Mayor Gainey’s ‘Building Bridges’ event marred by
By David Rullo | Senior Sta Writer
Keffiyeh-wearing members of the Pittsburgh Palestine Coalition distributed anti-Israel flyers at a Jan. 12 event attended by more than 100 people and organized by Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s office that featured Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli Maoz Inon.
The event, held at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater and dubbed “Building Bridges,” was intended “to create an opportunity to find common ground and make meaningful progress as a community,” according to Gainey’s Press Secretary Olga George.
But the flyer distributed by PPC, and titled “A Roadmap to Peace,” called for an immediate end to Israel’s war against the terrorist organization Hamas, an arms embargo on Israel and the release of Palestinian prisoners, among other demands. It made no mention of the 98 hostages still held in Gaza nor did it acknowledge that Hamas started the current war when it invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
For many attendees, the distribution of flyers after the conversation between Abu Sarah and Inon was a black eye on the event and contrary to the point of the discussion on stage.
Stephanie Gagne, management analyst for the City of Pittsburgh, said that she was contacted before the event by someone
who works for the University of Pittsburgh’s Global Studies Center, asking for permission to staff a table at the event for an organization called Americans for Palestinian Orphans.
Gagne said she responded by saying there would be no tabling at the event, “but if she would like to have QR codes for donation information, she’d be more than welcome to hand that out at the end of the event.”
“We did not approve those flyers,” Gagne said, explaining that she felt “a little bit deceived” by what transpired.
Nevertheless, no one stopped the distribution of the flyers.
Elaine Linn, an academic advisor with Pitt’s Global Studies program, was reportedly seen at the event wearing a keffiyeh and handing out the flyers in support of the PPC.
When contacted by the Chronicle, Linn denied duplicitous dealings with Gagne but said she was unable to talk while at work.
Attempts to reach Linn again, through both her Pitt email and a phone number she provided, were unsuccessful.
Linn’s Instagram page is filled with staunch anti-Israel and anti-Zionist posts. Along with a photo of her wearing a keffiyeh and claims like “Jesus was Palestinian,” there are photos of a wall
By Deborah Weisberg | Special to the Chronicle
ittsburgh native Evan Wolfson recently was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal during a ceremony at the White House for his pioneering work in the marriage equality movement.
Wolfson, who grew up in Squirrel Hill and now lives in New York City, was feted by President Joe Biden on Jan. 2 for decades of advocacy that culminated in the 2015 U. S. Supreme Court ruling that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right.
Wolfson was one of 20 individuals chosen for the medal for having “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens,” the White House said.
Other awardees included attorney/activist Mary Bonauto, who argued the pivotal marriage equality case before the Supreme Court; former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, who spoke out against President-elect Donald Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol; and Jewish photographer and international philanthropist Bobby Sager.
Wolfson was lauded by the White House for “helping millions of people in all 50 states win the fundamental right to love, marry and be themselves, and for his singular focus and untiring optimism to change not just the law but society — pioneering a political playbook for change and sharing its lessons, even now, with countless causes worldwide.”
Wolfson’s family, including his husband of 23 years, Cheng He, and his brother, David Wolfson, a pediatrician who lives and works
“The
Mayor Ed Gainey (center), with Aziz Abu Sarah (right) and Maoz Inon Photo by Jim Busis
Headlines
A chilling silent film returns with live klezmer score on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
By Deborah Weisberg | Special to the Chronicle
World-renowned musicians will perform a live cine-concert in observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27, at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Oakland. Klezmer violinist/composer Alicia Svigals and silent film pianist/composer Donald Sosin will accompany the screening of “The City without Jews,” a 1924 silent movie that eerily predicted the rise of antisemitism in Eastern Europe, with their original score.
The event is being sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Jewish Studies Program and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, with support from other local partners, and an honorarium from the Sunrise Foundation for Education and the Arts.
Admission is free; registration is required.
“It’s a big program,” said Rachel Kranson, Pitt’s director of Jewish studies. “We have wanted to bring Alicia and Donald to Pittsburgh for a long time, and could not afford it. The honorarium made it possible, so this is a big deal.”
Svigals was a founding member of the Grammy-winning The Klezmatics, and is widely considered the foremost klezmer fiddler in the world. She is credited with reviving the klezmer fiddling tradition with her debut solo album “Fidl” in the 1990s, and has worked with musicians ranging from Itzhak Perlman to the Kronos Quartet to Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.
The classically-trained Sosin has
performed internationally at venues such as Lincoln Center, MoMA, Telluride, and at major film festivals, and has played for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Mary Travers, Howie Mandel, Geula Gill and others.
He and Svigals met at a silent film festival in Italy and have collaborated on several Jewish-themed movie scores.
“City without Jews” was made a century ago by Austrian expressionist filmmaker Hans Karl Breslauer, based on the dystopian novel of the same title by
to antisemitism.
as
The film was lost for decades until a nitrate print was recovered by a collector at a flea market in Paris in 2015. It was digitally restored through a crowdfunding campaign.
Set in Utopia, a fictitious version of Vienna, it follows the personal and political consequences of a law enacted to expel all Jews. Although the deportation was celebrated at first, Utopia’s citizenry eventually
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realized the resulting economic and cultural decline, and the National Assembly decided to invite the Jews to return.
The film contains scenes of everyday Jewish life, and ominous sequences, such as assaults on Jews and freight trains transporting them from the city, which foreshadowed the horrific events of a decade later with Hitler’s rise to power.
The Svigals-Sosin score encompasses a
Please see Film, page 11
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Headlines
Getting to know: Kate Louik
Jewish Disabilities Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month. Established in 2009, JDAIM fosters awareness and inclusion of people with disabilities and mental health conditions.
In conjunction with JDAIM, the ShoreWhitehill Award is given annually to “someone who is a champion of inclusion in the Jewish community,” Alison Karabin, The Branch’s program director, community and partnerships, said.
Receiving this award is an opportunity for reflection and growth, Louik, Temple Emanuel of South Hills’ senior director and director of the Early Childhood Development Center, told the Chronicle.
“I would hate for anyone to feel like just because we’re being recognized in this way, that we feel like the work is done,” she said. “There’s that thing, ‘When you know better you do better.’ What you learn as an educator is there’s always more to learn, and so this work goes on. We know what our mission is and we are going to continually learn how to serve that mission more effectively, and we’re going to build partnerships and alliances along the way so that we can do the work even better.”
Louik oversees a staff of 25 teachers and about 120 students. Her responsibilities include creating numerous partnerships, she explained.
“It’s not just about the children, it’s also about their families,” Louik said. “The connection that you have with both children and families when you’re an early childhood educator, you’re really a team. And you’re a team doing the work of serving the child, so that they can learn joyfully.”
The philosophy is guided by years of teaching and learning.
Louik’s first post-college job was at P.S. 123, a New York City public school in Harlem.
The role was in a “self-contained special education classroom,” she said. Alongside a paraprofessional, Louik’s classroom had 12
students, “all of whom had disabilities.”
That initial placement, which Louik received after joining Teach for America, an organization committed to empowering future educators, was both an honor and intimidating: “I decided that if I was going to be entrusted with that role, then I was going to do the best I could — to do the best I could for those children.”
t the time, Louik, a graduate of Brandeis University, enrolled in a master’s program at Bank Street College of Education and began applying the lessons learned.
After completing her master’s, Louik and her husband, Max, moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Louik taught at Little Blue Preschool. Though she wasn’t working specifically in a special education environment, I kind of brought that learning along with me,” she said.
Following the few-year stint in Michigan, Louik and her husband moved to Pittsburgh — where Max had grown up. Louik took a job at Imagine Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship; her responsibilities included collaborating with parents and colleagues to develop individualized educational plans for students with special needs. ose tasks, coupled with years of prior experience, furthered Louik’s commitment to inclusive education.
Whether in an early childhood setting or another classroom, “children with disabilities can and often should be educated alongside their typically developing peers,” Louik said. “That model of education is actually really beneficial for both the child with disabilities and the typically developing child as well, because they learn from one another.”
Evidence from more than 280 studies conducted in 25 countries shows that inclusive educational settings can have “substantial benefits for the cognitive and social development” of children with disabilities while also yielding “important positive benefits for all students,” according to researchers and consultants from Abt Global. Teachers and school leaders who are tasked with developing a “better understanding of the individual strengths and needs of every student” also benefit from inclusive education.
Since becoming director of Temple Emanuel’s ECDC in 2020, Louik has worked to create a space that is inclusive for “all children and families,” she said.
In November, she welcomed keynote speakers, colleagues and parents for a oneday conference dedicated to “meaningful inclusion in an early childhood setting.”
The conference afforded participants a unique opportunity to “collect valuable information about ways to support children with disabilities,” but it also highlighted Louik’s unwavering commitment to community, Temple Emanuel Senior Rabbi Aaron Meyer said.
“Kate is an unbelievable advocate for children with disabilities,” he said. “She’s made Temple’s early childhood program a welcoming place for all children, including those with mobility challenges, Down syndrome and kids who have been asked to leave other schools.”
Louik has accomplished these feats, Meyer continued, by meeting each student’s
needs, working with teachers and specialists, providing classroom supports and repeatedly partnering with others.
Following the retirement of former Temple Emanuel Executive Director Leslie Hoffman, Louik was named the synagogue’s senior director — a role she took on in addition to her responsibilities as director of the ECDC.
Dividing Hoffman’s portfolio “meant that many of us on staff were sort of directing ourselves in new ways,” Louik said. “It also means even more of a commitment to the institution.”
Increasing time and attention toward Temple Emanuel is an endeavor fueled by appreciation, Louik explained.
Originally from Harwinton, Connecticut, Louik converted to Judaism after returning to Pittsburgh and joining Temple Emanuel — her husband’s childhood congregation.
“Being part of a synagogue community was such a great way to start feeling a part of the Pittsburgh community more broadly,” she said. “When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I made the decision to convert to Judaism. Since then, our life at Temple has become such an important and core part of our life as a family.”
Louik said she jokes that, “Temple Emanuel
is our home away from home, and now especially, it’s hard to determine if I spend
Meyer noted that he could “go on for days” about Louik’s impact on Temple Emanuel.
The educator reciprocated by praising her rabbi and the wider institution.
Parents often want to raise children with a “solid value system in a place where they feel really rooted as part of a community,” she said. “Being a part of Temple Emanuel has allowed us to do that both as adults and as a family.”
Providing that experience for others propels her professional commitment.
“This work is really worth it. It’s really hard work, and that’s one of the reasons that I’m so grateful to work with an amazing team of educators at our school,” she said.
The support teachers constantly provide each other and receive from the wider synagogue community is incredible, she continued. “I’m so lucky to work with an amazing team of colleagues, and that’s the only reason why this work is possible.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
p Students at Temple Emanuel of South Hills Early Childhood Development Center explore learning.
Photo courtesy of Kate Louik
p Kate Louik
Photo courtesy of Kate Louik
Headlines
Meet
the
Gorkins: Bringing Jewish
joy to Squirrel Hill’s young and old
By Adam Reinherz | Senior Sta Writer
The community’s generations are in good hands. For the past two years, through Chabad of Squirrel Hill, Rabbi Yehuda Gorkin and Nechama Gorkin have overseen programming for older adults and children, including classes, parties, summer camp and general check-ins.
Chanukah, the couple said, was a whirl of activity.
Over eight nights, the Gorkins organized eight events and engaged with nearly 200 older adults — many of whom the couple had never before met.
“We were working so hard to make the parties happen, but they didn’t happen just on our own,” Yehuda Gorkin, 28, said. “The seniors were the ones who made it happen.”
Shuttling between Squirrel Hill complexes night after night was a reminder of Pittsburgh’s strengths, Nechama Gorkin, 25, said. “It’s nice for us to be a part of this beautiful community and truly have the pleasure of each other’s company.”
Nechama Gorkin is no stranger to Squirrel Hill. At age 11 she moved to Pittsburgh with her family from North Carolina. Yehuda Gorkin is originally from New York.
Both Gorkins carry a world of knowledge regarding Jewish engagement. Before making Pittsburgh home again, Nechama Gorkin lived and worked in Kansas, California, Alberta and Ghana.
The latter was a pandemic-era pursuit, Nechama Gorkin explained.
While finishing up employment at a Chabad center on Long Island in 2020, she got a call from a friend who knew someone at the Chabad in Accra, Ghana.
“They said they really needed help and
asked if I would be willing to come,” Nechama Gorkin recalled.
She flew to the African coastal city and ended up spending two months working at Chabad.
“It was a great experience,” she said. She helped with a winter camp, taught at the preschool and offered assistance wherever needed.
Yehuda Gorkin cut his teeth on nonAmerican Jewish life while in Caracas, Venezuela.
“I was part of a group of yeshiva students that were sent from the main Chabad yeshiva in New York to the community in Venezuela to help sort of make our own little yeshiva,” he said.
Yehuda Gorkin spent half the day studying rabbinic texts with his peers. Remaining hours were dedicated to partnering with local residents on other educational projects and community-building endeavors.
“During summertime, we made our own camp there,” Yehuda Gorkin said. The overarching goal was to bring “a real Jewish energy to the community there.”
Accra has about 500 Jewish residents. Caracas has fewer than 6,000. Relative to both, Squirrel Hill’s Jewish community is colossal, as the neighborhood is the home of 30% of Pittsburgh’s 50,000 Jewish residents.
The size of the Jewish population isn’t the only thing differentiating Squirrel Hill from other places, Yehuda Gorkin said. “People you meet on the street just tend to know more than average about their Judaism, their customs, their family traditions, and really just basic Jewish practice. People are very, very, knowledgeable here.”
