Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 9-3-21

September 3, 2021 | 26 Elul 5781

Candlelighting 7:30 p.m. | Havdalah 8:28 p.m. | Vol. 64, No. 36 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Congregations ready security for High Holidays

Photo by tomertu via iStockphoto

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Back to school — in person

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

T

decreed agricultural cycle, one characteristic of which is that Israel-based lands are left to lie fallow.

When it comes to the pandemic, “we thought that we were out of COVID, but yet again we feel as though we’re in a neverending cycle,” Altein said. Rosh Hashanah, and specifically the welcoming of shmita, represents a perfect time to break from the cycle, and to “stop and think about, how am I going to make the future better?”

“The High Holidays are always an opportunity to stop and reflect,” said Rabbi Amy Bardack, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s director of Jewish life and learning. Because it is a “restart of the new year,” and a time to “get in touch with our mortality,” the High Holidays are an

he dawning of 5782 will take place against a backdrop of increased antisemitism worldwide that was exacerbated during last spring’s Israel/Hamas conflict. In Pittsburgh, there was a series of verbal and physical assaults directed toward members of the Squirrel Hill Jewish community, followed by several inappropriate Holocaust references at local school board meetings during mask mandate discussions.

So while many Jewish Pittsburghers are wary of attending High Holiday services in person this year because of the increased rate of COVID transmission, some have other concerns as well.

“We are in an increased threat tempo,” said Shawn Brokos, director of Jewish community security at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. “That’s not to scare people, but it is to help our organizations make informed decisions about how they want to proceed.”

After a year of virtual and hybrid services, Brokos wants to remind community members to remain vigilant and cognizant of their surroundings — a practice that became second nature after the massacre at the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27, 2018.

Even so, Brokos, who has been delivering security briefings to Pittsburgh’s Jewish organizations, hopes Pittsburgh’s Jewish community will feel comfortable attending services and other gatherings in person without fear this holiday season.

“There will always be some anxiety,” said Brokos. “We are still processing the events of 10/27, but my goal is that in discussing training and preparing ourselves, our community members feel empowered and that they won’t err on the side of staying home for security purposes.”

Congregational leaders reviewed their security procedures last year and underwent training provided by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh over Zoom, Brokos

Please see Pandemic, page 18

Please see Security, page 18

Hillel JUC welcomes students to Pitt and CMU Page 3

LOCAL

Photo by John Theodor via iStock

Meet the shinshinim

Israeli teen emissaries come to Pittsburgh Page 4

LOCAL A new Torah for the new year

Spiritual leaders share thoughts on another pandemic High Holiday season

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

M Chabad of Monroeville finishes its first scroll Page 5

$1.50

onths ago, Jewish Pittsburgh was anticipating a different sort of High Holiday season. With vaccinations increasing and COVID cases declining, there was hope that the Days of Awe would resemble 2019 more than 2020 — packed pews, various youth activities and opportunities for socialization.

But then the number of COVID transmissions in Allegheny County rose again.

How do we reconcile the New Year with a continuing pandemic? Local spiritual leaders have some suggestions.

This particular Rosh Hashanah marks a special period on the Jewish calendar, as it is a shmita, or sabbatical, year, according to Rabbi Sruly Altein, of Chabad of Squirrel Hill. Shmita is the seventh year in a biblically

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LOCAL Holocaust Center leaves Greenfield

LOCAL Author Loung Ung on war and peace

FOOD Lamb shanks for the holidays

Headlines Holocaust Center leaves its Greenfield space — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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he Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh is headed to Squirrel Hill. After six years at 826 Hazelwood Avenue in Greenfield, the 41-year-old organization will be partnering with Chatham University on an exhibit there, and putting other artifacts and materials in storage for the time being.

For Holocaust Center director Lauren Bairnsfather, exiting Greenfield is “not without some sadness.”

“We have had a good productive six years here,” said Bairnsfarther. “But from the day we opened here six years ago, we had outgrown it.”

In-person events, even pre-COVID, were problematic in the Greenfield building given its limited size, and once the pandemic hit and staff began working from home, there was less of a need for office space, she said.

With the lease in Greenfield coming to an end, “it made sense” to move, said Bairnsfather.

Barb Feige, executive director of Tree of Life Congregation, said she welcomed the Holocaust Center back to Squirrel Hill, adding that the organization is “an integral partner in the future of Tree of Life.”

“They are also integrated into our planning process,” she said, referring to the renovation and reimagining of the Tree of Life building.

Established in 1980, the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh is a self-funded affiliate of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

Prior to its Greenfield location, the Holocaust Center operated from the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill branch, and then from the Federation’s former headquarters on McKee

 Moving boxes

Place in Oakland.

Bairnsfather said she’s enthusiastic about returning to Squirrel Hill.

“There’s been a feeling that since we left the JCC that we should be in Squirrel Hill,” she said.

In preparation for the move, Holocaust Center staff have been packing its artifacts and materials for months. While most boxes are headed for storage, others are being sent to Chatham.

The Holocaust Center’s Chatham exhibit will be located at the Jennie King Mellon Library on campus, and will feature materials that are a response to the Oct. 27, 2018, massacre at the Tree of Life building.

Chatham University President David Finegold said the school is eager to host the

rebuild Tree of Life.”

Both Fe i g e and Bairnsfarther declined to share further details on the two organizations’ relationship moving forward; however, Feige noted a shared purpose between them.

“There is something unfortunately synergistic about Holocaust education and Oct. 27,” Feige said. “The underlying antisemitism in the Holocaust hasn’t gone away and that’s what the Tree of Life shooting shows.”

It will be both a “joint effort and tremendous opportunity” to work together on educational projects and community outreach in the days ahead, Feige added.

The relationship Photo by megaflopp via iStock between Tree of Life and the Holocaust Center is Holocaust Center, and welcomes its involve- “unprecedented,” agreed Rabbi Jeffrey ment in future campus activities, including Myers, of Tree of Life. undergraduate instruction.

Myers said that as there is no apparent “Chatham is excited to house the talented model of what a relationship may look like staff of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh between these types of entities, both the this fall to teach in our new Jewish Studies Holocaust Center and Tree of Life will need and Holocaust and Genocide Studies to proceed “carefully” and with patience. minors,” said Finegold. “This partner“Just like Oct. 27, our greater Jewish ship will provide a way for us to connect community had to write a playbook about with young people who are committed to how you respond to a massacre in a synacombatting identity-based violence and gogue,” he said. “It’s the same thing here. discrimination while also working for posi- There is no playbook.” tive social change.”

“We are just in the early stages of talking In an Aug. 20 email to Holocaust Center and imagining, out of the box, what supporters, Bairnsfather said the upcoming this can be.” PJC move to Squirrel Hill “will allow us to estabAdam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ lish an academic presence on Chatham’s campus as we participate in efforts to pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines It’s back to school — on campus — for Hillel JUC — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

I

n a typical year, college organizations and clubs gear up at the start of fall semester to greet freshmen at orientation activities but — because of the pandemic — Lauren Tiers Taylor was focused on welcoming the sophomores to campus last week, too.

“It was really great to meet the freshmen — they’re really anxious to get involved,” said Taylor, a Hillel JUC committee member and University of Pittsburgh junior majoring in political science and psychology. “I think, honestly, though, it’s the biggest difference for the sophomores. They experienced their whole first year of college online. We’re just really excited to be back on campus [and] to see the freshmen and sophomores experience that.”

In late August, Hillel JUC opened the doors to its building again to students and families after 18 months of being closed due to the pandemic, said Dan Marcus, the organization’s executive director and CEO. Over the summer, Marcus and his team did “quite a bit of work in our building, getting it prepared and ready for opening,” he said.

Everyone entering the building now must be vaccinated and wear masks at all times.

Hillel JUC kicked off its Welcome Week in style, welcoming new — and some still new

 Lily Cohen, Zoe Bailkin, Reed Yulis, Brooke Shapiro and Lily Turner show off their Hillel JUC Hammocks they received for winning the Pitt Hillel Sophomore Trivia Night.

Photo courtesy of Hillel JUC staff

to campus — students from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

In the first two days alone, Marcus said, more than 180 first-year students participated in Welcome Week activities.

“We actually had more people visit and engage with us than in pre-COVID times,” Marcus told the Chronicle. “One of the lessons we learned … is how much they valued and appreciated us being open.”

Hillel JUC has been hosting these kinds

of Welcome Week activities — including meet and greets, brunches, trivia nights and special Shabbat celebrations — for 20 years, as long as Marcus has been heading the organization. This year, they combined the usual activities with the Jeannette C. Kalson Memorial Student Leadership Retreat, where students from Pitt and CMU took in a full day of “learning, bonding and leadership,” Marcus said.

Part of the retreat took place at the Hillel

JUC building near the Oakland/Squirrel Hill border, while other activities, such as physical work on ropes courses, were held at Camp Guyasuta in O’Hara Township.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council also took part in the Kalson leadership retreat, speaking about student concerns as well as relevant campus life issues such as how anti-Israel political discussions can morph into forms of antisemitism.

“We wanted to reinforce our commitment to students,” said Laura Cherner, director of the CRC. “I definitely saw that there was a level of excitement about seeing their peers after being virtual for a year.”

Hillel also sponsored a “coffee blitz” last Friday during Pitt’s first day of classes, where volunteers handed out free cups of joe at the Fifth Avenue Starbucks in Oakland to firstyear students. The organization capped off the week with a “CMU Jewish Life Welcome” and an “Newish and Jewish brunch” at Pitt.

Both of the latter events shared more ways for new students to get involved in Jewish life on campus.

“The enthusiasm and the joy of students being back together in person, in a safe way, is a boon to our leadership at Hillel,” Marcus said. PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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Headlines Shinshinim return to help connect Pittsburgh youth to Israeli culture — LOCAL —

By Dionna Dash | Special to the Chronicle

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fter a 17-month hiatus, the shinshinim program was revived, and three young Israelis have arrived in Pittsburgh to share their culture and perspectives on the Jewish state.

The shinshinim (an acronym for “shnat sherut,” a Hebrew phrase meaning “year of service”) are teenage emissaries from Israel who delay their mandatory military service for a year to volunteer either in Israel or somewhere in the Diaspora. Amit Haizler, Shahaf Balasiano and Itai Rovnick, all recent high schools graduates, will bring a taste of Israeli life to young Pittsburgh Jews, thanks to a joint program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Jewish Agency for Israel.

All three shinshinim have spent time abroad before, and Haizler and Balasiano previously visited Pittsburgh as part of the Diller Teen initiative. They are both from Misgav, Pittsburgh’s sister region in Israel, while Rovnick lives in Eshtaol, a small village near Beit Shemesh. They all have experience working as counselors and guides in Israeli youth movements, and are excited to collaborate closely with a number of Jewish children’s organizations while in Pittsburgh, including Community Day School.

“At the day school, I hope to work with younger children, like kindergarten to second grade,” Haizler said. “I really love working with little kids and I did that a lot in Israel.”

During their year in Pittsburgh, the

shinshinim will work at CDS four days a week, partnering with teachers in the Hebrew department. They will also lead elective courses at the Joint Jewish Education Program of Pittsburgh — a Jewish complementary school for students in grades K-8 — and will work with teens in the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s Second Floor. Finally, they will finish out their year of service as madrichim, or counselors, at the Emma Kaufmann Camp next summer before heading back to Israel next August.

The goal of the shinshinim program is to have a broad, yet deep, impact on the community, said Kim Salzman, director of Israel and Overseas Operations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

“In a year when youth aren’t necessarily traveling to Israel, it’s really important for us to be doing Israel engagement on the ground in Pittsburgh, and the shinshinim are incredible emissaries because they’re young and dynamic and come from diverse backgrounds,” Salzman said. “They can share their Israel with youth in a way that adults can’t, so they’re really critical in keeping that connection with Israel alive and strong.”

For Haizler, forging that connection means highlighting Israel’s multiculturalism.

“My goal is to give American Jews valid and true information about what is really happening in Israel,” he said. “People in the U.S. only know the bad parts about diversity in Israel, but I would like to show how diversity in Israel succeeds and how we live in peace most of the time with everyone, including Orthodox Jews, Arabs Please see Shinshinim, page 19

 Pittsburgh’s shinshinim, from left: Amit Haizler, Shahaf Balasiano and Itai Rovnick

Photo courtesy of Risa Fruchter

4 SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

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Headlines Chabad of Monroeville welcomes new Torah in time for High Holidays — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

R

abbi Mendy Schapiro hopes the completion of a new Sefer Torah at the Chabad Jewish Center of Monroeville will lead to centuries of continued Jewish community in Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs.

“You always hear about Torahs — they say ‘This Torah is 150 years old’ — well, this is the beginning of the next few hundred years,” Schapiro told the Chronicle at an event celebrating the Torah’s completion.

“This is historic and many people in the community want to be a part of it.”

For the last 12 years or so, the Chabad Center had to borrow Torahs for its services.

Several months ago, during a service held outdoors because of the pandemic, Schapiro mentioned to those in attendance that the Torah they were currently using would have to be returned and he hoped to borrow another soon.

“Someone said, ‘Hold on — we don’t have a Torah of our own?’” Schapiro recalled.

