Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 8-16-19

August 16, 2019 | 15 Av 5779

Candlelighting 7:58 p.m. | Havdalah 8:58 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 33 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Pitt student fights gun violence

Pilot trip brings mothers of lone Tree of Life soldiers to Israel to hold High Holiday services at Calvary Episcopal

Kathryn Fleisher got fed up, and founded a new organization.

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

M in person and show our appreciation.”

Stufflebeam, who was a group leader for the tour, is frequently asked how she happened to raise four children who have all made aliyah and enlisted in Israel’s armed forces. Three of her sons have completed their service, while one is currently in training in a commando unit.

“When I was in Israel, especially the Israelis said, ‘What are you feeding them?’” said Stufflebeam, who moved to Pittsburgh from Indianapolis, Indiana in 2011.

There may be no secret sauce, but she attributes her sons’ deep attachment to Israel to being raised with strong Zionist values, and to having grown up in Indianapolis among a relatively small number of Jews.

“I think when you live in a small Jewish community that you feel a stronger tie to the Jewish community because you have to,” Stufflebeam explained. “It takes work to belong, and I think that is part of it.”

Moreover, she believes her sons were inspired by the Israeli shlichim that spent time at their Jewish day school in Indianapolis.

“I think it is a combination of being

r. Rogers would be kvelling.

The Calvary Episcopal Church, a paragon of good neighborliness, will serve as host to Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation for all of its 5780 High Holiday services.

Calvary is located on Shady Avenue, less than a mile from the Tree of Life synagogue building, in the heart of Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood. On Saturday, Oct. 27, the church happened to be filled with parishioners attending its annual fundraiser to help the underserved. The news of the mass shooting targeting people down the street hit them hard, said the Rev. Jonathon Jensen, rector.

“So, right afterward, the next day, I preached about the shooting and what that might mean, short-term and long-term, and how does a person of faith respond,” Jensen said.

“In my experience, I have found that often what happens is people will say, ‘Is there anything we can do to help you?’ and it puts the burden on the person who’s hurt,” he said. “I’ve found it is much more helpful to make specific offers of things people might actually need, so the burden is on you to do it rather than the person who is hurting to think of something for you to do.”

Jensen recently had been counseling a parishioner on this topic, and “I thought this is just a bigger and more awful situation,” he said.

Calvary decided to make a specific offer to TOL*OLS. In a card signed by members of the church, they offered to “share space with you for anything you need because you won’t likely have yours for a while,” Jensen said.

They sent the card along with money collected over the next two weeks to TOL*OLS.

Please see Soldiers, page 14

Please see TOL, page 14

Page 3 LOCAL The exit interview Rabbi Moshe Russell reflects on White Oak. Page 4

 Mothers of lone soliders gather in Israel.

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

LOCAL

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Engaging Jewish teens

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Page 5

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tacie Stufflebeam and her husband Todd have five sons. Four of them moved from Pittsburgh to Israel and joined the Israel Defense Forces.

“I have pride and worry in equal measure,” said Stufflebeam, who returned last week from a tour of the Jewish state with 28 other mothers of “lone soldiers,” or those who do not have immediate family in Israel. The tour was the first of its kind sponsored by Momentum (previously, the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project), in partnership with the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Nefesh B’Nefesh, which established a Lone Soldiers Program with the support of the IDF. “We have tremendous admiration, not only for the courageous Lone Soldiers serving in the IDF, but for their incredibly dedicated parents as well,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, co-founder and executive director of Nefesh B’Nefesh in a statement.

“These young men and women are protecting our country round the clock, while their parents send support and encouragement from afar. Through this mission, we now have the opportunity to bring them together

Photo provided by Stacie Stufflebeam

keep your eye on PittsburghJewishChronicle LOCAL

All about Shabbat

LOCAL

Protesting immigration policy

NATION

Uniting the Democrats

Headlines Webinar addresses security and anti-Semitism — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

A

n update on community security and anti-Semitism in Pittsburgh was provided last week by Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Brad Orsini and Josh Sayles. During a half-hour webinar, the duo described current efforts to prevent and thwart hateful activities.

“Really, my job is to facilitate security needs to the entire Jewish community, our organizations, and quite frankly, the entire community,” said Orsini, Federation’s director of security.

For nearly the past three years — Orsini was hired by Federation in December 2016 after 25 years with the FBI — the director has promoted a three-pronged approach to communal security: assess organizations, perform trainings and encourage residents to report suspicious or hateful activities to law enforcement.

Taking a multilayered approach is critical because “we have seen an increase of anti-Semitic acts throughout the area,” noted Orsini. Whether it is the distribution of flyers, social media posts or graffiti, the number of anti-Semitic acts has risen locally both because more individuals are promoting hate, but also because the community is “getting better” at recording those signs of hate, he said.

The fact that the community is improving in its identification and relaying of information is encouraging, as such efforts will mitigate threats, he said. But education must be ongoing. Whether it is participating in active shooter drills, trainings in Run Hide Fight or other basic safety tactics, the goal is for the community to achieve preparedness and empowerment.

p Brad Orsini

File photo

“We can’t stop every horrific act, but we know we can train our community to minimize loss of life. It’s hard for a lot of organizations to understand that, and accept that, because it is a tough topic,” said Orsini. “I think once they do the training, as hard as it is for some folks to do it, they feel empowered at the end. And they’re better off going through that training.”

At each training he’s done, Orsini has been asked if organizations should have armed guards.

“Our security program that we have established throughout the community is kind of a holistic view and armed guards is one of them,” he said. “I want everybody to understand it’s not the end-all be-all by any stretch of the imagination, and because we have an armed guard does not mean bad things are (not) going to happen. It’s just one avenue.”

People have so frequently asked about bringing their own guns to services or Jewish communal events that Orsini has developed a reference sheet dedicated to the topic. The material is available at Federation’s website.

“Carrying a gun is an awesome

p Josh Sayles

File photo

responsibility,” he said. “It should not be taken lightly. If you own a firearm, you should be qualified and know how to use it.”

Though Pennsylvania allows for concealed-carry permits, “each organization has to make that decision on their own whether or not they let armed congregants in,” said Orsini. “I would try to discourage most organizations from doing that. I think there’s too many perils and pitfalls that are in play that we may not get the outcome we want if something bad happens.”

In the nearly 10 months since the Tree of Life attack, Federation has promoted efforts toward enhanced communal security, explained its staffers.

“After the attacks of October 27, we worked with our organizations to target-harden our facilities. We wanted every one of our organizations in the Pittsburgh area to be on equal footing,” said Orsini. “We’ve provided funds necessary to 44 organizations across greater Pittsburgh in excess of a half a million dollars to target-harden our buildings.”

“I’ll also add to that we have a big lift in Harrisburg right now,” said Sayles,

Federation’s Community Relations Council director. “We’re also working on bills more broadly, to grant funding for diverse community organizations throughout the state.”

The goal, continued Sayles, is that “black churches or mosques, Sikh gurdwaras, Hindu temples,” are included in the legislation and that “not only is our community protected, but that all of the diverse communities are protected as well.”

The Aug. 7 webinar was the first of three virtual events made possible by the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Council, a self-described “broad cross-section of the Jewish community spanning the religious, political and socioeconomic spectrum.” According to Federation’s website, the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Council is assembled by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council and “does not represent the opinions of any singular organization or individual. All policy statements passed by the GPJC reflect the consensus of the organized Jewish community in Southwestern Pennsylvania.”

A subsequent webinar from Rabbi Amy Bardack, Federation’s director of Jewish life and learning, is scheduled for Aug. 21.

Bardack will outline plans and guiding principles for the one-year commemoration of Oct. 27. Those interested in attending can register online at jewishpgh.org/gpjc.

Before concluding the Aug. 7 session, Orsini stressed that if listeners gain anything from the recent webinar it is that people should remain alert and communicate hateful or concerning acts to law enforcement.

“We cannot afford in the Jewish community to ignore anything anymore,” he said. “Everything needs to be reported.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Pitt student forms organization to end gun violence — LOCAL — Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

K

athryn Fleisher is fed up. The world is consumed by tragedy, so Fleisher decided to act. Several months after the Oct. 27 shooting at Tree of Life, the University of Pittsburgh junior founded Not My Generation, a nonprofit organization seeking to bring young adults from different backgrounds to engage in local, intersectional gun-violence-prevention activism.

Fleisher felt like she did not have a choice, “quite frankly,” about whether or not to start the organization. Gun violence, she said, is “a national emergency and a public health crisis, and if we don’t take action, I don’t understand how we can expect anyone else to.”

Not My Generation began in December 2018. The group, whose audience is primarily 18- to 25-year-olds, is gearing up for its inaugural summit in Washington, D.C. The three-day event, scheduled for Nov. 8-10, 2019, is supported by partners from the NAACP, Center for American Progress, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, March for Our Lives DC, Youth Over Guns, Generation Progress and Team Enough. The partnerships were inspired by collaborations between Pittsburgh’s Jewish and Muslim communities in the aftermath of the Tree

feels connected to Pittsburgh’s Jewish community.

It is a familiar sentiment, she added.

“I think that your tragedy and your story isn’t isolated.

The way that the Pittsburgh Jewish community has felt and is feeling and the way that I’ve felt and that I’m feeling is not something that’s rare. There are people all across the country who are mourning, who feel like their lives are never going to be the same, who don’t want to see their community in the same way, who now think about safety every time they go to someplace p Kathryn Fleisher Photo courtesy of Kathryn Fleisher that they used to feel safe in.”

“It’s up to us to change that reality, ” she continued.

“We have to turn this of Life attack, explained Fleisher, a former member of NFTY: The Reform Jewish tragedy into a time for action.”

The devastating totality of gun violence Youth Movement.

“In the Jewish community, there’s a lot can be seen in 2019, as there have been of amazing organizations, a lot of people more mass shootings than days this year. from different backgrounds and commu- By Aug. 9, the 221st calendar day of 2019, nities doing this work, but a lot of it’s 254 reported and verified mass shootings also happening in silos, and people aren’t occurred, according to data from the Gun working inter-organizationally to make this Violence Archive.

Speaking of the recent shootings in Dayton, change. And so we’ve been bringing different organizations onboard to be partners with Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, Fleisher said, “The this work,” she said. thing that brings me most comfort, especially Fleisher grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, but after a weekend of violence and bloodshed,

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Although Fleisher feels compelled to act, she is worried her peers may not share her gusto or possess similar opportunities.

“When you’re 18 to 25, you’re in a very transient period of your life. Whether you’re starting college, grad school or a first job, you tend to not have roots down in the community, or don’t know what kind of organizing is out there,” she said. “We want to give them an outlet to really plug into and connect with the people who are doing that work in their areas.”

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Headlines The exit interview: Rabbi Moshe Russell how to relate to them — the troublemakers.

You are always learning, practicing on the job or training on the job.

— LOCAL —

By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

F

or the past 10 years, Rabbi Moshe Russell has served as spiritual leader of Gemilas Chesed Synagogue, an Orthodox congregation in White Oak, about 16 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. A Chicago native, Russell spent 10 years studying at a yeshiva in Israel before heading to Western Pennsylvania to lead a congregation that was already facing the challenges of an aging and declining membership.

Despite efforts to recruit Orthodox families to White Oak during his tenure, only about 50 members remain at Gemilas Chesed.

Russell will leave the community later this month to assume the position of executive director at the Veitzener Kollel in Chicago.

Prior to his departure, Russell sat down with the Chronicle to reflect on his time here.

How did your rabbinate at Gemilas Chesed change from when you first came?

It changed drastically. It took years and years to learn how to deal with people, how to relate to people, how to connect with people.

It’s something you cannot do without practicing. You make mistakes. There were many challenges, dealing with different people and

Did you feel you had a good relationship with the rabbis in Squirrel Hill, that you were part of the rabbinic community there even though you were in White Oak?

In 10 years, did Gemilas Chesed’s numbers decline?

They declined. Over the years, families came and families went but there was never a great influx of people, which would be the one way to save the community other than having a yeshiva program run in the building, having the building be used.

Is there a future for the Jewish community in White Oak if they can’t bring a yeshiva there?

No.

What were some of the big challenges you faced over the last 10 years?

One of the challenges working in a congregation that is so small is that personality issues become amplified. In a big community, you have all these people, but you have so many other people and that kind of covers it.

It’s an older community, and many members end up in the hospital at some point or another, or confined to home, and we were really able to build a relationship with many of the individuals. They feel a very close relationship. We hope to keep those

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p Rabbi Moshe Russell

Photo by Toby Tabachnick

relationships as much as possible. It was a very good experience for myself and the family, but it was a little hard living somewhat isolated from the rest of the community.

What was that like for you and for your kids, being separated from the larger Orthodox community in Squirrel Hill?

It was difficult because they didn’t have friends to go to, everything was in Squirrel Hill. So that was a little challenging, having to drive into Squirrel Hill, sometimes going to minyan two or three times a day because as the years went on we were less for a minyan, so I would come to Squirrel Hill sometimes three times a day.

