Volume xiX, Issue XXII | thejewishvoice.org Serving Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts
2 Sh’vat 5774 | January 3, 2014
Health & Wellness
Edgar Bronfman, philanthropist and Jewish communal leader, dies at 84 NEW YORK (JTA) – Edgar Bronfman, the billionaire former beverage magnate and leading Jewish philanthropist, died December 21. As the longtime president of the World Jewish Congress, Bronfman fought for Jewish rights worldwide and led the successful fight to secure more than a billion dollars in restitution from Swiss banks for Holocaust victims and their heirs. As a philanthropist, Bronfman took the lead in creating and funding many efforts
to strengthen Jewish identity among young people. Bronfman spent the 1950s and 1960s working with his father, Samuel, at Seagram Ltd., the family’s beverage business. He became chairman of the company in 1971, the year of his father’s death. Just a year earlier, in 1970, Bronfman took part in a delegation to Russia to lobby the Kremlin for greater rights for Jews in the now-former Soviet bronfman | 24
Photos | Ed Bruckner | Hillary Schulman
Max Brickle, left, Ilana Edelstein, Barbra Brickle and Neil and Randi-Beth Beranbaum
Barbra and Max Brickle host launch of J-Futures Event offers The Alliance Experience By Edward Bruckner
President Barack Obama and Edgar M. Bronfman
The inaugural event for J-Futures was held on December 17 at the North Kingstown home of Barbra and Max Brickle. J-Futures is a series of unique Jewish Alliance programs focused on engaging new, and strengthening existing, Jew-
ish leadership in our community. The launch of Alliance J-Futures was a huge success, engaging more people to have a big impact on the future of the Jewish community. Brickle | 14
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INSIDE Arts 4, 8, 9 Business 20-21 Calendar 8-9 Community 2-3, 5, 10, 14-16, 18 D’var Torah 10
COMMUNITY
The Jewish Voice
At left: Daniel Malin, left, from Portsmouth, and Matan Graff, Rhode Island community shaliach (Israeli emissary), participated in a Birthright trip mid-December. They are shown standing next to the State of Rhode Island seal at the JFK memorial in Jerusalem. Registration for summer Birthright trips will take place around mid-February. For more information on Birthright trips, contact Elanah Chassen (echassen@jewishallianceri.org), Education and Planning Associate, at 421-4111, ext. 140.
Food 11 Generations 25-26 Israel 19 Letters Home 12 Obituaries 24 Opinion 6-7 Seniors 22-23 Simchas 27 Special Section 13, 21
THIS ISSUE’S QUOTABLE QUOTE “ – זכרונו לברכהMay his memory serve as a blessing.”
URI Hillel students and staff member Aaron Guttin will travel to Oklahoma City, January 5-12 on an Alternative Break Trip with the Jewish Disaster Response Corps to rebuild homes destroyed in the May 2013 tornadoes. Pictured here are Arielle Weston, front left, Sage Dauphinee, Ariel Marcus, Lauren Cohen, Rachel Miller and Ben Richter. Also pictured are Ethan Selinger, rear left, Shayna Sage, Reuven Hoffman, Jack Wilson, Lily Nieto, Erica Allen, Sabrina Brotons and Aaron Guttin. Not pictured: Nadine Miller and Lauren Smith
COMMUNITY
thejewishvoice.org
January 3, 2014 |
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Community Bread
Subscribe to Lisa Davis’ Delicious Baked Goods By Irina Missiuro IMissiuro@jewishallianceri.org Lisa Davis has always dreamed about running a bakery. She’s finally on her way to transforming ambition into reality. Self-taught, Davis grew up baking. As a tween, every Friday and Saturday night, she’d make bread or croissants with some help from her mother’s cookbook. Davis says, “It was a great way to start; my parents were open to my exploration as long as I cleaned up my baking messes.” Raised in a family of eclectic eaters, she was exposed to a variety of foods early on. Her “Oma,” who fled Germany during the Holocaust, introduced the granddaughter to some of her national pastries. Davis reminisces, “I grew up eating her Lebkuchen and Stollen.” That love of culinary adventure stayed with her, as did the wish to pursue her passion. In the past, Davis worked as an elementary school special education teacher and as a medical trainer. When the opportunity to take a professional baking class presented itself, Davis jumped at the chance. Already a seasoned baker, she wanted to perfect her skills at The King Arthur Flour Baking Education Center in Norwich, Vermont. During a three-day advanced-
track and start the slow process 12 hours before she begins the actual baking. The taste of the finished product proves that the painstaking method is worth the effort. Just biting into her delicious boiled New York-style bagel is a reward in and of itself for her. Davis says, “There’s nothing like a fresh bagel from a wood-fired oven.” With Community Bread, she feels that she has found a means to pursue her passion: “There’s always a way to figure something out.” She devised a business model that allows her to operate at low cost and do what she loves. Davis rents space from Sandywoods Incubator Kitchen, where she makes her handcrafted artisanal bread, bagels, bialys and sweet treats – all out of natural products. Be it Challah, Pumpernickel or Rye bread, all of Davis’ offerings are kosher – Community Bread is under the strict supervision of Rabbi Barry Dolinger of Congregation Beth Sholom. As the seasons change, so will Davis’ breads. For example, in the fall, she likes to make Normandy Apple Bread and Cheese Bread with Narragansett Creamery cheese. Other delicacies include Yeast Pumpkin Bread and Corn Bread with ingredients from Kenyon’s Grist
Arthur C. Norman
Shannon Boucher enjoys Community Bread level class, Davis learned how to make bagels, bialys and pretzels. Combined with instruction from The Bread Bakers Guild of America, the classes provided Davis with the confidence she needed to proceed with the startup idea that she had envisioned six months prior. Davis sees bread as fascinating and interesting because “every time you bake it, it’s different. It’s a constant challenge to put out quality bread.” When asked what her favorite item to bake is, she says that she likes “baking bread, cookies and treats that are full of good stuff, that people enjoy eating.” Davis shares that, surprisingly, the simplest breads, such as French, are the hardest ones to bake. Every time she makes bread, she has to back-
Mill. Subscribers will receive an email newsletter detailing what goodies they can expect in the coming week. Davis hopes to sign up at least 44 families to get the business off the ground. So far, she has already planned out the first ten weeks of the breads and treats families will receive. Davis offers three types of 20-week memberships. Petite Membership ($180) consists of one loaf of bread. Standard Membership ($320) includes a loaf of bread and six bagels, bialys, rolls or a second loaf of bread. Double Membership is the Standard Membership times two. To participate in the subscription program, Davis invites everyone to visit the Purchase a Membership page of CommunityBread.net, fill out
the membership form, and submit their payment online. In addition to the memberships, she plans to bake extra bagels or bialys on alternate Fridays; a dozen costs $12. Currently, the membership pickup site is the JCC Alliance on Thursday afternoons from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Davis is also hoping to offer a second site at Temple Torat Yisrael in East Greenwich. She says, “If there is enough demand, I’m open to other pickup sites.” Davis encourages bread lovers to check her website on a regular basis because she will be offering supplementary goods for the Jewish holidays: “I’m excited to be baking kosher bread, bagels and treats. I look forward to working with people so they can enjoy great
products every day and for special celebrations.” Proud of her product and eager to allow the community to sample it, Davis held her first
“There’s nothing like a fresh bagel from a wood-fired oven.” tasting on December 18 at the JCC Alliance. Yaakov Ellis, an elementary school student was impressed. Asked to describe the bread, he held up his thumb, exclaiming that the taste was “not good, but great!” Rabbi Elan Babchuck of Temple Emanu-El is another fan. He shares, “When Lisa first told me about her plans to start Community
Bread, I knew it would be a great success. Not only is she an incredibly talented baker, but when she put the word ‘Community’ in the name of her company, it wasn’t just for show. In her personal life, she’s somebody who is always thinking of others, caring for others, and supporting others, and I’m sure that care will shine through in her professional life, as well.” Those who missed Davis’ visit to the JCC Alliance in December can sample the bread and treats on January 8 from 10:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. She’ll also be at Temple Torat Yisrael on January 5 (check communitybread. net for the time). Editor’s note: This is one of a series of profiles of local businesses, some of which advertise with The Jewish Voice.
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The Jewish Voice
Arts
Judith Stillman, an altruistic musician Local composer’s song cycle a highlight at Holocaust Remembrance Day
By Irina Missiuro IMissiuro@jewishallianceri.org Dr. Judith Lynn Stillman, a renowned concert pianist, is someone who enhances the lives of those around her and believes in good causes. A Julliard-trained musician and professor of music at Rhode Island College, Stillman has helped thousands of students find their niche within the world of music. Many have become awardwinning composers, directors and conductors. Even more are awaiting their opportunity to join them. Stillman wants to make sure that these children won’t be denied the chance.
“While driving home, she couldn’t wait to start composing …” Because of school budget cuts to stringed music programs, some children’s musical futures were jeopardized. To counteract this decline in support, Michael Reynolds, the cellist with whom Stillman recorded “Viennese Gems” and performed the CD on December 11 at Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts at Rhode Island College, created the Classics for Kids Foundation. Its
goal is to inspire children and enhance their academic performance through development of discipline, communication and cultural awareness. All of the net proceeds from the CD, which features the Beethoven Trio, Opus 38, and the Zemlinsky Trio, Opus 3, will benefit schoolchildren around the country. The Rhode Island students will be the first to receive free stringed instruments. Thousands of children ranging in age from five to 18 have already participated in CFKF. Stillman is proud to be a part of the endeavor since she, herself, directly benefited from the generosity of others when she received a scholarship to Julliard’s pre-college program. She is an example of someone who flourished after being exposed to music at an early age. Together with her collaborators on “Viennese Dreams” – Reynolds and Richard Stoltzman, the esteemed clarinetist – Stillman is ensuring that another generation of musicians can follow in their footsteps. Donating the CD proceeds is only one instance of Stillman’s altruism. In her spare time, she visits nursing home residents with her toy poodle, a trained therapy dog. In 2012, she composed a song cycle called “Phoe-
nix from the Ashes” that she set to the poems and stories of the children of Terezin, a Czech fortress that the Nazis transformed into a transit camp. During the Holoc aust, 144,000 Jews were sent there; 88,000 were transported to death camps; most of the rest perished at Terezin. S i d n e y Taussig was Dr. Judith Lynn Stillman one of the few survivors. He played a rocket ship flying past wasn’t sent to the gas chambers a book toward a star and whose of Auschwitz because he was issues were manually copied needed to work in his father’s and read around the camp’s blacksmith shop. Besides surbarracks on Friday nights. viving, he accomplished anothTaussig was in the audience er great feat – Taussig rescued as the guest of honor when VEDEM (the title means “we Stillman, along with Lori Phillead”), the secret literary maglips, soprano at the New York azine created by 100 boys beMetropolitan Opera, premiered tween 1942 and 1944. These 14the seven-song cycle, which and 15-year-olds shared their was inspired by VEDEM and by poems, essays and drawings in “I Never Saw Another Butterthis magazine, whose logo disfly” The latter is a collection of
art and poetry written by Terezin’s young inhabitants and named after Pavel Friedmann’s poem, whose author died in Auschwitz. The contents of the book are permeated by the children’s longing for the past. A boy named Teddy writes, “Here in Terezin, life is hell. / And when I go home again, I can’t yet tell.” Franta Bass echoes him, “I look toward my home, / the city where I was born. / City, my city, / I will gladly return to you.” On April 27, 2014, “Phoenix From the Ashes: A Song Cycle” will be the highlight of the Holocaust Remembrance Day events at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington, D.C. The project was born while Stillman was on tour in Canada. At a dinner party, she spotted the book (the boys’ work was published in the mid 1990s in “We are Children Just the Same”) and couldn’t get it out of her mind. Driving home, she couldn’t wait to start composing music to the art that stirred her. Stillman ended up finding a music store in Vermont and buying staff paper to capture the notes that she felt. Now music lovers will be able to experience VEDEM in a whole new way that engages all the senses.
