of people uncomfortable. “I go against the grain here,” Goldenberg says. “People think I go against everything, which is not true. I just think that we can do better.” One of his “Detroit (Blank) City” videos pokes fun at the relentless branding of the city and features a succession of logos read by a robotic voice: Grown in Detroit. Invest Detroit. My Jewish Detroit. Reclaim Detroit. After three minutes, the point is clear: The city’s name can be used to say just about anything. “The idea that you can use the pronoun of Detroit to mean something for your cause is really fascinating and ridiculous to me,” Goldenberg says. “This idea of blank slate, that you can do whatever you want, like the Wild West, and just state your claim? No. There are people here. There is history here. There are issues here.” Goldenberg is a Detroit native who grew up in the nearby suburb of Huntington Woods, attended the Hillel Day School and graduated with honors from the University of Michigan. He was the only one of 300 students in the university’s film and video program to move to

Detroit, where he worked on a documentary about the city’s public schools called “Our School.” His latest project involves creating a requiem to mark the razing of the city’s public housing. Five years ago, he became involved with the historic Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, the last remaining Conservative Jewish house of worship in downtown Detroit. At the time, there was barely a weekly minyan. He and a few friends began working on synagogue programming. Their efforts paid off. The 92-year-old synagogue is experiencing a revival, fueled in part by Jewish communal efforts to repopulate the downtown area. Isaac Agree Downtown attracts hundreds of regulars to its daily programs and recently raised more than $150,000 to update the building and plan for a full-scale renovation. Goldenberg is a member of its board. “We are going to be perpetually fund-raising until our building is full and occupied,” he said. “This place should be a medallion of what Judaism can be in Detroit.” But while the city’s Jewish life is experiencing a rebirth, Goldenberg is not optimistic about Detroit’s future. He cites fraudulent elections, cut pensions and the bankruptcy filing. He and his friends came to Detroit to do social justice work, he says, but they no longer feel the idealism they once did. “The way we are treated in the media, the economy, how they treat buildings here, how they treat people here, what they do to them – it’s horrific,” he said. “These are the deep problems in our society, shrouded over with a lofty ‘Let’s Save Detroit’ and kids smiling. It’s delusional.”

Making the garage an organized, family-friendly space (NA PSI) – In the flurr y of today’s active family lifest yles, it is clear that the garage is no longer just the domain of the family car. For many households, this versatile space is used by ever y member of the family. It has become the logical place to store tools and gear for sports, hobbies, yard work and playtime, along with out-of-season items that would other wise take up room inside the home. However, with so much to hold and family members coming and going all the time, the challenge is to keep this space neat and well organized. To help, here are some garage design tips from EasyClosets. Establish the transition area – the space that’s reser ved for hanging coats, storing shoes and boots, and setting down packages, groceries or mail when you’re opening the door. Next, determine a need-it-now area for quick and easy

access to things like dog food and leashes, water bottles and other beverages, or recycling bins. Decide which area is best for long, thin yard and maintenance tools like shovels, rakes and clippers. Identify elevation zones, creating a storage area for large items that may be stored out of the way for months at a time, such as coolers, camping gear and holiday decorations. Reserve easy-to-reach areas for the kids to keep their sports equipment. Plan an area for frequently used items such as active gear, outdoor games and cleaning supplies. Stake out a workspace for hobbies and interests. From gardening to fishing, woodworking or automotive work, designate a space for organizing tools and supplies needed to work on these projects. To help homeowners complete the conversion of their garage to a truly multipurpose family space, there are

organization solutions available that can help keep the garage in order, improve its appearance and make it easy for family members to find or put away the things they need. Homeowners can choose from cabinets, shelves, drawers, work surfaces and various accessories. Some brands of garage cabinets are available in several color, depth and height options, and can even be customized to meet a variety of width requirements. To maximize space, homeowners should consider using slatwall panels to hold hooks, racks and baskets.

