The Voice of Greater Rhode Island’s Jewish Community
JEWISH
JUNE 2021 | SIVAN/TAMMUZ 5781
JEWISHRHODY.ORG
RHODE ISLAND
Noshing around Rhody Warm up by Baking with Lisa
Rabbi Rosenberg on 50 years in the rabbinate
Generation to generation at RIJHA
Why you should support Jewish journalism
2 | JUNE 2021
ON
LAND
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
IN
WATER
OR
ONLINE
Contact us to learn more
401.421.4111
JewishAllianceRI.org 401 ELMGROVE AVENUE | PROVIDENCE, RI 02906
P OW ERED BY T HE JEWISH ALLIANCE
JUNE 2021 | 3
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
JEWISH RHODE ISL AND
EDITOR Fran Ostendorf DESIGN & LAYOUT Alex Foster ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Peter Zeldin pzeldin@jewishallianceri.org 401-421-4111, ext. 160 CONTRIBUTORS Hannah Altman, Cynthia Benjamin, Larry Kessler COLUMNISTS Michael Fink, Geraldine Foster, Patricia Raskin, Rabbi James Rosenberg, Daniel Stieglitz
VOLUME XXVIII, ISSUE VI JEWISH RHODE ISLAND
(ISSN number 1539-2104, USPS #465-710) is published monthly except twice in May, August and September. 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 James Pious, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906. 401-421-4111; Fax 401-331-7961 MEMBER of the
Rhode Island Press Association.
COPY DEADLINES: All news releases, photographs, etc., must be received on the Wednesday 10 days prior to publication. Submissions may be sent to: editor@jewishallianceri.org. ADVERTISING: We do not accept
Show your support for local Jewish journalism cited a decline in advertising and falling donations. JUNE IS THE MONTH of graduations, weddings, gardens This March, the Arizona Jewish Post, which has and great hopes for warmer times. covered Tucson and southern Arizona for 75 years, shut This year, it also seems to be the month of climbing to down due to a lack of advertising and the loss of philthe other side of COVID-19 as our life opens up again. anthropic support. Unlike the Los Angeles and Boston And it’s the final month of our annual papers, this was a Federation paper, operated by the Patron Campaign. Jewish Community Federation of Southern Arizona. Supporting journalism has never We are fortunate in Rhode Island that the Jewish been more important than it is Federation Foundation continues to contribute to our right now. I would argue that supfunding with a substantial grant that keeps us going. porting local journalism is even We are grateful to those advertisers who have stuck by more important. us, and we welcome new advertisers, who are now part Jewish Rhode Island offers of the Jewish Rhode Island family. local, community-centered jourBut our patrons continue to be a key part of the fundnalism that you can’t find from ing mix. By contributing to the Patron Campaign, you any other source. Our mission is to can make a real impact on Jewish cover the JewRhode Island and the Jewish comish community. Who else can cover the cantor ‘Supporting journalism has munity it serves. Your contributions give us the in Woonsocket and the cookbook in Narragansett? Who else keeps never been more important peace of mind to plan for continued coverage. Your contributions tabs on the men’s club in East show the community that you are Greenwich and the book series in than it is right now.’ committed to keeping a newspaper New Bedford? going here in Rhode Island. And We are the clearinghouse for your contributions – no matter the size – show that you community events through our calendar, and we try to support Jewish journalism in Rhode Island. offer readers a taste of what’s going on throughout our If you have not already become a patron, please concoverage area, north to south and east to west. We offer sider doing so. There is an ad on the back page of this a forum for user-contributed content that isn’t available issue with a coupon to mail to us, or you can donate at anywhere else in the Little Rhody area. And we continjewishrhody.org. You’ll have the appreciation and sinually strive for more and better coverage in the face of cere thanks of the entire Jewish Rhode Island team. shrinking dollars and rising costs that affect staffing, printing, paper, distribution, you name it. Nosh, anyone? We have worked hard during the past 15 months to bring you a print paper and keep you connected to a At Jewish Rhode Island, June is all about food. I bet we community that spent a lot of time figuring out how to stay connected despite shutdowns and social distancing. got you with those black and white cookies on the cover! We are also delighted to be a sponsor of this year’s Top We are still here and we have plans for a bright future Nosh. Showcasing the best of Kosher Rhode Island, you for the paper, the website and additional multimedia can buy a Top Nosh food pass for $18 and nosh away platforms, such as podcasts and videos. for the entire month of June. I just got my pass and I’m During the pandemic, other Jewish newspapers have already trying to decide where to eat first. Check it out had to alter their model or suspend publication entirely. at jewishallianceri.org/top-nosh. As shuls shut down, distribution points dried up And if you are still drooling over those cookies on for papers like the Los Angeles Jewish Journal. With the cover, turn to page 18 and read “Baking with Lisa,” nowhere to go, they put the print paper on hiatus in where she writes about black and white cookies and October 2020. But they kept going with their online offers up a recipe, and where you will also find a link paper – and a promise to return to print as the commuto the first “Baking with Lisa” video. Let us know how nity reopens. you like our first-ever JRI video; email me at editor@ The Boston Jewish Advocate shut down completely in jewishallianceri.org. And watch for future videos! September 2020, after 118 years of publication. Despite a promise to return digitally as a voice for advocacy, it remains closed. An article announcing the “hiatus”
Fran Ostendorf, Editor
advertisements for pork or shellfish. We do not attest to the kashrut of any product or the legitimacy of advertisers’ claims. D'VAR TORAH 5 | CALENDAR 6 | COMMUNITY VOICES 8 | OPINION 14
ON THE COVER: PHOTO | LISA MAYBRUCH Black and white cookies
FOOD 18 | BUSINESS 22 | COMMUNITY 24 | OBITUARIES 29
THE MISSION OF JEWISH RHODE ISLAND is to communicate Jewish news, ideas and ideals by connecting and giving voice to the diverse views of the Jewish community in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, while adhering to Jewish values and the professional standards of journalism. ALL SUBMITTED CONTENT becomes the property of Jewish Rhode Island. Announcements and opinions contained in these pages are published as a service to the community and do not necessarily represent the views of Jewish Rhode Island or its publisher, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. We reserve the right to refuse publication and edit submitted content.
4 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
UP FRONT Rabbi James B. Rosenberg: On a religious quest for over 50 years BY FRAN OSTENDORF
J
ames B. Rosenberg was recently honored for his 50 years as a Reform rabbi during a service at Temple Habonim, in Barrington,
the congregation that he has been connected with for 47 of those 50 years, including 33 years as the congregation’s rabbi. “I thanked the congregation for giving us a place to call home,” Rosenberg said in a recent interview. Rosenberg grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he was active in USY (United Synagogue Youth, the youth organization of the Conservative movement), serving as youth group president and in regional leadership roles. He attended the Pingry School, in Hillside, New Jersey, in grades 1-12, and went on to graduate from Columbia University with a degree in philosophy. Rosenberg was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, in New York, in June 1971. He served as an assistant rabbi at Temple Israel, in Boston, for three years and then became the rabbi at the Barrington Jewish Center, now Temple Habonim. He retired in 2007, but is still part of the Habonim community. He and Sandy have been married for 52 years and have two adult children, Karen and David, and five grandchildren. They now live on the East Side of Providence. Jewish Rhode Island recently sat down with Rabbi Rosenberg for a wide-ranging conversation on retirement, 50 years in the rabbinate and a number of other topics. Here is the edited interview.
What keeps you going? What has been influential in your life?
In my retirement, through my writing and reading, I am greatly nourished by the millennia of Jewish texts. I have a deep respect for Jewish texts. As [the late Israeli writer] Amos Oz said, we Jews are not so much a bloodline as a text line. It is powerful, that feeling that we are tied by something that lives through the ages. How powerful is it that someone could be sitting down and writing something thousands of years ago and it still touches us? That is both miraculous and comforting. I am deeply affected by literature of all kinds. I’ve read “The Brothers Karamazov” three or four times and “Moby Dick” five times, and listened to it twice. Each time, I’m at a different stage of life. The books help me see myself differently. The characters change each time. Judaism is not answers, but questions. For this I’ve been consistent throughout my adult life, which really began in high school.
Why the rabbinate? Because I read “The Brothers Karamazov” and “Moby Dick”! I was very involved in USY [in high school], which strengthened my love for the Jewish people. I went to a non-Jewish school. I wanted to be involved with the ruach [spirit], and those two books ignited a desire for a religious
PHOTO | HANNAH ALTMAN
search. Religion is not about answers. For me, it is impossible to be religious if you go through life having answers. Religion is a quest. I’ve been blessed to be able to spend my entire life wrestling with those questions in various ways. With an upbringing in the Conservative movement, why choose the Reform rabbinate? Some people at JTS [the Jewish Theological Seminary, the rabbinical school of the Conservative movement] encouraged me to apply. But at the
time, some of the requirements and the theological orientation was too literal for me. I was very open about that. [But] I have to say, after my experience with my Conservative colleagues, I don’t see much difference in our theological positions at all. Today, branches of Conservative Judaism are much closer to a conservative branch of the Reform movement, which is where I’m at. When I started at the [then] Barrington Jewish Center, I said I don’t believe a single syllable of Torah is God’s word
or God’s language. But I believe every syllable of Torah is sacred. I believe that the Torah is the living record of my ancestors and their experience with God.
Where did playing the guitar during services come from? In those days it was unusual. It’s much more common now. It was a way of bringing people together. I was very careful not to overdo it. I would CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
JUNE 2021 | 5
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
Dare to pursue your dreams “See what kind of country it is,” said Moses. “Are the people who dwell in it strong or weak, few or many? Is the country in which they live good or bad? Are the towns in which they live open or fortified?” (Numbers 13:18-19). These instructions focus – as we might expect – on gaining information that would be important for an army planning an invasion. But not all of the information that Moses sought was military. He also asked the scouts to find out “is the soil rich or poor? Is it wooded or not?” and to “take pains to bring back some of the fruit of the land” (Numbers 13:20). That last request – for a sample of fruit – might seem a bit odd. The Israelites were mostly interested in information that might help them not get killed in battle – which seems like a reasonable concern. But Moses’ interests were different. Because of his faith in God, Moses had no fears about the Israelites succeeding in taking the land that God had promised them. Moses’ concern was to convince the other Israelites that their future home was worth fighting for. He wanted to reassure them of the longterm gain they could achieve if they had the faith to go through short-term hardships. Moses also seemed to know that the best way to the people’s hearts – as the saying goes –was through their stomachs. That’s why he
wanted the scouts to bring back the fruit and testimonies that would show the land’s fertility. He wanted to leverage the Israelites’ literal hunger for food into a spiritual hunger for the land and for God’s blessings. During their 40-day mission through the land of Israel, RABBI JEFFREY the scouts GOLDWASSER did find agricultural riches. This is where we find the inspiration for that modern-day logo: “They reached the wadi Eshcol, and there they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes. They needed two of them to lift it on a frame” (Numbers 13:23). The Ministry of Tourism’s emblem refers to this memorable image of a cluster of grapes so large that two men were needed to lift it. If you think about it, the Ministry of Tourism has the same agenda today as Moses had in the wilderness. They have to sell Israel – convince people that it is a place worth seeing, worth being a part of, and worthy of our affection and loyalty. And – let’s be honest – today’s Israeli Ministry of Tourism has the same obstacles to overcome that Moses had –people’s fears. If you know how the story of the scouts ends, you know
In my entire life – before Pittsburgh [mass shooting at a temple] – I could never imagine Jews being targeted while worshipping. I think it’s more dangerous now. The only positive side is it’s now out in the open, and it’s easier to deal with something when they are upfront. But social anti-Semitism has been around forever.
In 2008, [columnist] Yehuda Lev got sick. He had been writing a column called “A Majority of One.” The then-editor asked if I’d be willing to write a couple of columns until he recovered. Unfortunately, he never returned – and I’ve never stopped. I’ve also been writing for the Barrington Times roughly once a month since 1998. The last four years, I’ve [also] written essays for the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association’s Notes.
“Resurrecting Hebrew,” by Ilan Stavans. “One Night, Markovitch,” [Israeli author] Ayelet Gundar-Goshen’s first novel. Someone gave me her second novel [“Waking Lions”], which was so good. She’s just a phenomenal novelist. She’s written a third. I’m always reading the poetry of [Israeli poet] Yehuda Amichai. I’m addicted to him.
What three people would you like to invite to dinner and why?
Kugel or knish?
What are you reading right now?
Kugel. [Even though] I’m a diabetic, so it’s not wise.
FRAN OSTENDORF is the editor of Jewish Rhode Island.
D’ VA
IF YOU’VE SEEN an advertisement for travel to Israel, or if you have checked out the website of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, you may have seen a curious logo. Here it is:
This is the most recent styling. Earlier versions looked more like this:
Both the new and old logos depict two figures holding up an enormous cluster of grapes. Did you ever wonder what this image is or what it has to do with Israeli tourism? The image comes from this week’s Torah portion, Sh’lach. Before we look at it, though, let’s review a little biblical background. While the Israelites were traveling through the wilderness of Sinai, the people asked Moses to send scouts into the land of Israel so they could find the best route to take while inspecting the cities along the way (Deuteronomy 1:22). According to Rashi and other commentators, God gave Moses permission to send the scouts in response to this request (Numbers 13:2). Moses gave the 12 scouts – one from each tribe – very specific instructions about what to look for and what to bring back.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 open the service with music and then I would switch to leading the service. Ironically, my real instrument is the piano. I learned to play the guitar in high school, and I played guitar and banjo at Columbia, occasionally at the Postcrypt [Coffeehouse] in the basement of St. Paul’s [Chapel]. They could call me at the last minute, and I would come and play.
Do you think anti-Semitism has grown over the last 50 years?
R
TO R A H
How did you come to write a column in Jewish Rhode Island (then the Jewish Voice & Herald)?
that their mission was a failure. Instead of taking faith and courage from the enormous cluster of grapes, the Israelites succumbed to their fears. They convinced themselves that they would never be able to defeat the people who lived in the land. Instead of imagining themselves devouring the giant grapes, they imagined the Canaanites as giants who would devour them like tasty grasshoppers (Numbers 13:32-33). Today, those whose job it is to inspire people to visit Israel face the challenge of overcoming people’s fears of terrorist attacks and of being tagged with the calumnies that are hurled at Israel. Some things never change. We can see the story of the scouts as a metaphor for all the worthy choices we might make in life. We are always hovering between two contrary desires: the desire to feed ourselves with life’s goodness, and our fear that we will fail to overcome the obstacles we will encounter. How often in your life have you talked yourself out of doing something because of a fear of failing? How often have you backed down from doing what you knew was right in the long run because of some short-term obstacle that scared you? The Israelites’ error in this story – giving in to their fears and giving up on their faith and hope – is regarded
Candle lighting times Greater Rhode Island June 2021
as their greatest sin. It was even worse than the sin of the Golden Calf. Because the Israelites believed that they could not take the land God had promised them, they were made to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, until a new generation could take their place. I’ve heard people wonder why the Israeli Ministry of Tourism uses a “negative image” to represent Israel – an image of the scouts who succumbed to fear and abandoned faith. To me, though, it is the perfect image. It shows that the work of the ministry is to sell a vision of Israel as more than a tiny country surrounded by nasty enemies. Its job is to present Israel as a dream that is still taking shape – a land of spiritual abundance for all that can feed our souls with faith and hope. So take this as a lesson in your own life. Have faith in yourself and resist the temptation to give in to fear. Know that God has placed you into this world for a purpose that may now be beyond your understanding. Dare to pursue your highest and noblest dreams – for yourself, for your community and for our world. RABBI JEFFREY GOLDWASSER is the spiritual leader of Temple Sinai, in Cranston.
June 4 7:56 p.m June 11 8:00 p.m June 18 8:03 p.m June 25 8:04 p.m
So many possibilities, it’s an embarrassment of riches! Joe Biden, because he’s a mensch. Yehuda Amichai, resurrected, because his poems tell the truth. The unknown author of Job, because of the questions he asks.