Nechama Gorkin said the biggest difference she notices about life in Squirrel Hill is the amount of “Jewish pride” exhibited by Pittsburghers of all ages.
Nechama Gorkin, right, enjoys a Chanukah party with local residents at Forward Shady Apartments.
Photo courtesy of Rabbi Yehuda Gorkin
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.
SATURDAY, JAN. 18; SUNDAY, JAN. 19
Join Tree of Life Congregation as it hosts Ebenezer Baptist Church for a special joint Martin Luther King Jr. Shabbat Service. The following day, Ebenezer Baptist Church will host Tree of Life Congregation for its own Martin Luther King Jr. service. Tree of Life: 4905 Fifth Ave.; Ebenezer Baptist Church: 2001 Wylie Ave. treeoflifepgh.org.
SUNDAY, JAN. 19
Celebrate the Israeli-Jewish community with Winter Fair: A Warm Hug from Israel featuring local artists, crafters and small business owners showcasing their unique creations. Children can take part in Israel-themed activities such as decorating hamsas and creating a community canvas designed to help connect children and families to Israel. 10 a.m. Shaare Torah, 2319 Murray Ave. For more information or to join as a vendor, visit facebook.com/ events/1305830417094965.
SUNDAYS, JAN. 19–JULY 20
Join Chabad of Squirrel Hill for its Men’s Tefillin Club. Services and tefillin are followed by a delicious breakfast and engaging discussions on current events. 8:30 a.m. 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com.
MONDAYS, JAN. 20–JULY 27
Join Congregation Beth Shalom for a weekly
Talmudstudy. 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org.
Join Temple Sinai for an evening of mahjong every Monday (except holidays). Whether you are just starting out or have years of experience, you are sure to enjoy the camaraderie and good times as you make new friends or cherish moments with longtime pals. All are welcome. Winners will be awarded Giant Eagle gift cards. All players should have their own mahjong cards. Contact Susan Cohen at susan_k_cohen@yahoo.com if you have questions. $5. templesinaipgh.org.
TUESDAY, JAN. 21
Join the students of Tzohar Seminary for Chassidus, Art and Identity, an end-of-the-semester presentation for women of individual and collaborative artwork including music, dance, film, theater, creative writing and visual arts. 8 p.m. $10-15 suggested donation. 6404 Forbes Ave. tzoharseminary.com.
WEDNESDAYS, JAN. 22–JULY 29
Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Daniel Fellman presents a weekly Parshat/Torahportionclass on site and online. Call 412-421-9715 for more information and the Zoom link.
Bring the parashah alive and make it personally relevant and meaningful with Rabbi Mark Goodman in this weekly ParashahDiscussion: Life & Text 12:15 p.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh. org/life-text.
THURSDAY, JAN. 23–FRIDAY, FEB. 28
Pittsburgh-area Jewish students are invited to apply for ZOA: Pittsburgh’s scholarshipto Israel
Join the Chronicle Book Club!
The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its Jan. 26 discussion of “The Immortalists” by Chloe Benjamin. Overview: “It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children — four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness — sneak out to hear their fortunes. The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in ‘80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality. A sweeping novel of remarkable ambition and depth, ‘The Immortalists’ probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.”
Your hosts
Toby Tabachnick,
editor of the Chronicle
David Rullo, Chronicle senior staff writer
How it works
We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 1 p.m.
What to do
Buy: “The Immortalists.” It is available at area Barnes & Noble stores and from online retailers, including Amazon. It is also available through the Carnegie Library system.
Email: Contact us at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org, and write “Chronicle Book Club” in the subject line. We will send you a Zoom link for the discussion meeting.
Happy reading! PJC
— Toby Tabachnick
program, taking place in summer 2025. The scholarship is open to junior and senior high school students in the fall of 2025 who are traveling to Israel on a structured study trip. Applications are due by Feb. 2 and can be requested by emailing pittsburgh@zoa. org. A ZOA committee judges applications and three $1,000 scholarships will be awarded.
FRIDAY, JAN. 24
Join Rodef Shalom’s Cantor Toby Glaser for a 20s― 40s Kabbalat Shabbat. Get to know other young Jewish professionals and close out the week with apps, wine and great company. Registration required. Free. 7 p.m. 4905 Fifth Ave.rodefshalom.org.
SUNDAY, JAN. 26
Join Congregation Dor Chadash for Mahloket Matters, Cultivating a Constructive Disagreement Mindset with Karen Morris. Disagreements are often seen as an unfortunate aspect of life. However, in the tradition of the Mishnah and Talmud, mahloket (debate) is a vital tool for fostering discussion, critical thinking, personal growth and the strengthening of relationships. 1 p.m. Rodef Shalom, 4905 Fifth Ave. For more information, visit dhollander24.github.io/mahloketmatters. dorhadash.
MONDAY, JAN. 27
Join the University of Pittsburgh Jewish Studies Program and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh for a screening of the film “The City Without Jews” in observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The film will be accompanied with live music performed by violinist Alicia Svigals and pianist Donald Sosin. 7:30 p.m. Free, but registration is required. Levy Hall, Rodef Shalom Congregation,
4905 Fifth Ave., eventbrite.com/e/the-city-withoutjews-cine-concert-tickets-1110448795239.
TUESDAY, FEB. 4
Join Chabad of the South Hills for a Day in the Heights for Women. Pray at the Rebbe’s Ohel, visit Chabad’s headquarters, explore Crown Heights, visit a Chassidic art gallery and Judaica shops, enjoy delicious lunch, dinner and more. $125 plus airfare and dinner. For more information, email batya@chabadsh.com. chabadsh.com/heights.
WEDNESDAYS, FEB. 5–MARCH 12
Join Chabad of South Hills for Decoding the Talmud Get inside the story, substance and significance of the book that defines Judaism. 7:30 p.m. 1700 Bower Hill Road. To register, visit chabadsh.com.
FRIDAY, FEB. 7–SATURDAY, FEB. 8
The Rotunda Collaborative invites you to attend Savor: A Sephardic Music and Food Experience with chef Susan Barocas and musician/author Sarah Aroeste of Savor. Engage in a weekend of food, music, history, learning and community, including a communitywide Sephardic-style service at Rodef Shalom. Friday night services are free; Saturday events are $18/each. rotundapgh.com.
SATURDAY, FEB. 8
Join Congregation Beth Shalom for Clues and Schmooze, a fun trivia event including a ra e, open bar and snacks. Trivia will be played with teams of three to six. Bring your own team or be matched up at the door. Must be 21 years of age or older to participate. Doors open at 7 p.m. Trivia starts at 8 p.m. To register visit, bethshalompgh.org/2025clues-and-schmooze. PJC
Fitness & wellness
New Year, new goals: Avoiding injuries while starting your fitness journey in 2025
Guest Columnist
Scott Rosen
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 80% of people who made New Year’s resolutions in 2024 focused on their health, exercise or diet. While fitness centers typically see a surge in attendance during the first few months of the year, injuries often cause participation to decline as the year progresses. Many of these injuries are preventable and are commonly a result of issues like unsafe techniques, improper footwear, insufficient recovery time and poor training routines. High motivation after the holidays can lead to overuse trauma or doing too much too soon. If your body is not used to regular
exercise, it’s important to gradually and safely increase the frequency and intensity of workouts to help minimize your risk of injury. A slow ramp-up period helps prevent excessive stress to muscles and joints, which can lead to a variety of orthopedic issues. Anyone new to exercise, regardless of age, should consider consulting with a personal trainer to help design a safe and appropriate wellness program. It’s also important to listen to your body. Delayed onset muscle soreness, known as DOMS, is common after starting exercise or working new muscle groups and should only last 24-48 hours. Pain lasting more than a couple of days is not a normal response to exercise and may require consultation with a physical therapist or healthcare professional to assist with recovery.
January is also the start of training season for the Pittsburgh Marathon. Held on the first Sunday in May, there are a variety of events
The foods we choose impact more than our physical well-being and waistline. Our minds & bodies are interconnected. Did you know the enzymes in foods directly impact our gut bacteria, which plays a large role in immunity, mood and overall wellness?
Implementing leafy greens and varieties of whole foods supports balanced blood sugar, improved mood & energy, and a healthy gut. Simple meal planning, daily movement, and meaningful connection help us become more whole, and rooted, by incorporating daily practices for wellness.
Laura Stewart B.A., CHN Holistic Nutritionist & Wellness Consultant wholerootedwellness.com
including the full and half marathon, relay, 5K, four-mile fitness challenge and one-mile walk. No matter the distance, there are many strategies to help prevent training injuries, such as wearing the proper footwear. Finding the right shoes is critical as there are different styles of running shoes for every type of foot. Higharched feet often require shoes with greater cushioning while lower-arched feet typically require a shoe with more control or support. Replacing running shoes every 500 miles is essential to prevent injury, as worn-out shoes lose their design purpose and significantly increase the risk of foot and lower extremity injuries. Most major brands offer a range of styles that meet the needs of different foot shapes. Each step while running can place up to seven times your body weight in stress on weight-bearing joints like your knees, ankles and hips. Wearing well-fitted running shoes designed for your needs can provide a strong foundation, helping to reduce the risk of injury and lessen the force of this high-impact activity. Although we’re in the middle of winter, local golfers are already looking forward to spring, with some even traveling to warmer weather to enjoy their favorite hobby. However, the physical demands of swinging a golf club can add a lot of stress and torque to the spine, hips and knees, making injury prevention important for golfers. A strong core, good joint mobility and proper muscle flexibility are all important for maintaining the balance between stability and mobility needed for optimal performance and injury prevention. Golfers can benefit from sport-specific stretches, mobility exercises and strengthening plans that not only help prevent injuries but also enhance performance on the course. Simple, effective tools like a stretch strap and a resistance band are easy to keep in your golf bag. With a well-designed program,
you can perform these exercises right on the course in just a few minutes. Investing a small amount of time can lead to significant rewards for your heath and your game.
Cross-training is a highly recommended way to prevent injury, regardless of your primary form of exercise. Training and working the same muscle groups repetitively can cause them to wear down over time. Cross-training, which involves performing a variety of exercises like biking, swimming, group classes, weight training, walking, yoga and Pilates, is a great way to mix up your workouts. This variation also helps avoid boredom and enhances motivation. In addition, proper warm-up and cool-down stretches are extremely important. Dynamic stretches, like walking lunges, jumping jacks or high knee lifts, are active movements that engage and move the joints through their full range of motion, helping to warm up the body and improve flexibility. On the other hand, static stretches, such as hamstring, calf or quadriceps stretches, involve holding a single position for an extended period to lengthen muscles and reduce stiffness.
The benefits of exercise are well documented, and with the right precautions, you can set yourself up for success in the New Year and stay on track with your resolutions. Here’s to a healthy, injury-free start to the New Year! PJC
*As always, consult your physician if you have any concerns about starting a new exercise program.
Scott Rosen, PT, DPT is the clinic director of PT@JCC, the Jewish Association on Aging’s outpatient physical therapy clinic located at the JCC in Squirrel Hill.
Headlines
East End Food Co-op member shocked by anti-Israel experience at store
By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
If Michelle Dresbold was surprised by a recent interaction she and a friend had with an employee of the East End Food Co-op, she was left dumbfounded the following day when she reported what happened to the store’s management.
The incidents were preceded by months of concern regarding the co-op’s stance on Israel.
A member of the co-op for more than 15 years, Dresbold, who is Jewish, became apprehensive about continuing to support the co-op beginning in September, when she heard about the efforts of UE Local 667 — the union which represents the store’s employees — to force the co-op to divest from Israel, and more recent contentious board meetings focused on the issue.
She wrote the store’s management an email voicing her disapproval of the union’s efforts.
“I wanted to make sure that I’d be comfortable and not intimidated when I shopped there,” Dresbold said.
She received a reply she characterized as “almost like a form letter.”
“They basically said, ‘We can’t help what people outside of the co-op say in a meeting,’ but they assured me I would be comfortable there, that it was apolitical and I wouldn’t have any reasons to feel intimidated,” she said.
That was enough for Dresbold, and she visited the store in December with her friend Jim Laser, who was in town for a visit.
The employee waiting on them as they checked out their groceries wore a keffiyeh and a pin that read “Labor for Palestine.” Laser, who isn’t Jewish, didn’t appreciate the message being communicated to customers and told that to the employee. Dresbold quickly agreed.
“The worker said, ‘Well, they just bombed a hospital in Gaza,’” Dresbold said. “I said, ‘Look, if they didn’t build it over tunnels or command centers then they wouldn’t be bombed.’”
Laser rebutted the employee’s claims with “remember Oct. 7,” before Dresbold urged the employee to learn the whole story before commenting on the situation.
“It was a 15- or 20-second interaction,” Laser recalled. “But we did express our dismay at the pin she was wearing, and she was quite ready to respond.”
The next day Dresbold returned to the store to report the interaction to the co-op’s management.
that she wouldn’t feel intimidated or uncomfortable.
“He said, ‘Well, we don’t have a dress code here. We can’t tell people what they can or can’t wear.’ I said, ‘Are you telling me if tellers started wearing Trump or MAGA hats and people said they were uncomfortable you wouldn’t tell them to take off their hats?’”
The manager, she said, stumbled through an answer.
“I told him if people want to support terrorists on their own time that’s fine, but I don’t want to be confronted with it when shopping,” she recalled.
As she was talking to the manager, a nearby employee stared at her, she said.
“He said, ‘Terrorists? What are you saying, “terrorists”? They’re killing babies,’” Dresbold recalled.
She ignored the employee’s statement. The manager did not offer to speak with the clerk or ask the employee next to him to leave during his conversation with Dresbold. Instead, he asked Dresbold if she wanted to revoke her membership in the co-op, Dresbold said.
