Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 9-18-20

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September 18, 2020 | 29 Elul 5780

Candlelighting 7:05 p.m. | Havdalah 8:00 p.m. | Vol. 63, No. 38 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Temple Ohav Shalom goes high tech Newfangled video equipment enhances services Page 4

LOCAL Traveling Torah unites communities

Locals find creative ways to celebrate an unusual High Holiday season

For the holidays, go ahead and sing a song, sing out loud — but do it safely

Temple Sinai forges friendship with Milan congregation

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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F her Pittsburgh kitchen, making foods like tabouleh, kibbeh cake and tilapia with tahini sauce, to replicate the tastes of the High Holidays back home. The Mexican couple moved to Pittsburgh a few years ago so Eduardo could pursue a doctorate at Carnegie Mellon University and Yafa could earn her master’s at Chatham University. They often return to Mexico for many of the Jewish holidays, but with the pandemic this year, they’re on their own. “I miss my family in Mexico a lot,” said Yafa. “But also, it’s interesting to see how different the traditions are here, how they call the ingredients, how they make the prayers.”

or years, Elli Kanal of Squirrel Hill has helped lead Shabbat services at Congregation Poale Zedeck. Like others in the rotation, Kanal typically chooses melodies that invite harmonization. As he prepares for this year’s High Holidays, however, Kanal will be changing his tune to conform with COVID-19 safety mandates. During conversations with Rabbi Daniel Yolkut of Poale Zedeck and the congregation’s medical advisory team, Kanal has discussed everything from mask wearing protocols to placement during outdoor High Holiday prayers. Kanal said that he’ll follow the congregation’s recommendations and strive to sing tunes that evoke seasonal themes but don’t encourage the congregation to join in because communal singing in close quarters can be a superspreading event. In a report from Emory Healthcare, a division of Emory University, clinicians noted that because COVID-19 spreads through the inhalation of air droplets, and singing, or using a loud voice, produces these droplets,

Please see Creative, page 22

Please see Singers, page 22

LOCAL On the road

 Malori Asman’s grandson, Riley Herman, now 8, throws rocks into the Gulf of Mexico at sunset for tashlich in Rosemary Beach, Florida, in 2016. Photo by Erin Herman By Kayla Steinberg | Digital Content Manager

A once-in-a-lifetime RV adventure Page 6

B

efore she died, Eduardo Schnadower’s grandmother taught her maid how to cook kibbeh cake with mole, a Mexican twist on the Middle Eastern dish. That maid continued the legacy, using those same recipes to whip up High Holiday meals that brought the family’s Syrian Jewish traditions to life in Mexico. Meanwhile, Yafa Schnadower scrambled to write down her own grandmother’s Syrian Jewish recipes — her family eschewed measurements in favor of generalities like “just pour some sugar” or “add a little of this.” She eventually got something down on paper. This year, Yafa will carry on tradition in

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Headlines With services now online, Temple Ohav Shalom invests in ‘cutting edge’ tech — LOCAL — By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

A

state-of-the-art electronic communications system has arrived at Temple Ohav Shalom — and it’s making a rather big splash. The Allison Park-based Reform congregation gave the new system a test run or two during services recently, though it had undergone several dry runs prior to those services, according to Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt, the congregation’s spiritual leader. The system had been envisioned by Weisblatt since his days serving as a rabbi in Chicago, well before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and changed the delivery of most non-Orthodox religious services. Weisblatt took the pulpit at Temple Ohav Shalom in 2017. The system was purchased through Ohav Shalom’s building fund, officials said. As of press time, the congregation was still waiting for the final parts to arrive. “My role was to recognize that streaming and virtual participation is not just shortterm but what our long-term programming and branding will look like,” said Ken Eisner, Ohav Shalom’s board president. “We were not at the cutting edge — so I made this recommendation.” The new system includes a highly mobile but operatorless camera and equipment that allows for improved, interactive streaming capabilities, said board member Yuval Kossovsky, a Franklin Park resident who grew up in Squirrel Hill and has been a member of Ohav Shalom for about five

p Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt

years. The camera the congregation has ordered is preloaded with artificial intelligence, meaning it will be able to intuitively track the rabbi or cantorial assistant when

Photo by Tracy Brien Photography

they’re walking around the bimah, no matter how far apart they stand. “Everybody says, ‘I’ve seen ones that have the static camera, the OK sound,’”

Kossovsky said. “But we wanted to do something different.” The new system allows for congregants participating via Zoom, FaceTime, Microsoft Teams or any major streaming medium to also be singled out for inclusion in a service — say, during a Torah reading or for becoming a bar or bat mitzvah, officials said. It also has the capabilities of “virtual tefillot,” allowing participants to follow religious texts like the Torah on screen as the rabbi or others are reading or giving a sermon. “We’re trying to make it a fully interactive, immersive experience,” Weisblatt said. “It’s a new way of interacting in worship. You’re really trying to engage the congregation.” Though the mobile cameras were not cheap — precise figures were not disclosed to the Chronicle — Kossovsky stressed other equipment was highly affordable. “We got this little box that gives you the abilities of the three-camera board, for literally less than $500 — that’s insane,” Kossovsky said. Weisblatt has told congregants tuning in virtually to set up their computers in special places where they typically do not spend lots of time in order to make the worship significant and distinct. He likes to think of those locations as he is leading his congregation in prayer, he said. “I like to imagine that I’m worshipping alongside the congregation,” Weisblatt said. “How can what we’re showing bring that experience alive? I welcome that challenge.”  PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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Headlines Temple Sinai Torah headed to Milan unites congregations — LOCAL — By Justin Vellucci |Special to the Chronicle

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local synagogue Torah is taking a trip outside Pittsburgh. A 4,279mile, one-way trip, to be exact. Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill is donating one of its roughly half-dozen Torahs to a Reform congregation in Milan, Italy. It all started with Rabbi Jamie Gibson, who retired in June after 32 years leading the Squirrel Hill Reform Judaism congregation. To honor Gibson, congregants hired a scribe to handwrite a new Torah, a one- to two-year process, in his honor, said Drew Barkley, the temple’s executive director. When some members learned of the plan, a few wondered if the congregation needed an additional Torah. “We thought, ‘Oh, that’s a good question!’” Barkley laughed. “Some synagogues are lucky to have one. We have five or six, each with a unique history. So, we thought, maybe we should donate one of our existing Torahs.” Enter Lynn Magid Lazar. Lazar’s been attending services at Temple Sinai for more than 20 years and also serves as a board member of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. The latter organization, which prides itself on its ability to get Torahs to communities that need them, found Temple Sinai a recipient in need in Italy:

p Soferet Linda Coppleson examines the Torah scroll recently started at Temple Sinai. Photo by Dave Rullo

Congregation Lev Chadash. “It’s like having a pen pal assigned to you,” Barkley said. “Everyone here said, ‘Milan, Italy? I’m going to that one.’ Everyone was making plane reservations before we hung up the phone!” Though COVID-19 has put a halt on those plans, Temple Sinai officials said they still are very much looking forward to hand delivering the Torah to the Italian congregation and taking part in the ceremonial passing of the religious text.

on the subject. “These are the most extroverted, friendliest, warmest people,” Barkley said. The groups started exchanging notes of friendship, too. “In Pesach, we like to think that the sea opened and we were free, but the story does not end with the sea closing on the Egyptians,” wrote Lev Chadash board president Aldo Luperini, discussing the struggle in the U.S. with COVID-19. “It was necessary to cross the desert before we were completely free. With patience and one step after another, we will soon be able to gather.” Temple Sinai, in turn, has been preparing for the Torah to pass over the Atlantic Ocean. Members of the congregation are working on a needlepoint mantle for the donated Torah, designed by a member. Temple Sinai members also are focusing on the writing of the new Rabbi Gibsoninspired Torah by a female soferet. The scroll will be one of only 21 worldwide, and Pittsburgh’s first, created by a woman. And earlier this year, the Temple Sinai community aimed to collect 304,805 pennies — one for each Hebrew letter in the Torah. “We’re doing a very good job of keeping it in the minds and hearts of our community,” Lazar said.  PJC

“It’s a powerful, powerful thing, to see the exchange, to see the Torah get passed from one group to another,” said Lazar, who saw an exchange in Israel and also the repatriation of a Torah to southeast Asia. Then, a friendship bloomed. Though about nine in every 10 American Jews are Ashkenazi, most observant Jews at Lev Chadash in Milan are Sephardic and the two sides bonded over a common love: food. The Italian counterparts even led Zoom sessions Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living JC BrainHearing DementiaFIN_Eartique 9/14/20 4:28 PM Page 1 for about 70 Temple Sinai congregants in Pittsburgh.

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SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 5

Headlines Have RV will travel: Pittsburgh millennial leaves behind apartment for life on the open road

p Brett Weinberger and her ride

— LOCAL — By David Rullo | Staff Writer

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or Brett Weinberger, it is the journey that matters. The 25-year-old recently ditched her apartment in New York’s East Village and her bedroom view of a brick wall for an RV and a plan to see as much of the United States as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Weinberger, a Pittsburgh native, is a procurement manager for Freshly, a prepared meals company. In March, Freshly decided its employees should work from home due to the novel coronavirus. “That was the weekend where everything went crazy in the U.S.,” said Weinberger. “All of my friends were leaving the city, fleeing, going wherever they could to get out because it was so bad in New York —and I was in the epicenter at the time.” She decided to give up the month-tomonth lease she had in New York City and headed back to Pittsburgh — temporarily. Rather than do what many millennials have done during COVID-19 and move back in with her parents until Freshly called her back into the office, Weinberger opted to buy an RV and continue to fulfill one of her passions: travel. “I decided to take this opportunity to do something while we have this freedom,” she said. “I love Pittsburgh but I have the flexibility right now. I don’t have a family or anything tying me down. I want to be elsewhere and see more of the United States.” Before the pandemic, Weinberger’s wanderlust led her to visit 27 different countries, taking in stops in the Caribbean, Central America, Europe and Southeast Asia. Through that travel, she realized she prefers to stay in youth hostels rather than fancy hotels to be “closer to the culture,” she said. Because of her passion for seeing the world — and the fact that she owns minimal material possessions due to life in a small apartment in New York City — an RV seemed the perfect situation.

6 SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

Photo provided by Brett Weinberger

“I realized, why not travel as much as I can, given the restrictions,” she said. “So, I’ll explore the United States, even though I can’t go to Canada and who knows what the restrictions will be for Mexico. I figured the RV is the best way to go.” RV sales, which had been declining in 2019, saw a spike in 2020 as travelers became wary of flying because of the pandemic. When the country began opening back up in May, RV sales saw a 170% increase in some areas compared to the same time period last year, according to the RV Industry Association. This bump in sales complicated things for Weinberger, who was new to the RV universe. “Growing up, we never even camped in an RV,” she said. She began looking at various websites like RV Trader and RV Share but had a difficult time finding an RV that met her needs. “Everyone had this idea, so all the ones I had looked at were selling like crazy,” said Weinberger. “Even if I found one, by the time I called the dealership or went and saw it, by the next day it was already gone.” She eventually found one in Ohio. “It’s bigger than a camper van and has all of the amenities I would need to be able to comfortably live and work from,” she said. “That’s the big one. I need to be able to work from whatever setting I put myself into.” Weinberger next had to acquaint herself with the necessities of RV life, becoming an expert on things like sewage tanks, hoses, elbows and blocks to keep the vehicle level. She plans to begin her travels in October and to stay at various state parks during her trek, which she has already begun to map out. So far, she has plans to visit the Finger Lakes, Mammoth Cave and the Great Smoky Mountains. “After that, I’m going to work my way toward Texas,” she said, adding that she plans to eventually end up in the West. She intends to follow the weather and head where it’s warm. Some amenities she will need on her Please see RV, page 23

p Weinberger takes in an old-school phone booth in London Photo provided by Brett Weinberger

p Weinberger gets close with an elephant in Thailand

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Photo provided by Brett Weinberger

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SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 7

Calendar >>Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions also will 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.

facebook.com/moishehouse.pittsburgh. q WEDNESDAYS, SEPT. 23, 30

Join Temple David for a Drive-in Shofar Experience, in the synagogue parking lot, on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Families can bring snacks and celebrate Rosh Hashanah 5781 with an in-person shofar service while remaining in their car. 2 p.m. For more information, visit templedavid.org.

Before you are ready, they will be here. The great days. The awe-inspiring opportunities for human renewal afforded to us each year. This time they will be challenging. Feeling inspiration away from synagogue and community will be hard. So, preparation is needed. Join Rabbi Danny Schiff for Readiness: The Tishrei Holyday Seminars. Learn about Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, and what they each have to offer in this unprecedented year. All three sessions are just $18. 9:30 a.m. To register, visit foundation.jewishpgh.org.

q SUNDAYS, SEPT. 20, 27; OCT. 4, 11, 18

q THURSDAY, SEPT. 24

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.

Classrooms Without Borders, in partnership with Rodef Shalom Congregation and the Maltz Museum of Jewish heritage, present “Eva: A-7063” and a post-film discussion with Michael Berenbaum and film director Ted Green. 3 p.m. Educators attending this program are eligible to receive Pennsylvania Act 48 continuing education credits. RSVP at classroomswithoutborder.org.

q SUNDAY, SEPT. 20

q MONDAYS, SEPT. 21, 28; OCT. 5, 12, 19 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. q TUESDAY, SEPT. 22 The High Holidays are traditionally the time to atone for harm caused in the past year but how should we go about doing that? When does it make sense to apologize for something that happened months ago and what does that look like? Join Moishe House Pittsburgh for How to Apologize: A Discussion. 7 p.m. For more information and to register, visit

The University of Pittsburgh Jewish Studies Program in partnership with the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, the Department of Theatre Arts and the Film and Media Studies Program presents “Warsaw’s Most Beloved Jew: The Prewar and Postwar Celebrity of Lopek-Krukowski.” 5:30 p.m. For more information and to register, visit calendar.pitt. edu/department/jewish_studies_program. The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is looking for volunteers to check in with the community’s most vulnerable members. Sign up for

WHETHER A VIRUS OR TERRORISTS, ISRAELIS DEPEND ON ONE ORGANIZATION WHEN LIVES NEED SAVING.

a one-hour shift and help make someone feel good. 10 a.m. To register, visit jfedpgh.org.

commemoration. 12 p.m. For more information and to register for this free event, visit hcofpgh.org.

q MONDAY, SEPT. 28

q THURSDAYS, OCT. 15; DEC. 3; FEB. 18; MARCH 18; MAY 6; JUNE 17

Break your Yom Kippur fast with a kosher and vegan-friendly meal in Moishe House Pittsburgh’s backyard. To allow guests to eat six feet apart, attendance will be capped at five households/pods. Advance registration is required. 7:30 p.m. For more information and to register, visit facebook.com/ moishehouse.pittsburgh. 7:30 p.m. q THURSDAY, OCT. 1 What are the foundational elements that make up the story of Israel, and what are some of the key questions that Israel contends with as it continues to grow and develop in a shifting regional and international reality? Find out during the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s “A Small Country & Some Big Questions — Israel from the 20th to the 21st Centuries” with Scott Copeland, vice president of education at Onward Israel. 12 p.m. Visit jewishpgh.org for more information and to register. q WEDNESDAY, OCT. 7 The Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh presents the film “Dwelling in Traveling: Jews in Calcutta” and a Zoom discussion with director Subha Das Mollick and author Jael Silliman. 8 p.m. q WEDNESDAYS, OCT. 7, 14, 21, 28; NOV. 4, 11 The 21st century is already 20 years old. In that time, the Reform movement has produced more responsa than any other non-Orthodox movement. What have these pieces taught us about 21st century Judaism? In 21 C Reform Responsa, Jewish Community Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff will examine two decades of responsa for their statements about contemporary Judaism. Six sessions for $30. 11 a.m. To register, visit foundation.jewishpgh.org. q MONDAYS, OCT. 12; NOV. 9; DEC. 14 Join Classrooms Without Borders in Israel — virtually. Monthly tours with guide and scholar, Rabbi Jonty Blackman, via Zoom. 7 p.m. For more information and to register, visit classroomswithoutborders.org. q TUESDAY, OCT. 13 Join the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Pittsburgh Holocaust Center for Preserving Holocaust History through Artifacts, Archives and Research, a live digital program, exclusive to the Pittsburgh community, featuring the Museum’s National Institute for Holocaust Documentation and its work to collect, preserve, and make accessible to the public this vast collection of records of the Holocaust and support the museum’s wide-ranging efforts in the areas of research, exhibition, publication, education and

Israel’s emergency medical service has been on the front lines in the fight against coronavirus while also contending with terrorist attacks, car accidents, and other threats to Israeli lives.

