Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 7-10-20

July 10, 2020 | 18 Tammuz 5780

Candlelighting 8:33 p.m. | Havdalah 9:40 p.m. | Vol. 63, No. 27 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association expands, looks to the future

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Welcome to Cranberry

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Conversions to Judaism continue despite COVID challenges

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

Chabad emissaries dispatched

alone,” Santman said. “I needed the backup and support — doing it myself was starting to become a challenge.”

In early 2011, management of the Machsikei Hadas cemetery turned over to the Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association, on whose board Santman now sits.

Santman’s was not the first cemetery the JCBA took on and, thanks to a revamping of the association, it is likely to be one of an ever-increasing number.

The JCBA last week announced a major reorganization to expand its capacity to meet a growing demand for cemetery management in Western Pennsylvania’s Jewish communities. Its leaders say the new structure will enable the JCBA to become “the community’s cemetery management entity of choice,” serving both cemeteries that are financially stable and those at increasing risk of abandonment. The JCBA estimates Please see JCBA, page 12

Please see Conversions, page 12

LOCAL Meet Cary Klein

Big Burrito boss Page 5

LOCAL

 About three dozen volunteers participated in a communitywide day of service with JCBA at Beth Abraham Cemetery to commemorate victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.

Photo courtesy of JCBA

Spiritual stitching

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

P The quilts of Louise Silk Page 14

ittsburgher Steve Santman, like his father and grandfather before him, toiled as a volunteer to tend the Machsikei Hadas cemetery in Reserve Township.

The Orthodox shul connected to the cemetery, once based in the Hill District, closed back in 1989. Santman remembers going there as a teenager. But someone needed to help keep alive the memories of those that had passed; the hilltop cemetery near Millvale, which Santman managed between day jobs, contains between 600 and 700 grave sites.

“There were contributions for perpetual care — and different funerals helped fund it,” Santman said. “Some families gave nice contributions.”

Santman has dozens of relatives buried there.

A decade ago, though, it just became too much.

“It was hard to let go but I was doing it

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T

he process of Gwyndolyn Riddle’s conversion to Judaism is probably a once-in-a-century occurrence.

Taking place in the midst of a pandemic, Riddle has had to be socially distant from the community and religion she is joining.

Her “Introduction to Judaism” course began in person at Congregation Beth Shalom but moved online in March as COVID-19 forced synagogues and classrooms to close. The South Side resident took her oral Hebrew exam with Rabbi Seth Adelson online and completed her written exam at home.

Despite the logistical challenges, Riddle is excited about her conversion ceremony taking place July 14 and happy to be joining the Jewish community.

“I’m very excited about it. Such incredible times,” Riddle said. “The beit din is first at 8:30 a.m. and then we go to the mikvah at 9:30.”

Even the mikvah experience has been affected by the virus. Typically, before entering the water, a person is required to take a shower on site and remove any makeup or jewelry. Instead, Riddle is expected to arrive ready to immerse herself in the pool.

“I received very specific instructions,” she said. “It is very strict. They are trusting me to take a very intense and good shower at home. I have to show up with no makeup, nothing in my hair, and I have to bring my own towel, robe and slippers. I have to do a lot more home prep than I would if I were just showing up to have that ritual bathing experience.”

Riddle’s conversion is actually a return to the Judaism abandoned by her paternal great-great-grandmother who converted to Christian Science in the 1920s. Despite her father’s heritage, Riddle wasn’t raised

Page 2

Headlines Chabad emissaries set to serve Cranberry — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

I

t could be argued Rabbi Yossi Feller has Chabad’s mission running through his veins.

The young rabbi’s grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Feller, grew up Orthodox in Minneapolis and, after studying at a yeshiva in Brooklyn, opened Chabad of Minnesota in 1962. Yossi Feller’s father, another Chabad rabbi, expanded the Minnesota operation a generation later.

“I’m lucky enough to have been born into a family of Chabad emissaries,” the new Rabbi Feller, who moved recently from Brooklyn to Pittsburgh, said. “I’m a third-generation emissary.”

This, then, might be known as the year Rabbi Yossi Feller blossomed. He is preparing to move up Route 79 to Pittsburgh’s North Hills with his wife, Leah, to launch a new Chabad location in Cranberry Township, Butler County. Though COVID-19 timelines are complicated and difficult to predict, Chabad hopes to have a full-fledged operation up and running in Cranberry by Rosh Hashanah this year.

Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, who heads Chabad of Western Pennsylvania, spoke with the Chronicle about the new location on July 5, which also happened to mark the 93rd anniversary of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn being released from a Soviet prison on charges — and a proposed death sentence — of counterrevolutionary activities.

In the 1940s, Schneersohn brought Chabad from Europe to the United States.

“This is an extension of that,” Rosenfeld said. “Cranberry is a place we don’t have a full Chabad office but we want to help out in every way we can.”

p Rabbi Yossi and Leah Feller

Photo provided by Yossi Feller

“ It’s really exciting to build on this branch to reach out to more people.

It’s exciting we’ll be there to teach,

”

to help, whatever it takes.

— RABBI YISROEL ROSENFELD

For about the past 10 years, there has been outreach by Chabad to Jews living in the Cranberry area, including lightings of a 9-foot menorah around Chanukah in the township’s public spaces, Rosenfeld said. Feller said he and his wife, who will be co-directors of Chabad of Cranberry, have been delivering challah and talking extensively with area Jews.

“It’s really exciting to build on this branch to reach out to more people,” Rosenfeld

added. “It’s exciting we’ll be there to teach, to help, whatever it takes.”

It’s tough to say how many Jews live in Cranberry. The U.S. Census Bureau does not poll based on religious affiliation. There is no shul in township limits, though some Jewish residents worship at Congregation B’nai Abraham in the City of Butler, at Beth Samuel Jewish Center in Ambridge, or at Temple Ohav Shalom in Allison Park.

That doesn’t give Jack Cohen pause.

The president of Butler County’s tourism agency launched a group unofficially nicknamed Cranberry Community Jews about nine years ago. Cohen, a Peabody High School alumnus who moved to Cranberry about 35 or 40 years ago, started the group with childhood friend Michael Berman, whom he met through the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization. Today, the group is most active around Jewish holidays.

“The only synagogue in Butler County is in Butler so we thought there were enough Jewish folks here that we could get together,” Cohen told the Chronicle.

Cohen said he has spoken with Fuller and is excited to welcome Chabad to a Pittsburgh suburb where “everything you can imagine is here.”

“Hopefully, we’ll get together and start that conversation — it was always our hope we could establish something out here,” Cohen said. “[Chabad] will be a place where you can learn and gather and meet other folks.”

Chabad is looking for a physical space in Cranberry for offices and programming, according to Feller. He could not cite the percentage of the township’s or the county’s population that identifies as Jewish but stressed that number was relatively unimportant.

“For us, having one Jew is a world,” Feller said. “Rabbi Rosenfeld decided it was necessary to have a Chabad there and I believe him — that’s why we’re here.”

Feller isn’t totally poker-faced about the move, though — he joked some Cranberry residents have expressed anticipation to sample his wife’s home-baked challah. That’s for good reason, Feller said.

“People have been licking their lips,” he laughed. PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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Headlines Temple Sinai welcomes interim rabbi — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

R

abbi Darryl Crystal likes to tell a story about an experience he had while employed as a rabbi at a congregation on Long Island, New York.

The synagogue youth group had a wellused air hockey table in the youth lounge which had to be replaced during his tenure “because the back rails were made of wood and the kids played so many games that the puck had gouged out the wood and it would get stuck.”

The story is an apt metaphor for the role Crystal has played for the last 15 years, serving as interim rabbi for congregations across the country, ensuring that the transition from one settled rabbi to the next is as seamless and smooth as possible, being mindful that members don’t get “stuck” in the old wood, and replacing any “back rails” that may need attention.

Crystal began a one-year tenure with Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill on July 1, after the retirement of Rabbi Jamie Gibson, who served the Reform congregation for 32 years.

The process of working with a congregation typically begins six months before his start date, Crystal explained, noting that during that time, he works with the transition team,

p Rabbi Darryl Crystal will serve as Temple Sinai’s interim rabbi as the Reform congregation searches for a successor to Rabbi Jamie Gibson.

Photo provided by Darryl Crystal

comes in for a couple visits and “gets to know the congregation.”

It is during this process that the rabbi begins asking probing questions using “positive psychology,” he said. Those questions include: “What’s been a meaningful experience that you are proud of about the synagogue? What are important traditions? What do you want me to know that’s

something new you might like to try?”

Crystal’s role is not to begin “turning things upside down,” he said. Rather, he views one of his responsibilities as “learning the traditions” of the congregation he’s serving “to pass them onto the next rabbi.”

While he understands the importance of transmitting the history and traditions of a congregation to a new settled rabbi, Crystal also asks its members, “What is it you may like to try?”

The answers to that question allowed him to create a new program for Temple Sinai, “Judaism in the 21st Century,” slated to begin in August. The series’ first speaker will be Rabbi Esther Lederman, director of congregational innovation for the Union of Reform Judaism. Future guests will include Rabbi Barry Block, who recently edited the “The Mussar Torah Commentary: A Spiritual Path to Living a Meaningful and Ethical Life”; the URJ director of worship, Cantor Rosalie Will; and Rabbi Sid Schwarz, the creator and director of Kenissa: Communities of Meaning Network.

Crystal “wrote the book” on the role of interim rabbis, said Alison Yazer, who co-chaired the interim rabbi search committee with Joshua Breslau.

Although that’s not exactly true, according to the rabbi, it is correct that he spent three years as the manager of the interim rabbi program for the Central Conference of

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American Rabbis, assisting with the training of interim rabbis.

“I’ve created models and I’ve shared the material I’ve created with people going through the training,” Crystal said. “For instance, I have a 10-page list of questions I ask the departing rabbi.”

Those questions speak to the depth of Crystal’s experience and range from the spiritual — “How do you celebrate the High Holidays?” — to the mundane: “‘What’s the password for the telephone?’ They forget to tell the new rabbi that, sometimes,” he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused Crystal to adapt some of his normal processes for use in the digital space.

“We live by Zoom,” he explained. In the past, the rabbi would typically do meet and greets with congregants in people’s homes.

Instead, Temple Sinai has set up 20 meet-andgreets by Zoom. Small groups, coordinated by the congregation’s onboarding committee, will also meet with the new interim rabbi online to discuss things like tradition and how Rabbi Jamie Gibson touched their lives, “because one of the things an interim rabbi is supposed to do is to affirm the legacy of the previous rabbi,” Crystal explained.

The legacy of a retiring rabbi like Gibson can loom large for a congregation. Crystal understands that.

Please see Crystal, page 13

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Headlines Business is booming for Jewish fireworks entrepreneur — LOCAL —

By Kayla Steinberg | Staff Writer

A

merica has had a long love affair with fireworks. On July 3, 1776, John Adams imagined that future celebrations commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence “ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade … and Illuminations.”

The Fourth of July has since held an idyllic, patriotic place in the hearts of many Americans as they gather together to marvel at pyrotechnics.

Though many public displays were canceled this year — including the City of Pittsburgh’s — consumer fireworks are booming in backyards across the country.

And behind many of the DIY fireworks shows is Bruce Zoldan of Youngstown, Ohio, president and CEO of fireworks giant Phantom Fireworks.

For Zoldan, 71, the initial spark came at age 15. His father bought some fireworks at a gas station in Pennsylvania and brought them back to Youngstown before consumer fireworks were sold legally there. Zoldan showed them to his friends and, amazed, his friends bought them.

The next year, Zoldan upped his game: He bought $1,000 worth of fireworks and sold

them for twice the price.

Now, Zoldan’s Phantom Fireworks is the largest brick-and-mortar consumer fireworks retailer in the country with over 75 permanent showrooms including one in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

Zoldan, who was raised in a Conservative Jewish household and continues to attend synagogue, said that consumer fireworks were legal in just 12 states when he started.

Now, 49 states — all but Massachusetts — allow some form of consumer fireworks, a feat Zoldan attributes in part to Phantom Fireworks’ efforts. “We were instrumental in bringing those laws to fruition,” he said.

Phantom Fireworks also has been at the forefront of fireworks safety efforts as one of the two founding members of the American Fireworks Standards Laboratory, which works to increase the quality and safety of products.

“The survival of our industry is making fireworks safer,” said Zoldan.

Complaints about fireworks skyrocketed this year: They increased 389% in Pittsburgh from June 1 to 21 compared with the same period last year. As a response, Pittsburgh created a Fireworks Task Force composed of police and fire investigators.

Zoldan doesn’t condone the daily backyard displays that started in May. “We can’t control foolishness,” he said. “But we certainly can tell people that to keep

p Bruce Zoldan

fireworks legal, to keep them able to be purchased by consumers, use responsibility, think about your neighbors, think about your pets and do them around the Fourth of July.”

The biggest complaints Zoldan gets, he said, are actually from wives frustrated with their husbands’ pricey purchases.

Accordingly, Phantom Fireworks named its most expensive item — a $1,499.99 assortment — “Grounds for Divorce.”

Photos courtesy of Phantom Fireworks

Zoldan ascribes the backyard fireworks boom — and resultant complaints — to frustration after months cooped up in home isolation and cancellation of public fireworks displays due to COVID-19.

The City of Pittsburgh not only canceled its annual fireworks show, but also prohibited drinking at bars and big gatherings at the Point and North Shore this Fourth of July.

Please see Fireworks, page 13

There's still time to make the most of the summer!