Community
thejewishvoice.org
January 3, 2014 |
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JCC Summer Canteen is back! By Arthur C. Norman anorman@jewishallianceri.org The Summer Canteen Saturday night dances, sponsored by the East Side Jewish Community Center on Sessions Street (roughly where the small playground and community gar-
For some 10 years, every summer, the Jewish teenager had a place to go to meet with their fellow Jewish contemporaries from Providence, Pawtucket, Cranston, Warwick and other surrounding cities and towns. Esta Rabinowitz Avedesian
article led Mark Rechter, Jerry Chorney and others to attempt a reunion for those who once frequented these summer dances. Folks may remember Jerry as the Canteen disc jockey and he promises to reprise that role at the reunion!
dens are now – for reference, the driveways to the old parking lot are still there) from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s, brought together the Jewish teenagers of the Metro Providence area.
wrote of this event in the September 12 issue of The Jewish Voice (“Fifty years of friendship add up to a lifetime of memories”) and its effects on the Jewish community. Esta’s
They have started a Facebook page “East Side Jewish Community Center” and invite others to join the page and share memories and thoughts about holding the reunion this coming June. Mark says that they plan to hold the reunion/dance at the current JCC on Elmgrove Ave, Providence. They stress that, in order to make the event a success, they are counting on people to contact friends who may not receive The Jewish Voice. For more information, especially for those who do not do social media, contact Mark Rechter at Mrech48@cox.net. Others to contact: Esta Rabinowitz Avedisian, Jerry Chorney, Margie Kessler Busby, Nancy Weisman Hawksley, Gary M. Coken and Mona Chamuel Dabbon.
COLUMNISTS Dr. Stanley Aronson, Michael Fink, Rabbi James Rosenberg and Daniel Stieglitz
Executive Editor Arthur C. Norman, anorman@jewishallianceri.org 421-4111, ext. 168 design & layout Leah M. Camara Elliot Gerber Advertising representatives Tricia Stearly • tstearly@jewishallianceri.org 421-4111, ext. 160 Karen Borger • ksborger@gmail.com 529-2538
Editorial Board Toby London, chair; John Landry, vice chair; Stacy Emanuel, Alliance vice chair; Brian Evans, Jonathan Friesem, Steve Jacobson, Rabbi Marc Jagolinzer, Eleanor Lewis, Richard Shein, Jonathan Stanzler and Susan Youngwood. CONTRIBUTING WRITER Irina Missiuro Editorial ConsultantS Irina Missiuro | Judith Romney Wegner CALENDAR COORDINATOR Toby London
THE JEWISH VOICE (ISSN number 1539-2104, USPS Copy Deadlines: All news releases, photo#465-710) is published bi-weekly, except in July, when it graphs, etc., must be received on the Thursday two weeks prior to publication. Submissions may be sent does not publish. to: anorman@jewishallianceri.org. PERIODICALS postage paid at Providence, R.I. Advertising: We do not accept advertisements POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish for pork or shellfish. We do not attest to the kashrut of any product or the legitimacy of our advertisers’ Voice, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906. claims. PUBLISHER: The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, Chair Sharon Gaines, President/CEO Jeffrey K. All submitted content becomes the property of The Jewish Voice. Announcements and opinions Savit, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906. contained in these pages are published as a service to the community and do not necessarily represent PHONE: 401-421-4111 • FAX: 401-331-7961 the views of The Jewish Voice or its publisher, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. MEMBER of the Rhode Island Press Association
6 | January 3, 2014
OPINION
The Jewish Voice
Retraction: What teachers make
Berlin: a city that lives with the dead
Thoughts from a retired public school teacher From the Editor: I wish to retract the aforementioned column as I inadvertently omitted the introduction explaining that the story originated with Taylor Mali.
executive editor arthur c. norman
letter Re: Reader is anti-bandwagon
Guns are a fact of modern life. Mentally unstable people will get hold of them, and people with guns may become mentally unstable. I note that most mass shooters, whatever their mental state, have enough forethought not to shoot up police stations, gun shows or pistol ranges. They attack places where the law-abiding are not permitted weapons. There is no such thing as a safe society, but we can be safer when we (a) take responsibility for our own safety and (b) are armed and ready to do so. I suggest that The Jewish Voice get off the “gun control” bandwagon. Tom Padwa Warren Editor’s note: Mr. Padwa reports that he is a member of the following organizations – the National Rifle Association (Life member), Gun Owners of America, the American Civil Liberties Union, the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island and the National Association for Gun Rights. He adds, “Yes, I do know that some of them have contrary views. Politics indeed makes strange bedfellows!”
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 German/English “Berlin & City Guide” (No. 6, 2013) contains an article entitled “Remembering the terror,” which begins with the following sentence: “Berlin’s theme year ‘Diversity Destroyed’ encompasses not only the Nazis’ rise to power in 1933 but also remembers the November pogroms of 1938, when all over IT SEEMS Germany synagogues were TO ME burned and desecrated Rabbi Jim and the perseRosenberg cution of the Jews reached new heights.” The writer goes on to direct tourists to various locations in Berlin, which promote the memory of “the terror” – in particular, the persecution of the Jews. I had the opportunity to take a good look at this Berlin city guide last Dec. 4, when Rabbi Peter Stein of Cranston’s Temple Sinai delivered a spellbinding talk to his rabbinical colleagues, who had come to hear him speak at a synagogue in Springfield, Mass. Last November, Stein had picked up the city guide in his hotel room in Berlin, where he was part of a delegation of 20 American Reform rabbis. The trip had been designed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of the broken glass – Nov. 9, 1938 – that orgy of death and destruction during which most of the synagogues in Germany and Austria went up in smoke. In addition, Nazi Brown Shirts ravaged Jewish businesses, beat up Jewish men or killed them outright and carted off thousands to such infamous concentration camps as Dachau. During his talk, Rabbi Stein stressed the enormous efforts the city of Berlin, and Germany as a whole, have made to live fully in the present while preserving the memory of their murderous past – a past drenched in the blood of 6,000,000 Jews. As Stein pointed out, it is certainly no accident that Germany has officially “upgraded” the term “Kristallnacht” to “Pogromnacht” in order to capture more fully the pogrom-like
destruction of Jewish life, limb and property on that night of terror. Rabbi Stein noted that the signage in almost all of the Holocaust memorials scattered throughout Berlin is written exclusively in German; the powers that be have made a deliberate choice to limit the language to German in order to emphasize that the primary purpose of these memorials is to raise the consciousness of the Germanspeaking citizens of the city, although, of course, tourists are also encouraged to visit these sites. The most prominent Holocaust memorial in Berlin is the Denkmal fuer die ermordeten Juden Europas (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe), which consists of 2711 concrete slabs or stellae varying in height from a mere eight inches to almost 16 feet. The 4.7-acre site is organically integrated into the heart of the city in the vicinity of the Brandenburg Gate. City officials hope that those who pass though this confusing maze of concrete slabs will be jarred into thinking about their nation’s criminal past. The paradoxical goal – almost impossible to articulate – is to prod Germans to live honestly, if uncomfortably, with their past, even as they celebrate the present and work towards an even brighter, more humane and compassionate future. Obviously no easy task. I was especially moved by Rabbi Stein’s discussion of a unique memorial in a Berlin neighborhood known as the Bayerische Viertel; back in 1993, the artists Renata Stilh and Frieder Schnock designed 80 signs which they affixed to lampposts throughout their neighborhood. They placed a brightly colored symbol on the front of each sign; on the back, they offered a brief explanation of how a particular Nazi law tightened the noose around the collective neck of German Jewry. Three examples will illustrate what Stilh and Schnock
have managed to accomplish: Picture of a THERMOMETER. Explanation on the back of the sign: “Jewish doctors may no longer practice. July 25, 1938.” BOOK. “Jews may not use a public library. Aug. 2, 1941. Jews may not purchase books. Oct. 9, 1942.” CAT. “Jews are no longer allowed to have household pets. Feb. 15, 1942.” Residents of this neighborhood in Berlin would have to make a concerted effort not to learn about the persecution of Berlin’s Jews during the Nazi era. Toward the end of Rabbi Stein’s presentation, my colleague Rabbi Everett Gendler commented that such efforts by the city of Berlin to teach fellow citizens the cruel facts of Nazi persecution of the Jews create “an operational definition of teshuvah (repentence).” It seems to me that the city’s and the nation’s earnest attempts to come to terms with their past, to live responsibly with painful memories, constitute at least one powerful explanation for the current renaissance of the German Jewish community, which currently numbers about 150,000 – including native-born, a large number of Russian immigrants, and even 35,000 Israelis, the majority of whom reside in Berlin. It is hard to believe that, 75 years after “Pogromnacht,” Germany once again is home to a liberal rabbinical seminary with 40 students preparing to serve Jewish communities throughout Europe – the Abraham Geiger College – whose educational program is closely allied with the Jewish Studies program at the University of Potsdam. Will this early promise of the revitalized German Jewish community lead to a religious and cultural flowering that will take root and endure? For the answer to this question we must wait. Rabbi Peter Stein has generously offered to speak about his trip to Berlin at synagogues and other Jewish institutions. You may contact him at Stein@ TempleSinaiRI.org. James B. Rosenberg (rabbiemeritus@ templehabonim.org) is rabbi emeritus at Temple Habonim in Barrington.
columns | letters policy The Jewish Voice publishes thoughtful and informative contributors’ columns (op-eds of 500 – 800 words) and letters to the editor (250 words, maximum) on issues of interest to our Jewish community. At our discretion, we may edit pieces for publication or refuse 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 Arthur Norman at The Jewish Voice, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906 or anorman@ jewishallianceri.org. Include name, city of residence and a contact phone number or email (not for publication).
OPINION
thejewishvoice.org
January 3, 2014 |
7
A Jewish Perspective of The Beatles By: Joel Benjamin Just as Judaism is an ethical and spiritual lighthouse – so too were The Beatles. Most religions have their roots in spiritual awakening. The Beatles had a powerful appeal to a generation in calling forth a spiritual bonding. They sought out wonder, meaning and innocence in their lives and music. Similar to Judaism, the religious allure of The Beatles was a vital factor in allowing the group to endure. They were spiritual apostles who evangelized a kind of gospel that resonated with tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people, across a broad spectrum of the planet. Their own personal search for a meaningful spirituality was a major part of their attraction. Joining the Beatle religion was nothing more than a matter of “belonging to the community” of like-minded people who enjoyed their music and definitely agreed with the idea, tone, focus and message. They preached a fantastic gospel – and through music – not lectures and shiurim. Just as many secular Jews benefit from belonging to the Jewish community and don’t go all the way
into it, a large global community became part of the “Beatle community” by listening to their songs and loving what they stood for and trying to follow their incredible lives. They inspired us and left us in awe of them – as does the most orthodox Jew does for Hashem. With no formal rituals, the gospel according to The Beatles is a story of spiritual and personal exploration. The central concern of their simple message was their unfolding philosophy, which always pivoted on freedom of one type or another – political and spiritual. The human problem, in their eyes, was one of limitations and constraint. We can’t reach our full potential if we are inhibited. In the same way, the Jewish idea suggests that we need to free ourselves from the limitation and entrapment of our physical world – at least once a week on Shabbat – to free our soul and our bodies from the trappings of the physical world. This weekly time-honored Jewish practice of “freeing ourselves so we could embark on a more spiritual path” is exactly what The Beatles projected to the world.
