Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 3-18-22 by Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

March 18, 2022 | 15 Adar II 5782

Candlelighting 7:12 p.m. | Havdalah 8:12 p.m. | Vol. 65, No. 11 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Two years after pandemic’s start, Pittsburghers relish lessons learned

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL A costly Passover

Members of Rodef Shalom seek answers regarding rabbi’s removal By Toby Tabachnick | Editor

The skyrocketing costs of kosher food

 Kari Semel and Andrew Exler

Photo by Rachel Rowland of Rachel Rowland Photography

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

introduced to the word “sonder,” and quickly began thinking about not only the people he regularly interviewed, but his colleagues and even strangers, he said. “Human interaction was something we took for granted.” Irwin started appreciating phone calls, quick conversations, even just seeing someone’s face on a Zoom, he said. Lawrenceville resident Jen Hoffman said that, like Irwin, her boyfriend, she too learned much about herself during the past two years. “I learned the power of a routine and not being afraid to fine-tune or adjust the routine as you evolve,” she said. Hoffman, 27, said that one of the ways she managed the early days of the pandemic, while living in Pittsburg, Kansas, was by taking long walks and listening to podcasts, including “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” “Armchair Expert” and “The Daily.” There’s a “transformative power” to

cores of Rodef Shalom Congregation members are bewildered by its board of trustees’ recent announcement that the contract of Rabbi Aaron Bisno would not be renewed. Those congregants say they are dismayed by the board’s lack of transparency. They still don’t know what Bisno is accused of doing, nor do they know the process involved that led the board to conclude that a beloved spiritual leader could no longer serve his congregation. They feel disenfranchised, and they want answers. Bisno, senior rabbi of Rodef Shalom since 2004, was placed on administrative leave late last year by the board. The congregation was first informed of that leave in a Nov. 30 email that said Bisno had taken a leave of absence “to have some time away from work.” In that email, the board asked congregants not to contact the rabbi. In a Feb. 11 email to congregants, the board provided more details, writing that “personnel allegations” and “workplace culture concerns” had been brought forth relative to Bisno. Details of the allegations, including the names of those who made the claims, were not shared to “protect the employees’ confidentiality,” consistent with Rodef Shalom’s personnel policies. The congregation engaged a firm outside Pittsburgh to “conduct an independent, thorough, and objective investigation,” the Feb. 11 email continued. That firm interviewed current and former employees, as well as Bisno. While the board declined to share details of the investigation for “legal reasons,” it confirmed that the investigation “did not identify any illegal actions.” Then, in a March 7 email, the board told

Please see Pandemic, page 14

Please see Rodef, page 14

Page 3

LOCAL Gaining ‘Momentum’

Mothers’ trips to Israel resume. Page 4

LOCAL ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’

I Opens at Benedum Center March 18 Page 16

$1.50

n the two years since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, Lawrenceville resident Jesse Irwin has clung to a particular term — “sonder.” The neologism, which is defined by “The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows” as “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own,” was a perfect way to appreciate so much of what’s recently transpired, Irwin explained. Before the pandemic, Irwin, 28, was living in Pittsburg, Kansas, and working as a morning anchor and features producer for KOAM-TV. When March 11, 2020, arrived, and the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, Irwin transitioned, like countless others, to remote employment. Despite setting up an in-home studio, Irwin missed “the environment and affirmation of coworkers,” he said. As Irwin proceeded to perform the extrovertive duties of an on-air personality, he was

NIAL CENTEN

Memories begin on pg. 7

Headlines Pittsburghers ready to welcome fleeing Ukrainians, but quick entry to US remains unlikely — LOCAL — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

atalya Shisman is sitting by her phone. For weeks now, it hasn’t stopped beeping, buzzing, ringing and chiming. Those trying to reach Shisman, a service coordinator at Jewish Family and Community Services, want everything from predictions about when Russia’s war against Ukraine will end to instructions about crossing international borders. Shisman told the Chronicle that she doesn’t have many answers, but that the alerts and calls keep coming. The steady stream of contact from friends, family, colleagues and community members has evidenced a collective desire to aid Ukrainians, but it’s also made apparent, she said, that people want to know when the refugees are coming. Since Feb. 24, more than 2 million people have fled Ukraine — 1.4 million have entered Poland, 214,000 have gone to Hungary, and another 165,000 went to Slovakia. The United Nations reports that as many as 4 million could exit Ukraine as the situation unfolds. Pittsburghers keep telling Shisman that they’re ready to help. Shisman similarly said that JFCS is developing a plan to welcome Ukrainians, and that, when the time comes, she has “no doubt” community members will do what they can to help new arrivals. The sentiments and efforts are commendable, attorneys and immigration experts told the Chronicle, but the reality is that Ukrainians aren’t coming to Pittsburgh anytime soon. It doesn’t matter whether people are willing to open their homes to orphans and

 Natalya Shisman

Photo by Edie Shealy

families or whether Pittsburghers see this as another chance to aid Soviet Jewry. The truth, explained Cathryn Miller-Wilson, executive director of HIAS Pennsylvania, is that there’s “no American process that is appropriately responsive to the current and immediate needs of Ukrainians.” A helpful means for understanding how Ukrainians could enter the U.S. is imagining three groups, the attorney and HIAS staffer said. The first group is people who are in the U.S. and have permanent residency, green cards or are naturalized citizens. Those individuals are permitted by American immigration law to petition for immediate relatives, such as spouses, minor unmarried children, parents, and, in some situations, siblings who are in Ukraine, Miller-Wilson said. The problem for people in the first group, though, is that not only do they have to file paperwork here, but their immediate

relatives have to file paperwork at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. Because that embassy is closed, however, the immediate relative has to travel to the U.S. Embassy in Frankfurt and file paperwork there — and processing those documents could take more than a year, Miller-Wilson added. The second group of Ukrainians to consider are people in the U.S. on a temporary visa — individuals who came here to visit and intended to go home but now can’t. Members of the second group are eligible for Temporary Protected Status, which enables them to stay here for 18 months and to have work authorization. What TPS doesn’t ensure, though, is a pathway to citizenship or an ability to petition for immediate relatives, Miller-Wilson said. The third category of Ukrainians are the nearly 2 million people fleeing and seeking safety elsewhere. At some point, the U.S.

may declare this group “refugees” according to American law. When that happens, and the U.S. sees them as meeting certain requirements — including that they’re people of special humanitarian concern to the U.S. and can demonstrate that they were persecuted or fear persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group — then those Ukrainians, who’ve already been welcomed into neighboring European countries, will be permitted to be resettled in the U.S. But that’s also only after completing U.S. vetting procedures, which include an eight-step process that can take almost a decade, Miller-Wilson said. The only other legal mechanism for bringing Ukrainians here is the Lautenberg Amendment, which was enacted in 1990 and allows members of religious minorities who have been historically persecuted to enter the U.S. Shisman said that since January 1990, JFCS has “resettled three people from Ukraine and 17 from Russia” via Lautenberg. The problem with relying on Lautenberg, said Miller-Wilson, is that apart from the fact that Congress hasn’t yet reauthorized Lautenberg for 2022, there’s also the time element, as those applying through Lautenberg can wait two to three years for processing. People need to understand that “our policies are backwards,” she said. The bottom line is that “our immigration laws, from the very first, have been about, and continue to be about, exclusion rather than welcome.” Cheryl David, a New York-based immigration attorney, told the Chronicle that in the past week she fielded calls from Please see Ukraine, page 15

5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Main phone number: 412-687-1000

Subscriptions: 410-902-2300, ext. 1 SUBSCRIPTIONS subscriptions@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 410-902-2300, ext. 1 TO ADVERTISE Display: advertising@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 412-721-5931 EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Email: newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org BOARD OF TRUSTEES Evan Indianer, Board Chair Gayle R. Kraut, Secretary Evan H. Stein, Treasurer Gail Childs, Dan Droz, Malke Steinfeld Frank, Seth Glick, Tammy Hepps, Richard J. Kitay, Cátia Kossovsky, David Rush, Charles Saul GENERAL COUNSEL Stuart R. Kaplan, Esq.

EDITORIAL Toby Tabachnick, Editor 412-228-4577 ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org Andy Gotlieb, Contributing Editor Selah Maya Zighelboim, Contributing Editor Adam Reinherz, Staff Writer 412-687-1000 areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org David Rullo, Staff Writer 412-687-1047 drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org ADVERTISING Kelly Schwimer, Sales Director 412-721-5931 kschwimer@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org Phil Durler, Senior Sales Associate 724-713-8874 pdurler@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

PRODUCTION Jeni Mann Tough Production Manager Rachel S. Levitan Art/Production Coordinator Subscriptions subscriptions@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 410-902-2300, ext. 1 Published every Friday by the Pittsburgh Jewish Publication and Education Foundation 5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15217 Phone: 412-687-1000 POSTMASTER: Send address change to PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE, 5915 BEACON ST., 5TH FLOOR PITTSBURGH, PA 15217 (PERIODICAL RATE POSTAGE PAID AT PITTSBURGH, PA AND AT ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES) USPS 582-740

Manuscripts, letters, documents and photographs sent to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle become the property of this publication, which is not responsible for the return or loss of such items. The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle does not endorse the goods or services advertised or covered in its pages and makes no representation to the kashrut of food products and services in said advertising or articles. The publisher is not liable for damages if, for any reason whatsoever, he fails to publish an advertisement or for any error in an advertisement. Acceptance of advertisers and of ad copy is subject to the publisher’s approval. The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle is not responsible if ads violate applicable laws and the advertiser will indemnify, hold harmless and defend the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle from all claims made by governmental agencies and consumers for any reason based on ads appearing in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

Jim Busis, CEO and Publisher 412-228-4690 jbusis@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

2 MARCH 18, 2022

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Jewish Pittsburgh braces for costliest Passover in decades — LOCAL — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

s Jewish Pittsburgh clears their hamantaschen crumbs, thoughts immediately turn to Passover. But with inflation reaching a 40-year high in February, next month’s holiday will be anything but an exodus from increased expenses. Squirrel Hill resident Rochel Shlomo has worked in food services for 30 years. “It’s never been like this,” she said. Shlomo is vice president of sales at Sampo, a full-service wholesale kosher and specialty foods distributor serving Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. On the day she spoke with the Chronicle, Shlomo read through invoices dating to 2020. “The same item goes up week after week,” she said. “It’s frightening.” Shlomo pointed to the cost of canned goods. A year ago, 24 cans of corn cost a distributor $17.75. This year, it’s $24.80,” she said. “This has nothing to do with kosher. This is just crazy increases.” In a March 10 report, the Labor Department noted that the consumer price index rose 7.9% during the past year, with gasoline, shelter and food prices contributing to the climb. Shlomo said that when people go to the pump and see fuel at almost $4 a gallon, it’s no surprise other costs have risen. “America gets its food by truck. It’s not being droned in,” she said. Sampo is paying almost double now from what it did last year to fuel its trucks, Shlomo said, but the other problem is labor shortages. “One vendor told me, ‘the chickens show up every day, the workers don’t.’” Yehuda Fink is the chief financial officer of David Elliot Poultry, a third-generation Scranton-based company. Fink told the Chronicle that since the pandemic began David Elliot has offered workers a 401(k), referral bonuses, “anything to get more people in,” but the effects of the “Great Resignation” continue. “We used to use about 90 employees on a daily basis. We haven’t been able to get it above 80 more than a few times over the past 18 months,” he said. The absence of workers plays out in all

sorts of ways. Take chicken feet, for instance, which require extra labor to process. Without workers able to prepare the product, David Elliot sends chicken feet to recycling. So, instead of selling a product for above $6 per pound at wholesale, the company ends up collecting a “few cents per pound” from a rendering company, Fink said. “There’s not much we can do about it.” Another issue is packaging. Fink said that what used to be a “two-week lead time became an eight-week time.” Because David Elliot has to wait nearly two months for boxes, the process is inefficient. “We have extra costs because we’re using the wrong-size boxes, but we don’t have an alternative because we want to keep things moving through the plant,” Fink said. Then, there are the chickens themselves. Fink said the “chicken raising cycle is upward of 10 weeks, which means you have to know what you’re doing 12 weeks out.” In past years, while preparing for Passover or other holidays, David Elliot built up its inventory to meet increased demand. The company typically aims to have “1-2 weeks of production in the freezer, but we don’t really have a day’s production in the freezer and the reason why is because our production is down and the demand is through the roof,” Fink said. “We can’t make more chicken and, unfortunately, it becomes one big ball of snow rolling down the hill.” Product availability was something Moshe Siebzener, a Pittsburgh-based caterer, was worried about weeks ago. Those fears have allayed but only to a certain extent, Siebzener said. “It looks like our product is available, but the pricing is right now unknown.” Siebzener said that he and Deena Ross of Creative Kosher Catering keep waiting to hear from suppliers about costs, and that without knowing how much chicken, beef or even cream cheese will be, it’s tough to create a menu. “Pricing is just crazy now,” Siebzener said. From February 2021, ground beef is up 16%. Boneless chicken breast is up nearly 18%, the Labor Department reported on March 10. Sienzener said he recently spoke with his supplier who told him that despite kosher for Passover margarine costing $90 for 30 Please see Passover, page 15

Do you have SPAM in your kosher kitchen? A malware attack could compromise your entire business. Our knowledgeable team has the tools to mitigate the risk while maintaining your productivity.

fsaconsulting.us | (412)228-3100

MANAGED IT SERVICES | BUSINESS PHONE MANAGED WI-FI | BUSINESS BROADBAND FSA Consulting is powered by Frank and Stein Associates.

 This year’s Passover is going to be one of the costliest. Photo by Jorge Novominsky for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism via Flickr

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

A proud member of the

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

MARCH 18, 2022 3

Headlines Jewish ‘Momentum’ fostered through Israel journey for moms

p Photos from Momentum’s Pittsburgh cohort in 2018

— LOCAL — By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

n a word, life-changing. That’s how Robyn Friedberg describes the Momentum trip she took to Israel in 2018. “It was educational, informative, emotional — it was such a wonderful trip,” said Friedberg, who grew up in Squirrel Hill and lives in Fox Chapel. “For me, just going

Photos courtesy of Chani Altein

to Israel and embracing all the others on this trip, something happened inside me, and I wanted to embrace Shabbat and become more Jewishly aware.” Now, a two-year wait for new Momentum trips is over. Women on the Nov. 1-8 trip to Israel will be the first Pittsburgh cohort to experience the Momentum journey since COVID-19 restricted travel back in 2020. A two-day itinerary extension, tailor-made for Pittsburghers, will allow the cohort to travel to Pittsburgh’s sister cities of Karmiel

and Misgav. Momentum partners, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and Classrooms Without Borders, will coordinate pre- and post-travel activities that will extend through a year. Chani Altein, co-director of Chabad of Squirrel Hill, helped lead the first Momentum trip in 2017 and will do likewise with the 2022 trip. The goal of the adventure, offered to moms with children younger than 18, is to empower women to connect with Jewish values, engage with Israel, take action and

foster unity, Altein said. “It’s super-exciting,” Altein said. “I personally feel more ready than ever to dive back into this trip.” The program is “really mom-geared and mom-focused,” she added. “The message behind it is to empower moms — and they do a great job with it.” The philosophy of Momentum, a Maryland-based nonprofit, is that an inspired mother will inspire her family; Please see Momentum, page 20

5th ANNUAL

FOLK SHABBAT FRIDAY, 7 PM APRIL 1, 2022 FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

TempleSinaiPGH.org

Nefesh Mountain Concert Saturday, April 9, 2022, 7:30 PM ONSITE & ONLINE OPTIONS•TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

TempleSinaiPGH.org/programs-events

MARCH 18, 2022

Welcoming Jewelry Consignments We invite you to consign to our upcoming Jewelry auctions. Please contact us to discuss a single piece or entire collection that you are considering selling and to schedule a virtual or in-person appointment to receive complimentary auction estimates.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

CONTACT Carrie Pinney Business Development Manager 216.292.8300 carriepinney@hindmanauctions.com HINDMANAUCTIONS.COM An Aquamarine and Diamond Ring, Tiffany & Co. Sold for $10,625 Download the Hindman App for iOS and Android

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s

Local congregations grapple with Reform movement’s ethics issues — LOCAL — By David Rullo | Staff Writer

he Reform movement and its national institutions are going through a period of teshuva, according to recently published reports and comments of its leaders. In recent months, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion and Union of Reform Judaism have all issued independent reports examining past sexual misconduct by rabbis and employees, as well as gender and institutional biases. Former employees at all three umbrella organizations were named in the reports as having engaged in misconduct, including: former HUC-JIR Director of Liturgical Arts and Music Bonia Shur, in the HUC-JIR report conducted by Morgan Lewis; former HUC-JIR professor Michael Cook, in the CCAR Report conducted by Alcalaw; and Rabbi Jon Adland, who served as a unit head at camp Olin Sang Ruby, in the URJ report conducted by Debevoise & Plimpton. Nationwide, some members of the Reform movement believe the investigations should have been more extensive, while others think the reports are good first steps toward change and healing. Reform leaders in Pittsburgh also have grappled with the implications of the reports and how to move forward. “In all three cases, the reports are a giant leap forward and they need to be recognized for that,” Temple Sinai Rabbi Daniel Fellman said. “Did they go far enough? That’s a harder question to answer. In my mind, there is still more that needs to be discussed. There’s more accountability that is needed.” Temple Emanuel of South Hills Senior Rabbi Aaron Meyer called the reports “heartbreaking” and “difficult to digest,” and said they call out behavior antithetical to Jewish values. “At the same time, they are long overdue,” Meyer said. “We know that each organization sought the expertise of outside counsel to ensure not only independence but a

JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION presents

carefully crafted process.” Rabbi Howie Stein of B’nai Israel of White Oak found the reports thorough and a substantial first step, but acknowledged that “in any venture like this, you’re not necessarily going to include everybody you might want to for a variety of reasons.” Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt of Temple Ohav Shalom in Allison Park has a different perspective. Weisblatt came forward in a March 11 Chronicle story alleging he was the victim of a rabbi’s abuse at a URJ congregation while enrolled at HUC-JIR. While Weisblatt was not happy with the reports issued by either the URJ or HUC-JIR, he did say that he was very proud of the CCAR and its efforts.