She replied that she didn’t want to be a member of a co-op that made her feel uncomfortable when she shopped.
That’s when the employee standing next
said.
She recounted the experience to several friends, who then contacted the co-op about the incident.
A representative of the co-op eventually reached out to her.
“She said that she was horrified and that the reason she worked there was because it was supposed to be an inclusive atmosphere,” Dresbold said. “I did speak with the manager, as well, who is supposed to call me back.”
Tyler Kulp, East End Food Co-op general manager, said in an email to the Chronicle that he couldn’t discuss any interaction he or management had with the employee about the event because it was a personnel issue. He confirmed that the store has no formal dress code but does have a personal appearance policy.
The co-op, he said, maintains an immersive training program, which informs workers of best practices regarding customer service, and employees are encouraged to be helpful and respectful. But, he added, there are instances where “human nature causes unfortunate impersonal interactions.”
“Management attempts to stay apprised of all activity in the store, good or bad, and works to ensure that all customers
While the board and management of the co-op are aware of members canceling their membership — both those who are disturbed by the union’s attempt to force the store to divest from Israel and those disappointed that the co-op continues to carry products from the Jewish state — he said the store doesn’t take an official stance on international conflicts.
“Our mission is to serve the local community, regardless of identity or affiliation,” he said. “The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been considered by the board and management and while we find violence and suffering reprehensible, as a business EEFC has purposely refrained from supporting or denouncing requests to boycott Israeli products.”
For Dresbold, the damage has been done. She plans to cancel her membership.
Asked what it would take for her to come back, Dresbold was clear.
“First, I want the guy who swore at me and said that horrible thing, fired. Second, there would have to be some kind of learning program so these people are deprogrammed. And I won’t come back if people are wearing those buttons,” she said. “I just won’t do it.” PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@
p East End Food Co-op
Photo by David Rullo
Headlines
Jewish groups pushed Meta to crack down on hate speech. Now, the company is reversing course.
“On the other side of the clouds is a bright blue sky.”
“In an online environment already rife with hostility, reducing protections and clear guidelines will open the floodgates to content that fuels real-world threats, including violent acts targeting Jewish communities,” said Yfat Barak-Cheney, executive director of the organization’s Technology and Human Rights Institute.
The debate of how to police misinformation is a matter of enormous consequence for Jews given that studies show a strong link between the spread of conspiracy theories and antisemitic attitudes.
“This change means one thing, very in line with the trend of both the quantity and quality of content that we have seen on X since Musk acquired Twitter — more hate speech, more politicized content, more silos and less effective responses from the platforms,” Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor, who heads the Israel-based CyberWell, said in a statement.
“This change particularly undermines the safety of all marginalized communities, including the Jewish community which is currently experiencing one of the worst onslaughts of widespread Jew-hatred in both online and offline spaces,” Montemayor added.
able over removing them entirely.
“We want to undo the mission creep that has made our rules too restrictive and too prone to over-enforcement,” the company said in its announcement. “We’re getting rid of a number of restrictions on topics like immigration, gender identity and gender that are the subject of frequent political discourse and debate. It’s not right that things can be said on TV or the floor of Congress, but not on our platforms.”
The changes could significantly affect what users see on social media. Last year, Meta’s automated systems detected approximately 95% of hate speech violations on Facebook and 98% on Instagram, according to data self-reported by the company. Millions of posts were removed as a result.
That was a positive sign for advocates who have battled the proliferation of antisemitism and other hate speech online. Meta has historically invited outside input when faced with content questions, and Jewish groups, such as the ADL, the World Jewish Congress and a nonprofit focused on online antisemitism called CyberWell, have lobbied the company for years hoping to rein in online antisemitism.
Now, those groups are balking at the social media giant’s retreat from policing the content on its platforms, which it announced after a six-week post-election policy overhaul reportedly conducted by Zuckerberg and just a handful of confidantes.
The World Jewish Congress, for example, criticized Meta’s new reliance on user-generated “community notes” to combat misinformation, arguing that it shifts the burden of addressing hate speech onto marginalized groups.
Soon after Meta announced the policy shift — first in an Instagram Reel by Zuckerberg, then in a Fox & Friends appearance by Joel Kaplan, a Republican operative who has long worked for Meta and was recently named president of global affairs — leaked training materials surfaced with examples of derogatory statements that will now be permitted on the company’s platforms.
The materials, obtained by the leftwing news organization The Intercept and not disputed by Meta, include antisemitic examples, such as “Jews are flat out greedier than Christians.” Other examples of permitted hate speech target other groups, with statements like “Gays are freaks!” and “Immigrants are grubby, filthy pieces of shit.”
Some hateful statements about Jews remain prohibited under the new policy. For instance, content moderators are instructed to remove comments such as “Jewish women are slutty” under guidelines addressing “insults about sexual immorality.” Similarly, Meta’s rules continue to ban the use of certain curse words directed at protected groups; for example, “Ugh, the f-----g Jews are at it again” would not be allowed.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request about the fate of the ban on using “Zionist” as a proxy for Jews and Israel in hate speech.
The company also did not signal any changes to its ban on Holocaust denial in its announcement, and the leaked materials also did not address the ban, which Zuckerberg announced in 2020, reversing a previous position under pressure from Jewish groups. Some education and advocacy groups say automatic detection of hate content has ensnared their efforts to create educational content about the Holocaust; nearly all “algorithmic overreach” of that nature would be a thing of the past under Meta’s new approach. PJC
p Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, left, and Joel Kaplan, named in January 2025 as Meta’s president of global affairs, descend a staircase after leaving a meeting with a Republican senator in Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2019.
Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Headlines
Warsaw Ghetto memorial defaced with anti-Israel graffiti
A memorial to Jews deported from the Warsaw Ghetto was defaced with graffiti appearing to equate the Holocaust with the war in Gaza, JTA reported.
The graffiti makes Warsaw’s Umschlagplatz memorial the latest of a string of Holocaust monuments to be vandalized with anti-Israel messages.
The marble structure commemorates the spot where hundreds of thousands of Jews were assembled before being deported to concentration camps in 1942 and 1943.
The red graffiti says, “Warsaw 1943 = Gaza 2025,” and was written beneath a quote from the biblical book of Job in Hebrew, Yiddish and Polish reading, “Earth, do not cover my blood; let there be no resting place for my outcry.”
The graffiti echoes the claim made by pro-Palestinian activists that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza constitutes a genocide, an accusation Israel vigorously denies. On Jan. 7, Yacov Livne, Israel’s ambassador in Poland, decried the graffiti.
“Shameful vandalism at Warsaw’s memorial for 300,000 (!) Jews deported to Treblinka,” he wrote on Jan. 7. “Poland has a special responsibility to protect Jewish & Holocaust sites; hold vandals accountable.”
Since Hamas launched the war with its attack on Oct. 7, 2023, Holocaust memorials or museums in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and elsewhere have been defaced with graffiti protesting Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Jews were targeted by the majority of hate crimes in NYC last year, NYPD says
Jews were the target of the majority of hate crimes in New York City last year, according to statistics reported Jan. 6 by the NYPD and published by JTA.
Data compiled by the department showed that there were 345 anti-Jewish hate crimes across the city in 2024, nearly 54% of the 641 total hate crimes tallied. The next-largest category of hate crimes were those related to sexual orientation, at 78.
The number of antisemitic hate crimes in 2024 was slightly larger than in 2023, when police recorded 323 total anti-Jewish crimes. That year’s total was driven by a recorded surge in antisemitism following Hamas’ invasion of Israel and the outbreak of the Gaza war on Oct. 7 of that year. The increase in antisemitism year over year comes as the total number of hate crimes in the city decreased slightly from 2023 to 2024.
High-profile antisemitic incidents occurred last year across New York, which has the largest Jewish population in the country. They ranged from graffiti on the home of the director of the
Today in Israeli History
Jan. 20, 2014 — Israel, Kazakhstan sign defense pact
Brooklyn Museum to a protest outside an exhibit commemorating the Oct. 7 Nova music festival massacre to an anti-Israel protester accused of threatening “Zionists” in a subway car.
On Jan. 6, protesters outside NYU’s Tisch Hospital chanted “We don’t want no Zionists here,” which Borough President Mark Levine called “Clear antisemitism.”
The NYPD data reflect preliminary figures and are subject to change. Not every recorded hate crime leads to an arrest or prosecution.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, French farright leader who was convicted of Holocaust denial, dies at 96
Jean-Marie Le Pen, the far-right French leader who espoused racist and antisemitic rhetoric and was convicted of Holocaust denial, has died at 96, JTA reported.
His death was announced on social media by Jordan Bardella, a leader of the party Le Pen founded. “Enlisted in the uniform of the French army in Indochina and Algeria, tribune of the people in the National Assembly and the European Parliament, he always served France, defended its identity and its sovereignty,” Bardella wrote.
Le Pen was born in 1928 in Brittany, France, and entered politics following activism as a student. In 1972, he founded the National Front party, a coalition of extremist groups that steadily accumulated support with its anti-immigrant agenda.
Another co-founder had served in the Nazi Waffen-SS.
Le Pen ran unsuccessfully for president five times. In 2002, his penultimate campaign, he came in second to Jacques Chirac, advancing to a runoff but receiving less than one-fifth of the vote as the French mainstream united behind Chirac.
Through it all, Le Pen espoused racist and antisemitic rhetoric that landed him in legal trouble in France, where Holocaust denial is illegal. In 1987, he was convicted of denying the Holocaust after saying — and refusing to disavow saying — that the Nazi gas chambers were “just a detail” in history.
It was his first conviction but not his last, which came after he was charged in 2017 with inciting hatred over having said about a Jewish singer who criticized the National Front party, “Next time we will put him in the oven.”
His daughter, Marine Le Pen, was elected the party’s leader in 2011, directly succeeding her father. She sought to moderate the image of the party, renamed National Rally, and denounced her father’s antisemitism.
Jean-Marie Le Pen was ejected from the party he founded in 2015 following the oven comments, sparking a divide among its supporters between those who favored his extremist rhetoric and those who preferred a more temperate approach. PJC
— Compiled by Jarrad Saffren
Items are provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.
Jan. 17, 1930 — High commissioner calls for end of Jewish home
Sir John Chancellor, the British high commissioner, sends a 90-page dispatch to the Colonial Office that enumerates Arab grievances and urges an end to efforts to establish a Jewish national home in Palestine.
Jan. 18, 1991 — Iraqi Scuds strike Israel
The morning after U.S.-led allied forces launch airstrikes on Iraq at the start of the Persian Gulf War, eight Iraqi Scud missiles hit Israel. Seven people are wounded, and residential buildings are damaged in Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Israel signs a security cooperation accord with Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic with a Sunni Muslim majority, building on two decades of pacts covering telecommunications, technology and science.
Jan. 21, 1968 — Merger forms Israeli Labor Party
Mapai, the dominant political party during Israel’s first two decades, joins with two smaller left-leaning parties, Ahdut Ha’avoda and Rafi, to form the Labor Party at a conference chaired by Mapai’s Golda Meir.
Jan. 22, 1979 — Munich mastermind is killed
Ali Hassan Salameh, the chief of operations for the terrorist group Black September, is killed by a Mossad car bomb in Beirut in revenge for the killing of 11 Israeli Olympians in Munich in 1972.
Jan. 19, 2010 — Hamas military leader is assassinated
Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas military commander, is suffocated in his hotel room shortly after arriving in Dubai. A police report blames a “professional criminal gang.” The Mossad is suspected.
Jan. 23, 1922 — Nazi-hunter Tuviah Friedman is born Tuviah Samuel Friedman, a Holocaust survivor and Nazi-hunter involved in the search for Adolf Eichmann, is born in Poland. He works with the Haganah in searching for Nazis across E urope after World War II. PJC
p Tuviah Friedman is shown with nephew Amir Kangun in Vienna in 1950 during his Nazihunting days with the Haganah.
p The chief IDF spokesman, Nachman Shai, briefs reporters in Israel about tensions with Iraq in 1991. Courtesy of Nachman Shai
Headlines
Event:
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with the university’s name on it doused in red paint, a hand-lettered sign reading “Pitt Divest from Israel Stop the Genocide,” and a banner hung from a bridge with the claim “Your tax$$$ killed 22,000 people in Gaza stop the genocide.”
Laura Cherner, director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Community Relations Council, said she was disappointed by what occurred following the event.
“Unfortunately, the program was undermined by a group who disrupted the speakers and then passed out a flyer filled with hate and misinformation to potentially over 100 members of the audience,” she said. “The content of the flyer is counter to the message of the presenters, which is about peace-building and a cooperative path forward between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Buttressing Cherner’s point were interviews conducted by the Chronicle with Abu Sarah and Inon before the event.
Inon’s parents were murdered in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel. His mother was burnt so badly, he recounted in an April 2024 TedTalk with Abu Sarah, that she couldn’t be identified.
A longtime supporter of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Inon worked to further that goal through tourism before Hamas’ attack. Since then, he said, he has been joined by many Israelis and Palestinians who envision a peaceful future.
“We are representing the Israeli-Palestinian
Medal:
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in Squirrel Hill, attended the ceremony. “That was special to me,” Evan Wolfson said. “Their enthusiasm was very touching.”
Wolfson began his trailblazing work in 1983, asserting in his Harvard Law School thesis that marriage is a human right guaranteed by the Constitution to all, including same-sex couples.
The impetus came in large part from his two-year stint with the Peace Corps in West Africa after graduation from Yale College. As an American, he said, he realized that some of the men with whom he was involved — because they lived in a society where being gay was forbidden — lacked the same freedom to fulfill their sexual identity as he would upon returning home.
peace movement, and we are supporting each other and working together to build a better future for both people,” he said.
