Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 12-17-21

December 17, 2021 | 13 Tevet 5782

Candlelighting 4:37 p.m. | Havdalah 5:41 p.m. | Vol. 64, No. 51 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Yeshiva Schools receives $4.5 million in funding, tagged for campus renovations

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Supportive grants

Jewish Healthcare Foundation bolsters community

$1.50

Mitzvah Day offers in-person and virtual volunteer options

By Adam Reinherz I Staff Writer

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the state. Tree of Life Congrgation also received $6.6 million.

Dr. Chaim Oster, president of the school’s board of directors, said that the money will go to renovate the former St. Rosalia school campus. The former 50, 000-squarefoot Catholic school building will become the new home of the Yeshiva’s boy school.

The renovated structure will include 17 classrooms, science labs, multidisciplinary facilities, common gathering spaces, faculty offices, a gymnasium and auditorium.

The campus, located at 407 Greenfield Ave. in Greenfield, including a second building whose use is still to be determined, will now be called the Charles Morris Campus.

Oster said that the school will open for the 2022-2023 school year.

ith safety protocols in place, a decades-old program is set to bring Pittsburghers back together. On Dec. 26, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is hosting Mitzvah Day. The annual event, which began in 2000, enables hundreds of volunteers to aid multiple organizations throughout the area.

David Chudnow, Federation’s Volunteer Center manager, said he’s eager to connect with new participants, as well as welcome back longtime volunteers.

So much of Mitzvah Day is about “forming relationships,” Chudnow said, and whereas there’s great value in people growing closer through service, it’s also essential to create bonds between organizations.

Through the Federation-hosted program, Mitzvah Day volunteers will help nearly 30 nearby organizations.

Chudnow cited Auberle, a McKeesportbased Catholic group, as one of Federation’s longtime partners and among 32 places where volunteers can perform in-person service.

Whether at Auberle — where volunteers will help prepare brunch for guests of an emergency shelter — or at the South Hills Jewish Community Center — where participants will partner with Color A Smile, a nonproft that distributes uplifting drawings to nursing homes, hospitals and elsewhere — Mitzvah Day participants will be required to adhere to strict masking and vaccination guidelines.

“We know the importance of Mitzvah Day but we want to be cautious and make sure everyone coming to each project has proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test,” Chudnow said.

Those unable to meet vaccination or

Please see Yeshiva, page 14

Please see Mitzvah Day, page 14

LOCAL College is a pressure cooker

Students share how COVID has changed campus life Page 3

LOCAL Mikvah for South Hills  Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh has received over $4 million in grants to renovate the former St. Rosalia School campus.

Photo courtesy of Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

Y Chabad fundraises for a new ritual bath Page 4

eshiva Schools of Pittsburgh has received $4.5 million in grants since November, the organization announced.

The Charles Morris Trust awarded $2.5 million dollars to the organization’s $9 million capital campaign in November. A second, $2 million grant was awarded on Dec. 6 from Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

RACP funding provides financial assistance for “the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects,” according to the website of Pennsylvania’s budget office.

The RACP funds were among the $54.5 million awarded to 16 projects in

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LOCAL App helps victims of mass violence

LOCAL Meet Judge Gary Gillman

LOCAL Local is on Forbes’ 30-Under-30 list

Headlines JHF grant supports Chronicle, Jewish organizations and causes — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz I Staff Writer

Image by Vadzim Kushniarou via iStock

T

he Jewish Healthcare Foundation recently approved a series of grants aimed at bolstering local organizations and initiatives. The awards will help support important causes during a critical time, explained Karen Wolk Feinstein, JHF president and CEO. Awardees, which were announced Dec. 6, include the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

The Jewish Association on Aging, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Jewish Family and Community Services and an upcoming exhibit will also receive funds.

In an effort to support independent news coverage for the Jewish community in Southwestern Pennsylvania, JHF issued a one-year, $50,000 emergency grant to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

The grant, noted Feinstein, recognizes the Chronicle’s work in “connecting and strengthening” Pittsburgh’s Jewish community.

“In an era when there are many voices offering competing versions of truth and reality, we value the high quality, independent journalism at the Chronicle,” Feinstein said. “Critical issues for Pittsburgh, the nation and the world pertinent to the Jewish community are covered intelligently and factually. The Chronicle is a critical source of information for the Foundation.”

JHF also approved a two-year, $50,000 grant to bring Violins of Hope, an arts and education program, to Pittsburgh for a six-week period beginning in mid-October 2023. Violins of Hope is an exhibit of 85 restored violins, violas and cellos played by

Jewish musicians during the Nazi regime.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is coordinating the exhibit and partnering with 35 nonprofit arts groups, religious institutions and community agencies on related programming.

Art and music have an ability to create awareness and healing, Feinstein explained.

The events of Oct. 27, 2018, when 11 Jews were murdered inside the Tree of Life building, made clear that hate-based attacks are occurring throughout the country.

Additionally, the recent Eradicate Hate Global Summit also acknowledged the

“clear and present danger of Americans consumed by hate.”

Violins of Hope, Feinstein explained, can be a source of healing.

“After all that we have experienced in Pittsburgh since 2018, the Jewish community is especially sensitive to the need for healing and unity, and we are honored to support the collaborative effort to bring Violins of Hope to our city,” she said.

JHF renewed a one-year, $900,000 block grant to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. The award, which is distributed to beneficiary agencies, will address

community health needs.

Since its 1990 founding, JHF has provided an annual block grant to the Federation.

The grant, Feinstein noted, benefits the Jewish Association on Aging, the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family and Community Services, Riverview Towers and Jewish Residential Services, and it represents 60% of the $1.5 million distributed annually by the Federation to the local community for aging and human service needs. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines College is a pressure cooker, the pandemic may make it burst — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

Photo by dusanpetkovic via iStock

J

onathan Schwartz needed a haircut. The University of Pittsburgh senior exited his dorm and ambled down Forbes Avenue toward an old haunt. Before the pandemic forced Schwartz and thousands of college students to return home for more than a year of virtual learning, he was able to get a trim easily. Now he couldn’t. On his walk through Oakland — a .5-square-mile area buttressed by universities, hospitals and about 20,000 students — Schwartz discovered one barbershop had closed and another required a three-hour wait.

Schwartz was frustrated. It wasn’t that he couldn’t get a fade — early on in the pandemic, he, too, learned how to operate clippers and shears — but being back on campus, Schwartz desperately wanted to resume a life he once had.

“You go out to try to do things, and what used to work doesn’t work anymore,” he said.

Whether it’s the inability to get a quick buzz, study for hours in a restaurant or easily meet up with friends, many of the pre-pandemic aspects of college life have changed.

“If I’m being honest, this has been an extremely hard semester,” said Daniel Hochman, a University of Pittsburgh junior.

“We had to get adjusted to this other way of life. And now we’re trying to adjust back, and it’s kind of like being thrown to the dogs.”

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Hochman went home to Marlborough,

Massachusetts, to finish the semester online.

In August 2020, he returned to Oakland.

Hochman said that he’d managed virtual schooling during the Spring 2020 semester, and had already signed a lease, so coming

back to Pittsburgh for Fall 2020 made sense.

The move, however, was disastrous.

“I was very socially isolated. I only lived Please see College, page 15

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Headlines Plans for new South Hills mikvah underway — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

C

habad of the South Hills Rabbi Mendel Rosenblum has a simple belief: Organizations exist to serve people; people should not exist to serve organizations.

“What we’re offering is to enrich your life and make your experience with Judaism deeper,” Rosenblum said.

Those offerings might include educational opportunities, help observing various mitzvot, holiday celebrations or plans for a new mikvah, he announced in an email Dec. 7.

Rosenblum said the idea for the South Hills mikvah, or ritual bath, came out of a search for ways to honor his mother Miriam Rosenblum, whose yahrzeit will be marked on 23 Kislev, and his mother-in-law Raizel Wolvovsky, who died in November of this year.

The rabbi said that both were extraordinary women who were extremely active in their communities.

The typical way to plan for a mikvah, Rosenblum explained, is to do research, identify potential property, explore obstacles and create a budget. He decided instead to announce the project and then work

4 DECEMBER 17, 2021

out the details.

“So, it’s a little backward but their passing was the impetus.

The need for a mikvah though, is as ancient as the Torah itself,” he said.

In fact, Rosenblum said that according to many sources in Jewish law, it is permissible to sell a Torah or even a synagogue to fund a mikvah.

The mikvah, he said, symbolizes the strength of the Jewish home, while a synagogue represents the strength of the Jewish community.

“You can’t have strong Jewish communities without having strong Jewish homes,” he said.

“The whole idea of the mikvah is to sanctify and elevate relationships, the intimate relationships between couples.”

Given the sensitivity of its purpose, Rosenblum said he isn’t surprised there hasn’t been a lot of conversation about the Photo by David Rullo Chabad of the South Hills is in the early stages of planning for a mikvah. need for a mikvah in the South  Hills. Despite the lack of talk, he is certain that once it is built it will be used.

“The nature of the neshamah, of the soul, A location for the new mikvah has yet He pointed out that Chabad has tradition- is that it knows truth but maybe hasn’t been to be determined. One option, Rosenblum ally found success offering services before a introduced to it yet. Sometimes the offering groundswell of interest was present. must be there; then it connects,” he said.

Please see Mikvah, page 20

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Headlines New app offers support to victims of mass violence of other apps like Calm and Headspace, but it was designed with the specific goal of assisting victims of mass violence.

After watching the video, users are asked a series of questions relating to their experience with mass violence, how their behavior has been affected and what emotions they are feeling.

Based on the user’s responses, Smith said, the app can recommend content and help with a recovery plan.

“If you say, ‘I’m feeling really depressed,’ you’ll be recommended to the ‘get up and move’ module, which is about reducing depression symptoms,” Smith said. “If you identify a lot of grief, you will be recommended to go to the ‘coping with loss’ module.”

While the app attempts to direct users who find its guidance helpful, it also allows one to simply flip through the app’s different sections.

“It is designed to be informational and practical,” Smith said, noting that this experience was created for users who respond negatively to being led through an app and would likely delete it from their phone if they were forced to follow a preprogrammed experience.

Transcend isn’t simply for those who have experienced mass violence. It was also designed to offer support to family members

— LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

S

urvivors of mass violence and their families can now find support virtually, thanks to a new app.

The Transcend app, available on both Android and iPhone platforms, was developed by the National Mass Violence and Victimization Resource Center.

Daniel Smith is a trained clinical psychologist at the Medical Center of South Carolina’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, where the NMVVRC is located. He serves as the center’s director of resources and technology and said the app was created in response to a need.

“We thought, this is an area that’s unique enough and the needs of folks who are affected by mass violence are specific enough that they might benefit from an app specifically designed to speak to the aftermath of mass violence,” he explained.

Once installed, Transcend invites users to watch a short introductory video, which explains that the app can help victims on the road to recovery by assisting users to work through their feelings. It also includes educational content, activities and resources for additional assistance.

Transcend might seem familiar to users

 The Transcend app is available in both the Android and Apple stores.

Please see App, page 15

Screenshot by David Rullo

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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, DEC. 19

Join the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle for their monthly virtual book club. This month, we are discussing “People Love Dead Jews: Reports From a Haunted Present”

by Dara Horn. To register, email drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. 12 p.m. q

SUNDAYS, DEC. 19-JAN. 16

In the Briva Project’s weekly writing course, Sh’ma-Hear Your Inner Voice, students will reflect and write, moving through Chanukah to Tu B’Shvat. Each class will begin with a communal ritual and creative prompt. 6 p.m. $200 for all eight sessions. tickettailor.com/events/ briyaproject/604183 q

SUNDAYS, DEC 19-JAN. 30

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

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

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

MONDAY, DEC. 20

Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff will examine the accounts of some of the most interesting righteous gentiles in the Tanakh

in his new course Righteous Gentiles in the Hebrew Bible. $55 for all 11 Zoom sessions.

