Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 2-25-22

February 25, 2022 | 24 Adar I 5782

Candlelighting 5:49 p.m. | Havdalah 6:49 p.m. | Vol. 65, No. 8 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

For Pittsburgh’s suburban congregations, sailing a sea of collaboration ‘lifts all boats’

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Birthright is back

Free trips to Israel for college students resume.

Page 2

$1.50

Shortage of care professionals poses crisis for families of those with disabilities

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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LOCAL

Center of Greater Pittsburgh, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and others.

“I think over the last 20 or 30 years Jewish institutions have realized we may be in competition, but we’re not enemies,” Greenbaum said. “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

The Scott Township congregation most recently partnered with Temple Emanuel in February for a Friday night Shabbat service featuring Ali Michael, co-founder and codirector of the Race Institute Staff. The service took place at Temple Emanuel, was broadcast online by both congregations and was led by Greenbaum and his wife Rabbi Amy Greenbaum of Beth El, Temple Emanuel Rabbi Aaron Meyer and Sierra Fox, a student cantor at Temple Emanuel.

Greenbaum said collaboration fortifies the South Hills Jewish community and strengthens Jewish institutions.

“A strong Temple Emanuel is a strong Beth El, and a strong Beth El is a strong Temple Emanuel,” he said. “It’s a strong Jewish community, which is good for all of us.”

Collaboration makes sense, Meyer said, because the institutions share similar

indy Vayonis is searching for an activity to do with her daughter. It’s winter, so they can’t go apple picking.

Kennywood, Sandcastle and swimming at a community pool are obviously out as well, she said.

If it’s warm enough, Vayonis and her daughter Lexi may take a walk outdoors; otherwise, they head to a grocery store.

“But I can only go to Giant Eagle, Whole Foods and Target so much,” Vayonis said.

Six years ago, Vayonis became Lexi’s fulltime caregiver.

Lexi, 29, has “intellectual deficits and behavioral issues,” her mother said.

Undertaking Lexi’s care was largely due to staffing issues. Each time a new direct support professional tried to work with Lexi, Vayonis received notice that her daughter’s “behavioral issues were too difficult,” and the family was dropped as a client.

Eventually, Vayonis quit her job at UPMC and began operating what she calls “Camp Cindy.”

The daily program of activities lasts from 7 a.m., when Lexi wakes, until 7 p.m., when Lexi goes to sleep.

Since becoming a full-time caregiver, Vayonis said she’s noticed changes in her daughter — she’s become “calmer and her daily living skills advanced.”

The work is gratifying, she added, but also relentless.

“My husband and I often say no one knows what we go through,” Vayonis said.

“No one knows the struggles we have on a daily basis.”

Please see Collaboration, page 14

Please see JRS, page 14

NCJW sharpens focus

A spotlight on gender and racial inequities Page 5

LOCAL Meet Nate Sherer

A 40-year career preserving memories Page 7

 Students from Temple Emanuel of South Hills and Beth El Congregation of the South Hills perform a parody of “Grease” for Purim in 2018.

Photo by Rob Goodman

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

W

hether it’s providing a song leader for Shabbat services, creating a Purim experience for religious school students, partnering for a book club or sharing artists for a musician-in-residence weekend, suburban congregations are finding new and unique ways to partner with other Jewish institutions, as well as their interfaith neighbors.

“Working together just makes sense,” said Rabbi Alex Greenbaum of Beth El Congregation of the South Hills.

If anyone understands the benefits of suburban collaboration, it’s Greenbaum.

Throughout his 20 years at the Conservative synagogue, he has partnered with nearby Reform congregation Temple Emanuel of the South Hills for programs including Torah Weekend, holiday celebrations and various speakers; Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair for the Jewish-Christian Dialogue; the South Hills Interfaith Movement for various celebrations; and, the now-defunct South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh for joint events which included Chabad of the South Hills, the Jewish Community

keep your eye on PittsburghJewishChronicle LOCAL

Dor Hadash grows

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Headlines After a COVID pause, Birthright Israel returns with trips from Pittsburgh — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

B

irthright Israel is back.

The program, which sponsors 10-day free trips to Israel, is resuming this summer after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic.

“We are devoted to running a summer Birthright program,” said Daniel Marcus, executive director and CEO of Hillel Jewish University Center, which coordinates the trips for Pittsburgh university students.

More than 50 students have already signed up for the trip, which leaves May 19, Marcus said, noting that the number is high for this early in the year.

Students, he said, pay a $250 deposit, which they get back upon completing the trip.

Aware that there is a pent-up desire to travel to the Jewish state after such a long hiatus, Marcus said Hillel-JUC will ensure that every Jewish student who wants to go on a Birthright trip will have the opportunity.

Connections that students make on a Birthright trip, Marcus said, become part of their Jewish identity; and Hillel provides education and support before, during and after the trip.

“Equally as important is that there’s excellent follow-up when they return to campus,” Marcus said. “So, the Birthright trip is part of an ongoing relationship with Israel, with Jewish identity and with Hillel JUC.” Jared Stein, as Hillel’s IACT (Inspired, Active, Committed, Transformed) coordinator, organizes Hillel’s Birthright trip for all of the colleges and universities in the Pittsburgh region.

“We have several students that have been

p Hillel JUC’s last Birthright cohort in 2019

trying to go to Israel over the last two years and have applied for every trip [which were canceled because of COVID-19],” Stein said.

“For some of them, it’s their last chance to go with Pitt or CMU. It’s a very big deal to be going to Israel this summer and getting those people who really wanted to go for a long time.”

While all Birthright trips share aspects in common — such as visits to Masada, the Kotel, the Dead Sea, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, for instance — each trip is nonetheless distinct, Stein said.

“What makes our trip unique is that we have a Building Israel Connections Engagement Program grant that allows us to have extra funding,” he said. “So, we have Israelis coming on our trip for all 10 days, and we have two extra activities funded by the grant.”

One of those activities, he said, will be geopolitical in nature; the other will be cultural.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Birthright Israel had merged with Onward Israel, which offers two-month summer internships for students in Israel and

Photo courtesy of Hillel JUC

includes educational seminars and trips around the country.

Stein said students planning to intern through Onward Israel can take advantage of the Birthright Israel trip beforehand.

“We time our trips so there is the least amount of time between the end of Birthright and the beginning of Onward,” he said. “In that way, we can allow students to extend their trips and not have to pay for their plane ticket. It’s the perfect opportunity to see the country, travel for 10 days and go right into internships with companies, research institutions and universities.”

The Birthright trips are funded in part through the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

“One of the reasons Federation invests in these programs is because all the research shows that when you do an experience like this, it’s giving young people a taste of what Israel is, giving them that hunger for more,” said Debbie Swartz, the Federation’s overseas planning coordinator. “If we can get one young person to say, ‘That was

amazing, I need to go back,’ then I think we’ve succeeded.”

Both Stein and Swartz interview students for the Onward Israel program — Stein interviews students in Pittsburgh, Swartz speaks to students from Pittsburgh who attend out-of-town universities.

“I interviewed one young woman and asked her why she was applying to go with the Pittsburgh cohort, because she could have had gone with her university and her Hillel,” Swartz recalled. “She said, ‘It’s because I trust Federation.’ I thought that was a great testament to the work we do here in the community.”

Marcus said Birthright and Onward Israel should be viewed in combination.

“Birthright is among the most transformative Jewish experiences for Jewish students,” he said. “Onward Israel deepens and widens and extends the students’ connection and experiences to Israel and their Jewish identity.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicleorg.

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Headlines

Great meals.

Smiling faces.

Membership is growing at Dor Hadash, bucking national trend — LOCAL —

Mollie’s Meals brings quality kosher meals right to your door. Even on a frigid winter’s day, you can breathe easier knowing your meals are on their way.

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

T

he past two decades have brought a drop in membership at brickand-mortar houses of worship on a national level, according to a 2021 Gallup poll.

Pittsburgh’s Congregation Dor Hadash, however, is seeing growth.

The Reconstructionist congregation — one of three congregations attacked in the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27, 2018 — has ridden a wave of new members for more than two years, according to Janice Gordon, its membership chair.

The congregation only recently began keeping membership records, Gordon said, so looking for trends is a bit difficult. What is clear, though, is that the congregation is at a high-water mark, with more than 165 households and 260 adults calling Dor Hadash their spiritual home.

Membership began to increase after the Oct. 27 shooting. Dor Hadash member Jerry Rabinowitz was murdered in the attack, and member Dan Leger was seriously wounded.

“We had an unusually high number of people joining the congregation for the first time, and we had several people who had not renewed their membership in previous years who rejoined the congregation,” Gordon said.

While it might make sense that people joined the congregation as a show of solidarity, what happened afterward is more puzzling.

The last two years, Gordon said, have shown an even greater number of people becoming members —despite the pandemic forcing the synagogue, like others in the city, to shutter its doors and stop offering in-person events.

“I thought, ‘Who’s going to want to join the congregation during a pandemic?’ As it turned out, I was completely wrong,” Gordon said. “We had 15 new households join during each of the years of the pandemic — 22 adult members the first year and 19 the second year.”

The new members include not only single adults and couples but also several families with young children, which has added to the congregation’s religious school rolls.

“We have a thriving and innovative Zoom educational program,” Gordon said.

New members have been anxious to join congregation life, Gordon said, noting that volunteerism is now at its highest level.

“It’s provoked all sorts of connections and conversations and exciting ideas,” Gordon said, acknowledging a synergy between activities at the congregation and new members joining.

That synergy seems to have provided a pipeline to one of the most desired

p Congregation Dor Hadash bimah

File photo

Participants receive appetizing, nutritious meals carefully prepared in our own kosher kitchen.

demographics in congregational life: the young adult. Sixteen of the newcomers are between the ages of 23 and 39.

Those members, Gordon said, are creating programming that is attracting other young people.

“They’ve sparked a lot of creativity and enthusiasm and new life,” Gordon said.

After chatting with each new member, Gordan said she has concluded there doesn’t seem to be just one reason for the influx of young people at the congregation.

“Some of them know people who go to Dor Hadash, some of them move to town for a job or graduate school and simply look up congregations in town, go to our website and decide it best fits their needs,” she said.

“Others come here for a job, and they might have a Jewish coworker and discuss their wish to join a congregation. The coworker says, ‘I think Dor Hadash is your kind of place,’ even though from what I’ve been told, their coworker isn’t even a member.”

Others, she noted, are specifically looking for a Reconstructionist congregation or have heard about Dor Hadash’s religious school.

New members are not the only thing generating enthusiasm at the congregation, which is housed at Rodef Shalom Congregation: The lay-led congregation is seeking a “spiritual guidance leader,” according to Bruce Herschlag, Dor Hadash’s president, Herschlag said the person hired “will support our ritual practice while allowing and honoring our lay-led structure.”

In the meantime, he said, the congregation is excited about its upcoming bat mitzvah celebration on March 20, honoring the centennial of the first bat mitzvah celebrated publicly in the United States, that of Judith Kaplan, the daughter of Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, founder of the Reconstructionist movement.

And while Herschlag is happy about the positive trends at Dor Hadash, he might be a bit too superstitious to talk about the last few years of growth.

“I don’t want to jinx it,” he said. “We are happy about it and welcome all people who are interested in a lay-led organization based on Reconstructionist principles and social action.” PJC

We are grateful for our friendly volunteers who bring meals, smiles, social interaction, and support.

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

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Headlines High-tech conference to ‘bridge gap’ between CMU and Israel — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

S

tudents at Carnegie Mellon University will get a glimpse into the inner workings of Israel’s Silicon Valley thanks to a four-day high-tech conference planned this month at the Pittsburgh university.

Tartans4Israel, an Israeli cultural and professional organization at CMU, is hosting the hybrid business conference from Feb. 24 - 27, with co-sponsorship from Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh, CMU’s Tepper School of Business and Jewish National Fund.

Jordan Loev, a Houston-bred CMU senior who helped organize the event, said its inspiration was a similar event last year, though the 2022 version varies greatly in scope.

“This year, we wanted to expand it,” Loev told the Chronicle. “The plan was to make it a much larger conference — I wanted to bridge the gap between Carnegie Mellon and Israel.”

Israeli CEOs and business leaders — from Amiti Ventures to Bold Digital Architects to Livv.ai —are scheduled to share their experiences within high-tech industries ranging from “cleantech” (environmentally friendly

 CMU students pose with HIllel JUC staff.

technologies) to “medtech” (medical technologies). And Pittsburgh-area business leaders will talk about the differences Israeli innovation has made to their businesses and industries, Loev said, In addition to Hillel JUC and JNF, Tartans4Israel is partnering with on-campus business organizations, such as Scottie Ventures, the Tepper Real Estate Club, Blockchain Club and the Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Association.

