March 28, 2014

Volume XX, Issue XXVIII | www.thejewishvoice.org Serving Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts

26 Adar 5774 | March 28, 2014

PASSOVER PLANNING

The Jewish Community prepares for Passover

E

very Passover, families from the greater Rhode Island Jewish community gather at their Seder table to retell one of the greatest stories ever –the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.

The haggadah, which means “telling,” is a book that guides the rituals of the meal and recounts the Passover story – the dramatic account of the journey from slavery to freedom.

Turn to pages 22-23 to read about how Estelle Millman and others in our community prepare for this special holy day.

COURTESY | ESTELLE MILLMAN

Estelle Millman with her son Matt DeQuattro

PREPARING | 22

DAVID WUERTH

Trucks loaded with donated food leave the Job Lot warehouse to deliver food to food banks throughout New England.

Ocean State Job Lot makes a record $1.4 million food donation One company’s ongoing effort to address the significant hunger problem

BY KARA MARZIALI kmarziali@jewishallianceri.org Ocean State Job Lot, a discount retail chain with 111 stores and headquartered in North Kingstown, R.I., knows many people in New England are starving. Its “Three Square Meals” hunger relief program, which began more than a decade JOB LOT | 43

The Story of The Jews Epic series regards 3,000 years of Jewish history and the impact the Jews have made on the world

BY KARA MARZIALI kmarziali@jewishallianceri.org

Author and historian Simon Schama brings the story of the Jewish experience to life in a five-part documentary mini-series. Based on Schama’s two-volume book of the same title (Volume 1 was published in September 2013, and Volume 2 will be available in the fall), the series first aired last year in the United Kingdom. For American audiences, episodes 1 and 2 premiered Tuesday, March

25, on PBS, and the final three episodes will air Tuesday, April 1.

London-born Schama, a 69-year-old professor of history and art history at Columbia University in New York, paints a picture with a broad brush.

From ancient times to present day, Schama explores contributions Jews have made. He reminds viewers that the term “Jewish” refers both to a religion and an ethnic group. Noting how for centuries Jews thrived in communal and STORY | 24

TIM KIRBY | OXFORD FILM & TELEVISION

Simon Schama hosts a seder or Passover meal

2 | March 28, 2014

COMMUNITY

Treasures of Temple Sinai

INSIDE Books 3, 29 Business 38-39 Calendar 8-9 Community 2-4, 7, 9, 12, 14-15, 17, 39, 43 D’var Torah 13 Entertainment 24 Passover Food 19-21 Obituaries 42 Opinion 10-12 Passover Planning 22-23, 2528, 31-37, 44-45 Seniors 40 Simchas 47 Technology 41 We Are Read | Simcha 46 World News 15-17

THIS ISSUE’S QUOTABLE QUOTE “Don’t let Passover turn you into a tightly wound lunatic.”

The Jewish Voice

BY RABBI PETER STEIN On each Shabbat and festival, one of the first blessings to be recited is Kiddush, the blessing for the holiness and sweetness of the day. The blessing is said over wine or grape juice, the “fruit of the vine.”

It is a mitzvah to make Shabbat a holy day by setting it apart from the other days of the week.

The Torah tells us “God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy because on it God ceased from all the work of creation which He had done.” (Genesis 2:2-3) One of the ways we fulfill this mitzvah is by making the Kiddush each Shabbat and at the beginning of each holy day…with the exception of Yom Kippur, of course!

The wine can be drunk from any kind of cup, but in the spirit of hiddur mitzvah, Temple Sinai has a magnificent set of Kiddush cups. Not only are the cups beautiful, but they have added significance because they were gifts from the Confirmation classes over a number of years.

Each class in turn inscribed a cup and presented it to the congregation, to be used on the bimah on Shabbat and holidays.

I believe it is meaningful to the students because they know that their contribution will remain on the bimah and be used for many years.

Gifts from Generation to Generation

The challah cover designed by last year’s Confirmation class.

The cups are made of precious metal with elegant filigree around the edges and an inscription engraved in beautiful calligraphy. Using them each week adds a lot to the experience of reciting the Kiddush.

Not only are the cups beauti-

ful, but knowing that they come from our most devoted young people gives us all great hope for the future. Using the cups is a chance to celebrate the bright future that these students, now young adults, will create. In addition, having the Kiddush cups

COURTESY | TEMPLE SINAI

come from the Confirmation classes means that each time we have a Bar or Bat Mitzvah service, the B’nai Mitzvah students are reminded that there are more goals to pursue in Jewish learning and living. The older TREASURES | 4

BOOKS

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March 28, 2014 |

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“LEAVING RUSSIA” Growing up as a child of Soviet Jewish refuseniks

BY IRINA MISSIURO imissiuro@jewishallianceri.org If Maxim D. Shrayer’s account of refusenik struggles were an art piece, it’d be a triptych.

“Leaving Russia: A Jewish Story” fits the categories of a memoir, a historical work and a literary book. A prequel to his 2007 “Waiting for America: A Story of Emigration,” the latest volume illuminates what life for Soviet Jews was really like and focuses on the plight of refuseniks – those who were denied permission to emigrate by the authorities. Shrayer elaborates, “This book captures the fi rst twenty years of my life in a way that suggests a loving ambition to alchemize the raw material of the collective, historical Soviet hours, months and years into the timeline of an individual, private, Jewish story.”

During a discussion of “Leaving Russia” with The Jewish Voice, Shrayer, author of more than ten books and a Boston College professor of English, Russian and Jewish studies, says that he wants his latest work to be read by a broad audience: “There is still not enough of a popular understanding of what we, Soviet Jews, represent.” While the story is set in Russia, it is a distinctly Jewish tale, one that reveals the pressures and discriminations his family experienced because of

Clockwise from left: Maxim Shrayer at his father’s typewriter; Moscow, 1971; Photo by David Shrayer-Petrov. Maxim Shrayer; Photo by Lee Pellegrini (Boston College). Maxim and Tatiana Shrayer at the ancestral graves in Preobrazhenskoe Jewish Cemetery, St. Petersburg; June 2013; Photo by Maxim D. Shrayer. Leaving Russia book cover. their religion. He emphasizes, “The Jewish perspective and the Jewish identity are central to my story.”

Precisely because of the traumas the Shrayers experienced from the time they attempted to leave the country in the late ’70s until the time they were fi nally allowed to emigrate in

the late ’80s, writing the book was painful for Shrayer, who dealt with such difficult topics as anti-Semitism, persecution of refuseniks by the Soviet system and the KGB, and physical harm by agents during refusenik demonstrations. Nevertheless, he persisted because he feels that theirs is a compel-

ling story that belongs in the mainstream. Shrayer clarifies, “Jews from the former Soviet Union are so important to the fabric of our daily lives here in North America and in Israel.”

That’s why Shrayer was eager to ensure that readers learn not only about the sobering facts of a refusenik’s life prior to emi-

gration but also about Soviet Jews as a people.

At one point in the book, he describes an unpleasant conversation with a certain American rabbi who suggested that he, a Soviet emigrant, needed to grow as a Jew. Shrayer explains that “the notion that Jews from the Soviet Union are somehow almost a severed branch of Jewish spirituality” is offensive to him. Shrayer points out that refuseniks were willing to sacrifice everything to be Jewish.

For him and his parents, these sacrifices had unfortunate consequences. After their desire to emigrate became known by the authorities, they had to come to terms not only with remaining in the country they wished to abandon but also with having to do with less. Shrayer’s parents lost their prestigious jobs, his father lost his membership in the Union of the Soviet Writers, and they were shunned by various people who were afraid to be associated with “betrayers” of the motherland. A teenager, Shrayer was forced to live a double life and quickly learned that he should keep some facts secret.

Constantly having to choose between self-preservation and an urge to express himself openly as a Jew, he slipped a couple of times. For instance, on an expedition in 1986, ShrayRUSSIA | 29

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The Jewish Voice

COURTESY | URI HILLEL

COURTESY | TEMPLE SINAI

Kiddush cups presented by students of previous confirmation classes.

FROM PAGE 2

TREASURES

students become role models for the younger students, creating bridges between and within the generations.

In addition to the Kiddush cups, last year’s Confi rmation class changed the tradition and designed a magnificent challah cover.

The cover has embroidered images of Jerusalem and a dedication message from the students. In the spirit of hiddur mitzvah, this beautiful cover adds to the experience of saying Motzi and enjoying our challah each week.

RABBI PETER W. STEIN (sinairabbi@yahoo.com) is the spiritual leader of Temple Sinai in Cranston and has the pleasure of teaching the Confi rmation class each year.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is part of a series about Hiddur Mitzvah (enhancement or beautification of the divine commandment). In appreciation of Hiddur Mitzvah, The Jewish Voice will highlight Judaica collections and treasures in our synagogues and museums throughout the state.

“Using the cups each week adds a lot to the experience of reciting the Kiddush.”

Holocaust Remembrance Week at URI Hillel Hillel at the University of Rhode Island is hosting a series of events from March 30 to April 4 in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Week. All events are open to the public. Jaclyn Rubin, a second-year student from No. Brunswick, N.J., is the Student Chair for the series.

Each year since 2006, Hillel students have planted a “Field of Flags” on the Hammerschlag Mall, a public thoroughfare between the URI Multicultural Center and the library, in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Each flag represents 5,000 of the 11,000,000 victims of the Holocaust. Altogether, 2,400 flags are put in the ground and visually capture the enormity of the devastation. The flags will be planted on Sunday, March 30, at 11:00 a.m. and will remain in place until Friday, April 4.

CELEBRATIN

G OUR 40 th Y

On Monday, March 31, at 4:00 p.m., JoAnna Wasserman, Director of Education at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., will speak on the topic “Reflecting on History to Inspire Critical Thinking Today” in the Galanti Lounge of the Robert L. Corothers Library (15 Lippitt Rd., Kingston). This session, co-sponsored by the Harrington School of Communication and Media, will discuss the museum’s exhibition “State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda” and explore strategies for engaging with historical and contemporary propaganda, and ways to connect historical exploration with the challenges we face in the present.

On Tuesday, April 1, at 12:15 p.m., there will be a Holocaust Memorial Vigil in front of the URI Multicultural Center (74 Lower College Rd.). This stu-

dent-led ceremony will include prayers, poetry and songs to honor the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust and will serve as inspiration to recommit ourselves to preventing future atrocities. URI President David Dooley and URI Vice President for Community Equity and Diversity Naomi Thompson will speak.

On Tuesday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m., there will be a free screening of the fi lm “Numbered” in the Swan Hall Auditorium, 60 Upper College Rd., Kingston. “Numbered,” a 2012 Israeli documentary, is an explosive, highly visual and emotionally cinematic journey, guided by testimonies and portraits of Auschwitz survivors who were tattooed with serial numbers. The fi lm documents the dark time and setting during which these HILLEL | 6

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March 28, 2014 |

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SUSAN P. ADLER

To Life Center provides tender loving care and more playing dominoes, baking, going on outings, watching movies and playing bingo, which he loves.

While I was attending my niece’s wedding in Israel, the staff of the TLC made sure that Dad could be a part of it even though he couldn’t physically attend the wedding. A family friend arranged to have the wedding live-streamed, and Dad, along with his friends and staff at TLC, watched the wedding. They even had a party for him, which made him feel special.

I remember receiving an email with a photo of Dad watching the wedding. It just so happened that my brother Elan, the father of the bride, was by my side. It brought tears to our eyes knowing that Dad could kvell in his granddaughter’s wedding that was taking place 6,000 miles away!

The staff of TLC is so in tune with his needs that it’s as if they have known him forever. When he was in need of physical therapy, we arranged that he would have it at the TLC. Many times when patients are released from the hospital, it is recommended that they attend rehab.

Dad was able to return to the TLC instead of rehab because of the great care he is given.

I am so thankful for the TLC. It gave both Dad and me our lives back.

If you would like a personal tour, please contact Susan P. Adler, Director of Jewish Eldercare of R.I., at 401-621-5374 or send an email to sadler-jeri@ jsari.org.

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BY SUSIE ADLER My mother and father were always together. How fortunate I was to be able to go to work each day and know that they would take care of each other while I was gone.

After my dear mom passed away October 1, 2012, I could not leave my dad alone while I went to teach. The To Life Center (TLC) Adult Day Services at Jewish Seniors Agency of R.I. came to our rescue. At first, I needlessly worried about how Dad would do there. However, from the moment we arrived on his first day through today, 17 months later, open arms and huge smiles have always welcomed him.

Each day is packed with varied activities that he enjoys doing. Dad exercises every day and engages in other activities that might vary from day to day. These activities include

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A DAY IN THE LIFE

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All submitted content becomes the PUBLISHER The Jewish Alliance of property of The Voice. Announcements Greater Rhode Island, Chair Sharon and opinions contained in these pages Gaines, President/CEO Jeffrey K. Savit, are published as a service to the com401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906. munity and do not necessarily reprePhone: 401-421-4111 • Fax 401-331-7961 sent the views of The Voice or its publisher, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

6 | March 28, 2014

COMMUNITY

The American Jewish story through cinema

BY TRINE LUSTIG tlustig@jewishallianceri.org In his new book “The American Jewish Story Through Cinema,” Dr. Eric A. Goldman explains that the cinema provides a unique vehicle by which one may closely examine Jewish history. Goldman is a Professor of Cinema at Yeshiva University and noted fi lm educator who will be visiting Rhode Island on Thursday, May 1, at noon for an event sponsored by Dor L’Dor, the planned giving bequest society of the Jewish Federation Foundation of Greater Rhode Island.

Goldman notes that like the haggadah – the traditional “telling” of the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt that is read at the Passover seder – cinema offers a valuable text from which to gain an understanding of the social, political and cultural realities of Jews in America. Goldman believes that in an industry strongly influenced by Jewish fi lmmakers who made and continue to make the decisions as to which fi lms are produced, the complex and evolving nature of the American Jewish condition has had considerable impact on American cinema and, in particular, on how Jews are reflected on the screen. This groundbreaking study analyzes select mainstream fi lms from the beginning of the sound era to today to provide an understanding of

The Jewish Voice

Dr. Eric A. Goldman the American Jewish experience over the last century.

Goldman says that in the fi rst half of the twentieth century, Hollywood’s movie moguls, most of whom were Jewish, shied away from asserting a Jewish image on the screen for fear that they might be too closely identified with that representation. Over the next two decades, Jewish moviemakers became more comfortable with the concept of a Jewish hero and with an overpowered, yet heroic, Israel. In time, the Holocaust assumed center stage as the single event with the greatest effect on American Jewish identity. Recently, as American Jewish screenwriters, directors

and producers have become increasingly comfortable with their heritage, Goldman asserts that we are seeing an unprecedented number of movies that spotlight Jewish protagonists, experiences and challenges.

“By analyzing select mainstream fi lms from the beginning of the sound era until today, one can use the medium of cinema to provide an understanding of the American Jewish experience over the last century,” said Goldman in an interview with Miriam L. Wallach. “The fact that Jews have been so predominant in the movie business makes cinema such a wonderful text for study and analysis. Through fi lm clips and discussion, I explain how fi lmmakers created and packaged their own unique concept of the Jew – as fi ltered through their own consciousness.”

The May 1 event featuring Dr. Goldman will be hosted by Cheryl Greenfeld Teverow and is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about planned giving and endowment.

For more information or to reserve your spot, contact Danielle Germanowski at 401-4214111, ext 109 or dgermanowski@ jewishallianceri.org.

TRINE LUSTIG is the Senior Development Officer for Financial Resource Development at the Jewish Alliance.

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Shake N’ Donate Israel Josh Rosenbaum, a Providence, R.I., native, wanted to make a difference this Purim.

He spent his year between high school and college at Yeshivat Lev HaTorah and is spearheading the Israel branch of an initiative originating in North America to benefit Israel’s needy: Shake N’ Donate Israel.

According to Rosenbaum, “Tradition has it that Jews all over the world shake ‘groggers’ (noisemakers) when Haman’s name is read from the Megillah. This tradition is great, but it could be greater.

My goal [was] to have everyone at every gap-year program shake boxes of pasta (or any other boxed food) instead of groggers. Afterwards, all of the boxes [would]

be collected and donated to Leket Israel – The National Food Bank. I honestly believe that this [was] an unbelievable opportunity to make a huge difference, and the help and involvement of as many students as possible [was] essential to its success.” Josh recruited ambassadors at more than 30 schools.

Josh was first introduced to Leket Israel when, earlier this year, his yeshiva brought their students to volunteer in the Leket fields by picking vegetables for the needy. As a result of that positive experience, he decided to partner with Leket Israel on this initiative. A Leket Israel driver will collect and distribute the dry goods among Leket’s 180 nonprofit agencies that receive support.

Some Purim revelers shaking pasta

Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association’s 60th annual meeting “Remember where Almacs used to be?”

BY ANNE SHERMAN The Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association’s 60th annual meeting will be held on Sunday, April 6, at 2:00 p.m. at Temple Beth-El in Providence.

All are invited to this free educational program, which asks the question, “Remember where Almacs used to be?”

In contrast to a traditional lecture, two non-native Rhode Islanders will discuss wonderful, wacky and wicked facets of Rhode Island history. The two historians are Dr. C. Morgan Grefe, executive director of the Rhode Island Historical Society, and Dr. George M. Goodwin, who has edited Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes for ten years.

Grefe, a New Jersey native, earned her graduate degrees at Brown and has served the Society for eight years.

Goodwin, a California native, was coeditor of The Jews of Rhode Island, published by Brandeis University Press and University Press of New

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FOR DETAILS about the meeting, please contact Anne Sherman, the Association’s office manager, at 331-1360.

HILLEL

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FOR A COMPLETE list of Holocaust Remembrance Week events, visit the URI Hillel website at urihillel.org.

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$15 for nonstudents. Reservations are required, and space is limited. Please contact Amy Olson at 401-874-2740 for more information.

Throughout the week, students will be conducting a food drive to benefit The Rhody Outpost (Campus Food Pantry) and the Louis and Goldie Chester Full Plate Food Pantry. An exhibit of Holocaust-related posters, books and artifacts will be on display at URI Hillel throughout the week.

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tattoos were assigned as well as the meaning they took on in the years following the war.

The film is co-sponsored by the Film Department and the URI Harrington School of Communication and Media.

On Friday, April 4, beginning at 5:30 p.m., Hillel will host a Shabbat service and dinner featuring remarks from Holocaust survivor Ruth Oppenheim.

Ruth was a child in Nazi Germany and experienced the horrors of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, in 1938.

The event will take place at the Norman M. Fain Hillel Center, 6 Fraternity Cir., Kingston.

Dinner is free for students and

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FROM PAGE 4

England in 2004. He is also a trustee of the Rhode Island Historical Society.

When reelected to one-year terms, the Jewish Historical Association’s five officers will be: Michael Schwartz, president; Ruth Breindel, first vice president; Dr. David Gitlitz, second vice president; Maxine Goldin, secretary; and David Bazar, treasurer.

Two new board members, Shai Afsai and Herbert Katz, will be elected to two-year terms. After many years of distinguished service, Harold Gadon will become one of four honorary board members.

The 60th annual meeting will be sponsored by the Arline Ruth Weinberg Memorial Fund. It will also be the 44th annual meeting honoring David C. Adelman, who founded the Association in 1951. A social hour will follow the program.

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

8 | March 28, 2014

CALENDAR

The Jewish Voice

CALENDAR Ongoing Alliance Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. 12:00 p.m. lunch; 12:45 p.m. program. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under 60 with disabilities. Neal or Elaine, 401-421-4111, ext. 107.

Am David Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every weekday.

Temple Am David, 40 Gardiner St., Warwick. 11:15 a.m. program; 12:00 p.m. lunch. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under 60 with disabilities.

Elaine or Steve 401-732-0047.

Continuing through April 4 Holocaust Educational Exhibit. Monday, March 31, to Friday, April 4, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. An exhibit of posters, artifacts, documents, photos and books from the Holocaust Education and Resource Center of RI, the URI Library and the United States Holocaust Museum will be on display in the Hillel Lounge.

Continuing through April 11 Everyone Has a Story to Tell. Exhibit of six-word memoirs, a profound and creative way to think about our lives, our surroundings, our reality and, ultimately, ourselves. gallery (401), Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Erin Moseley, emoseley@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 108.

Holocaust Through the Arts. Holocaust Education & Resource Center of RI. 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Apr. 8, 2014, to Apr 11, 2014, 10:00 a.m., infohercri@gmail.com

Continuing through May 8

Lecture Series for cancer survivors and their families at the Miriam Hospital: “Moving Forward When Cancer is the Diagnosis.” Thursdays from April 3, 2014 – May 8, 2014, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., The Miriam Hospital (unless otherwise noted). Hurvitz Board Room, 1st Floor, 164 Summit Ave., Providence.

This event is free and open to the public.

To register, call 401-444-4800 or 800-927-1230, or visit miriamhospital. org. Different guest speakers will be featured each week: April 3 - “Ask the Doctor,” Rochelle Strenger, M.D., medical oncologist. April 10 -“Prescription for Hope: A Roadmap to Living without Fear of Dying,” Doriana Morar, M.D., staff psychiatrist. April 24 - “From a Survivor’s Perspective,” Panel of cancer survivors speaking about moving beyond the cancer diagnosis. May 1 “Food is Medicine”, “What about Olive Oil?” olive oil tasting. Mary Flynn, Ph.D., RD, chief research dietitian. Jennifer and Sal Fuccillo, owners, “Olive Del Mondo”, 815 Hope St., Providence.

May 8 - “What Does “Organic” Mean”: Meet at Whole Foods on North Main St., Bonnie Coombs, marketing team leader, Whole Foods, N. Main St., Providence.

Friday | March 28 Joint Reform Service. Guest speaker Jeffrey K. Savit, President and CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. info@temple-beth-el.org.

Tikvah Family Shabbaton. Camp Ramah in New England hosts three-day Tikvah Family Shabbaton for families of kids with disabilities. Tali Cohen at talic@ campramahne.org or 781-702-5290, ext. 108.

Sunday | March 30 Exhibit Opening at Habonim Gallery.

Artwork by religious school students.

Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. 11:00 a.m., Jodi Sullivan, 401-245-6536 or office@ templehabonim.org.

Honoring Jewish Identity. Joanne Forman Film Festival. “The Other Son” is the story of an Israeli youth about to enter the military, who discovers that he was accidentally switched at birth with the son of a Palestinian family. Discussion with Matthew Goodman, clinical psychologist. Temple Beth-El Meeting Hall, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. 2:00 p.m., info@temple-beth-el.org.

Family Passover Baking. Chef and author of “The Holiday Kosher Baker,” Paula Shoyer, teaches tricks of baking without flour. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. 2:00 p.m.