6 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS FOR COMPLETE MONTHLY LISTINGS, VISIT JEWISHRHODY.ORG
Ongoing Kosher Senior Café and Zoom programming. Cold box lunches delivered to all of Café guests who request home delivery while meal sites are closed due to COVID-19. Two lunches delivered on Mondays and Wednesdays; one lunch delivered on Fridays. In-person, outdoor every-other-Friday lunches (weather dependent) – June dates 6/4 and 6/18. Zoom programming includes yoga on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m.-noon followed by lunch and a guest speaker or discussion from noon-1 p.m. The fourth Tuesday of the month is “Susie’s corner” with Susie Adler from noon-1 p.m. The third Thursday of the month is a book chat with Neal Drobnis from noon-1 p.m. Suggested donation: $3 per lunch. Information, Neal Drobnis at neal@jfsri.org or 401678-6464 or 401-331-1244. Music with Raymond Buttero via Zoom. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 3-4 p.m. Temple Sinai's pianist performs. Link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@ templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350. Project Shoresh Partners in Torah Night in-person and via Zoom. Sundays 7:45-8:45 p.m. 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Partner-based study group. Study your choice of texts, English or Hebrew,
ancient or modern, with facilitators available. Let us know if you need a "study-buddy." Free. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail. com or 401-632-3165. Conversational Hebrew Classes via Zoom. Mondays 7-8:15 p.m. thru 7/19. Three levels offered. Partnership of the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI and Temple Emanu-El. No class 7/5. $100 for 8 sessions. Information, Toby Liebowitz at tobyaane@gmail.com. Project Shoresh “The Path of the Just – The Jewish Waze.” Mondays 8-9 p.m. Journey the path of life using the WAZE of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato in his book "Messilas Yesharim" via Zoom. Free. Information, Noach Karp at rnoachkarp@ gmail.com or 401-429-8244. Basic Beginners Hebrew Classes via Zoom. Tuesdays 6:15-7:15 p.m. thru 7/20. Must be able to read and write Hebrew alphabet. Partnership of the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI and Temple Emanu-El. No class 7/6. $100 for 8 sessions. Information, Toby Liebowitz at tobyaane@gmail.com. Temple Habonim Adult Ed Class: “Judaism and Otherness.” Tuesdays 7-8:30 p.m. thru 6/22. Facilitated by Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman, explore the intersection between religious and
racial identities, what it means to be "the other" and ramifications of assimilating (or not) the increasing number of Jews of color. Members: Free | Non-members: $50. Information, Adina Davies at office@ templehabonim.org or 401-2456536. Project Shoresh “48 Ways to Wisdom” with Rabbi Naftali Karp. Tuesdays 7:45-8:45 p.m. The Mishnah describes 48 essential tools to acquire Torah. Rav Noach Weinberg taught these 48 ways as guidelines to achieving success in every facet of our lives. Free. Each class self-contained. Information or RSVP, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@ gmail.com or 401-632-3165. Project Shoresh Jewish Young Professionals Shmooze. Wednesdays 7:15-8:15 p.m. Lippitt Memorial Park, 1015 Hope St., Providence. Shmooze, snack and have a beer. Free. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail.com or 401-6323165. Temple Habonim Lunch & Learn with Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman via Zoom. Thursdays noon-1 p.m. Torah Study on Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics. Information, Adina Davies at office@templehabonim.org or 401245-6536. Project Shoresh Parsha Powwow with Rabbi Naftali Karp. Thursdays 7:30-8:15 p.m. Discover via Zoom sessions how topical and relevant the Parsha’s ideas and concepts are. Free. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail. com or 401-632-3165. Temple Emanu-El Parashah HaShavua. Fridays 8:30-9 a.m. (after Z'man Kodesh: Daily Minyan Alternative Experience) thru 6/11. Rabbi Alvan Kaunfer leads study session on highlights from weekly Torah portion. All welcome. Information and Zoom link, Rabbi Alvan Kaunfer at akaunfer@cox.net. Temple Sinai Morning Meditation via Zoom. Fridays 10-10:30 a.m. Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser leads meditation that includes reflections on Jewish wisdom and mindfulness. No prior experience required. Information, templesinairi.org or Dottie at 401-942-8350. TGIS in the Garden. 3rd Friday of the month 5-5:30 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Thank G-d it's Shabbat in person at the TTY garden with Zoom available. Information, email Temple@toratyisrael.org. Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual Welcome Shabbat with the Rabbi
Services. Fridays 5:30-5:45 p.m. except the 3rd Friday of the month. Join Rabbi Aaron Philmus for a service filled with songs and stories. For Zoom link, email Temple@ toratyisrael.org. Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual Kabbalat Shabbat Songs and Torah Services. Fridays 5:45-6:30 p.m. except the 3rd Friday of the month. With Rabbi Aaron Philmus. For adults. For Zoom link, email Temple@toratyisrael.org. Temple Torat Yisrael Kabbalat Shabbat in the Garden. 3rd Friday of the month 5:45-6:30 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Rabbi Aaron Philmus leads in-person service. Zoom available. Information, email Temple@toratyisrael.org. Temple Sinai Shabbat Services via Zoom. Fridays 6-7:15 p.m. With Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser and Cantor Deborah Johnson. Link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@templesinairi.org or 401942-8350. Temple Beth-El Remote Torah Study. Saturdays 9-10 a.m. Zoom led by Beth-El clergy. Information, Kim Campbell at kcampbell@temple-beth-el.org. Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual and In-person Shabbat Services. Saturdays 9:30-10:30 a.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. With Rabbi Aaron Philmus. For Zoom link, email Temple@toratyisrael.org. Temple Habonim Torah Study via Zoom. Saturdays 10-11 a.m. Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman leads weekly Torah study on current portion. Information, Adina Davies at office@ templehabonim.org or 401-2456536. Temple Sinai Torah Study via Zoom. Saturdays 10-11:15 a.m. Interactive discussion with Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser. Zoom link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@templesinairi.org or 401942-8350. Temple Sinai Shabbat Torah Reading via Zoom. First and third Saturday of each month 11 a.m.noon. Information, templesinairi.org or Dottie at 401-942-8350.
Sunday | June 6 RI Coalition for Israel: “Pro-Israel Anti-Semitism” Motorcycle Rally. 2:30-4 p.m. Start at former Ann & Hope parking lot, 1689 Post Road, Warwick. End an hour later at the Praise Tabernacle Church (previously Torat Yisrael), 330 Park Ave. Rally follows with motorcy-
cle riders and others interested in joining. Donations welcome. Information, Ken Schneider at kenschneider33@gmail.com or 401-369-0053.
Monday | June 7 Hadassah Book Club: “The Night Portrait: A Novel of World War II and da Vinci's Italy” by Laura Morelli. 7:30-8:30 p.m. Hadassah members and friends meet on Zoom to discuss this exciting, dual timeline historical novel. Information and RSVP, Roberta Schneider at rkschneider33@gmail.com or 401-369-0045.
Tuesday | June 8 Little States, Big Innovation, Rhode Island X Israel Monthly Webinar Series. Noon-1 p.m. Interactive session with some of Israel’s startup entrepreneurs. A collaboration of Rhode Island – Israel Collaborative (RIIC), District Hall Providence and RIHub. Information, info@districthallprovidence.org. “Relational Judaism” via Zoom. Noon-1:15 p.m. Second of three professional development programs on Relational Judaism, led by Ron Wolfson and his team, for synagogues and agencies. Upcoming date: 8/24. Information, Larry Katz at lkatz@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 179. Jewish National Fund-USA Tree of Life Virtual Gala Honoring Josh Solomon. 8 p.m. Join JNFUSA and the New England & Albany community to honor Josh Solomon with the Tree of Life Award. Ceremony will feature a dialogue with award-winning actors Henry Winkler and Marlee Matlin. Cost: $360. Information, jnf.org/treeoflifenewengland or Dar Nadler at dnadler@jnf.org or 617-423-0999, ext. 822.
Wednesday | June 9 Israeli Culture Night: “Women in Israeli Defense Forces” via Zoom. 7 p.m. Or Cohen’s story is one of female bravery, choices, success and equality. By pushing limits, Or became a role model of strength and ability. Last Israeli Culture Series event hosted by Cohen. Brief farewell program at 6:30 p.m. Information, Or Cohen at ocohen@jewishallianceri.org.
Thursday | June 10 Temple Sinai Series “Jews and Palestinians at the Movies”: Zoom Discussion of “Ajami.” 7-8:30 p.m. The final movie in the series
JUNE 2021 | 7
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
CALENDAR
Saturday | June 12 Tot Shabbat Outdoors. 10-10:45 a.m. Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 N. Main St., Attleboro, Mass. Education Director Linda Myer leds a service for infants, toddlers, pre-K kids and their parents. Older siblings welcome. COVID-19 guidelines followed. Information, Linda Myer at school@agudasma.org. K'tantan Havdalah Concert. 5-7 p.m. Temple Beth-El’s back patio, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Havdalah, Rock-a-Baby concert
35th Annual Dwares JCC Golf Classic. 11 a.m. Ledgemont Country Club, 131 Brown Ave., Seekonk, Mass. The Golf Classic returns. Information, Abi Weiner at aweiner@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 146.
Wednesday | June 16 Core Connects RI Wine & Snacks. 7-8:30 p.m. Temple Beth-El’s back patio, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Felice Winograd will lead some calm breathing and light stretching. Nancy Katz will facilitate an art activity. For Jewish women. CDC guidelines followed. Fee: $18. RSVP and information, coreconnectsri. com or Elissa Felder at CoreConnectsRI@gmail.com or 401-2419631
Thursday | June 17 Jewish Alliance’s Tenth Annual Meeting via Zoom. 7 p.m. Featuring remarks from Alliance Board Chair
Friday | June 18
Ave., Providence. Help someone else by giving blood. Donations by appointment. Walk-ins only accepted if safe spacing permits. Eat, hydrate and bring identification with you. Book appointment at www.ribc.org/drives; use Sponsor Code 0047.
Shabbat Under the Stars. 7-8 p.m. Temple Beth-El’s back patio, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. BMW AUDI MERCEDES BENZ VOLKSWAGEN MINI Gather on the Julie Claire Gutterman Biblical Garden patio to greet Shabbat with “I was driving and my muffler fell off song and stories. of my car so that I was dragging it. I made it to German Motors and they Enjoy special summer drove me home and fixed it the same treats following the day. It’s great to trust the people service. Information, that are servicing your car.” Kim Campbell at – Michael G., Providence, Audi S4 kcampbell@tem“Safety is our number one priority. ple-beth-el.org. We are capable of providing service
Wednesday | June 23 Rhode Island Blood Center Blood Drive. 1-5 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard
“SAVED AGAIN”
without any contact with our customers.” – Gerry and Denis Moreau
G
years earlier while working for the Resistance during WWII, she had helped give new identities to Jewish children. No cost to participate; procuring the book is your responsibility. Information, Lisa Maybruch at lmaybruch@jewishallianceri.org.
Virtual Book Club: “The Book of Lost Names” Zoom discussion. 7 p.m. In Kristin Harmel’s novel, Eva comes across an article jogging her memory from the past. Sixty-five
E R M A N
Sales &
MO
T O R S
INC
Service
879 North Main Street, Providence, RI 02904 401-272-4266 Email us at: germanmotorshelp@gmail.com
BMW AUDI MERCEDES BENZ PORSCHE VOLKSWAGEN MINI COOPER
Temple Beth-El Virtual Pride Celebration. 5:45-7 p.m. Keynote speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Donnie Anderson. All welcome. Information, Kim Campbell at kcampbell@ temple-beth-el.org.
Monday | June 14
James Pious; Board Installations: Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, Jewish Federation Foundation, Alliance Realty, Inc.; presentation of Community Awards; remarks from Alliance President & CEO Adam Greenman. Information, Gail Putnam at gputnam@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 158.
BMW AUDI MERCEDES BENZ PORSCHE VOLKSWAGEN MINI COOPER
Friday | June 11
and a pizza dinner. Free. Sponsored by the Temple Beth-El Sisterhood. Information, Kim Campbell at kcampbell@temple-beth-el.org.
Jewish professional male looking for a small place to rent. Can be an apartment, condo, in-law apartment, etc. Must have a private bath and a private entrance. Call Peter at 401-500-2427, or email pz60@yahoo.com.
MERCEDES BENZ VOLKSWAGEN MINI PORSCHE
consists of five stories based in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa where Arabs, Palestinians, Jews and Christians all reside. A collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, “Ajami” is offered on several streaming services. Information, Dottie at templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.
The Jewish Voice Rep: Peter Zeldin B&W spot ad: 2" X 3" June 4, 2021 – Food Issue Deadline - May 24, 2021 PRESENTED BY:
Now through June 30 Support the local food economy and try some of the most delicious Kosher food in the area. Order your Top Nosh Food Pass today, and start taking advantage of these great discounts and special offers! Then vote for your favorites online and the SIGN UP ONLINE!
winners will be featured throughout the Jewish community.
jewishallianceri.org/top-nosh/
8 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
COMMUNITY VOICES
From generation to generation BY GERALDINE S. FOSTER
Seventy years ago, David Charak Adelman saw his idea for a new organization become a reality. For many years, Adelman had been collecting “Rhode Island Americana” – printed materials and records relating to the history of his home state. As part of this, at first unconsciously, then deliberately, he began searching for books and items on Jewish communities and their involvement in R.I. history. Adelman found that in histories of Providence and Rhode Island written in the 19th and early 20th century, Jews were barely mentioned, ignored or vilified. He also found serious errors in books, written by Jewish authors, about the Jewish presence in Colonial Newport. At the time, there was no central agency in the state that was tasked with the collection, archiving and study of materials pertaining to the Jewish communities. The need for such an agency became even more apparent after a fire, in the late 1940s, destroyed some of the 19th-century records of Congregation Sons of Israel and David (now Temple Beth-El, in Providence). At the sug-
gestion of Rabbi William G. Braude, Adelman undertook the challenge of writing the history of the congregation. The task, Adelman later wrote, proved to be taxing and time-consuming since it relied on outside sources to reconstruct as much as possible. And he knew that other big events were approaching that would also need to be documented, including the 100th anniversary of the congregation and the tercentenary of the Jewish settlement in New York. An article by Beryl Segal in the Jewish Herald on Jan. 5, 1951, titled “Anniversary of a Failure,” strengthened Adelman’s resolve to bring an idea he had to fruition. The Herald article memorialized Adelman’s failure to achieve a goal he had set for himself – to identify the early Jewish settlers in Providence. Who were they? When did they live? He had set aside five years of free time on weekends, from 1945 to 1950, to search libraries and archives for Jewish names in records and old newspapers, to read tombstones at the North Burial Ground, in Providence, and to meet with long-time residents of the city. Over the years, the number of filled
notebooks, folders and index cards on Adelman’s desk grew. By 1950, he had learned a great deal and amassed valuable information. But his findings were only the tip of the iceberg. The project needed more than dedication and free weekend time. On Sept. 11, 1951, Adelman and Alter Boyman, William G. Braude, Israel J. Kapstein, Arthur J. Levy, Matilda J. Pincus and Beryl Segal received a charter from the state for the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association. The stated purpose was “to procure, collect and preserve records, pamphlets, letters, manuscripts, photographs, paintings, and any other materials pertaining to the history of the Jews of Rhode Island,” to encourage and promote the study of such history with lectures and other events, and to publish and diffuse information about such history. The founders adopted the Star of David as the RIJHA’s logo, with the Hebrew words for “To Remember” in the center. In the name of full disclosure, two of the founding members are family. Alter Boyman was married to my mother’s cousin, but to us he was always our beloved Uncle Alter. Beryl Segal was my father.