Photo courtesy of Hillel JUC

Loev hopes that, by attending, CMU students can learn about different industries, gain tangible business skills, seize the opportunity to network with entrepreneurs and develop an understanding of how Israel plays a powerful role in these industries.

“We have almost 30 speakers — it’s been a lot of work,” Loev said. “But we’ve been planning this since the fall.”

For the conference’s “make-a-thon,” Tartans4Israel is partnering with TOM

Global (Tikkun Olam Makers), a global movement of communities that creates and disseminates affordable solutions to neglected challenges of people living with disabilities, the elderly and those in need.

Through that partnership, students will be challenged to create a prototype and business plan with a “real-world impact.” Students also will have the opportunity to submit their projects to the Abraham Accords Innovation Challenge, where they have the chance to win $3,000 and showcase their project at an expo in Dubai.

Dan Marcus, who heads Hillel JUC in Oakland, said the conference is a refreshing and pro-Israel moment for local academia.

“This is a great example of CMU’s Hillel being an integral part of CMU’s wider community,” Marcus told the Chronicle.

“We’ll be providing an opportunity to engage with Israel in a way that’s meaningful and relevant to CMU students, showing the breadth of Israel’s technological engineering, bio-tech, expertise, and excellence. It’s a great opportunity to educate the Jewish and non-Jewish community at CMU.” For more information, visit hilleljuc.org/ high-tech/. PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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FEBRUARY 25, 2022

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Headlines NCJW Pittsburgh increases its focus on gender and racial equity — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

S

ince its inception more than a century ago, the National Council of Jewish Women’s Pittsburgh section has worked to improve the lives of women, children and families.

Whether by creating the city’s first free kindergarten, launching the Center for Women with the Jewish Women’s Foundation or partnering with 30 social service agencies, schools and community organizations to provide children with new clothes through the Back 2 School Store, the organization has aimed to better the community.

NCJW Pittsburgh continued that tradition by partnering with Pittsburgh Allderdice High School’s Black Student Union for a Feb. 18 presentation titled “Why Racism is Systemic: Black Health and its History.”

The program not only honored Black History Month but also enabled young student leaders to explain the policies and practices that have created race-based disparities, according to Kate Rothstein, NCJW Pittsburgh’s programming and communications manager.

NCJW Pittsburgh’s interest in systemic racism was largely fueled by the efforts of Allderdice’s Black Student Union, which

 Hundreds join a demonstration organized by Pittsburgh Allderdice students on June 11, 2020.

delivered four similar talks to school faculty last year following the George Floyd protests, according to Rothstein.

The student-led discussions were well-received, she said, and because NCJW believes it’s important to “shine a lens on gender and racial equity, we thought this is a good presentation to provide to our constituents.”

NCJW Pittsburgh is happy to provide a platform for teen leaders to “share their lived

experience,” she added.

The Feb. 18 program generated a lot of interest, said Lydia Blank, marketing and communications consultant for NCJW Pittsburgh. As of Feb. 16, more than 65 people had registered to attend. That response, Blank said, points to members’ desire to uphold the organization’s more than century-old commitment to “standing up and speaking out on behalf of women, children and families.”

Photo by Adam Reinherz

Founded in 1894, NCJW Pittsburgh has advanced numerous education, public health and political reforms. Its history — which includes working with the Allegheny County Council on Civil Rights, a local coalition of nearly 50 human rights organizations — is helping NCJW Pittsburgh plan for the future, Blank explained.

Please see NCJW, page 15

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Congregation Dor Hadash along with cosponsors Reconstructing Judaism, the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh, and Congregation Rodef Shalom, invite you to join us to commemorate this landmark in Jewish history.

The celebration takes place on Sunday, March 20, from noon-4PM, with a bat mitzvah brunch, workshops, and a keynote address by Rabbi Dr. Deborah Waxman. A chance to learn, to share ideas and experiences, and to schmooze!

This will be a hybrid event. Check out the program and ways to participate here: www.dorhadash.net/bmc/100 For questions and suggestions, and to share your own bat mitzvah story and pictures, email us at batmitzvah100@dorhadash.net

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Calendar Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Submissions also will be included in print.

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

The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon. q FRIDAY, FEB. 25; SATURDAY, FEB. 26

Join Temple Emanuel of South Hills for a musician-in-residence weekend with Jewish music innovators Elana Jagoda and Saul Kaye during Friday Shabbat services and for a special Havdalah and concert. Both events start at 7 p.m. Registration required for the Saturday night concert. templeemanuelpgh. org/event/jagoda. q FRIDAY, FEB. 25-MARCH 5

The Zionist Organization of America: Pittsburgh is accepting applications for its Israel Scholarship Program. Jewish teens participating in qualified programs, who will be a junior or senior in high school in September 2022, are eligible to apply. Three $1,000 scholarships will be awarded. Applicants will be judged on their involvement in Jewish organizations, volunteerism and on an essay about Zionism and Israel. Applications will be accepted through March 5. For information and applications, contact ZOA Executive Director Stuart Pavilack at stuart.pavilack@zoa.org or 304-639-1758. q SATURDAY, FEB. 26

Join Moishe House and celebrate Havdalah — the last event in February. 3 p.m. RSVP: bit.ly/ moho-022622. q SUNDAY, FEB. 27

Classrooms Without Borders and The Ghetto Fighters’ House invite you to History,

Archeology and Memory: The 80th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Death Camps Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka.

2 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/ history-archeology-memory-80th-anniversaryestablishment-death-camps-belzecsobibor-treblinka. q SUNDAYS, FEB. 27, MAR. 6, 13; THURS-

DAY, MAR. 10

Join Beth El Congregation of the South Hills for its Winter Speaker Series. For a complete list of speakers and times, visit bethelcong.org/events. q SUNDAYS, FEB. 27-APR. 3

Join a lay-led Online Parashah Study Group to discuss the week’s Torah portion. No Hebrew knowledge is needed. The goal is to build community while deepening understanding of the text. 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org.

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FEBRUARY 25, 2022

Sign up now for Melton Core 2, Ethics and Crossroads of Jewish Living. Discover the central ideas and texts that inform our daily, weekly and annual rituals, as well as life cycle observances and essential Jewish theological concepts and ideas as they unfold in the Bible, the Talmud and other sacred texts. $300.

9:30 a.m. foundation.jewishpgh.org/melton-2. q

WEDNESDAYS, MARCH 2-MARCH 30

Bring the parshah alive and make it personally relevant and meaningful. Study the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman. 12:15 p.m. bethshalompgh. org/life-text.

Join Temple Sinai to study the weekly Torah portion in its hybrid class available on Zoom.

Open to everyone. Noon. templesinaipgh.org/ event/parashah/weekly-torah-portion-classvia-zoom11.html.

q MONDAY, FEB. 28

q WEDNESDAYS, MARCH 2-APRIL 13

Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh for Success in the Workplace: Engaging People of All Abilities, an event in celebration of Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance & Inclusion Month and Jewish Disability Advocacy Day. Inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace is not only good for the community — it’s also good for business. Join the conversation exploring the benefits of a diverse workforce. 5:30 p.m. jewishpgh.org/event/success-in-the-workplaceengaging-people-of-all-abilities.

The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and the Jewish Community Foundation present the 8-part online course Answering Holocaust Questions. In the course, Rabbi Danny Schiff will examine the questions asked of the rabbis about the darkest times and their responses. How did the rabbis advise people to conduct themselves in the midst of those years of ultimate horror? How did they provide guidance when all normalcy had been lost? And what can their insights teach us about who we are as Jews in 2022? 9:30 a.m. $75. foundation.jewishpgh.org/answeringholocaust-questions.

q MONDAYS, FEB. 28-APRIL 11

Join Congregation Beth Shalom for a weekly Talmud study. 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org.

Join the Chronicle Book Club: “Plunder”

he Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club’s Feb. 27 meeting, when we will be discussing “Plunder” by Menachem Kaiser. From harvard. c om : “Me na che m Kaiser’s brilliantly told story, woven from improbable events and profound revelations, is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather’s former battle to reclaim the family’s apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as ‘The Killer.’ A surprise discovery — that his grandfather’s cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex — leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder.” The author will be joining us for part of the meeting.

q TUESDAYS, MARCH 1-MAY 24

Your Hosts

Toby Tabachnick, editor of the Chronicle David Rullo, Chronicle staff writer

How It Works

We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, Feb. 27, at noon to discuss the book. As you read it, we invite you to share comments and join discussions in our Facebook group, Chronicle Connects: Jewish PGH. We invite you to join now if you are not already a member of the group.

What To Do

Buy: “Plunder.” It is available at Barnes & Noble at the Waterfront, Settler’s Ridge and Monroeville Mall, at Amazon.com and from other online retailers.

Email: Contact us at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org, and write “Chronicle Book Club” in the subject line. We will send you a Zoom link for the meeting.

q WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2

Join Jewish National Fund-USA and small communities from across the country virtually for Small Community Virtual Book Talk with Scott Shay, a leading businessperson, thought leader and author. Learn about his case study of anti-Zionist conspiracy theories championed on college campuses by both the far left and far right in his book, “Conspiracy U.” 7 p.m.

Join Classrooms Without Borders and Ted Comet for Healing, Hope and Resilience Through Art: Holocaust Tapestries Interactive Tour — Demonstration of A Unique Teaching Tool. Ted Comet will discuss five tapestries woven by his late wife, Holocaust survivor, psychotherapist and artist Shoshana Comet. 4 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/holocausttapestries-healing-hope-resiliance-ted-comet.

Join the Jewish Future Pledge for a webinar on taxes and philanthropy with financial advisers Mark Halpern and Ken Fink. They will provide free guidance on how to minimize taxes, while maximizing tzedakah dollars. 8 p.m. jewishfuturepledge.org. q MONDAY, MARCH 7

The Yeshiva Girls School is putting on its biannual production. This year, the school will tell the story of Bustenai, the last descendant of King David’s dynasty. Learn the story of

his survival and how he saved the Jews from devastation. $18. 7 p.m. 6401 Forbes Ave., 15217. tinyurl.com/yeshivaproduction2022. q WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9

Classrooms Without Borders, in partnership with Liberation75, presents Larry Langer as part of Confronting the Complexity of Holocaust Scholarship: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Holocaust Studies. Langer is a scholar of the Holocaust in the field of literature and testimony and will discuss his research and most recent book, “The Afterdeath of the Holocaust.” classroomswithoutborders.org/confronting_ the_complexity_of_holocaust_scholarship. q THURSDAY, MARCH 10

Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh for the free event Universal Early Childhood Education: What Could This Mean for Our Jewish Community? 7 p.m. jewishpgh.org/event/universal-early-childhoodeducation-what-could-this-mean-for-ourjewish-community-4. q SUNDAY, MARCH 13

Don your best costume and join Beth El Congregation of the South Hills, South Hills JCC, PJ Library and Temple Emanuel of South Hills for Purim Palooza 2022. Enjoy carnival games, hamantashen-making, a photo booth, magicians, crafts, prizes and more. Two sessions, 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Space is limited for this free event. Advanced registration is required. jccpgh.formstack.com/forms/ southhillspurimpalooza q TUESDAYS, MARCH 15, 22, 29;

APRIL 12

Temple Sinai presents Cooking Like an Ashkenazi Grandmother. This free, online adult education class is perfect for people who are new to Jewish cooking, people looking for new tips or techniques and those who are interested in a new recipe. 6:30 p.m. templesinaipgh.org/event/cooking-likeashkenazi-grandmother.html. q SUNDAY, MARCH 20

After a two-year hiatus, Hillel JUC Campus Superstar is back. The show will be at Stage AE in person and livestreamed. The solo singing competition features the region’s most talented college students. The audience votes to determine who will win the $5,000 Ellen Weiss Kander Grand Prize. 5:30 p.m. interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink. aspx?name=hilleljuc&id=48. q THURSDAYS, APRIL 7-JUNE 30

The Alan Papernick Educational Institute Endowment Fund presents Continuing Legal Education, a six-part CLE series taught by Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff. Earn up to 12 CLE credits. Each session is a standalone unit; you can take one class or all six.

8:30 a.m. With CLE credit: $30/session or $150 all sessions; without CLE credit: $25/session or $125 all sessions. For a complete list of dates and topics, visit foundation.jewishpgh.org/ continuing-legal-education. PJC

See you Sunday! PJC — Toby Tabachnick

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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Headlines Churchill’s Nate Sherer looks back on life with a lens — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

N

ate Sherer has seen a lot of Pittsburgh Jewish life during the past 40 years, much of it through a camera.

