Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 6-30-23

As penalty phase begins in synagogue shooting trial, defendant’s lawyers say he has history of suicide attempts

Disciple of Rebbe helps Pittsburgh mark 29th yahrzeit

By Torsten Ove | Contributing Writer

The defendant in the synagogue shooting case has been institutionalized for psychiatric issues and has attempted suicide, one of his lawyers told a federal court jury on Monday.

Attorney Michael Burt introduced those revelations as part of a defense effort to bolster the contention that the defendant is impaired and shouldn’t be executed for the massacre in the Tree of Life building.

Burt said in opening statements in the eligibility phase of the trial that Robert Bowers, 50, suffers from “chronic mental illness” that led directly to the mass killing on Oct. 27, 2018.

He said various doctors will testify about brain scans that show structural abnormalities.

The defendant, he said, is schizophrenic and suffers from epilepsy. His psychiatric

problems date to his childhood and left him “unable to make proper decisions based on his delusional beliefs.”

Bowers was convicted two weeks ago of slaughtering 11 worshippers from three congregations at the synagogue building. The parties are now squaring off over whether he is eligible for the death penalty.

Prosecutors argue that he is and said they’ll show why.

To get a death sentence, they have to prove that the defendant acted with intent. They also have to introduce at least one “aggravating factor” and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said the government can present many.

In addition to those he killed, he said, the defendant created a “grave risk” to a dozen others he tried to kill. Rivetti also said the defendant carefully planned the attacks,

Ashadow requires light and an object. If the object expires, though, how does the shadow remain?

Rabbi Simon Jacobson, a disciple of the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, raised the question about his former teacher: “It’s been 29 years since the Rebbe’s passing from this physical world. Why are we still remembering this man? Gathering together? And frankly, what is the secret that Chabad and Lubavitch continue to grow and thrive, despite the fact that the Rebbe is not here?”

For more than an hour, Jacobson, author of The New York Times bestselling book “Toward a Meaningful Life” and publisher of Algemeiner Journal, recalled his teacher’s lessons and regaled nearly 100 attendees at the Jewish Community of Center of Greater Pittsburgh with quips and memories during a June 20 address sponsored by the Chabad Centers of Western Pennsylvania.

Jacobson, who said he was “trained by the Rebbe himself,” told the crowd that one of Schneerson’s greatest teachings is that “we don’t take anything for granted.”

He then posed the quandary: “What would the world be like if the Rebbe did not exist — you want to add ‘God forbid’ or ‘chas v’shalom’

 Mayor Ed Gainey and Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld Photo by Rabbi Henoch Rosenfeld

 The federal courthouse on Grant Street, Downtown Photo by Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress

Headlines

Partnership2Gether representatives from Karmiel and Warsaw visit Pittsburgh, plan for future

— LOCAL —

By Adam Reinherz | Sta Writer

The Jewish peoplehood project continued at a South Side office park. About 15 members of Partnership2Gether’s steering committee met inside the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s office on June 21 to discuss joint programming in Pittsburgh, Karmiel/ Misgav, Israel and Warsaw, Poland.

Despite geographic and cultural divides, the three regions are bound, Warsaw resident Uri Wollner said. He praised an inclusive partnership that focuses “on growth and strength through personal connections.”

Nearly 30 years ago, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh recognized that goal when entering into a pact with Karmiel/ Misgav through the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Partnership2Gether Peoplehood Platform. The commitment was reaffirmed in 2019 when Warsaw was added to the group, Federation staffer Debbie Swartz explained.

Whether by engaging in shared digital programming during the COVID-19 pandemic, or visiting each other’s cities when it was safe to do so, the partnership has allowed participants to “learn from each other’s culture and build bonds,” Wollner said.

“The mission of Partnership2Gether is to broaden the Jewish identities of our communities with Israel at its heart,” said Pittsburgher Vicki Holthaus. “Broaden is somewhat of an unclear word, [and] it lends itself to all kinds of ideas, but it’s about people to people connection.”

Pittsburgher Elizabeth Gordon Coslov

said her family has been connected to the project for two decades.

“I remember my dad did his first homestay 20 years ago, and now I have people who stay with me,” she told the Chronicle. “Forming decades of relationships with people from these three communities really does give you the home away from home.”

Creating personal bonds across the Jewish world is at the heart of the endeavor, Holthaus said: “We have formed a family of people here that care about each other, care about each other’s communities.”

“The fact that you know that there is another community that cares about you, it touched us when the Second Lebanon War happened in Israel,” Israeli resident Lilach Rana said. The first phone call received was from the Federation and it was like “hearing from family,” she continued. “It

was over the ocean but you could feel the love and support.”

Following the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the sentiment was reciprocated. Elected officials offered help, but not just in the form of material aid, Rana said.

“The trauma was so strong” that in addition to sending letters written by children, “we did a ceremony in Karmiel because we felt that this is a part of us. Something happened to us — it was not only here in Pittsburgh, it affected us,” she said.

Swartz told the Chronicle about the vital role the partnership played in the weeks and months after the 2018 shooting.

“We received hundreds, probably thousands of videos, letters, pictures and emails,” she said. “I printed them out, and put them up all over the office, and I shared them with

people. It really buoyed us. We could feel it.”

Visiting members of the steering committee spent June 19-22 discussing future projects and meeting representatives of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community. Along with touring several local synagogues, steering committee members visited the Tree of Life building.

Wollner said the group entered the space and recited the El Malei Rachamim prayer in memory of the 11 people murdered there 4½ years ago.

The partnership’s benefit isn’t restricted to offering comfort during tragedy, however, he continued: “Everyone is here to learn what we can do with each other’s support.”

Shortly before breaking for lunch on June 21, partnership members discussed utilizing camps for educational purposes. Two members of the cohort said they were headed to the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh later that day to meet staff and observe activities.

For many members of the group, the concern is “what can we do with the next generation,” Wollner said. “The way things are today it’s hard to say why does Israel need to exist, why does a small Jewish community in Warsaw need to exist or why be Jewish in America. And we’re not here thinking about tomorrow, but tomorrow’s tomorrow.”

Idith Gal, partnership co-chair in Karmiel, told the Chronicle, “We have a mutual responsibility between all of the Jews in the world. I don’t know if it’s one big family but we are for sure the same nation, and we feel that we have to be together in happiness and sadness. That’s why I’m here because I want to make this happen.” PJC

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

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 Members of Partnership2Gether's steering committee gather on June 21.

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Pittsburgh sports legend Stan Savran dies at 76

When it came to stats and team line-ups, Savran was the Google search engine before Google was a thing, Junker joked.

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

Stan Savran was always a sports junkie. Growing up in Mayfield, Ohio, a working-class suburb 12 miles east of Cleveland, Savran spent his formative years rooting hard for the then-lowly Cleveland Indians, a flame that was fanned by sports-fanatic parents who constantly monitored game scores on radio or TV.

During Father’s Day weekend in 1962, a local newspaper picked Savran, then 15, to serve one game as an honorary ballboy for the team. The Indians swept the Yankees in the series; Savran scored a baseball signed by Mickey Mantle and the entire Yankees line-up that he kept his whole life.

But a pivotal moment came in Savran’s senior year at Mayfield High School. Faculty members were set to play a school-sponsored baseball game and needed someone to announce the players. They chose Savran, an accomplished athlete who had lettered in football, baseball, track and basketball.

Mayfield loved the show.

Karen Savransky, Savran’s younger sister, remembers a teacher asking Savran after the game: “Have you ever thought about a career in sports journalism? You know a lot about sports and you have a big voice.”

“One of those lightbulbs just went off,” Savransky said.

The rest is history.

Stan Savran, a Rust Belt Everyman whose encyclopedic knowledge and friendly, fellow-fan delivery carved his storied, five-decade career into the Mount Rushmore of Pittsburgh sports broadcasting, died peacefully June 12 at his Upper St. Clair home after an 18-month-long battle with lung cancer. He was 76.

Born Stanley George Savransky in Cleveland on Feb. 25, 1947, Savran was the eldest of four children — and the only son — of Jack and Marilyn Savransky, who worked hard to provide a middle-class upbringing for their children.

Jack Savransky drove a bread delivery truck and later became a contractor. Marilyn Savransky died of cancer at age 53.

Savran, who stayed in Ohio through college, shortened his last name when he started his career in broadcasting, his family said. To them, he remained a Savransky.

Jack and Marilyn Savransky were observant Jews in an “idyllic 1950s life” who kept kosher and expected the same from their children, Karen Savransky said. Savran went to Hebrew school six days a week, and when he became a bar mitzvah in 1960, “it was like a wedding.”

Savran showed an early knack for writing, authoring hand-penned, 10- to 15-page “Hardy Boys”-style mysteries when he was just 11 or 12, his sister remembered. He also played the clarinet, eventually switching to baritone saxophone and playing in a swing band during college at Miami University in Ohio.

Growing to nearly 6 feet, 3 inches, and with broad shoulders that bulged in a 46-L suit, Savran was built for football. But talking about sports became his calling card, and he knew it.

Savran took his first job after college in

Lawton, Oklahoma, selling ads for a fledgling radio station. One day, his sister remembered, Savran told his boss that he had sold a big ad for the station’s sports talk-show.

“But we don’t have a sports talk-show,” the manager said.

“You do now,” Savran quipped.

After Oklahoma, Savran moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he served as the voice of The Ohio State University football, and to Orlando, where he worked as a World Football League announcer.

In 1976, he responded to an ad in a broadcasting magazine and came to work in radio in Pittsburgh, then starting its renaissance period as the City of Champions. Savran worked at WWSW-AM, then KQV. He went over to WTAE, where he worked from 1981 to 1991, often paired with anchor Sally Wiggins. He also hosted a WTAE AM radio show following the late broadcaster Myron Cope’s slot.

Savran would serve, at one time or another, as the voice of every major Pittsburgh sports institution.

In 1991, broadcaster Guy Junker started the sports talk show “SportsBeat” with co-host Bob Pompeani, shooting for cable station KBL TV in a loaned KDKA studio in Pittsburgh. When the show switched to WPXI TV a year later, Savran replaced Pompeani — and the legend began.

“SportsBeat” ran for 18 years on KBL and what eventually would become AT&T Sportsnet, making it the longest-running show in the Pittsburgh market.

Junker left the show in 2003, with Savran continuing solo for another five years. The duo reunited from 2008 to 2011 on an ESPN 1250 AM radio show.

The infamous tagline “Stan, Guy — love the show,” something fans continued to say to Savran and Junker for years after “SportsBeat” went off the air, was coined by WDVE radio personality Jimmy Krenn, Junker said. “Oh, you’re the one!” Savran would reply to fans, in his typical, selfless manner.

“(Savran’s) knowledge, even before I met him, was better than anybody’s,” Junker told the Chronicle. “I don’t know if photographic memory is a thing. But, if it is, Stan had one.”

Savran only used a teleprompter once, Junker said — for the final “SportsBeat” show the duo did. Savran instead relied on notes he scribbled on yellow-paged notepads he stored in his briefcase. In the early years of KBL, Savran was fueled by a love for Pittsburgh sports — and lots of coffee, co-workers said.

Savran could call up, from memory, obscure teams’ full line-ups from years earlier. He rarely covered high school sports on the air but, when the WPIAL championships came around, Savran hosted and co-hosted shows on the games, and cited players, backstories and stats with the best of them.

“SportsBeat” guests were legendary.

Pittsburgh Steelers Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris, then, later, Ben Roethlisberger and Jerome Bettis. Pittsburgh Penguins Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Coaches Bill Cowher, Joe Paterno and Mike Tomlin. Broadcast legends like Cope and Mike Lange.

“It was pretty much a ‘Who’s Who’ of Pittsburgh sports,” said Roger Lenhart, who produced “SportsBeat” from 1997 until the show ended two decades later in a North Shore studio.

Lenhart said Savran’s reputation stretched beyond western Pennsylvania. Sports icon Reggie Jackson stopped in Pittsburgh to do an interview with Savran on “SportsBeat.” Savran also interviewed heavyweight boxing champ Muhammed Ali.

“I don’t know how to describe it,” Lenhart added. “Stan remembered everything. A lot of guys, they have one sport they know well. With Stan, it was unbelievable what he would remember.”

Gina Weiss started at KBL — a cable station she described as “the little engine that could” — as an intern in 1992, shortly before Savran replaced Pompeani on “SportsBeat.” She worked as a production assistant on “SportsBeat,” then started screening phone calls for Savran and Junker. Weiss later became the show’s executive producer.

“I was nervous because Stan had quite the reputation — he was very dedicated, very knowledgeable, very tough,” Weiss told the Chronicle, when asked about her first encounter with Savran.

“I was kind of afraid of him.”

Weiss, often the only woman in the operation, quickly gained Savran’s trust, though, with her dedication to “SportsBeat” and a hard-edged work ethic that mirrored his own. The show was never just a “boys’ club,” she said.

When Weiss started her unpaid internship at KBL, she struggled financially and sometimes hardly came up with enough money for bus fare to the studio.

“Stan picked up on it, probably because he was so good at reading people,” she recalled. “He insisted on buying me dinner every night after ‘SportsBeat’ so I would have at least one good meal a day and not live on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”

“Stan had such a big heart and was a generous man.”

Savran spent Christmas Day and Thanksgiving at Junker’s house every year. The two men attended Weiss’ wedding in October 2020, and even did a “porch tour” show of “SportsBeat” in Weiss’ native Windber, near Johnstown in Somerset County.

“’Stan, Guy, love the show’ — they were iconic,” Weiss said. “Stan was an iconic figure.”

