Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 12-14-2018

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December 14, 2018 | 6 Tevet 5779

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Candlelighting 4:36 p.m. | Havdalah 5:40 p.m. | Vol. 61, No. 50 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL New leader for Kollel Jewish Center

Still same name, Pinsker’s welcomes fourth owners

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Chabad distributes more than 1,100 mezuzahs in memory of Tree of Life victims

Rabbi reaches out in effort to engage younger population.

Page 2 LOCAL Iranian ex-pat raises TOL funds

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

A Student’s early-morning action turns into movement.

Page 3 LOCAL Communities on edge Antisemitic flyers found in Squirrel Hill; Toledo ‘copycat’ arrested.

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Café 18, and state liquor import — the wine portion of the business, as Cohen explained — Cohen was intrigued.

Years earlier, Cohen had helped create a kosher restaurant two stores up the street, in what is now Green Pepper, he said. At the time, the restaurant’s owner, who was living in Cleveland, was interested in opening a steak place and needed someone to manage it. While he was in town, Perelman connected the Cleveland man with Cohen, who Perelman knew had an interest in food services. Cohen became the manager, helped convert a site that sold stockings into a restaurant and eight months later considered buying the business.

But Cohen walked away from the offer because “I was young,” he said.

For the next 20 years Cohen sold real estate — “it was a safe consistent thing,” he said — and operated a catering business on the side throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

“It was measured and practical. You don’t have to worry about covering rent, and

ndrew Kotov has lived in his Squirrel Hill home for about 20 years, but will soon be affixing the first mezuzahs to its doorposts, thanks to a ChabadLubavitch of Pittsburgh initiative in memory of the 11 people murdered in the anti-Semitic attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building on Oct. 27.

“We are not very religious, but I think it will be good for the kids to grow up with mezuzahs,” said Kotov, who immigrated to the United States from Russia in 1993.

He plans to affix about 10 mezuzahs throughout his home, with Rabbi Yisroel Altein coming by to assist.

Ko t o v ’s son  Fifth-graders and daughter are from Englewood, currently preparing N.J., sent 100 for their bar and bat hand-decorated mitzvahs, he said, mezuzahs to and he hopes the be affixed to Jewish homes mezuzahs will help in Pittsburgh.

Photo provided by “push them in the Rabbi Yisroel Altein right direction.”

“The mezuzahs are a positive sign,” Kotov said, “especially with the events at Tree of Life.”

On Oct. 28, the day after the Tree of Life murders, Pittsburgh’s Chabad rabbis convened to “see what we should do,” said Altein, spiritual leader of Chabad of

Please see Pinsker’s, page 16

Please see Mezuzahs, page 16

 Dan and Baila Cohen are the fourth set of owners since Pinsker’s was established in 1954.

Photo by Adam Reinherz

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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hree-and-a-half decades after Shlomo Perelman and David Nadoff purchased Pinsker’s from Abraham and Donald Butler, who themselves had acquired the Judaica business from Milton Pinsker, Perelman has passed the enterprise on to Pittsburghers Dan and Baila Cohen.

(Nadoff had already sold his share in the business to Perelman approximately two years after their purchase from the Butlers.)

As is common in this community, the Nov. 1 transaction involved an almost circuitous reunification of past associates.

In 1988, Dan Cohen, who was then leasing computers and software, helped Perelman set up his first computer system.

“So I was in and out of here over the years, and because we are friends I’ve helped him out with different things,” Cohen said while seated inside the store located at 2028 Murray Ave. in Squirrel Hill.

When Perelman informed Cohen on Oct. 23 that he was interested in selling Pinsker’s, along with its associated restaurant business,

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Headlines New Kollel leader strives to continue building bridges — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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hen Rabbi Daniel Schon accepted the position of associate dean at the Kollel Jewish Learning Center last August he had some ideas of what life would be like in the Steel City. Having grown up in Queens, N.Y., and previously lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, Schon, 37, used to pass by Pittsburgh on drives back east. But apart from cursory stops at synagogues or to purchase kosher pizza, Schon basically only knew what he had heard — and that was the story of communal fraternization regardless of denomination or faith.

“I was a little bit skeptical when I heard it, but when you see it in practice it’s very impressive; people really do get along,” he said.

Since the events of Oct. 27, Schon has come to appreciate this community’s closeness.

That morning, while he was attending services, a card was placed at his door. The note read, “We are so sorry to hear about your loss. Hope everything is ok. If there is anything I can help you with please let me know.”

It was signed by his neighbor.

“We were friendly,” said Schon, “but we didn’t have anything to do with each other.”

Later, when he went next door to express thanks, Schon was again surprised.

She was crying, and she told me, “I was so nervous for you.” She didn’t know what synagogue I was in, but she knew that I went to a synagogue and she said, ‘If there is anything I can help you with, to watch the kids,’ and I was like, ‘Wow.’ “To see such emotion and that she wanted to help was really special.”

Schon added that in his short time here he has come to notice that this was not an isolated incident, but rather a communal practice. It’s something he hopes more people outside the city appreciate about Pittsburgh.

“We saw the biggest act of anti-Semitism and hate against Jews in the United States,” he said, pointing to the murder of 11 congregants inside the Tree of Life synagogue building, “but we’ve also seen so many thousands of acts of love and support, empathy and sympathy, and that’s kind of the way I’m processing it.”

Being an engaged member of the community is one aspect of Schon’s responsibilities at the Kollel. As for the other tasks, “it depends who you ask,” he joked.

Among his duties are studying with the center’s scholars several hours a day, learning

“ We want to find ways to get people engaged.”

— RABBI DANIEL SCHON

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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 Gail Childs, Elizabeth F. Collura, Milton Eisner, Malke Steinfeld Frank, Tracy Gross, Richard J. Kitay, Cátia Kossovsky, Andi Perelman, David Rush, Charles Saul

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period since the tragedy, and for what the Police and Fire departments do every day of the year.”

Of importance is that the delivery was preceded by a morning of Torah study, he added. “It is the Kollel’s mission to engage Jews in their Judaism and in the study of Torah.”

But managing that balance between study and action can be a tricky operation. This year, the Kollel ran “Torah and Turf,” a flag football league that met Sunday mornings at Allderdice Field in Squirrel Hill. The games were preceded by a five-to-10 minute Torah thought, delivered by one of the Kollel’s scholars, and while some in the 35-person league have wanted a shorter speech, others desire longer pre-game remarks, he said.

“I got flak on both sides,” said Schon. p Rabbi Daniel Schon Regardless of the gripes, or perhaps

Photo courtesy of Rabbi Daniel Schon as evidenced by the gripes, the program with community members in one-on-one was a success.

“The idea really is, especially with millensettings, managing the organization’s finances nials, people are not into institutionalized and serving as a liaison to the wider population. religion that much, just overall, if you look The work keeps him busy, as do his throughout all religions both nationally and familial responsibilities — he and his wife internationally, and I think as the Kollel we have five children — but he is more than want to find ways to get people engaged,” happy to be here and is proud of his instituhe explained.

“So if you think of sometion’s efforts to date. thing like Torah and Turf where yeah it’s Recently, representatives of the Kollel delivonly a fiveor 10-minute dvar Torah, but ered Thanksgiving dinner to first responders to get people involved and to build bridges at the Zone 4 building on Thursday, Nov. 22. and build connections that’s part of the “It was an opportunity for us to say thank calling as well. you with action and deed,” he previously told “The point is, we are really trying to step the Chronicle. “The Kollel decided to present out of the literal and figurative Kollel and the Police Department and Fire Department reach people on a neutral ground, while on with Thanksgiving dinner out of a deep the other hand not compromising our values sense of gratitude for the bravery, courage so there’s always that balance.” PJC and selflessness that the Police Department showed for the Jewish community and entire Squirrel Hill community both on the day of Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ the Tree of Life shooting and for the entire pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Shay Khatiri reflects on international attention for Tree of Life fundraising — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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rom the couch of his friend’s studio apartment, Shay Khatiri clicked on the Internet and raised more than $1.2 million dollars for the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation. Since Oct. 27, Khatiri, 29, has told the story more than 20 times to news outlets worldwide. It is a simple tale that involves waking up that Saturday morning (hungover), hearing of the anti-Semitic murder of 11 Jews and deciding to create a GoFundMe page through the online for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for myriad causes.

Khatiri never imagined his fundraising efforts would receive such financial support or that his involvement would garner such attention.

“It was just a page that I set up, and it was a good story that the media liked and wanted to cover, and because of that and because I happen to be from Iran — and the tension between Iran and Israel and the Jewish people — because of that, the media wanted to cover it,” he said in a phone interview.

Khatiri is a strategic studies student at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced

p Shay Khatiri set up the GoFundMe page that raised more than $1.2 million dollars for Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation.

Photo courtesy of Shay Khatiri

International Studies in Washington, D.C., and is pursuing a master’s degree. He is approaching finals, and while the media attention has taken him away from school, he has gladly agreed to as many interviews as possible.

“I like telling the story, especially because the more people who find out the more people donate,” he said. “I actually appreciate reminding people about the positive parts of

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our society, that how we can come together and emerge through a tragedy together.”

The latter is a critical piece of the story, which the media has not given enough attention to, he explained.

“I think the biggest lesson is that people care, and people are good and people like each other,” said Khatiri. “The problem now is that you turn on the news and you see how right and left, everybody hates each

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

other and there is a civil war, but the reality is that the normal things, the good things that happen usually don’t make the news.”

If two guys from different ethnicities or backgrounds go out and get a beer “nobody would cover that, because it’s normalcy, but you would cover tension [and] that’s not the real story of America,” he explained. “The real story of America is people are normal and despite their differences they get along perfectly well.”

The misunderstanding exists on a global scale as well, he added.

There is this “ancient connection between Jews and Persians,” and “because of the current state of politics we don’t get the opportunity to interact with each other,” he lamented. “The current government in Iran is obviously an obstacle for the peace and prosperity of Iranians, and also for peace in Israel, and it is a very anti-Semitic government and the Iranian people are not. … I wish to see a day that there is actually a representative government of the Iranian people which would abide by the wish of the Iranian people to have normal relations with Israel.”

Back in Iran, after people heard of Khatiri’s efforts at raising so much money, many reached out to congratulate him. Some even Please see Khatiri, page 17

DECEMBER 14, 2018 3

Headlines Hate literature found throughout city as Toledo suspect seeks to copy Tree of Life attack — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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ix weeks after 11 Jews were murdered in the anti-Semitic attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building, hate literature was disseminated throughout Squirrel Hill and surrounding areas. Pamphlets placed in clear bags with seeds were discovered on Darlington Road and nearby streets last weekend.

“The Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police are aware of and are investigating the dissemination of anti-Semitic pamphlets in Pittsburgh neighborhoods, including Squirrel Hill,” said Chris Togneri, the city’s public information officer, in a Dec. 9 statement.

Apart from scraping still open wounds from the Oct. 27 attack, the distribution of such materials demonstrates an assault on communities-at-large, said Jeffrey Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

“These anti-Semitic and racist fliers targeted both the Jewish and African-American communities. This is a prime example of Please see Hate, page 17

p Numerous anti-Semitic pamphlets in clear bags with seeds were discovered throughout the area over the past weekend. The Pittsburgh Police and the FBI are actively addressing the matter and assessing the items discovered.

Photos courtesy of Brad Orsini

Exciting News: The Jewish Federation of

Greater Pittsburgh’s 2019-2020 Wechsler Fellowship: Building Pittsburgh’s Next Jewish Leaders nominations are NOW OPEN! We are asking the Pittsburgh Jewish community to identify candidates to be considered for this extraordinary opportunity.

Please nominate one or more outstanding individuals from your organization, synagogue, community, or social networks.

Ideal candidates are between the ages of 22 and 45, who are passionate, innovative and inspired to lead our Jewish community into the future!