9:30 a.m. foundation.jewishpgh.org/ righteous-gentiles Join Moishe House for its monthly book club reading of “I Saw Ramallah”

by Mourid Barghouti. 7 p.m. forms.gle/ xT4vqQsKZqC6E99K9

summer institute for current 10th and 11th graders at Yale University. Hear from Rabbi Mark Gottlieb, Senior Director at the Tikvah Fund & Dean of the Tikvah Scholars Program; Rachel Kaissar, director of the program; as well as professors and students, who will share more details about this one-of-a-kind summer experience. 8 p.m. tikvahscholars.org

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MONDAYS, DEC. 20-JAN. 31

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

TUESDAY, DEC. 21

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

2 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/ arab_israeli_conflict.

Join Classrooms Without Borders for the weekly book discussion of “People Love Dead Jews, Reports from a Haunted Present” with Dr. Josh Andy. This program is geared for educators but open to all.

4 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/ weekly-book-discussions-people-lovedead-jews-reports-haunted-presentdr.-josh-andy Learn more about the prestigious Tikvah Scholars Program, an 11-day residential

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TUESDAYS, DEC. 21-MAY 24

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

WEDNESDAYS, DEC. 22-JAN. 26

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

Study the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman. 12:15 p.m. bethshalompgh.org/life-text Join Temple Sinai to study the weekly Torah portion in its hybrid class available on Zoom. Open to everyone. 12 p.m. templesinaipgh.org/event/parashah/ weekly-torah-portion-class-via-zoom11.html In The Jewish Moral Virtues, Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff will explore Jewish teaching on critical moral virtues.

Based on the qualities listed in the 13th century “Sefer Maalot Hamiddot” (“The Book of the Choicest Virtues”), Rabbi Schiff

will explore the contemporary application of these moral virtues to our 21st century lives. $65 for all 13 Zoom sessions.

9:30 a.m. foundation. jewishpgh.org/ jewish-moral-virtues q

THURSDAY, DEC. 23

Classrooms Without Borders, in partnership with the Czech Embassy, is excited to offer this opportunity to engage in a discussion with Hadar Galron, a playwright, actress, screenwriter and omedian based in Prague, Czech Republic.

3:30 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org/ czech-embassy-series-hadar-galron q

THURSDAYS, DEC. 23-JUNE 30

The Alan Papernick Educational Institute Endowment Fund presents Continuing Legal Education, a six-part CLE series taught by Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff. Earn up to 12 CLE credits. Each session is a stand-alone unit; you can take one class or all six. 8:30 a.m. With CLE credit: $30/session or $150 all sessions; without CLE credit: $25/session or $125 all sessions. For a complete list of dates and topics, visit foundation.jewishpgh.org/ continuing-legal-education. q

SUNDAY, DEC. 26

Registration is now open for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Mitzvah Day, a long-standing tradition where the Jewish community provides services to organizations throughout the entire community. Times and locations vary.

Check the website for more information. jewishpgh.org/mitzvah-day. PJC

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Headlines The law is the star in Judge Gary Gilman’s courtroom — LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

G

ary Gilman might be considered the legal Swiss Army knife.

A lawyer, currently serving his 10th year as a Washington County Court of Common Pleas judge, Gilman’s professional career has stretched to include civil, criminal and family law.

He’s also served on both sides of the bench, deciding cases in both Allegheny and Washington Counties, and representing litigants for the federal government, as a lawyer with Wilder Mahood and Crenney (now Wilder Mahood McKinley and Oglesby), and at his own practice.

Gilman was born in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up in the South Hills, attending Beth El Congregation and graduating from Upper St. Clair High School.

The future judge first arrived in Washington County to attend college in 1980 before spending three years in law school at American University in Washington, D.C. “I went from little Washington to big Washington, and I came back to little Washington to start my career,” Gilman said.

Gilman clerked for Court of Common Pleas Judge Thomas Terputac when he returned to Pennsylvania before spending time in the solicitor’s office, a role that proved to be more than a passing stage in his career.

“I met my wife Kathy there. She was my boss. She was already a solicitor in that office,” he recalled.

Gilman next represented clients for the Washington County Domestic Relations office in cases both out of the county and out of the state before entering private practice.

In early 2000, after working in private practice for a time, Gilman got his first taste of deciding cases as a hearing officer and master for the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. The role is similar to a judge.

“The role is prominently used in areas of family law,” Gilman explained. “There’s so much litigation, so to lighten the burden on the judges, they are permitted to hire or appoint lawyers to assist them.”

Gilman heard divorce proceedings, often concerned with child support or custody, alimony or the equal distribution of assets, and made a written recommendation, similar to a judge’s opinion.

Given his work history, you might think that Gilman had a passion for family law. He would disagree.

“I had no direction of going there,” he said.

“It just worked out that way. Who knows how things happen like that? You fall into positions due to circumstances and you’re there and then that becomes your career. It worked out well for me. I did enjoy it.”

In fact, it was Gilman’s love of history that first drew him to an interest in law.

“I think the most interesting areas of law have a lot of history and struggle to them, particularly in areas of constitutional law,” he said. “You get to see how the law evolves, very often through conflict. You see that

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 Judge Gary Gilman

Photo courtesy of Gary Gilman

through our history books. Constitutional law touches everybody. Most cases don’t have a constitutional matter at all. And the idea of the adversarial system — it’s the best out there. That’s how I got into law.”

In 2011, Gilman decided to, once again, follow in the footsteps of his wife, who had served as a judge since the mid-1990s. He ran for and won a vacant seat on the Washington County Court of Common Pleas after the death of Judge Mark Mascara.

The judge has spent the last decade hearing criminal cases on the bench, something he didn’t have much experience with before being elected. Beginning in January, Gilman will begin a new opportunity — hearing civil cases.

“It’s kind of nice, as a judge, to get refreshed and do a different type of law. It keeps things lively,” he said.

When he’s not hearing cases from the bench, Gilman serves as Beth Israel Congregation’s president. He’s held the position for four of the last six years.

“I’m president and before that I was on the board,” he said. “I’ve been involved with the congregation for a number of years.”

Asked how his Judaism affects his judicial philosophy, Gilman recalled the story of King Solomon and the case of two women, both of whom claimed to be the mother of a baby.

“He presented the question such that, he let the mothers take control. He didn’t make the decision but was able to determine who the true mother was,” Gilman said.

In the end, Gilman said he preferred that, in his courtroom, the law takes center stage, while he serves as a referee.

“It’s like a football game. I have to be in control, but like in a football game, the referee shouldn’t be heavily influencing the game,” he said. “I give as much due process as any judge can. I really like to be in the background and give lawyers leeway to present their argument.” PJC

For more information, call LeAnne at 814-720-2189 jaapgh.org

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DECEMBER 17, 2021 7

Headlines Pittsburgher Peyton Klein wraps up big year on Forbes’ 30-Under-30 list — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

A

Squirrel Hill-bred, 20-year-old, Jewish nonprofit leader has been named to Forbes’ prestigious 30-Under-30 list.

Peyton Klein, a Class of 2020 alumnus from Pittsburgh Allderdice High School now in her freshman year at Stanford University, was named to the magazine’s Education list.

This caps a year where Klein’s nonprofit, Global Minds, merged with the World Affairs Council and she was represented as a one-of-a-kind American Girl doll due to her advocacy and leadership.

“Klein, a student at Stanford, founded Global Minds Initiative as a 15-year-old high schooler in Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election after witnessing discrimination against immigrant and refugee students at her school,” her Forbes’ 30-Under-30 profile reads. “It’s now a nonprofit with chapters in 25 schools that holds an after-school program matching English as a second language students with English-speaking students and organizes

 Peyton Klein and her lookalike American Girl doll Photo courtesy of Peyton Klein

events to educate students about other cultures in an effort to combat intolerance.

It has raised $1 million in donations and corporate grants and sponsorships.”

Klein is modest about her achievements, though passionate about the drive behind them.

While at Pittsburgh Allderdice, the former Community Day School student said she “was

really dedicated to diversity and inclusion — and I wanted to see it in my community.”

Global Minds started as an effort to build bridges between English speakers and those speaking English as a second language, often new American immigrants or refugees.

“It’s all about humanizing interactions,” she said.

Earlier this year, Klein was highlighted in American Girl’s new “Making Herstory” series of young women making a difference in their community. Featured activists received their own lookalike dolls, appeared in a video and published a letter on the American Girl website telling their story.

The dolls are not available for sale.

Klein joined youth activists Edna Chavez, Yasmine Mabene and Naomi Wadler in celebration of American Girl’s World By Us launch of a diverse line of characters engaged in social justice.

“American Girl demonstrates that it’s possible for youth to use their voices and power to make an impact,” Klein said.

Klein had an American Girl doll when she was younger — Samantha — and told the Chronicle she “remembers … how exciting and meaningful that was to me.”

“It’s a great opportunity for young people

to see it doesn’t mean changing the world, it means changing their community,” she said.

Klein laughed at the suggestion that, as a child, she would have envisioned herself as the model for an American Girl doll.

“I definitely dreamed — not this big,” Klein said. “It’s been really exciting to see something actualized. Having a doll is cool but what’s coolest is being a part of the narrative of the young girls across the country.”

The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and Global Minds announced their official merger in January 2021. Klein remains instrumental to the work of Global Minds, serving as a board member with the council and on its executive committee.

“Peyton is a perfect example of a youth leader who saw an issue in her community and took matters into her own hands to address it,” World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh President and CEO Betty Cruz said. “It’s been a pleasure working with her to create global learning opportunities for youth, and other young people can be inspired by her story to explore what issues matter to them in their own lives.” PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

Tikkun olam inspires Pittsburgher to help Indians fight COVID — LOCAL —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

I

n 2005, an aspiring, Pittsburgh-bred student photographer and filmmaker traveled to northwestern India.

Fifteen years later, as COVID-19 widowed and orphaned scores of Indians, that same man decided to “repair the world” and do something about it.

Alex Goldblum was studying anthropology at Temple University when he trekked to the city of Dhrangadhra, India, in the country’s Gujarat region, under the guidance of his professor, Jayasinhji Jhala, a native of Gujarat. Goldblum shot a documentary about members of the “untouchable” caste who were working as snake charmers, a

film later picked up for distribution by Documentary Educational Resources.

He traveled through villages, interacted with families and, in short order, fell in love with the place.

“I met people who lived on a dollar a day — it’s a humbling experience,” said Goldblum, who is Jewish, a video engineer for a Cranberry firm and now lives in Squirrel Hill. “The other thing that draws me to India? Other than China, it’s the most foreign place I’ve been.”

He returned to Dhrangadhra in 2018, after keeping in contact with some of the people he had met there. By 2020, though, it was clear the region was in disarray.

“I saw in the national news that the COVID virus was rampant in India — and people were having a hard time,” he said.

So, he started a GoFundMe page to help with crowdfunding a cure.

 Alex Goldblum’s GoFundMe campaign bought supplies for Dhrangadhra, India.

Photos courtesy of Alex Goldblum

8 DECEMBER 17, 2021

“I started the GoFundMe thing, figuring, ‘Oh, maybe I can raise $2,000,’” Goldblum told the Chronicle. “Over a two-month period, we raised $11,000.”

That money bought much-needed medical supplies like oxygen meters for fingertips and touchless thermometers, Goldblum said. It bought some bigger-ticket items, like oxygen tanks and oxygen concentrator equipment, as well as food relief — bundles of flour, beans and spices — for the food-insecure in the Indian city.

“Dhrangadhra is an underserved area where money from New Delhi doesn’t reach,” Goldblum said. “It needs extra help.

And that’s where we came in.”

Professor Jhala, who has become a mentor to Goldblum, had nothing but great things to say about his former anthropology student.

