April 7, 2017

Volume XXIII, Issue VII | www.jvhri.org Serving Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts

PASSOVER

11 Nisan 5777 | April 7, 2017

The Dwares JCC’s new front entrance.

New front and back doors set to open at JCC

BY FRAN OSTENDORF fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org

It’s been more than a year since the front doors closed and construction started in earnest on the renovations to the Jewish

Alliance’s Bonnie and Donald Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence.

The new front and back entrances are set to open April 19.

GOOD DEEDS DAY

PHOTO | FRANK PROSNITZ

On Good Deeds Day, April 2, Congregation Beth David members took to the beach to help make it clean and safe: (left to right) Michael jemal, Beth Dworetzky, Bob Fricklas, jacob Jemal, Maysy Fricklas, Lily Liebermensch, Dara Liebermensch and Ben Liebermensch. Other organizations throughout the Rhode Island Jewish community participated, too.

More photos on page 26.

OPENING | 28

Despite the threats, Jerusalem journalist optimistic about Israel

BY SAM SERBY Gil Hoffman, the chief political correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, spoke about the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East and many of the pressing issues that Israel faces during a visit to Temple Emanu-El, in Providence, on March 21.

Hoffman, who was once called “the most optimistic person in Israel” by Israel Television, was characteristically upbeat about the future of Israel and the Jewish people in his lively

and amusing talk, which was hosted by StandWithUs Rhode Island. The Jewish Voice had the opportunity to sit down with Hoffman before his speech for a Q&A session. Here are excerpts from our interview: Q: What do you believe is the greatest threat currently facing Israel?

A: The Israeli school system – because we have 40 kids in a class and you can’t possibly learn that way. We want to continue to be leading the world in

technology, and how are you going to do that if your kids aren’t getting the proper education?

As a father of seven, I am quite concerned about that. The Iran threat seems rather distant compared to what you have to deal with day in and day out.

Q: Are you concerned about the threat that Hezbollah poses to Israel?

A: Absolutely. Hezbollah has 130,000 missiles and rockets aimed at Israel today. They are our most immediate strategic THREATS | 14

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2 | April 7, 2017

COMMUNITY

When Jews were Friars: New research about Providence College

INSIDE Business 30-31, 37 Calendar 11-12 Community 2-7, 13-17, 26, 28, 36-38 D’Var Torah 10 Food 18-19 Obituaries 32-33 Opinion 8-9 Passover 18-25, 27, 29 Seniors 34-35 Simcha | We Are Read 39 World 10, 12, 33

THIS ISSUE’S QUOTABLE QUOTE “… anything is possible if we maintain faith in ourselves …”

The Jewish Voice

BY GEORGE M. GOODWIN On March 30, more than 60 people, including a coterie of priests and rabbis, attended a program at Providence College sponsored by the Theological Exchange Between Catholics and Jews. They gathered in Harkins Hall, the college’s original structure, which opened in 1919. The evening’s principal lecturer was Arthur Urbano, an associate professor of theology, who spoke authoritatively and passionately about PC’s pioneering Jews.

When he began his research three years ago, Urbano expected to fi nish within a few months. But his efforts grew in scale and complexity, and he received grants from the Rhode Island Foundation’s Horowitz, Gross, and Bliss Fund and the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. His determination and resourcefulness will culminate this fall, during PC’s centenary, with a full-length documentary fi lm. The evening’s audience was captivated by some highlights, which featured interviews with a dozen Jewish alumni and their families.

Urbano titled his research and fi lm “Sons of Providence” for several reasons. He explained, for example, that most of the college’s Jewish students,

SAVE the DATE

Harkins Hall at Providence College. who were commuters from the city’s North End, belonged to nearby Orthodox congregations such as Sons of Zion, Sons of Israel and Sons of Jacob. But Jewish students also shared a providential history with their Catholic peers. Providence College might have been more accurately named “Dominican College,” but its founders sought a more ecumenical outlook and mandate. Women would not be admitted until 1971.

Urbano imagined identifying Jewish students by typical names, but he discovered that application forms, which normally recorded Catholic

Bonnie & Donald Dwares Jewish Community Center

parishes, also listed names of synagogues. So he and his research assistants examined the applications of more than 8,200 enrollees between 1919 and 1950 (after which information about religious backgrounds dwindled). By 1965, at least 383 Jews had enrolled, representing about 5 percent of the student body.

The fi rst Jewish student, Joel Novodgrosky, from Westerly, enrolled in 1922. Like many of his Jewish successors, he remained only a year or two.

Some transferred to other colleges and universities or were able to enter graduate programs

without bachelor’s degrees.

Jewish enrollment accelerated in 1927, when there were 14 young men out of a total enrollment of only 288. A dozen years later, Jewish enrollment may have been as high as 16 percent, but it usually fluctuated between 4 and 14 percent.

So why did so many Jews choose PC? In the absence of a public institution, there were few local opportunities for poor but ambitious young men. In the 1890s, Brown University (and later Pembroke, its women’s college) began admitting small numbers of Jews, especially commuters. But Rhode Island State College, in Kingston, may have been too distant for others who needed to support themselves and possibly their families. Although the cost of attending PC was nominal, several Jewish students received generous scholarships.

Urbano believes that although Jewish students were not necessarily better qualified than others, PC sought to overcome a false reputation of exclusivity and prejudice. In 1932, with key support from some of Providence’s Reform Jewish leaders, PC and Brown cosponsored an interfaith seminar on human relations that attracted 1,000 participants.

FRIARS | 6

Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island presents

GRAND REOPENING & DEDICATION CEREMONY Wednesday, May 24, 2017 Dwares JCC 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence Family Celebration | 5pm Dedication Ceremony | 6:30pm

with special guest

Nate Ebner

2-time Super Bowl Champ, New England Patriots & 2016 US Olympic Rugby Team

Details to follow.

Dwares Rhode Island

COMMUNITY

thejewishvoice.org

April 7, 2017 |

3

Cooking for a peaceful future

BY CYNTHIA BENJAMIN NEW BEDFORD – Israeli Arab Miriam Zoabi urged people attending the “Cooking Up a Dialogue” event to take a close look at the photos placed on their tables.

“We are holding knives in our hands,” Zoabi said. “But not to kill each other, but to cook together.”

Zoabi is one of four women – two Israeli Jews and two Israeli Arabs – from the Afula region in Israel who recently cooked up a feast at synagogues and Islamic centers in Massachusetts and Connecticut during a tour sponsored by the Southern New England Consortium, which assists Jewish federations with programming.

“I’m here to show another life in Israel,” Israeli Arab Yomna Zoabi said in halting English at the group’s last stop – Tifereth Israel Congregation, in New Bedford, on March 27. “We are together sometimes” she said of Arab and Jew. While media reports focus on violence and polarization between Israeli Jews and Arabs, something different is happening on “main street,” where Jews and Arabs are fi nding common ground and learning to better understand each other through mundane activities such as studying together, healing together, painting together

and cooking together.

For Emma Gal, Yomna Zoabi, Galia Margolin and Miriam Zoabi, that effort began about 1 1/2 years ago, when, inspired by the Marching Together to a Shared Future movement, they decided to try cooking together.

Despite some skepticism at home, they persisted.

“I want to be an example to our children – if we speak to each other, maybe we can solve our problems,” Zoabi said.

“In the beginning, we were very nice to each other, very polite,” Gal said. But after a few months of cooking at one another’s houses, and after meeting each other’s families, she said they began “to speak about everything, like women do.”

Everything except politics, that is. The women instinctively avoided that subject, while speaking of “things that are just in our hearts,” Gal said.

As time passed, friendships took hold between the Jewish women and the Muslim women.

“It’s nice that we see so many things we have together – the same lives,” said Gal. Marching Together to a Shared Future has brought together 7,000 Jews and Arabs, and the women made the point that the effort can grow anywhere, including in the United States.

Amir Cohen, executive direc-

PHOTO | CYNTHIA BENJAMIN

Miriam Zoabi, left, and Emma Gal, collaborate to serve Syrian Hamud Soup. tor of the Jewish Federation of Greater New England, pointed out that among those in attendance were several leaders and members of the Islamic Society of Southeastern Massachusetts.

“This conversation begins today … and hopefully continues,” Cohen said.

Martin Bentz, outreach coordinator for the Islamic Society, said, “This is the fi rst time we get together, but not the last

time.”

The cooks said that at their fi rst meetings, they bumped up against some cultural differences. Now they know, for example, that Muslims don’t drink wine and Jews don’t eat shellfish. But as they cooked together, and learned traditional dishes from each other, they found they had more in common at the table than they had suspected: Since Israel is home to Jews from across the globe, its cuisine incorporates elements from many cultures, including many Arab cultures.

Gal, for example, has both Syrian and Lebanese relatives.

So, while a few of the dishes they prepared are traditionally Arab or traditionally Jewish, there was a great deal of overlap. The 60 people in attendance enjoyed them all, from the Syrian Hamud Soup (a tart, lemony potato soup served over rice) to the Banitsa (a creamy, cheesy dish similar in consistency to kugel) and Sachlav Malabi (rose water pudding), and heartily applauded their multicultural cooking team.

“Such little steps, such big things,” said Gal. “The little steps will bring the peace.”

CYNTHIA BENJAMIN is an editor, writer and chef. She is a member of Congregation B’nai Israel, in Woonsocket.

Simple vegetables make a spectacular presentation The cooking team from Afula, Israel, prepared dishes that were as attractive as they were tasty. They shared the recipe for the following dish, which is simple to prepare and makes a spectacular presentation. Since their recipe was scanty on directions, additional information has been included in brackets. And while the recipe makes 45 servings, it can easily be adjusted to make fewer servings.

Veggie Patch on a Plate

Ingredients 10 large whole cauliflowers 30 sweet bell peppers, assorted colors

10 red onions 15 sweet potatoes 15 zucchinis 3 garlic bulbs 2 packages fresh thyme Olive oil Mustard seeds Salt Black pepper Directions [Preheat oven to 425 degrees.]

Mix all the seasonings with the olive oil. Cut up all the vegetables, except the cauliflower, and apply the seasonings. Cook [on sheet pans or cookie sheets] until soft and brown on the edges.

[Use the photo, at right, as a guide on how to slice the vegetables. Some vegetables cook faster than others – keeping them separate on your pans will allow you to remove them as they are ready. Check the veggies every 10 minutes or so, removing those that have fi nished cooking and stirring any that look like they’re drying out. You can also toss the cooked veggies – except the cauliflower – in a small amount of olive oil before serving. Serve cold.]

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4 | April 7, 2017

COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice

Mind, Body & Spirit: A May 7 event to help women ‘pause, replenish and connect’ Are you trying to live more simply, with fewer things in less space? Felice Cohen, author of

BY STEPHANIE HAGUE Shague@jewishallianceri.org

“Food has powers. It picks us up from our lonely corners and sits us back down, together. … Food is the keeper of our memories, connecting us with our pasts and with our people.”

Jessica Fechtor, in her memoir, “Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home.”

At age 28, Jessica Fechtor was happily immersed in her life as a graduate student and a newlywed, and was considering starting a family. Then one day, while out running, an aneurysm burst in her brain.

Fechtor’s journey to recovery began in the kitchen, as soon as she was able to stand at the stovetop and stir, and it was there that she regained her strength and drive, from the restorative power of cooking and baking.

Written intelligently, and with humor and warmth, “Stir” is a heartfelt examination of what it means to nourish and be nourished.

On Sunday, May 7, Fechtor will share her inspirational story as the keynote speaker at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s Mind, Body & Spirit event, chaired by Lisa Davis, Robin Engle and Barbara Feldstein. This community women’s event will take place in the Alliance’s newly renovated Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence.

Susan Froehlich, vice chair of philanthropy at the Jewish Alliance, said she is thrilled that the Alliance is hosting its first Mind, Body & Spirit event for women.

“It will be amazing to have women of all ages and from across our state come together to learn and be inspired by our great cadre of speakers,” Froehlich said. “Women need to take time out of their busy lives to pause, replenish and connect with each other, and this event will do just that.”

Fechtor will kick off the morning with her address, which will be followed by breakout

CONTRIBUTORS Leah Charpentier BouRamia Cynthia Benjamin Seth Chitwood Stephanie Ross Sam Serby DESIGN & LAYOUT Leah Camara

address is at 10. Breakout sessions run at 11:15 and 12:15 p.m. and the event wraps up at 1:05 when participants can meet the authors and get books signed.

Admission is $10, plus a gift in any amount to the 2017 Annual Campaign.

For more information on this event or to RSVP, contact Danielle Germanowski at dgermanowski@jewishallianceri. org or 401-421-4111, ext. 109. The full schedule and speaker bios are available at www.jewishallianceri.org/mind-body-spirit.

STEPHANIE HAGUE is the philanthropy officer at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

PHOTO | JEREMY FRAGA

Jessica Fechtor

sessions with inspiring and informative authors from across the country on topics from motherhood and life’s transitions to organizing one’s life and home and women’s health and wellness.

The scheduled speakers and their topics are: Alica Ybarbo and Mary Ann Zoellner, who are both E m my-w i n n i n g p r o du c e r s and the writers of three New York Times bestselling books on motherhood. Their session will explore the bumpy road of motherhood with humor and honesty.

Are you wondering what’s next in your life? What will excite, fulfill and stretch you?

Barbara Wasserman, psychotherapist and life transition coach, will help you begin to rediscover your purpose and create an action plan for your next act.

Drs. Romy Block and Arielle Levitan, both physicians, will share their common-sense, medically sound approach to using vitamins to improve your diet, exercise plan and overall health.

ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Chris Westerkamp cwesterkamp@jewishallianceri.org 401-421-4111, ext. 160 EDITOR Fran Ostendorf

“90 Lessons for Living Large in 90 Square Feet (... or More)” explores downsizing, decluttering and “living large” in any space.

Dr. Mache Seibel, a leading authority on women’s wellness and menopause, will help women transform their fear and confusion about menopause into insight, inspiration and information for healthy, happy and vibrant lives.

All women are invited to attend the Mind, Body & Spirit event. Free babysitting will be provided for children 6 months to 10 years, with advance request. Also scheduled is an optional belly dance class at 8:15 a.m. Event registration and breakfast begin at 9:30. The keynote

Karen Borger ksborger@gmail.com 401-529-2538 VOICE ADVISORY GROUP Melanie Coon, Douglas Emanuel, Stacy Emanuel, Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser, John Landry, Mindy Stone COLUMNISTS Michael Fink Rabbi James Rosenberg Daniel Stieglitz

THE JEWISH VOICE (ISSN number 15392104, USPS #465-710) is published bi-weekly, except in July, when it does not publish.

PERIODICALS Postage paid at Providence, R.I. POSTMASTER Send address changes to: The Jewish Voice, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906.

PUBLISHER The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, Chair Mitzi Berkelhammer, President/CEO Jeffrey K. Savit, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906.

Phone: 401-421-4111 • Fax 401-331-7961 MEMBER of the Rhode Island Press Assn. and the American Jewish Press Assn.

COPY DEADLINES: All news releases, photographs, etc., must be received on the Wednesday two weeks prior to publication. Submissions may be sent to: editor@jewishallianceri.org.

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All submitted content becomes the property of The Voice. Announcements and opinions contained in these pages are published as a service to the community and do not necessarily represent the views of The Voice or its publisher, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. We reserve the right to refuse publication.

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April 7, 2017 |

COMMUNITY

5

Andrea Katzman takes the helm at JCDS

BY JOHN LANDRY The Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island recently announced that Principal Andrea Katzman will become the new Head of School, starting July 1. She will succeed Adam Tilove, who has directed the school since 2013 and will be moving on to a new entrepreneurial venture.

Katzman has been involved with the school since 2005, when she served on the committee that transformed the Alperin Schechter Day School into JCDS. The parent of two children who graduated in the 2010s, she joined the faculty in 2007 as the lead teacher in PreK. She became the teacher leader in 2013 and the Principal last year. With a master’s degree in American Studies, she has also been an adjunct instructor in Education at Hebrew College and Rhode Island College. Last spring she received a Grinspoon Foundation Award for Excellence in Jewish Education.

John Landry, whose twin sons were in her first pre-K class at the school, spoke with her about her plans. The conversation was edited for clarity.

What led you to become Head of School?

I love teaching. But I’ve also enjoyed coaching other teachers and working to build a community around an educational vision. And I’ve always been excited about fusing progressive education and Judaism, something I initiated 10 years ago in my own classroom and have since implemented with other teachers. I’ve worked closely with Adam Tilove over the last four years, solidifying the school’s commitment to progressive education, developing a knowledgeable faculty and setting up programs around project-based learning and design thinking. Now we have the opportunity to build on that foundation.

What’s the connection between progressive education and Judaism?

John Dewey, the father of progressive education, taught

that education should address not just what the teacher wants to say, but also students’ understandings and curiosity.

That’s where you get the energy that brings on lasting learning, when students embrace a subject rather than regurgitate facts. Yet student-centered learning eventually falls apart without a clear purpose. You have to combine it with real obligations, which for Dewey were those of citizenship in a democracy. Judaism promotes an ethical vision with sacred values – providing obligations that complement our civic ones.

So you get learning that covers all the profound aspects of life.

Design thinking complements this vision. It’s not just about designing a product; it’s also about listening to people, identifying their desires, and creating something that meets those needs. That process starts with empathy, which is also a major Jewish value.

Progressive education also fits well with Judaism’s egalitarianism. Holiness isn’t just for priests or rabbis; it’s for everyone. The best kind of education teaches traditions to our kids so they can understand them in a hands-on way. We do this literally at the school when the kids build replica Noah’s arks or make bricks as the slaves did in Exodus.

From that basis, kids can take responsibility for improving society. That means both within the Jewish community and within our larger culture.

As Yossi Abramowitz says, “Judaism is engaged in the world to raise it up.”

What are some other examples?

One of the first things Adam did was to convert a classroom into a Design Lab, where kids could go and play out all sorts of possibilities. Teachers have integrated the lab into lesson plans so kids can grab onto a concept in class and run with it. They’ve reinvented the Kabbalat Shabbat service, created a “recharging station” for taking a break during the day, and built a life-sized bird’s nest.

them than from the administration. It’s more exciting and effective for everyone that way.

Beyond that, we’re excited about our Beta Midrash project.

We want to be an educational resource and destination for the broader Jewish community, not just students through 5th grade. Over the next few years, we’ll be developing materials around progressive education for middle school and highschool kids to supplement the important learning at the syna-

gogue schools. We’d like our design lab and related curriculum to be available not just to our alumni but to all Jewish teens in greater Rhode Island.

Adam has given us a great start, and I’m excited about working with the broader school community.

JOHN LANDRY lives in Providence with his wife, Rochelle Rosen, who is vice-president of JCDS, and their two sons.

Andrea Katzman Right now they’re figuring out how to boost recycling at school.

To foster these efforts we developed STEAM Week, where students in the Brown/RISD Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Club teach our kids about design.

Our teachers work with these volunteers to develop age-appropriate projects. We’ve also collaborated with the Center for Dynamic Learning, where our students and those from the Islamic School in Rhode Island work on STEAM projects while building relationships.

This year the fourth-grade teachers set up “Genius Hour,” where every student takes an interest and designs a project around it. One is working on creating the largest set of chopsticks in the world, another is building a dirt bike and a third is working on helping the Humane Society. Along the way they’re developing English, math, science, marketing and research skills, and building their sense of belonging to the community.

What’s on the horizon?

Our main challenge is building on the momentum of these experiments. We want teachers to run their classes to honor their students’ interests and clarify their obligations to the community. I want teachers to see themselves as leaders so more programs come from

PHOTOS | FRAN OSTENDORF

Marc Diamond, left, Rabbi Yechezkel Yudkowsky and David London listen to Mayor Elorza.

Rabbi Yudkowsky, left, Marc Diamond and Fred Horowitz, right, with Mayor Elorza

Milestone

Approximately 50 people turned out on a rainy Tuesday to watch as the College Hill extension of the Providence Eruv was dedicated. The ceremony took place at Brown RISD Hillel on April 4. Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza accepted a token for the city. Both he and Brown President Christina Paxson spoke. The eruv project took three years to complete. It joins the existing Providence Eruv, which celebrated its 30th year in 2016.