The Wechsler Fellowship explores the work of our Jewish community organizations, cultivates new leaders, and strengthens the sense of connection among Jewish young professionals from the diverse religious, professional and educational backgrounds that form the fabric of the Pittsburgh Jewish community.

Nominate canidates for the 2019-2020 cohort now through January 7, 2019.

Visit shalompittsburgh.org/wechsler-fellowship-nomination to submit your nomination(s). To learn more about the program or with questions, contact Sara Spanjer at sspanjer@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5237.

4 DECEMBER 14, 2018

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Headlines From a Hungarian birth register to the World Wide Web — HISTORY —

By Eric Lidji | Special to the Chronicle

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n her famous poem “One Art,” Elizabeth Bishop wrote, “So many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster.” I half agree. So many things do seem filled with the intent to be lost, and the thought of all those lost things is disastrous to me.

That’s why, when a piece of history survives despite overwhelming odds, it’s worth celebrating. This document recently came into the possession of the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives through unexpected means. A woman in Butler County named Leanne Heaton found it when a friend of hers acquired some old stock certificates and planned on using them to wallpaper her bathroom. Tucked among the certificates was this document. Leanne recognized its value and escorted it to the archives for preservation.

The document is a transcript copied from the birth register of the Jewish community in Szepes-Váraljai, in a corner of the AustroHungarian empire that has since become part of Slovakia. A centralized Jewish birth register is rare in the United States, where Jewish congregations operate autonomously.

But it was common throughout central Europe, where religious communities were

often distinct legal entities, To be appropriate for our organized by the state. archive, this fascinating and Google Translate revealed beautiful document needed some key biographical infora connection to Western mation in this document: Pennsylvania. A quick search the dates of Hartstein’s birth of the Pittsburgh Jewish and circumcision in October Newspaper Project revealed 1893, the names of his parents that, in fact, it did: a Dr. — Edmond Hartstein and Albert Hartstein had offices Julia Racz — and some other in the Keenan Building identifying details, such as downtown, and a bit of additional research confirmed his legal status. (There is a lot more, but I hesitate to place that he was our man. too much faith in the concluHartstein was a fairly sions of translation software.) prominent foot doctor.

At the bottom is the seal of According to an obituary in the Jewish Criterion in the district rabbinate with a January 1962, he was the statement verifying that the  A transcript of the chiropodist and podiatranscript is identical to the birth certificate of Albert Hartstein, copied from the trist for Frank & Seder information found in the Jewish birth register in Department Store and original register.

Szepes-Váraljai Photo provided by Rauh Jewish later for the Joseph Horne The transcript was History Program & Archives Company. He briefly had prepared in August 1904, a five-minute afternoon just six weeks before Albert Hartstein turned 11. Why his family radio program about feet on WCAE in the requested a copy of this information is late 1920s. A photograph in the Pittsburgh unclear, but anyone who has sought govern- Post-Gazette in 1928 shows him examining a mental records knows that you would only Squirrel Hill woman with “nearly perfect” feet. go through the hassle if you must. The “Pittsburgh, because of its hills, is an unusuHartstein family immigrated to the United ally hard city on the feet,” Hartstein noted. His States as early as 1907, according to U.S. advice for healthy feet included: “Don’t cut Census data. Perhaps they started getting your own callouses” and “Exercise your feet by their papers in order several years earlier. trying to grasp a small marble with your toes.”

According to notices in the local Jewish newspapers, Hartstein was married three times and lost his first two wives to illnesses.

His second wife was Miss Rose Hertz of Homestead. The Homestead connection sent me straightaway to Tammy Hepps’ website data.HomesteadHebrews.com. Hepps has spent years compiling a database of records documenting Jewish residents and businesses in Homestead. It includes 13 references to Albert Hartstein, starting with the HartsteinHertz engagement announcement from the Jewish Criterion in 1924 and concluding in 1954 with a $36 charge for synagogue membership dues, as recorded in a Homestead Hebrew Congregation ledger book.

Beyond their biographical usefulness, all these records create a continuum. It starts in Szepes-Váraljai, and it culminates in Pittsburgh. It starts at a time when copies could only be made by hand, and now it comes to life through online databases. It is a continuum because its function remains consistent at every point along its length.

Each document recorded facets of a life as it was being lived, thus allowing us to reconstruct it today. PJC Eric Lidji is the director of the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Sen. John Heinz History Center. He can be reached at eslidji@heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-454-6406.

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DECEMBER 14, 2018 5

Calendar  FRIDAY, DEC. 14 

Moishe House will hold its Ugly Sweater Shabbat from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Grab your favorite ugly sweater and come to Kabbalat Shabbat for latkes, donuts and dreidels.

Services will be held in the living room at 7 p.m., followed by Shabbat dinner. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information.

 TUESDAY, DEC. 18 This Is Us: 2019 Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Campaign Kickoff will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the August Wilson Center. The program is a community gathering and inspirational program to celebrate the strength and resilience of our Jewish community. If you registered before this event was rescheduled, please confirm that you plan to attend.

Invited are donors who make a minimum commitment of $500, and young adults (age 22-45) who make a minimum commitment of $180 to the Federation’s Community Campaign. There is a charge, which includes dinner and dessert, dietary laws observed, and valet parking.

Visit jfedpgh.org/this-is-us for more information and to register. >> Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Submissions will also be included in print.

Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date as space allows.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon.

THURSDAY, DEC. 27

Roots of Steel, a benefit concert and silent auction for Tree of Life* Or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash and New Light Congregations, beginning with a silent auction at 6 p.m. and the show at 7 p.m. at the Carnegie Music Hall. Visit rootsofsteel.org for more information and to purchase tickets.

 SUNDAY, DEC. 16 Temple Emanuel’s Bereavement Support Group will meet at 9:30 a.m. at 1250 Bower Hill Road. The group, which is open to anyone who is experiencing grief following loss, is led by Jamie Del, MS, NCC, LPC and Naomi Pittle, LCSW, who both have experience in grief counseling. RSVP to templeemanuel@ templeemanuelpgh.org or 412-279-7600 if you plan to attend. The Bereavement Support Group welcomes previously and newly bereaved adults to attend.

Temple Emanuel welcomes Phil Terman for its Bagel Bites & Brunch at 10:30 a.m.

Terman is a Jewish poet and professor at Clarion University. His latest poetry collection is “Our Portion: New and Selected Poems.”

His works, including two of his popular collections, “The Torah Garden” and “Rabbis of the Air,” are filled with Jewish themes.

Most recently, his work “Leaves from Aleppo” was produced onstage at the City of Asylum on the North Shore. The event is free, but RSVPs are requested at templeemanuel@ templeemanuelpgh.org. Call 412-279-7600 for more information.

The Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh will welcome local genealogist and historian Tammy Hepps of HomesteadHebrews.com to the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Heinz History Center. She will present her talk “Top 10 Things I Learned About My Family From My Couch,” which reviews the possibilities of internet-based genealogical research. The presentation, from 10:30 a.m. until noon, will begin with a brief introduction by a member of the JGS leadership team with time at the end for questions and JGS business. Refreshments will be served.

 TUESDAY, DEC. 18 Super Gay: A Deep Dive Into the Not-SoHidden Homoeroticism in Jewish Text from 7 to 9 p.m. at Moishe House. Part Two of the Stuff You Didn’t Learn in Hebrew School series will explore queerness in Jewish text throughout the ages. Join us for an informative and fascinating night of learning facilitated by community member Ren Finkel.

Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information.

Please see Calendar, page 7

Pack your bags for G2’s Global Israel Experience

Quality Time With Your Grandchildren!

Best. Week. Ever. Together!

December 23-- Rodef 30, 2019 Information Session: January 12 - 6pm Shalom G2’s Global Israel Experience isGlobal the Israel culmination ofculmination a year-long G2’s Experience is the of a yearlong program connecting grandparents andfor grandchildren for program connecting grandparents and grandchildren meaningful meaningful experiences around Jewish values and culture. Program experiences around Jewish participants values and culture.

Program participants from the Diaspora and Israel will unite as one global Jewish family to create memories that will last a lifetime. from the Diaspora and Israel will unite as one global Jewish family to Tentative Highlights Include: create memories that will last a lifetime.

• Celebrate Israel and explore Jerusalem’s Old City’s hidden treasures and history including the Migdal David Light Show— where you will see the famous King David Sound and Light Experience which displays the history of the city of Jerusalem on the ancient stones. A highlight of the week includes a meaningful intergenerational ceremony at the Kotel (Western Wall).

Journey Highlights: • Connect with Grandparents and Grandchildren from your • Finding the Lost Tribes: We’ll visit the ancient city of Akko and Partnership2Gether Israelmeetcommunity around with actors dressedand as people from the the specific time of the site’s history. As Grandparents/Grandchildren you will lead world. yourselves through riddles and clues from to explore the city’s history.

• Program culminates withancient a week-long trip to Israel • Beta Yisrael Village—step into the world of Ethiopian Jews.

Through fun and interactivethe workshops (Amharic writing, fire together with participants from around world. building & pita making, mud building, farming, etc.) you will • Your journey launches in discover January and culminates the rich2019 Ethiopian-Israeli culture and heritage. You will meet and interact with Grandparents/Grandchildren from the with the Global Israel Experience in December of 2019.

Ethiopian-Israeli community.

• Bayt Hatefutsot/Museum of the Jewish People—a fun-filled, meaningful, personal, global and multi-generational Jewish heritage journey into the past, where the exploration of one’s Jewish family story, genealogy and traditions culminates in an artistic installation.

To learn more about the info session and program, contact Debbie Swartz at dswartz@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5208.

• Explore your P2G community and make new friends with G2 participants from around the world to feel the power of Jewish peoplehood.

QUESTIONS? Jay Weinstein at jayw@jafi.org or 732-354-5912

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6 DECEMBER 14, 2018

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Calendar Calendar: Continued from page 6 q WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19

LAPPEN EYE CARE Pittsburgh

come to the Moish’ on Christmas Eve for a cozy night in with a movie and Chinese food.

Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information.

Formerly Optical Outlet

q TUESDAY, DEC. 25

Squirrel Hill AARP invites all to come and join in for an afternoon of companionship and fun at 1 p.m. at Congregation Beth Shalom, 5915 Beacon St., at the corner of Shady Avenue. Following the business meeting, entertainment will be provided by Julie Harris, singer/guitarist of Pittsburgh. Julie will entertain with a mixture of show tunes and pop standards. The chapter is requesting all to bring a new, unwrapped toy, which will be donated to patients at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Latkes and punch will be served; there will be several door prizes.

Contact Marcia Kramer, president, at 412-731-3338 for more information. q THURSDAY, DEC. 20 Game Night at Moishe House from 7 to 9 p.m.

Whether your favorite game is Telestrations or Apples to Apples, you can find it at Moishe House. Play one of our games, or introduce us to your own. Spend your Thursday night playing and snacking with your favorite Moho crew. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Mitzvah Day will take place at various times.

Visit http://jfedvolunteer.org/md18 for more information and to register. q TUESDAY, JAN. 8 Congregation Beth Shalom will hold a Lunch and Learn at noon at 535 Smithfield St., and Tuesday, Jan. 15 at noon at Congregation Beth Shalom. Ever wonder why you don’t have to park three blocks away from a Conservative synagogue on Shabbat? Or whether your rabbi can marry a gay couple? The Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards has been reviewing contemporary halachic issues for the Conservative movement for more than 90 years, and has a longstanding tradition of issuing thoughtful, sensitive responsa to the challenges of keeping Jewish law in today’s world. Learn about these teshuvot. There is no charge. Visit tinyurl.com/ LunchLearnJan2019 for more information. q THURSDAY, JAN. 10

Chabad of Squirrel Hill will present SoulStir, an uplifting dance experience for women from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at 1700 MoHo Does Jewish Christmas from 7 to Beechwood Boulevard. There is a $10 charge.