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4 JULY 10, 2020

Q Traditional and Specialty Camps for kids entering grades 1-8 Q Squirrel Hill, Monroeville and South Hills Learn more: jccpghdaycamps.com

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Headlines Big Burrito CEO reflects on business, quarantine losses and moving forward — LOCAL —

By Kayla Steinberg | Staff Writer

B

ig Burrito CEO Cary Klein can’t pick a favorite of the restaurant group’s seven options. “It’s like they’re my children,� he said. “I love them all.�

Klein, 63, joined the big Burrito Restaurant Group in 2001 after selling his clothing and accessory retail company, rue21. When big Burrito started in 1993, it just had one offering — Mad Mex. But by the time Klein joined, it comprised four different restaurants with six total locations as well as catering, and it has since expanded to include seven different restaurants: Mad Mex, Alta Via, Casbah, Eleven, Kaya, Soba and Umi. The Pittsburgh native attributes big Burrito’s success to the right mix of ingredients. “We think that a successful dining experience is the confluence of good food, good service and great atmospheres,� Klein said. “I think we do the best job at providing that combination.�

Klein adores his job. “I’ve watched our customers grow up and I’ve watched our team members grow up,â€? he said. “I love to eat good food. And I like to work with people. And I like the fact that there’s new challenges every day ‌ The biggest one I’ve

ever had is trying to deal with COVID.�

Big Burrito’s first step in managing its business during the pandemic was committing to retain as many employees as possible, although some had to be furloughed when Allegheny County restaurants were limited to delivery and carry-out only. Then, as protocols changed and restaurants were permitted to begin reopening, the company made a second commitment: pledging to keep employees and customers safe.

As the region moved into Gov. Tom Wolf ’s green phase, big Burrito was able to bring back most of its furloughed workers who wanted to return, though the company is just not the same, according to Klein. “The loss is the feeling for our employees,� he said. “And the uncertainty of everything going forward. We haven’t solved the problem yet.�

To-go orders currently occupy a larger share of the business, and patios are more popular than inside dining, which is restricted to half-capacity right now.

While quarantine has been tough (or in Klein’s own words, “a different experience�), it has given him more time to spend with his wife, Kathy, three children and three grandchildren.

Klein met Kathy in college at the University of Michigan, and she has “been there through all the ups and downs of my

The Board of Directors of the Jewish Assistance Fund expresses our deepest sympathy on the loss of one of our long-time Board Members

Jason Shapiro

great career,â€? he said. “When I was traveling all the time when our kids were young ‌ she was there always for our kids.â€?

Kathy left her financial analyst role to become a “full-time mom� when the pair had its first child, Josh, who now works with his father at big Burrito as the vice president of strategic development.

For Klein and his family, connecting with the local Jewish community — and with Judaism broadly — is a given. “It’s very important to me,� he said. “Always has been.�

Klein doubles up on synagogues, attending both Temple Ohav Shalom and Rodef Shalom Congregation. He provided financial support to establish Ohav Shalom as he raised his family in the North Hills. Then, when he moved back to the city 13 years ago just a block from Rodef Shalom, he started regularly attending Friday night services there. He now joins the weekly services on Zoom. “I connect spiritually,� he said. “And then I connect just trying to help all the different organizations either financially or with advice.�

Big Burrito is committed to tikkun olam, offering monthly benefit dinners at Casbah, Eleven, Soba and Mad Mex. Big Burrito also provides gift cards to organizations like the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh for fundraising programs.

Because of the continuing COVID-19

p Cary Klein

Photo by Cayla Zahoran

crisis, some of big Burrito’s plans — like opening a second location for Alta Via as well as a Lawrenceville restaurant, Alta Via Pizzeria — are paused. Alta Via and AVP, Klein said, share a focus on salads though Alta Via includes pastas while AVP adds pizza.

Klein also teased other projects on hold right now but refused to divulge the details. “Lots of exciting things ahead, hopefully,� he said.

And while big Burrito no longer offers kosher catering — Klein said the lack of a kosher kitchen made the offering “too challenging to execute� — a kosher kitchen or restaurant could be a possibility, he said.  PJC Kayla Steinberg can be reached at ksteinberg@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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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 SUNDAYS, JULY 12, 19, 26; AUG. 2, 9

attending this program are eligible to receive Pennsylvania Act 48 continuing education credits. classroomswithoutborders.org/art-club q TUESDAYS, JULY 14, 21

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.

Classrooms Without Borders invites all interested rising fifth, sixth and seventh graders to join them for Middle School Weekly Summer Book Club: “Refugee” by Alan Gratz, featuring discussions and activities facilitated by award-winning middle school educator, Kate Lukaszewicz. 10 a.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/refugee-alan-gratzsummer-reading-book-club-kids

q MONDAY, JULY 13

q TUESDAYS, JULY 14, 21, 28; AUG. 4

Join Congregation Beth Shalom online via Zoom as they read and discuss “RENT” by Jonathan Larson.

This musical, based on the opera “La Bohème,” follows a group of friends living in Alphabet City in New York’s East Village. Facilitated by two dramaturgs, Zach Marlin and Esther Terry. 7:30 p.m. For more information and to register, visit bethshalompgh. org/07-13-20-cc-theatre-talk-rent-by-jonathan-larson.

The ethical use of money is one of the most important areas of Jewish conduct. The tradition says that when you die, it is the first question you will be asked: how did you behave monetarily? In “Your Money: What Jewish Ethics Has to Say,” Jewish Community Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff will explore the Jewish principles, and the requisite practices, around the appropriate use of money, as understood

by Jewish tradition. 10 a.m. foundation.jewishpgh.org/ your-money-what-jewish-ethics-has-to-say

q MONDAYS, JULY 13, 20, 27; AUG. 3 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 WEDNESDAYS, JULY 15, 22

Classrooms Without Borders presents a weekly discussion with Shirel Horovitz, “Behind the scenes of Israeli art and artists: Five personal points of view on the relation between art and daily reality in Israel.” Each talk in the series will be dedicated to one artist and a specific medium. 11 a.m. Educators

q WEDNESDAYS, JULY 15, 22, 29

Classrooms Without Borders invites all interested high school students to join them for a weekly art camp with Israeli artists Shirel Horovitz and Tali Kayam.

11 a.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/weekly-art-camp

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh presents a series of webinars, “The Middle East Unmasked with Neil Lazarus.” Lazarus is an internationally acclaimed expert in the fields of

If you have light, use it to fix the world.

If you have light, use it to fix the world.

Join Classrooms Without Borders for a weekly book discussion on James Whitman’s book “Hitler’s American Model,” facilitated by Dr. Joshua Andy.

Whitman’s premise is that American race law provided a blueprint for Nazi Germany. This book club is geared toward educators and open to all.

Educators attending this program are eligible to receive Pennsylvania Act 48 continuing education credits. 4 pm. classroomswithoutborders.org/ weekly-book-discussion-hitlers-american-model q THURSDAY, JULY 16 Join Sixth Presbyterian Church and PIIN via Zoom for A City Divided: Race, Fear, and the Law in Police Confrontations with Dr. David Harris, a sobering evening, looking backward and forward into the future and pondering the challenges of public safety in our time. Co-sponsored by Temple Sinai. The zoom link will be made available to those who pre-register at the following link: https://bit.ly/PIINHarris2020. A freewill offering for PIIN will be collected at the end of the presentation. 7 p.m. templesinaipgh.org/event/a-citydivided-race-fear-and-the-law-in-police-confrontationswith-dr.-david-harris-via-zoom.html#

If you have light, use it to fix the world.

Kibbutzim College of Education’s Amos Raban.

3 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/teachertraining-with-amos q TUESDAY, JULY 21 During Jewish Residential Service’s free Zoom webinar, “Managing Self-Directed Services and Using Supports Brokers: A Primer for Intellectual Disability Waiver Families,” you will learn what to expect from a supports broker and how they can help individuals with ID waivers. Two families with self-directed services will share their experiences.

Find out what you need to know to make the most of waiver funding. 4 p.m. In order to be eligible for this service, the individual needs to have an ODP ID waiver (Office of Developmental Programs Intellectual Disability). jrspgh.org/event/free-webinar-managingself-directed-services-and-using-supports-brokers Hear Dr. Edith Eva Eger, a Holocaust survivor, psychologist and author of the international bestselling book “The Choice.” This Zoom event is sponsored by Chabad of Squirrel Hill, Chabad of the South Hills, Chabad of Monroeville, Chabad of CMU, Chabad of Pitt, Chabad Young Professionals, The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, Aleph Institute and Friendship Circle. 7 p.m. chabadpgh.com/choice q WEDNESDAY, JULY 22 If you like drawing, painting, journaling, writing, playing instruments, singing, knitting and/or eating with friends, sign up for Moishe House’s Artsy Picnic at Frick Park. Bring the supplies for whatever activity you want to participate in and, if you would like, a meal. Individually wrapped snacks and beverages will be provided.

Bring your own picnic blanket to allow for more comfortable social distancing. 6 p.m. facebook.com/ events/2617877971863231 q SATURDAY, JULY 25 Reflect on the past week and set intentions for the coming one at Moishe House’s Havdalah at Mellon Park beginning at 8:30 p.m. Shabbat ends at 9:28. Attendance will be capped at 10, so RSVP at facebook.com/events/584621282483220.

q SATURDAY, JULY 18

q MONDAY, JULY 27

Pittsburgh Cure Sarcoma is holding a virtual 5K race to raise funds to support sarcoma research.

10 a.m. Join them on Facebook Live. For more information, visit pghcuresarcoma.org.

Learn how to make seasoning salts, vinegars, oils, or simple syrups with common kitchen herbs (we can adapt to use whatever you have at home) at Moishe House’s Zoom DIY Herbal Preps. Gather some fresh herbs first if possible. 7 p.m. facebook.com/ events/311992599800158

q SUNDAY, JULY 19

If you have light, use it to fix the world.

6 JULY 10, 2020

What does it mean to be a citizen? Classrooms Without Borders’ High School Weekly Book Discussion of “Citizen: An American Lyric” will examine how each of us is a citizen in many different ways. With CWB Resident Teaching Artist Susan Stein. Part prose poem, part journal entry, part photographs, we will consider the way each text we encounter can be both window and mirror. 4 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/ susan-stein-student-book-discussion

For the second installment of the popular series “Two Cities, One Story,” the Rauh Jewish Archives will partner with Sean Martin of the Jewish American Archives at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland to tell the story of the Israel Heritage Room in Pittsburgh and the Hebrew Cultural Garden in Cleveland. 7 p.m. heinzhistorycenter.org/events/ two-cities-one-story-rooms-and-gardens

If you have light, use it to fix the world.

Lee and Lisa Oleinick

Middle East politics, public diplomacy and effective communication training. You must register online to receive the Zoom link via email prior to the webinar.

12 p.m. jewishpgh.org/event/lazarus-unmasked

Moishe House’s Moses’s birthday party picnic will admit only 10 people. For pandemic safety reasons, this is a bring-your-own-meal picnic, although some individually wrapped snacks and beverages to supplement your food will be provided. Bring a picnic blanket if you have one to allow for social distancing.

12 p.m. For more information, visit facebook.com/ events/326693568332162. q MONDAY, JULY 20 Join Congregation Beth Shalom’s Quarantined Book Club online via Zoom as they read “A Pigeon and a Boy” by Meir Shalev. 4 p.m. For more information and to register, visit bethshalompgh. org/07-20-20-cc-quarantined-book-club-a-pigeonand-a-boy-by-meir-shalev. q MONDAYS, JULY 20, 27; AUG. 3, 10; WEDNESDAYS, JULY 23, 30 Classrooms Without Borders is offering “Becoming Blended: A Practical Course for Remote Pedagogy,” a six-part, fully subsidized teacher training to all classroom educators. The free course is led by Israel’s Ministry of Education and the

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

q WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 Why is Tisha B’Av the saddest day in the Jewish calendar? What are we mourning in the present day? How do we experience and support each other through grief as a Jewish community? Join Moishe House Pittsburgh, Ratzon: Center for Healing and Resistance (ratzonpgh.org) and Rabbi Ron Symons from the JCC’s Center for Loving Kindness for Queer Tisha B’Av to learn about this fast day. While this event is primarily designed by/for Pittsburgh’s queer Jewish community, all are welcome to attend. 6 p.m. facebook.com/events/578104236476920 q THURSDAY, JULY 30 Sometimes known as the “Black Fast”, there is no day more laden with sorrow and memory than the Fast of Tisha B’Av. Sign up to participate in “A Seminar for Tisha B’Av” on Zoom with Jewish Community Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff on the significance of the day, its power through the long sweep of Jewish history, and its contemporary meaning for us in 2020. 3 p.m. foundation. jewishpgh.org/event/a-seminar-for-tisha-bav PJC

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Headlines Chronicle wins seven national Jewish press awards for outstanding work

T

he Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle was recognized by the American Jewish Press Association at a July 2 online ceremony of the annual Simon Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism, winning seven awards, the most it has received in a single year.

The awards were for work published in 2019. Staff writers Adam Reinherz, David Rullo and Toby Tabachnick, now editor, each won in multiple categories.

The Chronicle won two Rockower Awards last year.

“The scope of our awards — from news reporting to feature writing to a focus on interfaith relations — shows the talent and commitment of our staff as well as their close connection to one of the most vibrant Jewish communities in this country,” said Jim Busis, CEO and publisher of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

First-place awards

Excellence in News Reporting: “Cleaning up, after the unimaginable,” by Adam Reinherz.

The awards judges commented: “Story contains so much detail and excellent quotes.

A very strong way to follow an important national story for the local audience.”

Excellence in Interfaith Relations R e p o r t i n g : “Neglected Jewish cemetery in White Oak restored by non-Jewish volunteers,” by Toby Tabachnick.

The judges commented: “Excellent writing throughout, interesting subject and great interviews. It really captured me from beginning to end.”

Second-place awards

Excellence in feature writing: “Temple Beth

The judges commented: “Surprisingly moving piece on what is (sadly) not an unusual occurrence, told with great compassion (but avoiding sentimentality). It carried the reader along, as if they themselves were members of Temple Beth Am, up to its heartbreaking last line.”

Excellence in Personality Profiles: “What Barry saw,” by Adam Reinherz.

The judges commented: “Very nice profile.

