February 1, 2019 by Jewish Rhode Island

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FEBRUARY 2019 | SHEVAT / ADAR I 5779

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Summer dreams

Camp weather will be here before you know it Camp couples tell their tales

Sharon Gaines gets national award

Hebrew Free Loans merge resources

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FEBRUARY 2019 | 3

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The colder it gets, the warmer our thoughts THE WEATHER outside might be frightful, but the cold always gets me thinking about warmer days. How did you spend the summers of your youth? For many of us, summer signaled the camp season. For me, for many summers, that meant a trip to Maine, where I spent eight weeks in an idyllic setting by the side of a lake. At the all-girls’ camp my parents chose for me, there ON THE COVER: Campers were open and counselors enjoy fields ringed outdoor fun at J-Camp by woods, and 2018. plenty of tenPHOTO | BEN GOLDBERG nis courts and other sports venues to tempt this completely non-athletic child. The camp had a history dating to the 1920s, and there were photos of campers lining the walls of the lodge where the camp community gathered for programs and activities. It really didn’t seem idyllic to me at the

time. Camp was my parents’ idea. For many of the six years I attended overnight camp, I would have preferred to have stayed at home, where I could visit my school fr iends. But my parents’ decision led to me developing friendships with campers from across the country. And I was forced to participate in sports I never would have tried if I hadn’t gone to camp. I got a chance to act in plays. I learned about photography. And, in my last year, I became a co-editor of the camp newspaper – I suspect you can guess how that influenced my career choice. Once a summer, we had a social activity with a nearby boys’ camp. I remember being completely uninterested at the time. But that was not the case at other camps where some of the campers met their true loves! We talked to a few for this issue, see page 16. If we left you out of this fun feature, our apologies. Let us know who you are. We have received comments from many of you on our new look. We appreciate everyone’s input, so keep those comments coming! And don’t forget to make sure we have your email address; you can register at jewishrhody.org.

Fran Ostendorf, Editor

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Six Reasons Why Your Child Should Learn Piano

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 For the shy child,

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EDITOR Fran Ostendorf DESIGN & LAYOUT Leah Camara ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Chris Westerkamp | cwesterkamp@jewishallianceri.org | 401-421-4111, ext. 160 Karen Borger | ksborger@ gmail.com | 401-529-2538 CONTRIBUTORS Cynthia Benjamin, Larry Kessler, Michael Schemaille COLUMNISTS Michael Fink, Geraldine Foster, Patricia Raskin, Rabbi James Rosenberg, Daniel Stieglitz

VOLUME XXVI, ISSUE II JEWISH RHODE ISLAND (ISSN number 1539-2104, USPS #465-710) is published monthly. PERIODICALS Postage paid at Providence, R.I. POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Jewish Rhode Island, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906. PUBLISHER The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, President/CEO Adam Greenman, Chair Mitzi Berkelhammer, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906. 401-421-4111; Fax 401-331-7961

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4 | FEBRUARY 2019

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UP FRONT I consider “my rabbi,” suggested that I continue my studies at rabbinical school. As I’m not currently admitted to the Rhode Island Bar, my focus has been on rabbinical work.

Favorite part of being a rabbi?

It’s working with those in prison, as well as people in hospice and their families. It’s God’s work; there’s no other way to say it. I also enjoy being someone that others are comfortable asking about Judaism and God. I’d have law clients come in who had no knowledge of Judaism, but they felt comfortable asking questions of me, the kid who grew up Catholic.

Rabbi Joe Murray

PHOTO | GLENN OSMUNDSON

Rabbi Joe Murray brings caring, consolation to those in need BY MICHAEL SCHEMAILLE Rabbi Joe Murray has only been in Rhode Island since November 2017. He agreed to answer a few questions as part of Jewish Rhode Island’s ongoing effort to introduce community leaders.

What was the path that took you from law to the rabbinate? I grew up in an observant Irish Catholic family, as the oldest of 13 kids. I knew almost nothing about Judaism until I met the proverbial “nice Jewish girl” and started attending synagogue with her. I wanted to have my Bar Mitzvah at a Reform synagogue, but I was worried about it, so I started studying at the Conservative temple across the river. The rabbi there, who

Rabbi Joe Murray was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania. Following service in the Army, Murray earned a B.A. in Political Science from East Stroudsburg University and a J.D. from Villanova University School of Law. As a lawyer, he represented debtors in bankruptcy and foreclosure cases. Murray earned a Masters in Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York City campus, where he was ordained. While at HUC-JIR, he served as a student rabbi for congregations in central Pennsylvania and on Long Island, New York. After ordination, he completed a chaplaincy residency at a level one trauma center in Pennsylvania. Before moving to Rhode Island, Murray did volunteer work with incarcerated and at-risk youth in Onondaga County, New York. He is married to the Rev. Johanna Marcure, the Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in North Scituate. Murray currently serves as an interfaith hospice, prison and hospital chaplain. He is affiliated with the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

As a prison and hospice chaplain, you’ve worked with a lot of people in difficult situations. What drew you to that type of work, and what do you see as its greatest challenges and rewards? My mother was a major influence on my work. As the mother of 13 kids, she had strong faith and high ethical expectations, and that inspired my own work with the needy. The biggest challenge of this sort of work is that there are so many people needing consolation; the need is unimaginable. The rewards are incalculable.

You’ve done a good amount of interfaith work. In your opinion, what are the best ways to build bridges between different faith communities?

The first thing everyone can do is to quit pretending that their religion is the superior one, and stop being upset by our similarities and differences. We can have conversations about our similarities without worrying we’ll lose our distinctiveness. Your wife is an Episcopal priest. Can you tell our readers a bit about how two members of the clergy, from two different traditions, came together as a family? As far as I know, I’m the only ordained rabbi married to an ordained priest. We don’t try to change each other. I do God’s work, and so does she, and where our work overlaps, so much the better.

What are some of your favorite things about living in Rhode Island? What are some of the most challenging and/or surprising?

Almost everything. All the people seem nice, and that seems to be the case all over. I keep tripping over people who are kind, courteous and welcoming. For example, my wife’s congregation is very accepting of the fact that their clergy is married to someone of a different faith. It was also surprising to me that all the

prisons are in one town. That’s phenomenal if you’re a prison chaplain.

Favorite Jewish holiday? Why?

Passover, because the seder is a family event. In fact, a seder was my first exposure to Judaism. I see it as a way to be Jewish as a family, and to pass traditions down to the next generations through our stories.

Favorite Hebrew word and why?

Avatiach, “watermelon.” I just like the sound of it, and I figured that once I knew the word for “watermelon,” I must be pretty far along.

Favorite Yiddish word and why?

Ein bisschen, “just a little.” It’s a nice way to admit that maybe you don’t know or can’t pronounce everything.

Favorite Jewish memory?

I was 48 and had just left a profession that was good enough for anyone else. I was in rabbinical school, sitting in the sanctuary with classmates. It was the beginning of the year, and we were singing Ma Tovu. In that moment I realized that I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing, in the place I was supposed to be, and with the people I was supposed to be doing it with.

If you could have three dinner guests, living or from history, who would they be and why?

Rabbi Stanley Dreyfus, a giant in the Reform world who exemplified the virtue of being patient with those who didn’t know as much as anyone else. My mother, so I could tell her what I’ve figured out since she died. Moses, because there are gaps in Deuteronomy 34 and I want to know how he felt between verses five and six. Those are the passages where Moses dies, but nothing is said about how he feels about it.

Would you mind sharing a recent memory/experience that you found impactful?

It was in the last week, with a 23-year-old inmate. He asked if I remembered him from the last time we met; I told him that I did, because I remembered telling my wife I wanted to grab him by the shirt and ask what he was doing there. As he left, he said, “You don’t have to. I’ve done it a hundred times myself.”

Best piece of advice you ever received?

I received it two days ago, from my sister. We were visiting our sick brother, and she said, “Never forget the importance of family.”

FEBRUARY 2019 | 5

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The purpose of the Torah

D’ VA

THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION is anachronistic, and the concerns of in an age when slavery was common, called Mishpatim, which means Jewish faith that hear the Torah as when men had tremendous power over “laws,” and, true to its name, it divinely inspired and transcendent women, and when most people had contains more than 50 specific mitzbeyond the passing tastes and preferlittle control over their destiny. The vot (commandments). Many of ences of our times. If Torah is holy, we Torah is shaped by those experiences. these mitzvot make sense to us as must be willing to hear it even when Because the rabbis loved the Torah, urgent ethical imperatives. it seems difficult or out of step with they probed it deeply to understand They prohibit bribery, our times. it and to read it compassionately as gossip, giving false There is nothing new about a text that brings deeper spirituality testimony, and this. Parts of the Torah and meaning into life. mistreating widows were also challenging to In our own day, we continue the and orphans. This the ancient rabbis. You process of interpreting the Torah. We week’s Torah portion don’t like the way the don’t need to reject Torah to deal with includes mitzvot to Torah allows masters to its difficulties. In fact, we embrace the provide food for treat their slaves? Neither idea that Torah should be difficult. the needy. It also did the sages of the Talmud. It should challenge us to find meaning contains the most often However, rather than in our lives. Life, we know, is not easy, RABBI JEFFREY just saying that the repeated mitzvah in the and we need to learn how to negotiate entire Torah: “You shall not Torah was wrong, the GOLDWASSER life’s challenges and hardships while wrong a stranger or oppress rabbis used the power maintaining our ability to find joy in it. him, for you were strangers in of interpretation to find The purpose of the Torah is not to the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20). deeper meaning. instruct us in what to do and what Good rules, all of those. According to the Talmud, there is not to do. The purpose of the Torah is But this week’s Torah portion also a hidden message in the mitzvah to to force us to be mindful about what includes mitzvot that are inexplicable pierce the ear of the slave who refuses we are doing and to hold it up to a to us – laws that are difficult for us to freedom. The Torah says that this standard that does not originate from understand in the modern world. For slave believes “tov lo imach” (Deuterour own heads. The Torah is about disexample, one commandment requires onomy 15:16). The simplest reading ciplining ourselves to recognize that that Hebrew slaves who refuse to be of the phrase is “it is good for him to our lives belong to something beyond set free at the end of their terms of be with you,” meaning that the slave ourselves, and to make us aware that service must have their ears pierced says he is happy to be your servant. the choices we make in life reflect that with an awl (Exodus 21:5-6). They However, the Hebrew could also be truth. must remain slaves for life. How do we read to mean, “It is as good for him Rather than thinking of the Tomake sense of that? as it is for you.” The Talmud jumps to rah’s mitzvot as a kind of checklist Contemporary Jews can feel imthis reading and states that a Hebrew of things we have to do and not do to pressed by the wisdom of the Torah’s slave must be treated as his master’s please God, think of them instead as ethical laws and feel their weight upon equal – as good for him as it is for you. part of a conversation we are having us. Even if we are sometimes tempted The rabbis say a Hebrew slave must with God. Like a good teacher, Torah to gossip, for example, we recognize be fed the same food as his master and does not want us to just memorize the harm that gossip does, and we recgiven a feather bed like his master’s facts that will be on the test. Torah ognize that this mitzvah makes sense bed. They conclude from this that, wants us to consider what we are dofor living a better life. But other mitz“When you buy a Hebrew slave, it is ing, learn to assess our actions against vot – like the law concerning the slave like buying yourself a master” (B. our values, to find new meaning in who refuses freedom — make little Kiddushin 22a). our lives by brightening our spiritual sense to us and may not inspire any What at first seemed like a law for dimension, and deepening our relaobligation in us. Some mitzvot – like turning temporary slaves into a pertionship with God by continuing the the commandment to put a child to manent slaves is actually, according conversation. death for insulting his or her parents to the rabbis, a spiritual lesson about We don’t need to reject parts of the — should make us feel an obligation to the price we pay when we force or Torah, as the Pittsburgh Platform reject them. coerce others to do our will. The price sought to do. We need to open it lovWe may feel a need to sort the mitzof enslaving others is that we become ingly and measure it against our own vot into categories – to decide which slaves ourselves. experience of life, as the rabbis of the are important, which are problematic, This is not just gamesmanship, flipTalmud did. which we consider timeless, and ping around the words of the Torah to The Torah is the book of wisdom which we reject. We want to pick and get it to say whatever we want it to say. that God gave us as a wedding gift on choose. Yet, the Torah does not admit It is, rather, an act of love. The rabbis the day we were married at Mount a distinction. The mitzvot are the mitzloved the Torah so much that they Sinai. It is a book that wants to be read vot. They are what God expects us to struggled to find meaning in it, even joyfully. It wants us to linger over each do. How do we deal with that? in the places where it seems harsh or phrase to discover hidden treasures In the early decades of American difficult. that help us to understand ourselves Reform Judaism, the movement’s We do the same thing with the more deeply, especially in the difficult leaders attempted to answer that people we love. When you love someparts. Torah gives us mitzvot, not to question by explicitly stating that the one who has a difficult personality, enslave us to a legal code, but to free standards had changed. They wrote in you take extra pains to know that us to discover who we really are. the Pittsburgh Platform of 1885, “We person more deeply, to understand the … reject all such [Torah laws] as are experiences that have shaped him or RABBI JEFFREY GOLDWASSER is the not adapted to the views and habits of her so you can respond compassionspiritual leader of Temple Sinai in modern civilization.” ately and with forgiveness, even when Cranston. He is the author of the blog Since the times of the Pittsburgh that person is being difficult. The rebjeff.com, from which this d’var ToPlatform, Reform Judaism has backed Torah is like that, too. It was raised rah is adapted. away from such a bold rejection of some parts of the Torah. The moveThe Torah is about disciplining ourselves to recognize ment has slowly tried to find a balance between the concerns of the modern that our lives belong to something beyond ourselves. age that reject the irrational and

TO R A H

NEWS Cranston Seniors schedule activities Cranston Senior Guild’s next meeting is Wednesday, March 6 at 1 p.m. at The Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living Residences, 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick. After a short meeting, Fran Ostendorf, editor of Jewish Rhode Island, will talk about the newspaper Jewish Rhode Island, which was previously called The Jewish Voice. She will explain the new format and changes to the paper. There will be refreshments and a raffle. Men and women 55 or older are welcome to join the Cranston Senior Guild. Dues are $12 a year. Cranston residency is not required. On April 3, Alison Bologna will speak about Shri Yoga.

Jewish philanthropist receives Australia’s highest honor SYDNEY (JTA) – Australian Jewish philanthropist Pauline Gandel received the country’s top honor, the Companion of the Order of Australia, which was given to her husband, John, in 2017. The award is tantamount to receiving a knighthood in the U.K., and honors Gandel’s support for the arts, education and Jewish causes The honors were awarded on Jan. 27, Australia Day. The Melbourne-based couple is one of Australia’s most prolific benefactors to both the secular and Jewish communities. Gandel Philanthropy has distributed over $100 million to charitable causes since 1978.

Candle lighting times

in Greater Rhode Island

Feb. 1 Feb. 8

| 4:42 p.m. | 4:51 p.m.

Feb. 15 | 5:00 p.m. Feb. 22 | 5:09 p.m.