SPRING 2022

Finding a new song to sing

One area of concern for congregations is the liturgical melodies written by Reform leaders named in the reports. Fellman said Temple Sinai reacted as soon as the HUC-JIR report was made public. “We immediately made a decision to take out the Bonia Shur melodies that we had been using,” Fellman said. “We switched tunes. We did not specify whether this was a permanent switch or a temporary one, and to be honest, I don’t know if it’s going to be permanent. I’m also aware of the fact that there are a number of artists, throughout history, who have that kind of track record that is fairly significant, but I needed to show that I take this seriously and that the behavior can’t be tolerated.” Rabbi Barbara Symons said that Temple David in Monroeville is attempting to move away from the liturgy attributed to those named in the reports and is looking for alternatives. “In fact, on March 19, as we celebrate 50 years of women in the rabbinate and 100 years since the first bat mitzvah, will be the first time we have a Kedusha composed by a female. We were working toward it anyway, but it’s an example of just perfect timing,” she said. But changing melodies can be challenging for congregants who may consider the music Please see Reform, page 20

JEWISH LEARNING EXPERIENCES WITH RABBI DANNY SCHIFF Supported in part by the Elaine Belle Krasik Fund for Adult Education

ONLINE Sanctified Sex Seminar Sundays, March 20-April 3 Leading an Inspiring Seder Monday, April 11 The Rabbinic Grill Sundays, June 12-July 24

IN PERSON Making the Case for Israel High-Tech Ethics Melton: OMG, Can You Believe?! The Book of Ruth

Tuesdays, April 5-May 10 Thursdays, April 7-May 19 Thursdays, April 14-May 19 Tuesdays & Thursdays, May 24-June 2

Learn more at

FOUNDATION.JEWISHPGH.ORG/LEARNING or contact Cheryl Johnson at cjohnson@jfedpgh.org or 412-697-6656.

Scan here with your smartphone

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

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Photo by ajay_suresh CCBY2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

MARCH 18, 2022 5

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 SATURDAY, MARCH 19

Rabbi Deborah Waxman, head of Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, presents Reconstructing Judaism’s Racial Justice Commitments: Who, How, and Why (and a Little Bit of What), a talk on Reconstructing Judaism’s movement-wide commitments to racial justice and what these commitments require of our community in practice. Free. In-person and Zoom. 3 p.m. eventbrite. com/e/rabbi-waxman-reconstructingjudaisms-racial-justice-commitmentsregistration-292675098097. q SUNDAY, MARCH 20

The National Council of Jewish Women will be collecting gently used clothing and household items at Anathan House. 9 a.m.-noon. 1620 Murray Avenue. ncjwpgh.org/programs/Thriftique. 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 SUNDAYS, MARCH 20-APR. 24

Join a lay-led Online Parashah Study Group to discuss the week’s Torah portion. No Hebrew knowledge is needed. The goal is to build community while deepening understanding of the text. 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org. q MONDAYS, MARCH 21-APRIL 25

Join Congregation Beth Shalom for a weekly Talmud study. 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org. 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 TUESDAYS, MARCH 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 22-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 23

Sit down for Coffee and Conversations with Steve Irwin, candidate for PA Congressional District 12, to have your questions answered and be ready to vote in the May primary. Virtual and in-person. 7:30 p.m. 220 N. Highland Ave. jewishpgh. org/event/coffee-and-conversations-withsteve-irwin-2. q WEDNESDAYS, MARCH 23-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 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. q

WEDNESDAYS, MARCH 23-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 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. Sit down with Jerry Dickinson, candidate for PA Congressional District 12, to have your questions answered and be ready to vote in the May primary. Virtual and in-person. 7 p.m. 2008 Murray Ave, Suite D. jewishpgh.org/event/coffee-andconversations-with-jerry-dickinson. 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/movie-nighttikkun.html. q SUNDAY, MARCH 27

Join Temple Emanuel of the South Hills for CeaseFirePA Leadership Institute, a special educational presentation on gun violence prevention and gun safety policies in PA. Join Josh Fleitman, CeaseFirePA’s Western Pennsylvania Manager, for an interactive overview of the nature of gun violence; understanding local, regional, and national trends; existing firearm policy in PA; current legislative and policy issues; and how to advocate and engage others in the gun violence prevention movement. Sign-up is requested for all and is required for virtual attendees to receive the Zoom webinar login information. 10:30 a.m. secure.everyaction. com/6Ni6jM_Wv0SGrEd__b1lQw2#! The Monessen Public Library and Cultural Center Board of Trustees is proud to present the Italian Jewish Historical Program by Rabbi Barbara Aiello of Calabria, Italy. The rabbi will give an interactive presentation on the internet and will be available for questions. Noon. 326 Donner Ave. monessenlibrary.org. Classrooms Without Borders and The Ghetto Fighters’ House invites you to the final session in a four-part series, “Rethinking the ‘Final Solution’ and the Wannsee Conference: Marking the 80th Anniversary of the Transport of 999 Jewish Women to Auschwitz: The Beginning of the Systematic Annihilation of the Jews.” 2 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/8thanniversary-transport-of-999-jewish-

women-to-auschwitz. q MONDAY, MARCH 28

On Feb. 24, Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. It has caused a loss of life and destruction while uprooting hundreds of thousands of men, women and children. The refugee crisis has quickly become monumental as neighboring countries scramble to provide necessary humanitarian needs. Join Classrooms Without Borders scholar Natalia Aleksiun and an esteemed panel of scholars and eyewitnesses as they examine this crisis and the consequences across Europe and the World. classroomswithoutborders. org/war-against-ukraine-through-lenshistory-culture. 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. Join Jewish National Fund-USA for a series of interviews, panel discussions and more — all meant to facilitate a dialogue and expose the beautiful and diverse facets of modern Zionism, and its positive impact on many aspects of our lives, no matter where we are on the globe. Tune in as Russell F. Robinson and Rabbi David Wolpe, discuss Conversations on Zionism: Does Israel Have Friends at the Pulpit? 7:30 p.m. jnf.org/events-landing-pages/ conversations-on-zionism. 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

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 6

MARCH 18, 2022

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Unforgettable bat mitzvah memories — LOCAL — Compiled by Toby Tabachnick | Editor

his weekend marks the centennial anniversary of the first bat mitzvah in the United States. On March 18, 1922, Judith Kaplan, the daughter of Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, founder of the Reconstructionist movement, celebrated becoming a bat mitzvah at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism in New York City, paving the way for future generations. Just a few years later, in 1925, the first bat mitzvah in Pittsburgh was celebrated at Congregation Beth Shalom. During several decades that followed, it remained uncommon for girls to mark this rite of passage, and some women did not celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah until they became adults. The Chronicle invited its readers to send recollections of their bat mitzvahs to help commemorate this milestone anniversary. Their memories follow. Some have been edited for length and clarity.

Rena Becker

I shared my bat mitzvah on a Friday night with friends Randi and Amy. It was at Adath Jeshuran (Margaretta Street) in 1972. We were on the bimah and someone sneezed,

p Rena Becker Photo courtesy of Rena Becker

and I was so nervous I started to laugh. Cantor Fisch came over and calmed me down and did not admonish me. It was a meaningful ceremony with a lovely oneg Shabbat after.

Heather Benes

As a child, I attended Temple Sinai with my family. I started to learn Hebrew until my father changed our affiliation to p Heather Benes Shalom. Photo provided by Rodef Heather Benes Rodef Shalom did not teach Hebrew to girls at that time. I attended religious school through confirmation, May 21, 1961, being taught with books written by Rabbi Solomon B. Freehof, our head rabbi. I am very proud to say that my confirmation certificate is signed by Rabbi Freehof and Rabbi Walter Jacob, two very prominent Pittsburgh rabbis. As an adult, I joined Temple David and, through the years, tried several times to learn Hebrew, but it wouldn’t sink in. Then in 2014 I took a class taught by Susan Bortz, and lo and behold, I learned Hebrew. The following

year, Rabbi Barbara AB Symons offered an adult b’nai mitzvah class to the congregation. Being an old soul with a young heart, I signed up for it. It was an intense course. We went through the Torah from cover to cover, relearned Hebrew and all about the Jewish religion and Jewish holidays, culminating in our bar and bat mitzvahs on March 12, 2016. I was 70 years old. It was one of the happiest and most rewarding days of my life. A huge thank you to Temple David and Rabbi Symons.

Barbara Berns

At age 53, I had a twin bat mitzvah. My “spiritual twin,” Inna Kosherovsky, was a refusenik. She was not permitted to leave the Soviet p Barbara Berns Photo provided by Union nor to have a Barbara Berns bat mitzvah ... ever. Sitting in Temple Sinai’s main sanctuary on April 29, 1998, were family and friends, Christians and Jews, Blacks and Caucasians celebrating my special event that had previously been denied to Inna.

Marsha Boswell

I come from a Philadelphia family where girls did not become a bat mitzvah. We were Conservative, and it was the 1950s.

Murray Avenue Kosher

This monument is a tribute to pioneer Raphael Steinfield and the early German Jews of Beaver County. The first congregation, Tree of Life, was founded during the Civil War. Steinfield became Steinfeld, with many within the family being buried in this small remote cemetery in New Brighton.

PRICES EFFECTIVE SUNDAY, MARCH 20 - FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2022 Candle Lighting Time Friday, March 18, 2022 • 7:12 p.m. PASSOVER SPECIALS

Manischewitz Matzo

1499 5 LB

Manischewitz Matzo Meal $

1299 5 LB

579 27 OZ

WE HAVE A FULL SELECTION FOR YOUR PASSOVER NEEDS!

20268 Fri. • 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Murray Avenue Kosher $ 10 B&W 1/4 page $ 10 3 x$ 6.75 $

Sun.-Wed. • 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

STORE HOURS

Thurs. • 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. WEEKLY SPECIALS

SCHMERLING ROSEMARIE PARVE CHOC BAR $ 89

GOULASH SOUP 99

K & C SOAP PADS $ 79

CHICKEN PATTIES 99

3.5 OZ

SFORNO MALBEC WINE $ 99

750 ML

RASHI RED OR PINK WINE $ 99

1.5 LTR

EMPIRE GOURMET TURKEY BREAST 79

SHOR HABOR LEAN PASTRAMI 39

COOKED BEEF STEW $ 99

SHOR HABOR BEEF SMOKED TURKEY BREAST $ 99

EGG SALAD $ 99

SHOR HABOR BEEF FRANKS $ 09

12 3

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

12 OZ

Meat Loaf • Mashed Potatoes • Serves 2

$15.00

We Prepare Trays for All Occasions UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF VAAD OF PITTSBURGH

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

THE BEST OF THE

MONDAY & TUESDAY DINNER SPECIAL HOMEMADE SALADS & SOUPS DELI PARTY TRAYS

Please see Memories, page 8

Steinfeld Cemetery

1916 MURRAY AVENUE 412-421-1015 • 412-421-4450 • FAX 412-421-4451

Streit’s Matzo

I went to Sunday school in one of the places we lived — Michigan — and my brother, three years older, was trained to become p Marsha Boswell Photo provided by a bar mitzvah. I was Marsha Boswell only 10 and don’t remember much except from pictures. Much later, after I had two sons (and was married to a non-Jewish man), I decided I wanted them to go to services and to religious school. We joined Dor Hadash in Squirrel Hill and became Reconstructionists. I eventually took Hebrew from Cheryl Klein, their cantorial soloist (who later became a rabbi), but I had no plans to go further. After a few years, I started attending Temple David services — and immediately joined the choir. Then, with a lot of soul searching, I decided I wanted to do something special for my 50th birthday — become an adult bat mitzvah. I trained with Sharon Leibowitz (z”l), our then-choir director, and with the help of Rabbi Richard Rheins, I became a bat mitzvah. It was a fantastic and defining moment in my life, and I recommend it to any adult who is considering it.

CATERING SPECIALISTS DELICIOUS FRIED CHICKEN WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

IN YOUR EMAIL INBOX ONCE A WEEK. Sign up on the right hand side of our homepage. pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

MARCH 18, 2022 7

Headlines Memories: Continued from page 7

Susan Grossberger Bortz

I became bat mitzvah in September 1978, the first adult female at Temple David to do so. A combination of circumstances prevented me from becoming bat mitzvah at the age of 13, even though I was a fluent Hebrew reader. I wish I could remember what Rabbi Jason Edelstein (z”l) said to inspire me to accept the challenge. My parsha was Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy, chapter 26). The first two verses tell us to bring our first fruits to the priest, who will then place them in front of the altar of Adonai. The bounty is to be shared with the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow. My d’var Torah stated that although we aren’t farmers, we share our “bounty” with a local food pantry. (Temple David has a food drive between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.) We are thankful to be able to do this, as later in the parsha we are told to enjoy — with the Levite and the stranger — the bounty that Adonai has given to us. This certainly resonates today as so many people, here and worldwide, still need a portion of our “bounty.” I’m proud to be a part of the legacy of females becoming bat mitzvah at Temple David. My husband and I are still members.