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JEWISH OBSERVER ■ november 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774

Calendar Highlights

d’var torah

Not learning from others

To see a full calendar of community events, visit the Federation's community calendar online at www.jewishfederationcny.org. Please notify jstander@jewishfederationcny.org of any calendar changes.

Saturday, November 16 JCC fall kids’ night out from 7-11 pm Sunday, November 17 Temple Concord Brotherhood meeting at 9:30 am TC Women of Reform Judaism meeting at 10 am Seniors Reaching Out at the JCC at 2 pm Monday, November 18 Syracuse Hebrew Day School Board meeting at 7 pm Tuesday, November 19 Jewish Home Foundation meeting at 5:30 pm Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center of Syracuse Executive Committee meeting at 6 pm, followed by board meeting at 7 pm TC Living with Grieving IV at 7 pm Temple Adath Yeshurun board meeting at 7 pm Saturday, November 23 TC Cinemagogue at 7 pm Monday, November 25 Deadline for the December 12 issue of the Jewish Observer Wednesday, November 27 Erev Chanukah - first candle is lit at sundown Friday, November 28 TC Chanukah dinner at 6 pm

b’nai mitzvah Brooke Delilah Meltzer

Brooke Delilah Meltzer, daughter of David Meltzer and Dianne Meltzer, of DeWitt, became bat mitzvah at Temple Adath Yeshurun on October 26. She is the granddaughter of Michael and Sandra Meltzer, of DeWitt, and Kaare and Ruth Gundersen (deceased) of Lake Ariel, PA. She is a graduate of the Syracuse Hebrew Day School. She now at- Brooke Delilah Meltzer tends the Jamesville-DeWitt Middle School and the Rabbi Jacob Epstein High School of Jewish Studies. She has a b’nai mitzvah fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of Central New York. She enjoys cooking, swimming and horseback riding, as well as all kinds of art and music.

business briefs LeBlanc joins The Oaks at Menorah Park as executive chef

Keith LeBlanc recently joined The Oaks at Menorah Park of Central New York as executive chef. He brings 10 years of restaurant and catering experience, most recently working with Chef David Warne at the Hebrew Home of Washington, DC. The Oaks offers the only kosher sit-down dining in Syracuse. For more information, call 449-3309.

Keith LeBlanc

NEWS IN bRIEF From JTA

Pope recalls “Crystal Night” of “our older big brothers”

Calling Jews “our older big brothers,” Pope Francis marked the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht by renewing what he termed his “closeness and solidarity with the Jewish people.” Francis spoke about the anniversary following his Nov. 10 address to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. “Today is the 75th anniversary of the so-called ‘Crystal Night,’” he said. The violence on the night between Nov. 9-10, 1938, against Jews, their synagogues, homes and businesses, he said, “signaled a sad step toward the tragedy of the Shoah.” He added, “We renew our closeness and solidarity with the Jewish people, our older big brothers. And we pray to God that the memory of the past, the memory of past sins, helps us to be ever vigilant against any form of hate and intolerance.”

By Rabbi Evan Shore For many years, Jacob lived outside the Land of Israel. He left Israel fearing for his life. Jacob was told by his mother, Rebecca, that Esau, his brother, wanted to kill him. After more than 20 years, the brothers will once again meet, but before they do so, Jacob sent the following note through a messenger: “For 20 years I lived with Laban (Jacob’s father-in-law), but did not learn from his evil ways.” This is a very strange message indeed. However, I would like to dwell on the concept of not learning from others. Rabbi Baruch Sorotzkin, in his book, “Eitz HaDaas,” pointed out that it is true Jacob did not learn from Laban, but why didn’t Laban learn from Jacob? Jacob, one of the three patriarchs, seems to have no effect whatsoever on his conniving father-in-law. Why didn’t Laban take note of the positive actions of his son-in-law? Today, the same question may be asked. Why are so many unwilling to learn from the exemplary and positive actions of others? The answer is simple. People think they know better, have the answers or are just happy with their own ignorance.

