Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle Sept. 1, 2017 by Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

P I T TS B U R G H

September 1, 2017 | 10 Elul 5777

Candlelighting 7:34 p.m. | Havdalah 8:31 p.m. | Vol. 60, No. 35 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL ‘Small-town’ rabbi Connellsville native takes helm of Jerusalem’s Pardes Institute. Page 3

$1.50

JCC takes on ‘civic engagement,’ Chronicle hosts interfaith anti-hate confab launches new website in partnership with Times of Israel By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

LOCAL A different kind of camp

 Area clergy gather in front of the JCC, singing “We Shall Overcome” in a demonstration organized by the JCC’s newly formed Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement, and Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania. Photo by Toby Tabachnick By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

W Memories of Camp Hemshekh’s focus on survival. Page 5 NATIONAL Helping Harvey’s homeless

Federation joins hurricane recovery effort. Page 9

hen Rabbi Ron Symons and the Rev. Liddy Barlow decided to co-host a program protesting racism and bigotry in the wake of the Charlottesville riots, they hoped that maybe 30 interfaith clergy members would show up and perhaps an additional 20 might sign on to a declaration to the community accentuating their unity in the face of hatred and discrimination. Instead, more than 100 clergy and other community members assembled Monday afternoon at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh in Squirrel Hill, and 169 people signed on to the declaration. The interfaith gathering was the inaugural program of a new initiative of the JCC called the Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement, headed by Symons, and was held in collaboration with Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, an umbrella group for a variety of Christian denominations, of which Barlow serves as executive minister. The event united clergy from many streams of Christianity, along with representatives from the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh and local rabbis and cantors from Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist congregations. The program marked the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. “We are living in very challenging times,” said Symons, the JCC’s senior director of Jewish life, reading from a joint statement signed also by Barlow. “Protesters, advocates and politicians are trying to spin our moral

compasses in such a way so that we have little sense of which way to step. But we know in which direction we should march: the moral direction that is taught by all of our faith traditions, the direction of ‘love your neighbor as yourself ’ and ‘do not stand idle while your neighbor bleeds.’ Our fathers and mothers marched in this direction, and so must we, so that our children will in their day and so that we can create a world where hate, bigotry, racism and discrimination have no place in society, no matter the voice speaking them nor the unspoken words of those in power.” In addition to an audio excerpt of the Rev. Marin Luther King Jr.’s address delivered at the March on Washington, the crowd also heard an excerpt of a 1903 sermon by Rodef Shalom’s Rabbi Leonard Levy, read by that congregation’s current senior rabbi, Aaron Bisno, and part of the final sermon of Muhammed read by Imam Abdul Wajid. Following the readings of the excerpted sermons, the clergy members marched together singing “We Shall Overcome,” to address community members assembled at the entrance to the JCC on Forbes Avenue. The JCC’s Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement has been in the works for several months, with an intended launch this fall, according to Brian Schreiber, president and CEO of the JCC. The white supremist rally in Charlottesville, and its aftermath, however, created an “impetus” to act sooner, he said.

he Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle is scheduled to introduce a new state-of-the-art website this Friday as part of the newspaper’s relaunch. On July 21, the Chronicle introduced a new name, a new look in its print edition and a new subscription model that provides copies of the Chronicle free of charge to members of the Pittsburgh Jewish community. Now, the Chronicle has joined a digital partnership with The Times of Israel, the Jerusalem-based online publication founded in 2012 that reports on developments in Israel, the Middle East and around the Jewish world. Four other Jewish news outlets are part of The Times of Israel collaboration: the Atlanta Jewish Times; the Jewish Standard in northern New Jersey; The New York Jewish Week; and the Jewish News based in the United Kingdom. The Chronicle’s new website can be found at pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Jim Busis, publisher and CEO of the Chronicle, explained the need to modernize his outlet’s digital presence. “In internet terms, the Chronicle’s former website was very old,” said Busis. “When it was started in 2008 it was very good. In fact, in 2009 we won a Rockower Award [from the American Jewish Press Association] for best website. But in the years since, the software company that provided our platform has not kept up with the times,” rendering the old site “inadequate by modern standards.” The Chronicle opted to join the partnership with The Times of Israel, Busis said, which “includes using their website platform, but

Please see JCC, page 16

Please see Website, page 16

keep your eye on PittsburghJewishChronicle NATIONAL

Rabbi’s political call is love

LOCAL

J Street updates strategies

MUSIC

Jewish punk rocks tradition

Headlines J Street’s Elsner weighs in on Israel as well as U.S in the age of Trump — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

Street was founded in 2007 as a nonprofit focusing on advocating for American policies that could lead to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While that focus remains constant, the group has been lending its voice to several domestic issues as well since the 2016 American election. “We have since the last election somewhat broadened the number of issues that we have spoken out on and acted on, issues that go to the heart of the Jewish American experience and what we perceive to be core values,” said Alan Elsner, special advisor to J Street’s president Jeremy Ben Ami. “So, we’ve been talking about immigration and the tax on immigrants, Islamophobia and obviously now anti-Semitism.” Weighing in on these domestic issues is not a major shift from J Street’s longtime mission, stressed Elsner, speaking by phone from Washington, D.C. prior to traveling to Pittsburgh to address local J Street supporters at their annual brunch, held at Rodef Shalom Congregation on Aug. 27. “We’re not talking about climate change, or women’s health issues, or education,” Elsner said. “The issues we are talking about do have a direct connection to the Jewish American experience and the core Jewish and American values.” Because its emphasis historically has been on Israel, “We are trying to be humble when we get involved in these issues, recog-

P I T TS B U R G H

SUBSCRIPTIONS subscriptions@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 410-902-2308 TO ADVERTISE Display: advertising@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 724-713-8874 EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Email: newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

P I T TS B U R G H

BOARD OF TRUSTEES David Ainsman, Chairman Evan Indianer, Vice Chairman Gayle R. Kraut, Secretary Andrew Schaer, Treasurer Richard J. Kitay, Immediate Past Chairman Jonathan Bernstein, Gail Childs, Elizabeth F. Collura, Seth Dresbold, Milton Eisner, Malke Steinfeld Frank, Tracy Gross, Catia Kossovsky, Andi Perelman, Amy Platt, David Rush, Charles Saul GENERAL COUNSEL Stuart R. Kaplan, Esq.

2 SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

nizing they are not at the heart of the J Street mission,” Elsner explained. “We are joining other coalitions and lending our support and expertise where we think we can help.” The need for J Street “as a voice of conscience in the community” has grown since the election, according to Elsner, “precisely because some of the very central and important and traditionally powerful organizations have failed to step up to the plate, and I say that with sadness. There has been a kind of gap that J Street is filling.” While 75 percent of American Jews did not vote for Trump, “some of our most important organizations are carrying on business as usual, as though there wasn’t a president that behaves as he behaves and has adopted the policies that he’s adopted and has said the things that he has said and who has invited anti-Semites into his White House and who has used anti-Semitic dog whistles both during the campaign and since the campaign,” Elsner charged. Elsner said he finds it “sad that the collective voice of the American Jewish community has not been out there standing up for core Jewish and American values in the way I hoped it would, and that the message has been muddled.” Elsner cited President Donald Trump’s response to the incident in Charlottesville as “a problem,” and called out the mainstream Jewish community for failing to condemn Trump for that response. “An organization that does not speak about the president’s response [to Charlottesville] is missing the point,” Elsner said. While neo-Nazis “have been around forever and every so often they do some-

p Alan Elsner

Photo courtesy of Alan Elsner

thing,” the situation in Charlottesville differs precisely because of Trump’s words pointing the blame for the attack on “both sides,” according to Elsner. “It’s easy to denounce horrific acts carried out by deranged individuals, whether they be Muslim or Neo-Nazi or whatever,” he said. “But it’s an entirely different issue when the president of the United States comes out and gives them legitimacy. This is unprecedented in our nation’s history. And that’s what so many people have failed to address. “Our community as a whole is facing one of those decisive, defining moments,” he continued. “What do we stand for? When we say, ‘never again,’ do we mean it?” Elsner postulated that some Jewish organi-

zations may be reticent to criticize the president because such criticism could “conflict with other interests, with other positions, or with our political allegiance.” Many mainstream Jewish organizations have, however, called out Trump on what they perceive as ethical failings. Just last week — following the Chronicle’s interview with Elsner — leaders of the Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist movements sent a joint letter to the president, explaining why they would not be participating in the president’s traditional High Holiday phone call. “The president’s words have given succor Please see J Street, page 7

5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Main phone number: 412-687-1000

Jim Busis, CEO and Publisher 412-228-4690 jbusis@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org EDITORIAL Joshua Runyan, Editor-in-Chief 215-832-0744 jrunyan@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org Angela Leibowicz, Community/Web Editor 412-687-1047 aleibowicz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org Toby Tabachnick, Senior Staff Writer 412-228-4577 ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org Adam Reinherz, Staff Writer 412-687-1000 areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

ADVERTISING Phil Durler, Senior Sales Associate 724-713-8874 pdurler@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org PRODUCTION Jeni Mann, Director Rachel S. Levitan Art/Production Coordinator BUSINESS Bill Sims, Director of Circulation 410-902-2315

Devorah Neuman, Circulation subscriptions@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 410-902-2308 Published every Friday by the Pittsburgh Jewish Publication and Education Foundation 5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-687-1000 FAX: 412-521-0154

Acceptance of advertisers and of ad copy is subject to the publisher’s approval. The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle is not responsible if ads violate applicable laws and the advertiser will indemnify, hold harmless and defend the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle from all claims made by governmental agencies and consumers for any reason based on ads appearing in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

POSTMASTER: Send address change to PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE, 5915 BEACON ST., 5TH Floor PITTSBURGH, PA 15217 (PERIODICAL RATE POSTAGE PAID AT PITTSBURGH, PA AND AT ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES) USPS 582-740 Manuscripts, letters, documents and photographs sent to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle become the property of this publication, which is not responsible for the return or loss of such items. The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle does not endorse the goods or services advertised or covered in its pages and makes no representation to the kashrut of food products and services in said advertising or articles. The publisher is not liable for damages if, for any reason whatsoever, he fails to publish an advertisement or for any error in an advertisement.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Rabbi with local ties to lead Pardes Institute — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

hen Leon Morris was just 10 years old and living in Connellsville, Pa. — a town 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, with just 10 Jewish families — he built a sukkah by himself in his back yard. “It was probably the first sukkah in Connellsville in 50 or 75 years,” recalled Morris, the newly installed president of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, a nondenominational Jewish learning community located in Israel. Growing up in Connellsville, in a family that was not particularly observant, Morris nonetheless always thought of being Jewish as “special,” and from an early age, took it upon himself to try to encourage his family to enlarge their ritual observances, as well as educate his non-Jewish friends about what it meant to be a Jew. “My experience growing up as a Jew in Connellsville is what ultimately led me to become a rabbi and an educator,” Morris said. “I felt like this Jewish piece of my identity was something special and something unusual and something that from a very early age I had to explain to all of my non-Jewish friends — and in reality, I think

I was explaining it to myself.” While attending public school in Connellsville, Morris never had more than one other Jew in his class and never more than three or four other Jews in the whole school. But instead of finding that experience isolating, Morris sought Jewish connection elsewhere. His family attended Congregation Emanu-El Israel in Greensburg, and Morris became active in its Reform youth group, NFTY. “By high school I began to have very deep friendships with Jews from other parts of the state and other parts of the country [through NFTY],” Morris said. “I had this very intense love for Judaism at a very early age.” Morris, who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1990, comes to Pardes from the Shalom Hartman Institute, where he served as vice president for North American programs in Israel and is part of the faculty of Hebrew Union College. He made aliyah with his family in June 2014 after serving as the rabbi of Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor, N.Y. Ordained from Hebrew Union College in 1997, Morris was a Wexner Graduate Fellow and has worked extensively with the Jewish community of India, beginning in 1990 when he served as a Jewish Service Corps volunteer for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Morris has taught at a range of institu-

Insuring Our Community

Your Local Donegal Agent Since 1963! Together, Wagner Agency and Donegal provide insurance solutions for individuals and businesses in the Pittsburgh area. Stop by or call the Wagner Agency and discover the value of Donegal for your auto, home and business insurance.

5020 Centre Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213

p Rabbi Leon Morris

Photo courtesy of Rabbi Leon Morris

tions across the denominational spectrum, including those of the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements, and his appointment to Pardes has been praised across that spectrum as well. “Rabbi Leon Morris is a visionary Jewish leader who is not only an excellent teacher

ine, Dear Nad father rk but my o Y w e N eeds I live in rgh. He n u b s t it P e in nd lives alon on him, a in k c e h c o someone t ith his e is OK w h ing. e r u s e s, and driv mak d e e n y r e groc medicine, elp? Can you h NADINE KRUMAN is the CARE NAVIGATOR at the Jewish Association on Aging and manages the AgeWell At Home program. When it comes to questions about senior care, Nadine is the person to ask.

To contact Nadine directly, call her at 412-420-4000, x 2252 or email her at nkruman@jaapgh.org

www.wagneragency.com • (412) 681-2700

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Please see Pardes, page 17

ASK NADINE

3510 Route 130 Irwin, PA 15642

AUTO • HOME • BUSINESS

and sophisticated strategic thinker but also inspires others by his stellar personal example of warmth, kindness and gentility,” said Rabbi Ari Berman, the incoming president of Yeshiva University, in a prepared statement. “He has a long and impressive track record of creative and thoughtful leadership in Jewish education and will lead Pardes to new levels of achievement and success in the years ahead.” Morris is the first Pardes alumnus to hold the position of president, having studied on the Pardes Year Program in 1995-96, as well as during two summer sessions. “For me, this appointment is a homecoming, because Pardes has always been one of my intellectual homes, one of my spiritual homes,” Morris said, “and I think like a lot of graduates of Pardes, there is a sense that Pardes contributed to making me into the kind of Jew that I am today.” Morris praised Pardes’ serious emphasis on the study of Jewish texts and a faculty and staff that understands that “a deep relationship with the classics of Jewish tradition is the key to any type of Jewish life, regardless of denomination or ideology.” Deep learning can help “anchor” creative expression in Jewish life, Morris said, and he intends to help the institution refine its

Nadine says:

Care Navigation is a service that I offer through the JAA/Agewell program. I can direct you and your father to transportation services, social activities, and other supportive services within the community. I can talk to your dad about his needs. In addition, there are telephone support services, volunteer-based services he could access. Care Navigation is a safety net service for seniors and their families.

200 JHF DRIVE • PITTSBURGH, PA 15217 • WWW.JAAPGH.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 3

Headlines El Al, Nefesh B’Nefesh fly Pittsburgher to Israel to reunite with lone soldier — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

fter suffering from a stroke in April, Nancy Jo Aharon did not think that she would be able to make it to Israel to celebrate with her “lone soldier” daughter, Tamar, at her tekes sof maslul, the ceremony marking the end of basic training for the Israel Defense Forces. A lone soldier is a soldier in the IDF who has no immediate family in Israel. Aharon, a dentist with a practice in Turtle Creek, faced financial challenges resulting from the time she had to take off from work recovering from the stroke, and the cost of a ticket to Israel became prohibitively expensive once she realized that she was healthy enough to travel. That’s where a new partnership between Nefesh B’Nefesh and El Al providing flight subsidies to parents of lone soldiers came in to help, allowing Aharon to fly to Israel to be with Tamar at the tekes on July 26. “They paid for all but $250 of the ticket,” said Aharon. “They made the ticket possible for me, and it meant everything in the world to me. I’ve got seven children, and one chose to be in the IDF. I had every intention to be there for her, and I didn’t think I’d be able to do that.”

Nefesh B’Nefesh, in coopexperience” for lone soldiers, eration with the Israeli as well as “deeply emotional government and the Jewish for parents,” according to Agency for Israel, works to Yael Katsman, director facilitate the aliyah process of communications for for those coming from Nefesh B’Nefesh. the U.S., Canada and the “A soldier participates in United Kingdom by helping an average of three ceremoto minimize the financial, nies throughout his or her logistical and social obstaIDF service: the ‘swearing-in cles that those considering ceremony,’ the ‘acceptance into his or her unit’ and the immigration to Israel might face. It began a partnership ‘end of basic training,’” said with El Al last March to help p Tamar and her mother, Katsman. “Nefesh B’Nefesh the parents of lone soldiers. Nancy Jo Aharon recognized the importance Photo courtesy of of having a parent present at Tamar, who is in the Israeli Nefesh B’Nefesh these ceremonies and decided Navy, was thrilled to have to approach El Al with the opportunity to take her mother with her at the tekes in Haifa. “I was so happy she was able to make it,” part in reuniting parents with their lone soldier Tamar wrote in a prepared statement. “She children at these momentous occasions.” So far, more than 50 parents have been had a surgery a couple weeks before so she wasn’t sure she’d be able to come, but when able to attend their children’s ceremonies I found out she was able to, I was so excited. since the launch of the project. There are Not only would she be at my tekes, but we got currently 100 subsidized tickets allocated to spend a whole week together. It felt like I for 2017 and Nefesh B’Nefesh is working on was just like the rest of the Israeli soldiers renewing the initiative for 2018. One subsidized ticket can be allocated with their families when looking at my family in the audience, which I didn’t think for each lone soldier family. The tickets are I’d feel in my service.” restricted to parents of lone soldiers serving Serving in the IDF can be a “challenging in their first year of the IDF service, or to

Murray Avenue Kosher 1916 MURRAY AVENUE 412-421-1015 • 412-421-4450 • FAX 412-421-4451 PRICES EFFECTIVE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Candle Lighting Time Friday, September 1, 2017 • 7:31 p.m. MEAT SPECIALS

parents of lone soldiers in elite units who have training courses ending during their second year of service, and are nontransferable. Eligibility for the subsidized tickets is tied to financial need. “It is a tremendous privilege for us to help parents of lone soldiers reunite with their sons and daughters during their army service,” said Nefesh B’Nefesh co-founder and executive director, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass. “We want to ensure that families have the ability and opportunity to participate in this special milestone.” Nefesh B’Nefesh will bring more than 2,000 olim making aliyah from North America this summer, through two charter flights, 11 group flights and “olim arriving independently on a daily basis,” according to Jake Sharfman, a spokesperson for Nefesh B’Nefesh. Jim and Leigh Lando, from Pittsburgh, were on the charter that left on Aug. 15 for Israel. The Landos are both physicians and will be moving to Be’er Sheva as part of Nefesh B’Nefesh’s Go South program. Jim Lando is a retired admiral and assistant surgeon general and regional health administrator for the U.S. Department and Health Human Services. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON

Jewish Pittsburgh

TAKE-OUT SPECIALS

SHABBOS SPECIAL

London Broil

2 Roasted Chickens 1 Qt. Chicken Soup 4 Matzo Balls

MONDAY DINNER SPECIAL

1049 LB

Have a Great Holiday!

