HAKOL - December 2018

The Voice of the Lehigh Valley Jewish Community

www.jewishlehighvalley.org

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Issue No. 415

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December 2018

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Kislev/Tevet 5779

AWARD-WINNING PUBLICATION EST. 1977

Community gathers to honor older adults at 8ish Over 80ish p12-13

Celebrate Chanukah with our special section

WOMEN’S PHILANTHROPY p4 LVJF TRIBUTES p8 JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE p14 JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER p20-21 JEWISH DAY SCHOOL p22 COMMUNITY CALENDAR p30-31

Lehigh Valley stands together in wake of shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue

EDWIN DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY

By Stephanie Smartschan JFLV Director of Marketing One by one, standing side by side, each member of the clergy announced his or her name and place of worship. They came from churches, mosques and temples across the Lehigh Valley. Sixty in all.

They spoke to the more than 1,000 people gathered at the Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley on Oct. 31, crammed into every corner of the Kline Auditorium, the Auxiliary Auditorium and into the lobby and hallway.

With little notice they came, battling for parking and waiting in a line that wrapped around the building, just to get in. They came to show their solidarity with the Jewish community in the wake of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27 that left 11 Jews dead. They came to stand together against hate.

“We too are heartbroken at the killing of 11 innocent Jewish worshipers when their sanctuary was invaded by deadly hatred and violence that seems to be increasing in our society,” said the Rev. Maria Tjeltveit, speaking on behalf of the interfaith clergy.

“We denounce together the anti-Semitism, racism and prejudice that seek to deny that we are all created in the image of God as beloved brothers and

See special section pages 15-18

sisters.”

The Interfaith Community Vigil included Jewish prayers, in both Hebrew and English, for the ailing and the departed. The crowd read together the “Prayer for Our Country” and later sang “America the Beautiful.” Students from the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley and religious schools sang “Oseh Shalom.”

The Lehigh Valley Jewish Clergy Group led the service, taking turns reading and singing the prayers and then lighting memorial candles for each of the 11 victims. Rabbi Michael Singer from Congregation Brith Sholom spoke on behalf of the group.

He spoke about an experience he had just a couple of weeks prior, while officiating at a Jewish funeral. At the cemetery, the family had made their way back to the road when someone pulled up in a car and started screaming, “I hope all you Jews die,” he said. “They had just buried their mother.”

“We will not allow anti-Semitism or bigotry and hate to have the last word. We will not be deterred by fear, we will work together, united, to create the kind of Lehigh community, the country and the world worthy of our children and worthy of God’s

Vigil Continues on page 18

More than 400 rockets hit southern Israel in less than 24 hours Over 400 rockets and mortar shells were fired at southern Israel on Nov. 12

by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip, making the barrage the largest attack from the coastal enclave since the 2014 conflict.

At least 100 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, according to the Israel Defense

Forces. The IDF responded by hitting some 150 targets associated with the terror organizations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as four government buildings used by Hamas for military purposes, the Israeli army said in a statement. At least six Palestinians reportedly were killed in Israeli airstrikes, the Maan PalestinNon-Profit Organization

702 North 22nd Street Allentown, PA 18104

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ian news agency reported.

In Israel, one person was killed and two seriously injured after a rocket fired from Gaza landed on an apartment building as the country remained under siege from rocket fire for a second day. The rocket hit the upper floors of a fourstory apartment in Ashkelon shortly before midnight on Nov. 12.

The man who was killed was identified as Mahmoud Abu Asbah, 48, a Palestinian from the West Bank town of Halhul, north of Hebron.

After a lull in rocket fire between about 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Nov. 13, rocket fire picked up again. Residents of Gaza border communities were ordered to remain in their bomb shelters and protected rooms. Residents of the cities of Beersheba, Ashkelon and Ashdod were told

to stay close to their bomb shelters and protected rooms.

Six rockets directly hit homes and buildings in Ashkelon, leaving 74 people injured, the national broadcaster Kan reported. A rocket landed in

the play yard of a nursery in a kibbutz in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council, but no children were there at the time.

Rockets Continues on page 6

LEHIGH

VALLEY

Here’s what heart care that’s amazing everyday is all about. Paul M.’s heart was getting weaker. He was tired all the time and didn’t have the energy to work on his prized muscle car. A heart surgeon at another area hospital called Paul “a walking dead man” and urged him to “get his affairs in order.” Paul was only 50. He went to the Lehigh Valley Heart Institute and learned that he had been misdiagnosed. We performed a minimally invasive heart procedure on Paul and he went home the same day feeling better than he had in years. That kind of success is one reason why

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more than twice as many patients choose us for heart care over other hospitals in the region.

After all, we’re first in leading-edge care, groundbreaking research and have more specialists with training from top heart programs. And that’s why we save more lives. Just ask Paul, now that his heart is going as strong as his muscle car.

To learn more about Paul’s amazing journey, visit LVHN.org/HeartInstitute.

Amazing. Everyday.

ANOTHER HEART DOCTOR CALLED PAUL A WALKING DEAD MAN.

WE SAVED HIS LIFE.

Paul M., garage owner

2 DECEMBER 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Jeri Zimmerman named interim executive director of Jewish Federation

By Stephanie Smartschan JFLV Director of Marketing The Executive Committee of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley has appointed Jeri Zimmerman as interim executive director.

Zimmerman has served as assistant executive director of the Jewish Federation for the past two-and-a-half years.

“Jeri has been intimately involved in the Federation’s operations in her time here, so it just made sense for her to step into this new role,” said Eva Levitt, Federation president. “She brings vast experience in Federation life and a tremendous ability to get along with all kinds of people.”

Zimmerman joined the Federation staff in 2016 and has managed the Annual Campaign, working closely with volunteer leaders.

For 12 years before that, she was the director of the Center for Israel and Overseas at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

Her extensive Jewish communal experience also includes seven

years as the Philadelphia regional director of the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science and 10 years as the executive director of the UJA/Federation of Princeton, New Jersey.

Zimmerman has had a connection to the Lehigh Valley for many years. She received her master’s degree from Lehigh University and one of her sons is a Muhlenberg graduate. Her daughter and her family live in Allentown.

Zimmerman’s “watch words” moving forward will be “transparency, accountability, focus and impact,” she said.

“I’m very excited and looking forward to this new role,” Zimmerman said. “I think we’re at an interesting crossroad right now in the community where we can continue our good work while also considering new, innovative and exciting opportunities.”

HAKOL welcomes new editor The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is pleased to announce that Stephanie Bolmer has been named the new editor of HAKOL. While she is new to the Marketing Department, Bolmer is well-known in the community: she has worked as an administrative assistant at the Federation for the past five years.

Born and raised in the Lehigh Valley, she earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Oberlin College in Ohio. She previously served as the marketing communications coordinator for the International Society of Arboriculture, the world’s premier tree care organization.

“In her five years with us, Stephanie has developed a deep understanding of the Lehigh Valley Jewish

community,” said Stephanie Smartschan, director of marketing for the Federation.

“We are excited to see what she brings to HAKOL in her new position.”

Are you interested in writing for HAKOL or have a story idea to share? Stephanie Bolmer, editor, can be reached at 610-8215500 x326 or sbolmer@jflv.org.

HAKOL STAFF STEPHANIE BOLMER Editor

HAKOL is published 11 times per year for the Jewish communities of Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and vicinity by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

COMMUNITY SUBMISSIONS

Making a better world takes the right ingredients.

This Chanukah, while you’re frying up the latkes, serve something that will make it an even happier holiday for the whole family – especially your global family. Everything you need is within reach. And the recipe is simple.

Pour in a heaping mixture of nurturing and strengthening Jewish life. Add helping the vulnerable.

Inspiring the young. And safeguarding our people. All these ingredients are automatically folded in together through your gift to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley. So, please measure generously. Make it a truly happier Chanukah for your entire family. Give today.

Submissions to HAKOL must be of interest to the entire Jewish community. HAKOL reserves all editorial rights including, but not limited to, the decision to print any submitted materials, the editing of submissions to conform to style and length requirements, and the placement of any printed material. Articles should be submitted by e-mail or presented as typed copy; “Community Calendar” listings must be submitted by e-mail to hakol@jflv.org or online at www.jewishlehighvalley.org. Please include your name and a daytime telephone number where you can be contacted in the event questions arise.

We cannot guarantee publication or placement of submissions.

MAIL, FAX, OR E-MAIL TO: JFLV ATTN: HAKOL 702 N. 22nd St. Allentown, PA 18104 Phone: (610) 821-5500 Fax: (610) 821-8946 E-mail: hakol@jflv.org

STEPHANIE SMARTSCHAN JFLV Director of Marketing ALLISON MEYERS Graphic Designer DIANE MCKEE Advertising Representative TEL: 610-515-1391 hakolads@jflv.org

JFLV EXECUTIVE STAFF JERI ZIMMERMAN Interim Executive Director TEMPLE COLDREN Director of Finance & Administration JIM MUETH Director of Planned Giving & Endowments AARON GORODZINSKY Director of Outreach & Community Relations

EVA LEVITT JFLV President

EDITORIAL BOARD Monica Friess, Acting Chair Barbara Reisner Judith Rodwin Sara Vigneri

Member American Jewish Press Association

JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY We gratefully acknowledge those individuals who have offered expressions of friendship by requesting that trees be planted in the Yoav--Lehigh Valley Partnership Park.

IN MEMORY HUSBAND (of Elayne Dubin) Fred & Barbara Sussman MARK GOLDSTEIN (Husband of Shari Spark) Lisa & Barnet Fraenkel Judith Horowitz Gilfrid & Michele Levy Margery & Jay Strauss STAN REINISCH (Father of Deborah Reinisch) Barnet and Lisa Fraenkel ADELE SCHOCKER (Mother of Jack Schocker and Joan Balkwill) Barnet & Lisa Fraenkel SONDRA TOLAND (wife of Earl Toland) Evelyn Brown & Family JOAN AND FREDERICK WINNE JR. (Parents of Father George Winne) Leslie Westman & Danny Sinsley MARTY ZIPPEL (Father of David Zippel) Roberto & Eileen Fischmann

IN HONOR CANDACE ANTHONY AND EVAN STERN Birth of their daughter, Sofia Stern SHALOM BABY BECKY AND TJ COTTER Birth of their daughter, Rosalyn Anne Cotter SHALOM BABY ANN GOLDBERG Happy 80th Birthday Gilfrid & Michele Levy PAUL & ELAINE LANGER Happy 55th Anniversary Gilfrid & Michele Levy MICHAEL AND CAROLE LANGSAM Happy 80th Birthdays Fred and Barbara Sussman ESTHER MILLER-SMITH AND JOSHUA SMITH Birth of their son, Luke Gabriel Smith SHALOM BABY

TO ORDER TREES, call the JFLV at 610-821-5500 or visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org.

All advertising is subject to review and approval by The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley (JFLV). JFLV reserves the right to decline, withdraw and/or edit any ad. The appearance of any advertising in HAKOL does not represent an endorsement or kashrut certification. Paid political advertisements that appear in HAKOL do not represent an endorsement of any candidate by the JFLV.

JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY MISSION STATEMENT

In order to unite, sustain, and enhance the Lehigh Valley Jewish community, and support Jewish communities in Israel and around the world, the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is dedicated to the following core values: • Supporting Jews in need wherever they may be.

• Supporting Israel as a Jewish homeland.

• Supporting and encouraging Jewish education in the Lehigh Valley as a means of strengthening Jewish life for individuals and families.

• Supporting programs and services of organizations whose values and mission meet local Jewish needs.

To accomplish this mission the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is committed to the following operating guidelines: • Raising and distributing funds to support the core values.

• Developing Jewish leaders.

• Building endowments to support implementation of core values.

• Committing to ongoing Jewish community strategic planning.

• Fostering cooperation among organizations and community building.

• Evaluating all decisions with respect to fiscal responsibility.

• Identifying unmet needs and investing in community initiatives to help get them started.

• Coordinating and convening a community response as an issue or need arises.

• Setting priorities for allocation and distribution of funds.

• Acting as a central address for communication about events, programs and services of the Jewish community as a whole.

Approved by the JFLV Board of Directors on November 15, 2000

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2018 3

WOMEN’S PHILANTHROPY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY

Jewish philanthropic leader: ‘You have the power to make it happen’

By Stephanie Smartschan JFLV Director of Marketing Don’t let life happen to you, Vicki Agron, a long-time leader in Jewish philanthropy, told the group of Lehigh Valley women sitting before her.

Happen to your life.

Agron presented at a Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley Women’s Philanthropy event on Nov. 1 entitled “Living an Intentional Life.” In her talk, she shared her own philanthropic story and sought to inspire the women to be remembered the way they wish.

“What’s it gonna take to get to the legacy you want?” she said. “Plan the work and work the plan … You have the power to make it happen. You need to seize that power.”

Agron asked each of the women to draw a horizontal line on a piece of paper, their life line. She then asked them to draw a vertical line marking where they currently fall on the horizontal.

“At the end of days, what do you want people to say about you? That is a big question. It’s a heavy question,” she said.

Agron, now a grandmother, spoke of her first foray into Judaism, and Jewish philanthropy soon after, and how that has impacted her own life.

“I had a very unconventional conversion to Judaism in 1970,” Agron said. “There

was no studying, there was no learning, the rabbi said to me, well, even though you were raised as a Christian, your father was Jewish, and so pick a name out of this book.”

“Abra cadabra,” she was Jewish, she said, but nothing else changed.

Two years later, in 1972, with a new baby at home, she called up her friends and said “what do you do all day?”

“Some of them played tennis and some of them played golf and some of them played cards, but my friend Gloria said I’m gonna pick you up and take you to something with me,” she said.

Gloria took her to a young women’s leadership meeting, sponsored by the local Jewish Federation.

“Someone got up and talked about the needs of the global Jewish people and they handed out envelopes with those stubby yellow golf pencils in them and every woman was writing something on the card and I said to Gloria, how much is it? And she said well, it’s whatever’s in your heart. Now, I didn’t know that what was in the heart of every young woman in 1972 in Denver, Colorado, was chai, $18 … so I wrote down $40 and I turned in the card.”

She quickly got a call from the Federation thanking her for her very generous gift.

They asked if she could en-

courage three of her friends to participate in the campaign.

“And with no training, I did. I went and I met each of those three people … and each of them said to me, well, like how much? And I said, like $40,” she said. “And I turned in three cards with $40 and the next year they made me chairman of the division.”

“The truth of the matter is

that the Federation raised me.

The Federation was my Jewish mother. And the Women’s Philanthropy group in Denver, Colorado, taught me everything I knew,” she said.