“What’s important about this man is his

spirit,” Jhala told the Chronicle. “I think his Jewish heritage ... may be the background for his philanthropy, his activism. But he found reciprocity in the people of Gujarat.”

Goldblum, whose family attended services at Rodef Shalom Congregation, also cited those Jewish roots.

“It’s about tzedakah and tikkun olam,” he said. “I’m motivated to do these acts of kindness because of my Jewish upbringing — to care for others, especially the less fortunate.”

Since the crowdfunding stopped recently, Goldblum has turned to other projects. An author of several photo-books, he currently is working on a documentary he shot in Israel titled “The Thin Green Line,” which addresses life. PJC Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

 Volunteers in Dhrangadhra, India distribute medical and food aid

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Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

Sackler name to be removed from Met Museum galleries amid criticism of family’s role in opioid epidemic

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is removing the name of the Sackler family, whose pharmaceutical business was implicated in perpetuating the opioid epidemic, from seven galleries.

The Jewish family joined the iconic museum in announcing the decision last Thursday.

“Our families have always strongly supported The Met, and we believe this to be in the best interest of the Museum and the important mission that it serves,” the descendants of the founders of the pharmaceutical giant, Purdue Pharma, said in a joint statement with the Met. A number of beneficiaries, including museums, have cut ties with the Sackler name ever since Purdue was accused of fueling the opioid crisis with deceptive OxyContin marketing. The Metropolitan Museum announced two years ago that it would not accept new gifts from the family.

In the statement, the Metropolitan Museum praised the Sacklers as among “our most generous supporters” and said their gesture in allowing their name to come down was “gracious.” The Sackler Wing includes the Temple of Dendur, the recreated ancient

Egyptian temple that is perhaps one of the museum’s most iconic exhibits.

Mortimer and Raymond Sackler, who studied medicine abroad in the 1930s because of quotas limiting Jews from attending U.S. universities, turned Purdue into a pharmaceutical empire. A deal with the U.S. government led the Sacklers to dissolve Purdue in September and to pledge billions of dollars to address the epidemic.

The Sacklers themselves are absolved of personal liability for the epidemic.

While US officials plan to boycott Beijing Olympics, Israeli officials expected to attend

Israeli officials are expected to attend the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing next year, unlike their American counterparts who will boycott the game to protest China’s human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority.

Haaretz reported the news, citing an unnamed senior Israeli official who called the Americans’ decision to boycott “bizarre.”

The United States announced that no American officials would attend the games.

The boycott only applies to diplomatic officials and does not impact the American athletes who will compete in the games.

Australia has also said it would boycott the games due to China’s human rights abuses.

In October, Israel chose not to sign a United Nations statement expressing concern about welfare of the Uighurs, a Muslim minority group in China that has been forced into

“re-education camps,” which some have likened to concentration camps.

Concern over China’s treatment of the Uighur minority — and comparisons of its “re-education camps” to concentration camps during the Holocaust — have been growing within the global Jewish community for years.

German broadcaster will probe antisemitism allegations against Arabic-language staff

A German government-owned news broadcaster has launched an investigation into a report that four of its employees and one freelancer made social media comments that downplay the Holocaust and promote antisemitism.

The five individuals, members of Deutsche Welle’s Arabic service, are being suspended from work until the investigation is concluded, the news service announced earlier this month.

Leading the investigation will be two independent experts, former German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and psychologist Ahmad Mansour.

The comments, posted in private social media accounts, surfaced in coverage by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.

In New York, Israeli minister promises progress on Western Wall’s non-Orthodox prayer space

Israel will set plans in motion to renovate the non-Orthodox prayer space at the

Western Wall, an Israeli official said Dec. 7 in New York.

The current Israeli government is expected to implement an agreement, shelved under former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that would expand an area of the holy site where men and women could pray as they please.

But speaking to journalists at the Israeli consulate in New York City, Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai said that before it formally implements the 2016 agreement, the government plans to do more modest physical upgrades to the site. They include expanding physical access to the Western Wall itself (most of the area is close to the wall but not adjacent to it) and repairing some physical damage to the prayer area.

The non-Orthodox section was temporarily closed in 2018 when it was struck by a 400-pound boulder that broke off from what is a 2,000-year-old retaining wall surrounding the Temple Mount complex.

The 2016 Western Wall agreement was raised as part of a broader update Shai gave on his work, which is focused on strengthening ties between global Jewry and Israel.

Israel’s recently passed state budget doubled his ministry’s budget, including funding earmarked for non-Orthodox groups.

Prayer arrangements at the Western Wall, and ensuring the rights of non-Orthodox groups, have historically been of interest to American Jewish leaders, especially non-Orthodox leaders frustrated with the Orthodox control of religious affairs in Israel. PJC

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MEDICARE TOPICS FOR WINTER 2021: INCREASING MEDICARE PREMIUMS, A NEW THREAT, AND CHANGING PLANS This is one in a series of articles about Elder Law by Michael H. Marks., Esq.

could cause premiums to rise even further.

Michael H. Marks is an elder law attorney with offices in Squirrel Hill and Monroeville.

Send questions to michael@marks-law.com or visit www.marks-law.com.

Even if you are enrolled in Traditional Medicare, under an alarming new experimental program initiated late in the Trump administration, your coverage may be changed without your knowledge or consent to a “Direct Contracting” or DC Program that operates like a managed care company. An independent for-profit middleman is paid a flat amount per person (or “capitated” amount) to provide services to a group of Medicare enrollees.

As the year draws to a close, there are important considerations for those currently covered under Medicare or who may need to change coverage in the future.

New Alzheimer’s treatment brings hope for seniors, at a cost.

This year saw the release of Aduhelm, a medication for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease which purports to slow the development of dementia. It is aimed at those who are suffering from mild forms of the disease. The drug may be able to help many Americans who are either afflicted themselves or have loved ones with Alzheimer’s. According to the CDC, 5.8 million Americans were living with Alzheimer’s in 2020 and they project that as many as 14 million people could develop the disease by 2060.

Unfortunately, this new treatment is already impacting the Medicare program. A full year of treatment with the new drug will cost over $50,000 per person and, with the millions of people suffering from Alzheimer’s, could be in high demand if it were to be covered under Medicare. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is still investigating how it will affect its insurance, but has already announced that premiums will be rising in 2022 for its Part B outpatient program, due in part to Aduhelm.

Any increase to Medicare premiums has the potential to burden those covered by the program. With limited retirement income, seniors may be forced to make difficult decisions about how to allocate their money. If Medicare does decide to cover Aduhelm, it

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•

Direct Contracting Entities

Just as for managed-care companies, this creates a threatening financial incentive to limit and withhold seniors’ care. So far these Direct Contracting Entities spend much less on patient care, and keep a high portion of the fees they receive as profits.

The program has begun with much administrative uncertainty, as well as a lack of transparency for patients. Pay attention and watch to see if this change is imposed on you.

Can I Switch Plans Outside the Open Enrollment Period?

During the Medicare open enrollment period that just ended on December 7th, recipients could change their coverage. This annual short window is an important time to assess your health and whether your coverage is meeting your needs.

But what if someone needs to change their coverage and choice of plans at some other time, other than during an open enrollment period? In some situations, it’s possible to change your Medicare coverage even outside of open enrollment. Generally, these opportunities – called a “Special Enrollment Period“ –correspond to large life changes and only allow for a small window to change plans. Some of the most common occurrences are:

Loss of coverage: If you lose Medicaid coverage, coverage that was supplied by a former employer or other situations that involve losing health or prescription coverage, you may be able to enroll in a new Medicare Advantage or a prescription drug plan.

•

Moving: If your current Medicare Advantage plan’s service area does not cover the location of your new home, you have the ability to change plans. Or, if your new location has additional plans that were not offered where you previously lived, that may also qualify you to be able to switch.

•

Entering or Leaving a Care Facility: Being admitted to or discharged from a facility like a nursing home or other long-term care medical facility.

•

Chronic Condition: If there Is a Medicare Chronic Care Special Needs Plan (SNP)

available to help you with a severe disabling chronic condition.

Less frequently, there may also be a case in which your current Medicare Advantage plan provider is sanctioned by Medicare or has its contract terminated, which would allow you change plans as well.

The rules are complicated, and navigating the requirements and regulations set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services can often be confusing and frustrating. If you have questions about Medicare coverage or have been denied coverage, an elder law attorney may be able to assist you. Do not hesitate to reach out with questions.

At Marks Elder Law, we help people every day with issues like these. I invite your questions and feedback. Please let me know how I can help you and your family.

helping you plan for what matters the most

With the increasing costs of long-term care, having the help of a legal professional when planning for your family’s future can help you make better decisions that can result in keeping more of your money.

We help families understand the strategies, the benefits, and risks involved with elder law, disability and estate planning.

www.marks-law.com

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412-421-8944

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

4231 Murray Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15217

DECEMBER 17, 2021 9

Headlines House committee debates antisemitism as it moves forward a bill to create an Islamophobia monitor — NATIONAL —

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

A

bill that would create an Islamophobia monitor in much the same cast as the State Department’s antisemitism monitor cleared its first hurdle last Friday, after a House committee debate about antisemitism.

The bill, whose lead sponsors were Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., one of three Muslims in Congress, and Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who is Jewish, was approved Dec. 10 by the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee along party lines, with the majority of Democrats voting for it. It now goes to the House floor.

During an extended committee debate last week, Republicans argued that there was no need to track Islamophobia, and that the monitor position would be used as an instrument to oppress conservatives.

They also said that it would undercut the fight against antisemitism — and even encourage antisemites.

Democrats pushed back, saying that the Please see Antisemitism, page 10

p Reps. Jan Schakowsky, left, and Ilhan Omar at a news conference on Capitol Hill, Jan. 24, 2019.

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

Dec. 17, 1993 — Rabbi urges soldiers not to remove settlements

Shlomo Goren, the first head of the IDF’s Military Rabbinate and a former Ashkenazi chief rabbi, calls for soldiers to disobey orders to remove Jewish settlers from the West Bank, Gaza Strip or Golan Heights.

Dec. 18, 1911 — Health Care Fund is created

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A special convention of Jewish agricultural workers in Ottoman Palestine approves a proposal to create Kupat Holim Clalit (General Sick Fund) to pay for the health care of immigrants to the land of Israel.

Dec. 19, 1936 — Writer A.B. Yehoshua is born

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10 DECEMBER 17, 2021

Alex Wong/Getty Images via JTA

Avraham B. Yehoshua, one of Israel’s most acclaimed writers, is born in Jerusalem.

Yehoshua leads a new wave of Israeli writers with novels including “The Lover,” “Mr. Mani” and “The Late Divorce.”

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Dec. 20, 1976 — Rabin’s 1st government loses majority

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s Labor-led coalition falls apart as he breaks with the 10-seat National Religious Party. Left with 57 of 120 Knesset seats, he calls for a spring election.

Dec. 21, 1973 — Peace Conference is held in Geneva

A Middle East peace conference opens in Geneva under the auspices of the United States and the Soviet Union. Syria skips the event because Israel refuses to recognize the PLO. The conference ends Dec. 29.

Dec. 22, 1948 — Britain fears a communist Israel

A cable to the State Department from a U.S. envoy recounts British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin’s concerns about the likelihood of Israel becoming a communist state and threatening the Suez Canal.

Dec. 23, 1789 — French citizenship for Jews is debated

The French National Assembly spends three inconclusive days debating whether Jews should have citizenship rights.

Sephardim gain emancipation in January 1790, Ashkenazim in September 1791. PJC

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Headlines Antisemitism: Continued from page 10

U.S. government was capable of simultaneously tracking and exposing both bigotries.

Notably, Jewish Democrats on the committee were among the first to speak in the bill’s defense, a showing that underscored their argument that an Islamophobia monitor would complement and not undercut the antisemitism monitor.