10 p.m. at Moishe House. Got nothing to do Visit chabadpgh.com/dance for more on a random December Monday night? How PJC about a tradition as old as the Torah itself …

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Headlines Pro-Palestinian groups claim victory as New England police pull out of training program in Israel — NATIONAL —

By Penny Schwartz | JTA

B

OSTON — Two New England police departments withdrew from a security seminar in Israel last week following a public backlash from pro-Palestinian activists.

Members of the groups Vermonters for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace are claiming the withdrawals in two liberal redoubts as a significant victory in their efforts to foil police security seminars in Israel conducted by the Anti-Defamation League and others. JVP runs a national campaign, End the Deadly Exchange, claiming the seminar promotes “discriminatory and repressive policing in both countries.”

The Vermont State Police and the Northampton, Massachusetts, Police Department pulled out of the ADL’s New England leadership seminar in Israel titled “Resiliency and Counterterrorism.”

In a statement, Vermont State Police spokesman Adam Silverman said that its director, Col. Matthew Birmingham, had accepted ADL’s invitation to join the seminar

The board

p Israel Police officers in Jerusalem in 2017

Photo courtesy of Israel Police/Wikimedia Commons

because it offered “an opportunity to interact with Israeli and Palestinian law-enforcement agencies, observe the security strategies and systems Israel uses to prevent terror attacks, and discuss the challenges the parties face in the region.”

Later, however, Birmingham said he

Renee has been the President. In that capacity,

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“heard concerns from fellow Vermonters about attending the seminar,” the statement said. “The colonel and Commissioner of Public Safety Thomas D. Anderson weighed the pros and cons of the trip and after discussing the options agreed that it would be in the best interests of the Vermont State

Police for Col. Birmingham to withdraw his participation.”

In an emailed statement, Silverman said, “This decision should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the positions held by the groups that spoke out against the trip.”

The Jewish Communities of Vermont held a meeting with Birmingham in Burlington on Dec. 5. Afterward, the coalition of local Jewish organizations said it was supporting the formation of a “rapid response team” to address actions like this in the future.

In Northampton, Police Chief Jody Kasper told the media, “The mayor and I discussed the matter and thought it was in the best interest of the city if I not attend.”

Kasper, who had been scheduled for the ADL seminar, first learned about it while serving with ADL New England regional director Robert Trestan on the governor’s hate crimes task force, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

After objections were made by the local chapter of JVP, Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz met with people from a range of groups. Narkewicz told the Hampshire Gazette that he canceled the trip in the best interests of the city.

she made a beautiful resting has done fundraising that Adath Jeshurun is financially solvent and has taken precautions to make sure that the grounds of the cemetery are protected. Renee is an exemplary woman who has a keen business sense as well as a kind heart.

The board would like to thank Renee for her years of service and compassion.

8 DECEMBER 14, 2018

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Headlines Benjamin Netanyahu hated George H.W. Bush’s peace plan, but now it’s his policy — NATIONAL —

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

W

ASHINGTON — When a president dies, the tendency is to put aside long-simmering resentments and consider the wholeness of his record.

So it was when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remembered George Herbert Walker Bush, who died earlier this month at 94.

Despite the tense relationship with Israel that was a hallmark of Bush’s single term, the prime minister praised the late president for things that a younger Netanyahu fiercely opposed.

“We in Israel will always remember his commitment to Israel’s security, his decisive victory over Saddam Hussein, his important contribution to the liberation of Soviet Jewry, his support for the rescue of Ethiopian Jewry, as well as his efforts to advance peace in the Middle East in the Madrid Peace Conference,” Netanyahu said at the launch of a recent Cabinet meeting.

In real time Netanyahu, a deputy foreign minister during much of Bush’s 1989-93 term, had a real problem with two of the

Bush agenda items he now praises: how Bush handled the first Gulf War, and the demands he put on Israel in its wake at Madrid.

Netanyahu’s opposition to the Madrid process made him persona non grata at the State Department.

Still, his praise for the process is not so much a matter of polite hypocrisy but a signal of how he has evolved: The principles underpinning Madrid now inform Netanyahu’s approach to peacemaking.

Netanyahu was the most outspoken member of Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s government opposing the request from the Bush administration not to retaliate should Saddam Hussein provoke Israel after Bush pledged to drive Saddam out of Kuwait.

Netanyahu said it was a “certainty” that Israel would retaliate.

After U.S. forces launched their war to oust Saddam and the Iraqi dictator launched missiles at Tel Aviv, Shamir decided to heed Bush; the president later thanked him for his restraint. Netanyahu was vindicated somewhat when Israeli military analysts came to believe that reticence to retaliate during the Gulf War emboldened Hezbollah to strike Israeli targets in subsequent years.

Bush also leveraged the U.S. victory over Saddam into getting Shamir to send a

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

Dec. 14, 1981 — Golan Heights annexed

The Knesset votes 63-21 in favor of surprise legislation to annex the Golan Heights — captured from Syria in 1967 — and apply Israeli law there in place of military administration.

Dec. 15, 1999 — US fund buys Israeli water stake

San Francisco-based venture fund Aqua International Partners buys a 25 percent stake in Israeli bottled water company Mayanot Eden (Eden Springs) for $47.5 million, financing the company’s expansion into the European market.

Dec. 16, 1922 — Ben-Yehuda dies

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, considered the father of modern Hebrew, dies of tuberculosis at age 64 in Jerusalem. His article “A Burning Question” in 1879 called for a spiritual center in the Land of Israel to serve as the territorial anchor for Jewish nationalism. He founded the forerunner of the Academy of Hebrew Language in 1890.

Dec. 17, 1975 — Kissinger meets Iraqi

U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger meets with Iraqi

Foreign Minister Saddun Hammadi in Paris and tells him that although the United States will not negotiate over Israel’s existence, it is willing to see Israel “reduce its size to historical proportions.”

The Madrid talks led to the Oslo process, which launched direct IsraeliPalestinian negotiations.

Netanyahu built much of his subsequent career on saying that Oslo was a mistake because it promised the transfer of critical territory to an entity that Israel could not trust to secure it. It’s an outlook that has helped get Netanyahu elected four times as prime minister.

Instead, in recent years he has favored a multilateral peace that includes all major Arab players in the region; relies on Saudi p President George Bush and Soviet Arabia to bring others into the process; and President Mikhail Gorbachev shake hands builds toward a final status plan through during a summit held before the start of regional cooperation. Key to Netanyahu’s the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference.

Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Sygma via Getty Image approach is that the Palestinians do not have the power to prevent other IsraeliArab talks from advancing. delegation to the Madrid talks. Shamir hated If that sounds familiar, it should: Bush the idea of the talks, so much so that he side- 41 suggested something similar in a lined his actual foreign minister, David Levy, familiar context. who was open to the talks, and instead made “What we envision is a process of direct a star of Netanyahu, who was relentless in his negotiations proceeding along two tracks — criticism of not just the talks but their land- one between Israel and the Arab states, the for-peace premise. other between Israel and the Palestinians,” Bush’s secretary of state, James Baker, was Bush said at the opening of the Madrid peace so frustrated with what he perceived to be parley on Oct. 30, 1991. “This conference Netanyahu’s obstructionism that he banned cannot impose a settlement on the participants or veto agreements.” PJC him from the State Department.

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Dec. 18, 1911 — Kupat Holim Clalit established

A special convention of Jewish agricultural workers in Palestine approves a proposal to create Kupat Holim Clalit (General Sick Fund) to take care of the health care needs of immigrants to the Land of Israel.

The Histadrut labor federation takes over the fund in 1920.

Dec. 19, 1903 — Attempt made on Nordau’s life

Max Nordau, who founded the World Zionist Organization with Theodor Herzl, escapes unharmed when two shots are fired at him at close range during a Chanukah party in Paris. The would-be assassin, 27-year-old Russian student Chaim Zelig Luban, is angry at Nordau’s support for the Uganda Plan.

Dec. 20, 1936 — Toscanini arrives in Palestine

New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conductor Arturo Toscanini, arrives at the airport in Lod to conduct the opening performance of the Palestine Philharmonic six days later before a sold-out crowd of 3,000 people. PJC

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Headlines Jewish centrists are leading the fight to keep Nancy Pelosi in charge — NATIONAL —

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

W

ASHINGTON — Nancy Pelosi’s efforts to reclaim the House speaker’s job got a boost from a New Jersey Democrat, Josh Gottheimer, who is a leader of a bipartisan caucus called the Problem Solvers.

The second-term congressman comes from a tradition of centrism in which Jewish lawmakers and party activists have been prominent, and he is backed by a constellation of well-known Jewish centrists including Nancy Jacobson, Joe Lieberman and Mark Penn.

For the party’s left, however, the idea that Pelosi is making deals with the center is crazy in the wake of an election that they believe was driven by progressive rage at President Donald Trump.

“Dems are choosing to hold the entire 220+ caucus hostage if we don’t accept their GOP-friendly rules that will hamstring healthcare efforts from the get-go,” Rep.elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted on Nov. 23 when news emerged of talks on a deal with Gottheimer. “People sent us here to get things done, not ‘negotiate’ with an admin that jails children and guts people’s healthcare.”

But for the centrists, the election is an opportunity for a necessary course correction for a party that they say has veered too far to the left and for an increasingly polarized country.

“The political parties have become tribes at war, and there seems to be very little ground for the kind of negotiating and problem solving that has characterized our government at its best,” Lieberman, the former senator from Connecticut and co-chairman of No Labels, which is affiliated with the Problem Solvers caucus, said in an interview.

Here are some answers about Pelosi, Gottheimer, her alliance with the centrists and the Jewish component. Gottheimer did not return a request for comment.

Does Pelosi need the centrists?

Democrats won at least 232 of 435 seats in the next House; Pelosi needs a majority of votes on Jan. 3 to become speaker. The numbers fluctuate, but there are about 30-40 Democrats who have suggested at various times that they might not support her in the balloting. That means she needs more than half of them to make sure she wins. Winning over Gottheimer and his eight colleagues is a big boost to Pelosi’s chances.

But not at any cost. She and Gottheimer’s team agreed on reforms in tone, but not so much in substance. For example, Gottheimer last summer said he wanted any speaker to “ensure” that committees should reflect the overall ratio of each party in the House — making sure the minority won’t be shunted aside. Pelosi now “commits to a more fair” ratio, and that the parties “recognize” that Please see Centrist, page 20

Who is Josh Gottheimer?

Gottheimer was a young speechwriter in the Clinton administration who entered the corporate world after the presidency and eventually became a Microsoft executive. In 2016, he ran for Congress in a northern New Jersey district, the 5th, that encompasses a large rural area and suburbs of New York, including Teaneck, with substantial Orthodox Jewish communities. It had long trended Republican.

Gottheimer won and has kept the seat by hewing to the center (and also by a pro-Israel posture that is perhaps closest in the Democratic Party to the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government).

p House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks at her weekly news conference in Washington, D.C. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

SPONSORED CONTENT

MARRIED COUPLES - ESTATE PLANNING TRICKS & TRAPS This is one in a series of articles about Elder Law by Michael H. Marks., Esq. and Linda L. Carroll, Esq. Michael H. Marks is an elder law attorney practicing at Marks Elder Law with offices in Squirrel Hill and Monroeville.

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

Whether you know it or not, you already have an estate plan in place that will affect your spouse and your family! Why? Because your estate plan also consists of how you have titled and named beneficiaries for your assets, in addition to a Will or Power of Attorney or Trust arrangements.

It’s crucial to pay attention to those title and beneficiary provisions as part of your estate planning, in addition to your formal legal documents. Those arrangements have a lot to do with what happens if something happens to you.

