Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 6-19-20

June 19, 2020 | 27 Sivan 5780

Candlelighting 8:36 p.m. | Havdalah 9:44 p.m. | Vol. 63, No. 25 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers and Pastor Eric Manning of Mother Emanuel on friendship, trust and combating racism

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Over three decades of service

Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Gibson retires

$1.50

Closure of summer camps creates challenge for Jewish engagement

By Kayla Steinberg | Staff Writer

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LOCAL Building bridges

412 Black Jewish Collaborative gets to work Page 6

LOCAL Mazel tov!

 Pastor Eric Manning and Rabbi Jeffrey Myers outside the Tree of Life building in 2019.

Photo courtesy of Tree of Life

Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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Spotlight on class of 2020 Page 7

mid a season of action, during which thousands nationwide have protested daily since the May 25 death of George Floyd, two spiritual leaders found it prudent to pause, sit before their screens and engage in conversation.

Pastor Eric Manning, of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, joined Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, of Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, on June 10 for an hourlong discussion dedicated to race, friendship and finding a path forward. The event was broadcast live and can be viewed on Tree of Life’s Facebook page.

Following Floyd’s death during his arrest by police in Minneapolis, Myers struggled with how best to take action, he

told the Chronicle.

“The list of potential things to do is immense,” Myers said.

While scouring social media, the rabbi encountered numerous causes and activities, but rather than following recommendations from strangers, Myers reached out to Manning, a friend who comforted him after the Oct. 27, 2018, murders at the Tree of Life building. In 2015, Manning’s church also was attacked by a white supremacist, who murdered nine African American worshippers.

“I’ve come to learn over these past 19 months that we need to learn to listen to the voices of the victims,” said the rabbi.

“Shouldn’t it be best to hear from those who Please see Clergy, page 22

abbi Chuck Diamond expected to spend his 46th summer at Camp Ramah in Canada this year. For decades, he has headed up to Utterson, Ontario, for one or two weeks each summer as a guest rabbi, doling out lollipops to kids, officiating camp b’nai mitzvot and schmoozing with campers and staff.

But this summer, Ramah Canada canceled camp due to the pandemic, joining more than 100 other Jewish overnight summer camps in North America that made the same decision.

“It’s a loss,” said Diamond, spiritual leader of Pittsburgh’s Kehillah La La. “Camp is so important to so many of these kids — they count the days until camp. These are friends that they are making for a lifetime, and they look forward to it so much, so it takes a big chunk of their heart that they won’t be able to go.”

This summer begs some reimagining of what has long been an American Jewish tradition.

“The earlier camps were what we might call ideology camps,” explained Jonathan Sarna, American Jewish history professor at Brandeis University. “The notion was that at camp, you could kind of experience utopia — whatever your version was. You think full-time Yiddish is utopia? There’s a camp for you. Communism? A camp for you.

Zionism? A camp for you.

“In the postwar era, we saw a shift from those ideologies, and the big growth came in the different religious movements. Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Chabad all developed camps with their ideology … The Please see Camp, page 22

Headlines Temple Sinai Rabbi Jamie Gibson retires after 32 years — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

J

ohn Schiller’s daughter Jessie’s baby naming ceremony was the first life cycle event Rabbi Jamie Gibson officiated at Temple Sinai, back in 1988.

“He named her, many years later he married her, and this past January, he named her baby,” said Schiller. “That cycle is pretty amazing.”

Gibson, under whose 32-year tenure the Squirrel Hill congregation swelled from 350 families to more than 700, will be retiring this month. He will lead his final Shabbat service as Temple Sinai’s senior rabbi on Friday, June 19, although due to the pandemic, he will be alone on the bimah looking out into an empty synagogue.

The congregation had planned on celebrating Gibson’s leadership and saying goodbye to the rabbi who calls Temple Sinai his “family of families” with special Shabbat services, concerts, welcoming a new Torah and a host of other events and activities. Most of those, however, have been postponed until early next year as the temple remains shuttered because of COVID-19.

Rhoda Dorfzaun recalled Gibson’s first service at Temple Sinai in 1988.

“He talked about staying, he was trying to heal the congregation,” explained Dorfzaun, who was president of the Reform congregation when Gibson was hired. “We were small and had lost a lot of members. I think we may have had 350 members. I remember he was trying to reassure people that he was not going to leave.”

The rabbi was true to his word.

Prior to Gibson, Temple Sinai had seen several rabbis come and go. “We had three in 10 years, maybe more,” Dorfzaun said.

After having no luck finding a permanent rabbi through traditional means, a regional director of the Union for Reform Judaism

be inspired to reach one’s fullest suggested Dorfzaun and a vice potentials,” she said. “That is president meet with Gibson what Rabbi Gibson leaves as his at the URJ’s biennial. The pair legacy. He leaves a congregation agreed to a breakfast meeting he has significantly rooted in with the prospective rabbi.

Torah and Torah values and also “We were waiting in line our expression and devotion and and there was this person in ways of finding greater heights front of us and we both said, ‘I and deeper meaning.” hope that’s not him; he looks so Rabbi Aaron Bisno, senior young.’” The duo, though, didn’t Rabbi Jamie rabbi at Rodef Shalom let Gibson’s apparent youth taint p File photo Gibson Congregation since 2004, their judgment.

“We had breakfast and just knew this praised Gibson’s collegiality.

“From the moment I arrived in Pittsburgh, would work out perfectly,” Dorfzaun said.

“He met with the search committee and Jamie Gibson was a warm and welcoming colleague to me,” Bisno said. “I am grateful stayed for 32 years.”

“I can’t say anything bad about this man,” for the ways in which he shared with me current president Saul Straussman offered. what it means to be a rabbi to the commu“He’s terrifically generous and thoughtful and nity in Pittsburgh and for all we’ve shared and learned with and from one another.” one of the most genuine men I’ve ever met.”

One of Gibson’s lasting legacies will be his Gibson, Straussman said, was responsible for fostering “a central part of Temple Sinai’s outreach work to Jews as well as to the interfaith community, including his fostering of identity” — music.

“For 32 years we have had a multitalented relations between the Jewish community and instrumentalist as our rabbi,” said Straussman. the Muslim and Presbyterian communities.

Susan Blackman is a member of The Pride “A man who could play guitar, who could sing, who could play piano. A man that spoke Tribe at Temple Sinai. She was inspired to embrace her Judaism after the wedding of love and affection through music.”

Temple Sinai’s cantor Laura Berman’s of her cousin and his husband. She began parents were members of the congregation attending Temple Sinai on the recommendabefore she became part of its leadership. She tion of a friend.

During her first visit to Temple Sinai, and Gibson share a love of Jewish music.

“He has a deep appreciation of various genres Gibson told Blackman that “he used to of Jewish music from the more traditional and think civic unions were fine for same gender classical to folk and newly composed works,” couples, ‘but I don’t think that anymore,’” she Berman said. “He set a great groundwork for recalled. “I was sitting in the congregation me to expand upon what he has already helped and thinking, ‘Maybe I’ve come to the wrong place.’ He finished his thought saying, ‘No, it the congregation to appreciate.”

Berman points to a popular Jewish axiom has to be full marriage, full equality for samegender couples.’ I’m sure he said things after to illustrate Gibson’s legacy.

“The two most important gifts we can give that, but I was quietly crying and didn’t hear.”

Temple Sinai’s members are “an incredible to our children are roots and wings; to be firmly rooted in our Judaic tradition and to community of love and caring families that

includes an 85-year-old woman living alone, a gay couple with two children and everybody in between,” said Gibson. While looking back at his accomplishments, Gibson frames the memories of his time as senior rabbi at Temple Sinai often using the pronouns “we” and “our.”

Born in New Jersey, Gibson worked at a synagogue in Minnesota before arriving in Pittsburgh. Sinai’s “community was struggling when I came,” he said, but “we tapped into their latent strengths and built new strengths to create a community of 735 households that believe in the principles of liberal Judaism and each other.

“I think one of our great strengths has been our ability to care for our own pastorally, spiritually, in terms of learning and inspiring, but also stand for very important messages in the public square.” That work in the public square includes interfaith and intrafaith outreach, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, combatting anti-Semitism in America and across the world and support of Israel.

The rabbi has led his congregation on 11 trips to Israel in the last three decades.

Pittsburgh will continue to be home to Gibson and his wife, Barbara Gibson, who works as an operating room nurse at UPMC-Shadyside.

After serving 32 years as Temple Sinai’s senior rabbi, Gibson has not yet finalized plans for what he will do when he no longer has to spend time planning weekly services or High Holiday messages, but said he will teach and continue the work he is passionate about, including serving on the UPMC ethics committee.

Temple Sinai will have a chance to acknowledge Gibson on Sunday, June 21, in a final “drive-bye” parade. The day will begin with Mayor Bill Peduto presenting a proclamation to the rabbi recognizing his achievements and “impact on the city of Pittsburgh.”

Please see Gibson, page 23

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Headlines Rabbi Paul Tuchman retires with plans to return home — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

A

fter 44 years in the rabbinate, Paul Tuchman is headed off into the sunset — it just may take a little while to get there.

Tuchman, the spiritual leader of Temple B’nai Israel, retired from the White Oak congregation May 31, nearly 11 years after he arrived. His intent had been to move to Tucson, Arizona, immediately upon his retirement, but the pandemic has put those plans on hold.

“I was born and grew up there,” said Tuchman, 69. “And of all the places I’ve lived and visited, it’s the one where I am happiest and most comfortable.”

After four decades of leading congregations in White Oak; Damascus, Maryland; Greensburg; Dothan, Alabama; and elsewhere, the rabbi was eager to head west again.

“I had a plane reservation for March 19, to go look for a place to live, and you know what happened to that, right?” he said.

Tuchman thinks he’ll be able to move by late August or early September. More certain are his plans once he’s back out West.

“I intend to offer my services to area synagogues, teach adult education, and I have some scholarly projects I’m

p Rabbi Paul Tuchman Photo courtesy of Dick Leffel

working on,” he said.

Those projects will involve multiple languages, disciplines and terrain. For starters, Tuchman hopes to help translate a portion of writings from the Portuguese Renaissance scholar Abarbanel.

“There hasn’t been an adequate and full translation of Abarbanel’s commentaries into English, and I’m working on a little corner of that, which is very interesting,” he said.

Tuchman also will continue tackling “a project that combines math and graphic

design,” he said. “I seem to have found ways to expand the common notions of how to create symmetry.”

Initially inspired, decades earlier, by admiring the work of a college quiltist friend, “I became really interested in the design, not in the actual quilting, and I did some reading on it and particularly on symmetry,” said Tuchman. “I just have a hunch that there was more there than was being traditionally presented, so I am getting this into shape well enough to take to a math department and say, ‘You know, professor, is there a possibility here that I’m onto something?’”

Tuchman’s curiosity and intellect are among his characteristics that will be missed most, said Janice Greenwald, Temple B’nai Israel’s immediate past president.

“He is very learned. I don’t even think the congregation knows how learned he is,” said Greenwald. “When you’re sitting in a class he pulls up information that really surprises you. He has an inventory of knowledge inside of him.”

“He’s extremely learned and he is a good teacher,” agreed Lindi Kendel, Temple B’nai Israel’s co-president and head of its ritual committee.

Tuchman has been easy to work with over the years, she added, noting that “he is very amenable to constructive criticism.

He doesn’t take offense. He listens and takes advice.”

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Tuchman’s qualities were noted early on, explained Dick Leffel, president of Temple B’nai Israel.

“Rabbi Tuchman is a dynamic, friendly guy,” Leffel told the Chronicle in 2009. “He went through a lengthy interview process where he met most of the congregation, and they really took to each other.”

More than a decade later, Leffel stands by his prior assessment.

“He is a wonderful, nice person who has really become part of our temple family. He has been an excellent teacher and an excellent friend,” said Leffel. “He’s benefited the temple really by his presence. He’s a leader, somebody you could talk to very easily. He’s congenial, he doesn’t have an ego, and you could ask him anything.”

In addition to remaining active in Jewish life once back in Arizona, Tuchman is also hoping to take a course at the ArizonaSonora Desert Museum and become a docent, he said.

The 98-acre zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, natural history museum and art gallery, located approximately 13 miles west of Tucson, was founded in 1952.

“It’s been in my life as long as I have any consciousness,” said Tuchman, “and it’s been very important in my life.”

Home to 242 animal species and plants Please see Tuchman, page 23

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JUNE 19, 2020 3

Headlines Julie Mallis picked to head Repair the World Pittsburgh — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

T

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Photo by Sarah Huny Young

Mallis, who lives in Garfield, comes from a Reform Jewish background but stressed they “always have been grounded in religious pluralism and spirituality.” Mallis attends services at several synagogues and shuls around the city and their mother is an interfaith clergy member who has operated a meditation practice since 1993.

Mallis stressed that, in a moment ripe

is an extension of my art practice — art is all about communities, all about community

”

ideas.

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he local chapter of advocacy group Repair the World has announced new leadership during a heightened, perhaps historical, period of social justice in the U.S. Julie Mallis has been named Pittsburgh’s new city director, replacing Zack Block, who launched the Pittsburgh arm of the tikkun olam-oriented national organization in 2013. Block, who worked as a tax attorney before committing his career to activism, will continue with the national group as senior director of communities.

Mallis joined Repair the World Pittsburgh full-time last July as program director. A multimedia artist and educator, Mallis is the founding creative director of art gallery and creative hub BOOM Concepts, and has been very active locally with groups such as Bike Pittsburgh and MGR Youth Empowerment.

“The work I’ve done with Repair the World is an extension of my art practice — art is all about communities, all about community ideas,” said Mallis, who uses the pronoun “they.”

6/12/20 8:56 AM

— JULIE MALLIS

Pittsburgh Technolog y Council recognized Mallis, alongside BOOM Concept co-founded D.S. Kinsel, as Creator of the Year in 2016. In 2018, Mallis was commissioned to paint a 1,000-foot mural on Strawberry Way in downtown Pittsburgh; the resulting work features colorful imagery interlaced within an interactive game that asks bold questions about equity and justice.

