Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 5-3-19 by Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

May 3, 2019 | 29 Nisan 5779

Candlelighting 8:00 p.m. | Havdalah 9:03 p.m. | Vol. 62, No. 18 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Community reacts to Poway synagogue shooting

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Marathoners pay tribute

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Local faith leaders lead vigil for Sri Lanka By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

Two runners honor Tree of Life victims

During an April 29 vigil at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Finkelstein matched his remarks to those offered a half-year earlier by thanking attendees for demonstrating the community’s strength and coming out after “a raging anti-Semite shot up a holy place of worship on Shabbat and murdered our extended Jewish family.” Visibly irritated, Finkelstein continued, “These are the exact words, the exact words, I spoke at Soldiers and Sailors Hall on Oct. 28. Unfortunately, they still resonate today. I’m sick and tired and frustrated and angry that I have to use them again.” Meryl Ainsman, Federation’s board chair, was similarly disturbed. “Enough is enough,” she announced from a lectern inside the JCC’s Katz Theater. Other speakers at the April 29 event called for action. We should be “thinking about what are we doing with these precious moments,”

ittsburgh’s faith leaders offered ancestral prayers, laid a wreath and engaged in collective song during last week’s vigil for Sri Lanka. Held at the Heinz Memorial Chapel in Oakland, the event enabled nearly 200 attendees to hear about Sri Lankan life and reflect on the 253 people killed during the April 21 bombings in the island republic. As beautiful as the country is, it is the people who make it truly special, explained Hafeez Dheen, of the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh. Dheen recalled his regular childhood visits and “deep ancestral roots” to the land before noting the recent attacks do not represent “the Sri Lanka I know.” With a population of 21 million, nearly 70 percent of Sri Lankans are Buddhists. Remaining residents are split between Hindus, Muslims and Christians, according to Sri Lanka’s 2012 Census of Population and Housing. Despite its diversity, “Sri Lanka has a long history of discrimination,” said Ernest Rajakone, deputy manager, City of Pittsburgh Community Affairs. This matters to Pittsburgh, he added, because “we have a moral obligation to humanity to combat hate.” Rev. Liddy Barlow, executive minister of Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, said, “These moments are times when people of disparate beliefs can come together in solemnity in silence and contemplation and with a deep commitment to not only hoping for a better world but shaping a better world.” That need to remain hopeful is critical, explained Mayor Bill Peduto following the event. “There’s a slow erosion that I believe has occurred over the past several years that has allowed hate speech to become more accepted and an increase in hate crime to become more

Please see Shooting, page 15

Please see Sri Lanka, page 15

Page 2 LOCAL Cheryl Klein’s big change

The popular lay leader steps down to see what’s next Page 6 LIFESTYLE

 Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, a survivor of the Tree of Life attack, recited the Mi Sheberach (prayer of healing) and called for the complete healing of those injured at the Chabad of Poway attack. Photo by Joshua Franzos By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

‘Amazing’ journey

Becca Droz talks about her second ‘Race’ Page 14

rauma therapists made it clear that communal healing would take time. The road to recovery from Oct. 27, 2018, they said, could last months or years. Less imaginable was that the pathway would require traversing similar horror, as six months after 11 Jews were gunned down inside the Tree of Life building another Jew was killed 2,400 miles west at the Chabad of Poway in California. Adding painful overlap to Lori GilbertKaye’s murder inside the seemingly safe space of a San Diego County synagogue was that April 27 was Shabbat and the eighth day of Passover — as one of three designated days to publicly say the Yizkor prayer, the eighth day of Passover was the first opportunity to recite the memorial hymns since Oct. 27. Apart from the timing of Gilbert-Kaye’s slaying, the realization that a Jew in California could be struck down in similar fashion to the Pittsburgh 11 was shocking and disturbing, said Jeffrey Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

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Headlines Marathon runners to honor Tree of Life victims — LOCAL — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

mong the nearly 40,000 runners expected to pound Pittsburgh’s streets on May 5, two marathoners are racing with heavy hearts. Matt Scoletti and Zev Rosenberg are each dedicating their 26.2 mile journeys to honor the 11 victims killed on Oct. 27. For Scoletti, a lifelong Pittsburgher, the decision to complete the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon was driven by the horrific events at the Tree of Life building. “When something as tragic and terrible as that happens, not only in your city, but somewhere where you frequent and you know that area ... and then all of a sudden you start hearing people who knew people who were in the community and just to have it be that real, and that close to home, for me I was like, ‘OK, I gotta do something because this is my town. This is where I’m from and I got to stand up for love.’” Scoletti, 35, is a motivational speaker who is drawn to endurance events, but although he has traveled to Australia to bike 250 miles in 24 hours, completed several Tough Mudder runs and competed on “American Ninja Warrior,” he’s never run a marathon. With everything that happened, “it just seemed like the right time for me to combine my love for fitness, my love for the city and the mission of love: that love conquers hate,” he said. Runners are notoriously picky about their dress, and in an effort to propagate a message of love, Scoletti plans on making a fashion statement. With each step of his 26.2 mile trek, Scoletti will wear the same item he has been training in: an 11-pound weighted vest. “Every time I put that weight vest on — it happens every single time, which has been 20 or 30 times I put it on — I think about

p Zev Rosenberg, left, and Matt Scoletti

the 11 people that were killed, I think about their families, I think about the Tree of Life community, typically to the point of tears, and that’s the emotion I’m feeling before I start running.” Knowing that he is raising “awareness of the love-conquers-hate story helps me run distances that I never thought I would.” Scoletti is not the only runner seeking to inspire others on race day. Zev Rosenberg, 57, is traveling from Edison, N.J., to run “in memory of those who can’t,” he said. Pittsburgh will be Rosenberg’s 14th marathon. He typically runs two races per year: one in the spring and another in the fall. Shortly after he finished his last marathon, he was deciding which one to tackle next. The Tree of Life attacks had just occurred, and Rosenberg turned to his wife and said, “People were massacred there and we are going to show some support. May 5 is right between Yom Hashoah and Yom Hazikaron and I am going to try and raise awareness about remembering the people that were murdered.” “I want to make sure that those memories are preserved and I want to raise awareness and respect for the first responders, especially those

Photos courtesy of Liz Fetchin

who were injured,” Rosenberg said. “I don’t know who they were but I know that it’s a hard job: It has a ripple effect. It affects the families. It affects the communities and it affects me.” Rosenberg is an IDF veteran, an IDF parent and the son of a Marine Corps veteran. He said he appreciates the sacrifices made by veterans and their families, and he understands the profound loss tragedy imparts. Rosenberg recalled how on Nov. 18, 2014, two Palestinian men entered Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue, in Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood. As services occurred, the two terrorists attacked congregants with axes, knives and a gun. Ultimately, five civilians and a police officer were killed. “I have a friend who was murdered in the Har Nof massacre and every time something like this happens, it is extraordinarily painful. I know the devastation it causes to all of these families and communities,” he said. Rosenberg runs with the emotional weight of loss. He also carries the realization that he has achieved the incredible. In 2013, he suffered a severe spinal injury that paralyzed him from the neck down. Rosenberg worked

tirelessly to recover, and he attributes his rehabilitation to multiple factors, including his belief that “I didn’t want to teach my kids a lesson that when things go bad, you give up. That’s a bad lesson.” Rosenberg’s upcoming run, as challenging as it will be, is in gratitude to those who have helped him reach this point. “There were so many people who were involved in trying to get me as well as I can possibly be. They did things for the family. There was a whole medical crew, from first responders to people that came to take me to the hospital, the surgeons, the physical therapists, all the doctors involved, the physiatrists, they all just wanted me to get better.” Stories like Scoletti’s and Rosenberg’s are part of the marathon’s fabric, explained Patrice Matamoros, race director and CEO. “Running is an equalizer,” she said. “It’s an incredible way to bring people together for good.” Matamoros will step down from her post on June 30. Saying goodbye to the marathon will be challenging, she explained. “When I hear stories about the Matts and Zevs, the pretty amazing people putting their running to a purpose higher than themselves, working through something very difficult to give people hope, it is what I absolutely love about the job and what I will absolutely miss.” She said she has heard of others who will also be running this year’s race in memory of the 11 victims at Tree of Life. “I am so enamored and amazed by what they are doing, and so humbled to be part of something really special and positive,” she said. “And I want them to know that we are there for them. We are putting in really long hours and it is all worth it. They help our team go, and we will be cheering for them the loudest and the proudest at the finish line.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Anti-violence march draws close to 350 — LOCAL — By David Rullo | Special to the Chronicle

arolyn Ban opened “Looking Back, Marching Forward” at Temple Sinai on Sunday, April 28, choking back tears. “We will never forget those we lost as we work to keep others safe and spare other families such terrible loss.” Ban is the co-founder of Squirrel Stands Against Gun Violence and one of the organizers of the rally/march, which was attended by almost 350 people and honored the 11 victims of the Oct. 27 Tree of Life massacre. The event took place against the backdrop of another anti-Semitic attack, this time at a Chabad synagogue in Poway, California, near San Diego. For over an hour, local and state politicians, gun-control advocates and survivors of the terrorist attack spoke, calling for an end to gun violence. Before introducing the speakers, Rob Conroy, director of CeaseFirePA, told the crowd, “Think of today as the first, next step toward making sure no community, no family, no friend, no individual has to live with this type of loss ever again.” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald recalled attending a vigil last year for the victims of the Tree of Life shooting

p Pittsburgh’s youth led the march against gun violence from Temple Sinai to Schenley Park. Photo by Jim Busis

and spoke about attending another the day before for the victims of the Chabad synagogue incident. He then drew parallels between gun legislation recently passed by Pittsburgh’s City Council and the smoking ban passed by the county in 2006. “We were sued … quite frankly we lost, but it created such momentum that the legislature passed a statewide smoking ban. I am hopeful that

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we repeat history and the legislature finally enacts some gun safety legislation.” Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto began his remarks stating, “I am out of words. I am beyond anger. I question how people still don’t get it; that think by doing nothing the problem is going to solve itself. How is that possible? How can you argue that?” Peduto went on to say, “We have to not

only win the hearts of people, we have to win the minds. Unfortunately, we are at a time right now where what was unacceptable to say, unacceptable to do just a few short years ago, is now normal. It’s not normal. We have to stand up. “It’s not Poway and Pittsburgh. It’s San Bernadino and Sandy Creek and Orlando and Baltimore. It’s all throughout this country. The only way you can create change is by changing things. There are many more steps to take.” In a voice filled with equal parts sadness, anger and defiance, Dan Leger, a Tree of Life massacre survivor, echoed a familiar Passover refrain: “We shouldn’t have to be here today because of Columbine. It was more than enough. We shouldn’t have to be here because of Parkland. It was more than enough. We shouldn’t have to be here because of Newtown. It was more than enough. We shouldn’t have to be here because of Charleston. It was more than enough. We shouldn’t have to be here because Orlando was more than enough. We shouldn’t have to be here because Las Vegas was more than enough. We shouldn’t have to be here because of Aurora, because it was more than enough. We shouldn’t have to be here because of Pittsburgh, because it was more than enough, and we shouldn’t have to

We may be finally learning not to compare one person’s suffering to another, but simply to hear their “illness narrative” of what being sick has meant to them. Learn where this same idea exists in Jewish tradition.

Jonathan Weinkle, MD, author of the book “Healing People, Not Patients: Creating Authentic Relationships in Modern Healthcare” — in which he takes the core Jewish ideal that humans are created in G-d’s image and maps out the nuts and bolts of a healing relationship. From where does the ideal of Jewish healing emanate, and what does it look like in practice? How can it be put to work even in our fragmented, dehumanizing medical system of today? Could conducting our healing encounters this way change how we relate to others in the rest of our daily lives?

There is no charge to attend but resverations are required and may be made at pittsburgh@zoa.org or 412-665-4630.

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MAY 3, 2019 3

Headlines Ed Asner tackles Holocaust denial in ‘The Soap Myth’

Children Experience the Miracle of Nature at JCC Day Camps The book of Bereshit details God’s creations of heaven and earth. Each time God created something in this epic beginning story of the world, the Torah says, v’erah elokim ki tov or “God saw that it was good.” On the third day, God said, “let the earth sprout vegetation, seed yielding herbs and fruit trees producing fruit according to its kind in which its seed is found, on the earth, and it was so.” In three days, God turned a land that was tohu vavohu, formless and void, into one that was filled with vegetation and trees producing fruit, a seed of each kind. How can we apply this to our own lives and what does this mean in relation to young children? For young children, the notion of playing in the dirt, of planting a seed, of watering something, comes more naturally than perhaps anything else. At J&R Day Camp a few years back, we transformed an abandoned old field into a lush garden full to the brim with zinnias and sunflowers, tomatoes and cucumbers, basil and parsley (and a few chickens too!) We, together with young children, turned land that was tohu vavohu into land that was ripe with food to eat, flowers to smell and exploratory experiences to be had. To be outside in nature and to grow something from a tiny seed is a true miracle to watch. Letting a child be an active participant takes the miraculous nature of growing food to the next level. There are moments of joy and sometimes trepidation (can I really pick up that worm?!) There are moments of doubt (wait, you mean we are eating the eggs like now?!) and pride (the sunflowers are over 10 feet tall!) Above all, there are so many moments of “seeing that it is good.” Turning land, any land (a tiny garden box, an acre, our expanding garden at camp), from tohu vavohu to land full of things growing is ki tov because it is just that good. —Adapted from a blog by Casey Weiss, who spent many summers at JCC camps as a camper, staff and garden specialist and started J&R’s sustainable garden.