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Alliance Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch, program weekdays. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Noon lunch; 1 p.m. program. Information or RSVP, 401-421-4111, ext. 107. West Bay Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch, program Fridays. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. 11:15 a.m. program; noon lunch. Information or RSVP, 401-743-0009. Duplicate Bridge. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Mondays noon-2 p.m.: 0-20 masterpoint game, for less-experienced players. $5. Tuesdays and Fridays 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: open stratified game, all levels. $7. Thursdays 1:30-3:30 p.m.: Guided play. $6. Information, abarton295@aol.com or 401390-9244. “What Does Judaism Say About…” 10-11:30 a.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Tuesdays thru 3/5. Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser leads a look at current issues and what Judaism has to teach about them. Information, Dottie@templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350. Tuesday Night Talmud. 8-8:45 p.m. Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. Thru 3/5. The Timing of Prayer: Finishing the 4th Chapter of Berachot. At the Beir Midrash or digitally on zoom (zoom.us/j/778243137). Free. Information, office@bethsholom-ri.org. Game Night: Mah Jongg and Canasta. 6-9 p.m. Wednesdays. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Lessons available for Mah Jongg. Free. Information, 401-885-6600. “Bridging the Gap” with Rabbi Raphie. 8-8:45 p.m. Wednesdays. Kollel Center for Jewish Studies, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Explore the development and refinement of personalities through the eyes of the Mussar movement. Free. Information, rabbiraphie@gmail.com or 401383-2786. Children’s Shabbat Programs and Kiddush. 10-11:30 a.m. Saturdays. Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. For ages 2 to 12. Free. Information, office@bethsholom-ri.org.

Learn about time at Temple Emanu-El Temple Emanu-El’s annual Educational Weekend will be Feb. 22-23, and it’s about time. Professor Sarit Kattan Gribetz will talk about how Jews have reshaped daily life from ancient times to the present. She will speak on the Feb. 22 after Shabbat dinner at 8:15 p.m., at Shabbat morning services at 11 a.m., and then after lunch at 1 p.m. All talks are free, though there is a fee for the dinner. MORE INFORMATION IS AT: www.teprov.org/ValueOfTime REGISTER ONLINE: www.teprov.org/form/edweekend2019

discussion service followed by a light Kiddush. Information, stephanie@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600. Kids’ Night Out: Mad Scientists. Ages 5-11: 5-10 p.m. Ages 2-4: 5-8:30 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Sports, crafts and movie. Pizza and snacks. Price: $40 | Dwares JCC Members: $30 | Siblings: $20. Information and registration, skochanek@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 147. NEAT Production “Worlds Apart.” 8 p.m. Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Women and girls only. Tickets: Adults: $12 | Students and children $8 | Family Max. $36. Information, pscheinerman@phdschool. org or 401-331-5327.

Sunday | February 3

Taste of Shabbat. 9-11 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Torah

Sisterhood Sweetheart Art Cooking Competition. 10 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Cook or judge. Judges pay $5 for ingredients. Cooks have one hour to prepare a dairy dish in the Temple kitchen. Information or RSVP (include if cooking or judging), stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401885-6600. Hadassah RI Tu B’Shevat Seder and Installation. 1-3 p.m. Tamarisk, 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick. Feast of fruits followed by installation of 2019 officers. Free. Information, sue_ mayes@cox.net or 401-463-3636. NEAT Production “Worlds Apart.” 2 p.m. Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Women and girls only. Tickets: Adults: $12 | Students and children $8 | Family Max. $36. Information, pscheinerman@phdschool. org or 401-331-5327.

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Pulling Back the Curtain: The Good, the Ugly, the REAL of a Journey with Disabilities. 7-9 p.m.

Saturday | February 2

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Tuesday | February 5

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Author Whitney Ellenby speaks. Presented by the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI and New England Yachad. Free. Information, lkatz@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 179. RSVP, lbell@ jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 100.

Friday | February 8

K’Tantan Dinner and Shabbat. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. For children ages newborn to 5. Information, jmagnone@temple-beth-el.org or 401-331-6070. Scout Shabbat. 6-8:30 p.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturers and their leaders should attend in uniform. Sponsored by the Narragansett Council Jewish Committee on Scouting. Information or RSVP, cabbott183@gmail.com. Friday Night Live “Chocolate Shabbat.” 6-9 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Musical Shabbat followed by dinner. Cost: Adults and children over 12 years $20 | 12 years and younger free | Family max. $60. Information or RSVP, 401885-6600.

Saturday | February 9

Taste of Shabbat. 9-11 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Torah discussion and service followed by a light Kiddush. Information, stephanie@toratyisrael. org or 401-885-6600. “Love on Broadway.” 7-10 p.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Cantor Deborah Johnson and accompanist Raymond Buttero present a concert of Broadway love songs followed by desserts. Cost: $18. Information, Dottie@templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350. “93Queen.” 7:30 p.m. Temple Ema-

FEBRUARY 2019 | 7

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island nu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. See story page 26. Cost: $18 in advance | $25 at the door. Information, happenings@teprov.org.

Sunday | February 10

Open House with Winter Café. 9 a.m.-noon. The Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living Residence, 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and a tour. Information, susana@tamariskri.org or 401-732-0037, ext. 104. Men’s Club Breakfast and Guest Speaker. 9-11 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Rabbi Aaron Philmus on “How to Respond to Anti-Semitism.” Information or RSVP, 401-8856600. Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center Book Club. 2 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. “Snow Falling on Cedars.” Information, mzeidman@ HERCRI.org or 401-453-7860.

Monday | February 11

PJ Library Bookstore Tour. 6:307:30 p.m. Barrington Books Retold, Garden City, 176 Hillside Road, Cranston. PJ Library stories, crafts and activities. Free. Information or RSVP, lursillo@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 141.

Tuesday | February 12

Temple Torat Yisrael’s Lunch and Learn. Noon-1:30 p.m. T’s Restaurant, 5600 Post Road, East Greenwich. Study Jewish sources addressing current issues with Rabbi Aaron Philmus. Information, stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401885-6600.

Wednesday | February 13

Israel Culture Series: Israeli Tu B’Shevat Environmental Fair. 7 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. See story on page 28. Free. Information or RSVP, ncafri@jewishallianceri.org or 401421-4111, ext. 121.

Thursday | February 14

Shalom Baby Get-Together. 5-6 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Bring the little ones and learn about the Jewish community in R.I. Ages 12 months and under. Free. Information or RSVP, lursillo@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 141.

Friday | February 15

Tot Shabbat. 6-7:30 p.m. Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 North Main St., Attleboro, Mass. For children birth to grade K and their families. Free. Information, Cathie Cruz at office@agudasma.org. Kabbalat Shabbat Service. 7:30-9 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Oneg follows. Information, stephanie@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Saturday | February 16

Classic Shabbat Service. 9-11 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Kiddush

luncheon follows. Information, stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401885-6600. Youth Group Event. 6-9 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Movies, games, food for grades 5-12. RSVP, 401-885-6600.

Winter/Spring 2019 Class & Program Guide

Thursday | February 21

PJ Library Bookstore Tour. 10-11 a.m. Barrington Books, 184 County Road, Barrington. PJ stories, crafts and activities. Free. Information or RSVP, lursillo@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 141.

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Whether your goal is to improve your body, mind, or spirit; to engage in family fun or cultural arts; or to be part of a community that learns and celebrates together and gives back to others...

Friday | February 22

PJ Library Challah in the House. 9:30-10:30 a.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Make challah dough to take home and bake. Enjoy stories and songs. Price: $5 per loaf | Dwares JCC Members: $3 per loaf. Information or RSVP (required), lursillo@jewishallianceri. org or 401-421-4111, ext. 141. T.G.I.F. – Thank G-D It’s Friday. 5:45-7 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Kid-friendly Shabbat activities and dinner. Information or RSVP, at 401885-6600. Shabbat Hallelu. 6:30 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Music and singing with Cantor Judy Seplowin and the Hallelu Band. Light refreshments and sangria at 6:30 p.m. Services at 7 p.m. Information, 401-331-6070. Kabbalat Shabbat Service. 7:30-9 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Oneg follows. Information, stephanie@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Saturday | February 23

Taste of Shabbat. 9-11 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. 9 a.m. Torah discussion and service followed by light Kiddush. Information, stephanie@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Sunday | February 24

Adult Ed: Cooking with Valerie Philmus. 9:30-10:30 a.m.Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Cost: $5 per member | $10 per nonmember. Information or RSVP, 401-885-6600. Day-at-the-J! Pool Party. 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Cross Training 9:30-11 a.m. PJ Library Story Time 10:30-11:30 a.m. Pool Party 3-5 p.m. Information or to sign up, at mcicchitelli@jewishallianceri. org or 401-421-4111, ext. 178.

Wednesday | February 27

PJ Library Story Time: Stay and Play at JCDS. 9:30-10:30 a.m. Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, 85 Taft Ave., Providence. PJ Library story, craft, music and movement activities. Ages 5 and under. Free. Information or RSVP, lursillo@jewishallianceri.org or 401421-4111, ext. 141.

Visit jewishallianceri.org to view the Guide! There is something for everyone, and we invite you to be a part of it! Experience all that we have to offer. All are welcome at the Dwares JCC!

! J e h t t a y a D HE

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Join us on the last Sunday of the winter months for a day filled with activities for the whole family. jewishallianceri.org/Day-at-the-J

Sunday, February 24 | Annual Pool Party!

9:30 – 11:00am: Fitness Workshop 10:30 – 11:30am: PJ Library Story Time (ages 5 and younger) 3:00 – 5:00pm: Annual Pool Party (All children must be accompanied by an adult) Join us for a special Family Swim with swim toys, flotation devices, and slides. We will also have games in the pool and on the pool deck for children of all ages. Regular pool rules apply.

SAVE THE DATE: Sunday, March 31 | Lights, Camera, Action... 9:30 – 11:00am: Fitness Workshop 10:30 – 11:30am: PJ Library Story Time (ages 5 and younger) 3:00 - 5:00pm: Lights, Camera, Action… For more information contact Michelle Cicchitelli at 401.421.4111 ext. 178. or mcicchitelli@jewishallianceri.org. Dwares Rhode Island

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

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

LETTERS

COMMUNITY VOICES | OPINION

Happy with new paper

Words that come from the heart

Cherishes brown siddur I wanted to comment on your article about the brown siddur (“Timely appearance of brown siddur,” January 2019). I’ve got one too! It belonged to my 92-year-old dad, still with us, Gerry Franklin of Dartmouth. He gave it to me as a kid, and I still use it to ensure I don’t miss any words in the three Hanukkah blessings on night No. 1 My dad had it from his time in WWII army service. I cherish this book. Seena Franklin Tiverton, R.I.

Thank you El Al for leading the way Recently I had the opportunity to take a trip to Israel to visit my son Carmi, who is studying there for the year. What made the trip very special was flying on El Al Airlines. A few months ago, El Al’s New England regional director and manager Paul Dell’Isola visited Touro Synagogue to discuss opportunities of flying to Israel on El Al, from Boston. Since that visit, quite a few members of Touro Synagogue have made the nonstop journey. The trip was very special, even before we boarded the plane. It was Hanukkah, and as we were waiting to board the plane at Logan Airport, a large Hanukkah menorah was set up, as well as delicious doughnuts and bottles of water. This menorah lighting created a very festive mood at the airport and set the tone for the rest of the flight. On the flight itself I met many interesting passengers. Sitting in my row was a distinguished neuroscientist who had attended an academic conference in Boston. Also on the plane were a group of Christian travelers who were eagerly anticipating their first trip to Israel. The new El Al planes are beautiful, and the flight didn’t seem long at all, thanks to the help of El Al’s superb entertainment center. This flight happened to be the very last flight for our pilot who was retiring. On the plane, they told us about his many years of service to Israel, and when we landed in Israel, there was a large group of El Al personnel waiting for a planned CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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BEGINNING WITH the fall semester of 1980 and continuing through the spring semester of 1988, with generous support from the Jewish Chautauqua Society, I had the privilege of teaching a series of courses in the Department of Religious Studies at Connecticut College, in New London. Not long after I assumed my role as adjunct professor, Eugene Gallagher, the colleague with whom I shared an office, asked if I had read Elaine Pagels’ recently published “The Gnostic Gospels” (1979). When I answered with a simple “No,” he responded with an equally simple “Read it!” “The Gnostic Gospels” is a groundbreaking book; indeed, Modern Library has ranked it among the 100 best books of the 20th century. What Pagels labels the Gnostic gospels, technically known as the Nag Hammadi Library, was unearthed by an Egyptian peasant in 1945. These

papyrus codices, Coptic translations of the original Greek, are as important to understanding the early development of Christianity as the Dead Sea Scrolls are to understanding the first centuries of post-biblical Judaism. Pagels, who was in her 30s when she wrote this book, already had “a working command of Greek, Latin, German, Hebrew, French, Italian, and Coptic,” as David Remnick reported in his interview with her, which appeared RABBI JAMES under the headline “The Devil ProbROSENBERG lem” in the April 3, 1995, issue of The New Yorker. Despite her erudition, Pagels writes in a decidedly non-academic, clear and graceful style. She demonstrates how the Gnostic gospels – the Greek gnosis roughly translates to “insight” or “knowledge of the heart” – offer strikingly anti-orthodox alternatives to the canonical

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I would like to commend editor Fran Ostendorf and her able staff for the new magazine format. If anyone wants to understand the concept of true artisanship as a means of reconstructing a newspaper and/or magazine, they should scrutinize and keep in perpetuity the first issue of Jewish Rhode Island. Succinctly, its quality, in terms of presentation and content is, in my opinion, excellent. Bravissimo, Fran, and keep up the good work! Mel Yoken New Bedford, Mass.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. One of her favorite passages from the “Gospel of Thomas” hints at the quasi-mystical, intensely individualistic flavor of Gnostic writing: “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you; if you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.” In her exploration of the complex diversity of early Christian communities, Pagels turns away from the more commonplace approach to religion as a body of ideas and beliefs, shifting her focus to the ways religion shapes our actions, shapes our lives in the here and now. As she reminisces in her ninth and most recently published book, “Why Religion?” (2018), Pagels states that after speaking at a women’s conference in the early 1970s at New York’s Barnard College, where she then served as a junior faculty member, she became convinced that “instead of writing primarily about ideas, I’d CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Another perspective on ‘The Flat’ BY GARY LEIB RABBI JAMES ROSENBERG’S recent column (“The cost of denial,” January 2019) was wonderfully insightful about how an Israeli film, “The Flat,” pertains to us. He feels it is a story about denial and its costs; how suppression hurts us as human beings. But for me, the story told in “The Flat” is about forgiveness and reconciliation. That message is relevant for us today in America. I sympathize with the filmmaker’s grandmother, Gerda Tuchler, who left Germany when she was young, and life was good for her. She came from a cultured, upper-middle-class family. Her husband, Kurt, was a judge. The Germany of her early life was a beautiful dream to her, and the culture of yesteryear something to cherish. My parents were also German and loved the culture. The music of the classical composers and the poetry and art of the Romantic period can enchant people. The friendship Gerda and Kurt Tuchler had with the Nazi official, Leopold von Mildenstein, and his wife, is understandable. The couples traveled all over Israel for many months and in the process became good friends. Europeans of past generations could develop deep friendships of respect, trust and loyalty that few of us today ever achieve or even understand. Evidence from beyond the film suggests that the two couples helped each other. Kurt Tuchler was

asked by the Jewish Federation in 1933 to make contact with Zionist sympathizers within the Nazi Party, such as von Mildenstein, to facilitate immigration to Palestine. A year later, the German government created a money-laundering system to help Zionists get to Israel with much of their assets, despite British restrictions, according to online sources. An article at Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_von_Mildenstein) explains that von Mildenstein admired Israel’s pioneers, was enthusiastic about Zionism, and studied Hebrew. But he fell out of favor and was demoted to a minor job. Knowing the whole story, it’s possible that the Tuchlers saw the von Mildensteins not as fanatical Nazis, but as idealistic true believers in national rejuvenation (sadly conned by a snake-oil sell job), and as desperate job seekers during a worldwide depression. They came to see them as, deep down, decent human beings and sympathizers with the Jewish cause, and as cultured friends. After the war, the Tuchlers may have felt: “It is time for forgiveness and reconciliation. They were our good friends then. Let us be friends now.” But in postwar Israel, that was not something their daughter or grandson could understand. And

talking about it could make life very difficult, meaning loss of income and the apartment they cherished. This is not denial, but self-preservation. For me, the message of the film is the Jewish principles of forgiveness and reconciliation. The Tuchlers can be a good example for Americans once political acrimony ends: on both the right and the left, we need to forgive and reconcile. We all love our American culture. Some of us have unique views about how to preserve and enhance it. But let’s become friends again. Let’s make America really great again. Postscript: My mother lost five brothers and sisters in Auschwitz, together with spouses and children. Eventually, my parents also forgave, and reconciled with relatives who once subscribed to the Nazi aim to “make Germany great again.” Ironically, now that Germany has become multiracial and multi-ethnic (and Americanized), humor and a diverse culture are back – and Germany really is a great place again. GARY LEIB is a retired director of community development in Bristol. Currently, he is a volunteer for The Providence Village and on its board. He is also working with friends to create co-housing in Providence.