Block, who oversees city directors in his national role, said individual partnerships are a big part of the groundwork locally. He feels Mallis — whom he called an “optimist” — will excel in this capacity.

“There’s this abundance and love they put out into the world,” Block said of Mallis. “I’m excited for them to step up this program on another level.”

Block said he was shocked to learn Mallis was interested in the role in the first place.

“I didn’t think somebody of Julie’s caliber would be interested,” Block laughed. “But this work is in their soul.”

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with context over the death of George Floyd, Jews need to remember the importance of activism and social justice, not just when it comes to anti-Semitism. We need to keep in mind, Mallis said, the widespread support the community received after the synagogue shooting in 2018.

“I want to encourage Jewish people to speak up against racial injustice,” Mallis said.

“When we were hit with a traumatic experience, it’s helpful to remember what other people did for us at that time. We have to show up for others.”

Block, a Squirrel Hill resident whose children attend Community Day School, echoed this in a recent Repair the World email.

“When we do nothing in the face of racism and brutality,” he wrote, “we represent Amy Cooper and Derek Chauvin. We are complicit.” PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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Headlines Treasure hunter recalls near-death search for buried gold — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

W

hen an elusive 42-pound chest containing pre-Columbian gold was reportedly discovered last week in the Rocky Mountains, Squirrel Hill treasure hunter Rob Davis was reminded of his former efforts to locate the estimated $2 million prize.

Even before “60 Minutes” aired its July 12, 2015, segment on Forrest Fenn’s buried treasure, Rob had heard of the American art collector, whose hidden trove lured thousands into canyons, across valleys and up mountains throughout the nation’s West, but it wasn’t until the televised newsmagazine dedicated nearly nine minutes to the subject that Rob began considering its possible whereabouts.

Once the broadcast ended, Rob and his wife, Elena Davis, said to themselves, “We can do this,” Rob recalled. “We cracked open a couple of beers and our laptops and within an hour we had an exact location of the treasure.”

Relying on clues from Fenn’s selfpublished autobiography, the Davises were certain they had pinpointed the site.

“The place that we found checked off all the boxes,” said Elena.

As gratifying as it was to theoretically find the treasure, bringing it home sounded much sweeter, so Rob, an adventurer and psychiatrist, booked two tickets from Akron to Denver.

“You just can’t go by yourself,” he said. “I do plenty of things on my own, but you need a friend for this type of thing, and you also have to make sure it’s someone who won’t

kill you after you find it.”

Rob was joined by John Murphy, a colleague who filmed the adventure, while Elena, a speech therapist and mother of four, stayed home.

The trip sounded fun, but the timing wasn’t ideal, she explained: “It was like three days before Rosh Hashanah, and it was also around our oldest daughter’s bat mitzvah.”

Rob arrived at the Akron-Canton Airport with a suitcase full of supplies, including boots, hiking sticks, knives, a shovel and an extra canvas bag.

“The knives, at least, were practical,” Rob said in retrospect. “The craziest part was that we had a sack to put the treasure in.”

Leading up to their departure, Rob and Murphy had spent hours strategizing every moment of their 48 hours in Colorado, and, in particular, necessary measures after finding the gold.

“There was something about them bringing a machete and having to fight themselves out, and then they would drive home,” recalled Elena.

“We had contingency plans,” Rob explained. “If we found it, we wouldn’t fly home. We would drive home then announce it,” thereby evading another treasure hunter or traveler who sought to steal the riches.

After picking up their rental car in Denver and driving almost 150 miles to Glenwood Springs, Rob and Murphy discovered that the designated trailhead was inaccessible due to too many cars in the parking lot, and that the exit off of I-70 was blocked.

“There was no place to pull off the highway, and nowhere to leave the car,” said Rob. “We actually had to go 10 miles away to where our hotel was.”

From there, ride-hailing services made

clear that given the highway situation no one could be dropped off at the closed exit.

Rob and Murphy decided to rent bicycles.

“My friend is a biker and marathon runner, I hadn’t ridden a bike in years,” said Rob. “After 10 miles in higher altitude, dressed in clothes I wasn’t planning on biking in, I thought I was going to die.”

Adding insult to injury was that once the treasure hunters finally reached the trailhead, they still had to climb another 1,065 feet in elevation.

According to Fenn’s blog, Old Santa Fe Trading Co, those seeking the chest should “remember it weighs 42 pounds and an old man carried it to its secret location.”

“I kept thinking, ‘How could this 79-year-old do it?’” said Rob. “All of these people were passing me by. I think people are really fit in Colorado. I don’t know. I was huffing and puffing and sweating.”

Rob and Murphy finally reached the top.

They came to Spouting Rock, a waterfall 200 yards above Hanging Lake, and were convinced that the treasure lay beneath the base, but because there were “too many rangers around,” decided to pause, said Rob. With the spot now identified, the explorers hiked down the trail, returned to their hotel and planned to come back to the waterfall the following day.

They arrived at the trailhead’s parking lot early in the morning. They hiked up the path, reached Spouting Rock and waited for an opportunity.

Believing that all that lay between them and their prize was a 7,323-foot rush of water, when no one was in sight, Rob submerged his head, torso and hands at the base.

“I thought I was going to pass out,” he said.

“It was pounding my head so hard, I thought I was going to die. Meanwhile, I’m feeling my hands around to see if there is a treasure chest. My fingers instantly got numb. I feel these rocks, the water is pounding me, and my friend wouldn’t go in.”

In the midst of realizing that he was losing consciousness, the Squirrel Hill resident remembered his surroundings.

“You’re in a location that no one would find you or be able to get to you,” he said.

“There’s a ton of mountain lions in the area.”

Rob withdrew from the waterfall, steadied himself and gripped his hiking stick.

With water dripping from his clothes, he continued down the trail with Murphy to their rental car, all the while thinking, “Maybe that’s the right place.”

Since 2010, an estimated 350,000 people have partaken in the search and at least five people have died looking for Fenn’s gold.

On June 6, 2020, then again on June 7, the art collector announced that the treasure was found.

The Davises, and many others, remain skeptical.

All that was mentioned was that someone from “back East” located the chest, but “what every treasure hunter wants to know is not who found it, but what was the solution to the riddle, and how close was I,” said Rob. “I’d like to think it’s not found, and that Rob will still find it,” said Elena.

Regardless of the chest, heading West netted a reward that isn’t measured in weight, noted Rob: “How many people can say they’re a treasure hunter?” PJC

Kindness team talk with members of the community about topics you and your family may be dealing with right now. There is a new conversation each Tuesday. jccpgh.org/event/comfortingconversations/?cflk=1

q SUNDAY JUNE 21

q FRIDAY, JUNE 26

This six-week Introduction to Judaism course will cover an overview of love and sex, life cycles from birth to death, the Holocaust, Israel and the Jewish mission to heal the world. 2 p.m. For more information and to register, visit bethshalompgh.org/ intro-to-judaism.

As part of the Continuing Legal Education Series, Rabbi Danny Schiff, Foundation Scholar at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, will explore Coronavirus in Jewish Law. Exploring Jewish texts, Rabbi Schiff will present the unique insights of Judaism on complex contemporary topics. Get up to 10 CLE ethics credits or Social Work Continuing Education Units (CEUs). With CLE/CEU credit: $35/session. Without CLE/CEU credit: $30/ session. 8:30 a.m. jewishpgh.org/event/2019-2020continuing-legal-education-series-5/2020-06-26

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Calendar >>Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions will also be included in print. Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date as space allows. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon. q MONDAY JUNE, 22 Chabad centers in the Greater Pittsburgh area present a Q&A with Rabbi Chaim Bruk, director of Chabad of Montana, the subject of the fascinating documentary “The Rabbi Goes West.” The documentary is available for a special viewing for the Pittsburgh Jewish community, June 16-18.

7:30 p.m. To register for documentary and Zoom info, visit eventbrite.com/e/108644430416. q MONDAYS, JUNE 22, 29 Join Rabbi Jeremy Markiz in learning Masechet Rosh Hashanah, a tractate of the Talmud about the many new years that fill out the Jewish calendar at Monday Talmud Study. 9:15 a.m.

For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org/ mondaytalmud. q TUESDAYS, JUNE 23, 30 During this time of uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus, the Center for Loving Kindness-JCC Pittsburgh presents a new series, “Comforting Conversations.” Members of the Center for Loving

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Join the JCC’s Center for Loving Kindness Director Rabbi Ron Symons for Lunch & Learn at 12:15 p.m.

To register, email Rabbi Ron at rsymons@jccpgh. org and he will send you the link to join. For more information, including weekly topics, visit jccpgh. org/event/jccpghvirtual-new-classes/?cflk=0. q WEDNESDAY JUNE, 24 Bring the parashah alive and make it personally relevant and meaningful with Rabbi Mark Goodman in this weekly Parashah Discussion: Life & Text. 12:15 p.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org/life-text. q WEDNESDAYS, JUNE 24; JULY 1 The JCC, with Vitalant (formerly Central Blood Bank), is hosting a blood drive for desperately needed donations at the Squirrel Hill and South Hills facilities in controlled and safe environments following CDC and Allegheny County guidelines. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ) Appointments strongly encouraged. Visit vitalant.org and click on the “Make an Appointment” button and search with group code C189.

q SUNDAYS JUNE 21, 28 Join a lay-led Online Parashah Study Group to discuss the week’s Torah portion. No Hebrew knowledge is needed. The goal is to build community while deepening understanding of the text. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org/ online-parashah. q TUESDAY, JUNE 23 Join Beth Shalom’s Quarantined Book Club as they read “The Invisible Bridge” by Julie Orringer.

Everyone is invited to join. 4 p.m. bethshalompgh. org/6-23-20-quarantined-book-club-the-invisiblebridge-by-julie-orringer q THURSDAY, JUNE 25 Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Ben Gurion Society as they explore a few treasures of the Rauh Jewish Archives with Director Eric Lidji. Register to receive the zoom link.

8 p.m. jewishpgh.org/event/treasures-of-the-rauh

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

q SUNDAY, JUNE 28 Looking for a way to do tikkun olam while social distancing? Join Moishe House Pittsburgh and the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition (SHUC) for A Socially Distant Cleanup. SHUC will be providing gloves and trash bags to participants in Squirrel Hill who sign up in advance, and some Squirrel Hill businesses will be offering discounts to those who participate. All participants should wear a mask and gloves. Be sure to avoid touching your face (or your phone!) with your gloves on, wash hands afterward, and obey social distancing protocols. Afterward, please go to the Moishe House Pittsburgh Facebook page and share a post (ex., weirdest find, best passerby reaction, a pic of you in your hero garb collecting garbage). 10 a.m. facebook.com/events/349790269315425 PJC

JUNE 19, 2020 5

Headlines 412 Black Jewish Collaborative building bridges through relationships — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

B

efore the deaths of Antwon Rose Jr. and George Floyd, Josh Sayles was part of a collaborative created to engage the Jewish and black communities in Pittsburgh with each other.

“We’ve known for years that we really needed to strengthen ties with the black community,” said Sayles, director of the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. “A few weeks after October 27 [2018], we were getting the same message from our black partners over and over again: ‘It’s really great that the Jewish community is getting everything they need in wake of the shooting, but we have young black men dying in the streets of Pittsburgh several times a week and no one is doing anything for us.’ That dichotomy caused us to act.”

In April 2019 Sayles, along with two young black leaders and two young Jewish leaders, took part in a Jewish Council for Public Affairs civil rights mission to Atlanta and Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma, Alabama.

The 412 Black Jewish Collaborative grew out of that mission.

“Through that experience and getting to

know one another, we all became friends,” Sayles said, “and each invited another person to join the group. We formed a board and built the 412 Black Jewish Collaborative from the ground up.”

The 412’s mission is to catalyze and elevate relationships between black people and Jewish people in Pittsburgh.

The organization “came together really organically,” said Josiah Gilliam, a 412 board member and the coordinator for the city of Pittsburgh’s My Brother’s Keeper. Gilliam also serves on the board of the nonprofit PUMP, which works with young people in Pittsburgh to foster change in the community.

“We got together for a bite to eat and had meaningful conversations about life in Pittsburgh,” Gilliam explained. “We realized, OK, there’s a there there. What would this look like a little more formalized? There is an extraordinary shared history between the Jewish community and the black community here in Pittsburgh.”

Temple Ohav Shalom Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt recalled seeing a sign while walking through the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery. “It read, ‘No dogs, no Jews, no blacks,’” he said. “It’s important for us to take steps together, to be allies and partners.”

Rabbi Jeremy Markiz, director of Derekh and Youth Tefillah at Congregation Beth Shalom, said the word “collaborative” has special meaning for the 412.

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“It’s not about one community speaking over or to another community,” Markiz explained. “It’s really about multiple overlapping communities speaking together.”

Markiz and Weisblatt are board members of the new organization.

The group originally planned to introduce itself to the Pittsburgh community with a series of happy hours, but the pandemic prevented that. The 412 decided to wait until the coronavirus crisis ended to reschedule its public launch but the killing of George Floyd and accompanying protests led to a change in plans.

On June 4, the 412 issued a statement on social media. It condemned the murder of Floyd, as well as others in the black community. Since then, the group has posted educational opportunities, blog posts, statements of support from other groups, information about peaceful protests and lists of black-owned businesses.

Gina Winstead is a 412 board member.

She is also the director of membership engagement and director of diversity and inclusion for the Pittsburgh Technology Council, and vice president of Women in Technology Pittsburgh.

Winstead was recently the victim of a “verbal racial attack” in a Pittsburgh neighborhood. “I was only able to get out of that situation because upstanders came and thwarted this guy,” she said. “How do we

teach other Jewish people to be upstanders and how do we teach the black community to respond when they see someone being bullied for their Jewish faith or identity?”

For Winstead, as well as other members of the 412, the answer lies in fostering connections that last beyond current events.

