Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 3-11-22 by Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

March 11, 2022 | 8 Adar II 5782

Candlelighting 6:05 p.m. | Havdalah 7:04 p.m. | Vol. 65, No. 10 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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Pittsburghers gather in prayer Jewish as fighting in Ukraine continues Pittsburgh returns to ‘normal’ Purim

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Allegations of abuse

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

find themselves in another moment requiring communal prayer, Zubik explained. “Today, we come together as a people who in a more critical time pray for world peace in the face of madness that seeks to annihilate a nation, to pray for world leaders that they may have the courage to reverse the weapons of war, and we pray for each other that our deep desire for peace may be evident not only in our prayer here but in that spirit we take with us when we leave this place,” he said. Other spiritual leaders offered psalms, songs and invocations. “Nations rage. Kingdoms topple. At the sound of God’s thunder, the earth dissolves. God, the Lord of hosts, is with us, the God of Jacob is our haven,” Fellman said, reciting Psalm 46. “We pray that God may quickly cease the spilling of blood of friend and foe alike, yet stir many to bravely struggle for that true justice which alone can bring lasting peace,” Adelson said. State Rep. Dan Frankel (D-District 23) attended the nearly hour-long gathering, and said he hopes “our prayers today are for peace and for a resolution that allows the Please see Ukraine, page 14

Please see Purim, page 14

Rabbi claims misconduct at HUC-JIR. Page 2

LOCAL A new song at Temple Sinai

 Rabbi Daniel Fellman and Rabbi Seth Adelson walk during a procession of faith leaders during the March 6 service. Photo by Jim Busis By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

Meet Cantor David Reinwald. Page 4

LOCAL No-fail hamantaschen

A perfect Purim treat Page 17

everal hundred people gathered at Saint Paul Cathedral in Oakland on March 6 as Western Pennsylvanian faith leaders implored people of all religions to pray for peace in Ukraine. Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, Rabbi Daniel Fellman of Temple Sinai and Rabbi Seth Adelson of Congregation Beth Shalom were among representatives of more than 24 faithbased organizations that co-sponsored and attended the event, including the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s Center for Loving Kindness, the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and JFCS Pittsburgh. This isn’t the first time Pittsburghers of diverse religions have joined together in prayer, Zubik said, recalling that during the 2009 G20 Pittsburgh summit, “people of all faiths throughout Southwest Pennsylvania” congregated and prayed for world leaders who were meeting nearby at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. “We prayed for peace and a peaceful air continued,” Zubik said. More than a decade later, Pittsburghers

Illustration by lipmic via iStockphoto

urim typically lasts one day. In Pittsburgh, though, the celebration will run a bit longer this year. For nearly a week, members of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community will have many opportunities to mark the holiday — in person. On March 13, from 9 a.m. to noon, the South Hills Jewish Community Center — in partnership with Temple Emanuel of South Hills, Beth El Congregation of the South Hills and PJ Library — is hosting Purim Palooza. The free event will feature balloons, crafting and hamantaschen making. Rachael Speck, director of Children, Youth and Family at the JCC, said she’s excited about the program and encourages people to sign up online in advance. “In order to be COVID-conscious, it is by reservation only,” Speck said. Upon registering, families will be invited to stay and play at the indoor event for a one-hour time slot between 10 a.m. and noon. Masking is required. It’s important to create communitywide partnerships, Speck said, such as the JCC’s March 13 program at the Family Park in Monroeville. The JCC is partnering with Community Day School, Repair the World, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, Kesher Pittsburgh, Temple David, Rodef Shalom Congregation, Tree of Life, Congregation Beth Shalom and Temple Sinai on the annual Snyder Family Purim Carnival, from 1-3 p.m. The event will feature an inflatable obstacle course, bounce house, carnival games, prizes, face-painting, a Purim spiel, hot chocolate truck and hamantaschen baking. The program will cost $10 per child or $40 for a family of four or more. Proof of vaccination is required to attend both the Monroeville and South Hills programs. Both events will remind Pittsburghers

Headlines Pittsburgh rabbi alleges abuse while enrolled at Hebrew Union College — LOCAL — By David Rullo | Staff Writer

emple Ohav Shalom Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt says he was the target of sexual misconduct while enrolled at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. HUC-JIR is the Reform movement’s seminary, with campuses in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles and New York. “I am one of the victims,” Weisblatt told the Chronicle. Weisblatt said he was a victim of abuse in 2012-2013, while he was interning as part of his rabbinic studies. He declined to identify the rabbi who allegedly abused him, the synagogue where he interned or the nature of the alleged sexual misconduct. Weisblatt said the rabbi he is accusing is still employed by a congregation affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism but he is not a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. It is not a requirement for URJ-affiliated congregations to hire CCARaffiliated rabbis. Weisblatt said he reported the alleged misconduct to leadership at HUC-JIR when it occurred, but was told by those overseeing the program that he would have to complete his internship alongside his alleged abuser. “I was told by HUC that if I didn’t continue, I would not be ordained,” Weisblatt said. It was only through the direct intervention of Rabbi David Ellenson, the seminary’s president from 2001-2013, and that of then-professor and future HUC president Rabbi Aaron Panken, that Weisblatt was allowed to leave the internship and still be ordained, Weisblatt said. When he was preparing for ordination,

 Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York

Photo by ajay_suresh CCBY2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Weisblatt said, the administration of HUC-JIR told him the rabbi he accused was interviewing new rabbinic students for internships. “They said, ‘We won’t tell our students about it. We want you to call the students and tell them why they shouldn’t take internships with the rabbi.’ Today, this rabbi is currently working, still with HUC,” Weisblatt said. Weisblatt decided to come forward with his story following the recent release

misconduct at HUC-JIR. Weisblatt ended participation in the investigation, they said, after one of the investigators told him that they were very active in the Reform Movement and that they knew all the players. “I immediately stopped the conversation,” Weisblatt said. “I can tell you I am not the only person who was told that, and I am

of independent reports by the CCAR, HUC-JIR and URJ regarding incidents of abuse by rabbis associated with the Reform movement. “I’m not doing this to name the person,” Weisblatt said. “I’m doing this to explain and add further evidence that the HUC is not handling this correctly.” Weisblatt said that he met with a representative from Morgan Lewis in 2021, when the firm was hired to investigate allegations of

Please see Abuse, page 15

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Headlines Jewish burial society organizer David Zinner honored in Pittsburgh By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

or nearly 20 years, David Zinner — founder and past executive director of Kavod v’Nichum — has helped Pittsburghers perform Jewish burial and bereavement rituals. On March 6 he was honored by the New Community Chevra Kadisha. “Without him, there would be no New Community Chevra Kadisha,” said Pat Cluss, a co-founder of NCCK. When Cluss, Malke Frank and a handful of other community members reached out to Zinner and his national organization in 2004 about starting a Jewish burial society that would complement Pittsburgh’s established Orthodox group, Zinner provided hours of education, insight and encouragement. As the nascent NCCK cohort blossomed from five members to 62, Zinner continued returning to Pittsburgh from his Columbia, Maryland, home to offer instruction, training and guidance. After Oct. 27, 2018, when 11 Jews were murdered inside the Tree of Life building — including NCCK member Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz — Zinner was again in Pittsburgh, supporting the group in its duties as a Jewish burial society. “David gave our chevra kadisha roots, which led to our growing the wings that were necessary for our chevra kadisha to fly,” Frank said. “I really think that without the emotional support David gave us — the psychological support and emotional support and the compassion — the chevra wouldn’t be where it is today.” Frank estimates that since 2004 NCCK has performed 1,000 taharot (ritual purifications of the deceased). The number is significant, Cluss explained, because many of those deceased — or their

living family members — might not have adopted certain Jewish burial practices if not for NCCK. “David educated the more liberal Jews, who didn’t know from tahara,” Frank said. “It was a line item for them.” Before the NCCK establishment, community members who weren’t knowledgeable of Jewish burial practices might not have understood the reason for a tahara, or why tachrichim (simple white burial furnishings) were required, Frank continued. While Jewish cemeteries may have insisted on taharot for burial, Zinner helped NCCK explain to the larger liberal Jewish community the significance of Jewish burial practices, she said. Zinner said he’s humbled being honored by NCCK, and he’s optimistic about the future of chevra kadishas despite a changing Jewish landscape. The Jewish world has dramatically shifted from the start of the 21st century, but that doesn’t mean that Jewish burial societies are a thing of the past, said Zinner, 71. The next generation may not be “gravitating to synagogues like our parents did, but we are seeing alternative groupings around mikvahs or minyans. And the chevra kadisha fits around that next generation model very nicely.” In many ways, the desire to break from established Jewish organizations isn’t very different from what Zinner observed almost 50 years ago. Following the 1960s, there was this “do-it-yourself ” mentality that had grown, Zinner said. Before those years, chevra kadishas typically consisted of Orthodox members, but by the 1970s, “a different kind of movement arrived,” he continued. “The people who were doing it didn’t want to know just how to do it, but why we do what we do, and where it came from. There was a lot of dialogue and excitement about learning this ritual.” Please see Zinner, page 20

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Photo: Joshua Franzos

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 New Community Chevra Kadisha members gather at the Beth Shalom Cemetery in Shaler Township in October 2021. Photo by Adam Reinherz

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Headlines Temple Sinai to welcome new cantor — LOCAL — By David Rullo | Staff Writer

ittsburgh’s Temple Sinai is preparing to sing a new song. The Squirrel Hill Reform congregation will welcome David Reinwald as its first fully ordained Reform cantor on July 1. (Cantor Laura Berman — whose Temple Sinai contract expired in June 2021 — was a graduate of the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary.) Senior Rabbi Daniel Fellman said that, as can be expected, the congregation’s new cantor has a “gorgeous voice,” but that is just the start of Reinwald’s qualifications. “He’s a wonderful teacher. He’s great with kids,” Fellman said. “He’s one of these people who has a heart of gold. When his application came to us, I had a sense that this might be a really wonderful match for us, and that’s how it turned out as the process went forward. We’re excited.” Fellman, who is not a musician, said Reinwald will be integrated into all of the congregation’s Shabbat and holiday services. “And he’ll be doing education work with both children and adults,” Fellman added. “We’re all in. The intention is for both of us to be full-throttle.” Reinwald, who plays guitar, piano,

trumpet and shofar, is looking forward to joining the congregation. He will be working with the Temple Sinai band and choir and possibly creating a child’s choir, he said. He also will be leading the congregation’s b’nai mitzvah program. The role of a cantor, Reinwald explained, has changed and expanded over the decades to include “the full breadth of clergy work, from education to pastoral elements to interfaith work and working with the community and being called upon to be a true equal clergy partner with the rabbis we partner with and the senior staff that we work with.” The expanded role of cantor at Temple Sinai was part of what motivated Reinwald to apply for the job. He said he decided to leave his position at Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Ana, California, because he was looking for new challenges and goals and the “next step forward in my professional journey.” “I was looking to move to a larger congregation like Temple Sinai in a city environment,” Reinwald said. “It’s exciting. The Pittsburgh Jewish community is so dynamic and to be a part of that definitely has a great draw.” Reinwald is originally from Chicago. He studied at the Jacobs School of Music and the Borns Jewish Study Program at Indiana University and was ordained by the Hebrew Union College in 2006. He has served Jewish

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by the American Conference of Cantors — which included a mandate to refrain from listening to the candidates sing until after they were interviewed, so committee members wouldn’t form judgments based on a YouTube video before meeting the interviewees, Barkley said. Reinwald, who has only visited Pittsburgh once, said he’s excited to get to know Temple Sinai, its members and his new home. He’s also eager to try Pittsburgh’s restaurants, sample its theaters and museums and live in the birthplace of one of his childhood idols — Mister Rogers. “I think Temple Sinai is writing a new era, a new chapter in their history,” Reinwald said. “I will be working with Rabbi Fellman who is in his first year so, in a certain sense, both of us are starting from a really new place with the congregation and that is exciting.” Barkley, too, is excited about Temple Sinai’s future. “I think that we’re in a great place,” he said. “Rabbi Fellman has been really well received and has done a great job. David Reinwald is the perfect complement to their partnership, and I think they’re going to be a great team moving forward. I’m really happy about the whole thing. I’m excited. I think we’re in a great spot.” PJC

 Cantor David Reinwald Photo by Marla Vaughter

communities in Austin, Texas, and the southern suburbs of Chicago. Reinwald was selected by a committee led by volunteer Elizabeth Collura and past President Rick Kalson, which included 17 additional congregants who reflected the broad spectrum of the congregation’s membership, according to Drew Barkley, the congregation’s executive director. The congregation followed guidelines set