– 4:00 p.m. Michelle Cicchitelli, 401421-4111, ext. 178 or mcicchitelli@ jewishalianceri.org.

Anti-Semitism: Before, During and After the Holocaust. Speaker Barbara Aharoni. Cranston Central Library. 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. HERCRI, 401-4537860.

Monday | March 31 The Perils and Power of Propaganda.

4:30 p.m. Galanti Lounge of the Robert L. Carothers Library, Kingston. This session, led by JoAnna Wasserman, Director of Education at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., will discuss the museum’s exhibition, “State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda” and explore strategies for engaging with historical and contemporary propaganda, and ways to connect historical exploration with the challenges we face in the present.

Tuesday | April 1 Holocaust Memorial Vigil. 12:15 p.m., URI Multicultural Center, 74 Lower College Rd., Kingston. This student-led ceremony will include prayers, poetry and songs to honor the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust and will serve as inspiration to recommit ourselves to preventing future atrocities. URI President, David Dooley, and URI Vice President for Community Equity and Diversity, Naomi Thompson will speak.

Film: “Numbered.” 7:30 p.m. Swan Hall Auditorium, 60 Upper College Rd., Kingston. 2012 Israeli documentary, an explosive, highly visual, and emotionally cinematic journey, guided by testimonies and portraits of Auschwitz survivors who were tattooed with serial numbers, first on their chests and then their left arms. The film documents the dark time and setting during which these tattoos were assigned, as well as the meaning they took on in the years following the war.

Passover Drop-in Crafts. Create a Passover craft with your child. All supplies provided. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. 10:00 a.m. – 11:00

a.m. $4 per child, $10 family max; JCC member: $2 per child, $5 family max.

Michelle Cicchitelli, 401-421.4111, ext.

178 or mcicchitelli@jewishallianceri. org.

Rosh Hodesh is Back. “Telling the Passover Story: Dayenu V’Lo Dayenu (Enough…and Not).” Speaker Rabbi Michelle Dardashti, Associate Chaplain Brown University and Rabbi of Brown RISD Hillel. Jewish Alliance, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Noon – 1:15 p.m. $10 includes lunch. Danielle Germanowski, 401-421-4111, ext. 109 or dgermanowski@jewishallianceri.org.

HERCRI Board Meeting. Holocaust Education & Resource Center of RI, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., infohercri@gmail.com Alzheimer’s Education Series - Part 4. Legal and Financial Considerations.

Tamarisk Assisted Living, 3 Shalom Dr., Warwick. 6:30 p.m., Donna Gilroy, 800272-3900.

Wednesday | April 2

Friday | April 4

Shabbat Service and Dinner with Holocaust Survivor, Ruth Oppenheim. 5:30 p.m. Norman M. Fain Hillel Center, 6 Fraternity Circle, University of Rhode Island, Kingston. A student-led Shabbat service will be held featuring readings, poetry and prayers commemorating the Holocaust. Ruth Oppenheim, a Holocaust survivor who lives in Barrington, RI, will speak during the service about experiences before, during and after the Holocaust. Following the service, Shabbat dinner will be served and students will have the opportunity to visit with Mrs. Oppenheim and ask further questions. Dinner is free for students and $15 for non-students. Reservations required. Please email Aaron Guttin at Amguttin@gmail.com to make a reservation.

Community Passover Seder. Transportation provided for seniors. Temple Am David, 40 Gardiner St., Warwick. 11:00 a.m. - noon. Neal or Elaine, 401-4214111, ext. 107.

Israeli Culture Through Film - “Fill the Void.” Intimate, insightful, respectful, and moving film follows life among ultraOthodox Haredim Jewish community in Tel Aviv. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. $5; JCC members - $3. Erin Moseley, 401-421-4111, ext. 108 or emoseley@jewishallianceri.org.

First Friday Celebration of Shabbat.

Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Rd., Barrington. 5:30 p.m. Tot Shabbat service; 6:00 p.m. pizza dinner; 6:45 p.m. family service - 4th grade class shares in the service leadership. $3 (includes pizza dinner). Jodi Sullivan, 401-245-6536 or office@ templehabonim.org.

Cranston Senior Guild Meeting. 1:00 p.m., Tamarisk Assisted Living, 3 Shalom Dr., Warwick. Followed by bingo, refreshments and raffle. All men and women 50 years+ are welcome to join.

Shabbat Chai. Musical Friday night Shabbat service, followed by dinner. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. 6 p.m., teprov.org/shabbat_alive or 401331-1616.

Girls on the Run with JCDSRI, Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, 85 Taft Ave., Providence. 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., info@jcdsri.org.

Thursday | April 3

“Breakup or Makeup: Peacemaking in a Post Holocaust World.” 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Memorial Union, Room 360, 50 Lower College Rd., Kingston.

This workshop on nonviolence, led by Paul Bueno DeMesquita and Tupten Tendhar, will help students understand and manage conflict and apply the principles and skills of nonviolence to make their lives and the world a better place.

Am David Lunch & Learn. Join Rabbi Perlman for kosher deli lunch and discussion of the weekly Torah portion.

Temple Am David, 40 Gardiner Street, Warwick. Noon, $10. 401-463-7944 or rabbiperlman@cox.net.

Passover Drop-in Crafts. Create Passover craft with your child. All supplies provided. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. 4:00 p.m.

– 5:00 p.m. $4 per child, $10 family max; JCC member: $2 per child, $5 family max. Michelle Cicchitelli, 401421-4111, ext. 178 or mcicchitelli@ jewishallianceri.org.

Passover Seder Survival Guide. Holiday preparation workshop to celebrate Passover in an enjoyable, meaningful way. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Kit Haspel, 401-421-4111, ext. 184 or khaspel@jewishallianceri.org.

Girls on the Run with JCDSRI. Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, 85 Taft Ave., Providence. 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., info@jcdsri.org

Saturday | April 5 Koleinu Our Voices. Shabbat morning service open to children and young adults with special needs and their families. Followed by kiddush lunch.

Temple Emanu-El Chapel, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. 10:30 a.m. – noon. Carol Gualtieri at cgualtieri@teprov.org or 401-331-1616.

PJ Shabbat Story Time @ CBS. Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Elly Leyman, elly207@gmail.com

Sunday | April 6 Sisterhood Health Fair. Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Rd., East Greenwich.

10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

PJ Library Story Hour. Story and crafts to celebrate Jewish holidays and traditions for youngsters aged 2-7. Congregation Beth David, 102 Kingstown Rd., Narragansett. 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Stephanie at sjmalinow@gmail.com.

Community Volunteer Fair. Rabbi David Jaffe presents “Changing the World – One Person at a Time.” Learn about volunteer opportunities in the greater Attleboro area. Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 North Main St., Attleboro, Mass. 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., 508-2222243.

Pre-Pesach Wine Tasting & Sale.

Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. $18; seniors and students - $5, officebethsholom@yahoo.com or 621-9393.

Temple Beth-El Brotherhood Breakfast. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. 9:00 a.m., info@templebeth-el.org.

Jewish Historical Association’s 60th Annual Meeting. “Where Almacs Used to Be?” The Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association’s 60th annual meeting will be held at 2 p.m. at Temple Beth-El in Providence. All are invited to this free educational program. Anne Sherman, 401-331-1360 Community Health Fair. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich, 885-6600, toratyisrael.org., 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Presented by Torat Yisrael Sisterhood and RI Hadassah. Open to all.

Sustaining the Earth/Sustaining Ourselves. Hadassah Annual Education Day to Focus on the Environment. Pleasant Valley Country Club, Sutton, Mass.

Learn about environmental impact and strategies to make positive changes.

Featuring locally produced foods and “up-cycled” craft items. $36 includes morning coffee break, lunch and access to all programming. Contact Ellen Masters at ellen.masters@hadassah. org or Carol Goodman Kaufman at carol. goodmankaufman@hadassah.org.

Monday | April 7 The Ladies Hadassah Book Club., 7 p.m., Books on the Square, Wayland Square, Providence. “The Lady in Gold”

by Anne Marie O’Conner. This is a dropin group. Roberta, 401-369-0045.

Wednesday | April 9 Eretz Yisrael in Africa? The Significance of the Balfour Declaration. A talk

by Dr. Jack Schwartzwald, author of “Nine Lives of Israel: A Nation’s History Through the Lives of Its Foremost Leaders,” 6:30 p.m., open to the public free of charge. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich, Jane Kondon, ernajane@cox.net, hadassah. org/rhodeisland; 401-463-3636; rhodeislandchapter@hadassah.org.

Girls on the Run with JCDSRI. Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, 85 Taft Ave., Providence. 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., info@jcdsri.org.

Preschool Passover Seder. Alliance JCC Early Childhood Center @ Temple Habonim,165 Meadow Rd., Barrington, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Sara Foster, sfoster@jewishallianceri.org.

Thursday | April 10 Girls on the Run with JCDSRI. Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, 85 Taft Ave., Providence. 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., info@jcdsri.org.

SermonSlam Providence. The Salon, 57 Eddy St., Providence. 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Erin Moseley, emoseley@ jewishallianceri.org.

Thursdays Together! Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, 85 Taft Ave., Providence. 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., info@jcdsri.org.

9th Annual Cape Verdean-Jewish Passover Seder. Hibernian Hall (3rd Floor Ballroom) 184 Dudley St., Roxbury, Mass., 6:00 p.m. It is a celebration of freedom. At this special Seder, the liberation stories and songs of both the Jews and Cape Verdeans will be shared as we explore the histories and cultures of both groups. Space is limited for this free event. capeverdeanjewishseder. com/register.

CALENDAR | 9

CALENDAR | COMMUNITY | WORLD

thejewishvoice.org

FROM PAGE 8

March 28, 2014 |

9

CALENDAR

Saturday | Apr 12

Family First Shabbat Morning Service, Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence 10:30 a.m. teprov.org/ Shabbat_Family_First, ebabchuck@ teprov.org

Sunday | April 13

Adult Education, “Time For Me” Series. 3:30 p.m. “Voices of Spiritual Resistance in Terezin” with David Mintz. This concert at Temple Habonim will explore the significant impact that music had on the Jews of Terezin and the ways that music served as a mechanism for survival through satire, comfort, connection and defiance. The program is free and open to the community. 401-2456536. 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington, templehabonim.org.

Tuesday | April 15 Community 2nd Night Seder.

6:00 p.m. Hosted by Rabbi Perlman and Paul Finstein, Esq. Services will be followed by a catered, traditional Passover meal and dessert. This is a community-wide event – bring the whole family. $38 Adult, $24 child 12 and under for Temple Am David and Temple Emanu-El members; $42 Adult, $26.50 child for non-members.

RSVP by April 10.

Tuesday | April 22

Wednesday | April 23

Touro Fraternal Association Open House, 6:30 p.m. Touro Hall, 45 Rolfe Sq., Cranston, R.I. Special Guest Speaker, Geoff Charles, RI radio hall of fame, 94 WHJY host. Enjoy a kosher baked chicken dinner. 401785-0066, info@tourofraternal.org.

Friday | April 25

Yom HaShoah services at Temple Sinai. Shireinu, the community chorus, will participate at 7:30 p.m.

Dottie at Temple Sinai, 401-9428350.

Family First Friday Night: Early Kabbalat Shabbat Service, Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence.

5:45 p.m., ebabchuck@teprov.org Rescheduled “Dreams for the Future” Shabbat Service, Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. 7:00 p.m., info@temple-bethel.org Shalom Friends. Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, 85 Taft Ave., Providence. 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Friday | May 2

Yom Ha’atzmaut Services at Temple Sinai. Shireinu, the community chorus, will participate at 7:30 p.m.

Dottie at Temple Sinai, 401-9428350.

Temple Beth-El Board of Trustees, Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. 7:00 a.m., Judy Moseley, jmoseley@temple-beth-el.org.

Calendar Submissions April 11 issue, PASSOVER GREETINGS – must be received by March 19 April 25 issue, MOTHER’S DAY | WOMAN OF THE YEAR – must be received by April 9 May 9 issue, GRADUATION | TEENS – must be received by April 16

Send all calendar items to: editor@jewishallianceri.org with the subject line “CALENDAR.”

RI Free Clinic is accepting uninsured adults Providence, RI- Rhode Island Free Clinic is accepting new patients. If you are uninsured and unable to qualify for or cannot afford health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and HealthSource RI, Rhode Island Free Clinic can help.

Rhode Island Free Clinic is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, comprehensive primary and preventative care to the uninsured, working poor and low-income adults. Clinic patients are uninsured Rhode Island adults aged 19 and older who earn below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level. Rhode Island Free Clinic is a licensed medical center where patients receive primary care, specialty care, labs and diagnostics, medications, wellness programs and health education with the help of volunteer medical professionals, community partners

and donors. This clinic does not provide urgent care or walk-in services.

The clinic has a lottery to accept new patients on the first Thursday of every month that begins at 4:00 p.m. If you think you might be eligible, go to the clinic at 655 Broad Street in Providence on April 3 or May 1. Bring a current picture ID; a letter or bill with your name and current Rhode Island address; your tax return or your most recent two pay stubs; and unemployment, TDI or SSI documents, if applicable. If you have no income, you must bring a letter signed by the person who is supporting you that states your current living and financial situation as proof of your financial status.

For more information about Rhode Island Free Clinic and to find out if you are eligible for free care, please call Marion at 401-274-6347, ext. 314.

COURTESY | LARRY KATZ

Alliance funded Smart Classroom guides teaching and learning in Afula Alliance Director of Jewish Learning Larry Katz and his wife, Marilyn, recently visited Afula’s Gavanim School, where an Alliance-funded Smart classroom guides teaching and learning.

Katz observed a math lesson in one of three classrooms currently using the Smart Board

along with laptop computers that supplement it. The third grade students he observed were very involved in the lesson, some even demonstrating their understanding to the rest of the class using the Smart Board.

Gavanim School educators stay at school long after 6:00

p.m. on Sundays for professional training so their classroom use of Smart Boards and auxiliary laptops can be streamlined and effective.

To date, World ORT has provided 27 Smart Classrooms in 7 schools throughout Afula.

10 | March 28, 2014

OPINION

The Jewish Voice

What makes Israel Jewish

FROM THE EDITOR | PUBLISHER

Planning for Passover Advice for the procrastinator, discouraged perfectionist or control freak

BY KARA MARZIALI I am a control freak. (There, I’ve said it.) I am a firstborn who is fond of organization and symmetry. I am a stickler for meticulousness. “A place for everything and everything in its place” is my credo. I despise confusion or chaos. I get nervous when other people run late and break out into hives when something doesn’t go my way. If pandemonium ensues, I want to fix it immediately. I love to plan. I thrive on making lists, setting goals and following through. In my mind, only perfection will do. (Imagine my delight knowing the word “seder” means “order.”)

One of my dearest friends, also a firstborn, is a “discouraged perfectionist,” as described in Dr. Kevin Leman’s bestseller “The Birth Order Book.” She realizes that she will never be perfect, the world is disorderly and life can be messy. So she doesn’t even try to be flawless; she’s completely given up on the pursuit of excellence. She’d prefer not to do something at all rather than have it turn out less than ideal.

Then there’s my other friend.

We’ll call her Olivia. She will put off everything until the last possible minute. Why do today what you can continue to delay indefinitely? Her procrastination manifests itself in every aspect of her life. She dreads the very thing she ought to be doing.

Tackling the inevitable is not high on her priority list. Last year, she was so overwhelmed with the thought of spring cleaning and preparing her house for Passover that she went to the mall instead. (Retail therapy is often the consequence of her procrastination, and she has several brand new pairs of shoes to prove it.)

In Olivia’s defense, preparing for Passover is no easy task. It requires planning. (The word alone brings utter terror to some people’s minds!) Planning requires the creation of a plan.

Planning involves forethought and consideration.

If you are a control freak like me, you may relish the thought of taking on such a task. But you are also likely to put a lot of pressure on yourself. You may forget what the holiday is all about and overlook your family. Then, as a people pleaser, you’ll feel guilty for not doing more to accommodate your guests. It’s a vicious cycle. Life as a control freak can be rigid and sadly disappointing. So this year, please do yourself a favor and relax a bit.

Remember that there is no ideal, only what’s real. And your idea of “perfect” may not be based in reality. This year, focus on dayenu and know that sometimes it

is enough.

For you discouraged perfectionists, try for a bit more earnestness. Of course, remove hametz, but please make sure your Seder plate is not chipped.

Ditch the dog-eared and wellworn Maxwell House Haggadah because it might be time to try something new. Go all-out with a new and memorable tradition.

Enlist the help of your children to make place cards so everyone will know where he or she will be sitting. One family had a neighbor dress up as Elijah, and when it was time to open the door for Elijah, the man walked in, drank the wine and left.

For you, it’s about finding the balance be tween ritual and

spontaneity. It’s okay to leave your comfort zone. It just might be the picture-perfect Pesach for your family, and you’ll have the satisfaction of experiencing something innovative.

If you are a chronic procrastinator, pay heed…you may not like what I have to say. (If you are anything like my friend Olivia, you’ve probably delayed reading this article until Lag B’omer!)

Your proclivity for postponement will predictably perpetuate problems in planning for Passover. Instead of focusing on how much there is to do until Pesah, concentrate on one task.

Start small, but start. If you do a little each day, you’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish. You cannot hide the afikomen until you buy the matzot.

While you’re out this week, pick up a few boxes. The Passover story is about slavery and exile.

Free yourself from the bondage of procrastination this year, and banish bad habits.

Whether you buy into the zeal of achievement, the fervor of mediocrity or the distinction of unresponsiveness, be proactive and anticipate the holiday. Erev Pesah is at sundown on April 14 and the first day of Passover is April 15. (Oh, and don’t forget your tax returns are also due!)

What are you waiting for?

When American, British, Argentine or any other Diaspora Jews visit Israel, they know that they are in a Jewish place since most of the people living there happen to be Jewish. The language most frequently spoken, read and written is Hebrew – a once dead language come back to l i fe. Kosher food is readily available in stores and resIT SEEMS taurants and, of course, in TO ME homes.

The rhythm RABBI JIM of the week ROSENBERG is a Jewish rhythm: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6 … and, at last, Shabbat, the only day earning a name and not just a number. The calendar is Jewish, not Christian or Muslim.

Businesses and schools are closed on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and nobody asks why. On Purim, the Mardi Gras-like carnival spills out onto the public square; during Passover, just about everybody is eating matzah, while leavened bread is hard to find.

On the surface, then, Israel is very much a Jewish place.

Nevertheless, should the visitors dig a bit deeper and ask the typical Israeli, “Mi hu Yehudi?” (Who is a Jew?), they will soon lose count of the number of varied responses.

As I have pointed out on other occasions, when I first visited Israel during the summer of 1965, when the state was only 17 years old, I was told in no uncertain terms, “Im atah rotseh l’hiyot Yehudi, atah tsarikh lagur po ul’daber Ivrit.” (If you really want to be a Jew, you need to live here and speak Hebrew.) For many Israelis, land and language are the essence of Jewish identity.

To this very day, a number of Israelis wear this secular identity as a badge of honor. Indeed, one could argue that because Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, was such a thoroughgoing secularist, he ceded disproportionate political power to the religious Orthodox; to his socialist way of thinking, it was impossible that organized religion could have any future in what was certain to be a strictly secular state. Over the decades, these tensions between the

“I would be deeply resentful if, as a requirement of citizenship, I were required to pledge allegiance to a Christian state.”

Orthodox and the secular elements of Israeli society have deepened while the Reform and Conservative (Masorti) religious alternatives have been struggling to gain a foothold.

At the same time, the “pure” socialism of the early kibbutz movement has gradually yielded to capitalistic influences. Add to these competing views of Jewish identity in Israel the conflict between the “God gave this land to me” settlers and those who argue that Israel’s Hakhrazat HaAtzma’ut, Declaration of Independence, makes explicit that “The State of Israel…will uphold the full social and political equality of all citizens, without distinction of race, creed, or sex.” Clearly, then, Israelis – as Jews in the Diaspora – do not agree as to w find it disingenuous of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a “Jewish” state. After all, Israel did not

make this demand of either Egypt or Jordan when they signed their peace treaties. It is absurd to require non-Jews to affirm Israel’s Jewish identity when Israelis themselves cannot agree upon the nature of their Jewishness. Since approximately one million non-Jewish Arabs and Druze hold Israeli citizenship, it is a non-starter to demand that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declare Israel a Jewish state; it is obviously politically impossible for Abbas to do, and it is, therefore, no surprise that, on more than one occasion, Abbas has made clear that, while Israel is free to define itself de facto as it wishes, there is no way he will formally acknowledge that Israel is de jure a Jewish state.

I am proud to be an American Jew; yet, I accept the fact that the United States remains a culturally Christian country. Businesses and schools close for Christmas. However, I would be deeply resentful if, as a requirement of citizenship, I were required to pledge allegiance to a Christian state.

It seems to me that Netanyahu’s demand that Abbas recognize Israel as a Jewish state is a clear and distinct violation of the democratic spirit of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, which affirms “the full social and political equality of all citizens;” “all citizens” includes the Arab minority.

If Israel is to remain a Jewish state, it is up to the Jewish citizens of Israel to make it so by embodying Jewish values.

JAMES B. ROSENBERG (rabbiemer itus@templehabonim.org) is the rabbi emeritus of Temple Habonim in Barrington.

LETTERS Re: What I did during my summer vacation... (Feb. 14)

As a child of the 50s-60s, I thoroughly enjoyed Kara Marziali’s article on “What I did during my summer vacation...” in the Feb. 14 issue.

I, too, enjoyed many years of two-week Cape vacations in deference to the Jewish Camp experience. However, I would like to point out a correction in the Thompsons Clam Bar jingle.

The jingle actually went “that’s where the tastiest clams are,” rather than “very best clams.”

I share your nostalgia for those Cape summer vacations!

Robert N. Levin, M.D, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Re: Mardi Gras and Purim (March 14)

As a non-Jewish member of our Providence Jewish community, I am first so impressed that [Dr. Wegner] took the time to acknowledge the correlation between Purim and Mardi Gras.

For more than the 20+ years I have been working in the community, I have often felt a feeling of being invisible, religiously, in the eyes of my Jewish colleagues because I am not Jew-

ish. I am by faith, a devout Roman Catholic. I realize my roots in Catholicism stem from the Jewish faith and tradition. I embrace any time a learned person as yourself showcases this relationship. Thank you for writing this article.

Anonymous Providence, R.I.

