Tell us your story

March is a time of renewal and growth, ushering us into spring and signaling that the cold, short, bare days of winter are behind us and warmer days are ahead. March is also when we observe International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. Since 1987 when the first Women’s History Month was proclaimed, there has been an annual theme. The 2023 theme is “Celebrat- ing Women Who Tell Our Stories.”

It is remarkable that through thousands of years of persecution, Jews have remained and still survive.

Constantly a statistical minority, continuously targeted by individual and global acts of antisemitism, Judaism has outlasted myriad other civilizations and continues to do so. A single common thread —the passing down of our tradi- tions, our culture, our religion and our stories from dor l’dor, generation to generation — has enabled our survival.

Storytelling has always been a Jewish value. Rooted in the history of midrash, the sharing of oral tradition and the exploration and interpretation of the stories and laws around Judaism have been essential to Jewish survival. Throughout history, Jew- ish women have been a crucial component of that. Take, for example, Hemdah Ben-Yehuda, who worked closely with her husband to develop the modern Hebrew we know and speak today, ensuring a modern language that would aid in the longevity of a Jewish people in Israel. Look also to the efforts of the multiple women who have and are contributing to telling the Jewish American story. Like Rosa Sonneschein, founder of the American Jewess, the first English magazine published for Jewish women in the United States; Dora Askowith, a Jewish women’s history expert and professor who taught Jewish women at Hunter College for 45 years; Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose comprehensive and pointed dissenting opinions have become famous for telling the story of judicial efforts toward creating a more equitable and fair society. By participating in and contributing to Jewish life in our community, we are also sharing in our rich tradition of Jewish women telling our own stories. This Women’s History Month, come be a part of that tradition by sharing your voice, telling our stories, and contributing to the longevity of both our local and global communities.

HAKOL STAFF

CARL ZEBROWSKI Editor

CHARLENE RIEGGER

Director of Marketing

DIANE McKEE

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

Account Representative TEL: 610-515-1391 hakolads@jflv.org

JFLV EXECUTIVE STAFF

JERI ZIMMERMAN

Executive Director

AARON GORODZINSKY

Director of Campaign & Security Planning

DENISE AHNER Director of Finance & Administration

JULIA UMANSKY Director of Gift Planning & EITC

LEE SOLOMON

Associate Director of Development

2023 Tickets

THURSDAY, MODI LIVE Sponsorships Available

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. Quotes may be edited for grammar and clarity. 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.

MAY

The Lehigh Valley-Yoav Partnership Park in Blessed Memory of Mark L. Goldstein

We gratefully acknowledge those individuals who have offered expressions of friendship by requesting that trees be planted in the Mark L. Goldstein Friendship Park, a Yoav-Lehigh Valley Partnership Forest.

In Memory

IRA (BOB) BORN

(Father of Ross Born)

Judy Alperin

Jeanette & Eduardo Eichenwald

Lisa and Barnet Fraenkel

JONATHAN DICKER

(Son of Neil and Linda Dicker)

Robie and Don Barga

Donna and Jim Edmonds

Roberta and Robert Kritzer

Carole and Michael Langsam

Enid and Bruce Reich

Karen and Alex Tamerler

RACHEL FRIEDMAN

(Mother of Adina Re’em)

Carole and Michael Langsam

STEPHEN HALEM

(Husband of Lynne Halem, Father of Samantha Himelfarb)

Aaron Gorodzinsky & Jennie

Schechner

MAXINE MILLER (Mother of Marla Melman)

Carole and Michael Langsam

ELLEN (ELLIE) WEINBERGER (Wife of Ben Weinberger)

Carole and Michael Langsam

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

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

ROBBY WAX JFLV President

WENDY EDWARDS Office Manager

GINGER HORSFORD Donor Services Associate

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