The R.I. Jewish Historical Society’s first office was a bookcase in borrowed space. The first archives were housed in the trunk of David Adelman’s car. The first volume of the RIJHA’s Notes, Vol. 1, No. 1, listed four patrons, nine sustaining members, two active members and 21 contributing members. Seventy years ago, the seeds of the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association were planted and began to grow. As each generation takes its place in the history of the Jews in Rhode Island, the RIJHA continues as the repository and the archive for our collected, collective history, as well as a center for research, for study, to teach, to inform, to understand the present by remembering the past. From generation to generation is the headline on this article, and it has personal meaning for me. My father served as the second president of the RIJHA, I had the honor of serving, 1985-88, and this year, my son, Harold Foster, was elected president. From generation to generation. GERALDINE S. FOSTER is a past president of the R.I. Jewish Historical Association. To comment about this or any RIJHA article, contact the RIJHA office at info@rijha.org or 401-331-1360.
United States Bankruptcy Court Authorized Sale | Lisa A. Geremia, Esq., Trustee | RE: Clad In, LLC
TOTAL INVENTORY LIQUIDATION SALE!
75% OFF Entire Inventory LATEST FASHIONS FROM INTERNATIONAL DESIGNERS Shirts, Belts, Shoes, Accessories, Vests, Jackets, Skirts
EVERYTHING MUST GO! All Sales Final
Cash and Credit Cards Accepted.
Wednesday, June 9-13, 2021 Sale Under Management of:
Noon to 9PM 32 Friendship Street | Westerly, RI
siaai.com | 401.792.4300
facebook.com/salvadoreauctions facebook.com/elena.cladin buyatauction cladinyourstyle
United States Trustee: Lisa A. Geremia, Esq. GEREMIA & DEMARCO, LTD. Village on Vine 620 Main Street | CU 3A East Greenwich, RI 02818 401.885.1444
JUNE 2021 | 9
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
COMMUNITY VOICES
The indelible link between parent and child
SKE
T
“MOE” was born in London – in Whitechapel – in 1904. His father had hiked across Europe, a “footgoer” among a generation of migrating scouts in quest of work and fresh footholds for households. They often served as stevedores to cross the channel and get to the center of the British Empire. “The Old Gent’s” first job was making saddles for the Boer War! That’s how my dad, “Moses,” shortened to “Moe” so the Angel of Death couldn’t find him, became an Englishman. The family then made its way across the North Sea to Canada, but Moe’s mom died during the trip. The Old Gent then married again and founded a new family across the border in the United States. So Moe was raised by a relative in New York while his dad transformed the saddle business into the New England Furniture and Upholstery factory, right here in Providence, across from Women & Infants Hospital on Eddy Street. It was forthrightly named Fink Brothers and gave work to immigrants from Portugal, Quebec, Romania, the ports of the seven seas. Moe worked at Fink Brothers, using the skills he had learned at a New York high school for commerce to help keep the books. I was the youngest of the three Fink boys. We lived a short stroll from Roger Williams Park before we bought a piece of farmland
CH
on the East Side of Providence and built a little mock-Tudor house with a fireplace and a cobblestone driveway. In the cellar of our house was a basket of cat-o’-ninetails that I lived in fear of. Moe never whipped us, but the very thought of it kept us in line. Oh yes, I was afraid of my father in those days. If he was upset, he might shout “damnation!” – and I thought he was cursing MIKE FINK the country, the nation! I was named for Moe’s late mother, Mira, who had died en route to Canada after giving birth to her third child. My dad was too young to fight in World War I and too old for World War II, but his brothers were drafted and fought for the Allies in WWII, with daring, distinction and courage, against Germany, Italy and Japan. They came home laden with honors, medals ... and wounds. I guess I got to know Moe best upon the death of my mom. She was born on Aug. 2, gave birth on Aug. 2, and died on Aug. 2, on her 60th birthday. She left a love letter for Moe and a thank you note for the nurse who took care of her in her sudden, final illness. And she instructed me how to wash, clean and generally take care of Moe after her passing. Wow! I grew up on that one dramatic day! Moe and I were housemates for almost a full decade. Then, one day after I had served his supper and
BOOK
built a fire on the hearth, I when we lost my beautiful, asked for one of his Camel talented, kindly mother. She cigarettes and for him to was my Eden. But Moe lives join me for a moment. on with me partly because “I am getting married! Can we have the ceremony right here by this fireplace?” I asked, fearful of his response. His reaction amazed me. He proceeded to arrange the house carefully and with determination, and the ceremony went off perfectly, but with a touch of melancholy about the absence of our beloved late lady of the house. My bride and I, and soon our firstborn daughter, entertained Moe at dinners in our nearby apartment until, several seasons later, he too died. But he returns to me on occasions such as Father’s Day. Somehow, maybe due to the reigning king at the time of the translation of the Bible into English, we often picture God as, vaguely, a kind of man, a father, even a version of Santa Claus. But not so Moe Fink, above, grinning at his son’s much nowadays, wedding. Top, as a young man in Harlem, when we someNew York City. times even say “Goddess” instead it was up to me to keep his of “God.” keepsakes. But I like to think that, in I have his high school a strange way, God needs diploma and a few of the us the way Moe needed me
arrowheads and Indian Head nickels he saved as tokens of American history. And the ancient, gorgeous camera he purchased from a pawn shop in 1918. And his radio set from the same era. A few sepia portraits of him with buddies from his ports of call. A moth-eaten scarf. Even a pair of framed portraits of the reigning monarchs of the London of his earliest boyhood, in Edwardian England. These things bring him back to me in my studio garage, my school office, my thoughts and dreams. Recently, I came across a case holding a ruined, worthless violin. I hope to get it repaired as a souvenir of his hopes for us three boys. He bought each of us boxing gloves as a teaching lesson in self-defense to guard against bullies. But also – as in the plots of post-war and Great Depression movies – a violin or an upright piano, to mix strength with spirituality, boldness with beauty. We need our Mother’s Day and we need our Father’s Day. And Creation and the Creator depend on each of us to “keep the faith,” to “keep the home fires burning,” the music of the spheres and the prayers, like Noah in his Ark, for some sort of return to Eden. Like a Renaissance depiction of peace on Earth where all things are sacred, holy, kindly and as merciful as possible here-below – where we are partners bound together, now as ever. MIKE FINK (mfink33@aol. com) teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design.
10 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
COMMUNITY VOICES
Relay For Life more important than ever this year
SPE A
K IN
24 hours around a track in Tacoma, Washington. He covered 83.6 miles and raised $27,000. Now, the event is a fixture in communities across the country – or at least it was until the coronavirus pandemic forced the relays online last year. The Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro, which began in LARRY 1999, attracted KESSLER hundreds of volunteers and participants to a local high school track over an 18-hour period before 2020, when the pandemic stopped it in its tracks. I’ve been involved with the event as a participant, and for the last several years as a volunteer, for all but the first year. This year, I’m helping
G OU
T
BACK IN THE LATE 1950S and early ’60s, when I attended Hebrew School in Dorchester, Massachusetts, I don’t recall my teachers talking about the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, repairing the world. But I did hear a lot about giving and performing mitzvot, especially from my parents, who made a point of helping the less fortunate. My parents supported many charities, including the Jimmy Fund, the major fundraising arm of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. My father’s support for the Jimmy Fund contributed to my involvement, for the last two decades, in a major fundraiser for the American Cancer Society: Relay For Life. That event began nationally in 1985, when Dr. Gordon Klatt walked and ran for
to organize two smaller in-person events in late June, including a celebration of a poetry-essay event that the relay committee held in April, in partnership with the Attleboro Public Library. Called “Slam Cancer: How I’ve Been Touched by the Disease,” the PHOTO | RELAY FOR event invited people Luminaria, shown at a past Relay For Life of Greater LIFE OF GREATER Attleboro event, are typically lit around a track in honor to write about how ATTLEBORO of cancer survivors and in memory of cancer victims. cancer has affected them. took in more than $150,000. cent. The COVID pandemic The purpose of Nationwide, the story was led to many cancer exams the poetry-essay event was to just as bleak last year, as being canceled as others raise community awareness donations fell by 50%, accordwere afraid to visit a doctor’s about the need to fund cancer ing to the cancer society. office.” research, treatment and A grimmer indication of As a result, many people patient care. That’s become the pandemic’s negative effect were ultimately diagnosed especially important in 2021, on cancer treatment is this with more advanced forms of since donations fell signififact from ACS CAN, the cancancers than they would have cantly last year. cer society’s advocacy arm: been had screenings not been The 2020 Greater Attleboro “From February to mid-April interrupted by the pandemic. virtual event raised a little 2020, the rate of some cancer That alarming fact makes more than $60,000; in 2019, screenings fell by over 80 perwhen events were live, it CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
At the Jewish Alliance, we work to find new and creative ways of meeting people’s needs in an ever changing landscape. In these uncertain times when so many people are finding themselves in need of assistance – many of them for the first time – we are providing programs that help the most vulnerable among us, both locally and globally. With your support, we keep people safe and cared for. With your increased commitment to the Annual Community Campaign, you will provide continuity and the expanded services that people so desperately need right now. We appreciate your past support and hope you’ll consider increasing your gift.
2021 ANNUAL COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN JEWISHALLIANCERI.ORG/DONATE
HERE FOR GOOD. 401 Elmgrove Avenue • Providence, RI 02906 • 401.421.4111 • jewishallianceri.org
JEWISH ALLIANCE OF GREATER RHODE ISLAND
TENTH ANNUAL MEETING
Thursday, June 17 | 7:00pm via Zoom
Join us for our 2021 - 2022 Annual Meeting as we honor and celebrate our community. The virtual event will feature: Presentation of Community Awards Remarks from Adam Greenman, Alliance President & CEO Remarks from Alliance Board Chair, James Pious Board Installations: Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island Jewish Federation Foundation Alliance Realty, Inc. Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island 2021 - 2022 Proposed Slate of Board of Directors Chair James Pious Vice Chairs Harris Chorney, Community Development Richard Glucksman, Philanthropy Sara Miller-Paul, Communications Mara Ostro, Jewish Life & Learning Oswald Schwartz, Governance Treasurer Jay Rosenstein Secretary William Krieger Board of Directors Jason Bazarsky Reza Breakstone Adam Cable Susan Leach DeBlasio Brauna Doidge, Chair Appointee Rabbi Barry Dolinger, Rabbinical Representative Michael Eides Ryan Forman
Susan Froehlich, Leadership Development Sharon Gaines Marisa Garber Janet Goldman Robert Landau Sara Meirowitz Cara Mitnick, Community Relations Council Jeffrey Padwa Andrew Palan Tiferet Sassona Rose Eric Shorr Richard Silverman Miriam Esther Weiner Honorary Directors Melvin G. Alperin Alan G. Hassenfeld Mitzi Berkelhammer, Immediate Past Chair Adam Greenman, President and CEO 2021 - 2022 Jewish Federation Foundation Board
Mark R. Feinstein Sharon Gaines David M. Hirsch Marilyn Kaplan, Treasurer Richard A. Licht Michael B. Nulman James Pious, ex officio Ralph Posner Jay Rosenstein Robert Sherwin, Vice Chair Barbara Sokoloff Herbert B. Stern Cheryl Greenfeld Teverow, Secretary Mindy Wachtenheim 2021 - 2022 Alliance Realty, Inc. Board Ronald C. Markoff, Chair Robert Stolzman, Vice Chair Sharon Gaines, Secretary/Treasurer Marc Gertsacov, Board Member Adam Greenman, President and CEO
Mitzi Berkelhammer, Chair Melvin G. Alperin Susan Leach DiBlasio Diane Ducoff Robin Engle
RSVP required. To sign up and receive the Zoom link, please visit jewishallianceri.org/AnnualMeeting/
12 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
COMMUNITY VOICES
A little bit of small-town Jewish geography BY GEORGE M. GOODWIN WHILE RECENTLY trying to identify some of America’s smallest Jewish communities, I naturally thought of Westerly, West Warwick and Woonsocket. But I was willing to look far beyond Little Rhody. “Documenting Maine Jewry,” at www.mainejews. org, is primarily an online resource that has gathered thousands of priceless documents and photos. Recently, I tried to help the website identify all of the state’s Jewish high school graduates by consulting with my motherin-law, 91, who grew up in Portland. She remembered six of her classmates. Then I thought about the distinguished American sculptor Louise Nevelson (1899-1988), who was born in Ukraine but grew up in Rockland, Maine. Thanks to documents found on Ancestry.com, I determined that she and her three siblings had graduated from the local high school. Seeking a greater Jewish communal challenge, I fondly remembered someone from my youth in Los Angeles. Though not exactly a relative, Allen William Brussell, known as Bill, had a fascinating Jewish lineage. He had grown up in Aberdeen – not in Scotland, but in South Dakota! In 1954, Bill became the second husband of my mother, Madeline’s, first cousin, Mae Magnin. So I turned again to Ancestry.com to learn more about
So I again searched far and Aberdeen. I could see in the I found that in 1917, Ben wide online, and found his 1920 census that Bill’s parBrussell was one of the grave in the Temple of Aaron ents, Benjamin and Jennie seven founders of Aberdeen’s Cemetery, in Roseville, MinBrusselofsky, had immiCongregation B’nai Isaac. grated to the United States Three years later, rather than nesota. But why there? My research revealed that Ben’s from Minsk, Belarus; he in build its own synagogue, the older brother, Jacob, and his 1902, she in 1910. All four of congregation purchased the family lived in St. Paul. their kids were born in South chapel of the First Wesleyan My wife, Betsey, and I Dakota. The eldest, Abraham Methodist Church, which was lived in St. Paul from 1985 to (who became Allen), was born constructed in 1886. 1987, and we were of course in 1913. Ben was the propriB’nai Isaac somehow still familiar with the Temple etor of his own clothing store. exists, so its synagogue is the of Aaron, the large ConserThe state census of 1915 shows oldest in continuous use in South Dakota. But there are vative congregation whose that he had arrived in South only two others, in Rapid City synagogue was designed by Dakota in 1912 and that his Percival Goodman in 1956. religion was “Jewish church.” and Sioux Falls. I learned elsewhere that Had we known of Ben’s burial State land records also show there might be only 400 Jews in Roseville, we would have that he had purchased property in the Perkins precinct of living in the Mount Rushmore paid our respects. State. Representing one-tenth By 1942, Bill’s oldest sibling, Barthold County. of 1% of its population, South Rose, had graduated from Seeking more information Dakota has the smallest perdental school at Minnesota, about that speck of a town, I centage of Jews of any state. moved to Los Angeles and went to the index of the 1910 I remembered that Bill, as a married a Jewish habercensus and found a person young man, had been a tennis dasher. Within six years, Bill named Ren Bensel living in and two other siblings, Perkins. This was in along with their mother, fact Ben Brussell, and Where was Ben buried? moved to Los Angeles. his occupation was Bill may have met my listed as farm operEvidently, there’s no Jewish mother’s cousin, Mae, then ator. And there were divorced and with two several other “Russons, because they lived in sian-Yiddish” families cemetery in Aberdeen. the same Westside neighliving nearby! Their borhood. Another possisurnames included star. Indeed, he played on the Ackerman, Friedel, Guttervarsity team at the University bility is that Bill may have attended services at Wilshire man and Weisburd. of Minnesota and belonged to Boulevard Temple, the city’s Through further research, a Jewish fraternity. oldest and largest Reform I found that in 1908, BenjaWhen Ben died of appendicongregation, where Mae’s min Strool, a Latvian-Jewish citis in 1936, Bill was left with father, Edgar F. Magnin, was immigrant, had founded the the haberdashery business the senior rabbi. town of Strool in Barthold at 109 South Main Street, and As I recall, Bill never came County. It attracted a few responsibility for his mother across as a yokel. Rather, he Jewish settlers, but a drought and younger siblings. was a friendly, down-to-earth and a heat wave soon led to Where was Ben buried? guy who developed his own its disappearance. So, by Evidently, there’s no Jewsmall chain of haberdashercomparison, a town like Aber- ish cemetery in Aberdeen. ies. One was in Westwood, deen must have looked rather Perhaps a few dozen Jews are another was downtown and promising. buried in the town’s Riverthe third was in Beverly Hills. Searching for additional side Cemetery, but Ben is not I became an employee of the information on the Web, among them.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 the events planned for this year’s Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro vital. These events include: • A drive-through relay on Saturday, June 19, 6 to 9 p.m., at Norton High School, to honor survivors and remember cancer victims. • A gathering on Saturday, June 26, 6 to 9 p.m., in Attleboro’s Balfour Riverwalk Park, where people will be invited to read their “Slam Cancer” submissions. Holding actual events – as opposed to virtual events – is especially good news for those striving to beat cancer, because reestablishing a sense of community is essential to the Relay For Life’s purpose. Participants are often motivated by personal experiences that compel them to return yearly in their quest to “Slam Cancer.” Over the years,
the relay has also offered a chance for people to remember their loved ones affected by the disease and to commiserate with others. People have always found an empathetic soul to talk to or a willing shoulder to cry on. Like my fellow participants, the desire to see the disease eradicated continues to motivate me. Here’s why: One of the saddest aspects of participating in the relay has always been when someone who appeared one year as a survivor on your list of luminaria (candles lit for cancer survivors or victims) must be remembered as a victim the next year. That’s happened far too often, but one of the most heartbreaking examples for me involved a cousin with whom I had just renewed strong ties. Jack, the youngest of three brothers, grew up in Ontario, Canada, but,
like his older brothers, he became a Boston Red Sox fan because my dad and I would take them to Fenway Park during their family’s annual summer visits to Boston in the 1960s. Later, when we were busy raising families, it became harder to stay in touch. We saw Jack during a visit to Ontario in 2001, and then met twice in 2012: I took Jack and his family to McCoy Stadium to see the Pawtucket Red Sox in July and we visited them in Ontario in August. Two summers later, Jack and his family met us in Quebec City, where we were vacationing. We were trying to work out another joint summer trip when Jack was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, in April 2017. He was one of my survivor luminaria in that June’s relay, but he lost his cancer battle that October – and has been one of my memorial luminaria ever since.