To some extent. To some extent I had a relationship with each one as an individual, not as the Vaad, per se, but each one of them, whether it was coming out to Rabbi (Daniel) Wasserman for funerals, or to Rabbi (Shimon) Silver for guidance for the (Gemilas Chesed) community — he will continue to be the halachic guide for the community. There is not much left there, but for what is there.

Why are you leaving White Oak?

The community decreased over time, and it was really time for us to look for a new opportunity.

What are some of the challenges you see the wider Pittsburgh Jewish community facing?

The problem they are facing is the numbers.

They really need to figure out a way to attract more people to Pittsburgh if they want it to Please see Russell, page 15

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Headlines The latest in Jewish teen engagment: video games — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

T

he future has arrived and it looks a bit familiar, as Jewish kids are connecting through digital platforms, competing in virtual worlds and establishing friendships with the click of a button. If all that seems reminiscent of recognized norms, in which a preponderance of young adults employ smartphones, consoles and social media as mechanisms for creating community and finding entertainment, the nuance is in location, explained Lenny Silberman.

Nearly 1,600 Jewish kids, over the past two weeks, gathered in organized settings to play video games. The activities, facilitated by Lost Tribe Esports, occurred in designated spaces in Georgia and Michigan during the recent JCC Maccabi Games, an Olympicstyle event welcoming thousands of North American Jewish teenagers.

“Fifty-three percent of the total athletes and artists at both sites in Atlanta and Detroit signed up to game with us,” said Silberman, Lost Tribe’s founder and CEO. At both locations, a 22-station gaming center, with titles including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Rocket League, NBA 2K19 and Madden NFL 19, enabled teens to participate in exhibition style play and

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p Teenage Jewish gamers

tournaments, with top finishers receiving medals, a first in Maccabi Games history.

Thousands attended the recent Maccabi Games, and although not everyone was interested in virtual play, Lost Tribe kept tabs on foot traffic. Between July 28 and Aug. 2, 3,221 people stopped in at Lost Tribe’s Atlanta site. Between Aug. 4 and 9, 3,106 people visited the Detroit venue.

Brian Schreiber, Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s president and CEO, marveled at last week’s turnout in Detroit.

“I saw filled rooms of kids interacting with

Photo courtesy of Lost Tribe Sports

each other. There are new totalities developing and it’s taking something that doesn’t always have the most positive connotation and turning it into an engagement opportunity,” said Schreiber.

Engagement is at the heart of the enterprise as Lost Tribe, by definition was created with an intention to reach unattached Jewish youth, echoed Silberman.

The difficulty of engaging Jewish teenagers is well reported. Jim Joseph Foundation found that more than 70 percent of Jewish students do not attend supplementary

schools after grade 8, and by grade 12 only 14 percent “remain enrolled.”

Eileen Snow Price and Allison Boaz, both of Atlanta-based In the City Camp, similarly wrote in eJewishPhilanthropy that “90 percent of Jewish children aren’t going to Jewish overnight camp.”

“In 2008, when I left JCCA, people were talking about over 50 percent of Jewish teens being disengaged post bar or bat mitzvah,” said Silberman. “In 2019, people are talking about over 80 percent. There’s something wrong. If this was a business you would be out of business. No disrespect to any of the organizations, they’re doing their best, but to go back to my roots in Pittsburgh you have to go where the kids are at.”

Silberman’s approach to e-sports relies on more than three decades of prior Jewish professional experience. In 1984, Silberman began his career as director of sports and recreation at the Pittsburgh JCC. In 1987, he became director of Emma Kaufmann Camp.

Between 1994 and 2008, Silberman served as continental director of the JCC Maccabi Games, and from 2008 to 2018, he was CEO of Henry Kaufman Camps.

Those undertakings have instilled a belief that “it’s all about engagement,” he said, but while penetrating the masses is critical, so too is the method. “It has to be authentic and Please see Games, page 15

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Headlines Celebrating Shabbat — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

A

ccording to a midrash, Shabbat is a “precious jewel” in God’s possession that he gives to the Jewish people.

In his book “The Sabbath,” Rabbi Abraham Heschel explains that “the meaning of Shabbat is to celebrate time rather space … on Shabbat we try to become attuned to the holiness of time.”

For centuries, the idea of Shabbat, the cessation from work for a complete day, was unique to the Jewish people. It is the most frequent of Jewish holidays but also the least understood.

The purpose of Shabbat, according to Rabbi Jonathan Perlman of New Light Congregation, is to “withdraw from normal reality and exist in God’s reality. We unplug from those things that are materialistic and mechanical. It gives us a chance to exist in prayer, study, meals and being with our families and friends.”

Shabbat begins at sundown Friday evening and continues until three stars are visible in the sky Saturday night. It is a time when Jewish men and women attend prayer p The Shabbat table is set in the home of Batya Rosenblum, co-director of Chabad of the South Hills. Photo by Dave Rullo services, eat elaborate meals, study and follow rituals passed down for centuries. in by Shabbos and stays plugged in, then Exodus 20:8-11 commands, “Remember the we have hot meals to honor the Shabbos in Sabbath day, to make it holy. Six days you shall accordance with Jewish law.” labor and do all your work, and the seventh The traditional Shabbat meal includes two day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God, on it loaves of challah bread. Rosenblum cooks you shall not do any manner of work… those during the week. Baking the for the Lord blessed the Sabbath bread for Shabbos, she explained, day and made it Holy.” “is a mitzvah. When baking the Halakhah, or Jewish law, bread, a piece is to be taken off identifies 39 types of activities and burnt, that is symbolic of prohibited on Shabbat. Some the piece taken off during of these include lighting fires, the Temple times and given Judaism transacting business, loading to the kohen.” animals or carrying objects. Of Many families dress in Basics course, the observation of these formal clothing to celebrate prohibitions vary according to the Shabbat. “Down to the little kids, different movements within Judaism. they know that there are Shabbos clothes As much of Shabbat is observed at home and Shabbos shoes,” said Rosenblum. “We and many of the activities needed to be done, get dressed very nicely. That’s because we are such as cooking, are not allowed on the honoring Shabbat like a queen. If you had holiday, preparation is key. Batya Rosenblum, royalty coming to your home, everything p Cholent is often served on Shabbat. It is a stew of meat, beans, potatoes, co-director of Chabad of the South Hills, would be beautiful.”

Photo by chameleonseye/iStockphoto.com begins by planning the Shabbat dinner menu Once the preparation for Shabbat is onions and sometimes eggs. on Tuesday or Wednesday. “We have 6 to 10 complete, there are blessings and traditions guests on average. For us, it’s a way to connect associated with the holiday. with members of the community.”

Candles are lit as Shabbat begins. culture features many different types of food.” be a time to “connect to your spouse without She often uses a crock pot for her meal. Traditionally, two candles are kindled Observing Shabbat includes attending outside distractions.”

“As long as it’s in the crock pot and plugged approximately 20 minutes prior to sundown a weekly prayer service. Most liberal In recent years, it has become popular in although some families add a candle for institutions feature Friday-night and/or some parts of the community to offer alternaeach member of their household. Kiddush Saturday-morning services, while traditional tive Shabbat activities. These might include or the blessing over wine usually follows. It synagogues may only have a Saturday- Torah yoga or hikes on Saturday afternoon. is also customary for parents to bless their morning service, believing Friday night Just as Shabbat begins with ritual, so too children during Shabbat. should be left for home celebrations. does it end. Havdalah, which means separaOnce the blessings have been completed, While some parts of Shabbat — candle tion, is a short service that includes a blessing family and guests enjoy the Sabbath meal, lighting, kiddush, the prohibitions against over wine, smelling fragrant spices and lighting which is often chicken or a stew called work — are set features, the holiday can be a special candle made with two or more wicks. cholent. These dishes can stay warm during customized by families or traditions. Some The Rosenblum family ends Shabbat with the evening hours and serve as meals options include various songs and prayers, a very short service marking the tradition: throughout the next day. Three meals should Torah study or socializing.

“We are sad to see Shabbat leave and we ask be consumed during Shabbat, according to Rosenblum and her family use Shabbat that the energy of Shabbat stay throughout p Shabbat ends with the recitation of Perlman — Friday evening, Saturday lunch for special family time. “We find quality the week.” PJC Havdalah over a cup of wine, a candle and then a third, lighter meal. It’s up to the time with our kids, we have learning, play and spices marking the separation David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ family creating the meal what type of expe- fun games and connect to our kids.” She also between Shabbat and the week. rience they want to have at home. Jewish said that she and her husband believe it to pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Photo by natushm/iStockphoto.com 6 AUGUST 16, 2019

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Headlines Tisha B’Av in Pittsburgh marked by demonstration and mourning marked the Aug. 11 gathering by chanting an appended sixth chapter made available

by HIAS. According to the organization’s printed materials, the additional text is “meant to express our mourning over the contemporary refugee and asylum crises.”

In the midst of the solemn event, Molly May, of Pittsburgh, blew the shofar.

The sounding of the ram’s horn was a “call for action to be awoken,” said Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman, of Squirrel Hill, who along with Markiz organized the program.

The loud rhythmic blasts were intended to arouse listeners from slumber, much in the same way the shofar functions throughout the Hebrew month of Elul, Goodman added.

Adding resonance to the event was the singing of songs, including one repeating the Hebrew verse first found in Exodus 15:2, which translates into “The LORD is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation.”

“No hate, no fear refugees, are welcome here” was also chanted.

Like those in Pittsburgh, others nationwide used the day for demonstration. In New York, 40 Jews were arrested while protesting Amazon’s work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reported the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Of the nearly 50 Jewish gatherings held across the country, no arrests occurred elsewhere, “according to T’ruah, the liberal rabbinic human rights group that was among the protest organizers,” added JTA. Apart from the demonstrations, Tisha B’Av in Pittsburgh and elsewhere was marked by acts of public mourning. At Congregation Poale Zedeck, in Squirrel Hill, Rabbi Daniel Yolkut live streamed a nearly four-hour exposition of the various kinnot, dirges and elegies, traditionally recited on the day. Prior to exploring the passages, Yolkut welcomed one attendee.

“I want to acknowledge the presence this morning of Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, of New Light Congregation. The navi, prophet, Zecharia writes, ‘Is this not a branch saved from the fire?’ This Tisha B’Av for Jews around the world, and particularly for Jews in Pittsburgh, is also a Tisha B’Av in the shadow of those who were murdered Al Kiddush Hashem at Tree of Life only a few months ago, a mile down the road from here. Rabbi Perlman was together with his congregants on that day and is for us someone saved from the fire of that day.”

Between its history and practices, the day is like a “container” holding different narratives, and “we have an opportunity to derive additional meaning,” said Markiz.

“Tisha B’Av is a holiday where we look back on the misfortunes that have befallen the Jewish people and sometimes it’s hard, we have this powerless feeling that we are the victims,” said Goodman. “It is important to externalize it. There are people who are suffering now and we shouldn’t be silent about it.” PJC

— LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

O

n a day when Jews memorialized the loss of two holy temples, the killing of Jews during the Second Century Bar Kokhba revolt and destruction of Betar, the dismal reporting of 12 biblical spies, the commencement of the first crusade, the Medieval and Renaissance expulsions of Jews from England, France and Spain, the deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, the AMIA bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires and scores of other Jewish atrocities, roughly 100 people gathered at Pittsburgh’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office, on the South Side, to call attention to the mistreatment of migrants and refugees.

“We are here because of the inhumane treatment of immigrants, migrants and refugees who are crossing our border. We are here because of the cruel separation of families, harming not just their mental health today but harming them for decades. We are here because of the overcrowding and mistreatment of people locked in detention centers who are otherwise innocent people who need compassion. And we are here because Jewish tradition demands of us to see, to feel and to honor the pain of our own history and that of those around us,” said Rabbi Jeremy Markiz, of Squirrel Hill, to the dozens seated before him on sidewalks or nearby grass.

“One of the ways we ritualize this mourning, this grief, is by sitting, as if in sackcloth,” Markiz continued. “There may be other passions and frustrations that fill our hearts today, other terrible things in the world today that we need to pay attention to, but I’m going to ask you today to be focused on what we are here for, to bring our full intentions and attention to this.”

Interspersing Markiz’s comments were shared reflections, selected readings, songs and a shofar blast.

“We find ourselves in the midst of the worst refugee crisis in recorded history with more than 70 million people displaced worldwide.

Given these extraordinary numbers, the continued attacks on asylum and the refugee resettlement program in the United States are even more inhumane. Of course we know that the proverbial 10th of Av will come,” said Aviva Lubowsky, of Squirrel Hill, one of several speakers. Before then, however, “we fervently lament the many cruel actions this administration has taken.”