Delicate touch, respect for the subject and his experiences. It feels very personal and has a ‘Studs Turkel’ feel to its description of an ordinary person who has been thrown into exceptional circumstances.”

Excellence in Writing About Social Justice

This is the 39th year of the Rockower Awards. The Chronicle competes in a category designated for publications with print circulations below 15,000. PJC —Toby Tabachnick

SPONSORED CONTENT

WHEN YOU NEED A LAWYER AND DON’T EVEN KNOW IT This is one in a series of articles about Elder Law by Michael H. Marks., Esq. Michael H. Marks is an elder law attorney with offices in Squirrel Hill and Monroeville.

Send questions to michael@marks-law.com or visit www.marks-law.com.

Recent studies reveal why people don’t use a lawyer even when faced with a situation where a lawyer might be helpful. The biggest reason people don’t have an attorney is: •

NOT because they believe it would make any difference;

•

NOT because it’s too expensive or they can afford it; NOT because they don’t know how or where to find one; and NOT because they’re determined to handle on their own.

• •

The top reason why people don’t hire an attorney when they confront a legal problem is because they don’t recognize the need for legal advice.

This is actually a problem both for consumers - who can benefit from good legal advice even when they don’t know they can benefit from representation and surprisingly, for lawyers, too. It seems the legal profession is not doing a good job of letting people know why and when a lawyer is valuable, necessary or even just help helpful.

Some people recognize the need for a lawyer; but instead try to handle it themselves. They don’t see that legal advice and assistance may get them better and quicker results.

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Others recognize that they are in a legal situation, but seek help from a source other than an attorney, such as from an elected official, government office, medical professional or counselor, or clergy.

has died, and long-term care/asset protection planning for someone headed toward expensive long-term care. We also work on estate and Power Of Attorney related litigation cases and real estate matters

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Here’s my purpose in writing to you today. You may need or benefit from our help at these times, without realizing it:

But those situations are mostly not the focus of my practice. When do people need my help, but may not even know it?

When all is going well, the value of or need for legal representation is not as apparent. And when things are not going well, it may be too difficult – or occasionally too late – to involve an attorney.

For example, unless you are ill or becoming disabled, it may not be obvious that Power of Attorney is crucial. But without it, whoever is going to step up to help you will instead have to go to court before a Judge to be officially appointed as your legal Guardian – and that takes longer than having Power Of Attorney, costs much more, and is a lot less flexible and convenient with the Judge supervising their every move.

At Marks Elder Law, we do estate planning (preparing Wills, Powers of Attorney, Trusts, etc.), estate administration after someone

•

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First, if you may ever become ill or die. I’m being a little facetious here, because this of course applies to everyone, but mostly serious.

You may care who will make health decisions for you– or even who will be allowed to visit you, or not. You need a health Care Power of Attorney and Living Will.

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If you’re headed toward assisted living or nursing care, we can often help you save more of your money. You need an elder law strategic planning consultation.

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At Marks Elder Law, we help people every day with issues like these. I invite your questions and feedback. Please let me know how I can help you and your family.

helping you plan for what matters the most

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With the increasing costs of long-term care, having the help of a legal professional when planning for your family’s future can help you make better decisions that can result in keeping more of your money.

We help families understand the strategies, the benefits, and risks involved with elder law, disability and estate planning.

Michael H. Marks, Esq. Linda L. Carroll, Esq. michael@marks-law.com member, national academy of elder law attorneys

linda@marks-law.com

JULY 10, 2020 7

Art from files

and Humanitarian Work: “Aleph Institute provides for more than prisoners’ spiritual needs,” by David Rullo.

Excellence in writing About Women: “AntiSemitism in Women’s March complicates matters for local Jews,” by Toby Tabachnick.

The judges commented: “The minefields of writing this story cannot be underestimated. It took time, energy and dedication to maneuver through the history, tensions and nuances of the anti-Semitism that is (unfortunately) linked to the Women’s March. The writer managed to give individuals with diverse opinions the respect they deserve, without missing the forest for the trees.”

Excellence in Interfaith Relations Reporting: “Mother Emanuel survivors visit Tree of Life, offer strength, solidarity,” by Toby Tabachnick.

The judges commented: “Moving and insightful, this piece was well written. It would have been easy to go overboard, but this writer let the people tell the story.”

Am shutters its doors, buries prayer books,”

by David Rullo.

— LOCAL —

Headlines How the ADL went from working with Facebook to leading a boycott against it “Holocaust denial is something that we’ve been talking to Facebook about for I think it’s 11 years at this point,” Daniel Kelley, associate director of the ADL’s Center for Technology

By Ben Sales | JTA and Society, told the Jewish Telegraphic t was when Mark Zuckerberg said he Agency. “We’ve told them Holocaust denial is would allow Holocaust denial on his plat- hate. It is not misinformation. And they have form that the Anti-Defamation League not only not changed, but in several instances realized its partnership with Facebook doubled down on treating Holocaust denial as some form of misinformation.” wasn’t working.

So the ADL has changed tacks as Facebook, The social media giant and the Jewish civil according to ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, rights group had been working together for “has allowed some of the worst elements of years to curb hate speech online. In October society into our homes and our lives.”

2017, Facebook headlined a new ADL initiaAfter years of seeing the largest social tive to start a Cyberhate Problem-Solving network in the world as a partner, it is Lab in collaboration with Silicon Valley’s now treating Facebook as an adversary. biggest companies.

That shift has culminated in an ADL-led Then, nine months later, Zuckerberg told campaign urging companies to stop adverthe tech site Recode that while he personally tising on Facebook for the month of July in found Holocaust denial “deeply offensive,” collaboration with the NAACP and other he said, “I don’t believe that our platform civil rights groups. should take that down because I think there The campaign has attracted a growing are things that different people get wrong.” list of leading brand names. More than 230 People who monitor anti-Semitism critcompanies have signed onto the pledge, and icized Zuckerberg for what they saw as last week Facebook’s stock dipped more than undeservedly giving anti-Semites the benefit of the doubt — as if they were making an 8%, though it has since rebounded.

Apparently shaken by the boycott, innocent mistake rather than propagating a deliberate lie. That’s when the ADL realized Zuckerberg has announced a series of changes that Facebook wasn’t going to change on its to Facebook’s hate speech policies, which he “come directly from feedback from the own and needed to be pressured.

JC FirerFly 2019_Eartique 7/8/19 11:41 AM Page said 1

— NATIONAL —

I

civil rights community.” He also pledged to meet with the organizers of the boycott.

Facebook’s changes include labeling posts regarding voting access, flagging posts that target immigrants, banning members of the far-right antigovernment Boogaloo movement and placing warnings on hateful or false posts from public figures that the network still feels are newsworthy.

“I’m committed to making sure Facebook remains a place where people can use their voice to discuss important issues, because I believe we can make more progress when we hear each other,” Zuckerberg wrote Friday in a Facebook post. “But I also stand against hate, or anything that incites violence or suppresses voting, and we’re committed to removing that no matter where it comes from.”

Those moves have not lessened the ADL’s commitment to pressuring the company, which makes nearly its entire $70 billion in annual revenue through ads.

“Facebook says it will take meaningful steps to address the hate on its platform,” Greenblatt tweeted after the announcement.

“We’ve been down this road. Don’t let them refuel for another hate-filled trip.”

Fighting tech companies is a change for Greenblatt, who came to the ADL job in 2015 following a career as a social entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. Greenblatt founded a bottled

water company that donated a portion of its proceeds to clean-water access, as well as All for Good, an open-source platform that aggregated volunteer opportunities online.

The ADL had been pushing tech companies to get more serious about combating anti-Semitism for decades. Greenblatt’s predecessor, Abraham Foxman, complained in a 2013 interview with JTA about “the geniuses at Palo Alto” and said, “The providers need to take greater ownership.

They don’t want regulation.”

Under Greenblatt, the ADL increased its focus on tech, and at first tried to curb online hate through partnership. The group expanded its presence in Silicon Valley in 2016 and founded the Center for Technology and Society in 2017 to combat cyberhate.

Greenblatt said he hoped “to collaborate even closer on the threat with the tech industry.”

Later that year, the ADL announced its partnership with four tech giants — Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter — to create the Cyberhate Problem-Solving Lab. The idea was to work with the companies on technical solutions to improve detection and removal of hateful posts, with the ADL providing guidance on how to spot bigotry and address it.

Please see ADL, page 21

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Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Survey finds Israelis split on annexing West Bank territory

Israeli public opinion is split on whether the government should annex parts of the West Bank and which territory should be included, a survey found.

The Israeli Voice Index for June 2020, a monthly survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute, found that 24.5% of Israelis support applying sovereignty to all of the West Bank; 14% support applying sovereignty to the West Bank settlement blocs; 8% support applying sovereignty to just the Jordan Valley; and 25% oppose applying sovereignty to any part of the West Bank.

Some 28.5% responded that they don’t know.

When asked if Israel should still apply sovereignty if it is conditioned on the establishment of a Palestinian state, 49% of survey respondents said it should and 38% said it should not.

Some 55% of respondents said that there is a low or very low chance that Israel will go ahead with plans to annex parts of the West Bank this year.

On the coronavirus pandemic, respondents gave the government a grade of 5.4 for its handling of the crisis, where 10 is excellent.

Meanwhile, some 56% of respondents said they felt President Donald Trump is better

for Israel’s interests than Democratic challenger Joe Biden, while 16% favored Biden.

Twenty-eight percent said they did not know.

The survey was conducted between June 28 and June 30, and interviewed 609 men and women in Hebrew and 149 in Arabic. The survey has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.7%.

Karen Berg will become only Jewish member of Kentucky state legislature

After winning a special election in the state’s 26th district last week, Karen Berg will become the only Jewish member of the Kentucky state legislature.

“I’m very excited; I’m humbled; I’m ready to get to work,” said Berg, who will serve out the unexpired term of State Senator Ernie Harris, who resigned earlier this year.

“There’s a lot of good work to get done.”

A diagnostic radiologist at the University of Louisville Health, Berg has credited her Jewishness as the motivation for the professional and political work she does.

“My faith drives me to be compassionate, respectful and help people in every way I can,” she said.

As a physician, Berg supports Gov. Andy Beshear’s plan to reestablish Kentucky’s health insurance exchange, which was dismantled by his predecessor, Matt Bevin.

But she said her top priority in the Senate, at least initially, will be to “listen and learn.”

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

July 10, 1895 — Nahum Goldmann born

Nahum Goldmann, a founder of the World Jewish Congress and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, is born in Visznevo, Lithuania. Starting in 1935, he serves as the Zionist representative to the League of Nations.

July 11, 1920 — WIZO founded in London

Rebecca Sieff, Vera Weizmann and Edith Eder found the Women’s International Zionist Organization in London.

WIZO aims to provide child care, housing, schooling, home economics education and other services.

July 12, 1938 — Weizmann protests Britain’s pro-Arab stance

Chaim Weizmann writes to Malcolm MacDonald, a British Cabinet member, to complain about the government’s shift from supporting Zionism to promoting a pro-Arab policy in the year since the Peel Commission called for partition.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

July 13, 1978 — Peace deal is urgent, Sadat says

Seven months after visiting Jerusalem, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat invites Israeli Foreign Minister Ezer Weizman to a meeting in Austria to emphasize the importance of a bilateral peace agreement.

July 14, 1555 — Paul IV forces Jews into Roman Ghetto

Pope Paul IV issues an anti-Jewish decree, Cum Nimis Absurdum, under which Jews living under papal rule in Italy are subject to humiliations and restrictions. The Jews of Rome are forced into a ghetto.

July 15, 1908 — Max Fisher born

The last Jewish member of the state Senate, Kathy Stein of Lexington, left the legislature in 2013 to become a Fayette County family court judge.

In another contest involving a Jewish candidate, Daniel Grossberg lost his primary bid to unseat longtime incumbent Democrat Tom Burch in House District 30.

Grossberg, a Louisville realtor, was making his first run for the legislature, but it won’t be his last.

“I’m running again in 2022 — same seat,” he said.

He credited Berg for showing that candidates from minority communities — in this case, the Jewish community — can still win election to state offices in Kentucky despite in a polarized political climate.

“She didn’t win because Jews voted for her,” Grossberg said. “She won because non-Jews were willing to listen to her message, and they thought she would be the better senator.

Karen had a vision, and people bought it.”

University professor in Argentina offers bonus to ‘whoever finds a poor Jew’

A university professor in Argentina told his students that he “will give a bonus to whoever finds a poor Jew.” During an online class on international politics at the 21st Century Business University located in Cordoba, Argentina, Prof. Esteban Lizondo also said that the

creation of the State of Israel was a concession to the “Zionist lobby” in exchange for money, according to local reports.

One of Lizondo’s students, who is not named, recorded the lecture and posted it on social media. The student also reported the incident to the Cordoba office of the Argentine Jewish umbrella organization DAIA, which complained to the university.

The money that Jews have, the professor said, also “demonstrates the power that the Jews have.” He added: “They are capable of handling business and financial enterprises, to continue enriching themselves. And not for nothing, go fight a Jew for money.”

“Why do you guys think the Nazis killed so many Jews? Because of the envy they had. Imagine Germans bleeding to death in a terminal economic crisis, with hyperinflation, and the Jews … they kept getting rich,” he said.

The DAIA in its complaint noted that the comments violate an Argentine law against discrimination, which states that it is illegal to “by any means encourage or initiate persecution or hatred against a person or groups of people because of their race, religion, nationality or political ideas.”

The university responded in a statement that it does not allow any type of discrimination. It said that it would investigate the incident and if the accusations are verified that it would levy “maximum” punishment. PJC

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Philanthropist Max Fisher is born in Pittsburgh. After making his fortune by building Aurora Gasoline into a chain of more than 700 gas stations, he devotes most of his giving to Jewish causes and Israel.

July 16, 1926 — Stef Wertheimer born

Stef Wertheimer, one of Israel’s wealthiest citizens, is born in Kippenheim, Germany.

