Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle August 18, 2017

P I T TS B U R G H

August 18, 2017 | 26 Av 5777

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Candlelighting 7:55 p.m. | Havdalah 8:55 p.m. | Vol. 60, No. 33 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Championship memories

Players from Stanton Heights recall the highs of summer youth baseball.

Page 4 WORLD Jewish wedding, no Jews  At Jewish Heritage Night at PNC Park on Aug. 8, the first pitch was thrown by Sheila Snyder; Adam Snyder was the catcher. (See more Jewish Heritage Night photos on Page 26.)

Photos by Dave Arrigo

Dor Hadash to relocate to Beth Shalom Polish villagers take Jewish nostalgia to the max.

Page 7 NATIONAL K.C. Bagels?

NYC authenticity can be found in the Midwest.

Page 18

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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fter seven years of dwelling under the same roof, Congregation Dor Hadash will be parting ways with Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation and moving into Congregation Beth Shalom.

Dor Hadash, a Reconstructionist congregation, has been located at several different locations throughout its 54-year history, including Community Day School, Rodef Shalom Congregation and the Hebrew Institute, according to its president, Ellen Surloff.

This move comes at a time when its current landlord, TOL*OLS, is in the midst of several changes, including the installation of a new spiritual leader, Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers, and the addition of New Light Congregation and NA’AMAT Pittsburgh as tenants.

“The landscape of the Pittsburgh Jewish community is changing so much,” Surloff

said, explaining that the idea to investigate other potential locations arose after a conversation last year that was convened by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and led by Larry Rubin, in which seven local congregations shared thoughts about the best use of community resources and facilities.

Following that meeting, Surloff said, Dor Hadash decided to take a look at its Squirrel Hill neighbor, Beth Shalom, a Conservative congregation with just under 600 members.

“Beth Shalom impressed us with its vibrant, active, forward-looking community,” she said.

Surloff hopes that by sharing space with Beth Shalom, the two congregations can create a “synergy” and collaborate in areas such as adult education and social action

Jewish alumnus gives $7.5 million to Duquesne Law School for new judicial center

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

A

Jewish philanthropist from Philadelphia has given Duquesne University School of Law $7.5 million — the largest individual gift in the law school’s history — to establish a first-of-its-kind center for judicial education.

The gift from Thomas R. Kline, a 1978

Please see Dor Hadash, page 21

Please see Alumnus, page 21

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Headlines TOL*OLS welcomes new rabbi/cantor — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

I

t’s been decades since Tree of Life Congregation — now Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha — has had a full-time cantor on its staff. But that all changed on Aug. 1 with the addition of Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers, the new spiritual leader of the Conservative congregation located on the corner of Wilkins and Shady avenues.

Myers, who received his cantorial investiture from the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary and his rabbinic ordination from the unaffiliated Mesivta Adat Wolkowisk, has spent his life on the East Coast and is just now getting his feet used to Pittsburgh soil. He likes how it feels so far.

“The people at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha have been very warm and friendly,” he said.

“I’m excited about this new opportunity to serve the Jewish community of Pittsburgh.”

Myers grew up in Newark, N.J. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in Jewish education from the Jewish Theological Seminary, before commencing his cantorial studies.

But he has been leading congregations in song and prayer since he was a teenager. “I was a boy soprano in the choir for many years, and the cantor of the synagogue I grew up in took a liking to me and taught me many of the synagogue skills,” Myers recalled. When that cantor had a stroke just prior to the High Holidays one year, the 15-year-old Myers was called upon to take charge of the choir.

“There was not enough time to hire enough people to do what we needed, so they hired a High Holiday cantor, but the cantor would not have had enough opportunity to learn

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

2 AUGUST 18, 2017

the vast repertoire of the choir,” Myers said.

“So, the story is the adults all met and they made the determination that the best person to lead the choir was me. I just had the knack for doing it. I knew all four parts of every piece, and it just came to me very naturally.”

Because the young Myers had learned a lot of the prayers, he was also charged with leading parts of the High Holiday service that year and continued to do so throughout high school and college.

He has served his entire professional career as a cantor and Jewish educator. For 19 years, he served a congregation on Long Island, until it closed and merged with another congregation. For the last seven years, he served as cantor and educator at Beth Judah in Ventnor, N.J. Myers sought rabbinic ordination, he said, to preserve his marketability as a spiritual leader in a shifting Jewish communal landscape.

“I saw there were challenges ahead for those of us who wanted to serve as professional cantors,” he said. “There is a downturn in synagogues, and with that, fewer cantors are needed in the United States. I felt this would be something critically important to have, to be able to one day provide a way to continue to take care of my family as best as I could.”

That day came, he said, “when my previous congregation discontinued the position of hazzan. And I am fortunate and grateful that Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha felt that I could offer them what they needed, and I am honored to be called to serve them.”

What Myers brings to the Squirrel Hill Congregation “are the skills of an ordained cantor, to be able to chant a beautiful service for Shabbat and holidays, as well as to offer the teachings of our tradition. I’d like to think that for a synagogue such as Tree of

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p Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers

Photo provided by Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers

Life, that’s hitting a win-win.”

Michael Eisenberg, president of TOL*OLS, agrees. It has been many years since the congregation had a cantor on staff, he said, so the fact that Myers is ordained both as a cantor and a rabbi was appealing to the congregation.

During its search for a new spiritual leader to succeed Rabbi Chuck Diamond, TOL*OLS brought three rabbinic candidates to the congregation on three separate weekends to lead services and meet the membership.

“Rabbi Myers was by far the clear choice,” said Eisenberg. “He had a very professional approach to the pulpit, he had a very nice voice, and he interacted with the people on both a ritual and a secular level. He’s downto-earth, but he takes his job very seriously.”

Myers’ approach “resonated” with the Conservative congregation, Eisenberg said.

While Diamond had been officiating at interfaith weddings for the last four years at TOL*OLS, Myers will not be doing so.

He will not, however, “stand in the way” of someone else officiating at such a ceremony held at the synagogue, Eisenberg said.

Myers has wide experience as an educator, ranging from getting “down on the floor” to work with preschool children, to tutoring men celebrating the 70th anniversary of their bar mitzvahs. He plans to continue his emphasis on education during his tenure at TOL*OLS and will take advantage of daily opportunities to incorporate learning.

Myers’ wife, Janice Myers, is also an educator, specializing in working with students with special needs. He has two children — a daughter, who is also a special education teacher, and a son who recently graduated from college.

He is eager to get started on his work at TOL*OLS. “I intend to work closely with the leadership of Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, to learn of their needs, what their vision is as a congregation, their mission and how we can work together to fulfill that, meet that and even surpass it,” he said.

Myers currently serves as a trustee on the executive board of the Jewish Educators Assembly. He has also served on the National Education Commission of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the National Deliberation Team for Project Etgar, the new curriculum for the middle school that is a joint project of the USCJ and the Melton Institute.

He received a Schechter Award for his interfaith Evening of Harmony that commemorates the Holocaust, as well as awards for synagogue and family programming. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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AUGUST 18, 2017 3

Headlines Stanton Heights baseball reunion covers all the bases — LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

I

t was a much simpler time, a time when young boys filled their summers by riding their bikes to Sunnyside Field and spent all day playing baseball. Their parents were elsewhere, but that doesn’t mean the boys were alone.

Far from it. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, scores of young men from Stanton Heights, most of them Jewish, were under the watchful eyes of the Smizik brothers, Frank and Bob, who helped hone their sports skills as well as shape their characters.

After almost 50 years, about 80 of those men who played in the Pony and Colt leagues of Stanton Heights reunited at the Original Hot Dog Shop (The “O”) in Oakland on Sunday, Aug. 13, to reminisce, catch up and to pay tribute to the Smiziks, their coaches, mentors and the founders of the leagues.

“A bunch of us had talked about this for the last five years,” said Arnie Reichbaum, who organized the reunion along with Michael Steinberg and Bruce Simon, owner of The O. “We decided to do it before it was too late.”

Reichbaum, who is president of the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania, tracked down the men who decades ago

p A Stanton Heights championship team from 1966

played as 13- and 14-year-olds in the Pony League, run by Frank Smizik, and the Colt League for 15-to-17-year-olds, run by Bob. “Most of these guys are Peabody grads,” Reichbaum said, noting that they now range in age from 57 to 68.

Thy played from about 1963 to 1973, and

T EM P L E

SINAI THE CHOICE IS YOURS INVEST IN YOUR FUTURE HONOR YOUR PAST

Photo provided by Bob Fisher

while most of them grew up in Stanton Heights, the leagues included a handful of guys from Bloomfield.

“I was the pitcher for the team’s championship in 1968,” said Bill Leja, carrying a box of trophies into The O. “I was one of the only gentile kids that played for a Jewish organi-

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zation. Those were great times.”

Frank Smizik, now 80, had a career as a school principal, serving the Pittsburgh Public Schools as well as Community Day School. Bob, 75, began his career as a teacher, then became an accomplished sports writer, working for the Pittsburgh Press, then the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Smiziks had a reputation for running a tight ship, and the emphasis on discipline “molded a lot of guys,” according to Reichbaum.

“Both of these guys literally brought everyone up from a young man to adulthood and taught them values that they would use the rest of their lives,” said Rick Miggantz, who had come to the reunion to pay tribute to the Smiziks, as well as reconnect with old friends.

The second floor of The O was crammed with men, hugging, laughing, and sharing old photos and trophies.

“I haven’t seen Dave Levy in 20 years,” said Leonard Silk. “I haven’t seen Jeffery Pittler in 40 years. It feels great. People seem to be doing very well. The Smizik brothers were great coaches in baseball and basketball.

They are wonderful guys. I learned a lot of basics about sports and sportsmanship from Stanton Heights baseball.

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Headlines New website created especially for young Jewish women — WORLD —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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n Orthodox transgender woman shares feelings of alienation in the trans community because of her Jewish identity. A woman who quit her office job to travel the world and become a “digital nomad” offers advice to others who may be contemplating the same. A writer offers a list of six camp-themed novels that will feed the nostalgia of those missing summers filled with bug juice and cabin raids. And readers are offered a free giveaway of a “Kiss My Tuchis” muscle tank to one lucky winner “who will clearly be the envy of everyone in their Zumba class.”

Welcome to Alma (heyalma.com), a newly launched website geared toward Jewish millennial women focusing on topics of cultural interest and forging a virtual community for those seeking a connection to others grappling with common “Jew-ish” issues.

The fledgling site, and its accompanying social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram), is part of 70 Faces Media, the parent company of the JTA. Edited by Molly Tolsky, 31, the former editor of Kveller — a parenting website

p Alma editor Molly Tolsky

Photo by Marissa Roer

under the 70 Faces Media umbrella — Alma may be able to provide young Jewish women with just the right amount of Jewishness in exchange for minimal commitment.

Tolsky has solid experiencing in building online communities. In her seven years working at Kveller, she helped it amass more 84,000 Facebook followers and 11,000 followers on Twitter. But although Tolsky, who is single and has no children, enjoyed learning about parenting through Kveller, she also was interested in providing relevant content for her own demographic: young Jewish women navigating relationships while building their careers.

The name “Alma,” which is a Hebrew word meaning a woman of childbearing age who does not yet have children, fits the mission of

the new project, which launched on June 20, according to Tolsky.

“Ninety-one percent of our followers are women between the ages of 18 to 25, so we are definitely hitting our demographic,” she said.

Not everyone who is an Alma fan, however, fits that profile.

“We got an email from a Muslim Pakistani woman who is dating a Jewish guy and found Alma and is loving it,” Tolsky said.

Mostly, though, Alma’s target audience is “unaffiliated Jews and Jews who are not participating in organized Jewish life,” she explained. Many Alma readers are those who identify as Jewish and are interested in interacting with other Jews but at a cultural level.

Focus groups assembled prior to Alma’s launch indicated that “there are so many younger Jewish people who care about being Jewish but who don’t want to go outside their daily lives and to be forced into being Jewish,” said Tolsky.

Alma, she said, gives them a way to connect in a manner that is comfortable and easy. Community, Tolsky noted, “happens more on social media, obviously, for this generation. We live on social media.”

Generally, prior to having children, many young Jewish women are not particularly active in organized, institutional Jewish life.

“It’s important for people to have a place

where who they are is being recognized and their level of being Jewish is OK,” she said.

Alma, she added, acknowledges that “you don’t have to go to shul, or light candles or keep kosher to be Jewish.”

Content so far on Alma has been varied, but one subject stands out as the most popular.

“Hair!” said Tolsky, who grew up attending a Conservative congregation in a northwest Chicago suburb. “It doesn’t surprise me.

That’s something I noticed on Kveller, too.”

An article focusing on nine Jewish women and their “love/hate” relationships with their hair, illustrated with photographs, was a huge hit, she said. A photo essay titled “My Jewfro and I” has been Alma’s most read so far.

“Everyone has a personal relationship with hair,” said Tolsky. “And people like reading about other people’s hair.”

Alma posts new content each day, not all of which is directly related to being Jewish.

Nonetheless, Alma is on its way to in fact creating a virtual Jewish village.

“Jewish people do often feel an instant connection when they meet someone else who is Jewish,” Tolsky observed. “We are hoping Alma will become an online community.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Calendar solos in the gala concert. HaZamir also offers a college credit program for juniors and seniors, through the national HaZamir office. Open auditions will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center in Room 307.

q MONDAY, SEPT. 4 Tiferet is a newly formed organization offering creative and meaningful courses for Pittsburgh women. Its four-week class, “Watercolor: Painting with Light,” starts on this day and will explore the medium and techniques of watercolor painting. At the outset of the first and last sessions, a 15-minute segment will highlight the concepts of “water and light” within Jewish mysticism.

Appropriate for beginners. For registration or information, visit tiferet-greenfield.wixsite.com/ tiferet.

q SUNDAY, AUG. 27 –

THURSDAY, AUG. 31

Aleph-Bet Bootcamp at Rodef Shalom will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Rodef Shalom Library. The month of Elul is customarily a time of self-reflection, learning, and preparation for the High Holidays. Karen Brean, Rodef Shalom’s executive vice president, is launching this intensive language class to help you learn the Aleph-Bet in under one week. Confirm your attendance by contacting kmbrean@ gmail.com or by calling Rodef Shalom Congregation at 412-621-6566.

t “Junko Tabei”

Art by Tanya Cohen

q FRIDAY, AUG. 18 The groundbreaking for Krause Commons, a multipurpose building at the former site of Poli restaurant located near Murray and Forward avenues in Squirrel Hill, will be held at 10 a.m. The community is invited to attend. q FRIDAY, AUG. 18 – SUNDAY, AUG. 27

Gerry Kobell. Guests are asked to bring their tzedakah boxes and $18 for dinner per person. Dietary laws will be observed.

Contact Jackie Braslawsce at naamatpgh@ gmail.com for more information and to RSVP. Vegetarians should indicate that on the RSVP. q TUESDAY, AUG. 22 & 29,

SEPT. 5 & 12

Front Porch Theatricals will present the second and final show of its 2017 “Journeys & Tall Tales” season, “Big Fish,” a Broadway musical about fathers and sons and the stories we use to define ourselves.

Based on Daniel Wallace’s novel and Tim Burton’s film, “Big Fish” centers on Edward Bloom, a traveling salesman who lives life to its fullest, and whose incredible, larger-thanlife stories thrill everyone around him. Music and lyrics are by Andrew Lippa; the book is

by John August.

After a 12-year stage hiatus to focus on family and his role as executive director of Mt. Lebanon’s Center for Theater Arts, Broadway and film veteran Billy Hartung will star.

Pittsburgh’s Spencer Whale will direct.

“Big Fish” plays at the New Hazlett Theater on the North Side. For more information on the show or Front Porch Theatricals, contact Leon S. Zionts at 412-389-5983 or Bruce E.G. Smith at 412-551-4027. Tickets are now available at 888-718-4253, at frontporch. showclix.com or at frontporchpgh.org.

Rodef Shalom Congregation will offer text exploration and discussion for the month of Elul at 7 p.m. in the chapel. Rabbi Alan Lew’s book “This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation” will be studied together as a way to open the rituals and traditions to everyone. The Prayer and Practice Committee of Rodef Shalom is the sponsor. Contact Rodef Shalom at 412-621-6566 for more information.

q FRIDAY, AUG. 18 – SUNDAY, AUG. 20

q FRIDAY, AUG. 25

Congregation Beth Shalom will hold “Shulabration: Sex, Magic, & Medicine in the Ancient World,” with scholar-in-residence Sharon Keller, Ph.D. in Bible and the ancient Near East. Keller is on the classics faculty at Hofstra University, where she teaches courses as diverse as women in the Hebrew Bible; magic, miracle and medicine in the ancient world; and Greco-Roman comedy. She has been an assistant professor of Bible and ancient Semitic languages at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where Beth Shalom’s Rabbi Seth Adelson and executive director Rob Menes studied in her classes. Visit bethshalompgh.org/ events/ for a full calendar of events.

The community is invited to Temple David’s “Shabbat in the Park” at the Monroeville Community Park, West, 2339 Tilbrook Road, Pavilion 1. Bring your own picnic basket and enjoy dinner in the park from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Caustelot Creamery will be selling ice cream and shaved ice. Shabbat service will begin at 7 p.m. Contact Temple David at 412-372-1200 or templedavid.org for more information.

q SUNDAY, AUG. 20 NA’AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council will hold its annual summer barbecue and tzedakah box collection to benefit the Child Rescue Campaign at 5 p.m. hosted by Judy and

6 AUGUST 18, 2017

q THURSDAY, AUG. 24 Rendezvous in Rodef Shalom’s Biblical Botanical Garden with friends and neighbors for a free happy hour at 6:30 p.m. Hors d’oeuvres and live music will be provided, and Wigle Whiskey will be on-site with drinks by donation. The Jimmy Adler Band will be playing original music that is steeped in the traditions of Chicago blues, West Coast jazzy jump, and other Americana traditions. Made possible by the generosity of the Goldstein Entertainment Endowment.

The Jewish Women’s Foundation is offering two programs for its 2017 grant-making cycle: small grants up to $10,000 to fund innovative programs that impact women and girls; and start-up grants between $2,500 and $5,000 to fund pilot programs and small nonprofits working to improve the lives of women and girls. Visit JWF’s website at jwfpgh.org for more information. The deadline for submission is midnight, Aug. 25.

q WEDNESDAY, AUG. 30

Congregation Beth Shalom’s Derekh Young Adult Shabbat Retreat (for ages 22 to 45) will explore the value of being open to others, to Jewish wisdom and tradition and to ourselves through text study and other group activities.

Learn from each other, eat together, pray together and relax together. These events will be in Beth Shalom’s building; sleeping is done in participants’ own homes. The weekend is Shabbat and family friendly. Babysitting will be arranged upon request. Contact Rabbi Jeremy Markiz at jmarkiz@bethshalompgh. org for more information.

Congregation Ahavath Achim, the Carnegie Shul, will be showing the film, “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg,” at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont at 7 p.m. The program is being funded by a grant from South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh, a part of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. The Peabody Award-winning film is a sometimes humorous and often nostalgic documentary about how the former Detroit Tigers (and later Pittsburgh Pirates) slugger became a beacon of hope to American Jews, who faced bigotry during the Depression and World War II and how he became a genuine American hero. The program is free and open to the community, and attendees will receive free popcorn and soda. RSVP at southhillsjewishpittsburgh.org.

q SUNDAY, AUG. 27

q THURSDAY, AUG. 31

J Street Pittsburgh will hold its fifth annual Bagel Brunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave. in Oakland. Join Alan Elsner, special adviser to Jeremy Ben Ami, president of J Street, in a conversation to analyze the current political climate both in Israel and the U.S. and to discuss how J Street is engaging the Jewish community, fighting for its values on Capitol Hill and preparing for the 2018 midterm elections. RSVP to adam@jstreet.org.

Alan Elsner has had a long career at the top ranks of American and international journalism prior to joining J Street. As State Department and later White House correspondent for Reuters, Elsner has traveled the world with secretaries of state and was on first name terms with presidents and vice presidents. His sharp questioning during the Rwanda genocide forced the United States to change its policy and was later highlighted in the Hollywood movie “Hotel Rwanda.” As Reuters’ national correspondent, Elsner was the agency’s chief writer on 9/11. Elsner is the author of two novels and two works of nonfiction.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh will present highlights of the past year at its annual meeting, with the theme “Our Next Act.” The show will star Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, its collective accomplishments through the Jewish Federation in 2016–2017 and a preview of the initiatives that are in the wings. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Squirrel Hill at 5738 Forbes Ave. On-site registration for the meeting will begin at 6:15 p.m. A dessert reception will follow the meeting. (Dietary laws observed.)

Admission is $5 per person for those who preregister online at jfedpgh.org/annualmeeting. By mail or at the door, the cost is $7 per person. To preregister by mail, send a check payable to Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to Federation, Annual Meeting, 234 McKee Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.

q FRIDAY, AUG. 25 –

SATURDAY, AUG. 26

Families of Survivors Open House takes place at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Register at jfedpgh. org/holocaust-center.

HaZamir Pittsburgh is one of 31 chapters of HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Choir. HaZamir is open to all Jewish musical teens in grades eight to 12 who can match pitch and hold their own in a four-part arrangement. Those looking for additional challenges and opportunities can audition for the honors Chamber Choir or try out for

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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

Please see Calendar, page 22

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Headlines Polish villagers hold Jewish wedding without Jews — WORLD —

By Cnaan Liphshiz | JTA

N

ostalgia for Jews is a well-documented phenomenon in Eastern Europe, with cultural and even substantial commercial aspects.

In Ukraine, so-called Jewish-themed restaurants with pork-heavy menus compete for tourists, while figurines of Jews are sold at markets as good luck charms. In Poland, graffiti reading “I miss you, Jew” have become a common sight.

Beyond the kitsch, Jewish cultural festivals draw large non-Jewish audiences in Krakow, Warsaw and Budapest.

Some credit this trend to a feeling of loss over the near annihilation of once-vibrant Jewish communities. Others trace it to a desire to reconnect with the pre-Soviet past.

But even against this backdrop, the fake Jewish wedding that was held Saturday in the village of Radzanów, 80 miles northeast of Warsaw, stands out as a remarkable affair.

Make-believe Jewish weddings — a regular educational event in Spain and Portugal, where nostalgia for nearly-extinct Jewish communities is also prevalent — are rare in Poland (locals in the village of Bobowa organized one in 2013). Even rarer are enactments as well-produced as the one in Radzanów.

Organized by the Radzanovia Association, a cultural group promoting Polish heritage, the event featured a few dozen non-Jewish volunteers, men and women, dressed in traditional haredi costumes. Some men wore fake beards and side curls — including ones that didn’t match their natural hair color.

Portraying the groom was Piotr Czaplicki, a journalist for the Radia dla Ciebie station.

p Villagers attend a fake Jewish wedding in the Polish village of Radzanow.

Photo by Jonny Daniels/From the Depths

Czaplicki, who is not Jewish, got under a chuppah — the canopy used in traditional Jewish weddings — together with his make-believe bride, Julia Brzezińska, a local resident. They were “wed” by a fake rabbi in a show before villagers, whom the event’s organizers sought to teach about Jewish traditions.

To Jonny Daniels, the London-born founder of From the Depths, which promotes Holocaust commemoration in Poland, events like the one in Radzanów are “some kind of therapy taking place all over the country.”

But the event’s producer, Agnieszka Rychcik-Nowakowska, sees it as a way of commemorating the hundreds of Jews who had accounted for approximately half of her village’s population before the Holocaust.

“We want to remember all those homes of all pre-war Jews, who lived a peaceful life

punctuated by the rhythm of holidays, family celebrations and more mundane events,” she told the news site Nasza Mlawa.

Jews first settled in Radzanów in 1710, and at their peak numbered about 500. By September 1939, when the Germans took over, the population had dipped below 300.

Nearly all who remained would be sent to the Mlawa ghetto, never to return.

“We remember those who lived here before us and entered the memory of our grandmothers and grandparents. It was so recently,” said Rychcik-Nowakowska.

Elsewhere in Europe, Jewish-themed festivals are more common , bringing together hundreds of participants. There too, Jewishthemed events are held in the absence of a living, breathing Jewish community thanks to nostalgia and a desire to generate tourism revenue.

But in Spain and Portugal, for example,

where hundreds of thousands of Jews were oppressed 500 years ago during the Inquisition, the passage of time has made goodwill gestures toward Jews less complicated than in the east. In 2013, Spain and Portugal even passed laws granting citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews — a move whose generosity contrasts sharply with the refusal

by Poland and other East European countries to offer even partial restitution for property that was stolen from Jewish communities.

At the fake wedding in Radzanów, organizers turned to Teresa Wrońska, an actress from the Jewish Theater in Warsaw, to assure the wedding’s authenticity. She choreographed the entire affair — from the signing of the ketubah (the Jewish marriage contract) to the traditional Jewish music played by a band of locals and musicians from the capital.

Even the POLIN Jewish museum of Warsaw was consulted in staging the event, according to Nasza Mlawa.

The wedding is not the only attempt by Radzanów locals to reconnect with their village’s lost Jewish heritage. Last year, a high school student from the region, Cuba Balinski, initiated a project aimed at rededicating and reopening the village’s abandoned synagogue — a small but beautiful Moorish-style building that miraculously survived the Nazi occupation.

Balinski, who has secured the cooperation of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland for his project but is still looking for investors, is adamant about restoring the synagogue to a house of worship rather than having it turn into museum.

“If there is no Torah in the synagogue, than it is still just a building,” he told the news site Gosc Plocki. “But if we bring the holy book back, it will come back to life.” PJC

It’s Jew vs. Jew in France as conflict over women reading Torah turns ugly for worship at the center, which was established 53 years ago, is meant to emphasize the shared culture that connects all French Jews, regardless of their level of observance, the center’s president, Raymond Arouch, told JTA last month.

“We are here to unite,” he said.

But that changed this summer. In June, after hosting an event where women read the Torah aloud, the Edmond Fleg Center for the first time emerged as a flash point that exposed bitter divisions within France’s Jewish community.

Held in one of Europe’s most deeply conservative Jewish communities, the event triggered furious criticism by religious authorities — including a rabbinical judge who warned of an impending divine reckoning. It also prompted two small demonstrations by young Orthodox men and a slew of insults and threats by other French Jews,

— WORLD —

By Cnaan Liphshiz | JTA

T

he Edmond Fleg Center is the cultural heart of France’s second largest Jewish community, even if its facade resembles a prison.

But behind the exterior of security cameras and blast-proof doors — a response to anti-Semitic attacks in recent years on members of Marseille’s Jewish community of 80,000 — this five-story building is nonetheless an attempt at welcoming one and all into a space that encourages unity.

Jews of all denominations come here for activities and workshops. There’s a stateof-the-art cinema, a breezy terrace roof and regional offices of the major Jewish groups in France.

One thing that’s absent: a synagogue. And that’s by design. The lack of a dedicated space

p Martine Yana, director of the Edmond Fleg Center in Marseille, France, poses for a photo on its terrace roof.

Photo by Cnaan Liphshiz

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Please see France, page 24

AUGUST 18, 2017 7

Opinion A response to Roger Waters — EDITORIAL —

M

usician Roger Waters is known for his elaborate stage shows and for his contributions to the rock group Pink Floyd. Unfortunately, he has also made a name for himself as a vocal supporter of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement and a relentless critic of Israel. In fact, he is known for applying not-so-subtle pressure on fellow performers to boycott Israel and to keep the Jewish state off their tour itineraries. As Waters continues his American tour this summer and into the fall, newspapers and websites have been buzzing with his name.

A video response to Waters’ apparent anti-Semitism (one of his stage props on an earlier tour was a giant pig emblazoned with a Star of David; and in an interview on Facebook he compared Israel to Nazi Germany) has been circulating on social media. The video (twitter.com/JCRCgw/ status/893454952483475456) is moderate in tone and carries a positive message — one that seems to be resonating in Jewish communities that are looking to adapt it or to produce something similar on their own.

The one-minute video was produced by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. Some Waters critics might want to picket his show, as protesters have done in Philadelphia and Phoenix, and as they may do here in Pittsburgh when Waters comes on Sept. 19, erev Rosh Hashanah. But D.C.’s JCRC chose to counter

Waters’ hate speech with speech of its own.

In a week’s time, it produced a video that emphasized the uniting nature of music and the flaw in Waters’ thinking.

“It’s too bad that Roger Waters doesn’t understand that peace can only be achieved through dialogue and engagement. BDS will not bring peace,” the video says. “BDS is not the answer. More dialogue, more respect, more music is.”

The reason Waters might not understand that message was made clear in his Facebook interview. Asked what he would say to people who ask why his focus is solely on Israel, when there are countries with far worse human rights records, he said: “I’m not sure there are any much harsher regimes around the world, actually, if you look at it.”

Waters may make good music, but his international political perceptions appear to be wholly off key.

According to Ron Halber, executive director of D.C.’s JCRC, the goal of the video is to “condemn the anti-Semitic imagery of Waters, and to show the Jewish community and beyond about BDS’s nefarious intent of delegitimization of Israel.”

But even if that message does nothing to soften Waters’ heart or to persuade him to look a little more carefully at his BDS campaign, the video succeeded in other ways: It spread its message with tens of thousands of views over multiple platforms on social media, and prompted media coverage and meaningful discussion on how to respond to the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic messages of BDS supporters like Waters.

We call that a very good return on investment. PJC

This is our America — EDITORIAL —

T

he white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville last weekend were at once a pathetic group of notorious hate-mongers, while at the same time, a frightening gathering of like-minded anti-Semites and racial bigots. They showed no restraint in spewing their venom, as they shouted “Jew will not replace us!” and chanted “The goyim know!” They carried signs that said “Jews are the children of Satan” and “Talmud is a child molester’s bible.” They waved Nazi flags emblazoned with swastikas and wore T-shirts quoting Adolf Hitler.

It was the largest public white supremacist gathering in more than a decade — reverberating with raw hatred — and was organized and populated by extremist groups from across the country that espouse Nazi ideology. The weekend ended in three deaths and numerous injuries.

On Monday, after two days of withering, bipartisan criticism for his unwillingness to call out the miscreants for the evil they are, President Donald Trump finally condemned the supremacist groups behind the rally — though he did not fully retract from his earlier bout of equivalence, when he blamed the violence and death on provocations from “many sides.”

In reaction to Trump’s verbal paralysis, politicians from both parties issued unequivocal statements of their own, like Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who tweeted, “We should call evil by its name. My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home.”

Trump’s reflexive reluctance to identify white

supremacists by name immediately following the Charlottesville violence was reminiscent of candidate Trump’s repeated criticism of then-President Obama for his refusal to use the words “radical Islamic terrorism.” While that campaign criticism was effective, at least Obama never blamed the victims.

Anyone who’s been following the modern evolution of white supremacy in the United States knows that the racism and anti-Semitism spewed by supremacist bigots is, unfortunately, very much a part of the America we live in. Just look at the marchers in Charlottesville: Their faces, lit by torchlight, were the faces of our citizens. And although Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, urged them all to “go home,” McAuliffe’s commonwealth is as much the home to anti-Semitic vitriol as it is to those who find its ideology appalling.

Nor is the anger and hatred espoused by the so-called “alt-right” anything new. The Anti-Defamation League has been chronicling their activities for years, while other interactive projects, like Documenting Hate, are bringing together resources to track hate and bias crimes across the country.

We, as members of the oft-targeted Jewish community, have a particular responsibility to recognize and call out these vile hate groups for what they are: reflections of a most objectionable aspect of American society. And though we will fight to allow these offensive hoodlums the right to express their views — no matter how misdirected they may be — it must be the mission of everyone, from the president on down, to relegate their rhetoric, ideologies and very existence to the trash bin of the past. PJC

We stand by free speech Guest Columnist Josh Sayles

I

t’s not breaking news that left-wing extremists have made a habit of shutting down, or attempting to shut down, Israel-related events throughout the country. In January 2016 at a Wider Bridge LGBTQ rights reception in Chicago, protestors forced two speakers from the stage simply because they were Israeli. Many Jews in attendance feared for their safety.

In May 2016, Students for Justice in Palestine interrupted a program organized by HIllel at the University of California, Irvine where Jewish students were screening a film about five IDF soldiers titled “Beneath the Helmet.” This May, protestors in Seattle disrupted a gala where pro-Israel nonprofit StandWithUs was presenting an award to Mayor Ed Murray, claiming he was a “fake progressive mayor” who endorses systematic racism in Seattle and Israel.

All of these actions are despicable. At best 8 AUGUST 18, 2017

they’re anti-Israel; at worst they’re overtly and violently anti-Semitic. But it is precisely because we oppose how pro-Israel speakers are occasionally censored — and because we are American Jews who support the First Amendment — that we must also support Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters’ right to perform here in Pittsburgh. We must do so even if his anti-Semitic rhetoric fuels some of the left-wing extremism leading to protests that harm our community.

We refuse to use the same tactics on Waters that radicals like him (on the left and the right) direct toward us. We will not counter hate speech by attempting to suppress it, but rather by utilizing our own constitutionally protected right to free speech to draw attention to its hypocrisy. We would have demonstrated those values in Charlottesville, Va., had we been there last week.

Waters, an outspoken supporter of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, will be performing in Pittsburgh on Sept. 19 during his monthslong North American tour. Many pro-BDS activists such as Waters present the movement as a nonviolent means to support

Palestinian rights. In reality, it’s a largely ineffective effort to cripple Israel’s economy so severely that it ceases to exist as Jewish state, all the while ignoring the collateral damage BDS inflicts on the Palestinian economy (see: SodaStream). Omar Barghouti, the movement’s founder, is not shy about its intentions.

Waters has encouraged major artists to boycott Israel, most recently publicly pressuring Radiohead to cancel its July show in Tel Aviv. Radiohead declined.

The Anti-Defamation League withheld public judgment on Waters’ anti-Jewish sentiment until then-National Director Abraham Foxman published an open letter to Waters in August 2013.

“Over the past few years, you have incorporated Jewish imagery into your concert performances, painting a Star of David on your famous floating pig alongside other symbols, including a dollar sign and the sickle and hammer,” Foxman wrote. “You repeatedly rejected accusations of a malicious subtext to the use of the Star of David, assuring fans that you were in no way equating Jews with money or communism. We took you at your word

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and defended your actions as artistic expression void of anti-Semitic intent.

“In recent months, however, your relentless attacks against Israel and calls for a boycott of the Jewish State have caused us to re-examine your attitude towards Jews.”

Foxman continues, pointing out Waters’ failure to mention anything about Hamas’ terror activity, his inability to substantiate his claims of Israeli apartheid or ethnic cleansing with any evidence, and his willful ignorance of actual human rights atrocities from dictatorial regimes throughout the world.

How much evidence do we need?

We don’t want Roger Waters in Pittsburgh.

But unlike Waters and so many other BDS activists, we recognize the right of those with whom we disagree to peacefully exist among us and to exercise their First Amendment right.

Just like we would of any hate group. PJC >>For more information on Roger Waters, visit jfedpgh.org/rogerwaters Josh Sayles is director of the Community Relations Council for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

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Opinion I did not march for hate Guest Columnist Ann F. Lewis

O

n Jan. 21, I was part of the Women’s March in Washington. I was thrilled to share this historic day with members of my family. We cheered for policies like equal pay for women’s work, for pro-family legislation like family leave, for education and health care — including reproductive health care — available to every woman and girl. We cheered for the right to live and love in dignity and for equality for every person.

I marched to show my disappointment with the results of the presidential campaign in which a candidate was elected who had a history of leering sexism, groping hands, barely coded racism and regressive policies that scapegoat vulnerable groups for political gain.

And I marched to show my faith in America: understanding that I may sometimes disagree with election results but have confidence in democracy, knowing that it is up to us to organize, mobilize — and win the next time.

I was proud to be among the marchers on that historic day. But I am not proud of what I’m seeing now: attempts to highjack the Women’s March in support of a very different kind of politics.

So let me be clear, and I know I speak for many more: I marched because I believe, as Hillary Clinton told the UN Conference on Women in 1995, that women’s rights are human rights. I believe that America is stronger with allies who share our democratic values, including women’s rights.

I did not march to show support for hateful, divisive language that tries to expel Zionists like myself and my friends from the women’s movement by defining feminism as available only to those who deny Israel the right to exist.

With so many countries in the world that still deny women even basic rights, why would leaders of the Women’s March aim their attacks only on Israel — a country in which women’s rights are written into law, and the only homeland for the Jewish people ?

I did not march to show support for

Rasmeah Odeh, who was convicted in an American court of lying about her previous conviction for terrorism, and yet was embraced by some Women’s March leaders until she finally had to accept deportation.

I do not support Assata Shakur, once known as Joanne Chesimard, convicted of the murder of a New Jersey state trooper and now living in Cuba, who was cheered by the Women’s March Twitter feed. And I certainly did not march to endorse an attack on the CNN newsman who challenged the salute to Shakur, and was immediately condemned as “alt-right.”

I did not march because I agree with the expulsion of women holding Star of David flags from a march for LGBT rights, on the astounding claim that this historic symbol of the Jewish people is threatening to some people.

I was angry when I learned of this story, and even angrier when I learned that the woman who reported it for an LGBT newspaper has been fired from her job. What happened to slogans about the rights of working women, when a reporter is fired for telling the truth?

In a letter to The New York Times two weeks ago, a March co-leader attempted to deflect these questions by claiming again “a sensational alt-right attack that aims to discredit the Women’s March movement.”

She is wrong. What discredits the Women’s March are the ugly statements made in its name, the telling silence when other women are expelled for daring to identify as Jews; the charges of “alt-right” against anyone who speaks up to disagree.

Last January, millions of women and men came out to speak up for our vision of a better, stronger, united America. We did not endorse divisive anti-Israel rhetoric then, and we do not now.

We marched to show our support for inclusive policies that mean a better future for every one of us — like the historic coalitions that brought us women’s suffrage, workers’ rights, civil rights, and LGBT equality — efforts that welcomed the participation of Jewish women and men.

We will continue to speak out for our values. And we will keep marching. PJC Ann F. Lewis is president of the Joint Action Education Fund.

Letters to the editor

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AUGUST 18, 2017 9

Headlines — WORLD — French Jews call for extradition of Palestinians On the 35th anniversary of a deadly attack on a Paris kosher restaurant, French Jews called for the extradition of three Palestinians suspected of carrying it out.

CRIF, the umbrella group of French Jewish communities and organizations, issued a statement on the matter on Wednesday Aug. 9, the anniversary of the 1982 attack in which six people were murdered and 22 injured on Rosiers Street in Paris in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in France since World War II. The suspects in the attack on the Jo Goldberg deli are wanted for questioning as per a 2015 French arrest warrant. One of the suspects lives in Jordan, another near Ramallah in the West Bank and a third in Norway, according to CRIF. None of the relevant governments have agreed to extradite the suspects, whom French investigators believe belonged to the Abu Nidal terrorist group affiliated with Fatah.

But Francis Kalifat, president of CRIF, said France is partly responsible for the failure to bring the suspects in for questioning and possibly prosecution.

“We can only regret that France agrees to this situation and has not even complained about it to the Palestinian Authority, which is home to Mahmoud Kader Abed, also known as Hisham Harb, who was the

main figure responsible for the attack,” Kalifat wrote in a statement.

Among the victims of the attack were two American citizens, Anne Van Zanten and Grace Cutler.

Jewish headstones found at Babi Yar

Nazi troops dumped dozens of stolen Jewish headstones at the same site near Kiev where they murdered tens of thousands of Jews, researchers in Ukraine discovered.

The Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center last month extracted 50 headstones from the Babi Yar ravine, where Nazis and local collaborators murdered more than 150,000 people, including 50,000 Jews, starting in September 1941.

“The tombstones were removed from a local Jewish cemetery during the Holocaust and thrown into the same ravines where over 150,000 Jews, Roma people and Ukrainians were murdered during the Holocaust,” Marek Siwiec, a former Polish politician and current head of the memorial center, said in a statement earlier this week about the discovery.

With a mandate from the Ukrainian government, Siwiec’s organization, which was set up last year, is heading international efforts to commemorate the Babi Yar tragedy in a manner befitting its scale. Jewish victims are memorialized at the site only by an unfenced six-foot menorah, which is situated near a dumping ground for industrial waste and is vandalized regularly.

“The significance of Babi Yar is of utmost importance, at this horrendously difficult site, the largest single act mass murder of Jews took place during the Holocaust, with 37,771 brutally murdered during a two-day period, it is our duty not just to remember this site but also proactively learn from the darkest days of human history to build a better future,” Siwiec said in the statement about the discovery.

Additional headstones from Jewish graves are scattered in the ravine but they require careful excavations to be extracted intact, according to Jonny Daniels, founder of the From the Depths organization, which promotes the commemoration of the Holocaust in Poland. Daniels visited the site earlier this week to see how From the Depths, which has focused on restoring pillaged headstones in Poland, could assist the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, he said.

Twitter removes anti-Semitic posts

Twitter has removed a handful of racist tweets and suspended several accounts after a German-Israeli satirist stenciled about 30 of them outside the company’s offices in Hamburg.

Shahak Shapira used spray-paint to write the nearly 30 offensive tweets on Twitter’s building and on the pavement around it. He claimed responsibility for the act on Monday in a tweet, which said: “I reported about 300 hate tweets. Twitter didn’t delete ’em, so I

sprayed them in front of their office.”

The tweets included “Let’s get together and gas Jews again … the old days were nice.”

And “Here comes another horde of migrants.

Did they miss the stop at Auschwitz?”

By Wednesday, Twitter had deleted three tweets, suspended four accounts and withheld seven accounts in Germany, the Associated Press reported. Fifteen other posts, with racist and anti-Semitic content, remain on Twitter, according to the AP. Twitter has not responded directly to Shapira, he said.

“It would be nice if Twitter had reacted,” Shapira told the AP. “What I want is that these flagged posts are reviewed the way Facebook does. What Facebook does isn’t perfect, but at least they are making an effort.”

A video Shapira posted of him spraypainting the offending tweets received over 100,000 views in 48 hours.

In the video, Shapira said he reported some 450 violent hate comments to Twitter and Facebook. Facebook removed about 80 percent of the comments he reported.

But Twitter answered only nine of his 300 complaints, in each case noting that the tweets did not violate company policy.

Shapira gained notoriety worldwide in January when he created his Yolocaust website, which was meant to shame people who posted photos of themselves posing at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial. He removed the postings upon request of the outed and apologetic subjects. PJC

Today in Israeli history — WORLD —

Ho

Clo us thi ing ng

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De ties nta l

Tra Foo ns d po rta

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Aug. 18, 2000 • Archaeologist Claire Epstein passes away

Archaeologist Claire Epstein, who performed many archaeological surveys and excavations in Israel, including discovering the culture of the Chalcolithic period (4500-3300 B.C.E.) in the Golan, passes away in Kibbutz Ginossar.

Aug. 19, 1856 • Michah Joseph Berdichevski is born in Ukraine

Scholar and writer Michah Joseph Berdichevski is best known for his Hebrew writings, which included his lengthy debate with Ahad Ha’am about the nature of Hebrew literature, as well as his extensive recording of Jewish folklore.

Aug. 20, 1920 • Yishuv publishes its first medical journal: “Harefuah”

The first Hebrew language medical journal in Palestine, “Harefuah,” is published quarterly by the Jewish Medical Association of Palestine. The journal is still published monthly by the Israel Medical Association and distributed to all its members free of charge.

Aug. 21, 1982 • Multinational force arrives to oversee PLO troops evacuate Beirut

Aug. 22, 1952 • American Champions of Israel Bonds launch first mission

The Development Corporation of Israel (known today as Israel Bonds) offers American Jews the opportunity to invest in Israel by purchasing bonds.

Aug. 23, 1903 • Sixth Zionist Congress begins

The Sixth Zionist Congress, the last to be presided over by Theodor Herzl, convenes in Basel, Switzerland. It is the largest Zionist Congress held to date, with approximately 600 delegates in attendance.

Aug. 24, 1954 • Knesset establishes Bank of Israel

American, French and Italian troops supervise the evacuation of around 15,000 PLO forces from Lebanon’s capital.

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Terrorists and Syrian forces leaving Beirut are one of Israel’s principal goals during the 1982 Lebanon War.

The Knesset passes the Bank of Israel Law by a vote of 55 to 0 with 14 abstentions. The new law establishes the Bank of Israel as the central financial authority for the country. PJC

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Giving back brings people together

Several generations of men came together to celebrate a night of philanthropy for the third annual Men’s Night Out featuring Super Bowl quarterback Joe Theismann.

Over 200 men attended to celebrate philanthropy in our community.

President of the Lodestar Foundation Lois Savage (far left) and Chair of the Lodestar Foundation Jerry Hirsh (far right) presented AgeWell Pittsburgh, represented by Chair of AgeWell Pittsburgh Advisory Committee Susan Berman Kress and President & CEO of Jewish Family & Children’s Service Jordan Golin, with the Lodestar Foundation Collaboration Prize.

Stand Up for Giving, Make Pittsburgh Laugh Again chairs, David (left) and Rebecca Knoll (right) pose with comedian Noah Gardenswartz. This new type of event posed as the Young Adult Division’s Annual Campaign event for the year and brought the community together to celebrate philanthropy and share a few laughs.

Past Presidents and Campaign Chairs, new Lions of Judah, new Ruby Lions, and new Sapphire Lions came together for a special reception before the 2017 Women’s Philanthropy Spring Event.

Sam Kline, Dani Rovenger and Andrew Darling took a break from the dance floor to pose for a photo at Shalom Pittsburgh’s ’90s themed Vodka Latke party.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh celebrated Israel’s independence at Yom Ha’aztmaut with a performance by Matisyahu.

Families and friends from the community came together for food, fun and a performance by Matisyahu at Yom Ha’atzmaut.

Father Patrick Desbois joins Seneca Valley Senior High School teacher James Lucot and class at Carnegie Mellon University. Photo credit: Melanie Friend Photography

Under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, nine Jewish early childhood centers in the Pittsburgh area have worked together to create Shared Communal Goals for excellence in Jewish early childhood education.

Math teacher at Yeshiva Girls School Dana Ellis poses with her students after being honored as one of the 19 Unsung Jewish Heroes honored in 2017 by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Jewish Life and Learning Department.

Students registered to vote all 18-year-olds in their schools, as well as adults in the crowd during evening football games. CRC and the Volunteer Center then organized a mock election for Pittsburgh public high schools.

At the Volunteer Center’s Volunteer opportunity of the month (VOOM), Matt Neistein led the volunteers and together put fresh American flags on veterans’ graves to pay their respects and honor veterans for Memorial Day.

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AUGUST 18, 2017 11

The Federation SPONSORED CONTENT

Our Next Act: A message from the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

BY ELLEN ROTEMAN

On August 31, at our Annual Meeting, we’ll take a look back at the strides the Pittsburgh Jewish community has taken this past year and look ahead to the next year.

Knowing that this meeting reaches only a tiny portion of the Jews in Pittsburgh, we have detailed some of these accomplishments on the following two pages. Learn how the generosity of people throughout our area helped our community over the past year and how this generosity helps Jews in Israel and around the world.

AgeWell Pittsburgh Wins the Lodestar Foundation’s Collaboration Prize A unique, cross-agency collaboration, facilitated by the Jewish Federation, among three Federation beneficiary agencies – the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family & Children’s Service and Jewish Association on Aging – AgeWell Pittsburgh provides comprehensive and coordinated health and support services to some 8,000 older adults to keep them independent for as long as possible.

In 2016-2017, the Lodestar Foundation selected AgeWell Pittsburgh from among 350 applicants nationwide to receive its grand prize for Collaboration, a cash award of $150,000.

HOW YOUR SUPPORT HELPS:

Seniors get the best coordination of care among agencies.

Pittsburgh Area Jewish Educators (PAJE), a network of 16 directors of part-time religious schools, to share educational resources and innovative curricula.

Aaron Saks, Joshua Avart, Linda EbitzSukitsch, Fred Orlansky (second row) and Diana Avart, Maria Mongelluzzo organized books at the Millvale Library for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s 5th Annual Good Deeds Day.

Rosh Pina: Everyone is Welcome Perhaps you’ve seen it on promotional materials: Full inclusion of people of all abilities is a core value of the Pittsburgh Jewish Community.

If you need accommodations to participate meaningfully, call…

This language is just one result of a new initiative called Rosh Pina, which works to remove barriers of participation for people with disabilities. Rosh Pina is a coordinated effort between the Jewish Federation, Jewish Residential Services and Jewish Family & Children’s Service to create more inclusive organizations and, in turn, a more inclusive Jewish Pittsburgh.

In 2016-2017, the Jewish Federation facilitated training by Elana NaftalinKelman, founder of the Rosh Pina Cornerstone Fellowship, to create a truly inclusive community, becoming the nation’s first Rosh Pina certified community. The coming year will see inclusion expanded to more agencies and synagogues.

HOW YOUR SUPPORT HELPS:

All Jews can participate fully in Jewish life regardless of ability.

2017 Campaign Chair Meryl Ainsman (left) and Co-Chair Linda Joshowitz (right) enjoy the evening with Chair of the Board Cynthia Shapira at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s King David Society and Annual Campaign Thank You event.

12 AUGUST 18, 2017

Jewish Life and Learning Department Renews Energy and Focus Building Jewish identity and involvement is nothing new to the Federation. However, the agency’s Jewish Life and Learning Department is. The new department brings together existing learning programs.

Among the early efforts: • Capacity Building at Part-Time Religious Schools: Ongoing work involving Federation staff and

• Excellence in Jewish Early Childhood Education: A collaboration with nine participating Early Childhood Education (ECE) centers to incorporate engaging curricula and meaningful experiences to inspire young Jewish children and their families.

• New Initiatives of Adult Learning and Experiences: Seed money is available for innovative programs that bring together Jews from various affiliations and communities.

• PJ Library: Sending free Jewish books and music to children ages six months through eleven years, inspiring young Jewish families to foster children’s exploration of their heritage and identity. Locally, the Jewish Federation has instituted the PJ Library Ambassadors Program, in which young parents hold community events centered around PJ Library books.

In 2016-2017: The new department funded such innovative programs as a young adult learning retreat and a Shabbat dinner bringing together students and faculty from five Pittsburgh universities; helped to define what “excellence” looks like in Jewish early childhood education, enabling early childhood centers to map future improvmenets.

PJ Library Ambassadors held 40 programs, engaging 324 families – many completely unknown to Jewish communal institutions and synagogues.

Reaching Out The Jewish Federation brings valuable programming and services to the broader community through collaborations with organizations that themselves serve lots of people.

• Jewish Federation Volunteer Center: Makes matches between volunteers and the organizations that need them, organizes mega-events for thousands of volunteers and designs specialized volunteer activities for small groups at their request. Mitzvah Day expanded to two days of volunteerism and engaged 1,194 people in 115 different volunteer projects.

• South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh: Partners with area synagogues and the JCC to create opportunities for Jews living in the South Hills to become more interconnected, including innovative new programs supported with South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh grants. Having engaged 6,700 individuals in some 60 events, SHJP launched its South Hills Community Engagement Survey to gain insight into how to make an even greater impact.

• Community Relations Council: Educates, builds awareness and improves relationships that impact the Jewish community.

Collaborations include working with area law enforcement and schools to create strategies to combat Anti-Semitism; improving JewishAfrican American Relations locally to overcome conflicts between our two communities from events on

HOW YOUR SUPPORT HELPS:

Jewish learning from “babies to bubbes” gets better over time; people not previously involved gain knowledge that enriches their Jewish life.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Community Relations Council and Campus Ambassadors from the University of Pittsburgh who were already some of the top pro-Israel advocates on their campuses visited Israel for nine days on an intensive education and advocacy mission in December 2016.

Cont.

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SPONSORED CONTENT

The federation the national level; combatting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Movement against Israel; and partnering with Hillel Jewish University Center on the Campus Ambassadors Program, which empowers student leaders at local universities to be better advocates for Israel on campus.

HOW YOUR SUPPORT HELPS:

Fostering connections among Jewish organizations—and between Jews and other religious and cultural communities—reaches the widest possible range of Jews to enrich their experiences with Jewish Pittsburgh.

How Are We Doing?

The Jewish Federation collaborates with agencies, synagogues and organizations throughout the Pittsburgh area to get a clear picture of the impact we’re making – and what more we need to do.

Our Pittsburgh Jewish Community Scorecard, which has become a model for several other Jewish communities, defines and measures progress by collecting data that helps track the community’s engagement in programming, thus enabling organizational leaders to make betterinformed decisions.

In 2016-17: The Federation embarked on a Jewish Community Study – our first since 2002 – to provide information and invaluable insights into community members’ perceptions and what they expect, need, and want from our Jewish community. Organization leaders from throughout the community contributed content and shared their mailing lists with researchers to ensure that their constituents will be heard.

HOW YOUR SUPPORT HELPS:

One central study will help over 40 Jewish organizations plan growth and programming based on current data about Jewish Pittsburgh.

We Reach Across the Globe Pittsburgh helps fund two directservice international organizations, the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). We work to strengthen Israel by investing in programs that will help ensure the nation’s economic growth and social stability, such as Partnership2Gether (P2G), which pairs our community

with the Israeli city of Karmiel and the Misgav region to build connections between Pittsburghers and Israelis.

The Federation makes the dream of an Israel educational trip come true for many teens and young adults by providing special programs and scholarship funds.

In 2016-2017: P2G engaged hundreds of Pittsburghers, including 600 teens in Pittsburgh area schools where Israeli teens visited as good will ambassadors for the Jewish community in the wake of recent anti-Semitic incidents at those schools. The Federation’s Israel Scholarship Program helped 105 teens participate in educational peer trips to Israel. Birthright Israel took a record 95 local university students to Israel for an engaging free 10-day trip, and Onward Israel placed 34 young people in summer internships within Israeli businesses and institutions, to give them a multi-faceted taste of life in Israel while helping them build their resumes.

HOW YOU MAKE IT POSSIBLE

2017 Largest Sources of Support

COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN • Women’s Philanthropy • Men’s Philanthropy • Young Adult Division • Corporate Giving

$13.7 million

JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION • Investment Income • Endowments • Donor Advised Funds

S a O O c

$20.1 million

HOW YOUR SUPPORT HELPS:

Instilling an Israel connection in young people has a proven, dramatic impact on creating a strong Jewish identity.

Staying Safe In an increasingly dangerous world, the Federation works to ensure the safety of our community by leading in the development of a “culture of security” in the Greater Pittsburgh area.

In 2016-2017: The Federation hired a Director of Jewish Community Security, who is helping our organizations raise awareness of potential threats and create action plans. Already, this effort has led to: the creation of a Communal Security Group that receives updates on security procedures; establishment of an Emergency Alert System; 30 site visits to review current security procedures and make recommendations for modifications; a database to help law enforcement and the fire department with floor plans in the event of an emergency; and Situational Awareness, Active Shooter Training, and Bomb Threat Management training for more than 600 communal workers.

Add Corporate, Foundation, and Government Dollars

P J to P

Save Money for the Future F fo Y

$26.3 million Giving

HOW YOUR SUPPORT HELPS:

Training and preparedness keeps Jews safe and gives people confidence in their security.

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M h J G

AUGUST 18, 2017 13

“You are rich, though you do not know it.

You have wells of kindness within your heart.

At times man will bless you more for a smile, a kindly glance, a gesture of forgiveness, than for treasures of gold.”

41 The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is honored to recognize these dedicated individuals who have volunteered their time and skills to touch and enrich the lives of others in our community.

Join the community in honoring these volunteers at

Our Next Act

Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Annual Meeting Thursday, Aug. 24, 7 p.m.

Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Squirrel Hill For details, visit

www.jfedpgh.org/annual-meeting or call 412-992-5251.

14 AUGUST 18, 2017

– ABRAHAM KABAK, ISRAELI AUTHOR

THE JEWISH FEDERATION VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

WHO ARE HARD ACTS

As Pittsburgh’s Jewish community lays the groundwork fo the title of the Jewish Federation’s upcoming annual meet service inspire each of us, so our next act may be one of k DEDE FINK

DANA HIMMEL

JAN MANKIN

BURTON DODICK

YVONNE GERSON

DR. STEVEN M. ALBERT

ADAT SHALOM CONGREGATION ADATH JESHURUN CEMETERY THE ALEPH INSTITUTE — NORTH EAST REGION

DR. MARSHALL & ELEANOR HERSHBERG AMERICAN FRIENDS OF ISRAEL WAR DISABLED

LISA OLEINICK

BETH EL CONGREGATION OF THE SOUTH HILLS

JOSHUA SWEDARSKY

BETH HAMEDRASH HAGODOL–BETH JACOB CONGREGATION

NAOMI WEISBERG SIEGEL

CLASSROOMS WITHOUT BORDERS

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

COMMUNITY DAY SCHOOL CONGREGATION AHAVATH ACHIM CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM

ROBERT HALDEN

CONGREGATION EMANU-EL ISRAEL, GREENSBURG

ROB KRAFTOWITZ & JANICE GORDON DOR HADASH CONGREGATION

JOHN SPEAR

FORWARD HOUSING CORPORATION

ALEX SPECK

THE FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE OF PITTSBURGH

BARBARA SCHEINBERG

GREATER PITTSBURGH CHAPTER OF HADASSAH

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S TO FOLLOW

or future innovation and continuity – ting is Our Next Act – may their kindness (chesed).

DAYNA GREENFIELD

HILLEL ACADEMY OF PITTSBURGH

ELLIOTT OSHRY

STUART “STU” HARRIS

JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGH VOLUNTEER CENTER

THE EDWARD AND ROSE BERMAN HILLEL JEWISH UNIVERSITY CENTER

CAROLE BAILEY

DR. STEVEN SMIGA

ROBERT ROSENTHAL

THE HOLOCAUST CENTER OF PITTSBURGH

JUDY GRUMET

JEWISH ASSISTANCE FUND

ENID MILLER

JEWISH HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION JEWISH RESIDENTIAL SERVICES

RABBI DOVIE SAUL

LUBAVITCH CENTER OF PITTSBURGH

DEBBIE LEVY GREEN

JEWISH ASSOCIATION ON AGING

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN, PITTSBURGH SECTION

MALKE FRANK

JANET SPEAR (Z”L)

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

HAROLD SEGAL

RAUH JEWISH ARCHIVES OF THE SEN. JOHN HEINZ HISTORY CENTER

MARSHA LEFFEL & CLAUDIA FINKEL TEMPLE B’NAI ISRAEL, WHITE OAK

BEN HANDEN

TEMPLE EMANUEL OF THE SOUTH HILLS

MARA KAPLAN TEMPLE SINAI

IRWIN HARRIS

TREE OF LIFE*OR L’SIMCHA CONGREGATION

HEATHER HARR

YOUNG PEOPLES SYNAGOGUE

ZALMAN SHAPIRO, PHD (Z”L)

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER PITTSBURGH

BARRY H. ROTH

ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA/ PITTSBURGH CHAPTER

JEFF HERZOG

MATTHEW SCHWARTZ & JONATHAN FISCHER

Not Pictured: Dr. Steven M. Albert, Rob Kraftowitz & Janice Gordon, Lisa Oleinick, Naomi Weisberg Siegel

JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN’S SERVICE OF PITTSBURGH

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RIVERVIEW TOWERS

SOUTH HILLS JEWISH PITTSBURGH

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Original photography & digital remaster: Sanford Riemer

AUGUST 18, 2017 15

Life & Culture Beach reads edition: ‘Eligible’ gives fresh spin on centuries-old classic; ‘Girl in Snow’ offers character studies — BOOKS —

I

t is a truth universally acknowledged that if you’re looking for a good book to return to again and again, Jane Austen will always deliver.

When heading to the beach, however, Pride and Prejudice — while witty and charming even 200-plus years since its 1813 publication — may not be your first choice. But Eligible, a modern-day retelling of the story by Curtis Sittenfeld, who is halfJewish and described herself to the Times of Israel as a Yiddish enthusiast with a “Jewish personality,” is certainly a choice as eligible (sorry) as the Bennet sisters.

The 2016 novel recently released in paperback came about as Sittenfeld participated in “The Austen Project,” in which six contemporary novelists were assigned an Austen work and challenged to modernize it. Now, our outspoken heroine, Liz, is a 30-something writer for a magazine in New York City and her proud but compassionate beau, who couldn’t shake the name Fitzwilliam Darcy, is a handsome neurosurgeon in Cincinnati, Liz’s hometown.

When Mr. Bennet has a heart attack, yoga instructor Jane — ever as sweet and

kind — and Liz, who both live in New York, return home to be with their family, but find the Bennets are in debt and the house is falling into disrepair.

Sisters Kitty and Lydia, in their 20s and heavily  “Eligible” by into CrossFit, Curtis Sittenfeld; are still living at $17 paperback; Random House home with no jobs. Mary is pursuing her third master’s degree, also still living at home.

Familiar characters from Mr. Collins to Georgiana Darcy are all there with modern updates and tweaks. They text. They curse. They stalk their crushes on social media and Google.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are quite the same.

Mr. Bennet’s trademark sarcasm is on evident display and impatient Mrs. Bennet’s main concern is still marrying off her daughters, her hopes for sons-in-law and grandchildren quickly evaporating as Jane nears 40.

Speaking of, Charles Bingley is now Chip

Bingley, who two years ago took a turn as the bachelor on the novel’s take on the ABC reality dating franchise, Eligible. His appearance on the show was orchestrated by his pernicious (to borrow a term from the OG Jane) sister and manager, Caroline. Now, he works in the ER at the same hospital as Darcy. And he went to medical school at Harvard. (Mrs. Bennet is quite pleased.)

But of course, this story takes place in 2013 not 1813, so there must be adjustments.

Sittenfeld took chances to modernize the story, and they largely paid off. She clearly had fun developing her own spin on the classic characters. Jasper Wick, a love interest for Liz, fills in for George Wickham, just as sly and self-serving as his predecessor. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is reborn as Kathy de Bourgh, a feminist author and speaker whose works Liz greatly admires.

Laced throughout the story (in between the recurring jokes about how everyone watched Eligible but pretended not to) are commentaries about society, an overarching theme in mostly all of Austen’s works. Class, race and gender are looked at through a new lens. Mrs. Bennet becomes the stand-in for that family member whose views differ with our own and always promise a fight at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

Mrs. Bennet, the book says, “was prone to making declarations about almost all religious and ethnic minorities that were often uncomfortable for her listeners.”

Even in modern-day, diverse Cincinnati, Mrs. Bennet has trouble accepting those different from her own family. It is also discovered in a small sub-plot that Mrs. Bennet’s heritage includes a line of Jewish ancestors, which Mrs. Bennet — who is recast as a homophobe, racist and a bit anti-Semitic to boot — does not acknowledge.

Mr. Bennet, a genealogy enthusiast, discovered Mrs. Bennet’s maternal grandmother Ida Conner had been Ida Rosenbluth. Liz recalls a few uncomfortable moments where her mother has made slightly off-color remarks, such as “Jews are very fond of dried fruit” (hello, Tu B’Shevat) and that a party dress she once purchased appeared to her mother as “Jewish-looking.”

Lydia and Kitty, after they discovered their mother’s ancestry, recommended she have a late-in-life Bat Mitzvah and took to calling her Jewess, which Mrs. Bennet did not appreciate.

It’s a breezy read that while certainly Please see Reads, page 19

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

16 AUGUST 18, 2017

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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DO WELL BY DOING GOOD. Example of Single-Life $10,000 Gift Annuity August 2017 AFR 2.4% Age

Total Annual Tax-Free Immediate Rate* Payment Payment Tax Deduction

70

6.5%

$650

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$2,479

80

7.5%

$750

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90

10.0%

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$840

$5,883

*Rates subject to change.

Call one of our experts today to see how planned giving can help you meet your philanthropic goals.

Dan Brandeis: 412.992.5220 Sharon Perelman: 412.992.5224

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AUGUST 18, 2017 17

Life & Culture Authentic New York bagels have finally arrived in Kansas City — FOOD —

By Victor Wishna | JTA

A

sample of the offerings at Meshuggah Bagels in Kansas City.

(Victor Wishna) Bronx-born, Queens-bred attorney Victor Bergman has lived in the Kansas City area for more than four decades — and in all that time, he hadn’t found a true New York-style bagel. “Boiled first, glossy crust, soft interior — I really missed it a lot,” he said.

But here, in a suburban strip mall that shares its parking lot with a Walmart, Bergman’s 40 years in the desert may be over: “They’ve done it,” he said, awaiting a fresh-baked dozen. “These are the bagels I grew up with.”

Authentic New York bagels in Kansas — sounds crazy, no?

Actually, it’s meshuggah — Yiddish for “crazy” — as in Meshuggah Bagels, Kansas City’s bagel-and-schmear joint that has been on a holey roll since owners Pete and Janna Linde first set up shop last year.

Meshuggah is the only standalone kosher eatery in Kansas City — a boon for the modest population of observant Jews. It has also become very popular among the city’s growing foodie crowd: The bagel bakery will

p Meshuggah Bagels is the only standalone kosher eatery in Kansas City.

Photo by Victor Wishna

boast three area locations by the fall.

Surveying the line of customers that stretched to the door on a recent Wednesday morning, Pete told JTA that they never expected to start a bagel boom. As a New Jersey native, he just wanted a taste of home.

Meanwhile, Janna, a lifelong Kansas Citian, had always thought a bagel was just bread

with a hole in it — until that day in Central Park a few years ago, when the couple shared an everything bagel with whitefish salad they had purchased on the Upper West Side.

“I bit into it, and I realized I had never had a bagel — not a real one,” Janna recalled. “I looked at Pete, and I said, ‘Wow, that is just crazy good.’ So even then, we had our name.”

The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Senator John Heinz History Center Presents:

For years, the couple joked about opening a bagel bakery, said Pete, whose mechanical engineering career brought him to the area 20 years ago. “It was seemingly ridiculous that Kansas City didn’t have a real bagel anywhere,” he said.

Long famous for its barbecue, Kansas City’s culinary scene has expanded in recent years, boasting homegrown James Beard Award-winners and earning spots on lists of the nation’s best food cities.

Yet despite some previous efforts, and the spread of Panera and Einstein Bros., a hole languished where good bagels might have been. Even acclaimed New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin —famous for extolling the virtues of Kansas City — has documented the shortcomings of what he charitably called his hometown’s “bagel-shaped objects.”

Then there was that time in 2015, as the Royals faced the Mets in the World Series, when Kansas City Symphony music director (and native New Yorker) Michael Stern anted up his town’s best barbecue for the prospect of the “finest bagels” in a wager with the New York Philharmonic.

The Royals would deliver on that bet.

And at the same time, the Lindes made a gamble of their own.

Pete was three years short of retirement Please see Bagels, page 19

Congregation Beth Shalom congratulates our Cantor Emeritus, Moshe Taubé, on the occasion of his 90th birthday. His cantorial brilliance lent special meaning to our most sacred prayers for so many years.

The World Premiere of

Missing McKeesport 1:30pm | Sunday, August 20, 2017 Mueller Center | Heinz History Center Screening followed by Q+A with Filmmaker Sam Zolten

‫מ‬issing McKeesport

Congregation Beth Shalom 5915 Beacon Street, PGH, PA 15217

A Documentary by Sam Zolten

Moishe House Pittsburgh is searching for a new resident!

Eligible applicants must be between the ages of 22-32 and be interested in building Jewish community in Pittsburgh.

A remembrance off the thriving g Jewish J community y that shaped a generation & is no more.

Tickets to the film are included d d with ith regular l museum admission, d i i which hi h is i good all day. Seating is limited, so please register in advance at heinzhistorycenter.org/events. History Center members and attendees of the August 17th Sneak Preview receive a 20% discount to the screening.

18 AUGUST 18, 2017

We are a group of young adults who host 7+ events a month out of our home and with our peers.

Interested in applying?

Head to www.moishehouse.org/apply to fill out an application!

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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Headlines Reads: Continued from page 17

worthwhile, may also make you want to just pick up Pride and Prejudice and reread it.

— Marissa Stern Although it’s billed as a whodunit, the debut novel of Danya Kukafka really is more a character study of three unhappy individuals.

And while there’s no inherent Jewish aspect angle to Girl in Snow, Kukafka said (via publicist) that growing up Jewish in Colorado influenced the book.

“The book is very much about the experience of being an outsider in the mostly white Christian Republican suburban Midwest,” Kukafka wrote. “Our Jewish community was

Bagels:

extremely small, and that also prompted me to write about the experiences of insular communities in general.”

Kukafka, an assistant editor at Riverhead Books, certainly captures that isolation in the  “Girl in Snow” d ays immeby Danya Kukafka; diately after $26, hardcover; the mu rd e r Simon & Schuster of popular high school student Lucinda Hayes in a small Colorado town.

We first meet Cameron, a fellow student who loved her from afar despite being neighbors.

Cameron’s a borderline stalker who’s uncomfortable in his own skin. He also deals with the burden of being the son of a disgraced former police officer who skipped town after a violent incident.

Then there’s Jade, another high school student, who’s your classic loner. She’s smart and sensitive, but erects a sullen veneer that prevents anyone from getting too close.

Finally there’s Russ, a police officer helping to investigate the case who has problems of his own, including a crumbling marriage and unsavory secrets he struggles with dating to the days when he worked with Cameron’s father.

The novel focuses on the days immediately after the murder, with the three characters’

according to Rabbi Mendel Segal, who was, until recently, the director of the Vaad HaKashruth of Kansas City, a kosher supervising organization. “To have a real, kosher bagel in town is something that people have been talking about for a long time,” he said.

With only days to go until Bagel Bash, Segal — who is also known to barbecue

‘We need to go retail,’” Pete said.

They found an 800-square-foot space in midtown Kansas City, Missouri. Alongside their bagels — plain, poppy, sesame, salt, onion, everything, but never blueberry — the menu features a selection of homemade schmears and a range of smoked fish flown in fresh from Brooklyn, as well as coffee

lives intertwining from time to time.

While Kukafka’s clearly a talented writer with a keen sense of the disaffected, the novel does lag at times. And if you’re the type of reader who wants someone to root for, you won’t find it here.

Kukafka does a fine job of dropping hints at who the murderer might be, but the actual reveal seems a bit anticlimactic.

That said, despite the gloomy aura overall created, Kukafka does manage to create a sliver of hope for our three characters in the aftermath of the murder.

While Girl in Snow wasn’t written for the young adult market, it does have the feel of YA novels like Thirteen Reasons Why. If you liked the latter, you might appreciate the former, too. PJC — Andy Gotlieb

to where most Jewish and kosher-keeping Kansas Citians live, minutes from the area’s only modern Orthodox synagogue.

“It’s very exciting for the community,” Segal from his job at Ford, and Janna, recovering said. “Besides the bagels, going to a nice, warm, from a knee injury, was on leave from her friendly environment where you can sit down job as a district sales manager for Del Monte with your family or meet a client — it may not foods. One evening, she looked up from the seem like much, but it’s a big difference.” couch and said, “We should just But the bagel boom is hardly do the bagel thing now.” driven by Jewish customers The goal was a modest wholealone. On weekends, the line sale business, something Janna that stretches from their origcould orchestrate through her inal midtown location is a grocery contacts, while Pete baked millennial-heavy collection in the mornings and evenings. He of hungry folks of all backpulled together a few publicly grounds. And in September, available recipes and, using their at the invitation of develbiggest spaghetti pot, boiled and opers, the Lindes will open then baked six bagels at a time. their third store in Liberty, “The first few batches were disasMissouri — a small town on trous,” he said. the outskirts of the metro Janna spent long hours area that has approximately networking with equipment zero synagogues. suppliers and researching how to Meshuggah recently introbuild a bagel bakery from scratch. duced what they believe are Pete kept tinkering in the kitchen.

Kansas City’s first authentic All and all, it took 73 different bialys, which often sell out by recipes. “One night, I took it out 10 a.m. Currently, each of their of the oven, and it was just great,” two locations sells about 1,200 he said. “We realized we had it.” bagels a day — and more than By then, the couple had invested double that on the weekends. thousands of dollars in industrial “I really love a good East equipment, but their timing was off.

Coast-style bagel and this is the It was November, “about the worst most authentic I have found time you can approach a grocery in Kansas City,” said Jasper store,” Pete said. “They’re locked and  When the stores opened in March 2016, there were lines halfway around the block.

Mirabile, Jr., chef and owner Photo by Victor Wishna loaded for the holiday season, and of Jasper’s Italian Restaurant, nobody wanted to talk to us.” a local institution, and host Then the Lindes learned about Bagel Bash, fans as RaBBi-Q — canceled a trip to help from a local roaster. of popular weekly radio show, “Live! From an annual affair for young adults that the get the bakery kashered in time. The Lindes When opening day arrived in March 2016, Jasper’s Kitchen.” “The consistency is really Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City donated 30 dozen for the party, their first there was a line halfway around the block. something else.” hosts on Christmas Eve. Bagels were not the exposure to the public.

The Kansas City Star sent a reporter to cover After so many bagel-less years in Kansas party’s focus — but they were about to be.

Word spread, fans flooded the Meshuggah it. By the end of the first week, they had City, those who know the Lindes underThe couple invited the event’s organizers Facebook page, others kept calling to see exceeded anticipated demand by 300 percent. stand why they’ve been the ones to pull it off. for a tour and taste. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, where they could buy the bagels. The Lindes “After the second weekend was just as He’s Jewish; she’s not. She grew up knowing this is amazing,’” said Alyssa Dinberg, then a started catering Federation meetings and crazy as the first, we realized we had drasti- Midwestern tastes and tendencies; he knows Federation program manager. “I remember filling weekly orders through the kosher cally underestimated how much Kansas City what real bagels are supposed to be. He’s the telling them, ‘if you get your shop kosher, I café at the JCC, but it wasn’t enough. Some really wanted this,” said Pete. planner; she’s the go-getter. guarantee this is going to blow up.’” would-be patrons even showed up unanMeshuggah Bagels is the only standalone “I can’t imagine a better couple for this to Among Kansas City’s approximately nounced at their unmarked warehouse, kosher eatery in Kansas City. (Victor Wishna) happen to,” Dinberg said. “They are the most 20,000 Jews, a relatively small core keeps asking to buy bagels onsite.

This June, they opened a second, much genuine, good-hearted, hardworking people. strictly kosher, but it’s a growing presence, “Once again, Janna looked at me and said, larger location in Overland Park, closer I’m thrilled to see it doing well.” PJC Continued from page 18

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PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

AUGUST 18, 2017 19

Celebrations

Torah

Bat Mitzvah

Maintaining a singular focus on community Grayson Honig, daughter of Jennifer and Larry Honig and sister of Samantha, will become a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 19 at Temple Sinai. Grayson’s grandparents are Sarah and the late Abraham Honig, Sandy and Mark Goldberg, Michael and Diane Alexander and Sally Ford.  PJCÂ

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By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Parshat Re’eh Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17

“S

ee, I am giving before you this day a blessing and a curse.� So opens this week’s Torah portion, which is referring to the covenant at Mount Gerizim and Mount Eybal that dramatically concludes the Book of Deuteronomy and precedes the Jewish people’s entry into the Land of Israel. What I would like to analyze in this commentary is a curious and seemingly pedantic detail, a strange grammatical formulation which, when properly understood, will shed light not only upon the nature of this third and final Pentateuchal covenant but also upon a fundamental philosophy of our religious nationality.

Our verse begins with a singular verb that addresses an individual, re’eh, “see,� but then continues with a plural pronoun, lifnechem, “before you,� addressing a multitude. This grammatical switch in number — from singular to plural — is especially worthy of note, since when we do find such biblical changes they take place in the opposite direction, from plural to singular. In the portion containing the Decalogue in Exodus, for example, G-d’s introduction addresses in plural form the multitude of Israelites: “You have seen what I have done to Egypt, and I lifted you upon eagles’ wings.� But then it switches to the singular form in the Ten Commandments themselves: “I am the Lord your G-d who took you from the land of Egypt.�

Nachmanides explains the switch from

G-d’s blessings on Mount Gerizim and G-d’s curses on Mount Eybal, poised before Shekhem and ready to enter the Promised Land. The Torah provides the exact location: “Are they not beyond the Jordan ‌ in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the Aravah, over against Gilgal, beside the oak tree of Moreh?â€? The term aravah, or “plains,â€? is taken by the sages of the Talmud as a double entendre, with the Hebrew arev also meaning “co-signer,â€? the individual who takes financial responsibility if a borrower reneges on the payment of his debt.

This is the covenant which insists that every Israelite must see himself as part of a whole, as a member of a nation which sees itself as a united organism whose separate individuals feel inextricably and indelibly bound to each other in fate, destiny and responsibility.

Hence G-d begins with the singular and continues into the plural in order to impress upon the individual Israelite that he must in some way merge with the multitude and assume responsibility for the entire Jewish people, that every Israelite is a co-signer, responsible for every other Israelite.

This is what I believe to be the higher meaning of a shomer torah u’mitzvot, literally a guardian over the Torah and tradition.

It is not sufficient to merely study Torah and to perform the commandments; just as a guardian takes responsibility for the objects in his possession, so must each of us — everyone in his or her own way — take responsibility for the dissemination of Torah and the establishment of proper Torah institutions in our community and generation.

In the case of the Jewish nation, 2LUU`9VZZ :\IHY\ JVT c :LL KLHSLY MVY KL[HPSZ

the individual Jew is an inextricable part

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of his people.

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the singular merges into the plural,

plural to singular, and catalogues many other instances when such a transition in number appears, as the desire of G-d to make certain that His words are being heard not only as a command to the general masses but also as a personal injunction to each and every individual.

In effect, G-d is thereby appearing as a Chasidic rebbe rather than as a congregational rabbi, in accordance with the common folk understanding of the distinction between the two. When a congregational rabbi speaks, every individual believes that he is addressing the person next to him; when a Chasidic rebbe speaks, every person listening knows and feels that he is addressing him personally.

But if this is the case, how can we understand our opening verse, in which G-d begins with the singular and continues with the plural? I believe that this unusual grammatical phenomenon speaks to the very definition of this third covenant, known as the covenant of arevut, or “mutual responsibility.� The Israelites, divided by the tribes in two groups of six stand together to receive

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It is recorded that the famed Rav Meir Shapiro of Lublin (early 20th century) was forced into a dispute with a cardinal concerning the quality of our Jewish tradition. “The Talmud is blatantly anti-Christian,� argued the cardinal. “Does it not state that ‘only Israelites are called adam whereas Gentiles are not called adam,’ and therefore we Gentiles are not considered by you to be human beings?!�

The rabbi explained that there are four synonyms for a human being in the Hebrew language: gever, ish, enosh and adam. The first three of these nouns have both a singular and a plural: gevarim, ishim and aneshim; only adam has only one form for both the singular human and the plural humanity. If a Jew is suffering in an Islamic fundamentalist country or if Israel seems to be in danger, Jews worldwide demonstrate and flock to their homeland.

This is a unique Jewish quality, built into our third covenant. In the case of the Jewish nation, the singular merges into the plural, the individual Jew is an inextricable part of his people.  PJC Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is the chief rabbi of Efrat.

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Headlines Dor Hadash:

“ We are delighted to welcome Congregation

Continued from page 1

work. Religious services will remain separate, with Dor Hadash, a 145-member congregation, utilizing Beth Shalom’s Helfant Chapel for Shabbat services on Saturday morning and its Homestand Chapel on Friday nights.

Dor Hadash does not have a spiritual leader and instead is member-led.

“We want to maintain our status as a member-led, progressive, egalitarian, inclusive congregation with a strong sense of community,” said Surloff. “The question was where did we see the most potential to secure that future. We concluded we could do that and more at Beth Shalom, even though we have some differences due to our different movements.

“But we share the same core values and vision. This is an opportunity for Dor Hadash to become part of a center for Jewish

Dor Hadash into our building. We look forward to many years of a happy relationship with our new neighbor.

”

— DEBBIE FIRESTONE, PRESIDENT OF BETH SHALOM life and learning in the community.”

Beth Shalom’s rabbi, Seth Adelson, also impressed the members of Dor Hadash, according to Surloff, who noted that through the rabbi’s blogs it was evident that “he recognizes the challenges ahead” for Jewish communal institutions.

Dor Hadash will remain at TOL*OLS through the High Holidays this year and anticipates moving to Beth Shalom some-

time in late fall.

Michael Eisenberg, president of TOL*OLS expressed disappointment in the decision of Dor Hadash to move, but is confident that his congregation will still be thriving with the addition of its new tenants. While Eisenberg had hoped that three congregations would be housed in his congregation’s building—thereby creating a “metropolitan” congregational model—he anticipates the

Alumnus: Continued from page 1

Duquesne Law alumnus and nationally prominent personal injury attorney, will allow his alma mater to establish the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education. The center, in conjunction with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts and under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, will coordinate with deans and law scholars at Pennsylvania’s nine law schools to establish an innovative, high-level curriculum of courses and seminars for the commonwealth’s more than 600 trial and appellate judges.

While attorneys in Pennsylvania have had a longtime requirement of continuing legal education, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court just recently imposed a similar requirement upon its judges.

“When the Pennsylvania Supreme Court established mandatory legal education this year, I viewed the Court’s establishment of this requirement as an opportunity for me to contribute not only to the legal profession, but also to my alma mater, Duquesne University Law School, in payment of a debt of gratitude,” said Kline in an email.

“The Law School at Duquesne has a longstanding tradition of public service and commitment to the judiciary. I am proud that two justices of the Supreme Court, Max Baer and Christine Donahue, are Duquesne law alumni and a third, David Wecht, has long-standing ties to Duquesne Law School in a teaching capacity,” Kline continued.

The establishment of the Kline Center “is the intersection of my pride in my alma mater, my commitment to legal education, my respect for the judicial process and the need for the highest standards for lawyers and judges,” he said.

In 2014 Kline donated $50 million to Drexel University, which renamed its law school in his honor.

Kline is a founding partner with Shanin Specter of the law firm of Kline & Specter.

The firm has a national reputation for its success in handling catastrophic injury cases. His work in the Penn State/Sandusky litigation and the Piazza fraternity hazing case have gained national attention. He has

p Duquesne University president Ken Gormley announces the Thomas R. Kline Judicial Education Center of the Duquesne University School of Law. Kline is pictured to the left of Gormley.

Photo courtesy of Duquesne University

achieved hundreds of seven- and eightfigure jury verdicts and settlements.

Kline grew up in the Pennsylvania anthracite coal region and graduated from Albright College. He began his professional career as a middle school social studies teacher and earned a master’s degree in American history from Lehigh University. He then attended Duquesne University School of Law, where he graduated with the school’s Distinguished Student Award. He went on to work as law clerk to Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Thomas W. Pomeroy before joining the private sector, working first at the Beasley Firm in Philadelphia. He and Specter opened their own firm in 1995.

In 2008, Kline received Duquesne Law School’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Ken Gormley, president of Duquesne University and former dean of its law school, had been in conversations with Kline for about five years about the possibility of doing something for his alma mater.

“As part of that discussion, I raised the idea of a judicial education center at Duquesne, and he was intrigued by that from the start,” Gormley said. “He cares deeply about educating our judges. He cares deeply about doing things for the profession and giving back at the highest level. And that

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one struck a real chord.”

Over time, the concept developed to establish “not just a judicial education center, but something bigger than anyone else had really ever pulled off, which was creating a center that worked directly with the courts and with all of the other law schools in the state,” Gormley said. “That has never been done before. There are a couple of universities that have created relationships with the courts, but none of them have created a statewide network by bringing in the expertise of all the other law schools in the state.

So, this is truly groundbreaking.”

While Pennsylvania judges have been receiving continuing education for years, that education has not been required until now, “and there hasn’t been a strategic plan in terms of what courses are most significant, and which ones will count for credit, and so on,” according to Gormley.

“That has become more of a national trend,” he said. “In the last election, Justice David Wecht, who is a good friend and has taught a course at Duquesne Law School for years, really made a point of emphasizing the need for continuing judicial education during his campaign. So, it all kind of came to the forefront in the last couple years.”

All Pennsylvania judges will be required to

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

building at Wilkins and Shady avenues to be infused with new energy with the addition of New Light.

“There was the potential for a really nice community of vibrancy and activity—and we will have all of that with New Light—but it would have been even better with Dor Hadash there,” Eisenberg said.

In addition to New Light and NA’AMAT, TOL*OLS will also be housing Weight Watchers and AARP and is in the process of investigating daytime space-sharing compatibility with various departments at Chatham University, Eisenberg said.

“We are delighted to welcome Congregation Dor Hadash into our building,” said Debbie Firestone, president of Beth Shalom. “We look forward to many years of a happy relationship with our new neighbor.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. earn a total of 12 credits of continuing legal education each year, including three credits in judicial ethics.

Duquesne made a proposal to the Court and worked with AOPC to construct a memorandum of understanding as to a formal role for the new Kline Center, which will collaborate with AOPC to deliver four “key credits to judges each year” beginning in January 2018.

There will be a committee comprised of the deans of the nine law schools in Pennsylvania to provide input into the judicial curriculum, according to Gormley.

Courses may include “‘classic hits’ you may want to take each year, like a course on leading cases decided by the Pennsylvania appellate courts in the past year or leading cases handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the past year,” he said. “Those types of courses never become out of date, because each year it’s good to get an update to remain current.”

Gormley anticipates utilizing instructors outside the legal field to teach some of the courses, for example, science experts who may lead courses about Marcellus Shale and environmental issues, or psychologists who may instruct on juvenile or veterans’ issues.

“It is a rare thing that a law school gets to play such a central role in the delivery of judicial education and educating public servants more broadly,” Gormley said. “And that has always been something we’ve been very proud of and has been part of our legacy at Duquesne.”

Gormley has been in touch with the deans of the other law schools across the commonwealth, who were “extraordinarily enthusiastic about this partnership. It is not common for law schools to work together on anything. So, this is a chance to do something that all of us care about that is a collective sort of pro bono effort that benefits our profession and the system of justice we all care about and that we are all preparing our graduates to serve as well.

“This is the one project that means the most to me to see it come to fruition properly because it can make such a difference.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

AUGUST 18, 2017 21

Headlines Reunion: Continued from page 4

“But it’s a day gone by,” Silk continued, “those days when you used to ride your bike to Sunnyside Field and play baseball all day.

I think it’s different now. A lot of people still play baseball, but it’s not riding your bike to the field anymore. It’s parents driving.

It’s not the same.”

While most of the guys who showed up at the reunion still live in and around Pittsburgh, there were those who made it a point to come from Ohio, Florida, Connecticut and California. And while the vast majority of celebrants were men, there was one notable female guest, Ida Steinberg, 92, and mom to three Stanton Heights ball players: Michael, Kenny and Ricky.

“I used to do the transportation for all of them,” she said. “Everyone here remembers me. I love every one of these boys dearly. I’m just overwhelmed.”

In fact, Ida Steinberg was one of the only parents who saw fit to provide transportation to the young men. Reichbaum recalled missing the bus one summer for Emma Kaufmann Camp to play in an all-star game, and his mother opting not to drive him to camp afterward. That’s when Mrs. Steinberg stepped up to the plate.

“I was 11 years old on Frank’s ‘All Star Team,’ and I was scheduled to go to EKC. Back in the day, you didn’t miss your all-star game. But the bus for Emma Farm left on Sunday and the game was on Sunday. Ida Steinberg drove me to Emma Farm on Monday; my mom wouldn’t do that.”

Calendar: Continued from page 6 food, live music, a train ride for the kids, gaga and more. RSVP at templeemanuelpgh.org/ event/LD2017/ or call 412-279-7600 for more information.  WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 6 The community is invited to hear Jewish educator Avraham Infeld speak on “Israel: The Nation State of the Jewish People: What must change in Israel and in the Diaspora to ensure the validity of this claim?” at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill, Levinson Hall. To register for this program, visit jfedpgh.org/avraham-infeld.

The program is sponsored by the Israel and Overseas Department of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Diller Teen Fellows program. The Diller Teen Fellows program is funded by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and the Helen Diller Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund of San Francisco and is implemented locally by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.  WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 6 – SEPT. 13 Film Pittsburgh’s ReelAbilities Film Festival presents award-winning films at SouthSide

22 AUGUST 18, 2017

were no parents who would drive, so we had to forfeit.

Over the years, parents became more involved, but never to the point where they interfered. My brother and I never had a problem with parents out in Stanton Heights. It was great. They appreciated what we were doing.”

Although Bob Smizik had a hard time recognizing some of his former players at the reunion, “I have a very good mental image of them,” he said.

“I can tell them stories about themselves — if they wanted to hear them.”

Smizik launched the Stanton Heights Pony League in 1963 after coaching Little League for four years and starting the All-Star Team, which is now called a “travel  Team members Ed Sisenwain, left, and Leonard Silk team,” he said. In 1969, he greet each other.

Photo by Jared Reichbaum helped his brother start the Colt League team.

“It was a very difficult Back in those days, most parents situation,” he recalled. “We were a small did not even attend the boys’ games, community, I refer to it as a ‘one-school recalled Bob Smizik. community.’ Everyone went to Sunnyside “It’s changed for the better and the worse,” School. We were competing against much he said. “When I started coaching, parents did larger communities, and we were primarily not come to the games. I remember once we a Jewish community. It was a real big chalhad to forfeit a game because we couldn’t get a lenge to overcome some of those obstacles ride to the game out in Ohio Township. There we were facing.”

Works Cinema that promote awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of individuals with disabilities.

Contact info@FilmPitttsburgh.org for more information.  THURSDAY, SEPT. 7 The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh will hold its 122nd annual meeting, Love Thy Neighbor, from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., in Levinson Hall, 5738 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill.

The meeting is open to the community. The agenda includes a video highlighting the past year at the JCC; state of agency by board chair Jim Ruttenberg; volunteer awards to Community Champions Marc Brown, Merris and Yram Groff, Cathy Reifer, Karen Smith and Harold Segal; installation of officers and board; recognition of outgoing board member Henry Blaufeld; Presidential Citations to Lynne Carvell, Ari Letwin, Hal Shapera, Justin Jones, Brian Cohen, Carole Horne and honoring Don Robinson.

For more information, contact ralley@ jccpgh.org.

Ladies Hospital Aid Society invites the community to honor Dr. Jose-Alain Sahel, incoming chairman of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Eye & Ear Foundation endowed chair, at the LHAS Gala at the Carnegie Museum at 6 p.m. Visit lhas.net/ or contact 412-648-6106 for more information.

Nonetheless, the Stanton Heights teams saw a lot of success.

“The first two years were not very good,” Bob Smizik said. “I was learning, they were learning. The third year, we had our first winning season. The fourth year, the sixth year, and the seventh year, we won the championship of the league. That was about 22 communities — Shadyside, Ninth Ward, Tenth Ward, Aspinwall, Ohio Township, I could go on and on. So, it was a big accomplishment. It was a big deal to win the championship of that league, and we did it three times in four years.”

Many of his Stanton Heights players went on in life to achieve professional success, Bob Smizik said. “And that makes me feel good.

I had nothing to do with that; their parents did. But I still feel good about it.

“When I started coaching, I was a fulltime student at Pitt, I worked 40 hours a week in the summer for UPI in Pittsburgh — that was a wire service — and my life progressed. I graduated from Pitt, I started teaching school. I taught school for four years and still worked for the Pittsburgh Press, but I never let my work interfere with coaching my baseball team.”

Prior to the party at The O, about 25 of the guys met up at Sunnyside Field to throw a ball around, and practice batting.

“Nobody got hurt,” quipped Reichbaum.

“This is truly amazing,” said Frank Smizik, surveying the room. “I think it says a lot for Stanton Heights baseball in the ’60s. It’s heartwarming for me, and it taps off all that we’ve done.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

 SUNDAY, SEPT. 10

 THURSDAY, SEPT. 14

Hadassah’s 100th Anniversary and Myrtle Wreath Award Ceremony will be held at 11:30 a.m. at the University Club, 123 University Place. Honorees are Dr. Yoel Sadovsky, Bill Strickland Jr., Cynthia Shapira and Nancy Zionts. Visit hadassah.org/regions/ greater-pittsburgh/ for more information and to register or contact 412-421-8919 or Pittsburgh@hadassah.org.

AARP Squirrel Hill Chapter 3354 has moved and is now meeting at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha at 5898 Wilkins Ave. To start the new year, it will have entertainment for the first meeting at 1 p.m. Johnny Fontaine, a Las Vegas-style entertainer will be performing; you can view his video on YouTube.

Everyone is invited, including nonmembers.

Refreshments will be served after the meeting. Contact Ilene Portnoy at 412-6837985 for more information.

The 7th Annual Apples and Honey Fall Festival will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Waterfront. Contact 412-992-5204 or mfranzos@jfedpgh.org for more information.  MONDAY, SEPT. 11, 18, 25 Babyccino: A Chic Meet for Mod Moms & Their Tots. Explore the High Holidays in pint-size proportions via music, movement, sensory stimulants and expressive arts. Threeweek session from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. $7 per class; $18 for the whole session. Contact Chabad of the South Hills, Mt. Lebanon at mussie@chabadsh.com for more information.  TUESDAY, SEPT. 12 Pre-High Holiday lunch for seniors at noon at the South Hills Jewish Community Center, 345 Kane Blvd. Shofar presentation, High Holiday music, raffles and honey cake. $5 suggested donation. Wheelchair accessible. Call Barb at 412-278-2658 for more information.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Chabad of the South Hills presents Torah & Tea for Women: A Taste of the High Holidays in the Far East at 7:30 p.m. hosted by Deb Levy with guest Gilah Moritz. Moritz’s mother was born in Calcutta, India, to Baghdadi Jewish parents. The food traditions that the previous generation had brought there were influenced by the spices and cooking styles of India, and the resulting blended cuisine is uniquely delicious. Sample some traditional Rosh Hashanah dishes and hear about Far Eastern Jewish life. There is no charge.

Contact batya@chabadsh.com or 412-5122330 for more information and to RSVP.  SUNDAY, SEPT. 17 Kids Honey Cake Bake including baking your very own honey cake, entertainment, hands-on holiday crafts and more at 4 p.m. at the South Hills Jewish Community Center. PJC

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Headlines Family Fund continues charitable work in memory of legacy founders — LOCAL —

T

he Sylvia & Martin Snow Charitable Foundation, operating as the Sylvia & Martin Snow Family Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation, recently announced the recipients of its 2017 program grants.

Thirteen not-for-profit agencies were presented grants ranging from $1,800 to $20,000, marking the 25th anniversary of this family’s philanthropic efforts. Members of the Snow and Schachter families announced this year’s recipient agencies: Carnegie Museum, providing arts for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients; Community Day School; Friendship Circle, supporting program for parents

France: Continued from page 7

in Marseille and beyond.

The violent opposition to the event — a graduation ceremony for a seminar about women in Judaism — surprised and shocked Martine Yana, the center’s director. She said the protests demonstrated the need for conversations about women’s roles within Orthodox Judaism in France.

“I know this is a very conservative community,” Yana said of Marseille, where only three out of some 50 synagogues are not Orthodox, “but even I never imagined it would generate such reactions.”

“I would have canceled the event to keep the peace, but we found ourselves under attack,” she added. “It’s a very painful position for an institution like ours.”

The scandal, which Yana said is indicative of growing radicalization and insularity in France’s traumatized Jewish communities, erupted a few days before the June 24 event.

Shmouel Melloul, a dayan, or rabbinical judge, wrote an impassioned plea for the cancellation of the event and for prayers to God so He may “spare the city His wrath” over the affair.

“We are all furious, terribly disturbed and outraged over this precedent,” he wrote of

providing financial help for those with children in Friendwith critical needs; Jewish Family ship Circle; Greater Pitts& Children’s Service, helping to burgh Community Food procure kosher protein foods Bank, enabling families for the Squirrel Hill Commuto enrich dietary needs; nity Food Pantry; North Hills HEARTH (Homeless Ends Community Outreach, providing with Advocacy, Resources, free rides for seniors to appointTraining and Housing), ments in their community; Pittsproviding support for homeless women with burgh Festival Opera, providing creative learning through opera children; In The City Day p Sylvia and to tots and grade-school children; Camp, providing scholMartin Snow arship help for Jewish Photo courtesy of South Hills Interfaith Movement, Barton Schachter providing early childhood educachildren in Atlanta; Jewish Agency on Aging, supporting an arts tional opportunities for immigrant families; program for elderly suffering with dementia/ and Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha, providing Alzheimer’s; Jewish Assistance Fund, cultural programs for young adults and fami-

lies with young children.

Not-for-profit agencies with the classification 501 (c) (3) are encouraged to apply for grants by first accessing the SMSFF’s website, snowpittsburgh.org, and following the listed procedures. The RFPs are available in January, and the SMSFF accepts proposals in March and makes its awards known by late May. The SMSFF is made up of the families of Richard and Leslie Snow and Barton and Linda Snow Schachter There are seven grandchildren of Sylvia and Martin and four spouses, making a total of 15 family members. The website has details of the Fund’s history and the details of the 25 years that have seen more than 70 agencies receive over $2½ million in grants. PJC

from the Torah are “not forbidden but not recommended either,” Consistoire spokesman Michel Cohen-Tenoudji told La Croix daily. But, he added, his organization was opposed to the event because it mixes women and men.

Several prominent Orthodox rabbis have ruled that the reading aloud of the Torah by women at synagogue is permissible according to halachah, the Jewish code of law, as long as the sexes remain separated at synagogue. And in the United States and Israel, some Orthodox synagogues allow women to chant from the Torah, and some employ women as clergy.

But the French Jewish community is “30 years arrears, and continuing to regress,” according to Liliane Vana, a philologist and expert on Jewish law and the Talmud — a central text of Jewish tradition. Vana also counsels women and men appearing before the beit din, or rabbinical court, on the dos and don’ts of divorce in Judaism.

Vana, a co-organizer of the controversial event in Marseille, sees this radicalization also in the treatment of gay people. Deviating from a don’t-ask-don’t-tell modus vivendi of previous years, some Orthodox rabbis in France have begun to refuse to allow gays to take part in religious ceremonies.

This change coincides with a demographic shift within French Jewry, which beginning in the 1950s became predominantly Sephardic following waves of immigration

by Jews from North Africa and Arab countries. The influx followed the annihilation of a quarter of France’s predominantly Ashkenazi population during World War II. The increase in violent anti-Semitism in France — hundreds of cases are now recorded annually, compared with dozens prior to the

year 2000 — is further contributing to isolationism, according to Delphine Horvilleur, a Liberal, or Reform, rabbi from Paris.

“It’s shutting down the debate and adding to an atmosphere of siege that does not encourage self-reflection,” she said.

The perceived radicalization is alienating some French Jews from Orthodoxy and sending them into the open arms of the country’s small but growing Liberal stream of Judaism. Horvilleur’s synagogue, MJLF Beaugrenelle, is one of the best attended in Paris, with hundreds of families filling the synagogue to capacity on holidays.

Horvilleur was recently invited to officiate alongside the Orthodox chief rabbi, Haim Korsia, at the funeral of Simone Weil, a Holocaust survivor who became health minister and one of France’s most influential politicians before her death on June 30 at 89.

Though it was not Korsia’s choice — his office attempted to downplay Horvilleur’s role at the funeral — the ceremony was nonetheless an interdenominational first in France.

But Horvilleur, too, sees French Jewry as “folding inwards” and becoming radicalized.

Partly, she says, this is because of the Consistorial model, which makes Orthodox Jewry the only stream with state recognition.

And whereas the Consistoire and Korsia have addressed women’s rights — Korsia recently pressured a recalcitrant and abusive husband into granting his wife a divorce after 29 years — “there is little sign that things are changing,” Horvilleur said.

The brouhaha in Marseille is divisive and reflective of “the refusal of French Orthodoxy to let in any measurement of change,” she said. “But the very fact it is happening maybe is a sign of a belated start of change despite everything.” PJC

the event, in which a mixed crowd of men and women read aloud the weekly Torah portion. “It is urgent and imperative to forcefully and rapidly protest” for its cancellation.

Answering this call to arms, a small group of young men twice gathered around the center, asking visitors to boycott the institution in what Yana said was an act of intimidation. Dozens of men and women left offensive remarks on the center’s Facebook page or called the center’s switchboard.

One of them, a Facebook user by the name of David Bendennoune, wished the center “the same fate as Korah,” a biblical rebel whom the earth swallowed whole without a trace.

Yana, for her part, published a statement on the center’s Facebook page condemning the violent rhetoric. She told JTA that “the growing radicalism exposed in this affair makes me afraid for my safety, not only from Muslim radicals, but now also from Jewish ones.”

As the affair intensified, there was an attempt to temper the flames by the Marseille branch of the Consistoire — a 210-year-old state-recognized Orthodox body that employs rabbis and caters to the religious needs of Jewish communities.

Events featuring women reading aloud

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Obituaries ARENSON: Rosalyn “Roz” Arenson, on Thursday, August 10, 2017. Beloved wife of the late Joe Arenson. Loving mother of Leslie Arenson, Todd (Julie) Arenson and Pamela (Doug) Shapiro. Sister of Phyllis Teitelbaum and the late Ann Kann. Sister-in-law of Richard Kann. Grandmother of Ally and Jamie Shapiro.

Also survived by loving nieces and nephews.

Graveside services and interment were held at Homewood Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Ladies Hospital Aid Society, 3459 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. HAHN: Jerome P. “Jerry” Hahn, on Tuesday, August 8, 2017. Beloved husband of the late Claire B. Hahn. Beloved father of Janet Hahn (Kenneth Simon), James (Laura) Hahn, and Rabbi Andrew Hahn. Brother of the late Herbert (late Wilma H.) Hahn. Grandfather of Eliza Simon (Micah Ratner), Jessica (Mark) Daigle, Zachary Simon, and Eric and Matthew Hahn. Great-grandfather of Caleb and Nate Simon-Ratner, and Alexander Daigle. A Pittsburgher through and through, Jerry was loved by many people for his intelligence, sense of humor, generous spirit and wisdom. He was a man of boundless intellectual curiosity and a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. Services were held at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Interment at West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Contributions may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. KAUFMAN: Baila Fineman Kaufman, on Tuesday, August 8, 2017; preceded in death by her husband and best friend Mickey Kaufman. Baila was the loving mother of Leslie and Sam Greenspon, Pamela and Bill Wagoner and Paul and Tina Kaufman.

Grandmother of Joseph Greenspon, Sarah and Billy Wagoner and Olivia and Henry Kaufman. Great-grandmother to Andrew Johnson. Preceded in death by her brother, David Fineman but survived by sister-in-law Susan Fineman and nieces and nephews Charlie Fineman and Claire Kremen, Adam and Gretchen Fineman and Rachel and Bruce Sheinbart. Baila will also be sorely missed by her many friends and family.

Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Homewood Cemetery/Star of David Section. Contributions may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.

SIMON: Evelyn “Evie” (Gelman) Simon, on Thursday, July 27, 2017.

Beloved wife of H. Larry Simon for 61½ years. Devoted mother of Cindy (Michael) Platto and Sam (Sharon) Simon. Daughter of the late Samuel and Anna Gelman. Sister of the late Betty (late Harry) Verbofsky and the late Melvin (late Nancy) Gelman. Super Bubbie to “her boys” Joshua and Zachary Platto and pal to Charlie. Also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

Evie will be greatly missed by all that knew her and especially by her family. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment at Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 15120, Chicago, IL 60693 or Beth El Congregation, 1900 Cochran Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15220 or a charity of the donor’s choice.

SOLZ: Joe Soltz, age 86, on July 29, 2017. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, currently of Tustin, Calif. Son of Fannie and Harry Soltz; husband of Suzan Ryave Soltz; father of DeAnn and Erika; grandfather of Jordan and Zachary; and brother of Robert of New York. He served in the U.S. Army, Graduated from the University of Pittsburgh as an electrical engineer, and retired from Boeing. A kind, loving, gentle man devoted to his family. He will be greatly missed.

SPIEGEL: Arthur Spiegel, on Saturday, August 12, 2017. Beloved husband of Leslie Spiegel. Loving and amazing father of Randi Spiegel (Ellis) Weinstein and Jodi (Stephen) Lerner.

Brother of the late Seymour Spiegel, Leon Spiegel and Bertha Krasnow. Adoring and unparalleled grandpa of Jared and David Weinstein and Samuel, Mira and Nathan Lerner. Arthur was the unofficial mayor of Pittsburgh. He brought a smile to everyone’s face. He was so giving of himself and an exceptional human being. He was the co-owner of BuiltRite Construction Company and the president of Western PA Auxiliary for Exceptional People. He was past board member of Tree of Life Congregation and Hebrew Free Loan. Graveside services and interment were held at Tree of Life Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to the Jewish Community Center, 5738 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh, 1922 Murray Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. TANZER: Marvin Jerome Tanzer lived a very full life for 97 years that sadly came to an end on Tuesday, August 8, 2017.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Mo., the son of Edith and Harry Tanzer, Marvin was an only child. His family moved to Pittsburgh where Marvin completed his studies in accounting at the University of Pittsburgh.

Coming to Pittsburgh proved to fortuitous because Pittsburgh is where he met Joan Price, who became his wife in 1946. Joan and Marvin celebrated 65 years of marriage before Joan predeceased him. Together, Joan and Marvin raised three children, Tommy (Joanne), Peter (Susan) and Debbie (Hal).

Often known as the “Mayor of Shadyside,” Marvin was the owner of Alan Price, a third generation women’s retail store, in which he and Joan worked together. Though a quiet man, Marvin had a love of travel, sports (especially the Steelers and the Pirates), dancing and his family. He was most proud of his grandchildren, Matthew, Joshua (Lizzie), Michael, Lexie (Daniel) and Liza.

All the grandchildren were very devoted to their Papa. Marvin was very proud of his service in the U.S. Army and the grandchildren loved hearing stories from Marvin about his experiences during World War II. Though the past six months had been difficult for Marvin, he enjoyed the company of his caregivers: Joe Blume, William Stewart, Char Hardin and Shari Nowlin. These people were not only caregivers but special friends to Marvin and the family. Their time and

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care have been so appreciated. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Contributions may be made to Charles Morris Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 200 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or National Multiple Sclerosis Society of America, Keystone Chapter, 1501 Reedsdale Street, Suite #105, Pittsburgh, PA 15233.

TARLO: Charlene S. Tarlo, on Sunday, August 6, 2017. Beloved and devoted wife of Bill Tarlo. Loving mother of H. Scott (Debbie Lawrenzi) Tarlo and Richard (Leslie) Tarlo both of Pittsburgh. Sister of Roselle Solomon and the late Marvin Spokane. Proud grandmother of Becca, Josh and Madison. Also survived by several nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Tarlo was a teacher at Beth Shalom Preschool for 10 years prior to retirement.

Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to the American Liver Foundation, 39 Broadway, Suite 2700, New York, NY 10006 or American Cancer Society, 320 Bilmar Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15205.

WEINER: Alvin N. Weiner, on Friday, August 11, 2017. Beloved husband of Rachel Weiner. Beloved father of Roberta Weiner (Michael Bassett) and Benjamin (Mindi) Weiner. Grandfather of Sarah (Marcus) Taylor, Philip Bassett and Elizabeth Weiner.

Also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Tree of Life Memorial Park.

Contributions may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Avenue, Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60611. PJC

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

In memory of...

Anonymous ........................................... Elizabeth Silverman Debra Byer ................................................ William Americus Debra Byer .................................................. Sarah Americus Bernard Dickter .................................... Susan Klater Dickter Myrna Finkelstein ...................................................Fay Stein Alan Z. Goldberg .......................................... Louis Goldberg Ellen Grinberg ..................................................Edith Symons Jerrie Johnson ...........................................Leslie Lou Mullen Jill Klein ................................................................Yetta Klein Jill Klein ............................................................. Robert Klein Jill Klein .................................................... Emil Joseph Klein Harold & Cindy Lebenson ...........................Sylvia Lebenson The Leff Family ................................................Gertrude Lieb Mary B. Marks ..................................................... Sam Baker Mary B. Marks ................................................. Donald Baker Ida Jean McCormley ................................... Harry Silberman Sanford Middleman ..................................Morris Middleman Mrs. Alvin Mundel .........................................Mark J. Mundel Annie Myers......................................................William Miller

A gift from ...

In memory of...

Howard Perlman ........................................... Ruth I. Perlman Judy Rosenberg .............................................Ethel Borovetz Frank Rubenstein .................................Hinda K. Rubenstein Sandra Taxay Schanfarber ..................Martin S. Taxay, M.D. Sandra Taxay Schanfarber ................... Dr. Stanley M. Taxay Ruth Seiavitch ......................................Jessie & Sam Ruben Etta & Arnold Silver .......................... Judith Ashinsky Rosen Etta & Arnold Silver ........................................ Nathan Rosen Etta & Arnold Silver ...........................................Goldie Silver Joel Smalley ........................................... Reuben C. Stewart Jules Spokane .............................................. Freda Spokane Barbara E. Vogel .....................................Florence Bertenthal Andrea Whitehurst ...............................Sara Cukerbaum Bull Susan Wolf .................................................... Sara Bernstein Ilene Zwick .....................................................Charlotte Levy Ilene Zwick ...................................................Leonard Klevan Ilene Zwick ................................................Isadore Steinman Ilene Zwick ...................................................Sadie Steinman Ilene Zwick .........................................................Harold Levy

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday August 20: Hazel R. Dickler, Sam Garfinkel, Samuel Goldenson, Philip Goodman, Abraham Katz, Samuel Krasik, Jack Morris, Abraham S. Robins, Albert Shapiro, Fay Oppenheim Stein, Mollie E. Swartz, Fannie Cohen Weiner, Saul H. Weissman, Myers L. Zacks Monday August 21: Ruth E. Bell, Harry Gottesman, Eugene I. Hilsenrath, Frank Kress, William S. Mason, Rosa Perlstein, Dorothy Miller Ryave, Gertrude Siegel, Lillian Linder Silverman, Frank Solomon, Louise Stark, Solomon C. Zionts Tuesday August 22: Judge Samuel J. Feigus, Sherman Hershman, Stuart Irwin Holtzman, Joseph Kossis, Celia S. Landay, Simon Miller, Ruth Pattak, Morris Rosen, Ann F. Schwartz, Benjamin Schwartz, Mollie R. Schwartz, Isadore Louis Sigal, Dorothy B. Solomon, Harry M. Solomon, Bessie Stein, Maurice Louis Swartz Wednesday August 23: Saul Alber, David Bass, Max Bloom, Gertrude Chotiner, Leopold Diamond, Louis Farber, Sadie Friedlander, Louis Friedman, Milton S. Gordon, MD, Rose Grace Halpern, Alihu Klein, Raschel (Ray) Levine, Anna Rabinovitz, Hinda Kuhl Rubenstein, Samuel Verbin, Adolph Wirtzman Thursday August 24: Joseph Cooper, Max Eger, Louis Eisenfeld, Meyer Fiman, Pearl Greenfield, Abraham Pittler, Charles Shapiro Friday August 25: Alan Herbert Azen, Annie Berezin, Samuel Berger, Isadore A. Bernstein, Belle Glass, Rebecca L. Guttman, Anne Harris, Essie Jacobs Marcus, Mary Garson Mazer, Marie G. Mundel, Louis Rosenbloom, Eli Spokane, Morris Toig, Louis Whiteman Saturday August 26: William Americus, Tillie Bennett, Samuel W. Berk, Zelda Glantz Chasick, Bernard Edelstein, Howard W. Jacobson, Mollie Kurtz, Sara Melnick, Sharon Lee Morton, Milton Moskovitz, David Pearlstein, Rose Rom, Alex Ruben, Fannie Shapiro, Leo Spiegle, Harry Treelisky, Louise Ziskind

SEND OBITUARY NOTICES AND REQUESTS FOR MORE INFORMATION TO obituaries@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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AUGUST 18, 2017 25

Community A helping hand The Central Scholarship and Loan Referral Service (CSLRS) of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh coordinates the efforts of a group of organizations, agencies and scholarship endowment funds that provide scholarships to local Jewish students enrolled in an accredited institution of higher education. The goal of CSLRS is to provide financial support to as many deserving students in our community as possible.

p Sisters Danielle, left, and Jennifer Brand say they will use their awards to attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the fall.

Photos courtesy of Central Scholarship & Loan Referral Service

▲ From left: Third-year University of Pittsburgh Medical School students Nathaniel Blecher (with partner Landis Powell) and Cecilia Huang (with husband Gil Hoftman) are all smiles after receiving their scholarship checks from the CSLRS, a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh administered by Jewish Family & Children’s Service, at the annual distribution event recently held at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill.

BBQ fun

p CSLRS committee co-chair Kathy Klein, left, and committee member Carolyn Hess Abraham helped distribute the checks.

Down on the Farm

Preschoolers at the Beth Shalom Early Learning Center enjoy the petting zoo for Down on the Farm week.

p Betty Ann Secorie, Amy Mayer, Leslie Rubin and Lynda Heyman handle the barbecue prep work in the kitchen at Parkway Jewish Center.

p Hal Lederman, Rick Sternberg and Bob Korfin grill and kibitz at Parkway Jewish Center’s Aug. 11 preShabbat barbecue.

Photos courtesy of Beth Shalom Early Learning Center

Photos courtesy of Parkway Jewish Centerl

Jewish Heritage Night at PNC Park

Photos by Dave Arrigo

p The Temple Sinai Choir sang the National Anthem at PNC Park on Jewish Heritage night.

26 AUGUST 18, 2017

p From left: Marcia Baumfeld, Rabbi Amy Greenbaum, Layne Silverman, Sarah Pfeffer, Rebecca Spiegel, Rabbi Barbara Symons, Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt and Karen Beaudway celebrate Jewish Heritage Night at PNC Park on Aug. 8.

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Community Eating healthy!

Volunteers from Hillel Academy and the staff at the Squirrel Hill Community Food Pantry (SHCFP) gathered to help take the first step to implement a new program designed to encourage kids to make healthier food choices by engaging them in preparing and cooking fruits and vegetables.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Pittsburgh Junior League, the SHCFP purchased the materials to create fresh fruit and vegetable prep kits for distribution to the approximately 100 children ages 6 to 12 they serve.

The girls from Hillel Academy Girls Camp toured the facility, viewed an educational presentation about hunger,and then helped bag up healthy yams and apples into family-friendly and easy to assemble kids’ prep kits.  JF&CS chief operations officer Dana Gold works with Hillel Academy Girls Camp volunteers to bag familyfriendly size produce packages.  SHCFP manager Kathy Poth works with the volunteers.

 Hillel Girls Camp volunteers help assemble healthy food prep kits.

Photos courtesy of Squirrel Hill Community Food Pantry

A ‘beautiful’ grant The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh received a $350,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development’s Multimodal Transportation Fund to beautify a local neighborhood. The grant was secured by the hard work of State Sen. Jay Costa. The Federation will use the funds to excavate and haul a mound of dirt to be replaced with ample parking and a bus stop. The renovation broke ground on July 10 and is slated to conclude in November. A pile of dirt located near Riverview Towers will be turned into a parking lot with more than 20 parking spaces for Riverview Tower residents and visitors.

Hanna Steiner, executive director of Riverview Towers, suggested that the added parking capacity will enable Riverview Towers to utilize its commercial kitchen and multifunctional auditorium for community and private life-cycle events, an opportunity that did not exist previously due to the shortage of parking.

In addition to the grant, the Jewish Federation secured two private donors to match half of the provided funds, although more funds will be needed to landscape the area upon completion.

The targeted site was originally a plumbing supply store. It currently sits on property owned by Browns Hill Road Partners, L.P., of which the Federation is the sole partner. PJC

Photo by Jim Busis

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PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

AUGUST 18, 2017 27

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