Savran also influenced a whole generation

of Pittsburgh broadcasters, said Chris Mack, a Penn State University broadcasting alum who produced Savran’s and Junker’s show on ESPN 1250 AM in 2008 and 2009.

“The culture that sports helped generate in Pittsburgh — as a teenager, as a young man, it was attractive,” said Mack, who grew up in the 1990s in the Pittsburgh suburb Baldwin. “I thought, ‘This is the cool thing to do, be on the radio, be on TV and talk about sports.’ And Stan and Guy were the epitome of that.”

“Anybody who worked with Stan over the last 20, 25 years, they’re going to have great things to say about him,” he added.

Savransky, a retired legal affairs director for the District of Columbia Bar who now lives in northern Virginia, said her older brother was a workaholic — but never made a fuss with family about his career.

When COVID-19 hit in the spring of 2020, Savran would take part in regular Zoom calls with his sisters. Occasionally, Savransky said, he’d mention an award or something similar, then quickly would brush it off.

“He was so modest, he never talked about himself,” she said, citing the family’s humble Midwestern roots. “You didn’t brag, you didn’t boast, you just didn’t do that. And that’s how he was. He had a wicked, self-deprecating humor.”

“He had a job that was his dream: sports,” she added. “It was the best job he could ever have. And he worked hard at it.”

Vicki Hirsch — Savran’s youngest sister, a retired elementary school teacher who has lived in Los Angeles since 1984 — sometimes would tune into Savran’s radio shows from California through the I Heart Radio website.

She said her family has been shocked by the myriad tributes and loving responses to Savran’s death.

“We were overwhelmed,” Hirsch said. “We knew he was fairly famous and that people knew who he was. But, we didn’t know about the outpouring of love the city had for him.”

A week before he died, Savran was told the cancer had spread all through his chest. He had little time left and was instructed to start hospice care at home, Savranksy said.

“Oh,” Savran joked with the oncologist who delivered the news. “I was hoping to do the Steelers this fall.”

Savran’s funeral took place June 21. He is buried in Homewood Cemetery.

“Stan was respected by both fans and athletes,” Junker said. “He was very good at asking the difficult, elephant-in-the-room questions. He wore his emotions on his sleeve. And he did not pull punches.”

Junker remembers, one year, flying back to Pittsburgh International Airport after he had been away from his family for a week at Pirates spring training in Florida.

At the airport, Junker’s young son ran to Savran first. The two walked hand-in-hand to baggage claim.

“He was just like my big brother,” said Junker, who was nine years younger than Savran.

“There’s hardly a day that goes by where someone doesn’t say to me, ‘Love the show!’” he added.

“In that, Stan lives on.” PJC

Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

 Stan Savran Photo courtesy of his family

Headlines

At the edge of stardom’s glow

By Eric Lidji | Special to the Chronicle

The Show Boat was a floating nightclub, moored near the Sixth Street Bridge. In early May 1930, federal agents paid a visit. Undercover, of course. Inside, they found a speakeasy and casino. There were hundreds of patrons, most wearing evening dress.

The agents returned a few weeks later, this time with search warrants. “Don’t be alarmed. It’s just a Federal raid,” they said, according to the Pittsburgh Press. “Leave your liquor where it is and get out. If you try to take the booze along, we’re going to search you.”

As part of the fallout, a court “padlocked” the Show Boat for a year. There was a way out, though. The owners could sell the ship if the new owner posted a $1,000 bond. Lou Bolton saw an opportunity.

Bolton was in show business. He ran a theatrical school for kids. It was the “Our Gang” era, and Bolton’s school was spritzed with the faint promise of stardom for those lucky few that had the goods. He bounced around a lot, following opportunity to New York or Chicago, even Europe. He returned to Pittsburgh in 1929, as he later testified under oath.

Bolton gave the Show Boat a coat of green and white paint, redecorated the interior, and reopened in late August 1930, in partnership with Joe Hiller. “Dine and Dance where the billowy Allegheny flows,” they wrote in a Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph advertisement.

Opening night was a hit. Pittsburgh Press entertainment columnist Si Steinhauser attended the first show. He counted 1,000 people on board and another 200 on the dock.

By spring 1931, Bolton’s name disappeared from Show Boat ads. He was spending time on different ventures. That summer, he staged a “miniature musical” at the Alvin Theater called “Main Street to Broadway,” written specifically for a cast of 200 local children.

Bolton also opened a new dance studio for children in the Aldine Building on Liberty Avenue, where the August Wilson Center currently stands. He already had a school in Johnstown, opened the previous year in partnership with Harriet Kelly. She had been volunteering as his receptionist for years in return for free classes for her children, who had an amateur act called “The Five Kellys.” She ran the office, and he taught the kids.

Bolton got sick of the trips to Johnstown and turned the instruction over to

Harriet’s son Gene Kelly. By 1931, the school was the Kelly family’s primary source of income.

Congregation Beth Shalom hired Bolton in early 1932 to produce its springtime Kirmiss dance festival. Bolton split town again, his name appearing in Hollywood newspapers.

Gene Kelly took over the Kirmiss, successfully. It led to a six-year stint in the Jewish community of Squirrel Hill, a short but deep relationship that ended only because Kelly left for Broadway in 1938 and then for Hollywood, where he was briefly its brightest star.

Bolton returned to Pittsburgh again

in the fall of 1933. He reopened his studio in the Aldine Building, touting his time in Hollywood as proof of his star-making potential.

In early May 1934, Bolton published an odd letter in the Pittsburgh Press. Sounding simultaneously altruistic and self-serving, he called on Pittsburgh to create a free dance school where local children could develop “self-confidence, poise, courage, and other attributes so essential in the character and make-up of successful citizens of a community.” He volunteered his services to anyone who would lead the initiative.

A few months later, in May 1934, Bolton was called to testify before the New York

State Supreme Court. It was a plagiarism case brought by a jazz singer named Helen Kane against Fleischer Studios and Paramount Publix Corp. Kane claimed the studios had stolen her look, voice, and act to create Betty Boop. Specifically: her “boop-oop-a-doop.”

Bolton was a witness for the defense. He had managed a child performer in Chicago in the 1920s named Lil’ Esther. She also sang scat. Bolton testified that Kane had attended a Lil’ Esther show months before recording her famous “I Wanna Be Loved By You.”

As part of his testimony, Bolton was asked to describe Lil’ Esther’s style of scat singing.

“Give us as nearly as you can how they sounded?” the Judge asked.

“I could do it better if I had rhythm with it,” Bolton said.

“Give the sounds,” one of the defense attorneys said.

“Boo-did-do-doo,” Bolton said.

“Were there other sounds besides the one that you have just mentioned?”

“Yes, quite a few.”

“Will you give us as many as you can remember?”

“Whad-da-da-da.”

“Others.”

“There are quite a few—‘Lodd-de-do.’”

“Any others that you recall?”

“Sounds like a time she would make a sound like sort of a moaning sound, finished off with ‘de-do.’”

“Any others?”

“That’s all.”

The relationship with Lil’ Esther soured in the late 1920s, seemingly over Bolton’s management practices. That might be why he returned to Pittsburgh in 1929. There was a pattern: He always came back here to regroup after rough patches in larger markets.

Post-Gazette Columnist Charles Danver once shared an anecdote about Bolton that neatly captures the producer’s style. At the depths of the Great Depression, in 1934, Bolton “had a good time Christmas walking around the Triangle and distributing 350 pennies he accumulated during the year, handing them out to every panhandler and beggar he met.”

Here was a man at the far margins of fame, giving a shiny gift, of no particular worth or consequence, to every sorry soul he met — possibly out of kindness, possibly for the story. PJC

Eric Lidji is the director of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center. He can be reached at rjarchives@heinzhistorycenter. org or 412-454-6406.

There was a pattern: [Lou Bolton] always came back here [to Pittsburgh] to regroup after rough patches in larger markets.

 Throughout his career, Lou Bolton worked contacts in the Jewish community of Pittsburgh to organize gigs, such as “Every Sunday Nite at 8” at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House in June 1937. Image courtesy of the Rauh Jewish Archives

Calendar

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q SUNDAYS, JULY 2 – DEC. 3

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.

SUNDAYS, JULY 2– DEC. 17

Join a lay-led online Parshah 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.

MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS, JULY 3 – JULY 12

The Jewish people has given the world a range of extraordinary gifts. Without Jews, these amazing contributions might not exist at all. In the 10-part series, The Gift of the Jews, Rabbi Danny Schi will detail the most significant 10 gifts that Jews have given to civilization and will explain their importance to humanity as a whole. Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. $140. jewishpgh.org/event/the-gifts-of-the-jews/2023-06-12.

MONDAYS, JULY 3 – DEC. 18

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

Join Women of Temple Sinai for Yoga at Temple Sinai, a relaxing class taught by certified yoga teacher Bre Kernick. All levels welcome. No experience required. Ages 16 and older. 7 p.m. $15 a session. templesinaipgh. org/programs-events.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5

Join Rodef Shalom on the first Wednesday of the month for free, docent-led tours of its Biblical Botanical Garden. For groups of eight or more, please contact biblicalgarden@rodefshalom.org to schedule a tour. Noon. Free. rodefshalom.org/garden.

WEDNESDAYS, JULY 5, 12

Join New Light Congregation for Pittsburgh is our Home: Honoring Authors Among Us, featuring local Jewish authors. Stay afterward to chat with the authors and enjoy light refreshments. On July 5 meet with Rachel Kranson to discuss “Is this the Golden Medina we expected? Upward Mobility

Among Jews after WWII.” On July 12 meet with Lee Gutkind to discuss “The Godfather Speaks! How I breathed new life into Non-Fiction!” 6:30 p.m. In person and on Zoom. 5915 Beacon St. Registration is required at janet@newlightcongregation.org. newlightcongregation.org/events.

WEDNESDAYS, JULY 5 – DEC. 20

Join AgeWell for an intergenerational family dynamics discussion group. Whether you have family harmony or strife, these discussions are going to be thoughtprovoking and helpful. Led by intergenerational specialist/presenter and educator Audree Schall. Third Wednesday of each month. Free. 12:30 p.m. South Hills JCC.

WEDNESDAYS, JULY 5– DEC. 27

Bring the parashah alive and make it personally relevant and meaningful with Rabbi Mark Goodman in this weekly Parashah Discussion: Life & Text. 12:15 p.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org/life-text.

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.

TUESDAYS, JULY 11 – DEC. 19

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.

THURSDAY, JULY 13

Women are invited to join Chabad of Squirrel for Loaves of Love and bake Star of David challahs. 7 p.m. $12. 1700 Beechwood Blvd. chabadpgh.com.

MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS, JULY 17 – AUG. 2

There has never been an age in Jewish history without internal Jewish controversies. In the sixpart series Contemporary Jewish Controversies, Rabbi Danny Schi will lead robust discussions about significant Jewish controversies that echo across the contemporary Jewish landscape, including Zoom prayer, intermarried rabbis, the death penalty for acts of terror against Israelis and much more. $85. Mondays and Wednesdays. 9:30 a.m. jewishpgh.org/event/ contemporary-jewish-controversies/2023-07-17.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9

Join members of the community for the annual Jewish Heritage Night as the Pittsburgh Pirates battle the Atlanta Braves. This year, an optional pre-game meal is available in the Picnic Park from 5:30-7 p.m. from Elegant Edge Catering. Each game ticket purchased will also include a limited edition Pittsburgh Pirates Hebrew T-shirt. 7:05 p.m. $16-44. PNC Park. jewishpgh.org/ event/jewish-heritage-night. PJC

Join the Chronicle Book Club!

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle invites you to join the Chronicle Book Club for its July 16 discussion of “Call It Sleep” by Henry Roth. From the Jewish Book Council: “When Hen ry Roth published his debut novel ‘Call It Sleep’ in 1934, it was greeted with considerable crit i cal acclaim though, in those troubled times, lackluster sales. Only with its paperback publi cation thir ty years lat er did this novel receive the recognition it deserves and still enjoys. Hav ing sold-to-date millions of copies worldwide, ‘Call It Sleep’ is the magnificent story of David Schearl, the ‘dangerously imaginative’ child coming of age in the slums of New York.

“First published in 1934, and immediately hailed as a master piece, this is a novel of Jewish life full of the pain and honesty of family relationships. It holds the distinction of being the first paper back ever to receive a frontpage review in The New York Times Book Review, and it became a nationwide bestseller.”

Your Hosts:

Toby Tabachnick, editor of the Chronicle

David Rullo, Chronicle staff writer

How and When:

We will meet on Zoom on Sunday, July 16, at noon.

What To Do

Buy: “Call it Sleep.” It is available from online retailers including Barnes & Noble and Amazon and through the Carnegie Library system.

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

Toby Tabachnick

 Jewish Heritage Night will be held at PNC Park on Aug. 9. The Pirates will take on the Atlanta Braves.

Photo by Joshua Peacock via Wikimedia Commons

Headlines

Neo-Nazis protest 2 Georgia synagogues

Two Georgia synagogues were targeted by nearly identical antisemitic protests over the weekend, both allegedly organized by a neo-Nazi group, the Goyim Defense League, that has gained notoriety in recent months.

On Friday, a group of around 10 to 15 protesters gathered outside Temple Beth Israel, a Reform congregation in Macon, in central Georgia. They carried crude signs, hung an effigy from a post and spouted antisemitic vitriol before being broken up by police. The next day, around 11 people waved swastika flags and displayed very similar antisemitic messages outside a Chabad center in Marietta, about 100 miles to the north. The signs blamed Jews for wielding control over elected officials or institutions, such as the media and the Federal Reserve. Another sign reportedly referenced the 1913 lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory owner, which took place in Marietta.