Given the fallout of the Hebrew calendar, the 9th of Av occurred this year on a Saturday. During such instances, fasting and other practices are pushed off until the following day, Sunday, the 10th of Av. Among the deferred observances is the reading of Eicha, the biblical book of Lamentations. As noted in “Masekhet Soferim,” a non-canonical Talmudic work, Eicha is publically read on Tisha B’Av. Though Eicha is five chapters long, Jonathan Weinkle, of Squirrel Hill,

p Participants at the Aug. 11 protest

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Photos courtesy of Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman

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

AUGUST 16, 2019 7

Calendar  MONDAY, AUG. 19 The National Council of Jewish Women - Pittsburgh Section will host its third annual day at Camp NCJW at Green Oaks Country Club in Verona beginning at 10:30 a.m.

All funds raised from the day of golf, tennis, swimming and card games will benefit NCJW’s Center for Women, which provides financial and career development assistance to women in life transitions. Camp NCJW is open to the public, with tickets ($85-$250) available at ncjwpgh.org or 412-421-6118. >>Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Submissions will also be included in print.

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

The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon.  AUG. 16, 17, 18 Queer, Jewish - Dancing in the Diaspora is a collection of dances exploring the intersections of queer and Jewish identity in the diaspora at The Carnegie Stage. Moriah Ella Mason and collaborators explore queer and feminist themes in Jewish sacred texts.

Visit carnegiestage.com/event-calendar for more information and tickets.

 TUESDAYS, AUG. 20, 27;

SEPT. 3

Learn how the stories of Abraham, Hannah, Isaiah and Jonah illustrate themes of the Jewish New Year and help us prepare spiritually for the upcoming holidays at Spiritual Readings for the Jewish High Holidays with by Rabbi Jonathan Perlman presented by New Light Congregation and Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church. The free series takes place at 7 p.m. at New Light Congregation.

Email info@newlightcongregation.org or call 412-421-1017 to enroll.  WEDNESDAY, AUG. 21

Moishe House or beach vacation? Join Moishe House for a Tropical Lunch Shabbat beginning at noon. Come hungry and bring your best vacation gear. Contact moishehousepgh@gmail.com for more information. Moishe House events are intended for young adults age 22-32.  SUNDAY, AUG. 18

 WEDNESDAYS, AUG. 21, 28;

The South Hills Bereavement Group welcomes previous and newly bereaved adults to a monthly support group at Temple Emanuel of the South Hills at 9:30 a.m. Meet others who have lost their parents, siblings, partners or children find hope. No RSVP needed. Free and open to the community. Led by Jamie Del, MS, NCC, LPC and Naomi Pittle, LCSW.

“Heal, Grow and Live with Hope” Nar-Anon and NA meetings every Wednesday evening at Beth El Congregation, 1900 Cochran Road, 15220 at 7:30 p.m. Come to office/school entrance at the end of the building to be buzzed in. Call Karen at 412-563-3395 and leave a message for more information.

SEPT. 4

You are invited to attend the closing program of the Jewish Women’s Center of Pittsburgh, Retrospective: 1992-2019 from 3-5 p.m. at the Rauh Jewish History Program and Archives located in the Heinz History Museum. Come mingle, reminisce and enjoy light refreshments. Please RSVP by Aug. 28 to evite.me/zUeenuUehG.

Thursday Evenings in My Garden offers weekly conversation and exploration about everyday spirituality for healing, growth, creativity and innovation. Thursdays through Labor Day, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Come once or come weekly, friends are welcome. Check bethshalompgh.org/thursday-evenings-inmy-garden for location and confirmation of upcoming dates.  SATURDAY, AUG. 24 Beat the August Heat with Moishe House’s Pool Party at Highland Park Pool from 2 to 4 p.m.

Meet at Highland Park Pool (151 Lake Drive). Be sure to RSVP so they can pay for your pass! RSVP at moishehousepgh@gmail.com. Moishe House events are intended for young adults age 22-32.  WEDNESDAY, AUG. 28 Join Moishe House for a Movie in the Park at Flagstaff Hill beginning at 8:30 p.m. Watch Jurassic Park with snacks and friends. Sign up to bring something (food, beverages, cutlery, etc.) RSVP at moishehousepgh@gmail.com.

Moishe House events are intended for young adults age 22-32.  THURSDAY, SEPT. 5 Celebrate Community Strength at FED Talks, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s 2019 Annual Meeting at the August Wilson Center beginning at 7 p.m. Experts will discuss what makes a person or community resilient, Jewish community leaders will be celebrated and Federation leaders will report on a year without precedent. Visit jewishpgh.org/annual-meeting to preregister.

Dietary laws observed. Free valet parking.

Preregistration: $10. Walk-in registration: $20. Online registration closes at 10 a.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 3.

Celebrate a sweet new year with Shalom Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Jewish community at the 9th Annual Apples & Honey Fall Festival! Join us at the Waterfront Town Center from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. for a celebration with apples and honey, crafts, activities, a bounce house, shofar making, entertainment, vendors, food and more! Visit jewishpgh.org/ apples-honey to pre-register and take full advantage of all Apples & Honey activities and earn your Bee Stop Passport (your ticket to a sweet treat)!  MONDAY, SEPT. 9 Beth El Congregation of the South Hills presents their monthly lunch series, First Mondays with Rabbi Alex at 11:30 a.m. featuring Rabbi Alex Greenbaum and a guest. This month, Judah Samet presents his experiences from birth in Hungary to liberation from the Bergen Belson concentration camp and beyond. $6 and includes lunch. Visit bethelcong.org/events/ first-mondays-13 or call 412-561-1168.

Beth El Congregation of the South Hills welcomes George Savarese at 7 p.m. for Adult Ed Evenings. Savarese will discuss North Korea. Begins with a wine and cheese reception. $5. Visitbethelcong.org/ events/current-events/2019-09-09 or call 412-561-1168.  MONDAY, SEPT. 16 Beth El Congregation of the South Hills welcomes Peter Dinardo at 7 p.m. for Adult Ed Evenings. Dinardo will discuss free speech.

Begins with a wine and cheese reception. $5 Visit bethelcong.org/events/currentevents/2019-09-16 or call 412-561-1168. PJC

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Community Day School presents “Golda’s Balcony” at 6 p.m. at 6424 Forward Ave. Sandra Laub portrays Golda Meir in this onewoman play about Israel’s only female prime minister. $18/adult or $10/ages 12-18. Includes heavy appetizers and hour-long performance.

Visit comday.org/golda for more information.

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 SUNDAY, SEPT. 8

 THURSDAY, AUG. 22, 29

Join members of the Jewish community for an opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet some new! The Pittsburgh Pirates meet the Washington Nationals at Jewish Heritage Night. Each game ticket purchased will include a limited edition “Pittsburgh Strong” Hebrew T-shirt. A specially priced kosher meal can be purchased for just $5 per person. The menu can be found atpirates. com/jewishheritage or call 412-325-4903.

 SATURDAY, AUG. 17

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8 AUGUST 16, 2019

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Headlines Steny Hoyer has a tough job: Uniting Democrats on Israel — NATIONAL —

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

S

teny Hoyer, the longtime congressman from Maryland, is currently the Democratic Party’s majority leader, one step below Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. But for years he was the party’s house whip, responsible in part for managing how Democratic lawmakers voted on the U.S. House of Representatives floor.

So Hoyer is good with numbers, and he uses them to make an argument: The Democrats don’t have an Israel problem.

Hoyer, 80, a seasoned dean of sorts of pro-Israel Democrats in Congress, is leading the largest-ever delegation of Democratic lawmakers on a tour of Israel sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, an affiliate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. There are 41 Democrats on the trip — four more than the previous high of 37 in 2013.

Hoyer, who spoke to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency from Israel, pointed out that among the 59 freshmen Democrats in the House, 32 are on the Israel trip. (There was a higher percentage of the freshman class on the 2013 excursion: Of the 38 Democrats elected for the first time the year before, 31 took part.)

He also said the “overwhelming majority” of House members — 398 of 435 — voted last month for a nonbinding resolution that condemned the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel, and only 16 out of 235 Democrats voted against.

Lastly, Hoyer said, only two Democrats have made statements about Israel that he finds problematic — Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who have come under fire for comments about Israel and for supporting the boycott Israel movement, or BDS. He said it was “absurd” to complain about their influence in comparison to that of President Donald Trump.

“You’re talking about two brand new members of Congress and president of the United States, who speaks for all the American people,” Hoyer said.

The impression among some in the proIsrael community is that they feel squeezed between Trump’s broadsides from the right against minorities and the criticism of Israel from the left voiced by Tlaib and Omar, “Unfortunately, there’s been some attempt to make Israel a partisan issue,” Hoyer said, responding to a question about repeated efforts by Republicans to bring pro-Israel motions to the floor as a means to potentially embarrass Democrats. “The president’s statement about Democrats hating Jews is patently absurd, it’s a disservice to Israel as well. The numbers here [in Israel], Republicans and Democrats, the vote on the BDS resolution shows overwhelming bipartisan support for the commitment to Israel and its security.”

p Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., in 2018.

They did not appear together in 2019.

Photo by Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images

(Kevin McCarthy of California, the House minority leader, is leading 31 Republicans on the trip, also an unusually high number.)

Hoyer has led the AIEF trips to Israel for decades and been happy to be the group’s pro-Israel face. The lawmakers meet with top Israeli and Palestinian officials and tour the country, stopping at its Holocaust memorial museum, Yad Vashem, and the congressionally funded Iron Dome anti-missile batteries.

Hoyer also has reliably been the figure to appear with a Republican counterpart at the annual AIPAC conference to jointly deliver a speech on how Democrats and Republicans disagree on everything but Israel. That showcase has grown tense in recent years as rifts have opened between Democrats and Israel’s government, fueled in part by the rocky relationship between longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former President Barack Obama.

In 2016, the usually friendly conversation onstage between Hoyer and McCarthy at the conference got testy — McCarthy suggested that the Obama administration had sowed “doubt” about the U.S.-Israel relationship, and Hoyer countered that the two nations’ security establishments “are cooperating as closely today as they have in the past.”

This year, Hoyer and McCarthy did not appear together.

Hoyer also appeared to dismiss Tlaib and Omar as marginal at AIPAC 2019, but he walked that back within days, saying his complaint was aimed at the media, not the congresswomen. (Tlaib and Omar are two members of what has become known as “The Squad,” freshman Democratic congresswomen of color. The others are Reps.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.) It was a signal of how Hoyer, who once easily wore his pro-Israel credentials on his sleeve, now has to navigate a difficult and often divided caucus when it comes to the Jewish state.

Another instance came earlier this year, when Hoyer shut down an attempt by a handful of moderate Democrats, led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, to attach an amendment that would have protected states that penalize Israel boycotters to a law that would have ended U.S. assistance to Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. In a closed meeting, Hoyer told the caucus that his pro-Israel credentials were second to none, but that he was not going to allow the BDS language to scuttle the Yemen bill.

There remain differences between Democrats and the Netanyahu government.

Hoyer would not go into detail, citing confidentiality, but said that Democrats raised the two-state outcome and settlements in their meetings with the prime minister, who no longer endorses two states and has vowed to expand settlements. Hoyer said he told an Israeli TV station that settlements undercut the prospects of peace.

Hoyer told JTA that the overwhelming passage of the anti-BDS resolution settled the question of whether Democrats were pro-Israel, and he would push back against Republicans who argue that the non-binding resolution has no teeth.

“We have made a statement, and it’s a very strong statement,” he said.

Hoyer said he hoped to pass another nonbinding resolution, advanced by Rep. Alan Lowenthal of California, a Jewish

Democrat, that would express support for two-state solution. Hoyer told JTA that he wants to get Republicans on board with the resolution because he said it’s key to show bipartisan unity on Israel.

Another factor is that Republican backing for two states would stand as a rebuke to Trump, who has retreated from the two-state outcome to the extent that his Middle East peace negotiating team, led by Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, refuses to use the term in official documents.

JTA has learned that Hoyer persuaded Republicans to back the resolution, and was ready to accept three Republican tweaks to Lowenthal’s language. The most important was to remove the word “only” in a passage stating that the two-state outcome would ensure Israel’s survival and realize legitimate Palestinian aspirations. Now the language says simply that a two-state solution could accomplish those outcomes, not that it is the only solution.

J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East lobby, which has ties to more than half the Democratic caucus, forcefully objected to the language changes.

“If implemented, these changes would completely undercut the purpose and impact of this resolution. They would hand a victory to President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu and all those who wish to prevent the achievement of a two-state peace agreement and to instead entrench a one-state nightmare of unending conflict and occupation,” the group said in a statement.

Hoyer and others in the caucus believe they will be able to work out a compromise after Congress reconvenes in September. PJC

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AUGUST 16, 2019 9

Headlines — WORLD — Compiled from JTA reports

Polish woman who saved adoptive Jewish family from Holocaust dies at 102 Krystyna Danko, one of the oldest and most celebrated non-Jews recognized by Israel for saving Jews from the Holocaust, has died. She was 102.

Danko, who became deaf and blind a few years ago, died last week in her Warsaw home. She died in her sleep in a hospital bed recently purchased for her by Holocaust survivors, Jonny Daniels, founder of the From the Depths commemoration group that collected the money for the bed, said in a statement.