Decades have passed since the Churchill resident founded Sherer Video Production, and though Sherer, 83, no longer peers through a lens or operates heavy equipment, he remains ever committed to helping people preserve their memories.

Sherer started his eponymous video production company in 1982 after losing a previous business. Before going into video, he owned Slack Shack, a menswear store with several locations throughout Pittsburgh. When that business went under — and with two children to support — Sherer went with a hunch.

“I thought video production was the future,” he told the Chronicle.

He bought a movie rental store, a couple of cameras and an editing device. Now, 3,000 events later, Sherer is pretty sure his hunch was right.

Since opening Sherer Video, he’s worked with a myriad of clients in 24 states.

The octogenarian is diplomatic enough to say he’s enjoyed all of his jobs but mentioned a few that were especially memorable.

There was the time he spent three days with Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti during the late singer’s visit to Pittsburgh.

Sherer was also on the scene in 2001 when El Al landed a plane at Pittsburgh International Airport to transport 200 Pittsburghers to Israel for a Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh mission.

“We went, and it was so moving,” Sherer said.

There was also the day when 17 Soviet Jewish couples, who had immigrated to Pittsburgh, renewed their vows at a ceremony complete with a chuppah, ketubah and all the trappings of a traditional Jewish wedding.

Sherer, who was bar mitzvahed at Congregation Beth Shalom, said he’s particularly drawn to a particular style of Jewish event, such as Lubavitch weddings, where there’s singing, dancing and scores of rituals.

“They’re just a terrific experience from beginning to end, all the customs,” he said.

Even so, Sherer said he enjoys working with clients of all faiths and backgrounds.

“I see people at their best, and there’s no

GET THE

 Nate Sherer sits at his desk.

Photo courtesy of Nate Sherer

“I see people at their best, and there’s no difference in happiness.”

— NATE SHERER

difference in happiness,” he said.

Since the pandemic put many weddings and ceremonies on hiatus, Sherer transitioned to new projects. He’s worked with several corporate clients on commercial videos, livestreaming and providing aerial footage, and said he’s eager to see where the work takes him.

He’s proud of his company’s ability to help patrons create digital legacies. Through a project called MyStory, Sherer and his staff interview a client, their friends and family, and package the content with photos and home videos.

He said he’s also happy to digitize old

materials and continue taking on corporate assignments.

Pittsburgh’s photography and video landscape changed 40 years ago, and it’s changing again now, Sherer said, in part due to social media and the use of cellphones to capture memories. But Sherer said he has no plans of retiring. He still loves partnering with clients and helping people see themselves during their happiest times.

While the field is changing with the development of technology, and the pandemic presents new challenges, certain things remain the same, Sherer explained.

“Even when I started, I always had another cameraman with me,” he said. “You can always tell someone what happened with one camera, but you can tell them how they felt with two.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

news. THEN GET THE FULL STORY. ❀ In the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

For home delivery, call 410.902.2300, ext. 1.

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FEBRUARY 25, 2022

7

Headlines When Jewish institutions hang a ‘For Sale’ sign — NATIONAL —

By Rob Eshman | Forward

W

hen American Jewish University announced earlier this month that it planned to sell its campus, there were, as you might imagine, more questions than answers.

How can a major Jewish institution put one of its greatest assets on the block overnight? Did the families who gave multimillion dollar gifts to expand and sustain the campus know the sale was in the works?

Will the nonprofit university’s board sell to the highest bidder, regardless of how they plan to use the property? And what will become of a landmark that, while overseen by a single institution, has had such a major impact on the broader Jewish community?

That institution, founded as the University of Judaism in 1947, moved to the site in 1977. As it grew to include undergraduate, graduate, rabbinical and adult learning programs, the campus added a 120,000volume library, dormitories, auditorium, sanctuary and sculpture garden.

Its 22 acres sits in L.A.’s pricey Bel Air neighborhood. Eastdil Secured, the commercial brokerage handling the sale, has Please see AJU, page 16

p American Jewish University, Bel Air, California

Photo by Cbl62 at English Wikipedia, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

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Headlines An arsonist allegedly attacked 4 Jewish institutions in 2019.

The FBI was investigating him.

— NATIONAL —

By Asaf Shalev | JTA

A

series of arson attacks on Jewish institutions in Massachusetts in 2019 was likely perpetrated by a man who once wrote, “We must kill all Jews.”

But while the man was under investigation for domestic terrorism at the time of the attacks and police collected evidence that could tie him to the arsons almost immediately, he was not identified as a suspect until months later. By then, he was in a coma from which he never recovered.

Federal prosecutors revealed these details last week with the announcement of an indictment of the suspected arsonist’s brother, who stands accused of obstructing the investigation by taking evidence of his brother’s antisemitic beliefs to Sweden, where he was living.

Alexander Giannakakis was arrested last week near Stockholm by Swedish law enforcement and faces extradition to the United States. He had worked as a security guard for the U.S. Embassy in Sweden.

The FBI believes that Giannakakis’ brother was the arsonist behind three fires at two Chabad Jewish centers and a fourth

p Rabbi Mendy Krinsky and his wife, Chanie, of the Chabad Jewish Center in Needham, Massachusetts, pose beside the spot where someone tried to set their Chabad house on fire in May 2019.

Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

case of arson targeting a Jewish-affiliated business in May 2019. The name of the suspected arsonist is not being released because he is dead.

The rabbi of one of the Chabad centers said he is grateful for law enforcement and thanked God for having been unharmed by the arson attack.

“We have looked at the incident as an impetus to grow because we believe that Please see FBI, page 15

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FEBRUARY 25, 2022

9

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Parent arrested after making threats about day school mask mandate

A parent of a child at an Orthodox Jewish day school in North Miami Beach was arrested after saying he wanted to “burn this school to the f***ing ground” in a group chat, CBS Miami reported.

Mark Polyakov’s son was a student at Scheck Hillel Community School, which requires students to wear masks indoors and outdoors.

Polyakov reportedly wrote several messages in a group chat of about 70 parents opposed to the mask policy called “No more masks hillel” on Feb. 8 in which he said he wanted to burn the school.

Police arrested Polyakov on Feb. 14 after another parent in the chat reported his comments to the school administration. He was charged with one count of threatening to kill or do bodily harm, which can result in up to 15 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. His son was expelled.

Arizona Jews sue to stop state from using Zyklon B at executions

Leaders of Arizona’s Jewish community are suing the state to prevent it from using hydrogen cyanide — the same lethal gas deployed at Auschwitz — to carry out executions.

The Nazis used pellets of Zyklon B,

a hydrogen cyanide formulation, in the gas chambers at Auschwitz and other death camps.

Using the gas in United States executions is “tantamount to approving of what the Nazis did,” said Janice Friebaum, former vice president and spokesperson for the Phoenix Holocaust Association. “It’s a very painful way to kill a person, and it’s fundamentally inhumane. To think that it was done to millions of people during the Holocaust is horrific enough, but to think that 70 to 80 years later we’re thinking of using it as a method of capital punishment is mind-boggling.”

Arizona stopped executions by lethal gas in 1992 but allowed for its use for people who had already been sentenced; that leaves 17 people potentially subject to that form of execution.

JFNA names Ben Platt’s mom as chair

Julie Platt was named as the second woman to chair the Jewish Federations of North America, one of the largest Jewish fundraising organizations in the United States.

Platt is a one-time banker who has become a leader in promoting Jewish education and also is musical star Ben Platt’s mom.

The JFNA brought in $270 million in 2019.

An organization news release said that Platt has chaired the Los Angeles Jewish Federation and chairs JFNA’s fundraising campaign and its effort to enhance security protection.

Platt will formally succeed Mark Wilf this summer.

I n - Ho m e Care S e r v i ce s

German dictionary changes definition of ‘Jew’

A German dictionary entry for the word “Jew” was changed after members of the country’s Jewish community called the definition problematic.

The definition offered by the Duden dictionary included a note that the term is sometimes used as a derogatory slur, in addition to being the simplest way of referring to Jews But German Jews pushed back against the inclusion of the use of the word “Jew” as a slur, saying the term is the correct one and should be used without qualification.

The entry was updated on Feb. 14 and included the Central Council of Jews in Germany’s approval of the use of the term.

Pelosi leads Democratic leaders on three-country tour, including Israel

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leading Congressional Democrats on a three-nation security tour that includes Israel.

The 14 Democrats on the tour of Israel, Germany and the United Kingdom, which departed Washington, D.C., on Feb 14, included chairmen and members of key security-related committees and subcommittees, including the Intelligence Committee, the Armed Services Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Jewish members included Reps. Adam Schiff of California, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, and Ted Deutch of Florida, the chairman of the Middle East subcommittee.

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

Feb. 25, 1994 — Muslims are massacred in Hebron

Kach party member Baruch Goldstein fatally shoots 30 Muslims worshipping at the Mosque of Abraham in Hebron’s Cave of Machpelah and wounds 125 others before being beaten to death.

Feb. 26, 1973 — Kissinger, Egypt’s Ismail secretly meet

Louisville police have charged Quintez Brown, a local political activist, in a shooting attack on Craig Greenberg, a Jewish Democrat running for mayor.

Brown, 21, has been prominent in the city’s civil rights activism, including Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, and previously worked for the Louisville Courier Journal.

He had recently announced a run for the city’s municipal council.

Police said he was charged Tuesday with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment in his alleged shooting attack in Greenberg’s downtown office. No one was hurt, although a bullet penetrated Greenberg’s clothing. No motive has been reported.

In interviews with local media, associates of Brown suggested he suffered from mental illness, referring to his disappearance last year for two weeks. PJC

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In Armonk, New York, Egyptian National Security Adviser Hafez Ismail tells his U.S. counterpart, Henry Kissinger, that Egypt is willing to negotiate directly with Israel under U.S. mediation.

Feb. 27, 1928 — Ariel Sharon is born

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Feb. 28, 1955 — Black Arrow Raid is conducted in Gaza

Israeli paratroopers attack an Egyptian military camp in Gaza as a reprisal for raids by Palestinians against Israeli civilians. Eight Israeli soldiers and 39 Egyptians are killed in Operation Black Arrow.

March 1, 1922 — Yitzhak Rabin is born

Yitzhak Rabin is born in Jerusalem. He leads the defense of Jerusalem during the 1948 war, commands the military during the 1967 war, twice serves as prime minister, accepts the Oslo Accords in 1993 and is assassinated in 1995.

March 2, 1977 — First Woman is appointed to high court

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Police arrest local civil rights activist in murder attempt on Jewish candidate for Louisville mayor

This week in Israeli history — WORLD —

10

“Our first stop will be in Israel, recognizing our shared democratic values and mutual security. We will meet with the leadership of Israel and leaders in the civic community to discuss the prospects for a two-state solution and regional security,” Pelosi said in a statement after arriving in Israel.

Of the 14, only eight will visit Israel; others are skipping other countries, a typical feature of overseas congressional tour.

Ariel Sharon, Israel’s 11th prime minister, is born in K’far Malal. He serves in the army from the War of Independence through the Yom Kippur War and oversees the first war in Lebanon.

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President Ephraim Katzir appoints Miriam Ben-Porat and Shimon Asher to the Supreme Court. Ben-Porat is the first woman to serve on the highest court of any country using a common law system.

March 3, 1950 — Iraq allows Jews

Iraq retracts a ban on the emigration of Jews moving to Israel, on the condition that they surrender Iraqi citizenship. Israel launches Operation Ezra and Nehemia, which flies out nearly 120,000 Iraqi Jews by January 1952. PJC

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FEBRUARY 25, 2022

11

Opinion I know the obstacles faced by people with disabilities.

That is why I am lobbying for change.

Guest Columnist Aaron Kaufman

I

’ve always believed in living life to the fullest. When you grow up with a disability, you are faced with a choice of whether or not to let it define you as a person.

People often find it easy to say no to someone with a disability, “no, we can’t accommodate that, no we aren’t set up for that,” and so on. But I always wanted to hear “yes, don’t worry, we’ll find a way.”

I grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C. When I was 7 years old, a close friend of my parents was running for the Maryland House of Delegates. My dad invited me to join him outside the polling place, handing out literature for the candidate. I felt as if I were doing something important and I knew I was making my parents proud.

Four years later, I stuffed envelopes for other candidates, and before long I got to meet Chris Van Hollen (now a U.S. senator from Maryland), Jamie Raskin (now a U.S. representative), Hillary Clinton, and others.

Politics became my lifeblood.

I didn’t set out to become an advocate for the disabled; it just kind of happened.