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CONNECTIONS • VALUES • GROWTH • FUN 4 MAY 3, 2019

p Liba Vaynburg and Ed Asner will perform in “The Soap Myth” May 6 at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. Photo courtesy of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh

— LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

he character of Holocaust survivor Milton Saltzman in “The Soap Myth” is described as “cantankerous.” So who better to take on the role than actor Ed Asner, 89, who throughout his career has turned cantankerousness into an art? Asner, known for playing the cantankerous Lou Grant in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and in the dramatic spinoff “Lou Grant,” and as the voice of the cantankerous Carl Fredricksen in the Pixar film “Up,” will perform in a staged reading of “The Soap Myth” in Pittsburgh on May 6 at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. The seven-time Emmy Award and fivetime Golden Globe winner is fine with the typecasting. “From time immemorial,” said Asner, speaking by phone from New York, “the naysayers and the ulcerous ones have looked like me.” “The Soap Myth,” by Jeff Cohen, tells the story of Saltzman, who is on a mission to ensure that evidence that Nazis made soap out of Jewish corpses is included in Holocaust museums, and a young Jewish journalist, determined to discover the truth. The play examines anti-Semitism in the guise of Holocaust denial, and takes a hard look at who has the right to chronicle history. The show, which launched a national tour on April 15, is part of the Holocaust Center’s Week of Remembrance. Other events included the Waldman Arts and Writing Award Ceremony on May 1, and a Yom HaShoah Commemoration on May 2, which focused on women and the Holocaust.

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Asner was raised Orthodox in Kansas City, Missouri, where he said he was sometimes bullied because he was Jewish. It was his foundation of Jewish values, and his exposure to anti-Semitism at an early age, that led him to be an outspoken activist for several causes, including progressive political initiatives as well as The Survivor Mitzvah Project, a nonprofit that provides emergency aid to elderly and impoverished Holocaust survivors in Eastern Europe. His zeal to help the underdog, he said, can be traced to “being imbued in all the heroes of Jewish history, being a member of a tribe that gets picked upon in Kansas whenever people feel like it — being raised cautiously to be careful of what I say or do because it wouldn’t look good for the Jews. Many things contribute to speaking out, and being a Jew.” Coming to Pittsburgh to perform a piece that confronts anti-Semitism just months after the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue building is apt, Asner said. Pittsburgh, he said, “has been ennobled by the massacre. It is reflected upon the whole nation, and it has become ennobled by its redress of the factors which led to the assassinations. “It’s kind of old news in our country, don’t you think?” he continued, pointing to attacks on African-American churches, and the recent mosque attacks in New Zealand. “And the music goes on.” “I think [the Soap Myth] will apply,” he said. “It fights against our own disbelievers — who want indictment in other areas for sure rather than risk minimizing the other indictments — and so they work against Milton Saltzman, our hero, by trying to deny him the audience he craves for the Please see Asner, page 5

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Headlines Asner: Continued from page 4

indictment that he seeks.” The tour is taxing for Asner — its threeweek run includes stops in Florida, Delaware, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio — but the octogenarian took on the project “because I love the play,” he said. “I love the message, whatever that may be. I love performing. And I think I serve the play and the message well by performing in it.” He described the script as “aiming for the target, presenting a hero that does the same type of aiming, and it doesn’t separate the

two. Now, you can say he’s a pain in the ass, him and his cause, but unfortunately, that’s all too often how things get done, by someone who won’t stop being a pain in the ass.” “The Soap Myth” was originally produced off-Broadway at the Roundabout Theater in 2012 by the National Jewish Theater Foundation. A film of that production was broadcast nationally on PBS and is in the permanent collection of Britain’s Digital Theatre. In light of the recent rise of anti-Semitic attacks, playwright Jeff Cohen said his show has particular significance. “Holocaust education is more important than ever,” Cohen said in a prepared statement. “I feel a renewed urgency to fight the

tide of hatred using the weapons I possess — words and ideas.” Audiences have been receptive to the show’s message, according to Asner. “You’d have to be a real shmendrick not to be moved by this play,” he said. “The audiences have always been enormously appreciative no matter how big or small. The play carries its effect wherever it goes.” The legendary actor has no plans to retire, or to even slow down. “Are you crazy? Acting is life to me,” he said. “It gives me energy.” Asner is currently presenting two other shows. “A Man and His Prostate” is a one-man comedy that Asner describes as “a

beautifully written show” by Ed Weinberger, who was a writer/producer on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” He is also playing the title role in “God Help Us,” a dramedy by Samuel Warren Joseph and Phil Proctor that deals with news personalities from opposite ends of the political spectrum. Not everyone gets to play God, Mr. Asner. “They don’t have the qualifications I do,” he quipped. Tickets for “The Soap Myth,” which runs 90 minutes, can be purchased at hcofpgh.org/ soap-myth. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines After three decades, Cheryl Klein stepping down from Dor Hadash bimah — LOCAL — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

fter 33 years providing spiritual leadership to Congregation Dor Hadash as its lay cantor, Rabbi Cheryl Klein is ready to pursue new ways to “serve and preserve Jewish tradition” — a phrase she refers to as her “tagline.” She is most definitely not retiring. Klein, who helps lead services at the Reconstructionist congregation that was housed in the Tree of Life synagogue building, announced her plans to “step down from the bimah” in a letter to its membership prior to the massacre. “After 33 years, I thought perhaps this is an opportunity to explore the rabbinic end of things a little more, with nothing in particular planned,” she said. Although Klein has been a devoted Jewish educator since she was studying to become a bat mitzvah at Dor Hadash — at the time, she tutored other children to help them prepare for their own b’nai mitzvahs — she is fairly new to the rabbinate. Serving as a “self-taught” cantor for decades, she obtained rabbinic ordination from

the nondenominational Mesifta Adath Wolkowisk, an online program, in 2016. “I always loved being Jewish,” said Klein, whose family was one of those that founded Dor Hadash. “I had a very, very strong identity as a child. My home was very traditional. I loved music. I loved Hebrew. I loved studying Hebrew texts. And I think oftentimes, you gravitate toward those things that you are good at. That was the case with me. It was natural, it came pretty easy to me.” Klein followed an undergraduate degree in sociology at the University of Pittsburgh with a master’s in teaching. Having an affinity as an educator, she continued working parttime while raising her family and tutoring children in Hebrew, becoming the principal of different religious schools in the Allegheny County area. She eventually took a full-time teaching position at the School of Advanced Jewish Studies, and later became the head of that program, working simultaneously at Dor Hadash. Dor Hadash is a lay-led congregation and has never had a spiritual leader employed as its rabbi. The congregation, which has maintained a membership roll of about 150 family units over the last 25 years, was founded in 1963. It was one of the earliest affiliates of the Reconstructionist movement.

p Rabbi Cheryl Klein

File photo

Now that Klein has obtained rabbinic ordination, she is open to seeing what new opportunities await. “When you have dedicated more than half of your life to one institution in terms of the service that you provide, in some ways it doesn’t provide the ability to see what else is

going on in the rest of the institutionalized Jewish world,” she said. “And I am using that word lightly, ‘institutional,’ because there are many ways today in which Judaism is being practiced, what people are calling ‘beyond the walls’ communities.” Stepping down from the bimah at Dor Hadash on June 1, she said, is “bittersweet because I have invested so much of my life with the congregation. It’s been my ‘second love affair’ — my first, of course, with my husband, Mark.” That “second love affair” was nurtured through Klein’s work co-leading services with many different congregants, and having “the opportunity to relate to, know and appreciate all of the goodness that people have in their hearts to be able to give of themselves to make Dor Hadash function well,” she said. “I feel I have truly been blessed to be a part of a very intellectual, seeking group of people who have open hearts, open minds and open doors,” Klein said. “And it has really been such an honor, a joy and a privilege to serve the congregation for more than three decades.” The feeling is mutual. Please see Klein, page 7

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Criteria for Awards: • Demonstrated need for funding • Number of beneficiaries • Recognition of LHAS in all publicity and materials related to this grant • Innovation and creativity • Sustainability • Project’s contribution to the community in compliance with the LHAS mission & vision • Final evaluation and expenditure reports will be required semi-annually

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTALS IS MAY 31, 2019. Please mail application to: LHAS Community Grant Committee 3459 Fifth Avenue, Suite N-709 • Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Applicants should use the PDF application form available located on the LHAS Website at https://bit.ly/2Vdb7u4 Please direct questions regarding this granting opportunity to the LHAS Office at (412) 648-6106 or via email at lhasoffice@gmail.com. These funds are made available through Ladies Hospital Aid Society of Western PA. Ladies Hospital Aid Society is a 501(c)3 charitable organization that delivers support with compassion for the educational, financial and health needs of our diverse communities.

Main (412) 648-6106 • Fax (412) 692-2682 • www.LHAS.net 6 MAY 3, 2019

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Headlines Klein:

“ I never would have imagined … that I would

Continued from page 6

Klein is “beloved by the community,” noted Dor Hadash president Donna Coufal. “She is a very strong person and she is a very creative thinker, and very spiritual.” Klein has “really straddled an interesting position because we consider ourselves a lay-led congregation and yet in all fairness, Cheryl took tremendous leadership,” Coufal continued. “She speaks from her heart and her wisdom, but she has an amazing presence and that’s her gift, no matter whether she is talking to you over lunch or she is co-leading a service with a member, that presence is always there.” Klein was out of town on Oct. 27 celebrating her husband’s birthday with family in Philadelphia, but drove back to Pittsburgh the following morning to be with her flock and to speak at the Sunday vigil at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. Prior to that event, members of Dor Hadash planned to gather together in the social hall at the East Presbyterian Church. The massacre had resulted in the death of congregant Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, and serious injuries to congregant Dan Leger. A representative of the church had asked a member of Dor Hadash how many chairs to set up, and was told that about 30 should be sufficient. But when Klein arrived, she saw more than 300 people from her congregation JC Opn Special moments assembled in that room. FIN_Eartique 4/29/19

spend pretty much the last full year of my relationship with Dor Hadash,

at least in a professional capacity, trying to help the congregation to heal from the worst atrocity to ever hit

”

the Jewish community of Pittsburgh.

— RABBI CHERYL KLEIN

Of course she was asked to speak. “I think at that point I was just looking for divine inspiration,” she recalled. “I had nothing written. It was just whatever words landed in my heart. To this day I can’t even tell you what I said. It was just trying to find the right words at the right time for the right reason. To try to bring some sense of comfort to a room that was thick with pain.” Coufal remembers Klein walking into the church that Sunday. “She spoke with such strength, and she cried,” Coufal said. “Cheryl is able to hold all of those emotions at once.” When Klein arrived at the communitywide vigil at Soldiers and Sailors later that 4:31 PM Page again 1 afternoon, she was surprised to see

the enormity of the event and thousands of people in attendance. “It never dawned on me, the scope of what was to be revealed when I was asked to speak at a vigil,” Klein said. “I hadn’t thought there would be national media and local media. It never even entered my psyche. I just pray I said words that would try to bring a sense of strength and courage to my community.” The attack on her congregation continues to be “very painful, really painful,” Klein said. “I never would have imagined — never, in my entire lifetime — that I would spend pretty much the last full year of my relationship with Dor Hadash, at least in a professional capacity, trying to help the congregation to heal from the worst

atrocity to ever hit the Jewish community of Pittsburgh.” As individual members heal at their own pace, the lay leadership of Dor Hadash is interviewing candidates to fill Klein’s role. A leader of High Holiday services for 2019 has already been hired. “We have a long history, but we also have had a lot of changes as a result of the shooting and what our needs are,” said Coufal. “So we want to work with someone who has the maturity and the sensitivity to deal with what we’ve gone through. “We have been a nomadic group for many years,” she noted, adding that the congregation’s immediate plan is to stay at Rodef Shalom — where it has been housed since the massacre — for a year. “As a congregation, we have been dealing with a lot of stuff and we will deal with this, too,” Coufal continued. “And I know I can always reach out to Cheryl.” As for Klein, her “heart is full of gratitude for having been able to do what I love to do when so many people in this world aren’t given that opportunity,” she said. “I am grateful for the wonderful friendships and relationships that I have been able to make throughout the community on both a professional level and a personal level. Of course, my family is my number one priority, but my position at Dor Hadash has really made my life very whole.” PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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

State University. Jett will discuss “Where American ambassadors come from, where they go and why they still matter in today’s globalized world.” There is a $6 charge. Visit bethelcong.org or call 412-561-1168 for more information.

q FRIDAY, MAY 3

South Hills Celebrates Israel from 5 to 7 p.m. with free Israeli street food, dietary laws observed, at the South Hills Jewish Community Center, 345 Kane Blvd. Visit southhillsjewishpittsburgh.org/israel19 for a list of activities and more information.

