October 12, 2018

Volume XXV, Issue XVII | www.jvhri.org Serving Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts

BAR | BAT MITZVAH

3 Heshvan 5779 | October 12, 2018

Rabbi Wayne Franklin honored for lifetime achievement

BY NOEL RUBINTON

Temple Sinai in Cranston

Temple Sinai celebrates its 60th anniversary

BY LARRY KESSLER The founding members of Temple Sinai, in Cranston, each had individual reasons for taking the first steps, but they were united in one goal: starting a Reform temple that would serve the growing Rhode Island Jewish population outside of Providence.

Their determined efforts were successful: On Saturday, Nov. 3, Temple Sinai will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a gala event.

Phil Segal, 92, the temple’s second president, still lives in the same house in Cranston as he did 60 years ago, and he’s as dedicated to the temple now as he was in 1958, when 10 couples, including he and his wife, Barbara, attended a series of exploratory meetings.

“We all wanted a Reform [Hebrew] school for the kids. We wanted a local temple,” Segal said of his and Barbara’s motivation.

Founder Ada Winsten, 83, and her first husband, the late Jordan Tanebaum, also had personal reasons for joining the undertaking.

“I wanted my children to have a Jewish community,” Winsten recalled.

So, after hearing about the

group, they got involved too.

Winsten, who arrived in the United States at 15, after her family fled Nazi-occupied Poland in 1939, traveling first to Lithuania and then to Shanghai, has never looked back.

Sinai, she said, was the first real Jewish community she was a part of, and she and her husband embraced the temple: She joined the sisterhood and he served in the brotherhood and on the temple’s board of directors.

Winsten, who still works out of her Providence home as a psychotherapist and social worker, said they especially enjoyed spending Friday nights at services in those early years and then going to people’s homes for an Oneg Shabbat.

“I formed my closest friends from those days. … I formed lifelong relationships,” she said.

The founders’ hard work eventually led to a ground-breaking on June 4, 1961, and to the temple being dedicated on May 10, 1963, but it all began with that first exploratory meeting at Allen White’s house, according to an article written in 1983 by the temple’s then-librarian, the late Edith Grant, for the silver anniversary celebration.

SINAI| 20

As part of an evening celebrating people who have acted as bridges to link diverse communities, Rabbi Wayne M. Franklin of Temple Emanu-El in Providence received a lifetime achievement award on Oct. 4 from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.

Franklin was singled out by the council for his “more than three decades of service as a faith leader, educator and advocate for civic dialogues.” Council board chair Touba Ghadessi said in giving him the award: “We will find common ground” through such work.

The Honorary Chairs' Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities came at the council’s 2018 “Celebration of the Humanities” event that was themed “Bridge.” With nearly 300 people on hand, including Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin, council Executive Director Elizabeth Francis praised the honorees as “people who contribute so much to the humanity and civility of the state.”

Franklin, who will retire next summer after 38 years as senior rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, has

Rabbi Wayne Franklin accepts the Honorary Chairs’ Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities. led numerous dialogue initiatives in Rhode Island, involving Jews working with many other faith groups, including Catho-

lics, Protestants, Muslims, Hindu, and Buddhist, as well FRANKLIN | 19

Mohammed Al Samawi to tell his incredible story at Alliance Annual Campaign event

BY SETH FINKLE What do four strangers, three faiths and social media have in common?

Mohammed Al Samawi.

Who is he and what is his story? You can find out on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. as the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island hosts Al Samawi at the Dwares Jewish Community Center in Providence.

Come hear Al Samawi talk about his incredible journey from hatred to tolerance at the 2019 Annual Campaign event, co-chaired by Marisa Garber and Dan Gamm. Al Samawi’s book, “The Fox Hunt: A Refugee’s Memoir of Coming to America” will soon be made into a major motion picture by “La-La Land” producer Marc Platt.

Born in the Old City of Sana’a, Yemen, to a pair of middle-class doctors, Mohammed Al Samawi was a devout Muslim raised to think of Christians and Jews as his enemy. In a recent phone interview, he said that he was taught that Jews cannot be trusted.

“If they are smiling in your face, they will kill you in the back. They hate us and want to destroy Muslim and Yemenites.”

AL SAMAWI | 4

Mohammed Al Samawi

COMMUNITY

2 | October 12 , 2018

The Jewish Voice

Breaking the fast (401)j style

INSIDE Bar | Bat Mitzvah 14-18 Business 21-22

On Sept. 19, members of (401)j gathered at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center in Providence to break the fast.

Pictured are: Back row (left to right): Jeremy Poster (board member), Avi Rojas, Evan Reiff, Petr Petrik (board member), Seth Konoff (board member), Ben Dugas, Ryan Forman (chair). Front row: Gabrielle Dworkin (vice chair), Anna Louie, Jana Knibb.

Calendar 10-11 Community 2-7, 11, 18-20, 23 D’var Torah 7 Food 12-13 Obituaries 24-26 Opinion 8-9 Seniors 26 Simchas | We Are Read 27 PHOTO | (401)J

Food for local pantries

THIS ISSUE’S QUOTABLE QUOTE “One does not dialogue alone.”

ANNUAL CAMPAIGN EVENT

Left to right, Rabbi Marc Mandel, Dave Nathanson, Delia Klingbeil, Linda Nathanson and Irene Glasser with their food-drive shopping bags.

FOUR STRANGERS, THREE FAITHS and ONE EXTRAORDINARY ESCAPE TO FREEDOM

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The Fox Hunt tells Mohammed Al Samawi’s story of warfare, unlikely friendship, and his harrowing escape from Yemen’s brutal civil war. With the help of a daring plan engineered on social media by a small group of interfaith activists in the West, The Fox Hunt reminds us that goodness and decency can triumph in the darkest circumstances.

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Event Co-Charis MARISA GARBER and DAN GAMM invite you to the JEWISH ALLIANCE 2019 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN EVENT

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Members of the Aquidneck Island Jewish community (Newport Havurah, Temple Shalom and Touro Synagogue) recently prepared shopping bags for its annual community High Holy Day food drive.

The shopping bags are distributed at each High Holy Day service and congregants are asked to return them filled with groceries at the next service.

The food that is collected is divided between the Louis and Goldie Chester Full Plate Kosher Food Pantry, part of Jewish Collaborative Services, and the Feed A Friend Food Pantry at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center in Newport.

Sunday, October 28 7:00pm | Dwares JCC 401 Elmgrove Avenue, PVD

“Nail-bitingly suspenseful. ...

Inspiring. ... Essential reading.”

—Booklist

Formal invitation to follow.

This event is free of charge with a gift of any amount to the 2019 Annual Campaign.

jvhri.org

COMMUNITY

October 12, 2018 |

3

Arts Emanu-El kicks off season with 'Body and Soul: An American Bridge'

BY PAMELA HANZEL

Libby Holman introduced the song on Broadway, which furthered its fame Of all the cross-cultural encounters that have resulted in the richness of Ameri- in America. It had already been a hit can popular music, none has been so in England. Holman, an acculturated prominent or so fraught with fraternity Jew, benefited in her show business caand conflict as the relationships be- reer from the same non-Anglo charactween African-Americans and Ameri- teristics – dark skin, sultry charisma, can Jews. On Sunday, Oct. 21, at 3 p.m., throaty singing – that boosted the caArts Emanu-El will present “Body and reers of other famous Jewish women enSoul: An American Bridge.” This film tertainers, including Sophie Tucker and aims to comprehend the elements of this Fanny Brice. These women borrowed cultural knot by focusing on the early singing styles and songs from Africanperformance history of the jazz stan- American culture.

Due to her appearance and style of dard “Body and Soul,” which was written in 1930 by Jewish composer Johnny song delivery, people suspected Libby Holman might be African-American.

Green.

The Great American Songbook is re- She made “Body and Soul” an American plete with songs written by Jewish com- torch song, about a good woman who posers and folded into the jazz canon by loves a bad man, who doesn’t love her black musicians. The story of any one of back.

Louis Armstrong introduced “Body these songs would illuminate the comand Soul” into the jazz canon, as he did plex interplay between these two groups.

“Body and Soul” is particularly im- with so many other pop tunes of the day. portant because it is one of the most In this way, he crossed over to a white covered songs in the jazz canon. There audience already familiar with the song have been more than 3,000 recordings from other sources. Armstrong was the since its composition. In 1939, Coleman premier jazz improviser of that time Hawkins’ version made jazz history for period (1930), not only in his trumpet its advances in improvisation. The early playing but also in his singing. Because history of “Body and Soul” is notable not of his childhood contact with an immionly for its spectrum of black-Jewish grant Jewish family, Armstrong was a interrelations, but because the melodic confirmed Judeophile. This character structure of the song itself pushed jazz trait intensified through his association with his long-time manager, Joe Glazer. musicians to greater innovations.

Benny Goodman’s recording of “Body

and Soul” with African-American pianist Teddy Wilson led to the breaking of the color barrier in jazz performance.

Some people believed that Benny Goodman copied the big band style of the black orchestras and achieved enormous success because he was white. Others defend Goodman as a ground-breaking musician in his own right. Because of his success and mastery of the jazz idiom, he was able to perform with black musicians of his choice. Teddy Wilson

not only matched Goodman in talent, but complemented him in the creation of intimate swing.

Following the film, there will be a performance of this jazz standard and other jazz compositions by Jewish musicians.

Raphael Mayer, an accomplished jazz pianist, will be the guest musician.

This program is open to everyone whether or not you are a member of Temple Emanu-El. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. They may be purchased by going to the temple website: www.teprov. org. Refreshments will be served.

Upcoming events include: Sunday, Dec. 16, 3 p.m. Leonard Bernstein Centennial Birthday Bash Concert. Kol Arev, Chamber Choir of Hebrew College, performs.

Sunday, Jan. 27, 3 p.m. Singing the Dream: Musical Commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Saturday, Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m. Film: "Sammy Davis Jr.: I Gotta Be Me." Saturday, March 9, 7:30 p.m. Film: “After Auschwitz.” A “post Holocaust” documentary.

Saturday, April 13, 8:30 p.m. Film: “The Ancient Law.” A restored German silent film from 1923 Berlin.

PAMELA HANZEL is the chair+man of Arts Emanu-El at Temple Emanu-El in Providence.

4 R.I. congregations to host a Refugee Shabbat

BY ELIZABETH BAKST Four Rhode Island congregations will observe a Refugee Shabbat on Oct. 19-20.

Temple Beth-El, Temple Emanu-El, Temple Habonim and Temple Sinai are part of the HIAS Welcome Campaign, a nationwide Jewish network of 420 congregations that are committed to respecting refugees and supporting HIAS’ work.

American Jews started The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society over 130 years ago to rescue Jews fleeing the pogroms of Russia and Eastern Europe.

Today, the organization, while still an American nonprofit Jewish agency, helps people of all faiths who are fleeing war and persecution all around the world. It is now known simply as HIAS, pronounced “high as.”

The four Rhode Island HIAS Welcome Campaign congregations will each observe, in their own way, what HIAS has designated Refugee Shabbat. All programs are open to the public.

Temple Beth El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence, will have a worship service and guest speaker at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19. The Rev. Charles Blustein Ortman, minister of immigration and sanctuary for the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, will speak about the status of the First Unitarian Church of Providence as a Sanctuary Congregation.

Reverend Ortman previously served as the interim minister of the First Unitarian Church.

His talk will include details on

how to support the church’s efforts on behalf of a refugee family.

Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington, will have a worship service and guest speaker at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19. Attorney Angel Taveras spent a week this past summer in Texas at the U.S.-Mexico border. He will describe his work with asylum seekers there, and talk about U.S. and international asylum law.

Taveras was mayor of Providence from 2011 to 2015 and now practices law at Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston, will have a worship service and guest speaker at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19. Kathleen Cloutier is executive director of Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, a secular nonprofit immigration and citizenship assistance organization.

She will describe her work as the director of the only agency designated by the U.S. government to settle refugees in Rhode Island.

Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence, will have a speaker at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20, following services and the community Kiddush/ Lunch. Baha Sadr, director of Refugee Resettlement and Case Management at Dorcas International, will speak about the institute’s refugee settlement work in Rhode Island and about U.S. policy changes that impact refugees arriving in the state.

Rabbi Wayne Franklin will give a d’var Torah on Jews’ obliga-

tion to help refugees and treat them with kindness.

Over 65 million people are currently displaced worldwide, a global crisis that calls to mind Jewish history. How to welcome the stranger is referenced more

than 30 times in the Hebrew Bible, most directly in Deuteronomy 10:19: “Welcome the stranger in your midst, for you were once strangers in the land of Egypt.”

ELIZABETH BAKST is the organizer of Temple Habonim’s part in The HIAS Welcome Campaign and coordinated Refugee Shabbat announcements for the four participating Rhode Island congregations.

COMMUNITY

4 | October 12 , 2018 FROM PAGE 1

The Jewish Voice

| AL SAMAWI electricity, a dying cellphone battery, and al-Qaida fighters at his door. Besides prayer, he tried the next best thing – Facebook.

Mohammed reached out to everyone he had ever met through Facebook with a simple message: Can you help me at all?

What followed was an incredible story of perseverance, faith and friendship.

In our interview, he said he looks forward to telling his story to the audience at the event.

One thing he wants everyone to know is “when I arrived in the U.S., I had $20 in my pocket and no luggage.”

What is one of the most important things he’s learned in the U.S.?

“You can be who you are and say what you want and no one will kill you.”

On Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Baxt Social Hall, Al Samawi will address Rhode Island’s Jewish community about his spiritual journey, as well as his book. Admission is free with a gift of any amount to the Annual Campaign. The keynote presentation will be preceded by a 5 p.m. reception for Pacesetters and Lions of Judah, co-chaired

by Carol and David Bazarsky.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Michele Gallagher at mgallagher@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111 ext.

165.

But when Al Samawi was 23, he secretly received a copy of the Bible, and what he read cast doubt on everything he’d previously believed.

“I wanted to know why Jews hate us if they have this amazing book,” he said. He “wanted to meet a Jew to ask these questions.”

After connecting with Jews and Christians on social media, and at various international interfaith conferences, Mohammed became an activist, making it his mission to promote dialogue and tolerance in Yemen.

“In school we learned Jews and Christians hate us, but that is really false. You shouldn’t be ashamed that you are different.

My experiences shaped who I am. Small things really matter.

Time is as important and valuable as money when it comes to help.”

Al Samawi’s interfaith work led him to flee his hometown.

He moved to the coastal city of Aden. In 2015, he was targeted with death threats from extremists in Yemen for his collaboration with Jews and Christians. As civil war erupted in the streets, Al Samawi hid in the small bathroom of his apartment in Aden, waiting to die.

According to a 2018 People magazine article, he said, “In that bathroom, as I worshipped Allah, I prayed he would save me.” Mohammed took inventory of his supplies and realized his food and water were dwindling, he had no

SETH FINKLE is development manager at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

The board members and officers of Touro Fraternal Association for 2018-19 are: front row, from left: Nate Lury, Steven White, Peter Silverman, Michael Smith, Stuart Solup, Richard Levenson, Jeffrey Barry. Middle row: Bruce Wasser, David Altman, Barry Ackerman, Alan Lury, Jed Brandes, Robert Miller, Andrew Lamchick, Jeffrey Harpel. Back row: Larry Berman, Ried Redlich, Steven Waldman, Mitchell Cohen, Jeffrey Davis, Bruce Weisman, Michael Levin, Norman Dinerman, Steven Hopfenberg. Absent from the photo: Stevan Labush, Max Guarino, Andrew Gilstein, David Mossberg and David Weisman.

Alan Lury elected new board chairman of the Touro Fraternal Association CRANSTON – Alan Lury, who has served as vice chairman of the Touro Fraternal Association’s board of directors for the past five years, was unanimously elected as the new board chairman at a recent meeting.

He succeeded Jed Brandes, who stepped down after serving as chairman for the past five years.

Brandes will remain a board member and assume the title of chairman emeritus. After four years of preparation, Brandes guided Touro through a suc-

Statement of Ownership

The Jewish Voice statement of ownership, management and circulation filed with the United States Post Office at Providence RI in accordance with the provisions of the Act of October 23, 1962: section 4369, title 39, United States Code. The Jewish Voice is the official newspaper of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, the owner and publisher, at 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence, RI, and is published bi-weekly, except In July, when it does not publish. The editor is Fran Ostendorf.

Circulation: (A) Average number of copies each issue during the preceding 12 months, ending September 21, 2018, (1) net press run 9,400 (2) paid circulation to term subscribers by mail carrier delivery 5,640 (3) free distribution 3,660 (4) copies not distributed 100 (5) total 9,400 (B) Single issue nearest to filing date September 21, 2018 (1) Net press run 9,400 (2) paid circulation to term subscribers by mail carrier delivery 5,511 (3) free distribution 3,789 (4) copies not distributed 100 (5) total 9,400.

EDITOR Fran Ostendorf DESIGN & LAYOUT Leah Camara ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Chris Westerkamp cwesterkamp@jewishallianceri.org 401-421-4111, ext. 160 Karen Borger ksborger@gmail.com 401-529-2538

cessful year-long centennial celebration, which concluded in July. During his term as chairman, he also oversaw the modernization of the organization’s hall and the upgrade of the Tourogram newsletter and website.

Stevan Labush, a longtime board member, was elected the new vice chairman.