Mimi Botkin

I was raised in the 1950s and ’60s in a Conservodox household. A bat mitzvah never entered my mind because we drove to an Orthodox shul every Saturday morning where I never saw a female on the bimah. One Monday night in 1987, as I was about to leave my adult education class at Temple Sinai, my friend turned to me and asked, “Are you staying for the Hebrew class?” Since I couldn’t think of a good reason to say no, I followed her into the class that would change my life. The Hebrew class was meant as a preparation for an adult bat mitzvah. We then were presented with our Torah portion, Acharei Mot, and our tutor divided it. One of my lines was, “Thou shalt not put a stumbling block before the blind.” Nechama Lebovitz commented that line also meant that one should prevent a stumbling block from being put there in the first place. I interpreted that as the overarching goal of teaching — my life’s goal and passion. From there was born my d’var Torah. April 29, 1988, arrived, the long-awaited Shabbat of our b’nei mitzvah. As I ascended the steps to the bimah, my knees knocked and my palms were sweaty. Finally, it was my turn to chant. As I stepped up to the unrolled Torah and took the yad from Rabbi Margie Slome’s hand, I looked out to the first row of the congregation, where I saw the faces of my mother, my sister, and my two daughters, ages 8 and 4. That day began my life as an authentic Jew.

p Florence Chapman Photo courtesy of Florence Chapman

p Barbara Fisher (second from the left) and Rabbi Emil Schorsch at Congregation Mercy and Truth, 1958 Photo provided by Barbara Fisher

Living in Squirrel Hill was like living in a Jewish bubble. At a young age (maybe 8 or 9) I made a statement to my grandfather that the world was predominantly Jewish. I was promptly corrected and lectured about the history of Judaism. I never forgot that lesson. It definitely inspired me to beg to go to Hebrew and Sunday school at Beth Shalom with my friends. I don’t think it was until then that I truly understood the meaning of G-d. That foundation got me through when my 4-year-old was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was not supposed to live. I found myself pulling strength from G-d and remembering those valuable Torah portions. G-d answered my prayers, and today he is 43 years old.

Joanna Roth Butler

Dec. 19, 1975, was a crisp, cold Friday night with the stars shining brightly. I was 12. I would not turn 13 for a few weeks. The rabbi p Joanna Roth Photo provided by said that traditionJoanna Roth ally girls had had their bat mitzvah at 12 — little did I know

then that he was referencing Judith Kaplan! I had practiced for this night for months with our cantor, and I was ready. The very first time I stood at the pulpit that night, I looked out at the sea of people. I caught the eye of one of my favorite people, a rabbi from camp, who nodded and smiled at me, silently assuring me that I was up to the task. I chanted and spoke clearly and loudly; I used my hands when I asked the congregation to rise and be seated. I was in charge, and I was enjoying becoming a bat mitzvah. I decided that night that I wanted to be a rabbi when I grew up, and that was my life’s goal for many years. Obviously, that did not happen, but I have no regrets.

Florence Chapman

Having a bat mitzvah ceremony, although possible in my liberal Conservative congregation, was unusual. Few girls went to Hebrew school, and fewer had a bat mitzvah celebration. Those who did led the Friday night service rather than the one on Saturday morning. I attended Sunday school from kindergarten (maybe even pre-K) until the age of 15, at which time I was confirmed. Rabbi Ira Eisenstein, who was the officiant at my confirmation, was Judith Kaplan Eisenstein’s husband.

Kathy Goodman Bouker

I was part of the bat mitzvah class of 1964 at Beth Shalom. My commitment to becoming a bat mitzvah was fueled by my desire to be part of something no one in my family had achieved. 8

MARCH 18, 2022

p Temple Sinai adult b’nai mitzvah class of 2017, including Laura Fehl, front row, far left Photo provided by Aya Betensky

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

I did not know Rabbi Eisenstein well since he had been at Anshe Emet less than a year, but I do remember my confirmation with joy. My participation in the service was to have an aliyah, blessing the Torah both before and after a section reading. In 1955, this was an unusual task given to a female — but my congregation was at the forefront of including women as equals. The most memorable part of my confirmation, other than the white dress that was purchased for the ceremony, was the inclusion of the cantata “What is Torah?” written by Judith Kaplan Eisenstein and the rabbi. The lines I always remember are: “Torah is the land, the soil, Mother Earth, Eretz Yisorel,” said in rhythm.

Ann Cohen

My bat mitzvah was a special day. I was involved and witnessed the 16 ladies (my big sisters) engage in their studies, while I was studying for my conversion to Judaism. I then decided that my next step after my conversion would be studying for my bat mitzvah. This, of course, was strongly supported by Rabbi Symons. While very challenging, I thoroughly enjoyed my studies with classmates Rebecca Abrams, Heather Benes, Barb Scheinberg and Phil Raithel. The support we gave each other was invaluable. On that special day, I was honored to read the Torah, witnessed by my loving husband, Allen, and my Temple David extended family.

Laura Fehl

I had the honor of celebrating my bat mitzvah with 14 other Temple Sinai members, the majority of whom were women, some old friends and some new friends, on June 9, 2017 — a month before I became president of Women of Temple Sinai. While it was not your typical b’nai mitzvah experience, it was a celebration I shared with my daughter, my son-in-law, friends and the entire Temple Sinai community — stepping up to read Torah and lead services, along with a dinner and an unforgettable festive celebration. Our entire Temple Sinai community worked on creating this amazing celebration. My adult b’nai mitzvah group picture shows up on Facebook as a perpetual memory. The most special part of my experience was wearing the same tallis my daughter wore at her bat mitzvah in May 2009. The parallel was that I had first been introduced to Judaism at around the age of 13 in an unconventional way through three Jewish women embracing my mother and my family during a very challenging time in our lives. Please see Memories, page 9

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Memories: Continued from page 8

It made such an impact on me that I chose to embrace Judaism myself as a young adult. Entering the sacred space of Judaism and embracing the Jewish traditions from the start, the adult b’nai mitzvah experience solidified my lifelong commitment to Judaism. A rite of passage in standing up and taking my place within our community was one of the most impactful Jewish experiences I have had in my 30-plus years as a Jew. It was truly an honor to stand with my adult b’nai mitzvah class in front of my congregation. This memory will always hold a special place in my heart.

Barbara Fisher

We had a bat mitzvah — six of us together — celebrated on erev Shabbat because on Shabbat morning Torah was read, and females were not permitted to handle the Torah. Still, it is an honor that I will remember forever; and now I revel in the fact that women can not only handle the Torah but can read from it and lead from it as well.

Susan Kershner Forrest

My family were members of Beth Samuel Je wish Center in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, in the late 1960s and early 70s when we lived p Susan in Moon Township. Kershner Forrest Photo provided by Susan At the time, my Kershner Forrest brothers and I were the only Jewish kids in our elementary school, so I actually liked going to Sunday School to hang out with other Jewish kids. However, girls were only permitted to have their bat mitzvah on Friday nights by leading the Shabbat service. Boys were expected to lead the Friday night service, the Saturday morning service, and read from the Torah. My parents (Miriam “Mim” and Seymour “Sy” Kershner) did not want to accept this inequality, so they spoke out. As a result, I can proudly say that I was the first girl to be treated equally, breaking this glass ceiling!

Samantha Lyn Fisher Friedeman

Although the actual day of my bat mitzvah was a blur, I have many memories of the preparations for that day. I remember my p Samantha Lyn Torah lessons with Fisher Friedeman Photo provided by Mrs. Bortz and Samantha Lynn Fisher pracFriedeman frantically ticing on the bus to and from school on lesson day. I remember lying on the living room floor listening over and over to my haftorah trying to learn the melody. I remember shaking in fear during final practices with Rabbi Edelstein hoping that I had prepared enough and was making him proud. I remember invitations specially made by a temple member, ordering personalized candy jars from Contain-It, buying violets for my centerpieces and a pleated purple dress that I loved. It was a hard year of preparation and it took many Temple friends PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

to pull it off. I was very nervous but also very proud to become a bat mitzvah just like my mother before me.

Audrey N. Glickman

On Jan. 2, 1970, I became the second bat (“bas”) mitzvah ever at Orthodox congregation B’nai Emunoh in p Audrey Glickman Greenfield, in our Photo courtesy of spiffy new prayer Audrey Glickman space, built with a large egalitarian center seating section for families to sit together regardless of gender. It was Friday evening, and I led portions of the service, and also chanted an edited version of the haftarah for Parashat Shemot. When it came time to give my speech — written for me by Rabbi Joshua S. Weiss (of blessed memory) and mandatorily memorized — I hopped back up onto my two telephone books behind the shulhan, and launched into what I was to say. By the second sentence, I could hear Rabbi Weiss behind me, upstage on the bimah on one of those large chairs, stage-whispering “SLOVE-er.... SLOVE-er.... SLOVE-er....” I had no idea to whom he was speaking, nor what he was saying. I finished reciting my speech without forgetting any of it, including thanking my grandpa for being there even though I knew he wasn’t coming back from Israel for this event, but Rabbi Weiss said I had to say it. It wasn’t until three days later that I realized that the ever-patient Rabbi Weiss had been speaking to me. He had been advising me to recite SLOWER.

Alaina Goldberg

I had always known I wanted to become a bat mitzvah throughout my time in the Weiger Religious School — and because both of my parents are b’nai mitzvahs. The fact that some women p Alaina Goldberg before me were Photo provided by Alaina Goldberg unable to become bat mitzvahs was also a driving force behind the reason why I made this decision. I spent more than a year preparing, which included going out of my comfort zone by learning an entire Torah portion that I had to chant on my own. I had the support of my wonderful family, friends, teachers, Cantor Shapiro and Rabbi Symons. They ensured the day was perfect, and it was. I remember my friends, months and years later, asking if I could have another bat mitzvah because it was so cool and fun for them to be a part of. I am also grateful I could intertwine my Indian heritage into my ceremony with the presentation of a sari from my mother’s parents along with the traditional presentation of a tallit from my father’s parents. The day will always be so special to my family and me. I am so proud of myself for becoming a bat mitzvah.

mitzvah, I was so jealous. I carried the “wanting to be” into adulthood. Oh, I had the confirmation, but a bat mitzvah is a p Hillary different honor. McIntyre and When I was in her grandmother Anita Gordon my 50s, and raising Photo provided by Anita Gordon my granddaughter, I looked forward to the celebration of her bat mitzvah. She told me she didn’t want one and bargained with me: “You didn’t have a bat mitzvah, and if you didn’t, I am not either!” It didn’t help telling her it was not the custom in those days. I told her, ‘If I become bat mitzvah, will you?’ Not expecting me to, she said she would. That was the year I signed up for an adult bat mitzvah class at Temple Sinai. I celebrated my bat mitzvah that spring, and my granddaughter did the next year!

Carol Gordon

I was raised in a Conservative synagogue where girls did not have a bat mitzvah. I watched both my children celebrate this p Carol Gordon milestone in their with Rabbi Barbara Jewish life. When Symons Sy mons Photo courtesy of R abbi Carol Gordon suggested a class for adults, I was a little apprehensive. I knew no Hebrew and wasn’t sure I could learn at my age. Rabbi Symons was so supportive, so I decided to go out of my comfort zone and sign up. I am so glad I did. Over the 16 months that we studied, I learned Hebrew and so much more. A bond formed between all of these ladies that remains today. I was so excited to share my achievement with family, friends and the Temple David community. Thank you Rabbi Symons.

Susan Heller

My bat (bas) mitzvah was held on Nov. 22, 1958. I believe mine was one of the first at Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill. My name at the time was Susan Faith Persky. The rabbi was Aaron B. Ilson. In addition to my parents, Eleanor and Leonard

Persky, and younger sister, all four of my grandparents attended, as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. It was a glorious p Susan Heller Photo courtesy of day for our family. Susan Heller We had a kiddish luncheon following the service and a kids’ party in the evening.

Geri Lazarus

I am proud to be among the Beth Shalom Class of 1964. Micah 4.3, my haftorah portion — “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks’’ — is well-known. The symbolism of Micah’s words teaches that God wants us to develop creative tools that benefit humankind out of tools misguidedly built to destroy humanity. The meaning of this passage is etched upon my heart. Indeed, my life has been dedicated to developing creative tools as therapeutic modalities which I used while practicing occupational therapy for 30 years. More recently, these words have “divinely guided me” toward designing multi-media textile arts that raise the “spirit.” As many of us have cultivated leadership tools and become role models for peace, I hope this generation of young women takes advantage of the rewarding opportunity to become bat mitzvah.

Cindy Wilder Melamed

My group bat mitzvah at Beth Shalom in 1964 was part of the foundation for my observance of Judaism today — many years later. I learned the parts of Shabbat services and Jewish customs through my studies at Beth Shalom as well as observing holidays with family and maintain traditions today. We all shared in the bat mitzvah ceremony and reading the haftorah. Many of us are still in touch to this day via Facebook and/ or long-lasting friendships. After our ceremony, my parents had a party for me at our home with family and friends. As I engage in volunteer work now in retirement, I am reminded of my Jewish upbringing and the mitzvot of giving back to the community.

Please see Memories, page 15

Anita Gordon

My sister is six years younger than I. When she was offered the opportunity to be a bat

p Beth Shalom bat mitzvah class of 1964

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photo provided by Geri Lazarus

MARCH 18, 2022 9

Headlines Former attorney Daniel Muessig sentenced to five years for dealing drugs — LOCAL — By David Rullo | Staff Writer

he former Pittsburgh defense attorney who once bragged that he thinks “like a criminal” recently made good on that pronouncement. On March 8, U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab sentenced Daniel Muessig to five years in prison and four years of probation. He also fined the Squirrel Hill resident $50,000 for his role in a drug ring. Muessig, 40, pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and possession of the drug, following a 2019 investigation by an FBI task force. The former attorney admitted that his Squirrel Hill apartment on Covode Street was used as a stash house for the ring’s operations, which targeted Braddock. Muessig was arrested in Aug. 2021. In May of 2019, FBI investigators observed people carrying bags of marijuana from his apartment. A vehicle Muessig loaded with boxes was pulled over and police found $400,000 in cash; investigators also recovered more than 400 pounds of marijuana and another $5,000 in cash at the Covode apartment. Muessig fled

 Daniel Muessig’s internet video ad

the scene at the time. Muessig stopped practicing law in 2017, turning to real estate — and, it appears, crime. In 2014, Muessig filmed an internet commercial that gained the then-criminal defense attorney notoriety for its fictionalized criminals who turned to the camera to say “Thanks, Dan” before committing various crimes including burglary, home invasion, armed robbery and prostitution. Muessig makes many statements on the video that appear to have come back to haunt him, including “Laws are arbitrary,”

Screenshot from 2012

“Consequences, they sure suck don’t they?” and “I may have a law degree, but I think like a criminal. Street knowledge.” In a prescient remark, Muessig claimed, “You keep your trap shut, and I’ll keep your trap open.” In drug vernacular, a trap house is a drug dealer’s place of business. The video ends with Muessig spinning a dreidel and saying, “Did I mention I’m Jewish?” In a 2014 interview, Muessig said he chose to highlight his ethnicity because it is considered prestigious for those “in the system” to have a Jewish defense attorney.

“You’re very auspicious on the streets if you have a Jewish lawyer,” he told the Chronicle at the time. “That’s considered to be a super-prestigious situation. It’s almost like having the coolest car.” Muessig’s defense lawyer, Charles Porter, did not argue for leniency, saying the sentence was appropriate. In his remarks to the court, Porter noted that Muessig volunteered for Jewish causes. In a phone conversation with the defendant, Muessig said he delivered meals to seniors through Mollie’s Meals for two years, including during the pandemic. The sentence by Judge Schwab was the minimum mandatory allowed. But Muessig said his “sentence of 60 months could have been reduced had I cooperated with prosecutors.” Schwab said he would recommend that Muessig be housed at the federal prison in Morgantown, West Virginia, and allowed him to self-report to the lockup. Muessig told the court that he doesn’t agree with the law he broke but accepted responsibility for breaking it. “I’ll take my punishment like a man,” he said. “I just hope one day soon I can be reunited with my family and community.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Treasured Video and Photo Memories? This week in Israeli history — WORLD —

We bring your memories into the digital age

We transfer all formats of video, old photo albums, slides, home movies etc. All work is done locally and personally. No mailing to outside sources and strangers. So come into the digital age and preserve your "life and loves" for future generations!

For more info contact

(412) 829-0266 or nate@sherervideo.com

Chai

News for people who know we don’t mean spiced tea. Every Friday in the

and all the time online @pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. For home delivery,

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

March 18, 1975 — U.S.-Israel relationship is reassessed

The United States begins a “reassessment” of ties over Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the Sinai. Israel holds firm to its positions and signs a separation-of-forces agreement, Sinai II, with Egypt on Sept. 1.