Beverly Hills store during the summer of 1971, while a graduate student in art history. I had never worked in a retail business, so I guess that Bill felt that family connections required him to give me a temporary job. Needless to say, I was not a great salesman, but I do have a vivid recollection from that job. One day, close to the Fourth of July, the comedian Jonathan Winters came in and asked if I had a blue polyester suit. I did, and he tried it on. Then he asked if there were other colors. I said yes, and he ended up buying suits in blue, red and white. That was probably the day’s biggest sale! Mae and Bill had three daughters, Barbara, Bonnie and Diane, but I didn’t get to know them as well as other Goodwin and Magnin cousins because Mae decided to relocate her family to Carmel, California. Unfortunately, I also didn’t see much of Bill in later years, after he closed his haberdasheries, and, after his divorce, began spending a great deal of time in Florida. But I know that Bill is not buried in South Dakota or Minnesota. Rather, his remains rest in Hillside, the same Westside Los Angeles cemetery where my parents and paternal grandparents are found. GEORGE M. GOODWIN, of Providence, is the editor of Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes.
My experience, unfortunately, isn’t unique, because cancer remains one of the most insidious and equal-opportunity diseases. By that I mean it’s often relentless as it afflicts women, men and girls and boys of all ages, religions and races. That’s why I continue to relay, and it’s why I hope you’ll consider joining us at one of the events planned for June so we can “Slam Cancer” once and for all. To either participate or volunteer, or to donate to the Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro, go to www.relayforlife.org/greaterattleboroma. LARRY KESSLER, a freelance writer from North Attleboro, is a member of the Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro organizing committee. He can be reached at larrythek65@gmail.com and blogs at larrytheklineup.blogspot. com.
JUNE 2021 | 13
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
COMMUNITY VOICES
We love our pets! OUR APOLOGIES to Teddy Hurlich and mom Rachel of East Greenwich for leaving him out of our May pet edition. Next year, Teddy can be on view with all the other pets.
Jewish Roots Growing Community Through Art
The “Jewish Roots” community art project is a collection of at-home activities designed to keep people creative and connected while also bringing us together as a community.
Vegan | Plant Based | Kosher | Comfort Food
Vegan Kitchen
Join us in building this representation of our amazing community. Everyone is welcome to participate, and no artistic talent is required. Learn more and sign up at jewishallianceri.org/jewishroots
Takeout & Delivery | Outdoor Patio 796 Aquidneck Avenue, Unit 3 Middletown, RI 02842 401-426-0500
sproutandlentil.com
The centerpiece of the project is a tree-shaped mosaic designed by renowned Judaica artist Nancy Katz. It will feature glass “gems” created by members of our diverse community, and will be permanently installed in the Dwares JCC lobby. Just as each piece of a mosaic is vibrant and unique on its own, so too are the people in our community. And when those individual pieces are brought together with common purpose, they’re able to create something much greater and more beautiful.
2021 Presented by:
For more information, contact Lisa Maybruch at lmaybruch@jewishallianceri.org
14 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
COMMUNITY VOICES | OPINION Stand up and be proud
Judi Dill Providence
IN THE NEWS Bialik hosts ‘Jeopardy!’ (JTA) – Jewish actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik began her two-week stint as a guest host on “Jeopardy!” Monday night, paying tribute to her “creative and academic family” and the show’s late host Alex Trebek in her opening remarks. Bialik, who has written about her Jewish identity, drew praise on social media after the first night of her run, which goes through June 11. The show is matching the amount won by contestants to her charity of choice, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Bialik posted a video to social media talking about her performance Monday night wearing Star of David necklace. She follows a string of previous guest hosts who have rotated in after Trebek’s death in November, including NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and former Jewish contestant Buzzy Cohen.
“WHEN I LOOK AT YOUR HEAVENS, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have established,/What is man that You are mindful of him? The son of man that You pay attention to him?” (Psalm 8.4-5) Few verses in our entire Hebrew Bible better capture our sense of awe and wonder and humility when we turn our eyes to the grandeur of our natural world – the star-filled night sky, the shining orange face of the full moon. True, the ancient author of Psalm 8 could not know what modern science has taught us about the unfathomable vastness of our universe. He – possibly she? – could not have imagined that the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second or that it takes approximately eight minutes and 20 seconds for the light of our sun to traverse the 93 million miles to planet Earth. Nor could the psalmist, who lived at least 2,500 years ago, have conceived of the unit of measurement that today’s astronomers use to calculate interstellar and intergalactic distances: the light-year, the distance light travels
EM
in a single year, almost 6 trillion miles! A trillion is equal to a million millions; the number 1 followed by 12 zeros. 1,000,000,000,000! Just looking at this number transforms me into a grain of sand in the Sahara Desert. Though the psalmist knew none of this, he nevertheless does manage to inspire in us that queasy quality RABBI JAMES of soul, that ROSENBERG feeling of our infinitesimal littleness in the ocean of the cosmos in which we are less than a hiccup – regardless of how much we might sometimes try to repress our sense of our cosmic insignificance. A front-page story in the April 6 New York Times ignited in me that same feeling of infinitesimal littleness evoked by the psalmist. For the first time in my life, I looked at a color photograph of a black hole, that enigmatic astronomical phenomenon first predicted by Einstein’s equations in the early 1900s, and decades later explained far more deeply by Stephen Hawking, the world-renowned British theoretical physicist and cosmologist.
S TO M
E
AS A MEMBER of the RI Jewish community, like others, I have been very concerned over the recent Israeli/Gaza conflict. I have followed the daily news coverage online, on TV broadcasts, on radio and in the newspapers. I soon realized that Jewish leadership in other American cities, big and small, have organized “Rally in Support of Israel” demonstrations. Where was the leadership of the Jewish Alliance, supposedly the voice of Jewry in RI at this important time? Why was there not a rally organized to show our support for the State of Israel while it was under attack by 4,000 rockets from Gaza. Many wanted to be able to peacefully and proudly show support and love for Israel in its time of need. There is no equivocating at this time. The pro-Palestinian community had no problem holding several demonstrations in Providence. They know where they stand! They are not on the fence! As the eruption of anti-Semitism around the world gains momentum it should AGAIN teach us ... we must stand up for ourselves and be proud Jews. No one will help us if we don’t help ourselves.
We are awesome too
IT S E
LETTER
According to Wikipedia, our go-to fountain of contemporary knowledge, “A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so heavy that nothing – no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light – can escape from it.” The picture of the black hole in the New York Times was made possible by the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration, an international team of about 300 radio astronomers from 13 institutions. A technique using polarized light made it possible to see the black hole in color. This particular black hole, 6.5 billion times as massive as our sun, is in the center of an elliptical galaxy known as Messier 87, which is 55 million light years from here; that is to say, today’s astronomers are now looking at what happened 55 million years ago! How staggering the scale in both time and space! While devouring inconceivable amounts of “gas, dust, and shredded stars,” the black hole in Messier 87 does not consume everything in its celestial neighborhood; it spews forth a jet of debris that is 6,000 light-years long! “When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have
established,/What is man that You are mindful of him? The son of man that You pay attention to him?” And yet … and yet … the poet of Psalm 8, who reminds us that we are but a wrinkle in time, goes on in the very next verse to trumpet the overwhelming power of our humanity: “Yet You have made him a little lower than the angels, crowning him with honor and dignity.” And what is the nature of our honor and dignity? While the psalmist states that God has given us dominion over the beasts of the field, the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, I would add: God has given us consciousness, the ability to ask such questions as “Who am I? Where have I come from? Where am I going? Why?” Although the black hole in the center of the Messier 87 galaxy is 6.5 billion times as massive as our sun, and although it spews forth a jet of celestial debris that is 6,000 light-years long, this black hole, along with all the other black holes in the universe, is incapable of asking a single question. JAMES B. ROSENBERG is a rabbi emeritus at Temple Habonim, in Barrington. Contact him at rabbiemeritus@templehabonim.org.
Never forgetting will help us keep the promise of ‘never again’ BY HERB WEISS AFTER A TRUMP RALLY on Jan. 6, Robert Keith Packer was among the thousands of rioters who swarmed the U.S. Capitol. He sported an unkempt beard and a black hoodie emblazoned with the words “Camp Auschwitz,” the name of the most infamous of the many Nazi concentration camps, where millions of people
were murdered during World War II. Under a skull and crossbones at the bottom of his hoodie was the phrase, “Work brings Freedom,” a loose translation of “arbeit macht frei,” which was inscribed above the main entrance gate at Auschwitz and other concentration camps. Photos from Jan. 6 showing Packer, 56, a former
welder and pipefitter, were widely circulated on social media and by newspapers, evoking shock and disbelief. But Packer, of Newport News, Virginia, was not the only anti-Semitic rioter that day, according to a report released by the Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and
the Network Contagion Research Institute. The report identified at least half a dozen neo-Nazi or white supremacist groups involved in the failed insurrection. In 2017, the Providence Journal reported that the New England chapter of the Anti-Defamation League recorded 13 CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
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 Alliance.
JUNE 2021 | 15
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
COMMUNITY VOICES | OPINION
Israel has nothing to apologize for BY MOSES TWERSKY WE NOW HAVE A CEASE-FIRE in the recent war between Israel and Hamas. This was a violent and horrific conflict that presented an existential threat to Israel. The Israel Defense Forces’ response to the unprovoked onslaught of thousands of Hamas rockets, including some aimed at Tel Aviv, was to destroy as much as possible of Hamas’ military assets, including over 100 kilometers of tunnels, rocket launchers, command posts, Hamas terrorist chiefs and electronic intelligence sites, one of which was the al-Jala tower, housing the Associated Press and Al-Jazeera. The Israeli air force warned residents to get out. This is the general policy of the IDF, in order to avoid Palestinian civilian casualties as much as possible. Unfortunately, Hamas hides its military infrastructure in civilian environments because they know that civilian casualties are their strong point in the propaganda war against Israel. Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, speaking in Qatar, said, “Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque form the basis of the struggle.” Prior to Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israel, there was rioting on the Temple Mount, or what Muslims call the Noble Dome (atop the Haram
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 incidents of anti-Semitism in the Ocean State. But that’s nothing new – anti-Semitism has been part of our country since its founding, and, in fact, has existed in western societies for centuries. The Anti-Defamation League’s 2014 Global Index of Anti-Semitism documented this worldwide problem. The survey found that more than 1 billion people around the world – nearly one in eight – harbor anti-Semitic attitudes. Carried out by First International Resources and commissioned by the ADL, this landmark survey polled 53,100 adults in 102 countries. Over 30% of those surveyed said it was “probably true” that Jews have too much control over financial markets; that Jews think they are better than other people; that Jews are disloyal to their country; and that people hate Jews because of the way Jews behave. Nearly half of those surveyed claimed to have never heard of the Holocaust, and only a third believe that historical accounts of the genocide are accurate. Gearing up to fight Anti-Semitism On Jan. 14, the American Jewish Congress, a global Jewish advocacy organization, briefed the FBI on the continuing threats of anti-Semitism to the nation. “Anti-Semitism fundamentally
al-Sharif), where the al-Aqsa Mosque is situated. The Temple Mount, as we Jews call it, is the site of the first Temple, built by King Solomon, and the Second Temple, built by the Jewish returnees from the Babylonian exile (Chronicles II, 36:21-23). Ostensibly, the rioting on the Temple Mount was due to the imminent eviction of Palestinians from a “few plots of land” in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, which has had Jewish ownership dating back to 1875. Jordan invaded that part of Jerusalem in 1948 and evicted all the Jewish residents. The Palestinian eviction case is now before the Israeli Supreme Court. Four of the Palestinian defendants are squatters, and the other four are descendants of tenants who have never paid any rent. The deputy mayor of Jerusalem pointed out that these Palestinians were offered very attractive alternatives, but turned down the offers because the Palestinian leadership wanted to politicize the issue and incite the Palestinians against Israel and Jewish control of Jerusalem. This incitement was successful. The Jordanian Islamic Waqf has spiritual control of the al-Aqsa site, but Israel has security control. Tensions are very high there. One of the main motives of the Hamas rocket onslaught was to whip
up the Arab street. But, in the end, Hamas was not as successful as they thought they would be. The Abraham Accords, signed during the Trump presidency, have held up. These were normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. But, shockingly and surprisingly, Israeli Arab youths, enraged by the supposed sacrilege at the al-Aqsa Mosque, and the counterattack on Gaza, went on rampages in Acre, Lod and Haifa. This has very serious implications: What is stripped bare now is the essentials of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that Israel as a Jewish state is not wanted. The land of Israel has a history dating back thousands of years, a history of Jewish blood and toil, of Zionism, of the Jewish people’s return to Zion, as expressed in King David’s Psalm 9:12: “Sing praises to the Lord Who dwells in Zion, declare His works among the nations.” In contrast to this, we have the Washington Post printing an inflammatory piece by Noura Erakat and Mariam Barghouti, both Palestinians. Erakat is a human-rights lawyer and professor at Rutgers University, while Barghouti is a Palestinian writer. They assert that Israel is a colonialist project, that Israel removed Palestinians from their native land in 1948, and is doing so
again now. This is a false Palestinian narrative. Palestinian residence in the Holy Land doesn’t begin until the early 20th century. The British were the colonialists, the Jews the rightful inheritors of the land of their forefathers, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Of Moses, who received the Torah on Mount Sinai, of Joshua, who led the conquest of Canaan. Our Rabbinic leaders, such as Maimonides (Rambam), arrived in Jerusalem in 1166. Nachmandides (Ramban) established a synagogue there in 1267. The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, and the Vilna Gaon, the leading rabbinic authority of the great Talmudic academies of Europe, arrived in Jerusalem in 1780 and 1808, respectively. We have no apologies to make. Peace with the Palestinians begins with them recognizing our rights to the land. Our responsibility is to recognize that the Palestinians are our neighbors, and that therefore they have mutual rights. The peace of Jerusalem is its holy nature. In that holiness a compromise with the Palestinians may be possible.