“It’s so valuable to be in relationships with people who are different than you, have different experiences than you and people with whom you actually share a great deal,” Markiz said. “I think the 412 BJC is about providing opportunities for us to spend time together.”

Relationships between the two communities currently are not as strong as Winstead believes they should be.

“I think we’re trying to do some work building the human story, humanizing these experiences both of our communities seem to be suffering from,” she said. “I see an ability for our group to come together as an alignment between potential allies because we are experiencing some similarities and being oppressed.”

The 412 is “about showing solidarity between the black and Jewish communities,” Sayles said.

“It’s about acknowledging one another’s pain and shared history and oppression and culture.

It’s about creating greater understanding of our two communities in Pittsburgh.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

GOOD READERS SUCCEED Summer Classes at the Workshop June, July, August Testing Tutoring: In person or online To enroll your child, call Dr. Shandel Gilbert: 412-421-1895. readersandwritersworkshop.com

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Graduation 2020 A glimpse at the class of 2020 — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

N

obody could have predicted a dozen or so years spent in classrooms would end like this.

For the Jewish students in Pittsburgh’s class of 2020, it is the year that was: the final semester entering the past tense before they had time to say goodbye, graduations amid quarantines, future plans as well-intentioned but uncertain as a vaccine for COVID-19.

Dr. James McCoy knows the cycles. He has seen several graduating classes in his years as a social studies teacher and, now, as principal at Pittsburgh Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill.

McCoy said he has gotten to know the roughly 365 graduates of this year’s senior class more intimately than he has other senior classes, mostly due to the increased amount of one-on-one time they’ve shared.

He’s big on supporting the kids as best he and his staff can, even if he does traffic in a little bit of understatement.

“This kind of formed as we went along, saying, ‘How can we do this?’” McCoy told the Chronicle. “It’s been tough on them.”

But McCoy said he tries to empathize with a graduating class that couldn’t triumphantly throw its caps into the air as commencement

ceremonies ended.

“I’m always thinking back to my own experiences but these circumstances are something no one’s really dealt with,” he said.

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle would like to take a moment to honor Jewish students from two area high schools’ Class of 2020 by profiling some of those who have made it what it is.

Ari Gilboa doesn’t want to dump hundreds of thousands of dollars into a college experience that’s unproductive. So, he’s headed Aug. 7 to a pre-Army mechina program in Ayanot, Israel, to gain a leg up on the competition when they start handing out assignments for the Israel Defense Forces, in which he plans to serve.

“My dad is Israeli but it’s not for Zionist reasons,” said Gilboa, 18, of Squirrel Hill, who attended Community Day School for nine years before attending Pittsburgh Allderdice High School. “I don’t know what I want to do in college — or in life. This way, I can take a couple of years and gain some experience.”

The oldest of four boys, Gilboa misses spending time with his high school friends but has passed the time during COVID-19 lockdowns, in part, by getting his Pennsylvania boating license, a use for which he has not determined yet.

“It was only 45 bucks and less than a day’s worth of work — so I thought, ‘Why not?’” he laughed.

p Ari Gilboa

Sara Thaler

Photo provided

Gilboa’s biggest regret, like many, is missing his final semester in high school.

“I didn’t really get the chance to slack off,” he joked. “I did want a chance to say goodbye before we left for our various walks of life.”

Photo provided

here from California — with the special trip.

“It’s a space and a time to say goodbye,” said Thaler, 18, of Greenfield. “As a senior, I’ve had a hard time with it.”

Thaler appreciated all that her school and its staff did in terms of virtual education but said it just underlined the absence of being able to do things in person, like having a graduation ceremony.

The lack of a ceremony “is very sad and it also has a lack of completion,” Thaler said.

“We had a Zoom call and everyone made a music video,” she said. “But it made it very real that [a ceremony] didn’t happen, that it’s

Sara Thaler doesn’t “get” the name of the camp. But she knows one thing: She missed going there this year.

Thaler had attended the trip to the Boy Scout cabins in the Laurel Highlands with female classmates from Yeshiva Schools in previous years but lamented it was one of the casualties of COVID-19. She is sad she now didn’t get the closure of ending her time at Yeshiva — she’s been going there since first grade, after moving

Please see 2020, page 23

This week in Israeli history — WORLD — Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.

June 19, 1983 — Politician Simha Erlich dies

Knesset member Simha Erlich, the deputy prime minister in Israel’s first two Likud-led governments, dies. As finance minister, he tried to free the economy from government controls, but inflation soared.

June 20, 1950 — First Festival of Jewish Music opens

Israel’s first Festival of Jewish Music begins at the historic YMCA building in Jerusalem and runs until July 1. Most performances present classical music, including Leonard Bernstein, but two events showcase Israeli folk music.

June 21, 1882 — Filmmaker Ya’acov Ben-Dov born

Filmmaker and photographer Ya’acov Ben-Dov is born in Ukraine. He obtains a movie camera in 1917 in Jerusalem and begins a documentary career with footage of the British army’s arrival that December.

June 22, 1989 — NBA player Omri Casspi born

Omri Casspi, the first Israeli to play in the National Basketball Association, is born in Holon.

The Sacramento Kings select him in the first round of the 2009 NBA draft, picking him 23rd overall.

3 YEARS FREE print edition

Photojournalist Alex Levac, a 2005 Israel Prize winner, is born in Tel Aviv. His photo of a Bus 300 hijacker in custody in 1984 disproves the official story of how the four terrorists are killed.

June 24, 1987 — Arabs stage national equality strike

Israeli Arabs hold an Equality Day strike to protest discrimination and demand equal per capita funding for Jewish and Arab local authorities. Moshe Arens dismisses the strike as “Communist incitement,” but the government increases Arab funding.

June 25, 2009 — Bridge of Strings opens

Jerusalem inaugurates the 1,180-foot-long Chords Bridge, also known as the Bridge of Strings, to serve pedestrians and the new light-rail system at the entrance to the city. PJC

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PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JUNE 19, 2020 7

Graduation 2020

ADAT SHALOM Confirmands Alexa Baer Jonah Hertzman

Graduates Jacob Broudy Malik Choset Pierce Osterholm Ella Roth Paige Solomon Aidan Stein Sam Ummer

BETH EL CONGREGATION OF THE SOUTH HILLS Graduates Marissa Alpern Samantha Amos Julia Eichberg Rose Genstein Jordan Marcovitz Ben Nadler Mandy Patt Elena Schwimer Sadie Sharfstein Sarah Silver Courtney Silverman Jonah Silverman Joseph Wolfson

COMMUNITY DAY SCHOOL Eighth grade graduates Evelyn Aizenstein Lee-Shai Assouline Amit Beharier Daniel Berger Gabriel Engel Raizel Gasson Talia Gelman Samuel Goldston Leah Heym Jennifer Jackson Adam King Roi Levy Katelynn Lieber Maor Ohayon Noam Pishoto Omri Raz Samuel Reis Eli Rosenberg Yan Sher Kylee Shevitz Jacob Sindler Noa Solomon Tomer Tuti Akiva Weinkle

CONGREGATION B’NAI ABRAHAM Confirmands Jonah Doerr Joshua Miller

8 JUNE 19, 2020

Graduate Zachary Doerr

FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE Graduates Sarah Anderson-Brownlee Macey Balk Sarah Berlin Laura Brodkey Lauren Burke Lily Cain Brooke Clark Devon Clark Paulo D’andrea Ethan Ewing Maya Groff Lauren Haffner Claire Katz Maya King Peyton Klein Dylan Lichtenstein Davis Mowry CJ Petruccelli Jill Pollon Eli Rabin Wesley Ripy Angelina Robertson Jonah Silverman Julia Strassburger Justin Tannenbaum Emma Waldron Alex Wecht Noa Wynn Zoe Zeff David Zimmerman

HILLEL ACADEMY OF PITTSBURGH Graduates Eighth grade boys Noam Azagury Avi Becker Yaakov Berelowitz Avi Brown Aaron Clark Gedalyahu Henteleff Nate Itskowitz Uzi Jacobs Avraham Kaminsky Yoni Kanal Dovid Katz Uriel Leatherman Leiby Rodkin Josh Siebzener Dov Smith Yehuda Sutofsky Chezkie Yolkut Eighth grade girls Tali Kisilinsky Geri Pollak Gaby Reichman Tahara Reinherz Ayala Sahel Avigail Van Sickle

12th grade boys Pinny Brown Aaron Kraut Yaakov Mahony Benji Marcus 12th grade girls Janet Anderson Elana Eydelman Elisheva Friedman Sarah Hertzberg Aviva Itskowitz Batya Mandelbaum Avital Segal Chaya Sutofsky

J LINE

Graduates Aaron Berger Lauren Burke Ian Caplan Avi Dernis Ari Gilboa Elena Hochheiser Shayna Nicole Josowitz Maya King Peyton Klein Olivia L. Knauer Aaro Larson Montana Lenz Dylan Lichtenstein Mackenzie Mudge Erika Paty Eli Rabin Omri Raz Sophie Simon Justin Tannenbaum Ehan Weinkle Alex L. Weisbord Zoe R. Weismantle Jona Bailey Weiss

JOINT JEWISH EDUCATION PROGRAM (J-JEP) Eighth grade graduates Teag Cloonan Sophie Diaz Joseph Krokosky Miranda Larson Zachary Silnutzer Aaron Smith Isaac Tabachnick Madrichim graduates Dylan Blum Lauren Burke

RODEF SHALOM CONGREGATION 8th grade Teag Cloonan Gabriel Feinstein Beatrice Fernandes Julia Finke Eli Firman Julia Freudenberg

TEMPLE SINAI

Isaac Gildengers Joseph Krokosky Miranda Larson Bryce Lippard Mathew Long Dylan Nauhaus Jaitin Ost Jack Segall Naomi Segel Zachary Silnutzer Jacob Sindler Isaac Tabachnick Joshua Valinsky Nate Weinstein Jordan Wilson

Confirmands Phillip David Braslawsce Molly Alina Brenner Abby Cohen Jacqueline M. DeWitt Annelise Judith Hammer Hadley Jane Anslow Kalson Brett Kaufman Jonah Isaac Keller Arielle Sonnenberg

YESHIVA SCHOOLS OF PITTSBURGH

Graduates Eight grade boys Yehuda Salomon Arguedas Aron Levi Engle Leib Hoexter Eliyahu Moshe Hordiner Schneur Zalmen Mangel Shalom Ber Meretsky Menachem Mendel Rosenfeld Chaim Shneur Zalman Weinstein

12th grade Blake Blaufeld William Brandeis Alexandra Friedlander Jordan Gass Levi Gerber Lila Ost Ryan Schwartz Julia Strassburger Ethan Vodovotz

Boys senior class Yoel Beyderman Dovid Shlomo Creeger Noah Samuel Firtell Menachem Mendel Gray Menachem Mendel Hoexter Shlomo Yaakov Jacobs Dovid Tzvi Moritz Yosef Vernik

TEMPLE EMANUEL OF SOUTH HILLS Madrichim graduates Sam Dvorin Audra Foremsky Camille Herman Emily Linder Samara Steinfeld

TEMPLE OHAV SHALOM Confirmands Rachel Bashe Marc Sostmann Noah Sostmann

Eighth grade graduates Hannah Aron Samy Bayer Joseph Berger Caroline Berger Elliott Cohn Jacob Collins Ezra Kelley Max McCarran Justin Rothenberg Danielle Ruble Gabrielle Ruble High school graduates Eliza Greenberg Spencer Greenberg Jacob Halfhill Jeff Hertzberg Alex Negrini Erica Negrini Ben Solomon

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Eighth grade girls Gabriella Balyasny Elisheva Dina Cohen Shterna Sara Friedman Toba Grossman Chaya Mushka Gurevitz Elyara Yocheved Massart Emuna B. Naiditch Rivka Miriam Presman Bracha Mindel Shkedi Basya Taub Girls senior class Elisheva Andrusier Rochel Capland Chayah Batyah Deitsch Rochel Deray Sarah Gitty Ertel Shayna Evenchik Leiba Bayla Fishman Chaya Friedman Sara Batya Friedman Esther Mushka Herman Menucha Rochel Itkin Rikal Lieba Mangel Ilana Chava Rafkin Rikel Rosenblum Alta Shula Schwartz Emunah Teitelbaum Chaya Sara Rochel Thaler Rivkah Weiss PJC

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

SHADY SIDE ACADEMY

Congratulations! CLASS OF 2020 Mazel Tov to our Casey Isabella Bloom on graduating from Colfax.

We are all so proud of you.

We may not be there with you in person, but you are in our hearts.

We love you!!!!

ns to my Congratulatio ddaughter, n a r g s u io c e r p er, Elena Schwim r St. Clair on your Uppe raduation High School g ptance to and your acce rsity, Indiana Unive 0.

Fall Class 202 ss, Love and Succe of 1951 Zayde/IU Class f the girl We’re proud o y the young lad d n a e r e w u o y ome and you have bec to look forward at are ahead. th s e s s e c c u your s

Love, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Carly, Uncle Chris, Jaxon and Liam PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Love, Uncle David Uncle Mark and Godfather/

JUNE 19, 2020 9

“Act well your part; there all the honour lies.”

— Alexander Pope

Congratulations Casey and the Colfax class of 2020!

We are so proud of you!

Love GT and Papa Bill, Papa Arch and Jo, Aunt Robin, Uncle Jerome, Lauren, and Jared Best of luck at “Dice”.

RJ Tabachnick, NYU Tisch School of the Arts (BFA) Mazel tov from your most adoring fans!

We love you!

Mom, Dad, Reggie, Dori, Zoe, Harry and Caleb

CONGRATULATIONS AUSTIN FORMAN

ON YOUR GRADUATION FROM ALLDERDICE HIGH SCHOOL 2020

Lauren~

From a Dragon to a Terp …

We wish you the best of luck as you carry on the family tradition!

We love you and are so proud of you!

