December 6, 2019 | 8 Kislev 5780
Candlelighting 4:35 p.m. | Havdalah 5:38 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 49 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Bar celebrates Chrismukkah
It’s a Christmas and Chanukkah mashup at Bakery Square.
$1.50
Ten Commandments Boy Scouts Pittsburgh’s hike brings hundreds first Torah by female scribe commissioned by Temple Sinai By David Rullo | Staff Writer
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Kreimer conceived of the hike nearly 15 years ago after trying to parse the 12th point of “The Scout’s Law,” which notes that a Boy Scout must be reverent: “Be reverent toward God. Be faithful in your religious duties. Respect the beliefs of others.” “It’s a fairly intangible thing to say that, but I thought that the Ten Commandment hike would be a great way to demonstrate that a Scout has reverence,” he said. Kreimer, one of six Eagle Scouts in his family, reached out to diverse faith leaders, secured locations and welcomed 325 people on the first go-round. In subsequent years, the number of attendees has ranged from 300 to 500, with half the group typically being Scouts and the other half adults. Since its origin, the program’s
hen Temple Sinai’s Senior Rabbi Jamie Gibson retires in June, he’ll leave the Reform congregation with more than just memories. Last month, a scribe began the work of creating a new Torah scroll to commemorate Gibson’s 32 years with the synagogue. Temple Sinai’s new Torah will be historic. Not only is it the first to be written for the synagogue, but it will also be the only Torah penned by a female scribe in the region. The scroll will be one of only 21 worldwide, and Pittsburgh’s first, created by a woman. The idea of writing a new Torah scroll and employing a soferet (a female scribe) was a simple one, according to Executive Director Drew Barkley, who credits the outgoing rabbi. “He embraced the project. He understood the impact. Being Jamie, he immediately said, ‘I want a soferet.’ It came from him. It’s who we are. He wanted it to be inclusive and make a statement.” Once the decision was made to employ a soferet, Barkley worked with the temple’s Torah Project Committee and its chairperson, Nancy Gale. After a search using the website stamscribes. com, which bills itself as “a collective of progressive Jewish scribes from all over the world,” the committee settled on Linda Coppleson. Coppleson grew up in New Jersey and first became interested in Hebrew calligraphy while attending Brandeis University. Reading “The Jewish Catalog,” a guide she describes as a “how-to-be-Jewish book,” the Judaic Studies major came across a section about scribal arts. “I just thought this was the best thing since sliced bread. I went out and bought all these materials and started to teach myself,” she said. “Eventually, I found a teacher.”
Please see Scouts, page 24
Please see Scribe, page 17
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CW Kreimer, center, joined area faith leaders and representatives of the Boy Scouts at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Below, the badge given to hike participants Photos courtesy of CW Kreimer By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer
Page 5 LIFE & CULTURE Pittsburgh native makes film
Marc Lhormer is producing “Dear Zoe,” shot in Squirrel Hill. Page 20
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day after scores nationwide gathered for turkey consumption, conversation and televised entertainment, nearly 300 area Boy Scouts, parents and clergy pursued reverence on a seven-hour walk. The 3.5-mile “Ten Commandment and World Faiths Hike” began at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Shadyside and culminated at the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh on Bigelow Boulevard. The purpose of the hike is “to expose people to other people’s faiths, not to proselytize,” said CW Kreimer, the event’s organizer. By entering sanctuaries and engaging with clergy, participants get exposure to other faith traditions and understand that “they have to accept the fact that people have a right to believe what they want to believe.”
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