Chabad of Squirrel Hill will hold Loaves of Love, a morning of challah baking with a group of women, and learn from Sue Berman how to make key-shaped loaves, which are traditional for the first Shabbat after Passover. Registration required at chabadpgh.com/lol by May 1. There is a $10 charge. q SUNDAY, MAY 5 Beth Shalom Men’s Club will hold Lox & Learning with author Dorit Sasson as she discusses her book “Accidental Soldier: A Memoir of Service and Sacrifice in the Israel Defense Forces,” at 10 a.m. The event is free. Contact the office at 412-421-2288 or derekhcbs@gmail.com to RSVP. Visit bethshalompgh.org/events-upcoming for more information. Rabbi Don Rossoff of Temple Emanuel will discuss “Zionism and Israel: The What and Whys of the Jewish State and the Connections We Have” at 10:30 a.m. There is no charge. For more information or to RSVP, contact the Temple office at 412-279-7000 or templeemanuel@templeemanuelpgh.org. JFunds and PJ Library will present Making Cent$ of Tzedakah: A Penny Hunt with a Purpose from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at the Squirrel Hill Jewish Community Center. Parents and their children ages 4 to 10 will hear a heartwarming story and participate in activities to learn how tzedakah is practiced in our community. Free pizza lunch included. RSVP at tinyurl.com/pjmakingcents. Classrooms Without Borders will present From Israel to Pittsburgh: A Fun Day of Art and Celebration, in memory of Milton Fine, at the Children’s Museum from 2 to 7 p.m. with the F.I.N.E Israeli artist Asaf Elkalai as he kicks off his residency in Pittsburgh with a day of celebration and fun activities. There is a charge. For the 2-5pm event Adults are discounted and first 100 children are free with CWB code. To get the code and registration links RSVP here: https:// tinyurl.com/MAY5-CWB. Contact melissa@ classroomswithoutborders.org or visit classroomswithoutborders.org for more information. The Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania will host its 37th annual banquet and will induct Ross Gusky, Rob Ruck, Lenny Silverman and Jeff Weisband, along with the presentation of the Ziggy Kahn Award to Edward Gelman and Manny Gold Humanitarian Award to H. Arnold Gefsky. Student athletes will also receive the 2019 Nathan H. Kaufmann Scholastic Award. The banquet will be held at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Tickets are $70. Contact Alan Mallinger at 412-697-3545 for more information. q MONDAY, MAY 6 Beth El Congregation will host its First Mondays monthly lunch program from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with Rabbi Alex Greenbaum featuring guest Dennis Jett, founding faculty member and professor of international affairs of the School of International Affairs at Penn

8 MAY 3, 2019

Kollel Jewish Learning Center will hold a community event featuring Rabbi Yisroel Miller at Embassy Suites Hotel, 535 Smithfield St. There will be a light buffet at 7 p.m. followed by the program at 8 p.m. The charge is $50 per person. Contact Stacie Stufflebeam 412-214-7973 or Stacie@ kollelpgh.org for more information or to make reservations. “The Soap Myth” starring Ed Asner at Rodef Shalom Congregation at 7 p.m., takes place more than a half century after the end of World War II when a young journalist sets out to write an article about a cantankerous Holocaust survivor and his crusade regarding the Nazi atrocity of soap. Visit hcofpgh.org/ soap-myth for more information and pricing. q TUESDAYS, MAY 7-JUNE 11 The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh is offering a program for adults, Better Choices, Better Health, for six consecutive Tuesdays from 12:30 to 3 p.m. in Room 2002. The workshops are informative, fun and interactive. By joining the workshop, you will be together with people with similar conditions and concerns as you. All workshop participants get the companion book, “Living a Healthy Life with a Chronic Condition.” Light refreshments are provided throughout, with a graduation celebration at the end. Contact Amy Gold at 412-697-3528 for more information and to sign up. q WEDNESDAYS, MAY 8-29 Trauma Resiliency Group: An Integrative Approach to Healing will be offered by Amy Lohr, LCSW, integrative psychotherapist from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Room 307. This is a drop-in open group supporting personal growth via skills development, self-awareness and education about recovering from trauma form an integrative approach that values mind, body and spirit. Mindfulness practice, meditation, Reiki energy work, spirituality, and other complementary healing techniques blended with traditional psychotherapy will be used to empower you to be well. There is no charge. q THURSDAY, MAY 9 World Union for Progressive Judaism 2019 luncheon at noon at Rodef Shalom Congregation featuring guest speaker Asaf Elkalai discussing “The World of Israeli Art.” The World Union for Progressive Judaism is the international umbrella organization of the Reform, Liberal, Progressive and Reconstructionist movements, serving 1,200 congregations with 1.8 million members in more than 50 countries. Asaf Elkalai is an artist and educator at the Ashdod Museum of Art in Israel, and also works as a social projects coordinator and educational studies coordinator at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. He graduated with an MFA and

honors from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, earned a BA with honors in Photography from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design and an Art Education Diploma from Hebrew University. His discussion is part of the F.I.N.E. Israeli Artist Residency through Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and Classrooms Without Borders. Visit rodefshalom.org or email rex@ rodefshalom.org for pricing information. Israel’s Independence Day Celebration for Israel’s 71st birthday will be from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Veteran’s Pavilion at Schenley Park. In case of rain an alternate venue will be announced to the email address supplied with registration. There will be kosher Israeli food for sale, and you are welcome to bring your own picnic blanket and food. Register at israeliamerican. org/celebrate-israel-festival. The cost is $6 individual or $18 family. At the door: $8, $24. q MONDAY, MAY 13 ZOA: Pittsburgh will hold the Charlene “Kandy” Ehrenwerth Memorial Lecture at 7 p.m. in the Eisner Commons at Congregation Beth Shalom. Guest speaker Jonathan Weinkle, MD is the author of the book “Healing People, Not Patients: Creating Authentic Relationships in Modern Healthcare,” in which he takes the core Jewish ideal that humans are created in G-d’s image and maps out the nuts and bolts of a healing relationship. There is no charge to attend, but reservations are requested and can be made at pittsburgh@zoa.org or 412-665-4630. Music at Rodef Shalom concert with the Clarion Quartet, including Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Marta Krechkovsky, violin; Jennifer Orchard, violin; Tatjana Mead Chamis, viola; and Bronwyn Banerdt, cello. Sharing their passion for chamber music, their particular interest is in exploring works termed “degenerate” by the Nazis. Known as Entartete Musik, it was banned during the years leading up to the Holocaust through the immediate aftermath of the World War II. There is no charge. Contact Roy Sonne at roysonne@aol.com for more information. q TUESDAY, MAY 14 Chabad of the South Hills will present Spa for the Soul, an evening of relaxation, depth, beauty and spirituality at 6 p.m. with guest speaker Sara Chana Silverstein, author of “Moodtopia: Tame your moods, De-Stess & Find Balance Using Herbal Remedies, Aromatherapy, and More.” The evening will include a light dinner, spa treatment, silent auction and raffle prizes. Visit chabadsh.com or call 412-344-2424 for more information, location and to register. Linda Tashbook, author and University of Pittsburgh law librarian, will give a talk titled “Ten Things Families Can Do to Help Someone with Mental Illness Handle Legal Hassles” at 6:30 p.m. at the Shaler North Hills Library. Tashbook is the author of “Family Guide to Mental Illness and the Law,” which provides tips and methods for assisting mentally ill family members with issues ranging from court hearings to bankruptcy. There is no charge. Register at shalerlibrary.org or call 412-486-0211. “This Jewish Moment: The Future of Israel, American Jewry and the Relationship Between Us.” with Yossi Klein Halevi, The New York Times bestselling author of “Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor” and senior fellow

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at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center Katz Auditorium. There is no charge. Contact Nancy Conaway at Nancy@ TempleSinaiPGH.org or (412) 421-9715, ext. 115 for more information. q WEDNESDAY, MAY 15 Squirrel Hill AARP will host its meeting at 1 p.m. in the Falk Library at Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave. In addition to the general business meeting, election of chapter officers by the general membership will be held. In honor of Memorial Day, attendees and guests are asked to bring donations of large bottles of body wash, stick deodorant, denture adhesive and cleaners, body lotion, combs and brushes, belts, T-shirts with pockets, umbrellas, rain ponchos and gift cards, including bus passes. Donated items will be distributed to the local Veterans Administration. Bob Cahalan will present an audio-visual program celebrating Pittsburgh. Meetings are open to the entire senior population of the community. Refreshments will be served. Contact Marcia Kramer at 412-731-3338 for more information. Congregation Dor Hadash Adult Education will present “From Leo Frank to Tree of Life: A History of Anti-Semitic Violence in America” with Rachel Kranson, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies, University of Pittsburgh Department of Religious Studies, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Kranson will present a history of violent anti-Semitic episodes in American history and will discuss the frameworks that scholars of American Jewish history have used to make sense of these episodes, and suggest whether the Oct. 27, 2018, attack in Pittsburgh will fit such frameworks. There is no charge. Visit dorhadash.net for more information. The Derekh Speaker Series, a series of talks by authors from across the country made available through the Jewish Book Council, will feature The New York Times journalist Jonathan Weisman and his book “(((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump” at 7:30 p.m. There will be a book sale and author signing at the end. Visit bethshalompgh.org/beth-shalomspeak-series-5779 for more information. q THURSDAY, MAY 16 Temple Emanuel will present Sacred Symphonies with Rabbi Don Rossoff. at noon, Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein. Bring your own dairy brown bag lunch; drinks and desserts provided. Contact the Temple office at 412-279-7600 or templeemanuel@templeemanuelpgh.org for more information. Temple Emanuel and South Hills Jewish Pittsburgh present “An Evening with Dan Libenson” at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont at 7 p.m. Libenson is founder and president of the Institute for the Next Jewish Future and co-host of the Judaism Unbound podcast, which promotes creativity and innovation in American Jewish life. Visit templeemanuelpgh.org/event/DL for more information about times and ticket pricing. Shalom Pittsburgh will hold a conversation with Rabbi Danny Schiff, Foundation Scholar, at 7:30 p.m. at a private home. There is no charge. Wine and light hors d’oeuvres will be Please see Calendar, page 9

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Calendar Calendar: Continued from page 8 served. The address will be given upon RSVP. Visit jewishpgh.org/event/a-conversationwith-danny-schiff/ for more information and to RSVP. q SUNDAY, MAY 19 Temple David Indoor Spring Yard Sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 4415 Northern Pike, Monroeville. Contact jessicar@ templedavid.org for more information. Chabad of Squirrel Hill will hold a Kids’ Mega Challah Event from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at 1700 Beechwood Blvd. The afternoon of challah baking will also include storytelling and Jewish unity and is open to children from preschool through grade five, with a special Bat Mitzvah Club table for girls in grades six to seven. Registration required by May 13 at kidsmegachallah.com. There is a $10 charge. q TUESDAY, MAY 21 Chabad of the South Hills will hold a lunch for seniors at noon with a presentation on medications, hydration and sun protection by Comfort Keepers. There is a $5 suggested donation. RSVP at 412-278-2658 or barb@ chabadsh.com and visit chabadsh.com for more information.

Empowered, Educated and Engaged, E3 – Mix and Mingle Part 2 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Join the ladies of E3 for an evening of cocktail-making and mingling. Steven Kowalczuk, The Cocktail Chef from SteelCity Mixology, will lead a mixology class to make three summer-themed cocktails. Space is limited. Heavy appetizers will be provided. Dietary laws observed. The cost is $35. Contact Rachel Lipkin Gleitman at rgleitman@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5227 for more information. RSVP by Tuesday, May 14 at jewishpgh.org/women. q THURSDAY, MAY 23 The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh will present Yom Ha’atzmaut: A celebration of Israel’s 71st Independence Day with international multiplatinum Israeli musician David Broza beginning at 4:30 p.m. with an Israeli food court, community fair and Israeli dancing followed by the concert at 6 p.m. This concert is being held on Lag B’Omer for the full inclusion of community members who are observing the laws of the Omer. In case of rain, the free concert will be at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Visit jewishpgh.org/ event/david-broza for more information and to register. Young Adult Happy Hour will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Porch. Visit jewishpgh.org/event/yad-broza-happy-hour for more information.