It’s possible that the Tuchlers saw the von Mildensteins not as fanatical Nazis, but as idealistic true believers in national rejuvenation.

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LETTERS CONTINUED FROM PRECEDING PAGE CONTINUED FROM PRECEDING PAGE have to show how ideas are inseparably woven into social codes, and so into behavior.” To take but one of many possible examples, how do entrenched religious ideas affect – often negatively – the treatment of women? Five or six years ago, I had the opportunity to hear Pagels speak at Providence’s Central Congregational Church about the final and most puzzling book in the New Testament, the subject of her eighth book, “Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation” (2012). I was impressed by both her intellectual and physical vigor. After her lecture, she responded to questions with authority coupled with a sharp sense of humor. Throughout her presentation, Pagels insisted on using a hand-held microphone; she confessed to being too fidgety to be tethered to a single spot on the stage. There was nothing in Pagels’ demeanor at the Central Congregational Church to even hint that as a woman in her 40s, she had suffered an almost unimaginable double loss. On April 10, 1987, Mark, her first-born, died of a rare and incurable lung disease at the age of 6½; she and her

husband Heinz had lived for almost five years haunted by the knowledge that their son was doomed to an early death. Then, on July 24, 1988, just 15 months later, Heinz, age 49, fell to his death on his descent from the 14,000-foot Pyramid Peak, in Aspen, Colorado, during a family vacation – leaving his wife alone to raise their two adopted children: Sarah, 2½, and David, just 3 months old. Pagels’ ninth and most recent book, “Why Religion?” well illustrates the truth of the rabbinical dictum that “Words which come from the heart enter the heart.” On one level, the book is a memoir detailing the sometimes toxic feelings of rage, guilt, isolation and helpless despair that have accompanied Pagels’ grief journey from nightmare darkness to some semblance of healing and light. On an altogether different level, the memoir chronicles the author’s intellectual journey from book to book, from one alternative Christian voice to the next. It is no exaggeration to suggest that Pagels’ dogged pursuit of her academic interests has preserved her mental, emotional and spiritual balance – her very soul. Over the years, Pagels has come to internalize her husband Heinz’s

notion of the chaos, the indifferent randomness of Mother Nature; “Volcanoes erupt because that’s what volcanoes do, regardless of whether anyone in their path is good or evil ....” Nevertheless, recalling the opening lines of a poem by Wallace Stevens, she finds the strength and the courage not only to survive but to affirm life in all of its fullness: “After the final no there comes a yes/ And on that yes the future world depends./No was the night. Yes is the present sun.” Why religion? I would well understand if Pagels had descended into a life of bitterness, isolation, even insanity; but instead, her experience of religion – grounded not in beliefs and ideas, but in the connections she formed in the structures of the living Christian community – has enabled her to conclude her book with the words of the ancient rabbis’ Shehecheyanu prayer, which she freely translates as “Blessed art Thou, Lord God of the Universe, that you have brought us alive to see this day.” JAMES B. ROSENBERG is rabbi emeritus of Temple Habonim, in Barrington. Contact him at rabbiemeritus@templehabonim.org.

Daniel Stieglitz, along with members of the Israeli army’s Rabbanaut, visited Qumran on Jan. 1. This is the area where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Read his column about recent reserve duty on page 13. Jewish Rhode Island publishes thoughtful and informative contributors’ columns (op-eds of 500 – 800 words) and letters to the editor (300 words, maximum) on issues of interest to our Jewish community. At our discretion, we may edit pieces for publication or 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 Jewish Rhode Island or the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

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

celebration. Everyone clapped on arrival, which is common on El Al. It was wonderful to visit with my son who I hadn’t seen since August. I am grateful to the Jewish Alliance for helping students learn more about Israel trip options and for reaching out to those who have never been to Israel before. I was also thrilled to meet several people from the Rhode Island Israel Collaborative. Before I left for Israel, Avi Nevel, the director of RIIC, helped me connect with individuals in Israel who were linked to Rhode Island. I was also honored to lecture in Israel about the history of Touro Synagogue, and the first Jews who arrived in Rhode Island, a subject that people are always interested in. This direct flight from Boston to Israel has quickly become very popular among many world travelers, and several people that I spoke with told me that from now on, they would take this flight. We are truly fortunate in New England. Rabbi Marc Mandel Touro Synagogue Newport, R.I.

Disappointed customer As a new metro Providence resident, I was so excited to discover Eastside Marketplace: independent, great range of products, including a nice range of Kosher products with a supervised Kosher meat section on Thursdays. After a few months I noticed a lot more Stop & Shop products on the shelves. The helpful manager who gave me a store tour is no longer there, and I am informed the market has been purchased by Stop & Shop. The new manager seems nice and tells me all will be as is and even grants my request to apply their Tuesday senior discount to Kosher meat on Thursdays, the only day it is available. But then I am informed, by another employee, that the company will be phasing out a lot of products that appeal to “older people.” I guess it’s “game on” with Whole Foods, (younger client base), up the street. Then I try to buy a Beigel’s challah, and I can’t find it until the third employee I ask points to the very bottom shelf, extreme righthand corner, where it might as well have been invisible and inaccessible without help for most seniors. The final straw, was learning that the Kosher meat counter is gone, (so much for the discount!), replaced by pre-packaged products. So if Stop & Shop was hoping to “phase out” the older, Jewish client who likes to shop local you have succeeded. I will no longer patronize this market. But neither will my not-senior wife and my definitely not-senior daughter. From a client loyalty perspective, Eastside/S&S has lost. You had a unique selling proposition. You have squandered that. As my definitely senior grandmother would have said: a shanda. Jonathan Stark Providence, R.I.

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COMMUNITY VOICES Women Repair the World at the International Lion of Judah Conference BY TRINE LUSTIG “Women Repair the World” was the theme of the International Lion of Judah Conference held Jan. 13-15, which celebrated women’s philanthropy. Ten women from the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island traveled to Miami to join 1,400 women from 87 Jewish Federations and six countries at the conference. Hosted by the Jewish Federations of North America, the conference is an opportunity for Jewish women philanthropists to demonstrate the power and impact of what they have accomplished, and to be inspired to build a vibrant Jewish future. The Alliance’s Lion of Judah division was created 50 years ago to recognize and empower women who give more than $5,000 a year to the annual campaign. There are 17,500 Lions of Judah around the world. A special congratulations

goes to longtime volunteer Sharon Gaines, chair of the Alliance’s board from 20132016 and current chair of the Jewish Federation Foundation, who was among 72 winners of the Kipnis-Wilson/ Friedland Award. Since 2004, the prestigious award has been given to Lions of Judah who have demonstrated the highest ideals of leadership and involvement. Current board chair Mitzi Berkelhammer remarked, “I am so proud of my dear friend Sharon. Sharon, as well as all the women, are a powerful force in the Jewish Alliance and play a critical role in our philanthropy.” Participants at the conference pledged a record-breaking $35 million, an increase of more than 16 percent, to help Jewish Federations work to repair the world. The Rhode Island women raised almost $10,000 for the Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund (WAEF) and the annual campaign. It was

Standing (left to right): Trine Lustig, Jan Goldman, Cheryl Teverow, Susan Froehlich and Susan Eides. Seated (left to right): Mindy Wachtenheim, Lezli Pious, Mitzi Berkelhammer, Sharon Gaines, Jeanie Charness and Judy Mann. especially meaningful that five of the women gifted their daughters with membership in the WAEF in order to pass on their Jewish values to the next generation. Rhode Island participants included four women who had never before attended a Lion of Judah conference. Susan Eides noted, “This was an incredible experience. As someone who has recently become involved in the Jewish Alliance, it was important to see the impact of my donation firsthand, and it was inspiring to be surrounded by so many women who share my values.” TRINE LUSTIG is chief development officer at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

Award winners: Sharon Gaines, recipient of Kipnis-Wilson/ Friedland award with past recipients (left to right) Mindy Wachtenheim, Mitzi Berkelhammer and Susan Froehlich.

The hidden reason for my flashy attire

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IT AIN’T EASY being a liberal arts teacher at a design school. What you try to convey is an introduction to cultural concerns, or perhaps an invitation to use critical and appreciative words to enhance studio productions: something like that. My art form is what I wear to class, especially the first day, when I ramble on about my hopes for the course ... on birds-in-books, or poetry-in-scripture, or what to look for in “classic” Hollywood movies, or how to approach documentaries. So, my wardrobe is my genre. In particular, my scarf is my palette. But I can’t do it alone – my wife knits colorful textures, elegant echarpes, fancy foulards, and just generally out-of-this-world scarves. She even teaches me how to put them on, around the neck and shoulders. The choice of color is up to me, and I know what goes with what. Used to be, it was my bright shoes, sneakers actually, that caught the attention of our disciples at our somewhat unusual college of creativity. But that fad faded, and then it was my caps that earned me renown. Socks too came and went as my tastes and eccentricities caught on

with the campus crowd. Now it’s mostly the color, fabric and pattern of my neckwear, meaning the scarf I wear through the winter for warmth, and, if it is silk, through the autumn and spring semesters. In the summer, my T-shirts, with their various mottos and messages, replace the woven. Now we come – are you still with me? – to the other item critical to my appearance in educational edifices: the lapel pin. A monarch butterfly, perhaps. Or, most often, MIKE FINK a bird. Perhaps the quetzal, which is the state bird of Guatemala. It is what they call their dollar bill and is the logo on their national flag. It is also a reminder of an ancient religion that teaches that this most unusual and magical creature is the creator itself (I love that concept)! This superb trogon species has a tiny beak, iridescent multi-hued plumage, and an incredibly long curved “tail,” which is truly not a train but a special sort of cape that grows out of back feathers. The quetzal builds its secret lair of a nest in the hollow of a tree – perhaps paying “rent” by dining on the pests that plague it? Many Guatemalans are arriving, legally or not, through the border

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checkpoints or over or under the walls. One recent immigrant, “Miguel,” found work in Florida, and I met him while visiting there. When I told him about my interest in his homeland, he brought me a heated robe as I emerged from the pool, and seemed, to me, to be the gracious soul of his troubled homeland. My other pretty pin, currently my favorite, is from St. Eustatius, the littlest of the Caribbean islands, which calls itself “Golden Rock” and whose inhabitants speak a language that mixes the leftover languages of all the European nations that colonized the stony outpost. Among those tongues is Yiddish! It seems that Ashkenazim in 1776 used their commercial contacts to acquire weapons of liberation here, which they supplied to Gen. George Washington to finish the job of wresting freedom from the British Empire. Statia, the nickname of St. Eustatius, was the very first country to salute, to welcome, to celebrate the Stars and Stripes! What was the motive, and the achievement, of this wee wilderness that has little tourist trade or claim to bright fame? According to a scholar with Sephardic roots in the region, one Harry Ezratty, it was an essential aspect of the Jewish quest for liberty of conscience, the right to pray, to live, die and be buried, to study one’s

Mike Fink’s lapel pin as mentioned in his column. special scriptures, that connects my column here to our Touro, which mixed Sephardim and Ashkenazim, Ladino and Yiddish. We are the heirs to St. Eustatius’ achievements. The island was very harshly punished for helping the colonials. In a rage, English Adm. George Brydges Rodney destroyed the synagogue, robbed the merchants and exiled the citizens, a tragedy from which there was never an end. Which is what made me purchase a shot glass from the online gift shop of St. Eustatius, and a pin for my vest for my introduction to a class I call The Jewish Narrative. I also teach an ornithology class, for which I put on my pin from Guatemala. My voyages are curtailed a bit now by my schedule at school. I travel by means of tiny symbols I can affix to my jackets and shirts from my closet atelier. They are not major statements, but rather quiet little hints on the outside that suggest to imaginative and inventive students what is going on inside. MIKE FINK (mfink33@aol.com) teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design.

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Two Rhode Island advertising giants BY GERALDINE S. FOSTER STATISTICS, TABLES, percentages – they make my eyes roll. At most, they rate a cursory glance. One such cursory glance almost caused me to miss some interesting items in an article by Marvin Pitterman (Rhode Island Jewish Historical Society “Notes” vol. 3 #1, November 1958). Pitterman, an associate professor of economics at the University of Rhode Island and a past president of the R.I. Jewish Historical Association, analyzed data about the occupations of Jewish immigrants in Providence from 1850 to 1900. Among the 135 occupations listed, these ism after college, she began her career as a numbers caught my wandering eye: in the society reporter for the local newspaper in her 1900 column, there was one piano dealer, one hometown, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She telephone operator, 134 tailors, 311 peddlers soon understood that she would never receive and 134 jewelers. In 1895, Providence could also other assignments, and decided to change boast of a professional artist and an Etruscan careers. artist, but neither appeared in the next survey. Meth found employment in advertising, first One other occupation stood out: one advertisat a local department store, then as copy chief ing agent in 1878 – then he also at the Gimbel Bros. flagship disappeared. store in New York City. But The proximity of these two Meth wanted to advance into occupations – artist and ad national advertising, and she man – in the data reminded me knew she needed more expeof a comment by a friend, Donrience in local markets to do ald Simon, who also worked so. The position of assistant in advertising and was an art advertising manager at the teacher of excellence. Our Shepard Company department conversation occurred a few store in Providence offered months ago, after an article I that experience. had written about an ad war In that era, the daily newsbetween two tailors appeared paper was the main site of in this newspaper. Simon department store advertising. mentioned the name of a major PHOTO | BRYANT UNIVERSITY Meth saw the potential of adfigure in the field of advertisvertising on radio as well. BeGertrude Meth Hochberg ing in Providence, indeed in all ginning in 1934, each weekday of New England, in the 1950s morning, strains of the waltz and 1960s – “Bo” Bernstein. from “Die Fledermaus” heralded a program An article by Lynn Kelly in Ocean State of shopping news and household tips. Meth’s Business, on Jan. 2, 1989, called Bernstein radio program proved very successful. She “the patriarch of Providence advertising” at a remained with Shepard’s for 13 years, rising time “when retailing was king ... [and] the new to advertising manager, before moving to the market force, discounters, expanded overadvertising department of Cherry & Webb. night.” The men and women he employed and While at Shepard’s, Meth was asked why mentored went on to become “the core of the she did not hire any Rhode Island School of industry,” according to Kelly. Design graduates. She replied that although After a stint with an ad company in the 1930s, they were very creative, she needed people who Bernstein started his own advertising agency could produce layouts and drawing of clothes in 1940, in office space in the Custom House and household goods. As a result, in 1940, RISD in Providence. Early on, Bernstein acquired a instituted a course in advertising art, which reputation for creative, often unorthodox, ideas Meth was asked to teach. Her students worked that succeeded, and his company did well. part time as interns at Shepard’s to gain practiThe “market force” contributing to Bo cal experience. Bernstein & Co. becoming the largest advertisAfter her marriage to Robert Hochberg, Meth ing firm in New England occurred in the late continued her career, but she stopped work1950s. Zayre, the retail discounter, expanded ing full time after the birth of her first child. with amazing speed from one store in Hyannis, She continued to work as a freelancer. When Massachusetts, to more than 200 in several her children reached school age, Meth began states. Bo Bernstein’s agency was chosen to another career. The Bryant & Stratton School do their advertising. During the 1960s and the of Business was looking for a director of public early 1970s, he employed more than 150 people relations. Jeanette Jacobs, wife of the president in Providence and Boston. It was “a kingdom of the school, suggested Mrs. Hochberg apply. built on retailing,” Kelly stated. Although he Gertrude Meth Hochberg served in that pohad other lucrative clients, Zayre accounted for sition from 1949 to 1975, when she became the more than half of Bernstein’s billing. first woman vice president of Bryant UniversiWhen the discounter decided to take its adty. She retired in 1977. vertising in-house in the early 1970s, Bernstein Gertrude Meth Hochberg earned tributes lost a major client. The agency’s heyday had and recognition locally and nationally for passed. Bo Bernstein retired in 1975. many accomplishments in her career, her Bernstein was also a patron of the arts, contributions to the civic life of Rhode Island, and was well-known among artists. The cast her advocacy on behalf of women’s issues, and bronze statue “Performers,” by New York her mentoring of young women and men. The sculptor Chaim Gross (1904-1991), in front of Gertrude Meth Hochberg Women’s Center at the Fine Arts Center at URI, was dedicated on Bryant University is named in her honor. May 5, 1972. The sculpture was purchased with a $50,000 gift to the university from Bernstein. GERALDINE S. FOSTER is a past president of the Gertrude Meth, another influential person R.I. Jewish Historical Association. To comment in the field of advertising, arrived in Proviabout this or any RIJHA article, contact the dence in 1932. Hoping for a career in journalRIJHA office at info@rijha.org or 401-331-1360.