Brandes, Chairman Emeritus Bob Miller, Andrew Lamchick, Barry Schiff and Bruce Weisman were installed as board members for three-year terms, while Larry Berman was installed for a two-year term.

Nathan Lury, a 50-year Touro member, retired after 43 years of service as a board member.

The two lodge presidents were installed for another one-year H A DA S SA H NORTHEAST PRESENTS

Standing with Israel in 2018:

Challenges and Opportunities Everyone is welcome to attend this program, but registration in advance is required.

To register, please visit www.hadassah.org/events/standwithisrael or contact Hadassah Northeast at 781-455-9055 or hne@hadassah.org.

CONTRIBUTORS Cynthia Benjamin Seth Chitwood Stephanie Ross

PERIODICALS Postage paid at Providence, R.I.

COLUMNISTS Michael Fink Rabbi James Rosenberg Daniel Stieglitz

PUBLISHER The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, President/CEO Adam Greenman, Chair Mitzi Berkelhammer, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906.

Phone: 401-421-4111 • Fax 401-331-7961

THE JEWISH VOICE (ISSN number 1539-2104, USPS #465-710) is published biweekly, except in July, when it does not publish.

term. Richard Levenson will again lead Harmony Lodge, while Max Guarino continues as head of Friendship Lodge.

Also installed were the other officers of the two lodges. Harmony Lodge: Steven Hopfenberg, vice president, Stuart Solup, secretary, and David Mossberg, treasurer. Friendship Lodge: Jeffrey Stoloff, vice president, David Altman, secretary, and Peter Silverman, treasurer.

For more information about the Touro Fraternal Association, please go to www.tourofraternal.org, email info@tourofraternal.org, or call the office, 401-785-6600.

Submitted by the Touro Fraternal Association

POSTMASTER Send address changes to: The Jewish Voice, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906.

MEMBER of the Rhode Island Press Association and the American Jewish Press Association

Please join us for this free presentation: October 21 at 1:00 pm Dwares JCC Providence, R.I. Please join us for a dynamic presentation to learn: • The facts about Israel • How to advocate for Israel • How to use social media to influence the narrative about Israel

COPY DEADLINES: All news releases, photographs, etc., must be received on the Wednesday 10 days prior to publication. Submissions may be sent to: editor@jewishallianceri.org.

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We do not attest to the kashrut of any product or the legitimacy of our advertisers’ claims.

All submitted content becomes the property of The Voice. Announcements and opinions contained in these pages are published as a service to the community and do not necessarily represent the views of The Voice or its publisher, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. We reserve the right to refuse publication

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COMMUNITY

October 12, 2018 |

5

Irish-Jewish politician’s memoir of his early life is a ‘Funny Business’

BY SHAI AFSAI In 1979, 28-year-old Alan Shatter was elected to the Dublin City Council as a Fine Gael (“Tribe of the Irish”) candidate. Shatter was the only member of Ireland’s Jewish community, numbering about 2,000 at the time, to have ever sought electoral office as a candidate for that party.

Fine Gael had long been shunned by many in the Jewish community. In the 1930s, the party was briefly led by the pro-fascist Gen. Eoin O’Duffy, and later counted among its members Oliver Flanagan, who in 1943 had asserted that Ireland needed to rout the Jews from the country, just as had been done in Germany.

Nonetheless, Shatter’s admiration for Fine Gael’s leader from 1977 to 1981, Garret FitzGerald, led him to join the party and to begin a lengthy political career that ended only in 2016.

Within two years of joining, Shatter, at age 30, was elected to the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland’s parliament.

After serving for more than 25 years as both a solicitor and a Fine Gael parliament member, he became the first person in Irish history to hold the posts of both minister of justice and equality and minister for defense.

In 2014, however, Shatter was pressured to resign from the Oireachtas, departing under what he terms “a cloud of false allegations” in relation to his ministerial actions.

Though subsequently cleared by several investigations and inquiries, he lost his 2016 bid for reelection – and suddenly found himself unemployed and with nothing to do for the first time in his adult life.

Shatter’s decision to write “Life is a Funny Business: A Very Personal Story” (Poolbeg Press, 2017) arose from that crisis.

“I felt a need to look back to my early years to try and gain some understanding of the journey I had first embarked upon that led to my arriving in the place in which I now found myself,” he wrote

in his book.

As part of this cathartic recounting of his first 30 years, Shatter also delves into aspects of Irish society from the 1950s through the 1970s, and offers insights into how his Jewish background has influenced him.

“For those currently experiencing one or more of life’s lows, or for those who simply enjoy a laugh, I hope parts of my story make you smile at life’s unpredictability, peculiarities and idiosyncrasies,” he wrote in the introduction to “Life is a Funny Business.”

While various parts of the book are indeed humorous, Shatter’s youth was marred by tragedy.

Sometime after his 10th birthday, his mother began developing health problems.

“From being a loving, happy, soft-spoken, tactile parent she became distracted, irritable and distant,” he wrote.

Returning home one winter afternoon, at age 14, he found his 40-year-old mother on the kitchen floor. She had taken her own life.

Shatter and his father found the shiva that followed to be a “horrendous” experience rather than a source of some comfort or support.

“It was during that week that I became a secular Irish Jew,” Shatter wrote. “To some this description may be contradictory. To me, it is an honest description of who I am. Over the years, I have learnt that being not only Irish but also Jewish is part of who I am and how I view the world.” (The book, in fact, has a fivepage glossary of Hebrew words found throughout.)

After the Six-Day War, Shatter became determined to visit Israel, and arranged to spend two months in the kibbutz Ma’anit.

He tells of his first time seeing the Western Wall: “For someone who regards himself as a secular Jew, I was surprised by the depth of the emotion I felt just being there, a feeling that has been replicated on every occasion I have returned. My emotional reaction is al-

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ways a surprise as still to this day it is being in the precinct of the historical Wall that elicits my response. For me, prayer still has no meaningful role.”

Although it was suggested to him in 1968 that he stay or settle in Israel, Shatter felt he needed to go back to Dublin. Israel, he wrote, “is a country with which I feel a close bond and in which I have a deep interest but Ireland has always felt like home.”

He has returned often to Israel, though, including as a Cabinet minister, during which he discussed complex political issues with Israelis and Palestinians. He wrote that he now sees “little cause for optimism that any substantive progress in achieving a permanent end to the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict … will be achieved any time soon.”

One of the most fascinating chapters in Shatter’s memoir tells of his efforts on behalf of Soviet Jewry, including with the Irish Soviet Jewry Committee.

In 1985, he flew to Moscow to meet with

Jewish refuseniks demanding religious freedom and the right to leave the Soviet Union for Israel. On his fourth day in the capital, he met with Boris Begun, who was on a hunger strike to protest the seven-year prison sentence given to his refusenik father, Yosef Begun, for “antiSoviet activities” (i.e., teaching Hebrew and Jewish culture).

In an effort to persuade the religiously observant Begun to end his already month-long hunger strike, the secular Shatter “referenced rabbinical authorities asserting suicide to be contrary to Jewish law and values.” Though his argument was unconvincing, a phone call to Begun from one of Israel’s chief rabbis eventually led him to call off the hunger strike.

Shatter has lately come to doubt the value of the “frenetic multitasking” that characterized much of his life. His wife, Carol, comes across as a generous and patient spouse who has also been a partner in her husband’s activism, legal efforts and political pursuits. They married while still students at Trinity College, when Shatter was 22 and Carol not yet 20.

Here is Shatter’s recollection of his wedding speech: “The wedding guests were subjected to a narration on the need for law reform, the plight of Soviet Jewry and quotes from Alexander Solzhenitsyn, one of my favourite authors.

Towards the end of my speech I managed to mention our mutual parents and concluded thanking those present for their generous wedding gifts. Relieved the speech was over I then sat down. Five minutes later, to my horror, I realised I hadn’t once mentioned Carol.”

She was apparently able to laugh off this egregious oversight, however. After all, life is a funny business.

SHAI AFSAI lives in Providence and is currently researching Irish Judaism.

He will speak at the Rhode Island Jewish Museum (www.rhodeislandjewishmuseum.org) about Benjamin Franklin’s influence on Judaism on Sunday, Oct. 14, at 2 p.m.

6 | October 12 , 2018

COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice

Evening of Jewish Renaissance returns in November

BY JEWISH VOICE STAFF Where can you hear speakers such as Martin Fletcher, Barry Joseph, Catherine Price, Jonathan Weisman and Liraz Cohen Mordechai all in one place in the same evening?

The always popular Evening of Jewish Renaissance returns to the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center in Providence on Saturday evening, Nov. 17. Sponsored by the Judge Marjorie Yashar and Dr. James Yashar Fund at the Jewish Federation Foundation, the event offers a couple of hours of adult learning along with socializing.

Presenters always speak on a diverse set of topics, and this year is no different. Fletcher, of NBC, has written a novel about Israel, “The Promised Land.” Joseph wrote “Seltzertopia” about the drink. Price wrote “How to Break Up with Your Phone,” about moderating screen time. And Weisman, of the New York Times, wrote “(((Semitism))): Being Jewish in American in the Age of Trump.”

The evening also features Cohen Mordechai, a fashion lecturer and New York City fashion blogger, who will discuss Israeli fashion in “The History of Israeli Fashion – From the Kibbutz to the City.” She will present milestones in Israel’s story in two “layers”: history and fashion. During the session, participants will discover

LIVING WELL

Welcoming your adopted grandchildren

BY SHELLEY KATSH

Liri Cohen Mordechai how significant events have influenced the creation of a new “Israeli outfit” time and time again.

Her topics include: Immigrants’ influences on Israeli fashion in Israel’s first days; wars’ effects on the Israeli outfit; feminism and equality in the kibbutz and its impact on clothes; Tel Aviv Fashion Week; Israeli fashion and technology; what’s next for Israeli fashion?

Cohen Mordechai, who makes presentations across North America, knows what she’s talking about. She has a master’s degree in global fashion management from the

Fashion Institute of Technology.

She founded Fashionating

by Liri Inc. and was on the staff at Duke University. She was ZARA Israel’s training and development department manager, responsible for the fashion, leadership and educational trainings for 1,700 employees in over 50 stores.

The free Evening of Jewish Renaissance starts at 7.

For more information, contact Larry Katz, director of Jewish Life and Living, at lkatz@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111.

One of the most poignant concerns expressed by preadoptive parents is the fear that their own parents will not accept the child they adopt.

Sometimes grandparents make no distinction between grandchildren brought into the family by biology or by adoption, but others feel that only those born into the family are “real grandchildren.”

Awareness of some of the thoughts and feelings that your children may have about building a family through adoption may help grandparents welcome their new grandchildren.

The joys of an adoption often follow several years of losses due to infertility, anger resulting from loss of control, and fears stemming from the unpredictable future of the family. Your children may have shared these experiences and feelings with you, or they may have kept them to themselves.

Once they choose adoption as a positive means of building their family, most of these issues fade away, but grandparents can help speed the process by accepting their child’s infertility.

Grandparents should also be aware of the many types of adoption. Closed adoptions are rare today, but are probably the most familiar type to adoptive grandparents. In a closed adoption, there is no contact between the adoptive family and the birth families.

Adopters today go through an extensive preparation process, during which they learn about the lifelong aspects of adoptive family life. Consequently, most adoptive parents choose to meet their child’s birth parents, since open adoption has been shown to be in the best interest of the child and their families. This type

of adoption allows for ongoing contact, in a range of forms, between birth and adoptive families.

If you are not familiar with the various types of adoption, there are plenty of resources available – and you can ask your pre-adoptive children.

They will welcome your attempts to learn and to be as open and present for them as possible.

Transracial adoption is another situation for which grandparents may be unprepared. Again, communication with your children about this choice can be helpful.

In the vast majority of families, anticipatory fears regarding differences tend to fade once the child arrives and a loving relationship is established.

Your ability to celebrate your grandchild’s unique personal qualities as well as his or her heritage will help strengthen the bonds you build.

When we begin to parent, whether through birth or adoption, our children become ours forever. They are all our “real children.” The same goes for grandchildren, and most grandparents look forward to a special relationship with all their grandchildren.

To learn more about the joys of adoption, please join us on Thursday, Nov. 15, at 6:30 p.m., at the new Jewish Collaborative Services building, 1165 North Main St., Providence, for “Faces of Adoption; Families Tell Their Stories.” This panel discussion will feature adoptive families telling the story of the adoptions and of adoptive family life. Contact Shelley Katsh at Shelley@jfsri. org or 401-331-5437 for more information and to RSVP. SHELLEY KATSH is a clinical social worker at Adoption Options, a part of Jewish Collaborative Services.

jvhri.org COMMUNITY

| D’VAR TORAH

October 12, 2018 |

7

It’s divine to be human and human to be divine “I’m really sorry; I regret having done that. I promise I won’t do it again. I know, however, that I’m apt to forget that promise.

I might need a reminder, so I’ll come up with an ot, a sign, and every time RABBI I see the ot, ANDREW I’ll remember KLEIN not to get that angry again.”

The above is not a direct quote from the Torah, but it does state the essence of Genesis 9:8-17, which is found in this week’s portion, Noach. It’s a paraphrasing of what God says to Noah and his family when they exit the ark after the devastation of the flood.

Many years ago, I was studying the Torah portion Noach with a 13-year-old student who was preparing for her Bat Mitzvah. Her understanding of the text amazed me. She said things like, “Why did God have such a temper tantrum? When

my mom and dad get mad, they would never do anything that destructive – no matter how angry they were. We sit down and talk things through. We figure out a better way to solve the problem. How can I understand a God who would do something like that?”

The innocence and wisdom of this young woman and her questions made a lasting impression on my understanding of the Torah and my conception of God. I believe that the stories in the Torah teach us lessons; they provide us with examples of ways to behave and ways not to behave.

Our Torah does not sugar coat the world we live in. Our biblical figures do not provide us with saintly models of perfection to emulate. We see every type of human behavior imaginable in the Torah; we are given a true picture of reality.

We humans are capable of doing good and evil. The Torah holds both extremes up to us as examples and teaches us that we have the ability to choose how we behave. We can be compas-

sionate and loving; we can also be harsh, unfair and lose our tempers. We are encouraged to “Choose life by following God’s laws and commandments” (synopsis of Deuteronomy 30:15-19).

Similarly, the Torah also paints a complex, multifaceted picture of God. God can be compassionate, patient and forgiving. God “will show kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:6).

The Torah also shows us a God who is sometimes exasperated, acts harshly and needs to be cajoled into doing the right thing.

(Abraham bargains with God to not destroy all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 18:16-33.)

The story of Noah and the flood is an illustrative example of a God to whom we can relate – one who acts impulsively, realizes the error, and then offers teshuvah (repentance) – while knowing that the impulse to make the same mistake remains.

In the previous Torah portion, Bereshit, we learn that

each human being is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). If we are truly created in the image of God, then we, too, understand that we have the ability to sometimes act impulsively, make mistakes, offer teshuvah and keep striving to do the best we can in our lives.

None of us can live a life of perfection. While it is our duty and obligation to try to live the very best lives we can, we all have flaws and we all need reminders not to repeat our mistakes.

I am comforted by the picture

of God that this week’s portion presents to us. We are shown a complex and complicated God – at times loving and compassionate, at times not. When I look at the behavior of humanity, when I examine my own behavior, I am reassured knowing that it is divine to be human and human to be divine.

ANDREW KLEIN is the rabbi of Temple Habonim, in Barrington, and secretary-treasurer of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island. He can be reached at rabbiklein@templehabonim.org.

Candle Lighting Times Greater Rhode Island Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Oct. 26 Nov. 2

5:50 5:39 5:29 5:20

Annual conference offers opportunities for learning to women in southern New England On Sunday, Nov. 4, Jewish women from around southern New England will gather for a day of study, dialogue and reflection at the annual “Tichyeh Schochet Memorial Conference for Jewish Women.” This event, hosted by the women’s division of Kollel/Shoresh, offers women in the community an opportunity to hear speakers with both Jewish and secular expertise, and to discuss issues that play central roles in their lives.

Through workshops, lectures and exercises, attendees will collaborate with presenters to address interests that they, as both Jews and women, share.

As in years past, there will be a gourmet lunch to complement the food for the soul.

This year, Batya Feigenbaum is the keynote presenter.

When Feigenbaum was born in Israel, she suffered a spinal cord injury during delivery, which made her a quadriplegic with little hope for survival.

Through many therapies, and even more prayers, Feigenbaum is today only a partial paraple-

gic. She is able to walk with braces and crutches, and uses a scooter for day-to-day activities. When she was two-and-ahalf years old, she moved to Toronto with her family and was mainstreamed into one of the Jewish elementary schools.

After graduating from high school, Feigenbaum attended Me’ohr Bais Yaakov – a posthigh school educational institute in Israel where she Batya Feigenbaum earned a teaching nal school productions and cocertificate. She is currently working on a degree ordinates special programs for the students. Her office is a hain social work.

Today, Feigenbaum is the di- ven for students who have quesrector of student affairs at Tife- tions or struggles with any elres Bais Yaakov High School ement of their school day or in Toronto. In addition, she personal life.

During the summer, Batya teaches Bible studies. She also produces and directs the origi- works as the program coordi-

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nator at Camp Sternberg – a summer camp in the Catskill Mountains that she attended as a teenager.

Since the age of 15, Feigenbaum has been speaking and inspiring both adults and teens at various camps, schools, synagogue sisterhoods, community and youth organizations in Israel, England and across North America.