We live in a time of multiple challenges. Controversial issues and struggles confront us daily. But the truth is that Jews have never desisted from addressing tough problems. In this year’s Continuing Legal Education Series, Jewish Community Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff will dive into a range of “tense topics” — difficult and troubling issues that are both powerfully emotional subjects and have substantive legal ramifications at the same time. Get up to 12 CLE ethics credits. With CLE/CEU credit: $30/session or $180 all sessions; without CLE/CEU credit: $25/session or $150 all sessions. 8:30 a.m. For more information and to register, visit foundation.jewishpgh.org. q FRIDAY, OCT. 16 The Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh presents on Zoom a Work in Progress Colloquium “The Pornography of Fools: Antisemitism and Sexual Fantasy” with Aidan Beatty at 1 p.m. q SUNDAY, OCT. 18 The Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh presents the annual Israel Heritage Room lecture. This year’s topic is “The Making of Shtisel” by director and co-creator Yehonatan Indursky. 2 p.m. q SUNDAYS, OCT. 18, 25; NOV. 1, 8, 15, 22; DEC. 6; JAN. 31; FEB. 7, 14, 21, 28; MARCH 7, 14 What does Jewish tradition have to say about God, Torah, mitzvot, suffering, messiah, Israel…? In this special course, Pittsburgh Rabbis on Jewish Belief, Jewish Community Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff will host 14 Pittsburgh rabbis, each teaching a session on fundamental aspects of Jewish belief. Fourteen sessions for $70. 10 a.m. For more information and to register, visit foundation. jewishpgh.org. q MONDAYS, OCT. 19, 26; NOV. 2, 9, 16, 30; DEC. 7; FEB. 1, 8, 15, 22; MARCH 1, 8, 15 Most people associate the term “Haftarah” with opaque prophetic reading on Shabbat morning. This course, “Haftarah,” will attempt to make the opaque sparkle. Choosing selectively from the most interesting Haftarah portions, Jewish Community Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff will seek to imbue meaning in these powerful prophetic passages. Fourteen sessions for $70. 9:30 a.m. For more information and to register, visit foundation. jewishpgh.org. PJC

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But Magen David Adom is not government-funded. Its 25,000 EMTs and paramedics, most of them volunteers, rely on support from people like you for the supplies and equipment they need to perform their lifesaving work. No gift will help Israel more in these difficult times. Keep the people of Israel strong this coming year. Donate to Magen David Adom. Shanah Tovah. Give today at afmda.org/rosh or call 866.632.2763.

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Headlines Jewish sisterhood at CMU and Pitt’s Hillel big/little program help new students connect

Unprecedented times.

Kayla Steinberg | Digital Content Manager

p Achayot did havdalah and then went to see ‘Little Women’ in February. Photo courtesy of Tahlia Altgold

— LOCAL —

W

hen Tahlia Altgold came to Carnegie Mellon University, she discovered that a sizeable chunk of its already small Jewish community was built to exclude her. The historically Jewish fraternity AEPi, big at CMU, had no counterpart on campus for women. It wasn’t always that way. Jewish sorority AEPhi was the first national sorority to answer CMU’s call for Greek life on campus in the 1940s, explained Alex Zissman, the Jack G. Buncher director of Jewish Student Life at CMU. But it disappeared decades later and hasn’t returned.

Zissman and students had looked into bringing AEPhi back to CMU or starting a chapter of SAEPi, a national, independent Jewish sorority. But the downsides of Greek life — like dues and membership quotas — left Altgold and other Jewish women on campus wanting something Greek-like instead of Greek life itself. They started to form a tight-knit community and put on events sponsored by Hillel JUC. Eventually, they made it official, and Achayot Shel Carnegie Mellon (Sisters of Carnegie Mellon) was born. CMU’s Jewish sisterhood offers a built-in structure for connection that Altgold hopes Please see Sisterhood, page 23

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SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 9

Headlines Game created by Squirrel Hill moms helps families communicate

GLOBAL Challenge ISRAEL Needs Us Now INVEST IN ISRAEL BONDS Today GLOBAL Challenge

thanks to a grant from the organization, Schwarcz and Gilboa distributed 500 free copies of Family Spinner among Pittsburgh’s By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer three Jewish day schools. Follow-up conversations were held with the s partners in Family families who played. Spinner, a deliber“We fou nd mo st ately low-tech game, profoundly an outcome creators Dr. Deborah Gilboa that we were hoping for but and Ilana Schwarcz, both needed to prove,” said Gilboa. Squirrel Hill moms, have Along with confirming long promoted its usefulness that the game helped kids as a mechanism to foster remain at the table longer communication, closeness during mealtime, follow-up and understanding between research with participants people. Since the pandemic p Dr. Deborah Gilboa showed that Family Spinner holds a Family Spinner. began months ago, though, Photo courtesy of Jen Carl provided young users with Family Spinner has taken on skills for managing their greater value by providing an own mental health and entry point for more difficult resilience as teenagers and conversations, said Gilboa, a adults, added Gilboa. family practice physician. Schwarcz and Gilboa COVID-19 has changed moved forward with bigger the way families interact with plans for the game, meeting each other and their willwith lawyers, graphic ingness to talk about certain designers, engineers, illustrachallenges. While it once tors and looking at factories. may have been common COVID-19 has delayed the Ilana Schwarcz for parents to refrain from p process, but results are Photo courtesy of Ilana Schwarcz asking their children about underway. Eat’n Park particular fears or failures, Hospitality Group ordered parents are now becoming 75,000 games for distribumore emboldened, tion at their restaurants and Gilboa explained. plans on hosting a launch Initiating tough interevent soon, said Schwarcz, generational conversations and it will soon be included isn’t always easy, but on Amazon Prime. Family Spinner is a useful “It’s important for me to tool for doing so, said be on Amazon Prime for Schwarcz, an editor. two reasons,” said Schwarcz. The game provides users p “It has worldwide reach, Family Spinner prompts for addressing Photo courtesy of Ilana Schwarcz and also, I don’t have to various topics, including be up at 5 a.m. on my back “Gratitude,” “Victory,” “Kindness,” “Highlight,” porch fulfilling orders, which is what “Compliment” “Choice,” “Lowlight” and I’m doing now.” “Challenge.” Play begins by spinning a plastic For all her efforts, Schwarcz has yet to arrow until it points to one of eight prompts on collect a salary on the endeavor. To date, she the circular gameboard. has invested $30,000 in Family Spinner, and The idea for Family Spinner began said that about $15,000 has gone toward legal almost five years ago when Schwarcz found fees, copyrights, trademarks and establishing Harold F. Marcus, Executive Director herself struggling to speak with her then the partnership with Gilboa, while the other 5-year-old son. $15,000 has paid for prototype production. Adrienne Indianer, Registered Representative “He had a hard time talking to us at the “It took me a very long time to find a relidinner table. And it’s not that he didn’t want able factory in China to work with. I don’t 6507 Wilkins Ave, Suite 101 to, but he didn’t have the skills,” said Schwarcz. speak Chinese and I couldn’t go to China,” An early model of the game facilitated said Schwarcz. 412.362.5154 | 800.362.2669 dialogue between parent and child, and The game has undergone considerable This is not an offering, which can be made only by prospectus. Read the prospectus allowed Schwarcz’s son to learn what was development during the past five years, and pittsburgh@israelbonds.com carefully before investing to fully evaluate the risks associated with investing ingoing on in his parents’ lives, said Schwarcz. although Family Spinner isn’t yet listed on “He was really surprised to learn that Amazon’s site, interested parties can order Israel bonds. Issues subject to availability. Member FINRA. Photo: Adobe Stock Mommy and Daddy had failures and happy the game for $9.95 from familyspinner.com, times and successes.” Schwarcz said. Schwarcz wanted others to enjoy the The game may be particularly useful experience of open communication as during the holidays — when families well, so she got in touch with Gilboa, a might be spending more time together — This is not an offering, which can be made only by prospectus. Read the friend and parenting mentor, who immedi- to help enrich and engender meaningful prospectus carefully before investing to fully evaluate the risks associated ately fell in love with the game and joined conversations, she added.  PJC with investing in Israel bonds. Issues subject to availability. Schwarcz as a partner. Member FINRA. Photo: Adobe Stock Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ The two reached out to the Jewish Healthcare Foundation for assistance, and pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Bahrain will normalize ties with Israel, Trump announces — WORLD — By Ron Kampeas | JTA

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ahrain will normalize ties with Israel at a White House ceremony next week, President Donald Trump said on Twitter, less than a month after the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalize ties with the Jewish state. Trump said at the White House that he believed more Arab nations would soon sign on to normalization with Israel, and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner outlined a strategy to the dealmaking: Removing the issue of Palestine as a top priority for Arabs and Muslims, as it has been for decades. “Another HISTORIC breakthrough today!” Trump exclaimed in his Twitter announcement. “Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain agree to a Peace Deal — the second Arab country to make peace with Israel in 30 days!” He attached to another tweet a joint statement of the United States, Bahrain and Israel. Bahrain and to a lesser extent the UAE have had informal relations with Israel for years. Last year, Bahrain hosted a summit unveiling the economic portion of the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal — Kushner, Trump’s Jewish son-in-law, was its architect — and allowed

Israeli journalists to cover the event. But official normalization of ties is a significant advance for Israel’s ambition to make peace with its Middle Eastern neighbors, and for the Trump administration’s Middle East policy. Trump in a White House appearance after the announcement said he expected more states to sign on. “As more countries normalize relations with Israel, which will happen quite quickly we believe, the region will become more and more stable, secure and prosperous,” Trump said. Kushner in a briefing with reporters said the overall strategy was one of unlatching Muslim and Arab lands from their attachment to the Palestinian cause, which he believes will help nudge the Palestinians toward a deal. “I think that this will help reduce tensions in the Muslim world and allow people to separate the Palestinian issue from their own national interests and from their foreign policy, which should be focused on their domestic priorities, and so I think you’re going to continue to see momentum,” he said. The statement pledged that the parties would continue to seek a “just, comprehensive and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” It also said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa

Israeli officials were absent. “Bahrain was very forward-leaning and inviting Israelis and people from throughout the region — we had all the leading businesspeople there,” he said. Kushner said he had a Torah written in the king’s honor in gratitude for hosting the event. He kept insisting that prior to his initiatives, Bahrain and Israel had few exchanges, although this is not the case. “There has not been a lot of interaction between Israel and Bahrain and p President Donald Trump speaks with we’ve been able to broker this breakBahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin through at the leadership level,” he said. Isa al-Khalifa in the Oval Office, Sept. 16, 2019. In fact, Bahrain has been hosting Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images via JTA Israeli delegations since the Madrid “express their deep appreciation to President process launched by the George H. W. Bush Trump for his dedication to peace in the administration in the early 1990s, and since region.” Trump was nominated last week for the mid-2000s has shared informal intellia Nobel Peace Prize for the UAE deal. gence and commercial ties, in part because The Trump administration is discussing with both nations perceive a dire threat from Iran. the UAE the possibility of selling the monarchy Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the executive vice advanced stealth combat aircraft — something president of the Washington-based American that Israel and Democrats in Congress oppose. Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), helped Asked on the briefing call whether there were advance relations between the countries in any such incentives for Bahrain, Kushner the mid-2000s by bringing together Bahraini suggested that none were needed because and Israeli officials, including ambassadors Bahrain was eager to solidify ties with Israel. to Washington, the foreign minister, and the He noted that when Bahrain hosted the king, at events, privately and then in public. event last year to promote investment in the Chabad for the past five years has had a Palestinian areas, the country invited private Israeli businessmen to attend, although Please see Bahrain, page 17

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Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Biden leads Trump 67-30 among Jewish voters, survey finds

A survey of Jewish voters shows 67% plan to vote for Joe Biden in November and 30% plan to vote for Donald Trump. The numbers in the survey released Monday by the Jewish Electorate Institute broke the same way when voters were asked about President Trump’s performance: 67% said they disapprove and 30% said they approve. The survey suggested gains for Trump among Jewish voters since 2016, when Hillary Clinton won 71% of the vote to Trump’s 24%. Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate in 2012, won 30% of the Jewish vote, the highest for a Republican since the 1980s. However, support among Trump voters appears to be relatively soft. Just 64% of the respondents who said they approve of Trump said they strongly approved, while 92% of those who disapproved said they strongly disapproved. Respondents ranked Biden as better on handling a range of issues, including anti-Semitism and the rise of white nationalism, 67-26; the coronavirus pandemic, 66-24; security of the Jewish community, 55-29; and U.S.-Israel relations, 46-32. Voters ranked healthcare, the economy

12 SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

and the response to the coronavirus as their most important issues. Lowest ranked out of 19 issues asked about in the poll were Israel, Iran and “Support of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Nonetheless, 88% of respondents said they were pro-Israel. Analysts have long believed that Jewish voters rank Israel low as an electoral issue when they believe both nominees will pursue a pro-Israel policy. The online survey of 810 voters was carried out Sept. 2-7 by the Garin Hart Yang research group. The Jewish Electorate Institute is nonpartisan, although its leadership is comprised almost entirely of Jews who have been active in Democratic politics.

Conference of Presidents Decides Not to Decide on ZOA

The main foreign policy umbrella for the U.S. Jewish community came to a decision to not come to a decision on whether its members inappropriately disparage one another. Earlier this year, HIAS, the Jewish community’s lead immigration advocacy group, accused the Zionist Organization of America, its fellow member of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, of disparagement. ZOA president Mort Klein had, among other things, said HIAS was not a Jewish organization. HIAS sought redress under the Conference’s rules, which could result in anything from a reprimand to the ZOA’s ouster.

Other groups cheered and called Klein racist. Klein countered by accusing the groups of disparagement for calling him a racist, and filing his own complaint against an array of groups. The Conference told members on Monday that it had suspended its adjudication process and dismissed all pending complaints. The Statement on Public Discourse, which bans constituents from disparaging one another, remains in effect, but is for now unenforceable, said the note from the Conference’s CEO, William Daroff. The committee that adjudicated complaints, the Process and Procedures Committee, last week unanimously voted to suspend its adjudication of violations of the Statement on Public Discourse and to dismiss all outstanding complaints. The Conference’s executive then affirmed that decision. The entire 50-plus membership of the conference will meet later this year to reaffirm the decision. “These decisions reflect the recognition that while the Statement’s goal of promoting organizational comity is laudable, as currently formulated, it is not practically enforceable by the Conference,” Daroff said in the note. “In addition, the enforcement process results in more communal division than unity, and significant Conference time and resources are consumed by enforcement matters.” Daroff ’s statement said the conference intends “to explore other models to promote civil communal discourse over

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the months ahead.” An insider told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the Statement on Public Discourse as it stands is too vague and overly susceptible to multiple interpretations of what does and does not constitute disparagement and that the process of adjudication is too long and involved. The Conference would examine other umbrella bodies adjudication procedures, said the insider, citing Chambers of Commerce as an example.