Errata: Re: Natalie (Dec. 20)
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Pilavin were misidentified.
Re: 2014 Guide to Jewish Living
The ad for Temple Emanu-El should have identified: Judith S. Greenblatt, President, Jacob Sydney, Youth Coordinator, and Meital Cafri, Advancement and Membership Associate. The ad for Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living Residence should have identified the Vaad Harabbonim of America as the Kosher supervisory body.
we have a voice … you have a voice You have a voice … and The Jewish Voice wants to hear it. This paper is only as vibrant and robust as our readers make it, with kudos, comments, criticisms and other contributions such as: online comments, letters to the editor and op-ed submissions.
Letters to the editor: 250 words or fewer and must be signed. Op-ed essays: 500 – 800 words and must be signed. Send to anorman@ jewishallianceri.org, subject line: OPINIONS. Questions? Call Arthur Norman at 4214111, ext. 168.
The Fab Four
Theological parallels between Judaism and The Beatles
The Beatles were present in our world for exactly seven years from August 1962, when Ringo joined the group, until August 1969 when they completed the recording of “Abbey Road” – exactly seven years – to the very month. Seven is a key number in Judaism. God created the world in seven days. It also represents spiritual perfection and fullness or completion. The “Sabbath” meant that at least one day out of seven would be reserved for “spiritual” matters – to enable a working person to have one day of the week devoted exclusively to the soul. The Sabbath year, also called the sabbatical year or sheviit, is the seventh year of the sevenyear agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the Land of Israel. The Beatles recorded 12 studio albums. Twelve is a perfect number, also signifying perfection in anything to do with rules. There are twelve divisions of heaven called the Mazzaroth, which God uses for signs and seasons. Hence, the 12 symbols of the Zodiac. Another way The Beatles and the Jews are linked is that it is believed that the direction of music changed on Thursday June 5, 1967 when the “Sgt. Pepper” album was released. Seventy-two hours later, on Monday June 5, 1967, the Six-Day war broke out. Just as “Sgt. Pepper” changed music and popular culture, so too did The Six -Day War change Israel and Di-
aspora Jewry – as well as much of the global economic and geopolitical affairs. These two major events occurred in the span of just 72 hours – which is four times eighteen – eighteen being the number for life.
The Beatles legacy was about community and repairing the world.
The deeper meaning of The Beatle legacy is based on an authentic, basic Jewish concept of belonging to a community. The Beatles personified the concept of “unity” which predates the coming together or joining a community. They personified the Hegelian idea that the whole is worth more than the separate parts and that society should become closer together. How Jewish is that? What’s more Jewish than community? With Jews, a similar type of “unity” is expressed as individuals become “unified” and a “perfect whole” when they join the Jewish community in events or spirit. Where would Jewish civilization be without the concept of community? That is exactly what was at the core of The Beatles’ message. The Beatles were a “unified community” of four. They were also the major focus/ component of a “community of Beatle fans/lovers” who came together in a community to celebrate their music and message. All that a Jew has to do to “belong” to the community is to sing along in synagogue or break bread with other Jews. The various Jewish customs
United States Library of Congress
and liturgy provide the exact same function that songs do for members of the Beatles community: to unify the community. Although the function of community in the world of The Beatles may be more superficial and less demanding than a Jew’s responsibility towards the community, the concept is the same. The Beatles’ legacy was predicated on them carrying out tikkun olam. The phrase tikkun olam means that as man shares a partnership with God, humanity is instructed to take the steps towards improving the state of the world and helping others, which simultaneously brings more honor to God’s sovereignty. There is no doubt that The Beatles reached the masses with a message of love, peace and personal fulfillment and happiness. They were taking the first step in implementing tikkun olam – to elucidate the realization that there is a problem with the way man is acting in the world and that it must be corrected. The Beatles’ historical legacy certainly provided the backdrop for a spiritual renewal in the last half of the 20th century. Were they given seven years to help us to spiritually free ourselves? Joel Benjamin is the author of two research studies on the musical and historical legacy of The Beatles (ArjonPublishing. com).
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8 | January 3, 2014
Arts | CALENDAR
The Jewish Voice
Florence Markoff Speaks at Temple Torat Yisrael By Michael Field
Ongoing Alliance Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Alliance, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Noon – lunch; 12:45 p.m. – program. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under60 with disabilities. Neal or Elaine, 861-8800, ext. 107
Temple Torat Yisrael in East Greenwich was the setting for the speaking engagement of Mrs. Florence Markoff, sponsored by the men’s club and sisterhood of the synagogue. Mrs. Markoff is well known for her radio program stories of famous and little-known Rhode Islanders in “Rhode Island Portraits in Sound.” Many remember her popular radio feature, “There’s a Word for It,” which explored the words we hear and say every day. As a writer, Ms. Markoff created and narrated both radio programs and is considered one of the “pioneers” among women broadcasters in Rhode Island. She has performed one-woman programs before hundreds of audiences and was inducted into the Rhode Island Radio Hall of Fame in May 2011. With her intriguing and eloquent speaking ability, this radio hall of fame recipient mesmerized the audience.
CALENDAR
Am David Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every weekday. Temple Am David, 40 Gardiner St., Warwick. 11:15 a.m. –program; noon – lunch. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under- 60 with disabilities. Elaine or Steve, 732-0047
Her wealth of knowledge of sometimes little known Rhode Islanders was matched by her ability to portray them – speaking as them with proper accents and gestures. One of the individuals that Mrs. Markoff spoke of was the famous Jewish poet Emma Lazarus, who is best known for “The New Colossus”, a sonnet written in 1883, the famous lines of which appear on a
bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” There was a question and answer segment following her presentation. Michael Field (fieldteam@ cox.net) is a member of the board of the Temple Torat Yisrael men’s club.
Continuing Through Feb. 27 Group Show at Habonim. 36 works by 21 artists, members of Lifelong Learning Collaborative Plein Air class. Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. Wednesdays and Thursdays 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Fridays 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and by appointment. 245-6536 or gallery@templehabonim.org.
Friday | Jan. 3 K’Tantan Shabbat. Shabbat experience for young families, followed by family Shabbat dinner. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. 5:30 p.m. temple-beth-el.org/ or info@ temple-beth-el.org or 331-6070 Shabbat Chai Shabbat Alive. Interactive Shabbat service combines musical instruments with traditional and new melodies, followed by dinner. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. 5:45 p.m. – pre-neg; 6 p.m. service; 7 p.m. – dinner. teprov.org/shabbat_alive or bjmayer@teprov.org; dinner reservations at teprov.org/shabbat_chai_dinner_ reservation_form
Saturday | Jan. 4 Koleinu Our Voices. Shabbat morning service open to children and young adults with special needs and their families who choose to pray in an intimate and welcoming setting. Followed by kiddush lunch. Temple Emanu-El Chapel, 99 Taft Ave. Providence. 10:30 a.m. – noon. Carol Gualtieri at cgualtieri@ teprov.org or 331-1616
Sunday | Jan. 5 Alliance JCC Open House. Free day of fun for all: Try a fitness class. Swim in the pool. See a film. Learn about all the programs. 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 861-8800.
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PJ Library Story Hour. Story and craft to celebrate Jewish holidays and traditions for youngsters aged 2-7. Congregation Beth David, 102 Kingstown Rd, Narragansett. 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Stephanie at sjmalinow@gmail.com Opening Reception at Habonim Gallery. 36 works by 21 artists, members of Lifelong Learning Collaborative Plein Air class. Wine and cheese reception. Show
continues through Feb. 27. Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. 1 – 3 p.m. 245-6536 or gallery@templehabonim.org Green Reel Film at Agudas Achim. “A Fierce Green Fire: The Battle for a Living Planet,” the first big-picture exploration of the environmental movement, followed by discussion. Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 North Main St., Attleboro, MA 6:30 p.m. 508-2989450 or www.greenreelfilms.org
Wednesday | Jan. 8 Cranston Senior Guild. Meeting followed by bingo, raffle and refreshments. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagan St., Cranston. 1 p.m. Israeli Culture Through Film: “HaOlam Mats’hik (The World is Funny).” The world is wondrously strange in a tender new drama from Israeli fabulist Shemi Zarhin, hosted by Israeli Emissary Matan Graff. Film contains nudity and sexual content; viewer discretion advised. Alliance JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. 7 – 9 p.m. $5; JCC members $3. Erin Moseley at emoseley@jewishallianceri.org or 4214111 ext. 108
Thursday | Jan. 9 Fight Bullying One Novel at a Time. “Anti-bullying novelist” Elaine Wolf with special introduction by Marc J. Ladin, retired principal and author of The Playground Bully Blues. Alliance JCC Social Hall, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. 7 p.m. Marty Cooper at mcooper@ jewishallianceri.org or 421-4111, ext. 171 Habonim Adult Education “Time for Me” Series. Dr. Stephen Kaplan discusses “Creation of the Jewish Homeland in Israel and America: 1880 to 2013.” The program is free and open to the public. Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. 7 p.m. 245-6536, templehabonim.org or office@templehabonim.org
Saturday | Jan. 11 Family First Shabbat Morning Service. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Avenue, Providence. 10:30 a.m. 331-1616
Sunday | Jan. 12
Temple Torat Yisrael Blood Drive. Opportunity to observe the mitzvah of pikuach nefesh (saving a life). Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. 9 – 11 a.m. 885-6600 or www.toratyisrael.org Election 2014 Breakfast. Men’s Club/ Sisterhood host Matt Fabisch, Director of the RI Republican Party and Sam Zurier, Democrat City Councilman from Providence. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. 9:00 a.m. Dave Talan at DaveTalan@aol.com or 941-3662
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ArTS | CALENDAr
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January 3, 2014 |
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“Life is Good” with religion Review of “The Great Partnership: Religion, Science and the Search for Meaning,” by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks By John landry Special to The Jewish Voice Back in the 1990s, two brothers in Boston started a company devoted to spreading optimism. They called it “Life is Good” and they put that message on T-shirts and hats. They thought people were too negative and anxious about things. Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of Orthodoxy in Great Britain, feels much the same way, and his message is not as different as you might think. His latest book defends religion against atheists who attack piety for causing many of the troubles in the world. It’s a broad and richly argued book, though with much less science than the title suggests. For him, religion is the only thing ultimately saving us from anxiety and despair. from PagE 8
He starts by clearing the air. We can’t prove either atheism or theism, so we have to choose based on other criteria. He focuses on the practical. The world can be a cold and scary place. Which approach gives us more courage to face the uncertainty and venture forth? Religion, he says, is all about connecting our ordinary practical lives to what transcends the natural world. The three great Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Islam, teach that God has set up a good world for us, but that we have a responsibility to complete that goodness by respecting the divine dignity of others. That mission is so important that we need to swallow our personal fears and act. As Rabbi Nachman of Breslau said, “The world is like a narrow bridge, but you
calEndar
Monday | Jan. 13
Jewish Alliance Winter Wonderland Phone-a-thon. Bring your friends, cell phone and charger; hot chocolate and other wintry treats. Jewish alliance of Greater rhode island, 401 Elmgrove ave., Providence. 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. michele Gallagher at mgallagher@ jewishallianceri.org.
