Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 7-15-22

July 15, 2022 | 16 Tamuz 5782

Candlelighting 8:31 p.m. | Havdalah 9:37 p.m. | Vol. 65, No. 28 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Pittsburghers react to Highland Park and the toll of mass shootings in America

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL ‘A Hidden Gem’ revealed

$1.50

Gemilas Chesed offers cash incentive to move to White Oak

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

A

A glimpse of the storied Downtown Shul

she has many friends and acquaintances who do, including one colleague — a Highland Park resident who attended the parade — who shared what it was like taking shelter in a Pilates studio during the attack.

Siegel knows the storefront’s location, as well as the intersections along Central Avenue where parade watchers feverishly darted during the gunfire.

Siegel’s husband, Howard Rieger, also knows the area well. As a child growing up in Chicago, summer activities included getting in the car, driving north along Lake Michigan, venturing along Highland Park’s winding roads and then heading back to his family’s “modest apartment” in the city, he said.

With its stately houses and sizable Jewish population, Highland Park was “for many people an aspirational community,” he said.

Given the generations of families who’ve called it home, Temple Sinai Executive Director Drew Barkley likened Highland Park to a “spider web.”

haron Guttman and David Sunstein have 100,000 reasons why they think you’ll love White Oak. Guttman and Sunstein are lay leaders of Gemilas Chesed Synagogue. The congregation recently ran a full-page ad in Jewish Action Magazine, a national publication of the Orthodox Union, offering $100,000 over a five-year span to families who move into the Pittsburgh suburb — located approximately 15 miles from the city — and become members of the congregation.

By offering the cash incentive, the congregation is hoping to beat the odds and defeat what seems an inevitability if one looks at the fate of many other synagogues that once thrived in the Mon Valley and Eastern suburbs, according to Sunstein, a former president of Gemilas Chesed.

“We have an aging congregation, and if we don’t do something, sometime in the future we’re going to run out of people,” Sunstein said. “We’ve seen what happened in the whole valley. We have Torahs from Clairton and from Donora — every shul up and down the valley — Uniontown, Charleroi, Duquesne, they’ve all closed down and we don’t want to be the next one.”

Sunstein said the shul currently has about 60 member families. It has tried before to bolster its roster, but those efforts were temporary fixes that attracted transitory families who moved in, then out, of the neighborhood.

Guttman, a board member of Gemilas Chesed, came up with the idea of offering people money to move into the community.

“Why would people come here instead of Squirrel Hill or Greenfield?” Guttman asked.

“Affordability.”

When families commit to moving to

Please see Highland Park, page 14

Please see White Oak, page 14

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LOCAL Protecting our seniors

Sacred Spaces responds to elder abuse

Page 7

LOCAL Rethinking Holocaust education

Local teachers inspired by trip to Poland

Page 9

 Highland Park, Illinois

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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necdotes, b-roll footage and photographs have characterized Highland Park as a sleepy suburb whose serenity was violently shattered during a July 4 attack on Chicago’s North Shore. For Pittsburghers, and Squirrel Hill residents in particular, the national media’s narration of how a mass shooting horrifically transforms a community isn’t just a stark reminder of Oct. 27, 2018, but a baffling provocation.

Beverly Siegel told the Chronicle that instead of relying on national broadcasters for information about the Independence Day attack that left seven dead and 30 wounded, she watched local affiliates.

“It’s all personal, it’s all hyperlocal,” and that’s something both Pittsburghers and now people in Highland Park unfortunately understand, she said, speaking from her Chicago apartment.

Siegel splits her time between the Second City and Squirrel Hill.

While Siegel doesn’t live in Highland Park,

Photo by Hajee via Flickr

keep your eye on PittsburghJewishChronicle LOCAL

An interfaith alliance

WORLD

Federation visits UAE

FILM

Retro review: ‘Avalon’

Headlines ‘A rabbi and a priest walk into a classroom…’

— LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

C

alvary Episcopal Church Rector Jonathon Jensen knows the power of relationships.

When he moved to Pittsburgh eight-anda-half years ago, Rodef Shalom’s Rabbi Aaron Bisno was the first local clergy person of any denomination to reach out to the new priest.

“We got to know each other and developed a friendship,” Jensen said. “Calvary and Rodef Shalom had a long relationship with a pulpit exchange. My predecessor, Harold Lewis, and Aaron would trade pulpits and preach at one other’s congregation.”

And while Jensen’s friendship with Bisno might be the oldest, it isn’t his only relationship to the Jewish community.

After the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, Jensen offered Tree of Life Congregation the use of Calvary’s building for High Holiday services, and over the past few years, he’s gotten to know the Conservative synagogue’s Rabbi Jeffrey Myers.

So, when Myers heard Bisno was on administrative leave from Rodef Shalom, he suggested Jensen reach out to his friend.

(Bisno and Rodef Shalom have since worked out their differences, and he is now serving the congregation as its Frances F. & David R. Levin rabbinic scholar.)

The reverend asked the rabbi about his day-to-day activities away from the synagogue. When Bisno said he was meeting with people for coffee and working from home, Jensen felt that maybe they could be of assistance to one another.

The rector told Bisno that while he didn’t have a paycheck to offer, he could provide an office, an email address and a parking space.

In short, he offered an opportunity to be part

p Rabbi Aaron Bisno delivered his first sermon as rabbi-in-residence Sunday, July 3, at Calvary Episcopal Church.

Screenshot by David Rullo

of Calvary’s staff.

“It’s helpful to have a place to go or a reason to get up and wash your face and comb your hair and go to work with people doing similar things — making the city a more just community and all, talking about how God is active in the lives of people in the world,” Jensen said. “I said, ‘Why don’t you be either chief guru or rabbi-in-residence.’”

In the end, the pair decided that Bisno would become Calvary Episcopal Church’s first rabbi-in-residence.

The new position is an opportunity to build on the relationships and ideas Bisno has been cultivating for a long time, the rabbi said.

“I think one of the blessings we have in Pittsburgh are the bridges and relationships that bind us together,” he said. “I look forward to exploring and creating and being part of the conversations that will result from what we’re starting here.”

The rabbi said he has been speaking of the need to collaborate — both inside and outside of the Jewish community — since 2011.

“This is, for me, a continuation of that work in the next phase of my rabbinate,” he said.

That idea is consistent with what Bisno told Jensen when they initially discussed the new position.

“He said he would work on several collaborative projects to bring the wisdom traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and others to bear on the questions of the day,” Jensen said. “Everything from climate justice to gun control to more basic questions. What is a good life? What is truth?

What is beauty? What does it mean to love and serve our neighbors? How do we know God is in the world today?”

There is historical precedence for this idea in Judaism, Bisno said.

“The Talmud teaches that the one who is wise learns from all people. That requires

us to recognize, with humility, that we don’t have all the answers,” he said. “We don’t know all things. Our understanding requires us to learn from others. So, ours is a timeless challenge. In this generation, I feel it is imperative that we talk with people who are different from us, so we can find and discover what we share.”

Bisno delivered his first sermon at the church on July 3 and has another one planned for Sunday, July 31.

He and Jensen are also planning to deliver a series of classes built around the idea of “a priest and a rabbi walk into a classroom…”

Jensen said the fall course will provide an opportunity for them to go back to their source texts and discuss everything from Roe v. Wade to the shootings in Highland Park, Uvalde and Buffalo. “What does the Bible say about these things? How do we come to actions and beliefs and faiths that we can live in the world today?”

The rector said the pair can serve as an example for people who see only a divided America.

“In some ways, we’re fundamentally different,” he said. “There’s no excuses. For example, I believe that Jesus is the Messiah; he does not. That is a really sharp divide. However, we also like each other and respect each other and agree on lots of things and understand and know we don’t have to agree on everything.”

For Bisno, Jensen’s invitation to Tree of Life to hold its High Holiday services in the church speaks to his fundamental goodness.

“Jonathon Jensen is a mensch,” Bisno said.

“He sees an opportunity to extend a hand to a friend, he sees a need in the community, and he says, ‘What can we do here?’ This is what we’re called to do. That’s who he is. I’m proud to be able to contribute.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines In a first, Pittsburgh Federation visits UAE’s Jewish community

 Federation Mission members pose with their tour guide before the “Cousins” painting in Dubai.

Photo provided by Erica Zimmerman

— WORLD —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

T

he leadership of the United Arab Emirates has operated under a simple, overused axiom: If you build it, they will come.

The saying has proven true for many of the government’s expansive efforts, including a palm tree-shaped island, the world’s tallest building, an indoor ski resort in a desert country, and, since the Abraham Accords, a revived Jewish community.

Following the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Mega Mission to Israel, a group of about 20 Mission attendees traveled June 22-26 from Jerusalem to the UAE. “We wanted to go to the UAE to connect with the growing and burgeoning Dubai Jewish community,” said Brian Eglash, the Federation’s senior vice president and chief development officer. “It was fascinating to go to an Arab or Muslim country and see a growing, thriving Jewish community.”

Officially, there are between 2,500-3,000 people who self-identify as Jews in the UAE, but there could be thousands more who don’t admit to being Jewish. In fact, Jews have lived in the area for a long time but many only began to feel comfortable identifying as such since the Abraham Accords and the softening of relations with Israel.

Despite the tension, the community is growing and creating infrastructure.

Eglash said the Federation group visited a Jewish preschool run by Chabad.

“We connected with three different congregations while we were there,” Federation President and CEO Jeff Finkelstein said, offering the oft-repeated Jewish punchline, “You can’t have one, you have to have three.”

Shabbat dinner was shared with two Emiratis who had ties to the government, Eglash said.

“We were there with the chair of the Jewish community, a native of Johannesburg,” Finkelstein said. “They’re all working

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together to build bridges between the Emiratis and the Jewish community and Israel. It’s great to see them working on the ground — slowly, deliberately. It will take time, but they’re committed to it.”

David Silverman participated in the trip with his wife, Erica Zimmerman. He said they were impressed with both the itinerary and the accommodations, as well as how welcoming they found the country.

“We didn’t see anyone potentially antisemitic, from the hotel staff to around town, to the way they helped rabbis set up synagogues,” Silverman said. “It’s really very safe and very welcoming.”

One highlight of the tour, he said, was visiting the Crossroads of Civilization Museum, which provides a history of Dubai’s role as a trading connection from the East to the West.

“Within the museum, there was a Holocaust section,” he said. “It was really well done, obviously on a smaller scale than Yad Vashem, but the fact that the museum had a section to let people know what happened in the Holocaust was very nice and kind of surprising.”

“I don’t think you’d find a section like that in any other Arab museum,” Zimmerman added.

Zimmerman was particularly impressed by a painting outside the museum called “Cousins Meetup.” Painted by both an Arab and Israeli artist, the work shows an Emirati in traditional garb and an Israeli sharing a cup of coffee in front of the Dubai skyline.

Between the two are the flags of Israel and UAE, each next to the other figure.

“It’s really a telltale sign,” Zimmerman said. “If there’s ever going to be a real community, that is a sign of getting along.

That was so pointed.”

Stacey Seewald and her husband, Scott, traveled from Israel to the UAE as well. She was impressed with not only the community, but the commitment by the country to support its Jews.

Please see UAE, page 15

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Join members of the Jewish community for our annual Jewish Heritage Night at PNC Park!

Catch up with old friends and meet new ones as registrants partake in a pregame kosher meal in Picnic Park (optional). Each ticket purchased will also receive a limited edition Pirates branded Hebrew water bottle.

8.16.22 I 7:05PM

$48 Lower Level $35 Upper Level $32 Upper Level $19 Lower Level

with pregame kosher meal without pregame kosher meal with pregame kosher meal without pregame kosher meal

Pregame Kosher Meal Includes: Smoked pulled beef sliders, maple BBQ beans, Cajun coleslaw, bag of chips, and a bottle of water

For questions or groups of 10 or more, please contact Josh Avart at joshua.avart@pirates.com or 412-325-4903.

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Headlines ‘A Hidden Gem’: The history of the Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Congregation — LOCAL —

By Ethan Beck | Staff Writer

B

etween a handful of rabbis, several different locations and 153 years of services, saying that Pittsburgh’s Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Congregation — or, the Downtown Shul — has a vast history feels like an understatement.

On June 10, Doors Open Pittsburgh and Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob showcased that history at the event “The Downtown Shul: A Hidden Gem,” led by Eric Lidji, director of the Heinz History Center’s Rauh Jewish Archives.

“Looking at this room, you get the sense that there’s a lot of history here and a lot of thought put into bringing these objects together,” Lidji said, before walking the audience through the congregation’s decades of history. “If you have some aesthetic sensibility, you notice that there appears to be three eras represented in this room.”

Lidji dissected those different eras in his presentation, starting with the earliest Jewish presence in western Pennsylvania in the 1750s, then quickly moving to the 1869

 Eric Lidji presents “A Hidden Gem” at the Downtown Shul on July 10.

founding of the congregation — initially named B’nai Israel — by a contingent of Lithuanian Jews.

Shortly after its charter, the congregation “bounce[d] around like congregations do during their early years,” Lidji said. But then two major things happened in 1892. First,

the congregation moved into a new home on Washington Street in the Hill District.

Second, it was renamed Beth Hamedrash Hagodol, meaning “the great house of study.”

“It was a way of indicating that they saw themselves as the central Orthodox institution in the city,” Lidji said.

Photo by Ethan Beck

Throughout the presentation, he shared several photos depicting the different eras of the Downtown Shul.

In the early 1900s, Beth Hamedrash Please see Downtown Shul, page 15

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

SUNDAY, JULY 17

With summer’s arrival, it is time to get out the grill — “The Rabbinic Grill,” that is.

Join Rabbi Danny Schiff as he poses tough questions about contemporary Jewish life, belief and movement positions to a select group of area rabbis. Schiff will grill the rabbis on the big issues and concerns of today’s Jews in a direct and forthright fashion. 10 a.m. jewishpgh.org/event/therabbinic-grill/2022-07-10. q

SUNDAYS, JULY 17; AUG. 14

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh presents Advanced Community Active Threat Training with Defensive Tactics. The four-part class will address the mind of an active shooter, predator versus prey, situational awareness and survival mindset; explore basic self-defense, using techniques such as Krav Maga; explore weapons awareness and disarming techniques; and advanced defensive tactics, including team tactics and reality-based training. Squirrel Hill JCC. For more information, including times, and to register, visit jewishpgh.org/ event/advance-community-active-threattraining-catt-with-defensive-tactics-2. q

SUNDAYS, JULY 17-AUG 28

Join a lay-led Online Parashah Study Group to discuss the week’s Torah portion. No Hebrew knowledge is needed.

The goal is to build community while deepening understanding of the text.

8:30 p.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org. q

MONDAYS, JULY 18-AUG 1

Beth El Congregation of the South Hills presents its Zoom-only Summer Adult Ed Series. Learn about Israel’s military

GET THE

history in this four-part series with Jake Novack, media director of the Israel Consulate, NYC. Topics include the War of Independence, Suez Crisis, Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War. 7:30 p.m.

For more information and to register, visit bethelcong.org/events/summeradult-ed-series. q

MONDAYS, JULY 18-AUG 29

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

TUESDAY, JULY 19

Join Classrooms Without Borders for Revealing the Stories Behind the Artifacts. Yad Vashem’s Artifacts Collection is home to more than 27,000 items donated over the years by Holocaust survivors, their families and various organizations. It includes a wide variety of artifacts connected to the events of the Holocaust. Each one tells its own story. Sara Shor, manager of the Artifacts Collection at Yad Vashem, will share the stories behind some of these precious items. 3 p.m. cwbpgh.org/event/revealingthe-stories-behind-the-artifacts.

Learn about Jewish Pittsburgh at the New Light Lecture Series: Pittsburgh is our Home, online or in person at Beth Shalom. Free and open to the public. 7 p.m. For more information including speakers and topics, visit newlightcongregation.org/events. q

TUESDAYS, JULY 19, 26

Antisemitism is on the rise again. It is perhaps the oldest hatred of all, yet, through the centuries, it has appeared in many guises. In the seven-part Zoom course “Antisemitism: A Brief History of Why They Hate Us,” Rabbi Danny Schiff will offer a succinct survey of the various forms of antisemitism and will consider what the past history of antisemitism means for today. $65. 9:30 a.m. jewishpgh.org/event/antisemitism-a-briefhistory-of-why-they-hate-us/2022-07.

Join JFCS and 10.27 Healing Partnership as they combine forces and offer Art in Community, an art-based mindfulness program for all who are interested. The group will explore ways making art can help regulate the nervous system, promote playfulness and imagination, and connect us more deeply to our bodies, emotions, thoughts and worldviews. Attendees will come together in community as we explore different art mediums, share personal experiences and reflect on how art can influence us all. All participants must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. JCC membership not required.

12:30 p.m. Squirrel Hill JCC. jfcspgh.org/ artincommunity. q

TUESDAYS, JULY 19-AUG. 2

Chabad of the South Hills presents Kabbalah of the Aleph Bet, a ladies learning course. 10 a.m. $18 suggested donation. 1701 McFarland Road, 15216.

RSVP to batya@chabadsh.com. q

WEDNESDAYS, JULY 20, 27

In many ways, the Tanakh is a revolutionary set of texts. One thing is certain: Over time, the Tanakh totally transformed the way humans relate to the cosmos and to each other.

In the seven-part course Zoom course, “How the Jewish Bible Changed Ethics Forever,” Rabbi Danny Schiff will explore the revolutionary ethical transformations that the Hebrew Bible brought about… and how it truly changed the world. $65. 9:30 a.m. jewishpgh.org/event/ how-the-jewish-bible-changed-ethicsforever/2022-07-06. q

WEDNESDAYS, JULY 20-AUG. 31

Bring the parashah alive and make it personally relevant and meaningful.

Study the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman. 12:15 p.m. bethshalompgh.org/life-text.

Join Temple Sinai to study the weekly Torah portion in its hybrid class available on Zoom. Open to everyone.

Noon. templesinaipgh.org/event/ parashah/weekly-torah-portion-classvia-zoom11.html. q

SUNDAY, JULY 24

Give blood at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills and help during the ongoing critical blood and platelet supply shortage. Donations take approximately 15 minutes. Visit donateblood.centralbloodbank.org to schedule your appointment and enter the code G0020005. You can also call (412) 209-7000. A $15 contribution to South Hills Interfaith Movement (SHIM) will be made for each blood donation through the Give Blood & Give Back initiative. 8:30 a.m. q

SUNDAY, JULY 31

Join Classrooms Without Borders for The Ghetto Fighters’ House Talking Memory Series “Gross Aktion: Remembering the Warsaw Ghetto’s Great Deportation 80 Year Later.” This lecture will focus on the months leading up to the Great Deportation (summer 1942) and the days of the German Aktion itself. In this context, the grim reality of life in the Warsaw Ghetto, facing rumors of terror and mass murder, will be presented. 2 p.m. cwbpgh. org/event/the-ghetto-fighters-housetalking-memory-series-presents-grossaktion-remembering-the-warsaw-ghettosgreat-deportation-80-year-later. q

TUESDAY, AUG. 2

Join Chabad of the South Hills for a Women’s Night Out. Create your own glass-fused mezuzah cover and enjoy light refreshments. $36. 7:30 p.m. 1701 McFarland Road, 15216. Email batya@ chabadsh.com to register. q

SUNDAY, AUG. 14

Join the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle’s Book Club for its discussion of “The Finkler Question,” by Howard Jacobson. Noon on Zoom. Email drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org to register. PJC

news. THEN GET THE FULL STORY. ❀ In the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

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Headlines Sacred Spaces develops resources to respond to elder abuse — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

T

he statistics are distressing.

Each year, an estimated one in 10 older adults experiences at least one form of abuse, according to the National Council on Aging.

More than 60% of elder care workers selfreported that they abused those in their care.

And elder abuse advocates report that abuse rates increased as much as tenfold during the pandemic, in part due to social isolation.

Sacred Spaces, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that partners with Jewish institutions nationwide to prevent and respond to sexual abuse and other abuses of power, is now developing resources to help organizations be better prepared to prevent and respond to elder abuse.

Listening sessions are being planned

by Sacred Spaces this summer to collect opinions on how to improve knowledge, skills and resources to help prevent and respond to elder abuse in Jewish communities. They’re eyeing “Jewish community members aged 65 and older, rabbis, those working at Jewish social service agencies, JCCs, Jewish Please see Elder Abuse, page 15

Image by Sabine van Erp via Pixabay

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Headlines Dorseyville teacher chosen for national Holocaust education fellowship — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

A

local teacher is soaring high in the world of Holocaust education.

Scott Vensel, who teaches English at Dorseyville Middle School in the Fox Chapel Area School District, was one of 22 teachers nationwide that The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous selected as a 2022 Alfred Lerner Fellow.

The fellows delve into the complex history of the Holocaust at JFR’s Summer Institute for Teachers, an intensive five-day course that took place in Newark, New Jersey, from June 25-29.

“I’m a firm believer that there’s no replacement for personalizing history — especially for students who are experiencing [the Holocaust] for the first time,” said Vensel, who lives in McCandless and has been teaching at Dorseyville Middle School for 16 years. “When they see the history in front of them, it makes an impact.”

The program is a high-level, intensive academic seminar in which participants learn from noted Holocaust scholars, JFR officials said. Attendees meet in small groups following each lecture, address the specific

aspect of the Holocaust that is presented, share teaching concepts and develop approaches to introducing the subject matter to their students.

Those selected for the program must be English or social studies teachers at the middle or high school level, have taught at least five years, are at least five years from retirement and currently teach the Holocaust in their classroom. The program is named in memory of Alfred Lerner, the founding chairman of MBNA Corporation and a longtime advisor on JFR programming, who died in October 2002.

“There are three main goals of the JFR’s Summer Institute, which include: providing teachers with a graduate level course on the Holocaust; pedagogical connections with other teachers and their curriculum so they learn what’s worked and what hasn’t; and to give them resources for the classroom,” said JFR Executive Vice President Stanlee Stahl.

“Now, my database of knowledge has expanded, has deepened,” Vensel told the Chronicle. “And, in terms of networking and connections, it was really a phenomenal experience.”

Vensel has been tackling the subject of the Holocaust for as long as he’s been teaching English, all 16 years in Fox Chapel following an internship at the school. Early lessons on

JCBA Operations Manager The Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association of Greater Pittsburgh is seeking a full time administrative professional to join the staff of this growing cemetery association.

p Scott Vensel

Photo courtesy of Scott Vensel

Anne Frank have developed into a robust program involving in-person testimony from Holocaust survivors and the descendants of those who lived to tell their tale, Vensel said.

“I’m constantly learning something new

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JCBA’s expanded vision is made possible by a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community Foundation

Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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Responsibilities: • Serve as primary operations professional for organization that manages Jewish cemeteries; Position reports to the Executive Director • Carry out day-to-day duties of the Association • Manage contractors and vendors • Coordinate burials • Coordinate two fundraising appeals each year • Maintain databases, and coordinate website updates Qualities that we are seeking in an organized self starter include efficiency, reliability, responsiveness, and sensitivity. Skills we are seeking include common software usage.

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— there are always mysteries to explore and artifacts to unpack,” Vensel added. “I think [the fellowship] deepened my passion and drive to keep teaching this.”

Vensel was nominated for the fellowship

by Lauren Apter Bairnsfather, director of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh.

“We chose Scott for this opportunity because we believe in his talents, efforts, and passion as a Holocaust educator,” Bairnsfather said in a written statement.

“The Holocaust Remembrance Assembly at Dorseyville Middle School, which has been hosted for well over a decade, his ongoing utilization of our educational offerings, and his deep engagement as a LIGHT coordinator are all tangible examples of Scott’s commitment. It is an honor to have him as an educator in our region.”

The JFR continues its work of delivering monthly financial assistance to more than 130 aged and needy Righteous Gentiles, living in 13 countries; since its founding, it has provided more than $42 million in aid.

Its Holocaust teacher education program instructs teachers and students about the significance of the Righteous as moral and ethical exemplars. PJC

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Headlines Educators return from Poland with new plans for teaching about the Holocaust — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

S

ummer vacation has arrived, but several local educators are already looking ahead to their fall lesson plans.

After returning from a 10-day trip to Poland with Classrooms Without Borders, some western Pennsylvanian teachers are rethinking their approach to Holocaust education and retooling related curricula.

Michele Russo, an English teacher at Seneca Valley High School, has taught Holocaust studies for nearly 15 years, but visiting Poland from June 25 to July 4 gave her a chance to “connect the dots,” she said.

Prior to the trip, Russo kept coming across various “inconsistencies” in her understanding of the Holocaust. She didn’t know why only some survivors had tattoos on their arms, or why not every prisoner of a concentration camp had their photo taken.

Touring Poland with CWB, and nearly 50 other educators, not only answered those questions, but also gave her a chance to “get to the deep stuff,” which will be helpful when school starts again, she said.

Please see Poland, page 15

 Railway tracks leading into Auschwitz concentration camp

Chai

Photo by Adam Reinherz

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9

Headlines — WORLD — Israeli court rules that online marriages must be honored

A district court in Lod, an Israeli city, ruled last week that Israel’s Interior Ministry is required to recognize the marriages of couples who use a virtual wedding service provided

by Utah County in Utah.

If the decision stands, it would mean that couples who do not want to or cannot have an Orthodox Jewish wedding could get the benefits of marriage without leaving Israel, as they are currently required to do.

Those include LGBTQ couples, interfaith couples, couples in which one partner is not recognized by one of the established religious authorities and couples who are committed to non-Orthodox Judaism.

Jewish marriage in Israel has long been controlled by the Orthodox establishment.

Until now, marriages not recognized by the Israeli religious establishment had to occur abroad in order to be registered by the Interior Ministry. Cyprus in particular emerged as a wedding destination.

Israeli couples lost the ability to travel abroad to get married when the pandemic began in early 2020. Some of them turned to an online wedding service launched in May of that year by the country clerk in Provo, Utah, as a service to local couples who could not safely obtain a marriage license in person because of COVID-19.

Biden administration accuses Russia of exploiting Jewish suffering

The Biden administration accused the Russian government of antisemitism and of exploiting Jewish suffering through its claims that its war against Ukraine is a “denazification” operation.

“To serve its predatory ends, the Kremlin is exploiting the suffering and sacrifice of all those who lived through World War II and survived the Holocaust,” the State Department said in a dossier.

The dossier was timed ahead of an informal session Monday afternoon of the United Nations Security Council that Russia called to bolster its denazification claim. Tass, the Russian news agency, last week quoted Dmitry Polyansky, the deputy Russian envoy to the United Nations, as saying the session will “be our response to Western colleagues, who express doubts about one of the main goals of our special military operation in Ukraine, namely de-Nazification, and claim that we are exaggerating the problem.”

The State Department dossier quotes historians and Holocaust remembrance institutions, including Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, as denouncing the denazification claims as bogus. It also emphasizes that the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish and lost family to the Holocaust.

Global chickpea supply could drop 20% this year

Data shows that global supplies of chickpeas, the main ingredient for hummus and falafel, may dip up to 20% this year.

A combination of Russia’s war in Ukraine, poor weather and transportation issues is leading to the shortage, which is predicted to increase prices and make cheap hummus harder to come by, Reuters reported last week.

Farmers in the United States, the fourthlargest chickpea exporter in the world, planted less of the protein-packed legume this year due to less than ideal weather conditions in the spring.

Russia is also a top chickpea producer.

Global sanctions have interrupted the country’s global chickpea exports, while the ongoing war has decreased the amount of chickpeas normally grown in Ukraine by about 50 tons, the head of a global chickpea trader and brokerage firm told Reuters.

Many communities around the world have depended on chickpeas, which are a staple of many Israeli dishes, as cheap sources of protein and fiber.

Ukraine says it will not allow in Uman pilgrims for Rosh Hashanah

More than four months into its devastating war against Russia, Ukraine is sending a new message to the world’s Jews: Don’t come here for Rosh Hashanah.

Tens of thousands of Jews flood into Uman, a central city that is home to the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, a 18th-century Jewish luminary, annually for the Jewish new year.

This year, their security cannot be guaranteed, Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, said in a statement posted last Thursday on the embassy’s Facebook page.

Pinchas Goldschmidt is formally out as Moscow’s chief rabbi

Pinchas Goldschmidt, who left Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, is no longer the chief rabbi of Moscow after 30 years with the title.

The board of the Moscow Jewish Religious Society voted last month to support a contract extension for Goldschmidt, even though he had been in Israel for some time.

But the RBC, a Russian news organization, reported on July 6 that the group, which represents Goldschmidt’s congregation and office, said he no longer had a role there.

Goldschmidt left Russia in March, two weeks after outbreak of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His daughter-in-law, the journalist Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt, said recently that Goldschmidt had been pressured to support the war publicly but had declined to do so. PJC — JTA reports compiled by Selah Maya Zighelboim

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

This week in Israeli history — WORLD —

I N G E T T YS B U R G !

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

July 15, 1965 — Rabin Warns Against Jordan Diversion

The IDF’s chief of staff, Yitzhak Rabin, warns Lebanon and Syria they will face consequences if they move forward with an Arab League-backed effort to divert the sources of the Jordan River.

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JULY 15, 2022

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July 16, 1926 — Industrialist Stef Wertheimer Is Born

Stef Wertheimer, one of Israel’s wealthiest citizens, is born in Kippenheim, Germany. He immigrates to Palestine in 1937 and founds Iscar Metalworking in 1952. Berkshire Hathaway eventually buys the company.

July 17, 1906 — Kibbutz Pioneer Yitzchak Ben-Aharon Is Born

Yitzchak Ben-Aharon is born in Bukovina, Romania. He helps found Kibbutz Givat Haim and lives there until his death in 2006. A labor activist and World War II veteran, he serves seven Knesset terms.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

July 18, 1290 — England Expels Its Jews

King Edward I expels the approximately 4,000 Jews living in England, which had few Jews before the 11th century. Most go to France or Germany. England does not allow Jews to return until 1656.

July 19, 1999 — Top Officer Stella Levy Dies

Stella Levy, who commanded the IDF Women’s Corps from 1964 to 1970, dies.

During her military service she oversaw the transit camps for new immigrants. She briefly served in the Knesset in 1981.

July 20, 1951 — Jordan’s King Abdullah Is Assassinated

A Palestinian nationalist kills Jordan’s first king, Abdullah I, at the entrance to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. He is succeeded by a grandson, Hussein, who signs a treaty with Israel 43 years later.

July 21, 1948 — U.S. Opposes Stationing Troops in Israel

Philip Jessup, the acting U.S. representative to the United Nations, writes a seven-point memo declaring that the United States should refuse a U.N. request for temporary U.S. peacekeepers in Jerusalem. PJC PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Stef Wertheimer By Mark Neyman, Israeli Government Press Office

TOGETHER

Headlines The many messages of Biden’s Mideast trip — WORLD —

By Israel Kasnett | JNS

U

.S. President Joe Biden was scheduled to arrive in Israel on Wednesday for his first visit to the Jewish state as president, and there are a number of factors at play, experts told JNS. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said during the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday that this would be a “historic” week for the Jewish state. Biden’s visit, he said, “will deal with both challenges and opportunities.” He emphasized, however, that the discussions would focus on Iran and the progress of its nuclear program.

Professor Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.Israel relations at Bar-Ilan University and a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, told JNS that the fact of the visit itself sends several messages.

“When an American president travels to a foreign country, the trip itself is the message and it represents a commitment,” he said.

According to Gilboa, Biden plans to form a regional defense alliance at the Jeddah conference. The coalition will include the United States, Israel and a host of Arab countries, including Gulf states, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. “In this sense, Biden continues Trump’s policy of the Abraham Accords,” Gilboa said.

“The new alliance is intended to contain Iran and, in the first stage, will be based on an air defense system against Iranian missiles and attack drones and cyber security measures. Biden may succeed in upgrading the relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” he said.

With this visit, he continued, Biden is telling Iran it has one last chance to reach an agreement with the West on its nuclear program, and that if it doesn’t, “the United States will sponsor an alliance between Israel, the Gulf countries, Egypt and Jordan as a mechanism of defense against you.”

The visit also sends a message to China, he said.

Biden announced last September that the United States is forming a new Indo-Pacific security alliance with Britain and Australia, called AUKUS, that will allow for greater sharing of defense capabilities, he noted.

In addition to AUKUS, the United States also recently formed the “West Asia Quad,” an alliance between Israel, India, the UAE and the United States — officially referred to as the I2-U2.

“Both AUKUS and I2-U2 complete the belt of alliances designed primarily to defeat China,” Gilboa said. “The idea is to strategically connect the emerging alliance in the Middle East with the other alliances in Asia. And China is part of the Middle East alliance, because just a few months ago China signed a 25-year strategic agreement with Iran,” he explained.

“This is an attempt by China to create a military foothold in the Middle East,” he continued, adding that the strategic alliance in the Middle East is thus “designed to contain not just Iran but also China.”

The third message the visit sends is to the

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 President Joe Biden

Photo via POTUS/Twitter

American people, Gilboa said.

The Biden administration completely reversed its policy toward Saudi Arabia and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) following the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, he noted. Biden even called MBS a “pariah” in connection with the murder. But “a lot has changed” since, said Gilboa. “Because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Biden needs MBS to produce more oil to compensate for the loss of Russian oil and gas, and he prefers that over moral scruples, especially those adhered to by the so-called progressives.”

However, in light of his previous stance on Saudi Arabia and MBS, this leaves Biden in somewhat of an awkward position going into the November elections, he said, noting that Biden’s approval ratings are already very low and the U.S. economy is very bad.

The kingdom’s normalization overtures to Israel may offer the U.S. president a way out, he said.

Prof. Joshua Teitelbaum of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan told JNS that “Biden has realized he needs to climb down from the tree and rejuvenate the relationship with Saudi Arabia, but he needs a way to do this.”

Teitelbaum agreed with Gilboa’s assessment that Biden is sending a message to the American people that in order to advance Arab-Israeli peace, he will “do what he can,” despite any moral qualms.

“This allows him to go to Saudi Arabia and meet with MBS,” said Teitelbaum.

In an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Saturday, Biden noted that he is set to become the first U.S. president to fly directly from Israel to Saudi Arabia. This would be “a small symbol of the budding relations and steps toward normalization

between Israel and the Arab world, which my administration is working to deepen and expand,” he wrote.

In Saudi Arabia, Biden is scheduled to attend the GCC+3 summit (the Gulf Cooperation Council — consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — along with Iraq, Egypt and Jordan) in Jeddah.

“In [Jeddah], leaders from across the region will gather, pointing to the possibility of a more stable and integrated Middle East, with the United States playing a vital leadership role,” he wrote.

Biden’s visit will result in a three-way deal that “helps all three parties achieve what they want,” Teitelbaum said.

Israel, he said, will see a soft rapprochement with Saudi Arabia, likely in the form of Israeli overflights to Asian countries as well as a toning down of antiIsrael rhetoric. The Saudis will return to the good graces of America and will also gain control of two Red Sea islands — Tiran and Sanafir — which will officially be returned to Saudi Arabia from Egyptian control. And America will receive more Saudi oil, while avoiding a major diplomatic crisis.

Teitelbaum also pointed to Sheikh Mohammed al-Issa, the Saudi cleric known as the “Zionist Imam,” who visited Auschwitz and who is now preaching relations with Israel, as a clear indication of Saudi Arabia’s improved attitude toward Israel.

Israel joining CENTCOM a year ago, he noted, was an early signal of warming relations with Riyadh, as it indicated that the Arabs were not rejecting Israel’s presence in the important group.

He also observed that Saudi textbooks “aren’t as antisemitic as they used to be.”

After visiting with Israeli leaders but before heading on to Saudi Arabia, Biden

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

is scheduled to meet with P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. According to Gilboa, the meeting with Abbas will be the most insignificant part of Biden’s regional tour.

“There is a clear understanding that given the leadership in Ramallah and Israel, there is no place for any comprehensive initiative or peace proposals of the kind we have seen [in the past],” Gilboa said. “There is much agreement to weaken Hamas to prevent rounds of violence and strengthen the Palestinian Authority,” he added.

One reason the Palestinian issue has receded into the background, he said, was that the Saudis have grown impatient with the Palestinian leadership.

“The Saudis are no longer letting Palestinian issues get in the way of relations with Israel,” he said. “They care, but they are impatient with the leadership. Iran is more of an immediate concern than the Palestinian issue.”

Despite this, there is concern in Israel that the U.S. interests at stake during this trip could translate into pressure on Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians.

Among these concessions is the reopening the consulate for Palestinian affairs in Jerusalem, which Israel objects to strenuously on the grounds that such a move would undermine its sovereignty over its capital. The consulate was closed under the Trump administration. Biden could also demand that Israel freeze construction in Judea and Samaria.

In conclusion, Gilboa said that the U.S. president’s visit to the region will likely be “very critical.”

“We will see how much the visit produces concrete results, how it is covered, especially in the countries directly involved, and also in Iran,” he said. PJC JULY 15, 2022

11

Opinion The pressure to pray Editor’s Desk Toby Tabachnick

L

ast month, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, a case involving an assistant high school football coach who engaged in prayer on the 50-yard line following games. The court held that the coach had a constitutional right to display “his personal religious observance” on the football field.

One of the arguments against allowing such behavior was that players may feel pressured to join the coach in prayer.

I remember what it’s like to be a high school student pressured to join in Christian prayer.

It was the summer of 1979, following my junior year in high school. I had been selected as one of three girls representing my school at Hoosier Girls State. Sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, ostensibly a nondenominational organization, the weeklong residential program held at Indiana State University in Terre Haute brought together hundreds of girls from across Indiana to learn about the political process through the election of city and state officials and then running a mock government.

At age 17, I was forced into the position of having to either push back against a dogmatic adult in a position of authority, or yield to the pressure to join with literally everyone else at the program and attend church.

I came from Indianapolis, the city with by far the largest population of Jews in the state, about 10,000. While I was accustomed to being part of a religious minority at my public school, there were always several other Jewish kids in my classes. But as far as I could tell, I was the only Jewish girl at Hoosier Girls State. Most of the girls there came from small towns and farm communities with tiny or nonexistent Jewish populations.

In the breakfast line one morning, one of the girls from the southern part of the state said she heard I was Jewish. When I confirmed that I was, she said she had never before met a Jew and asked me if Jews believed in God.

I would like to say that I gently explained to her the origins of monotheism, but the truth is I don’t remember exactly what I said. What I do recall, though, is, as the week progressed, becoming increasingly anxious about the upcoming Christian church service scheduled for Sunday morning — of which I was not informed until I arrived in Terre Haute.

I told my adult resident advisor that I could not attend because I was Jewish. To my surprise, she argued with me, told me that I would not be excused, that the prayer service was mandatory.

So, at age 17, I was forced into the position of having to either push back against a

dogmatic adult in a position of authority, or yield to the pressure to join with literally everyone else at the program and attend church. I pushed back.

Finally, a couple days later, after the RA discussed the issue in depth with her superiors, I was told that I could skip the church service — but I would have to stay in my dorm room while it ensued.

It was a victory of sorts, but it didn’t feel like one. Being singled out as different by the adults in charge was extremely uncomfortable.

I realize the fact patterns are different — that the young players in Bremerton who joined their coach in prayer on the football field probably did so voluntarily, and that the American Legion Auxiliary is not an arm of the state as is a public high school. But I do wonder if those students who did not — for whatever reason — participate in the prayer felt alienated, or if some of them joined in the prayer not because they wanted to, but because they felt compelled to.

It’s been decades since I was a teenager at Hoosier Girls State, but I do know the compulsion to join a religious activity feels very real when it is championed by an influential adult. No American child or teen — or adult, for that matter — should be pressured, however subtly, to join in prayer when it is contrary to their own beliefs. PJC

Voices of European Jewry: Helsinki, Finland Guest Columnist Madison Jackson

“W

hat time does Shabbat start tomorrow in Helsinki?” I ask.

Chana, the 25-year-old pen pal hosting me during my visit in Helsinki, Finland, walks from the hallway of her apartment to the living room. She picks up a large, paper wall calendar, like the Jewish calendars synagogues send me each year in the United States. Placing her finger on July 7, she replies, “10:22 p.m.” I ask when Shabbat ends. The answer is a time well after midnight.

I am surprised that Shabbat lasts longer than 25 hours. Chana explains that in most of the world, Shabbat ends when three stars are visible in the sky. But the Jewish community in Helsinki is one of the most northern in the world. As a result, in Finnish summers, there are no stars to be seen; it doesn’t get fully dark during Finnish summer nights. Instead of looking for three stars at the end of Shabbat, Finnish Jews follow the halachic hour — a term used in rabbinic Jewish law, where an hour is calculated by taking the total time of daylight of a particular day, from sunrise until sunset, and dividing it into twelve equal parts. The halachic hour varies by the season and sometimes by the day.

Chana isn’t the only Jew in Helsinki who follows the halachic hour as a guide.

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JULY 15, 2022

While there are approximately 1,300 Jews in Finland — mainly in Helsinki, with a smaller community in Turku — Chana is part of one of 10 families who call themselves “frum.” She wears a dress whenever she is out in public, strictly observes Shabbat and keeps kosher.

Each weekend Chana makes the 17-minute walk to Shabbat services at the Helsinki Synagogue. There is only one synagogue in Helsinki and it is Orthodox, yet most of its members do not identify as Orthodox.

Many, in fact, are not religiously observant and identify simply as culturally Jewish.

A security guard wearing shorts and a simple T-shirt greets Chana as we walk up to the gates which surround the building on Wednesday. He doesn’t acknowledge me as they begin chatting in Finnish. He instantly opens the gate and waves us inside.

He doesn’t check my bag or ask to see my passport. He knows Chana, and apparently that is good enough for him.

Chana leads me into the secretary’s office; I feel funny walking right into a room instead of knocking first. But it is clear from the way Chana walks that she knows her way around the synagogue, the place where she has grown up.

The secretary leads us to the sanctuary, and my first reaction is: “Wow the walls are green.” Chana and I sit down in brown, wooden seats facing the bima, behind a few rows of Israelis visiting on a tour. A man stands at the front of the bima and speaks in Hebrew.

“He used to be our cantor,” Chana whispers to me. “Now he lives in Israel but comes back to Helsinki every summer.”

A second later, realizing that the cantor is speaking only in Hebrew, Chana nudges me on the arm and hands me her phone. She has typed “Do you understand Hebrew?”

I nod my head.

The cantor picks up a guitar and starts singing “Shehechiyanu.” I hear Chana quietly join in.

When the cantor and the Israelis leave, I walk around the sanctuary. I pick up a “Sidur Helsinki” and flip through the pages.

I am excited to see the Finnish language side-by-side with the Hebrew prayers. I learn that while most Jews in Helsinki are Ashkenazi, there are some Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in Helsinki who join the Ashkenazi services.

Next, we walk to the adjoining Jewish school. To enroll, at least one parent of a child must be a member of the Jewish community.

In Helsinki, all Jewish institutions, except for the Chabad house, are based in one large complex: the Jewish school, the Jewish community center, the synagogue, Jewish youth spaces, the mikvah, a Jewish library, the Jewish preschool. The secretary points out the tables where students eat their lunch each day. Chana recalls the excitement she and her classmates had as kids when it was their turn to ring a golden bell before chanting Birkat Hamazon.

Chana seems so comfortable in her Jewish community. I feel pretty comfortable in

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

her community. As we walk back to her apartment from the synagogue, she runs into someone and has a short conversation with him. “Jews,” she says to me smiling, as we walk away. It reminds me of something I would say in the States — all Jews know each other.

And yet, as much as I have enjoyed my time in Helsinki and appreciate the friendly atmosphere that surrounds the happiest place in the world (according to World Happiness Report rankings based largely on life evaluations from the Gallup World Poll), I feel that I wouldn’t love living in a place with so few Jewish institutions. Later, I ask Chana if it is hard to live in a place where there are not many other religious Jews, and she instantly replies “yes.”

“It’s the reason I moved to England for university, so I could be with a larger religious community,” she says.

“But I’m not sure yet where I will live in the future.” PJC Madison Jackson, a graduate student at the Chatham University MFA program in Creative Nonfiction Writing, is the founder and executive director of the Global Jewish Pen Pal Program. She is traveling throughout Europe this summer and writing for the Chronicle about Jewish life in diverse locations. She lives in Squirrel Hill.

Read more about her travels on pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Opinion Chronicle poll results: Summer vacations

L

ast week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “What is your ideal summer vacation?” Of the 136 people who responded, 37% said “beach”; 13% said “wilderness”; 9% said “city”; and 41% said “it depends.” Comments were submitted by 36 people. A few follow.

What is your ideal summer vacation?

A week with children and grands at a beach house in Outer Banks, North Carolina.

If the mountains were on the list, I would have picked that.

Ocean City, New Jersey is the best. school beach town!

We like some beach and some historical tours.

Israel.

An old

Anything with my family.

I would like to enjoy the aromas of flowers, fields, animals, air without have them screened out with my N95.

If all were well, a cruise but if not, quiet time at home.

37%

41%

Beach.

It depends.

Israel would be my favorite place to vacation.

Israel and Australia. Covers spiritual, family, beach and history.

My ideal summer vacation is to stay home with no responsibilities and maybe some day trips.

I love hiking in the U.S. state parks. They are all beautiful and have so much to offer. PJC

Prefer just to visit out-of-town adult children.

Hiking in the mountains.

9%

Being somewhere with my wife to enjoy together.

City.

Wilderness recharges like nothing else, for me.

— Toby Tabachnick

13%

Wilderness.

Chroncle poll question: What do you think of the renaming of Heinz Field to Acrisure Stadium? Go to pittsburghjewishchronicle.org to respond PJC.

Chautauqua Institution!

Decision to sign off social media should be celebrated, not mocked

— LETTERS —

I enjoyed reading your Retro Review of “Gentleman’s Agreement” (July 8). Sadly, antisemitism remains all too familiar in the world today. I grew up in Pittsburgh, experiencing little prejudice in those years. The same for my 40 years in Philadelphia, five in Virginia and now nearly six in New Mexico (where I’m retired). Here, with one Reform temple and a Chabad, I still felt relatively safe and removed from the haters. A few weeks ago, someone defaced Temple Beth-El by scrawling a swastika on its exterior. And in the past week, in a “nice” neighborhood (read: homes $300K and up), someone taped a sign with a swastika and the words “take back your land” on the community’s cluster of mailboxes. I feel as sad as I do angry, yet I’m not sure what the answer is (if there is one).

I was very concerned by the tone of your article (“Orthodox women built businesses and friendships online. They’re being told to sign off,” June 8), about the women’s Nikadesh event in Newark, New Jersey. The very slanted tone of the article, beginning with the headline itself, was clearly an opinion piece which displayed bias against Orthodox Jewish women who want nothing more than to guard the safety of their homes and their families.

The article asserted that women were coerced into attending and were mostly offended by the event. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many of my friends and family members who eagerly attended had a very different experience. They reported feeling inspired by the event. They reported feeling that they now had choices on whether and how to use social media, instead of feeling that they had to follow along with societal expectations.

With so many studies focusing on the harmful effects, both socially and mentally, of using social media, the author could have chosen to applaud a group of women who are seeking the positive effects of limiting internet and social media use. Instead, the author allowed her own prejudices toward Orthodox Jews to present a very distorted perspective. Would the Chronicle be just as comfortable with the headline if the words “Orthodox women” were replaced with any other identifiable group?

Your article has subtle undertones of presenting Orthodox Jews as mindless followers living in the Dark Ages. People looking to better their own lives and the lives of their families by being more present and mentally healthy should be celebrated, not mocked. While their particular choices may not be right for everyone, their courageous decisions should be a source of inspiration.

Rosalyn C. Richman Las Cruces, New Mexico

Chaya Berelowitz Pittsburgh

Jews need to wake up

Doug Mastriano represents Christian nationalism, which, like National Socialism, is a buzzword for fascism (“Jews debate Mastriano’s Christian nationalist beliefs,” June 24). Note he represents a county which has a very long history in the KKK and extremist views. Jews need to wake up. There were Jewish organizations that supported Hitler early on!

Larry Denenberg Philadelphia

‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ and antisemitism in New Mexico

Another side of Rabbi Wasserman

I read the article about what Rabbi Daniel Wasserman has meant to the Pittsburgh Orthodox community (“Rabbi Daniel Wasserman: A rabbi for all seasons,” July 8) and want to share my own relationship with Rabbi Wasserman. I raised my family on Phillips Avenue where I lived for 34 years. We were the only Reform Jewish family on the block.

Our friendship began as Rabbi Wasserman walked past our house several times a day, and through my work with Israel Bonds. We talked regularly and even jovially discussed our observance differences. When my late wife passed away on a Friday morning in 2008, Rabbi Wasserman not only stopped at my house on his way home from shul that evening but also attended her funeral and visited me one night to pay his respects. In addition, he and his wife invited me to join them in their home for lunch on Shabbat, during Pesach and in their sukkah. It was an open invitation that I availed myself of. He did all of this without my being a member of his congregation or even a member of the Orthodox community. Then, when I remarried in 2011, he offered us the use of Shaare Torah’s chuppah, which we gladly accepted and used in our ceremony. I can never express how much all of these kindnesses have meant to me — they have a permanent place in my heart.

Harold F. Marcus Philadelphia PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Be prepared

As a follow up to the Chronicle’s article about the horrific events in Highland Park (“Pittsburghers react to Highland Park and the toll of mass shootings in America,” online, June 8; p.1 today): Please be aware of and take advantage of the many training opportunities the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh offers. Stop The Bleed, active shooter and fight back classes have been recent sessions. The Federation has been active and proactive in supporting the community and coordinating with all levels of law enforcement. Our institutions need to have plans and ways to lock down and lock out potential threats. As Rabbi Elisar Admon said in the article, we need to be prepared.

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

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Website address:

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

JULY 15, 2022

13

Headlines Highland Park: Continued from page 1

It’s a place where “people are connected to each other, where people know each other,” he said.

Barkley lived in Highland Park from 2011 to 2017. He remembers how much “civic pride” locals had, but more importantly how dedicated a particular resident was.

Jacki Sundheim, one of the seven people murdered on July 4, was a colleague of Barkley’s at North Shore Congregation Israel. Between 2011 and 2015 Barkley was North Shore’s executive director; Sundheim was the congregation’s events and b’nei mitzvah coordinator.

“She grew up at that synagogue and was committed to that synagogue like no other person I’ve met,” Barkley said. “She was a sweetheart of a person. She loved what she did, loved being Jewish, loved being part of a community.”

Located 20 miles north of Chicago, Highland Park has about 30,000 residents. Half its population is Jewish, according to JTA. Although the attack wasn’t directed at a synagogue, “the people there are feeling the same way we did after Tree of Life,” Barkley said. “The Jewish community there is really

huge and very interwoven, and people will feel it for miles around.”

About 500 miles east of Highland Park, Rabbi Ron Symons, of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh’s Center for Loving Kindness, dedicated his July 5 session with the Virtual Senior Academy to creating a “safe supportive space to talk about Highland Park.”

Alongside Ranisa Davidson of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, Symons encouraged participants to sing and read together.

“We knew we had to do something to help folks process it in victim-centered trauma-informed ways,” Symons told the Chronicle. “We are not going to stop all this violence but we can be together in the aftermath, and by being together we are hopeful that we are adding some comfort and courage as we move forward.”

Squirrel Hill resident Rabbi Elisar Admon agreed that coming together is a helpful response to gun violence, but said Jewish community members must also increase their preparedness: “We have to be ready for anything that is coming up. It’s not only Tree of Life anymore.”

Admon is a member of ZAKA — an Israeli-based team of voluntary emergency responders — and in the aftermath of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting worked with

local authorities and the FBI to ensure the victims received respectful Jewish burials.

In the years since 2018, Admon has spoken with Jewish communal leaders and members of burial societies nationwide about the infrastructure needed to deal with catastrophes stemming from gun violence.

“Unfortunately it’s going to happen again, and again and again,” he said.

For Pittsburghers, this means there is an opportunity to share with fellow landsmen not only expertise but understanding, Admon explained.

“It’s important for the Jewish community to know that we will support each other,” he said. “So whether it’s offering a comforting feeling or even making a phone call, one act can change a life.”

Rieger agreed that Pittsburghers and members of Jewish communities nationwide can effectuate change. For his own part, Rieger has worked with various civic groups to help residents bolster ties within their neighborhoods. He said that by doing so, he’s trying to “make things a little better.”

Through involvement in organizations like Jewish Neighborhood Development Council of Chicago, a group that works toward strengthening the city and communities in surrounding suburbs, Siegel said she’s trying to help out on a local level but

is fatigued by the daily toll of gun-related deaths in America.

This year alone, there have been at least 314 mass shootings — an average of nearly 1.7 mass shootings per day — according to the Gun Violence Archive.

“It just makes me so sad because I don’t see a solution to it,” Siegel said. “At the moment I feel safe. But we are only as safe as we are at this very second and that can change on a dime.”

Davidson of the 10.27 Healing Partnership encouraged Pittsburghers not to give up hope.

“It’s horrible to watch another community grieve through the violence we all know…and it’s easy to retreat into your own corner but what we know is that healing can occur when we are in community together,” she said.

Whether its neighbors, family, friends or organizations, there are networks of people all across Pittsburgh able to offer support.

And even though the imperative may feel rote by now it bears repeating, Davidson continued. “Make sure not to suffer alone, seek resources, take care of your own mental health and look for the good.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

White Oak: Continued from page 1

White Oak, the congregation will give them $30,000, the first installment of the $100,000.

Guttman said that money will basically provide the entire down payment on any house in the borough.

The median price of a home in White Oak is $151,000.

A monthly stipend of $1,250 is given to each family that participates in minyan daily and spends one hour each day learning at the shul.

“That will basically cover the entire mortgage payment,” Guttman said. “Come help us out, we’ll have shul, minyan, learning, sustainability.”

The congregation is asking for a five-year commitment from families moving to the neighborhood, he said, adding that Gemilas Chesed is able to finance this initiative because it owns its building, doesn’t have any outstanding debt or large bills, has a generous membership base and an endowment.

The effort is already beginning to pay off, Guttman said.

One family is closing on a house Aug. 1, and another family is scheduled to close on a home the second week of August.

“We just hosted a couple last Shabbos and I’m in contact with somebody else who emailed me this morning,” Guttman said.

“We’ve been talking since last week. He’s going to be coming out in the next couple of weeks. There has been a lot of positive return.

“No one wants to be the first,” Guttman continued, “but now we have a first and we have a second and people are saying, ‘OK, maybe’s there possibility here.’”

The congregation’s initial goal is to have six new families move into the community, he said, and it’s willing to extend the offer to at least a dozen families.

Gemilas Chesed Synagogue has been in 14

JULY 15, 2022

 Gemilas Chesed Synaogue moved items from its former location in McKeesport when it built its buiding in White Oak.

Photo by David Rullo

White Oak since 1963, when it moved from McKeesport, where it had been located since 1886. In fact, the current building features many items — a Torah ark and seating, for example — that were in the McKeesport synagogue.

Because of its long history in the borough, an infrastructure already exists for Jewish life. There is a mikvah located near the shul and an eruv wraps around most of the community.

As for a kosher options, Guttman noted that Murray Avenue Kosher is only 20 minutes away in Pittsburgh and will deliver, and there is a Costco nearby that features a large selection of kosher foods.

The neighborhood is part of the McKeesport Area School District, but Guttman said those moving into the

community will most likely be sending their kids to Yeshiva Schools, a 20-minute ride away for which transportation will be provided.

The congregation currently has minyans on Thursday and Shabbat, as well as any day someone is observing a yahrzeit. Its leadership plans to reconstitute a daily minyan once a few more families move to White Oak. And while the shul has been without a full-time rabbi for the last two years, the congregation is actively seeking to fill the position.

Despite the vacancy, Gemilas Chesed has been hosting a full calendar of events including a Lag B’Omer barbecue at White Oak Park, a pre-Pesach meal, Shavuot lunch, Chanukah banquet and more.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

“We always have something going on,” Guttman said.

While people might initially be attracted to White Oak based on the $100,000 incentive, Sunstein said, once there, families will find a vibrant congregation and a multigenerational community that resembles a Norman Rockwell painting.

“You walk home Friday night, it’s dark but it’s safe,” he said. “Everybody knows you. They say ‘hi,’ there are literally people offering you ‘good Shabbos’ or ‘happy holiday.’ We’re kind of stuck in the ‘50s.”

Those interested in learning more about the $100,000 offer can contact Guttman at aguttman@comcast.net. PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines UAE: Continued from page 3

“It seems like the UAE and the sheiks that are in control of the region are very forward thinking and it seems like they believe in the motto, ‘If you dream it, you can do it,’” she said. “It’s a very ‘go big or go home’ place.”

Her husband called the country “impressive,” pointing to its advances in

Downtown Shul: Continued from page 5

Hagodol entered a new era, ushered in by Rabbi Aaron Ashinsky, who was attuned to American sensibilities and an organizer at heart, Lidji said.

The 1950s and ‘60s saw another period of change for Beth Hamedrash Hagodol, as Rabbi Ashinsky died and Pittsburgh’s Jewish community spread out into neighborhoods like Squirrel Hill and Oakland. The congregation became a location for the Jewish businessmen who worked on Fifth Avenue.

“Rather than have people drive all the

Elder Abuse: Continued from page 7

nursing homes staff, and those working in Jewish organizations that interact or develop programming for elders,” officials said.

“In Leviticus 19:32 we are told, ‘You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old (mipnei sevah takum, v’hadarta p’nei zaken),’” Shira Berkovits, Sacred Spaces’ president and CEO, told the Chronicle.

“It is not enough to stand when an elder enters the room, or offer our seats on the bus. To live these Torah words, we must examine our communal and institutional practices, ensuring that our programs and all interactions, communicate the utmost respect for elders’ agency,

Poland: Continued from page 9

While stopping in 93-year-old Holocaust survivor Howard Chandler’s Polish hometown, Russo and her fellow travelers observed Chandler visit his former residence and interact with its current inhabitants.

Watching Chandler graciously engage with the property’s occupants was perplexing, Russo said: “That’s his home. That house was stolen. They don’t have a title for that home.

They don’t own that home.”

Russo said she started thinking about all the other properties across Europe and the people who were stripped of proper ownership.

Being able to personalize the horror of the Holocaust was one of the biggest takeaways, agreed Marie Dufalla, a middle school librarian at Riverside Beaver County School District. For instance, before entering the Auschwitz concentration camp, Dufalla PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

technology, architecture and business.

At the same time, he said, there is still work to be done.

“It’s not a perfect place,” Scott Sewald said. “Twelve percent of the population are Emiratis and the remaining 88% are expats and there’s a clear difference between the two, but at least it was a society based heavily on tolerance and respect for one another.”

The UAE’s government has gone all in since the signing of the Abraham Accords

to support the Jewish community, Scott Sewald added, noting the kosher restaurants, a hotel-based synagogue and a mikvah.

The Dubai trip demonstrated Federation’s history as a trailblazer, Finkelstein said, recalling the organization’s visit to Morocco several years ago — before there were direct flights between Israel and the country. He’s looking forward to continuing to visit Jewish communities wherever they are, he said.

Eglash, too, believes Federation’s mission

way back to Squirrel Hill, this congregation allowed people to participate in their religious life where they were all day,” Lidji noted.

Starting in the 1960s, Beth Hamedrash Hagodol merged with Beth Jacob, and became Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob. The storied Hill District building was subsequently purchased through eminent domain.

What followed was “a considerably more modern design than that big, elaborate, ornate synagogue on Washington Street,” Lidji said. The new building on Colwell Street introduced the stained-glass windows that still adorn the shul today, and included the previous building’s Torah ark.

The consequences of urban development

faced Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob when the Colwell Street property was bought to make way for the PPG Paints Arena in the early 2000s. The congregation then moved into its current location on Fifth Avenue.

Since 1986, Rabbi Stanley Savage has been the spiritual leader of Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob. Ira Frank, the congregation’s longstanding president, said the past few years have been hard on one of Pittsburgh’s most storied synagogues.

“The idea is people come to services before they go to work [downtown] and they stop by afterwards,” Frank said.

“With nobody working in town, that’s

harder to accomplish. We haven’t regrouped yet. We haven’t really recovered from COVID.” While change is constant for Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob, the congregation’s history is well preserved.

When designing the new building, architect Harry Levine attempted to keep the past close with the inclusion of the previous building’s ark, stained glass windows and more.

“He had this idea of compressing all of the history into a very tight space,” Lidji explained. “You feel 130 years of Jewish history.” PJC

self-determination, and for their opinions, wisdom, wishes and needs.”

During the coming year, thanks to support from The Sephardic Foundation on Aging, Sacred Spaces will develop resources for Jewish organizations to build their capacity to identify and respond to elder abuse. The work is being done in collaboration with Safe Havens Interfaith Partnership Against Domestic Violence, as well as ElderSAFE Center, a program of Hebrew Home of Greater Washington/Charles E. Smith Life Communities.

Initial support from The Sephardic Foundation on Aging funded Sacred Spaces’ development of three distinct COVID-19 and elder abuse prevention resources: one for community groups, one for long-term

care and medical facilities, and one for family members and caretakers. More than 400 individuals and organizations accessed these resources.

There’s a long way to go, according to Sacred Spaces.

“In recent years, both child abuse and workplace harassment and discrimination have received increasing attention in the media and in institutional policies,” Berkovits said, “but we are lagging far behind in the area of elder abuse or elder justice.”

Southwestern Pennsylvania is no stranger to elder abuse.

There were 11,675 calls to Allegheny County’s Older Adult Protective Services hotline in 2020, and staff took 5,895 reports of need, county records showed.

Based on those numbers, there were 3,201 investigations and 1,470 substantiated claims resulting in action plans.

“It is critical to continue and even to increase our work to protect older adults from all forms of abuse, neglect or abandonment,” said Dr. Shannah Tharp Gilliam, administrator for the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging. “As the prevalence increases, we must also increase our vigilance. There is a great need for education, workers and volunteers. Our goal is to reach those who have not had the opportunity yet but have either a need for our services or a heart for healing and help.” PJC

assumed she’d spend the entire day in tears given the amount of death that occurred there.

“The reality of it is that it is just a building with bricks or wood, and what makes it impactful is hearing a survivor speak or seeing the pictures of people and their families,” she said. “Focusing on one person helped me make sense of it.”

Dufalla said that she and her colleague Chelsea Kordecki, an English and language arts teacher at Riverside Middle School who also joined the trip, hope to share similar ideas with their students.

How exactly those lessons will be conveyed has yet to be determined, Kordecki said, but the goal is “building the narrative to the students and helping them realize there is more out in the world than just what they’ve seen.”

Riverside is located in Beaver County. The area is largely rural and many of its students have never left western Pennsylvania. In fact, some of the students “have never even been to Pittsburgh,” Kordecki said.

As a result, many students may not know a lot about Jewish people or diverse cultures, but studying the Holocaust is important, Kordecki said. Touring Poland with a survivor and learning more about the pre-war years made clear that the Holocaust is “something that can happen again,” he said. It’s imperative that students understand the consequences of “not standing up for yourself or speaking to something that is going against a friend.”

Joshua Andy, an upper school history teacher at Winchester Thurston School, said that visiting Poland last week gave him a chance to further contextualize his upcoming Russian history class.

During a visit to Chandler’s hometown, Andy and other travelers spoke with Ukrainian refugees and learned about the community’s efforts to help.

Andy said he plans on contrasting the actions of Polish residents and communal leaders now with what transpired nearly 80

years ago when Chandler’s “Polish Catholic neighbors sat by.”

Tsipy Gur, founder and executive director of CWB, said the organization has led numerous trips to Poland, but this summer’s excursion provided an awareness that educators and students desperately need.

“This trip is not simply about the Holocaust. We teach about what life used to be in Poland,” she said. When educators and students have this knowledge, it becomes clear that the Holocaust “didn’t have to happen.”

That realization hopefully generates new inspiration for both teachers and students, Gur continued. “We want them to think about what they are going to do to change the world and how they’re going to make it a better place so the Holocaust doesn’t happen again.” PJC

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

includes building relationships with Jewish communities throughout the world.

“Whether it’s Israel or the UAE or Morocco, wherever we go in the world and see these places, there’s no better way to do it than with Federation and its missions,” he said, “because the way you can engage with communities, you would never have that access if you went on your own.” PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Ethan Beck can be reached at ebeck@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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

JULY 15, 2022

15

The 3rd Annual JCC Steel City Showdown is on!

100 ACRE WOODED OBSTACLE COURSE

WHEN:

Sunday, August 21, 2022

WHERE: JCC Family Park — 261 Rosecrest Drive, Monroeville, PA

Event Details

Registration Fees

• $60 for 8-8:15 am heats • $55 for all other heats

Heat Times

• Ages 13+ Begin at 8 am

Follow us on Facebook: @SteelCityShowdownOCR

To Register, Scan the QR Code below! or go to JCCPGH.org

Questions? Contact Steve Manns at smanns@jccpgh.org

16

JULY 15, 2022

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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Life & Culture James Caan, Jewish movie star known for tough guy roles, dead at 82 — FILM —

By Gabe Friedman | JTA

I

n 2009, James Caan, one of the leading movie stars of the 1970s, told Vanity Fair that he was twice honored as New York City’s “Italian of the Year.” The kicker: He’s not Italian.

Caan, who died last week at 82, staked out rare ground in Hollywood as a Jew known for blockbuster tough guy roles — and for almost always being considered anything but Jewish.

The Italian reputation dogged him after what was arguably his most famous role, as mafioso Sonny Corleone in “The Godfather,” which he reprised briefly in “The Godfather Part II.” (In that same Vanity Fair profile,

Caan said that people often approached him in public to see if he was as hot-tempered as his Corleone character.)

One of his earliest roles, in the 1966 Howard Hawks classic western “El Dorado,” also gave him a longtime cowboy moniker.

Caan said in an interview earlier this year that he worked as a professional rodeo performer for years before becoming famous, and that Steve Wynn, the disgraced Jewish casino

magnate, used to introduce him to people in Las Vegas as “the best Jewish cowboy” he had ever met.

Born in the Bronx, Caan was raised by working class German-Jewish immigrants in Sunnyside, Queens, where he has said he developed some of his tough guy mojo.

His father was a kosher butcher, and while Please see Caan, page 20

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Celebrations

Torah

Birth

Torah’s insight into social media Rebecca Cooper Bhatt and Vinay Bhatt are delighted to announce the birth of their daughter, Leela Cooper Bhatt, on June 26, 2022, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Grandparents are Naomi Weisberg Siegel and Eric Cooper of Pittsburgh, and Haresh Bhatt and the late Bhavna Bhatt of Upton, Massachusetts. Great-grandparents are Joan and Herb Cooper of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and the late Rebecca (Ruby) Weisberg Siegel and Robert (Bob) Siegel, formerly of Pittsburgh, and Kanaiyalal and Nalini Bhatt and Krishnaram and Mridulata Oza. PJC

Engagement Lois and Alan Kopolow are excited to announce the engagement of their daughter, Andrea Kopolow to Noah Cassis. Andrea and Noah live in Philadelphia. Andrea is a healthcare consulting manager, and Noah works in pharmaceuticals as a clinical trials manager. Andrea is the granddaughter of Muriel Friedman and the late Max Friedman, and the late Marge and Oscar Kopolow. Noah is the son of the late Marilyn and Gil Cassis, and the grandson of the late Raul and Edith Abecassis and the late Sylvia and Jacob Schuster. A spring 2023 wedding is planned. PJC

Join the Chronicle Book Club!

T

he Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its Aug. 14 discussion of “The Finkler Question” by Howard Jacobson.

“The Finkler Question,” published in 2010, won the Man Booker Prize. From author Dara Horn: “This is a very funny book about middle-aged men fighting with each other and fighting to maintain their self-esteem in pathetic ways. It’s very accessible. Sam Finkler, a popular thinker, media personality and bestselling author, and his friend Julian Treslove, reconvene with their former professor, an older Jewish immigrant from the Czech Republic. The book is about how Jews are expected to cooperate with contemporary anti-Semitism. To be accepted, Finkler renounces and demonizes the state of Israel. This book came out in 2010; only in more recent years has the UK started to grapple with the open anti-Semitism in its society.”

Your Hosts

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

How It Works

We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, Aug. 14, at noon. As you read the book, we invite you to share your favorite passages on a shared document you will receive when you register for the meeting.

What To Do

Buy: “The Finkler Question.” It is available from online retailers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Email: Contact us at drullo@pittsburghjewish chronicle.org, and write “Chronicle Book Club” in the subject line. We will send you a Zoom link for the discussion meeting.

Happy reading! PJC — Toby Tabachnick

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JULY 15, 2022

Rabbi Yisroel Altein Parshat Balak | Numbers: 22:2 - 25:9

F

acebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp… Are these good or bad?

Like most things in this world, it depends. How these great technological advances are used determines if they are good or bad. I have, thank G-d, many close relatives all over the globe, and WhatsApp family groups help us keep in touch and aware of what is happening in everyone’s life. On the other hand, there has been a great increase in bullying as a result of social media.

The Midrash says that Torah is G-d’s blueprint for the world. This means the Torah has insight to offer regarding everything that exists. So where does the Torah address social media? I think the answer can be found in this week’s Torah portion, in a verse that is very familiar to us since we recite it daily at the beginning of the morning services.

The verse was first recited by the Midianite prophet Bilaam as he stood on a mountaintop overlooking the Jewish people’s campsite below. Although his intention was to curse them, the Torah relates that “Bilaam raised his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes, and the spirit of G-d rested upon him (and it entered his mind not to curse them).” What did Bilaam see that stopped him from cursing them?

His words contain the answer: “Ma tovu oholecha Yaakov, mishkinotecha Yisroel — How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!”

What was it about the Jewish tents that Bilaam found so inspiring? The Talmud in Baba Batra (quoted by Rashi) explains, “He saw that the entrances to their tents were not facing each other.” This is what made the Jewish encampment so beautiful — privacy.

There were clear boundaries of what is public and what remains private. People didn’t peer into each other’s homes (or tents), and people didn’t offer personal information to the community at large.

This Jewish value of privacy in enshrined in Jewish law. The Mishna in Baba Batra prohibits people from opening a window

that overlooks a courtyard they share with others. (A courtyard in the times of the Talmud was an area where many activities took place; hence, the Talmud is warning against having a window that would potentially infringe on someone else’s privacy.)

Certainly it is not allowed when overlooking a neighbor’s courtyard.

Furthermore, the burden of ensuring there is no invasion of privacy is not on the potential victim but rather on the potential offender. This is clear from another law in the Mishna. If one’s roof (that is seldom used) adjoins a neighbor’s courtyard (that is commonly used), the owner of the roof must construct a parapet four cubits high!

So while Benjamin Frankel said, “Love your neighbor, yet don’t pull down your hedge,” halacha says, “Love your neighbor; therefore, put up a hedge!”

Why is privacy so important? This can be understood by a second interpretation of Bilaam’s words. Bilaam saw how each tribe camped in their distinct place. Chassidic thought understands this to mean that while all the Jews comprise one people, each tribe has its own unique path in serving Hashem.

The same is true for each of us as individuals; we each possess unique qualities which we utilize to serve G-d in our one-of-a-kind way.

This explains the importance of privacy.

By allowing each person their space and privacy, we allow each person to develop their own unique qualities. When there is a lack of privacy, people often follow the trend instead of developing and expressing their own personality and qualities.

Social media has broken down the barriers of what is meant to be private and what we share with others. Be it pictures, information, or thoughts, everything is out in the open.

Let us try to remember the message from our Parsha before we share something on social media. Not everyone needs to know _____. I am sure you can fill in the blank. PJC Rabbi Yisroel Altein is the spiritual leader of Chabad of Squirrel Hill. This column is a service of Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

Hillel JUC and University of Pittsburgh offer preorientation program for new students

T

he Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh are partnering on a new preorientation program for incoming Pitt students.

Dubbed “FreshFest,” the program offers participating students access to early residence hall move-in dates and two days of programming to acclimate them to campus, including field trips around Pittsburgh,

a welcome brunch for students and their families, and Shabbat dinner. Participating students also will be paired with a returning student mentor to “answer questions, be a guide to Pitt life, and build an enduring relationship with participants,” according to Hillel officials. More information can be found at hilleljuc.org/freshfest22/. PJC — Toby Tabachnick

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

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Obituaries

BERKMAN: Ronald Berkman MD, age 87, of Squirrel Hill, on July 6, 2022. Beloved husband of Carol Parker Berkman; father of Ellen and Marjy; grandfather of Joey Berkman Davis; son of the late Anna and Louis Berkman; and his dog, Max, whom he preferred to most humans. Talented and caring ophthalmologist in his community for over 50 years. Known for his unusual humor and outlook on life. A natural storyteller and comedian. He will be missed and he is forever in our hearts. Interment was at Homewood Cemetery on Sunday, July 10. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the ASPCA or the Alzheimer’s Association. Professional Services trusted to D’alessandro Funeral Home & Crematory, LTD., Lawrenceville. dalessandroltd.com KATZ: Lucille Cohen Katz, of Pittsburgh, died Tuesday, July 5, 2022, at 95. She was born in 1927 in the Oakland neighborhood to Jewish-Polish immigrants I.C. Cohen and Dora Hirsh. Lucy graduated from Schenley High School in 1945 and received a BS degree in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 1948. She married Dr. David Katz in 1950. Though the couple moved to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, she commuted to the University of Pittsburgh where she received an M.S. in microbiology in 1952. One advisor was Dr. Jonas Salk. In Punxsutawney, she taught sciences in the local Catholic school and was very active in the community, including being a founder of the Groundhog Cookbook. While Dave established a dental practice, Lucy earned a teaching certificate from nearby Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 1966, Lucy and Dave moved to the South Hills of Pittsburgh where she taught math and sciences in local school districts. In 1982, she took a position as a chemist in the U.S. Bureau of Mines where she worked until retiring at 75. She was active in the Pittsburgh session of the American Chemical Society through which she visited schools across the country demonstrating chemical principles.

In addition to her exceptional professional career, Lucy may have been best known for her ability to bond with people. The door of Lucy and Dave’s house was never locked, partly because they could never find PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

the keys. It was open to all who sought their council and Lucy’s cooking. She had an extraordinary ability to empathize with anyone. She had a heart, which sometimes had trouble beating normally, but was large enough to accept anyone and everyone, be they family, friends or even strangers she would meet on a park bench. She never spoke ill of anyone. She was an ordinary woman with extraordinary qualities for caring, friendship and love. She made life better for those whom she touched.

Everyone felt her love. Her marriage of 45 years with Dave was a model of that love and mutual respect. Dave predeceased Lucy in 1994. Left to remember her goodness and light are her children, Howard and Dalia Katz of Tel Aviv, Jerry and Carole Katz of Pittsburgh, grandchildren Glenn and Steve Sherman of Rhode Island, Daniel Katz and Ben Katz of Pittsburgh, Ofir and Ofri Katz, Lior Katz, Myahn and Ben Meir, all of Tel Aviv; four great-grandchildren Rafi, Gefen, Sol and Lev; many devoted nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, and scores if not hundreds of “adopted” children and grandchildren whom she befriended over her long life. She will be buried next to Dave in Israel. Services were held in Israel. Memorial donations may be made to the Weinberg Village Employee Fund (jaapgh.networkforgood.com/ projects/86612) or Beth El Congregation (412-561-1168). Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

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

In memory of...

A gift from ...

In memory of...

Tibey Falk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anne P. Meyers Anonymous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bernard J. Miller Anonymous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pearl Berdyck Anonymous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rose Moritz Anonymous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ruth F. Zeiden Sherry Cartiff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sidney Posner Pauline Dobkin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Frank Sussman Elinor and Ivan Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mildred “Mitzie” Gold Edward M. Goldston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy Goldston Sheila Lawrence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julius Moskovitz Dr. & Mrs. Allan N. Levine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy Zelda Wein Larry Myer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milton Myer Shirley E. Preny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sophia Mallinger Shirley E. Preny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anna Krantz Shirley E. Preny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aaron Mallinger The Love and Rutman Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lena Garfinkel Cohen Herbert Shapiro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ben Shapiro Rhoda F. Sikov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William R. Finn

Contact the Development department at 412.586.3264 or development@jaapgh.org for more information.

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday July 17: Pearl I. Berdyck, Hinde Leah Davidson, J. Philip Esman, Adolph Hepps, Samuel Hilsenrath, Zetta Levy, Dora Marcus, Lawrence I. Miller, Fanny Novak, Irving Rosenberg, Bessie Finkelstein Simon, Sidney Stern, Irene Taylor, Herbert Walker Monday July 18: Leon Becker, Eli Bonder, Rose Esther Bonn, Albert Davis, Harry (Hershel) Fisher, Alice Foreman, Oscar Grumet, Samuel Halle, Samuel Hoffman, Leonard Joel Kirsch, Anna Kirshenbaum, John Kramer, Dora Levin, Dora Lipkind, Max S. Malt, Benjamin Riesberg, Sandra Platt Rosen, Lottie Stein Rosenthal, Nettie Rothstein, Mildred Stern, Burton Hill Talenfeld, Dorothy Zelda Wein Tuesday July 19: Fanny Finesod, Maurice A. Glasser, Beatrice Miller Kadas, Ellis A. Kopelman, Maurice H. Levine, Charlotte Levy Klevan, Lazar Litmans, Regina Ruth Keizler Mandell, Leah Rachel Miller, Ralph Moritz, Mollie Plotkin, Dolores Sheffler, Frank E. Simon, Florence Stein, Sigmund Stern, Dr. Lee Weiss Wednesday July 20: Sophie Weiss Arnold, Herman Berzosky, Stanley Bernard Blatt, Rose Bloom, Ida Cartiff, Lena Garfinkel Cohen, Rebecca Darling, Louis L. Friedman, M.D., Dorothy Goldston, Helen N. Lehman, Anna C. Martin, John Mermelstein, Ida D. Roth, Ethel Sachnoff, Zelda Shapiro, Morris Silverman, Elizabeth Pirchesky Sklov, Benjamin S. Smith, Martin W. Snow, Goldie Solomon, Bella Spolan, Rose Coffee Stein Thursday July 21:Alfonso Augustine Abbatiello, Morris H. Barr, Florence Hoffman Caplan, Morris Goldstein, Bessie Harris, Dr. Julius A. Katzive, Neff Kruman, Fannie Lubarsky, Joseph Marcus, Leonard Wolinsky Friday July 22: Sam Burckin, Benjamin Cooper, Robert Davidson, Elizabeth Felser, Abe Finer, Diane Cooper Goldstone, Mary Goodman, Kenneth Israel, Beatrice Kohn, Lewis Leventon, Harry Lipner, Max Marcus, Joseph Mormanstein, Robert (Bob) Platt, Dr. Jacob Daniel Schwartz, Ruth F. Zeiden, Ben Zimet Saturday July 23: Irene Chizeck, Sarah Conn, Mary Galanty, Sara Itzkovitz, Regina Linder, Bennie Morgan, Margaret Racusin, Harry J. Rosen, Henry Rudick, Anna Sambol, Ann Averbach Sarkin, Albert Sloan, Cantor Louis Strauss

KRUGER: Maxine Kruger, on Monday, July 4, 2022. Beloved wife of the late Edward Jack Kruger. Beloved mother of Kathy Kruger-Samples (Carl Samples) and Richard Kruger. Sister of the late Gloria (late Donald) Bernson and late Esther (late Stanley) Skirboll. Also survived by loving nieces, nephews and friends.

Graveside service and interment were held at Beth Shalom Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media, 1047 Shady Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 or Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh, 6926 Hamilton Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com MEYERS: Deborah Meyers, on Saturday, July 9, 2022. Beloved wife of Gary L. Meyers. Loving mother of Randy Meyers, Steven (David Beller) Meyers and the late Joshua Max Meyers. Beloved daughter of Renee Tatrai of White Oak. Sister of John (Marcee) Mattie of California, Terri Kula of McKeesport, Dean Tatrai of Michigan, Fran (Ken) Trimpey of Somerset, Pennsylvania, the late Renee “Lucy” Tatrai and Tammy Tatrai. Sister-in-law of David (Thuy) Meyers.

Adoring niece of Percy Carr. Also survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Temple Sinai Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to Westmoreland Food Bank, 100 Devonshire Drive, Delmont, PA 15626 or American Heart Association, 444 Liberty Avenue, #1300, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. schugar.com Please see Obituaries, page 20

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Contact Denise today for the REAL facts on why NOW is the best time to buy or sell!  James Caan stands under casino lights in a scene from the 1974 film “The Gambler.”

Photo by Paramount/Getty Images

Caan: Continued from page 17

he worked for him at various times, Caan looked to avoid the meat trade.

He played football for two years at Michigan State University, where he was a member of the Jewish Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He transferred to Hofstra University on Long Island, where he became friends with fellow undergraduate Francis Ford Coppola.

Some of Caan’s other notable performances include a football player diagnosed with cancer in “Brian’s Song” (1971); a sailor who falls in love with a prostitute in “Cinderella Liberty” (1973); a professor with a gambling addiction in “The Gambler” (1974); and the protagonist of “Misery” (1990), a famous adaptation of the Stephen King novel. He also played Barbra Streisand’s love interest in

“Funny Lady” (1975), a sequel to the Fanny Brice story in “Funny Girl.”

A later career highlight came in 2003, as a side character in the Will Ferrell Christmasthemed hit “Elf.” In 2017, at age 77, Caan starred in “Holy Lands” as a Jewish doctor who moves from New York City to Israel, where he starts a pig farm in Nazareth. The real-life Caan had visited Israel in 2016 and reportedly said, when asked by The Media Line, that no one had ever questioned his support of Israel.

“I don’t hang around with antisemites if that’s what you mean, and I don’t know any,” he said, “and if I did, I’d punch them in the face.”

In his 2021 memoir “Yearbook,” Seth Rogen calls Caan “a scary Jew, which is almost unheard of.”

“He’s in his own lane, Jew-wise,” Rogen wrote. PJC

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JULY 15, 2022

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

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Obituaries: SELTMAN: Morton Seltman, D.M.D., 11/16/1926 - 7/11/2022. Morton Alfred Seltman died peacefully at home on Monday morning at age 95. He was the son of Max and Mathilda Seltman.

During his long life, he was blessed with two loving marriages. With his first wife of 42 years, Joyce Levinson Seltman, he had three children: Marty (Janet), Howard (Kathy McIntyre), and Susie (Lee) Segal. In 1994 he married Rita Weinstein Seltman and welcomed her children into the family: Randi Goldmann (Marty Forman), Richard Goldmann (Barry Buck), Bernie Goldmann (Melisa Wallack).

He outlived both his wives, enjoying time with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was loving and supportive of his grandchildren: O.E. Zelmanovich (Rayden Sorock), Jake (Cortney) Seltman, Rachel (Alan) Jern, Maddie Seltman (John Trimpi), Ben Segal (Feliz Molina), Emily Segal z”l, Jessica Segal, Max, Jake and Ross Forman, and Lilyana, Mercer and Grey Goldmann.

His great-grandchildren Noah, Ari, Isaiah, Calder, Azalea, Kol and Agnes loved to play with him. Mort is also survived by many adoring nieces and nephews.

Mort was a Pitt graduate who became a dentist in 1951. He practiced, with a reputation for gentleness, in the Park Building downtown for 56 years. Mort served in the Navy for two

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years during World War II. He was proud of his service in Subic Bay in the Philippines.

He was a member of Phi Epsilon Pi and Alpha Omega at the University of Pittsburgh. He was the president of the Judge Samuel Weiss Lodge of B’nai Brith.

Mort served on the board of trustees and the brotherhood of Temple Sinai; he was a member since 1957. He also served on the board of the Hebrew Free Loan Association. Mort enjoyed golf, theater, symphony, opera and Friday night dinners with his extended family.

He was always learning, and was an avid traveler, reader and fan of trivia and word games. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Temple Sinai Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to the Pittsburgh Hebrew Free Loan Association (hflapgh.org/donate). schugar.com PJC

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Sherri Mayer, Realtor

Squirrel Hill Office C: 412-760-0412 O: 412-421-9121x225 sherrimayer@howardhanna.com HowardHanna.com

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Heated garage w/epoxy floor. The exquisite formal manse-like living room has a beautiful gas log fireplace. The dining room has French doors to the patio & rear yard. A gourmet kitchen w/heated floor with Wolfe, Miele, Subzero appliances and family room all lead to the manicured rear fenced-in yard. A stunning powder room for guests. Bonus first floor bedroom and full bath.

The second floor boasts a huge master suite with a 13 x 13 room for clothing and an entire wall of closets. Hall bath has a heated floor. Whole house generator. This is the house of your dreams.

842 Flemington $225,000 842 Flemington $225,000

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DIN PEN

SQUIRREL HILL • $749,000 New Listing! This stately 5 bedroom brick home is superbly located in Squirrel Hill and directly across from Frick Park.

Surrounded by mature landscaping and perennial gardens, you will have gorgeous views of nature from each window, the private rear patio and serene sun room. Elegant details throughout, hardwood floors, custom built-ins and charming window seats. Granite countertops and stainless appliances in the kitchen, complete with a lovely eat-in area overlooking the backyard. All 5 bedrooms conveniently located on one floor. Generous basement is partially finished with laundry and ample storage options. Easy commutes to nearby Universities, hospitals, Downtown, Shadyside, shopping and more. in the Colfax and Allderdice School District. See with Melissa Reich Rubinoff Realty/412-215-8056, Mark Portland/412-480-3110, Jill Portland/412-496-5600.

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FOR SALE

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SOUTH SIDE • $299,000 • ANGEL ARMS CONDO New Listing! Sophisticated condo located in the Angel Arms Church. Enjoy a loft bedroom and bath and a main floor owner suite, in-unit laundry. Pet friendly. Wonderful balcony and building patios. Located near shops restaurants and night life.

Close to universities and hospitals.

DIN PEN

NEW LISTING

1950 GEORGETOWN DRIVE | SEWICKLEY | $359,000 3 BEDROOMS, STUDY, 2.5 BATHS, 2 CAR GARAGE

JILL and MARK PORTLAND RE/MAX REALTY BROKERS 412.521.1000 EXT. 200 412.496.5600 JILL | 412.480.3110 MARK

FOR SALE

North Richland Township $499,000 Open house this Sunday, 7/17 from 2:00pm-4:00pm 6037 Liberty Blvd FIRST TIME OFFERED

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY 12-2PM

MELISSA REICH REALTOR, GREEN

RUBINOFF REALTY

412-215-8056 (M)

REPRESENTING PITTSBURGH’S MOST COVETED ADDRESSES

412-231-1000 (O) RUBINOFFREALTY.COM

Business & Professional Directory AUTOS WANTED

BUYING

CASH:

WANTED:

BUYING GOOD WRECKED MECHANICAL PROBLEMS DOMESTIC FOREIGN CARS TRUCKS SUVS VANS PURCHASED AT YOUR LOCATION FREE LEGAL TITLE TRANSFER

DENNY OFFSTEIN AUTO SALES 7 DAYS

724-287-7771

Grandma & Pap’s VERY Old Clothing, Costume Jewelry, Hats, Purses, Shoes, Fur Coats/Stoles, Wedding Gowns, Quilts/Textiles.

Quantity preferred.

Cash Paid - Will Pick Up Toll Free 888-736-7242

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Just Completed! Rare opportunity!

Traditions of America-Richland • 55+ Community Enjoy the club house heated pool, fitness center, billiards, pickle ball,grill area, fire pit, sports bar, yoga studio, club room and more Fabulous patio home unit with 2 car garage, gourmet kitchen,

GET THE news.

THEN GET THE FULL STORY

high ceilings,2 bedroom 2 bath

❀

Don’t miss this opportunity!

In the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle For home delivery, call 410.902.2300, ext. 1

Super Sun Room

JILL and MARK PORTLAND RE/MAX REALTY BROKERS 412.521.1000 EXT. 200 412.496.5600 JILL | 412.480.3110 MARK

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JULY 15, 2022

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Life & Culture Retro Review: ‘Avalon’ covers assimilation and family dynamics with nostalgia — FILM —

By Ethan Beck | Staff Writer

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Kirchinskys thrive when the brothers first immigrated to Baltimore. At one point, one of the youngest kids — played by a 9-year-old Elijah Wood — intones that he “never even heard of the suburbs until this thing happened.”

Other events threaten the cohesiveness of the extended family, both directly and indirectly: their assimilation into American culture, the changing of their names, the

hen it came time for director Barry Levinson to make 1990’s “Avalon,” a film inspired by his own youth and family, he decided to open things with a bang.

The movie begins on July 4th as Polish immigrant Sam Kirchinsky (Armin MuellerStahl) arrives in Baltimore for the first time.

As fireworks explode and he steps off the boat, Kirchinsky says that America “was the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen in your life.” It’s one of the most striking images Levinson has ever crafted in his long career directing films like “Diner,” “Good Morning, Vietnam” and the Academy Awardwinning “Rain Man.” “Avalon” is one of Levinson’s “Baltimore films,” a semiautobiographical series that captures his experience growing up in Maryland. As the third film in the series, “Avalon” looks at a fictionalized version of Levinson’s family as they adapt to living in America as Jewish immigrants.

The opening scenes, which follow patriarch Sam as he finds his family and joins them, are some of the most captivating moments of “Avalon.” Levinson directs them as if he were imbuing the warmth of nostalgia directly into the film stock. Between the swooning, active direction and the visual Image via Wikipedia grandeur, there’s almost an element  “Avalon” film poster of fantasy to the film.

Some of the movie’s most poignant popularization of television and even a scenes are set at family dinners, with the disaster that strikes their department store. table extending through several rooms While the Kirchinsky family is still together to accommodate the large crowd. The in the end, there’s an internal distance.

Kirchinskys argue about memories and Because things have changed, the family’s the stories of the family: when their father dynamic has to follow suit. came to America, which year they each Levinson once penned an op-ed for The arrived and more.

New York Times addressing this aspect of During these scenes, the viewer feels like the film, talking about how people criticized a new family member, taking in lore and “Avalon” as not being Jewish enough. In history through anecdotes. Occasionally, part, that’s the point of the movie, to show the anecdotal approach holds the audience how a Jewish family of immigrants can at arm’s length, but Levinson is a talented start to Americanize and lose their roots enough filmmaker to avoid complete in the process. emotional disconnection.

While the film’s closing scenes are a sharp, The opening half-hour establishes a series poignantly unhappy way to end the film, of truisms about the Kirchinsky family: they reflect the balance that Levinson was Each generation produced hard workers, trying for with “Avalon.” It’s a real experience whether as a salesman, a musician or a for thousands of Americans, Jews and paper-hanger. Each generation keeps family immigrants: When it comes to family, you close, physically and emotionally. The occasionally have to balance the gloomy neighborhood of Avalon is a safe haven, a with the sweet memories. place to raise their kids and build their life.

“Avalon” can be streamed on But as “Avalon” progresses, things get more Amazon Prime. PJC tense and the plot gets knottier. Parts of the family move out to the suburbs, disrupting Ethan Beck can be reached at ebeck@ the sort of community that helped the pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Community Temple David marks Independence Day

Summer fun with Hillel Camp

p What’s more fun than foam?

p Temple David congregants marched with members of the Monroeville Interfaith Ministerium during the Monroeville Fourth of July Parade.

p Summertime is bubble time.

p Top down spirits up.

p Popsicles always bring the smiles.

Photos courtesy of Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh

Macher and Shaker

Joe Gordon was honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame with a lifetime achievement award.

p From left: Harlee Abromson Kuth and Deb Scheib enjoy the parade.

Photos courtesy of Temple David

p Joe Gordon speaks with Hall of Famer Dan Fouts about serving the Pittsburgh Steelers for nearly four decades as a public relations professional.

Photo courtesy of Pro Football Hall of Fame

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PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

JULY 15, 2022

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