Survey: Jewish voters favor Biden over Trump

Jewish voters would favor Joe Biden over Donald Trump by 50 percentage points in a 2024 general election matchup, according to a survey — a stark contrast from polls of the

national electorate that predict a close race between the two leading candidates.

The survey of 800 registered Jewish voters, taken by the Jewish Electorate Institute, shows Biden leading Trump 72% to 22% among respondents. An NBC poll of registered voters nationally, gives Biden just a four-point lead over Trump, 49% to 45%.

The Jewish Electoral Institute, which is led by a board comprised mostly of Jewish Democrats, commissioned GBAO Strategies to run the survey, which took place from June 4-11. It had a margin of error of 3.5%.

Charleston rabbi resigns, citing anti-LGBTQ legislation

A rabbi at a historic synagogue in Charleston resigned from his congregation, and plans to leave South Carolina, over what he characterized as the state’s discriminatory treatment of LGBTQ people.

Rabbi Greg Kanter, who is gay, told Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim that he and his family would be seeking new opportunities in other states whose policies and public spaces are friendlier to LGBTQ people. Kanter is one of three rabbis at the Reform congregation, which was founded in 1749.

Kanter’s decision underscores the challenges LGBTQ Jews are increasingly facing in Republican-led states. As in other statehouses, lawmakers in South

Carolina have proposed a flurry of laws affecting LGBTQ people, including measures banning medical care for trans youth and shielding people who oppose same-sex marriage and “gender identity ideology” from punishment.

‘Jeopardy!’ features Detroit synagogue

Viewers of the popular game show “Jeopardy!” got a glance of one of the United States’ most distinctive synagogue buildings, after a clue showcased Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Michigan.

The Conservative synagogue had leaked the fact that it would appear as a trivia item on “Jeopardy!” and as luck would have it, one of the contestants lives a 45-minute drive from Southfield, in Dexter.

Ben Goldstein said that his local expertise did influence his quick response to the clue — just not correctly.

Contestants were shown a picture of Shaarey Zedek’s soaring facade as they heard the clue, in the category “Architects”: “After World War II, these evolved Moorish to Modernists as in architect Percival Goodman’s Shaarey Zedek in suburban Detroit.”

Goldstein buzzed in right away. “What are mosques?” he asked. A second contestant, Janie Sullivan, correctly guessed “What are temples?”

“When I read the clue, two phrases

immediately jumped out: ‘Moorish’ and ‘suburban Detroit.’ Being a resident of Southeast Michigan, I’m familiar with Metro Detroit’s famously large Muslim community. Those two bits of information made me confident enough to ring in and say, ‘What are mosques?’” he said. “I just didn’t pay enough attention to the name of the building and its architect.”

Russian court rejects Gershkovich appeal

A Moscow court has upheld an extended detention for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who must remain in jail on espionage charges until at least Aug. 30.

Gershkovich, 31, is the son of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union, and has been in Russia’s Lefortovo prison since late March. He is being held on an allegation of espionage that he, the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government deny. “We were extremely disappointed by the denial of his appeal,” said U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, who was at the Moscow courthouse. “The charges against him are baseless,” she said. “He is an innocent journalist who was carrying out journalistic activities and has been wrongfully detained.” PJC

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Today in Israeli History

July 3, 1904 — Theodor Herzl dies

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

June 30, 1937 — Religious

Kibbutz Tirat Zvi is founded German, Polish and Russian Jews establish Kibbutz Tirat Zvi in the Beit She’an Valley as one of the first religious kibbutzim during the Tower and Stockade effort to expand the borders of a future state.

July 1, 1244 — Jews are granted rights in Austria Frederick II, the duke of Austria, issues a charter extending rights to Jews to boost the economy. The charter serves as a model for medieval Europe. It remains in effect until Austria expels its Jews in 1420.

July 2, 2011 — National Trail founder Uri Dvir dies Uri Dvir, a founder of Shvil Yisrael (the Israel National Trail), dies at 80 in Tel Aviv. He planned and initiated the 620-mile hiking path from Kibbutz Dan near Lebanon to Eilat on the Red Sea.

Theodor Herzl, known as the “father of modern Zionism,” dies of cardiac sclerosis at 44 in Edlach, Austria, seven years after he organized the First Zionist Congress.

July 4, 1975 — Refrigerator bomb kills 14 in Jerusalem

Fourteen people are killed and 62 others are wounded when a bomb built with mortar shells and hidden inside a refrigerator explodes in Jerusalem’s Zion Square. Fatah claims responsibility.

July 5, 1950 — Law of Return is enacted

The Knesset passes the Law of Return, opening immigration to all Jews, formalizing a policy in place since the provisional government revoked British limits on Jewish immigration in May 1948.

July 6, 1973 — Conductor Otto Klemperer dies

Otto Klemperer, a German Jewish conductor and composer, dies at 88 in Zurich. His conversion to Catholicism (he later returned to Judaism) and marriage to a Lutheran didn’t protect him from the Nazis. PJC

 Frederick II, duke of Austria, was known as Frederick the Belligerent or Frederick the Warlike.

 Avraham Burg, then the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, welcomes immigrants to Israel in 1995.

Spotlight on South Hills

South Hills summer specials: Fireworks and pool parking lots

— LOCAL —

By Abigail Hakas | Sta Writer

While the city of Pittsburgh is bustling with events throughout the year, the suburbs of Pittsburgh are oft-overlooked spots for summer fun. Don’t miss out on spectacular firework displays on the Fourth of July or the opportunity to unwind poolside in the South Hills.

Celebrate the Fourth of July with grand firework displays

Upper St. Clair and South Fayette are holding a joint fireworks display on July 4 from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. in Fairview Park. The display is free and can be viewed from around the townships. Parking is limited at Fairview Park, but you can park and watch it from afar at Upper St. Clair’s Community & Recreation Center, 1551 Mayview Road.

If you’re not eager to be up at 11:30 p.m., Dormont is holding an earlier display from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. for Dormont Day in the Dormont Pool’s parking lot, 1801 Dormont Ave. The three-hour event features musical performances from The Smeres and Justin Fabus from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., respectively, before the Zambelli fireworks are launched at 9:35 p.m. While you’re there, snag a grab bag and get some food, including from Kona Ice.

Go swimming

And if you’re already stopping by the Dormont Pool for fireworks, why not take a dip? A one-day visit costs $8 and non-residents of Dormont can buy a season family pass for $295. Kids under 3 can go in for free. If you go, make sure to take a turn on the waterslide. The Dormont Pool is open from noon to 8 p.m. every day during the summer.

this correctly — a poolside rock climbing wall. A daily pass is $10 for adults, and $9 for those 62 and older and 18 and younger. The pool is open from noon to 7 p.m. every day at 900 Cedar Blvd.

Visit the mall

The South Hills Village is a two-story mall with all the classics: Auntie Anne’s pretzels, Build-A-Bear, Claire’s and Hot Topic. A hidden gem in the mall is The Spice and Tea Exchange, the go-to shop for tea, spices and flavored salts and sugars. You can get a freshly brewed tea or just enjoy the sights and smells. Make a day of the visit by getting brunch at Eat ’n Park and catching a discounted matinee at the AMC Theatre, both within walking distance of the mall. South Hills Village is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday at 301 South Hills Village.

Go ice skating

If the summer heat is getting to you, take to the ice and cool off at one of Ice Castle Arena’s two rinks at 990 Castle Shannon Blvd. Breaks from skating can be spent eating fair food like churros and funnel cakes from the snack bar, getting drinks at the bar and lounge or working out your fingers in the Arena’s arcade. General admission costs $10, senior admission costs $6 and children under 5 get in free. Bring your own skates or pay $5 to rent a pair. The rink is open for skating from 10 a.m. to noon and 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays, and noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The summer brings a new Friday night skate time from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with a $15 flat admission. The rink is lit up by colored lights during weekend skates.

Watch a movie

From sitting in the seats of the AMC Theatres by the South Hills Village to watching films under the stars, there are plenty of places to catch a movie in the suburbs. The animated film “The Bad Guys”

is free to watch in the Dormont Pool parking lot at 8:40 p.m. on July 14, but make sure to bring your own blanket or chair. Dormont Elementary School’s fifth grade class will be selling concessions.

If you prefer an indoor movie experience, AMC Theatres has a Mt. Lebanon location in addition to the South Hills Village theater. This summer brought new releases like “Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse,” “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” “The Little Mermaid” and “The Flash,” all of which are being shown at both AMC locations.

Volunteer at the South Hills Jewish Community Center

While the summer is a great time for swimming and celebrating, there’s never a wrong time to lend a helping hand. The Jewish Community Center in the South Hills offers plenty of opportunities to do just that. Volunteers can help out at the J Café — which serves kosher food to older adults — by providing support, assistance and company to those dining. Older adults can volunteer to call seniors through the CheckMates program to provide reassurance and company to those who may be isolated or lonely. Contact Amy Gold at agold@jccpgh.org or 412-697-3528 to

Take advantage of public libraries

South Hills has too many public libraries to count, but all of them are great places to sit down with a good book and unwind during the hotter days of the year. Plus, they’re perfect for the whole family. Peters Township Public Library’s Curious George Curious Club introduces kids to STEM with Curious George-themed activities on July 6, and at its July 8 Paws for Reading event, kids can read to therapy dogs. Attendees must register in advance by visiting the library’s website, ptlibrary.org, and clicking on its events calendar. For adults, Upper St. Clair Public Library is holding a bingo event on July 10 at 10 a.m., and weekly matinees on Fridays at 10 a.m. To find more events at South Hills public libraries, visit the event calendar on your local public library’s website.

Get fresh food and produce at a farmers market

Put the season in seasonal this summer and stop by one of the many South Hills farmers markets for locally produced fruits, vegetables and pantry staples. Mt. Lebanon’s farmers market runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Wednesday this summer at 975 Washington Road and sells everything from mushroom growing kits to flower crowns. The Bethel Park farmers market is from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Tuesday at 30 Corrigan Drive. Some vendors only sell every other week, so it’s worth visiting two weeks in a row. Upper St. Clair’s farmers market is 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Thursday at 2040 Washington Road.

Watch a theatrical performance

Something to look forward to later in July are the new productions by Stage 62 and the Little Lake Theatre Company. Starting on July 20 at 8 p.m., Stage 62 will debut “Something Rotten,” a musical comedy about two brothers seeking fame and fortune by writing a hit play in the 1590s, but struggling to make it in the age of Shakespeare. Also on July 20, Little Lake Theatre Company’s “Deathtrap,” a comedic thriller about Broadway writer Sydney Bruhl and his potentially devious plan to collaborate with another writer, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the performances can be bought on Stage 62’s website, stage62.org, and the Little Lake Theatre Company’s website, littlelake.org. PJC

Abigail Hakas can be reached at ahakas@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

 Fireworks will be displayed throughout the South Hills to celebrate the Fourth of July

Photo by Designecologist via Pexels

 JCC South Hills Photo courtesy of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh  South Hills Village Mall

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

‘So beautiful it was horrifying’: Local teachers travel South to learn about Civil Rights Movement

— LOCAL—

By Abigail Hakas| Sta Writer

When English teacher Daniela Buccilli next meets her class of 11th graders at Upper St. Clair High School, she will have more to discuss than the typical small talk about her summer. Buccilli and more than a dozen other teachers traveled through the South to learn about the Civil Rights Movement in an educational trip called “Marching Down Freedom’s Road” organized by Classrooms Without Borders. The trip took the educators to Birmingham, Alabama, and the site of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.

The teachers spoke to the Rev. Carolyn McKinstry who was a child when she survived the bombings by Ku Klux Klan members. The bombing killed four girls –ages 11 to 14. According to the FBI, the attack was in support of white supremacy and out of fear of the Black church that was a rallying space for the Civil Rights Movement.

JoAnne Bland, who was 11 when she marched in Selma, Alabama, on what would become known as Bloody Sunday, spoke with the group about her numerous arrests as a child in the fight for civil rights. The teachers also met Charles Person, one of the two Freedom Riders alive today who made the trip from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans.

“He did talk about how hate was not what he felt for the people that hurt him and his friends, which was amazing to hear,” Buccilli said. “He doesn’t hold grudges. These are all things that seem impossible. I don’t know why. And so, we’re always struck by the gracious and wholeheartedness that these activists have.”

Among the museums the group visited was the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, where the teachers spoke with Michelle Browder, a contemporary artist and activist who created statues honoring the “Mothers of Gynecology,” slave women experimented on by the so-called “Father of Gynecology,” Dr. J. Marion Sims. There is a statue of Sims outside the Alabama State House in Montgomery.

“She did some research on the ‘Father of Gynecology’ and found the 10 or so enslaved women that he operated on. She found the names of three of them,” Buccilli said. “They didn’t have any anesthesia. Oh my gosh, I can’t even believe the horror.”

Buccilli said that visiting Selma left her shocked at the state of disrepair following a tornado that hit the city in January. But one well-preserved site stood out: a Confederate cemetery.

“The houses were in such bad shape and there were despondent people, and we walked into the cemetery and it had those

live oaks with the moss dripping down. It was so beautiful it was horrifying, actually,” she said.

Buccilli recalled the shock of seeing Confederate flags and bedsheets on sale while the group waited at a bus stop. The teachers “talked about it, and we supported each other and talked about how awful we felt inside and how we couldn’t believe what we were seeing,” she said.