Nowadays, it’s a shortageof blood that’s really a plague.

Nothing is more important than saving a life, so it’s essential that Israel have an ample supply of blood for all its people.

That’s where Magen David Adom comes in — collecting, testing, and distributing Israel’s blood supply for civilians and the Israel Defense Forces. And to protect Israel’s blood supply in the future, we’re building a new blood center for Israel, one that will be reinforced against rocket or other terrorist attacks. You can support MDA’s lifesaving blood services.

Make a gift today. Pesach kasher v’sameach.

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6 | April 7, 2017

COMMUNITY

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JEWISH TOMORROW

that starts today

Jewish tradition teaches us that it is our responsibility to make the world a better place for future generations.

The simple truth is that without bequests and planned giving we cannot prepare for the future needs of our community.

Securing your gift now will ensure the education of our children, make certain our elderly receive the proper care, and promise that the Jewish traditions and culture we hold dear live on and flourish.

Leaving your legacy and caring for your loved ones has never been easier.

For more information on ways to leave your Jewish legacy, please contact Trine Lustig, Vice President of Philanthropy, at tlustig@jewishallianceri.org or 401.421.4111 ext. 223.

FROM PAGE 2

FRIARS

During World War II, when most PC students served in the military, Jewish students helped temporarily fi ll a gap, but these young men would also leave in large numbers.

Many Jewish students either returned after the war or began their studies as beneficiaries of the GI Bill. The 1950s and early ’60s were a halcyon era, for many Jewish students, including clusters from Pawtucket, Woonsocket and Fall River, Massachusetts, participated in nearly every extracurricular activity and some students, including Edward Feldstein ’64, were elected to leadership positions.

Although not required to take religion courses (or attend classes during Jewish holidays), Jews were expected to take numerous philosophy courses. The late Robert Krasner ’51, who became a biologist, was one of PC’s early Jewish professors and remained there his entire career.

A 14-minute excerpt from the “Sons of Providence” fi lm emphasized many Jewish students’ close friendships with their non-Jewish peers as well as with Dominican professors.

Several interviewees said they believe that PC was an ideal place for them to learn and grow. One proud graduate was Leonard Sholes ’36, who passed

away this year at 102. His three sons were present at Harkins Hall to hear him kvell.

Why did Urbano decide to terminate his study with the class of 1965? By that time, as opportunities arose elsewhere, Jewish enrollment had declined.

Today, among 4,000 undergraduates, only 13 identify themselves as Jews. But the college’s commitment to interfaith understanding has only deepened, even preceding the publication of the Second Vatican Council’s landmark reform, “Nostra Aetate.”

A decade or two ago, it would have seemed bizarre for a PC scholar to lecture about a single photograph, taken around 1928, which shows the cantor and five choirboys of Sons of Zion. But this is exactly what an associate professor of history, Jennifer Illuzzi, did in her presentation, “The Smiths and Smith Hill: A Campus, A Community, A City.” She explained how three choirboys, including the cantor’s sons, Jacob and Abraham Smith, were able to attend PC. And the third boy, Maurice Greenstein ’48, became the college’s fi rst Jewish valedictorian.

EDITOR’S NOTE: An exhibit of the research is on display at Harkins Hall on the Providence College campus until May 5.

GEORGE M. GOODWIN recently completed his 13th year as editor of “Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes.”

April 7, 2017 |

COMMUNITY

thejewishvoice.org

7

50 years after Nostra Aetate, Jewish-Catholic relations have never been better

BY SAM SERBY On March 22, Providence College hosted a discussion titled “Theological Exchange Between Catholics and Jews. Nostra Aetate – Fifty Years Later,” with Rabbi Gary BrettonGranatoor, of Congregation Shirat Hayam in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the Rev. Dennis McManus, of Georgetown University.

About 100 alumni, students and members of the Jewish and Catholic communities gathered in the university’s Aquinas Hall to listen to the two religious leaders speak about the relationship between Catholics and Jews in the past and present, as well as the significance of the Nostra Aetate, the fi rst postHolocaust document discussing the relationship of the Catholic church with non-Christian religions. The document’s groundbreaking Chapter 4 denounced anti-Semitism and stressed the religious bond and spiritual legacy shared by Jews and the church.

Both Bretton-Granatoor and McManus said relations have never been better between the two religions than they are now. But McManus warned of complacency, saying, “When things are good, you take it for granted, and may stop working toward further progress.”

Bretton-Granatoor echoed this sentiment, and vowed to keep working with the Catholic community to build stronger relationships.

One of the courses McManus teaches at Georgetown University is Holocaust Forensics.

This course provides students with a deep understanding of the Holocaust through the use of investigative techniques that have the students retracing the steps of the Nazis and their victims. McManus spoke of his many missions to Eastern Europe, where he investigates Holocaust crime scenes.

He recalled speaking to a 25-year-old woman on the streets of Romania. He asked about her understanding of the events that occurred during that time. McManus related how this young woman denied the very existence of the Holocaust, adamantly dismissing the credibility of the genocide.

The clergyman noted that this is not uncommon.

“Many groups around Europe do not recognize Nostra Aetate, or even the Holocaust,” he said.

McManus acknowledged that inside many seminaries, the relationship between Catholics and Jews is not discussed or taught enough, sometimes leading to misconceptions.

Bretton-Granatoor discussed his great concern about the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S., citing the desecration of gravestones in cemeteries in St. Louis and Philadelphia. The rabbi spoke of the importance of tolerance and acceptance.

The night concluded with the two leaders expressing optimism about the future relationship between the two faiths.

“We [Catholics and Jews] know how to come together for the sake of healing the world,” said Bretton-Granatoor.

Rev. Dennis McManus, left, and Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor at the discussion.

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SAM SERBY is a native of East Greenwich and attended Temple Sinai, in Cranston, for many years. He is a recent graduate of Johnson & Wales University.

Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor

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The Miriam Hospital wishes you a happy passover. miriamhospital.org

Rev. Dennis McManus.

OPINION

8 | April 7, 2017

Reflections on the sandwich generation I am a member of the sandwich generation. Most define that to mean someone who is taking care of younge r c h i l d r e n along with older parents.

Mine is not a traditional sandwich arrangement.

I am involved in my ch i ld ren’s EDITOR lives but I’m proud to say FRAN that they are OSTENDORF grown, living on their own and doing well. We are well-connected via phone and text. And we “speak” often, sometimes daily. I like those connections and the involvement. I don’t consider these close communications to be bothersome or unwelcome. Many of my peers are similarly connected to their adult children. It’s a different era than when we were growing up and our parents called – or we called them – once a week.

My parents are also living on their own. But now they need some help navigating a world filled with more technology than anyone could have imagined.

I feel blessed to have sharp, reasonably healthy parents who, at ages 80 and 88, rarely ask for in-person assistance from their children, who are scattered in locations hours away from their home.

So when help is needed, nobody thinks twice about jumping in and offering it. And sometimes, no request is necessary. That was the case recently when the family came together to help my parents with a move.

It was a testament to strength and fortitude that it happened.

We were helping to move a more than 50-year-old business from one office to another: No retirement here.

Everyone jumped in according to their abilities. If we couldn’t be there in person, we were there with support and suggestions. Sometimes, that’s as important as actually hauling boxes.

And the strength and fortitude of my folks is remarkable.

My legs gave out long before Dad’s did. At 80, he seemed to have the kind of reserves we hope for ourselves.

The packing was tedious and took several days. The unpacking and setup even more so.

It’s still ongoing. This isn’t the first time for a move. But each time we are all a little older … and slower … and there’s more stuff. Still, Dad goes on with plenty of energy.

I am certain that my family situation isn’t unique. When I told tales of the move, just about everyone I spoke with had a nontraditional “sandwich” tale of their own. Baby boomers are rewriting the book when it comes to interacting with the younger and the older generation.

The next request for our help will come in the fall, when one of my children moves from one apartment to another. That child has already hired movers for the heavy stuff. A fourthfloor apartment and parents with bad backs makes the money spent on movers a good investment. But we are glad to be close enough to be able to help with the small things. It’s yet another connection that keeps us close.

And we hope they will pay it forward when we ask – maybe even before we ask!

This sandwich stuff really isn’t new. A generation or two ago, grandparents lived in the same house with parents and children. It just didn’t have the same name. And a multigenerational household certainly must have made keeping an eye on the older and younger generation a little easier and more natural.

And don’t many people have fond memories of that time period?

I can’t even remember a time before I knew that we should honor our father and mother.

As an adult, there are so many ways to interpret that commandment. We start by teaching it to our children and then lead by example, starting with remembering birthdays and frequent check-in phone calls, and continuing with things that require our physical presence and assistance.

So, even though helping with a move is nobody’s idea of a good time, what an honor it is to still have parents to honor. Really, when you think about it, being part of a sandwich generation is more privilege than burden.

OUR MISSION The mission of The Jewish Voice is to communicate Jewish news, ideas and ideals by connecting and giving voice to the diverse views of the Jewish community in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, while adhering to Jewish values and the professional standards of journalism.

The Jewish Voice

The God of Isaac Bashevis Singer In 1979, the Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer (19041991), winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature, delivered a lecture on “A Personal Concept of Religion,” sponsored by the Gallatin Division of New York University. Within a few days of his talk, excerpts appeared on the op-ed page the May IT SEEMS of 18, 1979, issue TO ME of The New York Times.

On that date, RABBI JIM Carter ROSENBERG Jimmy was president of the United States, James Reston and Tom Wicker were established columnists for the newspaper, and Zimbabwe was still Rhodesia.

Knowing that I would want to get back to the text of Singer’s speech to study it more closely, I put the op-ed page in a manila file folder for safekeeping.

It remained in hiding all these years, until a few weeks ago, when, yellowed and ragged around the edges, it finally resurfaced.

Near the beginning of his 1979 address, Singer tells his audience, “If religion must be closely bound with revelation, then I cannot properly call myself a religious person. It is true that I believe in God and even in His ability to reveal Himself. But I cannot base my belief upon actual revelation.

Personally, I have never experienced one. Those that are described in the holy books have not convinced me of their authenticity.”

At first glance, Singer appears to be contradicting himself when he says, “I believe in God and even in His ability to reveal Himself” while simultaneously declaring that “I cannot properly call myself a religious person.”

However, the apparent contradiction dissolves when we understand that Singer associates being religious with subscribing to the tenets of an organized religion. He makes it clear that for him “[T]he basic element of religion is divine revelation. It isn’t important whether God reveals Himself through a burning bush, or through the intervention of an angel.” Since the accounts of divine revelation recorded

in our sacred texts “have not convinced [him] of their authenticity,” he sees himself as a Jew but not as a believer in the religion of Judaism.

While Singer rejects the accounts of revelation in our Hebrew Bible, he also rejects the God of the philosophers: “To the best of my knowledge, there is no temple where people pray to Spinoza’s Substance, Leibnitz’ Monad of the Monads or Hegel’s Zeitgeist.”

Not surprisingly, the God of I. B. Singer reflects the idiosyncrasies of this highly idiosyncratic writer: “I have built for myself a private God. …

I’ve fashioned Him precisely to suit my taste. I formed Him out of my intellect, my emotions, my limited experience and imagination.”

Despite his highly personalized approach, one should not dismiss Singer’s notion of God as simply a projection of his overbearing ego, for Singer offers us God-wrestlers a powerfully universal metaphor: God is an artist. Just like every artist, God is eternally experimenting: “His every star, every planet is an artistic experiment, a part of the divine laboratory.” According to Singer, in His ongoing work of creation, God is continually surprising Himself!

Essential to Singer’s metaphor of God as an artist – God as The Artist – is the notion that God is in constant flux, that God is forever on the move, ever growing, that God can never be frozen in time or in space. At the burning bush (Exodus, Chapter 3), God

identifies Himself to Moses as Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, which can be translated as “I will be Who I will be.” The God of I. B. Singer, then, God The Artist, is a version of the God of the burning bush, a version of the God of our Torah.

Toward the end of his address, Singer relates the metaphor of God The Artist to the question of “Why suffering?”

“The answer is: Without suffering there is no art. Suffering and joy represent the elements upon which is based the divine drama. God, the Creator, is Himself the universal sufferer. Our suffering is His suffering. We are He.” I find it more than a little incongruous to “hear” Singer talking about his belief in God since, like many of his readers, I have considered him an essentially secular writer.

Yes, he is profoundly rooted in his upbringing in Warsaw in his father’s Hasidic court – bezdn in Yiddish, bet din in Hebrew – nevertheless, as an author, he seems far more interested in exploring the human psyche as a home for ghosts and demons, real and imagined, than in portraying the relationship between his characters and God. Given the power and the subtlety of Singer’s vision of God, why does he keep this part of himself out of his fiction? This is a question I am unable to answer.

JAMES B. ROSENBERG is rabbi emeritus at Temple Habonim in Barrington. Contact him at rabbiemeritus@templehabonim.org.

We haven’t forgotten your pets!

D

on’t worry. Our annual pet issue has moved.

Look for it May 26.

Deadline for photos is May 17.

But you don’t have to wait. We keep your photos in our files, so feel free to send them to us when you have them. Email editor@jewishallianceri.org.

COLUMNS | LETTERS POLICY

The Jewish Voice publishes thoughtful and informative contributors’ columns (op-eds of 500 – 800 words) and letters to the editor (300 words, maximum) on issues of interest to our Jewish community. At our discretion, we may edit pieces for publication or re-

fuse publication. Letters and columns, whether from our regular contributors or from guest columnists, represent the views of the authors; they do not represent the views of The Jewish Voice or the Alliance.

Send letters and op-eds to: The Jewish Voice, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906 or editor@ jewishallianceri.org. Include name, city of residence and a contact phone number or email (not for publication).

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Jewish values for social media in the post-U.S. election world particular philosophy or even a particular country’s borders.

Time to create the peace and the coalitions that are going to address environmental issues, poverty and human rights.

Want to troll for a fight? Do it elsewhere. Not on my social media space.

BY RABBI ARNIE SAMLAN Just over two years ago, I was invited to write a number of online articles that addressed Jewish values as they apply to our social media lives.

With the impact of social media on the recent U.S. elections, and the use of social media as a battle ground for a deeply divided country, I share my new version of the Ten Commandments for Social Media with guidance from Jewish teachings:

1.

“Avtalion said: Wise people, be careful with your words.” Words are not “just words” (Mishnah Avot). They are actions, once you say them, and even more so once you write them. Use caution.

2. “Distance yourself from false words” (Exodus 23:7). In the election’s aftermath, people are making up stories and posting them on social media as fact (e.g., absentee votes weren’t counted, the election was skewed by large numbers of undocumented immigrants, and the now-famous Bowling Green terrorist incident, to name a few outright falsehoods that show up on my feeds).

3. “Truth and peace we love” (Prayer of the Hazan on High Holidays). Truth is a primary value. This is not simply about avoiding falsehood, but about pursuing truth. That’s right, I consider fact-checking to be the performance of a religious obligation. Educators know how to do this. We don’t teach something unless weare certain that it is true. We need to use the same standard on social media.

4. Lashon Naki (Clean speech). The Talmud mentions instances in which the Torah went out of its way to use wording that was “pure” and not insulting or inappropriate. My immediate assumption, when

Letter While expressions of support from our non-Jewish neighbors, such as the Never Again rally that took place on March 5, are appreciated, they expose a fundamental misunderstanding or unwillingness to accept what “Never Again” means.

Bomb threats against JCCs and swastikas on Jewish buildings are certainly troubling signs of anti-Semitism. But “Never Again” is about something much bigger. It is about the long-term ability of the Jewish people to survive. And should, God

someone curses while stating an opinion is that either A: They aren’t sure enough of their point to make it with objective language, or B: they are posting while enraged. Which leads me to…

5. Maimonides’ teaching that “One who becomes angry is as though that person had worshipped idols.”

No, we can’t control our feelings, but we’d better be able to manage them. If you’re enraged, social media isn’t the best place to respond. Run a mile, do kickboxing, meditate, or whatever works for you. Then, decide if you want to post something.

6. “Judaism is a religion of listening” (Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks) – While his statement refers to humans listening to God, I expand it to apply to humans listening to each other (since, after all, we are all in the image of God). If you just spew your ideas, you’re not growing. But the dialogue that social media gives us allows us to broaden our horizons. If we listen.

7. “Seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:14). This is a great time for peacemaking.

Our country and our world face problems that go beyond a

8. Tzelem Elohim. Everyone is created in God’s image, or, if you prefer, with a spark of divinity. Everyone deserves respect: President Obama, Secretary Clinton, President Trump, the protesters in the streets and the folks who are exuberant about the election results.

I police my social media territory to make sure that all who are my guests there treat each other respectfully and refrain from insulting others.

9. Tikkun Olam. The mystics taught that our job is to repair a world that somehow went off track from the time of creation.

In recent years, we’ve adopted it to mean anything we do to make the physical world a better place. Adding positive energy and action via social media?

Great. Adding negatives? Find someone else’s space.

10. Lashon Hara. Gossip, even when true, is still gossip. If it’s the need to call someone or something out because it will endanger others, different story. But simply to accuse or to spread rumors? Off limits.

Our presence, in real time, real space or in social medialand, can make a difference.

Let’s use our presence for life, for whatever land we live in, and for our world.

RABBI ARNIE SAMLAN is Executive Director of the Central Agency for Jewish Education in Broward County, Florida. This is reprinted from ejewishphilanthropy with his permission.

April 7, 2017 |

9

70 percent of Israelis still want right-wing government, poll finds TEL AVIV (JTA) – With talk of snap elections in the air, a new survey found that 70 percent of Israelis would want a right-wing or center-right government to come to power.

The latest monthly Peace Index, which was published April 4 by the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, showed that only 24 percent of the country would prefer a left-wing or centerleft government to be elected.

The survey included 500 Jewish and 100 Arab adults and had a 4.1-percent margin of error.

“The rate of support for anything that is not right wing or right of center is so small that [the survey results] don’t seem to have to do with any particular party, but just a particular outlook,” Tamar Hermann, an editor of the Peace Index, told JTA. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s staunchly rightwing government has looked shaky in recent weeks. A coalition crisis over public broadcasting was narrowly averted last week, and Netanyahu remains under investigation for corruption.

But even many Israelis who would like to see a left-leaning government take over do not expect to see it happen, the survey found. Fully 81 percent of Jews said they think a right-wing or center-right government would come out of elections in the near future, compared with just 8 percent who predicted a left wing or center-left government.

Among Arab Israelis, 58 percent said they would want a left-wing government, but only 10 percent predicted it

would happen.

A series of polls in recent months have shown Yair Lapid, the head of the centrist Yesh Atid party, challenging Netanyahu for the premiership in snap elections. Known to read the public mood, Lapid last week said he would try to form a national unity government if given the opportunity.

Public support for the political status quo may reflect relative optimism about the country’s security situation, which half of Jews deemed good or very good, according to the Peace Index. Some 35 percent said it was “so-so,” and just 14 percent rated it bad or very bad. Diplomatically, 32 percent of Jews said things were good or very good, 38 percent said they were so-so and 26 percent said they were bad or very bad.

The survey also found that Israelis generally are not worried about President Donald Trump’s invitation to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to visit the White House. Some 75 percent of Jews and 88 percent of Arabs in Israel said they do not see this as a negative development. Trump also has invited Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi to the White House as part of an apparent attempt to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The government last week enacted new restrictions on settlement building in the West Bank in what Netanyahu said was a goodwill gesture to Trump. Right-wing leaders have largely backed him or restrained their criticism.

Father of teen accused of JCC bomb threats apologizes to US Jews

‘Never Again’ vigil forbid, another threat like the Shoah arise, it cannot be met with only good cheer from our neighbors. It would require the existence of a secure Jewish homeland.

“Never Again” is as meaningless as “All you need is love” unless it is accompanied by active public support of the Jewish State. Unfortunately, some of the very groups that organized and supported the rally are silent in the face of BDS activity within their own ranks; others educate their children using maps of the Middle East minus the state

OPINION | WORLD

of Israel. Even speakers from the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI had nothing to say about Israel.