Thursday | Jan. 16
Adoption Options informational Meeting. open to anyone interested in exploring adoption choices. Providence adoption options, 959 north main st., Providence. 6 – 7 p.m. Peg Boyle at 331-5437, ext. 331 or peg@jfsri.org Habonim Adult Education “Time for Me” Series. dr. stephen kaplan discusses “creation of the Jewish homeland in israel and america: 1880 to 2013.” The program is free and open to the public. temple habonim, 165 new meadow road, Barrington. 7 p.m. 245-6536, templehabonim.org or office@templehabonim.org Alliance Town Hall Meeting. Brandeis researcher Fern chertok discusses her recent report “living on the Edge: Economic insecurity among Jewish households in Greater rhode island.” alliance Jcc, 401 Elmgrove ave., Providence. 7 p.m. Gail Putnam at 421-4111
Friday | Jan. 17
Kabbalat Shabbat for the little Ones (2-7) and their families. special story, candles, challah, songs and light supper. congregation Beth david, 102 kingstown rd, narragansett. 5:45 - 7:00 p.m. stephanie at sjmalinow@gmail.com
Wednesday | Jan. 22 PJ library Storytime. story, songs, movement, crafts and holiday themed snack for children under 5. alliance Jcc Early childhood center @ temple habonim, 165 meadow road, Barrington. 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. sara Foster at sfoster@jewishallianceri.org or 440-4376.
Thursday | Jan. 23
Habonim Adult Education “Time for Me” Series. dr. stephen kaplan discusses “creation of the Jewish homeland in israel and america: 1880 to 2013.” The program is free and open to the public. temple temple habonim, 165 new meadow road, Barrington. 7 p.m. 245-6536, templehabonim.org or office@templehabonim.org
Sunday | feb. 2 PJ library Story Hour. young children (2-7) explore the meaning of mitzvah, with a special book and a special activity. all are welcome. 10:30 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.rsVP to stephanie malinow (sjmalinow@gmail.com)
calendar Submissions Calendar items for our Jan. 17 Bridal issue must be received by Jan. 8. Calendar items for our Jan. 31 issue financE| PhilanthroPy must be received by Jan. 22. Calendar items for our Feb. 14 issue sEniors must be received by Feb. 5.
Send all calendar items to anorman@jewishallianceri.org, subject line: “CALENDAR.”
must not be afraid.” Atheists have no such transcendent connection, Rabbi Sachs argues, so it’s harder for them to trust in the importance of what they do. They can still show tremendous courage and accomplish great things, but it often comes with an underlying anxiety. They believe in trusting only their i m m e d i at e reality. Yet the world of nature, as revealed by science, is a Hobbesian arena of fearful individualistic competition. Is he right? The “Life is Good” company has become a major success, accounting for over $100 million in annual sales from 600 products. People are looking for reassurances about life, despite the amazing affluence and security of modern times. Religious services, most of which involve praising and thanking God for such a good
world, do much the same thing, though with far greater sophistication and with personal involvement. Speaking of modern times, Rabbi Sacks goes on to suggest that religion, while responsible for some su f fer i n g , has been the greatest underlying force for progress in the world. It’s given us the courage to put aside our personal interests and cooperate, rather than continually fight in a zero-sum world. We’ve learned to treat others with dignity and to seek the common good. There’s just one problem. Religion as a cultural force, at least in the West, has been declining since the 1800s. As several recent books have shown, the past two centuries have seen falling crime rates and even (despite two terrible world wars) greater world peace. People may be more anxious nowadays and less willing to
walk around or let their kids play unsupervised, but we’re hardly falling into a Hobbesian free-for-all. Rabbi Sacks suggests that we’ve continued to progress mainly because we’re living off the civilizing instincts developed over centuries of religious commitment. Those instincts, he says, are starting to wear off, as seen in weakening social ties. He makes much of the efforts of some recent thinkers to say that human beings have no more inherent dignity than animals. It’s not such a big step from these ideas to fascism. While it won’t convince everyone, this learned and engaging book offers a timely defense of religion. Trusting in God is much more than a rational matter, but it has to make sense for the mind as well as heart. We live in such a strongly secular age, and we Jews are so free to mix in secular society, that Judaism has become a choice. So we need more discussions around that choice. “The Great Partnership: Religion, Science and the Search for Meaning,” by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, 348 p., Schocken Books, 2012. Editor’s note: John Landry (jtlandry@verizon.net) is a member of The Jewish Voice editorial board.
10 | January 3, 2014
D’VAR TORAH | community
JFK - Just For Kiddush By Rabbi Marc Mandel
Candle Lighting Times Greater Rhode Island Jan. 3..........................4:09 Jan. 10.......................4:16 Jan. 17.......................4:23 Jan. 24.......................4:32
A recent article in “Jewish Action,” the magazine of the Orthodox Union, bemoaned the fact that the sermon has become less important in the life of the synagogue. Just a few months ago, in a front-page article, the Wall Street Journal explored the culture of the Kiddush Club and how some congregants go for Kiddush during the rabbi’s sermon. Noted historian Jonathan Sarna, who often comments on trends among American Jews, put it like this: “Once upon a time, some people went to synagogue to talk to God. Nowadays, more and more people come to see their friends.” The prayers and sermons, he concluded, “are a distraction. Conviviality goes better with a drink.” What motivates some congregants to absent themselves from the rabbi’s sermon? Rabbi Marc Saperstein, a professor of Jewish History and a scholar of Jewish sermons, remarked that “homiletics is not an art that is especially valued today.” This is not really a new development. Almost thirty years ago, Rabbi Norman Lamm, past president of Yeshiva University, wrote: “The art and science of homiletics have
fallen into disfavor and even disuse in the course of a generation or two.” But there can be great value in a sermon and a powerful sermon can change a person’s way of thinking. A dynamic sermon can lift a person out of his or her apathy and help propel that person to action. An emotional and touching sermon can motivate an entire community to take major steps and can help create an amazing and tangible energy that can save lives and rescue those in need. Haven’t we all witnessed a sermon from a rabbi which has led to the raising of thousands of dollars for Israel or for Jewish and other people in need? In our current Torah readings, we see how the powerful words of Moses gave the Israelite slaves strength and hope for a brighter, triumphant future. As George Burns put it, “The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, and to have the two as close together as possible.” With that advice in mind, let’s not write off the sermon just yet! Rabbi Marc Mandel of Touro Synagogue in Newport can be reached at rabbimandel@ tourosynagogue.org.
The Jewish Voice
“Creation of the Jewish Homeland in Israel and America” Temple Habonim lecture series By Arthur C. Norman anorman@jewishallianceri.org For the past 25 years, Dr. Stephen Kaplan has researched Jewish history and thought as an avocation and has explored the experience of the Jewish people as a pathway to understanding the Jewish faith. As part of the “Time for Me” Adult Education program at Temple Habonim, he will lead a three-session series on the “Creation of the Jewish Homeland in Israel and America: 1880 to 2013.” The program will be held on Thursday evenings January 9, 16 and 23 at 7 p.m. As Jews in Europe were forced to face up to the fact that the dream of “emancipation” was not evident, they had three choices available to them – immigration, the establishment of a Jewish homeland, or a change to the fundamentals of the European world. The series will focus on the first two options. Questions to be explored: What does it mean to have a homeland, particularly in a global world? How do the two homelands relate to each oth-
er? What changes in that relationship are likely to occur? The program, held at Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road in Barrington, is free and open to the commu-
Dr. Stephen Kaplan nity. For a complete syllabus and suggested reading, go to templehabonim.org. For more information call the synagogue at 245-6536 or email office@ templehabonim.org.
FOOD
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Soup first, then dessert Anita Solomon, Providence’s legendary restaurateur and cook, shares two recipes from the famous Lloyd’s Restaurant, run by Anita and her late husband Elliot. Readers should know that there never was any “Lloyd” associated with the eat-
Method
Finely shred cabbage. Mix all ingredients together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for many hours. Cabbage should be very soft and tender. The next day, cook again - simmer, simmer, simmer. If the soup gets too thick, add a little water,
more tomato soup or both. When you’ve finished your soup, you may have dessert.
Lloyd’s Toffee Coffee Crunch Pie Ingredients
Baked 9-inch pie shell 1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine 6 to 8 ounces brown sugar (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons to 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) 2 eggs 1 envelope liquid ChocoBake
Topping:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar 1 teaspoon instant coffee Crushed Heath bars
Method
Whip together margarine, brown sugar, eggs (use pasteurized egg product such as Egg Beaters if desired) and chocolate. Whip until very thick, like frosting. Put into baked pie shell and refrigerate. Whip together cream, confectioners’ sugar and instant coffee powder until firm. Spread over pie filling. Sprinkle with crushed Heath bars. Refrigerate. ery. The couple once lived on Lloyd Avenue. According to Anita, the recipe for cabbage soup was a wellguarded secret when the restaurant was open.