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

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Headlines International activist Rudy Rochman visits Pitt — LOCAL — By David Rullo | Staff Writer

udy Rochman believes it’s his mission to narrate the story of the Jewish people the correct way. The self-identified “activist for Jewish rights,” spoke last week at the University of Pittsburgh at an event organized by Rabbi Shmuel Rothstein, director of Chabad at Pitt, that drew a crowd of more than 80 students. Chabad brought Rochman to campus as a reaction to some of the courses offered by the university, Rothstein said. “There are a few classes, such as one that compares and contrasts apartheid in South Africa and apartheid in Palestine, which was a horrible class to give,” Rothstein said. “We’ve been in touch with a bunch of parents and students about a host of things happening on campus.” Some of the classes, “make us feel very uncomfortable,” he added. Rochman said he has dedicated his life, in part, to speaking against antisemitism on college campuses and other intellectual spaces. He decided to attend Columbia University because he found it listed by a Jewish freedom center as the No. 1 antisemitic school in the United States. “I’m dedicated to bringing light where there’s

 Chabad E-board member Noah Schraeder (right) with Rudy Rochman Photo courtesy of Chabad of Pitt

darkness,” Rochman said. “I came to empower the students I spoke to. I said, ‘I’m not the answer for your campus. I’m here for one day. Let me share my experiences, my conclusions,

my journey. The things that have been effective in the breakdown of situations. You need to use that to change things on the ground.’” Rochman learned early that it was

important to be proud of his Jewish identity. Born in France, he also has lived in Israel and the United States. His grandparents, he said, spent time in Morocco, Algeria and Poland, where they were expelled for being Jewish. “It taught me that no matter where we’re born or grew up, where we travel or what our passports say, we’re always Jews,” he said. It was an antisemitic event in London when he was 7 that shaped his worldview. “Me and my mother were kicked off a bus for being Jewish,” he said. “My mom was wearing a shirt in Hebrew; the bus driver was a neo-Nazi. He literally took my mom and threw her off the bus. It taught me that, no matter what, they’re always going to do this.” Before attending college, Rochman joined the Israel Defense Forces and served in the Paratroopers Brigade from 2011 to 2013. While at Columbia, Rochman started the organization “Students Supporting Israel.” He said it has grown to more than 1,000 members in more than 50 chapters around the world including the United States, Canada and Afghanistan. Rochman’s most harrowing experience with antisemitism came while filming a documentary about disconnected Jews in remote communities last year. He traveled to Nigeria with two other Israeli filmmakers. After meeting with the Igbo Jewish Please see Rochman, page 15

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Calendar Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle. org. Submissions also will be included in print. Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date as space allows. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon. q

SUNDAY, MARCH 13

Join Temple Sinai at the Jewish Federation’s parking lot for its drive-thru Purim carnival. With fun games, prizes and a special takeaway meal, this Purim carnival is fun for all ages. 10 a.m. $20 per car. Please register ahead of time. 2000 Technology Drive. templesinaipgh.org/ programs-events. Don your best costume and join Beth El Congregation of the South Hills, South Hills JCC, PJ Library and Temple Emanuel of South Hills for Purim Palooza 2022. Enjoy carnival games, hamantashenmaking, a photo booth, magicians, crafts, prizes and more. Two sessions, 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Space is limited for this free event. Advanced registration is required. jccpgh.formstack.com/forms/ southhillspurimpalooza. Chabad of the South Hills presents Pre-Purim Bake-off for Kids. Open to all kids aged 5-13. No charge. 11 a.m. chabadsh.com. q SUNDAY, MARCH 13;

THURSDAY, MAR. 10

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

SUNDAYS, MARCH 13-APR. 17

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

MONDAY, MARCH 14

Join Temple Sinai for its Meet n’ Eat Cooking Class focusing on learning to prepare Jamaican food. Learn about the history and culture of Jewish people in Jamaica while also preparing some vibrant and delicious food. 6:30 p.m. $15. templesinaipgh.org/programs-events.

MONDAYS, MARCH 14-APRIL 18

Join Congregation Beth Shalom for a weekly Talmud study. 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org. q TUESDAYS, MARCH 15, 22, 29;

APRIL 12

Join Temple Sinai on Zoom for “Cooking Like an Ashkenazi Grandmother” with a different instructor each week. In March they’ll teach how to make kugel, hamantaschen, matzah balls and gefilte fish. Free. 6:30 p.m. templesinaipgh. org/event/cooking-like-ashkenazigrandmother.html. q

TUESDAYS, MARCH 15-MAY 24

Sign up now for Melton Core 2, Ethics and Crossroads of Jewish Living. Discover the central ideas and texts that inform our daily, weekly and annual rituals, as well as life cycle observances and essential Jewish theological concepts and ideas as they unfold in the Bible, the Talmud and other sacred texts. $300. 9:30 a.m. foundation.jewishpgh.org/melton-2. q

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16

The Squirrel Hill AARP will hold its next open meeting for the senior community in the Falk Library of Rodef Shalom Congregation at 1 p.m. The meeting will include a talk by Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor. In addition, there will be a health presentation on how seniors can improve their balance and simple ways to deal with arthritis. A bake sale follows. Please have a mask and a copy of your COVID immunization. For additional information please contact Marcia Kramer, president: 412-656-5803. Temple Sinai hosts the 5th annual LatkeHamentash debate. Come together over Zoom and in person to determine the winner. This fun and hilarious event is free and open to everyone. templesinaipgh. org/event/latke/hamentasch-debate.html. q

of ultimate horror? How did they provide guidance when all normalcy had been lost? And what can their insights teach us about who we are as Jews in 2022? 9:30 a.m. $75. foundation.jewishpgh.org/ answering-holocaust-questions.

WEDNESDAYS, MARCH 16-APRIL 13

The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and the Jewish Community Foundation present the eight-part online course Answering Holocaust Questions. In the course, Rabbi Danny Schiff will examine the questions asked of the rabbis about the darkest times, and their responses. How did the rabbis advise people to conduct themselves in the midst of those years

WEDNESDAYS, MARCH 16-APRIL 20

Bring the parshah alive and make it personally relevant and meaningful. Study the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman. 12:15 p.m. bethshalompgh.org/life-text. Join Temple Sinai to study the weekly Torah portion in its hybrid class available on Zoom. Open to everyone. Noon. templesinaipgh.org/event/ parashah/weekly-torah-portion-classvia-zoom11.html. q

THURSDAY, MARCH 17

Chabad of the South Hills presents Purim in NYC. Experience an NYC show, including graffiti wall art. Dress up for the Big Apple and win an instant prize. Music, hamantaschen, graggers and more. $18/adult, $36/family. 5 p.m. Megillah reading. 5:30-7 p.m. Dinner and fun. southhills.chabadsuite.net/civicrm/event/ register?reset=1&id=14. q

SUNDAY, MARCH 20

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

TUESDAY, MARCH 22

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh partners with local and state law enforcement to present active shooter training for houses of worship — a safety and preparedness presentation. Clergy, house-of-worship staff, religious education teachers, board members, ushers, greeters, custodians, elders, deacons and servant-leaders of any faith can attend. 7 p.m. jewishpgh.org/event/active-shooterpreparedness-and-response-training. q

TUESDAY, MARCH 24

Classrooms Without Borders, in coordination with Tali Nates, founder

and director of the Johannesburg Genocide & Holocaust Centre, and in partnership with the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Liberation 75 and the USC Shoah Foundation is pleased to embark on Holocaust Museums and Memorials Around the World, a series highlighting different angles of complex memory and grappling with the challenges faced in defining representation of both lived memory and historical memory. 2 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/ holocaust_museums_and_memorials_ around_the_world. q

SATURDAY, MARCH 26

Join Temple Sinai to watch “Tikkun.” The film explores the journey of a young man questioning his faith. We’ll screen the film over Zoom and discuss afterward. This event is open to all and free of charge. templesinaipgh.org/event/movienight-tikkun.html. q

TUESDAY, MARCH 29

The Arab-Israeli conflict plays a large (some would claim outsized) role in current events. This course aims to unpack the causes and core issues that relate to the conflict. The goal is to make the subject accessible to educators and to give them the tools with which to grapple in the classroom with the subject at large and with breaking news. 2 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/arab_ israeli_conflict. q

TUESDAYS, MARCH 29; APRIL 5, 12

Join Classrooms Without Borders for its weekly book discussion of “The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt” with Dr. Josh Andy. Andy is a full-time teacher at Winchester Thurston School and an educational programs leader and Holocaust scholar with Classrooms Without Borders. 4 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/ weekly-book-discussions-the-last-ghettoan-everyday-history-of-theresienstadtsdr.-josh-andy. q

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30

Classrooms Without Borders presents a post-film discussion of “Masel Tov Cocktail” with director Arkadij Khaet and Lihi Nagler, film scholar and an expert on Jewish and German film. 3 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/post-filmdiscussion-masel-tov-cocktail. PJC

Every Friday in the

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Headlines Flats on Forward moves forward to construction — LOCAL — By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

fter years of the Squirrel Hill Theater sitting vacant, and at least two thwarted plans, ACTION-Housing has broken ground and started construction on a mixed-use development on Forward Avenue between Shady and Murray avenues. Flats on Forward, as the project is dubbed, will be a four-story building with about 10,000 square feet of commercial space at street level, 43 affordable, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and 31 off-street parking spaces, according to Lena Andrews, ACTION-Housing’s director of real estate development. ACTION-Housing bought the long-vacant site for about $2 million through a limited partnership, she said. The project is backed by about $12 million in tax credit equity, which was bought by BNY Mellon. “This project is challenging and took many years to get off of the ground, but we are thrilled that it’s now under construction and will bring high-quality affordable housing in a beautiful building to the gateway of Squirrel Hill,” Andrews said. One obstacle to construction was an existing steam plant behind the site, Andrews said. It was built a century ago to provide heat to nearby apartments, and contractors had to fill the vault — which was destabilizing Malvern Street — with concrete. The contractors also are installing conduits on the street where the city and Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition plan to install new streetlights, said Mardi Isler, the coalition’s president. “The Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition has been working with the city for almost 13 years to improve the Forward Avenue corridor,” Isler said. Isler, who has lived in Squirrel Hill for 38 years, said the coalition has adopted a garden near the I-376 Parkway and continues to search for spots along Murray

 Flats on Forward will be a four-story building with about 10,000 square feet of commercial space at street level, 43 affordable one- and two-bedroom apartments, and 31 off-street parking spaces. Rendering provided by Lena Andrews

and Forbes avenues to install new benches. It recently completed work at O’Connor’s Corner, near the intersection of Murray and Phillips avenues. Forward Avenue is much older than many Squirrel Hill neighbors might realize. It probably originated as an Indian trail that came up the eastern slope of Squirrel Hill from Nine Mile Run valley and descended the hill’s western slope into the Saline Street valley — a shortcut to the Point, said Helen Wilson, vice president of the Squirrel Hill Historical Society. In the late 1800s, the Keysers owned land on the opposite side of Forward Avenue, past Beechwood Boulevard, where the Irish Centre of Pittsburgh is now. They bottled and sold effervescent mineral water — highly prized as a treatment for dyspepsia, kidney stones, hepatitis, gallstones, urinary tract inflammations and other disorders — from a sparkling spring on the property, Wilson said.