While Feigenbaum speaks on a wide range of topics, the underlying theme is dealing with adversity in a positive fashion and not allowing a handicap to define or limit you in any way.

She was honored by Mercaz Harmony in Jerusalem, Emunah Women in Toronto, and the D.A.N.I. Organization in Toronto. Most recently, she was part of a multifaith panel organized by “Students for Barrier-free Access” – a division of the University of Toronto. The panel dealt with how to ensure that people with disabilities have full access to all religious and cultural activities, and how to overcome any barriers that might inhibit

such access.

Other thought-provoking presentations during this year’s conference will include heroism during the Holocaust, aging gracefully, learning to live in a toxin-free environment, Torah based classes, strategies to become a better you, discovering the secret to cooking Shabbat dinner in under an hour, and more. Local, talented women who will present during the conference include Lisa Davis, Marsha Gibber, Miriam Lipson, Miriam Karp, Patricia Raskin, and Caroline Stanley.

Brochures are in the mail so be sure to be on the lookout for them. For more information or to sign up for the conference, please see www.providencekollel.org or call/text 401-481-0150.

Submitted by E. Bielory

8 | October 12 , 2018

OPINION

Name-calling should never be normal We’re now on the other side of the High Holy Days, and we are starting to settle back into our normal routines again. However you celebrate, you’ve had at least a day or two, or many days, rearranged from your normal day-to-day schedule.

It affects us EDITOR personally and professionally. For FRAN OSTENDORF some, coworkers don’t understand why we need to take these days for worship and reflection, but they are respectful of our beliefs and traditions.

For The Jewish Voice and our staff, our offices shut down at every major holiday, according to the schedule of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, where we are housed. And so does the production of the paper.

So if you didn’t receive your paper on schedule last week, that’s because we adjusted our schedule to work around Sukkot.

Each year, we look ahead at the calendar to try to move deadlines a bit to best work around holidays. When the Alliance’s Dwares JCC is closed for a Jewish holiday, our printer delivers the office copies on another day or to another place. When a secular holiday falls on the day the paper is usually printed, we have to readjust then as well.

It’s all part of living in a country where we respect and honor everyone’s varied traditions, religions and holidays. At least, that’s the idea.

The richness of diversity in the United States and here in Rhode Island is part of what makes us great. And we

learn to get along. It helps our community, our state and our country move forward. After all, Roger Williams came to this area, all those years ago, to escape religious persecution. He sought exactly the freedoms we enjoy today, although he never would have dreamed of the kind of diversity that would eventually thrive in the region he first settled.

I’ve written about civility a number of times in the last year. I feel strongly that it’s important to recognize and honor all our traditions and be respectful to one another. It’s important now more than ever as our nation has become more divided, and stratified in opinion.

As the midterm elections approach, political divides about issues from taxes and tariffs to international policies such as those affecting Israel become more apparent.

All sides of the issues become more vocal.

Negative labels and name calling are incendiary. They disrupt our mission to help and support the greater community. We all come to the table with a personal agenda.

But our leaders need to focus on what’s best for the greater community, not just personal views or agendas.

So as you settle back into your daily routine, take a few minutes to think about your roots and what you are really working toward. And think about the High Holy Days that just passed. What did you pray for; what did you vow to do in the New Year? If you are practicing tzedakah; if you are interested in tikkun olam, how are you accomplishing those goals? I doubt that sowing conflict or demeaning others in our community were things you hoped or prayed for.

COLUMNS | LETTERS POLICY The Jewish Voice publishes thoughtful and informative contributors’ columns (op-eds of 500 – 800 words) and letters to the editor (300 words, maximum) on issues of interest to our Jewish community. At our discretion, we may edit pieces for publication or refuse publication. Letters and columns, whether from our regular contributors or from guest columnists, represent

the views of the authors; they do not represent the views of 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).

THE MISSION OF THE JEWISH VOICE is to communicate Jewish news, ideas and ideals by connecting and giving voice to the diverse views of the Jewish community in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, while adhering to Jewish values and the professional standards of journalism.

The Jewish Voice

‘The chosen people’ or ‘a chosen people’?

JuSt hours before the setting of the sun ushered in the Jewish New Year of 5779, the online English edition of Haaretz, a leading Israeli newspaper, published a major article with a provocative IT SEEMS title: “Haaretz Poll: For Rosh TO ME Hashanah, A Picture RABBI JIM of Israel’s Muddled ROSENBERG Jewish Soul.”

This long piece, replete with all kinds of charts, facts and figures, documents the attitudes of today’s Israeli Jews toward religion – broadly conceived. Included among the wide range of topics explored are belief (and disbelief) in God, Jewish observance – with particular emphasis on Sabbath observance and kashrut – the influence of the Ultra-Orthodox on Jewish life, acceptance or rejection of Darwin’s theory of evolution, and belief (and disbelief) in life after death.

The poll’s findings on attitudes toward the notion of “chosen people” is of particular significance: 56 percent of those surveyed consider us Jews to be “a” chosen people, while 32 percent reject this idea.

The author of this article, Chemi Shalev, points out that the distinction between “a” chosen people and “the” chosen people is not inconsequential: “Our question in Hebrew was about ‘a’ chosen people rather than ‘the’ chosen people ….”

I myself find this distinction between “a” chosen people and “the” chosen people to be crucial. Consider, for example, the following words from our Shabbat evening Kiddush: “… ki vanu vacharta v’otanu kidashta

mikol ha’amim” – You have chosen us and have sanctified us above all peoples.

If God has chosen us from among all peoples, it would seem to follow that God prefers us Jews to all others. To put it another way, if we Jews consider ourselves to be “the” chosen people, then we are consciously, or perhaps unconsciously, fostering the dangerous – dare I say racist? – idea that we are somehow superior in God’s eyes to everybody else.

On the other hand, to say that we Jews are “a” chosen people strips away the idea of “being chosen” from anything that might lead us to adopt a supercilious attitude toward other members of our human family.

Throughout my career I have been greatly enriched by my participation in interfaith dialogue. I could not engage in such dialogue if I believed for a single moment that God in His (or Her) infinite wisdom preferred Jews to Catholics or to Protestants or to Muslims or to Buddhists, or to members of the Bahá’i faith, for that matter.

I would suggest that each religious community has had and continues to have its unique experience with God, that each community has been chosen

by God in its special way, and that God calls on each community to remain loyal to its own historical roots.

Because the Jewish experience of God happens to be somewhat different from both Christian and Muslim experiences of God, it does not follow that the Jewish experience is true and Christian and Muslim experiences are false. It is simply that our communities have taken different paths toward the one God. Therefore, to say that we Jews are “a” chosen people is not to say that we are better than anyone else; what can be said is that we Jews

have an obligation to live our lives within the context of our unique, covenantal relationship with God. Those of us who are parents soon learn that though we may love our children equally, most often we love them differently; this is certainly true of my relationship with my daughter Karen and my son David. Speaking metaphorically, though God loves all peoples equally, God does have a unique relationship with us Jews; in this powerful but limited sense, we are entitled to see ourselves as chosen by God. What I consider especially disturbing in the Haaretz poll is the response to a related question immediately following the one regarding “a” chosen people: “Do you believe that our right to Israel stems from a divine promise?”

While 38 percent of Jewish Israelis said no and another 11 percent did not answer the question, 51 percent, a slim majority, “believe that their rights to the Land of Israel derive from God’s divine covenant in the Bible …. Seventy-four percent of right-wingers believe that Israel holds a divine deed to its land, compared to only 8 percent of leftists.”

To which Shalev comments: “This is the ominous subtext of the bitter political debate over territories, peace, and the Palestinians, which is ostensibly focused on issues of security and realpolitik. Under the surface, as the poll results suggest, a religious war is raging.”

Do we Jews consider ourselves to be “the” chosen people or “a” chosen people? It seems to me that whether we choose the word “the” or the word “a” can mean the difference between war and peace.

JAMES B. ROSENBERG is rabbi emeritus at Temple Habonim, in Barrington. Contact him at rabbiemeritus@templehabonim.org.

No more undergrad admissions for AJU in LA JTA – The American Jewish University in Los Angeles is stopping its undergraduate admissions and phasing out its undergraduate curriculum.

The university, which has about 70 undergraduate students, said it is committed to ensuring that the enrolled students are able to complete their degrees.

“Our students come first, and we have notified them of these plans,” said Jeffrey Herbst, the university’s president. “Over the next few days we will be holding open forums to address the questions they have and have appointed an academic affairs liaison to provide ongoing

support for these students.”

Herbst, who took over as president in July, said the university has “never been able to grow the undergraduate program to a size where it can provide a deep and broad educational experience.”

No other divisions within the university, including other academic programs such as the Ziegler School for Rabbinic Studies, Graduate Center for Jewish Education or Graduate School of Nonprofit Management, will be affected by the change, the university said in a statement issued Oct. 5.

The university also said there will be no faculty layoffs associated with the decision and that

the institution is “financially healthy.”

A task force is being created to come up with new programs that may be launched to serve the young adult population, the statement said.

In 2007, the University of Judaism merged with the Brandeis-Bardin Institute to form the American Jewish University, which offers community programming, degree programs and learning experiences. Among its programming is continuing education, arts and cultural events, a rabbinic school, graduate programs, outdoor experiential learning programs and summer camps.

OPINION

jvhri.org

October 12, 2018 |

9

Israel and the Jews meet China

LETTERS HOME DANIEL STIEGLITZ Most of my columns have focused on my Israel-related experiences. Last year, however, I wrote about how Israel served as a springboard to participate in an incredible trip to China, where I led a program for business-minded young Jewish men. (My Jewish Voice article about the Golden Leaves program appeared on Nov. 24, 2017.)

This year I once again had the opportunity to help lead the program and had even more experiences than the last time.

One experience in particular I had this year that directly connects back to Israel was when the participants, group leader and I met with young Chinese professionals to discuss how Israel does business differently and how we, as Jews, see the world. David Gedallovich, my Colombian friend and roommate in Israel, and the director of the Golden Leaves program that I helped lead, coordinated the event with his colleague, Rafa. (Short for “Rafael,” since Rafa is easier for the Chinese to pronounce.)

Rafa, a native Israeli, came to China to help bring various Israeli and Jewish approaches and attitudes to China. One thing he focuses on is teaching about a different business style, such as the concept of never giving up. He also focuses on Jewish culture. Rafa has published a book – “Distinctive Mindset” – which details all of this and is written in Chinese, Hebrew and English.

He often uses the motto, “Try to fail.” He encourages his Chinese protégés to do something as simple as calling their parents to say, “I love you.” While that simple gesture might seem basic to some, it

Israeli and Chinese flags at the event venue. doesn’t come naturally to those who were raised in a stricter, more regimented home. This “try to fail” challenge encourages them to expand their comfort zones, even if success isn’t guaranteed. He emphasizes the attempt over worrying about the outcome.

On the day we went to Rafa’s workplace, he first sat with the Golden Leaves participants to explain what he does and how he does it.

Because the participants are interested in building business connections with China, they had the opportunity to ask him questions about his experiences in China and his insights into how the Chinese interact with foreigners.

Later we met in a hall that soon became packed with hundreds of young Chinese professionals interested in hearing about different approaches to life and business as expressed by our non-Chinese participants.

Following presentations by several speakers, David and three of our participants (one American and two Venezuelans) joined a panel on stage, along with three Chinese business professionals.

Questions and statements posed in Chinese were translated into English for us to understand, and vice versa. David and our three participants an-

Rafa and me.

PHOTOS | DANI STIEGLITZ

Leaders and participants at the Golden Leaves event. swered questions ranging from perseverance in the business world to their personal definitions of happiness. One of our participants, Ariel Rabinovich, talked about how, unlike his parents’ generation, he grew up in Venezuela knowing that he had to plan to leave someday because of the economic situation, and how he kept his sights set on that. Currently a student at Northwestern University in Chicago, he told the Chinese audience that he had to learn to adapt to a country where the language and culture are different from his birth country.

Toward the end of this meeting, the seven other participants and I went on stage to share some Jewish songs with the audience. We sang “Am Yis-

rael Chai” (“The Nation of Israel Lives”) and “Oseh Shalom Bimromav” (“He Who Makes Peace”), followed by a song in Chinese that David created.

Afterward, everyone mingled. And in a demonstration of just how small the Jewish world is, one of the few nonChinese in attendance came up to me and said, “We were in the Israeli army together.”

He recognized me after David mentioned my name.

My trip to China was an amazing experience of cultural exchange and awareness for the participants in my group and the Chinese in attendance.

This trip provided me with a peek into how, worldwide, we can all learn from one another.

It goes to show that no mat-

ter where we find ourselves in the world, there is always something that we can teach to others who are thirsty for knowledge and there is always something that we ourselves can learn.

GOLDEN LEAVES will be holding its first women’s program Jan. 6-22, 2019. E-mail davidgedallovich@gmail.com to inquire about that and the men’s summer program.

DANIEL STIEGLITZ (dstieglitz@gmail.com) is a certified Life Coach who lives in Jerusalem. His collection of short stories, Tavern of the Mind, is available for paperback and Kindle purchase on Amazon. www.amzn.to/2Izssrz.

Israel cabinet approves plan to reunite 1,000 Ethiopians JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israel’s Cabinet approved a plan to bring some 1,000 Ethiopian Falash Mura who have children living in Israel to the country.

The plan approved on Oct. 7 was put forward by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon.

Under the plan, the Interior Minister will evaluate and approve the entry of candidates who meet the criterion of having children who entered Israel

under previous government decisions regarding the Falash Mura community. The parents will be able to bring with them their partners and their unmarried children who do not have children.

The Aliyah and Integration Ministry will provide those entering Israel with the rights due to Ethiopian immigrants.

The Conversion Division will provide conversion services, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.

There are some 8,000 Falash Mura in Ethiopia awaiting permission to immigrate to Israel, most of whom have some family members in Israel.

The Falash Mura claim links to descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity generations ago under duress but now seek to return to Judaism. They must get special permission to immigrate to Israel due to their uncertain Jewish status.

In 2013, Israel’s Interior Ministry approved the immigration

of the remaining Falash Mura, and the Knesset in November 2015 unanimously approved a plan to bring some of them to Israel. But the plan did not deal with the finances.

An agreement to find money in the budget for the aliyah of the Falash Mura was signed in April 2016, and in 2017 some 1,300 Falash Mura arrived in Israel. The 2019 state budget does not include funds for Ethiopian immigration.

“While we are glad to see the

end of suffering for 1,000 members of the remaining Jewish community in Ethiopia and their loved ones in Israel, we are far from satisfied with the partial and highly limited implementation of the decision that was passed under PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership in 2015, to bring the entire remaining Jewish community of Ethiopia to Israel,” the Struggle for Ethiopian Aliyah organization said in a statement.

10 | October 12 , 2018

Ongoing Alliance Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every weekday.

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Noon lunch; 1 p.m. program. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under 60 with disabilities. Information or to RSVP, Neal or Elaine, 401-4214111, ext. 107.

West Bay Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every Friday.

Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston.

11:15 a.m. program; noon lunch. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under 60 with disabilities. Information or to RSVP, Steve, 401-743-0009.

Duplicate Bridge. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Mondays noon-2 p.m.: 0-20 masterpoint game.

For less-experienced players. $5 per day. Mondays and Wednesdays noon-3 p.m.: Open stratified game for experienced players at all levels. $7 per day.

Tuesdays and Fridays 11 a.m.-2 p.m.: Open stratified game for players at all levels. $7 per day. Thursdays 1:30-3:30 p.m.: Guided play. Beginners and those seeking to hone skills play under the guidance of nationally known instructor Bart Buffington. $6 per day. Information, Bart Buffington at abarton295@ aol.com or 401-390-9244.

“Bridging the Gap” with Rabbi Raphie.

Wednesdays 8-8:45 p.m. Kollel Center for Jewish Studies, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Explore the development and refinement of our personalities through the eyes of the Mussar movement. Text is “Bridging the Gap.” Free.

Information, rabbiraphie@gmail.com or 401-383-2786.

Friday | October 12 Beth Elders Dinner. 5:30 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence.

Peter Nivert presents “Journey to Find My Roots.” Cost: $18. Information, Temple Beth-El office at 401-331-6070.

Friday Night Live. 6-9 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. A musical celebration of Shabbat followed by dinner. Cost: Over 12 years $20 | 12 years & younger free | Family max. $60. Information, Torat Yisrael office at 401-885-6600.

Saturday | October 13 Classic Shabbat Service and Bat Mitzvah. 9 a.m.-noon. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Information, Torat Yisrael office at 401885-6600.

Kids’ Night Out: All that Jazz. Ages 5-12: 5-10 p.m. Ages 2-4: 5-8:30 p.m. (extended times available). Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence.

Children spend the evening with friends in a fun and safe environment, and parents get a night out, “kid free.”

Themed activities include sports, crafts and more. A pizza dinner and snacks are served, and the evening ends with a movie. The older group enjoys an hour of free swim. For ages 2-4, make sure to send your child with PJs. Price: $40 | Members: $30 | Siblings: $20.

Information and registration, Shannon Kochanek at skochanek@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 147.

Sunday | October 14 Benjamin Franklin’s Influence on Judaism: A talk by Shai Afsai. 2-4 p.m.

Rhode Island Jewish Museum/Sons of Jacob Synagogue, 24 Douglas Ave., Providence. Learn about Franklin’s

CALENDAR influence on Jewish thought and practice as discussed in early 19th century, Eastern European rabbinical circles.