“Never Again Means Never Again,” the Jewish-friendly slogan shouted repeatedly at the rally, sounds great but it falls short. “Never Again” means a safe and secure Jewish State of Israel, first, foremost and always.

Howard Brown Judi Dill Sy Dill Yuri Japhet Ron Katz Dave Talan

JERUSALEM (JTA) – The father of the Israeli-American teenager arrested on suspicion of calling in more than 100 bomb threats to JCCs and Jewish institutions has apologized for his son’s actions.

The father was quoted, in his first interview in Israel, nearly two weeks after he was arrested along with his son following a months-long undercover investigation by Israel’s anti-fraud unit, as well as the FBI in the United States and law enforcement in other countries.

“To all the Jews in the United States, I want to convey an

unequivocal message: We are very sorry from the bottom of our hearts. We are good Jews, we do not hate you. There was no hatred here. His motive is solely the disease,” the teen’s father said on Channel 2 from his home in Ashkelon, in southern Israel, where he remains under house arrest on suspicion that he knew about his son’s activities.

The identity of the suspect, 19, is under a gag order in Israel, though he has been identified in reports in other coun-

BOMB | 12

D’VAR TORAH | WORLD

10 | April 7, 2017

The Jewish Voice

Out of the mouths of babes: What really matters

We have all been told that we have untold possibilities locked inside us. What we must learn is that, to turn potential into reality, we must not let negative thinking get in our way, nor get derailed by focusing on things that we cannot control or that really do not matter.

Isn’t it amazing that we can learn so much from innocent children?

RABBI Recently, a RICHARD teacher at a Hebrew d ay PERLMAN school told me a story about when she was waiting for her third-grade class to end its last day before the winter recess. She asked the children what they wanted to be when they grew up. They started to shout out their answers with great excitement: a football player, a doctor, the president, a rabbi, a cantor, a teacher, an astronaut, a baseball player, a dentist, a lawyer ….

While all this was going on, the teacher noticed that Dovid was sitting at his desk and listening, but saying nothing. He did not seem to be getting into the spirit of the exercise. The teacher asked the rest of the students to wait a minute, and then she asked, “Dovid? What would you like to be when you grow up?”

Dovid sat quietly, deep in thought, and then he answered with just one word. He said, “Possible.”

“Possible?” asked the teacher.

“Yes,” Dovid responded. “My mom is always telling me I’m impossible. So, when I get to be big, I want to be possible.”

That is quite a profound response – which could only have come from the mouth of a child.

The problem is, it could mean so many things. One thing it means, for sure, is that Dovid is seeking validation. While the other children want to do things they may or may not be able to achieve, all Dovid wants in life is to be accepted for who he is, whatever that may be.

“My mom is always telling me I’m impossibe. So, when I get to be big, I want to be possible.”

Is that not what we all want?

Does it really matter if we have a title or stardom in our lives?

Does it really matter if we are driven to be rich or just want to be comfortable? Would we have been happier if we had been a leader or a follower?

Our Torah tells us that, as Jews, our mission is to live a life of honesty and compassion, righteousness, morality, justice and obedience to the Mitzvot.

And if we think about it, does

anything else really matter?

Because we Jews know that, even though everything says the continued existence of our Jewish people is impossible, we remain possible. Just as Dovid wants to be possible, it is up to each of us to continue to make it so.

As we celebrate the Holy Days of freedom, of Passover, we must learn that anything is possible if we maintain faith in ourselves and in our Creator.

Let us always remember to tell the story, to live the story as we are commanded to do.

The story of freedom is to be told and retold, to be taught to our children, children of all ages, year after year, l’dor v’dor, so that we all will always remember what it feels like to be in an impossible situation that ends up being totally possible.

We can, we truly can!

As parents, we are teachers; as teachers, we have responsibilities. Just as it is a person’s duty to teach their child, so it is their duty to teach their grandchild, as it is written: “Make them known to your children and your children’s children” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

But this obligation does not refer only to one’s child and grandchild; it is a duty resting upon every Jewish scholar to teach all those who seek to be their students, even though they are not that scholar’s own children, for it is written: “You shall teach them diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy

PRESIDENT & CEO SEARCH

The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island seeks a President & CEO who is an energetic, visionary, and passionate leader; a professional who possesses excellent strategic and management skills with a proven track record in fundraising, relationship development, and community building.

The President & CEO will build on the successes of the past with its dedicated traditional donors while enabling the Alliance to enter a new era in meeting current and future opportunities. The President & CEO must be skilled at developing and leading a staff team as well as a cadre of devoted volunteer leaders; a strong communicator who can articulate a vision for the Alliance and express it in the community; and will demonstrate a passion for and commitment to Jewish life, Jewish values, and Israel.

ask for forgiveness, then forgive and let live, if we do all these things, anything in the world will be possible to achieve.

Let us always remember, by working together as a unified and respectful community, anything is and will be possible.

From the North Shore, from our house to your house, we wish you all a chag Pesach samech!

6:7). On traditional authority, the term “your children” in this verse has been interpreted to mean that your pupils are likewise called children, for it is written: “And the sons of the prophets came out” (II Kings 2:3).

As we celebrate the festival of Pesach 5777, I pray that this Pesach brings us joy, gladness, health, wealth, freedom, compassion for the needy, meaning in our lives. Let us remember and teach all of our children that if we work together, respect each other, admit our faults, our differences and mistakes, if we

RICHARD E. PERLMAN is the rabbi at Temple Ner Tamid, in Peabody, Massachusetts, and a member of the Greater Rhode Island Board of Rabbis.

Most Jewish British students say they have been targeted for their religion, study finds responded to the survey said they would feel comfortable attending NUS events, while twothirds thought the union would not respond appropriately to allegations of anti-Semitism.

Some 485 students responded to the survey carried out by an NUS research team in cooperation with the Union of Jewish Students between November and February.

The survey also found that 45 percent of Jewish students said they did not feel comfortable voicing their opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict. It also found anecdotal evidence of students feeling victimized by lecturers who made anti-Semitic remarks.

Nearly two-thirds of Jewish students said they had encountered problems with classes and exams being scheduled on important Jewish holidays, and almost half reported difficulties accessing Kosher food on their campuses.

JTA – Two-thirds of Jewish British university students believe they have been targeted due to their religion and more than a quarter worry about being the victim of an anti-Semitic attack, a new study found.

Twenty-six percent of Jewish university students told a survey conducted by the National Union of Students that they were either “fairly worried” or “very worried” about suffering a physical attack, property damage, verbal abuse or theft because they are Jewish.

The study results released April 3 come as the number of anti-Semitic incidents reported at British educational institutions nearly doubled from last year, to 41 from 21, The Independent newspaper reported. It also comes as Jewish students continue to express concern about anti-Semitism within the National Union of Students, or NUS. Fewer than half, or 49 percent, of Jewish students who

Best Wishes for a Happy Passover

The Executive Committee, Staff, and Parents of the Providence Hebrew Day School

Interested candidates should email their cover letter and resume to Gail Putnam at gputnam@jewishallianceri.org.

Rabbi Peretz Scheinerman Dean

401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI 02906 | 401.421.4111 | jewishallianceri.org

450 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island 02906 (401) 331-­‐5327 Ext. 21

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Ongoing

Sunday | April 9

Friday | April 14

Alliance Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence.

Noon lunch; 1 p.m. program. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under 60 with disabilities. Neal or Elaine, 401338-3189.

Men’s Club Breakfast with guest speaker the Rev. Donald Anderson.

9-11 a.m. (Breakfast at 9 a.m.; speaker at 9:45 a.m.) Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Rev. Anderson, executive minister of the R.I. State Council of Churches, spoke at the recent Interfaith Rally at the R.I. Holocaust Memorial, condemning antiSemitic activity. He has been in the news recently for his positions on immigration and on creating Sanctuary Churches for immigrants. He was pastor at the First Baptist Church of East Greenwich. Open to all. Information, David Talan at 401862-7519 or DaveTalan@aol.com.

Shabbat Services and Dinner. 5:30 p.m.

URI Hillel, 6 Fraternity Circle, Kingston.

Services begin at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:15 p.m. Free for students. $15 for community members. Information, Yaniv Havusha at yaniv_havusha@uri.edu or 401-874-2740.

West Bay Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every weekday.

Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston.

11:15 a.m. program; noon lunch. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under 60 with disabilities. Steve, 401743-0009.

Through April 27 Three Creative Approaches. Temple Habonim’s Bunny Fain Gallery, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington.

Works by Bunny Fain, Barbara Grace DeCesare and children from the religious school (Mural 5777). Gallery open Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and by appointment. Information, call 401-245-6536 or email gallery@ templehabonim.org.

Friday | April 7 Kabbalat Shabbat Services and Oneg.

7:30 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Shabbat services followed by Oneg. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@ toratyisrael.org, or 401-885-6600.

Family Shabbat Service. 6-9 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence.

6 p.m. dinner in the Silverstein Meeting Hall; 7 p.m. services in the Fain Sanctuary. Family Shabbat dinner and worship service led by Pre-k -2nd grades. Menu: Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Penne Pomodoro and Salad.

Cost: $15/$8.Information, Temple Beth-El lwhite@temple-beth-el.org, or 401-331-6070.

| April 8 Taste of Shabbat. 9-11 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. 9 a.m. Torah Discussion and 9:45 a.m. Shabbat service followed by a light Kiddush. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Saturday Mornings Junior Kiddush Club.

9:30-11:15 a.m. Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence.

Shabbat morning activities include prayer, parshah, play time and a special Kiddush. Age groups: Tots, Pre-K-1st grade, 2nd grade and up. No fee.

Information, office@bethsholom-ri.org, or 401-621-9393.

Minyan Breakfast and Torah Study.

9:30-10:30 a.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Weekly breakfast and Torah study in the downstairs chapel. All are welcome. Information, Dottie, 401-942-8350.

Lowdown on the Hoedown Sisterhood 2017 Donor Event. 6:30-9:30 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Square-dancing, fixings (beer & BBQ) and raffle in the Silverstein Meeting Hall. $45 per person. Supports funding programs in the Temple and the greater community.

Information, tbesisterhood@templebeth-el.org

“Mamaleh Knows Best What Jewish Mothers Do to Raise Successful, Creative, Empathetic, Independent Children.” 10:30 a.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Marjorie Ingall, writer and columnist, discusses her book. Sponsored by Jewish Book Council, PJ Library, PJ Our Way, and Temple Beth-El. All are welcome. Free.

Books available for purchase.

Understanding Israeli Culture through TV, Movies. 10:30 a.m.-noon. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Tslil Reichman, the Israeli emissary to the RI Jewish community, will speak about understanding Israeli culture through television and movies. Free and open to the public. Information, Dottie, 401942-8350.

Project Shoresh Partners in Torah Night. 7:45-8:45 p.m. Center for Jewish Studies, Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Free, lively, informal, partner-based study group, where you study your choice of texts together, English or Hebrew, ancient or modern, with on-site facilitators available to answer questions – and ask them, too. Let us know if you want to be a “study-buddy.” Information, Noach Karp at rnoachkarp@gmail.com or 401-4298244.

Tuesday | April 11 Second Seder. 5:30 p.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser will conduct the Seder. All are welcome. Cost: $20 for adults, $15 for children 6-12 and $5 for children 5 and younger. Information, Dottie, 401942-8350.

Community Second Seder. 6 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence.

Conducted by Rabbi Howard VossAltman and Cantor Judith Seplowin.

Cost: adults $36; children $18.

Beth-El provides Seder plate, dinner and community. You provide your favorite dessert in small portions on a disposable plate. Food is Kosher style.

Label any desserts containing nuts.

Information, lwhite@temple-beth-el.org or 401-331-6070.

Second Seder for the Community. 6 p.m.

Temple Beth El, 385 High St., Fall River.

Kosher for Passover Seder. All are welcome. Cost: adults $25; children $10. Information, temple office at 508674-3529.

Thursday | April 13 Zumba. 7-7:45 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

All are welcome. $5 per person per class. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401885-6600.

Kabbalat Shabbat Services and Oneg.

7:30 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Shabbat services followed by Oneg. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Saturday | April 15 Sisterhood/Men’s Club Shabbat Service.

9 a.m.-noon. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Shabbat service followed by a Kiddush luncheon. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Saturday Mornings Junior Kiddush Club.

9:30-11:15 a.m. Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence.

Shabbat morning activities include prayer, parshah, play time and a special Kiddush. Age groups: Tots, Pre-K-1st grade, 2nd grade and up. No fee.

Information, office@bethsholom-ri.org or call 401-621-9393.

Minyan Breakfast and Torah Study.

9:30-10:30 a.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Weekly breakfast and Torah study in the downstairs chapel. All are welcome. Information, Dottie, 401-942-8350.

Sunday | April 16 Project Shoresh Partners in Torah Night. 7:45-8:45 p.m. Center for Jewish Studies, Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Free, lively, informal, partner-based study group, where you study your choice of texts together, English or Hebrew, ancient or modern, with on-site facilitators available to answer questions – and ask them, too. Let us know if you want to be a “study-buddy.” Information, Noach Karp at rnoachkarp@gmail.com or 401-4298244.

Monday | April 17 Passover Service and Yizkor. 9 a.m.

Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Passover services with Yizkor. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Wednesday | April 19 Open House. 6:30-9 p.m. Touro Fraternal Association, 45 Rolfe Square, Cranston.

Learn about the social, charitable, community organization. Open to all Jewish men aged 18 and over.

Kosher chicken dinner. Special guest speaker. Free. Reservations required.

Call 401-785-0066 or e-mail info@ tourofraternal.org with your name and contact information.

Double Chai Spring Event. 7 p.m.

Foolproof Brewery, 241 Grotto Ave., Pawtucket. Double Chai Society’s Spring program for donors making a minimum gift of $360 or first-time donors making a minimum gift of $100 to the 2017 Alliance Annual Campaign. Beer tasting and tour of the brewing facility. RSVP at jewishallianceri.org/double-chairsvp/. Information, Stephanie Hague at shague@jewishallianceri.org, or 401421-4111, ext. 127.

CALENDAR Mah Jongg. 7 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Learn and have fun! Open to all. Bring your Mah Jongg card. Free. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Thursday | April 20 Gloria Gemma Hope Bus at Tamarisk.

10 a.m.-2 p.m. The Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living Residence, 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick. The Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation’s Hope Bus offers information on breast health wellness and resources in Rhode Island.

The Gloria Gemma outreach team is available to connect personally.

Information, Susan Adler at susana@ tamariskri.org or 401-732-0037.

Zumba. 7-7:45 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

All are welcome. $5 per person per class. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401885-6600.

Friday | April 21 T.G.I.F. Thank G-D It’s Friday. 5:45-7 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Shabbat songs and story with Rabbi Aaron Philmus followed by a kid-friendly Shabbat dinner. Free; donations welcome. RSVP to the Torat Yisrael office at 401-8856600.

Kabbalat Shabbat Services and Oneg.

7:30 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Shabbat services followed by Oneg. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Saturday | April 22 Saturday Mornings Junior Kiddush Club.

9:30-11:15 a.m. Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence.

Shabbat morning activities include prayer, parshah, play time and a special Kiddush. Age groups: Tots, Pre-K-1st grade, 2nd grade and up. No fee.

Information, office@bethsholom-ri.org or call 401-621-9393.

Minyan Breakfast and Torah Study.

9:30-10:30 a.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Weekly breakfast and Torah study in the downstairs chapel. All are welcome. Information, Dottie, 401-942-8350.

Kids’ Night Out: Olympics. 5-10 p.m.

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Children participate in a variety of themed activities, including sports, crafts, swimming and more. A pizza dinner and snacks are served, and the evening ends with a movie.

Cost: $35; members: $25; siblings: $15. Information or to register, Maurisa Goldberg at 401-421-4111, ext. 147.

Sunday | April 23 OROT Classes Winter & Spring 2017.

8:45-9:30 a.m. Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence.

Led by Rabbi Barry Dolinger. Continue the study of Rav Kook’s revolutionary seminal work, a collection of challenging and moving essays that describe the religious significance of Zionism. Free.

Upcoming dates: April 30 and May 14 (siyum/season finale). Information, rabbi@bethsholom-ri.org.

Sisterhood Knit and Kvetch. 9:30 a.m.

Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@

April 7, 2017 |

11

toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Adult Education: Cooking with Valerie Philmus. 10:30 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Hands-on demonstration.

Cost: members $5; non-members $10.

Covers cost of ingredients. Information or to register, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401885-6600.

Mitzvah Mania Kick-Off & Social Action Brunch. 10:30 a.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Information, lwhite@temple-beth-el.org or 401-3316070.

URI Hillel Holocaust Remembrance Week Brunch. Noon. URI Hillel, 50 Lower College Road, Kingston. Brunch with remarks from Holocaust survivor Werner Reich. Free, RSVP required.

Donations appreciated. Information or RSVP, Yaniv Havusha at yaniv_ havusha@uri.edu or 401-874-2740.

Mimouna: A Post Passover Moroccan Celebration. 3-4:30 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence.

Mimouna is a three-century-old North African Jewish celebration held the day after Passover that marks the return to eating hametz. We will make “mofletta,” the most popular dish served at the celebration. Cost: $5; members $3; family max. $10. Information, Tslil Reichman at 401-421-4111, ext. 121, or treichman@jewishallianceri.org.

Yom ha-Shoah Community Remembrance. 4-6 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence.

Annual Holocaust community remembrance. See story, page 17.

Information, May-Ronny Zeidman at May@BornsteinHolocaustCenter.org, or 401-453-7860.

Project Shoresh Partners in Torah Night. 7:45-8:45 p.m. Center for Jewish Studies, Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Free, lively, informal, partner-based study group, where you study your choice of texts together, English or Hebrew, ancient or modern, with on-site facilitators available to answer questions – and ask them, too. Let us know if you want to be a “study-buddy.” Information, Noach Karp at rnoachkarp@gmail.com or 401-4298244.

Monday | April 24 Conversion Class. 7:30-8:45 p.m.

Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. Rabbi Barry Dolinger continues a broad-based exploration of the biggest topics in Judaism, designed to give an overarching but detailed appreciation for traditional Judaism.

This semester focuses on personal study to increase the breadth of information while allowing for delving deeper through discussions during classes. Ongoing study of Shabbat.

Free. Through May 22. No class May 8.

Information, rabbi@bethsholom-ri.org.

Tuesday | April 25 Tuesday Night Talmud (TNT). 7:30-8:30 p.m. Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. Study the Fifth Chapter of Berachot with Rabbi Barry Dolinger. Though May 23. Information, rabbi@bethsholom-ri.org.

CALENDAR | 12

12 | April 7, 2017

CALENDAR | WORLD

The Jewish Voice

Wednesday | April 26

Day – April 24; Yom ha-Zikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorist attacks – May 1; Yom Ha-Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day – May 2. Tslil will give us her view from the perspective of an Israeli with a degree from Ben Gurion University of the Negev in sociology, anthropology and education, who has lived in England for six years, and who spent several months traveling in South America after her time in the army. Information, Jodi Sullivan at 401-245-6536 or office@ templehabonim.org.

Temple Beth-El and Sisterhood Joan Nathan Book Release and signing. 7 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. “King Solomon’s Table” is the latest from the James Beard Awardwinning, much-loved cookbook author and authority Joan Nathan. This is an around-the-world collection of recipes from the global Jewish diaspora — an essential book of cooking and culture.

Information, Temple Beth-El at 401331-6070.

Mah Jongg. 7 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Learn and have fun! Open to all. Bring your Mah Jongg card. Free. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Thursday | April 27 Zumba. 7-7:45 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

All are welcome. $5 per person per class. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401885-6600.

Friday | April 28

From Our Jewish Seniors Agency Family to Yours

PJ Library Story Time: Lag B’Omer/ Mitzvah. 10-11 a.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence.

Children ages five and under are invited to hear stories, play games, make a craft, have a snack and make new friends. Join special guest reader Wendy Joering, Alliance director of community engagement, as she shares her enthusiasm about Lag B’Omer. Free.

Information, Ruth Horton at rhorton@ jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 117.

Shabbat Services and Dinner. 5:30 p.m.