Michele Russo, a 10th grade English teacher at Seneca Valley Intermediate High School, echoed the sentiments.

“Selma being such a place of history, it was very rundown,” she said. “Even Amelia Boynton, who was one of the women who started the entire idea for the Montgomery

march, her house is totally fallen in. And there’s a big sign that says that it is a historical landmark, and there’s supposed to be federal money coming, but it is totally caved in.”

While the group was traveling, they followed the news about the synagogue shooting trial back home.

“During the trip, of course, we find out about the trial in Pittsburgh,” Buccilli said. “So everything just felt much graver than it did when it was just like, ‘Hey, we’re going to learn. We’re going to go to these sites. I’m going to learn this history.’ It’s very, very serious.”

Classrooms Without Borders Founder and Executive Director Zipora Gur wanted

to “use the country as the textbook” when she created the organization in 2011 in association with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Classrooms Without Borders offers trips to teachers and other community members to places like Poland, Germany and Israel, and has a focus on the Holocaust and antisemitism.

“I’ve been an educator all my life and I believed always in the power of education and investing in teachers because when you invest in a teacher, you can change a generation,” Gur said.

The trip was guided by two scholars, Winchester Thurston history teacher Michael Naragon and Samuel Black, the director of The African American Program at the Senator John Heinz History Center.

“We see racial injustice still happening in 2023,” said Kate Lukaszewicz, who organized the trip for Classrooms Without Borders. “And so, we want them to see how looking at the lessons of the past can prepare us for the present and the future so that they can communicate that to students.”

Buccilli hopes to contextualize the literature she teaches with the information she learned on the trip.

“Everything I teach in American literature is speaking to the movement towards freedom for more people, for all,” she said. “A hatred of different people is so antithetical to what America is and wants to be. I know someone’s going to say, ‘Well, there’s so much hate in America.’ Yes, boy, could I feel it when I went to that Confederate cemetery. Boy, did I feel it at that bus stop. But it’s not the only story.” PJC

Abigail Hakas can be reached at ahakas@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

 Local educators with Charles Person, Freedom Rider, in Atlanta

Photo courtesy of Classrooms Without Borders

 Michael Naragon (left), scholar, with the group at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Photo courtesy of Classrooms Without Borders

Spotlight on South Hills

The Exit Interview: Leslie Ho man

Adam Reinherz | Sta Writer

For the past decade, Leslie Hoffman has worked at the center of synagogue life in the South Hills. Since late 2014, Hoffman has used her position as executive director of Temple Emanuel of South Hills to manage congregational affairs during a pandemic, work through a historic change in rabbinic leadership and help congregants navigate myriad experiences.

Before exiting her role as a dedicated communal servant this fall, Hoffman spoke with the Chronicle about her time at Temple Emanuel, being celebrated by the congregation and what comes next.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

You’ve had a wonderful career, not only at Temple Emanuel, but in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Tell me what brought you to the congregation.

I was at a point in my life where I was ready to take on more of a full-time role. Before my twins were born, I did operations and product management at Mellon Bank. I took some time off, but having that earlier foundation helped when I eventually returned to work as the chapter manager for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition between 2006 and 2010 and then congregational manager at Dor Hadash from 2010-2014. When Temple Emanuel’s Executive Director Saralouise Reis passed away, and the position was posted, I just thought that this would be a great place to use my nonprofit experience, my previous business experience and to step into a role that I thought I could make a difference.

What are some of the ways a congregation’s executive director makes a di erence?

One of the things is that you wear a lot of different hats, and you never really know what your day will bring. I think for me, one of the biggest things I feel best about is that I’ve been able to be a support and partner with our congregants at the highest of their highs and their lowest of their lows. Whether it was in terms of family life or other circumstances, I hope I made those situations easier for people.

As you mentioned, a lot of things happen on a daily basis. What does it say that certain moments have stuck out more than others?

I think it just sort of grounds you in the

realities. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day frustrations and difficulties of a job where you’re managing a building and dealing with facilities or maybe challenging community partners. At the end of the day, though, the purpose of the synagogue, in my mind, is to be there for your community and your people when they need it the most. It’s easy to lose sight of that on the day-to-day, but then you have a conversation — or an exchange with someone who will say thank you for something that you did that you didn’t even realize had an impact — and those are the moments that just bring you back to why you’re doing what you’re doing.

During your tenure, Temple Emanuel welcomed new rabbinic leadership while also navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Why do you think the congregation transitioned so smoothly?

There’s a couple of things. We have, like most Pittsburgh congregations, many multigenerational members — in some cases, fourth-generation — whose connection and commitment runs very, very deep. It’s a testament to the organization that we have

an amazing board and leadership who are very much invested in the future of Temple. We’ve also built a relationship of respect for staff in that the board is governance and the staff is management — and we work in concert together — but they allow us to do what we need to do without micromanaging. That has been a very successful model for us particularly as we’ve gone through rabbinic transitions, staff transitions and certainly through the pandemic. I think part of why we were able to respond rapidly and pivot as needed was because we were given the latitude to make decisions. That position does best serve our community.

In recent years, many synagogues have had to adapt to aging populations, declining memberships and waning interest among community members. How can synagogues be successful moving forward?

We are certainly cognizant that we can’t just be status quo and that we must continually look at how to best position ourselves to meet the changing needs. I am optimistic about the place of synagogues

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Obviously, I very much appreciate the recognition and the support of the board and the congregation. I know that I’ve been appreciated and valued without a doubt. But again, I only see my work as a way to allow everyone else to thrive at Temple. And there are many, many worthy people who share their time and talents with Temple in many, many ways.

What are you most looking forward to after retiring?

Since accepting this position, the congregation has become my second family, and I’ve spent nearly as much or more time with them as I have my “real” family. I told the congregation it’s time for me to take a breath, let that pendulum swing back and refocus my energy on my husband, David, and twin sons, Philip and Eric. I’m looking forward to spending more time with them.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know?

I’m just really grateful. I’ve had the opportunity to grow in this position — both personally and professionally — to build relationships with an amazing group of congregants and co-workers. I also want people to know that I’m excited for Temple’s future as well. I know that I’m leaving, but it will be a wonderful place for the next person to step into. PJC

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

 Leslie Hoffman speaks at Temple Emanuel of South Hills after receiving the Manny Award. Photo courtesy of Leslie Hoffman

“I only see my work as a way to allow everyone else to thrive at Temple. “

–LESLIE HOFFMAN

Celebrating 35 years of pride and community at Congregation Bet Tikvah

Guest Columnists

If you stick around to socialize after a service at Congregation Bet Tikvah — which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year — you’ll overhear conversations that point to deep relationships.

One person talks about how members visited them in the hospital 20 years ago, bringing the necessities to celebrate Shabbat. Another reminisces about arranging to visit a recently deceased member at his nursing home to sing zmirot (Jewish songs), since he could no longer attend services virtually. Two mothers chat with a new attendee about how they met when their now-teenage children started preschool together.

When asked, the first word our longterm members use to describe Bet Tikvah is “welcoming.”

This isn’t surprising. We were founded in 1988 to meet the needs of Pittsburgh’s gay, lesbian and bisexual Jews, and then all LGBTQ+ Jews —outcasts from mainstream synagogues at the time. We remember the pain of rejection.

However, our membership has long

included those who are straight and cisgender. Those who have found their way to Bet Tikvah’s diverse community include interfaith couples who struggled to find truly inviting spiritual homes in the early 1990s, those who lost family members to AIDS, and other allies who appreciate the casual, lay-led atmosphere and close-knit community.

We know we must consciously work to maintain our welcoming reputation.

is no voting, just discussion until a satisfactory solution is found. Even if this means revisiting conversations multiple times, our members agree it’s better to do things right than quickly.

When Congregation Bet Tikvah was founded, same-sex sexual activity had only been decriminalized in Pennsylvania for eight years and removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Along with secular advancements, there has been increased acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in the larger Jewish community. By 2007 the Reconstructionist, Renewal, Reform and Conservative movements all allowed ordination of openly lesbian, gay and bisexual rabbis. By 2012, these same movements had officially created paths to religious same-sex marriages. In 2022, Conservative Judaism codified non-gendered language for rituals in the synagogue.

While Bet Tikvah members celebrate each step toward acceptance, we also know it means that there is less of a need for a community to embrace those who have no other place.

Some long-time members are optimistic about Congregation Bet Tikvah’s future, excited about the number of regular attendees under the age of 40. As a minority within a minority, these younger members find value in a space where they celebrate both identities.

Membership dues are pay what you can. Health and safety are carefully considered when planning events. Accessibility, in every sense of the word, is seen as part of our central tenet of being welcoming.

Our prayer book, crafted by congregants, is filled with transliterations. Traditional Hebrew prayers have been translated in a way that doesn’t gender God. The format of the siddur allows for a wide variety of services, so each lay service leader can choose a style that suits them.

Lay leadership means every voice is valuable. We run on a consensus model — there

on to the next’

community, then known as the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Fellowship.

I was in attendance as Rabbi Grollman made his presentation and I introduced myself to him afterward as a relatively

(DSM) seven years before that.

In the 35 years since 1988, the LGBTQ+ community has achieved massive political and social advancements.

Transgender identities were removed from the DSM in 1994. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized nationwide in 2003. Same-sex marriage was legalized in Pennsylvania in 2014, and nationally in 2015. In 2020 employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity was made illegal in the United States, and in 2022 U.S. passports added the option for a nonbinary gender marker.

Others worry involvement will diminish with time, as older members with close ties to each other are no longer able to attend.

Leadership takes a pragmatic approach. Deb Polk, a member since 1997 and longtime volunteer, says, “If people no longer need us, then we will stop existing, but until then we will be here for as long as people want to come.”

Meanwhile, people still find their way to our tiny synagogue.

Congregation Bet Tikvah’s Treasurer

Please see Chandler & Krahling, page 13

on to the next.” His quick response, which I shall never forget, was, “Write it up and I’ll get it published.” I never did write it up but I never forgot it either.

passing has left all of us who knew him, and who cherish his family, in deep and unending shock.

Rabbi Earl Grollman was an American Reform rabbi who gained an international reputation for his expertise in clergy serving their parishioners at the sad and emotional times of death, funeral and burial. Originally a congregational rabbi serving one particular synagogue, first his writings and eventually his personal appearances brought him in contact with a wide variety of audiences of many faith communities. I have no problem imagining that his unique sensitivity and professional specialty brought him — and certainly his impact — to countless Americans and probably to those far beyond our borders.

I met Rabbi Grollman only once. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, Burton L. Hirsch Funeral Home in Pittsburgh initiated a program that brought eminent speakers in the fields of medical ethics and bereavement arts to town for the sake of the local rabbinic

young and new colleague in the community. I believe that the question I asked of him as an expert was, “How do you recover from one funeral and the focus on a particular family — whatever the age of the deceased or circumstance of the loss of life — to regain balance in your mind and heart?” To this day I can well recall him asking me in return, “How do you?” I responded, “I go

Skip ahead 30 or 40 years to spring, 2023. The sudden and tragic death of a young accomplished professional from Pittsburgh brought deep pain and spiritual anguish to his loved ones, and countless friends, colleagues and co-workers. In his young life, he was a source of energy and inspiration to many peers of all ages and circumstances, and his unexpected

So, I return to Rabbi Grollman and my clear recollection of his conversation with me so many decades ago. He was teaching me that there is no simple or streamlined closure to the death of a human being and the sorrow faced by survivors. The rabbi serves the memory of the deceased and the spiritual needs of the survivors as best as possible; officiating at a meaningful prayer service and coordinating a fitting tribute to the departed loved one are unique mitzvahs in our religious tradition. The combination can touch but hardly diminish the pain and trauma experienced by so many of us. We can lament the loss and reflect on the legacy, but we are probably best served by “moving on” to the next crisis/challenge/death that awaits us on our path as spiritual leaders.

Perhaps I was too young and wet behind the ears those many years ago to write it up as I have now. I have gone on in my career to serve hundreds of bereaved families and deliver almost 1000 eulogies

Please see Steindel, page 13

‘Going

Guest Columnist

Rabbi Stephen E. Steindel

A “clean slate” does not represent a rabbi without emotions or who is indi erent to his flock; rather, it means a professional and a caring soul who can bring his talents, experience and sensitivities to the next family in need.

At Bet Tikvah, our belonging is never questioned and our presence is valued. More than that, our presence and contributions make an impact.

Sara Chandler and Caedyn Krahling

Chronicle poll results: Social media for youth

Last week, the Chronicle asked its readers in an electronic poll the following question: “At what age should a person be allowed to join a social media platform?” Of the 134 people who responded, 43% said “18 or older”; 32% said “16 or older”; 10% said “13 or older”; 4% said “there should be no age restrictions on social media”; and 11% said they didn’t know. Comments were submitted by 30 people. A few follow.

It is a difficult question because social media is both useful and dangerous.

It depends on which platform and what their mental ability is!

Try to keep kids away for as long as possible.

In reality, I oppose social media. The internet gives a false image of people and

Chandler & Krahling:

Continued from page 12

Ravid Nash started attending services virtually during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Denied a bet mitzvah in the 1990s due to her intersex status, she was estranged from Judaism until a health crisis in her 40s forced her to embrace being both intersex and transfeminine. She decided to seek out a Jewish community “that was LGBTQ-centric, but had some type of spiritual aspect to help

their lives; it creates envy and insecurity within many users who believe that their lives lack this so-called perfection.

me deal with transitioning for medical reasons.” She found her spiritual home at Bet Tikvah.

