Thanks to a generous gift from the Bernhardt Foundation,
Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island is kicking off the new year with the second cycle of the Community Microgrants Initiative. We encourage Jewish agencies and individuals to explore opportunities to come together on their own terms... with funding provided by the Jewish Alliance.
Collaborative Grants (expected maximum of $5,000)
To fund new and creative partnerships that contribute to vibrant Jewish life in our state and build meaningful collaborations between different Jewish and non-Jewish organizations. These grants are intended for at-least two organizations in the community to collaborate together on a meaningful project.
To fund new and creative initiatives that contribute to vibrant Jewish life in our state. These grants are intended for individuals in the community to offer their own programming and content that is uniquely relevant to them, their interests, and their immediate community. This can be in the form of a Shabbat dinner, a park meet-up, a Jewish learning group, a holiday gathering, or something more creative and innovative.
THIS IS MY FAVORITE time of the year. We have come through a period of intro spection. We have assessed where we have been and where we are going. It is a fresh new year with a clean slate.
I find this annual self-assessment use ful and revealing, and I use it to make course corrections. Have you done that? Whether you want to alter the way you treat friends and family, or the trajectory of your career or personal life, now is a good time to start.
You can use this time of self-reflection to big deci sions, like whether now is the time to retire or relocate. And you can also use it to make “smaller” decisions, such as spending more time with rela tives or getting back to a pas sion you’ve left behind.
It’s really not that diffi cult. It just takes a little time to step back and see the big picture. Discover what will improve your life and bring you happiness.
I love fall, with its chang ing colors, warm days and cool nights. But I also think that the holidays are a big part of why this season is so special to me.
And I feel blessed as we enter 5783. For years, my extended family has gathered at our home for holidays. Yes, that means lots of people, lots of food and a ton of prepara tions. But we all get along and have a lot of fun spend ing time together.
This year, we had fewer relatives at our table, but my immediate family has grown with the addi tion of another little girl, my third grand child, born this year. What fun it will be to have the three sisters at the family table for many holidays to come!
This year, we dipped apples in honey and said the blessings. And then, later in the meal, the girls decided
that vegetables were also better when dipped in honey!
I’m hoping that will bring us an extra-sweet year!
We try to stay away from controversy and strife at the table. But since we all like a good discussion, that’s not always possible. But, done in a respectful way, we get through it, and I’m grateful for that. I guess it’s helpful that our parents encouraged us to listen to all opinions in an effort to formulate our own. We’ve tried to hand down that open-mindedness. I hope we’ve been successful.
Traditions are strong in this season. Whether you celebrate the High Holy Days in synagogue or via Zoom, whether you buy apples at the supermarket or you pick them at a local farm, whether you gather for a hol iday meal at your house or in the neighbor’s sukkah, this is the season for renewing family ties, self-reflection and commitment.
And it’s also the time for new possibilities, like vege tables dipped i n honey. Why not?
Fran Ostendorf Editor
HADASSAH NORTHEAST is sponsoring a walk for women’s health. You can walk along Blackstone Boulevard on Providence's East Side to raise money for women's health. The boulevard path is 1.4 miles to its end. You can walk to the end and turn around or turn back anytime along the way.
The goal is to increase awareness of Hadassah's efforts in Israel and the U.S. to improve women's health, including breast cancer research, gender equity in medical research and advocating for reproductive rights.
This event is open to ALL people, families, youth groups, and temples.
You do not have to be a member of Hadassah to register for this walk. Community partner sponsors are Core Connects RI and Temple Beth-El Providence.
The walk takes place on Sunday, Oct. 23 from 2-4:30 p.m. There is a $25 fee to walk.
Other walks will take place in Bos ton and Brookline.
To register, go to runsignup.com/ hadassahwalk. Registration ends Oct. 23, at noon.
For questions about this event, please contact the Walk director at gseletz@hadassah.org.
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.
RHODE ISLAND
F ran Ostendorf
& LAYOUT Alex Foster
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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.
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ON THE COVER: Sally Freestone, of Warwick, takes a spin around the dance floor with her fiancé Thomas Marino, of Providence.
strong in this season.’
Nearlya decade ago, when Emily Levy was 19 years old, she had an urgent meeting with her doctor. She had just been diagnosed with a severe case of Lyme disease.
ISLAND and Boston, Levy couldn’t remember a tick bite, but she had endured a range of symptoms since middle school. After see ing many doctors, she was relieved to finally pinpoint a cause. In fact, Levy had an extreme form of neuro degenerative Lyme disease, and she needed immediate treatment.
To combat the bacterial infection, Levy would have to wear a peripherally inserted central catheter,
or “PICC line.” The complex device would attach to her arm and inject life-saving antibiotics directly into her bloodstream.
Lifesaving, yes, but unsightly. The doctor sug gested she cover it up.
With what, Levy asked.
Find a tube sock, advised the physician, in all serious ness. Cut off the end and pull it over your arm.
For six months, that’s what Levy did. She walked around the campus of Bab son College, in Wellesley, Massachusetts, trying not to think about her sock-cov ered bicep.
“It’s a very business-fo cused school. Most days I was wearing a pencil skirt and a blazer,” Levy recalled.
“But I also had a sock on my arm. It was quite the juxta position: I’m supposed to be growing into young adult hood, yet here’s a blatant symbol that there’s a medi cal challenge in my life.”
What happened next has been well-documented in the media, especially in health and business news: Levy turned her dilemma into a class project. She talked to her father, the famed surf board-maker David Levy, who suggested cutting up a rash-guard shirt and fash ioning her own arm cover.
Building on that idea, Levy teamed up with two college friends, Maria del Mar Gomez and Yousef al-Humaidh, to develop better apparel. She com missioned her cousin, Bristol-based Caitlin Allen, to design the garment. She participated in an acceler ator program called Mass Challenge, and she hustled for investors.
The result: Mighty Well, a company founded in 2016. Based in Cranston, Mighty Well sells arm coverings that look and behave like fashionable sportswear. The company’s PICC-line covers
come in attractive hues and are made from antimicro bial and moisture-wicking fabric.
Levy’s business has grown exponentially in the past six years, expanding its catalog to bags, organizers, masks and, most recently, a water proof cover for bathing.
“It gives you more dig nity,” says Levy, “not only in the way you look, but helping to preserve the dignity of the medical device that the patient had to get implanted.”
Levy, who lives in Provi dence, is only 28 years old, and she has already gar nered widespread respect as an entrepreneur. Outlets like Forbes and CBS News have reported on Levy’s medical history and busi ness acumen. Many jour nalists have also nodded to her parents: David Levy, a respected surfer and surf board-maker in Narragan sett, and Terry Allen Lanza,
who helped open the Boston offices of Giorgio Armani in the 1990s and worked in corporate advertising.
“I really do credit both of my parents,” Levy says. “My mom, [for] helping me to understand the corporate world, and my dad [for] say ing, ‘Follow your heart, soul, passion and build something for yourself.’ ”
But there is another side to Levy – a profound spiritu ality, largely shaped by her Jewish heritage.
Judaism was an unlikely passion for Levy. Her father didn’t practice, despite having grown up in a conservative synagogue, and her mother’s family was Irish-Catholic. She might never have given her religious ancestry much thought, but her paternal aunt, Arlene Seltzer, intro duced the young Levy to Jewish holidays and tradi tions.
ALL SEVEN DAYS we treat our sukkah as our regular dwelling and our house as our occasional dwelling.
– Mishnah Sukkah 2:9
There is an odd sense of peace that comes over me during Sukkot. I think it has to do with the fact that the sukkah itself is so obvi ously real. It is our most elaborate and mas sive ritual object.
You may not be able to convince yourself that a piece of matzah transforms you into a slave emerging from Egypt, or that a Hanukkah menorah shines with the light of a God’s miracles, but a sukkah definitely has the ability to convince you that you were made just to sit in it and feel at home.
this is my real house. This is where I live.”
Sukkot is the holiday in which the unreal becomes palpably real. It is the premiere Jewish holiday of intentionally disorienting ourselves. We need it.
Think about this in terms of your own life. What is real to you? What do you see as the founda tion of your life and existence?
Is it a job or a social status?
Is it wealth or prestige?
to be the foundation of our lives? Kohelet’s answer is enigmatic.
“I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is,” says Kohelet, “is to be happy and to do what is good in life. And also that whenever you eat or drink, that you see good in your work, see that it is all a gift of God” (3:12-13).
As I stretch out in my sukkah for a festive meal, I think to myself, “Yes, this is the way life should be. I could sit in here forever and just be happy.”
And if, while sitting in my sukkah, I should hap pen to notice that nice, solid-looking building next to it – the one where I keep my bed, furnishings and books – I might think to myself, “Yes, that is my temporary shelter. It is a sort of out-building. An oversized shed. But this lovely hut with the roof made of branches –
RABBI JEFFREY GOLDWASSER
Is it a role in the commu nity? Is it a skill or a special ability?
Sukkot reminds us that all these things are fragile and dis appear over time. Even our most valued relationships –family and friendships – can and will change, and even tually disappear. Most of the things we consider to be the foundation of our existence have no lasting reality or permanence.
This is the theme of the book of Kohelet (Ecclesias tes) that we read during Suk kot. Kohelet teaches, “I was distressed by all that goes on under the sun, because everything is futile and pur suit of wind” (2:17).
So, is anything real? What should we consider
The only thing that is permanent – the only thing that is “really real” – is our ability to live life with happiness, appreciation and reverence for the presence of divinity in each moment. That is the only thing that is timeless. Everything else is transitory.
Sukkot is an invitation to reorient our lives along the trajectory of timeless acceptance of the moment we inhabit right now. While we dwell in the sukkah, there is no past – which is just a memory – and there is no future, which is just a specu lation. There is only now – a now in which we realize that just breathing and living is a miracle, a now in which there is nothing to do but to experience the joy of lov ing and being loved, giving thanks for what we have, and knowing ourselves to be blessed. What a spectacular holiday!
In this way, we may see Sukkot as the antidote to the other Tishrei holidays. From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, we lived in a reality
of God’s judgment, and we weighed ourselves against an idealized version of who we might be. We entered deeply into regret and resolutions to change our ways. That’s all over now. We are done with that until next year. Now we cleanse ourselves with the warm embrace of a holiday that only cares about joy, and in which God is only a source of love.
We need this. Sukkot disorients us into remem bering that the things that are most real in life are the things that we usually think of as fleeting and ephemeral – accep tance, enjoyment, appreciation and love. Sukkot invites us into a topsy-turvy world in which huts with loose branches for a roof are perma nent, and steelframed buildings with poured-con crete foundations are temporary. It does this so we can see what is really real.
Moadim l’simcha, chagim uzmanim lesason! May these days bring you joy.
May these festivals and sea sons bring happiness to you!
RABBI JEFFREY GOLDWASSER is the spiritual leader of Temple Sinai, in Cranston.
Greater Rhode Island
Oct 7 5:57pm
Oct 9 5:54pm Erev Sukkot
Oct 10 6:55pm Sukkot
Oct 14 5:46pm
Oct 16 5:43pm Erev Shemini Atzeret
Oct 17 6:44pm Erev Simchat Torah
Oct 21 5:35pm
Oct 28 5:25pm
“My Dad always said the ocean was his religion,” she recalls. “I’m definitely very connected spiritually to the ocean. But I personally was very curious about my fam ily’s cultural and religious background in a way that he’s not.”
After high school, Levy signed up for the Birthright program.
“I was honestly just looking for a free trip to Israel,” says Levy. “But then when I went, I literally felt my ances tors when we were there. I believe that all people who can track their lineage to the Jewish people should have that opportunity to go and experience the Holy Land for themselves. It’s especially important for young people to go, because it really was that transformative for me.”
One day, on the edge of Jerusalem’s old city, Levy and her peers were told to close their eyes. When she opened
them again, Levy was staring at the Western Wall, a first glimpse that sent shockwaves through her.
“Oh my God, this is what my ancestors for 2,000 years haven’t been able to do,” she remembers thinking. “And how blessed am I to be able to fulfill that mission that they prayed and prayed for?”
When she started at Bab son, Levy joined Hillel and served on the chapter’s execu tive board for three years. She helped bring Israeli speakers to campus.
“That was amazing for me, because I got to meet other Jewish people from around the world,” she says. “I learned that we’re actually a civilization, not just a reli gion.”
Levy later worked for the Zionist youth move ment Young Judaea and did recruiting for Birthright, sending four friends to Israel. One of those friends decided to remain permanently, and
signed up to join the Israel Defense Forces.
In many ways, Israel was a major influence on Levy’s business aspirations. In the summer of 2014, she flew to Haifa as part of the Onward Israel program, interning for an app developer. Here Levy was exposed to her first startup incubator, and she learned the ropes for establishing a company and raising money.
Her efforts were stymied, however, when three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and murdered in Gush Etzion, a now-infamous incident that triggered nationwide vio lence. As headlines intensi fied, Levy’s parents urged her to come home. Her move ments were soon restricted, and American colleagues started leaving the program early. When an Israeli friend was hurt in the conflict, Levy decided to return home – but she continued to work for the app developer remotely for
eight months, a decision that proved inspiring.
“Seeing the startup con tinue to work,” she says, “while their friends and loved ones were being called up to serve – it was like, if they can grow a company literally during an [armed] conflict, there’s no reason that I can’t help other people from my dorm room within my own community. That internship was really a catalyst for my own belief in myself.”
Levy had always intended to start a business, but she never imagined starting so early. Like most of her pur suits, Mighty Well is deeply personal, interwoven with both her diagnosis and her desire to help people. She even married her business partner, Yousef al-Humaidh.
Mighty Well has developed virtual education for people new to Lyme disease, and the company’s advisory board boasts numerous medical pro fessionals. Levy has become
a spokesperson for the Lyme community, advocating for fast and accurate testing.