Tombstones vandalized at 3 Jewish cemeteries in Poland

About 20 tombstones were damaged at a Jewish cemetery in Zabrze in southern Poland, the third case of vandalism at a Polish Jewish cemetery this month. Dariusz Walerjanski, who has maintained the cemetery for 30 years, described what he said was an act of vandalism in a Facebook post on Sept. 11. In photos he posted online, several of the stones appeared to have broken. “After many years of peace and tolerance, and understanding for the place where the dead rest, an act of vandalism was committed. It’s a rude act of stupidity. I can’t find an answer for why someone planned and did it,” he wrote. Police are searching for the perpetrators, he added. Last week, a 19th century tombstone at the Jewish cemetery in Tarnowskie Gory, near Please see Briefs, page 27

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Headlines A California state senator is facing anti-Semitic and homophobic attacks — as well as death threats — NATIONAL — By Ben Sales | JTA

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his has been a difficult month for Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco in the California State Senate, and not just because he’s running for reelection. Wiener has been the target of death threats on social media (“I’ll publicly execute you,” one reads), according to screenshots of posts he shared on Twitter, and says he’s been doxxed, his home address posted online. He’s been called a pedophile thousands of times — in hashtags, direct messages and comments on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And because he’s Jewish and gay, Wiener has borne the brunt of unrelenting anti-Semitic and homophobic comments and posts. One that has made the rounds in recent days before being removed from Instagram featured a crudely doctored image showing Wiener with an elongated nose and wearing the garb and hairstyle of an Orthodox Jew. The barrage is coming from believers in QAnon, the sweeping, false conspiracy theory that Democrats run a pedophile ring

that President Donald Trump is secretly battling. Anti-Semitism, including the claim that rich Jews secretly control the world, is a recurring feature of the conspiracy. The movement has grown in recent months with people spending more time online, its adherents winning nominating contests for public office and Trump declining to condemn it. In one prominent example, a Republican congressional candidate who has embraced the movement, Marjorie Taylor Greene, won her Georgia primary with the eager backing of the president. “It’s been really extreme and hard,” Wiener told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about the onslaught he’s experienced. “It’s been pretty consistent. No matter what I post about, there are an enormous number of comments calling me a pedophile, and it’s very disheartening that this is what the country has come to, that we have this cult, QAnon, that is gradually taking over the Republican Party.” Wiener, 50, a Democrat who was first elected in 2016, said his Jewish identity has made him a target before, and he pointed to Trump’s leadership as a factor. “In that world, it’s sort of par for the course,” he said. “You attack the Jews, and that’s been unleashed under this president.” Why is Wiener being called a pedophile? It’s because he introduced a bill that

Did You Know?

Hebrew Burial Association –Chesed Shel EmethShaler Township

For more information about the JCBA, to inquire about plot purchases, to view full histories, to volunteer, and/or to make a contribution please visit our website at www.jcbapgh.org, email us at jcbapgh@gmail.com or call the JCBA at 412-553-6469. JCBA’s expanded vision is made possible by a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community Foundation

The Hebrew Burial Association (also known as Chesed Shel Emeth of Pittsburgh) was organized ca. 1853 to provide orthodox burials for the deceased of needy families. The association was among the original beneficiaries of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh in 1912.

has consensual sex with their 17 1/2-year-old partner, the 19-year-old can be prosecuted — but a judge can decide that the 19-year-old does not have to register as a sex offender. California law, however, states that adults who are prosecuted for having anal or oral sex with a minor must automatically be registered as a sex offender, no matter the circumstances or what the judge thinks. Effectively, Wiener and his allies say, the current law discriminates against teenage LGBTQ couples. So Wiener’s bill, SB-145, corrects the disparity and leaves the decision to the judge about sex offender status. The bill, which has passed the State Senate and is awaiting the governor’s signature, does not allow pedophilia. But its content and author, Wiener, are flypaper to QAnon adherents, who view themselves as part of an imagined global effort to combat sex abuse of children. Opponents are mischaracterizing the measure, falsely saying that it legalizes pedophilia or allows a 24-year-old to rape a 14-year-old without consequences. Though untrue, the accusations have spread, and mischaracterizations of the bill have been amplified by random social media accounts as well as national figures

p California state Sen. Scott Wiener speaks at the Lambda Legal West Coast Liberty Awards in Beverly Hills, California, in 2018. Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images via JTA

removes a disparity regarding who has to register as a sex offender. Under California law, the age of consent is 18. If one has vaginal sex with a minor who is older than 14 and within 10 years of their age, judges have discretion as to whether that person should be registered as a sex offender. So, for example, if a 19-year-old

Please see Senator, page 17

May 5781 bring wholeness of body, mind and spirit to us and to all humanity.

Happy New Year

Ground for the Association’s “Old Cemetery” was purchased in 1853 on Seavy Road in Shaler Township. Land for the “New Cemetery” located on Oakwood Street, also in Shaler Township, was purchased in 1913 and is still in use. Three separate book burials were held in 2007, 2013, and 2018 for worn out and damaged sacred texts.

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Headlines Amid increasing COVID alarm, packed services held at Chabad’s Brooklyn headquarters — NATIONAL — By Philissa Cramer | JTA

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en packed into a late-night prayer service at Chabad’s main synagogue in Brooklyn this week, in violation of New York’s health rules and against the advice of local doctors. On Friday, Sept. 11, the Gedaliah Society, a collective of doctors that has been advising Orthodox Jews in Crown Heights during the coronavirus pandemic, issued a stern exhortation against attending services at the synagogue, located inside Chabad’s headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway. “Given the recent developments of continued positive cases in our community, many of which are associated with 770, and given the inherent crowded indoor mixing nature of 770, we strongly advise that all people avoid davening in 770 for the time being,” the doctors wrote in an update posted to their blog and amplified by multiple news sites serving the Crown Heights Orthodox community. “There is significant risk of contracting the virus in 770 currently.” Also on Friday, the synagogue’s managers decreed that masks would be required for anyone entering and said that a service on

p Worshippers danced late into the night at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn after Selichot services early on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. Screenshot of livestream via JTA

Saturday night would be limited to a small number of participants, according to the Orthodox news service COLlive. Photos showed piles of surgical masks ready to be distributed to visitors. Yet a livestream from the main synagogue at Chabad’s headquarters showed the cavernous space filled with men packed closely together during the Selichot service, which is traditionally held the Saturday

night before Rosh Hashanah. While some wore masks, many did not. The service did not conform to current New York health regulations, which allow houses of worship to operate at up to one-third of their capacity, provided that six feet of distance can be maintained between people from different households. (A lawsuit this summer argued that houses of worship should not be held to a higher standard than

other indoor gathering places; malls are currently allowed to operate at 50% capacity.) The gathering — which was likely the largest but by no means the only crowded service taking place Saturday night — comes as the number of cases appears to be on the rise in New York’s Orthodox communities, inducing fear about whether schools and synagogues can safely continue to operate. COVID tests in another heavily Orthodox Brooklyn neighborhood, Borough Park, have come back positive at more than four times the citywide rate recently, and large gatherings such as weddings have been eyed as a culprit in the virus’ spread there. 770 Eastern Parkway closed for the first time ever in March as the pandemic settled over New York City. Its reopening in June, which featured dense and largely unmasked crowds, was a sign that many in Brooklyn’s Orthodox communities felt the worst had passed. Local doctors and community leaders are now trying to shake that sense of security. “Over the past 24 hours we have become aware of multiple new cases of COVID here in Crown Heights, both in residents and those from out of town,” the Gedaliah Society posted early Sunday morning. “This represents for the first time since Purim a very worrisome surge in new cases.”  PJC

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and sweet year from the Board and Staff of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh William S. Goodman, Chair of the Board

14 SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

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Brian Schreiber, President and CEO

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The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh thanks the

Jewish Healthcare Foundation for its annual $900,000 block grant to the Federation to support our agencies’ work in the areas of aging and human needs. Our additional thanks for committing $2.5 million to the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh in support of our community during the COVID-19 crisis. We value our partnership with the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and hope your generosity inspires others.

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SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 15

Headlines A volunteer project in Chicago’s Orthodox community combines contact tracing with cultural competence — NATIONAL — By Shira Hanau | JTA

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s stores and synagogues began reopening in Chicago in June, Manya Treece, a social worker and mother, wanted to know whether it was safe for her to resume some of her normal activities, like letting her kids have play dates. As someone with a higher risk of serious illness from COVID, she “didn’t want to live in a bunker” until a vaccine came out, she said. But she also didn’t want to resume her regular activities if her community, in the city’s northern suburbs, was a hotbed of infections. So Treece started calling her town and state health departments and speaking to public health experts to learn more about how controlled the pandemic was in her Orthodox community. She learned that data wasn’t collected by religious groups — and was surprised when she spoke to a public health expert who said she feared that public health recommendations coming from governmental authorities might not be taken up in the Orthodox community. That was when Treece decided to take action herself, devising a contact tracing

system by and for Chicago’s Orthodox Jews tailored for the community’s particular needs. Community Covid Counter launched last week. Those needs, she realized, included making sure communications came from within the community. “You have to have someone they trust, like an influencer, just delivering the message,” she recalled the expert telling her, citing the Holocaust as one reason that Orthodox Jews are fearful of government interference and overreach. “At that point, I was like well maybe if someone is calling them from the community to figure out how to suppress the infection, then maybe they can also say well we can trust this process and it can also be encouragement from within the community.” The strategy behind Community Covid Counter is simple: Community members who have received a confirmed COVID diagnosis fill out an online questionnaire providing information about any Jewish communal events — including weddings, bar mitzvahs and synagogue services — they attended beginning two days before their first symptom until they received their positive test result. Volunteers then reach out to other community members who attended the same events, generally using a guest list from the hosts,

to let them know that someone at the event tested positive for COVID and to determine, based on their behavior there, whether they should quarantine or get a COVID test. The approach reflects the community’s needs in several ways. By acknowledging that large gatherings may be taking place — something that is being blamed for a resurgence of cases in New York City’s Orthodox communities right now — the project aims to open the door for public participation. “It’s very important that if someone says I was simcha dancing and heavily breathing on someone without a mask, that you don’t go oh, my God, but say, then I think it would be really good for you to isolate until you can test and get some results,” Treece said. And by not even recording the names of confirmed COVID cases in the community and keeping all personal information within a small group of trained volunteers from within the Orthodox community, the project is meant to stop the spread of COVID in a community whose trust in the health department and other government agencies can be particularly fraught. Volunteers who make calls to those who have had contact with people with COVID sign non-disclosure agreements and identify themselves with volunteer identification numbers rather than names.

“Parts of the Orthodox community that are very insular and have a very vivid memory of the Holocaust sense any government surveillance as a precursor to rounding people up,” Treece said. “There are concerns about government interference, what is the end goal and is this some sort of precursor to shutting down our way of life.” The project is not sharing information with local health departments. But it has received approbations from the state health department as well as local departments in Skokie, a Chicago suburb with a large Orthodox community, and in Cook County. The local rabbinical association also praised the project in a letter, calling it a resource for local rabbis and synagogues. Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt, the chief of infectious diseases and hospital epidemiologist at Mount Sinai South Nassau on New York’s Long Island and an assistant rabbi at the Young Israel of Woodmere, a large Orthodox synagogue, said community-based efforts are useful in encouraging people to follow medical guidelines. “Any community projects that stimulate people to follow the recommendations would be very helpful,” Glatt wrote in an email. “This includes community tracing pilots, local shuls keeping track of cases in Please see Chicago, page 17

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

Sept. 18, 1949 — Education Law is implemented

The Compulsory Education Law goes into effect. It requires all children ages 5 to 15 to attend school, provides free elementary education, and facilitates alternative public school systems for Arabs, religious Zionists and Haredi Jews.

Sept. 19, 1988 — Ofek 1 is launched

L’Shanah Tovah 5781 Rhoda Caplan Serbin and Marvin Serbin (z”l) Populated the world with kindness 5 daughters • 12 grandchildren 4 great-grandchildren

May your year be filled with health and positive thinking! 16 SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

Israel becomes the ninth nation with a proven satellite-launching capability when it sends the 340-pound Ofek 1 into Earth’s orbit from an undisclosed location near the Mediterranean Sea.

Sept. 20, 1890 — Poet Rahel Bluwstein is born

Rahel Bluwstein, considered the founding mother of modern Hebrew poetry, is born in Russia. She is one of the first modern poets to write in Hebrew in a conversational style.

Sept. 21, 2008 — Olmert resigns

Facing corruption charges on which he is later convicted, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resigns. After new Kadima leader Tzipi Livni

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can’t form a government, a Knesset election is held in February 2009, leading Benjamin Netanyahu to the prime minister’s office.

Sept. 22, 2000 — Poet Yehuda Amichai dies

Yehuda Amichai, the poet laureate of Jerusalem, dies of lymphoma at age 76. Themes of war, peace and loss are prominent in his poetry, which has been translated into more than 40 languages.

Sept. 23, 2003 — Diplomat Simcha Dinitz dies

Simcha Dinitz, whose long career as an Israeli diplomat included serving as ambassador to the United States from 1973 to 1978, dies at age 74. He helped secure an emergency airlift of U.S. weapons during the Yom Kippur War.

Sept. 24, 1950 — Operation Magic Carpet concludes

Two planes carrying 177 Jews to Israel from Aden mark the final flights of Operation Magic Carpet, the airlift of nearly 50,000 Jews from their ancient community in Yemen.  PJC

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Headlines Bahrain: Continued from page 11

presence in the United Arab Emirates. Shemtov told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the Jewish presence in both countries — Bahrain has a small indigenous Jewish community — helped pave the way for the breakthroughs in the past few weeks.

Senator: Continued from page 13

like Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and Donald Trump Jr. “Today’s CA Dems believe we need more adults having sex with children, and when they do, they shouldn’t register as sex offenders,� Cruz tweeted on Sept. 3. “This is extreme & very harmful to kids.� Trump Jr. falsely claimed that California Democrats are “pander[ing] to the wishes of pedophiles and child rapists.� Locally, meanwhile, opponents of the bill say that making penalties for anal and oral sex equivalent to those for vaginal sex

Chicago: Continued from page 16

their membership, and removing the stigma of being positive or exposed.�

“If Israel is merely viewed as a 70-year-old democratic intrusion in the Middle East, then the chances for peaceful coexistence are less,� he said. “If, however, one takes the view of Israel as the multi-millennial enterprise of the Jewish people, then the opportunities for peaceful coexistence and mutual cooperation are greatly increased.� Bahrain will be the fourth Arab nation to formalize an agreement with Israel. Egypt

signed a peace treaty in 1979, and Jordan followed suit in 1994. A number of pro-Israel groups, as well as Congress members from both parties who are close to the pro-Israel community, put out statements welcoming the announcement. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee said such announcements would discourage Israel boycotts. One of the main focuses for AIPAC in recent years

has been backing legislation that would inhibit such boycotts. “These diplomatic achievements are a testament to the fact that a strong and secure Israel, backed by the United States, is critical to bringing reconciliation to the region,� the Israel lobby group said. “The old and unproductive paradigm of boycotts and rejectionism is collapsing, and a new model of peace, prosperity and cooperation is emerging.�  PJC

weakens anti-pedophilia measures. Melissa Melendez, a Republican state senator in Southern California, called it “disgusting.� “SB145 allows adults who have ‘consensual’ sex with a 14 year old to not be charged as sex offenders,� she tweeted on Sept. 4. “It’s a disgusting bill and one that should be promptly vetoed. Call the Governor and tell him to protect kids and veto this bill.� Wiener says such statements could fan the flames of others who repeat claims like those of Trump Jr. — and then say they want to kill him. He said the vast majority of Republicans in the State Senate have not engaged in such rhetoric, but also that none of those colleagues have stood up for him publicly. “I wouldn’t expect them to,� he said. “Their

party is unfortunately being more and more influenced by QAnon.� This marks the second time this year that Wiener has been targeted publicly with anti-Semitism. In June, a California trade union posted an ad showing Wiener holding Monopoly money and accusing him of “selling out California.� The ad was later withdrawn. Wiener, who is not under police protection, said the latest wave of smears has made it harder for him to post on social media — the invective accompanies whatever he posts. One comment said “We need to end jewish zionism and jewish interference in white countries.� The lawmaker also said he has to be judicious about tagging colleagues

because he doesn’t want the abuse to then rain down on them. The solution, Wiener said, is for social media companies to take a larger role in policing hate speech on their platforms, though he added, “I’m not saying they should be the thought police.� He has no immediate plans to work on legislation to that effect, he said. In the meantime, Wiener said all he can do is “manage� the hate he receives. While it’s made his life more difficult, he hasn’t given up on politics. “Politics is hard and there’s a lot of ugliness around it, but with that said, politics is a big part of how we make positive change,� he said. “And so this hasn’t discouraged me at all.�  PJC

Much like Orthodox communities in New York and in Israel, Chicago’s Orthodox community was hit particularly hard at the beginning of the pandemic. The ZIP code for West Ridge, a neighborhood that is home to a large Orthodox community, had the

highest number of COVID cases in the state of Illinois in April, according to the local outlet Block Club Chicago. As the pandemic wears on, Treece hopes the project can help prevent new outbreaks within her community and encourage people

not to let down their guards on behaviors like mask wearing and social distancing. “We were hit really hard and I think that’s made us relatively vigilant now,� Treece said. “But I think there are going to be cycles where everyone has quarantine fatigue.�  PJC

(IGH (OLIDAYS OF (OPE

0LEASE JOIN US s &REE AND OPEN TO EVERYONE

Q Rosh HaShanah Candle Lighting and Blessing for the New Year )ULGD\ 6HSWHPEHU r PM Live on facebook.com/centerforlovingkindnesspgh

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Opinion Separation of shul and state — EDITORIAL —

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here is an inherent danger in mixing politics and religion. That is one of the solemn warnings Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks has emphasized in recent interviews promoting his new book, “Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times.” Sacks, the former chief rabbi of the United Kingdom and a moral voice respected worldwide, is dismayed by the trend of U.S. religious leaders to weigh in politically on behalf of, or against, particular politicians or parties. “The division between politics and religion is absolutely fundamental,” Sacks told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last month. “It’s one of the greatest things Judaism ever taught the world: Don’t mix religion and politics. You mix religion and politics, you get terrible politics and even worse religion. It’s an absolute and total outrage.” Sacks has written many books about politics, and even touches on the topic in his newest one. He has never, though, aligned himself with a political party. Likewise, when he served the U.K. as its chief rabbi from 1991 to 2013, he prohibited the rabbis in his domain from using their own pulpits to espouse politics as well. “I can see that that is not the case in America,” Sacks told the JTA. “And I’m afraid American Jewry is making a big, big, big mistake. This is not a small thing. It’s a very, very big thing.” There is an intrinsic divisive nature to

“ It’s one of the greatest things Judaism ever taught the world: Don’t mix religion and politics. You mix religion and politics, you get terrible politics and even worse religion.

”

It’s an absolute and total outrage.

— RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS politics, Sacks points out. And when religion becomes political, it becomes divisive as well. The consequences of blurring the line between politics and Judaism can be devastating, according to Sacks. “I’m afraid I have absolutely not the slightest shred of sympathy for anyone who, as a rabbi, tells people how to vote,” he said. The first example of a system of separation of powers can be found in ancient Judaism, Sacks has said. While in other ancient civilizations, the head of state was also the head of religion, the paradigm was different for the Jews. The king in ancient Israel had no power over religious matters and the high priest had no role in government. But in 21st-century America, the two realms are sometimes intermingled. Some rabbis on the right — such as haredi leader Shmuel Kamenetsky, who, in a statement in Mishpacha magazine, urged Jews to vote for

President Trump, and Rabbi Aryeh Spero, who blessed Trump at the Republican National Convention — have used their influence as spiritual leaders to advocate on behalf of a candidate that many other Jews find repugnant. On the left, there’s the Facebook group “Rabbis for Joe Biden 2020.” So far, more than 100 rabbis have joined the group. Its members publicly comment on the strengths of the Democratic presidential nominee whose “policies as most consistent with our values, hopes and work for a better America.” Regardless of denominational affiliation, the prospect of alienation among congregants of these vocal rabbis whose politics may differ is troubling. While rabbis speaking in their individual capacities are not prohibited by law from advocating for a politician or party, if they do so in the name of a tax-exempt organization — i.e.,

a congregation — that organization could lose its nonprofit status pursuant to the Johnson Amendment of the Hatch Act. In a 2017 article in The Atlantic, Rabbi David Wolpe of the Conservative Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, wrote in defense of the Johnson Amendment, then under threat of being repealed. “I lead a politically diverse (not to say ‘divided’) synagogue,” Wolpe wrote. “In the United States in our age, politics is far more potent in separating people than religion. There are many kinds of religious positions one can stake out in my synagogue, and while some may not agree with them, they do not threaten the fabric of the community. But a political declaration from the rabbi will have a percentage of the congregants heading for the door.” “[W]hen someone stakes out a political position, people no longer feel they are part of the same spiritual enterprise,” he continued. “In our age the battle is less over the Bible than the ballot.” This is not to say that Jewish religious leaders should refrain from advocating for moral positions and policies based on Jewish values, and we encourage them to do so. But we also urge them to consider the threat to communal unity that may come from aligning with a particular candidate or party — or claiming that one political party or candidate best represents Jewish values — before they decide to speak out. Particularly during these High Holidays, when so many of us are forced to be physically separated from each other, let’s not increase the chasm by underscoring an ideological separation as well.  PJC

Abraham Accord will open doors Guest Columnist Rabbi Yehuda Sarna

The political process is nothing more than one manifestation of the unfolding

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oday was not just the eve of the Jewish New Year, but the dawn of a new era for the entire Middle East. After donning my tallit this morning, I felt like I could not remove it. I decided that today would be a day of prayer for me, and a fast day from food until after the signing of the Abraham Accord. As a reminder to myself, I wore my tallit the entire morning in Washington, D.C. I am carrying my shofar with me as well. Why a day of prayer? Over the past decades, the tent of Ishmael and the tent of Isaac have been pitched. The tent of Abraham, however, has fallen. This accord is not simply a transaction, a deal or a compromise. It is the pitching of the open tent of Abraham, with many countries raising the poles in unison. The significance of this accord is not to be found in some “room where it happened,” but in the doors it will open. The political process is nothing more than one manifestation of the unfolding of a spiritual process much larger than any one person. The drama

18 SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

of a spiritual process much larger than any one person. today is not to be found on the table where leaders will sign a piece of paper, but in the millions watching around the world who will feel the exuberance of a family reunion. To be sure, many will be skeptical of this agreement. Some might say that this agreement is only about fighting a shared enemy, or creating financial benefit. The truth is that this agreement is really about forging a shared future and kickstarting a cultural renaissance. The only mistake that would enable the skeptics would be seeing this accord as a contract, not a covenant. Political analysts will draw up the balance sheets of mutual compromises, of gains and losses. Economists will assess how this shifts the regional economies in energy, banking or tourism. If we do not don our spiritual lenses, we will lose the “Abraham” In the “Abraham Accord.”

I came to the UAE for the first time in January 2010, possibly the first public visit of any rabbi in centuries. We landed in the morning, and the time for my morning prayer was due. I turned into one of the Abu Dhabi airport lounges, and donned my tefillin and tallit. All of a sudden, I heard someone say in Hebrew, “Baruch Haba,” welcome. A passing flight attendant, who grew up in Morocco next to a Jewish family, had remembered all of the appropriate greetings and recognized the paraphernalia. “It’s a little noisy here for prayer,” she said. “There is a better place over there,” she added, as she guided me to a different part of the lounge. When we see each other in prayer, we can guide each other to better places. There’s a better place over there. Almost one decade later I met Ambassador

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Lana Nusseibeh, permanent representative of UAE to the United Nations. She invited me to speak at an event at the UN headquarters in New York where ambassadors from over 50 Muslim or Muslim-majority countries were in attendance. Recently appointed as chief rabbi, I shared the story of survival of my wife’s family under the protection of a Muslim doctor in Berlin during the Holocaust. Lana described the legacy of the Nusseibeh clan, Muslim guardians of the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The different strands of family tradition of mutual respect and tolerance should be separate no longer. We must re-weave the line of Abraham. Tonight, I will fly from the U.S. to the UAE with the first American Jewish delegation after the signing. As representatives from the Jewish Federations of North America, they are not simply coming to the UAE to meet officials. They are coming to adorn the newly pitched tent of Abraham. This day for me is a day of prayer, a day in which prayers shall be heard, seen, raised up and answered. It is an opening of the door to the better place.  PJC Rabbi Yehuda Sarna is the executive director and university chaplain at the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at New York University and the chief rabbi of the United Arab Emirates. PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Opinion Not “for whom” but “for YOU” Guest Columnists Susan Friedberg Kalson Rabbi Ron Symons Josh Sayles

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e are on the cusp of a High Holiday season like none before. Struggling through another month of the pandemic, we are also assaulted by political ads, stories on national media about the deep divisions across Pennsylvania, and relentlessly partisan voices and images on social media. Many of us are confused and simply exhausted. What can we do? We have one simple answer: Vote. Regardless of your candidate of choice or political affiliation, we ask you to make a plan for Election Day and vote.

Yes, this is a difficult time, but we remind you that the act of choosing leaders has always been messy. Three thousand years ago, as our ancestors transitioned from God-centric prophetic/priesthood leadership, they begged Samuel, “You have grown old, and your sons have not followed your ways. Therefore appoint a king for us, to govern us like all other nations” (I Samuel 8:5). Even then, Samuel warned them, “This will be the practice of the king who will rule over you: He will take your sons and appoint them as his charioteers and horsemen, and they will serve as out runners for his chariots …. ” (I Samuel 8:11ff). Political leadership was never perfect, is never perfect and will never be perfect. The understandable frustrations that we feel in this moment cannot stop us from participating in this election. As a group, Jews have flourished in this country, protected by the safeguards of democracy. As citizens of the United States

we have been afforded opportunities often denied to our forebears in their sojourns around the world. Our ancestors, including those who sacrificed so much to gain a foothold in this country, could only dream of the chance we have had to live in relative peace, to educate our children as we see fit, to engage in meaningful work and to realize an unprecedented level of economic and societal security. As citizens, we also are entrusted with a constitutional right and obligation to participate in the sacred act of choosing our representatives in Congress and, every four years, the president of the United States. Typically, Jews have an extraordinarily high voter turnout, said to be the highest of any ethnic group, in a nation in which only an estimated one in two eligible voters actually vote. But this is a year like no other. With new vote-by-mail opportunities, confusion about the post office and concern about safe access to in-person voting on Nov. 3, we all need to

proactively plan how we will actually cast our ballot. So make your plan. Encourage your friends and family to do the same. Vote your own values. Together, we can make sure that our democratic system works for everyone. Here are steps for you to take using this website as your go-to resource: votespa.com 1. Check to make sure you have an active voter registration. 2. If you intend to vote by mail, apply for either a mail-in or absentee ballot (they really are the same thing) as soon as possible; while the hard deadline is Oct. 27, we want you to apply now. 3. As soon as you receive your mail-in ballot, fill it in, sign and seal it, and return it by mail or to the Allegheny County Election Office at 524 Forbes Ave., Suite 609. Please be aware that satellite election offices might be established around the county. Stay informed by watching the news Please see You, page 34

Finding hope for the High Holidays during COVID-19 Guest Columnist Jordan Golin

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olidays are complicated. Even those of us who are not religiously observant often find meaning in annual celebrations. They remind us to appreciate the good that we experience every day, provide a respite from the mundane routine of our lives and give us an opportunity to spend time with loved ones. Many of us even look forward to holidays despite their stressful moments as we try to juggle food, personalities and logistics without insulting Aunt Miriam or Uncle David. During difficult times, though, the observance of holidays can stir up challenging

emotions that may be lurking beneath the surface. This is especially true of the Jewish High Holy Days, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, as these days are focused on taking stock of the past year and evaluating our actions and relationships. Past experiences of hurt or regret can remain compartmentalized for much of the year but are more likely to bubble back up to the surface during intense family get-togethers this time of the year. Why is this year different from all other years (sorry, wrong holiday)? In normal times, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur often include gathering extended family and friends together, sitting around a large dining room table to enjoy a festive meal, and (for many of us) praying shoulder to shoulder in synagogue with members of our community. Sadly, most of us will not be able to do many of these things this year because of the risk of

— LETTERS — President deserves support

I was surprised to read four anti-Trump letters to the editor in last week’s Chronicle and not one supporting the president. I would like to challenge some points in the letters and in Rabbi Gibson’s opinion piece (“Make America good again”). Rabbi Gibson says that Joe Biden is a nice guy, but nice guy Biden was too nice to Iran, China, Cuba and Ukraine and not nice enough to Israel. Biden, with President Obama, released $1.7 billion to terrorist Iran getting nothing in return. He was so nice to China they awarded his son an advisory board seat on a private equity fund. We gave Ukraine a $1 billion loan guarantee and his son was awarded a lucrative gas company board seat. After the Ukrainian prosecutor general decided to investigate the deal, Biden got him fired and bragged about it. Biden is the real racist. He picked his vice presidential running mate based on race and sex and promised to fill the next vacant Supreme Court seat based on race and sex, not on who is the best available candidate. This is classic open racism. President Trump supports free choice in education, funded historically black colleges, passed a criminal reform bill and created jobs. He built a wall to prevent drugs from entering the country. Trump closed out flights from China early, put priority on funding for a vaccine and on getting equipment in short supply. We are a large diverse country, so he appropriately turned closure responsibility to the governors of each state. It is complex to balance health PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

spreading COVID-19. Our dining rooms may seem larger and emptier as we think about our loved ones who were not able to join us. Our food may be simpler, to accommodate the smaller number of people. And many of us may experience this year as the first year in our lives in which we did not attend synagogue services during the High Holy Days. As a result of these changes, we are likely to become inundated with a wide range of powerful feelings, including loss, isolation, fear, guilt and anxiety. Although we know that the coronavirus is beyond our control, we may still find ourselves responding to these changes by thinking, “Am I being a good son/daughter? Am I being a good friend? Am I being a good Jew?” We may be wondering how we could possibly celebrate anything under conditions of face masks and social distancing. But just because Rosh Hashanah and Yom

Kippur will be different this year does not mean they can’t be joyful and meaningful in a different way. Judaism has adapted and evolved through thousands of years and countless migrations across the globe. From the deserts of the Middle East to the shtetls of Eastern Europe, these changes have always taken place in the context of certain constants — especially the emphasis on the value of human relationships. In our own Pittsburgh community, the Jewish tradition of adapting to challenges continues today. Right now, congregations and organizations are finding creative ways to connect people to each other through online religious services, socially distanced outdoor gatherings and contactless delivery of holiday packages. None of these arrangements are ideal, but they reflect our desire to Please see Golin, page 34

and economic priorities. We are still in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis. We do not know when a vaccine will be available so it’s too early to assign praise or blame. Why am I voting for Trump? Because of his accomplishments as president, including: creating a thriving economy (prior to COVID-19); doing more toward real peace in the Middle East than any other president in the last 70 years; making the USA energy Please see Letters, page 34

We invite you to submit letters for publication. Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number; addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Letters may not exceed 500 words and may be edited for length and clarity; they cannot be returned. Mail, fax or email letters to: Letters to the editor via email: letters@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org Address & Fax: Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 5915 Beacon St., 5th Flr., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Fax 412-521-0154

Website address: pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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Headlines Creative: Continued from page 3

Pittsburgh poses particular challenges. For example, Yafa can’t find chilacayote — a kind of squash similar to pumpkins — so she’ll replace it with zucchini. It’s part of the seder-like sequence of vegetables and fruits many Jews pair with certain prayers on Rosh Hashanah. But Pittsburgh also has been a source of community. The Schnadowers and their two children have attended programs around town and found a home at Chabad of Squirrel Hill, which they consider most like their Modern Orthodox community in Mexico. Eduardo will pray there for the High Holidays, and Yafa and the kids will stop by to hear the shofar and do tashlich on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Still, it’s not the rowdy Sephardic experience they’re used to. “Specifically on the High Holidays, all my childhood, I grew up going to the Sephardic synagogue,” said Eduardo. “The first time after I got married that I went to an Ashkenazi synagogue for the High Holidays, I was like ‘Why is everybody so quiet?’ You are supposed to shout out your soul during the prayers because that’s what Sephardim do — they pray so loudly that you finish Yom Kippur with a coarse voice.” But while they can’t go to their Syrianstyle synagogue, the Schnadowers will still have dinner with both sides of the family, just virtually. They plan to Zoom their parents into the Rosh Hashanah dinners before turning off their phones. Malori Asman, of Mt. Lebanon, has also found ways to reinvent family traditions.

Singers: Continued from page 3

it is advisable to avoid singing or speaking loudly in crowds. For those who choose to engage in such activities, wearing a mask and remaining at least 12 feet away from others is encouraged, but “because wearing a face covering and standing far apart is antithetical to choral singing, at this time choral singing is not a recommended activity.” Singing, though, is a hallmark of the High Holiday season, and local congregational leaders are committed to finding ways to make it work — within pandemic guidelines. Throughout the Days of Awe, Rabbi Leonard Sarko of Congregation Emanu-El will stand alone on the bimah, yet the Greensburg rabbi is encouraged by the nearly 70 people who will be contributing virtually via musical solos or speaking roles. “I love the idea of all of this participation,” Sarko said. A community of voices creates lifelines and widens perspective, said Congregation B’nai Abraham’s spiritual leader, Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer. For months, B’nai Abraham has hosted spirited Friday night services. When the congregation gathers for weekly Zooms, everyone joins in, but with so many people singing at once, there’s a bit of a discordance — not because of people’s voices, but because of the differences in internet speeds, residential locations and other factors, said 22 SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

“We have had many different looks to our Rosh Hashanah,” Asman said. Day one typically is a traditional experience with services at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills, but the family gets creative on day two. They write their own service, incorporating themes of self-improvement and social justice into activities that even get the 3- and 4-year-olds thinking. The family will often spend the day in nature. In past years, they have done tashlich on the beach and hiked. “Rather than going into a synagogue and being among hundreds and hundreds of people,” said Asman, “we wanted a way that we could translate that into something more meaningful on an individual basis.” The Asmans started the annual tradition when their three kids were in their early teens — they got townhouses with four other families and wrote their own service. Now, their children are in their mid-30s and their grandkids are joining the fun. This year, the Asmans plan to Zoom Beth El’s service on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. And the second day, they’ll do a private family tashlich service from their speedboat on the Monongahela or the Allegheny. Everyone will have a little part — including 1-year-old Gavi and 3-year-old Leo. It might involve using building blocks or coloring a large-scale mural or drawing trees. “We try to involve all of that and just set the tone to how we can make the world a better place and ourselves as well,” said Asman. But while the Asmans go big, Laryn Finder will be celebrating more quietly at home. Aside from a daily one-mile stint around her Upper St. Clair neighborhood, she hasn’t left the house she shares with her husband, Moses, since March.

dress — a brown, knit two-piece with rows of fringe — to spruce up her wardrobe for the High Holidays. She went for it, even though she will not be attending services in person this year, much to her husband’s bewilderment. But she’s not atoning for the decision. “I’m very excited that I’m going to be all dressed at the table,” she said. “We’ll have a beautiful dinner, and then we’ll retire to the den and watch services. I’m happy that it’s one way, and they can’t see my room, but I can see them.” The Finders are taking advantage of the invisibility Zoom provides: Moses might spend Yom Kippur in his pajamas. Though Finder usually goes to Temple Emanuel of South Hills in the morning for services and stays there until Neilah, she’s happy about this year’s virtual option. “Getting to services on time has always been a challenge in this house, and I’m the cause,” she said. “The idea that I’m going to have a service right in the next room is to me the most wonderful thought in the world,” she added. “I’m going to eat dinner calmly. p Laryn Finder in her new High Holiday dress. Photo by Moses Finder If my dishes don’t get done, that’s all right. And I’m going to just For the High Holidays, Finder, 90, will cook have to walk into another room, and I’m for a party of two. She’ll make her usual round going to be there on time. And it’s going to challahs and honey cake, but dinner will be be a first!”  PJC more “creative,” she said — she’ll use whatever Kayla Steinberg can be reached at ksteinberg@ ingredients she happens to find in her freezer. Finder had long debated getting a new pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

When it comes time for t he holidays, the Shadyside congregation will mix aspects of synchronous services on Zoom with prerecorded material. Barry Werber of New Light Congregation in Squirrel Hill is p re p a r i n g for a different sort of hybrid p Rodef Shalom Congregation Cantorial Soloist Molly May sings along with her sons Andrew, David and Jesse. Photo courtesy of Molly May holiday experience. Although Gray-Schaffer. Given the sanctity of the High New Light is hosting in-person services, Holidays, participating individuals at the Werber will be at home following along Butler area congregation will be unmuted online. Given the risks of COVID-19 transone at a time, “but of course at the end, for mission, keeping away from in-person Adon Olam or Yigdal, it will be opened gatherings makes sense, but is still upsetup to everyone in the cacophony again,” ting, said Werber: “This will be the first time Gray-Schaffer said. in over 60 years that I will not be part of a Much remains up in the air this holiday synagogue choir.” season, but Molly May, Rodef Shalom First as a child, then later as an adult, Congregation’s cantorial soloist has a pretty Werber sang with Congregation B’nai Israel good idea of what to expect. Well before in East Liberty. While stationed at Craig Air the Jewish New Year, May and fellow musi- Force Base, Werber sang at Temple Mishkan cians recorded portions of the High Holiday Israel in Selma, Alabama. For the past 25 liturgy in an empty room. years, as a member of New Light, singing “I was about 12 feet away from another with the High Holiday choir has become musician, who was about 10 feet in front of part of his synagogue identity. our pianist,” said May. Within a choir there’s a comradeship, which

is at the forefront of Werber’s mind these days as he thinks about how different this year’s holidays will be. For the second time since the Oct. 27, 2018, shooting at the Tree of Life building, Richard Gottfried, Dan Stein and Melvin Wax won’t be in attendance at New Light’s services. Those three men, who were among the 11 people murdered during the synagogue attack, contributed greatly to the High Holiday experience: Gottfried and Stein were members of New Light’s choir and Wax led portions of the service. “I’m used to standing on the bimah and looking across at Dan and Richard,” said Werber. “All of this makes the holidays quite a bit different.” When it is time for organized prayer, Werber will don his tallit and yarmulke, open his machzor and click on to the congregation’s Zoom link. He is familiar with the interface from joining New Light online each Friday night and Saturday morning, and as the one responsible for leading the Adon Olam prayer during Shabbat services, Werber also knows there is a slight delay between those singing on-site and those singing at home. “What I’ll probably do is put myself on mute,” he said. Dissonance can be off-putting, but despite the global pandemic and the loss of his friends, Werber still plans on belting out the tunes, even if no one else can hear.  PJC

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

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p Weinberger paddling through Portugal

RV: Continued from page 6

journey include old-school, physical books. “I don’t know if I can just go to the public library because I’m going to be living mostly in parks and off the grid, but I prefer hardcover to electronic, so I have to figure that out,” she said. Internet access is another necessity. Weinberger will need it for both work and her love of binge-watching television programs. “When I watch a show, I get hooked, I have to watch all the way through,” she said. “I don’t watch anything on television, like a current season of anything, just because I hate having to wait another week for the next show to come out.” That interest will be put on the back burner, though, as Weinberger plans on spending most of her free time taking in the outdoors, hiking and building relationships with people living a similar lifestyle. As for her parents, Weinberger said they

Sisterhood: Continued from page 9

will serve future students well. “It’s somewhat of a human want to create something that will be bigger than yourself and that will outlive you,” said the CMU junior. “After I leave, I want Jewish women freshmen to just come and already have that support network and that infrastructure and that robust option for Jewish life.” Altgold and the group’s 12 other founders are creating that infrastructure. They drafted a constitution last semester and are working to gain university recognition — a process delayed due to COVID-19 and a student government transition. And they’re creating rituals, like lighting candles to welcome new members, that will PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

p Taking a pit stop in Cambodia

Photo provided by Brett Weinberger

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

p Atop the world at Yosemite Park

Photo provided by Brett Weinberger

bake Jewish traditions into the group’s DNA. “We really want the blood and the core of this group to be Judaism,” said Altgold. “We are creating something unique that has never existed before, and I think there’s a lot of beauty and power in that.” They’re also naming the executive board positions for notable Jewish women. Instead of “president,” the group’s leader will be titled “The Ruth” in honor of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Renting out an auditorium, watching a John Mulaney stand-up special and eating cereal in what the group dubbed “Mulaney Fest 2020” isn’t easily replicable during the pandemic. But they’ve created new programs like “craft and kvetch” over Zoom and are still able to recruit new members. “It’s so exciting that it’s an opportunity for these women to have a program like this,” said Zissman. “I know that there is a lot of

amazing impact on the Carnegie Mellon Jewish life that this program can have.” Meanwhile, at the University of Pittsburgh, Hillel is reprising its big/little program, pairing older students with younger ones as they enter college with new barriers to connection. Eva Shterengarts remembers how hard it was to find her place as a freshman — and she didn’t have the challenges of doing it with social distancing or on Zoom. The Pitt junior, who will be a “big” this year, is eager to support new students during a tough transition. “This program will give a lot of students the opportunity to have another friendly face around campus and have someone that they can turn to and ask questions without having any sort of obligations,” she said. More than 60 students signed up for the program, and Shterengarts, who is the

Photo provided by Brett Weinberger

have become accustomed to her lifestyle and love of travel. Her mother, Bari, said that she and her husband Mark are proud of Brett, recognizing the courage, independence and creativity necessary to reimagine her life. “Like any good Jewish parent,” Bari said, “while it’s hard to let go of worry, we are excited about the opportunities ahead of her to see and experience the world in new and different ways.” It is that experience that Weinberger is most excited about. “I have this giant chunk of time where I don’t need to be situated in one place,” she said. “Very few of us could say they have this opportunity in their lifetime, given how the modern-day workplace was structured previously. This is the first time, at least in my life, where I’m getting to choose where I live, where I work. You know, it’s not just a weekend vacation in my life.”  PJC

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communities lead for the Hillel Student Board, worked with Kari Semel, Janet L. Swanson director of Jewish Student Life at Pitt, and social media intern Ryan Covitt to pair the students based on their answers to open-ended questions about their interests, religious observance and more. Last weekend featured a big reveal: Bigs and littles met each other at coffee shops around Oakland. The pairs and families — like Shterengarts and her two littles — will be able to opt into events like mask tie-dyeing during the school year. Semel hopes the program will offer new students much needed human connection. “We need to just start at base level,” she said, “And make sure they feel welcome and comfortable at Pitt.”  PJC Kayla Steinberg can be reached at ksteinberg@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 23

Life & Culture Your COVID-19 High Holiday season movie guide By David Rullo | Staff Writer

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he High Holiday season should be a time of community — services at synagogue with friends, new year celebration meals and break fasts. Instead, most of us will be home with only our closest family to hear our wishes of “Shana Tova” as we snack on apples and honey. If you are looking for entertainment during the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, why not stream a movie that offers some enlightenment and meaning? Try as you might, you’re not likely to find a “Rosh Hashanah” or “Yom Kippur” category on Netflix, even if you are a digital initiate and know the secret codes. Instead, the themes of the holidays — repentance, forgiveness, return, the hope for a new year better than the last — can provide inspiration points for the time you spend waiting for the brisket to get done, or during the Days of Awe. If you aren’t sure where to begin, here are six suggestions sure to capture High Holiday motifs.

“Groundhog Day”

Harold Ramis and Bill Murray’s last film together might seem better suited for a wintry night in February, but its central

theme of striving to be a better person is perfect for the new year. Murray plays a weatherman known for his caustic personality. In a plot twist worthy of the Dali Lama or a Kabbalah master, he’s forced to live the same day over and over, each time through righting his mistakes and sanding off some of his rough edges. It only takes a few hundred tries, but eventually he becomes a mensch and is allowed to move on with his life.

“Annie Hall”

Would a list of Jewish movies be complete without at least one Woody Allen film? Like most of the director’s films, a love affair and New York City play prominent roles in the film. Allen and Diane Keaton star as a couple working to develop and maintain a relationship while attempting to build careers and navigate various neuroses. Allen’s films have a reputation of playing to the more left leaning among us, but there are enough

at the end of World War II mines the topics of tradition versus modernity, the creation of the Jewish state and the importance of empathy. For those looking for a more direct link back to the High Holiday themes, there’s even an apology early in the film.

wisecracks against Los Angeles, the cultural elite and liberal Jews to keep the most conservative-minded family member happy. In the end, Allen’s and Keaton’s characters learn to forgive and accept one another and build a friendship lasting longer than the shine of the numerous Oscars the film garnered.

“Fiddler on the Roof”/ “Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles”

“JoJo Rabbit”

The 2019 film in which a lonely boy’s imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler might seem a strange choice for a High Holiday movie list but its message of persevering through challenging times and the ultimate defeat of evil are ideas we can carry into the new year. The rejection of unwavering nationalism and the willingness of JoJo’s mother to hide a Jewish girl from the Nazis are themes that might reverberate for some as we move through a difficult political season. The movie was promoted as a dark comedy but make no mistake: We recommend you keep a box of tissues close at hand. After all, isn’t that a Jewish trait — a little sadness baked into the absurd?

While we are thinking about tradition, let’s not forget the film that taught us to sing proudly in deference and respect to our heritage. Filled with classic numbers from one of the golden ages of Broadway, “Fiddler” will have you longing for matchmakers, humble Shabbat meals and the noble pursuit of a Jewish life despite the intrusion of outside culture and violence. While there is no scene depicting Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, the idea of return is intrinsic, as the work is tapped again and again, from its earliest days as a book, to a hit Broadway play, movie, Broadway revival and Yiddish adaption. If you can’t get enough of Tevye, you can check out the 2019 documentary “Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles.” The documentary recounts the creation of the 1964 musical and features interviews with Chaim Topol and Lin Manuel-Miranda, guaranteeing multiple generations will enjoy watching it together.