Here’s to a bright future at The University of Maryland!

National Honor Society • Concert Band • BBYO —

XOXO, Mom, Dad, and All of Your Family

Parents: Marla and David Forman Grandparents: Joan and Ben Forman and the late Maxine Shirey

10 JUNE 19, 2020

Ser ved as 31st Regional Aleph Moreh of KMR BBYO

Austin will be attending Kent State University this Fall

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

We are so Proud of You

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Congratulations Adam Silberman on your graduation from North Allegheny High School!

Congratulations Rose!

We are so proud of all you have accomplished and all that is to come.

We love you to the moon and back.

Love, Mom, Dad and Nathan

We wish you our best at Kent State University.

Love, MiMi & Pop-Pop Kitay

CLASS OF 2020

The heart is small and embraces the whole wide world.

— Yiddish Proverb Lauren, you have the biggest heart which has already embraced the world! We are so proud of

Lauren Burke Allderdice Class of 2020 University of Pittsburgh Class of 2024

all that you have accomplished with your studies and your volunteerism. Your friendship, empathy and huge smile have made a difference in so many lives. From strength to strength…we love you and cannot wait to see what your new adventures will bring!

Love, Bubbe, Mom, Dad and Brian

You have brains in your head.

Congratulations Casey on your Colfax promotion!

We are so proud of all you have accomplished and we are excited to see what your future at Allderdice brings!

We love you so much!!

Thank you Colfax for an amazing 13 years!

Love, Mom, Dad and Jordyn

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go. ~ Dr. Seuss

We are very proud of you, Teal French-Levine, for earning a Master’s Degree in Clinical-Community Psychology from Point Park University.

With Love, Grandmother & Grandfather, Bev and Jack Levine

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Congratulations Elena Schwimer!

We are so happy for your accomplishments and excited for your future.

You will continue to bloom in Bloomington.

We love you the more mostest, Mom, Dad, and Levi

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JUNE 19, 2020 11

Headlines As colleges go virtual, students instead are heading to Israel on gap year programs — NATIONAL —

Mazel Tov on your high school graduation and best of luck on your next journey!

Where are they headed?

Community Day School graduates are scholars, artists, athletes, musicians, innovators, and leaders. They use their gifts and knowledge to succeed at the world’s finest colleges and universities and in their chosen professions.

And CDS students are the future of strong, vibrant Jewish communities in Pittsburgh and beyond.

By Josefin Dolsten | JTA

H

adara Bilsky thought she’d spend her first semester of college making friends in her dorm, having discussions with professors and students in class, and attending Shabbat services at Hillel.

Now the 18-year-old isn’t sure if any of that will happen.

Emory University, her school of choice, announced it would hold classes in the fall.

But many U.S. colleges have said they are likely to hold at least some classes virtually this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rather than starting at the Atlanta school this year as planned, Bilsky is “highly considering” enrolling in Year Course, a Young Judaea program in which high school graduates spend a year in Israel traveling the country, participating in internships and volunteer programs, and taking college-level classes.

She wants to pick up where she left off when the pandemic cut short her high school’s Israel trip this spring. And Bilsky hopes that by spending a year in Israel, she can “ride out the wave” of the pandemic while immersing herself in a new culture and learning Hebrew — and then start college a year later than planned.

I wanted a more normal college experience, and no matter what Emory decides to do, it won’t be that experience,” said Bilsky, who lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Under normal circumstances, hundreds of American Jews travel to Israel after they graduate from high school for what’s known as a gap year. Orthodox Jewish teens tend to study in seminaries and yeshivas before beginning college, while dozens of programs — including Year Course — primarily offer Israel experiences to non-Orthodox teens.

This year, the uncertainty about what

Please see Gap, page 23

p Year Course students this spring wear masks while volunteering.

12 JUNE 19, 2020

college will look like in the fall, coupled with Israel’s relative success beating back coronavirus cases, appears to be driving up demand. Gap year programs say they are seeing a rise in last-minute applications as the possibility of not being able to be on campus next semester has students scrambling for other plans.

“This is the time of year when normally we’re pretty zipped up for the next year and we’ve usually gotten most of the applicants that we can expect,” said Dafna Laskin, Young Judaea’s director of engagement. “But in the last two to three weeks, where normally we’d see one to two applicants a week registering, I say we’re seeing maybe six or seven.”

In addition, fewer participants than usual have been dropping out, Laskin said.

Israel was among the earliest countries to institute strict social distancing measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Its death toll has remained below 300 and the country has now reopened, with businesses and schools operating while following social distancing and other measures to curb disease spread.

That makes studying there appealing to those coming from the United States, where many schools remain closed and summer camps have been canceled.

Nativ, a gap year program run by the Conservative movement, is seeing a rise in interest from students who say they do not want to spend a year doing online classes.

“We’re able to offer them an opportunity to come to Israel, study at Hebrew University in an academic institution with real classes, face to face with their professors, still have social opportunities with their friends and do everything that we would do on a regular year,” director Yossi Garr said.

Though Nativ ended up sending home this year’s participants early and foreigners are still barred from entering Israel, Garr is working under the assumption that the

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Photo courtesy of Year Course

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Graduation 2020 As it sets diversity record, West Point quietly graduates 1,000th Jewish student — NATIONAL —

By Cathryn J. Prince | Times of Israel

W

hen West Point graduated its 1,000th Jewish cadet Saturday, it was more than a historical moment.

For the 12 Jewish cadets graduating this year out of a class of 980, and the hundreds of Jewish alumni before them, this milestone shows how much Jewish life has grown here since the military academy’s 1802 founding.

The achievement came amid another first for the academy — this year’s graduating class became most the diverse in West Point’s history, with a record-setting 34 African American women receiving their degrees.

When 2nd Lt. Noah Carlen, 22, came to West Point four years ago, he found himself in the unique position of living with two roommates who had never met a Jewish person. For someone who grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, which has a large Jewish community, it was an eye-opening, but not unpleasant, experience.

In fact, it inspired the former Boy Scout — and only student from his high school to attend a service academy — to engage with his academy’s small Jewish population.

“Here you don’t have to choose between being Jewish and being American,” said Carlen, who is branching into Air Artillery Defense and will be posted in Korea.

The U.S. Military Academy, or West Point, has always accepted Jews. Indeed, the first graduating class of 1802 was 50% Jewish — though the class only consisted of two students total. Over the next century, one or two Jewish cadets usually attended every few years. The numbers increased in the 1940s, when between five and 10 attended annually.

But while the number of Jewish cadets increased, Jewish life didn’t begin flourishing here until the recent past.

“It wasn’t hard in that you got a hard time for being Jewish. It was hard in other ways.

For example, you had to go to services on Sunday. Sometimes a rabbi would come from the city, but usually not,” said Joel Kampf, who graduated in the class of 1959.

Unlike now, in Kampf ’s time all cadets with a religious affiliation had to attend a worship service at least weekly — except Jewish cadets didn’t have a chapel of their own. Numbering just 70 out of 2,400 total cadets, Kampf and his coreligionists used the Catholic chapel, draping the Christian icons with cloth and frequently reading Torah among themselves.

In 1982 Kampf launched the West Point Jewish Chapel Fund, an independent organization of Jewish grads and non-grads.

Together they raised over $7.5 million to build a chapel for the growing number of Jewish cadets. It was dedicated in 1984.

Situated on a hill surrounded by leafy trees, the white stone chapel, which also serves as the academy’s Hillel, commands a view of the Hudson River.

In addition to the sanctuary, there is a PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

library, and along one wall in a blue-carpeted corridor are affixed 1,000 sparkling brass nameplates — one for every known Jewish cadet to graduate West Point.

The first is Simeon Magruder Levy. The son of a fur trader and speculator, Levy joined the U.S. Army in 1790 at the age of 16.

Records indicate he distinguished himself during the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794.

Levy died in 1807, possibly of yellow fever.

There is a nameplate for David “Mickey”

cadets are encouraged to take leadership roles in the Jewish community on campus and on future postings beyond West Point.

Today, cadets, faculty members, local Jews and members of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America attend Shabbat and High Holiday services in the airy sanctuary.

“During basic training it was a place of solace, a place to relax,” said 22-year-old 2nd Lt. Joshua Fernquist.

p United States Military Academy at West Point

Marcus, class of 1924, who parachuted into Normandy on D-Day and then went to Israel to help transform the Haganah into a regular army during the 1948 War of Independence. There’s also Lt. David Bernstein, a 2001 West Point graduate who was killed in Iraq in 2003.

“Once the chapel was here you knew you were recognized as a Jew,” Kampf said.

Today there’s also a Jewish Cadet Choir, whose members include Jews and non-Jews, along with the West Point Hillel. Each year cadets participate in Warrior Weekend with Hillel groups from the other service academies and ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) programs. The cadets also engage in community service, from sending Hanukkah care packages to deployed troops to helping paint schools in Brazil.

Last fall, Israel Defense Forces officers visited the cadets, and West Point’s Hillel has also launched a Birthright Israel trip. Jewish cadets have participated in trips apple picking in upstate New York, performing Hanukkah songs at the United Nations in New York City, and meeting with Holocaust survivors and concentration camp liberators.

“The biggest thing about Jewish life here is the sense of community. Being Jewish in America is about community and being together. We try to do that here. We have barbecues, music and movie nights. We get together to watch the Super Bowl,” said Capt.

David Ruderman, West Point’s rabbi.

Beyond social events, Ruderman said the

Photo by nancykennedy/iStockphoto.com

It also became a place for Fernquist, who grew up Reform in West Bloomfield, Michigan, to explore Judaism in ways he hadn’t previously.

“There was no pressure here, but I am more in touch with Judaism. I wrapped phylacteries for the first time — the rabbi taught me how,” he said.

Fernquist, who is branching into aviation and will be posted to Fort Rucker, Alabama, said the academy’s Jewish community drew him in because it’s so close-knit.

That sense of closeness remains over the years, as evidenced in the gentle ribbing between Kampf and Robert Rosencranz, who graduated with the class of 1961.

Kampf and Rosencranz teased each other about who had more endurance standing on the parade ground during the alumni parade held a few days before graduation.

“You guys were dropping like flies. The trick is to not lock the knees. Maybe you want a chair to sit down in,” Rosencranz said, gesturing to one of the chairs in the library.

“I’m fine. And we were told we had the most perfect marching,” Kampf said.

The reasons students choose West Point vary, just as university choices do for the broader population. Some, like 2nd Lt. Rachelle David, knew from the time they were young that they wanted to serve in the Army. The 22-year-old was raised Orthodox in Great Neck, New York, and attended yeshiva day school.

After graduation, David, who is branching into engineering, will have 57

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days’ leave before she reports to Camp Humphreys in Korea.

Cadets receive a free four-year education, and then serve for five years in the Army upon graduating.

“There is a strong Jewish life here, but it’s not possible to be completely observant. I can keep kosher easily because I’m a vegetarian, but kosher meat isn’t available,” David said.

There are kosher meals, ready to eat — or MREs, as they are known in military parlance — for those who want, though no one really wants to eat MREs for four years, David said. There are also classes and training held on Saturdays, so Shabbat observance isn’t possible.

Other Jewish cadets, such as Fernquist, hail from military families.

Fernquist’s grandfather was an NCO in the Navy and served in Korea and Vietnam.

Fernquist’s older brother also went to West Point, as well as his younger brother, who is in his second year at the academy.

Jewish Americans have served in the U.S. military since before the Colonial era. Representing about 2.2% of the population nationwide, they account for about one-third of 1% of the U.S. military, said Anna Selman, the former program director and public relations coordinator for the Jewish War Veterans of the USA. Today, about 10,000 Jews are serving in active duty forces and 5,000 in the National Guard and Reserves, according to a 2017 survey done by the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.

Rigorous, both academically and physically, West Point is also cocooned from the increased anti-Semitism and challenges facing American Jews beyond the academy’s perimeter.

The cadets gathered in the corridor acknowledged that West Point has been a haven from the anti-Semitism that students on other campuses face.

“We haven’t experienced it here, but of course we’re aware what’s happening. We might live in a bubble, but we don’t live under a rock,” Carlen said.

This year, West Point will be sending forth 12 young people who will serve as leaders in the Army and in the Jewish community as a whole, Ruderman said.

“They will combat anti-Semitism by virtue of what they are doing with their lives. They will be taking care of people and serving people,” Ruderman said.

That service is evidenced in the shadow box containing the names of all the Jewish Medal of Honor recipients, dating back to the American Revolution. It’s evidenced in the work of Rosencranz, who is chair of Veterans Moving Forward, which provides service dogs to veterans with PTSD. And it’s evidenced in the continued engagement of West Point’s Jewish alumni.

Standing just outside the chapel’s entrance, Terry Bresnik, class of 1969, and president of the chapel fund, spoke with The Times of Israel.

“I get a lot of nachas [pride] standing here,” he said. PJC JUNE 19, 2020 13

Headlines Holocaust education funding bill signed into law — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

P

resident Donald Trump signed the Never Again Education Act into law on May 28, two weeks after it was unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate.

The law provides $10 million in funding for Holocaust education in American schools.

The House of Representatives passed the bill on Monday, Jan. 27, with overwhelming support, in a vote that coincided with the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp.

The money will be administered over five years by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which will disseminate curriculum materials in part through a centralized website.

“I commend my Senate colleagues for moving quickly to pass this bill to expand Holocaust education programming. We have seen the dangers of anti-Semitism firsthand in Pittsburgh, and we must work to combat religiously motivated hate crimes and discrimination across Pennsylvania and our nation,” Sen. Bob. Casey (D-Pa.) said in a written statement to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

“Through education, we can use the teaching of history to eradicate modern-day anti-Semitism, racism and all forms of hate. I was proud to vote for this legislation to equip educators with the tools and resources they need to instill the meaning of ‘Never Again’ in their students.”

Congressman Mike Doyle of the 18th District, which includes Squirrel Hill, was a co-sponsor of the bill in the House.