“I think entrepreneurship, in the capitalistic society that we live in, is one of the only ways that you can make systematic societal change,” she says. “But at the same time, I think my generation especially is not interested in just working for a paycheck. There has to be a purpose and a mission behind what we do.”
“I really relate to tikkun olam – to heal the world,” she continues. “I feel like, through healing the world, I’ve healed myself. Even if it’s in a small segment, I feel like you can always do good and give back.”
ROBERT ISENBERG (risenberg@ jewishallianceri.org) is the multimedia producer for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and a writer for Jewish Rhode Island.
Kosher Senior Café and Pro gramming. In-person lunches 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday – Thursday at the Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence; Friday at Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. No café on 10/10, 10/11, 10/17 and 10/18. In-person and Zoom programming from 11 a.m.-noon followed by lunch and a guest speaker or discussion from noon-1 p.m. On 10/14 is “Susie’s Corner” with Susie Adler. The third Thursday of the month is a book chat with Neal Drobnis. Suggested donation: $3 per lunch for those age 60 and older as well as for younger adults with a disability. Other adults may purchase a meal for $6.50. The Kosher Senior Café is a program of Jewish Collaborative Services and is supported by the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI and Black stone Health. Information and RSVP, Neal Drobnis at neal@jfsri. org or 401-421-4111, ext. 107.
Project Shoresh Ladies
Partners in Torah Night.
Sundays 7:45-8:45 p.m. Prov idence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Partner-based study group. On-site facilitators available. Free. Information, projectshoresh.com or Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@ gmail.com or 401-632-3165.
Delve Deeper | Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews: From 1492 to the 20th Century. Mondays 7:309:30 p.m. Thru 12/12. No classes: 10/10, 10/17. Explore via Zoom the history of Arab/Middle Eastern and Sephardi Jews in this course taught by Yaron Ayalon, Ph.D., director of the Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program and Associate Professor of Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies, College of Charleston (South Carolina). Presented in cooper ation with the Jewish Alliance of
Greater Rhode Island, Congrega tion Beth Sholom, Temple Beth-El, Temple Emanu-El, Temple Habonim, Temple Sinai and Temple Torat Yisrael. Information, Morty Miller at mortymiller1945@ gmail.com.
Let’s Talk Hebrew. Mondays and Tuesdays. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Provi dence. Four levels of in-person Hebrew conversation. Classes meet on: 10/24, 10/25, 11/1, 11/7, 11/8, 11/14, 11/15, 11/21, 11/22, 11/28, 11/29. Cost: $100 per person (scholarship available). Information, Toby Liebowitz at tobyaane@gmail.com.
Project Shoresh: For Young Professionals – A Walk through Torah. Tuesdays 7-8 p.m. 132 Lancaster St., Provi dence. Explore the Five Books of Moses with Rabbi Chaim Yehuda and Mrs. Guta Shaps. RSVP (requested) or information, text or call Rabbi Shaps at 732-8220028.
Temple Habonim “The Wisdom’s Literature.” Wednesdays 11 a.m.noon. Study the texts found in the Writings, the final section of the Hebrew Bible. These provocative texts offer perspectives on our relationship with God and the meaning and purpose of our lives. Via Zoom. Information, Adina Davies at office@templehabonim. org or 401-245-6536.
Project Shoresh Men’s Partners in Torah Night. Wednesdays 7:45-8:45 p.m. Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Partner-based study group. On-site facilitators available. Free. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail.com or 401632-3165.
Temple Habonim Lunch and
JEWISH RHODE ISLAND
statement of owner ship, management and circulation filed with the United States Post Office at Providence RI in accordance with the provisions of the Act of October 23, 1962: section 4369, title 39, United States Code.
Jewish Rhode Island is the official newspaper of the Jewish Alliance of
Greater Rhode Island, the owner and publisher, at 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence, RI, and is published Monthly. The editor is Fran Ostendorf.
Circulation: (A) Average number of copies each issue during the preced ing 12 months, ending September 30, 2022, (1) net press run 6,500 (2) paid circulation to term
Learn. Thursdays noon-1:15 p.m. Join Rabbi Howard Voss-Alt man in person for weekly Torah Study on Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics. Free. Information, Adina Davies at office@templehabonim.org or 401-245-6536.
Temple Torat Yisrael Men’s Club Game Night. Thursdays 6-8 p.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Socialize and play games including table tennis. Information, www.toratyisrael. org.
Delve Deeper | Moses Maimon ides: Rabbi, Philosopher and Community Leader. Thursdays 7:30-9:30 p.m. Thru 12/15. No class: 11/24. Explore Maimon ides’ mindset, life and cultural world in this course taught by Alan Verskin, Ph.D., associ ate professor of history, URI. Presented in cooperation with the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, Congregation Beth Sholom, Temple Beth-El, Temple Emanu-El, Temple Habonim, Temple Sinai and Temple Torat Yisrael. Information, Morty Miller at mortymiller1945@gmail.com.
Project Shoresh presents “Jew in 2022: Exploring a Meaningful Life” with Rabbi Eli Kasirer. Thursdays 8-9 p.m. Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Rabbi Moshe Don Kestenbaum’s book “Olam Ha’avodah – A guide to understanding and achieving our purpose in this world” will be the basis for discussions. To confirm time and place for each class, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail. com or 401-632-3165.
Temple Sinai Shabbat Evening Service. Fridays usually 6 p.m. 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Song, prayer and reflection offered in-person or on Zoom. With Rabbi
Jeffrey Goldwasser and Cantor Deborah Johnson. Zoom link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@templesinairi.org or 401942-8350.
Project Shoresh Lively Kabba lat Shabbat. Fridays. Services will begin at the commencement of Shabbat. Be in touch for exact timing each week. Provi dence Hebrew Day School (side entrance), 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Welcome Shabbat with a few inspiring words, melodious songs and traditional services. Open to all. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail. com or 401-632-3165.
Cape Cod Synagogue Shabbat Services. Fridays 7 p.m., except second Friday of the month 6:30 p.m. when Family Shabbat Services take place. 145 Winter St., Hyannis, Mass. With Rabbi David Freelund. In-person and livestreamed on website, Face book, Cape Media, YouTube and Community Television Comcast channel 99. Services are in person with proof of vaccination; masks optional. Information, 508775-2988 or capecodsynagogue. org.
Temple Beth-El Torah Study. Saturdays 9-10:30 a.m. (No Torah Study second Saturday of the month.) 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Delve into the weekly portion with Rabbi Sarah Mack and Rabbi Preston Neimeiser. In-person or via Zoom. Informa tion, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@ temple-beth-el.org or 401-3316070, ext. 100.
Temple Beth-El Shabbat Morning Service. Second Saturday of the month 9 a.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Shabbat morn ing minyan with lay participation incorporating study, Torah and Haftarah readings. In-person or via Zoom. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@tem ple-beth-el.org or 401-331-6070, ext. 100.
link at templesinairi.org. Informa tion, dottie@templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.
Temple Habonim Torah Study. Saturdays 10-11 a.m. Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman leads weekly Torah study on current portion. Via Zoom. Information, Adina Davies at office@templeha bonim.org or 401-245-6536.
Cape Cod Synagogue Shabbat Services. Saturdays 10:30 a.m. 145 Winter St., Hyannis, Mass. With Rabbi David Freelund. In-person and livestreamed on website, Facebook and YouTube. Services are in-person with proof of vaccination; masks optional. Information, Cape Cod Synagogue at 508-775-2988 or capecodsyn agogue.org.
Temple Sinai Shabbat Morn ing Service In-person and via Zoom. Saturdays 11 a.m. (10:30 a.m. when celebrating a Bar or Bat Mitzvah). Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Informa tion, templesinairi.org or Dottie at 401-942-8350.
Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual Kabbalat Shabbat Songs & Torah Services. 5:45-6:30 p.m. Led by Rabbi David Barnett. Infor mation and Zoom link, Temple@ toratyisrael.org.
subscribers by mail carrier delivery 5,915 (3) free distribution 485 (4) copies not distributed 100 (5) total 6,500 (B) Single issue nearest to filing date September 02, 2022 (1) Net press run 6,500 (2) paid circulation to term subscribers by mail carrier delivery 5,888 (3) free distribution 512 (4) copies not distributed 100 (5) total 6,500.
Temple Torat Yisrael Vir tual and In-person Shabbat Services. Saturdays 9:30-10:30 a.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Led by Rabbi David Barnett. Information or Zoom link, Temple@toratyisrael.org.
Temple Sinai Shabbat Breakfast & Torah Study In-person and via Zoom. Saturdays 9:30-11 a.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Breakfast followed by interactive discussion at 10 a.m. with Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser or others in the community. Zoom
Behind the Book and the Israeli Culture Series present “Sep hardi Voices: The Untold Expul sion of Jews from Arab Lands.” 7 p.m. Following the founding of Israel, close to a million Jews were forced from their ancestral homelands. Authors Henry Green and Richard Stursberg tell the story of state-sanctioned dis crimination, violence and political unrest through accounts from survivors. Via Zoom. Free. Event made possible by a partnership with the Jewish Book Council and sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to New England. Information, Larry Katz at lkatz@ jewishallianceri.org.
Project Shoresh Cider in the Sukkah. 7:45-9:45 p.m. Loca tion given with RSVP. Celebrate Sukkot with a relaxing evening sippin’ cider. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail.com or 401-632-3165.
Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual Kabbalat Shabbat Songs & Torah Services. 5:45-6:30 p.m.
Led by Rabbi David Barnett. Infor mation and Zoom link, Temple@ toratyisrael.org.
Sukkot Shabbat Under the Stars with PJ Library, PJ Your Way and Temple Habonim. 5:45 p.m. Tot Shabbat. 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. Cele brate outside with stories, songs and activities. 6:15 p.m. pizza dinner. 6:45 p.m. family Shabbat service. No RSVP required. PJ Library and PJ Your Way are programs of the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI in partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Information, Adina at office@ templehabonim.org and 401-2456536 or Lyndsey at lursillo@ jewishallianceri.org and 401-4214111.
Saturday | October 15
Temple Sinai “Celebrate Sukkot!” 6:15 p.m. 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Blessing in the sukkah followed by a havdalah service. At 7 p.m., Nefesh Moun tain will perform their bluegrass music, a combination of secular music with a base of Jewish prayers, in the sanctuary. Funded by the Temple’s Schreiber Music fund. Limited seating. Reserva tions (by 10/14) and information, dottie@templesinairi.org or 401942-8350.
Flu shot clinic. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Green Line Apothe cary pharmacists will be on hand to administer flu shots to those over the age of 18 by appoint ment. Bring ID and insurance card. Walk-ins only accepted if safe spacing permits at time of arrival. Information, Lynne Bell at lbell@jewishallianceri.org.
Gil Hovav: Stories from a Jeru salem Kitchen. 7 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Prov idence. Israeli chef and author Gil Hovav has published three best-selling novels, all related in different ways to his family’s colorful history, exposing with humor and emotion the Jerusa lem of his childhood, which no longer exists. Free; registration required. Information, Elihay Skital at eskital@jewishalliancri. org
Friday | October 21
Shabbat at Temple Habonim with Author Betsy Brenner. 7 p.m. 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. Betsy Brenner, a con gregant and longtime high school tennis coach, will discuss her 2021 memoir “The Longest Match: Rallying to Defeat an Eating Disorder in Midlife” following
p.m. Erev Shabbat service. Book discussion will be followed by a Q&A with author. Information, office@templehabonim.org or 401-245-6536.
Hadassah Walk-a-thon for Women’s Health. 2-4:30 p.m. Blackstone Boulevard, Provi dence. Walk to raise money for women’s health and increase awareness of Hadassah’s efforts in Israel and the U.S. to improve women’s health, including breast cancer research, gender equity in medical research and advocat ing for reproductive rights. Open to all. $25 walk fee. Questions and registration, Walk director at gseletz@hadassah.org or 781455-9055.
Thursday | October 27
Hadassah presents “It takes Two Villages.” 1 p.m. Part 2 of Yardena Winkler’s Israeli Adven ture. Virtual tour of Hadassah’s Meir Shfeya and Hadassah Neurim Villages, each unique in character and scenery. Hear the stories behind the amazing people of Youth Aliyah. With guest speaker Marcie Natan, National Youth Aliyah Chair and Past National President of Hadassah. Information, chapri@hadassah. org.
Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual Kabbalat Shabbat Songs & Torah Services. 5:45-6:30 p.m. Led by Rabbi David Barnett. Infor mation and Zoom link, Temple@ toratyisrael.org.
“The World Series of Birthday Cake/Desserts.” 12:30-2 p.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Wish Rabbi Gutterman a happy birthday. Sign up now to compete as one of our chefs. Information, Judy Goldberg at judy.goldberg@ outlook.com.
If you’re seeking better understanding and communication to help strengthen your relationship, then we encourage you to contact us. Our unique couple-to-couple approach combines Angel’s skills as a Certified Coach with those of her husband, Charles Granoff, a licensed Therapist.
BY CALEB GUEDES-REED / JTA
bowl of chicken soup. Crispy, flaky schnitzel. Rich, chocolate rugelach. These are the foods that come to mind for many when they hear the term “Jewish comfort food.”
WHAT HAPPENS when one gives that tradition an uber-contemporary twist?
Some answers can be found in Shannon Sarna’s second cookbook, “Modern Jewish Comfort Food,” which was published Aug. 30.
Sarna, who focused on giving baked goods the 21st-century treatment in her first book, “Modern Jew ish Baker” (think banana bread chocolate chip challah and s’mores hamantaschen) is also editor of the Jewish food blog The Nosher (which is owned by 70 Faces Media, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s parent company). Her site regularly publishes content on international Jewish cuisine, so she natu rally brings that Diasporic lens to her own recipes, too.
Take classic chicken soup – yes, she includes all the hits, along with her experi ments – which is presented in a few versions, including a Yemenite style that incor porates ingredients such as ginger paste and marrow bones. Sarna’s shakshuka, the Israeli tomato and eggbased dish, can be modified into a Mexican-inspired version or a smoky vegan version.