URI Hillel, 6 Fraternity Circle, Kingston.

Services begin at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:15 p.m. Free for students. $15 for community members. Information, Yaniv Havusha at yaniv_havusha@uri.edu or 401-874-2740.

Unity with Israel Shabbat Wine & Dine.

6:15 p.m. Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. Service with dinner following. Tslil Reichman, Israeli shlichah (emissary), will offer her views on three special days in the Jewish calendar following Passover: Yom ha-Shoah, Holocaust Memorial

FROM PAGE 9

HAPPY PASSOVER

From the Board of Directors and Staff of the Jewish Seniors Agency: Jewish Eldercare of Rhode Island* To Life Center Adult Day Services at JSA Shalom and Shalom ll Apartments The Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living Residence Celebrations Adult Day Services at Tamarisk JSA Women's Association The Louis and Goldie Chester Full Plate Kosher Food Pantry* *

*Partially funded by the Jewish Alliance of Rhode Island

Jeffrey Padwa President Jewish Seniors Agency

Susan Bazar Executive Director Jewish Seniors Agency

Kabbalat Shabbat Services and Oneg.

7:30 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Shabbat services followed by Oneg. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Saturday | April 29 Taste of Shabbat. 9-11 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. 9 a.m. Torah discussion and 9:45 a.m. Shabbat service followed by a light Kiddush. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Saturday Mornings Junior Kiddush Club.

9:30-11:15 a.m. Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence.

Shabbat morning activities include prayer, parshah, play time and a special Kiddush. Age groups: Tots, Pre-K-1st grade, 2nd grade and up. No fee.

Information, office@bethsholom-ri.org or call 401-621-9393.

Minyan Breakfast and Torah Study.

9:30-10:30 a.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Weekly breakfast and Torah study in the downstairs chapel. All are welcome. Information, Dottie, 401-942-8350.

Brotherhood of Temple Beth-El’s “2017 Charles Lindenbaum Person of the Year.” 6 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Celebration, tribute and our college scholarships awards. Information, lwhite@templebeth-el.org or 401-331-6070.

Sunday | April 30 OROT Classes Winter & Spring 2017.

8:45-9:30 a.m. Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence.

Led by Rabbi Barry Dolinger. Continue the study of Rav Kook’s revolutionary

seminal work, a collection of challenging and moving essays that describe the religious significance of Zionism.

Free. Next meeting is May 14 (siyum/ season finale). Information, rabbi@ bethsholom-ri.org.

Mother’s Day “Pampering Mom” Sale.

10 a.m.-1 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Tables set up with Lularoe, Health and Wellness, Crunchy Make-Up, Rodan and Fields Skin Care, Jewelry and more.

Open to all. Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Adult Education: Journey to Judaism.

10:30 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Rabbi Aaron Philmus teaches this class.

Information, Stephanie Reinsant at stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401885-6600.

Arts Emanu-El Yom ha-Atzmaut Celebration. 4-7 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. Celebrate Yom ha-Atzmaut with Israeli music, folk dancing, an Israeli style supper and a screening of “On the Map,” depicting the 1977 Israel National Basketball team’s victory in the European championship.

See story page 15. Information, Paul Stouber at pstouber@teprov.org or 401-331-1616.

Yom Ha-Zikaron Memorial Ceremony. 7 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Remember those who lost their lives in the struggle that led to the establishment of the State of Israel and military personnel who were killed while in active duty in Israel’s armed forces. See story, page 36. Information, Tslil Reichman at treichman@ jewishallianceri.org.

Project Shoresh Partners in Torah Night. 7:45-8:45 p.m. Center for Jewish Studies, Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Free, lively, informal, partner-based study group, where you study your choice of texts together, English or Hebrew, ancient or modern, with on-site facilitators available to answer questions – and ask them, too. Let us know if you want to be a “study-buddy.” Information, Noach Karp at rnoachkarp@gmail.com or 401-4298244.

BOMB

tries. The father, who was not seen in the interview, is identified only as Eli, a pseudonym.

The father denies knowing about what his son was doing, but does not deny that his son carried out the threats.

“The world has to understand, this boy is different, he’s unique,” said the father.

The father said the son has undergone three surgeries to remove tumors after being exposed to harmful chemicals at his job, and that his son also has a benign tumor in his head.

At a court hearing last

week, the teen’s attorney presented photographs and medical imaging of a nonmalignant brain tumor that the defense says affects his behavior.

On April 6, the teen will appear in court, where investigators are expected to ask that he remain in police custody. The father said he hopes his son will be permitted to go to house arrest, though it seems unlikely since law enforcement is portraying the teen as dangerous.

He also is accused of a series of threats made in Israel, Europe, Australia and New Zea-

land in the past six months and of making a threatening call to Delta Airlines, leading to the emergency landing of at least one plane.

The teen’s mother in a Saturday-night interview on Channel 2 said through tears that the threats were not her son’s fault because he cannot control his behavior due to the tumor and his autism.

The teen was born in the United States; the family moved to Israel when he was 6. He was homeschooled from first grade and, according to his mother, rarely left home and has no friends.

thejewishvoice.org

COMMUNITY

April 7, 2017 |

BW First-graders at Providence Hebrew Day School.

First-grade milestone

The 19 first graders at the Providence Hebrew Day School pose with Rabbi Avrohom Jakubowicz, Judaic studies teacher, and Rabbi Peretz Scheinerman, dean, after receiving siddurim at the siddur party on Feb. 23.

Parents, grandparents and friends listened to the students and Rabbi Jakubowicz speak and sing about the joys of read-

ing Hebrew and being able to pray and learn Torah. Then each student was handed his/ her own siddur with a beautiful personalized cover. The covers were sewn by Miriam Peromsik, mother of a student in the

class, and the names written in Safrus (the writing style used when writing a Torah scroll)

by Rabbi Shmuel Taitelbaum, father of a student in the class and a Sofer (scribe).

After the children received their siddurim, Rabbi Scheinerman spoke to them about the beauty of a siddur that can be used in prayer by young and

old, those first learning and those who are very knowledgeable about Judaism.

Refreshments were enjoyed by all.

– Submitted by Providence Hebrew Day School

Yom ha-Shoah observance in New Bedford This year, the New Bedford area observance of Yom ha-Shoah, the Holocaust Day of Remembrance, takes place on April 23. At 6:30 p.m. there will be a short memorial service at the Holocaust Memorial in Buttonwood Park with special tribute to the children who survived the concentration camps and those who liberated the camps 72 years ago.

After the service, participants will walk with lighted candles to Tifereth Israel Congregation for a program dedicated to the late Elie Wiesel who died July

2, 2016.

This year’s speaker is Rabbi Joseph Polak, one of the last witnesses to the Shoah and one of the youngest, a child survivor of Bergen-Belsen. Polak taught at Boston University and was a colleague of Elie Wiesel. Wiesel wrote the foreword to Polak’s book, “After the Holocaust the Bells Still Ring.” There will be a reception after the program with an opportunity to meet with Polak and view student artwork. Wiesel’s books and letters will also be on display.

– Submitted by Cynthia Yoken

visit us at www.JVHRI.ORG

to stay current with local Jewish news

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14 | April 7, 2017

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Bonded & Insured Gil Hoffman answers a question from the audience.

A Kosher & Happy Passover

B’H

2017 Holiday Schedule 5777

Remember

Search for Hametz – Sunday night, April 9 Fast or Siyum of first-born – Monday, April 10

Monday, April 10th

Providence time only Eating of Hametz: until 10:30 a.m.

Burning of Hametz: until 11:30 a.m.

Passover begins: 7:00 p.m.

Seder begins at:

8:05 p.m.

Passover ends:

Tuesday, April 18 8:20 p.m.

Candle lighting times for Passover 2017 Providence time

Monday, , April 10 ................ 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 11 .................. 8:05 p.m.

Friday, April 14 ..................... 7:06 p.m.

Sunday, April 16 ................... 7:08 p.m.

Monday, April 17 .................. 8:15 p.m.

Blessings

Blessing

April 10 ........ First Eve of Passover April 11 ........ Second Eve of Passover April 14 ........ Friday of Passover April 16 ........ Seventh Eve of Passover April 17 ....... Eighth Eve of Passover

1&2 1&2 3 1 1

#1 BO-RUH A-TOH ADO-NOI E-LO-HEI-NU MELECH HO-OLOM A-SHER KI-DE-SHA-NU BEMITZ-VO-TOV VI-TZI-VO-NU LE-HAD-LIK NER SHEL YOM-TOV #2 BO-RUCH A-TOH ADO-NOI E-LO-HEI-NU MELECH HO-OLOM SHE-HEH-CHE-YOH-NU VIKIYE-MONU VE-HE GE-O-NU LEZ-MAN HA-ZEH #3 BO-RUCH A-TOH ADO-NOI E-LO-HEI-NU MELECH HO-OLOM A-SHER KI-DE-SHA-NU BEMITZ-VO-TOV VI-TZI-VO-NU LE-HAD-LIK NER SHEL SHA-BAT KO-DESH Special instructions for holidays (but not Shabbat).

On holidays it is forbidden to create a new fire by striking a match, lighter, etc. However, it is permissible to use a flame already burning continuously since before the inception of the holiday, such as a pilot light, gas or candle flame.

Courtesy of Chabad Rhode Island 360 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02906 401-273-7238 Please do not destroy or deface this card.

FROM PAGE 1

THREATS

threat. And, yet, the head of military intelligence in Israel recently said that Israel has more intelligence on Hezbollah than any army has had on an enemy in the history of mankind.

Q: Do you believe peace between the Israelis and Palestinians will be achieved soon?

A: There’s a difference between peace and a peace agreement. Peace, I define as Israelis and Palestinians eating hummus together in public squares.

That’s unrealistic. A peace agreement is Israelis and Palestinians eating hummus separately with a large security barrier in between. That’s easier to achieve than real peace.

Q: Do you believe a twostate solution is possible?

A: Technically, it can be done, if the other side changed itself completely. [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas has given absolutely no indication of wanting to coexist with us, and the majority of Palestinians are against the two-state solution and in favor of destroying Israel, according to the Palestinian polls.

Q: What do you believe are the biggest roadblocks on the path to peace?

A: Palestinian public opinion and poor leadership for the Palestinians. We just overcame eight years of mishandling in Washington and now we have a president who is still trying to figure out what he wants.

Q: Why have peace talks failed in the past?

A: Because of the Palestinians and the Americans. Mistakes made by both Democratic and Republican presidents. Not because of us.

Q: As a resident of Jerusalem, and a citizen of Israel, do you see things in your daily life that reaffirm your belief that peace is possible?

A: Sure. You go to a doctor’s office and you see Jewish and Arab patients being treated by Jewish and Arab doctors, and you see real peace and coexistence happening. You see it at the grocery store and at the park with Mohammed and Menachem Mendel playing on the

same swings.

Q: Do you have a message for the skeptics who say peace is not possible?

A: Never give up hope. We are the people of hope. We pray for peace three times a day. A lot of impossible things have happened. I’m a Cubs fan [Hoffman was raised in Chicago].

Q: What do you think is the greatest threat facing the Jewish people as a whole?

A: People not being connected enough to their Judaism.

There is a two-thirds intermarriage rate in the United States.

Some of those people stay connected, but it’s hard for them.

Q: President Trump has proposed moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. As a resident of Jerusalem, what is your opinion on this potential move?

A: Who am I [as an Israeli] to tell people [in America] where their capital should be? And neither should America dictate to us where our capital should be.

Jon Kyl was the senator who initiated the Jerusalem embassy relocation act, and when he retired, he said that including the waiver, which allows the president every three months to say he’s not going to move that embassy was the biggest mistake of his life. All they have to do is move the sign on the door that says “Embassy” in Tel Aviv and put a sign that says “Consulate,” and take a piece of paper that says “Embassy” and put it on top of the sign that says “Consulate” in Jerusalem.

I know that they say there will be violence and Arabs will revolt. But, I have a 4-year-old, and she also threatens violence, and I don’t give in to her.

Q: Israel Television called you “the most optimistic person in Israel.” How do you stay optimistic in such difficult times for Israel and the Jewish people?

A: My children. I get to see the experience of living in Israel as a child through them. My grandparents were Holocaust survivors. Their childhoods were taken away from them.

They would have wished they could live the life that my chil-

dren live, in a Jewish state, according to the Jewish calendar, with a strong army, and that makes the world a better place.

How could you not be optimistic when you see that?

Q: What do you believe is the most effective way to combat anti-Israel movements like BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions]?

A: Education. Making sure people are informed and understand what Israel is doing to make the world a better place.

The more Israel is needed, the less people can boycott it. You can’t boycott lifesaving medical equipment and technology.

Q: You have met with many Israeli and Palestinian leaders in your career – which ones did you enjoy interacting with most?

A: I really enjoyed getting to know [Ariel] Sharon and [Shimon] Peres because they were around for all of Israel’s history.

They were there from the beginning of the state and before, and they were charismatic people.

Q: Why do you give lectures across the globe? What is the ultimate message you want to convey?

A: There are so many people around the world who care about Israel and they must stay informed. Justice is on our side, and the more people know the truth, the better it is for Israel.

I served in the army, but wasn’t exactly a combat soldier.

This is my way of fighting for my country, both my countries.

I want America to be strong, too.

Israel makes America stronger and America makes Israel stronger, and the relationship between the two of them is the top strategic asset for Israel.

American Jews and others who love Israel need to be empowered and I am part of empowering them. What a great opportunity – I get to be part of history. I get to inform people around the world as history takes place in Israel through my news articles and analyses, and I do the same thing speaking in 12 countries, as I have, in 49 U.S. states.

SAM SERBY is a native of East Greenwich and attended Temple Sinai, in Cranston, for many years. He is a recent graduate of Johnson & Wales University.

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thejewishvoice.org

April 7, 2017 |

15

Emanu-El to show ‘On the Map,’ the awe-inspiring story of a young team and a young nation

BY LINDA SHAMOON Sometimes a game is just a game, but on rare occasions, a win might change everything – for the team, for its fans and maybe even for their country.

In 1977, when Maccabi Tel Aviv’s basketball team won the European Championship, the victory put the team, its fans and Israel on the map, according to a new documentary by director Dani Menkin.

“On the Map,” a fast-paced, upbeat and exciting fi lm that tells the incredible parallel stories of a newly formed team and a newly formed country, will be shown at Temple Emanu-El, in Providence, on April 30. Seeing the fi lm, cheering team Maccabi and having a slice of birthday cake are wonderful ways to celebrate Israel’s 69th birthday and Yom ha-Atzmaut.

“On the Map” follows the development of team Maccabi from local club status to ranking as an international powerhouse. Along the way, we meet six American basketball players who have personal reasons for bringing their talents to the team and to Israel.

The team and its fans learn about international competition together, including the fierce competitive spirit and

play of Spain and Italy, and the politically laden hostility of CSKA Moscow, a team that repeatedly refused to compete against Israelis.

Eventually, team Tel Aviv and team Moscow face off in a nailbiting competition. Against all odds, Maccabi prevails by a basket.

Moments after the win, Maccabi’s American-Israeli captain, Tal Brody, uttered these meaningful words, “Israel is on the map, not just in sport, but in everything.”

When members of the Arts Emanu-El Committee of Temple Emanu-El previewed this fi lm, they immediately and unanimously agreed that “On the Map” is exactly as its producers describe it: “A fi lm that will mesmerize basketball fans and that captures the spirit of a nation triumphant against all odds.”

The fi lm sets a sports story within the context of Israel’s history, including documentary footage from the 1972 Olympic massacre at Munich, the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the 1976 hijacking of an Air France fl ight from Tel Aviv. These scenes, plus interviews with – among others – Michael Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the United States, and Natan

PHOTO | SHUMEL RAHMANI

European Cup, 1977: (left to right) Miki Berkovich and Maccabi team captain Tal Brody.

Sharansky, a notable Israeli politician who spent years imprisoned in Soviet jails, makes “On the Map” so much more than a sports story. It is part history, part thriller, part biography – and all parts inspiring.

It is a fi lm for sports fans, Israel fans and history buffs. It is for adults and teens. It is a fi lm for the whole community.

On Sunday, April 30, at 4 p.m., the community is invited to Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence, to see “On the Map,” celebrate Israel’s 69th

EAST SIDE

|

birthday and enjoy a variety of refreshments, including locally brewed craft beer, baked pretzels with dips and a big birthday cake.

“On the Map” is the fi nal event of Arts Emanu-El’s 20162017 season of programming in Jewish arts and culture for the temple and the community.

This spring, during March and April, Arts Emanu-El has focused on the visual arts, with a three-part series on art, memory and the Holocaust. Two compelling photography exhib-

its are still on display: “Portrait Narratives” by art photographer Jonathan Sharlin, in the art gallery at the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center, in Pawtucket, until April 30, and “Letters and Pictures from a Box,” by art photographer Alexandra Broche, in the Bohnen Vestry at Temple Emanu-El until April 7.

The fi nal event of the art series is a panel discussion on April 19 at 7:30 p.m., in the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center auditorium, titled “Art as Memory Keeper,” featuring Deborah Johnson, Department of Art History and Department of Women’s Studies, Providence College; Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, Department of Art, University of Rhode Island; and artist Jonathan Sharlin. The exhibits and the symposium are free and open to the public.

For more information about the screening of “On the Map” at Temple Emanu-El, including ticket and food prices, and about the art exhibits and the symposium, see the Arts Emanu-El pages under the What’s Happening menu at the Temple Emanu-El website, www.teprov. org.

LINDA SHAMOON is co-chair of Arts Emanu-El at Temple Emanu-El.

BLACKSTONE

— AND OPERATED FOR THREE DECADES —

Wishing you a joyous Passover from our family to yours.

More than a place to live, a place to love. | Wingatehealthcare.com

16 | April 7, 2017

COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice

Performance of ‘Women of Ararat’ to benefit women in Armenia

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Members of the Armenian community of Rhode Island are bringing a performance of the acclaimed play “Women of Ararat” to Providence on Sunday, April 30, at 3 p.m. The performance, in tribute to the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, will take place at the Scottish Rite Auditorium, 2115 Broad St., Cranston.

“Women of Ararat” is a poignant play written by Boston playwright Judith Boyajian Strang-Waldau to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Strang-Waldau’s play focuses on her family’s role in the genocide through the love story of two young musicians, Julie and William, who meet in London in the 1970s, and their relationship with Julie’s family, four generations of Armenian women living in Watertown, Massachusetts.

The play explores the themes of family, memory, pain, love, and, ultimately, hope, through the relationships of these characters.

Proceeds from the performance will benefit Mer Doon, The Women’s Resource Center and The Women’s Support Center, all located in Yerevan, Armenia.

Mer Doon’s mission is to help orphaned and disadvantaged young women in Armenia break the cycle of dependency through education, job training and a loving family environment.

The Women’s Resource Center is a non-governmental organization that was founded in 2003 by women from Armenia and the Diaspora. The center works in the area of women’s human rights and reproductive rights, sexual violence and women’s role in conflict resolution and peace building in the South Caucasus.

The Women’s Support Center’s objective is to create a safe environment for women — a place where they receive support, empathy and the knowledge that they are not alone in their struggles. Women are provided with practical information about domestic violence, as well as counseling that bolsters self-esteem and confidence. The center offers a hotline, walk-in services, legal and psychological counseling, training sessions and community outreach.

Tickets to “Women of Ararat” are $20, with a discounted price for teachers and students.

For more information, contact Dorothy Martiesian at 401-749-0269 or dmartiesian@ yahoo.com, or Naomi Thovmasian Marsh at 401-942-3886 or Naomi.Marsh@verizon.net.

– Submitted by the Holocaust/ Genocide Education Committee whose goal is to implement Rhode Island legislation, passed in June, 2016 stating that all middle and high school students shall receive instruction on Holocaust and Genocide.

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COMMUNITY

April 7, 2017 |

17

Annual Holocaust commemoration to honor the Bielski Partisans

BY LEV POPLOW This year’s annual Rhode Island Interfaith Commemoration of the Holocaust will take place on Yom ha-Shoah, Sunday, April 23. The event will remember the victims of the Holocaust and celebrate the heroism of the Bielski Partisans, who saved over 1,200 Jewish lives at the front in Belarus from 1941 to 1944.