Music which originated in Spain before the Inquisition and was spoken throughout Greece, the Balkans, Turkey, North Africa and beyond. Ladino has much in common with Yiddish, Europe’s other Jewish language. Both have a rich and varied culture of folktales, music and literature. Both were devastated by the Holocaust. And both have been classified as endangered by the Israeli government. In 1997, Israel established the National Authority of Ladino aimed at preserving JudeoSpanish culture. Alongside the revived interest in Yiddish in recent years, a small crop of young musicians are working to revive Ladino musical culture and revamp it for a new audience. Sarah Aroeste’s recently released album “Gracia” is a combination of revamped Ladino classics and original music. The album was named one of the best of 2012 by the Forward. “The Ladino music scene keeps growing. It’s been growing for awhile, and it keeps growing,” said Gloria Ascher, a professor of Ladino language and literature at Tufts University. “There are new performers, new composers. People are really very excited about it.” Davis, 68, was born in Beckley, WV, to parents of Ukrainian descent. But her grandmother always reminded her that the family originally came from Spain. She learned music from her father, a classically trained violinist, and found herself drawn to the Sephardic musi-

Slingshot that discovered it through Slingshot. Julie Finkelstein, Slingshot’s program director, said many organizations “leverage it to receive funding from other sources.” Sarah Lefton, executive director and producer of Gdcast, a new media production company that has been in Slingshot for several consecutive years, praised the guide, particularly the openness of its organizers to feedback. However, several professionals say the application process is burdensome, the selection process overly subjective and the payoff not always clear. A professional with an organization featured multiple times in Slingshot who did not want to be seen publicly criticizing the group said she has heard “a lot of grousing about it from Jewish organizations.” “It’s a really involved application both to be in the guide and to get money [through the Slingshot Fund], and there’s not a clear return,” she said. Another Jewish professional echoed this concern, saying, “People like the recognition, but I’m not sure how many organizations have seen real gains or been able to leverage it into grants.” The Slingshot Day, which brings together groups and donors, also gets mixed reviews. Case said it’s “great to have the once-a-year opportunity to meet with counterparts – that is rare to nonexistent otherwise, especially for organizations not based in New York.” But another professional said there’s a “mismatch” between the expectations of funders and organizations at the annual conference. “The organizations are coming to meet funders, but the funders are not coming to be met,” the professional said. For the first time this year, Slingshot published two supplements to the list – on “Disabilities and Inclusion,” in partnership with the Ruderman Foundation, and on “Women and Girls,” in partnership with the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York – as a means to broaden its community

Chester Barnard once said, “It is what we think we know that keeps us from learning.” How true this is when it comes to our Torah knowledge. Many are of the mistaken assumption they know enough. In fact, a person of great Torah knowledge is known as a Talmud chacham, a student of knowledge. This means that knowledge, the acquisition of Torah, is an ongoing, lifelong pursuit. A recent Pew study revealed how weak the knowledge of Torah is throughout portions of the American Jewish community. It is time we realize the timeliness of Rabbi Sorotzkin’s insights and ask ourselves the question, “If so much Torah is available to us through books, apps, social media and the Internet, why aren’t we increasing our knowledge?” Now is the time to do something about it and increase our Torah knowledge, for if not now, when? Rabbi Evan Shore is the rabbi at Shaarei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse, an instructor at the Syracuse Hebrew Day School and the Rabbi Jacob Epstein High School of Jewish Studies, and the chaplain at Menorah Park.