Chicken Legs

1 Kugel • 2 Pints Salad • 2 Mini Challahs

Serves 4

269 LB

43.99

TUESDAY DINNER SPECIAL

Empire Frozen Chicken Drummettes

STORE HOURS Sun. 9/3 • 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. Mon. 9/4 • 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Tues. & Wed. 9/5 & 9/6 • 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Thurs. 9/7 • 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Fri. 9/8 • 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Chicken Pot Pie

Mashed Potatoes • Salad

1449 4 LB

Serves 4

$29.99

WEEKLY SPECIALS

JASON’S BREAD CRUMBS (PLAIN OR FLAVORED) $ 89

VEGETABLE SOUP $ 99

EMPIRE SMOKED TURKEY BREAST $ 59

WHOLE BBQ CHICKEN $ 99

CHOPPED LIVER $ 89

UNGER’S FRENCH FRIES SHOE STRING $ 79

24 OZ

AMNON FALAFEL BALLS $ 49 . 12 OZ

SHOR HABOR MEXICAN TURKEY BREAST $ 59

HOMEMADE SALADS & SOUPS DELI PARTY TRAYS

28 OZ

SONNY & JOE’S BABAGANOUSH $ 25

We Prepare Trays for All Occasions UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF VAAD OF PITTSBURGH

4 SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

HAOLAM CHEDDAR STICKS $ 09

8 OZ

DILL POTATO SALAD $ 99 . LB

Visit the NEW website www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

BBQ TURKEY DRUMSTICKS SHOR HABOR OR AARON’S $ 25

P I T TS B U R G H

CATERING SPECIALISTS DELICIOUS FRIED CHICKEN WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Summer camp memories bring smiles and introspection — LOCAL — Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

ifty years have passed since Helane Linzer unpacked her duffle bags, and though the contents are now weathered, worn or lost, her memories of summer camp remain as fresh as the grassy slopes of the Catskill Mountains where she summered long ago. “I think relative to American Jewish camps it was just a more intense experience and more intellectual,” recalled Linzer, while seated in her Pittsburgh home. In June 1965, Linzer, daughter of Leona and Michael Fruchter, two Polish Holocaust survivors, left Brooklyn to accompany her older sister, Marlene, to Camp Hemshekh in Hunter, N.Y. The camp moved to Mountaindale, N.Y., in 1969. “The first summer I went, other than the nurse’s daughter who was 5 and housed in our bunk, I think I was the youngest person in the camp,” she said. Apart from sharing space with slightly older children, bearing such youthful designation bestowed a certain aloofness on the then 8-year-old.

p Helane Linzer and her father pose for a photoin 1969 in Mountaindale, N.Y., with the camp’s new sign. Photo courtesy of Helane Linzer

“Being young, there was a lot that went over my head,” Linzer said. “I think that it took a long time till I realized that the camp had a mission that was probably different than most sleep-away camps that American Jewish kids went to. It was a camp that was designed for children of survivors, headed

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

by survivors and many of them with very interesting backgrounds.” In 1959, the camp was founded by a group of Holocaust survivors. Hemshekh, which means “continuation” in Yiddish, served as both the enterprise’s name and charge. For the founders who had earlier been

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

partisans and members of the Bund (the Jewish Socialist Party) in Eastern Europe, Hemshekh would instill the next generation with a “love of Yiddish” and a “socialist-rooted view of social justice,” noted the Yiddish Book Center. Throughout the summer, various ventures facilitated the task, recalled Linzer. During the day, campers would sometimes encircle patches of grass, sit and discuss Yiddish philosophy with older counselors. At night, one activity “that we used to have was a debate with three groups on the panel debating socialism, communism and capitalism.” Whether the sun had risen or set, music was a constant presence, she added. At the camp, “there was this one broken piano, but the music counselor was amazing — Zalmen Mlotek, and he came from a family of very to the left-of-center intellectuals.” “Zalmen brought a tremendous amount of energy to the singing in this camp that had not existed before,” recalled Moishe Rosenfeld in an interview with the Yiddish Book Center. “He just created, at breakfast, at Friday night kultur nacht and at all of the Please see Camp, page 20

SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 5

Calendar q WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 6 The community is invited to hear Jewish educator Avraham Infeld speak on “Israel: The Nation State of the Jewish People: What must change in Israel and in the Diaspora to ensure the validity of this claim?” at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill, Levinson Hall. To register for this program, visit jfedpgh. org/avraham-infeld. The program is sponsored by the Israel and Overseas Department of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Diller Teen Fellows program. The Diller Teen Fellows program is funded by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Helen Diller Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund of San Francisco, and is implemented locally by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.

q FRIDAY, SEPT. 1 Temple Emanuel invites the community for Shabbat in the Park at Bird Park in Mt. Lebanon. Bring your own picnic dinner at 5:45 p.m. and stay for the camp-style musical service at 6:30 p.m. The evening will end with s’mores around the fire pit. For more information, visit templeemanuelpgh.org or call the office at 412-279-7600. q MONDAY, SEPT. 4 Temple Emanuel in Mt. Lebanon, 1250 Bower Hill Road, invites the community to its annual Labor Day picnic at 4 p.m. The picnic features

food, live music, a train ride for the kids, and more. RSVP at templeemanuelpgh.org/ event/LD2017/ or call 412-279-7600 for more information. q TUESDAY, SEPT. 5 A Night of Music For Ladies and Girls at the Jewish Community Center, Levinson Hall begins at 6:30 p.m. for open mic night and at 7:30 for Rivky Saxon concert. For questions or to sign up for the open mic night, contact rivkysaxonmusic@gmail.com. Ages 6 to 13: $15; 14 and up: $8. No one under 6 permitted.

q THURSDAY, SEPT. 7 The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh will hold its 122nd annual meeting, “Love Thy Neighbor,” from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., in Levinson Hall, 5738 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill. The meeting is open to the community. The agenda includes a video highlighting the past year at the JCC; state of agency by board chair Jim Ruttenberg; volunteer awards to Community Champions Marc Brown, Merris and Yram Groff, Cathy Reifer, Karen Smith and Harold Segal; installation of officers and board; recognition of outgoing board member Henry Blaufeld; Presidential Citations to Lynne Carvell, Ari Letwin, Hal Shapera, Justin Jones, Brian Cohen, Carole Horne and honoring Don Robinson. For more information, contact ralley@jccpgh.org. Ladies Hospital Aid Society invites the community to honor Dr. Jose-Alain Sahel, incoming chairman of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Eye & Ear Foundation endowed chair, at the LHAS Gala at the Carnegie Museum at 6 p.m. Visit lhas.net or contact 412-648-6106 for more information. q FRIDAY, SEPT. 8

Moishe House will hold a 21+ Night at the Carnegie Science Center, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., pairing science with wine. September’s theme is Game Night, so be prepared to learn about game theory while playing retro video games, Family Feud and Giant Beer Pong. Admission tickets will be subsidized, but attendees must pay $5 to reserve a spot. Register at https://goo.gl/forms/ MfmaXwOkFvO0MrLV2. Meet at the house at 6:15 for rides or at the Carnegie Science Center. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information. Beth Samuel Jewish Center in Ambridge will hold a Shabbaton Friday and Saturday, “Mussar: Set Your Soul on Fire,” with guest speaker Rabbi Judith Edelstein. Mussar is a Jewish approach to spiritual insight and practical self-development. A reception will follow the 7:30 p.m. introduction on Friday. After the 9 a.m. workshop on Saturday, there will be a kiddush luncheon at noon. There is an $18 charge. RSVP requested by Sept. 5 at bethsamueloffice@comcast.net or 724-266-5238. q SUNDAY, SEPT. 10 Hadassah Pittsburgh’s 100th Anniversary and Myrtle Wreath Award Ceremony will be held at 11:30 a.m. at the University Club, 123 University Place. Honorees are Dr. Yoel Sadovsky, Bill Strickland Jr., Cynthia

Rodef Shalom invites congregants and the community to meet and welcome the next Murray Klein executive director, Barry Weisband of Tucson, Ariz., at a special oneg at 6:30 p.m., following the 5:30 erev Shabbat service.

Please see Calendar, page 7

1 2 2 n d A N N UA L M E E T I NG J CC o f G re ater P itts bu r g h Thurs day, S e pte mbe r 7, 2018 6:15-7:15 pm • Levinson Hall • 5738 Forbes Avenue 2017 Volunteer Awardees: Marc Brown, Merris & Yram Groff, Cathy Reifer, Karen Smith and Harold Segal

6 SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Calendar Calendar: Continued from page 6 Shapira and Nancy Zionts. Visit hadassah. org/regions/greater-pittsburgh/ for more information and to register or contact 412421-8919 or pittsburgh@hadassah.org. The 7th Annual Apples and Honey Fall Festival will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Waterfront. Contact 412-992-5204 or mfranzos@jfedpgh.org for more information. Congregation Dor Hadash invites the community to a 10 a.m. lecture by Anna Fisher of Fair Districts PA, a nonpartisan coalition of citizens and organizations seeking to reform Pennsylvania redistricting rules. Fisher will examine the problem and discuss solutions to help make fair districts a reality. Dor Hadash is located at 5898 Wilkins Ave. at the corner of Shady Avenue in Squirrel Hill. RSVP is appreciated but not required. Contact admin@dorhadash.net or 412-4225158 for more information. Young Peoples Synagogue (YPS) will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Cantor Moshe Taube’s leading YPS’ High Holy Day services with a special program at the synagogue at 7 p.m. Two of Taube’s former students, Cantor Henry Shapiro and Jack Mostow, will perform cantorial musical selections and share personal reflections at the celebration. Douglas Levine, pianist, composer, music director and owner of Levine Music in Pittsburgh, will accompany the cantors. A limited number of tickets, at $18, are available on a first-come basis for the program. Those wishing to attend should respond by Sept. 5 with a check payable to Young Peoples Synagogue, P.O. Box 8141, Pittsburgh PA 15217. If the event is sold out, checks will be returned to their mailing address. Contact Marshall Hershberg at mhershb100@aol.com or 412-421-9266 for more information. q MONDAYS, SEPT. 11, 18, 25 Babyccino: A Chic Meet for Mod Moms & Their Tots. Explore the High Holidays in pint-size proportions via music, movement,

J Street: Continued from page 2

to those who advocate anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia,” they wrote. “Responsibility for the violence that occurred in Charlottesville, including the death of Heather Heyer, does not lie with many sides but with one side: the Nazis, alt-right and white supremacists who brought their hate to a peaceful community. They must be roundly condemned at all levels.” Morevoer, AIPAC, which rarely issues statements unrelated to Israel or the Middle East, implicitly called out Trump for his Charlottesville’s response: “AIPAC shares the outrage and deep concern of our fellow Americans about the inexcusable violence and sickening displays of racism and anti-Semitism in Charlottes-

sensory stimulants and expressive arts. Three-week session from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. $7 per class; $18 for the whole session. Contact Chabad of the South Hills, Mt. Lebanon at mussie@chabadsh.com for more information.

q WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 6 –

q TUESDAY, SEPT. 12

Film Pittsburgh’s ReelAbilities Film Festival presents awardwinning films at SouthSide Works Cinema that promote awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of individuals with disabilities. Contact info@FilmPitttsburgh.org for more information.

Pre-High Holiday lunch for seniors at noon at the South Hills Jewish Community Center, 345 Kane Blvd. Shofar presentation, High Holiday music, raffles and honey cake. $5 suggested donation. Wheelchair accessible. Call Barb at 412-278-2658 for more information. q WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 13 AARP Squirrel Hill Chapter 3354 has moved and is now meeting at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha at 5898 Wilkins Ave. To start the new year, it will have entertainment for the first meeting at 1 p.m. Johnny Fontaine, a Las Vegas-style entertainer, will be performing; you can view his video on YouTube. Everyone is invited, including nonmembers. Refreshments will be served after the meeting. Contact Ilene Portnoy at 412-683-7985 for more information.

Ballroom, first-floor, on Woodland Road. RSVP on ShalomPittburgh.org by Sept. 13 to ensure there is enough food and wine.

Chabad of the South Hills presents Torah & Tea for Women: A Taste of the High Holidays in the Far East at 7:30 p.m., hosted by Deb Levy with guest Gilah Moritz. Moritz’s mother was born in Calcutta, India, to Baghdadi Jewish parents. Sample some traditional Rosh Hashanah dishes and hear about Far Eastern Jewish life. There is no charge. Contact batya@chabadsh.com or 412-5122330 for more information and to RSVP.

q SUNDAY, SEPT. 17

TEDxMoishe will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Moishe House. Are you an expert in dream interpretation, artificial intelligence, or zoology? Do you have a super cool story that you just have to tell? Then sign up for TEDxMoishe. Fill out the form at https://goo.gl/forms/ WiTpbaUJ6PpW0I2g2 with a synopsis of your 5- to 10-minute talk by Sept. 9 to get on the list. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information.

Shape and bake your very own Rosh Hashanah challah at Challah & Yiddish Night from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Moishe House. Dough and some classic add-ins will be provided. While the dough is baking, nosh and learn a bisl of Yiddish with community member David Andrews. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information.

q FRIDAY, SEPT. 15 Join a Young Adult Shabbat dinner with J’Burgh Pittsburgh, Moishe House Pittsburgh and Shalom Pittsburgh from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Chatham University, University Mellon

Moishe Gets Moving: Tashlich Hike, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Racoon State Park. Moishe House will provide a picnic lunch.Sign up at https://goo.gl/forms/zQ8DK5dKEb4fK8X83. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information.

ville this weekend,” the statement read. “The vile hatred expressed by neo-Nazis, the KKK and white supremacists must be categorically and unambiguously rejected. We urge all elected officials to reject moral equivalence between those who promote hate and those who oppose it. There must be no quarter for bigotry in our country.” J Street will be focusing its efforts in the coming year on shoring up support for maintaining the Iran nuclear agreement and on endorsing candidates in the 2018 election, according to Elsner. “We are looking at 2018 as a very important election and a chance to strike a real blow against everything this administration stands for,” Elsner said. “And it’s not just the moral decrepitude and the moral worthlessness of this president himself, but also the policies they have been enacting on the whole, issues that go against the policies

we believe in as Jews, as Americans and as progressives.” Still, J Street will continue to endorse candidates who support a two-state solution, Elsner said. “The criteria for endorsing candidates remains the same,” he said, “and we would be very happy to endorse Republicans as well as Democrats that share that vision, but only a very few Republicans have requested our endorsement, and right now there are not any.” Elsner noted the “natural fit that the kind of people we endorse are also people who find themselves in opposition on domestic issues to Trump. We will not be applying any domestic litmus test to the candidates that we endorse, but the fit is a natural fit anyway.” As for the likelihood of achieving a two-state solution in the Middle East during a Trump administration, Elsner was not

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

SEPT. 13

Kids Honey Cake Bake including baking your own honey cake, entertainment, hands-on holiday crafts and more at 4 p.m. at the South Hills Jewish Community Center.

q MONDAY, SEPT. 18

q SUNDAY, SEPT. 24

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

q THURSDAY, SEPT. 28 Carol L. Tabas will be the recipient of 2017 Shore-Whitehill Award, awarded annually by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and Jewish Residential Services to volunteers who promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in the fabric of Jewish life. Tabas will be honored from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Pittsburgh Golf Club. Keynote speakers will be Nancy Thaler, deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs, and Al Condeluci, CEO of Community Living and Support Services. RSVP at megan-grabski@unitedwayswpa. org by Sept. 20. Moishe House will hold Crafts Night from 7 to 9 p.m. Message https://www.facebook. com/events/239020443287588/ or contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more info. q SATURDAY, SEPT. 30 Break the Fast with Moishe House Pittsburgh and J’Burgh from 8:30 to 10 p.m. Full kosher meal provided (lox, bagels and so much more) at no charge. RSVP is required by Sept. 27 to attend at https://hilleljuc.wufoo.com/forms/ supei151aee35e/. Contact moishehousepgh@ gmail.com for more information. PJC

optimistic, but at the same time credited Trump’s team for seeming to pursue it. “I actually think that the administration through its envoy Jason Greenblatt has been working hard and struggling mightily to get a negotiation off the ground, but they are running into the same problem the previous administration ran into which is that neither leader seems remotely interested in pursuing a negotiation at this point, but we’ll have to see. “The latest we’ve seen coming out of the region seems like they’ve hit a roadblock. Paradoxically, since a two-state solution is our main issue, we haven’t seen the administration engage in the same destructive policies that it seems to be flirting with on the Iran issue.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 7