is not only a Jewish problem; it is a societal one. It is a reflection on the declining health of our society,” Holly Huffnagle, AJC’s U.S. director for combating anti-Semitism, told FBI officials during a video-conference briefing. “Education is essential to clarify what constitutes anti-Semitism, the various sources of this hatred, and what effective tools are available for law enforcement to fight anti-Semitism,” she said. The AJC’s 2020 report, based on parallel surveys of the American Jewish and general populations, revealed that 88% of Jews consider anti-Semitism a problem today in the U.S.; 37% have personally been victims of anti-Semitism over the past five years; and 31% have taken measures to conceal their Jewishness in public. In the first-ever survey of the general U.S. population about anti-Semitism, the AJC found a stunning lack of awareness of the problem. Nearly half of all Americans said they had never heard the term “anti-Semitism,” or were familiar with the word but not sure what it meant. The AJC experts praised the FBI for its annual Hate Crimes Statistics report, which provides vital data on anti-Semitism. The latest report found that 60.2% of religious-bias hate crimes in 2019 targeted Jews. To improve the monitoring and
reporting of hate crimes, the AJC continues to advocate for passage of the Jabara-Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assaults, and Threats to Equality Act, also called the NO HATE Act. The measure would offer grants to incentivize state and local law-enforcement authorities to improve hate-crime reporting. In addition, the AJC is asking the FBI to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism as an educational tool. The definition offers a clear and comprehensive description of anti-Semitism in its various forms, including hatred and discrimination against Jews and Holocaust denial. Keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive is key to fighting anti-Semitism, says Andy Hollinger, director of communications for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. “We are seeing a disturbing trend in the rise of anti-Semitism and the open display of neo-Nazi symbols, most recently at the attack on the U.S. Capitol. This is a longtime problem requiring a longtime solution. We must remember. Education is key. We must learn from this history – learn about the dangers of unchecked hatred and anti-Semitism. And we must not be silent,” he said. Bill Benson, who has interviewed Holocaust survivors before live audiences at the museum for more than
two decades, said, “Far too many school systems do not teach about the Holocaust, without which the gulf in knowledge and awareness may only grow as we lose first-hand knowledge of the Holocaust.” As the number of survivors who witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust continues to dwindle, a growing number of states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas, have established commissions to keep this knowledge alive for younger generations through educational programming and community events. If the Rhode Island General Assembly votes to establish a Rhode Island Genocide and Holocaust Education Commission, its motto just might be “Never forgetting” – which will help us keep the promise of “never again.”
MOSES MORDECAI TWERSKY of Providence has a master's degree in American history from Providence College. He is a scion of the Chernobyl Belz Makarov Hasidic rabbinical dynasty.
Editors note: The act to establish a RI Genocide and Holocaust Education Commission passed the RI House and was introduced in the Senate in April. It has now been indefinitely postponed. HERB WEISS, of Pawtucket, is a writer covering aging, health care and medical issues. He is the author of “Taking Charge: Collected Stories on Aging Boldly,” a collection of 79 of his weekly commentaries. He can be reached at herbweiss.com.
16 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
An overall of the event.
PHOTO GLENN OSMUNDSON/JEWISH RHODE ISLAND
Kosher Café welcomes back seniors G
uests of the JCS Kosher Senior Cafe at the Dwares Jewish Community Center
in Providence and the JCS Kosher Senior meal site at Temple Sinai in Cranston met together for Friday lunch on May 7 in the Holocaust Memorial Garden at the JCC.
IT WAS THE FIRST in-person gathering for everyone since the sites closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Five meals have continued to be delivered each week to those who want them. And a robust online program of activities takes place two days a week. According to Neal Drobnis, nutrition coordinator for Jewish Collaborative Services, the agency that operates
the sites, attendance far exceeded expectations. Everyone enjoyed a delicious lunch and entertainment. The plan is to gather every other Friday for now, but those who want meals delivered can still take advantage of that option. For more information, contact Neal Drobnis at 401-678-6464 or Elaine Shapiro at 401-338-1690. RSVP one week in advance.
Lunch is served.
JUNE 2021 | 17
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
Candles lit at the lunch.
Pauline Namerow, of Providence, left, talks with Beverly Mann, of Warwick, right.
Sidney Weintraub, of Cranston, singing after the lighting of candles.
Matzo ball soup is served.
Joe Holtzman, of Warwick at lunch.
Laura Cole plays the harp for the lunch time crowd.
18 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
FOOD
Black and white cookies are a longtime favorite BY LISA MAYBRUCH Who wants a cookie? I know I do! Especially when they’re black and white cookies, a favorite treat in Jewish households across the country. They’re fun to make, they symbolize harmony and they taste great. Some people call black and white cookies half-moons, others call them harlequins. Whatever you call them, they were first baked in New York over 100 years ago, and they’ve been filling cookie jars in Jewish households ever since. Including mine. My parents were born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and both of them recall trips to the bakery for these little pieces of heaven. When I was younger, we would pick up the cookies at our local grocery store, and my parents would reminisce about their childhood treats. Classic treats included halvah, rainbow cookies and Mister Softee Ice Cream. But the black and white always topped their list of favorites, and would become mine too. As a kid, I would argue that there was a correct way to eat a black and white cookie, but that was before my palate matured. I used to eat the vanilla side first. It had a slight crunch
that paired perfectly with the cakey bottom. Then, I savored the chocolate side, which was always soft and fudgy. Now, I take a big bite out of the center to get a burst of both flavors at the same time. To make your own black and whites, follow the recipe below. Hungry for more? Come back for seconds! I’m excited to introduce “Baking with Lisa,” a new feature in the print and online editions of Jewish Rhode Island that will explore the rich and tasty confections of the Jewish diaspora. Have a baking question? Want me to make your family recipe? Feel free to email me at lmaybruch@jewishallianceri.org. And check out my baking videos, at Jewishrhody.com/baking-with-lisa/
Black and White Cookies INGREDIENTS FOR THE COOKIE: 1 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (145g) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar 1 large egg, at room temperature 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1/3 cup (80g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature FOR THE ICING: 2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (optional) 2 tablespoons pasteurized egg whites or water (plus more as needed) 1 tablespoon light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (18g) cocoa powder (Dutch-process preferred)
DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer for about 2 minutes, or until the butter turns pale in color. Don’t skimp here! This is what makes the cookies airy, fluffy and cake-like. Add the egg and vanilla
Our Mission: To improve the quality of life for those we serve.
Let us help you . . . (401) 383-1950 www.rahri.com
• Navigate the challenging process of providing care for a loved one. • From companionship and a little help around the house to 24/7 personal care.
Elder Care Services Providing care all over Rhode Island Call to schedule a free, non-salesy and no obligation family consultation. We’ll help you create a care plan tailored to your unique needs.
PHOTO | ROBERT ISENBERG
Lisa Maybruch samples a freshly baked black and white cookie. extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Reduce to low speed and combine your dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the sour cream. Beat everything on low until combined. Batter should be thick. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, drop dollops of dough on the prepared baking sheets. Leave enough room for the cookies to spread. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Let cookies cool on the baking sheets before icing. While the cookies cool, combine the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, egg whites, corn syrup and vanilla and whisk until smooth. You may add more egg whites or water as needed to thin the icing. Flip the cookies over to ice the flat side. Using a piping bag or small spatula, cover
half of the cookie with the prepared icing. Set aside and prepare your chocolate icing. Add the cocoa powder to the remaining vanilla icing and add a few more teaspoons of egg whites as needed to thin the icing. Whisk until combined. Use another piping bag or small spatula to cover the other half. Allow to set completely, about 12-24 hours, before enjoying. NOTE: If you just can’t wait, the icing will be thinner but the black and whites will still be thoroughly enjoyable! LISA MAYBRUCH is the manager, adult programs at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. Her occasional series, Baking with Lisa, will appear in Jewish Rhode Island and, beginning today, online at Jewishrhody.com/ baking-with-lisa/
Still time to get in on Top Nosh IT’S SUMMER, which means it’s time to fire up those barbecue grills! Or, you can start your engines and drive to the nearest local Kosher food establishment and participate in Top Nosh: The Best of Kosher RI. There’s still time purchase a food pass for just $18, giving you access to special offers at 14 of your favorite local eateries
during the month of June. All proceeds from the food passes will be donated to The Louis & Goldie Chester Full Plate Kosher Food Pantry. Passes will be sold throughout the month of June and are good until June 30. Purchase yours here: jewishallianceri.org/topnosh-food-pass/
JUNE 2021 | 19
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
FOOD
The Baking Project: Food, mitzvot and tzedakah
HEA
TH
not,” Dwares said. “We started bringing non-perishable shelf-stable food items to McAuley House, as they were willing and happy to take those things to give out in their food pantry. “In the last two months, since the decrease of COVID-19, donations of shelf-stable foods as well as PATRICIA baked goods are RASKIN accepted by both McAuley House and Help the Homeless RI.” Both women said they found the project easy and important. “I enjoy baking. Food is such a gift. I feel like I am so lucky that I have enough. And I want to share what I have. This is an easy thing to share. Most people are very happy to get baked goods,” Goldberg said. Dwares added, “I agree. We also both have a creative side. Paula sews and I have done crafts and many cooking projects in the past. I also look at cooking as a creative source or outlet. I feel very productive when I have made a big pot of soup and when I can share it. It makes me happy that people like it and that it is healthy and nutritious.” Dwares said she is also carrying on her sons’ legacy. “Both my boys
Y L I VI
NG
L
PAULA GOLDBERG, a member of Temple Emanu-El, in Providence, started a baking project seven years ago, when she was a member of the West Bay Community Jewish Center. She asked volunteer bakers to prepare a double batch of dessert and get it to her by the second Tuesday of every month. Then, she and her husband, Michael, took whatever was delivered to McAuley House, an agency in Providence that serves 300 people lunch daily. Goldberg said, “That project grew from initially seven bakers in the first month in 2015 to over 40 bakers now. “When the pandemic started, McAuley House was not able to accept home-baked items, but Barbara Dwares discovered that Help the Homeless RI would, and needed them once a week to add to lunches they were giving out, so the baked goods went to them. “McAuley House is once again accepting home-baked desserts, so now the donated baked goods are going to both agencies. Since not all bakers bake every week, more bakers are always welcome, especially since we are trying to provide desserts for both organizations.” Dwares, who belongs to Temple Emanu-El and the Chabad of West Bay Chai Center, in Warwick, said when the pandemic prevented them from bringing desserts to McAuley House, they collected and donated shelf-stable food instead. “Hungry people are still hungry … whether there is a pandemic or
Summer food program feeds kids for free PROVIDENCE – With summer right around the corner, it’s time to think about keeping children healthy while school is out. The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island provides free meals to children during the summer. This summer, meals will be served at 401 Elmgrove Ave., beginning on June 28 at noon. There are no income requirements or registration. Any child under age 18 may come to eat. For more information, contact Aaron Guttin at aguttin@jewishallianceri.org. Each year, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture partners with local organizations like The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island to provide free meals to children when school is out for the summer. For more information about the national Summer Food Service Program, visit http://www.fns.usda. gov/cnd/summer. For more information on summer feeding sites near you including locations and serving times around the state, contact the United Way by dialing 211. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
cooked when we did mitzvah projects. They learned from us and we learned from them,” she said. While the women said that the project was, for them, about giving tzedakah and doing a mitzvah, they were surprised by the level of community support. “During the pandemic I was absolutely amazed, in a positive way, how kind and generous people were with their time, their effort and their money, especially when it was very scary to go into markets … and yet the donations were flowing every
day,” Dwares said. To join the baking project, contact Paula Goldberg at 401-941-2042 or Barbara Dwares at 401-474-8276 or momcall@aol.com. PATRICIA RASKIN, owner of Raskin Resources Productions, is a media host, coach and award-winning radio producer and business owner. She is on the board of directors of Temple Emanu-El, in Providence. She is a recipient of the Providence Business News 2020 Leaders and Achievers award.
LCOME! ALL ARE WE
SUMMER J-CAMP 2021 SAFE & R O F FUN Y S EA June 28 - August 28 F O ! R S T K IDS! PAREN Grades 1 - 6: Campers Grades 7 - 10: Counselor-in-Training (CIT) Learn more about Summer J-Camp: jewishallianceri.org/summer-j-camp/ Or contact Aaron Guttin at aguttin@jewishallianceri.org Powered by the Jewish Alliance
401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI | 401.421.4111 | jewishallianceri.org
20 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
MILK & HONEY SINGLE MALT
The Voice of Greater Rhode Island’s Jewish Community
JEWISH CASKS
EX-BOURBON STR WINE EX-ISLAY EX-ISRALI RED WINE EX-SHERRY CASKS
RHODE ISLAND
Follow us on Instagram
@JewishRhody
In-Store, Curbside & Delivery Just minutes away from Providence, Town Wine is a full service wine, spirits and craft beer shop. We have fantastic pricing and the best selection in the area including M&H, Israeli’s 1st whisky distillery. TownWine.com • 179 Newport Ave • Rumford, RI • (401) 434-4563 • malt@townwineri.com • Monday - Saturday: 9am - 9pm • Sunday: 11am - 6pm
Like a Farmer’s Market Everyday! Your Favorite Local and Organic Items at Great Prices Since 1957
In Bloom
The Flower Shop at Quality Fruitland
Flowers for Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, Funerals and All Occasions!
100% house made, plant-based, palm oil free, certified kosher, compostable and wind powered! Follow us @plantcitypvd and @plantcityx
plantcitypvd.com . 334 S. Water St. Providence, RI
Over 40 Years of Floral Experience Open 7 Days, Just 10 Minutes from Providence on Route 6 in Seekonk (508) 336-9111
JUNE 2021 | 21
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
FOOD
There’s more to hekshers than meets the eye BY FRAN OSTENDORF Do you know what a heksher is? If you keep Kosher, or just buy Kosher goods, the answer is probably yes. Hekshers are those tiny Kosher certifying symbols on food labels, a stamp of approval from the Jewish agency that has checked the manufacturing of the product. The United States has the largest number of hekshers on food in the world and leads the world in the number of regional certifying agencies. There are four large, recognizable certifiers – OU, OK, Kof-K and Star-K. Of the approximately 200,000 packaged food products on the shelves in stores in the U.S., 70% have the OU symbol, according to the Orthodox Union, one of those large certifying agencies. Here in Rhode Island, we have two larger certifiers, Rhode Island Kosher and Lighthouse Kosher. There are also several rabbis who supervise kitchens at caterers and restaurants and certify that they meet Kosher standards. Why do we need so many options and so many certifiers? According to Rabbi Shaul Gallor, kashrut coordinator at R.I. Kosher, there are nuances in the different agencies, but for the average consumer there are very few differences. “The reality is, we all work with each other,” he
said in a recent interview. “There’s a tremendous amount of interrelations and a tremendous amount of collaboration.” R.I. Kosher has been around since 2015. Rabbi Gallor, who is from Seattle, where he was the mashgiach, or supervisor, for the Vaad of Seattle for six years, moved here to work with the agency as it expanded. Rabbi Raphie Schochet, head of the Providence community Kollel, is the rabbinic coordinator for R.I. Kosher. They work with a number of manufacturers and institutional kitchens, as well as a few restaurants and college dining facilities, and are recognized by many of the national certifying agencies. (Rabbi Gallor declined to name their clients, citing privacy concerns.) “Our goal is to provide Kosher food for the community,” Rabbi Gallor said. “Our approach is to bring a tried-and-proven system to our community so if they have guests, they will be comfortable eating here.” Rabbi Gallor pointed out that in Judaism, there is plenty of room for self-reflection and belief, and that holds true for kashrut too. “It’s somewhat subjective. It’s not the same for everyone. We aren’t here to replace a person’s
personal relationship with a rabbi, who is there to nurture and guide,” he said. Barry Dolinger, the rabbi at Congregation Beth Sholom, a modern Orthodox shul in Providence, and the founder of Lighthouse Kosher, says, “The more Kosher food there is, the better for the community.” Dolinger started Lighthouse Kosher to help expand Kosher offerings in Providence. He said when he came to Providence, people approached him about the need for Kosher restaurants in the area. He got his start as a mashgiach at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was head student mashgiach in the Kosher dining hall. Now, Lighthouse Kosher certifies restaurants and food businesses in Rhode Island, the Boston area and Miami. Currently, all the businesses it certifies are vegetarian or vegan. The list includes
restaurants and bakeries as well as food trucks and can be found at lighthousekosher.org. Education is a key component to his work, Rabbi Dolinger said. “Many people don’t know and understand the laws of kashrut,” he said. “We are in the process of educating consumers as to where they come from and what they mean.” He said the values and vision of Lighthouse Kosher are important to certification. For example, he looks at the treatment of kitchen workers and the sourcing of ingredients, along with the more traditional cleanliness and quality issues. Rabbis Gallor and Dolinger say a heksher offers a recognized assurance of higher quality in the kitchen both for those who keep Kosher and those who do not. “As the Kosher industry has grown and expanded, many companies choose to get certified; it’s a higher
level of quality and cleanliness,” Rabbi Gallor said. But the cost of certification can make it difficult for smaller businesses, and both agencies have strategies to address this issue. R.I. Kosher services larger institutions that can afford the costs, and works to get funding through grants and donations to keep the cost down for smaller businesses. Lighthouse Kosher gets its funding from community donations to help reduce costs for small businesses. “This is an incentive for the restaurant to say ‘yes.’ That they share our values and vision,” said Rabbi Dolinger. For more information on Rhode Island Kosher, go to rikkosher.org. For more information on Lighthouse Kosher, go to lighthousekosher.org. FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org) is the editor of Jewish Rhode Island.