Many or even most married couples own everything together jointly in both names - jointly-held bank accounts, real estate and investments - and name each other as beneficiaries on life insurance, IRAs, annuities etc. Those provisions are part of their estate planning.

When couples have those plans in place and one spouse dies, the property automatically belongs to the surviving spouse as “nonprobate assets.” There is no need for the surviving spouse to open an official probate estate or file probate court documents to get

10 DECEMBER 14, 2018

to those assets, and it’s easy for the remaining spouse to continue to use those funds.

There is still paperwork to be done, but less paperwork instead of more. Another benefit is that no Pennsylvania inheritance tax is due on an asset left to a spouse, in any manner; the tax rate is 0%.

with the Executor in charge and responsible to carry out the instructions in the Will – to execute the plan- under the supervision of the probate authorities.

When the first spouse does NOT leave a Will, then the probate estate assets will go to the heirs or “heirs at law” under Pennsylvania’s But when the first spouse to die owns law of inheritance, which may or may not be and leaves behind assets in his or her own what the deceased would have wanted. name and hasn’t designated a beneficiary, Married couples (and single people alike) and probate steps are needed to retrieve or should review how your assets are titled and transfer those “probate assets.” The person to how beneficiaries are named to determine be appointed as Executor or Administrator how the assets will transfer upon the death must go downtown to be officially appointed of the first spouse (or any death). If there is a and open a probate estate for the first spouse solely owned asset, a couple should consider in order to even get access to the value of those whether there is a good reason to keep it assets – to liquidate a bank account, take title that way and, if so, whether there is a Will to an investment, sell real estate, etc.

Thereafter probate requires legal paperwork to be filed in court, lawyers to see and fees to pay, but it’s usually just a paperwork process. Most Executors or Administrators never even see a judge.

Even if the first spouse had a Last Will and Testament, assets held jointly or with a beneficiary named do not pass under the Will. Instead the joint ownership and beneficiary designations determine who gets the property next. Only probate assets left behind without a joint owner or beneficiary pass according to the Will.

ensuring that it is transferred after death as the owner desires. (Note: PA inheritance tax is never due on an an inheritance to a spouse, whether though probate or not. Federal Estate tax right now only applies to estates over $11,180,000, and twice that amount for a married couple.)

These statements are very general, but in practice other complicated laws and rules apply, such as for non-spouses, regarding the details of joint and beneficiary titles and accounts, PA Inheritance Tax, and much more.

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

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When the first spouse does leave a Will, the solely owned assets – the probate estate - will be distributed as the Will requires,

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DECEMBER 14, 2018 11

Opinion The threat from Hezbollah — EDITORIAL —

K

udos are due to the 87 nations that voted to condemn Hamas last week in the United Nations. With 57 votes against the U.S.-drafted resolution and 33 abstentions, proponents were not able to meet the required two-thirds majority for the resolution to pass. But the vote did mark the first time the world body formally addressed the organization that has threatened Israel and exacerbated the suffering of Palestinians.

Now, the world body should look north to the Israel-Lebanon border, where last week Israel revealed the existence of two cross-border attack tunnels built by Hezbollah. Israel reported that it closed the tunnels south of the border — that

is, where the tunnels ended within Israel — and called for the U.N.’s UNIFIL border peacekeeping force in Lebanon to close them within Lebanon, at their northern openings.

In addition to being an obvious threat to Israel’s security, the tunnels violate U.N. Resolution 1701, which sets out the ceasefire terms that ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Among other things, the resolution forbids breach of the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon. On that basis, the United Nations should condemn Hezbollah’s actions. But we’re not holding our breath. Nonetheless there is something about last week’s vote that brings a glimmer of hope that the world body may be ready to accept a new recognition of “reality” in the region.

Shortly after Israel revealed the tunnels’

existence, it was disclosed that Israel had been aware of them for a long time. Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon even said that officials lied when asked about them.

“We did it to mislead the other side,” he told Army Radio. And, according to the Israeli military, Hezbollah was actually misled about how much Israel knew — even though ordinary Israelis may not have been completely surprised by the revelations, as residents in the north had complained for years about digging sounds, mainly at night, under their homes and in their fields.

According to reports, the first tunnel unearthed was significantly larger than the Hamas tunnels on the Israel-Gaza border — about 650 feet long and 80 feet deep. So those potential access points were serious threats

to Israel’s security. For that reason, no one in Israel has questioned the need to incapacitate the tunnels. But there was some skepticism regarding the timing of what was dubbed Operation Northern Shield, and the hype surrounding it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the middle of a coalition crisis and is battling a series of corruption allegations, and some accused him of unveiling the operation as a distraction.

No matter how that political debate plays out, there is no minimizing the very real danger Hezbollah tunneling poses to the Jewish state.

And since Hezbollah’s tunnels plainly violate the clear terms of a U.N. resolution, the U.N. should do something to address that violation.

There may even be at least 87 nations prepared to support that principled position. PJC

When George H.W. Bush was reluctant to wear a yarmulke Guest Columnist Marshall Breger

G

eorge H.W. Bush was a man of uncommon decency. He also was a man of uncommon integrity.

I worked for him for more than 10 years, while he was the vice president and then president. My memories could fill a book (or at least a chapter of one). Being out of politics, I no longer maintain the proverbial “wall of fame” that Washington lawyers have of themselves with famous people. But one of the few photos I have kept was one of Vice President Bush holding my daughter, then 5 months old, lovingly and affectionately.

When I learned of his death last week, I walked over to my mantelpiece to commune with it for some minutes.

George H.W. Bush was both a man of principle and action. I remember a small meeting at his residence called at the request of the Israeli ambassador about the deteriorating situation of the Ethiopian Jews still in Africa.

A Pentagon official said they were quietly taking three to five Jews out every week on a commercial airplane to Brussels and doubted they could substantially increase the number.

The vice president broke in and pointed out that the premise of the meeting was that the Ethiopians’ situation in Somalia was perilous. The Pentagon official agreed.

If so, Bush asked, why can’t we send in some airplanes and airlift them out all at once? He followed up with a request that a plan be given to me to get this done.

Given that vice presidential directive, the Pentagon thought boldly and brought back a plan that it had first said was impossible.

And I will never forget the real emotion in Bush’s voice when he called me from Air Force Two to tell me that the first Ethiopian Jews were coming down the gangplank in a military airport south of Tel Aviv. There was emotion in my voice as well.

12 DECEMBER 14, 2018

p President George Bush poses for photographers following his Oval Office address to the nation in 1991.

Photo by Luke Frazza/AFP/Getty Images

George Bush was a religious man, but he always kept his religion private. Unlike many politicians of today, he did not choose to parade his belief to the world. Accompanying Vice President Bush to the dedication in 1984 of a new building for the National Museum of American Jewish Military History here, I brought him six yarmulkes so he could choose one to wear while affixing the building’s mezuzah. He told me he felt uncomfortable doing so, in that he felt the Jews present would see him wearing the skullcap and believe he was pandering to them. I was embarrassed to tell him that the Jews wanted to be pandered to and would take it as a sign of disrespect if he didn’t.

He was also a compassionate man. Once when traveling on Air Force One he brought up a mutual acquaintance who he thought had been acting strangely and might be deteriorating mentally. He asked me to alert a relative who might be able to intervene and report back to him if his help was needed.

George Bush had a principled sense of fairness as well, even when it went against the feelings of the Jewish community. He once invited me to a private lunch in his office, where he spread out a map of Jerusalem and

asked me to explain each and every Jewish settlement in the city. He saw such settlement as injurious to the peace process, telling me it was as if two parties were negotiating over a quarry and at night one of them entered and removed stones, reducing its value. I tried to explain the attachment of Jews to Jerusalem, but to him it seemed fundamentally unfair to change the status quo while negotiating about it.

For most American Jews, however, his presidency was marked by his intemperate outburst against members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobbying Congress about the U.S. loan guarantees.

AIPAC felt the loans to Israel were necessary to assist the absorption of Soviet Jewish immigrants. Bush supported the guarantees but did not want them used to subsidize building in the West Bank. ThenPrime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and AIPAC fought him on it.

After a day of AIPAC lobbying, Bush pushed back.

“I heard today there was something like 1,000 lobbyists on the Hill working on the other side of the question. We’ve got one lonely little guy down here doing it,” he said.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

The Jewish community erupted, claiming that Bush was suggesting “dual loyalty” and encouraging anti-Semitism. The atmosphere can only be described as rancid. Bush later told me he regretted the outburst, not because of the policy views it expressed but because he so hated the thought that his remarks might engender anti-Semitism.

Some years later, when he was no longer president, I attended a small dinner party at the Israeli ambassador’s residence. The conversation turned to former President Bush, and the American Jews present spoke of how they reviled him. The Israeli military personnel at the dinner stopped them short.

No president, they pointed out, had done more for Israel’s security and its relationship with the U.S. military.

I can speak of much more: of his assistance in getting individual refuseniks out of Russia, of his quiet work in helping Syrian Jewish women leave Syria “to find husbands,” and of his support (through Secretary of State Jim Baker) for the Madrid peace conference, which laid the groundwork for the Oslo accords and the now, on life support, two-state solution.

And this does not even begin to cover the extraordinary diplomacy that helped navigate peacefully the end of the Soviet Union and the grand coalition that successfully led to the liberation of Kuwait from Saddam Hussein. He helped bring about the reunification of Germany. He fostered a “new world order,” one that led to greater American power in the context of win-win scenarios for all our allies.

For these and other reasons there is no doubt that his memory will be for a blessing. PJC Marshall J. Breger is a professor of law at the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America. During the George H.W. Bush administration he served as solicitor of labor, the chief lawyer of the Labor Department. From 1982 to 1984 he served as special assistant to President Ronald Reagan and his liaison to the Jewish community.

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Opinion Why my Israeli college displayed a Chanukah menorah and a Christmas tree Guest Columnist Tova Hartman

L

ast year, at the diverse campuses of Ono Academic College, some of my students expressed concern and even dismay over the Christmas tree we had set up next to the Chanukah menorah. The students were understandably wary of what such Christian symbols have meant to Jews throughout history. The concept of embracing and accepting the other does not, after all, erase a long and painful history of Jewish persecution.

This multicultural holiday setup led to an important conversation about how we see each other.

The lighting of the Chanukah menorah can mean different things to different people.

Some Jews focus more on the military victory that highlights Jewish strength and vitality, while others emphasize God’s miracles in reclaiming the Temple in Jerusalem.

Whichever aspect of Chanukah one focuses on, the directive still revolves around pirsum ha’nes, publicizing the miracle. But what exactly does that mean?

Maimonides also discusses pirsum ha’nes in the Mishnah Torah, and ends the discussion by presenting us with a hypothetical question: When Chanukah coincides with

Shabbat, and there is only enough oil to light either Shabbat or Chanukah candles, which candles should take precedence?

When two mitzvot are in conflict with each other, we commonly favor the mitzvah that we engage in more regularly. This predicament is called tadir v’sheino tadir, tadir kodem, which is roughly translated as “[when presented with] that which is frequent and that which is not frequent, the frequent takes precedence.” In this regard, the halachah, or Jewish law, says lighting Shabbat candles takes precedence over lighting Chanukah candles.

However, Maimonides does not give this typical halachic response to the question, even though it would be the most obvious one to give. Instead, he explains as follows: “The lamp for one’s home [i.e., Shabbat] receives priority, since it generates peace within the home. … Peace is great, for the entire Torah was given to bring about peace within the world, as [Proverbs 3:17] states: ‘Its ways are pleasant ways and all its paths are peace.’”

The act of lighting candles represents a larger Jewish value of bringing peace and harmony into the family home (shalom bayit) and sanctifying God’s name (Kiddush Hashem). Lighting Shabbat candles, a private mitzvah, is rooted heavily in domestic peace and is performed to impact one’s own family, to fill the home with the joy and light of Shabbat.