When I was able to vote for the first time, I went to my local polling place and found that I wasn’t physically able to get inside the building. The building had no accommodations for someone with cerebral palsy, which means I have difficulty with a wide variety of everyday tasks, including walking on my own. They told me that I could go

somewhere else, but I didn’t want to — I wanted to vote with my friends and neighbors. I refused to accept this situation, so I reached out to my local representatives, and I ultimately had the opportunity to testify before the Montgomery County Council.

They decided to allocate funds to make all polling places accessible, not just in my neighborhood, but across the entire county, where more than a million people live.

After graduating from the University of Maryland, I continued my work on disability issues, first as a special education teacher and then as a lobbyist at an advocacy organization called The Arc Maryland, which helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities flourish in both their personal and professional lives.

More recently, I was hired in a senior position at the Jewish Federations of North America, which has made the empowerment of people with disabilities as a top priority of its work across the Jewish world. Our achievements in this realm have become models for other communities as well. JFNA has cultivated my strengths, accommodated my needs, and — most importantly — enabled me to bust some myths about people with disabilities.

Sometimes when people see me up on the Hill, when we’re going to meet with lawmakers, their eyes get really big seeing a well-dressed young man enter their office using a walker, as if they’re surprised that someone with a disability is a professional lobbyist.

Some perceive people with disabilities as only being able to perform jobs that involve what many call “food, filth, flowers and filing.” I guess they’re not thinking of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Itzhak Perlman, Marlee Matlin, or any of the millions of

Americans with disabilities who have accomplished all kinds of amazing feats.

That dynamic in itself created an opening for progress. For example, the chairlift at the Rayburn House office building was perennially broken, meaning that when I went to lobby lawmakers, someone had to hold my hand and help me walk up the stairs. It’s the kind of thing that most people don’t think about, but it impacts the capacity of people with disabilities to participate in the democratic process. When I told Rep. Raskin about the issue, he and his chief of staff succeeded in having a new chairlift installed.

We’ve had so many victories for people with disabilities at JFNA. Perhaps the biggest one was four years ago, when we helped prevent the Americans with Disabilities Act from being gutted by legislation that would have made it harder for those with disabilities to sue for discrimination.

But with all the progress we’ve made, there’s more work to be done.

Starting at home, our own Jewish communities can and should implement measures that foster inclusion. Jewish organizations should set aside disability related funds in their budgets that include accommodations for individuals with disabilities, such as captioning and ASL interpretation and other accommodations according to specific needs, and events should always be held in accessible venues.

Professionals — especially senior leadership and hiring managers — must demonstrate a positive attitude about hiring people with disabilities. Jewish organizations must also create an environment where all members of a community feel comfortable sharing what they need. And our lay and community leaders must include people with disabilities on all

committees, not just disability ones.

On the policy level, we are advocating vigorously for Congress to expand eligibility for ABLE savings accounts, which permit people with disabilities to set aside a portion of their income on a tax-free basis to help pay for physical and psychological therapies, durable medical equipment, and other things that they need. However, right now this program is only available to those who become disabled before the age of 26, which leaves out millions, including many veterans; statistics show that 70% of disabilities are not congenital, but are acquired later in life.

In addition, we are seeking a significant investment in home and community-based services that will benefit not just people with disabilities, but also many low-income older adults. This program enables Medicaid beneficiaries to stay at home or in their local communities rather than having to move to a facility for care.

Each year, all of this work culminates at our Jewish Disability Advocacy Day on Feb. 23 and 24. Champions, such as Tony Awardwinning actress Ali Stroker and Paralympic athlete Ezra Frech, are joining us as we unite with one voice to champion policies that advance the rights of people with disabilities. My own personal mission is to ensure that people like me have the same kinds of opportunities that I have been so blessed to have, and that we value people with disabilities for everything that they have to offer, thus making life better both for them and for us all. PJC Aaron Kaufman is senior manager of legislative affairs, Jewish Federations of North America. This piece first appeared on JTA.

Your synagogue should be an ideological sanctuary Guest Columnist Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman

T

he 12th-century sage and Jewish luminary Moses Ben Maimon was famous for penning one of Judaism’s most influential and complete legal codes.

He wrote one of the most brilliant philosophical works in Jewish history. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest rabbis of all time. So it stands to reason that the listing of basic principles of faith which he penned would come to serve as minimum requirements for Jews around the world.

That assumption would be incorrect.

Maimonides’ 13 principles of faith are still frequently read — they were put to music in the 15th century and are frequently added to the end of the Friday night service in the song we know as “Yigdal.” But the idea that they would serve as some sort of philosophical “litmus test” for who is a Jew and what

12 FEBRUARY 25, 2022

Jewish ideas would be permitted or forbidden was roundly rejected, beginning in the Middle Ages and continuing to this very day. In Daniel Septimus’ excellent article on the 13 principles for My Jewish Learning there are no fewer than 23 specific arguments, disagreements and exceptions to the basic principles Maimonides laid out from rabbis and scholars spanning 800 years of history. Today, many of Maimonides’ key points have been entirely discarded by the liberal movements of Judaism, and yet the religion endures and thrives under that diversity. In other words, disagreeing with Maimonides’ basic principles seems to be as much a fundamental Jewish principle as carefully obeying them would be.

My colleague Rabbi Amy Bardack wrote an op-ed for ejewishphilanthropy recently which was reprinted here (Feb. 11), and set off some disagreement and hand-wringing.

Rabbi Bardack suggested that folks with certain views on the modern state of Israel should not be excluded from Jewish organizations or institutions. I write to endorse that view and agree wholeheartedly, and it is my strong feeling that even more than

Jewish organizational life, Jewish spiritual life should be open and welcoming to people with a wide diversity of views on Israel.

We are not a doctrinaire, dogmatic faith.

There is no central creed to follow, no belief that is too heretical. Short of telling the entire joke, I will simply share a punchline (you can Google the rest): “Goldberg goes to synagogue to talk to God. I go to synagogue to talk to Goldberg.”

The punchline is that overt atheism is an entirely acceptable tenet of belief for a shulgoing Yid. Rabbis, cantors, board members and fellow congregants do not require tests of faith or a belief in God in order for people to come to shul. We also don’t require that those in attendance know basic Hebrew to understand what words they are reciting — although I find that it helps. We are driven spiritually by what we do, and not by what we think.

Judaism is a lot of things: an ethnicity, a culture, a religion and a race. When we come to synagogue, though, it is a spiritual practice first and foremost. You come to be present with God and the community. That’s the expectation, and nothing more. You are there for a spiritual experience and a communal

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celebration, and there should be no purity test to bar one’s entry. As long as one’s heart is with Judaism, a person should be made to feel like they are in the right place.

Nowhere in Maimonides’ 13 principles will you find mention of a modern state of Israel or a requirement to believe in it. It is true that the belief in the holiness of the land of Israel, the people of Israel and the culture of Israel are integral parts of Jewish belief; but none of that is predicated on a necessity for a politically sovereign Jewish state, nor a universal Jewish fealty to that state. For many, the modern state of Israel is a great blessing and a source of pride. For others, it is a divisive topic and a moral embarrassment.

While I count myself as a Zionist, others are not. Our religious tradition allows space for both of those opinions to exist. Even, and especially, inside the same synagogue. PJC

Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman is the spiritual leader for Brith Sholom Jewish Center of Erie, Pennsylvania. He also serves as interim director of Derekh and Youth Tefillah at Congregation Beth Shalom in Pittsburgh.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Opinion Chronicle poll results: Anti-Zionists working in Jewish institutions

L

ast week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “Should anti-Zionists be employed at Jewish institutions that support Israel?”

Of the 257 people who responded, 67% said “No,” and 26% said “Not if their anti-Zionism is relevant to their job responsibilities, but yes if their anti-Zionism is completely irrelevant to their job responsibilities.” Only 7% said “Yes.” Seventy people submitted comments. A few follow.

The greatest story of an indigenous people returning to their ancestral homeland is the story of the Zionist Jew. The anti-Zionist seeks to undermine the Jewish right to self-determination in that homeland at every opportunity. They should not be working for any organization that supports Israel.

Would the NAACP hire a member of the KKK even to answer the phones? Would the Democratic National Committee hire a Republican even to stuff envelopes?

The idea of employing anti-Zionists at Jewish institutions that support Israel is absurd and would border on laughable were it not so overtly self-destructive.

Should anti-Zionists be employed at Jewish institutions that support Israel?

26%

Not if their anti-Zionism is relevant to their job responsibilities, but yes if their anti-Zionism is completely irrelevant to their job responsibilities

7%

Not sure.

67% No.

Anti-Zionism is antisemitism. AntiZionism isn’t theoretical, it’s a view with practical consequences if it is implemented.

Those practical consequences include the end of Israel as a Jewish state and place for refuge for Diaspora Jews. Of course, we should not hire those who would advocate

or approve of the destruction of the Jewish state (and its 6-7 million Jewish citizens) and the end of having a place of refuge for all the Diaspora Jews who continue to flee violent manifestations of antisemitism all over the world.

Precisely what is an anti-Zionist? I oppose some of the government’s expansion programs to the detriment of Arab families, and the favoritism governments sometimes show to the Orthodox. However, I do not oppose the existence of Israel as a nation and, on the contrary, strongly support it now as I have from its inception. Am I an anti-Zionist? Some say “yes.”

Even if the job description is neutral — like teaching math for example — but Zionism is intrinsic to the corporate identity of the organization that is hiring the math teacher, then this is not the right place for an anti-Zionist activist to be employed.

It really depends on how their antiZionism manifests.

I am not sure what anti-Zionism means.

I know there were different styles of

Zionism, I suspect there are different kinds of anti-Zionists.

The voices of anti-Zionists need to be heard in intimate settings by Zionists such as myself so that we can sharpen our support of the state of Israel. Being made to hear and respond intelligently to anti-Zionists helps move us from being blindly supportive of our Jewish homeland to being capable of a Zionism based in clear critical thinking. We all win in the process.

Jewish lives and Jewish life depend on the existence of the State of Israel. Zionism espouses our right to be a free people in our ancient homeland. Jewish life and Jewish lives depend on that. We cannot bring within the tent those who, well-meaning though they think they are, seek to destroy us. PJC — Toby Tabachnick

Chronicle weekly poll question: How should the United States respond to Russia moving troops into Ukraine? Go to pittsburghjewish chronicle.org to respond. PJC

I’ve listened to racism without challenging it. After being taken hostage in Colleyville, I’ll never let that happen again.

Guest Columnist Jeffrey R. Cohen

I

f I have learned anything over the past month, it is that racist tropes are not harmless words. They must be actively and consistently challenged.

You know them and so do I. The racist tropes peddled about Jewish people are plentiful. What you may not know is that antisemitic tropes caused my friends and me to be held hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas.

Our Shabbat morning service on Jan. 15 began normally. I had just sat down after the morning Amidah. Within a few seconds, I heard that unmistakable sound of an automatic pistol chambering a bullet.

A man we invited into the synagogue on that cold morning so he could warm up was screaming. He waved his gun at us and threatened to blow us up with a bomb.

Without turning around, I picked up my phone from the chair next to me, dialed 911, and returned it, screen side down, to the chair. I stood up and faced our attacker.

I slowly moved so that I was in line with an exit. Many of you saw the headlines and are aware of the terror that unfolded over the next 11 hours. One of us was released after about six hours; the other three, including Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and me, escaped by running out a side door five hours after that.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

We were fortunate. This man wasn’t like the attackers in Pittsburgh, Poway or Paris.

Instead of a hate-filled white supremacist who wanted to kill as many Jews as possible, our attacker had a specific demand. He wanted to free a person being held in a U.S. federal correction center. And he thought we could get that done.

“Jews pull all the strings. Jews control the banks. Jews control the media. Jews control the government,” he repeatedly told us.

He demanded we get the “chief rabbi of the United States” on the phone. Both Rabbi Cytron-Walker and I explained that, unlike the U.K. where our attacker was from, there is no head rabbi in the United States — not that a chief rabbi would have that kind of power in the first place.

Our attacker frequently told us not to worry because President Biden and former President Trump would listen to his demands rather than allow even one Jew to get hurt. He had clearly bathed in racist tropes about my community.

People who say “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” do not know what Jewish people live with on a day-to-day basis. They do not understand what other marginalized communities live with either. Words have caused, and will continue to cause, harm. And those little throw-away tropes that we all endure may be the most damaging because, when repeated often enough, people begin to believe them.