Cabbage Soup Ingredients
2 pounds cabbage 3 10 3/4-ounce cans tomato soup 1 35-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes 1/4 cup light brown sugar, more if you like it sweeter juice of 1 lemon 1 pound of lean hamburger, sauteed 2 cloves of crushed garlic salt and pepper to taste
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11
“Cook in Israel”
Two favorites from Anita Solomon By Arthur C. Norman anorman@jewishallianceri.org
January 3, 2014 |
“Cook in Israel” The Mediterranean Menu Ottolenghi Made Popular. Recipes Anyone Can Make. “‘Cook in Israel’ has earned a permanent spot in my kitchen." thisamericanbite.com "... a masterful guide to Israeli cooking with its varied influences." Jewish Book World Food lovers no longer have to visit the colorful markets of Jerusalem or Tel Aviv to enjoy the captivating tastes of a fresh Mediterranean menu. The new book “Cook in Israel” is packed with delicious, easy-to-follow recipes allowing everyone to bring the flavors and colors of Israeli food to their kitchen. Drawing on her Jewish-Greek heritage and the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors of her Tel Aviv home, author Orly Ziv focuses on fresh flavors and simple techniques as suitable for weeknight meals as they are for entertaining. Orly has been offering popular cooking classes and culinary tours of Israel for years. This unique experience is now available to all in “Cook in Israel.” Filled with 100 delicious recipes, each accompanied by a beautiful color photograph, including many step-by-step illustrations, the message of “Cook in Israel” is that healthy and appealing home cooking doesn't need to be time consuming or complicated. Using familiar and easy to find ingredients, readers learn to make gourmet meals simply and quickly. Orly explains that "Enjoying a Mediterranean diet
is easier than many think. One can use typical ingredients in a new way and discover that simple changes lead to amazing results!" Most of the recipes require 30 minutes or less to prepare. Recipes for all Jewish holidays are included and feature unique dishes as well as familiar favorites. About the Author: A lifelong food lover, Orly Ziv worked for many years as a clinical nutritionist before launching her company Cook in Israel in 2009, where she offers culinary tours around Israel and intimate cooking classes in her home. Orly believes that one of the best ways to learn about a place
a n d people is through the food they eat. Her background in nutrition combined with her strong passion for cooking and baking leaves readers with delicious Mediterranean meals that are healthy, flavorful and easy to prepare. Title: Cook in Israel: Home Cooking Inspiration Author: Orly Ziv ISBN: 9789659207107 Hardcover, 245 Pages, $35.00
12 | January 3, 2014
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The Jewish Voice
Boycotting Israel By Daniel Stieglitz There are many countries in the world where women and other populations do not have equal rights. Gays must remain closeted, for fear of their own lives, and religious minorities have no rights. People die by the hundreds, perhaps thousands,
LETTERS HOME DANIEL STIEGLITZ
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on an almost weekly basis due to horrors like starvation, poverty and destruction. So what should we do about all of these problems? I know! Let’s boycott Israel. For the record, none of what I wrote above applies to Israel. Nonetheless, a group of American academics has decided to boycott their colleagues who come from the strongest democracy in the Middle East. I’m not going to even bother going into a long discourse about how or why this happened. I think the explanation is simple – anti-Semitism. When I recently posted examples of bias against Israel on social media recently, someone commented, “Are you surprised?” The answer is sadly, no, I am no longer surprised. The Jews have been the world’s scapegoats for centuries. Why should I expect it to stop now? The worst kind of hatred is baseless, and that is exactly what the academic boycott of Israeli academics is. If we were to go through the world’s pecking order of which countries might actually deserve to be boycotted, Israel would likely fall much, much further down on that list. (Is anyone even still paying attention to what’s going on in Syria, another MiddleEastern country, right now?) Instead, for whatever reason, American academics decided to bump us to the head of the class of countries that deserve to have a condescending finger shaken at. If someone can explain to me why Israel, as opposed to any other country, deserves this distinguished boycott, then I’d like to hear it. Before answering that, I’d like to share just one of my personal, first-hand experiences. I spent a year taking courses at Israel’s Bar Ilan University. During that time, I saw the diversity that existed on an Israeli campus. Israeli students walked side-by-side with Mus-
lim classmates. How many Jews are currently allowed to study in the Palestinian territories? What about some of the surrounding Muslim countries? My guess is that the number is pretty small, if not zero. I’ll also point out that this year, the valedictorian of Israel’s top medical school was a Muslim woman. The idea of boycotting Israel goes back many years before this particular one targeting academics. I am not sure what causes me more sadness – the fact that people are so willing to boycott Israel, or the ignorance behind such boycotts. A website devoted to promoting the boycott of Israel was created using technology developed in Israel! The creation of the website itself contradicted the very thing that it stood for! While backpacking around Australia a few months ago, one person I met asked me why I moved from America to a thirdworld country such as Israel. His question was not an antiSemitic one. For whatever reason, based on the information he was exposed to, he genuinely believed that Israel was a thirdworld country. I corrected his ignorance by pointing out that the computer he was using at that exact moment contained technology that was developed, manufactured and shipped from Israel. His misconception about Israel didn’t offend me, but it scared me. Israel’s enemies do a great job of putting their version of the truth front and center. People’s first impressions also tend to be the last ones they pay any attention to. So much of the puzzle goes unnoticed. It saddens me to think about how Israel’s contributions to science, technology, medicine and academia – of which there are numerous amounts – are overlooked. So much so that if, by some horrible tragedy, Israel were wiped off the map today, tomorrow the world wouldn’t say, “Now we’ve lost all of the wonderful things that Israel contributed to the world.” Instead, all we would hear is silence, especially from a group of American academics who decided to single out Israel of all the nations of the world that might actually need the wake-up call of a boycott. Daniel Steiglitz (dstieglitz@ gmail.com), a Providence native, made aliyah in 2007. He holds a master’s degree in creative writing from Bar Ilan University and lives and works in Israel. His short story, “Haven,” was recently published in FictionMagazines.com’s online magazine, eFiction.
Health & wellness
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January 3, 2014 |
13
It’s Never Too Early for a Conversation Understanding Hospice and Knowing When it Can Help By Catherine Burke
Hospice Care
Serious illness and end of life are two topics that many people don’t want to even think about never mind prepare for. Conversations about how to deal with the progression of a serious illness often get put off until there is a crisis and it becomes absolutely necessary to make decisions about what to do for a loved one. What many people don’t realize, however, is that, by avoiding these “difficult” topics, they could be losing the chance to
An important part of the conversation about serious illness can be the discussion of hospice. Hospice is a specialized program that offers help, comfort and support for people with serious illnesses and their families. Often, hospice is thought to mean care for a terminally ill patient in the final weeks or even days of life. While this is the point at which hospice care begins for some patients, hospice services are available and can be extremely helpful to
make their wishes known regarding decisions that will affect them at the end of life. For example, when people dealing with serious illness let their loved ones know their feelings about matters, such as what kinds of treatment they do and do not want to receive and where they would like to spend their final days, they help ensure that their wishes will be honored.
patients and their families far earlier in the course of a serious illness. “An individual whose life expectancy is six months or less and whose care focuses on pain and symptom management rather than curative measures, can be eligible for hospice,” said Ed Martin, M.D., MPH, chief medical officer at Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island (HHCRI).
If you have questions about whether you or a loved one might qualify for hospice care, a phone call anytime to HHCRI (4154200) can provide you with pr el i m i n a r y in for mat ion. You also can set up an appointment with a member of the HHCRI team, wherever and whenever it is convenient for you, to talk about the specifics of your or a loved one’s situation now or in the future. It’s ideal to start talking as early as possible. In fact, it is never too early for a conversation about serious illness and end of life. “In addition to making sure patients’ medical needs are met, we focus on meeting their emotional and spiritual needs,
Tips for Safe Walking in Snow and Ice from the Snow & Ice Management Association Falls account for more than one million injuries in the United States annually. There are four types of walking accidents, with the most common being the slip and fall. That’s the type of fall that happens when you fall due to a surface not being cleared of snow or ice. “Every winter, the hazards of driving in snow and icy conditions are noted, but rarely is walking on snow and ice addressed,” said Martin B. Tirado, Executive Director of the Snow & Ice Management Association (Sima). “Slipping and falling while walking accounts for a large number of winter-related injuries and can have an impact on the quality of life for the injured person.” SIMA, the national nonprofit organization representing the snow removal industry, has some tips on safe winter walking.
Wear proper footwear.
Proper footwear should place the entire foot on the surface of the ground and have visible treads. Avoid a smooth sole and opt for a heavy treaded shoe with a flat bottom.
Accessorize to see and be seen.
Wear sunglasses so that you can see in the reflective light of the snow. Also, wear a bright coat or scarf so that drivers can easily see you.
Plan ahead.
While walking on snow or ice on sidewalks or in parking lots, walk consciously. Instead of looking down, look up and see where your feet will move next to anticipate ice or an uneven surface. Occasionally scan from left to right to ensure you are not in the way of vehicles or other hazards.
Make sure you can hear.
While seeing the environment is important, you also want to be sure you can hear approaching traffic and other noises. Avoid listening to music or engaging in conversation that may prevent you from hearing oncoming traffic or snow removal equipment.
Anticipate ice.
Be weary of thin sheets of ice that may appear as wet pavement (black ice). Often ice will appear in the morning, in shady spots or where the sun shines during the day and melted snow refreezes at night.
Walk steps slowly.
When walking down steps, be sure to grip handrails firmly and plant your feet securely on each step.
Enter a building carefully.
When you get to your destination, such as school, work, shopping center, etc., be sure to look at the floor as you enter the building. The floor may be wet
with melted snow and ice.
Be careful when you shift your weight.
When stepping off a curb or getting into a car, be careful since shifting your weight may cause an imbalance and result in a fall.
Avoid taking shortcuts.
Shortcuts are a good idea if you are in a hurry, but may be a bad idea if there is snow and ice on the ground. A shortcut path may be treacherous because it is likely to be located where snow and ice removal is not possible.
Look up.
Be careful about what you walk under. Injuries also can result from falling snow/ice as it blows, melts, or breaks away from awnings, buildings, etc. Following these tips will help ensure that you survive the snow and ice season safely. Editor’s note: Founded in 1996, the Snow & Ice Management Association is the North American trade association for professionals involved with the snow and ice industry, including snow plowing as well as commercial and residential snow removal for shopping centers, sporting complexes, apartment buildings, offices, schools and universities, hospitals and other facilities.
as well as those of their family,” said Diana Franchitto, president and CEO of HHCRI. “Too often, patients come onto our service very late in the course of their illness and miss out on many of the benefits we can provide an entire family to help them make the most of time, when time matters the most.” HHCRI is certified as a Jewish Hospice by the National Institute for Jewish Hospice (NIJH). This means that staff have received training in the specific belief systems, customs, tradi-
tions and needs of Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and secular or non-practicing Jews at end of life. HHCRI is one of only 55 hospices nationwide to earn this accreditation. HHCRI is the major teaching affiliate for hospice and palliative medicine of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. For more information about hospice or to schedule an appointment with a member of the HHCRI team, call 415-4200 or visit hhcri.org.
Community
14 | January 3, 2014 from page 1
The Jewish Voice
Brickle
Jeffrey Savit, president and CEO of the Jewish Alliance, shared a few stories to highlight how the Jewish Alliance is strengthening Jewish life here in Rhode Island, engaging families with young children, making Jewish life more affordable and providing access to meaningful Jewish life experiences.
“We have the unique opportunity to make a difference and help strengthen our community.” The evening featured an exclusive Patrón Tequila tasting
with Ilana Edelstein, author of “The Patrón Way,” the dramatic story of how Patrón became the world’s top-selling tequila against a backdrop of love, diz zying success and ultimate betrayal. She shared her epic story as a Jewish entrepreneur and the creation of a groundbreaking business. Neil Beranbaum summed up the inaugural J-Futures event: “We’re all here because we all have a stake in our Jewish community. We have the unique opportunity to make a difference and help strengthen our community.” For more information on J-Futures, contact Edward Bruckner (EBruckner@ jewishallianceri.org), Vice President of Financial Resource Development, Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, at 4214111, ext. 174.