The full package is mouth watering and beginner friendly.
Sarna spoke to JTA about what comfort food means to her and what she hopes readers will take away from her book in trying times. What is comfort food for you?
I think it’s relatable. I
think it’s unpretentious and that’s what I love. I can appreciate a fancy meal and I certainly can appreciate what those chefs do, but that’s the opposite of what I fall in love with and the opposite of what I want to produce. I think comfort food also speaks across cultures.
This is very much a cookbook for home cooks, for people who want to learn and for people who are going to really make the recipes. I wanted it to be something that people actually use in their kitchens.
I think one of the things I’ve learned in my role as editor of The Nosher is about how people learn visually, so having the step-by-steps in “Modern Jewish Baker” was an aspect that I wanted to recreate in this book.
Another hope for this book is that it will teach people a little bit about where the dishes came from and that it helps preserve these reci pes and stories. Our family and our community life as Jews has changed so much in 100 years and 50 years, right? We’re not living in the same multi-generational communities as our parents and grandparents did, so it’s natural that some of the rec ipes and techniques behind dishes are lost. I want to share some of those how-tos in a visual way, and also share where these recipes fit into our history and into our next chapter as Jews.
After writing your last book, what inspired you to write about comfort food?
Comfort food is all about connection and, in these past few years that have been so hard for so many people, food can serve as a way of finding connection. So, I think comfort food very much speaks to this moment. I think it can be a point of connection beyond just Jews themselves, but helps us see the things that we have in common with other people from all over
the world and the ways in which the food tells our sto ries and that we can relate to one another.
You’re Jewish, Italian and, of course, American – what has your background taught you about the similarity of comfort food across cultures?
I think that comfort foods speak to the story of people. We had a little bit and we had to make do with what we had – it’s a running theme that we all have in common. I feel like that’s the univer sality of comfort food to me. What makes Jewish comfort food different from other cultures?
I think it’s our endless ability to adapt. We were exiled, moved somewhere else, started all over and managed to come up with something delicious that comes out of that. So I think that’s very much a story of American Jewish food. You know, so many of the foods here in the U.S. that we consider quintessential Jewish foods, really were born out of our immigrant experience.
What’s something you learned about comfort food in the process of writing the book?
As I was doing research for the book, I really came to understand that there were so many parallels between the immigrant experience of Jews coming here and Italians, Irish and Chinese immigrants all living together in the same neighborhoods in New York and influencing one another. That’s why you have rain bow cookies at every shul kiddush; that’s how you got lox on a bagel, and also spaghetti and meatballs. There were so many paral lels of how these immigrant communities started out very poor, came here, used their resources and came up with these new dishes that
WHEN THE JEWISH New Year comes around, it’s common to find apple cake or honey cake on many Ashkenazi tables, since both honey and apple are common ingredients for Rosh Hashanah dishes. But neither of these desserts really excites me. Fruit crumbles are my go-to dessert all year long for a few reasons: they are easy, they come together quickly, and I almost always have some overripe fruit sitting in my fridge or freezer that will be perfectly transformed into this comforting dessert.
Apples are a traditional ingredient enjoyed for the Jewish New Year by Eastern European Jews. But since the Jewish New Year can often occur at the end of summer, this could be made with peaches, plums, berries, or any combination of fruit that you love. Tahini and Yemenite hawaij coffee spice blend will add a little extra something special if you are inclined.
This recipe is excerpted with permission from Mod ern Jewish Comfort Food by Shannon Sarna, 2022 by Countryman Press.
Cooking spray for baking dish
For the fruit layer: 7 or 8 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped into approx imately 1-inch pieces (around 6 cups of chopped apples)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinna mon, pumpkin pie spice or Hawaij Coffee Spice Blend (recipe follows)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
For the crumble topping: 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cin namon
1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup tahini
For the Hawaij coffee Spice Blend: (makes 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon ground cinna mon
1 teaspoon ground carda mom
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
For serving (optional): Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream
Crumbled halva pieces DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-11inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Make the fruit layer: Combine the apples, gran ulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and lemon juice in a large bowl.
Make the crumble: In a separate bowl, combine all the crumble ingredients, using a wooden spoon, until evenly mixed but there are still clumps.
Pour the apple mixture in an even layer into the prepared baking dish.
Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly on top of the apples until they are almost entirely covered.
Bake, uncovered, for 45 to 60 minutes, until the apple mixture is bubbling and the crumble is golden brown. If the crumbs seem to be getting too dark, you can cover the dish with foil.
Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream and an extra sprin kle of halva, if desired.
For the Hawaij coffee spice blend, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container.
been
Holy Days
always meant doing a lot of
where
THAT’S WHY, as the Jewish calendar turned from 5782 to 5783, I found myself in a more reflective mood than in the past. Much of that was due to having recently turned 70, an age that, as I’ve mentioned in my recent columns, has made me more acutely aware of my mortality.
But this year, my thoughts turned to the blessings in my life, and specifically to the Jewish New Year 25 years ago, when my wife, Lynne, and I had just returned from taking the most meaningful trip of our lives, one that forever transformed our world.
I’m referring to the nearly two weeks that we spent in China, where we had traveled to adopt our first daughter, Arianna. I’ve written about some aspects of the experience in the past, but I want to revisit it here to provide more insight into why the adoptions of Arianna –and her sister, Alana, five years later (the girls aren’t related and come from dif ferent provinces in China) – remains the most import ant accomplishments of our lives.
It’s hard to imagine what our lives would have been like if we had never made that long voyage, more than half a world away. We left our home in North Attleboro at about 5:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 15, 1997, and arrived back home on Sunday night, Sept. 28, just a few days before Rosh Hashanah.
going – a
older
But as long as the trip was, the journey actually began more than 1½ years earlier, when we started the long process for an international adoption by attending an informational session with a Massa chusetts-based adoption
agency, Alliance for Children. We began the pro cess at a time when thousands of Chinese children were being adopted annually by parents in the United States and other nations due to the Chinese government’s one-child policy (which ended in 2015).
LARRY KESSLER
What proved to be a laborious process started in February 1996 and required jumping through a series of bureaucratic hoops, including passing an FBI screening, getting fingerprinted and filling out paperwork that would be sent to China.
After a series of delays, what was supposed to be a six-month wait to get a referral – the photo of the child you’d be adopting – became a longer wait. Finally, on Aug. 13, 1997, one day before my 45th birthday, we received the picture of our daughter, named Shen Yao, who was then 14 months old. We soon found out that we’d be traveling in mid-Sep tember, shortly after our daughter turned 15 months old. We had decided to keep her Chinese name as her middle name, and named her Arianna ShenYao Kessler.
About a month later, our departure day arrived. We flew out of Boston’s Logan International Airport bound for San Fran cisco, where we caught an 11-hour flight to Hong Kong. When we landed, it was 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. After spending most of Wednesday touring the city, we went to the Hong Kong airport that eve ning to catch a flight to our daughter’s home city of Hefei, China. Before boarding our flight, we met many of the 10 other fami lies included in our travel group by our adoption agency.
After landing in Hefei that night, we found out that we wouldn’t receive our daughters until Fri day, one day later than expected. Many people, including us, were relieved to have an extra day to collect ourselves before becoming parents. None theless, the reality that we would be handed a life to take care of was daunting enough to make our final childless night a sleepless one.
The hand-over of our daughter to us on Friday, Sept. 19 – which we cele brate as our daughter’s adoption day – went as smoothly as possible. The snacks that we brought came in handy, and the girls gradually adapted to their new families. The growing pains would come later; fathers and mothers walking the hotel halls at all hours with their kids became a common sight during our stay.
The two weeks in China breezed by, and before we knew it, we were back in the United States. I’ll never forget how animated my daughter was when we got into the town car at Logan airport. Sensing the excite ment, she clapped her hands, as if to say: “Get me home already.”
Once we got back to our North Attleboro home, our friends and rel atives couldn’t wait to meet Arianna, but introductions had to be delayed as I had developed a bad head cold and ear infection. I wound up cel ebrating Rosh Hashanah at home – but felt extremely blessed despite being under the weather.
Once home, we found ways to immerse our daughter in aspects of Chinese culture, but we also resolved to raise her as our daughter. At the same time, we made a com mitment to stay in touch with most of the parents from our adoption group, which included families from
New York, Rhode Island, Florida and Massachusetts.
Starting in 1998, we began hold ing annual reunions in different families’ cities and towns. Over the years, the get-togethers proved important for both the parents and the children. And now, with our daughters having become thoughtful adults working in many professions, they’ve been staying in touch on their own through social media and occasional gatherings, including the group’s first two weddings.
It’s hard to believe that a quar ter-century has passed since Ari anna’s adoption day in China, but it remains not only one of the proudest days of our lives, but also something that could be called a miracle, given how much it changed the girls and their parents.
LARRY KESSLER (larrythek65@ gmail.com) is a freelance writer based in North Attleboro. He blogs at larrytheklineup.blogspot.com.
THE OCTOBER HARVEST MOON holds appeal for people from a global range of cultures. We celebrate it here at Sukkot and Thanksgiving, and like to think that we are also thanking the indigenous tribes for helping us prepare the local foods, corn and beans, and seafood such as bass, trout and salmon.
At least that’s the lore we learned in the public schools of my generation.
Our local tradition would have it that we swapped recipes for foods such as jonnycakes to help our pioneers survive the journeys on foot to the delicacies to be brought in later decades, and even in earlier centuries, by diverse immigrants who carried their cultures and cooking along with them. They also brought skills so useful in the mills and factories of the American Industrial Revolution (which brought brief prosperity but longterm pollution and dimin ishment to the lovely local landscape).
The Jewish presence in Newport introduced the autumn holy day on a variable fall moon week ... derived perhaps from the biblical Sukkot, during which the food was served in a makeshift hut with no roof so that those who prayed could thank the firmament above, with its stars and its creative seasons.
My wife and I spent the start of the current harvest season with a journey “down east,” all the way up the coast to admire the ocean and mountainous cliffs, along with our team of grandchildren, including Noah, Naomi, Daphne, Florence and Eleanor, and our son, Reuben, and daughter, Emily.
I hereby confide in you, dear reader, if you are there, that I don’t really like the pure pursuit of com fort, nor of luxury. I think it is vul gar to be too totally at ease. For me, a little loneliness adds a certain spice to any holiday. I like to greet a stranger in a friendly fashion and then move along quietly to visit my own thoughts and memories.
There was a waitress who shared a few words about her concern for the welfare of wildlife and domes tic creatures dependent on our care … and respect. When we left that overpriced restaurant, she hugged me and thanked me deeply for listening to her PETA-project pre
sentation of her ideas. That was a moment and a gesture that brought me a private inner smile.
What were a few of my other perfect moments of those few days? Well, here goes: I read a recipe that included the word “Wabanaki,” and my Reuben researched that term and told me, “It’s the title of the native people who gathered and celebrated the blueberry!”
And I found a free shelf of tiny blueberries, but it turned out, when I bit into one, that it was all chocolate! A phony berry! I have evidence to illustrate and critique this tale: a snapshot of my hand
holding a tin can of blueberry wine with the French word “bluet.”
Maybe the language of our nation could have been French. Or Spanish, or Swedish, or Iroquois. Or even Russian. Our foes become our allies and our enemies our collaborators.
So, during this sun or moon of full tides and ripe melons, pump kins and apples, let us pray to use our human intelligence, such as it is, to listen and speak to each other, instead of against our neighbors, in this wee world among the planets. Let us weave a flying carpet of good will instead of bombs and bombast.
I wear a pin on my cap with the flags of Israel and the U.S.A., as well as the R.I. anchor of Hope, and hope to bring these values to the next chapter of my career, my calling, whatever may come my way under the moon and stars in this new year.
MIKE FINK (mfink33@aol.com) teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Fornearly 30 years, I’ve been a proud member of the Rhode Island Historical Society. Some of my friends and acquaintances occasionally ask if I’m still deeply involved in the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association. Yes, I’m a past president and the longtime editor of its journal, The Notes. And I care deeply about both historical organizations. Like sisters, they encourage and help each other.
I RECENTLY COMPLETED my 12th year as a board member of the historical society, and remain actively involved.
Just a few weeks ago, my wife, Betsey, and I were thrilled to help celebrate the society’s 200th birthday at its joyous gala. Where else would I have had a chance to schmooze with Capt. Nicho las Brown?
How and why did I get involved with the R.I. His torical Society, the nation’s fourth-oldest state historical organization?
Soon after moving to Prov idence in 1987, I surely paid a visit to the John Brown House, the East Side’s grand est Colonial-era home, which in 1941 became the society’s museum. And I surely began to use the society’s equally impressive library, now known as the Robinson Research Center, on Hope Street.
I also began attending occasional lectures and visiting exhibitions in the society’s third venue, Aldrich House, an important
19th-century residence on Benevolent Street.
And soon I was reading the society’s impressive jour nal, Rhode Island History. My lengthy article about the design of Woonsocket’s B’nai Israel synagogue, con structed in 1961, was pub lished in the 2000 issue.
In 2009, I was pleased to publish another detailed article, this one about the Egyptian-style gateway to Newport’s Jewish cemetery, which had been ignored by most Jewish and gentile historians. I have since sub mitted a few other articles, which have not yet been published.
In 2008, I was invited to become a R.I. Historical Society trustee, and soon thereafter I became a life member. There was only one other Jewish trustee at the time, Lyle Fain, but there were a few others during my tenure.
Still, it’s true that very few Jews were active in the society, a Yankee fiefdom, for perhaps 125 years! I believe
that the first Jewish officer of the board was Frank Licht, who was elected a vice president in 1980, after he had already served as gover nor of Rhode Island. A Jew has not yet been president.
As for staff, my becom ing a trustee coincided with Bernard Fishman’s tenure as the society’s first and only Jewish executive director. Bernard and I have remained friends, even after he became the director of the Maine State Museum, in Augusta.