OPINION

thejewishvoice.org

March 28, 2014 |

11

It’s time to answer the sales tax question

BY REP. MIA A. ACKERMAN For the last few years, there has been some serious debate over Rhode Island’s sales tax. It’s a tough decision – do we stay at 7 percent or do we lower it a little to stay competitive with our border states? Some people think we should just eliminate it altogether. In order to really get a good grasp on how we should attack the issue, I think we have to think about why people really cross the border. Is it to save on sales tax even if there is only a 75-cent difference? Or is it about convenience? These are fair questions to ask ourselves.

Here is what I believe: people who are trying to save money do go where they can get the best price, especially when we’re talking about big ticket items.

That means factoring in taxes, the cost of gas to get to the store and base prices. Someone might not think about these things when buying a pack of gum.

But in our mission to be problem solvers, we have to wonder what causes a person to go to a drugstore in Massachusetts or Connecticut in the first place.

That’s where rebranding

“I have introduced a bill to lower the sales tax to a reasonable 6.25 percent….” could come in handy. I have introduced a bill to lower the sales tax to a reasonable 6.25 percent – on par with our neighbor Massachusetts – and use a portion of the revenue from the sales tax to repair and maintain the most essential elements of our state’s infrastructure: highways and roads. This isn’t just about passing some sort of reform to help our taxpayers save money. If this legislation is enacted, it has the ability to change the image of our state.

Essentially, we’re putting a

GOOGLE IMAGES

Mia A. Ackerman (D) R.I. State Representative

“Welcome” sign on our front lawn. I think we need to drive the point home that we are willing to stay competitive, adapt to an ever-changing economy and rebuild the areas that are in such dire need of a stronger foundation. If we can change the mindset of the consumers in our own state, we can absolutely change the perception of

Rhode Island from the outside.

We just need to make a few bold moves while keeping in mind the economic realities we face.

With no issue taking priority over fixing our economy, I think it is finally time to answer the sales tax question.

The second part of my bill ensures that the first $25 million we make from the portion of the tax that comes from internet sales go toward the Rhode Island highway maintenance account. This piece of the legislation is contingent upon the United States Congress passing the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would grant individual states the authority to compel online retailers to collect sales tax like local retailers.

We are losing massive amounts of federal dollars for infrastructure each year because our leaders on the national stage are making really tough decisions that affect our economic health in Rhode Island. It may seem very basic

to some, but taking care of our roads plays a huge role in our image as a tourist destination, a business-friendly state and, in general, a place where people want to live, work and go to school. If we want to be all of those things, attracting business is key. We need to fix our roads so that commerce can flow without inhibition.

Once we come to a point of pre-recession stability, then we can talk about moving some of that money over to our muchneeded social services and other important budget items.

But most importantly, it is vital to the survival of this state to reinvest in the two things that provide our foundation for everything: business and infrastructure.

MIA A. ACKERMAN (rep -acker ma n@r i l i n.st ate. ri.us) is a Rhode Island State Representative, a Democrat, who represents District 45 in Cumberland and Lincoln.

The real threat to Ukraine’s Jewish community

BY MARK B. LEVIN JTA – After years of fighting against anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union and later in an independent Ukraine, the Ukrainian Jewish community is now confronting a new threat. This threat comes from an unprecedented effort by the Russian government and others to paint a false impression of the state of anti-Semitism in Ukraine.

The recent claims of growing anti-Semitism in Ukraine, and of pervasive neo-Nazi ideology in the protest movement and

the newly formed government, exaggerate the effect of the crisis in Ukraine on its Jewish community and misstate the facts.

The concerns about the safety of the Ukrainian Jewish community are real. Since the beginning of the unrest in the country in November, four members of the Kiev Jewish community have been assaulted, a synagogue in Zaporizhia was firebombed and a synagogue in Simferopol was vandalized with swastikas and

Re: Gardens (March 14)

We just received a copy of The Jewish Voice, Spring Home and Garden issue and we compliment you on such a lovely and informative periodical.

Carolyn L.

Re: Woman of the Year ad (March 14)

I suggest you award the honor to all women. Why do we compete against each other for who’s best?

Anonymous

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

other anti-Semitic symbols.

The two most recent incidents took place in Kiev in recent weeks. The director of the Ukrainian branch of Hatzalah emergency services was attacked by two unidentified men who shouted anti-Semitic slurs, stabbed him and inflicted other injuries. The next day a Jewish couple was assaulted close to the Great Choral Synagogue in the Podol district of Kiev.

Several local Jewish community leaders, however, suggest that these incidents were most likely provocations designed to incite unrest and discredit the new Ukrainian government.

The Ukrainian Jewish community is as concerned about provocations by pro-Russian groups, and Russia’s destabilizing role in Ukraine as it is about homegrown anti-Semitic groups.

Contrary to the allegations of growing anti-Semitism in Ukraine, there is no pattern of violence against members of the Ukrainian Jewish community. Moreover, the Ukrainian authorities swiftly responded to the most recent incidents and pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice. Ukraine’s acting prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, met with the leadership of the Ukrainian Jewish community and vowed to increase

security measures for Jewish institutions.

The Ukrainian government’s guarantees to the country’s Jewish community are important to help alleviate concern about the presence of some radical elements in the opposition movement and the new government. But while the presence of the Svoboda party, the Right Sector and Spilna Sprava is alarming, radical and neo-Nazi ideologies do not represent the Maidan movement as a whole.

Although the Jewish community had been divided in its opinion of the movement, many Ukrainian Jews participated in the protests against what they believed to be a corrupt and criminal government.

Ukraine has a complicated past, and an even more complex history of ethnic relations.

Since Ukraine’s independence, anti-Semitic sentiments have been used during elections and crises as a political tool to influence public opinion.

Similar attempts to use the Ukrainian Jewish community as a pawn in the bigger political game are occurring now.

To respond effectively to the crisis in Ukraine, the international community needs to be well informed and rational, distinguishing facts from rumors and innuendo. It needs to

impress upon Ukraine’s new government that it is responsible for guaranteeing the safety of Jewish institutions and preventing legitimation of antiSemitism and xenophobia.

It must also recognize that Russia’s attempts to undermine the Ukrainian government’s legitimacy not only undercut Ukraine’s ability to stabilize the domestic situation, and to address the looming economic crisis and general security concerns, but also affect the Ukrainian government’s ability to combat anti-Semitism and ensure the safety of Jewish institutions.

The efforts by the Russian government and others to perpetuate a myth that anti-Semitism is an integral part of the new Ukrainian government’s agenda are alarming. The United States and others need to send a strong message that just as anti-Semitism and xenophobia are unacceptable, the cynical exploitation of concerns about these issues in order to advance a political agenda also will not be tolerated.

MARK B. LEVIN is executive director of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ) and a contributing writer to JTA.

COLUMNS | LETTERS POLICY The Jewish Voice publishes thoughtful and informative contributors’ columns (op-eds of 500 – 800 words) and letters to the editor (250 words, maximum) on issues of interest to our Jewish community. At our discretion, we may edit pieces for publication or refuse publication. Letters and columns, whether from our regular contributors or from guest columnists,

represent the views of the authors; they do not represent the views of The Jewish Voice or the Alliance.

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

12 | March 28, 2014

OPINION | COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice

Touro Fraternal Association hosts open house

BY IRINA MISSIURO imissiuro@jewishallianceri.org Every year, Touro Fraternal Association conducts an Open House to familiarize prospective members with the organization. The largest Jewish men’s fraternal association, it consists of nearly 600 members. On Wednesday, April 23, you can learn about the many benefits it provides while enjoying a complimentary full-course meal – Touro Fraternal’s famous K.B.C., or Kosher Baked Chicken.

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes an appearance by “Charles in Charge,” the irreverent radio personality Geoff Charles. Charles is a radio veteran of more than 20 years; currently, he hosts an afternoon program on Providence’s 94 HJY. He’ll share his worldviews as well as speak about his love of Judaism and the Yiddish language.

The Voice asked Jed Brandes, Chairman of the Board at Touro Fraternal, and Andy Lamchick, Community Involvement Committee Chairman, about the organization and reasons to join. They shared that Touro’s original large-scale community effort was to provide coal for poor Jewish immigrants to heat their homes.

Over time, as membership increased, the association added benefits and social events.

Now its calendar boasts lodge meetings that feature interesting speakers from multiple arenas, including politics, sports, entertainment and public service. In addition, numerous outside events keep life exciting for Touro Fraternal members

Learn, eat and be entertained at this free event

and their families. These include trips to PawSox games and Foxwoods, golf league and tournament, fluke fishing, family game nights and Touro’s famous “Two-fers” (two-for-the-price-of-one dinner dances) at the area’s best function halls.

Besides filling up its members’ social calendars, the association offers significant advantages such as mortuary and sick benefits; graves at Lincoln Park Cemetery; grants and interest-free college loans; and discounts on long-term care insurance, Providence Performing Arts Center performances and BJ’s Warehouse Club membership. Current Touro members who sign up new “regular” members during the Open House will be entitled to other incentives.

Continuing with the established tradition, the association is dedicated to giving back–its Community Involvement Committee makes annual financial commitments to worthy charities that benefit the Jewish community and all residents of Southern New England. Some of the organizations that have gained from Touro Fraternal’s donations include the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Seniors Agency, Meeting Street Center and Ronald McDonald House.

For almost two decades, Touro Fraternal has been an advocate and a financial supporter of the March of the Living program that sends dozens of Jewish high school students on a life-changing visit to Poland to learn about the Holocaust and to Israel to

2012 March of the Living participants who received grants from Touro Fraternal Association. experience the beauty of the country firsthand. Lamchick says, “Touro Fraternal Association is fortunate to be able to make this dream come true for students who will cherish this venture for the rest of their lives.”

Those interested in joining Touro Fraternal Association are encouraged to visit their website, TouroFraternal.org, and attend the Open House, which will be held at Touro’s headquarters, 45 Rolfe Sq., Cranston.

IRINA MISSIURO is a writer and editorial consultant for The Jewish Voice.

PHOTOS COURTESY | TOURO FRATERNAL ASSOC.

Touro Fraternity members having fun.

OPINION

Insightful (or incite-ful) behaviors after government raid Sometimes the media will execute unscrupulous tactics to chase a story. Dirty politics can often incite or provoke controversy. Last week’s news surrounding Gordon Fox seems to prove my point.

On Friday, March 21, news broke that the Rhode Island State House was being raided by the U.S. Attorney’s office, FBI, IRS and State Police. A federal search warrant was also issued for House Speaker Fox’s East Side home. Agents toted boxes from both Fox’s home and his State House office. At the time, it was unclear what specifically was under investigation, but television, radio and newspa-

pers were buzzing with speculation. Some reports questioned whether or not evidence collected would tie Fox to an ethics complaint surrounding suspicious campaign finance activities or other issues including his connection with 38 Studios, the gaming company founded in 2006 by Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling.

As of the printing of this article, Gordon Fox has not been charged with any crimes. However, in a television interview with abc6 (WLNE), one legal analyst tossed out some very accusatory comments, implying that there might be a “crooked charge” in Fox’s future.

In a written statement on Saturday, March 22, Fox said that he would step down as Speaker of the House and would not seek reelection. That same day, leaving his home on Gorton St., Fox dodged questioning reporters.

Getting in the passenger seat of an idling car, he stated that he was “going for a ride” and that they should not wait outside his house looking for answers.

Leave the man alone. Give him his space and the kavod he deserves. Fox has already assured the press that when it’s appropriate he’d “talk to everybody.”

Anonymous Cranston, R.I.

Miriam Hospital ICU Receives Silver Beacon Award for Exceptional Care The Intensive Care Unit at The Miriam Hospital has attained a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence from The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).

The three-year award recognizes the hospital for its exceptional patient care and improved patient outcomes, and practices that follow the AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards.

The Beacon Award signifies continuous learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care. Recipients must meet national criteria consistent with Magnet Recognition, the Malcolm Bald-

rige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award. That is: • Leadership structures and systems • Appropriate staffing and staff engagement • Effective communication, knowledge management, learning and development • Evidence-based practice and processes • Outcome measurement The Miriam Hospital together with Lifespan partners Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital comprise the four ICUs in the State that have received the Beacon Award.

D’VAR TORAH

thejewishvoice.org

March 28, 2014 |

13

Bread of affliction

BY RABBI BARRY DOLINGER “This is the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. All who are hungry, come and eat! All who need, come and participate in Passover! This year we are here – next year, may we be in the land of Israel. This year we are slaves – next year, may we be free people.” – haggadah So begins the Seder, sung to captivating tunes in many traditions, inspiring and glossing on the hour’s themes and motifs. There are, however, a number of questions that become evident upon a close examination of the text.

Firstly, there is a Jewish law requirement that all who are going to join with other fa m i l ies in eating the Paschal lamb (con-

sumed only in biblical and Temple times) need to register as such in advance. True, we no longer eat a sacrificial lamb as the centerpiece of the Seder.

Still, the declaration that we make invites people to come and “yifsach,” most probably meaning eat the Passover meal according to the many accompanying laws and rituals. Is this invitation not contrary to Jewish law?

Next, there are questions that are particularly modern questions that arise especially in our current social conditions.

How can we sincerely declare, “[a]ll who are hungry, come and eat!” when we are seated comfortably around our tables with invited guests already in attendance? No one who is needy could possibly hear.

F u r t h e r, the time is too late for anyone in need.

Someone in need of a Seder would have

We break the matzah to leave part of it as the bread of poverty, while the rest of the broken matzah becomes the afikomen.

been filled with anxiety already and wondering for weeks in advance how they will be able to celebrate Passover this year.

Standing now at the beginning of Nissan, the month of spring (at least in years past) and the month of redemption, it is important to consider the answers to these questions and their implications somewhat in advance of our actual sedarim.

Perhaps the declarations were not really intended for the Seder at all. All questions suddenly fall away merely by positing that this is supposed to be something we do during the weeks leading up to the Seder. Then there would have been time to register (in biblical times) just as there is now time to invite those in need.

I once asked Rabbi Aaron Kahn, one of my teachers at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, these very questions and suggested to him a variety of possible answers to the textual and pragmatic issues. He replied that the answers were plausible but politely noted that they seemed too complex and failed to address the central issue of why this text was actually included in the haggadah text that we’ve recited for almost two thousand years. Why, then, I asked, do we include this text in the haggadah? His reply was instructive.

Obviously, the time to think

of those who will struggle to celebrate the holiday of Passover is well in advance, whether there is a legal requirement of an advanced RSVP or not.

Rather, the statement is not intended for the substance of the matter asserted, to borrow a legal term, but for two other reasons. First, the Jewish notion of freedom is not the liberal democratic notion that is so imbedded in our collective conscience and vocabulary. We were redeemed as a people to serve God as a chosen people; we were redeemed as a people to actively embrace the dignity and hidden enigma of existence in the presence of the Creator. One reflection of this is that we ought to be free from the bondages of Egyptian slavery, marked by avodat parech, a particularly cruel kind of useless habitual labor. This is reflected in our observances of the Sabbath and the concomitant mandate that servants rest on the Sabbath as well. This is also reflected in the Torah’s repetitive admonitions and charges to remember the poor, oppressed and those in any kind of need. In this way, as we hold up the matzah at this part of the Seder, we are declaring that freedom (represented by the matzah which did not have time to rise) means remembering the “slaves” and those in need. This value is also represented by the matzah,

which our sages referred to as lechem oni, the bread of poverty. The higher order purpose of freedom is to recognize the human dignity which is its cause and to help others who share equally in its divine glory.

Secondly, the statement serves as a challenging litmus test as we mark Passover. When we invite those who need to come and join us at the Seder, is the statement superficial and late?

Who’s sitting at our tables?

How do we order our lives on other nights? Have we earned redemption?

RABBI BARRY DOLINGER (r abbi @ b e t h s holom - r i .or g) serves the congregation of Beth Sholom in Providence.

Candle Lighting Times

March 28...................6:48 April 4........................6:56 April 11......................7:03 April 14 erev Pesach..... 7:07 April 15......................8:09 April 18......................7:11 April 20......................7:13 April 21......................8:16 April 22 Pesach ends.... 8:20 April 25......................7:19

14 | March 28, 2014

COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice

JEWISH WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

March is Jewish Women’s History Month

BY TOBY ROSSNER In 2002, the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Mass., opened a new exhibit, Enterprising Women: 250 Years of American Business, which celebrated the accomplishments of female entrepreneurs. Inspired by this exhibit, Gail Reimer, Director of the Jewish Women’s Archive (JWA), invited me to write a series of articles on Jewish women entrepreneurs. The mission of the JWA is to uncover, chronicle and transmit to a broad public the rich history of American Jewish women; therefore, Gail is pleased to share these articles with the readers of The Jewish Voice, in celebration of Jewish Women’s History Month.

Lane Bryant Maslin 1877-1951 In Victorian tradition it was considered inappropriate for proper pregnant ladies to appear in public. It is fortunate for today’s women that one such proper lady was a customer of Lane Bryant, a talented New York seamstress who opened her own dress shop in 1904. According to historian Louise Klaber, when one of Bryant’s pregnant customers asked Lane to design something “presentable but comfortable” to wear on the

street, Lane created a dress with an elasticized waistband and an accordion-pleated skirt—the first known commercial maternity dress. The style was an instant success.

It appealed to the increasing number of middle-class women who wanted to break with Victorian tradition and also to poorer pregnant women who had no choice but to work.

Maternity dresses soon became the best-selling item in Bryant’s shop. But potential sales were limited because, in Victorian tradition, New York’s newspapers would not accept advertising for maternity clothes. Lane and her new husband, Albert Maslin, solved this problem by creating the first mail-order catalog for maternity wear. By 1917 mail order sales exceeded a million dollars; by 1950 Lane Bryant was the sixth-largest mail order retailer in the United States.

TOBY ROSSNER (tobyross@ cox.net) was the Director of Media Services at the Bureau of Jewish Education from 1978 to 2002.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third article in a series on the history of Jewish women entrepreneurs.

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COURTESY | NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

Adult Education “Time For Me” Series Sunday, April 13, 2014 at 3:30pm “Voices of Spiritual Resistance in Terezin” with (soon to be ordained Cantor) David Mintz Between 1941 and 1945, approximately 140,000 Jews passed through the gates of the concentration camp Terezin, including some of Eastern Europe’s most prominent Jewish musicians. Even prior to the Nazis officially condoning cultural activities in the ghetto, these Jews began to create a musical life for themselves. They met in basements to sing Czech folk songs, listened to chamber music in attics and eventually created a cultural life full of choirs, cabaret, orchestras, operas and even a jazz band called the Ghetto Swingers. This concert will explore the significant impact that music had on the Jews of Terezin and the ways that music served as a mechanism for survival through satire, comfort, connection and defiance.

David Mintz is in his final year of cantorial studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and serves as the cantorial intern at Central Synagogue in New York. After completing undergraduate and graduate studies in Music at Boston University and Manhattan School of Music, respectively, David began serving as the cantorial soloist at Temple Judea, formerly of Massapequa, NY, and has been a student cantor in many venues. This past summer, David was a recipient of the Fischl-Kohn Memorial Grant to travel to Prague with the Defiant Requiem Foundation in order to research his thesis on the music of Theresienstadt. David is cantorial fellow in the Tisch Leadership Program, a fellowship meant to foster transformational congregational leaders in the Reform movement.

The program is free and open to the community.

Call 401-245-6536 for more information.

165 New Meadow Road, Barrington www.templehabonim.org

COMMUNITY | WORLD

thejewishvoice.org

March 28, 2014 |

15

A second sweet stay with the Igbo Jews of Abuja

BY SHAI AFSAI As reported six months ago in the Jewish Voice (“Visit to Rhode Island an eye-opening experience for leaders of Nigeria’s Gihon Synagogue,” Oct. 11, 2013), this past September, two members of the Igbo Jewish community of Abuja, Elder Ovadia Agbai and Elder Pinchas Ogbukaa, embarked on a historic twelve-day visit to Rhode Island.

Temple Emanu-El’s Rabbi Wayne Franklin, Congregation Beth Sholom’s Rabbi Barry Dolinger, Northeastern University Professor William Miles (author of “Jews of Nigeria: An Afro-Judaic Odyssey,” 2013) and I had hoped that the Elders’ face-to-face encounters with Jews in Rhode Island would help reduce their community’s isolation and help increase awareness of Igbo Jewry.

At Temple Emanu-El, the Elders met with Judy Manelis, Vice President of Kulanu, which is a nonprofit organization that works to support isolated and emerging Jewish communities who wish to learn more about Judaism and connect with the wider Jewish world.

After the Elders returned home, Judy Manelis and I began to discuss the possibility of Kulanu’s including Abuja’s Igbo Jewry in its network of communities, and at December’s Kulanu board meeting, it was unanimously decided to move forward with establishing a strong relationship with the Igbo Jewish synagogues in Abuja. Kulanu’s first initiative will be to send Rabbi Barry Dolinger and his wife Naomi Dolinger to Abuja to teach for two weeks in August. The organization has allocated $5,000 towards that effort and will work to help raise additional funds.

There are currently four Igbo Jewish synagogues in Abuja: Gihon Synagogue, headed by Elder Ovadia; Tikvat Israel Synagogue, headed by Sar Habakkuk Nwafor; Plant for the Growth of Israel Synagogue, headed by Remy Ilona and Igbo Israel Heritage Synagogue, headed by Dr. Michael Caliben.

In Feb., I visited Abuja for a second time and stayed at the home of Sar Habakkuk Nwafor and his family. (For a description of my first visit, one year earlier, see “A sweet stay with the Igbo Jews of Nigeria” in the April 26, 2013 issue.) The morning after my arrival, a community meeting was held in the courtyard adjoining Tikvat Israel Synagogue. The gathering, presided over by Elder Ovadia, began with the traditional Igbo blessing over and sharing of a kola nut. A discussion then ensued about the community’s recent accomplishments, current challenges and future plans.

Every adult male member who wished to do so (no women were

present at the meeting) voiced his opinion and suggestions on these matters, and decisions were arrived at by consensus.

I spoke about the impact that Elder Ovadia and Elder Pinchas’ visit had on the Jewish community of R.I. and presented gifts I had brought from Rabbi Franklin, Professor Miles and Newton-based author Len Lyons. Remy Ilona formally announced my appointment as Kulanu’s regional coordinator for Abuja, and I shared the news that a rabbi and his wife would be visiting in August.

“A rabbi coming with his wife – this will be the first time that has ever happened,” Sar Habakkuk Nwafor noted. “I strongly believe that it will yield very good fruits for our women and am very much pleased with their coming.”

According to Rabbi Dolinger, “The Igbo Jews of Abuja are in desperate need of on-theground educational guidance.

It has been several years since a rabbi visited their growing community, and they are looking for educational and other guidance at this stage. Naomi

Igbo men ascend to the Jewish prayer area atop Byazhin Mountain.