He immigrates to Palestine in 1937 and founds Iscar Metalworking in 1952. Berkshire Hathaway eventually buys the company. PJC

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Opinion Religious fairness in private school funding

A

— EDITORIAL —

state does not have to fund private schools. But if it does direct public funds to private schools, it may not discriminate against private religious schools. That’s the essence of last week’s common-sense 5-4 Supreme Court decision.

Chief Justice John Roberts voted with the court’s conservatives in deciding Espinoza v.

Montana Department of Revenue, and wrote the court opinion. The decision is a victory for several religious advocacy organizations, and opens the door to the possibility of more public funding for Jewish day schools and other private education programs.

“A state need not subsidize private education,” Roberts wrote for the majority. “But once a state decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”

The decision effectively nullifies clauses in 37 state constitutions that prohibit taxpayer aid for parochial schools. These so-called Blaine Amendments stem from 19th-century anti-Catholic discrimination by the country’s Protestant majority. And Roberts pulled no punches in his condemnation of the Blaine Amendment and its history: “The

We applaud the Espinoza decision, and welcome the demise of the Blaine Amendment. States are now free to decide whether and how to support private education without legally mandated religious discrimination.

Blaine Amendment was ‘born of bigotry’ and ‘arose at a time of pervasive hostility to the Catholic Church and to Catholics in general’; many of its state counterparts have a similarly ‘shameful pedigree.’”

The Espinoza case involves a Montana program that granted tax credits to residents who donate money to a state scholarship program to pay for students to attend private schools, both secular and sectarian. The Montana Supreme Court struck down the tax credit program as a violation of the state’s constitution, and the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that ruling.

It should be noted that Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC) allows tax credits to eligible businesses that contribute to a scholarship organization, an educational improvement organization or a pre-kindergarten scholarship organization, regardless of whether that program is secular or sectarian. All three of Pittsburgh’s Jewish day schools, and many of its preschool programs, have benefitted from the EITC. The Espinoza decision was cheered by the Trump administration, and hailed by supporters like the Orthodox Union, which

said the ruling “solidifies the legal bases [for] the creation or expansion of many state aid programs to support parental choice in education.” Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia provide tax credits or vouchers to families that send their children to private schools. Under Espinoza, if they don’t already do so, those programs must be expanded to include private religious schools.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented, noting that the Montana court remedied the state constitutional violation when it struck down the scholarship program in its entirety, treating secular and religious private schools equally. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote separately that the ruling “weakens this country’s longstanding commitment to a separation of church and state beneficial to both.”

We applaud the Espinoza decision, and welcome the demise of the Blaine Amendment.

States are now free to decide whether and how to support private education without legally mandated religious discrimination.

Significantly, the Espinoza decision offers additional proof that Chief Justice Roberts is the Supreme Court’s new deciding vote. In recent rulings he has shown a new level of sensitivity in his votes, and appears to be a man focused on the law, with an eye on the Roberts Court’s legacy. PJC

Secular Jews are starting to understand the haredi Orthodox — thanks to Israeli television Guest Columnist Rabbi Avi Shafran

A

t 4 a.m., Israeli rocker Aviv Gefen was still crying, head in hands, in the empty Haifa-area amphitheater where he had performed the previous late May evening. Staff members urged him to go home.

In a televised interview days later, the popular performer described what had happened. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, he had performed in a venue empty of anything but amphitheater staff and a videographer.

He had dedicated a song “with love” to the community of Bnei Brak. The densely populated haredi Orthodox community there was hit particularly hard by the coronavirus.

“I leave the stage,” Gefen recalled, “and I see on my telephone, without exaggeration, 420 messages. I start opening them, scrolling, and learn that someone had given my number to all of Bnei Brak. And I cried. And I could not leave the empty amphitheater. I started to cry. The love, the division in the nation, suddenly everything came together. The love I received came from people I had denigrated since I was 19. People who now erupted with love and with tears.”

The tension between secular and religious Israeli society has existed since before the

10 JULY 10, 2020

country was founded and remains a contentious societal dividing line.

“For years we learned how to hate the other…” Gefen continued. “Suddenly I saw the other. So how did the corona change me?

Just like this: I learned to respect. A flame of love, simply amazing, was lit. I cannot even describe it in words, only in tears.”

The longstanding social schism in Israel between the country’s rapidly growing haredi community and its secular citizens isn’t disappearing, of course. Issues like religious exemptions from military service, heavy reliance of many haredim on social services and whether public transportation should operate on Shabbat haven’t evaporated.

But cracks in the secular-religious divide, like Aviv Gefen’s epiphany, have begun to appear. And I believe much of the credit for the happy fissure goes to an unlikely catalyst: Israeli television.

There was a time, and it wasn’t long ago, when haredim were portrayed as aliens at best and adversaries at worst. In many American films, haredi life — as in the recent series “Unorthodox” — is still portrayed as something suffocating to escape from, a drab world filled with humorless men and women.

Recent Israeli shows are more realistic.

Rather than aiming at sensationalism and confirmation of biases, they seek to provide a more accurate picture of haredi life — and, in the process, help foster understanding and empathy.

It may have begun with the wildly popular show “Shtisel,” which first aired in Israel in

2013 and was eventually featured on Netflix.

The series, about four generations of a Jerusalem haredi family, is a lighthearted drama, enlivened by humor and even some surrealism. But its portrayal of haredim as normal people with normal challenges and feelings, experiencing universal pains and joys, humanized haredim for many thousands of viewers.

Then in 2017 came “Shababnikim” (slang for haredi youth who may not belong in yeshiva), a comedy that portrayed four very different yeshiva students and their travails.

Most recently, Israeli viewers were treated to a remarkable, and remarkably moving, reality series called “Od Nifgash” (“We Will Meet Again”), which features five secular Israelis who wish to reconnect to close but now estranged family members (in one case, a twin brother) who became religious. Each individual is paired with a haredi intermediary in an effort to familiarize the secular Israelis with haredi life as part of the effort to connect them with their estranged relatives and bring about reconciliations.

The series’ brilliant conceit was to swear each of the secular Israelis to total silence for the first 36 hours they spent with their “handlers.” That forced them to only fume to themselves when they saw or heard things that riled them up, preventing arguments or expressions of anger. By the time their enforced silence had expired, they had come to experience — even from their distance — the richness and beauty of Jewish religious life, its family-centeredness and

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meaningful rituals.

Although their fundamental differences of approach to life remained, each secular Jew and his or her haredi counterpart became friends.

The series is currently, at this writing, ongoing, and viewers don’t yet know whether the mission that each pair of Jew is on — to see if the estranged relative can be reconnected to his or her family — will be successful or not. But the hours of filmed interactions of the respective couples are their own testimony to the possibility of not only cooperation between secular and haredi Jews, but even of forming deep personal bonds.

There is irony in the fact that media like television (shunned by most haredim) and the internet (which, if used, is used for work purposes but not for entertainment) should be what is allowing their lives to become more familiar to their secular neighbors.

But good things can emerge from all sorts of unexpected places.

The culture wars in Israel will surely rage on for the foreseeable future. But if enough non-religious Israelis can be brought to see haredi society through a different lens, and enough haredim will be willing to accept and befriend secular Jews, that can only bode well for the shared Jewish future. PJC Rabbi Avi Shafran writes widely in Jewish and general media and also serves as Agudath Israel of America’s director of public affairs.

This piece first appeared on JTA. PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Opinion The Three Weeks: My family vacation Guest Columnist Sam Glaser

F

or some of us, summer is a carefree time. As one Jew wrote: “Summertime, and the livin’ is easy.” There’s at least one wrinkle in the enjoyment of those long summer afternoons: the spoilsport rabbis of yore gave us 22 days of semi-mourning smack dab in the middle of them.

There are six fast days in the Jewish calendar and two of them bookend this midsummer period. The others are scattered throughout the year: the Tenth of Tevet, the Fast of Esther, the Fast of Gedaliah and the famous one, Yom Kippur. During the Three Weeks, we “lessen” our joy by refraining from such things as live music, weddings and haircuts, just enough so we acquire a sense of mourning.

This period begins with the daybreak until darkness fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz, this year on July 9. It commemorates the day Moshe broke the tablets, daily offerings ceased in the First Temple and Romans breached the Second Temple-era walls of Jerusalem.

Our sense of loss mounts over the weeks, becoming especially intense from the first to the ninth of the month of Av. For these last nine days, the restrictions include abstaining from meat and wine other than on Shabbat.

At last, we arrive at the full 25-hour fast on Tisha B’Av (the Ninth of Av). This day of infamy commemorates the destruction of our Temples, the expulsion from Spain in 1492 and the start of World War I. If not for the dramatic steps in preparation for this traumatic reenactment, the sense of loss would not be as pervasive. Whereas the intensity of mourning for a loved one wanes over the course of time, the opposite is true during the Three Weeks. The sense of foreboding is magnified each passing day until commemorating the absolute devastation of Tisha B’Av. The following saga illustrates the power of preparation as a key to acquiring this transformation, both for the Three Weeks and all holidays on the Jewish calendar.

As a child, I was fortunate to spend my summers backpacking in the Sierras. I still can’t get enough of my outdoor fix. My kids used to run in the other direction when I proposed we take a hike. Once we hit the trail, however, they inevitably warmed to the experience. Their dispositions would shift from boredom to wonder, sarcasm to innocence, cynicism to curiosity.

Back when my sons were strapping adolescents (Max, 14, and Jesse, 12), I proposed we go for a backpacking trip in the wilderness of Sedona, Arizona. Surprisingly, they were excited about the idea and the itinerary occupied weeks of our conversation. Admittedly, using their pocket knives and building fires were the primary attractions.

What I didn’t anticipate was the intensive

— LETTERS — Solved: The mystery of ‘Jew Hill’ I read with interest Judith Robinson’s article about “Jew Hill” in Greene County in the June 26 issue of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. About 20 years ago, I had a case (I’m a lawyer) where my client was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Greene County. She told me it occurred on a winding road right near Jew Hill not too far from Crucible, Pennsylvania.

When I asked her why it was called “Jew Hill,” she didn’t know, but everyone in that area called it that. I sent out my investigator who could not find the answer to why that area was called that name. Now, after reading the article, I have the answer. It reminded me of finding out about the abandoned Jewish cemetery in White Oak in your Chronicle article (“Neglected Jewish cemetery in White Oak restored by non-Jewish volunteers,” July 12, 2019), which I had been searching for over many years.

Jack L. Bergstein Monessen

In defense of the removal of Confederate statues

In her June 26 letter, Rahel Kozlova very broadly concludes that “statues should not be removed.” However, I believe that it is long past time to remove statues of Confederate leaders and, in support, offer what I consider to be a more accurate comparison than those presented

by Ms. Kozlova.

The Third Reich was based on a core belief in Aryan superiority, which it saw as justifying the extermination of Jews and other minority groups. Similarly, the Confederate government was founded on a belief in white superiority, thereby justifying the enslavement of Blacks.

In his famous Cornerstone speech, Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy, declared that the Confederacy’s “foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests upon the great truth that the Negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.” Both governments fought to defend their indefensible beliefs; fortunately, neither prevailed.

Imagine that, in the decades following Hitler’s defeat, “proud” Germans began a crusade to restore their power and glory. They fly the Nazi flag atop public buildings, place Nazi names on schools and government offices and display swastikas at public events. On public streets and squares, hundreds of statues of Nazi leaders stand on pedestals, glorified as “heroes” who PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

preparation and expense. As a kid on those summer trips, all the hard work was done for me. Now I had to rent our packs, plan lightweight, kosher meals, deal with water purification, acquire sleeping bags and pads, a tent, first aid kit and plenty of sunscreen.

It was a seven-hour drive from Southern California to Arizona; we jammed to curated classic rock through the barren Southwest, arriving in Sedona just as the sun was setting.

After a few days of trial hikes, we had packs on our backs and set out on our 14-mile red rock canyon adventure. After the first three miles, the canyon narrowed precipitously, the trail disappeared and we had to walk in the river the rest of the way. By the sixth mile, Jesse was at the breaking point. We needed a campsite immediately and there was nothing but red rock walls on either side of us.

Max and I abandoned our packs and scaled the cliff wall to see if there was another way. Sure enough, we found a ledge with a fire ring. Someone else had gotten stuck here and made the best of it. But there was no room for a tent. Max noticed there was a route to get even higher up the cliff. Remarkably, about sixty feet above the river, he found a full-blown campsite — a perfect, well-shaded hideout to enjoy for the duration of our trip, with flat ground for our tent and a fire ring with log benches all around it. That night we thanked Hashem for the providence of our discovery as we pondered the Milky Way and roasted salami on the open flame.

Why I am sharing this anecdote? Our campsite was the sweetest campsite in the world because we worked so hard for it. Because we sweated out the intensive preparation required to survive half a week in the wilderness, because we drove so far, woke up at dawn and hiked miles with heavy backpacks.

For us, that magical 20 square feet of dirt represented pushing beyond our perceived limitations and emerging triumphant.

This dynamic is the essence of Jewish holidays. For example, Rosh Hashanah is as potent as the spiritual work we undertake during the preceding month of Elul.

Preparation and persistence are the keys to any meaningful journey.

The Three Weeks commemorate some of the most painful events the Jews have endured. Without this three-week prelude, the torment of Tisha B’Av would not be as acute. In spite of the tragedy, according to the prophet Zecharia, at some point our days of sadness will become days of celebration.

My friend Rabbi Shlomo Seidenfeld says, “our mission is to put the tish (a joyous celebration) into Tisha B’Av.” The power to do so is in our hands. May it happen speedily in our day. PJC Sam Glaser is a performer, composer, producer and author in Los Angeles. He has released 25 CDs of his music and his book “The Joy of Judaism” is an Amazon bestseller.

He produces albums and scores for media in his Glaser Musicworks recording studio.

fought bravely for a noble “lost cause.” Certainly, as a Jew, I would not want these “historical” symbols of hate to remain where they could continue to threaten future generations of Jews and inspire future generations of anti-Semites.