TAKE ACTION: REPORT an INCIDENT www.jewishallianceri.org/report-it/
Business Disputes
At the Jewish Alliance, we believe all people should be treated fairly and justly. If you have experienced or witnessed an incident of anti-Semitism or extremism, please report it. Anti-Semitic activity includes overt acts or expressions of anti-Jewish bigotry and hostility. Many incidents are not crimes but are still considered anti-Semitic and should be reported. This initiative is meant to help track anti-Semitic incidents in the state of Rhode Island. Experiencing any type of anti-Semitism may be traumatic for you or your loved ones. If you need additional support, please contact Jewish Collaborative Services at 401.331.1244 for guidance.
www.jewishallianceri.org/report-it/ 401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI 02906 | jewishallianceri.org
Business and Professional Directory APPLIANCES EST. 1979
INSURANCE
WE CARRY THE BEST BRANDS SUCH AS • Subzero
• GE
• Electrolux
• Wolf
• Whirlpool
• Verona
• Thermador
• Maytag
• And many more!
• Bosch
• Frigidaire
THERAPY MUSIC LESSONS We are the retailer that brings music to you! LOCAL - TRADITIONAL VALUES - MODERN
izschwartzappliance.com
ATTORNEY
Instrument Rentals & Sales, Sheet Music, Gear, Accessories, School & Educator Services, Repairs, Local Home Delivery
508-252-6222 www.themusicwagon.com REAL ESTATE
Miriam Ross & Associates, LLC. is a business-focused law firm providing creative and practical legal advice and business solutions to small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and business owners.
Miriam A. Ross, Esq. 10 Elmgrove Avenue Providence, RI 02906 401-270-9449 maross@mrosslegal.com
www.mrosslegal.com
CPA
WATCH REPAIR & SALES
JUNE 2021 | 23
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
BUSINESS
David Hertz turns food into social change
The world leader had to reconcile his Jewish identity first BY MARCUS M. GILBAN
David Hertz cooks at one of his Solidarity Kitchens, in Rio de Janeiro, October 2019.
PHOTOS | DAVID HERTZ
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) – Chef David Hertz, one of the world’s leading food entrepreneurs tackling social issues, credits two places with inspiring his journey: There’s the kibbutz in Israel, and the favela in Brazil. At 18, after growing up in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, he traveled to the Hatzerim kibbutz to live among native Israelis and Jews from all over the world. “I discovered myself and then I hit the world. Israel was my freedom,” he
said. “I had there the first vision that there was a bigger world and that I could search for my story, whatever it was. What was supposed to be a oneyear trip abroad turned into seven.” Between the ages of 18 and 25, he visited Thailand, China, Vietnam, India, England and Canada. He took his first cooking lesson in Thailand and discovered the ritual side of cooking in India. When he hit Toronto and started to work in the food delivery industry, he became inspired to CONTINUED ON PAGE 27
Kids’ Activities Let’s have some fun! Last month, the PJ Library Kids’ Activities page encouraged you to use your detective skills and uncover a secret message. This month, we’re taking a look at some of our favorite foods. What are some foods you like to nosh on (that means snacking) while you’re reading or relaxing? PJ Library is a program of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island in partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
Holiday Treats
Food Words Search
Throughout the year we eat different foods to celebrate special days. Draw a line to connect the foods below to the holidays we eat them on.
We’ve hidden all these green food-related words in the block of letters below. Can you find them all?
CHALLAH
HANUKKAH
LATKES
TU'BSHEVAT
APPLES
SHAVUOT
HAMANTASCHEN
SHABBAT
MATZAH DATES BLINTZ
ROSH HASHANAH PURIM PASSOVER
DINNER, KOSHER, PARVE, BREAKFAST, SHABBAT, RECIPE, TABLE, NAPKIN
G A E A A P O A Z I A O A
W H D N N A P K I N T S Z
A I M A C R G I A Y A C X
R A T E A V A N T N D U M
A K O S H E R W A E I A A
Y T A A D K A E Y O N D N
J C T S A C S A E R N A O
S H A B B A T V A U E R R
Y A B N D O U A P K R E A
S H L I E A P E A Y T C Y
B R E A K F A S T A A I M
R A A E A I R M R J A P A
A C R T G O A J A I R E T
apples/Rosh Hashanah, hamantaschen/Purim, matzah/Passover, dates/Tu'bShevat, blintz/Shavuot, latkes/Hanukkah, challah/Shabbat
To learn more about PJ Library, visit jewishallianceri.org/pj-library/ or contact Lyndsey Ursillo at lursillo@jewishallianceri.org.
24 | JUNE 2021
COMMUNITY
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
BUSINESS 22 | OBITUARIES 29
My sister’s wedding in Israel BY OR COHEN THE HAPPIEST EVENT in Jewish life is a wedding, the moment when two worlds/two families become one. I flew back to Israel last month for my sister’s wedding celebrations. It was a wedding of two different Jewish cultures – Moroccan (my sister) and Yemenite. A wedding that represents the multiple cultures in Israel. One of the traditional ceremonies in both the Moroccan and Yemenite cultures is the henna, which symbolizes the change from single life to a relationship. We baked traditional cookies with my grandmother to get ready for the Henna. The person who applies the henna to the bride’s palms must be someone who is known to be happily married. The henna was made from dried henna leaves, and the process of applying it took a long time. For this reason, it was suggested that it be applied between 32 and 48 hours before the wedding so that it had enough time to stain the skin. The henna ceremony included a big meal, songs (my grandmother sang to my sister), dancing with the cookies, and giving gifts to the bride and the groom, but the main part is to put some of the past in each participant’s palm.
PHOTOS | OR COHEN
The bride and groom, Ev and Matan.
At the henna celebration.
The wedding was a week after the Henna. The security situation was getting worse the day before, but we never expected what happened. The wedding was at a kibbutz close to Kfar Saba, in the center of Israel, north of Tel Aviv. Everything in Israel was just starting to return to normal after the pandemic, and there was a security guy at the entrance who checked for green passports (people who are vaccinated or recovered). As the bride and groom stood before the Huppah, after signing the ketubbah, we heard a siren. We ran out of the building and lay down on the ground, all my sisters and I in our pretty clothes, and the bride in her white wedding dress, lying down on the ground. Then we saw the Iron Dome defense system in action. After some minutes, we got up and moved to the big party, glad to celebrate as usual despite the siren and the rockets. This is most Israeli: One moment to be on the ground and worried about our loved ones, and moments afterward to dance, sing and be the happiest people in the world. This is Israel! OR COHEN is the Israeli shlichah (Emissary) for the Jewish Alliance.
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
COMMUNITY
R.I.’s Israeli emissary to share her inspiring story on June 9
BY LARRY KATZ MANY RHODE ISLANDERS vaguely know that Or Cohen was an Israeli naval officer before she became the community’s shlichah, or Israeli emissary. During the pandemic, over a dozen Jewish organizations around the nation featured Cohen’s story on Zoom. Now Rhode Islanders will finally have a chance to hear from her directly about her life prior to coming to Rhode Island, and the pioneering role she took for Israeli women, at a Zoom program on June 9 part of the Israel Culture Series. Cohen’s story is one of bravery, choices, equality and success. By pushing limits, she has become a role model of strength and ability. Her story describes how she was raised to try, fail and try again, to ask questions and to dream. Cohen, 30, enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces and studied at the elite Israeli Naval Academy. As a tactical officer on a missile ship, she fought in Operation Protective Edge, also called the 2014 Gaza War, and participated in the mission that intercepted the Klos C, a cargo ship that was smuggling advanced weaponry from Iran to Gaza. After these missions, Cohen was offered command of her own ship. Following an eight-month training course, she became the first
female commander of an Israeli naval combat vessel, the Dvora 817. Cohen and her crew of 15 sailors were responsible for patrolling the Israel-Lebanon border. Cohen, who is currently a reserve officer in the Israeli navy, with the rank of lieutenant commander, will share stories of her challenges and achievements during the virtual program, to help motivate women everywhere to be pioneers and push their limits. She will also address such questions as: What are the keys to success? How can we promote equality? How does it feel to be “the first”? Women in the Israeli Defense Forces, the last program of this season’s Israel Culture Series, will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9. At 6:30 p.m., there will be a short farewell ceremony for Cohen, who returns to Israel at the end of the summer after two years in Rhode Island. She will also be available to chat after the program. Please register for the free program at https://www. jewishallianceri.org/idf/ For more information, contact Larry Katz at lkatz@jewishallianceri.org or 401-4214111. LARRY KATZ is the director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.
JUNE 2021 | 25
26 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
COMMUNITY
Update from RIIC partnership helps R.I.’s Hispanic small-business owners Project Shoresh BY MICHAEL SCHEMAILLE
PROVIDENCE – On April 29, the Rhode Island-Israel Collaborative (RIIC) and the Rhode Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce announced the winners of the R.I. Latino Biz Web Design Project, which partnered Hispanic college students with local Hispanic-owned small businesses to help improve those businesses’ online presence. The event, which was attended by R.I. Gov. McKee and Israel Consul General to New England Meron Reuben, took place at the Marriott Hotel and was also broadcast live on Facebook. The event emcee was the project’s manager, Martha Perez-Barton. All of the prize winners are students at Providence College. The top prize, $1,000, went to Andrés Castillo Lares, for his work with Rhode Island Security Services. In second place was Jerusalem Castro, who won $500 for her work with La 70 Bar and Grill. Third place went to Jazmin Diaz and Nayely Furcal, who split $250 for their work with the New York Style Beauty Salon. In the first stage of the project, selected students from Providence College, Rhode Island College and Salve Regina University were taught how to build websites with the Israeli company Wix’ web-development platform, using services donated by Clickto, a Tel Avivbased tech startup specializing in virtual classroom and program-management software. “The Israeli Consulate was an instrumental part of this project, as they connected us with Wix and provided most of
our funding,” said RIIC CEO Avi Nevel. “They were with us from the beginning, along with [then-Rhode Island Lt. Gov.] Dan McKee, whose International Economic Ambassadors Initiative let us show those companies the incredible benefits of doing business in Rhode Island.” The next stage of the project paired students with local businesses in need of increased online visibility, to design websites. Hosting for these sites was provided by Wix, also based in Tel Aviv. Wix also gave each participating business a free one-year business premium plan and access to additional online resources. Regarding the Rhode Island-Israel connection, Nevel said, “It was an honor to initiate collaboration between our partners in Israel and Rhode Island, particularly for the benefit of Rhode Island’s Hispanic community. This was a collective effort. Small businesses are the heart of this state. If we don’t give and help each other, we go nowhere. Our organizing committee deserves special thanks for making this project happen.” That sentiment was echoed by Oscar Mejias, president of the R.I. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, who said, “It’s a beautiful part of this project, because we have two communities that really need each other – the student community and the small business community. I feel like we are taking the first big step, creating that connec-
tion.” The students’ completed work was evaluated by a six-person committee that included members of Rhode Island’s business community and was chaired by RIIC board member Miriam Ross. The websites were judged on several criteria, including content, design and bilingual accessibility. Prize money was provided by the Consulate General of Israel to New England. Israeli diplomat Reuben remarked at the award ceremony, “We see this project as the first part of something a lot bigger. We hope this will be a model that we will be able to take around New England and other communities. We will do our utmost to make sure that this continues.” Governor McKee praised Nevel’s and Mejias’ work on the project, citing their leadership and tenacity. “Our students are so important to our state, but we have to engage them in a productive and instructive way, and this project does just that,” he said. McKee closed by saying, “I’ve always believed that the best way to solve a problem is by bringing people together, and that’s exactly what this project did.” To learn more about the R.I. Latino Biz Web Design Project, go to https://www.theriic.org/ rhode-island-latino-web-project. MICHAEL SCHEMAILLE is a Cumberland-based freelance writer and editor. Reach him at mbschemaille@gmail.com.
At the last Dad’s Israel Experience.
At the Lag B’Omer celebration. PROJECT SHORESH RECENTLY raised almost $170,000 though a matching community campaign to jumpstart expansion, bringing four new couples to live in Providence and learn and grow with the organization. These funds are also used for Shoresh programming, most recently two different Lag B'Omer events, one in Providence and one in East Greenwich. Both had music, refreshments and uplifting words from Rabbis Naftali and Noach Karp. In addition, Project Shoresh helps subsidize a trip to Israel for dads. Five spots are available for this highly subsidized epic Jewish Dads Israel experience, Oct. 18-24 2021! Please let friends and family know as soon as possible so we can make arrangements if they are interested! Email for more details: rnoachkarp@gmail.com or apply on the website: https://momentumunlimited.org/ apply-form-man. For more information about Project Shoresh and to learn how you can get involved, email naftalikarp@projectshoresh.com or check out the website projectshoresh.com
100% Dairy-Free & Vegan Ice Cream Shop • Parve soft serve & 12+ scoop flavors • Knishes, retail snacks & treats • Ice Cream Cakes to order and more!