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who is Jewish, noted the pivotal role a letter from George Washington to a community of Jews in Rhode Island played in making the United States a safe haven for Jews.

“And so, religious freedom was born in my home state in Touro Synagogue in those words from the first president of the United States,” Cicilline said. “And so we should be very proud of that tradition, and making sure that no one suffers discrimination, because of their religious tradition, is central to that. This is not about ‘pick one,’ we should of course condemn and have condemned and will continue to condemn antisemitism and the rise of it.”

The bill’s defenders cited ongoing persecution of Muslims in China, Myanmar, India and elsewhere as an impetus. The monitor position, like the one that tracks antisemitism worldwide, would have no enforcement mechanism. It would be designated only to

“ To suggest that Islamophobia is on par with antisemitism is to dramatically understate and even trivialize the historic and pervasive nature that makes antisemitism such a

”

difficult problem to overcome.

— REP. STEVE CHABOT, R-OHIO monitor bigotry overseas, not domestically.

“Whether it is the atrocities being committed against the Uyghurs in China and the Rohingya in Burma, the crackdowns on Muslim populations in India and Sri Lanka, the scapegoating of Muslim refugees and other Muslims in Hungary and Poland, the acts of white supremacist violence targeting Muslims in New Zealand and Canada, or the targeting of minority Muslim communities in Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan, Bahrain and Iran — the problem of Islamophobia is global in scope,” Omar said last Friday in praising the advance of the bill.

Other Jewish Democrats speaking in

defense of the bill included Ted Deutch of Florida, Susan Wild of Pennsylvania and Andy Levin of Michigan.

But Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, argued that a monitor for Islamophobia would undercut the work of the antisemitism monitor.

“To suggest that Islamophobia is on par with antisemitism is to dramatically understate and even trivialize the historic and pervasive nature that makes antisemitism such a difficult problem to overcome,” said Chabot. “We should avoid such a dangerous false equivalency at all cost as it could be used by some extremists to actually justify further antisemitic activity.”

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Cicilline said “no one is suggesting equivalence.”

Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, a Jewish Republican, focused less on the bill’s content and more on its author, Omar, who has faced criticism from fellow Democrats as well as Republicans for remarks seen as antisemitic.

“My colleague who introduces today’s resolution has made a number of statements deeply offensive, has taken a number of foreign policy positions that many on this committee and in Congress and in our country have issue with,” Zeldin said.

“And when the statements were specifically targeting people who are Jewish, our nation’s great ally in Israel.”

Among other offenses, Zeldin named two tweets for which Omar has apologized: her backing of the boycott Israel movement, and her critiques of United States policy in Venezuela. He did not explain how Venezuela factored into antisemitism or Islamophobia.

He also said the bill too broadly defined Islamophobia. The bill’s authors, Omar and Schakowsky, used the 2003 law that established an antisemitism monitor as a template.

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Florida, said he feared the Biden administration would use the bill to attack Americans.

“That’s the whole point of this,” Mast said.

“Let’s create an office of attack for people speaking about their concerns.” PJC

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DECEMBER 17, 2021 11

Opinion Rethinking fundraising for Jewish education Guest Columnist Solomon D. Stevens

I

get requests for donations to Jewish organizations almost every day. And there is no doubt about it: Almost every request is for a worthy cause. Antisemitism (Judeophobia) is rising. Israel is under assault. People are in need. Buildings must be built. And the list goes on and on. I have no criticism of any of this. However, our people face an existential threat, and it does not get enough fundraising attention from Jewish organizations. Too many of our own people are drifting away from the religion.

Synagogue attendance is down, and intermarriage is up. More Jewish children are growing up with only a vague cultural or ethnic connection to our religion. And this is not enough to sustain us as a people.

The answer to this is, as it is with so many things, education. But the once-a-week religious school model that dominates both the Reform and Conservative movements (which make up approximately 54% of American Jewry) is not sufficient to keep

young Jews engaged or to cement their attachment to Judaism. There simply is not enough time with this model to teach everything that students need to know to live vibrant, committed Jewish lives.

I taught religious school for many years, and the children I taught were wonderful.

But it was always clear that religious school was never the center of their lives. It was an add-on. Their secular lives and secular education took up most of their time. They paid attention and did their work, but I knew that they would not retain what they studied. It just wasn’t enough. We all know how common it is for young Reform or Conservative Jews to attend religious school and then abandon all Jewish education after their bar or bat mitzvah.

It is different for the various Orthodox movements (which account for approximately 9% of American Jewry), where Jewish day schools are the norm. But there is a problem here as well. These schools are very expensive to run, and tuition is often a real burden for the Orthodox.

An eJewish Philanthropy article last year

by Sherwin Pomerantz, who is on the board of directors of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, was titled “US Jewish Day School

Tuition-Simply Out of Control.” Orthodox families are usually larger than Reform or Conservative families, so the cost of sending multiple children to a private, Orthodox school can be prohibitive. Some elementary schools cost around $20,000 a year per student, and high schools are even more expensive. Pomerantz estimated that the total cost of sending his own four grandchildren to private Orthodox schools, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is approximately $1,184,000. Yes, there are scholarships, but they only help a little, and it is not easy to qualify for them. And imagine how expensive it would be if you had more than four children, as many Orthodox families do.

This is unacceptable.

We are dealing with a quiet crisis, and we need to treat education as our main priority.

The Shema V’ahavta tells us to “teach our children diligently,” and we are not doing that well enough. We need to help our children know who they are, where they come from and what their place is in this beautiful world. They need to know the value of Jewish law and ethics and the importance of Israel to us all. They need to know that they have a mission in life and that each of them is an important part of that mission. The

strength of our religion depends on education more than anything else, and today it is either insufficient or too expensive.

We need a whole new generation of Jewish day schools. Our fundraising organizations need to re-evaluate their priorities and focus on founding new schools, supporting existing schools and making them all affordable with subsidies or scholarships.

This will not be an easy task, because the religious differences of the various Jewish movements have to be taken into account.

One size will not fit all. But what could be more important?

I call upon the leaders of our Jewish organizations to re-evaluate their fundraising goals, so that they can make possible the kind of Jewish education that American Jews clearly need, with a strong religious education, combined with the necessary secular education to be successful in life. This is what the soul of American Jewry needs more than anything. PJC Solomon D. Stevens has a Ph.D. from Boston College. His books include “Religion, Politics, and the Law” (co-authored with Peter Schotten) and “Challenges to Peace in the Middle East.”

A Diaspora calendar to revive Jewish life Guest Columnist Rabbi Barbara Aiello

L

ong before COVID complicated Jewish observance, there were ominous signs that participation in synagogue life, especially holiday and festival services, was on the decline. Dependent as we Jews are on the Hebrew calendar, rabbis and congregants were at the mercy of the secular Diaspora agenda — so much so that this year we found ourselves trying to shoehorn a first day Rosh Hashanah celebration into Labor Day and a Chanukah festival three days after Thanksgiving.

Over the years Jewish High Holiday observance has been forced to navigate between first-day-of-school events on Rosh Hashanah to national academic placement tests scheduled on Yom Kippur. Often students are reluctant to miss these milestones and parents are not comfortable demanding synagogue attendance when High Holidays conflict with important secular events.

This year’s double whammy began with Rosh Hashanah and continued through Chanukah when a few short days after Thanksgiving it was time to light the chanukiyot. Young families who traveled long distances to Thanksgiving dinner at bubbe’s house often faced school and work responsibilities in the following week and could not remain for Chanukah. The result? For many families the “l’dor v’dor” experience of sharing the Festival of Lights with the generations was lost.

12 DECEMBER 17, 2021

In recent years some synagogues have confronted the problem head on by adding parallel services and celebrations on weekend days so that the majority of congregants could attend. Case in point, earlier this year Purim fell on secular Feb. 25, a Thursday evening. To combat the obvious lack of participation they were certain to face, a number of synagogues offered a Purim observance on Feb. 28, the following Sunday afternoon. From Boston to Atlanta to Shreveport, Louisiana, synagogues sidestepped the Hebrew calendar and opted instead for a calendar date that made Diaspora sense.

In a recent article in the Jewish Journal (Dec. 8, 2021, S.O.S.— Save Our Synagogues) Jonathan Stern, president of the Los Angelesbased Beth Jacob Synagogue, writes, “Jewish communities nationwide are facing a watershed moment that may redefine the present and future of Jewish life in America.”

Jewish Journal editor and author David Suissa takes the crisis a step further when he writes in a Nov. 4, 2021 piece, “How Will Synagogues Reinvent Themselves? (Hint: It Won’t Be with Zoom).” Suissa says, “The vast majority of American synagogues are looking at an uncertain future … In short, synagogues will improve their odds of bringing back the crowds if they open up to new ideas and new thinking.”

One idea might be a Diaspora calendar that would create the opportunity for more Jews to participate consistently in synagogue life. That means that for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Tu B’Shevat, Purim, Pesach, Shavuot and Tisha B’Av, congregants would

have the option to attend a lay led service on the Hebrew date, or a Diaspora service that would fall on the same day or the same weekend every year.

The Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar that allows for our Jewish holidays to fall in the same season each year. That means that Rosh Hashanah can occur any time between Sept. 5 and Oct. 5, which accounts for our annual musings, “The holidays are late (or early) this year.”

But what if the holidays were consistent?

What would it mean to Jewish families if they knew that Sept. 17 is always Rosh Hashanah, and Kol Nidre is always Sept. 25 and Yom Kippur is always Sept. 26?

Or what if Erev Rosh Hashanah always fell on the third Friday of September so that the two day New Year observance, as well as Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur, consistently occurred on weekend days?

How was your Chanukah this year? Was the transition from turkey to latkes a smooth one? For many Jewish families this year’s Chanukah was a challenge, not only because it fell so close to Thanksgiving, but because both the first night and the eighth night, when traditional Chanukah celebrations are often held, were also school and work nights.

Not to mention that the entire eight day celebration was especially challenging for families that must navigate between Jewish tradition and secular society. But what if Chanukah were consistent as well, occurring at a time when secular society is celebrating a national holiday?

Given that Chanukah can begin as early as late November or as late as early January, securing the holiday at a time consistent with

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school vacations and reduced work schedules might offer families the opportunity to bring children, parents and grandparents together both at home and in shul.

If Chanukah fell annually Dec. 21-28 there would be time for our families to hear the stories, to kindle the light and to give a beautiful Jewish event the “kavanah,” the attention, that it deserves.

A radical idea? Not really, especially when we consider what some historians believe actually happened during the time of the Maccabees, when Jews rescheduled an important Jewish holiday to a more convenient time.

In 2005 Rabbi Mark Glickman penned an article in the Seattle Times that posed the question, “Why is Hanukkah eight days long?”

Rabbi Glickman explains that the answer is found in the observance of another Jewish holiday, the festival of Sukkot. The rabbi writes that “Sukkot is an eight-day celebration that usually occurs in September or October, when Jews were supposed to have made pilgrimages to the Temple to offer sacrifices to God.” However, because the Temple was under siege, the Jews could not observe Sukkot.

Approximately two months later, after the Maccabees were victorious and the Temple was restored, the elders of the community decreed that Sukkot would be celebrated at a different time. The Jews would adjust their festival dates to observe the eight days of Sukkot in December, in the Hebrew month of Kislev. So significant was this change that the holiday that year was known as Sukkot B’kislev, or December Sukkot!

Please see Aiello, page 13

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Opinion Chronicle poll results: Giving

L

ast week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following questions: “The end of the tax year is fast approaching. What are your plans for charitable giving in 2021? Have you done or do you plan to do any charitable giving this year? Do you plan to give more in 2021 than in 2020?

Do you plan to give more to Jewish organizations and causes than to secular or non-Jewish ones? Do you plan to give more to local organizations and causes than to non-local ones?”