But the historical society has had more than a few key Jewish staff members. Probably the first was Nancy Chudacoff, who was a librarian and an editor before becoming the board’s secretary in 1986. Hilliard Beller was also a talented copy editor.
Currently, there are at least two Jewish staff members: Becca Bender, the curator of moving image and audio collections, and Deborah Krieger, the exhibit and program coordinator at the society’s satellite facility, the Museum of Work and Culture, in Woonsocket, which opened in 1997.
I encouraged Morgan Grefe to seek Bernard Fishman’s vacated position, and she did. Indeed, Morgan has been stronger and more influential than most board members.
Even before joining the society’s board, I was a trustee of Heritage Harbor Museum, a project that was conceived by the late
Albert Klyberg, who was the society’s longtime executive director (1970-’99).
Klyberg dreamed of building a huge new facility in the former Narragansett Electric power plant to cele brate Rhode Island’s history through multiple perspec tives. Heritage Harbor’s three founding organiza tions were the R.I. Histori cal Society, the R.I. Jewish Historical Association, and the Black Heritage Society.
Many Jews became enthusiastic supporters of Heritage Harbor, but even with some state funding and within a smaller facility, it could not gain traction. I hope that a comparable institution will be erected in Rhode Island someday, for the benefit of natives, trans plants and visitors alike.
It has probably been for gotten, but the R.I. Jewish Historical Association might not have been established without the R.I. Historical Society’s symbolic and prac tical support. For 20 years, starting with its founding in 1951 as America’s first Jewish state or local histor ical organization, RIJHA’s annual meetings and other programs were held at the august John Brown House, in Providence. Indeed, RIJHA’s founding president, David Adelman, published his first major article about the state’s Jewish history in the society’s journal in 1954, and he received encourage ment and assistance from many staff members.
This organizational friend
ship continued under Al Kly berg’s directorship. In 1999, while dreaming of Heritage Harbor, Klyberg lectured to RIJHA on the importance of its publication, The Notes, which had begun in 1954. He called it “a true Thanksgiv ing Feast,” and his celebra tory remarks were published in the 2000 issue.
Klyberg also praised RIJHA’s anthology, “The Jews of Rhode Island,” which was published by RIJHA, Brandeis Univer sity and University Press of New England in 2004. The idea was mine, and I was also thrilled to become the volume’s co-editor.
The simple fact is that the society and the associ ation flourish because, in addition to sharing many similar goals, methods and resources, they have learned to respect and honor each other. Indeed, to a sur prising degree, the sister organizations thrive because of each other.
I have been proud to belong to and help lead and support both organizations. And I invite you to become involved, or more actively involved. It is commonly understood that their invaluable work will never be completed – indeed, that it will be best understood generations from now.
GEORGE M. GOODWIN , of Providence, is the editor of Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes.
THANKS TO A GENEROUS GIFT from the Bernhardt Foun dation, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island is kicking off the new year with the second cycle of the Community Microgrants Initiative.
The Alliance is excited to build on the success of last year’s cycle, during which eight collaborative projects and three individual projects were supported through
these grant opportunities.
In keeping with last year’s format, the Alliance will award individual grants with an expected maximum of $500 to individuals whose proposed projects will strengthen community rela tionships and expand reach to those who might not have a history of engagement with the Alliance.
The Alliance is also offering collaborative grants
with an expected maximum of $5,000 for partnerships between a Jewish agency and one (or more) other agency or organization, with a goal of growing creative collaboration and strength ening bonds with partner agencies, as well as forging new bonds and supporting causes that align with the Alliance’s message.
Applications for individual grants will be considered
based on how projects relate to goals that foster Jewish learning, community or giving. The Alliance encour ages creativity and will consider ongoing support to build out new concepts and ideas.
Collaborative grants must consist of a partnership between one Jewish agency and one or more agency of any denomination, including non-denominational.
For details or to start your application, visit jewishal lianceri.org/microgrants
For more information, email Emma Newbery (enewbery@ jewishallianceri.org).
Applications are available here: Collaborative Grant Application link: https:// forms.office.com/r/HyNN1N fcgZ Individual Grant Appli cation link: https://forms. office.com/r/xnniEHwgUN
KERRY HANNON, senior columnist for Yahoo
Finance and the author of “In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work,” discussed business and career opportunities for older adults on the first episode of my new podcast, “Positive Aging with Patri cia Raskin,” which launched on Rhode Island PBS on Sept. 20.
Hannon talked about opportunities for older adults in the work place as a consul tant, entrepre neur, contract worker or employee, in addition to how remote work can expand opportu nities.
Here are my five takeaways for older adults to create more work oppor tunities:
Value your education, experience and wisdom, and keep learning.
We often overlook what active agers bring to the table, and sometimes hide them “under the table.”
Access your skills and talents, and talk up these strengths.
At Aish.com, Emuna Braverman writes in her article, “The Meaningful Job,” that “The Torah tells us the story of Chanoch, a simple shoemaker who took great care with every stitch. For his conscientious atten tion to his work, for his eth ical behavior in pursuance of a mundane occupation, Chanoch merited Heavenly notice and reward. This was a gift to him – and to us. Any job can be meaningful. Because it’s not what you do, but how you do it.”
Be mindful of your greatest work/life assets – your health and time. We have less time chrono logically as we get older, but we often have greater choice about how we spend our time. Our health is our “bank account,” and we need to guard it.
Seek creative work formats, such as part time, flex time,
remote work, contract work or being an entrepreneur.
COVID has expanded work venues, creating choices for many workers. Even remote work is commonplace.
Choose meaningful work to stay relevant.
We have so much wisdom from our life and work experiences. We know what works and what doesn’t, and what has meaning for us. This is a great opportunity to reflect and pray to know what really speaks to us.
In another article at aish. com, “Stay ing Relevant,” Braverman writes, “I think that as we age, there is a real challenge in staying relevant, perhaps in even defining what relevant means. I’m certainly not alluding to having an Insta gram account or posting on TikTok. … I’m talking about feeling like our life contin ues to be meaningful, that we continue to matter, that our days still count.”
Move past aging myths.
The myth is that the elderly are technologically averse and challenged. The reality is that many people over age 55 are among the first adopt ers and drivers of many tech devices and services. Another myth is that active agers are no longer produc tive in the workplace. The reality: There is virtually no relationship between age and performance.
PATRICIA RASKIN , owner of Raskin Resources Productions, is an awardwinning radio producer, business owner and leader. She is on the board of directors of Temple Emanu-El, in Providence, and is a recipient of the Providence Business News 2020 Leaders and Achievers award. Her new “Positive Aging with Patricia Raskin” podcast is broadcast on the Rhode Island PBS website, ripbs.org/positiveaging.
October 20, 2022 - March 22, 2023 Thursday Evenings 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
based on where they came from.
THE REFORM CONGREGATIONS OF RHODE ISLAND PRESENT AN INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM
Offered by Temple Beth-El, Temple Habonim & Temple Sinai
Learn the fundamentals of Jewish thought and practice in 19 weeks through a mix of study, discussion and practical experiences. This course is perfect for interfaith couples, non-Jews considering conversion and Jews looking for an adult-level introduction.
Faculty includes Rabbis Sarah Mack, Jeffrey Goldwasser, Preston D. Neimeiser , Howard
per person/$225 per couple SEATING IS LIMITED. REGISTRATION
For more information or to register, please contact JUDITH GILSON.
EMAIL: jgilson@Temple-Beth-El.org PHONE: 401.331.6070
WWW.TEMPLE-BETH-EL.ORG
CLASSES MEET THURSDAY NIGHTS
7:00-9:00 p.m. at Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Avenue Providence, RI 02906
OCTOBER 2
3,
DECEMBER 1
JANUARY 5,
FEBRUARY
MARCH
I would tell them to make the sweet and sour meatballs or the schnitzel. They’re not complicated and if you learn how to fry some chicken and make some meatballs then you can make any kind of meatball and you can make any kind of fried thing. Just principles of doing those two tasks can translate to lots of different kinds of dishes. These are also dishes that I make for my family on rota tion all the time.
I fell in love with Georgian food very much through my job at The Nosher when years ago we went to create a video at this Georgian kosher restaurant in Queens called Marani. I was just enamored by the khachapuri and khinkali. I was eating something completely new to me but it felt like something I’d known all my life. So when I decided that I wanted to do different kinds of dump lings, I knew I wanted to do khinkali, which are Georgian meat dumplings. It was the most complicated recipe in the book for me to master. I spent a very long time watch ing YouTube tutorials in Rus sian at 11 o’clock at night on the couch with my husband over and over again. When I got it right, I was so happy, and they’re so delicious.
‘Modern Jewish Comfort Food’ gives classics a 21st-century spin
of
IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE to go back to your senior prom, would you? About 60 Kosher Senior Café regulars and newcomers responded with a resounding “yes.” On Sept. 16, the first-ever “Senior Prom” was held in the social hall of the Dwares Jewish Commu nity Center in Providence, where floral displays, a live band and special decorations welcomed the diverse group.
“It’s like a milestone,” says Dorothy Retting, who serves
as welcome desk supervisor at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and came up with the punny title. “It’s important to have that, whether you’re 16 or 76.”
“I think seniors have a lot to teach us,” adds Rebecca D’Arezzo, mem bership associate at the Alliance. D’Arezzo has long wanted to develop additional programming for older populations, a desire compounded by her mother’s isolating five-year experience in an assisted-liv ing facility. “We have to take
care of them. They’re part of our community.”
The idea for a prom was first sparked in early 2022, when Retting and D’Arezzo
started collaborating with Neal Drobnis, nutrition coor dinator at the Kosher Senior Café, and Elaine Shapiro, assistant coordinator. The
Kosher Café is a program of Jewish Collaborative Services. Support for the project ballooned over time, receiving financial or prac tical support from Bay State Physical Therapy, the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Educa tion Center, the Alliance and even the City of Providence. Guests were encouraged to dress up for the event, which started at 11 a.m., but no formal dress code was required. Organizers and volunteers weren’t sure what to expect, but they were prepared to entertain more
than 80 guests. Kosher lunch and desserts were served, and the Canary Diamonds singing with the Bill Moretti Trio brought a handful of guests to the dance floor.
“They went all out in ways that made people feel special,” said Drobnis of the planning committee. “The number of people who were dancing was definitely a surprise.”
Organizers hope the event will be revived next year – and would like to see it become an annual tradition.
‘It’s important to have [milestones], whether
LAST JUNE 2021, while some elements of the Jewish com munity felt paralyzed by the Gaza war, a pro-Israel rally was organized by RI Coali tion for Israel (RICI). Due to RICI’s relationship with both the pro-Israel Jewish and Christian communities, RICI was able to site the rally at the property owned by Praise Tabernacle Church on Park Avenue in Cranston. The two keynote speakers at the rally were Rabbi Barry Dolinger, president of the Board of Rab bis of Greater Rhode Island, and Pastor Allen Pangburn, senior pastor of Praise Taber nacle Church and director of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) in RI.
While interfaith efforts aren’t uncommon for the Board of Rabbis, joint efforts with the segment of the Christian community, represented by CUFI, were unprecedented. CUFI, which now counts 11.5 million mem bers nationwide, is generally identified with the “non-de nominational” Christian com munity. Historically, inter faith efforts have been with “denominational” Protestants represented by the RI State Council of Churches.
This past spring, the rela tionship pioneered in 2021 was renewed through out reach by Adam Greenman, CEO of the Alliance, to Pastor Pangburn. Among other things, the call touched on an upcoming planned CUFI-RI event, a Night to Honor Israel, typically held every year but repeatedly postponed because of COVID.
As a result of this new rela tionship, Greenman accepted an invitation to speak at the Aug. 28 event, opening a new chapter in the organized Jewish community’s alli ances in support of Israel and fighting antisemitism. The night, which was recorded on YouTube, was a great success. Continued cooperation of this kind is imperative.
Howard Brown Executive Director RI Coalition for IsraelIT WAS AS A HIGH SCHOOL sophomore, in 1960, that I first encountered “Ozy mandias,” a sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822).
In the first line of the 14-line poem, Shelley tells the reader that he has “met a traveler from an antique land.” The remain der of the poem is in the traveler’s voice or, indi rectly, in the voice of the ancient tyrant Ozyman dias, possibly a reference to Ramses II, the Egyp tian pharaoh portrayed in the biblical book of Exodus.
“Ozymandias,” and he died at the age of 29, drowning in a storm off the coast of Italy when his yacht sank.
I T SEEMS TOMEOn one level, “Ozymandias” is clearly a political poem; it was written a year or two after Napoleon had met his Waterloo, on June 18, 1815, and at the dawn of the British Empire, which would be a dominant force in the world for generations to come.
lust for power at any cost?
Are they blind to their own mortal ity? Or, on a deeper level, perhaps it is their own fear of death, their unvoiced terror of the onset of nothingness, that fuels their insatiable craving for self-importance regardless of the con sequences for others.
The traveler speaks of “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone” standing in the desert. “Near them, on the sand/Half sunk, a shattered visage lies” with a “frown/And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command .…
“And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:/Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’ ”
The traveler looks upon the utter brokenness of “that colossal wreck” and notes that “The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Though only 15 years old, I got the message: In the end, we all die. Rich or poor, mighty or invisible, every single one of us is born with a one-way ticket to oblivion.
One of the multiple ironies of this poem, written in 1817, is that Shelly was in his mid-20s when he composed
RABBI JAMES ROSENBERGShelley’s visceral hatred of all forms of empire, with their implicit threat of unfettered tyranny, made him persona non grata in much of his native Great Britain.
But, on another level, the undeniable fact of our mortality makes a mockery of Ozymandias’ pretentious boasting, carved into the base of his monument, crumbling into the sands of time: ‘‘Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” The “sneer of cold com mand,” long vanished, along with the remainder of his rotted flesh, is yet preserved in a lifeless distortion of the tyrant’s egoism.