“That started the process.”

A fundraising effort got underway, and Schapiro contacted a scribe in Israel who was in the beginning stages of writing a new

 Rabbi Mendy Schapiro (third from right) and his family with Rabbi David Lipschitz

Photo by Yehuda Welon

scroll for which he did not yet have a buyer.

A “shidach” was made.

“It worked out that we’d be able to have it before the holidays,” Schapiro said. “There’s no better time than now.”

The new scroll actually required the services of three scribes. The first, in Israel, inked the scroll and sent it to New York, where a second scribe completed several manual and computer checks and placed

the scroll on its atzei chayim, or rollers. And the Torah was completed in a ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 29, a 90-degree day with near 100% humidity. Local scribe Rabbi David Lipschitz wrote the last several lines beneath a tent with members of the community who helped fund the project.

Lipschitz said there are several different possible script styles for Torahs and that all three scribes involved in the Chabad Jewish

Center’s new Torah worked in the same style.

“The crowns are all going to be the same,” Lipschitz said. “The shape of the letters are all going to be the same.”

While the new Torah was completed in less than a year, Lipschitz said it’s not uncommon for the process to take 12 months.

Schapiro said it is a mitzvah for every male to write a new Sefer Torah, which community members can fulfil by helping to fund a new Torah when needed. He noted that many in the Chabad community contributed to the creation of the new scroll, but that both the Shunfenthal and Rubin families were the primary funders. In fact, he said there is a dedication to Jennie Roet, grandmother to the Shunfenthal family, on the Torah’s new cover.

Vandergrift resident Susan Eisenman said participating in the creation of the Torah was important to her as a way to celebrate her mother.

“She was here from the beginning when they first started the congregation and when they bought this building,” Eisenman said.

“It was very important to contribute to something that was meaningful, and this is very special. I feel that it was an honor to be a part of this.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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This High Holiday season, as we seek spiritual and physical renewal for ourselves and our loved ones, let us also remember those in Israel who nurture and renew life every day. Whether it’s treating civilians wounded in terror and rocket attacks or vaccinating them against Covid-19, no organization in Israel saves more lives than Magen David Adom.

Magen David Adom is not government-funded. Its 27,000 volunteer EMTs and paramedics and 4,000 full-time professionals rely on support from people like you for the vehicles, supplies, and equipment they need to perform their lifesaving work.

No gift will help Israel more this coming year. Support Magen David Adom by donating today at afmda.org/rosh or call 888.674.4871. Shanah tovah.

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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

SUNDAYS, SEPT. 5, 12, 19, 26

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. q

MONDAYS, SEPT. 6, 13, 20, 27

Join Congregation Beth Shalom for a weekly Talmud study.

9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org. q

TUEDAY, SEPT. 7

Moishe House and Temple Sinai partner for Tashlich. Come cast off whatever you want to let go of from the past year and go into the new year with a fresh start. 5 p.m. Frick Park (exact location TBD). After the ritual, stay for a picnic lunch with Temple Sinai or join Moishe House for dinner. facebook.com/ moishehouse.pittsburgh Moishe House will be cooking a big Rosh Hashanah dinner, complete with thematic ingredients (apple, pomegranate, honey) and cocktails.

Come celebrate with us in the traditional Jewish manner — overeating. Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, we are capping this event at 10 attendees (plus our residents) and will eat outdoors if weather permits. 6:30 p.m. facebook. com/moishehouse.pittsburgh q WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 8-

SUNDAY, SEPT. 12

Film Pittsburgh’s 9th annual ReelAbilities Pittsburgh film festival will include 12 features and short films that explore and celebrate the stories of individuals living with disabilities. It is co-presented by and will screen at the Carnegie Museum of Art. The festival

will also include question and answers with visiting filmmakers, an art exhibit, and receptions. ReelAbilities Pittsburgh brings people together to explore and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience. Films will be shown at the Carnegie Museum of Art which is fully accessible. $15. FilmPittsburgh.org

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Avi Ben Hur unpacks the causes and core issues that relate to the ArabIsraeli Conflict. The goal is to make the subject accessible to educators and give them the tools with which to grapple in the classroom with the subject and with breaking news. Each section will be accompanied with suggestions for further exploration.

2 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/ arab_israeli_conflict

WEDNESDAYS, SEPT. 8, 15, 22, 29

Bring the parashah 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 q

THURSDAY, SEPT. 9

Classrooms Without Borders, in partnership with the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Liberation 75 and sponsored by Dr. Daryl Miller, is excited to offer the opportunity to watch the film “Love It Was Not” and engage in a post-film discussion with the film director and writer, Maya Sarfaty in conversation with CWB Scholar, Avi BenHur. 3 p.m. classroomswithoutborders. org/love_it_was_not Join Moishe House Pittsburgh for Rosh Hashanah Gratitude and Intention Setting. Share the highlights of the past year and what you’d like to do in 5782. Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, this event will be held over Zoom. 7 p.m. facebook.com/ moishehouse.pittsburgh q THURSDAYS, SEPT. 9-

JUNE 30, 2022

The Alan Papernick Educational Institute Endowment Fund presents Continuing Legal Education, a six-part CLE series taught by Foundation Scholar Rabbi Dr. Danny Schiff. Earn up to 12 CLE credits. Each session is a stand-alone 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/continuinglegal-education.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 12

Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh for its 2021 annual meeting “Open Windows.” This year’s honorees are Meyer “Skip” Grinberg and Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel. 5:30 p.m. jewishpgh.org/annual-meeting

Bake your own chocolate babka and a delicious challah for Shabbat with Chabad of the South Hills at the Mega Babka-Challah Bake. Pizza and crafts.

Ages 3-12. $8/child before Aug. 30; $10 after Aug. 30. Outdoor event. For questions contact mussie@chabadsh. com. Event is co-sponsored by PJ Library.

4:15 p.m. ChabadSH.com/challah q

MONDAY, SEPT. 13

Join Classrooms Without Borders for a virtual tour of Israel with guide and scholar Rabbi Jonty Blackman via Zoom. 4 p.m. For more information and to register, visit classroomswithoutborders.org.

Moishe House resident Sunshine loves bad movies and wants everyone to join them for the cringe classic film “Twilight,” using Netflix’s Teleparty plug in. Pick up gift bags with popcorn and other treats before the movie to enjoy at home. 7 pm. Sign up at bit.ly/MoHoSept. q

TUESDAY, SEPT. 14

See Israel with the one you love.

Honeymoon Israel is open to couples of all cultural, racial, religious, gender and sexual identities who are looking to create connections with each other and to Jewish life. Open to couples with at least one Jewish partner. Each trip includes 20 diverse couples from the same city. Learn more at one of three

news JEWS CAN USE.

information sessions: Sept. 1 at 6 p.m.; or Sept. 14 at noon or 6 p.m. jewishpgh.org/ honeymoon-israel q

THURSDAY, SEPT. 16

Come break the Yom Kippur fast at Moishe House. Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, this event will be capped at 10 attendees (plus our residents), and we will eat outside if weather permits. 7:30 p.m. Sign up at https://bit.ly/MoHoSept q

SUNDAY, SEPT. 19

Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Volunteer Center and help decorate the sukkah at Solomon House, a Squirrel Hill Community Living Arrangement which is home to three young men with intellectual and/ or developmental disabilities. Project will occur outside and be limited to 10.

Masks which fully cover nose and mouth are required, regardless of vaccination status. 11 a.m. jewishpgh.org/event/ voom-sukkah-decorations-with-jrs q

THURSDAY, SEPT. 23

In cooperation with Tali Nates, founder and director of the Johannesburg Genocide & Holocaust Centre, Classrooms Without Borders begins a new Museums and Memorial series.

Alongside CWB scholars, travel with museum historians, experts and contemporary witnesses to 10 different regions to explore the history behind the exhibits, discuss the nature of memory and memorials, and discover how the world remembers the Shoah and honors the lives we lost. 2 p.m.

For more information and to register, visit classroomswithoutborders.org/ holocaust_museums_and_memorials_ around_the_globe.

Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Young Adult Division, Congregation Beth Shalom and Moishe House for an evening of wine and wisdom in the sukkah. The Chosen Wine located in Dormont will be sharing wisdom about great kosher wines. Preregistration required.

8 p.m. jewishpgh.org/event/yadwine-wisdom PJC

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Headlines Yeshiva School’s wellness initiative carries on legacy of children’s advocate — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

A

dversity, perseverance and compassion — those are the three themes that come to Wendy Mars’ mind when she thinks of her sister, Elaine Hashimi, whose family and loved ones will be marking the first yahrzeit of her Sept. 13, 2020 death.

“My sister was Job,” Mars told the Chronicle.

“You know all the bad things that can happen to you — being deaf, getting cancer — it all happened to her and it was tough to watch.

But, through it all, she helped others.”

In addition to being a loving wife and mother, Hashimi, who lived in Phoenix, sheltered and nurtured others — like the developmentally disabled relative she welcomed into her home and counseled through his high school graduation.

Yosef Hashimi, Elaine’s son and a member of the board at Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh, thinks of another word when he describes his mother: empathy.

“My mom just wanted kids to reach their maximum potential and ensured, if they were challenged in any way, that their challenges weren’t ignored,” Yosef Hashimi said. “She

 Elaine Hashimi

Photo courtesy of Sideqa Padawer

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

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never wanted children to feel left out — today people would call it ‘inclusion.’ My mom’s ethos was inclusion before that was a word used in the modern vernacular.”

After Elaine Hashimi’s death last year, her family helped establish the Elaine Hashimi Endowment Fund for Student Wellness at Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh, raising more than $200,000 for the cause.

The student wellness division launched at Yeshiva Schools at the beginning of the 2020-21 academic year, as students were struggling with the knotted realities of attending classes during the pandemic. The Hashimi family recently pledged an additional $100,000, as part of Yeshiva School’s upcoming capital campaign, to permanently name all wellness centers at the schools after their matriarch.

“There’s nothing that

could be more meaningful to my sister than what they’re doing,” said Mars, who serves as an assistant dean at the University of Pittsburgh and sits on the board of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. “She was my hero. She was just so smart and so kind. She was just everything good — she truly was.”

The student wellness division was not always at the top of Yeshiva School’s to-do list, according to Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum, whose August 2020 appointment as Yeshiva Schools’ CEO dovetailed with the development of its strategic plan. That plan “blends the traditions of the past with the needs of the future and goals of the new leadership team,” officials said. The plan — aiming to improve education there, among other measures — was undertaken by a 25-member committee of parents, academic staff and community members.

COVID-19, changed a lot of realities on the ground. With students facing psychological issues as a result of the pandemic, Yeshiva Schools pushed the student wellness division concept “right to the front of the line,” Rosenblum told the Chronicle.

“We thought it was important and, a year later, we’ve proven that it is important,” he Please see Yeshiva, page 26

SHANAH TOVAH!

CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM WISHES YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

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PLEASE BE OUR GUEST — NO TICKETS REQUIRED Stanley J. Savage, Rabbi Ira Michael Frank, President For Information, call the office at 412.471.4443

◀ All current Covid-19 protocols will be followed. ▶ Vaccines and masks are required.

A HAPPY AND HEALTHY ROSH HASHANA AND GOOD WISHES TO ALL FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR!

BETH HAMEDRASH HAGODOLBETH JACOB CONGREGATION

810 FIFTH AVE. | PITTSBURGH, PA 15219 | 412.471.4443 8 SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

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Headlines Suspicious package at CDS posed no risk to students or staff — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

A

suspicious package delivered to Community Day School on Aug. 24 — the first day of the 2021-22 academic year — that contained what officials called a “granular, salt-like material that we could not identify,” posed no risk to students or staff, according to the Pittsburgh Police.

Nate Muscato, director of security for CDS, contacted Pittsburgh Police after the Squirrel Hill school’s front office received the package on Tuesday.

Pittsburgh Police responded quickly and determined the package was not dangerous,

and the school day continued uninterrupted, school officials said.

Allegheny County 911 and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh were notified about the suspicious package.

Hazardous material personnel “did further tests [at] CDS that confirmed the initial police assessment that there was no cause for concern,” officials said.

Community Day School issued two emails to parents of students on Aug. 24 to update them about the police presence at the school.

“The safety of our school community is our very highest priority and a responsibility we hold sacred,” CDS Head of School Avi Baran Munro wrote to parents that day. “As always, we will continue to take all measures necessary to keep our school community physically, emotionally, and spiritually safe.”

“We have no reason to believe the package represented a threat of any kind or targeting of the school,” Jennifer Bails, the school’s director of marketing and communications, told the Chronicle after the incident. “We acted out of an abundance of caution in a wholly precautionary way, guided by the tenet that ‘If you see something, say something.’”

An FBI spokesperson confirmed that agents from the Pittsburgh office responded to the scene in Squirrel Hill on Aug. 24 “and took possession of the package.”

“I don’t have any other information available at this time,” Catherine Policicchio, the Pittsburgh FBI’s public affairs officer, said.

The Jewish Federation’s director of community security, Shawn Brokos, declined to speak about specific details regarding the incident, but stressed it does not appear to be

part of a larger trend.

“A few Jewish organizations” outside of Pittsburgh reported receiving suspicious packages recently, Brokos told the Chronicle.