Before World War II, Danko was an orphan who was taken in by a Jewish family named Kokoszko in Otwock, near Warsaw. During the war, Danko almost singlehandedly rescued all four members of the family, according to her case file at Yad Vashem, Israel’s authority for commemorating the Holocaust.

In 1998, Danko was named Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, whose website characterizes her efforts as “incredible” — unusual for the memorial.

Her son, Wojciech, wrote in a statement about his mother: “She was the most wonderful mother, full of warmth and

understanding (as well as a sense of humor).

She gave her three children all the best. She supported her husband Mieczysław during his five-year political imprisonment during the Stalinist terror, raising children in difficult conditions and supporting his family.”

Daniels called her “an angel of goodness and righteousness and a beacon of light in a dark and difficult world.”

Canadian paper apologizes after running cartoon seen as anti-Semitic A Canadian newspaper that ran a cartoon seen as anti-Semitic has apologized following backlash from the local Jewish community.

The Edmonton Journal cartoon by Malcolm Mayes was about a data breach that exposed personal information belonging to millions of Capital One customers featuring a “data hacker” sitting with a laptop inside a wallet. The hacker had a black beard and a large nose reminiscent of anti-Semitic caricatures of Jews.

“We are disgusted with Mr. Mayes’ cartoon, with your tacit approval of it in your willingness to publish it, or, alternatively, we are astonished by your willful blindness if you did not see the harm that this cartoon would cause,” Jewish Federation of Edmonton President Steven Shafir wrote to the paper’s editorial staff, according to the Canadian Jewish News.

According to Honest Reporting Canada,

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a pro-Israel advocacy group, “Mayes has a history of anti-Israel caricatures,” including one in which hands labeled Israel and Hamas are illustrated as pushing Palestinians into a meat grinder.

The Journal apologized, saying in a statement on its website that it has “been pointed out that the image of the person bears resemblance to anti-Semitic tropes prevalent in some anti-Jewish propaganda. This resemblance was entirely unintentional, but given that association, the Edmonton Journal apologizes for the publication of the cartoon. We are re-examining the procedures we have in place to vet editorial content to avoid future such occurrences.”

West Bank man indicted in sexual abuse of 45 underage girls A West Bank man was arrested and indicted in the sexual abuse of 45 underage girls.

Uriah Assis, 26, of the haredi Emmanuel settlement, was indicted in Tel Aviv District Court. He allegedly used false identities — including a swimming coach, a wealthy businessman and a woman — and contacted the girls on the internet over the last four years, the Kan public broadcaster reported.

The charges against Assis include rape or sodomy of a minor, indecent assault, sexual harassment, making threats, obstruction of justice and the possession and production of child pornography. He is alleged to have asked the girls to send him nude or

Scholar and writer Michah Joseph Berdichevski is born in Ukraine. He is best known for his Hebrew work, including a lengthy debate with Ahad Ha’am about the need for secular Hebrew literature.

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

Aug. 16, 1966 — Israel obtains Iraqi MiG-21

Aug. 20, 1920 — Yishuv publishes first medical journal Operation Diamond succeeds in obtaining a Russian-made MiG-21 fighter jet when Iraqi-Christian pilot Munir Redfa lands one at Israel’s Hatzor Air Force Base.

Aug. 18, 2000 — Archaeologist Claire Epstein dies

pdurler@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 724-713-8874 10 AUGUST 16, 2019

More than 100 car tires have been slashed in the heavily Jewish town of Lakewood, New Jersey, over the past several days. All of the cars involved were reported to belong to or be used by Jews, ABC News reported this week. Security footage showed a person in a hoodie using a knife to slash tires.

Lakewood is the home to a large haredi Jewish community and one of the biggest yeshivas in the United States.

Police are investigating the incidents as hate crimes. PJC

Aug. 19, 1856 — Michah Joseph Berdichevski is born

— WORLD —

A few weeks before the Second Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, 160 Russian Zionists meet secretly in Warsaw, where organizer Ahad Ha’am rallies support for a Jewish cultural renaissance before any Zionist political actions.

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More than 100 tires belonging to Jews slashed in heavily Orthodox Lakewood, New Jersey

This week in Israeli history

Aug. 17, 1898 — First conference of Russian Zionists held

Phil Durler

semi-nude photos, which he then threatened to post online if they went to the authorities.

He met several of the girls in person, forcing himself on them, Ynet reported.

Assis’ attorney claimed that he suffered from schizophrenia. A psychiatric examination found that he was faking the mental illness and is fit to stand trial, The Times of Israel reported.

The prosecutor’s office asked that Assis remain in jail until trial.

Malka Leifer, who is accused of molesting several girls while the principal of a haredi girls’ school in Australia, lived in Emmanuel for several years, feigning mental illness to prevent being extradited to Australia to stand trial. She has been in prison for over a year but has yet to be extradited.

Claire Epstein, a London native who did groundbreaking archaeological work in Israel, including discovering the culture of the Chalcolithic Period (4500 to 3300 B.C.E.) in the Golan, dies at age 88 at Kibbutz Ginossar.

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The first Hebrew-language medical journal in Palestine, Harefuah (Medicine), begins publishing on a quarterly schedule under the auspices of the Jewish Medical Association of Palestine. The journal is still published monthly.

Aug. 21, 1982 — Troops arrive to oversee PLO withdrawal

American, French and Italian troops arrive in Lebanon’s capital to supervise the evacuation of about 14,000 PLO fighters through Sept. 1. Eight countries offer asylum to the PLO: Syria, Jordan, Iraq, South Yemen, North Yemen, Sudan, Algeria and Tunisia.

Aug. 22, 1952 — First Israel Bonds Mission begins

The Development Corporation for Israel, known as Israel Bonds, brings 22 American Jewish leaders to Israel on a 15-day American Champions of Israel Bonds mission, the first of its kind. PJC

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CELEBRATING COMMUNITY STRENGTH

2019 JEWISH FEDERATION ANNUAL MEETING Three experts share insights about resiliency.

JONATHAN WEINKLE, MD Physician, Squirrel Hill Health Center; advisor, Jewish Healthcare Foundation

RABBI SHIRA STERN, DMin

JAMES E. YOUNG, PhD

Disaster spiritual care provider, American Red Cross

Founding director, Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies

FARRELL RUBENSTEIN

DANIEL MARCUS

2019 recipient Emanuel Spector Memorial Award

2019 recipient Doris & Leonard H. Rudolph Jewish Communal Professional Award

The Jewish Federation reports on a year without precedent. prece THURSDAY, SEPT. 5 • AUGUST WILSON CENTER 980 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh 15222 Program, 7–8 p.m.; dessert reception, 8–9 p.m.

Preregistration online: $10. Walk-in registration: $20.

Photos: header by Joshua Franzos; leader photos by David Bachman

The community celeb celebrates leaders.

DETAILS & PREREGISTRATION: jewishpgh.org/annual-meeting Full inclusion of people of all abilities is a core value of the Pittsburgh Jewish community.

Call 412-992-5251 to discuss disabilities-related needs or any event-related question.

The annual meeting is underwritten by a grant from the Lillian & Dr. Henry J. Goldstein Annual Meeting Endowment Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community Foundation.

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AUGUST 16, 2019 11

Opinion Reasonable gun control makes sense — EDITORIAL —

W

hat is it going to take for President Donald Trump to recognize the need for reasonable gun control policies and to say the words and take the actions necessary for appropriate federal legislation to be enacted? And why is he having such difficulty serving as the “comforter in chief ” when a mass killing tragedy shakes our nation?

The president had an opportunity to provide comfort, hope and leadership during his recent visits to El Paso and Dayton, sites of back-to-back mass shootings in which 31 people were killed. Not only didn’t he deliver, but his clumsy performance disappointed even many of his most ardent supporters.

Before his condolence trips, Trump raised expectations by saying he was “looking to do background checks.” Shortly thereafter, he dashed hopes by suggesting that expanded background check efforts be tied to immigration legislation. Later, he again raised hopes by calling on Americans to “condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” but then neutered his message by suggesting that mental illness and video games are the

drivers of mass shootings, seeming to ignore the very hate and depravity he had just called out.

Here in Pittsburgh, especially after the Tree of Life shooting, we understand more than most how important such measures could be. But in recent weeks, other American communities have joined us in our anger and frustration as too many of our neighbors and friends are being killed by gun violence in every corner of our country. We are victims of a system that imposes too few conditions on the acquisition of killing machinery that has no purpose other than the taking of lives of others. The issue demands leadership and clear, direct talk. Instead, we get smoke and misdirection — and slave-like fealty to the agenda of the National Rifle Association and its uncompromising supporters and enablers.

This is not about the Second Amendment.

We are not suggesting one cannot have a gun to protect his home and family, nor are we seeking to prohibit the hunting of animals.

We are saying that no one should be enabled to hunt people, or to use guns to spread hate, fear and terror throughout our communities.

While some have laid the blame at the president’s feet, this is not actually fair — or historically accurate. The Columbine shooting happened during President Bill Clinton’s tenure; since then, there has been ample opportunity to take action on this issue — and little has been done. Even President Barack Obama, a hero of the Democratic Party, which strongly advocates gun control, was unable to enact legislation in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre.

The Republican Party has obstructed all legislative efforts to curtail gun violence.

That is not the fault of any one president, though the chief executive is charged with getting things accomplished by working across the aisle. Rather, it is the fault of many politicians over the course of many years – and it doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Earlier this year, in fact, the House passed a gun control bill that would require federal background checks for all firearms sales and transfers, including those online or at gun shows. Trump threatened a veto, but never got to do so because the Republicancontrolled Senate refused to consider the bill.

Both parties need to do some real soulsearching on this issue and figure out a way to get things done. It is time for the Senate and the White House to act, and for the president to lead with compassion on this issue. The vast majority of Americans favor the banning of assault-style weapons and making sure those who possess guns are competent to use them. Let’s skip the programmed speeches and stop pretending that we don’t have a national crisis. Our leaders need to enact sensible controls on gun access, and sensible limitations on the kinds of guns that can be sold. Our lives depend on it. PJC

US death tax comes to Dayton Guest Columnist Marshall Weiss

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hen Dayton’s Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz was asked to deliver a prayer during an Aug. 4 vigil in the city’s Oregon District, where earlier that day nine people were shot and killed, she already knew where to find words to fit the occasion.

The rabbis’ manual of the Reform movement, published in 2015, includes a prayer for “National or Communal Tragedies” written by Rabbi Edythe Mencher, a licensed clinical social worker.

“We mourn together over this senseless act of violence and destruction,” Bodney-Halasz, senior rabbi of Temple Israel intoned. “Help us, God, to rededicate ourselves to building a world that is safer for all people.”

Mass slaughter by means of assault weapon has become so frequent in the United States, rabbis can draw upon other recently created prayers, too. Alden Solovy — a prolific, celebrated writer of Jewish liturgy — wrote “After a Deadly Rampage” in 2012, based on the traditional “El Moley Rachamim” prayer for the soul of the departed.

“Seven years ago — after so many mass shootings — I wrote a prayer for use after a deadly shooting with a fill-in-the-blank to name the community,” Solovy posted on Facebook a day after the Dayton shootings.

In the post, he noted Temple Beth Or, just south of Dayton, posted his prayer on its Facebook page that day.

12 AUGUST 16, 2019

The prayer begins: “Author of life, Source and Creator, grant a perfect rest under Your tabernacle of peace to the victims of the massacre in ______________ (add place of the event), whose lives were cut off by violence, a rampage of witless aggression beyond understanding. Their hopes were severed. Their dreams were lost to brutality.”

Clergy with Temple Beth Or had also recited Rabbi Mencher’s prayer at Dayton’s community-wide service after the Pittsburgh Tree of Life massacre on Oct. 27, 2018.

As it stands now in the United States, it’s not a question of whether a mass shooting will occur in any one of our cities and towns, it’s a matter of when.

This is the new tax in America: our death tax. It might even be called a death lottery.

For the privilege of living in the United States, from time to time, its residents will be slaughtered in packs of dozens. Sometimes randomly. Sometimes because they are of a certain type.

Yes, we’ve learned to run, fight, hide. And Dayton’s police, led by Chief Richard Biehl, are true heroes; they took down the shooter within 30 seconds after he began firing.

Even so, those among us of all ages and backgrounds now die, gunned down, in accordance with the way of our land.

The feature articles appear once again: how to talk to your children about the shootings. What should we tell them to lessen their anxieties?

Our children, we have failed you. We adults in this place and at this time cannot work together to ensure your peaceful futures, physically or emotionally. Keep learning to run, hide, fight. That’s your birthright. For no other reason than that we in

this place and at this time cannot accept that some concerns must rise above politics.

How many times after yet another horrific shooting have we thought, “This time, they’ll have to address it”? Even when members of Congress themselves were shot at during baseball practice in 2017.

Could the weekend that began with shootings in El Paso, Texas, and ended in Dayton be the turning point?

We have learned in Dayton that solutions to saving lives are more complicated than choosing from clunky options set up through false conundrums inherent in politics.