New history book explores Judaism, past and future BY JOHN LANDRY WHAT’S THE FUTURE of Judaism? Will Orthodoxy in its various forms continue to grow and eventually dominate? Will the liberal movements (Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform, Renewal) regain momentum and develop in new ways? Could an entirely new approach emerge? Or will all of these forms of Judaism coexist in a diverse mix? To understand the future, it helps to have a strong sense of the past. That’s easier now with the publication of “A History of Judaism” (Princeton University Press, 2018), a detailed, yet still accessible, survey by the British historian Martin Goodman. The book works more as an encyclopedia of the past than an integrated narrative. But it has enough extended stories to help us think through the present and future. The most striking narrative comes after the destruction of the Second Temple, in 70 C.E. Judaism as a coherent way of life was in crisis. How could the people connect to God without a central temple for sacrifice? How would they resist the inevitable pressure to give up their distinct practices and assimilate into the pagan or Christian majorities? Our sources for the next few centuries are thin, but Goodman, who specializes in ancient Rome and Judaism, makes a provocative argument. He starts with Rabbinic Judaism, which eventually became the dominant tradition. After the temple fell, a group of learned men formed study groups, which developed into academies. They converted the sacrificial laws into halakhah, a diverse and loose set of commandments for prayer, study, diet, household management and treating people with respect – all of which made people feel sanctified. Most Jews, by contrast, es-

pecially outside the rabbinic centers in the lands of Israel and Babylonia, practiced what Goodman calls Greek, or Hellenistic, Judaism. They left little mark on the historical record. What evidence we have, mostly from synagogue excavations and philosophic writings, suggests that they integrated much of the outside culture into their practices. Goodman points out that outside cultures affected the rabbis as well, but the Hellenists were more open to mixing with Gentiles. Why did the Rabbinic approach win out over the Hellenistic alternative? After all, it involved far more change. The Hellenists, based in the Diaspora, were just continuing what they had been doing, minus the Jerusalem temple to which they had sent donations and sometimes pilgrims for the annual festivals. How did the rabbis pull off their remarkable transformation of Judaism? Goodman is too careful a historian to make a strong claim, but he suggests a lack of will among the Hellenists, compounded by inadequate investment in education: “It seems that Greek Jews, faced with the prestige of rabbis armed with such knowledge, felt unable to defend their own traditions.” When Christian Rome demanded that all religious groups set up a central authority, the Hellenized Jews allowed rabbinic leaders in the land of Israel to hold sway. Hellenists were subsumed by “the intellectual vigor and self-confidence of the rabbinic interpreters,” who gradually replaced Greek with Hebrew as the religious language of the Diaspora. The rabbis’ approach dominated for several centuries, but Goodman sees diversity returning by the 1500s. First came Mysticism and Hasidism, and then, in CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

IN THE NEWS

FOOD & DINING

Changes to Kosher meat supply at Eastside Marketplace

Challah leads to Instagram fame

For the last 20 years, Jewish Rhode Islanders have relied on Eastside Marketplace’s weekly visits from a local Kosher butcher. The recent decision by Stop & Shop (Eastside’s parent company) to end those visits sent ripples throughout the local Jewish community, causing a number of our readers to express concern about this change. Asked to comment, a store representative explained that the costs of weekly butcher visits often outstripped the sales they generated. Instead, Eastside will now offer prepacked, glatt-Kosher products from Empire Kosher and Meal Mart. The store representative explained that these meats are fresher than the previously supplied flash-frozen items, and that the new arrangement allows the store to provide a greater variety of meat on a daily basis.

Sara Lee, Arnold breads will remain certified Kosher

JTA – In a reversal, the largest baking company in the United States will keep Kosher certification on nearly all of its bread and rolls. Bimbo Bakeries USA was set to remove Kosher certification from major bread labels like Arnold and Sara Lee this year, but will no longer do so. The reversal comes after talks with the two Kosher agencies that certified the bread, the Orthodox Union and Kof-K. “After hearing from our loyal Kosher consumers and after productive meetings with our Kosher certifiers, Bimbo Bakeries USA is pleased to announce that we will once again be offering Kosher products under the Arnold, Sara Lee and Ball Park brands,” the company announced, according to an article Jan. 24 in The Jerusalem Post. Officials at the Kosher agencies told JTA last year that Bimbo bread labels – they also include Stroehmann, Freihofer’s and others – were crucial for consumers outside major Jewish population centers who want Kosher-certified bread.

PHOTO | SALLY CLAIRE PHOTOGRAPHY

Elina Tilipman, left, and Sarah Klegman founded Challah Hub. BY JOSEFIN DOLSTEN NEW YORK (JTA) — Mandy Silverman remembers being scared of the kitchen as a child. “There was a constant joke in my house growing up that I would mess up instant iced tea,” she recalled in a phone interview with JTA last month. But a quick glance at her Instagram feed (@mandyliciouschallah) reveals how things have changed. Her more than 15,000 followers have come to rely on her to post photos of mouthwatering and whimsical challah creations with flavors such as red velvet and marshmallow hot chocolate. Since starting Mandylicious Challah in 2013, Silverman has seen her enterprise grow both locally — delivering some 50 loaves every week in Sharon, Massachusetts — and internationally, dispensing challah-baking advice to people as far away as France, Peru and Thailand. She spends about two days baking every week and an additional half a day making deliveries on Friday before Shabbat. Silverman, 40, is among a growing number of home bakers making a business out of their love of all things challah. Most post their interpretations of the traditional braided Shabbat and holiday loaves on social media, and reach local customers through word of mouth. Silverman is entirely self-taught. The Orthodox baker started baking challah 11 years ago and started to experiment by decorating loaves with sprinkles and stuffing others with meat. In October 2013, at the urging of her friends, she started selling the challah locally. A month later, for Thanksgiving, Silverman posted a photo on social media of a turkey-shaped challah with a pumpkin-flavored tummy. The photo was shared widely, leading people from nearby states to drive to Massachusetts

to get their hands on one. “Somehow that picture got very popular, so my business got very recognized,” she said. Since then, Silverman has been slowly gaining customers. “This year I got all the way to 250 [orders] for Rosh Hashanah,” she said. “At that point, I was like, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I hate telling people no.” Silverman sells her loaves for $5 to $18, depending on flavor and size. But she says money isn’t the reason she does it. “The payment is so much more than money. It’s helping people, being a part of their lives.” THOUGH HER CUSTOMERS are local, having the Instagram page has allowed her to connect with others around the world who share her passion for challah, such as Lissette Grobman and Lilianne Braun, two Miami women who recently started selling challah in their community. The pair started Hamsa Challah in November and are now selling 150-200 challahs a week with flavors such as za’atar, Nutella and cinnamon. Though their Instagram support is much smaller, with fewer than 200 followers, Braun anticipates that Instagram will be more useful if they decide to expand. “It would work and could work more at a business level, and the fact that people can actually look into it without knowing you, but in this case most of the people know me,” Braun said. Kayla Kaye, the founder of The Kitch (@thekitch_ny), is a bit further along than Grobman and Braun. The Oceanside, New York, resident takes orders for some 75-100 loaves every week and delivers to those living in her town as well as West Hempstead and the Five Towns, all on suburban Long Island. Kaye, 36, sells an array of flavors —

from a savory barbecue loaf with crispy onions to sweet ones such as pumpkin spice and s’mores. THOUGH SHE HAS AMASSED more than 3,300 followers on Instagram since founding her company in 2013, Kaye says that she mainly relies on word of mouth. She is at capacity in terms of how many loaves of challah she can bake in her home kitchen. “If I was really at a point where I was ready to grow my business, have additional help and work in a different facility and make it a larger scale project, I probably would use Instagram more as an advertising vehicle,” said Kaye, who balances her challah business with a part-time job in sales at Madelaine Chocolate, a company owned by her husband’s family. “People love challah, especially in New York where there is such diversity as far as culture and religion and food that you can eat from all different parts of the world,” she said. MOST OF SARAH KLEGMAN and Elina Tilipman’s customers are non-Orthodox Jews. The Los Angeles-based pair are behind Challah Hub, a hip initiative through which they host challah-centered events, sell challah-themed merchandise and deliver unique flavors of challah such as matcha tea and bagel-everything spice with turmeric. Since meeting in 2013, Klegman, 31, and Tilipman, 34, have experimented with different flavors and ways of selling challah, including by hosting pop-up events and delivering loaves in collaboration with the ride-sharing app Uber. A year ago they partnered with a local bakery, Continental Kosher. Once a month, the shop bakes challahs following Klegman and Tilipman’s recipe that are sold through Challah Hub (@ challahhub) for $10 to $15. Finding the right flavors also took some trial and error. Klegman recalled a mac-and-cheese challah that sounded delicious in theory but turned out less than stellar. “I was like ‘How did I ruin two of my favorite things?’” Klegman said. “The cheese kind of absorbed into the challah in a weird way, and it sort of became these squishy noodles.” Though the pair has more than 12,000 followers on Instagram, the social media backing doesn’t always translate to sales. One time, Klegman recalled, they did a video for BuzzFeed that received over 10 million views but only resulted in 10 new customers. “One in a million is not really good odds,” Klegman said. “Right now people come to us to see great pictures of challah, they come to us for recipes, they love going to pop-ups and buying from us in person, but our slow burn has been figuring out how to translate those people and our community there to customers.”

A growing number of home bakers is making a living out of their love of all things challah.

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jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

Serving Israel through reserve duty is an honor

S HOM

LE T T

WHEN I VOLUNTEERED for the are given a proper burial Israel Defense Forces (IDF) according to Jewish law. This soon after moving to Israel, means that every last drop of one of my friends said to me, the deceased’s blood must be “You know this won’t just be buried with him or her. My rea few months to a few years of serve unit is trained to assist service, right? This will also with this process. be years of annual miluim [reI was called up this past Ocserve duty].” I told him, “Why tober for my annual service. should I be different than any The other medics and I spent other Israeli,” and he our first day of miluim in a accepted that as medic refresher course, an answer. then we joined the rest The unit of our unit. For the I served in next few days, we as a combat trained for intricate medic was scenarios set up by still relathe Rabbanut. tively new For instance, my when I was squad and I were sent discharged, to a base that had what so they didn’t can best be described DANIEL yet have a STIEGLITZ as an army vehicle reserve unit firmly graveyard. We used established. I was eventualthis terrain for training. Hidly absorbed into the army’s den throughout the vehicles Rabbinical unit, as they were was fake blood (ketchup), and seeking extra manpower for life-sized mannequin limbs their own reserve unit. and bodies that were as heavy These past few months I’ve as a real person. We did a had more reserve experience thorough search, cataloging than in all the prior years. and collecting each piece of The army’s Rabbanut, as fake human remains. I hope it’s called, is the spiritual core the day will never come when I (or “corps” no pun intended) have to do this for real. of the IDF. Sadly, among its Fortunately, despite the many roles in the IDF, the many sharp pieces of metal Rabbanut is responsible for and shards of glass strewn ensuring that fallen soldiers throughout the vehicles, my

medic skills were not needed. Once this reserve duty was completed, I assumed that would be it for the year. But a few weeks later, I got a call asking if I would like to be the medic for the army Rabbanut’s Hanukkah family day. As I’d already done my annual reserve duty, this was optional. I’m not sure why, but I said yes. And I’m glad I did. On the second day of Hanukkah, I went to Latrun, Israel’s tank museum and memorial. After members of the Rabbanut and their families gathered there for opening speeches, we proceeded by buses to a nearby park. There, the families went on a scavenger hunt throughout the park. Next, the children and their parents were treated to a reenactment of the Hanukkah story, and a musician sang Hanukkah-themed songs with them. It was a unique Hanukkah experience for me – and I earned my keep as a medic by putting a Band-Aid on a little girl. There is an unwritten rule in the army: “never volunteer” – or you’ll regret it. But now that I’d voluntarily done one miluim, I was on the army Rabbanut’s radar. They called me again just two weeks later, asking if I would be the medic

at their Jan. 1 event. I once again said yes. This time it was only members of the army’s Rabbanut in a place called Alon. At the event, the Rabbanut first gave a talk wrapping up 2018, and then summarized their expectations for 2019. After lunch, everyone proceeded by bus to Qumran, the area where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. We were given a tour of the area and told about the scribes who lived there. Fortunately, my medic skills weren’t needed at all. And it was an honor simply being part of this major event organized by and in honor of the officers of the Rabbanut.

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YOUR YEAR LONG JOURNEY WITH THE JWRP INCLUDES 8 DAYS IN ISRAEL JULY 29 - AUGUST 5, 2019

A re-enactment of the Chanukah story at the army Rabbanut’s family day

These past few months of reserve duty have been a refreshing break from the mundane rituals of military reserve service. Part of me hopes that they’ll be calling upon me again for what is sure to be another unique and amazing event where I’ll get to simultaneously explore and serve my country.

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY VOICES

Teva program inspires JCDSRI students to help heal Earth BY ADINA DAVIES IT HAS BEEN SIX WEEKS since the fifth-graders at the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island returned from their milestone three days in the Teva – Shomrei Adamah overnight program. The annual fifth-grade Jewish experiential learning event focuses on personal growth, community building and inspiring students to be shomrei adamah – guardians of the Earth. During the event, held Nov. 26-29, 2018, at Camp Isabella Freedman, in northwestern Connecticut, the students enjoyed earth-themed song sessions, bonfires, making friends with other Jewish day school students, and games such as “predator-prey,” which combines food-web relationships and tag. Another favorite activity was hiking in the snow; along the way, the children practiced radical amazement and shouted the Shema prayer into an overlook, making sound maps of the echoes. “Extreme hiking at night was my favorite,” said a JCDSRI fifth-grader. “It was foggy out, but you could still see for miles, and it was just beautiful.” For many of the students, Teva was their first time sleeping away from home for more than one night. This was challenging at first for some of the students, but ultimately it allowed for immense personal growth. “I think the mere act of separation is something that is quite hard for some of them, and there is something really powerful that takes place,” said Joseph Mirsky, JCDSRI’s third-grade general studies and art teacher, who accompanied the group. “I also love watching how the students get more and more comfortable with themselves as they stop worrying about being cool and start relaxing and having fun.” Teva’s staff focuses on helping participants develop a more meaningful relationship with nature, deepen their connection to Jewish practice and traditions, and realize their

Fifth-graders from JCDSRI enjoy the outdoors at Camp Isabella Freedman. personal potential. “I learned that humans can push themselves a lot further than they think they can,” said another JCDSRI fifth-grader. “Camp Teva pushed me to my limit and helped me believe in myself. My counselors pushed me by taking me on long hikes and pushing us when we were tired, hungry and cold.” The Teva educators impart knowledge about ecology and sustainability, and encourage students to incorporate new, environmentally-sound practices in their lives. “Teva educators are very intentional about teaching in order to bring these values back home, so that the students are not just there for a three-day eco-spa and forget what they learned after they leave,” said Mirsky. Teva’s staff highlights Judaism’s teachings about gratitude for food, and relates it to composting and reducing the amount of food waste. After each meal, uneaten food was weighed, with the goal of tracking and reducing waste. Over the course of the threeday camp experience, partic-

“Extreme hiking at night was my favorite. It was foggy out, but you could still see for miles, and it was just beautiful.” A JCDSRI fifth-grader.