Those incidents, however, were “not similar to what was seen at Community Day.” “Had there been a concern or identifiable threat or a suspicion of any, we would have notified the community,” Brokos said.

“I know law enforcement responded very quickly and took it very seriously. There was not a time I felt a true risk to the community.”

“CDS handled this matter very well — swiftly and appropriately,” Brokos added.

“Now, the investigation is ongoing and it’s in law enforcement’s hands.” PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

JCC to require proof of vaccination

E

ffective Oct. 18, 2021, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh will require all staff, members, and guests over the age of 12 to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to enter any JCC facility. The new policy was unanimously approved by the organization’s board of directors last week.

The Oct. 18 timeline allows those who are

currently unvaccinated to receive the required number of vaccine doses, including the additional two weeks to build immunity. Medical exemptions from adherence to the vaccination policy, as well as moral/religious exemptions, may be requested and are subject to approval.

Currently, more than 95% of JCC employees are fully vaccinated, according to an Aug. 25 letter from the JCC to its

members announcing the new policy, and new JCC hires must be vaccinated to secure employment with the JCC. “We serve a diverse segment of our community from infants to older adults,” said Jason Kunzman, the JCC’s chief program officer, in a prepared statement. “Our responsibility is to help maintain and protect the health and wellness of all who walk through our doors.”

When making decisions regarding health and safety, the JCC has relied on CDC guidance throughout the pandemic, and each phase of its reopening was “pressure tested” by the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, according to JCC officials.

“The JCC has applied best practices Please see JCC, page 19

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Wishing You a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year

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Headlines Author and activist Loung Ung shares insider’s look at Cambodian genocide — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

I

n April 1975, when Loung Ung was 5 years-old, the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia. After fleeing their Phnom Penh-based home, Ung and her family spent the next four years separated from one another while concealing their identities.

Ung, who was in a work camp for orphans, was trained as a child soldier. Her siblings were sent to labor camps. Of the nine members of Ung’s family, only five survived.

Across Cambodia, similar atrocities transpired as more than a million residents were murdered and buried in what became known as “the Killing Fields.”

Ung, 51, spoke to Pittsburghers on Aug. 29 at a virtual program supported by Classrooms Without Borders, The Ghetto Fighters’ House and South Africa Holocaust & Genocide Foundation.  The entire Ung family in Cambodia, 1975 Ung, who lives in Cleveland, said her story serves as a “vehicle to tell the larger issues of challenging passages to describe those days war and peace, and connections and work.” in her writings.

It’s critical, she said, that people understand “I was not going to do it in a way where that “war is hell.” it was going to be easy for the readers And for that reason, the activist and best- because it’s life-changing, it is heart-scarJC ReSound Couple_Eartique 6/22/21 2:44 AM Page selling authorONE purposely crafted emotionally ring, ” she1said.

Hear like no other

 Photo of Loung, brother Meng and sister-in-law Eang on the day they arrived in Vermont in 1980

Photos courtesy of Loung Ung

Having written three memoirs, Ung likens stories to umbilical cords, whose purpose is not only to support and nourish life, but to “connect us to one another.”

She has been writing and working in film for 20 years, and her work has

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

Scholar and biblical commentator Nechama Leibowitz is born in Riga, Latvia. She teaches at yeshivas, seminaries and Tel Aviv University and is known for her weekly “Pages” dispatches of Torah questions.

September 4, 1985 — New Shekel is introduced

With an additional microphone, ReSound ONE allows you to collect sound with your own ears, just as nature intended.

Helping you to process sound with greater depth and direction. © 2 0 2 0 G N H e a r i n g A / S . A l l r i g h t s re s e r v e d . R e S o u n d i s a t r a d e m a r k o f G N H e a r i n g A / S .

The new Israeli shekel becomes the official state currency. It is worth 1,000 of the old shekels, which became Israel’s currency only five years earlier but are being replaced under an economic stabilization plan.

September 5, 1978 — Camp David Summit begins

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President Jimmy Carter convenes Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and their teams at a Maryland retreat to hammer out what would become the Camp David Accords.

Squirrel Hill ~ 2703 Murray Ave ~ 412.422.8006 ~ eartique.com 10 SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

Please see Genocide, page 19

This week in Israeli history September 3, 1905 — Scholar Nechama Leibowitz is born

Introducing ReSound ONE™

introduced her to audiences around the world. Wherever she goes, she said, her underlying message is the same.

“I want people to know that peace is not a wish,” she said. “Peace is not an entitlement.

Peace is not something we hope others will work on and then we get the benefits of it.

Peace is an action — or rather, many, many, many actions — it’s something we commit

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

September 6, 1840 — 9 Jews are freed after Damascus Blood Libel

Under international pressure, including protests by U.S. Jews, the Ottoman pasha frees the nine surviving Damascus Jews of 13 who were arrested and falsely accused of killing a Franciscan Capuchin friar and his servant for their blood.

September 7, 1865 — Rav Kook is born

Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, who promotes religious Zionism and writes acclaimed religious books, is born in Latvia.

He serves as the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Palestine from 1921 to 1935.

September 8, 1908 — Orthodox Theologian Eliezer Berkovits is born

Liberal Orthodox theologian Eliezer Berkovits is born in Nagyvarad, Transylvania.

He serves as a rabbi and teaches in Germany, England, Australia and the United States until he retires to Israel in 1975.

September 9, 1948 — Cinema Director Alon Garbuz is born

Alon Garbuz, the director of the Tel Aviv Cinematheque for four decades, is born in Givatayim. Under his leadership, the cinematheque establishes a permanent home and becomes Israel’s top film society. PJC

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Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

NJ condo settles with residents who sued about Shabbat elevator

Elevators at The Colony condominiums in Fort Lee, New Jersey once again will stop on every floor on Shabbat as part of a settlement with Orthodox Jewish residents who sued over the service being canceled, JTA reported.

Residents filed suit in June alleging that the condo discriminated against them by turning off the Shabbat setting in the elevators and preventing staff from pushing the elevator buttons. They contended that they were thus trapped in their apartments during Shabbat.

In a letter to condo shareholders, it was announced that the elevators will stop on every floor for 9½ hours each Saturday and on major Jewish holidays. The lawsuit sought damages, but no payments are required per the settlement.

First bar mitzvah celebrated in Bahrain in 16 years

Bahrain’s Jewish community recently celebrated its first bar mitzvah since 2005, JTA reported.

The Association of Gulf Jewish Communities said the ceremony took place in Bahrain’s only operational synagogue, the House of Ten Commandments in Manama.

The unnamed bar mitzvah boy read from a Torah scroll donated by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and senior adviser to former President Donald Trump.

There are about 50 Jews living in Bahrain, which signed a normalization accord with Israel in 2020 that Kushner helped to broker.

“It is a very exciting time for Jewish life in the [Gulf Cooperation Council] as more families celebrate Jewish milestones more publicly,” AGJC Rabbi Elie Abadie said.

“This is an affirmation of the continued growth of Jewish life in the region.”

Spanish university cancels seminar comparing Holocaust, Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A Spanish university canceled a course titled “Auschwitz/Gaza: A Testing Ground for Comparative Literature” after being criticized by several Holocaust scholars and Jewish organizations, JTA reported.

Jewish groups contended that the University of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia trivialized the Holocaust by comparing it to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“This very title and expected content is not an issue of ‘freedom of expression,’ but a banalization of the Holocaust, which can incite to hatred and violence against Jews of today,” wrote Shimon Samuels, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s director for international relations, in a letter sent to Spain’s minister of universities, Manuel Castells Oliván.

Ukrainian café says SS logo a ‘font gone wrong’

Owners of a Ukrainian cafe housed in a former synagogue said a logo featuring

two lightning bolts that resembled the Nazi SS insignia “is a case of a font gone wrong,” JTA reported.

The owners of Café Escobar in Chernivtsi said on Facebook that they worked two lightning bolts into the logo to advertise their coffee’s reenergizing qualities. They apologized and said they will drop the logo.

“We didn’t make any Nazi references, we assure you! And sorry if this caused negative emotions,” they wrote. “We apologize to anyone whose feelings may have been hurt.”

The cafe has kept some of the Hebrew text on the walls from when the building was the Great Synagogue of Chernivtsi. The building dates from 1853 and combines baroque and classicist elements.

Israel’s Chief Rabbinate calls on Pope Francis to clarify comments on Torah and Jewish law

Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has asked Pope Francis to retract a recent comment about Jewish law that it said might lead Catholic listeners to “derogatory conclusions” about Jews.

Rabbi Ratzon Arusi, chair of the Chief Rabbinate’s Commission for Interreligious Affairs, sent a letter to the Vatican expressing concerns about a lecture there on God giving the Torah to the Jews, Reuters reported.

“God offered them the Torah, the Law, so they could understand His will and live in justice,” Francis said in the homily, according to a translation of his remarks provided by the Vatican. “We have to think that at that time, a Law like this was necessary, it was a tremendous gift that God gave His people.”

What he said next is the objectionable part: “The Law, however, does not give life, it does not offer the fulfillment of the promise because it is not capable of being able to fulfill it,” the pope said. “The Law is a journey, a journey that leads toward an encounter … Those who seek life need to look to the promise and to its fulfillment in Christ.”

The letter from Arusi was addressed to Cardinal Kurt Koch, whose department at the Vatican handles Jewish relations.

“In his homily, the pope presents the Christian faith as not just superseding the Torah; but asserts that the latter no longer gives life, implying that Jewish religious practice in the present era is rendered obsolete,” Arusi was quoted by Reuters as writing.

“This is in effect part and parcel of the ‘teaching of contempt’ towards Jews and Judaism that we had thought had been fully repudiated by the Church.”

Arusi asked to “convey our distress to Pope Francis” and requested the pope act to “ensure that any derogatory conclusions drawn from this homily are clearly repudiated.”

Koch’s office told Reuters that he was “considering [the letter] seriously and reflecting on a response.”

Francis enjoys a good reputation when it comes to Catholic-Jewish relations. He co-authored a book with a rabbi many years ago when he was still the archbishop of his native Buenos Aires. Last month, Francis acted to restrict the use of the Latin Mass, a liturgical form that calls for the conversion of Jews and refers to Jewish “blindness.” PJC

Shana Tova to you, from your friends att JAA. Apple Muffins 1/2 cup water or apple juice 1 egg 1/4 cup oil

1 cup chopped apple 1 1/2 cup flour 1 Tbsp. baking powder 1/2 cup brown sugar

1. Combine egg, water, and oil. Beat well.

2. Add dry ingredients and beat.

3. Mix in the chopped apple.

4. Grease muffin pan and fill 1/2 full 5. Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes or until done Recipe from chabad.org

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

September 2021

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Makes a dozen muffins

jaapgh.org | 412-420-4000 SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 11

WISHING YOU A NEW YEAR 5782

from The Board and Staff of the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh ADATH JESHURUN CEMETERY

HOLIDAY VISITATIONS Coming Soon: Margaretta Interfaith Cemetery

Sunday September 5 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Sunday September 12 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Limited Time – Plots available at $1,000

Grave-side prayers provided…Lovingly maintained by on-site caretaker

For more information, visit www.adathjeshuruncemeterypgh.org For questions or to reserve a plot call 412-508-0817 Adath Jeshurun Cemetery | 47791:18 Roland Road ROSH_HASHANAH.qxp_Layout 1 8/18/21 PM Page 1

| Allison Park, PA 15101

From

STATE SENATOR JAY COSTA OFFICES TO SERVE YOU FOREST HILLS 1501 Ardmore Boulevard • Suite 403 Pittsburgh, PA 15221 (412) 241-6690 • Fax: (412) 731-2332

5915 Beacon Street • Pittsburgh, PA 15217 • newligthcongregation.org

5915 Beacon Street • Pittsburgh, PA 15217 • newligthcongregation.org

All are Welcome All are Welcome &ƌŝĞŶĚůLJ͕ ŐĂůŝƚĂƌŝĂŶ͕ ŽŶƐĞƌǀĂƟǀĞ AllJonathan areWelcome Welcome &ƌŝĞŶĚůLJ͕ ŐĂůŝƚĂƌŝĂŶ͕ ŽŶƐĞƌǀĂƟǀĞ All are Rabbi Perlman &ƌŝĞŶĚůLJ͕ ŐĂůŝƚĂƌŝĂŶ͕ ŽŶƐĞƌǀĂƟǀĞ &ƌŝĞŶĚůLJ͕ ŐĂůŝƚĂƌŝĂŶ͕ ŽŶƐĞƌǀĂƟǀĞ Rabbi Jonathan Perlman RabbiJonathan Jonathan Perlman Rabbi Perlman

JOIN5915 NEW CONGREGATION FOR THE 2021 HIGH HOLY DAYS 5915LIGHT Beacon • Pittsburgh, PA 15217 • newligthcongregation.org Beacon Street •Street Pittsburgh, PA 15217 • newligthcongregation.org JOIN NEW LIGHT CONGREGATION FOR THEEntrance 2021 HIGH HOLY DAYS Services to be held in the Ballroom and on Zoom. on Shady Avenue.