Of the 99 people who responded, nearly 93% answered that “They have done or planned to do some charitable giving this year.” Forty-eight percent said they planned to give more in 2021 than in 2020. Fifty percent said they planned to give more to Jewish organizations and causes than to secular or non-Jewish ones. Nearly 66% of respondents said they planned to give more to local organizations and causes than to non-local ones.

15 people submitted comments. A few follow: Part of the year’s donations come out of current income, but, since I saved up enough to open a charitable fund at the Pittsburgh Foundation, that too produces money for grants on an annual basis. The Foundation has a long and favorable history, and the staff are helpful in identifying organizations doing good work.

Aiello: Continued from page 12

Could it be that the COVID pandemic brought about a crisis in Judaism as monumental as the Temple under siege? David Souissa thinks so. He writes, “When the

What are your plans for charitable giving in 2021?

Do you plan to give more to Jewish organizations and causes than to secular or non-Jewish ones?

Do you plan to give more in 2021 than in 2020?

3% Less in 2021

46% About the same

3% Not sure

12% More to secular or non-Jewish ones

48% More in 2021

5% Not sure

33% About the same

I give to charities all year, not just in December.

Make your giving meaningful to yourself.

I once heard someone suggest that we should give until it stings a little bit. I think there is no better time to do so.

Normally, we would have given more to local Jewish organizations than we did this year. It was an off year. For some organizations, operating expenses were offset by PPP and similar grants. Also, the level of service was dramatically reduced for some organizations.

Do you plan to give more to local organizations and causes than to non-local ones?

5% 10% Not sure More to non-local ones

50% More to Jewish ones

19% About the same

in that year should already be given. Now it’s time to finish up and think ahead. Did we do enough? How much more will/can I do in the coming year?

We gave more this year due to the stimulus checks we got.

66% More to local ones

I have given above and beyond this year.

Next year I will give to those I did not give to this year.

Retired, helping adult child with epilepsy, hoping to get by.

I give a small amount to some worthy charity every weekday. So for me it is not about tax Planning.

I pay all charitable donations in December even though I receive requests all year, to avoid paying 2 or 3 times by mistake.

I am a senior on a fixed income, and actually have been struggling a bit more than I expected. However, I always send some amount of money to various causes that I believe in and appreciate. I wish I could give more, but I suppose every little bit can add up for these organizations. I will do without something, so others can have the minimal.

We try to follow Jewish tradition in our tzedakah, as in other aspects of our lives. So, we support our shul and local Jewish community first and foremost. That said, in response to pressing issues, this year we’ve given to organizations supporting refugees and reproductive rights somewhat more than usual. PJC — Adam Reinherz

Next week’s poll question

We were very active on Giving Tuesday.

Why are you asking about 2021? 2021 is already finishing. Whatever you want to give

Will you be participating in this year’s Mitzvah Day on Dec. 26? Go to our website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org, to respond. PJC

Second Temple was destroyed nearly 2,000 years ago, our religion went through another earthquake … (but) we overcame that destruction by being creative, resourceful and resilient. … We survived by staying connected, to our tradition and to one another.

Our person-to-person connections form the foundation of Jewish life. Our Hebrew

calendar, perfect as it is for an entire country, Israel, to adopt and adhere to, is an obstacle in the Diaspora. It is worth considering a Diaspora calendar and, with the Maccabees’ Sukkot B’kislev as our guide, this time of change could be the right time for a Diaspora calendar to revive synagogue life by meeting the unique needs of Diaspora Jews. PJC

Originally from Pittsburgh, Rabbi Barbara Aiello is the first woman and first non-Orthodox rabbi in Italy. She opened the first active synagogue in Calabria since Inquisition times and is the founder of the B’neio Anousim movement in Calabria and Sicily that helps Italians discover and embrace their Jewish roots. This piece first appeared on The Times of Israel.

Abortion and Judaism

— LETTERS — Echoing the appeal

I have been reading the Chronicle and its predecessors for most of my adult life. In the last few years, the content both locally and nationally has dramatically improved, in my opinion.

Having read the Dec. 3 edition’s appeal for support, I am writing this letter to request others, who feel the same as I do, to support the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle with a meaningful donation.

I know that I am. I can imagine how difficult it is to write and publish a quality weekly like the Chronicle in today’s environment, as set forth by Evan Indianer and Jim Busis in their appeal.

The Pittsburgh Jewish community has given tremendous financial support over the years for causes they believe in. It is my belief that support of the Chronicle’s appeal should be included as such a cause.

Edgar Snyder Mt. Washington

I am taken aback by the comments of Sara Segal when she said, “In Judaism, abortion is not only permitted, but sometimes required. Protecting an individual’s ability to make their own health care decisions in accordance with their needs and personal beliefs is tied to religious freedom” (“NCJW to sponsor forums on abortion rights,” Dec. 10). She is totally wrong.

In Torah, abortion is only permitted when the life of the mother is in danger. In Torah, our Neshama belongs to us and the vessel (body) belongs to G-d. Life, in Judaism, begins at birth.

That does not mean G-d allows for the termination of a pregnancy for anything other than the mother’s life. This concept is first written in Parshah Noach: “One who sheds the blood of man through man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of G-d He made man.”

The Supreme Court is right to allow the states to handle this issue as there is no explicit amendment in our Constitution granting the courts or federal government the power to regulate abortion. We must not forget that the Constitution lays out the powers “We the People” give the government and the courts. Not the other way around.

Andrew Neft Upper St. Clair

Amen to Rabbi Hirsch’s piece

Regarding “For the love of Israel, we need to say: The Reform Movement is Zionist” by Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch (Dec. 10): Amen. He has read my mind, but expressed my thoughts so much better than could I. Apparently, many of our coreligionists feel that a Jewish state must be a victim to be properly appreciated. History does not teach that life for Jews in the galut is a panacea. Would antisemitism cease if the Israelis turn over all of Israel to the Palestinian Authority and Hamas?

My favorite philosophers Santayana and Pogo, in my opinion, have said it best: Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and it is us.”

Steve Holstein Oakland PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

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, fax or email letters to:

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Fax 412-521-0154

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DECEMBER 17, 2021 13

Headlines Yeshiva: Continued from page 1

“It’s not going to be fully ready with a bow on top for the fall, but the plan is to have it ready enough for students to move in,” he said.

The capital campaign and renovations to the new site are part of the school’s five-year strategic plan, Oster said. In addition to the work at the Charles Morris Campus, Yeshiva’s Wightman and Denniston buildings will be renovated, “to better house our girl’s school, 1-12, as well as our Early Learning Center.”

Oster said that both buildings are “bursting at the seams” and need both more and better space.

A third component of the $9 million-minimum capital campaign is to build up Yeshiva’s endowment and provide operational funds

on a yearly basis, Oster said.

The 18-month campaign, which began in August, has raised approximately two-thirds of the anticipated funds.

Yeshiva’s growth in the neighborhood, Oster said, points to the strength of the growing Jewish community in Greenfield.

“I don’t know that Chabad is the only reason for growth in Greenfield but I’m confident that it’s one of the primary reasons. It’s one of the reasons we were thrilled to have this opportunity to purchase a true school building, where we anticipate the largest growth is going to be, because new families, frankly, have trouble affording housing in Squirrel Hill,” Oster said.

Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh has experienced unprecedented growth, said Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum, CEO and head of school.

He pointed out that 13 new families have moved to the region in the last year specifically to attend the school.

“There’s a long tradition of Yeshiva attracting Jewish families,” Rosenblum said.

“Pittsburgh is a great community. Jewish families want their children to be in Jewish schools. They need the Yeshivas of the world.”

Rosenblum said that he expects even larger growth post-pandemic.

“We can’t provide the weather that Florida provides,” he joked, “but we’re trying to provide the community, education and housing.”

The head of school acknowledged that the plan to have the new building ready for students next fall is ambitious but said the present facilities are over capacity and that it’s important to prepare for the school’s continued growth.

He said the grants are important not only because they support the necessary construction, but because they show that the foundation community has recognized the

importance of the project to the Greenfield Hazelwood community.

The new addition symbolizes a synergy between the Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh and the community, Rosenblum said.

“There’s excitement from within our community, tremendous excitement,” he offered. “There is room for expansion, it’s easier to buy a house in Greenfield than Squirrel Hill but there’s also excitement from the Greenfield community. They’ve been remarkably welcoming to us. They’re looking to maybe do some joint projects with us in the community.”

Founded in 1943, Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh is the oldest Jewish day school in Pittsburgh. Approximately 450 students attend classes at the school’s three campuses. PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Mitzvah Day: Continued from page 1

masking requirements, or who wish to volunteer remotely, can still join this year’s Mitzvah Day. Chudnow pointed to four opportunities where participants can offer help from home.

Volunteers can help Ronald McDonald House Charities of Pittsburgh and Morgantown by purchasing necessary supplies and assembling “welcome bags” for those staying in the house.

Participants can also work with Global Links, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit dedicated to improving health in communities with need. Volunteers can purchase supplies, assembling an assortment of personal care products for distribution to those in need.

With the pandemic still dictating get-togethers and activities, there’s an intentionality surrounding this year’s Mitzvah Day, Chudnow said. As opposed to past years, where sites like the Squirrel Hill JCC were packed with volunteers, Federation is ensuring these spaces have fewer participants and allow for more distancing.

Chudnow said he still expects hundreds of people to participate in Mitzvah Day this year, even though many sites are designed to welcome only 3-4 volunteers.

Where he’d like to see a large turnout, in safe measure, is at the JCC. In both South Hills and Squirrel Hill there will be opportunities for participants to give blood at the JCC on Dec. 26.

“Last year’s Mitzvah Day blood drives got national recognition from Vitalint for being so successful,” Chudnow said. “I would love to repeat that.”

Federation president and CEO Jeffrey Finkelstein is excited about this year’s Mitzvah Day and said there’s something to cherish about the upcoming program.

“This year, Mitzvah Day takes on special meaning because we have been unable to bring Jewish Pittsburgh together in large numbers for such a long time,” Finkelstein said. “I’m so pleased and honored that Jewish Federation can provide this opportunity to help.”

Chudnow agreed and said information about volunteering for Mitzvah Day, as well as registration, can be found at jewishpgh.org/mitzvah-day. PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

14 DECEMBER 17, 2021

 Hillel Academy, Squirrel Hill, hosted a past Jewish Federation Volunteer Center Mitzvah Day team that assembled literacy kits for children served by United Way programs.

Photo by Josh Franzos

 Volunteers from the South Hills Jewish community prepare items for food pantries on Mitzvah Day, 2017.

Photo provided by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

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Headlines College: Continued from page 3

with one roommate who wasn’t around a lot.

And there really wasn’t any relief from the constant being online,” Hochman said.

The stressors increased. Hochman was accustomed to living away from his family, and he already knew how to cook and clean, but tending to an entire apartment became increasingly exhausting.

“It’s pretty impossible to relax when you’re eating, sleeping, doing laundry, cleaning, doing class and schoolwork all in the same place,” he said. “You start to associate where you are with all those things, and home isn’t just home anymore.”

Hochman’s mental health suffered.

He said his earlier diagnoses of anxiety and depression were exacerbated by the pandemic, while his feelings of loneliness were compounded by a belief that others were not experiencing similar struggles.

“It was hard to see other people living in a house with their best friends, having a good social time or not following COVID guidelines,” he said.

As the Fall 2020 semester continued, Hochman contacted a therapist from Massachusetts. The sessions were helpful, but he realized the situation wasn’t improving.

“It’s hard to get better when the circumstances are out of your control,” he said. “It’s really a matter of just coping.”

Hochman finished the semester and transitioned to part-time schooling in the spring.

He paired 5 credits of classes with a job at a coffee shop that required 25 hours a week of his time. Hochman’s happiness increased.

But when the Fall 2021 semester arrived, and thousands of students — including Hochman and Schwartz — returned for in-person instruction, it wasn’t as though life returned to a magical pre-pandemic period.