“I was proud to co-sponsor the Never Again Act and vote it into law,” Doyle told the Chronicle. “This bill provides resources for

schools and teachers to help students learn about and really understand the Holocaust, so that nothing like it will ever happen again.

“The need for the Never Again Act is all too clear,” Doyle continued. “Anti-Semitism has been on the rise in the U.S. in recent years, including here in Pittsburgh — and it has hurt our community deeply. Hate crimes against the Jewish community are near historic levels — and that is simply unacceptable. We have to act now to reverse that dangerous trend.

Making sure that schools provide an in-depth curriculum about the Holocaust is crucial to educating the next generation of Americans about the devastation that hate and intolerance causes. Only by doing that can we prevent history from repeating itself.”

Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh Director Lauren Bairnsfather called the law “a clear acknowledgment of the importance of Holocaust education.”

“What the new law does,” she explained, “is give funding to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to get their materials into the hands of teachers all over the country.”

Bairnsfather pointed out that the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh has a good relationship with the USHMM. “We’re always interested in funding for what we do locally because we know this is where the difference gets made,” Bairnsfather said.

Leading lobbying for the law’s passage were Hadassah and the Jewish Federations of North America.

Hadassah, noting reports of spikes in anti-Semitic attacks in the United States, said in a statement that the “stakes are so high for communities across America.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Additional reporting by Ron Kampeas/JTA.

EKC offers family cabin rentals and activities in lieu of camp

E

mma Kaufmann Camp opened family rentals for the summer last week after receiving a permit from West Virginia to operate as a campground.

Families can rent cabins for one-week all-inclusive sessions and enjoy activities like archery, boating and ceramics as well as Shabbat

programming. The dining hall will also be open.

EKC sold over half of its inventory in the first two hours rentals were available.

The camp put in place social distancing measures, including permitting just one family per cabin (each has its own bathroom and set of sanitation supplies), setting a capacity of 20

families each week and sanitizing equipment between uses. Staff will support these operations.

The camp is initially offering five sessions running from Thursday to Monday. The five-week block begins July 2 and ends Aug. 3, though the camp will consider adding sessions if there is demand.

Families can rent cabins for multiple sessions, though they cannot stay between sessions pursuant to West Virginia restrictions. For more information, contact Aaron Cantor at acantor@jccpgh.org. PJC — Kayla Steinberg

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Thank you to all of the people who have given to the Community Campaign in this difficult time.

Let’s continue to work together to keep Jewish Pittsburgh strong.

It’s never too late to give jewishpgh.org/donate

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JUNE 19, 2020 15

YOUR IMPACT THROUGH TH SENIORS

VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

$224,882

$180,550

$210,142

$

Virtual Pharmaceutical Screenings

Medical Supplies

Food

Financial Assistance

Technical Support

Medical Supplies

Food

Support for Communities Overseas

Jewish Federation also helps coordinate coronavirus relie • Working to determine the community’s growing needs • Providing government relations support for SBA loans and other regulations • Providing webinars for the entire community, with experts from CDC, FBI and labor attorneys

• Assessing physical securi • Providing virtual program for different audiences • Assessing the needs of sm and synagogues • Conducting a needs asses to connect them to servic

IN TOTAL, THE JEWISH FEDERATION HAS DISTRIBUTED

$ 1,

G

16 JUNE 19, 2020

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PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

H THE JEWISH FEDERATION EMERGENCY FUNDING, FOOD INSECURITY & CAREER ASSISTANCE

$156,684

$539,400

$63,425

$519,400 $

Medical Supplies

Food Distribution

Computers for Day School Students

Professional Development for Teachers

m

Financial Assistance

Rabbi’s Discretionary Funds

Medical Supplies

Food

Online & Telephone Support

ty Day S uni c ho ol

Com

r es

CHILDREN, TEENS & THEIR FAMILIES

us relief in Pittsburgh by:

cal security and cybersecurity needs l programming and content diences eeds of smaller organizations s eeds assessment of individuals, m to services

households 1000+ vulnerable supported with emergency relief

100+

phone calls to socially isolated seniors community members engaged

1500+ through online programming

CORONAVIRUS $ 1,101,516 IN RELIEF FUNDS Data source: 06/10/2020

Give to the Community Campaign. jewishpgh.org/donate-now 412-681-8000

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JUNE 19, 2020 17

SUM MER CLASSES

The Jewish Community Foundation is excited to announce our online summer courses. All courses will be taught by Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff.

JUNE 29

The Rational Bible: Exodus

JULY 14

Your Money: What Jewish Ethics Has to Say

JULY 30

A Seminar for Tisha B’Av

AUGUST 5 Rabbi Danny Schiff Photo by: Joshua Franzos

(14 sessions)

(4 sessions)

Twenty-First Century Love & Marriage in Judaism (4 sessions)

REGISTER TODAY: foundation.jewishpgh.org/learning/

THANK YOU TO THE 900+ PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS YEAR’S

NLINE A special thank-you to all of our presenters: Rabbi Seth Adelson Rabbi Yisroel Altein Rabbi Amy Bardack Rabbi Aaron Bisno Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife Rabbi Jamie Gibson Rabbi Ari Goldberg

Rabbi Mark Goodman Dr. Beth Kissileff Danielle Kranjec Rabbi Levi Langer Rabbi Yaier Lehrer Rabbi Danielle Leshaw Eric Lidji

Rabbi Jeremy Markiz Rabbi Aaron Meyer Rabbi Jeffrey Myers Cantor Julie Newman Rabbi Jonathan Perlman Rabbi Henoch Rosenfeld Rabbi Ron Symons Rabbi Daniel Yolkut

Learn more about The Jewish Community Foundation’s classes and learning programs at foundation.jewishpgh.org/learning/

18 JUNE 19, 2020

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RABBI JAMIE GIBSON 32 years at Temple Sinai | 1988–2020

WE WILL MISS YOU! BEST WISHES ON YOUR RETIREMENT! You’ve supported us through births, deaths, illnesses, marriages, divorces, B’nei Mitzvah, Confirmations, and conversions.

You’ve filled our lives with music.

You’ve taught us the sacred words of the Torah and inspired us to become better partners, parents, children, friends, and Jews.

You’ve connected us to a wider world that includes not just other Jews but friends of other faiths.

As we celebrate your retirement, we thank you for your wisdom, leadership, love, and generosity knowing we are more connected as a family because of you.

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JUNE 19, 2020 19

Opinion Summer camp is canceled, but we camp people can still make this summer meaningful for our campers Guest Columnist Molly Wernick

J

ewish camp professionals don’t have much time to mourn the loss of the summers we’d planned. We must switch gears, roll up our sleeves and come up with a new 2020 vision. Luckily there are no better-suited dreamers and designers for this challenge than camp people.

For the past three years I have served as the community director at Habonim Dror Camp Galil in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

In addition to being my employer, Galil was my summer home from ages 10 to 23. I experienced 14 years of memories, milestones and rights of passage, each vital to the fabric of my life today.

Days after making our announcement

about not opening camp this summer, the Galil community convened on Zoom for Havdalah, as we had been doing weekly since mid-March. I did not know whether to hide my face from the video as the tears fell from my eyes. Each one felt like a would-be memory lost to our community. Our campers don’t deserve to have their summers lost. We owe it to them to create meaningful memories and connections that can travel with them as they grow.

Before we start cutting and pasting our regular camp day into Zoom rooms, let’s keep in mind what camp is all about.

Listen to your campers — and their parents — and meet them where they are.

Conducting empathy interviews with your camp families will allow you to understand how their needs have shifted. This year, we’re not child care and we’re not an immersive Jewish experience — but we can use what

we learn from those interviews to inform the goals of our summer programming. More than ever, actual community needs matter a lot more than an organizational vision.

Following the announcement about suspending in-person camp, Galil’s staff and board contacted each of our enrolled families to discuss the summer. We listened, we comforted, we commiserated about Zoom fatigue and furloughed family members.

One parent shared how her young daughter is an early riser and would benefit from summer activities first thing in the morning.

Another parent shared about how her middle child who wasn’t yet ready for in-person camp is now eager to participate in Galil’s remote programming.

From these conversations, our youth leadership team was able to construct additional interview questions to discover more about family schedules, camper passions and ideas for community support. Everything that we learn through this process will

become a piece of the puzzle informing our summer structure.

Make camp experiences more inclusive — and Jewish.

The way a Zoom call is facilitated or an email is written can communicate your values. Make sure that the values you want to teach this summer are not just named for your community but also experienced by them.

Practice the value of inclusivity by making sure new and younger campers are welcomed into camp traditions, even if they look different than they have in years past. Practice the value of responsibility by allowing campers of all ages play a role in a program’s planning or execution. (The Foundation for Jewish Camp and M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education offer great resources.)

Please see Camp, page 21

Nazi headstones, Confederate statues: America’s battle over memory Guest Columnist Ben Cohen

T

he U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently agreed to the removal of a small number of headstones in U.S. military cemeteries that were engraved with the Nazi swastika and the Iron Cross.

The stones marked the graves of captive German soldiers who were interred at two cemeteries in this country after World War II — Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas and Fort Douglas Post Cemetery in Utah. In addition to the offending symbols, their headstones also carried the following inscription: “He died far from his home for the Führer, people and fatherland.”

One might have assumed that, given their content, removing the headstones would not have been an issue for the VA. In fact, the department’s first response was to insist that they remain in place. In a mid-May letter to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), an advocacy group that brought the headstones’ existence to light, the VA argued that it had a “duty” to preserve the markers.

But then several members of Congress objected to the presence of the headstones, leading the department to reverse its initial decision. It was “understandably upsetting to our veterans and their families to see Nazi inscriptions near those who gave their lives for this nation,” VA Secretary Robert Wilkie acknowledged at the beginning of

20 JUNE 19, 2020

June. “That’s why VA will initiate the process required to replace these POW headstones.”

Not surprisingly, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the Nazi graves spat at the VA didn’t receive much media airplay. Still, the issues raised by this episode, along with its outcome, are relevant to the ongoing national clash over the continued presence of Confederate statues and war memorials in U.S. cities.

The last time that the visual baggage of the Confederacy animated the country to this extent was in 2017, with the violent white-supremacist show of force in Charlottesville, Virginia. Back then, as now, U.S. President Donald Trump made no secret of where he stood, using his Twitter feed to decry “the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments” and asking rhetorically, “Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson — who’s next, Washington, Jefferson?”

Trump made the same point in similar fashion amid the latest round of protests against racism, which have included widespread demands for the renaming of U.S. military bases named in honor of Confederate commanders. “These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom,” he tweeted — again, glibly subsuming the secessionist, slave-owning Confederacy within the broad, triumphant sweep of American history.

This is a deeply suspect line of argument, and the episode over the presence of Nazi headstones in our military cemeteries

helps explain why.

In that example, what was being objected to was not the physical remains of the German POWs, but the horrendous manner in which that presence was acknowledged. Some neutral inscription on the headstones would have been respectful and civilized, and a far cry from the encomium to Hitler that ended up on them. With the removal of the headstones, an unseemly wrong — the presence of the symbols of a mortal enemy in the very locations where American veterans are buried — has been righted. And I would argue that the same moral logic applied here should apply to the Confederate memorabilia around us.

Now, you might object that one cannot in decency compare the officers and soldiers of the Confederacy with the external enemy that was Nazi Germany. After all, many leading Confederates, including Braxton Bragg, for whom the famous base in North Carolina is named, and Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, were honored veterans of the Mexican-American war of 1846-48, and considered to be great and sage patriots. The Civil War they helped initiate a little more than a decade later was not the result of outside aggression, according to this argument, but a tragic conflict within the American family that politics alone was not able to resolve.

This interpretation of history is one of the factors behind Trump’s vocal rejection of the removal of Confederate memorials.

It might seem patriotic, but in reality, it isn’t — not least because the values and the vision of American society that the Confederacy represented had eventually to be defeated on the battlefield at what was,

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especially by the standards of that time, a staggering human cost.

In institutional terms, some current signs can be seen of a move against the commemoration of the Confederacy. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has mooted a “bipartisan discussion” on the renaming of military bases, while the U.S. Navy has outlawed the display of Confederate flags aboard its ships and in other facilities. But as the Jewish experience reminds us only too well, changes in institutional behavior aren’t necessarily mirrored in public opinion. Especially with Trump in the White House, the segment of opinion that twists its perverse regard for the Confederacy into an American value will continue to assert itself aggressively.

The only response to this misrepresentation is to point to the historical record.

“These bases are, after all, federal installations, home to soldiers who swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” the former head of the CIA, Gen. David Petraeus, wrote recently in The Atlantic. “The irony of training at bases named for those who took up arms against the United States, and for the right to enslave others, is inescapable to anyone paying attention.”

If we are no longer prepared to tolerate Nazi symbols as an ongoing presence in our military cemeteries, then we should treat the symbols of the Confederate betrayal of the United States in a similar manner. PJC Ben Cohen writes a weekly column on Jewish and international affairs for JNS.org, where this piece first appeared.

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Opinion Justice first, mercy where warranted

— LETTERS — A remarkable family

Thank you for the outstanding article by Justin Vellucci about Yitzy Nadoff (“Yitzy Nadoff: The making of a Jewish EMT,” June 5, 2020), a remarkable and sensitive young man from an even more remarkable family.

Those of us who were so privileged to be close to Yitzy’s grandparents, Rabbi Benjamin and Miriam Nadoff, and now Yitzy’s parents, Dovie and Fraidy, can attest to their extraordinary chesed. Whether it’s an emergency, or special food for a simcha, or an overwhelmed new mother needing help late at night, you can be pretty sure there is a Nadoff involved. This concept of unconditional caring for another no matter what opinions they hold, as Yitzy pointed out, and understanding what living to help another really meant was something Yitzy learned by “seeing how my parents lived to help others.” What was also so remarkable was that it all seemed to come so natural to the Nadoffs.

How fortunate for Yitzy that he is the beneficiary of this remarkable legacy.