Like Inon, Abu Sarah has long been a proponent of peace after experiencing personal tragedy.
Abu Sarah said that when he was 9 years old, his older brother Tayseer was arrested on suspicion of stone throwing and detained by the Israel Defense Forces for nearly a year. He died from internal injuries a few weeks after being released from custody. It took years for Abu
While neither Abu Sarah nor Inon support the BDS movement in broad terms, they both support some sanctioning of Israel or Israelis.
“I’m afraid that a total BDS against the entire state of Israel will only make the people of Israel feel threatened around the world,” Inon said. “What we are suggesting is sanction only those who believe in Jewish supremacy.”
Abu Sarah noted that he owns a business in Jerusalem with a Jewish friend that employs both Israelis and Palestinians.
“The person who runs my office, our
“We must amplify and legitimize the dream of peace and full reconciliation.”
MAOZ INON
Sarah to recover from his brother’s loss and to begin working toward peace in the region.
“I started meeting Israelis when I was 18, who I realized were not on opposite sides, that we had much more in common than against each other and that we can fight for the same thing — we can fight for mutual dignity, mutual peace, mutual recognition and mutual safety and security for all of us,” he said.
It’s important to amplify voices of peace, Abu Sarah said, noting that there are many organizations working for peace in the region.
company, is an Israeli,” he said. “I don’t look at all boycotts the same. I think some boycotts make sense. … I would support boycotting military stuff, military things that break international law. So, it depends what the boycott is and where the focus of it is. I don’t think a boycott is the best way to solve an issue.”
The pair spoke at a Combatants for Peace event at Carnegie Mellon University a few years ago and participated in NetRoots Nation, an organization that provides training, resources and connection opportunities for progressive
While the intent of the program was to find “common ground,” according to the mayor’s office, that message was lost on many due to the events following the talk. However, even before the program began, some questioned the apparent exclusion of Jewish community groups in planning the event.
The Federation “would have liked to have been involved in the planning process,” Cherner said.
Listed sponsors included the University of Pittsburgh’s Jewish Studies Program, 1Hood Media and Carnegie Mellon University’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Despite the controversy, both Abu Sarah and Inon hoped that people would leave their conversation optimistic that peace is possible.
“I want people to dream because dreams are where you change humanity,” Inon said. “Starting with Abraham — the common father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam — to Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi, they all had a dream. I’m asking and suggesting people start dreaming of a better future and then act to make that dream a reality. We have a roadmap. It has to happen. We must amplify and legitimize the dream of peace and full reconciliation. We must change from the tools of destruction to the tools of construction and create the political will to make peace.”
PJC
“They didn’t have the structure, permission or even the language to choose the path I would follow when I got back to the U. S.,” he said. Wolfson also was inspired by John Boswell’s “Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality,” a book that he said changed his life.
“I wrapped it in a fake cover and read it while visiting my grandparents in Florida,” he recalled. “It’s about the first thousand years of civilization and how gay people have been treated. There were periods of much more acceptance and of much less acceptance.
“It made me realize that, if things had been different once, they could be different again, and so when I was writing my thesis I wanted to write about what could be made better.”
When he launched his fight, in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan was president, the Moral Majority was establishing the religious right and HIV/AIDS had become an epidemic.
The next several decades were a constant battle for marriage equality, “and not just to change the hearts and minds of a larger society,” Wolfson said, “but to persuade people within our own community that it was something worth fighting for and that we could win.”
Wolfson founded Freedom to Marry in 2003. His book “Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People’s Right to Marry” was published in 2004, the same year that Time magazine named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people.
Wolfson and his allies built state-level campaigns based on public education and political organizing, creating a climate for legal arguments to win. By 2015, polls indicated that most Americans approved of same-sex unions, and 36 states, the District of Columbia and Guam had established marriage equality by court ruling, statute or voter initiative.
The Supreme Court’s 5-4 landmark decision
in Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Wolfson said he never doubted that the movement would succeed — “that we can rise and trust others to rise to fairness” — and while he knew that it would take a long time, “time seems shorter when you are young; in law school, 10 years is a long time.”
He remained tenacious, strategic and optimistic, he said, stressing that “hope is a key element of successful activism.”
Wolfson was born in Brooklyn and moved to Pittsburgh with his family when he was a toddler. He became a bar mitzvah at Tree of Life Congregation and graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in 1974. His brother lives in the house where he grew up and his sister Alison lives nearby.
“I come to Pittsburgh often,” he said. “Last year I went to my 50th high school reunion and I’ve been reconnecting with friends. They’ve
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
been sending me texts and messages about the award, and started a listserv.”
Wolfson said he knew in high school that he “wanted to make a difference and “accomplish something big…although I didn’t know what path I would take.”
He was secretary-general of the Western Pennsylvania Student United Nations, studied history, read biographies and worked to become a Senate aide, eventually interning for then-Sen. Joe Biden in the mid-1970s.
Although Wolfson was interested in getting into politics, he said. “I knew I was gay and maybe an electoral path wasn’t likely.”
He recognized that there were other ways of effecting change.
“We all have a voice and can make a difference,” he said.
Wolfson travels the world lending his expertise to a diversity of movements.
He is currently co-authoring a book with his best friend, William Treanor, dean of the Georgetown University Law Center, about a formative road trip the pair took through the South decades ago, “when we were each on the cusp of being who we would become,” he said.
The writing began as a mostly humorous look-back and has evolved into a reflection on how what they saw changed the course of their lives.
They were both at a crossroads, with Treanor considering leaving law school, and Wolfson wondering whether to stick with activism, and the trip inspired them to decide, Wolfson said.
“Bill became a leading academic and successful dean at two great law schools. I went on to lead the decades-long campaign that won the freedom to marry.”
PJC
Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.
p Evan Wolfson (to the right of Joe Biden) along with his extended family at the Citizens Medal ceremony Photo courtesy of Evan Wolfson
Headlines
Film:
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range of genres from classical to cabaret to klezmer, with a smattering of traditional prayer melodies, to set scenes, guide the audience’s emotions, and help to distinguish characters, Sosin said,
“Music, in a sense, becomes the dialogue in a silent film. It enhances and complements what we are seeing on the screen.”
There is a great range of how klezmer can sound, said Svigals.
It is ideal for scenes that take place in the world of the shtetl “because it is the soundtrack of lifecycle events,” she said, noting that her accompaniment to “wrenching” scenes of Jews being expelled is “cantorial…a keening and wailing.”
Sosin is one of few silent film pianists in the world.
“We try to be very respectful of the film,” he said. “When I am composing I am thinking, ‘What would I be doing if the director were standing over my shoulder?’”
The goal isn’t to write a great score, but
Gorkins:
Continued from page 19
Rabbi Yisrael Altein, co-director of Chabad of Squirrel Hill, praised the Gorkins for their work and said the young couple is “enriching the lives” of local Jewish residents.
While Yehuda Gorkin has focused on directing programs for older adults, Nechama Gorkin spent the past two summers overseeing Camp Gan Israel of Squirrel Hill.
Though the program operates merely six weeks in the summer, managing camprelated affairs is a yearlong endeavor. From the moment the last session ends, plans are already underway on how to “make next year even better,” she said.
The joy of water balloon fights and tie-dying activities are somewhat difficult to imagine with Squirrel Hill currently blanketed in snow, but Nechama Gorkin is focused on warmer days and bolstering community youth.
“We’ve already almost finalized our summer calendar,” she said. Once that’s complete, “it’s about hand-picking each
to enhance and complement what is happening on screen, he said. “The best compliment we can receive from an audience member is, ‘I forgot you were even playing.’”
special relevance with audiences today, Sosin said.
“It was really prescient, and has a lot of depth in terms of emotional and thematic content.”
“Our hope is that there will be a take-away — an action step or a change of mind — that will affect how people move through the world and see the world.”
―EMILY LOEB
The idea, Svigals said, “is to work on the listener unconsciously and meld completely with the film itself.”
Sosin and Svigals collaborated on “City without Jews” during the pandemic, and began touring shortly after.
The rise in antisemitism, including attacks on college campuses, and hate directed at other minority groups gives the film
The film’s depiction of the rise of a demagogue has a chilling, timely resonance, Svigals said. “He whips up nationalist fervor for political gain: ‘Let’s deport them all!’ These things are cyclical realities of history and maybe in a 100-year cycle we’re back to that place.”
She notes that the author of the book on which the film was based was murdered by a
one of our staff.”
Potential hires come from as far as the Gorkins can imagine.
“Chabad is an international network,” she said. “We look all over the world to see who are the counselors who are going
Nazi sympathizer and the Nazis banned and destroyed copies of the film.
Sosin said he and Svigals will talk with the audience as part of the program. The concert will be introduced by Randall Halle, the Klaus W. Jonas professor of German film and cultural studies, and director of the European Studies Center at Pitt.
Emily Loeb, Holocaust Center director of programs and education, and a granddaughter of Holocaust victims, expects the cine-concert to be an inspirational experience.
“Our hope is that there will be a takeaway — an action step or a change of mind — that will affect how people move through the world and see the world,” she said.
“We are trying to teach about resilience and what it means to stand up to something that isn’t right. We’re hoping this program will teach that.”
Registration is available at eventbrite. com/e/the-city-without-jews-cine-concerttickets-1110448795239. PJC
Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.
to come and give the kids an unforgettable summer.”
The Gorkins, who are the parents of two children, plan to leverage their talents and create programs between Pittsburgh’s oldest and youngest community members. In the meantime, they will continue promoting Jewish engagement while finding meaning in the process.
In Hebrew, the word zaken has a “dual association,” Yehuda Gorkin said. “We typically think of it as ‘old,’ but the truth is zaken is also used to mean ‘the wise ones.’”
Whether it’s during formal classes or regular meet-ups, “I get to glean a lot from the wisdom of the seniors,” he continued. “And that’s really wonderful.”
Walking through the neighborhood it’s clear that both the residents and surroundings enhance the “Jewish richness of Squirrel Hill,” Nechama Gorkin said. “The takeaway is that we have a wonderful community here and we want to continue to grow those connections.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
p Rabbi Yehuda Gorkin, center, visits a resident at Imperial House.
Photo courtesy of Rabbi Yehuda Gorkin
The ‘deal’ would be a win for Hamas, Biden and Trump, but not for Israel
Reaching a deal with Hamas just a few days before the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House? The timing is indeed interesting as we all recall Trump’s hawkish rhetoric against Hamas: “… if those hostages aren’t released by the time I get office there will be hell to pay.”
And again:
“I don’t think I have to get into it… But it won’t be the word ‘don’t,’ you know,” referring to the warning made by President Joe Biden on Oct. 10, 2023, in a speech pledging support for Israel in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 atrocities.
However, the new “deal” doesn’t seem to have much new if compared to the previous one supported by the Biden administration, which is still up and running until Jan. 20 — let’s keep that well in mind.
Considering that both Biden and Trump are supporting this deal, and that over the last two weeks Brett McGurk, Biden’s lead hostage negotiator, has been living in Doha, Qatar, to work on the negotiation, it’s difficult to perceive any difference in position between Trump and Biden.
Many hoped that the incoming Trump administration would adopt an entirely different approach and stronger policies, basically removing the “handcuffs” on Israel, enabling the IDF to eradicate Hamas in Gaza if all hostages are not immediately and unconditionally released. Hamas should be the only one to be strongly pressured, and
in releasing all the hostages, because they are the only leverage the terrorist organization has against Israel — its life insurance. The release process will go on for months, maybe years and, in the meantime, Hamas will ask for guarantees regarding its permanence and political role in Gaza. Agreeing to this would imply handing over to Hamas a half victory
Negotiations incentivize terrorists to repeat the atrocities committed, perhaps raising the stakes, aware of the fact that the strategy is functional to their objectives and their cause.
there are many ways to do this.
However, the situation seems to be quite different. Israel is once again being pressured by the United States to implement a catastrophic agreement with a terrorist entity that should have been eradicated long ago. Hamas is torn to pieces but still active in Gaza and this would be the right time to finish the job, once and for all. The hostages should all be released at the same time and unconditionally. No release of Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons.
Let’s not be naïve: Hamas has no interest
that the terrorists would immediately claim as the result of inflexible resistance. After all, isn’t that what Hezbollah did after being torn into pieces by the Israeli military campaign in Lebanon? Unfortunately, in Hamas’ case it would objectively be a positive outcome for the terrorist organization.
In addition, did the Israeli soldiers who died in Gaza fighting the terrorists deserve this? They lost their lives to eradicate Hamas.
Hamas wants to be sure that it will remain in power in Gaza, that Israel will leave the Strip and that the remaining leaders will not
be hunted down. Indeed, Israel cannot afford any of these options because it would mean handing the victory over to Hamas.
Negotiations incentivize terrorists to repeat the atrocities committed, perhaps raising the stakes, aware of the fact that the strategy is functional to their objectives and their cause. Moreover, negotiating allows the terrorist organization to acquire political legitimacy, elevating it to a legitimate interlocutor, both at a national and international level.
The agreement is being supported by Trump to convey the idea that Hamas, worried about his arrival, has decided to free the hostages. However, the real situation is different. The agreement is advantageous for Hamas and disadvantageous for Israel and the pressure seems more marked on Israel. This is surely not what we would have expected. PJC
Giovanni Giacalone is a senior analyst in Islamist extremism and terrorism at the Italian Team for Security, Terroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies-Catholic University of Milan and at the Europe desk for the UK-based think tank Islamic Theology of Counter-Terrorism; a researcher for Centro Studi Machiavelli; and the coordinator for the Latin America group at the International Institute for the Study of Security. This article first appeared on The Times of Israel.