Donations appreciated. Information, Shelley at 401-935-9740.

Gil Hovav, Culinary Journalist and Television Personality. 5-6:30 p.m. Pot au Feu, 44 Custom House St., Providence.

Israel’s leading culinary journalist and television personality discusses Israeli cuisine in a program presented by R.I. Israel Collaborative (RIIC), in collaboration with Pot au Feu restaurant.

Food samples and Israeli wine will be provided. Price: $45. Information, Avi Nevel at info@theriic.org or 401-4861152.

Kosher Pizza Night. 5-8 p.m. Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Food by Ahava Catering. All food is under RI Kosher. Delivery available. Information, Ahava Catering at 401-272-4835.

Monday | October 15 A Special Evening of Outstanding Wines from Israel. 7-8:30 p.m. Bin 312, 312 S Main St., Providence. Meet influential players and wine representatives in the Israeli wine industry, and sample some remarkable wines from Psagot Winery, Carmel Winery and Yatir Winery. Free.

Information, Avi Nevel at info@theriic. org or 401-486-1152.

Tuesday | October 16 Understanding the Friday Night Service.

10-11:30 a.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser will review the liturgy of the Friday night service in English translation for a deeper understanding and appreciation.

No Hebrew required. Tuesdays through 11/6. Information, Dottie at dottie@ templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.

Alzheimer’s Monthly Support Group.

6-7:30 p.m. Tamarisk Assisted Living Residence, 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick.

Robert E.P. Elmer III, master trainer in Alzheimer’s care, leads a monthly group that gives caretakers the opportunity to share and learn about the challenges and successes of dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. Next session: 11/20. Information, Susan Adler at susana@tamariskri.org or 401-7320037, ext. 104.

Merciful Conversations on Race. 7-9:30 p.m. Temple Emanu-El and the Rhode Island State Council of Churches series of conversations on the dynamics of race in our culture. Explore how white privilege functions in society and in religious communities and the ways that it negatively impacts people of color.

The course seeks to create a positive and trusting space to explore why race conversations can be a struggle, provides help for overcoming this challenge, and suggests opportunities to further racial reconciliation on both personal and systemic levels. Tuesdays through 11/13. Optional dinner at 6:30 p.m. Course cost: $36/person. Optional dinner cost: $8/dinner. Register in advance at teprov.org/form/ConversationsOnRace or call the Temple Office at 401-331-1617.

Wednesday | October 17 “Mean What You Pray” Workshop: Making Jewish Prayer Meaningful through Theater Techniques. 7-9 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Presented and directed by Jason Slavick of JMS Coaching. Fifth

The Jewish Voice of six workshops, using basic acting exercises. Each workshop is different – join any or all. Participants welcome from all streams of Judaism. Funded by an Innovation Grant from the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI. Information, Alan Krinsky at adkrinksy@netzero.net.

HIAS Refugee Shabbat. 7:30 p.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston.

Kathleen Cloutier, executive director of Dorcas International Institute of RI, will speak about refugee settlement. Information, Dottie at dottie@templesinairi. org or 401-942-8350.

Game Night: Mah Jongg, Canasta and Table Tennis. 7-9 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Open to all. Free. Information, stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Kabbalat Shabbat Service. 7:30-9 p.m.

Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Service followed by Oneg. Information, stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Thursday | October 18

Saturday | October 20

Introduction to Judaism. 7-9 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence.

The Reform temples of RI (Temple Beth-El, Temple Habonim and Temple Sinai) present an introduction to Judaism. Learn the fundamentals of Jewish thought and practice in 18 weeks through a mix of study and discussion.

Perfect for interfaith couples, non-Jews considering conversion and Jews looking for an adult-level introduction.

Faculty includes Rabbis Jeffrey Goldwasser, Howard Voss-Altman, Andrew Klein and Sarah Mack, and Cantor Judith Seplowin. Thursdays through 2/28/19. Cost: $160 per person | $225 per couple (includes all materials and joint Shabbat dinner on 3/1/19 at Temple Habonim in Barrington). Information, Judith Gilson at Jgilson@Temple-BethEl.org or 401-331-6070, ext. 113.

Classic Shabbat Service and Bar Mitzvah. 9 a.m.-noon. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Information, stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

“The Tanakh: New Perspectives.” 7-9:30 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. A Delve Deeper course taught by Michael Satlow, professor of religious and Jewish studies at Brown University. Explore various approaches to the Tanakh, highlighting the diverse ways in which this pivotal text has been, and continues to be, read throughout history. Thursdays through 12/20. Cost: $200 (scholarships are available).

Register at www.teprov.org/institute/ delvedeeper or 401-331-1616.

Mini Open House. 7-8:30 p.m. Touro Fraternal Hall, 45 Rolfe Square, Cranston.

Drop in to learn about the benefits and good deeds of this Jewish social organization. Refreshments served.

Free. Information, Barry Ackerman at bjackerman@cox.net.

Friday | October 19 K’tantan. 5:30-7 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Celebrate Shabbat and holidays with children ages newborn to 5. Singing and community dinner. All are welcome. Information, Temple office at 401-331-6070.

T.G.I.F. – Thank G-D It’s Friday. 5:45-7 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Shabbat songs and story with Rabbi Aaron Philmus followed by a free kid-friendly Shabbat dinner. Donations welcome. Information or to RSVP, Torat Yisrael office at 401-885-6600.

HIAS Refugee Shabbat. 7 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence.

The Rev. Charles Blustein Ortman, RI State Council of Churches, will speak about First Unitarian Church of Providence as a sanctuary congregation.

Information, Temple Beth-El office at 401-331-6070.

HIAS Refugee Shabbat. 7:30 p.m. Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. Lawyer Angel Taveras will speak about asylum seeker law.

Information, Jodi Sullivan at office@ templehabonim.org or 401-245-6536.

HIAS Refugee Shabbat. 1:30 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence.

Rabbi Wayne Franklin will give a D’var Torah concerning obligations as Jews to treat refugees with kindness and to help rescue them. Following services, toward the end of the community Kiddush, Baha Sadr, director of refugee resettlement and case management at Dorcas International, will speak and answer questions about the special issues pertaining to refugee settlement in Rhode Island and about how to help.

Information, Temple Emanu-El office at 401-331-1617.

National Refugee Shabbat Dinner and Film. 6:15-9 p.m. Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 North Main St., Attleboro, Mass. A light dinner will be served followed by a screening of the first half of “The Human Flow,” a film by Ai Wei-Wei documenting the current refugee crisis worldwide. Discussion following the film. Cost: $5. Information, Congregation Agudas Achim office at office@ agudasma.org or 508-222-2243.

Sunday | October 21 Torah Sprouts. 9:30-10:30 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Ages 3-5. Fun Jewish learning including stories, songs, crafts and a snack. $10 participation fee per session or $80 for the year. Information, stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

“Standing with Israel in 2018: Challenges and Opportunities.” 1-2:30 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Presented by Hadassah Northeast. Learn the facts about Israel, how to advocate for Israel and how to use social media to influence the narrative about Israel. Panelists include representatives from StandWithUs, the Israel Advocacy Alliance and the Israeli American Council. Free. Everyone welcome; advance registration required.

Information or to register, www. hadassah.org/events/standwithisrael or Hadassah Northeast at 781-455-9055 or hne@hadassah.org.

Tuesday | October 23 Understanding the Friday Night Service.

10-11:30 a.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser will review the liturgy of the Friday night service in English translation for a deeper understanding and appreciation.

No Hebrew required. Tuesdays through 11/6. Information, Dottie at dottie@ templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.

Women’s Alliance Rosh Hodesh “Hagar: A Perfect Stranger.” Noon-1:15 p.m.

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Featuring Rabbi Sarah Mack

of Temple Beth-El. Cost: $10 (includes lunch). Information or to RSVP, Danielle Germanowski at dgermanowski@ jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 109.

“Mean What You Pray” Workshop: Making Jewish Prayer Meaningful through Theater Techniques. 7-9 p.m.

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Presented and directed by Jason Slavick of JMS Coaching. Last of six workshops using basic acting exercises. Each workshop is different – join any or all. Participants welcome from all streams of Judaism. Funded by an Innovation Grant from the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI. Information, Alan Krinsky at adkrinksy@netzero.net.

Merciful Conversations on Race. 7-9:30 p.m. Temple Emanu-El and the Rhode Island State Council of Churches sponsored series of conversations on the dynamics of race in our culture.

Explore how white privilege functions in society and in religious communities and the ways that it negatively impacts people of color. The course seeks to create a positive and trusting space to explore why race conversations can be a struggle, provides help for overcoming this challenge, and suggests opportunities to further racial reconciliation on both personal and systemic levels. Tuesdays through 11/13. Optional dinner at 6:30 p.m. Course cost: $36/ person. Optional dinner cost: $8/dinner.

Register in advance at teprov.org/ form/ConversationsOnRace or call the Temple Office at 401-331-1617.

Wednesday | October 24 Game Night: Mah Jongg, Canasta and Table Tennis. 7-9 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Open to all. Free. Information, stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Thursday | October 25 The Great Rhode Island Challah Bake.

6:30-8:30 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.)

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. As part of the international Shabbat Project, women around the world make challah on the same evening. Discover the meaning and Jewish significance of challah, learn amazing braiding tips and make challah to take home. For women and girls (Grades K and up) only. Cost: $18 per person | $40 per family (max of 6). Sponsored by Project Shoresh, Kollel and the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

Information or to RSVP (required), jewishallianceri.org/challah-bake/ or Michelle Cicchitelli at mcicchitelli@ jewishallianceri.org, Elissa Felder at elissafelder@aol.com or Alison Walter at alison@swipeit.com.

Introduction to Judaism. 7-9 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence.

The Reform temples of RI (Temple Beth-El, Temple Habonim and Temple Sinai) present an introduction to Judaism. Learn the fundamentals of Jewish thought and practice in 18 weeks through study, discussion and practical experiences. Perfect for interfaith couples, non-Jews considering conversion and Jews looking for an adult-level introduction. Faculty includes Rabbis Jeffrey Goldwasser, Howard VossAltman, Andrew Klein and Sarah Mack, and Cantor Judith Seplowin. Thursdays through 2/28/19. Cost: $160 per person | $225 per couple (includes all materials and Joint Shabbat dinner on 3/1/19 CALENDAR | 11

jvhri.org CALENDAR

Remembering Kristallnacht

BY HILARY SALK This is the third article in a series leading up to the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

As Nov. 9 approaches and I continue to have an opportunity to write about the 80th year since Kristallnacht, I have become more and more identified with what has happened in one of the most advanced countries on Earth to its own Jewish citizens, as assimilated into their society as many of us are in these United States.

In my novel, “Eavesdropping in Oberammergau,” a young child learns of the “Night of Broken Glass” from her mother. It was not a first-person account, but was told to her after her mother saw a documentary about it. Her mother’s dramatic telling became part of this girl’s being, which the child would carry through her whole life, something that she felt compelled to retell.

By telling a “story,” we use memory to bear witness, and to recall, in this case, some of the worst events of humanity.

Rabbi Eli A. Bohnen of Temple Emanu-El, who was an Army chaplain, wrote detailed letters to his wife about his part in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. His daughter Judy (Bohnen) Levitt is quoted: “There are so few survivors left at this point, who is going to be telling this story? If people don’t remember, it could hap-

FROM PAGE 10

pen again.” I hope Judy continues to tell the story.

In the Simon Wiesenthal Museum publication, “Eyewitness Accounts and Reminiscences,” there is a firefighter who wrote about Kristallnacht. “I was not allowed to go into the firehouse … one of my friends, who lived next to the Synagogue, whispered to me, ‘Be quiet – the Synagogue is burning; I was beaten up already when I wanted to put out the fire…. As I was watching the destroyed Synagogue and the frail old Jews, I wondered whose turn would be next... When would it be our turn? Will the same thing happen to our Protestant and Catholic Churches?”

There is Michael Bruce, a nonJewish Englishman who bears witness to a mob attacking a Jewish children’s hospital. “In minutes the windows had been smashed and the doors forced.

The swine were driving the wee mites out over the broken glass, bare-footed and wearing nothing but their nightshirts.”

Marianne Hirsch, who coined the term, “postmemory,” tells what can happen to children of survivors and to those of us who identify so closely with people who have experienced the hatred, enslavement, torture and murder of people. I believe these stories must continue to be told and retold and how the power of our family and loved ones lives on through

| CALENDAR

at Temple Habonim in Barrington).

Information, Judith Gilson at Jgilson@ Temple-Beth-El.org or 401-331-6070, ext. 113.

“The Tanakh: New Perspectives.” 7-9:30 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. A Delve Deeper course taught by Michael Satlow, professor of religious and Jewish studies at Brown University. This course will explore various approaches to the Tanakh, highlighting the diverse ways in which this pivotal text has been read throughout history. Thursdays through 12/20.

Cost: $200 (scholarships are available).

Register at www.teprov.org/institute/ delvedeeper or 401-331-1616

Friday | October 26 Shabbat Hallelu. 7 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Information, Temple Beth-El office at 401-3316070.

Kabbalat Shabbat Service. 7:30-9 p.m.

Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Service followed by Oneg. Information, stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Saturday | October 27 Shabbat School. 9-a.m.-noon. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East

Greenwich. 9 a.m. Torah discussion with 6/7 graders and congregants, and 9:45 a.m. service followed by a light Kiddush. Information, stephanie@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Sunday | October 28 World Series of Soup, Salad or Sandwich Favorites. 12:30-2 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence.

Information, Temple Beth-El office at 401-331-6070.

Alliance 2019 Annual Campaign Event: An Evening with Mohammed Al Samawi. 7 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Mohammed Al Samawi is the author of “The Fox Hunt: A Refugee’s Memoir of Coming to America,” which tells his story of warfare, unlikely friendship and harrowing escape from Yemen’s brutal civil war with the help of a plan engineered on social media by a small group of interfaith activists in the West. Dessert reception follows the program. Dietary laws observed. Free with a donation of any amount to the 2019 Annual Campaign, co-chaired by Marisa Garber and Dan Gamm. Information or to RSVP, Michele Gallagher at mgallagher@ jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 165.

us in “postmemory.”

Now is the time not to be afraid to speak out, not to hide from such memories, but rather to tell them so that others will hear, retain and repeat them to those who come after us. For soon, all direct life experiences of Kristallnacht will be gone.

My hope is that these stories will remain and remind us not to remain silent.

Let me end here by sharing some words from the 40th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

They are from West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt: “Dear Jews, Christians and Free-Thinkers in Germany… the German night, whose observance after the passage of 40 years has brought us together today, remains a cause of bitterness and shame. In those places where the houses of God stood in flames, where a signal from those in power set off a train of destruction and robbery, of humiliation, abduction and incarceration – there was an end to peace, to justice, to humanity. The night of 9 November 1938 marked one of the stages along the path leading down to hell....” Forty years later – 80 years later – we remember.

HILARY SALK is the author of “Eavesdropping in Oberammergau.”

Contact her at hilarysalk@ hilarysalk.com.

| COMMUNITY

October 12, 2018 |

11

Dutch diplomat punished for saving Jews AMSTERDAM (JTA) – The Dutch Foreign Ministry reprimanded a diplomat who overstepped his authority to save thousands of Jews from the Holocaust and deprived him of royal honors, new research shows.

The research into the treatment of Jan Zwartendijk, who was honorary consul of the Netherlands in what today is Lithuania, is part of a Dutchlanguage book published this month on his actions titled “The Righteous” by biographer Jan Brokken.

Zwartendijk served in Kaunas as consul at the same time that Chiune Sugihara was there to represent Imperial Japan.

Largely eclipsed by Sugihara, Zwartendijk was the initiator and chief facilitator of the rescue of more than 2,000 Jews by the two diplomats.

Sugihara gave the refugees, who were fleeing German occupation, transit visas that enabled them to enter the Soviet Union. But they would have been unusable had Zwartendijk not given them destination visas to Curacao, then a Caribbean island colony of the Netherlands. Some of those rescued by Zwartendijk nicknamed him “the angel of Curacao.”

Both men acted without approval from their superiors.

Unlike Sugihara, Zwartendijk risked his own life, as well as those of his wife and their three small children, who were all living under Nazi occupation.

Yet Zwartendijk, who died in 1976, was “given a dressing down” after his actions became known by a top Foreign Ministry official, Joseph Luns, who later became the head of NATO, the book revealed based on interviews with people who were told about it by Zwartendijk and other materials. Zwartendijk’s children said their father was deeply offended by how he had been treated.

Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, a Dutch lawmaker, said in a statement that the Foreign Ministry should apologize for how it had treated Zwartendijk, whom Israel in 1997 recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations – a non-Jew who risked his life to save Jews from the Holocaust.

“Jan Zwartendijk deserved a statue, not a reprimand,” the ANP news agency quoted Sjoerdsma as saying last week.

“High time for an exoneration and apology to his descendants. I hope Foreign Minister Stef Blok does it.”

12 | October 12 , 2018

FOOD

The Jewish Voice

A new take on Shabbat cholent

BY YEHUDA SICHEL (The Nosher via JTA) – Here’s a comforting yet elevated Shabbat dish from chef Yehuda Sichel of Abe Fisher.