Well before COVID became something for college students to navigate, mental health was already a serious concern on campuses.

App: Continued from page 5

and friends of victims, Smith explained.

He noted that there is a module about helping others that could be used by parents attempting to offer support to children, neighbors helping neighbors or spouses helping one another.

The app even includes a memory book function, allowing users to upload photos from their smart devices. The photos, Smith said, might include the type of pictures that could offer comfort but which the user might not be comfortable sharing on social media.

And while Transcend might help victims of individual violence, Smith said it does have certain features created specifically for victims of mass violence. He acknowledged that it does share some features found on meditation apps like Headspace for good reason.

“Headspace actually provided some content for the app because they’re cool people and have a commitment to social justice and helping people,” Smith said.

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COVID simply added to the existing pressures of schoolwork, friendships, student loans and the prospect of employment.

Once lecture halls and dormitories began to fill again, 44% of college students reported symptoms of depression and anxiety, noted Mayo Clinic Health staffers in September 2021.

Weeks ago, Mayo Clinic’s reminder grew starker.

On Dec. 2, researchers, including those from University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, announced that after a year of the pandemic, the physical and mental health of college students had further declined — this, even after the availability of vaccination, an easing of distancing requirements and a return to campus for so many students.

Hannah Goldstein, a University of Pittsburgh junior, appreciates being back on campus with so many friends, after spending months at home in the Washington D.C. suburbs. But the caveat, she noted, is that college is anything but normal.

Between March 2020 and August 2021, Goldstein spent one day in a physical classroom — it was during the Spring 2021 semester, and the university allowed an in-person lecture to occur. Seven people showed up, all masked and distanced.

Goldstein said, “It was pretty crazy.”

Goldstein hopes people understand that college students are facing real challenges.

“COVID was so hard,” she said. Many people struggled with their mental health, and underwent physical and social changes, “and we don’t even know the long-term repercussions.”

Goldstein mentioned that several of her friends experienced depression and anxiety during the pandemic. The university offers students a host of resources, but with winter break rapidly approaching, and the possibility of another isolating period on the horizon, Goldstein said she’s trying to have as many coffee dates as she can. “People knowing that they’re there for people is so important.”

Julie Szwalbenest, a University of

Pittsburgh senior, has similarly tried to get together with friends since returning to campus this semester. The difficulty, Szwalbenest said, is that everyone isn’t back.

One of Szwalbenest’s friends dropped out. A few others graduated. Even for those currently back on campus, whom Szwalbenest was friends with prior to March 2020, reestablishing a relationship after such an intense period apart hasn’t been easy.

“It’s sort of like college was on a pause for a while, and then I came back and I missed a bunch of stuff,” Szwalbenest said.

And social difficulties aren’t the only problem, explained Andrew Cole, a University of Pittsburgh sophomore. The supposed aims of higher education aren’t necessarily being met, he said.

According to Pew Research Center, college is understood to serve multiple purposes, with half of the American public seeing college as a purveyor of work-related skills and another 39% believing it to be a center for intellectual growth.

Whatever college is billed as, the pandemic has “unmasked” a lot of underlying tensions, Cole said.

Start with costs. The sticker price for a degree from a public university is approximately $107,280. A private school degree, which also takes four years to complete, is almost $220,000, noted The College Board.

Upon graduating, 65% of current college students are in debt, and the amount owed, according to Education Data Initiative, ranges between $30,030 and $43,000 on average, depending on the type of university attended.

Over the course of a career, college graduates can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars more than those without a degree. But for some students, it can take up to 30 years to pay back those costs, reported Forbes.

All those months at home, where classwork required clicking on screens for hours a day, gave students a lot of time to reflect. It would be foolish to believe that some of this generation’s stress has nothing to do with economics, Cole said.

“When they found out what the app was about, they said, ‘If you want to steal some of our stuff for the relaxation component of what you’re doing, go right ahead.’”

Maggie Feinstein is the director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, created after the Oct. 27, 2018, massacre at the Tree of Life building. She said she serves with other resiliency centers as part of NMVVRC. She said that she is a strong believer in self-directed healing and that Transcend helps make that goal a reality.

“It’s really one of the gold standards,” she said. “We all should know when we need some support and be able to find it and access it on our time. I love that apps have really expanded the ability to do that. We can find healing resources at two in the morning and we can’t sleep or on a Sunday. I think it’s very meaningful.”

Feinstein helped test Transcend in its development state and said she found the app to be very effective. She said that those working at the Medical University Center of South Carolina have thought deeply about trauma over the years and have put that

expertise into the app.

The 10.27 Healing Partnership director has recommended the app and has promoted it on the center’s social media sites. She said that the center keeps close to the news and whenever they see or hear about something that may be upsetting to victims, they’ll post about the app to remind people about it.

She said that one of the differences between Transcend and other apps like Calm is that NMVVRC wasn’t looking to make a profit.

“This was developed by people who are academics, who have been working in this field and who have made no money off of it,” she said. “They’ve really developed it for people to have access to what they need when they need it and put evidence-based practice into action.”

Tennille Pereira is the director of the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center in Las Vegas.

She said that when the October 2017 mass shooting occurred in the city there was no national center or network to find support.

“There was no app, there was nothing there. Each community had to figure things

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Technology, too, is a source of stress. It provided people a way to attend school for a year, but a deluge of content is being delivered to phones, tablets and screens on a constant basis, and the distance previous generations may have been able to place between themselves and particular issues no longer feels possible, Cole said. Think about last summer’s marches. So many White millennials or White members of Generation Z, “that never experienced the personal tragedies, or the personal brutality of police violence, still felt deeply affected.”

Students are being told to come back to class, engage in critical thought, but to wear masks and not worry when someone sneezes in a lecture hall, Cole said. At the same time, people are being told to socialize, make friends, explore new interests but be careful of parties or super-spreader events because the pandemic rages on. So whether it’s COVID, economics, climate change or racism, there are so many issues going on in the world, Cole said, and “I think the line between what affects us in our daily lives and what affects us on a global scale has shrunk.”

Today’s college students are experiencing numerous pressures, both seen and unseen, and while the pandemic has allowed some people to “become experts in putting on a brave face,” Hochman said, “most people I know are struggling in one way or another.”

Hochman hopes students make use of resources at the University Counseling Center and through organizations like Jewish Family & Community Services and its UpStreet program.

Szwalbenest agreed and said students need people to speak with — universities, professors and fellow classmates all have an ability to help. “It does feel like the year was taken away from me,” Szwalbenest said, “but with good mental health support and good academic support, there’s still a chance for students to have a fulfilling college experience.” PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

out for themselves,” she said, noting that coincidentally, the NMVVRC was founded the same day as the Las Vegas shooting.

She said that Transcend is another tool for communities who might not have a resiliency center or resources available at the time of an incident of mass violence.

“It helps communities respond,” she said.

Smith said that given the nature of the app, he hopes it never appears as the top download in the Android or Apple Store but wants people to be aware it’s available if they need support.

“We’re not trying to be Headspace or the ESPN app or have everyone have us on their phone. We feel like people who need it are finding out about the app. It’s a little weird to tell people we exist after something horrible. We didn’t get into this profession to be ambulance chasers but when something bad happens, this is a product that we believe can relieve some of the suffering that victims experience,” he said. PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org DECEMBER 17, 2021 15

Life & Culture Jews were the creative forces behind ‘West Side Story’ decades ago and today. Should they be?

— THEATER —

By Jordyn Haime | JTA

I

n 1955, theater director Jerome Robbins approached writer Arthur Laurents and composer Leonard Bernstein with a new idea for a Broadway musical: a contemporary retelling of “Romeo and Juliet,” set among warring gangs of Jews and Catholics on New York City’s Lower East Side.

It would be called “East Side Story,” and it would take place at the turn of the 20th century during the holidays of Easter and Passover.

But something wasn’t working. The writers wondered if all they were doing was adding music to “Abie’s Irish Rose,” an early-20thcentury play about an Irish Catholic girl and a Jewish boy who fall in love. The story didn’t feel fresh enough.

In his memoir, Laurents recalled the moment “East Side Story” became “West Side Story”: when he read a news headline that blared, “More Mayhem from Chicano Gangs.”

Thus, Robbins’ original idea morphed into a tale of a white gang — the Jets — and a Puerto Rican gang — the Sharks — clashing on the Upper West Side just a few years before the area was targeted for urban renewal.

Bernstein, Robbins and Laurents remained the show’s creative leads, and later roped in Stephen Sondheim to write the musical’s lyrics. All four men were Jewish, though they were no longer writing about Jews.

“West Side Story” became one of the biggest Broadway musicals of all time. And by 1961, the film, co-directed by Robbins and Robert Wise, cemented the show’s status as a classic of the musical form — even as it cast ethnically white actors to play Latino characters, darkening their skin for the screen.

Sixty years after the first “West Side Story” film was released, another two highly acclaimed Jewish creatives — director Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner — returned to the material to helm a remake. This new “West Side Story,” which was released just weeks after Sondheim’s death, retains the general arc of the original musical while making notable changes to the story and presentation, including casting Latino actors to play the Sharks and their significant others.

Yet in the current cultural climate, when audiences are highly sensitive to onscreen depictions of underrepresented groups, new questions have emerged: Were Spielberg and Kushner the right people to attempt a remake of “West Side Story,” or should that task have fallen to Puerto Rican creatives? And there is also a deeper question: Should the show, which some critics and academics have said is fundamentally outdated, even have been remade at all?

The original show’s transformation from a Jewish story to a Puerto Rican one mirrored the American Jewish community’s own assimilation and shedding of its outsider status in the mid-20th century. By the 1950s, Jews were finding ways to assimilate into white America while new concerns about racialized violence among newer immigrant groups, particularly Latino communities, 16 DECEMBER 17, 2021

p Ariana DeBose as Anita and David Alvarez as Bernardo in “West Side Story” (2021)

were bubbling up in the city.

“All of a sudden, all these questionably white groups at the beginning of the century are sort of coming together and becoming, in the case of the musical, a gang, a racial category,” said Warren Hoffman, executive director of the Association for Jewish Studies and author of the 2014 book, “The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical.”

“Puerto Ricans, Black Americans, people of color become the ‘new enemy’ in the U.S. So this is how whiteness is changing, and what’s happening in ‘West Side Story,’” Hoffman said.

But rather than feel seen by their community’s depiction in the original show and film, many Puerto Ricans instead felt disparaged.

“As a child I found the music dazzling but the overall message racist,” Aurora Levins Morales, a Jewish Puerto Rican writer and activist, said about her experience watching the 1961 film. “I wasn’t aware that it was created and directed by Jews, and that certainly makes the racist aspects of the film even more painful for me as a Jew.” Morales said her classmates would mock her when the film came out. “I used to be taunted at school with the lyrics ‘Puerto Rico, my heart’s devotion, let it sink into the ocean,’ and the fact that Rita Moreno was the only Puerto Rican actor cast in the film always appalled me, although I think she’s fabulous and I always admired her,” she said.

The song Morales is referring to, “America,” is one of the most controversial in the 1961 film; though the lyrics mock the mainland United States and Puerto Rico in equal measure, many listeners have taken offense at the way the Puerto Rican characters callously deride their homeland. Even Sondheim seemed hesitant about the project, at first declining to do the show because, he reportedly said, he had “never been that poor and I’ve never even known a Puerto Rican.”

Puerto Rico has a substantial Jewish

community: The island is home to an estimated 1,500-2,500 Jews, according to a 2016 demographic survey by Hebrew University, making it the largest and wealthiest Jewish community in the Caribbean. Most Puerto Rican Jews are descendants of Polish Jews who moved to the island from Cuba after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959; many Puerto Rican Jewish families also migrated to the mainland United States during that time, mirroring broader Latino immigration patterns of the period.