March 19, 2012 — ‘Photoshop Law’ passes

The Knesset adopts the “Photoshop Law,” setting a minimum body-mass index for adult fashion and commercial models and requiring clear notification of any alteration or digital manipulation of an image.

March 20, 1899 — Jewish Colonial Trust is incorporated

The Jewish Colonial Trust, a development bank proposed at the First Zionist Congress and approved at the Second Zionist Congress, is incorporated in London. The trust creates the subsidiary Anglo-Palestine Bank in 1902.

March 21, 2013 — Obama addresses Israelis

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to 600 university students in Jerusalem and to the state on TV. He pleads for a two-state solution with the Palestinians while declaring that “Israel is not going anywhere.”

March 22, 1945 — Arab League is formed

Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Transjordan sign the Arab League Constitution in Cairo. A Palestinian representative participates in the talks but does not sign. Yemen becomes the seventh member on May 5.

March 23, 1915 — Zion Mule Corps is created

A Jewish unit of the British army is formed in Egypt with about 500 volunteers, many of whom had been expelled from Palestine. What begins as the Assyrian Refugee Mule Corps becomes known as the Zion Mule Corps.

March 24, 1993 — Weizman is elected president

Ezer Weizman, a nephew of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, is elected the nation’s seventh president on the second ballot on a 66-53 vote in the Knesset. He serves as president until July 2000. PJC

call 410.902.2300, ext. 1.

MARCH 18, 2022

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Jewish owner of Bobblehead Museum has Zelensky figure in production

Ukraine’s Jewish President Volodymyr Zelensky has become a global symbol of defiance as his country endures an all-out offensive from Russia. So it only makes sense that he would join the ranks of the public figures immortalized in a bobblehead doll. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee, co-founded by Jewish Illinois native Phil Sklar, has announced a Zelensky bobblehead and will donate some of the proceeds to Ukraine relief. The museum said it will donate $5 from each bobblehead sale to GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. The bobblehead is available for preorder, selling for $30 each plus $8 shipping. The items are expected to ship late this spring.

Germany loosens asylum requirements for Ukrainian Jews

Germany is easing immigration requirements for Jewish refugees from Ukraine, the country’s main Jewish umbrella group announced on March 10. In a deal worked out with the federal government, refugees who have papers proving their Jewish roots will have an

expedited path to German citizenship. Jewish leaders welcomed the news even as they struggled to find shelter and support for refugees arriving after days of travel from the war zone. “It’s very important that we have these new rules,” said Berlin Rabbi Yehudah Teichta, whose community has helped settle about 250 people. “It is monumental that Germany — a country from which all the Jews were running away [in the 1930s] — is helping refugees in general and the Jewish community among them. It is very moving.” Tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have flooded into Germany, mostly through Poland, since Russia began attacking its neighbor country on Feb. 24. The formal application process for asylum for Jews is expected to be ready in the coming weeks.

history and culture in the hopes of convincing them to remain involved in Jewish life and pro-Israel causes, are offered to any Jewish young adult aged 18 and up who has never been to Israel, or whose previous trip to Israel had lasted less than three months. Launched in 1999, Birthright trips attracted around 45,000 participants annually before the pandemic interrupted international travel. Birthright raised its upper age limit for eligibility to 32 in 2017, to reflect what Gidi Mark, Taglit-Birthright’s international CEO, had said was a broader cultural shift of young adults delaying major life decisions. But that decision allowed Jewish young adults to put off their Israel engagement, too, the group concluded. About 25,000 people are expected to go on Birthright trips this summer, according to the group’s spokesperson.

Birthright to lower age limit back to 26

Yad Vashem suspends ties to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich

Five years after raising the age limit for Israel tour participants, Birthright Israel is reverting to funding free trips only to young adults 26 and under. This summer will be the last chance for Jews 27 to 32 to participate in Birthright, except for anyone older who had registered for a trip that was canceled because of the pandemic, according to a spokesperson for the nonprofit organization. The trips, designed to give young Jews (mostly Americans) a crash course in Israeli

The Israeli Holocaust museum and historical authority Yad Vashem announced on March 10 that it is suspending its philanthropic partnership with Roman Abramovich. The Russian-Israeli oligarch was hit with sanctions in the United Kingdom aimed at isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin and the people close to him. The U.K. froze the assets and banned the travel of Abramovich and six other Russian oligarchs.

Abramovich, who made billions in the Russian oil industry but has denied that he was ever part of Putin’s inner circle, was in the process of donating tens of millions of dollars to Yad Vashem, the museum announced last month. Yad Vashem has faced blowback over the donation, and the Israeli news reports claim that it had lobbied against sanctions for Abramovich, in the days since Putin invaded neighboring Ukraine. British court documents have concluded that Abramovich has had “privileged access” to Putin over the years.

Israel to allow 25,000 non-Jewish Ukrainian immigrants to stay

Israel is ready to take in 5,000 new non-Jewish Ukrainian refugees and to allow 20,000 non-Jewish Ukrainians who are already in the country, many illegally, to remain, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked announced on March 8. Israel’s Law of Return normally offers citizenship only to people with at least one Jewish grandparent. Israel previously courted controversy for demanding a deposit from non-Jewish migrants of around $3,000, to make sure that they would eventually leave. That stipulation has been dropped. Israel is also preparing to receive several thousand Jewish Ukrainians in the coming months. More than 300 have already arrived. PJC

SPONSORED CONTENT

ELDER LAW NEWS: COSTS RISE, A WIN IN COURT FOR HOSPITAL PATIENTS, AND A THREAT TO MEDICARE This is one in a series of articles about Elder Law by Michael H. Marks., Esq.

a 2021 figure of $11,100 per month, to $14,675 per month in 2022, an increase of 32%.

Michael H. Marks is an elder law attorney with offices in Squirrel Hill and Monroeville. Send questions to michael@marks-law.com or visit www.marks-law.com.

This is actually good news for nursing home Medicaid applicants, because of how this figure is used in calculating Medicaid eligibility. But, of course, not good news for patients and families who must pay privately for care.

COSTS OF CARE INCREASE: Every day, 10,000 baby boomers turn age 65, and 70% will need long-term care at some time during their lifetime. The most recent survey of nursing home and elder care costs shows, not surprisingly, that costs rose in 2021 compared to the prior year. The degree and intensity of care that aging boomers will need also continues to climb, especially for home care. Everyone wants to age at home. No one prefers a nursing home unless absolutely necessary. The annual benchmark Genworth study showed nursing home costs increased only moderately by about 2%, but home care costs rose more, by an average of about 12%. Nationally, nursing home costs averaged $9,000 a month for private room, and almost $8,000 per month for a semi-private room. Factors driving increases include constrained supply and rising demand foremost, given the growing demand of aging boomers and the caregiver crisis of workers in short supply, plus rising labor costs, and during COVID, the cost of personal protective equipment (PPE) and new safety protocols. Nationally, agency provided home health care aides average $27 per hour. Care industry consolidation has surged as for-profit operators buy up care facilities, some of which were opened and previously operated by non-profits, charities and religious groups. Pennsylvania’s costs are higher. The study showed Pennsylvania 2021 average costs at $11,200 and $10,400 monthly for private and semi-private rooms, respectively. Shockingly, however, anticipated statewide average nursing home care costs as projected for 2022 by the PA Department of Human Services for Medicaid, rose almost one third from

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

If you are headed toward expensive long-term care in a nursing home, get elder law strategic planning advice and you will save money. There are usually steps you can take to get a much better result. A WIN IN COURT FOR HOSPITAL PATIENTS: In recent years, you might be in the hospital overnight and think you were admitted as an inpatient, but the hospital actually had you classified as on “observation status.” Moreover, review administrators could go back and retroactively change your status! Hospitals are under intense financial pressure to reduce inpatient admissions. Until 2017, they didn’t even have to tell you that you weren’t really technically admitted. Now, hospitals are required to inform you. It makes a big difference in your costs if you are discharged from the hospital to a nursing home for continued rehabilitation. If you weren’t officially admitted (“observation status”), Medicare won’t pay for the initial part of your stay in the nursing home, as they would if you had been admitted. Also, if you were on “observation status”, you will probably be liable for more co-pays under your Medicare part B outpatient coverage, than under Part A hospital coverage. More than 10 years ago, consumer advocates filed a lawsuit which was finally concluded with a court ruling saying for the first time that patients can appeal such a reclassification. Previously there was no right to appeal. What should you do? If you’re in the hospital, ask and find out if you are admitted or are on “observation status.” If you are not admitted, ask your hospital doctor to be admitted as an inpatient. You can also ask your primary care physician to contact the hospital treatment team to provide reasons for admitting you instead Medicare has been ordered to set up a

process for patients to appeal their observation status, and notify them of their appeal rights. If you need to appeal, it can be complicated and you may need assistance from an elder law attorney. A THREAT TO MEDICARE: Traditional Medicare has very high approval ratings among its users, and spends 98% of its funds on patient care, meaning only 2% (!) for administrative costs. Traditional Medicare patients have wide choices of care providers. Existing Medicare Advantage Plans are managed-care arrangements in which an insurer is paid a fixed amount by Medicare to provide for all of your care. Examples locally include UPMC for Life, Highmark Security Blue and others. The less they spend on care, the more they keep as profit. However, they are required to spend 85% of their revenues on patient care. The Trump administration started a program called “Direct Contracting” in which managed care organizations would

now be inserted as middlemen into traditional Medicare plans – but they would only be required to spend 60% of their revenues on patient care, and could keep up to 40% as administrative costs and profit! Insurance companies and for-profit managed-care organizations are salivating at the prospect. Supporter say the bill will result in higher quality and more affordable care and higher patient satisfaction. Opponents say the plan “inserts a corporate bureaucrat between a patient and their doctor in order to deny care and make Wall Street money,” and must be abandoned. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has continued this controversial plan and not yet stopped it. Patient advocates continue to strenuously oppose this program which they see as a profound threat to traditional Medicare coverage. At Marks Elder Law, we help people every day with issues like these. I invite your questions and feedback. Please let me know how I can help you and your family.

helping you plan for what matters the most

With the increasing costs of long-term care, having the help of a legal professional when planning for your family’s future can help you make better decisions that can result in keeping more of your money. We help families understand the strategies, the benefits, and risks involved with elder law, disability and estate planning.

www.marks-law.com

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

412-421-8944

Michael H. Marks, Esq. michael@marks-law.com member, national academy of elder law attorneys

4231 Murray Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15217

MARCH 18, 2022 11

Opinion Zelensky’s inspiring leadership — EDITORIAL —

e learn from the Purim story that leadership can be thrust upon an individual in unanticipated ways. In Ukraine, we see that theme playing out in real time. When Ukrainians elected former comedian and entertainer Volodymyr Zelensky as their president in 2019, many around the world welcomed him despite his lack of government or leadership experience. There was also an element of pride among Jews because Zelensky is Jewish — even if that was not a defining aspect of his life before his entry into politics. Many wondered how Zelensky, who played the president of Ukraine for laughs on TV, would redeem himself now that he was

elected president for real. Following Vladimir Putin’s Russia invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, it didn’t take long to see that Zelensky is a serious player, focused on leading and defending his people. Thus, when the Biden administration offered to help Zelensky escape Kyiv to save himself from anticipated targeted assassination, he is reported to have famously responded: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.” What Zelensky also didn’t need was help figuring out how to use his bully pulpit. He knew exactly what to do. And on that stage, his performance has been extraordinary and inspiring. Zelensky artfully worked to calm a terrorized nation by exuding calm, seriousness, hope, resolve and defiance. With the unshaved face of an everyman and the worn camouflage T-shirt of a fighter, the

comedian cum politician was transformed. The communicator found his ultimate role. Early on, Zelensky told European leaders that he was Russia’s No. 1 target — and that they might not see him again alive. In short order, he personalized a country of 44 million people into one vulnerable man. And in the process, he put Putin on notice that the whole world was watching his every move. Zelensky also spoke to and for his nation — with emotional yet forceful reassurance — helping to rally confidence and determination in the face of overwhelming force and odds. And if Zelensky’s Jewishness was a prop before the war, it has become the key to a whole new audience as he pursued increased support in Israel and in the Diaspora with the recurring theme that “Nazism is born in silence.”

The world has taken note. As observed by Franklin Foer in the Atlantic: “It is hard to think of another recent instance in which one human being has defied the collective expectations for his behavior and provided such an inspiring moment of service to the people, clarifying the terms of the conflict through his example.” Zelensky has demonstrated impressive skill as a public personality and leader. He shows confidence in his people and declares his place with them. He doesn’t hide, yet he doesn’t pretend that he is either safe or secure. He projects the persona, not of an elite, but of a common man. And he has become the voice and the face of a victimized people. Zelensky is Ukraine. Zelensky is Jewish. He seems to be drawing courage, strength and purpose from both. PJC

Ukraine, Russia and the unbearable lightness of ‘never again’ Guest Columnist Yehuda Kurtzer

fter decades of fearing that we would forget the horrors of our recent past, I am starting to fear the opposite possibility: That we Jews remember our history all too well but feel powerless to act on its lessons. The Russian invasion of Ukraine invites analogies to our traumatic past. History begs us to learn from what came before.

These analogies to the past are never perfect. Seeing analogies between past and present does not mean we think that anything that happened in the past would be identical to anything happening in the present. For comparisons to be useful, however, they need not be exact. It is enough for us as Jews to see familiarity in the past and resemblance in the present. We do this to activate our sense of responsibility, to ask if we have seen this plot point before, to figure out how we are supposed to act in the story to change the inevitability of the outcome. We become different people when we remember, as the past merges with the present and points to

the choices we might make. But now: What if we remember well, but cannot act upon it? Will Jewish memory become a prison of our powerlessness? I grew up believing that appeasement was just one rung above fascist tyranny itself, and at times possibly worse: Appeasers replace responsibility with naivete and facilitate demonic evil even when they know better. The narrative of the West juxtaposes Churchill the hero with Chamberlain the villain; the philosopher Avishai Margalit uses Chamberlain as the archetype of the “rotten compromise,” for making concessions that make people skeptical of the

morality of compromise altogether. I know that the sanctions regime imposed against Putin’s Russia and his oligarchs are the most severe in history, and still I wonder: What is the threshold of appeasement, and will we know if we have crossed it? We still debate FDR’s decision not to bomb the train tracks leading to Auschwitz. It was a viable option, and we know this because Jewish leaders pleaded with American officials to consider it, and they decided against it. None of us has any idea whether such a bombing operation would have succeeded, Please see Kurtzer, page 13

The cost of being a Jewish family: It’s time for a reckoning Guest Columnist Aviva Lubowsky

o one likes to talk about money, but let’s face the facts. First, the middle class is no longer what it used to be. The cost of living keeps rising. Wages continue stagnating. Debt keeps accumulating (average student loan debt is the highest it has ever been). Taken together, this is a sobering trio of factors. It is life-changing even for a double-income household. Second, the financial ramifications of the pandemic are outlasting the public health crisis and are impacting even more people than the virus. Some segments of our community — women, single mothers, minorities and Orthodox families with multiple children — who were already economically fragile will face even steeper financial challenges. There’s no vaccine to protect against the ravages of the pandemic and inflation on our bank accounts. Third, all of this is compounded for Jewish

12 MARCH 18, 2022

families, who face additional expenses. I’ll use some round numbers from my own experience: Annual synagogue membership is about $2,500. I won’t factor in the additional costs of participation that can add up over the course of a year, like youth group dues or shul dinners. Day school for two school-age kids in Pittsburgh runs about $32,000. Overnight summer camp costs more than $8,000 for two kids (for just three weeks). JCC membership is about $100 a month. This does not account for donations to any of these or other institutions, nor for the higher cost of kosher food. This calculation puts the annual price tag of a family’s involvement in Jewish life at about $44,000 per year. The area median gross income for a family of four in Pittsburgh is $84,800. So hundreds of Jewish families in Pittsburgh need to reckon with forking over somewhere around half their income for participating in religious life and a Jewish education for their children. For the 37% of households that indicated in the 2017 study of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community that their income was less than $50,000 a year, that price tag is even scarier. One in 10 young adults (ages 18-34) in our community say they are nearly poor or poor.