Another block of Forward Avenue, between Tilbury and Shady avenues, runs alongside Pittsburgh Allderdice High School, which was named for Squirrel Hill resident Taylor Allderdice (1863-1934), a member of the city’s first school board and president of National Tube Co. On the block of Forward Avenue where Flats on Forward is being built, the first “little red brick schoolhouse” in Squirrel Hill was located on Forward at Eldridge Street around 1868, Wilson said. It was also in the Shadyto-Murray block of Forward that Thomas A. Watkins (1861-1925) built the Watkins Development in the 1920s. This complex of buildings took up both sides of Forward Avenue and included all of the smaller apartment buildings behind the Morrowfield Hotel. There were eight stores inside the Morrowfield, and the adjacent buildings included a showroom for new cars, a dance hall, a theater, a snack bar, a soda fountain, a drugstore, a bowling alley, a five-story garage

and a heating and refrigeration plant. Most of Watkins’ red brick buildings are still standing. The bowling alley moved to its present location from the building that was on the site of the Squirrel Hill Theater, which, when it opened in 1937, was “the first theater in Pittsburgh to be built expressly for sound projection, … a delightful difference from the gaudiness of the motion picture palaces of yesterday,” according to The Pittsburgh Press. Meanwhile, at 5832 Forward Ave., adjacent to the theater, the Jewish Community Center got its first toehold in Squirrel Hill when the Irene Kaufmann Center followed its clientele there Hill and took over the Boys’ Club in 1943. In 1958, the center decided to move to its present location at Forbes and Murray. The Flats on Forward project is anticipated to be completed in the fall. PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

After two years, trivia event resumes in person at Beth Shalom — LOCAL — By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

oah Lubowsky is crazy about game shows. A former “Wheel of Fortune” contestant, he has been trying since the mid-‘90s to get onto “Jeopardy.” On his honeymoon, he dragged his bride, Aviva, to a taping of “The Price Is Right.” “If I hadn’t been a doctor, I would’ve been a game show host,” laughed Lubowsky, an endocrinologist whose children attend Community Day School. So, it’s no surprise that four years ago, Lubowsky launched “Clues & Schmooze (With Some Booze),” an evening of fun and adult hijinks at Congregation Beth Shalom. After being canceled because of the pandemic

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in 2020 and going virtual in 2021, the event is back for its fourth iteration — in person — on Saturday, March 12. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and trivia runs from 8:15-10:30 p.m. The event is open to everyone, Jewish or not Jewish, Lubowsky said, and the event draws many who are not members of Beth Shalom. Teams of three to six participate; there’s also a 50/50 raffle, snacks and an open bar. Participants must be 21 or older. The cost is $30 per person; advanced registration is required. “The game is essentially ‘Jeopardy’-style questions,” Lubowsky said. “The first year I did it, I made it too academic. After that, I took the feedback and decided it needs to be less hard, more fun — people want it more lighthearted.” “It’s not, ‘He was the king of England in 1476’ or anything like that,” he added. (The answer there, of course, is “Who

is Edward IV?”) People also come up with quirky monikers for their teams, which can be pre-planned or just selected at the event itself. Past entrants have included Nerdy by Nature, Beverly Hills 15217, Let’s Get Quizzical and Wait, Wait, Give Us a Minute. There are also some Jewish-themed names like Rabbi and the Dybbuks, Rabbi M and The Master G, and Rabbisymal. David Chudnow, who has attended the event twice, admits he’s “a trivia buff.” Clues & Schmooze understands him, he said. “It’s just an enjoyable, low-pressure social event,” Chudnow, a member of Shaare Torah, said. “I think more shuls should have events like this.” Ed Mistler, a neurologist from Squirrel Hill, said he is trying to recruit people for his team, which has been evolving since he and his wife first participated in 2018.

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“Some good categories for me? Things you learned in school, like world geography,” said Mistler, a member of Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Congregation, the “Downtown Shul.” “I’m pretty good at movies [and] I’m always looking for people to join my team to supplement on books, art,” Mistler said. “And I’m not good at sports at all.” Mistler said the fast but casual pace lends the event a bit of electricity. “And the questions are wonderful,” he added. “I still remember the third-most common ice cream flavor in the world: cookies and cream. After vanilla and chocolate. I got it wrong. I’ll never forget it.” For more information, go to tinyurl. com/clues2022. PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh. MARCH 11, 2022 7

Purim at the Park Snyder Family Purim Carnival

261 Rosecrest Dr., Monroeville, PA 15146 Pricing $10 per child, $40 for family of 4 or more

Sunday, March 13 1-3 pm Join us at Family Park for a deluxe castle bounce house, amazing carnival games, hot chocolate truck, face painting and more!

South Hills Purim Palooza Sunday, March 13 9 am-Noon Join us at the JCC South Hills with Temple Emanuel, Beth El, and PJ Library for a morning filled with hamentashen making, costumes, balloons, crafts and more! Free and open to the community!

To learn more and register for these events, go to: jccpgh.org/event/purim or scan QR code

MARCH 11, 2022

A welcoming vaccinated environment for our members, guests and staff Proof of vaccination required ages 5+

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JCCPGH.org

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Headlines Rep. Ted Deutch leaving politics to lead American Jewish Committee — NATIONAL — By Gabe Friedman | JTA

ep. Ted Deutch, one of Congress’ most outspoken members on Jewish issues for over a decade, is leaving politics to become the next CEO of the American Jewish Committee, the advocacy group announced last week. Deutch, a Democrat, has represented three different South Florida districts since 2010, after a stint in Florida state government. His current district, Florida’s 22nd, includes the heavily Jewish Broward County. Deutch chairs the House’s Ethics Committee and holds senior spots on both the prestigious Foreign Affairs and Judiciary committees. He has been a leading pro-Israel voice in the Democratic Party, particularly in recent years as progressive newcomers have been historically outspoken in their criticism of the Jewish state. At AJC he will succeed David Harris, who has led the organization since 1990. Harris is best known for his work in helping Jews leave the former Soviet Union and for combating anti-Israel rhetoric at the United Nations. Deutch will take over on Oct. 1. In a statement announcing Deutch’s appointment, AJC President Harriet P. Schleifer said that “Ted’s deep and lifelong commitment to the Jewish community, Israel, and to the protection of democratic values is obvious to all who know him.” After the Florida Holocaust Museum in Tampa was hit with swastika graffiti last year, Deutch partially blamed progressive colleagues who compare Israel to apartheid South Africa for an uptick in antisemitism across the United States. “When we have colleagues whose position is ‘Palestine from the river to the sea,’ which includes no place for a Jewish state, and when our colleagues…wrongly and falsely describe Israel as an apartheid state, there is a context for all of this,” Deutch said at a virtual event with fellow lawmakers.

p Rep. Ted Deutch speaks about his experiences during a trip to Israel and Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of a bipartisan delegation in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 28, 2020. Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images

He was also sharply critical of former President Donald Trump and other Republicans; he was particularly critical of Trump’s repeated insinuations that Jews who vote for Democrats are disloyal. Deutch was also heavily involved in House Middle East policy, taking several trips to Israel as one of a few Middle East specialists on the House’s foreign affairs committee. He was one of only a handful of Congressional Democrats to oppose the Iran nuclear deal before it was signed, but he disagreed with Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the agreement in 2017. In the wake of the Parkland school shooting, which occurred in his district, Deutch joined the chorus of local and national Democrats who called for gun

reform legislation. His two daughters launched a project that involved selling hamantaschen to raise money for groups that lobby for stricter gun laws. Deutch, 55, is now the 31st Democrat retiring from Congress ahead of this fall’s midterm elections, in what pollsters are predicting will be a big year for Republicans. His district’s boundaries are in flux like many others across the country ahead of the midterms; there is a chance that if he campaigned in the fall, he would have had to face fellow Jewish Democrat Lois Frankel, who represents the 21st District, in a primary. He said his work in Congress led him to the position at the American Jewish Committee, which is one of the country’s oldest Jewish organizations, founded in 1906. The centrist

organization has become known in recent years as a sort of department of state of the organized Jewish community, cultivating ties with foreign governments, making Israel’s case at home and abroad and fostering interfaith relationships. “For me, this foreign policy work has been a natural continuation of my deep ties to the American Jewish community and my long-standing advocacy on behalf of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Deutch said in a statement. “Beyond foreign policy, we have also seen an unprecedented rise in antisemitism in our own country and abroad, and I have been at the forefront of the Congressional response as the founding co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism.” PJC

Rodef Shalom will not renew longtime rabbi’s contract

odef Shalom Congregation will not renew Rabbi Aaron Bisno’s contract, the congregation’s Board of Trustees told members in a March 7 email. The decision came after “having the opportunity to review, discuss, and deliberate over the results of the independent investigation conducted following employee complaints,” the email said. Bisno was placed on administrative leave late last year. Congregants were told in a Nov. 30 email that Bisno had taken a leave of absence “to have some time away from work.” In a Feb. 11 email to congregants, the board provided more details. “Late last year, we were put into a difficult position when personnel allegations were brought forth relative to Rabbi Bisno and employees communicated workplace culture PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

to amicably resolve, Rabbi Bisno’s concerns,” the Feb. 11 email said. rabbinic transition. At this point, Details of the allegations, including those efforts have failed to yield the the names of those who made the cooperation we had hoped for.” claims, were not shared in the email The March 7 email further to “protect the employees’ confistated that the board was informed dentiality,” consistent with Rodef through Bisno’s legal counsel that Shalom’s personnel policies. Rabbi Aaron “he plans to sue the Congregation’s The congregation engaged a firm Bisno File photo Board of Trustees and individual outside Pittsburgh to “conduct an independent, thorough, and objective investi- Trustees for defamation.” “Although some congregants have requested gation,” the Feb. 11 email continued. That firm interviewed current and former employees, as more details about what has transpired, we want to reiterate that the Congregation well as Bisno. Bisno has served as the senior rabbi of is bound to protect the confidentiality of employees who raised complaints, and now Rodef Shalom since 2004. In its March 7 email, the board said that after the threat of litigation further limits our the investigation, the congregation reached communication with the Congregation.” Bisno declined to comment. out to Bisno through each party’s respective The board plans to launch a national counsel, “to initiate discussions about, and try PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

search for an interim rabbi to work with Rabbi Sharyn Henry, who has served the congregation since 1999. “Finding additional rabbinic leadership for Rodef Shalom is our utmost priority, and in the meantime, Rabbi [Jessica] Locketz will continue to work with us in an increased capacity,” the board wrote. “We understand that this is a grieving process for us all, especially those who have celebrated special and meaningful moments with Rabbi Bisno,” the email continued. “We can assure you this has been an equally difficult matter for the congregants and past presidents who comprise our Board of Trustees, all of whom have developed relationships with Rabbi Bisno over the years.” PJC — Toby Tabachnick MARCH 11, 2022 9

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Israeli-Canadian hockey star escapes from Ukraine

Israeli-Canadian hockey player Eliezer Sherbatov detailed his harrowing experience fleeing Ukraine as war broke out on Instagram and in an interview with Canada’s The Sports Network. Sherbatov, a longtime captain of Israel’s national hockey team, made headlines in 2020 when he joined a Polish team that plays in Oswiecim, or in English, Auschwitz. He has played for HC Mariupol in the Ukrainian Hockey League since last summer, and his team was staying in a hotel in Druzhkivka, Ukraine, when Russia’s invasion began on Feb. 24. Sherbatov, 30, spent the next five days traveling through Ukraine by train, ultimately reaching Lviv, where he connected with the Israeli consulate. Sherbatov, who was born in Rehovot, Israel, joined a busload of refugees that crossed into Warsaw, Poland. He credited the Israeli consulate and volunteers with getting him out, calling them “amazing people, amazing organization.” “They got us on a bus with kids and

elderly people,” he said. “They made me responsible for that bus because nobody at the consulate was coming with us because they had to wait for others. They made me responsible for those 17 people, and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, to be responsible for 17 people when it’s a matter of life and death.” Sherbatov made it home to Montreal on March 1.

Ben & Jerry’s Israeli affiliate sues Unilever

American Quality Products Ltd. owner Avi Avraham Zinger filed a lawsuit against Unilever on March 3 in New Jersey, asking a court to force it to allow AQP to continue selling Ben & Jerry’s in Israel. The suit describes Ben & Jerry’s declaration as “boycotting parts of Israel” — thus, it claims, making the agreement in violation of several U.S. laws, including the U.S. Export Control Reform Act and the United StatesIsrael Trade and Commercial Enhancement Act. Those place restrictions on doing business with companies that boycott Israel and also require companies to report that they are engaged in boycotts with U.S. allies. The suit also claims the agreement violates New Jersey state anti-discrimination laws. Ben & Jerry’s announced last year that it

would no longer sell ice cream in “Occupied Palestinian Territories.” AQP’s continuing to sell it in the West Bank cost the company its licensing agreement with Unilever, the British conglomerate that owns Ben & Jerry’s. AQP has owned Ben & Jerry’s factories and distributed the product in Israel since 1987.

the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic memoir, from the local curriculum, sparking a national conversation about how to teach children about the Holocaust.

‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ getting a sequel

An Arizona state senator wanted to make it clear that she reviled the antisemitism of one of her colleagues, so she shared an image of the cast of the Israeli family drama “Shtisel.” Kelly Townsend, a Republican, no longer wants the endorsement of colleague Wendy Rogers after Rogers drew national attention for a slew of antisemitic and white nationalist statements. “The silver lining in the most recent unpleasantry at the AZ Senate is that it is flushing out the true antisemites,” Townsend said March 3 on Twitter. “I am surprised, not surprised, by the people on our side who can’t bring themselves to condemn such hate speech. #Israel #Chosen #PrayForThePeaceOfJerusalem” The illustration she chose was a cast photo of “Shtisel,” the drama about a dysfunctional haredi Orthodox family in Jerusalem. Townsend soon took down the tweet, and replaced it with another, with the same text, this time illustrated by the Israeli flag. PJC

A best-selling children’s novel that the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum has said “should be avoided by anyone who studies or teaches about the history of the Holocaust” is getting a sequel. John Boyne, the Irish author of “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” announced on March 2 that he would publish a follow-up to the 2006 blockbuster about a 9-year-old German boy’s friendship with a Jewish child imprisoned at Auschwitz. The book would be told from the perspective of the German boy’s sister, Gretel. The announcement comes just weeks after “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” which has sold 11 million copies and spawned a movie adaptation that grossed $44 million, faced a fresh round of scathing criticism over its historical inaccuracies amid a controversy over Holocaust education in Tennessee. There, a local school board removed “Maus,”

Arizona Republican shares ‘Shtisel’ image to rebuke colleague’s antisemitic comments

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SAFEGUARDING YOUR PRESENT & FUTURE

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

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March 11, 1978 — 38 are killed in Coastal Road massacre

Eleven Palestinians land on a beachhead north of Tel Aviv and carry out one of the worst terrorist attacks in Israel’s history, the Coastal Road Massacre. They kill 38 civilians, including 17 children.