“The Chosen”

The film adaption of Chaim Potok’s 1967 novel doesn’t make the top of many Jewish cinema lists, and that’s unfortunate. The tale of friendship between Reuven Malter, a mo d e r n Orthodox Jew and Zionist, and Danny Saunders in Brooklyn

“Inglorious Bastards” Not much to connect this Quentin Tarantino film to the High Holidays, but sometimes it’s good to watch a bunch of soldiers attempting to “scalp 100 Nazis.”  PJC

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

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Life & Culture Lee Gutkind, founder of journal Creative Nonfiction, takes a look within — BOOKS — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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reative types commonly mine rockbottom moments for material. Lee Gutkind wasn’t that sort of writer. But when turning 70 yielded a flood of misfortune, Gutkind wrote. Having written and edited 30 books in 40 years all while shepherding creative nonfiction from a nascent literary exercise to a critically studied genre, Gutkind, a former faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of English, again hammered away at his keyboard. There was much to unpack about turning 70, including staggering loss. Five days prior to his Jan. 3 birthday, Gutkind’s mother, Mollie Osgood Gutkind, died. Mollie’s death at 94 was difficult for Gutkind, not just because of its timing or that it represented a cessation of the solace shared between mother and son — from Lee’s days as a Greenfield youth to Mollie’s later years at Charles Morris Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the two discussed everything from personal finances to relationships, disappointments and even odd moments in Pittsburgh’s history — but sandwiching Mollie’s demise were the deaths of two of Gutkind’s closest friends: Frank and Iggy. Frank had terminal cancer, and for almost a year Gutkind readied himself for Frank’s death. But Iggy’s end — getting hit by a car while crossing the street en route to dinner — was shocking. As he entered his seventh decade, Gutkind processed the three deaths, accepted the end of an almost 10-year relationship with his girlfriend and recognized the severity of his son’s mental illness. In the beginning, it was scary, Gutkind, 77, told the Chronicle: “I’m a writer and I spend tons of time all by myself with my display and my keyboard. I had a very narrow circle of friends and connections. I don’t have grandchildren. I have one child, and suddenly I felt that I was losing my community, my very small supportive community, and I began feeling that I would lose part of my identity.”

p Lee Gutkind

As a way of coping, Gutkind wrote, revised and repeated the process. The result is his memoir, “My Last Eight Thousand Days: An American Male in His Seventies,” to be released on Oct. 1, 2020, by the University of Georgia Press. As a younger man, well before his writing would be considered alongside that of Thomas Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and Gay Talese, Gutkind worked as a shoe salesman, a truck driver and in public relations. Those jobs, he said, provided value in a way most literati would fail to see. Success in writing wasn’t merely about the text produced, but understanding the business behind those pages. It’s part of the reason why Creative Nonfiction, Gutkind’s

journal, has published continuously for 27 years, he said. As Gutkind continued examining the totality of his 70th year — in light of his losses, parenting difficulties and uncertainty about the future — he knew that the only way to write his own honest account was to acknowledge the one story he wasn’t ready to tell. “The challenge for me when I wrote ‘My Last Eight Thousand Days’ was to be able to not live in anybody else’s world, but to live and dig deeply into my own,” said Gutkind. For decades, as a nonfiction writer, Gutkind had followed subcultures and their eccentrics — motorcyclists, major league baseball umpires, people involved with Photo by Karen Meyers organ transplantation, veterinarians and roboticists — but for all his ability to slip into a scene, gain a subject’s trust and convey those intimacies to diverse readers, Gutkind felt that he had never produced an enduring work. That’s why, in 2008, after reading in The New York Times about Rabbi Menachem Youlus, Gutkind was captivated. Youlus was a self-proclaimed “Jewish Indiana Jones,” who, with cinematic pomp, purported to rescue and renew sacred Torah scrolls from the ashes of Eastern Europe. Youlus’ supposed heroism was largerthan-life, so Gutkind hurriedly traveled to meet the rabbi. Believing this to be his pièce de résistance, Gutkind dedicated nearly two years to research, interviews and travel, and returned to places he had long ago

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abandoned. Nearly 50 years after exiting Shaare Torah Congregation following his bar mitzvah, Gutkind reentered synagogues, started frequenting Torah study classes and began reading the Talmud. At one point, before delivering a writing seminar in Jerusalem, Gutkind stopped in Poland to tour Auschwitz. Even after so many years away from the fold, formal Jewish experiences were taking on significance. Rekindling this spark was exciting, and so too was the possibility of Gutkind’s magnum opus, but with a phone call from Youlus and a follow-up story in The Washington Post Magazine detailing the rabbi’s fraudulent behavior — Youlus eventually admitted in court that he had made up the stories about rescuing Torahs and lied about their provenance — everything came crashing down. It wasn’t just the publishing contract’s cancellation, or the rejected proposals for updated or even altered texts, that caused his absolute despair, explained Gutkind: “All of the confidence, and faith and trust and literally love I had for this man was for naught. He fooled me and fooled lots of people in the world, and it was a great disappointment, a real down part of my life.” It took years for Gutkind to recover, but he did, and he emerged from that moment and the events of his 70th year both stronger and with a deeper spiritual understanding. “If you would have asked me, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, if I believed in God, I would have said no. But I would not say that anymore. I don’t know what God is. I don’t know whether God comes from Mars or Venus or another galaxy, but I sure know that there’s a spiritual element to life, and to my life,” said Gutkind. “I’ve worked really hard to be who I am, but I think there’s some spiritual help behind me that I have received that I can’t quite deny. I don’t know if I’ll go back into a synagogue, I don’t know that, but I do know that it’s a shadow, not a bad shadow, hanging over me, and I think about it a great deal.”  PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Celebrations

Torah

Bar Mitzvah

Let the sounds of the shofar inspire us to a year of goodness Rabbi Cheryl J. Klein Rosh Hashanah | Genesis 21:1-34; Numbers 29:1-6

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Ryan Kaufman, son of Marcy and Jared Kaufman, became a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, at Temple Sinai. Ryan is the grandson of Roz and Jerry Rosenburg of Boston, Massachusetts, the late Ron Kaufman of Pittsburgh, and Cheryl Kaufman and Steve Laidhold of Pittsburgh.  PJC

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osh Hashanah is called “Yom Teruah,” the day of the blowing of the shofar. During the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah (except on Shabbat), there are three distinct sounds: Tekiah, one long, straight blast; shevarim, three medium, wailing sounds; and teruah, nine quick blasts in short succession. As Jews, we celebrate different new years within the course of the calendar, including Rosh Hashanah, which is considered the birthday of the world and the start of a new spiritual year. Rosh Hashanah is the day on which we truly appreciate the essence of God’s creation — God as Creator, God as Sustainer. On Rosh Hashana, tekiah — the long, straight shofar blast — is the sound of the coronation of God’s glory as Creator. When we think about the year gone by, we realize we often have failed to live up to our full potential. In the coming year, we yearn not to waste that opportunity again. The Kabbalists say that shevarim is the sobbing cry of a Jewish heart — yearning to connect, to grow, to achieve. Every person has the ability to reflect, repair, return and reach new heights. We should not be constrained by our shortcomings and the past. On Rosh Hashanah, we need to wake up and be honest and objective about our lives: who we are, where we’ve been and in which direction we’re headed. The teruah sound resembles an alarm clock, arousing us from our spiritual slumber. God wants us to make an honest effort to maximize the gifts given to us. We aren’t expected to be anything we’re not. Nor are we to condemn ourselves for not being perfect. When we miss the mark of not living our truth, we have opportunities to reconnect with our deepest desires and essence during the High Holy Days. This reflective season calls on us to examine our goals and purpose. The curved shape of the shofar reminds us that we should bend our hearts toward serving God with sincerity and humility, and serving our families and community with genuine caring and love. When we greet one another from the beginning of Elul through Yom Kippur, we say “Shana Tova.” Many mistakenly understand this as “Have a happy new year.” In actuality we are wishing one another a “good” new year — not just a year filled with happiness, but one that is filled with bringing goodness into the world. The derivation of the word “goodness” is taken from Old English for “god-ness.” Webster’s dictionary explains “goodness” means excellence, kindness, generosity and benevolence. When we act to do good we bring ourselves closer to God. Our Jewish tradition teaches us that we should seek out every opportunity to perform acts of goodness — “haveh ratz lemitzvah kallah,” says Ben Azzai (Pirkei Avot, 4:2) — that we should run to perform even the simplest of mitzvot. Contemporary trends might lead some to say, “The important thing is to feel good

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about what you’re doing.” Judaism says, “The important thing is to do good, regardless of what you feel.” Judaism would love for us to be passionate about giving charity, visiting the sick, avoiding gossip and telling the truth on one’s tax return. Judaism would be delighted if we performed those mitzvot from the heart. But what if our heart isn’t in it? What if we don’t really feel like doing one of them? What if we struggle with the whole notion of God, belief, faith and how to connect? Judaism says: “Do it anyway.” Overthinking draws energy away from action. We as Jews are much more driven by deed over

When we hear the sounds of the shofar this Rosh Hashanah, let’s get energized about Judaism. creed. For us, the slogan, “Just Do It!” is a way of life. Jewish tradition teaches that kindness is what life requires of us. The sages taught that God is the original model of kindness: God clothed Adam and Eve when they were naked, visited Abraham when he was sick, comforted Isaac in his grief, remembered Hannah when she wept and buried Moses after he died. We, who are commanded to follow in God’s ways (Deuteronomy 13:5), must likewise clothe the naked, visit the sick, comfort the bereaved, have compassion for those unable to conceive and bury the dead. We pray on Rosh Hashanah for God to treat us with righteousness and kindness — asei imanu tzedaka va’chesed — not randomly, but daily. The commandments in the Torah guide us to act legally, ethically and compassionately, to take steps toward achieving a “Shana Tova” — a “good” year, a “good” life. We know it’s a new year. What we don’t know is just how good of a year 5781 will be. It is within our capacity to direct our year toward one that will fill the world with goodness. When we hear the sounds of the shofar this Rosh Hashanah, let’s get energized about Judaism. Let’s create Jewish memories that weave us into the fabric of Jewish history. Let’s perform acts of goodness because it’s the right thing to do, not because it feels good. Let’s shed the doldrums of routine and make life meaningful and exciting again. Just like a good marriage or partnership, fresh and new ways of living life keep it interesting. Let’s find moments to express gratitude, fulfill a new mitzvah, participate more in the life of a synagogue or work to repair the injustices in our society. Opportunities to “do good” are all around us. Tekiah, shevarim, teruah, sounds good to me. L’Shana Tova Tikateyvu. PJC Rabbi Cheryl J. Klein serves Congregation Dor Hadash in Pittsburgh. PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Obituaries MAIZLECH: Bruce Glenn Maizlech; unexpectedly on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020; beloved son of Jeffrey and the late Jane (Golomb) Maizlech. Brother of Mitch “Moshe” (Mimi) Maizlech. Graveside services and interment were held at Homewood Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com MORAVITZ: Jane (Janie) Moravitz on Sunday, Sept. 13. Most beloved wife of Edward (former wife of Lee Singer and Jay Glasser). Adored mother of four children and 11 grandchildren. Her family and many friends were the beneficiaries of Janie’s boundless love and devotion. She designed, built and nurtured a remarkable and redefined family, enriching their lives and assuring their well-being was her focus and her joy. Janie brought both beauty and light to the world. Fueled by her deep commitment to lift those in need, her generous spirit guided

Briefs: Continued from page 12

Krakow, was defaced with red spray paint. Earlier in the month, 10 tombstones were knocked down at the Jewish cemetery of Dobrodzien, some 80 miles northwest of Krakow. Some of them were broken. Poland has about 1,200 Jewish cemeteries. Some are owned by Jewish communities and others are municipally owned.

Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue will be closed for the High Holidays for the first time

Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue will be closed during the High Holidays for the first time since it opened more than 60 years ago. In a statement on Sunday, the synagogue cited the risk of worshippers passing the coronavirus to others. Israel is currently in the process of implementing a second nationwide lockdown in response to an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases. “The deciding consideration was the personal safety of every one of you,” the statement said. “Even if we stand by these [lockdown rules], there is still a risk. One person makes a mistake; one person is positive [for the coronavirus] and did not know; one person who can infect another. The Great Synagogue wants to prevent this risk [from affecting] every one of you.” The Orthodox synagogue, which first opened for prayer in 1958, seats 850 men and 550 women. The congregation was founded in 1958 within the Heichal Shlomo building, which was at the time the seat of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. As the number of worshippers grew, a larger synagogue was built on the property next to Heichal Shlomo, in the style of the Temple in Jerusalem, and dedicated in 1982. Chief Rabbis, Israeli presidents, prime

her important volunteer work and support to many causes and charities. She modeled integrity and grace, meeting her life’s ch a l l e nge s w it h endless strength and positivity, and will forever be an example to those fortunate enough to have walked beside her. She was an advocate for brief obituaries and requested that hers read only, “She lived, and loved and was grateful for 50 bonus years.” Those she left behind are deeply saddened and will miss her dearly. Janie’s memory can be honored through contributions to 412 Food Rescue, 6140 Station St., Pittsburgh, PA 15206, 412foodrescue.org/donatemoney. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family-owned and -operated. schugar.com  PJC

ministers, Knesset members and judges have attended services at the synagogue. Tourists frequently visit on Friday night to hear the Orthodox synagogue’s cantor and choir. The government on Sunday evening announced the regulations for the upcoming three-week lockdown, which will start on Rosh Hashanah and last until after the Sukkot holiday in early October.

In memory of …

Anonymous .....................................................................Berde S. Ruttenberg

The United Kingdom’s fourth largest party suspended a candidate for mayor of London who was filmed in 1997 telling voters not to support a Jew. The Liberal Democrats suspended Geeta Sidhu-Robb, who was vying to become their candidate in London’s 2021 mayoral elections, the Jewish News of London reported. Over the weekend, a video emerged on Twitter showing her during her 1997 general election campaign for the constituency of Blackburn in northern England. In that campaign, Sidhu-Robb was running as a member of the Conservative Party against Jack Straw, a former Labour lawmaker. “Don’t vote for a Jew. Jack Straw is a Jew. If you vote for him you’re voting for a Jew,” Sidhu-Robb is seen saying in Urdu into a loudspeaker in Blackburn. In the video, taken from a documentary about the 1997 elections, Sidhu-Robb explains that she decided on this tactic because her rival’s campaign staffers were saying she’s “against Islam,” making the issue “racist, it’s making it personal.” So, she added, “we’re going to get the gloves off ” and “get a car drive to round through town telling everybody Jack Straw’s a Jew.” Sidhu-Robb later said she regretted that action, and this week she apologized, writing on Twitter: “I am deeply ashamed of the ignorant and abusive language.”  PJC

A gift from …

In memory of …

Harold & Cindy Lebenson ................................................Allen A. Broudy

Anonymous .........................................................Flora May Kahn Shadden

Harold & Cindy Lebenson ..................................................Marlene Harris

Rachel Letty Americus............................................ Leo Morris Americus

Linda Levine .................................................................................Arthur Levine

Rachel Letty Americus.................................... Bessie Taback Americus

Marsha Lieb .......................................................................... Sidney Lefkowitz

Phyllis Pearl Astrov ........................................................................ Harry Pearl Karen & Allison Broudy......................................................Allen A. Broudy Marilyn Friedlander ...............................................................Isadore J. Ficks The Goldberg Family ...................................................................Bessie Roth Ruth K. Goldman .................................................................... Jeanette Gross Sandford Hansell ...............................................................Abraham Hansell Stanton Jonas .................................................................Rhoda Fisher Jonas Falk Kantor ...............................................................................Sadye R. Kantor Jay & Ilene Klein ...............................................................................Louis Klein

The Luick Family .........................................................Lenora “Babe” Luick Nessa Mines.............................................................................Irving Farbstein Bonnie and Michael Mokotoff .....................................Pauline Motokoff Janet & Don Moritz .................................. Anne and Samuel Papernick Rona Mustin..........................................................................Bessie Ruth Roth Mr. & Mrs. Joel Platt...............................................................Florence Rubin Barry Reznick ...................................................................................David Miller Robin Snyder.......................................................................................Lois Krash

Jan & Ed Korenman.........................................................Jacob Kuperstock

Elaine & Leroy Supowitz ..................................... Florence M. Supowitz

Ruth Kramer ..................................................................................Hyman Bales

Lois C. Waldman ....................................................... Fannie Sulkes Cohen

Harold & Cindy Lebenson .....................................Michael J. Niderberg

Harold C. Weiss .....................................................................Dr. Alfred Weiss

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday September 20: Morris Barnett, Jacob Borovetz, Jennie Cohen, Stella H. Cohen, Harold Dunhoff, Melvin Gordon, Arlane Horewitz, Harry Hostein, Sylvan Joseph Israel, Aron Mayer, Abraham Volkin, Ida R. Weiss, Gertrude Zubin Monday September 21: Julius Abrams, Minnie Berman, Edythe Gelman Buchman, Bella G. Cohen, William Y Conn, Md, Sylvia Diamond, Harry Frieman, Charles B. Goldstein, Nathan Lupovich, Stella Smith Madenberg, Harry Mittleman, Meyer Sachnoff, Louis Sadowsky, Nellie R. Tobin, Agnes Venig, Leon Verk Tuesday September 22: Hyman Berman, Sarah Brown, Sarah Lynn Dupre, Yeruchem Fireman, Harry Abe Geduldig, Albert Goldblum, M.D., Pearl Gould, Nathan Lautman, Sarah Reich Moses, Anna B. Papernick, Solomon Paul, Sarah Persky, Isaac Sissman, Jacob Zwibel Wednesday September 23: William Glick, Beatrice Barnett Goldhamer, Ida E. Goldstein, Samuel Sandor Klein, Marcus Landman, Gertrude Lieb, Pauline Marcus, Jacob M. Mogilowitz, Helen Moskovitz, Jennie Routman, Harry Soffer, Isadore Steinman, Morris L. Wolf, Jacob Zinman Thursday September 24: Sylvia Drucker, Emanuel Friedman, Sara Gruskin, Murray Hersh, Morton Israel, Sidney Moskovitz, Abraham Opter, Samuel Papernick, Milton E. Ruben, Grace Z. Schwartz, Florence R. Stevenson, Minnie Wander, Alan Zeman Friday September 25: Goldie Bardin, Irene Berliner, Jeanette Broner Chernoff, Isadore Davis, Harry Dell, Otto Dubovy, Alvin Glass, Louis Goldenson, Tillie Kalson, Ralph R. Kartub, Herschel Klein, Ruth Levy, Arch Lhormer, Evelyn Maryn, Leslie Lou Mullen, Sharon Ruttenberg Post, Dr. Sanford Press, Matilda Amdur Seidman, Rebecca Feiner Sigal, Max Sussman, Alice Tales, Bessie Shrut Weiner, Morris H. Winer Saturday September 26: Joyce Berger, Libby Kaplan Cooper, Howard Harris, Harry Levin, Ernest Marcus, Aaron Barney” Moldovan”, Ruth I. Perlman, Myer Reznick, Clara Rosenfeld, Harvey Sandy Rubenstein, Rebecca Shiner, Elizabeth Silverman, Ruth E. Supowitz

London mayoral hopeful suspended for telling voters in 1997 ‘don’t vote for a Jew’

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Life & Culture — FOOD — By Ruth Stone Lasday | Special to the Chronicle

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hen my children were younger, I baked fresh challahs for them every Yom Tov. Now that they are grown and no longer living at home, I still bake challahs for the holidays, but I give them to friends. This is my most favorite recipe for challah, given to me many years ago by the late Marion Markovitz, who was very active in the Jewish community in Pittsburgh. For the High Holidays, you can make the challahs in round pans. I used to make this recipe in an angel food cake pan, saving a bit of dough to braid and lay on top. Every time I make this recipe, when I say the bracha for taking challah, I also say, “Thank you, Marion.”

Aunt Ruth’s Beautiful, Delicious, Magnificent Challah (I don’t mean to boast, but it’s true) Mix together 2 packages of dry yeast plus 2 tablespoons of sugar, with ½ cup warm water (not too hot) and allow to rise for 10-15 minutes or however long it takes to rise.

Coat mixing bowl with 1 cup oil. Add ¼ cup honey and ¼ cup sugar for lovely texture. In a separate bowl beat 4 large eggs plus 2/3 cup water. Add to above with the yeast mixture. With dough hook, slowly beat in approximately 6½ cups of bread flour, ¼ cup at a time. I never measure how much flour I add because the dough will tell me when it is not sticky and is very pliable. You want a soft, sort of moist dough, not one that is dry and crumbly. During the last addition of flour you may add 2 cups yellow raisins. First soak the raisins in orange juice (for sweetness) for about 10 minutes to plump them up. I like raisins, but a lot of people don’t. For the holidays, I use raisins. It sets the challah apart from the everyday challahs. Beat dough with dough hook until dough starts to climb up the beaters. I take the dough out of the bowl, plop it on lightly floured counter and knead it for about 15 minutes. Oil bottom of the bowl from which it came, plop in dough, slightly oil top, cover with very lightly oiled plastic wrap, and allow to rise until double in bulk. Don’t rush this step. It takes approximately 1-1½ hours to rise, depending on humidity. After it has risen, punch the little darling down.

Ruth Stone Lasday, 90, lives in Squirrel Hill.

O’Connor

COREY

www.marks-law.com

4231 Murray Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15217

you can bake in angel food tube pan for about an hour. Always check baking in the last 10-15 minutes to see if challahs are browning too fast. If they are, cover lightly with aluminum foil. Enjoy! P.S. The dough can be mixed by hand, rather than with an electric mixer, it’s just a lot more work.  PJC

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Turn dough out onto very lightly floured counter. Now you can form it into a shape and use whatever pans you desire. Put in lightly oiled pans, cover again and allow to rise until double in bulk. Brush with egg yolk to which a bit of orange juice or water has been added. You can also add sesame or poppy seeds. Bake at 350 F. For 4 small challahs in small loaf pans, bake for 25-30 minutes. For 2 braided challahs, bake on cookie sheet for about 45 minutes. For 1 large challah,

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Photo by Natalia Van Doninck/iStock Photo

A ‘most favorite’ challah recipe

Life & Culture Southwestern-themed Rosh Hashanah dinner

p Apple slaw

p Brisket tacos

— FOOD — By Jennifer Starrett | Special to the Chronicle

T

he smell of brisket cooking in the oven brings me such fond memories of holiday meals in my childhood home in Arizona. We almost always seemed to have leftovers, but reheated brisket doesn’t taste quite as good as the first night, so it got me thinking about ways we could turn the brisket into something new for the second night of Rosh Hashanah dinner. A Southwestern-themed dinner may be the answer. I learned that leftover brisket makes for the best tacos, so grab your tortillas and make the below sides, drink and dessert, and get ready to enjoy a delicious meal that is a perfect way to kick off the new year.

Apple Slaw Ingredients: 2 green apples, shredded 5 ounces cabbage, shredded 3 ounces carrots, shredded 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon agave or honey 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 lime, juiced Salt and pepper to taste

GET THE

p Pomegranate margarita

Directions:

vinegar, agave (or honey) and stir to combine. Bring the pot to a boil and continue to stir occasionally for 10 minutes. Lower the heat and cook covered for about 40 minutes until salsa has thickened. Let salsa cool and either serve as-is or blend to create desired texture. Serve with chips or veggies.

Apple Salsa Ingredients: 3 red apples (any variety), peeled and diced 3 Roma tomatoes, peeled and diced 2 jalapeños, deseeded and finely diced 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped 1/2 red onion, chopped 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced 1 lime, juiced 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar 1-2 tablespoons agave or honey Salt and pepper, to taste

Spiced Chocolate Date Pie Ingredients: Filling 20 dates (about 400 grams) 2 tablespoons coconut oil 3 tablespoons cold water 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional) 1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk the apple cider vinegar, agave (or honey), olive oil and lime juice together in a medium sized bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the shredded apples, cabbage and carrots and toss to coat. Serve as a side or on top of brisket tacos.

Directions:

Using a deep pot, sauté the onion in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil until slightly browned. Lower heat to medium-high and add in the garlic for about 1 minute. Add the bell pepper and jalapeño, stirring frequently to avoid burning for about 1 to 2 minutes. Next, add in the diced apples and tomatoes and stir to combine. Add in the lime juice, apple cider

Crust 1 1/2 cup flour 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup coconut oil, chilled (unmelted) 1/2 teaspoon salt Directions:

Soak the dates in water for at least 1 hour. Combine flour, sugar and salt to make crust and pulse in a food processor. Add in coconut oil and pulse just until dough starts to come

Photos by Jennifer Starrett

together. Use hands to fully combine, making sure not to overmix, and melt oil. Roll out dough into a 9-inch pie pan. Place in fridge to set. Once dates are soaked, peel away skin. Discard skin and pits and place remaining part of dates in a food processor or blender. Add the rest of the filling ingredients until combined. Add in more water if needed. Consistency should stick to spoon but not be too thick to pour. Pour into pie crust and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Serve chilled. Pomegranate Margarita Ingredients: 2 ounces pomegranate juice 1.5 ounces Tequila 1 lime, juiced 1/2 ounce Grand Marnier Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake for about 20 to 30 seconds. If desired, rim a chilled glass with sugar or salt by rubbing lime juice on the rim and rolling glass in sugar/salt. Pour margarita into glass and sip away.  PJC This was originally published in the Jewish News, a Chronicle-affiliated publication serving Greater Phoenix and Northern Arizona.

news. THEN GET THE FULL STORY. ❀ In the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. For home delivery, call 410.902.2308.

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SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 29

Life & Culture New Jersey’s Challah Back Girls raise dough for racial justice — TIKKUN OLAM — By Cathryn J. Prince | Times of Israel

A

s the dual crises of COVID-19 and racial violence continue to grip the nation, the Loffman sisters’ need to knead never felt more urgent. Meet Sara, 27; Marni, 24; Hannah, 22; and Eliana, 16, otherwise known as the Challah Back Girls, a literal sisterhood that nourishes souls and stomachs across America one braided loaf at a time. “When we talk about what’s going on with our peers and family, we realized we could use what we have to make a difference — and what we have are ingredients and strong Jewish roots,” Hannah said. “It’s been ingrained in us to greet people with warmth and humanity, to give back and repair the world.” Their story starts this past March when businesses and schools shuttered their doors in the face of COVID-19. For the first time in years the sisters found themselves all living together under one roof. “We all had very different lives doing very different things. We had a lot of independence and then we were home. We are blessed to have a beautiful sister dynamic,” said Hannah, who is pursuing a master’s degree in social work at Rutgers University. As virus cases skyrocketed, they found refuge in cracking eggs and sifting flour. Baking, something they’ve always enjoyed, alleviated the stress of life in quarantine. But it soon morphed into something more. The four sisters knew many front-line health care workers and first responders, and were eager to lift their spirits. So, when their mother suggested they bring challahs to a potluck for local volunteer ambulance corps they rose to the occasion. Choosing challah as a contribution was easy. Ever since they were young, they’d made their own challah for Shabbat, following their mother Caryn’s recipe. In no time they found themselves baking and giving challahs away. “As the pandemic evolved and progressed, we soon found ourselves making double and triple the quantities. It was the beginning of giving back,” Hannah said. Several days a week the sisters, masked and gloved, gather in the kosher family kitchen to bake using nut-free ingredients and pareve equipment, a kosher dietary term meaning that the utensils are used for neither milk nor meat. Meanwhile, the pandemic raged on and racial violence increased. On March 13 police killed Breonna Taylor in her Louisiana home, two white men killed Ahmaud Arbery while he jogged in Georgia, and then on May 25, Minneapolis police killed George Floyd. Days after they marched in a local protest against Floyd’s killing and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, they launched Challah Back Girls as a means to spotlight

p The Loffman sisters’ chocolate chip challah, which they produce as the Challah Back Girls, generate proceeds for charities that support racial justice and people in need.

p Clockwise from top right: Sara, Hannah, Eliana and Marni Loffman are the Challah Back Girls, baking for social justice and racial unity.

p Hannah (left) and Sara Loffman baking challah for the Challah Back Girls project.

Photos via Times of Israel

social justice organizations. “We never sat down and formally said ‘This is what we want to do.’ We were baking and selling challahs but we didn’t want to make money from it,” Marni said. They decided they could donate to established organizations that were doing anti-racist work or outreach in various communities. Each week the sisters bake, sell and deliver challahs nationwide. A portion of the proceeds goes to different social justice groups. “It’s not about solving all of these problems, but it has become a sweet and loving testament to building community,” Marni said. So far Challah Back Girls has raised $10,000 and shipped challahs to more than 200 cities in 36 states. Among the recipients are the Okra Project, which helps Black transgender chefs prepare

healthy home-cooked meals for fellow Black transgender people suffering from food insecurity, and Everyone Home DC, which provides housing solutions and support services to homeless or at-risk families. The sisters have supported The Steve Fund, which works to build understanding and assistance for the mental and emotional health of young people of color, and also the Color of Autism Foundation, which helps Black families with autistic children. “A big piece of the project for us is learning and educating ourselves about the different work being done. Each organization we’ve donated to has a similar underlying goal and vision for enacting reform,” said Sara, who until lockdown measures were implemented had been living in New York City. Lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fans, the

sisters donated to Zach Banner’s B3 Foundation in early August; they were impressed with the way the NFL star repudiated fellow NFL player DeSean Jackson’s recent anti-Semitic social media posts. Because they p Marni Loffman a l w ay s packages challahs for d o n’t hear back from a weekly delivery. the organizations, the sisters were surprised and delighted when Banner not only messaged them directly on Instagram, but posted videos on Twitter of himself tr ying the coffee crumb and plain flavors. “We were so p The sisters’ excited, we follow Everything But him as fans,” the Bagel challah Hannah said before sipping water from a cup emblazoned with the Steelers’ logo. Banner appears to favor the coffee crumb, something he has in common with Sara. Hannah, who used to prefer the coffee crumb, is now partial to Everything But the Bagel, as is Marni. The chocolate chip challah remains Eliana’s favorite. The Loffman sisters’ chocolate chip challah, which they produce as the Challah Back Girls, donating proceeds to charities that support racial justice and people in need. As the conversation wound down and the sisters got ready to head out on challah runs — they would spend the next two hours delivering their wares in Teaneck and neighboring Bergen County — they reflected on what they’ve accomplished. “None of us needs to pat ourselves on the back or to think we’re doing something revolutionary. It’s not about solving the issues, it’s about building community between Black Lives Matter and Jewish communities,” Marni said. The four also agreed they need to take some time to refresh and think about what’s next for the Challah Back Girls. For the past few weeks the Challah Back Girls only took orders for delivery in Teaneck and Bergen County, but then opened orders again more widely for Rosh Hashanah. Meanwhile, they continue to look for ways to stay involved in social justice issues. “There’s a quote from Pirkei Avot, Ethics of Our Fathers, that says it perfectly: ‘You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it,’” Hannah said.  PJC

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 30 SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

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Life & Culture Bette Midler shines as an angry Jew in HBO’s ‘Coastal Elites’ — STREAMING — By Curt Schleier | JTA

H

BO debuts playwright Paul Rudnick’s “socially distanced satire” film “Coastal Elites” on Saturday — and the star of the show is Bette Midler, whose Jewish character symbolizes the divide between America’s liberal cities and its heartland. The film is built on five remotely filmed monologues from characters based in either New York or Los Angeles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Midler plays Miriam Nessler, a retired New York City school teacher who may be the quintessential coastal elite. And one who is unapologetically Jewish, who also gets arrested for taking a red Make America

p Bette Midler stars in ‘Coastal Elite.’

HBO/via JTA

Great Again hat off of a pedestrian on the street and running away with it. “He’s wearing jeans and a windbreaker, and the hat — the red hat. You know the

one. The MAGA hat. In New York City, two blocks from the Public Theater,” Nessler says of the hat-wearer. “It’s like me going to Nebraska, wearing a yarmulke, waving a

rainbow flag while reading a book!” Despite her words, Nessler doesn’t quite look down at the rest of the country. But the truth is that she is by self-definition “a liberal Jewish woman. On the census, where it says religion, I don’t put down Jewish. I put down the New York Times.” To clarify, the print edition. “Reading the Times online is like having sex with a robot. It’s cleaner and faster, but you can tell the difference. New York Times online is for gentiles,” Nessler says. The other characters are Mark Hesterman (played by Jewish actor Dan Levy), a gay actor auditioning to play the first gay super hero in a big movie; Callie Josephson (Isa Rae), a wealthy Black woman who went to private school with Ivanka Trump; Clarissa Montgomery (Sarah Paulson), a Please see Midler, page 35

In Netflix’s ‘Away,’ Ato Essandoh is an African-BritishJewish astronaut. It’s not his first Jewish starring role.

p Ato Essandoh, right, as Kwesi Weisberg-Annan in Netflix’s space drama ‘Away.’

p Ato Essandoh also plays a Black Jew on the NBC drama ‘Chicago Med.’

Photo by Diyah Pera/Netflix via JTA

— STREAMING — By Gabe Friedman | JTA

A

to Essandoh isn’t Jewish, or British, or an astronaut — but he plays an African-British-Jewish astronaut on TV. In Netflix’s new hit drama “Away,” about an international crew of astronauts who set out on a critical near-future mission to Mars, Essandoh plays botanist Kwesi Weisberg-Annan, an orphan who is raised by a white Jewish mother and an African Jewish father in England after his parents are killed in his native Africa. Kwesi prays in Hebrew when the going gets tough on the spacecraft — it happens often during the crew’s multi-year journey — and early on he notes that he brought aboard a Torah. Luckily for Essandoh, he already had the Jewish side of his role down, as he put it, since he had previously portrayed a Black Jewish character — Dr. Isidore Latham on “Chicago Med.” PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

“The British part was the problem — I was like, now I have to learn a dialect! But I said, ‘OK, I have the Jewish thing down,’” he said with a laugh on the phone from his home in Brooklyn. He also had a head start on learning Jewish culture from his childhood in upstate New York, where he said he was surrounded by Jewish friends and brought up by parents who encouraged him to explore different histories and belief systems — ranging from Norse mythology to the New Testament to the fairy tale stories of West Africa. The role of Kwesi is just the latest in a wide-ranging career that kicked into high gear after a supporting part as Natalie Portman’s adopted brother in Zach Braff ’s 2004 indie hit “Garden State.” Essandoh, now 48, spoke with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about Black-Jewish representation on screen, his favorite Jewish prayer and his family’s obsession with bagels. This interview was condensed for clarity.

edited

and

Photo by Lelund Durond Thompson publicity via JTA

This isn’t giving much away for viewers, but there is a virus plot in this show. I have to know: Was the entire thing written and filmed before the COVID-19 crisis? Yes. At Netflix they practice witchcraft, so I think that’s what happened. [laughs] When you saw this role, did you say to yourself: “Again with the BlackJewish character?” Where I grew up, when we moved from Schenectady to New Rochelle in like sixth grade, most of my friends were Jewish, so I got sort of a primer on a little bit of Hebrew, I got the Yiddish curses. I tasted bagels for the first time. I have a funny story about that. We’re African kids living up in Schenectady, and my dad would do business down in New York City sometimes. One time he brought back bagels. And we had never seen bagels, we were probably 7- and 8-year-old kids. We were like, “What is that round bread with a hole in it?!” And my dad is like, “Trust us, eat it.” We’re kids, so we said, “No, we don’t know

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what it is!” Then he pulled out cream cheese and he’s like, “You spread this stuff on it.” And he’s coming back to us like he’s discovered something from the new world — and of course he’s Ghanaian, so he’s never seen this. I will tell you, when we put those bagels in our mouths and ate them, we became the bagel family. To this day — since my parents have moved back to Ghana — if I dare go to Ghana from New York without bringing New York bagels, I will not be allowed to stay in the home. My mom is trying to teach herself how to make bagels. This is 30 years of bagel expertise. We love bagels in our family. And I think that was kind of a precursor, speaking of witchcraft, to my career as an actor, now playing twice a Jewish character, which I think is great. So how prepared were you this time? What kind of new things did you have to learn for this specific character? “Chicago Med” prepped me for this. [For that role] I spoke to [Chicago Rabbi Capers Please see Essandoh, page 35

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 31

Community Outdoor fun at Community Day School

Residents enjoy art at Jewish Association on Aging

p Tatum Baron is all smiles on the socially distanced swing set.

p Sharon makes a suncatcher.

p Rachel Steiman isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty during extra time for outdoor play and learning.

p Benjamin Block is just “hanging out.” Photos courtesy of Community Day School

p Jean works with watercolors.

Photos courtesy of Jewish Association on Aging

p Morgan Styen enjoys a late summer afternoon recess.

NCJW Pittsburgh Section optimizes back to school period

p Kids Community Closet continued providing underserved children with clothing, underwear, socks, backpacks, school supplies and personal care items.

32 SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

p NCJW Pittsburgh Section works with area schools and agencies to ensure students have necessary materials. Photos courtesy of National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh Section

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Community Activities foster friendship and inclusion at Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh

In-person instruction continues at Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh

By celebrating member birthdays, enjoying hands-on activities like making bird feeders and sharing time with friends, the Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh welcomes a new season of friendship and inclusion.

p Sydney Smith displays her Friendship Circle birthday package.

p Nurturing seeds for future growth in pre-K

p “I present for you a bird feeder.”

p So much to do, so much to see

p Friendship Circle converted its parking lot into a drive-in theater for an evening of physical distancing and watching “Finding Nemo.” Photos courtesy of Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh

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p Masked up and ready for a great day

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photos courtesy of Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020 33

Opinion Golin: Continued from page 19

maintain relationships with each other and to preserve our community identity. With all of these changes and adaptations, there will of course still be a gap between our desire to celebrate these holidays “normally” and the very different way in which we actually observe Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this year. How do we bridge this gap and reconcile ourselves to the reality of this change? We do so by turning to our community — reaching out to people we care about for help and support. After all, we all believe at a very core level that

no one in our community should need to struggle alone. And if friends and family aren’t able to provide the help that’s needed, organizations like JFCS can provide the professional guidance that can make the difference between quiet desperation and successful coping. The Jewish new year is a time of hope and renewal. As we continue to live through an era of unprecedented loss and upheaval, we remain hopeful that better times are in store. And so, I share my wish with you that this new year will truly be a sweet one in which we will be able to come together again as a community in celebration.  PJC Jordan Golin is president & CEO of JFCS.

You: Continued from page 19

or going to alleghenycounty.us/elections/ frequently-asked-questions.aspx for up-todate information. Please also remember that statewide litigation is delaying the printing and distribution of ballots. Be patient. 4. If you decide to vote in person, double check your polling place. Plan to go early. And don’t forget to wear a mask, keep 6 feet from others, and bring your hand sanitizer! To find out if you are registered to vote, or to find out the status of your mail-in ballot application, absentee ballot application or

the ballot itself go to: pavoterservices.pa.gov. Questions? We can help you with answers here: jccpgh.org or rac.org.  PJC Susan Friedberg Kalson is the chair of the Commission on Social Action of the Union for Reform Judaism. Rabbi Ron Symons is the founding director of the Center for Loving Kindness of the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh. Josh Sayles is the outgoing director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council. Together, they are working in a broad coalition in Pittsburgh and across Pennsylvania to encourage high voter turnout.

White supremacists pose most serious threat to Jews

Letters: Continued from page 19

independent; challenging China for stealing our intellectual property and destroying our manufacturing; getting rid of unnecessary regulations; putting sanctions on Iran; building a wall to keep out drugs and terrorists; filling vacant court positions with constitutional judges; moving the American embassy to Jerusalem; and passing criminal justice reform. I am four years older than Biden and recognize forgetting names and losing concentration. If Biden doesn’t have the mental acuity to handle the job, the responsibilities of the office fall to Kamala Harris who was chosen based on her race and gender, not on being the best person for the job. Not good for the country. Not what I want. Sheldon Shapiro Squirrel Hill

I am responding to Binyamin Rose’s column of Sept. 4 (“Many Orthodox Jews support President Trump. I’m one of them — here’s why”). He states that Orthodox Jews support Trump because they need to feel safe from urban civil disorder. He ignores the much more serious threat of white supremacist violence, which President Trump refuses to condemn in an unambiguous way. It wasn’t rioters and looters or far left extremists who chanted “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville in 2017, shot and killed 11 people at Tree of Life here in Pittsburgh in 2018, or shot shoppers at a Wal-Mart in El Paso in 2019. It was white supremacists. White supremacists recruit and radicalize people online, just as other terrorist organizations do. This radicalization includes indoctrination in anti-Semitism. It would be foolish to ignore the threat that these individuals and groups pose to us. White supremacist terrorism is a more serious threat to the Jewish community and to America as a whole than urban rioting, left-wing secularism, or terrorism by other groups. We need a president who will unequivocally condemn white supremacy and all violent acts in the name of white supremacy.

Both sides should be heard

Is there not anyone to defend President Trump? Your newspaper, usually well written by various capable writers, seems to me to lean to a certain point of view, with people of influence contributing to it with their opinions as the ultimate knowledge. I do disagree with some of the letters to the editor, proclaiming all the qualities of Biden, insulting the presidency of Donald Trump, ignoring completely the historical facts in order to promote Biden, a puppet of the left Democratic party. Everyone is entitled to their own choices, however equitable space should be given to opposite remarks. And I did not relish the criticisms about the Orthodox as being monolithic. I am not here to discuss the pros and cons of politicians, enough of it is debated on TV if you dare to watch the opposite TV stations of your prejudices. I will say, however, that too many Jewish voters will contribute to the anti-Semitism already inherent in certain members of the Congress. Is this what you want? I don’t.

Linda Newman Squirrel Hill

Trump has made COVID-19 political

In his Sept. 4, 2020, columnist Binyamin Rose states that most Orthodox Jews view COVID-19 as a health issue and not a political one. President Trump is the self-absorbed person who made it political when he claimed that people who wore masks don’t like him personally. How did China come out with so few deaths compared to us when the virus started there? President Trump’s clueless management. He doesn’t read, doesn’t listen, doesn’t credit science, and thinks he knows everything. Erika Kreisman Pittsburgh

Solange Lebovitz Squirrel Hill

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Life & Culture Besides the very funny jokes, at at the center of “Coastal Elites” is a sense of wariContinued from page 31 ness, an unease because after all this time, after all the news, there is a national divide over something where there should be unity. woman who creates meditation videos; and Rudnick noticed about a year ago that Sharynn Tarrows (Kaitlyn Dever), a nurse “everybody I knew on every side of the from Wyoming who comes to New York to political divide was in a permanent state help during the pandemic. of anger and heart break over the future of

the country.” “Coastal Elites” is the result of that feeling. He was raised in a Jewish household, attended Hebrew school, had a bar mitzvah, but it was primarily “cultural Jewish. We’d focus on the Jewish traditions education and culture and civic responsibility.” At dinner the family would discuss what was in the Times that morning and on that night. His

parents, he says, “were very good liberals and also deeply curious. And they emphasized real engagement in life.” Rudnick, who has written other screenplays, plays, and novels, says he is “grateful for that great Jewish comic tradition, a way of speaking that’s wry and skeptical and loving, all at the same time, which is nuts and doesn’t make any sense at all.”  PJC

Essandoh:

go around in circles and shake each others’ hands and then we just sit there and talk about the year — “How did the year go for you? Oh, this is what happened, this is what I’m worried about, this is the thing that I’m looking forward to, I got this new television show, I can’t wait for you guys to see.” I feel like there are a lot of those parallels. The thing my mom used to tell me all the time growing up, because I’ve always been a person who’s stuck between multiple cultures — American and Ghanaian and Black and this and that — my mom said you know having that kind of diversity, see it this way, take the things that work from each culture and leave the other stuff behind, make your own culture, make your own identity. You get to pick and choose because you have a diversity of choices, and that’s something I’ve tried to uphold throughout my life.

Jewish characters? And what do you think about the whole debate? Yeah, I think about it a lot with this role and my “Chicago Med” role, and a role I had just this past summer on Amazon’s “Tales From the Loop” where I played a gay man. And it’s really tricky because you can argue that I’m not Jewish, but you can also argue that I’m not a botanist nor am I an astronaut nor am I a British citizen nor am I a Ghanaian citizen. So I don’t understand the problem in a binary situation. I understand it if you’re doing “Raisin in the Sun” and you cast the family as white people. That is problematic because this play is about being Black. There’s a difference between something that is tied to the identity of the piece that you’re doing and an actor playing a role. And so I think it should be a much more nuanced conversation than it is, and I do think about that all the time, I do anticipate people saying, “If you’re not even Jewish, if you’re not even somebody who says you believe in God, why should you have the right to play a religious character, much less a Jewish character?” I don’t know how to answer that question. I love to act and I love to tell stories, but I also want to have respect for the stories I’m telling. If it’s a situation where it’s going to ruin the show or people aren’t going to watch it, then I’ll step down — I mean not for this show, too late now I guess — that’s something I have to take into consideration. Because I don’t want to offend people. I wouldn’t want to offend everyone who’s a Jewish person who would look at that and go “Oh, my god, what is he doing!” If I’ve done something wrong, I don’t want to be in the boat of maligning a whole entire group of people. So it’s a really delicate situation. I hope I’ve brought some reality to it and I haven’t shined the wrong kind of attention to it.

Midler:

Continued from page 31

Funnye] and what was nice about speaking to him was that in our culture, I guess writ large, a nonwhite person who’s a Jewish person is a rarity to most of us. So it feels like somebody is just trying to make an interesting character for interesting character’s sake. When I spoke to the rabbi, he was like “Oh no, Black Jewish people and nonwhitelooking Jewish people are more than you think. They’re all over, even in Ghana.” And for an actor what that helps with is then I don’t feel like I’m sort of the sore thumb that somebody slapped together; there’s a real person here. Part of acting is just allowing yourself to believe you’re that person. So that helped me with this character [in “Away”] because i was like “Yeah, OK, Black Jewish guy, no problem.” But then speaking Hebrew in an English dialect was also sort of a mind-bending thing. Any words or phrases that you struggled with? I have to give props to the coach that they got for me out in Vancouver, who I believe is Israeli — he made it very easy. I think I can still do the “Traveler’s Prayer,” let’s see: Y’hi ratzon milfanecha Adonai Eloheinu ve-lohei avoteinu she-tolichenu l’shalom v’tatz’idenu l’shalom … I can’t even believe I can say that part, oh my God. I think I’m honorary at this point. [laughs] What I love about that prayer, at least how I translate it, is that it’s about the journey. It’s almost about “appreciate the journey, appreciate the opportunity of being able to go to a different place than you were before.” And hopefully you learn something, hopefully you do not die on the way, but learn and strengthen yourself through that travel, and that’s a lovely sort of way to look at life. The conversation about Jews of color has really flourished and expanded in recent years. Have you followed that thread at all, and have any Jews of color reached

out to you expressing appreciation or anything like that? That I haven’t seen yet directly, but I think that it is happening, and that brings up a broader point that you are making, which is that it’s seeing all of the diversity of different people, especially right now … is something that is tantamount to our progress as a human species. We have to learn the constructs that we have been under — like my construct that “all Jewish people look white, that’s what they are.” No, there’s a whole set of people who practice Judaism who don’t look this way. All protagonists of movies have to be white men — no, look at Hillary Swank, look what she’s doing [in “Away”]. And what it does is give us a diversity of ideas, a diversity of things that we can learn from each other and everybody belongs at this table and nothing should be off the table because it can only make us stronger. That’s my feel-good message of the day. President Obama used the Passover Seder to draw parallels between the African and Jewish quests for freedom over the millennia. In “Away,” there’s a scene in which Kwesi’s adoptive father makes a similar kind of comparison as he explains to young Kwesi why he adopted Judaism. Have these roles made you think more about the similarities between African and Jewish culture? It’s funny, having all the Jewish friends I’ve had all throughout my life, I realize it was only last year — and I’m mad at all my Jewish friends at this point — when my agent invited me to a Seder. I had never been to one before, which is extraordinary for someone like me, and what I absolutely loved — I’m not a very religious person — but what I loved was the family sitting around, talking about this shared history, this shared story, and laughing and joking about uncle so-and-so and auntie da-da-da, and there’s this sort of ritual which forces or which encourages the family to bond. Which is the same thing with my family. When I go to Ghana, since our family’s now spread all over the world, my dad has this thing that he calls the “family state of the union.” We all

This character has a deep religious narrative; it’s not just a token inclusion. Did playing it make you rethink your own spirituality at all? I thought about it, but I thought about it in the way that I have an admiration for people of faith. Faith is the belief in something with the absence of evidence, so you’re looking into the void and your faith tells you that there’s somebody or something there that will help you and will guide you and has a plan — as opposed to somebody like me, who looks into the void and goes, “All right, guys, I don’t know where we’re going either, let’s all hold hands and try to figure this out on the way.” And I think somewhere in the middle is perhaps the reality of the universe. So it didn’t necessarily change my point of view, but it has sort of helped me navigate the things that I think are true and have empathy for another person’s way of looking at the universe. Because who says I’m the one who’s right? I don’t know. While we’re seeing greater diversity on screen, it’s a tricky time to play a character with traits that you as an actor don’t have. Do you ever think about people calling you out for being a non-Jewish actor playing

So what if someone comes to you, let’s say a few roles from now, with another BlackJewish character. What’s your response? I guess I’d say I’ve been doing a pretty good job, that’s why you’re coming to me, I’m the Black-Jewish expert at this point. I’ll stick it on my resume — I’ll put the “Traveler’s Prayer” on my resume.  PJC

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