When not addressed directly, racist tropes make all of us bystanders to hatred and participants in another’s suffering. We expect

them from the skinheads, and we hope good people will ignore them. We roll our eyes as our friend winces and apologizes for the crazy older relative whom everyone accepts is a racist. We live in a society where we hold onto the premise that racists are the minority. We say nothing because we don’t want to bring attention to ourselves or to the comments.

Sometimes we even tell ourselves that “we are stronger than those who hate us.” We very well may be. But that doesn’t mean that the actions of the hateful should be coddled or tolerated.

I say “we” because up until recently, I didn’t speak up either. But racist tropes do not automatically dissipate. They must be challenged consistently and vigorously.

How many of us have been taught that if we ignore the taunt and do not engage the bully the bully will go away? That didn’t work in elementary school; it will not work now.

Words matter. Words influence. Repeated racist tropes dehumanize. Unchallenged words signal acceptance.

As I reflect on how to challenge hatred, here are several things I am committing to do: First, question what I hear, in the moment and on the spot. I will do better about asking, “Did I hear you correctly? What did you just say?” By making the speakers repeat what they say, I believe we can force them to acknowledge their words and confront

social norms. It also empowers others to speak out as well.

Second, inform the individual that their comment is unacceptable. I will do better about sharing in the moment something like, “Statements like that are not acceptable here.” I do not believe it is helpful to call the speaker a racist or antisemitic because I do not want people to shut down and not hear what I am saying.

And third, respond to the trope with truth and appeal to the speaker’s sense of right and wrong. I might share, “Both the fascists and the communists used antisemitic tropes as propaganda. They needed a scapegoat to blame for their failings. Don’t follow in their footsteps.”

Will that approach keep the attacker out of the next synagogue or Black church, or from stalking another Asian-American woman?

Probably not. But if we don’t challenge racist tropes, we have no hope they’ll ever stop.

Far too many people will be threatened and harmed, and I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did. PJC Jeffrey R. Cohen lives and works near Fort Worth, Texas. He is the vice president of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, and was one of the four hostages who escaped a gunman on Jan. 15, 2022. This piece first appeared on JTA.

Correction

In “Dor Hadash hosts community-wide celebration of bat mitzvah centennial” (Feb. 11), we wrote that Barbara Lindner was the first girl to celebrate her bat mitzvah at Temple Sinai.

We have since learned that she may have been the second girl to do so. Also, the date of Lindner’s bat mitzvah was incorrectly reported. The correct date is Oct. 19, 1957. PJC

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FEBRUARY 25, 2022

13

Headlines Collaboration: Continued from page 1

challenges and pressures.

“We have many of the same concerns within our community with the suburban lifestyle — similar focus on, not only religiosity, but on how we live our values in the community and to be able to seek partnerships across denomination lines only makes sense,” he said.

Temple Emanuel is willing to work with any population serving the Jewish community in the South Hills, Meyer said.

“Increased observance or opportunities to take advantage of Jewish ritual strengthen the community,” he said, “even if they don’t strengthen our individual institutions.”

An example of such a partnership is the South Hills Purim Palooza, Meyer said. The event is a collaboration between Temple Emanuel, Beth El, the South Hills JCC and PJ Library.

He also pointed to partnerships with numerous non-Jewish organizations, including St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the Bower Hill Community Church, Sunset Hills Presbyterian Church, Unitarian Universalists and the township of Mt. Lebanon.

In fact, collaboration isn’t necessarily bound by regional boundaries.

Temple Emanuel recently began partnering with Allison Park’s Temple Ohav Shalom: The North Hills Reform congregation lent its director of ruach and youth engagement, Grant Halasz, to the South Hills congregation for a Shabbat service.

“They’re a larger shul than we are,” Temple Ohav Shalom Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt noted, “yet together we can do more than we could by ourselves.”

As an example, Weisblatt said that Temple Emanuel was bringing in musicians Saul Kaye and Elana Jagoda, and that Temple Ohav Shalom would be participating in the programming.

“We couldn’t bring them in on our own,

but because Emanuel is bringing them in, we’re able to make it work through the generosity of a congregation donor,” he said.

Weisblatt thinks these types of collaborations will become more common in the future, especially as the world emerges from COVID-19. He is also eyeing partnerships beyond those with his Reform colleagues.

“We are working with the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh on cosponsoring a refugee family,” he said. “I know Beth Shalom’s Rabbi Mark Goodman and I have been meaning to finally get a hold of each other, but with COVID it’s been tough.”

Collaboration strengthens the Jewish community, even in the best of times, said Rabbi Barbara Symons of Temple David in Monroeville.

“I try to work toward that regularly,” she said, adding that partnering across denominations and faiths allows people to see shared values and social justice issues.

Temple David, in partnership with Temple Sinai, Tree of Life, Congregation, Beth El and

JRS: Continued from page 1

Carol Tabas, another Jewish mother, may understand. She operated a commercial cleaning company but closed it 15 years ago when she couldn’t find care for her son, and her “support system fell apart,” she said.

Tabas’ son, Chet Stofman, 38, is “severely physically handicapped, has a pretty strong intellectual disability and is medically fragile,” Tabas said.

“My son is nonverbal,” she continued. “It takes a lot of people to figure out what’s going on, and it takes a deep knowledge of him to get through a day.” When a caregiver doesn’t show up, “it’s not like I can call someone else.

They don’t know what his likes are, what his schedule is.”

Even if Tabas does find someone willing to help, that person may not be up to the task.

Chet has seizures once or twice a week, his mother said.

“They’re scary,” she said. “They can last for five minutes. He turns blue and stops breathing. I think I am a very calm person, but there are people who are not like that.”

There’s also the physical component to Chet’s care. He is 5-feet, 1-inch tall, and weighs 130 pounds.

“I need someone to lift him, to put him on the toilet, to move him — the physical things I can’t do anymore,” Tabas, 68, said.

For Tabas, finding qualified assistance is exasperating.

“I ask Uber drivers, people who deliver groceries, if they know anyone,” she said. “I am struggling a lot of the time. I can’t get out of the house.”

Sometimes a caregiver isn’t “capable of doing the job and I have to supervise them,” she continued. “Sometimes they don’t get the feeding aspect right. Some people are nervous around seizures, and I try not to leave them. I’m 68 years old. I would love to go out to lunch with my friends and have a free day. I would have loved to go back to work.”

Vayonis, Tabas and scores of other parents in Pennsylvania cannot find direct support professionals. One reason why, experts explained, is economics.

14

FEBRUARY 25, 2022

p Carol Tabas, right, and son Chet Stofman, center, celebrate Chanukah with family.

Photo courtesy of Carol Tabas

According to a 2019 study of 170 agencies employing 36,081 direct support professionals, the average hourly wage is $13.20.

That rate, according to Ruth Siegfried, of InVision Human Services, is determined by the state and ultimately hinders a staffing agency’s ability to hire workers.

Siegfried founded InVision 30 years ago. The agency, which provides customized services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is 100 fulltime employees short of the 700 it needs, Siegfried said.

In a free market when an employer lacks staffers, the employer should be able to raise wages, thus creating a balance between the supply of potential employees and a demand for their services, she said. But the intellectual disability and autism community doesn’t operate like that.

Neither InVision nor the nearly 200 other Pennsylvania-based agencies can control the rates for home- and community-based services (HCBS) because Medicaid is the only payer of intellectual disability and autism services, Siegfried said.

In June 2021, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) sought to help by introducing the Better

Care Better Jobs Act, which commits to expanding HCBS. “What we’re trying to do is change the system, so to speak,” Casey told the Chronicle. “We want to relieve the burden that a lot of family caregivers have undertaken.”

If the bill becomes law, states will be eligible to receive a permanent 10% increase in the federal Medicaid match for delivering HCBS, as well as enhanced funding for administrative activities associated with improvement efforts.

Researchers Richard Frank of Harvard Medical School and Jonathan Gruber of Massachusetts Institute of Technology analyzed the Better Care Better Jobs Act and reported that passing the legislation would create more than 500,000 new jobs and provide behavioral health support for caregivers.

The Better Care Better Jobs Act, which has 39 Senate cosponsors, could impact millions of Americans, Casey said.

But exactly how many is difficult to determine.

Policy experts from the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, wrote in a 2017 report to the president of the United States, that given the

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

B’Nai Abraham in Butler, will host Pamela Nadell, a history professor at American University, to discuss antisemitism, for example, Symons said.

Temple David hasn’t just paired with other religious organizations, though. The congregation is collaborating with the Monroeville Public Library to create a book club to read Dara Horn’s “People Love Dead Jews,” and Symons teaches an introduction to Elie Wiesel’s “Night” there as well.

“Collaboration leads to the celebration of diversity,” Symons said.

Greenbaum agreed. The real competition isn’t across denominations or faiths, he said, but against the draw of being unaffiliated.

“I once made a joke saying that we should change our name to the unaffiliated movement,” he said. “We could say we’re the fastest-growing movement in the United States.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. range and variation of job titles, it’s tough to quantify the exact number of direct support professionals working with people with an intellectual disability.

In 2013, there were about 880,000 fulltime equivalent direct support professionals — an 11.3% increase from 2003 — who assisted 1.4 million people with an intellectual disability, according to the report. But the number of people entering the profession isn’t keeping pace with need; and given annual direct support professional turnover rates nearing 50% nationally, prospects are bleak. Not even counting the more than 200,000 individuals waitlisted for services, 574,200 new direct support professionals would need to be added each year “simply to sustain services as they are.”

Those numbers indicate a crisis made worse by the pandemic and “Great Resignation.”

“There is just no real progress in sight,” Siegfried said.

Even if Pittsburghers recognize there’s a compensation issue, it must be addressed on a state level, Pittsburgh City Councilperson Erika Strassburger told the Chronicle, as local officials lack the authority to enact legislation that increases wages for direct support professionals.

Casey would like to see the Better Care Better Jobs Act passed — so far the act has passed neither the Senate nor the House — but also a culture shift in how society views direct support professionals.

“These are folks whose care has always been essential, but during the pandemic we found out it was both essential and heroic,” he said. “We’ve got to lift their pay and lift the status of that work so that they are treated with dignity and respect.”

Alison Karabin, project manager at Jewish Residential Services, said that while changes can be effectuated by state leaders, the work begins at home.

“This is an area where people contacting their representatives and writing letters can make a difference,” Karabin said. “Advocating for better funding for direct support professionals is something we can all do, and it’s important for our voices to be heard.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines NCJW: Continued from page 5

Last summer, the organization began a realignment process where programs were considered through a lens of gender and racial inequities, and which confirmed NCJW Pittsburgh’s commitment to advocacy and “unlearning,” Rothstein said.

Conversations with other NCJW sections nationwide helped solidify these goals, she added, but reading a 2019 report from the City of Pittsburgh’s Gender Equity Commission helped local members identify a focus for programming moving forward.

That report, authored by five local researchers, notes that while Pittsburgh’s white women make only 78 cents on the dollar to Pittsburgh’s white men, Pittsburgh’s Black women make only 54 cents on the dollar to the city’s white men. (According to 2017 federal poverty line classifications, a family of four making less than $25,750 annually, and individuals making less than $12,490, live in poverty.)

The 2019 report also shows that

FBI: Continued from page 9

the best way to combat antisemitism is to do even more, to spread more light in the world, and more love in the world,” Rabbi Mendy Krinsky of the Chabad Jewish Center in Needham, Massachusetts, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “That’s the best way. A little light dispels a lot of darkness.”

Prosecutors are characterizing the arson attacks as antisemitic acts of domestic terrorism. According to the indictment, Giannakakis, 35, lied to investigators and concealed evidence that could tie his brother to the crime, including a T-shirt emblazoned with a swastika, a notebook with a swastika drawn inside and a bottle of cyanide.

The suspected arsonist had written antisemitic screeds, scribbling Nazi slogans and the statements: “A world without Jews, is a world without scum. Something we should aim for,” and “We must kill, we must kill all Jews. That is simply essential.”

For Robert Trestan, the New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation

That report, authored by five local researchers, notes that while Pittsburgh’s white women make only 78 cents on the dollar to Pittsburgh’s white men, Pittsburgh’s Black women make only 54 cents on the dollar to the city’s white men.

Pittsburgh’s Black women are five times more likely to live in poverty than Pittsburgh’s white men; and, Pittsburgh’s Black women are twice as likely as Pittsburgh’s white women to live in poverty, with more than one-third of Pittsburgh’s Black women living below the federal poverty line.

Apart from economic disparities, the report identifies local differences in health outcomes.

For example, Pittsburgh’s Black women experience twice as many fetal deaths as Pittsburgh’s

League, the revelations about the likely motivation behind the attacks validate fears that Jews have about rising antisemitism in the United States.