The guest speaker will be Ruth Bielski Ehrreich, daughter of Tuvia Bielski, the leader of the Bielski Partisans, whose story was featured in the book “Defiance: The Bielski Partisans” and the movie “Defiance.”

During World War II, Tuvia and his two brothers fled to the forest, where they welcomed all Jews to join them, especially those who were too weak to defend themselves.

With Tuvia as their commander, they overcame many obstacles to survive and thrive as a community. Through hard work and determination, they managed to meet the needs of their new village in the woods.

The numerous sabotage missions they conducted against the Nazi infrastructure resulted in Hitler placing a large bounty on Tuvia’s head. Still, despite the constant danger, the brothers were determined that they live life as normally as possible, and as Jews, in their forest home. They laughed, sang, danced, fell in love and even married.

When the war ended, over 1,200 Jewish partisans emerged from the woods.

In the movie, a character tells Tuvia that if you save a life, you have to take responsibility for it. At this point, the responsibility the Bielski brothers took on has grown tremendously: Close to 30,000 people, living all around the world, most likely owe their existence to these three men.

Ehrreich says, “My father felt that responsibility always. He loved when people from that time would bring their children to meet him. If he were still with us, he would be able to see the children of the children, and those children’s children.”

One of the highlights of the annual Holocaust commemoration is the presentation of the Never Again Award, which recognizes significant contributions to the reduction of antiSemitism, racism and prejudice. This year the award is being presented to Herb Stern, a past president of the former Jewish Federation of Rhode Island and chairman of the Rhode Island Holocaust Memorial Committee.

Stern spearheaded the Holocaust Memorial Project, which took more than a decade to go from dream to reality. The memorial now stands next to Providence’s World War II Me-

morial, in silent tribute to the victims of the Holocaust.

According to May-Ronny Zeidman, the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center’s executive director, “Herb’s persistence made it possible to have a Holocaust Memorial – like most major American cities – for Rhode Islanders to visit; a place to contemplate what happened and to inspire future generations to make sure that it does not happen again.”

As Stern has said, “It’s the

closing of a statement, if you will. It’s something that needed to be done as a matter of course to memorialize those who were lost and honor the survivors still among us.”

The program takes place on Sunday, April 23, at Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. It begins at 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

LEV POPLOW is a communications and development consultant who writes for the Bornstein Holocaust Center.

Herb Stern

Ruth Bielski Ehrreich

18 | April 7, 2017

PASSOVER FOOD

The Jewish Voice

from your friends at

Dairy treat for Passover Here’s a fantastic Pesach Cholov Yisroel pudding recipe that you can take on a picnic or just serve to family and friends at home. It was developed by Tnuva, the dairy people.

Strawberries and Vanilla Creme Patissiere Servings: 10 Preparation Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes

wines Kosher

Serve your family and friends great which happen to be

Town Wine & Spirits carries the largest, most thought out collection of Kosher wine in New England. Serve the best at your table this year with award winning wines from regions around the world, including several estates from Israel, and the 2015 Vintage Manischewitz Concord.

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Ingredients 2 1/2 cups Kosher-for-Passover cookies, crushed Cream: 1 cup whipping cream 2 tablespoons powdered sugar 4 snack-size containers Kosher-for-Passover vanilla pudding 1 cup white chocolate, chopped Syrup: 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup (120 ml) water 2 tablespoons Kosher-forPassover fruit-flavored liqueur (optional) Fruit: 1 pound strawberries, stems removed, quartered or sliced 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons Kosher-forPassover apple cider vinegar (or similar holiday substitute) 1/2 cup cherry jam 1 cup candied almonds or pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions Prepare the cream: Whip the cream and powdered sugar until it forms soft peaks.

Put one vanilla pudding snack and white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on low heat until chocolate is melted. Add remaining pudding cups, and mix well.

Gently fold the whipped cream mixture into the chocolate. Place in piping bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Prepare the syrup: Place water and sugar in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for five minutes.

Add the liqueur (if using) and allow to cool to room temperature.

Prepare the strawberries: Place the strawberries in a bowl and add sugar, vanilla and vinegar. Mix and set aside for 15 minutes. Strain the strawberries while reserving the liquid, set strawberries aside, and add the liquid to the syrup.

Assemble the dessert: Mix cookies with syrup, then layer at the bottom of individual dessert cups. Drizzle jam, then half the almonds, a layer of chocolate-cream mixture, a layer of strawberries, more cream, cookies, and the rest of the almonds. Top with the remaining strawberries and extra syrup.

Serve immediately or keep refrigerated for a few hours. If allowed to sit, the cookies will soak up the syrup and intensify the flavors.

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PASSOVER FOOD

Passover recipes: Lighten up with fish and veggies

BY MEGAN WOLF JTA – I love serving light foods that are naturally Kosher for Passover. With so much matzah, vegetable and fish dishes are often a welcome addition in my home.

In this holiday menu, my Coconut Carrot Soup is a creamy soup at its finest. The combination of carrots, ginger and coconut is so warming and really delicious. Not a ginger fan? It’s easy enough to leave it out.

And what could be better than a recipe that doesn’t require excellent knife skills? Since the soup ingredients are blended, dicing imperfection won’t be noticeable at all.

For the Caesar Salad, making your own dressing is an easy way to cut down on the fat and calories and tailor the taste to your palate. I’m a big garlic fan, but feel free to scale back – your dressing will still be delectable.

Romaine hearts hold up especially well against a hearty dressing.

The Lemon Salmon is perfect for a crowd. Little work is required and the end result is so tasty. Roasting lemons really brings out the flavors. You can encourage your guests to squeeze the warm lemon atop the salmon for even more flavor.

The lemon in the Grilled Asparagus nicely complements the salmon without imparting an overpowering lemon flavor.

Because one dish has roasted lemon and one has lemon zest, they are bright without being redundant.

If you don’t have a grill pan, you can roast the asparagus in the oven for a similar texture.

Coconut Carrot Soup Ingredients 1 pound carrots, peeled and thinly diced 1 cup diced celery 1 tablespoon diced ginger 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced 1 can coconut milk

3 cups vegetable stock Salt and pepper to taste Coconut milk yogurt, optional Preparation In a large stockpot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the carrots, celery and ginger. Cook until soft, about 18-20 minutes.

In a small skillet, heat the last 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent, then set aside.

Add the can of coconut milk to the carrot and celery mixture and stir to combine. Add 2 cups of stock and stir to combine.

Place half of the onion into the carrot mixture and place the mixture in a blender to combine until smooth (you can also use an immersion blender directly into the stockpot). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with remaining sautéed onions and optional coconut yogurt on top.

Caesar Salad Ingredients 2 large heads romaine lettuce hearts 3/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 cloves garlic 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (can be omitted for Passover) 1 lemon, juiced Salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese Hot pepper flakes, optional Preparation In a blender or food processor, combine yogurt, olive oil, garlic, mustard and lemon juice.

Taste, then season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Halve each lettuce heart and dice, then place in a large bowl.

Toss the greens with half of the salad dressing to start, adding more to your taste.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.

Lemon Salmon Ingredients 1 pound salmon, sliced into 4 fillets

2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns 1 lemon, thinly sliced 4 sprigs rosemary Preparation Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Coat each piece of salmon with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and peppercorns.

Place lemon slices over salmon and roast until cooked to your liking, about 10 minutes or more.

Serve on a platter with rosemary springs.

Grilled Asparagus Ingredients 1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 1 lemon, zested Preparation Heat a grill pan until hot (or roast in the oven).

Toss asparagus with olive oil and place on grill pan, cooking about 3 minutes each side.

Sprinkle warm asparagus with Parmesan cheese and lemon zest.

MEGAN WOLF is the author of “Great Meals with Greens and Grains.”

April 7, 2017 |

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PASSOVER

20 | April 7, 2017

The Jewish Voice

5 social justice-themed Seder supplements to try this Passover

BY JOSEFIN DOLSTEN NEW YORK (JTA) – At Passover, Jews around the world gather around their dining room tables to remember their plight as slaves in Egypt. But the Seder can also be a time to learn about the hardships facing others today.

For those looking to incorporate social justice themes into their Seders, there’s no need to look further than these five Haggadot and supplementary readings. The texts address various social justice issues – from the non-controversial, such as fighting global poverty, to the more politicized, such as calling for an end to Israel’s occupation.

“Global Justice Haggadah” by the American Jewish World Service This Seder guide draws parallels between the Israelites’ suffering in ancient Egypt and the plight of various groups and individuals in the modern world.

The Haggadah touches on issues such as the refugee crisis and genocide, global hunger, poverty, violence against LGBT people and the persecution of minorities.

“When tasting the matzah, the bread of poverty, let us fi nd ways to help the poor and the hungry,” it urges the reader.

Interspersed among the traditional Passover rituals are photos of AJWS beneficiaries from around the world, including children in the Dominican

Republic, a family living in a displaced persons’ camp in Burma and an Indian woman who escaped domestic violence.

“Refugee Haggadah” by HIAS. This supplement, created by the refugee resettlement group formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, ties the Jewish refugee experience to that of modern-day refugees.

Passover rituals are infused with comparisons to their plight: tearing a piece of matzah, for example, is likened to how “refugees across the globe experience the consequences of having their lives ruptured, and, yet, they fi nd ways to pick up the pieces and forge a new, if

imperfect, path forward.” Readings about migrants escaping danger and the challenges they face in acclimating to their new homes are provided to accompany the Seder. “‘ T he Zookeper ’s Wi fe’Inspired Haggadah” by the International Rescue Committee Here’s another refugee-inspired Haggadah, but with an interesting twist: The International Rescue Committee’s Seder supplement (created with the help of HIAS) is inspired by the movie “The Zookeeper’s Wife.”

The fi lm (and the Haggadah) is based on a real-life Holocaust heroine, Antonina Zabinska (played by Jessica Chastain),

who together with her husband saved 300 Jews by hiding them at the Warsaw Zoo, which the couple ran. The supplement encourages readers to draw on their stories to help refugees today and includes passages modeled on Passover readings. “The Four Heroes,” for example, is meant to be read after “The Four Sons,” and shows four different ways in which people can help refugees.

“Holocaust Hero Haggadah” by the Foundation for the Righteous.

Every year, the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous releases a Haggadah supplement that tells the story of a non-Jew who saved Jews during the

Holocaust. This year’s materials tell the story of Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, an American soldier who refused Nazi orders to separate captured Jewish and non-Jewish soldiers and thus saved 200 Jewish GIs who no doubt would have been killed had Edmonds complied. The supplement also honors biblical-era non-Jews who rescued Jews, such as Shifra and Puah, Egyptian midwives who disregarded a decree to kill Jewish baby boys, as well as Pharaoh’s daughter, who took in and cared for Moses.

“Jubilee Haggadah” by Save Israel, Stop the Occupation The “Jubilee Haggadah,” created by a new initiative called Save Israel, Stop the Occupation and supported by the New Israel Fund, connects the Passover story to a call for the end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Named after the biblical concept of a Jubilee year – in which every 50 years all land is returned to its original owners – this Haggadah comes as a precursor to the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War. It features all the traditional elements of a Seder, plus contributions from famous Jewish authors, artists and rabbis, including comedian Sarah Silverman, writer Amos Oz and Women of the Wall president Anat Hoffman.

Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and Event Co-Chairs Lisa Davis, Robin Engle & Barbara Feldstein present

Mind, Body & Spirit: A Day for Women to Join Together Sunday, May 7, 2017 | 9:30am Dwares JCC | 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence $10 per person, plus a gift of any amount to the 2017 Annual Campaign

Enjoy a range of activities and workshops including an energizing fitness class; sessions on wellness, lifestyle, motherhood, and managing it all.

Featuring Jewish Book Council Authors, Experts & Leaders

Jessica Fechtor Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home

Drs. Romy Block & Arielle Levitan The Vitamin Solution

Felice Cohen 90 Lessons for Living Large in 90 Square Feet (...or more)

Barbara Wasserman Realizing Your Next Purpose

Register online at jewishallianceri.org/mind-body-spirit by April 26.

For more information, contact Danielle Germanowski at dgermanowski@jewishallianceri.org or 401.421.4111 ext. 109.

Dr. Mache Seibel The Estrogen Window

Alicia Ybarbo & Mary Ann Zoellner Sh*tty Mom for All Seasons

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PASSOVER

April 7, 2017 |

It’s all about Passover in the ECC This month the children in the nursery classroom at the David C. Isenberg Family Early Childhood Center are celebrating Passover, the eight-day festival that takes place in spring. This holiday celebrates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

The Room 1 children are celebrating this holiday by reading Passover books, recreating a Seder, making invitations for their families to join them for their Seder, making Elijah’s cup, Passover play dough (green), and, of course, frogs commemorating the plague of the frogs.

Through classroom curriculum, these concepts are tied into spring and planting. The children sang their favorite frog song (lyrics below). They planted parsley seeds and explored the parts of the plant – roots, stem, leaves, and blossom.

Want to make some play-doh?

Try making this fun and easy recipe at home.

Play-doh recipe

1 cup flour 1 cup salt 3 teaspoons cream of tartar 2 cups water 3 tablespoons oil Food coloring Mix everything Store in a sealed bag

together.

Frog Song

One morning King Pharaoh woke up in his bed There was frog in his bed On his head Frogs on his nose Frog on his toes Frog here, frog there Frogs just jumping everywhere – Submitted by the David C. Isenberg Family Early Childhood Center.

HAPPY PASSOVER TO ALL OF OUR FOUR - FOOTED FRIENDS AND THEIR FAMILIES. GUESS WHO WOULD LIKE TO FIND THE AFIKOMEN!

Providence River Animal Hospital Dr. Jane Linden, DVM

www.facebook.com/PRAHvet

131 Point Street - Providence, RI | 401-274-PRAH (7724) providenceriveranimalhospital.com

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22 | April 7, 2017

PASSOVER

The Jewish Voice

7 new kids’ books for Passover, from Seder guides to stories

BY PENNY SCHWARTZ JTA – From the wizardry of Harry Potter that echoes with Passover’s themes to a cartoon frog who wisecracks his way through the Seder, this year’s new crop of Passover books for kids offers something for all ages and interests.

The selection of fresh reads, including two family-friendly Haggadot, also includes an unusual Jewish immigrant tale set in rural Argentina and a heartwarming, intergenerational story about an aging grandfather and his devoted granddaughter.

Choose one – or several – to educate and engage the young readers in your family for this Passover, the eight-day festival of freedom that begins with the first Seder on the evening of April 10.

PHOTOS | JTA PHOTO SERVICE

The (unofficial) Hogwarts Haggadah

By Moshe Rosenberg; designed by Aviva Shur All ages; $27.95 Fans of Harry Potter will be in Hogwarts heaven this Passover. Moshe Rosenberg’s Haggadah draws on the parallels between the wizardry of the best-selling “Harry Potter” books and the Seder guide.

“From the concepts of slavery and freedom, to the focus on education, to the number four, Harry Potter and Passover share almost everything,” Rosenberg writes in the introduction.

This is the second Jewish Harry Potter-themed book by Rosenberg, a rabbi and Judaic studies educator in New York.

(The first was “Morality for Muggles: Ethics in the Bible and the World of Harry Potter.”) Traditionalists, take note: Rosenberg assures readers that every word of traditional Haggadah text, in

Hebrew and in English translation, is included. Interspersed throughout is commentary, via the lens of J.K. Rowling’s characters, that takes on questions of freedom, evil and the Four Children.

There’s even a Harry Potter-themed version of the popular Seder song “Had Gadya,” (“One Small Goat”).

The Family (and Frog!) Haggadah

By Rabbi Ron Isaacs and Karen Rostoker-Gruber; illustrations by Jackie Urbanovic Behrman House; all ages; $7.95 A wisecracking frog takes center stage in this kid-friendly Haggadah that is a complete guide to a fun-filled, informative, abbreviated Seder that’s designed to be 30 minutes to an hour. The lively Haggadah, filled with photographs and illustrations, begins with a Seder checklist and candle-lighting prayers and

guides families through the mainstays of the Seder, from the Passover story, to the Ten Plagues to welcoming Elijah the Prophet. Songs go from the traditional favorite “Dayenu” to “Take Me Out to the Seder.” An entertaining cartoon frog appears throughout with jokes and funny comments (“Hold on! I brought my hopmonica!”) that are sure to bring giggles and keep kids engaged.

Passover Scavenger Hunt

Shanna Silva, illustrated by Miki Sakamoto Kar-Ben; ages 4-9; $17.99 hardcover, $7.99 paperback Every year at the Seder, Rachel’s Uncle Harry hides the afikomen. The kids have fun hunting for the special piece of matzah and get a prize for finding it. But there’s one problem: Uncle Harry always makes it too easy! In Shanna Silva’s lively story, Rachel takes over the job. She grabs her markers, scissors and a big piece of cardboard and creates a clever scavenger hunt with six rhyming clues to stump her cousins.

Each clue reveals something related to the Seder, from the charoset to the shank bone. In the end, the kids are left with a puzzle to solve that will lead them to Rachel’s perfect afikomen hiding place. Miki Sakamoto’s illustrations are bright and colorful and capture the fun as kids move picture frames, race around the house and crawl around closets looking for clues.

A Different Kind of Passover

Linda Leopold-Strauss, illustrated by Jeremy Tugeau Kar-Ben; ages 4-9; $17.99, hardcover, $7.99 paperback On the way to her grandparents’ house for the Seder, a young girl named Jessica is busy practicing The Four Questions, in Hebrew, over and over.

Jessica loves spending Passover with her grandparents, where everything is the same year after year – running up the stairs at their apartment, finding piles of blankets and

pillows for the sleepover with her cousins, and enjoying the good smells emanating from the kitchen. But this year will be different because her grandfather just got home from the hospital and is too weak to come to the Seder table.

In this heartwarming intergenerational story, Jessica comes up with a plan for how Grandpa can still lead the Seder, continuing the family tradition. Jeremy Tugeau’s large, expressive illustrations capture Jessica’s emotions of joy, disappointment and the love she shares her with grandfather.

The Passover Cowboy

Barbara Diamond Goldin, illustrated by Gina Capaldi Apples and Honey Press; ages 4-8; $17.95 From the acclaimed Jewish children’s book writer Barbara Diamond Goldin (“The Best Hanukkah Ever,” “Journeys With Elijah”) comes an unlikely Passover story set in the Argentine countryside in the late 1800s. Jacob is a young Jewish boy whose Russian family immigrated to Argentina, but he doesn’t quite fit in. He makes a new friend, Benito, who helps him learn to ride horseback.

Jacob works up the courage to invite his non-Jewish pal to his family’s Seder, but Benito says he has farm chores to do.

Benito ends up coming after all, at just the right moment: when Jacob opens the door to welcome Elijah, just as a flock of chickens arrives, too. Benito helps round up the chickens and joins the Seder.

As the family welcomes its new friend, they learn from each other about the meaning of freedom – and Jacob’s mother and Benito also surprise him with a lasso and clothing he needs for an upcoming rodeo. Artist Gina Capaldi puts readers right in the action; kids will feel as if they are riding along on horseback with Jacob and Benito, and they’ll feel part of the family’s Seder. An author’s note explains that in the 1880s, Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe BOOKS | 23

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PASSOVER

April 7, 2017 |

23

Passover brings up fond memories

BY MAY-RONNY ZEIDMAN Everyone has his favorite holiday. Mine is Passover. Just thinking about Passover floods my brain with images. I remember Passover candy at my Bubbies … raspberry hard candy with a soft raspberry center, sesame candy totally disliked as a child, but so great as one ages. Passover lunch could be difficult, unless you lived in Pawtucket where you were allowed to go home for lunch in junior and senior high school during Passover (Everyone went home for lunch in elementary school.) The joy of getting ready for the Seder and being so happy when your younger brother became responsible for the Four Questions.

As a child, I became excited when my mom brought in the boxes with the Passover food and placed them in the corner of the kitchen until she was ready to put them in the pantry shelves.

We had a small family so our Seder was fairly small. When I was invited to Robert Sock’s family Seder, I was amazed to see at least 40 family members seated around a u-shaped table.

Some of what looked like tables FROM PAGE 22

were actually doors placed on saw horses and covered with tablecloths. For two evenings, members of the Sock family gathered at Robert’s Zaide’s home on Hidden Street. For me the evening was magical…everyone read…some in Hebrew most in English. There was great laughter and sense of a family that had been gathering for Seder for years and years.

As the evening wore on the younger members of the family ended up giggling under the tables after drinking too much wine.

Robert told me his Zaide had truly mellowed since his group of grandchildren were not allowed to behave in this manner.

The Hagaddah was from Streit’s matzah and was small with very small print.

When Robert’s Zaide passed away in 1971, Robert and I brought the Seder to our home.

Unfortunately, the family divided into individual household groups. Our Seder consisted of my family and Robert’s family. We always invited friends and other guests. Robert organized the Seder with our three sons. We even used the Streit’s Hagaddah

BOOKS

arrived in Argentina. Goldin also poses a timely discussion question that asks families to imagine what it would be like to move to a new country.

How It’s Made: Matzah

By Allison Ofanansky, photographs by Aliyahu Alpern Apples & Honey Press; ages 5-8; $15.95 Kids get an up-close look at how matzah is made in this fascinating new book overflowing with stunning color photographs that bring to life small-batch, handmade matzahmaking and factories that bake 35,000 pieces of matzah every day.

Kids see the spiked rolling tool used to make the tiny holes in the matzah and get a peek inside the very hot ovens required for baking. Captions and explanatory text are informative but simple, making the

photographs the stars of a wonderful book that will appeal to both kids and grownups.

There are several Do It Yourself recipes and craft projects, including baking matzah, making a matzah cover and growing the greens for karpas, the symbolic vegetable eaten during the Seder.

Sammy Spider’s Passover Shapes

Sylvia A. Rouss; illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn Kar-Ben; ages 1-4; $5.99 board book The ever-popular Sammy Spider – now in his 24th year – is back!

“Passover Shapes” is the second Sammy Spider board book that is geared for toddlers.

In this brightly illustrated tale, the young spider celebrates the holiday with his human friend, Josh Shapiro. Little ones will learn about Passover as well as basic shapes.

until everyone complained that the type was too small. New books were purchased, and our Seder continued.

Every year, I cooked and cooked and cooked. Eventually, I had a rather large collection of Passover cookbooks. I was always looking for something “new and different.” Early on, I purchased a Passover cookbook from our temple. The cover of this cookbook was yellow and sold for $6. Of all the Passover books in my collection, this one is my favorite. Which brings me to this Passover recipe.

Mena, a Sephardic Passover dish, is from this book. I never serve it as an appetizer but as a side dish to the main course.

When I was asked to make the dish during the year, I refused.

I wanted Mena (Passover lasagna) to be remembered as a special Passover treat.

Mena

Ingredients 2 pounds browned ground beef Vegetables: Celery, green or red peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini or any vegetable of your choosing 5 (12 oz.) cans of Rokeach tomato mushroom sauce 4 beaten eggs 4 sheets of matzah 1/2 cup of vegetable oil Salt, pepper, garlic to taste Directions Saute ground beef. Remove from pan when brown and set aside.

Add oil and saute vegetables (the amount of vegetables depends on how thick you want the sauce).

Pour the 5 cans of tomato sauce into a large pot. Add sauteed vegetables and ground beef. Add seasonings to your taste. Cook on low heat (stirring occasionally) until sauce is dark and rich looking.

Spray a 13 x 9 inch lasagna pan with cooking spray. Pour sauce to cover bottom of pan.

Run matzah sheets through water (only to moisten not to soak). Place matzah on top of sauce. Cover the matzah with light coating of beaten eggs and cover with tomato, meat and vegetable sauce. Repeat the process. Pour remaining beaten egg over top layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool a bit before cutting.

This dish freezes beautifully.

You can use cottage cheese and mozzarella instead of meat for a dairy lasagna. Or try no meat and cheese for a vegetarian and parve lasagna.

I have stopped making the Seder and am thrilled to say that my son Jeffrey and his husband Denny and my son Garrett and his wife Sharon now make the Seders. My children seat me at the head of the table as the acknowledged matriarch of our family. I view the table with appreciation and gratitude for the many blessings, which I have been given. The tradition continues L’Dor V’Dor. MAY-RONNY ZEIDMAN is executive director of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center.

PASSOVER

24 | April 7, 2017

The Jewish Voice

JCDS Chametz Fest launches Passover season

BY ANDREW PESSIN

Chametz Fest 2017, sponsored by the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, was a smashing success. A wonderful time was had by the more than 270 people who attended the March 26 event in the Temple Emanu-El social hall. The food was spectacular and nearly $10,000 was raised to support the school’s Parent Association.

That money goes toward providing tuition assistance and educational field trips for JCDS, among other uses.

The annual event marks the approach to Passover with a kind of “last-blast farewell to chametz,” said Naomi Stein, director of admissions at JCDS. The meal consisted of a pasta buffet with several different kinds of pasta and sauces, and a make-your-own ice cream sundae bar. There were also organized children’s activities, plus a professional clown (played by Sam Miller, grandparent of a JCDS student) who circulated all evening entertaining and making balloon animals and hats. A wine bar was available for the adults, several of whom could be seen sporting balloon hats as well.

“It was particularly gratifying,” said one attendee who preferred not to be identified, “to see such a wide spectrum of the community present. There were not only current JCDS families but also grandparents, alumni and prospective families. Rabbis from several East

JCDS parent Josh Hyman gives his opinion of the evening.

Sam Miller works his clown magic.

Side congregations also were there.”

The focal point of the event was the fundraising. “Each of the seven grades at JCDS, plus the Parents Association and the staff, produced a themed basket to be raffled off,” Stein explained. “Most of these included contributions from local merchants, who were incredibly generous in supporting the school. On top of that, parent volunteers worked really hard to obtain spectacular items for a silent auction, including jewelry, artwork and even a couple of vacation rentals. Some of the

items produced exciting bidding wars.”

Though event co-chairs Gabriella Rothman and Aliza Krieger led the way, Stein added, it was very much a team effort in which nearly all of the families and staff in the school participated in one way or another, from assembling baskets to selling raffle tickets to serving the food and cleaning up.

The Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island is located on Taft Avenue, Providence, and serves children from Pre-K through 5th grade.

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PASSOVER

April 7, 2017 |

25

This is what our interfaith Seder is like

BY JENNIFER REINHARZ (Kveller via JTA) – Born into a Catholic family with a Jewish surname, I should have expected I would one day find myself leading a Passover Seder.

To date, my husband Larry and I have hosted nine Seders, eight of which I’ve had the honor to lead. This role was bestowed upon me after my Jewish husband concluded that in light of my organized, creative, teacher-like nature, I was the right person for the job. The trade-off was food prep, which he happily agreed to tackle.

Not one who enjoys cooking, I acquiesced. Besides, the man makes a mean brisket.

I love a good Passover Seder.

But I didn’t always feel that way.

In the beginning, I found it a tough ceremony to swallow. I felt like the token Christian, the stranger in the wrong outfit eating the matzah out of order.

The structure of the service confused me, and the intensity associated with staying on task gave me the perfect excuse to keep quiet. I felt excluded by the deluge of Hebrew spoken by those in the know and, in general, lost – drowned in a Red Sea of rigidity, pomp and circumstance. For years I couldn’t wait to suck down that fourth cup of wine and hightail it home.

But I married a Jewish man, and we were raising our kids Jewish. Determined to do right by my Catholic self and our Jewish family, I set out on a mission to create an interfaithfriendly Seder.

First, I compiled a Haggadah full of catchy ditties, kidfriendly verses and hands-on plagues. I switched up the order of the service, made the blessings accessible in English and Hebrew, added passages about civil rights and the human condition, highlighted springtime symbolism, and offered readings that would appeal to different belief systems.

Interfaith marriage is about building bridges. Larry was open to the idea and respected my effort to design a Haggadah that made sense for me, but also maintained traditions he felt strengthened the Jewish identity of our sons – and encouraged new and experienced guests to discuss important Passover themes like freedom, rebirth and “tikkun olam,” healing the world.

It took a few years to earn our Seder hosting chops, but we eventually found a balance.

“Your Haggadah puts me in a position to think about what matters,” Larry concluded.

“See? Marrying outside my faith is making me a better Jew.” Fast forward to Passover 2014.

Walking by a local church the morning of Passover, I noticed a passage carved into the steeple:

“How wonderful it is How pleasant for God’s people To live together in harmony Psalm 133” I thought about our Seder guests.

That evening, 16 people – Jews, Catholics, Muslims, a son of Methodist missionaries, family, old friends and new faces – would gather around our table like a bona fide interfaith, intergenerat iona l jamboree.

As suspected, it turned out to be just that.

We waited to kick off the festivities so my Muslim neighbor could run home to say her afternoon prayers.

My father, a good ol’ boy and the son of Methodist missionaries who has a mezuzah affixed to his doorpost out of respect for our Jewish ancestors, joined us for his first Seder and my first holiday with him since I was a baby.

Adults and young people alike wore sunglasses to symbolize darkness, the ninth plague, and enjoyed an enthusiastic food fight of marshmallow hail.

Twenty-somethings and teenagers were just as jazzed as the under-10 population to hunt for the afikomen.

The widow and sister of a dear friend, a devout Irish Catholic who always attended our Seders but passed away a few years ago, recited the concluding poem together, a job historically reserved for him.

And when the Seder ended, that sister – a retired high school special education teacher, mother of four, grandmother who attends daily Mass and a Passover newcomer – stood up and addressed the group.

She shared: “We are a society of selfabsorbed immediacy. It seems that all anyone cares about today are the latest trends, the hottest stars and themselves.

It is important to pass on traditions, talk about ancestry, tell stories and make connections to the past. Doing this creates a necessary foundation for our children. For me, the Seder represents hope and a renewed determination to keep ALL the traditions we have alive and fun.”

Then she took home our Haggadah to use as a teaching aid in her Catechism class.

Last Passover, this friend’s theory became practice when my son, then 9, asked to do

People of various faiths and nationalities attend a Seder in Michigan. more. He read the story of Exodus and recited the 10 plagues along with a couple of blessings in Hebrew. And on the second night, when we held an intimate Seder with family, he wowed the crowd by taking the lead.

I was not raised Jewish. I did not convert to Judaism. But watching my son embrace his Jewish identity made this interfaith mama proud.

Larry and I will soon welcome the usual crew to our pleasant Passover. Should Elijah slip through the open door, I hope he’ll stay for a sip or two of wine. There are 16 people who value tradition, freedom, inclusivity, harmony and humanity he’s going to want to meet.

PHOTOS | JTA PHOTO SERVICE

J ENN IFER R EIN H A R Z writes for children and blogs for grown-ups. A BlogHer 2015 Voice of the Year and author of the blog Red said what?, Reinharz’s writing has also appeared online at InterFaithFamily, Scary Mommy, Mamalode and Brain Child, as well as other publications.

26 | April 7, 2017

COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice

Motorcyclists to rev up Holocaust education in Rhode Island

BY LEV POPLOW Imagine hearing the sound of a mass of motorcycles rumbling down the street towards you.

You turn your head to look – and see more than 100 riders wearing leather covered with patches riding your way.

You might be thinking that this is a scene straight out of “The Wild Ones” or “Easy Rider.” But now, imagine that as they rode past, you saw the patches had club names like “Chai Riders,” “Hillel’s Angels” and “Star of David Riders.”

Well, no imagination is required, for these are members of the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance, an international umbrella organization of 46 motorcycle clubs, with about 6,000 members in the U.S. “Every year we ride to remember to memorialize the Holocaust and raise money for Holocaust awareness and education so that it never happens again. In the past 12 years, we’ve raised over $600,000,” said Betsy Ahrens, president of the JMA. JMA riders are united by a love of motorcycles. For some, the freedom of the open road brings them closer to God, but most are not religious. They ride because the experience is empowering. And it allows American Jews to assert the physical prowess usually associated with their Israeli counterparts.

“The bike reflects a mechanical competence and physicality,” says Steven Alford, a professor of Motorcycle Studies at Nova Southeastern University,

Some of the clubs that participate in the ride. in Florida. “It combats the notion of Jews as purely intellectual.”

The first Ride to Remember, in 2005, brought 150 bikes to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps. Every year since then, the group has ridden into a different community to support Holocaust awareness and education.

This year, the 13th Annual Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance Ride to Remember is coming to Providence on June 8-10 to support the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center.

Over the three days, there will be a wide range of activities, all open to the public. The JMA will also assist in raising funds to teach the history of the Holocaust, with a goal of promoting human dignity and justice and serving as a memorial to its victims.

Some of the funds raised will allow the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center to partner with the USC Shoah Foundation in New Dimensions in Testimony. The hologrambased education program provides students with an interactive experience with survivors who are no longer with us. This amazing technology will help keep the memory of the Holocaust alive by bringing students into a real conversation with a survivor, even if that survivor is deceased, so that future generations of both Jews and nonJews “never forget.”

As part of the festivities, the JMA is raffling off a 2017 Harley Davidson Street Glide motorcycle. Tickets are $100 and only 500 will be sold. The drawing will be held on June 9 at the Crowne Plaza, in Warwick, which is the host hotel for the weekend.

Precision Harley Davidson, of Pawtucket, is sponsoring the

raffle. You can learn more about the raffle on the Bornstein Holocaust Center’s Facebook page.

The full schedule for the weekend will be released soon.

So break out your leathers, rev up your engines, and come support Holocaust education in Rhode Island.

LEV POPLOW is a communications and development consultant who writes for the Bornstein Holocaust Center. He can be reached at levpoplow@ gmail.com.

E-waste recycling at the Dwares JCC.

BBYO put together boxes for Birthday Wishes during J-Serve 2017.

Doing good in R.I.

Spring cleanup at Camp JORI’s Family Mitzvah Day.

On April 2, the Rhode Island Jewish community hosted a series of good deeds (mitzvot) throughout the state as part of the global movement known as Good Deeds Day. Participants cleaned up, recycled, helped neighbors and collected food.

The Jewish Alliance partnered with Indie Cycle, a local e-waste recycling company to collect two truckloads of un-

wanted electronics totaling approximately 3,500 pounds of waste.

“In some small way, we hope we are helping to educate and encourage more people to recycle,” said Phyllis Hutnak, owner of Indie Cycle.

“I was amazed at the amount of wires, cords, cables and peripheral items we collected,” said Kara Marziali co-coordi-

nator of the recycle event. “We used an industrial rolling cart that holds 20 bushels, and it was filled to capacity. By the end of the day, we estimated that 10,000 ft (nearly 2 miles) of wire was collected—enough to circle the Dwares JCC 10 times.

Thanks to participating organizations for supplying photos.

thejewishvoice.org

Passover: Honoring miracles and freedom Passover speaks to me about miracles and freedom.

At Chabad.org, the article “What i s P a s s o v e r (Pesach)?” explains, “Passover, celebrating the greatest series of miraPATRICIA cles ever expeRASKIN rienced in history, is a time to reach above nature to the miraculous.

But how are miracles achieved? Let’s take our cue from the matzah. Flat and unflavored, it embodies humility.

Through ridding ourselves of inflated egos, we are able to tap into the miraculous well of divine energy we all have within our souls.”

In my book “Pathfinding,” my late father tells this story, which was passed on to him, that speaks to miracles: “Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan was born and raised in Radin, Poland. He had a grocery store, and because of his reputation and fame people would flock to his store, causing his competitor to do badly. The rabbi soon realized that he was hurting the other grocer, who was not Jewish. So, he closed his store because he felt that it was not fair for him to capitalize on his fame to do harm to another person.

“He was considerate of all people regardless of their religious beliefs. He wrote several books, one of which was entitled ‘The Evil Tongue,’ which characterizes the tongue as man’s worst weapon. A gun or knife may kill once but words from the tongue will kill over and over again. I learned all this when my oldest grandson was named after this man and I read the story of his life.

“When Rabbi Kagan died, he was buried in the Jewish cemetery in the town of Radin, Poland. During World War II, the town of Radin was in the middle of the war zone between the Germans and the Russians. The town was repeatedly overrun, first by the Germans, then by the Russians. Yet, the town was never destroyed or damaged in a significant way.

“After the war, his family wanted to have the rabbi reburied in Israel. However, the nonJewish population objected to the removal of his body, and blocked the reburial because they felt that Rabbi Kagan was a saintly man who had spent his life caring for people regardless of their religious beliefs.

“The people of Radin perceived that they had escaped death and destruction during the war because of the saintliness of this one man. Was it a miracle? They certainly thought so.”

Passover also speaks to me of freedom. At Chabad.org, the article “What is Freedom?” by Yanki Tauber, a former editor of Chabad.org, explains the concept of freedom as it relates to Passover. At the end of the article, Tauber writes, “Thus our sages have said: ‘In every generation a person must see himself as if he has himself come out from Mitzrayim (Egypt).’ The Hebrew word for ‘Egypt,’ Mitzrayim, means ‘boundaries,’ and the endeavor to free ourselves from yesterday’s boundaries is a perpetual one.

“For freedom is more than the drive to escape foreign and negative inhibitors: no matter how free of them we are, we remain defined by the boundaries of self and self-definition. Freedom is the incessant drive to ‘Passover’ these boundaries, to draw on our divine, infinite potential to constantly overreach what we are.”

This last sentence resonates with me: Freedom for me is the ability and opportunity to use my potential and gifts and express them for the greater good.

PATRICIA RASKIN hosts “The Patricia Raskin Show” on Saturdays at 3 p.m. on WPRO, 630 AM/99.7 FM, and on Mondays at 2 p.m. on voiceamerica. com. Raskin is a board member of Providence’s Temple EmanuEl

Why Passover is about more than good food

BY JOSHUA RATNER (My Jewish Learning via JTA) – What is the essence of Passover?

On the one hand, it seems obvious: Passover is about gathering together with loved ones to recall, through sumptuous home rituals, the exodus from Egypt. We gather round our Seder tables and quickly become engulfed in the warmth of family and friends, the culinary delights of a delicious meal and the comforting, vaguely familiar words and songs we recite year after year.

Passover is, indeed, a beautiful opportunity for rejoicing and celebrating. But it also can be much, much more.

Looking closely at the Passover Haggadah, we can see that the rabbis who crafted the Seder did not choose to make Passover a holiday solely focused on celebrating the past.

Like the Fourth of July (or Hanukkah), Passover could have been a day to recall passively our independence from an oppressive regime as a historical remembrance; to commemorate the past and salute our Founding Fathers (or Maccabees).

Instead, Moses (as Founding Father of the Israelites) is large-

ly shut out of the Haggadah – he appears but once. While remembrance of the exodus – from the enslavement of the Israelites to the 10 plagues to the crossing of the Red Sea – forms a major por-

tion of the content of the Maggid (retelling) section of the Haggadah, that remembrance is but a means to a larger end.

The end of the Maggid section reveals why. It says: “In each and every generation people must regard themselves as though they personally left

Egypt, as it says, ‘Tell your child on that very day: “This is what God did for me when I left Egypt.”’ The Holy One of Blessing did not redeem only our ancestors, but God even redeemed us with them, as it says, ‘God brought us out of there in order to bring us to and gave us the land that God swore to our ancestors.’”

The Seder specifically, and Passover more broadly, is about remembering God’s deliverance of the Israelites not as a one-time, historical event but as something that is perpetually happening in the present.

Redemption from slavery to freedom is intended to be an experience that we, too, can and should have during our Seders.

But why?

RABBI JOSHUA RATNER is the director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New Haven, Connecticut.

Ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in May 2012, Ratner was a Joseph Neubauer Fellow and also earned a master’s degree in Midrash and a certificate in pastoral care. He worked as an attorney for five years prior to entering rabbinical school.

PASSOVER

April 7, 2017 |

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28 | April 7, 2017

COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice FROM PAGE 1

OPENING Enter through the Sandra and Richard Bornstein Entrance Way, and you’ll be able to walk up the center staircase to the bright Salmanson Family Upper Lobby, which has comfortable seating and plenty of place for conversation. The Victor and Gussie Baxt Social Hall remains in its original location.

Off the lobby will be the newly relocated Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center. Can’t make it up the stairs? There’s a handicapped-accessible elevator to the left of the front door.

You can also walk down a flight of stairs to a second lobby for access to the J-Fitness Center or the David C. Isenberg Family Early Childhood Center. The first-floor lobby is also accessible from the rear parking lot. This new entrance is in an area where the Holocaust Center used to be. But you might not recognize it any more. There will be a new welcome desk in that area.

Alliance leadership is excited about the changes.

“I am so elated that our new secure and accessible Alliance’s Dwares JCC is about to open to everyone in our community,” said Jeffrey Savit, president and CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. “I take such great pride walking through the doors, knowing that they provide such lovely gateways to not only our beautiful new lobbies, but to the wonderful community events and programs we stage here on a daily basis.”

Renovations aren’t quite complete. The Baxt Social Hall is still under construction, as is the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center. Some of the downstairs offices are nearing completion.

Said Savit: “Each day, I grow more excited watching the renovations continue to take shape.”

There also will be some changes to other entrances and exits around the building. The new front and back doors will now be the only entrances and exits to the Dwares JCC building.

All the other entrances and exits will now be emergency exits only. This includes the Sessions Street door often used as an entrance to the Alliance offices, the door that has led to the existing elevator and the current fitness desk, and the door that has been used as an entrance/exit to the ECC. A grand reopening and dedication ceremony is planned for May 24, with programming for all ages.

Happy Passover

The back entrance was almost finished at press time.

FRAN OSTENDORF is the editor of The Jewish Voice.

~ from ~

Attorney General

Peter F. Kilmartin

The back entrance hallway.

PHOTOS | FRAN OSTENDORF

thejewishvoice.org

PASSOVER

April 7, 2017 |

29

Your Seder night can be calm and relaxed for all guests These tips help make a meaningful night for those with special needs

BY YAEL KLEIN Pesach night – or shall we say nights – is challenging enough for those who have spent the greater part of the last week/ month (at least!) scrubbing down every nook and cranny of the house for chametz. Then it’s erev Pesach, biur chametz, preparing the matzah and maror, setting the table, making sure there’s enough wine or grape juice for all the guests.

For special-needs children, many of whom have trouble sitting still and respecting orderly boundaries, the Pesach Seder becomes even more difficult.

We asked Doreen Winter, MSW, social worker at Seeach Sod, for tips on how to make Seder night as calm and relaxed as possible when a specialneeds child is in the family.

Make a special Haggadah.

For a child who can’t really comprehend every detail going

on during the Seder, Winter suggests making a personalized Haggadah. “It should have no words: just colorful pictures, and it should be interactive.

You could create some pictures and Velcro them to the pages.

Ask your child, ‘where is the matzah,’ so they could take out the matzah from the Haggadah and show it to you.”

Dramatize the Exodus.

“With your other children, act out parts of the Haggadah with puppets, or like a dramatic play.

This makes it more interesting and entertaining for your child with special needs, who may otherwise not understand what’s really going on during the Seder.”

Cook a favorite food. “Make the special food your child loves. He or she (like your other children, I assume) should not have to wait like everyone else to eat dinner – Shulchan Orech

comes way after regular dinnertime.”

Let them sleep. “When your special-needs child gets tired, worked-up or upset, he or she can go to sleep. Don’t force her to stay up and participate, even if he or she is an older adult.”

Plan ahead. If your child or older adult is unable to act appropriately, and may lessen the overall experience of the Seder, you have to make a choice, says Winter: “You can make a short Seder just for her, on a different night before Pesach, so that you won’t feel the need to have her participate in the actual Seder night because she has already experienced it beforehand. Or you can have her participate in the actual Seder even if she may disrupt the Seder at various points and annoy your other children, who will probably want your dedicated attention.

Though this is a difficult choice,

your entire life with a specialneeds child requires sacrifices and choices to be made – none of which is easy.”

Give them a goodie bag.

“Your special child should have a goodie bag that is just his or hers, and can eat from it throughout the Seder when he feels the need. Remember that matza and maror doesn’t taste good to everyone, least of all to sensory-sensitive children.”

Set boundaries. It’s OK to set limits. Even with older adults, it’s OK to tell them “You are not behaving, so you must leave the room.” I believe limits are like hugs: they teach the child that you care about them and that they have self-respect.

Have a good attitude. Remind yourself to stay positive.

“At the end of the day,” says the social worker, “you want to be able to tell yourself: ‘I am doing the best I can with what Hash-

em gave me.’ It is OK not to be perfect constantly. It’s OK to realize that you can’t meet everyone’s needs at the same time.

Sometimes your special-needs child will come first, and sometimes your other children will come first. And sometimes you will come first. To have a happy home, Mom has to be happy.”

With these tips in mind, you’re sure to have a Chag Kasher v’Sameach!

Editor’s Note: Doreen Winter, MSW is a social worker at Seeach Sod, one of Israel’s leading rehabilitative and educational centers for special needs and physically challenged children and adults. Based in Jerusalem, Israel, Seeach Sod offers a multitude of services and programs to enhance the quality of life of individuals with special needs as well as their parents and family members.

With our freedom from slavery, what are Jews free to do?

BY RACHAEL BREGMAN (Rabbis Without Borders via JTA) – At Passover, Jews around the world gather to celebrate “zman cheirutenu,” the season of our freedom. We will read all about freedom from slavery. We drink four cups of wine to rejoice in the four freedoms given to our ancestors by God. We eat charoset, a mixture of fruits, nuts, juice or wine that represents the mortar used with the bricks we no longer have to place as slaves. Freedom from bondage, from Egypt, from Pharaoh.

The idea of being freed from slavery by God is a central tenet of Judaism. We say, remember God freed you from slavery and took you out of Egypt every Friday night in the blessing of the wine and throughout the Torah even when speaking about seemingly unrelated things.

But what, I wonder, upon finding freedom from slavery are we now free to do?

Primarily, we are free to serve God and not Pharaoh. Spiritually speaking, the Seder gives us the opportunity to check in with ourselves to see if we have become enslaved to Pharaohs of modernity like power, money and ego. God didn’t work so hard to bring us out of one Egypt just to replace it with another. The Seder asks us, now

that you have your freedom, what have you done with it?

If the Exodus is a story of a three-part journey – Egypt, the wilderness-desert and Israel – serving God is the wildernessdesert, a stop on the way, the means to an end, but not the final place on the journey.

Author and psychologist David Arnow writes in “Creating Lively Passover Seders”: “Paradoxically, as we celebrate our liberation during Passover, we sharpen our awareness of the enslavement that reigns within and around us. At the moment we taste freedom, we remember the hungry … From the heights of deliverance, we survey a shattered world crying out for healing.”

He adds later: “What is the source of the staggeringly audacious conviction that the present, the status quo, cannot be the end of the road? That’s where God comes in. God speaks in a small voice within each of us saying, ‘Never forget that yours is not a normal but a broken world, one that we can surely help fix.’ At the Seder, that voice calls a little bit more audibly because with Passover we confront the reality of our freedom and we have used it, for good or ill.”

God did not bring us out of Egypt to serve God (Dayenu, it

Rabbi Rachael Bregman would have been enough). Rather, through our service to God we are meant to eternally bring freedom to others. Our service to God is our service to humanity. Our service to humanity is God’s work in action.

So when you sit down to your Seder, I hope you ponder not just your freedom from slavery but relish also your freedom to free others. Happy Passover.

RABBI RACHAEL BREGMAN is at Temple Beth Tefilloh in Brunswick, Georgia, as the first female and the first resident rabbi in over 50 years. She lives two miles from the beach with her daughter, Lilith, and dog Zooey.

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Ohio buys record $61 million in Israel Bonds JTA – The state of Ohio bought a one-day record of $61 million in Israel Bonds.

The largest single government purchase of Israel Bonds, which took place April 3, makes Ohio the largest holder of Israel Bonds with $165 million, the Cleveland Jewish News reported.

State Treasurer Josh Mandel told the newspaper that the purchase in part was in response to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, against Israel.

“First and foremost, we are making this investment because it’s a good investment for the taxpayers of Ohio,” said Mandel, who is Jewish. “Sec-

ond, we are making this investment in an effort to combat the bigotry of the BDS movement.

Third, we are making this investment to stand with the only

country in the Middle East that shares American values.”

In December, the Ohio legis-

April 7, 2017 |

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Ohio treasurers have been investing in Israel Bonds since 1993, according to the newspaper.

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OBITUARIES

32 | April 7, 2017 Bruce Bennett, 72

Evelyn G. Cohen, 97

GREENVILLE, R.I. – Bruce Bennett passed away March 29.

He was the husband of Bonnie Bennett; they were married for 45 years.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of the late Jack and Lillian (Jadow) Bennett.

He was a professor of biology at the Community College of Rhode Island for 40 years.

Besides his wife, he is survived by his children, Jessica Bertsch and her husband, Steven, and Lesley Bennett; sister, Lynne Chernin; and grandson, Zachary Bertsch.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 931 Jefferson Blvd., Suite 3004, Warwick, RI 02886.

WARWICK, R.I. – Evelyn G. Cohen died March 24 at West View Nursing & Rehabilition Center.

She was the beloved wife of the late Henoch Cohen. Born and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts, a daughter of the late Israel and Lillian (Goldstein) Goodin, she had lived in Warwick for 60 years, previously living in Providence.

She worked as a legal secretary and for an insurance agent. She spent three years as a SPAR Y2C in the Coast Guard during WWII. She graduated Brockton High School, Class of ’37. Evelyn was a life member of Hadassah and a member of WBCJC and Waves International.

She was also a member of the former Women’s Association of the Jewish Home for the Aged and the former Temple Am David.

She was the devoted mother

ASK THE DIRECTOR

BY MICHAEL D. SMITH F.D./R.E. Shalom Memorial Chapel

Question: What makes a Jewish cemetery Jewish?

D.H., Cranston Dear D.H., According to my sources, the primary definition of a Jewish cemetery is one that has been properly consecrated by the local clergy and is owned by the Jewish community at large (such as Lincoln Park Cemetery) or a temple (such as Temple Beth-El Cemetery). Some rabbis say that if a Jewish person is buried in a plot, then that particular plot is considered consecrated Jewish ground.

QUESTIONS ARE WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED. Please send questions to: ShalomChapel@aol.com or by mail to Ask the Director, c/o Shalom Memorial Chapel, 1100 New London Ave., Cranston, R.I. 02920.

The Jewish Voice of Betsy Cohen of Baltimore, Maryland, Howard Cohen of Seattle, Washington, and Arthur Cohen and his wife, Janet, of West Orange, New Jersey.

She was the dear sister of the late Morris and Harold Goodin, Sylvia Jarcho and Rosamond Berman. She was the loving grandmother of Maggie, Lucas, Tess, Cyrena and Ian. Contributions in her memory may be made to Pickals, to support ALS research, at www. pickals.org or The Michael J. Fox Foundation, Donation Processing, PO Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5041.

Merna S. Green, 84 Merna S. Green passed away p e a c e f u l l y, su r rou nded by her family, on March 29. She was the wife of the late Joseph Green and the daughter of the late Samuel and Anna Abrams.

She is survived by her son Chaim (Ricky) and Beverly Green of Mitzpah Navo, Israel; Lisa Green and Rick Enfield of Weston, Massachusetts; Dawn and Ramon Shepard of Ocala, Florida; and Robert J. and Elizabeth (Lisa) Green of Warwick.

She was the grandmother of Yossi, Amachai, Netanel and David of Mitzpah Navo; Jenny, Rachael and Jonathan of Weston; Kyle of Burriville; Ramon, Julius and Samuel of Ocala; Robert, Victoria, Raymond and Adrianna of Warwick. She was the sister of Seena Abrams of Brookline, Massachusetts.

Merna lived a long wonderful life full of many joys. She enjoyed her passion, which was hairdressing.

Contributions in her memory may be made to Jewish Family Service of RI, 959 N. Main St., Providence, RI 02904.

Anne Krause, 93 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Anne (Berkelhammer) Krause, a lifelong resident of Providence and a graduate of Pembroke College, for which she volunteered and loved her entire life, passed away March 16. She was a daughter of the late Benjamin and Sylvia Rossman.

She was always making new friends. At Laurelmead she reconnected with childhood friends and was always reaching out to welcome and befriend new residents.

She was married to Cyril Berkelhammer with whom she enjoyed a full life. After his death, she enjoyed a second full life with Edwin Krause until his death and kept strong contacts with his children and family.

Anne was a member and strong supporter of Temple Beth-El and Jewish Family Service as well as many other organizations. She enjoyed an active life and especially loved competitive golf and tennis.

She is survived by sons Larry Berkelhammer and wife, Irma Botvin, of San Rafael, California, Robert Berkelhammer and wife, Mitzi Berkelhammer; and grandchildren, Jessi Berkelhammer and husband, Abie Flaxman, Abby Berkelhammer and husband, Scott Raker, and Max Berkelhammer and wife, Toba Pearlman; three greatgrandchildren; and sister Ruth Steiner. She is also survived by Robert Krause and wife, Majorie Krause, and all of Edwin Krause’s survivors.

Contributions in her memory may be made to Jewish Family Service, 959 N. Main St., Providence, RI 02904 or to the charity of your choice.

Rabbi Saul Leeman, 100 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Saul Leeman, of Providence, died on April 5. He had been the longtime leader of the Cranston Jewish Center, later serving as rabbi at Temple Shalom in Med-

ford, Massachusetts.

Rabbi Leeman had been married for 68 years to the late Dr. Elsie Leeman, For full obituary go to jvhri. org.

Sanford Lupovitz, 86

EAST GREENWICH, R.I. – Sanford P. “Sandy” Lupovitz, of East Greenwich, passed away on March 30, su r rou nded by his family.

Sandy was a devoted and cherished family man, a giving member of the com mu n it y and loved by all for his entertaining storytelling and wonderful sense of humor.

He was the beloved husband for 58 years of Marcia (Miller) Lupovitz, and father of Ronna Lupovitz Brady of East Greenwich; Benjamin Lupovitz of East Greenwich; Joni Lupovitz (Craig Plastrik) of Potomac, Maryland; and Michelle Masal (Michael Masal) of Portland, Connecticut.

He was grandfather extraordinaire of Jordan (Kendra) and Ryan Brady, Max and Rachel Lupovitz, Alex and Alana Plastrik, Brandon and Leah Masal.

He was the son of the late Michael “Harry” and Mildred (Wolovitz) Lupovitz, and brother of the late Howard B. Lupovitz.

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sandy graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and received a master’s degree from the Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management. During the Korean War, he served stateside in the Army, and then spent many years working for various Jewish community organizations in the Northeast United States and Canada. In 1980, he purchased the Rhode OBITUARIES | 33

thejewishvoice.org

FROM PAGE 32

OBITUARIES

Island Bureau of Investigation & Protection (“RIBI Security”).

His leadership and community involvement to promote awareness and employment opportunities for veterans and people with disabilities has been frequently recognized.

Contributions in his memory may be made to: Chabad of West Bay, 3871 Post Road, Warwick, RI 02886, www.rabbiwarwick. com, or a charity of your choice.

Herbert Mandell, 87 NARRAGANSETT, R.I. – Herbert E. “Mendy” Mandell died March 18. Herb was born in Providence, the son of the late George and Etta Mandell. He was a longtime resident of Narragansett, previously living in Cranston and Providence.

He graduated from the M a s s achu s et t s S cho ol of Physiot herapy i n 19 52 a nd served in the Army with the occupation forces in Japan.

He was an associate and manager of the popular Sterling Shoes of Warwick and an associate of Sherry’s Shoes in Newport. After retiring, he was a supervisor for the Brown University indoor tennis courts for over 15 years.

He is survived by his daughters Candace Mandell and Leslie Amadio and sister Barbara Weisman. He was the father of the late Pamela Mandell.

Contributions in his memory may be made to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital Foundation Development Office, P.O. Box H, Providence, RI 02903.

Julius Leonard Perler, 93 NORTH DARTMOUTH, MASS. – Julius Leonard Perler, of North Da r t mout h, passed away peacefully on March 19 after a brief illness. The son of the late Louis and Ida Perler, Lenny was the beloved husband of the late Muriel Marcia Perler, brother of the late Anne Perler Friedland, and father of the late Ilene Perler Brown.

He is survived by his son, Dr. Bruce Perler and daughter-in– law, Patricia Perler of Ruxton, Maryland, and his grandchildren, Rachel Perler of New Haven Connecticut, Mason Perler of Boston, Massachusetts, and Ryan Brown of Orleans, Massachusetts, and his son-in-law James Brown of Orleans, Massachusetts.

Lenny was a retired truck driver and truck mechanic at Shawmut Transportation. He was a member of the Tifereth Israel Congregation and the Masonic Lodge of New Bedford, and had served on the board of the New Bedford Jewish Convalescent Home. He had filled his

days since retirement by helping his neighbors and friends, and others, through numerous volunteer activities and untold acts of kindness.

Bruce, a professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins said “I learned much more important lessons of life from my father than in any classroom I ever sat in: the importance of honesty, loyalty and hard work. He was, and forever will be, my role model.”

Contributions in his memory may be made to the New Bedford Jewish Convalescent Home, 200 Hawthorn St., New Bedford, MA 02740.

Annette Preblud, 93 ROSLINDALE, MASS. – Annette (Bazarsky) Preblud of Roslindale, formerly of Cranston, died peacefully at Hebrew Senior Life, Roslindale, after a long period of failing health.

Born in Providence, Annette was the youngest of eight children born to Rubin and Rose Bazarsky, immigrants from Kiev, Ukraine.

She was predeceased by Bertha Kasper, Mary Meadow, Morris Bazarsky, Max Bazarsky, Etta Nysko, Jeanne Kotler and Sam Bazarsky.

Annette enjoyed spending time with her family and close friends. Although she was the youngest of eight, she became the matriarch to 15 nieces and nephews, their spouses and two generations of children. She most enjoyed spending time in the loving embrace of her family and close friends.

Annette was passionately devoted to her two sons, Stephen and Barry. She leaves her beloved son, Barry Joel Preblud, who has been the light and focus of her life. Her older son, Dr. Stephen R. Preblud, a physician and epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control, predeceased her in 1989. Dr. Preblud was a leader in the field of childhood disease prevention.

In addition to her son Barry, she leaves behind nieces and nephews – Jamie and Harold Kotler, Stephen and Sandra Kotler Levine, Reggie Nysko, Sheila Nysko, David and Carol Bazarsky, Marshall and Connie Bazarsky, Brenton Bazarsky, Stuart Bazarsky Judy Lavine, Stephen Green and the late Seyna Green, Walter and Pam Bazarsky, Richard and Anne Bazarsky, Howard and Judy Bazarsky, Susan and Jamie Larson, Ben and Susan Kasper, and Hirschel and Cindy Kasper.

She also leaves Darlene Koita and Denise Catallozzi, treasured friends.

Remembrances may be made to the Stephen R. Preblud Memorial Fund for Pediatrics: Trustees of Boston University, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord St., Suite L 219, Boston, MA 02218.

Ernest Schleifer CRANSTON, R.I. – Ernest B. Schleifer died April 2 at the Philip Hulitar Inpatient Center.

He was the beloved husband of Estelle (Chorney) Schleifer.

They were married for 51 years.

Born in Providence, the son of the late William and Estelle (Perlow) Schleifer, he had lived in Cranston for 37 years, previously living in Providence. He was a certified gemologist who worked in the jewelry business for over 40 years, retiring in 2016. Ernest was a member of Temple Emanu-El, Touro Fraternal Association, and the Redwood Lodge of the Masons.

He was the devoted father of Beverly Goncalves and her husband, Carlos, and Joseph Schleifer, all of Cranston. He was the dear brother of Barbara Saltman of Trumbull, Connecticut.

He was the loving grandfather of Lyle, Arthur, Samantha and Max. Contributions in his memory may be made to Chabad Chai Center of West Bay, 3871 Post Rd., Warwick, RI 02886.