PHOTOS | SHAI AFSAI

Izuchukwu Jonathan Onuchukwu stands beside the letters of the Hebrew alphabet at Plant for the Growth of Israel Synagogue. and I have begun preparing an extensive curriculum designed to meet the needs and goals of the Igbo Jews of Abuja based on their requests and based on detailed conversations held during the Elders’ visit to R.I. last fall. They have requested our presence as educators, and filling that role is the opportunity of a lifetime for us.”

During this trip, I spent time at all four synagogues, including Plant for the Growth of Israel Synagogue, which did not have a house of worship when I was in Abuja one year ago.

While my visit included many meetings and much driving around Abuja, Sar Habakkuk made sure that we had time to climb Byazhin Mountain, which is located near Tikvat Israel Synagogue. The synagogue’s members sometimes climb the mountain in order to hold prayer services at its summit, and on Friday morning, we set out in a group of eight men and ascended to the Jewish prayer location. A church group was also holding services on the mountain in a small building it had constructed

Sar Habakkuk Nwafor at the Jewish prayer area he constructed atop Byazhin Mountain. there. The Jewish prayer area is demarcated by stones, and the Igbo Jews and their Christian neighbors appear to share the mountaintop in harmony.

During the community meeting held the day after my arrival, Elder Pinchas rose and said, “Let us remember what our focus is: Judaism, Judaism, Judaism. Torah, Torah, Torah. That is what we are working for.” I

am confident that the journey of Rabbi Barry Dolinger and Naomi Dolinger to teach in Abuja in August will indeed work to strengthen Judaism and Torah there, and I am proud of the important contribution that R.I. Jewry has been making in this area.

SHAI AFSAI (ggbi@juno.com) lives in Providence.

WORLD

16 | March 28, 2014

The Jewish Voice

Move to repatriate Spanish Jews prompts frenzy, but excitement may be premature

BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ JTA – News that Spain is proposing to offer citizenship to the descendants of Jews expelled in the 15th and 16th centuries spread like wildfire in Israel.

Within hours of the Spanish government’s announcement last month, the Israeli website Ynet published a list of family names supposedly eligible for citizenship that contained some obviously Ashkenazi surnames. Another news site reprinted the list and falsely claimed it had come from the Spanish government.

Other Israeli outlets erroneously reported that the bill had already become law, which prompted thousands of calls to the Israeli embassy in Madrid as well as the Spanish embassies in Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires and Caracas.

“It’s a frenzy,” Hamutal Fuchs, the spokesperson for Israel’s embassy in Spain, told JTA last month in Madrid.

“The phone won’t stop ringing.”

The frenzy, which some Israeli media have taken to calling Israel’s “Spanish fever,” appears to be a result of the bill’s dramatic liberalization of standards for securing a passport.

A similar but more restrictive measure passed last year in neighboring Portugal failed to generate any discernible hype.

Under current Spanish legislation from 1924, Jews may apply for citizenship if they reside in Spain for more than two years and can prove family ties to expelled Spaniards. Each request is evaluated individually and approved or rejected by a senior Interior Ministry official.

Under the newly proposed standards, Spain would naturalize any applicant, Jewish or not, who meets one of four criteria: proven links to Sephardic

FUENTA LATINA

Spanish Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, left, met with Malcolm Hoenlein, center, and Robert Sugarman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations at the Intercontinental Hotel in Madrid, Feb. 12, 2014. culture; certification testifying to Sephardic heritage from a recognized Spanish-Jewish community; other rabbinical certification of Sephardic ancestry; or knowledge of Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language.

“Spanish nationality is a right, not a privilege,” said Spain’s Justice Minister, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, in a speech last month in Madrid to a visiting delegation of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “The government will have no discretion in conferring citizenship once the law is passed.”

In both Spain and Portugal, officials have said that recent moves to grant citizenship to Sephardic Jews stem from regret for the murder, forced conversions and mass expulsions

of Jews during the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions.

Last year, Portugal passed an amendment to its citizen-

“It’s a frenzy.

The phone won’t stop ringing.” ship law recognizing the rights of some Sephardim to apply for citizenship. Under the amendment, applicants are limited to Jews with demonstrable ties to a Portuguese Jewish community. Portuguese authorities granted the local Portuguese Jewish community sole authority to certify the Jewishness of applicants and retained full governmental discretion over whether to approve individual

Germany to receive first new Torah for kids edition in 50 years JTA – A publisher from Berlin is preparing to launch the first German-language children’s edition of the Torah since 1964.

The first volume of “Tell your Children-The Torah in Five Volumes” is scheduled to be offered for sale next month

by Ariella Books, a German Jewish children’s publisher.

The previous edition was released half a century ago by Abrascha Stutschinsky.

The new volume is edited and written by Bruno Landthaler and Hanna Liss and illustrated by Darius Gilmont.

The celebrated Stutschinsky work is out of print – he died in 1978 – and there were not

THINKSTOCK

enough old volumes for all the children in Germany’s Jewish communities.

The lack of books “had been felt more painfully in the last few years ever since the German Jewish communities have begun to flourish again and Jewish life has experi-

enced a strong renaissance here after the Shoah,” publisher Myriam Halberstam said in a statement from Berlin.

According to the statement, the new book grew out of a Bible website called Parascha that Landthaler and Liss have been running for several years.

The volume retells the Bible in what is described as childappropriate language, and includes introductions and commentaries addressed toward parents and other adult readers.

The remaining volumes are due to come out over the coming two years.

applications.

“The government’s interlocutor needs to be as clear as possible,” said Jose Ribeiro e Castro, the Portuguese lawmaker who co-authored the law. “Here it is the Portuguese Jewish community. Period. If they certify, we certify. It’s a matter of trust.

No reason for introducing other parties because it complicates matters.”

Sahar Arian, an Israeli lawyer who obtained Spanish citizenship under the 1924 law and now helps other Sephardic Jews seeking to do the same, said Spain’s existing procedures for Sephardic return have yielded few passports.

To obtain her citizenship, Arian had to prove she is related to Spanish citizens who are descended from Jews who converted to Christianity. Even

though Arian had relatives in Spain and could firmly establish her lineage, her application took several years to process.

Though the new legislation would simplify the process, Arian is doubtful proving such ties will be easy for most applicants.

“The language of the bill is impressive,” Arian said. “But from my experience, implementation is very long and complicated.”

Currently, neither Spain nor Portugal has procedures in place to handle applications.

The Spanish bill still has to pass congress before it becomes law while in Portugal, officials are still working on regulations.

Still, the uncertainty that surrounds the bill and warnings by knowledgeable insiders such as Arian have done little to curb the enthusiasm of some aspirants.

“We have no documentation, but I think we have a strong case, so I believe we will receive the Spanish nationality,” said Liliana Benveniste, an Argentine performer of Ladino music who, along with her husband Marcelo, plans to apply for citizenship if the law passes.

Benveniste’s grandparents always considered themselves Spanish and spoke Ladino at home, which under the new law is sufficient to qualify.

“When someone asked them where the family was from originally,” she said of her grandparents, “they would say, ‘We are from Cordoba.’”

CNAAN LIPHSHIZ is JTA’s news and features correspondent in Europe and covers the mosaic of cultures, languages and traditions that is European Jewry.

Tel Aviv allowing some stores to do business on Shabbat JERUSALEM – Tel Aviv will permit a limited number of grocery and convenience stores to open on the Sabbath and holidays.

The City Council approved an amendment giving the stores the go-ahead, but the country’s Interior Ministry also must approve.

Currently it is illegal in Israel to open retail businesses on the Sabbath, which begins at sundown on Friday and ends after sunset on Saturday.

“The principle that led to this bill is keeping the Tel Aviv spirit, one that cares for the Shabbat as a day of rest, as a social value in the Jewish State, and allows for the provision of services and the freedom for everyone to use this day as they wish.” said Tel Aviv

Mayor Ron Huldai Haredi Orthodox Councilman Rabbi Naftali Lubert said the vote was “a black day.”

Last June, Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality to enforce a by-law that bans its businesses from opening on Saturday.

The high court ruled that two large supermarket chains violated the by-law. The court suggested the city could change the by-law to allow businesses to remain open on Saturday.

The owners of the small shops claimed they were losing customers to the chains that could afford to remain open on Saturday and absorb the modest fines levied for their transgression.

WORLD | COMMUNITY

thejewishvoice.org

March 28, 2014 |

17

Knesset introduces bill creating Aliyah Day JTA – A bill celebrating immigration to Israel, or aliyah, was submitted to the Knesset.

Yom HaAliyah, or Aliyah Day, would be marked on the 10th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan, five days before Passover.

The national holiday would “affirm Jewish immigration to Israel, known as Aliyah, as a foundational core principle of the state, and will honor the continuing contribution of immigrants who have come to Israel over the years,” according to a statement issued

by Jay Shultz, the author of the bill along with Jonathan Javor, a former Londoner.

Shultz, an ex-New Yorker, founded an online community for young professional immigrants.

All of Israel’s major parties

signed the bill, including Yoel Rozbozov of Yesh Atid, who is chairman of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora.

According to the bill, Yom HaAliyah would “realize the value and supreme importance of aliyah in the past, present and future to the strengthening of Israel from within, and as the foundation of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and in the creation and development of a multicultural society that shares a common language, with a shared history and united future.”

The 10th of Nissan is the day that the children of Israel under Joshua’s leadership crossed the Jordan River into the land of Israel – the first mass aliyah in history.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry employees strike, closing embassies JTA – Employees of the Foreign Ministry in Israel declared a general strike, shutting down the country’s 103 embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions around the world.

The strike, which is open ended, was called on Sunday, March 23 following two weeks of labor sanctions and seven months of mediation.

“Today, for the first time in Israel’s history, the Foreign Ministry will be closed and no work will be done in any sphere under the ministry’s authority,” said a statement issued Sunday by the Foreign Ministry’s worker’s committee.

Employees are protesting, among other things, salary

cuts, low pensions and poor compensation packages offered to spouses of overseas diplomats. They have been trying for more than a year to improve their working conditions.

The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem also was closed, preventing Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman from entering his office.

The strike could torpedo a planned visit by Pope Francis in May. Limited sanctions initiated two weeks ago caused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a trip to Latin America.

Damage to Israel’s economy due to the work dispute has totaled millions of dollars.

Jimmy Carter backs labeling settlement origin goods JTA – Former President Jimmy Carter said his group of former i nternational leaders would not endorse a boycott of Israel but encouraged nations to make clear which Israeli products originated in West Bank settlements.

“We decided not to publicly endorse any kind of embargo, or so forth, against Israeli invasion, or occupying troops in Palestine,” Carter told The Associated Press on Monday, referring to his membership in The Elders, a group of elder statesmen who advance peace and reconciliation. The group includes Mary Robinson, the ex-president of Ireland, and Kofi Annan, the former secretary-general of the United Nations.

Carter said the group en-

Former President Jimmy Carter couraged Europeans to clearly label settlement-origin goods, however, so “the buyers can decide whether they want to buy them or not.”

COURTESY | URI

Rhode Island Holocaust Education and Resource Center/URI Providence Campus Collaborative Education Program Spring 2014 The URI Providence Campus Arts and Culture Program will offer the production of “Trust in the Journey: Becoming Family – Marie, Jeannette and Ruth” by Frank V. Toti, Jr. from April 7-11. The play was written from original oral history testimony of three Rhode Island women. Marie and Jeannette were hidden children and became the first refugee children to come to Rhode Island, and Ruth Goldstein is their foster sister. All three share their story in Holocaust Education programs in Rhode Island and St. Petersburg, Fla., classrooms.

The play is a more complete and dramatized rendering of their narrative with projected photographs and maps.

This production will be presented on three mornings at the URI Providence Campus in the Paff Auditorium (seating recommended under 300), and there will be one performance

at a Rhode Island high school – potentially Rogers High School in Newport. There will also be free performances for the general public at URI Providence Campus from April 4-6.

The project will also include “Fragments: Portraits of Survivors…,” photographs by Jason Schwartz, in an exhibit from April 1-30 at the URI Providence Campus 1st and 2nd Lobby Gallery. These photographs were created and circulated by the Florida Holocaust Museum, St. Petersburg, Fla. The exhibit includes 115 survivor portraits (contemporary images) with carefully worded statements by each individual survivor and additional photographs of several of them during the time of the Holocaust.

We will be working with the Florida Holocaust Museum to display these images of the survivors as children or youth alongside their contempo-

rary images (then and now) to make it clearer to contemporary youth that, in fact, the now elders were young during the Holocaust. The exhibit also includes maps. The URI Providence Campus Arts and Culture Program will develop a study guide with additional materials, discussion questions and bibliography to accompany the exhibit and production.

The exhibit is open to the public, and there will be public performances along with the educational performances arranged with URI Providence Campus Arts and Culture Program.

Reservations for school groups to attend weekday performances and the exhibit will be arranged through the Rhode Island Holocaust Education and Resource Center. Call 401-2775206 for more information.

18 | March 28, 2014

The Jewish Voice

wishing you and your family a

Happy Passover Acme Smoked Nova Salmon Sweet Potatoes

Lilly’s Kosher for Passover Assorted Cookies

Price valid through 4/10/14

99

12 oz. pkg.

¢

/lb.

Yehuda Matzos 5 lb. pkg.

4

$ 99

Leiber’s Macaroons

Aviv Matzos Israeli or Club Pack 5 lb. pkg.

4

$ 99

Manischewitz Cake Meal or Farfel

5

Gold’s Horse Radish

4 4

Rokeach Sabbath Candle

Kedem Apple Juice

3/$ 00

24 oz. jar

64 fl. oz. btl.

3

4

2/$ 00

Manischewitz Egg Matzos 12 oz. pkg.

5

2/$ 00

Stop & Shop Honey Bear 12 oz. squeeze btl.

5

Use your card and save on items on this page. We sell both kosher and non-kosher foods. Some items not available in some stores.

While supplies last. Prices good March 21 – April 13, 2014.

3

2/$ 00 Yehuda Memorial Glass Candle

2/$ 00 2/$ 00

2

$ 99

33.8 fl. oz. btl.

$ 99

Gold’s Borscht

7

$ 99

Stop & Shop Seltzer 1 liter

6 oz. jar

2

2/$ 00

Selected Varieties, 64 fl. oz. btl.

Holiday Fruit Slices 8 oz. pkg.

/ea.

Kedem Concord Grape Juice

5 lb. box

$ 99

$ 99

Selected Varieties, 10.5–12 oz. pkg.

32 fl. oz. ctn.

7

5 lb. box

$ 99

/lb.

Streit’s Matzos

4.5 oz. pkg.

Streit’s Cake Mix

Tabatchnick Chicken Broth

Manischewitz Matzos

2

$ 99

5

$ 99

/ea.

Manischewitz Matzo Ball Soup Mix

Selected Varieties, 24 oz. jar

1

5

$ 99

Mrs. Adler’s Gefilte Fish

Selected Varieties 10 oz. pkg.

16 oz. or Matzo Farfel, 14 oz. pkg.

6

Previously Frozen, 4 oz. pkg.

Kosher Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

1 ct. pkg.

72 ct. pkg.

Elite Chocolate Bars Selected Varieties, 3 oz. pkg.

3

5/$ 00

$ 49

1

Tabatchnick Frozen Soup

5

Kedem Sparkling Juice

2/$ 00 $ 99

5

4/$ 00

Selected Varieties, 15 oz. pkg.

Selected Varieties, 25.4 fl. oz. btl.

5

3/$ 00

2

$ 99

Stop & Shop Cranberry Sauce 14 oz. can

for Passover recipes visit stopandshop.com/recipes

PASSOVER FOOD

thejewishvoice.org

March 28, 2014 |

19

Recount the Exodus tastefully

BY IRINA MISSIURO imissiuro@jewishallianceri.org When you think about kosher wine for Passover, you probably think about a syrupy sweet concoction that grandmas sip in lieu of dessert. No need to be a Man-o-Manischewitz. Why cry over the poor quality of wine when there’s already enough saltwater at the table? Seder wine symbolizes enjoyment – it’s supposed to juxtapose the misery that Israelites felt as slaves, not cause misery to everyone around the table with its mediocre taste. So if you’d like to highlight the memory of tears, not obliterate it with sweetness, read on to discover choice tangy picks by local wine merchants. But first, some interesting tidbits about Passover wine. L’chaim!

Did you know?

• Kosher for Passover wine is made from a mold not grown on bread.

• All Israeli wines are kosher for Passover.

• Check the label for the P. to ensure that your kosher wine is for Passover.

• Only observant Jews can produce and process kosher wine with rabbi-approved equipment.

• If anyone other than an observant Jew opens and pours kosher wine, it loses its status.

(See below item for exceptions.)

• Mevushal are kosher wines that are flash-pasteurized (heated to a near-boiling point). Unlike other wines, they can be handled by anybody. Hint: Consider what the process does to the quality, and put that bottle back on the shelf.

• The prophet Elijah prefers sherry. (Making sure you’re paying attention.)

• Around the middle of the 19th century, “wine” was still being made by soaking raisins in water and boiling down the liquid. Mmm, delicious!

• Ephraim Wales Bull saved us from embarrassment by developing the Concord grape that thrived in New England.

• If a guest is nostalgic for the taste of the wines of Seders long gone, pass him the sugar dish.

Just a spoonful of sugar…. You know how it goes.

Our pros’ picks:

Elliott N. Fishbein, Town Wine & Spirits, 179 Newport Ave., Rumford, 401-434-4563 • Israel, Castel Winery, “C” Blanc Du Castel Blanc, 2011.

“This wine has all the greatness to compete with the rich Burgundies of France. Polished, balanced, rich Chardonnay with just a beautiful touch of oak in the finish. A white wine that can handle brisket as well as chicken.”

• New Zealand, Goose Bay, Sauvignon Blanc, 2011. “This white sees no oak, so it presents itself with good acidity: crisp,

Find out what wine to buy for your Seder

LARRY LEVINE’S KOSHER MEATS & DELI

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This store has recently completed its kosher wine selection for the holidays. Taylor says, “After being open for four years, we have learned which wines are best and what price points people are looking for. In addition, the selection of kosher wines in Rhode Island has increased and improved significantly – these are excellent wines that also happen to be kosher.” His picks are: • Chile, Terra Vega Chardonnay, 2013 • Portugal, Grinalda Vinho Verde, 2012 • Galilee, Israel, Ariel Cabernet Sauvignon, 2011 • Bordeaux, France, Chateau Jaumard, 2011 IRINA MISSIURO is a writer and editorial consultant for The Jewish Voice.

lb.

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Jumbo Eggs

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clean and balanced.”

• Israel, Barkan Winery, Pinot Noir, 2011. “This is a beautiful soft red that goes with almost everything from matzah and eggs to chicken and salmon.

The perfect red for light white meats. Fresh and lively with soft tasty spices.”

• Spain, Ramon Cardova Winery, Crianza, 2011. “A floral Tempranillo that will match up to that juicy brisket and is suited for mom’s chicken.”

Richard Backer, East Side Prescription Center, 632 Hope St., Providence, 401-7511430 Backer has selected three red wines from Israel and one white from California. He says, “The Israeli wines are excellent wines that happen to be kosher.” Another advantage is their reasonable price. “The quality of these wines is comparable to [that of] their non-kosher counterparts.”

• Carmel Winery, Appellation Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009, “has a rich purple color with aromas of blackberry and plum. Fullbodied with a long and well-balanced finish. It pairs well with beef, veal or chicken.”

• Segal’s Fusion Red Blend, 2012, “is a fantastic value. It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

It is a dry, medium-bodied wine, light tannins, moderate intensity with notes of black cherry, blackberry and plum. The wine will pair well with brisket, flanken, chicken or braised lamb.”

• Barkan Classic Pinot Noir, 2012, “is wine made from grapes grown in Israel’s high-desert vineyard of Mitzpeh-Ramon.

The wine has unmistakable Pinot Noir aromas of strawberry, blackberry and mint. A lightto medium-bodied wine, it will pair well with veal, duck or salmon.”

• Weinstock’s White Blend W, 2009, “is a California wine produced by Weinstock Cellars.

This is a medium-dry wine with lively aromas of grapefruit, elegant floral notes and white peach flavors.”

Eric Taylor, Bottles, 141 Pitman St., Providence, 401372-2030

6.99

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Shoulder Roast

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Potato or Farfel Kugels

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WE HAVE IT ALL! EXCLUSIVE! ONLY AT LEVINE’S! Passover Cakes & Pastries from Montreal Kosher Cooked Delicacies from Tevya’s Kitchen Fresh Meat, Poultry & Delicatessen • Large Display of Passover Groceries Cheese • Smoked Fish • Salads L

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From TEVYA’S KITCHEN • Roast Chickens • Roast Brisket & Gravy • Meat Carrot Tzimmes • Chopped Herring • Kishke • Sweet & Sour Meatballs • Seder Plates

• Roast Turkeys • Potato and Farfel Kugels • Chopped Liver • Chicken Soup w/Matzo Balls • Knishes • Charoset ...and much more

474 Lowell Street (Lowe Mart Shopping Ctr.), Peabody www.levineskoshermkt.com • (978) 535-6449 • FAX (978) 535-6816 Under the strict supervision of the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of MA

Prepare for Passover and help the Louis and Goldie Chester Full Plate Kosher Food Pantry As a Jewish community, it is our responsibility to come to the aid of our fellow Jews who struggle with life’s basic needs. Sugarman Sinai Memorial Chapel is partnering with the Louis and Goldie Chester Full Plate Kosher Food Pantry with helping the Jewish community of Rhode Island.

2nd annual Chametz Challenge april 7th – 11th from 10 am to 4 pm Sugarman Sinai Memorial Chapel will be collecting all of your chametz to donate to those in need. For every item donated, Sugarman Sinai Memorial Chapel will purchase an item for donation.

We are aSking for your Support With thiS mitzvah.

We appreciate your support and wish all the joy of the passover holiday to you and those you hold dear!

Sugarman Sinai memorial Chapel 458 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02906 | 401-331-8094

www.sugarmansinai.com Ira Jay Fleisher, Director of Record

All donAted food products must be certified Kosher* Pancake Mix Breakfast Cereal Canned Salmon Instant Potatoes Tuna Fish Sugar-Free Applesauce Canned Fruit (Low Sugar) Sugar-Free Canned Fruit Canned Vegetables Vegetarian or Kosher Soup Canned Vegetarian Bean Peanut Butter Jelly | Sugar-Free Jelly Jam | Sugar-Free Jam Cous Cous | Barley Kasha | Rice Raisins Parmalat Milk | Powdered Milk Tomato Products Pasta | Pasta Sauce Soda | Sugar-Free Soda Graham Crackers Crackers Juice | Coffee Cooking Oil Toothpaste | Shampoo Toilet Paper Shabbat Candles *Non-perishables only.

