Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 12/8/2017

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December 8, 2017 | 20 Kislev 5778

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Candlelighting 4:35 p.m. | Havdalah 5:38 p.m. | Vol. 60, No. 49 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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New Castle congregation closes Around town, but sends new life to worldwide there are vast Jewish communities opportunities for Chanukah cheer

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Accidental activist

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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communities that need them, Bernstine said Temple Hadar Israel was “sending a spiritual message.”

“I wish we could do more,” he added.

During its heyday in the 1950s, Temple Hadar Israel served about 300 families, but as Jews moved from the small town to larger urban centers, membership dwindled. The congregation now has about 60 members on its books, with only about 20 who remain active and engaged, Bernstine said.

In winding up his congregation’s affairs — with a focus on preserving its legacy — Bernstine has been working with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, as well as David Sarnat, president of the Jewish Community Legacy Project, which is based in Atlanta. The JCLP provides guidance to small congregations across the nation that are struggling to survive and to those that are closing. The organization finds homes for the congregations’ treasured artifacts and ritual items, as well as help them plan for perpetual care of their cemeteries.

It was the JCLP that made the shidduch

ith eight nights and multiple celebrations happening throughout the city, Chanukah 2017 is sure to be memorable for Steel City residents.

Between potato pancakes, parades and a STEAM fair, there are ample opportunities to mark the festival of lights.

On Sunday, Dec. 10, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Community Day School and PJ Library Pittsburgh will host the first-ever STEAM Festival of Light. Hundreds of children and their families are expected to participate in an afternoon of science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) in celebration of Chanukah, said Jennifer Bails, CDS’ director of marketing and communications.

The free event will take place at CDS, 6424 Forward Ave. in Squirrel Hill.

On Tuesday, Dec. 12, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., there may be the biggest bash of all, as the annual menorah parade and Chanukah festival gets underway. Beginning at Rodef Shalom Congregation, more than 100 cars, many topped with menorahs, will proceed from Shadyside to Homestead. Upon arriving at The Waterfront Shopping Center, participants will enjoy a festival including live music, a heated tent with food vendors, games and activities for kids and a special grand menorah lighting. Shalom Pittsburgh is joining with Chabad of Western Pennsylvania and Bnai Emunoh Chabad to make the evening even greater for young families, as the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh group will host a family- and kid-friendly booth with crafts and snacks, said Carolyn Slayton, Shalom Pittsburgh associate.

That same evening, from 5:15 p.m. to 7 p.m., Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha is holding a Chanukah party and community candle lighting, said Alex Speck, a teacher at Torah

Please see Torahs, page 20

Please see Chanukah, page 20

Local mathematician and computer scientist Lenore Blum breaks down barriers.

Page 3 LOCAL A ‘super’ Sunday, indeed Federation exceeds goal at annual fundraiser.

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 Temple Hadar Israel religious chairman Art Epstein, left, and President Sam Bernstine prepare to ship a Torah to Houston.

Photo courtesy of Sam Bernstine

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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WORLD Changing climate

Environmental crisis takes center stage at community forum hosted by JCC. Page 5

here undoubtedly will be a few tears shed, but when the last remaining synagogue in New Castle shutters its doors at the end of this month, its remaining congregants will have a lot to feel good about, knowing for sure that Temple Hadar Israel’s legacy will continue to thrive literally all over the world.

Beit Centrum Ki Tov, a new progressive congregation in Warsaw, Poland, received its first Torah last year as a gift from Temple Hadar Israel, and the New Castle congregation has since donated a Torah to a new congregation in South Carolina.

This week, two more Torahs from Temple Hadar Israel will be making their way to new homes: one to a congregation in Houston that was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey; and another to an emerging Jewish population in Jakarta, Indonesia.

“Our whole mission is to provide help and support to others as we leave our congregation,” said Sam Bernstine, president of Temple Hadar Israel.

By donating their Torahs to other Jewish

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Headlines Accidental activist Lenore Blum changes formula for women in math — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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hroughout her early academic life, eminent mathematician and computer scientist Lenore Blum “had blinders on.”

Blinders that kept Blum from seeing — or acknowledging — the barely veiled discrimination against women in the fields of math and science.

“The blinders served me well until they didn’t,” reflected Blum, distinguished professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, who has been working for decades to bring more women into the fields of math and science.

Blum recalls having her sanity questioned, circa 1960, as an undergraduate at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now, Carnegie Mellon University) when she asked to transfer from architecture to the more male-centric major of mathematics.

She remembers too well having to sign into her dorm — as every woman did — each night by 8:30 or 9:00 p.m.; the early curfew prevented her from working in the evenings on projects with her male colleagues.

She shakes her head as she recounts being unable to follow her doctoral advisor from MIT to Princeton, because “no women were allowed to apply to graduate programs at Princeton until 1968.”

“I didn’t think twice about it,” Blum said. “Blinders.”

While Blum, who was born in 1942, was coming of age, “women in math and the

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EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Email: newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org BOARD OF TRUSTEES Evan Indianer, Chairman Andrew Schaer, Vice Chairman Gayle R. Kraut, Secretary Jonathan Bernstein, Treasurer David Ainsman, Immediate Past Chairman

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p Lenore Blum is a longtime women’s advocate.

sciences were not treated the same as men.

That was treated as normal. You didn’t question it. You’re sort of angry about it, but you don’t know how to frame it.”

Flash forward four decades, and thanks in large part to Blum who has worked tirelessly to change the culture at CMU and beyond, more women are now able to realize their potential in math and computer science.

Under Blum’s stewardship, women at the School of Computer Science at CMU now comprise 50 percent of the class, compared to a nationwide average of 18 percent.

Blum, who is Jewish, was born in New York City and moved with her family to Caracas, Venezuela, in 1952, when she was 9 years old. Early on, she realized she had an

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affinity for math. She graduated at the top of her class from high school at the age of 16 and decided to head back to the U.S. to begin her college career in the architecture school at Carnegie Tech, where she could combine her aptitude for math with a love for art that had been nurtured since she was a child.

She soon realized, though, she “wasn’t so passionate about architecture,” she said.

“I wanted to know where the formulas came from. The art was too rigid, the drawings were mechanical. I didn’t like what I was studying.”

The men in charge at CMU were resistant, but after some persistence, Blum was able to transfer to the math department, where she felt more at home and found her true calling.

Please see Blum, page 17

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Photo provided by Lenore Blum

In 1961, she married Manuel Blum — now a renowned computer scientist who also teaches at CMU — whom she had known since she was a child in Caracas. She moved to Boston, where her husband was a student at MIT, and completed her Bachelor of Science at Simmons College. She earned her Ph.D. from MIT before heading out to Berkeley, where both she and her husband had been hired to teach.

The blinders came off at Berkeley where after teaching for two years, Blum was not rehired — no women at the university had permanent positions in the math department.

While 20 to 30 percent of doctorate degrees in math were being awarded to women at the time, “you didn’t see that in the hiring,” Blum said, and women were not being asked to speak at professional meetings at a rate commensurate with their presence in the field.

That is when Blum “became an activist,” she said. “That was a turning point for me.

I didn’t see myself as an activist, but as a research mathematician. I was forced into it.”

Her reputation as an expert on women in math had its genesis at a lecture in Berkeley on math and social responsibility in 1971, where Blum was asked to speak about women. She assembled a panel of experts, including famed statistician Betty Scott, who addressed the packed room on the disparity of treatment between the sexes in math and the sciences — presenting facts like how female astronomers were prohibited from using a telescope at Caltech

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DECEMBER 8, 2017 3

Headlines Federation exceeds fundraising goal on Super Sunday — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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he more than 250 volunteers ranged in age from 7 to 90. They came from Squirrel Hill, the South Hills, Allison Park. They were Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and “just Jews,” observed Jeff Finkelstein, as he surveyed the packed Levinson Hall at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh on Dec. 3.

“What’s amazing here,” said Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, “is the diversity of the Pittsburgh Jewish community,” uniting to raise funds for the Federation at its annual mega phone-a-thon, “Super Sunday.”

The volunteers, working in shifts, phoned approximately 4,000 households from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., securing 422 pledges totaling $246,609 for the Federation’s 2018 annual campaign — exceeding the organization’s goal of $210,000.

More than 90 of the Super Sunday pledges came from new or “recovered” donors, those who have not given to the Federation in the past, or whose record of giving had lapsed, according to Todd Rosenfeld, chair of Federation’s Men’s Philanthropy. The bounty of new and recovered donors triggered the receipt of a matching grant of $25,000 from

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At Magen David Adom, we’re lished connectionssaving are critical in getting often lives before our potential donors to pick up the phone when called for a gift. Volunteers, thereambulances even arrive. fore, primarily were using their personal cell

p Volunteers Milt and Sarita Eisner work the phones at the JCC. Photo by Jim Busis

an anonymous donor.

Rosenfeld attributed the success of Super Sunday to the dedication of the volunteers.

“They care a ton about the community and are great stewards,” Rosenfeld said. “They have great community connections and know other people who care.”

In these days of Caller ID, those estab-

Michal Admon, a ninth-grader from Hillel Academy, spent about two hours phoning almost 50 different households. Most people did not answer the phone, she said, and those who did declined to donate.

“People would say, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not available,’ or tell me to call back later,” Admon said.

Despite being unable to secure a single pledge, Admon said that she was not discouraged and that she would volunteer in the future for Super Sunday.

“You’ve got to keep going,” she said. “It’s a mitzvah; that’s what you do.”

Sanford Ehrenreich, who has been soliciting funds for Federation for “30 or 40 years,” had a bit more luck.

“I got some recovered cards, people who had not given in a couple years,” Ehrenreich said. “It’s very gratifying. One person actually thanked me for calling.”

The nine organizations that are Federation beneficiaries set up their own tables to make calls, competing to see who could attract the most volunteers. The winner was Hillel Academy. The Orthodox day school received a check from the Federation for $1,000 in recognition of its efforts.

Other participating organizations included South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh and the Diller Teen Fellows.

“It’s been a great day,” said Judi Kanal, chair

At Magen David Adom, we’re At Magen David Adom, we’re often saving lives before our Please see Super Sunday, page 17 often saving lives before our At Magen David Adom, we’re ambulances even arrive. ambulances even arrive. often saving lives before our At ambulances Magen Davideven Adom, we’re arrive. often saving lives before our ambulances even arrive.

phones to make calls.

For those making calls on random cell phones to people they didn’t know, securing donations was not as easy.

At Magen David Adom, Israel’s national EMS service, help begins the moment the phone is answered. Because EMTs handle the calls, they can provide lifesaving Magen David Adom,ambulances Israel’s national EMS service, help begins moment the instructionsAtwhile dispatching and first-responders on the Medicycles. phone is answered.

Because EMTs handle the calls, they can provide lifesaving At Magen David Adom, Israel’s national EMS service, help begins the moment And now, with 15,000 CPR-certified civilian Life Guardians joining our team, helpthe can instructions while dispatching ambulances andcalls, first-responders on Medicycles. phone is answered.

Because EMTs handle the they can provide lifesaving be just seconds away.

And now, with 15,000 CPR-certified civilian Life Guardians joining our team, help can instructions while dispatching ambulances and first-responders on Medicycles.

At Magen David Adom, CPR-certified Israel’s national EMSLife service, begins theteam, moment be just seconds As we celebrate Chanukah, please give the gift of help life,joining and make your And now, withaway.

15,000 civilian Guardians our help the can phone is answered.

Because EMTs handle the calls, they can provide lifesaving be just away. year-endAs tax-deductible donationplease today. weseconds celebrate Chanukah, give the gift of life, and make your

instructions while dispatchingdonation ambulances and first-responders on Medicycles. year-end tax-deductible As we celebrate Chanukah, please today. give the gift of life, and make your And now, with 15,000 CPR-certified civilian Life Guardians joining our team, help can tax-deductible donation Atyear-end Magen David Adom, Israel’s nationaltoday.

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Headlines Growing crisis with climate, environment takes center stage at JCC — LOCAL —

By Lauren Rosenblatt | Staff Reporter

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hat happens when you’re done with plastic?

As of now, it likely goes to sit on a barge somewhere, according to Matthew Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project, an organization promoting clean air across southwestern Pennsylvania.

But, he said, that won’t last.

“The ability to throw things away and have it be zero cost … that’s not going to continue,” he told a crowd of more than 150 people at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill on Nov. 30.

The crowd was gathered for the Real Health, Economic and Climate Crisis Costs of Fossil Fuels in Southwestern PA — and Next Steps event, hosted by the JCC’s Center for Loving Kindness. The event offered presentations about how our climate and environment is changing, what is driving that change and what can be done to stop it.

“This East End community is, I think, a very fertile group for climate action,” said Peggy Fried Whelan, an organizer of the event and longtime environmental activist.

“They have to see this as one of the top

important issues because it is, and that hasn’t been on people’s wavelength.

“The world’s not going to give us a second chance on this,” the Temple Sinai member said.