Cholent Pot Pie Ingredients

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1 cup pearled barley 1 cup dried kidney beans 3/4 pound boneless short ribs, cut into 2-inch cubes 1/2 pound kosher salami, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges 1 stalk of celery, sliced 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 carrot, roughly chopped Kosher salt 1/4 cup ketchup 1/2 cup red wine 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon hot smoked paprika 1 beef bouillon cube 1 quart of water 1 sprig of fresh rosemary 1 sweet potato, cut into 1-inch cubes 1 Idaho potato, cut into 1-inch cubes 1/2 cup chopped parsley Store-bought frozen puff pastry or pie dough 1 large egg, beaten

Directions

Combine the barley and kidney beans in a large bowl and cover with several inches of water. Let soak overnight in the refrigerator.

In the morning, drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 4-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Season the short ribs with salt and pepper, then add them to the pot and brown on all sides – about 3 minutes per side. Remove the ribs from the Dutch oven and set aside.

Add the salami to the pot and cook until brown, about 10 min10/19/17 9:32 AM

utes. Remove the salami and set aside. Add the onions, celery, garlic, carrot and a small pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and are slightly browned, about 8 minutes.

Add the ketchup and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble.

Add the red wine and bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes to burn off the alcohol. Add the spices, bouillon cube, water and stir to combine.

Return to a boil and add the beans, barley, short ribs, rosemary and potatoes to the pot.

The liquid in the stew should be just covering the meat. Remove excess liquid and add additional water as necessary.

Cover the stew with a lid and place in the oven for about 3 hours or until the short ribs are fork tender. Keep the lid on and let the stew cool in its liquid, then refrigerate overnight.

The following day, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Transfer the stew to a separate pot and simmer on the stove to bring the mixture back to temperature. Pour the warm stew back into the cold Dutch oven, sprinkle parsley over top and drape a sheet of puff pastry over the sides of the Dutch oven. Crimp the dough around the edges of the pot and trim away any excess. Brush the top of the puff pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with salt. Place the stew in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Let stand for 15 minutes and serve. Serves 4.

YEHUDA SICHEL is the executive chef and partner of Abe Fisher, a restaurant in Philadelphia from James Beard Awardwinning restaurateurs Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook.

The Nosher food blog offers new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. Check it out at TheNosher.com.

FOOD

jvhri.org

October 12, 2018 |

13

These Russian meatballs are the ultimate comfort food

BY SONYA SANFORD (The Nosher via JTA) – For the first five years of my life, we lived in the apartment next door to my grandparents. I may have only been a toddler, but I still have vivid memories of being in that home with its many houseplants overflowing in their pots, tchotchkes and art from the former Soviet Union, menorahs and other Jewish objects on display, and a welcoming coziness and warmth.

What I remember most about being at my grandparents’ home was the food. Often there was a pot of something simmering on the stove. On the best days, that pot was filled with tefteli, otherwise known as Russian meatballs.

What makes Russian meatballs different from other kinds?

While tefteli come in many variations and preparations depending, on your family’s tradition, one defining feature is that they are typically made with rice. It’s likely that rice was incorporated into the dish as a means to stretch the meat, but it also adds a great texture and flavor.

Most Russian meatballs don’t use bread crumbs, or much by way of herbs or spice. Some folks make them with beef, some with chicken or turkey. The nonKosher versions are often made with pork, and are cooked in a creamy tomato sauce. Some cooks dust the meatballs in flour and then brown them be-

fore adding them to the sauce.

Some bake them in the oven.

Some make a sauce that ends up so thick it is nearly shakshukalike. Shredded carrot is added typically to the base of the tomato sauce, adding sweetness.

Tefteli are also meant to be eaten on their own as a main course, and they are frequently served with creamy mashed potatoes, but I also love them with a side of polenta, or even with just a slice of good crusty bread.

Every time I make tefteli I try to duplicate what my grandmother made for me. This recipe is fairly simple in terms of its ingredients and steps, but the key to her tefteli’s success is one step that you can’t rush or skip: caramelizing the onions.

Caramelized onions was my grandmother’s go-to flavor builder. When onions get golden and jammy from cooking slowly in a little fat, they add sweetness and umami to any dish.

The rest of this recipe mainly involves adding things to a large pot. Leftover rice is great for the meatball mixture, but if you don’t have some on hand, I find the timing works out well if you cook the rice while you’re caramelizing the onions and making the sauce. I prefer to use dark meat ground chicken for this, but you can definitely make this with turkey or beef.

This is the kind of dish that rarely gets a written recipe.

I’ve given you specifics, but deviating from what is suggested

will only make this better. I find that these meatballs are perfect when they’re on the larger side, but if you like smaller meatballs, go for that. In any form, these are best made in a big batch so that they can be shared with loved ones, and so that they can fill your home with warmth and the smell of good simple food.

I suggest serving these meatballs with a generous ladle of sauce, topped with chopped fresh parsley alongside mashed potatoes, your favorite side or slices of good bread.

Note: Meatballs can be made several days in advance, and they freeze and reheat well.

Tefteli (Russian Meatballs) Ingredients For the sauce: 1 large yellow onion, diced small 3 tablespoons oil (sunflower,

Babka stars in tasty toast

BY KIM KUSHNER (The Nosher via JTA) – This recipe sounds complicated but is actually very simple. Using store-bought babka will make this Babka French Toast Loaf as easy as 1-2-3, but if you happen to bake your own babka, definitely use it!

Instead of serving the babka slices arranged on a serving platter, I transfer the slices into a loaf pan and line them up in a row, so they go back to forming the original loaf shape. When you serve the “loaf,” your guests will be pleasantly surprised to see that it is in fact already sliced into crispy, thick slices of toasty, chewy babka French toast.

Babka French Toast Loaf may be prepared up to two days in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. If preparing ahead, do not bake in the oven before refrigerating (skip the last step in the recipe).

Babka French Toast Loaf may be stored in the freezer for up to one month. If preparing ahead of time, do not bake in the oven before freezing (skip the last step in the recipe).

How to reheat: Babka French Toast Loaf may be reheated, uncovered, in a 400 degree F.

oven for 10 minutes just before serving. The frozen loaf may be thawed in the fridge overnight and reheated as indicated above.

Babka French Toast Ingredients

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing 1 babka loaf or cinnamon loaf, about 15 ounces 3 large eggs 1/3 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla bean 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan with butter and set aside. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Use a large chef’s knife to cut the babka into slices 1-inch thick. Lay out the slices on the prepared baking sheet and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Dip the babka slices, 1 slice at a time, in the egg mixture. Coat both sides for about 30 seconds, allowing the babka slice to absorb some of the egg mixture without getting too soggy. Repeat with all of the slices,

placing them back on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

In a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add 2 slices of babka and fry, turning once, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Be careful that the heat isn’t too high to avoid burning the babka slices. Transfer the browned slices to your prepared loaf pan, lining up the slices to re-create the original loaf shape.

Continue heating 1 tablespoon of butter at a time in a pan and browning the babka slices in batches, 2 slices at a time, and transferring them to the loaf pan. Use all of the French toast slices to fill the loaf pan.

If serving right away, place the loaf pan in the oven, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes longer. This will heat up all the slices to the same temperature and make them nice and toasty. Serves 8-10.

Reprinted from “I Heart Kosher: Beautiful Recipes from My Kitchen,” with permission from Weldon Owen Publishing.

KIM KUSHNER’s third book, “I Heart Kosher: Beautiful Recipes from My Kitchen” (Weldon Owen), will be released in November.

avocado or canola) 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded 2-3 cloves garlic, minced fine 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 2 (15-ounce) cans plain tomato sauce/pureed tomatoes 2 tablespoons maple syrup or 1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste 2 teaspoons dried oregano or thyme Pinch of red pepper flakes, or to taste 1 (28-ounce) can filled with water (about 3 1/2 cups) Salt and pepper, to taste For the meatballs: 2 pounds dark meat ground chicken or turkey 2 cups cooked Basmati or Jasmine rice (about 3/4 cup uncooked) 1 large onion, minced very fine 1 large clove of garlic, finely grated or minced 1 large egg 2 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt Ground pepper, to taste Chopped flat leaf parsley, for garnish

Directions

To make the sauce: Add oil to a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion to the pot. Allow the onion to soften and caramelize until golden, stirring occasionally, about 15-20 minutes (you can go for longer if you want the onion to caramelize more deeply).

Add grated carrot, minced garlic and a big pinch of salt to the pot. Stir and sauté for 3-4 minutes, or until the carrot has softened and the garlic is aromatic. Add the tomato paste and stir until everything is coated, about 1 minute. Add the crushed tomato, tomato sauce, maple syrup, herbs and chili flakes to the pot. Fill the empty 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes with water and add that water to the pot. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture come up to a simmer.

To make the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, cooked rice and onion. I like to use a microplane to grate my garlic straight into the bowl. Add the salt, pepper and egg.

Combine everything until well incorporated, but make sure not to overmix or the meat can become tough. Clean hands work best for this. Before I cook the meatballs, I like to take a spoonful of the mixture and cook it in a small pan to taste for seasoning. I add more salt or pepper accordingly.

Form the ground meat mixture into even-sized balls. I prefer my tefteli slightly larger than a golf ball, but make them according to your own preferences. Drop the formed meatballs into the simmering sauce.

Make sure the sauce returns to a simmer, then lower the heat and partially cover the pot with a lid. Simmer the meatballs for 35-45 minutes or until cooked through. If you find the sauce is too thick, you can add more water. If you want the sauce thicker, you can simmer it for longer.

Serves 4-6.

SONYA SANFORD is a chef, food stylist and writer based out of Los Angeles. The Nosher food blog offers an array of new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. Check it out at TheNosher.com.

14 | October 12 , 2018

BAR | BAT MITZVAH

The Jewish Voice

One family’s Bar Mitzvah adventure

BY GARRETT SOCK My wife, Sharon, and I had our B’nai Mitzvah a couple of years apart in the mid-1980s at Temple Am David in Warwick. We think back to our special days with warm memories.

Like most families, after each of our Shabbat morning ceremonies our parents sponsored a Kiddush luncheon that was attended by friends, family and fellow congregants. Later in the evening, we celebrated with a big party in the temple social hall.

Just like my two brothers had done before me, my father and I wore matching tuxedos to my party. Sharon wore a fancy dress on her special night. In each case, the room was transformed with different themes, decorated with beautiful flower arrangements and fancy table settings. We both had a live band and all of our guests were dressed up. Our events were very traditional, an evening that we both remember fondly, more than 30 years later.

Sharon and I got married at Am David and our reception was held in the same room as our Bar Mitzvah parties. Once again, the room was decorated beautifully and many of the same people who attended the Bar Mitzvahs saw us get married. That synagogue and social hall certainly holds a special place in our hearts and memories.

Several years after we were married, we decided to become foster parents. Kevin came to us when he 4 1/2 years old.

While we thought his time with us would be short, reunification never happened and we adopted him at the age of 9. At about the age of 11, Kevin decided to convert to Judaism. Kevin attended our synagogue’s Hebrew school.

He was quickly approaching 13, and we started to discuss his

Bar Mitzvah. He did not want the typical Bar Mitzvah, where he was the center of attention with 200 people in the room.

After a lot of discussion, Sharon and I decided that our family of five should go on a trip to Israel and make Kevin’s Bar Mitzvah there. We felt that he could learn more about our people and the State of Israel.

Our goal was to make this event meaningful for him. After several conversations with Kevin, about what the actual Bar Mitzvah would look like, he agreed that Israel was a better option for him.

We invited close family members to join us in Israel with the understanding that this kind of trip is more expensive than attending a local Bar Mitzvah and most likely we would not have a large crowd. Ultimately, we traveled to Israel with a group of 14 family members and our spiritual leader who agreed to help us with the service.

Sharon and I had been to Israel a number of times before.

We felt comfortable planning this adventure. I had some contacts in Israel, and I found a young guide who was well recommended. I spent hours on the phone creating a trip that we hoped would not only be meaningful for first-timers, but would be memorable for people who had been there before. And of course we wanted to make Kevin’s Jewish journey something that he would cherish.

We decided to make Jerusalem our home base. We found a large home that we rented and all of us stayed together there.

This added so much meaning to the trip. Our families came together, lived in the same dwelling for 10 days all to support our son becoming a man.

Everyone who traveled with us talks about our time together

Sherri Klein Wedding & Event Planner Bar & Bat Mitzvahs sherri.klein3@gmail.com @SherriDKlein

Cooper Sock blows the shofar in front of family and friends in Israel. and how we all grew closer.

Kevin’s Bar Mitzvah was at the Masorti section of the Western Wall. This is an area where men and women can pray together. The day of the Bar Mitzvah we all got dressed up Israeli-style and headed to the wall. Clouds were looming and if it rained, of course they would not allow us to use a Torah outside. Fortunately, the rain held off and we had a very extraordinary and meaningful Bar Mitzvah.

Kevin had heard of the Emunah center and the work that they do for at-risk children and we were able to share his Bar Mitzvah with another 13-yearold boy by the name of Nadav.

The director of the Emunah center came to Jerusalem with Nadav and both of the boys shared the special day together.

A few days later our group made a very special visit to the Emunah center. For Kevin’s tzedakah project he collected needed items from people back home and delivered them to the

Emunah center. It just so happened, that on the day of our visit, the center was given a Torah by a family in honor of the family’s father. They were holding a special dinner and dedicating the Torah. When they heard that we were there and what Kevin had done, they invited our group to join in their dinner and dedication. It was such a special day; a day that we hope will stay with Kevin and our group for a lifetime.

Everyone had a great trip and this is where we thought our story would end.

But six years later, our middle son Reese was getting ready to start studying for his Bar Mitzvah. We talked about the plans for the service and the evening party at home with all of our friends and families. However, as happens with siblings, Reese wanted what his brother had.

He wanted a custom-planned, Reese-specific Bar Mitzvah trip.

While we had wanted our son to experience a Bar Mitzvah at home with our family and friends – as we experienced – we also wanted his experience to be what he wanted. And so we started planning our second Bar Mitzvah trip to Israel.

I reached out to our guide again and began creating a different and meaningful Bar Mitzvah adventure for Reese. We invited our families again and this time 17 people decided to join us.

Reese is an artist and his Bar Mitzvah had to reflect art. Sharon found Abuhav Synagogue, a beautiful temple in Tzfat that helps families have a Bar Mitzvah in their magnificent building in the mystical city.

Sharon created the siddur mirroring the service that Reese was used to. For this trip we did not bring a rabbi or a cantor. Since we were in an orthodox synagogue, I acted as the rabbi and helped Reese lead his service and follow in Kevin’s footsteps to become a man in Israel. After the service, we had a beautiful lunch at a nearby restaurant.

The one thing that Reese felt that he missed by not having a traditional Bar Mitzvah at home was a candle-lighting ceremony. We were able to arrange a cake after lunch and Reese created his own ceremony using his iPod and a wireless speaker to invite his guests to light candles and have the honor that he felt was important. He chose a song for each guest and wrote some thoughtful remarks about each person. We ended the day with a sunset cruise on the Sea of Galilee. Once again, we felt that we had created a different and memorable experience for our son Again, this is where we thought our traveling Bar Mitzvah story would end.

Reese and our youngest son Cooper are 21 months apart, so it was not long after we returned from Israel that Cooper started preparing for his Bar Mitzvah. As I am sure you can guess, Cooper did not want anything to do with a Bar Mitzvah at home. We actually pleaded with him to have it at home. We explained that we had just been in Israel and we did not think that many people would be able to join us. The trip is expensive and everyone had been to Israel just over a year ago. Cooper said while he wanted everyone to come, he would still be OK if it was a small group or even only our immediate family.

So Sharon and I began to plan our third Bar Mitzvah in Israel and worked to make it special for Cooper.

To our surprise, 27 family and friends wanted to join us for our final adventure to Israel. This trip was going to be harder to plan. Almost everyone from the first two trips was returning for this third trip. In addition, we had a few people who had never been to Israel and a few who were not Jewish. Cooper’s actual Bar Mitzvah was on Christmas Day. Although not a big deal in Israel, the fact that three people were interested in leaving their families and joining ours on Christmas was

jvhri.org amazing.

The ages in this group ranged from 13 to 81. Just transporting 27 people around the country was a challenge. For Cooper’s adventure, we would stay at four different hotels.

Once again, I called our guide and this time he was not surprised. During Reese’s trip, our guide would often offer Cooper suggestions for his trip, even though I kept telling him we were not coming back!

Cooper loves the outdoors and anything to do with adventure.

There was no way that his Bar Mitzvah could be inside. In addition, Cooper wanted to see Eilat and visit Petra, Jordan.

We spent weeks brainstorming the perfect location for his special day. We finally decided on the ancient ruins of the Ein Gedi Synagogue. It is located at the Ein Gedi Oasis next to Masada. They have uncovered the beautiful mosaic floor, and they have added a permanent covering to protect the ruins. From the tiny corner that visitors are allowed to use, Cooper and our guests could look out and see the desert, the mountains and the Dead Sea. Again, Sharon created a beautiful siddur for the service. This time, she acted as the rabbi and assisted Cooper. Cooper did a fantastic job following in Kevin and Reese’s footsteps and becoming a man in Israel. He was so touched that all of his friends and family made another journey to Israel. During his D’var

BAR | BAT MITZVAH

October 12, 2018 |

PHOTOS | SOCK FAMILY

Reese Sock dances during his Bar Mitzvah trip to Israel.

Torah, in addition to teaching us about his Torah portion, he personally thanked each person who joined him on his adventure and added something special about their relationship.