In contrast, the public mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles is an expression of

Kiddush Hashem. We are directed to place our candles in our windows and at our doorsteps in order to publicize the miracle of the holiday (or the victory of the Maccabees) by radiating our spiritual light outward.

Maimonides urges us to realize that the value of peace in the home is primary. We must first have peace in our own domains and personal relationships before we can hope to bring a meaningful light and true peace to the world at large. Therefore, Shabbat candles take precedence because the act of solidifying peace within the household sets the stage for what we want to convey about ourselves to the outside world.

It’s no secret that the house of the Jewish nation is not yet in order. Among ourselves, we struggle to find a way to accept and include each other, despite our differences, and to figure out how to create room in our home for everyone. To make things even more complicated, we share our home here in Israel with other peoples from various religious and cultural backgrounds, and we struggle mightily to relate to the other. But as we contemplate what pirsum ha’nes means during Chanukah, there are answers within our own tradition that we can look to and choose to live by.

Rabbinic commentaries agree that we are not allowed to show off the light to the outside world as a way to flaunt a supposed achievement of being a “light unto the nations,” an example for others to follow.

Instead, we must treat the light as a reminder

of the work that must still be done within ourselves, our own homes and beyond, and to not get caught up in the pitfalls of triumphalism.

Our Chanukah and Christmas displays served as a crucial reminder that various traditions, and the people who practice them, can occupy the same space without one negating the other. Lighting Chanukah candles next to a Christmas tree is an invitation for dialogue about who we are as individuals and how we relate to each other. It allows us to stand side by side with the other, with both of us present and proud of who we are. It reminds us that this is the work we have to do here at home in Israel and everywhere else we go.

But now that we are the ones in power here in Israel, and we are back in our own home, we must ask ourselves what we can do today for the sake of shalom bayit. After all, it’s not just our home — we are sharing it with others, too.

During the recently concluded Festival of Lights, it’s important that we consider what exactly we’re radiating out into the world.

When our home is fragmented by conflict, derision and marginalization, we are not really observing the laws of Chanukah. We are neither putting our best foot forward, nor are we contributing more light to the world. Like everything else of value, a lasting, fulfilling peace begins at home. PJC Tova Hartman is the dean of humanities at Ono Academic College in Israel.

— LETTERS — Value of local coverage

So many to mourn

I have been a Jewish Chronicle reader for most of my adult life and always appreciated having a local Jewish weekly newspaper. Since the horrific tragedy of Oct. 27 at Tree of Life, I find the reporting and the quality of the articles dealing with this tragedy to be of the highest quality. All of us who have grown up and spent most of our lives in Squirrel Hill know what an amazing area we live in. Your coverage of this nightmare has been sensitive to the 11 victims and their families, and also contained articles filled with hope. Keep up the great work and kudos to your hard working staff.

Edgar Snyder Squirrel Hill

Whom shall I mourn? The thousands of corpses in Bergen Belsen, or the dead of the death trains. Whom shall I mourn? My Father, who died of typhoid. Whom shall I mourn?

Those who died fighting for Israel. My heart is already a cemetery. Whom shall I mourn?

My brother Yaakov, who died for his homeland. Whom shall I mourn? The men, women, and children who are the victims of knives and other methods. Whom shall I mourn? The 11 innocent souls who died while conversing with their Maker. Won’t you please put on the tombstone: I’m tired. I’m afraid to open my eyes lest I drown. Whom shall I mourn?

Judah Samet Oakland

Don’t let the forest hide the trees

The Tree of Life incident brought a public outpouring of support and empathy from the greater Pittsburgh community and elsewhere that was almost overwhelming, and the true essence of that response might have been lost in the sheer numbers.

Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church in McKees Rocks held a funeral service for the 11 Jews who were murdered at Tree of Life. The Sunday morning mass was complete, and the priest told everyone that they could leave, but that he was going to conduct a Panachida, a funeral service for those Jewish victims. The whole congregation stayed for the 25-minute service. No one left. At the end of the service each congregant was given the name of one of the victims, and a prayer sheet to pray for that victim.

If the Tree of Life incident had happened 70 years ago, it would have been front page news, but soon forgotten because most people were not Jewish. Yes, we still have anti-Semitism and the BDS movement. However, we should take note of the fact that the outpouring of empathy was genuine, and included almost everyone.

Lee Feldman Dormont We invite you to submit letters for publication. Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number; addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Letters may not exceed 500 words and may be edited for length and clarity; they cannot be returned. Mail, fax or email letters to: Letters to the editor via email: letters@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Address & Fax: Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, 5915 Beacon St., 5th Flr., Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Fax 412-521-0154

Website address: pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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DECEMBER 14, 2018 13

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Headlines certification establishment who overstep their power and try to control community discussion and the restaurant owners.”

Publicity for the New Year’s Eve show says that it will be held in a Brooklyn venue to be announced. Kosher food will be served.

— WORLD — From JTA reports

Brooklyn eateries cancel lesbian comedian’s show after rabbis threaten to pull kosher certification

Someone bought Frank Sinatra’s yarmulke for almost $10,000

Two Brooklyn kosher eateries cancelled a New Year’s Eve comedy show because performer Leah Forster is a lesbian.

Rabbis from the Vaad HaRabanim of Flatbush, which grants kosher certification, threatened to pull their supervision of the Garden of Eat In and Orchidea if the comedian performed at either venue.

Forster talks about growing up in the Orthodox community as part of her act. She does not talk about her sexuality or personal religious observance, she said in a video posted on Facebook.

Forster said in the post last week that the owners of both venues apologized, and offered to help find her a new place to perform her show. The restaurants said that if kosher certification were yanked they would have to close up shop, the New York Daily News reported.

Forster said she has filed a complaint with New York’s Commission on Human Rights.

Forster’s New Year’s Eve bash was going to be hosted by Adina Miles, known as “Flatbush Girl,” an Orthodox mother and social media star. In the Daily News, she decried “the mafia nature of the kosher

A hand-crocheted yarmulke that once belonged to Frank Sinatra sold at auction for nearly $10,000.

The black kippah, with musical notes and “Frank” decorating its border, was auctioned off by Sotheby’s on Dec. 6 in New York as part its sale of items belonging to the estate of the singer’s late wife, Barbara.

The catalog did not indicate who made the kippah or gave it to Sinatra, although it does note that he was “a lifelong sympathizer with Jewish causes.”

The yarmulke sold for $9,375, shattering its original estimate of $200-$400.

Yigal Bashan, singer and composer of Israeli classics, dies at 68 Yigal Bashan, a beloved singer and composer of many classic Israeli songs, has died at the age of 68.

Bashan starred as part of the Kmo Tzo’anim trio for nearly a decade until 1995, appearing in the Israeli children’s show “Hopa Hey.” The trio is known for losing the 1985 contest to

represent Israel in Eurovision by a single point.

They then wrote a song titled “Anachnu Nisharim Ba’aretz,” or “We’re Staying in Israel,” which proved to be more popular than their entry for Eurovision. His other classics included “Sivan” and “Eretz Hatzabar.”

Bashan released dozens of albums, including several in English, over his more than 40-year career.

He was found dead in his home on Sunday.

His last performance was 10 days before his death, in Herzliya.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin described Bashan as a “singer for grown-ups who was also the undisputed leader of ‘Hopa Hey’ and an integral part of so many childhoods.”

In 2016, Bashan was honored with a Life Achievement Award by ACUM, Israel’s performance-rights organization.

Bashan is survived by his wife of more than 40 years, fashion designer Mika Bashan, and two children.

Holocaust cobblestone memorials stolen from street in Rome A group of 20 small bronze cobblestones in downtown Rome that serve as Holocaust memorials was uprooted and stolen.

Police are regarding the theft of the Stolpersteine, or Stumbling Stones, as “theft aggravated by racial hatred,” according to Italian media. There are no suspects.

Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi condemned the theft, which was discovered on Monday morning, “with force and

profound indignation.”

The stones had been placed in January 2012 to commemorate 20 members of the Di Consiglio family.

The Stolpersteine memorial project was begun in the 1990s by the German artist Gunter Demnig. Brass plates, like cobblestones, are placed in front of the homes of people deported during the Holocaust, bearing the name, year of birth, and fate of the person memorialized.

It is not the first time Stolpersteine memorials were targeted in Rome. In 2010, vandals smeared black paint over a set of the stones that were among the first to have been placed in the city.

Pregnant woman in critical condition and 6 others injured in West Bank terror attack A pregnant woman is in critical condition and six others are injured in a terror attack near the West Bank settlement of Ofra.

Shots were fired from a passing car on Sunday night into a crowd of people waiting at a bus stop at the entrance to Ofra.

Israeli soldiers responded by firing at the vehicle, the Israel Defense Forces said, but the vehicle and its two passengers got away. The IDF is searching the area for the car and its passengers.

Two of the injured were 16-year-old girls, according to reports. Another of the injured reportedly is the pregnant woman’s husband.

The injured were taken to two Jerusalem hospitals.

The attack was captured on security camera video. PJC

A Thank You Message from the Mallinger and Wedner Families:

When we are weary and in need of strength,

We Remember Them.

Our families have truly felt the love and support from the community and the world during this difficult time. We wish to thank everyone for the beautiful and kind gestures, for your thoughts and prayers, for your donations and time, and for the heartfelt messages.

The overwhelming support and kindness has been the key to our healing journey and we appreciate it more than can be expressed.

Lee & Lisa Oleinick PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

DECEMBER 14, 2018 15

Headlines Pinsker’s: Continued from page 1

it kept me in the food business,” he said.

Coupling catering with regular income was “the perfect marriage for 20 years.”

But every few years, he would mention to his wife that he would like to one day open his own place.

“I was looking for the right deal in the right place that I could run very tightly and build from the bottom up, where the overhead was something that wasn’t too high, and that’s like winning the lottery,” he explained.

Cohen isn’t certain that Pinsker’s, with its adjacent restaurant and wine selections, checks all of those boxes, but he is willing to give it a go.

“The timing was right, and it’s a very unique situation; it has these three businesses,” he said.

Truth be told, at first, Cohen only wanted to purchase the restaurant. He had no interest in retail.

“Then when I thought of it … there’s still a big cross section of the community that won’t buy online, they want to buy here, whether its wedding gifts or Chanukah gifts,” he said.

His wife agreed.

“Part of our own experience of living in this community was that having a Judaica store that didn’t carry Judaica was frustrating for people,” said Baila Cohen.

So the couple took on the three-part enterprise, which originated in 1954.

“It was very important to me that someone take it over,” said Perelman. “Even though the internet has impacted all retail, certainly the Pittsburgh Jewish community would be remiss and put at a disadvantage if there was no Judaica store or kosher wine store.”

Perelman, who plans on traveling, spending more time with family and exploring other interests, said he is available to aid the new

p This Nov. 3, 1965, photograph of Murray Avenue from the Allegheny Conference on Community Development collection shows several Jewish businesses on the corridor.

Photo courtesy of the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives

p Some of the current selections available at Pinsker’s.

owners whenever and with whatever they need, whether it is “to pick my brain or help decide which hagaddahs sell the best.”

The former owner said he’ll miss the opportunity to work with customers either in person or on the phone and provide “retail outreach,” but he has appreciated their decades of support and recent well wishes.

Having had a few weeks to reflect on the transition, the Cohens and Perelman were able to give some perspective on the timing of a transaction that occurred just days after 11 Jews were murdered inside the Tree of Life synagogue building.

said Perelman. “I wish the new owners, Danny and Baila, appreciate how significant this business is. It’s really a jewel and has to be respected and cared for, which I’m sure they will.”

The Cohens are eager to uphold that commitment and provide a multi-faceted business to the entire community, they said.