Barbra Brickle, left, Jonathan Salinger, Max Brickle and Jeffrey and Jill Padwa
David Josephs, Barbra Brickle and Denise Josephs
Ilana Edelstein, Marc Gertsacov and Max Brickle
Jonathan Salinger, left, Deborah Rosen Salinger and Neil Beranbaum Patrón Tequila tasting
COMMUNITY
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January 3, 2014 |
“The Patrón Way” by Ilana Edelstein
Neil Beranbaum, left, Jill and Jeffrey Padwa
Neil Beranbaum,left, Michael Prescott, Max Brickle and Jonathan Salinger
Robin Prescott, left, Deborah Rosen Salinger and Susan Leach DeBlasio
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16 | January 3, 2014
COMMUNITY
The Jewish Voice
Matt Fabisch named head of R.I GOP Who says there are no Jewish Republicans? By David Talan Special to the Jewish Voice Matthew Fabisch has been named the new Executive Director of the Rhode Island Republican Party. In that position, he is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the state Party. Fabisch, 30, is an attorney who lives in Smithfield with his wife Michelle. He was a Republican candidate for Town Council there in 2012. Fabisch grew up in Brockton, Mass., where he attended the Solomon Schechter School, participated in a shomer shabbat Boy Scout troop and went to the New Jewish High School of Greater Boston (now the Gann Academy). Fabisch noted that the R.I. Republican Party has historically had active participation from the Jewish community, including former Attorneys General Richard Israel and Jeff Pine and General Treasurer Nancy Mayer. He pointed to current Jewish GOP leaders such as: East Greenwich Town Council President Michael Isaacs; Cranston GOP Secretary Eileen Grossman; Barrington GOP Secretary Martha Wallick; Johnson
& Wales University College GOP leader Russell Taub; and
Matthew Fabisch Warren GOP Delegate Andrea Hittner Smiley (wife of state GOP Chairman Mark Smiley). Fabisch, who has also served as the Legal Counsel for the Stephen Hopkins Center for Civil Rights, is considered an expert on issues involving school choice, 2nd Amendment rights and economic liberty. When asked what appeal the Republican Party has to
Jewish voters, Fabisch cited belief in restoring individual responsibility and in breaking the cycle of government dependency, while supporting private charitable and community good works. He added, “My grandparents were Holocaust survivors. What drew me to constitutional law, and to politics, is the importance of preserving the opportunity to build a new life in this country, based on economic and religious liberties. I see these values most embodied in the Republican Party.” Matt Fabisch (Mfabisch@ rigop.org) will be speaking at the “Election 2014” Breakfast at Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road in East Greenwich, on Sunday, January 12, at 9:00 a.m. The breakfast is sponsored by the synagogue’s Men’s Club and Sisterhood. He will be joined by Sam Zurier, Jewish Democrat City Councilman of Providence. David Talan (DaveTalan@ aol.com) from Providence, a former candidate for mayor of Providence, is the Corresponding Secretary of the R.I. Republican Party. He can be reached at 941-3662.
Miriam Hospital to use innovative texting system for faster valet parking service By Arthur C. Norman anorman@jewishallianceri.org PROVIDENCE – The Miriam Hospital is making its valet parking even easier. Now, patients and visitors can send a text message to the valet service when they are ready to leave, so the wait for their vehicle will be shorter. The Miriam Hospital has offered valet parking for visitors and patients for eight years. The service was very well received but, after hearing feedback that the wait for a vehicle was sometimes a bit long, the hospital searched for a way to improve satisfaction. The result: The Miriam began working with Zingle, a company focused on creating texting solutions to improve customer service, to create a new process to facilitate when patients and visitors pick up their cars. Upon arrival, customers will receive a valet ticket that has been printed with the number to which to send a text message when they are ready to leave. The customer is then able to send a text to the valet service, which starts the vehicle retrieval process before the customer arrives in the lobby. Thomas Gregory, manager of security and parking for The Miriam Hospital, has led the initiative. Gregory says, “Our valet service is a great way to make it easier for our patients to have visitors, and now the
new Zingle service will make it an ever better experience with a quicker response time. It’s just one more way to provide the best possible service here at The Miriam.” Posters describing the service will be visible in the lobby for patients and visitors. Staff from Central Parking who manage the valet service are informing guests of the feature as it rolls out in this pilot phase. Editor’s note: As of this writing, the new valet text service is scheduled to begin on Jan. 2. The Miriam Hospital (miriamhospital.org) is a 247-bed, not-for-profit teaching hospital affiliated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. It offers expertise in cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, men’s health and minimally invasive surgery and is home to the state’s first Joint Commission-certified Stroke Center and robotic surgery program. The hospital, which received more than $23 million in external research funding last year, is nationally known for its HIV/AIDS and behavioral and preventive medicine research, including weight control, physical activity and smoking cessation. The Miriam Hospital has been awarded Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Services four times and is a founding member of the Lifespan health system.
Kosher Senior Café Hanukkah party
Arthur C. Norman
Orchestra leader Vito Saritelli addresses the audience.
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On Friday, December 6, Neal Drobnis, Coordinator of Kosher Nutrition for Jewish Family Service welcomed nearly 100 guests and volunteers to the Kosher Senior Café Hanukkah party at the Alliance JCC. The guests were treated to a sterling performance by the Providence Civic Orchestra of Senior Citizens, conducted by Vito Saritelli. For more information on the Alliance Kosher Senior Café, call Neal or Elaine at 421-4111, ext. 107.
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community
The Jewish Voice
Interfaith tribute to Nelson Mandela By Martin Cooper An Interfaith tribute and celebration in the honor of Nelson Mandela was held Dec. 15 at the West End Tabernacle Baptist Church in Providence, a predominantly African and African-American congregation. The tribute was organized by Rev. Dr. Donald Anderson, the Rhode Island State Council of Churches executive minister, and Jay Vincent, president of the NAACP Providence
branch. Reverend Matthew Kai, pastor of the congregation, welcomed the dozens of people who ventured out in the cold afternoon to pay homage to Mandela’s legacy. The program included an invocation from Rev. Lehlonolo Henrietta Montjane, a South African pastor and music from the West End Baptist Tabernacle Church Choir members.
The program featured brief remarks from leaders of many faiths including Rabbi Amy Levin who represented the Rhode Island Board of Rabbis and the Jewish community, Waleed Muhammed from the Rhode Island Council for Muslim Advancement and Muslim chaplain at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Norfolk and Rev. Tom Wiles from the American Baptist Churches of R.I. Reverend Timothy Rich, rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Greenwich, told a fascinating story regarding his experience of living in South Africa while Mandela was incarcerated and then released from prison. Rev. Dr. Anderson recited a litany of powerful humanitarian remarks Nelson Mandela was credited with saying and Julius Kolawole, president of the African Alliance, offered remarks about Nelson Mandela and how he will be remembered. Rabbi Levin began her remarks by saying, “We certainly express our condolences on the loss of South Africa’s extraordinary leader, and it is easy to recall Nelson Mandela’s most admirable qualities … we not only stand with you as your friends in your loss, but we, too, mourn the death of this great man.” The Rabbi commented on the relationship Mandela had with Israel. She stated that he supported a secure and stable Israel. She closed by saying, “The man whose passing we mourn today modeled for us the power of loyalty without partisan politics; courage married to independent and clear thought; and the indestructible presence of a man committed to the highest
Rabbi Amy Levin addresses the gathering.
and purest values. In our culture of growing polarization, in politics, in economics, in religion … a voice of balance and integrity like Mr. Mandela’s should be exalted. And the loss of such a voice is most deeply mourned. In Judaism, we refer to those we have lost with the phrase: – זכרונו לברכהMay his memory serve as a blessing.” Martin Cooper (mcooper@ jewishallianceri.org) leads the Community Relations Council of The Jewish Alliance. He can also be reached at 421-4111, ext. 171.
Yiddish teacher wanted For beginning Yiddish languge learners and/or conversational Yiddish speakers. Inquire: Arthur Norman (anorman@jewishallianceri.org)
Israel
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Snowden revelations boost calls for Pollard’s release Pollard imprisoned for half his life By Ben Sales TEL AVIV (JTA) – The disclosure last week that American intelligence spied on former Israeli prime ministers has given new momentum to the effort to secure a pardon for convicted spy Jonathan Pollard. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several leading Knesset members have called in recent days for Pollard’s release following reports that documents leaked by former defense contractor Edward Snowden showed U.S. intelligence had targeted the email addresses of Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert. Pollard’s case “isn’t disconnected from the U.S. spying on Israel,” Nachman Shai, the cochair of the Knesset caucus to free Pollard, told JTA. “It turns out, it’s part of life. And what he did is a part of life.” Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein accused the United States of “hypocrisy” for holding Pollard, who as a civilian U.S. Navy analyst spied on the United States for Israel, even as it spied on Israeli leaders. Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said he wants the Israeli government to demand Pollard’s release and insist the United States cease its espionage operations in Israel. And opposition leader Isaac Herzog said Pollard’s punishment “has long passed the limits of sensibility.” “We hope that the conditions will be created that will enable us to bring Jonathan home,” Netanyahu said Sunday at the Israeli Cabinet’s weekly meeting. “This is neither conditional on, nor related to, recent events, even though we have given our opinion on these developments.” When Pollard’s crimes first came to light in the mid-1980s, his activities seemed like a
major act of betrayal given the close alliance between Israel and the United States. But the Snowden revelations show that spying by the United States and Israel was a two-way affair, prompting a new round of calls for the release of Pollard. Support for freeing Pollard represents a rare point of con-
“Pollard’s punishment ‘has long passed the limits of sensibility.’” sensus in Israeli politics, with 100 Knesset members among the 120 signing a letter asking Obama to release Pollard, according to Shai. Eighty members signed a similar letter last year. But Ronen Bergman, an expert on Israeli intelligence who is writing a history of Israel’s spy agencies, says Israeli pressure is unlikely to convince President Obama to free Pollard in the short term. “I’m quite positive that it won’t happen tomorrow because otherwise it will look as if the president of the United States accepts the claim that following the recent revelations from Edward Snowden, he should parole Jonathan Pollard,” Bergman told JTA. “But once the Americans were caught with their hands in the cookie jar, it paints the Pollard issue in a different color.” The clamor for Pollard’s release has grown steadily over the past two years, with the late U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and former Secretary of State George Shultz expressing their support. Jewish Agency for Israel
Chairman Natan Sharansky, a vocal advocate for Pollard’s release who raised the issue last month in his speech to the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, told JTA that American calls for the release of Pollard hold more sway than Israeli advocacy. “What really matters is what American public opinion and American professionals and the American Jewish community feel,” Sharansky said. “I want to be cautious, but I think we passed a checkpoint. Now we don’t see people thinking [Pollard’s release] is unthinkable.” Supporters of Pollard have long argued that his three decades of incarceration for spying on an ally is excessive. Revelations of American espionage may strengthen the rhetorical argument on Pollard’s behalf, they say, but the merits of the case for release stand on their own. “Without any connection to the recent news, there’s no question that the time has already come when the Israeli public and senior officials want this tragedy to come to an end,” said Adi Ginsburg, a spokesperson for the advocacy group Justice for Jonathan Pollard. “American justice and shared values between the two countries, like justice and mercy, necessitate Pollard’s freedom.”
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BUSINESS
The Jewish Voice
BUSINESS | Health & wellness
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HealthSource RI PROVIDENCE – HealthSource RI, Rhode Island’s health benefits exchange, reminds all Rhode Islanders that it has extended individual and small employer plan selection and payment deadlines to ensure that more Rhode Islanders are able to have health insurance coverage on Jan. 1, 2014. Individuals who selected a plan by Dec. 31, 2013 and pay by Jan. 6, 2014 will be considered covered on Jan. 1, 2014. Small employers had until Dec. 27, 2013 to select a plan for their employees. Payment must be made by Jan. 6, 2014 for coverage beginning on Jan. 1, 2014. Coverage will be effective on Jan. 1 as long as payment is made by Jan. 6, 2014. Enrollees will not receive an ID card or welcome packet from carriers until after payment is made. All HealthSource RI plans cover the same essential health benefits; plans differ in how enrollees share costs such as deductibles, co-insurance and co-payments.
If you have a pre-existing medical condition, you can’t be denied coverage or charged a higher premium. The open enrollment period for individuals and families ends on March 31, 2014; Medicaid-eligible individuals may enroll throughout the year. For small employers, HealthSource RI has 16 different plans available from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island and UnitedHealthcare, as well as dental plans. Small employers may purchase coverage for their employees – including offering Full Employee Choice, which lets the employer pick a base plan while allowing employees to choose from any of HealthSource RI’s 16 small employer plans – at their regular annual renewal date throughout the calendar year. To learn more about HealthSource RI, visit healthsourceri. com or call 1-855-840-4774.