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will present Michael Pollan and the Science of Psychedelics, at 7 p.m. at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall. Pollan’s best-selling “How to Change Your Mind” was named one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2018. Pollan is also the author of seven additional books, all of which were The New York Times best sellers. A longtime contributor to The New York Times Magazine, he is also a professor at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley. The $23 charge includes a paperback copy of “How to Change Your Mind.” Visit pittsburghlectures.org/lectures/ michael-pollan for more information. q SUNDAY, MAY 26 The Prayer Practice and Learning Committee of Rodef Shalom Congregation invites the community on a bus tour of the Troy Hill and West View cemeteries from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Gain a historical perspective on Rodef Shalom in the Pittsburgh Jewish community. A few of our descendants who rest in our cemeteries include Rabbis Solomon Freehof and Leonard Levy, Barney Dreyfuss, Jacob Brunn and more. Everyone will have a chance to discuss or visit familial gravesites. Bring your own lunch. The cost is $30. Visit rodefshalom.org/rsvp for more information and to RSVP. q THURSDAY, MAY 30 Pittsburgh-based author Adam Ehrlich Sachs will present his new novel “The Organs

of Sense” at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. in the South Wing Reading Room on the second floor. Sachs was a semifinalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor and a finalist for the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, and n+1, among other publications, and he was named a 2018 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow. He has a degree in the history of science from Harvard, where he was a member of The Harvard Lampoon. Visit pittsburghlectures.org/lectures/ adam-ehrlich-sachs for more information and to register. There is no charge. q TUESDAY, JUNE 4 Jewish National Fund Tree of Life Award Dinner honoring Laura Shapira Karet, president and CEO of Giant Eagle, Inc. and featuring guests Bari Weiss, staff editor and writer, The New York Times, and her dad, Lou Weiss, will begin at 6 p.m. at the Omni William Penn Hotel. RSVP by May 24 jnf.org/ Pittsburgh. Contact Amy Cohen, director, Pittsburgh, at acohen@jnf.org or 412-521-3200. q WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5 The Beth Shalom Sisterhood Book Club will discuss “Gateway to the Moon” by Mary Morris at 7:30 p.m. Contact Beth Shalom at 412-421-2288 for the location in a private home. Visit bethshalompgh.org/eventsupcoming for more information. PJC

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Headlines How Jewish organizations train people to prevent shootings like the one in Poway â&#x20AC;&#x201D; NATIONAL â&#x20AC;&#x201D; By Josefin Dolsten | JTA

he shooting at the Poway synagogue, in which a 60-year-old woman was killed and three others, including the rabbi, were injured, is the latest chapter in an ongoing American discussion about security in the age of mass shootings. Like the massacre six months ago at a Pittsburgh synagogue, the shooting in suburban San Diego is being mined for lessons in safety by a Jewish community deeply shaken by a rise in anti-Semitism. Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein said his Chabad of Poway could not afford to hire an armed guard. Had it been able, or if the government had helped the synagogue bring in one, he believes the deadly attack there Saturday could have been averted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If I had the funding, we may have been spared. How many more dead bodies will we have to see before we act?â&#x20AC;? he told The New York Times. But hiring a security guard should not be the only priority in terms of security, said Jason Friedman, the executive director of the Please see Organizations, page 16

p A view of the Chabad congregation in Poway, Calif.

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This week in Israeli history â&#x20AC;&#x201D; WORLD â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

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10â&#x20AC;&#x192;MAY 3, 2019

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

May 3, 1882 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Russia institutes May Laws Czar Alexander III enacts the May Laws as part of an anti-Jewish crackdown. The laws toughen the requirements for Jews to live within the Pale of Settlement, ban ownership or management of real estate and block the operation of businesses on Sundays or Christian holidays. May 4, 1994 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Autonomy agreement signed Israeli and Palestine Liberation Organization officials sign an autonomy agreement for the Gaza Strip and the Jericho area. The agreement is the first to grant the Palestinians some degree of autonomy. Under the deal, the Israeli military withdraws from those areas, and the Palestinian Authority is created with Yasser Arafat as its head. May 5, 1985 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Reagan visits Bitburg, Bergen-Belsen President Ronald Reagan lays a wreath and makes brief remarks outside Bergen-Belsen, then delivers a speech at the military cemetery in Bitburg, where more than 2,000 members of the Nazi SS are buried. Reagan had faced criticism from American Jews, including Elie Wiesel, since announcing the Bitburg plans. The stop at Bergen-Belsen is a late addition to his itinerary.

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May 6, 1951 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Ben-Gurion visits Tennessee Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion arrives in Tennessee for a two-day tour of Tennessee Valley Authority dams and other facilities. The visit is part of Ben-Gurionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 26-day U.S. tour to launch the Development Corporation of Israel (Israel Bonds). May 7, 1983 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Abu Musa revolts Abu Musa leads four other senior Palestine Liberation Organization officers in declaring a revolt in Lebanon against military forces under PLO Chairman Yasser Arafatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leadership. The uprising comes amid Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s war in Lebanon against the PLO while Arafat is in Tunisia. May 8, 1936 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Haile Selassie arrives in Haifa Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, who fled his country six days earlier as Italian invaders approached his capital, reaches Haifa aboard a British warship. Selassie spends two weeks in British Mandatory Palestine before leaving for London. He regains his throne after World War II, and Ethiopia in 1956 becomes the second African country to recognize Israel. May 9, 1942 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Zionist Congress in New York Chaim Weizmann, the president of the Jewish Agency, delivers opening remarks at a special Zionist Congress at the Biltmore Hotel in New York. Weizmann urges the delegates from 17 nations to press the Allied powers to open Palestine to Jewish immigrants.â&#x20AC;&#x201A; PJC

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Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

French-Jewish philosopher: ‘I can no longer show my face because of anti-Semites’ Alain Finkielkraut, a Jewish philosopher and one of France’s foremost thinkers, said far-left protests against him mean he “can no longer show my face” on the street. Finkielkraut made the remark in an interview Wednesday with the Marianne newspaper about protests against him the previous day at the Sciences Po university in Paris, where he spoke at a symposium on Europe’s future. Far-left students demonstrated against his appearance there. Amid threats of protests, organizers had announced the event’s cancellation, and then its relocation to a nearby business school. Ultimately, however, the conference was held as planned under heavy security following what the Valeurs Actuelles website described as a confusing cat-and-mouse game between the university and protesters. In their statement, the authors of the call to demonstrate outside Sciences Po wrote: “We cannot accept Finkielkraut’s ‘modern Europe’ and his Islamophobic, racist, sexist and homophobic rhetoric.” A Sciences Po spokesperson called the group “far left.” The organizers of the Sciences Po conference wrote that it had been canceled because “security is our top priority and it’s preferable

to take no risks.” Protesters tried to block access to IPAG and Sciences Po but were held at bay by police. The event included other speakers, but they were not named in the letter threatening protests. Finkielkraut, a centrist and liberal, was accosted recently at a Paris rally against austerity for being a “Zionist.” In 2016, he was violently ejected from another protest in Paris over labor laws. “We may be witnessing the beginning of a phenomenon,” Finkielkraut said at the event about these incidents. Commenting on the protesters, he said “You are the fascists. You are the 1930s. You are the anti-Semites.” A best-selling author, Finkielkraut entered the pantheon of French academia in 2016 when he was admitted into the Academie Francaise, a council of 40 greats elected for life. A Zionist supporter of Israel, he is a member of the dovish J Call group styled after the J Street lobby in the United States. In second statement, New York Times apologizes for publishing ‘anti-Semitic political cartoon’ After widespread condemnation, and an initial statement that critics slammed as inadequate, The New York Times apologized for publishing an “anti-Semitic political cartoon.” The image, which appeared Thursday in the opinion section of the international print edition of the newspaper, depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a

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Israel for the Obama administration, called the Times’ second statement “appropriate and placed in the correct context.” Patriots star Julian Edelman tweets support in wake of Poway shooting New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman tweeted his support for the San Diego-area Chabad synagogue in the aftermath of the deadly attack there on Saturday morning. “I’m so sad to be writing about another attack on a Synagogue today on the Shabbat and on the last day of Passover. I’m so sorry for the loss and we are with you San Diego. I’m sad and angry, but also proud of the strength of our community. You can’t break us,” Edelman posted on Twitter. His statement was retweeted nearly 3,000 times and liked more than 24,800 times in the hours following the attack during services that left a 60-year-woman dead and injured three. In the wake of the shooting attack on the Tree of Life synagogue building in Pittsburgh, which occurred exactly six months before Saturday’s attack, Edelman tweeted his sorrow. He wore special cleats in honor of the victims of the Tree of Life shooting attack in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which were later auctioned off to help raise funds for the shooting victims. Edelman’s father is Jewish and he has come out in support of the Jewish community in the past. PJC

Beth Shalom Speaker Series 5779 Jonathan Weisman, (((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump

blood. relations. ons.

By William Shakespeare

dachshund-breed guide dog wearing a Star of David collar and leading a yarmulke-clad President Donald Trump. After an initial wave of outrage, the Times’ opinion department issued a statement on Saturday acknowledging that the image was “offensive” and “included anti-Semitic tropes.” The statement blamed the publication of the cartoon on an “error in judgment,” but stopped short of apologizing. Critics slammed the first statement as inadequate on several fronts. In its second statement, issued Sunday, the opinion department said it was “deeply sorry” and said the decision to publish the image was the product of “a faulty process” resulting in “a single editor working without adequate oversight.” “The matter remains under review, and we are evaluating our internal processes and training,” the second statement continued. “We anticipate significant changes.” “Such imagery is always dangerous, and at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, it is all the more unacceptable,” the second statement read. The apology came a day after one person was killed and three were injured in a shooting at a synagogue in Poway, California, putting a national discussion of anti-Semitism near the top of the news cycle. The cartoon was widely criticized, including by Vice President Mike Pence, Israeli politicians and pundits, and multiple Jewish organizations. Dan Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to

Jonathan Weisman

In (((Semitism))), Weisman explores the disconnect between his own sense of Jewish identity and the expectations of his detractors and supporters. He delves into the rise of the alt-right, their roots in older anti-Semitic organizations, and their aims to spread hate in a palatable way through a political structure that has so suddenly become tolerant of their views.

Wednesday, May 15th, 2019 at Congregation Beth Shalom

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7:30 PM - Jonathan Weisman will speak about his book, (((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump. This event is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow. RSVPs or questions to derekhcbs@gmail.com

Congregation Beth Shalom 5915 Beacon Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 412.421.2288 • www.bethshalompgh.org

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MAY 3, 2019 11

Opinion Dayenu — EDITORIAL —

n the six-month anniversary of the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue building, scores of people gathered at the site of the worst anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history to mourn. Crowds of Pittsburghers devastated by the attack have assembled dozens of time since Oct. 27, 2018. There were memorial services grieving the deaths and celebrating the lives of the 11 Jewish souls gunned down in the midst of prayer in the heart of Squirrel Hill. There were communitywide vigils for those murdered congregants of Tree of Life* Or L’Simcha, New Light and Dor Hadash. There have been panels of experts espousing on the roots of hatred, a sheloshim commemoration and communitywide holiday programs. At each event, the sentiment that “love is stronger than hate” rang out strong. As the months have passed, the vigils in Pittsburgh have continued, shockingly necessitated by new massacres on people of faith. On March 24 community members gathered at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland to remember the 51 people killed during the mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand. After 253 Christians were slain on Easter in an attack in Sri Lanka for which the Islamic State claimed credit, hundreds of Pittsburghers

gathered again for an interfaith vigil on April 24 at Heinz Memorial Chapel. Last Saturday night, a crowd came together again at Tree of Life to mourn the anti-Semitic attack that morning on a Chabad synagogue in Poway, California, which left one congregant dead and three others injured, including the congregation’s rabbi and a small child. Another vigil was held for the victims of Poway Monday

facing a perfect storm of being targeted not only by white supremacists, who view us as outsiders trying to “replace” them, but also by left wing extremists, who manipulate history to justify their contempt of Israel, and use that as a masquerade for their underlying hatred of Jews. Two unrelated incidents just last week are illustrative of the pervasiveness of the problem, differing by degrees. The interna-

p Memorials to shooting victims have become an all too familiar sight outside of American synagogues. Left, mourners leave mementos across the street from the Chabad Community Center in Poway, Calif.; right, a memorial set up in Nov. 2018 outside the Tree of Life synagogue building in Pittsburgh.

night at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh. Led by Rabbi Jamie Gibson of Temple Sinai, those gathered for the vigil on April 27 at Tree of Life chanted the refrain of a familiar Passover song: “Dayenu.” Enough. We have had enough. Anti-Semitic attacks are not a new phenomenon for Jews. But this time, we are

tional print edition of The New York Times featured a cartoon taken straight out of the playbook of the Nazis of the 1930s, depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a dog with a Star of David on his collar, leading a blind yarmulke-wearing President Donald Trump. And a 19-year old murderer posted a white nationalist open letter to the far-right message board 8chan, then stormed

the Chabad of Poway with an assault rifle. In addition to the murders of 12 innocent Jews in the last six months in this country, we face almost daily news of Jewish cemeteries being desecrated or swastikas drawn on playgrounds and school bathrooms. Hate crimes against Jews in the U.S. rose 37 percent between 2016 and 2017, according to the FBI. The Anti-Defamation League recorded a 60 percent increase in anti-Semitic assaults in 2018. Are we less safe today as a community than we were on Oct. 26? There is no way to know for sure. But to pretend everything will be all right if we only “call out hate” or “stand together” is naive. Until our government can figure how to resolve the profound conundrum of how to control the proliferation of internet-fueled anti-Semitism without stomping on the First Amendment, and how to keep murderous weapons away from would-be assailants while respecting Second Amendment rights, we implore our political leaders to find ways to keep us — and other targeted minorities — physically safe. We also call upon the leaders of our national Jewish organizations to make community safety their number one priority, to determine how best to protect Jewish buildings and events so that they are less vulnerable to attack before we find ourselves saying “Dayenu” again. PJC