Said Dan Cohen, “We look forward to making it into something that works for everyone and keeping it viable.” PJC

“The air was very different, there was a lot going on, people were showing up for funerals, people were showing up from everywhere, there were reporters, people were showing up all week,” said Dan Cohen.

“We were thrown into a lot of things. It wasn’t just a quiet transition.

“The experience we had after the Tree of Life shooting was just remarkable and provided a tremendous amount of closure.

It was a terrible tragedy, but I was able to see how the community came together, people came in from out of town — the interactions between them was really quite powerful,”

Mezuzahs: Continued from page 1

Squirrel Hill. “Everyone said we should do some sort of mitzvah campaign in memory of the victims.”

The rabbis agreed an appropriate response would be to affix 1,100 mezuzahs on doorposts, 100 for each of the 11 victims.

Mezuzahs, Altein explained, denote “protection of the Jewish people.” Because of the “nature of the event” at Tree of Life, attaching mezuzahs to Jewish homes seemed the right thing to do.

Affixing mezuzahs to Jewish homes was the way that “the Rebbe, [Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson,] responded in Israel to terrorist attacks,” Altein added.

The Chabad rabbis in Pittsburgh connected with Chabad rabbis globally to expand the mezuzah campaign.

“Within no time, 1,100 mezuzahs were reached,” said Altein. “By the end of shiva, Chabad had hit triple the number for mezuzahs. Jews all over the world wanted to participate.”

By the end of the 30-day shloshim period following burial of the 11 victims, almost 5,500 people around the world had joined in the initiative, either by placing a mezuzah 16 DECEMBER 14, 2018

p Carnegie Mellon University student Sam Adidas hangs a mezuzah, delivered

by Chabad at CMU, onto his doorpost.

Photo provided by Rabbi Yisroel Altein

at their door, having a scribe check their current mezuzahs, or “doing another good deed,” according to Chabad.org.

Locally, Chabad rabbis will be continuing the campaign in an effort to affix a total of at least 1,100 mezuzahs in the Greater

Pittsburgh area, Altein added. While he did not have an official count, he estimated that several hundred mezuzahs already had been affixed in Pittsburgh as a result of the campaign.

About eight of those were distributed in

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photos by Adam Reinherz

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

the South Hills, according to Rabbi Mendy Rosenblum, spiritual leader of Chabad of the South Hills.

“For the most part, they went to people who did not already have a mezuzah,” Rosenblum said.

“On one level, a mezuzah is like spiritual security for the house,” Rosenblum explained. “We’re all feeling vulnerable right now, and just as we need to shore up our physical security, we also need to shore up our spiritual security.”

While some people are paying for their own mezuzahs at a cost of $36 each, other people are donating funds to purchase mezuzahs for those for whom the cost is a barrier. A former Pittsburgher who now lives in Florida, for example, paid for 10 mezuzahs for himself, and 70 for other people who live in Pittsburgh, Altein said.

While most of the mezuzah scrolls distributed by Chabad are contained in clear plastic cases with double-sided tape, some locals will be treated to cases with more panache. Altein recently received a donation from fifth-graders at the Moriah School in Englewood, N.J., of 100 colorful, hand-decorated mezuzah cases. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Khatiri: Continued from page 3

threw a party for his parents.

“What I took away from that is how desperate Iranians are to fix the image that has been created for them by the government in Iran, and how they want to send a signal to the West that this government is not representative of ours,” said Khatiri. “We don’t have problems with anybody in the world. Our government has problems with others, and we have a problem with our government.”

Despite the worldwide attention Khatiri has received for raising more than $1.2 million dollars, he has been reluctant to utilize it for personal advancement.

“I have tried not to exploit the situation,” he said. “I set up a page and people started

“ We don’t have problems with anybody in the world.”

— SHAY KHATIRI

donating, and besides, I don’t want to take any pleasure out of 11 people dying and such a terrible tragedy.”

What Khatiri would like people to know is that despite performing poorly in high school in Gorgan, Iran, he was accepted to Arizona

State University, where he excelled, and was ultimately admitted into Johns Hopkins.

“I am very proud of myself for accomplishing that, for bouncing back and coming from a poor academic background to ending up in my dream school,” he said.

Hate: Continued from page 4

how hateful people don’t only hate one group of people,” Finkelstein said on Dec. 9. “The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh stands in solidarity with the African-American community and all other communities who join with us as we continue to fight anti-Semitism, racism, and hate with love.”

“It’s important that the community be incredibly aware of what is going on and if they see these signs, pamphlets or packages, not to touch them, not to pick them up and to contact law enforcement immediately,” said Brad Orsini, Federation’s director of security.

If members of the community see someone placing these items and “can identify them via a picture or a license plate and a vehicle, that would be incredibly helpful,” Orsini added. “However we only want the community to do that if they are in a safe position to do so. We do not want the community confronting anybody, we want them to be as safe as possible and let law enforcement do what they are supposed to do.”

“ I admire what the guy did with the shooting actually.”

— TOLEDO SUSPECT

As the investigation continues, on Dec. 10, the FBI announced the arrest of an individual planning an attack on a Toledo synagogue, reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The suspect was arrested on “one charge of attempting to provide material support to ISIS after law enforcement said he planned to attack a synagogue.”

Per the affidavit, on Oct. 30, just days after the Oct. 27 murders, the suspect wrote on social media, “My opinion is the Jews are evil and they get what’s coming to them. I don’t feel bad at all considering what they’re doing

in Palestine. They’re the same as the Shia in my eyes. All dogs.”

The suspect then told an undercover agent, “I admire what the guy did with the shooting actually,” and “I can see myself carrying out this type of operation inshallah.

They wouldn’t even expect it in my area. …

I’m fantasizing, but I seriously could see myself doing something similar to that.”

The suspect went on to describe how the attack would be carried out.

On Dec. 7, the suspect was arrested with a duffle bag containing two semi-automatic

Khatiri, who visited Pittsburgh last week for several hours to meet with the hosts of “Unorthodox,” a Tablet magazine podcast, would also like to correct a biographical misnomer the international media has made.

Several high profile news outlets “said that I am Muslim, which is not true,” he said. “I am deist. I am not religious. I didn’t mind it.

I don’t care. It was just annoying that they were such irresponsible journalists.”

Finally, for those who insist on repaying Khatiri for his kindness, the graduate student would be willing to accept one thing.

“I appreciate as much prayers as possible because studying will not do it at this point,” he said, his exams looming in the background.

“I need metaphysical help at this point.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

AR-15 type weapons, according to the affidavit.

If convicted, the suspect could face up to 20 years in prison.

Back in Pittsburgh, Togneri said via email that he had no updates to the hate literature investigation.

“This is an ongoing investigation and as such police cannot comment on it,” he said.

Orsini reiterated the need to partner with local authorities in resolving these matters.

“We do not want the community to engage verbally or physically in any fashion,” he said.

“Notify 911 immediately and if you can ID with a photo or license plate this is optimal.”

Added Togneri, “The Department of Public Safety — including Director Wendell Hissrich, Police Chief Scott Schubert and Zone 4 Commander Dan Herrmann — assures the community that we are taking this matter very seriously and will follow every investigative avenue.

“Pittsburgh is and will remain Stronger than Hate.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

North Hills synagogue hosts its first public menorah lighting

Help us Document the Events of the Past Weeks

emple Ohav Shalom in the North Hills hosted what it believes is the congregation’s first-ever public menorah lighting ceremony, welcoming close to 100 attendees at the Dec. 4 event.

According to Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt, the decision to take its Chanukah commemoration public came as a response to the Oct. 27 murderous attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building in Squirrel Hill.

“After Oct. 27, that’s when I made the final decision and asked for board approval,” said Weisblatt. “We need to show the interfaith community and show the public that we can be out there and be proud to be Jewish.”

Weisblatt praised his interfaith partners for their support and attendance, as well as the local Dunkin’ Donuts for providing free treats and McCandless Crossing for being “wonderful hosts.”

The attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building promises to be one of the most consequential moments in the history of Pittsburgh. With the support of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives is actively collecting original documentation of the event and its aftermath. The public is encouraged to submit digital materials — everything from photographs of vigils, to voice messages and texts on the day of the attack, to posts on Facebook and other social media, and to stories from the past week — through a special web portal

T

McCandless Crossing was “incredibly supportive, they built the platform, assembled it, did it all for free. Their level of kindness and support was beyond anything we could have imagined.”

Moving forward, Ohav Shalom plans on using the towering candelabra, which the congregation purchased online, in future years.

“It shows the place of Temple Ohav Shalom in the North Hills and the state of the North Hills,” said the rabbi. “It also shows how we are growing and we are an integral part, and in light of the recent tragedy that the Pittsburgh Jewish community has faced how we are able to be supported by greater Pittsburgh, by our interfaith allies and how strong those ties are.”

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/collections/rauh-jewish-historyprogram-and-archives/responding-to-the-tree-of-life-tragedy To donate physical materials, please contact Eric Lidji at eslidji@heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-454-6406.

— Adam Reinherz PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

DECEMBER 14, 2018 17

Celebrations

Torah

Wedding

A matter of preparation

Mason/Weinberg: The families of Bryan H. Weinberg and Kristin N. Mason are delighted to announce their marriage. The wedding took place on Saturday, Nov. 10 in Byron, Georgia.

Bryan is the son of the late Debbie Weinberg of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and the grandson of Sandra Weinberg of North Miami Beach, Florida, and Morley Weinberg of Pittsburgh.

Bryan’s brother David was best man.

Kristin is the daughter of Sandra and Mark Mason of Pembroke Pines and Watkinsville, Georgia.

Kristin is a teacher in the school system and Bryan works at TSA at Fort LauderdaleHollywood International Airport in Florida.

Bryan and Kristin honeymooned on a Disney Cruise and will be residing in Georgia in the near future.

B’nai Mitzvah Maya Golden, daughter of Rachel and Michael Golden, will become a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 15 at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills. Grandparents are Andrea and the late Robert Seewald of Squirrel Hill and Carol and Allan Golden of Upper St Clair. Maya is the sister of Emily and Sydney Golden. Maya enjoys dance, Emma Kaufmann Camp and spending time with family and friends. For her bat mitzvah project Maya is participating in the Samuel M. Goldston Teen Philanthropy Project, in which she and other teens learn about philanthropy and contribute a portion of their b’nai mitzvah money to a pool of matched funds, which they will allocate among nonprofits.

Drs. Andrea and Sam Schachner are excited to announce that their son, Max Schachner, will become a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 9:30 a.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. The Schachners are proud members of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation. Max is a seventh-grade literary artist at Pittsburgh CAPA. While at CAPA, Max enjoys running cross-country and playing soccer. Grandparents are Drs. Marcia and Stephen Schachner of Squirrel Hill and Judy and Irwin Zimmerman of Squirrel Hill. PJC

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Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum Parshat Vayigash Genesis 44:18-47:27

I

t remains one of the most dramatic scenes in the entire Torah. As the second in command to Pharaoh, Yosef had the power and might of Egypt at his fingertips. He had decided to make Binyamin his servant, and on the surface Yehuda appeared to be powerless to stop him. So ends last week’s Torah portion of Miketz.

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayigash, Yehuda puts his very life on the line for his brother Binyamin. The Torah states,

in prayer? Traditionally, one praises another before asking for any type of favor. So, too, one would think that the proper way to prepare for prayer is by recognizing G-d as the source of all blessings. On a deeper level, G-d is the source of all reality. Certainly, that fact could be brought as a suitable preparation for prayer.

Yet the Alter Rebbe chooses to begin by encouraging one Jew to love another!

It is axiomatic that all individual Jews, regardless of age, background or circumstance, have one and the same Father in Heaven. In human terms, when is a parent happiest? When he or she sees the children treating each other with courtesy, love and respect. The same is also true of our Father

It is axiomatic that all individual Jews, regardless of age, background or circumstance, have one and the same Father in Heaven.