Headlines How Rabbi Shai Held is shaping the conversation around love and politics “If you say to a Jew who prays three times a day, ‘Do you talk to God?’ many of them will be like, ‘I’m not sure,’” Held said. “That’s kind of fascinating. I’m trying to be alive to the question ‘What does the Lord, your God, ask of you?’ I’m inviting people into that conversation.” The Jewish emphasis on observance, Held says, has led religious Jews to surrender theological language to Christians. In his book, Held tries to reclaim it, writing about God’s “grace” and “election” of the Jews — terms historically central to Protestant Christianity. He also displays his affection

problem with that is that love and grace are really fundamental Jewish theology, and we abandon those terms at a tremendous spiritual loss to ourselves.” Held’s personal life has also steered him toward emphasizing God’s grace. His father, Moshe Held, a professor of Semitic languages and cultures at Columbia University, died when Shai was a teenager, which led to difficult years with his mother. And he lives with a chronic illness that causes pain in his back, spine and legs, and subjects him to what he calls “debilitating fatigue,” sometimes forcing him to stop work for hours or days at a time.

to me in part through the experience of invisible illness.” Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg, a leading By Ben Sales | JTA modern Orthodox theologian, notes this quality in his introduction to Held’s weekly EW YORK — After the white Torah commentaries. supremacist rally in Charlottesville, “What lifts this book from being an voices abounded calling the demonoutstanding Torah commentary to a great stration an affront to American values. work of religious thought and human moral Rabbi Shai Held called it an attack on God. development is Held’s profound theology “One of the most fundamental claims that the heart of Judaism’s religious life lies Judaism makes about the world is that every in our relationship to God and fellow human human being on the face of the earth — black beings,” he said. and white, male and female — is created in Held’s theology of love courses through his the image of God and is therefore essays on even the most legalistic of infinitely valuable,” Held wrote last Torah portions. In his essay on Tzav week in an essay on CNN.com. “An (Leviticus 6:1-8:36), which details how attack on other people’s humanity is to give several sacrifices, Held notes by definition an assault on God.” that the thanksgiving sacrifice must be Persuading more people to talk eaten on the day it is offered — whether about God has been at the core of by the sacrificer, his relatives or nearby Held’s message as his profile has poor people. From that verse, he draws risen this year. One of the founders out that giving thanks also means of Mechon Hadar, a traditional egalisharing your good fortune with others. tarian yeshiva in New York City, Held “We are not meant to rest content has emerged as a public voice on with being recipients of God’s gifts everything from President Donald but are asked to become givers Trump to race relations to mascuourselves,” Held writes. “God’s gifts linity. Along with regular CNN are meant to flow through us and columns, his essays on the weekly not merely to us.” Torah portion reach 7,000 people. But Held doesn’t restrict himself They are now being published as a to platitudes about the importance two-volume book, “The Heart of of gratitude and charity; across his Torah” (Jewish Publication Society), writing, his message is explicitly due out in September. political. His book, a collection of Through all of it, Held wants you essays written before the 2016 presto know that God is compassionate idential campaign, is rife with exhorand wants you to be compassionate. tations to love the stranger and take That compassion, he says, also responsibility for poor people. p Rabbi Shai Held, a co-founder of Mechon Hadar, a traditional egalitarian yeshiva, has just extends to politics. And his Facebook feed, updated released a book of Torah commentaries. Photo courtesy of Mechon Hadar “I’m not primarily interested in almost daily, is rife with posts ‘is there a God or not?’ but what kind of lambasting the president and his defenders a God is there,” Held, 46, said earlier this that often invoke religion. Commenting last month, surrounded by shelves upon shelves week on Jerry Falwell Jr.’s praise of Trump after of religious books in his suburban New York the Charlottesville rally, Held wrote, “Amazing home — with more still in boxes. “I’m trying how a religious leader can declare his own to make the case for a God who is about moral, political, and theological bankruptcy in love and who asks human beings to live a mere 140 characters. Heed not the word of lives of love.” false prophets.” On its face, the idea that Judaism should “The society we live in will be judged by focus on God is anything but radical. But how it treats those who are weakest and most though Judaism pioneered the concept vulnerable,” Held said. “I want to overcome of monotheism, observant Jews tend to ‘secular Jews are political activists and relifocus much of their energy on dissecting gious Jews do mitzvahs.’ I’ve never heard of and analyzing Jewish law — poring over a more false dichotomy.” the legalistic Talmud in school and often And while Held wants his book to appeal defining their piety in terms of study and to Jews across the spectrum, his commitment observance rather than “faith.” to traditional, egalitarian Jewish observance Held, the son of a renowned Jewish Bible is clear in everything from his philosophy to — RABBI SHAI HELD scholar, grew up with similar Talmudic inclihis word choice. He makes a point of keeping nations. Though his home was secular, his God gender neutral, never using “He” or parents sent him to Orthodox day school, “She.” Held also devotes attention to historiwhere he learned to study complex rabbinic for Christian biblical commentary. Held At times, Held says, the illness makes him cally marginalized groups like immigrants and texts at an early age. He became observant cites Christian scholars in the book and focus on himself at the expense of others. people with disabilities. That’s partly because, on his own, studying in yeshivas in Israel Walter Moberly, a Christian theologian, has But at its best, it allows him to understand although he talks constantly about God, Held before attending Harvard and gaining a blurb on the back cover. the pain of others. says Torah is really about caring for people. rabbinic ordination at the Conservative “Jews in America have often ceded some “I don’t mean you’re ill and you become “We built the Hadar beit midrash as a movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary. of the basic terms of Jewish theology and kinder — I think often the opposite is the place where no human experience was He co-founded Mechon Hadar in 2007, an spirituality to Christianity,” Held said, joking case — but certain kinds of capacities are ruled as outside the bounds,” he said, using outgrowth of the pioneering Kehilat Hadar that some readers ask if he’s “a little Chris- born within you or expand within you,” he the Hebrew term for “house of study.” “If independent congregation on the Upper tian.” (The answer is no.) “So Christianity said. “The question of seeing people who there’s a human experience, Torah has to West Side of Manhattan. owns love, Christianity owns grace. The are not seen became incredibly important engage with it.” PJC

— NATIONAL —

“ I’m not primarily interested in

‘is there a God or not?’ but what kind of a God is there. I’m trying to make

the case for a God who is about love and who asks human beings

”

to live lives of love.

8 SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Houston resident details Hurricane Harvey devastation — NATIONAL — By Marc Shapiro | Special to the Chronicle

aayan Bobylev has had a front seat to the unprecedented decimation from Hurricane Harvey in Houston, which has poured two feet of rain on the area, with more expected this week. She lives in the Nob Hill Apartments, situated on Brays Bayou, which overflowed onto the streets. In the heavily Jewish populated area, at least three synagogues, the JCC, a community resource center and several kosher grocery stores and restaurants have flooded. “This is like Parshat Noach,” she said. “Nothing like this has ever happened here. It’s really unreal.” She, her husband, Chaim, and their 6-year-old daughter, Oriyah, and 4-year-old son, Noach, have stayed dry in their secondfloor apartment, but the first floor in their building flooded. On Aug. 27, the Red Cross airlifted residents out of the complex. Around the nation, Jewish communities are stepping up to help those affected by the hurricane. The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, for instance, signed on to a campaign being coordinated by Jewish Federations of North America to direct charitable contributions to the stricken area. “This past week’s Torah portion, Shoftim, instructs us that ‘justice, justice you shall pursue.’ That is why, every time when major tragic events impact our fellow Americans and fellow Jews, we as a Federation system open our hearts and our pockets to give

— WORLD — From JTA reports

Bannon will speak at ZOA dinner in first scheduled appearance since firing Stephen Bannon will speak at the Zionist Organization of America dinner in November in his first official public appearance since he was fired from his post as chief strategist for President Donald Trump. ZOA President Morton Klein confirmed to The Atlantic on Monday that Bannon will speak at the Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner on Nov. 12 at the Grand Hyatt in New York. Among those to be honored that night, according to the ZOA website, are the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and former U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Vermont. Billionaire philanthropist Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, are listed as presenters. Bannon may introduce Adelson, ZOA’s top donor, at the dinner, The Atlantic reported. Bannon was scheduled to attend the ZOA gala last year but was a no-show. He returned to his position as executive chairman of Breitbart News after leaving the White House earlier this month. Bannon had been feuding for months with

p Lee Padilla walks down a Houston street flooded by Hurricane Harvey.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

support to those in need,” Jeffrey Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said in a statement urging local Jewish donations be routed through the new fund’s website at https://www.jfedpgh.org/hurricane-harvey-relief-fund. “Dozens of Jewish families and institutions are affected — the Houston Federation director himself evacuated,” noted Cindy Shapira, chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s board of directors. Joel Dinkin, the executive vice president of Houston’s now-flooded Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, is from Pittsburgh. “We have a lot of damage in different

parts of the building,” he said. “Our lower level is under eight to 10 feet of water.” The Houston JCC was closed this week but served as a dropoff and distribution center for supplies. “About 15 staff members had water damage in their homes,” Dinkin said, “but everyone is fine.” Bobylev said she and her family planned to stay put. “In either direction of where we are there’s major flooding,” she said. The synagogue she and her family attend, Congregation Torah Vachesed, flooded for the first time. Its mikveh and Rabbi Avraham Yaghobian’s house also flooded. United

Orthodox Synagogue flooded, and Bobylev said congregants of Meyerland Minyan had to be air rescued. In addition to the JCC, also flooded was the nearby TORCH (the Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston). The Jewish-populated neighborhood Maplewood was “totally devastated,” she said. She said the community is still making sure everyone is safe as search and rescue continues, so there hasn’t been much time to organize anything yet. Chabad is working to take kosher meals to shelters where there isn’t access to kosher food, she said.

other members of the Trump administration, including senior adviser Jared Kushner and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. ZOA in attempts to depose McMaster issued a report earlier this month alleging that he is anti-Israel. The report also charged that McMaster was undermining Trump’s Middle East agenda and the U.S.-Israel relationship by firing officials supportive of the Jewish state and critical of the Iran nuclear deal. Bannon had been under fire since he began working for the Trump campaign last year. He was criticized for calling Breitbart a platform for the “alt-right,” a far-right and white nationalist movement that includes anti-Semitic figures and followers.

Netanyahu also told Guterres that the United Nations was failing to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining arms, a mandate that was part of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 passed at the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006. The prime minister charged that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, has not reported one of the “tens of thousands of weapons smuggling into Lebanon for Hezbollah.” Guterres, who is making his first visit to Israel and the Palestinian areas since becoming head of the United Nations in January, responded that he will “do everything in my capacity” to ensure UNIFIL fulfills its obligations. “I understand the security concerns of Israel,” he said, “and I repeat that the idea or the intention or the will to destroy the State of Israel is something totally unacceptable from my perspective.” Guterres asked Netanyahu that Israel help improve the Palestinian economy as a way to show the Palestinians that making peace with Israel will pay. Prior to meeting with Netanyahu, the secretary-general also met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at his residence in Jerusalem. Rivlin called on Guterres to work to end the discrimination against Israel in branches of the United Nations. “This targeting of Israel, this singling

out of the world’s only Jewish state — and even actions and statements that threaten to destroy Israel are unacceptable and should come at a price,” he said. Rivlin also asked Guterres to help intervene with Hamas to bring home the bodies of two Israeli soldiers and two other Israelis believed held captive in Gaza. Guterres in his appearance with Rivlin said that calls for the destruction of Israel are “a form of modern anti-Semitism,” then added, “but you also understand that I sometimes disagree with positions with the Government of Israel or any other government, and that is absolutely normal in a society where many of your citizens have exactly the same expressions of opinions.” Guterres noted that he started his visit Monday morning at Yad Vashem, where he laid a wreath in the memorial hall. “Yad Vashem is there to remind us that we need to be in the first line in fighting against anti-Semitism, but first of all fighting against all other forms of bigotry be it racism, xenophobia, even anti-Muslim hatred, to promote understanding and to promote dialogue, and I am very appreciative Mr. President for what has been your commitment to dialogue and understanding,” he said. On Tuesday, the secretary-general is scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The following day he will tour Gaza. PJC

Netanyahu warns secretarygeneral of Iran’s ‘warfronts’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel warned U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Iran is using Syria and Lebanon “as warfronts against its declared goal to eradicate Israel.” Iran is “building sites to produce precision-guided missiles towards that end in both Syria and in Lebanon. This is something Israel cannot accept. This is something the U.N. should not accept,” Netanyahu told Guterres Monday prior to their meeting in Jerusalem.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Please see Hurricane, page 21

SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 9

Headlines Rebellious New Likudniks are crashing Netanyahu’s party — WORLD — By Andrew Tobin | JTA

EL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under investigation for corruption, has often claimed that his left-wing political enemies are out to get him. Now his supporters have alleged that leftists are even infiltrating his rightwing Likud party. Last week, David Bitan, the chairman of the governing coalition and an unswerving Netanyahu ally, pledged to block a group calling itself the New Likudniks from carrying out a “coup” against the prime minister. “A person who doesn’t believe in the values of the Likud and comes in purely so he can blow it up and change it in a way that will harm it is criminal in every way,” Bitan told Israel’s Ynet news website. “We have the right to defend ourselves against hostile control.” Bitan spoke for many Likud members worried about the New Likudniks, whose ranks have dramatically expanded in recent months. But the group’s officials, and its supporters within the Likud, denied it is

p Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confers with Knesset member David Bitan at a Likud party meeting at the parliament in Jerusalem.

Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

either hostile or leftist. Rather, they said, the group simply wants the Likud to return to its moderate nationalist but liberal roots. The New Likudniks was founded in 2011 by leaders of the social justice protests, which that summer saw hundreds of thousands of

CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR IN OUR BEAUTIFUL SANCTUARY DOWNTOWN 810 FIFTH AVENUE

2017 HIGH HOLIDAY SCHEDULE Sun.

Sept. 17

Selichot

7:40 AM

–––––––

Mon.

Sept. 18

Selichot

7:40 AM

5:30 PM

Tues.

Sept. 19

Selichot

7:40 AM

5:30 PM

Wed.

Sept. 20

Erev Rosh Hashana

–––––––

5:30 PM

Thurs.

Sept. 21

1st Day Rosh Hashana

9 AM

5:30 PM

Fri.

Sept. 22

2nd Day Rosh Hashana

9 AM

5:30 PM

Fri.

Sept. 29

Erev Yom Kippur Kol Nidre

7:40 AM

6:20 PM

Sat.

Sept. 30

Yom Kippur Yizkor

9 AM

SHOFAR BLOWING

7:45 PM

PLEASE BE OUR GUEST — NO TICKETS REQUIRED Stanley J. Savage, Rabbi Ira Michael Frank, President For Information, call the office at 412.471.4443 A HAPPY AND HEALTHY ROSH HASHANA AND GOOD WISHES TO ALL FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR

Israelis take to the streets to demand government action on behalf of the middle class. The group’s stated agenda is to push what it says are middle-class interests from within Likud. It takes no position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Please see Likud, page 17

Today in Israeli history September 4, 1975 Israel signs second disengagement agreement with Egypt

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

September 1, 1915 Chaim Weizmann joins British Admiralty

In Geneva, Switzerland, Israel and Egypt sign their Second Disengagement Agreement (Sinai II) following the October 1973 War.

Chaim Weizmann, first president of Israel, then working as a chemist in Manchester, England, is appointed to the British Admiralty as an Honorary Technical Adviser on acetone supplies.

September 5, 1972 Israeli Olympic team is massacred in Munich

September 2, 1935 Rav Abraham Isaac Kook’s funeral takes place

80,000 mourners, approximately a quarter of the Jewish population in Palestine, line the streets of Jerusalem for the funeral of Rav Abraham Isaac Kook. He passed away the day before from cancer.

September 3, 2011 March of the million takes place

Demonstrating against the rising costs of living and economic inequalities in Israel, more than 450,000 protestors fill the streets throughout the country. It is the largest demonstration in Israel’s history.

BETH HAMEDRASH HAGODOLBETH JACOB CONGREGATION

810 FIFTH AVE. | PITTSBURGH, PA 15219 | 412.471.4443 10 SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

“We are you. We are members of the middle class,” the New Likudniks’ website says. “Employees, students, conscripted soldiers, taxpayers. Loving the country from the left and right from top to bottom.” After hardly growing for years, the New Likudniks’ membership began to surge in late 2016, going from about 3,000 to more than 12,000 today among a total of 100,000 Likud members. The group’s Facebook page has nearly 16,000 followers. According to officials of the group, the catalyst for its growth was Netanyahu’s high-profile vilification in November of Ilana Dayan, one of Israel’s most respected journalists. The Prime Minister’s Office accused Dayan of trying “to topple the right-wing government and bring about the establishment of a left-wing government,” and she devoted six minutes to reading the entire written statement on air, provoking public outcry. Netanyahu has continued to provide fodder for the New Likudniks’ criticism of the party’s alleged anti-democratic tendencies, including by calling in January for the pardon of an Israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian terrorist, backing a law passed in February that allows

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team are killed after being taken hostage by Black September, a Palestinian terrorist organization affiliated with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah and the left-wing terrorist group The Red Army.

September 6, 2007 Israeli military launches Operation Orchard

In Operation Orchard, Israel’s air force secretly destroys a reactor at Al Kibar, a Syrian military facility thought to be a nuclear site constructed with the help of North Korea.

September 7, 1907 David Ben-Gurion arrives in Jaffa

David Gruen, who in 1910 would change his name to David BenGurion, and his girlfriend Rachel Nelkin arrive in Jaffa with a group of other young adults from Plonsk, Poland. PJC

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Israelis are throwing themselves one-of-a kind weddings in nature — WORLD — By Andrew Tobin | JTA

EL AVIV — In this tiny country, there are only so many places to have a wedding. Or so you would think. But a growing number of Israelis are creating one-of-a-kind outdoor weddings from the ground up. In some cases, they even start with the ground. “We brought in bulldozers for one couple,” said Ori Fuks, an Israeli wedding producer. “They wanted to get married on an avocado farm, so we built them a parking lot.” “Nature weddings,” as they are sometimes called, are an increasingly popular option for young Israeli couples seeking unique nuptials. In recent years, an industry has emerged around the bespoke outdoor events, offering an alternative to the traditional wedding hall blowout. Shani Maaman, a 31-year-old high-tech worker from Jerusalem, and her husbandto-be, Ran, were determined to do their wedding themselves. With the help of Israeli wedding blogs and Facebook groups, they spent months planning and preparing a wedding they felt reflected who they are. Unlike some couples, Maaman and her fiance did not start from zero. Instead they converted a biblical tourism center, called Genesis World, into a bohemian desert getaway with Bedouin-style tents and cushions, billowing macramé decorations and a caravan of camels on hand. A DJ played world music-inspired beats late into the night. “Nature weddings have become common, but I know that our wedding was very, very special,” Maaman said. “The nice thing about the place was that because it’s not for weddings, it doesn’t feel commercialized. They don’t charge you for every little extra. If you want another area to chill out, they give it to you no problem.” Fuks said many young Israelis have become dissatisfied with the “copy and paste” approach of wedding halls, which they see as inauthentic. Having grown up working in two such venues owned by his family, in 2009 he started his own company called Bloom, which specializes in nature weddings at sites with little to no infrastructure. “Young Israelis want their wedding to be their own,” he said. “They want to feel like they’re hosting you in their own home. That’s why we come and say, anything you want, we can create it.” Fuks lets couples customize nearly every aspect of their wedding, starting with the location. In addition to the avocado farm, he uses forests, deserts, vineyards and fields. Last year he threw a wedding in a pallet factory. He works with suppliers to bring in the desired amenities, like generators for electricity, a kitchen and bar, a sound system, lighting, restrooms, tents and flowers. Immediately after the event, everything is dismantled. No infrastructure can stay in place, Fuks said, because he rents the properties from private owners and may or may not

p An avocado grove turned wedding venue waits for guests in central Israel.

Photo courtesy of Bloom

p Shani and Ran Maaman enjoy the company of camels at their wedding in the Judean Desert. Photo by Dana Bar-On

p An Israeli couple pose at their wedding in the northern Israeli forest.

Photo by Yoav Alon

p Shani and Ran Maaman embrace under the chuppah at their wedding.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Photo by Dana Bar-On

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

have the required permits. Fortunately, he said, he has never had a wedding shut down. Fuks said business has grown steadily over the years to about 30 weddings a year, mostly in the relatively sunny months between March and October. At the same time, he said he has seen his competitors in the nature wedding industry proliferate, from just a couple eight years ago to as many as 10 experienced competitors and countless upstarts today. A saleswoman at one of Israel’s poshest wedding halls said the growing popularity of nature weddings has not cut into her clientele. But speaking on condition of anonymity to protect her job, she said she expects that to change in the near future. Among her Tel Aviv friends, she said, wedding halls are already out of style. “People want their wedding to make them feel special,” she said. “But this industry is all about money. You spend money you don’t have, and we make money. In a couple years, everyone will be planning their own weddings.” However, nature weddings are not necessarily less expensive. Fuks said his average wedding costs about $40,000, which is at the high end of the national average, according to a 2015 survey. Maaman’s $25,000 wedding is at the low end. Lira Wieman, the owner of LW Events, said nature weddings are nothing new for her clients, who include Israel’s rich and famous. Nearly three-quarters of the weddings she does are in nature, she said. In May, she produced a high-profile desert wedding for model Shlomit Malka and actor Yehuda Levy. “They wanted a Burning Man-style event,” Wieman said, referring to the American countercultural festival. “It was crazy — three days on an isolated ranch with a 24-hour DJ party.” To some extent, Maaman’s wedding — which was also Burning Man inspired — was countercultural, too. Like a growing number of Israelis, she and her husband eschewed the Chief Rabbinate, the Orthodox authority that controls Jewish marriage in Israel. They opted for a secular humanist rabbi, and because only an Orthodox rabbi can perform a wedding in Israel, they have yet to be officially married. Maaman said they plan to eventually marry abroad and have the union recognized by Israel’s secular bureaucracy, or to enter a common law marriage — two increasingly popular options. She said their motivation for not going through the Chief Rabbinate was more personal than principled. They wanted to do the wedding on a date that is forbidden by Jewish law and, more important, to have an egalitarian ceremony. Under the macrame chuppah, Maaman joined her husband in the traditional concluding ritual of breaking a glass in memory of the destruction of Jerusalem. “We’re not like ‘anti’ people,” she said. “What guided us was making it our wedding, fit to us. We did what we needed to do.” PJC SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 11

Opinion The Forward’s sloppy attack on JCPA — EDITORIAL —

ll too often in our heated political environment people and groups are called on the carpet, not for what they do, but for what they don’t do. And sometimes the finger pointing goes too far. A recent case is an article in the Forward last week that led with the “news” that the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) did not call for President Trump to fire his chief political strategist, Steve Bannon, after the deadly events in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. The reason, according to the Forward? “Leaders worried that it would hurt fundraising efforts,” it reported. The newspaper based its story on a private email chain it obtained in which JCPA leaders, including its President and CEO David Bernstein, discussed the events in Charlottesville and possible responses. But, instead of presenting a thoughtful and deliberate evaluation of the substance of the emails upon which the story was based, the Forward defaulted to a lower standard that smacked more of “gotcha journalism”

There was nothing wrong with JCPA’s silence on Bannon. Sometimes not saying anything and waiting for the inevitable to happen is the right decision. — a rush to conclusions designed to make headlines irrespective of the facts. A revised version of the story that included more excerpts from the Bernstein email chain bears this out. “Without a question, the mainstream Jewish community is ideologically diverse, which means we have to take into account the varied voices and sensibilities whenever we speak and act,” Bernstein told the Forward when the emails were published.

In other words, Jewish communal organizations need to weigh their words carefully. We couldn’t agree more. As the national umbrella organization of Jewish Community Relations Councils, the JCPA needs to be careful. Most JCRCs are arms of the Jewish federations in the cities in which they operate. Where a JCRC is independent, it still must answer to a collection of stakeholders who are not much different from those backing the local federation.

Bernstein was, quite properly, counseling caution and consideration of those for whom JCPA speaks. He wasn’t chickening out on Bannon. He was doing his job, and looking out for the best interests of his constituent members. And he counselled JCRCs to think twice before moving further than where local stakeholders were willing to go. In any event, there really was no need for JCPA to say anything further about Charlottesville, since it made a strong and necessary statement on Aug. 14, when it condemned the “violent, racist, anti-Semitic and hate-filled” white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, and urged President Trump to denounce, “in no uncertain terms and without equivocation, the white nationalist marchers.” Unfortunately, the Forward didn’t appear interested in that part of the story. Instead, it tried to make explosive headlines out of JCPA’s cautious approach. There was nothing wrong with JCPA’s silence on Bannon. Sometimes not saying anything and waiting for the inevitable to happen is the right decision. PJC

The Barcelona Jewish community is not doomed Guest Columnist Victor Sorennsen

Barcelona is a dynamic Jewish melting pot. We are religiously pluralistic, blessed with

n the wake of the horrendous recent terrorist attack in my city, our chief rabbi declared that the Jewish community here is “doomed” and encouraged us to buy property in Israel. With all due respect to the rabbi, he is wrong. I am 34 years old and have lived in Barcelona since I was 4. I attended the Jewish day school, the public high school and Barcelona University. During the past three years, I have been privileged to serve as director of the Jewish community of Barcelona. I know this historic community and its people quite well. Next year we will celebrate the centenary of our community’s re-establishment following the expulsion of 1492. In these past 100 years, Jews from all over the world have been attracted to play an active role in the life of our community: Turkish and Greek Jews who arrived during World War I; activists who participated in the Spanish Civil War; Jews fleeing European anti-Semitism; Moroccan Jews who arrived after the independence of their native country; Latin American Jews; and large numbers of Israelis who have fallen in love with our city. Barcelona is a dynamic Jewish melting pot. We are religiously pluralistic, blessed with four synagogues each embracing a different approach to Judaism. Like Jews everywhere, we relish arguing among ourselves. Yet one

12 SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

four synagogues each embracing a different approach to Judaism. Yet one of the things that unites us is our relationship with and love of the city. of the things that unites us is our relationship with and love of the city. And not without reason. Barcelona is synonymous with solidarity, welcome, peace and cultural diversity. A trendy city for tourists, a place of opportunity for businesspeople, it is a mecca for those interested in history, art, architecture, soccer and postcard landscapes. We proudly show our city to friends from abroad. We love listening to Hebrew in the city center. We revel in and are active participants in its rich culture. Barcelona is truly an international city. It is no coincidence that those killed and injured in the terrorist attack came from 34 different countries. Since 1977, with the arrival of democracy in our country, the Jewish community has played an active role in the social, cultural and religious life of the wider society, and we have developed close relations with government institutions at all levels — Barcelonan,

Catalonian and Spanish. Public activities have been organized in the Barcelona synagogue. We have celebrated Chanukah in the streets. We annually commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day in the Catalan Parliament. Every year, hundreds of schools bring their students to the synagogue, where we educate them about Judaism and the important history of our community. We are longstanding participants in interreligious dialogue. In fact, this year our Talmud Torah teacher is president of the official interreligious group of Catalonia. We are experiencing a revival of Jewish culture. For example, local Jewish authors have published academic books and novels. Last year we organized the first Jewish Literature Festival. This year marks the 19th anniversary of the Jewish Film Festival of Barcelona. The Jewish Museum and Study Center of Girona, not far from Barcelona,

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

is a place to discover our Jewish medieval history, which includes the great Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman, the Ramban. Many municipalities participate in the European Day of Jewish Culture. Catalonia hosts brilliant Hebraists, disciples of the Hebrew Department of the University of Barcelona — the oldest chair at the university — as well as renowned writers and historians who have great expertise on Judaism and the history of Catalan Jews. This trend is also reflected in the growing interest of the general Catalan population in Jewish matters, interest that we see translating into spiritual, historical and intellectual curiosity. In short, there is a vibrancy to Jewish life in Barcelona. The scourge of terrorism has brought great shock and sadness to Barcelona, as it has done in other European cities. These are difficult days for us, no doubt, and we cry and pray for the victims. We are fully coordinating our security with the authorities, who have always been responsive, and our non-Jewish neighbors consistently demonstrate solidarity with us. The goal of the terrorists is to make us afraid. Barcelona is not afraid. The Jewish community here is not afraid. This cowardly act of violence will only make us stronger in our resolve to stay and grow the Jewish community of this amazing city. We Jews of Barcelona have been proudly living in our revived community for 100 years. We aren’t leaving. PJC Victor Sorenssen is director of Comunidad Israelita de Barcelona, the Barcelona Jewish Community.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Opinion Neo-Nazis five minutes from home Guest Columnist Rick Black

ot long before Shabbat, my wife checked her smartphone and saw an email from our neighborhood’s Next Door website: an impromptu counter neo-Nazi protest was being held at the Dominion Hills Shopping Center in Arlington, Va. In shock, she read about how six neo-Nazis had showed up earlier that morning to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the founder of the American Nazi Party, George Lincoln Rockwell. He had been shot and killed by a former member on

of policemen stood to one side and an NBC television news truck was doing a story. We were looking for friends and neighbors when I spotted my daughter’s friend’s mother. “I wanted to do something after Charlottesville,” she told us, “but I didn’t know what to do — and then this happened in my own neighborhood.” My own neighborhood. That’s the phrase that struck me. If you think that you are immune or that this can’t happen by you, you’re wrong. If you think that you don’t have to be vigilant, you’re mistaken. If you think that you can just watch TV or read the paper and things will improve, you’re deluding yourself. I lived and worked as a reporter in Israel for six years, covering terrorist attacks, the first intifada and the first Persian Gulf War. I walked around Jerusalem carrying a gas

— LETTERS — Cheers for Bob Smizik Bob Smizik was my baseball coach from 1959 to 1962 in the Stanton Heights Little League, when Bob started writing for the Pittsburgh Press (Stanton Heights baseball reunion covers all the bases,” Aug. 18). These were the most formative years for me, which have guided my sense of teamwork into the present. Bob was the best coach I ever worked under, through track and field, swimming, bicycle racing and tennis. I suppose it’s too much to hope for a reunion of the 9 to 12 year-olds from that time, but if by some miracle this should happen, I would be more than happy to attend. Stan Heinricher Melbourne Beach, Fla. 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:The Jewish Chronicle

Website address:

5915 Beacon St., 5th Flr. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Fax 412-521-0154 pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

I had known about Arlington being a hotbed of pro-Nazi support in the 1930s but I didn’t realize how close to home it was. In fact, the Upton Hill Regional Park where I swim is located on what used to be called “Hatemonger Hill.” Aug. 25, 1967. In fact, he had been shot and killed in a strip mall five minutes from our home, where my wife did yoga, where I get haircuts from a Vietnamese immigrant and where I go to a chiropractor. I had known about Arlington being a hotbed of pro-Nazi support in the 1930s but I didn’t realize how close to home it was. In fact, the Upton Hill Regional Park where I swim is located on what used to be called “Hatemonger Hill.” Here, Rockwell turned a house, which he reportedly rented for $1 per year from a sympathizer, into a “storm trooper barracks,” stringing up Nazi banners and using it as one of his headquarters. After lighting candles, saying the blessings and an abbreviated Shabbat dinner, we drove five minutes up the hill to see what was going on. About 150 people had turned out, bearing signs proclaiming, “Love, Not Hate” and “United Against Hate.” A man waved a large American flag; cars slowed and honked as they went by. A couple

mask like a kid’s lunch box. Now it’s America’s turn to deal with terrorism — and with its homegrown neo-Nazi and white supremacist movements. Our fate as a nation is at stake. Don’t wait. Don’t just stay at home. You are not immune. It can happen by and to you. Be vigilant. Be proactive. One day, God forbid, the numbers might be reversed. So, act now. Stand up and be counted among those against hatred and ignorance. Before it’s too late. Write a letter. Make a phone call. Talk to neighbors. Stage a pro-peace protest — whatever you do, do it before the neo-Nazis come to your neighborhood. PJC Rick Black was a reporter in the Jerusalem bureau of The New York Times from 1989 to 1991 and subsequently worked as the press liaison for the Consulate General of Israel in Philadelphia from 1994 to 1998. He now lives in Arlington, Va., with his wife and daughter.

Visit pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 13

Life & Culture Punk bands prove shofar isn’t just for the High Holidays — MUSIC — By Michael Croland | JTA

chmekel — a transgender Jewish punk band based in Brooklyn — opened its 2011 album with “I’m Sorry, It’s Yom Kippur.” The song features lyrics like “I’m sorry I came out to you in such an awkward way” and “I’m sorry I said you have schmutz on your head when it was Ash Wednesday.” Naturally, since the song is about Judaism’s holiest day of the year, it begins with the sound of the shofar, an ancient Jewish wind instrument made of a ram’s horn. Singer Lucian Kahn calls out for a “tekiah,” which can be translated as “blast,” and bassist Nogga Schwartz responds by sounding the shofar. “The shofar is just a part of Yom Kippur,” said Schwartz, 32, who as a teenager blew the instrument in synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. “We thought it would sound good to open up with it as it helps bring thoughts of the holiday.” The shofar, traditionally made of a ram’s horn, is most prominently heard on the High Holidays as a reminder to look inward and seek forgiveness for mistakes made in the past year. But other traditional uses in Jewish practice include everything from funerals and excommunication ceremonies to the warning of imminent danger. Recent years have seen a new twist in the practice of blowing the shofar: Jewish punk bands incorporating the sound into their music. The bands use the ancient horn as a way of both making mayhem and honoring tradition — but always as a blatantly Jewish symbol that conjures associations with the High Holidays or Jewishness in general. Using a shofar “invites the listener into a musical world that is contemporary, but also in discourse with tradition and identity,” Eliahu Adelman, a musicologist based in Israel, said. “Many bands that play music affiliated with a specific ethnicity often

p Bram Presser of the band Yidcore blows a shofar at a Judaica store in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Peter Haskin

combine elements of traditional music with contemporary.” This fits in with the Jewish punk bands’ larger approach of putting a Jewish stamp on punk rock. Approximately two dozen Jewish punk bands have emerged, mostly during the past 20 years: Moshiach Oi! and The Shondes are among the best known. They play punk rock with an overtly Jewish focus, finding resonant entry points to Jewish culture and religion, such as lyrics about wooing actress Natalie Portman or by throwing bagels and gefilte fish at fans. Steve “Gangsta Rabbi” Lieberman, a one-man band from Long Island, is one such punk rocker. He plays an eclectic variety of instruments, and learned to blow the shofar at his synagogue in Bellmore, New York, in 1973, when he was in the 10th grade. Thirty years later he wanted to add new instruments to his collection and thought he’d give the shofar another try. There was one obstacle, however: Lieberman is a vegetarian who only plays animal-free instruments. So when he found

a wooden shofar on eBay, listed as “Hebrew Shofar (Ram’s Horn)-Wooden,” he figured it was made for him. Conventionally, the shofar is played with three different sounds: the “tekiah” (a sustained blast), “shevarim” (three broken sounds), and “teruah” (nine staccato sounds). But Jewish punks — in true punk fashion — did things their own way. In 2004, Lieberman played his wooden shofar in his cover of “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport.” The Australian folk song sometimes includes a didgeridoo, an indigenous Australian wind instrument, but the shofar allowed Lieberman to put a Jewish spin on his version. Although Lieberman stopped playing wind instruments when he got dentures shortly afterward, the prolific musician is planning on releasing his 70th album at the end of August. Since the Jewish punks embraced the shofar, its use has spread among other musicians, both Jews and non-Jews. In 2006,

Madonna included a shofar in her song “Isaac.” In 2013 Macklemore, a non-Jewish rapper, sounded one in a commercial. That same year, electronic musician Alvin Curran released an album of avant-garde shofar songs, “Shofar Rags,” as part of Tzadik Records’ Radical Jewish Culture series. In 2014, on his album “Shofarot Verses” in the same series, jazz saxophonist Paul Shapiro played the shofar in the liturgical song “Ashamnu.” An early punk-shofar pioneer was Bram Presser, the go-to shofar player for the Jewish community in his native Melbourne, Australia. He’s better known as the front man for the comedic Jewish punk band Yidcore, which was notorious for “shofar shots” — one person poured kosher wine down the horn and another drank out of the mouthpiece. Members of the band, and the audience, imbibed during shows, and the drinking continued backstage. Presser, 41, played the shofar on at least 10 Yidcore songs. He explains that in the 2004 song “Hora (New Version),” the sequence of teruah, shevarim, and “tekiah gedolah” (“great blast”) created “general cacophony” and “irreverent chaos.” In “They Tried to Kill Us. They Failed. Let’s Eat!” the shofar was part of a jubilant celebration. Not every Yidcore song with a shofar was for the sake of punk rock frenzy. The lyrics of the Hebrew song “Hakotel” mention a shofar at the Kotel, the Western Wall, and when Yidcore covered the song in 2002, Presser played standard shofar parts to “create a bustling Kotel scene.” “The shofar is essentially an ancient instrument,” Presser said. “Why shouldn’t it be played like one? “That it also makes a great siphon for alcoholic beverages is just an added bonus.” PJC Michael Croland is the author of “Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk,” which was published last year by Praeger (an imprint of ABC-CLIO).

Chef wants to make vegan cooking the ‘new kosher’ So for this sultry Shabbat, I chose Raw Peaches and Cream Soup (don’t get fatootzed about the word “raw”), which turned out to be a hit with a Friday night dinner crowd that included rabbis, an Episcopal priest and their spouses. I was lucky to meet up with Reinfeld on a very un-summer night in February near Boulder, Colorado, where he lives. There he told me about growing up in a traditional Jewish family in Stony Brook, Long Island, that kept kosher and ate chicken every Friday night. After Reinfeld spent his junior year at the London School of Economics, which he followed with a backpacking trip across Europe, he found he just couldn’t embark immediately on his plan A, attending law school right after college.

— FOOD — By Elisa Spungen Bildner | JTA

ith the temperature in the mid-80s, it was not the night to kick off Shabbat dinner with chicken soup, or rather, given our family’s eating mishegas, vegan chicken soup (yes, there is such a dish). So where or whom do I turn to for a seasonal alternative? Answer: Chef Mark Reinfeld, who as the “30-Minute Vegan” has a series of books filled with recipes that I’ve found are sure to come out right and always taste great. (Reinfeld most recently authored “Healing the Vegan Way: Plant-Based Eating for Optimal Health and Wellness.”) When vegetarian and vegan newbie friends ask me to recommend fail-safe cook books, Reinfeld’s are at the top of the list. 14 SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

p Chef Mark Reinfeld spent time on a kibbutz.

Photo courtesy of Mark Reinfeld

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Please see Vegan, page 15

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Life & Culture Vegan: Continued from page 14

After his acceptance into New York University Law School, Reinfeld deferred his admission and decamped one more time to Europe. In Paris, he worked as an au pair. In the mornings, he helped his charges with their homework. But he spent his afternoons walking the streets of the French capital “holding a baguette and bottle of wine,” as he likes to put it. From there he traveled to Amsterdam and Berlin. Forrest Gump-ishly, he witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall, then managed to hit Prague in time for the Velvet Revolution that brought down the ruling Czech Communist Party. His next stop: Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek in Israel, where he worked with (and then ate) chicken five and sometimes seven days a week. Reinfeld remembers the kibbutzniks chasing and catching the chickens in vast shed-like coops, then handing them over to the volunteers. “We’d have to take them out to a truck,” he recalls. “The chickens were screaming and their legs were breaking in your hands. That is precisely when I realized that I couldn’t do this, and I couldn’t eat them. So I gave up chicken cold turkey.” Reinfeld laughs before describing another I-can’t-eat-animals-anymore epiphany: It happened when he bonded with cows in the field next to the kibbutz. Back in America, Reinfeld started law school, dropping out after the first semester when he realized this wasn’t the direction he wanted his career to take. “I didn’t have a plan B,” he notes. Somehow the spirit of his maternal grandfather, Ben Bimstein, a caterer who Reinfeld describes as a “culinary genius” and a renowned ice carver, guided his next move. “Until his dying day,” Reinfeld says of Bimstein, “he was still carving ice in his wheelchair with his oxygen tank and something like a chainsaw.” Reinfeld loaded his possessions into his car, drove west until he hit San Diego and

landed a kitchen job at the natural foods grocer Jimbo’s. From there he quickly became a meatless entrepreneur, starting Blossoming Lotus Personal Chef Service in Malibu, California, and ending up, with the help of angel investor Bo Rinaldi, as the co-owner and chef of the award-winning Blossoming Lotus restaurant in Kauai, Hawaii. With Rinaldi, Reinfeld wrote “Vegan World Fusion Cuisine,” garnering honors including a Gourmand World Cookbook Award for best vegetarian cookbook in the USA. By this time, Reinfeld also was a practitioner of Vipassana, a type of Buddhist meditation, and actually started his restaurant while observing an 18-month period of silence. (“I could type very fast in those days,” he says, laughing.) That didn’t take him away from Judaism, and in a 2013 article for ReformJudaism.org titled “Vegan is the New Kosher,” he outlined the Jewish basis for a plant-based diet. Reinfeld couples the Talmudic principle of “tza’ar ba’alei chayim” (Baba Metzia 32), which prohibits cruelty to animals, with Genesis 1:29: “God said, “Behold, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food,” and urges Jews to make the compassionate choice. “The reality is that factory farm-produced meat, eggs, and dairy (whether kosher or non-kosher) are raised and treated in a way that is a blatant violation of the principle of tza’ar ba’alei chayim,” Reinfeld writes. A philosophy major as an undergraduate, Reinfeld says he understands that animals kill and eat animals, and that some people eat animals out of necessity. “If you saw a lion pouncing on a gazelle, you may wince, but you know it’s part of nature and you’re not going to sit the lion down and say ‘I think you have anger issues, why don’t you try tofu?’” he says. Inhabitants of remote fishing villages in Alaska or isolated tribes with limited access to adequate protein must fish or hunt. “Where there’s necessity,” Reinfeld says, “there is a different moral issue, but when we have a choice of how much violence we bring into the world through our food selec-

tion, and we know we can meet our body’s nutritional needs, eat tasty food and minimize our environmental impact,” then one can draw a different line. Back on the mainland, Reinfeld continues his vegan entrepreneurship. Called “the male equivalent to a vegan Rachael Ray” in a Publisher’s Weekly review of “Soup’s On,” a cookbook in his “30-Minute Vegan” series, Reinfeld is dedicated to popularizing vegan eating and living and compassion toward animals. Through his Vegan Fusion company, he offers consulting, chef services, culinary workshops, and chef and cooking teacher training internationally and online. In July, Reinfeld was inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame. Time for another late summer Shabbat dinner — and the soup. I promise you, it’s a snap to make and takes minutes. And I also guarantee that you won’t be able to tell the difference between cashew cream, a staple of vegan cooking, and the “real” thing, heavy cream. My Episcopal priest friend, a regular at our Shabbat table, loved the soup, and weighed in after his last spoonful: “Honest and fulfilling. Not a sweet, cutesy, fruity thing.” Raw peaches and cream soup

Serves 4 Ingredients: Sweet cashew cream: 3/4 cup chopped raw cashews 3/4 cup water 1 1/2 tablespoons raw coconut or agave nectar or sweetener of choice, or to taste (I used agave) Raw peach soup: 7 ripe peaches, pitted and chopped (5 cups) 1 1/2 cups fruit juice (try apple) 2 tablespoons raw coconut nectar, agave nectar or pure maple syrup (which I used), or to taste 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of sea salt 2 teaspoons mirin (Reinfeld says this is optional, but I’d recommend it as well. Mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine that is easy to find.) 2 tablespoons chiffonaded fresh mint, for garnish

Place the cashews in a small bowl with ample water to cover. Allow them to sit for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse well. (This is why Reinfeld is such a practical vegan chef: Most vegan recipes instruct you to soak cashews overnight.) Meanwhile, place all of the peach soup ingredients, except the mint, in a strong blender and blend until creamy. Transfer to a bowl. Place the cashews in the blender with the water and the coconut nectar (or whichever sweetener you’re using) and blend until very creamy. Transfer to a small bowl. Garnish each bowl of soup with a drizzle of cashew cream and top with fresh mint before serving. Variations:

• It would be a raw foodist’s call to 911 — yes, this is how Reinfeld writes — but you can grill the peaches until char marks appear, about 5 minutes, lightly basting with melted coconut oil before blending. • Replace the peaches with nectarines, mangoes, blueberries or papayas. (I tried several batches with blueberries, which also worked well, although less sweet than the peach. You might try to prepare two versions, and delicately place them side by side in each soup bowl, in a yin/yang design.) • Replace the apple juice with orange, pineapple or mango juice, or a combination of your favorites. • Create differently flavored Sweet Cashew Creams by adding ½ cup of fruit, such as blueberries, strawberries or mango. PJC Elisa Spungen Bildner is 99 percent vegan (she cheats on ice cream).

Renew TODAY!

3 print YEARS FREE edition

Complete the form and mail or call 410.902.2308 308



Renew my FREE 3 YEAR subscription to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.*

Address

Name (Please print) Signature

Date

* Signature and date required to be valid by the US Postal Service. Restrictions apply.

City

State

Phone

Zip

Residents eligible to receive the free three years subscription must live in the city of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County or the five surrounding counties.

Mail to: Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle | 5915 Beacon Street, 5th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15217

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 15

Headlines Website: Continued from page 1

which also includes some content sharing.” Busis described The Times of Israel as “the premiere English language news organization coming out of Israel today.” “Many people may be more familiar with the Jerusalem Post or Ha’aretz, which are much older than The Times of Israel,” he explained, “but compared to those, The Times of Israel is much more centrist and politically neutral.” Not only is The Times of Israel compatible journalistically with the Chronicle, Busis said, but “we also think they have the best Web platform today of any of the Jewish news organizations. “Coincidentally, they started a program to have a network of local Jewish news organizations come onto their platform,” Busis added, “and so we decided to join with them and their partners. We will be the fifth Jewish newspaper to join with them.” The Chronicle’s new website will be easier to use and navigate, noted David Ainsman, chair of the board of the Chronicle. “The quality of the substance will be dramatically increased,” Ainsman said, “mainly because we are teaming with The Times of Israel, which is the best website that I know of for Israeli news, international and even national Jewish news. It’s a significant upgrade.” Former Pittsburghers or others who want to keep their fingers on the pulse of Jewish Pittsburgh — checking to see who got married, who was born, who celebrated a bar or bat mitzvah, or who has died — will now have an easier time doing so through the use of the new site, Ainsman said. “In addition to being better on a computer, the new website will also scale automati-

JCC: Continued from page 1

While the Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement is a new initiative, “in many ways, it’s actually an affirmation of what we’ve already been doing at the JCC, but not really in the context of a center,” said Schreiber. JCCs, in their earliest incarnations, “were designed to teach immigrants how to be good American citizens,” Schreiber continued, noting that the Pittsburgh JCC has been offering citizenship classes for immigrants for the last 25 years, as well as holding various public forums. “The impetus in the last year, year and a half is there is a lot of talk around what we would call ‘civic engagement’ in a very partisan world,” he explained. “Just the idea of civic engagement is challenged in a very different way, with heavier partisanship. And this may be an opportunity to really think about going back to some of that civic engagement strategy and the idea of actually being a place of public discourse in a much more pronounced way, in a much more intentional way than what’s been happening.” Now, Schreiber said, the JCC has an ability to “build an intentional experience around a Jewish lens using Ron’s [Symon’s] role and Ron’s work as part of this center, so it’s a piece around civic engagement, but within a Jewish values framework.” 16 SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

p The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle’s new website home page

cally to smaller sized screens,” said Busis, “so that you will be able to read it easily on both smartphones and tablets.” It will not be necessary to download and install a separate app; the site can be used directly with a regular browser on a mobile device. The new site will further “enhance our two-way communication with the community,” Busis added. “In particular, we have special pages for sending us content and uploading photos, and it will make it much easier for people in the community to send material to the Chronicle for publication both online and in print. “In the world we live in today, we recognize [the importance of] electronic publishing on the internet, but we still believe in the power and usefulness of the printed newspaper as well. Frankly, we hope people will read and use both the printed paper and the website; between the two of them, you really get the best possible experience. Even if some prefer the website, we hope everyone continues to

subscribe to the printed paper, because it is the print advertising that keeps us afloat.” Because the new website is being run on a new version of The Times of Israel platform, Busis said, there are still some features that “are not quite ready yet, but will be later this year. There may be some bugs, so we hope people will bear with us, and if they do find bugs, by all means, let us know.” The partnership between different Jewish media outlets creates an “ecosystem,” said Grig Davidovitz CEO of RGB Media, the company behind the Web platform utilized by The Times of Israel and its partners, as well as a “synergy” that allows the newspapers to work best on both an individual and cooperative level. While The Times of Israel is doing “an excellent job reporting issues worldwide,” it is still the local Jewish newspapers that are best equipped to report local news, Davidovitz said. The Times of Israel platform provides easy access to both.

Pittsburgh’s JCC was part of a “think tank” along with several other JCCs that convened in New York City about six months ago, around the time when JCCs across the country were routinely receiving bomb threats, to discuss civil engagement initiatives, according to Schreiber. A few other JCCs, including Manhattan’s, are in the process of launching their own. “JCC Manhattan is calling their initiative The Democracy Project,” Schreiber said. “Ours is a little different in scope, but from a similar premise.” The goals of the Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement are “to strengthen the fabric of community by amplifying ‘love your neighbor as yourself,’ ‘do not sit idle while your neighbor bleeds,’ while redefining ‘neighbor’ from a geographic term to a moral concept,” explained Symons. The Center will focus on five program areas, including educating teens through adults to “help them better understand there are other people out there, in realization that there is no one who is ‘other,’” Symons said. The new Center will also stress “advocacy and civil engagement.” “We want to use the pull of community organizing to bring people together just like today,” according to Symons, noting that the Center will be “nonpartisan.” “But that does not mean we can’t take a stand on particular issues,” Schreiber clarified. “So, obviously, there is a hate crimes measure that might be going to the PA House of Representatives. We may ultimately take

a position on that, but we understand that advocating for an issue is different than taking a political position on something.” Other areas of focus of the Center will include “artistic expression,” which will make use of the American Jewish Museum housed at the JCC to feature relevant exhibits, and “communication” to share the Center’s message “widely through social media and the like to ensure that the conversation is about the community that we want to grow into,” Symons said. The new JCC initiative is not intended to supplant the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council, which also works to build relationships within and beyond the Jewish community, according to Schreiber. “We have a very close working relationship with the CRC,” he said. “I can’t imagine there are issues we would get involved in that are counter to what the CRC does. We do believe that as a community town square, which the Center plays, we have some unique abilities to coalesce community in a different way than we’ve been doing.” The JCC is “very much a town square,” agreed Symons. “Not just for Squirrel Hill but for greater Pittsburgh at large. And in that town square, there needs to be deliberate conversations about the morals and the values about the way the community is going.” An expansion in the JCC’s membership policy introduced by its board several months ago, “to include gender-identity expression,”

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

“The local Jewish newspapers still have a very real mission to do, covering the local community,” he said. “The worldwide papers can’t do that because they don’t have the resources.” The platform shared by The Times of Israel and its partners is, in effect, “a federation of websites,” together covering Israel and international, national and local Jewish news, according to Davidovitz. “The idea is to connect websites that have identities that can connect in a synergetic way — partners that have proven journalistic integrity and can relate to high journalistic standards.” The Times of Israel partners are “seeing very good results in terms of readership increasing,” Davidovitz said, both in terms of “accidental users who happen to come to the website through a particular story and loyal users who specifically visit the site to see what’s new there. “I think that is a big part of what we’re offering, increasing traffic and a strategy to turn accidental users into loyal users,” he added. The “co-branding” between the partners works so that each enforces the others’ brands, thereby improving visibility and increasing the number of users. Another advantage of the partnership, Davidovitz said, is that it has created “journalistic cooperation between the different publishers.” That cooperation includes conference calls in which the parties discuss journalistic and commercial projects. The Times of Israel is “constantly looking for new partners,” Davidovitz said, and it will be announcing another new partner from the United States in the coming months. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Schreiber said, can be viewed as part of the mission of the Center for Loving Kindness. “We see that [policy] as not standing by while our neighbor bleeds,” he said. “Now, we can’t help it if that issue becomes politicized or become partisan — that’s the part where it is going to be hard to tell where things evolve. But we really did that out of a sense to serve the community more inclusively.” Although the JCC has expanded its membership policy to be intentionally inclusive of gender-identity expressions, threats against the LGBTQ community were not specifically included in the declaration against hate signed by the religious leaders on Monday, which did list anti-Semitism, white supremacy, Islamophobia and racism as “evil.” The omission of the LGBTQ community was acknowledged by Barlow in an interview following the interfaith gathering. “We wanted to make the broadest possible repudiation of bigotry that we could under the largest possible umbrella,” she said. “We focused on racial and religious prejudice recognizing that there are other forms of hatred in the world.” Even those denominations that are not supportive of same-sex marriage, she said, would nonetheless “all unite in opposing hatred and violence in the LGBT community. But we wanted to cast a net large enough so that people would be eager to sign on.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines “ We are poised to create a movement

Pardes: Continued from page 3

vision based on classic texts, “still relevant in the 21st century,” as its foundation. “American Jews right now really need values of the beit midrash, the values of the Jewish house of study, because it’s all about mutual respect, it’s all about celebrating diversity, it’s all about argument for the sake of heaven, it’s about sitting across the table from someone who has a diametrically opposed world view than you do and learning from them and speaking with them,” he explained. Pardes, Morris said, will focus its attention over the next year on creating an initiative with its alumni community and thereby extending the reach of the institution. “We have an amazing group of alumni,” he said, which includes almost 400 rabbis, and hundreds of day school educators, Jewish nonprofit leaders and lay leaders. “We are poised to create a movement from

Likud: Continued from page 10

retroactive legalization of West Bank outposts, and this month alleging that Israel’s “fake news” media and law enforcement are conducting a “witch hunt” against him. Netanyahu is the subject of two ongoing corruption investigations — one for allegedly accepting gifts from wealthy supporters and the other for allegedly trying to strike a deal for better newspaper coverage. An indictment is also pending against his wife for alleged misuse of state funds. The prime minister has denied any wrongdoing by his family. Orad Gan Raveh, a software engineer in Modiin, north of Jerusalem, joined the New Likudniks last year. He said the Likud was a natural fit for his political views but that he is frustrated with corruption in the party and in Israel in general. “I consider myself right wing, and it’s one of the only democratic parties in Israel,” he said, referring to the fact that Likud is one of three major Israeli political parties that holds primaries. “Most people don’t know this, but the real power is in the hands of party electors. They decide who enters the Knesset.” But many Likud members, as well as journalists and pundits, have questioned the right-wing credentials of the New Likudniks. They have accused members of the group of being undercover leftists desperately seeking to compensate for their diminished status in Israeli politics. After all, the Likud has now been in power for nearly a decade. “You are the people of Meretz and the Labor Party who joined the Likud. You infiltrated the Likud,” Deputy Knesset Speaker and Likud member Nava Boker told a leader of the New Likudniks during a TV panel discussion this month. “Your ideology contradicts the values of the Likud. Be honest. Go to the parties that fit you.”

from this community — not a movement in the sense of denomination, but in the sense of bringing these values of the beit midrash to the American Jewish community and making Jewish learning

”

the identifying thing that Jews do.

— RABBI LEON MORRIS

this community — not a movement in the sense of denomination, but in the sense of bringing these values of the beit midrash to the American Jewish community and making Jewish learning the identifying thing that Jews do.” In Pittsburgh, Pardes will continue to

partner with Kulam, Morris said. Kulam is an open learning community, housed at the Jewish Community Center and launched earlier this year, that convenes local Jews of diverse backgrounds to examine issues relevant to Jewish life through

Tamar Zanberg, a lawmaker for the leftwing Meretz party, agreed. “[The Likud] is not your place as leftwing people, and it is one of the biggest displays of losing by the left wing,” she said on a TV panel in July. “The democratic leftwing parties, those who believe in themselves, should raise our heads and fight for our own way to replace the Likud, not to join the Likud.”

Immediately after Bitan threatened to take action against the New Likudniks, the Likud blocked online registration for the entire party. Also, last week, Likud lawmaker Yoav Kisch announced that he plans to submit a bill to stop the group by counting all ballots cast in a primary as votes for that party in the general election. Ostensibly, the move would discourage stealth leftists from casting Likud primary votes.

“We are you. We are members of

the middle class. Employees, students, conscripted soldiers, taxpayers. Loving the country from the left and right from top to bottom.”

— The New Likudniks’ website

Many have compared the New Likudniks to the Feiglinites, a far-right group led by the firebrand Moshe Feiglin that tried to take over the Likud in the early 2000s to prevent Israeli territorial withdrawals. The group, which had as many as 7,000 members, eventually overcame opposition from Likud officials. But it accomplished little, and most of its members departed ahead of the latest election. According to Hebrew media reports, Likud officials really began to take note of the New Likudniks when increasing numbers of their members began joining the protesters who for months have gathered every week outside the Petach Tikvah home of Attorney General Avichai Mandelbilt, complaining that he is dragging his feet on the various Netanyahu probes. Pro-Likud counterprotesters have also shown up.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

The New Likudniks have already expressed disappointment in Kisch, who has denounced the group after it helped elect him to the Knesset for the first time. Members of the New Likudniks have played into criticism of the group: Numerous members and even officials have told Israeli reporters that they are Meretz voters and have no intention of voting for Likud in a general election. “In 2015, no, I did not vote Likud,” group official Meirav Siton told a TV interviewer in February. “What, did I marry them? I don’t understand. Like, why do I owe anything to the party when the Likud’s list [of candidates] is not deserving in my eyes?” Still, some Likud members have defended the New Likudniks. “A large proportion of the New Likudniks hold liberal, legitimate views on the

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

dialogue and study. Morris hopes to use Kulam as a model to bring similar learning initiatives to other cities, he said. “We are seeing ourselves as an institution with a global reach with its beit midrash in Israel,” Morris explained. “Not everyone can come here, and we want to have significant rich learning opportunities in the United States and in Europe as well.” David Shapira, who sits on the North American board of Pardes, said he is confident that Morris is the right man to be leading the institution. “I am impressed by Leon’s wisdom and by his thoughtful, spiritual approach to Judaism and text study. Pardes is unique in its open, nondenominational approach to the serious study of Jewish texts, and Leon’s experiences teaching in institutions that span the Jewish spectrum make him the right person to lead Pardes into the future.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Likud’s moderate side,” Likud lawmaker Yehudah Glick wrote on Facebook last week. “It is possible to impose sanctions against specific people if they know that their goal is to undermine the Likud from within. The burden of proof [is] on the party. Alas, if we could only bring in those we like.” Inbal Samet, another New Likudniks official, argued that voting is not the only measure of commitment to a party. She and the 44 other members of the group’s leadership believe in the Likud’s constitution, she said, which expresses Zionist, democratic and free market values. They support candidates who embody those values on the model of the party’s founder and first prime minister, Menachem Begin. “Candidates have to know the charter, and they have to act upon it,” Samet said. “A lot of things happening today are completely illiberal and do not promote equality between races, sexes and genders. These are the things we want to see promoted. In order to deal with our bigger problems, we first need a healthy society and a healthy politics.” Samet said the New Likudniks do not consider candidates’ views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because its officials are divided on the issue and see no solution forthcoming anyway. However, she said when people tell her they hold socialist economic views, she makes clear the group is not for them. She acknowledged that some Israelis have joined the New Likudniks primarily in hope of undermining the Likud, but characterized them as misguided outliers. The group as a whole is committed to strengthening the Likud, she said, and is already doing so by testing its democratic institutions. “I think all this will be good for the Likud in the long run because the party is going to come out the other side stronger,” she said. “Is it good for the New Likudniks? As far as I’m concerned, the stronger we are, the stronger the Likud will be.” PJC SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 17

Celebrations

Torah

Wedding

Seeing the dignity of all of God’s creation

Photo by Amanda Wei

Wettstein/Jago: Emma Rachel Wettstein and Arthur Stuart Jago were married in Palo Alto, Calif., on June 10. Emma is a manager at Google in Mountain View, Calif., and Arthur is finishing his doctorate in the School of Business at Stanford University in Palo Alto. Emma is the daughter of Stacey and Robert Wettstein of Squirrel Hill, and Arthur is the son of Jan and Art Jago of Columbia.

Birth

Coulson: Wendy Bennett and David Coulson of Pittsburgh joyfully announce the birth of their grandson Iggy’s brother, Paltiel Meir “Pal,” son of Rebecca and Bud Coulson of Highland Park, N.J. Maternal grandparents are Pat and Mark Gordon of New York. Pal is the great-grandson of Alvin and Felice Gordon of Princeton, N.J., Bill and Jeannie Coulson of Comptche, Calif., and the late Harriet and Buddy Bennett.

B’nai Mitzvah

Alyana Childs, daughter of Shari and Solomon Childs, will become a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Sept. 2 at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills. Grandparents are Edward and Myra Childs of Fox Chapel and Sam and Michelle Markovitz of Upper St. Clair.

Samuel Benjamin Holthaus, son of Vicki and Dan Holthaus, became a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 26 at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Grandparents are Judy and Dick Roth of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Jonah Rosenberg, son of Aviva and Pinchas Rosenberg, will become a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Sept. 2 at Congregation Beth Shalom. Jonah is a seventhgrader at Community Day School and big brother to Eli and Liam. He loves playing basketball for CDS and the Jewish Community Center and has been playing cello since first grade. When he’s not in school or at Camp Young Judea Midwest, Jonah loves traveling with his family and exploring new places. He would like to visit New Orleans, where he was born and lived before evacuating because of Hurricane Katrina. PJC

18 SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer Parshat Ki Tetse Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19

he unsettling and upsetting national and world events of the past few weeks have threatened my equilibrium and that of many of my congregants and acquaintances. In times like these, I approach Torah seeking solace and understanding and some nugget of wisdom. I am seldom disappointed, and if I am, I know it is because I did not turn and turn the Torah, as Ben Bag Bag so famously suggested long ago. When viewing the YouTube clip of neo-Nazis and white supremacists marching in Charlottesville, Va., chanting “Jew will not replace us,” I actually cried. How can these people have so much hate in their heart? Some of those who talked to me about their own impressions also expressed fear of being a Jew, especially if he/she wore external expressions of their Judaism. How can Torah inform our sadness, fear and revulsion? Parshat Ki Tetse covers a wide range of topics and diverse laws. Ki tetse, which translates as “when you take,” refers to “taking the field” and winning a battle with the Hebrews’ enemies. When women are taken as the spoils of war, elaborate laws are given in Ki Tetse to ensure they are treated with dignity. The dignity of many other groups of people and beasts is mandated in this portion as well. If a man is found guilty of a capital offense and executed by stoning, his body must be buried by sunset. Oxen or sheep that have gone astray must be returned to their owner, and we are mandated to help a beast that has “fallen by the road.” We are obligated to let the poor glean our fields and orchards and must always return by sundown a poor man’s cloak that he has offered as the pledge for a loan. A needy laborer must be given his wages on the same day. In a final, though not exhaustive example, an ox and donkey may not be yoked together for plowing, as they are unequal in strength. Because we are created b’zelem Elohim, in the image of God, we are commanded to see the dignity of all of God’s creation and treat them accordingly. Rabbi Edward Feinstein has this to say about Ki Tetse. “[These laws] speak not to the lowest in us, but to the highest. ‘You shall be holy, for I, the Eternal your God, am holy’ (Lev. 19:2). The purpose of law in the Torah is to cultivate the holy, the compassionate, the just and the sensitive within us — to cultivate the divine within us.” If we are to follow the precepts put forth in this Torah portion, we will find ourselves searching for the divine spark in the messengers of hate that marched in Charlottesville. Perhaps the best that we can do is not to vilify them as they have vilified African-Americans and Jews. This is not an easy task. Nor does it address the very real danger of threats made by neo-Nazis and white supremacists. How are we to find a balance? It is perhaps one of the hardest concepts we will be called on to do as Jews and as moral people. Perhaps the timing is fortuitous, as we are now in the month of Elul, when our thoughts about our own character take an introspective turn. As an example,

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

we can look to the reactions of the family member of a victim in another hate crime by a white supremacist. In 2015 in Charleston, S.C., Nadine Collier, daughter of shooting victim Ethel Lance at the Emanuel Church massacre, publicly forgave the perpetrator, Dylann Roof. As you may remember, he is a white supremacist who hoped to spark a race war with his killing of nine members of the church’s Bible study group. Instead, his actions led to the beginning of the movement to remove statues glorifying the Civil War from public spaces. Said Alana Simmons, granddaughter of victim Daniel Simmons, “Hate won’t win. Everyone’s plea for your [Roof ’s] soul is proof that they [the victims] lived in love and their legacies live in love.” I also heard the following story on a public radio station the morning of the day I had planned to start writing this d’var Torah. During World War II, Hans von Dohnanyi, father of famed conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi, was a member of the German

If we are to follow the precepts put forth in this Torah portion, we will find ourselves searching for the divine spark in the messengers of hate that marched in Charlottesville. resistance who personally saved many Jews and was part of a plot to bomb Hitler’s plane. He was arrested in 1943, continually tortured and executed shortly before the end of the war in 1945. During his imprisonment, he was allowed to correspond with the family, and his letters are a great treasure to them. Only recently has Christoph broken his silence about the war years, and his father’s story has just been published in the book, “No Ordinary Men.” In it is found the following advice from Hans to his family, written from his prison cell: “Don’t carry hate in your heart ... don’t fill your souls with bitterness; that has its revenge and takes from you the most beautiful thing there is, trust.” As a moral people, we can participate in counter-protests that acknowledge that ours are communities where hate is not welcome. We can be vigilant and stand up to hateful rhetoric and ideas. However, we are still commanded to look for the divine spark in all of God’s creations, as clearly indicated in this week’s parsha, Ki Tetse. PJC Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer is spiritual leader of Congregation B’nai Abraham. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Obituaries PECHERSKY: Karen Elaine Pechersky passed away Saturday, August 19, 2017. Our mom was born in Canton, Ohio, on February 2, 1943 where she still has many friends and family. Karen graduated from McKinley High School, eventually moving to Pittsburgh in the early 1960s to start a family. Formerly married to our dad, Phillip Pechersky (5/16/1942 - 11/3/2013), she was also preceded in death by her parents, Isadore “Jack” Rudner (3/20/1987) and Daisy (Fidelholtz) Rudner (12/14/1997). She is survived by two sons: Robert and Michael Pechersky, three grandchildren: Daniel, Joyce and Joshua Pechersky, one GREAT grandchild: Helena Pechersky and two daughters-in-law: Nancy Cox and Rhonda Pechersky. Our mom had many friends and family. A day didn’t go by without talking to them. I’d like to thank Joette and Hannah who have been in our mom’s life for a very long time, as well as many others. Our mom made many friends when she moved to Wilmington, N.C. Charlotte, thank you for the great friendship you had with my mom. Karen’s brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law were a large part of her life as well. My mom always talked about the family trips to Atlantic City, N.J. One of her favorite people was my dad’s mom, Mollie. She adored her. Karen was also a longtime mah-jongg player. Even as her illness worsened she found the strength and motivation to get out of the house for one of her longtime passions. She leaves behind many friends who also loved to play and enjoy each other’s company. She was an excellent player and sometimes even won a little money. She knew she had to keep her day job however and that was with Sears for over 30 years. Karen moved to Wilmington, N.C., three years ago to be closer to her kids and grandchildren. We were

blessed to have her here. My mom mentioned many times how lucky she was to be near us. We were the lucky ones. There are many people and doctors to thank for caring for our mom. We would like to send a special thank you to Lower Cape Fear Hospice and all their caring employees. Also, a special thank you to Karen M. and to Chris and Lori T. for their love and support to our mom and us. I think it is ironic that Jerry Lewis passed away a day after our mom. For the last few years we would use the phrase “Hey Lady” to signal my mom that we were coming into the house. We will continue this tradition. Now that both my brother and I have lost both our parents, we are changed forever. We will carry on what they stood for. A private memorial service is being planned. Please share memories and condolences with the family at wilmingtoncares.com. SITTSAMER: Maxine S. Sittsamer on Thursday, August 24, 2017. Former spouse of Jack Sittsamer. Beloved mother of Paula Riemer of Pittsburgh and Murray Sittsamer of West Bloomfield, Mich. Sister of Jean (late Meyer) Rosenthal of Pittsburgh and Arthur Feldman of Galion, Ohio. Grandmother of Eric (Chava) Riemer, Danny (Sheera) Riemer, Aliza (Chanan) Strassman, Lexie and Eden Sittsamer and the late Meira Riemer. Also survived by four great-grandchildren, cousins and nieces and nephews. The family would like to give a special thanks to loving caregiver Janice Bolster and to the wonderful staff at Charles Morris Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment at Homestead Hebrew Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the JAA, 200 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. jaapgh.org. PJC

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

In memory of...