‘Just things’ — like what my LA neighbors have lost — are what makes houses into Jewish homes
The antique silver menorah. The shabbos candlesticks. The tiny tefillin set. The last remnants from Europe that my grandparents, all Holocaust survivors, managed to shlep to America. And I need to get them out of my house. Right now.
I had this thought during a moment, earlier this week, when the Palisades Fire raced unchecked in all directions, including south toward my Santa Monica home. I threw a few documents, clothes and photo albums in a pile on the living room floor, and on top of those I placed these Jewish family heirlooms in a Trader Joe’s paper bag. I haven’t needed to evacuate my home. The fire’s southern trajectory has slowed. As I write this, I have not yet unpacked my Judaica-filled go-bag (just in case), but I know I am inordinately lucky. As I learn of each new devastation that continues to ravage the Los Angeles area, including my Pacific Palisades synagogue community where at least 300 Jewish families saw their homes consumed by fire, I cannot begin to fathom all they have lost. Every home taken by fires, no matter the
family’s cultural background, contained a lifetime of memories and artifacts. “They’re just things,” these stunned, newly homeless people are told. “They’re just things,” they repeat to themselves with dismay. Nearly all of these things are, in theory, replaceable. It’s the remembering, in the heat of the moment, which rarefied objects are actually irreplaceable, that understandably eludes so many.
Acquiring these Judaica pieces was an act of faith that they would once again build a Jewish home.
I watched on social media as synagogues offered evidence of Torahs being retrieved from their arks (these, modeled after the famously transportable original) and hustled to safety outside the fire zone. I then saw my favorite Los Angeles rabbi, Kehillat Israel emeritus Rabbi Stephen Carr Reuben,
Every home taken by fires, no matter the family’s cultural background, contained a lifetime of memories and artifacts.
We Jews tend to treasure the contents of our Judaica cabinets. I suspect, if given just one more moment to think with a clear head, Jewish evacuees would sweep the contents of these cabinets into a bag. Whether passeddown heirlooms or recently acquired, the presence of these Jewish objects has long represented the portable home of a people on the move. When we unpack them and put them on display, we have consecrated and transformed a space into a Jewish home. My grandparents obtained the menorah, the candlesticks and the tefillin after the war when they were, in effect, homeless.
bereft and shaken, sharing with the world his regret that he grabbed documents and clothes when the evacuation order came to his Palisades home. Not the family artifacts he wished he had, if he’d understood that he’d never return, that there’d be nothing to return to. “If you ever get told to evacuate, don’t do what I did,” he said. “Think ‘forever.’ What are the things that really matter?” Few of the evacuees who lost their homes understood they were leaving forever.
Tova Fagan, a Malibu resident who lost her home in the fire, shared on Instagram her grief at leaving behind her mother’s
menorah and Shabbat candlesticks when she was forced to leave. Friends found her an identical menorah, but she commented that her son was eager to sift through the char and ashes to see if the original was perhaps spared.
The Jewish grief over these lost objects is a lasting one. Aimee Miculka lost her home to a fire in Colorado in 2021. She told me how, in her rush to evacuate, she “yanked her ketubah down on the way out the door.” But watching news of the Los Angeles fires compelled her to post about the despair she still feels about what she left behind: her grandmother’s Shabbat candlesticks and the shofar she kept since childhood. “Those are the things I wish I had time to grab.”
Fortunate Angelenos want to do everything they can to help forlorn neighbors rebuild. Finding them shelter is priority number one. Down the road, I will be thinking about how we, as an L.A. Jewish community, can support those among us who are starting over to fill their new spaces with the meaningful Jewish objects that make a house, well, heimish PJC
Rachel Steinhardt covered technology and Jewish topics as a journalist for over a decade and now leads a corporate research team. She runs the Instagram account @yidlitkidlet where she shares Jewish children’s books and kid-friendly Yiddishkeit. This article first appeared on JTA.
Chronicle poll results: Social media
Last week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “How many social media accounts do you have?” Of the 178 people who responded, 21% said none; 26% said 1; 25% said 2; 13% said 3; and 15% said 4 or more. Comments were submitted by 41 people. A few follow.
I quit using social media last year because I believe it is causing many people to have a distorted perception of reality and is actively responsible for destroying the fabric of our society.
I only really use Facebook (although I have Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok), but the removal of fact-checking may encourage me to research Bluesky.
Dropped Twitter for Threads. Now leaving Threads for Bluesky. Hope this one sticks.
I’m only on Mastodon (Fediverse), where there is no algorithm and no company trying to profit by manipulating people. I’m on a server run by and for Jews and it’s great!
How many social media accounts do you have?
This is what the internet should be: people connecting directly with people. Facebook, Twitter and their ilk do not have your best interests at heart; avoid them.
Some accounts I have just so I can read important posts from others when they come through, or to be able to post to help others with what they are doing. I only use a couple accounts actively.
Just one, and that’s one too many.
Facebook and Instagram. I drew the generational line at TikTok.
I use Facebook every day and rarely any others.
I gave that up a long time ago as it was too time-consuming.
Social media can be a blessing and a curse. Used excessively, especially by kids, especially without adult supervision, it’s too often the latter.
It should be called anti-social media.
It’s a pain but it’s the only way to keep in touch with friends here and around the world.
Joseph Aoun and the new Middle East:
I have a Facebook and an Instagram account. However, I don’t pay much attention to either one. I’m 71, so I did not grow up with putting everything about my personal life on social media.
While I have accounts, I rarely log in and haven’t posted anything for at least 10 years, which is when I learned if there is a free service you are the product.
I deliberately chose to avoid social media right at the outset. Sorry to be missing out on connections to old friends, but, especially these days, am happy not being exposed to so much hate and misinformation. My friends can’t break the addiction no matter how unhappy it makes them.
None, and I mean to keep it that way for mental health reasons. PJC
Compiled by Toby Tabachnick
Chronicle weekly poll question: Will you watch the presidential inauguration? Go to pittsburghjewishchronicle.org to respond. PJC
Lebanon
at a pivotal moment
Guest Columnist
The election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanon’s new president marks a significant development for a country long mired in political paralysis and sectarian tensions. For two years, Lebanon’s parliament was unable to elect a president, largely due to Hezbollah’s influence, which blocked any candidate it opposed. However, Hezbollah’s weakening grip has allowed this breakthrough — an event that reflects broader regional shifts and could signal a turning point for Lebanon’s future.
A regional realignment
The weakening of Hezbollah is emblematic of a larger decline in Iranian influence across the Middle East. Once a dominant proxy force for Tehran, Hezbollah has been diminished by Israeli military actions and internal dissatisfaction among Lebanon’s Shi’ite population. Reports suggest that Israel has effectively destroyed much of Hezbollah’s operational capacity, leaving the group “a mere shadow” of its former self. This shift has reshaped Lebanon’s political landscape, enabling a coalition of Lebanese leaders, supported by international and regional actors — including the United States, Gulf nations and, quietly, Israel — to elect a president who might help stabilize the country.
Iran is increasingly isolated, with its radar systems reportedly destroyed by Israel, leaving it vulnerable to further attacks. Meanwhile, in Yemen, Iranian-backed forces face ongoing setbacks, further eroding Tehran’s regional influence.
The Syrian factor Lebanon’s stability is also tied to developments in neighboring Syria, where the ousting of Bashar al-Assad and the rise of radical Sunni Islamist leader Ahmed al-Sharaa introduce new uncertainties. Al-Sharaa’s approach to consolidating power — whether through gradual Islamization or rapid transformation — could have profound implications for Lebanon. If his forces act too quickly to establish an Islamist state, they risk sparking resistance from “Arab moderates,” Israel and possibly the United States. On the other hand, a slower approach might allow Syria to stabilize, giving Lebanon breathing room to address its internal divisions. However, the situation remains volatile.
Reports of sectarian violence in Syria, including atrocities committed against Alawites, Christians and Shi’ites, highlight the risks of spillover into Lebanon. If al-Sharaa’s Syria aligns with Lebanon’s Sunni communities, this could exacerbate tensions and potentially lead to conflict with Lebanon’s Shi’ite factions, including what remains of Hezbollah.
Opportunities for Lebanon
Against this backdrop, Joseph Aoun’s presidency represents an opportunity to unify L ebanon and strengthen its sovereignty. International actors appear willing to support his leadership, with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein recently meeting Lebanese Shi’ite leader Nabih Berri to discuss empowering Lebanon’s national army as the sole security force in the country’s south. This marks a significant departure from past arrangements, where Hezbollah operated with impunity in these areas, undermining state authority.
Israel’s insistence on disarming all armed groups south of the Litani River aligns with this vision. While past efforts to enforce such resolutions failed due to Hezbollah’s dominance,
the group’s current weakness creates a more favorable environment for implementation.
Challenges ahead
Despite these positive developments, Lebanon’s path forward is fraught with challenges. The country’s sectarian divisions, economic collapse, and the potential for renewed Sunni-Shi’ite conflict remain significant obstacles. Al-Sharaa’s ambitions in the Levant, coupled with Turkish support for Lebanon’s Sunni factions, add another layer of complexity. If these dynamics lead to a broader regional conflict, Lebanon could once again find itself on the frontlines.
Lebanon stands at a critical juncture, with the election of Aoun offering a chance to
A terrorist is not a ‘gunman’
reclaim stability and sovereignty. However, the success of this moment depends on the ability of Lebanese leaders, backed by international support, to address internal divisions and navigate a shifting regional landscape. As Iran’s influence wanes and Syria’s future remains uncertain, Lebanon has an opportunity to rebuild — but only if it can overcome the challenges that have long plagued its fragile political system. PJC
Harold Rhode received a Ph.D. in Islamic history and later served as the Turkish desk officer at the U.S. Department of Defense. He is now a distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute. This article first appeared on JNS.
— LETTERS —
A Jan. 6 Jewish Telegraphic Agency news article in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle described how Palestinian Arab terrorists recently ambushed an Israeli civilian bus and other motorists, murdering two elderly women and a man who was driving with his young son, and wounding eight others (“3 Israelis killed in West Bank terror attack”).
There was just one problem: The article never characterized the killers as “terrorists.” They were called “gunmen” (three times) and “shooters.” A gunman is a man with a gun; a shooter is somebody who shoots a gun. There is no value judgment attached to either term; they could be cops or robbers. That’s not right. We have to be able to make moral distinctions between the good guys and the bad guys. If someone who assaults a bus with automatic gunfire, murdering elderly passengers, is not a terrorist, then the word has no meaning.
Moshe Phillips
National chairman Americans For A Safe Israel New York, New York
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. Send letters to: letters@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org or Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, 5915 Beacon St., 5th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
We regret that owing to the volume of correspondence, we cannot reply to every letter.
Harold Rhode
Life & Culture
Chickpea and lentil soup
8-10 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 cups fresh diced tomatoes, or 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
By Jessica Grann | Special to the Chronicle
The weather is cold and bitter again, which puts me in the mood to share a new recipe for a flavorful soup. This soup is based on several traditional recipes from North Africa that have lentils and chickpeas, with loads of vegetables and warming spices.
I like this recipe because it’s flexible. It can be made with chicken or vegetable broth, and you can incorporate just about any vegetable into it. It has all of the basic ingredients that make up a flavorful broth and are generally on hand — like onion, celery, carrot and tomato. I add both regular and sweet potato, but you can omit those or add butternut squash, fresh green beans or spinach.
I measured the spices so they were flavorful and warming yet not too spicy. You can put extra harissa paste on the table to add to each bowl for people who love the added kick.
This soup can be served with halved eggs, boiled to your liking, to add protein to the meal, and this is also lovely served over a bed of rice.
Ingredients:
¼ - ½ cup olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced, about 2 ½ cups
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped carrots
1 ½ cups Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced, about 1 cup
1 large zucchini, diced, about 1 ½ cups
12 cups (3 quarts) chicken or vegetable broth
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
¾ cup dark-colored lentils
1 bunch washed fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons ras el hanout spice
1 tablespoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried mint
1-2 tablespoons of harissa paste
2-3 teaspoons sea salt
2-3 large lemons, divided
Even if you don’t have the exact amount of vegetables listed, you can still make the soup. If I call for 2 ½ cups of onions and after chopping a large onion you only have 2 ¼ cups, go ahead and cook. There is no need to chop into another onion to gain ¼ cup’s worth. And if you have 2 ½ cups of carrots after chopping a few, then likewise, just put in what you have. All vegetables can be within a half-cup of the amount in the recipe and this soup will turn out great.
Chicken broth adds richness and flavor, but you can make this vegan if you use vegetable
Chop the onion.
Put a large soup pot on the stove over medium-low heat. After a minute add ¼ cup of olive oil. Allow that to warm for a minute or two and then add the onion, stirring occasionally.
After 5 minutes, raise the heat to medium and allow the onion to sauté for 10 minutes.
While the onion is cooking, wash and prepare the celery and carrots.
it before, start with 1 tablespoon and adjust it later if needed. I use Picnic Tunisian Harissa, an Israeli brand that I get locally. Everyone knows their limit with the spice. Even when I use 2 full tablespoons, I still put extra harissa on the table for everyone to add to their soup, just as you would add zhug to a Yemenite soup.
Add half a bunch of washed cilantro to the pot to add fragrance. Make a small bouquet by tying the stems with string, or place the cilantro on top of the soup and let it rest there while cooking. Allow the soup to come to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low so the soup can simmer for 90 minutes.
Add the celery to the onions and cook for 5 minutes before adding the carrots to the pot. Sauté this mixture for 10 more minutes before adding in the chopped garlic — the more the better in my opinion.
Stir and sauté until fragrant.
Add the tomato paste, salt, ras al hanout spice, cumin, cinnamon, dried mint and turmeric to the pot. Stir this into the vegetables, mixing them constantly for a minute over the heat.