PHOTOS | JCDSRI

Hiking outdoors was priceless. ipants worked toward a meal with zero food waste. This year’s group of about 65 children, which included students from several Jewish day schools, started with 14 pounds of post-meal waste, and lowered it to 6 pounds by the last day. Students collected beads to symbolize categories of learning, such as ecology, awareness and togetherness. They earn their final “earth bead” after they demonstrate that they have completed their personal goal by mailing in a commitment card six weeks after the program ends. Jacob, a fifth-grader at JCDSRI, committed to meditating five times a week for his brit adama – earth covenant.

While he admitted it was an aspirational goal, he still made it a priority to find the time to meditate about three days a week. “I take a deep breath, feel myself, understand myself, and I usually review the day for two to three minutes,” Jacob said. “I’m in a calm space more than when I’m busy during the day. I’m digging deeper in that moment in that standstill image in my head. It calms me to do that. It spaces me out from all the outside noises. I sometimes get angry, and when I [meditate], it calms me down.” Jacob was excited to submit for his earth bead as a memento of the goals he committed to at Teva.

“The bead will be a reminder of how beautiful the earth is and how we have to control ourselves on what we do … not just throwing away a piece of garbage without thinking, but checking to see if it’s recyclable. You can save a lot of waste if you try ... if you just take that extra second to see if [something] is recyclable, you can save half your trash.” Other students’ goals included creating something from the earth, becoming a pescatarian for six weeks, going from a vegetarian to a vegan twice a week, and not using any paper or plastic cups. “I learned a lot of things from Teva. For example, there are so many things you can do to conserve the environment and save natural resources,” Sam said. “I feel pretty accomplished because I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it.” In the future, Sam plans to continue to reduce the number of disposable cups he uses. Yael’s goal was sketching something from nature each week. “Every week I would go out and look for something that I wouldn’t find every day, such as a beautiful leaf or stick, and I’d make a collage or painting of it,” she said. “I would sketch it and look at it. If I was in a bad mood, I could look at [my sketch] and it would calm me down.” Mirsky was pleased with the amount of growth the JCDSRI students experienced in just three days. “I loved seeing them go from the first night, when they were singing the songs [while] standing in the back of the room, and their bodies were just going through the motions, and then by the end they are standing on their chairs shouting with excitement,” Mirsky said. Michelle Raskin, JCDSRI’s fourth- and fifth-grade Jewish studies teacher, said she hopes the environmental lessons the students learned will stick. “I think developmentally they are all able to make a change and think about how their actions impact the planet,” she said. “They can think critically about their own behaviors and how they relate to our environment and ecology.” ADINA DAVIES is an advancement associate at the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, in Providence.

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

4 strategies to reckon with the stock market roller coaster AFTER A QUIET AND STEADY BULL MARKET in 2017, stock market volatility returned with a stomach-churning vengeance in late 2018, conjuring unpleasant memories of the Great Recession of a decade ago and reminding investors just how important it is to take steps to protect their assets from the wild, unpredictable market swings that are all too common these days.

S&S E

DOL

in this circumstance, the person can instead draw income from their cash reserve while they wait for their investments to recover their JASON E. value. SIPERSTEIN Focus on long-term investment goals and the big picture. This is about keeping the right perspective and mindset. Stock market volatility can drive people to make panic-driven, kneejerk decisions that aren’t in their best interest. Instead of following the “buy low, sell high” investing credo, some might panic and do the opposite, selling investments when their value has plummeted instead of waiting out the downturn and letting those investments recover in value. Reminding yourself of your long-term retirement strategy and goals will help keep market behavior, positive or negative, in perspective, and hopefully help you resist the urge to make unwise snap decisions about your assets. Build out the fixed income part of your portfolio. Generally speaking, it’s appropriate for investors to allocate some portion of their assets to fixed-return vehicles, such as bonds, especially later in life. When the stock market is down, the value of these fixed vehicles will often be stable or even increase in value. If the value of their stock investments drops, they can rely more heavily on income from fixed investments, giving their stock investments time to recover.

R LA

Market volatility can tempt people to behave irrationally and take actions in the moment that might not be in their best financial interests. Staying true to their longterm financial strategy and goals is the best defense against the vagaries of the stock market. To resist the temptation to make a hasty decision on your investments, financial professionals suggest following four investing fundamentals, explained below: Ensure assets are appropriately diversified. Diversification means strategically allocating assets across and within the various classes: stocks, bonds/fixed investments and cash. Diversification applies to a person’s entire asset base, including retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s, IRAs, a stock portfolio and more. The goal is to build a mix of assets whose behavior doesn’t always move in lock-step. This helps to level out the peaks and valleys in the overall performance of a person’s financial portfolio, while still producing a certain level of long-term growth. Have a cash reserve. A cash reserve is an important fundamental of asset diversification that affords investors protection from market volatility and prepares them to handle sudden financial challenges. This is particularly important for people who are approaching retirement or already retired. Having a substantial cash reserve allows flexibility in how and when they draw income for retirement. Say, for example, the value of an investment portfolio on which a person is relying for retirement income drops substantially. Rather than selling off stock or some other asset to generate income

JASON E. SIPERSTEIN, CFA, CFP, is the president-elect of the Financial Planning Association of Rhode Island and vice president of Eliot Rose Wealth Management. He can be reached at jes@eliotrose. com.

FEBRUARY 2019 | 15

16 | FEBRUARY 2019

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

Camp JORI waterfront on a beautiful July day.

Young Love Teenagers find their soulmates at summer camp BY FRAN OSTENDORF

ummer and romance is the stuff of teenage dreams. And the conventional thinking is that such “kid stuff” will never last. But for three couples we interviewed, what started as a chance meeting at a local overnight camp

blossomed into a lasting union. Camp is a forever experience for these couples – they not only met their mates there, but also established lifelong friendships.

FEBRUARY 2019 | 17

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

CAMP

PHOTO | FRAN OSTENDORF

Natasha Rabinovich and Jeffrey Buckler met at Camp JORI when it was still on Clarke Road in Narragansett. She had been a camper there for five summers. He says he never went to summer camp until he went to JORI as a counselor. He spent his first summer as a cabin counselor and on the waterfront. “I discovered I like the cabins better than the waterfront,” Buckler says. The second summer, he met Natasha. That was in 2001. She had returned to JORI to become a counselor during the summer before she started college. She still remembers meeting Jeff during cleanup day at the Clarke Road camp. “We didn’t really talk,” she says, although they did pass a few words during lunch, such as asking, “Do you need a fork?” He remembers she was wearing jeans and a jean jacket. In a recent interview, Jeff offered that memory without hesitation as they both laughed at their

early camp connection. Their encounters left an impression on both of the 18-year-olds. But their relationship really began the night Jeff attended an Allman Brothers concert – and returned with flowers for Natasha. “That started it all,” she says. “And now we are married with two kids.” In between camp and commitment, the couple learned a lot about long-distance relationships. He attended George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. She went to Brandeis University, in Waltham, Massachusetts. They had another summer together at camp and then Jeff decided to move on. He went to work at George’s of Galilee, the restaurant in Narragansett, so he was nearby as Natasha returned to camp for another summer. And then came several years of limited contact, followed by a serendipitous encounter. “Winter break of senior year, I was in the Fort Lauderdale airport,” Natasha says. “He was coming back from a family cruise.” They ran into each other, and awkwardly reconnected. The rest is, shall we say, history. They eventually moved in together in Boston and figured out how to live together. Natasha went to law school and Jeff was in business school. They married in 2009 and shortly after moved back to Rhode Island. “We have camp to blame for it all,” says Natasha. “The Fort Lauderdale airport [meeting] was destiny. But something tells me we would have made our way together without it. “This summer, we will have known each other for half of our lives.” And now, the next generation is starting at JORI. The Bucklers’ 5 1/2-year-old son Sammy attended JORI Day Camp last summer. He’s reported to have loved his short time there. Will he follow in his parents’ footsteps? Will his brother Ethan, now 3, follow too? Camp JORI is also responsible for bringing together Dana Labitt and Andrew Quackenbush. The two grew up in Warwick, just a few blocks apart. Andrew was friendly with Dana’s brother. They had a number of mutual friends. Their families attended Temple Am David. But, according to Dana, it wasn’t until they were counselors at JORI that Andrew finally would give her “the time of day.”

Natasha and Jeffrey Buckler in a recent photo, above. Jeffrey Buckler and Natasha Rabinovich in a photo taken about 2001, below left.

PHOTOS | BUCKLER FAMILY

“I guess I just had cooties,” she says with a laugh. “We both connected at the waterfront,” says Andrew. And that’s where he proposed, at Worden’s Pond at Camp JORI two years ago. “I was extremely surprised,” Dana says of that waterfront proposal. She really shouldn’t have been. The waterfront is in Dana’s family. Her father was the boating director for many years. In fact, camp is in her family. “I went, my little brother went, my cousins went. I started at age 11.” Andrew started between seventh and eighth grade. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

She had been a camper there for five summers. He says he never went to summer camp until he went to JORI as a counselor.

18 | FEBRUARY 2019

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

CAMP New scholarship to J-Camp BY SETH FINKLE (401)j, a group of dynamic Jews ages 20s to mid-40s who are dedicated to building a thriving Jewish collaboration in the 401 area code, has announced the creation of a scholarship for Summer J-Camp at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence. “(401)j has created this scholarship for J-Camp because it is an investment in the future of the Rhode Island Jewish community,” said Ryan Forman, chairman of the (401)j board. “Positive experiences are gained by participating in camp. J-Camp has had, and continues to have, an impact in the growing of our future generations.” Through fundraising at events and generous donations from group members, (401)j was able to offer a fullweek scholarship, called “(401)j Goes to Camp,” for a

CONTINUED FROM PRECEDING PAGE “We made a lot of friends at camp that are still our friends today,” says Dana. While they didn’t hold their September 2018 wedding at camp, camp was at the wedding, including one of Dana’s bridesmaids, a camp friend from Barcelona. Today, their life is filled with camp people, even if they don’t call them that. They call them lifelong friends. But you don’t have to hang around the waterfront to meet your soulmate. Asher Fink learned that at Camp Ramah in New England, in Palmer, Massachusetts. The Ramah camps have a program called Ramah Israel Seminar, which brings Ramah campers from across the U.S. and Canada together for a trip to Israel. Asher met a girl from New Jersey at the airport in New York on that trip in 1999. He and Merisa Vinick would later marry. But not before learning what “long-distance relationship” means. Merisa attended Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, in upstate New York. The New England and Berkshires Ramah camps had quite a rivalry, according to the couple. You spent all summer practicing your sport, Merisa says, then you competed. “This is very much an intermarriage,” she says of her relationship with a rival camper. “I got lucky,” Merisa says. “All my friends wanted to hate Asher. But he’s a pretty likable guy.” After their Israel trip, they parted ways; she broke it off. Asher went into the Army and Merisa went to college and law school. “He wrote me letters, but just as friends,” Merisa says. They reconnected once, and Merisa remembers thinking that Asher was cute. “We should date,” she said. Asher responded, “If I date you, I’m going to marry you.” And he was right.

PHOTO | GLENN OSMUNSON

Andrew and Dana Quackenbush today. Andrew Quackenbush and Dana Labitt at Camp JORI in a photo taken in 2009.

PHOTO | DANA QUACKENBUSH

Asher and Merisa married in 2010. They now have Clara, who is 6 1/2, and Nick, who is almost 4, and another baby is due in April. “My best friends were and are camp friends. I started going to camp at a young age. We see camp

camper this coming summer. The hope is that each year this scholarship will grow, and eventually will be able to fund a camper – or campers – for J-Camp for a full summer. The scholarship is open to anyone in the community, Jewish or non-Jewish, who would like to send his or her child to J-Camp and has financial need. “It has been a pleasure seeing (401)j’s passion for this project,” said Adam Greenman, president and CEO of the Alliance. For more information on the scholarship or how to apply, please contact Seth Finkle, manager of development, at sfinkle@jewishallianceri. org, or 401-421-4111, ext. 146.

Field Trip Day, a time to gain independence at summer camp BY RONNI SALZMAN GUTTIN “From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!” Dr. Seuss Summer camp is often a child’s first truly independent away-from-homefor-more-than-a-night experience. Campers navigate social situations, learn new skills and make some decisions on their own. Field trips are part of the lab for all of these important developments. Every camp has safety and contingency plans, provides supervision and chooses age- and interest-appropriate activities. If that sounds kind of dry and formulaic, it is! But, picture this from one camp’s perspective. Thursday. Field Trip Day. Seems simple: we do it almost every week, children love it, plans are made in advance, emergency supplies are packed, campers wear their blue camp shirts, staff have lists, buses arrive, attendance is taken, and off we go! Reality? Not exactly. It is all true, but it begins like this. Reveille. Waiter’s Call. Line-up. Ron-

ni and Ken walking through bunks to encourage everyone to move from the bed to the door and then to the flagpole. Breakfast. Does everyone have a beanie? Yes, you do need your beanie. At every meal. Yes, today, too. After breakfast announcements: Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen! Blue shirt for everyone. Check in your clean laundry if you can’t find it. Make sure you have water to drink. Yes, we will bring some. No, you don’t need money, we are getting lunch for everyone and there is nothing to buy. Time for the blessing. Dismissal. Head to your bunks for a really thorough clean-up. PA announcement: Ok, everyone, time to head to the buses. Heard at the bus, “Where’s your shirt? Why didn’t you tell me? I think Ronni has an extra. Go to the office! Is everyone wearing sunscreen? Find a seat, please. It needs to be quiet for attendance. No, counting is not sufficient. Ok, we’re off! Field trips are awesome! We offer mostly choice trips, so there is generally something for everyone. This time, campers choose between the Boston

Museum of Science, Treetop Adventures and Nantasket Beach. All are successful. One may think that field trips are just fun and games. But, there is much more. While the campers have fun, they have opportunities to really learn some life skills. They learn to prepare for the events of the day, they may have to choose their own food and they have to manage their spending money. Very rarely do they have these opportunities at home. In some ways, field trips embody the very essence of a camp experience. Campers hanging out with their friends, choosing their activities, managing time and even money, being held accountable for reporting in if they are teens, and traveling together as a group if they are a bit younger. They even have to keep track of their own belongings! Let’s hope it translates at home! RONNI GUTTIN is education director at Temple Emanu-El and the director of Camp Avoda.

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Tu b’Shevat Environmental Fair will feature ‘green’ fun friends every week,” Merisa said. “We officiated at two of our camp friends’ weddings. “They are friends for life.” Asher says he has his own camp friends, but since the couple lives in New Jersey, he sees Merisa’s friends more often. He also says

that Ramah New England campers are more spread out than those who went to the Berkshires camp. As for their children, will they go to camp? “Maybe we will send one to Palmer [Ramah New England] and one to [Ramah Berkshires] and see who turns out better,” Merisa said with a laugh. (Although the interview was conducted by phone, you could hear Asher protesting in the background!) And marriage isn’t the only lasting camp benefit shared by Merisa and Asher. Merisa, who attended a private Jewish school growing up, says, “Ramah breathed life into that [Judaism]. It gave spirituality to the most beautiful parts of Judaism.” FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@ jewishallianceri. org) is the editor of Jewish Rhode Island.