Looking at the mirror, and finding the enemy within Guest Columnist Joshua Runyan

n coming out forcefully at a rally against the kind of anti-Semitism that appears to have motivated last Saturday’s deadly attack at Chabad of Poway outside San Diego, President Donald Trump did the right thing. And the president further demonstrated sensitivity in the aftermath by speaking to Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, the Jewish center’s rabbi who lost a finger when he encountered the gunman and his bullets. Goldstein, it bears repeating, characterized Trump’s phone call as a warm and comforting exchange with the nation’s chief executive. In the moments after this latest attack on Jews in the United States, coming six months after the murder of 11 congregants at the Tree of Life synagogue building in Pittsburgh, Trump, in fact, seems to have done all the right things. That this is news — that this bears noting at all — is a tragedy, especially considering that for far too long, hatred against Jews and the Jewish community has been allowed to fester amidst a toxic stew of American white supremacy and xenophobia. And the president bears a good portion of the blame. Investigators in California uncovered a manifesto by the suspected Poway gunman posted to 8chan, the same social media outlet 12 MAY 3, 2019

where the alleged Pittsburgh shooter posted his screed accusing Jews of compromising the well-being of this country by supporting immigration. The Poway shooter declared common cause with the Pittsburgh gunman, and praised the attacks just last month on the New Zealand mosques to boot. (Authorities say he also claimed responsibility for the torching of a San Diego mosque.) The rhetoric that was a staple of Trump’s messaging as a candidate for president, and which marked his first two years in office, is a big part of the problem. The sad truth is that you don’t need to be a hater of Jews — and I’ve long argued that the president does not hate us, no more than he would hate his Jewish daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren — to enable anti-Semitism. The even sadder truth is that you don’t even need to be a Republican to turn a blind eye to this most pernicious of assaults on the preeminent American value of religious liberty. Many Democrats, who in choosing to ignore or, in some cases, outright endorse the ever-strengthening blood libel against Israel known as the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, are to blame as well. But so, too, for that matter, are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many of his supporters, people for whom railing against George Soros as evil incarnate — and spreading the vicious lie that the Holocaust survivor was a Nazi collaborator — comes as naturally as standing at attention for “Hatikva.” The fact is, there is enough evidence on either side of the political divide to enable

those on the other side to place blame for anti-Semitism on those in opposition. And I know that there are plenty among us — who we can assume all, to a one, abhor anti-Semitism and wish its eradication from the Earth — who will say that anti-Semitism is primarily a left-wing problem or a right-wing problem. Anyone who is doing that — who has done that — is part of the problem as well. Lest you chalk this up to the ravings of a left-wing former journalist, I happen to have been at one point in my twisting professional life a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary. I even know the rabbi in Poway. But more to the point, I’ve witnessed as an adult — nay, lived it — the explosion of new-millennium anti-Semitism, first of the international variety and then of the homegrown scourge that it’s become. In 2008, when Pakistani terrorists murdered the occupants of the Chabad House in Mumbai, I was among the group of Chabad personnel to speak with the terrorists in the ultimately fruitless attempt to negotiate. Last year, while I was editor of the Chronicle, our reporters covered the Tree of Life massacre, the worst anti-Semitic attack in the modern history of the United States. I’ve witnessed the spread of this hatred. And I’ve listened to countless friends from both sides of the aisle excuse it as the other guy’s problem. And I’ve had enough. Just last week, celebrants at Passover Seders the world over recited the story of the Haggadah, reliving its message that in each and every generation, there have been those

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who have risen up to destroy us. But it’s easy to forget in the midst of the celebration and the four cups of wine that the responsibility to deliver us from bondage belongs not only to the Almighty. It is up to us to prepare the world for the ultimate redemption. I’m sorry to say that we’re never going to get there if we keep battling each other in the debate of which side is more to blame for creating an environment in which hate against Jews can flourish. To the extent that we’re having these conversations, that we’re thinking these thoughts, the responsibility rests on us to answer unbridled hatred with unbridled love. I’m not talking about the kind that we show to the stranger in our midst; I’m talking about the kind that we should be showing to each other. In the early 20th century, Chasidic leaders came under actual physical attack from Jewish communists as well as Zionists. Now is the time to answer the darkness of the world, a darkness that the unthinking portions of ourselves unintentionally promote, with light. So, this Friday night, light Shabbos candles. Go to synagogue. But even more important, embrace another Jew, especially one whom you’ve subconsciously labeled as the other. This is more important than what takes place in November next year. Presidents come and go, but right now, nothing less than our very lives is at stake. PJC Joshua Runyan is the former editor-in-chief of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. He graduates from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law this month.

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Opinion On the 40th anniversary of the Iranian hostage crisis Guest Columnist Ilene Schwartz

arry Rosen. Malcolm Kalp. John Limbert. Those names may be hard to place today, but 40 years ago, they and their fellow hostages were the intense focus of all Americans, who collectively worried for their safety over the 444 days of the Iranian seizure of the American embassy. Americans’ distress for the well-being of the hostages throughout their captivity gave way to a shared sense of relief and profound gratitude for their safe return when the 52 hostages were released on January 20, 1981. When Jews in Pittsburgh and elsewhere in the United States learned there were Jewish diplomats among the hostages, our concerns instinctively heightened. We wanted to know how they, in particular, endured the long captivity that began on Nov. 4, 1979. So, beginning within a month of Malcolm Kalp, John Limbert and Barry Rosen’s exultant homecoming, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle recounted their stories of confinement, isolation and dread, and how their Jewish faith sustained them. That the Chronicle published the very first glimpse into the experiences of these three remarkable men speaks to its extraordinary leadership at the time. Comprised of Orthodox, Reform and secular Jews, the Chronicle’s team forged a unique journalistic culture that cultivated its staff, held everyone to the highest standards of professionalism and exuded chutzpah. How do I know? Founding editor Albert

“Al” Bloom and Joel Roteman, who succeeded Al Bloom in 1983 as executive editor, offered me a volunteer position, equivalent to an internship today, in 1978 — a year after I graduated from Chatham College with an English degree. While I had to continue working two minimum wage jobs, I decided it was worth the opportunity to learn from the pros (and maybe wrangle a job out of them, too). My instincts were correct. With Al and Joel’s patient support and encouragement, I did learn the workings of a newsroom and several months later became a Chronicle staff writer. When Joel discovered that I didn’t know how to write copy directly on a typewriter, he put me in front of a manual one and told me to type out my stories, however long it took. He was tough, but kind. And notably, as you will see, he wasn’t afraid to give tough assignments to rookies like me. The 14-month nightmare of the Iranian hostage crisis dominated headlines everywhere, including Jewish newspapers such as the Chronicle. While our primary focus was Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, we covered national and international news with help from the American Jewish Press Association (AJPA). So when the hostages were finally released in January 1981, this historical event overshadowed news we typically covered, and our partnership with the AJPA proved invaluable. Though the AJPA focused on the fact that Jews were among the hostages and that their names had not been disclosed while in captivity, in those first few weeks after Barry Rosen, Malcolm Kalp and John Limbert returned home, their identities were still unknown. Now that the former Jewish hostages were out of danger and free to speak, our Jewish weekly, albeit low on staff and budget,

decided to try to track them down and interview them. To my surprise, Joel gave me the assignment. Always up for a challenge, I took to my rotary phone and Rolodex and reached out to any and all sources who could help. Don’t ask how or why, but someone at the AJPA (now a household CNN name) gave me a lead. That led me to three private home phone numbers and three extraordinary conversations. The first of my three interviews, published in the Chronicle just 22 days after the hostages were released, was with Malcolm Kalp, a commercial attaché, who had been at the U.S. Embassy in Teheran for only eight days when it was overrun. He emphasized that his Jewish faith helped him withstand mistreatment at the hands of his Iranian captors, including being kept in solitary confinement for 374 of the 444 days of captivity. Because his father, Samuel, had recently passed, Kalp said Kaddish every day, “without a minyan”. Next, I spoke with John Limbert, who had been at the embassy for only two-and-a-half months before the takeover and was Second Secretary there. He was reticent to discuss his religion, most likely because his wife at the time was a naturalized American citizen of Iranian descent and still had relatives in Iran. However, Limbert did comment on what his experience was as a hostage. “I spent nine of the 14 months in solitary confinement. We were moved a number of times,” yet he added, “I never saw any of the other hostages,” rather, “we communicated in the restrooms by passing notes to each other through the bins.” He reported “no physical assaults” and passed the long hours “reading a lot” and using his fluency in Farsi “to do

translations for myself.” My last interview, published in the Chronicle on Feb. 26, 1981, was with Barry Rosen, who came to the embassy in November 1978 to serve as the press attaché. Rosen did feel the bite of anti-Semitism. “Individual guards called me a ‘dirty Zionist’ and referred to my family as ‘residents of Tel Aviv.’” Nevertheless, he told me that overall he was not treated differently because he was Jewish. “They allowed me to receive a menorah at Chanukah and packages of Passover food during Pesach.” When I asked him if his religion helped him through the ordeal, he responded, “I think my cultural value of Judaism and family helped me to get through. In a spiritual sense I can say that it helped, but I tried hard. I read the Torah, but I only had the English version,” adding, “I was hoping a Jewish organization would send me the Hebrew, as I would have gotten more out of it. I attended the yeshiva when I was younger.” Looking back now, I can’t help but think that in today’s 24-hour cable news cycle, with the internet, Google, Facebook and all the rest, a staff writer at the Chronicle wouldn’t get the chance to be the first to tell stories like these. But the Chronicle did scoop every other news organization back then, and I’ve often wondered why. The answer, I’ve come to realilze, is simple: These three Jewish men felt safe telling their stories over the phone to me because I was a young Jewish reporter in Pittsburgh who had only paper, pencil and sincerity. PJC Ilene Hurwitz Schwartz, MA, MPM, a Squirrel Hill resident, is the principal of IHS Consultants, a marketing communications firm serving private, nonprofit and public sector clients.

— LETTERS — Another senseless tragedy

The latest atrocity committed against innocent, honorable human beings praying at a house of worship causes us to again attempt to make sense out of the senseless. How could the 19-year-old Poway, California man/boy become so infested with baseless hatred and ignorance that he would walk into a synagogue on a particularly holy and important day, the Sabbath and the last day of Passover, to perpetrate a massacre? What type of upbringing did such an individual have? What does one hope to accomplish through such evil? The reverberations of this shooting spree are particularly painful for me as a member of the Pittsburgh Jewish community who lived for most of his life within blocks of the Tree of Life synagogue, and with the incident occurring six months to the day that 11 beautiful lives were taken there. How does a human being shoot a 97-year-old woman … how does one target a child? There are many pieces of the puzzle to be put together if we wish to “get to the bottom of it” as the president asserted that we will do following the latest horror: • Hatred and intolerance preached by elected officials, the dehumanizing of ideological foes, seeking to divide us and make us suspicious of those who are different from us, implying that engaging in violence against those who do not agree with us is acceptable: words matter; • The easy availability of guns designed to mow down human beings in rapid succession; • Untreated mental illness and the inability of society to consistently keep lethal weapons out of the hands of those who are a danger to themselves and others; • Hate-spewing social media outlets which promote and circulate speech and conspiracy theories that appeal to loners and which serve to encourage them to act on their ugly impulses; • Aggrandizement of mass murderers perpetrated by the media which show us his photograph, tell us his life story, and air his grievances against society and the group of individuals he sought to kill. Providing such notoriety serves to encourage sick minds to copy the actions of the killer. We are now faced with what was for most of civilization unthinkable, having to engage a large and costly corps of armed guards to ensure that people will be able to worship without losing their lives. A just and righteous God surely joins us in our sorrow as we reflect upon the degradation of our society. Oren Spiegler South Strabane Township PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

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MAY 3, 2019 13

Life & Culture Violinist plays in the face of adversity — MUSIC — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

ix weeks ago, Monique Mead began journeying up mountains, into people’s homes and through synagogue doors, and at each stop the violinist and Carnegie Mellon University professor of music played the same piece with an 18th-century Stradivarius in hand. Repeating the same Beethoven violin concertos in disparate settings is all part of an undertaking Mead calls “Beethoven in the Face of Adversity.” The “social experiment” consists of gifting 50 performances of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the German composer and pianist’s birth (most scholars accept Dec. 16, 1770, as Beethoven’s birthday). Mead, who is also celebrating her 50th birthday, will do the 50 shows over the course of 250 days. As a professional violinist, Mead has spent her career playing with major orchestras throughout the United States and Europe. Navigating between Europe and the United

 Monique Mead, above, violinist and Carnegie Mellon University professor of music, has played the same piece for different audiences as part of an undertaking called “Beethoven in the Face of Adversity.”