Considering Adoption? By Arthur C. Norman anorman@jewishallianceri.org PROVIDENCE – Adoption Options is holding a free informational session for those considering adoption. Licensed adoption workers will be available to provide information and answer questions. The next meeting in Rhode Island is scheduled from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at 959 North Main Street in Providence on January 16.
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Adoption Options, a non-sectarian, non-profit, comprehensive adoption program of Jewish Family Service, works with prospective adoptive parents, birth parents and people who have been adopted. The agency is licensed in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The agency’s work with all members of the adoption triad is focused on helping individuals to understand their options and make the most informed choices for their future. For more information, please contact Peg Boyle at 331-5437 or visit AdoptionOptions.org.
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SENIORS
The Jewish Voice
Noel Comes to Brownsville The time: A mid-December weekend, 1935, on a residential street in inner Brooklyn. Two 14-year-old youngsters inspect the thin layer of snow covering the streets and decide that this is not a good day for rollerskating. They then glance in Of Science both direc& Society tions seeking some alternative. Stanley m. N o b o d y Aronson, M.D. is tossing a football and nobody is playing handball against the brick wall of the abandoned factory, which leaves little choice but to talk. The local Brownsville streets,
in winter, are grim and without character. Unemployment is high, and this block of tenements witnesses periodic, depression-era evictions, domestic disputes and a pervasive dread of what the next year might yield. The newspapers tell these two youngsters – Shlomo and Leon – that the Christmas holidays will shortly arrive, but to these two, on the brink of a troubled maturity, their knowledge of Christmas is little more than a medley of fear and wonder. And so they stroll down the street, talking randomly while occasionally tossing snowballs at the fire hydrants. The conversation drifts haphazardly over many subjects: the penitential nature of their public school, whether the Dodgers will fare better next year and, inevitably, their sense of exclusion concerning Christmas. Shlomo is silent for a mo-
ment and then suddenly blurts out, “Leon, did you know that your name, spelled backwards, is Noel?” Leon laughs, clearly amused by this odd feature of his name. And so he responds, “Do you think that, as Noel Hurwitz, I might now get invited to a Christmas party?” The thought amuses both of them as they continue their aimless stroll. The idea of actively participating in Christmas festivities intrigues them, although neither has any notion of what transcendent rituals take place around a Christmas tree. Their experience with the Christmas holidays remains confined to inaccurate tales, dreams and storefront displays in the department emporia of downtown Brooklyn. Shlomo stops walking, pauses and asks, “What, really, is the inner stuff of Christmas?” Neither has answers, so they sit – and reflect – on the snow-covered bench in front of Fischer’s Drug Store. After a moment of reverent silence, Leon says, “The big storefront window of A&S’s, in downtown Brooklyn – the Lionel model trains going around in a large circle! They only appear in the Christmas season. And I know that you also stare at them.” Shlomo nods absently in agreement. Silence prevails for a mo-
ment; then Shlomo remembers his great adventure of the prior weekend. He had gathered enough money for a roundtrip, via subway, to visit Radio City and its recently opened theater called The Music Hall. It was an astonishing palace, starkly modern and festive and, in addition to a first-run movie, it featured a Christmas stage show highlighted by a company of dancers, called “The Rockettes” dancing in amazing synchrony. And so, Shlomo nominates The Rockettes as his candidate for what underlies the spirit of Christmas. Two secular children of the inner city with not the vaguest notion of the fundamentals and dynamics of the Yuletide holiday. And so their conversation drifts to other topics such as Edna Goldstein’s fancy hat. And their brief flirtation with the essence of Christmas? The holiday remained, for them, a very Christian celebration; and while they were never explicitly invited, nor were they ever barred. A primitive – perhaps hereditary – apprehension of the Noel Mysteries persisted; and so they nominated their adolescent icons of the holiday: Lionel model trains encircling a pine tree and a team of highly trained chorus girls called the Rockettes. Years pass: both Leon and
Shlomo attend a city college; World War II arrives and both enter the army. In 1943, Leon dies on the beaches of a remote islet in the South Pacific. Shlomo is luckier and returns to civilian life with a safe job for life. The world, then, confronted them – and their entire generation – with further unsolvable problems, but had they bothered to investigate, they would have learned that their childhood dreams of Christmas – which they assumed were eminently non-Jewish – would prove otherwise. Lionel trains from their origin in 1901, were the accomplishment of Joshua Lionel Cohen (1877-1965) who made the name Lionel famous by advertising his trains in Manhattan department store windows at Christmas. And the Rockettes? They were the vision of the impresario, Samuel Roxy Rothafel (1882 1936) who organized the precision dance ensemble as well as the theater now called Radio City Music Hall. Two successful entrepreneurs, to hide their East European origins, used their generic sounding middle names for their eminently successful enterprises. Stanley. M. Aronson, M.D., may be reached at smamd@cox. net.
SENIORS
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Tu Bi-Sh’vat lip balm labeled “Eureka Lemon” and crafted right here in Li’l Rhody. It cost more than Chapstick, but the charming Mediterranean mural sketchbook on the wall painted by proprietor mike fink Jennifer Fuccillo gave the buying experience a certain chic. “Olive del Mondo” is independespite last month’s snowstorm, dently owned and spring comes a little early for operated with a wine-tastes – or oil tastes. Well, full tasting bar in our diaspora, we turn the and offers a nice literal seasons with their ag- Tu Bi-Sh’vat prericultural advice, into ethical diction of spring lessons. I’ve heard the seasons to come with kosher products and labeled “botanical parables.” In the cheerful grouchiness of comfortably conmy winters, both of discontent templative armand of birthday milestones (like chairs. And then, in miniature tombstones), I seek out very local logos or boutiques Wayland Square, Photos | Mike Fink for symbolic purchases. I want there is The Olto celebrate this Tu Bi-Sh’vat ive Tap, and they Popeye and Olive Oyl painted by RISD student Jessica Brown for Greg’s Olive Tap in mid-January with a grand have, on the lower toast to two olive oil shops, both level, a fine paintthat the model for the animatProvidence parlors with lots of ing of – but who else – “Olive ed hero was an actual Jewish class. They harvest olives from Oyl,” the only alluring gal in sailor kidnapped, or as it was all around the globe or from the cartoon world of Popeye. termed “impressed,” by the the edges of the four corners of With her high boots, long skirt, Brits in 1812. They told him to Eden, in order to keep the evil tight bun, and notorious dilem- pledge allegiance to the king on eyes of heart disease or cancer ma (which is it to be, the vegan, the new testament and he boldslight, devout and devoted seaaway from our gates and doors. ly countered with, “I yam what I picked up a pretentious but man who gets his strength from I yam!” – with a Yiddish accent? pretty, and promising, tube of his special Hasidic diet, or the Back to the oil that calms trouBig Brute, bled waters of anxiety! a veritable My own dedication is to save crude Costhe world from us, by protectsack?) ing trees – in the wilderness, in Oh my, our front and back yards, upon I’m getting the groves that feed and cure lost here in us, and metaphorically/allegormy segue ically, by the light that comes to the acfrom our candelabra, little portual source table “bonsai” trees that brightmaterial for en our Sabbath tables. All this the saga of comes to us via the pressed olthe Thimble ive! Theatre. Mike Fink (mfink33@aol. You may alMural painted by Jennifer Fuccillo com) teaches at RISD. ready know for Olive del Mondo “Humanity is a tree of the field,” declares Deuteronomy. There was an old song that sighed, “Spring will be a little late this year.” (I think it meant, “she said no.”) In Israel,
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OBITUARIES
The Jewish Voice
from page 1
Herbert L. Bloom, 87 BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – Herbert L. Bloom, of Boynton Beach, Fla. and East Greenwich, R.I., died December 16. He was the husband of Irma (Newman) Bloom. Born in D or c h e s t e r, Mass., he was a son of the late William F. and Etta (Ross) Bloom. He was the brother of the late David Bloom and grandfather of the late Matthew Bloom. He was a veteran of World War II, serving with the Seabees in Okinawa; he was a life member of the Seabees Veterans of America and a past commander of Post #696 of the Jewish War Veterans of Milton, Mass. Besides his wife of 62 years, he is survived by his son Richard and his wife, Linda (Bergantini), and daughters Laurie Golden and her husband, Brent, and Karen Deluty and her husband Edward. He was the grandfather of Lindsey Golden and her fiancée Sorran Ford, Joshua Golden, Rachael Nicastro and her husband Samuel, Alexander Bloom and Alana and Evan Deluty. He previously served as the CEO of Independent Glass and Independent Realty. He was a Mason and a Shriner for more than 60 years, a proud member of Euclid Lodge and a charter member as well as past captain of the Shrine Motor Corp. Herb
also served as a State Senator, a member of Toastmasters of RI, a SCORE representative, a sixyear board member of the National Glass Assn., and received the esteemed “Hank Award” for industry service. He was the first president/treasurer and organizer of the RI Glass Dealer’s Assn. and a member of the Touro Fraternal Assn. He served for six years as chairman of the “Glass Show,” a national trade organization, as well as a member of the advisory council for the Department of Employment Security. He also served on the City of Cranston Highway Safety Committee. The Better Business Bureau honored him with a community service award. He was nominated for the Jefferson Award and worked on the Mayor’s Committee for Economic Development. Funeral services will be held on Friday, December 20, at 1 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Burial will be in Sharon Memorial Park, Sharon, Mass. Contributions may be made to Shriners Burn Center in Boston and/or Temple Sinai.
Seymour “Shim” Silverstein BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – Seymour “Shim” Silverstein, of Boynton Beach, and Narragansett, formerly of Newton, Mass., died December 22. He was the husband of Barbara (Dunn) Silverstein; father of James, Gary and Lee Silverstein; stepfather of Scott Brightman and his wife Sharon, and Todd Brightman. He was the grandfather of six, brother of Dr. Paul Silverstein
and his wife Sybil of Minn., and brother-in-law of Alan Rottenberg and his wife Debbie. He was formerly with Stop & Shop companies, and then purchased United Paper Stock Co., which was subsequently sold to International Forest Products. Contributions may be made to Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward St., Newton, MA 02459, or Congregation B’Nai Israel, 224 Prospect St., Woonsocket, RI 02895.