In 2017, Dayton had one of the highest opioid death rates in the nation. Community leaders, public-health workers and law-enforcement officers came together to lower that death rate. By the end of 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the opioid death rate here dropped by 54 percent.

Those who worked on this realized multiple factors contributed to opioid deaths; those factors needed to be dealt with. They studied the data. They listened to each other’s experiences. They heard each other. They developed a plan to hit numerous factors that contributed to the crisis. And they keep in constant communication. Dayton and Montgomery County have shown the nation it is possible, through nuance, to rise above politics for the good of their people.

So far, 2019 has been a rough year for Dayton, but one that shows the strength of our leadership and citizens to help each other through the darkest times.

On May 25, when nine members of the Ku Klux Klan-affiliated Honorable Sacred Knights of Indiana held a rally at Courthouse

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Square amid 500 to 600 counter-protesters — with 720 police officers in their midst — there were no arrests, violent incidents, citations issued or use of force by police.

“This was a multidepartment team assembled to ensure residents and businesses would remain safe,” Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein said at a city press conference hours after the KKK rally.

Two days later, our region was hit by 13 tornadoes, including two at the EF3 level (severe) and one at EF4 (devastating), that killed one, injured hundreds, left hundreds without homes and basic services, and destroyed wide swaths to the northwest and east of the city.

And now, this.

An interfaith coalition put together another prayer vigil to remember the nine shooting victims at noon on Aug. 5, not far from the Oregon District. BodneyHalasz was invited to deliver another prayer. This time, she turned to another from Solovy, which he wrote in 2016, “Against Gun Violence.”

A portion reads, “Source of justice, Rock of strength and truth, You call upon us to stand in the name of common sense and reason: to witness on behalf of the innocent and the cut down — the widowed, orphaned and bereaved — to answer the scourge of senseless loss, to advocate for gun control, to remove military weapons from a civilian population, to return sanity to our laws, our policies and our lives.”

Keyn yehi ratzon. “So may it be.” PJC Marshall Weiss is editor and publisher of the Dayton Jewish Observer. This piece previously appeared on JNS.org.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Opinion Coming together to solve gun violence Guest Columnist Shira Goodman

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his week is a fitting time to consider what our role is as Jews in the national fight to solve America’s gun violence problem. Too often, we Jews complain that holidays are too early or too late. But everything this week seems just right: This week began with the mournful Tisha B’Av, a day when we mark the anniversaries of so many tragedies of our people. An apt moment, falling as it does a week after back-to-back mass shootings inspired by hate and racism.

We close the week with Tu B’Av, the Jewish holiday of love, the force we need to motivate us in this work to disarm hate.

Gun violence presents a challenge to our morality: Forty-thousand people die every year because of guns — homicide, suicide and unintentional shootings. In Pennsylvania,

more than 1,600 people died because of guns last year, more than in car accidents. The mass shootings grip our collective attention, but every day in America 100 people die from gunshots, and many more are wounded.

As Jews, we should be ashamed of those numbers. We should count them among the tragedies we mourned on Tisha B’Av. If we are to be part of the desperately needed solution to gun violence, we must confront the problem honestly. Here’s the truth: Our gun violence problem is at base a gun problem. We tolerate — if not promote — such easy access to guns that those who should not have them can easily get them.

We have seen the consequences: From the shooting at the Los Angeles JCC 20 years ago to Tree of Life and Poway in the last year.

We Jews demand the right to feel safe and be safe in our synagogues, our community centers, our workplaces and schools. That right is shared by all people, in their houses of worship and in their communities. We have never fought for ourselves alone, and we can’t start now.

Some in our community claim the right to self-defense is all that will protect us. I disagree, and the evidence bears out that armed worshippers in shul won’t make us safer. But we can find common ground as we together define safety and take action that will not overly burden gun owners who are lawful and responsible.

Solving our gun violence problem requires work, innovation, money and commitment — to policy change, law enforcement, investment in communities, develop new technologies, and economic and cultural changes that ensure that picking up a gun is never the better option. Most of all, it requires political will regardless of political party. And that’s what’s been most lacking in the past.

But that’s changing. Voters are making gun violence prevention an issue on the campaign trail and in the voting booth.

Candidates, regardless of party, need to have plans to address this problem. The voices calling for change are only getting louder.

Jewish voices must be among those voices.

America’s gun violence problem is our gun violence problem. We have suffered the consequences of the ongoing failure of our elected officials to act. We cannot afford further inaction.

In Genesis, God says to Cain, following the murder of his brother Abel, “the blood of your brother is crying to me from the ground.” This is where we are right now; we cannot stand idly by. So get to work.

Visit your elected officials here at home before they return to Washington, D.C., or Harrisburg. Tell them why you are engaged in this fight against gun violence and what you are expecting of them. Make clear that this is a voting issue for you, and that you are watching what they do. Take action so that when asked what you did in this time, you can stand up and be counted among those who mourned on Tisha B’Av and committed to take action rooted in love on Tu B’Av. PJC Shira Goodman is the executive director of CeaseFirePA, whose mission is to end the epidemic of gun violence in Pennsylvania.

The Israeli gun culture and approach to preventing mass shootings Guest Columnist Alex Traiman

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ike the U.S., Israel has seen its share of gun violence in the past several decades in the form of nationalistic terrorism. The perpetrators of this terrorism are almost exclusively Palestinians who have been regularly incited — in the more classic forms of incitement — by textbooks, television, social media and speeches by political and religious leaders that glorify and call for the murder of Jews. Much of this incitement is well-documented by organizations, including Palestinian Media Watch and

Middle East Media Research Institute.

With rare exceptions, Jews in Israel — or in the United States, for that matter — are not prone to gun violence. (In Israel each year there may be isolated cases of mafia-related violence. And while equally heinous and inexcusable, this violence tends not to be indiscriminate like the current trend of mass shootings or Palestinian terrorism.)

While Israel does not offer its citizens any “right to bear arms” within its framework of basic laws, guns are commonplace and part of the culture in Israel. With mandatory conscription, most Israelis have handled automatic weapons while serving in the military. Soldiers, including those who are off-duty, are often seen across the country carrying machine guns, while thousands of Israelis carry handguns.

— LETTERS — Founding Fathers would not approve How can anyone ignore the white supremacists, mentally ill and money-hungry thieves who are killing our citizens and members of our population?

Their strongest argument is the Constitution and the Second Amendment. The brilliant and courageous men would never have approved of this situation. It was appropriate under the conditions of their time. Fighting against England for their liberty was a noble aim.

We must establish strong laws and punishments so that we are not the only country in this tragic situation.

Shirley T. Shratter Pittsburgh

Five most influential books

A high percentage, if not a majority of terrorists in the act of murder, are neutralized by private citizens carrying weapons. During times of elevated terror, Israeli leaders including former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat have called on citizens owning weapons to carry them.

And while many Israelis have weapons, they are not available to everyone and anyone. To receive a gun license, one must meet several criteria. First, an individual must live or work in a geographic area deemed to pose a higher terror risk, such as Israeli citizens living in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) or near to Arab villages with a history of producing terrorists.

Next, a family doctor who has been treating an individual for many years must complete a detailed health evaluation certifying that

Please see Gun, page 20

book and its sequel add fodder for discussion as to what we already espouse and claim to believe or disbelieve.

2. “Lady Chatterly’s Lover,” by D. H. Lawrence. A forthright tale of social conditions, politics, etc. — and sex as both the great divide and the great equalizer. Read it once for the politics.

3. “The Glass Teat,” by Harlan Ellison, and any other collection of short stories by the author. We are still leached on to that teat, aren’t we?

4. “101 Famous Poems,” compiled by Roy J. Cook. My grandmother read to her children from this book, my mother read to us, I used to read to my kids. I give copies to folks who have new babies ... and we read to them from the time they are born. It is the perfect collection to carry through the years. And it is still available.

5. Anything by Leo Rosten — “The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N,” the “Joys of Yiddish” and so much more. In fact, let’s include reading the plays of Neil Simon, and also the works of Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and anyone else who describes the social condition by holding up a mirror and keeping us laughing in total recognition. For what is art if not a mirror, and what are we to be if we cannot laugh?

So much to read, so few years.

Regarding the recent books piece, thank you for some additions to my reading list! Here are my own five most influential books, though as you will see, the list sort of burgeons forth.

1. “Journey of Souls,” by Michael Newton. A non-religious soft-science study of souls. This PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

the applicant is both physically capable and mentally stable enough to carry a weapon.

An applicant also needs to complete a shooting course with a certified instructor and demonstrate sufficient mastery (it’s not too difficult) of handling and shooting a weapon. Before a license is granted, a detailed security check is performed on applicants by Israeli authorities.

Once granted, a license then permits an individual to own and carry a single handgun, and the specific weapon purchased by the gunowner is embedded in the license.

Only the licensee may use that specific pistol.

If the individual wishes to change handguns, the license must be amended. Further, the

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Audrey N. Glickman Pittsburgh

AUGUST 16, 2019 13

Headlines Soldiers: Continued from page 1

Zionists and wanting to be a part of something larger than themselves,” Stufflebeam added. “And once they made a decision that they were making aliyah, they absolutely wanted to also not just be a part of Israel, but be protectors of Israel.”

The mothers on the Momentum trip traveled to Israel from the United States, Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom. They were joined by a delegation of Israeli mothers from Poreshet, a community for IDF women retirees whose children have also served in the Israeli army, to help the lone soldier mothers better understand the Israeli culture their children are now a part of.

It’s hard to be separated from her sons by such a great distance, and a seven-hour time difference, but Stufflebeam is supportive of their decision.

“People say to us, ‘Oh, you’re so amazing,’” she said. “Well, I’m not really amazing, my kids are amazing. It’s an incredible thing that they have taken on because it’s not just the army, it’s a different language, it’s a different culture. The kids in Israel are raised knowing they are going into the army. Our kids sort

TOL: Continued from page 1

Jensen knew it was unlikely that the grieving congregation would read the card immediately because of the sheer volume of mail it would be receiving, as well as being forced to address countless other necessary and more pressing tasks in the aftermath of the attack.

“I didn’t hear a thing for months, and then one day I got an email that said, ‘Hey I’m from Tree, and we’d like to talk to you about possibly using space for High Holidays,’” said Jensen.

Several congregants from TOL*OLS then came over to Calvary to meet with Jensen, look at the space, check dates, and discuss details such as “what practical things do you need, the number of people, parking, food, bathrooms, accessibility and so on,” he said.

Since the mass shooting, TOL*OLS has been holding Shabbat services in Levy Hall at Rodef Shalom Congregation, but needed to find a different location for the High Holidays, for which they are expecting at least 800 people. A committee was formed of TOL*OLS members to find an appropriate space.

It wasn’t so easy.

“We looked at a number of spaces,” and called others, said Alan Hausman, TOL*OLS vice president, and chair of the committee.

The committee inquired about using the Pittsburgh Playhouse in Oakland, which was Tree of Life’s building until 1952 when it moved to the corner of Wilkins and Shady avenues. The Playhouse, which was demolished just last week after being vacant for a year, was too small, according to Audrey Glickman, a member of TOL*OLS, who was present at a meeting in which possible locations were being discussed.

“That was a delightful thing,” she said. “We were too big for our old building.”

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of missed that whole part of it, and go in learning everything all at once.”

There are many challenges particular to lone soldiers, including language. Although Stufflebeam’s sons had studied Hebrew in school, they found they were lacking in knowledge of slang as well as “army Hebrew,” which includes a lot of acronyms.

“The other big challenge for lone soldiers is obviously not having family there,” Stufflebeam said. While Israeli-born soldiers can head home for Shabbat and find a refrigerator full of homemade food awaiting them, lone soldiers are often scrambling to find places for Shabbat meals or to get to the grocery before it closes and prepare their own food.

“And they don’t have their parents there advocating for them as well, for instance if they get injured or if they’re sick,” Stufflebeam said. “On a day-to-day basis, they are responsible for everything from grocery shopping to making sure they are getting paid correctly to getting their laundry done, to figuring out how to get home from base and back in time, which can be very challenging. And not having the ready emotional support, that gets in the way as well.”

Momentum has been running trips to Israel for about 10 years, and has so far sent more than 18,000 women to tour the

Jewish state. Typically, a group of women from a particular city travels together, then continues to meet for a year to study and engage in other Jewish activities.

There is generally a partner organization in each city where there is a Momentum group. In Pittsburgh, the partner organization is Chabad.

This pilot trip to Israel for mothers of lone soldiers was organized a bit differently, with groups comprised of women from all over the world, but who shared the common bond of having children who were serving in the IDF. Although Stufflebeam and the group of seven moms she was heading had video chatted a few times, they first met in person at the airport in Tel Aviv.

“Nobody knew anybody else, but we had this thing that bonded us, that our kids are all serving in the IDF,” she said. “And that’s something you can talk to other people about, but they can’t fully understand. It didn’t matter that we were strangers, we had this bond and immediately everybody was a group. It didn’t matter where you came from or where your kid was serving, or if you had a daughter or a son. Everybody had a common language, and this very, very significant thing that bonded us.”