“The indictment is yet again another reminder that antisemitism is more than a concept,” Trestan, told JTA. “It motivates people to commit acts of violence that are life-threatening to Jews around the country.

If they are taking the threat posed by antisemitism extremely seriously then so should we, by prioritizing security, raising awareness of the threat that antisemitism poses, and being unrelenting in combating all forms of antisemitism.”

At the time of the arsons, the brother was under investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force as part of a probe into a group suspected of “planning criminal activity in support of their racially motivated, violent extremist ideology,” the indictment said.

But the FBI and local police didn’t connect the man to the arsons until much later, apparently because state law enforcement officials did not finish processing fingerprints found at the scene of one of the arsons for nine months.

Share your bat mitzvah memories

W

hat are the most cherished memories of your bat mitzvah?

Next month marks the centennial anniversary of the first bat mitzvah in the United States.

On March 18, 1922, Judith Kaplan, the daughter of American rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, celebrated her bat mitzvah at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism in New York City.

Local congregations will be marking the occasion with events the weekend of March PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

18-20, including a community program hosted by Congregation Dor Hadash in collaboration with other organizations.

The Chronicle invites its readers to send bat mitzvah memories (100-300 words) along with photos (then and now) for publication in its March 18 print issue and online.

Send memories and photos to newsdesk@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org, and write “bat mitzvah” in the subject line. PJC — Toby Tabachnick

white women; 18 out of every 1,000 Black pregnancies end in fetal death compared to nine out of every 1,000 white pregnancies.

Rothstein, who, like Blank, has two children at Allderdice, said the 2019 report and the upcoming address from Allderdice’s Black Student Union offer insights into young people’s experiences in the city.

Within Pittsburgh, Black girls are less likely to pass Advanced Placement courses than Black girls in 98% of cities, according to

the report. Additionally, “compared to Black women in other cities, Pittsburgh’s Black women who finish high school are less likely to go to college.”

The Feb. 18 virtual program with Allderdice’s Black Student Union was the first of several related events, with future lunch-and-learns focusing on policing, housing injustice and racial bias in the media, Rothstein said.

These topics are timely and important, Blank said, and align with NCJW Pittsburgh’s mission.

“We are an organization that supports women, children and families, and this means listening to incredible teen leaders,” she added.

The Feb. 18 program, said Sara Segel, NCJW Pittsburgh’s interim executive director, aligns with the organization’s goal of amplifying social justice issues affecting women, children and families.

Rothstein agreed, before praising the presenters: “We can all learn from these students, and NCJW is grateful to them for joining us in this way.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

“We have looked at the incident as an impetus to grow because we believe that the best way to combat antisemitism is to do even more, to spread more light in the

”

world, and more love in the world.

— RABBI MENDY KRINSKY OF THE CHABAD JEWISH CENTER, NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

The first fire took place at the Chabad Center for Jewish life in Arlington, Massachusetts, on May 11, 2019. Five days later, on May 16, another fire started there, followed by a blaze at the Chabad Jewish Center in Needham.

Local police and the FBI launched an investigation, and the fires attracted widespread news coverage. For months, the investigation yielded very few clues, with no witnesses, fingerprints or video surveillance footage.

But unbeknown to investigators, law enforcement already had the key to the case in an evidence locker.

On May 26, there had been another arson, this time at a business. An eyewitness confronted someone suspicious who then fled from the scene while discarding a can of acetone, which is highly flammable. Police took the acetone can into evidence and submitted it for fingerprint analysis. No one in law enforcement connected this fourth arson to the previous three, according to the indictment.

It took until February 2020, some nine months later, for state police to process the fingerprints and identify who left them. Once

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

that person was identified and the FBI realized he was a target of a separate domestic terrorism investigation into a hate group suspected of planning terrorist attacks, he became the prime suspect in three Chabad arsons.

But by then, the suspect was in a coma. He had been hospitalized in November 2019 for reasons that the indictment does not specify.

He died in September 2020.

Investigators questioned Giannakakis and later learned that he had lied to them and hidden items belonging to his brother that showed he harbored a hatred of Jews, according to the indictment. The most serious charge Giannakakis faces carries a sentence of up to 20 years.

“The investigators followed all leads in this case, literally following the case around the world,” Arlington Police Chief Julie Flaherty said in a statement. “These crimes shook our community to its core, and it is my sincere hope that the international teamwork of American and Swedish authorities that has solved this series of hate crimes will provide some measure of solace to the victims.”

Penny Schwartz contributed reporting. PJC FEBRUARY 25, 2022

15

Life & Culture

A Sephardic twist on the underappreciated meatball — FOOD —

By Jessica Grann | Special to the Chronicle

E

very food culture has its version of meatballs, a food that tends to be highly underrated. Meatballs are often known as kofte or boulettes in Mediterranean culture, and they are an excellent way to bring a flavorful but affordable meal to the table.

Although I love traditional Moroccan meatballs made in a tomato sauce, I have experimented with melding the spices and sauces of well-loved recipes into new creations that my family devours.

Ras el Hanout spice, cumin, fresh lemon juice and parsley create a beautiful aroma.

This recipe takes a little extra prep time because you are hand-forming the meatballs, but it’s simple to cook on a weekday night.

Koftes: Sephardic meatballs

Serves 4-6

Ingredients: For the meatballs 2 pounds chopped meat 3 tablespoons matzah meal 1 large egg 2 tablespoons water or club soda 3 teaspoons Ras el Hanout spice

AJU: Continued from page 8

not published an asking price.

Since AJU took over the 2,200-acre Brandeis-Bardin camp and campus in Simi Valley in 2007 — making it arguably the largest institutional Jewish landowner outside the state of Israel — it pursued a vision of Jewish education at all ages, but declining enrollment has led to the closure or scaling back of the Bel Air schools, and last year the university announced it was looking for a partner to share its space.

Then, last week, it announced the whole thing was for sale.

“Our mission statement doesn’t say anything about being a landowner in Bel Air,” Jeffrey Herbst, the university’s president, said in an interview with Louis Keene, who is working on a story on the sale. “So I would argue what’s most important about the institution is staying exactly the same.”

Some of the people who have donated

1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or hot paprika 2 tablespoons finely diced onion (buy one large onion; the remainder will be used for the sauce) 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley ¼ cup olive oil or avocado oil for panfrying; I use ⅛ cup of each oil For the sauce Remainder of the onion, chopped 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced 3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin 1 teaspoon turmeric powder 2 cups chicken stock, storebought is fine Juice of half a lemon Salt to taste

p Kofte

Photo by Jessica Grann

Place the chopped meat in a large bowl and, using a spoon, form a well in the center.

Put the matzah meal and water (or club soda) into the well and stir quickly with a fork.

Let rest on the counter at room temperature for about half an hour. The meat will cook better and stay softer if it is not right out of the fridge.

Finely dice about ¼ of a large onion and measure 2 tablespoons of it into the bowl

along with 2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley. Both the onion and parsley must be finely chopped; otherwise, the meatballs will break apart.

Sprinkle spices and salt over the top and add 1 large egg.

Gently mix with your hands, being careful not to overmix.

Form small meatballs that are about 1.5 inches in diameter. Two pounds of meat should make about 40 meatballs.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.

Cook the meatballs in batches for a few minutes on each side, until nicely browned.

When I form the meatballs I place them on a small sheet pan and put them back in the same pan once browned until I finish

and raised the money to build AJU said that they understand the need to adapt and change. But they are hoping the assets created over the decades to further Jewish community and education can stay in the community.

Sondra Smalley, whose parents, Isadore and Sunny Familian, helped found the university with a major gift and raised millions of dollars to acquire the campus, described the sale — which she learned of only through news reports — as “a gut punch.”

“I’d like to see it remain Jewish,” said Smalley, who last year donated a $100,000 sculpture for the garden. “I know the name will change, my parent’s name will come off.

I understand that. And it will be named after whoever gets it. But I hope it stays within the Jewish community.”

Leonard and Annette Shapiro, who in 2010 donated a sanctuary on the campus in memory of their son David, also want to see the property continue to serve the community.

“The most fantastic solution would be

for it to remain a Jewish center on a Jewish mountain,” Annette said, referring to the fact that the AJU’s neighbors are Stephen Wise Temple, Milken Jewish Community High School and the Skirball Cultural Center.

One idea is for the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles to sell its mid-city headquarters and move to the Bel Air campus, closer to the large Jewish population of the San Fernando Valley. The Federation could partner with nearby Jewish institutions, as well as the AJU, to make use of its sports fields and other facilities.

But Herbst said the university cannot commit to that idea — or any other. He told Keene that one possibility was that AJU would lease back part of the campus from a new owner, allowing the mikveh and library to remain in operation, but that he could also imagine leaving campus entirely. “We just don’t know yet how this is going to play out,” he said.

University officials have said they want to redistribute their assets from real estate to programming, especially online. Educational

Fresh parsley for garnish Lemon wedges for extra flavor

cooking the entire amount.

Using the same pan you used to cook the meatballs, lower the heat to medium-low and add the diced onion and celery.

Cook for about 8-10 minutes. There will be dark brown pieces left from the meat, and that’s great — it will add flavor to the sauce.

I use a wooden spoon to gently lift anything sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Add the sliced garlic, turmeric and cumin, and stir constantly for 1 minute to avoid burning.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a soft boil. You may want to turn the heat back up to medium until the broth is bubbling.

Add the lemon juice then reduce the heat back to a low simmer, and gently add in the browned meatballs.

Cover with the lid slightly ajar and let the meatballs simmer for another 20-30 minutes.

Add salt to taste.

Ladle the meatballs and sauce over couscous or rice, which soak up the flavors beautifully. As an alternative you could add in about a cup of frozen peas before serving — they only take a few minutes to cook, and it’s a good way to add in an extra vegetable.

Garnish with chopped parsley, and squeeze fresh lemon juice over the meatballs at the table. Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.

institutions around the world are scrambling to meet the growing demand for virtual classes. And for AJU, the money to do it is right underfoot.

But AJU has a special footprint in L.A. that extends beyond its classes and students.

And that’s the central question: What does the institution owe to the donors who helped create and sustain it, and the larger community it serves?

Michael Berenbaum, who runs an institute at AJU for Jewish ethics and leadership, said the university’s board “has a fiduciary duty to protect the institution” as well as “a moral responsibility to the Jewish community.”

“The funds were raised for a Jewish educational institution,” noted Berenbaum, “and if it has to be repurposed, it should remain in the Jewish community to serve the Jewish community.” PJC This story was published on Feb. 17 by the Forward. A version of this story first appeared in the Forward’s weekly “Letter from California” from Rob Eshman.

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FEBRUARY 25, 2022

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Life & Culture ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ shows its grit

p Rachel Brosnahan plays Miriam “Midge” Maisel in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” on Amazon Prime.

Photo courtesy of Prime Video

p Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein in an episode of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” on Amazon Prime Photo courtesy of Prime Video

— STREAMING —

By Jarrad Saffren | Contributing Writer

I

t’s hard to do what you actually want to do in life.

It’s much easier to sell out for money, to conform to some traditional gender role or all of the above.

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is an Amazon Prime show about a Jewish woman, Miriam “Midge” Maisel, played by Rachel Brosnahan, who grows from doing the latter to doing the former. Mrs. Maisel starts season one, which premiered in 2017, as a housewife and mother of two; she ends it as a hilarious and magnetic stand-up comic.

Midge, according to her manager Susie Myerson, played by Alex Borstein, just has it; she’s a natural on stage. But even for a talent like Brosnahan’s character, the journey to stardom is long and difficult, filled with setbacks and moments of doubt, often darkened by the unsettling feeling that you might never get there.

Season four of “Mrs. Maisel,” which Amazon is releasing in two-episode installments for four consecutive weeks beginning Feb. 18, captures just how difficult this journey can be.

In doing so, it shows that Maisel is more than just a stylized celebration of the female empowerment that swept across American culture during the show’s time period: the late 1950s and early 1960s. Instead, the series is about a modern hero’s journey.

Episode one of the new season, “Rumble

Mrs. Maisel is back in action, but her stock is not yet rising again. The journey is not easy.

on the Wonder Wheel,” picks up Midge after her greatest success yet, a riotous set at the Apollo Theater, and her biggest setback — getting dropped from the tour for making fun of its headliner, the fictional musician Shy Baldwin, during that same set.

The rest of the hour shows a woman and a journey in limbo, as Midge returns home to New York City, hides in the bar/comedy club where she got her start and lies to her family about being in Prague.