Ozymandias, Genghis Khan, Napo leon, Mussolini, Hitler .… Where are they now? And what about the would-be tyrants of today, alive and well, on six of our planet’s seven con tinents? What compels so many of our politicians today – in fascist states as well as, alas, in our democracies – to
As for us Americans, let us be grate ful for our few Abraham Lincolns, who somehow manage to develop the spiritual courage to take nourishment from our collective past and build hope for our collective future.
While much of the power of “Ozy mandias” derives from Shelley’s dis mantling of our world’s tyrants – past, present, and future – I would argue that the poem, despite Shelley’s deepseated atheism, carries profoundly religious overtones; for the sonnet poses that overwhelming, needs-tobe-asked and impossible-to-answer question: What does it mean to be born to die?
I would suggest that this question, whether we shun religious answers or choose to embrace them, haunts each and every one of us, as we grapple with the significance of our earthbound lives, in which “boundless and bare/ The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
JAMES B. ROSENBERG is a rabbi emeritus at Temple Habonim, in Barrington. Contact him at rabbiemeritus@templehabonim.org.
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Democrats on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee voted to name as chairman of its influential Middle East subcommittee Rep. David Cicilline, a Jewish Rhode Islander who is a mem ber of the party’s Progressive Caucus.
Cicilline bested Brad Schneider, a moderate Jewish Illinois Democrat, in an 18-6 vote.
Cicilline and Schneider are both close to the mainstream pro-Israel community and are both endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s affiliated political action committee, but establishment pro-Is rael insiders had favored Schneider and lobbied for him because his ties are closer. Schneider held lay leader positions at AIPAC, the American Jewish Committee and Chicago-area
Jewish groups and has taken the lead in advancing pro-Israel legislation.
Cicilline replaces Ted Deutch, the Florida Democrat who is quitting Congress to lead the American Jewish Committee, and who, like Schneider, is close to the mainstream pro-Is rael community. Cicilline plans to run again to lead Democrats on the subcommittee in December. The sub committee shapes policy on Israel and Iran, among other issues of intense focus to the organized Jewish commu nity.
A committee insider told the Jew ish Telegraphic Agency that Cicilline prevailed because of his seniority, usually the most important factor when Democrats choose congressional leaders. Cicilline was elected in 2010 and has served since; Schneider was elected in 2012 but lost in 2014 before being reelected in 2016.
Cicilline stands out in the Pro gressive Caucus, where he is one of eight vice chairs, for being vocally pro-Israel among a faction of House members who have grown increas ingly critical of the country in recent years. In addition to being endorsed by AIPAC’s PAC, he is also endorsed by the political action committee associ ated with J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group; Schneider does not have J Street’s endorsement. Cicilline did not mention Israel in a statement after the vote but spoke in general terms of unity. “At a time of instability around the world, includ ing in the Middle East, I believe that it is more important than ever that we work together, as members of the committee, to do everything we can to address humanitarian crises, human rights abuses, and political upheaval throughout the region,” he said.
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.
(JTA) – I have been shocked lately by the number of my friends who have left syna gogues because of a pattern of unkind remarks from rab binic and volunteer leaders. A Jew-by-choice belittled. A twenty-something shamed. A professional demeaned.
Jewish Twitter is full of accounts by Jews by choice or Jews of color who have been challenged, patronized or “othered” when they show up in Jewish spaces. Essayists lament that too many syna gogues don’t seem welcoming or sensitive to single parents, or don’t accommodate people with disabilities.
Saying and doing hurtful things is not just ethically wrong, it’s destructive to organizations, and has no place in the sacred communi ties that congregations strive to be.
As any marketer will tell you, it is far cheaper to keep a customer than to acquire a new one – and synagogues can’t afford to alienate a single congregant. With the ranks of the unaffiliated growing, according to Pew’s 2020 study, synagogue leaders need to watch what they say to keep, welcome and attract members.
The Pew study revealed
that 7% of American Jews do not attend synagogue regu larly because they “don’t feel welcome” while another 4% say “people treat me like I don’t really belong.” During my dozen years as a Hillel professional we invested heavily in training staff to create environments that wel comed and engaged Jewish students of all backgrounds, regardless of how they looked, loved or worshiped. My own first encounter with Hillel when I was just a high school senior ended poorly: Visiting Boston University’s Hillel, I was so put off by a comment that I didn’t apply to the school.
Of course this is a problem as old as Judaism itself.
On the first day of Rosh Hashanah we read the story of Hannah, the distraught woman who came to the Tabernacle at Shiloh to pray for a cure for infertility.
Eli the Priest, seeing her pray silently – heretofore an unknown practice – accused her of being drunk. The priest said to her, “How long will you make a drunken specta cle of yourself? Sober up!”
Hannah replied, “Oh no, my lord! I am a very unhappy woman. I have drunk no wine or other strong drink… I have only been speaking all this time out of my great anguish
and distress.”
“Then go in peace,” said Eli, “and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him.”
What if Hannah couldn’t muster the strength to defend herself and simply walked out of the Tabernacle – and out of Judaism? What if Eli did not have the compassion to cor rect himself? Would Hannah’s son, Samuel, have been raised to become a Jewish leader recognized by the three Biblical faiths as a prophet? How would Eli’s thoughtless remark have changed his tory?
The rabbis recognized the toxicity of insults and cited such remarks as a trans gression in one of the oldest elements of the Yom Kippur service, the confessional, or Vidui. During the Vidui, worshippers strike their breasts and acknowledge that they have “smeared” others, “dibarnu dofi.” Medieval com mentator Rashi says the word “dofi” means “slander” and that it derives from “casting off” – as if by definition def amation leads to alienation. One prayerbook perceptively renders the phrase as, “We have destroyed” – a reputa tion, a relationship, a commu nal bond.
Jewish literature is full of guides to proper commu
nication and avoiding evil speech, or “lashon hara” – from the Psalmist’s admo nition, “Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceitfully,” to the Talmudic “Let the honor of your friend be as dear to you as your own,” to Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan’s masterwork, the “Sefer Chofetz Chaim,” to Rabbi Joseph Telushkin’s excellent book, “Words that Hurt, Words that Heal.”
But how do congregations turn wise words into action?
Linda Rich, a New Yorkbased leadership coach who counsels synagogues and nonprofits, regards respect ful communication as a core behavior for a successful con gregation, and a congregation that lives the Jewish values it espouses. Discussion and disagreement are the signs of a healthy group, but in the Jewish context they should be civil and “l’shem shamayin,” for the advancement of sacred work, not for other motives.
She recommends that volunteers and staff study the principles that are fundamen tal to Jewish life, and sign a covenant to uphold them. When individuals fail to do so they should be reminded politely, clearly and directly that they are valued members of the congregation, but this behavior is unacceptable.
Try to be positive: point out that they can be even more effective leaders if they watch what they say and adjust their approach. The congregation should sponsor periodic surveys or other forms of evaluation to determine how well the group is fulfilling its duties and covenants.
On Yom Kippur we reflect on our personal shortcomings but we atone as a group. We do not seek forgiveness “for the sin that I have committed through my words,” but “for the sin that we have com mitted through our words.” Our individual words have collective impact. The High Holy Days provide a golden opportunity to rethink how those words affect others and to take steps to change as individuals and congrega tions.
JEFF RUBIN is a writer in the Baltimore-Washington area. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media. If you have a comment on this Op-Ed, email editor@jewishallianceri.org.
THE FIRST ISSUE of The Jew ish Herald hit newsstands in October 1929, announcing its intention to cover the Jewish diaspora in Rhode Island and around the world. So began a longstanding legacy: The Herald published continuously until 2002, when its opera tions merged with The Voice. The publication was renamed Jewish Rhode Island in 2019. Despite all the changes, we still strive to live up to that original “pledge.” To celebrate
this 93-year legacy, we hereby inaugurate a new feature, This Month in History, with newspa per excerpts dutifully archived by the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association (RIJHA). Each month, we will bring you a new window into the past, as documented in these very pages.
For more information about Historical Association and to see the digital archive in its entirety, visit RIJHA.org
had the privilege of visiting Israel three times, but my trip this summer was strictly business; the goal was to bring home “the gold.”
I TRAVELED TO JERUSALEM to play basketball for the U.S. team in the Maccabiah World Games, sometimes referred to as the Jewish Olympics. The feeling of walking across the stage during the opening ceremony at Teddy Kollek Stadium, in front of 10,000 people from 60 countries, was like no other. And then, to top it off, my team was one of a select few to have a chance to meet the president of the United States, Joe Biden, who attended the Games while on a trip to the Middle East.
The Maccabiah World Games is a three-week jour ney for Jewish athletes of all
ages and backgrounds who come together to compete for gold every four years. Being able to play in Israel made it very special because nothing is like the Holy Land.
I had never met my team mates before the trip, but after working out every day for two weeks, we were ready to go. We were all excited, but unsure of what to expect.
After shaking off our early nervousness, my team played super well and was able to capture the gold medal by defeating Israel.
The friendships I formed during Maccabiah will last a lifetime. I had never before had the experience of being surrounded by so many athletes, let alone Jewish athletes. For once, it felt normal to have everyone know what my Hebrew-name necklace said or to see so many other athletes wearing a Jewish star. I only wish I had had more time to meet more athletes.
In the final days of
the Games, we all got to exchange our sports swag. After getting shorts from the Australia team, shirts from Germany and Brazil, a sweatshirt from Mexico and a bracelet from Cuba, I was excited to bring a part of my experience and new friend ships home with me.
Hearing other athletes’ stories and experiences, whether it was about Juda ism or sports, I learned to appreciate the things we have in common, as well as the differences in our lives.
In addition to playing basketball, the United States delegation took part in Israel Connect. This six-day program focused on building a deeper connection to one’s Jewish identity, the Amer ican Jewish community, Israel and Diaspora Jewry.
During these full days of adventures, we explored Israel by floating in the Dead Sea, hiking Masada, visiting Yad V’Shem and going to the Shuk (outdoor market).
It was a great way to make connections with other ath letes from around the United States.
I grew up in a strong Jewish community, attended the Jewish Community Day School and Temple Ema nu-El, and became a Bat Mitzvah, so I was surprised that many of my teammates had not had these opportuni ties. It was exciting to be able to watch and support the rest of my team as they connected more with their Jewish identity. I got to watch them have their Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremonies overlooking the Jordan desert, and helped teach them some of the tunes to Shabbat songs.
Playing in the second-larg est sporting event in the world, behind the Olympics, was a dream come true. I’m still smiling and looking back on all the memories I made and friendships I have formed.
I can still clearly remem ber the final buzzer going off
and having the whole team swarm onto the court, jump ing on each other with total excitement that we had won!
I grew from this journey, and will always treasure the memories and be grateful for the support of my friends, family and community. A special thank you to both Temple Emanu-El and the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, which made generous contributions that helped me participate in this unforgettable event.
NINA KARLIN , grew up on the East Side, a block from the JCC, and graduated from the Jewish Community Day School. After attending Nathan Bishop Middle School she went on to Classical High School where she was a 3 sport athlete and the 4th girl in the school’s history to score 1,000 points in basketball. She currently plays basketball for the Bryant Bulldogs where she is in the class of 2024 studying entrepreneurship.
with Ruth” (Simon & Schuster, Sept. 13, 2022) charts an extraordinary friendship between two impressive women. Though the outline of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life is well known, there is much to learn about the life of Nina Totenberg, 78. Her father was a famous violinist, her mother a Brown University-educated woman who knew Eleanor Roosevelt and Totenberg herself a college dropout who started out as a reporter in Boston.
THOUGH RUTH BADER GINSBURG is featured prominently in this book, the subtitle “A Memoir on the Power of Friendships” is a better example of what you’ll get from this read. Totenberg charts her friendships with the women at NPR (National Public Radio), with her two husbands, the people who showed up when her first husband was dying and her friendships with Supreme Court justices in addition to Ginsburg. There is even a chapter on her father’s “long lost friend,” a stolen Stradivarius violin.
In some ways the conceit of the book overshadows where it really shines, which is in Totenberg’s recollections of her working life. The book follows Nina Totenberg’s rise to NPR cor respondent and her many years of often being the only woman in the newsroom. She details the ways in which she navigated a new working world for women and a young news organi zation in the early days at NPR, including getting into scrapes with the Justice Department over briefing policies, breaking the Anita Hill story and being yelled at by Sen. Alan Simpson, and working with NPR col leagues Cokie Roberts and Linda Wertheimer.
Both children of Jewish immigrants, Ginsburg and Totenberg were born about a decade apart but grew up in radically different worlds. Ginsburg’s father struggled to sell furs during the depression,
and her mother worked in the garment industry. Totenberg never experi enced rationing, but her father worked to free his cousin from behind the Iron Curtain. Both women were touched by the larger forces of politics and war and both pursued careers that aimed to make sense and order out of a chaotic world.
Neither woman was taken seriously during her early career. Ruth Bader Gins burg, despite graduating tied for first in her class at Columbia Law School, found it almost impossible to find a job. The profes sor in charge of securing clerkships for the law students promised that if she didn’t work out, he had a man on standby who could take over. Totenberg writes, “As Ruth put it, ‘That was the car rot. There was also a stick. And the stick was if you don’t give her a chance, I will never recommend another Columbia law student to you.’ ”
Totenberg often used underestimation to her advantage. “I broke a lot of stories because I was sassy, I was good at what I did, and prominent men, often to their peril, did not take me seriously. With their guard down because I was ‘just a girl,’ they answered my questions a bit more honestly, and my reporting often made news.”
The two women’s careers and lives collided in 1971. Totenberg had staked a claim for herself reporting
on the Supreme Court. At that time, it wasn’t con sidered important enough to warrant a full-time reporter. “But I realized fairly quickly that covering the Court was something I could do that other people weren’t as interested in at the time. So I could carve out a small piece of terri tory for myself,” Totenberg writes.