JOIN LIGHT CONGREGATION FOR THE 2021 HIGH HOLY DAYS JOIN NEW LIGHT CONGREGATION FOR THE 2021 HIGH HOLY DAYS Services toNEW be held in the Ballroom and on Zoom.

Entrance on Shady Avenue.

Services toheld be held in the Ballroom and onZoom.

Zoom.Entrance Entrance on Shady Avenue.

Services to be in the Ballroom and on on Shady Avenue.

Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Monday, September 6th: 7:30 P.M. Wednesday, September 15th: 6:40 P.M. RoshRosh Hashanah YomKippur Kippur Hashanah Yom th th th Tuesday, 7 : 9:45 A.M. Thursday, September 16 : 9:45 A.M./5:30 P.M. Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Monday, September 6 7:30 P.M. Wednesday, September 15 : 6:40 P.M. Monday, September 6 : 7:30 P.M. Wednesday, September 15 : 6:40 P.M. th

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th Wednesday, September A.M. Monday, September 7:309:45 P.M. Wednesday, September 6:40 Tuesday, September 76thth:: 87thth: : 9:45 Thursday, 16thth15 9:45 A.M./5:30 A.M. : : :9:45 A.M./5:30 P.M.P.M. Tuesday, September Thursday,September September 16 Tuesday, September 7th: 8th: 8th: 9:459:45 Thursday, September 16th: 9:45 A.M./5:30 P.M. Wednesday, September A.M. Wednesday, September A.M. ĞŵĞƚĞƌLJ sŝƐŝƚĂƟŽŶ Wednesday, September 8th: 9:45 A.M. th ĞŵĞƚĞƌLJ sŝƐŝƚĂƟŽŶ Sunday: August 29 & September 5th, 10:00 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. ĞŵĞƚĞƌLJ sŝƐŝƚĂƟŽŶ th th29th August & September , Shaler 10:00A.M. A.M. P.M. NewSunday: Light Cemetery: Soose Road, Twp,-- 12:30 PA 15209 ĞŵĞƚĞƌLJ sŝƐŝƚĂƟŽŶ Sunday: August 29 & 750 September 5th5, 10:00 12:30 P.M. New Light Cemetery: 750 Soose Road, Shaler Twp, PA th th Sunday: August 29 & 750 September 5 , 10:00 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. New Light Cemetery: Soose Road, Shaler Twp, PA 15209 15209 ZĞŐŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶ ZĞƋƵŝƌĞĚ͗ New Light Cemetery: 750 Soose Road, Shaler Twp, PA 15209 For Non-Vaccinated Individuals ZĞŐŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶ ZĞƋƵŝƌĞĚ͗ ũĂŶĞƚΛŶĞǁůŝŐŚƚĐŽŶŐƌĞŐĂƟŽŶ͘ŽƌŐ For Non-Vaccinated Individuals ZĞŐŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶ ZĞƋƵŝƌĞĚ͗ ũĂŶĞƚΛŶĞǁůŝŐŚƚĐŽŶŐƌĞŐĂƟŽŶ͘ŽƌŐ Masking and Social Distancing Enforced ForMasking Non-Vaccinated Or Call: 412-421-1017 and Social Individuals Distancing Enforced ZĞŐŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶ ZĞƋƵŝƌĞĚ͗ ũĂŶĞƚΛŶĞǁůŝŐŚƚĐŽŶŐƌĞŐĂƟŽŶ͘ŽƌŐ Or Call: 412-421-1017 For Non-Vaccinated Individuals Masking and Social Distancing Enforced ũĂŶĞƚΛŶĞǁůŝŐŚƚĐŽŶŐƌĞŐĂƟŽŶ͘ŽƌŐ Or Call: 412-421-1017 Masking and Social Distancing Enforced Or Call: 412-421-1017

Chai

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High Holidays of Hope

Please join us Free and open to everyone

A Yom Kippur Commitment: Moving Beyond Hate Thursday, September 16 • 2:30-3:45 pm Gather with us on the holiest day of the Jewish year to reflect on the power of community-wide solidarity in responding to hatred in Billings MT, Pittsburgh PA, and our country. Our special guests will share the creative energy they use to move beyond hate, led in conversation

by Maggie Feinstein, Director, 10.27 Healing Partnership, and Rabbi Ron Symons.

Rabbis Ron Symons and Aaron Bisno, along with Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife and spiritual leader Sara Stock Mayo will guide us in a contemporary Yizkor service for all those we have lost.

Zoom and Facebook Live

Award-winning stand-up comedian, LGBTQIA+ and anti-bullying advocate

Margaret MacDonald Former Montana State Senator

Camerin “Camo” Nesbit Muralist, designer, and educator

Emiola Oriola

For registration link and more information: JCCPGH.org

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Gab Bonesso

Founding Program Manager, Office of Interfaith Dialogue and Engagement, University of Pittsburgh

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SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 13

Opinion Rosh Hashanah 5782 — EDITORIAL —

5781

was challenging. But we got through it.

In the process, we learned how to celebrate Shabbat and Jewish holidays remotely or in compliant outdoor venues; figured out how to work remotely and still do our jobs; attended meetings, communal events and celebrations on Zoom or in carefully restricted settings; and watched our children struggle to learn remotely or attend class under difficult COVID-driven rules. Throughout it all, we yearned for a return to “normal.”

Around Rosh Hashanah of last year, as the COVID-19 infection and death rates soared yet again, there was uncertainty about our nation’s ability to react quickly and comprehensively enough to overcome the virus.

A few months later, as a national vaccination program rolled out, infections and COVIDrelated deaths began to decline. Over time, as the number of vaccinations increased — and with it more promising virus-defying numbers — plans were formulated to remove masks, eliminate social distancing requirements and even allow indoor gatherings. And we envisioned a triumphant return to our synagogues and workplaces by Rosh Hashanah.

But it was not to be. The stubborn refusal of millions of Americans to get vaccinated — and the emergence of the highly infectious delta variant that took advantage of that reluctance — shattered our optimism and forced us to change our plans. So once again, as Rosh Hashanah 5782 approaches, we are challenged. The feeling of déjà vu — complete with all of the uncertainties of a raging pandemic that we cannot fully

control — is frightening.

We worry about the impact of new restrictions on our children. Notwithstanding the remarkable efforts of our schools, last year’s education programs were not optimal.

And we are concerned about the longterm impact of further reduced education opportunities.

On the economic front, we have seen two conflicting trends: The stock market is booming, as consumer spending is hot and business investment is growing. At the same time, economic inequality is getting worse, as the wealth gap continues to increase, with little hope or meaningful opportunity for the neediest among us.

Locally, we take pride that our synagogues and communal institutions have continued to work so hard to build a vibrant Jewish community, and have been remarkably attentive and creative in doing so. They

have been nimble in adjusting to new rules and realities, even as they prepare for the holidays and the coming new year.

As we think about the past year, there are two other achievements we celebrate.

First, we applaud the efforts of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and other local organizations in raising charitable dollars to support food, shelter and healthcare needs caused by the pandemic, while at the same time continuing to support ongoing Jewish life. The results are impressive.

Second, we marvel at the remarkably rapid development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. That singular accomplishment is emblematic of what can be accomplished when people work together. Let’s keep that in mind as we prepare to face new challenges in the coming year.

We wish all of our readers a healthy, happy and sweet new year. PJC

Recognize and prepare for hatred on campus Guest Columnist Zev Hurwitz

D

espite rising anti-Semitism and the backlash against Israel on American campuses, collegiate life generally has been a largely positive experience for most Jewish students. However, the circumstances they will face this fall should move schools to prepare for increased campus antisemitism.

Students are returning only a few months after the 11 days of violence between Israel and Hamas in May, which led to new levels of hostility toward Jews across the United States and even abroad. Many are attending, in person, for the first time in more than a year. While mobilization against Israel hardly ceased during the coronavirus pandemic (and, in fact, went online as well), the nature of on-campus activities — paired with pent-up demand for in-person engagement — will embolden anti-Israel activism and be more accessible to newcomers.

Meanwhile, new challenges continue to

pop up. Even before the school year began, Middle East courses were slated to be taught by self-described anti-Israel activists, faculty unions are voting to boycott the Jewish state and a supporter of well-documented antisemite Louis Farrakhan, head of the Nation of Islam, was tapped to run an entire academic department. All of this is compounded by the targeted acts of cowardice like graffiti, antisemitic flyers, even arson, which have become all too common in Jewish spaces on campus. Put all together, it’s hard to deny there is cause for concern.

Everyone has a role in the ongoing battle

against Jew-hatred. It is imperative that university administrators seize the opportunity for meaningful reform before antisemitic incidents morph into more physical violence.

An intentional, multipronged approach to curbing antisemitism on campus is urgently needed. The first major hurdle to overcome is ensuring that those in academic leadership roles can recognize hatred against their Jewish community.

Campus leaders must begin to address the surge in Jew-hatred by joining the 30 student Please see Hatred, page 28

Working parents need help, and they are running out of time Guest Columnist Megan Rose and Rep. Dan Frankel

P

arents have had enough.

For 18 months, they have struggled, hustled and patched together solutions. They have compromised and sacrificed, as a short-term emergency has stretched and morphed into a wildly unpredictable series of new challenges.

Of course, the surprise is not that our government and social infrastructures are failing parents. Our systems are built for two-parent, one-earner households, despite the fact that it’s been more than 40 years since that was the norm.

What’s new is that they are failing most of our families at the same time.

If we let this moment of crisis pass without addressing the lack of support for families from both the public and private sectors, we will pay the price for decades. You cannot rebuild a strong economy without parents.

While Pennsylvania’s workplaces have 14 SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

largely reopened, families are facing an ongoing emergency: Child care programs are facing staff shortages, and school districts, striving for in-person instruction, are moving ahead without regard to the needs of working parents. In addition, many employers are now racing toward in-person work, with little to no acknowledgment of the ongoing crisis for working families experiencing the disruptions to essential support for their children.

Working mothers’ incomes are more important than ever in keeping families clothed, fed and housed, but this essential income is in jeopardy across the board. An entire generation of a workforce is being pushed out: Women’s labor participation rate has plummeted to levels not seen since 1988, according to the National Women’s Law Center; 32% of women aged 25-44 said child care was the reason for unemployment in a New York Times survey, and the effect has been even more acute among women of color. Locally, workers are taking notice and choosing employers that better meet their needs: Half of the region’s recent grads relocate to other cities, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times.

No end is in sight for many working mothers, many of whom pick up the pieces when care is disrupted: The American Academy of Pediatrics reported that

nationwide 94,000 children tested positive for COVID in the week ending Aug. 5 — a substantial increase since the beginning of July. The delta variant is so highly transmissible that it is marching its way through unvaccinated populations, and there is no population in the U.S. today as unvaccinated as kids. The COVID vaccine is as yet unavailable for 50 million Americans under the age of 12. Fewer than a third of 12-to-15-yearolds have been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — a substantially lower proportion than any other eligible age group.

One positive COVID test in a child’s classroom may result in a week or more without child care or in-person schooling. Without meaningful support, working mothers are left with perilous choices: use paid time off (if they have any), scramble for care (sometimes choosing unsafe arrangements in order to maintain employment) or collapse under the strain of it all — jeopardizing the mental and financial wellbeing of our next generation.

This situation is not sustainable, and the consequences will affect us all.

Employers must recognize that this crisis is far from over for workers with children under 12, and adjust their policies to fit an evolving set of needs.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

But mostly, elected leaders need to act.

Universal childcare, paid family leave, investments in a diverse and well-trained early education workforce, and universal access to healthcare are the foundations to building a strong economy. These programs support families, and they also support businesses that need qualified and dependable employees. Bills that would address each of those vital priorities have gathered dust for years in the General Assembly, as leaders have opted instead to go to battle over culture wars.

It’s time to force the issue. If we cannot address these problems now, when a dominant segment of the population is struggling, then when? Pennsylvania voters must demand solutions for families, and hold leaders accountable when they don’t deliver.

And if you are a working mom, reach out to the National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh to join a growing network of working moms supporting and learning from one another and advocating for all. PJC Megan Rose is the director of the Center for Women, a project of the National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh Section.

Dan Frankel, a Democrat, represents the 23rd district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Opinion We all need next year to be a ‘good and sweet’ year Guest Columnist Jordan Golin

“H

ave a good and sweet year.”

Many of us can recall saying this to our friends and loved ones each year with smiles on our faces and warm feelings in our hearts. Last year, we said this same phrase with hope — and some gnawing uncertainty — that the devastating pandemic would end in the new year.

What about this year?

None of us can deny the impact that 18 months of virus disruption has had on our emotional well-being. Rates of depression, anxiety, violence, substance abuse and suicide have all increased during this pandemic.

And although teletherapy has made it much easier in a socially distanced world to

access help when it is needed, a computer screen cannot completely substitute for a physical shoulder to cry on, a warm embrace or a heart-to-heart chat while shooting hoops with a friend.

During the first year of the pandemic, my goal was to “get through it,” believing that the coronavirus was a temporary situation that would soon pass. But I needed to pay more attention to my own emotional thermometer, recognize when my stress or mood was off and then do things to help myself feel better.