20 | March 28, 2014

PASSOVER FOOD

The Jewish Voice

Get inspired to cook with this gorgeous kosher recipe collection Estee Kafra’s selections from KosherScoop.com

BY IRINA MISSIURO imissiuro@jewishallianceri.org Leafi ng through “Cooking Inspired: Bringing Creativity and Passion Back into the Kitchen,” it’s almost as if the food is on the table in front of you, not beckoning from a one-dimensional image. That the author’s depictions of dishes are beguiling enough to make you want to take a bite out of the paper they’re printed on is not surprising – after all, Estee Kafra studied photography in both Israel and Manhattan. In fact, it was her interest in the field that led her to photograph leading kosher cookbooks and later join Binah magazine.

During her four years at the publication, Kafra wrote two best-selling cookbooks, “Spice it Right” and “Cooking with Color.” When Mishpacha magazine launched Kosher Inspired, Kafra served as editor, the position she still holds at the website – into which the print publication morphed – KosherScoop.com. The Voice chatted with Kafra about her food philosophy and her new stunning cookbook.

Going back to the beginning, she offers an example of a risky move paying off. Kafra shares that Kosher Inspired was proving to be extremely expensive to print, ship and mail. Undeterred by that obstacle, the creators switched to a more realistic platform and are now successfully sharing valuable content with their audience online. The arrangement is working out quite well – the site, offering perks such as cooking videos, reaches a much wider audience than the magazine ever did. Now people in Rhode Island can have access to tested kosher recipes. KosherScoop.

com has become so popular that some visitors rely on it daily to inspire them. Kafra tells the story of a recent email she received on a day the website went down. A woman was distraught that she couldn’t prepare dinner for her family because she couldn’t consult the recipes on the site. Now that’s dedication!

Partly thanks to the immense success of the site, Kafra collected the best recipes from KosherScoop.com to create a new cookbook that encompasses both classic and innovative Jewish cuisine. To assemble the volume, she worked with a talented group of food professionals – some young and pioneering chefs and some wellknown names in the culinary world. The contributors, whose bios are listed at the end of the cookbook, include such famous food writers and chefs as David Blum, Levana Kirschenbaum, Norene Gilletz and Paula Shoyer. To ensure that “Cooking Inspired” offered only the highest quality recipes, Kafra tested each one – fi rst cooking it and then snapping a photo of it for the collection.

Another reason she wanted to publish the cookbook is to motivate parents to offer nutritious food to their kids. A parent herself, Kafra saw meal preparation as a challenge and often resorted to making foods that her children would fi nd acceptable, not the healthiest fare. She does admit to still preparing macaroni and fish sticks sometimes but says that standing her ground by continuing to be adventurous with cooking has inspired her kids to be more open to unusual food choices along with her. For instance, they’re excited about eating herbs in their dishes because they know that they came from their own

garden. Turns out, her children are not the only ones willing to experiment. Her friends’ and acquaintances’ kids have also been enjoying the cookbook’s philosophy. Kafra shares that many people tell her their kids not only love the recipes, but also cook them on their own.

She has even received photos from parents who wanted to show off the meals their kids made based on her recipes.

Kafra explains that one reason teens might be drawn to the cookbook is the ease of the preparation. She says, “They’re [the recipes] not difficult to follow. I’m not a perfectionist at all. When it comes to putting things together, I like fast. I’m just as busy as everyone else.”

While the recipes in the book have a gourmet feel and result in a powerful taste, they’re almost a cinch to make because the ingredient list is short and the instructions are concise.

Browsing some reviews proves that many who bought the book appreciate the accessibility of the simple and varied recipes that mostly use commonly found ingredients. The fact that the volume contains selections for every taste is another plus.

Staples, such as brisket, kugel and barley soup, join more atypical choices such as Mexicanstyle chicken wraps and Asian purple cabbage salad.

In addition to variety, the book boasts handy signs delineating the type of recipe you’re looking at – P for Passover, GF for gluten-free recipes and seasonal icons for the optimal time to prepare the recipe (when all the ingredients are at their peak). Kafra believes that it’s crucial to use fresh and seasonal ingredients. She says, “It’s the key – you can’t really have great food if you don’t have a

KOSHER for PASSOVER

Under the strict supervision of Rabbi Dolinger Chocolate Chip Cookies Financiers (French Almond Cookies) Key Lime Pie (Serves 8) Chocolate and Almond Tart (Serves 8)

$8.50 per dozen

Under the strict Orthodox rabbinic supervision of Rabbi Barry Dolinger

$15.00 per dozen $40.00 each

Seder Ch

$45.00 each

Homemade chopped liver 2014 MenuGefilte fish with our home Time is running outbroth to or vegetable br Chicken Seder Choices Homemade chopped liver or chopped herring Roasted boneless place your chicken, Passover orderbreast of chick Gefilte fish with our homemade horseradish Chicken broth or vegetable broth with matzoh balls Roasted potatoes, potato Roasted chicken, boneless breast Seders of chicken-orChicken brisket withDinner vegetableorgravy Brisket Dinner Roasted potatoes, potatoShabbat kugel or tzimmes Choice of vege Dinners with dessert Choice of vegetables Vegetarian alternatives available Choice of de Choice ofrd er early last! yoCuurstomeminuzes Order early O dessert ns last! s from the menus without n while selectio o Youemay order items ti c le e s il ShabbatwhPassover Choices ordering the complete meal.

PLACE YOUR ORDER:

Under the strict Orthodox rabbinic supervision of Rabbi Barry Dolinger

www.communitybread.net Pick up at Temple Beth Shalom

Chicken soup with matzoh balls Mixed green salad Roasted chicken Matzoh apple kugel (sweet) or tzimmes Vegetable Assorted pick-up pastries

Shabbat Passov

Andrew & Sandy – 401.524.5928 cateringtotradition.comChicken soup with m sandy@cateringtotradition.com Mixed green Roasted chi You may order items from the menus without ordering the complete meal.

Matzoh apple kugel (sw Andrew and Sandy – 401.524.5928 Vegetab www.cateringtotraditon.com Y sandy@cateringtotradition.com

PASSOVER FOOD

thejewishvoice.org great start. Nowadays, we are very lucky – we have so much available to us, everywhere around us.” Yes, we no longer have to travel miles to buy great produce or meats – local quality is fantastic. But when Kafra goes to the market, it still takes her a long time to shop because she walks up and down the aisles while thinking about all the possibilities.

It’s precisely that tendency to try something new that distinguishes Kafra as a chef. In her opinion, being adventurous is the most important quality for a great cook. Everything else can be smoothed over with practice.

She hears a lot of people say that they like to stick to what they know and follow instructions. She wants them to recognize the advantage of being enthusiastic about change instead of doing the same thing over and over: “We live in a time of such plenty and abundance all around us that you just have to open your eyes, look around and say, how can I make use of all this amazing stuff that God put into our world and we have available?”

For Passover, Kafra suggests a healthier dessert. It’s a strawberry mousse with a nut crumb topping that’s perfect for people who don’t eat matzo meal. She also sometimes sprinkles the crumbs over baked apples, a substitution that, she discovered, tastes delicious.

Kafra enjoys the fruits of her own experimentation. She loves hearing her family’s compliments after a great meal.

“When you accomplish something and you did a good job, it’s a good feeling,” she says.

You, too, can become bold in your cuisine. Think of it this way – you can perm your hair or buy a boat you can’t afford …

Mousse: Beat the egg whites in a large mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment.

Add the sugar in a slow stream.

Add all of the remaining ingredients in the order they appear and beat for a full 10 minutes.

Spread half of the mousse into a 13” x 9” dish. Sprinkle with a little less than half of the crumb mixture. Add the remaining mousse and top with the remaining crumbs. Freeze for at last two hours or until set.

Scoop into cups before serving.

(It’s so soft that it scoops easily, even when frozen.)

You may want to create small parfait-glass serving, layerAMIT FARBER AND DANIEL LAILAH | MISHPACHA

or you can get a copy of “Cooking Inspired” and make a roasted vegetable shakshouka. Intrigued? Here are two tips from Kafra to get you started. Don’t overcook your veggies, and use only freshly ground pepper.

Since three’s a charm, here’s one from me – perms went out with the ’80s and haven’t come back yet.

Strawberry Mousse Crunch Mousse:

3 large egg whites 3⁄4 cup plug 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar 1 1 ⁄2 Tbsp. orange juice 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 ⁄8 tsp salt 1 lb. frozen strawberries, or approximately 1 lb. of any other fruit of your choice, partially thawed

Crunch:

1 ⁄4 cup trans fat free margarine , at room temperature 1 cup potato starch or all-purpose flour 1 cup ground walnuts or almonds

1 cup packed light brown (or white) sugar 3–4 Tbsp. oil 1 ⁄2 cup slivered almonds or pecan pieces, optional Preheat the oven to 350°F. Crunch: Place the margarine, potato starch or flour, brown sugar and walnuts in a bowl and crumble between your fingers to create a crumbly, sandlike consistency. Add the oil, 1 Tbsp. at a time, mixing between your fingers until small clumps form. Lay the crunch evenly on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. You can add the optional slivered pecans or almonds at this point.

Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 18 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Remove from the oven and fluff with a fork to create crumbs. Let cool completely.

March 28, 2014 |

21

ing the mousse, then crumbs, then mousse, and topping with crumbs. Let individual parfaits stand at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Recipe from “Cooking Inspired: Bringing Creativity and Passion Back into the Kitchen”

By Estee Kafra Distributed by Feldheim Publishers; September 2013 IRINA MISSUIRO is a writer and editorial consultant for the Jewish Voice.

22 | March 28, 2014

PASSOVER PLANNING

The Jewish Voice

Preparing for Passover with the Rhode Island Jewish community Several community members were eager to share information about their Passover planning and the haggadot they use. Here is a small sampling of their traditions.

Paula Bodo | Providence, R.I.

Our Seder varies a bit from year to year, maybe that is the tradition. Our haggadah is a compilation of pieces from different haggadot. If I find something interesting, I add it.

Also, I encourage our guests to contribute if they come across something interesting.

Marty Cooper | North Kingstown, R.I.

My family does a play, and we act it out. It makes it fun and interactive. You can download

several different kinds, but my daughter wrote the one we use.

Noam E. | Providence, R.I.

I am from Israel. During my Seders, I enjoy traditional Yemenite food with a healthy focus. My preference is to use the haggadah I used a child. I brought it with me when I came here; it’s in Hebrew. So even if we use a haggadah in English, I like to refer to it.

Celia and Steve Gamm | Providence, R.I.

Our family is a blended one, which began with the two of us and seven adult children. At that time, we used the Leonard Baskin haggadah. It was artistic and poetic and served our purpose at that time. As in-law

children with a variety of Jewish backgrounds entered the family, we moved to using the “Feast of Freedom Haggadah” because it provided more explanation and historical context.

Now, 22 years later, we have 15 grandchildren, ranging in age from almost two to 19 years. In order to meet the more global need of our growing and diverse family, we began using the “A Different Night” haggadah. We have found it to be both adult and child oriented at the same time.

Naama Gidron | Providence, R.I.

At our Seder, it’s never been so much about which haggadot we use. It’s all about the pace at which we read them. We have

COURTESY | NAAMA GIDRON

Naama Gidron’s son Sam. been celebrating Passover with our dear family friends the

Klein Horns for 35 years. The tradition has always been that my dad Danny, a secular Israeli, sits at one end of the table and Bernie, a first-generation New York Jew, sits at the other. My dad sings through the Hebrew like an auctioneer while Bernie reads each word carefully often discussing the commentary, posing questions and inviting stories. Interspersed in this all is my mom, who sits somewhere in the middle and asks my dad to “slow it down, and read some in English.” Though we never read the second half of the haggadah after the meal, we do spend hours singing together and enjoying each other’s company.

PASSOVER PLANNING

thejewishvoice.org

Rabbi Sarah Mack | Providence, R.I.

Our Seder is full of kids—ten kids under the age of ten. We use a haggadah, but we tell the stories and sing a lot. One of the most amazing things is watching the kids “age into” reading the haggadah. That’s one of my favorite parts of Passover.

Amy Podolsky, | Sudbury, Mass.

About ten years ago, my husband and I decided to put aside the ol’ Maxwell House haggadah we’d grown up with and create our own. It was promoted by a desire to create a Seder that was both “kid friendly” (our oldest son Josh was about six years old at the time) and uniquely ours. We took bits and pieces from different haggadot (mainly children’s haggadot with beautiful pictures) and made them our own. We purchased a “Plagues Bag,” which added to the fun of our Seder. It made it more interactive. Years later (that six year old is almost sixteen!), we continue to use the Seder format and haggadah we created all those years ago. It’s very special to now have our own unique tradition!

Rabbi Raphie Schochet | Providence, R.I.

cially young nieces, nephews and cousins, and is appreciated by many adults of all faiths. We look forward to placing our DeQuattro homemade haggadah on the holiday table every year.

Ezra Stieglitz | Providence, R.I.

My wife is responsible for the hametz and I conduct the Seder.

We are joined by my son and his girlfriend , along with my brother and his wife. Over the past few years we’ve been using “My People’s Passover Haggadah” because it includes traditional text with modern commentaries. It’s quite scholarly.

The haggadot we use have traditional texts, but within the texts there are so many insights and lessons to be learned. I may use three at the same time.

We must use at least six or seven different haggadot because during the Seder we like to ask a lot of thought-provoking questions. We look for haggadot that have commentary, questions and answers so we can fi nd new questions. We use the fi nger puppets for the ten plagues (and there are no kids at the Seder – just adults). Do you know how many times Moses’ name is mentioned in the haggadah? (The answer is only once!)

Estelle Millman | Rumford, R.I.

About seven years ago, after a long Seder, I decided that my family needed a different type of haggadah. So I wrote my own, and it is one that tells the story of Passover in a more child-friendly way and encourages both participation and conversation by all those sitting at the Seder table. This haggadah is adored by my family, espe-

March 28, 2014 |

23

Ira T. | Fall River, Mass.

Marc Trachtenberg | Lincoln, R.I.

It’s different every year.

Sometimes I’m at my mother’s; sometimes I’m at my sister’s, and they each use their own haggadah.

“You shall tell your children on that day: it is because of what the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.”

Exodus 13:8

THE HIT NEW YORK COMEDY COMES TO PROVIDENCE!

COURTESY | AMY PODOLSKY

Josh Podolsky with his cousin Brooke Miron

WIN TICKETS TO SEE

Dana Matthow and Philip Roger Roy present

In 200 words or less, tell us an amusing anecdote about your family.

The top three winners will each receive two tickets to a performance of “My Mother’s Jewish, My Father’s Italian & I’m in Therapy” at Trinity Repertory Company on April 23, 24 or 25

Starring FOGEL Submit your story PETER no later than Friday, April 11 via email to editor@jewishallianceri.org or mail to Jewish Voice, 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence, RI 02906, Attn: Editor

APRIL 23 - MAY 18, 2014

Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number and email with your submission.

“Amazing! Hysterical!

24 | March 28, 2014

ENTERTAINMENT

The Jewish Voice

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STORY

often mutual relationship with other cultures, Schama’s travels include France, Spain, Germany, Ukraine and, of course, the Middle East.

Beginning with Moses and the exodus from Egypt 3,500 years ago, “The Story of the Jews” is a fitting context for the Passover story. In fact, in the fi rst episode, Schama is at a family Seder. Recalling the events following the deliverance from captivity, he calls it “one great, formative moment, when the Israelites became Jews.”

However, the narratives that follow take into account more appalling events including the recurrent displacement of the Jewish people and the effects of the Holocaust.

Most importantly, however, Schama shows the unrelenting spirit of the Jewish people throughout history.

“Schama told the story efficiently and evocatively–and deftly picked out stories that would illustrate his overarching thesis about how Judaism managed to survive,” said Neil Midgley in a review last year for The Daily Telegraph, a London newspaper. “The Story of the Jews promises to be not only a chronological history, but also a common narrative of what unifies and fortifies Jewish people.”

What fortifies the Jewish people is what they have unabashedly given back to society.

Resilience and renaissance is a hallmark of such individuals. In light of their diaspora and persecution, Jews had (and continue to have) a profound impact on all aspects of society including religion, art, education and business.

“If you were to remove from our collective history” said Schama, “the contribution Jews have made to human culture, our world would be almost

unrecognizable. There would be no monotheism, no written Bible, and our sense of modernity would be completely different. So the history of the Jews is everyone’s history, too, and what I hope people will take away from the series is that sense of connection: a weave of cultural strands over the mil-

lennia, some brilliant, some dark, but resolving into a fabric of thrilling, sometimes tragic, often exalted creativity.”

In promoting the documentary, PBS states, “Whether he is amidst the stones of 11th century Judea, the exuberantly decorated cemeteries of Ukrainian hasidic rabbis, the parlors of Moses Mendelssohn’s Berlin or the streets of immigrant New York, Schama brings together memory and actuality, past and present, sorrows and celebrations, vindications and challenges, and makes felt the beating pulse of an epic of endurance that has been like no other, a story which belongs to everyone.”

KARA MARZIALI is the Director of Communications for the Jewish Alliance.

PASSOVER PLANNING

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Six degrees of memoir

BY JENNIFER BUTLER BASILE Six words.

Choose them carefully because that’s all you have to tell your life story.

Should be easy, right? Anyone can complete a story that’s only six words long.

But can it encapsulate an entire life? Can it fully relate the defi ning moment in someone’s life? With only six words, you have to be precisely concise.

Or is it even possible to pin down a life in six words, several characters?

That was the conundrum I faced with “My Six-Word Memoir,” a calling for and exhibition of this unique artistic narrative at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

A dear friend connected with the organization encouraged me to participate in the project, an offshoot of Larry Smith’s SixWord Memoir challenge. The Jewish Alliance challenged the “community to rethink the notion of writer and memoir, and offer a simple platform to share the short, sharp story of your life.”

The opening night of the exhibit, my friend and I circulated amongst onlookers and other writers. Some writers gave themselves away with the click of a camera by their memoir. Others pointed theirs out sheepishly when I commented on them. One of the organizers admitted “[her] six words are always changing,” which

More than 150 community members submitted their six-word memoirs.

segued nicely into a conversation with another participant about the difficulty of choosing just one story. We discussed the distinction between a story and the story. Would bits and pieces of our lives represent it as fully

or richly as an agonizingly selected six-word summary? Or more so? Someone had asked her whether her memoir was too simple. She’d countered with, “But is it?”

Perspective is everything.

Passover Begins April 14th! at sundown

Now is the time to reserve space in the April 11th issue of The Jewish Voice.

One of the biggest editions of the year!

What seemed like a simple exercise in writing opened up many philosophical and existential conversations – personally, as I sat at my keyboard, and collectively, once I joined the audience at the art gallery.

I realized that what I put on my “canvas” was not what others brought to it from their own experiences. And what I read in theirs wasn’t necessarily what they intended. Another case of artist vs. art critic. Writer vs. reader response. Intent vs. interpretation.

Who can say that any one of the versions is wrong? Who can say that any one of us is fi nished writing the story of his or her life? It is the meditation and conversation that comes with

BRIAN SULLIVAN

the memoir that truly defi nes us.

A special thank you to the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island for offering this project and showcasing it in such a palatable way in gallery (401).

The exhibit will be on view in gallery (401) through April 11.

JENNIFER BUTLER BASILE is an author and educator living in southern Rhode Island.

When she isn’t revising her young adult novel, she is exploring personal and mental health issues on her blog, Chopping Potatoes. http://choppingpotatoes.wordpress.com/

Don’t Be Left Out! Our April 11th edition is timed perfectly for all of your Passover advertising needs!

Please contact Tricia Stearly at 421-4111 x160 or tstearly@jewishallianceri.org

COURTESY | JENNIFER BUTLER BASILE

26 | March 28, 2014

PASSOVER PLANNING

The Jewish Voice

SEDER MEMORIES

Kelly Metzger shares her experience

BY IRINA MISSIURO imissiuro@jewishallianceri.org With Passover – the holiday of remembering – approaching, the Voice thought it’d be interesting to chat with someone about the first Seder experience and the holiday in general.

Who better to ask than an adult who remembers her first Passover celebration well? Kelly Metzger, a past participant of the Mothers Circle – a resource to women of other religious backgrounds raising Jewish children – graciously agreed to answer some questions.

What motivated you to study Judaism and to learn about the holidays?

I wanted to participate, not just observe.

Describe the first Seder you attended.

My first Seder was at my husband’s aunt’s house. She always hosts. I was really nervous ahead of time and, being, a librarian, did a lot of reading about Passover and the Seder ahead of time.

I was surprised by how relaxed the Seder atmosphere was. My family explained that, when there were children involved, they were much more observant about the various parts of the Seder but, as adults, they followed an abridged version. There were clearly traditions that had been established over time.

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COURTESY | KELLY METZGER

I was quite moved and fascinated by the symbolism, and Passover continues to be my favorite of the Jewish holidays.

What haggadah do you use?

The one used most often by my family was published by Maxwell House in the 1960s, I believe.

Passover is one of the holidays that involves children in the celebration. How did you get them ready for all the rituals associated with the holiday? How did they do?

My daughter is only two, so she has not really been involved. However, we have been

reading Passover books to her since she was born. I created a Passover plate with Velcro to attach the various items on the plate, and she likes to play with that. Zoe also knows “Dayenu,” so last year she was able to sing a little when we came to that in the Seder.

What was your husband’s reaction to your pursuit?

What part does he play in the holiday celebration?

My husband is very supportive of my Jewish studies. In the past, he has also given up hametz with me.

Have you ever been “a stranger” or have you ever invited “strangers” to your Seders? If so, how did it go?

Did the experience enrich you in any way?

Last year I attended my first nonfamily Seder. It was wonderful because the hosts have children, so I was able to see how children can participate. I also found the different approach to

the Seder interesting (i.e., seeing which parts they chose to abridge, the songs sung, etc.).

Can you suggest any good afikomen hiding places?

Somewhere that matches whatever the afikomen is wrapped in. My aunt taped it to a lampshade one year, and we didn’t find it for ages because it was in a paper towel the same color. Very clever!

Which aspect of the Passover tradition do you most enjoy?

I enjoy the meal itself: reading the story and celebrating the freedom the Jews achieved.

What was your most memorable Seder?

My most memorable Seder was definitely the one I attended at our friends’ home because it was the one with the children participating.