A gift from ...

In memory of...

Anonymous ..................... Abraham I. Silverman

Shirley Levine Hirsch ........ Raschel (Ray) Levine

Annette Alper .................................. Freida Alper

Shirley Levine Hirsch .................... Max I. Levine

Harriet Cohen ............................. Isadore Cohen

Jean Metzger .............................. Justine Becker

Harriet Cohen ............................Stella H. Cohen

Lisa Pollack ............................ Charlotte Pollack

Luisa & Howard Cohen....... Emanuel Bucaresky

Simma & Lawrence Robbins ...... Francis Nadler

Luisa & Howard Cohen............... Dorothy Fisher

Richard Stuart ............................ Ruth Supowitz

Martin Elikan .................................Marilyn Elikan

Claire & Morris Weinbaum ... Joseph L. Lebovitz

Rhoda & Jay Gefsky ................. Allan H. Barnett

Gail & Charles Weisberg ................Norma Lewis

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday September 3: Sarah Wolf Bernstein, Charlotte J. Goodman, Samuel M. Hepps, Samuel Jacob Miller, Anna Singer, Jewel Steinberg Surloff, Esther Zinman Monday September 4: Donald Baker, Belle Borofsky, Jacob Broudy, Israel Louis Gordon, Herman Horowitz, Hyman J. Jacobs, Morris Kalson, Theodore Kohut, Morris Mandel, Mollie Markowitz, Frank Rubenstein, Besse Schugar, Jacob Schwartz, Rose Sherrin, Abraham I. Silverman, David Sinaiken, Joseph Slinger, Esther Wishnovitz Tuesday September 5: Max Breverman, Harvey Deaktor, Isadore J. Ficks, Etta Glass, Howard Sylvan Guttman, Ethel Kanselbaum, Isreal Miller, Sidney Pariser, David Vinocur, Mary Weintraub Wednesday September 6: Morris Abrom, Michael Balmuth, M.D., Jacob Berman, Mendel Binstock, Ben Cartiff, Samuel Flansbaum, Martin David Gillis, Goldie Harris, Simon Jonas, Esther Friedberg Levy, Charles Papernick, Charlotte Levy Pollack, Louis A. Robins, Florence H. Szobel, Cyril Freda Wolfson Thursday September 7: Ben Astrov, Aaron Green, David Lester, Harry Litman, Frances Nadler, Mamie Grace Rosenbloom, Pauline Roth, Roy Ruttenberg, Shiffra Schneirov, Pauline Naomi Shorr, Mendel Silverman, Edith Simon Symons, Emanuel L. Wasser Friday September 8: Regina Berg, Ethel Borovetz, Celia Grudzinsky Catz, Joseph Gelman, Lillian Ohringer Girson, Louis Goldberg, Barbara Goldstein, Louis Hershenson, Herbert Isaacs, Leon Kweller, Pearl Beck Levy, Norma Lewis, Martin S. Morrow, William Richman, Rose Leib Rothman, Mollie Steinman, Selma Volkin, Joseph Weitzman, Belle Strauss Wilder Saturday September 9: Justine Becker, Pessie Esman, Nathan Glantz, Leah A. Gluck, Toby Goldberg, Martha Hirsch Green, Bess Z. Kaufmann, Morris Kessler, Leah Tobias Levy, Leonora Lichtenstul, Rose Mikulitzky, William Miller, David Pecarsky, Goldie Rubin, Lena Ruttenberg, Estelle Rae Sable, Martin S. Taxay, M.D., Joseph N. Verk

The Original Our Only Location At

Now is the time to make the right decisions for you and your family. As preplanning specialists, we can make certain that all of your wishes are carried out and that you spend only what is needed.

2145 BRIGHTON ROAD • PITTSBURGH, PA 15212 • 412-321-2235 Serving the Jewish Community Since 1924

We’d like to answer any questions you might have. Call us today to find out what you can do to make all of the right decisions.

D’Alessandro Funeral Home and Crematory Ltd. “Always A Higher Standard”

Daniel T. D’Alessandro, Spvr.

4522 Butler St. • Pittsburgh, PA 15201 • (412) 682-6500 • www.dalessandroltd.com

Pliskover Cemetery Kennedy Schedule Township SEND OBITUARY NOTICES AND REQUESTS FOR MORE INFORMATION TO obituaries@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

WE WILL BE OPEN FOR HOLIDAY VISITATION

Sunday, September 10th – 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Please remind your family and friends Call for information 216-406-6803 or 412-759-8653

Proof of death in the form of death certificate, email from funeral home or link to notice in another publication is required. Obituaries are prepaid. The first 200 words are billed at $50, and each word after that is $.25. Unveiling notices are $20 a week. 1599 S. DALLAS AVENUE. PITTSBURGH, PA 15217

Black and white photos are $12; color photos are $24. Contact the Chronicle at obituaries@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org for specifications.

THE DEADLINE FOR PUBLICATION IS NOON MONDAY. PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

THE ADVANTAGES ARE CLEAR At the time of death, decisions are difficult. Preparation NOW will help ease Anxiety, Confusion and Expense. Because you CARE...Don’t ignore these IMPORTANT details.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 19

Headlines Camp: Continued from page 5

festivals and visiting-day performances; it was a summer of eight weeks packed with Yiddish gezang.â&#x20AC;? Mlotek, who now serves as the artistic director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, â&#x20AC;&#x153;was incredibly talented in music and he was the one always playing piano, and we were taught all of these beautiful songs,â&#x20AC;? said Linzer. Bound by a red paperback cover, a songbook from the 1999 Camp Hemshekh reunion includes the lyrics for more than 120 pieces. Most are in Yiddish. In many ways, the camp was â&#x20AC;&#x153;a product of its time,â&#x20AC;? with ballads and tunes about peace, said Linzer. But there were also anachronistic numbers, both in English and Russian, â&#x20AC;&#x153;making fun of the Russian regime.â&#x20AC;? Given its politicized songs and directed activities, Hemshekh was a particularized experience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were absolutely trying to teach us something,â&#x20AC;? Linzer said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just about having a good time, it was about instilling in the children an understanding of the history and a belief in the causes that the founders of the camp believed in.â&#x20AC;? Accordingly, concerted efforts were made that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yiddish wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t die outâ&#x20AC;? and also that â&#x20AC;&#x153;our history wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t die and particularly

p Helane Linzer holds the Camp Hemshekh songbook.

Photo by Adam Reinherz

our most recent history.â&#x20AC;? In that vein, Hemshekh adopted a practice each summer referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ghetto Dayâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ghetto Night.â&#x20AC;? Characterized by solemnity, the two were signified through performance, silence and reaction. Throughout the day, campers both â&#x20AC;&#x153;individually and in groupsâ&#x20AC;? would pass by a mosaic designed by Daniel Libeskind (a camper who

later became a renowned architect), said Rosenfeld. Referred to as the denkmol, the installation depicted a â&#x20AC;&#x153;young man dressed in military-style garb, triumphantly stepping out of flames, one arm thrusting a rifle, the other with fist clenched. The face was an oval devoid of features,â&#x20AC;? wrote Margie Newman, a fellow camper in a 2009 story in Jewish Currents. The mosaic was located near the baseball field, recalled Linzer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On Ghetto Day, we would have an ehrenwache, honor guard, of two teenagers standing in their blue shirts, blue shorts and red cravats â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that was the old socialist youth uniform â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in silence at both sides of the denkmol,â&#x20AC;? said Rosenfeld. Those standing guard, a charge given to all of the oldest campers, would change shifts â&#x20AC;&#x153;every hour so that the wall was never unguarded,â&#x20AC;? noted Newman. As the day waned, Ghetto Night began with announcements and a quiet procession into a room where â&#x20AC;&#x153;there was a very beautiful program of ghetto songs and poems and narrations and drama that told the story of the resistance when we felt important to emphasize [but also] the story of the tragedy of the Holocaust,â&#x20AC;? said Rosenfeld. Ghetto Night was â&#x20AC;&#x153;very seriousâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;very intense,â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;I remember everybody filing back to their bunks in the dark with tears running down their cheeks,â&#x20AC;? said Linzer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was kind of the embodiment of

what the founders of the camp wanted to happen, to have a connection between their generation and the next generation,â&#x20AC;? explained Rosenfeld. The intensity of the experience ultimately proved too much, and in 1970, Linzer stopped attending Hemshekh. Although subsequent summers were spent elsewhere, the camp remains an integral piece of identity, she said. Those years were â&#x20AC;&#x153;formative,â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;it was enriching,â&#x20AC;? Linzer added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very intense growing up with survivors who were so traumatized, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nice to be able to spend your summer, even if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s with other children of survivors, in a camp with a mission that has to do with remembering that.â&#x20AC;? Given that summers are often remembered cheerfully, Linzer pondered whether she was happy to have attended Hemshekh. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think sometimes if you give kids choices, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily pick the ones theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll grow the most from,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In this case it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily something that I chose other than saying that I want to go to camp with my sister because I would miss her. But in general, I would say I am.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think we all like what is distinctive in our backgrounds,â&#x20AC;? she added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an interesting part of Jewish history that most people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know about.â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201A; PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Pittsburgh nonprofits receive bequest from Steinberg estate

our Pittsburgh nonprofits recently received bequests from the estate of Erwin R. and Beverly Steinberg, who passed away in October 2012 and November 2016, respectively. They had planned to leave one last gift, naming the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and WQED as the recipients of a $1 million donation split among the organizations. The Steinbergs were prominent voices in the Jewish community. Erwin Steinberg moved to Pittsburgh from Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1946 to teach at Carnegie Institute of Technology, known today as Carnegie Mellon University. He would remain at CMU in the English Depart-

TOTAL

â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;&#x160;My parents cared deeply about making the greatest impact possible.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; ALAN STEINBERG ment for the next 60 years to contribute as a professor, dean, vice provost, technical writing expert and James Joyce Scholar. Steinberg played a critical role in implementing several programs for the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s English department including the Bach-

30 DAY

CONFIDENCE

LOW PRICE

;V[HS *VUĂ&#x201E;KLUJL 7YPJPUN LUHISLZ \Z [V ZL[ H NYLH[ SV^ WYPJL VU L]LY` ]LOPJSL

0M ^L ZLSS MVY H SV^LY WYPJL ^P[OPU KH`Z ^LÂťSS J\[ `V\ H JOLJR MVY [OL H JOLJR MVY [OL KPÉ&#x2C6;LYLUJL

PRICING

PROMISE

LOWEST

MARKET PRICE

elor of Science degree program in technical writing and editing, the Master of Arts in professional writing program and the doctorate in rhetoric program. Beverly Steinberg shared a similar passion for education, focusing on a younger group

Chai

of learners. After serving 21 years as an early childhood educator, she retired from Carnegie Mellon Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School. The Steinbergs made it their lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work to mentor, inspire, challenge and to invest their time and energy into each of their students, many of whom appreciated their commitment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My parents cared deeply about making the greatest impact possible,â&#x20AC;? said Alan Steinberg, the younger of the Steinbergâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two children. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When creating their will, they had a long list of their favorite Pittsburgh nonprofits, but they wanted this donation to really make a difference in the community. A gift that would keep on giving.â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201A; PJC

News for people who know we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean spiced tea. Every Friday in the

>L \ZL [OL WV^LY VM ;Y\LJHY (\[V[YHKLY HUK 2)) [V NH\NL V\Y SV^ THYRL[ WYPJL

and all the time online @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. 2LUU`9VZZ :\IHY\ JVT c :LL KLHSLY MVY KL[HPSZ

20â&#x20AC;&#x192;SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

For home delivery, call 410.902.2308.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

in Homosassa, Fla., and went to a neigh- performed rescue operations Aug. 26 and 27. aiding Jewish residents of Houston with “It’s really bad here,” Jewish commu- kosher meals, clean water and shelter. boring Walmart to pick up the boat supplies Continued from page 9 they’ll need. They were also planning to nity rescue volunteer Jenelle Garner THEsaid, JEWISH CHRONICLE JUNE 5, 2014 — 21 that Chabad Houses from Lazaroff said reported the Jewish Herald-Voice. “We across Texas meet up with a group of Orthodox EMTs THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JUNE 5, 2014 — 21are preparing to bring in fresh The FOR SALE meals and supplies of kosher meat, chicken, might be forced to leave. ” She’s been in touch with people such as from New York on Aug. 28. Jewish Rabbi Gidon Moskovitz of the Meyermilk and bottled water as soon as the flood Baltimore philanthropist Frank Storch, and “We know the good people of Texas The FOR SALE Chronicle Jewish land Minyan said that more than half of his waters recede enough so that deliveries can has been sharing that information with other wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to come to Chronicle congregation had “taken in water” up to fi ve reach the city. locals via WhatsApp to boost morale. us,” Goldwasser said, “and living in South $ 210,000 FOR RENT FOR RENT FOR RENT feet deep in their homes, reported Hamodia. Relief efforts were underway even before “We’re all praying all over the world that Florida, we are definitely at the same risk $ READY TO DOWNSIZE? 210,000 FOR RENT FOR RENT FOR RENT 5125 Fifth Ave. Chabad-Lubavitch said that one its emisthe water started to recede. there shouldn’t be any more loss of life and Texas is.TOWERS ” Goldwasser has lived in Florida for SPENDING YOUR RIVERVIEW READY TO DOWNSIZE? 2 & 3 Bedrooms WINTERS IN THE SOUTH? 5125 Fifth Ave. saries in Houston had taken in several “We are heartbroken to see the impact of that the water should recede as quickly as Life 25 years and said he’s lived through about a Corner of Way” Your “Live SPENDING YOUR TOWERS RIVERVIEW 2Fifth & 3 Bedrooms Come see IN thisTHE 2 BR, 2 Bath unit and Wilkins WINTERS SOUTH? people aft er they had become trapped by the storm on our community,” the Jewish possible,” he said. “They should all knowConvenient we Life dozen hurricanes, Corner of Way” Your “Live living including Andrew. retirement with many of the updates already Spacious Come see this 2 BR, 2 Bath unit Fifth and Wilkins 6315 Forbes Ave. affordable. is that (62+) seniors for done including neutral kitchen, 1500-2250 square feet fl ooding aft er Shabbat. Federation of Greater Houston stated Aug. stand with them and care very much about Storch saidliving he would help raise funds to Convenient with many of the updatescarpeting already Spacious One Bedroom Studio andretirement both baths, windows, Luxury Living ”Finest in Shadyside” 6315 Forbes Ave. affordable. is that (62+) seniors for done including neutral kitchen, 1500-2250 square feet “I am sad to report that many of our 27 on its Facebook page, adding that it the entire Houston community.” cover the trip’s expenses, Goldwasser said. available apartments and more!! Building amenities in the Heart of Bunny Wolff Studio and One Bedroom both baths,exercise windows, carpeting 412-661-4456 Luxury Living ”Finest in Shadyside” include room, party Squirrel Hill friends who fl ooded in the recent past are launched a donation page to collect funds Storch in touch with Miami resident David Hurricane Harvey made inlandfall available apartments 412.782.3700 x238 or and more!! Building amenities www.kaminrealty.kamin.com your tour To schedule the Heart ofthe room, pool, pretty patio. Bunny Wolff 412-661-4456 1, Squirrel 2 & 3 BR Apts. 412.855.9213 at include exercise room, party Hill 412-521-7876 call 412.782.3700 x238 or www.kaminrealty.kamin.com tour your schedule To fl ooded once again, and there are many for the community’s immediate needs. PJC Goldwasser, who has been a volunteer EMT evening of Aug. 25 near Corpus Christi, room, pool,CALL prettyTODAY patio. for Berkshire Hathaway 1, 412-521-7900 2 & 3 BR Apts. 412.855.9213 at St. Garetta 52 appointments to see! Home Services 412-521-7876 call others who have never been fl ooded before, ” for five years. He was driving to Texas with about 200 miles southwest of Houston. CALL TODAY for Berkshire Hathaway 412-521-7900 St. have been confirmed Garetta appointments to see! Home Services FORleast RENT five dead says Rabbi Chaim Lazaroff , co-director two men who are retired from Army special52 At Marc Shapiro is managing editor of the FORof SALE DEADLINE NOTICE FOR RENT Chabad of Uptown with his wife, Chanie. operations with years of experienceBeautiful in search1, 2, in flooding. Baltimore Jewish Times, an affiliated publi& 3the Bedroom Apartments! FOR SALE DEADLINE The deadline all NOTICE copy andisart Beautiful 2, & 3Several Bedroom Apartments! Spacious1, Floorplans, In-suite Washers/Dryers, e rain not– stopping.” and rescue in combat. Jewish community members led for “Th cation of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. print and classified advertising, press Newly Remodeled Kitchens*, Formal DRs, Sun Deck, The deadline for all copy and art – Floorplans, In-suite Washers/Dryers, releases, simcha advertising, announcements a volunteer emergency response team, and Chabad-Lubavitch later announced it’s JNS.org contributed to this article. The trio bought a boat they found Newly onSpacious eBay Social Room, Fitness Center, Garage Parking, print and classified press Remodeled Kitchens*, Formal DRs, Sun Deck,