Continued from page 8

cal tradition. She later became a fixture on the West Coast music scene, where she melded Jewish music and protest songs in the Bay Area while working as a registered nurse and raising seven children on traditional Ladino lullabies such as “Dourme, Dourme.” “There’s a life to the music melodically,” Davis said. “The lyrics evoke the feeling of the Mediterranean, the warmth, the sunshine, the romance.” It wasn’t until she was 65 that Davis made a recording at the prompting of her son, David. “He said, ‘Mom, before you lose your voice and your marbles, you’ve got to make this recording,’” Davis recalled. “He’d been hearing this music since childhood.” Through the fund-raising website Kickstarter, Davis raised $12,000 in 60 days to cover recording expenses. Davis and her son scoured the New York music scene for accompanying musicians. Pengas, a veteran of the Sephardic music scene, was introduced through a mutual friend. Halal was found playing the oud in a subway station. A double CD was released in 2011 and led to performances throughout the Northeast, including a recent concert on Martha’s Vineyard where Davis lives. The group performed at the Gibraltar World Music Festival last year and will play in New York in December. “One of the elements that I love is that it’s unusual for people to hear Ladino,” said Davis. “I love it all – the music, the liturgy, the language. It’s in my pores.”

Continued from page 11

and attract public interest and donor support in these areas. The guide also features 17 “standard bearers” – groups that are included yearly as “models of innovation.” They include organizations such as Moishe House, a social and educational group for 20-something Jews, and Mechon Hadar, a liberal yeshiva. Newcomers to the list this year include City Harvest’s Kosher Initiative, a hunger-relief project in New York; NewGround: A Muslim Jewish Partnership for Change, of Los Angeles; Ramah Tikvah Network, a training program for professionals serving special-needs populations; and The Kitchen, an alternative congregation in San Francisco. “Slingshot is a resource highlighting the breadth and depth of the Jewish community at this moment, and it is relied upon by doers and donors alike,” said Will Schneider, Slingshot’s executive director. Meredith Lewis, director of operations at MyJewishLearning, which has made the top 50 for several consecutive years, said Slingshot – and particularly an annual conference it holds for organizations and donors – helped her group forge partnerships with others, such as the Institute for Southern Jewish Life and Keshet, an LGBT advocacy group. “When we’re thinking about new partners to bring on, that’s the first place we look,” she said. Of the 50 Slingshot groups, the average founding year is 2005 and the average annual budget is $717,320. Women lead 52 percent of them. While commonly viewed as emphasizing programs serving young Jews, several Slingshot organizations in the guide focus on baby boomers and the elderly, including Wise Aging, which provides “spiritual learning, intellectual engagement, and community gathering” for Jews 65 and over, and Kavod v’Nichum, a group that teaches about traditional Jewish burial rituals and provides training and resources to Jewish burial societies.

NOVEMBER 14, 2013/11 KISLEV 5774 ■

JEWISH OBSERVER

obituaries Leonard I. Joseph

Leonard I. Joseph, 90, of Liverpool, died on November 1. A World War II veteran, he was a master spotter at DeWitt Dry Cleaners until his retirement. He was predeceased by his sister, Anna Walkley. He is survived by several cousins. Burial was in Pinelawn, NY. Birnbaum Funeral Service had arrangements. 

June Lisenko

June Macy Lisenko, 95, of North Syracuse, died on October 31. Born and educated in Worcester, MA, she and her husband raised their sons in New Haven, CT, before coming to Syracuse in 1957. She retired from Lincoln/Chase bank in Syracuse, where she worked for many years in the adjustment division. She had lived at Elderwood at Liverpool. An animal lover, her interests included writing poetry and essays – which resulted in winning a number of radio and TV contests in the 1940s and ‘50s – as well as reading, cooking and solving crossword puzzles. She was predeceased by her husband of 62 years, Jack Lisenko; a son, Steven; and brothers Neil and David Macy. She is survived by sons Robert (Cheryl) and Richard (Dawn); three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. The burial was private. Birnbaum Funeral Service had arrangements. Contributions may be made to the no-kill animal shelter Wayward Paws Inc., 3063 Apulia Rd., Jamesville, NY 13078. 