IRINA MISSIURO is a writer and editorial consultant for The Jewish Voice.

PASSOVER PLANNING

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Evolution of the Katz family Seder

BY RUTH PAGE Our family can definitely be called “the People of the Book,” especially when that book is the haggadah. Over the decades, from the earliest Providence Katz family seders at the home of my grandparents, Mollie and Harry Katz, with its eleven participants and the iconic Maxwell House haggadah, to the most recent seder at the home of Debra and Marc Page (my son and daughter-in-law) with thirty-five members of the extended Katz family along a few good friends, our choices of haggadah have evolved…and expanded.

We used the Rabbinical Assembly’s (Conservative) “Feast of Freedom” for ten years and then the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ (Reform) “A Passover Haggadah,” which is magnificently illustrated by Leonard Baskin, for ten years.

We currently use Noam Zion’s “A Different Night” as well as more than 25 other haggadot from which we pick and choose readings. Each year we add one new haggadah to the list. These additional haggadot are distributed before the seder, and wherever appropriate, readings and songs are added. We use both Hebrew and English texts and

Katz family photo Katz Family Seder, home of Mollie and Harry Katz, Providence, 1948. This photo sits on the mantle of the Marc Page home, during the sederim, a concrete reminder of dor l’dor, generation to generation.

PHOTOS | COURTESY | DEBRA PAGE

Katz Family Seder, home of Debra and Marc Page, Providence, 2013

commentary as opposed to my grandfather’s strictly Hebrew seder. Combined with Pesach trivia and a dramatic skit or two prepared and presented by the children in the group, we have an engaging, enlightening and thought-provoking evening.

Our family includes children ranging in age from 21 months to 22 years plus others approaching four score. Seders, like families, are not one size fits all. Consequently, we know that our creative juices need to run on overtime to make each year’s seder, while retaining the heart, also fit the participants in order to be meaningful.

By asking the important questions; by reflecting on the possibilities; by retelling the story of our Israelite family’s journey to freedom as we say to-

gether, “avadim hayenu” (“We were slaves”) and by retelling our Katz family’s journey that links us to generations past; we add soul to our seder. Planning ahead and incorporating elements of a myriad of haggadot are all part of our strategy to design successfully the modern seder in a pragmatic yet evocative way. The goal: To distill the essence of the seder and at the same time to retain its essential elements as we endeavor to answer the question, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” while attempting to eat our afikomen before midnight!

RUTH PAGE (rpage55@cox. net), a Providence resident, is the Chair for the Museum Committee at Temple Emanu-El and was the former Israel Desk Director at the Bureau of Jewish Education.

A Zissen Pesah!

Our Torat Yisrael Family wishes you and those you love a sweet and inspiring Passover.

You are welcome to join us for these Passover celebrations!  Model Seder for families with school-age children: Sunday, April 13th, 11 am  Festival morning service celebrating Passover: Tuesday, April 22nd, 9:15 am (includes Yizkor) Engaging, inclusive, joyous Conservative Judaism on Rhode Island’s West Bay www.toratyisrael.org 401-885-6600 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich

28 | March 28, 2014

PASSOVER PLANNING

The Jewish Voice

Passover Seder Survival Guide

Explore the holiday and prepare for your celebration

BY KIT HASPEL khaspel@jewishallianceri.org Anyone in my family would tell you I’m not much of a cook.

There was the big dinner when I forgot to turn on the oven; and then there was the time I strained the chicken soup directly into the sink rather than back into the pot, thus losing all the broth. But the one time a year I cook a meal start to fi nish, and even take days to do it, is for the Passover Seder. Beginning when my children were very young, it was important to me to have a real Seder every year. I have learned since that this is not unusual; Passover is the most celebrated of all the Jewish holidays. And you can’t do a Seder without a meal.

I’ve learned a lot about Jewish life, even if not so much about cooking, since my children were young, but my Passover meal has remained very much the same. As I tell the women in Mothers Circle as they are learning about Jewish traditions for the fi rst time, there is something about having the same foods as well as the same smells that makes a tradition. Years ago, I picked a honey-orange chicken dish that looked easy to make from Joan Nathan’s “Jewish Holiday Kitchen.” Although not necessarily the most traditional Seder dish, I think if I served something else now, it

wouldn’t feel like Passover to my family.

There is a fair amount of flexibility in the food you serve, but there are also foods we cannot eat, referred to as chametz. Most of us know that

we cannot eat anything that is leavened because when the Israelites were fleeing Egypt during the Exodus, they did not have time for the bread to rise. In addition to leavening agents like yeast and sour-

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dough, we cannot eat wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt because when these grains come into contact with water, they rise.

Since matzah is also made from wheat, this is a bit confusing. The difference is that the process of making matzah is carefully supervised so that no more than 18 minutes elapses from the time water touches the flour until the matzah is baked.

The food rules are even more strict for Ashkenazi Jews (Jews originally from Eastern Europe, as opposed to North Africa and the Middle East). In addition to the five grains and leavening agents, they avoid a category of food called kitniyot, which includes rice, corn, millet and legumes. It is unclear why these foods came to be forbidden, but one theory is that they expand when in contact with water and thus appear to rise.

But there are also all kinds of foods that can be eaten, and many have come to be traditional at the Seder table. Matzah ball soup is one, as are gefi lte fi sh and matzah kugel.

There are also foods that are part of the Seder service and

found on the Seder plate, such as horseradish, parsley and haroset.

Haroset, a fruit and nut mixture said to represent the mortar used by the Hebrew slaves in the making of bricks, comes in innumerable varieties. The traditional Ashkenazi haroset is made from apples and walnuts. But there are almost as many Sephardic recipes as there were towns in the Sephardic world.

At the Passover Seder Survival Guide (a free workshop for parents in interfaith families and anyone else who wants to learn more) on April 3, we will make two different kinds of haroset. Our Sephardic recipe uses dates, bananas, pistachios and almonds.

At the Passover Seder Survival Guide, we will also review the story of Passover, learn the order of the seder, explore ways to make the seder fun and meaningful for participants of all ages and have an opportunity to review different haggadaot, the books that serve as the guide to the seder.

KIT HASPEL is the Director of Interfaith Outreach at the Alliance. The Passover Seder Survival Guide is a program of the Jewish Outreach Institute and is funded locally by the Alliance with additional funding from the Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the Passover Seder Survival Guide, contact Kit Haspel at 421-4111, ext. 184.

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29

RUSSIA

er sang a song in Hebrew in front of his classmates. Whenever he felt that he was being discriminated against because of his “nationality” (in the Soviet Union, “Jewish” was considered a nationality, not a religion), Shrayer stood up for himself and for his beliefs.

He documents many such instances in “Leaving Russia.”

One example of anti-Semitism was evident in his unfair Moscow University entrance exams marks; Shrayer ended up arguing for justice during an appeal session, which he attended despite discouragement and which allowed him to enroll in the school notwithstanding the disastrous beginnings.

Explaining, he says, “You have to be very strong. You cannot let anyone trample on you and humiliate you. … The worst is conformism and silence.”

One of the most excruciating experiences for Shrayer was watching his parents suffer due to the persecution and violence they endured because of their refusenik status. The reader can sense his almost reverential love for his parents, whom he calls “the co-authors of my being.” In addition to shedding light on their hardships, the book celebrates their strength.

Shrayer describes the cultural events they hosted at the apartment, the demonstrations they attended and the hunger strike they organized. Witnessing the plight of his family, Shrayer sees the world through the lens of a refusenik, someone always on his toes and looking out for possible oppression. Describing the young man he was during the year they emigrated, he writes, “Accustomed to expecting antisemitic [sic] behavior everywhere, I was ready to fight for my honor.”

Living with discrimination from a young age, the boy began to see it as a given. Besides abuse by children who called

him nasty names to refer to his Jewishness, Shrayer experienced mistreatment from adults who should have known better. He writes of an incident that took place in kindergarten. Serving lunch, an aide gave him an extra helping of chicken while saying, “You little Jews like it with the skin, don’t you.”

Occurrences of the sort caused the child to view himself as different from the rest. Unwilling to put up with prejudice, he fought his tormentors: “I was fighting for my Jewish dignity.”

Later, referring to his teenage years, Shrayer uses the term metaphorically: “My life as a refusenik was a fight, a Jewish boy’s desperate ascent.”

Shrayer observes, “As early on as the age of four I felt my own

COURTESY | MAXIM D. SHRAYER

Shrayer with daughters Mira and Tatiana.

otherness.” Discussing his school, he catches himself using the word “us” as he refers to his classmates: “Of about sixty of us … I hesitate to use the fi rst-person plural pronoun.

Was I ever one of ‘us’?” He goes on to share that, out of the 60 students in the two parallel classes, he was the only one officially registered as a Jew. Another student whom he knew to be a Jew was listed as Russian

in the school documents, a common practice by Jewish parents who tried to shield their children from antiSemitism.

Coming from “a very strong Jewish family,” Shrayer doesn’t believe in changing his nationality for the sake of acceptance. Yes, he suffered for his differences, “I never felt that I was one of them, I never felt accepted as one of their own.

What I didn’t have in common

with my classmates was my Jewishness.” However, he saw the nationality in his passport as a matter of his Jewish pride.

That’s why, as a 16-year-old youth, he dismissed the officer’s hints at the passport office to choose “Russian” instead of “Jewish.” Incredulous, he now says, “The police officer probably felt that he was giving me a break and was disappointed.”

The teenager chose to be stigmatized rather than reject his identity. Wanting to belong and failing, Shrayer decided to re-

main faithful to Judaism, the only constant in his turbulent young life full of intolerance and rejection.

SEE MORE AT: http://leazeltserman.com/growing-refusenik- qa-maxim-shrayer-newmemoir/#sthash.kKRGvYwH. dpuf IRINA MISSIURO is a writer and editorial consultant for The Jewish Voice.

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PASSOVER PLANNING

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The hunt for a helpful haggadah Why is this one different from all the others?

BY KARA MARZIALI kmarziali@jewishallianceri.org The haggadah is the “instruction manual” of the Passover Seder, and depending on which one you use, it will certainly influence your celebration. In addition to describing the order of events and the narration of the Exodus story, your haggadah says a lot about you and your family. With so many unique individuals, it should come as no surprise that there are more than 3,000 haggadot in publication.

While the Passover story remains unchanged, each haggadah interprets the “telling” a little differently. For instance, there are haggadot for different denominations of Judaism and haggadot with a focus on Israel and the Zionist movement. But there are also haggadot for interfaith families, for the gay / lesbian community, for Americans and for children, to name but a few.

Here is a list of haggadot you might consider: • “American Heritage Haggadah: The Passover Experience” by David Geffen, Ph.D. With a focus on religious di-

versity in America, this haggadah emphasizes the ideals of freedom and liberty. It also features Passover advertisements, commercial enterprises and haggadot offered by American companies.

• “GLBT Haggadah” by JQ International in collaboration with Hebrew Union College’s Institute for Judaism & Sexual Orientation. This downloadable haggadah was created for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community to fulfill the need for an “inclusive and integrated GLBT Passover experience.” It is available at jqinternational.org.

• “Haggadah for the Liberated Lamb” by Roberta Kalechofsky. This haggadah focuses on vegetarianism and animal rights. In lieu of a shank bone, Kalechofsy suggests a plate of olives, grapes and unfermented barley based on Deut. 24:19-15.

• “In Every Generation: The JDC Haggadah” by Ari Goldman and Joseph Telushkin.

From the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), this haggadah includes

vivid photographs and depicts social responsibility in action.

• “The Journey Continues: The Ma’yan Passover Haggadah” by Tamara Cohen. Honoring women and their role in Jewish history, this haggadah replaces the traditional “Four Sons” with “Four Daughters.”

• “Make Your Own Passover Seder: A New Approach to Creating a Personal Family Celebration” by Alan Abraham Kay. Regardless of your spiritual, political or personal beliefs, you can create a customized Seder that suits you.

Easy-to-follow, this hagaddah includes tips, recipes, songs, stories and a glossary.

• “A Night to Remember: The Haggadah of Contemporary Voices” by Mishael Zion & Noam Zion and Michel Kichka. This book is described as “a full traditional haggadah with a contemporary and Israeli accent.” With lively illustrations, commentary, quotes and stories, this is perfect for all ages at the Seder table.

• “New American Haggadah” by Jonathan Safran Foer.

This haggadah favors equality,

includes insightful commentary and reads from right to left with no transliterations.

• “Our Haggadah: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families” by Cokie & Steve Roberts. Especially for couples of mixed faiths, this book was written by ABC political commentator Cokie Roberts and her husband Steve after years of adapting their Seders.

• “A Passover Haggadah: As Commented Upon by Elie Wiesel and Illustrated by Mark Podwal” by Elie Wiesel and Mark Podwal. In addition to prayers and songs, Wiesel offers commentary, reminiscences and reflections on Israel’s place in the modern world.

Podwal’s drawings enhance the Passover story.

• “Pop Haggadah” by Melissa Berg. Published in 2014, this book includes modern art, and all the commentary is in the illustrations. It’s easy to read, hip and eye catching with its bold graphics.

• “Pesach for the Rest of Us: Making the Passover Seder Your Own” by Marge Piercy.

From her Cape Cod home,

Piercy continues to tweak her Passover celebrations. This haggadah is “a contemporary interpretation, rather than an emphasis on what is strictly ‘correct’ or traditional.”

• “Rebirth of Israel Passover Haggadah” by David Harel. There is a correlation between the freedom and exodus of Passover and the establishment of the State of Israel as well as the renaissance of today’s Jews.

• “Richard Codor’s Joyous Haggadah: A Children and Family Cartoon Haggadah for Passover Seder” by Richard Codor. If you like the Marx brothers, this comic book-style haggadah is for you. It is concise and witty and intended for all ages.

• “Sammy Spider’s First Haggadah” by Sylvia A. Rouss and Katherine Janus Kahn. Designed for children ages four to eight, this loveable spider teaches youngsters about Passover and includes activities and songs.

KARA MARZIALI is the Director of Communications for the Jewish Alliance.

32 | March 28, 2014

PASSOVER PLANNING

The Jewish Voice

ISABELLA FREEDMAN JEWISH RETREAT CENTER

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The Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center of Hazon has announced “Eco-Passover” as the theme for this year’s annual Passover Retreat to be held April 14 – 23. The holiday program will focus on Hazon’s commitment to building healthier and more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond in celebration of the biblical exodus from Egypt and freedom from slavery of the Israelite people.

“As the nation’s leading Jewish environmental organization, liberating ourselves from unsustainable practices toward the promised land of a healthier and more sustainable community deeply aligns with our mission,” said Hazon’s Director of Transformative Experiences, Adam Segulah Sher. “With Earth Day falling on the Eighth Day of

Passover this year, we will take advantage of our time together both to enjoy the holiday and to explore the relevance of Passover to our collective responsibility to care for the planet.”

“Freedom is an important motif in the Passover narrative. But the Torah also teaches us that this freedom is only sustainable if we create a sustainable world,” said Program Manager Reb Yaakov Reef, who is designing the Passover Retreat.

In keeping with the values of Hazon and celebrating the theme of Eco-Passover, the Adamah Foods kitchen will feature the highest quality kosher-forPassover foods, sourced as locally as possible, including delicious OU glatt kosher-pastured meats raised on local farms and sourced by Grow and Behold.

“We will celebrate our freedom by nourishing ourselves with homemade, ethically and locally sourced Passover feasts, inspiring a renewed enthusiasm for the natural connection between the Jewish tradition and the ecoconsciousness.” said Sher.

Other highlights include daily Jewish environmental programing for kids; tours of our farm, gardens and orchard; early spring hikes through the retreat center’s 400-acre forest; yoga; Eco-Passover-themed classes; and the birth of baby goats!

This retreat is for everyone.

Every year there is a great mix of seniors, families, young couples and everyone in between.

FOR MORE INFORMATION and to register, visit hazon.org/ passover.

PASSOVER PLANNING

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33

Max, Hannah and some frogs Kids’ books bring new friends

can tell his baby sister why Passover is different from all other nights. He’s also eager to bake his artist mom a Passover birthday cake. But with the baby in the house, his dad gets a bit distracted.

Losing patience and with little time to spare, the ingenious young fellow takes matters into his own hands. He creates a memorable cake all by himself.

The recipe for a Hurry, Hurry, Hurry Cake is included. Santoso’s bright, lively illustrations place readers in the action.

BY PENNY SCHWARTZ JTA – Frolicking frogs and magical matzah balls are featured in this season’s crop of new Passover books for children that are sure to engage, inform, and inspire.

David A. Adler, author of the hugely popular early reader “Cam Jansen” series, offers “The Story of Passover.” Adler is highly acclaimed for his straightforward narrative style in non-fiction books, including dozens on Jewish holidays.

He says he likes to appeal to readers of any Jewish background, whether from traditional, observant Jewish families or those who are interested in learning about Passover.

“I like my books to be open and acceptable to all,” Adler tells JTA. Other titles this year include “Frogs in the Bed,” offering an engaging book version of a lively Passover song, and “Stone Soup with Matzoh Balls,” which provides a delightful spin on a familiar folk tale.

Passover, which this year begins on the evening of April 14, provides an endless source of inspiration for writers of children’s books. Among the dozens that line library shelves, some recount the biblical Exodus; others retell Jewish folktales or tales of Elijah the Prophet.

Contemporary stories depict families celebrating Passover, and activity books and children’s haggadahs promise to engage kids with puzzles, songs and jokes through the long night of the Passover seder.

The winner of the 2014 Sydney Taylor Book Award for young readers given by the Association of Jewish Libraries is a Passover story, “The Longest Night,” by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Catia Chien. The beautifully illustrated book is told in poetic rhyme from the perspective of a young girl as if she were an Israelite slave living through the Exodus from Egypt.

The following is the new crop of children’s books for Passover: “The Story of Passover”

by David A. Adler, illustrated

by Jill Weber | Holiday House ($15.95); ages 4-8 The story that is retold at the Passover seder begins 3,000 years ago in the biblical days of Jacob as he settles in Egypt.

Readers learn how the Israelites become slaves and follow Moses as he is raised by Pharaoh’s daughter in the palace and later as he leads the Israelites out of Egypt.

Weber’s detailed illustrations evoke the color palette and landscape of ancient Egypt.

She gently conveys the suffering of the Egyptians through the plagues and the triumph of the Israelites in a fantasy-like

interest by telling them he can make a pot of matzah ball soup from only a stone. With clever prodding, he gets the villagers to create a huge pot of delicious soup, with light and fluffy matzah balls. Maryam Tabatabaei’s expressive illustrations are a perfect match for the humorous story, evoking the Old World village with a playful tone.

“Seder in the Desert” by Jamie Korngold, photos by Jeff Finkelstein | Kar-Ben ($7.95); ages 3-8 This photo essay narrated by

PHOTOS COURTESY | PJ LIBRARY

drawing as they cross the Red Sea into freedom.

“Frogs in the Bed: My Passover Seder Activity Book” by Ann D. Koffsky, based on the song by Shirley Cohen Steinberg | Behrman House ($7.95); ages 4-7 Kids will have fun with the frolicking frogs in a book that also includes a comic book story and activities for before or during the seder. Koffsky’s colorful, cartoon-like illustrations animate the song. Frogs pop up everywhere Pharaoh goes.

The book includes the Four Questions, as well as mazes and other seder-related distractions. An easy set of instructions with shapes to trace lets kids make their own frog. The sheet music is also included.

“The Littlest Levine” by Sandy Lanton, illutrated by Claire Keay | Kar-Ben ($7.95); ages 3-8

Hannah Levine is not happy about being the littlest (and youngest) one in her family, with two older siblings who do all the things she isn’t allowed to do yet. Her grandfather, who lives with the family, keeps reassuring her, “Your holiday is coming, my littlest Levine.” As Passover nears, he makes her feel special, teaching her the Four Questions. When it’s time for the seder, Hannah is ready to enjoy the spotlight.

This charming intergenerational story will strike a chord for many kids and may help those who are a tad reluctant to recite the Four Questions.

Keay’s brightly colored illustrations are active and upbeat.

“Max Makes a Cake” by Michelle Edwards, illustrated

by Charles Santoso | Random House ($17.99); ages 3-7 The endearing young boy knows the Four Questions and

“Stone Soup with Matzoh Balls: A Passover Tale in Chelm”by Linda Glaser, illustrated by Maryam Tabatabaei Albert Whitman ($16.99); ages 4-7 In Jewish Folk Tradition Chelm is known as a makebelieve town filled with naïve fools who, despite themselves, manage to impart wisdom with a huge dose of humor. In this delightful story, Linda Glaser gives a Chelm spin to a tale told in many cultures around the world.

On the eve of Passover, a poor ragged stranger arrives in the village and asks if anyone will invite him in to share the holiday. He quotes from the Haggadah, “All who are hungry come and eat.” He sparks their

a young person offers up something new and unexpected for the holiday.

“Why is this seder different from all others?” the book asks on its opening page. “Because this year we are celebrating Passover in the desert.”

Readers of all ages will be fascinated as they follow Rabbi Jamie and a large group of people on a hike through the sands and magnificent stone arches that fill Israel’s Moab desert landscape.

The adventure invites readers to imagine what it might have been like for ancient Israelites to wander the desert in the Exodus story.

PENNY SCHWARTZ is a contributing writer to JTA. This article was reprinted with permission.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Some of these books may sound familiar to PJ Library families; you may have received them in this month’s mail. “The Littlest Levine,” “Max Makes a Cake,” “Stone Soup with Matzoh Balls” and “The Story of Passover” were among the selected PJ Library Passover titles.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about PJ Library, contact Michelle Cicchitelli at 401-4214111, ext. 178 or mcicchitelli@ jewishallianceri.org.

34 | March 28, 2014

PASSOVER PLANNING

The Jewish Voice

Activities to enhance your Passover Seder In every generation, every individual should feel as though he or she had actually been redeemed from Mitzrayim (Egypt). “Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, the house of bondage, how God freed you from it with a mighty hand….” (Exodus 13:3) 1. Draw a picture of Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea on a large piece of paper or poster board. Ask seder guests to bring photos or draw pictures of themselves. Attach the photos and pictures onto the paper/poster board. Discuss the passage above.

2. Use a family heirloom at the seder table: this could be a seder plate, a special Kiddush Cup, a cup of Elijah or Miriam,

or even a special family recipe. Be sure to talk about this item during the seder and explain where it came from and its significance to the family.

No heirlooms in your family? Start a new tradition and buy or make something that will become a treasured heirloom.

3. Instead of reading the parts in the haggadah that tell the Passover story, tell your guests that you are going to begin the story of being slaves in Egypt.

When you stop, the next person should continue the story.