Add the fresh or canned diced tomatoes (with juice) into the pot and stir.
Add the chicken or vegetable broth and turn the heat to high.
While the soup is coming to a boil, peel and dice the potato/sweet potato, dice the zucchini and add those to the pot.
Wash and drain 2 cans of chickpeas and add those to the soup with ¾ cup of brown, black or green lentils. Dark-colored lentils hold their shape and texture better than red lentils.
Add 2-3 teaspoons of sea salt. The salt content of the broth — whether you purchase it or make it at home — will vary, so let this cook completely before adding additional salt.
Add 1 tablespoon of harissa paste. I use 2 tablespoons of the harissa and I find it to be warming but not spicy when diluted in this amount of broth. If you have not cooked with
Remove what you can of the cilantro. Juice 1 lemon and stir into the soup. As with many recipes, the lemon brightens the entire meal. Allow to simmer, covered, for another 30 minutes before tasting for salt or spices. You can always add a little extra garlic powder or any of the listed spices if you think that the soup needs more flavor, and as I mentioned before, a chicken-flavored bouillon cube can add flavor to either a chicken or vegetable broth base. You can eat this immediately, and it’s excellent and filling served over a bed of rice. Either way, serve it with extra lemon wedges and a sprinkle of freshly diced cilantro.
This recipe makes a large pot of soup that serves about 12; the leftovers are wonderful for lunch.
This soup is great served with challah, pita or homemade garlic croutons. It stores well for days in the refrigerator. The texture will thicken the more it rests because the lentils and potatoes will break down. Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC
Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.
p Chickpea and lentil soup
Photo by Jessica Grann
Life & Culture
Play and playwright push men to befriend more men
By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer
Darrin Friedman has a story to tell. It resembles his own, though the playwright is quick to differentiate the narratives.
In the fictionalized tale — the one audiences will see at Carnegie Stage between Jan. 23-25 — Seth, a quiet middle-aged Jewish novelist, navigates life following his initial success. Seth’s earlier professional glory has faded following a series of setbacks; thanks to newfound friendship with other middleaged men, however, Seth learns to maneuver through hardship.
In real life, Friedman’s story is a bit different.
Years ago, the Upper St. Clair resident enjoyed a career in real estate. As an executive, a blogger and business owner, Friedman amassed industry success.
“I was good at it, but I wasn’t really happy doing it,” he said.
Like many people, the pandemic prompted Friedman, 50, to pause.
“Before COVID I was just climbing the ladder, doing all those things, and thinking money mattered more than anything else. And you know what? It really just doesn’t,” he said.
At age 47, Friedman returned to school. He pursued an MFA in writing for stage and screen at Point Park University, graduated and undertook a bevy of creative activity. In an almost three-year span, Friedman wrote three screenplays and five plays — including “Three Blind Mice,” the story about Seth and two other middle-aged men who become friends — and completed a 17-minute short film. He also launched a podcast for playwrights featuring interviews with established playwrights and recently released his 32nd episode.
He’s proud of his artistic achievements, but said there’s more to his story.
“I’m very lucky,” he said. “I have a wife I’ve been married to for almost 25 years and two children who are pretty amazing.”
Friedman’s older child is 21 and his son is 16.
“I’ve had time to really be involved in my kids’ lives,” he said. “I consider that a blessing…I’m at home with my son every day. And I get to experience that and everything that comes up: take the phone calls from the school, talk to the teachers.”
Friedman’s son is on the autism spectrum. The teen attends PA Distance Learning Charter School.
“He’s home all day, and I’m home all day
with him,” Friedman said.
After his son begins morning classes, Friedman starts writing. Afternoons are dedicated to grocery shopping and meal prep. Evenings are for rehearsals.
“Every day I try to write something — I try to do something — that helps me be more in line with my objective of being a writer,” Friedman said.
The pursuit has led the Temple Emanuel of South Hills congregant to podcasting, designing websites and teaching.
“I do believe that creativity comes in all shapes and sizes,” he said.
Friedman is committed to expanding others’ understandings; in fact, it’s a desire that propels “Three Blind Mice.”
“I think that there’s this time in life right now, specifically in the world that we live in, where men are misunderstood,” he said. “Because we’re men, and we’re a certain age, and we’ve reached a certain point in our lives, we’re supposed to have it all together. But maybe we just don’t have it all together, and we need the support of friends.”
Friedman’s play pushes the trope by claiming that meaningful friendships between men aren’t limited to those originating in high school or college.
“I’m talking about friendships that you’ve made when you’re 50, and you’re able to
really share and get support with other men,” he said. Attaining these relationships requires vulnerability, but leads to a “full healthy life.”
Close friendships and healthy social support foster longevity, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Though relevant for all adults, the findings are of particular note to men who’ve experienced a decades-long decline in friendships.
The Survey Center on American Life, a project of the American Enterprise Institute, reported that between 1990 and 2020 the percentage of men with at least six close friends fell from 55% to 27%.
Friedman said he’s fortunate for what he has, yet is open to change.
Creating and relying on nurturing relationships means he might reenter the traditional workforce, he said. Perhaps his podcast will attract countless listeners from across the globe.
Wherever the narrative winds isn’t determined for him or anyone, he continued.
“It’s never too late to chase your dream — ever, never, ever too late to chase your dream. If you believe in yourself, you can pretty much do anything.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
p Darrin Friedman
Photo courtesy of Darrin Friedman p “Three Blind Mice” by Darrin Friedman will be at Carnegie Stage from Jan. 23―25.
Life & Culture
The Sparks Fly Upward’ comes to Temple Sinai
By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
On first blush, Cathy Mansfield might seem like an odd candidate to write an opera.
Mansfield is a law professor at Case Western Reserve Law School, a consumer law specialist who has taught a course on the Holocaust and the law, and a mother of college-aged twins — not the likeliest of people to spend her spare time composing music and writing a libretto.
In fairness, Mansfield studied theory and composition at the Cincinnati Conservatory and even toured in a child’s choir with Bob Hope. She performed on stage and, for a time, majored in theater at New York University before committing to law.
So, maybe it’s not that unusual that she wrote “The Sparks Fly Upward,” an opera that begins on Oct. 28, 1938, with the deportation of Polish Jews residing in Germany, and concludes with the liberation of Berlin in 1945 and the rededication of the Neue Synagogue in Berlin in 1995.
birth of her daughters and began working on music again.
In fact, the initial spark for “Sparks” traces back more than 45 years, when Mansfield was hired by Cleveland’s Jewish Community Center to compose a piece while she was still in high school.
“Someone had done a piece about Esther, and like every JCC in the United States we did ‘Joseph and the Amazing [Technicolor] Dreamcoat,’” she said.
The composition Mansfield wrote was about Job.
Not having the “constitution of an artist,” she said, she decided not to pursue music full time. Instead, motivated by the homelessness she saw in New York, she dove headfirst into helping heal the world’s ills.
“I ended up majoring in political science and then went to law school,” she said. “I was a poverty lawyer. I worked as a legal aid and then started teaching law.”
Mansfield took a few years off after the
After becoming a Silberman Fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, focusing on law and the Holocaust, she decided to marry her two interests, returning to the Job pieces she wrote all those years ago and expanding them into a full-length opera about the Holocaust.
“The Job pieces are nested in the Holocaust story, and serve as a vehicle to ask, ‘Where’s God when things like this happen ?’ — which it, of course, doesn’t answer, but there is a discussion,” she said. “And the families, when they’re in hiding, read from the book of Job, and what’s happening in the streets of Berlin kind of matches what’s happening.”
Mansfield relied on primary sources to ensure her work was historically accurate.
“I met a survivor whose father was a caretaker at a synagogue in Berlin, where the scenes take place. He became a caretaker there after the Nuremberg Laws,” she said. “He was able to tell me things like, did the men and women sit separately? Was there a mechitza?
Were women on the bimah? What time was service? Did people eat before they went to synagogue or after? Was there an oneg?”
Mansfield will be performing selections from “The Sparks Fly Upward” at Temple Sinai during its Shabbat service on Jan. 24, as well as holding a discussion about the opera after a screening of a recorded performance on Jan. 25. She’ll even flex her law professor muscle, delivering the lecture “Nazi Laws: From Democracy to Dictatorship,” on Jan. 23.
Her connection to Temple Sinai is the result of Jewish geography in full effect.
One of Mansfield’s daughters is a student at Carnegie Mellon University and attends Temple Sinai. Mansfield met Drew Barkley, the congregation’s executive director, through her daughter. It turns out that both Barkley and Mansfield grew up in Cleveland and attended neighboring schools.
And there’s another connection: Temple Sinai’s Cantor David Reinwald went to high school with Daniel Singer, who Mansfield met while singing in the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, and who has conducted the opera.
Singer is also the musical director of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh.
“There are these funky connections,” Mansfield said.
For Barkley, learning about the opera was bashert
“Her daughter Sarah became part of our growing young adult cohort,” Barkley said. “I like to hang out with the young adults and learned she was from Cleveland. We began texting, playing Jewish geography and talking about restaurants. Then her mom came for a visit one weekend and casually mentioned that she had written an opera about the Holocaust. I thought, ‘There’s a program here.’”
Barkley was impressed by Mansfield’s dedication to the work and the fact that she wrote the opera, coordinated the production and worked with the artists who performed it. After watching some of the production, he was sure the Pittsburgh community would think it had value.
“I’m in no way a qualified opera critic but I thought this was something that was really worth bringing here,” he said.
While Barkley might not have the training to give a qualified assessment, Reinwald is.
“I listened to the entirety of it,” he said, “and it’s beautifully composed. It’s an intricate work. It’s really an amazing work that’s very accessible at the same time. You’re able to follow the story and timeline of events that she has portrayed, and there are a few instrumental moments that are really powerful.”
B oth Reinwald and Barkley stressed that while it’s an opera, no one should be intimidated by the form. The work is in English with a few Hebrew songs, but can be followed and enjoyed by everyone, they said.
Mansfield’s talk begins at 7 p.m. on Jan. 23. Shabbat services are held at 7 p.m. on Jan 24. The screening on Jan. 25 includes dinner beginning at 6 p.m.; attendees can bring their own food or buy a meal. Advance registration is required for the dinner. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
Holocaust survivor, 93, who fled Berlin at 7 gets German Order of Merit
By JNS Staff
Anow 93-year-old Holocaust survivor who was shuttled out of Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom when he was a boy, just before the outbreak of World War II and without his family, was honored by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the president of Germany.
At the age of 7, George Shefi was whisked out of Berlin as part of the Kindertransport (“Children’s Transport”) rescue operation to evacuate Jewish children from Nazicontrolled areas of Europe to the United Kingdom in the nine months leading up to the war. On Jan. 10, he received the Federal Order of Merit from Steinmeier, handed to him by Germany’s ambassador to Israel,
at the train station in Berlin as he fled for safety with other youth to England in 1938, after Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”) on Nov. 9-10 and the year before Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, and started a global war that ended on Sept. 2, 1945. His mother was deported to AuschwitzBirkenau in 1943 and murdered in the Nazi concentration and death camp.
Shefi lived in Britain for years, then in Canada and the United States before immigrating to Israel in 1949, where he enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces, married and started a family.
thousands of German students to whom I said that they are not to blame for what happened to us, but they are responsible for it never happening again.”
The nonagenarian is slated to participate in the annual International March of the Living, an education program that brings individuals worldwide to Poland and Israel to study the history of the Shoah. This year, it will take place on April 24.
Steffen Seibert.
The event was held ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, which this month will mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz.
The child survivor last saw his mother
He wrote a book on his experiences published in 2016, titled “A Way of Fate: A True Story From the Kindertransport.”
“Holocaust survivors must tell their story because we are the last generation that can testify to things firsthand,” he said. “During my life, I have done this with
“George is responsible for creating thousands of new young witnesses to his story who take responsibility for Holocaust memory and the need to fight antisemitism,” said Revital Yakin Krakovsky, deputy CEO of the International March of the Living. “We are honored that he will march this year in the March of the Living at Auschwitz-Birkenau. It will be an emotional and meaningful closing of a circle.” PJC
p Cathy Mansfield will screen her opera “The Sparks Fly Upward” at Temple Sinai.
Photo courtesy of Temple Sinai
p Steffen Seibert, Germany’s ambassador to Israel, presents the Federal Order of Merit to Berlin-born Holocaust survivor George Shefi, 93, in Israel on Jan. 12, 2025.
Photo courtesy of International March of the Living
Life & Culture
Pittsburgh poet Judith Robinson takes top prize in Voices Israel competition
Adam Reinherz | Senior Sta Writer
Judith Robinson, a Pittsburgh poet best known for pushing readers to appreciate life, is spreading her message internationally. The Oakland resident and longtime instructor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute was named winner of Voices Israel’s 35th annual Reuben Rose Competition.
The English-language contest welcomes entries from across the world.
Robinson’s poem “A Stream in Late Autumn” received first prize, an honor including a cash amount yet to be determined and publication in Voices Israel’s annual anthology.
“I’m absolutely thrilled,” Robinson said upon receiving news of the award. “They are a wonderful group of poets.”
Originating in 1971, Voices Israel groups meet in person across the Jewish state; Diaspora members gather online. A monthly newsletter from the organization features member updates, art and relevant information for poets, including upcoming contests and outlets seeking submissions.
Robinson said she’s previously published
with Voices Israel but never won its competition’s first prize. Her intention is to travel to Israel in the spring for the ceremony and return the cash award to the group.
“I am blessed that I certainly don’t need the money,” she said. “And what is more important today is to support anything and everything going on in Israel. My children, my family, my lost husband, all of us have been — I would say — Zionists and lifelong supporters of Israel, so this is just a little extension of what we’ve always done.”