“And today I can walk into any room like this and feel that you are my people,” she continued. “If I had one word for me to describe what Judaism means it would be the word

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All payments are made payable to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley 4 DECEMBER 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Jewish Day School honors Veterans Day

By Stephanie Bolmer HAKOL Editor On the morning of Friday, Nov. 9, the students of the Jewish Day School gathered outside for a very special flag raising ceremony. They were accompanied by honored veterans of both the American and Israeli armed forces. JDS Head of School Amy Golding led the group in singing both the Israeli and American national anthems, as first JDS Hebrew and Judaics teacher Merav Wirthiem, herself a veteran of the IDF, unrolled the Israeli flag, and then the American flag was raised by JDS parent and Captain in the U.S. Army Inactive Reserves Kristen Johnson and JDS librarian and retired U.S. Navy Commander Sean Boyle.

Turning inside, the student council announced that Sunday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day, kicking off an assembly full of exciting anecdotes and meaningful reminders from the veterans visiting the student body.

Retired Senior Master Sergeant Sheila Berg, commander of Post 239 of the Jewish War Veterans and former JDS parent, introduced the history of Veterans Day, remarking on how this year is the 100th anniversary of its start with the armistice of World War I. State Rep. Mike Schlossberg was also there in a dual role of both government official and JDS parent. He presented a proclamation to the morning’s main speaker, Boyle, saying, “I have always said being Jewish to me means many things. It’s how I relate to God and pray, but

it’s also the social compact of service and making the world a better place.” Schlossberg told students that that could be done in many ways, such as being a teacher, a public servant, or serving for decades in the military like Boyle.

Boyle joined the JDS as librarian last year after serving for 27 years in the U.S. Navy.

An Allentown native, he knew he wanted to serve in the military from the age of five, when his favorite book was about George Washington’s war heroics. He reminded students of the Lehigh Valley’s long history of connection to military service from the Revolutionary War onward and shared his own family’s history, with a long line of forefathers serving before him, including a grandfather responsible for

installing the telephone in the peace treaty room in World War II. Boyle then regaled them with tales of his own time circling the globe on seven different ships, ranging from crews of 280 to over 5,000. Sacrifice was a key theme from all of the speakers, and Boyle is no stranger to the concept. After 9/11, his and his wife’s dream wedding was postponed when he was ordered to elope due to the wartime circumstances.

It seems that Boyle has no regrets, however, as he told the students, “The main aspect to remember is that all veterans have willingly stood up to defend our country, sacrificing time with their families and many other things. It is a rewarding privilege to serve, but it has a cost.”

Concluding the program was Rabbi Seth Phillips, a retired Lieutenant Commander and chaplain of the U.S. Navy, who eloquently answered the question put forward to the veterans by one student who asked why people choose to fight each other. “The people in uniform are the most peaceloving of all, because we know the cost,” he told her. “We don’t long for a fight. We wish we could all live in shalom, but sometimes we must take action when talking doesn’t work.”

Phillips concluded the assembly with a prayer asking that all the children gathered would be “blessed with gratitude for the sacrifice needed for each of the things [they] hold dear” and that “we may always be pursuers of peace.”

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2018 5

California camps vow to rebuild in aftermath of raging wildfires

Rockets President Reuven Rivlin on Nov. 13 visited the Gaza border community of Netivot, which had been hit by several rockets, including a direct hit on a home.

“We are all under attack, under fire whose aim is to disrupt our daily life. Your strength give us all strength,” he said during his visit. “I have said in the past and I will continue to say, the area around Gaza is the whole of Israel.

When the sirens are screaming here, we hear them in our hearts in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and all over the country.”

Cease-fire talks were facilitated by four different mediators — Egypt, the United Nations, Norway and Switzerland — according to reports.

In response to this crisis, the Jewish Agency for Israel had employees on the ground distributing financial aid from their Fund for Victims of Terror. At least 17 people have received emergency grants.

The Jewish Agency’s staff and construction crews have started work restoring apartments and homes, and youth mentors contacted each of the individual children in their charge to identify ways they could help the families.

The Jewish Agency’s Chairman of the Executive, Isaac Herzog, was in the south to show support for the communities in rocket range and visited those who were injured.

Herzog also met with participants of Masa Israel Journey programs and new immigrants in Absorption Centers. The Jewish Agency stressed the importance of the emotional support provided by Jewish communities around the world to their Partnership regions in southern Israel.

Material from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency was used in this report.

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CAMP HESS KRAMER/FACEBOOK

Continues from page 1

A view of Camp Hess Kramer in Malibu, Calif., shows how devastating the wildfires have been.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency Two camps that suffered major damage in the wildfires that have raged in Southern California sent a message addressed to the “camp family”: We will rebuild and we will endure.

On Nov. 11, the leaders of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles and the camps it runs, Hess Kramer in Malibu and Gindling Hilltop, said that although the full extent of the damages won’t be determined for some time, “we know that it is severe.”

The night before, the temple hosted a special camp-style Havdalah ceremony.

The message said that among the buildings and areas lost at Hess Kramer are two halls, the climbing wall, a library and the ark, along with several staff residences and all but two of the cabins. At Hilltop, all the structures were lost with the exception of two cinder-block staff housing units.

The staff and Torah scrolls

had been evacuated from the camps before the fire spread.

“Saturday night’s Havdalah gathering poignantly reminded us that camp is really about the people and what we do together,” the message said.

“The location will be a different and temporary one, but we will be together this summer. There will be camp. Then, we will rebuild. Hess Kramer and Hilltop will endure.”

The message used the hashtags #KramerNeverStops #HilltopNeverStops.

At the Havdalah ceremony, the rabbi of Camp Hess Kramer, David Eshel, said fire has played an important role in Jewish history. The service was live-streamed on Facebook.

Before he knew the extent of the damage to the camps owned by the temple, Eshel told the campers, current and going back many decades: “We remember God spoke to Moses through the burning bush to inspire our people to freedom.

God led us through the wilder-

ness with a pillar of fire. This flame will not destroy … rather this flame will light our way to a bright, bright future.”

Campers shared their memories in the comments, all expressing great sadness at the extent of the destruction.

“So many wonderful memories of years as a camper and CIT, especially at Hilltop,” Leslie Cole wrote. “One of my very favorite places is Rabbi Wolf’s Inspiration Point. I used to hike up there, look around and just feel at one with God and the world. Camp was such a formative part of my Jewish identity. Those memories will always be with me and with my kids, who have been and are JCA campers and counselors.

Our community is strong and full of life and we will rebuild, as we carry the old memories and make new ones.”

At least three people have died in the Southern California blazes called the Woolsey and Hill fires. The fires have destroyed over 101,000 acres and are responsible for the destruction of over 1,452 homes and other buildings. Full containment was expected by Nov. 22.

In Northern California, Camp Fire has left at least 77 people dead and destroyed 150,000 acres as well as over 7,600 homes and 1,217 other structures, including the entire town of Paradise. As of Nov. 19, it was about 65 percent contained.

More than 300,000 people in total have been forced to evacuate their homes in the northern and southern parts of the state, some 170,000 in Los Angeles County alone.

Lunch and Learn sheds light on an unsung Jewish-American hero

By Stephanie Bolmer HAKOL Editor Maybe you’ve never heard the name Haym Salomon, but you know his friends. Alexander Hamilton. John Adams.

George Washington. The name of Salomon—known as the “financier of the American Revolution”—belongs among these revered heroes, but when author and filmmaker James Arcuri was a youth in the 1970s, he couldn’t find any resources about him. Finally, in the New York Public Library, he discovered one book. He wanted to copy it, but just starting out working odd jobs in the film industry, he couldn’t afford it. So, little by little, he eventually copied each page, bundling them into a manuscript he still treasures today.

Why did he go to such lengths to read a book about an 18th century financial broker? “Salomon is my #1,” he told the crowd at the Jewish Federation’s Women’s Philanthrophy Lunch & Learn on Nov. 9. “He means so much to us as Jews, to the United States, and to the world.” That is why Arcuri has now not only written his own book and graphic novel, “For God and Country,” but is working on an upcoming documentary miniseries. Attendees at the Lunch & Learn got a sneak peek of the documentary after Arcuri’s talk.

Arcuri has written over 70 screenplays and stories, but Salomon is his passion project. And it’s easy to see why when you learn more about Salomon, whom Arcuri described as “quite a character.” Born in 1740 and starting out life in a Jewish ghetto in Poland,

Salomon always had a rebellious nature. After learning both how to trade and six additional languages, he soon found himself in high demand as a broker.

After gaining such a good reputation throughout Europe that he was offered a job back in Warsaw by the Rothschilds, his political activities got him in trouble and he fled to England. There, he was beaten and robbed and left with just enough for a oneway ticket to New York. Once there, he met and married the daughter of a society family, but he was not content to fade into domesticity.

Joining the Sons of Liberty, he solidified his fate as one of the key players without whom the American Revolution would not have succeeded. Escaping prison, spying on the British, encouraging Hessians to desert, and pouring his own fortune into the cause while handling those of other betterknown names are all part of his astounding legacy.

Laid to rest in the Mikveh Israel Cemetery in Philadelphia (he was the largest individual contributor to the construction of the main building of that congregation) at the age of only 44, Salomon has gone mostly forgotten by history.

After hearing the incredible story of this Jewish-American genius, the audience of the Lunch & Learn questioned why he is not included in the curriculum at more schools, something which Arcuri hopes to rectifiy. “I want him to win, and to win big,” he said of his hero. With the release of the miniseries next year, perhaps Salomon will finally get his due.

JCC of the Lehigh Valley hires its next executive director

The Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley will welcome its next executive director this December, a successful conclusion to a national search launched earlier this year.

Eric Lightman is currently the interim executive director at the Jack & Lee Rosen JCC in Orlando, Florida. He was the Maccabi Games director at the JCC Rockland (New York) and the teen services director at the Weinstein JCC (Virginia). His experience outside the JCC includes roles as a management consultant (Bennett Midland, New York) and software quality engineer (MicroStrategy, Virginia).

He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the 2018 Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando Jewish Professional Award.

Lightman earned a bachelor of science in computer science at the University of Maryland and master of public adminstration and master of arts degrees from New York University with concentrations in non-profit management and Judaic studies.

JCC President Kathy Zimmerman said, “We are thrilled to welcome Eric, his wife, Margo, and his children, Max (3) and Eli (10 months), to our community. Eric will bring significant experience to the role of executive director, and we are excited for all that we will accomplish together. The search committee did an outstanding job of finding and recruiting the right person to lead our JCC into its second century. We are grateful to chair Mike Iorio and committee members Wendy Born, Brian Ford, Bobby Hammel, Linda Sheftel and Wayne Woodman for their commitment to this important work and to our community.”

Lightman shares in the community’s excitement. “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to work with the JCC’s talented, dedicated staff and board. I look forward to immersing myself and my family in the Lehigh Valley community, learning about the JCC’s vibrant history, and helping to lead the agency into its second century,” he said.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2018 7

IN HONOR MARC ABO Retirement Jay and Fran Fisher BARRY BAIMAN Special Birthday Arlene and Richard Stein LARRY AND SUSAN BERMAN Birth of their granddaughter, Poppy Estelle Berman Sussman Marilyn Claire Francie Ficelman Vicki Wax STEPHANIE BOLMER Congratulations on becoming editor of HAKOL

Barry and Carol Halper KAREN AND PETER COOPER Marriage of their son, David Vicki Wax DR. AND MRS. ALBERT DERBY Marriage of granddaughter Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald HAROLD GOLDFARB Speedy Recovery Roberta and Jeff Epstein SANDRA AND HAROLD GOLDFARB Marriage of their grandson Roberta and Jeff Epstein NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS In recognition of her being a

magnificent friend of the State of Israel Barry and Sybil Baiman MICHAEL LANGSAM Special Birthday Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald EVA and LARRY LEVITT Honored by the JDS Arthur and Jane Kaplan LEON PAPIR Speedy Recovery Arthur and Jane Kaplan ROBERTA AND ALAN PENN Bnai Mitzvah of their grandchildren, Hailey and Blake Marilyn Claire Arthur and Jane Kaplan Leon and Elaine Papir IVAN and JILL SCHONFELD/ BRANDI FRETTI Honor of Katriel’s Bat mitzvah Arthur and Jane Kaplan ADRIAN SHANKER Congratulations on being selected as a commissioner of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission Barry and Carol Halper CANTOR KEVIN WARTELL In appreciation Arthur and Jane Kaplan IN MEMORY MOTHER (of Amy Holtz) Amy and Jack Silverman EDITH BLINDERMAN (Sister of Dolly Rockman) Selma Roth DORA FELDMAN (Mother of Lucy Korsky) Ross and Wendy Born MARK L. GOLDSTEIN (Husband of Shari Spark) Tim, Pat and Katie Beauchamp Bill Bergstein Susan and Larry Berman Kenneth and Carol Bernhard Marc and Laurie Berson Alan and Donna Black Jeffrey and Jill Blinder Leonard and Beverly Bloch Bnai Abraham Synagogue

Nathan and Marilyn Braunstein The Brenner Family Marilyn Claire Tom and Gayle Cichocki Jan, Glenn, Noah, Naomi and Dani Ehrich Jeanette and Eduardo Eichenwald Eleanor Extract Lynda Extract Eric and Amy Fels Roberto and Eileen Fischmann Brian, Emily, Al and Sam Ford Lisa and Barnet Fraenkel Susan Engelson Friefeld Monica and Henry Friess Myra and Jeff Giesener Ann and Gene Ginsberg Phil and Ellen Hof Amy and Mark Holtz and Family Kenneth Kalnitsky Arthur and Jane Kaplan Phyllis, Jay, Alec and Mia Kaufman Jane and Edward, Francis, Ned, Lia, Jane Kelly Ted and Esther Kelly Lynda and Stuart Krawitz Martin and Monica Lemelman Jay and Evelyn Lipschutz Don and Lois Lipson Sylvia and Stuart Manewith Evan and Aviva Marlin Diane McKee David and Robyn Meir-Levi Gerald and Ethel Melamut Bob and Betty Mendelson Jeannie and Holmes Miller Judy and Alan Morrison Amy and Rich Morse, Emily and Kenny Norman Moses Taffi Ney Mark and Alice Notis Michael and Cooky Notis Susan and Jeffrey Nullman Stacey Packer Leon and Elaine Papir Henry and Phyllis Perkin Bob and Lota Post The Rabin Family Barbara and Rich Reisner Daniel and Dina Relles Judy and Reuven Rohn Nicole and Jarrod Rosenthal

(610) 882-8800 • www.embassybank.com Or Visit Any of Embassy’s Convenient Offices Valleywide 8 DECEMBER 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Adam and Penny Roth Rabbi Jim and Lori Sagarin Sara and Bernard Schonbach Deena and Mark Scoblionko Amy and Jack Silverman Howard and Diane Silverman Arlene and Richard Stein Fred and Barbara Sussman The Tamarkin Family Vicki Wax Linda and Jim Wimmer Bob and Barbara Woolf ELAINE HESS Susan Engelson Friefeld JULIUS JACOBS (Husband of Rosanna Jacobs) Ross and Wendy Born Beth and Wesley Kozinn BETTY OVERLANDER (Sister of Lucy Wahrman) Harriet Feig Barbara and Richard Reisner DOLLY SCHOCKER (Mother of Joan Balkwill) Mark and Alice Notis Donald and Randi Senderowitz GERTRUDE SINGER (Mother of Ray Singer) Alex and Robin Rosenau Arlene and Richard Stein Laurie and Robby Wax SONDRA TOLAND (Mother of Howard Toland) Evelyn Brown and Family Ivy and Marvin Feinstein MELVIN WAX (Cousin of Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Peris) Jeannie and Holmes Miller MARTY ZIPPEL (Father of Joanne and David Zippel) Ross and Wendy Born We gratefully acknowledge those individuals who have offered expressions of friendship through recent gifts to the Lehigh Valley Jewish Foundation. The minimum contribution for an Endowment Card is $10.