At the end of the service, he lead the “Adon Olam” to the tune of “Jingle Bells” in honor of our non-Jewish guests. We are fairly confident that has never been done before!

We all have fond memories of our Bar/Bat Mitzvah experiences and truly appreciate all of the effort and expense that our parents spent to make our days

so special. Sharon and I hope that our children have and will continue to have similar feelings when they remember their Bar Mitzvah adventures. We also hope that because they had these experiences in Israel it will make their experience that much more meaningful.

GARRETT Providence.

SOCK

lives

For more on this story, see More Trips to Plan on page 27.

in

Reese’s Bar Mitzvah ceremony was held at Abuhav Synagogue in Tzfat.

15

16 | October 12 , 2018

BAR | BAT MITZVAH

The Jewish Voice

A memorable Bar Mitzvah day

BY LARRY KESSLER The Bar Mitzvah has evolved in 53 years, but the more it’s changed – and it has, big time – the more it’s stayed the same.

Back in those ancient times, there were fewer elaborate parties. Those that were held cost quite a bit less and they were planned by the parents, not event planners. It was nonetheless understood that some kind of social gathering would follow the morning service, an effort that required spending a lot of money outside of the normal household budget.

Remaining virtually unchanged since 1965, however, are the religious requirements that the Bar or Bat Mitzvah candidate has to go through: Attending Hebrew School, or a tutorial equivalent, is still considered essential, as is the somewhat lengthy process of studying so the student knows how to recite his or her maftir and haftarah.

That aspect was the same for me as it was for my older daughter in the months leading up to her July 18, 2009, Bat Mitzvah. She had it a bit tougher than her old man as she had to lead some of the service. Despite my six years of Hebrew School, I only had to learn my maftir and haftarah, Ekeb, from the Book of Isaiah. Full disclosure: the name had escaped me until I found my old orange study book.

My daughter, however, and I shared the same reaction to having finished our work on the bimah: sheer relief that it was all over. But that’s where the similarities ended.

Whereas her morning in the synagogue was followed by a catered brunch for congregants, family and friends, and a separate evening dinner/party for close friends and family at another venue, my celebration was fairly basic.

The “party” – far from today’s slick affairs, complete with a band or DJ, a guest entertainer, party favors and a whole lot of other “extras” that drive the price up to the equivalent of several mortgage payments – consisted of a post-Bar Mitzvah lunch at the synagogue. After that, family and friends gathered at our apartment less than a mile from the shul. There, I thanked people for

The writer as the Bar Mitzvah boy. their gifts – mostly U.S. savings bonds, which years later proved a nifty way to pay for college. Now those bonds won’t cover the meal plan at your chosen university.

But a funny thing happened on the way to a relaxing Bar Mitzvah afternoon at home.

I got sick – again.

That’s right: I had been ill less than two weeks before my Bar Mitzvah – an ear infection – and even though I had recovered enough to be able to handle the day’s duties, including giving a speech (“Ladies and gentlemen, today I am a fountain pen …”), the fates had other ideas.

I felt fine after returning home from shul, so well in fact that I ditched my Bar Mitzvah suit, changed into shorts and decided to shoot hoops in my backyard with

my cousins and some friends while the grown-ups were busy noshing on the leftover knishes.

I worked up a good sweat in the August heat and suddenly I was wicked thirsty. So I poured the following liquids into a tall glass: Cherry Heering (which I later found out isn’t adult juice) and ginger ale.

I felt fine initially, but a couple of hours later, my face was redder than the Red Sox’ socks and I was burning up. After telling Sylvia, my mother, what I had consumed, she initially assumed a cause-and-effect equation, only to realize a little later that my horrid complexion wasn’t tied to the drink.

So Sylvia called our family doctor, which was possible in 1965. Not only did one physician care for all family members, from grandparents to newborns, but doctors once upon a time also made house calls. While not the Bronze Age, it was in the days before medical appointments were followed by wrangling vociferously with insurance providers to get the coverage you paid for – and before we were put on hold by insurance companies longer than it took our ancestors to cross the desert.

But I digress.

The physician, Dr. Robert Ober, arrived that Saturday night, and soon this conversation between patient and doctor ensued: Doc: So, Larry, kissing girls again, I see. (I got that a lot from him.)

Me (in bed, with muted laughter): No, doc, I’m really sick.

Doc (taking temperature): You’ve got a 105 fever.

He determined my ear infection had returned, and then said what’s stuck with me all these years: The fact that I had downed Cherry Heering was a very good thing, because it helped me sweat out my fever.

It may not have been the most exciting Bar Mitzvah, but it was one that I’ve never forgotten – even if, a halfcentury later, I couldn’t remember the name of my haftarah portion.

LARRY KESSLER is a freelance writer based in North Attleboro who can be reached at lkessler1@comcast.net.

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BAR | BAT MITZVAH

October 12, 2018 |

Grandparent gift guide for young adults If envelopes of cash feel too impersonal, we have some other ideas

BY NAOMI FINK COTRONE

KanJam Mini Game Set: Becoming an adult at a Bar or Bat Mitzvah is serious business.

The rest of their life doesn’t need to be. Enter the KanJam – the antithesis of seriousness – and adulthood. Because they should be able to be kids for a few more years. KanJam.com, $14.99 Geospace Walkaroo Wee Balance Stilts: Even though this milestone is supposed to mark their entry into adulthood, they may still not be able to quite reach your shoulders. Give them a boost with these impressive extensions.

Walmart, $37.99

Giving gifts is as much about the giver as it is the recipient.

But when it comes to gifting for a 13 year old, it’s sometimes hard to find a way to forge what can seem like a big divide. In my work with seniors and their families arranging in-home care, I’m often asked what to get “the kinder.” With teenagers of my own, this is comfortable territory for me – albeit an ever-moving target (much like anything teen-related). And so, here is a roundup of my ever-expiring wisdom about what the kids like these days. Mazal tov!

baker. First stop: unicorn challah. (Countryman Press, 2017).

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Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 Instant Camera: It’s the Polaroid for a new day. If you hand them this, there’s a chance they’ll put down the smartphone long enough to snap a few selfies and delight in the immediate prints.

Insist on taking home a few for your fridge. Amazon.com, $69

“Modern Jewish Baker” cookbook: Penned by Shannon Sarna, a cook, food writer and editor who loves Christmas ! cookies as much as rugelach, this fresh take on traditional flavors will delight the budding

!

Neon Green Perspex Candlesticks: No one ever said ritual needed to be traditional.

For the Bat Mitzvah girl who lights her own way, these candlesticks, made from an acrylic material, will be a sign to her that she can practice our rich heritage from a perspective that feels uniquely her. ModernTribe.com, $38 Selah: Helping Immigrants in Crisis: Demonstrate the mitzvah of tzedakah, providing an important life lesson to the B’nai Mitzvah who needs nothing – and a lifeline to those in need. Selah is one of the most crucial nonprofits in Israel today, helping immigrants in Israel in the more dire of circumstances. You may look through select recipient profiles on its website; read about Parisa and her daughters who fled Iran (the younger of whom is a recent Bat Mitzvah). Selah also helps groups of immigrant grandparents raising their orphaned grandchildren. Selah’s site allows for quick and easy online donations in honor of a simcha. Selah.org.il

vah do it better. With a question for each day of the year, as the years pass, he or she will have a keepsake time capsule that shows how much his or her answers change (and which ones remain the same) – and how they might compare to, say, a wiser, older relative. Amazon. com, $16

NAOMI FINK COTRONE is the founder and president of Right at Home, Rhode Island, which provides care to elderly and disabled adults throughout Rhode Island. Her favorite gift from her Bat Mitzvah was a menorah from her uncle John – something she still treasures to this day.

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18 | October 12 , 2018

BAR MITZVAH | COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice

Bar/Bat Mitzvah: A coming-of-age ceremony I recently asked my newly married nephew, Moshe Raskin, about what his Bar Mitzvah meant to him.

Moshe said, “The Bar M i t z v a h i s the first step of independence in being PATRICIA an adult. You RASKIN are viewed as a kid before that time. You reach a certain level of independence and responsibility as a representative of the congregation.

“Once I became a Bar Mitzvah, I could lead a benching service, be part of a minyan, lead services, read from the Torah, and receive an aliyah.”

At aish.com, in the article “The Jewish coming-of-age ceremony,” Rabbi Dov Lev writes, “Few things are associated with Judaism as much as Bar/ Bat Mitzvah. The significance is that on this day the young person becomes fully responsible for keeping the commandments of the Torah.”

Rabbi Lev continued, “In Judaism, a mitzvah performed because one is commanded, is considered greater than a

mitzvah performed voluntarily.

This is because a person has a natural aversion to fulfilling an obligation. Yet overcoming this aversion is a sign of maturity, and this is what the Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrates – reaching the stage of obligation.”

Moshe added to this by saying, “It is tradition to learn from the Torah. One of the first challenges of [having a Bar Mitzvah] is to overcome the fear of getting up in front of people. You have to read in a foreign language, and you do it.

“This is the first lesson in total responsibility, and gives you a sense of accomplishment.”

I asked Moshe if the boy really does become a man, or the girl a woman, on the day of his Bar Mitzvah or her Bat Mitzvah.

He said, “We are all kids at heart. Throughout life, we are given increasing responsibility and opportunities. The Bar Mitzvah is the beginning, a first step of that adult responsibility, even though you are still a child. This makes a clearer demarcation. You are not a real man yet, but you are on the path of being weaned off of being a child and learning what it means to be an adult.”

Rabbi Lev made the same point in his article.

“The Bar Mitzvah celebration … serves another purpose: to remind the young man that he is an adult and responsible for his actions. Of course, he should seek counsel with his parents and other older people, but ultimate responsibility for his actions is his own,” he wrote.

PATRICIA RASKIN, president of Raskin Resources Productions Inc., is an awardwinning radio producer and Rhode Island business owner.

She is the host of “The Patricia Raskin” show, a radio and podcast coach, and a board member of Temple Emanu-El, in Providence.

Tamarisk resident donates his hand-carved work of art to Temple Sinai

BY DEBORAH GUTHRIE Sam Nelson is a man of many talents, and at age 99, his creative spirit remains strong.

Once owner of the Nelson Rack Company, in Providence, a manufacturer for the jewelry plating industry, Nelson now resides at The Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living Residence, in Warwick.

Nelson recently gifted one of his most cherished creations to Temple Sinai, in Cranston – a wood carving in relief that he made several years ago, depicting a 19th-century Jewish wedding held under a huppah.

Asked how he went about creating the artwork, Nelson said, “I saw a beautiful picture and carved it entirely by hand into a single block of wood.”

Over the years, Nelson has whittled many other pieces, including a bust of Ludwig van Beethoven.

As a businessman, Nelson was often called on to invent products for his customers.

“In my line of work, I had to be creative and I always used my hands,” he said.

Nelson’s resourcefulness in business eventually led him to a variety of hobbies in retirement: making jewelry, shaping vases from fused glass, crafting stained glass panels and clocks, twisting copper wire into figures, and wood carving. He

Sam Nelson surrounded by some of his family.

Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser with Sam Nelson who is holding his wood carving. worked alongside his late wife, Gertrude Stein Nelson, who had a flair for painting.

Nelson’s artwork is displayed at the Banyan Springs Club, in Boynton Beach, Florida, at Tamarisk, and now at Temple

Sinai.

He presented his wood carving to Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser on Aug. 31. It will be displayed on the first floor of Temple Sinai.

“We are grateful to accept

this very special work of art because it was made by a member of our congregation,” Rabbi Goldwasser said. “It is something we are going to take a lot of pleasure in for a long time, and I am so happy that when people walk into the building, it will be one of the first things they see.”

Nelson’s detailed carving of

the wedding was prominently displayed in his home for years, but he wanted it to be some place “where lots of people could see it.”

“I got a lot of pleasure from making many things over the years, but what I loved most was giving them away to my family and friends to enjoy,” he said.

COMMUNITY

jvhri.org

PHOTOS | MATT FERRARA PHOTOGRAPHY

Rabbi Wayne Franklin with fellow honorees, board members and the executive director (left to right): Jessica Wienstein, board member and event co-chair; Taylor Polites, 2018 recipient of the Public Humanities Scholar Award; Francis Parra, 2018 recipient of the Tom Roberts Prize for Creative Achievement in the Humanities; Robb Dimmick and Ray Rickman of Stages of Freedom, 2018 recipients of the Innovation in the Humanities Award; Rabbi Franklin, 2018 recipient of the Honorary Chairs’ Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities; Elizabeth Francis, executive director of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities;

Touba Ghadessi, board chair and event co-chair.

FROM PAGE 1

| FRANKLIN

as chairing a Providence Youth Engagement task force.

“One does not dialogue alone,” Franklin said in accepting the award. “Interfaith dialogue requires people who are deeply committed to their own religious faiths, but who share open minds and open hearts.

“Meaningful dialogue is possible among people who are eager to learn from one another and who are interested in understanding one another. Dialogue requires mutual respect, rather than trying to convince others of the correctness of one’s position.”

The council honored four others with awards. Ray Rickman and Robb Dimmick received the Innovation Award for their Stages of Freedom, which creates programming about black Rhode Island life and culture for a wide audience, and provides inner-city youth with cultural opportunities. Taylor Polites won the Public Humanities

Scholar Award for his work as a writer, educator and researcher. Francis Parra, co-founder and artistic director of ECAS Theater, Rhode Island’s only Spanish-language theater, was given the Tom Roberts Prize for Creative Achievement in the Humanities.

In closing his remarks, Franklin cited Hasidic Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, who taught, “The whole world is a very narrow bridge, but the most important thing is not to be afraid.”

Franklin said, “Our road through life can feel like a very narrow bridge. We never know what lies ahead, or what might topple us from the bridge. Many people fear that if they engage with people whose beliefs differ from their own, they may become unmoored from their foundations and be compromised in the faith.”

Yet, Franklin added, “that bridge building can make us

more secure, and less likely to experience calamity…the bridges we build help us overcome our fears of all that’s different and unfamiliar. I hope that our collective efforts will continue to lift up and affirm the human spirit, so that we can traverse the bridge of life with confidence, in harmony and in peace.”

NOEL RUBINTON is a writer based in Providence.

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he Great Rhode Island Challah Bake returns on Thursday, Oct. 25, in the Baxt Social Hall at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center in Providence. Friends, family and flour will gather at 6 p.m. For more information or to register go to jewishallianceri.org/challah-bake or call Michelle Cicchtielli at 401-421-4111, ext. 178.

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COMMUNITY

| SINAI

A larger gathering was then held, in February 1958, at the Nelson Aldrich School, in Warwick, where the group heard from Rabbi Albert Baum, the director of New Congregations at the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the national Reform group.

“We kind of just grew from there,” Segal said, adding that they received help from many sources, including Temple Beth-El, in Providence, which lent the fledgling congregation a Torah and prayer books.

At first, the congregation rented space at the Garden City School, and eventually at Greenwood Hall, at the Greenwood Country Club, in Warwick.

The temple thrived under part-time Rabbi Robert Schenkerman.

“He knew how to sell being Jewish, and drew Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and unaffiliated Jews,” Winsten said.

“Everyone loved him and he grew the temple.”

By March 1959, the trustees gave the green light to seek a full-time rabbi – Rabbi Donald Heskins was hired that September – and to launch a building campaign.

Segal said $150,000 was raised, and an 11.6-acre parcel was purchased at 30 Hagen Ave., in Cranston, a site considered ideal for the congregation’s target area: Cranston, Warwick and East Greenwich.

To emphasize its target de-

mographic, the new shul was originally named Temple Sinai Suburban Reform Temple.

The new temple thrived, despite occasional differences of opinion, Segal said.

“We had a big argument over raising the dues [from $10] to $50,” he recalled. There was a “big temple meeting,” and the higher dues prevailed, he said.

Segal and Winsten said that throughout its history, the temple has been a focal point in the lives of its congregants.

Sinai “has always been a big part of my life,” said Segal, the former president of the Almacs supermarket chain. “It’s a great temple. It’s had good leaders to keep it going.”

For Winsten, the temple has been a place of joy and comfort. Her son Paul and daughter Martha became B’nai Mitzvah there, her daughter was married there, and Winsten held the funeral service for her first husband there in 1969, after he died at age 41. The 500 people who filled the temple for his service deeply touched her.

“It was a place that was very meaningful to me and my family,” Winsten said.

Dottie Swajian, the temple administrator for the last 19 years, described Temple Sinai as a caring place.

“We are a warm and welcoming community. These are the most wonderful and special people,” she said.

Jeffrey Goldwasser, the rabbi since 2014, is upbeat about the

The Jewish Voice temple, which is moving into the future with new programs and a restructured religious school.

“This year, we introduced a new model for our religious school to keep it active and engaging, even at a time when we have fewer students than in the past. By putting more focus on all-school projects for children of all ages, we are keeping Jewish learning fun and transformative,” he said.

In addition to religious observances and the religious school, Temple Sinai has a sisterhood, a brotherhood, the Kosher Senior Café, an adult chorus, a tikkum olam (social action) organization, a biblical garden, a youth group and a social worker.

The 60th anniversary gala will be held at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick, in Warwick, on Nov. 3, at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets, $75, must be purchased in advance and include dinner and entertainment by the Nightlife Orchestra. For tickets and more information, contact temple administrator Dottie Swajian at 401-942-8350 or dottie@templesiniairi.org.

LARRY KESSLER (lkessler1@ comcast.net) is a freelance writer based in North Attleboro.