Winning the prize, she said, is less important than recognizing what’s at heart
in “A Stream in Late Autumn.”
The poem addresses multiple concepts, Robinson explained.
“The first idea is that we love the physical world,” she said. “We’re inhabitants of this planet and we love nature. We love the beauty of the world.”
The difficulty, however, is the relationship isn’t reciprocal. Nature’s indifference to “our plight” is similar to what Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein noted a century ago: “Ol’ man river…He keeps on rollin’ along.”
That indifference is coupled with mortality, Robinson continued. “The world goes on. The earth renews with us, and then without us.” Once one recognizes this state, “it impels us to cherish life, and to create, and to leave our own mark, if we can.”
For her part, Robinson does so primarily through poetry and painting. During the past 30 years, she’s authored and edited more than 15 books and written for dozens of outlets, including the Chronicle. Robinson’s paintings also have been included in multiple exhibitions and journals.
A recent show at the JCC’s American Jewish Museum presented a selection of Robinson’s paintings alongside those of fellow painter Kara Snyder. The exhibit, which concluded last month, highlighted the artists’ enduring friendship.
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“Kara and I have a history. We’ve done a couple of shows together. We’re friends. We work together — sometimes in her house, sometimes at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts,” Robinson said.
The show, which was titled, “The Art of Friendship,” not only paired the Pittsburghers’ paintings but featured Robinson’s writings.
Poetry and painting “spring from the same impulse,” Robinson said. “They’re expressions that come from the same well of emotion, and just the need to express oneself, the need to leave something in the world that’s yours.”
Robinson, who delivered a live reading at Bantha Tea Bar on Jan. 11 at Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange’s “Winter Wonderland,” reiterated that sense when discussing her own mortality and that of readers.
“The real message is to live as fully as possible,” she said. “The arts and our participation in the arts enhances life. It broadens life. It accentuates the value of every moment. I think the burden for human beings is that we know we’re not here forever, but that burden enhances the beauty of our lives while we live.”
PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
SIX FUNDAMENTAL, CRUCIAL ESTATE PLANNING STEPS YOU MUST TAKE
This is one in a series of articles about Elder Law by Michael H. Marks., Esq. Michael H. Marks is an elder law attorney with offices in Squirrel Hill. Send questions to michael@marks-law.com or visit www.marks-law.com.
The purpose of all estate planning documents are for you to say 1) who you want to help you when help is needed, 2) how they should help you, and 3) who will inherit from you and how. The idea is to specify your choices as to who and what, and write it down to make it stick later. Here are some basic musts.
Do Something, Anything! Get some planning in place now, even if it’s temporary or preliminary. Don’t get caught dead (or disabled) without it. Sure it takes your resources to enact – your time, energy and money - but think about what you are trying to protect: merely yourself, your family and everything you’ve ever worked and saved for! A skilled, experienced estate planning lawyer will help uncover issues and solutions you or awebsite will miss.
Use Powers Of Attorney To Prepare For Problems During Lifetime. Many people think of Wills as estate planning. A Will addresses your postmortem needs - only after you die. Before you die, you may become disabled. Powers of Attorney let you specify who you want to help you with lifetime decision-making if you are unable to make or communicate your own decisions. The financial power of attorney says who will help you with money, property, business or financial decisions; and the Health Care Power Of Attorney with Living Will says
who you choose to make health care decisions for you - including End-Of-Life Treatment or “Pull the Plug” decisions when you are no longer capable AND about to die.
Without a Power of Attorney whoever is going to help you - often even your own spouseinstead has to go to court and bring proceedings before a Judge to be officially appointed as court appointed legal Guardian. That route takes longer, costs more and is less convenient.
Choose Fiduciaries Well, Including Successors Or Backups. “Fiduciaries” are those you choose to help you, such as an Agent under Power Of Attorney, Health Care Agent, Executor under a Will, etc. For example, don’t necessarily choose the oldest child, if another may be better to assume responsibilities; or a child living out of state rather than one who is local. Not a roadblock!.
Remember To Make Special Arrangements For Special Needs Beneficiaries. If anyone who will inherit from you has a handicap or disability, and especially if they are already dependent on Medicaid or SSI, then it’s crucial to make the right kind of arrangements so that any inheritance you try to leave them is used wisely and well, and not wasted. An estate attorney can ensure that the inheritance will be available to benefit and supplement other resources available, while ensuring that the inheritance does not make them ineligible for those benefits.
Utilize Lifetime Gifting And Nonprobate Transfer Mechanisms. Another option is to name others as Pay on Death or Transfer on Death beneficiaries by making arrangements
directly with the financial institution that holds your money. Those beneficiary designations constitute your signed, written instructions to the company to tell them who to pay the money to if you die. If the beneficiary is living at your death, the account or proceeds are paid to them most like directly and automatically, with the least amount of paperwork of any of the kinds of transfer mechanisms that we are discussing. When is it notappropriate? Maybe you have one daughter, but instead of being an upstanding citizen, she’s in no-goodnik, loser, who will squander anything she gets.
Finally note that including charitable recipients as beneficiaries, especially on IRAs so that no one has to pay the income taxcan be a good idea – but there are some complicated rules. Your financial advisor or your planning attorney can help you do it right.
Use Revocable Trusts Or So-Called Living Trusts When Appropriate. The advantage of using a lifetime agreement of trust is that when you die, it will avoid probate and reduce the paperwork, hassle, difficulty, etc. for whoever will be winding up your affairs. Since the value of the trust is essentially to reduce probate and administration costs, the bigger the estate or trust, the greater the savings. It’s not hard to do, and there are very few if any downside risks, other than the extra cost of implementing the plan. Note that an ordinary Living Trust will not reduce Pennsylvania inheritance tax, but a more specialized, sophisticated trust can be structured to provide for charitable giving while reducing income tax.
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.
Judith Robinson
Photo courtesy of Judith Robinson
This week’s Torah portion begins the second of the Five Books of Moses. While this book is referred to in English as “The Book of Exodus,” in Hebrew it is named “Shemos” which means “names.” This volume begins with the account of the Jewish people’s enslavement in Egypt and describes our release and Exodus. Several of the passages we will read over the next few weeks will be familiar to many from the Passover seder. However, the traditional name for this volume seemingly comes from the beginning of this week’s portion, where the names of Jacob’s descendants who arrived in Egypt are listed.
Our Sages teach us that a Hebrew name is more than just a convenience, more than just a way to refer to a specific person or thing. Indeed it is an expression of the essence of that which is being named. Yet here, it is the English name, “Exodus,” which seems a more precise descriptor of the theme of this book. Why then did our Sages name this book “Shemos” (names), which seems to be unrelated to most of the content?
overcome the forces of assimilation and remain true to their roots. Their names gave them the strength to remain true to their past, their identity and hold on to their hopes for a better future. It is no coincidence that, throughout the generations, one of the tools of oppression and dehumanization that slaveowners used was taking away the names of those they enslaved.
The purpose in studying the Torah portion is not just to understand our past, but primarily to take a lesson on how to live in the present and future. We live in a time where it can be difficult to be publicly identified as Jewish. The hate directed toward us on the streets and even in the halls of government have led some to fear being open with their Judaism. From this week’s Torah portion, we learn that it is specifically through standing strong and with pride in our identity that we can best overcome the challenges we face.
On a practical level, each of us can find a way to more openly express our Jewish identity. For some, it might be going by their Jewish name, instead of a secularized version of it. For others, it might be putting up a mezuzah on their home or office door. Another option is to wear a kippah at work or when going out in public. Each of us can think about ways to bind ourselves more closely to our Jewish identity.
The Midrash tells us that the reason the Torah lists the names of the Jewish people at the start of the Exodus story, despite having done so previously, is to allude to the secret of the Jewish people’s ability to survive the persecution and oppression they experienced. How did they retain their cohesion as a people and retain their values while surrounded by the depravity of Egyptian culture?
It was all in their names. By holding on to and proudly proclaiming their identity as Jews, they were able to survive the persecution. Their Jewish names gave them the strength to
It was the merit of the preservation of the Jewish names that eventually brought about the Exodus from Egypt. May the merit of our added mitzvos bring peace and safety to our Holy Land, freedom for the remaining hostages, and the ultimate time of comfort with the coming of Moshiach now! PJC
Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld is the rabbi at the Lubavitch Center and the executive director of Chabad of Western Pennsylvania. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabonim of Greater Pittsburgh.
Obituaries
BRAND: Robert Neal Brand, 88, passed away peacefully on Jan. 5, 2025, at his home in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania. Mr. Brand was a graduate of Saint Louis Country Day School (1954), Harvard College (1958) and Harvard Business School (1960), and was a co-owner and executive at Enamel Products and Plating Company in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, a steel and aluminum processing company, which also owned The Solar Group — a hardware manufacturer and was the largest producer of mailboxes in the U.S. Mr. Brand and his wife Carol Ann were married and moved to Pittsburgh in 1964 from St. Louis, Missouri, and were active members of Rodef Shalom Congregation, Pittsburgh Opera and Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. He served as a board member in each of these organizations and was the president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Technion Institute. Mr. Brand and his wife established a scholarship at Technion for Russian Jews who fled their country. Mr. Brand loved to travel and went to Africa and the Galapagos Islands, among others, in the 1970s before most Americans would venture to these places. In all, he visited more than 100 countries in his lifetime. He was an avid skier, golfer, hiker and runner. Mr. Brand traveled by train from St. Louis to Sun Valley, Idaho, in college in the 1950s and returned with his wife Carol in the 1970s. He eventually built a house in Sun Valley in the late 1980s and was passionate about spending time in the Wood River Valley. He is survived by his son, Leigh Andrew Brand and wife Elizabeth from New York, his daughter Laura Ann Brand and husband Adam Weene from Los Angeles, and his son David Owen Brand and wife Kathleen from Pittsburgh. Mr. Brand also had nine grandchildren, including Gus Lehmuller, Lily Lehmuller, George Brand, Caroline Brand, Max Weene, Zoe Weene, Eli Weene, Claire Brand and Henry Brand. His wife Carol Ann Brand died in 2006, and his second wife, Sandra Brand, died in 2023. Services were held at Rodef Shalom Congregation. Interment was private. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Pittsburgh Opera (pittsburghopera. org/support/ways-to-give) or Technion Institute of Technology (technion.ac.il/en/giving-totechnion/) in Robert’s name. schugar.com
FAIGEN: Scott Faigen, pianist, 69, of Mannheim, Germany, passed away on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. Beloved son of Irving (deceased) and Fern Faigen; devoted father of Judà and Jasiel; cherished brother of Joan Faigen (Steven Svensson) and Tina Faigen (Robert Schultz); loving uncle of Michael and Liana; dear friend of Ulrike-Anima Mathé. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Diamond Blackfan Anemia Foundation, PO Box 1092, West Seneca, NY 14224. Scott Faigen, whose concert career spanned performances in prominent halls across 40 countries, joined the faculty of the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts in 1989. Born in Pittsburgh, and a 1973 graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School, Scott studied piano with Ralph Zitterbart and earned his music degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Illinois. Both as a soloist and chamber musician, Scott served on the faculties of the National Academy of Music, the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Stuttgart Music Conservatory. For six years, Scott was a répétiteur at the Juilliard School, where he worked with the classes of Ivan Galamian, Dorothy DeLay and Leonard Rose. He also served as a class accompanist for Itzhak Perlman at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and has accompanied master classes with Juan Diego Flórez, Kathleen Battle and Maureen Forrester as well as with Leonard Rose, Gidon Kremer, Josef Gingold, Dorothy DeLay and Ivan Galamian. Before settling in Germany and joining the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts, Scott spent six months in 1983 in mainland China as a guest of the Chinese government, accompanying violinist Berl Senofsky and teaching at the Shanghai Conservatory. Scott was an official pianist at many international competitions, such as the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition, Fritz Kreisler Competition, Louis Spohr Violin Competition, Henri Marteau Violin Competition, Tibor Varga International Violin Competition and Queen Elisabeth Competition. Scott also appeared at numerous festivals, including the Ludwigsburg Palace Festival, Schwetzinger SWR Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and Bedford Springs Festival and performed with celebrated artists such as Wanda Wiłkomirska, Norbert Brainin, Arnold Steinhardt, Ulrike-Anima Mathé, Michael Flaksman, Gil Shaham, Midori, Peter Zazofsky and Antonio Meneses. In recent years, Scott was passionately involved in several benefit concerts, which is a reflection of his profound, humanistic character. Admired for his artistry and worldly spirit, Scott leaves behind a legacy beyond music.