Concerns about the environment in southwestern Pennsylvania have amplified since Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC, which is owned by Royal Dutch Shell, the larger company behind the Shell gas stations, announced a plan to construct a chemical plant in Potter Township, Beaver County in June 2016.

The plant, which is also called an ethane cracker, is under construction now and is set to operate by 2020. It is designed to create plastic products by breaking up oil and gas into smaller and smaller molecules. It is estimated to produce 1.6 million tons of plastic product each year.

For some residents, the amount of plastic being produced already is too much. Mehalik said there is about a ton of plastic per human being already on the planet, and it is left to pile up on remote islands once it has been used.

Edward Ketyer, a Pittsburgh pediatrician and another presenter at the event, said estimate show there will be more plastic products in the ocean than fish by 2050.

But, there is an international market for plastic products, and the cracker would offer 6,000 construction jobs and 600 temporary

p For climate experts, the JCC event was an opportunity to exchange information.

Photo courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh

jobs in southwestern Pennsylvania as well as the possibility of further economic growth, according to Shell.

Lisa Graves Marcucci, Pennsylvania coordinator for community outreach for the

Environmental Integrity Project, said that job creation was not enough to offset the health and environmental harm from the plant.

“Thank you we’ll take the jobs but no community should have to choose between jobs or health,” she said. “It’s jobs and health.”

In terms of environmental impact, James Fabisiak, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, warned the plant would be the equivalent of adding 36,000 automobiles that each drove 12,000 miles a year to Beaver County.

These issues are fundamentally Jewish, said Rabbi Ron Symons, senior director of Jewish Life at the JCC. It goes back to Genesis Chapter One, which says we have a responsibility to conquer the Earth, he said.

Then, Genesis Chapter Two says we have a responsibility to care for the garden.

“We live in constant tension between conquering the world around us and caring for it,” Symons told the crowd. “How do we live in this world and make sure it’s still here for generations to come, just like it’s here for us?

For activist Terri Supowitz, a Wilkinsburg resident who attended the event, the only way to do so is to convince people that these chemical plants and industrial companies Please see Climate, page 17

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Calendar projects on Sunday, Dec. 24 and Monday, Dec. 25. This will be the 17th annual Mitzvah Day, named for the Hebrew word for “good deeds” or “acts of loving kindness.” The event is coordinated by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Volunteer Center, which provides a network of meaningful opportunities to connect volunteers with organizations and people in need. Visit jfedvolunteer.org/about-mitzvah-day/ for more information and to register.

q THURSDAY, DEC. 14 The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s American Jewish Museum and the Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement present Phat Man Dee and Liz Berlin, who will perform at the Shine the Light with Social Justice Disco at the JCC’s Katz Theater, 5738 Darlington Ave. at 7 p.m. There will be a cash bar and a private meet and greet with the artists at 6:30 p.m. Event is for ages 13-plus. Purchase tickets at bit. ly/socialjusticedisco. >>>Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Submissions will also be included in print.

Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon.

q REGISTRATION NOW OPEN Mitzvah Day, a long-standing tradition in Pittsburgh in which the Jewish community comes together to provide services to different organizations throughout the entire community, takes place over two days, with

Chabad of the South Hills Annual Chanukah Toy Drive for hospitalized and underprivileged children. Collecting new unwrapped toys. Toys can be dropped off before Dec. 11 at 1701 McFarland Road, Mt. Lebanon, Monday-Friday, 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Toys will also be accepted at the Chanukah Pop-up Shop at the Galleria, Lower Level near Starbucks, Sundays noon to 5 p.m., Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and, Friday 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Contact 412-278-2658 or barb@chabadsh.com for more information.

The Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Mass., is now accepting applicants for three programs for recent graduates, college students and high school students: the 2018 Steiner Summer Yiddish Program, the 2018–19 Yiddish Book Center Fellowship Program and the 2018 Great Jewish Books Summer Program. Visit yiddishbookcenter.org/educational-programs for more information about each program and the deadlines for applications.

q THROUGH DEC. 22 Chai Lifeline Toy Drive. Donate toys to benefit sick children. Unopened toys only.

Drop off location is by the front desk at Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, 5685 Beacon St. q THURSDAY, DEC. 7 Snaps, Sexts, Selfies and Self-Esteem: The Tongue-Twisting World of Girls and Social Media, presented by the Jewish Women’s Foundation in partnership with Community Day School. Parents and educators are looking for resources and strategies to better support, educate and encourage the girls in their lives. Lisa Hinkelman, a nationally recognized researcher, speaker and author who is a foremost authority on educating and empowering girls, will share her original research from the first-of-itskind, groundbreaking nationwide survey of nearly 11,000 girls, unveiling compelling data on the topics and issues girls face. Also supported by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh and Jewish Family and Community Services. The program is free and will be held at 7 p.m. at CDS, 6424 Forward Ave. For more information or to RSVP: contact Judy Cohen jcohen@jwfpgh.org or Jenny Jones jjones@comday.org. q FRIDAY, DEC. 8 Chabad of the South Hills Shabbat around the World with a Mexican-style dinner starts Please see Calendar, page 7

As we celebrate Chanukah, please consider a gift to the JEWISH ASSISTANCE FUND. We provide grants to people challenged with putting food on the table, clothing themselves and their children, paying their rent and utilities and accessing medical care, costly prescriptions, dentures and hearing aids.

Funds impact the lives of people of all ages in the Pittsburgh area.

Wishing you and your family a Happy Chanukah!

Meyer “Skip” Grinberg President

Cindy Goodman-Leib Executive Director For those who want to help . . .

Please make a tax deductible donation Jewish Assistance Fund P.O. Box 819 • Pittsburgh, PA 15217

For those who need help . . .

Please contact us for Immediate Financial Assistance All inquiries are confidential Call 412.521.3237 Visit us at www.JewishAssistanceFund.org 6 DECEMBER 8, 2017

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Calendar Calendar: Continued from page 6 at 6 p.m. at 1701 McFarland Road. Event cost is $18/individual, and $54/family maximum.

Contact barb@chabadsh.com or visit chabadsh.com for more information. q SATURDAY, DEC. 9 The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh offers a free holiday camp from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Snapology, 1699 Washington Road in Bethel Park, for families with children ages 5 and up to make take-home chanukiot with Legos.

RSVP to Lewis Sohinki at 412.697.3537 or lsohinki@jccpgh.org.

Congregation Emanu-El Israel’s Festival of the Jewish Arts Committee announces that violinist Monique Mead and pianist Tom Roberts will present an evening of character pieces and legendary tales of great Jewish musicians at the University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg Campus in Campana Chapel at 7 p.m. This program will highlight the musicians who enriched and defined American culture through their music.

Call 724-834-0560 for more information. q SUNDAY, DEC. 10 Temple David Sisterhood Chanukah Sale with Judaica items including Chanukah supplies in the religious school lobby from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Temple B’nai Israel will present “Looking Back … While Moving Forward,” at 1 p.m. The program features Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish History Program Archives at the Heinz History Center. Lidji will be discussing Temple B’nai Israel’s contribution to the archives along with the small town Jewish archives project. The event is open to the community.

Refreshments will be served.

Call Temple B’nai Israel at 412-678-6181 to RSVP. Chabad of Monroeville will hold a menorah workshop at The Home Depot in Wilkins Township from noon to 1 p.m. at 3550 William Penn Hwy. Get into the Chanukah spirit with this fun, hands-on menorah building workshop for kids. Grab a hammer, pass a paintbrush and bring out that tape measure. Parental supervision is required.

Space is limited; RSVP is required at Jewishmonroeville.com/Menorah or Sashie@ cgidaycamp.com. There is no charge.

Camp Young Judaea Midwest and Pittsburgh Young Judaea holds its free Chanukah Party and Open House at Congregation Beth Shalom.

Kids grades 2 to 12 are invited to experience a day at Camp Young Judaea Midwest, plus Chanukah games and Chanukah treats from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Parents of interested and returning campers are invited to join in the fun from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. to meet Lauren Sandoval, assistant director CYJ Midwest, and learn about the experiences Camp Young Judaea Midwest has to offer, including a focus on Israeli culture, outdoor activities and being a part of a camp community. Contact pghyj@ youngjudaea.org for more information about the event and info@cyjmid.org for information about the camp. Scholarships are available.

Visit cyjmid.org for more information.

Dor Hadash will hold a program to celebrate the publication of author Sydelle Pearl’s new book, “Wordwings,” at 10 a.m. Copies of “Wordwings” will be available for purchase for $20. A book signing will follow the

presentation. Refreshments will be served.

The program will be held at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha at 5898 at Wilkins Ave. at Shady Avenue. RSVP is required at admin@ dorhadash.net or 412-422-5158.

Community Day School and PJ Library Pittsburgh will host the STEAM Festival of Light from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Hundreds of children and their families from across the Jewish community will participate in an illuminating afternoon of science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) in celebration of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. This free public event will take place at Community Day School, 6424 Forward Ave. in Squirrel Hill.

STEAM Festival of Light is funded by a grant from the SteelTree Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community Foundation. To RSVP, visit comday.org/light or contact CDS admission director Sarah DeWitt at sdewitt@comday. org or 412-521-1100, ext. 2114.

Parkway Jewish Center will hold a Sisterhood pre-Chanukah dinner at 5 p.m. The cost is $12 for adults and $6 for kids 12 and under.

RSVP to Diane Bloomfield at 412-373-9340 or dithejsh@msn.com.

Classrooms Without Borders presents an original exhibit for the 2017 Poland Personally Study Seminar, highlighting the experiences of educators and students and illuminating the personal impact of time abroad. Meet or reunite with Howard Chandler, a Holocaust survivor who travels with CWB to Poland and provides first-hand testimony of the atrocities he endured in the places where they happened. The program is from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Visit classroomswithoutborders.org/events/show. php?163 for more information and to register. q MONDAY, DEC. 11 Chabad of Monroeville JWC will hold a preChanukah Ladies Night Out, The Enhanced Flavors of Chanukah, on Monday, Dec. 11 from 7:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Chabad Jewish Center of Monroeville, 2715 Mosside Blvd.

Enjoy a gourmet latke bar, toppings with a twist and traditional recipes with contemporary flavor. Celebrate the miracle of the oil by learning the art of herbal oil blending and bottling. There will also be a discussion with Esther Schapiro about the feminine side of Chanukah. There is a $12 charge. Visit Jewishmonroeville.com/rsvp or contact Esther@JewishMonroeville.com to RSVP and for more information.

Music at Rodef Shalom Congregation at 8 p.m. Classical music by local and nationally renown musicians. The Tania & Jeff Grubbs Quartet featuring guest artist David Budway will present “Seasons of Song.” Free and open to the community; a reception will follow.

The Ira and Nanette Gordon Professional Achievement Award Reception is set for 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Levinson Hall. The award was established to inspire communal service on behalf of the community by recognizing an outstanding community professional in the early career stages. This year’s recipient is Matthew Bolton, director of JFCS Squirrel Hill Food Pantry and SOS Pittsburgh.

The program will include Carly Zimmerman, CEO of Challah for Hunger, on “Baking a Difference.” The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh program is being conducted in partnership with the local

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q THURSDAY AND SATURDAY, JAN. 11 AND 13 The Beyond: Microtonal Music Festival, sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh’s Music on the Edge series and the Andy Warhol Museum, will include two concerts that feature klezmer clarinet virtuoso David Krakauer.

The first, an orchestra concert at Carnegie Music Hall at 8 p.m. will include the premiere of Mathew Rosenblum’s work, “Lament/ Witches’ Sabbath,” a clarinet concerto written for David Krakauer that incorporates field recordings of Ukrainian/ Jewish laments and chronicles the Rosenblum family’s escape from Ukraine in 1919. The second concert at 8 p.m. at the Andy Warhol Museum, features Krakauer’s powerhouse klezmer group, Ancestral Groove. This will be the closing event of the three-day festival that celebrates cultural roots.

Visit music.pitt.edu/mote/beyond for more information about the concerts and festival.

Pittsburgh JPRO Chapter. RSVP to Tracy Grandelis at tgrandelis@jfedpgh.org.

Cooking with Susie Fishbein, a hands-on experience with best-selling author and chef at 6:30 p.m. at Congregation Poale Zedeck.

Fishbein will demonstrate her expertise while cooking a three-course meal for all participants. Enjoy this interactive experience, learn new techniques and cultivate new recipes. Fishbein’s cookbooks will be sold.

Contact Shifra Poznanski at shifrapoznanski@ gmail.com or 412-586-5436 for reservations.

The event cost is $40 for Sisterhood members, $80 for nonmembers. q TUESDAY, DEC. 12 Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Chanukah Party from 5:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., with latkes, jelly donuts, crafts, games and singing. Everyone is invited to bring a menorah to take part in the community candle lighting ceremony. There is a $10 charge. Visit tolols.org/hanukkah for more information. RSVP to Alex@tolols.org.

Chabad of Western Pennsylvania and Bnai Emunoh Chabad of Squirrel Hill are partnering with The Waterfront Shopping Center to celebrate the Festival of Chanukah from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. under the Homestead Grays Bridge at The Waterfront. The festival will include a heated tent with food vendors, games and activities for the kids and grand menorah lighting. The event will be preceded by the annual Menorah Parade beginning at Rodef Shalom Congregation, featuring nearly 100 vehicles adorned with menorahs.

The festival’s headliner from 2016, 8th Day (a popular Jewish-Chassidic rock band), is back again this year to rock the celebration after the lighting, performing some of its greatest hits for festival-goers. This event is free and open to the public. q WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13 Light Up The Night Monroeville — Menorah Lighting at Miracle Mile Shopping Center.

Hot latkes, Chanukah prizes, crafts for kids, Chanukah treats and a performance by the Gateway elementary fourth-grade chorus are featured. This event is free and is open to the community. RSVP at Jewishmonroeville.com/RSVP.

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Derekh Open Beit Midrash: 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the Zweig Library at Congregation Beth Shalom. This month’s session will explore rabbinic texts on Chanukah. Come to the monthly session, study with a partner or start your own study. Students of all skill levels are welcome and knowledge of Hebrew is not required. Contact Rabbi Jeremy Markiz at jmarkiz@bethshalompgh.org for questions or comments. There is no charge.

Celebrate Chanukah with the South Hills Community at the fifth annual South Hills Lights, the communitywide Chanukah event at 6 p.m. at the Galleria in Mt. Lebanon, on the upper level near the fountain. Grand menorah lighting, live music by Chillent, latkes with all the trimmings, Chanukah woodcraft with The Home Depot, giant chocolate menorah and raffle prizes. Chabad of the South Hills and South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh sponsor the family-fun event.

Admission is free. RSVP appreciated but not required. Those who preregister will receive a free entry into the Grand Chanukah Raffle. Visit chabadsh.com/lights or contact 412-344-2424 or mussie@chabadsh.com for more information. q THURSDAY, DEC. 14 Torah & the Times with Rabbi Aaron Bisno at noon at Rodef Shalom Congregation, the monthly brown bag lunch series continues.

Each gathering begins with the gospel of the The New York Times. Torah lessons are taken from the daily news.

Choosing Judaism: A panel ciscussion, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom. Moishe House, Derekh and Beth Shalom will host the discussion about Jewish conversion. Come to hear firsthand accounts of why our panel participants decided to convert, and how their conversion impacted their lives and the lives of their families and friends, as well as the challenges faced by Jews of choice in the community. Wine and light snacks will be served. Visit tinyurl.com/ y8wpvwta for more information and to RSVP.

Please see Calendar, page 21

DECEMBER 8, 2017 7

Headlines Linda Sarsour gets warm welcome at controversial panel on anti-Semitism — NATIONAL —

By Josefin Dolsten | JTA

N

EW YORK — Audience members greeted Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour with loud applause at an event here that in recent weeks became a rallying cry for both critics and defenders of Israel.

Sarsour, a leading feminist as well as pro-Palestinian advocate, was the bestknown speaker on a panel on anti-Semitism held Tuesday at the New School for Social Research. Billed as a discussion of anti-Semitism on the right and left, the panel was denounced by pro-Israel critics who have accused Sarsour and other panelists of anti-Semitism and charged that the event was meant to obscure the anti-Semitism they see lurking among far-left critics of Israel.

A crowd of 400 attended the panel, whose organizers included the New School’s journalism program, Jewish Voice for Peace, Haymarket Books, Jacobin Magazine and Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, or JFREJ. Outside the auditorium in Lower Manhattan, 50 protesters gathered behind metal barricades waving Israeli flags. Among them were members of the far-right Jewish Defense League, once deemed a terrorist organization by the FBI. Larger Jewish groups also weighed in as the event neared.

“These panelists know the issue, but unfortunately, from the perspective of fomenting it rather than fighting it,” the Anti-Defamation League’s national director, Jonathan Greenblatt, wrote earlier this month.

The Zionist Organization of America called Sarsour an “Israel-bashing, Jew-hater” in a statement denouncing the event.

Sarsour, who helped organize the Women’s March on Washington in January, has harshly criticized Israel, once tweeting that “Nothing is creepier than Zionism.” That led various Jewish groups on the center and right to label her anti-Semitic, and worry

p Linda Sarsourv speaks about anti-Semitism at a panel at the New School in New York. Other panelists, from left, include Lina Morales, Amy Goodman and Rebecca Vilkomerson.

Photo courtesy of Jewish Voice for Peace

that she represents the mainstreaming of anti-Israel rhetoric on the left.

Tuesday’s panelists offered plenty of attacks on Israel while insisting that such views are being labeled anti-Semitic in order to silence criticism of the country and its policies.

“Just in case it’s not clear, I am unapologetically Palestinian American and will always be unapologetically Palestinian American and always be unapologetically Muslim American. And guess what, I’m also a very staunch supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement,” Sarsour proclaimed, eliciting loud applause from the crowd.

Panelist Lina Morales, a member of the Jews of Color and Mizrahi/Sephardi Caucus of JFREJ, called Zionism “a mistake” that “has led us down a dangerous and horrible road,” while Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director of the pro-BDS Jewish Voice for Peace, described the Israeli treatment of Palestinians as “apartheid.”

Sarsour said she was “confused” as to why some in the Jewish community saw her as “an existential threat.” But she appeared to take a slightly more moderate stance after making two remarks earlier this year that had drawn the ire of many in the Jewish community.

Asked by an audience member about an interview in which she seemed to have said Zionism and feminism were mutually exclusive, Sarsour said there was room for those with different opinions in the feminist movement.

“If you believe that you have to be part of a movement where you show up and agree with everybody, then this definitely ain’t the movement for you, because I don’t agree with half the people in the movement either,” she said.

Sarsour, however, also chastised pro-Israel activists who have demanded that progressives welcome them uncritically into their coalitions.

“If you are going to come to the movement with the condition, with the imposition that people need to know that you are a Zionist and a feminist and only under this idea, [and] that we have to accept you as a Zionist and a feminist because you want to impose that on everybody else in the movement, I’m just letting you know that’s just not how it works in the movement. No one else does that,” she said.

Sarsour also clarified a comment in which she said anti-Semitism, unlike discrimination against African-Americans and Islamophobia, is not systemic. She said she had meant that anti-Semitism is not encoded in the U.S. legal and criminal justice system today, unlike discrimination against other groups.

All the panelists spoke of the dangers of anti-Semitism and said they were committed to fighting it, but they focused on its manifestation on the right.

Some in the audience believed that emphasis was unfair.

“There was a lot of focus on white suprem-

acism and Trump, which is totally valid, but I was hoping for a little bit more introspection and critique of some people in their own circles that are anti-Semitic,” said Uri Westrich, a 32-year-old filmmaker.

Asher Lovy, a 25-year-old working in online sales, said the panel had failed to address the types of anti-Semitism he had experienced on the left.

“I’d also like to see ideological purity tests on the left addressed as well, the idea that if you’re Jewish you have to affirmatively prove your anti-Zionist bona fides before you’re let into any leftist space regardless of the causes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Andrew Weitzner said Sarsour had adequately expressed concerns from critics, including the comment about anti-Semitism. It was the protesters outside, said the 33-year old paralegal, who were not participating in constructive dialogue.

“They’re screaming ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ outside and singing ‘Hatikvah’ — how is that a level of debate?” he asked, noting the words for “the people of Israel live” and the Israeli national anthem, respectively. “How is that an argument on both sides?”

One of the demonstrators said he was there to protest Sarsour’s views, which he saw as “anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, anti-America.”

“She knows how to get the crowd going on her side, but she’s not promoting peace and unity at all and coexistences between the Israelis and the so-called Palestinians, or Jews and Muslims, or even fellow Americans,” said Ariel Kohane, 46, a kosher food supervisor sporting a kippah with a picture of President Donald Trump. “She’s actually brainwashing these college kids.”

Inside the auditorium, audience members cheered and clapped many times throughout the speeches. Despite the enthusiasm in the room, many audience members did not want to be interviewed or would not agree to use their full names.

When asked why, one man simply pointed to his shirt, which featured the name of an Orthodox rabbinical school.

“It’s too risky,” he said. PJC

Netanyahu’s new rival thinks he has a winning strategy: Don’t say much — WORLD —

By Ben Sales | JTA

N

EW YORK — If Avi Gabbay becomes Israel’s next prime minister, he wants you to know he loves American Jews.

Gabbay, the latest head of Israel’s Labor Party, was in this city on a series of meetand-greets with American Jewish leaders.

The former business executive, who took the helm of the center-left party in July, reclined in the corner of a French cafe in Midtown

8 DECEMBER 8, 2017

Manhattan, his tie draping across his suit.

He would expand a plaza for non-Orthodox Jews at the Western Wall, he said. He would require schoolchildren to learn about Diaspora Judaism. He would make sure his ministers did not insult American Jewry.

“We need to teach our kids to know world Jewry, American Jewry,” Gabbay said. “I believe in pluralism. We need to focus on the values we share … liberal, pluralistic values that promise everyone religious freedom.”

These promises are a gimme for Gabbay (pronounced gah-BYE), who hopes to win the next election and unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — something no Labor

leader has done since 1999. Netanyahu’s government has had a growing pile of spats with American Jews: This year, it reneged on an agreement to expand the Western Wall’s non-Orthodox plaza and introduced a bill that would further marginalize non-Orthodox conversions.

Last month, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely suggested that American Jews cannot understand Israel’s challenges because they don’t serve in the military and lead “quite comfortable lives” as opposed to Israelis. Netanyahu condemned her remarks but did not heed calls to fire her.

Gabbay says he would have fired her.

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“We need to embrace American Jews, to thank them for all their long years of support and not to relate to them in these contexts,” he said, referring to Hotovely’s comment.

“The prime minister should have fired her.”

But that was one of the few concrete promises Gabbay made during the halfhour interview. And that was by design. Past Labor leaders, he said, have lost elections because they have appealed only to the leftwing, secular base. Gabbay’s strategy is to win the next vote, which is set for late 2019, by appealing to Israelis of all stripes and Please see Gabbay, page 21

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DECEMBER 8, 2017 9

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Roy Moore suggests George Soros is headed to hell Roy Moore, the controversial Alabama Senate candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump, said George Soros’ agenda is “not our American culture” and suggested the Jewish billionaire philanthropist was headed to hell.

Moore, a Republican, on a radio program Monday was asked about The Ordinary People Society, an organization that seeks to register Alabama felons to vote under a law enacted in May that restores voting rights to those convicted of an array of felonies.

Bryan Fischer, the host of the American Family Radio program who is friendly with Moore, asked the Senate candidate what he thought of George Soros, “who seems to think that if you register felons to vote, they will vote for the Democrat.” Soros is not funding the initiative; Fischer had apparently read a Breitbart News story posted online Sunday that sought to link The Ordinary People Society to a number of Soros-funded groups.

Moore, whose campaign has been dogged by accusations that he committed sexual assault against two teenagers and wooed other girls when he was in his 30s, rejected the notion that felons would only vote for Democrats, but agreed that “Soros was trying

to alter the voting populace” in Alabama.

“He is pushing an agenda and his agenda is sexual in nature, his agenda is liberal, and not what Americans need,” said Moore, not explaining what it is about Soros’ agenda that is “sexual.” He added, “It’s not our American culture. Soros comes from another world that I don’t identify with.”

Soros, a Hungarian survivor of the Holocoast, is an American citizen who moved to New York in 1956.

“No matter how much money he’s got, he’s still going to the same place that people who don’t recognize God and morality and accept his salvation are going,” Moore said. “And that’s not a good place.”

Soros, who has donated billions of dollars over the years to liberal and free-market causes, is widely despised by the ultranationalist right in the United States and abroad.

Critics have at times used anti-Semitic tropes in attacking him.

Moore is running in a special election Dec. 12 against Doug Jones, a former prosecutor. One poll had Moore running ahead by 6 percentage points. Seven women have accused Moore of sexual impropriety.

He is backed not only by Trump, who had supported Moore’s opponent in the primaries, but by Steve Bannon, the Breitbart CEO and a leader of the far right.

Moore was twice elected chief justice of Alabama and twice removed: for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from a courthouse and for trying to

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force judges in the state to enforce a ban on same-sex marriage after the Supreme Court had ruled such bans unconstitutional. He has said that Muslims should not serve in elected office and embraced debunked theories that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

SodaStream enters Latin American market through Argentina The Israeli company SodaStream will begin operating in Argentina as a first step toward selling its products throughout Latin America.

The sparkling water brand will invest approximately $36 million in its first industrial plant in Argentina.

“Here is the first country where we are going to settle with an office, then we will go to Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and Colombia,” CEO Daniel Birnbaum announced last week in Buenos Aires. “For us, Argentina is the capital of Latin America.”

The Argentina factory will manufacture the soda-making equipment for the country’s market, as well as some merchandise to be shipped to the region. The factory will employ approximately 100 people.

SodaStream, which is well known for its home carbonation machines of the same name, also launched a website in Spanish and sells its products in major cities throughout the country.

Among the factors triggering the decision

This week in Israeli history

Dec. 11, 1947 Creech Jones announces end of Mandate

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

Dec. 8, 1885 Joseph Sprinzak is born Joseph Sprinzak, who would serve as the first speaker of the Knesset and twice as interim president, is born in Moscow.

Dec. 9, 1914 Shmuel Katz is born At Wagner Agency you experience local service that makes a difference. As an independent agent, we know a variety of insurance companies which means more options for you. We help you protect your assets and help save you money. We also believe it’s important to work with companies, like Donegal, which deliver outstanding claims service and support.

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A two-day debate on the future of Britain’s presence in Palestine begins in the British House of Commons. Eventually, it is decided to terminate the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine.

Dec. 12, 1920 Histadrut is founded

Shmuel Katz, a leader of Revisionist Zionism and a founder of the Herut Party in Israel, is born in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The General Federation of Hebrew and later Israeli Labor, the Histadrut, is founded in Haifa to serve as a neutral, independent trade union to represent all Jewish workers in Palestine.

Dec. 10, 1952 Yitzhak Ben-Zvi is inaugurated as Israel’s second president

Dec. 13, 1961 Hausner requests death penalty for Adolf Eichmann

At the end of the traditional 30-day mourning period for Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi is inaugurated as Israel’s second president in a Knesset ceremony.

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to establish the plant in Argentina is the large consumption of soda and recent agreements signed between Argentina and Israel. Argentina is the second-largest consumer of soda in the world, with 80 liters per capita annually, behind Germany, with a soda consumption of 160 liters.

In September, during the first visit of a sitting Israeli prime minister to Argentina and the region, Benjamin Netanyahu and Argentine President Mauricio Macri signed a cooperation agreement between the countries to promote investment and trade.

In September 2011, Argentina signed a free trade agreement with Israel. Israel’s trade agreement with countries that belong to the South American joint market known as Mercosur — namely Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay — went into effect in June 2010, and in September 2011 with Argentina.

In October 2014, SodaStream announced it would close its factory in the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim and move to southern Israel in the face of pressure from the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel over its policies toward the Palestinians. The movement claimed that SodaStream discriminated against Palestinian workers and paid some less than Israeli workers. Some 500 Palestinian employees lost their jobs at that time.

The company now has more than 1,400 employees in the Idan Hanegev industrial park near Rahat, one-third of them Bedouin Arabs from the surrounding area. PJC

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Israel’s Attorney General Gideon Hausner addresses the three presiding judges and demands the death penalty for Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Nazi’s Final Solution.

Dec. 14, 1981 Knesset votes in favor of Golan Heights law

In a quickly organized and somewhat surprising move, the Knesset votes to annex the Golan Heights by a vote of 63-21. PJC PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

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DECEMBER 8, 2017 11

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Life & Culture Festival of Lights features fun finger-licking foods — FOOD —

Etti Martel’s recipe for sufganiyot

Ingredients: (10 doughnuts) 1 packet dry active yeast (2¼ teaspoons) 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 egg 3 tablespoons sugar 1 cup warm water 1½ tablespoons oil plus more for frying ½ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon brandy or cognac Zest of 1 lemon 2 cups of strawberry jelly

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

M

illennia ago, the miracle of Chanukah was discovering a jug of unused oil. This year, the miracle may be shutting one’s mouth to the sweet seasonal treats served throughout the Steel City. Between the anticipated glut of doughnuts and latkes, there are plenty of ways to get a fried food fix.

“This community loves their jelly-filled doughnuts and Munchkins,” said Brian Goetter, general manager at Dunkin’ Donuts in Squirrel Hill.

Between Dec. 12 and Dec. 20, apart from the fruit-filled ring-shaped treats, which occupy a regular space on the racks yearround, the Forbes Avenue vendor will offer jelly-infused Munchkins.

Chanukah’s eight-day period brings a rise of in-store purchases; however, the real surge is in catering. Single orders historically range from 10 dozen to 60 dozen jelly doughnuts and yield “anywhere between a $6,000 to $7,000 increase in sales,” said Goetter.

With some orders already placed, Goetter anticipates baking roughly 677 dozen doughnuts — solely for catering purposes. Given the volume, preparing the excess cakes will require a night baker’s assistance and an

p Jelly-filled doughnuts

Photo by Esti Marzel

additional 30 to 40 man hours, he said.

Lest one believe that the excitement is only among eaters, Goetter added: “That’s my biggest eight days of catering through the whole year.”

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, customers can consume alternative varieties of fried foods.

At Murray Avenue Kosher, potato latkes will again be available. The annual offering of such nosh dates back “more than 20 years,” said

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Please see Food, page 23

Instructions: In a mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients. In a small bowl combine sugar, yeast and warm water, let sit for about 2 minutes until mixture turns bubbly; in the meantime, add egg and oil to the dry bowl, then add yeast mixture. Mix for about 10 minutes. If it’s too sticky, add a little flour. Let dough rest for about 1 to 1½ hours, then divide into to small balls. Let rest for another hour. After the dough balls double in size, you can deep fry. Turn over the doughnuts after 2 minutes, and let them fry for another 2 minutes. Then take them out. The doughnuts should be golden, not too brown. Let them cool a little; fill with any jam, sprinkle powder sugar and enjoy!

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>> A trick that I use for frying: I cut little squares from parchment paper and place each individual doughnut on it.

You can throw doughnuts in the pan with the parchment paper: that way you don’t get burned and you don’t ruin the shape of the doughnut.

Moroccan sfenj by Judith Afriat

Ingredients: 1 kilogram of sifted flour 2 tablespoons of dry yeast 1 tablespoon of sugar 1 teaspoon of salt 5 glasses of warm water (about 34 U.S. fluid ounces)

Instructions: Prepare the yeast: 2 tablespoons of dry yeast, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 5 glasses of lukewarm water. Mix and leave to bubble for 5 to 10 minutes. After that time, add the flour mix with the teaspoon of salt. Mix by hand from top to bottom as if beating eggs. Cover with 1 bag and let rise for 1 hour. Prepare a small bowl with water (to plunge the tips of the fingers).

Heat the oil. Take a small amount of dough and make a hole (like a crown) and dive into the hot oil. Remove the sfenjis once they are golden and enjoy. PJC

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Headlines Blum: Continued from page 3

until the mid-1960s.

“That was the first time I heard about some of these things — from my own panel,” Blum said.

So, she got busy changing the paradigm. In 1971, she helped found the Association for Women in Mathematics, an organization that helped women in math pursue better careers, and in 1973, she joined the faculty of Mills College, where she founded the Mathematics and Computer Science Department — the first one of its kind at a women’s college.

“I saw how I could change the world through education,” Blum said.

Realizing that to get women to study math in college, they would need to develop skills and confidence in high school, in 1975 Blum helped start the Expanding Your Horizons network for girls in middle and high school.

That organization still exists, providing female STEM role models for young women and giving them the chance to participate in relevant hands-on activities at conferences.

“In a way, this all took over my life,” Blum said. “It takes a total commitment and thinking about it all the time.”

Blum came to CMU in 1999, following two years of doing research in Hong Kong. Seeing the disparity in the number of men and women in computer science, she established Women @SCS (School of Computer Science), a program based on research showing that women can perform as well as men in science if only they are provided with the same sorts of support that men naturally have — things like role models of their own sex, roommates in the same field, opportunities for leadership, mentoring and networking organizations to help find employment.

Super Sunday: Continued from page 4

of Super Sunday. “There was a huge turnout of people making calls, and the energy in the room has been phenomenal. Some people have been here all day, and others have been here for hours and hours.”

The dedication of the volunteers, she said, “is inspiring. It’s truly a labor of love.”

Although fewer households pledged funds to Federation this year, the total amount

Climate: Continued from page 5

can be stopped.

Right now, she said, most people don’t think so.

“I think it’s so important that this has come to the Jewish community,” Supowitz said. “This is a community that’s educated, they’ve got a voice. … They have to use it.

Don’t put your head in the sand.”

CELEBRATE HANUKKAH

In other words, for women to succeed in computer science at CMU, “we needed to change the culture, not the curriculum,” Blum said.

Women @SCS is currently headed by Carol Frieze, a former student of Blum’s.

“Lenore made a very significant move when she came here,” said Frieze. “She is a visionary. She knows what needs to be done and makes it happen.”

Thanks to Blum, CMU “certainly has a reputation as a school that has paid attention to the issue of women in computer science,” Frieze added.

The formula, Blum said, “works everywhere. It’s not rocket science; it’s just common sense.”

Although working to improve the landscape for women in math and science has been a central focus of Blum’s life, she has also made significant contributions in mathematical research, including model theory and differential research and computation theory. She is the founding director of Project Olympus at CMU, which she launched in 2007 to help bridge the gap between university research and business to promote commerce in the community using technology coming out of CMU. There is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that women can thrive once in the workforce, Blum said.

“Are we preparing them enough socially, so they can continue to be successful in the non-welcoming environment that Silicon Valley is?” she queried. “In the business world, it is still a male culture, a fraternity-like culture. Almost everything I do, I want to make sure there are more women involved.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

raised represented a 13 percent increase from last year, according to Emily Richman, the Federation’s associate director of development operations.

In conjunction with Super Sunday, the Federation also sponsored a blood drive, and representatives from the Gift of Life bone marrow registry were on hand to swab cheeks and get people registered as potential bone marrow donors. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Shell recently announced it plans to cut the net carbon footprint of its energy products by 20 percent by 2035 and 50 percent by 2050 in order to play their part in combatting climate change, according to a news release from the company.

A March report from Gov. Tom Wolf outlined Pennsylvania’s ability to support up to four additional crackers. PJC Lauren Rosenblatt can be reached at lrosenblatt@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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DECEMBER 8, 2017 17

Opinion Responsibility of Jewish leaders — EDITORIAL —

O

ne image is likely to dominate the Reform movement’s biennial conference that is underway in Boston: that of Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, being roughed up at the Western Wall by guards and haredi Orthodox worshipers.

The incident last month came as Jacobs and others tried to pray at the Kotel — the site considered the holiest in Judaism. And the confrontation sounded chilling. Jacobs said a guard put his finger on the trigger of a bottle of pepper spray, and put it up to Jacobs’ face. Jacobs said his suit jacket was ripped when guards shoved him as he tried to lead prayer activity.

Such treatment of Jacobs and his group is unconscionable. And the mistreatment supports the growing narrative that those belonging to liberal streams of Judaism are considered expendable by the Israeli government. Although Reform is the largest Jewish religious movement in the United States, the movement in Israel is small, and the word “reform” is pejorative in most of the country.

The anger within the Reform movement, and Jacobs’ own anger, are justified

p Members of the Reform movement and Hebrew Union College read from the Torah at the public square in front of the Western Wall.

Photo by Noam Rivkin Fenton/Flash90

— particularly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reneged on the Kotel agreement, reached in 2016 to expand and upgrade the Robinson’s Arch pluralistic prayer section at the southern end of the Western Wall. Killing the agreement was a

political move by Netanyahu, who did so in order to keep the haredi parties in his fragile governing coalition.

Notwithstanding their right to be angry, it is the duty of Jewish leaders to control that anger and work toward peaceful outcomes.

Jacobs didn’t do that here. His group began their prayer in Robinson’s Arch. They then tried to enter the main entrance to the Western Wall plaza with Torah scrolls.

They ended up finishing the service in the main plaza, in a large tourist area that is removed from the wall but adjacent to the Orthodox areas for men and women. They seemed to be looking to provoke a confrontation and succeeded.

For some time, Reform leaders like Jacobs have been talking openly of their support for Israel not being guaranteed in the face of unequal treatment and moves that denigrate Reform Jewish practice and observance.

Such threats, whether explicit or implicit, are not helpful. Just as it is wrong for the Israeli government and haredi leaders to take steps that are disrespectful toward the non-Orthodox streams that make up the overwhelming majority of the American Jewish community, it is wrong for Diaspora Jewish leaders to threaten to withhold support of the Jewish state.

Israel is the Jewish homeland. When we have problems with governmental policies and practices, we should address those problems directly. But we should never compromise our love for and support of the Jewish state and the Jewish people. PJC

What was ‘The’ miracle of Chanukah?

Guest Columnist Joel E. Hoffman

It makes sense that God rewarded the Jews with the highest level of

I

n many prayer books there is a paragraph to be recited after one lights the Chanukah menorah. This paragraph praises God for the different types of miracles He did during the original Chanukah story and uses the words “salvations,” “miracles” and “wonders” as different types of miracles. But what were these specific miracles in the Chanukah story?

First we must understand what each of these different types of miracles match up with the various events in the Chanukah story. The event that is the greatest type of miracle is “the” miracle of Chanukah. As one can surmise, it is not going to be what most people have been taught as to what was “the” miracle of Chanukah.

A “salvation” is an event where two equal forces compete and the “good guys” win.

This is the lowest level of a miracle. The second level of a miracle, called a “miracle,” is an event that is counter to nature and is exactly how we understand the term miracle in everyday language. A “wonder” is the highest level of a miracle, but it occurs within the framework of nature. Contrary to a “salvation” that also occurs within nature, a “wonder” did not have to occur at all but did, and the fact that it did occur is why this is the highest level of miracle.

When Mattisyahu and his sons killed the Greek army unit at Modiin, this was a

18 DECEMBER 8, 2017

miracle, the wonder-level miracle of being able to light the menorah in the best way possible. salvation-level of miracle. There were two equal forces fighting, but Mattisyahu and his brothers won.

The Jewish military victory over the Greeks was the middle level of miracles.

This is because the Greeks were superior militarily and should have defeated the Jews, but the Jews won. Thus, a “miracle.”

So what was the “wonder” of Chanukah?

It cannot be the one day’s worth of oil burning for eight days in the Temple’s sevenbranch menorah, because this was beyond nature, and wonder-level miracles occur within nature. Erroneously, Hebrew School curriculum writers, teachers and even most rabbis have chosen to highlight the one day of oil lasting eight days as “the” miracle of Chanukah — it makes for a climatic story, but this was one of the lower-level miracles.

The miracle of Chanukah is the finding of one jar of oil that had not been opened by the Greeks. This may sound anti-climactic at first, but once you know some of the key historical details in the Chanukah story and

understand the cause and effect of how Jews do mitzvot and how God does miracles for us, it makes sense.

The Greeks were not opposed to Jewish culture and practices as long as the Jews did not claim that the practices were commanded

by God. According to Jewish law, the oil used in the Temple’s menorah had to be pure, but in a crisis, contaminated oil was permitted.

The Greeks knew this, so they opened all of the containers and touched the oil in each one. The Greeks didn’t mind that a menorah was lit in the Temple, it just had to have a “Greek touch” — literally and pragmatically.

According to the Kabbalah, the cause and effect of the Jews deserving each type of miracle is as follows: Jews merit salvation-level miracles through fulfilling God’s will. For example, the Shema states, “If you will walk in My statutes and keep My commandments … I will give you rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce.” When a Jew keeps the mitzvot, God does miracles for him or her that occur

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within the natural functioning of the world.

A miracle-level miracle is merited only if Jews go beyond what God commanded and do the mitzvot with hiddur, meaning with enhancement and beautification. Using a beautiful Kiddush cup instead of just a glass for Kiddush, buying the more expensive Lulav and Etrog, and using an oil-based Chanukah menorah instead of one with candles are all examples of this. When a Jew goes beyond what is required, God goes beyond nature in doing miracles.

Wonder-level miracles are merited by Jews who do mitzvot with mesirat nefesh. The translation is “self-sacrifice,” but it is much more than this. Mesirat nefesh means that a Jew reaches the level of surrendering his or her personal identity to recognize that a Jew’s purpose is to live a life of performing mitzvot, no matter the challenges. This is an internal mode of a person that is not obvious to an onlooker, thus wonder-level miracles do not violate nature but occur within the natural workings of the world.

Since the non-Hellenized Jews were operating on the level of not only performing the mitzvot with hiddur, but also with mesirat nefesh, it makes sense that God rewarded them with the highest level of miracle, the wonder-level miracle of being able to light the menorah in the best way possible — with pure oil. Thus, this is the miracle of Chanukah. PJC Rabbi Joel E. Hoffman is a science and special education teacher at a public school in the Boston area. This article is based on a talk given in 1953 by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.

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Opinion The gutting of the Taylor Force Act Guest Columnist Stephen M. Flatow

T

he Taylor Force Act started out as a powerful and long-overdue tool for pressuring the Palestinian Authority to stop paying terrorists. But the legislation has been diluted, weakened and compromised in so many ways that it is now a pale shadow of its former self. The Taylor Force Act has been gutted.

Known in the Senate as S. 1697, the Taylor Force Act is named after a young Vanderbilt University student — and U.S. Army veteran — who was murdered by a Palestinian Arab knife-wielding terrorist in Jaffa in 2016. The lead Senate sponsor is Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), while Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) initiated the House version, H.R. 1164.

The idea behind the bill was to reduce U.S. aid to the Palestinians in proportion to the amount that the Palestinian Authority pays to terrorists.

Thanks to the good work of Israeli Brig.

Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, we know that the Palestinian Authority has a precise and sophisticated system of providing financial incentives to murderers of Jews.

An Arab who is imprisoned for attacking — but not killing — Jews receives a monthly salary of $400. The amount goes up according to the length of the terrorist’s prison sentence. An Arab who succeeds in killing a Jew receives a monthly salary of $3,400.

The financial rewards don’t stop there.

After he completes his sentence, a terrorist receives a minimum additional grant of $1,500. The size of the grant increases according to the length of his sentence. A murderer receives $25,000.

Their families are rewarded, too. The family of an unmarried terrorist who is killed receives $100 monthly. The widow of a terrorist receives $250 each month, for life.

Stopping such payments is obviously a necessity. And the United States has the leverage to stop them — the hundreds of millions of dollars that America provides to the Palestinians each year. The original Taylor Force Act would have linked the two.

But as the bill began working its way through the legislative process in recent months, the appeasers jumped in.

There are officials in the State Department and certain congressional offices who are deeply pro-Palestinian. They started pushing for all sorts of exceptions and loopholes.

Unfortunately, some congressional staffers

and Jewish leaders who support the bill got weak in the knees. They decided they had to accept compromises in order to get more votes for the bill.

So they added language saying that U.S. funding for various Palestinian health and sanitation programs would not be affected.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned that such exemptions would “basically gut the bill” and render the legislation “useless” because it would leave too few areas of funding for the United States to exercise leverage. He was right.

And it got worse. Next they added a one-year delay before the provisions of the bill go into effect. That gives the Palestinian Authority a year in which to come up with a phony new arrangement by which the payments are given to terrorists from some “private” group instead of from itself.

Then they stipulated that the money which is withheld must be put into a “Palestinian Authority Accountability Fund,” which can then be given to the Palestinians if the State Department certifies that the Palestinian Authority is taking steps against terrorism.

We all know that for the past 24 years, the State Department has repeatedly “certified” that the Palestinians were keeping their obligations in the Oslo Accords — even though that certification was a total lie. No matter how blatantly the Palestinian Authority violated the accords, the State Department always found some excuse to declare it to be “in compliance,” so that U.S. money would keep flowing. There is every reason to believe that the State Department will do so again.

Sometimes, in politics, you have to compromise. I get that and have done it myself when advancing other terror victim legislation. Sometimes a flawed bill is better than no bill at all. But not always. Sometimes a bill is so deeply flawed that it is actually worse than no bill — because it will prevent any other action from being taken on the issue. This is one such bill.

If the Taylor Force Act passes in its current form, there will be no further congressional action on the issue for the foreseeable future.

And we will be stuck with legislation that pretends to address the issue of paying terrorists, but really does nothing of the sort. That would deal a grievous blow to the memory of Taylor Force and the many other American victims of Palestinian terrorism. PJC Stephen M. Flatow, a vice president of the Religious Zionists of America, is an attorney in New Jersey. He is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. This article was distributed by JNS.org.

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DECEMBER 8, 2017 19

Headlines Torahs: Continued from page 1

between Temple Hadar Israel and the emerging Jewish community of Indonesia.

“This is one of the things that the Jewish Community Legacy Project does,” said Sarnat. “We try to take the assets of a closing congregation and recycle those Jewish resources, brokering relationships to allow dwindling congregations to leave a footprint.”

The congregation in New Castle, Sarnat observed, “is a poster child for that.”

David Kunin, a Conservative rabbi who serves the Jewish community of Japan and has been working for the last three years with the emerging Jewish communities on Java and in Papua Indonesia, said receiving the New Castle Torah “is beyond my wildest dreams.”

The new communities of Indonesian Jews are descendants of Dutch, Spanish and Baghdadi Jews who “are rediscovering their heritage and creating a vibrant unique community,” Kunin said. They are spread across thousands of miles and several islands and grapple with a shortage of Jewish resources.

The communities, though small, are “vibrant,” he said.

All told, Kunin estimates that there are about 150 people in the Indonesian archipelago who for the past 15 years have been reclaiming their Judaism. Along with Rabbi Shoshana Kaminsky, a progressive rabbi from Adelaide, Australia, Kunin converted 60 members of the community on his most recent trip to Indonesia, which was in July 2016. While some community members are halachically Jewish, Kunin explained, others require conversion.

Kunin and Kaminsky teach members of the Indonesian Jewish community weekly via Skype.

p In the Papuan community, there is a Shabbat morning tradition in which the boys and young men wear arbah kanfot (a white four-cornered garment with special knotted strings at each corner) over their clothing during the service.

Photo by Rabbi David Kunin

“They are very excited about studying,” Kunin said. “And when we are there, they want Torah the whole time.”

The community members are serious about embracing their Judaism, Kunin said, and spend a lot of time online learning from other Jewish sources as well.

“Their Hebrew is amazing,” he said.

Up until now, the disparate emerging Jewish communities of Indonesia have been sharing a single Torah, which has traveled thousands of miles to be used by the various communities for different holidays. Small, paper Torah facsimiles that are not kosher are used by the communities at other times.

Although Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country and Judaism is not one of its six officially recognized religions, Kunin said he has seen no signs of anti-Semitism there.

Kunin, who was in North America last week for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism convention in Atlanta, had made arrangements to rendezvous with Bernstine in New Jersey on Monday to pick up the New Castle Torah, which he was planning to take on the plane with him to Japan, then carry to Jakarta when he travels there next month.

He also will be transporting a second Torah from a congregation that recently closed in Edmonton, Canada, to be used by the Jewish community in Papua.

In addition to packing and wrapping the Torah headed to Jakarta, Bernstine was busy last week preparing another Torah for its trip to Texas, where it will be used by the United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston, which suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Harvey. While the 320-family congregation

Chanukah: Continued from page 1

Lishmah Community (the congregation’s religious school).

On Thursday, Dec. 14, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s Katz Theater, 5738 Darlington Road, in Squirrel Hill, several factions of the JCC are collaborating on “Shine the Light with Social Justice Disco.”

The event features Phat Man Dee and Liz Berlin, as well as special guests Pastor Deryck Tines and the Lemington Gospel Chorale, Ezra Smith, Christina Springer, Johnny Creed Coe, SunBear Coe and Miguel Sague Jr., with performances of original and legendary songs including “I Will Survive,” “Staying Alive,” “I Can’t Breathe” and “Have You Been to Jail for Justice?” said Cathy Samuels, JCC’s senior director of development and communications. Presented by the JCC’s American Jewish Museum and Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement at the JCC, the evening is open to those ages 13 and older. A cash bar is available. Tickets are $10 or $25, which includes a meet-andgreet at 6:30 p.m. with the artists.

For those seeking additional ways to celebrate the season, several events are planned for Shabbat Chanukah.

At Temple B’nai Israel in White Oak, “we’re having our annual Chanukah dinner 20 DECEMBER 8, 2017

before our Shabbat service on Dec. 15,” said Rabbi Paul Tuchman. The event will include the familiar activities of lighting menorahs, eating latkes, singing songs and enjoying an erev Shabbat service.

In the South Hills, Beth El Congregation is welcoming Sara Stock Mayo as a guest cantorial soloist for its Friday evening service. The “lively” exercise will also showcase “your favorite melodies — even klezmer-style on the clarinet,” according to the congregation. Following the service, there will be a Chanukah dinner with a deluxe latke

and salad bar as well as sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts). Various activities are being planned for kids.

At Temple David in Monroeville, “we have our annual Chanukah and Shabbat dinner in which each family brings their own chanukiah to light,” said Rabbi Barbara Symons. Additionally, “our religious school will be traveling to a local nursing home (Concordia) to share Chanukah with them.”

At Repair the World: Pittsburgh, Chanukah will be also be marked by a Shabbat dinner. But in addition to the food-related activity, there will

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was able to save its Torahs from the storm, it lost all almost of its siddurim and High Holiday prayer books. Its sanctuary, administrative offices, library and classrooms also suffered extensive damage, having been submerged beneath 4 or 5 feet of water, according to Barry Gelman, the congregation’s rabbi.

The congregation is still unable to use its main sanctuary and holds services in its social hall.

“It remains to be seen what is the future of our main building,” Gelman said, adding that his congregation may have to construct a new, elevated building.

“While we did not lose a Torah, this is a welcome gesture that would bring our congregation a boost, knowing that another congregation is looking out for us,” Gelman said. “We are moved by their generosity of spirit.”

A friend of Howie Stein, spiritual leader of Temple Hadar Israel, who happened to be traveling to Houston for business this week, offered to take the Torah with him on the airplane and deliver it to the United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston.

Another of Temple Hadar Israel’s Torahs — one that had been hidden in Poland during the Holocaust and recovered in the 1970s — will be donated to the Hillel Jewish University Center to be used by college students, Stein noted. A dedication ceremony for that Torah is being planned for the weekend of Feb. 9-10.