As we mark Bet Tikvah’s 35th anniversary, we celebrate being a part of a community specifically built for us as both LGBTQ+ people and Jews. At Bet Tikvah, our belonging is never questioned and our presence is valued. More than that, our presence and contributions make an impact. PJC

Sara Chandler (she/her) and Caedyn Krahling (they/them) are members of Congregation Bet Tikvah and sit on its Communication Committee.

Abraham Accords envoy could help expand peace in Middle East

Let’s communicate through face-to-face interactions — and let’s be honest with each other.

Social media is dangerous and should not exist!

The type or content of the social media platform should be a factor. Parents should have control of children’s access or place restrictions, especially if the child is under 18 years old.

I chose 18 because there have been too many incidents concerning bullying and mental abuse that have caused people to consider or actually commit suicide.

Parents should decide, not platforms or governments.

It depends a lot on the type of social media. Many of them are unnecessary and addictive. With the amount of lashon hara and inappropriate pictures on social media, it would probably be better if a lot of them were closed down, even for adults.

There needs to be an understanding of the rights and responsibilities when participating in social media. Things like being respectful of others and avoiding rumor perpetuation.

Teens do not have maturity to know how hurtful their posts can be to others. PJC

Compiled by Toby Tabachnick

Social media is out of control. It’s taking away independent thought from children.

Steindel:

Continued from page 12

— sometimes two in one day, day after day, or as many as four or five a week. Each loss is served, each sorrow is unique, each bereavement is attended, and the rabbi must be free to continue with full vigor and emotional strength to serve the next family in need. A “clean slate” does not represent a rabbi without emotions or who is indifferent to his flock; rather, it means a professional and a caring soul who can bring his talents,

LETTERS

It takes a particularly high level of animus to vote against peace. That’s what Rep. Summer Lee, 10 “Squad” members and two out-of-step Republicans did, in opposing bipartisan legislation establishing a special envoy for the Abraham Accords (“House passes bill to create special envoy for Abraham Accords; Summer Lee votes no,” June 23).

The Abraham Accords was an astounding breakthrough, pointing the way toward possible eventual peace between Israel and its former enemy neighbors. An envoy would seek to widen and strengthen those agreements. Blind hatred for Israel and her supporters clearly is the bond binding those opposing that.

An Abraham Accords envoy will face many other obstacles. The Biden administration entered office lukewarm toward those bilateral agreements, only belatedly seeing their great value. The administration’s obsessive pursuit of a new nuclear deal with Iran, demonizing of Saudi Arabia, and frosty relationship with the current Israeli government, has led Gulf state partners to seek outside intervention from China and Russia for protection from Iran. An insane no-deal deal with Iran, bypassing any Congressional oversight, further financing Iran’s aggressive aims — while not hindering in the least its nuclear state ambitions — would only further alienate those Gulf states.

While short-term prospects for such an Abraham Accords envoy thus are limited, in the long-run this development should hold great promise for an expanding peace that may eventually convince even the Palestinians finally to abandon their intransigent stance toward Israel and embrace peace as well.

Richard D. Wilkins Syracuse, New York

experience and sensitivities to the next family in need.

Maybe I should have written this up back then after all. Rabbi Earl Grollman died a few months ago at a ripe old age and never got to see it. PJC

Rabbi Stephen E. Steindel was senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom from 1986-2009, and rabbi of Beth El Congregation of the South Hills from 1973-1983. This year marks the 50th anniversary of his ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Chronicle weekly poll question: Do you have a pet? Go to pittsburghjewish chronicle.org to respond. PJC —

‘Respect and admiration’ following verdicts

The guilty verdicts in the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, of course, were a foregone conclusion.

There are so many individuals for whom I have the greatest respect and admiration: the courageous survivors who were at the synagogue that day (many of whom testified); the survivors of those who were slain; the heroic law enforcement officers who risked their lives and endured grievous wounds as they confronted the very face of evil; and the jurors who sat through harrowing testimony and saw as evidence what no one should ever have to see.

God bless all of these extraordinary people.

Eleven precious human beings surely did not die in vain. They shall never be forgotten.

Oren Spiegler Peters Township Chronicle editorial resonates with reader

Last weekend I was in Toronto at the summer meeting of a very special group I was invited to join years ago, the American Board of Criminal Lawyers. How ironic that it was there that I finally got a chance to read your editorial “The end of Phase 1” (June 23). Well done! I love your point about the importance of the trial and am glad the prosecution didn’t agree to waive the death penalty so that we now have a historic record of this abominable massacre. Quite frankly, that point hadn’t occurred to me. You are, of course right: The rule of law must be followed. However, I remain unalterably opposed to the death penalty. But, it is the law.

Thank you for this excellent editorial.

Website address: pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Stan Levenson Shadyside

Headlines

Trial:

Continued from page 1

including wiping clean his computer and phone to cover his tracks. And, Rivetti said, he targeted vulnerable victims who couldn’t escape because of age or infirmity.

Prosecutors argue that the defendant was motivated by his hatred of Jews and hunted them down in their place of worship.

“He killed victim after victim with his AR-15 rifle,” Rivetti said. “He came to kill and he was filled with hate.”

Rivetti said the defendant’s own lawyers said there is no question that he planned the killings.

He said the defendant made “decision after decision” in targeting the victims, from his online rantings against Jews to driving a half-hour from his Baldwin apartment to the synagogue with a car filled with weapons and the systematic, roomto-room slayings.

When a SWAT team officer asked him why he’d gone on the rampage, Rivetti said, the defendant answered: “All these Jews need to die.”

Rivetti said the issue at hand is simple:

Rebbe:

Did he intend to kill?

“That is easily proven,” he said.

Rivetti also noted that the defense lawyers would likely introduce mental health evidence. If they do, he said, “we will respond.”

Burt did just that and named a series of

UPMC and other doctors who will testify about the defendant’s supposed abnormal brain function.

Later in the morning, the prosecution began presenting relatives of those killed to establish their vulnerability on the day of the murders.

The first was Diane Rosenthal, sister of David and Cecil Rosenthal, mentally challenged brothers in their 50s whom the defendant gunned down.

Rosenthal, who lives in Chicago, said her brothers functioned on the level of preschoolers.

They couldn’t tie their shoes, they couldn’t read, loud noises scared them. Both especially loved the weekly worship services at Tree of Life.

“That,” she said, “was their safe space.”

The eligibility phase of the trial is expected to last one or two weeks. If the jury decides unanimously that the defendant is eligible for the death penalty, a third trial phase will begin to determine whether or not he will be sentenced to death. PJC

Torsten Ove writes for the Pittsburgh Union Progress, where this first appeared. He can be reached at jtorsteno@gmail. com. This story is part of ongoing coverage of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial by the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and the Pittsburgh Union Progress in a collaboration supported by funding from the Pittsburgh Media Partnership.

Continued from page 1

go ahead — but what would the world be like?”

Born in 1902 in what is now Ukraine, Schneerson was the seventh leader in a dynastic line dating back to Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the 18th-century founder of the Lubavitch Hasidic movement.

Shneur Zalman wrote “The Tanya,” a work that’s predicated on detailing the “battle between the two voices within us: the beast within us and the soul within us,” Jacobson said.

Whether one considers it a war between the animalistic and the divine, or the “survival-based life and transcendent-based life,” the dichotomy, for Schneerson, wasn’t just scholarly fodder. It was the driving force behind his efforts as a pioneering Jewish leader, Jacobson explained.

When Schneerson assumed the helm of Chabad in 1950 — five years after the Holocaust ended and two years following the establishment of a Jewish state —there was a “dramatic shift” underway in Jewish history. For centuries, Jews were persecuted, expelled and terrorized. The concept of freedom, pioneered by Western thought and championed by the United States, wasn’t even 200 years old, “so the Rebbe was faced with a very different reality than his forebears, Jacobson said. “All his predecessors, most of their challenges were life and death — literally life and death.”

Schneerson recognized the reality of post-war life and waged a new battle, but this combat wasn’t about swords, weapons or bloodshed, his student continued: “It was a war against the biggest challenge of freedom: apathy.”

Throughout history, enemies of the Jews have helped crystallize Jewish values, but with those earlier threats quelled, Schneerson encouraged people to appreciate “there’s divine everywhere, not just in holy places,”

Jacobson said. “Every fiber of existence is vibrating and pulsating with divine energy — it’s fundamental Hasidic teachings that the Rebbe explained in a language that we all can relate to.”

Jacobson, who heads the Meaningful Life Center and was among a team of students who remembered and recorded Schneerson’s teachings, said the ability to convey oneness, or eternal truths, not only explains why a rabbinic presence can loom postmortem but why

Chabad continues growing.

According to the movement, “a survey of synagogues in America found that the number of Chabad congregations has grown by 199% since 2001.”

Pew Research Center’s “Jewish Americans in 2020,” shed similar light on Chabad’s rise: 16% of Jewish adults in the U.S. often or sometimes participate in Chabad programs or services, and of those participants, nearly 75% are non-Orthodox.

www.pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

“The success of Chabad is all the more remarkable because so few American Jews claim it, yet so many participate in it,” Religion News Service’s Yonat Shimron noted. “At a time when many religious denominations are shrinking, Chabad appears to be growing.”

The findings are staggering — unless, of course, one was lucky enough to have learned from Schneerson, Jacobson said.

“The secret of Chabad is it’s not a cult of personality, it’s not about an individual or how great anyone is. It’s an immortal cause,” he said. “The cause was more important than anything and the cause is eternal. When you connect yourself to something eternal it lives on forever.”

For thousands of years, the world has gleaned insights from Judaism, and for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, it’s offered instruction on “how you can take problems and turn them into promises,” he told attendees during the program. “It’s a heck of a testimony to be able to talk about your problems and share them down the line of how you took adversity, tragedy and trauma and turned it into a promise of a better tomorrow.”

Gainey pointed to last week’s guilty verdict against the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter and said the jury’s decision was prefaced by countless inspiring efforts by local Jewish community members.

“It’s remarkable to see the resiliency that you’ve demonstrated over the last couple of years,” he said. “I don’t think you understand what you’ve demonstrated — not just to the city, but to the world — of how to come together as a community, how to heal a community, and how to make sure that everybody understands that you are here and you’re not going. That’s powerful. That’s powerful.” PJC

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

 Keynote speaker Rabbi Simon Jacobson, center, joins Rabbis Yisroel Altein, left, and Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld

Photo by Alexander Small

 Cecil Rosenthal, a member of Tree of Life*Or L'Simcha who was killed in the 2018 massacre, and Barbara Caplan, of New Light Congregation, outside the Tree of Life building in November 2016 Photo by Barry Werber

Life & Culture

Fruit gratin

— FOOD —

By Jessica Grann | Special to the Chronicle

If you have ripe stone fruit and five minutes to spare you can make fruit gratin.

Rustic desserts are a pleasure to bake because there isn’t any fuss. This recipe is perfect when you need a light dessert. It’s also a one-bowl recipe that you can whisk by hand.

I happened to have an abundance of ripe nectarines to use up, but you could use peaches, plums, apricots or cherries — and this gratin is especially wonderful with fresh figs. I left the skin on my nectarines for added color and texture but you can peel the skin from your fruit if you prefer.

To make this gratin, you mix a batter and arrange the fruit on top, so it doesn’t have a traditional crust. The batter bakes like a pillowy crepe, just enough to support the fruit. It’s thin and light — perfect for after dinner on a warm evening.

I have not made a pareve version of this but if you’d like to try, I’d suggest using a pareve milk with a bit more substance, like oat milk.

Recipes for gratin traditionally do not include vanilla extract but I like the added scent with the fruit.

Coarsely chopped almonds add a beautiful texture, but if you have an allergy to almonds you could omit them.

I love these rustic desserts because you can have fun with them. You can halve the fruit or arrange it in slices — the important thing is to make it your own.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter, plus more to grease the baking dish

3-4 tablespoons sugar, divided

¼ cup flour

¼ cup milk

1 egg

⅛ teaspoon sea salt (two pinches if you don’t have that size measuring spoon)

⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract (a small dash)

About 1½ pounds fresh stone fruit or figs

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped almonds

Preheat the oven to 425 F, with the baking rack placed in the middle.

Lightly butter an 8- or 9-inch baking dish of any shape. You can use a pie plate if you don’t have something with lower edges like a quiche or tartin dish. Sprinkle the dish with 1 tablespoon of sugar.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, milk egg, salt and vanilla. Mix it as well as possible to incorporate any flour lumps into the batter. Gently pour the batter into the baking dish. Arrange the fruit of your choice across the top of the batter. You can do this in any design, with small pieces as shown in my photograph. You can get away with using less fruit if you use thinner slices. I usually halve the fruit, remove the stone and then cut each half into quarters. You could also use full halves of peaches or nectarines — I also suggest using halves if you use figs. Place halves center down and arrange them however they fit into the dish. If you choose this option then you may need a little more fruit since the pieces are larger and heavier — I like to have a little extra on hand just in case I need it. It’s better for it to look a little crowded and abundant then to not have enough because there is much more fruit in a gratin than batter. Sprinkle the fruit with 1-2

tablespoons of sugar. If the fruit is naturally very sweet then 1 tablespoon of sugar should be enough. When in doubt, 2 tablespoons of sugar can’t hurt.

Sprinkle with coarsely chopped almonds. Don’t use a nut grinder, just hand-chop them with a sharp knife. It’s a rustic recipe so this only adds to the beauty.

Dot with 1 tablespoon of butter and bake for about 15 minutes, until the butter is bubbling

and the edges start to brown and pull away from the side of the baking dish. The fruit should be baked fully, yet still somewhat firm. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. This is really lovely served warm with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.

 Fresh nectarines work well in a gratin

Photo by Jessica Grann

 Fruit gratin

Photo by Jessica Grann

Life & Culture

Einstein and pop culture: It’s all relative, says author Benyamin Cohen

—

BOOKS —

By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

Jewish journalist Benyamin Cohen sees Albert Einstein everywhere.

Yes, there’s the long shelf-life of E=mc2 And a lot of people still know Einstein from his opposition to deploying the atomic bomb, or his theory of relativity.

But the genius thinker who is widely considered the Western world’s first modern-day celebrity, can be seen, Cohen likes to say, in our cars, our bathrooms and our minds.

If you like using GPS on your cell phone, or getting a pizza delivered, you can thank Einstein, Cohen said.

“Einstein is one of those few characters that is universally beloved,” said Cohen, 48, of Morgantown, West Virginia., who since 2021 has served as news director of the Forward, a national Jewish newspaper founded in 1897. “I think people relate to him.”

So, Cohen, who manages Einstein’s official social media accounts, wrote a book about his knowledge of Einstein. “The Einstein Effect” hits online giants like Amazon. com, as well as local retailers’ bookshelves, on July 18.

The thesis of the book: Einstein is more relevant in 2023 than he’s ever been before.

As a teenager, Cohen didn’t know much about Einstein. Yes, there was the Nobel Prize and, of course, the crazy hair.

But, while attending college at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Cohen read a book that revealed that a nimble-fingered coroner doing Einstein’s autopsy stole his brain to study what made Einstein such a modern marvel. The brain was never officially recovered.

“We were not taught that in school,” Cohen laughed. “It got me thinking: ‘What stories are there about Einstein that I don’t know?’”

For his book, Cohen traveled to an undisclosed location to meet the person who, today, keeps and studies Einstein’s brain. Cohen even held a piece of it, which is kept in Mason jars. But he’s being cagey about the specifics. The holder of Einstein’s brain needs to preserve their anonymity.

In “The Einstein Effect,” Cohen also paints colorful stories of the Germanborn, Jewish thinker as a kind of cultural activist who was ahead of his time, which he thinks makes him even more relatable.

“He was the most famous person on the planet — and he wanted to use his fame to speak out against things,” Cohen said.

After fleeing persecution in Germany in 1933, Einstein campaigned against the use of the atomic bomb and helped launch the refugee resettlement group the International Rescue Committee. (It’s still around today.)

“I’ve tried to read other books about

Einstein, but I never finished them,” actor and International Rescue Committee spokesperson Mandy Patinkin said of Cohen’s new book. “Benyamin has a tremendous sense of humor, and he displays it in the telling of our universal connection to one of the greatest gifts to humanity, Albert Einstein. I promise, if you pick up this book, you’ll never want to put it down.”

The list of Einstein’s activism efforts runs deep.

He fought for the persecuted Scottsboro Boys, nine Black teens accused of raping two white women in 1931. And he worked

to end lynching of Blacks in the American South, Cohen said. When world-famous contralto Marian Anderson, who was Black, came to perform at Princeton University but was barred from staying at the town’s whites-only hotels, Einstein put her up in his home.

“I can escape the feeling of complicity only by speaking out,” Einstein once said.

As a political figure, Einstein helped groups of German Jews relocate to Mexico and to Alaska, Cohen said. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, Einstein voiced support for Zionism and founding a Jewish state, going so far as to travel

around the U.S. raising money for Israeli independence.

Einstein’s archives — some 85,000 documents strong — are held in Israel, at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, which Einstein helped to start. The officials behind those archives broke ground this summer on a museum dedicated to Einstein that will be the largest of its kind in the world.

Cohen is busy online, too. He typically posts to Einstein’s social media accounts 10 times a day and that dedication is reflected in followers; across platforms, 20 million people follow Albert Einstein. That’s more than the number who follow actor Tom Hanks.

The followers have made Einstein one of the most popular dead celebrities in social media spheres. And the number of followers keeps growing by about 10% each year since Cohen took over in 2017.

“John Wayne’s on social media,” Cohen joked. “And he’s got nothing to say.”

Cohen, who occasionally treks the 90-minute door-to-door from Morgantown to Pittsburgh to get good kosher food, is the son of an Orthodox rabbi — and sees his own spirituality, though not observant in religious practice, in Einstein.

“He was always seeking answers,” he said, “and looking at the universe.”

“I wrote this book for other people like me,” Cohen said. “I am sure a physicist will read this book and find mistakes in it. But I want to share how Einstein is relevant today.”

Jodi Rudoren, editor-in-chief of the Forward, thinks Cohen is the right man to tell this unique, and sometimes humorous, story.

“(Cohen) is a completely unique character that I think the best fiction writer couldn’t come up with as an example of a Jewish newsman,” she said. “He just kind of lives and breathes news and Jews — and he’s really obsessively on top of pop culture.”

The Forward editor admits it’s “very hard to break news” to Cohen. He’s kind of a news junkie.

“It doesn’t work so well for his sleep,” Rudoren laughed. “He lives it, he breathes it and he curates it for our readers.”

Rudoren likes Cohen’s tone when he’s writing about Einstein. It makes the iconic figure relatable, and fun to get to know.

“(With Cohen) you’re never going to get a pretentious sentence,” she said. “I think that is one of Benyamin’s superpowers — to write and speak the way normal people do.”

“Normal people” in Pittsburgh soon might get to interact with Cohen in person. He’s been invited to speak this fall at Congregation Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill, as part of the synagogue’s science and religion speaker series. PJC

Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

 Book cover

Image courtesy of Benyamin Cohen

 Benyamin Cohen and a bust of Albert Einstein

Photo by Shoshi Benstein

Life & Culture

Mark Schiff, Jerry Seinfeld’s longtime opening act, brings tefillin on tour

—

COMEDY —

By Lana Schwartz | JTA

Mark Schiff has been opening for Jerry Seinfeld on tour for 25 years, and along the way, he has brought his tefillin.

Schiff said he tries to stay as observant as he can on the road, participating in Shabbat services either at a nearby synagogue or in his hotel room. But he’s modest about his commitment.

“I really hope God marks on a curve,” he joked.

In a memoir released late last year titled “Why Not? Lessons on Comedy, Courage, and Chutzpah,” Schiff details his life and career, from inauspicious beginnings as a kid growing up in New York City to becoming a working comedian alongside a bevy of generation-defining Jewish comics.

While he isn’t a household name like Seinfeld or some of his other peers, the penultimate chapter of his book is full of encounters with enough boldfaced names to make Forrest Gump jealous. Schiff has collaborated in various ways with Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Rodney Dangerfield, Carl Reiner, Paul Reiser and more. He was a regular guest on late-night shows such as “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Late Night with David Letterman,” and he landed specials on both Showtime and HBO.

Since the 1970s — when he successfully invited Bob Dylan over to his apartment and befriended Anthony Hopkins during his Broadway run of “Equus” — the Bronx native seems to have also met just about every single one of his heroes.

For the most part, Schiff’s proximity to these stars came as a result of persistent work over a long period of time. But even for that, Schiff is grateful.

“I wouldn’t trade those days for anything, and neither would any of the friends whom I started with,” he writes in his book. “On any given night, there were twenty of us vying to go on.

At the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, corporate communication – including meetings, conferences and events – moved from the office to online.

Within the past year, though, many companies have welcomed their employees back to the workplace full time, while others are splitting their workdays between home and the office. These shifts have prompted the question: What should corporate events and meetings look like since the pandemic?

As a professional event planner with more than 25 years of experience planning corporate and non-profit events, I still see great benefits of having in-person events. While I recognize and appreciate the flexibility and accessibility that hybrid and fully online programs can offer, I don’t think we should be too quick to write off in-person gatherings. Whether it be a meeting, conference, retreat or a party, here are just a few reasons we still need them:

Online fatigue: While connecting online has certainly created efficiency and allowed organizations to expand their reach, many people are feeling burnt out from so much of it. Also, we’re missing out on those organic, personal conversations we’d strike up with people on the side when meeting with larger groups in person. That’s tough to replicate online. A day packed with attending online meetings or engaging with a virtual conference can leave someone feeling “Zoomed out” instead of energized to be interacting with their colleagues.

Attention span: When we made the switch to online events during the peak of the pandemic, event planners like me quickly learned that this transition required curtailing the length of programming. It’s easier for many people to get distracted when participating in an online experience vs. an in-person one. (Ask yourself: How many times have you listened to an online program, while also checking emails, responding to text messages or even tackling a small household chore?) Consequently, this multitasking can lead to people missing out on information.

There wasn’t any other way to put it except that I never felt so alive.”

Schiff still “works clean,” avoiding those famous four-letter words, in part because that’s what most comics did before the advent of streaming and HBO, and in part because of his dedication to his faith. He has always incorporated Jewish jokes into his sets and barely changes his material for audiences that he knows will be heavily Jewish.

As he shared over the phone, Schiff, 71, first caught the comedy bug at 12 years old, when his parents took him to the Boulevard Night Club in Rego Park, Queens, to see Dangerfield,

a Jewish comedy legend who arguably got plenty of respect.

“Rodney bust through the curtains and he started telling these one-line jokes and the audience was banging on the table, screaming laughing. I looked at my parents; I had never seen them laugh so hard in their entire life. And I had an epiphany…I said, ‘This is it. I know what I want to do for a living,’” Schiff recalled in a phone interview.

From there, Schiff did everything he could to learn the craft of comedy: Watching comedians on TV, buying comedy records and, when he was 16 years old, procuring a fake ID so he could see the greats in person at the The Improv comedy club. Cut to the mid-70s, and Schiff found himself performing regularly at the Comic Strip club alongside stand-ups who were just trying to learn the ropes before going on to dominate our TV screens.

“There was no Seinfeld, there was just this guy Jerry who was just starting out becoming a comedian,” Shiff said. Their group included Reiser, Gilbert Gottfried, Hiram Kasten and Larry Miller. “All Jews, sitting at the bar, waiting for the opportunity to get onstage and start getting good at this thing. You know those friends you make like early on in school? Like second grade, they kind of become your friends for life? This is what happened with us.”

By Shari Zatman

Networking: Meeting as a large group online doesn’t allow for one-on-one interactions with current colleagues and space for introductions to new ones. The small talk that’s essential to getting to know people on a more personal level oftentimes gets lost in cyberspace.

Employee and client retention: Creating connections with people is a more memorable experience in person. The setting, the food, the music, etc. help bring the environment to life and set the stage for socializing. Hosting a corporate event, a client appreciation party or an employee social gathering are all ways to make people feel valued and, in turn, foster their desire to want to continue to be part of a team.

Brand awareness: In person happenings are an opportunity to share the story of your brand through photo opportunities/selfie stations, branded merchandise/ swag, decor and other party favors. If a goal for your event is to not only bring people together but also keep them talking about your organization after the fact (and sharing their event photos/videos and merch with others), an online experience can’t compete with an in-person one in this arena.

As an event planner, I strive to help all of my clients identify the purpose for their event so I can work with them to produce an experience that’s beneficial and aligns with their goals – while also being memorable and meaningful. While there’s a time and a place for online or hybrid experiences for corporations and non-profit organizations, let’s not discard in-person ones as a thing of the past. When planned and executed strategically, they are an asset.

Shari Zatman is a professional Event Planner, Designer and Consultant with more than 25 years of event industry experience. Perfectly Planned by Shari focuses on luxury events such as parties, mitzvahs, weddings, corporate and non-profit events. She also provides event coaching and consulting for event professionals. Shari appears regularly on KDKA’s PITTSBURGH TODAY LIVE as a local event expert, sharing creative ideas for your own events. More details about Shari and her services are available at www.perfectlyplannedbyshari.com.

 Mark Schiff, left, has spent decades opening on tour for his friend Jerry Seinfeld. Photo courtesy of Mark Schi

Netanyahu announces China visit, stresses that US is still Israel’s ‘most vital ally’

get this straight,” Biden said to reporters at the time about the proposed Israeli judicial reforms.

Kindling a torch from the embers of destruction

By Jordyn Haime | JTA

TAIPEI – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced during a meeting with U.S. lawmakers in Jerusalem that he will soon make a diplomatic visit to China, stressing that he notified the Biden administration of the invitation from Beijing a month ago.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu stressed to the members of Congress that the security and intelligence cooperation between the US and Israel is at an all-time peak, and emphasized that the US will always be Israel’s most vital ally and irreplaceable ally,” Netanyahu’s office wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

Netanyahu’s announcement comes at a sensitive time in both U.S.-China and U.S.-Israel relations. Just over a week ago, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Beijing to ease tensions, and President Joe Biden called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” at a fundraising event.

Biden also said in March that Netanyahu would not be invited to visit the United States “in the near term” as the Israeli leader continues to push legislation that would overhaul the Jewish state’s judiciary. President Isaac Herzog has plans to visit the White House next month.

“Like many strong supporters of Israel, I’m very concerned. And I’m concerned that they

China has looked to expand its influence in the Middle East in recent years and also expressed its desire to act as a global peacemaker in conflicts such as the Ukraine war or between Israel and the Palestinians. China helped broker a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia in March.

According to a Times of Israel report, Netanyahu could work with China to improve Israel’s relations with Saudi Arabia. Israel wants the country to join the Abraham Accords framework, which established peaceful relations between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also recently visited China, and Xi presented an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan involving a two-state solution based on 1967 borders.