This year, on the other hand, I’ve been trying to figure out how to adapt more fully to this new environment, realizing that I can’t just put my life on hold indefinitely. I had to push my reluctance to embrace virtual get togethers whenever in-person gatherings aren’t safe. I needed to truly disconnect from work on a regular basis and do fun things with my friends and family — even if they are not the same things that I would have done pre-pandemic.

I am the first to raise my hand and say,

“This year has been emotionally exhausting.”

The first, but not the last.

In fact, our team at JFCS literally spends every day figuring out how to best help members of our community who are struggling with life challenges, many of which are related to or exacerbated by the pandemic.

The feelings and experiences of the past year have been a tug of war. I saw staff heroically connecting people with food and rent payments, psychological counseling, safe housing and jobs. And I know that every time the staff are successful with their clients, they are also fighting back against the heavy sense of frustration and helplessness this virus keeps spreading across our planet.

We all need next year to be a “good and sweet year.”

But what can we do to guarantee a successful and sweet year ahead?

I think we all need to make a resolution to help each other. To take that extra step and give each other a hand.

It is okay to admit that we all need help.

Our parents need help.

Our grandparents need help.

Our kids need help.

Our grocery employees, nurses and all of the other essential workers need help.

I need help.

You need help.

You can give help by volunteering with organizations, advocating for causes you care about, checking in on longtime neighbors and welcoming new neighbors.

You can get help by reaching out to me at jgolin@jfcspgh.org.

There has never been a time when the need for connection and support has been greater, despite the many, very real barriers that exist today. Part of successful pandemic coping is the knowledge that we each have the ability to help others get through this coming year with dignity and with sweetness.

Have a good and sweet year. PJC Jordan Golin is president and CEO of JFCS Pittsburgh.

Chronicle poll results: Are you vaccinated?

L

ast week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “Are you vaccinated?” Of the 531 people who responded, 97% said they were “fully vaccinated.” Less than 1% said they were partially vaccinated, and less than 1% said they intended to get their shots now that the FDA has approved the Pfizer vaccine. Only 11 people (just 2%) said “No, and I don’t intend to.” One hundred people submitted written comments. A few follow.

Yes absolutely. It is a mitzvah as far as I’m concerned.

Anti-vaxxers are ignorant selfish fools.

I’m also significantly concerned about the Nazi references made with increasing frequency.

percentage of people both unvaccinated and unmasked, I will be remaining masked for the long-term foreseeable future.

Are you vaccinated? .38% 2.08% No, and I don't intend to.

No, not yet, but now that the FDA has fully approved the Pfizer vaccine I intend to.

.38% Partially vaccinated.

What a miracle to have a vaccination available so quickly.

I am afraid it might c omprom i s e my immune system, which seems quite good. I do not get flu vaccines, etc.

I got the vaccine to protect myself and those around me. I did this with some insurance that this vaccine was the solution. Now I need to get a booster? I will.

However the government says masks are the solution. Mixed messages every day from our government. I’m not sure who or what to believe.

The science tells us the vaccines are safe.

Failure to reach herd immunity will result in

The Government ain’t sticking no chip in my arm. PJC

97.16% Yes, fully vaccinated.

Get the damn shot already.

I think that it is unconscionable that some have chosen not to be vaccinated or wear masks. We have a moral obligation to protect the children who cannot be vaccinated.

I got both Pfizers in March and a booster in August because with my weak immune system, vaccines often do not offer me any protection. I rely on herd immunity to keep me safe and with a large

— LETTERS — Honor the rules — and the health of others

There was a recent story in the Chronicle about an engagement party in Australia in which COVID lockdowns were violated (“An illicit engagement party roils Australian Jews during new COVID-19 lockdown,” Aug. 20). It hit home, as we in Pittsburgh just experienced a similar event. It may not have been civil law being violated here, but posted building rules and laws of common sense were flouted just as much as in Australia.

Our parents taught us to call out any Jew who brings shame upon us, because it is important how the world sees us.

Two weeks ago, here in Pittsburgh, in the middle of a high transmission-rate pandemic, in a building where mask mandates are clearly stated at every entrance, hundreds of wedding party members and guests swarmed throughout a local synagogue, without masks, with no distancing, despite having been asked to wear masks. Yes, they had rented space for their wedding, and such happy events are welcome. But this seemed too much.

The building houses not only a congregation and its offices, but also the offices of other organizations, a caterer and two preschools. Employees of the synagogue and of the other organizations were present and working during the wedding. There was a water crisis going on in the building, yet the wedding party requested that the necessary portable toilets be covered over and rendered unusable before and during the wedding because they deemed them unsightly.

The maskless guests even used rooms which were not specifically rented to them, setting up little offices in spaces where others were working.

All of this amounts to a number of violations of basic commandments, not to mention PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

more variants and possibly a variant which will evade our current crop of vaccines. We will then be back at square one along with shutdowns, etc. I don’t understand how some of the anti-vaxxers say the vaccine has been rushed, but then embrace conspiracy theorists’ claims that completely untested drugs are the answer.

common decency. They were risking their own health and the health of those around them, including those who work in the building and those who were going above and beyond to serve them.

What possible justification could anyone have for holding such a gathering anywhere in these times? One of the commandments which comes to mind is that we must not act as if the world revolves around ourselves. Considering that mandate, as well as those which relate to maintaining the health of the individual and the community, and never posing risks to others, all I can see is a shonda.

The world is watching. Australia or Pittsburgh, we are Jews. We all have common ancestors. We all say the same prayers, observe the same holidays. Please stop bringing such shame upon us all.

A. Glickman Squirrel Hill We invite you to submit letters for publication. Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number; addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Letters may not exceed 500 words and may be edited for length and clarity; they cannot be returned. Mail, fax or email letters to:

Letters to the editor via email: letters@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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

Fax 412-521-0154

Website address:

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SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 15

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Headlines Pandemic: Continued from page 1

appropriate time to ask, “If this is the life I want to be living — should I be living?”

Rabbi Aaron Bisno, of Rodef Shalom Congregation, said he plans on addressing the subject of mortality during Rosh Hashanah.

“COVID exposed and accelerated what was already true for us,” Bisno said. “Our mortality is not the emergency, and therefore we have an opportunity in light of current reality to return to the essential questions about what we do with the limited time we have and how we make that time meaningful.”

As the High Holidays approach, Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife, of Kesher Pittsburgh, hopes people focus on God’s creative patterns. Within the Book of Genesis, God deliberately separated each day, one from the next, and paused to see that “it was good.”

There is value in similarly pacing one’s self, Fife said.

For example, beyond fasting on Yom Kippur, that day is also about “slowing down

to give ourselves time to reflect, to check in with ourselves, to check in with one another so that we can be intentional, and loving and caring in what we create for the year ahead,” she said.

Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman, of Brit Shalom in Erie as well as Derekh at Congregation Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill, said he hopes people spend more time in the coming weeks focusing on “radical compassion,” or “chesed.”

“One of the things that’s really hard at this point in the pandemic is to feel compassion for our fellow human beings,” he said. “So many of us are totally exhausted, it’s not easy.

But we have to keep dipping into that well.”

For Goodman, radical compassion is particularly applicable to COVID-19.

“There are a lot of unvaccinated Americans, and a lot of Americans who are angry at the unvaccinated Americans, and one of the things that has come out of studies recently is that castigating people, and screaming at them or punishing them, doesn’t convince them to get vaccinated,” he said. “It takes conversations and education

and one-on-one time that demonstrates that you have compassion and care about them.”

This practice hits at the “core of our humanity,” Goodman added. “Be more compassionate and let the chips fall where they may.”

Cantor Rena Shapiro, spiritual leader at Beth Samuel Jewish Center in Ambridge, agreed that the upcoming holidays are a perfect opportunity for reconnection. The pandemic remains “the elephant in the room,” Shapiro said, but it doesn’t mean that “we can’t learn from our friends and family, and even from our matriarchs and patriarchs,” as they all “encountered and dealt with challenges.”

“Our liturgy tells us to return, and return doesn’t necessarily mean to the good old days,” she said. “It really means to return to God, to what we know in our hearts is right, to exercise faith over fear and peace over panic.”

Rabbi Doniel Schon, associate dean of the Kollel Jewish Learning Center, said the coming weeks offer an opportunity to renew relationships.

“COVID has been a difficult time for everyone,” he said. “Naturally, things can get

us down and can detract from our personal relationships or the relationship [between] man and God. We can take this time to rise above it.”

People were hoping that by this time the pandemic would be over, and “now we realize it’s a longer-term thing,” Schon continued.

For that reason, “we can’t chalk everything up to COVID anymore. We realize that COVID can’t be an excuse. We have to rise above, and even though it’s more difficult, we need to make those adjustments.”

Rabbi Barbara Symons, of Temple David in Monroeville, said her High Holiday sermons will cover a broad range of topics related to Israel, including the diversity of people who have a relationship with the Jewish state. She also plans to speak about repentance, as well as reparations.

At this time of year, she said, everyone needs to think about each other. This is not the season to “allow people to be invisible.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Security: Continued from page 1

said. As pandemic restrictions were lifted, the Federation also offered in-person security exercises.

The leaders of local Jewish organizations were eager for the training, despite the discomfort in discussing possible threats, Brokos said.

“There’s a sense of community again, that we’re all in this together, that it’s our obligation to protect one another,” she said. “When you train together, there’s a sense of camaraderie that you can’t feel on Zoom.”

Most congregants will see the same level and type of security they saw in previous years, including local police officers standing outside their synagogues, or private security personnel employed by congregations, Brokos said. Additional, less obvious security measures may also be in place, and Brokos said several Jewish organizations made needed security upgrades on their buildings during the pandemic.

Some congregations are also focused on enhanced digital security this year. Many non-Orthodox congregations use Zoom to stream their services. When the pandemic began, several congregations across the country experienced “Zoom bombing,” where white supremacists infiltrated congregations’ feeds and spread antisemitic messages. Since those early incidents, Zoom has increased its security and congregations have grown more adept at preventing them, Brokos said.

One congregation’s executive director, who asked not to be identified, said that synagogues now have multiple levels of security they use to protect their members

 Shawn Brokos, director of Jewish community security at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

online but — to keep that security sound — declined to reveal details.

The Federation has been working with the Pittsburgh Police and congregations, requesting police presence in a coordinated effort, Brokos said. “It’s all of us working lockstep to protect the community.”

Drew Barkley, executive director of

the Reform congregation Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill, appreciates that effort. He praised both Brokos and Erin Wyland, the Federation’s security program coordinator, for the work they’ve done in the community.

“They make it easy to work with and they keep everyone informed,” Barkley said.

“They deserve a lot of credit.”

Photo by James Uncapher

Said Brokos, “The Jewish community should know that there is a very strong security and safety net in place for its members.

We have excellent partnerships with law enforcement. It’s a coordinated effort.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 18 SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Shinshinim: Continued from page 4

and Christians.”

Balasiano wants Pittsburgh Jews to think of Israel as a second home.

“I want to be able to share with a Jewish community my point of view about Israel, Israel’s values and culture, and make them feel they have a home and a safe place to go to anytime in Israel,” she said. “There are so many subjects that no one wants to talk about regarding Israel, but I would like to open a discussion about them.”

Each of the shinshinim will bring their specific talents and interests to the work they do over the year. Balasiano’s background is in theater and dancing; Rovnick is focused on environmental conservation and photography; and Haizler studies computer science

JCC: Continued from page 9

throughout the entire pandemic,” said Dr. Elizabeth Miller, director of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital, in a prepared statement. “The rigor of the JCC’s approach

and plays the ukulele.

“I hope to bring music into my classes,” Haizler said. “I want my lessons to be based on Israeli songs and poems so I can bring music from home to the kids in Pittsburgh.”

Despite being busy with all of their community engagement efforts, the three will still make time to be teenagers while in Pittsburgh, skiing with their host families, attending a Justin Bieber concert and spending time with students their own age at the Hillel Jewish University Center. Balasiano is excited to make new friends, while Haizler would love to dress up in formal clothing and go to a traditional American school dance.

Rovnick is looking forward to living in a city.

“I come from a small place near a city, but living in the actual city, living within walking distance from an actual store, is exciting,” he said.

In March of 2020, the Federation had

to send that year’s shinshinim home to Israel since they weren’t prepared for their work to go virtual. This year, contingency plans are in place.

“If we have to go virtual, hopefully the shinshinim will remain in Pittsburgh and work in pods and smaller groups, and do online programming,” said Risa Fruchter, the Federation’s shinshinim coordinator.

“We can definitely create dynamic, impactful virtual programming if needed.”

For now, the shinshinim will be doing their work fully in person, closely following CDC guidelines and the individual guidelines of each organization.

Rovnick’s departure from Israel has been delayed for a week because he contracted COVID. He will be joining Haizler and Balasiano in Pittsburgh once his symptoms, which are mild, clear and he’s no longer contagious.

All three teenagers experienced COVID in Israel much like many people did in the States. Haizler’s parents worked overtime as healthcare employees, staying at the hospital during Shabbats and struggling with a lack of proper equipment and bedspace; Balasiano enjoyed extra time at home with her sister, a soldier in the Israeli army, though she regretted the circumstances that led to that extra time; and Rovnick helped distribute donated food to elderly people in his area, even going the extra mile to pick up their daily medications and cook meals for them.