As she read the brief for the case Reed v. Reed, she saw something remark able, an argument that the law was unconstitutional because it discriminated on the basis of sex. The brief argued that the 14th Amendment’s guarantee “of equal protection under the law” applied to women. When Totenberg flipped to the front of the brief, she saw it had been authored by a law professor at Rutgers University named Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her telephone number was listed, so Totenberg called.
After that first conver sation, Totenberg called Ginsburg often to ask her questions about the law. “Her explanations were very clear, her answers were always concise and to the point, also a rarity, although I did find that law yers and even judges were more willing to explain
quick to point out in the book, “there’s another facet of these relationships, on all sides, that no one should confuse: objectivity and fairness are not the same thing. Nobody is purely objective. It is not possible.”
Totenberg and Ginsburg became good friends. Toten berg broke large stories like
they really were a team.”
The role of women in one another’s professional lives is the true focus of this book and where it really shines.
It is discouraging in many ways to read about these early female pioneers in their fields and realize how little has changed for many women. Indeed, there are numerous instances in which things seem to have gone backward for women. Totenberg points out in the book that in 1993, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell voted to confirm Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court. When RBG died in September 2020, McConnell refused a request to allow Ginsburg’s body to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. He did not pay his respects.
things to me than people in the political world were. And their explanations were often better.”
One of the more surpris ing parts of this book, espe cially for those who came up in the era of objectivity, is just how close Totenberg was to her subjects. She would host the Supreme Court Justices for dinner long before Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed. The line between source and friend can be a blurry one though Totenberg is
the Anita Hill accusations against Clarence Thomas, and Ginsberg was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. When Ruth Bader Gins burg was appointed to the Supreme Court, she joined Justice Sandra Day O’Con nor and doubled the number of women. Though the two justices held differing political views, they still worked as a team to get their ideas heard. When Gins burg became the only woman on the Supreme Court, she experienced some thing almost every woman working today has – her comments would go unheeded until repeated by a male colleague, at which time they would become “a good idea.”
Totenberg writes, “The day-to-day dismissal of a smart woman’s voice –which so many women have experienced – happened even on the Supreme Court. But it never happened when both Sandra and Ruth were seated at the table. Despite being very different people,
Totenberg and Ginsburg both climbed to the top of their fields. “Dinners With Ruth” makes the case that professional friendships between women are a large part of what made these careers possible. Totenberg refers to this as “the Old Girls Network” and points out that many women who worked during that era were the only women in their departments or at their workplaces. They turned to other professional women for advice, help and understanding.
Sometimes the world of work and the world of friendship are at odds, especially when Totenberg’s job was to report on the health issues of her friend. Would she spring into reporter mode, or would she show up as a friend? “At different moments in life, there are choices of lasting consequence. And I had one of those before me. For the next eighteen months, I chose friendship. It was the best choice I ever made.”
SARAH GREENLEAF (sgreenleaf@ jewishallianceri.org) is the digital marketing specialist for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and writes for Jewish Rhode Island.
‘Many women who worked during that era were the only women in their departments or at their workplaces.’
GIL HOVAV, Israel’s leading culinary journalist, author and television personality, will share stories from his illustrious family’s kitchen during a program on Oct. 20 at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence.
Throughout his career in journalism, publishing and television, and as an author, Hovav has played a major role in the revival of Israeli cuisine and Israel’s emer gence as a “gourmet nation.”
Hovav is the great-grandson of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, a major force in the revival of the Hebrew language.
Hovav has published three best-selling novels, all related in different ways to his family’s colorful history, and depicting, with humor
and emotion, the Jerusalem of his childhood. His fourth novel, “Twenty Four Doors,” was published in April 2015 and has hit the top of Israel’s bestseller list. Recently, one of his books, “Candies from Heaven,” was published in English and Chinese.
During the Oct. 20 pro gram, “Gil Hovav: Stories from a Jerusalem Kitchen,” Hovav will tell about the Jerusalem of his child hood, as well as about his great-grandfather and more modern-day events. He will answer such questions as:
How do you get a five year old in 1960 Jerusalem to eat his vegetables?
Why did his mother not eat anything when the 1948 siege of Jerusalem was finally lifted?
What did his great-grand father do on his death-bed,
which shocked the British consul?
The free program, on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m., is one of several this year in celebration of Israel’s 75th anniversary. The program will take place at the Alliance’s Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Provi dence. For more informa tion, contact Elihay Skital, community shaliach/Israeli emissary, at 401-421-4111 or ESkital@jewishallianceri. org. To register for the pro gram, go to www.JewishAlli anceRI.org/gil-hovav.
LARRY KATZ (lkatz@ jewishallianceri.org) is the director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.
AS AN ISRAELI, Sukkot was always a very special holiday for me. I remem ber walking around my city, Ashkelon, and seeing thousands of sukkot everywhere. It felt like all the cars had disappeared because all the parking lots were turned into spaces for sukkot! Every restaurant has a sukkah, every synagogue, and almost every house. Suk kot is considered a very happy holiday; the biblical verse “rejoice in your holi day” refers to Sukkot.
Every Sukkot a lot of relatives come from all over and stay at our house the whole holiday. At every meal, about 30-40 people sit around the tables.
Before I continue, let me tell you a little bit about my family. I was raised in a modern Orthodox family.
I have four older siblings and seven nephews and nieces. My grandparents on both sides came from Yemen to Israel around 1950, and both of my par ents were born in Israel.
Every Sukkot at my house turned into a big celebration. Every free spot on the floor in the sukkah became a space for a mattress so all the kids could sleep together, sharing stories and funny jokes until the middle of the night.
At our Yemenite syna gogue, the bigger the etrog (citron), the better. When we arrived at services when we were kids, we looked at all the etrogim and were shocked by all the sizes.
In my family, after Sukkot, we usually make jam and liquor from the etrogim, as well as eating the raw fruit, which is pos sible because a Yemenite etrog is sweeter and more flavorful than a typical etrog
In the days of Beit Hamikdash (the ancient Holy Temple), Jews used to sprinkle water on the altar during Sukkot as thanks giving and a request for rain, in a ceremony that
was accompanied by a great celebration known as Simchat Beit Hashoeva And so, it is customary to hold evenings of singing and dancing on the nights of Sukkot, as a reminder of the joy of the original Beit Hashoeva
In addition, we as a fam ily every year do a hafla (a “get-together” party) with karaoke and music, and all the neighbors and rela tives come for the mitzvah vesamachta bechagecha, to be joyous on Sukkot.
After the first day of Sukkot until the last day, we have the days of Chol HaMoed, during which there is no school in Israel. Because of that, a lot of families use the time to visit beautiful locations in Israel and have a barbecue. It’s a great opportunity for family time and to connect with your relatives from all over Israel.
Here’s a couple of cool places in Israel that Israe lis visit during this time.
The first one is called Ein Amphi. It is a very cold spring in the Golan, and it can be very refreshing during the hot days of Chol HaMoed. The water is clear and it’s easy to get there, just a five-minute walk. Not a lot of Israelis know about Ein Amphi, and it’s completely free!
The second place that we visit a lot is called the Ben Shemen forest. It is close to the city of Modi’in, and it’s huge. A lot of families come here to listen to music and cook out. The forest also has bicycle paths and hiking trails. There is even a park for blind people, which gives them an opportunity to walk on their own in the open landscape, even with out prior familiarity with the place.
I hope you have a great holiday, chag Sukkot sameach!
ELIHAY SKITAL is the Israeli shaliach (emissary) for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.
MORE THAN 75 visitors attended the July 8 celebration, which marked the latest development on the JORI campus. Cantor Judy Seplowin and rabbinical student Ben Einsidler offered initial prayers.
Camp JORI President Emeritus Michael Schuster spoke about the history of JORI and its purchase of its current location, in the South Kingstown village of Wakefield, in 1999. JORI opened in Wakefield in the summer of 2003 and has con tinued to build camp facilities and infrastructure.
Schuster noted that while there were skeptics about whether JORI could make the transformation from a small camp on Clarke Road in Narragansett to a full overnight camp on 72 pristine acres, JORI demonstrated how much a small group of dedicated volunteers can accomplish.
Samuel Zurier, trustee of the
member and long-time facilities committee chair. In this role, Blake oversaw many key building and maintenance projects at the camp.
The Security Building and Welcome Center, in particular, was Blake’s pride and joy, Blank said, adding that Blake worked with his close friend and JORI supporter Don Swanson, the architects and the tradesmen to ensure its success ful completion. JORI has honored Blake’s contributions by dedicating a memorial garden at the welcome center to him.
Robert Stolzman, past JORI pres ident, spoke of longtime volunteer Paul Segal’s contribution to Camp JORI. For decades, Segal nearly single-handedly ran JORI’s financial-aid program, reviewing every application for camperships, meeting with families and recom
DAVID LETTERMAN WAS famous for his top 10 lists. Since we don’t want to steal his idea, we bring you the “Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Make a Donation to the Jewish Alliance Annual Community Campaign.”
1One gift supports over 300 pro grams in Rhode Island, Israel, Ukraine and other places around the world.
2Your dollars help fund relief efforts in Ukraine, Poland, Argentina and over 70 other nations worldwide. Alliance partner agen cies, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and others have provided these lifesaving services for decades and the Alliance Annual Community Campaign has always supported them.
4As the cost of doing business continues to increase, an increased donation helps ensure that the Alliance and its partners are able to continue their work and allocation to agencies.
5Every gift matters! The majority of donations to the Alliance are under $100 and each one makes a difference. Give a gift that is mean ingful to you.
To make a donation, go online to https://www.jewishallianceri.org/ ways-to-give/annual-campaign-do nation-form/, send a check to the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, give stock, or make a gift from a donor advised fund. If you have questions, contact the Alliance at donate@jewishallianceri.org or call 401-421-4111.
Helene and Bertram Bernhardt Trust, spoke of the Bernhardts’ commitment to JORI and the importance of the summer camp ing experience. Zurier noted how children thrive and develop during summer camp.
The Bernhardt Foundation made the lead gift for the new facility, which was also supported by The Champlin Foundation, JORI board members and other longtime donors to the camp.
Current JORI President Rich Blank spoke of the late Mel Blake’s great dedication to JORI as a board
mending financial aid. To recognize this, the JORI board has created the Paul Segal Scholar ship Fund.
For more information about Camp JORI, go to www.campjori.com or contact Kara Liberman at kara@campjori.com or 732-690-0034.
Submitted by Camp JORI
A 2020 Cleveland Clinic study showed that there are direct health benefits associated with giving that can include lower stress levels, greater happiness and satis faction and longer life. The mitzvah of giving helps in the feeling of over all well-being.
Last year, over 1,300 people donated more than $3 million to the 2022 Annual Community Campaign. We hope you’ll stand up and be part of the group that gives even more this year!
Submitted by SARA MASRImany of us, autumn in New England evokes memories of old-fashioned harvest festivals amid comfortably cool air and fire-colored leaves. But for Jews, autumn is synonymous with several of our most beloved holidays, not the least of which is Sukkot, “the Festival of ingathering at the year’s end” (Exodus 34:22), celebrating the completion of the harvest.
ON OCT. 15, BEGINNING at 6:15 p.m., Temple Sinai, in Cranston, will celebrate Sukkot in a very special way. In addition to decorat ing the sukkah and saying the blessings, there will be a special Oneg of home made harvest treats, an auction of three show-stop
ping homemade cakes, and a raffle of gift baskets. But wait, there’s more: a con cert by Nefesh Mountain, one of the nation’s premiere bluegrass groups! And, thanks to the generosity of the temple’s Schreiber Music Fund, the celebra tion is free.
While bluegrass may be little known in our part of the country, Nefesh Mountain is not. Nefesh is Hebrew for soul, and you will hear plenty of it from this unique group that com bines secular music with a base of Jewish prayers. (Have a listen at https://
– and get ready to dance!)
The band has been called “a master class in string music!” by Rolling Stone; “arguably some of the best bluegrass every made!” by American Songwriter; “infectious, exuberant, and infused with pure melodic prowess,” by Bluegrass Today; and “refined, timeless bluegrass” by The Bluegrass Situation.
The group is comprised of five superlative musi
maybe change somebody’s view or be a bridge …. We’re trying to share the beauty of this culture and these ancient texts in a way that anyone could appreci ate.”
Nefesh Mountain’s sound integrates elements of klezmer and Celtic music, while also –incredibly –interweaving suggestions of Phish and the Grateful Dead. But it is always firmly based in traditional bluegrass and its evocation of rollicking life. To quote Rolling Stone magazine, “… the band is a powerhouse unit, full of the ‘Let’er go, boys!’ verve that defined the mountain string bands of the early Grand Ole Opry.”
cians, led by the husbandand-wife team of Doni Zasl off and Eric Lindberg, who craft their music with a higher purpose: to promote peace, love and joy. More particularly, they truly believe that their music can help fight antisemitism.
“There have been many times where we’ve been on really large stages with all different people of all dif ferent backgrounds, where I’ve looked at Eric and I’ve been really scared to sing in Hebrew … not knowing what’s going to come,” Zasloff said.
“There have been some moments that are really disturbing, but at the same time, I think it fuels us to keep going and to continue to just put love out and hope that the music can
Come “Celebrate Suk kot!” at Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. The Oct. 15 event begins outdoors at 6:15 p.m. in the sukkah, so bring your har vest items to help decorate. This will be followed by Nefesh Mountain at 7, and a festive harvest Oneg at 8:30. The event is free and open to the public, but you must have a ticket, which are limited. To reserve a ticket, go to https:// celebrate-sukkot-at-tem plesinairi.eventbrite.com.
DEBORAH JOHNSON is the cantor at Temple Sinai, in Cranston.
‘infectious, exuberant, and infused with pure melodic prowess’
an international, non-partisan education organization that supports Israel and fights antisemitism, has announced the local students participating in its high school and campus programs in the 2022-23 school year.