The lone solider mothers were part of a

three-bus trip that included women from Momentum groups from various cities.

While the lone solider mothers shared the general itinerary of the larger group and visited important sites throughout the country, they also had special programming, including with IDF representatives and a visit to the residence of Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin.

One particularly moving moment was a recognition of all the lone soldier mothers on the trip. While they were seated on a stage, the soldier daughter of one mother unexpectedly came up and handed her mom a rose.

“We were all crying, and then all of a sudden, all of the soldiers came streaming down the aisles,” Stufflebeam said. “It was so beautiful. Everyone was crying. And the other mothers on this trip got to get a little piece of our joy.”

The lone soldiers were then able to spend Shabbat with their mothers.

The trip was a success, Stufflebeam said, and Momentum is planning on sponsoring another one.

“Of course, now all the moms are advocating for a dads’ trip, too,” she said. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

The committee also considered the will be welcome to attend services, vacant Macy’s department store at they will be required to make the Waterfront, but there were issues arrangements in advance. concerning getting enough chairs into “We will be making sure that we will let the building and restroom accessipeople know that it will be ticket-only,” bility, according to Michael Eisenberg, said Sam Schachner, president of immediate past president of TOL*OLS. TOL*OLS. “Anybody that wishes to visit Calvary, with its ample parking, or join us will be asked to do so in advance great location and a sanctuary for obvious security reasons. There are so that seats 1,000 seems to be an many throughout the community who ideal solution. have been tremendously supportive that “It’s a beautiful facility,” said if somebody wants to join us we would Hausman. “It’s magnificent. And their feel honored if that occurs. And we are people have been phenomenal.” also OK if it is just us.”

TOL*OLS will be taking its machzors, Schachner has “tremendous appreciation Torahs, an ark and its shulchan to for all of the support from throughout the Calvary, according to Barb Feige, community and especially from Calvary executive director of TOL*OLS. “And Episcopal,” he said. “It’s really a sense of they are giving us other rooms for child respecting and collaborating in the divercare and youth services,” she added. sified environment that makes it that much Jensen is focused on providing more special and has given us so much an environment of hospitality and throughout the process. They have been comfort to TOL*OLS. Calvary is not amazingly generous.” asking for any rental or use fee, but is Being allowed to use Calvary also opening its doors to the congregation p The Calvary Episcopal Church provides a means to “really forge ahead Photo courtesy of Calvary Episcopal Church in terms of having our own place to do

free of charge.

“It’s the right thing to do, to offer a special service, which this will be, so space to our neighbors,” Jensen “We want them to feel at home so it is it stands out as something that really said. “And people would do that for us, theirs too,” said Jensen, who added that gives us broader space and allows us to I am convinced.” he plans to offer the church to TOL*OLS do everything we want to do for the High He will be meeting with Rabbi Jeffrey next year as well.

Holidays in terms of coming together as our Myers soon to finalize details, such as where “I am going to offer to Rabbi Myers that own community,” he added. the congregation can store its prayer books next year the offer will stand for you to come The arrangement with TOL*OLS is a gift between services. back and have High Holy Days,” he said. “I to Calvary as well, said Jensen.

Jensen is sensitive to the fact that there are don’t know what you are doing with your “Thoughts and prayer are powerful,” the Christian symbols throughout the church, building yet, maybe you will be ready a year rector said in his sermon the day after the and he is doing what he can to have them from now, but if you are not, please know that massacre, he recalled. “Prayer and action concealed for the High Holidays. you are welcome to come back to Calvary from enough people who work for good can “There are some large stained-glass and do the same thing. And by then, we will stop a bullet.” windows of Jesus, and there is no way around be good at it and have experience with it.”

“This event of sharing space is putting that,” he said. But he is planning on placing Hausman said TOL*OLS will be doing prayer into action,” he said. PJC silk veils over two large Jesus on the cross security assessments of Calvary to ensure Toby Tabachnick can be reached at sculptures that are installed in prominent that the space will be properly protected. places in the church.

While non-members of the congregation ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Pitt: Continued from page 3

For that reason, Not My Generation is taking more of a communal approach than placing individual emphasis, explained Fleisher.

Those interested in the upcoming summit are required to apply as a coalition of four to five people, each representing a different subcommunity within a larger geographic community.

“We’re really trying to bring people with different backgrounds together,” she said.

While the application requirement should promote intersectionality, there is also the idea that attendees will be able to return home post-summit with “plans to really do this work in a comprehensive inclusive way,” she added.

Fleisher is expecting approximately 125 attendees at November’s summit.

“It’s really important to us that this work is non-cost-prohibitive, and we’re fundraising $50,000 to be able to have everyone attend the conference without having financial burden,” she said.

Not My Generation has raised $13,000 to

Russell: Continued from page 4

grow. I am specifically talking about the religious community in Squirrel Hill. They have to be more proactive, whether it is a committee to look out for jobs for people, or a committee to go to other cities and just let people know they exist and bring more people here. Pittsburgh is a very, very nice place. The cost of living is not that expensive.

Besides the cost of living, what are some of the other amenities for Orthodox Jews here that should be attracting more people?

You’ve got the kosher stores, you’ve got the pizza shop, a new bagel shop, a new restaurant that opened up. So things are happening here, it’s just got to be more proactive. That’s what I think would help them.

You still have family in Chicago.

Five out of seven brothers will be living in Chicago. We are 13 siblings all together,

date, largely from individual donors in the Jewish community, she added.

At Pitt, Fleisher studies politics, philosophy and gender, sexuality and women’s studies. There is much to be learned in life, but certain matters are already known, she explained.

“Gun violence is something that has common-sense solutions. We know the way to help mitigate harm. We know the way to make the community safer, but we also know people aren’t doing it. So anything that we can do, that helps to get guns out of the hands of dangerous people, or to just make weapons of war not available to everyone, is saving lives.”

Given past and recent events, such work has incredible meaning, she continued.

“This is the way that I found healing. I think that a lot of people think that advocacy and personal healing have to be separate, and for me they’re not. They’re one in the same.

And after the Tree of Life shooting, and even today, this is the thing that makes me feel most human.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. keinehora, and my parents still live in Chicago. It should be really nice for my kids, they’ve got a lot of cousins.

What will you miss most about White Oak?

It’s definitely the people. I talked to Rabbi (Yisroel) Miller (formerly of Congregation Poale Zedeck) before I came here, and he told me that when you start with a community, it’s very important you make a relationship with people — maybe five or six individuals — who will be your supporters and to make a study session with them. That’s what I did. It was four people, and those people are the ones I have the closest relationship with. Even though we only studied for two or three years, those individuals I have the best relationship with.

What will you miss most about Pittsburgh?

The Kollel is a very nice place to hang out.

I spent a lot of time at the Kollel, and I will definitely miss it, that’s for sure. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Games: Continued from page 5

fit into where these kids are at.”

Today, teenage gaming is virtually ubiquitous. Ninety percent of teens said they “play video games of any kind, whether on a computer, game console or cellphone,” and 84 percent said they “have or have access to a game console at home,” according to Pew Research Center.

Creating Jewish engagement through video games “is certainly an interesting opportunity to reach kids in different ways than we thought before,” said Schreiber, “but it’s going to take some work.”

Easter egg placed by game makers, suggested online fan posts.

Such a detail, given that “people do shoot Jewish people,” Kahana said, is disturbing.

Jews are less likely to be depicted in video games, so “when you’re seeing a representative of yourself and what you’re familiar with in a game, it will have an impact.”

Location also plays a role, as games where players communicate on headsets can offer very different experiences based on who is playing and where they reside.

“I grew up in Israel and everyone I knew there was Jewish,” she said. Even without Jewish characters depicted on-screen, playing military games for us was different.

My brother was in the military and when he

“ We have to try lots of different ways to

reach the teens today because they don’t just follow the same path or the same path

”

of 20 to 30 years ago.

— BRIAN SCHREIBER, JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF GREATER PITTSBURGH’S PRESIDENT AND CEO

Lost Tribe is partnering with Jewish educators to determine learning opportunities and outcomes and assess “how we bring Jewish into this space,” said Silberman, but certain difficulties exist. “You can’t do Jewish during the game. The game is the game. We also know that you can’t do Jewish if you don’t have any kids to do it with.”

Rony Kahana, an Israeli-born Carnegie Mellon University-educated associate producer at Big Huge Games, contrasted Silberman’s position with smaller titles and past experiences.

“The Shivah,” a 2006 point-and-click adventure game, re-released in 2013, allows players to embody Rabbi Russel Stone, a spiritual leader with struggling faith who is suspected of murdering Jack Lauder, a former congregant of Stone’s dwindling New York City synagogue.

“Vampire: The Masquerade — Redemption” is a 2000 role-playing game that includes an episode in the medieval Prague Jewish Quarter, where players acting as Christof Romuald, a deceased 12th-century French crusader who is revived as a vampire, seek counsel from Mendel, a deceased rabbi’s son, on how to defeat the Quarter’s ravaging golem.

In both games there is a realistic depiction or representation of something familiar that breaks the fantasy, explained Kahana. “For Jewish gamers,when they run into things like that it’s going to affect the way they look at things.”

For gamers, introducing Jewish concepts such as the act of sitting shiva or Jewish traditions like the golem, can prove educational. Potential issues arise, however, when the fantasy, or immersion, is broken and “when it’s something that touches your life,” continued Kahana.

In “Grand Theft Auto IV,” a 2008 action-adventure game, players can kill pedestrians and steal their money — usually $5 to $20. But when a player kills a rabbi (who is dressed in a white shirt, long black kapoteh, a yarmulke, and has a long gray beard) $50 to $200 is dropped. The larger amount of money may be a stereotypical

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played the games he would play them the way they would do exercises in the military.”

Silberman is intrigued by the possibility of reaching Jewish teens in faraway settings and gathering them for in-person gaming experiences. But Lost Tribe only features non-shooting titles in its mission.

“It’s just the right thing to do,” he said.

Between the recent Maccabi Games and a March 2019 appearance at a BBYO convention, Lost Tribe has already reached thousands of Jewish teens. The organization has amassed details on players’ ages, genders, contact information, location and engagement.

Moving forward, data collection will remain imperative as “we want to be able to ask the right questions and get the information that’s most helpful to the Jewish community,” said Silberman.

Determining that knowledge through the placement of pre – or post-game buttons along with links to Jewish programs, or creating a subscription-based model where players individually sign in, are different options under consideration.

Effective Jewish gaming “could be a real interesting possibility,” said Schreiber, but it will require thought, action and investment.

“We have to try lots of different ways to reach the teens today because they don’t just follow the same path or the same path of 20 to 30 years ago. The way we engaged before were traditional youth groups and more formal Jewish educational pieces. Now we have to move in a lot of different directions.

Everything has to build on the previous thing to really capture the totality of audience.”

For Silberman, the challenge is more than a game, and he is ready to play.

“We’re doing this for the right reasons: It’s not about video games, it’s about Jewish teen engagement. If we are going to lose that next generation, that’s not acceptable in my book.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Life & Culture The South Hills are alive with the sound of music and young adults — MUSIC —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

F

rozen margaritas and chilled beer with limes sat next to nachos and salsa; a buffet which featured various types of Mexican food lined a back walk; men and women mingled, discussing work, family and the latest series they’ve binged on Netflix; an indie pop-folk duo checked their sound and instruments before taking the stage.

Happy hour at the latest night spot downtown? A concert venue in the South Side or on the North Shore? The newest restaurant opening on Butler Street? You’d be excused for believing the scene above was at any of those locations. Instead, a crowd of under-40 young adults were at The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh in Mt. Lebanon on Wednesday, Aug. 7, for a private concert by the band We Are the Northern Lights featuring Sheldon Low and Hadar Orshalimy.

The musical performance and get-together was created and sponsored by South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh. Rob Goodman, director of SHJP explained, “In our previous five years we had not tried to program to the young adult community. This event came out of many, many months of conversations about what they are interested in and looking for. We thought this would be a good test to say, ‘Can we program to the young adult community with something that isn’t necessarily happy hour in a bar?’ We felt if we gave them enough time to find a babysitter and rearrange their schedules, this would be a good litmus test because of our relationship with Sheldon Low and We Are the Northern Lights.”

SHJP and its community partners have numerous events and activities each year for families, empty nesters and older adults. This concert was unique because, for the first time, young adult participation wasn’t coincidental.

“There aren’t a lot of adult-only evening programs, things for young Jewish adults to meet outside of seeing each other while picking up their kids at ECDC or at the JCC or Temple Emanuel, Beth El or Chabad, or Purim, Chanukah and the other South Hills holiday events,” Goodman said. “If we can help be that conduit to get young, single, young married and young married with children community members together, it can help spur several events a year they might

GET THE

p A crowd of under-40 attendees were at The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh in Mt. Lebanon on Wednesday, Aug. 7, for a private concert by the band We Are the Northern Lights featuring Sheldon Low and Hadar Orshalimy.