401.228.3880
170 Ives Street Providence (EASTSIDE)
like-no-udder.com
JUNE 2021 | 27
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
COMMUNITY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23 become a chef, so he moved back to Brazil to attend a college of gastronomy in Sao Paulo. Then in 2004, he was invited to design a kitchen project inside the Jaguare favela – one of Brazil’s many low-income shantytowns plagued with urban violence and drug trafficking, and historically neglected by the government. He had never been inside one before. “When I stepped into that kitchen, I saw a new world,” Hertz said. “I was inspired to do something to contribute to the reduction of violence and to share my knowledge with the young people there, who at many times felt lost, with no relation of belonging to the space. It became my life project, my mission.” The next year, with the help of his apprentice Urideia Costa, he decided to create a school focused on training upcoming chefs from low-income areas, which are often plagued by malnutrition and food shortages. His organization called Gastromotiva came out of the oven. Gastromotiva runs a network of what they call Solidarity Kitchens, of which there are now 55 across Brazil and three in Mexico. One of them operates out of Hertz’s favorite synagogue in Sao Paulo, Comunidade Shalom. After Hertz spoke there last year, the synagogue decided to become a Solidarity Kitchen and now prepares 1,250 meals per month for homeless and vulnerable people in the area. Hertz, now 46, later co-founded the Social Gastronomy movement, a network of local communities that work “to address social inequality, improve nutrition, and engage people to leverage their skills for social good” and address “all levels of the food production chain – from sowing and harvesting crops to preparing meals, to utilizing food waste.” He introduced it at the prestigious World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2018. For his work on Gastromotiva, he won the 2019 Charles Bronfman Prize, which honors innovative work grounded in Jewish values and comes with $100,000. He has also worked closely with the United Nations’ World Food Program, which won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize. They have been partners in many efforts to combat global hunger, with the latest
focused on alleviating the hunger crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2021, the number of Solidarity Kitchens will nearly double to 108, including some in other countries in Latin America. “Combating hunger and food waste are global challenges that require joint
action. Collaborating with each other, we multiply our impact on the world. I wonder how to feed humanity with humanity,” he told the Brazilian magazine Veja last year. These days Hertz talks about promoting the core Jewish values of feeding the hungry and creating community – but he went through a long search for the recipe to his own Jewishness. He initially felt like he didn’t belong to his own community at all because he is gay. “My family was very conservative, and I was more likely to follow the same course,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “I attended a Jewish day school, was a member of the Habonim Dror Zionist youth movement, and was engaged with all the Jewish folklore. “However, I have always felt like a fish out of water. When I came out as gay [at 25], I felt very uncomfortable. I was actually part of the whole, but I never could be what I wanted to. I always felt like an outsider.” Hertz grew up in a family with a strong connection to its Jewish heritage. His grandparents on his father’s side were German and Polish Jews who fled Europe for Rio de Janeiro in the 1930s, where they met and married. His grandparents on his mother’s side were non-Jewish Polish immigrants who moved to Brazil to work in the fields. “My mother was one of the first converts by Rabbi Henry Sobel,” Hertz said in a reference to Brazil’s iconic Reform spiritual leader and human rights activist who led Latin America’s largest congregation for decades until his 2019 death. Hertz’s mother died when he was a year old, and his father took over his Jewish
education. “I struggled a lot to accept the Jewishness inside of me,” Hertz said. “I always thought that I lived a deep-rooted prejudice for being gay.” In his late teens, Hertz discovered Rabbi Nilton Bonder’s “Our Immoral Soul: A Manifesto of Spiritual Disobedience.” Bonder is one
human spirit is nourished by the impulse to betray and transgress the ways of the past.” That idea connected deeply with Hertz. “Rabbi Bonder has been a big inspiration to me for many years,” Hertz said. After returning to Brazil after backpacking across the world and learning to
Hertz's Gastromotiva helped him win the 2019 Charles Bronfman Prize.
These days Hertz talks
PHOTOS | DAVID HERTZ
creating community
about promoting the core Jewish values of feeding the hungry and
of Brazil’s most influential Jewish figures. He leads Rio’s only Conservative synagogue, the 400-family Congregacao Judaica do Brasil, and is a best-selling author of tens of books in Latin America, many of which are also translated worldwide. Despite the popular religious belief that obedience to an established moral order brings the greatest rewards, Bonder argues that “the
understand his own religious beliefs, it was at Comunidade Shalom, a congregation that was born as Reform and later affiliated with the Conservative movement, where Hertz found his fit. “It brought me a new layer of Jewish identity but interpreted by myself,” he said. “I have gained a sense of belonging.” Now living in Rio, Hertz attends Rabbi Bonder’s egal-
itarian Conservative temple where interfaith families are embraced. When Brazil became the second country after the U.S. to register more than 50,000 deaths from COVID-19 last June, Hertz interviewed Bonder on a live Instagram video, where they found Jewish context in the midst of the crisis. “During these tough times of the pandemic, I don’t agree with the idea that we’re all in the same storm but each one on a different boat. We’re all on the same ship, but some on the upper cabins with sea view, others in the lower ones. It’s a model that resembles Noah’s Ark,” Bonder said. “We must have more solidarity. We can now perceive that there is a connection between all of us. It’s the first time in history that everyone is facing a situation that we have no place to run to. Our freedom and everything today depend on things that are collective.” Hertz agreed and added an extra Jewish element. “Jews usually look after Jews,” he said, “and I think we can always do much more by going beyond.”
28 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
COMMUNITY
Area synagogues begin the process of reopening BY HANNAH ALTMAN AS MORE PEOPLE receive COVID-19 vaccinations and return to in-person gatherings in Rhode Island, synagogues are addressing the question of how to expand their services. Jewish Rhode Island reached out to congregations throughout the state inquiring about their current and upcoming reopening plans. Below is a list of synagogue that responded with plans and schedules as of May 25.
Temple Emanu-El WEEKDAY: In person minyan starting Wednesday (5/12) at 7:00 p.m., in addition to current morning and evening online z’man kodesh sessions. Masked and distance required. • Minyan will take place OUTDOORS in the JCDSRI Mo’adon (85 Taft Ave.). This means anyone may attend, regardless of vaccination status. • Participants must register at teprov.org. • If not enough people have signed up by 6:30 p.m., that evening’s minyan is cancelled. Check the sign up from before coming to the Mo’adon. • You must bring your own siddur (prayerbook). SHABBAT: Friday Night Options • 5:30 p.m. — Shabbat Ba'Hutz/Outdoor prayer experience (includes highlights from Friday Night Service) • 6:00 p.m. — Sanctuary service (includes Minhah, Kabbalat Shabbat, and Ma'ariv) SATURDAY MORNING: • 9:30 a.m. — Sanctuary service All services are accessible through Zoom. Visit teprov.org for more information.
Congregation Sons and Daughters of Ruth SHABBAT: Friday Night Options “In person meetings on Friday nights starting the Friday of Memorial Day weekend (and for the High Holidays). We meet on the deck of St. Andrews Parish Center. Six feet apart and masks required. The services are usually at 7 p.m. ” said Elliot Taubman. Services are not accessible through Zoom. Call 401-466-2861 or e-mail ETBI@me.com for more information.
Temple Shalom SHABBAT: Friday Night Options Offering weekly Shabbat services at Temple Shalom and continuing to offer Zoom. They also host a Family Shabbat once a month outside at the Temple. “We are also having outside events. We've reserved tents for the High Holidays, but now I'm wondering whether we'll use them,” Said Abigail Anthony. Services are accessible through Zoom. Visit templeshalomrhodeisland.org for more information.
Temple Beth-El SHABBAT: Friday Night Options • 11:00 a.m. — Pre-Shabbat Under the Tent with Rabbi Mack and Cantor Seplowin Visit temple-beth-el.org for more information.
Sha'arei Tefilla SUNDAY • 8:00 a.m. at Sha'arei Tefilla, 450 Elmgrove Ave. MONDAY-FRIDAY • 6:45 a.m. at Congregation Ohawe
Shalom, 671 East Ave. in Pawtucket • 8:00 a.m. (school days) at Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave. Call the school at 401-331-5327 to confirm. WEEKDAY MINCHA • 2:10 p.m. at Providence Hebrew Day School (school days), 450 Elmgrove Ave. • 1:15 p.m. at New England Rabbinical College, 262 Blackstone Blvd. • Shkiya at Mishkon Tfiloh, 203 Summit Ave. WEEKNIGHT MAARIV — SUNDAY • 9:00 p.m. at the Kollel, 450 Elmgrove Ave. • 10:00 p.m. at New England Rabbinical College, 262 Blackstone Blvd. • Shkiya at Mishkon Tfiloh, 203 Summit Ave. MONDAY-THURSDAY • 9:30 p.m. at the Kollel, 450 Elmgrove Ave. • 10:00 p.m. at New England Rabbinical College, 262 Blackstone Blvd. • Shkiya at Mishkon Tfiloh, 203 Summit Ave. Visit templeshaareitefilla.org for more information.
United Brothers Synagogue Transition / Services “UBS is excited to transition to a more normal sabbath service schedule . we are planning to meet outdoors in June and July at an outdoor facility at Colt State Park, Chapel by the Sea with our goal to be back in the Synagogue in August. We will continue to be diligent in our compliance with safety protocols as part of this transition to ensure the health and well being of our congregation,” said Jonathan Feinstein. Visit unitedbrotherssynagogue.org for more information.
Congregation Agudas Achim “Our plans are evolving as we stay up to date with the shifting state guidelines. We started to have some hybrid services for b'nei mitzvah celebrations and had one outdoor service with the religious school families. This summer, we'll be having some more outdoor services, and as guidelines continue to shift, we will hope to have some services in the sanctuary as well,” said Rabbi Alex Weissman. Visit agudasma.org for more information.
Tifereth Israel Congregation “We have been reopened with a hybrid of Zoom and in person services. Our reopening committee has been working since the fall and meets every three weeks. Our in person services are socially distant, attendance limited to state guidelines, require masks and we clean and fog after every service that is held in person,” said Gershon Levine. Visit tinewbedford.org to see their schedule.
Temple Torat Yisrael Services are in person with Zoom accessibility. See more on the Jewish Rhode Island calendar.
Beth David Synagogue • 5:45 p.m. — Community Candle Lighting • Use the same Zoom link as for previous services. Email CBDRI if you need the link. • 8:00 p.m. Kabbalat Services • 9:00 a.m. Shabbat Services In person and Zoom hybrid. Visit cbdri.org for more information.
Isaac Herzog to be Israel’s next president BY PHILISSA CRAMER (JTA) – Isaac Herzog, the former leader of Israel’s Labor party who most recently ran the Jewish Agency for Israel, will be Israel’s next president, lawmakers there decided Wednesday. Herzog overwhelmingly defeated Miriam Peretz, an acclaimed educator who lost two sons in military combat, to be elected president by members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. His seven-year term will begin July 9, and he will replace Reuven Rivlin, a former right-wing lawmaker. While the role is largely ceremonial, Israel’s president chooses which lawmaker will
form Israel’s government following elections, which afforded the role outsize importance in recent years as Israel held four elections since 2019. Should the efforts of Netanyahu’s opponents to form a coalition by midnight Wednesday fail, Herzog may find himself selecting the winner of the next election in a few months. Since 2018, Herzog has led the Jewish Agency, which works to connect Israel with Jews around the world and support immigration to Israel. Before that, he was the leader of Labor, and ran against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the 2015 election, which Netanyahu won.
Herzog is the son of Chaim Herzog, who served as Israel’s sixth president from 1983 to 1993, and the grandfather of Israel’s first Ashkenazi chief rabbi. Herzog lived in the United States during his high school years, attending the Ramaz School, an Orthodox Jewish prep school in New York City, and also attended university in the U.S. Praise for Herzog’s election poured in from across the Jewish world Wednesday morning, much of it citing his lineage and experience with Jewish communities outside Israel. “We are looking forward to continue the dialogue of Israel Diaspora relations and the unity of the Jewish people,”
said Pinchas Goldschmidt, chief rabbi of Moscow and president of the Conference of European Rabbis, in a statement. “As the son of the late President of Israel, Haim Herzog, and as a seasoned diplomat and political leader, we hope and pray that he will carry the message of unity for the Israeli and Jewish people.” “Bougie is a dear friend and an honorary New Yorker,” said Eric Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation New York, in a statement using Herzog’s widely used nickname. “Since his time as a student at a Jewish day school in Manhattan, he has maintained deep connections to New York, home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel. With his years
of experience in Knesset and profound understanding of global Jewry, Bougie is uniquely positioned to fulfill his role as president of the State of Israel, and more broadly as convener of the entire Jewish people.” Among the roles of Israel’s president is to boost the morale of Israelis and Jews around the world. Last year, Rivlin pushed back against Holocaust revisionism in Europe and apologized to Israelis for a devastating resurgence of COVID-19 there. Rivlin’s focus as president has been to promote unity in what he has felt is an increasingly divided Israeli society.
JUNE 2021 | 29
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
COMMUNITY | OBITUARIES Sandra Bellin, 95 BOYNTON BEACH, FLA. – Sandra E. Bellin died March 13 at Discovery Village of Boynton Beach. She was the wife of the late Arthur S. Bellin. They were married for 56 years before his passing in 2007. Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, a daughter of the late David and Fanny (Slaberborski) Manelis, she had lived in Florida for over 30 years, previously living in Cranston. She was the mother of Jeffrey Bellin of Cranston and the late Paula Bellin. She was the grandmother of Caithlin, Rachel and Patricia. She was the sister of the late Dr. Samuel Manelis, Selma Nathanson, Sylvia Dytel and her twin sister Sybil Freed. She also leaves behind many nieces and nephews. Sandra was a graduate of New Bedford High School, class of 1943. Early in her childhood and later as a young adult, Sandra worked in her father’s clothing store acquiring the skills needed to become a self-motivated, independent and entrepreneurial young woman. After marrying her husband in 1951 and while her husband was working at Metropolitan Photo Supply Inc., his father’s business, they operated Arthur Realty Inc., managing real estate properties in the area. She was also the owner of Home Reflections by Sandra Ltd. In 1979, she became the co-founder and owner of King Arthur Photo Supply, Inc. After retiring in 1992, the couple moved to South Palm Beach, Florida. Sandra was a full-time caregiver to her husband, demonstrating her caring and compassionate nature. In her spare time, she enjoyed walking, especially along the beach collecting seashells to make into necklaces for others. More recently, Sandra was active in her community’s events at Discovery Village and enjoyed being a part of the loving and caring community. Contributions may be made to Lighthouse for the Blind, 5601 Corporate Way, #210, West Palm Beach, FL 33407.
Melvyn Blake, 81 NARRAGANSETT – Melvyn Blake passed away May 23. He was the husband of Patricia (Pincsak) Blake; they were married for 56 years.
Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, he was a son of the late Alan and Beatrice (Posternak) Blake. Mel had many passions in his life, was intensely dedicated to his family and friends, and was active in many philanthropic, educational and social organizations. He cared greatly and touched the lives of countless people. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his twin daughters Jane Cramer and her husband, Darryl, and Sarah Klayman and her husband, Jeffrey; four grandchildren, Ethan and Collin Cramer and Savannah and Haley Horton; brother Frank Blake; and sister Madeline Blake. Contributions may be made to Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence, RI 02906.
Joel Davis, 67 GLENDORA, CALIF. – Joel F. Davis died May 26 at the Glendora Grand Nursing Home, in Glendora. He was the son of the late Albert and Shirley (Chorney) Davis and brother of Nancy Davis (Sheila Josephson) of New York City, New York. Joel was a longtime resident of California, previously living in Cranston. Joel’s lifelong passion was writing, which became his profession; he was a proud, card-carrying member of the Writer’s Guild of America. He loved his friends, his family, and his beloved dog, Alex. He was a graduate of Providence College.
James Engel, 62 PAWTUCKET, R.I. – James R. “Jim” Engel passed away May 24 at his home in Pawtucket. Born in Long Branch, New Jersey, the son of the late Dr. Herbert W. and Barbara (Stein) Engel Swartzberg he was a resident of Oakhurst, New Jersey, before relocating to High Point, North Carolina, and eventually settling in Rhode Island. Jim attended Brookdale Community College and earned a certification in food service. He worked for the Alcohol Beverage Control of North Carolina in High Point for 23 years and worked for Brown University’s dining services for nine years. A New England sports enthusiast, he enjoyed traveling with his family to Cancun and Punta Cana and spending his summers in Narragansett.
He adored taking care of his sister and brother-in-law’s dog, Max, but especially the time he spent with his nieces and nephews. Jim is survived by one brother, Peter Engel and his wife Helen of Livingston, New Jersey, and Arlington Vermont; one sister, Cathy Oresman and her husband Bob of Pawtucket and nieces and nephews, Harris Engel, Morgan Engel, Daniel Oresman and David Oresman and his fiancée Abby Ricci. He was the stepson of the late Fred Swartzberg. Contributions may be made to the Dana Farber Hematology/Oncology, 450 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215 or Brown University Student Life, PO Box 1896, Providence, RI 02912 or to the charity of your choice.