Call 610-821-5500 or visit www. jewishlehighvalley.org to place your card requests. Thank you for your continued support.

Torah rescued from Holocaust strengthens family ties across the globe

By Stefanie Raker Siegel and Beth Posner Special to HAKOL On July 4, 2018, the Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) dedicated and celebrated a new Aron Kodesh to hold a Torah that had been rescued from the Holocaust and a new Torah that was written by a scribe on Masada.

The Lehigh Valley connection to this started about two years ago when Beth, of Allentown, received an email from a distant cousin (their great-grandfathers were brothers) asking if she would contribute to a new cover (mantle) for a Torah at the AMHSI. Stefanie, Beth's cousin, had email addresses for some of the family, and Beth was included in this list. (Beth's grandmother’s maiden name was Raker.)

Stefanie, who lives in Israel, had received a phone call from the dean of Israel studies at the AMHSI, who was looking for someone from the Raker family, who had donated the Torah at least 20 years earlier. This Torah had been rescued from the Holocaust, refurbished and donated to the school, and its cover said, “Donated by the Raker Family.”

The cover was torn, and the dean thought someone from the Raker family might want to donate a new cover. Stefanie accepted the task of contacting the extended Raker family to find out which cousin had donated the Torah several decades earlier. Her father, Sam Raker, forwarded the email, as he has stayed in touch with dozens of Raker cousins over the years. Many

Raker cousins responded that they’d like to help donate the new cover. But when Stefanie went to see the Torah, she learned that someone had already taken the cover to be repaired and returned it. She saw, however, that the school’s Aron Kodesh was as simple and unadorned as it could possibly be, and thought that the Raker cousins might be interested in donating a new Aron Kodesh instead.

She learned about an artisan living in Israel who hand-carves synagogue furnishings and is an alumni of AMHSI. Stefanie contacted the extended Raker family to generate enough interest and resources to commission a new Aron Kodesh. In the process, first cousins reconnected, second cousins who had never met learned about each other, and everyone shared stories about their great-grandparents, who had immigrated to Pennsylvania from southern Poland in the 1880s.

Stefanie’s efforts were realized this year as a new Aron Kodesh was built for AMHSI and donated by the cousins in memory of their Raker great-grandparents.

The Jewish National Fund commissioned a new Torah to be written for the school by a scribe who works on top of Masada. About five years ago, AMHSI became part of the Jewish National Fund-USA. This Torah was dedicated and celebrated on July 4, along with the new Aron Kodesh. Beth asked her daughter Jody Posner Bareket, who lives in Israel, if she would attend the dedication of the Aron Kodesh and the Torah as their immediate family’s

representative. Jody agreed, and what a celebration it was. The Torah’s arrival at the school on July 4 was celebrated with music and dancing by all the high school students, starting two blocks away, then down the street and into the campus. Stefanie read the last paragraphs of the Torah, and Jody was given an Aliyah. The celebrations were a continuation of the prior day, when the students traveled to Masada to receive the Torah with rejoicing and learning.

Stefanie Raker Siegel holding the Torah and Jody Posner Bareket in front of the Aron Kodesh at AMHSI.

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Competition for coveted Cholent Cup at Sons of Israel Congregation Sons of Israel invites the entire community to their First Annual CommunityWide Cholent Cook-Off on Saturday, Dec. 8. The all-ages competition will feature six different recipes. Although a cholent cook-off has been a longestablished tradition for the congregation, this is the first year they are opening it up to the whole community.

Rabbi Yehoshua Mizrachi said they wanted to “step it up” by soliciting entries from other Jewish organizations. Entrants to the competition will set up Thursday or Friday, bringing all of their ingredients to the shul’s kitchen. Then, Mizrachi said, “they’ll fill a crockpot and work their magic. A Chabad friend of mine used to say that the recipe for cholent was a little meat, a little potato, and a little luck. It’s tricky, because you can’t mess with it.”

The competitors who are up to the challenge, however, may be richly rewarded. At around 11:30 a.m. Saturday morning after services, a panel of judges will taste each entry and render their decisions.

Following their deliberation,

the dishes will be brought out to the social hall for everyone to sample. Before Kiddush is over, the winner of the Cholent Cup will be announced. The entire Jewish community is welcome to come and taste the cholents.

Michael Douglas joins dad Kirk with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame Jewish Telegraphic Agency Actor-producer Michael Douglas celebrated his 50th

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

10 DECEMBER 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

year in show business with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame near the one for his screen legend father Kirk Douglas, now 101.

Douglas, 74, was accompanied by his father — best known for the 1960 gladiator movie “Spartacus” — and the younger Douglas’ actress wife Catherine ZetaJones.

An Academy Award winner playing Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street,” Michael Douglas has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows, including the 1970s police series “The Streets of San Francisco,” psychological thrillers “Fatal Attraction” and “Basic Instinct,” and more recently the Marvel comic book movie “AntMan.” Michael Douglas, who is Jewish, is also a film producer, winning an Oscar for the 1975 film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and producing dozens of independent movies.

“I have been lucky enough to be part of classic Hollywood and new Hollywood,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

Douglas said he was honored to join the more than 2,600 men and women represented on the Walk of

Fame.

“They are people who passionately cared about what they did and about entertaining people around the world,” he said.

In 2015, Douglas accepted the $1 million Genesis Prize, known as the “Jewish Nobel,” for his commitment to Jewish values and the Jewish people. He reconnected to his Judaism at the age of 70.

Kirk Douglas was born in the upstate New York town of Amsterdam as Issur Danielovitch, the son of an illiterate Russian-Jewish immigrant who supported his family of six daughters and one son as a rag picker and junkman. The actor had his bar mitzvah at the age of 83.

May your face shine with light

RABBI MICHAEL SINGER Congregation Brith Sholom Okay. I know it might sound a little strange, but I love watching the flames of a lit candle. I like the way the fire flickers, the random patterns it displays as it grows and recedes, and the beautiful variation of colors from blue to white, to orange and yellow. Yes, I admit it, like a moth, I am drawn to fire. This rings especially true on the holiday of Chanukah. Hey, with the oil or candles of the hanukkiah, how can anyone resist?! Of course, as a kid my mom had to remind me that I couldn’t play with the

Chanukah candles because, like the Shabbat candles, the candles for Chanukah are ceremonial in nature and cannot be used. As a child, it seemed strange to me that the light from these candles wasn’t for reading by or warming myself. Why go through the process of lighting candles if you can’t use the light? (Or play with the fire!) The concept of appreciating something just for its beauty or for a deeper spiritual significance took many years to develop. I believe this idea can also add to how we understand the intrinsic worth of people as well.

As children, we often associate the worth of people by how they fulfill our needs and what they can do for us.

Those that feed us, clothe us, protect us are naturally the people we will gravitate to and follow (i.e. our parents).

Often, these relationships are all about getting something from another person. We can be reduced to seeing them only through the lens of what they do for us. This of course is an important idea and one that is based on primal survival skills. Yet, hopefully as we mature we can see people for more than what they give us. We can

learn to appreciate people in all of their complexities and beauty, as Mister Rogers, z”l, consistently taught, “I like you for who you are.”

He believed and reinforced the notion that we can and should indeed love other people with “no strings attached.”

This type of appreciation and love is more sophisticated but is essential to Jewish thought and values. The Torah, from literally the very beginning, models this on God’s love of the things God creates without any of them giving God something back in return. God inherently sees Creation’s “ki tov” goodness

and can appreciate its beauty and even the sacredness in time (Shabbat). Animals, trees, and the very Earth itself need to be treated with dignity and respect having been created by God and therefore filled with intrinsic value, not merely a “usefulness” value. When it comes to human beings, the Torah ups the ante by unequivocally stating that we are made, “betzelem Elohim,” in the image of God. The rabbis understand this to mean that each and every human being reflects a piece of the Divine, thereby requiring respect, dignity, and “hesed,” loving-

kindness.

So as we celebrate the Festival of Lights, recalling the miracles God performed for our ancestors, may we take note of the miracles all around us in the “people that we meet each day.”

May we see them like the beautiful glow of the candles of the hanukkiah, each unique, complex, and beautiful in their own way.

May we remember that the holiday of Chanukah is not about the gifts we get but the love that we share with one another.

Hag Orim Sameach – May your holiday be filled with joyous light!

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2018 11

PHOTOS BY EDWIN DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY

JFS Celebrates 8ish Over 80ish honorees

Top left, 8ish Over 8ish Co-Chairs Audrey Nolte and Carah Tenzer with JFS Past President Wendy Born.

Bottom left, JFS Executive Director Debbie Zoller addresses the attendees.

Above, the 2018 8ish Over 80ish honorees. Top row: Lenny Abrams, Sandra Goldfarb, Fred Sussman, Elaine Rappaport-Bass, Anita Hirsch, Marcia Schechter. Bottom row: Tama Fogelman, Doris Lifland, Libby Glass, Syril Weinberg, Eileen Segal, Syman Hirsch, Sandy Wruble. Not pictured: Norm Wruble.

By Stephanie Bolmer HAKOL Editor On the morning of Sunday, Nov. 11, the social hall of Temple Beth El was packed for a scrumptious brunch hosted by Jewish Family Service to honor their third cohort of 8ish Over 80ish volunteers. Organizations

from across the Jewish community had nominated the 14 selfless older adults (Leonard Abrams, Tama Fogelman, Libby Glass, Sandra Goldfarb, Syman and Anita Hirsch, Doris Lifland, Elaine RappaportBass, Marcia Schechter, Eileen Segal, Fred Sussman, Syril Weinberg, and Norman and Sandy Wruble) for the impact they have by choosing to continue to give back their time and efforts.

After guests schmoozed over mimosas, JFS President Rabbi Allen Juda called the program to order. Falling on Veterans Day, the Color Guard from the Louis E. Dieruff High School Air Force Junior ROTC had been invited to join the attendees for the singing of the national anthem. A moment of silence was then observed in honor of Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley Executive Director

Mark Goldstein z”l, all U.S. veterans and the victims of the shootings in both Thousand Oaks, California, and Pittsburgh. Then, Juda said the hamotzi, and everyone enjoyed an impressive array of breakfast dishes.

While dessert was served, the program continued as both Juda and JFS executive director Debbie Zoller gave speeches thanking the audience--especially the honorees-for their support.

“Our honorees today have contributed to the Jewish and larger community in many different ways. They are our role models, and we thank them for their example and leadership and for helping give us direction. We feel privileged to be able to honor you; for that, too, we are most thankful,” said Juda.

“I am filled with gratitude this morning as I look around the room and see all our incredible honorees and their

friends and family who are here to celebrate their dedication to volunteerism and helping others,” said Zoller before also acknowledging the previous 8ish Over 80ish honorees present and all the staff and volunteers who made the event possible.

Two such volunteers were the co-chairs of the event, Audrey Nolte and Carah Tenzer, who were introduced

by Zoller.

“There’s so much love, wisdom and community in this room,” Nolte said as she and Tenzer approached the podium. They made a special acknowledgement of Judy Murman, long-time office manager of JFS, who is planning to retire this year. Then, it was time to present the 8ish Over 80ish honorees.

“We are humbled to be in the position to get to know and learn from the 8ish Over 80ish honorees in preparation for this special day. We know

Happy

that you will share in our admiration and inspiration as you hear their wisdom and words,” said Tenzer before a video montage of interviews with the honorees was shown.

After the video, one by one, the honorees were asked to stand and receive a round of applause.

The outpouring of gratitude did not end there, however, as immediate past-president of JFS Wendy Born surprised Nolte and Tenzer with an honor of their own, presenting customized plaques to both of them as a thank-you. “More than three years ago, JFS leadership decided to take a giant leap and plan a new fundraiser. ... The biggest challenge was finding energetic, passionate and organized volunteer leaders to take on the roles of co-chairs. We achieved the gold standard in leadership with Audrey and Carah,” said Born.

Chanukah from

12 DECEMBER 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Honoree Elaine Rappaport-Bass, center, with Marge Kramer and Rabbi Seth Phillips.

The Color Guard from the Louis E. Dieruff High School Air Force Junior ROTC.

Above, the 8ish Over 80ish attendees.

Below right, Tama Lee Barsky, 2016 honoree, with her cousin Tama Fogelman, 2018 honoree.

Honoree Lenny Abrams and his family.

Honoree Sandra Goldfarb and her family.

Honoree Eileen Segal and her family.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2018 13

14 DECEMBER 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

Local moms’ Tree of Life necklace sale goes viral

By Stephanie Bolmer HAKOL Editor Only one week after the massacre in Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life Synagogue, a group of local moms sprang into action. The 18 women bonded through a 2017 trip to Israel in partnership with the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley and the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project.

Since their return, they have focused on supporting the local community through tikkun olam, volunteering at the Jewish Day School, donating to the Jewish Family Service food pantry and spearheading programs for the Jewish community.

Now, they have formed the Branches of Love initiative, turning their focus to increasing awareness and combating anti-Semitism and ignorance through education

and outreach.

“We have come together with a brand new initiative,” said Beth Kushnick at a recent Federation event.

The first step in this new project was the design of a symbolic necklace depicting a silver tree of life on a black leather cord by Lauren Rabin and Debi Wiener. The group is selling them for $10 each, with 100 percent of the proceeds being donated to the Tree of Life Synagogue for the support of the victims and rebuilding their synagogue.

After only 48 hours on social media, they had already sold over 600 necklaces.