Photos courtesy of South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh

be interested in. The idea will be quality programs and events, rather than quantity.”

We Are the Northern Lights typically performs private concerts at homes in various cities. The homeowners are responsible for

promoting the performance, providing food and beverages, and covering the cost of the experience by passing around a hat around, donating money and buying CDs. Goodman didn’t want to use that model.

SHJP provided drinks and catering, paid for the performance and worked with its partners, including Temple Emanuel of South Hills, Beth El Congregation of the South Hills, South Hills JCC and PJ Library, to recruit attendees.

The result? A robust and energetic crowd of young adults from the South Hills were bolstered by attendees from Squirrel Hill and Oakmont who had heard about the private party from friends. The group featured young parents, new transplants to the South Hills, newlyweds, young adults who knew each other from a recent trip to Israel, fans interested in hearing the familiar Sheldon Low and his wife, Hadar, in new musical territory and those simply looking to meet other South Hills Jewish men and women from across the various communities and institutions.

Kate Louik attended with her husband.

“Max and I were excited to be a part of this new way of getting young adults together in community in the South Hills,” she said.

“Much of the programming targeting our demographic is family-centered — which is great for us as the parents of two young children — but it was wonderful to have the opportunity for the two of us to to get and see some familiar faces in a new context.”

Rebecca Lasus agreed. “The concert at The Artsmiths was a very enjoyable evening,” she said. “It was great to have South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh create this wonderful opportunity for fellow South Hills Jews to get together for an adult concert.”

Looking to the future, Goodman said, “We want to continue to use our relationships to engage young adults with intentional programs.” These may not be traditional young adult programs such as happy hours and networking events. Rather, Goodman said, “we may find that young adults in the South Hills want something like a social action program at one location while their children do a similar program at another location. That would allow them to ‘adult’ while providing childcare.”

“The young adults that are in the South Hills are here for a reason,” he added. “We have phenomenal school districts, affordable housing and great community partners. We want to engage them and their friends living in the city. We want to be strong advocates for the South Hills and the suburbs in general.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Life & Culture Pashtida with zucchini, corn and tomatoes: A colorful celebration of summer produce

p The versatile pashtida transports well, and there is no right or wrong way to make one. Photo by Emanuelle Lee

— FOOD —

By Emanuelle Lee

Photo by Volosina/iStockPhoto.com

P

ashtida (a crustless quiche) is beloved and common in Israel, where it is enjoyed at everything from potlucks, school events, shivas and everything in between. It’s also commonly prepared for Shavuot and Sukkot. The versatile dish transports well, and there is no right or wrong way to make one.

Israelis make pashtida all year long, but it’s a dish especially perfect for warmer climates and seasons, when it’s just too hot to spend hours in an overheated kitchen. Plus, during warmer months, there are so many incredible seasonal ingredients available to include in the pashtida, making it extra delicious.

You should feel free to use this recipe as a base and add the vegetables and cheese that speak most to your tastes. Alongside a fresh salad at brunch or a pasta at dinner, this pashtida with zucchini, grilled corn, tomatoes and basil completes a perfect meal.

Ingredients: 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

6 scallions, roughly chopped 2 zucchinis, cut into half-rounds 2 ears of corn, kernels removed from cob

2 1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes,

half of them cut in half 4 eggs 3 tablespoons plain flour 1/3 cup ricotta 3 1/2 ounces fresh mozzarella 2 ounces cheddar cheese, grated 1 tablespoon butter 1 large handful of fresh basil Sea salt and black pepper Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 2. Stand the ears of corn up on a plate and carefully remove the kernels, cutting downward with a sharp knife.

3. Heat a medium-large pan on high heat and add the corn kernels to the dry pan. Stir occasionally, allowing them to become more

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bright yellow in color and a little bit charred.

Transfer the corn to another plate, season with a pinch of sea salt and allow half the butter to melt over it.

4. Let the pan cool for a few minutes and then place it back onto medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and then the zucchini slices. Stir occasionally until they become slightly softened and begin to brown.

Transfer to the plate with the corn and add the remaining butter and a pinch of sea salt.

5. Wipe the pan with a paper towel. On medium heat, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil and add the scallions. They should sizzle and become charred within a few minutes. Stir them occasionally, then remove them from the pan.

6. Add the last tablespoon of olive oil

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to the pan and add the tomatoes.

Let them blister and soften slightly.

Season with a pinch of salt and remove them from the heat.

7. Allow all the cooked vegetables to cool down.

8. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until slightly frothy. Slowly add the flour and mix continuously. Then add the ricotta and mix well. Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper.

9. Add the vegetables into the egg mixture, reserving a little bit of each vegetable for the top. Mix well. Shred half of the mozzarella into small pieces and add to the mixture.

10. Lightly grease an 8-inch round cake tin or pie dish with butter or olive oil. Sprinkle half the grated cheddar around the bottom and sides of the tin or dish. Pour the mixture into the tin or dish. Shred the remainder of the mozzarella over the top of the mixture and then top with the remaining grated cheddar. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and top with the reserved vegetables.

11. Bake the pashtida for 30-35 minutes, or until it’s fluffy and cooked through.

Serves 4-6. PJC This recipe originally appeared on The Nosher.

AUGUST 16, 2019 17

Celebrations

Torah

Engagement

Torah as instruction Rabbi Jeremy Markiz Parshat Va’etchanan Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11

O

ur portion is filled with important things: the Shema and the Ten Commandments. However, I want to focus on something that appears more mundane. In Deuteronomy 4:1, the Torah says, “And now, O Israel, hear the laws and rules that I am instructing you all to do in order that you may live and come and settle the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors gives to you.” The word “instructing,” melamed, meaning to teach or instruct, jumps out at me.

my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze!”

It seems as though to be instructed is to be trained in battle. However, in Psalms 94:10, it asks a question: “Shall the One who disciplines nations not punish, the One who instructs people in knowledge?”

We’re left with two questions: Are we really preparing for battle? What does “instruction” really mean?

There might have been a time in which we were talking about actual physical battles, but for us, that isn’t helpful. The battles we face are all around us. We make thousands of decisions, we have hundreds of personal encounters, we face challenges unforeseen daily. We face a world unimagined by the

The battles we face are all around us. We make thousands of decisions, we have hundreds of personal Ryna and Naftali Lustig and Leah Dodyk and Meshel Vider announce the engagement of their children, Allyza Rose Lustig and Sammy Vider. Allyza is the granddaughter of Sondra and Richard Glasser of Pittsburgh and the late Edward Izenson. Allyza and Sammy currently reside in Washington, D.C., where Allyza works on national climate research and Sammy is an industrial designer working in the furniture industry. The couple announced their engagement in the company of family at their annual beach vacation. PJC

encounters, we face challenges unforeseen daily. We face a world unimagined by the Torah.

And yet, we do have instruction.

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I did a little research and this word, in this form, does not appear in the Torah anywhere else. It does, however, appear in five additional places in Tanakh. To me, this speaks volumes. In the book of Judges, its use is the name of an object and, along with three other locations, they are in the context of being prepared for battle.

In Psalms 144:1, it reads, “Blessed is the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for warfare.” Interestingly, the same language is used in Psalms 18:35 and II Samuel 22:35, stating, “Who trained

Torah. And yet, we do have instruction. The Torah and the rabbis who interpret it for us have given us blueprints to engage with this challenging world. Frameworks and values, sensitivities and intentionalities, tensions and contradictions.

The Torah, this week, is a reminder that there is so much we have yet to learn. PJC Rabbi Jeremy Markiz is the director of Derekh and Youth Tefillah at Congregation Beth Shalom. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

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Obituaries BERNZWEIG: Marilyn Bernzweig, 91, of McMurray, died peacefully Thursday, August 1, 2019, in her home. She was born December 24, 1927, in Brooklyn, NY, a daughter of the late Samuel and Agnes Rabinowitz Diamond. Mrs. Bernzweig was a 1945 graduate of Lakewood High School in Lakewood, New Jersey, and went on to attend Rider College in Trenton, NJ. She was a homemaker, and worked with her husband at their family business, Freehold Paint and Floor Covering. She enjoyed traveling, particularly to Aruba where she vacationed for over 30 years. Her greatest joy, however, was her family, especially her nine great-grandchildren. She was a member of Beth El Congregation in Mt. Lebanon as well as the Beth Israel Congregation in Washington. She was also a member of the Beth El Sisterhood and Hadassah. On June 19, 1949, in Asbury Park, NJ, she married Melvin Bernzweig, who died March 2, 2001. Surviving are three daughters, Cheryl (James) Snyder of Pittsburgh, Susan (Andrew) Aaronson of Rehoboth Beach, DE, and Lynn (William) Wiechmann of Las Vegas, NV; a sister, Charlotte Garfinkel of Connecticut; five grandchildren, Amy Kaminski, Stacey (Jason) Cobb, Randi (Nicholas) Rumbaugh, Elissa (Seth Goodman) Aaronson, and Eric Aaronson; nine great-grandchildren, Micah, Adam and Talia Goodman, Evan and Braden Cobb, Maya Kaminski, Mattea Aaronson, and Colton and Tanner Rumbaugh, and numerous nieces and nephews. Deceased are four brothers, Jack, David, Bernard and Norman Diamond. Graveside service were held at Beth Israel Cemetery Sunday, August 4, 2019, at 1:00 PM, with Rabbi Alex Greenbaum officiating. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Beth El Building Fund, 1900 Cochran Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15220 or to Beth Israel Congregation, 265 North Avenue, Washington, PA 15301. Online condolences may be expressed atpiattandbarnhillfh.com. Piatt and Barnhill Funeral Directors, Inc., Charles R. Piatt, owner/supervisor, Lawrence K. Donovan, director, and Andrew C. Piatt, Director.

FEINBERG: Ida Ruth (Rachel) Feinberg, 85, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, passed away

on August 1, 2019 after a long illness. She is survived by her husband Leonard Feinberg, her children Tobey Mintz, Judy Myers and Mark Feinberg, her sons-in-laws Scott Mintz and Chuck Myers, her sisters, Toby Scherer and late Jeanette Kanner, her brother, late Teddy Knell, her grandchildren Randy Mintz, Seth and Rachel Myers, Alexandra Myers, Zev and Bri Mintz and Zoe Myers, and her great-granddaughter Brooke Myers. May her memory be a blessing. Graveside Service and Interment were Private. Contributions may be made to The Zola Hirsch Fund for Special Needs at the JCC, 5738 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com SHRAGER: Donald I. Shrager, on Monday, August 5, 2019; Former husband of the late Carna Shrager; beloved father of David J. Shrager (fiancé Annie Federoff), Mark Shrager (girlfriend Michelle) and Rene Davidson. Brother of Phyllis Grofman and the late Allen Shrager.

Grandpa Shrager to Nicole, Jaclyn, Sherri, Loren, Morgan and Ava-Grace; dear friend of Linda Ferguson and Lee Silvers. Also survived by many great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews. Born and raised in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill area, Donald was a graduate of Taylor Allderdice High School, served in the US Army and attended the University of Pittsburgh and its School of Law. He worked as an attorney in private practice starting in 1967 and worked doing what he loved until a few short weeks before his death. Donald was the longest continuous tenant in the Frick Building. He was honored by the Allegheny County Bar Association for over fifty years of service. He was a published author of a philosophy book, “On the Road to Wisdom.” He was dedicated to the practice of law, his family and friends, and leaving the world better than he found it. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Mt. Lebanon Cemetery, Temple Emanuel Section. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the JFCS, 5743 Bartlett Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. schugar.com PJC

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Florinne I. Friedken ........................... Ronald Friedken

Sylvia & Norman Elias ............. Alvin James Moldovan

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THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday August 18: Rae Graff Friedland, Jacob Friedman, Gilbert Murray Gerber, Helen Goldberg, Diana D. Gordon, Robert Green, Anna Greenberg, Morris H. Hirschfield, Herman Jacobs, Rae Labovitz, Morris Lebovitz, Robert Shapiro, Ruth Zeligman Monday August 19: Sarah Bales, Adam Chotiner, Abraham Endich, Anna Friedman, Anna Friedman, Rose H. Green, Eva Greenberg, Rebecca Gusky, Annetta Marks Horwitz, Isadore Mandelblatt, Tzivia Marbach, Milton Morris, Anna R. Rosenbloom, Freda Barnett Safier, Eleanor Ruth Simon, Louis A. Skeegan, Harry Winsberg, Esther M. Wyner, Harry Zerelstein Tuesday August 20: Sadye Bowytz, Julius S. Broida, Bernard S. Davis, Irwin Sowie Fein, Lester A. Hamburg, Lois Hepps, Bessie Perr Miller, Esther Patkin, Theodore Somach, Gilbert Stein, Edward Stern, Rebecca Supowitz, Bella Weiner, Renee Weinstock Wednesday August 21: Sara J. Ansell, Earl Barmen, Esther Caplan, Harriet L. Cohen, Rebecca Lebenson, George Lisker, Paul A. Love, Morris Sherrin, Joseph Siegman, David P. Zelenski Thursday August 22: , Liza Canter, Elizabeth Cohen, Leonard Ehrenreich, Dr. Morris H. Glick, Bertha Klein, Harry Lipser, Harry H. Marcus, Rhea Mark, Sophie Masloff, Gussie Sacks, Morris Schwartz, Herbert Sternlight, Rose Zweig Friday August 23: Pierson Caplan, Meyer David Elovitz, Fanny Kramer, Mary Lang, Hazel Pinsker Lemelman, Albert P. Levine, Zelman Lee Moritz, Tillie K. Morris, Irene I. Posner, Mollie Rothman, Samuel Selkovits, Gabe Shapiro, Melvin Tobias, Eva Ulanoff, Rabbi Hugo Unger, Sarah Wesely Saturday August 24: Sarah Aronson, Irwin George Berman, Nathan Corn, Milton David Daniels, Abraham Herman, Ida Garber Hytovitz, William Kaplan, Samuel S. Lewinter, Leon Loibman, Morris Middleman, Hazel Rose Newman, Samuel Simon, Harry Suttin, Leah Wekselman, Samuels Zionts

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Headlines 21 Israeli lawmakers say 2-state solution is ‘far more dangerous to Israel’ than boycott movement — WORLD —

By Sam Sokol | JTA

T

wenty-one right-wing Israeli lawmakers rebuffed a House bill that endorsed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while rejecting efforts to boycott the Jewish state.