Herbert Fogel, 79 NARRAGANSETT, R.I. – Herbert “Herb” Fogel, of Narragansett and Delray Beach, Florida, passed away on May 31 after suffering with Par-
kinson’s Disease. He was the husband of Judith (Jacobson) Fogel for almost 50 years. Born in Cranston, Herb was the son of the late Joseph and Lillian (Wine) Fogel. He grew up in East Greenwich and was a proud graduate of the Class of 1959. He attended Bryant College and served in the Army for two years, before joining the family business, Brown Tailors and Cleaners in East Greenwich, where he worked for 34 years, retiring in 2000. It was truly a family business, working side by side with his parents, wife, and children. Herb’s brother, Bruce, instilled in him the love of travel and Herb, with his wife by his side, told everyone that he visited and toured six continents and over 80 countries! Travel however, took second place to his family who were the love of his life. He was always available to them. He taught them to have a strong work ethic and a love of life. His mantra was, “It is nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice!” Herb was a loyal and true friend. Among his friends were many he had known since kindergarten. He was
in a gourmet dinner group for over 20 years, a theater group for over 25 years, and a Florida friends group for more than 20 years. His parents were original members of Temple Sinai in Cranston where he belonged for many years. Herb was a Boy Scout in Troop 2 East Greenwich, a member of the East Greenwich Jaycees and a former member of the East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce. For 18 years, Herb and Judy volunteered for Jewish Family Service of South Palm Beach County, most recently at the Weisman Senior Center in Delray. Herb was the father of Jenny Miller (Craig Koehler) of Warwick, Jared Fogel (Kelly) of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and Molly Fisher (John) of New York City. He was “Poppy” to Lucy and Lily Miller, Jax and Drew Fogel and Jack Fisher. Contributions can be made to the East Greenwich Free Library, 82 Peirce St., East Greenwich, RI 02818 or the charity of your choice.
Taking care of each other is what
community is all about.
We're proud to serve our Jewish community with personal, compassionate care.
SUGARMAN SINAI MEMORIAL CHAPEL Providence SugarmanSinai.com 401-331-8094 spacer
Sugarman Sinai Memorial Chapel, Jeremy Poster, Funeral Director
30 | JUNE 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
OBITUARIES Janet Engelhart Gutterman, 74 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Janet Engelhart Gutterman passed away May 13 at the HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center after a long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Janet was born in the Bronx on Aug. 22, 1946, the daughter of Bernice and Milton Hess. She earned an undergraduate degree at Hofstra University and a masters in early childhood development at Duquesne University. She is survived
by her husband Rabbi Leslie Y. Gutterman, daughter Allison (Matthew) Spielman, step-daughters Rabbi Rebecca Gutterman (Michael) and Elizabeth Gutterman, sister Risa Hess, brother Charles Hess and grandchildren Daniel, Jonah and Benjamin, along with a wide circle of grieving kin. Janet was a dedicated community leader. She was the strategic planner for the Pittsburgh Jewish community, where she won national awards for refugee resettlement. Janet moved to Providence to assume the presidency of the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island (now the Jewish Alliance). Upon her retirement, she tutored
at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. Janet was a docent at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum and delighted in introducing youngsters to the museum. Janet’s love of children and flowers was legendary. She found great satisfaction mentoring countless young women beginning their professional career in the Jewish community. People of all ages were drawn to her and felt connected to her because of her gifts of spirit, kindness and listening without judgment and her utter decency and wholesome values. Leslie married Janet after his first wife, Julie, died. Janet took immense joy from creating a close-knit, loving family who treasured her. Janet was sustained these past months by Dr. Howard Safran’s remarkable competence, sensitivity and compassion along with the skill of nurses at The Miriam Hospital Fain Cancer Center. Dr. Fred Schiffman guided and guarded the Guttermans on a daily basis. God bless him. The family requests that donations be directed to Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence, R.I. 02906
Sylvia Levin, 95 WARWICK, R.I. – Sylvia (Rosenfield) Levin, formerly of Cranston, passed away on May 1 at Greenwich Farms at Warwick. She was the wife of the late Hyman Levin. Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Charles and Eva (Pierce) Rosenfield, she was a graduate of Hope High School. In addition to being a homemaker, Sylvia was a devoted mother and grandmother whose greatest joy was spending time with her family. She was a lifelong member of Temple Torat Yisrael. She is survived by one daughter, Sandra I. Bilow of Rumford; one son, Paul S. Levin and his wife, Elaine, of Smithfield; four grandchildren David C. Bilow and his wife, Rachel, of S. Kingstown, Eric M. Bilow and his fiancée, Stacey Smith, of Rumford, Stephen M. Levin and his wife, Crystal, of Taunton and Jennifer E. Levin and her fiancé, Michael Desjean, of Pawtucket. She was the sister of the late Arnold Rosenfield. Contributions may be made to Temple Torat Yisrael.
Nellie Lobello, 96 WARWICK, R.I. – Nellie Lobello died May 23 at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice
Center. She was the wife of the late John Lobello. Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Max and Esther (Galkin) Goldman, she had lived in Warwick for 50 years. She was a supervisor for the former Hospital Trust Bank for over 20 years, retiring in 1987. She was the mother of the late Harold Cohn and his surviving spouse, Elizabeth Cohn, of Sun City, Arizona, and the late Paul Cohn and his surviving spouse, Maureen Cohn, of Coventry. She was the grandmother of Jared Cohn (Jennifer) and Matthew Cohn (Jennifer). She was the great-grandmother of Matthew, Jacob, Benjamin, Ella and Abby. She was the sister of the late Alice Silverman, Anna Yuloff and Edith Rosenberg. She was the aunt of Deborah Kaplan and Beverly Silverman. Contributions may be made to Meeting Street School, 1000 Eddy St., #4739, Providence, RI 02905.
Maxine Morse, 91 WEST WARWICK, R.I. – Maxine Morse passed away on May 13 at home. She was the wife of the late Gilbert Morse. Born in Providence, a daughter of the late David and Matilda (Ross) Silevitch, she most recently lived in West Warwick, previously having lived in Warwick and Cranston. She was the owner of the former Maxine’s Art Gallery in East Greenwich and Warwick. Maxine was a former member of Temple Beth Israel and a member of the Cranston Senior Guild. She was an avid bowler and bridge player. Maxine adored her two dogs, Shane and Lilly. She was the mother of Donna Young and her partner, Stephen Tippe, of Cranston; David Morse and his late wife, Marilyn, of Cranston; Mark Morse and his wife, Maureen, of Johnston; and Lloyd Morse and his wife, Pamela, of West Warwick. She was the sister of the late Kenneth Gross. She was the grandmother of 10 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. A special thank you to the home hospice caregivers, especially Francesca Pacheco of VNA Care NE, who provided comfort and assistance to Maxine during her critical time. Contributions may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 50 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or VNA Care NE Foundation, 51 Health Lane, Warwick, RI 02886.
Leonard Nalibow, 87 EAST GREENWICH, R.I. – Leonard Paul Nalibow died on May 21 at Rhode Island Hospital. He was the husband of Marilyn (Yosinoff) Nalibow for 55 years. Born in Boston, the son of the late Samuel and Theresa (Horvitz) Nalibow, he was a longtime resident of East Greenwich, previously living in Cranston. He was owner and president of Coventry Pharmacy Inc. from 1958-1982 and East Greenwich Prescription Center Inc. from 1984 until his retirement in 1994. After his retirement, he volunteered as a nursing home patient advocate for five years. He was a graduate of Hope High School and the Rhode Island College of Pharmacy and Allied Sciences, where he was a member of Rho Pi Phi Fraternity. He was a member of Temple Sinai. Leonard was the father of Scott Nalibow of East Providence and Alison Nalibow Smith and her husband, Richard, of White Plains, New York, and grandfather of Lindsay and Jack. He was the cherished companion to his dog, Sadie. He was the brother of the late Paula Simon. Donations may be made to the RI SPCA, the Humane Society, or the charity of your choice.
Harriet Quinn, 79 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Harriet Quinn passed away May 9. Born in Providence, she was the daughter of the late Milton and Ruth (Kaufman) Fine. She is survived by her cousin Lana Israel, many relatives and devoted friends. Contributions may be made to Amos House, 460 Pine St., Providence, RI 02907.
Shirlee Rosenthal, 85 SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. – Shirlee R. Rosenthal, of Wakefield, passed away May 6. She was the wife of the late Gerald Rosenthal. Born in Ft. Lewis, Washington, she was a daughter of the late Herbert and Edna Allen. Shirlee raised her four
JUNE 2021 | 31
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
OBITUARIES daughters in Attleboro, Massachusetts, where she was a longtime member of the Parent-Teacher Organization and the Sisterhood of Temple Agudas Achim. She was active in local politics, campaigning and fundraising for candidates at both the city and state levels. For many years, Shirlee managed her husband’s dental practice. In 1999, shortly after retirement and a move to South County, her husband passed away. Shirlee continued her life in Rhode Island, serving the community and enjoying her hobbies. She was a member of the South County chapter of the Women’s Club of Rhode Island. She published the club’s newsletter, photographed events and participated in The Spirit of Giving, an annual essay contest for local school children. She gave generously of her time at The Lighthouse for Youth, a residential group home for adolescent girls. Shirlee was a loving mother to her four daughters – supportive of them in every way. She was generous to a fault – always looking for ways to give to others, showering her family and friends with gifts and committing random acts of kindness. Her creative side shone through in the family vacations she planned, the meals she cooked, the photos she took, the letters she wrote and even in the flowers she grew. She is survived by her daughters Judy Richardson and her husband Neil, Jody Hall and her husband Joseph Savick, Joyce Rosenthal and her partner John Butorac, and Jill McLoughlin and her husband Matthew; sister Coretta Ford; and grandchildren Katie and Troy Richardson, Graham Hall, and Sam and Sarah McLoughlin. Contributions may be made to the South Kingstown Animal Shelter, 132 Asa Pond Road, Wakefield, RI 02879.
Mandel Sherman, 82 PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA. – Mandel "Manny" Sherman died April 17. He was born July 20, 1938, to Sam and Helen Sherman. He grew up in Woonsocket and spent his adult life in Providence. A graduate of New York Military Academy and Boston University, he was a pioneer in the precious metals business and later in the plastic recycling industry. He is survived by his wife
of 56 years Joan, his daughters Melissa and Sloan, as well as his granddaughters Samantha and Ari, and his sister Sue Sherman. Manny was an eternal optimist, a lifelong liberal and a fighter in every sense of the word. Condolences can be sent to 133 Banyan Isle Drive, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418. Donations can be made to The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at www.dana-farber. org/gift.
Justin Strauss, 88 CRANSTON, R.I. – Justin “Jay” Strauss died May 20 at Briarcliffe Manor. He was the beloved husband of Sandra “Sandy” (Paster) Strauss for 65 years. Born in Providence, a son of the late Allen and Minna (Sharp) Strauss, he was a longtime resident of Cranston and Nantucket. He was the former owner of Eagle Cornice Company for 50 years. Jay was also the former editor for the Jewish Herald. Jay was a proud Air Force veteran, serving stateside as a First Lieutenant pilot. He was a graduate and alumni member of University of Pennsylvania, Class of ’54, active with Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity and earned an OPM degree from Harvard University. Jay was an original member of Temple Sinai, member and past president of the Holocaust Education Center, The Miriam Hospital Governor and member of the Jewish Alliance. He was also a member of JINSA, Newport Naval War College, AOPA, US Arbitration Association and the University Club. As a skilled pilot, Jay was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for flight excellence and volunteered with Angel Flights, flying children and adults in need to hospitals across the country. He was the father of Lori Smith and her husband, Richard, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and Amy Quinn of Cranston. He was the brother of the late Beverly Kwasha. He was the grandfather of Jared, Allison (Jonathan), Matthew (Elizabeth), Eric (Louann), Cristian (Valerie), Ethan and Brett. He was the great-grandfather of Eli, Sophie, Hannah, Kerrin, Ava, Benjamin and Bella. Contributions may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, 245 Waterman St., #306, Providence, RI 02906 or
the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906
Steven Tragar, 67 WARREN, R.I. – Steven L. Tragar passed away on May 19 at Warren Center. Born in Providence, he was the son of the late Sidney and Sophie (Pokross) Tragar. He worked for Jewish Family Services and its meal site. Steven was also a well-known and respected X-ray technician at Kent and Rhode Island Hospitals. He was the father of Benjamin Tragar and Sarah Tragar, both of Cumberland. He was the brother of Brenda Tragar of Warwick and Elaine Rogers of East Providence. He was the uncle of Michael and Rebecca Weseluk. He was the companion of Christine Openshaw. Contributions may be made to Shalom Mealsite, c/o Jewish Collaborative Services, 1165 N. Main St., Providence, RI 02904.
Frances S. Weinstein, 92 WARWICK, R.I. – Frances Weinstein died on May 4 in Warwick. Born on March 7, 1929, in Long Island City, New York, daughter of Bertie and Norman Steinhauer, and wife of the late Ed Weinstein, she is survived by her children Vic, Jane, Rob and Dan. She was the grandmother of Ben, Carrie, Molly, Jeff and Seth. She was great-grandmother to Gwendolyn and Avery. Fran and Ed raised their family in Babylon, New York. A lifelong learner who instilled a love of knowledge in her children by example, she completed her associate degree in nursery education and earned a listing in Who’s Who in Associate Degree Students. She became certified in electrolysis and ran her own practice. She pursued artistic endeavors including watercolors, driftwood floral arranging and rug hooking. Always an organizer and a doer, often in a leadership role, she volunteered for everything from classroom parent to social services and the Babylon Public Library. In her 60s, Fran became passionate about the art of rug hooking. She was key to the growth of the Long Island Rug Hooking association and, while serving as its president, oversaw numerous annual exhibitions. In 2012, Fran and Ed moved to Warwick to be closer to family members in New England, especially their youngest grandchild Ben.
Despite the onset of dementia, Fran continued to remain engaged and during family holidays insisted the conversation be slowed down so she could be included. She remained curious and retained her sharp wit regardless of the state of her memory. Her forthright commentary about life and the people around her continued to endear her to everyone. Contributions may be made to the Hooked Rug Museum of North America at www. hookedrugmuseumnovas-
cotia.org/donate/ or 9849 St. Margarets Bay Rd., RR 2, Hubbards, Nova Scotia, Canada.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Rhode Island area schools seek part-time Hebrew and/or Judaica teachers, youth advisors and specialists for the 2021 - 2022 academic year.
For more information contact Larry Katz at the Jewish Alliance at 401.421.4111 ext. 179 or lkatz@jewishallianceri.org
taking care of each other is what community is all about. we’ve proudly served our Jewish community with personal, compassionate care. As your Dignity Memorial professionals, we are dedicated to helping families create a personal, meaningful memorial that truly honors the life it represents. FO R M O R E T H A N A C E N T U RY, ®
SUGARMAN SINAI Memorial Chapel 458 Hope St., Providence
401-331-8094 SugarmanSinai.com
Certified by the Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island Sarah Lavendier-Colon, Funeral Director
Building our future; honoring our past Jewish Rhode Island is the only source for Jewish community news in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. To continue to provide a vibrant window to everything Jewish in our area, we need your help. Our annual Patron Campaign is now underway. Your donation, large or small, helps us bring you our monthly publication, newsletter and our website.
Patron Campaign 2021 Jewish Rhode Island 2021 Patron Campaign To make your donation,visit jewishrhody.org. Click DONATE at the top of the page. Or, complete and return this form to Jewish Rhode Island | 401 Elmgrove Ave. | Providence, RI 02906 Name Street $18
$36
$54
$72
$100
$250
$500
$1,000
Other $
Donor names will be published
City/State/Zip Phone
Check enclosed (please make payable to Jewish Rhode Island) Charge my credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or Amex)
in an upcoming issue unless you
Card Number
previously indicated otherwise or
Security Code
do so here: ________ Please do not list my name.
Billing Address Signature
Exp. Date