“It’s viral. It’s unbelievable the amount of response that we have gotten around the country,” Kushnick said.

“Especially from the people in Pittsburgh,” added Rabin. “We had a lot of people write us that they’re so

thankful that we’re carrying this on, that it’s not forgotten, that the week hasn’t gone by and people are over what happened. They want to continue. They just want people to feel what they’re feeling all over the country and know that we’re standing with them… beside them. It’s very touching for us and everybody around the country who wants to get involved.”

“Of course we never imagined that we would have this amount of interest in these necklaces,” Kushnick said. “We heard yesterday from the best friend of [Rose Mallinger z”l] who died [in the tragedy]. Her daughter is going to get a necklace.”

In addition to the enthusiastic response from Pittsburgh, orders have already gone out to over 26 states across the country, and the group hopes that this special

piece will be a symbol of hope and unity wherever it’s worn.

To purchase a necklace

and make a donation to the Tree of Life Synagogue, please contact Beth Kushnick at bethkush34@yahoo.com.

Workshop gives students tools to combat anti-Semitism

By Stephanie Smartschan JFLV Director of Marketing One day after the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left 11 Jews dead, students and parents in the Lehigh Valley gathered at Temple Beth El for a workshop on anti-Semitism.

The workshop had been planned by the Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Council long before the shooting, but the weekend’s events made it all the more poignant.

Walter Myrick, who

facilitated the program for the Anti-Defamation League, urged the students to speak up if they heard an inappropriate response to the shooting when they returned to school that week. Don’t be scared, he said, but be vigilant.

“We all have to be really aware of what’s being said, what’s happening and how people respond to it,” he said.

“Even though these things might seem like small things, small things that go unchecked can lead to extreme things like

what happened yesterday.” A good strategy for students is to find a teacher they can trust, he said.

In the workshop, Myrick also presented different scenarios and asked the students and parents to decide how they would respond. What would you do if your friends called you “Jew boy?” What would you do if your teacher says to “knock it off or you will find I can be worse than Hitler?” What would you do if you arrived at school and

found a swastika on your locker?

There were no right answers, he explained, as the participants chose from options that included do nothing, tell a teacher or parent and start skipping class.

Myrick started the workshop by asking the students and parents to stand if they agreed with certain statements.

Have you heard a joke about Jews that made you feel uncomfortable or uneasy?

Almost everyone stood.

Have you been stereotyped by others because you are Jewish? Almost everyone stood.

Have you seen anti-Semitic comments online? Almost everyone stood.

Has someone you know experienced anti-Semitism?

Everyone stood. Have you personally experienced it? About three quarters of the room stood up.

Why are the students standing for the same things as the adults when “ideally things should be getting better?” Myrick said. “While I would think it would be a

more progressive time, it’s not.”

Rabbi Michael Singer of Congregation Brith Sholom participated in the workshop.

While it’s important to be reactive when events like what happened in Pittsburgh occur, he said, it’s equally if not more important to be proactive in facing down anti-Semitism.

“I want to live in a world that is about love and about community and about building community,” Singer said during the workshop. “I thought we had made some progress at one point, but now I feel like we’re back and it’s worse than ever in some ways.”

“We’re going to fight to bring people together and create the world where people not only feel safe, but also a world that’s focused on loving each other and peace,” he said the next day. “I think it’s important to know that you’re not alone and that there are allies and people that we can go to and work with to stand up to hate of any kind, including anti-Semitism. I thought that it was a well-done workshop.”

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2018 15

Of blessed memory: The victims of the Tree of Life shooting

Irving Younger

Sylvan and Bernice Simon

Daniel Stein

Jerry Rabinowitz

Richard Gottfried

Joyce Fienberg

Rose Mallinger, right.

Melvin Wax

Jewish Telegraphic Agency Editor’s Note: Eleven people lost their lives when a shooter opened fire at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27. The victims included two brothers, a married couple and a physician who assisted patients in the early days of the AIDS crisis. In addition to the 11 victims, two congregants and four police officers were injured in the shooting. Below is a little bit of information about each of the 11, of blessed memory, who lost their lives.

IRVING YOUNGER, 69 Younger was a father and grandfather who had recently undergone surgery, his neighbor told the Post-Gazette.

“He was a really nice guy,” Jonathan Voye told the newspaper.

The Tribune-Review reported that Younger once owned a small business and was a youth baseball coach.

BERNICE SIMON, 84, AND SYLVAN SIMON, 86 The Simons were married at the Tree of Life Congregation in 1956 in a candlelight ceremony, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.

“They held hands and they always smiled and he would open the door for her, all those things that you want from another person,” neighbor Heather Graham told the newspaper. “They were really generous and nice to everybody. It’s just horrific.”

Sylvan was a retired accountant. Bernice was a former nurse.

DANIEL STEIN, 71 Stein once served as president of the New Light Congregation, one of the three congregations that were housed in the synagogue building, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported. He recently became a grandfather for the first time, according to local reports.

In a post on Facebook, his son Joel posted a photo of Stein and his grandson. “My dad was a simple man and did not require much. In the picture below he was having a great day doing the two things he loved very much. He had just finished coming from synagogue, which he loved, and then got to play with his grandson, which he loved even more!”

“He was always willing to help anybody,” said his nephew, Steven Halle. “He was somebody that everybody liked, very dry sense of humor and recently had a grandson who loved him.”

His wife, Sharyn, is the vice chair of membership of the local chapter of Hadassah.

JERRY RABINOWITZ, 66 Rabinowitz was a physician and was involved in the Reconstructionist congregation, Dor Hadash, that met in the building, at one time serving as its president.

16 DECEMBER 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

“Jerry was one of the backbones of the congregation,” Laura Horowitz, a congregant, who wept when she read his name, told JTA. “He blows — he blew — the shofar on Yom Kippur.”

A former patient recalled that in the early days of the AIDS crisis, Rabinowitz was among a handful of doctors treating patients with dignity and respect.

“Basically before there was effective treatment for fighting HIV itself, he was known in the community for keeping us alive the longest,” Michael Kerr recalled on Facebook. “He often held our hands (without rubber gloves) and always always hugged us as we left his office.”

RICHARD GOTTFRIED, 65 A popular local dentist, Gottfried was active in New Light Congregation. The Tribune-Review reported that Richard and his wife, Margaret Durachko, volunteered with the Catholic Charities Free Dental Clinic. The couple had recently celebrated their 38th anniversary and were planning to retire soon, according to The Washington Post.

Gottfried’s nephew honored his uncle in a tweet.

“Today I lost an important person in my life,” Jacob Gottfried wrote. “My uncle was murdered doing what he loved, praying to G-D. I don’t want to live in a world where I must fear to live as a Jew. I thank everyone in BBYO for being so supportive and I hope this never happens again! #PittsburghStrong.”

JOYCE FIENBERG, 75 Fienberg was a native of Toronto, Canada, and lived in several American cities before settling in Pittsburgh, where her husband, Stephen, was professor emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University before his death in December 2016, Toronto City News reported.

She retired in 2008 as a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research and Development Center, which looks at learning in the classroom and in museums. Her daughter-in-law, Marney Fienberg, is co-president of Hadassah North Virginia.

ROSE MALLINGER, 97 Though many news reports circulated that Rose Mallinger was a Holocaust survivor, a family friend tweeted that she was not. Mallinger’s great-niece told her friend that her aunt was “the most caring gentle loving woman.” The retired school secretary had two children and three grandchildren. Her daughter, Andrea Wedner, 61, was among those wounded in the attack and is expected to recover, the Post-Gazette reported.

“She was a synagogue-goer, and not everybody is,” a former Tree of Life rabbi, Chuck Diamond, told The Washington Post about Mallinger. “She’s gone to the synagogue for a lifetime, no matter how many people are there. I feel a part of me died in that

David Rosenthal, left, and Cecil Rosenthal building.”

MELVIN WAX, 88 Wax, a retired accountant and a grandfather, was described by fellow congregants as a “pillar” of the congregation, The Associated Press reported. He was a leader of Or Chadash, or New Light Congregation, which moved into the Tree of Life building a year ago after his congregation, made up mostly older members, could no longer afford its own synagogue building. He reportedly was leading his congregation’s services at the time of the attack.

Myron Snider, chairman of the congregation’s cemetery committee, described his friend as generous and kind. Snider said he and Wax shared mostly clean jokes at the end of each service.

Dennis Fishman, whose parents were friends with Wax, described him as empathetic and attentive.

“He was a quiet man, not very assertive but always there, often smiling,” Fishman said. “He had a real light-up-the-room kind of smile, with an eye that let you know he was paying attention to what made you happy and made you sad.”

DAVID ROSENTHAL, 54, AND CECIL ROSENTHAL, 59 The two brothers were very involved in the local Jewish community.

“Neither man had one ounce of hate in their hearts,” read a tweet by a synagogue member. “I grieve for these men. They will be missed.”

The brothers lived in a community home run by ACHIEVA, which provides residential and employment services for adults with intellectual disabilities.

They were roommates who often were the first faces that congregants saw as they arrived for services.

“They loved life. They loved their community,” said Chris Schopf, vice president of Residential Supports at ACHIEVA. “They spent a lot of time at the Tree of Life, never missing a Saturday. If they were here, they would tell you that is where they were supposed to be.”

One survivor’s story of how HIAS led her family to freedom

Advice for the Jewish youth:

Challenge the system, speak up and speak out!

By Sara Camuti Special to HAKOL Editor’s Note: Before entering a Pittsburgh synagogue and killing 11 people on Oct. 27, Robert Bowers condemned HIAS, the Jewish immigrant aid group, on his website.

The following Shabbat, Temple Covenant of Peace member Sara Camuti shared her own experience with HIAS with her congregation.

I was born Elizbieta Jolanta Vitcoska, the daughter of Victoria Vitcoska and Waclav Kazimierski in Katowice, Poland, in June of 1945. My parents had survived the war under these assumed names. My father had worked as an exterminator during the war, where he not only got rid of the bed bugs at a Luftwaffe headquarters, but also was able to pass secrets to the Resistance.

One such piece of information was the location of a train filled with leather to make boots for the German soldiers. As if by magic, the leather disappeared, and my parents had new shoes!

Within a few months after my birth, my parents returned to their real names, Jakob and Czarna Gital Hartglass, and my name became Estera-Sara Hartglass, being named after both grandmothers who perished in Terblinka. Sixteen months later, my parents carried me and two suitcases, illegally, across the Carpathian Mountains into Czechoslovakia and then, somehow, from there we went to Austria, and from there to Ulm, Germany, to DP (Displaced Persons) Camp 678.

This camp was under the management of the IRO, the International Relief Organization. Once there, my father, because he spoke many languages, was tapped to be trained as a resettlement officer, trying to find countries that would take these broken people. As my parents told it, there were three types of survivors: those from the concentration camps, with broken bodies, those who had been hidden by others, with broken spirits, and those who hid in plain sight, who helped others. The first two were hard to place; most countries would not accept them because of the disabilities. The third were also hard to place, because they didn’t have anyone to sponsor them. In order to survive, this last group had to cut all ties with friends and family.

While at the DP camp, my father worked closely with many of the relief agencies. This is where HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and JDC (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) came in. Founded in 1881 to assist Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe, HIAS has touched the life of nearly every Jewish family in America. Though precious few refugees were rescued during World War II, due to the restrictive National Origins Quota Act of 1924, HIAS provided immigration and refugee services to those who were.

After the war, HIAS was instrumental in evacuating the DP camps in Europe and aiding in the resettlement of some 150,000 people to 330 communities in the U.S., as well as Canada, Australia and South America.

The JDC (or as I always called it, the Joint) was founded during World War I, when U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Henry Morgenthau, Sr. wired New York philanthropist Jacob Schiff (the grandfather of a very good friend of

Students at Muhlenberg College hold an interfaith vigil after the Tree of Life shooting.

By Chloe Goldstein Special to HAKOL

mine) to ask for money to help Jews suffering in Ottoman Palestine. The Joint was the first Jewish organization in the United States to give large-scale funding for international relief. They continue this effort today helping those in need all over the world, especially in Israel.

My father signed Resettlement Transportation Documents on Nov. 30, 1949, and we were to be available for transport on Dec. 5, 1949. Shortly after that, we were taken to Bremenhaven to board the troop ship USS General McRae. On Jan. 26, 1950, we landed in New York Harbor. We were the first transport that did not stop at Ellis Island.

As we stepped off the ship, we were met by representatives of HIAS and the Joint. I remember someone gave me candy-covered almonds, and we went to a restaurant, up a wooden escalator, and I sat in a wooden high chair. From there, HIAS took us to the airport to start our journey to Seattle. Someone from HIAS was there to make sure we were able to change planes in Minneapolis.

We were lucky because HIAS had been there, too, in the camp, helping my parents with English classes.

And when we landed in Seattle, HIAS helped us find a place to live and a job for my father. They continued to help as others came. They worked with the local Jewish Family and Children’s Services to help the newcomers learn English, how to measure (inches not meters), how to adapt to a new, strange world, and how to apply for citizenship. Of the group that was resettled in Seattle, my parents and I were the first to become U.S. citizens five years later.

As the world and circumstances change, so do the missions of many organizations. HIAS and the Joint now focus on refugees and those fleeing persecution, whether the individuals are Jewish or not. Which is probably why HIAS was also targeted in Pittsburgh.

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if HIAS and the Joint worked themselves out of jobs, and I could look at my precious granddaughter and not be afraid for her future? I pray that I see that day.

And to that, I say, amen.

Anti-Semitism spreads in different ways. It is the nasty comment someone makes about your nose or the subtle laugh from behind when you accidentally drop coins and pick them up. It is the tension of exposing your silver Star of David necklace around your neck in an unknown area. It is the loud graffiti of swastikas in your old history textbook or most recently on preserved synagogues and graves. It is the torches and screaming of “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville.

It is now more than ever the gun shots killing the victims in the Pittsburgh shooting, all 11 lives lost to intense hatred of Jewish people. All of this and more is the complex way that Jewish people must survive each and every day, navigating and internalizing anti-Semitic rhetoric and violence.

We are all numb to the recurring acts of hatred that are taking form in school shootings, religious settings, bomb threats, and more. We are all feeling doubt, that stomach wrenching feeling of ‘it’s only a matter of time until it's me.’

Alas, I am not here to vent. I am actually here to talk about action.

At Muhlenberg College, there is a strong culture of discussing and instilling vulnerability. We have sat in spaces time and time again to pour out emotions, share

our stories, and educate one another on pressing topics.

Junior Gabi Solomon helped organize an interfaith vigil after the shooting. Her energy to lead sparked from a family connection in Pittsburgh.