When asked if they were worried about traveling to the States while COVID cases are still surging, Rovnick put it simply: “COVID is not a reason to not come. We’re showing Israel in a better perspective and we’re doing a job that needs to be done.” PJC

is well supported by the findings and recommendations of national and local health authorities. The JCC is to be commended in its steadfast approach to following the science and prioritizing public health. Care for our neighbors and for each other’s safety is so critical during these challenging times.”

The JCC is partnering with the Squirrel Hill Health Center in making vaccinations and PCR tests available for all staff prior to

the Oct. 18 deadline.

JCC programs for which participants may receive government funding — such as early childhood and the JCC’s after-school offering — will not require a COVID-19 vaccination, “though it is highly encouraged,” according to JCC officials. The vaccine mandate, however, will apply to those children over 12 and their household members if they wish to participate in JCC enrichment activities,

such as swim lessons.

The JCC’s face mask requirement for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals while indoors, announced Aug. 3, is expected to remain in place until Allegheny County falls below the high or substantial community transmission rate, according to the Aug. 25 letter to members. PJC

Genocide: Continued from page 10

ourselves to on a daily basis.”

Beginning with her initial memoir “First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers,” and continuing through “Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind” and “Lulu in the Sky: A Daughter of Cambodia Finds Love, Healing, and Double Happiness,” Ung has repeatedly tapped her own family’s heartache in order to share one of the 20th century’s most horrific periods.

Whether it’s better understanding childhood traumas, what happened in Cambodia or remembering lost love, she said, writing provides her a chance for introspection in a way that speaking does not.

“My writing is something that is very cathartic and very therapeutic for me,” she said.

In the process of accessing and transcribing her memories, Ung faced an ironic realization: In the midst of horror, there can also lie hope. “There can be love and family and sacrifice and courage,” she said. “There is a kind of beauty, and joy and love that keeps you moving through and out of your hell, and so I wanted to (also) write a story of hope and humanity and what it is that moves us human beings out of our hell.”

During her Pittsburgh talk, Ung shared more about her childhood experiences and the aftermath of war. While she has spoken

 Lucky Child

Art courtesy of Ateret Cope via Classrooms Without Borders

about these topics before, she said, both remain difficult to address.

Prior to her speeches, Ung, decides which biographical aspects to address, carefully writes out her comments and steels herself for an emotional ride. She said that years ago, when she began sharing her experiences and those of fellow Cambodians, the process was much more arduous. Ung was critical of how she appeared on stage, how she sounded, whether her accent was noticeable.

 Loung Ung

Photo by Robert Muller

And when she cried, which was — and is — inevitable, she said, she wondered whether she was being authentic and if her parents would be proud.

“When I made a mistake, I was really tough on myself,” she said. “I was very tough on everything.”

As time has passed, Ung has become more forgiving of herself as a speaker and as an activist. She knows that when addressing an audience, and conveying the details of

Dionna Dash is a writer living in Pittsburgh.

— Toby Tabachnick

war and its aftermath, it’s harder to control a narrative than it is to write a book. And that’s all right, she said, saying that she is “more forgiving of myself now when I do this, which is so much healthier for me.”

Alongside Hollywood A-lister Angelia Jolie, Ung co-wrote the screenplay for “First They Killed My Father.” Jolie directed the film, which streamed on Netflix.

Working on the project was a “spiritual experience,” Ung said. Initially, she thought the hardest part about returning to Cambodia and making the film would be to witness scenes of soldiers, their guns and landmines and recreating earlier horrors. But she said that “those weren’t the scenes that broke me most.”

Instead, the hardest part was watching the nine actors who played her family sit together for dinner.

“It was the one thing I grew up dreaming of, and wanting, and envisioning, and imagining,” Ung said. “And to see that happen — even though it’s with actors in a film — that for me was both heartbreaking and beautiful.”

As difficult as it was to watch, the scene stirred her heart and reinforced another message she’s long tried to impart: “Everybody, enjoy dinner with your family tonight,” Ung said. “Look at each other. Look and see who you have, and who is sitting around the table with you. Please. I would give anything, anything, to be in your situations, to have that moment.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 19

Life & Culture Pomegranate and date braised lamb shanks make a special holiday meal — RECIPE —

By Jessica Grann | Special to the Chronicle

A

side from the seder of simanim, which is traditional to prepare for Rosh Hashanah, I also try to incorporate foods from the Seven Species, or Shivat Haminim: wheat, barley, grape, fig, pomegranate, olive (oil) and date (honey).

This braised lamb recipe uses date syrup — or silan — which is what, historically, the Israelites called honey. (When we refer to Israel as the Land of Milk and Honey, it is date honey, not bee honey that is referenced.)

I also add pomegranate syrup — which is a reduction of pomegranate juice with no added sugar — into the marinade. Pomegranate syrup is readily available in kosher and Middle Eastern markets and online. The pomegranate mixed with silan gives a lovely sweet-and-sour flavor. Saffron, cumin, cinnamon and mint round out the fragrant marinade.

I suggest letting the lamb rest in the marinade for at least three hours. If you have the time and the refrigerator space, you can certainly allow it to sit overnight. I like meals like this for holidays because the meat does not dry out, so it’s easy to make ahead and warm just prior to the festive meal. I serve this over a plate of steamed couscous. p Pomegranate and date braised lamb shanks

fully cover the meat; instead, turn the meat over several times so all of it has a chance to soak up the flavors. When braising, too much liquid can work against you and won’t reduce very well. The pomegranate syrup works as an acid and softens the meat, while the silan adds sweetness to the dish.

Set your oven to 300 F, and place a rack in the middle of the oven.

Chop the onion into large cubes, mince the garlic and peel and cut the carrots.

He at the additional 3 tablespoons of oil over medium

heat in a heavy-bottomed pot. I recommend a Dutch oven or enamel style pot with a lid for this recipe.

Add the onion, stirring occasionally and allow to soften for about 10 minutes before adding the garlic.

Whisk together the pomegranate syrup, silan, salt, pepper, cumin, dried mint, red pepper flakes and saffron for the marinade.

Pour over the lamb and refrigerate for a minimum of three hours.

No need to make enough marinade to 20 SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

Photo by Jessica Grann

Stir continuously for 30 seconds — enough time to release the flavor of the garlic without burning it.

Using tongs, place the lamb shanks from the marinade and add to the pot to brown for 1-2 minutes on each side. If you’re using lamb cubes, add all of the meat at once, stirring it together with the onions to brown, turning over several times. If your pot is on the smaller side, you may have to brown the lamb shanks in 2 to 3 batches.

Add the carrots around the lamb before pouring the marinade over the meat. I use a rubber spatula to get every last pit out of the bowl.

Ad d ½ cup of water to the pot.

Cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours, until the meat is fork-tender and falling off the bone. If you’re using boneless lamb cubes, test the meat with a fork after about 1.5 hours.

Remove the cinnamon stick and allow to rest for 15 minutes, uncovered, before serving.

I arrange the meat over a platter of couscous before serving.

Garnish with freshly torn mint leaves, pomegranate arils and toasted slivered almonds. Enjoy! PJC Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.

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Photo by Fedor Kozyr via iStockphoto

Pomegranate and date braised lamb shanks Serves 4-6 Ingredients: 4-6 lamb shanks or 2 pounds of cubed lamb ¾ cup (6 ounces) of pomegranate syrup ½ cup of silan (date honey) 3 tablespoons avocado or canola oil for marinade 3 tablespoons avocado or canola oil for browning the lamb 1 large onion, cubed 2 cloves of garlic, minced 4 large carrots, sliced in larger chunks 2 teaspoons cumin 2 teaspoons dried mint 1.5 teaspoons coarse kosher salt ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper 1 pinch of red pepper flakes 1 pinch of saffron threads 1 cinnamon stick ½ cup water 2 tablespoons of lightly toasted slivered almonds, optional Torn fresh mint leaves and pomegranate arils for garnish

‫לשנה טובה‬

L’Shanah Tovah A Happy and Healthy New Year From the staff and board of

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Life & Culture Could this real-life Nazi salute incident have inspired Netflix’s ‘The Chair’?

— STREAMING —

By Chloe Sarbib | JTA

“T

he Chair,” Netflix’s new six-part dramedy set in the English department of a fictional Ivy League school, is about a lot of things: existing as a woman of color in academia, workplace sexual tension, parenthood, grief, Sandra Oh’s incredible double-breasted jackets.

It’s also about a casual Nazi salute — if there is such a thing — which occurs during the first episode and reverberates throughout the rest of the series.

That moment, replayed and refracted, becomes a way for the show’s writers to explore cancel culture on college campuses.

It’s a narrative device, but it’s also very similar to a real event that occurred a few years ago at a prestigious New York City private school — the very one that Jewish co-creator Amanda Peet attended.

In February 2018, Ben Frisch was teaching pre-calculus at the high school where he’d taught for three decades, Friends Seminary in Manhattan. In demonstrating an obtuse angle, he found himself inadvertently in the posture of a “Heil Hitler” salute. Horrified, Frisch, grasping for a way out, called it out:

p Sandra Oh and Jay Duplass in “The Chair.” Photo by Eliza Morse/Netflix via JTA

“Heil Hitler!” he said. The joke fell flat.

Then, Frisch tried to explain: Until recently, making fun of Nazis was common, a Mel Brooks-inspired form of humor. Now, of course, any reference to Nazism was taboo.

The class moved on, resuming discussion of math. As in “The Chair,” that seemed to be that. At first. But soon after, Friends’ principal, Bo Lauder, fired Frisch.

This incident and its aftermath were complicated by Frisch’s own Jewish heritage: Though, like Friends Seminary, Frisch is Quaker, his father was Jewish, and two of his great-grandmothers died at Auschwitz. Much of the student body rushed to his defense. They taped petitions

In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,

We Remember Them.

to the principal’s door, staged sit-ins, wore “Bring Back Ben” pins, and protested. Per the New York Times: “In a commencement address, the senior Benjamin Levine offered a thinly veiled critique of the administration: ‘It’s so much easier and simpler to decide someone is racist or ignorant or naïve — or anti-Semitic — than to engage in the messy work of trying to communicate and understand when conflicts arise.’” One protest sign read: “Firing a Trade Unionist Jewish Son of a Holocaust Survivor For Having a Mel Brooks Sense of Humor is Antisemitic.”

Anyone who’s seen “The Chair” will note where these stories align. Like Bill Dobson (Jay Duplass), the charmingly disheveled and wildly popular professor who makes this gaffe in the show, Frisch was well-liked, as shown by the ensuing wave of support.

(Dobson, who is also a successful novelist, has an almost cultish student following.)

Where the stories diverge is in the student reaction to the incident: In “The Chair,” after the salute is surreptitiously recorded on several students’ phones during the lecture (of course), the clip goes viral, devoid of all context, and starts a campus-wide protest for “No Nazis at Pembroke.” One Jewish student, a Professor Dobson devotee, even lists off statistics about the recent rise in antisemitic incidents in an attempt to help

him understand why reactions are so strong.

As mentioned, co-creator Peet attended Friends Seminary (albeit before the 2018 incident with Frisch). Peet’s Jewish identity is important to her: Born to a Jewish mother and a Quaker father, she’s married to Jewish writer and former “Game of Thrones” showrunner David Benioff. In 2015, she wrote a children’s book about being Jewish during Christmas time.

Though Peet has yet to mention Frisch in interviews around “The Chair,” this story, of another Jewish Quaker at her alma mater, may have inspired her.

In the Times piece about Frisch, Jonathan Mahler wrote: “That no one has accused Frisch of being an anti-Semite was beside the point: His invocation of the Nazi salute in a classroom full of high school students, regardless of his intentions, was enough to end his career.” Without spoiling too much, this very same question — of intent versus action — plays a key part in the fate of the fictional Bill Dobson.

But back to real life: In the end, after a union-supported hearing, Ben Frisch got his job back; he is once again teaching at Friends Seminary. It’s unknown if he’s watched “The Chair.” PJC Published by Alma, a 70 Faces Media brand.

Lee & Lisa Oleinick 22 SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

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Life & Culture Mandy Patinkin’s real grief for father fed ‘Princess Bride’ character — FILM —

By Stuart Winer | Times of Israel

A

ctor Mandy Patinkin reached out through social media to help comfort a fan grieving over the death of her father, and revealed that it was the memory of his own parent that inspired him during an iconic scene in the film “The Princess Bride.”

Patinkin responded personally to TikTok user Amanda Webb after she posted a clip on the video-sharing site in which she said her father, who died in March of cancer, was a big fan of the 1987 cult movie.

In the video, published on her account @alaska_webb, she said her father’s favorite character was Inigo Montoya, played by Patinkin.

Webb noted that she had seen a rumor online that in Patinkin’s most famous scene of the film, when he confronts his nemesis Count Rugen, the six-fingered man who killed Montoya’s father, the actor was inspired by the memory of his own father who died of cancer when he was 18.

Finally finding his father’s killer after years of searching, Montoya repeats the line he long practiced for the meeting as he finds within himself the strength to continue fighting even though he’s badly injured:

promising him money, power, “anything you want,” before attempting one final treacherous blow. The swordsman then stabs and kills his nemesis.