Anna Simon, 95 NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Anna (Rosenfield) Simon passed away March 16 in North Providence. She was the wife of the late Joseph Simon; they were married for 34 years.

She was born in Providence, a daughter of the late Myer and Esther (Waksler) Rosenfield.

Anna was a bookkeeper for many years.

She is survived by her niece, Faye Sherman; nephew, Gerald Sherman and his wife, Anne; good friend, Betty Gonsalves; two great nieces; and two greatgreat nieces. She was the sister of the late Sadye Sherman.

Contributions in her memory may be made to Hope Hospice & Palliative Care RI, 1085 N. Main St., Providence, RI 02904 or the charity of your choice.

Evelyn L. Wolff, 102 CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. –Evelyn L. Wolff, of Chestnut Hill, formerly of Providence and Warwick, died March 16. She was the beloved wife of the late Jacob Wolff. She was born in Providence, a daughter of the late David and Sarah (Silverman) Lang. She was a former member of Temple Emanu-El and the Cranston Senior Guild.

She was the devoted mother of Beryl Wolff Chapman (Elliot) and Bruce Wolff. She was the dear sister of the late Florence Fish and Frances Feldman. She was the loving grandmother of David Chapman, Steven Chapman (Krista) and Daniel Wolff (Mary). She was the cherished great-grandmother of Michael and Amanda Chapman.

Contributions in her memory may be made to Saving Sight, 982 West Shore Road, Warwick, RI 02885 or Compassionate Care Hospice, 800 West Cummings Park, Suite 3100, Woburn MA 01801 or a charity of your choice.

OBITUARIES | WORLD

April 7, 2017 |

33

Jewish descendants can sue Germany for return of Nazi-looted collection, US court rules JTA – A U.S. court has cleared the way for descendants of Jewish art collectors to sue Germany in the United States over objects allegedly obtained from their ancestors under duress during the Nazi era.

In what lawyers for the complainants are calling a landmark decision, the District Court for the District of Columbia ruled March 31 that claims regarding a collection known as the Guelph Treasure can be filed in a U.S. court.

Three years ago, a German investigative commission found that the original owners of the collection, which the Dresdner Bank purchased on behalf of Hitler’s deputy, Hermann Goering, in 1935, were not forced to sell it by the Nazis.

It is the first time that a court has held that Germany can be sued for the return of Nazi-looted art and artifacts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. For several years, heirs to the consortium of Jewish collectors that bought the 82-piece collection in 1929 as an investment have been demanding the return of the portion sold to Goering. They have estimated its value at ap-

proximately $227 million.

The collection is on display at Berlin’s Bode Museum.

Attorneys filed the suit in the United States in February 2015 against Germany and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, one year after the Limbach Commission, the German advisory board for Holocaust-related claims, rejected the plaintiffs’ contention that the 1935 sale had been forced.

In its ruling last week, the court rejected the German defendants’ contention that the Limbach Commission recommendation bars later litigation in a U.S. court. It also agreed with the plaintiffs that the sale may be considered a taking of property in violation of international law.

Reacting to the ruling, Hermann Parzinger, head of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, said in a March 31 statement that he did not believe the case belongs in a U.S. court. He said the foundation would “look at the decision carefully and consider further steps.”

Parzinger also emphasized that the foundation does not believe evidence shows that the sale was forced.

Holocaust survivor, 91, celebrates her Bat Mitzvah in Buenos Aires BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) – Eugenia Unger, who usually displays the number tattooed on her arm by the Nazis, covered it with her Shabbat clothes and her tallit as she celebrated her Bat Mitzvah eight decades late.

Unger, 91, a Poland native who survived the Majdanek and Auschwitz concentration camps and often talks about her experiences at the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum and in schools, was called to the Torah on April 1 at the Herzliya Jewish community center and temple in Buenos Aires.

She told the Argentine radio program Radio Cultura on March 30 of her upcoming celebration that “the culmination of my whole life is my bat mitzvah. It is a ritual that is very important in Jewish life.”

The temple also organized a birthday celebration for

Unger, a co-founder of the Holocaust Museum of Buenos Aires in 2000.

Unger, born Eugenia Rotsztejn in Warsaw, lived in the Warsaw Ghetto as a teen and was later taken to the two Nazi camps with her family, including her parents, two brothers and a sister. Unger is the only member of her family who survived the Holocaust. When she was liberated by Soviet forces, she weighed slightly more than 59 pounds.

After a journey across central Europe, she lived for two years in a refugee camp in Modena, Italy, where she met her future husband, David Unger. Both immigrated to Argentina in 1949.

Unger now has two sons and six grandsons, and has written three books about her experiences. In 2011, she was declared Outstanding Personality by the Buenos Aires city parliament.

34 | April 7, 2017

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A human is a very complicated being. Communities and societies of humans are even more complex. Sometimes, someone who studies these groups makes generalizations in order to teach a lesson or understand a situation better. But one cannot learn from the past if knowledge of the past is oversimplified.

We often hear about moments of success or positive developments in social justice and multiculturalism in American history. But a true picture of the past must include the setbacks and the disappointments as well.

We probably learned in school that major figures in the Jewish community contributed to some of the triumphs of the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. marched and organized with the help of many Jews.

Some may know that some of the greatest civil rights lawyers of the 20th century, as well as half of the founding members of the NAACP in 1909, were Jewish.

The full history of black-Jewish relations is more nuanced and complicated.

In anticipation of Trinity College Prof. Cheryl Greenberg’s talk on black-Jewish relations, at the April 28 Annual Meeting of the R.I. Jewish Historical Association, I read a book on this subject, “Broken Alliance: The Turbulent Times Between Blacks and Jews in America,” by Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Jonathan Kaufman.

According to Kaufman, early Jewish immigrants to America were largely politically conservative. As a natural result of earlier Jewish history, Jews preferred the status quo and avoided rocking the boat. In early America, the opinions of Jews did not differ significantly from other whites: Jews in the North

tended to be against slavery and Jews in the South tended to support slavery.

In the South, some Jews were slave owners and later major figures in the Confederacy. There were a few Jewish abolitionists, but not a great many.

Abolitionists were surprised that as a persecuted minority themselves, Jews were not in the forefront of the fight for the rights of black slaves. In the 19th century, American Jews as a group generally steered clear of mass protest movements. In Europe, mass protests had eventually turned against Jewish communities; Jews took these fears with them when they immigrated to America.

Kaufman writes that these Jewish communal habits began to change in the 1880s. Earlier waves of immigrants were largely Sephardic and German Jews, but beginning in 1880, there was a huge influx of Russian Jews.

These new immigrants tended to be much more politically liberal, even socialists or communists.

At the same time, non-immigrants began emphasizing social justice in religious contexts.

Yiddish newspapers like The Forward reported on AfricanAmerican injustices and lynchings at the same time they described pogroms against Jews in Europe.

The watershed moment for the American Jewish community was the 1914 lynching in Georgia of Leo Frank, a Jew. Many historians point to it as the moment when the Jewish community began to move against latent anti-Semitism and the status quo. Beginning with the Frank lynching, and accelerating after the Holocaust, there was a sense that the Jewish community needed to protect itself by reaching out to other American

minorities.

In the words of Kaufman, the Jewish community noticed that their appeals “often fell on deaf political ears.” They recognized that as “one of several embattled ethnic groups,” they could not “go it alone.” But during the socalled Golden Age of Black-Jewish Relations, from the 1950s to the 1970s, both communities, according to Kaufman, continued having complicated and “ambivalent” feelings towards each other.

As blacks moved into Northern cities during the “Great Migration” before World War II, the first Jews that many met were shopkeepers and landlords; Jews filled a necessary role by becoming business owners in areas where other white businessmen would not venture.

Jews were often the only white people who would employ or interact with the blacks moving into the North. Kaufman writes that Jews were often “more courteous, less patronizing” toward African-Americans. “Yet the wages were still low and the conditions often insulting,” he continues.

Blacks began to realize that Jews did not act like other white people: Jews would be more civil and treat them with dignity, but often charged higher prices and provided worse working conditions. This situation fed into assumptions that Jews were, hypocritical and out to “rip off ” people.

It is important to have a full picture of the past to successfully go out to change the world.

Knowing history can be helpful in looking for potential pitfalls and staying motivated.

JOSHUA JASPER is the librarian/archivist and executive director of the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association.

RIJHA to explore black-Jewish relations at Annual Meeting

BY JOSHUA JASPER Cheryl Greenberg, the Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of History at Trinity College, in Hartford, Connecticut, will be the guest speaker at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the R.I. Jewish Historical Association, on Sunday, April 28, at 2 p.m. at Temple Beth-El in Providence.

Greenberg will discuss recent events involving the black and Jewish communities and put them into the larger historical context in her talk, titled, “A History of Black/Jewish Relations and Why It Matters Now.” Greenberg is the author of four books, including “Troubling the Waters: Black-Jewish Relations in the American Century,” which won the Saul

Viener Book Prize for the best book on American Jewish history. She has given talks on black-Jewish relations, as well as other topics, at universities and public venues on three continents.

The 2017-2018 Board of Directors and officers will also be installed during the meeting.

The new board members are James Waters, a professor at Providence College, and Lauren Motola-Davis, an attorney and the managing partner for the Providence office of Lewis Brisbois.

The entire program is free and open to the public, and all are welcome. A social hour, with light refreshments, will follow the speaker.

The Annual Meeting is part of the David Charak Adelman Memorial Program and is sponsored by the Arline Ruth Weinberg Memorial Fund.

For more information about the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association and its Annual Meeting, contact Joshua Jasper at 401-331-1360 or info@ rijha.org. The office and library, with its extensive collections on Rhode Island Jewish history, is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

JOSHUA JASPER is the executive director and librarian/ archivist of the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association.

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April 7, 2017 |

35

Zsa Zsa: More than just a pretty face She was a fabulous personality! My mother called her, affectionately, a courtesan. I

SKETCHBOOK MIKE FINK was awestruck by her performance as Jane Avril in “Moulin Rouge” – John Huston’s original version – and also by her role as the wife of Jean Pierre Aumont and the rival of Leslie Caron in that bizarre and wondrous “Lili,” in which she is both person and puppet.

In a gorgeous red gown and clickety-clackety high heels, she played the part of a superficial and vain beauty, but underneath that makeup and costume, her life tells quite a different tale.

It was in Bordeaux, France, in Lisbon, Portugal, and in New York City that I pieced together the story of Zsa Zsa Gabor. Yes, she did fl irt with the Nazi guards in Budapest, Hungary ... but why? To protect her parents, who were about to be sent fi rst to the ghetto and then to the gas chambers at Auschwitz – and she succeeded in disguising their identities, as both Gypsies and Jews, and saving their lives.

Her cynical surface hid her deeply vulnerable and desperate depths. This I believe. She was funny, and fake, and self-

serving on radio and on fi lm, but in life she was a fighter, using her guiles to save her world.

She married George Sanders – twice, I believe – and in between he married her sister. Magda, not Eva. His role as a cad likewise covered his melancholy intelligence.

I read an autobiography written by Zsa Zsa Gabor, but it was mostly about the clothing she wore, with a few scandalous “confessions.” And I have a friend here in town, the editor of a historical publication, who claims that he and his twin brother used to hitchhike to school in Los Angeles, California, our nation’s dream f a c t o r y, a n d who stopped in a convertible to pick up the two boys? None other than Zsa Zsa, her magnificent self!

And so, there was a human being underneath the glamour and the humor. A person whose long life included the stuff of comedy, and tragedy, and the American dream at its very best. A soul in trouble with a smile and the gift of charm who survived a century of “change” and left behind a legacy of genuine beauty, hope and laughter.

In the words of my all-time favorite jokester, James Thurber, “Remember Laughter, you’ll need it even in the blessed isles of Ever After.”

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The Jewish Voice

Yom ha-Zikaron, remembrance at the Alliance’s Dwares JCC Remember and honor those who have fallen in the defense of the State of Israel or during acts of terror during a memorial ceremony April 30 at the Dwares Jewish Community Center.

Since 1963, Yom ha-Zikaron has been Israel’s official Memorial Day. Officially, the Day of Remembrance for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism, Yom ha-Zikaron is the day when all of Israel pauses to pay tribute to the thousands who have been lost. In a country with mandatory enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces, nearly every Israeli has been affected by the loss of a family member or friend. Because of this, Yom ha-Zikaron deeply impacts all Israelis on a painfully personal level.

Maayan Harel, who grew up in Rhode Island, will perform songs written by fallen soldiers and attendees will learn the personal stories of the songs authors. Matan Zamir, Israel’s Deputy Consul General to New England, will

attend. The ceremony will take place 7 p.m. at the Alliance’s Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence.

For more information, contact Tslil Reichman at treichman@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 121.

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BUSINESS | COMMUNITY

thejewishvoice.org

Due date just around the corner for 2016 federal income tax

Tax fi ling season is here again.

If you haven’t done so already, you’ll want to start pulling things together, including a copy of last year’s tax return, W-2s, 1099s and deduction records. You’ll need these reBARBARA cords whethKENERSON er you’re preparing your own return or paying someone to do your taxes for you.

Here are some tips that can save you time and money: • Don’t procrast i nate.

The fi ling deadline for most individuals is Tuesday, April 18, 2017. That’s because April 15 falls on a Saturday, and Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in Washington, D.C., is celebrated on Monday, April 17. Unlike last year, there’s no extra time for residents of Massachusetts or Maine to fi le because Patriots’ Day (a holiday in those two states) falls on April 17, the same day as Emancipation Day. • File for an extension, using IRS Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, if you don’t think you can fi le your federal income tax return by the due date. Filing this form will give you an additional six months (until Oct. 16, 2017) to fi le your federal income tax return. You can also fi le for an extension electronically – Form 4868 includes instructions on how to do so.

But remember: Filing for an automatic extension does not provide any additional time to pay your taxes! When you fi le

for an extension, you must estimate the amount of tax you will owe and pay this amount by the April due date. If you don’t pay the amount you’ve estimated, you may owe interest and penalties. In fact, if the IRS believes that your estimate is not reasonable, it may void your extension.

• One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not fi ling your return because you owe money. If your return shows a balance due, fi le and pay the amount due in full by the due date, if possible. If there’s no way that you can pay what you owe, fi le the return and pay as much as you can.

You’ll still owe interest and possibly penalties on the unpaid tax, but you’ll limit the penalties assessed by fi ling your return on time, and you may be able to work with the IRS to pay the remaining balance (options may include installment payments).

• The IRS is stepping up efforts to combat identity theft and tax refund fraud.

New, more aggressive fi lters that are intended to curtail fraudulent refunds may inadvertently delay some legitimate refund requests. In fact, beginning this year, a new law requires the IRS to hold refunds on all tax returns claiming the earned income tax credit or the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit until at least Feb.15.

Most fi lers, though, can expect a refund check to be issued within 21 days of the IRS receiving a return.

BARBARA KENERSON is fi rst vice president/Investments at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC and can be reached at BarbaraKenerson.com.

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April 7, 2017 |

A welcoming place for all!

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Camp Yeladim: ages 3 - 4 Camp Haverim: grades K - 6 Counselors-In-Training (CITs): grades 7 - 10

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Early Childhood Center 401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI 02906 | 401.421.4111 | jewishallianceri.org

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT - BEST LAWYERS: •Best Real Estate Litigation Lawyer of the Year, 2017, Providence, RI •16th consecutive year as one of the best lawyers in the U.S. in the legal fields of Commercial Litigation and Litigation-Real Estate NEW ENGLAND SUPER LAWYERS MAGAZINE •16th consecutive year, Super Lawyer in the area of Business Litigation.

AV PREEMINENT •Highest Martindale-Hubble rating

Try a summer adventure in Israel Have you ever wanted to be part of an archaeological dig? Live on a kibbutz? Tour Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other sites? And get college credit?

You are in luck! Join University of Rhode Island Prof. William Krieger on a summer adventure in Israel you will never forget.

Krieger, Ph.D., teaches in URI’s Department of Philosophy, and at the Tell es-Safi Archaeological Excavations. He is a member

of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science.

Krieger is also president of Congregation Beth Sholom (CBS) in Providence.

Trip dates are from June 30 to July 16, 2017.

For more information, please contact Will Krieger at krieger@ uri.edu – Submitted by Elly Leyman

37

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38 | April 7, 2017

COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice

Memorial event

On the evening of March 26, at a women’s gathering to mark the second yahrtzeit of rebbetzin Tichyeh Schochet, the hostess acknowledged several dozen women who had completed the book, “Purity of Speech,” as a tribute to the rebbetzin.

Expanding on the topic, Rabbi Raphael Schochet, rosh kollel of the Rhode Island community Kollel, spoke to the women about the deeper aspects of guarding our speech.

The Beijing teachers group at JCDS. PHOTO | E. BRESLER

Rabbi Raphael Schochet

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Beijing teacher training tour stops at JCDS

BY NANCY STEWART On Feb. 1, 15 teachers from Beijing #80, a top-ranked high school in the heart of China’s capital city, arrived in New England to learn more about how the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) teaching methodology has been pioneered and practiced in the United States. This group of teachers will be participating in a model STEAM ninth-grade class in September, overseen by the Beijing Education Bureau.

The teachers began their tour at Harvard University, where they attended workshops de-

centered philosophy. The visitors expressed surprise at just how engaged the kindergarten through fi fth-graders were with their projects. They were impressed at how far ahead many of the students were in reading grade levels, despite having an “emergent” rather than a traditional curriculum.

The Beijing group was hosted by the CAN Scholastic Foundation, a subsidiary of the South Carolina-based Chinese Culture and Education Center.

signed to help them integrate STEAM themes into their classroom routines. Searching for successful implementation of these techniques, the group visited several Boston area high schools.

Yet when asked to name their favorite part of the tour, the globetrotting high school teachers tended to talk about their time spent in Providence, the birthplace of the STEAM movement.

Adam Tilove, head of school at the Jewish Community Day School, explained how its teachers have embraced STEAM methodology with a student-

NANCY STEWART is the executive director of CAN Scholastic Foundation.

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401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI | jewishallianceri.org

thejewishvoice.org SIMCHAS

| WE ARE READ

April 7, 2017 |

39

PHOTO | YOSSI LAUFER

THE WEST BAY JEWISH WOMEN are pictured in front of the Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. They traveled to New York City recently on a trip organized by Shoshana Laufer in honor of her birthday.

WE ARE READ IN ICELAND – Jaclyn, Roanne and Richard Licht on the Solheimajokull Glacier in Iceland.

WE ARE READ IN SPAIN – Betsey Singer Cable and Rob Cable were recently in Spain visiting their son, Jacob Abrams, who is studying abroad for a semester. This photo was taken inside the old Jewish Quarter in Seville.

The gentleman in the middle, who served as their private tour guide, is Gershon Moshe, founding partner of Makom Sefarad a member of the board of the Jewish community of Andalusia, Beit Rambam.

40 | April 7, 2017

The Jewish Voice

The state of Jewish continuity.

We invest in the future.

Fewer Jews say they are attached to Judaism and Israel.

Yet 97% of American Jews state that they are “proud to be Jewish.” Our critical challenge is to transform Jewish pride into true participation in Jewish life. And we are already on our way.

Locally, the Alliance subsidizes costs so children and teens can connect with their Jewishness at school and summer camp. Birthright trips transform young adults’ relationships to Israel. Around the world, in places where Jewish life has almost been wiped out, we’re nurturing the efforts of a core of inspiring young people who are reinventing Judaism.

4

50%

OUT OF

5 JE WS SAY THAT B E ING JE WI S H I S IM PORTANT TO THE M .

YET

OF NORTH AM ERIC AN JE WI S H CHILDREN DO NOT RECE IVE ANY KIN D OF JE WI S H E DUC ATION .

THE POWER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Through our own programs and services, and those of our partners both locally and globally, we do so much to strengthen Jewish life...

But there’s so much more to be done.

Contribute to the Annual Campaign and you’re helping to care for our entire Jewish community—at home, in Israel, and around the world.

To learn more or to donate today, visit us at jewishallianceri.org or call 401.421.4111.

401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI 02906 | 401.421.4111 | jewishallianceri.org