“My sister goes to Carnegie Mellon where the shooting happened, and that's how I was impacted by it,” she said.

“It's my sister’s community. I felt like I had to do something. It was the worst tragedy for Jews in America. We had to do something as a coalition of people, to come together as a community at Muhlenberg.”

The vigil flowed from speakers around campus addressing anti-Semitism and racism within other marginalized groups to calling senators and demanding change. Solomon noted, “The action part was really important to me, like calling our senators and funneling our emotions into something more.”

The key is to continue advocating for our rights, challenging the status quo, and calling out stereotypes and systemic racism. The magic is ignited when we form larger communities and fight together in alliances.

That is why we need to help all oppressed and disenfranchised groups rather than just see the hatred of Jewish people. If not now, when?

Chloe Goldstein is a young Jewish professional working at Muhlenberg College Hillel.

Love from Yoav

The students from Sdot Yoav in Israel, the Lehigh Valley’s Partnership2Gether community in Israel, sent this picture to the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley in the wake of the Pittsburgh shooting. “Thank you, sisters and brothers, for holding us in your hearts,” the JDS responded.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2018 17

Pittsburgh Relief Fund

*as of Nov. 12

Thank you to the community members and businesses in the Lehigh Valley who contributed to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s Pittsburgh Relief Fund. All money raised will be sent directly to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to help victims of the Tree of Life shooting, including psychological services, support for families and medical bills for all those involved.

Houman and Lori Ahdieh Isabella Alkasov Richard and Kelly Banach Nancy Belgrade Nathan and Marilyn Braunstein Elliot and Chelsea Busch Allen and Marjorie Carroll Glenn and Jan Ehrich Brian and Emily Ford Jordan and Susan Goldman Zach and Andrea Goldsmith Aaron Gorodzinsky Robert and Janice Kaplan Edwin and Janice Kay Andrew and Deborah Kimmel Martin and Judy Krasnov Robert and Roberta Kritzer Michael and Carole Langsam Scott Lutzer

Norman and Roberta Marcus Holmes and Jeannie Miller Hank Narrow Taffi Ney Michael and Ruth Notis PP&L James Wishchuk Joyce Morse St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Elise Waldman Thomas Cotter Marilyn Stolove Robert and Beth Orenstein Robert and Joanne Palumbo Daniel Poresky Sandra Preis Matthew and Beth Scheiner Darryn and Lorey Shaff Nicholas and Jessica Volchko

TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION

BY THIS CHANUKAH, PLEASE CALL 610-821-5500 OR VISIT WWW.JEWISHLEHIGHVALLEY.ORG.

Local teen designs special kippah to fight hate

By Stephanie Bolmer HAKOL Editor High school freshman Rebecca Wilson of Allentown is, in her own words, “a proud Jew.” So, when the attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh — where her own father was once a member—happened on Oct. 27, “she was impacted tremendously,” said her mother, Carol.

With her mother growing up in Squirrel Hill and her grandparents still living in Pittsburgh, Wilson felt she had to respond in some way.

So she worked with a designer at Klipped Kippot to design a special kippah with the “Stronger than Hate” message.

“The Pittsburgh shooting was a tragedy for everyone,” Rebecca said, explaining the genesis of this project. “Many Jews wear kippot as a reminder G-d is always with them, but a kippah is also a way to show you are

proud of being Jewish … to communicate we are stronger than hate.”

Wearing this kippah is also a way to give back to the impacted community. All proceeds of the $18 price per kippah will be donated to the Jewish Family and Children’s Service in Pittsburgh.

To learn more about the kippot and making a donation, contact Rebecca at rwilson128@aol.com.

Vigil Continues from page 1

THE JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

Our connections to one another are always important, and in times of tragedy, they are crucial. In the wake of the attack that took the lives of 11 Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue, The Jewish Agency for Israel, an overseas partner of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, played a critical role, together with Jews from around the world, in supporting the Pittsburgh Jewish community.

Immediately following the attack, The Jewish Agency partnered with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to dispatch a mission of five post-trauma and grief specialists from the Israel Trauma Coalition. They landed in Pittsburgh within 48 hours of the attack for a five-day trip. The specialists advised local leaders on best practices to help their constituents recover from trauma, and provided the leaders with tools to manage their own anxiety.

The group also began to develop a long-term healing plan for the community that will guide The Jewish Agency on ways to provide future assistance.

Expressions of support for the Pittsburgh Jewish community poured in from around the world—notably from Pittsburgh’s partnership region of Karmiel-Misgav in northern Israel. These communities have shared deep communal and

EDWIN DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY

Jewish Agency for Israel helps Pittsburgh Recover

Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf outside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. personal connections through The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Partnership2Gether platform for more than 20 years. A memorial service in Karmiel’s Culture Hall drew 200-300 people.

At the ceremony, the outgoing Mayor of Karmiel, Adi Eldar, said that his final act as mayor had been to sign an order for a permanent memorial to be erected in Karmiel in memory of the victims at Tree of Life. “The Jewish community

18 DECEMBER 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

in Pittsburgh have always stood by us,” he said. “I’m sorry that the last event that I’m taking part in as mayor is this sad event.”

Jewish Agency Chairman of the Executive, Isaac Herzog visited Pittsburgh to show solidarity as a representative of Jews from around the world. Herzog visited families of victims, addressed the community and joined a Shabbat service attended by members of Tree of Life and other Pittsburgh synagogues.

name,” Singer said. “About this I am supremely hopeful. I am hopeful because of the countless outpouring of love and kindness that surrounds in this room … I am hopeful because of you.”

Eva Levitt, president of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, organizer of the event, gave opening remarks.

After the Holocaust, Levitt came to the United States with her family “thinking that this was a safe place.”

“That dream, that hope, has been shattered,” she said, not just by the tragic events in Pittsburgh but by antiSemitism that is “rearing its ugly head” everywhere.

“Hate and bigotry will always be there. It’s how we handle and what we try to do about it that is important,” Levitt said. “And I think that building bridges between communities is a wonderful start, as proven by looking out and seeing all of you there.”

Jeri Zimmerman, interim executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, closed out the program, thanking the clergy group, the interfaith clergy, the elected officials, the local law enforcement, members of the media, volunteers from the Red Cross and everyone for coming to show their solidarity.

“Through our Community Relations Council, we have developed meaningful and long-lasting relationships. It is because of these relationships that we don’t feel alone at this difficult time. Your presence here tonight is humbling and reassuring and lets all of us know that anti-Semitism and hate have no place in our community,” Zimmerman said to a round of applause.

Lessons from Kristallnacht

By Arsen Ostrovsky Jewish News Syndicate Eighty years ago on Nov. 9, 1938, Nazis across Germany and Austria, as well as their enablers, razed synagogues, smashed windows and murdered almost 100 Jews in a violent pogrom known as Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”).

In the weeks that followed, approximately 30,000 Jews were transported to concentration camps —a sorrow foreshadowing of the further evil that would soon befall the Jewish people.

Kristallnacht was a murderous example of the human capacity to escalate from indifference, demonization and the singling out of Jews to violence.

First it happened by words and through dehumanization based on our race and religion, and then through the Nazi infrastructure of death.

Today, across Europe—and even in America—we see this dehumanization again: shootings, stabbings, violent assault, synagogues vandalized, boycotts, swastika graffiti, Nazis being honored and history being whitewashed.

On Oct. 27 in Pittsburgh, a neo-Nazi entered the Tree of Life Synagogue during Shabbat-morning services and murdered 11 Jewish worshippers, shouting “all Jews must die.”

The week before, notorious hatepreacher Louis Farrakhan called Jews “termites.”

In fact, according to the AntiDefamation League, 2017 saw a 57 percent spike in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States—the highest number recorded (1,986) in more than two

decades. With 2018 drawing to a close, all signs point to this year exceeding 2017.

In the meantime, across the Atlantic, Europe remains a hotbed of antiSemitism, anti-Zionism and outright Jew-hatred.

In France, the largest Jewish community in Europe, this year there was a 69 percent increase in anti-Semitic acts. Only this past week, French President Emmanuel Macron had proposed to honor Nazi sympathizer Marshal Philippe Pétain, who had collaborated with the Nazis in the deportation of Jews from France during World War II and as such was responsible for the deaths. Consider this: “While he was the prime minister of the collaborationist government Vichy France, Pétain’s government and police force deported more than 75,000 French Jews to concentration camps.

More than 72,000 of them were killed.”

Across many parts of Central and Eastern Europe, there are similar attempts to whitewash those country’s Holocaust-era roles and honor Nazi sympathizers.

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, it is impossible to go a single day without news of an anti-Semitic controversy. In fact, the situation has got to the point where the British police have launched an investigation into anti-Semitic hate crimes committed by members of the Labour Party.

While in Germany, which gave birth to Kristallnacht, anti-Semitic acts continue to be a daily occurrence.

As the great Spanish American philosopher George Santayana said: “Those who cannot remember the past

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are condemned to repeat it.”

This singling out of Jews—and by extension, the Jewish state—represents a collective form of amnesia and a willful disregard of history, indicating that perhaps for too many, very little has been learnt from history.

Today’s anti-Semitism comes from the far-right. It comes from the far-left.

It is expressed not only against Jews as individuals, but against Israel, as the Jew among the nations.

It is a pernicious hatred, like a cancer, that refuses to go away and continues to mutate, evolve and spread throughout society.

The great Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel implored us to “take sides,” warning that “neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

For some, the phrase “Never Again” is no more than an empty slogan. But not for us, not for the Jewish people, and not the Jewish state or those with a clear moral conscience.

Today, we remember our Jewish brothers and sisters murdered in Kristallnacht by the Nazi machinery of death, while so many of their fellow citizens stood idly by, cheering on and enabling this singularly great act of evil.

But even remembrance, albeit imperative and necessary, is not enough alone. We must speak out, we must act out, we must never remain indifferent in the face of such hatred, bigotry and antiSemitism—no matter its source!

Arsen Ostrovsky is an Israel-based international human-rights lawyer and activist. You can follow him on Twitter at: @Ostrov_A.

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New ideas to strengthen ties to Yoav

By Stephanie Bolmer HAKOL Editor Amit Yaniv-Zehavi, the new associate director of Partnership2Gether in Yoav, has a lot of big plans for the next several months. She’ll be working closely with her new committee chair in Israel, Hanna Bachar from Kibbutz Beit Guvrin, who will in turn work with the Lehigh Valley’s own new committee chair, Miriam Zager. Together with the rest of the Partnership leaders, Yaniv-Zehavi will work to make the ties between Yoav and the Lehigh Valley ever stronger.

“The heart of Partnership2Gether is people to people relations,” said Yaniv-Zehavi. And that’s what happens through programs like “Under the Same Moon” and the twinning project between the Jewish Day School and the Sdot Yoav school. “This year we have a record number of families,” YanivZehavi said of “Under the Same Moon,” which is connecting 32 families in Israel with 32 families in Pennsylvania through reading the same book and writing letters. These well-established programs will continue even as new ones are added this year.

New things include making plans to spread the celebration of Mimouna, an exuberant Moroccan custom of dressing up, dancing and feasting on chametz on the day after Passover, to the Lehigh Valley. Or exploring a concept called “Cousins in the Living Room,” which Yaniv-Zehavi learned about at this year’s Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly. The aim of this initiative is to have facilitated conversations between Israelis and diaspora Jews with the goal

of better understanding each other. Even without this formality, though, Yaniv-Zehavi always encourages anyone visiting Israel to come to Yoav.

“It’ll be easy for me to find families who will host them for dinner,” she said.

Yaniv-Zehavi is always trying to find ways to connect everything going on in Yoav to the Lehigh Valley in some way. For example, micro-loans to grassroots initiatives are given each year by their Partnership’s co-funding committee. One such grant recipient is an animal farm for children, at which a Birthright group from Muhlenberg Hillel will volunteer on Dec. 19. Another project supported by this funding is a music center, which will perform a concert of Chanukah songs for the mission from the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley visiting this December.

A special connection that already exists between the Lehigh Valley and Yoav is the Partnership Park. Started several years ago, the trees planted there are a symbol of the two communities’ bond. On Jan. 21, the Partnership intends to have a special Tu B’Shevat ceremony dedicating the grove to the memory of Jewish Federation Executive Director Mark Goldstein, z”l.

Throughout the coming year, Yaniv-Zehavi hopes to bring all these new ideas and more to the Partnership. Adding new members to her committees to have all 14 communities in Yoav represented is a goal of hers, as well as leading the current steering committee on an outing to another nearby Partnership to learn from them. It will all add up to a stronger Partnership and stronger bonds to the Lehigh Valley.

The Jubilee that almost wasn’t

By Jennifer Lader Special to Hakol Seventy-five years ago, in 1943, the Hadassah chapter of Bethlehem-Easton held a concert at the Hotel Bethlehem, a labor of love to improve medical treatment in Israel. This year was to be the annual concert’s Jubilee, featuring a top Jewish musician, Sam Glaser. The date was set for Nov. 4, which, as it turned out, was just one week after a gunman walked into the Tree of Life synagogue.

For many years, a group of dedicated, hard-working women kept the concert going, even as, in recent years, fewer people attended. Four years ago, Fran Fisher and I took on the organizing, even though event planning is not my forté. Fran is amazing at it, however, and we were lucky enough to attract talented musicians. Yet, still our attendance dwindled.

Last year, after the “74th annual,” Fran and I said, “Let’s do something special next year and bring in a full house to honor the chapter presidents.” We reached out to Sam Glaser, one of the top Jewish musicians; he was available and put Bethlehem on his schedule. Fran and I and many of the women who had worked so hard over the years sent out hundreds of invitations.

Then, after Pittsburgh, we felt both sad and anxious – not only over this terrible loss, but also because we wondered, would our audience stay away because of the shootings? There might be just 20 stragglers to honor our past presidents, and we wanted people to feel good that afternoon and, more importantly, to be brave.

The conclusion of the concert series had been set in motion long before, and our aim had been the celebration of longtime Jewish leaders’ accomplishments, not this depressing pill of violence and fear.

Sam Glaser set the tone,

however, in an interview he gave for The Morning Call, saying, “It’s extraordinary that I get to be in Pennsylvania a week after these events … to bring some healing and to be an ambassador for hope.” He was as good as his word at the concert – and for the audience that had steadily streamed in to fill Congregation Brith Sholom, where it was held. He honored those of blessed memory, while involving us all in songs of prayer and joy. “It seems counter-intuitive to me to stop the celebration,” he noted.

Sam was right. We did pause, though, for Ann Goldberg to announce the names of the many past chapter presidents in attendance so Fran and I could place a pink rose corsage on the wrist of each, a delightful memory that we’ll all treasure.