THE STANDWITHUS 2022-23 Kenneth Leventhal High School Intern is Eitan Pessin, a junior at Classical High School, in Providence.
The 2022-23 Emerson Fellows are Brown Univer sity sophomore Brooke Ver schleiser and Bryant Uni versity sophomore Michael Wilkes.
As in years past, the local student leaders join 150 stu dents from North America who were selected for each of the two programs.
Created in 2012, the Stand WithUs Kenneth Leventhal High School Internship selects and trains student leaders from high schools throughout the United States and Canada to educate about Israel at their schools and to combat antisemitism.
During the two-semester program, the Leventhal interns, who are juniors and seniors, identify the educational needs at their schools as they pertain to Israel and to antisemitism, whether they are rooted in misinformation, ignorance or outright hatred. Then, working with their Stand WithUs regional high school managers, they develop a strategy to meet those needs through relevant and prac tical educational program ming.
Founded in 2007, the yearlong Emerson Fellowship is a prestigious program that trains, educates and empowers student leaders on college campuses around the world.
Chosen from key cam puses, Emerson Fellows engage and inspire their peers through impactful educational events, cam paigns and discussions about Israel. These fellows are also extensively trained on
how to navigate antisemitic activity on campus, and how to mobilize and confront these issues strategically and effectively.
Throughout their experi ence, Emerson Fellows are plugged into a global com munity of student leaders, where they can exchange ideas, share best practices and support one another.
Students in both programs attended their conferences in August, preparing them for the school year. They learned how to identify and combat anti-Israel cam paigns, including utilizing the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department and Cen ter for Combating Antisem itism.
They also explored the history of Israel, reviewed the complexities of the Israe li-Palestinian conflict, and learned leadership skills and how to have meaningful conversations about Israel. They left energized and confident, with ideas for pro gramming. Many reported having experienced antise mitic incidents, and that they now feel better pre pared to effectively respond.
The students will also par ticipate in a second Stand WithUs conference, “Israel in Focus,” March 2-5 in Los Angeles.
Worcester State Univer sity 2022 graduate and Com monwealth Honors Scholar Karen Shalev, who received summa cum laude honors for her 4.0 GPA, continues as the StandWithUs New England campus regional manager. Shalev is cur rently pursuing a Master of Science degree in communi cation at Clark University.
Maya Weiser is the new StandWithUs high school regional manager for New
The Kenneth Leventhal High School Interns all together.
England. Raised in Tel Mond, in central Israel, Weiser has been involved in the Tzofim movement, which holds Zionism as a core moral value.
“Each year, I remain impressed with the enthu siasm and creativity of our awesome Rhode Island high school and college student
leaders. They learn from previous participants in our programs and nominate can didates for the coming year,” said Avi Posnick, regional director of StandWithUs Northeast & New England.
“As antisemitism con tinues to rise, including in Providence, these students – already leaders in their
schools and communities –are fully prepared to con front these challenges while also organizing program ming that shares the beauty, accomplishments and expe rience of Israel.”
Submitted by StandWithUs
2845 Post Road / Suite 105, Warwick, RI 02886
Greater Providence Hebrew Free Loan Association, a member of the International Association of Jewish Free Loans, offers interest free loans to members of the Greater Rhode Island Jewish communities and is ready to serve your needs.
Our loans can be used for virtually any purpose including:
We offer loans up to $5,000 for first time borrowers. Loan amount determines payback period and other requirements
Call our office if you would like to: Receive additional information / Request a loan / Become a member
“One who lends money to the poor without interest
greater than he who gives charity” (Talmud: Shabbat 63a)
InOctober, everything seems to be shades of pink, to raise breast cancer awareness. The amount of pink can be overwhelming.
YOU TURN ON THE NEWS and hear stories of celebrities who valiantly fought the disease: Christina Apple gate, Olivia Newton-John, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Katie Couric. You hear of regular people who have it – and perhaps think to yourself that it is probably time to schedule a mammogram.
Or maybe you think you can put it off another year. Or you don’t have a family history, so why bother? Or you are just scared and would rather not get bad news.
Over the last couple of years, it was often easy to put off this necessary screening due to these reasons and more. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many mammograms had to be rescheduled – and even when it was possible to get an appointment, many women were afraid to go to doctor’s offices or clinics or hospitals.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that one-third of Americans skipped a routine cancer screening in the first 18 months of the pandemic, while the Journal of the National Cancer Institute says that mammograms dropped by as much as 80% at times during the pan demic – a drop that might result in additional deaths over the next decade. The ACS estimates that about 36,000 people had a missed or delayed diagnosis from March to early June 2020.
Among the women who put off mammograms are some who are at higher risk for breast cancer due to genetics. According to Sharsheret, a Jewish breast cancer nonprofit, one in 40 Ashkenazi Jews – men and women – carries a BRCA gene mutation, which is more than 10 times the rate of the general population.
The BRCA gene puts people at a higher risk for several cancers, including breast (female or male), ovarian, pancreatic, pros tate and melanoma. The gene can be on either the mother’s or father’s side of the family, or both. People who test positive for the gene should not delay any routine screening tests. In fact, if you carry the BRCA gene, screening should
begin at an earlier age.
So why am I writing about this? Am I just shar ing some of the random facts swirling around my brain? Not quite.
Just over nine years ago, I thought I felt a lump in my breast, but I had every excuse to put off a mam mogram. I had two little kids at home, a full-time job and lots of responsibilities. And I was only 38 – way too young to worry about breast cancer, I thought.
But something told me to keep the appointment, and within six weeks, I was in the infusion center at The Miriam Hospital getting my first chemo treatment.
In a whirlwind of just a few weeks, I had been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, found out I was BRCA+ and had to come to terms with a very new normal.
Had I put off that test, I might not be writing about it today.
So no matter how busy you are, or how scared, get screened. It really could save your life.
SARA MASRI (smasri@ jewishallianceri.org) is the chief development officer at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. She is a nine-year cancer survivor.
PROVIDENCE – After a twoyear hiatus from in-person fundraisers, The Miriam Hospital welcomed back more than 400 donors, friends and supporters for its signature gala and auction on Sept. 10. Held at the WaterFire Arts Center, the specially themed event raised more than $835,000.
“We are fortunate to have the most generous and caring donor community a hospital could ever hope for, and that unwavering support was on full display throughout the
return of our gala,” said Dr. Maria Ducharme, president of The Miriam. “Philan thropy makes a difference in our work each and every day, and I could not be more grateful for our community’s commitment to caring for one another.”
Sponsorship and ticket sale proceeds will benefit The Miriam’s “Greatest Needs Fund for a New Genera tion,” which provides vital resources to support patient care services, educational programs, and innovative
research projects.
The event’s auctions and fund-a-need proceeds will support the creation of The Lung Cancer Screening and Nodule Program at The Miriam Hospital. The new, innovative program will pro vide screening, coordinated care and navigation to meet the individual needs of each patient the moment a poten tially cancerous lung nodule is detected.
Submitted by The Miriam HospitalAUTHOR RACHEL KADISH will be present in person to help lead the discussion of her National Jewish Book Award-winning novel “The Weight of Ink.” The event, sponsored by the Rosen Library at Temple Emanu-El, takes place Sunday, Nov. 6 at Temple Emanu-El in Providence.
This novel centers around a dark literary mystery that a female scholar working in contemporary London attempts to solve. As clues mount, the amaz ing accomplishments of a brilliant and daring female Torah scholar from the 17th century
come to light. This book resonates with our cur rent focus on recaptur ing the uplifting histor ical accomplishments of women.
The discussion will take place from 4-5:30 p.m. on Nov. 6. There is no charge to attend in person and there will be a listen-only Zoom option. Registration information will be available soon. Ques tions? Contact Donna Marks, Rosen Library Committee, co-chair: dpmarks1@yahoo.com
Urban Greens is a grocery store on the West End of Providence, Rhode Island providing fresh vegetables and fruits, locally sourced meats, eggs, fish, cheeses, chips, salsa, sweets, bulk grains, and spices, CBD goods, fresh flowers and plants, candles, pet food, cleaning supplies, and more... We take special requests. Call us to create celebratory gift baskets! You'll be pleasantly surprised by our great prices and wide selection of local and international foods. Community-owned. Member-owners vote to maintain our guiding principles, receive special perks like double value coupons & save with discounts on monthly shops. See you soon!
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Serra Baskina died Sept. 4, 2022, at The Mir iam Hospital, Providence.
She was affectionately known as “Baba Sonya” to her family and community.
Serra was born during WWII in Slavgorod, Belarus, to the late Yankel Smolkin and Elka Fleer. She lost her father on the battlefield, and she was raised by her mother. She was a star student and persisted through difficult and humbling times. She proudly served as a nurse-midwife in the USSR before moving to the United States with her family, where she excitedly became a citizen. She raised her grand children on the principles of kindness and patience.
She was the devoted mother of Galina Berin (and her late husband Mikhail), of Provi dence, and Natalia Vygoder (and her husband Gennady), of Pawtucket. She was the loving grandmother of Dr. Anna Ber in-Wright (and her husband Jeffrey), Olga Vygoder, Abra ham Berin (and his wife Leah) and Frank Vygoder. She was the cherished great-grand mother of Mikhaila Ber in-Wright, Mikhail Berin and Maxwell Berin-Wright.
Many have seen her smil ing face walking up and down Hope Street in Provi dence, enjoying a book in the Rochambeau Library, sipping some tea in The Miriam Hospital cafeteria and reciting poetry or singing songs from her youth at any function. She will be dearly missed.
BARRINGTON, MASS. –Paul W. Bernstein, M.D., of Barrington and West Island, Massachusetts, passed away Aug. 24, 2022, surrounded by his loving family. He was the husband of Marian J. (Silver man) Bernstein, with whom he shared 69 years of marriage.
Born in Fall River, Massa chusetts, he was the son of the late Max and Sophie (Lichter man) Bernstein.
A veteran of the U.S. Army, he served in the European Theater during WWII. Paul earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massa chusetts Amherst, a master’s degree from Washington Uni versity, a Ph.D. from New York University and an M.D. from New York University College of Medicine.
Dr. Bernstein was a neuro surgeon for many years. He served as a chairman of the
Department of Neurosurgery at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, president of Pawtucket Memorial Association and president of Rhode Island Neu rosurgical Society.
In addition to his wife, survivors include three chil dren, Sandra A. Bernstein, of North Falmouth Massachu setts, Linda S. B. Farwell and her husband Jay, of Milton, Massachusetts: and Michael C. Bernstein, of Barrington; two grandchildren, Caleb and Korina Farwell; and one nephew, Jerry Silverman. He was the brother of the late Lawrence M. Bernstein.
Contributions in his honor may be made to Rhode Island Community Food Bank, 200 Niantic Ave., Providence, RI 02907.
Jill Boyle, 58 ODESSA, FLA. – Jill Susan Landesberg-Boyle was a caring wife, mother, sister and friend. She left this world suddenly on Sept. 11, 2022.
She was born to Melvin and Arlene Landesberg on Jan. 5, 1964. After graduating from high school, Jill chased her dreams to become a trail blazer in higher education, which led her to Amherst, Massachusetts, where she earned a doctoral degree and met the love of her life Vincent Boyle. Together, they had twin babies: Aliyah and Joshua.
Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle’s professional career was meteoric, happily taking her family around the country where she moved from the position of dean of students of a major southern university to the presidency of a college in the state of Florida. She has authored several peer-re viewed journal articles and was a highly sought-after speaker at higher education conferences across the coun try.
Jill loved spending time with her family, shopping and studying flora and fauna. She had a deep love for butterflies and her garden, and even deeper love for her husband, children and close-knit family. Jill influenced and left a sig nificant mark on every person she has ever met and will be deeply missed. Jill filled her home with a continuous stream of love, laughter, and humor that will live a lifetime.
Jill leaves her adoring husband Vincent and her beloved children Aliyah and Joshua. She was the precious daughter of Melvin and Arlene Landesberg and the cherished sister of Karen Steinfeld and her husband David and Ilise Samolyk and her husband
John. She was the loving aunt of Michael Steinfeld, Jordan Steinfeld, and Bryanna Samo lyk. She was the much-loved granddaughter of the late Leo and Harriet Landesberg and of the late Samuel and Bessie Silverman.
Contributions in her memory may be made to The Nature Conservancy or a charity of your choice.
Janet Chaiken, 90 WARWICK, R.I. – Janet Chaiken died Sept. 20, 2022, in Warwick. She was the beloved wife of the late Jacob (Jake) Chaiken. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the daughter of the late Tillie and Arthur Sterling, she was a longtime resident of Warwick.
Janet worked as an admin istrative assistant in a medical office for many years while raising her family. She was fortunate enough to travel to many unforgettable places in her lifetime, but nothing was as important as encouraging togetherness for her family.
She leaves behind her three children: Alan Chaiken and his wife, Rachel, of Hopkin ton, Massachusetts, Karen Chaiken of East Providence, and Mark Chaiken of Virginia
Beach, Virginia. She also had two grandchildren: Abbey Sklar and her husband, Adam, and Emily Crowshaw and her husband, Thomas, along with two great-grandchildren: Hailey Crowshaw and Jacob Sklar. She also leaves behind her best friend of 50 years, Bette Pitchon. She was the sis ter to the late Robert Sterling. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation (www. parkinson.org) or the Rhode Island SPCA (www.rispca. com)
PITTSFIELD, MASS. – Carol Miriam Cohen passed away Sept. 10, 2022, at Berkshire Medical Center sur rounded by her loved ones. For 60 years, she was the beloved wife of Alan Cohen, whom she met at Bryant College.
Born in Providence, daugh ter of the late Louis and Florence (Glantz) Hazen, she lived in Pittsfield for 60 years. She was a well-respected administrative assistant to the president of Berkshire
Community College for 20 years, a job she loved and was devoted to. She was a member of Congregation Knesset Israel and its sisterhood.