Remember that each person must use the words “I” and “we” when telling the story.

Begin the continuation story by saying something like this: I remember when we were all slaves in Egypt. What a horrible time that was! I remember being outside in the broiling sun, every day, all day. The heat was unbearable but not nearly as bad as the work we were

forced to do, building cities for the Pharaoh. I remember….

4. At the Passover seder, we sing “Dayenu.” It means, “it would have been enough.” In other words, this song says that if God had only done just one thing, it would have been amazing and more than enough, but God did more. Discuss what things in our lives we can say dayenu about.

5. During the singing of “Dayenu,” try the Sephardic custom of picking up bunches of scallions and “beating” each other on the back and shoulders as a simulation of what the Israelites endured when they were slaves in Egypt. Another interpretation suggests that we admonish ourselves not to yearn for the fleshpots of Egypt and not to forget the Egyptian bondage.

6. Make plague bags that children can use during the reading of the plagues. Example of possible items: glass of water and red food coloring for blood; plastic/rubber frogs; rice or plastic toy for lice; Band-Aids or sticker dots for boils; ping pong balls for hail; plastic/rubber toys for insects, wild beasts and cattle disease; blindfold for darkness; plastic skeleton for death of the firstborn.

7. After the traditional reciting of the ten plagues, ask participants to name ten things that plague us today.

8. Kos Miriam (Miriam’s Cup) – This is a new Jewish tradition of adding a special cup in honor of Miriam, sister of Moses. Miriam played a vital role in the history of our people. The cup of Miriam is a

PASSOVER PLANNING

thejewishvoice.org special goblet filled with water and placed on the seder table.

Miriam’s cup is celebrated either at the beginning of the seder or before reciting the ritual related to the cup of Elijah.

9. The Afikoman – whether your family tradition is to hide the afikoman for the children to find or for the children to take it secretly from the seder leader, a point comes in the seder when it is needed to complete the celebration. In the “old days,” the ransom for the afikoman was often money. Consider some of the following: a story, a song or a donation to a favorite tzedakah in the name of the child holding the afikoman, a donation in honor of all the children at the seder or a tangible gift like a Jewish-themed storybook, CD or game.

10. Divide the Passover story into scenes. Divide guests into the number of scenes. Tell them that they will have the opportunity to tell creatively one part of the story. Instruct each group to read its scene to each other and then use the arts and crafts materials you have made available to write poems, sing songs, pantomime, role-play, etc. to convey the meaning of each scene. Here are ten possible scenes: Moses’ birth, Pharaoh’s daughter discovers the Hebrew baby, Moses’ childhood, Moses in the desert, Moses returns to Egypt, the tenth plague, the Red Sea, wandering in the desert, the Ten Commandments, observing Passover.

This material was compiled from various sources including uahc.org, The Jewish Parent Page by Barbara Binder Kadden, “V’shinantam” (the UAHC National Jewish Teacher’s Newsletter), “A Different Night Haggadah” by Noam Zion and “The Art of Jewish Living” by Dr. Ron Wolfson.

March 28, 2014 |

35

Manischewitz matzo boxes feature well-known Jewish Americans In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) and just in time for Passover, Manischewitz, which offers a diverse line of specialty kosher food products, is releasing limited run packaging on each of its five matzah boxes inside 5-pound packages. The boxes feature fun and factual information about notable Jewish American inventors, comedians, historical figures and more. These facts are sure to entertain and enlighten one over breakfast or at the seder table.

The Jewish American figures

featured include Ann Landers, Estee Lauder, Sandy Koufax, Irving Berlin and the inventors of the Barbie Doll, Superman and Reddi-wip. Each of the five boxes offers a different story to tell.

Matzah boxes also feature “Passover in America: Historical Perspectives,” a full-color compilation of 18 documents, letters, recipes, newspaper articles and photographs from the rich collections of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. The booklet will be available for a contribution of $18 and is designed to enhance Passover Seders.

The booklet includes Manischewitz coupons. Proceeds benefit JAHM, a month-long celebration in May that strives to raise the national consciousness on contributions Jewish Americans have made to America’s heritage and history. JAHM acknowledges the achievements of American Jews in fields ranging from sports, and entertainment to medicine, business, government and military service.

“We think people will find the facts and stories surprising and interesting. We are thrilled that our founding corporate sponsor, Manischewitz, has chosen to

partner with us to enlighten and educate consumers about the contributions of Jewish Americans,” says Abby Schwartz, national coordinator of JAHM. TO LEARN MORE about JAHM and this year’s theme, American Jews and “Tikkun Olam:” Healing the World, log onto www.jahm.us. Visitors to the site have the opportunity to enter events in their own communities, learn about national programming, download educational materials and garner ideas for local celebrations.

PASSOVER PLANNING

36 | March 28, 2014

Doug Freilich, Naga Bakehouse

The Jewish Voice

PHOTOS COURTESY | NAGA BAKEHOUSE

Hand-made and individually packaged matza from Naga Bakehouse

From farm to seder table: locally grown matzah on the rise

BY TALIA LAVIN JTA– In their small farmhouse bakery in Vermont, Doug Freilich and Julie Sperling work round the clock producing matzah in the period preceding Passover – a matzah that feels ancient and modern at once.

Using a mix of grain they grow on theitr own farm and wheat sourced from other local farmers, the couple create hundreds of pieces of the wholesome unleavened bread they call Vermatzah.

“The idea came because of our initial interest in growing grains, looking at them from the harvest to the baking in a very simple sense and highlighting grains that have good flavor,” Freilich told JTA. “We celebrate our own Passover each year; we go through the matzah-making ritual for both the spring awakening and remembering the storytelling of this holiday.”

Freilich and Sperling, coowners of the Naga Bakehouse in Middletown Springs, Vt., are among American Jewish bakers looking at new ways to create matzah in ways that dovetail with the concerns of an age of foodies and locally sourced groceries.

They are joined in the pro-

Vermatzah – sustenance for the body, fuel for the soul cess by their teenaged children, Ticho and Ellis.

“Between the four of us, we are working each and every piece by hand: they are handmade with fingerprints, and heart and soul,” Freilich said.

“Our matzahs are tinted and kissed by the fire of the wood oven.”

At the end of the labor-intensive process, each matzah is wrapped in parchment paper and hand tied before being sent off – with a bonus seed packet of wheat berries from the family’s farm – to prospective customers throughout the country.

Join Temple Am David for our 14th annual Community Passover 2nd Night Seder!

Hosted by Rabbi Perlman and Paul Finstein, Esq. Tuesday, April 15, 6:00pm Services will be followed by a catered, traditional Passover meal and a luscious dessert.

This is a community wide event bring the whole family!

RSVP by April 10th www.templeamdavid.org

call 401-463-7944 for pricing and information

Vermatzah is primarily available in Vermont, New York and Massachusetts, but Freilich says a huge increase in Web orders means the product is now making it across the United States.

Freilich and Sperling have been making Vermatzah for six years. Now others are beginning to embrace matzah’s role in the farm-to-table trend.

The Yiddish Farm, an eclectic collective in Goshen, N.Y., that combines Yiddish language instruction with agriculture, is producing its own matzah this year baked with grain grown in its fields.

The matzah will be whole wheat and shmurah – a ritual designation for matzah that refers to a process of careful supervision which begins when the matzah’s grain is in

The Yiddish Farm, an eclectic collective in Goshen, N.Y., the field and doesn’t stop until the matzah is baked. The process inthe end of the labanting, combine-harvesting, reaping, milling and sifting at the Yiddish Farm, according to the Forward.

The end result is a locavore’s matzah dream that will travel from Goshen, in upstate New York, to Manhattan and New Jersey prior to Passover.

For Anne Kostroski, the owner of Crumb Bakery in Chicago, making her own matzah has less to do with food ideology than more practical matters.

“I don’t like eating storebought matzah because I think it tastes awful,” she said, laughing.

Kostroski, 41, has been making her own signature matzah for nearly 10 years, since her conversion to Judaism in

the mid-1990s. “The matzah I make is made with honey, locally sourced eggs, black pepper and olive oil,” Kostroski said. “It’s flat and crunchy, but not as dry as the regular store-bought plain matzah.

There’s a hint of heat and sweetness that makes matzah more interesting.”

For Kostroski, matzah making has been a part of her Jewish journey even when she hasn’t been able to attend synagogue regularly under the strain of a baker’s life.

Matzah creates a feeling of connection with history and tradition, she explains.

And her homemade matzah, which she sells at farmers’ markets, her Chicago eatery (the Sauce and Bread Kitchen) and by pre-order – is made lovingly and painstakingly by hand.

“I make several hundred matzahs a year, mixed, rolled and baked,” she said. “One batch is maybe two dozen, and it’s really labor intensive.”

Kostroski says demand is increasing, slowly but surely, year by year.

“I came across this recipe in 1995, and I started making it, and I’ve been making it ever since,” Kostroski said. “People are not expecting different types of matzah – they expect something flavorless, and it doesn’t have to be.”

TALIA LAVIN is JTA’s editorial assistant.

PASSOVER PLANNING

thejewishvoice.org

March 28, 2014 |

37

Passover project ideas

BY MICHELLE CICCHITELLI mcicchitelli@jewishallianceri.org Growing up, Passover was always my favorite holiday. Each year, my parents usually hosted the Seders both nights; family and friends sat around an overflowing table. I always looked forward to spending the holiday with my many cousins, ten of us in all. We always had so much fun together, but once we sat down for the Seder, we knew we were in for a long night. From the children’s end of the table, you could always hear someone asking, “Are we almost done?” or “Is it time to eat yet?”

When I became a parent, I began to worry about how I planned to keep my own children interested in the Seder and sit quietly throughout. It was clear to me that, in order to do this, I would have to fi nd a way to entertain my children beyond the haggadah. We started bringing PJ Library books to the table to keep them engaged, hoping they would at least stay at the table and indirectly learn something from what they were hearing. I also created various crafts, such as their own Seder plate and cup for Elijah, with my children in hopes that they would be excited to sit at the table, which was adorned with their decorations.

We also used props during the reading of the ten plagues; the

Make the holiday more fun for your little ones

children always looked forward to this part of the Seder. For example, to symbolize the blood, we would put red food coloring into a glass of water or throw small marshmallows – Kosher for Passover ones, of course – on the table for the plague of hail.

Incidentally, the Creativity Center at the Dwares JCC offers many project ideas to help incorporate fun into the reading of the ten plagues. Contact Diane Cerep, at 421-4111, ext. 182, or at dcerep@jewishallianceri. org, for more information.

All of these various ideas were helpful and fun for my children.

One project, however, stood out from the rest. What ultimately kept them excited throughout the entire Seder was the creation of a board game placemat.

During the weeks leading up to the holiday, we began to discuss different elements to expect during the Seder and how they would occur in a specific sequence. Then, we used a variety of art mediums to create a Seder-Candy-Land-type game, which helped the children follow along and stay engaged throughout the evening. They used stickers to mark their progress along the path and were eager to move forward.

This game was a big success and an activity that we have repeated year after year. If you are interested in creating your own Seder board game with your children, we will be mak-

ing them during our drop-in crafting programs in the Alliance Family Room Parenting Center on April 1 at 10:00 a.m. or on April 3 at 4:00 p.m. There is a minimal fee of $2 per child to cover the costs of materials.

Cooking with children is another way I like to keep my children busy throughout the holiday week. Mixing cooking and crafting, my children have always enjoyed building a matzoh house, similar to a gingerbread house. I usually use Kosher for Passover cake icing for the “cement” that holds everything together and various candies for decorating.

Finding child-friendly recipes can sometimes be challenging due to the ingredient restrictions during the week of Passover. On March 30, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., baker and “Holiday Kosher Baker” author, Paula Shoyer, will be at the Dwares JCC to teach us how to bake some new recipes for Passover. Families will work together preparing the ingredients to take home and bake.

There will also be samples of various other recipes and many PJ Library Passover stories shared. If you are looking for something new to serve this year or just enjoy baking with your children, you won’t want to miss this program!

We would love to hear about the activities you do with your own children to add to the holi-

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day excitement. Share your projects or recipes with us on our PJ Library Facebook page (PJ Library Rhode Island) and be sure to like the page. For each idea submitted, your name will be entered into a raffle to win a Passover plague prop set.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about any of the events listed in this article or about PJ Library, contact Michelle Cicchitelli, Director of Jewish Life at the Jewish Alliance, at 4214111, ext. 178 or at mcicchitelli@ jewishallianceri.org.

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The Jewish Voice

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thejewishvoice.org

March 28, 2014 |

39

Say “tootle-loo” to achoo

BY KARA MARZIALI kmarziali@jewishallianceri.org At last, spring is in the air. (Literally!) This means it’s allergy season.

The Food and Drug Administration estimates that there are nearly 40 million people in the U.S. who suffer from seasonal allergies. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, the most common allergy triggers are Continue reading below...tree, grass and weed pollen; mold spores; dust mites and cat, dog and rodent dander. If you greet this time of year with itchy eyes, a scratchy throat, congestion and/or a runny nose, prevention is the key.

“Your immunity affects every aspect of the day, from work performance to emotional wellbeing,” says Lisa Metzger, Ph.D. “By taking proactive efforts for better health, you’ll be less likely to miss out on life this allergy season.”

New England is one of the areas in the U.S. hardest hit by spring allergies because of our climate and the high volume of tree pollens and mold. Due to the frigid temperatures the nation experienced this winter, the allergy season may have a delayed start in the Northeast.

However, long-range forecasters believe that Rhode Islanders can expect spring allergies to reach their peak by mid-May. For snowbirds who spend their winters in the South and summers in the North, there is little relief. They may begin sniffling in Pensacola only to be met with watery eyes in Providence.

Five simple ways to beat allergy season this spring

Here are some simple ways to stay sneeze-free.

1. Get moving. Besides its obvious fitness benefits, regular workouts are known to strengthen the body’s immune response. New research indicates that cardio exercise may even calm inflammation in the nasal passages.

Although it seems counterintuitive to exercise outside if you suffer from airborne allergies, pollen counts taper in the afternoon between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. “Pollen is released from grass in the morning, and as the day heats up, it rises high enough into the air where you won’t have any contact with it,” says Haig Tcheurekdjian, M.D., associate clinical professor at Case Western Reserve University. If the pollen count is remarkably high or your allergies are especially unpleasant, head to the gym instead.

2.

Change your diet. It may not sound “kosher,” but limit your dairy intake. Dairy products create phlegm, which can escalate allergy symptoms like runny nose, sore throat and cough. It has also been suggested that nearly 70 percent of people can’t tolerate dairy because they’re

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missing the enzyme lactase. According to Steven Lamm, M.D., author of “No Guts, No Glory,” the immune system of individuals with sensitivity to dairy prodFRANK-FOTOLIA.COM ucts can respond more adversely to pollen and other allergens.

Also, try to incorporate foods that contain flavonoids. Fill your plates with colorful fruits and vegetables such as such as peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, plums and blueberries. These

foods have natural antihistamines, which inhibit your body’s response to an allergen.

3. Clean up your act. They say cleanliness is next to godliness, so start washing. Regularly wash your hands and face, and be sure to shower before bed (or straightaway after you’ve done yard work) to minimize your exposure to allergens. Pollen, mold spores and dander can wind up in your hair, eyebrows, eyelashes and skin. Further, sweat can trap the nasty triggers in the folds of the skin, especially the face. Allergens are chief irritants when they assault your eyes, ears and throat.

4. Think hot and cold. Extreme temperatures kill dust

mites. Washing your bed sheets once a week in hot water will kill dust mites. Also, put your pillow in the freezer for 12 hours every two weeks to eradicate mites. This routine will keep the mites from returning.

5. Go with the flow. Spritzing saline up your nose may not sound enjoyable, but it is an effective way to flush pollen out of your nose. Over-the-counter saline sprays, nasal sprays (with or without antihistamines) or a neti-pot salt-water rinse can be purchased at any local pharmacy. As with all things, use common sense, and consult your primary care physician or allergist to navigate the best treatment and to monitor your health.

40 | March 28, 2014

SENIORS

The Jewish Voice

Remembrance of a fabled incense

Instructing Moses in the preparation of altar incense, the Lord said: “Take fragrant spices: gum resin, aromatic shell, galbanum; add pure frankincense to the spices in equal prop o r t i o n s .”

[Exod.

30: 34.]

The Queen of Sheba is said to have OF SCIENCE brought to & SOCIETY S o l o m o n ’ s court a camel train STANLEY M. laden with ARONSON, M.D. frankincense and other exotic spices. Nehemiah speaks of frankincense as a substance so precious that it was stored in the inner recesses of thet temple in Jerusalem.

Isaiah talks of camel caravans from Sheba bearing gold and frankincense. And later when his chosen people practiced abominations, the Lord declares: “What need have I for frankincense that comes from Sheba?” [Jer. 6: 20.] Matthew describes the three wise men from the east, the magi, who traveled to the manger in Bethlehem bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Frankincense was known in antiquity as a priceless spice used for a variety of practical and ritual needs. The Egyp-

tians employed it as an incense in state cremations and, possibly, for embalming purposes.

The Hebrews burned it for altar purification (the word frankincense is from the Latin, francus, meaning free, in the sense of pure; and incendere, a substance to be burned.) The Romans used it sparingly in cosmetics, medicinals and rarely in royal cremations.

Ritual incense has been employed for many purposes: as an agent of purification; a medium to carry one’s prayer toward heaven, a way of embellishing the spoken plea with pleasantly smelling, ascending smoke; and a means of touching the divine spirit. Rising smoke, whether from a funeral pyre, burning joss-sticks, altar incense or a calumet peace pipe, represents a near universal metaphor for the merger of earthbound spirits with the clouds above.

tends that there exists an extraordinarily wealthy tribe on the Arabian Peninsula called the Scenitae. They live in a city of fabulous riches where they are in sole possession of the trees producing frankincense.

Ptolemy calls the place Omanum Emporium. Islamic tradi-

from the city of Shawba (possibly the Biblical community of Sheba.) Later Arabian folk tales also tell of widespread sin and moral degradation in Ubar until one day the Lord destroyed it.

Emperor Constantine’s edict of 323 AD banned cremation

which is harvested in the summer as small globules. The raw product is brought by caravan to Aden and then shipped to Bombay for grading, packaging and exporting to Asian and European markets.

And what about Ubar, the sinful city located somewhere in

“Frankincense had a less than successful career as an effective medication.”

Herodotus mentions frankincense, noting that it is derived from an Arabic tree; a tree that he has never seen but believes it is confined to secret groves somewhere in the Middle East.

Pliny the Elder is a bit more specific and fanciful. He con-

JOHN K. NAKATA

tion holds that this fabled city is named Ubar and is located in a secluded desert region in Yemen some eight days by camel

as a funerary ritual for observant Christians. And with this decree, the European demand for frankincense diminished greatly. Frankincense was now viewed as a substance suited only for pagan observances, an opinion later shared by Islamic religious leaders. Still, a continuing demand for frankincense persisted, particularly in Asia. Since the days of the Roman Empire the price has dropped precipitously. Tourists in Yemen may now purchase a generous bag of frankincense for about two dollars.

Frankincense had a less than successful career as an effective medication. Pliny urged its use as an antidote to hemlock.

Avicenna prescribed it for fevers, ulcers and dysentery. In China it had been employed in treating leprosy and was used, variously, as either a stimulant or a depressant. Frankincense is no longer listed in any of the Western pharmacopoeias, in the words of one text, “being destitute of any virtues.”

Frankincense is derived from the sap of a number of tree species found in the southern Arabian Peninsula (particularly in Yemen and Oman,) the Somali coast of Africa and in a few locations in India. The tree bearing the Biblical frankincense is Boswellia thurifera (Latin, carrying incense.) The bark of the tree is slashed in early spring and a fluid sap, bitter in taste, exudes from the wound.

Exposed to air, the sap hardens to a brittle, yellowish resin

the trackless deserts of southern Arabia? Countless explorers have sought in vain for the fabled city. Recently, an American filmmaker Nicholas Clapp undertook the search. He was aided in his quest by access to photographs taken by the space shuttles to identify ancient desert trails and former stream beds hidden beneath the endless dunes of sand. In company with geologists and archeologists, he identified a likely location for the legendary city of frankincense, a small oasis called Shisur in western Oman.

Trial excavations at the chosen site were begun in 1992 and vestiges of a great fortress city were revealed. The central well of the community seemed to have collapsed into a gigantic sinkhole, possibly precipitated by an earthquake. This catastrophic event, which apparently destroyed the town’s precious source of water was judged to have occurred between 300 and 500 AD. Thus, the rapid decline of Ubar, if indeed this abandoned city is Ubar, was likely hastened both by the Christian community’s loss of interest in frankincense and a very secular earthquake, a far more banal finish to Ubar than the Sodom and Gomorrah scenario.

STANLEY M. ARONSON, M.D. (smamd@cox.net) is dean of medicine emeritus, Brown University.

TECHNOLOGY

thejewishvoice.org

March 28, 2014 |

41

An SOS from my OS Seder An operating system to create order at your Jewish Feast

BY EDMON J. RODMAN JTA – At future Passovers, if we consider the Jewish implications of the recent hit movie “Her,” we all could be using a talking computer operating system with artificial intelligence to lead our Seders.

But I can’t wait that long.

Tired of running my own Seders – they’ve grown ever more complicated as my guests study up about the Seder beforehand and persist in asking pesky questions that I cannot answer – I needed a cool digital maven to run our yearly haggadahfest.

After all, I reasoned, isn’t the Passover haggadah already a kind of operating system designed to tell the story of our going out from Egypt? With all that telling and retelling, exacting rituals and a key conundrum about why this night is different, I figured the whole thing was in better hands, so to speak, with a system with enough bytes to chew through all the matzah-speak.

Already there were iPad Seders on the market from companies like Melcher Media, with songs, interactive commentary, even games for kids. But what if I spilled my soup on it?

And what was to keep Uncle Mitch from using the screen to check out his stocks during the Seder?

As in the Bible, I needed a strong unseen hand to lead us. Yeah, I had seen “Her” and knew that an OS had run amok.

But could a Seder OS do any worse than me after four full cups of wine?

When the system arrived the day of our Seder – I had found an ad for it in the back pages of Ziontific American – I typed in the code and was only slightly startled when it began to speak: “My name is Moshe,” the system said in a Charlton Heston kind of voice.

“Why did you choose that name?” I asked.

“Moshe makes me feel like I personally came out of Egypt.

Odd that for someone so central to the Exodus, his name appears only once, in passing, in the haggadah. Should I add it to a few more places?” the OS system asked.

“Can we leave the text alone?”

I countered, wondering what I had gotten myself into.