Another highlight of the concert was a medley that started with “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” and culminated in “Hatikva.” It was a beautiful moment and one that few wanted to have end. But after enjoying the gourmet dessert buffet, it was time for the usual cleanup. The honorees worked, too, while their husbands waited for the (real) conclusion.

The next day was a rainy one that Sam nevertheless spent cycling along Bethlehem’s canal path with new friends and exploring the Steel’s smokestacks, now cold and rusted, but sided by a trestle walkway that gives its fiery history. In the car on the way to the airport, he thumbed through a Bethlehem magazine and mentioned, “There’s a patriotism here.”

I asked what he had noticed.

“People here love this city,” he said. “They love this state.”

That comment brought a fresh perspective. Already we’ve seen how people have come together after the recent tragedy, for the vigil at the JCC and to

share best practices regarding security. As for Hadassah, the group will continue and do other fundraisers; it’s now part of the Philadelphia chapter. I may not especially enjoy event planning, but our shared work was for a cause that resonates and brought us all closer. Yes, we love this place, this time together, this world. And we’ll do a lot for love.

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“The Marvelous Mr. Lieber”

By Yoni Glatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com Difficulty Level: Manageable

Stan Lee, creator of iconic Marvel comics superheroes, is dead at 95 Jewish Telegraphic Agency

51. Tony Stark 55. Capote nickname 56. Venomous snake 59. A Montague 60. Matt Murdock 63. Astrologer Sydney 64. Small ox often found in crosswords 65. Not something you'd want flat in the Negev 66. Use perfume, in a way 67. Warm-hearted 68. "'Nuff ___", famous words from the late great 37-Across.

Down 1. Cook's meas.

2. Act starstruck, say 3. "I'm only ___ for the money" 4. Fidget Spinners, e.g.

5. Like the themers in this puzzle 6. Reveal the identity of some themers in this puzzle 7. Jerry Lewis telethon org., for years 8. Huff and puff 9. Kind of ballot 10. Dastardly laugh 11. Baseball's Felipe, Matty, or Moises 12. Cambodian currency 13. Kind of job 18. "Enchanted" girl in a 2004 film 23. Metal joint 24. Animal related to

27-Down 25. Appropriateness 27. Thumper's "deer friend" 28. Be in pain 29. Israeli writer Keret 30. Absorbed, as in thought 31. Where some athletes go?

32. Audio receivers 35. Dickensian cry 37. "Pay less, ___" 38. "___ Vinci Code" 39. American Airlines, on the NYSE, once 43. Talk meant to inspire 45. Head and eye followers 46. Robotic foe of some characters in this puzzle 47. Go over the works of 37-Across again 48. Clash between Judah and Israel, e.g.

51. ___-Z, Camaro model 52. Arch of Titus locale 53. Arab land recently visited by Netanyahu 54. Neighbor of Minn.

56. Reebok competitor 57. She might tell you where the nearest shul is 58. Entreated 61. I, in Hebrew 62. Space invaders, for short

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Across 1. Pre-weekend shout 5. Igor had one 9. "___ Day's Night" (Beatles classic) 14. Actor who played 22-Across 15. Never ___ sentence with a preposition 16. Be in contradiction with 17. Peter Parker 19. Pumps and clogs 20. Hamster, often 21. Mauna ___, Hawaii 22. Bruce Banner 24. First name that forms another first name with Beth 26. Suffix with elephant or serpent 27. T'Challa 31. Pinnacle 33. Buster Brown's dog...whose name is more fitting for a large cat 34. Bar bill 36. Sacrifice instead of Isaac 37. Stanley Lieber 40. 4.0 is tops: Abbr.

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Stan Lee, who as one of the masterminds behind Marvel Comics created such mega-popular comic book franchises as Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk and the X-Men, died Nov. 12, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

He was 95.

Born Stanley Martin Lieber in 1922, the son of a Romanian-Jewish immigrant father and what he once called a “nice, rather old-fashioned Jewish lady,” Lee drew on themes of his childhood to create a series of memorable pulp heroes whose outsider status in some ways became their superpower.

Lee was a pioneer of a comic book industry dominated at its outset by hungry, second-generation Jewish artists and writers, and became one of its most iconic figures.

He also lived long enough to see it transformed into a multibillion-dollar multimedia industry that has spawned countless blockbusters based on his characters, including Black Panther, the Mighty Thor, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Daredevil and Ant-Man. Lee grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. In 1939 he was brought in to what would become Marvel — and named its interim editor at age 19 — although it wasn’t until the early 1960s that he and artist Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) teamed up to put their distinctive stamp on the industry then dominated by DC, which published Superman and Batman comics.

According to Arie Kaplan, author of “From Krakow to

Krypton: Jews and Comic Books,” Lee and Kirby created “a group of superheroes who weren’t sunny or optimistic like rival company DC’s heroes. One member of the Fantastic Four, Ben Grimm (aka The Thing) felt like a freak because cosmic rays had transformed him into an orange, graniteskinned monster. With Ben Grimm, Lee and Kirby were using a superhero as a metaphor for Jews, African-Americans, and other minorities.”

In the introduction to the book “Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics and the Creation of the Superhero,”

by Danny Fingeroth, Lee wondered if the anti-Semitism he and other young comic book writers and artists experienced played a role in their art. “[C]ould it be that there was something in our background, in our culture, that brought us together in the comic book field?” he wrote.

“When we created stories about idealized superheroes, were we subconsciously trying to identify with characters who were the opposite of the Jewish stereotypes that hate propaganda had tried to instill in people’s minds?”

Yet readers also appreciated the vulnerability and human scale of his otherwise outsized characters.

“His stories taught me that even superheroes like Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk have ego deficiencies and girl problems and do not live in their macho fantasies 24 hours a day,” Gene Simmons of the band Kiss, who immigrated to the United States from Israel as a child, said in a 1979 interview. “Through the honesty of guys like Spider-Man, I learned about the shades of

Stan Lee is seen onstage at Los Angeles Comic-Con at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Oct. 28, 2017. gray in human nature.”

In 1972, Lee was named publisher of Marvel, leaving the editing to others as he went about promoting the Marvel brand. He set up an animation studio in Los Angeles, and saw the company eventually grow from TV production into a multimedia giant that has dominated the movie box office. In 2009, the Walt Disney Co. bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion.

The most recent Marvel film, “Avengers: Infinity War,” is the sixth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to gross more than $1 billion.

In 2002, Lee published an autobiography, “Excelsior!

The Amazing Life of Stan Lee.” After Joan, his wife of 69 years, died in July 2017, Lee’s final few years were marked by a series of lawsuits over his fortune and allegations that Lee was a victim of elder abuse by a man handling his affairs. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lee’s estate is estimated to be worth as much as $70 million.

Upon hearing of his death, Lee’s Jewish fans offered tributes on Twitter.

“In honor of the late great Stan Lee, born Stanley Lieber, you should all read ‘The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay’ by Michael Chabon, a novel about how American Jews invented superheroes, and why,” wrote Peter Sagal, the host of the NPR game show “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” NBC News correspondent Benjy Sarlin described Lee as “a big source of cultural pride as a kid, both as a New Yorker and as a Jew. It meant a lot to me that so many great comic creators had similar biographies to my grandparents and that their world was reflected in the work itself.”

Survivors include his daughter and a younger brother, Larry Lieber, a writer and artist for Marvel.

Another daughter, Jan, died in infancy.

In Israel, missile alert apps save lives — and spread anxiety

By Sam Sokol Jewish Telegraphic Agency

SAM SOKOL

Four years ago, on the eve of the Israeli military’s Gaza operation known as Protective Edge, a private developer created the Red Alert app providing real-time notification when missiles or rockets were fired into Israel.

Since then, Red Alert and smartphone apps like it have become tools for saving lives, social media sites in their own right — and a portable source of anxiety for Israelis already living in a state of high alert.

On Nov. 12, as Hamas and other terrorist groups again fired hundreds of rockets at cities and towns in Israel’s south, alert apps were again pinging and buzzing their way into the Israeli psyche. When a reporter asked on Facebook if they made users anxious, Israelis were quick to agree.

“I had to turn it off,” Izzy Berkson said. “It was stressing me out a lot more than it should’ve.”

Aviva Adler said she had turned off notifications because “it was just too nerve-wracking.”

Inside the areas most likely to be targeted, the apps have become essential. But even those living at a distance from Gaza say they want to know when the missiles are incoming, often as a way of showing solidarity with their fellow Israelis.

“I use it, so that each time there is a siren anywhere, I pray for the people there to have strength and be safe,” said Chana Shields Rosenfelder of Beit Shemesh, a central Israeli city located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Barbara Freedman of Jerusalem echoed that feeling.

“I put on an app so that I am aware of the suffering of our brothers and sisters in the south, and so my life is not ‘business as usual,’” she said.

That impulse is felt even thousands of miles away.

Shmuel Katz, an American immigrant living in Beit Shemesh, recalled how his son, who had moved back to the United States, had gotten in trouble at work because his phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. The son had to explain to a stunned supervisor that dozens of rockets were being launched at Israeli citizens, and that he had installed Red Alert in order to

“keep up and make sure that his family here was safe.”

Paul Frosh, a professor of communications at Hebrew University, says the apps are in a tradition of more humble technologies, including church bells and sirens, that have been used not only to signal specific events but to “connect people to each other across space and time.” Like the Muslim call to prayer or the Shabbat siren that sounds in Jerusalem, he said they enable people to “feel part of the community at the same time.”

However, unlike those previous methods, users of the modern-day alert apps opt in and are “deliberately making themselves the subject of an emergency broadcast,” Frosh said.

“That’s a very powerful opt-in medium of social solidarity and cohesion.”

Asked if he believes that the use of such apps contributes to the spread of anxiety among the population, Frosh replied that it very well might do so.

But what he finds even more interesting is why people would choose to subject themselves to that.

“It’s almost as if people are saying ‘I should be anxious, I live in a community with these people, even if they are strangers,’ and it’s almost as if I have a moral [imperative] to experience their anxiety,” he said. “They may not benefit from their anxiety, but my being part of this emergency system is a sign of solidarity and makes me feel closer to them.”

For other users, the apps fill a more practical need, even if the government and military don’t always approve.

During the Israel-Hamas conflict in 2014, Daniel Tal-Or, who lives in

Israeli apps alert users whenever a missile is headed into the country.

Efrat, near Jerusalem, was having issues with Israel’s official air raid notification system.

“My wife is hearing impaired, and we had problems with the sirens not reaching everyone” in our town, he recalled. “In situations like this, it’s very important that you have a backup.”

With missiles from Gaza again raining down on Israel, Tal-Or created his own take on Red Alert. Sitting in front of his computer, he cobbled together a bot that would warn members of his family’s chat channel on the communications app Discord when a rocket threatened their location.

Tal-Or explained that he used data from the IDF Homefront Command’s website in programming his bot.

“It’s tolerated but not officially endorsed,” he said. “I suspect most of the apps are using this.”

According to Jameel, the pseudonymous author of the popular Muqata blog, who also included rocket alert capabilities in his app, “not only is the Homefront Command not helpful, but the apps go against what [it] wants.

They do NOT want precision reports because Hamas uses it to align and improve their rockets against us.”

This, however, has not stopped programmers from developing these apps or users from installing them.

Yedidya Kennard, who developed one of the first such apps on Android during Operation Protective Edge, said even those who are not under fire want to “keep in touch and feel connected.”

HAPPY HANUKKAH from The Lehigh Valley’s Personal Injury Law Firm

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2018 25

PJ Library kids learn about feeding the hungry

PJ Library families paid a visit to the Jewish Family Service Community Food Pantry on Oct. 28. After listening to "Bagels from Benny" and decorating their own grocery bags, the children helped stock the shelves of the pantry with the Thanksgiving and other food items they brought with them. They learned how important it is to feed the hungry and help wherever we can.

Donations keep kids warm this winter Jewish Day School families generously donated coats and other cold-weather gear to the Jewish Family Service’s annual Coats and Cocoa Drive, which seeks to warm local children in body and spirit.

When back pain makes life feel like this, think St. Luke’s.

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When pain makes small tasks feel overwhelming, call St. Luke’s. We can begin your evaluation over the phone and get you on a course to healing.

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26 DECEMBER 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

allowed to apply for a spot and help mentor the new members about the BBYO experience.

Stay tuned for upcoming news and events. You do not want to miss out! If you have any questions regarding upcoming events or about signing up for BBYO, please contact allentownaza@ gmail.com or afraley8626@gmail.com.

Connections to Israel and Beyond for BBG Community and service for AZA this fall

By Jake Wiener AZA Allentown AZA’s chapter has had a successful year so far. From new members enjoying their first experiences as a chapter member to older members who are serving as role models for the new members, AZA is off to a great start, and we are looking to continue the trend as the year progresses.

This past November, AZA held a Shabbat service at the B’nai B’rith house. Several of our chapter members came to lead the service along with the

older adults of the house. We were able to enjoy a Shabbat service, along with the ability to share connections with other Jewish people in our community.

Also this past November, AZA was able to hold our new member event at Revolutions. Thanks to grant money from the Liberty Region and the International Board, the event was free of cost. The chapter was able to relish in delicious food, drinks, bowling, and time to bond with fellow chapter members, as well as chapter members from Allentown BBG. This month, Liberty Region will hold its New Member Weekend from Dec. 7-9. The weekend is designed for new BBYO members to have a fun experience with informative programs and a chance to meet different Jewish teenagers their age from around the area. The convention will take place in Harrisburg, and older members are

By Pandora Schoen BBG November was an exciting month for the Allentown B’nai B’rith Girls (BBG). Throughout its history, BBYO has made a point of spreading awareness of Israel through education and through a range of programming events. These events are called “Speak-Up” programs, and although many of BBYO’s most famous Speak-Up events are international (International Leadership Seminar in Israel and other Israel travel programs in the summer), Allentown BBG was fortunate enough to get to participate in one on Nov. 6.

Allentown’s own BBYO brother and sister chapters worked together with Rotem Bar, Israeli shlicha, to create a Speak-Up program that educates its members on the economic as well as cultural sides

of Israel. The event in November was very successful! Many members of both AZA and BBG attended and they all had an enriching and fulfilling shared experience, concluding with a symbolic game led

by Bar. Bar presented on the economics and culture in Israel, specifically Israeli startups, which are some of the most successful in the world.

During the game, each BBYO member picked five jelly beans, and each jelly bean represented millions of dollars. We placed them all into a plastic bag, which represented stock in a company. At the end of the game, Bar revealed which companies were successful and the members who won happily ate their candy!

The event was fun and gave the members a more enlightened view of the many sides of Israel, specifically the economic side.