Merisa Vinick and Asher Fink in 1999, above left. They were both 17 at the time. Merisa and Asher Fink today, left. PHOTOS | FINK FAMILY

BY NIR CAFRI PROVIDENCE – In celebration of Tu b’Shevat, the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community center will host an environmental fair on Feb. 13 featuring a variety of activities for both children and adults. Known as the new year of trees, Tu b’Shevat is when we connect to our roots. The Hebrew word adama, which means “ground,” comes from the word Adam, which means “a person.” At our core, we are all made of ground – the same atoms and chemicals that form people also form soil and trees. Tu b’Shevat is a time to take a break from commercialism and consumerism to connect to our deepest selves, to renew ourselves and the future of our children. In Israel, Tu b’Shevat is celebrated with a massive planting of trees. Everyone, from big to small, in schools, army units and workplaces, pulls up their sleeves, digs and plants. As a result, Israel is one of only a few nations that entered the 21st century with more trees than it had 100 years ago. The Tu b’Shevat Environmental Fair is presented as part of the Israeli Culture Series. It will feature eight Rhode Island and three Israeli environmental organizations. Here is a partial list of presentations and activities at the fair:  Learn how to convert empty plastic bottles into planters and then make your own.  Learn environmental meditation from Ruchel Playe.  Enjoy a musical and delicious Tu

b’Shevat seder.  Learn practical and easy ways to recycle and sort trash from the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation.  Watch a special video about the connection between plants and Judaism, presented by Neot Kedumim.  Get information on hiking, biking, climbing, paddling and volunteer opportunities from the Narragansett Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club.  Learn how Ariel Sharon Park, an ambitious environmental project in Israel, turned a mountain of trash into an education center.  Learn all about trees and planting trees in the Holy Land from the Jewish National Fund.  Get information on reducing energy use, especially in Jewish institutions, from the Jewish Climate Action Network.  Get information from the Citizens Climate Lobby Rhode Island and Climate Action RI about how lobbying is a key ingredient in the struggle to protect the environment. In addition, Energy Consumers will provide green energy for the event from its New England wind turbines, and Radia Herbs Farm will offer free scent bags and sell organic tea. The free fair will be held Wednesday, Feb. 13, 7 to 9 p.m., at the Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. NIR CAFRI (ncafri@jewishallianceri.org) is the community shaliach (Israeli emissary) at the Jewish Alliance. Contact him for more information about this event.

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CAMP

Lifelong lessons from summer camp BY LARRY KESSLER SUMMER CAMPS are fairly sophisticated these days, with a wide array of choices to meet just about everyone’s tastes and needs. That’s good news for today’s families, and especially for the kids who will be flocking to them, but it wasn’t always that way. Back in the ’60s, camps were more basic, and there were fewer choices, perhaps especially for those growing up in Boston. But looking back after more than a half-century on my four summers in two different day camps, I realize that the people who ran the camps must have done something right, because they taught me lifelong lessons and helped me forge memories that still make me smile. The first lesson – always be prepared for the worst – came in the summer of 1963, when as a 10-year-old going on 11, I attended a day camp on the grounds of what was then a Yeshiva in Roxbury, Massachusetts, run by the

Lubavitchers. They bought the building on Sever Street in 1958 from those who had run the Mishkan Tefila synagogue, which had moved to Newton. The rabbi who ran the camp was one of the teachers at my Hebrew School at Agudas Israel, an Orthodox synagogue on Woodrow Avenue, in the heart of what was then the Dorchester-Mattapan Jewish section of Boston. Campers were bused from home to the Yeshiva, where my favorite activity was playing ball in the asphalt parking area. As fate would have it, I volunteered to carry the first-aid kit, a most fortuitous decision because on an almost daily basis, the contents came in handy for treating my bruised knees and scraped elbows. Later on in the summer, the kit proved essential during a hiking excursion to nearby Franklin Park. Back then, the klutziness gene in my decidedly non-Jedi body was asserting itself, and the same mysterious forces that caused me to trip

on the playground kicked in during the hike on a park trail, where I took a nasty tumble on some sharp rocks, cutting my hands and knees. I’ve never forgotten that lesson, which may explain why I seldom leave home without a pocketful of Band-Aids. I learned other lessons over the next three summers while attending a more traditional, non-religious camp run by a couple in Foxboro, Massachusetts, long before the town became the home of the New England Patriots. Two of these lessons stand out: be a team player and live life to the fullest. Being a team player at Camp Peter Pan – no, I wasn’t one of the “Lost Boys,” though maybe attending the camp was responsible for my proclivity for getting lost – meant, among other things, never complaining about the position I was assigned to play during our frequent softball games. That position inevitably was right field, because most of the infield positions

SUMMER J-CAMP AT THE DWARES JCC!

J-Campers enjoy a game of Twister in 2018. went to right-handers and I was a southpaw. Usually, my time in the outfield was relatively uneventful, but near the end of my third year of camp, my tenacity paid off. With our team protecting a lead in the top of the last inning during a game against a neighboring camp, a fly ball came soaring toward me. I never took my eyes off the ball, moved back a couple of steps, and put my glove up just in time to feel the ball slam into the pocket. I quickly squeezed it shut for the last out of the game. I’ve never forgotten being mobbed by my teammates, who were just as shocked as I was that I had caught the ball. There were many ways that I had fun by being a team player, but none more productive than when I joined my cabin mates in the annual talent show. The boys in our cabin decided to sing a couple of songs from one of the more

PHOTO | BEN GOLDBERG

popular British invasion bands that was not the Beatles: The Dave Clark Five. My voice was hardly even good enough to be considered what now would be called karaoke-worthy, but when blended with the others, it must have been fine, because no one threw tomatoes at us, and the audience seemed to get a kick out of us singing two of the group’s signature hits: “Bits and Pieces” and “Glad All Over.” I apologize if mentioning these songs has given you an unwanted earworm, but you can take solace in the knowledge that you don’t have to listen to my voice, which has become even more tone deaf over 50-plus years. Sadly, learning how to sing wasn’t one of my takeaways from camp. LARRY KESSLER is a freelance writer based in North Attleboro. He can be reached at lkessler1@comcast.net.

In Concert

March 24, 2019 / 3:00PM Temple Sinai 30 Hagen Ave. Cranston, RI

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS JUNE 2019! Summer J-Camp has been in existence for more than three decades and gets better each year! Our camp is designed to provide a wide range of creative offerings to unleash your child’s interests. The Summer J-Camp experience is infused with Judaic themes and values and is welcoming and inclusive of all. The 2019 Summer J-Camp Guide is coming soon. For more information contact Aaron Guttin at 401.421.4111 ext. 140 or aguttin@jewishallianceri.org. 401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI 02906 | 401.421.4111 | jewishallianceri.org

Tickets: $20 in advance / $25 at the door Benefactor -‐ preferred seating tickets $100 Call Temple Sinai (401) 942-‐8350 hazzan-‐mizrahi-‐concert.eventbrite.com Further information/questions: Dottie@templesinairi.org

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Camp: Strong, flourishing, important BY AARON GUTTIN I HAVE BEEN EXTRAORDINARILY fortunate to be involved in camping in one way or another for the past 25 years. From the age of 4 to 15, I grew up as a camper at a local Jewish overnight camp. In the subsequent 15 years, I have worked in nearly all aspects of camping from camper care to unclogging toilets. In this time I have found what I believe to be three universal truths about camping. Camping is not a fee-for-service industry rather it is an investment into a child’s social and emotional 401K. Camping is among our best weapons to combat xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Camping stands as a professional benchmark for the rest of the nonprofit world. Using data from various camping benchmarking projects it is clear that camping in North America is not only strong but is flourishing. Camp is not a fee-for-service industry, rather it is an investment in a child’s social and emotional well-being. I remember as a kid coming home and having various family and friends comment on how much I had grown or how tan I was. While physical changes may be a part of the camp experience one thing that is a constant is emotional and social growth at camp. Younger campers hone their sharing skills, learn empathy, practice teamwork and deal with a cornucopia of emotions. At the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s J-Camp 2018, one of the weekly special visitors was an animal expert. During this visit, campers of all ages held and touched various reptiles, including 5-foot snakes, alligators and lizards. They had to learn to take turns and “share” the animals. During color week, we learned that sometimes we win and sometimes we lose, what really matters is how you handle it. Our staff is trained in teaching the skills of coping and understanding, among many

Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. What really matters is how you handle it.

other social and emotional skills, with the hope that all children end the summer more resilient and adaptive then when they began.

Camping is among our best weapons to combat xenophobia and anti-Semitism. As a Jewish ed-

ucator, I find the rise of global anti-Semitism and xenophobia troubling and also an opportunity. Our number one weapon in fighting anti-Semitism is education and commonality. At the Alliance, our camp programs enjoy nearly full enrollment, yet only about half the campers identify as Jewish. As Jewish professionals, we have the sacred duty to educate non-Jews about what it means to be Jewish, the richness of our peoplehood, and the fact that while we may be different from others that is not a bad thing. We have an opportunity to teach tolerance and acceptance, while kids of all creeds and color play together.

The camping industry stands as a professional benchmark for the rest of the nonprofit world.

The Foundation for Jewish Camp, the American Camping Association and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation publish reports on various trends, camp statistics, successes and opportunities. According to the 2017 ACA Annual Report, camp in North America had

While the kids were enjoying their winter break, the staff of Camp JORI has been very busy at the winter office. We work hard to plan fun and engaging events that keep camp families connected even during the cold winter months. On Sunday, Jan. 6, we hosted a party at United Skates of America in East Providence. Current, new and potential campers all had a blast making candy snowmen and roller skating. Everyone who attended agreed that it was a great time.

a direct economic contribution in amounts totaling $3.2 billion. Of the over 4,500 parents surveyed, 91% reported that their kids showed an increased independent function, 93% reported an increased ability to interact positively with others, and over 90% reported a deeper spiritual connection. Camps also invest in young staff members and beyond. ACA reports that over 40 universities in the United States alone have an ongoing professional development relationship with area summer camps and over 46,000 continuing education and internship credits have been awarded since 2016. FJC offers yearly professional development for staff and volunteers. The Harold Grinspoon Foundation offers free strategic planning for camps undergoing capital campaigns, board restructuring and staffing changes. Since 2000, North American camping has seen unparalleled growth. In an age of declining synagogue affiliation, declining Birthright participation and troubling Pew Studies, Jewish camping has bucked the trend. Here at the Dwares Jewish Community Center, we have been enjoying record enrollment. Our summer camp and J-Cation (school vacation) camps run at or near capacity with life-changing results. At J-Camp we seek to instill in every child a sense of purpose, a variety of new skills, and the courage to leave their comfort zone and try new things. We cannot wait for Summer 2019, to begin this journey again. AARON GUTTIN is the camp and teen director at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. For more information on the Alliance’s camps contact Aaron at aguttin@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 140

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

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Adults can enjoy the benefits of summer camp HEA

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we stimulate the brain and enhance brain health. Joining a gym promotes physical, mental and emotional well-being as we meet like-minded people and possibly make new friends. Reinforces independence and empowerment: Especially as we get older, activities that encourage independence and confidence help us to feel more secure and offer us a greater range of activities. Allows for confidence to be rePATRICIA inforced by success: Throughout life, group activities that instill RASKIN confidence move us towards success. Group reinforcement is a powerful motivator. Examples of group and team activities are volleyball, basketball, bowling, golf and tennis. Leads to creativity, free of judgment: Creativity is available to us at any age. Taking up a creative hobby such as drawing, painting, writing, sculpting or designing brings our creativity to the forefront and allows us to see ourselves in a different light. Builds all-around resilience: We build resilience throughout our lives by going through those times of uncertainty, loss and change. It makes us stronger and more able to move through challenging times. Instills appreciation and gratitude: These are qualities we need to practice at any age. It is important to see the gift in everything. Appreciation and gratitude grows as we use them. Is fun and entertaining (of course!): And yes, we can find fun and entertainment at any age, but many adults don’t make fun a priority. Doing things that bring you joy, and thinking like a child when you do them, can bring you a greater sense of freedom.

Y L I VI

I WANTED TO DO a deep dive into the values and benefits of summer camp, and I found them neatly organized in an article that “Ryan” wrote, “11 Lasting Benefits of Summer Camp,” in the Blog section of www.idtech.com. I found these benefits so compelling, I wondered how adults could enjoy them. With a tip of the hat to Ryan’s categories, here are my thoughts on the many ways adults can harness the benefits of summer camps: Builds unique interests: We can do this by pursuing our interests online through blogs, articles and other resources. Reinvents and eliminates categories: This is easy to do when we focus on our interests. With technology today, we can reinvent a category with our own twist by researching online and seeing what is current and what is missing. Allows for a deep dive into new skills: Learning a new skill is so beneficial at any age for memory and brain stimulation, keeping our interests and passions alive, and motivating us to apply new learning to enrich our lives. Leads to a new type of friendship-building: The best way to build new friendships in a noncamp venue is to join groups based on your interests. The more varied your interests, the more varied the people you will meet. Helps with mental stimulation and physical activity: When we engage in social activities,

MARK CIPRIANO

CAMP

PATRICIA RASKIN, owner of Raskin Resources Productions, is media host and coach and award-winning radio producer and business owner. She is on the Board of directors of Temple Emanu-El.

Doing things that bring you joy, and thinking like a child when you do them, can bring you a greater sense of freedom.

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jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

Funding is available for Israel travel BY LARRY KATZ GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS for travel in Israel are available to members of the greater Rhode Island community. The generosity of several local families allows many high school, college and graduate students, other young adults, and some educators, who are residents of greater Rhode Island to spend time in Israel in a recognized study or travel program, to volunteer or to participate in professional internships. The Rhode Island Jewish community supports an Israel experience as an integral part of a student’s education and growing Jewish identity. The funds are available for residents through age 26, with the exception of educators in Alliance-affiliated schools. The Leonard I. Salmanson Fund of the Jewish Federation Foundation provides both non-need-based grants and some need-based funds available without full financial disclosure. The Graubart/Irving Scholarship Fund, the Lillian and Sidney Ross Fund and The Marochnack Zionist Memorial Fund all provide need-based grants, with full financial disclosure. The latter fund provides special consideration to immigrants from the former Soviet Union. A few other funds also support travel to Israel. The Alperin-Hirsch Family funds the Joel H. Zaiman Fund. The award is granted to one participant per year, who must demonstrate academic achievement and commitment to community service. Limited funds are available for educators in affiliated Jewish schools to attend conferences, workshops, courses and travel in Israel that will improve their teaching skills and background knowledge. Programs considered for grant funds must be relevant to the participant’s present and future goals in education and evidence a high level of quality. Teens, twenty-somethings, and Jewish educators who would like to explore opportunities to visit or study in Israel may contact the Israel Desk to discuss which programs might be most appropriate. Those interested in applying for any of these grants and scholarships may obtain applications from the Israel Desk at the Jewish Alliance, 401-421-4111 or IsraelDesk@jewishallianceri.org. The submission deadline for summer, fall and year-long programs is March 15. Deadlines for winter programs are at the end of October and at the end of November for spring programs. Parents who would like to enroll their children in a savings program that would supplement these grants and scholarships should do so during grades 3 to 6. A yearly contribution of $150 may be matched by $250 from the community, a 266% return on the investment. Over the course of eight years, this contribution of $1,200 by parents is matched by up to $2,000 by the community. Parents may withdraw their annual contributions in full at any time. For more information about this program, The Gift of Israel, please also contact the Israel Desk. LARRY KATZ (lkatz@jewishallianceri.org) is the director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

A Jewish Overnight Sports Camp for Boys Ages 7-15 located south of Boston, right near Cape Cod!