“That our Sifrei Torah are going to a number of different places and will continue to be used is a wonderful feeling for me,” Stein said. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

be a Jewish Relief Agency volunteer event and a documentary screening with Moishe House. The latter will occur on Sunday, Dec. 17, at 7 p.m. at the Repair Workshop, 6022 Broad St., and feature “One of Us,” a film that explores the journey of leaving Chasidism and joining the secular world, said Zack Block, Repair’s executive director.

In furthering the fun of a Chanukah weekend, the South Hills is hosting its first communitywide teen party on Dec. 16, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. With traditional Chanukah foods, fun, games and prizes, the party is free and open to all Jewish teens in grades 8-12, said Andrew Exler, regional director of the Keystone Mountain Region BBYO. Those attending are encouraged to bring a canned food or gently used clothing to donate to the South Hills Interfaith Movement (SHIM) for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card. Visit southhillsjewishpittsburgh.org for more information. Event location provided upon registration.

On Sunday, Dec. 17, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., JJEP will hold its eighth annual Latkepalooza at Congregation Beth Shalom.

Complete with latkes, music, prizes and crafts for kids, the event is sure to please, said Liron Lipinsky, JJEP’s director.

And on Monday, Dec. 18, the Borough of Dormont, at 1444 Hillsdale Ave., is hosting a communitywide menorah lighting with kid-friendly activities. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Gabbay: Continued from page 8

staying light on the specifics.

So while Gabbay said he wanted to restart negotiations with the Palestinians, he provided no diplomatic vision beyond that, only endorsing the two-state solution when pushed. He did not retract an earlier suggestion that West Bank settlements could remain in place under a peace agreement.

“I don’t see another solution that will keep Israel with a Jewish majority and keep it democratic, so it’s clear to me the basis is two states, but I can’t say what we will do in all the parameters,” he said. “That’s exactly what you need to figure out in negotiations.”

Gabbay also did not comment on the forthcoming peace plan from the Donald Trump administration because “no one knows what the plan is.”

Likewise, he promised to implement the Western Wall agreement and push for public transit on Shabbat. But he declined to say how he would address the debates over Jewish marriage and conversion in Israel, which are both controlled by Israel’s haredi Orthodox Chief Rabbinate.

“I seek practical solutions,” he said. “I’m not getting into it. I have a lot of ideas and the moment I say the ideas, [only] some of them can be expressed.”

Gabbay looks like a modern Israeli politician. Gone are the unbuttoned shirt collars and chest hair, replaced by suits, ties and

Calendar: Continued from page 7 q FRIDAY, DEC. 15 Chanukah dinner at Rodef Shalom Congregation at 6:45 p.m., immediately following the 5:30 p.m. Shabbat service.

BYOM (bring your own menorah).

The Ner Shel Tzedakah, the Candle of Righteousness, will be lighted. Gift bags for children at the Ronald McDonald House will be made. Reservations are available at rodefshalom.org/rsvp.

A Chanukah family dinner is set for 5:30 p.m. and a Shabbat service for 6:30 p.m. at Temple Emanuel of South Hills. Everyone is invited to bring menorahs and candles to light together for the fourth night of Chanukah. Visit templeemanuelpgh.org/ event/chanukah2017 to RSVP. The event cost is $5/person, $20 family maximum. q SATURDAY, DEC. 16 Shalom Pittsburgh presents the 12th annual Vodka Latke Pajama Party with a Purpose from 8 to 12 p.m. at The Waterfront Town Center.

Visit shalompittsburgh.org/events/vodka-latke for more information and to register.

The Moishe House Party and Bus to Vodka Latke at the house from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Be a part of Moishe’s annual tradition and ride on a party bus to the Waterfront. There is no cost to join the party train; but tickets will need to be purchased separately. Visit tinyurl. com/y9fxbm3b for more information.

p Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay leads a meeting at the Israeli parliament.

Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

coiffed hair. His English, punctuated by long “ehhhhs,” isn’t bad, though it isn’t as natural as Netanyahu’s. Unlike the current prime minister, Gabbay has never lived in the United States.

But his persona is a study in contradictions. A former CEO of Bezeq, Israel’s telecom giant, he is now the head of a historically socialist party. Before becoming the standard-bearer of Israel’s centerleft, he co-founded Kulanu, a center-right party, and served as environmental protection minister under Netanyahu. He grew

up in a poor Jerusalem neighborhood, but now lives in an elite neighborhood in northern Tel Aviv.

He believes in God, usually carries a kippah in his pocket and hopes to win the votes of Israel’s religious Jews. Gabbay recently got into trouble for saying “forgot what it means to be Jewish.” But in New York last week, he joked about how bad the burgers were at Five Guys versus Shake Shack, two decidedly non-kosher restaurants.

To Gabbay, these internal differences work to his advantage. Labor, once a power-

q SUNDAY, DEC. 17

Pittsburgh, Robinson Building. Tickets are $10 and $12 day of/at the door. Senior and Student rates available. Visit tinyurl.com/ y7uv2prd for more information.

Moishe House and Repair the World at the Repair Workshop at 6022 Broad St. will hold Documentary Night with a screening “One of Us,” from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The documentary explores the journey of leaving Chasidism and joining the secular world. A discussion will follow.

Visit tinyurl.com/yckklru5 for more information. q MONDAY, DEC. 18 Rosh Chodesh and Chai Mitzvah at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Women are invited to welcome the new moon (Rosh Chodesh) at Rodef Shalom Sisterhood’s monthly brown bag dinner discussion, now partnering with Chai Mitzvah, an adult education curriculum for engaging in a meaningful Jewish life. q TUESDAY, DEC. 19 South Hills Eighth Night Community Chanukah Celebration from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of the South Hills. Chanukah songfest and candle lighting, pizza dinner with potato pancakes, jelly donuts, Chanukah obstacle course, EKC dreidel tournament, balloon artist and face painting. In honor of the “Mitzvah of Sharing” bring a bottle of cooking oil to donate to friends at South Hills Interfaith Movement (SHIM).

There is no charge. Contact drullo@ jfedpgh.org for more information or visit southhillsjewishpittsburgh.org/ event/chanukah/.

Kol Shira, an 8-woman vocal ensemble performing original a cappella arrangements of music from around the world and across the centuries, will hold a Chanukah concert for women and girls only from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Chabad of the South Hills and the South Hills Jewish Community Center hold their annual Chanukah lunch and program for seniors at noon, which will include a kosher lunch with hot latkes (potato pancakes) and holiday music. Lunch will be held at the South Hills JCC, 345 Kane Blvd. The building is wheelchair accessible. Preregistration is strongly suggested. $5 suggested donation.

Contact barb@chabadsh.com or visit chabadsh.com for more information. q WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20 AARP Squirrel Hill Chapter 3354, which now meets at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha on the corner of Shady and Wilkins avenues, holds its holiday party at 1 p.m. In addition to food, there will be a grab bag; bring a $3 to $5 gift in to participate. Meetings are open to nonmembers. Contact Ilene Portnoy at 412683-7985 for more information. q FRIDAY, DEC. 22 Ugly Sweater Chanukah Shabbat, Friday, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Moishe House. Grab your favorite ugly sweater and join us for Kabbalat Shabbat with latkes, donuts, and dreidels. A Shabbat dinner will be served following services. Visit tinyurl.com/y9tn2pye for more information. q SUNDAY, DEC. 24 MoHo Does Jewish Christmas from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Moishe House. Got nothing to do on a random December Sunday night?

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

house that governed Israel for its first three decades, hasn’t won an election in 18 years.

It’s now on its fourth leader during Netanyahu’s current stint in office, and is running third in the polls behind Netanyahu’s Likud party and the centrist Yesh Atid.

Gabbay wants to turn Labor into a pragmatic centrist option that can appeal to Israeli Jews across the spectrum — religious, secular, rich, poor, left-wing, right-wing.

His varied background, he said, can appeal to all of those.

“There are people who say, this is an alternative we can vote for,” he said. “People who haven’t voted Labor and aren’t ready to vote for Labor and haven’t thought of Labor say, ‘OK, this is an interesting alternative, a pragmatic alternative, not just extreme ideology at all, but people that look at life as it is and understand what is possible and what is impossible.’”

But as much as he might sometimes sound like Israel’s Emmanuel Macron, the famously pragmatic French president, Gabbay also paradoxically understands that he needs to be the Israeli Donald Trump — a leader who speaks his mind, however controversial.

So he shrugs at Labor loyalists who feel alienated by his praise of settlers and criticism of the left’s Jewish values. He is who he is. And he thinks Israelis will like him.

“In today’s era, people want more authenticity and want people they can feel,” he said.

“They don’t want people who come with talking points all the time. I’m on the side of the authentics.” PJC

How about a tradition as old as the Torah itself? Come to the Moish’ on Christmas Eve for a cozy night in with a movie and Chinese food. Visit tinyurl.com/y9lngxhh for more information. q TUESDAY, DEC. 26 Radical Trivia Night from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the book-themed bar, The Library at 2304 E. Carson St. Visit tinyurl.com/yd8dyarv for more information. q TUESDAY, JAN. 9 Behind Enemy Lines. Spend an evening with Marthe Cohn as she tells her story of being a spy in Nazi Germany. The Chabad of the South Hills program will be held at 7 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh South, 164 Fort Couch Road.

Cohn was born in France in 1920. As the Nazi occupation escalated, her sister was sent to Auschwitz while her family fled to the south of France. At age 24, she joined the Intelligence Service of the French 1st Army. Utilizing her perfect German accent and Aryan looks, Martha posed as a German nurse desperately trying to attain word of a fictional fiance. She traveled the countryside and approached troops sympathetic to her plight thereby obtaining vital information about troop movements for the Allied commanders. For her service, at the age of 80, she was awarded the Croix de Guerre, France’s highest military honor. Cohn is now 96 years old and travels internationally sharing her story and has no plans of slowing down.

There is a $5 charge. Register before Dec. 25 at chabadsh.com, 412-344-2424 or rabbi@ chabadsh.com. PJC

DECEMBER 8, 2017 21

Celebrations

Torah

Bat Mitzvah

The art of the possible

Remmie Greenwald, daughter of Amanda Welsh and Jason Greenwald, will become a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 10:30 a.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Grandparents are Linda Welsh and Janice and Louis Greenwald.

Photo by Amanda Wei

Engagement Mars/Miller: Cheryl and Andy Mars of Huntington Beach, Calif., are proud to announce the engagement of their daughter, Rebecca Michelle Mars, to Justin Miller of Anaheim Hills, Calif. Becky is the granddaughter of Bud and Barbara Mars, both of Pittsburgh, and Mildred and Milton Stone of Brooklyn. She is the great-granddaughter of Eva and Abe Mars and Ruth and Byron Foster, all of Pittsburgh. Justin is the son of Eileen and Ron Miller all of Los Angeles.

Becky is graduating from Samuel Merritt University School of Nursing after serving three years in the Peace Corps. Justin is an entrepreneur and currently serves as chief operating officer of Pillow, a strategic partner of Airbnb.

The couple met in high school during the Bureau of Education’s Shabbaton weekends. They reside in San Francisco, and a May 2019 wedding is planned.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Parshat Vayeishev Genesis 37:1-40:23

W

hy are Jews, yehudim, referred to as such? Historically speaking, the vast majority of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who remained committed to their traditions and faith after the first exile (586 B.C.E.) come from the tribe of Judah, the 10 tribes (not including Levi) having been exiled by Sanherib. In addition to the factually-accurate nomenclature, however, I would like to offer a textually-based explanation that provides a complementary but very different answer to our question.

The mere fact that a person can still call himself a Jew 3,300 years after Sinai and despite nearly 2,000 years of national homelessness is truly a miracle. He is a most unlikely survivor — sustained, nurtured and kept alive by Divine Providence in the face of exile, wars, pogroms and assimilation. To understand what enables a Jew to survive despite all the forces against him, we must turn to his eponym, Judah.

What special traits did Judah possess that set him apart from his 11 brothers and in particular from his eldest brother, Reuben?

For example, when an angry and jealous mob of brothers have the chance to carry out their long-harbored wish to kill Joseph, two siblings — Reuben and Judah — each take a

leadership role, and it seems that Reuben’s words are the more courageous and moral.

First, Reuben, assuming his status as firstborn, attempts to foil his brothers’ evil design: “Let us not kill him … let us not shed blood. …

Cast him into this pit … but lay no hand upon him.” As the verse itself then explains, Reuben’s plan to delay a drastic decision was driven by his goal that “he might deliver [Joseph] out of their hand, to restore him to his father.” Although they do indeed place Joseph into the pit, Reuben never gets to fully implement the plan.

This is because Judah sights a caravan of Ishmaelite traders in the distance and suggests to his brothers that there is no point in murdering Joseph when they could just as easily earn money from his sale to slavery.

“What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let our hand not be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.”

When Reuben returns, his despair is deep and painful: “The child is not here, and I, where shall I go?”

If we compare the responses of Reuben and Judah, the former seems to own the moral high ground, risking his brothers’ wrath in preventing them from murdering Joseph on the spot. Judah, on the other hand, appears crass, turning the crisis into a question of profit. Speaking like an opportunistic Please see Torah, page 24

Wedding Wettstein/Jago: Emma Rachel Wettstein and Arthur Stuart Jago were married in San Marten, Calif., on June 10. Emma is a manager at Google in Mountain View, 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, Mo. PJC

EVERY ITEM MADE ON PREMISES

Happy Chanukah

may love and light Fill your home and heart at chanukah

SUN. THRU SAT. 9 AM – 8 PM

HAPPY CHANUKAH!

1912 Murray Avenue, Squirrel Hill

CHANUKAH DINNERS INCLUDE • WEISS’S FAMOUS CORN BEEF • HOMEMADE POTATO LATKES

From the Staff & Board of

• SMALLMAN STREET DELI’S FAMOUS HOMEMADE MATZO BALL & CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

412.421.3354 22 DECEMBER 8, 2017

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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Headlines THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JUNE 5, 2014 — 21

Food:

Alice Sahel-Azagury, originally of Paris,

of strawberry jelly among other interesting capabilities, Botkin explained that she FOR SALE gingerly allows others to metaphorically ingredients. When asked what distinguishes FOR SALE the design for these doughy delicacies, jump into the holiday flames.

Posted in a private Facebook group Martel answered, “It’s the original Israeli Despite a reluctance for augmenting Chronicle amounts or fidgeting with friers, the local Saul Markovic, the Squirrel Hill store owner consisting of more than 26,000 members, the one” and that the results are $“very fluffy, not 210,000 FOR RENT FOR RENT FOR RENT writer is looking forward to a deluge of who added that another staple will return. dish is served not only during Chanukah, but heavy like the American doughnut. ” $ READY TO DOWNSIZE? 210,000 FOR RENT FORFifth RENT Ave. FOR RENT 5125 “We will have plenty of doughnuts,RIVERVIEW ” said Beth also upon the arrival of a baby’s first teeth, in More locally, Mimi READY Botkin does dwarfed desserts in coming weeks.

SPENDING YOUR not TOWERS TO DOWNSIZE? 2 & 3 Bedrooms SOUTH? 5125 Fifth Ave. much WINTERS of Markovic, also an owner of the grocery.

With deference to a North African tradition, said plan onCorner making for theIN THE upcoming “I love Munchkins. I’m not big on jelly Way” Your “Live Life SPENDING YOUR TOWERS RIVERVIEW 2Fifth & 3 Bedrooms Come see IN thisTHE 2 BR, 2 Bath unit and Wilkins WINTERS SOUTH? of shipments arriving Dec. 7 from Ohio and New Sahel-Azagury. festivalCorner of lights. doughnuts, I like the chocolate ones more,” Your Way” “Live Life living retirement Convenient with many of the updates already Spacious this 2 BR, 2 Bath unit Fifth and Wilkins 6315 Forbes Ave. that is affordable.

(62+) for seniors donesee including neutral kitchen, 1500-2250 feet ofCome York, the mix of meal and oil will include “the Similarly searching East for insight is “I love thesquare concept cooking, I’mcarpeting just not she said. “But don’t get me wrong, I will living retirement Convenient with many of the updates already Spacious One Bedroom Studio and both baths, windows, Luxury Living ”Finest in Shadyside” 6315 Forbes Ave. is affordable.

(62+) that for seniors done neutral kitchen, 1500-2250 square feet realities, available apartments andincluding Building amenities standard jelly doughnuts, and caramel filled and Martel, formerly of Jerusalem, really good at the ”more!! said the Temple Bunny never Wolff turn down anything that is sweet. The in the Heartwho of Bedroom and One Studio Etti both baths,exercise windows, carpeting 412-661-4456 Luxury Living ”Finest in Shadyside” include room, party Squirrel Hill available apartments 412.782.3700 x238 or and more!!

Building amenities www.kaminrealty.kamin.com tour your schedule To chocolate and custard and plain, and any kind of will again turn to her mother’s recipe Sinai member, who recalled a particularly only doughnut I probably wouldn’t eat is a in the Heart offor room, pool, pretty patio.

Bunny Wolff 412-661-4456 1, Squirrel 2 & 3 BR 412.855.9213 at include exercise room, party HillApts.

412-521-7876 call 412.782.3700 x238 or one.” PJC www.kaminrealty.kamin.com tour your schedule To doughnut that somebody would want.” sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts). The once hand- fond Chanukah memory.

“My mother horseradish room, pool, prettyTODAY patio. for was Berkshire CALL Hathaway 1, 412-521-7900 2 & 3 BR Apts.

412.855.9213 at St. Garettaformula 52412-521-7876 appointments to see!

Home Services call For those more interested in creating their written that Martel has employed making latkes and almost once the CALL set TODAY for kitchenBerkshire Hathaway 412-521-7900 St. 52 Garetta appointments to see!

Home Services FOR RENT own Chanukah cuisine, Pittsburghers are and routinely tweaked for years calls for one on fire because she got the oil too hot.” FOR SALE Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz DEADLINE NOTICE FOR RENT Beautiful 1, 2, tablespoon & 3 Bedroomof Apartments! going global for grub this year. brandy or cognacDEADLINE and two cups Recognizing @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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33

33

33

Fox Chapel Mews Fox Chapel Mews

33

The discovered an intriguing recipe for sfenj, or Continued from page 13 Jewish The “Sephardi doughnuts,” as she called them.

Chronicle Jewish

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JUNE 5, 2014 — 21

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DECEMBER 8, 2017 23

Obituaries Rabbi Neil Gillman, theologian of Conservative Judaism — NATIONAL — JTA

R

abbi Neil Gillman, professor emeritus of Jewish philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and one of the leading theologians in the Conservative movement died Nov. 24. He was 84.

The author of numerous books, Gillman was associated for more than 50 years with JTS, the main seminary of the Conservative movement, as a student, administrator and member of the faculty, emphasizing the intersection of Jewish theology, Conservative Judaism and Jewish education.

Torah: Continued from page 22

businessman, he sees a good deal and convinces the brothers to get rid of their nemesis and enjoy a material advantage at the same time.

In this light, his concluding words, “for [Joseph] is our brother and our flesh” sound grotesque. If Judah harbored fraternal feelings for Joseph, how could he subject his younger brother to abject slave conditions?

This makes Jacob’s subsequent decision to

“Gillman’s innovative thinking about how to construe Jewish faith and how to justify it, his use of anthropology as well as philosophy in approaching Neil Gillman questions of God and life Courtesy photo after death, and his ability to combine complete intellectual openness and honesty with a commitment to Jewish tradition mark his work as truly important, indeed, a real gift to Jews and non-Jews alike,” Elliot Dorff, the Sol & Anne Dorff distinguished service professor in philosophy at American Jewish University, said in introducing a collection of essays released in Gillman’s honor in 2013.

Rob Menes, executive director of Congregation Beth Shalom and a former student of Gillman’s, agreed. “His attitude towards Jewish theology really prepared me as a cantor to accept a wide range of possibilities for prayer and observance.”

A native of Quebec City, Canada, Gillman graduated from McGill University in 1954, was ordained at JTS in 1960 and received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University in 1975, according to JTS. Gillman served on the Commission on the Philosophy of Conservative Judaism, which produced Emet Ve’Emunah, released in 1988 and considered the first common statement of principles in the Conservative movement’s then 143-year history.

His “Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew” won the 1991 National Jewish Book Award in Jewish Thought.

In his 2004 book, “The Way Into: Encountering God in Judaism,” he described Judaism’s notion of a personal God. “The personal God lives in a dynamic, ever changing relationship with people; the impersonal god knows nothing of relationships,” he wrote. “Neil was both a dean and mentor to generations of students,” said Rabbi Stephen Steindel, rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beth Shalom. “He became the voice for a wider theology that allows us to see … the Conservative movement as a living Judaism.” PJC

name Judah as the recipient of the birthright even more puzzling.

It is because Judah is a realist who understands when and how to make the best deal possible under exceedingly difficult circumstances that he is deemed best suited for the yoke of leadership. Faced with dreadful options, he pursues the least horrific one possible. Acceding to Reuben’s proposal to leave Joseph inside the pit — which, according to our Sages, was filled with snakes and scorpions — was tantamount to leaving Joseph to die a cruel death, barring a last-minute miracle.

So when Judah sees the Ishmaelites in the distance, he seizes the opportunity to save Joseph from certain death. However, in order to be heard by his angry and jealous brothers, he understands that he must conceal his motivations under the guise of a profit-making venture for them.

Reuben may have had the best intentions for Joseph, but intentions alone are not enough. “Let us not kill him,” Reuben declares, but his words fall on deaf ears.

While Reuben nobly appeals to his brothers’ “better angels,” he fails the leadership test in not utilizing more pragmatic tactics in order

to attain his goal of saving Joseph. In contrast, Judah wisely couches his plea in accordance with the politician’s “art of the possible.”

Thus it is Judah, in his first test of leadership, who becomes worthy of receiving the birthright from his father, Jacob, a man also intimately familiar with navigating in a treacherous world.

In an imperfect world in which ideal situations rarely exist, it is Judah, eponymous ancestor of all “Jews,” who demonstrates what it is that enables a Jew to survive and thrive — to take responsibility for the welfare and continued life of his brother, even if he must use guile in order to achieve that goal. PJC

Happy Wishing the Community a Peaceful and Healthy Chanukah.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chief rabbi of Efrat.

Congressman Mike Doyle

Chanukah

MARKS ◆ ELDER LAW

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Paid for by the Doyle for Congress Committee.

24 DECEMBER 8, 2017

Member, Nat’l Academy of Elder Law Attorneys michael@marks-law.com

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Linda Law Carroll, Esq. linda@marks-law.com

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Obituaries BALLON: Richard Ballon, age 78 of Mt. Lebanon, on Sunday, December 3, 2017.

Richard was the cherished husband for 50 years to Layla Ballon (Gusky). Father of Ellen Ballon Dante (Mark) and Paul J. Ballon.

Proud PopPop to Nico Ballon Dante, all of Los Angeles. Son of the late Rebecca and Abraham Ballon. Beloved brother to Jack Ballon (Marilyn) and the late William Ballon (Rachel) and Devora Lewine (Don). Richard was a very well respected and admired real estate developer for over 58 years. He had a sense of fairness, commitment and compassion in whatever he did. Richard had an intense love of family and friends. We have lost a wonderful man. Graveside services and interment were held at Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Temple Emanuel of South Hills, 1250 Bower Hill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15243 or a charity of the donor’s choice.. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. BERNSON: Jeffrey S. Bernson, age 57 of Mt. Lebanon, on Tuesday, November 28, 2017.

Beloved husband of Marcy L. Bernson; He was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Esther Bernson and Gloria Bernson.

Cherished father of Seth, Evan and Melissa; brother of Stewart (Chavie), Judith Golding (Robert). Beloved son-in-law of Faye and Sanford Lichtenstein; brother-in-law of Marc (Janice) Lichtenstein and Gary Lichtenstein.

Also survived by many loving cousins, aunt, uncles, nieces, nephews and dear friends.

Services and interment private. Donations may be made to the General Fund of Temple Emanuel of South Hills, 1250 Bower Hill Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15243 or Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, 234 McKee Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Services entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. FRIEDMAN: Mark Friedman of Los Angeles, after spending Saturday basking in the glory of THE Ohio State University’s 6th straight victory over TTUN and finishing the celebration with an In-N-Out DoubleDouble, passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of November 26. Mark was a devoted Jewish communal professional and lay leader, loving husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother and friend as well as a lifelong Buckeye, Pirate, Steeler and Doo Wop Music fanatic. Mark was born and raised in Highland Park. He is survived by wife Leslie, son and daughter-in-law Dan and Kristin of St Louis, daughter Ellie of Phoenix and grandkids Becca, Sarah, Adam, Leah and Justin. Family and friends will be honoring his memory by arguing about politics while watching “Animal House,” drinking single malt Scotch and eating miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Donations may be made to the Jewish Free Loan Phoenix (jewishfreeloan.org), which will

help support an organization that was near and dear to his heart.

MICHAELS: Pauline L. Michaels, on Tuesday, November 28, 2017. Beloved wife of the late Bernard I. Michaels. Beloved mother of Susan (Mark) Orringer of Ann Arbor, Mich., Jane Michaels of Denver and Robert (Susan) Michaels of Brookline, Mass. Sister of the late Hyman (Ida) Liebling. Sister-in-law of the late Edgar (Norma) Michaels. Grandmother of Jeffrey, Lisa, Todd, Sarah and Sam. Great-grandmother of Matthew, Jason, Katie, Adam and Lindsay.

Aunt of Natalie, Gail, Laura, James, Gary and the late Paul. Pauline was an accomplished artist who received numerous accolades and awards for her work. She was an active member of the Pittsburgh art community in addition to her involvement with educational and charitable organizations. Services were held at Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Avenue. Interment at Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Bernard and Pauline Michaels Scholarship Endowment, c/o Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, 234 McKee Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. ROSS: Kenny Ross of Squirrel Hill, formerly of Philadelphia on Friday, December 1, 2017.

Beloved husband of the late Claire R. Ross.

Father of James (Ilene) Ross, Tony (Karen) Ross and Joanne (Ben) Simon. Brother of Flora Wenick. Grandfather of Andrew (Nicole) Ross, Katie Ross, Natalie (Josh) Lercher, Mark (Samantha) Simon, Zach Simon, Benjamin, Ally and Teddy Ross. Great-grandfather of Sydney and Skylar Ross and Claire and Ethan Lercher. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment private. Contributions may be made to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh, 5989 Centre Ave Suite 1, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.

SAVAGE: Stuart E. Savage, Esq., of Pittsburgh, died peacefully at his home on Saturday morning, December 2, 2017. Stuart was an accomplished attorney whose practice spanned almost 60 years, and a lifelong golfer. Son of the late Ann and Robert Seiavitch and brother of the late Myron Savage, he will be missed by his brother and sister-in-law Lloyd Seiavitch and Joni Lampl-Seiavitch; children Dr. David Savage (Marcia), Ms. Catherine Hicks and Ms. Elizabeth Nelson (David); and his grandchildren, extended family and friends.

Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment at Homestead Hebrew Cemetery. Trees may be planted in Israel in Stuart’s memory through the Jewish National Fund.

Please visit usa.jnf.org/jnf-tree-plantingcenter/ or call 800-542-8733 for details. PJC

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

In memory of...

In memory of...

Anonymous ............................................................. Arthur Firestone

Lisa D. Pollack .............................................................. Alex Pollack

Anonymous ..................................................................Celia Kaddell

Rita Reese .......................................................... Charlotte Ruthrauff

Jane Goldfarb ..................................................................Celia Levin

Rita Reese .................................................... Edward F. Reese, M.D.

Jane Goldfarb .................................................................Louis Levin Edythe Greenberg .................................................... Max Greenberg Ruth Haber ....................................................... Edward L. Friedman Sarah Kalser ...................................................................Rose Kalser Donna Kruman .......... Jack, Estelle, Jeanne, Neff & Bertha Kruman Donna Kruman ............. Gertrude, Simon, Anna & Mayer Berenfield Donna Kruman ...........................................................Anna Arnowitz

Morris & Marion Riemer ...................... Lena Riemer & Louis Riemer Arthur B. Rosenfeld..............................Sidney & Dorothy Rosenfeld Selma P. Ryave ........................................................Sol E. Podolsky Susan Simons ....................................................Ann & Harry Whiser Cheryl Sober ................................................................Norma Harris Yetta Speiser ......................................................................Max Blatt

Merrianne Leff ...................................................Norman Tabachnick

Beatrice Taft ........................................................ Samuel Tufshinsky

Rona Mustin .............................................................. Ada Hilsenrath

Barbara E. Vogel ................................................. Sydney Bertenthal

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday December 10: Susan Barotz, Irving I. Chick” Bogdan”, Victor Chesterpal, Marc Leon Front, Rae Kleinerman, Dr. Hyman Levinson, Fannie Malkin, Max Mallinger, Fannie Rice, Marvin L. Silverblatt, Sophie Patz Strauss, Sam Swartz Monday December 11: Julius Berliner, Jacob Braun, Leonard Samuels Finkelhor, Rebecca A. F. Finkelhor, Edward L. Friedman, Alfred Krause, Max Lemelman, Sarah Young Pretter, Hymen Rosenberg, Annie Segall, Lillian Shermer, Samuel Z. Udman, I. Barnes Weinstein Tuesday December 12: Benjamin Americus, Fannie Gertrude Becker, Belle Bennett, Nathan Bennett, Joseph Braunstein, Hannah Cohen, Meyer Fineberg, Benjamin Finkelhor, Louis Fishman, Philip Hoffman, Milton Kuperstock, Samuel Kurfeerst, Benjamin Levin, Abraham Lincoff, Benjamin Jacob Platt, Leon Ryave, Fannie Solow, Max Zeiden, , Wednesday December 13: Essie Finesod, Hymen Glickman, Ralph Hoffman, Sylvan Meth, Max Osgood, Mary R. Sachs, Dorothy Saul, Dorothy Weiss Schachter, Sylvia Snyder Sealfon, Benjamin S. Shapiro, Charles Tillman, Mary Weinerman Thursday December 14: Rose Blatt, Reuben Bliwas, Raymond Cole, Jacob Erenrich, Birdie Weiler Greenberg, Celia Liberman, Morris Miller, Ed Newman, Stella G. Pervin, Louis Riemer, John Rothstein, Lawrence E. Schachter, Marcia E. Schmitt, Sarah Schor, Herman Schwartz, Charles Stewart, Fannie White, Dave L. Wyckoff Friday December 15: Ella Braemer, Harry B. Cramer, Anne G. Diznoff, Esther H. Friedman, Benjamin Gordon, Alexander Grossman, Joseph Grumer, Sylvia Rudov Klein, Ida Buck Levy, Harry Lieberman, P. A. Love, Esther Monheim, Sophie Ruben, Sidney J. Rudolph, Norman H. Schlesinger, Dr. Donald M. Schwartz, Morris Serbin, Bessie Sherman, Violet Slesinger, Morris A. Taylor, Louis Venig Saturday December 16: Isaac Dobkin, Stuart Richard Harris, Zelda Sparks Hepner, William L. Kaplan, Morris L. Karp, Frank Levine, Meyer Levy, Ella Farber Lipman, Harry Marshall, Csipa Shapiro, Marc Wells Shapiro

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DECEMBER 8, 2017 25

Community All smiles!

At Hadassah

p Adat Shalom’s kindergarten and first-grade classes are proud of their large Chanukiah.

Photo courtesy of Adat Shalom

p Hadassah Greater Pittsburgh hosted 100 attendees at its Myrtle Wreath event at the University Club on Sept. 10. Honorees were Dr. Yoel Sadovsky, executive director of Magee-Womens Research Institute; Cynthia D. Shapira, immediate past board chair, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh; Nancy Zionts, COO and chief program officer of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation; and Bill Strickland, president and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corporation.

From left: Hadassah Greater Pittsburgh past presidents Zandra Goldberg, Nancy Shuman, Mimi Ginsberg, Sondra Glasser, Bernice Meyers, Janice Greenwald, Bobbee Slotsky Kramer, Judy Palkovitz, Marlene Silverman, Roz Markovitz, Barbara Scheinberg, and Lynda Heyman and current president Rochelle Parker.

Photo courtesy of Hadassah Greater Pittsburgh

At Hillel JUC

At Jewish Family and Community Services

p Four freshmen enjoy latkes at Hillel Jewish University Center, as they prepare for Chanukah. From left: Serena Mlawsky, Caroline Nesbit, Livy Mackey and Shira Hackman

p Jewish Family and Community Services Refugee & Immigrant service coordinator and bilingual navigator Rup Pokharel poses with Gov. Tom Wolf and Frances Wolf. The Wolfs hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for Pennsylvania’s newest residents from all over the world. Pokharel was invited through Pittsburgh’s Office of Human Relations.

u The Howard Levin Clubhouse/Jewish Residential Services honored Jewish Family and Community Services for being an “Exceptional Employer” at a recent awards dinner. Here to show off the award is Brenda Green, Refugee & Immigrant service supervisor, and Robert Dunmeyer, the employee who is helping the department save trees and go digital.

p Students snuggle with pet therapy dogs and cats as a way to decompress during midterms. From left: Cleo Rothman, Rebecca Rovins, Yoni Merrin and Avital Rabinovitch Photos courtesy of Hillel Jewish University Center

26 DECEMBER 8, 2017

Photos courtesy of Jewish Family and Community Services

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Community Healthy living

Celebrate!

AgeWell at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh presented Health and Wellness Day on Nov. 29. The event focused on discovering new ways and programs to take personal care and live better while aging. AgeWell at the JCC has received Senior Center Accreditation through the National Council on Aging (NCOA)/National Institute of Senior Centers.

Photos courtesy of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh

Guests at Chabad of Squirrel Hill’s Evening of Celebration enjoy a wine-and-cheese reception, which was followed by a presentation by David Weiss, a successful Hollywood screenwriter.

p From left: Debbie Cohen, Jackie Braslawsce and Adrienne Indianer

p From left: Chani Altein, Etti Martel and Alice Sahel-Azagury

p Participants in the JCC’s Health and Wellness Day found valuable information at (from top to bottom) the health-screening table, the healthpromotion exhibit and the elder-care booth.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

p Gabriella Boyiadzis and her mother, Esther Elishaev, pose with the presenter at the event, Hollywood screenwriter David Weiss.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photos provided by Chabad of Squirrel Hill

DECEMBER 8, 2017 27

saturday, March 3 • 7:30 PM Presenting Sponsor: PNC Bank Co-Chairs: Elyse and Marty Eichner Lauren and Jason Kushner

Thanks to our Sponsors! presenting sponsor: $25,000 PNC Bank

Blazing Saddles: $2,500

Square Café

All Occasions Party Rental big Burrito Restaurant Group Common Plea Catering Mary Pat and Eric Friedlander Gray Phoenix Ina and Larry Gumberg Henne Jewelers Hens and Chicks Carole and Jerry Katz Pa�y and Stan Levine Jeffrey B. Markel and Carol Robinson Mosaic Linens Nugo Nutri�on Pi�sburgh Oral Surgery, P.C. Signature Financial Planning Silk & Stewart Development Group (Jane Hepner and Leonard Silk / Carole Bailey and Andrew Stewart) St. Moritz Cleaning Company The Wilson Group, LLC

Giddy on Up: $5,000

Dude Ranch: $1,800

Wanted Dead or Alive: $15,000 A&L BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover & The Lamfrom Family

Big Saloon: $10,000

Highmark® Blue Cross Blue Shield Leatrice and John Wolf Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Federa�on of Greater Pi�sburgh A Special Gi� from the Marks Family Nancy and Woody Ostrow Hilary S. Tyson and Charles Porter Lori and Jimmy Ru�enberg Suzanne and Brian Schreiber

Stetson Hats: $7,500 BetéAvon Kosher Dining Services Betsy and Marc Brown Clark Hill PLC Elyse and Marty Eichner Full Bowl Catering Giant Eagle KeyBank Lauren and Jason Kushner Lamar Adver�sing Cindy Goodman‐Leib and Sco� Leib Orr's Jewelers Peoples Gas Pi�sburgh City Paper The Donald & Sylvia Robinson Family Founda�on Linda and Ken Simon The Jewish Chronicle Trust‐Franklin Press Co. WYEP / WESA

Meryl and David Ainsman All Covered, IT Services from Konica Minolta B&R Pools and Swim Shop Dan Taylor Interiors Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C. Excep�onal Exteriors and Renova�ons Inc. Stefani Pashman and Jeremy Feinstein Nancy and Dan Garfinkel Gu�man Energy, Inc. Henderson Brothers, Inc. HMS Marke�ng Levin Furniture Barbara and Dan Shapira Stuart Silverman Sterling Paper Company The Stern Family & The Manor Theatre Viglio� Landscape & Construc�on, Inc.

Grab Your Partner: $1,000

Advanced Orthopaedics & Rehabilita�on Ahmie E. Baum CFP®, UBS Financial Services Inc. Allegheny Roofing & Sheet Metal Co., Inc. Alpha Screen Graphics Baker Tilly Deborah and Sam Berkovitz BilkeyKatz Investment Consultants, Inc Brandywine Agency Center for Urologic Care, P.C. Norman & Gail Childs and Family Coldwell Banker Cooper Imaging Anthony and Randi Cost Dean Damick and Marion Damick Dipcra� Fiberglass Panels Di�o Dodi Walker Gross and Daniel Edelstone Julie and Josh Farber FastSigns Fi�h Third Bank First Commonwealth Bank Fort Pi� Capital Group Karen and Jack Friedman Rosalind Chow and Jeffrey Galak Ruth and Alan A. Garfinkel Ellen and Bob Garvin Glimcher Group Elizabeth Goldberg and Michael Weisberg

Susie and Don Gross Harry S. Cohen & Associates, P.C. Hefren‐Tillotson, Inc. Jennifer and Larry Honig Teddi and David Horvitz Jacobson Associates, Inc. Kline, Keppel and Koryak, P.C. The Krasik Families Dana and Jason Kunzman Michael and Susan Kurtz Lieber Hammer Huber & Paul, P.C. Kathleen and Jay Lu�ns Elaine and Todd Miller Newmark Knight Frank Nova Environmental Services, Inc. Ellio� S. Oshry Penn Fixture & Supply Company Pollock Begg Komar Glasser & Vertz LLC Melissa and Peter Rackoff Rothschild Doyno Collabora�ve Sabai Metals Cathy Green Samuels and Michael Samuels Barbara and Mike Schneider Stacey and Sco� Seewald Shady Side Academy Joanne and Ben Simon Rabbis Barbara and Ron Symons The Prop Shop The Rubinoff Company Marc Weber Tobias Karen and S. Rand Werrin Winchester Thurston School Zeke's Coffee Pi�sburgh

For more information about sponsorships, contact Fara Marcus, 412-339-5413 Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh • JCCPGH.org

28 DECEMBER 8, 2017

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