Helene Wishnev Squirrel Hill

We must continue to demand justice for all

On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Union troops freed the last slaves in Galveston, Texas. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream for America’s future, but highlighted the nation’s debt: “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. … It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. … We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.”

The legal end to the Jim Crow segregation that pervaded the country through the Reconstruction and into the racism of the 20th century, the civil rights movement and legislation of the 1960s would not have gained momentum with just the eloquent words of Dr. King.

Without Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, without protests — and, yes, civil unrest — there would have been no progress.

This country would not be the country it is, either fiscally, technologically, or culturally without the 400-plus year contributions of people of color. And yet, the institutions of racism built into the foundations of this great country remain to be dismantled. If a person of color cannot run through their neighborhood without being assaulted and killed, are our streets safe? If a person can’t rest in their home without fear of having the door smashed down and being shot, are our homes protected? If a person cannot count on their police to serve and protect, and must fear for their lives at the hands of four officers, do we have a just system?

We must support our brothers and sisters of #BlackLivesMatter. On this Juneteenth, 2020, we see the promissory note as yet unfulfilled. We will continue to write, petition, speak, and march with our hearts, souls and bodies for Justice for all.

I write in response to Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel’s opinion piece “A Plea on Behalf of Brian Jordan Bartels, 20” (June 12, 2020).

Let’s suppose for the moment that Mr. Bartels did what he is charged with doing: participating in the destruction of a police car and inciting to riot as part of a demonstration against police misconduct triggered by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Rabbi Vogel argues as if the issue were only damage to a police car. Of course, that in itself is a serious matter. It creates costs that come to the public through taxes. But that leaves out the context in which Mr. Bartels was acting.

Like Minneapolis, Pittsburgh has a problem with police misconduct. The contract between the city and the police union effectively makes the Citizen Police Review Board impotent to do its job. Most of Pittsburgh’s police are fine and humane people, but there are, inevitably, some who are not. The management problem we have is the lack of effective tools to deal with those few who should not be police.

The demonstration Mr. Bartels participated in was aimed at addressing that issue, particularly as it affects our black and brown fellow citizens. To incite to riot in that context is to invite the very misconduct being protested. People could have been hurt or killed because of the actions of Mr. Bartels and his accomplices.

For the movement to restrain police misconduct in Pittsburgh to be successful, it is essential for the demonstrators themselves to have the discipline to stay peaceful. By his actions, Mr. Bartels betrayed the very cause he espoused. If he is not able to control his actions, Mr. Bartels could have contributed more to social justice by staying home.

We are enjoined to do justice and to love mercy. We are not enjoined to do mercy and love justice. In other words, justice first, mercy where it is warranted. In this case, I do not see much case for mercy. I disagree with Rabbi Vogel.

Joseph (Jay) B. Kadane Squirrel Hill

Careful with use of terminology

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle has published many articles, letters and columns in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd and the continuing struggle as we are dealing with how we can and must do better. Lots of material to read and much to learn.

Many of the articles and letters are challenging us to think about white privilege, a term that can both unite and divide us. It is worthy of thought and reflection, but be careful of applying it to everyone. Labeling people and groups has partially led us to the current state of affairs, which has led us to greater polarization, racism and anti-Semitism.

When applying general labels to people we need to be sensitive if we get a response we did not expect and may not understand; remember we all walk in different shoes. We have a long way to go to see that day when Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed that we would judge a person by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.

Rocky Wice Squirrel Hill

Nathaniel (Chip) Myers Pittsburgh

provided me with joy and purpose I didn’t realize I needed.

Camp: Continued from page 20

Failures will happen. Use them to make positive changes.

Keep rituals alive through the screen.

In the era of isolation due to social distancing, having campers feel how much they matter to a community has substantial benefits to their mental health. We as camp communities have the power to make that possible. Try incorporating recurring camp rituals into your remote program so your campers can experience a repeated sense of personal and collective mattering. Rituals and traditions comprise camp culture, and camp culture helps make camp magical.

I recently helped lead Moishe House’s Expedition Nai, a global, virtual color war in which prioritizing participant mattering made the entire experience possible. Even on the educator/facilitator side of Expedition Nai, running biweekly “flagpole” gatherings PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Starting in mid-March, our team at Habonim Dror Camp Galil began running daily online programs for our community.

Each day, good or bad, helped us improve the facilitation and function of our virtual programs and helped us understand how to — and how not to — most effectively engage our community.

Finding meaningful ways to build an intentional, empowered and hospitable remote community has the ability to do more longterm good than we can even imagine. PJC

p Summer campers and their counselor

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photo by Getty Images via JTA

Molly Wernick lives in Philadelphia. In addition to her work with Camp Galil, Molly contracts as an experiential educator and facilitator for Jewish organizations like Moishe House, Hazon, and M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education.

JUNE 19, 2020 21

Headlines Clergy: Continued from page 1

are suffering?”

Myers posed the idea for a “Conversation Between Friends” to the pastor. Manning immediately agreed.

“One of the things that allowed me to make that quick decision was just the way that Rabbi and I have talked through the years, and our relationship,” Manning told the Chronicle. “A lot of times you have those within the white community who will kind of superficially come to you and say, ‘Let’s talk about race, you know, et cetera, et cetera,’ but there was a genuine desire to hear, and to listen, and to allow for the thoughts or the experiences — while be it painful — to help people understand.”

Manning told Myers, and listeners of the conversation, about two personal experiences with racism.

Years ago, after performing with his college band in a Thanksgiving Day parade, Manning searched for his mother.

While walking through a car dealer’s lot, Manning was stopped by a police officer, who repeatedly asked about his purposes on the premises. Despite explaining that he was simply looking for his family, and that he had just performed in the nearby parade, the officer took Manning’s identification.

Eventually, the officer allowed Manning to continue searching for his mother.

Decades later, while driving home from a court proceeding regarding the June 17, 2015,

“ One of the things that allowed me to make that quick decision was just the way that Rabbi and I have talked through the years,

”

and our relationship.

— PASTOR ERIC MANNING, OF MOTHER EMANUEL AME CHURCH IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

killing of parishioners at Mother Emanuel, Manning was stopped by a police officer for driving with expired tags. Only after explaining to the officer who he was, and that he had the city’s mayor and police chief “on speed dial,” did the officer’s tone change.

Manning said that he was able to share those stories with Myers because there is trust between them. The relationship, continued the pastor, is one in which he can express his thoughts on race and his fears as a father, knowing full well that Myers may have no idea what it’s like to worry about a 23-year-old African American son.

As parents, “you have to talk about the birds and the bees,” but there’s another talk “within the African American community,”

Camp: Continued from page 1

assumption was, ‘Well, this is what life would look like if you were a full-time Reform Jew or if you were a full-time Orthodox Jew,’ and so on. It can be very valuable to give young people a sense of an alternative lifestyle, a different way of life that you can experience and you may then decide to make your own.”

Many campers do, in fact, decide to incorporate pieces of this “alternative lifestyle” into their own lives and are inspired to engage with Jewish opportunities postcamp. A 2008 study by the Foundation for Jewish Camp found that going to camp is a predictor of Jews being more involved in an array of Jewish experiences. Adults who attended Jewish camps as children were more likely to go to synagogue, marry a Jew, donate to a Jewish charity, light Shabbat candles and feel attached to Israel.

But Shifra Poznanski and her kids aren’t worried about long-term impacts of one summer without camp.

“Well, like, I don’t miss anything, except I like going swimming,” said 6-year-old Ari. His friends at Hillel Academy’s camp — a day camp, which is running this summer — also go to his school, so a summer without them doesn’t feel like such a loss.

While Poznanski has opted out of sending her children to camp this year, not wanting to take what she sees as an “unnecessary 22 JUNE 19, 2020

p Rabbi Chuck Diamond has spent the past 45 summers at Camp Ramah in Canada.

Photo provided by Chuck Diamond.

risk,” Lisa Cook has made a different choice.

She is sending three of her five kids to camp this summer: Avrumi, 7, and Akiva, 6, are headed to Camp Hillel while Shaindy, 10, is going to the Agudah Midwest Girls camp.

Though Camp Hillel’s indoor field trips might not happen and camp days could be truncated, Cook is glad she can send her kids to places with Jewish programming and friends, giving her some quiet time to work.

“Our kids have never been home for three

said Manning. You tell your child that in the event of being pulled over by the police to “make sure you’re polite. Make sure you’re not threatening. And by all means, don’t reach for anything. Put your hands on the steering wheel and then ask for permission to do certain things. That’s the talk.”

When there’s trust between people, it’s possible to be there for one another, even when the parties believe, practice or look nothing alike, explained Manning.

Myers agreed. If a relationship is predicated on trust and respect then there is an ability to question one another without fear, the rabbi noted.

“You have to be willing to be brave. Trust your instincts, have your faith guide you to

months straight,” said Cook. “They’ve always done camp or we’ve gone on vacation somewhere. So now it’s like we did three months, and we still have the entire summer. Crazy.”

Jewish summer camp traditionally has been a popular choice for Pittsburgh’s Jews. In 2017, 29% of Jewish kids in grades K-12 attended Jewish day camp and 16% attended Jewish overnight camp, according to the 2017 Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Study.

But the numbers will look different this summer, and Sarna is worried that summers without camp and virtual classes could have a long-term impact on kids’ engagement with Judaism.

For educating kids Jewishly, he explained, the window is short.

“If you’re lucky, it’s a decade,” he said.

“Losing a summer or months of Jewish education, if we’re talking about day school or supplementary school, that’s a big percentage. That’s going to have an enormous ripple effect.”

During the Great Depression, many parents could not afford to send their kids to Jewish school, prompting disengagement with Judaism, Sarna noted.

“That generation was the most Jewishly ignorant generation of the 20th century,” he said. “They never made up what they didn’t know.”

Sarna compared then with now.

“For many, many Jews, I would say the majority, I think this will be impactful,” he

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

move in what you think is the right direction, but not be afraid to either fail or have criticism about it,” said Myers.

“A lot of times, it’s more or less just asking the hard questions,” said Manning. “And then of course listening, actively listening, not passively listening.” Doing so may generate “an opportunity to ask yourself the question, ‘How would I respond to an officer who comes or pulls me over? Am I fearful for my life?’”

Manning noted that open communication can begin by turning to one another and saying, “I may not be able to fully understand, but help me to understand. I want to listen. I want to hear how my actions, my emails, whatever the case may be, may have been received by you.”

“I think a lot of times we forget that, even from the Proverbs perspective, we should be able to reason with one another and we should be able to share with one another, because we can meet each other on the plane of humanity,” Manning said.

Through this, “the heart changes” and once it does, “actions change,” continued the pastor. “I think a lot of times, even in this season that we’re in, we have to build relationships. We have to build meaningful relationships.” Doing so yields “an honest conversation. And then, when you respect each other, you meet each other at a different place and you can accomplish a lot more.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

said. “I think the Jewish community — if it’s wise — will target this generation, give them extra opportunities, send them all to Israel in college [and] make sure they have opportunities to really strengthen their Jewish ties when this is all over lest a part of the generation will be lost.”

With regular camp canceled, Emma Kaufmann Camp Director Aaron Cantor sees this summer as a chance to bring camp to the community virtually in addition to the camp’s new family cabin rentals program.

“We have an opportunity to remind everybody that the most special part about camp is the friendships and connections they make,” he said. “So throughout the summer, we’re going to be delivering what we’re calling ‘bright spots’ to our community,” including virtual campfires and other events through online platforms.

Ramah Canada, too, has been offering virtual programs like Saturday night Havdalah Zooms and Shira BaBayit (Song in the Home).

Sarna sees these efforts as key to kids’ Jewish futures.

“We’re going to have to work hard to ensure that these young people have experiences over the summer that leave them positively connected to the Jewish community,” he said. “There’s nothing more important than training the next generation.” PJC Kayla Steinberg can be reached at ksteinberg@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Gibson: Continued from page 2

Lynn Lazar, who with Rick Rosenthal are co-chairs of the committee tasked with finding a permanent rabbi to succeed Gibson, noted that Gibson has been her rabbi for more than 20 years. She is one of his “biggest fans and supporters,” she said.

“I’m happy for him, that he’s successfully moving onto the next stage of his life and is going out on a high note,” said Lazar, adding that this is an exciting time for Temple Sinai as its membership looks to the future.

Gibson agreed, saying that there is a “generational shift in Judaism” and that it is important that shift is supported.

2020: Continued from page 7

never going to happen.”

This summer, Thaler will work as a counselor at Camp Gan Israel for Chabad, she said. Then, it’s off to Crown Heights, New York, to study at the Beis Rivka seminary in the fall.

“I definitely am hoping to start a family but I also have a very strong desire to go to college and get a degree, maybe as an occupational or physical therapist,” Thaler said.

p

Mendel Hoexter

Photo provided

Mendel Hoexter moved to Pittsburgh from Morristown, New Jersey, at age 1.

He’ll be heading back toward the Atlantic Ocean this fall to attend a yeshiva in New Haven, Connecticut.

“That’s my plan, to go there, as long as everything goes as planned,” said Hoexter,

Gap: Continued from page 12

program will be able to go on in the fall with increased hygiene and sanitation, as well as other protocols to limit disease spread.

Nishmat, an Orthodox women’s seminary in Jerusalem, also is making adjustments to ensure its gap year program can start in the fall. After shutting down during the height of the pandemic in Israel and sending home its participants, the program has been able to reopen classes to Israeli students by taking a number of precautions. They include PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

“In rabbinic school I got an A in prophets, but I failed prophecy,” he said. “I am not good at predicting the future, but I know that 10 years from now there will be a very different synagogue scene. As my generation ages out, others are going to decide if they want to fill the leadership roles available or create new institutions and vehicles for Jewish spirituality, social justice and all the things that used to be done under the synagogue’s roof.”

The congregation has hired Rabbi Darryl Crystal to serve as its interim rabbi, beginning in July.

Gibson will continue at Temple Sinai as rabbi emeritus. PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

17, of Squirrel Hill, who graduated this year from the Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh after attending the school for 13 years. “I really liked my school and the sciences, physics. I’m not sure where I’m gonna go or what I’m gonna do but I’d like to do something in those fields.”

Hoexter has a decent road map right at home.

His father works in Pittsburgh for Google.

During the downtime created by the novel coronavirus, Hoexter nurtured several comforting pastimes.

“I play guitar, actually — I’m a beginner and only have been taking lessons for a few years,” he said. “But I love listening to music in this free time. And I love reading.”

Rikel Rosenblum’s an independent thinker.

The Mt. Lebanon teenager, the middle of 10 children, is the daughter of Batya and Rabbi Mendel Rosenblum, directors of Chabad of the South Hills. She plans to attend the same seminary in Israel her older sister attended. But she is strong-willed and carving out her own path.

“It’s going to be my first years living away from home — it’s independence,” said Rosenblum, 17, who is graduating from Yeshiva Schools in Pittsburgh. “And being in the Holy Land is a big thrill.”

After her one year of studying at Machon Shoshanat Yerushalayim seminary in Israel, Rosenblum said anything is possible.

“It could be I’ll spend another year there and it could be I’ll come back,” she said.

“I’m not sure yet.”

And, yes, she is taking notes from her sister, Mushky, now 23.

“She’s giving me tips but she’s leaving a lot of it for me to discover,” Rosenblum said.

The younger Rosenblum also said she is influenced heavily by her parents.

wearing masks and separating students into small groups at all times by Plexiglas partitions in classrooms.

“We saw that it’s possible to run school under those conditions. We’re doing it now,” said Rabbi Joshua Weisberg, who directs the seminary’s gap year program.

The seminary, too, is seeing a rise in interest. Usually the class is mostly finalized at this time of year, and one or two potential students might still be finishing their applications. But in recent weeks, a handful of young women have reached out about joining the program.

“It’s students who are rethinking

Tuchman: Continued from page 3

from 1,200 taxa, the museum “opened my eyes to the beauty and fascination and subtlety of the desert. It’s a landscape that I just love. It’s full of life.”

The desert also “is one of the foundations of my personal spirituality,” he added. “I mean it’s awe inspiring, what it looks like, how plants and animals live there, how they coexist there. When I’m out walking in the desert, even on a very still day, it’s just vibrating with life.”

Returning home at this stage makes sense, explained Leffel.

“He’s going back to Arizona, where he was

brought up. That’s where he lived most of his life. He loves that area,” said the president.

“We’ll miss him. He’s really just become a part of our temple family.”

Tuchman has been succeeded at Temple B’nai Israel by Rabbi Howie Stein, who received his rabbinical ordination and a master’s in Hebrew letters from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to beginning his tenure at Temple B’nai Israel, he provided rabbinical and educational services to congregations throughout Western Pennsylvania, including in New Castle, Indiana, Allison Park and Pittsburgh. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

“I definitely look up to the ways of my parents,” Rosenblum said. “Maybe one day I will open a Chabad of my own.”

Dovid Moritz falls pretty close to the middle but, unlike most middle children, favors both the unknown and the predictable.

Moritz is the fourth oldest of 10 children and, like yeshiva classmate Mendel Hoexter, plans to attend Yeshiva Schools in New Haven, Connecticut in the fall. He has started sketching out life after that, if only in broad strokes. He hopes to attend a four-year college — maybe the University of Pittsburgh — and pursue something in medicine; his father, he noted, is a pediatrician.

This summer, though, there’s mostly one thing on the agenda: babysitting.

“I’m good at it,” Moritz laughed.

Growing up in a house with nine siblings, Moritz stressed he’s used to navigating the unpredictable and making the most of thwarted plans. He laughs when describing how COVID-19 actually has improved his time-management skills.

“I’m used to all of the chaos and everything,” Moritz said. “I kind of enjoy it, actually.”

Aaron Berger’s no slacker. He was accepted to Harvard University thanks to his good marks, is a star on Pittsburgh Allderdice High School’s robotics team and has been playing the violin since kindergarten.

Even he admits, though, it would have been nice to coast his way through the end of senior year.

“I didn’t lighten up on my school work at all,” said Berger, 17 of Squirrel Hill, whose mother is a physician and whose father is the chief technology officer for UPMC Enterprises.

their whole plan” because of the pandemic, Weisberg said.

The pandemic might still throw a wrench in students’ gap year plans. It’s unclear whether colleges and universities will approve gap year requests for all the students who might request them, and a second wave of infections could make travel inadvisable.

“I am worried that I won’t be able to go at all,” said Reena Bromberg Gaber, who is planning to participate in Nativ in the fall.

“It will be really sad, and it will be another cancellation in a really long series of cancellations.”

The 17-year-old has spent the last few

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

p Aaron Berger

Photo provided

“Definitely, though, this [last semester] would have been my least stressful throughout all of high school. Then, of course, coronavirus comes along and I’m not able to experience this semester that every senior dreams of.”

Don’t think for a second, though, that this young man isn’t already planning ahead.

Berger is taking a gap year where he hopes to intern in robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, then plans to start his time at Harvard in 2021.

If you really want to hear his engine whir, talk about his AP Music Theory class with teacher Brian Lee, or better yet, robotics.

“My inspiration for pursuing computers in college is because of the robotics club at Allderdice, which I thought was a really good experience,” Berger said. “I’m planning to do something with computer science and robotics — after next year I’ll just have a better idea of what to major in.” PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

months doing courses virtually and her high school graduation was canceled. Bromberg Gaber had planned to participate in United Synagogue Youth’s spring convention but that was nixed. Nor will she be working as a junior counselor at Camp Ramah of the Poconos this summer: Like most camps, it won’t be operating because of the pandemic.

Still, Bromberg Gaber says the fact that Israel has been reopening gives her hope that the same fate won’t befall her plans for the coming year.

“It will be the first time in a while that I’ll be able to hang out with friends,” she said, “and start getting back into real life.” PJC JUNE 19, 2020 23

Life & Culture Salmon Wellington makes a scrumptious summer supper add oregano, dill, pepper, salt, and spinach.

3. Toss with breadcrumbs.

4. Roll puff pastry until it is 1 inch longer than your fillet. Lay fillet top-side down in the middle of the puff pastry and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.

5. Lay spinach mixture on top of the fillet.

6. Fold the edges of the puff pastry over the salmon and spinach, starting with the longer sides and then the shorter ends. Trim any excess pastry from the ends, then fold the ends on top. Flip the puff pastry-wrapped salmon over and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

7. Brush the beaten egg on the top and sides of the pastry. Score the top of the pastry with a knife, cutting shallow diagonal lines to create a crosshatch pattern.

8. Brush the top again with the egg wash.

9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until pastry is golden brown.

— FOOD —

By Deena Ross | Special to the Chronicle

W

e at Creative Kosher, a Pittsburghbased kosher catering service, were inspired to find a fancy but simple dinner for long Shabbat afternoons.

This recipe is an easy and scrumptious option for a summer fish meal, and works particularly well for the third meal on Shabbat. Our Salmon Wellington is delicious straight out of the oven, but even better when served cold.

On long summer afternoons, this is a great main dish option. We love that it is effortless to make and most of the ingredients are already in most people’s pantries. With fresh fish and other fresh ingredients, this dish is sure to please the entire family.

Salmon Wellington with dill sauce 2 tablespoons margarine 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic 1 onion, sliced 1 teaspoon fresh or dried oregano 1 teaspoon fresh or dried dill ¼ teaspoon pepper ½ teaspoon salt 5 ounces spinach 1 /3 cup breadcrumbs 1-1 ½ pounds boneless skinless salmon fillet 1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted

Dill sauce ½ cup mayonnaise ¼ cup fresh dill 2 tablespoons lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste p Salmon Wellington 1

Photo courtesy of Deena Ross

egg yolk, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a pan over medium heat, sauté margarine, garlic and onion until translucent. Remove from heat and immediately

Place all ingredients in a bowl or food processor and mix until combined.

Serve and enjoy. PJC Deena Ross is the owner of Creative Kosher.

U

nfortunately, once again a major community crisis, this time the coronavirus pandemic, is underlining the necessity of a local Jewish newspaper and website that keeps you informed about — and in touch with — the Pittsburgh Jewish community.

We’re responding to this crisis with all hands on deck (even if it’s from our homes) to bring you what you need to know and want to know about our community: organizations, events live or virtual, plans canceled or postponed, hardships and help, friends and neighbors.

But even as we deploy more resources we are being hit by the same dire economic forces as are other small non-profits and businesses.

We depend heavily on advertising. If organizations cancel events, they don’t advertise them. When businesses close and their customers lose confidence, they cut advertising. No one knows how long the upset of normalcy will last.

That’s why we need you, our readers and supporters, now more than ever. Please help us continue our mission of bringing you the Pittsburgh Jewish news you rely on and now need more than ever.

Help us tell the story of our community in crisis, and how once again we will show amazing resilience to continue to thrive into the future. Your emergency gift today helps make this possible and helps connect increasingly isolated people in our community, including the elderly and infirm.

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“I am happy to be back and appreciate the care and concern of physical distancing while I work out.”

—JD &Žƌ ĚĞƚĂŝůƐ ŽŶ ŽƵƌ ƌĞŽƉĞŶŝŶŐ͕ ƉůĞĂƐĞ ŐŽ ƚŽ : W',͘ŽƌŐ͘ KƵƌ ǀŝƌƚƵĂů ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵŵŝŶŐ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞƐ ŽŶůŝŶĞ η: W',sŝƌƚƵĂů ĂƐ ǁĞ ƚƌĂŶƐŝƟŽŶ ŝŶƚŽ ƚŚŝƐ next phase.

We are thrilled to welcome JCC members back to our buildings for ZĞŽƉĞŶŝŶŐ WŚĂƐĞ ϭΎ ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ ĐĂƌĚŝŽ ĂŶĚ ǁĞŝŐŚƚ ƚƌĂŝŶŝŶŐ͕ one-on-one personal training and lap swimming. : ĂLJ ĂŵƉƐ ŝŶ DŽŶƌŽĞǀŝůůĞ͕ ^ƋƵŝƌƌĞů ,ŝůů ĂŶĚ ^ŽƵƚŚ ,ŝůůƐ ďĞŐŝŶ :ƵŶĞ ϮϮ͘

*The health and safety of our community is the JCC’s top priority. Every decision made regarding our Phase 1 reopening has been through the lens of the health and safety of our members and staff.

The JCC has worked closely with long time partner, the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, for continued guidance in our multi-phased reopening plan.

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JUNE 19, 2020 25

Celebrations

Torah

Birth

Having faith in oneself can make all the difference

COHEN: Stephanie Cohen is happy to announce the birth of her son, Lex Morley, brother of Bodhi Lev, on April 9.

Lex is named in loving memory of his great-grandmothers, Leona Levin and Mollie Cohen. The proud grandparents are Terri and Alan Cohen of Pompano Beach, Florida, formerly of Squirrel Hill. PJC

Pittsburgh Allderdice students organize demonstration against racism

H

undreds gathered outside Pittsburgh Allderdice High School on June 11 to support the Black Lives Matter movement. The student organized demonstration featured addresses by Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, Rep. Summer Lee (D-Swissvale) and representatives of Allderdice’s Black Student Union, as well as a period of silence lasting two minutes and 43 seconds, and musical performances of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “Rise Up.” While calling for systemic change, student organizers recounted the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Antwon Rose Jr. and others, and asked attendees to say each individual’s name aloud.

Myers implored listeners to refrain from

CS R

using the word “hate.”

“Misunderstanding, fear, loathing, eventually the ‘h word,’ leads you down the path to the dark side as we know it,” said the rabbi, whose Squirrel Hill congregation was one of three attacked by an anti-Semite on Oct. 27, 2018. “Only when you do your part, that’s when we’re going to change America.”

“Change cannot wait,” said Lee. “We can’t wait for these kids to grow up. We can’t wait for y’all to grow up because liberation refuses to wait any longer. If you can’t tell, something is different now. If it doesn’t feel different to you then wake up, something is different now.” PJC — Adam Reinherz

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Rabbi Jessica Locketz Parshat Shelach Lecha Numbers 13:1-15:41

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ow often do we notice our inadequacies and deficiencies, and dwell on them, instead of focusing on our talents and strengths? How often do we talk ourselves out of even trying to accomplish something by convincing ourselves we couldn’t possibly succeed?

It is human nature to doubt our abilities, to wonder if we are capable enough for the tasks life throws at us. And as we find out in this week’s Torah portion, we are in good company.

In Shelach Lecha, Moses sends 12 spies into the land that the people are about to enter. He wants to know the particulars of this Promised Land. Who resides there? Are the cities fortified? Is the land good? What does it produce?

The spies return with differing reports.

They agree that the land is indeed good and fruitful, but they disagree as to their capabilities in defeating those peoples that already live there. Joshua and Caleb urge the people to move forward: “Let us by all means go up … for we shall surely overcome” (13:30).

The others, however, describe a scenario that dissuades the people: “the country that we traversed and scouted is one that devours its settlers … we were in our own eyes as grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes” (13:33). What might have been a joyous mood quickly turned to one of fear and despair when the people heard those words.

What changed? Joshua’s and Caleb’s positive message was lost in the wake of feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. The spies’ negative report confirmed what the Israelites believed about themselves — that they were small and powerless. Joshua and Caleb were realistic; they noted that there would be challenges to overcome. But they also believed that the people would persist and succeed.

The others gave up before they even tried,

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assuming they were not up to the task of inhabiting the land that God had promised them. Perhaps they lacked faith in God, uncertain of God’s support in this endeavor; but most importantly, they lacked faith in themselves as well.

In our Torah portion, God is furious with the Israelites, and without Moses’ intervention, that might have been the end of our story. Fortunately, God relented; Joshua and Caleb would lead the way into the Promised Land, while the rest of the spies and those of their generation would not live to see it.

Despite this punishment, the rabbis imagine God responding to the Israelites misguided self-perception in a kind and sensitive way: “The Holy One said to the scouts: You don’t know what you have just let your mouth utter. I am ready to put up with your saying, ‘we were in our own eyes as grasshoppers’ but I do take offense at your asserting, ‘and so we were in their eyes.’

How could you possibly know how I made you appear in their eyes? How do you know but in their eyes you were angels?” (Sefer Ha-Aggadah, quoting Midrash Tanhuma) We do not know how others perceive us — as grasshoppers or giants … or even angels. We can only realize how our own perceptions of ourselves can greatly limit our ability to succeed.

If our ancestors had only listened to Caleb and Joshua, they might have felt empowered and capable. Instead, they chose to believe the naysayers. They gave into their fears and became what they perceived themselves to be — weak and inadequate, as powerless as grasshoppers among the feet of giants.

It is a matter of perspective. If we allow ourselves to feel like giants, we will be amazed at what we can accomplish. If we see ourselves as angels, we are certain to bring holiness into the world. PJC

• 30 Years Experience

LOCATED IN PITTSBURGH, PA

linda@marks-law.com

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Real Estate BUYING OR SELLING?

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SQUIRREL HILL • $1,150,000 For the most discriminating buyer. Fabulous 6 year young grand property with a gourmet great room kitchen, 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, unbelievable living spaces, coveted 3 car attached garage, wonderful yard.

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DOWNTOWN • $975,000 Gateway Towers. Primo sensational double unit. Over 3000 square feet. 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths. View of all three rivers. New windows installed (approx $70,000). The best unobstructed space and views in Pittsburgh. This is a full service building and PET FRIENDLY.

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Contact me today to see these listings and more!

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MELISSA REICH 412.215.8056 melissa@rubinoffrealty.com www.rubinoffrealty.com

JUNE 19, 2020 27

Obituaries Jewish Association on Aging gratefully acknowledges contributions from the following: A gift from …

In memory of …

Marsha Burdman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rebecca Adler

A gift from …

In memory of …

Joel Roteman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Irene Taylor

Paula W. Callis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Irene Feldman Weiss

Andrea J. Sattler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cele Oring

Phyllis Cohen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert A. Cohen

Paul Serrins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Serrins

Lessa Finegold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mildred Caplan

Karen K. Shapiro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ruth Kuperstock

Sherwin Glasser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harry Kurtz

Patricia Green Shapiro . . . . . . . . . . . Betty Stern Kaplan

Irwin Goldston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy Goldston

Myron & Eileen Snider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Snider

Edythe Greenberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Louis Perr

Sharon Snider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Max Snider

Meyer Grinberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tiby Grinberg

Richard S. Stuart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edith Liberman

Jeff and Darcy Kaplan . . . . . . . . . . . . Betty Stern Kaplan

Richard S. Stuart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacob Liberman

Barbara & Mel Landay & Family . . . . . . . . . Henry Wolk

Marilou Wagner . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Hoffman Reifman

Jack & Bernice Meyers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anne P. Meyers

Marilou Wagner . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Joseph Wagner

Jack & Bernice Meyers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Louis Meyers

Marilou Wagner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Max Reifman

Janet & Don Moritz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rose Moritz

Rita Mae Weinberger . . . . . . . . . . Margaret Weinberger

Nathaniel S. Pirchesky. . . . . Elizabeth Pirchesky Sklov

Harold C. Weiss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eda Weiss

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday June 21: Celia Bergad, Rebecca Bluestone, Caroline Cooper, Tillie Gold, Shelton C. Goodman, Henry E. Hersh, Mollie Kramer, Celia Kweller, Martha Cohen Landy, Charlotte Leff, Helen Levin, Minnie Mendler, Morris A. Robins Monday June 22: Beatrice Helen Amper, Sarah Rosenbloom Ronay, David Scholnick, Mildred Simon, Blanche Tarlo, William Wanetick Tuesday June 23: Sally Berger, Bessie S. Bernstein, Cecelia M. Fink, Jacob Galanty, Simon Gastfriend, Sarah Leah Greenberg, Sadye I. Horwitz, Sylvia Herman Kahan, Betty Stern Kaplan, Abe L. Kessler, Dr. Ben Moresky, Henry Norell, Max Rubin, William Bernard Segal, Morry Wise Wednesday June 24: Anna Alpern, William Brown, Ruth Tolchin Ehrenreich, Morris Finesod, Natalie Geminder, Emma E. Gottlieb, Betty Stern Kaplan, Harold B. Levy, Hyman Sanford Liebling, M.D., Lois Recht, Sarah Hoffman Reifman, Sidney Schatz, Irving Schiffman, Esther Solomon Thursday June 25: Paul Braun, Samuel H. Caplan, Ethel Cowen, Theda Rose Greenberg, Fannie Griglak, Nathan Kaiserman, Anna Krantz, Irving Levine, Arnold Pearl, Fay Doltis Shaer, Charles B. Spokane, Sam Weiner, Maurice Meyer Weisberger Friday June 26: Nathan Ackerman, Rose Shulman Axelrod, Israel Mayer Blumenthal, Emanuel Kauf, Lillian Lookman, Max Markowitz, Edythe Markowitz Merksamer, Anne P. Meyers, Matilda Neuman, Mary Pechersky, Mamie Ripp, Nathan Rosenberg, Dorothy Shakespeare, Pearl Tufshinsky, Ben Wanetick, Margaret Weinberger Saturday June 27: Louis J. Abrams, Jacob H. Becker, Harry Bluestone, Sylvia Caplan, Max Hirsch, Louis Kenner, Louis J. Klein, Abraham Mallinger, Sadie Lebowitz Mittleman, Sol Louis Pearlman, Jennie Roth, Leo Saul Schwartz, Seymour Segal, Ida Mae Bloom Swartz

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pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

28 JUNE 19, 2020

EISNER: Milton Eisner: A proud and lifelong Pittsburgher, Milt died on Wednesday, June 10, at the age of 90. He is survived by Sarita, his loving wife of 65 years, his two proud sons, David (Karen) and Ken (Jodi), and four adoring grandchildren, Josh, Jason, Carly and Jamie, as well as a dear brother, Ben (Elyse), and a dozen loving nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

Milt was an accountant by profession, but, other than his family, his first love was his community. He started his accounting career as an employee of Jack Landis & Company in 1955, and retired only three years ago in 2017, at the age of 87, as its principal owner and managing partner. Milt was a longtime officer, board member and gabbai of Congregation Beth Shalom where he served as president. He was also a past president of the congregation’s Men’s Club and the longtime chair of its ritual committee and endowment fund. Milt also attended daily prayer services at the synagogue, rarely missing a day for over 40 years. He was often referred to as “Mr. Beth Shalom.” He also held many roles for the United Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, including chairman of the annual campaign, assistant treasurer and cash collection chair.

In addition, Milt served locally as president of the Development Corp for Israel / Israel Bonds. He also was vice president of Jewish National Fund and has served on the boards of Jewish University Center, Jewish Assistance Fund, Hebrew Free Loan Society, American Cancer Society and the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. No one enjoyed raising money for worthy causes more than Milt.

Whether it was a grandchild’s school charity project, a fundraiser for a new roof for a client’s church, or a friend in need, Milt was an enthusiastic participant and leader. Milt received numerous community recognitions, including the UJF Emanuel Spector Award for Lifetime Commitment (2007), Wish National Fund Guardian of Israel (1996), State of Israel Bonds Peace Medal (2000), UJF Gerald S. Ostrow Volunteer of the Year (2000), Beth Shalom Lester Hamburg Member of the Year (1998), and UJF Campaigner of the Year (1991), and State of Israel Bonds Lifetime Achievement (2018). Milt attended Peabody High School in 1948 and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1953 with a BBA degree.

He served in the United States Army for two years during the Korean conflict. He was a die-hard Pittsburgh sports fan, a Steelers season ticket holder (barely ever missing a game) for over 50 years during which time he also attended three Steelers Super Bowls. Milt was the son of Dr. Clarence A. and Lena D. Eisner. In addition to his brother, he was predeceased by a sister, Ruth Ann (Eugene Klein). He was also very close to his mother’s sister, Eva Rubin, and brother, Hymen Diamond.

Services were held at Congregation Beth Shalom. Interment followed at Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Congregation Beth Shalom, 5915 Beacon St., Pittsburgh PA 15217 or the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh, 2000 Technology Drive, Suite 100, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

GRODSKY: Violet Kopelman Grodsky, age 99, on Monday, June 8, 2020. Beloved wife of the late Harold Grodsky.

Beloved mother of Marcia Grodsky and the late Lawrence Grodsky. Sister of Shirley (late George) Meyers, Marie (late Kenneth) Joseph and the late Myron Cope. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Services and interment private. Contributions may be made to Temple David, 4415 Northern Pike, Monroeville, PA 15146 or Brother’s Brother Foundation, 1200 Galveston Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15233. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com YAHR: Barry Saul Yahr of Dunwoody, Georgia, an avid traveler, lover of books and salesman par excellence, died on June 7, 2020. He was 78 and leaves behind his wife of 54 years, Monica Yahr; daughters, Kimberly Verska of Sandy Springs (Stephen), Rebecca Yahr of Edinburgh, Scotland (Christopher Ellis); grandchildren, Sophia and Cecilia Verska, Simon and Wynn Ellis; and sister, Ruth Yahr, of Pittsburgh. Barry’s last day was spent boating around Lake Allatoona with his wife and beloved dog Frazier, visiting with his fellow furniture industry friends at the Allatoona Yacht Club. Like his father-in-law, Henry, who died while ballroom dancing, Barry died while doing what he most loved in life, exactly 34 years apart to the day from Henry’s death. To use a Yiddish word, Barry was a true mensch.

He and Monica were universally acclaimed as a “living advertisement for marriage.” He gave generously to others without seeking recognition, and worked his whole life to provide well for his family. He made friends wherever he went thanks to his open nature — his territory of Georgia, which he had worked in for 35-plus years for various manufacturers, is full of bereft friends, from CEOs of well-known furniture companies to storeowners in the smallest towns. As a lover of adventure and travel, Barry also set a very high bar — he was keeping a list of the countries he and Monica had visited and had reached a stunning total of 160 (and in fact, there were 10 more obscure ones planned before the onset of coronavirus).

Finally, if you had asked him, Barry would have said his greatest success and treasure in life was his family. Coming from a family of Ellis Island immigrants, he was proud of his daughters, a Ph.D. scientist and an attorney.

He delighted especially in his grandchildren, the first of whom had named him “Bapaw” (which became his license plate).

He spent hours figuring out just the right question for Zoom trivia sessions with his grandsons in Scotland, and had co-written a whole series of fanciful stories with his nearby granddaughters. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Smile Train, a charity devoted to cleft palate surgeries for children around the world (633 Third Ave., 9th Fl., New York, NY 10017, smiletrain. org). A private memorial service will be held for the family in coming days at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Steven Lebow officiating, with a larger celebration of his life to follow for the public once larger gatherings are permitted. PJC

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Development Corporation for Israel honors the memory of our long time board member

Milton Eisner

Former Campaign Chair, former Chair of our Board of Governors, PMC honoree Milt’s staunch support for Israel Bonds, the Pittsburgh Jewish community and the State of Israel never waivered.

His legacy will live on for many generations.

May his memory always be for a blessing.

Development Corporation for Israel Julian Elbling, Campaign Chair · Harold F. Marcus, Executive Director Adrienne Indianer, Registered Representative · Patty Minto, Office Manager 6507 Wilkins Ave Suite 101 · Pittsburgh, PA 15217 pittsburgh@israelbonds.com · 412.362.5154 This is not an offering, which can be made only by prospectus. Read the prospectus carefully before investing to fully evaluate the risks associated with investing in Israel bonds. Issues subject to availability. Member FINRA.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JUNE 19, 2020 29

Community Pittsburgh Jewish community members sent in photos of their stylish summer face masks.

Staying safe never looked so good.

p Linda Newman sports a mask she acquired on Etsy.

Photo courtesy of Linda Newman

p Masks can help one live long and prosper. Photo courtesy of Ilana Schwarcz

p We miss your smiles.

Photo courtesy of Shifra Poznanski

p Marlo Engels wears a mask from Hakuna Wear.

p Renée Translateur wears a Steelers mask from Kiya Tomlin.

p Beam me up, from six feet away.

Photo courtesy of Ilana Schwarcz

Photo courtesy of Marlo Engels

p Julie Arnheim wears a mask from designer Johnny Was. Photo courtesy of Julie Arnheim

Photo courtesy of Renée Translateur

#ContactlessSpeedyDelivery

Getting stronger The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh welcomed members back for Reopening Phase 1 activities on June 15. The Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative is providing guidance on the JCC’s multiphased reopening plan. t Trying hard now Photo courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh

t Hundreds of prayer books, haggadahs and tanakhs have been contactlessly delivered to Beth El Congregation members

by Heidi Cohen. Heidi has traveled 393 miles in 34 hours throughout the COVID-19 closure to make deliveries, helping congregants stay connected and participate in virtual services.

Photo courtesy of Chris Benton

30 JUNE 19, 2020

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Community School’s out for summer Students and staff from Community Day School marked the end of the school year with a parking lot parade on June 10.

p CDS Lower School teachers Tal Perel, Amy Matthews and Nancy Glick

p CDS pre-K teacher Sharon Reinherz

p CDS fourth-grader Asher Rapport

p CDS Intermediate School Language Arts and Social Studies teacher Charlotte Photos courtesy of Community Day School Rakaczky

Neighborhood demonstrations Squirrel Hill was the site of several peaceful protests following the May 25 killing of George Floyd.

p Cyclists of all ages ride on June 9.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

p Hundreds gather outside Pittsburgh Allderdice during student organized protest on June 11.

Photos by Adam Reinherz

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JUNE 19, 2020 31

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