This is precisely what happened in post-Civil War America. Decades after the war ended, during the era of Jim Crow, white supremacists sought to reassert white rule in the South.

They prominently displayed statues of Confederate “heroes” in order to intimidate and humiliate Blacks seeking racial equality, while also reassuring “proud” white Southerners of their power and privilege. These statues continue to send the same hateful messages today.

While most were mass produced, to the extent that any pieces have aesthetic significance, they can be moved to museums where they can be given context and properly interpreted. In such settings, they will serve as historical artifacts, rather than civic monuments perpetuating a racist commemorative landscape.

This would not be history erased but, rather, history properly placed, a concept that is hardly new. To accommodate inevitable changing needs and times, we routinely topple old buildings and rename streets, and our museums are filled with art and artifacts that no longer conform to current sensibilities. While we must respect our past history, we cannot ignore historical progress and still evolve as a society. It is said that the moral arc of history is long. Unfortunately, we cannot always control its path, but this country is now presented with that opportunity. I believe that by removing these statues, we would help bend that arc toward justice.

Sharon Brustein Squirrel Hill

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JULY 10, 2020 11

Headlines JCBA:

moving. It recently acquired the Anshe Lubovitz cemetery in Shaler Township, and Continued from page 1 joins the Federation in its involvement with New Castle cemeteries. JCBA’s board also there are 75 Jewish cemeteries in Western recently approved pursuing management Pennsylvania, about 15 of which the organi- of two small abandoned cemeteries: one zation currently manages. on Rippel Road in White Oak and “With the region’s industrial one in Port Vue. might, it developed a landscape that’s “Now is the time for us to assist full of cemeteries large and small the many communities and congreand they’re all important,” Barry gations in the region that have either Rudel, JCBA’s executive director, closed or see the need to transition told the Chronicle. “They all repretheir cemetery management and sent histories and communities and p operations to another entity,” said Barry synagogues that still mean a lot to Rudel Gregory Engel, the president of Photo courtesy of the people connected to them.”

Barry Rudel the JCBA. “We are professional, Though the JCBA dates back to compassionate and understanding 1992, the revitalized push to care for Jewish in our approach, with a goal to meet the cemeteries is backed by the manpower — needs of the region’s Jewish community.” and the funds — of the Jewish Federation of Joining Rudel and Engle in leadership is Greater Pittsburgh.

Jonathan Schachter, JCBA administrator, The Federation’s Jewish Community Federation staff member Shelly Parver, and Foundation granted the JCBA $450,000 — Louis Kushner, chair of the Federation’s one of the largest grants in the Foundation’s Cemeteries Transition Committee. history — to support JCBA’s expansion, Parver laughs when she estimates she’s including hiring Rudel as its first full-time spent “a gazillion hours” working on the executive director. cemetery project since 2015. That work “We are taught that the very first thing has included both a task force and a trana new Jewish community establishes is a sition committee. cemetery,” Jewish Federation President “It’s helping to build a really, really strong and CEO Jeffrey Finkelstein said. “Now, organization … that really has strong as a well-established Jewish community in potential for the future,” said Parver, the Pittsburgh, it is our responsibility to ensure Federation’s assistant planning director. that these cemeteries are maintained in Parver said the JCBA’s mission dates back to perpetuity. We will best able to do so through societies in the 1840s and 1850s that offered this expanded JCBA and look forward to Jews free burials. working with them in partnership to honor “There’s a lot riding on this organiour mothers and fathers.” zation [JCBA] preserving the Jewish JCBA is not taking its time getting past,” Parver said. “There’s nothing more

p Before and after shots of Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery

Photo courtesy of JCBA

p The JCBA works to restore cemeteries in disrepair.

Photo courtesy of JCBA

important than that.”

Kushner, a longtime federation volunteer, also worked on the JCBA/Federation partnership. He said the move follows reorganizations of cemetery groups in places like Boston and Cleveland.

“The Federation really had the foresight to address an obvious need that wasn’t being addressed — abandoned Jewish cemeteries

Conversions: Continued from page 1

Jewish nor was she considered Jewish under halacha.

Riddle recounted becoming the black sheep of her family when she pushed away from the Christian Science faith at age 18.

“There were hints and clues of Judaism,” she recalled, “but it was purposely hidden. Like a secret cupboard that I never got a key to.”

It was only after moving to New York and taking a DNA test while in her 20s that the PNC project manager confirmed her Jewish lineage.

“I found out that I was 25% Jewish. It was a perfect time in my life. I was alone and had all this time on my hands and a love of the library. So, I had this incredible time of learning about my ancestors and Judaism,” she said.

After discovering her Jewish roots, Riddle met her husband, Matthew, who is Jewish, but was secular. The pair eventually decided to explore Judaism together, leading to the 32-year-old’s eventual decision to convert.

The couple traveled to Israel with Adelson this past January as part of Honeymoon Israel, after being married in September 2019 in a civil ceremony.

“We had unlimited access to Rabbi Adelson for 10 days and we took advantage of it,” Riddle said.

While the pandemic is preventing Riddle 12 JULY 10, 2020

p Gwyndolyn Riddle visited Israel with Rabbi Seth Adelson as part of a Honeymoon Israel trip before converting to Judaism.

Photo by Matthew Riddle

from celebrating with her new community in person, she and her husband are marking the occasion with another type of celebration: a Jewish wedding at Beth Shalom two days after her conversion ceremony, broadcast via Zoom to friends and family.

“There will only be five of us in a 1,600seat synagogue, our two witnesses, the rabbi and myself and my husband. Of course, there will be a lot of people on Zoom,” she said.

“Any kind of celebration that we would have had, that kind of takes the cake,” she continued. “To be able to stand next to my husband and be married under the eyes of God will be an incredible celebration.”

Riddle has already forged relationships in the Jewish community, both through her

experiences at the synagogue and during Honeymoon Israel, although there were programs and speakers she would have liked to attend in person, had there not been a pandemic.

Adelson acknowledged that the conversion process had to be altered because of the pandemic but was nonplussed by the changes.

“We’ve been meeting by Zoom,” he said.

“In terms of the conclusion of the process, the beit din will occur in person but we’re meeting in the Beth Shalom sanctuary, seated far apart and will all be wearing masks. And then we will go to the mikvah, which doesn’t present as much of a problem because the person goes in alone. We do have to do the conclusion of the process in person, we just

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and cemeteries that were about to be abandoned,” Kushner said. “Ultimately, the goal is — a lot like the Boston model — for more cemeteries to be managed by the JCBA. They will maintain the cemeteries and give them the dignity and the care they deserve.” PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh. have to make sure we’re careful.”

Temple David’s Rabbi Barbara Symons doesn’t view the challenges presented by the virus as a negative, believing a robust learning process can occur through classes, online services and interactions in the digital space, including virtual seders.

The Reform rabbi said that she is working with a conversion student now.

“We meet regularly on Zoom; he meets with someone else for Hebrew lessons on Zoom and he is attending worship and learning sessions online,” said Symons.

Riddle is upbeat about the challenges she has faced, crediting Beth Shalom with ensuring a smooth transition to the virtual classroom. “They didn’t miss a beat,” she said.

“They changed very quickly. I haven’t felt that anything hindered my education. That was not sacrificed in the devastation of COVID-19.”

In fact, Riddle said she was shocked when taking her final exam before her conversion ceremony by how much she had learned.

“I was surprised by how much I knew compared to a year ago,” she said. “The education that I have received over the last year has been life-changing for me. That is what I’m going to be grateful for 20 years from now.

“I will have a story to tell my children and grandchildren about my conversion and Jewish wedding and add that it was during a once-in-a-lifetime, once-in-a hundredyear pandemic. I like having unique experiences.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Crystal: Continued from page 3

“One of my favorite adages is, being an interim rabbi is like the Beatle’s song, ‘You say goodbye, I say hello.’ There’s an emotion of saying goodbye and saying hello. That’s why you have an interim rabbi.”

Much of the work of moving beyond the vision of a retiring rabbi belongs to the congregation and is simply facilitated by an interim rabbi, according to Crystal.

“Part of it is giving the congregation the space to ask, ‘Who are we now and what’s different?’ For instance, I don’t sing or play the guitar. So, that’s going to be a big shift for the congregation and there’s going to be a lot of emotion with it because it was a center

Fireworks: Continued from page 4

Earlier this year, though, Zoldan wondered if there would even be fireworks available for Independence Day. When the coronavirus crisis escalated in China — the world’s biggest manufacturer and exporter of fireworks — companies closed and halted production. But as China gradually returned to business, Phantom Fireworks again received its inventory.

point of worship.” By not singing or playing music, Crystal said he will create space for the congregation to begin envisioning how worship may look without that anchor of the last 32 years.

Even before deciding to become an interim rabbi, Crystal was something of a nomad. Born in Connecticut, he grew up in the Washington, D.C., area and went from studying as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland to rabbinic school in Cincinnati. Stops included serving student pulpits in Joplin, Missouri, and Wilmington, North Carolina, and chaplain residencies at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. He also spent two stints as an intern at the Religious Action Center.

Once ordained, Crystal served at the

previously mentioned Long Island congregation and as a rabbinic cohort for the Institute of Jewish Spirituality and spent time at the Elat Chayim Center of Jewish Spiritualty in Connecticut before eventually moving to Israel for a year to study at The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, a retreat he continues to make annually. Along the way, Crystal served as interim rabbi across the country including for congregations in Savannah, Georgia; San Antonio, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; and Baltimore, Maryland.

“Having someone who’s so familiar and dedicated to the process was important,” said Breslau, noting that the interim rabbi will help the congregation “get some space and think about what our priorities are, in terms of what we want next. That’s his role and I think it will be very helpful to the congregation.”

When the coronavirus pandemic is over, Crystal hopes to visit PNC Park before the end of his tenure.

“I love baseball,” he said. “I was traumatized as a child attending the last Washington Senators game before they became the Texas Rangers. I’m a purist.

I love watching games at Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway. There you have your peanuts, you have your hot dog and you watch baseball. I’m also waiting for the theater season to begin again.”

Looking ahead to the next year, Crystal said Temple Sinai is “a great synagogue and I’m really looking forward to being with everyone.” PJC

Now, consumer fireworks are, quite literally, a hot commodity: Sales are double that of previous years. Zoldan considers the “unprecedented” boom among the likes of hand sanitizer and toilet paper, “and hopefully a little more exciting than toilet paper.”

Phantom, which solely sells consumer fireworks, is a family business: Zoldan’s two sons, brother and cousin are among the 500-600 employees, a number that swells to 3,500 during peak fireworks seasons.

While his kids might think it’s time for him to go to Florida and relax, Zoldan said,

he plans to stay at the helm of his company for a while. “This is a business that I started,” he said. “I enjoy passing this onto the next generation and helping them transition.”

The fireworks doyen has picturesque visions of the Fourth.

“You’re sitting back, a responsible adult is igniting the items… and the children [are] watching and the friends and family are watching, and it’s a wonderful celebration of America’s birthday,” he said. “You’re painting the sky with our fireworks.”

As for Zoldan’s own celebrations?

“I pretty much either go to a family’s home or a friend’s home after about 9 at night on the Fourth,” he said. “I might have a cocktail, and somebody might talk me into smoking a cigar. And I sit back and watch all the neighborhoods around us lighting up.

“I’m proud that that’s something that I have a part of, that so many people are having a great time on the Fourth of July, and I’m helping to be a part of [it].” PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Kayla Steinberg can be reached at ksteinberg @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Pittsburgh day camps and schools struggle with new face mask mandate

O

n July 1, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced a new order signed

by Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, mandating that face masks be worn in all public spaces. Children under the age of 2 are exempt from the new mandate, as are those with a medical condition not allowing the use of a face mask.

The new mandate has implications for Jewish day camps and preschools across the state and has been interpreted differently by various organization in Pittsburgh.

“We are interpreting the guidelines as written,” explained the Jewish Community Center’s Chief Program Officer Jason Kunzman. The JCC operates early childhood centers in the South Hills and Squirrel Hill and day camps in Monroeville, the South Hills and Squirrel Hill. “It says that children over the age of 2” are required to wear masks, “so that’s what we’re doing.”

“We informed our parents … and told them we would be complying with the order

p JCC camp staff made masks out of t-shirts so that JCC campers would be in compliance with the new order.

Photo provided by the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh.

from the secretary of health,” Kunzman said.

Local Chabad camps are also requiring face masks for campers.

“We are following the governor’s orders and as of now, the kids are required to wear masks,” said Rabbi Yisroel Altein, who operates the Gan Izzy day camp at the Chabad of Squirrel Hill. “We sent out a request for parents to send in masks.”

The rabbi said that he is hoping for clarification soon. “We’re waiting for guidance because it wasn’t clearly addressed,” Altein said. “We didn’t see any exclusions, but we are waiting to see more details regarding camps and childcare.”

The order was unclear to other administrators of children’s summer programs as well.

“I can tell you the results of what the governor said in one word: confusion,” offered Temple Emanuel of South Hills Early Childhood Development Director Iris Harlan.

“My reading of it, and I think many other early childhood directors agreed, is that it was about visiting a business, so, if a 2- or 3-year-old goes into a store or

restaurant. That is very different from being in childcare,” Harlan explained.

As a result, Temple Emanuel’s ECDC is not requiring its students to wear face masks.

Harlan pointed out that they have not received any announcement about the mandate from the Office of Child Development and Early Learning, a division of the Department of Human Services, about the mandate. She sent an email to an OCDEL contact, who responded that “they are continuing forward with the last thing OCDEL said, which was that children do not have to wear them,” Harlan said.

Despite the new requirement, Kunzman said that things are going well at the JCC’s early childhood center and day camps.

“I think we underestimate the resilience and intestinal fortitude of our families, campers and early childhood participants,” he said. “They rocked it.” PJC — David Rullo

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JULY 10, 2020 13

Life & Culture Social justice, spirituality stitched together in Jewish quilter’s downtown exhibit — ART —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

L

ouise Silk’s quilting work sits at the intersection of artistic expression and spiritual identity.