Editor’s Note: To learn more about Temple Sinai, go to www. templesinairi.org. To read an interview with Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser and the full 1983 silver anniversary story, go to The Jewish Voice’s website, www.jvhri.org.

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Temple Sinai timeline January 1958: Ten families meet to discuss the formation of a temple to serve the suburbs south of Providence.

formally dedicated.

Feb. 24, 1958: The name “Temple Sinai Suburban Reform Temple” is officially accepted by more than 40 new member families.

July 1979: Rabbi George Astrachan is installed.

March 7, 1958: The first service is held, at Greenwood Country Club, in Warwick, with guest Rabbi Daniel L. Davis officiating and a Torah borrowed from Temple Beth-El, in Providence.

July 1999: Rabbi David Lipman is installed following the retirement of Rabbi George Astrachan after 20 years of service.

September 1959: Donald Heskins is installed as the first fulltime rabbi.

June 4, 1961: Construction begins on the temple building.

May 10, 1963: The building is

August 1964: Jerome Gurland becomes the new rabbi.

1980: Cantor Remmie Brown begins his 34 years of service to Temple Sinai.

July 2003: Peter W. Stein becomes the rabbi.

July 2014: Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser and Cantor Wendy Siegel begin their service to Temple Sinai.

August 2016: Cantor Deborah Johnson arrives.

Erin Minior named CEO of JCS PROVIDENCE – On Sept. 27, the board of directors of Jewish Collaborative Services (JCS) unanimously named Erin Minior as the president and chief executive officer of JCS. JCS, the consolidation of Jewish Family Service of Rhode Island and the Jewish Seniors Agency, is a nonprofit social service agency providing services and programs for Rhode Islanders in need, whether Jewish or not, that include counseling, case management, outreach to the elderly, Kosher meal sites, assisted living and subsidized housing for the elderly and disabled, and adoption services.

As CEO and president, Minior assumes the responsibility of all business, finance and personnel operations.

“Erin played an integral role in planning and managing the merger and she is the ideal person to now lead it. Since the agreement to merge, Erin has effectively managed the integration of two organizations into one entity, while collaborating with board members,” said Jeff Padwa, chairman of the JCS board of directors.

“Erin was the go-to point person for the numerous professional consultants we retained throughout the entire merger process, including attorneys, accountants and human resource professionals, among others.”

During the merger negotiations, Minior worked closely with Sara Ades Goodwin, director of major gifts, to secure donor funding to purchase a new office building for the agency.

JCS has been operating from that new facility, at 1165 North Main St., Providence, since Aug. 1, added Padwa.

“I look forward to continuing to work with JCS staff and board members as well as other community leaders to ensure that JCS builds on the founda-

Erin Minior tions laid by JFS and JSA. In the next few years, we’ll be evaluating our programs and services to determine which ones best fulfill the needs of our existing and prospective clients,” said Minior. “As a new agency with a deep historical understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing Rhode Island’s social service agencies, we look forward to being actively engaged in improving the lives of those we serve and collaborating with others to identify solutions to endemic problems of hunger, housing, isolation and poverty.”

Minior, who has more than 30 years’ experience leading human service agencies, was most recently interim CEO of JCS. Before that, she served Jewish Family Service as its CEO, interim CEO, director of professional services and coordinator of elder services. She served on the faculty of the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University and as a peer reviewer for the Council on Accreditation for Families and Children Services in New York City.

Submitted by Jewish Collaborative Services

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October 12, 2018 |

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22 | October 12 , 2018

BUSINESS

The Jewish Voice

Nice to meet you!

BY JASON E. SIPERSTEIN I think the phrase, “it’s a small world” especially holds true here in Rhode Island. As luck would have it, Barbara Kenerson walked into my office a couple months ago to attend a weekly JASON E. Talmud class SIPERSTEIN with Rabbi Yossi Laufer.

It didn’t take long for me to find out that she was the previous business writer for The Jewish Voice.

What Barbara did not know was that I had been looking for this type of opportunity for some time (this would probably be the right audience to say that it was bashert!). I quickly contacted The Voice editor, Fran Ostendorf, who kindly offered me the opportunity to continue where Barbara left off.

In introducing this new column, it makes sense to first introduce myself. I am a Rhode Island native, attended The Wheeler School for high school and received a degree from Emory University. I worked in Manhattan for five years only to return to Rhode Island – three miles from where I grew up and where my parents still live. (I keep telling my wife it

was a coincidence.) My favorite restaurant is Rasa in East Greenwich and favorite part of Rhode Island would be the lawn at the Castle Hill Inn. I started working in the financial services industry in 2009, just about the time the market hit a low of 6,600. People thought I was crazy to leave my previous position as a consultant to work in finance on Wall

“Whether I am at work or sitting on the couch at home, I am always thinking about the market ….”

Street. Fortunately, I had luck on my side, and the market recovered to new highs.

In 2011, I joined my father’s wealth management firm, Eliot Rose Wealth Management, which is where I am today (and where we host that weekly Talmud class). We work with about 150 families to transform their lives through the power of financial planning.

Some credentials and community involvement…I am a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder, which is considered the gold standard in investment management and a Certified Financial Planner

(CFP) professional, which is considered the gold standard in financial planning. I sit on the investment committees for the Jewish Alliance and Jewish Collaborative Services (JCS). I am a trustee of the Miriam Hospital, and pro bono director and programming director for the Financial Planning Association (FPA) of Rhode Island.

Whether I am at work or sitting on the couch at home, I am always thinking about the market and planning strategies, and find myself immersed in newspapers, podcasts and books in the field.

My hope for this column is to share my insights about investing and financial planning that can provide some clarity and direction for readers. I have found that people can feel overwhelmed and daunted by the field of personal finance, and my goal is to help readers feel comfortable and eager to learn about the field.

I look forward to my next column where we can get into the nitty gritty and hope to hear from you if you have questions or concerns that I might be able to answer in this column.

JASON E. SIPERSTEIN, CFA, CFP, is vice president, wealth management at Eliot Rose Wealth Management.

Contact him by email, jes@ eliotrose.com.

Turning the tables on an Israel adventure

BY JEFFREY SOCK In 1980, my parents sent me to Israel with Camp Ramah for six weeks. As a 17-year-old, I never gave any thought as to the feelings my parents experienced sending their eldest child away for that long. Until that time, the longest we had been apart was during a week when they went to Europe.

Fast forward to Yom Kippur 2018. Nearing the end of the afternoon service, my mother, May-Ronny Zeidman, stood up to leave. She bent down and gave me a kiss; my husband, Dennis, stood and hugged and kissed her. I quickly rose, tapped her on the shoulder and gave her a big hug and kiss. As she walked away I was suddenly choked up and filled with emotion. The next day she was leaving for Israel for a month, and a brief thought crossed my mind: could this be the last time I embrace and kiss her?

I guess at some point the child becomes the parent just a little. At that moment I understood some of the feelings my parents felt as I boarded the bus in Warwick for my summer in Israel. I

was simultaneously thrilled for the time she and her significant, Howard Brown, would be spending in my favorite place, as well as somewhat apprehensive and protective of her going. I was also excited for the adventures and the experience of “living” in Israel that she would have.

I knew that I would miss seeing her.

Luckily, in the almost 40 years that have passed since my first visit, technology has made the world smaller, and I am certain I will have my usual daily contact and updates from her. I am also glad that more certainly, I along with all the readers of her column, are sure to gain the benefit of her trip in upcoming articles.

Before I left temple on Yom Kippur afternoon and then again during Neilah, I said a few prayers for her safe arrival in Eretz Yisroel, for a safe and enjoyable stay, and most important, for her safe return for all who love and miss her. Leich l’shalom, Go toward peace and return in good health!

JEFFREY SOCK is MayRonny Zeidman’s son.

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October 12, 2018 |

23

2 communities come together to watch film about the Armenian Genocide

BY LEV POPLOW PROVIDENCE – In recognition of Armenian Independence Day (Sept. 21), the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center partnered with The Genocide Education Project to present the film “The Promise” at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center on Sept. 23.

Adam Greenman, CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, and Judge Edward Newman, president of the Holocaust Education Center, welcomed members of both the Jewish and Armenian communities to the packed Baxt Social Hall for the screening.

In his comments to the audience of more than 100 people, Greenman complimented the work of both organizations and talked of the importance of the two communities working together, along with other affected communities, to educate people about genocide.

Newman drew parallels to the Armenian Genocide as he touched on his family’s story of surviving the Holocaust.

He went on to talk about how important it is that education continues about the devastating consequences of unchecked hate, bigotry and discrimination. Newman specifically mentioned the mandatory Holocaust and genocide curriculum in Rhode Island schools, which both communities worked to

The crowd listens to Judge Edward Newman. achieve.

“The Promise” is a critically acclaimed film about a love triangle that develops between an Armenian medical student, a Paris-based American journalist, and an Armenian-born woman raised in France amid the horrors of the Armenian Genocide.

The Ottoman government systematically exterminated

1.5 million Armenians during the genocide, which began in 1915 and continued during and after World War I. The mass premeditated murders of the Armenians led Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin to coin the word “genocide” in 1943. The Armenian Genocide is acknowledged as the first modern genocide, and it is the second most-studied

genocide after the Holocaust.

Most of the audience for the screening were aware of the Armenian Genocide in a general way, but were clearly impacted by the depiction seen on the screen.

After the movie, two members of the Armenian community, Pauline Getzoyan and Esther Kalajian, answered questions and distributed educational

materials to educators in attendance.

LEV POPLOW is a communications consultant who writes on behalf of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center, in Providence. He can be reached at levpoplow@gmail. com.

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24 | October 12 , 2018

OBITUARIES

The Jewish Voice

Robert Dickstein, 89

ASK THE DIRECTOR

BY MICHAEL D. SMITH F.D./R.E. Shalom Memorial Chapel

QUESTION: How long does formaldehyde really preserve the body?

R.P., Macon, Georgia Dear R.P., Formaldehyde is actually a gas. In embalming, a formalin solution is used (chemically HCHO). It’s sort of like making a carbonated soda, but using formaldehyde gas instead of carbon dioxide in the water.

As far as preservation goes, it depends on the percentage of formaldehyde gas in the solution, the rate of flow into the circulatory system, the pressure used, the state of decomposition from the start of the embalming process, the amount of nitrogen in the body (looking at you, jaundice), and if any other preservative measures have been used. Also, grave liners (vaults and cement liners), type of casket (wood or metal, or another material), the water table, and acidity of the earth play a role in preservation and decomposition.

In Judaism, we are supposed to go back to the earth as soon as possible. We do not embalm, and we use caskets of all-wood construction. If the cemetery requires a grave liner, holes are made in the bottom before the installation of the liner (grave liners are primarily used to keep the land above them flat to avoid uneven ground and sinkholes in the future), and the burial takes place shortly after death occurs.

The why: People (and the proteins that comprise them) are mostly four elements – Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen (CHON). The HCHO reacts with the Nitrogen and makes protein chains. The wee beasties that make decomposition possible no longer see these proteins as food. Think of a bagel, but toasting it to a blackened crisp. It no longer retains the nutrients or appearance of anything edible.

Depending on several factors, preservation from embalming can last not very long to nearly forever. Also, don’t burn your bagels.

QUESTIONS ARE WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED. Please send questions to: ShalomChapel@aol.com or by mail to Ask the Director, c/o Shalom Memorial Chapel, 1100 New London Ave., Cranston, R.I. 02920.

of the late George Dickstein.

Contributions in his memory to the charity of your choice would be appreciated.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Robert Alan Dickstein died Sept. 16.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York, a son of the late Solomon and Lenore (Felcher) Dickstein.

After moving frequently as a child, he settled in Roslyn Heights, New York.

He moved to P rov idence 15 years ago, most recently residing at the Highlands on the East Side and Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center where he received compassionate care.

Bob had a successful career as a commercial photographer, and was rarely seen without a camera in his hand. He traveled all over the world with his cameras. A favorite project took him across the country to capture a slice of America through a history of clocks, which was produced into a book, “Horology Americana.” He believed that the art of photography was about using light to create goodness and meaning, and to push back against darkness.

He cared deeply about supporting others who were struggling to express themselves through art, and was considered to be a mentor by many.

In the end, he did “rage against the dying of the light.”

He is survived by his wife, Elaine; children Marc (Deborah) and Susan (Tony Saccone) Dickstein; sister Joan Goldberger; sister-in-law Alice; grandchildren Matthew, Eric and Lila Dickstein and Max, Alexander and Benjamin Saccone; many nieces and nephews and a host of friends and creative souls. He was the brother

Rosalie Edelstein, 79

KOKOMO, IND. – Rosalie T. Edelstein died on Sept. 30 in Kokomo, Indiana. She was born on May 7, 1939, in Providence to the late Morris and Esther Kuperman (Malachowsky).

Following high school, Rosalie went to Rhode Island College and received a bachelor’s degree in education. On June 27, 1965, she was married to Warren Edelstein in Rhode Island.

She and Warren later divorced, but still remained friends, and he survives. They had moved to Chicago, where Rosalie worked as a teacher until her daughter was born.

Later, she found employment working for the State of Illinois, where she had worked for 30 years before retiring in the early 2000s.

Rosalie enjoyed traveling, especially in Europe. She would keep herself occupied by reading, writing and playing piano.

She was also an avid bingo player.

In addition to Warren, Rosalie is survived by her daughter, Fran (Tim) Baity; sister, Ida Gregerman; grandson, Sam Baity; niece, Enid Cohen; and nephews, Abbott Gregerman, Aaron Kuperman, and Josh Kuperman. In addition to her parents, Rosalie was preceded in death by a daughter, Leah Esther Edelstein; and a brother, Max Kuperman.

Linda Elman, 68

CRANSTON, R.I. – Linda Elman died Sept. 22 at Kent Hospital.

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retiring from her teaching position with the school system in Dade County, Florida.

She was the mother of Dylan Elman and his wife, Sara Parylo, of Staten Island, New York.

She was the sister of Audrey Elman and her husband, Joseph Izzo, of West Warwick. She was the aunt of Arthur Izzo and Brandon Lane.

Contributions in her memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or American Diabetes Association, 260 Cochituate Road, #200, Framingham, MA 01701.

Susan Gara, 78

EAST GREENWICH, R.I. – Susan Gara died Sept. 25 at St. Elizabeth Green Houses. Born in La Paz, Bolivia, a daughter of the late Hans and Annemarie (Prister) Schein, she had lived in Rhode Island for 11 years, previously living in Newton, Massachusetts, Toronto, Canada, and Nyack, New York. She was a medical office manager for her former husband’s medical office and several other offices in New York for 23 years, retiring in 1996 to help raise her grandchildren.

Susan graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Iona College, Class of ’93. She was a volunteer with many organizations, including Nyack Hospital, Meals on Wheels and the High Park Playground renovations in Toronto. Susan became an active service committee member in every community she called home.

She was the mother of Lilly Wolfgang, and her husband, Robert, of East Greenwich, Lori Gara-Matthews and her husband, Ben, of Newton, Massachusetts, Jennifer Walker and her husband, Jeff, of Nyack, New York, and Michael Gara and his wife, Kristen, of Burbank, California. She was the sister of Harry Schein and his wife, Susan, of Visalia, California, and the late Peter Dawidowicz and Monica Simotas. She was the grandmother, “Omi”, of Benjamin, Eli, Nathaniel, Isabel, Jordyn, Kira, Aaron, Reece, TJ, Gabriel, Eliana, Ruby, Oscar and Theo.

Contributions in her memory may be made to Meals on Wheels, 70 Bath St., Providence, RI 02908.

Mildred Handel, 95

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Mildred Handel died on Oct. 6. She was the wife of the late Beatrice Kelich; they were together for 50 years. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of the late Chaim and Anna (Feldman) Kuchuck.

Mildred was a social worker OBITUARIES | 25

jvhri.org FROM PAGE 24

OBITUARIES for Jewish Home for the Aged in Rhode Island and a teacher for handicapped children in New Jersey. She was also socially and politically active and won the Victim Advocacy Award from the state of New Jersey. She wrote plays and musicals for the Leisure Club at the Jewish Community Center.

She was a beloved sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.

She is survived by her daughter Linda Handel; brother Arthur Kuchuck (Judith); grandchildren Joshua Waldman (Lily) and Jenna Waldman (Wesley); and great-grandchildren Ervanny Astari Waldman, Ronen Klimczak and Asher Klimczak.

Contributions in her memory may be made to Steere House, 100 Borden St., Providence, RI 02903.

Jane Lefohn, 93

CRANSTON, R.I. – Jane Lefohn died Sept. 30 at Cedar Crest Nursing Home. She was the wife of the late Max Lefohn.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, a daughter of the late William and Florence (Wolfe) Wasserkrug, she had lived her final year in Cranston, previously living in Los Angeles, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Baltimore, Maryland.

She was an account clerk for May Company Department Store in Baltimore and Los Angeles in the accounts payable department. Jane volunteered in a nursing home and a food bank in Las Vegas.

She was the mother of Stephen Sirota and his wife, Ronnie, of Cranston. She was the sister of Lois Rachanow and Freida “Petey” Sherr, both of Baltimore, and the late Karleen Levenson and Elaine Wasserkrug. She was the grandmother

of Amy Bailey and her husband, Jim, and Wendy Bassett and her husband, Mark. She was the great-grandmother of Abigail Bassett and Matthew Bailey.