“Then Yehuda approached him (Yosef).”

However, in a deep Chasidic discourse (Sefer HaMamaarim 5629), the Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that the word eilav, “to him,” can also be a reference to G-d. As a result, the sentence can be understood as Yehuda approached G-d in prayer prior to speaking to Yosef. Furthermore, the Rebbe states, Yehuda corresponds to every individual Jew (since all Jews are called in Hebrew yehudim). The implication is both clear and profound: It is the relationship with G-d established through prayer that brings success to all one’s activities.

In his siddur, “Tehilas HaShem,” the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman, suggests a similar type of preparation. He writes, “It is proper to say before prayer: ‘I hereby accept upon myself the positive commandment to love your fellow man as yourself.’”

How can this be considered a proper way to prepare oneself for davening, approaching G-d

in Heaven. Therefore the most proper way to ready oneself for prayer is to demonstrate regard for G-d’s children!

Perhaps this was the nature of Yehuda’s prayer! Yehuda’s petition to G-d was, in essence, expressed in his words to Yosef.

“Now, your servant has assumed responsibility for the boy. … So now please let your servant stay as a slave to my master (Yosef) ... and let the boy go back with his brothers.” It was Yehuda’s self-sacrifice for his fellow that helped to crown his mission with success.

As the Pittsburgh Jewish community continues to heal from the tragic events at Tree of Life, let us also continue to express our love of one’s fellow. In that merit, G-d will surely answer all our prayers with revealed and abundant good. PJC Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum is the Rabbi of Kesser Torah Synagogue. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

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Obituaries MINSKY: Renee Minsky, on November 30, 2018, passed away peacefully after a lengthy illness. Beloved wife of the late Jay Minsky for 66 years. Loving mother of Robert Minsky, Nancy (Gary) Tuckfelt, Gayle (Steve) Moidel and Carol (Howard) Wolff. Beloved grandmother of 8 grandchildren. Renee was the devoted daughter of the late Ceil and Mike Schwartz. She was a caring stay-at-home Mom who proudly nurtured and raised her four children with her beloved Jay. She maintained a meticulous household that exuded warmth and goodness. She was an affectionate and loving grandmother. She enjoyed theater, movies and television, traveling, a good card game, her friends and especially her family. She filled our lives with loved joy, compassion and humor. She was strikingly beautiful and statuesque. Our hearts are heavy with her loss, however we feel Mom is at peace. We love you and will miss you forever. Graveside service and interment were held at Beth Shalom Cemetery.

Memorial contributions are appreciated at The Cultural Trust, 803 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA. 15222. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. family owned and operated. schugar.com

quiet way, Jerry was a very exciting man, private and inquisitive. He loved learning.

He is much loved and will be deeply missed.

Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Homewood Cemetery, Star of David Section. Contributions may be made to the Jewish National Fund, 78 Randall Avenue, Rockville Centre, New York, 11570, or to any organization supporting victims of domestic violence, any animal rescue organization or a charity that supports the prevention of child abuse. schugar.com

NATHAN: Shirley Nathan, on Tuesday, December 4, 2018, of Rockville, Md. Beloved wife of the late Raymond M. Nathan.

Devoted mother of Laura (Gene) Perone, Dr. Glenn (Danielle) and Amy (Paul Levine) Nathan. Cherished grandmother of Justyn (Jen), Taylor, Zachary, Dr. Cody (Shelby) and Zoe Nathan and Emma Levine. Loving great-grandmother of Carly and Natalie Nathan. Along with her dear sister-in-law, Jackie Nathan, Shirley owned and operated The Bridal Connection in Regent Square.

She was also a former president of Women’s American ORT. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Homewood Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. atz. org. schugar.com

STARR: Yvette (Dere) Starr most recently of Mt. Lebanon, formerly FRANK, Yvette of Kingston, Pa., on Wednesday, November 21, 2018.

Beloved wife of the late Phillip Starr; sister of Charles (B arbara) Dere; Cherished mother of Steve (Cathy) Frank, Stuart (Jennifer) Frank, Jordan (Mary Jane) Starr, Meryl (Alan) Ostrow and Jamie (Steve) Burger; adored Grandma to Jason, Hannah, Sam (Sherin) and Harris (Mary Parker) Frank, Dylan Starr, Lori (James) Drew, Haley Ostrow, Amanda and Kyle Burger; great-grandmother to Levi Drew, Reese Adkins and Rachel Frank; many cousins, nieces and nephews. Yvette was first and foremost a lady, at one time a bridal store manager and later the receptionist at “Harper’s Bazaar” magazine in NYC. She was known for her great generosity, warmth, lovable Brooklyn accent, fabulous fashion sense and unrestrained laughter.

She loved people, especially her family and her many lifelong friends. Arrangements entrusted to D’Alessandro Funeral Home and Crematory Ltd. Interment at the Montefiore Cemetery, New York. Contributions can be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014.

PRINCE: Gerald “Jerry” Prince, on Thursday, December 6, 2018. Beloved husband for 54 wonderful years to Myrna Deaktor Prince.

L ov i n g father of Jon H. (Jennifer Poller) Prince of Pittsburgh, Alyssa (Ralph) Posner of Arlington, Va., Bradley Prince of Naples, Fla., and Richard (Karen) Prince of Philadelphia and their two children, Jessica and Adam.

Brother of Gloria Kleiman of Pittsburgh.

Loving grandfather of Jordan and Julius Poller-Prince and Julia and Theodore “Ted” Posner and Jessica and Adam; also survived by three great-grandchildren. Ninety years young and the smartest man you would ever meet, Jerry was a true Renaissance man who adored his grandchildren. He was an owner of McKeesport Candy Company. He was a HAM Radio operator, (w3uwy), a builder of clocks, including one of which there are 50 in the world; 12 work, including his. He was also a collector of steam engines. In his own

WISEMAN: Diamond Nathaniel Wiseman, 26, of Pittsburgh, died Sunday Dec. 9, 2018.

He was born Sept. 17, 1992, in Huntington, West Virginia, the son of Susan Gibeaut of Astoria, Oregon, and Daniel Wiseman of New York City. Diamond worked in construction in Allegheny County. He spent his childhood in Squirrel Hill and Plum, attending schools in both places. He was an artist and an outdoorsman. He had many friends, all whom loved and cared for him. In addition to his parents, Diamond is survived by his brother, Asher Wiseman of Beat Shean, Israel; his stepfather, River Gibeaut, also of Astoria; his stepmother Ruth Wiseman and stepsisters Irit Wiseman and Ilse Wiseman, all of Berkeley, California; his grandparents, Jack and Biruta Kearns of Casper, Wyoming; Sam and Denise Wiseman, also of Casper; and Sheila and Leon Cohen, also of New York City. Graveside services were held at the Agudath Achim Cemetery in Forest Hills in Allegheny County. Contributions can be made to Spenser’s Voice Fund, The Pittsburgh Foundation, Five PPG Place, Suite 250, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. PJC

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

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Anonymous .................................................. Saul Gordon Anonymous ................................................ Abe Kotovsky Anonymous .................................................... Abe Zwang Luisa & Howard Cohen & Family ............Thelma Chizeck Luisa & Howard Cohen & Family ................... Ida C. Wise Luisa & Howard Cohen & Family .................Jack E. Wise S. R. Cohen ........................................ Joseph Braunstein S. R. Cohen ...........................................Donald Schwartz S. R. Cohen ..........................................Howard Schwartz Frank & Barbara DeLuce ..............................Albert Shaer Jeffrey Glasser ........................................ Eleanor Glasser Edward M. Goldston .......................................Izzy Brown Edward M. Goldston ................................... Lepke Brown Edward M. Goldston ............................Anne B. Goldston Larry Kanterman ....................................Philip B. Eatman Dr. Herbert Kramer ................................. Sarah E. Kramer Rushie Leff ............................................ Hyman Mallinger Lilyan Leiner ....................................................Ben Lipsitz Harold D. Lenchner .................................. Betty Lenchner

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Jack Levine ................................................ Max T. Levine William J. Levy ............................................. Joseph Levy Robert Miller...........................................Syliva S. Cramer Rona Mustin ..............................................Ada Hilsenrath Rona Mustin .............................................Dorothy Mustin Rona Mustin ................................................ Henry Mustin Rona Mustin ..............................................Mary R. Sachs Marc Rice ..................................... Rose Schwartz Bodek Gary Rothman .......................................... Molly Rothman Goldie Samuels ..............................................David Miller Herbert Shapiro................................ Ann Deutch Shapiro Paula R. Singer .............................................Anna Ruben Elaine & Leroy Supowitz .......................... Murray S. Love Esther Wachs.............................................Anna L. Saville Boris Weinstein ........................................ Lena Weinstein Harold C. Weiss. ......................................... Marian Weiss Carol Yahr.................................................Matilda Barnett

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday December 16: Celia Anish, Mollie Gilberd, Ida L. Gusky, Israel Herring, Eva Katz, Rose Levine, Lib H. Levy, Stanley Myles Perilman, Milton Henry Platt, Elsie Wintner Rosenberg, M. Alan Slone, Minnie Stein Monday December 17: Florence Burechson, Jacob Coon, Linda Elmaleh, Joseph L. Friedman, Anne B. Goldston, Harry Gordon, Fred Gottesman, Freda Halpert Gross, Irvin Grossman, William M. Kahanowitz, Bessie Levine, Joseph A. Mervis, Bessie Recht, Max Selkovits, Joseph Sigal, Harold Sylvan Soltman Tuesday December 18: Herbert Burechson, Nelson Carl Cotlov, Sylvia S. Cramer, Lena Diznoff, Fanny R. Goldstein, Jerome S. Goldstein, Louis S. Klee, Seymour Kramer, Leah Krauss Lenchner, Simon Linton, Abe Robin, Esther Rothman, Anna Ruben, Edward F. Stein, Estelle Strauss, Eleanor Lee Swartz, Sophie Wein, Rose Weinberger Wednesday December 19: Minerva Aschkenas, Rose Fruhlinger Berger, Joseph M. Cohen, Avrom Dobkin, Miriam L. Gallow, Harry Green, Max Greenberg, Rose Kalser, Harry Kaufman, Benjamin Knina, Louis Levin, Jack I. Mallinger, Esther Marks, Helen Rosenbloom, Louis Silverblatt, Florence Silverman Thursday December 20: Mary Dine, Saul Franklin, Diane Friedman, Eleanor Glasser, Lena Goldstein, Saul M. Gordon, Tillie Green, Rena R. Labbie, Herbert Lenchner, Lillian M. Levick, Samuel Moses, Leonard Rofey, Lilly E. Rosenberg, Zelda Sadowsky, Hyman Schwartz, Marion Segal, Rachel Seidenstein, Kenneth Zapler Friday December 21: Darlene D. Beck, Anna Brodie, Harold E. Caplan, Abraham Cohen, Molly Crea, Jacob Harry Feingold, David S. Finkel, Samuel Goldblatt, Simon Greengard, Phillip Jacobson, Louis C. Klein, Leonard L. Launer, Sidney Linzer, Hyman Mallinger, Marvin L. Olender, Seymour N. Seltman, Belle Skirboll, Dorothy Stein, Lena Steinfeld, Arthur J. Stern, Ralph Morris Swartz, Sam Warmstein, Edith Wolinsky Saturday December 22: Dora S. Birnbaum, Hyman Bleckman, Violetmae Caplan, Sarah Gerson, Anna Lebovitz Glick, Jack Green, Benjamin Hushan, Helen Karnold, Sonia B. LeWinter, Henry Mustin, Carrie W. Nevins, Rose Rosenberg, Irvin Skirboll, Leo B. Stoller, M. D., Yetta Weiss, Jacob Wolk

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Headlines New England: Continued from page 8

“We were not making a statement pro- or anti-Israel, or pro- or anti-ADL, or pro- or anti-Jewish Voice for Peace,” the mayor said.