March 12, 2004 — Poet Natan Yonatan dies

Natan Yonatan, one of Israel’s greatest poets, dies at age 80. A native of Kyiv who grew up in Palestine, Yonatan almost immediately gained recognition after he started writing poetry in 1940.

March 13, 1948 — Davidka mortar is first used

The Davidka, a wildly inaccurate but frightening mortar manufactured at the Mikveh Israel agricultural school, is used in combat for the first time in an attack on Jaffa’s Abu Kabir neighborhood.

March 14, 1972 — Black Panthers steal milk

Israel’s Black Panthers, who seek equality for Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, steal crates of milk meant for wealthy Jerusalem neighborhoods and hand them out across poor neighborhoods to protest poverty.

March 15, 1939 — Irgun radio begins broadcasting

Kol Tzion HaLokhemet (“Voice of Fighting Zion”), the underground radio network operated by the Irgun, broadcasts for the first time. The network’s messages highlight news the British would censor.

March 16, 2017 — MK Basel Ghattas accepts plea deal

In the first use of the 2016 MK Impeachment Law, Basel Ghattas, an Arab Knesset member for the Joint List, signs a plea deal on charges he used his position to smuggle cellphones and documents to prisoners.

March 17, 1992 — Knesset passes basic law on human dignity

The Knesset enacts Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. Concerns about conflicts with Jewish law had long blocked such a statement of support for core human rights among the laws that operate as a constitution. PJC

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Headlines Unmasking the origins of Purim costumes — LOCAL — By Sasha Rogelberg | Contributing Writer

hot dog, an emoji and Superman walk into a synagogue — and there’s no punchline. It’s the reality for Allan Rosenblatt, owner of Purim Mega Store in Brooklyn, New York. Every year, Rosenblatt sells hundreds of costumes, which he sees donned by the children at his synagogue, riding their hamantaschen sugar highs and giving grown-ups headaches with their graggers. Purim Mega Store is only open for a couple of months every year — much like the secular Spirit Halloween stores that crop up all over the country come Oct. 1 — and the two Sundays leading up to the 14th of Adar (this year, March 16-17) are his busiest. “I can’t even begin to tell you — there’s hundreds of costumes,” Rosenblatt said. But Purim has not always had themes of costumes and merriment interwoven in its traditions, and the introduction of costumes to the holiday was not without controversy. The first mention of the use of costumes to celebrate Purim was by Rabbi Yehuda Minz, a 15th-century Italian rabbi who made the argument that costume-wearing, even crossdressing, is permissible because it serves the purpose of creating joy, according to Ori Z. Soltes, professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Jewish Civilization. Others speculate that the wearing of costumes on Purim coincided with and was inspired by the medieval Catholic tradition of dressing up on Mardi Gras, said Rabbi Shlomo Brody, author of “Guide to the Complex: Contemporary Halakhic Debates” and founding director of the Tikvah Overseas Student Institute. “Sometimes you adapt religious meaning to broader customs that fit the holiday as well,” Brody said of the costume-wearing. “I don’t think it would have been if it didn’t fit with the holiday, but it could have just been a coincidence.” Scholars agree that the story and themes of Purim lend themselves to costuming. In addition to general revelry felt during the holiday, examples of being hidden or disguised are replete in the Purim megillah: For much of the Purim story, Esther does not disclose her Jewish identity to King Ahasuerus or Haman; Haman conceals his plot to kill Mordechai. Purim is also one of the few Jewish stories where God does not make an explicit appearance. Dressing up for Purim also aided in fulfilling the Purim mitzvah of matanot l’evyonim — giving directly to the poor. With everyone masking their faces or dressing in disguise, those in need could maintain their dignity and not disclose their identity, but still receive direct aid from others. Today, mishloach manot, Purim baskets, are given to everyone as a way to prevent those in need from disclosing their socioeconomic position. In the 17th century, Purim spiels developed, and the use of not only costumes, but allegory, served to create a sense of “comedic catharsis,” Soltes explained.

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p Pittsburghers celebrate Purim at a 2018 event at Congregation Beth Shalom.

While the Purim spiel traditionally tells the story of Purim, it also draws heavily on the political topics of the day and popular culture. When Jews in Europe were not able to overtly criticize Christian hegemony, spiels allowed them to express their grievances publicly, without drawing the attention of their oppressors. “We’re making fun of these bastards who are treating us so poorly, but we’re doing it in a disguised manner, so they don’t even realize this,” Soltes said. Though costumes have been baked into Purim traditions for more than 600 years, some Jewish thinkers are reluctant to fully embrace the role of disguises in the holiday. Dissenting from Rabbi Minz’s opinion, 20th-century Rabbi Ovadya Yosef urged Jews to avoid crossdressing and other costumes that could be seen as debauchery. Shmuel Abuhab, a 17th-century Italian scholar, believed costumes detracted from the joy of the holiday. Brody said that ultimately, the argument against costumes on Purim came from the fear that Purim was becoming more associated with frivolity than Jewish resistance and the lessons made available from the Purim story. “People love the costumes, as far as what people associate [Purim] with,” Brody said. “The wisdom of the people won out.” The commercialization of the holiday — and holidays in general — particularly in the United States, adds weight to this argument. Similar to Purim costumes coinciding with early Mardi Gras celebrations, in 19th and 20th century America, holidays such as Purim and Chanukah — which were in close calendar proximity to Easter and Christmas, respectively — began to mirror commercial traditions of their Christian counterparts. It was “in part, a function of all the developments in the 19th century, in which Judaism tries to adapt itself to the reality and the illusion of being abused, being accepted into the mainstream,” Soltes said.

Purim began becoming commercialized in America during World War II; the rise of Halloween-esque costumes in Israel took place in the following decades, after the founding of the state and in the 1960s and ’70s, when it was gaining its economic sea legs. Brody, who lives in Israel, is experiencing the Purim-craze firsthand: “Every children’s store, they’re selling costumes; they’ve been selling hamantaschen for a few weeks. Israeli schools, they’re not learning too much this month. There’s a lot of costume-wearing, for better or for worse.” But synagogues rehearsing their spiels for the upcoming holiday are confident in their ability to balance frivolity and the meaning of the holiday. Philadelphia-based Congregation Rodeph Shalom will have a spiel this year based on the 2022 Disney film “Encanto,” which Rabbi Eli Freedman said is a popular spiel theme this year both because of the ease with which one can adapt Disney songs and because of its popularity among young people. (The movie’s original song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is only the second song from a Disney film to reach the top of the Billboard Top 100 chart.) Drawing heavily from popular culture can help Jewish children connect with an otherwise-distant story, the rabbi said. “It’s sometimes hard for especially students, younger folks, to be able to relate to a story which took place thousands of years ago in Persia,” he said. “The same is true for the stories from the Torah. Ultimately, as a rabbi, when I give a sermon on Shabbat, the main purpose of my sermon is the same thing ... taking this text from thousands of years ago and making it relevant to today.” Rodeph Shalom’s spiels have also worked to build community. In 2015, the congregation merged with an LGBT congregation, Beth Ahavah. Since the merge, one of Beth Ahavah’s founders, Jerry Silverman, dresses

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Photo courtesy of Anat Talmy

up in drag as Queen Esther, an effort that Freedman described as “a gift to the rest of our congregation.” For Rabbi Abe Friedman of Temple BethZion-Beth Israel in Philadelphia, the mixing of joy and the seriousness of the holiday was felt first hand in 2020. BZBI hosted their Purim celebration just days before the first wave of pandemic restrictions. “Emotionally, it’s really associated with the move to the pandemic,” Friedman said. After putting out an open call to congregants to send in pre-recorded videos to compile for a 2021 Zoom Purim spiel, Friedman was blown away by what his congregants came up with. One spieler chanted the contents of his CVS receipt using the megillah-reading tropes. “The frivolity is actually very serious because it asks us to see the absurd in life,” Friedman said. “It asks us not to take ourselves too seriously. It asks us not to take our institutions too seriously, not to take our leaders too seriously.” Particularly during the pandemic restrictions last year, Purim allowed the congregation to not lose perspective of life, Friedman said. Laughter and joy is a vital piece of Jewish life. As Purim approaches this year, Friedman is drawn to the images in the news of Ukrainian grandmothers lecturing Russian soldiers, invoking similarities between Esther standing up for the Jewish people, an image that can only be understood by fully immersing oneself in Purim’s traditions. “Purim is about more than just a party,” Friedman said. “The party is a means to actually understanding the power that we have in the world. ... and I don’t know that there’s a more important message for us to be dealing with right now.” PJC Sasha Rogelberg writes for the Jewish Exponent, an affiliated publication where this first appeared. MARCH 11, 2022 11

Opinion The Jewish post-rescue era ended with the war in Ukraine Guest Columnist Andrew Silow-Carroll

or the past 20 years or so, I could write confidently that the Jewish community was in a “post-rescue” era. Following the exodus of Soviet Jews and the airlifts of Ethiopian Jews, Jewish organizations had to adjust to a reality — perhaps the first in Jewish history — of a world in which there were no captive Jewish communities. HIAS, founded to resettle Jewish refugees, pivoted to help other displaced communities leave their beleaguered homelands and settle elsewhere (and this weekend urged Jews to observe a Refugee Shabbat 2022). As a result, much of the communal energy — fundraising, activism, political lobbying — was directed to other issues, including defense of Israel, anti-antisemitism, “tikkun olam” (that is, support for universal causes) and, crucially, “continuity,” the catch-all phrase describing efforts to slow the pace of assimilation and waning Jewish literacy. One of the shocks of Russia’s war on

Ukraine, on top of the kind of aggression we haven’t seen in Europe since the end of World War II, is the realization that once again Jews are in harm’s way or on the run. I’m not saying that this is a crisis specific to Jews, who are a fraction of the 1 million Ukrainian refugees flooding into neighboring countries. For all the ugly echoes of Putin’s war, this isn’t a replay of World War II. But this crisis will be remembered for the way it has put Jewish organizations — including Jewish media — back on rescue footing, calling on muscle memory that hasn’t been flexed in decades. JTA’s Ron Kampeas reports on how HIAS, the Jewish federations movement and others “pivoted within a day of the invasion to assist Jews and others in Ukraine.” Jacob Judah reports from Moldova about the Jews finding refuge in Chisinau’s synagogues and community centers. Karyn Gershon, head of Project Kesher, described in a JTA essay how a feminist organization that empowers Jewish women in Ukraine is now organizing a sort of Jewish Home Guard, with its volunteers collecting medical supplies, food, diapers and cash. I thought about this shift when I spoke last week with principals from RSJ Moishe House, the Russian-speaking division of one

of those “continuity” initiatives launched in the past 20 years. Moishe Houses offer subsidized rent in apartments for young Jews; in return, residents agree to hold Jewish programming for their peers. There are 30 Russian-speaking Moishe Houses around the world, including four in Ukraine. I spoke via Zoom with Yana Tolmacheva, senior director of RSJ programming, who is in New York, and Yulia Bezrukova, an RSJ Jewish educator usually based in Kyiv but currently in Prague (we’ll get to that). I thought I might learn about Jewish life in Ukraine; I did, but I also learned how an organization set up to help young people create a Jewish community found itself, in the space of a week, in a very different business. Three or four Jewish young people live in each of Ukraine’s Moishe Houses, in Kyiv, Odessa, Dnipro and Kharkiv. The residents represent the youngest generation of adult Jews to have emerged in a post-Soviet era. As Yana explained, they include people who were raised Jewish and were “active from the start,” some who might have one Jewish grandparent or some with two Jewish parents who seldom talked about being Jewish. “They’re not so different from Moishe House residents even in the States as well,”

said Yana. “From home they feel the sense of identity and pride, but haven’t always grown up with observance or the literacy of it.” Yulia puts it another way: “It’s cool to be Jewish finally, which was not the case for many years,” she said. “And when I grew up, it was not the case at all.” That was the experience of Michael, 30, who recently became a community manager overseeing Moishe Houses in Ukraine and other countries in RSJ Moishe House’s orbit (and who asked that his last name not be used). “I first learned about my Jewish roots while studying at school when my mom decided to change our last name to a totally Russian one,” he wrote in an email. “But all the parents and kids in the class knew that I was Jewish and bullied me almost every day until ninth grade.” When he got to university, he said, “I was super proud of my Jewishness and wanted to showcase it and wanted everybody to know that I was Jewish. After 2010, it felt cool to be Jewish, people were [drawing] up docs to certify their Jewish roots and move to Israel. People in Ukraine are fond of Jews and consider them smart and want to hang out with them.” In 2012, he went on a Birthright trip with Please see Silow-Carroll, page 13

I went to Ukraine to find my roots. The KGB found me first. Guest Columnist Howard Fineman

he KGB men who took me into custody in Ukraine were straight out of central casting. The Bad Cop was older, with a porcine face. He wore a leather trench coat cinched tight to his fat frame, and spoke only Russian. The Good Cop was young and lean: Bobby Kennedy to J. Edgar Hoover. His cloth overcoat was unbuttoned, Lenin style, and he had loosened his tie. He spoke fluid English and offered me an old-style Russian cigarette, which was an inch of acrid tobacco at the tip of a cardboard tube. This was almost a lifetime ago — my lifetime. It was September 1970, and I was fresh out of college, starting a year of foreign travel to explore my Jewish roots on a fellowship from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation. I probably was the first of what became a flood of Jewish-American Boomers to make such a pilgrimage to Ukraine. With no permission to do so, I’d driven my VW bus an hour south of Kyiv to the historic city of Bila Tserkva, which had been predominantly Jewish in the 19th century. I wanted to get a sense of the place where my ancestors had lived for many generations before fleeing to America during an infamous series of pogroms in 1905. So, I just drove there — and the KGB found me and picked me up. The curator of the city museum had reported me, and the

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two agents took me to a small office inside that building to start their interrogation. “What are you doing here?” Bobby asked. I didn’t want to say much. “My grandmother was born here,” I said. “She and her parents went to America.” Bobby looked at me intently. “When was that?” he asked. “1905,” I said. A glimmer of comprehension crossed his face. The two conferred. “You have no business here,” Bobby said. “I will now prepare a statement. You will sign it.” He did, and I did. I didn’t know what it said. I didn’t ask. All I wanted was my freedom. They sent me on to Odessa. I’m humbled and embarrassed now by my timidity all those years ago, as Ukraine has become the deadly center of world conflict; as its brave citizens fight not just for their freedom but their very lives: and as they are led and inspired by a heroic Ukrainian Jew, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who bears a vague resemblance to my own son. History moves in circles. The ancestors of millions of us American Jews trace at least a few centuries of their wanderings after the destruction of the Second Temple to the old Pale of Settlement. Now we and the whole world have been drawn back to the Ukrainian heartland of that long-troubled region, then as now buffeted by Russia’s wars with other great powers. My 1970 trip, and later visits in more recent years, gave me a faint sense of why my ancestors fled Ukraine. They yearned to escape capricious power and control their own destiny. But those trips also gave me a sense of why my grandmother spoke of the place in a wistful way at times. It is a beautiful landscape, full

of passionate people who know and love their long history; who love the land and who, like the Jews, suffered enormous loss and terror. I am not naive. Though my family was fairly prosperous there, they were forever at the mercy of Polish nobles, Russian bureaucrats or sword-wielding Cossacks. Read Isaac Babel, the 20th-century journalist and playwright from Odessa, and you get the resignation, cynicism and despair that Jews often feel there. Most of the 1 million Soviet Jews killed during the Holocaust were from Ukraine. In Bila Tserkva in 1941, the local citizens took part in an especially heinous episode: the shooting of 100 wailing Jewish children in a forest outside the city. Still, I found something comforting and even noble about Ukraine and Ukrainians. They could be proud of their Jewish culture, which includes Sholem Aleichem, who lived in Bila Tserkva for years, and the flood of Jewish classical musicians produced in the conservatories of Odessa. The fabled agricultural countryside is astonishing. As I drove across much of it, its coal-black soil glistened in the sun like diamonds. The thatched huts dotting the landscape were painted a pale blue that matched the sky. And like the Jews, all Ukrainians were subjected to genocide: Stalin’s vindictive, paranoid, deliberate starvation of 4 million of them during the agricultural upheaval and famine of 1932-33, the Holodomor. Now Ukrainians are facing another disaster at the hands of Russia. Supporting them is more than an act of nostalgia. Vladimir Putin is a bloodthirsty liar with the gall to depict as “Nazis” a democratically-elected Ukrainian government led by a

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Jewish president. His bloodthirsty nationalism echoes the racism that led czars to create the Pale in the first place: Jews could only live among other inferior peoples in inferior places, such as Ukraine, lest they defile Mother Russia. When I began my travels in Ukraine, one of the first people I met was a young medical student in Lviv. He had been sent by the authorities to check me out. He must have been regarded as a trustworthy member of the Communist Party, but he strayed from the official line to passionately explain that his identity as a Ukrainian was paramount and that Ukraine was and always would be its own country with its own language and heroes. The next day, my minder brought me a slim volume of poems by Taras Shevchenko, the national poet of Ukraine. He read aloud from the most famous, which concludes: Water your freedom with the blood of oppressors. And then remember me with gentle whispers and kind words in the great family of the newly free. We Jews were and are part of that family, especially now. PJC Howard Fineman, a longtime D.C.-based reporter and TV news analyst, is contributing correspondent for RealClearPolitics. com and author of “The Thirteen American Arguments.” He is originally from Pittsburgh and wrote the Teen Scene column for the Chronicle from 1965-1966. This article first appeared in the Forward. PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Opinion Chronicle poll results: Support for Ukraine

ast week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “Have you done anything to demonstrate your support of Ukraine?” Of the 149 people who responded, 53% said, “Yes, I donated money through Federation or another organization,” and a total of 27% said they posted about the situation on social media or had done “something else.” Twenty percent said they had not done anything to show their support. Thirty people submitted comments. A few follow. I talked with and supported Ukrainian neighbors. I donated to both IsraAid and United Hatzalah … and will to JDC today. I haven’t done anything yet, but I do intend to make a donation. I’m trying to

make sure that I donate to a legitimate recipient organization. Jewish tradition tells us what we must do: All of Israel are responsible for one another — kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh — to ensure that Jews have their basic needs for food, clothing and shelter covered. We immediately gave money to the JDC (Joint Distribution Committee) to care for the most vulnerable Jews who had to remain. Next time, we’ll go through our Jewish Federation’s emergency fund to funnel support to the JDC, the Jewish Agency and ORT. Social media can be great. Basic needs require money. I will be sending money to Federation for this. I discussed friends and family.

this

event

Have you done anything to demonstrate support for Ukraine?

12%

Yes, I posted about the situation on social media.

15%

Yes, I did something else.

20%

53%

Yes, I donated money through Federation or another organization.

No.

I am utterly sick over the trauma that is going on in the Ukraine. It never occurred to me to donate through the Federation. I have donated directly to organizations in Kyiv that support the queer Jewish and broader queer communities of Ukraine. They are mounting a most effective on-theground effort against the antisemitic and homophobic invasion by Putin’s Russia. I’ve voiced my heartfelt thoughts about the Ukrainian people, especially the children. I’ve written about the terrible events, and I’ve posted and shared my painted pictures with the help of Pixabay, Splasher and Unsplash. PJC

Chronicle poll question: — Toby Tabachnick

with

Is the high price of gas making you rethink your driving habits? Go to pittsburghjewish chroincle.org to respond. PJC

The future of the Democrats and the mainstreaming of antisemitism Guest Columnist Jonathan Tobin

he future of the Democratic Party was summed up in two things that happened last week. One was the announcement by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), the man who had stood up for Israel and against antisemitism, that he was leaving the U.S. Congress. The other was the adulatory profile of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) — the woman who is the Jewish state’s most virulent opponent and, arguably, the leading exponent of left-wing antisemitism in American politics — in The New York Times Magazine. This demonstrated just how far the

Silow-Carroll: Continued from page 12

Hillel Kyiv and, he says, “my Jewish life started.” Nine years later, after living abroad, he went to work for Moishe House. The typical Moishe House activity night be a night of Jewish learning, a singalong or a Shabbat meal, with an assist from Yulia and other Moishe House staff. But in the past two months, with the Russian buildup on Ukraine’s borders, “everything just flipped.” Now the organization has a new mission, which Yana compares to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: “Do you have shelter? Are you safe? Do you have supplies? And those that have the energy and the ability and the capacity, [can they] do more to be active and to volunteer for others?” Moishe House is committed to covering the PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

mainstreaming of hatred for Jews had gone among progressives and the publication that they, and many others, still regard as the flagship of American journalism. Deutch’s decision to resign to take a job as CEO of the American Jewish Committee was lauded by many as a coup for an organization that, despite the generally well-regarded efforts of its current leader, David Harris, is moving inevitably toward obsolescence. But it does raise questions about whether the liberal group will follow the lead of the Anti-Defamation League, and cross over from nonpartisan advocacy to become yet another leading Jewish organization that exists only to parrot Democratic Party positions. Still, Deutch will also pump some muchneeded life into the AJC, which has, like many other Jewish groups founded more than a century ago, struggled to find a

reason to keep going. That Deutch is abandoning his seemingly promising political career after 12 years in the House — albeit to reportedly triple his salary at the AJC — is discouraging news for those who worry about a Democratic Party in which his more moderate and pro-Israel views are increasingly under fire. Deutch was exactly the sort of Democrat that moderates hope will be able to succeed the current geriatric leadership of their party. Deutch is still a knee-jerk liberal on a host of positions, among them support for a massive expansion of entitlements and the depiction of efforts to ensure the integrity of voting rights as “Jim Crow.” But there is a vast difference between his stands and those of the Democratic Socialists of “The Squad.” With people like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (81), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer

(82), as well as President Joe Biden (79) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (71), clearly representing the past, Democrats need people such as the 55-year-old Deutch to step up to lead them, lest the party leadership ultimately fall into the hands of the popular and far more youthful champions of the intersectional left, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Tlaib. In that context, the boost that the Times Magazine gave Tlaib is a clear harbinger of the efforts that progressives (whose numbers make up almost half of the Democratic House caucus, even if the more flamboyant Squad is much smaller), will make to ensure that they seize control of one of the nation’s two dominant parties. And it’s all the more important because a confrontation between

full rent of the apartments whether the residents are living there or not. They’re providing emergency stipends for staff, alumni and residents so they can purchase food and supplies. They are helping to cover relocation costs. All are functions from a different era, when literal survival — not “Jewish identity-building” — was number one on the Jewish communal hierarchy of needs. (When we spoke last week, Yana said “everyone is safe and accounted for.” Kyiv’s Moishe House even held a havdalah hangout for anyone who needed a break from the tension.) Yulia herself experienced the kind of displacement that was unthinkable just two weeks ago but is already becoming a media trope. When Putin started massing troops on Ukraine’s borders, Yulia thought it wise to leave Kyiv for her hometown of Uzhhorod in Ukraine’s far west. She thought at most

it might be a “vacation” with her parents and friends. Even after Putin declared two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine “independent,” Yulia and others were hoping there’d be a diplomatic solution. Such hopes died on Feb. 24, with Russia’s invasion, and Yulia felt it was time to leave. She ended up crossing the border into Hungary on foot (to avoid the traffic jams at the vehicle crossing) and eventually making her way to Prague. Yulia talks about the experience, reminiscent of so many Jewish journeys from the not-so-distant past, with lessons drawn from that past. “I left because I remember my own ancestors didn’t have the choice of leaving. And others are staying because their relatives didn’t have the choice of leaving. And the beautiful thing is — if I can say beautiful in such a situation — is that both decisions are absolutely correct.”

I asked Yana if anything about Moishe House’s usual work prepared her for this moment. Her answer connected the dots of so much of Jewish experience, which perpetually swivels between safety and insecurity, renewal and rescue. “We’re in the business of community-building,” she said. “Even though that’s not our direct mission, right? We’re not a humanitarian aid organization. But our model is what allowed us to act like this. We have the networks, we have the connection, we have the communication channels. The operational systems in place, the relationships are in place. And it was all hands on deck.” PJC

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Please see Tobin, page 15

Andrew Silow-Carroll is editor in chief of The New York Jewish Week and senior editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency where this first appeared. MARCH 11, 2022 13

Headlines Ukraine: Continued from page 1

Ukrainian people to return to their homeland, to have sovereignty over their future and work as a member of the world community, and to defeat the totalitarianism and hatred that is totally unjustified by this act by Vladimir Putin.” Fellman called the conflict “a war that makes no sense,” in an interview following the service. “This isn’t the Russian people. This is one madman who is wreaking havoc, and it’s painful to have to come together and to deal with that,” he said. “But it is extraordinary to be with people of faith from all walks of life, from all faiths, from all traditions, recognizing that we share the value of peace.” The coalescence of so many diverse groups supporting Ukraine is “incredible,” said Laura Cherner, director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council, who attended the March 6 service and has followed other related events throughout Pittsburgh. “I think coming from different faiths,

traditions or backgrounds, a lot of us have our own area where we can make an impact, and it’s always nice to see everyone come together.” Squirrel Hill resident Faina Linkov said she’s “proud” to be in Pittsburgh where “we have so many people who are supportive of Ukraine.” Linkov, 42, was born in Ukraine and lived there until age 16 when she moved to Pittsburgh. Many of her family and friends remain in Ukraine. Linkov recently has been in contact with as many people there as she can, but it’s been “sporadic.” The situation is even more complex, Linkov said, because she has loved ones in Russia as well. “The situation is highly problematic for everybody,” she said. “Of course, in Ukraine they’re concerned for their safety, for what the future holds for them. People in Russia are really concerned about where their country is heading and also what will happen with their assets because of the different sanctions against Russia.” Linkov described the plight of an older Russian relative, who before the conflict was hoping to sell her real estate and retire to Israel.

“It’s not like she can wait for 20 years for the Russian economy to rebound,” Linkov said. “The ruble is falling. It’s hard to tell if the prices of real estate will go up anytime soon.” It’s also concerning, Linkov said, that many of the Russian soldiers are “18-year-old kids who did not make a decision to join the war. They’re kids who were, many times, drafted against their will because their family was not wealthy enough to pay the bribe so that they would not be drafted.” The situation in Ukraine is “heartbreaking,” Linkov said, “and it’s clear to me that people are suffering on all sides.” Natalya Shisman, a service coordinator at JFCS, agreed, saying, “there are a lot of people who are struggling.” Shisman, 37, who was born in Ukraine and came to Pittsburgh when she was 5, said she’s been reaching out to Ukrainian and Russian friends in Pittsburgh and getting together when possible. The first thing everyone does is hug, Shisman said. What comes next are questions — most of which remain unanswerable. “Why am I not there? Why them, not me? Why the young kids?” she said. Shisman said it’s hard to spend more than

Purim: Continued from page 1

why Purim is such a significant holiday, Speck said. “As wonderful as it was to be able to celebrate the holiday safely in our households [last year], I think the spirit and the ruach were missing, so to be able to do it as a community in person this year really captures that and makes the celebration a little more meaningful,” she said. The happiness and joy people experience on Purim are intrinsic to the holiday’s origins, said Yael Eads, Rodef Shalom’s youth director. According to the megillah, Purim marks the saving of the Jewish people from a royal decree of death. And one of the ways people celebrate that triumph is by sending mishloach manot — gifts of food and drink — to friends and family. On March 12, Rodef Shalom youth will have the opportunity to pack mishloach manot, which will be delivered during a communal megillah reading with Tree of Life on March 16. Part of the March 16 service will include a “teaching about the 50th anniversary of the first woman rabbi’s ordination, and then a spiel co-presented with Tree of Life,” said Anna Gitlitz, Rodef Shalom’s marketing and communications manager. On the evening of March 12, Rodef Shalom students in grades six through 12 can come to the synagogue for nachos, ice cream and to help set up a carnival for the following day. The March 13 carnival, called “Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together,” is open only to Rodef Shalom and Beth Shalom members. Attendees must register and wear a N95, KN95, KF94 mask, or double-mask with a surgical and cloth mask. Rabbi Barbara Symons, of Temple David, 14

MARCH 11, 2022

 Rodef Shalom and Beth Shalom’s combined Purim Carnival in 2021

is also looking forward to celebrating Purim as a community. In addition to co-sponsoring Purim in the Park with the JCC, Temple David will celebrate the holiday by reading the megillah and participating in a Purim-related matching contest and online gameshow. Additionally, the congregation is organizing a canned soup and can opener drive to support a local food pantry; providing for those less fortunate, or giving matanot l’evyonim, is central to the holiday, Symons said. For Jess Gold, a program manager of Repair the World Pittsburgh, the holiday isn’t just about giving to others but providing them with the particular items they need. Gold said that partner organizations in the community have “self-identified needs” and that Repair the World is helping those organizations obtain those items — as Repair the World did during Martin Luther King weekend when it hosted a supply drive with Trace Brewing, Annie Dunn, Repair the World’s senior program associate, said. “We collected over 800 supplies that were self-identified by some of the organizations we’re working with in this drive,” Dunn

Photo courtesy of Yael Eads

said, and Repair the World is again working in conjunction with Trace Brewing for the Purim drive. From now until March 10, Repair the World is collecting supplies that have been self-identified by Za’kiyah House, Sisters Pgh, Center of Life and Pittsburgh Restaurant Workers Aid. Then, on March 17, from 6-7:30 p.m. volunteers will pack those items for delivery. Temple Emanuel religious school students will also be packing and delivering items to others in observance of the holiday. On March 6, students from pre-K through seventh grade were scheduled to decorate bags, make cards, bake hamantaschen and deliver the packages, Leslie Hoffman, Temple Emanuel’s executive director, said. Beth El is also getting its children involved in the spirit of the holiday. On March 11 at 7 p.m. Beth El’s religious school classes, from Toot through seventh grade, will participate in a pre-Purim Shabbat and celebration. Following the Friday evening service, participants are invited for a candy stroll through Beth El’s Purim neighborhood — with instructions to carefully avoid Haman along the way.

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15 minutes at a time watching the news, and that throughout the day she often speaks with her mother, Marsha Shisman, a former Jewish Healthcare Foundation staffer, about the situation. Natalya Shisman said her mother, who lives in Pittsburgh, is in contact with many friends and family members in Ukraine. It’s painful for her mother and others who spent years living in Ukraine to see scenes of ravaged streets or bombed-out buildings. “They know all the images that are in the media, they know it like the back of their hand,” Shisman said. People in Pittsburgh, and elsewhere, are looking for ways to help, and although many have donated to charities, there’s another way to express support, Shisman said. “The Ukrainian people are everywhere — they can be your neighbor, they can be your hairdresser — if you know someone who is Ukrainian, just offer them the ability, or space, to discuss their thoughts and their emotions,” Shisman said. “They are having a hard time.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Children also are encouraged to stop in Beth El’s social hall from 6:45-8:15 p.m. for a bean-packing activity for South Hills Interfaith Movement. On March 17 at 5 p.m., Chabad of Squirrel Hill is hosting Purim Fest. The evening affair features a catered dinner, animated megillah reading, crafts for kids, a mad science show and individual family seating. The cost is $15 for adults and $10 for children. Reservations can be made online. On both March 16 and 17, congregations are marking Purim with megillah readings throughout the area — check the calendar for more information. After almost two years of COVIDrelated holiday disruptions, there’s a joy in welcoming people back for in-person celebrations, Temple Emanuel’s Rabbi Aaron Meyer said. “Purim is a time of communal rejoicing, a celebration of overcoming seemingly impossible odds just to survive,” he said. “With tremendous gratitude to the essential workers, everyone in health care from doctors to nurses to CNAs to administration, and to everyone who continues to do their part to reduce the effects of COVID19, this year’s festivities blend relief from the historical win of Esther and Mordecai with the relief we feel as we reclaim a sense of normal.” Shaare Torah Congregation’s Rabbi Daniel Wasserman agreed, saying, “Purim is a perfect time to get back to normal, and prime that pump with Pesach coming right afterwards. Thirty days later, it’s Pesach and certainly we want to be celebrating Pesach in a normal way. “Obviously, there’s a new normal, and I’m not suggesting we throw caution to the wind, but I’m suggesting it’s time to get back to normal.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Abuse: Continued from page 2

not the only person who decided not to share their story because they decided the HUC did not hire an impartial firm and felt very unsafe with the investigator. I know that for a fact.” The Morgan Lewis report — which was commissioned after several allegations of sexual misconduct and discrimination were posted on social media following the death of HUC-JIR professor Michael Cook — found accusations dating to the 1970s. In the Morgan Lewis report, published in November, almost half of the people interviewed described various forms of gender discrimination they had either experienced or witnessed. Six faculty members had multiple accusations of sexual harassment levied against them. After the report was released, Sue Neuman Hochberg, the HUC-JIR’s board of governors chair, pledged to create a plan of action by Dec. 14 that addressed the recommendations made by Morgan Lewis. In response to an interview request by the Chronicle, a spokesperson for HUC-JIR sent

Rochman: Continued from page 5

population, Rochman and his team were arrested by the Nigerian secret police. “We knew that Nigeria would be dangerous,” he said. “It’s one of the most antisemitic countries in Africa. We knew that our lives were at risk, but we were taking precautions, had hired security.”

Tobin: Continued from page 13

Deutch and Tlaib last year symbolized the battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. In an unexpected moment of high drama on the floor of the House of Representatives in September, Deutch seemed to redeem the honor of his party and its pro-Israel wing when he stood up to Tlaib and other Squad members over their hate for the State of Israel. Speaking in a debate about U.S. funding for the Iron Dome anti-missile system that defends the citizens of the Jewish state from rockets and missiles fired by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, Deutch directly confronted members of his own party. Leftwing Democrats, including members of the notorious “Squad,” didn’t merely oppose the funding, but let loose a torrent of delegitimizing rhetoric at the Jewish state, while tacitly supporting the Islamist terrorists shooting at it. Moments before, Tlaib had said: “I will not support an effort to enable and support war crimes, human-rights abuses and violence. We cannot be talking only about Israelis’ need for safety at a time when Palestinians are living under a violent apartheid system. … The bill claims to be ‘a replenishment’ for weapons apartheid Israel used in a crisis it PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

was to examine the entirety the following statement: of the CCAR ethics system,” “Last year’s Morgan said Rabbi Hara Person, Lewis investigation and chief executive of CCAR, in resulting report illuminated a written statement. “The the suffering of many from CCAR strongly believes that within our community, and changes need to be made to their voices are guiding the the Code of Ethics and the process of self-examination Ethics Process as soon as and reform we are now develpractical. To that end, the oping and implementing. We Board has called a special are committed to making sure p Rabbi business session in June 2022 this type of abuse does not Jeremy Weisblatt with the purpose of voting happen in our community and File photo on changes to the CCAR are creating additional secure paths for reporting and sharing to ensure Ethics Code. Additional changes are already underway, including the creation accountability. “While it would be inappropriate to of a T’shuvah Task Force to determine what comment on any specific allegation, we institutional t’shuvah might be, creation can only say that we are deeply sorry for of a special sub-committee to expedite anyone who has been harmed, appreciate changes to the Code and present them to their willingness to come forward, and that the membership for a vote.” our College-Institute must — and will — The URJ declined to issue a statement reconnect with our highest Jewish values as or make a spokesperson available to be we build a sacred, respectful community of interviewed for this story. academic inquiry and spiritual exploration.” Weisblatt said the HUC-JIR should take In December 2021, the CCAR issued responsibility for the actions that occurred “Reports of the CCAR Ethics System under its watch. Investigation.” “I don’t see an apology,” he said. “I “The purpose of our recent investigation don’t see anything resembling the reality,

understanding the trust they broke through the decades. So, they admitted that they hired rabbis who are accused of things and found guilty of things. Where are the apologies? Where’s the recognition? This all happened over several generations. Where is Rabbi Rick Jacobs (president of the URJ)? You cannot tell me he’s not aware.” Weisblatt said he isn’t seeking retribution against the rabbi who targeted him; rather, he wants victims to know he can identify with them and that he would like to see the HUC-JIR initiate changes to help victims. “It’s about HUC taking responsibility, and when something happens, to take it seriously,” Weisblatt said. “To investigate it, to try and figure it out and to do right by the student. I’m seeking them to be better because I know they can be better.” PJC

Rochman said after being arrested at their hotel, he was driven 12 hours away and forced to live in a cage for three weeks. “The first week there was no food at all, no shower,” he said. “We were in a small 3-meter-by-3-meter cage full of rat feces and human urine and bacteria-infested mold everywhere, bugs dead and alive, crawling, the most disgusting condition you can ever imagine. Without food, without light.” They were eventually transferred to

another location, where they were given one meal a day and forced to live with Boko Haram terrorists, Rochman said. “We were never arrested; we were never accused,” he said. “We were never given a lawyer. There are so many things they did that would be considered tortuous.” Because of U.S. pressure, Rochman and his team were freed but not before being forced to stay in a freshly painted room filled with toxic chemicals that burned his lungs.

Not wanting to become the story, Rochman said the focus should remain on Nigeria and its Jewish community. “We eventually made it back to Israel,” he said. “For us, we went through horrible experiences, but it was three weeks and we’re out. The Igbo has faced this every day for generations, and they’re still facing it.” PJC

manufactured, when it attacked worshipers at one of the most holiest Islamic locations, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, committing, again, numerous, numerous war crimes.” That one paragraph contained enough outright lies to justify a lengthy debunking. But Deutch cut right to the heart of the matter by not pretending, as most Democrats have been doing, that Tlaib’s comments were just “criticism” of Israel. “I cannot allow one of my colleagues to stand on the floor of the House of Representatives and label the Jewish democratic state of Israel an apartheid state,” he said. “I reject it. … We can have an opportunity to debate lots of issues on the House floor. But to falsely characterize the State of Israel is … consistent with those who advocate for the dismantling of the Jewish state in the world. And when there is no place on the map for one Jewish state, that’s antisemitism, and I reject that.” Though phrased in a parliamentary and polite manner, it was the first time any Democratic officeholder had confronted Tlaib and her progressive allies so directly and called them out for their antisemitism. Deutch is leaving Congress to devote himself to the dubious cause of dragging the AJC into the 21st century. But Tlaib and the rest of the Squad can be forgiven for thinking that his departure is a victory for their side in the battle to control the Democrats.