There are links between the immigrant communities, too. In her book “Medicine Stories,” Morales defines the Jewish-Puerto Rican relationship as a history “made in New York garment sweatshops filled first by Eastern European Jews and then by Puerto Ricans, in times of both solidarity and betrayal, when the price of upward mobility for white Jews was the abandonment of People of Color.”

In 2018, when the “West Side Story” remake was in its early stages, Kushner and Spielberg held a Q&A at the University of Puerto Rico to hear out concerns about the new film’s direction. Kushner, in response to a question about “America,” said the thrust of the song reflected the creators’ Jewish roots.

“They’re using the Jewish immigrant experience, the notion that you look back where you came from and go ‘yech,’” he said.

For the 2021 film, the song’s lyrics have been altered, its most offensive lines scrapped. Other changes include more conversations in Spanish, with no English subtitles, as well as the hiring of numerous experts to guide authentic culture and slang.

Those changes seem to have paid off: Early reviews, including from Latino critics, have been mostly raves, and critics are praising Spielberg and Kushner’s adaptation choices.

One prominent film critic even singled out the new version of “America” as a highlight.

Those reactions would seem to fulfill the promises Spielberg made at the beginning of

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Niko Tavernise/20th Century Studios via JTA

the film’s production.

“The reason we’ve hired so many Puerto Rican singers and dancers and actors is so they can help guide us to represent Puerto Rico in a way that will make all of you and all of us proud,” Spielberg told the crowd in San Juan.

For his part, Spielberg — whose representatives did not return a request for comment, but who frequently references his own happy childhood memories watching the original film — has maintained that, regardless of its problems, “West Side Story” is a “timeless” piece. That characterization rankles some.

“When someone says something is timeless, I’m not sure what they mean by that.

Because I think shows are very particular about what they’re trying to say,” Hoffman says. “The politics of ‘West Side Story’ back in ’57 are not the politics of the U.S. in 2021.”

Rebecca Gleiberman, a 29-year-old who grew up Puerto Rican and Jewish in Florida, says she has never felt fully part of either community. She didn’t think much of “West Side Story” when she saw it as a child, but “as an adult, you definitely get the sense that it’s almost Puerto Rican caricatures that sort of make up most of the characters.”

Gleiberman says she’s open to a new remake by two Jewish creators, as long as it’s done right. The bigger issue, to her, is watering down authenticity or playing into stereotypes to make a production “comfortable” for anyone sitting in a theater — problems she said plagued another 2021 movie musical set in a New York Latino community, “In The Heights.”

“Those felt like Hispanic caricatures and stereotypes to me, and that was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda,” she said. “I felt like that was kind of written in a way that was more digestible for a white audience. So I don’t know if it necessarily matters who’s writing it.”

“West Side Story” opened in theaters nationwide Dec. 10. PJC PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

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Celebrations

Torah

Bar Mitzvah

Blessings in disguise Benjiro Jonathan Chow Smuckler is the son of Elizabeth Chow and Aaron Smuckler.

He is in seventh grade at Community Day School. He is an older brother to Kimiko, Samuru, and Tomio Smuckler and grandchild to Margaret Chow, and Tammie and Art Smuckler. He loves playing all sports but especially soccer and baseball. He plays piano and loves listening to all types of music. In his free time, he enjoys entertaining his siblings, building things, and time with friends. He became a bar mitzvah on Dec. 11 at Congregation Beth Shalom. PJC

Rabbi Barbara AB Symons Parshah Vayechi | Genesis 47:28-50:26

S

hould everyone on the team get an award? Should every child sports player walk away with a trophy? Should there only be winners? It is a fine balance of celebrating effort and teamwork versus accomplishment. As millennials are pointing out, they did not give themselves the trophies and awards; their parents did. According to some, this leads to some members of that

children “unstable,” “serf ” or “ravenous wolf.”

As Jacob concluded his words, the text says “All these were the tribes of Israel, twelve in number, and this is what their father said to them as he bade them farewell, addressing to each a parting word appropriate to him.”

(Genesis 49:28) Here’s the thing: the translation “appropriate” does not convey the Hebrew word bet-resh-chaf — blessing. The words may not feel like blessings but perhaps even we can see that they are. Standing at his father’s bedside, we don’t know Reuben’s reaction to being told he was “unstable,” but perhaps, over time, he

The truth may not feel as warm and fuzzy

JCC enacts new vaccination requirements — LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

T

he Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh announced new COVID-19 requirements in an effort to further protect members, guests and staffers. Beginning Feb. 7, 2022, JCC members and guests ages 5 to 11 will be required to provide a one-time proof of COVID vaccination in order to use all facilities and programs.

According to Jason Kunzman, the JCC’s chief program officer, the new policy creates a “vaccinated bubble” for nearly 97% of its members.

The Dec. 7 announcement follows similar protocols already in place. Since Oct. 18, staffers, members and guests have been required to show proof of vaccination in order to enter JCC facilities. That decision, and others, was driven by the organization’s reliance on local and national experts.

Since the start of the pandemic, the JCC has worked with the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative to pressure test various decisions,

Chai

such as pivoting to virtual programming, enacting new guidelines during its multiphased reopening and mandating mask wearing inside all its facilities.

Additionally, in an effort to keep members, guests and staffers safe, the JCC has looked to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for guidance. On Nov. 2, the latter recommended that children ages 5 to 11 be given the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine.

Dr. Elizabeth Miller, a professor of pediatrics and public health at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and director of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, praised the JCC’s newest announcement.

“With this latest decision, the JCC continues to lead the way in following the science and prioritizing public health,” Miller said in a statement. “Our best line of defense to help end the pandemic is the vaccine and protecting the school-aged population is an important component of our community’s overall response in moving forward during these challenging times.” PJC

as an award but it allows for growth based in reality and that is a blessing.

generation needing more praise at work and needing to learn how to fail.

We all may not appreciate how, at the end of his life, Jacob addressed his children. Or maybe millennials would. Jacob used various phrases when speaking to his children upon parting with them. To Reuben, Jacob said, “Unstable as water, you shall excel no longer.”

To Issachar, he said, “When he saw how good was security, and how pleasant was the country, he bent his shoulder to the burden, and became a toiling serf.” To Benjamin, he said, “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he consumes the foe and in the evening he divides the spoil.” (Genesis 49) I don’t know about you, but I don’t think it would go over well in my home if I called my

realized that he would need to use his energy to find stabilizers in his life. Isaachar heard that he was a “serf,” and perhaps he appreciated that every person has their own proclivities and abilities and not all have to be second only to Pharaohs. Maybe Benjamin, called by his father a “ravenous wolf,” would watch his appetites.

The truth may not feel as warm and fuzzy as an award but it allows for growth based in reality and that is a blessing. Let us pass that blessing onto our own children, though perhaps our language could be a little gentler than that of our patriarch. PJC Rabbi Barbara Symons is the rabbi of Temple David. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

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

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Obituaries C OF F E Y: Har r y Coffey, a devoted spouse, father, grandfather and avid tennis p a r t n e r, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. A graduate of Taylor Allderdice High School, he spent a career over eight decades turning houses into homes by supplying the Pittsburgh area with high-quality furniture between family-owned Empire Furniture and later Quality Furniture. In between, Harry served in the United States Marines Corps at Camp Pendleton during the Korean Conflict. The family expresses its heartfelt appreciation for the kind and empathetic group of caregivers from Home Instead. They supplemented the devotion of his wife, Raye, during her lifetime, and then upon her passing, carried on her spirit with the same love and care upon Harry, in particular Dennis and Beatrice.

Harry was recently preceded in death by his beloved wife of 65 years with whom he couldn’t live without, Raye, his parents, Herman and Jennie, and his brother Milton.

He is survived by his children, Ivy, Mark (Mindy) and Hal (Erica); his four grandchildren, Oliver, Carlin, Zachary and Eli; and his two granddogs, Stella and Turbo. Services were held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 12 at Ralph Schugar Chapel Inc., 5509 Centre Ave., Shadyside. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made in his blessed memory to Rodef Shalom Congregation or the Jewish Association on Aging. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. www.schugar.com DAVIDSON: Harry S. Davidson, on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. Beloved husband for 65 years of the late Ruth K. Davidson; loving father of Gerald C. (Debra Kocar) Davidson of Brookline, Massachusetts, Scott H. Davidson of Wayne, Pennsylvania, Lori D. Sachs of Detroit, Michigan, and Richard M. (Carol) Davidson of Ashburn, Virginia.

Brother of Lois D. Engel of Silver Spring, Maryland; brother-in-law of James (Marcia) Kaplan of Pittsburgh; proud grandfather of Rachel (Benjamin Tornatore) and Hannah Davidson of New York, New York, Evan (Mika) Sachs of Detroit, Michigan, Mindi Sachs of New York, New York, Alexandra (Matthew Meyerson) Davidson, Danielle, Victoria, and Casey Davidson, all of Ashburn, Virginia. Great-grandfather of Nathan and Levi. Also survived by nieces, nephews and many beloved extended family members. Harry lived in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, for over 70 years, where he owned and operated Davidson’s Ladies Apparel, which was founded in 1929 and closed in 1982. He moved to Pittsburgh

in 2000. He graduated from Connellsville High School in 1943 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in June 1943. He was honorably discharged in June 1946. He attended the University of South Carolina and Cornell University. Harry lived an inspiring, selfless life beginning at a young age, when his father passed away and he helped his mother both raise their family and run the business at the age of 23. He always saw the good things in life, his glass was always at least half full. He will be deeply missed by so many relatives and friends. Services were held at Temple Sinai. Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions in Harry’s memory may be made to Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, Hebrew Free Loan Association, 4307 Murray Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 or Jewish Association on Aging, 200 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., schugar.com.

GROSSMAN: Shirley Grossman, 91, of Butler, Pennsylvania, passed away on Dec. 10, 2021, at St. Clair Hospital. She was born Aug. 4, 1930 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania to the late Meyer Farber and the late Mollye Mervis. Mrs. Grossman worked as a part-time secretary at Congregation B’nai Abraham, where she was a member, and had many other responsibilities in the synagogue, including board secretary, house chairperson, and Oneg Shabbat chairperson.

She was a member of the Chapter of Hadassah and the Butler Machine Knitters. Mrs. Grossman enjoyed gardening and feeding the neighborhood birds. Mrs. Grossman is survived by one daughter, Helene (Howard) Goldstein; two grandchildren, Weston Goldstein, Melanie (Joe) Trivilino; three great-grandchildren, Autumn Goldstein, Hayden Goldstein, Adeline Trivilino; one son-in-law, William Mattock; her puppies, Shayna and Mitzi; brother-in-law, Herbert Grossman; sister-in-law, Sara Grossman; many nieces, nephews, and great nieces and great nephews; and a special friend, Ben Vincent. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by husband, Lawrence Grossman, who she married on Aug. 20, 1950 and who passed away on Aug. 12, 2016; and one daughter, Ilene Grossman Mattock. Memorials are suggested to the Congregation B’nai Abraham, 519 N. Main Street, Butler, PA 16001. Arrangements were entrusted to Thompson-Miller Funeral Home, Inc., 124 East North Street, Butler, PA 16001. Online condolences can be given at www.thompson-miller.com.