Photos courtesy of Monique Mead/Logo by Melissa Neely

States is not unfamiliar to her family. Mead’s European mother moved to Salt Lake City after meeting Mormon missionaries in Switzerland, and although Mead grew up Mormon, at the age of 21 she discovered her mother’s mother was German Jewish and had

fled to Paris to avoid persecution. While in France, her grandmother married a Persian doctor. The two spent World War II in Tehran and later returned to Paris. Their daughter (Mead’s mother) moved to Switzerland, became Mormon and later relocated to Utah.

Mead’s international career has allowed her to perform before thousands and garner great acclaim, but playing Beethoven’s violin Please see Violinist, page 20

Hometown girl continues to be ‘funstoppable’ on ‘Amazing Race’ — TELEVISION — By Toby Tabachnick | Senior Staff Writer

ittsburgh native Becca Droz and her “Amazing Race” partner Floyd Pierce — otherwise known on the CBS reality show as “Team Fun” — are back, and this time, they say they are “funstoppable.” When Droz, a Community Day School alumna and Pittsburgh Allderdice grad, first competed along with Pierce on season 29 of the show in 2017, they were strangers from disparate backgrounds but who had a common appetite for adventure and an unrelenting optimism that captured the hearts of thousands of fans. They made it to the 10th leg of the aroundthe-world competition that season. They got eliminated from the race when Pierce suffered from what appeared to be heat exhaustion while engaged in a taxing physical challenge in Vietnam. Now, Droz, a 28-year-old rock-climbing instructor, and Pierce, a 23-year-old financial advisor, are competing in the show’s All-Star Season against fan-favorite teams from past seasons of three CBS reality shows: “The Amazing Race,” “Survivor” and “Big Brother.” For Droz, who had longed to be on the show since she was a child, the chance to compete again on “The Amazing Race” is the continuation of a dream, and has changed her life in a positive way. “I had this crazy dream that came true and now I’m questioning what other great dreams in my life I have and what steps I can take to pursue them,” said Droz, speaking from her home in Boulder, Colorado, having just returned from a rock-climbing trip in France. 14

MAY 3, 2019

 Becca Droz and her “Amazing Race” partner Floyd Pierce are back and are “funstoppable.” Photo courtesy of CBS photos

“A big part of that was exploring the world, and I am continuing to be inspired to explore the world in the way I like to, which is adventure and rock climbing for the most part.” She is also getting a bit of a kick out of her newfound celebrity. “Floyd and I are recognized a lot, and for sure more directly after the [2017] show was airing,” she said. “It was kind of funny to feel like a celebrity sometimes — especially when I live in a van.” Droz is a woman without pretense, which may have something to do with her popularity. Yes, she has been living in a van — throughout a Colorado winter — but is looking forward to finally moving into a house this month.

“We for sure have a lot of fans, and the fans who like us, love us,” she said. “It is really fun, and sometimes it’s funny how people express their excitement for Team Fun, which is obviously flattering and really exciting for us.” Fans often express excitement by creating humorous and supportive art, and posting lots of comments on social media. “If we respond they are very excited about it,” Droz said, with genuine surprise in her voice; the notoriety clearly has not gone to her head. “Watching Floyd and me and what we create together inspires me, too, so I get how it inspires others,” she acknowledged. “We do have something special together.”

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She and Pierce started off as strangers in season 29, and going into season 31 as good friends is a definite advantage, Droz said. “There is a huge difference between going into a high-stress, high-stakes race with someone you have never met before, and going into a high-stress, high-stakes race with someone you have done it once with before, and have had a lot of time to process that experience with,” she explained. “We were able to train together, and really talk about strategy. “One of our biggest downfalls last time was being caught in the stress the race creates, and they do a very good job of creating stressful situations,” she continued. “And so one of our mottoes was ‘dodge the hype,’ don’t get caught up in the hype of it, which is easier said than done.” Droz still teaches rock climbing in Boulder, and has done work with the group She Moves Mountains, which provides clinics helping women find strength through climbing. She also recently taught a two-day climbing course in Pittsburgh. “It was really fun to tap back into the Pittsburgh community and the climbing community there,” she said. She and Pierce have stayed in touch since the show wrapped up filming last summer. They are launching a “Funstoppables” shirt campaign on Funstoppables.com, selling shirts customized for each episode of this season of the “Amazing Race” that sport “an image and words referring to something from that episode.” A percentage of the proceeds will go to Give Kids the World, a nonprofit that supports families and children with life-threatening illnesses. PJC Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines Shooting: Continued from page 1

said Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, of Chabad Lubavitch of Western Pennsylvania. “What are we doing to make the world better?” “It takes courage to do so many things that need to happen,” echoed Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “Thoughts and prayers are no longer enough. [I’m] tired of thoughts and prayers. We need some action.” Fitzgerald recalled how two evenings earlier he stood on the corner of Shady and Wilkins avenues and repeated an exercise he and others had done six months earlier on the corner of Shady and Forbes avenues. In each setting, a Saturday evening vigil was held in the aftermath of terror. Songs were sung and speeches were made, but while rain fell both nights, the recent gathering possessed a more agitated tone. Enmeshed in the scores of people on Saturday evening, April 27, Rabbi James Gibson of Temple Sinai clutched a microphone and invoked the Hebrew word often associated with Passover. “Dayenu,” said Gibson. Enough. Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto has had enough, too. He tweeted a photo of those standing near the corner of Shady and Wilkins avenues on Saturday, April 27, and wrote, “We gather. Again. Always. Until we drive hate speech & acts of hate out of our city, our state, our nation, our world.” Days earlier, Peduto had spoken at Heinz Memorial Chapel during an interfaith vigil for the 253 people killed on April 21 in Sri Lanka. On Saturday evening, as he stood in Squirrel Hill, Peduto returned to a familiar trope when speaking with reporters. “You have to understand that once you accept hate speech, hate crime is going to happen. It is the inevitable outcome of hate speech,” he said. After taking the stage at the April 29 vigil in Katz Theater, he reinforced that sentiment. “We have to take action with solutions. We have a problem. There’s a bad problem that’s happening in this country. There’s a lot

Sri Lanka: Continued from page 1

prevalent,” Peduto said. “And we have to find a way to reverse it like a tide rolling back out. I don’t know what that is, but we just have to have those conversations and we have to constantly say that this is not right. There is good in the world. There are those that view an attack against any faith as an attack against all faith. There are far more people that believe in compassion and love than those that post on Facebook or Twitter words of hate.” Familiar faces, including Jeffrey Finkelstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, and Rabbi Ron Symons, senior director of Jewish Life at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, were present at the vigil. While addressing attendees, Symons invoked Rabban Gamliel’s Mishnaic teaching that “the more charity, the more peace,” and encouraged people to place money in collection baskets. All donations

p Andrea Wedner, left, and Michele Rosenthal light a candle in memory of Lori Gilbert-Kaye during an April 29 vigil at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s Katz Theater. Photo by Joshua Franzos

of hate that’s out there. We can’t accept it. We can’t say it’s OK or it’s funny. We can’t look the other way and allow it to be normal. We have to place it back to where it was before: unacceptable, because we know that hate speech leads to hate crimes and if we allow the erosion to occur, we’ll see it again and again and again,” he said. An approach can be learned from the teaching of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, said Sara and Shmuel Weinstein of Chabad House on Campus in a statement: “Cold-blooded, fanatical, baseless, relentless hatred can only be uprooted by hitting its core. We must saturate our world with pure, undiscriminating, uninhibited, unyielding acts of love and kindness and teach that to all our children, in our schools and homes. Even a little bit of light can dispel much darkness, and a lot of light can dispel much more. Now is the time to saturate.” Now is also the time for self-care, said

Jordan Golin, president and CEO of Jewish Family and Community Services. “The truth is that most of us haven’t completely recovered from Oct. 27. We are still somewhere within that continuum, from injury to recovery. Our wounds are fresh. Many of us still struggle with anxiety, depression, irritability, trouble sleeping at night, and even some of us who we thought we were doing pretty OK last week, we aren’t doing as well this week,” he said. “As strong as we are as individuals and as a community, we can only take so much before we reach our breaking point.” Peduto agreed, and said, “When you’re mayor, it has a toll on you as well. I mean, if you are around trauma and sadness, it’s basically impossible to try to find peace and happiness. So you just have to, as the counselor said, be able to find your way of doing what it is that makes you better. … You have to gravitate toward that and find something

to sort of allow you to swim out of the rapid water because it will consume you.” Peduto is worried about Pittsburghers facing yet another trauma. “This weekend was already going to be hard enough without what happened in Poway,” he said. “Right now this is a journey through the rough waters of life and you keep paddling.” Those in the community need to take care of themselves, reiterated Golin. “My plea to you is this,” he said, “don’t put off taking care of yourselves until you reach that breaking point. If you’re struggling emotionally, if you’re having more symptoms of anxiety and depression, now is the time to get help.” Anyone seeking support is encouraged to call JFCS Counseling Services at 412-422-7200. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

were going to be sent to aid those in Sri Lanka, explained Ozzy Samad, president of Brother’s Brother Foundation. The ability to render assistance through financial support or physical demonstration transcends religion, explained Stephen Cohen, co-president of New Light Congregation — one of three congregations targeted in the Oct. 27, 2018 attack at the Tree of Life building. “I’m not here as a Jew. I’m here as a person of religion, suffering another tragedy in another place where people have died simply because of the way they believe in God,” said Cohen. Attendees of the April 24 vigil can learn from Sri Lanka, its people and the events that transpired, explained Bhante Pemaratana, a Sri Lankan-born monk who traveled to the United States in 2008 to serve at the Pittsburgh Buddhist Center. Said Pemaratana, “Dark moments allow for good to come to the surface.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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p Pittsburgh’s faith leaders offered ancestral prayers, laid a wreath and engaged in collective song during last week’s vigil for Sri Lanka held at the Heinz Memorial Chapel in Oakland. Photo by Jim Busis

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MAY 3, 2019 15

Headlines March: Continued from page 3

be here because of Poway yesterday, because it was way, way more than enough, but we have to be here today.” Tim Stevens, chairman and CEO of the Black Political Empowerment Project, spoke of the gun violence that has affected the African-American community and how it is similar to tragedies experienced by the Jewish community. “We are all connected, whether we want to be or not. Last night, we had another African American killed in Homestead. It has become far too common in our African-American communities that we wake up to death. It is unacceptable. All

Organizations: Continued from page 10

Community Security Service, an organization that has trained more than 4,000 Jewish volunteers across the country in how to keep their synagogues safe. Hiring a guard can be “a great first step,” Friedman said, but “if your congregation is not engaged in the security process, you’re not getting the full extent of what you’re paying for,” Friedman said. The Community Security Service, or CSS, anticipates attacks on synagogues like Poway. It focuses on preventive “boots-on-theground” measures by training community members to spot suspicious behavior and thus avert attacks. Synagogues are encouraged to post trained volunteers at their entrances to watch for potential attackers and make their members aware of their surroundings. “What we’re trying to show is that there are a lot of ways they can make themselves safer, it just takes time and commitment,” Friedman said. CSS had not worked with the Chabad synagogue in Poway, Friedman said. Neither had the Secure Community Network, a security group that also works with synagogues and Jewish groups. In the fall, the Chabad did convene an event about synagogue security following the Pittsburgh shooting on what to do in the case of a future attack. Poway Mayor Steve Vaus, who attended the meeting with representatives of the San Diego County Sheriff ’s Department, said

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of it is unacceptable.” Stevens went on to discuss the death of Antwon Michael Rose II. In a moment filled with emotion, he held up a picture of Rose’s mother, saying, “The pain on the face of the mother of Antwon Michael Rose II speaks loudly. We don’t want to see a face like this because black folks are killing black folks and kids are killing kids. We don’t want to see a face like this because of the 11 people who represented those killed [at the Tree of Life massacre], some of whom were fathers and mothers. We don’t want to see these faces from any sort of gun violence.” Also speaking at the event were state Sen. Jay Costa, state Rep. Ed Gainey and Pittsburgh City Council Member Erika Strassburger. Local interfaith religious leaders representing

Jewish, Christian and Muslim organizations offered prayers during the vigil. Once the speakers finished their presentations, a large group of attendees marched from Temple Sinai to Schenley Park where a tree was planted. The procession, which included Peduto, Fitzgerald and Costa, wound its way through the Squirrel Hill streets chanting and singing. The black gum tree, explained organizer Anne-Marie Nelson, was meant “not to commemorate what happened before, but to mark moving forward to a future of growth, and to represent the community.” Cindy Goodman-Leib summed up the feelings of many that attended, saying, “Hate, anti-Semitism, racism and violence steal so much from us. Yet when we come together,

this hatred and violence are challenged and overwhelmed by an infinite number of acts of kindness. Our reaction ignites waves of support and fills holes in our communal heart. It was uplifting to be among so many people who care, and we felt the power of coming together. “Individually, we may feel heartbroken and powerless from gun violence, and from acts of hate while people are in synagogues, mosques and churches and on streets and in schools…when we gather and remember the 11 murdered on October 27 in Pittsburgh, and so many others, we plant seeds that will grow into the future and help us take action that will eclipse hate and violence.” PJC

law enforcement shared tips, including “if you can run away, run away; if you can hide, hide; if you can’t hide, challenge the shooter.’” During Saturday’s shooting in Poway, “all of that happened,” the mayor said, “and I have no doubt that that meeting contributed to saving lives.” Two people intervened with the shooter. One was a community member, Oscar Stewart, who ran toward the shooter and chased him out of the building, according to the county Sheriff ’s Department. “Mr. Stewart risked his life to stop the shooter and saved lives in the process,” the Sheriff ’s Department said in a statement Sunday. An off-duty Border Patrol agent, Jonathan Morales, shot at the attacker, hitting his car. Friedman says exclusively focusing on arming congregants can distract from other safety measures synagogues can take. “Weapons certainly have their place in security, but one has to be careful not to substitute the presence of a weapon for tried-and-true security theories and training,” Friedman said. Post-Pittsburgh, he said, the number of synagogues seeking training from CSS “dramatically increased.” Still, there’s a long way to go. “I don’t think that there are many synagogues across the country that are really prepared [for an attack],” Friedman said. The Poway attack came as no surprise to Michael Masters, who heads the Secure Community Network. SCN coordinates security for Jewish organizations across the country and is affiliated with the Jewish

Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “We have seen an increase in targeting of houses of worship generally, and we have seen an increase in targeting of Jewish houses of worship specifically,” Masters told JTA from Poway, where he is meeting with community leaders in the wake of the shooting. “That coincides with an increase in anti-Semitic incidents around the United States and around the world, as well as an increase in hate crimes against our community and an increase in threats.” SCN has worked with 147 federations across the country, as well as more than 50 partner organizations and 300-plus Jewish communities to provide security assessments. After conducting an assessment, it recommends security strategies tailored to the needs and circumstances of the particular organization. Friedman said the threat picture itself has also changed in recent years. When CSS was founded in 2007, the primary threats came from international terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda, as well as large white supremacist organizations. Now they often come from individuals who aren’t necessarily affiliated with a group. That means the targets have changed too. As a result, less prominent communities, like the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh or Poway, 20 miles north of San Diego, are more vulnerable. “Ten years ago they probably wouldn’t be identified as targets of this kind of attack,” Friedman said. “Now due to these homegrown violent extremists, they’re

able to attack more locally with a focus on their own locale.” Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the federal government has made more money available to houses of worship, especially synagogues and mosques, and other vulnerable institutions. This year’s spending bill included $60 million for fiscal year 2019 to fund the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which helps synagogues and other houses of worship, religious day schools and a variety of nonprofits improve the security of their buildings. The Department of Homeland Security, which administers the program, awards grants of as much as $150,000 to eligible nonprofits at risk of terrorist attacks. The nonprofits use the funding to acquire and install items ranging from fences, lighting and video surveillance to metal detectors and blast-resistant doors, locks and windows. The Poway suspect, a 19-year-old nursing student, is believed to have posted an online manifesto on a forum popular with the “alt-right” that said he was inspired by the Tree of Life synagogue gunman in Pittsburgh and the shooter who killed 50 at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The suspect also called President Donald Trump “Zionist, Jew-loving, anti-white.” Masters said that following Pittsburgh and Poway, the conversation surrounding future attacks has changed. “We used to say it’s a question of ‘not if but when,’” he said. “Now we say, ‘not when, but when again?’” PJC

David Rullo is a local freelance writer.

Gabrielle Birkner contributed to this report from Poway.

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The inevitability of teshuva Adam Ash, son of Karen Skolnick and Neal Ash, will become a bar mitzvah on Saturday, May 4 at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills. Grandparents are Irene and Leon Skolnick from Pittsburgh.

Eli Rosenberg is a seventh-grader at Community Day School. He is the son of Aviva and Pinchas Rosenberg and middle brother of Jonah and Liam. He will become a bar mitzvah on Saturday, May 4 at Congregation Beth Shalom. Eli plays soccer and ultimate Frisbee, and has been playing piano for seven years. He enjoys performing in musical theater both at school and the JCC. He dreams of summertime where he will be spending his sixth year at Camp Young Judaea Midwest.

Sofia Belle Shapira, daughter of Amanda and Joshua Shapira, will become a bat mitzvah on Saturday, May 4 at Temple Sinai. Grandparents are Barbara and Daniel Shapira of Pittsburgh and Barbara and Anthony Burkett of Liverpool, England. Sofia is the big sister of Gabe and attends Winchester Thurston School. PJC

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here is an old expression from Jewish wisdom: “Nothing stands in the way of teshuva.” Teshuva means return. More specifically, it means return from sin or from a wrong way of life. A casual observer could be forgiven for asking, “Really? Nothing stands in the way of teshuva? How is that?” Things like apathy, guilt and shame are just some of the things that seem to stand directly in the way of teshuva. Why does Jewish wisdom state so confidently that teshuva is inevitable and unstoppable? A subtle look into a phrase in this week’s Torah portion provides a hint. Torah prescribes the Yom Kippur service in the Holy Temple. The service was performed almost entirely by the High Priest, and the highlight of the day was when he entered the innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies. This was the rarest of rare occasions for this room was off-limits to everyone, always, and only once a year did the High Priest enter to obtain forgiveness for his people. One of the ironclad rules of this special moment was concerning the High Priest’s attire. His primary uniform for when he carried out his holy work was an eight-piece, precious, ornamental outfit, replete with gold, fine wool, gems and other precious materials. But when he entered the Holy of Holies, this outfit was replaced by a plain white linen outfit. Since the first national sin of the Jewish people was the golden calf they built at Mount Sinai, gold was not allowed into the room where atonement was received. In the words of the Talmud, “The prosecution doesn’t act as the defense.” This rule — no gold in the Holy of Holies — is well known, as is its reason. But with a moment of reflection, a moving truth emerges: Whose idea was this rule? It comes from Torah, so it was G-d’s idea. So, in essence, more than being simply a barked command (G-d forbid), this is kind and gentle advice from a loving Father. Something like, “Listen, my child. Since you’re trying to do teshuva and achieve forgiveness, it would not be a good idea to bring gold into the picture. It will only bring up bad memories about your moment of weakness. Better leave it outside.” And this is why nothing stands in the way of teshuva. When even G-d Himself is invested in the effort to have me achieve a successful teshuva, what could possibly stand in His way? When G-d wants my teshuva

even more than I want it myself, is there a chance that it will not happen? When the Supreme Judge Himself is being slightly more than obvious in His efforts to make sure you get another chance, is there really any way you don’t get another chance? If G-d is hoping for a remorseless defendant, a guilty verdict and a chance to mete out a harsh sentence, then you could hardly say that “nothing stands in the way of teshuva.” But exactly the opposite is the truth. G-d is hoping and yearning for a repentant defendant, a not-guilty verdict, the chance for a fresh start and a clean slate, and an excuse to shower the returnee with blessings without end. And He hopes not with folded hands. He is actively involved in motivating, directing and guiding His child toward teshuva. Nothing stands in G-d’s way. Nothing stands in the way of a loving parent. And nothing stands in the way of teshuva. After the writing of this article, the news hit about the horrendous shooting attack at the

G-d hope and waits for His world to become a beautiful place filled with love and understanding. Chabad of Poway on the last day of Passover. Anti-Semitism reared its ugly and unoriginal face once again, and an innocent and kind Jewish woman lost her life for it. Others, including the rabbi, were injured by it. And yet even this ugliest of sins — senseless hatred — and even this oldest bigotry — hatred of Jews — will inevitably succumb to teshuva. Nothing stands in the way of teshuva, not even blind and stupid brutality. G-d hopes and waits for His world to become a beautiful place filled with love and understanding. And no matter who wishes it otherwise, G-d’s wish for teshuva and togetherness will come true. “May He Who makes peace in His Heavens make peace upon us and upon all Israel, and let us say, amen.” PJC Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel is the executive director of the Aleph Institute-North East Region. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

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Obituaries BLANK: Myrna Shapiro Blank, age 80, passed away peacefully on April 29, 2019, in Boca Raton, Florida. She was the beloved wife of the late Milton “Mickey” Blank; Adoring mother to both Jamie Feldstein (David) and Craig Blank (Lydia); Loving grandma to her five grandchildren, Mason and Cole Feldstein and Abby, Landon, and Nina Blank; Sister to the late Shirley Shapiro and the late Asher Shapiro; Survived by her beloved niece Wendy Hutchinson (Jess), nephew Jeffrey Baskin, and many treasured friends. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment at Beth Abraham Cemetery. A memorial event will also be planned at a later date for friends and family in the Boca Raton area. Memorial donations can be made to the Boca West Chapter of The Pap Corps, Champions for Cancer Research Inc., an organization that Myrna volunteered regularly for over the last several years, Boca West 19861C Planters Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33434, c/o Faith Book. schugar.com LINZER: Mildred Berliner Linzer, age 91, of Monroeville, formerly of White Oak, died on Thursday, April 25, 2019. She was the beloved wife of the late Sidney Linzer and the daughter of the late Herman and Bertha (Silber) Berliner. She is survived by her sister, Harriet Menzer, now of Sarasota, Florida, her loving son Richard Linzer and his wife Susan, whom Millie loved as her daughter. She is also survived by her grandchildren Ross (Lindsey) Linzer of Davie, Florida, and Rabbi Maura (Liad Itzhaky) Linzer of Pleasantville, New York, and her great-grandchildren, Sarah Itzhaky, Ori Itzhaky, Noah Linzer and Zachary Linzer, relatives and many friends. Millie, born in Braddock, worked in retail for many years and then began a career in banking with McKeesport National Bank and its many successors, retiring from Huntington Bank at age 79. She was a life member of Hadassah, past president of the Jewish War Veterans Post 181 Auxiliary in McKeesport and a member of Temple B’nai Israel of White Oak. She will be remembered for her gentleness, kindness, generosity, honesty, her great sense of humor and her ever-present smile. She loved to read, play mahjong with her circle of friends and take trips to the casino. Her greatest joy was spending time with and talking to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, looking at their photos and videos and relishing in their stories,

successes and accomplishments. The family thanks Jim and Marylou Gorring for all that they did for her and the staff of Concordia of Monroeville for their compassionate care. The family especially thanks Dr. Larry Adler (and Jan) for his skilled treatment, care and loving dedication. Friends and family were received at Strifflers of White Oak Cremation and Mortuary Services, Inc., 1100 Lincoln Way, White Oak, PA 15131 (Sue Striffler Galaski, supervisor, 412-678-6177) on Sunday, April 28, 2019, at noon until the time of service at 1:00 pm. Interment followed at Sfard Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, Temple B’nai Israel of White Oak, or the American Heart Association. To share a memory or condolence, visit strifflerfuneralhomes.com SABLE: Morry Sable on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Beloved husband and best friend for 69 years of the late Eunice Cowen Sable; loving father of Kathy Madfis (Roland Packard) and Carolyn (Nathan) Spachner; brother of Sandi (Ed) Forstenzer, the late Edwin Sable, Jack Sable, Karen Sable and Marlene Harris; devoted grandfather of Eric (Katie) Madfis and Michael Spachner; great-grandfather of Lucille Rose Madfis and Violet Ember Madfis; brother-in-law of Mitzi (Robert) Feinberg; also survived by nieces and nephews. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Temple Sinai Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Jewish Residential Services, 2609 Murray Ave., Suite 201, Pittsburgh, PA 15217; or Sivitz Jewish Hospice, 200 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or a charity of the donor’s choice. schugar.com SCHACHTER: Carl Schachter; on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Beloved husband of Bella Schachter; Beloved father of Marcel and Sam Schachter; father-in-law of Michal and Melissa; brother of Rozalia Epstein; grandfather of Ben, Ariel and Zac. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Adath Jeshurun Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the Pittsburgh Holocaust Center, 826 Hazelwood Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. schugar.com PJC

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Name: JAA Width: 5.0415 in Depth: 6.75 in Color: Black Jewish Association on Aging gratefully acknowledges contributions from the following: Ad Number: 1747_1 A gift from ... In memory of... A gift from ... In memory of... Ad Tracking Number: Anonymous .......................... Rebecca & Isaac Adler Anonymous ................................... Sheila Dobrushin Anonymous ....................................... Rose Palkovitz Anonymous ......................................... Louis Plesset Anonymous ..................................Nathan Sadowsky Layla G. Ballon ................................... Paul E. Gusky Marc Bilder ..................................... Shirley M. Bilder M. Dickman ........................................... Fannie Glick Adrienne Drapkin ..................... Frances Shiner Miller Roberta Feldman ............................Samuel Feldman Edward M. Goldston .........................Jack Goldstein Edward M. Goldston ........................ Yosef Goldston Edward M. Goldston ..........................Sam Goldston Idelle Hoffman ................................ Mildred G. Miller Denise Kaiser............................... Wolf Morris Kaiser

Elliot B. Kamenear .......................... J. Bernard Block Robert Lembersky .......................... Jack Lembersky Mildred S. Miller...........................Freda B. Saltsburg Janet Moritz..........................................Dorothy Katz Larry Myer ................................. George Zeidenstein Mrs. George H. Pattak .................. Beatrice P. Smizik Sylvia Pearl Plevin ................................Lee C. Plevin Larry Plevin ...........................................Lee C. Plevin Jeff & Ronna Robinson.......................... Paul Leipzig Caryn Schlesinger ..........Beatrice (Bibe) Schlesinger Benita I. Simon .......................... George (Joe) Simon Fredricka Stoller & Bill Grabe ........ Joseph Goldston Jackie Wechsler.......................... Norman Weissman Irwin & Georgetta Wedner ................... Celia Wedner Ira Weiss .................................................. Max Weiss

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday May 5: Shirley Bilder, Pearle G. Conn, Ruth Fleser Coplon, Blanche Epstein, Alfred Gordon, Harry Greenberg, Fannie Horowitz, Tillie G. Kubrin, Joseph Lederer, William Lewis, Edward Mermelstein, Hanna W. Pink, Annabelle M. Topp, Florence P. Wedner, Louis Zacks Monday May 6: S. Abel Alterman, Louis Berman, Florence Cohen, Lillian Finn, Bertha Goodman, Harry M. Greenberger, Sidney Greenberger, Sadie Klein, Frederick Knina, Stanley Slifkin, Karl Zlotnik Tuesday May 7: Elias Bloomstein, William Bowytz, Samuel Broffman, Mollie Goisner Dugan, Milton E. Golanty, Anna Goldblum, Celia Greenfield, Eva Korobkin, Reba Lazar, Anna Miller, Sarah Offstein, Rose Orringer, Martha Rosen, Bella Siegal, Rosalee Bachman Sunstein, William H. Whitman, Eva Grossman Willinger Wednesday May 8: Louis Americus, Isadore Berman, Hyman Caplan, Isadore Abraham Frand, Lea S. Golomb, Ida Greenberg, David L. Gusky, Arthur Samuel Herskovitz, Max Hochhauser, Dora Berman Horwitz, Sam Lurie, Celia Marcus, Sadie Mullen, Lee Calvin Plevin, Rachel Racusin, Dolores K. Rubin, Philip L. Silver, Helen Strauchler, Phillip Tevelin Thursday May 9: Bella H. Cohen, Sheila Dobrushin, Paul Leipzig, Abe I. Levinson, Saul Mandel, Louis M. Myers, Morris B. Pariser, Wolf Shoag, Joseph M. Swartz, Louis Wolf, George Zeidenstein Friday May 10: Max Azen, Gilbert Bernstein, Sonia Firestone, Herman Frankel, Lena Sanes Goldman, Barbara Gross, Solomon Hahn, Shirley Lebovitz, Donald Lester Lee, Harriet Berkowitz Linder, Harold Leo Lippman, Sam Littman, Moss A. Ostwind, Hilda Stern Press, Samuel Raphael, Dr. William Reiner, Carl Rice, Goldie Rosenshine, Rev. Meyer Schiff, David Shussett, George Teplitz Saturday May 11: Hettie Bildhauer Bloom, Harry Broff, Katie Elpern, Lottie Fleisher, Arthur Goldsmith, Jack Goldstein, Joseph Goldston, Sam Goldston, Yosef Goldston, Beate Gruene, Pearl Katz, William Kliman, Selma Neiman, Imre Neubauer, Jacob Schulman, Sidney Yecies, Rose C. Zapler

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MAY 3, 2019 19

Life & Culture Violinist: Continued from page 14

concerto with an orchestra has “always been my dream,” she said. Unfortunately, when the opportunity finally presented itself, the timing was inopportune, she said. The Shadyside resident was going through a divorce, had two teenagers at home and was in the process of selling a house and relocating. “It was just really the worst possible time [and] it seemed like there’s not going to be five hours a day for me to practice and prepare — and it takes about a year to prepare this concert,” she said. “But somewhere in that turmoil, it dawned on me that Beethoven himself had his own little bit of adversity, which was being deaf and depressed and on the brink of suicide, and he still managed to write this glorious, epic work. ... In the DNA of this piece is that indomitable spirit of his to overcome.” Despite the scheduling challenges, Mead accepted the offer to perform and discovered that by beginning each day playing Beethoven, “that sort of put everything else into this lens of beauty.” She even found that she “bonded” with Beethoven “on that sort of epic task of overcoming adversity.” Profoundly impacted by her engagement with the piece, she wondered if others would have a similar reaction. “If this can be such a relief to me, could it be to anybody else?” she wondered. “Could it lessen somebody else’s burden as well?” Mead followed up her March 9 performance with Edgewood Symphony Orchestra by inviting requests for free performances of the violin concerto. The response was positive, leading her to travel to private residences, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Presbyterian SeniorCare in Oakmont, Little Sisters of the Poor and to the summit of Mt. Kuchumaa in Rancho La Puerta, Mexico, for a dawn performance. Having completed nine of her 50 shows, Mead said it has been “humbling” to observe the concerto’s transformative ability. Nowhere was the piece’s power more apparent than at Congregation Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill, where Mead played Beethoven for family members of victims and survivors of the Tree of Life attack. “I felt very honored to be there. What they told me afterward was that there have been many public concerts for them, but this was the first that was private, that was just for

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p Monique Mead hiked to the top of a mountain in Tecate, Mexico on April 17, where she played for 50 hikers at sunrise. She carried the Beethoven flag and her gown to the top. Photo by Osvaldo Nieto

them, where they didn’t feel that everybody was looking at them.” Barry Werber, a survivor of the Tree of Life attack, attended the Beth Shalom performance, and said the performance “took us to another land.” “Just to watch her hand on that violin and knowing how old that Stradivarius was blew me away,” he said. Depending on the setting, Mead speaks a little before and after with her listeners. The music itself takes about 45 minutes to perform, and Mead typically comes with a pianist — who she pays $100 if the audience is unable to compensate — and collects no remuneration for her efforts. The task is about celebrating the “indomitable human spirit,” she said. “In a world of Facebook, where we look at everybody else’s glamour shots and success and feel like we’re

the only one that has problems, what I’m trying to do with this is sort of normalize and put in the center the fact that the stone in your path is your path. And this is how the people in our community are dealing with that and overcoming it every day. And I think that’s worth celebrating.” Now, with several successful concerts under her belt, Mead is hoping to reach new audiences. “I really would like to broaden this to the non-white community. I want this to be as diverse as possible,” she said. “I would like this gift to be for all neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.” In taking her talents elsewhere, Mead is hoping to eradicate some regional snobbery. “I am a complete non-elitist when it comes to music and to culture. I really dislike the fact that classical music is viewed as elitist. I spent my entire career trying to make it accessible to everyone, and it really pains me to still see

this sort of division, particularly in our city, when it comes to cultural opportunities,” she said. “This is an opportunity that is absolutely free to everyone and I would like it to be for everyone. I say it’s for people as diverse as the adversity we face, and that’s pretty diverse.” Beethoven, she noted, is the perfect artist to play in opposition to elitism. “Beethoven himself was the ultimate non-elitist. He wrote for the people and he wanted to be for the people. He was absolutely in the face of the aristocracy and had no respect for the sort of hierarchy of people. And I think, for me, that music is for everyone.” Those interested in hearing one of Mead’s 50 performances can put a request in at her website, beethovenintheface.com. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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20 MAY 3, 2019

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MAY 3, 2019 21

Community Leadership through innovation Shaler Area High School students held an evening of Holocaust remembrance and education on March 28 in commemoration of the Tree of Life synagogue building shooting on Oct. 27, 2018. The evening, which was planned by some 120 Shaler Area High School student volunteers, as part of the LIGHT Education Initiative, who put together the entire evening that featured guest speakers, music and art performances, exhibits, fundraisers,

food and information booths, museum exhibits, cultural appreciation activities and a children’s program. LIGHT stands for Leadership through Innovation in Genocide and Human rights Teaching and has a mission to inspire, prepare and empower students for leadership roles in Holocaust, genocide, human rights education, remembrance and advocacy. More than 600 families with children of all ages participated. Teacher Nicholas Haberman, who teaches several Holocaust courses to the students, brought the LIGHT Education Initiative to the school.

p Working on creating butterflies in commemoration of children who died in the Holocaust

p Holocaust survivor Shulamit Bastacky speaks with attendees.

p Information table for the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh

ZOA: Pittsburgh awards scholarships

Machers & Shakers

The Israel Scholarship Program is the oldest, continuous program of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Zionist Organization of America. Since its inception in 1962, the ZOA Scholarship Program has awarded hundreds of scholarships to Jewish high school students in the Pittsburgh area. Students are evaluated on their Jewish youth activities, volunteerism and essay on the topic, “What the State of Israel and Zionism Mean to Me.” The recipients of the 2019 scholarship will receive $1,000 to help offset expenses of their respective summer study programs. Maya Davis, a sophomore at Hillel Academy, will participate in the NCSY Girls Israel Volunteer Experience, where “high school girls are given the opportunity to experience hands-on Judaism through the art of giving back.” Abigail Segel, a sophomore at Pittsburgh Allderdice High School, will be in the NFTY Adventure Program, which includes a week either on a kibbutz, an army base or on an archaeological dig. Noah Strauss, a sophomore at Shady Side Academy, will attend the Emma Kaufmann Camp SIT Israel Leadership Experience, which builds leadership and provides training for emerging EKC staff. Photos courtesy ZOA: Pittsburgh

22 MAY 3, 2019

Photos courtesy of Nicholas Haberman

Bradley Shear, client services associate of Shear Capital Group, LLC, has received the Good Life Insurance Associates 2018 Young Guns Award. The Young Guns Award is presented to a new agent within the first 24 months with Good Life Insurance, is under 30 and submits more than 30 cases during the calendar year. Shear’s grandfather, Sam, started the family business in the 1950s and taught Shear’s father, Howard, the business, and they are now passing on their knowledge. Shear is a Pittsburgh native and graduated with honors from Kent State University in 2017 with a degree in finance. He resides in Pittsburgh. Photo courtesy of Bradley Shear Blaine Dinkin and six other women were honored at CMU by the Carnegie Mellon Women’s Association. The CMWA Awards began in 1964 to “honor an outstanding girl at the university.” The tradition continues today and each year the Carnegie Mellon Women’s Association Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to selected graduating senior students, with a preference for students who demonstrate a commitment to the advancement of women in their academic pursuits. Dinkin is a graduate student attending the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy and will be graduating with a M.S. in Health Care Policy and Management this month. Upon graduation she will be completing a two-year administrative fellowship at Allegheny Health Network. Dinkin is the daughter of Elliot and Laura Dinkin of Squirrel Hill. Photo courtesy of Laura Dinkin

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Community Local competitors come away with awards

Community seder

Just before Passover, 25 Yeshiva Girls School and 25 Yeshiva Boys School students in grades three to eight participated in the annual Tzivos Hashem Sefer Hamitzvos competition in New York. Taking place a week apart, teams from Yeshiva Girls and Boys Schools competed with 2,500 children from around the world in an international contest on the teaching of Maimonides.

p The crowd gathers prior to the start of Passover at Chabad of Squirrel Hill for a community seder serving more than 175 participants.

Photo courtesy of Chabad of Squirrel Hill

Combined efforts succeed for seder

p Mushka Altein, Eighth-Grade Girls gold trophy winner

Chabad on Campus and Hillel Jewish University Center combined efforts to host more than 400 students for the first night Passover seder at Alumni Hall, which was made available thanks to university administrators. The seder was led by Rabbi Shmuli Rothstein and catered by Judah Cowen from Elegant Edge catering.

p Menachem Silverman, Aizik Gurevitz, Tsvi Hoexter, Chaim Rudolph, Shalom Ber Meretsky and Nochum Rosenblum

p Chabad at Pitt and Hillel JUC had a full house at the first night seder held in Alumni Hall.

p Mussie Levertov, Menucha Davidson, Chayala Hoen and Reeka Levertov

p Chabad House on Campus and Hillel Jewish University Center staff

Photos courtesy of Yeshiva Schools

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Photos courtesy of Chabad on Campus

MAY 3, 2019â&#x20AC;&#x192;23

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