Rabbi Justin David of Congregation B’nai Israel was among those who met with the mayor as Narkewicz and Kasper considered whether to cancel the police chief ’s participation. Narkewicz believed the trip could have been a worthwhile educational opportunity, David said. While members of his congregation are upset about the decision, David said he takes the mayor at his word — that the choice was made in the best interests of the city.

The rabbi rejects the narrative that all of those who support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel are anti-Semitic and said he has worked with many such activists on social justice causes. He and others from his congregation, one of two in Northampton, were scheduled to meet with the mayor on Monday. David said he hopes to find ways to go forward in a positive way.

Kathy Shapiro, an organizer for Vermonters for Justice in Palestine, explained her group’s opposition to the trip in an exchange with the Jewish Advocate.

“I would like to make one thing very clear — this action had nothing to do with the BDS movement,” she told the Advocate. Both groups openly support the BDS movement.

“I know from many sources — often participants themselves — that these seminars, especially the ones that take participants to Israel, utilize Israel’s vast experience in surveillance, illegal search and indefinite detention, punitive home demolition and targeted assassination against the Palestinian population,” she wrote.

“In Vermont, where there is already a very

Centrist: Continued from page 10

the process of naming members to committees should be flexible. That language gives Pelosi considerable wiggle room to determine the balance of committees.

And while Gottheimer last summer demanded that a majority of all members, present or not, must vote for a speaker, the demand did not survive the process. That gives an out to the Democrats who said they would not vote for Pelosi: Just don’t show up on the floor on Jan. 3.

Are the centrists the future of the party?

They seem to think so, and the evidence they cite is that centrists predominated in the 42 districts that Democrats have won thus far from Republicans. The key to winning these districts, the argument goes, is reassuring Independents and Republicans who are wary of the left, but still turned off by President Trump’s immigration stands and foreign policy, and his expressions of bias toward minorities.

“There’s such a desire for both parties to start working together again, the number of House districts that have flipped from Republican to Democrat, there’s a light 20 DECEMBER 14, 2018

high level of racial profiling and conviction and imprisonment of people of color and other minorities — despite that fact that we’re a very homogeneous state that’s 95 percent Caucasian — we do not need this kind of training.”

Shapiro said neither she nor any of her colleagues spoke directly with Vermont State Police leadership.

In a statement, the ADL’s Trestan, who is in Israel for the seminar, denied claims about the seminar by JVP and others.

England an educational opportunity to study the latest techniques and tools in preventing and responding to terror attacks with the goal they can be better prepared for extremism at home.”

The trip, which left Dec. 2 and ran through Dec. 11, was funded and organized by ADL New England. About 15 participants took part in a program that has brought about 100 New England law enforcement officials to Israel since 2002.

Burgman said that participants meet

“ There is not a scintilla of truth to any of these claims.”

— RABBI BILL HAMILTON

“The assertion that American Jewish institutions are responsible for rising levels of police brutality and racism against people of color in the U.S. because of this program is patently false and neither helpful in dealing with the racial challenges facing this country nor in solving the complex IsraeliPalestinian conflict,” Trestan said.

Shellie Burgman, the ADL’s regional communications spokeswoman, said seminar participants do not meet with the military.

“There is no tactical military style training involved in this program,” Burgman said in a phone conversation. “The purpose of the trip is to provide senior law enforcement from New

with senior officials from both Israeli and Palestinian law enforcement.

Rachel Weber, an organizer with the Western Massachusetts chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, said she attended a meeting with Narkewicz and Kasper of Northampton.

Upon learning about the trip from JVP, Vermonters for Justice in Palestine raised its objections in a letter to the State Police, according to Wafic Faour, a Palestinian American who is a member of the group’s steering committee.

His group worked with the national JVP and formed a local coalition with other organizations, including those representing people of color, migrants and indigenous

shining into the darkness,” Lieberman said.

Money is also a factor. There are big givers to Democrats on the left, including George Soros and Tom Steyer, but it doesn’t pay to alienate the center and its givers.

One of Pelosi’s first public appearances outside Congress post-election was at the annual conference of the Israeli American Council. At the South Florida gathering, she and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the minority leader in the Senate, had a friendly and affectionate chat with Haim Saban, the Israeli-American entertainment mogul and Democratic giver who reviles the party’s left.

Progressives say same old, same old will not keep voters on board in 2020. They want economic reforms, chief among them increased taxes for the wealthy. Republican districts may have flipped, they say, but that wasn’t only, or even primarily, about attracting moderates. They credit drives to get out the vote for bringing out those who had lost hope.

“Democrats in Washington need to learn the lessons from this election, and fast,” Shaunna Thomas, executive director of UltraViolet, told Common Dreams, a progressive news site, explaining why her group was part of an effort to get OcasioCortez on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. “Voters voted for change. Voters voted for bold and progressive leadership,

not politicians beholden to the big banks and Wall Street.”

Can the centrists go too far?

Yes. Mark Penn, a mentor of Gottheimer when they were staffers for President Bill Clinton, is persona non grata among many Democrats, having embraced in recent months some of the more far-out conspiracy theories about his one-time friends, the Clintons, including that they have somehow engineered the federal investigation into Trump and his alleged ties with Russia.

The Intercept, a left-wing news site, late last month depicted Penn as a shadowy villain running No Labels and the Problem Solvers. Penn’s wife, Nancy Jacobson, founded No Labels.

Penn and Jacobson did not return requests for interviews. Lieberman said that Penn is not as central to the movement as the article suggested.

“Nancy is in charge,” he said. “I presume his wife talks to him and he talks to his wife, but I would say Mark is not officially involved in No Labels.”

A red line for Democrats, centrists among them, is when an organization embraces Republicans. In 2014, Joe Manchin, the West Virginia senator who is the marquee moderate Democrat in the Senate, cut off No Labels after it helped oust Mark Udall,

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people with whom they have worked for more than two years in passing legislation on police accountability and fair policing, Faour said in a phone conversation.

“There is not a scintilla of truth to any of these claims” by the seminar’s critics, said Rabbi Bill Hamilton, of Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline, who serves as a chaplain to the Massachusetts State Police. In an email from Israel, where he is participating in the seminar, Hamilton described the accusations as “reckless and false and unsubstantiated.”

In an interview in 2016, after attending his first ADL counterterrorism seminar, Hamilton said it was eye opening and offered participants a behind-the-scenes look at how Israel responds to threats to public safety.

He also commended the trip for forging a professional network for participants to confer with each other over issues of security.

The Boston Police Department, members of which have previously attended the seminar, “reportedly also received pressure to withdraw but did not,” according to the Advocate.

Boston police did not respond to the Advocate’s requests for comment, but WGBH reported that two top-ranking officers planned to attend.

Earlier this year, the City Council in Durham, N.C., voted unanimously to bar its police department from taking part in “military-style training” programs abroad, a measure that focused on Israel.

Former Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez, who spent a week in Israel on an ADL program, told the council that none of the training involved “militarization.” He said the training dealt with “leadership, it was learning about terrorism and then learning about how to interact with people who are involved in mass casualty situations and how to manage mass casualty situations.” PJC

the Democratic senator from Colorado whose policies were moderate and who was Manchin’s friend.

Halie Soifer, the director of the centrist Jewish Democratic Council of America, said Gottheimer, whom her group endorsed, would have lost support had he voted against Pelosi or encouraged others to vote against her.

“If it means threatening not to support Pelosi, that is not where our organization is,” Soifer said.

Why are so many of the centrists Jewish?

In addition to Penn, Gottheimer, Lieberman and Jacobson, a No Labels spinoff called the New Center Project is co-chaired by Bill Galston, of the liberal Brookings Institution, and Bill Kristol, who helms the conservative Weekly Standard magazine. (There are also prominent Jewish Democrats on the House’s progressive wing, including Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Steve Cohen of Tennessee.)

Lieberman said that less polarization is good for the Jews, which is why his wing seems to have so many of them. He said both parties have allowed extremism to fester in recent years. Politicians staking out the extremes, he said, are “leaving big national problems unresolved and encouraging anger and cynicism.” PJC

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Community Evening of Celebration

Chanukah at East Suburban Preschool

Chabad of Squirrel Hill hosted its Evening of Celebration on the second night of Chanukah, honoring Rabbi Yanky and Leah Davidson as Community Lamplighters and featuring Chassidic rapper Nissim Black as the guest speaker.

Jewish East Suburban Preschool celebrated Chanukah with a program, party and raffle on Tuesday, Dec. 4. More than 100 parents, grandparents and friends enjoyed the 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds and pre-K classes performing their Chanukah songs. The children also learned a special song about peace, kindness and love. In solidarity with the tragedy at the Tree of Life synagogue building, the JESP staff wore their Stronger Than Hate shirts.

p From left: Debbie Cohen, Jennifer Friedman and Jaclyn Modovan

p From left: Ajapa Mukherjee, Sue Salata, Linda Jones, Claudia Finkel, Amy Mayer, Nancy Gottlieb, Deniz Muftuoglu and Lisa DeMarchis

Photo courtesy of Jewish East Suburban Preschool

Guitar Club at Hillel Academy t Beginners learn all about their guitars on the first day of Guitar Club at Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh.

Photo by Micki Myers

p The Davidson family: Rabbi Davidson, Yehudis Davidson, Mordechai Davidson, Shmulik Davidson, Leah Davidson, Menucha Davidson and Rivky Davidson

Middle school students unveil art installation A team of eighth-grade students at Harrison Middle School in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District worked on a project to serve as a tribute to the victims of the Tree of Life synagogue building shooting as well as the international Butterfly Project honoring children who were lost in the Holocaust. The students created a large art installation, which was unveiled during Chanukah on Dec. 7. The project was spearheaded by Daniel Shaner in collaboration with fellow teachers Ms. Rogiero, Ms. Hawk and Mr. London.

Photos courtesy of Denise Sedlacek, Baldwin Whitehall School District

p Nissim Black

22 DECEMBER 14, 2018

Photos by Marla Jonas

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Community Annual Vodka Latke event

p From left: Event chairs Morgan Ingber, Marissa Karp, Leah Cullen and Bryon Miller helped to plan the Jewish Federation’s young adult Chanukah party, which raised more than $1,700 for the Fund for the Victims of Terror. The fund supports those affected in the Oct. 27 attack on the three congregations at the Tree of Life synagogue building.

p To kick off the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s annual Vodka Latke event, the organization’s Chanukah party for young adults, Young Adult Programming Associate Carolyn Slayton lighted a menorah made of ice. The Federation’s programming for young adults offers everything from professional networking to family-friendly events and volunteer opportunities.

p From left: Ryan Morris, Elanore Ferrara, Bryon Miller, Adam Mordouch, Scott Gleitman and Jessica Savitz gathered at the Vodka Latke event where young adults ages 22–45 celebrated Chanukah.

Photos by Josh Franzos

Outstanding employees recognized Jewish Association on Aging’s annual PEER Awards luncheon recently honored the JAA staff for their outstanding service to seniors in our community. PEER stands for Pakler Exemplary Employee Recognition, and this marks the seventh year the award ceremony has been held. Debbie Winn-Horvitz, president and CEO, and Mitchell Pakler, immediate past chair and whose family created the awards, presented one of the top honors to Charles Morris Nursing & Rehabilitation Center’s housekeeping staff, named 2018 Department of the Year.

Photo courtesy of Jewish Association on Aging

p Karen Cohen (left) and Samantha Sheinwald posed for a photo under the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s illuminated logo at the 13th Annual Vodka Latke young adult Chanukah party. The party — held Saturday, Dec. 8 — was at HIP at the Flashlight Factory, on the North Side.

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PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

DECEMBER 14, 2018 23

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