Hurricane:

Fox Chapel Mews Fox Chapel Mews

Real Estate Directory Real Estate Directory

Real Estate

*In Select Units

412-683-8683

www.mckinneyproperties.com

$ 284,500 CALL 412.657.2766 284,500 CALL 412.657.2766

2ND FLOOR CONDO (approx 1810 sq. ft.) 2ND FLOOR CONDO

TIMESHARE FFF TIMESHARE FFF

(approx 1810 ft.) In a Bundled Golfsq. Community In a Bundled Golf Community 3 Br's/2 full baths, over sized kitchen with office stainless steel sized appliances,custom wood 3 space, Br's/2 full baths, over kitchen with office “Spicebush” located in Hilton Head’s most cabinetry, granite tops,master bathroom space, stainless steelcounter appliances,custom wood “Spicebush” located in Hilton Head’s most prestigious plantation, “Sea Pines”. completegranite w/ duel sinks, custom mirrors cabinetry, counter tops,master bathroomand prestigious plantation, “Sea Pines”. lighting, w/ lrg. duel stall shower, lrg. walk-in closet with complete sinks, custom mirrors and 2 bedroom/2 bath; full kitchen; w/d; deck; sleeps 6; lighting, stall shower, lrg. walk-in closet with custom lrg. shelving. 2 bedroom/2 full kitchen; w/d;tennis deck;on sleeps 6; duplex within abath; cul de sac; pool and property; custom shelving. duplex within a cul de sac; poolfrom and tennis property; 2nd. bathroom has new cabinetry,quartz, custom perfect condition; 1 block beach on and golf. 2nd. bathroom has new cabinetry,quartz, custom perfect condition; 1 block from beach SQUIRREL and golf. HILL/NORTH lighting and mirror. OF FORBES • $975,000 “High” Trading Weeks (II and RCI) lighting and mirror. Great room with lanai which looks Formal out ontoliving a lakeand dining rooms, first floor family “High” Trading Weeks (IIApprox. and RCI) Annual Maintenance Fees: $750 5529 Dunmoyle: Spectacular 8 bedroom, 4½which bath home. Great with lanai with looks outsunset onto aviews. lake and room the golf course, gorgeous Annual Maintenance Approx. $750 wonderful rear porch Anxious to Sell. NowFees: Living in Florida. room, thatgolf is course, the expanse of this sunset grandviews. home. Beautiful architectural features — and the with gorgeous Anxious to Sell. Now Living in Florida. woodwork, windows, high ceilings and much more. FFF ASKING PRICE—One Dollar!!! FFF FFF ASKING PRICE—One + legal closing feesDollar!!! FFF + legal closing fees CLASSIFIEDS OF FORBES SELL IT FAST IN THECLASSIFIEDS Call Barbara at 772-781-1212, NORTH if interested. SELL IT FAST IN THE Call Barbara at 772-781-1212, if interested.

FOR SALE

FOR THE MOST DISCRIMINATING BUYERS

FIND WHAT YOU NEED FOR SALE FOR SALE IN THE

PERFECT PAIR FOR ALL YOUR PERFECT PAIR FOR ALL YOUR

classifieds REAL ESTATE ESTATE NEEDS NEEDS REAL Tamara Skirboll Tamara Skirboll Cheryl Gerson Cheryl Gerson

TAMARA and CHERYL TAMARA and CHERYL

412.401.1110 412.401.1110 412.401.4693 412.401.4693

FIRST TIME OFFERED OFFERED FIRST TIME

Beautiful 3BR, 2BA condo, Great Oakland location, Large LR with enclosed patio, formal DR, eat-in kitchen, indoor parking, in-unit laundry, many outstanding building amenities! $365,000. By owner, Sabina at 412-496-9273.

FOR SALE FOR SALE

FFF FFF

BUYING OR SELLING? SELL IT SELL IT FAST FAST IN THE IN THE CLASSIFIEDS CLASSIFIEDS

THE ATRIUM

in Bonita Springs, Fl.

we cannot accommodate changes after the We go to press at noon on Tuesday and regret Friday noon deadline we cannot accommodate changes after the Friday noon deadline

412-683-8683 Sherwood www.mckinneyproperties.com Towers & Chalfont Apartments

FOR SALE

～ FOR SALE ～～inFOR BonitaSALE Springs, ～ Fl.

– is noon Friday releases, simcha announcements – is noon Friday We go to press at noon on Tuesday and regret

Oakland & Shadyside Area Social Room, Fitness Center, Garage Parking, *In Select Units Oakland &&Shadyside AreaApartments Sherwood Towers Chalfont

Beechwood Blvd 1,800,000 1,800,000 Beechwood Blvd This Historic home has been totally updated with many of the original This Historic home has been totally updated with many of the original characteristics remaining, including the beautiful wood paneling, marble characteristics remaining, including the beautiful wood paneling, marble fireplaces, gorgeous hardwood hardwoodfloors floorsthroughout. throughout.The Thespacious spacious fireplaces, mantels mantels and and gorgeous kitchen and the the bedrooms bedrooms and andbaths bathsare areexquisite. exquisite.There Thereisis kitchen is is top top of of the the line line and exceptional with aa lovely lovely deck, deck, slate slatepatio patioand and33car cargarage. garage. exceptional outdoor outdoor space space with Call Call for for appointment. appointment.

FOR RENT

5125 Fifth Squirrel Hill Hill Ave Ave 749,500 Squirrel 749,500

FOR RENT

Ave.

Wonderful Farms house. house. Side Side entry entry with3spectacular spectacular hardwood 2 with & Bedrooms Wonderful Murdoch Murdoch Farms hardwood floors! room & & dining dining room room and and fireplaces fireplacesfor forall alltotoenjoy. enjoy. floors! Spacious Spacious living living room Corner of Manageable 44 bedrooms and 22 new new baths. baths. Large Largefenced fencedininyard yardwith with22car car Manageable bedrooms and Large 1 Br Apt. Fifth and Wilkins garage. garage. Call Call for for appointment. appointment.

SQUIRREL HILL

Great Location Walk to Shops Close to Universities Eq. Kitchen, Eq. Laundry A/C, Porch, On Bus Line Off-Street Parking No Dogs • No Smoking

Spacious 1500-2250 square feet

Designed by premier architect David Ross of SALE Design Alliance. This home hasFOR 4FOR bedrooms, 3½ SALE baths, open concept kitchen, a sunken dining room with 6 foot windows, a large sunken living room with 10 foot ceilings. Great room/kitchen. The living room and master bedroom have private deck FOX CHAPEL MEWS - $349,000 space with FOX extraordinary viewsMEWS of CMU, Oakland and Downtown from CHAPEL - $349,000 EXQUISITE 3 bedroom condo-Completely renovated with magnificent built-ins. In this lovely private location. The lower EXQUISITE 3 bedroom condo-Completely renovatedhas with magnificent built-ins. In unit balcony,great room, in-unit laundry.Building many amenities -pool,guest level beautiful denroom, opens toand alaundry.Building private patio. installed ismove-in. a heated driveway and walkway to front steps. unit suites, balcony,great in-unit has Just many amenities -pool,guest library,party room much more. High end unit ready for and much end unit ready a fortreasure move-in. with many more amenities. Lowersuites, levellibrary,party also has room radiant heat.more. ThisHigh home is truly

FORSALE SALE FOR

MURDOCH FARMS - $525,000 MURDOCH FARMS - $525,000

FIRST TIME OFFERED! Great 4 bedroom 2 bath and 2 1/2 baths home with integral FIRST TIME Great 4 bedroom 2 bath and 2 1/2 baths garage onOFFERED! one of Pittsburgh's finest streets. Magnificent livinghome roomwith withintegral fireplace, garage on onefirst of Pittsburgh's finest streets. Magnificent with fireplace, floor den and much more. This is theliving homeroom you want. first floor den and much more.This is the home you want.

METROPOLITAN CONDOMINIUM

SQUIRRELHILL HILL- SUMMERSET - SUMMERSET Rare three bedroom custom-designed SQUIRREL ATFRICK FRICKPARK PARK- $569,000 - $569,000- SOLD - SOLD spacious penthouse in one of Pittsburgh’s AT FIRST TIME OFFERED! Spectacular 4 BR , 2 full Baths and 2- 1/2 bath town home.

most distinguished buildings. Floor to ceiling windows bring natural light into the large living and dining areas with access to a lovely outdoor SHADYSIDE- $230,000 - $230,000 SHADYSIDE deck. The large well-appointed exquisite eat-in FIRST TIME OFFERED! 3 bedroom townhome on Maple Heights. Beautiful yard, FIRST TIME OFFERED! 3 bedroom townhome on Maple Heights. Beautiful yard, great builtins, central air, integral garage gourmet kitchen has a pass thru to air, the dining room. great builtins, central integral garage . .The master suite includes a luxurious bath and a huge dressing room closet. The amenities the building -include 2 parking spaces, two guest suites, catering SHADYSIDE CONDO -of$195,000 - SOLD SHADYSIDE CONDO - $195,000 SOLD FIRST TIME OFFERED! Chic and cozy.2 central laundry room in unit,balcony kitchen, wine and storage lockers, library, conference/party room, a resistance pool, and an extensive FIRST TIME OFFERED! Chic and cozy.2 BR,BR, central air,air, laundry room in unit,balcony and garage. PET FRIENDLY! GREAT LOCATION! and garage. PET GREAT LOCATION! exercise area. Outdoors, the FRIENDLY! serene grounds boasts a putting green, koi pond, waterfall and a gazebo. FIRST TIME OFFERED! Spectacular 4 BR , 2 full Baths and 2- 1/2 bath town home. Owner thought of every detail. Beautiful amenities through out the entire home, Owner thought of every detail. Beautiful amenities through out the entire home, even the bonus of two washers and dryers. Enjoy resort living as the home is even the bonus of two washers and dryers. Enjoy resort living as the home is directly across from the pool and the fitness center. DON'T MISS THIS! directly across from the pool and the fitness center. DON'T MISS THIS!

Jill&and &Mark Mark Portland Jill Portland JILL MARK PORTLAND

RE/MAX Realty Brokers RE/MAX Realty Brokers RE/MAX REALTY BROKERS

”Finest in Shadyside”

(412) 521-1000 ext. 200200 (412) 521-1000 ext. 200 412.521.1000 EXT. (412) 496-5600 (412) 496-5600 JillJill 412.496.5600 JILL (412) 480-3110 Mark | 412.480.3110 MARK (412) 480-3110 Mark

412-661-4456

www.kaminrealty.kamin.com

$770 + G & E. 412-421-1569

Business & Professional Directory AUTOS

AUTOS WANTED

WA N T E D 7 2 4 - 2 8 7 - 7 7 7 1 BUYING VEHICLE$ DENNY OFF$TEIN AUTO $ALE$ CAREGIVER CAREGIVER Provider/Companion. CNA/ medical assistant specialist with 2-year associates degree with 20 years experience in the medical ﬁeld. Very compassionate and caring, looking for full-time employment as a caregiver. My duties will include: Preparing meals, light house-

keeping, pivoting client to and from the bed, bathing, grooming, medication reminders, errands. Experience with blood pressure, vitals and nutrition. Call Michelle at 412-626-4815. GARDEN AND & HOME GARDEN MAINTENANCE

HOME MAINTENANCE

Spruce up your yard on a one-time or regular basis; clean out house, basement, gutters, painting. Reliable service, with references. Call Scottie at 412-310-3769.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PLUMBING

ROAD RUNNER PLUMBING

advertise WITH US!

Get your business noticed.

• Registered Master Plumber • Sewer and Drain Experts • Full Service Plumbing Call Mike 412-421-1538 412-292-5830

call T ☎DAY. P I T TS B U R G H

#HP3342

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

412.228.4532 SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 21

Community Machers & Shakers

Honorees

Attorney Hal D. Coffey was elected the 109th president of the Allegheny County Bar Association. His one-year term officially began July 1 and will end on June 30, 2018. Coffey is an attorney with downtown Pittsburgh-based law firm Blumling & Gusky, where he works in the firm’s real estate practice group. He was elected president-elect of the 6,000-member ACBA in 2016 and served in that capacity for the past year. A Monroeville native, Coffey obtained a dual bachelor of arts in journalism and political science from the Pennsylvania State University and his juris doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Photo courtesy of Allegheny Coffey serves as a volunteer coach for the Squirrel Hill County Bar Association Baseball Association and is actively involved in Rodef Shalom Congregation. Coffey and his wife, Erica, live in Squirrel Hill with their 9-year-old twins, Zachary Jacob and Eli Benjamin. Laurie Weingart, a Carnegie Mellon University faculty member since 1989 and senior associate dean of education in the Tepper School of Business, has been named interim provost of CMU. Weingart, the Richard M. and Margaret S. Cyert Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory, is known for her research on negotiation, conflict and innovation in teams and has overseen several academic initiatives in the Tepper School. She joined CMU shortly after receiving her doctorate and master’s degrees in organizational behavior from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Weingart is a member of Congregation Beth Shalom.

On Thursday, Aug. 17, Israel the Tennis Center Foundation’s executive vice president of global development, Jackie Glodstein, presented recognition awards to Pittsburgh residents Karen and Tommy Bernstein for their dedication and commitment to the children of the ITC. The event raised critical funds to help underserved children in Tiberias, Israel. Photo courtesy of Jacki Savage Gelernter Photo courtesy of Carnegie Mellon University

p Aaron Wilf, Pittsburgh Allderdice class of 1998, was the head tennis coach of the U.S. National Junior Tennis Team at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. Wilf, right, grew up in Squirrel Hill and is the head men’s and women’s tennis coach at Frostburg State University in Maryland. Photo courtesy of Charles Wilf

‘Missing McKeesport’

Temple B’nai Israel of White Oak hosted some 200 current and former McKeesporters at a dessert reception and special viewing of the documentary “Missing McKeesport.” From left: Temple president Lou Anstandig and Temple members Debbie and Alan Iszauk presented a plaque of appreciation to native son and film producer Sam Zolten, in plaid shirt, in recognition of his efforts to chronicle and preserve the history and personal memories of McKeesport and its Jewish community. Photo courtesy of Debbie Iszauk

Fun and games The Refugee and Immigrant Services Department of Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JF&CS) hosted its fifth annual Family Fun event on Sunday, Aug. 20 at the Jewish Community Center in the South Hills. The event is a Back-to-School potluck and picnic for refugee families who live in the South Hills. t Syrian, Yazidi and Congolese refugees play at a Back-to-School picnic hosted by JF&CS at the JCC South Hills.

Photo courtesy of Jewish Family & Children’s Service

22 SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Community Well deserved! The Development Corporation for Israel/ Israel Bonds Pittsburgh Women’s Division held its 17th annual Chai Tea in the rose and perennial gardens of Marian Ungar Davis on Monday, July 31. The Anne Copeland Remembrance Award, named in memory of Pittsburgh’s first Woman of Valor pin recipient, was presented to Lynne S. Jacobson for her years of dedication and service to Israel and the Pittsburgh community. Since Anne never left home without wearing a hat, hats are suggested attire for Chai Tea.

p Anne Copeland Remembrance Award honoree Lynne S. Jacobson and her husband, Blair Jacobson

p From left: Cathy Gold, Teddi Horvitz, Jenny Jones, Emily Richman and Rhonda Horvitz Photos courtesy of Israel Bonds/Development Corporation for Israel

Fun, fun, fun! Children and teens had a summer of fun, learning and growth at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s day and overnight camps. Campers climbed, zip lined, explored nature, honed sports skills, learned archery, staged musicals and made friends in the welcoming communities of JCC camps including the Emma Kaufmann Camp (EKC) in Morgantown, W.Va., and day camps including the James and Rachel Levinson Camp at the JCC’s 100-acre Family Park in Monroeville, the South Hills day camps and the performing arts and specialty camps held in Squirrel Hill and the South Hills.

u Campers climb the cargo net at J&R Camp. p Nothing beats good friends at EKC.

p Horseback riding is always a camp favorite at EKC.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

p EKC players hold court.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photos courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh

SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 23

Empire Kosher Fresh Boneless Chicken Breasts

49 lb.

Price effective Thursday August 31 through Wednesday September 6, 2017

Available at 17AD31335_PJC_0831.indd 1

24â&#x20AC;&#x192;SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

and PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

8/28/17 11:39 AM

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG