Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 3-3-23

Local agencies prepare community for trial of Pittsburgh synagogue shooter

Cremation vs. burial, a modern halachic issue

By David Rullo | Sta Writer

We are in the midst of a cremation crisis, according to the website shabbosvayechi.org: Every 16 minutes, a Jewish person is cremated.

The site attempts to change the hearts and minds of Jewish community members considering cremation rather than a traditional Jewish burial. The organization works with 630 shuls in 135 communities, including the Pittsburgh Shul (B’nai Emunoh Chabad), Congregation Poale Zedeck, Shaare Torah Congregation and Young Israel of Greater Pittsburgh.

By David Rullo | Sta Writer

For the last two years, the 10.27 Healing Partnership has helped prepare the Pittsburgh Jewish community for the impact of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s trial, scheduled to begin on April 24.

The organization has worked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jewish Family and Community Services, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and others to anticipate the effect of the trial on the community, Director Maggie Feinstein said.

The Partnership, she said, also has reached out to Charleston, South Carolina, where nine Black congregants were murdered at Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2015. The church has shared a lot about its members’ experiences but, Feinstein noted, every legal encounter is different.

“There is a distinct similarity of a religious group that experienced both the primary and vicarious trauma of the event and having a whole city and community impacted by something so horrific,” she said.

While the intervening years between the massacre and the trial have allowed some

time for people to process the trauma — and discover where they might find joy in the community — it hasn’t erased the anticipation and anxiety of the trial.

“There’s the old adage, ‘You control what you can and then you plan around what you can’t control,’” Feinstein said. “This is one of those things we can’t control.”

Nothing the 10.27 Healing Partnership or its community partners do, she stressed, has any impact on the legal proceedings. Instead, they endeavor to ensure the community is resilient in the face of the event.

“We are working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office on things as mundane as how do we get water into the courthouse, how can we help with transportation — that’s the sort of logistical work we’re doing behind the scenes,” Feinstein said.

The Partnership is also working on building spiritual resilience, she said. Its staff has talked to leaders of different houses of worship about how they can continue their practices and find joy in what they are doing.

Accompanying the spiritual needs of the community are its emotional needs, and it

The number of Jews who opt for cremation might be surprising, but it isn’t out of line with what is happening across the United States generally — 57.5% of those who died in 2021 chose cremation over traditional burial options, according to the Cremation Association of North America. In Canada, nearly three-quarters of those who died were cremated.

No matter where you fall on the issue, there is no question that cremation rubs against halachah, or traditional Jewish law.

“The body is holy,” said Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel, the executive director of the Aleph Institute-Northeast Region and a spiritual adviser to Gesher HaChaim, a burial society in Pittsburgh. “We sanctify it after it’s been used; we bury it.”

For Vogel, the argument can be illustrated simply: When animal hides are used to create tefillin they are elevated and can no longer be thrown away — they must be buried. How much more so for the human body that has performed hundreds of mitzvot throughout its life?

The Talmud, Vogel said, goes to great lengths to discuss the importance of burial and the responsibility of everyone to see that each person receives a proper burial, even if that person isn’t Jewish.

The rabbi is unwavering in his belief that Judaism prohibits cremation.

 The Tree of Life building, days after the Oct. 27, 2018, attack

Photo by Adam Reinherz

Headlines

Friendship Circle addresses teen mental health crisis

— LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

Apanel of four teens told parents, therapists and friends about the importance of listening, support and mental health promotion at a program hosted by Friendship Circle on Feb. 26.

Ursula Brown, Liam Friedlander, Abbie Peigh and Bracha Shkedi — all students at local high schools — described the challenges of adolescence.

“A lot of adults don’t realize how prevalent mental health struggles really are,” Brown said. “I know a lot of my friends’ parents don’t really accept that their child could be going through something like this.”

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supports Brown’s claims. Findings from 2011-2021 indicate teens are experiencing record increases in mental health issues, experiences with violence, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

In 2011, 29% of high school students felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for at least two weeks in a row that they stopped doing their usual activities; by 2021, the number jumped to 42%.

Six percent of students missed school because of related fears in 2011; 10 years later, that number grew to 9%.

In 2011, 16% of students seriously considered attempting suicide; by 2021, the number rose to 22%.

Finding after finding within the CDC’s report illustrate “devastating” truths, Rivkee Rudolph, director of Friendship Circle, told the Chronicle. Hosting the panel enabled teens to voice this data and tell their peers, “Hey, we’re going through this, too.”

The community has a “role to play” when

it comes to teen mental health, Friedlander said. “If the community is more open to talking about mental health, then individuals will also start to become more open to talking about mental health.”

A large part of that “is breaking down the stigma,” Brown said. “Your community shouldn’t judge you for something you’re going through even if they don’t understand it.”

Many adults don’t comprehend the experiences of children, the panelists said.

Today’s teens were born post-2004. They’ve grown up in a world where iPhones, memes and virtual communities are often more familiar than neighbors. The “inner turmoil” spurred by having to select a college, major and profession compound with “the mess of climate change” and society’s relentless quest for new technology, Brown said. “All of this chaos and changing in a changing world is very hard for our generation to cope with.”

Sarah Pesi, a policy associate at the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, said adults can help: “The No. 1 thing is to listen and partner with youth; they’re the experts of their own experience.”

The community must implement more

“programs and policies that have youth input,” she added.

Leaders of the Friendship Circle believe the organization can serve that role.

Following the panel presentation, participants heard about The Beacon, a soon-to-be-opened community space for addressing mental health and wellness before a crisis. The facility, which will be run by Friendship Circle, will be located next to the organization’s home on Murray Avenue.

Kaitlin Hens-Greco, clinical director of The Beacon, said the building will be “an intentional environment for teens to address their mental health through meaningful programming, mindfulness and support from peers and trained professionals.”

Two floors, each about 2,000 square feet, will create a setting for teens that is both “restorative and calming,” she said. The safe space and programming will not only “normalize our teens’ experiences, but offer teens strategies that they can use in their daily lives to help support themselves.”

The Beacon is slated to open for daily after-school use this spring.

Rabbi Mordy Rudolph, the Friendship

Circle’s executive director, said the organization recognized the need for physical expansion about five years ago.

Initially, the thought was to use the new building for adult programming. But as the organization grew, and increased its connections with local teens, a pressing need was noticed.

“Teens are struggling today,” Rudolph said. The Friendship Circle faced a moment akin to a classic question of Jewish law, Rudolph said. If someone has just one candle, and it’s both Friday night and Chanukah, what should the person do — light the candle for Chanukah or for Shabbat?

The answer is to light the candle for Shabbat.

“It’s important to have shalom bayit (peace in the home) before spreading light into the world,” he said. That mindset became the organization’s “underlying philosophy” during the past several years. “If we’re going to light up the world and things aren’t quite in order at home, then it just doesn’t work.”

At the end of the program, teens visited tables staffed by representatives of UpStreet, Jewish Healthcare Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania, where they could pick up promotional materials describing available services.

Friendship Circle staffer Ayala Rosenthal, who organized the program, said the alignment of organizations — like the earlier panel discussion — represents a direct response to the CDC’s alarming data.

“All of us are serving a similar purpose at the end of the day,” she said. “I think it’s important for all of us to be working together.” PJC

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

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p Local high school students Bracha Shkedi, Ursula Brown, Abbie Peigh and Liam Friedlander speak during the Feb. 26 program.

Photo by Adam Reinherz

Headlines

Historian and author take a look at the census, its uses and shortcomings

— LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

Stories are often told on pages, but one medium preserving millions of narratives may be surprising: the U.S. Census. Speaking before nearly 40 attendees at Carnegie Mellon University’s Kresge Theatre, local historian Tammy Hepps and author Dan Bouk described how the constitutionally authorized data set is both a bountiful gift and an exasperating riddle for genealogists and historians.

In demonstrating their assessment of the records, Hepps and Bouk humorously modeled the practice and confusion of a 1940s census taker, who arrives at the home of a man, who lives with another man and has a child. The enumerator’s quest to understand interpersonal relationships and household finances while carelessly transcribing a surname, amusingly evidenced a familiar reality, the presenters said.

To log information, census takers were required to have doorstep exchanges with residential dwellers. The outcome of those interactions signaled both a quest for data and democracy, Hepps and Bouk said.

Information gathered by the census helps the government determine “how to distribute funds and assistance to states and localities,” as well as how many seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives, according

to the U.S. Census Bureau.

From the nation’s onset, there has been a clear desire to count people, Bouk said, as the census is the “only kind of scientific apparatus” required by the Constitution.

The difficulty, though, is that although the Founding Fathers wanted to preserve data for equitable governance, the Constitution stipulates that slaves are tallied as only three-fifths of a person. There was a simultaneous pursuit of representation, while “weaponizing” the democratic records, Bouk, a historian at Colgate University, told attendees.

During the program and within his book, “Democracy’s Data: The Hidden Stories in the U.S. Census and How to Read Them,” Bouk said information from the 1940 census was not only used to create social programming but to harm the citizens it recorded.

He cited the politicization of a census question about income as a means of attacking President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.

Hepps, who runs Homestead Hebrews — a project to preserve Homestead’s Jewish history — said she, too, has difficulties with the 1940 census.

Unlike those between 1880-1930, the 1940 census didn’t ask about a person’s parents’ birthplace. Similarly, while between 19001930 the census indicated the person’s year of immigration to the U.S., the 1940 census did not. Finally, in both the 1900 and 1910 censuses, there is a record of how many

children were born to each woman, and how many of those children were still living; later sources don’t include that data.

“I look at the 1940s census sheet, and I compare it to the earlier ones that I spend more time with, and I really do not like the 1940 census,” Hepps said. “If I want to recreate the community, I need to know who was in the community.”

Hepps referenced the 1910 census and described how information detailing the usage of German, Hungarian and Yiddish in Allegheny County counters a common misconception.

“We have this sense that all of these Eastern European Jewish immigrants were Yiddish speakers but, in fact, what the census is recording is that there was a diversity of Jewish people who were in Homestead,” she said. Likewise, by demonstrating that local Jewish residents had varied occupations, from owning a bakery to working in steel, “I see a much more diverse story about the Jews of Homestead than what came down

to me in the original oral history that I got

“Because of these really granular questions that are here in the census,” Hepps continued, “I’m able to learn a lot more about these families…and understand the sort of internal differences that come together in one community.”

Grace Stokan came from Mount Washington for the program.

She told the Chronicle she studied history and relied on census data to research her family. Learning about the census’ evolution was helpful, Stokan said: “I had no idea that they asked less questions as time went on and why that was the case.”

The census isn’t only used to distribute hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities, according to the Census Bureau: “The census tells us who we are and where we are going as a nation.” PJC

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

p Tammy Hepps and Dan Bouk

Photo by Adam Reinherz

p Tammy Hepps and Dan Bouk recreate a doorstop exchange between a census enumerator and local resident.

Photo by Adam Reinherz

Squirrel Hill resident has ride to remember leaving Shapiro/ Davis inauguration

— LOCAL —

By David Rullo | Staff Writer

Clifford Levine doesn’t need to watch late-night airings of “Speed,” an action movie starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves set on a bus hurtling down the highway. He recently lived through something similar — without the benefit of a stunt double.

A Jewish attorney from Squirrel Hill who worked on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s transition team, Levine attended the inauguration ceremony of the newlyelected governor and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis on Friday, Jan. 17.

It was while traveling back from a celebration afterward that Levine was suddenly initiated into the world of action stars.

Shapiro’s inauguration committee rented large buses to transport attendees from the celebration in Lancaster back to Harrisburg, Levine said. After the festivities, which included Smokey Robinson and Pittsburgh native Wiz Khalifa, he joined about 25 people shortly after 11 p.m. on one of the last buses leaving Lancaster.

Levine was seated in the second row and noticed that the bus started drifting while on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in a work zone.

“We were in the left lane — it seemed to be drifting a little out of the lane,” Levine recalled. “It was nighttime. A lot of people were tired or talking and not paying attention, but I happened to be watching.”

After asking the driver twice if he was OK and receiving no response, Levine rose to check on the man, whom he feared had fallen asleep. It was then that the bus clipped a concrete barrier in the middle of the turnpike, causing it to spin slightly.

Levine said he realized that this was something more serious than a driver asleep at the wheel, and would require direct intervention.

“It was hard to access, but I reached over his right shoulder and grabbed the

steering wheel,” Levine said. While he was steering the bus, the driver’s foot was still pressing on the gas pedal.

lives and works in New Jersey. She is also the aunt of Lt. Gov. Austin Davis. She was traveling with her sister and three nieces, and had been resting, but awoke to Levine

The driver regained consciousness long enough to tell Simmons that there was no key before passing out again. Simmons next went to work on the driver’s feet. She pressed down on his brake foot and the bus stopped. As soon as she released her pressure, though, the bus started moving again.

During Simmons’ travails, Levine managed to steer the bus to the side of the road, so the vehicle was no longer in danger of hitting another car or some other hazard in the work zone.

Simmons again applied pressure to the driver’s brake foot, holding the foot on the pedal for an extended period, and the bus stopped — this time for good.

The unidentified driver regained consciousness, so Simmons did not have to perform CPR. He was then taken to the hospital.

Simmons said she wasn’t sure what happened to the driver but hoped he had recovered and was fine.

Other than her training as a nurse, Simmons said she had no special skills to prepare her for that night on the bus.

“It all happened so fast,” she said. “You never know what you’re going to do in that situation. This was almost like the most natural thing.”

Levine, too, hadn’t prepared for a scene fit for a multiplex theater. He said that as a skier “whipping down a double diamond slope,” he learned the skill of total focus and believe it helped him get through the situation.

“I was aware that other people were on the bus and that I was in work zone, so I was a little bit worried about a gap in the asphalt, and I remember thinking that I needed a contingency plan,” he said.

Levine knew he could not steer the vehicle and simultaneously search for a key to shut off the bus or try to move the driver’s foot from the pedal.

A woman, dressed appropriately for the evening in an evening gown, made her way to the front of the bus and began helping Levine.

Romaine Simmons is a trained nurse who

trying to rouse the driver.

Simmons made her way to the front of the bus thinking she might have to perform CPR on the driver, a skill she urges everyone to learn for just such a situation.

“I can hear people in the back of the bus saying, ‘Get the key,’ but I didn’t see one,” she said.

The newly sworn-in Davis, who wasn’t on the bus, said the situation was “pretty wild.”

“You never know what’s going to happen on this job,” he said. “You never relive the same day twice. It was already a memorable day. This put the cherry on top.” PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

p Clifford Levine (center) can now add “action hero” to his resume after an eventful bus ride following the inauguration of Gov. Josh Shapiro (left) and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis (right).

Photo provided by Clifford Levine

“You never know what’s going to happen on this job,” Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said. “You never relive the same day twice.

Rales Foundation gift will help diversify STEM education at CMU

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

Carnegie Mellon University and the Norman and Ruth Rales Foundation last week announced a transfor mative new initiative to broaden access to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in Pittsburgh and around the world.

The $150 million investment seeks to eliminate cost considerations to graduate-level education and hopes to usher in a new generation of more diversified STEM leaders.

More specifically, the new program will help fund master’s degree and Ph.D.level educational programs by providing full tuition and a stipend for “students from under-resourced and underrepresented backgrounds, including first-generation students,” officials from the Oakland-based university said. It also will support students through developmental and networking opportunities that will benefit “Rales Fellows” both during their time at CMU and as they advance in their careers.

Joshua Rales, who is Jewish and heads the foundation named after his parents — who were once based in Pittsburgh

— said the concept of tikkun olam “is huge” for Rales Fellows.

“You save a life, you save the world,” Rales told the Chronicle. “This is very much part of how we were raised, our values.”

Norman Rales grew up in New York City after leaving an orphanage with just $5 and a toothbrush to his name. Ruth Rales, whose parents fled pogroms around the turn of the 20th century in what today is Maldova in eastern Europe, came from Pittsburgh. The couple raised their two eldest sons here before relocating to the Washington, D.C., area and having more children.

Joshua Rales remembers his first newspaper delivery route in Bethesda,

Maryland. After raving to his father about the tips he collected during his first day, his father reminded him he’d be giving 10% of his earnings to the family housekeeper.

“They really believed in paying forward their success,” he said, when asked about the formative tzedakah.

Bringing the fellowship program to a school in Pittsburgh, Joshua Rales said, is “a way of coming home.”

“It’s a great fit for us,” he said. “This is a start-up. This is a hard problem to solve: how to bring greater representation to the sciences.”

The Rales Foundation gift will provide an endowment of $110 million to support the program, and CMU has committed an additional $30 million in endowed funds. The two organizations also are jointly establishing a $10 million fund to support the program’s developmental years. The first cohort will enroll in fall 2024. The CMU Rales Fellows Program is expected each year to underwrite 86 graduate students in STEM fields, educating thousands of research and industry leaders in the coming decades.

“Addressing the challenges of our modern world will require the concerted efforts of a highly talented pool of STEM trailblazers who can bring a diversity of ideas and experiences to engender

solutions,” Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian said in a prepared statement.

“At the heart of the CMU Rales Fellows Program is a commitment to remove existing barriers and empower this next generation of domestic talent so they can apply their skills and ingenuity to realize new scientific and technological breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity,” Jahanian said. “CMU is grateful to the Rales Foundation for their generous support, and we are honored to partner with them to enact our shared vision for this initiative and to honor the legacy of Norman and Ruth Rales.” PJC

JCBA adds further dignity to the Shaare Torah Cemetery

The Greater Pittsburgh Jewish community is a tapestry. And much like any tapestry, its beauty and its strength come from interwoven strands. These strands represent generations and cultures, myriad traditions, points of origin and branches of Judaism. We are all individual strands with individual stories, yet we are together as one. B’yachad.

Beginning in February of 2023, and with board approvals by both Shaare Torah Congregation and the JCBA, management has been assumed by the Association, and an ownership transfer is in process. Pittsburgh’s fourth largest Jewish cemetery’s needs are critical and acute. Located in Carrick, the old section, Gates of Wisdom (the original name of the congregation) is on a steep hillside and was consecrated in 1890. The “newer” section is much larger, on more level ground across Stewart Avenue, and was consecrated in 1926.

Founded by the Shaare Torah Congregation, the sacred grounds are unique in that they have long been more than just a congregational cemetery. In 1944, the Allegheny County Commissioners designated the cemetery as a final resting place for WWII Jewish war veterans, and JWV Post 94 was involved with the burials of seven servicemen who had made the ultimate sacrifice. The veteran’s section grew, is quite large, and sits at the center of the cemetery.

Shaare Torah Cemetery is the also the final resting place for Rabbis Moses Sivitz, Moses Markowitz, Jacob Helfer, Hyman Lesofsky, and Aaron Gerber.

The restoration has already begun. Downed trees have been removed, overgrowth has been cleared out, and fence lines have been cleared. Monument resets and concrete work are scheduled for the Summer. The JCBA has a successful record of cemetery restorations, and we are already seeing solid results in just a few weeks.

The Shaare Torah Cemetery Endowment Fund is established, is held within the Jewish Community Foundation as part of the JCBA set of trusts, and already has received contributions from caring Pittsburghers who wish to support this effort.

Judaism instructs us that we must not fall short of the task to maintain our cemeteries. The community is invited to participate as so many of us have relatives buried within Shaare Torah.

For more information about the Shaare Torah Cemetery restoration, to join our list of signators, to request a funding proposal, and/or to make a contribution to this special effort please visit the JCBA website at www.jcbapgh.org.

Justin Vellucci is

freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

p Students at work in the lab

Photo courtesy of Carnegie Mellon University

p Norman and Ruth Rales

Photo courtesy of the Rales Foundation via Carnegie Mellon University

beginning one month prior to the date as space allows. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon.

q SUNDAY, MARCH 5

Join Rodef Shalom Congregation and Congregation Beth Shalom for a morning of fun, food, games and prizes at the most magical Purim Carnival on earth! $5 per child at the door. 10 a.m. 4905 Fifth Ave. rodefshalom.org.

Get into the Purim spirit with Chabad of Squirrel Hill with Kids in the Kitchen. Make festive hamantashen to take home and share. 1 p.m. $10. 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com.

Gather with other teen girls to bake desserts for Squirrel Hill’s Giving Kitchen at Chabad of Squirrel Hill’s Teen Cooking Club. 3:30 p.m. 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com.

q SUNDAYS, MARCH 5 – APRIL 2

Join a lay-led online Parashah study group to discuss the week’s Torah portion. No Hebrew knowledge needed. The goal is to build community while deepening understanding of the text. 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org.

q SUNDAYS, MARCH 5 – DEC. 4

Join Chabad of Squirrel Hill for its Men’s Tefillin Club Enjoy bagels, lox and tefillin on the first Sunday of the month. 8:30 a.m. chabadpgh.com.

q MONDAY, MARCH 6

Join the 10.27 Healing Partnership in the South Hills for Arts in the Community, a collaborative series of therapeutic art workshops with JFCS. This art-based mindfulness program is free and open for all who are interested. The group will explore ways making art can help regulate the nervous system, promote playfulness and imagination, and connect us more deeply to our bodies, emotions, thoughts and worldviews. Attendees will come together in community as we explore different art mediums, share our personal experiences, and reflect on how art can influence us all. South Hills JCC, 345 Kane Blvd. Register at forms.gle/qPu933puGg5fQQK2A.

q MONDAYS, MARCH 6 – APRIL 3

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

Torah classes begin in Genesis and never finish the first book. If you want a comprehensive overview of the whole Torah, Torah 1 is the course for you. In the first year of this two-year Zoom course, Rabbi Danny Schiff will teach Genesis, Exodus and the first half of Leviticus. In the second year, he will complete Leviticus and cover Numbers and Deuteronomy. $225. 9:30 a.m. foundation.jewishpgh.org/torah-1.

q TUESDAY, MARCH 7

Join Chabad of the South Hills for Purim at the Circus. Enjoy an animated Megillah reading, buffet dinner, circus entertainment, live music, hot pretzel bar, popcorn and cotton candy. Come dressed in your favorite costume. $18 per person $50 family maximum. 5 p.m. 1701 McFarland Road. chabadsh.com/purim.

Join Chabad of Squirrel Hill and celebrate Purim with a grand Purim Party featuring a stilt-walker show. There will also be a Megillah reading, delicious dinner and prizes for anyone dressed up. Fun for the whole family! $15/adult, $10/child 5 p.m.

q TUESDAYS, MARCH 7 – APRIL 4

Join Temple Sinai for a weekly Talmud class with Rabbi Daniel Fellman. Noon. On site and online. For more information and for the Zoom link, contact Temple Sinai at 412-421-9715.

q TUESDAYS, MARCH 7 – MAY 2

In “Israel Literature as a Window to Israel Society,” Rabbi Danny Schiff will facilitate an encounter with Israeli society through the pens of Israel’s leading writers, discovering voices that are original, contemporary and honest. This 10-part Melton course takes you on a literary journey offering a fresh examination of the ever-relevant issues faced by Israeli writers. Together, learners will read poetry and prose that is challenging and self-critical, gaining insights into the Jewish national psyche. 9:30 a.m. $160. jewishpgh. org/event/israeli-literature-as-a-window-to-israelisociety/2023-02-07.

q TUESDAYS, MARCH 7 – DEC. 26

Led by a certified yoga teacher, yoga class at Temple Sinai is welcome to all levels. No experience necessary. 16 and older. $15. Register at templesinaipgh.org.

q WEDNESDAYS, MARCH 8 – APRIL 19

Participate in weekly gentle yoga with a skilled and caring yoga instructor experienced in trauma-informed

Partnership suite inside the Squirrel Hill JCC. Facilitated by Susie Balcom and open to everyone. Register here: forms.gle/JQtgrutJyByaMM5K6.

q WEDNESDAYS, MARCH 8 – MAY 24

Registration is now open for “Melton Core 1: Rhythms and Purposes of Jewish Living.” This 25-lesson course will take you through the year’s cycle — the life cycle traditions and practices that bind us together. Explore not just the what is and how is of Jewish living, but the why is that go with them. 7 p.m. $300 per person, per year (25 sessions), includes all books and materials. Virtual. foundation.jewishpgh.org/ melton-core-1.

q WEDNESDAYS, MARCH 8 – DEC. 27

Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Daniel Fellman presents a weekly Parshat/Torah portion class on site and online. Call 412-421-9715 for more information and the Zoom link.

q THURSDAYS, MARCH 9 – MAY 17

In the new 10-part Zoom course, “Sacks: To Heal a Fractured World,” Rabbi Danny Schiff will explore “To Heal a Fractured World,” Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ book on the nature of Jewish responsibility for the broader world. Students will be invited to read this pivotal book and to discuss its contents in order to arrive at a better understanding of the views of Rabbi Sacks on the goals and vision of Judaism. 9:30 a.m. $145 for all 10 sessions. jewishpgh.org/event/sacks-to-heal-afractured-world/2023-02-2.

q THURSDAYS, MARCH 9, APRIL 20, MAY 18

Join the JCC Buffalo for monthly virtual readings as part of the Jewish Poetry Series. Hosted by Philip Terman and Baruch November. Each month will feature different Jewish poets reading selections of poems that include but are not limited to Jewish themes, values and ideas. 7 p.m. Free and open to the community. jccbuffalo.org/events/2023/02/09/ arts-and-culture/virtual-jewish-poetry-reading-series.

q WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15

Join the Squirrel Hill chapter of the AARP for their March meeting. In addition to the regular meeting, Kim Adley, a local entrepreneur who designs custom group tours, Tourism Trifect. She will present multiple tours for the balance of 2023 including a day at the theater, lunches, cruises and holiday festivals. Refreshments will be served. 1 p.m.

Rodef Shalom Congregation, Falk Library,

q WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15 – DEC. 20

Join AgeWell for an Intergenerational Family Dynamics Discussion Group, geared toward anyone who has children, grandchildren, a spouse, siblings or parents. Family dynamics is a fascinating topic and whether you have family harmony or strife, these discussions are going to be thought-provoking and helpful. Led by intergenerational specialist/presenter and educator Audree Schall. Third Wednesday of each month. Free. 12:30 p.m. South Hills JCC. jccpgh. org/app/uploads/2023/02/JCC-South-Hills-SeniorsNewsletter-February-2023. pdf.

q THURSDAYS, MARCH 23 – APRIL 27

Many are concerned that democracy is under threat. That reality raises a critical question: What does Judaism have to say about democracy? What is the attitude of Judaism to majority rule, to defending minorities, to the separation of religion and state, to kings and courts?

In “Is Judaism Compatible with Democracy?” Rabbi Danny Schiff will delve into what our texts have to say about the structure of government from a Jewish viewpoint. Co-sponsored and offered in conjunction with Temple Sinai. $55. 9:30 a.m. Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Ave. jewishpgh.org/event/isjudaism-compatible-with-democracy/2023-03-23.

q THURSDAYS, MARCH 23; APRIL 13, 27

This bimonthly Refaeinu healing circle is led by Sara Stock Mayo, a spiritual leader, trained drama therapist, musician and poet. The space will be open to anyone who seeks to create community in shared healing rituals, Jewish texts and music, art making and embodied wellness practices. 10.27 Healing Partnership Suite, JCC of Greater Pittsburgh. 7 p.m. To register, visit forms.gle/pAJoXvNXSJ9Ks3ow9.

q MONDAY, MARCH 27 – SUNDAY, MAY 7

The Healing Garden is an exhibit of drawings by members of the Allegheny Highlands Botanical Art Society. Free and open to the public. Opening reception on Monday March 27 at 6 p.m. Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave. rodefshalom.org.

q THURSDAYS, APRIL 6; MAY 4; JUNE 1

Join local clergy from Jewish and Christian backgrounds for the Christian Jewish Dialogue, a monthly discussion exploring topics of similarities and differences. Noon. Rodef Shalom Congregation. rodefshalom.org. PJC

girafchik123 / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Headlines

Planned ‘Day of Hate’ against Jews passes by with packed synagogues and no violence

— NATIONAL —

By Philissa Cramer | JTA

A“National Day of Hate” against Jews planned by white supremacists that triggered sweeping warnings from law enforcement and Jewish security officials came and went without significant incident on Saturday.

Synagogues and Jewish institutions across the United States had spent the preceding days shoring up their security procedures, reassuring their congregants and requesting extra patrols from local police.

But the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate, wrote on Twitter that a meaningful escalation of antisemitic activity did not come to pass, despite some white supremacist actions and propaganda drops around the country. “Despite concerns over increased antisemitic activity, 2/25 has so far been a pretty typical Saturday in America,” the organization tweeted.

because it is the first Shabbat of Adar, the month when we are supposed to ‘increase our joy’ and get ready for the costume holiday of Purim,” Woodward had written to his congregants on Friday.

“Normally, it’s hard to know how to fight these abstract forces of hate. But tomorrow, you can do that.”

Communities demonstrated defiance in other ways, too. Temple Emanu-El in New York City, for example, held its Shabbat morning services on Fifth Avenue, rather than inside its majestic sanctuary on the block. Among those attending were non-Jews who wanted to show their support.

“For me, today was a symbol of resistance, of being in solidarity with the Jewish people. With all of the threats and bad things, it’s a symbol of strength and solidarity,” Jose del Rosairo told the New York Post.

That was exactly what Jewish advocates had urged as Shabbat neared. The ADL had encouraged Jews to turn Saturday into

going to stay home,’” Hochul said in brief remarks to the congregation. “They certainly misjudged the situation.”

The ADL said there had in fact been protests by antisemitic groups in Ohio and Georgia on Saturday and antisemitic materials distributed in at least four other states, even as feared violence did

not materialize.

“We know that the threat does not magically disappear as the sun sets on this so-called ‘day of hate,’” the organization tweeted. “We know that vigilance is part of being Jewish in America in 2023. And we take great comfort in knowing we do not face this darkness alone.” PJC

Some Jews had said they were staying home or taking other precautions against the threats of synagogue vandalism issued earlier in the week by a small extremist group in Iowa. Police published bulletins about the threats, but law enforcement officials in New York and Chicago said ahead of Saturday that they saw no indications of concrete threats. That assessment was echoed by the Secure Community Network, a group that coordinates security for Jewish institutions nationwide.

“This is yet another example of how social media is contributing to the rise in antisemitism, this time by spreading and amplifying the activities of what is surely a very small group of people,” Julie Platt, chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, wrote in an email on Friday.

Reports from synagogues suggested that the pews were crowded on Shabbat with Jews who said they would not be deterred by hate. In some cases, they were joined by non-Jewish allies who wanted to show their support.

“It was packed,” said Rabbi Eric Woodward of Beth El-Keser Israel in New Haven, Connecticut, where a preplanned Silly Hat Shabbat was transformed at the last moment into an act of defiance.

“We are wearing silly hats tomorrow

“Shabbat of Peace, Not Hate.” Meanwhile, social media influencers exhorted their followers to demonstrate their Jewish pride and support for Jews under threat.

“Some fringe white supremacist groups have planned a national ‘day of hate’ against the Jewish people on Saturday,” read a widely shared Instagram post by Jessica Seinfeld, who previously went viral by offering non-Jews a way to signal online that they rejected antisemitism by the rapper Kanye West.

“We are hoping our friends will help us counter this idea with their love and light,” wrote Seinfeld, a cookbook author and wife of the comedian Jerry Seinfeld. “Will you consider joining a Jewish friend at synagogue for Shabbat? Help us fill our sanctuaries with courage and friendship.”

One of the most prominent non-Jews to join a synagogue service on Saturday was New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was at New York City’s Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, which primarily serves LGBTQ Jews.

“When there are people out there who think that by their words alone, by declaring a day of hate, that the rest of us, particularly those in the Jewish community, would cower and say, ‘Well, we’re afraid of them. We’re

p Illustrative: Squirrel Hill residents returned from seders April 15, 2022, to find antisemtic flyers in their yard. Photo provided by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

“For me, today was a symbol of resistance, of being in solidarity with the Jewish people. With all of the threats and bad things, it’s a symbol of strength and solidarity.”

–JOSE DEL ROSAIRO

3 dead after bloody day in West Bank, as settlers riot following Palestinian shooting attack

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

Agunman shot and killed two Israeli brothers driving through a West Bank town, which was later rampaged by settlers who burned cars and buildings.

A Palestinian was killed and dozens were injured. Israeli leaders called on the rioters to stop — though at least one settler official tweeted that the Palestinian town should be “wiped out.” The attacks took place as Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Jordan to stem a recent escalation in violence, though what they agreed to later came under debate.

The Israeli victims, who lived in the nearby settlement of Har Bracha, were driving Sunday through Huwara, a town near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, reports said. The two victims, brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, ages 22 and 20, were on Route 60, a West Bank thoroughfare that runs through the town. They were both students at academies in which students combine military service with Torah study.

Hours after the Palestinian attack, hundreds of settlers began rioting in the town, burning dozens of cars, shops and homes, and throwing rocks at Palestinian drivers, according to Israeli reports. Videos posted to social media showed widespread fires in Huwara and smoke billowing into the air. Dozens of Huwara’s residents were injured and one Palestinian was killed in another town, Za’tara, south of Huwara.

Late at night, hours after the riot began, Israeli forces quelled the violence and took control of the area, in addition to helping Palestinians evacuate burning buildings. Israeli forces are also increasing their presence in the West Bank.

Sunday’s violence came amid months of escalating violence in Israel and the West Bank. Fifteen Israelis have been killed this year in Palestinian terror attacks, the vast majority of them civilians. More than 60 Palestinians have been killed during the same period, mostly in raids by Israeli forces on cells of militants. A number of Palestinian civilians and children have been killed in the violence. Sunday’s clashes mark the most widespread settler violence in response to a Palestinian attack during the recent bloodshed.

Haaretz quoted local sources as saying that Sunday’s Palestinian shooter was wearing a shirt with the emblem of the Lion’s Den, a group of militants established last year in Nablus as Israel intensified deadly raids in the West Bank following a series of Palestinian stabbing attacks.

In a public video, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the shooting attack a “terrible tragedy” and appealed to the rioters to retreat.

“I ask — even when blood is boiling and emotions run high — not to take the law into one’s hands,” Netanyahu said. “I ask that the IDF and the security forces be allowed to carry out their work. I remind you that in recent weeks, they have targeted dozens of terrorists and thwarted dozens of attacks Let the IDF complete its pursuit and do not take the law into your hands; together we will defeat terrorism.”

We rely on the IDF to do what is needed to return security to our area.”

Other senior government officials, including Netanyahu’s far-right partners, echoed the prime minister’s calls against vigilantism. Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister who was just given authority over civilian life in parts of the West Bank fully controlled by Israel, tweeted to his “settler brothers” that “It is forbidden to take the

among the parties as to whether Israel would freeze settlement expansion, a claim Netanyahu denied.

Also in attendance were officials from Jordan, Egypt and the United States. A joint statement from the parties said both sides agreed to suspend “unilateral measures for a period of three to six months.” The statement added, “This includes an Israeli commitment to stop discussion of any new settlement units for four months and to stop authorization of any outposts for six months.”

Israel recently authorized nine outposts in retaliation for Palestinian terrorist attacks. Following the statement, Netanyahu said on Twitter that settlement building would go ahead unhindered. “There is not now nor will there be a freeze,” he wrote. Smotrich also denied that settlement building would slow down. “I do know one thing: There will be no freeze on building and development in the settlements even one day (I’m in charge),” he tweeted.

But one regional settlement official, Davidi Ben Zion, tweeted and then deleted a call for vengeance, according to screenshots. “The village of Huwara needs to be wiped out today,” he wrote. “Enough with the talk of building and strengthening settlements. The deterrence that was lost needs to return immediately, and there’s no place for mercy.”

Hours later, he tweeted, “To remove any doubt, I will clarify that we are against anarchy and taking the law into one’s hands.

law into one’s hands and create dangerous anarchy that will likely go out of control and cost human life.”

On Sunday, Israeli and Palestinian officials met in the Jordanian capital of Amman to tamp down the intensification of violence. They agreed to resume coordination on security matters between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which governs West Bank Palestinian population centers. But that meeting was followed by disagreement

Despite the apparent contradictions, the Biden administration praised the conference. “Today’s meeting in Aqaba is a positive step for Israelis and Palestinians,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter. “It’s crucial for the parties to follow through on steps to de-escalate tensions and restore calm.”

Separately, the Times of Israel reported that the Cabinet advanced a bill that would impose the death penalty for Palestinians who kill Israelis, a campaign pledge from Smotrich’s far-right bloc. PJC

p Israeli soldiers guard as Palestinians protest at the Hawara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus on Feb. 10, 2022.

Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90 via JTA

“Today’s meeting in Aqaba is a positive step for Israelis and Palestinians...It’s crucial for the parties to follow through on steps to de-escalate tensions and restore calm.”

–ANTONY BLINKEN

NASA to launch Israel’s first space telescope

Israel’s first space telescope will enter geostationary orbit in 2026, where it will scan the universe for events such as stars colliding or exploding and the impact of giant black holes, the Weizmann Institute of Science announced on Feb. 21, JNS.org reported.

The Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite, or ULTRASAT — which will be launched as part of a newly signed partnership between NASA and Israel’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology — is expected to revolutionize scientists’ ability to detect and analyze transient events in the universe such as neutron star mergers and supernova explosions, the institute said.

It is the premier project of the Israel Space Agency in the ministry and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.

According to the agreement, NASA partnered in ULTRASAT and will provide the launch opportunity, Flight Payload Adapter and other launch-related needs for the project. The Israel Space Agency will deliver the completed observatory to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the launch.

ULTRASAT will cost about $90 million to build.

Gene Simmons of Kiss fame

unveils mural of Polish Catholic Holocaust hero

Artists 4 Israel expanded its series of murals honoring Righteous Among the Nations. It did so with a “kiss” this time, JNS.org reported.

The collective, which enlists artists to combat antisemitism and anti-Israel bigotry through their work, unveiled its fourth mural on Feb. 26 paying homage to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

The downtown Los Angeles celebration honors Irene Gut Opdyke, a Polish Catholic who saved 12 Jews from certain death, stowing them away in the basement of a Nazi commander’s home. (She died in 2003.)

The artist Andrew Hern created the 60-foot-by-15-foot mural for the city’s arts district. Guest speakers included Jeannie Opdyke Smith, daughter of the heroic mural subject, and Elan Carr, former State Department special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism.

Gene Simmons, the Israeli-American rock star of the band Kiss appeared as a special guest. Born Chaim Witz, the singer comes from a family deeply affected by the Holocaust. His mother and brother were the only members of the family to survive the Shoah.

Catholic school soccer team that brawled with Miami Jewish school forfeits state semifinal

A Catholic high school in Miami forfeited its semifinal game in a state soccer tournament on Feb. 18, days after players fought in an on-field brawl with a Jewish school’s team, JTA.org reported.

The Catholic school, however, did not offer additional comment on eyewitness accounts claiming that the fight was fueled by antisemitism.

Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School was set to play in the semifinals on Feb. 18 beating Scheck Hillel Community School in

Today in Israeli History

March 6, 1975 — PLO attacks Savoy Hotel

their regional final on Feb. 15y. But the school’s players came under scrutiny after video emerged of students and spectators fighting following the game. Some Scheck Hillel parents told local news outlets that students had uttered antisemitic slurs, including “Hitler was right.” Those accounts have not yet been confirmed by either school, by video or by law enforcement.

The athletic director of Archbishop Carroll’s slated opponent in the semifinal told local news outlets that the school had forfeited following its role in the brawl but did not provide further details.

Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Arkansas law prohibiting contractors from Israel boycotts

In a major victory for pro-Israel advocates, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal against an Arkansas state law requiring all companies that contract with the state to sign a pledge promising not to boycott Israel, JTA.org reported.

The dismissal allows the Arkansas law to stand, ending its challenger’s effort to overturn one of many state laws that had been crafted in opposition to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement targeting Israel. Fewer than four justices believed the case warranted a review by the Supreme Court.

The case pitted the Arkansas Times, an independent alt-weekly publication, against the former chairman of the University of Arkansas. Under state law, all companies seeking to do business with Arkansas state entities must sign a pledge promising not to engage in any Israel boycotts.

The Arkansas Times does not boycott Israel

but refused to sign the pledge. That refusal led one of the university system’s affiliates to end an advertising agreement with the Arkansas Times, prompting the publication to sue.

Federal courts have struck down similar state laws in the past, but last year, a federal appeals court ruled that Arkansas’ law is not unconstitutional because financial regulations should be considered “noncommunicative” speech.

Torn pants of late haredi rabbi Chaim Kanievsky will be auctioned starting at $3,200

A pair of pants coming up for auction are being described as “holy” — and not just because they’re a little torn, JTA.org reported

Rather, the pants once belonged to the late Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, an Israeli haredi Orthodox leader considered by his followers to be the leading Jewish authority of his generation. Kanievsky died last year at 94, and now anyone can be the owner of his trousers — provided they can afford them. The starting bid is $3,200.

The bidding at the Prime Judaica auction house, in the heavily haredi New Jersey city of Lakewood, began on March 1. The item is listed in Hebrew as “Holy pants from the Prince of Torah, our leader Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky.”

Included on the auction house page is a letter written and signed by Gedalyahu Konigsberg, who identifies himself as a grandson of, and former aide to, Chaim Kanievsky.

Letters and legal rulings written by Kanievsky have gone to auction for hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars and started going up for sale during his lifetime. PJC

— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb

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

March 3, 1939 — Mufti rejects majority-Arab state

Opposing any permanent Jewish presence, the mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husayni, rejects a British proposal to severely limit Jewish immigration while working to establish a majority-Arab Palestine within 10 years.

March 4, 1996 — Tel Aviv suicide bombing kills 14

A Palestinian from Ramallah detonates a 45-pound bomb packed with nails outside Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Center on the eve of Purim, killing the Hamas bomber and 13 Israelis, five of whom are 13 or younger.

March 5, 1891 — Blackstone petitions president for Jewish home William Blackstone, an American Methodist lay leader, submits a petition to President Benjamin Harrison that calls for creating “a home for these wandering mi llions o f Israel” in Palestine.

An eight-man PLO raid hits the beach in Tel Aviv and attacks the Savoy Hotel. Sayeret Matkal commandos kill seven terrorists and capture the eighth. Three Israeli soldiers and eight civilians are killed.

March 7, 1977 — Rabin, Carter meet in Washington

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and President Jimmy Carter meet in Washington. Rabin suggests that Israel could pursue peace with Egypt and perhaps Jordan; Carter prefers steps toward a comprehensive regional peace.

March 8, 1949 — First elected government is formed

David Ben-Gurion’s Mapai forms a governing coalition with the United Religious Front, the Progressive Party, the Sephardi and Mizrahi Communities, and the Democratic List of Nazareth after Israel’s first national election.

March 9, 1914 — Ruppin buys land for Hebrew U.

Arthur Ruppin, the head of the Palestine Office of the World Zionist Organization, purchases the estate of Sir John Gray Hill atop Mount Scopus to serve as the future campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. PJC

p Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, months from leaving office, and President Jimmy Carter, only a month and a half into office, meet at the White House on March 7, 1977.

p William Blackstone believed that restoring the Jewish people to the Land of Israel would help usher in the return of Jesus.

Headlines

Trial:

Continued from page 1

is important to ensure that anyone who feels trauma has coping mechanisms at hand, Feinstein said.

Lulu Orr, a clinical specialist with JFCS, said that people experiencing anxiety or trauma can drop in to the 10.27 Healing Partnership during its regular hours, or they can call JFCS to talk or take advantage of its other services.

JFCS has some “really amazing therapists and several of them are trauma therapists who have been working with people in the community most affected by the shooting and will continue to do so,” she said.

and survivors — when announcing his intention to continue a moratorium on state executions. The governor’s remarks confused many since the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s trial is a federal case, separate from state laws and procedures.

Recent talks with David Harris, the Sally Ann Semenko endowed chair and professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh, offered by the 10.27 Healing Partnership tried to cut through the confusion inherent in the legal systems and its various jurisdictions.

Harris said that he was pleased to have the opportunity to help the community prepare for the trial by offering two talks on U.S. law and the criminal justice system, attracting several hundred community members.

works, and a discussion of the technical aspects of a death penalty case, including the distinctions between a federal and state death penalty case.

“This was an opportunity for me to serve a small role in helping my community become a little stronger so that when the trauma of the trial comes, and it will, we are all more ready for it and more savvy to and more realistic about it,” he said. “That can make us more resilient because we know it’s going to be very, very challenging.”

Michele Rosenthal, whose brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal were killed during the attack, said that the 10.27 Healing Partnership has been integral to the families over the last four years. “They’ve brought us

sometimes difficult because she knows the community has been affected by the attack and will have anxiety about the trial.

“Until you’ve lost a mother, father, brother or sibling, though, you don’t know what it’s like to go through this,” she said.

Rosenthal urges caution in the lead-up to the trial concerning those who might claim to know details of the case or how particular family members feel about it. That point was illustrated when Shapiro said on Feb. 16 that family members “of the 11 people slain … did not want the killer put to death.”

Rosenthal pointed to a letter printed by the Chronicle on Nov. 18 titled “Most families of Pittsburgh synagogue victims

The two organizations, Orr said, are jointly offering the community as many on-ramps as possible, including therapy, and meditation and relaxation techniques.

For many, stress and anxiety are rising as the trial date approaches, she said.

“We’ve been talking about the trial for so long but now it’s real,” Orr said. “It’s scary, frightening and anxiety-provoking. There are people that have never even been in the Tree of Life building but they’re feeling anxious and on high alert.”

Just as important as the emotional and therapeutic services on offer, Feinstein said, is providing education about the criminal justice system. That need was on full display on Feb. 16 when Gov. Josh Shapiro referenced the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s trial — as well as families of the victims,

Cremation:

Continued from page 1

“It’s sacrilegious. It’s what the Germans did to us. It’s a horrifying thing,” he said, referencing the Holocaust.

Although cremation is not permitted in Judaism, Vogel stressed that those murdered by the Germans were not held to the prohibition.

Shaare Torah Rabbi Yitzi Genack agrees with Vogel that cremation should be seen in the modern context of the aftermath of the Holocaust.

“Millions of Jewish bodies were cremated. I see it as a tremendous tragedy,” he said.

The traditional Jewish view, he said, is focused on burial.

“There’s a line I say to families when we’re processing a funeral and death,” he said. “There are a lot of rituals that come up between the time of passing and burial and I say, ‘Nothing that we’re doing is going to be to your relative, everything we do is for them.’”

Those rituals are meant to show the grandeur and greatness of the person, he said.

“The Torah says numerous times that when a person dies, the body has to be

His goal, he said, was to provide a “knowledge base in real facts that would enable all of us to set our expectations for what would really happen.”

Most people, Harris said, tend to think of the legal system in one of two ways: a box where stuff goes and something else comes out — guilty or not guilty — or through the prism of television and movies.

“I tell all my students on the first day of criminal law that we’re going to have to unlearn entertainment,” he said. “The courtroom is a great entertainment vehicle, but it’s not very realistic.”

Rather than talk about the specifics of the Pittsburgh synagogue case — which he is largely unaware of, other than what has been made public — Harris offered a presentation on how a criminal trial

treated with respect and buried,” he said. “Throughout the generations, by the tradition, that has been magnified.”

The community should accompany a person to burial and to show care, greatness and loss being felt.

get together and provide an environment for us to feel safe and supported whether it’s virtual or physical,” she said.

Rosenthal said that Feinstein and her team have helped the broader community as well to understand the judicial process.

Despite not being involved in the legal process, the organization, Rosenthal noted, has made it easier for the families — helping with transportation, food and support staff.

“That’s a wide range, from therapists to support around the trial, that makes life a little easier for the families,” Rosenthal said.

The 10.27 Healing Partnership is working to assist both the broader community and families, which sometimes have different needs. For Rosenthal, that distinction is

no wiggle room.

“Cremains can not be buried in a halachic cemetery,” he said.

Temple Sinai Rabbi Daniel Fellman said that in the Reform movement things aren’t so cut and dry.

support the death penalty for the shooter.” The letter was signed by family members of 9 of the victims.

Feinstein said that as the trial date approaches, it’s natural that many might be fearful, but said it’s important to not be driven by emotion. She pointed to the work of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and steps taken by Shawn Brokos, its director of community security, to keep the community safe.

“This isn’t 2018,” Feinstein said. “We’re not in that same situation.”

And for those who may be feeling anxious, Feinstein said, the 10.27 Healing Partnership is available as a resource. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Brody said that her family-owned business does offer cremation services but that, for her, it’s a paradox.

“I’m very traditional,” she said. “For me, cremation is not something I or my family would choose. We are a business that serves the entire community, though, not just a small segment of it, so we have to be open to everybody’s needs.”

The funeral home’s mission, she said, is to meet people where they are.

It’s most important to honor the life of a person and offer closure for loved ones, Brody said.

“The body is sacred, and things that are sacred are not destroyed,” he said. “They’re laid down peacefully and gently when they are no longer in use. So, it’s not anticremation; it’s very pro the care and love of tender burial.”

Genack said that if a family wanted to cremate a body and have it buried in a Jewish cemetery, he would first have a conversation explaining the advantages of burial over cremation.

“In the long run, I think there are emotional advantages to having a space where the body rests and the family can visit,” he said.

If the rabbi’s attempts fail, he said, there is

“Cremation isn’t seen as the preferred method of dealing with a person after they’ve died, but it is acceptable,” he said, noting that he has officiated funerals of those who have been cremated and those where the cremated remains will be buried.

Fellman said that he does have a conversation with families seeking cremation, “pushing them a little, to make sure they really want to do this, making sure they understand what this means and what kind of modeling this is for children, but I would absolute officiate it,” he said.

Ralph Schugar Chapel President and licensed funeral director Sharon Ryave

And while she said that some Jewish cemeteries won’t bury cremains, others will, especially if tahara, or the traditional Jewish practice of readying a body for burial, was followed.

Cremation, Brody said, is seen by some as a more environmentally responsible option than traditional burial. That isn’t necessarily the case, she pointed out.

“I think the traditional Jewish funeral is the most environmentally friendly — a plain pine box, no embalming. Jews are the pioneers of a green burial,” she said. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

No matter where you fall on the issue, there is no question that cremation rubs against halachah, or traditional Jewish law.

“There’s the old adage, ‘You control what you can and then you plan around what you can’t control...This is one of those things we can’t control.”

–MAGGIE FEINSTEIN

I worked for Jimmy Carter at the White House. He should be remembered as a champion of the Jewish people

Guest Columnist

Stuart Eizenstat

No American President has done more to advance the security of the state of Israel, champion the rights of the Jewish people around the world, memorialize the victims of the Holocaust and honor its survivors, and embody the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam, repairing the world, than Jimmy Carter, a devout Southern Baptist from the tiny hamlet of Plains, Georgia.

And none were less rewarded politically by the American Jewish community for doing so.

One of his early acts as president, fulfilling a campaign promise, was empowering me to mediate the negotiations between major Jewish organizations and the American business community to find a solution to the Arab boycott of American corporations who wished to do business with Israel. At the time, the Jewish community sought to make it illegal for American firms to participate in the Arab boycott of Israel; that is what Carter promised to do in the presidential campaign and what he supported as president.

The result of these negotiations was the Israel Anti-Arab Boycott Act of 1977, which prohibited American companies from cooperating

with the Arab boycott by refusing to do business with Israel. This act measurably strengthened the Israeli economy by leading to more American trade and investment in Israel, and to decreased enforcement of the Arab boycott over time.

Carter was also the father of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. He created the Presidential Commission on the Holocaust chaired by Elie Wiesel, accepting their recommendation for a museum and obtaining unanimous congressional support.

Remembering the lessons of the Holocaust, when American doors were largely shut to fleeing Jewish refugees, Carter created a special visa category to permit tens of thousands of Iranian Jews fleeing the radical Iranian revolution to enter safety in the U.S. And he lit the first Hanukkah menorah in Lafayette Park on Dec. 17, 1979.

Carter applied his human rights policy to champion the emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union, leading to doubling of their number up to 50,000 annually, before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Despite his reputation by some in the American Jewish community to the contrary, Carter was also a strong supporter of Israel, and made Middle East peace his top foreign policy priority. His first foreign visitor as president was Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

There were, of course, pressing geopolitical imperatives calling Carter to act. Egyptian

President Anwar Sadat had recently broken with the Soviet Union and cast his lot with the United States. Bringing peace to the region by brokering the return of the Egyptian Sinai to Egypt in return for peace with Israel would strengthen the U.S. during the Cold War by enhancing American influence. Moreover, the partial disengagements between Egypt and Israel, and Syria and Israel, negotiated by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 1974 and 1975, had run their course.

Carter tried to revive the Geneva Conference cosponsored with the Soviet Union, which Kissinger had unsuccessfully launched, with all the Arab states to reach a comprehensive peace plan with all of Israel’s Arab enemies.

Israel was outraged that they would be outnumbered. At a tense, all-night negotiation with Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan at the U.N. Plaza Hotel, Carter was forced to back off. Sadat was also opposed, fearing his Arab neighbors would block his goal of the return of the Egyptian Sinai. This abortive conference was a key reason Sadat made his historic Nov. 19, 1977 trip to Israel, pledging, “No more wars.” Carter initially had qualms about Sadat’s initiative, but he quickly embraced it.

Months of negotiations between Egypt and Israel failed to produce a breakthrough. President Carter invited Begin and Sadat to the presidential retreat at Camp David, away from the press. This time, Carter did everything possible to create a positive atmosphere.

Are American rabbis giving in to assimilation?

Guest Columnist

Arthur Green

Two decisions quietly announced by liberal rabbinical seminaries will greatly influence the future of American Jewish leadership and of the community itself. Each is worthy of note and a cause for some consternation.

Several months ago, the (Conservative) Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, an arm of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, announced that it was reducing its course of in-house rabbinical study from five to three years, as well as making it available at a much reduced rate. It cut its yearlong requirement of study in Israel down to a summer visit. In doing so, it announced that it seeks to define itself more as a professional training program, presumably bothering future rabbis less with the burden of mastering classical sources in the original.

A few weeks ago, Hebrew College in Boston (from which I am recently retired) announced that it would no longer consider marriage to a non-Jewish spouse an impediment to admission or ordination in its rabbinical program. It did so without demanding any conditions, such as Judaism being the only religion in the home or the raising of the rabbi’s children exclusively as Jews. The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia made this move several years ago. It is now almost certain that

the Reform movement’s HUC/JIR will have to submit to the pressure and conform as well.

There are surely complicated reasons behind each of these decisions. A particularly small pool of applicants in the past two years, as well as financial considerations, play a major role. The truth is that the large wealthy stratum of American Jewry has failed to support its own leadership training institutions anywhere close to the degree needed. Jews of means seem much more interested in seeing their names on endowed chairs in Jewish studies (and other fields) at secular universities than in caring for institutions vital for the Jewish continuity to which they pay lip service. Academics in the Jewish studies field teaching in universities, members of the Association for Jewish Studies, have made it very clear that they do not see building the Jewish future or strengthening Jewish identity as part of their professional roles, but donors do not quite get that message.

Both of these decisions were also taken in significant part in response to student pressure. The decreasing pool, along with institutional cultures of responsiveness, gives students more power in determining the nature of their education. These young Jews, now sixth- or seventh- generation since their ancestors’ immigration to the United States, are fully American in every way. That includes the liberal American preference for asserting freedoms and rights over obligations and commitments. It goes hand in hand with a certain commitment of younger generation Americans to accessibility as a supreme value. Everybody should have a right to everything; nothing should stand in their way. It thus

becomes morally offensive for a rabbinical program to demand that its ordainees marry Jews or live in an exclusively Jewish household. The school may not demand that future rabbis be active in a synagogue while they are in school. What right does a rabbinical seminary have to make such demands? How dare they restrict my freedom! Overly sympathetic administrators tend to identify with these student views.

Similar is the case of the Ziegler program’s reduction of its course of study. What right does the rabbinical school have to make me learn texts in Aramaic, a skill I will never need out there in the pulpit? Yet the congregational rabbi will often be the only deeply committed Jew whom many of her/his congregants know. The rabbi serves as a sort of cultural and spiritual ambassador from the tradition and Jewish history to the contemporary, often mostly indifferent, Jewish community. But an ambassador has little to offer if they are not rooted deeply in the tradition they are representing. For Jews, as we all know, this means deep learning in the ancient books. It also means living in a richly and fully Jewish home.

Since its founding, North American Jewry has been a synagogue-centered Jewish community. For most Jews there, membership in the Jewish community is defined by belonging to a synagogue. Suburbanization in the post-World War II era increased this self-image, and it has not changed. Today’s decreasing synagogue membership is associated in the eyes of the community with diminished interest in both Judaism and Jewry — in other words, with the ongoing process of assimilation. Training

Carter had a kosher Shabbat dinner with the Israeli delegation. He took the two leaders in his presidential limousine to the Gettysburg battlefield to remind them of the futility of more wars. Begin was so moved he recited, verbatim, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. But the relationship between Begin and Sadat was so poisonous at their initial meeting on the first day that they never negotiated together again. While Sadat entrusted Carter with negotiating the best deal he could for Egypt, Begin, Israel’s first Likud prime minister, who believed that Israel was entitled to all the land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, was a tough negotiator.

For 13 days and nights, Carter drafted 23 peace agreements. He went around Begin to negotiate with Dayan, Defense Minister Ezer Weizman and, most importantly, legal adviser and future Israeli Supreme Court Justice Aharon Barak, and Sadat’s senior adviser, Osama El-Baz.

But on the last Sunday, they were still stuck over the status of Jerusalem. Begin told Carter his bags were packed — he could compromise no more. Carter, desperate that Sadat not go home empty-handed, autographed personalized copies of a photograph of the three leaders to each of Begin’s grandchildren and walked them over to Begin in his cabin. He saw Begin’s eyes tear and lips quiver; he put down his bags and completed the Camp David Accords.

rabbis who have less to offer, or whose own lives fill less of an inspirational role for those who care most deeply about Jewish identity, will only contribute to the weakening of those synagogue communities.

In the very tradition-fluid American setting, conversion to Judaism has played an important role. As any rabbi of a liberal congregation will tell you, Jews by choice are often among the most serious and committed members of the community. Many do convert in the context of choosing a marriage partner, but then go on to very deep and sincere commitments to Jewish practice and learning. What will it mean to the future of conversion if the rabbi offering the class is him/herself intermarried? This very important channel for Jewish intensification is likely to be weakened. Why bother to convert if the rabbi’s spouse didn’t?

From a historical perspective, each of these decisions will be seen as a further surrendering to the process of assimilation, another reducing of the standards of Jewish difference from the general American population. As an ethno/religious minority living in a melting pot society, Jews have done remarkably well in maintaining their identity. Other once-distinctive mostly white-skinned communities have looked upon us with envy. But bit by bit, the erosion in the non-Orthodox majority increases. It is worth noticing it as it happens, as a first step to asking whether and how it can be reversed. PJC

Arthur Green is recently retired as rector of the Hebrew College Rabbinical School, where he had served as dean since the program’s founding in 2004.

Chronicle poll results: Train derailment

Last week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “How concerned are you with the East Palestine train derailment and its impacts?” Of the 225 people who responded, 65% said “very concerned”; 30% said “somewhat concerned”; 4% said “not at all concerned”; and 1% had no opinion. Comments were submitted by 60 people. A few follow.

I have been working in the hazardous waste industry for 40 years and was at USEPA in the Superfund program. I also teach the topic at CMU. Pittsburgh air and water were not impacted, so I am not concerned at all. If I were in the immediate area of the train wreck, I would be very concerned. We should not forget that trains with crude oil, hazardous and dangerous substances pass through Pittsburgh over several rail routes on a daily basis.

It’s unclear if we are affected here in Pittsburgh. Some people here have said that they’ve seen acid rain on their cars.

Eizenstat: Continued from page 12

But the Accords provided only a framework for peace. After six months of fruitless negotiations, Egypt and Israel failed to convert Camp David into a legally binding treaty. Again, over the objection of his advisers, Carter traveled to the region and produced the treaty.

For Carter, there was one unfinished piece to the treaty: the Palestinians. As early as March 1977, he had called for a “Palestinian homeland” (not a state). He told me he saw Palestinians as akin to the Black population of the South. At

Attack on Haley is puzzling

How concerned are you with the East Palestine train derailment and its impacts?

It could occur anywhere at any time. The railroad system and routes were laid out and built over 100 years ago and, just like our country’s infrastructure and electrical grid, are outdated and in need of being upgraded.

Camp David, Israel agreed to “full autonomy” for the Palestinians. Carter entrusted Sol Linowitz — a special representative for Middle East peace negotiations — to negotiate the details, but this was lost along with his reelection.

Despite these accomplishments, Carter got the lowest percentage of Jewish votes of any modern Democratic candidate: 45% in 1980, down from over 70% in 1976. At Camp David, Carter had promised Begin not to support any U.N. resolution dealing with the status of Jerusalem.

Arab-sponsored U.N. Resolution 465 referred to Jerusalem as “occupied territory” and condemned Israeli settlements. Carter ordered

It’s hard to believe that this country is still unable to protect its population from the dangers of toxic chemicals passing through residential areas on trains that apparently are either not correctly operated or not correctly regulated. This could have happened anywhere, including here.

As anyone who follows rail transport knows, there is insufficient regulation of an industry which has proved over and over their willingness to put profits ahead of people. Obama promulgated sensible regulations that Trump promptly rescinded. Time for “Mayor Pete” and the Feds to set more rigorous safety standards.

Why didn’t Biden in the two years the Democrats control Congress not reverse the Trump deregulation of the railroads?

Why is Biden in Ukraine and not East Palestine?

his U.N. ambassador, Donald McHenry, not to support any resolution condemning Israeli control of Jerusalem. Through a miscommunication, McHenry got some but not all references to Jerusalem removed and supported the resolution, which passed on March 1, 1980.

While Carter quickly disavowed the resolution, the damage was done. This caused the bottom to drop out of his Jewish support.

Long after his presidency, he got into hot water with the American Jewish community — and with me — over his controversial 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.”

But Carter’s post-presidency period was

The derailment is troubling enough, but the aftermath is even more disturbing. The Biden administration did not give this disaster the attention and resources it deserved. The question is why?

Once again a disaster becomes a political issue.

Most of us live close enough to rail lines, and we are vulnerable. We also need to take care of our fellow citizens in times of emergency.

We currently have so little faith in the accuracy of information we receive from corporations, state governments and even the media that it’s hard to accept that the quality of our air and water have not suffered a serious blow PJC

— Toby Tabachnick

Chronicle weekly poll question: Are you planning to attend a Megillah reading on Purim? Go to pittsburghjewish chronicle.org to respond. PJC

marked by good deeds in the Jewish tradition. Jimmy Carter is a great and good man and a dear friend, who as president and in his post-presidency has done much to make America a better country, Israel a stronger nation and the world a better place. PJC

Stuart E. Eizenstat was President Jimmy Carter’s White House domestic policy adviser. He is now special adviser on Holocaust issues to Secretary of State Blinken. This article first appeared in the Forward. To get the Forward’s free email newsletters delivered to your inbox, go to forward.com/newsletter-signup.

In last week’s Chronicle, Mr. Oren Spiegler, distinguished writer of letters to editors, sought to discredit Nikki Haley in a not-so-veiled effort to once again disclose his extreme dislike of Donald Trump.

But, in doing so, did Mr. Spiegler unwittingly, praise Ms. Haley? He claimed she is not a favorite of “those who value and emphasize consistency, honor and integrity.” His reasoning in making that claim, however, is that on several matters she was a supporter of Trump but has now turned against him and is challenging him in seeking the Republican nomination for president.

One would have thought Mr. Spiegler might applaud Ms. Haley’s “evolvement“ rather than attack her as lacking in consistency, honor and integrity. Why he attacked this woman of color is a reasonable question to ask of him.

Jack Mennis Allison Park

A statement against ‘hate and wokeness’

In response to the letter “Haley lacks integrity” (Feb. 24):

We have a society with some extremists on all ends of the political spectrum, but the deeper problem is the destruction of the social fabric. The imputing of racism to perspectives that are different from one’s own is ripping us apart. To deny former Gov. and Ambassador Haley’s perspective that our country has made epoch changes in the treatment of many groups is to deny reality.

I don’t know if I will vote for her, but I will put her name on my car as a statement against hate and wokeness.

Mark Staman Rodney Pittsburgh

Palestinian media’s incitement of hatred makes prospect of peace remote

During his recent visit to Pittsburgh, Israeli diplomat Itay Milner warned that “the hate we see online can be used or abused in real life,” recalling that the Tree of Life terrorist “was brainwashed by things that he read online,” as was the Palestinian Arab terrorist who recently massacred seven worshippers at the synagogue in Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood (“A conversation with Israeli diplomat Itay Milner,” Feb. 24).

If the problem of fringe online hate is serious, how much more so should we be concerned about an entire government that utilizes both conventional news media and social media to incite hatred against Jews and Israel. Consider these samples from the Palestinian Authoritycontrolled media in recent weeks:

— PA Television on Feb. 3 featured an official of the Fatah movement (the ruling faction of the PA) calling the Neve Yaakov killer “a hero.”

— A columnist for the PA’s official daily newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, wrote on Feb. 5 about what he called “the Zionist exaggeration of the number of victims of the Holocaust, in order to obtain the world’s sympathy.”

— On Feb. 4, PA Television’s “Giants of Endurance” program broadcast the granddaughter of an imprisoned terrorist reading a poem with these lines: “All my Arabness calls me to vengeance and liberation / To war that will smash the oppression and set the Zionist’s soul on fire.”

(Translations courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch.)

The Palestinian Authority’s nonstop campaign of inciting hatred poses a clear and present danger to the lives of Israeli Jews and makes the hope for peace more remote than ever.

Stephen M. Flatow Long Branch, New Jersey

Life & Culture

Fake news (It’s Purim!)

— JUST KIDDING —

By Chronicle Staff

The loneliest Jew

Jacob Stein might be the loneliest Jew this Purim.

Tone deaf and gluten sensitive due to celiac disease, Stein said he feels shunned by the community from which he normally draws strength.

“Look, I knew I couldn’t sing, but it’s one of my passions. In my bathroom I sound amazing,” Stein rued. “I never intended to land the role of Mordechai, but I thought I could be in the background. One time — that’s it, one time — was I included.”

Stein said the single time he was invited to participate in his synagogue’s Purim shpiel he did his best to blend in with the crowd. Unfortunately, he recalled, it didn’t take long before he noticed the pointing and snickers. After that, it seemed as if he was banned from joining the cast — any cast — of the local shpiels.

“OK, I get it. My congregation has a few singers that perform in various wedding bands, but I auditioned for the Conservative congregations down the road and they wouldn’t have me either. Even the local Chabad suggested I might be better off volunteering in other capacities. It’s just heartbreaking,” he said wiping away a tear.

If Stein’s ordeal ended there, he might have been able to make it through the holiday without utter despair. Unfortunately, two years ago he was diagnosed with celiac disease preventing him from even sampling the sweet hamantaschen.

Asked about the gluten-free options available, Stein said that many are either packaged in plants that also process peanuts, or have no dietary information included, so he can’t even even sample the dessert.

Rather than sit with happy families, watching their sons, daughters, wives and husbands dressed in outlandish costumes, Stein said he will stay home again this year.

“It makes me so mad. I want to twirl my grogger nonstop. Why should they get to hear communal voices while I’m shadow banned?” he asked.

If there is any consolation for Stein, it’s that knowing in a few weeks Passover begins. And while not all wheat-based food is chametz, he said, it’s enough.

“Watching all these tuneful, wheat-eating community members suffer for more than a week without their precious pastrami on rye brings me more joy than I can explain,” he said. “I get a lot of pleasure pointing out when corn syrup is in some delicious treat they’re about to pop in their mouth.”

Recent exhibit spurs return to Yiddish newspaper

Weeks after the University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library dedicated wall space to detailing the history of the Forward — a publication which began as “Forverts,” a Yiddish socialist daily — Pittsburghers are clamoring for more.

Since reporting on the Oakland-based exhibit, the Chronicle has received a deluge of letters signaling the wants and wishes of local readers.

“When the first note came in on yellowed paper and scrawled handwriting, we thought it was a joke,” Chronicle Publisher Jim Busis said. “Then, in came a wagonful of correspondence.”

The letters, all written in Yiddish, tell of Pittsburghers’ deep desire for modern hyperlocal news in an old tongue.

During the past week, linguists, scholars and rabbis have helped Chronicle staffers

translate thousands of missives.

“This is more than a bissel epistle,” one volunteer said. “The letters keep arriving. It’s clear what the people want.”

An emergency meeting convened by the Chronicle board acknowledged the demands.

After March 6, all Chronicle coverage will be conveyed in Yiddish, according to an unnamed source.

“Anyone who reads Ecclesiastes knows we should have seen this coming,” the source continued. “What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun.”

Spielberg announces first Israeli film

Amblin Partners, Steven Spielberg’s production company, announced today its first foray into Israeli filmmaking.

The project, whose working title is “Velvel,” is billed as a “mega-hit, guaranteed blockbuster.” And two popular Israeli actors have signed on for lead roles: Michael Aroni (“Shtisel”) and Lior Raz (“Fauda”).

In a triumph of casting — hailed by the American critic Leonard Maltin as “ingenious” — Aroni will reprise the character of the sweet and sexy haredi Akiva Shtisel, and Raz will play Doron Kabillio, the savvy and sexy Israeli commander of an elite counterterrorism unit of the Israel Defense Forces. The story has Akiva and Doron joining forces to outsmart a plot by an interstellar alien mastermind (Ben Stein as “Velvel”) to take over Earth by causing mass hysteria when he releases thousands of balloons in the airspace of world powers.

Through their adventures, the leads fall in and out of love, leaning on each other for advice in the ways of romance and combat.

“I want the audience to be moved by the bonding of these two men from very different parts of Israeli society,” Spielberg said. “And I’d be lying if I said this film isn’t a love letter to Jewish women everywhere.”

on location in the Jewish state.

Filming is scheduled to begin this summer

PJC

p Lior Raz stars in “Velvel”

Photo by Mark Neyman / Government Press Office, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

p A dedicated Chronicle reader tests a prototype of our new Yiddish version.

Photo by Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

p Michael Aloni stars in “Velvel”

Photo by דור מלכה, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Life & Culture

Persian baklava for Purim

— FOOD —

By Jessica Grann | Special to the Chronicle

Apiece of baklava served for dessert with strong tea or coffee is one of the simplest pleasures on Earth. I’ve loved baklava since I was a young child. The fragrant spices and perfumed flower waters in Middle Eastern desserts bring flavor to another level.

As with most foods, heritage and culture have a lot of influence on your favorite recipes. There are many different versions of baklava, which makes it hard to decide which to try. This recipe is a twist on my regular baklava recipe. Persian desserts often contain both cardamom and rose water so, in honor of Purim, I added those flavors but in amounts that are not overwhelming to those not familiar with them.

I often hear from people that they are hesitant to work with phyllo pastry because it’s thin and it can tear easily, but it is very forgiving. Once you brush each layer with butter or margarine and bake it, any imperfections will disappear.

You will need a little extra patience to make this style of dessert, but it’s much less time-consuming than you would expect. There are three steps to this recipe, and it can be made dairy or pareve. This baklava will make a beautiful addition to your Purim seudah, and it’s wonderful at any time of year.

Included are notes on how to make my regular version of baklava with two slight changes, so you’ll have another option to try as well.

Ingredients

Sugar syrup (shira):

2 cups white sugar

1 cup water

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Clarified butter (ghee):

2 sticks unsalted butter or margarine

Pastry with nut filling:

1 1-pound box of phyllo pastry

4 cups of unsalted nuts. I used walnuts for this version, as they are common in Persian cooking.

4 tablespoons butter or margarine at room

temperature

5 tablespoons powdered sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoon cardamom

3 teaspoons rose water

A pinch of sea salt

Sugar syrup

I often make the syrup a day or two before I bake baklava. I get the best results when I pour cold syrup onto hot pastry that is just out of the oven.

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan, and bring it to a soft boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar melts into the water.

Reduce the heat to simmer, and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat, and stir in 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice.

Allow to cool completely before pouring it into a jar (something like a Mason jar with a tight-fitting lid), and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before use.

Some simple syrups call for rose water or orange blossom water to be added. For this recipe, I add the flower water to the nut mixture to give it a more delicate taste.

Clarified butter/margarine

If you’re making this recipe pareve, just melt the margarine over low heat — no extra steps are needed.

If you’re making this recipe dairy and you can’t purchase ghee, you can easily make it at home in a few minutes. This is a very important step. If you use plain melted butter and leave the milk solids in the butter, your pastry will get soggy.

Melt 2 sticks of butter over medium-low heat until it comes to a soft boil.

Allow it to gently boil for 30-45 seconds, then remove the pan from heat and allow it to cool. I find it much easier to pour the melted butter into a new bowl or jar, using a piece of cheesecloth secured with a rubber band as a strainer, which will catch most of the milk solids.

If you don’t have cheesecloth, pour the

warm butter into another jar or bowl where the milk solids will sink to the bottom and create a solid white layer. Do not dip into the white layer when dipping your pastry brush into the butter.

Filling

I make this recipe using all walnuts, but you can get creative and use dry-roasted almonds, pistachios or a mixture of various nuts. Half almond and half walnut is fantastic. Pure pistachio baklava is a luxury because the nuts are expensive.

Measure out 4 cups of nuts, then grind them with a hand grinder or in a food processor. Some people prefer very finely ground nuts — I make mine medium-fine, with a few larger pieces to add texture and chew to the dessert. The choice is yours.

Mix the spices, powdered sugar and rose water into the nut mixture. Once well combined, add 4 tablespoons of room-temperature butter or margarine to the nut mixture, mashing it with a fork until well combined. If you see pieces of butter or margarine it’s OK — they will melt together when baked. The nut mixture can be prepared the day before; just cover and let it sit at room temperature until you’re ready to bake.

Pastry

Phyllo pastry often has numbers on the box. Common numbers are 4 and 7. The lower the number, the thinner the pastry. If you’re new to baking with phyllo, you may want to choose a level 7 if it’s available, which is sometimes labeled as “country style.”

It’s very important to keep the pastry sheets covered with a towel at all times because it dries out so quickly.

Thaw the dough according to the instructions on the package. Cut open the plastic, and unroll the pastry. I typically use a large cutting board to rest the pastry on. When the phyllo is opened, it’s in a large rectangular shape.

Cut the pastry in half across the shorter side to create 2 equally-sized stacks of pastry that will fit into the pan perfectly. Cover one portion with a clean kitchen towel then roll up one half, cover it with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and put it back into the refrigerator.

With a pastry brush, prepare a 9-inchby-13-inch metal or glass pan with butter or margarine. Dip the pastry brush into the butter or margarine, lightly greasing the bottom and the sides of the pan. Pull a fresh sheet of pastry out from under the towel, lay it into the pan and immediately cover the stack again with the towel.

Lightly brush the pastry sheet with butter or margarine, add the next sheet and repeat until you finish the entire stack. When you add a new sheet of pastry to the pan, press it down gently for a few seconds and smooth out any air pockets before adding the butter. Don’t worry if you see small tears; once they are buttered and baked you won’t be able to tell. Make sure that the edges and sides are well coated. It is normal to lose a few pieces of pastry because it can get really dry and start to tear; just throw those pieces away.

When you finish the first stack, spoon the nut mixture into the pan and, using your hands, gently press it evenly over the pastry.

Take the remaining pastry from the refrigerator, place it down on your work area and cover it with a towel, then repeat the process for the top layer of pastry. When you place the last sheet, brush it with twice the amount of butter or margarine that you used for the other sheets.

Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Don’t skip this step because it helps the butter and pastry layer harden a bit, making it easier to cut and yielding a cleaner result.

It takes almost two sticks of butter or margarine to make this recipe. If you have a little extra, just seal the jar and save it for later cooking or baking.

Set your oven to 350 F and place the baking rack in the middle of the oven.

Take the pan of baklava from the fridge and cut into the top layer of pastry with the sharpest knife that you have. Score it horizontally down the middle of the pan in a straight line, creating 2 thin, wide rectangles. Cut through the top layer of pastry just deeply enough to reach the nut layer, but avoid cutting into the nut layer. Scoring the pastry helps with two things. First, it gives

Please see Baklava, page 22

p Persian baklava

Photos by Jessica Grann

What goes hand in hand with cherries? Chocolate!

By Naomi Ross | JNS

As a kid in my mother’s house, I’d use a drinking glass to cut out my rounds of dough for hamantaschen, those triangular Jewish cookies made for the holiday of Purim. Dipping the rim in flour, it was a careful practice of cutting as close together as possible, leaving the least amount of scraps behind (the fewer scraps to re-roll, the better; the dough tends to get tougher with each redo).

The tradition to give mishloach manot (festive food gifts to neighbors and friends) on Purim spurred my desire for fun afterschool projects in the days leading up to the holiday. For a young person, taking ownership of preparing a package to give to others was a momentous experience. It required me to think about someone else and how to make it special for them.

We kept it simple — traditional apricot- or prune-filled. No frills but delicious all the same. Now, as an adult with my own family, I have fun playing with different versions and more sophisticated flavors. One year, I used guava paste and lime. Each year, my family prepares and gives several packages to friends and neighbors, but lately, I also try to think of someone who, in particular, needs a lift or smile and make sure they get one, too. That extra attention and loving touch make a difference, especially when cooking for others. Those pesky, sealed edges of the hamantaschen can reopen when baking, so always pinch twice!

As per the recipe below: No, it’s not alcoholic. Yes, the alcohol cooks out, leaving a lusciously decadent filling. Yes, cherries and chocolate need to be together. And yes, give some to your friends — if there are any left.

The dough can be prepared up to three days in advance. The filling can be made up to a week in advance.

Drunken cherry-chocolate hamantaschen (Pareve)

(From “The Giving Table,” by Naomi Ross, November 2022)

Makes about 5 dozen hamantaschen

For the dough:

¾ cup oil

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

¼ cup milk or soy or oat milk

1½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

3½ cups flour, plus more for flouring

⅔ cup Dutch-process cocoa (pareve)

4 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

For the filling:

1 (12-ounce) bag frozen dark pitted cherries, thawed

⅓ cup dry red kosher wine

¼ cup sugar

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Directions: Prepare the dough: Cream the oil and sugar together in an electric mixer until a grainy paste forms. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla until well-blended.

Mix: In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the batter, a little at a time, mixing at low speed until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and forms into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and

refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. While the dough chills, prepare the filling:

Filling: Combine all filling ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir to blend until all cornstarch is dissolved and no lumps are visible.

Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often until the mixture is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat to cool; chill to thicken.

Roll and fill: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough into four parts. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board (it helps to flour the rolling pin as well) into a very thin round, about ⅛-¼-inch thick. Using a 3-3½-inch diameter cookie cutter or glass, cut circles in the dough. Place one cherry with a little of the sauce in the center of each circle. Shape into a triangle by folding the three sides inward toward the center (leaving space for the filling to be open and visible); pinch the sides together tightly.

Bake: Place hamantaschen 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets (pinch again to secure folds). Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Be careful not to overbake. Repeat with the remaining dough, using up dough scraps as well. Transfer baked hamantaschen to racks to cool.

Chef’s touch: For a pretty look, drizzle with a little melted white chocolate (or dip one-half of the hamantaschen into white chocolate) PJC

p Drunken cherry-chocolate hamantaschen Photo from “The Giving Table” by Naomi Ross, November 2022

Diamond-Level Corporate Sponsor: Silver Level Event Sponsors: Dan Frankel, State Rep. Isadore and Yetta Joshowitz Charitable Foundation Littles of Pittsburgh

Bronze Level Event Sponsor: Burstin & Goetz

Celebrations

Wedding

Dr. Robert and Debbie Cohen of Boca Raton, Florida, formerly of Fox Chapel, joyfully announce the marriage of their son, Stephen Cohen to Benjamin Labovitz , son of Barry and Karen Labovitz, of Miami, Florida. The ceremony and reception took place on Nov. 17, 2022, at The Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort in Palm Beach, Aruba. Stephen is the grandson of Jacqueline Weiser of Delray Beach, Florida, formerly of Squirrel Hill, and the late Morton and Sonia Cohen of Beaver Falls. Ben is the grandson of Bob and Rita Peddicord of Miami, Florida, and the late Henry and Mary Labovitz of Brooklyn, New York. Stephen received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. Stephen is licensed to practice law in Florida and Washington, D.C., and currently works as in-house legal counsel for LPL Financial. Ben received his undergraduate degree from Florida State University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami. Ben is licensed to practice law in Florida and currently works at the law firm of Saraga/Lipshy, PL in Delray Beach, Florida. Stephen and Ben currently reside in Boca Raton, Florida, with their golden retriever, Duncan. PJC

Author Jai Chakrabarti joins Chronicle Book Club

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its March 5 discussion of “A Play for the End of the World,” by Jai Chakrabarti. The author will join us for the meeting.

The novel was winner of the National Jewish Book Award’s Goldberg Prize for Debut Fiction and longlisted for the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award.

From Amazon.com: “New York City, 1972. Jaryk Smith, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, and Lucy Gardner, a southerner, newly arrived in the city, are in the first bloom of love when they receive word that Jaryk’s oldest friend has died under mysterious circumstances in a rural village in eastern India.

“Travelling there alone to collect his friend’s ashes, Jaryk soon finds himself enmeshed in the chaos of local politics and efforts to stage a play in protest against the government — the same play that he performed as a child in Warsaw as an act of resistance against the Nazis. Torn between the survivor’s guilt he has carried for decades and his feelings for Lucy, Jaryk must decide how to honor both the past and the present, and how to accept a happiness he is not sure he deserves.”

Your hosts:

Toby Tabachnick, editor of the Chronicle

David Rullo, Chronicle staff writer

The other Purim story

Levi Langer

On Purim we read the Book of Esther. It’s a wonderful story of a beauty contest and of the winner, Esther, who gets to be the queen and to live in Ahasuerus’ palace in the lap of luxury. In true storybook fashion, she’s all set to live happily ever after.

And then the story takes a more serious turn, for as it turns out, Esther is the one person able to save the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of the wicked Haman. Esther doesn’t feel that she’s up to the job and tries to turn it down, but she is sternly rebuked by Mordechai, who tells her, “Who knows if just for this very purpose you have attained royalty!” Esther steels herself and goes to the throne room, where Ahasuerus, entranced by her beauty, eventually accedes to her request on behalf of her nation and pardons the Jewish people.

all the years she spends amid the profligacy and the hedonism in Ahasuerus’s palace — the Esther who goes to great lengths to eat only kosher foods and to maintain her modesty and her lifestyle even in an atmosphere which is so inimical to the values upon which she’d been raised.

That is the Esther who was ready and prepared to take courage and rise to the occasion when she was called upon to speak up on behalf of her people. And, so we are taught, when she readies herself to enter the throne room, the verse says that Esther “donned royalty.” She became every inch the queen: She donned royalty itself. She came before Ahasuerus as the very image of royalty and dignity and majesty, and so even Ahasuerus was moved to heed her request to save her people.

Esther was ready to perform her role because through all the long years she remained true to herself, to her values and to what she believed in — even in the midst of an atmosphere which was antithetical to her values and aspirations.

How and when:

We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, March 5, at noon.

What to do:

Buy: “A Play for the End of the World.” It is available at area Barnes & Noble stores and from online retailers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Several copies are available through the Carnegie Library system.

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

Happy reading! PJC

Esther was ready to perform her role because through all the long years she remained true to herself, to her values and to what she believed in — even in the midst of an atmosphere which was antithetical to her values and aspirations.

Toby Tabachnick

That’s one part of the story: Esther’s recognition, upon being reminded by Mordechai, that she has her own role to perform, her unique mission in life, and that she’d better seize the moment and step forward. And so she does the job, and she saves her people.

But there’s another part of the story, which is told in the Talmud based on a nuanced reading of the verses. That is the personal story of the Esther who maintains her values and her dignity throughout

She succeeded because she was secure in her knowledge of who she was and what she stood for.

That is the deeper lesson in the Purim story. It’s about knowing who we are and what we Jews believe, and living a life that is true to those values. PJC

Rabbi Levi Langer is the dean of the Kollel Jewish Learning Center. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

Rabbi

Parshat Tetzaveh Exodus 27:20 – 30:10

BASKIN: Norton (“Norty”) Baskin, 93, passed away on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Marilyn (“Lyn”) Weiss Baskin, and son, Craig Baskin. He is survived by his beloved brother Howard and sister-in-law Cheryl Baskin of Pittsburgh, his daughter Janice (“Jan”) Baskin and son Scott Baskin of Tampa, Florida, beloved granddaughter Alexandra (“Avi”) Baskin of Paris, France, beloved grandson oshua (“Josh”) and wife Shira Baskin of Baltimore, Maryland, and their daughters, Norty’s four great-granddaughters, triplets Aliza, Meira, Naomi and Naava. He is also survived by niece Wendy and husband Jess Hutchinson of Pittsburgh, grandnephew Zachary Hutchinson of Charlotte, North arolina, nephew Jeff Baskin of Tampa, Florida, grandniece Alexa Baskin of Louisville, Kentucky, the Kanel-Cermak family of Pittsburgh, and the Fried and Sedwick families of Virginia. Norty was born and raised in Pittsburgh. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at age 19 and earned his master’s degree from NYU at age 20. He worked in his family’s businesses in Pittsburgh, including serving as president of the Red Head Archery Company, among the largest in the country at that time. Norty started a long career with IBM in 1965 in Pittsburgh as a manufacturing industry system engineer. He later moved to Cleveland to manage the Ohio Bell Telephone Company account, and then to Tampa where he was the National Account Manager of IBM’s GTE (now Verizon) account. He retired from IBM in 1994. Norty, or “Gaga,” as named by his beloved granddaughter, Avi, was excellent at building and fixing just about anything and passed along his engineering and logic acumen on to her. They worked on many projects together from the time that he gave Avi her first tool box at the age of 3. They also grew butterfly and tropical gardens together, leading to Avi’s lifelong love of gardening and interest in ecology. Her Gaga was Gaga to all of her friends, and remains so even to this day. He was always so proud of her many accomplishments. Norty loved playing the clarinet and bassoon as a high school and college student, including playing the bassoon in the University of Pittsburgh Marching Band when he was 14 years old. He was an avid reader, loved music of all kinds but especially symphony and opera, loved his dogs, and was a dedicated (but not very good) golfer. He played several days a week with a retiree group at Carrollwood Country Club until the group disbanded due to a lack of players. He finally gave up golf when, as he said, “I had to quit when I started shooting my age in nine holes.” Norty also enjoyed monthly lunch with a group of IBM retirees which continued for 20 years until that, too, disbanded from lack of participants. In 1947, Norty was involved in restarting a Kappa Nu fraternity chapter at Pitt, which eventually was merged with Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT). He was a trustee of ZBT at The Ohio State University during the ‘70s. He became involved in starting a chapter at the University of South Florida and served as a chapter advisor. For several years, he was on the board of trustees of Congregation Kol Ami. For the past five years, Norty was blessed to be a member of Congregation Mekor Shalom. Norty’s wicked sense of humor and loving devotion to his family will be deeply missed. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to Congregation Mekor Shalom, Collie & Homeless Pet Rescue of Tampa Bay, or Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue.

KLEIN: Mildred “Milly” Klein of Baptist Homes, formerly of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully on Feb. 25. Born Feb. 6, 1926, to Samuel and Martha Lubovsky, she was a graduate of Schenley High School and the University of Pittsburgh. Milly married Harry Krasnoff, of Warren Ohio, in 1950. The couple resided in Warren, where their son, Lloyd, was born. Then tragically, Harry died of cancer in 1954. She returned to Pittsburgh and subsequently married the late Judge Harold Beryl Klein of Aliquippa in 1955. Milly and Beryl were married for 44 years, residing in Aliquippa, and had two children, Roberta and Arnie. Besides raising their children, Milly passed the real estate exam and sold many homes in the Beaver County area. Everyone in Aliquippa knew Milly as the woman who wore various hats while walking almost on a daily basis. She either walked in her neighborhood or her other favorite places, Aliquippa Hospital (both outside and inside during inclement weather) and the Beaver Valley Mall. When she moved, she walked frequently at South Hills Village. The family wants to thank all the staff at Baptist Homes and her good friend, Ellen Wilson, for taking great care of her the last several

years. Besides being survived by Lloyd (Judy Vernick), Roberta and Judge Arnie (Sara) Klein, Milly is survived by her three grandchildren, Sam, Joel and Marissa. She is also survived by her sister, Isabel Beck, of Pittsburgh as well as several nieces and nephews. Milly was preceded in death by her brother, attorney Martin Lubow. Funeral service was held at William Slater II Funeral Service (412563-2800), 1650 Greentree Rd, Scott Twp.15220. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Beth Samuel Synagogue, 810 Kennedy Drive, Ambridge PA 15003.  slaterfuneral.com

KOSSIS: Bertram Kossis, 97, of Miami Beach and Pittsburgh, passed away on Feb. 22, 2023, while under hospice care in Miami Beach. His family was with him throughout his last illness. Bert was born to parents Joseph and Bee Kossis in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, in 1925. He graduated from Charleroi High School and attended some college. He married Reda Pearlstein, the love of his life, in 1949, and she survives him. Bert is also survived by son Neil Kossis and wife Lisa, and son Jeffrey Kossis and wife Marlene, as well as by four grandsons and four great-grandchildren. Those grandsons and great-grandchildren were Bert’s pride and joy. Bert was predeceased by his parents, his brother Paul (Bud) Kossis and his sister Beatrice Barnett Winikoff. Bert spent his working years employed in his family’s recycling business, Atlas Waste Paper Corporation. He and Reda were active members of Green Oaks Country Club for many years, where Bert was an enthusiastic golfer.  Bert and Reda had many good friends at the club. Friends met at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. and then proceeded to Homewood Cemetery for graveside services. The family suggests that in lieu of sending flowers, donations be made to the Jewish National Fund, National Office, 42 East 69th Street, New York, NY 10021. schugar.com

NAAR: Dr. Ray Naar died peacefully at home in the midst of his beloved family on Feb. 2, 2023. He was born in 1927 in the city of Salonika, Greece, to Lily and Isaac Naar.  He had a younger brother, Jacque Naar. During World War II Ray and his family were taken by the Nazis to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. His immediate family all survived and immigrated to America. Ray then enlisted in the U.S. Army and returned to Europe, where he served as a translator in the Judge Advocate’s office, helping negotiate for the return of American solders detained for accusations of breaking local laws while stationed abroad. While in France, he met the love of his life, Claudine, and they married a year later. He rose to the rank of captain and later served in the U.S. Army Reserves. On returning to the U.S., R ay completed his bachelor’s degree at William and Mary College in Richmond, Virginia, and then his doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. He became the co-director of outpatient psychiatric services at Saint Francis Medical Center and was one of the first licensed psychologists in private practice in Pittsburgh. As a much-loved teacher, Ray created transformative experiences for his students. He taught undergraduate and graduate students at Carlow University, Chatham University and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as medical students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Ray was also a gifted writer and speaker, contributing many articles and editorial pieces to professional journals as well as publishing three books. He was a frequent presenter for the Greater Pittsburgh Psychological Association (GPPA) and the Pennsylvania Psychological Association (PPA) and served as board president for GPPA and on ethics committees for both organizations. He also gave his time when asked to talk about his war experiences at local schools. Ray was a survivor with a quiet strength that brought people to learn from him and to find joy in his company. He listened, supported and cared for people with genuine kindness. He will continue to be a source of inspiration to the many whose lives he touched. He is survived by his wife, Claudine, his son Walter, daughter-in-law Suzan, granddaughter Shelby and her husband Russell, grandson Robert and great-granddaughter Isabella. May his memory be a blessing.  Those who wish to honor Ray’s memory are encouraged to make donations in his name to BrightSpring Hospice Foundation, 805 N. Whittington Parkway, Louisville KY 40222.  brightspringhealth.com/bright-spring-hospice-foundation/. Professional services trusted to D’Alessandro Funeral Home & Crematory, LTD.,Lawrenceville. dalessandroltd.com

Please see Obituaries, page 20

Obituaries

Obituaries:

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

Anonymous

Anonymous

Anonymous

Anonymous

Marcia Frumerman

The Goldberg Family

The Goldberg Family

Lynette London

Rose Zwick

Joseph Canter

Leah Canter

Philip Ellovich

Harvey James Roth

Azriel Meyer Sachs

Irwin Goldston ...............................................................Rebecca Goldstein

Lynne Gottesman & Debra Ritt ................................................

Mary Jatlow

Amy R. Kamin

Amy R. Kamin

Alan Korobkin

Jon D. Levenson

from page 19

Merle Blumenfeld

Mary Farber

Joseph Honig

Harry Kamin

Charles Korobkin

Ethyl Sapper Levenson

Randy Malt Lilly Malt

Randy Malt Max Malt

Charlotte & Evan Reader

Rita Reese

Linda & Jeffrey Reisner & Family

Ellen Sadowsky

Ellen Sadowsky

Ellen Sadowsky

Ellen Sadowsky

Joel Smalley

Eileen E. Snider .........................................................

Nathan Louis Land

Frances Barniker

Joanne Brodell Alpern

Maurice Sadowsky

Lillian Sadowsky

Susan Sadowsky Kabat

Frank Knapp

Rebecca Baron

Rosenberg Harris

Marcia M. Stewart.............................................................Howard Mamolen

Marc Tepper

Gertrude Tepper

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

THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS —

Sunday March 5 : Isadore Bergstein, Joseph H. Braemer, Ida Dektor, David L. Ekker, Jack Elkovitz, Anna Finer, Rebecca (Baron) Greenberg, Marvin L. Gusky, Earl Herman, Harry I. Horwitz, Harriet Isaacson, Elinor Kann, Ida Kramer, Edward Oring, William Oskie, Pearl Wintner Rosen, Maurice F. Sadowsky, Kenneth S. Samowich, Milton Weisenberg, Samuel Yanks

Monday March 6: Samuel Cohen, Harry Davis, Mary Farber, Eva Fingeret, Emanuel B. Friedberg, MD, Belle S. Friedman, Gary Lee Kress, Anna Kuperstock, Ben Leshney, Samuel Lewis, William A. Lubarsky, Steven L. Ochs, Lena Pavilack, Cecelia F. Rosen, David Rosenthal, Bessie S. Schulman, Frances L. Shaeffer, Malie Silverman, Dorothy Sloan, Myer Solomon, Miriam W. Steerman, Silvia Stuhl, Lea S. Teplitz, Helen Tepper, Sidney M. Wolk, Martin Zamore, Sarah Leah Zinner

Tuesday March 7: Dorothy Adler, Arlene Y. Apter, Israel Backer, George Bonder, Daniel M. Emas, Anna Feinberg, Mollie F. Ganelin, Minnie Gottesman, Maurice Greenberg, Hyman Greenspan, Rose Harris, Melvin W. Helfant, Max Janavitz, Harry M. Kamin, Harriett W. Kopp, Jack Lebovitz, Lewis Levick, Julius Markley, Leonard Nadel, Freda R. Selkovits, William H. Silverman, Esther K. Stutz, Nellie Swartz, Isadore Winerman, Phillip Zamsky

Wednesday March 8: Pearl Auslander, Max L. Bluestone, Merle Blumenfeld, Dr. Paul Cramer, Philip Ellovich, Pearl Erenstein, Max Freedel, Samuel M. Gordon, Betty I. Greenwald, Joseph Honig, Winifred Joyce Hynes, Lena Kline, Jacob Kunst, Louis Lawrence, Howard Mamolen, Samuel Marcovsky, Gertrude Robinowitz, Isabelle I. Sachs, Irwin J. Schultz, Becky Schwartz, Harry Swimmer, Ida Valinsky, Sidney Weisberger

Thursday March 9: Dr. Simeon Allen, Bella Bonder, Ida Sisser Bortz, Malvina Chotiner, Clara Cohen, Isidor Davis, Mildred Cohen Feldman, Sadie Fink, Anna Fireman, Dr. Ben Greenberger, Alexander Handmacher, Miriam Keilly, Bessie Kempler, Ella Klein, William Lederer, Ella Miller Lewine, Abe Albert Lewis, Adolph Lobl, Helen Miller, Louis Pechersky, Lucille Pollock, Aaron Pretter, Evelyn Rebb, Esther Ruben, Ralph Rubinoff, Jean Y. Shapera, Mollie Silverman, Minnie L. Sokole, Sadie M. Speer

Friday March 10: Rebecca Adler, Marjory S. Eiseman, Dorothy Friedken, Ida Goldberg, Rachel E. Goldberg, Dr. Norman Golomb, Lillian Hellman, Gerhart M. Horewitz, Edwin Langue, Ida Levy, Isaac Marcus, Bessie Michelson, Mildred S. Moss, Albert Rapport, Sylvia L. Samuels, Hyman David Segal, Manuel Selker, Edna M. Siegal, Goldie R. Siegel, Genevieve Stern, Nathaniel Stutz, Isaac Young

Saturday March 11: Joseph Abravanel, Louis Cohen, Solomon Evelovitz, Esther S. Finkelhor, Mollie Friedman, Nisan Gilboa, Sophie Goldman, Harry H. Green, Johanna Halle, Harold M. Harris, Martin A. Hepps, Ruth Kaplan, Samuel Katz, Rosia Kauffman, Rose Kertman, Helen S. Latterman, Edward Lewis, Samuel Lichtenstein, Shirley F. Little, Philip Mallinger, Judith Moritz, Jennie Ostrow, Benjamin Rambach, Max Reifman, Sam Rosenberg, Sarah Schwartz, Marvin Sniderman, Mayme Sukolsky, William Taylor, Sara Weiner

ESTATE NOTICE - Estate of Patricia J. Babuscio

Patricia J. Babuscio, Deceased October 5, 2022,of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania No. 02-22-7769

Gordon W. Stoernell, Executor; 439 E. Sycamore Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15211 or to

Bruce S. Gelman, Esquire, Gelman & Reisman, P .C., Law & Finance Bldg., 429 Fourth Avenue, Suite 1701, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

ESTATE NOTICE - Estate of Fredia Deloris Evans

Fredia Deloris Evans, Deceased January 8, 2023, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania No. 02-23-0660

Deborah D. Roberts, Executrix; 233 Crestwood Place, San Ramone, CA 94583 or to

Bruce S. Gelman, Esquire, Gelman & Reisman, P .C., Law & Finance Bldg., 429 Fourth Avenue, Suite 1701, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

ESTATE NOTICE - Estate of Jewel M. Fisher

Jewel M. Fisher, Deceased February 12, 2021, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania No. 02-22-0423