When the native Pittsburgher first entered the realm of fiber arts in the 1970s, most Jewish artists who did venture into quiltor cloth-making were relegated to making simple challah covers or Torah mantles. She was thinking bigger from the get-go.

“I was looking for more of an art form,” said Silk, who lives in South Side. “I’m always looking for a form of my Judaism, an expression of my Judaism — and through my quilting, I am Jewish.”

Quilting, Silk said, is not a particularly Jewish art form. Most Jews emigrating to the U.S. from Europe in the 20th century clung to more traditionally Jewish mediums of craft work, such as needlepoint and crocheting.

“Jews didn’t quilt and quilters weren’t Jewish — I thought they really didn’t relate,” Silk said. “Driving up Forbes Avenue one day, I just got this epiphany, like, ‘What if I quilted Jewish? Maybe it would be something new and different.’”

Silk’s work was both new and different and placed her near the forefront of the craft and fiber arts movement in Greater Pittsburgh.

The Upper Lawrenceville group Contemporary Craft currently is displaying Silk’s work in an exhibit titled “ReNew” in a publicly accessible space in downtown Pittsburgh. Her newest works incorporate recycled clothing and textiles with practices that address urgent contemporary themes such as global warming. Silk “uses T-shirt remnants, old quilts, pieced denim, denim seams and other recycled materials with hand embroidery, machine piecing and reverse applique techniques to create her mantles and quilts,” according to Contemporary Craft’s written description of the exhibition.

Silk’s exhibit is running through July at the Gallery in BNY Mellon Center at 500 Grant St. The space is located in the lobby of the Steel Plaza T-Station in downtown Pittsburgh.

The exhibition, which features about a dozen of Silk’s works, is open daily through midnight and is free to the public.

Kate Lydon, director of exhibitions for Contemporary Craft, said Silk’s work, some of which resonates with themes of social justice and social equity, is very tuned in to the current cultural moment.

“She has some smaller pieces [in the exhibit] that are really carrying messages for people — and before COVID-19, she’d been there every day from 11 to 2, engaging with folks,” Lydon said. “A lot of the messages she’s bringing forth are really important today — such as healing and kindness, things we should be interested in at this time and at all times.”

Lydon’s entry point into the “ReNew” exhibit is a series of archangels designed by Silk and draped in cloth, particularly one depicting the archangel Michael.

“It’s something that is really present with you,” she said.

14 JULY 10, 2020

p “The No Hate Flag,” a quilt by Loiuse Silk, was created in response to the massacre at the Tree of Life building.

Stephanie Sun, marketing manager for Contemporary Craft, called Silk’s work emblematic of someone who was taking fiber arts “past its potential.”

“She places focus on zero waste and … takes it into a more spiritual realm,” Sun said.

“She uses it as a healing force.”

Sun’s favorite piece in the new exhibit is, without a doubt, she said, “The No Hate Flag.” Modeled on the American flag, the piece is stitched together in kaleidoscopic colors from re-used denim and features one Star of David for each of the 11 individuals killed during the Squirrel Hill synagogue shooting in 2018.

“When the Tree of Life massacre happened, I felt I wanted to do something in my style — so I made that flag in colored denim,” Silk said. “I started thinking about all the factions where all the prejudice is, not just Jews or gay people. I made it for everybody.”

Tree of Life was far from the first time Silk’s work intersected with the roles — or physical spaces — of Jewish organizations.

She has exhibited at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh and, after a customized chuppah caught the eye of one rabbi at a JCC event around 1994, she even landed some pieces at Yeshiva Schools in Squirrel Hill. Those pieces are based on the Books of Moses and feature Biblical references as well as Hebrew text.

“She puts her whole heart into it,” said Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, when asked about the half-dozen pieces that hang in Yeshiva Schools. “And how beautiful it is. It’s the

p “Rasiel’s Mantle,” inspired by the archangel, Rasiel, who transforms knowledge of information into wisdom, is featured in the exhibit.

Photos provided by Louise Silk

combination of physical beauty and the spiritual message she has, bringing the two together. She has a knack for that.”

Silk’s spiritual messages are far from staid. She said some of her work has been informed by mystical interpretations of the Bible and other texts.

“I went on to study Kabbalah to find an expression of Judaism that really works for me,” Silk said.

She is also the first to admit the strong undercurrent of faith and religious

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

expression in her work.

“Yes, the angels [in the exhibit] are very evocative of spirituality and spiritual healing,” she said. “To me, though, the exhibit ‘ReNew’ is more and more about how we need some real renewal here.”

For more information on the exhibit, go to https://contemporarycraft.org/exhibition/ renew-louise-silk. PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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Life & Culture Simplest stovetop suppers, vegetarian-style Ravioli with Browned Garlic Greens Serves 4

— FOOD —

W

hen summer arrives, many of us avoid turning on the oven. Often, we gravitate to the grill, but this may be impractical for those of us who avoid or limit meat consumption or do not have outside areas where grills can live.

Today’s column is for folks in those two categories and also for those of us who look toward vegetarian or vegan dinners, crave lighter fare as the mercury rises and do not wish to spend inordinate amounts of time in the kitchen.

Full disclosure: These dishes were born of my daughter’s brief flirtation with veganism.

During the quarantine, she thought it would be a great time to experiment with this diet — her thinking was semi-sound: “We can’t go out to dinner, we are not being invited to anyone’s house, there are no barbecues or graduation parties, our travel has been canceled and it’s a good way to stay healthy, so why not try it?”

My objections were equally sound: “Grocery provisions are challenging, and many vegan items are not mainstays at the local shop, you need to be mindful of getting all the balanced nutrition you need to stay healthy and maintain your

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strength, especially now, and I have enough to worry about without having to cook multiple meals.”

Like it often happens, we were both right.

I generally did not cook multiple meals, she dealt with her own, sometimes we overlapped, but in the end, she spent two weeks feeling listless, cranky and with a semi-upset stomach.

I have a devoted vegan friend who assured me that, when done right, the body adapts

to veganism after a couple of weeks, but it is difficult to do, especially in the beginning.

And I am certain that my dear daughter did not take in all the nutrients she needed to do it right.

But all’s well that ends well. We all reduced our meat intake as a result and have integrated more vegetarian meals into the rotation. The following two were particular hits, and their simplicity and mass appeal make them go-to dinners.

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1 pound ravioli or the pasta of your choice 3 garlic greens, sliced, using both white and green parts ½ cup olive oil Salt and pepper to taste (be generous) Parmesan cheese, if desired, for serving Chopped fresh basil or parsley, if desired, for serving

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Heat the oil with the garlic, salt and pepper Please see Food, page 17

JULY 10, 2020 15

Photo by trexec/iStockphoto.com

We used cheese ravioli for this and it was great, but meat or vegan ravioli can be substituted according to preferences. Ditto tortellini, gnocchi, cavatelli, etc.

Garlic greens are those scallion-looking stalks that you see in spring farmers markets.

They are, essentially, baby garlic. Left alone, the roots grow into the heads of garlic that are the size of a golf ball and contain about 12 cloves. These greens have a milder taste that the fully grown cloves, and this recipe uses both the white and green part.

If you can’t get your hands on garlic greens, you can use a few cloves of chopped garlic; just be sure to watch the browning process carefully. Burned garlic is harsh and rather unpleasant.

By Keri White | Special to the Chronicle

Life & Culture

Photo by amenic181 / iStockphoto.com

Summer books preview

— LOCAL —

By Jesse Bernstein | Special to the Chronicle

I

t’s summer 2020, and you know what that means: sitting quietly by yourself inside, leaving your phone in another room and reading.

It’s certainly not the summer that we anticipated, but that doesn’t mean a good book can’t take you somewhere else for a few hours. Here’s a preview of some of the summer’s hottest new reads.

“A Burning”

Megha Majumdar (June 2) Majumdar’s debut novel tells the story of three Indians — Jivan, PT Sir and Lovely — caught up in the complex web of politics, class and corruption. Jivan must try to clear her name after being accused of committing a terrorist act, and Lovely, the only one who could exonerate her, can’t do it.

Meanwhile, PT Sir’s ambitions depend on Jivan’s failure.

 “A Burning”

Courtesy of Knopf

 “Cool for America: Stories”

 “The Wild Laughter”

Courtesy of Oneworld

Courtesy of Farrar, Strauss and Giroux

“Death in Her Hands”

Ottessa Moshfegh (June 23) Moshfegh, 39, might be the best young novelist in America. “Death in Her Hands,” her latest novel, delayed for a few months but now here at last, is the story of an elderly woman who thinks that she may have discovered a murder. Her last novel, “My Year of Rest and Relaxation,” grabbed the publicity, but check out her novella, “McGlue,” first.

“Cool for America: Stories”

Andrew Martin (July 7) Andrew Martin writes stories about young people that are sad and trying hard not to be. “Cool for America,” his first collection, borrows some of the characters from his well-regarded debut novel, “Early Work,” for stories about people who doing their best not to just give up.

Please see Books, page 17

16

JULY 10, 2020

 “Death in Her Hands”

 “Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir”

Courtesy of Penguin Press

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 “Via Negativa”

Courtesy of Knopf

Courtesy of Ecco

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Life & Culture Books: Continued from page 16

“Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir”

Natasha Trethewey (July 28) Today, Trethewey is a Pulitzer Prizewinning poet, and has served as the United States poet laureate. But when she was 19, she was grieving her mother, murdered by her stepfather. Trethewey retraces her mother’s steps through the segregated South to that awful day on Memorial Drive, giving a history of her own childhood along the way.

“The Wild Laughter”

Caoilinn Hughes (July 30) If you follow publishing trends closely, it seems that new literary histories of the devastation of the 2007-2008 financial crises are published every week. Hughes, however, sets her story in her native Ireland, for a change of pace. Her novel asks a deceptively simple question: What do people do when they feel they have nothing to lose?

“Via Negativa”

Daniel Hornsby (Aug. 11) The newly homeless Father Dan, kicked out of his conservative diocese, is now a monk on the move, living out of his Camry as he travels the country searching for peace. He’s on his way to finding it, he believes, before he witnesses the vehicular injuring of a fox, who becomes his companion on his increasingly weird journey across America.

Food: Continued from page 15

in a large skillet over medium. Stir occasionally, allowing the garlic to cook and begin to brown. When it browns, remove it from the heat and set the pan aside.

Cook the pasta according to package directions, reserving ½ cup of the cooking water. Drain and pour the cooked pasta into the skillet.

Return the skillet to the heat, and stir the pasta to coat it with the oil and garlic. Add a little of the cooking water to disburse the sauce.

If using, add the cheese and a bit more of

p “The Lying Life of Adults”

p “The Sprawl”

Courtesy of Europa Editions

p “True Believer”

Courtesy of Coffee House Press

“The Sprawl” Jason Diamond (Aug. 25) The suburbs are not typically considered to be incubators of uniquely American art and culture; in fact, many stories about artists with suburban origins typically posit that their success came in spite of their surroundings. In “The Sprawl,” Diamond seeks to challenge the narrative that the suburbs are the place “where art happens despite: despite the conformity, the emptiness, the sameness.”

“The Lying Life of Adults”

Elena Ferrante (Sept. 1) Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, translated from Italian, have brought her fame the world over (you can watch an adaptation of

the water to distribute. Top with herbs, if desired, and serve immediately.

Vegan Tomato Soup Serves 4

The trick of this soup is adding a potato.

It gives the soup some heft, and you won’t miss the cream or butter. Drizzling with some best-quality olive oil before serving is another way to trick the tongue into thinking you are getting something rich and decadent.

We served this soup hot with grilled cheese sandwiches, but if you wanted to stay in the vegan realm, consider toasted pita schmeared with hummus. And as the

the best-known one, “My Brilliant Friend,” on HBO, and this newest novel will be adapted for Netflix). The pseudonymous writer is frequently listed in discussions regarding future Nobel Prize winners; we advise trying to get on the bandwagon as early as you can.

Ferrante’s newest novel takes place in Naples yet again, but with a new cast of characters.

“Mother for Dinner”

Shalom Auslander (Sept. 22) Upon the death of his mother, Seventh Seltzer, a “Cannibal-American,” is forced to confront the community tradition he’d always dreaded: He has to eat her.

Seventh has to contend with the fact that the Seltzer family is flung all over country; what’s he going to do, eat her by himself?

temperature rises, this soup can be served chilled like a gazpacho.

A word on the potato: If you dislike the texture of potato skin, peel it. Or use Yukon Golds or another varietal with thin skins.

1 1 1 ½ ½ 2

p “Mother for Dinner”

Courtesy of Crown

tablespoon cooking oil onion, chopped medium potato, chopped teaspoon salt teaspoon pepper 28-ounce cans tomatoes (can be whole peeled with juices, diced or crushed) 1 quart vegetable broth Best-quality olive oil for drizzling at table Sprigs of dill, parsley, basil or cilantro for

Courtesy of Riverhead Books

Cannibal-Americans, a once thriving ethnic group, have more or less assimilated, and only their Uncle Ishmael still knows how to undertake the eating ritual. If this insane premise works for you, give Auslander a try.

“True Believer”

Abraham Riesman, (Sept. 29) Whether you love or hate Marvel Comics and the movies they’ve spawned, there is no denying the massive effect they’ve had on the American cultural landscape.

Riesman, who frequently writes on Jewish subjects, delivers a biography of Stan Lee, the man behind it all. It’s a serious look from someone who holds an abiding love for Lee’s work, without letting it blind a critical, journalistic eye. PJC

serving (optional)

Heat the oil, onion, potato, salt, and pepper in a large pot over medium. Sauté until fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomato and broth and bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are completely soft.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup to a smooth texture. Alternatively, cool the soup slightly and puree in a blender or food processor.