Camp Avoda is intimate in size with a focus on sports, woodworking, arts and crafts, sailing and more! Plus- check out our climbing wall!

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ENJOY A SUMMER OF:

Our newsletter will soon make its debut. To be sure we send it to you, send us your email: editor@ jewishallianceri.org

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY

OBITUARIES 28-29 | BUSINESS 30 | SIMCHAS & WE ARE READ 31

Free books for children and so much more BY FRAN OSTENDORF

tudies show that reading to a child starts a lifelong love of books and literature. And read-

ing books with a Jewish theme can engage a child in Jewish life while fostering Jewish learning. The PJ Library program is banking on that. Each month, PJ Library (pjlibrary.org) sends free age-appropriate books that celebrate Jewish culture and values to families with children ages 6 months to 8 years. For children ages 9-11, PJ Our Way supplies chapter books. And that’s just the beginning of the story. Thanks to the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, in partnership with the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and local donors, Rhode Island families can enjoy many other activities from PJ Library. This year, locally, PJ Library has expanded programming beyond the monthly story hours that it holds in

PHOTOS | GLENN OSMUNDSON

The PJ Library Book Tour stops at Kiddos on Mendon Road in Cumberland. Lyndsey Ursillo, manager of family programs, at the Alliance, reads “Chicken Soup, Chicken Soup,” as Emily Jarrett (below), 2 1/2-years-old, of Cumberland, listens. the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence (for the dates of story hours, check the Calendar Highlights, or the Calendar of Events at the website, www. jewishrhody.com/calendar). “We are trying to bring it to more public spaces like bookstores,” said Lyndsey Ursillo, manager of family programs at the Alliance. “We are trying

to do a range of activities, from cooking programs to story times to partnerships with community events, like the Hope Street Stroll and activities at local temples.” For Tu b’Shevat, author Jamie Korngold read several of her “Sadie” books to a roomful of children at the JCC. Afterward, the children enjoyed a craft activity and snack. On several Fridays, Ursillo has organized a family challah-baking activity. Ursillo said there’s a waiting list of families who want to sign up for the free books. But even those who aren’t yet receiving books are welcome at PJ Library events. “It’s not just about the books. This is about engaging families,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for families to meet other families they wouldn’t otherwise know.” For more information about PJ Library, contact Lindsey Ursillo (lursillo@jewishallainceri.org) at 401-421-4111. FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@ jewishallianceri.org) is editor of Jewish Rhode Island.

The PJ Library Book Tour at Kiddos.

Author Jamie Korngold, below, reads at a recent PJ Library event.

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jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

Women’s Alliance seeks grant proposals BY JENNIFER ZWIRN

Temple Habonim families go on Israel adventure What do you get when you mix 29 people (ages 10 to 80-ish) with three Israelis, a megabus, a few camels, a lot of hummus, five jeeps, and put them in one of the world’s most extraordinary countries? That’s easy … a “super fantastic” Temple Habonim Israel family adventure, reports Rabbi Andy Klein and Adam Mastoon. They say they feel lucky to have spent extended time with some of the THB families and witnessing their good natures and daring spirits. “We loved watching our people fall and re-fall in love with our Jewish homeland.” The group included eight families. Two of these families included three generations traveling together.

Officials decry the lack of civility today during annual MLK breakfast BY MARTY COOPER GIVEN THE CURRENT CLIMATE of hate and the unsettling bickering we learn about nightly on both the local and national news, there was no better place to be on the morning of Jan. 21 than at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet for the 36th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast. Sponsored by the Rhode Island Ministers Alliance, the breakfast brought together state elected officials, along with faith, academic, and community leaders, students, and keynote speaker Prof. Francoise Hamlin, to honor the memory, legacy and teachings of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A frigid, blustery morning did not stop about 275 people from attending the program, where state leaders spoke and scholarship recipients were honored. Those in attendance included Gov. Gina Raimondo, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, new R.I. Attorney General Peter Neronha, R.I. Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, state senators and representatives and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza.

Representing the Jewish community on the dais was Sarah Mack, the rabbi at Temple Beth El, in Providence, and president of the Rhode Island Board of Rabbis. Mack read passages from the Hebrew Bible related to the occasion. Three of the 10 scholarship recipients spoke about receiving the honor. One recipient described how, as an African-American and a female, she faced “double jeopardy.” Another said he had to overcome a number of serious issues to even think about going to college. Raimondo’s talk focused on the lack of civility in our country nowadays. “There is a lack of kindness in our country today. Let us make sure the Rhode Island community is a state where a lack of kindness will not be tolerated,” Raimondo said. Like many of the speakers to follow, she spoke about King’s ideology on community. Cicilline said, “Martin Luther King Jr. wanted everyone in an America that would allow all of us to achieve our dreams.” The congressman said he feared, however, that this is not true today. He

called on all of us to work toward achieving King’s goals. Keynote speaker Francoise Hamlin, a professor of history and African studies at Brown University, spoke about King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. She encouraged everyone to read the speech in its entirety if they really want to get to know King’s thoughts. King made the “I Have a

Dream” speech on Aug. 28, 1963. During the 40-minute speech, he did not mince words in calling out Americans and the nation’s leaders. He spoke about his dream that one day everyone, regardless of color or religion, will come together as one community. MARTY COOPER is a community activist.

PHOTO | GLENN OSMUNDSON

Debbie Flitman, of Jewish Collaborative Services, loads her van with bags of food bound for TSA workers impacted by the recent government shut down. JCS staff filled bags to help on Jan. 24.

The Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund is seeking grant proposals for the upcoming fiscal year for programs and services that will provide a longtime benefit to Jewish women and girls. This year, WAEF will make grants totaling nearly $8,000, to be distributed in June. Educational, cultural and religious programs will be considered, as will health services and social services. Over the last decade, the Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund has awarded 90 local and overseas grants, totaling over $72,000, to a range of programs and service providers. All Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts and overseas Jewish organizations and synagogues with missions that fall within the purview of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island are welcome to apply for funding. Programs that have most recently received funding include the Girls Power lunch at the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, where empowerment and combating bullying is discussed; Congregation Beth Sholom’s Women, Torah, and Leadership Series; Cyberbullying Prevention for Girls, run by ELI, the Israeli association for child protection; and therapeutic getaways for breast-cancer patients through Rafanah Healing Holidays. Each recipient’s program is critical to the success of Jewish women and children around the world, and WAEF members are proud to be able to support these programs. Currently, there are 122 WAEF members, each of whom is encouraged to participate in the annual allocations process. WAEF membership requires a contribution of $1,000 to the fund, payable over up to four years. Grant requests must be received by Friday, March 15. Funding recipients are identified at the WAEF annual meeting, which will take place on May 6; recipients will be notified in June. JENNIFER ZWIRN (jzwirn@ jewishallianceri.org) is the director, Community Development at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. For more information on WAEF grants, please contact her.

26 | FEBRUARY 2019 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 the 19th and 20th centuries, the Reform and Renewal movements, as Jews grappled with modern challenges and opportunities. In reaction to these developments, the rabbinic approach developed into what we now know as Orthodoxy. The Conservative movement arose in America as a way of preserving basic halakhah while fully participating in

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org modern society. In his epilogue, however, Goodman vaguely predicts almost a kind of replay of the post-Temple period. Assuming knowledge and self-confidence are the key to the future, he implies that the more liberal movements have faltered in these respects. When Judaism “is based only on inherited habits, and unencumbered either by personal piety or by theological certainties,” it may “vanish in the face of secular temp-

tations.” He suggests that ultra-Orthodox groups, with greater zeal and education, along with strong communities, will eventually become a majority of practicing Jews. In effect, “A History of Judaism” presents us with a challenge: Rather than wonder about the future, it’s up to us to take the initiative for our preferred approach. As the saying goes, the best way to predict the future is to invent it.

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COMMUNITY Arts Emanu-El to screen film about a Hasidic woman BY PAMELA HANZEL SET IN BROOKLYN, New York, the documentary “93 Queen” tells the story of a no-nonsense female Hasidic lawyer who is determined to create the first all-female ambulance corps in New York City. On Feb. 9, Arts Emanu-El at Temple Emanu-El, in Providence, will present the film, as well as speaker Elissa Felder, who is a member of the Orthodox synagogue Sha’arei Tefillah, in Providence, and active in R.I. Chevra Kadisha. The protagonist in “93 Queen,” Rachel “Ruchie” Freier, defies description, but is most certainly a human dynamo. In her own words, “The worst thing that you can tell me is that I can’t do something because I’m a woman, or because I’m a religious woman. Hatzolah [the men’s ambulance corps] says that we can’t be EMTs because we aren’t fast enough, strong enough, or smart enough. We can have babies every year, but we can’t be an EMT? Of course we can!” It turns out that Ruchie Freier can do anything that she sets her mind to, including creating an all-female ambulance corps, Ezras Nashim, in Brooklyn’s Borough Park. At the age of 40, and the mother of six children, she became one of the first Hasidic women in Brooklyn to earn a law degree and open a practice. This past year, she gained fame as the first Hasidic woman elected as a judge in Brooklyn, where she serves in a criminal court. Vitriol is aimed at Freier

as she sets up the all-woman service. She receives an e-mail accusing her of lacking “values of modesty and tzniut,” the latter describing a set of Jewish laws insisting that people, especially women, behave in a way that does not attract attention. Furthermore, many of the community’s men, and more than a few of its women, believe that the focus of a woman should be on motherhood. Freier and her group are accused of challenging the Torah and being “radical feminists.” Freier counters that the most important endorsement comes from God, and she believes that they have God’s endorsement. She and her cohorts ask how a woman who has never even held hands with anyone except her husband can be expected to suddenly cope with 10 male EMTs seeing her exposed from the waist down. One of the biggest debates in the film, and a cause of tension within the group, occurs as the corps gets underway. They debate whether to allow single women to participate. It is suggested that being married indicates that a woman is mature enough to handle being an on-call EMT. And some group members believe that accepting single women might give credence to Ezras Nashim’s detractors. Paula Eiselt, an Orthodox Jew and the director of the film, said she built relationships with Freier and the other women during the filming, giving her access to their homes and training sessions as they built knowledge of how to perform CPR and deliver babies. Freier and her group move ahead with their project, which is soon recognized by the New York City Fire Department and assigned the code “93 Queen.” In 2017, only three years after Ezras Nashim launched, the organization won both the New York State and New York City Basic Life Support Agency of the Year award. PAM HANZEL is the chair of Arts Emanu-El.

DETAILS: Arts Emanu-El will present “93 Queen” and speaker Elissa Felder on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m., at Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door, and can be purchased at www.teprov.org/ form/93Queen. Refreshments will be served.

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jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

New merged Hebrew free loan association is here to help “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, do not act toward them as a creditor; exact no interest from them.” – Exodus 22:25 BY LARRY KESSLER TWO HEBREW free loan associations that date to the dawn of the 20th century have merged to better serve the Jewish communities in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut with interest-free loans, a practice that has Biblical roots. The South Providence Hebrew Free Loan, which dates to 1905, and the Gemilath Chesed Providence Hebrew Free Loan, dating to 1903, merged in the fall, officials from the combined group, the Greater Providence Hebrew Free Loan, said in recent interviews with Jewish Rhode Island. “Our purpose is to serve the Jewish community in a time of need,” said Barry Ackerman, a Cumberland resident and board member of the Gemilath group and the combined one. Ackerman met often with Stevan Labush, president of the new Greater Providence Hebrew Free Loan, to facilitate the merger. “Just because the economy is doing well doesn’t mean that there aren’t people out there who are underemployed or unemployed” and need a financial boost, Ackerman said, echoing the Biblical mandate. The new group’s core mission is in keeping with that of the International Association of Hebrew Free Loans, and reflects the passage above from Exodus, which states that those who are facing difficult economic circumstances should receive interest-free loans. A timely example of meeting people’s emergency needs is responding to those adversely affected by the recent government shutdown, the longest in the nation’s history. Labush said the board of directors plans to expedite the application process for anyone who needs an infusion of cash to help recover from not being paid during the shutdown.

Wondering about those scam phone calls? Here’s what you need to know BY MICHAEL SCHEMAILLE TELEPHONE SCAMS have risen sharply in the last several years, largely due to the widespread adoption of cellular phones. First Orion, a company specializing in call-blocking technology, reports that only 3.7% of phone calls made in 2017 were identified as spam. That figure grew to 29% in 2018, and in 2019, that percentage is expected to rise to a whopping 45%. The reason is simple: money. MarketWatch estimates that phone scams cost Americans roughly $9 billion each year. In the first three quarters of 2018, Rhode Islanders filed 2,251 fraud reports with the Federal Trade Commission; the median loss among all age

“We’d be more than happy to process it [a loan request] quickly,” he said. He added that government workers who seek loans but aren’t members of the Greater Providence Hebrew Free Loan would still be required to join the association and pay the dues – $18 annually or $180 lifetime. The merger, Labush and Ackerman said, will streamline the loan process and make the group more accessible. Labush, 58, of Warwick, talked briefly about the mechanics of the merger and how it came about. He said it was first attempted several years ago, when the Gemilath group “became kind of dormant,” but talks fell through. Labush, who said he’s been involved with both groups over the years, said the talks resumed in earnest in 2018 after the two associations concluded that there was no longer any reason to have two such groups in the same area offering the same service. He and Ackerman began meeting early last year to discuss the merger, which was finalized in October. Under the arrangement, the new loan association, Labush said, informally retains the South Providence name, but uses the Greater Providence Hebrew Free Loan as the merged group’s legal name. Ackerman, 61, said the new group can “provide larger loans, more outreach and advertising to the Jewish community.” Loans are offered to people in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Although you must be Jewish to get a loan, co-signers don’t have to be Jewish. The board votes on the loan application, and as long as the applicant passes a credit check, the loan is approved. When the two Providence groups were first formed, loans were sometimes granted to cover a small purchase, such as a chicken for Shabbat or a holiday, said Ackerman, a sales manager for Cargas Energy. Nowadays, he and Labush said, loans are used to meet all sorts of financial needs: education, cars, medical bills, moving, change-of-life events and short-term assistance designed to

groups was $413. Median losses among seniors (aged 60+) were significantly higher, ranging from $599 (ages 60-69) to $1,670 (80 and over). The FTC estimates that fewer than 20% of seniors report fraud losses. The most common phone fraud is the so-called “impostor scam,” in which the caller poses as a friend or family member (the FTC reports that scammers often pose as a grandchild), or as a representative of a government agency or familiar business. Scammers use high-pressure tactics to trick victims into making rash decisions. They often demand payment of medical bills, bail money or tax debts, insisting that these be paid by gift card or other untraceable methods. As long as scammers can fake their caller ID and use their anonymity to stay ahead of law enforcement, consumers must know how to protect themselves before falling victim to fraud. We offer the tips below, sourced from numerous government websites, as a guide:  Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. (If it’s important, the caller will leave a message.)

DETAILS: The Greater Providence Hebrew Free Loan was formed from the merger of two Providence-based Hebrew Free Loan groups, the South Providence Hebrew Free Loan and the Gemilath Chesed Providence Hebrew Free Loan. WHEN: The new merged association became official in October. PURPOSE: To offer interest-free loans to Jewish people in need in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. LOCATION: 400 Reservoir Ave., Suite LLA, Providence, RI 02907. CONTACT: 401-751-1949. There is no website at this time.

tide over people who are facing a hardship, such as those hurting from the government shutdown. Labush, a professor of accounting and finance at Johnson & Wales University who also runs a small accounting firm with his father, explained how the loans work. He said that typically, the first loan that a person can apply for is for $3,000, with a 24-month payback period. Once that loan is paid off, people who have made timely payments can ask for another loan. Eventually, Labush said, the merged group hopes to offer a maximum loan of $10,000, but he emphasized that this is in the future. The only requirements to apply for a loan are to belong to the association and be Jewish, Labush said. There are no hidden fees, he said, adding that the money to cover the loans is raised from membership dues, an annual raffle and donations. Labush said that with the exception of an administrator, everyone involved with the loan association – officers and board members – is a volunteer. Both the board of directors and the officers include people from both original groups, he added. LARRY KESSLER (lkessler1@comcast.net) is a freelance writer based in North Attleboro.