She was the devoted mother of Lisa Kaufman and her hus band Alex, of Providence, and Amy Bloom and her husband Steven, of Houston, Texas. She was the dear sister of Michael Hazen and his wife Lois, of Long Island, New York. She was the loving grandmother of Samantha, Maxwell, Adam, Dayna, Brandon and Sydney. Contributions in her mem ory may be made to Congrega tion Knesset Israel Synagogue, Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund.
SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. –Florence Gay lin, of Wake field (formerly of Cambridge, Belmont, and Newton Mas sachusetts) died Sept. 13, 2022, at Brook dale South Bay after suffering a stroke. A daughter of the late Carl and Becky (Primak) Kamowitz, both immigrants from Russia, she grew up in Far Rockaway, New York, where she gained a lifelong
love of the ocean. Florence married Marcus Gaylin in 1948 and lived for over 20 years in New Milford, New Jersey, where she raised two children. While working part time in the family business, she also learned silversmith ing and jewelry making as a member of the Craft Students League in New York City.
In mid-life she went back to school, earning degrees in English at Englewood Cliffs College (AA), St. Thomas Aquinas College (BA), and Montclair State University (master’s degree with a thesis titled “The Literatus and Personalism”). In 1976, she followed her children to the Boston area to start a new life. A stickler for proper
grammar, spelling and usage, she soon got a job at Harvard University in the Office of the President as chief editor, working there for 19 years and editing the speeches, articles, annual reports and corre spondence of Presidents Bok and Rudenstine. Florence also served as a volunteer inter preter for the Museum of Sci ence in Boston and famously portrayed an ancient Egyptian for the museum’s “Ramses the Great” exhibition.
Following her retirement from Harvard, she edited a number of scholarly publica tions, including a textbook series on climate change published by UC Berkeley, for which she received author credit. In her last decades
she lived in Rhode Island, gracing Newport, Wickford and Brightview Commons in Wakefield, where she had room to display her 400-piece collection of owl figurines and learned to play an excellent game of pool.
Florence is survived by her children: David Gaylin and his wife, Karen, of Concord, Massachusetts, and Miriam Ladin and her husband, Marc, of West Kingston; her grandson Joshua Gyllinsky (who knew her as “Grandma Owl”); step-grandchildren Erica Connolly, David Ladin and Zachary Ladin; and seven great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents and her sister Ann Willen.
Contributions in her memory may be made to the Museum of Science, Boston, 1 Science Park, Boston MA 02114 and The Nature Conser vatory, 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203. Equally important, please take in a museum or a show, or sing a G&S tune in her honor.
ATLANTIS, FLA. – Glenn L. Graboyes passed away on July 18, 2022, at JFK Medical Center. He was the husband of Ellen B. (Davis) Graboyes. Born in Providence, he was the son of the late Stanley Graboyes and Corene (Bezan) Graboyes. He lived in Lake Worth, Florida, for 42 years. He was the loving father of Sheri B. (Dr. Steven) Keehn, of Boynton Beach, Florida, and Heather L. Graboyes, of Lake Worth, Florida. He was the cherished grandfather of Benjamin Elijah Keehn and Rachel Sophia Keehn.
Contributions may be made to the charity of your choice.
LINCOLN, R.I. – Phyllis Susan (Warshofsky) Gilbert, of Lin coln, passed away Sept. 2, 2022, at Hope Health Hulitar Hospice. She was the loving wife of Barry Gilbert, with whom she shared 66 years, including 59 years of marriage.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, a daughter of the late Harold and Roslyn (Cohen) Warshofsky, she had lived in Lincoln for 53 years. She is a graduate of Brooklyn College class of 1963. She then got a master’s degree in early childhood education at Lehigh University while having two sons and a husband earning a Ph.D.
The family moved to Rhode
Island in 1968 and to Lincoln in 1969.
Phyllis was the director of the highly regarded Four Cor ners Chapel Nursery School in Cumberland for many years before semi-retiring. She then taught at B. F. Norton for a bit.
She and Barry traveled the country and the world extensively. Together, they toured (and actually slept in) 49 states (missing Alaska to complete the set) and some two dozen foreign countries. They spent three sabbaticals living in Cambridge, England. When she was home, she was walking, biking, swimming, cooking and baking, and being there for friends.
In addition to her husband Barry, survivors include two sons, Lowell Gilbert and his wife Kristin Norwood, of Acton, Massachusetts, and Richard Gilbert and his wife Libby Beyreis, of Chicago, Illinois; one grandson Joshua Gilbert and one brother Ger ald Warshofsky and his wife Michelle, of Miami, Florida.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Milton S. Lewis, of Providence, passed away peacefully at The Miriam Hospital on Sept. 21, 2022, after a period of declining health. He was the husband of Reva (Steingold) Lewis, with whom he shared 67 years of marriage.
Born in North Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the late Philip and Mary (Shrieber) Lewis, he was the brother of the late Rosalie Tanzer; sonin-law of the late David and Tess Steingold and brother-inlaw of the late Lorna Schiff man.
He was the father of Mar jorie Lewis of Pawtucket and Andrew Lewis of Barrington; the loving grandfather of Dan iel Smith and his girlfriend Darcy Miller of San Francisco and beloved uncle to Audrie and Stephen Wasserman. He is also survived by many extended family members and friends.
After graduating from Brookline High School at the age of 16, he attended Boston University and graduated from Bryant University, earning a bachelor’s degree in business.
A veteran of the United States Army, he served as a military policeman during the Korean War and earned the National Defense Service Medal.
Milton operated his family business, Franklin Finance Company, in Pawtucket for 45
years before retiring. He was an avid Boston Red Sox fan, and he was active with the Cub Scouts. He had a lifelong interest in numismatics, sports memorabilia, antiques, collectibles, history and old movies. Milton was known for his wit, sense of humor and always had a good joke to share.
He was a member of the Redwood Elks Lodge, Grand Lodge of Scottish Rite, and he was a lifelong member of Tem ple Beth-El in Providence.
The family would like to give extend their heartfelt gratitude to the staff of the RI Veteran’s Home in Bristol for the care they gave Milton over the last seven months.
Contributions in his mem ory may be made to Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence; American Heart Association, 20 Speen St., Framingham, MA or a charity of your choice.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Morris Nathanson, born in Providence on Sept. 9, 1927, passed away peacefully on Sept. 17.
Nathanson grew up in Pawtucket, and at the age of 17, enlisted in the Navy, where he served in the Pacific Theater as a medic aboard the LSD Catamount. Nathanson experienced antisemitism and racism in the Navy, motivat ing him throughout his life to fight for the equal rights of all. He participated in the Free dom Rides of 1961, Dr. Martin Luther King’s campaigns in Selma and Birmingham, Alabama, and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
A lifetime member of the Providence Art Club, Nathan son was a highly regarded and prolific fine artist, with numerous exhibitions in Providence and New York. His thousands of paintings, prints, wood sculptures, and draw ings reflect nearly a century of work, and trace his truly extraordinary and vibrant life through bold colors and iconography that pulls from personal history.
He is widely recognized as the father of modern restau rant and hospitality design. He has lived his life on the inter national stage as a designer of award-winning restaurants, concert spaces and hospital ity venues. Among his nota ble design projects are food and entertainment venues aboard Royal Caribbean’s
fleet of cruise ships, and the interiors of Disneyland Paris’ 11 American restau rants, in collaboration with Pritzker Prize winning architect Frank Gehry, who designed the structures.
Upon his retirement, Boston University approached him to donate his entire body of work to their col lections, resulting in the Morris Nathanson Design Collection, housed at the renowned Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center.
Having traveled widely and with offices in Boston and Providence, Nathanson returned to his roots in Pawtucket in 1986, pur chasing the historic, but decaying, Rhode Island Cardboard Manufacturing complex. He renovated the mill building into offices for his design firm, Morris Nathanson Design, and a community of live/work art ist lofts to encourage other artists to rehabilitate vacant buildings in the area. As an early advocate for mill adaptive reuse, he had been in the forefront of develop ing Rhode Island as a highly visible and respected arts and entertainment center.
Nathanson was a found ing board member of Trinity Repertory Company. One of Trinity Rep’s earliest set designers, he was also in charge of its relocation to the Emery’s Majestic Theater (now the Lederer Theater Center), which has been the theater’s home for over 50 years.
Nathanson served as a member of the Providence Historic Commission and the Pawtucket Armory Association, where he over saw the design and build of the Sandra Feinstein Gamm Theatre and the creation of the Jacqueline Walsh School for the Arts. He also offered his time and expertise to the City of Pawtucket’s Riverfront Commission, the Pawtucket 2020 Committee, the Pawtucket Foundation, and the Pawtucket Arts Col laborative. He taught design courses at the Rhode Island School of Design, and served as a design consultant to Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino. He was the recip ient of numerous personal awards and recognitions, including honorary doc torates from Johnson and Wales University and Rhode Island College. Nathan son was inducted into the Pawtucket Hall of Fame, awarded the Pawtucket Foundation Heritage Award, the Arts and Business
Council of Rhode Island’s Small Business Award, and the Pell Award from the Trinity Repertory Company for his lifetime contribu tion to the arts. In 2010, the Exchange Street Bridge in Pawtucket was renamed the Morris Nathanson Bridge.
He is survived by his loving and devoted wife Phyllis Van Orden Nathan son and their son John David Nathanson, and Josh (Anna) Nathanson, and Kim (Jeff) Nathanson Arsenault, from his previous marriage to Roxie Sgouros, along with four grandchildren, Emma, Sarah, Lily and Adrian.
Contributions may be made in his honor to the “Morris Nathanson Fund,” a scholarship program supporting Rhode Island students aged K-12 to par ticipate in youth classes at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Further information and online donations may be made at https://give.risd. edu/campaigns/31085/dona tions/new
Checks by mail may be made payable to the Rhode Island School of Design, with “Morris Nathanson Fund” in the memo, and addressed to: Rhode Island School of Design, Attn: O’Neil Outar, Institutional Advancement, 2 College St., Providence, RI 02903
Ilse Schaler, 93 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Ilse Ingeborg Schaler passed away peacefully at Hope Health Hulitar Hospice in Providence on Sept. 3, 2022.
Born and raised Lutheran in Nuremberg, Germany, Ilse was the only child of the late Hella and Wilhelm Spilling. Her parents were at the center of a vibrant community of intellectu als, artists and musicians, a background which Ilse absorbed and reimagined repeatedly throughout her life. Ilse immigrated to the United States at the age of 19, arriving in Rhode Island married to a RI resident. Following a divorce a few years later, Ilse made her way working in office roles at Brown and Yale univer sities before meeting her future husband Albert Schaler. Ilse was con verted to Judaism by Rabbi William Braude, of Temple Beth-El, in Providence,
and remained a part of the Jewish community for her entire life.
Like her parents, Ilse and Albert created communi ties of art, music, intellect and beauty wherever they lived, which included Prov idence; Kerrville, Texas, and Bristol. Ilse introduced early music in Providence in the 1960s as the recorder teacher to scores of children and adults and founder of the Providence Recorder Society, which thrived under her leadership, When the Schalers moved to Kerr ville, Texas, Ilse once again built an early music com munity from the ground up, this time with adults of all backgrounds. Upon return to RI years later, Ilse retired from music and switched to visual arts, focusing on watercolor painting, print making and mixed media two-dimensional design.
After Albert’s passing in 2011, Ilse lived alone in Bristol for a few years before moving to Atria Bay Spring Village, where she again contributed beauty and culture to the commu nity, with bird feeders, bird baths, flower boxes and live music performed by former students – now in their 60s and 70s – which the commu nity came to love as well.
Ilse’s remains will be cre mated, mingled with those of her beloved husband Albert and scattered accord ing to their wishes.
Donations in memory of Ilse may be directed to the Albert and Ilse Schaler Fund, RI Community Foun dation, One Union Station, Providence, RI 02903; 401274-4564; info@rifoundation. org.
Sohn, of Onset, died Aug. 19, 2022, at his residence. He was the husband of Susan (Vattes) Ricci-Sohn of Onset.
Originally from Brook line, Massachusetts, Bernie held degrees in biology and chemistry as well as a master’s degree in mar keting. Bernie spent most of his professional career working on leading edge technologies. At MIT, he worked on the pathways that allow brain impulses to control prosthetic devices. He worked on developing the early heart-lung oxygen
ators. In 1984 when he was vice president of marketing for a division of the Fox boro Company developing a robotic machine vision sys tem, he met his best friend Susan Ricci. They married and remained best friends throughout, and they travelled and enjoyed many scenic and historic places.
Bernie and his beloved wife Susan moved to Onset and launched ENT Medi cal, a company dedicated to otitis media and other ear infections in children. As CEO, he was a frequent lecturer in medical schools where he contracted, with the CDC, to teach this revolutionary technology based on principals of sonar developed by the Navy.
In addition to his wife, survivors include children Marilyn Taylor and her husband James, of Sharon, Massachusetts; Ronald Sohn and his wife Amy, of Elizabeth, New Jersey; and Debra Mitchell, of Fall River, Massachusetts; stepchildren Steven Ricci, of Somerville, Massachusetts, and Peter Ricci and his wife Rebecca, of Bedford, Massachusetts; three sisters Rosalie Fishman, Marion
Rosenberg and Nancy Swartz; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He was the brother of the late Charlotte Lefcoe.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Erwin
B. Summer, of Providence, passed away Sept. 6, 2022, at his residence surrounded by his loving family.
Born in Providence, a son of the late Morris and Bertha (Resnick) Summer, he was a lifelong resident of the city.
A graduate of the Univer sity of Rhode Island, Erwin was the owner of Richards and Richards East, in Prov idence. An avid golfer, he was a member of Ledgemont and Metacomet Country Clubs.
He is survived by his daughter Jill Summer Goldstein and her husband Larry, of Providence; his son Mark Summer, of Wind ermere, Florida; and four grandchildren Sydney, Sam, Julia and Sophia.
Contributions may be made to RI Jewish His torical Association, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906.