At one point, Susie, who is on the same journey in her effort to become a successful manager, goes to a dive bar and asks the bartender why the calendar is still set to April, even though it’s June. He tells her they like the idyllic picture with trees and a splash of sun illuminating the end of a trail.

It’s an apt metaphor.

By episode two, “Billy Jones and the Orgy Lamps,” Midge’s secret is out, and her failure

is known to the people who matter to her: her parents, her ex-husband/the father of her children and his parents/Midge’s former in-laws.

But the truth also sets her free to move forward, as she furnishes a new apartment, asks her parents to move in and tries to get back on stage with a commitment to the strategy that got her kicked off tour: total comedic honesty.

Yet action doesn’t lead to instant success; it rarely does.

Midge has trouble buying groceries due to a money shortage from the tour debacle; her parents invade on her space and the operation of her household, and ask Midge to tell people that they bought the apartment for her; and her effort to get back on stage is rebuffed by a club manager in favor of mediocre male comedians.

In the same episode, Midge reads a column from an entertainment writer who refers to her sets as “deeply unfunny

meanderings.” The column was not even about her; the writer just used her as an example of a bad comic.

Mrs. Maisel is back in action, but her stock is not yet rising again. The journey is not easy.

It’s not easy for the show’s supporting characters, either. Throughout season three, inspired by Midge, her father Abe Weissman, played by Tony Shalhoub, her mother Rose Weissman (Marin Hinkle) and her ex-husband Joel Maisel (Michael Zegen), all started doing what they actually wanted to do, too.

Abe leaves a comfortable career as a tenured professor to become the cantankerous theater critic he was probably always meant to be; Rose ends a cozy existence as a housewife to become a matchmaker; and Joel, whose own comic dreams in season one led to him breaking up with Midge, and to her getting on stage, finally grows into the independent businessman that the show makes clear he is supposed to be.

But as season four begins, Abe is dealing with a meager paycheck, while Joel is figuring out how to handle the Chinese community in which he now does business, and that wants a cut from him.

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” has reached a new chapter in its maturation process.

It’s no longer just about one modern hero’s journey, but several.

At the end of episode two, Abe and Midge are sharing a drink during a moment of doubt for Abe. “Are you sure?” he asks. PJC Jarrad Saffren writes for the Jewish Exponent, where this first appeared.

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17

Celebrations

Engagement

B’nei Mitzvah Ronald and Annette Marks of Aventura, Florida, formerly of Pittsburgh, are pleased to announce that their grandson, Jake Ryan Pine, became a bar mitzvah on Dec. 11, 2021, in Boca Raton, Florida. Despite the current pandemic, he had an epic party!

He is the son of Wendy and Robert Pine of Parkland, Florida. Jake is very interested and involved in sports. He plays and travels in ice hockey tournaments around the country.

Ronald and Annette Marks of Aventura, Florida, formerly of Pittsburgh, are happy to announce the bar mitzvah of their grandson Justin Neil Ledo on Jan. 22, 2022. He is the son of Jacqueline (Marks) Ledo and George Ledo of Aventura, Florida, and younger brother to Julia and Jenna Ledo.

Grandparents are also the late Joseph Ledo and the late Nancy Ledo. Justin is a member of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) and enjoys playing football and basketball.

Drs. Marc Hoffman and Janis Reed are proud to announce the engagement of their son Joseph Reed Hoffman to Dr. Rebeca Whitney Teplitz, daughter of Mary Sue and Edward Teplitz of Westport, Connecticut, formerly of Squirrel Hill. Rebeca is currently a dermatology resident in New York City.

She received her medical degree from the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine. Joey is presently an attorney focusing on products liability matters at a law firm in Philadelphia.

He received his law degree from the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and LL.M. degree in intellectual property from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Rebeca and Joey met while undergraduate students at The George Washington University. Rebeca is the granddaughter of the late Rosalind and George Teplitz of Pittsburgh and the late Carolyn and Robert Rothenberg of Margate, New Jersey. Joey is the grandson of the late Sol and Leonore Hoffman of Sarasota, Florida, and the late Dr. Robert Reed and Jeannie Reed of Wheeling, West Virginia. Rebeca and Joey currently live in New York City and are excited for their wedding in 2023.

Maureen and Jim Busis of Squirrel Hill are thrilled to announce the engagement of their son, Ethan Busis, to Sarah Hull, a daughter of Jill Hull of Reading, Pennsylvania. Ethan is the grandson of the late Sidney and Sylvia Busis of Pittsburgh, and the late Richard and Diane Kelly of Houston. He is a graduate of Community Day School and Shady Side Academy Senior School. Sarah and Ethan met on their freshman hall at Washington University in St. Louis, where Ethan earned a BS and MS in mechanical engineering, and Sarah earned a BA and BFA. After graduating they moved to Boston, where Sarah joined Teach for America and earned a MA in education from Boston University.

She teaches middle school mathematics in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Ethan is an engineer at iRobot in Boston. Their wedding will take place this May at Camp Laurelwood, a Jewish summer camp in Connecticut. They are planning to honeymoon in Hawaii. PJC

Gabriel (“Gabe”) Burkett Shapira will become a bar mitzvah at Temple Sinai, on March 5, 2022. Gabe is the son of proud parents Amanda Shapira and Joshua Shapira, and brother of Sofia. Grandparents are Barbara and Danny Shapira of Pittsburgh and Barbara and Tony Burkett of Liverpool, England. Gabe is a seventh-grader at Winchester Thurston School. He loves playing sports, spending time with his family, friends and his dogs (Benny and Grace). Gabe is an avid fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Liverpool Football Club.

Torah

Sharing the merit of mitzvot Rabbi Mendy Schapiro Parshat Vayak’hel Exodus 35:1 - 38:20

T

hroughout Jewish history there were many leaders who were wealthy. Here are some examples.

Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, the Talmud (Gittin 59a) says, was “Torah and greatness together,” meaning he was both a Torah luminary as well as a very well-to-do person.

He is the one who took on the project of committing the Oral Torah to writing.

Technically, it would not have been permissible to do so, as the interpretations of the Torah were meant to be transmitted orally from parent to child and from master to

18

FEBRUARY 25, 2022

student. Along came Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi who quoted the verse, “A time to do for the L-rd; they have made void Your Torah,” and explained that since the Jewish nation was dispersed and persecuted, it was absolutely necessary to have a uniform, written version of the Oral Torah.

In addition to the huge scholarly undertaking, it was also a big expense. Rabbi

Yehuda, being financially well-off, covered the expenses involved in gathering the sages and scholars and compiling and transcribing the Mishnah.

The Talmud tells us that several hundred years later, Rav Ashi — about whom the Talmud has the same quote: “Torah and greatness together” — established a yeshiva, a school where he and his students compiled

When we do a mitzvah, it’s incumbent upon us to include the entire family in the mitzvah.

the Talmud Bavli, the Babylonian Talmud.

This phenomenon of wealthy leaders started even earlier: There were wealthy prophets. The Talmud (Nedarim 38a) tells us about Jonah the Prophet — yes, Jonah from “Jonah and the Whale.”

The story, familiar from the Haftarah we read on Yom Kippur, recounts how Jonah tried to run away from G-d. He went down to Yafo, a port city on the coast of the Mediterranean from which he caught a ship sailing to a place called Tarshish. Jonah wanted the ship to get underway immediately, so “he paid its fare and got down in it.”

But the Talmud tells us that that “he paid the fare for the entire ship,” and that “the fare for Please see Torah, page 22

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Obituaries LEVICK: Lewis M. Levick, of Pittsburgh, died on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, age 92. Born May 11, 1929, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, to Albert Levick and Pauline Rosenzweig. A graduate of Taylor Allderdice High school, he attended the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. There, he met and married Ruth Margaretten, having two children. For 36 years, Lew owned and operated Toll Gate Auto Wrecking Company, located atop Toll Gate Hill, a landmark of sorts in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Known to be fair, honest, reliable and respectful in his business dealings, he was also that way in the rest of his life: That’s who he was. A soft-spoken, kind and unassuming man, others felt accepted and at ease just being with him. After retiring, he volunteered with SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) for over 15 years, and received special recognition for his mentoring of aspiring entrepreneurs. He also volunteered at Pittsburgh’s Science Museum. Also adventurous in retirement, Lew biked in various scenic locales, and even trekked in the Himalayas. His striking photographs from such trips do more than capture their subjects well: They convey their very essence, evoking a sense of awe. Putting all else aside, what mattered most to Lew was his family. He especially delighted in the time he spent with his grandchildren, teaching several how to ski, and even showing his granddaughter how to tie her shoes. He was a devoted and loving father — and a caring and loyal friend. A firm believer in public schools, he generously supported his children’s higher education, also contributing toward that of extended family members. Lew was predeceased by his dear sister, Elsa Glazer, and also by his lifelong best friend, Jerry Balbot.

He is survived by his son, Stephen Levick, M.D. and his wife Judith Saltzberg, Ph.D.; by his daughter, Ellen Levick and her husband, Carl Martahus; and by his sister, “Dolly” Dolores Harris. Lew also leaves behind three grandchildren: Michael Martahus and his wife, Sarah; Amanda Miller and her husband, Will; and Noah Levick; and by three great-grandchildren. Graveside services and interment were held at Homewood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, Lew’s family asks that donations be made to The Jewish Association on Aging, development@jaapgh.org. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

SPEAR: Stanley J. Spear. Stan Spear will be remembered for his love of family, treasured friendships and dedication to service. Always in gentlemanly attire, Stan was warm and kind, lived in awe of everyday moments, and never missed a beat with his perfectly timed witticisms, puns and “dad jokes,” delivered with the widest smile. An active leader in the community, Stan was elected president and board member of Brotherhood at Rodef Shalom and was head usher at the High Holidays. Part of his enduring legacy is as underwriter and co-organizer of the annual East Winds Symphonic Band concert — benefiting the Squirrel Hill food bank and featuring a toe-tapping repertoire of familiar songs that also reminded Stan of music he enjoyed with his father.

A descendant of the Frank and Anathan families, Stan continued his ancestors’ legacy of deep commitment to philanthropy and service. He was membership chair of Concordia Club and president of Pittsburgh East Rotary Club, where he founded the successful, family-friendly annual pancake breakfast and auction. He regularly delivered food to those in need, served at shelters and volunteered at Shadyside Hospital. A highly respected real estate agent, Stan’s sensitive intuition, ability to connect to the heart of a matter, and love of Pittsburgh allowed him to match people with their ideal homes. Stan put family first and had uniquely strong friendships. He wouldn’t miss a phone call from his children, the chance to carve pumpkins with his grandchildren or breakfast with “the guys.” Stan is survived by his children, Heidi and Scott (Christy) Spear; grandchildren, Elijah, Eve and Ethan Spear; sisters, Carol Williams and Dale Garson (Jeff Garson); and beloved nieces and nephews across the country.

Stan was predeceased by his parents Stanley Rosenbaum, Frances Anathan Spear, and Joel Spear, Jr., and brother, Robert Rosenbaum. Services were held at Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Avenue, on Friday, Feb. 18, at 12 noon. Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Rodef Shalom or to a local food bank. schugar.com. PJC

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

In memory of...

A gift from ...

In memory of...

Carole Neiberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frances Lurie Faye Nickel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fannie Melnick Linda & Jeffrey Reisner & Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Davis Rachel Richman & Jim Chanin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hy Richman The Love and Rutman Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Allen Cohen

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS —

Sunday February 13: Freda Benowitz, Alfred Cohen, Allen Cohen, Sonia Fogel, Verner William Friedman, Esther Glick, Max Glick, Lily June Kanarek, Joy Ellen Levin Leff, Leona Levine, Leo Abraham Levine, Md, William J. Lewinter, Frank Mandel, Julius Rosenfeld Monday February 14: Harry Birnkrant, Sara Esther Dickter, Joseph Eisenberg, Nathan Handelman, Mayer Handley, Oscar K. Light, Belle G. Meyers, Samuel Ostfield, Rowena M. Rosenthal, Mary W. Roth, Isadore Herbert Rudick, Moses J. Sadowsky, Milton Schwartz, Bertha C. Talenfeld, Ethel Zamsky Tuesday February 15: Henry Dentel, Rita Serrins Glazer, Morris Harris, Hannah Hershman, Joseph Kleinerman, Edward Kornstein, Bella Lencer, Morris R. Mandelblatt, Gussie Marcus, Helen R.B. Sand, Samuel Schwartz, Jacob M. Stone Wednesday February 16: Eleanor P. Backer, Louis H. Broudy, Sam Cartiff, Adele Cherkosly, Edgar Danovitz, Libbie Broida Hirsh, Sara Louise Leff, Max Loefsky, Michael Loffer, Evelyn Selkovits Marcus, Archie Steinberg, Anna Sarah Waldman, Samuel Yanks Thursday February 17: Louis Cohen, Isadore Dektor, Ida Goldberg, Jacob Horewitz, Martha Trachtenberg, Ann Yecies Friday February 18: Milton Abes, Leonard M. Friedman, Dr. Edward Kaplan, Joseph Rosenthal Saturday February 19: Samuel Barasch, Milton I. Freedman, Dorothy Goldstein, Samuel Lewis, Lee Radbord, Bertha Rosenfeld, Pauline Zalevsky

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FEBRUARY 25, 2022

19

Obituaries Dr. Paul Guggenheimer, a pioneer in dental medicine, dies at 85 — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

D

r. James Guggenheimer, a professor who taught thousands of aspiring dentists during a University of Pittsburgh career that spanned more than half of a century, died on Jan. 27. He was 85.