Ruth Snyder-Cavaliere, 88 CRANSTON – Ruth SnyderCavaliere, of Cra-Mar Meadows Nursing Home, died December 27 at the home. She was the wife of the late Rudy Snyder and the late John Cavaliere. Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Isidore and Ida (Factor) Shapiro, she had lived in Cranston since 1958, previously living in Providence. She worked at her parents’ shop, the former Loui’s Mensware, in Pawtucket, prior to retirement. She was the mother of Mitchell Snyder and his wife, Roseann, and Linda Fine and her husband, Jeff, all of Cranston, and sister of the late Frieda Malin. She was the grandmother of Bobby Lauro, Heather SnyderDawkins, Amie Hodge and Dan Fine and the great grandmother of Ardin, Miranda, Brady and Haylee. Contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, 931 Jefferson Blvd., Suite 3004, Warwick, RI 02886 or Beacon Hospice, 1 Catamore Blvd., East Providence, RI 02914.
bronfman
Union. He would later credit the trip with inspiring his increasing interest in Judaism, saying: “It was on those trips to Russia that my curiosity was piqued. What is it about Judaism, I asked myself, that has kept it alive through so much adversity while so many other traditions have disappeared? Curiosity soon turned into something more, and that ‘something more’ has since turned into a lifelong passion.” In 1981, Bronfman became the president of the World Jewish Congress, stepping up the organization’s activism on behalf of Jewish communities around the world. From his perch at the WJC, in addition to battling with the Swiss banks, he continued the fight for Soviet Jewry, took the lead in exposing the Nazi past of (United Nations’ head) Kurt Waldheim, and worked to improve Jewish relations with the Vatican. In 1991, he lobbied President George H.W. Bush to push for the rescission of the United Nations resolution equating Zionism and racism. “In terms of defending Jews, I’m a Jew,” Bronfman told JTA in a 2008 interview. “And I was in a position to do so, so I did so.” Bronfman’s final years as president of WJC were marred by allegations of financial irregularities revolving around his most influential adviser on Jewish political affairs, the organization’s secretary general, Rabbi Israel Singer. Bronfman was never implicated in any of the financial allegations, but the controversy and feuding surrounding his top aide dominated the final years of his decades-long stint as WJC president. The office of then-New York
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer issued a report in 2006 that found no criminal offense, but criticized the WJC’s financial management; it ordered that Singer be prohibited from making financial decisions in the organization. Bronfman initially stood by Singer before ultimately firing him in 2007. Several months later, Bronfman stepped down. But Bronfman did not disappear from the public stage. A staunch supporter of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, he continued to be a very vocal and public backer of liberal politicians in the United States and Israel. And, as president of the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, he dedicated most of his final years to his Jewish philanthropic causes. He founded the Bronfman Youth Fellowship in 1987, a young leadership program that brings together Jewish high school students from Israel and North America. Then, in the 1990s, he worked to revive Hillel, serving as the founding chair of the campus organization’s board of governors. In 2002, he provided the funding to launch MyJewishLearning, a digital media entity that now also includes the Jewish parenting site Kveller and boasts 1 million visitors per month. Bronfman and his first wife, Ann Loeb, had five children, Sam, Edgar Jr., Matthew, Holly and Adam. He had two daughters, Sara and Clare, with his second wife, Georgiana Webb. In 1994, he married the artist Jan Aronson. He is survived by Aronson, his seven children, 24 grandchildren, two great grandchildren, his brother Charles Bronfman and his sister Phyllis Lambert.
generations
thejewishvoice.org
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I Remember Mama By Nicky Nichtern Special to The Jewish Voice I am writing this on the day before Thanksgiving, 2013. My mother’s life ended in March of 1994 – very close to 20 years ago – and to this day, her impression remains strikingly vivid. My mirror reflects some of her too – an alarming thought – but that’s a story for another day. That last Thanksgiving together was, as usual, at Uncle Irv and Aunt Phyllis’ on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. We’d been gathering there for more than 20 years. My mom came to my place a few hours earlier than we were expected uptown. She said she wanted to have some one-onone before we merged with the rest of the family. My task for that day was to bring my “famous” White Fluffies and when I welcomed her into my apart-
and put the bowl of boiled potatoes in front of her, and she, just as casually, handed back her comment along with the masher. “I don’t do that sweetheart,” she said icily. “When are you going to realize I don’t do that?” Yes, she was talking about mashing the potatoes. I had lured her into my kitchen, with the hope that she’d give
“So once again, there she was, putting one over on the establishment and loving it.” me this shared experience just once before she died – an iconic memory for me to recall at will after she was gone – how hard
could it be, I remember thinking. But once again, she just wasn’t in a giving mood. I took the masher from her hand, New York Times and purposefully sat down Claire Nichtern in New York Times opposite her at the kitchen article photo table to explain a life goal of mine. Not complicated – I ment, I asked her to come down the hall with me and join me in just wanted to have some onethe kitchen so that we could talk on-one kitchen time with her – while I prepared them. Secretly, conventional mother-daughter or so I thought, I also hoped to stuff. And she answered, quite share something else with her. sarcastically, that I’d better Something for which I had al- find another life goal. To this day, there isn’t a time ways longed, and so, very casually, I handed her the masher when I have a masher in my
Four generations: Donna Young, center, her daughter Bethani Atwood, her mother Maxine Morse, and her granddaughter Graci M. Atwood. Graci was born May 10 and lives in Covington, Wash., with her parents Bethani and Kris Atwood. She is named after her great grandfather, the late Gilbert M. Morse.
hand when that particular moment doesn’t jump out and bite me. And today, while I’m mashing, I wonder why I can’t let go of it. There were plenty of totally fabulous things she did do. For example, and, oh yes, a biggie: she was the second woman ever to win a Tony Award for Best Producing of a Broadway Play. I have the Tony Award over there on the coffee table, right next to a 1972 clipping of an article that appeared in the New York Times promoting her, and unusual for the times, her recent success. The headline in quotes: “DON’T GET MARRIED … GO TO WORK!” And then, bingo, it hits me – the photo they paired with the definitive article on woman’s lib was not of her behind her desk in her windowed office high above the New York City skyline but rather of her in our tiny kitchen. She is at the stove, aproned, and there are pots on the burners and she’s got a spoon to her mouth – looking up at the camera in a most beguiling way, tasting what is supposed to be her cooking – with the copy line under the photos, saying “Producer of LUV samples one of her Old World dishes as she cooks in her home.” Old World recipes I remember thinking – she had never cooked for us – not even mac and cheese! Just an hour before the photo shoot and interview, I had been given the task of copying the recipes directly from the side panel of Ronzoni’s lasagna noodles onto
a piece of her product ion c o mp a ny ’s stationary – word for word, stir for stir, mash for mash! So once again, there she was, putting one over on the establishment and loving it. Occ asionally, I still find myself stuck in the groove of missing the act of cooking in the kitchen with my mom. But Producer Claire Nichtern with play poster today, with a flash I realized the basic truth – okay, just as much for producing a hit so I didn’t inherit her “I don’t show as for breaking the mold, do kitchen” gene because, in carrying the flag, and paving fact, I “do” kitchen. But, in- the way for me and for you. Tomorrow as we sit around deed, I became instantly aware the Thanksgiving table and that many, many times I have people compliment me on my channeled other parts of her delicious White Fluffies, I think into my daily vocabulary – her somewhat clever, very savvy, I’ll raise my glass and make a somewhat irreverent, and often tribute to my mom. Nicky Nichtern partners slightly divisive ways – comwith not-for-profit organizamon these days but not at all so back in the middle of our last tions to help reinforce their miscentury, when women were still sions by developing improved many, many floors below the graphic communications. Her glass ceiling. And then there website is nickynichtern.com. was my mom, marching up onto the stage to accept her award –
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generations
The Jewish Voice
Generations stories and photos Editor’s note: Due to the wonderful response for multi-generational stories and photos, from both submitters and readers, The Jewish Voice will continue to publish submissions as space allows. We are especially interested in photos of four or more generations.
The Decorative Hat By Stephanie Malinow Special to The Jewish Voice Browsing in one of my favorite local gift shops the other day, I lingered at the Alex and Ani counter. Studying the charms was like gazing at the paintings in a museum or perusing books in a library. Why were they created? What was their significance? Today, I spotted one charm in particular, and I knew immediately that I must have it. To the unfamiliar, it was simply a hat, a decorative one with a feather, but a hat nevertheless. To me, it was a potent symbol of my mother –our family hero. I asked the clerk if I might see the explanatory card that came with the charm:
The decorative hat
Pride – Tradition – Distinction “A social accessory traditionally worn at female gatherings, the decorative hat represents an individual looking and being at one’s best. Distinctively adorned hats are bold pieces that symbolize an outgoing nature and a proud heart. Channel the energy of the Decorative Hat Charm as a symbol of empowerment.” Born in New York at the beginning of the 20th century, my mother suffered from
polio as a young girl. Her spirit undaunted, she learned to ride a horse. She played Rachmaninoff on the piano and read the poetry of Byron, Keats and Browning. With stubborn determination, she attended Columbia University as one of a handful of women in the School of Pharmacy and enjoyed a successful career well into her 70s. She studied Hebrew at Yeshiva University. She loved music and the theatre and attended performances regularly. She was a strong woman. I still have one photograph of my mother in full riding gear atop a horse. I have one of her at work at our local pharmacy. But I have dozens of pictures of my mom in hats. It is the hats that everyone in the family remembers. “Why do you think Nanny always wore a hat?” asked one of my children recently. I said I didn’t know, but the query made me wonder. Did she yearn for a life more elegant than the one she had? Was she masking an appearance about which she was always self-conscious? I’m not sure, but I am sure that the decorative hat and my mother are one. I treasure the memory.
No Longer In the Middle By Cindy Halpern Special to The Jewish Voice My mother died in April. I was there for her in those last few days, sitting by her bedside. During her last day, she was in a coma, but I think she could hear me. The sun set slowly as a shadow was cast on her picture on the wall. I felt her spirit depart this world to join my father, stepfather, my two brothers and my sister, as well as her parents and her own brothers and sisters. I am the last one left from my family of origins. I have my daughter and grandson but they live in Florida and are leading their own lives. I, myself, have moved from Rhode Island to Long Island nearly four years ago. All these changes have taken a toll on me and how I live. My boyfriend, with whom I live, and I have no family to celebrate the holidays with. We just have ourselves. We sometimes skip certain holidays and opt to go to the movies. For Hanukkah, I simply light the Menorah. There is no gift exchange. For Thanksgiving, we eat our meal in front of the television. We do get to travel quite a bit, especially in the winter. We will be going on a cruise to the Bahamas next month. Last year, we went to Hawaii and the year before that we were in Las Vegas.
There is the rare visit with our families. We have flown to Florida to see my daughter and grandson and we have driven to Buffalo to see my boyfriend’s family. But that is a far cry from what Jewish tradition has been for me. I was the hands-on mother; I was the one who made sure my mother had what she needed after my stepfather died. I was the center of the family. But, I am not complaining. Change happens to us all and we have to decide how to change with it. I admit that the process has been slow for me to change. I am not completely adjusted to life on Long Island. I do belong to a synagogue here and to a second generation Holocaust group, but I have no close friends here of yet. I am finally at the point of volunteering. I am considering volunteering at Hospice. And I might be finally open to other possibilities. I know my role in life is very different from what it was five years ago and I accept that. I have to learn not to be in the middle anymore. I am on the sidelines now. But in another five years, I will be yet at another point in my life. I celebrate my past accomplishments, but I must move bravely forward to my future. Whatever it becomes is up to me. Cindy Halpern (CHalpern13@aol.com) is a former social worker from Rhode Island.
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Simchas
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Wedding – Erin Marie Barry and Dennis Walsh Doorley, Jr. were married on December 7 at the Hyatt Hotel on Goat Island in Newport. Erin is a teacher at the Alliance JCC Early Childhood Center.
Birth – Proud grandparents Elissa and Michael Felder announce the birth of their first grandson to their son Jake and his wife Sivan in Alon Shevut, Israel.
Engagement – Jane Wyeth, of New York, is thrilled to announce the engagement of her daughter, Victoria Browning Wyeth, to Alan Isaac Maringer, Esquire. Miss Wyeth is the paternal granddaughter of Mrs. Andrew Wyeth, of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and the late Mr. Andrew Wyeth; she is the maternal granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Leo Gleklen, of Providence.
Send us your simchas Share your joyful events and happenings by submitting them for publication in The Jewish Voice. Email to: anorman@jewishallianceri.org or mail to: The Jewish Voice, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, R.I. 02906
28 | January 3, 2014
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