Taste for seasonings, add salt and pepper if needed and serve drizzled with premium olive oil. Garnish with herbs if desired. PJC

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Real Estate Services

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Celebrations

Torah

Engagement

Seeing the good in a ‘plowed field’

Ellen Berkman Amzallag and Eric Sirkin are delighted to announce the engagement of her son Michael Amzallag to Gal Zefadia.

Michael is the son of the late Samy Amzallag, nephew of John Berkman, grandson of the late Sybil and Mervin Berkman, Estrella Amzallag of Paris, France, and the late Haim Amzallag. Gal is the daughter of Anat and Nachum Zefadia of Rosh Ha’ayin.

Gal is the granddaughter of Orly and the late Avraham Weitzman of Kibbutz Givat HaShlosha in Darom Hasharon and Rachel and the late Rafael Zefadia of Jerusalem. Both Gal and Michael live in Tel Aviv.

Michael received his degrees in accounting and Mandarin Chinese from Hebrew University. He is a game economy manager at Playtika in Herzylia.

Gal has a degree in industrial engineering from the Shenkar Institute of Engineering and Design. She is a data product manager at Pango in Petach Tikva. PJC

‘An American Pickle’ trailer shows Seth Rogen playing both 1920s Jewish immigrant and his great-grandson

By Gabe Friedman | JTA

T

he trailer for “An American Pickle,” the upcoming movie in which Seth Rogen plays a 1920s Jewish immigrant who falls into a pickle vat and wakes up 100 years later — filmed largely in Pittsburgh — is finally here.

We caught a first glance of Rogen looking the part in a historically accurate picture released in April. Now, the trailer shows that Rogen plays both main characters: Herschel Greenbaum, the poor ditch-digger from “Schlupsk,” a fake region of Eastern Europe, and Ben Greenbaum, his

great-grandson, a computer programmer in modern-day Brooklyn.

The trailer also fills out the plot, which is based on a short story by Simon Rich. When Herschel wakes up in the future, he attempts to get Ben to start a pickle business with him after Ben loses his job.

The trailer suggests a wealth of Jewish references. In one snippet, the two are shown talking about how polio has been cured. Ben says the doctor who discovered the cure was named Jonas Salk. Herschel asks if he was a Jew, and when Ben says yes, Herschel pumps his fist.

The movie is out on HBO Max on Aug. 6. PJC

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Rabbi Yisroel Altein Parshat Pinchas | Numbers 25:10-30:1

A

s we begin the three-week period of mourning commemorating the destruction of our Temples in Jerusalem, I am reminded of one of my favorite stories in the Talmud about Rabbi Akiva’s perspective on tragedy.

At the conclusion of Makkot, the Talmud recounts: Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues were ascending to Jerusalem after the destruction of the Temple. When they arrived at Mount Scopus and saw the site of the Temple, they rent their garments in mourning.

When they arrived at the Temple Mount, they saw a fox emerge from the site of the Holy of Holies. They all began weeping, except for Rabbi Akiva, who started to laugh.

They said to him, “For what reason are you laughing?”

Rabbi Akiva responded (with a question, in true Jewish fashion): “For what reason are you weeping?”

They said to him: “This is the place concerning which it is written, ‘And the non-priest who approaches shall die,’ and now foxes walk in it; and shall we not weep?”

Rabbi Akiva said to them: “That is why I am laughing… In the prophecy of Uriah, it is written: ‘Zion shall be plowed as a field.’

In the prophecy of Zechariah it is written: ‘There shall yet be elderly men and elderly women sitting in the streets of Jerusalem.’

Until the prophecy of Uriah with regard to the destruction of the city was fulfilled, I was afraid that the prophecy of Zechariah would not be fulfilled. Now that the prophecy of Uriah was fulfilled, it is evident that the prophecy of Zechariah remains valid.”

The Talmud concludes: The Sages said to him: “Akiva, you have comforted us; Akiva, you have comforted us.”

One of the questions asked in the commentaries about this story is regarding the verse of choice to describe the prophesy about the destruction. There is a verse in Eicha (Lamentations) that seems to be a better choice as it describes this very situation: “Because of Mount Zion, which lies

desolate; foxes prowl over it.” Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate for Rabbi Akiva to quote this verse?

In his popular book “Positivity Bias,” my brother-in-law, Rabbi Mendel Kalmenson, expounds on the pervasive teaching of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s to find the positivity that lies in every situation. Two principles in Judaism help us in this regard: one, the belief that all that happens is Divine Providence; and two, the belief that all that G-d does is for the good. With these two principles in mind, one is led to see things in a positive light.

What do you see when you look at a plowed field? As a city boy, I would perceive the scene as one of mess and destruction, but a farmer would view the very same sight as the promise of growth and beauty that results from the plowed field. In fact, he recognizes that the destruction that meets the eye is what makes the future growth possible.

When the rabbis came to Temple Mount and saw destruction, they cried and mourned not only for the physical and spiritual destruction of the Temple, but for the thousands of lives that had been lost during that period of time. And yet, Rabbi Akiva, a man who had experienced the devastation just as potently as they had, was somehow able to see a “plowed field.” Rabbi Akiva saw the infinite good that the world would experience as a result of the destruction and exile, a final and eternal redemption that would bring with it an end to the existence — and even the possibility — of war, hunger and death.

Hitting rock bottom can be one’s last stop, or it can be the beginning of a growth period that leads to a new place, a place where failure is no longer a possibility.

As we live through these challenging times, it may be easy to find some positive “side benefits” of our current circumstances.

But more than these benefits, we must each ask ourselves what the long term positive impact of this situation is for us, so that one day, we can look back and recognize the good that came from it. PJC Rabbi Yisroel Altein is the spiritual leader of Chabad of Squirrel Hill. This column is a service of Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

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Derrick, Sandra Marie of Pittsburgh 31st Ward Deceased No. 02323 of 2020 AKA Sandra M. Derrick, and Sandra Derrick Barbara Jean Feldman, Executrix, 5812 Fredanna St., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15207 PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

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Obituaries FRIEDMAN: Abraham W. Friedman, MD, on Thursday, July 2, 2020. Beloved husband of Robin Friedman. Much loved father of Dr. Eli Meyer and Leora Friedman and Leah Naomi Friedman. Grandfather of Shai Maya and Ariel Yonatan Dude Friedman. Son of the late Jack and Lillian Friedman. Son-in-law of the late Milton and Marcia Ripp. Services and interment private. Contributions may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com HAYNES: Irene G. Haynes, on Sunday, July 5, 2020. Beloved wife of the late Berle B. Haynes. Beloved mother of Lee H. (Sandy) Haynes and Keith B. (Marian) Haynes. Sister of the late Melvin and Howard Gitelman.

Grandmother of Stefanie, Jonathan and Elizabeth Haynes. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Services and interment private. Contributions may be made to Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation, 5898 Wilkins Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association, P.O. Box 81863, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

LEVIN: Ruth Levin was born Aug. 20, 1924, in Pittsburgh to Jennie and Herman Glass.

She had an older brother, Alvin. At the age of 16, she met the love of her life, Sol (Solly) Levin. They were married in 1943 by her father-in-law, Rabbi Morris A. Levin, who was the head rabbi of Adath Jeshurun Synagogue. After the war they welcomed their son, Roy, who was followed by their daughter, Leslie. Ruth was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. She was a lifetime member of Hadassah and active in the synagogue. She was the consummate at-home mom taking care of her two children, and later doting on her four grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. In 2011, after 67 years of marriage, Sol passed away and Ruth lost her greatest admirer. Thus began a new chapter in her life when she moved to Dallas, Texas, to be closer to her entire family. She made friends at the Tradition Prestonwood, where she enjoyed crossword puzzles, novels, bingo, card games, old classic movies, dinner with friends, as well as holidays and special times with family. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all adored her along with anybody else who knew her. To know

her was to love her. She was the sweetest, kindest person on the face of the earth. She is survived by Roy and Helen Levin, Leslie and Freddy Brotsky, grandchildren Rachel and Pat Prock, David Brotsky, Lance and Sonni Levin, Allison and Keefe Bernstein, and great-grandchildren Ryan and Jules Prock, Lawson and Lake Levin, Calvin and Charlie Bernstein, nephew Paul (Ann) Levin, Richard (Evelyn) Glass, niece Marcialyn (Bernard) Robinowitz and various cousins.

Special thanks to Dr. Elisabeth Tilleros for her outstanding and compassionate care over the years, and caregivers Frey, Almaz and Helen, who took good care of her, and kept her looking beautiful to the very end.

Graveside services and internment were private. Donations can be made to Adath Jeshurun Cemetery, 217 E. Patty Lane, Monroeville, PA 15146. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com MARKOWITZ: Anne Markowitz (née Silver) beloved wife of the late Alan. Loving mother of Dr. Sanford (Dr. Suzanne Schaffer) Markowitz and Darryl (Maria) Markowitz.

Devoted sister of Rose Stein, Cyril Silver

(deceased) and Sam Silver (deceased).

Sister-in-law of Adele Silver. Cherished grandmother of Nathaniel. Private services were held in Pittsburgh. Family requests no visitation at this time. Contributions are suggested to the Alzheimer Association.

SLOAN: Martin C. Sloan, unexpectedly on Monday, June 15, 2020. Beloved husband of Linda Wolf Sloan; loving father of Peter (Erin) Sloan, Greg (Bianca) Sloan and Eric (Laurie) Sloan, all of Pittsburgh. Brother of Steve (Nadine) Sloan, Phil (Donna Cameron) Sloan and Cliff (Mary Lou Hartman) Sloan; brother-in-law of Janet (Christopher) Bowen; proud and adoring grandpa of Isabel, Emmett, Tyler, Theo, Conor and Rowan. Also survived by nieces, nephews, cousins and many friends. A private service and interment was held for family. Contributions in Marty’s memory may be made to Temple Emanuel of South Hills, 1250 Bower Hill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15243, or to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163.

Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com PJC

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Charitable Remainder Trusts Deserve a Second Look After the SECURE Act Even if Your Primary Goal is Protecting Your Family

by James Lange, CPA and Attorney

The SECURE Act, effective January 1, 2020, con-

The Big Picture with Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) There are many situations where your children would get more money and a steadier income if you named a CRT as the beneficiary of your IRA than if you named your children directly. If you have a million dollars or more in your IRA, even if you aren’t very charitable, you should at least consider naming a CRT as the beneficiary of your IRA.

What is a CRT? Here’s how a Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT) works at the basic level. When you die or when both you and your spouse are dead, what remains of your IRA could be transferred to a CRUT and the Inherited IRA can then be liquidated without paying taxes. To be clear, this trust is a testamentary trust meaning that it isn’t funded

Income from a Trust vs. IRA Stretched 10 Years

Assumptions: • 80-year-old parent dies with $1,000,000 IRA and $100,000 cash • 7% rate of return

$465,175

Net Assets

tains a provision that could be financially devastating for the children of IRA, 401(k) and other retirement plan owners. The provision modifies the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) rules for Inherited IRAs and retirement accounts. Subject to some exceptions, the most important being your surviving spouse, an Inherited IRA or retirement plan will have to be distributed and taxed within 10 years of the original owner’s death. Setting up a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) as the contingent beneficiary of your IRA or retirement plan (the primary beneficiary would be your spouse) is one strategy to offset the forced income-tax acceleration caused by the SECURE Act.

• 3.5% inflation on income and expenses • Child 48 when parent dies • Annual distributions from Inherited IRA $143,000 for 10 years (32% tax bracket) • Total income distributed from IRA, $1,421,399 • Total income distributed from CRUT, $1,946,227

Child Inherits Income Distributions from CRUT Child Inherits IRA Stretched 10 Years

• Child’s wages $100,000 to age 65 • Child’s Social Security at FRA, $27,000 • Child’s annual living expenses $90,000

Age of Beneficiary

before you and your spouse die. While you are alive, there is no tax return, no money goes into it, and other than some paper sitting in a fireproof drawer, it doesn’t exist. It is totally revocable meaning you can change it as long as you and/or your spouse are alive. But, after you and your spouse die, if you name it as the beneficiary of your IRA or retirement plan, it comes to life.

The conventional approach would be to leave your IRA directly to your child and all of it will be taxed in 10 years. With a CRUT, your child won’t get a lump sum of money when you die—but he also will not face a big tax bill immediately after you die or as big a tax bill even 10 years after you die. He would receive a regular “income” from the CRUT for the rest of his life.

The distribution from the CRUT (customarily somewhere between 5% to 10% of the assets depending on the age of the beneficiary and the

Section 7520 rate under the Internal Revenue Code) to your child would be treated as ordinary income until the amount of the initial IRA plus any interest and dividends earned in the CRUT has been paid to your child. After the ordinary income has been distributed, then capital gains would be distributed from the CRUT to your child and that distribution would receive the more favorable capital gains rates. Finally, when your child dies, whatever is left in the CRUT goes to the charity of your (or your child’s) choice.

The CRT must be set up in a way that the charity receives at least 10% of the present value of the bequest at the date of death; but that leaves 90% for your child. When you take into account the enormous tax benefits of the CRUT, your child often gets more value, sometimes by hundreds of thousands of dollars, than if you just leave the IRA outright to your child.

Is a CRT an appropriate solution or even partial solution to respond to the SECURE Act? Having charity in your heart is a major bonus, but given the right fact setting, it might be a great solution even if you are much more focused on your family than charity.

The graph on the left shows that your child will likely get more money over his lifetime as the beneficiary of a CRUT than if he receives your $1 million IRA outright.

In many situations, it would make more sense to leave your IRA or a portion of your IRA to a CRT than to leave it to your child directly. It is possible, even likely, that your child would actually end up with more money if you left the IRA to a charitable trust than if you left it to him outright.

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Lange Financial Group, LLC Financial Security for Life

2200 Murray Avenue • Pittsburgh, PA 15217 412-521-2732 • www.paytaxeslater.com

The foregoing content from Lange Financial Group, LLC is for informational purposes only, subject to change, and should not be construed as investment or tax advice. Those seeking personalized guidance should seek a qualified professional.