He leaves behind extensive research on the connection of the mouth and the health of the rest of the body.

Guggenheimer’s parents, Siegfried and Etta, fled Germany as the Nazis rose to power in the 1930s, in the years before World War II. Etta Guggenheimer was pregnant with her son at the time they trekked to Yugoslavia, and she gave birth to him there in 1936.

The family moved to the United States three years later and settled in New York City.

“Technically, he was a Holocaust survivor as a child refugee,” his son Paul Guggenheimer, told the Tribune-Review.

Paul Guggenheimer and his father came to the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh in the summer of 2018 to share his story as part of the group’s Generations Speaker Series.

Lauren Bairnsfather, who heads the Holocaust Center, said thinking of Guggenheimer reminds her of the early years of her career in the 1990s, when academics began discussing how to preserve the memories of an aging generation of Holocaust survivors.

“I can’t help but think how lucky we are to have survivors in 2022,” she said. “Of course, they’re irreplaceable.”

Guggenheimer earned a bachelor’s degree

Real Estate

p Dr. James Guggenheimer (z”l) and his son Paul in 2018 at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh Photo by Melanie Wieland, courtesy of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh

in biology from the City College of New York and attended Columbia University. He joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine faculty in 1966 and, for the next 55 years, taught oral medicine and oral pathology.

Elizabeth Bilodeau became a professor in Pitt’s dental school about 10 years ago.

She has warm memories of Guggenheimer, whose office was one door down.

“He was very kind, very thoughtful,” Bilodeau told the Chronicle. “He was a great friend and he was definitely an academic. I think everyone who knew him knew he was a kind man. And his door was literally and figuratively always open.”

Guggenheimer was fascinated by the mouths of people with preexisting

conditions, Bilodeau said: users of smokeless tobacco, people battling diabetes or stomach problems, and even those experiencing drug interactions.

Above all else, though, he loved mentoring. Bilodeau said Guggenheimer served as a wise elder statesman for her and countless students.

“Literally thousands of students, very well-established dentists who’ve been out of school for decades — he was their dental professor,” she said. “He really was a fixture within this department.”

Guggenheimer was raised Jewish but did not actively practice. His wife of nearly 53 years, Constance “Connie” Guggenheimer, was Christian. The two met at a get-together

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for medical interns at the old Montefiore Hospital in Oakland, and she had three children from a previous relationship.

Guggenheimer wasn’t fazed, his son said.

“He knew he was getting into a potentially challenging situation, and he didn’t bat an eye,” Paul Guggenheimer said. “To decide you’re going to take on something like that shows the kind of human being you are — and he was always big-hearted.”

Paul said he and his two brothers were 8, 7 and 4 years old when their mother met Guggenheimer.

“He had no blueprint; there’s no blueprint for that,” Paul Guggenheimer said. “But he certainly tried very hard to be the best father he could be for us.”

Guggenheimer retired from Pitt in December, gaining the title of professor emeritus.

“I think if weren’t for the pandemic, he would’ve kept going,” his son said. “Basically, he worked his whole life — he died 27 days after he retired.”

“And he would never be one to say, ‘Look what I’ve done!’,” his son added. “He was a very humble person, a very humble man.”

In addition to his wife and son Paul, Guggenheimer is survived by sons Peter (Amy) Guggenheimer and Gregor Guggenheimer; grandchildren Allison and Lucas; nephew Sean Brennan; and sister-in-law Gail Brennan.

A funeral service was held on Feb. 8 in Fox Chapel, followed by a reception and a private interment. PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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21

Life & Culture New book offers evidence that Alexander Hamilton was Jewish — BOOKS —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

A

ndrew Porwancher is uncomfortable drawing comparisons between himself and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the musical “Hamilton,” which returns to the Benedum Center on Feb. 23 and runs through March 13.

“I’m hesitant to say that Lin-Manuel Miranda and I are engaged in a collective endeavor of reimagining the story [of Alexander Hamilton] from a minority perspective because I don’t want to cast myself in the same league as one of the creative geniuses of our time,” Porwancher said.

And yet both Porwancher, a historian and author, and Miranda have found new ways to chronicle the journeys of minorities in America through the story of one of the country’s founding fathers: Alexander Hamilton.

Miranda did so through his casting and musical score accompanying his Broadway hit “Hamilton”; Porwancher does so in his book “The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton” ( Princeton University Press), which explores the question of whether Hamilton was born and raised Jewish.

Porwancher is the Ernest May Fellow at Harvard University and the Wick Cary Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma. He said his enthusiasm for examining information from a different perspective is what distinguishes his book from others about Hamilton.

It’s long been known, Porwancher said, that Hamilton’s mother was named Rachel Faucett Lavien and that he was educated in Jewish schools. But no other Hamilton scholar, Porwancher said, has seriously reckoned with evidence that indicates a Jewish identity on the part of the founding father.

“My entry into this topic was not so much finding a smoking gun document that no one else had uncovered,” he said, “but it was a willingness to look at evidence that’s long

Torah: Continued from page 18

the entire ship was 4,000 gold dinars” — a clear indication of Jonah’s wealth.

Then we have Samuel the Prophet. The Tanach recounts a few episodes which describe his wealth. Whenever he would travel, and he was a frequent traveler, he would show up with a full entourage of servants, aides and secretaries. This is a luxury that only someone who is wellto-do can pull off.

Then, of course we have the most famous Jewish leader: Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses.

The Torah tells us about the episode of the golden calf and the breaking of the Luchot, the Two Tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. After Moses pleads with G-d to forgive the Jewish 22 FEBRUARY 25, 2022

 Andrew Porwancher

Photo courtesy of Andrew Porwancher

been there with fresh eyes. And then, from there, go down a rabbit hole that involved uncovering archival material that hadn’t been looked at before.”

Porwancher spent seven years researching and piecing together the Jewish trail of evidence, starting with Hamilton’s stepfather, Johann Michael Lavien, and his mother’s possible conversion to Judaism before marrying the Danish businessman.

Porwancher also reexamined the business dealings of Lavien, a merchant living in the Caribbean. Other historians argue that Lavien wasn’t Jewish because he wasn’t identified as Jewish in the Danish Land Records and census registers. While Porwancher agrees that Lavien isn’t listed as Jewish, after examining more than 3,000 records, he found that none of the other Jews on St. Croix were identified as Jewish either.

In addition, the author took a fresh look at Lavien’s surname and its variants, his business dealings with other Jews and even the fact that Rachel and Johann’s son Peter — though not raised Jewish — was not baptized by the couple.

The book, Porwancher said, makes two related arguments.

“The first is that there is a probabilistic case to be made that Alexander Hamilton

is born and raised Jewish,” he said. “The second part of the argument is that, although Hamilton reinvents himself as a Christian and has no Jewish identity in his American adulthood, he develops a closer relationship with the American Jewish community than does any other American founders.”

Hamilton, Porwancher writes, supported the cause of civic equality for America’s Jews at a time when antisemitism was often wielded as a cudgel in mainstream American politics.

Although Porwancher’s book looks specifically at the question of Jewish identity through the eyes of Alexander Hamilton, it also wrestles with what that identity might mean for America.

people, G-d agrees to give Moses new Tablets with the Ten Commandments engraved in them. This time, though, G-d said to him, “p’sal l’cha”—“engrave for yourself.” “G-d showed him a deposit of sapphire within his tent and said to him, the fragments will belong to you, and from there Moses became very rich.” (Shemot 34:1, Rashi) G-d told Moses that beneath his tent was a deposit of sapphire, and that he should dig it up and hew two tablets on which G-d would again inscribe the Ten Commandments.

However, the leftover pieces of sapphire would belong to Moses — which, as you can imagine, made him very wealthy.

And that brings us to this week’s Torah portion, Vayak’hel.

In Vayak’hel, we read about how Moses offered the opportunity to all the Jews to donate to the building of the Mishkan, the tabernacle. Technically speaking, Moses

could have funded the entire construction of the Mishkan out of his own pocket. He didn’t need the Jewish nation’s donations. But G-d wanted to divide the merit of constructing the Mishkan among all the Jews, and for every individual to have a part in the Mishkan. In other words, G-d wanted the Mishkan to belong to everyone — for everyone to feel that he or she had ownership of the Mishkan, and that when entering the Mishkan, they were in the home they themselves built.

This is also true of every mitzvah we do.

At a brit milah for example, all you really need is the sandek (the person who holds the baby), the mohel, and, of course, the baby. But we look for as many opportunities as possible to share the merit of the mitzvah with others, by honoring as many people as possible. And that’s not just because we have to keep all the cousins and relatives happy, but because there really is a goal here: To

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The historian said he wouldn’t be surprised if some Jews find solace from the notion that Hamilton might have been Jewish, especially as antisemitism has resurfaced with new vigor.

Other readers, he said, have taken umbrage.

“To be candid, I have received hate mail from specifically those kinds of people who are profoundly disturbed at the prospect that an American founder might be Jewish,” Porwancher said. “They think that I am somehow undermining the notion that America, from its inception, has been a fundamental Christian country.”

The author also was concerned with not promoting antisemitic tropes in his book.

“The notion that I’ve uncovered evidence that the patron saint of Wall Street may have been hiding a secret, Jewish identity — that fear dovetails all too seamlessly with the kind of conspiracy theories involving bankers that are common today,” he said.

While Porwancher doesn’t think of himself as traversing the same creative circles as Miranda, there is no doubt that his book, like Miranda’s musical, has widened the conversation about one of America’s founding fathers.

“The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton,” published in August, was selected by the Journal of the American Revolution as its 2021 Book of the Year. PJC

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

get as many Jews as possible participating in every mitzvah. The same is true of the honors at a wedding.

And the same thing applies to our daily lives. When we do a mitzvah, it’s incumbent upon us to include the entire family in the mitzvah. So, if you put up a new mezuzah in one of your rooms, let one of your children hold the hammer, another one hold the nails and so on. When you make Havdalah, have one child hold the candle and another hold the spices.

Because when it comes to Judaism, we must emulate Moses, who shared the privilege of building the Tabernacle with the entire nation. PJC Rabbi Mendy Schapiro is the director of Chabad of Monroeville. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

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Community Italian inspired art Students at the South Hills Jewish Community Center’s Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) followed pedagogical principles inspired by those developed in Reggio

p Students work with a cool color palette.

Emilia, Italy. Specifically, ECDC students explored curiosities through expressive and multisensory means.

p Children add dimension and color to the piece by incorporating yarn dipped in glue.

p Paint brushes are used to affix materials to the collage.

p Loose items are incorporated with glue and paint.

Photos courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh

Season is a slam dunk

Preparing for a great odyssey

Community Day School students prepared for Odyssey of the Mind, a creative problem-solving program by working on scripts, props, costumes, musical numbers and set design.

p From left: Seventh-graders Lehv Sahud and Jordan Block

p Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh middle school girls completed their basketball season with a nail-biting 20-19 loss against Sewickley Academy on Feb. 15. Photo by Adam Reinherz

Machers and Shakers These members of the Jewish community were named to the third annual Power 100, the Pittsburgh Business Times’ listing of Pittsburgh’s most influential business leaders: Leslie Davis, president and CEO of UPMC; Laura Karet, CEO of Giant Eagle Inc.; Justin Kaufman, Pittsburgh office managing partner of PwC; Stefani Pashman, president and CEO of Allegheny Conference on Community Development; Greg Perelman, CEO and founding partner of Walnut Capital and Todd Reidbord, principal and president of Walnut Capital; Izzy Rudolph, president of development and acquisitions of McKnight Realty Partners; Audrey Russo, president and CEO of Pittsburgh Technology Council; and Karen Wolk Feinstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation.

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p Sixth-grader Noga Shemes

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Photos courtesy of Community Day School

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