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THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday December 19: Dorothy Augenblick, Mayer Berenfield, Isadore L. Cohen, Ronald E. Fishman, Ernie M. Friedman, Saul Garber, Sara Barbara Goldberg, Pauline Goldenson, Israel Heyman, Pearl C. Lazar, Samuel Levenson, Jerome Zachery Lieber, Morris K. Manela, Morris Nathan, Benjamin Raphael, Irwin Shapiro, Melvin Silberblatt, Joseph A. Simon, Esther Rose Singer, Dan Snider Monday December 20: Simon Alpern, Nathan G. Bagran, Howard Jay Dunhoff, Joseph Elias, George Goldberg, Louis Gordon, Sera Herskovitz, Albert Lenchner, George A. Levenson, Beatrice Loeb, Morris Martin, Myna Shub, Rose Berkowitz Simensky, Esther Teplitz Tuesday December 21: Herman Godfrey Bigg, Jacob Bloom, Esther Broad, Israel Buck, Samuel Davis, Albert Epstein, Sam Faigen, Mortimer M. Frankston, Maurice A. Golomb, Lillian Granoff, Elizabeth Kopelman, Samuel E. Latterman, Dr. Fred Laufe, Faye Lester, Sam Liebman, Katherine Greenberg Lincoff, Sam Melnick, Milton Moses, Bessie Silverstein Perman, Harry Rom, Ethel Sachs, Louis Seder, Anne Deutch Shapiro, Meyer S. Sikov, Seymour Solomon, Herman Spiegelman, Helyn R. Spokane, Ralph Morris Swartz, Ike Tepper, Mollie B. Weiss Wednesday December 22: Albert Ackerman, Mollie Barnett, Julius Caplan, Jacob L. Cohen, Jacob Diznoff, Rose Friedberg, Morris Gross, Minnie Gusky, Gertrude P. Katz, Margaret Kopelson, Charles Lipsitz, Sylvia R. Litman, Irwin Luick, Maurice H. Margolis, Rose Steinman Morris, Philip H. Nevins, Dr. William Ratowsky, Kenneth E. Rosenberg, Bernard Roth, Belle Somach, Jennie Spokane, Rev. Alex Spokane, Nathan Stalinsky, Samuel Sidney Zelmanovitz Thursday December 23: Charles Bardin, Samuel Brill, Gertrude Cohen, Ithiel A. Cohen, Miriam Gusky Dajczmann, Philip B. Eatman, Anna Kitman Epstein, Gerson E. Friedlander, Mary L. Furman, Bessie Goldberg, Gilbert Goldman, Isadore L. Horewitz, Ernestine Gold Klein, Samuel Levy, Ben Lipsitz, Ida Makler, Mildred Broida Markowitz, Margaret Weinberg Milligram, Rose Pitler, Herschel Pretter, Sol Rattner, Nathan Rosenthal, Herman Skirble, Therese Wechsler Friday December 24: Isaac Joseph Bachrach, Harry Caplan, Lena Diamond, Gerald Field, Jennie Fienberg, Irwin Firestone, Rae Cohen Frank, Annie Genstein, Clara Schutte Gordon, Samuel Horwitz, Jacob Krimsky, Sarah Mervis, Jean Merwitzer Nydes, Rev. Rubin Rabinovitz, Rose Weisman Saturday December 25: Isaac Joseph Bachrach, Harry Caplan, Lena Diamond, Gerald Field, Jennie Fienberg, Irwin Firestone, Rae Cohen Frank, Annie Genstein, Clara Schutte Gordon, Samuel Horwitz, Jacob Krimsky, Sarah Mervis, Jean Merwitzer Nydes, Rev. Rubin Rabinovitz, Rose Weisman

Philip Chosky Philip Chosky’s lasting impact is felt in the arts, in children’s programming, and throughout the Jewish community. This pioneer in technical education turned philanthropist is buried in the Machsikei HaDas Cemetery in Shaler Township.

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Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 19

JARNELL: Solomon “Sol” Jarmell, on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. Beloved husband of 64 years to Ethel Jarmell. Adored father of Barbara (Jon) Schwartz, Mitchell Jarmell and Jay Jarmell. Brother of the late Shirley Wilbur and Paul Jarmell. Grandpa of Elliot (Hannah Gibson) Snyder, David (Jessica) Snyder, Sarah, Joseph, Kaitlyn and Steven Jarmell.

Great-grandfather of Jacob Steel Snyder.

Graveside service and interment were held at Poale Zedeck Memorial Park Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to Adat Shalom Synagogue, 368 Guys Run Road, Cheswick, PA 15024 or UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, 4401 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh,

Mikvah: Continued from page 4

said, is to house it at Chabad of the South Hills’ current location. Another is to follow the model of Squirrel Hill, housing it in a neighborhood home.

The cost of the project might range from $200-300,000 if built at Chabad of the South Hills, and up to $700,000 if there is a need to purchase property and built the mikvah off-site. Despite the additional costs, Rosenblum’s current preference is to find a new location for the project, saying that

LAMDIN: Lois Harriet, age 94, daughter of the late Edie and Louis Symons, predeceased by her beloved husband Dr. Ezra Lamdin, peacefully passed away on Friday, Nov. 19.

Loving mother of six: Jeff Lewin, Jan (Jules) Stein, Nancy Lewin, Geoff(Sue)Lamdin, Peter(Kate)Lamdin and Andy Lamdin, grandmother of 12 and great-grandmother of six. A pioneer in the “Elder Learning” movement, her teaching and writing career began at CMU and continued in New York, Princeton, Stamford, and her beloved Brunswick, Maine. Special thanks to her caregivers Char and Harley. Contributions in her memory may be made to the ASPCA.

MENDELSOHN: Herbert Mendelsohn, on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021; husband of Donna Mendelsohn; son of the late Alfred and Betty Mendelsohn, beloved father of Judith (Paul) Rood, Alice (Ralph) Francis, Alfred (Nancy) Mendelsohn, Sharon (Jim) Charles and Robert (Betsy) Etzel. Also survived by grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Herb was a proud veteran of the US Army, a member of Tree of Life Congregation, a Telephone Pioneer and a Freemason.

Graveside Services and Interment will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, at 10 a.m. at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.

Contributions may be made to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum at ushmm. org. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. www.schugar.com

SPIEGEL: Frances (Fela) Spiegel on Friday Nov. 12, 2021. Born on April 14, 1926. Frances (Fela) was the beloved wife of the late Harry Spiegel; Beloved mother of Gladys and the late Alan Margolis, Allen (Rebecca); Grandmother of Jeffrey (Danielle) Margolis, Sheri (Elchonon) Kass, Rena (Avromi) Apt, and AJ (Sarah) Margolis; and many great grandchildren.

Sister of the late Esther (Harry) Yusim, Anna (Sam) Putersznit, and Eta Singer.

Aunt of many nieces and nephews. Frances (Fela) was a Holocaust survivor. Services and Interment were held at Torath Chaim Cemetery. Contributions in Frances (Fela)’s memory should be made to Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, Congregation Poale Zedeck, Young Peoples Synagogue, or the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. PJC

he would like to find a home south of the city that would become an institution and treasure of the community.

“That’s my ultimate dream,” he said.

Regardless of the location, Rosenblum said people will be surprised by the final product.

“People will be shocked,” he said. “In the olden days, mikvahs were very utilitarian in nature. They were this little thing in the middle of a small room. It was cold and bare.

You just came in and did it. This is going to be a spa. It’s going to be beautiful. It will be gorgeous. It will be designed to be something that women look forward to.”

Rosenblum said that the mikvah will be available to all Jewish women, regardless of

affiliation, pointing out that all of Chabad’s offerings are available to everyone.

The rabbi said the timeline has yet to be determined but it could take several years to complete. In the meantime, he’s pushing forward. Soon, several rabbis who are experts in the laws and architecture of the mikvah will be brought in to provide feedback.

The next step will be to shore up funds.

Rosenblum said once a working plan is complete, Chabad will approach different foundations to solidify backing.

The community, he said, has already begun to show support for the project.

In early December, Chabad raised over $128,000 during its annual campaign. Close

to $30,000 of the funds was earmarked by donors specifically for the mikvah.

“I’m very excited,” Rosenblum said about the support shown by the community. “I’m very, very encouraged by the campaign.

The South Hills has always been its own community and it needs its own Jewish infrastructure. A mikvah is a powerful thing to have, even for the people that won’t use it.

It’s a symbol of Jewish community.”

To contribute to the Chabad of the South Hills Mikvah project, visit charidy. com/chabadsh. PJC

PA 15224. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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Community Chanukah fun at Community Day School

p Left to right: Daniel Vines, Max Warshafsky, Talya Gershon, Wolf Glick and Olivia Albert celebrate Chanukah.

p Hazel Herman proves sufganiyot are finger lickin’ good.

p Noah Droz enjoys sufganiyot made by teacher Michal Schachter.

Photos courtesy of Community Day School

Congrats?

Time to hoop

New Light Congregation held its Chanukah dinner in the ballroom of Beth Shalom on Dec. 5. Rabbi Jonathan Perlman auctioned off an ugly Chanukah sweater as a donation to the sisterhood.

p Members of Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh’s Girls Varsity team gather after a recent scrimmage. p The winning bid came from Bruce Hyde, who is shown modeling his new sweater.

Photo by Carol Black

Mazel Tov Harold

p Coach Jasmine Carter draws up a play.

22 DECEMBER 17, 2021

Photos courtesy of Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh

p Harold Marcus, right, was honored by Israel Bonds on Dec. 9. Marcus worked for Israel Bonds of Pennsylvania for 40 years.

Photo by Jim Busis

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Appeal Jewish journalism connects us, in the past and present provides me, and possibly you, with a greater understanding of what is happening in our Jewish community.

While the Chronicle has survived through these very tough COVID times, it has faced financial struggles. When I joined the board of trustees in 2016, the paper was breaking even thanks to sales of ads in the printed paper. But those financials have drastically changed. Many prior advertisers cannot afford to buy ads for the print edition or have closed. The economics of ad sales for online are not as profitable and would require the Chronicle to increase its footprint to the level of large nationally recognized publishers like The New York Times or The Washington Post. That is not an attainable goal, even though the Chronicle is an award-winning publication year after year for its impeccable coverage of our local current events.

This institution cannot survive on its own as it has done in prior years, and it is imperative that the readership community become involved in order for the Chronicle to continue providing us with our community connection.

Because of its extremely important place in our lives, please help me and other readers to keep this institution. The Chronicle provides us with up-to-date information, connects us to one another and shows all that Jewish life is alive and well in Pittsburgh. PJC Thank you and Shabbat Shalom, Cátia Kossovsky

Guest Columnist Cátia Kossovsky

P

ost World War II, my grandfather, who had been a partisan and had survived through the horrific struggles of the war, began trying to piece whatever was left of his life together. He remarried, had my father and uncle and started a search for his older siblings who had left Europe prior to the war.

Being the youngest of 11, my grandfather had siblings who were old enough to be his parents when he was born. He knew they had gone to America in search of a better life.

But that is all he knew, and America being comprised of 2 continents and 35 countries and additional territories, was a very large place to find a long-distance relative.

So did he find his brother? He certainly did. It wasn’t easy, but because of Jewish newspapers, similar to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, he was able to locate his brother and relocate for a better future for himself and his family. He found his brother by placing classified ads in all Jewish and Yiddish newspapers in each country from the northernmost cities in Canada all the way down to the southernmost tip of Chile.

His brother read it in a Jewish newspaper published in São Paulo, Brazil, where my grandfather migrated with his family, and where I was born.

Without local Jewish publishers to connect Jews, be they newspapers in the 1950s or news organizations with web and social media presence today, we tend to lose a bit of our identity. While we are not living post-war and searching for long-lost family, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle is still here connecting us all to one another locally, and

December 3, 2021 | 29 Kislev 5782

Candlelighting 4:36 p.m. | Havdalah 5:38 p.m. | Vol. 64, No. 49 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

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No news is not good news

Cátia Kossovsky is a member of the board of trustees of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and is a founder and managing member of Smart Counsel LLC. allowing former Pittsburghers to discover what is happening in our lovely city, which they are so very fond of, in print and online.

The distance between where I live in the

North Hills and Squirrel Hill is not very far, but I would be lost without the Chronicle updating me week after week. I believe that many of you feel the same. The Chronicle

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PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

DECEMBER 17, 2021 23

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