Raymond Sockwell, Administrator; 333 South Washington St., Clinton, Indiana 47842 or to

Bruce S. Gelman, Esquire, Gelman & Reisman, P.C., Law & Finance Bldg., 429 Fourth Avenue, Suite 1701, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

NEFT: Fannie (Fay) Neft. Beloved wife of the late Harris R. Neft; daughter of the late Max Farber and Rose Zlatigour Farber; loving mother of Robin (Albuquerque, New Mexico), Susan (Pittsburgh), Michael (Pittsburgh) and Faith Neft Jaspan (Mitchell Jaspan, Owings Mills, Maryland). Sister of the late Frank and Hyman Farber and two sisters. Adoring grandmother of Alex Byers, Scott (Sha’ul) Jaspan (Bracha Esther), and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Jaspan; proud great-grandmother of Chayim Yisroel Jaspan, Yosef “Yossi” Jaspan (of blessed memory, z”l), Yochanon Jaspan, Miriam Jaspan and Yitzhak Meir Jaspan. Fay grew up in Trenton, New Jersey. She was the first female board member of the JCC in Trenton. She moved to Pittsburgh in 1952 and married the love of her life, Harris. She worked with Harris as his partner in their business, Harris R. Neft Engraving. After her husband’s death, Fay then both worked at Hillman Cancer Center and volunteered at Shadyside Hospital on the short-stay unit until her retirement at age 89. She loved playing basketball and was an avid sports fan. She was a lover of mystery novels and TV shows. She had the good fortune to travel all over the globe with her son, Michael, often accompanying him on vacations and professional meetings, where she would hold court in the hotel lobby. Michael’s friends would gather around to visit with her, affectionately calling her “Mama Fay.” Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. Interment New Light Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Alzheimer’s Society, The American Cancer Society, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, or The Karliner-Stolin Yeshiva, 1818 54th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11204. schugar.com

OPPENHEIM: Irving J. Oppenheim, on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. Beloved husband of Lisa K. Anderson. Beloved father of David Andrew Oppenheim, Michael Hale Oppenheim of Newark, New Jersey, and Daniel James Oppenhiem of Sacramento, California. Brother of Edward Oppenheim. Irving was passionate about art. He held a Ph.D. from Cambridge in England. He was a rock climber and a lover of the outdoors. Services were held at Ralph Schugar Chapel. Interment Homewood Cemetery. C ontributions may be made to Mainstay Life Services, 200 Roessler Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15220 or Young Peoples Synagogue, 6404 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, A 15217 or a charity of the donor’s choice.  schugar.com

ROSENBERG: Audrey Rosenberg, on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Beloved wife of 66 years to Edmund Rosenberg. Loving mother of Rosalyn (Greg Eggert) Rosenberg and Matthew (Kristin) Rosenberg. Sister of Esther Amper, the late Edward Samovitz and Merle Savitt. Nana to Jacob and Benjamin Rosenberg. Also survived by nieces and nephews. Services and interment were private. Contributions may be made to Hadassah, 40 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

SMOLOVITZ: Lois Eileen Smolovitz passed away on Feb. 9, 2023, in Naples, Florida, at the age of 94. A lifetime native of Pittsburgh, she was born to Ada and Charles Wanetick. Lois was a devoted and loving wife of 55 years to the late Jerry Smolovitz; cherished mother of Charles (Carole), and Richard (Susan); proud and loving Neenee of Jeremy Small (Sandy), Jessica Powers (Greg), and Carly Small (Tessa); beloved great-grandmother to Gabrielle Sikes, Isabel and Jakob Powers; and great-great-granddaughter Sofie Sikes. She also touched the lives of her nieces, nephews and many dear friends. She is preceded in death by her husband, Jerry, beloved son Robert, and siblings Shirley Weiss and Norman Wanetick. Lois was owner of Twice Treasured, a popular antique and collectible store in Mt. Lebanon. Twice Treasured was the perfect venue for Lois to showcase her sense of style and fashion, along with her kind and loyal way of interacting with her customers, many of whom became lifelong friends. Her beautiful smile, comforting nature, and genuine manner was unique and endearing to those who knew and met her. Summer vacations were spent with family and friends in Ventnor, New Jersey, where she enjoyed biking, walking the boardwalk and sunset dining at Smitty’s. Private services will be held. If you wish to honor her memory, please direct any donations to the Western Pennsylvania Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. PJC

ESTATE NOTICE - Estate of Thomas E. Bauer

Thomas E. Bauer a/k/a Thomas Edward Bauer, deceased, of Pittsburgh, PA, No. 301313 of 2022, Sean P. Grubbs, Administrator, c/o David J. Slesnick, Esq., 310 Grant Street, Suite #1220, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Real Estate

FOR SALE

SHADYSIDE • $649,000

Smith-Rosenthal Team

Jason A. Smith & Caryn Rosenthal

Jason: 412-969-2930 | Caryn: 412-389-1695

Jasonasmith@howardhanna.com

Carynrosenthal@howardhanna.com

&

Corner of Fifth and Wilkins Spacious 1500-2250

206 N. Woodland Road

North Woodland Road Townhome. Unique custom built sophisticated 4 levels. Lower Level has a great wine cellar, storage, int garage, and a side room which could be an office. First floor has a great room kitchen, dining and living area, plus 1/2 bath. This room leads to an unbelievable courtyard and luscious grounds with a sprinkler system. Next level- large room with a whimsical full bath. Top level has a great master area, with master bath and laundry, Smashing steel and glass staircase, dramatic lighting. Terrific acrhitectural details.

LAWRENCEVILLE - $635,000 - MOTIVATED SELLERS

721 53rd Street

A stunning Lawrenceville home o ers 4 levels of luxurious finishes and unparalleled city views. The dazzling hardwood floors and an open-concept layout make living and entertaining easy. The kitchen is a chef’s paradise with stainless steel appliances, Glacier White Quartz countertops, a large island with seating, and crisp white kitchen cabinets elevated with a pop of color from the handmade backsplash tiles and mosaic inlays. Three spacious bedrooms, 3.5 contemporary-styled baths, and thoughtful storage throughout. The top-floor bonus room features French doors to a private balcony with exceptional vistas of downtown and beyond. Enjoy the convenience of dedicated 2-car garage parking equipped with an EV charging outlet. Convenient to public transportation, the Universities, Hospitals, High-Tech corridors, restaurants and shopping. LERTA Tax Abatement.

Sherri Mayer, Realtor

Squirrel Hill Office

C: 412-760-0412

O: 412-421-9121x225 sherrimayer@howardhanna.com HowardHanna.com

5125 h SHOWCASE YOUR PROPERTIES EVERY WEEK IN THE PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE Contact Phil Durler to schedule your advertising pdurler@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org 724-713-8874 advertising@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Life & Culture

Master gardener Boaz Frankel unearths regional history, teaches Pittsburghers about plants

— GARDENING —

By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

The season is right to learn from master gardener and Squirrel Hill resident Boaz Frankel. The Jewish anthophile is offering two programs at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and one at the Pittsburgh Humanities Festival.

On March 13 and 27, Phipps is welcoming Frankel for an after-hours walking tour titled “Secret History of Plants.” The standalone sessions will be interactive. Through props, readings and music, participants will learn how different plants have influenced medicine, architecture, storytelling and religion, Frankel said.

A March 26 program with the Humanities Festival titled “Pittsburgh’s Secret History of Plants” will unearth regional roots and explain how Pittsburgh’s steel industry evolved from prior growth.

“Hundreds of millions of years ago — when there were tropical forests here — Pittsburgh was near the equator. The plants that were growing fell into bogs,” Frankel said. The dead plant matter then submerged in swampy environments.

During the next several hundreds of millions of years, heat and pressure helped the matter transform “from moist, low-carbon peat, to coal, an energy- and carbon-dense black or brownish-black sedimentary rock,” according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a 54-year-old group founded by students and scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Allegheny County’s vegetation has a rich history, Frankel said, adding that attendees of the Humanities Festival can expect to learn more about “how plants have shaped Pittsburgh and Pittsburghers have shaped plants.”

The three upcoming programs reflect Frankel’s love of greenery, nature and learning. After moving to Pittsburgh in early 2019, he enrolled in a master gardener program at Phipps.

Returning to the Oakland space on March 13 and 27 is a chance to showcase the conservatory’s collection in a fun “theatrical” way, he said. The two after-hours gatherings are a chance to go deeper than docent-led tours, avoid the hustle and bustle of daytime

Baklava:

Continued from page 15

you a guide for later cutting and serving. It also creates a place for the syrup to get into the pastry, allowing the syrup to distribute evenly across the dessert.

Next, score down the shorter side (vertically) of the pastry two times, so that you are creating 9 evenly-sized squares in the pan.

Score each square diagonally to create 12 large triangles. You can leave it this way for larger portions, or you can score each square diagonally again in the other direction, which creates 4 pieces per square for 24 smaller but

visitors, explore the conservatory’s narrow crevices and hear about the “crazy stories” behind so many plants that have altered human history.

Frankel hopes his time with Phipps and the Humanities Festival will not only green a few local thumbs but inspire the elimination of a chore made more difficult by local topography.

“No one likes mowing a sloped lawn, so I say this is the year to just get rid of it,” he said.

Those electing to remove their grass need not rely on chemicals, Frankel noted. Either apply cardboard or a tarp on top “and then you can just kill it on its own.”

At that point, once the rolling turf is gone, residents can plant Pennsylvania Sedge,

nicely-sized triangles. I usually cut baklava into diamond shapes, but in honor of Purim and the custom to serve food with 3 points, triangles are lovely.

Bake the pastry for 45-50 minutes. The top should be light golden brown when you remove it from the oven. The scent of baklava while baking is absolutely mouthwatering.

Immediately after taking the pan from the oven, place it on top of the oven and take the cold jar of syrup from the fridge. Pour it lightly and evenly across the cracks and edges, going back to fill in any missed spots. Use all of the syrup. It can look like it’s overflowing across the top, but it will sink in as the pastry rests.

flowers or shrubs.

“You can do anything you want,” he said. “You could have a tiny forest. You can have a meadow. You could plant a tree. Anything that can grow on a flat surface can grow on a slope. The only thing is it’s harder to seed. You probably have to put some plants in there because the seeds might just come down in the next rainstorm.”

For those who aren’t ready to reconfigure their property, Frankel recommends tackling simpler projects, like growing peas, tomatoes or herbs.

Reconnecting with the land is important, he said. “So much of Judaism is tied to what’s in harvest, what’s blooming or what’s lying fallow.” The Jewish holidays align with Israel’s growing patterns; and by living in Pittsburgh,

When the pastry is almost cool, take a sharp knife and cut along each triangle all the way to the bottom of the pan. This will ensure that you have a neat-looking result that comes out easily from the pan when it’s time to serve it.

Let it rest overnight for best results, allowing the syrup to meld into the pastry and nuts.

Using a small and thin spatula, remove each piece as it’s time to serve. I suggest placing each piece in a muffin-sized paper liner to keep any excess sticky syrup from leaking onto the platter so that you can easily pick up each piece of baklava using the paper.

or elsewhere in the Diaspora, it’s tough to always remember “we’re marking these harvest dates that are totally arbitrary to us.”

Those unable to attend Frankel’s upcoming programs, or who would like to reap additional expertise from the fount of flora-related insights, can sign up for his newsletter, “Rootbound,” on Substack.

The Jewish gardener and author said he hopes people will develop a newfound appreciation for vegetation, since clothing, medicine and history aren’t the only things tied to plants.

“If we want to move to Mars, we’re gonna have to figure out how to grow tomatoes there,” he said.

But before interstellar relocation becomes a reality, he added, Pittsburghers should understand “plants can survive fine without us, but we can’t survive without plants.” PJC

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

Total time from start to finish for this recipe is about 2 hours, but the prep time takes about 35 minutes. You can prepare the butter/margarine, nut mixture and syrup the day before and prepare the pastry the following day. It doesn’t take any longer than baking cookies, and baklava presents so beautifully when served at a special occasion. My regular version of baklava is almost identical: Simply omit the cardamom, and use orange blossom water instead of rose water. Chag Purim sameach! Enjoy and bless your hands. PJC

p Boaz Frankel takes a selfie at Phipps Conservatory. Photo courtesy of Boaz Frankel

p Boaz Frankel and his niece water vegetables. Photo courtesy of Boaz Frankel

“So much of Judaism is tied to what’s in harvest, what’s blooming or what’s lying fallow.”

–BOAZ FRANKEL

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.

Community

Such a super Sunday Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh hosted Super Sunday, a phone-a-thon on

TikTok Talmud

TikTok-influencing, Talmud-referencing Miriam Anzovin joined Pittsburghers for a weekend of conversation and study. Anzovin spoke at Rodef Shalom Congregation, Congregation Beth Shalom and with students and parents from J-JEP about Jewish texts as Jewish identity, the importance of engaging rabbinic sources in personal ways and the

That’s a RAPS

The Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative/Jewish Healthcare Foundation and the Pittsburgh Technology Council co-hosted a Feb. 24 event to launch the Regional Autonomous Patient Safety (RAPS) Initiative. The gathering welcomed regional stakeholders and looked at emerging opportunities for health care innovation.

A winning day

Congregation Beth Shalom’s Men’s Club hosted its annual sports luncheon. Approximately 200 special needs guests and their staff from 11 organizations across Pittsburgh joined fellow community members in meeting professional athletes from the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Pittsburgh Passion, members of Pitt football and other college athletes and coaches from the University of Pittsburgh and Carlow University. Emily Giangreco of WTAE-TV served as master of ceremonies.

p Federation staffer Austin Reid, right, trains Community Day School students and staff on how to make fundraising calls.

Photo courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

p Olivia Devorah Tucker, Miriam Anzovin and Bryce Tallon Photo by Adam Reinherz

p Audrey Russo, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, discusses patient safety technology. Photos courtesy of Jewish Healthcare Foundation

p Former Pittsburgh Penguin Jay Caufield, Shiri Friedman and former Pittsburgh Penguin Tyler Kennedy

p Karen Wolk Feinstein, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, welcomes attendees.

p Pittsburgh Passion’s Teona Cash, WTAE-TV’s Emily Giangreco and Pitt football’s Jason Collier Photos by Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman courtesy of Robbie Zaremberg

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