Is an annual $44,000 price tag what we want waiting for them after they have children? And what about the less frequent but still expected (or desired) additional expenses of being Jewish, like the cost of a child’s bar or bat mitzvah. A pair of tefillin and a tallit alone can cost hundreds of dollars. What about sending a teen to Israel or going there as a family? Of course, there are scholarships for school, camp and synagogue dues. Every institution will respond that they would never turn away a family because of inability to pay and that they offer generous scholarships. But what does it feel like to have to approach two, three, four institutions explaining over and over that you can’t afford them? What is our community saying to families when the number on their tax return determines their access to Jewish programming for their children? And what do we deny these families by expecting them to spend most of their disposable income at Jewish institutions? The Cohen Center at Brandeis University reported in its 2017 Pittsburgh Jewish community study that of those who indicated no one in their household was a member of a Jewish congregation, a quarter said they did not join because of the cost of membership.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Recently, a parent planning a bar mitzvah for her child told me she was admonished by a kosher caterer for not putting meat on the menu. Many Jewish communal professionals have shared dismay that their entire salary goes toward child care or day school tuition. It is time for a reckoning. With the economic challenges of our moment confronting all of us, this is an opportunity to reevaluate. If we value making Jewish life accessible, we must commit to making it affordable. The solution is not offering more ways to request dues variances and scholarships, but pricing services so people do not need to ask for help. That means making hard choices and considering bold collaborations: 1. Schools, synagogues, camps and community centers must move beyond the silos of their individual budgets. 2. Three of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s main goals in its recent strategic plan are: being a community convener; facilitating impactful philanthropy; and addressing communitywide challenges to create more equity. The Federation needs to activate these strategies to help solve the Please see Lubowsky, page 18

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Opinion Chronicle poll results: High price of gas

ast week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “Is the high price of gas making you rethink your driving habits?” Of the 205 people who responded, 49% said “No” and 41% said “Yes.” Five percent of respondents said they weren’t sure, and 4% said they don’t drive. Ninety-six people submitted comments. A few follow. I’ve started considering alternative modes of transportation for when the weather gets warmer. I will exclusively walk everywhere I need to go on Shabbat. No more car for me! Life changer. What did we expect? It’s better having this than any of our soldiers involved. Lucky to live in a walkable neighborhood like Squirrel Hill! Willing to pay higher prices to obviate need for Russian gas and oil. If we have to even consider purchasing oil from Iran, a terrorist state, then there is something wrong, especially when we can boost our own production. It’s not Putin’s

Kurtzer: Continued from page 12

much less whether it would have made a dent in the Final Solution. But our memory of the story makes us wonder whether it might have, and it makes us furiously study the current invasion, seeking opportunities for a similar intervention. At the same time, we fear that we will only know what actions we should have taken a long time from now, and that our children will study such actions with the same helplessness that plagues us when we read about FDR’s decisions. My great-grandparents came to America

fault; it’s our own leadership. Quit blaming the wrong people. There is no choice but to buy gas at the current price. A small price to pay as we see the horrible situation unfolding in Ukraine.

Is the high price of gas making you rethink your driving habits?

Not sure.

Let’s worry about the Ukrainians’ safety and not about paying an extra $20 a month for gas! Be thankful that we are safe in the USA!

I don't drive.

I live in the suburbs and work in the city. I don’t have a choice since driving is the only way for me to commute to work and stores. I will probably try to consolidate driving trips in order to conserve. We need to return independence asap.

energy

The future is electric vehicles. I’m leasing one that gets an equivalent 97 miles to the “gallon,” and a “gallon of electricity” sourced from a 120-volt outlet in my garage costs about 13 cents a “gallon.” So, a 97-mile trip costs me 13 cents in fuel. Retired. COVID. I go nowhere. Even though I drive a hybrid that gets excellent gas mileage, I engage in the use of public transportation and bicycling as much as possible. Protecting life and repairing our

well before World War II. But I have read about and feel chastened by America’s turning away Jewish refugees during the war. I am in shock watching the largest and fastest-developing refugee crisis unfolding before us and seeing our country failing to participate in a proportionate way — given our size and economic power — to the absorption and resettlement efforts. Why do we have a museum celebrating American intervention in wartime, as we do in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and why do we have such a profound educational apparatus focused on helping Americans understand how to not be a bystander, if not for moments like this? It is not hard to imagine the museum that will one day mark this unfolding atrocity.

— LETTERS —

41% Yes.

49% No.

world is the most Jewish way to live. Higher gas prices help stimulate that. The end of privately-owned automobiles, or at least ones that were very heavily taxed, would be a major social good. I think it’s great that gas prices are up and

Our insistence on memory — and the belief that it will change things — never quite works. This is because the invocation of memory can be banal, and because it can pull us apart. “Never again” is everywhere now — Meir Kahane’s appeal to Jewish self-defense became a rallying cry to prevent genocide, a banner to fight immigrant detention, a slogan for schools and gun control. And whatever we wanted the legacy of the Shoah to be, we have in no case been successful. American presidents mouthed these words seriously even as they failed to intervene, or intervened too late, to stop genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, Syria and elsewhere. If the fear was forgetting, it was unfounded. But remembering and acting on the memory is something else entirely. The legacy of our past indicts us when

I am a saver who has always done what I can to minimize my use of fuel, especially now. I can afford to pay ridiculous amounts of money for gas, but feel for the many who cannot. I am semi-retired, working exclusively from home indefinitely, which minimizes the amount of gas that I must purchase. When I want to travel a distance — for example, to a favorite restaurant — I am not going to deny myself that pleasure. I want to enjoy the fruits of my labors. My wife often reminds me that I cannot take it with me. We do not know how many tomorrows we will have. PJC — Toby Tabachnick

Chronicle poll question:

Are you concerned about the potential for nuclear weapons to be used anywhere in the world in the next year? Go to pittsburgh jewishchronicle.org to respond.

we can’t carry the former into the latter. I never expected — even watching the politics of memory pull apart the legacy of remembering for opposing political ends — that we would shift from a fear of forgetting to the fear that comes with remembering. The past glares at us now, it revisits us every day in the news cycle, and I am scared. It is not because we have forgotten it, but precisely because we remember it, and we do not know how to heed it. PJC Yehuda Kurtzer is the president of The Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, a Fellow of The Shalom Hartman Institute’s iEngage Project, and the author of “Shuva: The Future of the Jewish Past” (Brandeis, 2012). This piece first appeared on JTA.

Corrections

Where are the moderates?

Thank you for Jonathan Tobin’s excellent piece on the rising influence of the antisemitic progressive Democrats, and shame on the New York Times for elevating and legitimizing the hateful ideas of Rashida Tlaib (“The future of the Democrats and the mainstreaming of antisemitism,” March 11). There was a time that most Jews would feel comfortable in the Democratic Party in regard to Israel, but unfortunately those days are long gone, as Tobin so accurately pointed out the “mainstreaming of antisemitism.” This is reflected in the halls of Congress, and now in the broader society thanks to The New York Times, social media, and the far left and the far right. Where are the more “moderate” leaders, like retiring Rep. Ted Deutsch, in both parties and in leadership positions (with few exceptions) in today’s world, those who have the courage to stand up and speak the truth about Israel and a host of other issues that plague our society? As extremism has taken over, we are sorely in need of some balance and sanity. Helene Wishnev Pittsburgh PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

I hope it motivates more people to drive less. I think spending time driving around in our individual cars make our city a less friendly, less livable and less sustainable place.

In “International activist Rudy Rochman visits Pitt” (March 11) we reported that Rochman started the organization Students Supporting Israel. While he was a member of the group, he did not start it. We also incorrectly reported that the organization has a chapter in Afghanistan. In “Forward Flats moves forward to construction” (March 11) we incorrectly identified Maeburn Road as Malvern Street. The Chronicle regrets the errors. PJC

We invite you to submit letters for publication. Letters must include name, address and daytime phone number; addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Letters may not exceed 500 words and may be edited for length and clarity; they cannot be returned. Mail or email letters to: Letters to the editor via email: letters@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org Address:

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Website address:

Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 5915 Beacon St., 5th Flr., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 pittsburghjewishchronicle.org/letters-to-the-editor

MARCH 18, 2022 13

Headlines Pandemic: Continued from page 1

heading out for a prolonged period and listening to a program, she said. “It can do wonders for your mental health and your interpersonal relationships.” South Side resident Andrew Exler said the pandemic helped many people, himself included, better appreciate the importance of mental health and various “personal practices.” Now that two years have passed since the pandemic started, Exler, 31, said he’s had plenty of time to understand how even the smallest get-together can reap the most significance. Whether it’s meeting someone for a drink, going to Shabbat services at Tree of Life or hosting a Shabbat dinner, Exler said he’s “definitely learned to appreciate those moments so much more.” Welcoming in more recognition has also helped Exler prepare for what may be the biggest moment of all. Just before the pandemic began, he and his girlfriend, Kari Semel, got engaged. Though the couple was set to marry in 2021, they pushed it back to this summer. Exler said the couple considered having a smaller ceremony amid the pandemic but decided to wait for a chance to celebrate

Rodef: Continued from page 1

the congregation that Bisno’s contract would not be renewed, and that Bisno’s lawyers said the rabbi planned to sue the congregation’s board of trustees and individual trustees for defamation. Many congregants are frustrated with the way the board has handled the situation. “We represent a group of congregants who are deeply concerned by the actions taken by the Board with respect to placing Rabbi Bisno on leave of absence and ultimately non-renewal of his rabbinic contract,” Rodef Shalom members Frederick Frank, Larry Gumberg and Jim Rudolph wrote in an email to the Chronicle. “He has served the congregation with excellence and dedication for 18 years and has earned the great admiration of both the congregation and the larger Pittsburgh community. The Board is taking these actions unilaterally without consulting the congregation. Our focus at this time is to help our congregation to heal.” While Frank, Gumberg and Rudolph declined to elaborate about the nature of the group they represent, or any plan of action, they did confirm that “close to 100 congregants” comprised the group. In a Feb. 18 letter, longtime Rodef Shalom member Len Asimow asked the board about its process of investigating and disciplining Bisno, and the nature of the accusations against the rabbi. The letter was sent to the entire board and a number of non-board members. The Chronicle obtained a copy. “I understand that the Board has been placed in a delicate situation and discretion is called for,” Asimow’s letter said. “A respected and beloved rabbi is suddenly on a leave of absence under mysterious circumstances, 14

MARCH 18, 2022

beside so many of their loved ones. There’s an almost ironic takeaway that’s been derived by delaying the wedding, Semel explained. Whereas the pandemic allowed pausing in her personal life, certain things at work are just “not worth the wait,” she said. Semel, 28, is the incoming assistant director of Hillel JUC and cited the Jewish holidays as occasions that are impossible to postpone. “We can’t wait three years to have a seder, or to introduce our students to Israel on campus, or to Birthright or Onward Israel,” she said. What that means, she continued, is being creative, moving forward and getting down to “the bones of it all.” What makes Passover special for students on campus is realizing that in certain situations having 300 people in a building together will be the right decision; but other times, like last year, creating spaces and opportunities for even three students to gather around a table will be the best experience Hillel JUC can offer, she said. Understanding the value of community is one of the biggest lessons former Shadyside resident Jacquelyn Lazo gleaned from the pandemic. Lazo, 40, lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. Two years ago, Lazo’s daughter Emma was just turning 1. And as a new

and the Board needs to weigh the need for confidentiality on the one hand with the natural desire of congregants for explanations on the other. I grant this is a difficult balancing act, but I sense that excessive secrecy and carefully contrived murkiness, all under the shield of sensitivity, legality, and ‘best practices’ have won out over simple candor. The result is the two letters to congregants, dated Nov. 30 and Feb. 11 respectively, which to my mind smack of aloofness, paternalism, and condescension.” Asimow went on to inquire why the Nov. 30 email was written in a way that implied Bisno had chosen to take a leave of absence; why the congregation was not told from the beginning that Bisno was the subject of “personnel allegations” and “workplace culture concerns”; and what personnel practices were followed in the process of putting Bisno on leave pending the investigation. The Asimow letter also asked if there was an attempt at mediation before Bisno was placed on administrative leave, and if the nature of the allegations “truly warrant the serious reputational and career damage inflicted on the rabbi by your actions?” Asimow said he did not receive a response from the board. “It’s hard to envision what [Bisno] could have done that ignited all of this,” said Asimow, who has been a member of Rodef Shalom for almost 20 years. “My wife is close to Rabbi Bisno and appreciates all he’s done for the congregation.” Many of the “non-board congregants” who saw Asimow’s letter “seem to be in sympathy,” he added. “My impression is that there is a lot of discontent.” Rodef Shalom’s board is well aware of that discontent. In a March 14 written statement to the Chronicle, Matthew Falcone, Rodef Shalom’s

mother, Lazo tried to create a peer group with other parents of similar-aged children. She reached out to friends of friends and slowly started building a network, but when the pandemic arrived “that all went away,” Lazo said. The former Pittsburgher and communications professional, who’d done work for Save the Children US, told the Chronicle that she “needed a lifeline” and thought about writing a children’s book. Lazo began having conversations with other parents and quickly decided to author a different type of text. Alongside Dr. Frank DePietro, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Lazo wrote “Comeback Kids: A pocket guide to post-pandemic parenting.” The self-published work includes responses from approximately 70 children, ages 4-18, on questions including, “What are three words to describe how you feel right now; When you think about going back out into the world, what things make you nervous or scare you; and, In what ways have you seen people help each other during quarantine.” Lazo said she learned how much children “echo what they hear at home.” She said she came to appreciate — both from co-writing the guide and speaking with parents after its publication — not only the

 Rabbi Aaron Bisno

File photo

board president, acknowledged that “The situation concerning Rabbi Bisno has been, and is, painful and difficult for the Rodef Shalom family. The Board’s decision to place Rabbi Bisno on administrative leave was made with careful consideration and with sadness. No one wants to be in the position we are now in. “It is the responsibility of the Rodef Shalom Board to act in the best interest of the congregation,” Falcone continued. “That includes our members, and it includes our employees. We are confident that our decisions concerning Rabbi Bisno are, in fact, in the congregation’s best interest.” Falcone wrote that over the next few weeks, the board would be “reaching out to the congregation and creating a variety of opportunities for conversation about Rodef Shalom’s rabbinic leadership. These new opportunities will build on the series of communications we have shared with the membership of the congregation; the most recent of which was sent just last week. Although it is challenging to communicate with the threat of a defamation lawsuit over our heads, we are committed to doing everything we can to make sure the members of Rodef Shalom understand the totality of the circumstances that led to the

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

importance of personal resilience but realizing the strength parents can give each other. When the pandemic began, Lazo said she was searching for a community. Two years later, she said she found it by writing and speaking with fellow parents nationwide. In many ways, Lazo’s efforts brought her back to where she started, as she has recognized a difference at home, she said. “I feel like I have a new appreciation of the moments I spend with my daughter.” The pandemic’s lessons don’t need to be novel to be life-changing, explained Squirrel Hill resident Naama Lazar. Almost two years ago, Lazar heard a lecture from a rabbi in which the speaker asked whether people will leave the pandemic the same way they entered. Lazar said that in that moment she decided to become more cognizant about making blessings. Nearly 24 months later, Lazar is still carefully reciting words and offering thanks for various matters in her life. Adopting this practice has led to a greater belief that “God runs everything,” she said. Having this awareness feels good, Lazar continued, but what feels even better is knowing “I took upon myself another mitzvah.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Board’s decision.” The conversations are intended to “provide an opportunity to listen to the congregation, answer questions when we can and talk about next steps,” Falcone told the Chronicle by phone. Jeff Cohan, another longtime member of Rodef Shalom, was among those who sent letters to the board asking for better communication. He said he received a “meaningful response” to his letter from Falcone and that he was persuaded from that response that the board “understands the problem.” The board, Cohan said, created a problem of an “enormous magnitude for the congregation without bringing the congregation along and getting buy-in.” The challenge for the board going forward, Cohan said, is “threading the needle, meaning finding a way to protect the identities of the complainants while simultaneously communicating to the congregation the extent of the rabbi’s alleged infraction.” Cohan said he is “sure the board is well-intended,” and that he is confident that “they’re going to make this right. This is the type of issue that can be very disrupting for a congregation and cause a loss of members if not handled well.” Bisno declined to comment for this story. But on Feb. 18, he posted the following on Facebook: “By way of explanation, Leviticus 10:3 will have to suffice for now, w more to come: Moses then explained to Aaron, ‘This is what the LORD meant in saying: “Among those who approach, I will be proved holy; in the people’s sight, I will be honored.”’ And — v’yadome Aharon — (for now) Aaron remained silent.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Ukraine: Continued from page 2

people in the U.S. whose Ukrainian families have made their way to Poland, Czech Republic and Bulgaria. “People are freaking out,” David said. “They want to get their family here, but I tell them there’s no fast process to get here other than a visitor’s visa.” The situation is exasperating, also because most Americans don’t understand how the U.S. immigration process operates, explained Pittsburgh-based attorney and immigration specialist Ellen Freeman. “People think our immigration process is humane, robust and takes situations