 Don’t give callers any personal or financial information. Keep your credit card, checking account and Social Security numbers to yourself. Don’t give them to callers you don’t know — even if they ask you to “confirm” this information.  If a caller claims to be with a bank, hospital or other institution and demands money or personal information, hang up and call the company directly.  Don’t give in to high-pressure tactics.  Be wary of anyone offering a free vacation or other prize. If something is truly free, no one will ask for your credit card information.  Be suspicious of caller ID, as scammers can change the number that appears on your display.  If a caller insists upon payment in the form of gift cards, wire transfers or prepaid debit cards, it’s likely a scam.  The IRS will not threaten you or demand payment over the phone. It initiates most contacts through regular mail. To reach the IRS, call 800-829-1040.

 Don’t provide an unknown caller with access to your computer.  Remember that legitimate law enforcement agencies don’t demand payment by phone.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  To contact Social Security, call 800772-1213.  Add your name to the National Do Not Call Registry; this will stop calls from legitimate telemarketing businesses. Visit donotcall.gov, or call 888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register (TTY: 866-290-4236).  The FTC encourages consumers to file a complaint whenever they have been the victim of fraud, identity theft, or other unfair or deceptive business practices. They can do it online, or by calling the FTC’s Consumer Response Center at 877-FTC-HELP (877-3824357). When in doubt, hang up. MICHAEL SCHEMAILLE (mschemaille@ jewishallianceri.org) writes for Jewish Rhode Island and the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

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COMMUNITY | OBITUARIES Beatrice Abowitt, 88 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Beatrice Abowitt passed away on Jan. 6. She was a resident of Pawtucket. Bea was the daughter of Sarah and Julius Gilden. She was the older sister to her beloved brother, Alvin. She grew up in Providence and graduated from Pembroke College (Brown University) with a bachelor’s degree. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years, then worked for 23 years at Sears. She was married to Irving Dworman, for many happy years until he passed away. She later married Munroe Abowitt, and they enjoyed a good life together as well. Bea is survived by her two daughters, Tracy Dworman, of Pawtucket, and Amy Bianco of southern California, Amy’s husband, Danny, and their son Misha, who she dearly loved. Her kindness, love and grace are missed by all who knew her. The family would like to thank the fourth floor staff at Summit Commons Nursing Home and Kindred Hospice as well as Rabbi Wayne Franklin and Sarah Lavendier-Colon at Sugarman-Sinai Memorial Chapel.

Bernard Engel, 101 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Bernard Engel passed away Jan. 8. He was the beloved husband of the late Claire Engel. He was born in Providence, a son of the late Louis and Sarah (Sorgman) Engel.

He is survived by his son Jerald M. Engel and his wife, Beverly; grandchildren Marc L. Engel (Jill) and Shana Engel Yakubovich (Robert); and great-grandchildren Hannah and Max Engel and Andrew and Allison Yakubovich. Contributions in his memory may be made to United Way of RI or The Miriam Hospital.

Gerald D. Kaplan, 90 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. – Gerald D. Kaplan died Jan. 12 at St. Luke’s Hospital. He was the beloved husband of the late Lois (Siskind) Kaplan. Born in New Bedford, a son of the late Samuel and Eva (Finkelstein) Kaplan, he had lived in Dartmouth for 64 years. He was the co-owner of the former Kaplan’s Furniture and Wayside Furniture stores, retiring in 2008. Gerald was a graduate of Boston University. He was a former member of Tifereth Israel and past president of the former Temple Sinai in New Bedford. Gerald was also past

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Master of the Mason’s Wansutta Lodge and on the board of directors of Shawmut Bank. He was the devoted father of Martin Kaplan of Dartmouth and Ellen Kaplan of Boston. He was the dear brother of the late Leonard and Irving Kaplan. He was the loving grandfather of Regina Kaplan of New York City. Contributions in his memory may be made to the charity of your choice.

Bessie Lindenbaum, 107 ROYAL PALM BEACH, FLA. – Bessie Lindenbaum, a retired real estate broker and investor, died Jan. 27 at St. Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida. She was the beloved wife of the late Charles Lindenbaum. She was born in Lanovits, Poland, a daughter of the late Nathan and Chana Rosenberg and step-daughter of the late Rifka Rosenberg. She was a Rhode Island resident until 2002 when Charlie passed away and she was living in Royal Palm Beach. In partnership with her late husband, she had been a real estate owner, broker and investor, and remained an active member of that industry until she was 97 years old. Bessie was a member of Temple Beth-El, the Glocester Heritage Society (which honored her long and adventurous life at a special ceremony in April 2015) and a lifelong member of the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Society, which published a story of her migration from Poland to the village of Chepachet, the only Jewish family to live there. She enjoyed gardening, she was a prideful baker who could make a world class noodle kugel, and a very skillful bridge player. She enjoyed theater, concerts and movies and her success in business allowed her and Charlie to travel the world. Bessie was the devoted mother of Ken Linden and his wife, Linda Leyden-Bernal, of Pennsauken, New Jersey and the late Roberta Fox; a beloved sister of the late Irving Rosenberg, Anna Weinbaum and Moses Rosenberg, and cherished grandmother of Natalie Winne and Todd Fox, and an adored great-grandmother of Adam and Dylan Winne. Contributions in her memory may be made to Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence, RI 02906.

Edith Nathan, 97 WARWICK, R.I. – Edith B. Nathan died Jan. 15 at the

Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living Residences. She was the beloved wife of the late Bernhard Nathan for 69 years. Born in Germany, a daughter of the late Julius and Roschen (Berges) Weber, she had lived in Warwick for 44 years. She was a salesperson for the former Outlet Co. for over 12 years. Edith was a former member of Temple Beth Israel and its sisterhood and a member of Temple Beth-El. She was a Holocaust survivor. She was the devoted mother of Ralph Nathan of Warwick. She was the dear sister of the late Kurt Weber. She was the loving grandmother of Rick R. Nathan and Tara M. Rankin. She was the cherished great-grandmother of Carter and Talia. Contributions in her memory may be made to American Kidney Fund, 11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852.

Seymour Port, 95 CRANSTON, R.I. – Seymour Port died Jan. 13 at Wingate Residence, Providence. He was the beloved husband of the late Bernice (Kaufman) Port. Born in Providence, a son of the late Dora (Gerstenblatt) and Samuel Port, he had lived in Cranston for almost 60 years before moving to Wingate on the East Side in 2017. Seymour was a self-employed manufacturers’ representative in the costume jewelry business until his retirement. He was a graduate of Brown University and proudly served as a naval officer in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters during WWII. He was a member of Touro Fraternal Association (Harmony Lodge), the Masons, and the Jewish War Veterans. Seymour and Bernice were true soulmates. They shared a love for travel, visiting countries in Asia, Europe and South America. They were al-

ways ready to be on the dance floor for everything from ballroom dancing to disco. Seymour had a great sense of humor and was always a joy to be with. He was the loving father of Rhonda Walker and her husband, Roger, and adoring grandfather of Allison. He was the dear brother of the late Rose Rosenfield and Hyman Port. Seymour’s family is grateful for the love he received from his caregivers. Contributions in his memory may be made to your favorite charity.

Warren Rabinowitz, 77 BOCA RATON, FLA. – Warren Aaron Rabinowitz passed away peacefully at his home in Boca Raton surrounded by family on Jan. 18. He was born on March 15, 1941, in Providence to Ben and Hannah Rabinowitz. He graduated from Bryant University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and served as a member of the United States National Guard. On June 23, 1963, he married Susette Herz and they had two children, Jon and Gary. Warren was fond of saying “It’s not easy being Warren,” but in reality he managed to carve out a wonderfully idyllic life filled with family, friends and lasting memories. He enjoyed being outdoors, organizing weekly tennis matches and spending time with his family. Warren built a career at Apex, Blaustein & Associates and eventually owned Galaxy Marketing; he also served as an adjunct professor of marketing at Rhode Island College before retiring in 2000. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Susette Rabinowitz, sons Jon (Michal) and Gary, sister Esta Avedisian and his two grandchildren Mia and Romi. Donations may be made to Trustbridge Hospice Foundation, West Palm Beach, FL

David Rosenfield, 91 WARWICK, R.I. – David Rosenfield died Jan. 18. Born

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in Woonsocket to the late Hyman and Bessie (Russian) Rosenfield, he was the husband of Lois (Stutman) Rosenfield. He graduated from Woonsocket High School (1944) and after serving in the army with the Garrison Forces in Saipan during WWII, he graduated from Rhode Island State College (now the University of Rhode Island) in 1950 and received a master’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University. He belonged to the Institute of Traffic Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers, and also was a registered Professional Engineer in Rhode Island. He worked for the Federal Highway Administration (formerly the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads) in Albany, New York, and Providence, and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, Providence. He also worked for Daniels, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall on the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge in Rhode Island. In addition, he was employed by Charles A. Maguire and Associates in Providence and Boston as well as Clarkeson Engineering Co., Boston; Metcalf and Eddy, Boston during the construction of the Thule Air Base in Greenland; and J.E. Greiner Co. of Baltimore during the construction of the Delaware River Bridge in Trenton, New Jersey and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Nebraska. David is survived by his wife, Lois, of 62 years, his son Michael and wife, Beth, of Ridgefield, Connecticut, and his daughter, Elaine, and husband, Jonathan Gillim, of Wellesley, Massachusetts, and four grandchildren, Matthew, Bradley, Sarah and Pierce. He was preceded in death by his brother Zolman of Connecticut, and his sister Gloria Stearn of Florida. Memorial contributions may be made to the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, 555 Long Wharf Drive, New Haven, CT 06511.

Sonia Sprung, 97 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Dr. Sonia Sprung was born Dec. 12, 1921, and passed away peacefully on Jan. 25. She was born in the

He was born on Feb. 15, 1927, in Teheran, Iran, the son of Solomon and Sarah Yashar. He received a medical degree at the University of Teheran, after which he traveled to the US in 1950 (with $50 in his pocket and a suitcase in hand) to complete his training and embark on a medical career as a leading cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon. He trained at Bellevue Hospital (New York), was chief resident at Beth Israel (Boston), and mastered cardiovascular surgery at Case Western (Cleveland). He pioneered open-heart surgery in Rhode Island, becoming the first person to successfully complete openheart surgery in the state, and helped to found and develop the open-heart surgery program at The Miriam Hospital. He was in private practice with his brother, Dr. James Yashar, and simultaneously worked and assumed leadership roles at numerous hospitals in the state. His clinical work resulted in multiple peer-reviewed publications. He was also a clinical associate professor at Brown University Medical School, where he trained hundreds of physicians, and a member of The Society of Thoracic Surgery, the American College of Cardiology, the RI Medical Society, among other associations. Yashar was widely known for his love of medicine and compassion for others. He developed deep connections with his patients and their families. He was known for his humor, ability to spin a wonderful tale, and his unwavering support for his colleagues. His success was based on hard work, dedication, and kindness, without any connections or inheritance to pave the way.

Ukraine to Clara and Victor Mendelson. She had one sibling, Sara, who encouraged her to enroll in medical school. Her studies were interrupted by WWII. As the Nazis started bombing her town, she and her parents escaped and traveled 1,500 miles to Kazakhstan where she was able to resume her studies and become a doctor. After the war she and her family left the Soviet Union and went to a displaced persons camp in Munich, Germany, where she worked for the JDC treating refugees who arrived from Eastern Europe after the war. Her only child, Edie Nadler, was born there. In 1951, the family received permission to immigrate to the US. When she arrived to Brooklyn, New York, she had to renew all her credentials, which involved becoming an intern and resident and passing exams in English to become certified again in the medical profession. The family then moved to Providence where she was in private practice for 40 years as a pediatrician. She was a member of Temple Emanu-El. She reluctantly retired at 75 and then started traveling the world. Thirty-six cruises took her to all the places she ever dreamed of visiting. She is survived by her daughter, Edie Nadler (Jonathan Nadler); granddaughters, Lisa (Masa) and Jessica (Ryan); great-grandchildren, Miles, Ruby and Frankie as well as Shara Mendelson, Mischa Mendelson, Gideon Mendelson, Tom Tomeo and Owen, Leo and Isabella Mendelson Tomeo.

Dr. John Yashar, 91 PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA. – Dr. John Yashar died on Jan. 11 in Palm Beach Gardens.

Above all else, he held family most dear. He was married to Audrey M. Yashar for 54 years and they lived with their five children in Pawtucket, Providence and Jamestown before retiring to Palm Beach Gardens. His family was continually at his side as he battled Parkinson’s during the final year of his life. He is predeceased by his

wife, Audrey, and two sisters, Maliheh and Mahboobeh. He is survived by his brother, Dr. James Yashar, and his sister, Mahin Kayvanfar; his five children: Beverly, Susan, Gail, Deborah, and Stephen; his three in-law children: John Mesberg, Christopher Smith, and Heike Yashar; eight grandchildren; and two great-great grandchildren

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COMMUNITY | SIMCHAS & WE ARE READ Lindsey Miller Bloomberg and Brian Ross Marks were married at Boston Harbor Hotel on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2018. The wedding was officiated by Rabbi Alfred Benjamin. A reception and fireworks followed. The bride is the daughter of Deb Bloomberg of Framingham, Massachusetts, and Michael Bloomberg of Milton, Massachusetts; granddaughter of Caryl-Ann Miller Nieforth of Providence and Barrington, and Dr. Martin L. Feldman of Owl’s Head, Maine, and the late Betty and Goodwin Bloomberg of Brookline, Massachusetts, and Palm Beach, Florida. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Sherwin Marks of Framingham. The bride graduated from Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and received an M.Ed. in early childhood education from Bank Street School in New York City. She is a teacher at Charlestown Preschool in Massachusetts. The groom graduated cum laude from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. He received a J.D. cum laude from Suffolk Law School and is a tax attorney in Boston. The couple live in the Seaport area of Boston.

MAZAL TOV – Clare and Jake Feiner of Wayland, Massachusetts, are pleased to announce the birth of their son Graham Ari Feiner on Jan. 2. Graham’s grandparents are Barbara Feibelman and Kenneth Orenstein of

Providence, Mildred Feiner of Coventry, and N. Frank Feiner of Ottawa, Canada. His great-grandparents are H. Jack and the late Hannah Feibelman of Cranston.

We Are Read in the Grenadines — South county residents Marc and Miriam Ladin and Gary and Lesley Engelson sailed Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They also celebrated Hanukkah and Shabbat at the Chabad in Grenada, where they report that they shared a beautiful Shabbat meal. The picture was taken just before snorkeling with turtles in Tobago Cays.

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For more information about legacy giving, please contact Trine Lustig at 401.421.4111 ext. 223 or tlustig@jewishallianceri.org

jdc/jafi YOUR SUPPORT assists thousands of at-risk Jews around the world.

With you support of the Jewish Allianceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Annual Campaign, we are able to assist thousands of at-risk Jews around the world through partnerships with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). Working in more than 70 countries to alleviate hunger and hardship, JDC rescues Jews in danger, creates lasting connections to Jewish life, and provides immediate relief for victims of natural and man-made disasters. JAFI connects the global Jewish community to Israel, provides services for new immigrants to Israel and at-risk populations, and responds to emergencies and times of crisis around the world.

At the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island we play many different roles for our diverse community: we nurture, partner, educate, enrich, serve, and convene. Through the generosity of our donors to the Alliance Annual Campaign, we are able to support thousands of people locally and around the world through programs, services, and partnerships. We care for the most at-risk in our community, energize Jewish life, respond to critical needs, and inspire future generations. Together, with your support, we translate Jewish values into wide-reaching impact.

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