Israel has taken an increasingly cautious approach with China in recent years at the behest of the United States, particularly on investments and infrastructure projects. While Chinese investment in Israel has dropped, China has remained one of Israel’s top trading partners. Bilateral trade continues to grow between the two countries, and 2022 was a record year involving $17.62 billion, up from $15.02 billion the year before.

The trip will be Netanyahu’s fourth diplomatic trip to China. No potential dates for the visit were provided. PJC

In Parshas Balak, we read about the attempt of Bilam to curse the Jewish people. Bilam was a prophet to whom G-d granted the power to bless and curse. Time and again he attempted to bring harm to the Jewish people, and each time G-d transformed his words to blessings. Indeed some of the greatest blessings of the Jewish people are the words that G-d placed in Bilam’s mouth. Bilam praises the Jewish people, saying, “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!” He recognized that “those who bless you shall be blessed, and those who curse you shall be cursed.” He foresaw the “everlasting destruction” of those who seek to harm the Jewish people.

We remember how we all came together as one and proudly embraced our Judaism in the face of hate. We remember the feelings of unity and togetherness that the entire Pittsburgh community, Jewish and not, felt in the aftermath of that painful day.

Recently Pittsburgh’s Mayor Ed Gainey joined a gathering marking the 29th anniversary of the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe O.B.M. In his remarks, he spoke about the ability of the Jewish people to, “take problems and turn them into promises . . . [take] adversity, tragedy and trauma and turned it into a promise of a better tomorrow.” The Rebbe led the way in redirecting the pain of the post-Holocaust generation, into a bright and vibrant future. He took the embers from the ashes of destruction and kindled a torch that shines brightly to this very day.

At the same time, the Rebbe focused on the blessing of living in a time and place where such acts of heinous violence are the

This transformation of challenge to opportunity repeats itself all throughout the history of the Jewish people. In every generation there have been those who attempted to curse us, not just with words but with action. Sometimes, as in the case of this week’s reading, G-d prevents them from acting on their evil plots. Other times, for reasons we cannot fathom, those attempts have led to great pain and loss. Yet, despite countless attempts to destroy us, we survived them all. They are lost to the dustbin of history while we live on, as a light unto the nations. In fact, it is often the acts of hate which bring us closer together and lead to the greatest growth.

In recent years we saw this process play out in Pittsburgh. Over the past several weeks, many of us have been reliving the horrific massacre of our brethren at the Tree of Life building as the trial of the perpetrator proceeds. As we continue to feel the immense pain of our loss, we also remember our reactions to that heinous act.

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exception, rather than the rule. In the past, we may have been able to rely on those who hate us to remind us of our Judaism, but now it is up to us. Rather than reacting to tragedy, we must take the blessings of freedom which we have been granted and use them to create a better tomorrow. We must not allow the fact that we no longer need to fight for our lives to cause complacency. We must ensure that the feelings of love and commitment we felt in the aftermath of the Pittsburgh synagogue attack become a constant in our lives. It is then that we will see the fulfillment of Bilam’s greatest prophesy, the ultimate redemption and a time when there will no longer be “famine or war, envy or competition, for good will flow in abundance” with the coming of Moshiach. PJC

Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld is the rabbi at the Lubavitch Center and the executive director of Chabad of Western Pennsylvania. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh.

Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld Parshat Chukat-Balak Numbers 19:1 – 25:9

CHARAPP: On June 13, 2023, attorney Michael Gary Charapp passed away at his home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. He was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh (B.A. 1971) and Georgetown University School of Law (J.D. 1974), where he was the legislative note editor for the GULC International Law Journal. He was former executive vice president and general counsel of a nationally recognized automotive dealer group specializing in representing motor vehicle dealers. He formed the law firm of Charapp and Weiss, LLP, which joined the law firm of Mahdavi, Bacon Halfhill and Young, PLLC. Michael is survived by his wife, Charlotte, of Ponte Vedra Beach; his daughter, Barrett Charapp Beaty (Shawn), Ponte Vedra Beach; and his son, Aaron Raymond Charapp (Zabrina), Manhattan, New York City. He is also survived by his four beautiful grandchildren, Annabella Rose and Tristan Jordan Beaty (Ponte Vedra Beach); and Esme James and Ayla Gray Charapp (Manhattan). He is also survived by his brother, Sheldon Charapp (Elaine), Lake Worth, Florida, and many nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ann and Bernard Charapp, and his sister, Adrianne F. Charapp. Interment was held on Sunday, June 25, Temple Beth El section of the Ponte Vedra Valley Cemetery. In lieu of flowers a charitable donation can be made in Michael’s memory to: The VADA Charitable Foundation, Inc. P.O.Box 5407, Richmond, VA. 23220.

KOTOVSKY: Jill Arna Kotovsky, 59, was born severely developmentally disabled to Dee Cohn-Kotovsky and Irwin Kotovsky. Jill passed away peacefully in California on May 20, 2023, joining her adoring and endlessly devoted mother Dee Cohn-Cartiff; tender loving sister, Karen Kotovsky; dedicated and doting grandparents, Ethel and Henry Cohn; kind and steadfast father figure, Herb Cartiff; unwaveringly supportive Aunt Lois and Uncle Joe Lebovitz; and beloved grandmother Dorothy (Jacob) Kotovsky. She is survived by her loyal brother Wayne Saks. Ironically, Arna means in Hebrew “mountain of strength,” which Jill possessed and also required during her lifetime. Jill loved music, dances and her visits to church and temple. Savoring food was her great pleasure. She enjoyed people, and had a keen understanding of humor, love, loss, fun, learning, pride, dignity, disappointment, respect and gratitude, although she could not necessarily verbalize those feelings. Jewish tradition teaches us of our obligation to ensure access for all people and to facilitate the full participation for individuals with disabilities in family, religious and community life. Judaism, as well as other religions, cares deeply about advocating for the rights of people with disabilities. It teaches us the responsibility of “being involved” and creating a loving life full of happiness, joy, inclusiveness and success. Dee gave Jill life and then despite enormous adversity, heroically engineered the best possible life for her daughter in Pittsburgh and eventually in California. It was at St. Peters, through Autism-Pittsburgh established in 1966, where Jill first experienced community support and education. Jill’s first experience of residency at a group home was at the pioneering Idlewood home of Pittsburgh established in 1975. Dee, along with her son Wayne, secured environments offering a sense of belonging, family, love, hope and promise. It was the friendship with Monty Hall of Beverly Hills, California, that enriched the trajectory of Jill’s journey by leading her to Esperance, a group home in Clovis, California (also Malibu) that became Jill’s safe haven for the next 27 years. The Esperance mission statement — “Hope with the expectation for success” — was the perfect fit! One of the great concerns for parents of special needs children is the safety and care of their child once the parents are gone. When Dee passed away unexpectedly some 17 years prior to Jill’s passing, Dee’s lifelong dedication to establish and ensure the continued care and safety for Jill carried on. Like others with disabilities, Jill’s life required a village not for the faint of heart. The Esperance staff reflected the beauty of mankind with selfless caring individuals doing the hard work that made Jill’s life whole, including creating an extension of her nurturing family. The village grew, encompassing social workers, teachers, housemates, houseparents, van drivers, day program clients and staff, doctors, nurses, physical therapist and the community itself. Later at Aspen House, the experience of her extended family was much the same. Other village members included loving cousins, aunts, uncles, the Sheila and Buz Reicher family, including Pam Reicher-Levy, her niece Rachel and the decades of commitment to legal family advocacy of her conservator and lawyer, David Fisher of Beverly Hills. David’s astute legal prowess paved the way for safety and justice for Jill, and, as a result, for other developmentally disabled people without the benefit of family advocates. Jill along with her sister Karen rests on either side of their beloved mother, Dee, in the beauty of upstate New York Horizon View Cemetery. Jill leaves a legacy of opportunity for those who knew her to recognize the potential for selfless good in those who participated in her life, as well as every individual’s right to reach their optimal level of well-being. “People should not simply be remembered for their limits and disabilities but rather the lessons of the gifts and blessings they inherently provided us with while being part of our journey. May Jill’s memory be a source of inspiration.”

REIDBORD: Marvin Stanley Reidbord, age 93, passed away peacefully on June 20, 2023, at his home on Darlington Court in Squirrel Hill. Marvin was born in West Penn Hospital on Nov. 9, 1929, a true Depression-era baby. The son of Samuel and Dorothy Levenson Reidbord, Marvin is survived by his wife, Ruth Cooper Reidbord, son Todd Reidbord of Squirrel Hill, daughter Suzanne (Andrew) Cherenson of Lexington, Massachusetts, grandchildren Matthew and Daniel Cherenson, and brother Howard (Faye) Reidbord of Pittsburgh. Marvin grew up in Highland Park and attended Fulton Elementary School, then Peabody High School where he was in the All City Orchestra, playing the violin. After graduation from high school, he took the streetcar further down Highland Avenue to Fifth Avenue and enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, where he graduated in 1951. He was then drafted into the Army

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Sunday July 2: Mildred Caplan, Molvin Glantz, Harry A. Jaskol, Leah Lieberman, Morris M. Markowitz, Bessie Miller, Rose C . Myers, Minnie Shapiro, Paul Sigesmund, Cyril Simon, Bernard Stern

Monday July 3: Jennie Baker, Ben Foster, Saul J. Glick, Regina Goldberg, Rebecca Kaiserman, David Kaplan, Sarah Leebove, Henry Maengen, Louis Perr, Louis Roth, Harry P. Schutte, Elmer M. Sigman

Tuesday July 4: Anna Barnett, Dorothy F. Caninzun, Sam Choder, Howard Roy Erenstein, Leo Finegold, Barnet Goldstein, Joseph Greenberger, Ruth Kuperstock, Hyman Martin, Bernard J Miller, Cecile Oring, Simon A Oskie, Sidney Posner, Daniel Pretter, David Serrins, Mildred E Snider, Irwin M. Solow, Joseph Weinberger

Wednesday July 5: Harry Finesod, Fannie Griglak, Freda Le , Milton G Lehman, Pvt Ruben Lipkind, Rose Marcovsky, Marcus Benjamin Nadler, Harriet Lee Siskind, Meyer Spiro

Thursday July 6: Leonard Bernstein, Minnie Bonder, Meyer Charapp, Rose Levy Ginsburg, Genevieve Harriet Israel, Ethel Kwall, Helen N. Lehman, Bessie Breman Osgood, Myer W Singer, Anna Sarah Stern, Samuel Trachtenberg

Friday July 7: Pearl I Berdyck, Hinde Leah Davidson, J Philip Esman, Adolph Hepps, Samuel Hilsenrath, Zetta Levy, Dora Marcus, Lawrence I . Miller, Fanny Novak, Irving Rosenberg, Bessie Finkelstein Simon, Sidney Stern, Irene Taylor, Herbert Walker

Saturday July 8: Leon Becker, Eli Bonder, Rose Esther Bonn, Albert Davis, Harry (Hershel) Fisher, Alice Foreman, Oscar Grumet, Samuel Halle, Samuel Ho man, Leonard Joel Kirsch, Anna Kirshenbaum, John Kramer, Dora Levin, Dora Lipkind, Benjamin Riesberg, Sandra Platt

Rosen, Lottie Stein Rosenthal, Nettie Rothstein, Mildred Stern, Burton Hill Talenfeld, Dorothy Zelda Wein

Joseph H. Janeda, Deceased of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania No. 02-23-03127

Linda L. Snyder, Executrix; 9487 Viewcrest Drive, Allison Park, PA 15101, or to Bruce S. Gelman, Esq., Gelman & Reisman, P.C., Law & Finance Building, 429 Fourth Ave., Ste. 1701, Pittsburgh, PA 152190

Loevner, Mark H., aka Mark Howard Loevner of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania No. 02-23-04382

Catherine Loevner, Executrix, or to Frederick N. Frank, 707 Grant Street, Suite 3300, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Obituaries

Obituaries:

Continued from page 19

and, during basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he took an officer’s advice and volunteered to go to Europe, rather than being sent to Korea. He was stationed first in Germany, then Paris, where he was assigned to work at the American Hospital, where he did not wear a uniform and had his own apartment. His favorite story, which he told often, was that one night while working late in the hospital, he saw a few uniformed men walking toward him. As they got closer, he noticed that one of them had stars on his shoulders — five stars, it turned out. It was General Omar Bradley, who asked Marvin, “How do you like the Army?” Without thinking, Marvin responded, “I was drafted.” The general laughed and thanked him for his service. When Marvin returned home, he entered pharmacy school at Pitt, and married Ruth Cooper on Dec. 19, 1954, at the Tree of Life Synagogue, with the reception at the Schenley Hotel in Oakland. Marvin opened Vanadium Pharmacy in Scott Township in 1962, and was known as a kind and compassionate pharmacist who would take care of his customers’ needs, especially families with young children. He was proud that he “never made a mistake” in his career as a pharmacist. After closing the drugstore, he worked as a pharmacist for the state of Pennsylvania and Stadtlanders, retiring in 1992. Marvin and Ruth raised their family in Mt Lebanon, and were active and longtime members of Temple Emanuel. Music was always important to Marvin. In his 40s, he resumed playing the violin with the Carnegie Civic Symphony/Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra, led by conductors David Stock and Keith Lockhart. Marvin loved spending time with his family, especially vacations at the Jersey Shore, for the past 50 years in Stone Harbor and Avalon. He was happiest there, where he could smell the salt air and ride the waves. He and Ruth traveled often, frequently seeing their grandchildren and visiting friends and relatives all over the United States, Europe and in Israel. Marvin cared so much for little children, even those he didn’t know. Once at a restaurant, on a Native American reservation in New Mexico, he offered to pick up a young dad’s lunch at the take-out window, so he wouldn’t have to leave his baby alone at the table. When Ruth and Marvin moved to Squirrel Hill in 1998, Marvin made many new friends at the Jewish Community Center, where he “occasionally” worked out, but mostly sat around and told jokes to anyone who would listen.  Marvin’s declining health made the last few years difficult, but he continued to go out to lunch, listen to music and visit with his grandchildren. The family is thankful for the dedication of his caregivers and doctors, especially Dr. Michael Finikiotis, who helped immensely over many years. Funeral Services were held at Temple Sinai. Interment Homewood Cemetery. Contributions can be made in Marvin’s name to the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, 5738 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA

15217, where a fund has been established in his memory. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

TERNER: Ruth Terner, age 95, passed peacefully on June 23, 2023, with family members at her bedside. Born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Ruth was one of five children to Samuel and Evelyn Jacobson Margaretten. After college in Florida she married Lewis Levick and moved to Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where they raised their children Stephen Levick, now a psychiatrist and author in Philadelphia, and Ellen Levick Martahus, artist and owner of the Allure boutique in Bloomfield. Ruth then moved to Pittsburgh where she met and married her second husband, Dr. Irwin Terner, with whom she shared many wonderful years prior to his death in 1998. Ruth was a renowned interior decorator, artist and writer of poetry and short stories. She also loved cooking, travel and fashion, but most of all, she loved being with her grandchildren Michael and Mandy Martahus and Noah Levick. She cherished hosting family dinners and especially Passover Seders. Everyone could always detect the scent of a wonderful meal before opening the door to many kisses and hugs. Known for her generosity and kindness, Ruth will be forever remembered as a loving mother and grandmother. Her legacy lives on with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren Maddy, Evie, Leah and Matthew, all of whom now mirror her love of art, music, fashion, writing and cooking. Her memory will forever be for a blessing to her family and friends. Graveside services and entombment were held at Beth Shalom Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

WEISBERGER: Ruth Faye Weisberger, born Sept. 9, 1925, died Thursday, June 22, 2023, in St. Clair Hospital. Beloved daughter of the late Harry and Lillian Weisberger. Ruth is survived by her loving cousins and her extended family from Hefren-Tillotson, Inc. She was a pioneer woman in the investment industry as the first female broker when joining Arthur R. Hefren &  Co., which then became Hefren-Tillotson, Inc. Ruth really cared about her family and equally cared for her clients. She led a very healthy lifestyle, enjoying yoga and tennis. Contributions may be made to Beth Shalom Congregation, 5915 Beacon Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217.  Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated for over a century. schugar.com PJC

For thousands of years, Jewish values have instructed us to “Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.” (Levi�cus 25:10)

In 1866, while standing in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Frederick Douglas asked the Southern Loyalists’ Conven�on, “...to adopt the principles proclaimed by yourselves, by your revolu�onary fathers, and by the old bell in Independence Hall....”

Whether scribed in the Torah, etched in the bell, or emblazoned on our hearts, the principle of liberty has been with us forever.

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May our proclama�ons in our day lead to change so that every neighbor will enjoy the liberty we treasure so dearly.

Wishing you a meaningful July 4 commemora�on.

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Sheldon Harnick, the lyricist who made Jewish longing universal in ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ dies at 99

as easy as Harnick was making out.

By Ron Kampeas | JTA

The moment when Sheldon Harnick realized that his new musical might be something special came when he sang the lyrics he had just composed for a new song: “Sunrise, Sunset.”

He was sitting in the basement studio of his friend and collaborator, the composer Jerry Bock, in New Rochelle, New York. It was 1961, and they were in the throes of writing “Fiddler on the Roof.” Bock had originally meant for the melody to be used for one of the flirtations between Tevye’s three older daughters and their male interests, according to “Wonder of Wonders,” a book about “Fiddler” by Alisa Solomon.

Harnick went a different direction — writing lyrics about the agony of unleashing a child into adulthood that would eventually be sung in the musical’s pivotal wedding scene. When he was finished singing, Bock’s wife Patty was weeping.

“We hoped with any luck that it might run a year,” Harnick said in 1981 on “The Songwriters,” a PBS showcase series. “We were totally unprepared for the impact the show would have literally around the world.”

Harnick — whose paeans to Jewish tradition have become internationally appreciated as a reflection of cultural loss — died last week at his home in Manhattan. He was 99, and was the last surviving creator of “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Harnick was born in Chicago in 1924, and was in his teens when he first encountered the stories of Sholem Aleichem, which later formed the basis for the musical. But at the time, he “wrote them off,” Solomon quotes him as saying.

Twenty or so years later, a friend gave him Sholem Aleichem’s novel, “Wandering Stars,” about a decades-long show business romance, and Harnick was enchanted. As an adult, Harnick found that Sholom Aleichem’s writing was “wonderfully human and moving and funny,” Solomon quotes him as saying. He had started working with Bock in the late 1950s, and told him and another partner — Joe Stein,

Comedy:

Continued from page 17

Schiff, now a longtime Los Angeles resident, has filled his book with so many behind-thescenes anecdotes of being a working comedian that it makes the perfect follow-up to “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” — and it might be even more Jewish. For instance, his use of the Yiddish word shmendrick might not be completely unique, but it’s more rare to find a humorous take on the concept of olam ha-ba, or Judaism’s afterlife-adjacent “world to come”: “Florida without the humidity. Chocolate cake without the calories. Jewish mothers without the screaming.”

By the time the COVID pandemic hit, Schiff had been contributing essays to the LA Jewish Journal. When his touring schedule evaporated, he shifted gears and started writing for six or seven hours a day.

“I had a bunch of stories already written and

who wrote books for musicals — that it could be good material to adapt for the stage.

Stein said “Wandering Stars” was too vast and complex to adapt. But what about Sholom Aleichem’s short stories, which Stein’s father would read to him as a child, in Yiddish? The trio searched Manhattan for an extant English copy of the stories, and found a second-hand copy at a bookshop on Park Avenue South.

Years later, Harnick told Solomon that what appealed to them about Sholom Aleichem’s short stories was the universal longing for a simpler past, rooted in one’s traditions. “Over and above the beauty of the stories themselves, there was another reason why we were all drawn to this material, which can perhaps be best illustrated by a title which Mr. Stein suggested: ‘Where Poppa Came From,’” he said.

They had the first formal meeting in 1961 to plan the musical, and it opened three years later starring Yiddish theater veteran Zero Mostel.

“Fiddler” ran for more than 3,200 performances, which stood as a Broadway record for a decade, and won multiple awards. It has had countless revivals in countless languages, including Yiddish, and made stars of people as diverse as Bea Arthur, who played Yente

they’d been published, and then the pandemic hit and I said, ‘You know, Mark, you might have a book here,’” he said.

He also had some helpful prior experience. In 2007, Schiff co-authored “I Killed: True Stories of the Road from America’s Top Comics,” which “young comedians consider… almost like the bible of the road,” Schiff brags. The book gives the reader glimpses into the ups and downs of the touring life from comedy royalty, from Seinfeld to Joan Rivers to Larry David to Mike Myers.

Schiff’s stand-up experience served him well in writing this new memoir. “Each story’s about 700 words, and as a comedian, you gotta get to it right away. You gotta get to the heart of the matter immediately,” he said. “You can’t piddle. So there’s very little piddling in this…I could’ve called the book ‘No Piddling’ if I wanted to. Very little piddling going on.”

Despite the ups and downs that Schiff’s book recalls — from a tumultuous childhood to a

the matchmaker; Bette Midler, as Tzeitel, the eldest daughter; and Topol, the Israeli actor whose earthy performance as Tevye in the 1971 film classic obscured Mostel’s more Yiddishist take.

In 1964, just weeks after “Fiddler” opened — and not yet aware of its massive impact — Harnick and Bock gave a televised master class on what the musical’s composition involved. They said they started writing a song about a family and then realized it was more about a community. A song about the hurried preparations for Shabbat — in which the daughters reassure their mother, Golde, that they will be ready in time for the day of rest — instead became an iconic one about preserving tradition, which opens the show. They consulted books on Jewish tradition to write it.

“What we would do is do an opening number that tried to compress a lot of traditional things into the opening,” Harncik said. “And as [director] Jerome Robbins said, the show would play against this opening number as though we had a tapestry. From the minute you heard the opening, you would know what this show is about: tradition.”

Bock interjected to explain that it wasn’t

bout with alcoholism — Judaism and steadfast belief in God are the driving forces of his life. For instance, learning about lashon hara — scandalous gossip that the Bible forbids — taught him to stay away from “punching down” in comedy. (“Although, in order for something to be funny, you certainly have to pick at something,” Schiff conceded. “They don’t call it a punchline for nothing.”)

When he’s at home in Los Angeles, he attends services at Young Israel of Century City, a Modern Orthodox congregation. Together he and his daughter-in-law Anna are studying the late Rabbi Norman Lamm’s Torah talks.

The marriage of Schiff’s comedic point of view with his cultural heritage might feel like a throwback to the comedians of yore, the ones he looked up to when comedy first ensnared him, such as Alan King, Buddy Hackett, Don Rickles and Allan Sherman. They ruled the comedy world, at a time

“What Sheldon did was condense one thousand pages… into a seven minute song,” Bock said. “So in effect, the opening of our show now, I think, helped us get on the road to other people outside of the Jewish people being able to appreciate what our story was.”

In a 2011 documentary, “The Legacy Project,” Bock described the elation he felt when Harnick successfully set words to one of his melodies. He called them “moments of truth.”

“And they come when a lyric is finished and Sheldon sings the song for the first time,” he said in the documentary, released after his death in 2010. “There is nothing like that moment.”

Harnick and Bock had already written a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical infused with Jewish themes about Fiorello LaGuardia, New York’s first Jewish mayor, called “Fiorello!” They would go on to other successes together and apart, and stopped working together years after “Fiddler” due to a dispute over a musical about the Rothschild family, according to an obituary in The New York Times. .

But the lyricist never got over “Fiddler’s” success and global appeal. In a 2019 documentary on the show, he recalled attending an early Tokyo performance and being asked: “Do they understand it in America? It’s so Japanese.”

Not long after the show debuted, Harnick recalled in 1981, he realized it had an emotional depth he had not anticipated. He was at the theater watching Mostel and Maria Karnolova as Golde perform “Do You Love Me?”, a song about how even long married couples don’t truly know one another, and he burst into tears.

“I left the theater so I wouldn’t disturb anyone and I asked myself why I was crying,” he said. “Then I realized without knowing it I had put into the lyric deep feelings about my own parents — about what they had and had not been to each other. Sometimes it seems we only think we know why we write like we write.”

Harnick was married for a time to the Jewish director and comic writer Elaine May, who survives him, and is survived by his second wife, Margery Gray, their son and daughter, and four grandchildren. PJC

when, per Schiff, “85% of the comedians in the United States were Jewish,” and they helped legitimize comedy as a career path for him.

“Later on in life I found out that in many ways the Jews, Jewish comedians, really legitimized Jews in America,” Schiff said.

Despite all that’s changed about comedy in the four-plus decades since Schiff first started — very few keep their material “clean” these days, for instance — he said the industry is still based around “one person and a whole bunch of people sitting out there looking at him or her.”

“And as Jerry says, ‘You better have something more important that you’re going to say than they have to say, otherwise they’re not going to laugh.’”

When asked why he still feels drawn to the road, Schiff said “There’s no better feeling than listening to an audience howling and laughing.” PJC

 Lyricist Sheldon Harnick poses for the animation movie “Aaron’s Magic Village,” circa 1995.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Community

Bat Mitzvah benefit

Emily Olifson raised more than $1,000 to support Humane Animal Rescue for her bat mitzvah service project. After designing greeting cards, and selling them to friends and family, Olifson donated the proceeds.

Installed, mazel tov

Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers was installed as the senior vice president of the Cantors Assembly. The international organization of cantors in the Conservative movement maintains approximately 600 members worldwide.

Clergy Council honors victims of gun violence

With sunshine beaming and a swimming pool beckoning, Emma Kaufman Camp got underway.

The Clergy Council of Squirrel Hill Stands Against Gun Violence and CeaseFirePA hosted a June 22 vigil to honor recent victims of gun violence in Allegheny County and the victims of the Oct. 27, 2018, shooting. The program was part of Pittsburgh’s ongoing Wear Orange (National Gun Violence Awareness Month) programming.

 Here’s to tie dye, friendship and memories.

Repairing the world one garden at a time

Repair the World Pittsburgh volunteers gathered at the Sheridan Ave Orchard & Garden on June 20 to weed, aerate soil, direct seed sowing and perform other maintenance.

 Cantor Nancy Abramson and Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers

Photo courtesy of Rabbi Hazzan Je rey Myers

 Rabbi Jonathan Perlman addresses attendees.

Photo by Caiollin Ertel

Photo courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.

 Planting the seeds for community strength.

 Working together for growth.

Photos courtesy of Repair the World Pittsburgh

 Along with raising money, Olifson and friends made fleece tug toys for dogs that were also donated to Humane Animal Rescue.

Photo courtesy of Jessica Olifson

KOSHER MEATS

•Variety of deli meats and franks

•All-natural poultry — whole chickens, breasts, wings and more

•All-natural, corn-fed beef — steaks, roasts, ground beef and more

Available at select Giant Eagle stores. Visit GiantEagle.com for location information.

Empire Kosher Chicken or Turkey Franks

16 oz. pkg.

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Price effective Thursday, 29 through Wednesday, ly5, 202