Passover: Continued from page 3

pounds last year, the same product could likely top $130 this year. Aryeh Markovic, co-owner of Murray Avenue Kosher, said he’s well aware of price increases on kosher for Passover foods, but

like a war into consideration, but it does not,” she said. Freeman is particularly sensitive to the current conflict and related legal constraints. She came to the U.S. from Odessa, Ukraine, in 1993 via the Lautenberg Amendment. “Everyone thinks that Ukrainian citizens can get here like we did. The Lautenberg Amendment is no longer a part of the appropriations bill — that is what helped us come here because it documented that Jews from the former Soviet Union were persecuted as a group,” Freeman said. Both Freeman and David are bothered by the lack of attention those matters are receiving. “People assume there is a refugee process for Ukrainians escaping the war to come

to the U.S., but there is not and the media needs to start talking about this in order to pressure the administration to help those abroad,” David said. Freeman encouraged people to contact their congressional representatives both about reauthorizing the Lautenberg Amendment and addressing immigration reform in general. What’s happening now, both at the U.S. Consulates and at the Mexican border, is reminiscent, Freeman said, of what transpired more than 80 years ago when Europeans fled, the U.S. turned them away and American Jewry said “Never again.” In May 1939, the St. Louis, a transatlantic liner, sailed from Hamburg, Germany, to Havana, Cuba, with 937 passengers — almost

all Jews who were fleeing Nazi Germany. After the Cuban government refused to allow the St. Louis to land, and the U.S. and Canada refused to admit the passengers, the St. Louis returned to western Europe. Great Britain accepted 288 of its passengers; the Netherlands took 181; Belgium received 214; 224 took “temporary refuge” in France. Ultimately, 254 of the St. Louis’ passengers were killed in the Holocaust, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “It’s the same thing,” agreed Miller-Wilson. “People are fleeing and Europe is saying, ‘Come to us.’ We’re not saying that.” PJC

there’s “no reason to panic.” Prices fluctuate, “it happens every year,” Markovic said. “Most things are not going up an exorbitant amount.” Ross said she’s trying to “make due” with increased costs both in her catering business and as she prepares for her personal seders. “I think of this as a holiday for my house,” she said. “At our seder, we take seriously the

idea of Kol dichfin yeitei v’yeichol, kol ditzrich yeitei v’yifsach.” The Aramaic words, which are included in the Haggadah, translate to “Anyone who is famished should come and eat, anyone who is in need should come and partake of the Pesach sacrifice.” In years past, Ross has welcomed 15-18 people for seders. She said that rising prices

won’t augment the way she celebrates the holiday this year. “We have people who are older, younger, people who don’t have family,” she said. “If anyone needs a seder, we will have them.” PJC

Continued from page 9

Rabbi Sara Perman

Ruth Reidbord

In 1994, at the age of 63, I decided I wanted to have a bat mitzvah. I was a member of Temple PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. celebrated my bat mitzvah. I led the service with the rabbi and chanted all the aliyot for Acharei Mot. That Friday night I had a party for the out-of-town guests, and Saturday an after-service lunch for the congregation, and then a friend had a party at night in my honor. It was a great success, and my friend was delighted. It was quite a weekend. I was surprised how much of my family came from out of town. A definite highlight of my life.

Memories:

My bat mitzvah took place on May 22, 1964, in Niagara Falls, New York, on Friday night, as was our custom. We had a student rabbi, Robert Siegel, who was with us only twice a month, so my Hebrew teacher was a soldier, Aaron Bernstein, stationed at Fort Niagara. I wanted to translate my Torah portion while reading it. With only a reading knowledge of Hebrew, no real knowledge of Hebrew grammar or vocabulary, but with the help and encouragement of my teacher and rabbi, and the little Ben Yehudah HebrewEnglish dictionary, I translated my section of the parsha for the service. We used the old Union Prayer Book, so there was little Hebrew in the service. I did not chant the Torah portion. The haftarah was only read in English. My speech was about education, tying it to the haftarah portion about the birth of Samson and the instructions to Samson’s parents on how to raise him. During the last rehearsal, a bee was flying around in the sanctuary. I remember telling my parents not to kill it, as it might be Jewish. I also remember that I was allowed to wear low heels for the first time at my bat mitzvah. When the rabbi blessed me, since he was still a student, he placed his hands on my shoulders instead of my head. I remember feeling like he was pushing me, yet I was afraid to put one foot back to better balance myself, so I felt like we were battling one another. (This led me later to tell young women in my congregation as they were preparing for bat mitzvah to bring the shoes they were planning to wear at their service to our last rehearsal so they would know how it felt to carry the Torah if they were going to be wearing heels.)

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

Judith Rothstein

p Beth Shalom bat mitzvah class of 1962; Carole Stein, fifth from the left Photo courtesy of Carole Stein

Emanuel of South Hills, so I approached our rabbi, Mark Mahler, and said I would like to study with the goal of becoming a bat mitzvah. I wanted to observe this rite at the Shabbat morning service and was willing to accommodate the Temple’s schedule of available dates. Rabbi Mahler agreed, and I began my study with my tutor, Alva Daffner. Rabbi Mahler and I agreed I would chant the maftir and the haftarah, as was the custom at that time. I would also participate in leading the Shabbat service. I had a number of other requests for the service to which Rabbi Mahler agreed. A date was set for a Shabbat in early September of 1995 when no other bar or bat mitzvah was scheduled. On that date, wearing the tallit which my husband, Marvin, surprised me with and which I have worn ever since, I led the service and joined the rabbi in singing many of the prayers. More than 75 people came, many from out of town; one special surprise guest was Rabbi Richard Address, then executive director of the Pennsylvania Council of the then U.A.H.C (now URJ). My husband, my daughter Suzanne and my son Todd, were there to support me, as were

my dearest friends. I shall never forget that sweet moment. In 2020, I celebrated the 25th year of becoming a bat mitzvah with a prayer at the Saturday minyan at Temple Sinai, of which I am now a member.

Cecilia Rothschild

My brother, David, is just a year-plus older than me. When David had his bar mitzvah, I mainly recall the big fuss that was made. My parents had the basement finished, and we had a big party. I have no recollection of the service. I was a bit puzzled by all of this, and nothing was said to me about it. I became more involved in Judaism when I lived in Alexandria, Virginia. I moved there not long after going to library school at UCLA. I think it was around 1985. I went to Bet Mishpachah in Washington D.C., as well as to Agudas Achim in northern Virginia. I studied Hebrew. I was asked to chant a prayer by the Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, a part-time rabbi at Bet Mish for High Holy Days. I loved it. Then she asked if I wanted to have a bat mitzvah. Really? She thought I was ready. I did want to do it. I studied with her for close to a year. On April 26, 2003, I

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

My bat mitzvah was a unique affair. It occurred through our Hadassah group. One of the members got the idea to organize a group of women interested in having one. We ended up with a group of 10 women all in their 70s or 80s. New Light synagogue was so grateful to have this special service with their rabbi. The ceremony was set up with each participant reading a line out of the Torah and a section of the haftorah in English. It was a lovely and meaningful service. Afterward, we had a delicious luncheon with families and friends. As the saying goes, better once than never!

Carole Stein

My bat mitzvah was at Beth Shalom on June 7, 1962. Each of us had a line or a verse. I remember the first two words but nothing else! I believe we were one of the first groups.

Marcia Birner Zied

p Marcia Birner Zied Photo provided by Marcia Birner Zied

I grew up in Squirrel Hill, but now live in Georgia. I decided to have an adult bat mitzvah at 68, and all seven of my grandchildren participated. At 13, I did not know anyone who had a bat mitzvah. March 18 is my birthday. PJC

Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. MARCH 18, 2022 15

Life & Culture ‘Beautiful’ producer Paul Blake reflects on a life in theater — THEATER — By David Rullo | Staff Writer

aul Blake honed his love of theater at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City. The future lead producer of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” — which runs at the Benedum Center March 18-20 — grew up in the Bronx and attended the High School of Music and Art for artistically gifted children. He remembers taking a 45-minute bus ride from his neighborhood to the school in Manhattan. “I met dozens of people like me who loved music, who understood and were responsive to theater and art,” he recalled. “I said, ‘I’m not alone in the world.’” Blake graduated from City College and initially tried to make it as an actor. “That didn’t go that well,” he said. “It went OK, but it wasn’t enough to support me.” Blake credits a girlfriend’s mother with suggesting he try his hand directing the drama group at the West Side synagogue. While he loved the people in that group, the relationships outperformed the talent. “They loved performing and getting attention, and I lavished a lot of attention on them, and they lavished a lot of praise on me,” he said. After a stint teaching, Blake spent time at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco under the tutelage of William Ball. Despite enjoying his role as the head of the acting program at ACT, directing shows and having the opportunity to work with Pulitzer Prize winners, salary was an issue — he was earning $345 a week in the costly California city. Seeking a larger paycheck, he made the jump to television. It was a therapist who helped him realize that was a bad decision. “He said, ‘Do you ever watch television?’ No. ‘Do any of your friends have or watch television?’ No. He said, ‘What do you want to be in television for? You love theater. You should be doing theater.’ That’s when I stopped doing television and have been working nonstop from then on,” Blake said. The move proved beneficial. He next became the executive producer at the St. Louis MUNY, the largest outdoor musical theater in America. There, he ushered in what the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called the theater’s “2nd Golden Age.” During his 22 years with the MUNY, typically more

p “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” runs at the Benedum Center March 18-20.

than 10,000 people attended its productions every night. In 2010, Blake was asked by the president of EMI Music Publishing to create a musical out of Carole King’s catalog. Blake’s role as the producer of “Beautiful” was similar to what producers do with any new musical, he said. “You take a piece of paper, you write on the top of it ‘Beautiful’ and then you fill in all the spaces below: music by, direction by, book by, scenery by, accountancy by, advertising by … all those things that one person fills.” Blake had one line on his blank page filled when starting to produce “Beautiful” — the music. When he met with King, she only had one request: She didn’t want to be involved. “She didn’t want to do interviews, she didn’t want to be the spokesman for the show,” he said. “When we opened the show on Broadway, she didn’t come.” Blake said the musical was simply too emotional for King, but after several of her friends saw the show and relayed how good it was, she decided to attend — in disguise.

“She put funny glasses on, put a wig on and sat in the seat and cried half the night,” Blake said. “Afterward, she went on stage. The place went nuts. Somehow, that got recorded and went on the internet. From that moment on, we became not just a hit but a big fat hit because Carole King saw it and loved it.” The show won two Tony Awards and a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. And while the producer acknowledges the centrality of the music to the show, he said a good musical is more than just music. “Andrew Lloyd Webber was once asked what makes a good show,” Blake said. “His answer was — other than the music, which has to be terrific — there are three other elements. Number one, it’s the book; number two, it’s the book; number three, it’s the book.” Blake credits Douglas McGrath with crafting an exceptional book that went through several drafts and, despite several emotional moments, is also funny. “It says a lot about women and women in the world at that time,” Blake said. “It’s

Photo by Joan Marcus.

extraordinary. And that’s Doug. That’s the great luck. I had the great book writer.” The producer acknowledged that theater has changed during his career, and has become more expensive. When “Fiddler on the Roof ” was first staged in 1964 it cost $350,000 to produce; its latest revival topped out at $15 million. Blake bears no ill will toward the increased cost of the art he loves. “Everyone’s trying to make a living,” he said. “All those people below the name of the production I told you about, they all want to make a living and life is expensive, particularly in New York.” Asked what makes a show successful, Blake has a simple answer. “If the show has no laughs in it, it’s not going to work,” he said. “Even ‘Oedipus’ has a humor section in it, and ‘Hamlet.’ If they don’t have laughs, you know it’s not being done right, and pretentious.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Tune in to Chronicle Cooks

he Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join us on Zoom for a live cooking demonstration by vegan chef Diana Goldman — just in time to help you plan your Passover menu. Goldman will teach viewers how to make a hearty vegan dish to add to their seder meal: Quinoa salad for Passover. The salad works as either an entrée or a side. Goldman is a cooking show host and plantbased nutrition educator based in Boston. She received a B.S. from Cornell University in nutrition science and an Ed.M. from Harvard

MARCH 18, 2022

University. She loves sharing recipes on her blog, Beantown Kitchen, and was awarded one of the top 100 plant-based blogs by Feedspot. To join the Chronicle’s April 6, 7:30 p.m. event, email newsdesk@pittsburghjewish chronicle.org and write “Chronicle Cooks” in the subject line. We will send you the Zoom link prior to the event. The recipe for quinoa salad for Passover can be found at beantownkitchen.com/ quinoa-salad-for-Passover. PJC  Diana Goldman Photo courtesy of Diana Goldman

 Quinoa salad for Passover

Photo courtesy of Diana Goldman

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

— Toby Tabachnick PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Life & Culture Pasta for dinner By Keri White | Contributing Writer

love pasta. That’s not a unique opinion, although over the years pasta has been vilified as demonic, extolled as a simple, economic, tasty meal, and everything in between. While I could eat pasta every day, I don’t, so when I do I relish it. These two dishes are simple, delicious and typical of Italian cuisine in that they showcase the ingredients. The first one is vegetarian and could be vegan if you omit the cheese — it won’t have the silken richness, but the roasted tomatoes and garlic deliver plenty of flavor, so the dish won’t suffer. Roasting garlic brings a sweetness and caramelization that is darn near intoxicating. The second dish, amatriciana, is typically made with guanciale or pancetta (both smoked pork products). I have tweaked it using turkey bacon and omitting the cheese, thus adapting the dish for a kosher audience.