“I want my father back, you son of a b****,” he says.

In her video, a tearful Webb said the scene and final line had come to have new meaning for her since the loss of her own father. She expressed hope that Patinkin might see her message and know how much the movie had affected her and her father.

Thousands of TikTok users tagged Patinkin on the video and he was eventually shown the clip.

A video posted to Patinkin’s own Twitter feed showed the actor and his wife grow emotional as they watched Webb’s original clip.

The couple was visibly moved and Patinkin then confirmed that he had in fact been thinking of his father when he said the famous line “I want my father back.” p Mandy Patinkin at the Israel @ 60 event in He said that ahead of shooting the Washington D.C. on June 1, 2008.

Photo by Jeffhardywhyx, Public domain, scene, he walked along the castle and via Wikimedia Commons spoke to his father in his mind.

“From the minute I read the script…

“Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You I said I’m gonna do this part because in killed my father. Prepare to die.” my mind if I get this six-fingered guy that As he finally beats Rugen, the once-dis- means I killed the cancer that killed my dad dainful count begs Montoya to spare his life, and I’ll get to visit my dad,” he said, his voice

breaking. “That moment was coming and I went and I played that scene… and then I went back out there and talked to my dad.”

Patinkin said that like him, Webb could always talk to her dad.

Patinkin, who is Jewish and strongly connected to Jewish tradition, added that every day he says prayers for all those he knows who have died and asked that Amanda let him know her father’s name so that he can be included in that list.

“Thank you for sharing this with us,” Patinkin wrote in the post with the video.

“We are so sorry for your loss, so moved that this movie meant something to you and your dad and so glad you asked this question.”

In a lengthy series of follow-up posts addressed to Webb, Patinkin noted that his wife, actor-writer Kathryn Grody, had lost her parents when she was in her mid-twenties and spoke of the grief they have suffered.

Patinkin also directed Webb to The Dinner Party association, which helps young adults deal with the loss of loved ones.

Patinkin’s video that includes Webb’s own clip has had over 1 million views so far, and many thousands of likes and shares.

Later, Webb posted another video of how “overwhelmed” she was by Pantinkin’s response. “I am beside myself, I am shvitzing, this is too much,” she said. Her dad’s name, she added for Patinkin’s prayer, was Danny. PJC

May the New Year Bring Sweetness and Happiness to You and Your Family

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Headlines Yeshiva: Continued from page 8

said. “We’re trauma-sensitive and trauma-informed … and year two will be even better than year one.”

The new student wellness division focuses on “the nitty-gritty” of day-to-day student health, according to Dani Saul, a psychologist with four children at Yeshiva Schools, who helped develop the wellness program.

“We wanted to make sure we were doing the best we could,” Saul told the Chronicle.

“It’s behavioral health awareness, identifying at-risk students, talking with kids about IEPs (Individualized Education Programs), doing internal assessments — just working to create a well-rounded wellness division.”

Saul stressed the new division “isn’t a work-in-progress, but it’s definitely a dynamic process.”

“It kind of builds on everyone’s ideas of what we could do to build a wellness division,” he said, “and that obviously starts with a wellness director.”

Dr. Madeline Nassida is that director. A licensed psychologist, Nassida leads five master’s level interns from Carlow University and Chatham University who provide counseling to students. In addition to focusing on student counseling, her work includes special education needs, student services and providing learning support for children with diagnoses such as attention deficit

Torah disorder, she said.

“It’s almost like an outpatient mental health clinic — just in school,” she said.

Elaine Hashimi understood what it’s like to face challenges as a child, her son said. Around age 2 or 3, she lost most of her hearing.

“She refused to learn sign language,” Yosef Hashimi said. “So she learned to lip-read. If you weren’t looking at my mom, she didn’t understand you. She didn’t understand what you were saying. And being deaf is a very lonely existence. But she also was an advocate, as technology improved, for using technology for the hearing impaired.”

Recently, Yosef Hashimi’s young daughter was diagnosed with cancer and also lost some of her hearing — two battles very familiar to her grandmother. But Yosef Hashimi points to another example to illustrate his mother’s sense of compassion: In elementary school, though Yosef was great at math, he struggled with timed reading tests.

His mother met with his teacher and asked for an exception: Stop the timing. Yosef ’s reading instantly improved.

“My mom went and advocated on my behalf,” said Yosef Hashimi, his voice sort of trailing off. “She didn’t welcome struggle.”

Now, in her memory, a generation of Yeshiva School students will have assistance so they won’t have to struggle alone. PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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Ohave Israel Cemetery-Brownsville There are four cemeteries grouped together south of the intersection of Broad and York Streets in Brownsville.

In the southern corner is the section known as the Ohave Israel Cemetery.

Brownsville’s Jewish community was sizable during the interwar period, and most of the burials took place at the Orthodox Gemilas Chesed Cemetery near McKeesport. Brownsville is unique in that it had a large Jewish population yet, because of the McKeesport connection, has one of the smallest Jewish cemetery in Western Pennsylvania.

Eight tombstones mark the graves. None of those interred lived beyond the age of thirty-three, and some were much younger upon death.

Max Greenfield was the last spiritual leader of Ohave Israel. Chartered in 1907 the congregation closed its doors in the late 1970’s. Jewish objects were donated to Congregation Beth El in Pittsburgh. The cemetery’s land and fund were donated to St. Peter’s Church for perpetual care. The last Chair was Edward Moskowitz.

Brownsville’s Ohave Israel Cemetery, supported by a group of concerned friends and in cooperation with the Historic Church of St. Peter and the Brownsville Area Revitalization Corporation, became associated with the JCBA in 2021.

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

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Modeling the Torah’s inclusiveness Cantor Michele Gray-Schaffer Nitzavim | Deuteronomy 29:9 - 30:20

T

here are passages in our Torah that draw from us a visceral reaction. Next week, on either the first or second day of Rosh Hashanah, according to our different traditions, we will be reading the Akedah: the Binding of Isaac — a passage so important that it has its own name. Who among us has not reacted to the agony of Abraham as he prepares to sacrifice his beloved son; the poignant query of Isaac, “Father! Here are the firestone and the wood — but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”; or felt relief when the messenger from God stays Abraham’s knife hand at the very last minute?

Another passage that evokes a reaction, for me, is found in this week’s portion, Nitzavim. The setting is “the other side of the Jordan, in Moab,” where Moses is addressing the Israelites for the last time in what is known as the third discourse of Moses. The Torah relates his words, “You stand this day, all of you, before the Lord your God — your tribal heads, your elders and your officials, all the men of Israel, your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to water drawer — to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is concluding with you this day, with its sanctions; to the end that He may establish you this day as His people and be your God, as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I make this covenant, with its sanctions, not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the Lord our God and with those who are not with us here this day.”

What an amazing statement! Hearing these stirring words never fails to make chills run down my spine. Not only is the covenant inclusive of the disparate crowd assembled before Moses (including the often-excluded women and the most menial non-Israelite laborers), it reaches out through the ages to you, to me and to anyone who will open his or her heart and mind to it. What a revolutionary concept, especially considering that religious teachings of contemporaneous societies were funneled through the kings or priests. Our sages have connected this verse and concept to the Revelation at Sinai, where the souls of all Jews, past and present, were believed to have been present. A midrash in the Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Sh’vuot 39a) further extends this idea to encompass

all future converts. As a member of many beit din, I have heard other clergy cite this teaching to the new convert at the conclusion of the mikveh ceremony.

The inclusive nature of this doctrine is expanded in Parshat Nitzavim, 30:11: “Surely this Instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach…No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.” The verbs in this case are in the singular form, once again embracing each and every one of us.

The immediacy of the Torah, reaching out to us through the ages, and the inclusivity modeled so beautifully for us by God, are concepts we can take with us into this High Holiday season. Whatever our Jewish lives have been in the past year(s), we are still connected because, as the children’s song goes, “Torah-li, Torah-li, Torahsheli” — the Torah is mine. Paraphrasing a related thought in Nitzavim, it is not in the heavens or beneath the sea. In other words, it is not impossible to grasp. According to the Babylonian Talmud, of the seven things brought into being by God before creation, the first was the Torah and the second was repentance, so that humankind could always return to the teachings of Torah. All of these instructions convey to us that there is seldom the concept of “too late” in Judaism.

God’s magnanimity in embracing so many disparate groups of people and including them among those worthy to receive Torah is a goal to which we can aspire. Inclusiveness is a very current topic. Who sits on our boards or organizations? Do we include the voices of the disabled, people of color, youth or women?

Do we listen, really listen, to those voices? Do we count disparate people among our friends and, if not, how can we work to change that?

How do we “circumcise our hearts,” i.e., peel away the layers that keep us from seeing and hearing the voices of people not like ourselves?

As we are taught by Rabbi Tarfon in Pirkei Avot, the Wisdom of our Fathers: “The day is short, and the task is great, and the workers are sluggish, and the wages are high, and the Master of the house is pressing.” Let us take the great gift of Torah earmarked for each of us so long ago and the Holy One’s beautiful example of inclusiveness into the remaining days of the month of Elul, the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and beyond. PJC

Cantor Michele Gray-Schaffer is the spiritual leader of Congregation B’nai Abraham.

This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

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Obituaries APTER: Miriam Scott Apter passed away peacefully on Saturday, Aug. 21, at the wonderful age of 101. She was born June 18, 1920, in Welch, West Virginia, and was the daughter of the late David and Libby (Roston) Scott. She was the beloved wife of the late Nathaniel Apter for almost 75 years. She was a graduate of The Collegiate School in Richmond Virginia, and attended the University of Richmond before transferring to Goucher College. She is survived by her children, Elizabeth Finegold (Alan) and Scott Apter (Ruth), and her beloved and wonderfully attentive granddaughters, Amanda Finegold, Emily Fine (Gavin), Molly Georgakis (Angelo), Lauren Bairnsfather (Christopher), Katie RutherFord (Tut). Her special joy was her great-grandchildren, Hannah Finegold, Sophie Fine and Charlie and Sammy Rutherford. She had a remarkable and loving relationship with her nieces and nephews. She died as she lived with grace and dignity. Arrangements are by the Gilbert Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. 1638 Lincoln Way, White Oak, PA 15131. (412) 6726322, Troy J. Gilbert, director. Graveside services were held at Elrod Cemetery of Temple B’nai Israel on Wednesday Aug. 25.

Contributions in her memory may be made to the Holocaust Center Of Pittsburgh, PO Box 798, 601 East 8th Ave. Pittsburgh 15120 or to a charity of your choice.

CARSON: Samuel L. Carson, on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, in Miami Beach, Florida. Formerly of New York City, Pittsburgh and Indiana, Pennsylvania. Beloved husband of Garrett Yebernetsky of Miami Beach, Florida.

Son of the late Isadore W. and Rose Carson.

Survived by sister Sarah J. Carson of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, formerly of Pittsburgh.

Also survived by cousins and many friends.

Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., Shadyside, on Wednesday. Interment was in the Beth Israel Section of Oakland Cemetery, Indiana, Pennsylvania. Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of your choice. schugar.com LAMPL: Richard “Dick” Lampl passed away Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021, in Boca Raton, Florida, with his wife of 15 years, Elaine Azen-Lampl, at his side. Dick died of natural causes. He was predeceased by his father, Oscar Lampl, his mother, Rose Stein Lampl, his identical twin brother, Jack, and his first wife, Mary Ann Herron Lampl.

Dick, a first-generation American, was born Oct. 17, 1929. He was a lifelong Pittsburgh resident. He attended Taylor Allderdice High School, graduating at the end of World War II. He and his twin brother, Jack, served in the National Guard between World War II and the Korean War. Dick attended Carnegie Tech, where he met his wife, Mary Ann Herron Lampl. They had five children: Robert O (Leslie, deceased 2000; Jeannine), Thomas “Tommy” (Lisa), Patricia “Patti” (Gary Holupka), Joan “Joni” (Lloyd Seiavitch, deceased 2018; Mike Roche), Edward “Ed” (Valerie Matteo), and a few dozen grandchildren, step-grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. Early in his career, Dick, his twin brother, Jack, and his widowed mother, Rose (“Ma”), built a significant construction PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

business. Dick went on to run various businesses, including a coal stripping operation and a railway repair company. He became the director of the Engineer’s Society of Pittsburgh, building it into the esteemed organization it is today. Following those many careers, Dick and his daughter Joni became partners in a successful management recruiting business in Sewickley. Dick was the unofficial welcoming committee and “mayor” of Sewickley, being a well-known character in that area. Sometime after the death of his wife Mary Ann Herron Lampl, Dick married Elaine Azen. They moved to Boca Raton for the last two years. Dick was a force of nature and left a lasting impression on people. Dick was an avid skier well into his 80s and enjoyed jaunts to Kennywood, Sandcastle, Ohiopyle and Steeler games with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He grew up in an era of grit and toughness. He was a child of the American dream, which he wholly embraced, and was known for his welcoming and charming personality. He was a formidable adversary and a devoted and loyal friend. Dick lived by a strict code of values while embracing people of all stripes, but also took pride in being a “Hunkie.”

Dick will be missed by all. The family will hold a private celebration of Dick’s life.