After having an interesting and informative event, the chapter boards agreed that it was time for some fun.

An event at Revolutions definitely fulfilled their hopes! Many BBGs and AZAs came to the event, and they all had fun bowling, eating delicious food and going to the arcade. Although not everyone won, everyone left feeling as if they did make more friends and more memories (so really, everybody still got lucky in the end!). The event was sponsored

by Liberty Region BBYO #13. All in all, Allentown BBYO is on the rise and will have more events coming soon. For more information, email allentownmazkirah@gmail.com.

SteelStacks is the perfect venue for your Bar or Bat Mitzvah!

SteelStacks is the perfect venue for your next event. The ArtsQuest Center and the surrounding campus is an ideal location to host a spectacular social or corporate experience your guests will be talking about for years.

From the first hello to the final farewell – every detail is handled

by ArtsQuest’s courteous hospitality professionals.

Contact us today! call Chelsea at 610-297-7116

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2018 27

Chabad of the Lehigh Valley breaks ground on new building

William Goldman, who wrote ‘Princess Bride’ and ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,’ dies at 87 Jewish Telegraphic Agency

28 DECEMBER 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

RAY AMATI/GETTY IMAGES

William Goldman, a novelist and screenwriter who twice won the Oscars for his work on “All the President’s Men” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” died at the age of 87.

Goldman, who was William Goldman at a New York Jewish, passed away Knicks game in New York City, Nov. 15 in his ManhatDec. 23, 2003. tan home, surrounded by family and friends at the age of 87, friends of his family told Deadline.

Goldman began his writing career as a novelist and later transitioned to writing scripts. As a novelist, Goldman wrote the critically-acclaimed “Marathon Man” and “The Princess Bride,” among others. He later adapted those two novels for film, turning them into box-office hits that are considered classics.

His first film script was “Masquerade” in 1965. Some of his other notable film credits include “Misery” (adapted from the Stephen King novel) and “The Stepford Wives (adapted from the Ira Levin novel).

Goldman was born in Chicago and grew up in the suburb of Highland Park, Illinois.

He was married to Ilene Jones from 1961 until their divorce in 1991. They had two daughters.

By Rabbi Yaacov Halperin Chabad of the Lehigh Valley Amidst the unimaginable events that have occurred within the Jewish world the past few weeks, in the Jewish life one thing continues to shine—Jewish life persevering. Throughout it all, we have continued.

Growing, expanding, spreading light. A beacon of light shone from the ground to the gates of heaven and God’s throne on Sunday, Nov. 18, coming from a small city called Allentown.

From humble beginnings in the home of Rabbi Yaacov and Devorah Halperin holding weekly services in their living room, Chabad has grown to a bustling, vibrant community with educational and social events for all ages. From their renowned Hebrew School, Gan

Yealdim pre-school, Camp Gan Israel, teen clubs, Smile on Seniors and The Friendship Circle, Chabad programs has something for everyone! On Nov. 18, the Jewish community celebrated as a family the ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Chabad Center of the Lehigh Valley. Over 150 people came to show their support for the work and love of the spreading of Judaism in their hometown. The event memorialized not only the growth the Jewish community has seen in the past years, but also signified the continuation of growth that is expected in the years to come. Despite the hard and scary events facing American Jewry, their strength and love has continued to persevere.

The groundbreaking event included socializing, food and

music, well wishes from community members and leaders, the rabbi and rebbetzin and honorable dignitaries including state senators, all there to witness the occasion. With short speeches from the members of Senate to the touching words of Jewish children who are attendees of the Chabad Hebrew School to remarks from Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley Interim Executive Director Jeri Zimmerman, everyone shared their happiness and pride in the moment.

The new $3 million building will boast a beautiful sanctuary, social hall, a brand new preschool classroom, a library, a Cteen lounge, and much more.

The Lehigh Valley is excited to share the news of the inspiring continuation of Jewish community.

Two daughters of the Lehigh Valley selected for Hillel International Student Cabinet

JONAH ROSEN

Naomi Pitkoff

By Stephanie Bolmer HAKOL Editor There are only 19 students serving on the 2018 Hillel International Student Cabinet, but the Lehigh Valley is well represented.

Sarah Holtz, a senior health policy administration major at Penn State University, and Naomi Pitkoff, a junior public health major at Temple University, were both selected for this year’s cohort of Jewish college students from around the world.

Holtz grew up in the Lehigh Valley, with her family moving at the same time she went off to school, while Pitkoff’s family still resides here. The young women both made it through the highly competitive process to take an active role in shaping the Hillel movement, which currently operates on more than 550 college campuses in 17 countries.

Sarah Holtz “Our job is really to just be the voice of students,” Holtz said when describing their role as cabinet members. She already has experience with that, having immediately gotten involved with her campus’s chapter upon arrival to Penn State. She credits her Lehigh Valley roots and her leadership experience with BBYO as the catalyst for this.

“Growing up in a Jewish community like the Lehigh Valley, it was just an incredible experience of tight-knit support in everything you do,” she said. “When I got to Penn State, it was my natural inclination to go find Jewish life.”

As a freshman during Hillel welcome week, Holtz volunteered to help set up and clean up the meeting rooms, saying she would “do anything to be involved.” By the end of her first semester, she had applied to become the secretary, and the next year, she served as

president. “My passion within Jewish life is really Jewish leadership,” Holtz said. Now, she gets to live out that passion to the next degree.

Similarly, Pitkoff also got involved with Hillel during her freshman orientation, and she’s been active ever since. During her sophomore year, she served as the campus engagement intern, creating programs to connect with Jewish students not already involved with Hillel. This semester, she is the president of Temple Hillel’s Jewish Education Board.

About the next step in her Hillel journey, Pitkoff said, “Being part of the Hillel International Student Cabinet is such an honor. I am able to connect with college students around the world while helping Hillel. In addition, being part of the Cabinet has given me a wider perspective of what it is like to be Jewish in other places.”

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

East meets the West End Sumo Sushi and Japanese Fusion opened in March with the goal of lavishing Allentown palates with a menu of quality Japanese fare. Located just over a mile from the JCC, Sumo is located in the Village West Shopping Center, open seven days a week. Owners Jessica Chen and Calvin Lin offer a diverse, fresh menu with sustainably sourced ingredients that can be tailored to any dietary restriction—kosher-style, gluten free, vegan and vegetarian dishes are available.

Chen served in Japanese restaurants for 10 years, and Lin apprenticed under a sushi chef in New York for eight years. After getting married, they decided to open a restaurant together with their collective knowledge, and as Chen candidly said of their partnership and shared passionate work ethic, "We needed to create something of our own, and we are both still young and able to do so; that is our wealth."

Catering services were announced on the recent celebration of the restaurant's six-month anniversary, and the restaurant is excited to provide the specialized service for celebratory and business functions alike. They offer both traditional and fusion sushi, hot Japanese entrees and neoAsian dishes.

The restaurant’s eponymous dish arrives in many forms, from mango-wrapped to spicy to brimming with different fish. Each looks as unique as it tastes, too, thanks to the chefs' artful application of multicolored roe, different sauces, and fastidiously sliced fillets.

Along with sushi, they prepare a wide range of teriyaki, tempura, katsu, and noodle dishes, plus starters so appetizing, many are tempted to assemble a meal from small plates. Lunch specials and bento boxes are also available daily, reasonably priced and with generous portions.

For more information about Sumo Sushi and Japanese Fusion, visit www.sumopa.com or call 610-351-1887.

These announcements appear as a service to our advertisers.

HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2018 29

Community Calendar To list an event in the Community Calendar, submit your information on our website, www.jewishlehighvalley.org, under the “Upcoming Events” menu.

All events listed in the Community Calendar are open to the public and free of charge, unless otherwise noted. Programs listed in HAKOL are provided as a service to the community. They do not necessarily reflect the endorsement of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley. The JFLV reserves the right to accept, reject or modify listings.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1 Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley 65th Annual Gala 7:30 p.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley. You are cordially invited to an evening of celebration, dinner and a live auction to benefit the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley as we honor Eva and Larry Levitt. Black tie optional. Dinner will be Glatt Kosher. Tickets may be purchased at www.jdslv.org. For more information please call the JDS office at 610-437-0721 or email Adrienne at amanger@jdslv.org.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2 PJ Library and TCP Hanukkah Celebration 3 p.m., Temple Covenant of Peace. Hanukkah crafts and yummy holiday treats, jelly donuts, sweets, and other fun things to feast on. There will be music and Rabbi Melody will read a story. Open to the entire community. RSVP to Temple Covenant of Peace at 610-253-2031 or tcp@rcn.com.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2 Community Chanukah Party 6 p.m., Temple Covenant of Peace. Join us for candle lighting, latkes, sufganiyot, driedl and song! RSVP by Nov. 29 to 610-253-2131 or rebmelody@gmail.com.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 3 Friendship Circle Lunch & Program: Rotem Bar, Israeli Cultural Emissary 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley. Lunch and program $10, $7 Friendship Circle members.

First visit to Friendship Circle is free. Special annual membership fee for 2018-19 year: $23. Lunch provided by Muhlenberg Kosher Catering. RSVP by calling the Welcome Desk at 610-435-3571 or e-mailing Amy Sams at asams@lvjcc.org. All adults are welcome to attend Friendship Circle lunch and programs held on Mondays. Visit www.lvjcc.org/ friendshipcircle for program and schedule updates.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4 JCC Community Hanukkah Event 6 to 7:30 p.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley. Bring the family to celebrate Hanukkah at the JCC! Dave Fry concert 6 p.m. latkes and toppings 6:30 p.m., candle lighting and sufganiyot at 7 p.m. $5 per person for concert and latkes, candle lighting and sufganiyot free. To register, stop by the JCC Welcome Desk, call 610-435-3571 or visit www.lvjcc.org.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5 Lehigh Valley Phantoms Light Up the Night PJ Library story 6 p.m., game 7:05 p.m., PPL Center.

Join the community to celebrate Chanukah with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. See the giant ice menorah lit, sponsored by Chabad of the Lehigh Valley. Kosher food available. Group tickets are $20 and may be purchased through Chabad. The Jewish Federation is also selling tickets for a Young Adult Division/PJ Library outing. There will be a PJ Library story and photo opportunity with team mascot meLVin at 6 p.m. Under 2 free.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6 Happy Hour, Happy Life 5:30 p.m., Wegmans. Looking for ways to enhance knowledge of Judaism? KI is introducing a new opportunity for members to come together to learn and get to know each other. A monthly Happy Hour (1st Thursday of each month) where we can share our thoughts and reflection on URJ’s podcast, “10 minutes of Torah” with Rabbi Rick Jacobs (www.reformjudaism). libsyn.com. The best part: no advance preparation needed. You can listen to the podcast while you drive over to the bar or restaurant where we’ll meet. We promise a little study, a little socializing, lots of fun!

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7 Shabbat Chanukah Dinner 5:30 p.m., Congregation Sons of Israel. Enjoy a Shabbat Chanukah dinner with friends and leave the cooking to Rabbi Mizrachi. With a new spin on timeless culinary classics, this promises food for the body and 30 DECEMBER 2018 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY

food for the soul. Open to all! BYOB. $15 per adult, $8 per child, children under 2 free. RSVP by Nov. 30 to april2715@gmail.com or 610-433-6089.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7 Traditional Hanukkah Shabbat Dinner 6 p.m., Congregation Brith Sholom. Dinner will feature the wonderful flavors of a Hanukkah feast. Make your reservations by 12 p.m. on Nov. 29 (reservations are required). The price is $15 per adult or become a patron for $20; $5 per child between the ages of 5 - 13; no charge for children under 5 with maximum family charge of $45. Please pay in advance.

Make out checks to “CBS - Shabbat Dinners.” Late reservations or “at the door” price is $18 per person.

Call Tammy at 610-866-8009 for reservations, transportation and more information.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7 Chai Society Dinner 6:15 p.m., Temple Covenant of Peace. Special Shabbat dinner in honor of our LIFE & LEGACY members. Please RSVP to 610-253-2031 by Nov. 29 or to rebmelody@gmail.com.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 Ist Annual Community-Wide Cholent Cook-Off 11:30 a.m., Congregation Sons of Israel. Does your cholent have what it takes to win the coveted Cholent Cup? Which Jewish Organization will win? We’ll find out on Dec. 8. (Accompanied by meat kiddush.) This is a free event and open to all. Only seven contestants, so act quickly! Reserve a crockpot by calling 610-4336089 or emailing april2715@gmail.com.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 Dinner & A Movie: Doing Jewish – A Story From Ghana 5:30 p.m., Congregation Keneseth Israel. BYOB social at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner catered by Chef Eric.

African-themed with latkes and vegetarian options. Dessert and post-movie discussion facilitated by Alan Snyder. This is a teen-friendly movie. Adults $18; teens $10. RSVP by Wednesday, Dec. 5, with payment online at www.kilv.org or by mail. Sponsored by the Keneseth Israel Adult Education Committee.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8-9 Artisan Craft Fair 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley. The JCC’s annual Artisan Craft Fair is returning to the J with an opening preview reception on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 6 to 9 p.m., and a full day on Sunday, Dec. 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event features hand-crafted works by artists from here in the Lehigh Valley and elsewhere. Come browse ceramics, jewelry, woodworking, glass and more. There truly is something for everyone. Preview night is $36 per person and includes 1 raffle ticket and entrance to the show on Sunday. Sunday tickets are $5 per person and include a free raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets will be available for purchase at the event: $5/1 ticket, $20/5 tickets. A portion of the proceeds will benefit JCC scholarships. Contact Stephanie Bennett at 610.435.3571 ext. 141 or at sbennett@lvjcc.org for more information.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9 JDS Chanukah Israel ArtsFest 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley. Join us for an exploration of contemporary Israeli culture, arts and food, all in one night! Homemade Israeli cuisine, virtual reality Israel experience and special guest DJ Rotem Bar, community shlicha. $36 per family, $18 per person. RSVP to Adrienne at amanger@jdslv.org or 610-437-0721. Supported by an Israel-themed Community Impact Grant from the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 10 Friendship Circle: Special Hanukkah Luncheon and Musical Entertainment 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley. LVKC luncheon catered by Boscov’s. Musical entertainment provided by The Klezmer Guys - Bob Cisak & Gene Gelfeson. Lunch and program $10, FREE for Friendship Circle members. RSVP by calling the Welcome Desk at 610-435-3571 or e-mailing Amy Sams at asams@lvjcc. org. All adults are welcome to attend Friendship Circle lunch and programs held on Mondays. Visit www. lvjcc.org/friendshipcircle for program and schedule updates.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13 Latke-Vodka Hanukkah Cook-Off II 7 p.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley. Get ready for Round 2! Five teams will compete to see who will make the best latke and vodka drink. Featuring returning champion team “50 Shades of Latke” and four brand new competitors. Taste it all and vote for your favorites!