The Times Magazine piece also was part of an effort by the left to shape the narrative about the Deutch-Tlaib confrontation in such a way as to flip it from one about exposing antisemitism to another in which his comments can be falsely depicted as Islamophobia. Tlaib’s falsehoods about “apartheid” and “war crimes,” as well as her delegitimization of Jewish rights and desire to wipe out Israel, are no longer outlier positions. Support for intersectional myths about the Jewish state being a function of “white privilege” and Zionism being a form of racism is growing among the Democrats’ left-wing base. As with critical race theory indoctrination in the schools, fashionable anti-Zionist advocacy grants a permission slip to antisemitism. And the talk about Islamophobia is merely a way to silence criticism of Muslim Jew-hatred. While the Times may treat the idea that a single Jewish state is one too many as a reasonable opinion that merely constitutes “criticism” of Israel, honest Democrats and almost all Republicans understand that the legitimization of such views sets a terrible precedent. Instead of condemning people like Tlaib and Omar, who support the antisemitic BDS movement, moderate pro-Israel figures such as Hoyer and Biden have cozied up to them. Fearful of the wrath of the party’s base, they have praised Tlaib instead of stripping her of

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David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. This is the first in a series written in reaction to reports on sexual misconduct recently issued by the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion and the Union of Reform Judaism.

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

committee assignments, as they’ve done with some outlier Republicans. While extremist Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) are widely condemned and ostracized, left-wing Jew-haters like Tlaib, who run interference in Washington for Hamas terrorists and others who want to destroy Israel, are lauded and treated as their party’s rock stars. Deutch may be leaving Congress to make more money or because, like so many other Democratic incumbents, he dreads wasting years as a member of a powerless minority in light of the likelihood that the GOP will win back control of Congress in the midterm elections later this year. But, as the stock of the hard-left rises and support for hateful positions on Israel grows among readers of the Times, it’s impossible to escape the conclusion that Deutch is abandoning the field just at the moment when his honesty about the antisemitism of Tlaib and other “progressives” is needed more than ever. While others may attempt to step up to replace him, it’s almost impossible not to see his resignation and the chattering classes’ continued flattery of people like Tlaib as a sign that the Jew-haters will soon be the ones in charge of the Democratic Party. PJC Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS (Jewish News Syndicate) where this first appeared. MARCH 11, 2022 15

Life & Culture Fake news (It’s Purim!)

By Chronicle Staff

Local rabbis face new dilemmas

With masking requirements changing and in-person services resuming at many congregations, Pittsburgh’s rabbis are facing new dilemmas. “Congregants aren’t really sure what to do,” one prominent rabbinic figure said. The rabbi, who wished to remain anonymous, described a recent Shabbat service in which congregants exhibited “bizarre” behavior. “I knew something was off when I noticed what two people were wearing,” the rabbi said. The pair, who later told the Chronicle it was their first time attending in-person services in nearly two years, arrived in couture sweaters, diamond jewelry, cut-off jean shorts, unmatching socks — and no shoes. “I think they forgot they weren’t on Zoom,” the rabbi said. Despite the pair’s unusual dress, they remained quiet throughout prayers. But not everyone else was silent. Midway through the rabbi’s sermon, one congregant stood up — and in a voice too loud for the pews — told those nearby, “How do I mute this? I have to run an errand.” At a nearby congregation another spiritual leader, who also wished to remain nameless, said congregants aren’t sure what to do with two years of collected masks. “I always appreciate creativity, but some of this is just weird,” the rabbi said. “One congregant came to minyan wearing a mask as a yarmulke. In what appears to be a classic game of one-upmanship, another congregant made a tallit out of pieces of blue surgical cloth. “I showed up to do a wedding,” the rabbi continued, “and the chuppah — yes, the chuppah — was literally strung together 16

MARCH 11, 2022

with old KN95s.” Pittsburgh’s rabbis have reached out to colleagues across the commonwealth for advice on addressing numerous erratic behaviors. “Each story seems to be crazier than the next,” an unnamed Harrisburg-based rabbi said. “What I advise my peers is, you know that saying about life, lemons and lemonade? Maybe that’s applicable here?”

Levi Friedman, ‘Prince’ of Purim, dies

Noted composer Levi Friedman died peacefully just weeks before Purim 2022. Friedman, known as the “Purim Parody Prince,” was famous for reworking popular television shows, movies and songs into Purimshpiels performed by congregations around the country. “He had such a gift,” his sister Ruth said. “I remember as a child he said his dream was to rework Billy Joel’s ‘Tell Her About It’ into a Purim classic. Well, he did that and more. Who hasn’t sung ‘Tell Vashti About It,’ before swinging a grogger over their head?” His sometime-partner, lyricist Joel Hammerstein, said Friedman had a gift for knowing “exactly what he could get away with.” “Most people don’t know,” Hammerstein said. “It isn’t easy. There’s a fine line between good fun and copyright infringement. Levi knew where that line was. He knew when to push it. He was comfortable simply turning an A chord into an A7, something I never would have done. I would have transposed the whole thing and ruined whatever I was working on.” Rabbi Jonathan Birk, spiritual counselor to several well-known R&B artists, said Friedman often worked the unexpected into his productions. “Look, anyone can add the name ‘Esther’ into a poorly reworked version of ‘Tradition,’ but to change Cardie B’s ‘WAP’ into a song exploring the geopolitical tensions that existed between the Jews

Apple introduces alternative to Siri

Designed for “the most discerning iPhone users,” Apple has announced its new virtual personal assistant: “Shmuely.” Like its predecessor, Siri, Shmuely can make calls or send texts when your hands are full. But Shmuely also makes proactive “suggestions” to help you stay in touch with your loved ones. While Siri can remind you “to make the calls that matter,” according to an Apple spokesperson, Shmuely noodges you to “make the calls you should — whether you want to or not.” For example, expect Shmuely to implore you to “Call Bubbie!” while sometimes affectionately adding, “you schmendrick!” Like Siri, Shmuely can also check your email from your computer or from the app. Just say “check email” and Shmuely will show you a list of new messages. An improvement over Siri, Apple execs say, is that Shmuely will prioritize your emails in order of importance, with any messages from your parents appearing first and in bold type. Shmuely’s

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new “bubkes” function automatically deletes messages deemed “narishkeit.” Shmuely can also create a playlist, although the music available is limited to klezmer and old Allan Sherman songs. Beta testers cautioned iPhone and Mac owners to ensure their device’s volume is set to low when using the new personal assistant because Shmuely’s default may be too loud for many consumers (“think a Jewish version of Frank Costanza,” one user said).

Celebrated film coming to Pittsburgh

“Watching,” a celebrated documentary by Israeli filmmaker Noa Noa, is coming to Pittsburgh. The six-part film follows the innovation and success of a Jewish cinematographer during the past two years. “Throughout the world, synagogues shuttered, Jewish organizations went remote, but one thing continued, and that’s art,” Noa said. “My film honors those who preserved our hearts by saving our souls.” Indeed, Noa’s 871-minute film soars by turning the lens inward. “Watching” begins with an almost hourlong depiction of the award-winning filmmaker sitting in a darkened movie theater on March 21, 2020. “Fifty-eight minutes have passed, but I don’t measure time in minutes. That’s 34 shorts the world won’t see,” Noa says in a voiceover. Later, but still during Part 1 of the spellbinding work, viewers see Noa watching a recording of Noa watching a camera that may have been used during one of Noa’s early documentaries. “That scene is almost too much to discuss,” Noa said. “Does art mirror life? Tell me, if I swim in the sea of space, are you captaining the dinghy and ordering me to hold my lane as light bends?” Early reviews of “Watching” praise the filmmaker’s ingenuity. “Noa achieves something I’ve never seen,” Ariel Shapiro of The Hebrew Monthly wrote. “How do you spell brilliance? N-O-A,” Talore Goldstein said during a recent taping of “British Yiddish, a Hebrew Podcast.” Ever since Noa’s debut film, “I Am Who I Am But You Are Not Me or Are You?” captivated Jewish film festivals in 2012, Pittsburghers have dreamed of welcoming Noa to town. With local artists and activists having secured an undisclosed space — but supposedly premier lighting and sound equipment — for a March 16 watch party, there’s hope that Noa may come. Those optimistic about Noa’s arrival point to 2017, when Noa showed up unannounced at a nondescript movie theater in Alberta, and, in 2019, when Noa was seen at a Target, in Denver, purchasing small concealable snacks prior to the city’s Jewish film festival. When asked whether Noa will be among those clapping, crying and immediately posting to social media after Pittsburgh’s March 16 “Watching” watch party, the filmmaker offered only the slightest of hints. “Shall I stay mum or shall I say ‘Pittsburgh, rivers, bridges, Noa,’” Noa said. “You decide.” PJC PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Photo by roobcio via iStockphoto

— JUST KIDDING —

and Persians, all during a full-cast opening number, well, that’s a gift I don’t have. Levi is going to be missed next year, I’ll tell you that.” While Friedman’s contributions to the Purim circuit will always be remembered, his life wasn’t without trial, said his third ex-wife, Brandi. “We met in San Francisco,” she recalled. “He came to the city because he wanted to branch out. He said Purim wasn’t what it used to be. I remember him telling me that every Joshua with a keyboard now thought he could pen a Purim parody. When we met he was trying to branch out. He had dreams of writing Halloween songs or St. Patrick’s Day ditties. Of course, that was before ‘Nightmare Before Christmas.’ When Lev heard that, he knew he missed his opportunity. The holiday world moved on without him.” After a brief stint in rehab, a Reno divorce from Brandi and a Purim when Friedman didn’t rework a single song, he returned to what he knew, and loved, best. The next year, his rendition of “Persian Busters,” a parody of “Ghostbusters II,” became the biggest production in the history of Purim parodies at Temple Israel in Beverly Hills. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the room,” Rabbi Saul Berkowitz recalled. “That’s saying something. I can’t tell you the amount of Botox in the faces of some of the women — getting them to shed a tear, or show any emotion in their face, was a big deal.” Friedman’s best friend Jerry Levovitz said he helped plan the memorial service for his dearly departed friend. “We did it right,” Levovitz said. “It wasn’t traditional, but it was Hollywood. Just the way Levi would have wanted it. We even had several people singing some of his biggest parodies. Let me tell you, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a Barry Manilow impersonator sing a reworked ‘Mandy’ belted out as ‘Vashti’ graveside.” Several of Friedman’s parodies will be performed this year as congregations celebrate Purim in community rooms and JCCs across the country.

Life & Culture No-fail hamantaschen 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough

— FOOD — By Jessica Grann | Special to the Chronicle

spent a good part of my adult life failing at hamantaschen recipes. The triangles didn’t look much like triangles after baking, the dough was hard or the filling leaked all over the baking sheet and made a huge mess. This is not my dough recipe, so I don’t want to take credit for inventing it. A friend shared it online, I played with it slightly and it turned out beautifully. I noticed in the same week that several professional cooks shared almost the identical recipe — so it’s floating around, but I don’t have a source. I’m happy to share it because it is the easiest dough I have worked with for this cookie. I will also share my hack for the jam filling, which keeps in place and inside the cookie and is worth the few extra minutes of prep time to ensure beautiful hamantaschen. This recipe is a keeper; you will tuck it away in your recipe file and use it year after year with the best results. The cookie is firm, yet moist, and the sweetness comes more from the filling than the dough.

Ingredients for the dough: Makes about 18 nice-sized cookies 2 ½ ½ 1 ½ ⅛

large eggs cup oil cup sugar teaspoon vanilla extract teaspoon orange or lemon zest, optional teaspoon kosher salt

The filling:

This recipe can be mixed by hand with a bit of extra effort, but I prefer to use a stand mixer since it creates only one bowl for clean-up and makes my life a little bit easier. You can make this dough a day ahead, or even in the morning, and refrigerate it until it’s time to use, but refrigeration is not necessary. p No-fail hamantaschen

Directions:

Mix the eggs and sugar together on low until blended, then add in the oil and vanilla and blend on medium-low speed until combined. This entire step takes about 1 minute. If you choose to add citrus zest, this is the time to add it. Add the flour, about half a cup at a time, until just combined without any noticeable lumps. Overmixing any kind of pastry, cookie, or bread dough can ruin it. It should not take more than 1 or 2 minutes in the mixer to combine the flour with the rest of the ingredients. Add the salt last, and mix for another 5 seconds. Spread about 1 tablespoon of flour on a clean surface, and roll out the dough to about ⅛ inch thick. This is a little thicker than you would use for a pie crust. If the dough is too thin, the pinched corners will fall apart during baking. Using a round cookie cutter (mine is about 4 inches in diameter), cut circles close together to get as many cookies as possible out of the first batch.