In a letter addressed to U.S. Reps. Brad Schneider, Lee Zeldin, Jerry Nadler and Ann Wagner, the co-sponsors of the bill and staunch supporters of Israel, the Israeli lawmakers asserted that a Palestinian state is “far more dangerous to Israel” than BDS. House Resolution 246, which passed 398-17 last month, condemned the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

While the signatories, who included Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely and Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben Dahan, wrote that they were “grateful to all our wonderful friends in Congress who stand with us on so many fronts,” they insisted that they had to express their “concern” over the bill.

“Pressure to establish a Palestinian state contradicts President Trump’s position, which he has stated many times — that the solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict shall be determined by the parties,” they wrote.

Such a state would “undoubtedly be a dysfunctional terrorist state” which would “undermine stability” in the region and “severely damage the national security of both Israel and the United States.”

Gun: Continued from page 13

license permits the gunowner to store a maximum of 50 bullets at any given time. A licensed owner may carry a weapon exposed (open carry) or concealed without limitation.

The license must be renewed every two years, and requires periodic shooting instruction and proof of proficiency. Anyone carrying a weapon must carry and be able to present the associated license at any time.

Assault weapons are not permitted to be owned by any private citizen and are only carried by active soldiers with army-issued weapons and ammunition.

p Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely speaks at a press conference in Jerusalem, Jan. 11, 2017.

Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images

The Israeli lawmakers added that they understood that “these resolutions are accompanied by many compromises along the way in order to reach a language agreed upon by a majority,” but that affirming “support for establishing a Palestinian state is so dangerous that we respectfully request that you take that into consideration” and avoid such language in the future.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the

impetus for the letter came from the Knesset Land of Israel Caucus and Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan.

“Unfortunately, in the last few years, AIPAC is independently advancing the two-state solution,” Dagan said in a statement.

“AIPAC portrays the two-state concept as an Israeli interest to elected officials in America and as the official position of the

Israeli government, even though this is untrue,” he said.

Jerusalem recently advanced plans for the construction of more than 2,300 housing units in West Bank settlements and The Times of Israel reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is looking to obtain public support from President Donald Trump to apply Israeli sovereignty in some areas of the West Bank. PJC

The rules of engagement are extremely strict and limited to life-threatening situations. If a terrorist is coming toward any individual with a weapon, a licensed private citizen may shoot. If the terrorist is no longer in possession of the attack weapon, a licensed private citizen or soldier could go to jail for firing a shot, even if the attacker was in the act of attempted murder just seconds earlier.

Unlike in the United States, a licensed gun owner may not shoot at a burglar or trespasser on personal property unless there is a demonstrated immediate threat to the life of anyone on the property.

In addition to private citizens carrying weapons, uniformed and armed security guards, as well as metal detectors, are

commonplace at the entrances of major shopping centers, schools, public offices and institutions, and organized public gatherings.

It is both socially acceptable and religiously permissible for synagogue congregants to carry weapons during services, including on Shabbat.

And while the presence of armed private citizens and security guards cannot eliminate the threat of attacks (nor are they in every vulnerable location), these critical measures significantly limit the number of potential victims during an attack. Most perpetrators are neutralized within the very first minute after a terror attack begins.

So as Americans seek to understand the nature of increasing gun violence, it is crucial to understand the dangerous combination

of causes that is leading to this deadly and horrific phenomenon, beyond common and convenient political attacks.

It also may be useful to look to Israel, which has significant experience dealing with terror attacks, for ways to control access to guns by those who are unlikely to respect their civilian purpose: to defend, and not take, lives. American shopping centers and institutions across the country may have little choice but to emulate Israel in employing armed security to prevent shooters gone mad from attacking mass victims. PJC Alex Traiman is managing director and Jerusalem Bureau chief of JNS.org, where this article first appeared.

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time or skill to tackle it? Is your home full of clutter and stuff that creates disharmony? I help overwhelmed families, people in transition, and busy professionals. I can make your home more livable and your office more efficient. CONTACT JODY at 412-759-0778 or allegheny organizing@gmail.com.

DRIVER WANTED PERSONAL DRIVER WANTED East Pittsburgh to Squirrel Hill $30 per round trip 5 days per week ($600 per month) Ideal for a retired person or stay at home mom.

412-344-2999

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

NURSE’S AID

PA Connecting Communities is hiring staff to work on life and social skills out in the community with adults with disabilities.

Call Glen at 412.621.6151 Ext 2005

Professional nurse’s aid, cook, etc… to care for your loved one.



Exciting grand stone 7 bedroom, 3.5 bath home with all the amenities.

Formal living spaces with hardwood floors. Leaded and stained glass throughout, gourmet kitchen, glass doors from dining room lead to a fabulous patio and two car garage. Bonus of a great third floor that could be used for teenager or nanny suites. Close to universities, hospitals and Schenley Park. In Colfax and Allderdice School District.

MURDOCH FARMS • $570,000

G A 3 bedroom jewel on a tree lined IN street. Lovely kitchen with 2 dishwashers, D central air and a 1-car detached EN garage. Won’t last.

P

OAKLAND • $169,900 Move-in ready! Spacious1 bedroom, 1 bath Park Plaza Condo. Huge walk-in closet in master. Tons of light! See with Lourdes Matamoros, 412-335-4477.

REGENT SQUARE • $365,000 Charming home with all the amenities of today. Master suite on 3rd floor has radiant heat. Great room on first floor with fabulous kitchen. Too much to list!

Must see!

SQUIRREL HILL • $970,000 Wonderful 8 bedroom, 4.5 bath home with many amenities. Expansive new back porch with fabulous view and desired privacy. Enjoy a gourmet kitchen, formal living and dining rooms. Magnificent woodwork and leaded glass. Truly a home for one who likes character and charm as well as the amenities of today.

WASHINGTON’S LANDING • $535,000 Stunning 3 story townhome on the water! Newer fabulous kitchen, baths and hardwood floors. Live here and feel like you are on vacation every day. Truly a move-in. Must See! JILL and MARK PORTLAND RE/MAX REALTY BROKERS 412.521.1000 EXT. 200

20 years of experience.

Over night, Tues., Wed., Fri. 15-20 hours/week.

Ask for Curtis: 412-277-6737

FIND IT IN THE BUSINESS SERVICES

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Close in most sought after street. 4 bedroom 5 bath home with one bedroom off the kitchen. 2nd floor has a study that can be used as a 5th bedroom. Sunken living room and finished lower level. Tons of storage and a huge flat yard are just some of the many amenities. See with Etta Golomb.

MURDOCH FARMS • $965,000

(BEECHWOOD BLVD)

Spacious unit, move-in condition.

2nd floor duplex. Newly decorated.

New w/w carpet. New window treatment.

E-I-K fully equipped. Central air.

Screened-in balcony. Garage. Great location.

FOX CHAPEL • $799,000

412.496.5600 JILL | 412.480.3110 MARK

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PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

AUGUST 16, 2019 21

Community Pittsburgh Police honored

NCJW Back to School

Officer Timothy Matson and the entire Pittsburgh Police SWAT Team were awarded the Magen Israel (Defender of Israel) award from Shurat HaDin — Israel Law Center on Aug. 8 during a private ceremony at Pittsburgh Police Department’s headquarters. Joining Matson at the ceremony were Officers Andrew Miller, Michael Saldutte, Anthony Seretti and Jonathan Craig, as well as Commander Jason Lando. Peg Durachko, Marty Gaynor and Steve Weiss also attended. Rachel May Weiser, senior attorney and educational director of Shurat HaDin — Israel Law Center, presented the award. Weiser, an Israeli citizen, is a graduate of Hillel Academy and the University of Pittsburgh.

The National Council of Jewish Women’s Pittsburgh Section held its fifth annual Back 2 School Store on July 28 at Rodef Shalom Congregation. This year’s event supported 615 kindergarten through fifth grade students in need with the help of over 480 volunteers, making it the biggest Back 2 School Store yet in Pittsburgh. Guided by volunteer personal shoppers, participating children had the opportunity to choose a brand new backpack full of school supplies, plus a full first day of school outfit, shoes and a winter coat and accessories. NCJW Pittsburgh worked with agencies like Big Brothers Big Sisters, Jewish Family and Community Services and Best of the Batch foundation to identify children from underserved communities. While students shopped, families and caregivers connected with local organizations and agencies that provide assistance with health care, parenting, financial literacy, career development and other social services all year long.

p Rachel May Weiser and Officer Timothy Matson

p NCJW Pittsburgh President Teddi Jacobson Horvitz, Executive Director Cristina Ruggiero and Manager of Programs Meredith Brown at the organization’s fifth annual Back 2 School Store, held July 28, 2019, at Rodef Shalom Congregation

Photo courtesy of Rachel May Weiser

Machers and Shakers Leslie Frischman, Community Day School Middle School and Intermediate School math teacher, won the 2019 Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of Mathematics Master of Mathematics Award.

Frischman received this award at the annual PCTM Conference in Harrisburg.

p More than 480 volunteers helped 615 K-5 students get ready for school at NCJW Pittsburgh’s Back 2 School Store.

Rabbi Jonathan Perlman has been hired as full-time staff chaplain for the Department of Palliative Care at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center system. Perlman will continue to lead New Light Congregation in Pittsburgh at its new home at Congregation Beth Shalom.

p Pittsburgh Firefighters IAFF Local No. 1 donated winter coats and helped fit children in need at NCJW Pittsburgh’s annual Back 2 School Store.

Photos by Ash Andrews

22 AUGUST 16, 2019

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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Community So many Pirates in the Park After winning the Pittsburgh Citisports Mayor’s Cup on July 26 at PNC Park, the Pirates, Squirrel Hill Baseball Association’s Spring World Series D3 champions, were invited back to PNC Park for recognition prior to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers game on Aug. 5.

p Brian Lemon, Augie Maslo and Landon Blank represented their teammates and met with Frank Coonelly, president of the Pittsburgh Pirates during the pregame ceremony.

Photo by Anthony Maslo

It’s all about the text

Friendship through study

p Rabbi Barbara Symons led a book discussion on “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” at the Monroeville Public Library on July 31. Upcoming books under discussion include “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” and “The Next Person You Meet,” both by Mitch Albom.

Photo by Mark Hudson

p Members of New Light Congregation and Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church engaged in joint study led by Rabbi Jonathan Perlman.

Participants of the Aug. 6 session explored scriptural readings for the upcoming Jewish High Holidays.

Photo by Barry Werber

Reciprocity in writing Naomi Frim-Abrams, Sigalle Bahary and Yael Perlman facilitated a letter writing event on Aug. 6. Prior to the event, three tables, complete with pens and paper, were set up in Congregation Beth Shalom’s lobby. Each table was dedicated to one of the communities (Dayton, Ohio; El Paso, Texas; Gilroy, California) targeted in recent mass shootings. Perlman, whose father, Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, is spiritual guide of New Light Congregation, said the event was in order to “reciprocate what people have done for our community.”

Photo courtesy of Yael Perlman

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photo by Adam Reinherz

AUGUST 16, 2019 23

KOSHER MEATS

• Variety of deli meats and franks • All-natural poultry — whole chickens, breasts, wings and more • All-natural, corn-fed beef — steaks, roasts, ground beef and more Available at select Giant Eagle stores.

Visit GiantEagle.com for location information.

Empire Kosher Chicken or Turkey Franks 16 oz. pkg.

2

79 ea.

Save with your

Price effective Thursday, August 15 through Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Available at 24 AUGUST 16, 2019

and PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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