LAMPL: Sanford (“Sandy”) Lampl. After celebrating his 95th birthday at his home in Greenville, South Carolina, and surrounded by his family, Sanford (“Sandy”) Lampl passed away peacefully on Aug. 22, 2021. Born on Aug. 22, 1926, “Pop” was a beloved husband, father and grandfather survived by his wife Priscilla, daughters Kathy Lampl, Peggy (Dave) Elkind, son David (Dorothy) Lampl, stepson Brian (Lori) Keller and his grandchildren Andrew (Melissa), Michael, Matthew, Sarah and Niko. Sandy was a first generation American being the only child of the late Al and Irene Lampl. Sandy grew up in Squirrel Hill, attended Taylor Allderdice and went on to study at the University of Pittsburgh, both undergraduate and law school, where he graduated at the top of his class and received the prestigious Order of the Coif award. Before retiring, Sanford was a prominent lawyer in Pittsburgh and was often referred to as the “Dean” of the bankruptcy bar. Sandy was an intrepid boater who almost succumbed to the vortex of the Bermuda Triangle but survived that harrowing experience. Always passionate about the ocean and rugged coastline, Pop and Scilla spent their best years in Nova Scotia at their cottage on Mahone Bay. Stationed in Treasure Island, California, Sandy served in the Navy in World War II as an instructor of the newly developed technology known as RADAR. In addition to his legal skills, Sandy possessed an indomitable entrepreneurial spirit and was involved in such diverse ventures as a chain of movie theaters, sporting goods stores, real estate projects in Vail Colorado and a textile operation known as the Quilt Gallery which brought him to South Carolina. Pop was an avid tennis player up to the age of 88, playing multiple times a week with his good buddies. A private service will be held at a later date. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association.

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

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Anonymous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marcia Green Farbstein

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THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday September 5: Annie Lazier Barovsky, Samuel Caplan, Alexander Cohen, Paula Cohen, Fannie Dubin, Mathilda Horn, Lillian Koss, Lena Levine, Evelyn Pearlstein, Sam Ruben, Sally Schaffler, Dr. Stanley M. Taxay, Edward Weinberger, Abraham Zwibel Monday September 6: Maurice Robert Colker, Benjamin F. Cooper, Irving Farbstein, Jack H. Goldstone, Solomon Lehman, Max Levine, Beulah Lobl, Philip Seltzer, Minnie C. Serrins, Isadore Simon, Sheldon N. Topp, Herman Louis Turk Tuesday September 7: Anna Chinn, Anne Betty Frand, Louis Frischman, Henry Goldberg, Lena Roscow Goldberg, Sorali E. Lubarsky, Marilyn Hope Manela, Jack N. Pearlman, Roy Ruttenberg, Sandor Shaer, Samuel Silverblatt, Karl Solomon, David Terner Wednesday September 8: Morris Barnett, Jacob Borovetz, Jennie Cohen, Stella H. Cohen, Harold Dunhoff, Melvin Gordon, Arlane Horewitz, Harry Hostein, Sylvan Joseph Israel, Aron Mayer, Abraham Volkin, Ida R. Weiss, Gertrude Zubin Thursday September 9: Julius Abrams, Minnie Berman, Edythe Gelman Buchman, Bella G. Cohen, Sylvia Diamond, Harry Frieman, Charles B. Goldstein, Leonora Lichtenstul, Nathan Lupovich, Stella Smith Madenberg, Harry Mittleman, Meyer Sachnoff, Louis Sadowsky, Nellie R. Tobin, Agnes Venig, Leon Verk Friday September 10: Hyman Berman, Sarah Brown, Arleen Cohen, Sarah Lynn Dupre, Yeruchem Fireman, Harry Abe Geduldig, Albert Goldblum, M.D., Pearl Gould, Nathan Lautman, Sarah Reich Moses, Anna B. Papernick, Solomon Paul, Sarah Persky, Isaac Sissman, Jacob Zwibel Saturday September 11: William Glick, Beatrice Barnett Goldhamer, Ida E. Goldstein, Marlene Rofey Kaufman, Samuel Sandor Klein, Marcus Landman, Gertrude Lieb, Pauline Marcus, Jacob M. Mogilowitz, Helen Moskovitz, Bessie Wilkoff Osgood, Jennie Routman, Harry Soffer, Isadore Steinman, Morris L. Wolf, Jacob Zinman

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SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 27

Opinion Obituaries: Continued from page 27

SCHWARTZ: Roslyn R. Schwartz. Our adored, loving, guiding light, Roslyn R. Schwartz, born Feb. 2, 1929, passed away peacefully at the age of 92 on Aug. 11, 2021. Our Mom, (Roz, Rozzie, Bubbie) will forever be cherished by her children, Gloria Schwartz Dresser (David z”l) and Saralee Schwartz Todd (Reggie); her grandchildren, Elizabeth Todd-Breland (Alex), and Jonathan Todd (Alicia); two great-granddaughters, Natalie Juanita Breland and Julia Roz Breland; her great-grandson, Mateo Edward Todd, and her many loving nieces and nephews, family and friends. Roz’s husband, Bernard (Barney) Schwartz (z”l); father, John Roth (z”l); mother, Eunice Roth (z”l); and four cherished sisters preceded her in death. An ambassador to humanity with a heart of pure gold, our Mom/Bubbie had a generous, loving

Hatred Continued from page 14

governments that have already adopted the widely accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Using this definition as an educational tool will best position universities to recognize and address incidents on campus. .

Florida State University president John Thrasher pioneered this approach when he wrote to the FSU community, “I encourage everyone to educate themselves on the IHRA definition and examples of

spirit; a kind and beautiful smile; and she lived her life to the fullest. A lifelong Pittsburgher, she would often be spotted in the greater Pittsburgh area driving a succession of sporty convertibles with her silver curls blowing in the wind! She was always the life of the party. She drove hours to visit her children well into her 80s, and would fly across the country many times to visit her grandkids, sisters, nieces and nephews. Family meant everything to her and she doted on her children, grand and great-grandchildren, and nieces and nephews. She was so warm and welcoming and made many others feel like family. Mom/Bubbie was a role model for us all and a trailblazer for women in the workforce for her generation. She had a long and successful career with Mellon Bank and as a loaned retiree to the United Way of Allegheny County. She worked until she was 80 years old. Mom made a statement when she walked into a room, so stylishly and elegantly dressed with bold jewelry — and people would always take notice. Our Dad referred to her as “so classy.” Our Mom and Dad worked hard, but

also made time to enjoy life and share special moments with their family and close-knit group of dear lifelong friends. Our Mom/ Bubbie’s grace and hospitality was legendary.

She was a fabulous cook and baker, and she loved trying new recipes. Her grilled and roasted chicken were delectable and she would cook enough to feed an army. We loved the smell of tzimmes roasting during the holidays. She always had freezers full of food — chocolate chip and almond cookies and her specialty, candied nuts. She had an opendoor policy, welcoming family and friends into her home in Monroeville. She always provided a kind and empathetic ear to friends and family, and treated everyone with dignity and respect. Mom never stopped challenging herself and was a lifelong learner. She and Dad were founding members of Temple David in Monroeville, and were engaged and active volunteers. Mom became a bat mitzvah at 81 years of age. She participated and volunteered in many activities and programs to benefit people in the greater Pittsburgh community.

The Jewish tradition of tikkun olam (repair

the world) was certainly a guiding light for our beautiful Mom/Bubbie. The family wishes to acknowledge and express our deep appreciation to her loving and devoted caregivers, and all of the dedicated health professionals and support staff at Harmony in Monroeville who helped to make her final years more comfortable. We also wish to thank her loving Temple David family (Team Roz) and other dear friends who provided ongoing support and friendship. Services were held at Temple David. Interment Temple Sinai Memorial Park. Contributions in memory of Roslyn Roth Schwartz may be made to Temple David of Monroeville, 4415 Northern Pike Road, Monroeville, PA 15146, templedavid. org or a charity of your choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

anti-Semitism, as I have done myself.” More must follow and quickly.

Colleges and universities should also implement compulsory counter-antisemitism training at all levels of campus life, from incoming freshmen to senior administrators.

The keyword is “compulsory” — participants in voluntary training are rarely the ones who need the training.

The organized movement to boycott Israel on college campuses saw a boon in support following the May conflict with Hamas.

Campus student groups, academic departments and student governments issued one-sided statements riddled with half-truths and baseless accusations to end support for

Israel on campus. When the loudest voices push for policies that restrict academic freedom, students face a diminished educational experience. It is imperative that American institutions of higher education reaffirm their opposition to any movement that calls for an end to academic partnerships with Israel.

Universities can also signal their support for Jewish students by revisiting campus policies on a range of issues, including how schools regulate professors who use their lecterns to indoctrinate policy. Universities would be well-served to draw from successful counter-indoctrination models to deter instructors from abusing their posts for their own agendas.

Antisemitism is morphing into new, more threatening forms. Only a few months ago, Jewish restaurant patrons in Los Angeles and pedestrians in New York City were assaulted over presumed support for Israel.

Without significant action by university leadership now, the danger that the most recent wave of animosity toward Israel could turn violent on campus is quite possible.

University leaders who want to prioritize safety and academic freedom must act before the first punch is thrown. PJC

Unveiling

ELINOFF: The unveiling for Bernice Elinoff will be on Sept. 5, 2021, at 11 a.m., at Beth Shalom Cemetery, Shaler Township. Family and friends are welcome. PJC

Zev Hurwitz is the American Jewish Committee (AJC)’s director of campus affairs.

This piece first appeared on JNS.

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SERVICES START @ $20.00/ HR DEPENDING ON LOCATION. PLEASE CONTACT NOELLE: CELL 609-828-9835 rellnoelle@hotmail.com

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Contact: 917.406.7165 amyjmail@gmail.com.

Squirrel Hill area Kosher meals, errands, companion, meds supervision, personal care, laundry, light housekeeping.

Part time/full time. $20 per hour.

412-509-2005 to leave message.

412-951-3437

Areas Serviced: Squirrel Hill, Oakland, Point Breeze, Shady Side, Highland Park, All of North Hills

SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 29

Community Let’s get it started

Class is in session

Community Day School kicked off its 2021-2022 academic year on Aug. 24. The first day of school was marked with enthusiastic students and teachers jumping into another year of learning, growth and discovery.

Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh began its school year on Aug. 27. Students arrived with smiles, excitement and supplies.

p Chana Pressman arrives at school balancing baskets of supplies.

p Oliva Madrid gets a hug from her father, Alex Madrid

p Avremi Shemtov is happy to be back at school.

p Left to right, back row: Sylvia, Mara and Paul Svoboda; front row: Simona and Sasha Svoboda pause for a first-day photo.

p Left to right, Yamit, Nir, Ella, Shira and David Levy

Photos courtesy of Jennifer Bails via Community Day School

30 SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

p Chaya and Etti Rudolph are chomping at the bit to learn.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photos courtesy of Masha Shollar via Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh

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Community The BBQ is back NCSY hosted its annual Garden Sizzler at the home of Danny and Nina Butler on Aug. 25.

Despite an evening of heavy rains, the Butlers welcomed a crowd of vaccinated individuals and raised money for programs offered by the National Council of Synagogue Youth.

p From left: Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh President and CEO Jeffrey Finkelstein and U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb

p From left: NCSY participants Eli Jacobs, Nathan Marcus, Dalya Kraut and Tali Itskowitz took turns as servers.

Photos by Sandy Riemer

Summer Soirée

p More than 100 young Jewish professionals joined Chabad Young Professionals’ first annual Summer Soirée. The Aug. 19 event took place on the rooftop of Arsenal Motors in Lawrenceville.

Photo by Julie Kahlbaugh

p State Rep. and Democratic nominee for mayor Ed Gainey

Looking good Residents of The New Riverview held a fashion show on Aug. 29. The event was organized

by Priscilla Burgess and they welcomed more than 100 attendees.

p Barbara Finley in a matching red and black fall ensemble

p Kathy Stevens wears an evening dress.

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p Rachelle Grobstein in black and white evening wear

p Annalee Firman sports a black lace evening gown.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

p Purabi (Bibi) Sengupta in a sari

p Priscilla Burgess dons a colorful dress she was given by a Ghanaian friend.

Photos by Adam Reinherz

SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 31

THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGH’S

JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION PRESENTS

Join us for a special online event to kick off a new year of adult learning and to honor the establishment of the Elaine Belle Krasik Fund for Adult Education.

Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff will present an up-to-date analysis of current Jewish realities titled: “START WORRYING … DETAILS TO FOLLOW.”

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 | 10:30 AM EDT Online (Link Provided at Registration)

Register online at foundation.jewishpgh.org/event/inaugural This is a non-solicitation event.

Questions? Contact Eric Probola at 412-992-5216 or eprobola@jfedpgh.org.

Full inclusion is a core value of Jewish Pittsburgh. The Jewish Federation welcomes invitees of all abilities, backgrounds, races, religious affiliations, sexual orientations and gender expressions. Call 412-992-5216 or email eprobola@jfedpgh.org to discuss accessibility accommodations. Audio hotline of upcoming events: 412-930-0590.

32 SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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