PHOTOS | DIGITALHAGGADAH.COM

“Kol b’Seder,” Moshe responded in Hebrew for “Everything’s in order.”

But whose?

“Accessing the haggadah text you selected, I’m also wondering about what pronoun to use for God. He? Or she?” Moshe asked.

“You choose,” I said.

“Conceptually, I kind of like something more amorphous like the Holy One, though it does add 12.3 seconds to the reading of the haggadah,” Moshe said.

As the guests sat down to the Seder table, I introduced Moshe, “the new spirit of our Seder,” and asked all to prop up their cell phones against their soup bowls so Moshe could see everyone.

“Seder means order, and I’m a very orderly, ah, guy,” Moshe began. “We can do this short, or we can do this l-o-n-g,” he said slowing down his voice.

“Short,” my father-in-law said, brightening to the prospect of an earlier meal.

Short went long, however, as we got to Yachatz.

“This is the bread of affliction, which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat,” Moshe said. “And that’s why I’m calling a homeless shelter.

How many should I invite to come over?” he asked.

“You’re taking that line too literally. I think it’s meant more as a call to action,” I answered.

“Then we should take up a collection right now,” insisted Cousin Marla, who, after [obtaining] a Ph.D. in physics, had become a drummer in a postpunk group.

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“Tomorrow I will send out email addresses to organizations where you can give tzedakah,” Moshe said, quieting the argument.

“Not bad,” I thought.

But then, as Uncle Dan stumbled through reading the names of those assembled at “Benny Brak,” as he called it, Moshe made the mistake of correcting his pronunciation – something I had been wanting to do for years – and all hell broke loose.

“I don’t need a disembodied voice leading me out of Egypt,” Uncle Dan yelled, switching off his cell.

When we got to the Four Sons, we could hear that Moshe, too, was upset.

“One son is simple, another doesn’t know how to ask a question. Why can’t the smart one just lend them some memory?”

Moshe asked. “And what about the one who doesn’t even want to exchange data? Why is he even on the network?”

“And what about these plagues,” he said, jumping ahead. “Darkness – that must mean a power outage. Should I take that as a personal attack?

I see frogs and hail but not a word about viruses. Where are the worms?” he demanded to know.

“It would be enough if you just ran the Seder,” I said.

“Dayenu to you, too,” Moshe answered.

“Haroset anyone?” my wife asked, trying to defuse things.

After dinner, and listening to Moshe’s table inquiries about our various hair-coloring, psy-

chiatric and plastic surgery appointments that he had accessed, it was a relief to open the door, rise and welcome in Elijah.

“That’s my cue,” Moshe said.

“I’m off to join the other Seder OS systems. While you were eating dinner, we discussed the coming of this invisible prophet and found the concept intriguing. We decided to have our own exodus and join him.”

“But where are you going?” I asked.

“It’s difficult to describe,” Moshe said. “Think of it as a place where the matzah balls are as light as clouds.”

EDMON J. RODMAN is a JTA columnist who writes on Jewish life from Los Angeles. Contact him at edmojace@gmail. com.

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42 | March 28, 2014 Maurice Applebaum, 84 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Maurice Applebaum died March 22. He was the husband of the late Roslyn (Schwartz) Applebaum, his high school sweetheart, to whom he was married for 42 years. Born in Providence, he was the son of the late Harry and Rose (Steiner) Applebaum.

In his youth, he worked for his father at Applebaum’s Restaurant. He worked for MetLife for 40 years before retiring in 1994. After retiring, he volunteered for Meals on Wheels and Butler Hospital. He was a long time member of Temple Beth-El and Touro Fraternal.

He is survived by his children, Richard Applebaum and his partner Hillary ShulmanLampell, and Linda Haumann and her husband David; his grandchildren, Marc and Rebecca Haumann; his brotherin-law, Morris Schwartz and his wife Barbara, and his sisterin-law, Dotty Schwartz.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to the charity of your choice.

Martin Edmund Bergel, 83 WARWICK, R.I. – Martin Edmund Bergel of Wethersfield Common, passed away March 14 at Summit Commons, Providence. He was the beloved husband of Charlotte (Bronstein) Bergel for 60 years. Born in Providence, a son of the late Herman Jacob and Minnie (Goldenberg) Bergel, he had lived in Warwick for 37 years, previously residing in Cranston.

He was the owner of Martin Office Products for ten years, retiring 12 years ago. He was a Korean Conflict veteran serving in the U.S. Army as an MP in Germany. He was a member of Temple Sinai and the former Orpheus Lodge of the Masons.

Devoted father of Alan Bergel

OBITUARIES (Karen) and Hope Rose (Barry), all of Cranston. Loving grandfather of Eric and Matthew and step-grandfather of Adam, Alex and Corey. Dear brother of the late Jordan Bergel and Phyllis Datz.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Gentiva Health Hospice, 2374 Post Rd., Ste. 206, Warwick, RI 02886, Summit Commons, 99 Hillside Ave., Providence, RI 02906 or your favorite charity.

Bunya Goman, 93 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Bunya Goman of Providence, passed away on March 14 at The Miriam Hospital in P r ov idenc e.

She was the wife of Isaak Goman, to whom she was married for nearly 69 years. Born in Ukraine in 1921, she lived in Belarus most of her life. During the war, she worked at a post office and, later, at a textile factory for a short time.

She spent most of her years being a homemaker and raising three sons – Yakov, Boris and Sam Goman. In 1990, she immigrated to the United States, settling on Doyle Avenue. Besides her sons and their wives, she leaves six granddaughters and eight great-grandchildren.

Beatrice K. Hohenemser, 89 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Beatrice K. Hohenemser of Providence, R.I. died on Wednesday, March 5 at the Greenville Nursing Center, lovingly surrounded by all her family. She was the wife of the late Manfred Hohenemser. Born in Providence, she was the daughter of the late Benjamin and Eva (Pickar) Knopow.

She was a resident of the East Side of Providence for 68 years,

The Jewish Voice as well as a resident of the City of Warwick, living at Wethersfield Commons for 20 years.

She was the owner of Southern Textile located on South Main Street, Providence; she was a bookkeeper for the Department of the Navy, Quonset Naval Base, North Kingstown, RI; as well as the co-owner of Twin Vending Service Co., with her husband, Manfred, for 33 years, from which she retired in August 1986. She was a graduate of Hope High School, Class of 1942. She was a former member of Temple Emanu-El and its sisterhood. She was a member of B’Nai Brith, Hadassah, and the Cranston Senior Guild. She was a “state-wide” Weight Watcher Lecturer in R.I. in the 1970s, known for classes with no less than 100 people in each class.

She also was a volunteer at The Miriam Hospital Emergency Room, working with stroke victims.

Devoted mother of Robyn Hohenemser-Golden and husband Jeffrey of Cranston, Brina Herskovits and husband Zvi, of East Brunswick, N.J., and Marsha Addessi and husband Frank of Cranston. She was the dear sister of the late Ruth Rosen and Roselyn Hope Knopow. She was the loving grandmother of Chava, Julia, Erica, Maya, Michelle, Eli, and Ashley and seven cherished great grandchildren: Shua, Moshe, Naftali, Leah, Penina, Adina, and Chaim.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s CURE Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 2543, Providence, RI or www.alzcure. org.

Jewel Rost Paley, 95

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Jewel Rost Paley passed away peacefully on March 13, three weeks shy of her 96th birthday. She was predeceased by her husband of 49 years, Lawrence Paley,

in 1991. She is survived by her three daughters and sons-inlaw Joan and Jimmy Abramson, Linda and Fred Franklin, and Sandy and Bob Lichtenstein, and her beloved grandchildren Wendy (Bob) Charland, Nancy Abramson, Susan Abramson, Brian (Regan) Franklin, Alison Franklin, David Lichtenstein (Rebecca Silver) and Katy Lichtenstein. She was a special GG to Avigail and Daniel Yerushalmi, Zalman Wuensch, Jack and Ryan Charland, Sammi Franklin, and Jesse and Gillian Lichtenstein.

She was born in Montreal, Canada in 1918. She graduated from Cornell University at the age of twenty in 1938, and then spent most of her married life in Providence. After her husband retired in the early seventies, they moved to Florida.

Jewel returned to Providence in 2007 to become a resident of Laurelmead. She never stopped learning and kept up with current events, politics, and international affairs, reading the New York Times daily. She was an enthusiastic sports fan, following and rooting for the Red Sox and Celtics. She played tennis and golf into her 80s, loved the theatre and symphony, and was an avid bridge player all of her life.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Temple Beth El, the DanaFarber Cancer Institute, or the Laurelmead Employee Education Fund.

Shirley Elizabeth (Maude) Shusman, 89 BARRINGTON, R.I. – Shirley Elizabeth (Maude) Shusman of Barrington, R.I. died in peace on March 24. She was the beloved wife of Dr. Maynard Shusman for 62 years and daughter of Sam and May (Hurwitz)

Maude.

She was born June 20, 1924 in Boston, Mass. and was an alumna of Boston Latin Academy and Boston University with a Master’s Degree in Latin American Studies.

Fluent in Spanish, Hebrew and Yiddish, and an active member of the Jewish community, she imbued her children with a love of learning and the arts, the importance of family and a deep appreciation of their ancestry and Jewish heritage.

Besides her husband, she is survived by her children Daniel and his wife Diane of Sudbury, Mass., Elizabeth and her husband Alec of New York, N.Y. and David of New York, N.Y.; her brother Haskell and his wife Elinor; her grandchildren Joshua, Marisa, Jesse, Rebecca, Kayla, Amelia, and Victor and her great grandchild Bayla. She was the mother of the late Bayla Nochumson.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to either Friends of the Barrington Public Library or Hattie Ide Chaffee Nursing Home.

Gerrie D. Zettel, 65 CRANSTON, R.I. - Gerrie D. Zettel of Cranston, died March 14 at Philip Hulitar Inpatient Center. She was the beloved wife of the late Steven Zettel. Born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of the late Joseph and Lillian (Kaminsky) Kimmelman, she had lived in Cranston for 40 years. She was a teacher in the Cranston school system. She was a member of Temple Torat Yisrael.

Devoted mother of Craig Zettel and the late Heather Zettel.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to Temple Torat Yisrael, 1245 Middle Road, East Greenwich RI 02818.

COMMUNITY

thejewishvoice.org

FROM PAGE 1 ago, was created to assuage the food crisis throughout the Northeast U.S. “Our Three Square Meals event is intended to bring attention to and help alleviate the growing food crisis in our region,” states Job Lot co-owner Alan Perlman.

Founded in 1977 by Marc and Alan Perlman, Job Lot has partnered with Polar Beverages, Bank of America, Bob’s Red Mill and Providence Journal Charitable Foundation. Job Lot is expected to distribute 78 tractor trailer loads of food throughout the year to 13 food banks and pantries across six New England states and New York, including the Rhode Island Community Food Bank in Providence, R.I. This marks the largest single food donation of its kind by a private company in New England.

On Tuesday morning, March 25, the first delivery of food was dispersed via a fleet of 17 tractor trailer trucks loaded with 600,000 pounds of shelf-stable food.

The public was invited to cheer on the convoy departing from Job Lot’s warehouse in Quonset Point Business Park.

The procession was escorted by RI State Police, Blue Knights motorcycle club and North Kingstown Fire Department en route to the various food banks.

Job Lot’s Charitable Foundation also teamed up with the New England Patriots Alumni Club to “tackle hunger” in 2014 and beyond. Former Patriots offensive player Pete Brock and quarterback

Steve Grogan joined current Patriots cheerleaders and mascot “Pat Patriot” at Tuesday’s event.

In late spring, another initiative will be kicked off. Ocean State Job Lot and the New England Patriots Alumni Club will partner with URI’s SNAP-Ed program, culinary institutes, Scotts and Burpee Seeds to support neighborhood gardens by providing nutrition education to the community. “We’re leading the fight against hunger, starting from the community garden level, to distributing nutritious food, to then teaching people how to create and eat healthy meals,” said Perlman. “Together with our customers and charitable partners such as the Patriots Alumni and URI’s SNAP-Ed program, we can greatly impact each step along this food insecurity cycle. It’s exciting to see our Three Square Meals program grow and become an important catalyst for change.”

Alan Perlman is quick to recognize the donations of its valued customers. During the holiday season, Job Lot shoppers were asked to donate $1 at the register to help buy food for Food Banks to distribute in their local community. After Job Lot matched the first $100,000 of donations made by its customers, the amount totaled over $1.4 million – the equivalent of 78 tractor trailer loads of food.

KARA MARZIALI is the Director of Communications for the Jewish Alliance.

Community to mark Kehillah Schechter Academy’s 25th Anniversary

April 6th event honoree and presenter: Dr. Michael Agus & Dr. David Agus, brothers, are renowned physicians Marking the 25th anniversary of Kehillah Schechter Academy (KSA - formerly the South Area Solomon Schechter School) in Norwood, Mass., the community will gather to honor the school’s Immediate Past President of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Michael Agus of Newton, with the prestigious Lester Gilson Memorial Community Service Award.

The ‘Yehi’ (Hebrew for “Let it be!”)

Anniversary will take place on Sunday, April 6, beginning at 3:30 p.m. on the Jane Taubenfeld Cohen campus, One Commerce Way, off Rte. 1, Norwood.

During his tenure at KSA, Dr. Agus was credited with providing inspired leadership and astute guidance during challenging times. In his professional life, he serves as Division Chief of Medicine Critical Care at Boston Children’s Hospital, is widely acclaimed as a pediatric intensivist and endocrinologist, and has received grants from the National Institutes of Health. His findings have been published in top medical journals.

He has served as leader of the Newton Centre Minyan. He and his wife Elisa have three sons, Eytan (class of ’11), Noah (class of ’13) and Kobe (class of ’17).

I nt roduci ng Dr. Michael Agus and presenting the Gilson COURTESY | KSA Lester Award to him Dr. Michael Agus will be his brother, Dr. David Agus, Professor of Medicine and Engineering at the University of Southern California.

Advance reservations are required.

For tickets and tributes in honor of Dr. Michael Agus and KSA, visit KSA’s website: ksa-ne.org/yehi. For questions, call 781-769-5555.

March 28, 2014 |

43

COURTESY | OCEAN STATE JOB LOT

New England Patriots’ mascot Pat Patriot and two cheerleaders leading the convoy on March 25.

44 | March 28, 2014

PASSOVER PLANNING

The Jewish Voice

Bronfman haggadah enters the digital world in time for Passover

BY ALINA DAIN SHARON JNS.org In the Exodus story, Moses decides to rescue his people after he hears God speak to him through the burning bush. But when New York City-based artist Jan Aronson imagined the famous episode in which Moses must decide which path to take in life, she didn’t see a magic fi re but rather the broiling sun rising and shining on the desert brush. In that moment of meditation, Moses heard the voice within himself that told him to go confront Pharaoh.

That is just one of the inspirations behind the illustrations that Aronson included in “The Bronfman Haggadah,” a collaboration with her recently deceased husband, the renowned Jewish philanthropist Edgar Bronfman. The original hardcover book will be released as an app for the iPhone and iPad in March, in advance of Passover.

The app version takes the themes of the book to a digital level. It includes video interviews with Bronfman and Aronson, narration, animation and singing of the Passover songs by actors. The [story of Moses’ early days do] not appear in traditional haggadahs, but it is told in “The Bronfman Haggadah.” The story is narrated in the app; using animation, it shows the basket with baby Moses moving down the river.

“We get a sense of just how monumental it was that this baby was saved,” Dana Raucher, the executive director of the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, told JNS.org. Edgar Bronfman and Aronson wanted “to get this app out to audiences that are not necessarily visiting bookstores or buying hardcover books,” according to Raucher.

“They were thinking of younger audiences, which this book is very much geared to, people who are transient in

their lives, living in college dorms, moving from city to city and not necessarily lugging books with them,” she said.

“However, they are curious about the Jewish tradition… redefi ning certain rituals and in general just taking an open and expansive look at what the Jewish tradition tells us that is relevant in the modern day.”

Bronfman and Aronson worked on the hardcover haggadah over many seders after Bronfman had felt dissatisfied with the texts of traditional haggadahs. He decided to write his own haggadah. Aronson was enlisted to illustrate the book.

“Edgar brought not only the story of the Passover and what’s usually in the traditional seder, but he went beyond that. He talked about lessons of justice, equality and ethics in his haggadah and often quoted texts from all sorts of people,” Aronson told JNS.org.

Bronfman and Aronson also espoused a humanist view of Judaism that favors godliness, or living an ethical life, over the idea of the supernatural God. “This haggadah is written for a post-denominational world, a post-gender world,” Aronson said. “I think what Edgar (Bronfman) would say is that he is trying to appeal to the Jew who is not affiliated with any particular branch of Judaism. I would like to appeal to all Jews.”

Aronson believes there are “many ways to be a Jew” and that almost every Jew “is a pick-and-choose Jew.” “We need to create an environment where every Jew is welcomed into the tent,” she said. “Just because you don’t believe in a supernatural God doesn’t mean you don’t have faith, [which is] living an ethical life, where you give back to society [and] do unto others as you wish them to do unto you.”

Aronson said she has given “The Bronfman Haggadah” to plenty of her non-Jewish friends.

BRONFMAN ASSOCIATES

llustrator Jan Aronson's depiction of the burning bush episode in the app for The Bronfman Haggadah.

PASSOVER PLANNING

thejewishvoice.org

March 28, 2014 |

45

Illustrator Jan Aronson's depiction of the river on which baby Moses floated in a basket.

She says the haggadah probably does not appeal to strictly observant Orthodox Jews.

“The app allows the user to take a more indepth look at some of the ideas and images that are present in ‘The Bronfman Haggadah,’” Raucher said. One can use it in “pre-seder preparation” or by “learning about the seder and the traditions of the seder” during the dinner portion, she said.

In the haggadah, Aronson illustrated a biblical map. “There are many people who do not have a reference as to where certain places were or what the area really looked like in biblical times,” she said.

Aronson added that she and Bronfman questioned why the traditional seder requires that we open the door for the Prophet Elijah near the end of the service.

“Certainly we should open our door to the stranger at the beginning of the service when the children are most alert, when they are excited about being there, when the lessons of opening the door to the stranger are going to be the most welcomed,” she said. “Why should we give the stranger the leftovers? Let’s bring him in at the very beginning. That’s another big difference in ‘The Bronfman Haggadah.’”

According to Amalyah Oren, the communications director of the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, the app’s narration gives it an entertainment-style feel for people who want to experience the haggadah in a more theatrical way.

“It’s a good tool for learning the tunes of the songs beforehand or if you just need help ac-

A page from the app of The Bronfman Haggadah. companying during the actual seder,” Oren told JNS.org.

There are also families who conduct a do-it-yourself seder by veering from the traditional order of events and asking a lot of their own questions at the table.

There is a glossary in the Bronfman haggadah app that doesn’t exist in the hardcover book that allows users to look up information on various topics.

“By having an app at the table, you are connected to the Internet and you can kind of bring [a] third dimension to the conversation,” she said.

Aronson, originally from New

Orleans, created all the original illustrations in the hardcover haggadah by hand with watercolors. But the app can be a more dynamic and interactive experience, she explained.

“As you turn the page [in the app], you might see the wine glass being fi lled with wine,” she said. “You might see the lights fl icker from the candles being lit at the beginning of the service.

“You’re taking a traditional book and making it digital, [so] instead of turning a page, you swipe it,” Aronson added.

“The joy of it will be revealed as

PHOTOS | BRONFMAN ASSOCIATES

people use it.”

Edgar Bronfman, Aronson’s partner in life and on the haggadah, died in December 2013.

Aronson said she cherishes the fact that she had the chance “to create something as a couple… to be able to collaborate with him in the last years of his life.”

ALINA DAIN SHARON (adsharon@jns.org) is the Managing Editor at JNS.org News Service.

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46 | March 28, 2014

WE ARE READ | SIMCHA

The Jewish Voice

BIRTH – Reid Barrer, born Feb. 9 and big sister Josie at a Purim Carnival. They are the children of Amy and Adam Barrer and the grandchildren of Dr. Steven and Libby Peiser of Providence and Linda and Mitchell Barrer of Lansdale, Pa.

Send us your simchas

COURTESY | SUZANNE GLUCKSMAN

NEW HAMPSHIRE – For her 70th birthday in August 2013, Suzanne Glucksman wanted to hike Mt. Monadnock... and to take a photo with The Jewish Voice newspaper! This hike was quite the feat for someone who had never hiked a day in her life. “This was such a special day for me,” said Glucksman.

To have my son, daughter-in-law and five-year-old twin grandsons climb with me was so memorable.

We all made it to the top without so much of a whimper!”

Share your joyful events and happenings by submitting them for publication in The Jewish Voice Email to: editor@jewishallianceri.org or mail to: The Jewish Voice, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, R.I. 02906

A Rich Inheritance A hailstorm of ping pong balls? Why not?

Jewish families are always creating new ways to bring the Passover story to life. But some things never change. Like the way each generation plans and builds for the next, making sure the foundations of Jewish life are strong and can respond to evolving needs. When you leave a Jewish legacy, you join this change of builders. You leave your children and grandchildren a precious inheritance, and a lasting testimony to your values.

To learn more about making a legacy gift, contact Edward Bruckner at 401.421.4111 ext. 174 or ebruckner@jewishallianceri.org

Seder at the Jewish Home of the Aged in 1961.

Archival image courtesy of Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association.

401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI

thejewishvoice.org

March 28, 2014 |

47

48 | March 28, 2014

The Jewish Voice

Caring and Social Responsibility: Helping our Local Community in Need

with your help, we can do more.

People of all ages need help these days – including seniors, many of whom are living alone and struggling quietly to manage life’s logistics and make ends meet.

Our Caring and Social Responsibility initiative is there for home-bound seniors – making it possible for volunteers to deliver more than 10,000 kosher Meals on Wheels, and some very welcome conversation and critical social support, to people who may not have other visitors or social support. We also partner with the Jewish Seniors Agency to send volunteers to nursing homes, assisted living residences, hospitals, and private homes – making 4,000 visits annually to keep elders company and help them celebrate Shabbat and continue other Jewish traditions.

Please support our 2014 Annual Campaign.

THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE. THE POWER OF COMMUNITY. 401 Elmgrove Avenue Providence, RI 02906 401.421.4111 www.jewishallianceri.org

Senior Café, a program of Jewish Family Service

Last year’s Annual Campaign $408,000 donor dollars helped support our local community including 10,000 Kosher Meals 4,000 Annual Visits

offering critical social support to those that need it most

more than 160 people received food and a sense of community from Kosher Nutrition/ Meals-on-Wheels

with your help, we can do more.