Bernard Silverman

Bernard Silverman, 91, formerly of DeWitt, died on October 29. Born in Richmond, VA, he began college at Virginia Tech at the age of 16 and received a bachelor’s of science in engineering in 1942. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II as an officer in the Signal Corps in the ChinaBurma-India corridor, and remained in the Army Reserves until retirement. He attained the rank of colonel. He attended graduate school on the GI Bill at the University of Illinois, earning a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. He began his engineering career in the 1950s at General Electric in Syracuse, but eventually joined the faculty at Syracuse University, where he taught for more than 20 years. He enjoyed sailing on Cazenovia Lake and playing squash with his university colleagues. He also enjoyed reading history, as well as keeping up with science. He valued education and established a scholarship at Virginia Tech. He was predeceased by his wife, Hilda (Wasserman); and two sisters. He is survived by his daughters, Lisa Kravitz, of Fairfax, VA, and Elaine Silverman, of Plainfield, NH; and four grandchildren. Birnbaum Funeral Service had local arrangements. Contributions may be made to a public or private institution of one’s choice.

Flora Tobak

Flora Tobak, 67, of DeWitt, died on October 27. A Syracuse resident for 60 years, she received her bachelor’s and master’s of business administration degrees from Syracuse University and was employed by Crouse Hospital as a business manager for 30 years. She served as vice president of Health Care Data Systems until her retirement in 1996. She was a member of Temple Adath Yeshurun and was the current Sisterhood president. She was predeceased by her parents, Mair and Lily Benveniste. She is survived by her husband, Ira Tobak; son, Marc (Elizabeth Berkowitz) Tobak; and many cousins in Israel and Greece. Burial was in Adath Yeshurun Cemetery. Birnbaum Funeral Service had arrangements. Contributions may be made to the Temple Adath Yeshurun Minyon Fund, 450 Kimber Rd., Syracuse, NY 13224.

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Eva Perelman

Eva Perelman, 82, of Fayetteville, died on October 28 at Crouse Hospital. She was a member of Temple Concord. She was predeceased by her son, Alexander Perelman, in 2011. She is survived by her husband, Semyon Perelman. Burial was in the Temple Concord section of Woodlawn Cemetery. Birnbaum Funeral Service had arrangements. Contributions may be made to Temple Concord, 910 Madison St., Syracuse, NY 13210. 

Dorothy “Dottie” Savedoff

Dorothy “Dottie” Savedoff, 97, of Danbury, CT, died at the Glen Hill Center in Danbury on November 5. The eldest of three siblings, she grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, NY. After her husband died in 1963, she served the role of two parents. As a single parent, she dedicated herself to raising, supporting and educating her two children. A graduate of Textile High School in Manhattan, she was employed as a textile designer for a fabric mill, also in Manhattan. As a professional artist, her favorite artistry was creating paisley patterns for clothing fabric. After a leave to dedicate years of staying home to raise her children, she was employed at the Queens General Hospital pharmacy. For much of her life, she was a regular Mah Jongg player. She was predeceased by her husband, Marvin, who died prematurely in 1963, and her sister, Julia Cohen. She is survived by her children, Susan (Joel) Pasternack and Leonard (Susan) Savedoff; her sister, Joan Kirschenbaum; four grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Sisskind Funeral Service had local arrangements. Contributions may be made to the Minyon Fund, Temple Adath Yeshurun, 450 Kimber Rd., Syracuse, NY 13224. 

NEWS digest From JTA

Liberman nears reappointment as foreign minister

Israel’s Cabinet approved the reappointment of Avigdor Liberman as foreign minister. Following the approval on Nov. 10, Liberman’s reappointment now goes before the full Knesset, which is set to follow suit. The head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party was to be sworn in on Nov. 11. Liberman was acquitted a week earlier on a charge of fraud and breach of trust, clearing the way for a return to his old post. The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ruled on Nov. 6 that Liberman did not unreasonably advance Zeev Ben Aryeh, Israel’s former ambassador to Belarus, to new positions. Liberman had resigned as foreign minister last December, shortly before he was indicted. He will have to leave his position as chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

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