Roasted tomato and garlic mascarpone pasta Serves 4

This dish came together when I realized the grape tomatoes I bought were passing their prime. No longer fresh, they needed to be used — and quickly — to avoid waste. Roasting tomatoes brings out a depth and

intensity of flavor that is just wonderful, and tossing it together with these ingredients provided a meal that suggested far more effort than it required. If you don’t have mascarpone, you can use cream cheese, butter or even a drizzle of heavy cream. And if you don’t have any of those, you can skip the dairy; the dish will be lighter but still delicious. I used grape tomatoes because that’s what I had on hand, but any small-sized tomato from plum on down is fine. As for the pasta — I used fresh fettuccine, but any long, ribbon-style fresh or dry pasta cooked to al dente is fine for this dish. 3 pints cherry, grape or plum tomatoes 8 cloves garlic, peeled 2 tablespoons olive oil Generous sprinkle of salt and pepper ¼ cup mascarpone cheese ¼ cup Parmesan cheese Handful of basil, coarsely chopped, for garnish 1 pound fresh fettuccine

Heat your oven to 375 F. Line a cooking tray with parchment, and spread the tomatoes and garlic in a single layer. Sprinkle them with olive oil, salt and pepper toss to coat. Roast them in the oven for about 45 minutes until the tomatoes are jammy and slightly black in spots. (Note: Keep an eye on the garlic during the roasting process; it may roast more

quickly than the tomatoes, and you want it soft and mushy, not toasted crisp. If it starts to inch past soft, take the pan out, remove the garlic to a bowl and continue roasting the tomatoes until done.) When the tomatoes are nearly done, heat a pot of salted water to a boil. When the roasting is complete, mash the garlic and pour the tomatoes and their juice/drippings into a serving bowl. Cook the pasta to al dente, and drain, reserving about ¼ cup water for the sauce. Toss the pasta with the sauce, add the mascarpone cheese and toss. If the sauce needs to be loosened, add a bit of the pasta water and toss to coat all noodles thoroughly. Top it with Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs, and serve. Pasta all’amatriciana Serves 4

If you like spice, the red pepper flakes are for you. Vary the amount per your preference or omit it altogether if a milder flavor is desired. 4 1 1 ¼ ½

slices turkey bacon, chopped onion, chopped tablespoon olive oil teaspoon salt teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more/less per preference) ½ cup red wine 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes 1 pound ribbon-style pasta

handful chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or deep skillet. Add the onion, turkey bacon, pepper and salt. Sauté until fragrant. The onion should be soft and the bacon thoroughly cooked, about 8 minutes. Add the red wine, bring it to a boil and let it reduce a bit. Add the canned tomatoes, lower the heat, cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes, or as long as 90 minutes, if desired. The flavor will deepen a bit, but this is not a dish that requires hours on the stove. Cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions to al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water before draining and, when done, toss the pasta with sauce, adding water if needed to coat the noodles. Top with chopped parsley, and serve. PJC Keri White writes for the Jewish Exponent, an affiliated publication where this first appeared.

Freedom: Winners of the Chronicle’s poetry contest

he Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle thanks all those who submitted poems to its third poetry contest. Once again, our judge was Yehoshua November. November is the author of two poetry collections, “God’s Optimism” (a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize) and “Two Worlds Exist” (a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and the Paterson Poetry Prize). His work has been featured in The New York Times Magazine, Harvard Divinity Bulletin, The Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, and on National Public Radio and On Being›s Poetry Unbound podcast program. Three winners were selected: “Freedom” by Cathleen Cohen; “Immigrant” by Daniel Shapiro; and “The only word you need…” by a.e. dickter. Poets were asked to write on the theme of freedom. In addition to their poems being published below, each winning poet will receive a $54 gift card to Pinsker’s Judaica, courtesy of an anonymous donor for whose generosity we are grateful.

Freedom By Cathleen Cohen This year we lost an oak to illness that withered the grasses, leeched sap from trunks in amber drops until the yard was bleached of green, deep sienna and crimson

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

like lifeblood. Lantern flies feast, wilt the willow our neighbors planted when their daughter was born. And we’ve had storms, dark, out of season, changing how we watch the sky for signs. All this freedom was given, choices in how to live. Is landscape enacting old stories, old lessons that we’ve forgotten — plagues, storming waters, viruses, wars, emerald borers in the ash trees? Our neighbors wrap willow branches with nets and tape to trap swarming nymphs. So fragile. We rush to help them. Immigrant By Daniel Shapiro When Mae thinks of her homeland it is in the shape of a scarf wrapped around her head. Once she believed there was more than one way to give feet to freedom and hands to dreams. The Old Country and the Singer sewing machine

made her life tight. Both gone, she wears scarves like dust. Sam, part-time machinist never took rail-way passes; “A waste — no time for pleasure,” she said and walked beside him back into the beet fields. Carving horses for the children he promised more than lice on a fine-tooth comb, the raw earth. The only child born here breathed blood. Mae went back to the fields buried the child in a black scarf; the milk in her breasts, the unused dreams. Now she nurses the night. Survivor with shrinking scarves pulled tight under her chin. The only word you need… By a.e. dickter I know one word in Ukrainian … Taught to me by my friend’s aged mother one evening when I asked her to please teach me some Ukrainian words, such as please and thank you or hello and good-bye because I remembered her homemade pickles and borscht and pierogis and stuffed cabbage and

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

the black bread spread out in a feast and they were as good as my Jewish grandmother’s … As she waited for placement in a “home” where no one knew “my language” and no one knew “my religion” and she could no longer get to “my church” and where she would have ample time to remember the destruction of her village when borders changed and the years as a slave laborer in Nazi Germany and the death of a beloved baby from lack of medicine and the family left behind and still in Ukraine and the trip to a new land and learning yet another language and starting all over again and the factory work and …. she answered with a single word: Свобода / Svoboda / Freedom It should have been her birthright May her memory be for a blessing and may the word ring out, loudly and speedily, in our day … PJC

MARCH 18, 2022 17

Photos by Keri White

— FOOD —

Celebrations

Torah

B’nei Mitzvah

In one breath Ari Solomon Roth, son of Sharon and Jason Roth, will become a bar mitzvah at Adat Shalom during Shabbat morning services on Saturday, March 19, 2022. Grandparents are Arlene and Stuart Zarembo and Sandy and Stephen Roth. Ari is a seventh-grader at Shadyside Academy. He enjoys playing sports, fishing, drawing, doing magic and spending time with family and friends. Ari can often be found cheering favorite teams at Steelers games, Pens games and Pirates games.

Simon Maxwell Roth, son of Sharon and Jason Roth, will become a bar mitzvah at Adat Shalom during Shabbat morning services on Saturday, March 19, 2022. Grandparents are Arlene and Stuart Zarembo and Sandy and Stephen Roth. Simon is a seventh-grader at Shadyside Academy. He enjoys drawing and playing basketball and travel baseball. He enjoys spending time with family and friends. Simon can often be found cheering favorite teams at Steelers games, Pens games and Pirate games.

Ari Benjamin Broverman will become a bar mitzvah on March 19, 2022, at Beth El Congregation. Ari is the son of Leslie and Jeremy Broverman and brother to Sam and the grandson of Michael Broverman and the late Francine Broverman of The Villages in Florida, and Jerome and Louis Bernstein of Cheshire, Connecticut. He is a seventh-grader at Jefferson Middle School in Mt. Lebanon and enjoys painting, baking, and is an avid reader — often clearing out the library! During summers Ari loves going to Camp Young Judaea in Wisconsin. For his mitzvah project, Ari has been participating in numerous activities with the Friendship Circle. PJC

Lubowsky: Continued from page 12

economic challenges for Jewish families. 3. Perhaps another part of the solution rests with foundations, such as Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community Foundation, whose website notes its purpose as laying “the groundwork for the next phase of Jewish Pittsburgh.” The Foundation for Jewish Camp’s One Happy Camper grants are a great example of a foundation offering meaningful relief from high expenses, but unfortunately it only applies to one year of camp. 4. Community members themselves must avail themselves of the financial resources that are available. JFunds — comprised of the Jewish Assistance Fund, Hebrew Free Loan, SOS Pittsburgh at the JFCS Food Pantry, and college and Israel scholarships — offers robust grants and loans that can help families offset large expenses while shouldering the costs of Jewish education or camp. These programs are not for “someone poorer.” 18

MARCH 18, 2022

Given the strain on the middle class, these organizations want to serve more double-income families. Moreover, JFunds offers a free financial coach to partner with families who are shouldering costs like day school tuition or overnight camp. If our schools and shuls want to survive (and these institutions only will survive if people can afford them), they and community conveners need to find a way to subsidize more of the costs. I don’t have all the answers, but the questions are clear: What is it that we, as a community, value most? Do our pricing structures reflect those values? If not, are we ready to think in new, maybe uncomfortable ways to change the status quo? As the health crisis of the pandemic is outshadowed by the financial crisis, it’s time to answer these questions and alleviate the economic burden on Jewish families. PJC Aviva Lubowsky, MSW, is the director of marketing and development at the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Pittsburgh.

Rabbi Shimon Silver Parshat Tzav | Leviticus 6:1 – 8:36

“Tzav, command. This term is only used when Hashem wishes to motivate (ziruz) immediately and for all generations.” — Rashi

arshas Tzav begins with the commandment to clear the ashes. Why does this mitzvah need extra motivation? What does Rashi mean by “for all generations”? Perhaps, whimsically, we can suggest that nobody wants to clean up! In fact, the competition for the mitzvah of terumas hadeshen, removal of the ashes from the altar, led to some rough jostling, causing kohanim to fall off the ramp. According to one version it led to a broken leg, but another version records a death resulting from the shoving. There seems to have been plenty of enthusiasm. Was this the result of Hashem motivating them? Is this what was intended? The shul membership of Congregation Anshei Rush-Rush wanted some interactive entertainment. They decided to have a competition to see who could finish davening in one breath. The test was: How many words could anyone say without catching their breath? We certainly champion alacrity when it comes to mitzvah performance. We call that zerizus. The definition of zerizus is many things — alacrity, enthusiasm, diligence, meticulousness, motivation — all of which can be defined as being opposite to laziness and lethargy. We say “zerizim makdimin lemitzvos,” people who excel in this attribute will hurry to perform mitzvos. This is the term used by the opening Rashi in today’s parsha, cited above. But speeding through davening is unlikely zerizus is at work. Why the hurry? Probably to get in, get out, get going! Not a very positive approach. However, there is a real example of this in a ritual of the past few days. During the reading of the megillah, the Talmud says, one should read the names of the 10 sons of Haman in the same breath. They were all killed at the same moment, and all lost their neshama — breath — together. (See T.B. Megillah 16b. Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 690:15.) This is why the reader pauses at this point — to allow everyone to try the same trick! Then the reader tries it himself. Indeed, the reason given by many for the need for each individual to rush though it himself is that the reader might not articulate it well enough for the listeners to fulfill their obligation. Well, then why do it at all? Why risk the improper fulfillment of the mitzvah? The day the 10 sons of Haman were killed was a busy day; in that war in Shushan, 500 additional enemies of the Jews were killed. In the middle of a war, who would check to see that the 10 sons of Haman all died at the same moment? And what is the difference? While some say they were killed by hanging, which could have been coordinated so that

they died at the same time, Rashi says clearly that they were first killed and then the bodies were hanged the next day. The 10 sons must have been together and killed at the same time. They all stopped breathing at exactly the same moment. At that moment, the Jews must have been struck by the miracle. Much like the miracle of the oil on Chanukah, this miracle reinforced the belief that what they were doing was divinely ordained. It was revealed to Mordechai with ruach hakodesh, divine inspiration, that this miracle should be recorded by writing their names in a column, with textual nuances. The column represents a type of shira, joyful poem of praise. To commemorate this miracle, we read it in one breath. Nonetheless, the question remains: Why risk not saying it properly? Why the hurry? And what was the point of this miracle anyhow? What is the praise in this “breathtaking” poem? The mitzvah to eradicate Amalek is to cleanse the world of their presence. The presence of Amalek “prevents” Hashem from asserting His kingship. Every last remnant must be removed, which is why, according to many commentaries, Ester requested an additional day to fight. King Saul showed a certain hesitancy and laxity in implementing this. He was punished by having the crown removed from his family. The Jews of Shushan therefore moved with zerizus to implement this mitzvah. When they witnessed the miraculous death of the 10 sons in one moment, they took this as a sign that their zerizus was being acknowledged. Therefore, the miracle is commemorated by reciting the song in one breath. The ashes on the mizbaiach may not be allowed to accumulate. It is unsightly and disrespectful. Their presence impedes the dignity of Hashem’s kingship in a certain sense. The removal of the ashes must be performed with zerizus. Not so our regular prayers. Rather, the faster they are said the more chance that one is not careful. Wishing to get away as soon as possible does not demonstrate zerizus, but a lack of care. Saying them carefully and with concentration demonstrates true zerizus, in the other senses of its meaning. This brings greater honor and glory to Hashem. Unfortunately, it is human nature to lose enthusiasm when one does something regularly. With the passing generations, the mitzvah to remove the build-up of ashes might become too routine. Therefore, Hashem motivates this mitzvah for all generations. This is the lesson of the opening words of this parsha. In the same way, it is especially important to retain zerizus for tefilah. After all, it is one of the most routine activities. In contrast, reading the passuk of the 10 sons in one breath demonstrates zerizus in the mitzvah to eradicate Amalek. Reading it in one breath one day a year will not dilute the enthusiasm. It will increase it. PJC Rabbi Shimon Silver is the spiritual leader of Young Israel of Greater Pittsburgh. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Obituaries BERG: On March 8, Joel H. Berg passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family. He was predeceased by his wife of 48 years, Judith E. B erg, his parents, Benjamin and Regina Goldberg, and his sister Bernice Fargotstein. He was born in Pittsburgh and spent his entire life there. In December of 1952 he joined the army and for two years was stationed at Eniwetok Atoll where he participated in Operation Castle, the testing of the hydrogen bomb. After his time in the Army he returned to Pittsburgh and worked as a salesman, eventually starting his own company, JBJ Trading, which he successfully operated for over 25 years. In his retirement he enjoyed the game of golf, even in his 80s, frequently playing over 160 rounds in a year. He also enjoyed working in his yard and spending time with his children, Stacey Berg (Mary Brandt), Mitchell Berg (Robbie Berg) and Rachel Berg (Colleen O’Brien). The family would like to thank Dr. Hongmei Liang, the team at the UPMC St. Margaret’s infusion center, and Stacey and Hal of the UPMC Family Hospice for their compassionate care. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to Hospice or the charity of your choice. Hahn Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc. 123 North Avenue, Millvale. BRAND: Kenneth S. Brand, on Monday, March 7, 2022, one month shy of his 90th birthday. Beloved husband of the late Marlene Brand. Born in St. Louis to the late Oscar Brand and Anne (Biederman) Brand. He is survived by son Steven Brand (Bella Wong) and their children Jacob and Logan, and by daughter Ellen Brand Price (Robert Price). He is also survived by his brother Robert Brand (Sandie). After graduating magna cum laude in physics from Harvard College (‘53) and receiving his MBA from Harvard Business School (‘55), Ken joined his family’s growing venetian blind and awning manufacturing business (which in turn, grew out of a hardware store business) and helped transition it into a more generalized supplier of metal coatings and platings to a wide variety of markets spanning industries as diverse as automobiles to canned food to above-ground swimming pools. Alongside his brother Bob and cousin Rich Brand, he grew Enamel Products & Plating Company and its Artcraft and Solar Group divisions into the country’s largest independently owned metal coating company and into the largest producer of mailboxes in the U.S. After his focus on family and business, Ken’s greatest passion was as a deep and devout lover of symphony, and especially opera, traveling to many of the top classical music venues throughout the U.S. and Europe to

hear the great conductors, orchestras, operas and soloists of his time. He was an ardent and generous supporter of Pittsburgh’s Symphony and Opera, and served on the Pittsburgh Opera’s board of directors for 40 years as a board vice president of finance, treasurer, assistant treasurer, investment committee chair, and executive committee member. Services were at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., 5509 Centre Avenue, Shadyside on Sunday, March 13, at 1 p.m. Interment Homewood Cemetery. Charitable donations may be made to the Pittsburgh Opera, 2425 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 (pittsburghopera.org). schugar.com FRIEDBERG: Joan Brest Friedberg, on Sunday, March 13, 2022, age 94. Beloved wife of the late Simeon A. Friedberg. Beloved mother of Betsy Friedberg (Drew McCoy) of Melrose, Massachusetts, Aaron Friedberg (Nadège Rolland Friedberg) of Princeton, New Jersey, and Susan Friedberg Kalson (David Kalson) of Pittsburgh. Daughter of the late Aaron P. and Lillian Markell Brest. Sister of the late Ellen Riedel. Grandmother of Laura McCoy (Tim Barrett), Ethan McCoy, Eli Friedberg, Gideon Friedberg, Will Kalson (Liz Belczyk), Hannah Kalson and Rachel Kalson. Step-grandmother of Alexandre, Claire, and Hadrien Rolland. Great-grandmother of Ezra Kalson. Dear aunt, cousin and devoted friend. Born in Boston, Joan grew up on a chicken farm in Norfolk, Massachusetts, where she attended a two-room school. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1948 and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Pittsburgh in 1972. After teaching English at Pitt, she returned to a focus on early childhood education as a preschool teacher at the Carriage House in Squirrel Hill. In 1984, she and her friend and colleague Elizabeth Segel founded Beginning with Books, a literacy program focused on low-income families that promoted reading aloud to babies and children. Her loving and generous nature shaped a beautiful life and touched all who knew her. Services were at Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Avenue (at Morewood), on Wednesday, March 16 at 1 p.m. Visitation at temple, one hour prior to the service (12 noon-1 p.m.). Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. The service was livestreamed through Rodef Shalom Congregation. Virtual shiva was held on Wednesday and Thursday. Contributions in her memory may be made to Bryn Mawr College, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Children’s Collection, or Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

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

In memory of...