Contributions in her memory may be made to your favorite charity.

Ruth Samdperil, 86

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Ruth (Matzner) Samdperil died Oct. 8 at her home in Providence.

Ruth was the wife of the late Charles Samdperil.

They were married for 54 years. Born and raised in P r ov id e nc e , Ruth was the daughter of the late Joseph and Celia (Sack) Matzner.

Ruth is survived by her four children: Stephen (Robin) Samdperil, Debra (Phyllis) Samdperil, Terry (Michael) Schuster, and Karyn (Jay) Rosenfield. She was predeceased by her son, Henry David Samdperil. Nan leaves behind her grandchildren David, Jamie (Josh), Sophie, Bryce, Skyler, Emma and Samantha and two great-grandchildren, Cooper and Cameron. Ruth valued her family and many lifelong friendships.

She enjoyed years of warm summers in Narragansett and Jamestown and sunny winters in Jupiter, Florida.

Ruth graduated from Hope High School and attended Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). She was a talented artist who excelled at capturing the true essence of her subjects in drawings and paintings. She greatly enriched the lives of her children and grandchildren by introducing them to the arts, and providing fun, love and encouragement.

Donations in Ruth’s memory can be made to Temple EmanuEl, The Ruth and Charles Samdperil Family Jewish Education Fund at the Jewish Community Day School, Camp JORI or to a charity of your choice.

Claire Schleffer

WARWICK, R.I. – Claire J. Schleffer, died Sept. 30 at Sunny View Nursing Home. Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Gordon Schleffer and Mildred (Gorodetsky) Schleffer, she had lived in Rhode Island her entire life.

She was a leader in the Department of Labor Relations for the state of Rhode Island for more than 40 years. Claire was a member and past president of the local Muscular Dystrophy chapter.

She was the sister of the late Morton Schleffer and his surviving wife, Lois, of Brockton, Massachusetts. She was the aunt of Gordon and his wife, Evelyn and Jonathan and his wife, Lisa. She was the proud aunt to Joshua, Jacob, Andrew, Lauren, Leah and Jack.

Contributions in her memory may be made to The American Cancer Society.

Mark Schupack

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Professor Mark B. Schupack died Sept.

27. He was born in New Britain, Connecticut in 1931 the son of the late Edward Schupack and Betty (Saltzman) Chesley. He was the husband of Helaine (Marcus) Schupack.

He received a BS from MIT. After serving as a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, he received a MA and Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University. He taught at Brown University from 1959 to 1999, serving as chairman of the Economics Department, Associate Provost, Dean of the Gradu-

OBITUARIES ate School, and Vice Provost.

He served as chairman of the Graduate Record Exam board and was appointed to the Rhode Island Consumers’ Council by then Governor John Chafee.

Besides his wife, Schupack leaves a son Andrew (Donna), a daughter Roberta (Steven) Senecal; and three grandsons Jonathan, Joshua and Jared. He was the brother of the late Thomas (Tobie) and Stephen (Ann).

Contributions in his memory may be made to Rhode Island Food Bank, 200 Niantic Ave., Providence, RI 02907 or Bethany Home of RI, 111 S. Angell St., Providence, RI 02906.

Lillian Weinberg, 92

CRANSTON, R.I. – Lillian Weinberg died Oct. 4 at home.

She was the beloved wife of the late Samuel Weinberg. Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Isadore and Ida (Beck) Shechtman, she had lived in Cranston for 63 years, previously living in Providence.

She was the mother of Carl Weinberg and his wife, Lisa, of Cranston and Dr. Marc Weinberg and his wife, Lori, of Bristol. She was the sister of the late Fannie, Irving, Simon, Harry and Samuel. She was the grandmother of Jill (Billy), Dean (Lizzi), Devin, Evan, Adam (Molly), Justin (Jona), and David. She was the great-grandmother of Aidan, Phaedra, Zeke, Thea, Hallie and Annie.

Contributions in her memory may be made to the American Heart Association, 1 State St., Providence, RI 02908 or the charity of your choice.

October 12, 2018 |

25

Aaron Wold, 91

EAST GREENWICH, R.I. – Aaron Wold died in his home on Oct. 3. He was born and educated in Brooklyn, New York, earning a Ph.D. from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1952. In 1963 he joined the faculty of Brown University and was the Vernon Krieble Chaired Professor of Chemistry until his retirement in 1992. He has written two books and published more than 300 papers in the field of solid state chemistry.

Aaron was an avid orchid collector for more than 60 years and raised more than 550 rare orchids in his greenhouse. He was a long-time member of the Rhode Island Orchid Society and was always happy to share his knowledge of orchids with others.

When he retired from teaching, he turned to his love of music and volunteered for Jewish Eldercare of Rhode Island. For many years he created music programs each week and traveled to nursing and retirement homes throughout the state, playing music for the residents.

He leaves his wife of 60 years, Dr. Patricia Wold, his three children, Dr. Marshall Wold, Leo Wold, Esq., and Miriam Wold; as well as four grandchilOBITUARIES | 26

26 | October 12 , 2018

SENIORS

The Jewish Voice

REMEMBER THE PAST From the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association

BY GERALDINE S. FOSTER It was that time of year again, that interval between Yom Kippur and Sukkot. The first harvest of Italian prune plums had appeared in the market – it was time to find the plum tart recipe that Yetta Glicksman shared with me many years ago. The tart had become our delicious traditional dessert for the first night of Sukkot.

A second arrival during that interval, courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service, was a manila envelope from The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. It contained a list of phone numbers for me to call on behalf of the annual fundraising campaign.

Yes, I still make calls, because I cannot say no to Maybeth Lichaa, who serves as co-chair of the Annual Campaign community division. I also cannot break this autumn tradition of so many years, more years than I care to count.

Many decades have passed since the first successful R.I. Jewish organization devoted to community-wide fundraising and planning – The General Jewish Committee (the name was suggested by my uncle, Alter Boyman) – took root in Providence, in 1945.

Attempts at some form of community organization in the 80 years before the founding of the General Jewish Committee had either failed or only partially

The long roots of my autumn traditions

succeeded. Deep divisions and mistrust within Providence’s Jewish population, stemming from differing ideas of community, had prevented a successful outcome.

The Providence City Directory of 1850 lists nine Jewish family names. Five years later, that number had doubled. These early settlers were, for the most part, young. Though not necessarily from Germany, German was their native language, thus earning these East European immigrants the sobriquet “Deutchen” (Germans).

They arrived with capital and started small businesses in the downtown area, where they also lived. As the downtown commercial area grew, they moved into the section of the city bounded by Broadway to the west and Elmwood Avenue to the south.

By the time the first great immigration wave of East European Jews was beginning to have an impact in Rhode Island, these early Jewish settlers had founded their own comfortable community, with a Reform religious center (Congregation of the Sons of Israel and David), a sisterhood, a beneficial lodge for men and one for women, and a fraternal organization or two.

The lodges and fraternal organizations dispensed aid when needed.

In the wider community of Providence, they had also achieved a comfortable place in

the business, social and political spheres.

All this seemed threatened by the influx of the mostly destitute Yiddish-speaking East European Jews, who settled primarily in the city’s North End, in the vicinity of Charles Street and Constitution Hill.

Ten years later, Willard Avenue, in South Providence, became the hub of a third Jewish community, also of East European immigrants.

The “Deutschen” tried to assist their needy brethren, but were limited by what they could do financially and by their disdain for the Yiddish language, which many considered to be just jargon.

The new immigrants had their own ideas of what a Jewish community should include – a free loan association, a sheltering society, help for the aged and the orphaned, and Orthodox synagogues where they could chant familiar prayers, in familiar accents, with their landsleit (Jews who came from the same area).

Since the Deutschen had no need of any of these, the immigrants founded their own social and self-help agencies in the North End. A similar pattern developed in South Providence.

Furthermore, the North End Jews considered themselves superior to the South Providence Jews – and both groups resented the Deutschen. They also considered the attitude of the Deutschen’s donors condescend-

Women’s Alliance presents

ing, and they were horrified by the Deutschen’s Reform religious practices; secularists in their midst they could tolerate, but not what they considered assimilation.

The duplication – sometimes triplication – of relief and social work groups in the three divisions in the Jewish population made for chaotic conditions.

As early as 1896, Rabbi David Blaustein, of Congregation of the Sons of Israel and David, attempted to introduce a reasonable approach.

In coordination with the North End immigrants, he proposed establishing a central agency to not only dispense funds (mainly from his congregants) but to also help the impoverished recipients (from the North End) become self-sufficient.

This project, as well as other similar proposals in the next decades, could not overcome the resentments on all sides.

An exception to the prevailing divisions occurred in 1905. As the plight of the survivors of the Kishinev Massacre, in Russia, became known, the Jewish areas of Providence mobilized as a community to raise funds for relief, as did the Jewish communities throughout the state.

But other attempts at community organization continued to hit obstacles, including one in 1922 that was recorded by David Adelman in the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Society Notes (Vol. 3, 1960).

According to Adelman, all the Jewish organizations – more than 50 – were asked to send delegates to a meeting in May that would subsequently be known as the All-Jewish Conference.

From the outset, at the first FROM PAGE 25

ROSH HODESH Tradition tells us that Rosh Hodesh, the marking of the new moon, was once celebrated by both Jewish men and women.

In later years, Rosh Hodesh became primarily a women’s holiday – a day for women to be together to enjoy meaningful introspection, dialogue and study.

SAVE THE DATE: Thursday, April 11, 2019 | 6 Nisan 5779 | 12:00 - 1:15pm Featuring Rabbi Wayne Franklin, Senior Rabbi, Temple Emanu-El "Ruth and Naomi:Two Women With Lessons for Us"

For more information or to RSVP, contact Danielle Germanowski at 401.421.4111 ext. 109 or dgermanowski@jewishallianceri.org, or visit jewishallianceri.org/Rosh-Hodesh.

GERALDINE S. FOSTER is a past president of the R.I. Jewish Historical Association. To comment about this or any RIJHA article, contact the RIJHA office at info@rijha.org or 401-3311360.

| OBITUARIES

dren, Ethan Wold, Maya Wold, David Finstein, and Aaron Wold.

Contributions may be made to Jewish Collaborative Services, 1165 North Main St. Providence, RI 02904 or to the Louis & Goldie Chester Kosher Food Pantry at the same address.

Ellin Zeisler, 91

Tuesday, October 23, 2018 | 14 Heshvan 5779 | 12:00 - 1:15pm Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island | 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence Cost: $10 (includes lunch) Featuring Rabbi Sarah Mack, Temple Beth-El | President, Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island "Hagar: A Perfect Stranger"

meeting, divisions arose. Since Prohibition was now the law, Rabbi Samuel Gup, of Temple Beth-El, wanted to discuss the contentious issue of prohibiting the sale of “sacramental wines,” while Marion Misch took exception to the use of Yiddish during the conference.

Before the second meeting, a letter from the aforementioned congregation voiced strong objections to the All-Jewish Conference for being “un-American” and segregating, and refused to participate further even though members of the congregation were involved in planning the Conference.

That was the end of the AllJewish Conference, but not of recognition of the need for planned community action, even if not on the proposed allencompassing scope of the conference.

Efforts continued, with some success in uniting previously competing organizations and creating order.

Over time, demographics and upward mobility played a role in changing attitudes. By 1945, the time was ripe for a community organization embracing all segments of the Jewish population – and The General Jewish Committee was born.

And so my last autumn tradition, is remembering the anticipation of that first campaign and the participation of family and family friends. And my hopes for its current iteration.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Ellin Reichart Zeisler died on Sept.

27, in Providence. She was pre-deceased, by many years, by her husband, John Thorsch Bloomfield Zeisler. She leaves her daughter Laura Mason Zeisler, her son-in-law Christopher Mason, her grandchildren Nicole Becker Mason Mickman and Zachary John Mason and her grandson-in-law Jordan Mickman.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, she graduated from Northwestern University and continued with post-graduate studies

in clinical psychology. She was a long-time resident of Columbus, Ohio, where she was a social worker for more than 25 years. She helped seniors and those with disabilities to receive social services through Franklin County and the State of Ohio.

She passed on her commitment to social justice and helping those in need to her daughter. She wrote evocative poetry. She shared her interest in and respect for diverse cultures, a love of Mexico and the Spanish language, her enjoyment of music, art museums, folk arts, dance with her family. She especially enjoyed going to the zoo and botanical conservatories with her grandchildren.

Contributions in her memory may be made to RI Community Food Bank, 200 Niantic Ave., Providence, RI 02907.

jvhri.org SIMCHAS

| WE ARE READ

October 12, 2018 |

27

CRUISING – Members of the Touro Fraternal Association on the Norwegian Escape during a cruise to Maine and Canada the last week of June.

FROM PAGE 15

| SOCK BAR MITZVAH 50TH ANNIVERSARY – Micki and Bob Silverman, of Warwick, recently celebrated their 50th anniversary

in a pavilion suite at a Red Sox game with children and grandchildren. They are pictured here with their three children and six of their seven grandchildren. The Voice was there and the Red Sox won!!!

MAZEL TOV – Brayden Adler-Ma-

The trips to Israel started with Kevin Sock’s Bar Mitzvah at the Western Wall.

And now there are more trips to plan

It turns out Cooper’s Bar Mitzvah would not be our last chance to plan a ceremony in Israel.

Several friends from online communities had been following our Israel adventures. After Cooper’s Bar Mitzvah, a couple of families reached out to us and asked if we could help them with their children’s special day. They wanted something nontraditional and they wanted to have it in Israel.

We decided to form “Sock Family Adventures” to help other families do the same thing that we did – create a custom Bar/Bat Mitzvah in Israel.

Our goal is to create adventures that are designed specifically for the B’nei Mitzvah using their style and taste.

As with most people when planning a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, cost is a concern. All of our Israeli Bar Mitzvah adventures cost well below the average U.S. Bar Mitzvah. Of course when you are traveling there are always different options for air, hotel and excursions that can dramatically impact the cost.

It’s possible to plan a trip to Israel and spend less than we did and of course to spend more than we spent.

Sharon and I took a different

approach with our sons’ Bar Mitzvahs. And each had different side excursions and memorable experiences that helped make the trips more memorable for everyone involved.

Kevin’s adventure included Yad Vashem, planting a tree, Hezekiah’s water tunnels, Buggys in the desert, Abraham’s tent, touring Afula and visiting the Syrian border.

Reese’s adventure included a jeep tour of the Ramon Crater, visiting Tzfat, ATV rides along the Lebanon border, stopping for a wine tasting at a local vineyard and visiting the Grottos along the northern border.

Cooper’s Bar Mitzvah adventure included visiting Avshalom’s cave (stalactite caves), Bullet factory, jeep tour and picnic lunch through the Judean desert with a stop to view the monastery, ATV ride in the Eilat mountains, visiting Petra, Jordan, and a boat ride in the Red Sea. Having planned these trips, we’ve discovered there are endless options to customize a Bat/ Bar Mitzvah trip to Israel – from where the event is held to housing to where you eat to how you celebrate or tour before and after the big event.

– Garrett Sock

ranhao celebrated his Bar Mitzvah on Sept. 2, 2018 at Temple Beth David in Narragansett.

Brayden is the son of Jason Maranhao and Dori Adler and brother to Livia. His grandfather, Rabbi Ethan Adler, officiated at the service. Brayden is the grandson of Ethan and Lorrie Adler, the late Wendy Adler and Ronald and Jean Maranhao. He is the great-grandson of the late Edward and Trudy

Adler and the late Samuel and Lillian Osterman.

Brayden’s Bar Mitzvah tzedakah project included volunteering at meal sites and visiting Jewish residents at the Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol.

Brayden graduated in May from The Cohen Religious School at Temple Torat Yisrael in East Greenwich and was the recipient of the Michelle Pam Ross Award.

Brayden Adler-Maranhao

The Great Rhode Island

Challah Bake

For women and girls (Grades K and up) only

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Thursday, October 25 | 6:30 - 8:30pm (doors open at 6pm) Dwares JCC Social Hall | 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence $18 per person | $40 family max of 6 | Reserve a table for 8: $180 RSVP required; Register at jewishallianceri.org/challah-bake As part of the international Shabbat Project, we will be joining women all around the world, coming together in a global sisterhood to make challah on the very same evening.

Discover the rich meaning and Jewish significance of challah, learn amazing braiding tips, and make challah to take home.

For more information, contact: • Michelle Cicchitelli at mcicchitelli@jewishallianceri.org • Elissa Felder at elissafelder@aol.com • Alison Walter at alison@swipeit.com

28 | October 12 , 2018

The Jewish Voice

Because of your support of the Jewish Alliance’s Annual Campaign, the Eides Family J-Space After School Program is able to provide after school and vacation programming to children from 10 local schools. The program provides a safe space for children to explore a variety of subjects and activities, including: academics, art, sports, and other exciting opportunities.

YOUR SUPPORT provides them a safe, nurturing place to be after school.

At the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island we play many different roles for our diverse community: we nurture, partner, educate, enrich, serve, and convene.

100 DAYS OF GIVING

Make your donation by December 31, 2018 and you are helping to better serve our partner agencies —locally and globally— by addressing needs and allocating dollars sooner.

Through the generosity of our donors to the Alliance Annual Campaign, we are able to support thousands of people locally and around the world through programs, services, and partnerships. We care for the most at-risk in our community, energize Jewish life, respond to critical needs, and inspire future generations.

Together, with your support, we translate Jewish values into wide-reaching impact.

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