Photo by Jessica Grann

Place the cookies on parchment paperlined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Take the remaining cookie dough, form a ball, and roll it out again, adding flour if necessary. Repeat until you can’t cut any more cookies. Place 1 tablespoon of jam or filling of your choice in each cookie before pinching 3 times to create 3 corners resembling Haman’s triangular-shaped hat. Referencing a clock so you can visualize the easiest way to do this, pinch first at the top, at the placement of 12 o’clock; then pinch at 4 and at 7 o’clock. Smooth out the edges so they are straight and strong. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes on the center oven rack. I suggest baking one tray at a time. If you use a smaller cookie cutter, decrease the baking time. The cookies should look just slightly golden in color to avoid dryness. Remove tray from oven and let cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely before storing.

Most people have a favorite filling, and if you have one that works well you should use it with this dough recipe. If you’ve had problems with the jam filling leaking out follow my hack. Per each 12-ounce jar of jam or preserves, use a slurry of one teaspoon of potato or corn starch mixed with 1 tablespoon of warm water. A slurry is a tasteless mixture used to thicken all sorts of foods from jam to pudding to soup. The starch and water will separate when it stands on the counter, so mix it again immediately before adding it to the jam. Directions:

Empty one jar of jam into a saucepan. Heat on low/simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the jam softens and is gently bubbling. Stir the jam every minute or so to keep it from burning or sticking. Mix the slurry quickly before whisking it into the jam. Allow the mixture to come again to a gentle bubbling simmer and remove from the heat. Using a rubber spatula, pour this mixture while it is hot and runny back into the original jam jar. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before adding to the cookie dough. You won’t see a color change or taste the difference using this method; the jam will just be firmer to the touch. This hack works for any cookie that calls for a jam filling. If you have extra jam left over, nobody will taste the change if they use it on toast or a sandwich. Happy Purim ~ Purim Sameach! Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.

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MARCH 11, 2022 17

Celebrations

Torah

Bar mitzvah

Step up with your offering Leo Marcus, the son of Lisa and Jonathan Marcus, older brother of Rosie Marcus, and grandson of Marsha and Bernard Marcus, and Susie and Daniel Zeidner, will become a bar mitzvah on March 12, 2022, at Congregation Beth Shalom. Now in seventh grade, Leo has attended Community Day School since pre-kindergarten. He plays chess, street hockey and Minecraft, and is an avid fan of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). PJC

Join the Chronicle Book Club!

he Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its April 3 discussion of “The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family Paperback,” by Joshua Cohen. The author will join us for part of the meeting. “The Netanyahus,” winner of the 2021 National Jewish Book Award and a New York Times Notable Book of 2021, is set at a college in n o t - q u i t e - u p s t at e New York in the winter of 1959-1960. From the publisher: “Ruben Blum, a Jewish historian — but not an historian of the Jews — is co-opted onto a hiring committee to review the application of an exiled Israeli scholar specializing in the Spanish Inquisition. When Benzion Netanyahu shows up for an interview, family unexpectedly in tow, Blum plays the reluctant host, to guests who proceed to lay waste to his American complacencies. Mixing fiction with non-fiction, the campus novel with the lecture, ‘The

Netanyahus’ is a wildly inventive, genrebending comedy of blending, identity, and politics that finds Joshua Cohen at the height of his powers.”

Your Hosts

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

How It Works

We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, April 3, at noon. As you read the book, we invite you to share comments and join discussions in our Facebook group, Chronicle Connects: Jewish PGH. We invite you to join now if you are not already a member of the group.

What To Do

Buy: “The Netanyahus.” It is available from online retailers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Email: Contact us at drullo@pittsburgh jewishchronicle.org, and write “Chronicle Book Club” in the subject line. We will send you a Zoom link for the discussion meeting. Happy reading! PJC

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MARCH 11, 2022

— Toby Tabachnick

Rabbi Larry Freedman Parshat Vayikrah | Leviticus 1:1 - 5:26

mmm. I did not realize that. After you’ve read the Torah over and over, you learn added depth to the text, but as the years go by it’s hard to get surprised. And yet, as I read Vayikrah — again — a small commentary popped up. In Leviticus 1:5 (Robert Alter translation) it says, “And he [an Israelite] shall slaughter the male of the herd before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall bring forward the blood and cast the blood round the altar which is at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.”

the fire upon the altar? Answer: There are many, many steps. The steps to successfully accomplish this Jewish task take time and energy. They take thought and focus. They take desire and will. The same thing goes on today. We cannot expect someone else to do all the work. We have help, but we need to start. Each brickand-mortar institution in our community houses talents and capabilities. Every group that is renting space or meeting in living rooms does great things. But none of them will accomplish anything without the people stepping up and offering their time and energy. Purim has so much to teach but none of it will happen if we don’t bake the hamantaschen with our kids, exchange Purim gifts

We cannot expect someone else to do all the work. We have help, but we need to start. Offering. Blood. Altar. God. Tent of Meeting. So many good things to chew on (gross). But what caught my attention is the commentary that notes the Israelite doesn’t just walk the offering in: The Israelite has to prepare the animal, meaning he has to slaughter the animal and do his own butchering. The Cohanim then lay out the parts about the fire. Maybe some of you knew that already, but I have always been so focused on the big picture, the meaning, the values, the importance of the korban system that I hadn’t focused on the details. How exactly, step by step, do you get your animal presented to God? What are the specific procedures needed to get the animal from your enclosure back home all the way to

with friends, break up the weekly routine to hear the megillah. Same for Pesach. Same for learning Hebrew. Same for inspiring our children. It doesn’t just happen. The infrastructure is there. People are here to guide and create and foster and encourage and teach, but it is up to the individual — it is up to you — to bring your offering. You have to do some of the work, too. It’s a messy and unhelpful metaphor but you have to butcher the animal. Put a little more nicely: You bring you, and so many are ready to take it from there. PJC Rabbi Larry Freedman is the director of the Joint Jewish Education Program. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

Federation gives $74K to local relief and Ukraine aid

n an “unusual mid-fiscal year disbursement of Community Campaign funds,” the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh allocated a total of $74,000 to help Jews here and abroad: half to support local agencies that provide emergency cash to people in need, and half to help relieve suffering caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a press release. To date, the Federation has secured more than $300,000 for Ukraine relief, including the new allocation of Campaign funds. The Federation has secured “an additional $500,000 from a foundation with a long relationship with the Federation,” the press release said. The new funding to relieve local debt will go to the Jewish Assistance Fund, Hebrew Free Loan, and Jewish Family and Community Services Squirrel Hill Food Pantry/Critical Needs Assistance. Those agencies collaborate through JFunds, which is supported by the Federation. The Federation’s relief to Ukraine (jewishpgh.org/ukraine-emergency-relief) “will flow through the Jewish Federations of

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North America (JFNA) as part of JFNA’s $20 million fundraising effort for Ukraine.” JFNA will send the funds to partners with “ongoing humanitarian operations overseas,” including American Joint Distribution Committee, the Jewish Agency for Israel and World ORT. Last summer, the Federation set aside $74,000 in the event that emergent needs changed quickly. “Throughout the COVID crisis, the Federation’s ability to target allocations precisely, according to need, has helped keep the Jewish community strong,” David D. Sufrin, chair of the Federation’s board of directors, said in a prepared statement. “Releasing the funding now sends help to Pittsburgh’s Jewish families and to Ukrainian Jews. Both are currently in situations that few foresaw eight months ago.” Pittsburgh’s Federation is among the first Federations in the United States to commit relief to Ukraine, according to the press release. PJC — Toby Tabachnick PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Obituaries GLICK: Jerome (Jerry) Glick, formerly of Pittsburgh, passed away in Florida early Monday morning, Feb. 28, 2022, at the age of 80 years. Predeceased by his parents, Charles and Augusta Glick, he is survived by his wife Evelyn and children Larry, Jim, Richard, Stephanie, and step-daughter Lisa. Jerry was a loving grandfather to Jay, Jonathan, Brooke, Caroline, Rebecca and Sara. He was a special part of the Pittsburgh business community to those who patronized the New Diamond Market, a Pittsburgh landmark. Bigger than life and full of energy, he is remembered by his deep love for his wife, family and friends. A graveside service was held on March 1, 2022. Those wishing to remember Jerry are welcome to make a contribution in his name to the Trustbridge Hospice in Boca Raton Florida or St. Jude Hospital. LEFF: Rita Lorraine Leff, beloved wife to Dr. Bernard Leff and cherished mother to Dr. Louis Leff (Susan), Deborah Dutton (Jim), Dr. David Leff (Sheri), Elaine Leff (Kenny) and Dr. Ben Leff. She adored all her grandchildren: Mara Leff, Samuel Leff, Rachel Leff, Phillip Leff (Macy), Georgia Dutton, Jason Leff and Danielle Leff. Rita was the sister of the late Edward Bowler (Betty) and Margaret (Lawrence) Wolff. She loved and appreciated all of the support from her nieces, Carol Ann

McElliot (Frank) and Marlene Byrne (John). Also survived by many great-nieces and great-nephews. Rita passed away on Feb. 28, 2022. She worked tirelessly running her husband’s medical offices while raising five children. Rita was known for making the best apple pie and being an excellent seamstress. She enjoyed playing mah-jongg and used to ride bikes and play bridge with her friends. In her retirement, she found joy and used her creativity, assisting Elaine design and decorate events for her balloon company. But what she enjoyed most was being with her family. Rita will be missed by all. Services and interment were private. Donations can be made in her honor to The Wilmer Eye Institute, Macular Degeneration Research Fund, Johns Hopkins Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Wilmer 112, Baltimore, MD 21287 or Wilmer Eye Institute Giving Page. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc.. family owned and operated. schugar.com MINES: Nessa Anita Green Mines, age 92, of Mt. Lebanon, passed away on Feb. 27, 2022, peacefully in her current home at Providence Point IL Scott Township. She was surrounded by those most important to her. She was born June 1929 in Dormont, but moved very early on to Mt. Lebanon. She loved the

community and never considered living elsewhere. She was the daughter of the late Max and Martha (Hirsch) Green and the sister of Marcia (Irving) Farbstein (deceased). She was the wife of Samuel C. Mines, M.D. (deceased 2011). Her children are Stacie Hollis (Stan), Joseph and Jonathan K. Mines. Nessa made an indelible impression on her two grandsons, Matthew and Andrew Joseph. Each of them cherished the special times they had with her. She taught elementary school at Kelton in Dormont in her 20s and early 30s. She had a passion for writing and her articles were published in major as well as local magazines on such topics as jewelry, paperweights, needlepoint and even a young Mt. Lebanon clay court tennis player and her family. She enjoyed researching and engaging with people and the subjects. Additionally, she was a talented needlepointer and knitter. Her daughter still wears suits that Nessa knit in the 1970s. She went on to enjoy photography…most especially landscape and nature. She not only exhibited at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, but she won numerous awards. She was one of the first in her group of friends to “try” the computer. It was her way of keeping in touch a bit faster than the postal service, though she loved sending beautiful cards. As it became physically more challenging to do lunch in many places, the staff at the Rivers Club always welcomed her like family. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra was one of her favorite “date nights” during their season. She was a devoted philanthropist that most

especially missed her music during COVID. She was a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Association, Civic Light Opera Guild, Allegheny County Medical Society Alliance, Hadassah, Temple Emanuel and Beth El Congregation. Her funeral service was led by Rabbi Aaron Meyer at the West View Cemetery in Pittsburgh. A memorial service is planned for spring, a time of year she loved as her flowers will be blooming then. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and St. Clair Hospital Foundation. ROSENZWEIG: Nanette Berlin Rosenzweig, on Saturday, March 5, 2022. Beloved wife of Larry Rosenzweig; loving mother of Iris (Don) Birr of Monroeville, Fred (Elise) Rosenzweig of Los Altos, California, and the late Denise Rosenzweig. Sister of the late Norman, Elliott and Charles Berlin. Loving grandmother of Arla Rozlen and Zia Rosas, both of California, and Geremy and Adam Birr, both of Monroeville. Proud great-grandmother of Ellis Rozlen. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Friends were invited to meet at Ralph Schugar Chapel Inc., 5509 Centre Avenue, Shadyside on Wednesday, March 9, at 10 a.m. and then proceed to New Light Cemetery for 11 a.m. graveside services. Contributions may be made to Temple David, 4415 Northern Pike, Monroeville PA, 15146 or The American Cancer Society, 320 Bilmar Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15205. schugar.com Please see Obituaries, page 20