This event WILL sell out! $36 per person. Limited to the first 100 participants. Get your tickets at the JCC Welcome Desk, by calling 610-435-3571 or by visiting www.lvjcc.org. Presented by the JCC of the Lehigh Valley and the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s Young Adult Division. Sponsored by Whole Foods Market and 100.7 WLEV. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 Something For Everyone Shabbat 10 a.m., Temple Beth El. A Shabbat program for every age at Temple Beth El. 0-3-year-olds: bring a favorite grown up to BIMBOM BUDDIES. Pre-K-grade 2: enjoy games and stories in KINDERSHUL. Grades 3-6: daven with doughnuts at JUNIOR CONGREGATION. Teens: help lead youth service or visit GPS. Parents and other adults participate in the main service or drop in for our GUIDED PRAYER SERVICE. Everyone comes together for a delicious KIDDUSH LUNCH. Open to the community. Let’s celebrate Shabbat together at Temple Beth El! SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16 Young Adult Division Eat & Greet with Israeli Shlicha 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., private residence. NEW DATE: Calling all young adults: Rotem wants to make you an Israeli brunch! Come meet our Israeli emissary, Rotem Bar, as she serves up some traditional Israeli food. RSVP required to Aaron Gorodzinsky at 610-821-5500 or aaron@jflv.org. Address provided upon RSVP. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25 Christmas Day Mitzvah Project 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Congregation Keneseth Israel.

Let’s express our appreciation to First Responders in Allentown and Emmaus who have to work on Christmas Day by bringing them a hot meal and a note of thanks. Please see the KI website for more details. Sign up available online at www.kilv.org or by calling the office 610-435-9074. Questions? Call Rachel Cubellis at 610-554-7285.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25 Pancake Breakfast 9 to 11:30 a.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley. Join us for our annual pancake breakfast and scrambled egg bar and, new this year, a Camp JCC smores bar. Families will have time in the pool and a winter craft project and, to top it off, a PJ Library story. $9 per person, JCC members $6, children under 3 free.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30 Camp JCC Reunion 3:30 to 5 p.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley. Come relive your fondest memories from summer 2018 with friends and staff. Free. To register, please visit or call the JCC Welcome Desk at 610-435-3571 or go online at www. lvjcc.org.

Celebrate the beauty of Shabbat

with Cantor Wartell

FRIDAYS 8-9:30 AM WMUH 91.7 muhlenberg.edu/wmuh 484.664.3456

Shabbat & Yom Tov Candlelighting Times Friday, Dec. 7

4:16 pm

Friday, Dec. 28

4:24 pm

Friday, Dec. 14

4:17 pm

Friday, Jan. 4

4:30 pm

Friday, Dec. 21

4:20 pm

Friday, Jan. 11

4:37 pm

Ongoing Events SUNDAY to FRIDAY DAF YOMI 7:30 a.m., Congregation Sons of Israel Meeting all year long, this class covers the gamut of Talmudic law, studying one page of the Talmud each day, and completing the Talmud over the course of seven and a half years. Basic Jewish background is recommended.

SUNDAYS

100,000 MILES/YR FOR KOSHER! First Tuesday of the month, 7 p.m., Congregation Beth Avraham Open to all. Fascinating vignettes from a mashgiach who drives approximately 100,000 miles/year (yes, per year!) to keep the kosher supply chain intact. From rural Arkansas to frigid Nova Scotia, winter and summer, the demands are always there.

Contact Rabbi Yitzchok I. Yagod, Kashruth Hotline (24/6), 610-9052166, rabbiyagod1@gmail.com.

siddur, learn about key prayers and continue our study of the te’amim (trope) for Torah and Haftarah. Required texts: “JPS English TaNaKh” or “Etz Hayyim Chumash,” “Aleph Isn’t Tough” (AnT) 1 & 2, Torah/Haftarah trope book.

ORTHODOX JEWISH LIVING: WHAT IS IT & HOW? 8 p.m. Contact Rabbi Yizchok I. Yagod, 610-905-2166, rabbiyagod1@ gmail.com.

THURSDAYS

JEWISH WAR VETERANS POST 239 2nd Sunday of the month, 10 a.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley Veterans and their significant others are invited as the guest of the Ladies Auxiliary. Come and enjoy comradeship; we’ll even listen to your “war stories.” A brunch follows each meeting. Questions? Contact Commander Sheila Berg at 610360-1267 or sh-berg1@hotmail. com.

TEFILLIN CLUB & ADULT HEBREW SCHOOL 9:30 a.m. Tefillin; 10 to 11 a.m.

Adult Hebrew, Chabad Tefillin is for Jewish men and boys over the age of bar mitzvah, to learn about, and gain appreciation for, the rich and enriching Jewish practice – the mitzvah – of donning tefillin. Contact 610-351-6511.

TALMUD CLASS FOR BEGINNERS! 10 to 11 a.m., Congregation Beth Avraham of Bethlehem-Easton For information,contact Rabbi Yitzchok I. Yagod at 610-905-2166.

TUESDAYS TORAH STUDY 12:30 p.m., at the home of Cindy Daniels, Easton Join Rabbi Melody of TCP to delve into the heart and soul of the Torah and how it applies to your life! No knowledge of Hebrew is necessary, nor is registration. Contact 610-2532031 for information.

YACHAD TORAH STUDY GROUP 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley It doesn’t matter how much you know, it matters how much you want to know. Bring your curiosity to Yachad’s Torah study group and discover the wonders, adventures and meaning of the Torah. Moderated by lay leaders. Held in the front gallery at the JCC. Email barbart249@ aol.com for information.

J-DAYS: CONNECTION CORNER AT THE J – YIDDUSH CLUB 2 to 3:30 p.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley Enjoy fun, fellowship, stories and more. Discuss topics like cooking, humor, music and all kinds of entertainment in the Yiddish language.

Join other adults to experience similar interests. Register for the year and participate in as many of the weekly activities as you would like. $5/season or register for a full year: $18/ year. JCC members: free. Register with the JCC Welcome Desk or call 610-435-3571. Contact Amy Sams for more information about J-Days at 610-435-3571 ext. 182 or asams@ lvjcc.org.

WEDNESDAYS 101 JUDAISM CLASS 10 a.m., Temple Covenant of Peace Join Rabbi Melody for the 101 Judaism Class. All welcome! Contact 610-253-2031 for information.

J-DAYS: CONNECTION CORNER AT THE J – MAH JONGG 1 to 3:30 p.m., JCC of the Lehigh Valley Drop in for a friendly game of mahj and conversation. Join other adults to experience similar interests. Register for the year and participate in as many of the weekly activities as you would like. $5/season or register for a full year: $18/year. JCC members: free. Register with the JCC Welcome Desk or call 610-435-3571. Contact Amy Sams for more information about J-Days at 610-435-3571 ext.

182 or asams@lvjcc.org.

KNITTING WITH FERNE 1 p.m., Congregation Keneseth Israel Free and open; no experience needed. Ferne is delighted to teach newcomers to knitting and crocheting as well as confer on projects with those who have more experience.

A lovely way to spend a Wednesday afternoon!

CHRONIC CONDITIONS GROUP 2nd Thursday of the month, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Jewish Family Service The group is open to anyone that is coping with living with a chronic condition and looking for others to share life issues and garner support.

Co-led by Susan Sklaroff-VanHook and Rebecca Axelrod-Cooper. Call 610-821-8722 to learn more. There is no charge for the group.

ECCLESIASTES: A TIME AND A SEASON 10:30 a.m., Congregation Keneseth Israel Join a welcoming group of KI members and their friends to discuss a variety of topics relevant to the Jewish lives we have -- or want to have. No prerequisites except an open mind and a willingness to listen to each other. For more information or to get on the email list, contact shari@kilv. org or call 610-435-9074.

TORAH ON TILGHMAN 12:15 p.m., Allentown Wegmans Cantor Ellen Sussman of Temple Shirat Shalom leads a lunch and learn on the Torah. RSVP to contactus@ templeshiratshalom.com or 610820-7666.

SHABBAT

HADASSAH STUDY GROUP Every other Wednesday, 1:30 p.m., Temple Beth El Allentown Hadassah presents a stimulating series of short story seminars.

All are welcome to attend these free sessions in the Temple Beth El library.

The group will be reading selections from anthologies available from Amazon.com. For dates and stories, contact Marilyn Claire, mjclaire@ gmail.com, 610-972-7054.

BETH AVRAHAM TORAH STUDY 7 p.m.

Torah: It is the common heritage that binds all Jews together. Explore the ancient wisdom of Torah together. All are welcome. RSVP: Rabbi Yitzchok I. Yagod, 610-905-2166, rabbiyagod1@gmail.com.

TORAH STUDIES: A WEEKLY JOURNEY INTO THE SOUL OF TORAH 7 p.m., Chabad of the Lehigh Valley Torah Studies by JLI presents: Season Four 5778: A 12-part series.

Cost is $36 for the complete series (textbook included). For more information contact 610-351-6511or Rabbi@chabadlehighvalley.com.

ADULT B’NEI MITZVAH PROGRAM 7:15 p.m., Congregation Brith Sholom Goals: In part two of the adult b’nei mitzvah program, we will continue to improve our Hebrew reading skills, explore the structure of the

BEGINNER’S GEMARA 8 a.m., Congregation Sons of Israel Facilitated by Dr. Henry Grossbard, this is an excellent primer for developing the analytical tools necessary for in-depth study of the Talmud.

CONTEMPORARY HALACHIC ISSUES FROM THE PARSHA 12 p.m., Congregation Sons of Israel This class takes Halachah from the weekly Torah portion and brings it to bear on some of the most pressing issues of our time.

CHAVURAT TORAH STUDY Saturdays following kiddush lunch, Temple Beth El Taught by Shari Spark. No sign-up needed. Length of each class will vary. Enrich your Shabbat experience by studying the parashat hashavua, the weekly Torah portion.

Questions? Email Shari at shari@ bethelallentown.org.

WISDOM OF THE TALMUD 1 p.m., Congregation Brith Sholom Join Rabbi Singer in a lively discussion about Jewish law, ethics, customs and history, as found in the pages of the Talmud, Masechet Brachot. This year we are continuing to focus on the roots of the Amidah and what blessings are said over different foods. Books are available for order. No previous Talmud study required.

Congregations BNAI ABRAHAM SYNAGOGUE 1545 Bushkill St., Easton – 610.258.5343 Conservative SHABBAT MORNING services are Saturdays at 10 a.m.

CHABAD OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY 4457 Crackersport Rd., Allentown – 610.336.6603 Rabbi Yaacov Halperin, Chabad Lubavitch SHABBAT EVENING services are held once a month seasonally, SHABBAT MORNING services are held Saturdays at 10 a.m., RELIGIOUS SCHOOL classes are held Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m.

CONGREGATION AM HASKALAH 1190 W. Macada Rd., Bethlehem – 610.435.3775 Rabbi Malkah Binah Klein, Reconstructionist Weekly Shabbat services and a monthly family service with potluck dinner. Religious school meets Sunday mornings. Email am.haskalah.office@ gmail.com to learn more.

CONGREGATION BETH AVRAHAM 439 South Nulton Ave., Palmer Township – 610.905.2166 | Rabbi Yitzchok Yagod, Orthodox SHABBAT EVENING starts half an hour after candle lighting. SHABBAT MORNING starts at 9:30 a.m., followed by a hot kiddish.

CONGREGATION BRITH SHOLOM 1190 W. Macada Rd., Bethlehem – 610.866.8009 Rabbi Michael Singer, Conservative MINYAN is at 7:45 a.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. on Shabbat and holidays. RELIGIOUS SCHOOL classes every Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at Brith Sholom and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. at Temple Beth El. CONGREGATION KENESETH ISRAEL 2227 Chew St., Allentown – 610.435.9074 Rabbi Seth D. Phillips, Reform Services begin at 7:30 pm every Friday night. The first Friday of the month is a birthday celebration.

Religious School is held on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and runs from kindergarten through confirmation (10th grade).

CONGREGATION SONS OF ISRAEL 2715 Tilghman St., Allentown – 610.433.6089 Orthodox SHACHARIT: Sundays at 8:30 a.m., Mondays and Thursdays at 6:30 a.m., Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 6:45 a.m. MINCHAH/MAARIV: 20 minutes before sunset. FRIDAY EVENING: 20 minutes before sunset, 7 p.m. in the summer. SHABBAT MORNING: 9 a.m. SHABBAT AFTERNOON: 90 minutes before dark.

TEMPLE BETH EL 1305 Springhouse Rd., Allentown – 610.435.3521 Rabbi Moshe Re’em, Conservative WEEKDAY MORNING minyan services at 7:45 a.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m. SHABBAT EVENING services at 7:30 p.m. with the last Friday evening of the month featuring our Shira Chadasha Service.

SHABBAT MORNING services at 9:30 a.m. followed by kiddush. RELIGIOUS SCHOOL classes every Tuesday at 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. Midrasha school classes Monday at 6:30 p.m. Shalshelet meets bimonthly on Monday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Shalshelet (the chain) is open to ALL 10th, 11th and 12th grade students in the Lehigh Valley. For more information, contact Alicia Zahn, religious school director, at school@bethelallentown.org.

TEMPLE COVENANT OF PEACE 1451 Northampton St., Easton – 610.253.2031 tcp@rcn.com; tcopeace.org Rabbi Melody Davis, Cantor Jill Pakman, Reform TCP holds Shabbat morning services at 10 a.m. For more information about our Temple and activities, see our website at www.tcopeace.org or look us up on Facebook.

TEMPLE ISRAEL OF LEHIGHTON 194 Bankway Str. Lehighton – 610-379-9591 Pluralistic Shabbat evening services are held monthly beginning with potluck at 6:30 p.m. followed by services at 7:30 p.m. All regular monthly events can be found at templeisraeloflehighton.com.

TEMPLE SHIRAT SHALOM 610.706.4595 | Cantor Ellen Sussman, Reform TSS meets in congregants’ homes once per month and at Cantor Sussman’s home once per month.

Call Cantor Sussman for details.

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THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS FOR THEIR SPONSORSHIP OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY IN 2018 PANTONE 485 CVU PANTONE Process Yellow CVU PANTONE Reflex Blue C PANTONE 1395 CVC

SM

Mike Guman

Bonnie and Bobby Hammel

Lehigh Valley Kashrut Commission

Mortimer S. Schiff Family Foundation

Midge Sokol & Family

Jay and Paulette Stiver

JLS Realty