Rhoda & Jay Gefsky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hyland L. Gefsky Randy Malt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Max S. Malt Linda Rattner Nunn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Shirley Rattner Lieberman Flo & Caryn Rosenthal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Louis S. Rosenthal Flo & Caryn Rosenthal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sara Esther Dickter The Love and Rutman Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Dorothy Cohen

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS —

Sunday March 20: Rebecca Adler, Ida Goldberg, Bessie Michelson, Mildred S. Moss, Albert Rapport, Isaac Young Monday March 21: Solomon Evelovitz, Sophie Goldman, Helen S. Latterman, Samuel Lichtenstein, Philip Mallinger, Jennie Ostrow, Max Reifman, Sarah Schwartz, Marvin Sniderman, William Taylor, Sara Weiner Tuesday March 22: Frances Light Feinberg, Philip Friedman, Arthur J. Stern, Ida L. Weinthal, Sadie Weiss, Robert S. Yecies Wednesday March 23: Anna Bernfeld, Rose Cohen Calig, Rae Venig Rubin, Ben Shanker, Fannie Siegel Thursday March 24: Sarah Dorothy Cohen, Gerald B. Greenwald, Saul A. Kwall, Julius Jakob Maas, Darlene Robinowitz, Birdie H. Schwartz Friday March 25: Bella Bilder, Rita M. Friedman, Charles Gilles, William Hinkes, Haimen Kauffman, Abraham Pervin, Al N. Plung, Benjamin Siegal, Vera Silverman, Rose Lieberman Solomon, Fannie G. Tavernise Saturday March 26: Rose Bahm, Philip Ellovich, Bernice M. Israel

PITTSBU RGH NEWEST ’S FUNERA L HOME

• Serving the Pittsburgh Jewish Community with Traditional Jewish funerals • Specially Developed Taharah Room with Mikva facilities for Chevra Kadisha • Accommodations for Shomer • Guaranteed advanced funeral planning LOCALLY OWNED and OPERATED

DEBORAH S. PRISE Licensed Jewish Funeral Director

1650 GREENTREE ROAD • PITTSBURGH, PA 15220 412.563.2800 • FAX 412.563.5347

SERVING Scott Twp., Greentree, Carnegie, Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park

Please see Obituaries, page 20

D’Alessandro Funeral Home and Crematory Ltd.

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

“Always A Higher Standard”

Dustin A. D’Alessandro, Supervisor • Daniel T. D’Alessandro, Funeral Director

4522 Butler St. • Pittsburgh, PA 15201 (412) 682-6500 • www.dalessandroltd.com

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

MARCH 18, 2022 19

Opinion Obituaries: Continued from page 19

HESS: Marianne Fisher Hess of Palm Beach and formerly New Castle, Pennsylvania, passed away at home on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at the age of 89 after an extended illness. She is survived by her adoring husband of 66 years, Marshall Hess, and their three children: Carolyn Hess Abraham (Jay Apt), Andy Hess, and Dan Hess (Lori), and beloved grandchildren Geoff Abraham (Morgan), Ted Abraham (Erica,) Alex Abraham (Amy), Leah Hess, Wallis Hess and Max Hess, and great-granddaughter Harper Abraham, along with many dear cousins and extended family. Marianne was an entrepreneur, a teacher, a lover of art and travel, and a compassionate and caring friend to many who will miss her. Marianne was born in Erie Pennsylvania and grew up New Castle, the daughter of Edward and Fay Fisher. She

Momentum: Continued from page 4

her family will inspire the community; and community transformation will model world renewal, Federation officials said. The itinerary includes Tel Aviv, Tzfat, Jerusalem, Masada and the Dead Sea, and the cooperative village of Neve Ilan. Each day

Reform: Continued from page 5

part of their traditional Reform experience, Temple Emanuel’s Meyer said. “I think human beings are capable of holding complex and sometimes conflicting emotions, loving a particular melody without loving the actions of the composer or melody,” he said. In some instances, it’s important to find suitable and “soon-to-be” loved alternatives, but “in other instances, these melodies may serve as teaching moments or object lessons for congregations in prayer or in study,” he added. Weisblatt said he had discussions with his North Hills congregation and, like Meyer,

Zev and Shua Rosenstein, and Yisroel Meir, Rivka, Moshe, Chaim, Menachum and Adel Miriam Zimmerman. Also survived by loving nieces and nephews. Yale started dating the love of his life, Barbara Freed, when she was still in high school. They married in 1955, just before Yale went to the Air Force. This launched a lifelong story of love, mutual respect, help and partnership. Yale was a successful certified financial planner for over 45 years with Lincoln Financial Group. He was also deeply involved in the community. He served as president of Congregation Beth Shalom and of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition and was involved in and cared about many local and national Jewish organizations, charities and institutions. Services were held at Congregation Beth Shalom on Monday, March 14. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Donations in Yale’s memory may be made to Congregation Beth Shalom, 5915 Beacon Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, 2000 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com PJC

graduated from New Castle High School and Connecticut College, where she earned a BA in economics. After college she moved to New York where she joined the executive training program at Hanover Bank. During her career, she worked as a social worker, a high school teacher and community volunteer. Marianne was a successful community leader and entrepreneur. She saw the need for a travel agency in New Castle and co-founded North City Travel. She also co-founded the New Castle chapter of the League of Women Voters and served as a volunteer in many community organizations. Marianne’s happiest times were spent with her family and roaming art galleries and traveling. She loved European history, playing bridge, and her family and friends who adored her. Marianne traveled the world and was an expert on culture and art. However, she always stayed true to her small-town values and ethics. She was extremely charitable; woman’s issues and equality were among her most passionate causes. Marianne was a friend to many — quick to smile and laugh. She will be missed dearly. A private memorial service will took

place on Tuesday, March 15. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Planned Parenthood, The Marianne Fisher Hess Endowed Scholarship Fund at Pittsburgh Jewish Federation, or a charity of choice.

explores a theme of personal growth offered by a Jewish leader or speaker, Altein said. “I love the talks,” Altein said. “I probably enjoy the talks more than I enjoy the sightseeing — it’s fantastic.” Carolyn Slayton, the Federation’s young adult programming associate, will co-lead the trip with Altein. Friedberg isn’t the only participant to rave about Momentum.

“It was life-changing,” said Amy Oven, who grew up in Mt. Lebanon and lives in Moon Township. “I’ve never been so tired at the end of a vacation. You are totally immersed sunrise to sunset — more, actually.” Oven, who traveled with Momentum in 2019, said the trip is very formative, both as an individual experience and something shared with a cohort of Pittsburgh moms. “The friendships I created? I’m in daily

contact with the women I went with,” she said. Applications for the Nov. 1-8 journey close on Sunday, March 27. Partner organizations underwrite travel; airfare is typically each woman’s largest expense. For details, visit Momentum Unlimited.org. PJC

believes there’s an opportunity to use the melodies as a teaching moment. “I started discussion and said, ‘Do we stop the music? Do we use it to educate?’” he said. “The decision was made that we could use the melodies but needed to educate about this reality. And should it get to the point that the community, even with education and our appreciation of the music, doesn’t wish to use it, then we don’t. We haven’t reached that point.”

congregations. Last fall, she assembled a team of congregants, the congregation’s executive director, Leslie Hoffman, and Meyer, to participate in that process. “We’ve had several meetings at this point and are in the process of putting together a code of ethics, as well as a process for those who feel that code of ethics has been implicated,” Markowitz said. Fellman said congregations are wrestling with ethics in ways they haven’t before — which can mean establishing a congregational code of ethics and holding congregational leadership accountable. These practices were unthinkable a generation ago, he said. “For me, personally, part of my challenge as a rabbi is to make sure that my congregation

addresses these things effectively and reasonably and responsibly so that we can account for the actions of the past, but even more, turn the page and say we’re taking this seriously, and show we’re committed to moving things forward in a better way,” he said. The Chronicle reached out to Reform congregations Rodef Shalom Congregation and Congregation Emanu-El Israel for this story. Both declined to comment. PJC

A higher standard

The reports have come at a time when many Reform congregations are reexamining the way they handle ethical dilemmas. Michelle Markowitz, president of Temple Emanuel, said she participated in a call with other congregational presidents to discuss creating an ethics code of conduct at URJ

ROSENSTEIN: Yale Rosenstein, age 89, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 11, 2022, with his family by his side. Yale was born in Pittsburgh, grew up here and raised his family here. Yale is survived by his loving wife, Barbara, of 67-plus years and by his three adoring children, Sharyn (Paul) Marcuson, Rabbi Yaakov Rosenstein and Edward (Randi Blanco) Rosenstein. He was the brother of the late Dr. David and the late Beth Verman Rosenstein of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Devoted grandfather of Shoshana (Doniel) Zimmerman, late Thomas Rosenstein, Shlomo (Sarah Leah) Rosenstein, late Simcha Rosenstein, Moshe (Shevi) Rosenstein, Eli, Yehudah; Isaiah and August Rosenstein, and Joy Marcuson. Proud great-grandfather of

Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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

Business & Professional Directory AUTOS WANTED

HOUSE CLEANER

V E H I C L E S WA N T E D 7 2 4 - 2 8 7 - 7 7 7 1 C A $ H B U Y I N G GOOD + PROBLEM CAR$ $UV$ TRUCK$ VAN$ FREE LEGAL TITLE T R A N $ F E R + VEHICLE PICKUP DENNY OFF$TEIN A U T O $ A L E $

EXPERIENCED HOUSECLEANER

20 MARCH 18, 2022

• Small and Large Homes • Trustworthy and Reliable • Fully Vaccinated • Companion Care Offered • Excellent References

Please call Lucy at 412-728-5373

HOUSE CLEANER

INCOME TAX PREPARATION INCOME TAX PREPARATION

We Prepare & File Your

Federal, State, Local & Property/Rent Rebate Tax Returns • Individuals • Partnerships • Estates • Self-Employed • Cryptocurrency

Prompt, Professional Service In-Person or Virtual

SHOWCASE YOUR PROPERTIES EVERY WEEK IN THE PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE Contact Phil Durler to schedule your advertising pdurler@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 724-713-8874 advertising@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

412-421-3999 Stephen Cohen Keystone By Design

TAXPREPARATIONPITTSBURGH.COM

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Real Estate REALTOR SERVICES

FOR SALE

KEEPING IT REAL IN REAL ESTATE!

F O R S A LE

Contact me today to find out how Howard Hanna’s exclusive buyer and seller programs can benefit you! • Buy Before You Sell • Money Back Guarantee • One Stop Shopping • Hanna Gold Advantage • Homes of Distinction • HSA Home Warranty Protection

Contact Denise today for the REAL facts on why NOW is the best time to buy or sell! Denise Serbin, Realtor HOWARD HANNA REAL ESTATE

Squirrel Hill Office 6310 Forbes Ave. , Pittsburgh, PA 15217 412-480-6554 mobile/preferred 412-421-9120 office deniseserbin@howardhanna.com

FOR RENT

BUYING OR SELLING?

5125 Fifth Ave.

2 & 3 Bedrooms Corner of Fifth and Wilkins Spacious 1500-2250 square feet

Contact me today to discuss all of your real estate needs!

”Finest in Shadyside”

412-661-4456

www.kaminrealty.kamin.com

OAKLAND • THE WINCHESTER CONDO • $324,900 Fabulous with one of the only balconies. Updated kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 integral parking spaces, pool and guest suite. Call Kate White 412310-0765. FOX CHAPEL MEWS • $549,000 Bright, spacious most desired 3 br, 3 ba unit in a neutral palate with upscale updates throughout. The open floor plan offers many options for a home office. A large patio welcomes morning sun. Ideally located near the elevator and storage. Numerous bldg. amenities. See with Etta Golomb 412-725-6524. SHADYSIDE • $1,300,000 • CONTEMPORARY CARRIAGE HOUSE A secluded gem in the heart of Shadyside in this architect/owner home. Efficient in size, light-filled rooms throughout, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, updated features, and set on a private manicured lot, just minutes from shopping, schools, downtown, and public transportation. One of a kind! Shown by appointment with Etta Golomb, 412-725-6524. SOUTHSIDE • $299,000 • ANGEL ARMS • HISTORIC FIRST TIME OFFERED! Gorgeous 2 bedroom 2 bath open condo with deck and wonderful appointments. Rare Find. Owner sacrificing and says sell. Beautiful! JILL and MARK PORTLAND RE/MAX REALTY BROKERS 412.521.1000 EXT. 200 412.496.5600 JILL | 412.480.3110 MARK

REALTOR SERVICES

FOR RENT

Are You Buying or Selling a Home? Let Us Guide You Through the Process!

BEACON PLACE SQUIRREL HILL

CALL THE SMITH-ROSENTHAL TEAM TODAY.

Smith-Rosenthal Team

Secure Senior Building Must be over 62 years old LARGE 1BR 1BA $ 110000 per month + elec. Updated kitchen. New floors. Craig 412-422-8788 craig@alleghenyfence.com

FOR SALE

Jason A. Smith & Caryn Rosenthal Jason: 412-969-2930 | Caryn: 412-389-1695 Jasonasmith@howardhanna.com Carynrosenthal@howardhanna.com

5501 Baum Blvd. Pittsburgh PA 15232 Shadyside Ofﬁce | 412-361-4000

h THE BEST OF THE IN YOUR EMAIL INBOX ONCE A WEEK.

5912 Douglas

$350,000

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

MARCH 18, 2022 21

Choose your own adventure at JCC Day Camps!

Performing Arts Camp – Matilda Jr.

J&R Day Camp

K-grade 8 | June 27-August 19 JCC Family Park, Monroeville (transportation provided) Rachael Speck • rspeck@jccpgh.org • 412-697-3537

Grades 4-10 | June 27-July 22, 2022 JCC Robinson Building, Squirrel Hill Kathy Wayne • kwayne@jccpgh.org • 412-339-5414

Specialty Camps

Grades 1-8 | July 5-August 19 Squirrel Hill and Monroeville Jamie Scott • jscott@jccpgh.org • 412-697-3520

South Hills Day Camp

K-age 14 | June 13-August 12, 2022 Emma Litwak • elitwak@jccpgh.org • 412-278-1782

JCCPGHDAYCAMPS.COM Connections • Values • Growth • Fun 22 MARCH 18, 2022

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Community Here’s to hooping

Pack it up, pack it in

The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh hosted its first Harry B. Davis basketball clinic on March 7. It was the first time the clinic was hosted since the start of the pandemic.

Congregation Beth Shalom volunteers packed mishloach manot bags for Purim on March 6.

p Hooray for helping.

p Who’s number one? We’re number one.

p We’re all in this together.

Photos by Mindy Shreve

Put it in a letter Community Day School students made cards of encouragement for Ukrainian refugees in Poland on March 11. The cards were given to David D. Sufrin, chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh board of directors, for delivery in Poland. Sufrin is traveling to Poland with other Jewish Federation leaders.

p Ball don’t lie.

t From Pittsburgh with love.

p We are the champions.

Photos courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh

Macher and Shaker Lori Graubard Plung received this year’s National Rosenthal award from the Crohn’s Colitis Foundation for her work in patient advocacy and support. PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

p Here’s hoping for peace.

Photos courtesy of Community Day School

MARCH 18, 2022 23

KOSHER MEATS

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

Alle Kosher 80% Lean Fresh Ground Beef

99 lb.

Price effective Thursday, 0DUFK through Wednesday, 0DUFK , 202

Available at 24

MARCH 18, 2022

and PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG