Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 2/22/18

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P I T TS B U R G H

February 23, 2018 | 8 Adar 5778

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Candlelighting 5:47 p.m. | Havdalah 6:47 p.m. | Vol. 61, No. 8 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Author shares her personal look at identity

Jewish Pittsburgh growing, but denominational affiliation dropping

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The fruit of a hamantasch hunt By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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educated, growing population that is highly connected to Israel, but nevertheless reflecting national trends in terms of declining congregational engagement. The last such study was conducted in 2002. The research included interviews with approximately 2,100 Jewish households throughout Greater Pittsburgh. Previous studies of the local Jewish community show that its size has been “relatively stable, with a slight overall decline over the past 80 years,” according to the new report. The 1938 study estimated that there were 54,000 Jews in Pittsburgh, but between 1938 and 1963, that number fell to 45,000. The 1984 study showed 44,906 Jews in the Steel City, while the 2002 study estimated the Jewish population at 42,200. But since 2002, “our Jewish community has grown,” said Jeff Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Federation. “We should feel great about that.” The growth in numbers is accompanied by a shift in age demographics. The largest shares of the population are adults aged 18-29 and 60-69, with fewer adults in their 30s and 40s than there were in 2002, and fewer children.

story about fresh hamantaschen in the Steel City may be a bit stale for those seeking colorful Purim pieces, but as the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle discovered, procuring unpackaged pocket-sized pastries is not a painless task, even for those with dough this time of year. Over in Homestead, Costco’s kosher bakery does not plan on stocking the sweet treat. Pomegranate Catering similarly said, “We’re not in Beth Shalom’s kitchen, where we were for the last six years. It’s a different operation. We don’t have the ability.” Deena Ross of Creative Kosher Catering explained that she will be baking “thousands,” which will end up in either hospitals, synagogues or the hands of other order-placing customers, but that an individual cannot walk into her Electric Avenue location and purchase a single hamantasch. From now through the holiday, which begins the evening of Feb. 28, Murray Avenue Kosher has a “wide variety” of options, said Beth Markovic, the store’s owner. “There’s apricot, blueberry, cherry, prune, poppy seed, chocolate and apple. There may be more.” But for those hoping to get a hot holiday snack straight from the oven, the Squirrel Hill shop may not be the spot. “We do not bake on-site. We get them fresh from several locations, including Ungar’s Bakery in Cleveland,” she said. Even so, all is not lost, as an amble across Murray Avenue reveals. Giant Eagle in Squirrel Hill will have hamantaschen for sale, said one of its bakers, “We will have poppy seed, cherry, apricot and apple.” Note to readers, the latter is available upon request. Those interested in exploring other possibilities for Purim pastries may consider Italian hamantaschen, or as Rabbi Barbara Aiello calls them, “Aman’s ears.” As the Pittsburgh-born spiritual leader who serves as founder and director of the Italian Jewish Cultural Center of

Please see Study, page 24

Please see Hamataschen, page 24

Susan Faludi, whose Holocaust survivor father transitioned to another gender, to visit P’burgh. Page 2 LOCAL Polish law spurs Shoah interest

See pages 16-17 for more informational graphics. Provided by The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

Anna Bikont will discuss her new book at City of Asylum. Page 5 LOCAL Perfect costumes for Purim

What’s hot and what’s not this year? Page 7

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

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lthough its synagogue affiliation has dramatically declined since 2002, the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish community nonetheless has grown by 17 percent. According to the latest tally, it includes 49,200 Jews living in 26,800 households. While the center of the community remains in Squirrel Hill, with 26 percent of Jews living there and in Shadyside, Jewish Pittsburgh is also expanding geographically, with 31 percent in the rest of the city of Pittsburgh, 20 percent in the South Hills, 9 percent in the North Hills and the remaining 14 percent distributed through the rest of the five-county area, which includes all of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland Counties. These are some of the findings of the newly released 2017 Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Study commissioned by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. It was conducted by the Marilyn and Maurice Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS) at Brandeis University’s Steinhardt Social Research Institute. The $325,000 study, funded by the Jewish Community Foundation, delivers a portrait of Jewish Pittsburgh that reveals an

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