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Headlines ADL: Continued from page 8

But according to Kelley, the effort went nowhere. Facebook, he said, never acted on any of the advice provided by the ADL. “They were happy to sign onto a press release and to say, well, we’re working with ADL. We did have several meetings,” Kelley said. “It’s the same story of us coming to the meeting with real ideas for how to approach the problems on their platform and them walking away not promising anything. We tried to work with them.”

Facebook did not respond to an email request for comment. But the company has disputed that it has a poor record on addressing hateful posts. It points to a recent study from the European Union showing that Facebook is the quickest among the major social media platforms in addressing notifications of hate speech coming from European users. It found that Facebook assessed 96% of the notifications of hate speech within 24 hours, compared to 76.6% for Twitter.

Facebook removed 87.6% of the flagged content, compared to 35.9% for Twitter.

But Kelley said that while Facebook does release transparency reports, it does not give outside researchers access to the data, unlike Twitter. So he said there’s no real way to confirm Facebook’s claims of transparency.

“All these statistics are not vetted by, or verified by, any third party,” he said, adding later that “The ability to do real research

into the nature of hate on Facebook is extremely limited.”

As months and then years passed, activists in Myanmar and elsewhere were complaining that Facebook was allowing public officials to encourage human rights violations. In 2018, the shooter at the New Zealand mosques livestreamed the massacre on Facebook.

But while Facebook made some modifications to its hate speech policies, it did not appear to change course philosophically. In October, Zuckerberg said in an address at Georgetown University that he was proud that “our values at Facebook are inspired by the American tradition, which is more supportive of free expression than anywhere else.”

Using the speech, the Jewish comedian Sacha Baron Cohen compared Zuckerberg to a restaurateur gladly serving neo-Nazis.

“If he owned a fancy restaurant and four neo-Nazis came goose-stepping into the dining room and were talking loudly about wanting to kill ‘Jewish scum,’ would he serve them an elegant eight course meal?

Or would tell them to get the f*** out of his restaurant?” Cohen wrote. “He has every legal right, indeed a moral duty, to tell them to get the f*** out of his restaurant.”

A month later, the ADL gave Cohen its International Leadership Award. The comic actor used the opportunity to give a keynote address to excoriate social media companies.

“I say, let’s also hold these companies responsible for those who use their sites to advocate for the mass murder of children

PITTSBU RGH NEWEST ’S FUNERA L HOME

because of their race or religion,” he said.

“Maybe it’s time to tell Mark Zuckerberg and the CEOs of these companies: You already allowed one foreign power to interfere in our elections, you already facilitated one genocide in Myanmar, do it again and you go to jail.”

A wrinkle in this story came a few weeks before Cohen’s speech. Following the October attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany, the ADL accepted a $2.5 million donation from Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg.

Greenblatt said, upon accepting the donation, that he was “grateful for her commitment to fighting hate in all of its forms.”

Sandberg posted on Facebook that “It means so much to me to be able to support this vital work at this critical moment.”

Facebook’s mostly hands-off approach to posts does have notable defenders.

David Hudson, an advocate of expansive First Amendment rights, said that free speech protections should be extended to Facebook because its size and breadth gives Facebook the power of a government.

“Certain powerful private entities — particularly social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and others — can limit, control, and censor speech as much or more than governmental entities,” he wrote for the American Bar Association’s Human Rights magazine. “A society that cares for the protection of free expression needs to recognize that the time has come to extend the reach of the First Amendment to cover these powerful, private entities that have ushered in a revolution in terms of communication capabilities.”

But Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt, who spoke out against Zuckerberg’s remarks on Holocaust denial, said a boycott was the right way to go.

“Facebook is a private entity and no private entity is obligated to post hate speech,” she said. “Generally I don’t like boycotts, but if this is the only thing to which Facebook is going to respond, then you have no other choice.

You can choose where you put your money.”

This year, in testimony to Congress, Greenblatt cited his work in Silicon Valley in calling on tech companies to work harder.

He called tech “an amplifier, an organizer, and a catalyst for some of the worst types of hate in our society,” and said Facebook and Twitter “need to apply the same energy to protecting vulnerable users that they apply to protect their profits.”

Despite the measures Facebook has taken, the ADL says that hasn’t happened. And that’s why, after years of trying to collaborate with Facebook, the ADL is now trying to disrupt its revenue stream in the hopes of forcing change.

“There’s a common understanding that Facebook is a company that puts revenue above all else, but I think this is a very clear-cut example,” the ADL’s Kelley said.

“All of these changes, the minor tweaks that Mark Zuckerberg announced on Friday, were things that the civil rights community have been asking for for years, in addition to larger structural changes to the platform.

“It took a massive pause on advertisement by major companies to get them to move an inch.” PJC

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THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday July 12: Fanny Finesod, Maurice A. Glasser, Beatrice Miller Kadas, Ellis A. Kopelman, Maurice H. Levine, Charlotte Levy Klevan, Lazar Litmans, Regina Ruth Keizler Mandell, Leah Rachel Miller, Ralph Moritz, Mollie Plotkin, Dolores Sheffler, Frank E. Simon, Florence Stein, Sigmund Stern Monday July 13: Sophie Weiss Arnold, Herman Berzosky, Stanley Bernard Blatt, Rose Bloom, Ida Cartiff, Lena Garfinkel Cohen, Rebecca Darling, Dorothy Goldston, Dr. Ralph Herman Markus, Anna C. Martin, John Mermelstein, Ida D. Roth, Ethel Sachnoff, Zelda Shapiro, Morris Silverman, Elizabeth Pirchesky Sklov, Benjamin S. Smith, Martin W. Snow, Goldie Solomon, Bella Spolan, Rose Coffee Stein Tuesday July 14: Alfonso Augustine Abbatiello, Morris H. Barr, Florence Hoffman Caplan, Morris Goldstein, Bessie Harris, Dr. Julius A. Katzive, Neff Kruman, Fannie Lubarsky, Joseph Marcus, Leonard Wolinsky Wednesday July 15: Sam Burckin, Benjamin Cooper, Robert Davidson, Elizabeth Felser, Abe Finer, Diane Cooper Goldstone, Mary Goodman, Kenneth Israel, Beatrice Kohn, Lewis Leventon, Harry Lipner, Max Marcus, Joseph Mormanstein, Robert (Bob) Platt, Abe E. Rosenfield, Dr. Jacob Daniel Schwartz, Ben Zimet Thursday July 16: Sarah Conn, Mary Galanty, Sara Itzkovitz, Regina Linder, Bennie Morgan, Harry J. Rosen, Henry Rudick, Anna Sambol, Ann Averbach Sarkin, Albert Sloan, Cantor Louis Strauss

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Friday July 17: Arthur Abelson, Sara Rider Brenner, Martin Fried, Rose Zelmanovitz Gottlieb, Myra Ruth Edelstein Harris, Harry M. Jacobson, Phyllis Kaiser, Morris Mermelstein, Rose Monheim, Harold L. Neuwirth, Esq., Frieda F. Riemer, Norman S. Rom, Louis Tucker Saturday July 18: Ben Block, Hyman Chizeck, Minnie Cohen, Harry Kallus, Paul A. Kleinerman

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Life & Culture Jewish camp delays start date after counselor tests positive for coronavirus — CAMP —

By Ben Sales | JTA

Photo by SerrNovik/iStockphoto.com

A

Jewish camp in Pennsylvania is delaying its opening date after a counselor tested positive for coronavirus upon arriving at camp, in a scenario that could foreshadow the rocky path ahead for child care settings amid the deepening pandemic.

Camp Seneca Lake, one of the few Jewish overnight camps to open this year in the Northeast, was due to welcome campers on July 5 and 6. But that was pushed back following the counselor’s positive test at staff orientation, according to an email the camp sent to families.

Now, the camp, which is Modern Orthodox and serves campers largely from New York and New Jersey, is testing all the staff the teenaged counselor was in contact with, and has quarantined them as well.

“This staff member had zero signs of being sick but out of extreme caution we have quarantined any other staff members that came into contact with him and we will retest them again in a few days,” the email read. “As all of our correspondence with our families has stated from the beginning, we set up this process to be prepared for a situation like this and all protocols are being followed accordingly.”

The positive test could serve as a cautionary tale for the Jewish overnight camps that are opening this year — and for the many child care settings, including schools, whose operators are trying to devise ways to operate safely.

Camps that are opening this year have said that multiple rounds of testing, plus safety protocols at camp, put the camps in a good

position to weather the pandemic safely.

An email that Seneca Lake sent to parents in late May detailing some of the camp’s safety procedures said staff and campers would be tested before arrival and then several times at camp.

“This strict screening, combined with other safety protocols which include limiting the number of campers at camp, is a large part of our strategy to make camp as safe as it can be,” the May email said.

An email sent July 3 said that the camp

had received pre-arrival test results from 97% of campers, all of which were negative.

Many other Jewish camps have canceled their 2020 summers, either because their states are not allowing overnight camps to open, or because they feel they cannot run camp safely given the risks of the pandemic.

The counselor who tested positive has been sent home, and on Monday, the camp will receive the test results of the staff members whom he was in contact with.

With the virus spreading rapidly in many

parts of the country, the camp will quarantine campers from outside the New York-New Jersey area until they receive results from tests taken upon their arrival, according to the camp’s second email to parents on Friday.

The email did not provide details as to what that will look like.

“While it is unfortunate that one staff member tested positive for coronavirus, we trust the procedures that we’ve established, and we are prepared for this situation,” Seneca Lake told parents. PJC

17 Levin Furniture stores reopen

A

fter months of uncertainty regarding the future of Levin Furniture, Squirrel Hill resident and company chairman Robert Levin, and co-CEOs Matt Schultz and John Schultz, announced the opening of 17 Levin Furniture and Mattress Stores. Located in the Pittsburgh and Cleveland areas, the 17 stores include nine furniture and eight mattress locations.

“Finally, we’re back,” said Levin in a July 2 statement. “Our customers and associates can once again have access to the quality and commitment of a family-owned business that offers a great place to furnish homes and to work. We are excited to bring back a century of high standards and caring for the communities we serve.”

Prior to the announcement, Levin Furniture had undergone iterations of unpredictability. Nearly two years after Levin sold the company to Art Van, Furniture, LLC, the latter filed for bankruptcy in March 2020. Levin initially failed to repurchase the Pennsylvania and Ohio assets of Levin Furniture and Wolf Furniture after a

22 JULY 10, 2020

been to protect as many jobs as possible for Levin associates, and to continue to serve our loyal customers.”

According to Levin’s July 2 announcement, the 17 designated sites may be the first of several Levin stores to reopen. Moving forward, Levin Furniture reiterated its commitment to customers and staff.

Despite having no obligation to do so, customers whose previous deposits were not p Robert Levin Photo courtesy or Levin Furniture refunded “have been identified and will soon be receiving a letter and Resolution Form via court restructuring of Art Van. Months later, USPS and/or email detailing the next steps,” however, Levin announced he had finally according to the July 2 announcement. reached an agreement to buy the brand out “Forms can be returned via mail. Once the form is returned, a Levin Furniture repreof bankruptcy.

“We have worked tirelessly over the past sentative will contact the customer to discuss two months for an opportunity to buy back options for resolution.”

Prior to reopening the 17 stores on July the Levin Furniture brand,” said Levin in a 3, 375 former associates were hired by the May 19 statement. “My goals have always

company, which is owned and operated by Levin, Matt Schultz and John Schultz.

With Levin as chairman and the Schultzes serving as co-CEOs, the company will build on family successes, explained Levin. “The Schultz family has been in the furniture business for 80 years and operates stores in Pennsylvania and Ohio,” said Levin in a May 19 statement. “Their family shares the same values as Levin’s in putting employees and customers first.”

In a July 3 virtual news briefing, Matt Schultz acknowledged COVID-19’s economic implications, but noted due to the pandemic more people are spending time at home and in greater need of quality furniture.

“Our customers and associates can once again have access to the quality and commitment of a family-owned business that offers a great place to furnish homes and to work,” said Levin in a statement. “We are excited to bring back a century of high standards and caring for the communities we serve.” PJC

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— Adam Reinherz

Community Sew cool

Finding way in nature’s chain Horticulturist Rachel Kudrick and a team of volunteers worked on Temple Sinai’s vegetable garden. Last year, garden crops yielded 200 pounds of produce, which were donated to the Squirrel Hill Community Food Pantry.

p Following the recent mask order, Jewish Community of Greater Pittsburgh James and Rachel Levinson Day Camp staff began making masks out of old J&R T-shirts.

Photo courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh

p We vine-ally reached the top.

Photo courtesy of Rachel Kudrick

NCJW Pittsburgh Section annual meeting Final Friday night service After 32 years leading Temple Sinai, Rabbi Jamie Gibson enjoyed a final Friday night send-off on June 19. The Shabbat program featured two services, an earlier family service followed by the regular Friday night service, and was separated by a light show interlude.

p Sheila Katz, the CEO of NCJW, Inc was the keynote speaker at the NCJW Pittsburgh Section Virtual Annual Meeting held June 16.

Photo courtesy of NCJW Pittsburgh Section

Summer camp at home Due to COVID-19, Camp Stone, a religious Zionist summer camp located in Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania, helped campers enjoy familiar summer activities at home.

p Barbara Gibson, left, and Rabbi Gibson recite the kiddush

p Members of the Swedarsky family partake in the Chutz. Photo courtesy of Joshua Swedarsky

Macher and Shaker Leah Berman-Kress was recently featured in Pulse@Chatham, the university’s digital magazine. Berman-Kress, a Chatham University student, was recognized for her efforts in founding Chatham’s Jewish Student Association. The Jewish group was awarded the university’s Outstanding New Student Organization Award in the spring of 2020. p Rabbi Gibson holds a tallit during the final Friday night service.

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Photos by Dale Lazar

Photo courtesy of Leah Berman-Kress

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JULY 10, 2020 23

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