FARKAS: In loving memory of Michelle S. Farkas: It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Michelle S. Farkas on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Michelle is the wife of Neal J. Farkas and mother to Allison Farkas, Heather (Farkas) Giovengo and her husband Anthony. Michelle is the grandmother to Heather and Anthony’s children: Nicholas, Samuel and Juliana. She was preceded in death by her parents, C. Harold Cholok
and Charlotte Cholok. She is also leaving behind her faithful companion Crosby (her dog) and survived by her brother Alec Cholok. Michelle will be forever remembered for her unwavering dedication to her family, especially her beloved grandchildren, and for the profound impact she made in the lives of the many children she had the privilege to teach over her 30-year career. Her legacy will live on in the hearts of her family, friends and students. Michelle started her career at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill when she met her husband, Neal. Michelle and her husband, Neal, were married in Pittsburgh in 1973 before relocating to Sunnyvale, California, where they settled and began their family, welcoming two daughters, Heather and Allison, into their lives. The family then moved to Seal Beach, California, where Michelle continued to build long-lasting friendships. After starting her family, she returned to school to earn her master’s degree at Cal State Long Beach, a milestone that led to her many years of dedicated teaching. In 1985, Michelle and Neal, along with their daughters, moved to Nashua, New Hampshire, where Michelle once again surrounded herself with a supportive community of friends and co-workers. The family returned to Pittsburgh in 1987, where it all began, and where Michelle’s memory will remain forever. Michelle was a genuine, patient, kind and loving woman. Anyone who had the privilege of knowing her could attest to her incredible warmth and generosity. She had a special gift for entertaining family and friends and especially enjoyed being surrounded by her grandchildren. Michelle’s love and impact will never be forgotten. She has left a lasting mark on all of us, and we will miss her dearly. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment National Cemetery of the Alleghenies. There will be a celebration of life for Michelle held in her memory at a later date. schugar.com
GLIMCHER: Herbert Glimcher, known fondly as Herb, passed away peacefully on Jan. 4, 2025. Born on Feb. 9, 1927, in Duluth, Minnesota, Herb was a charismatic and ambitious individual who lived a life filled with love, generosity, and purpose. A devoted husband, father, brother and friend, his zest for life was contagious, as were his heartfelt hugs to all who knew him. Herb began his career as a real estate developer with the construction of Giant Stores in Mansfield, Ohio. His entrepreneurial spirit and relentless work ethic led him to establish Glimcher Realty Trust, one of the largest New York Stock Exchange IPOs in central Ohio history. As his professional success grew, so did his commitment to philanthropy. Herb was a passionate supporter of many organizations, including Columbus synagogues, Jewish Columbus, Jewish Family Services, the JCC, Kosher Food Bank and OSU Hillel. His contributions also extended to The James, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, United Way, the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Goodwill and the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. Devoted to his Jewish heritage and bilingual in Yiddish, Herb was deeply connected to his roots. He was married to his beloved wife, DeeDee, for 60 years. Together, they shared a love for art, travel and life’s many adventures. Herb was a voracious reader, and his curiosity and passion for learning defined him. Herb was preceded in death by his first wife, Nona Moskow Glimcher; his parents, Paul and Eva Glimcher; his sister, Marion (Morris) Dach; and his brother, Mayer (Patty) Glimcher. He is survived by his wife, DeeDee, of Columbus; children, David (Lenore) of Columbus, Robert (Megan) of Pittsburgh, Ellen of Bal Harbour, and Michael (Spenser) of Columbus; his brother, Arne (Milly); grandchildren, Nick, Jordan, Brandon, Jason, Gabe, Quincie, Layne, Brock, Leah, Grant and Blair; 10 great-grandchildren; and many extended family members and friends. Herb’s legacy will continue to live on through his family and the many lives he touched. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choice.
GOLDSTEIN: Harvey I. Goldstein. On Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, Harvey I. Goldstein, beloved husband for 55 years of Dorothy C. “Dottie”; loving father of Benjamin (Precy) Goldstein of Mesa, Arizona, and Bonnie (Greg) Gordon of Pittsburgh. Brother of Jo-Ann Tuckfelt of Pittsburgh. Devoted Pops of Lucy, Max, Lily and Lydia. Also survived by a niece, nephew, cousins and friends. Harvey graduated early from Taylor Allderdice High School and from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and finally, from Harvard Law School in 1966. He was a practicing attorney for over 40 years. He met his future bride, Dottie, at a wedding in Rochester, New York. They got married on Thanksgiving weekend in 1969, in Rochester, in a blizzard, where their good friends pranked them by handcuffing them. Harvey and Dottie started to write a book together about planning a wedding and the first year of marriage, which became, “Chicken or Prime Ribs?” After 21 rejection letters from publishing companies they changed the name to, “The General Had Borscht For Breakfast.” The book was never published although he made copies to entertain friends and family. Harvey was unique, eccentric and really witty and creative. He was an excellent attorney and very precise with his language, but law was really just his 9 to 5 job. His true passion was investing. His allegiance was toward UPenn, crediting Wharton with giving him the knowledge he needed to pursue his passion for investing. He loved analyzing numbers, and wrote a long investment guide for his family. A resident of Mt. Lebanon for 34 years, Harvey walked the neighborhood so much he was known as, “the Mayor of Orchard Drive.” After leaving
Please see Obituaries, page 20
Obituaries
Obituaries:
Contact the Development department at 412-586-2690 or development@jaapgh.org for more information. THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS —
Sunday January 19: 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 Pittler, Herschel Pretter, Sol Rattner, Nathan Rosenthal, Herman Skirble, Therese Wechsler
Monday January 20: 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, Dr Arnie Stern, Rose Weisman
Tuesday January 21: Celia Berman, Chester M Berschling, Leona Ruth Broad, Florence Cohen, Dr Robert Diznoff, Nathan Florman, Freda Frank, I Leon Friedman, Alison Beth Goldman, Edward L Kimball, Ella Ruth Levy, Rita Lupovich, Louis J Marks, Saul Osachy, Pauline Reznick, Henry Schor, Albert Shaer, Julius Lewis Shamberg, Elimalech Sigman, Lena Soffer
Wednesday January 22: Hyman Cohen, Bessie Coltin, Jack Ginsburg, Jesse B Guttman, Cecile G Kluger, Tinnie Lange, Dr Emerson N Milligram, Ruth Friedman Oshry, Nathan Ripp, Ralph Hyman Rosenthal, Abe Sambol, David Silverstein, Abraham Teplitz, Harold C Weiss, Freda Winerman
Thursday January 23: Helen Bloom, Perry S Brustein, Arthur Cohen, Ella R Finn, Lottie Gerber, Dr Hyman D Goldberg, Rhea Golden, Ruth S Harris, Miriam Kaufman, Janet Martin, Rebecca Podietz, Louis Schwartz, Isaac Sunstein, Manuel Joseph Topp, Jack E Wise
Friday January 24: Morris J Ackerman, Abner Crumb, Martin Falk, Lillian Adlow Friedberg, Dr Robert Stanley Goldbloom, Nell Schechter Greenberger, Marc Alan Hersh, Esther Horvitz, Rose Jacobson, Julius Kertman, Harry Lazier, Murray S Love, George Marcus, Mary Zweig Miller, Mark H Rossen, Lena Weinstein, Marian Weiss, Meyer Weiss, Ida Finkel Williams
Saturday January 25: Jeremias Becker, Simon Beigel, Leon Bluestone, Oscar Bluestone, Max Boodman, Israel Chaiken, William G Dubin, Fanny Frankel, Harry Friedman, Irving Friedman, Herbert A Gold, Frances Kendal Haberman, Isadore E Lample, Max T Levine, Anna Lewis, Sol Lieber, Alvin Lippard, Joseph Littman, William Lubow, Mendel Miller, Dorothy Cottler Richman, Berel Louis Sachs, Dorothy B Schneirov, Rose Serbin, Louis (Happy) Solomon, Lena Star, Caro Talisman, Abe Zwang
Continued from page 19
Mt. Lebanon, they moved to South Fayette, where he lived for another 19 years. After retirement, Harvey and Dottie enjoyed cruises and traveling to visit their grandchildren, friends and family. He loved his family and was so proud of his children and grandchildren. Services were held at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills. Interment at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery, Beth El Section. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Beth El Congregation. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family-
HARRIS: Steven Jay Harris, born on Dec. 22, 1958, in Pittsburgh, passed away on Jan. 1, 2025, in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Steven was the beloved son of Jack and Terry Harris and a brother to Jeff and Craig. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. A proud veteran, Steven served his country as a member of the United States Navy. He worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he found purpose in helping other veterans navigate their journeys with care and compassion. May Steven’s memory bring comfort to all who knew him.
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SEEWALD: Ron Seewald, 82, passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. He is survived by his loving wife of over 60 years, Ilene; he was a loving father to Jeff and Brian (Liza); and adoring grandfather to Sofia, Juliana and Ethan. He is survived by sister Betsy Porter (Arlin) and brother Mark, and is the son of the late George and Stella Seewald. Ron loved and adored Ilene, whom he met in high school, and who was a constant source of support to him. Their love ran deep, and their partnership was beautiful to witness. He was a proud father, always available for life and career advice, a political discussion or debate, or just to relax and watch a Steelers or Penguins game. He was an avid reader and loved all sorts of puzzles and problems, always finding satisfaction in finishing up a great read or solving a difficult problem. He was incredibly hard-working, always embracing the right way to do something, not the easy way … a trait that he has passed on to his appreciative children, and that originated with his time serving as a pilot in the Air Force. He had amazing stories from that time of his life, and we always enjoyed the privilege of hearing them, even if on repeat. Most of all, Ron was an incredibly resilient man. He fought through serious illness and adversity, and he never once backed down from that fight. He moved past it to enjoy trips with Ilene to New York City and Niagaraon-the-Lake, a couple of his favorite places, and to see his grandchildren grow into young adults. Ron loved a great meal, whether he grilled it himself or went out with Ilene and his family. There was just no one better to share a great steak and a glass of wine with, and he will be terribly missed. Services were held at William Slater II Funeral Service. Interment at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery, Beth El Section. In lieu of gifts or flowers, contributions may be made to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. slaterfuneral.com.
SHKOLNIK: Mira Shkolnik, on Wed., January 8, 2025. Beloved wife of Damir Shkolnik. Loving mother of Yelena (Andrew Kotov) Reznik. Grandmother of Alex Reznik, Joshua and Michelle Kotov. Graveside services and interment were held at Homewood Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Chabad, 1700 Beechwood Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com
YAILLEN: Bruce P. Yaillen, on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. Beloved husband of Judy Light Yaillen. Loving father of Noam Yaillen and Goldi (Joseph) Sibony. Son of the late Earl and Janet Yaillen. Cherished brother of Alan (Laurie Dien) Yaillen and Barry (John Fisher) Yaillen. Saba of Leo and Maia. Also survived by nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Services and interment were held at Beth Shalom Cemetery. Contributions may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163-4777 (michaeljfox. org) or Congregation Beth Shalom, 5915 Beacon Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. schugar.com PJC
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Life & Culture
Righteous Among the Neighbors: Josiah Gilliam
By Greta Stern | Mt. Lebanon High School
Righteous Among the Neighbors is a project of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh that honors non-Jewish Pittsburghers who support the Jewish community and stand up against antisemitism. In partnership with the LIGHT Education Initiative and Mt. Lebanon High School, student journalists interview honorees and write article-length profiles about their efforts. To learn more, visit hcofpgh.org/ righteous-among-the-neighbors.
Josiah Gilliam, the executive director of the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project since last January, is aiming to make Pittsburgh a more diverse and peaceful city for all races and faiths.
Gilliam, 37, has been selected as a Righteous Among the Neighbors honoree due to his work in community outreach. Gilliam’s father was a pastor, instilling in him from a young age the value of fellowship and community.
Gilliam was a fan of PUMP for many years before joining, admiring how its members get other adults involved in community outreach through recreation. He worked various nonprofit and civic jobs in Pittsburgh before PUMP’s CEO stepped down and Gilliam took charge with his plans of expanding and creating a more welcoming community.
government, having collaborated and served Pittsburgh’s most recent mayors, Bill Peduto and Ed Gainey.
“[We need] a chance to experience community where you are welcomed and accepted for who you are and where you still have a sense of being welcomed as who you are in community,” Gilliam said.
He used the experience he gained working on collective impact projects with networks of partners at different levels of
In the wake of the attacks on three synagogues in Squirrel Hill in 2018, Gilliam recognized strengthening community bonds beyond friendship as one of the most important aspects of Pittsburgh’s future.
“We’ve seen antisemitic comments and sentiments and memes and tropes,” he
said. “It’s unacceptable.”
In 2019, to address the rise of antisemitic and racially-charged violence throughout communities, he traveled to Birmingham, Atlanta, Montgomery and Selma on a civil rights mission trip organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. His goal was to bring together young Black and Jewish community leaders to learn about the solidarity of the two communities to help build a better world.
Shortly after the mission, Gilliam became one of the leading members of the 412 Black Jewish Collaborative, an organization focused on building an alliance between the two communities. In the collaborative, Gilliam hosted Passover- and Shabbatrelated events, connecting people through
“I have [benefited from] simple things like breaking bread and spending time together,” he said. “It’s been really wonderful to learn more about Jewish history
Helping others is a familiar concept for Gilliam. He joined My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, a national organization founded by Barack Obama in 2014 that helps boys and men of color improve their lives. He also participated as an Allegheny County Meals on Wheels provider, allowing him to explore local neighborhoods alongside volunteers throughout Allegheny County, offering help to senior citizens in need.
“Working in the city, working in nonprofit space, sometimes it’s very hard to come to a resolution or next steps on an issue that’s presenting itself, so I always appreciate moments where there’s that solidarity, there’s that friendship, that camaraderie, and it’s future-focused and action-oriented,” he said. “It’s definitely improved my life.”
Gilliam wants everyone in Allegheny County and in Pennsylvania to have the chance to live in a community with peace.
“We need to be clear-eyed about reality and what’s happening in the world and in our city,” he said. “It’s about repairing the world. It’s about more justice and more opportunity and more peace and more prosperity.” PJC
Greta Stern is a sophomore at Mt. Lebanon High School.
p Josiah Gilliam
Photo by Brian Cohen
Happy hoopers
Members of Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh’s fifth and sixth grade girls basketball team were all
Here we go again
Chabad House on Campus welcomes students back from a long winter break.
Little big lessons
Rodef Shalom Congregation’s Rabbi Sharyn Henry celebrated Shabbat with Berkman Family
p From generation to generation
Photo courtesy of Rodef Shalom Congregation
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Photo courtesy of Chabad House on Campus
Photo courtesy of Itay Raphael
Arms of angels
p Winter wonders never cease. Photo courtesy of Jewish Community of Greater Pittsburgh
