Shalom Magazine Ed.18 Summer2013

Shalom

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EDITION 18 - Summer 2013

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Opinion Exclusive Articles Jewish Community Events Summer

2013

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EDITORIAL

Jewish Communities Shalom Magazine 2013 Published by Farber Marketing Inc. Editor & Publisher: Shirley Nigri Farber Marketing Director: Scott A. Farber Copy Editor: Susie Davidson Contributors: ADL New England Rabbi Susan Abramson - Temple Shalom Emeth Rabbi Moshe Y. Bleich - Wellesley Chabad Marco Fogel - London Avrom Honig - Feedmebubbe.com Dr. Rebecca Housel Steffi Aronson Karp Robert Leikind - AJC Boston Sid Leifer - Mishkan Tefila Larry Ruttman Daniel Pomerantz - Israel Alex Ryvchin - www.JewishThinker.org Judy Sacks - Jewish Vocational Services Contributing Photographers: Stuart Garfield and Steve Schuster Design: Farber Marketing Articles signed are the writer’s responsibility and do not necessarily reflect the editor’s opinion. No article or photo can be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

Shalom Magazine is a free quarterly publication distributed in Massachusetts at stores, temples, and schools.

We are not responsible for the products, services or the Kashrut certification offered by any advertiser.

Readers are welcome to send articles and photos.

We are not responsible for accuracy on event listings.

Please call the organizer before attending any event.

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Shalom Magazine has been published 4 times a year since April 2009. Free copies are distributed in Massachusetts and available for download at our website www.ShalomMA.com.

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It is with pleasure that we bring to you the summer edition of Shalom Magazine, with a variety of offerings that range from coverage of local events to opinion articles. We also keep in perspective that the new year of Rosh Hashana is just around the corner, starting on the eve of September 4.

From its inception, the aim of Shalom Magazine was to bring together the various Jewish communities that are spread all over the state of Massachusetts. From the North Shore to the South Shore, from Worcester to Brighton, Jews are picking up their free copies of Shalom Magazine and reading about one another. Shalom is always seeking interesting articles that reflect our entire, diverse community. To that end, this issue features news from the Russian, Sephardic, Reform, Orthodox and Conservative communities. Shalom goes to places that no other Jewish publication goes, as a beautiful publication available for free at supermarkets including Shaw’s, Star Market, and Roche Bros. In this way, we can reach even the Jews who never go to shul or a Jewish establishment.

That is why we ask you please to let our advertisers know that you saw them in Shalom. In doing so, you can thank them for their support and help to keep this publication available to a large number of people.

The subject of peace in the Middle East is always on our minds, with ongoing concern for our State of Israel. The cover of this issue is very special to me - the location is the Cardo, an antique Greek market located in the Old City of Jerusalem. This site, where Jewish stores now flourish, connects the Jewish Quarter to the Shuk, the Arab market in the Muslim Quarter of Old Jerusalem. The smooth transition between one area and another, connecting the two opposing communities, symbolizes a possible peaceful coexistence.

When I hear American Jews discuss the two-state solution premise, where a wall would separate the “two countries,” I think about this place and how smoothly they interconnect. I dream of a day when Jews might be able to cross that invisible border line into the Shuk without fear, and Arabs would be able to come in the Jewish area as well, without being searched for explosives or guns. As you can see in the cover photo, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. For if it was not for our hope, the Jewish people would not have survived all the adversities that befell our people.

Have a great Summer and Shana Tovah!

Shirley Nigri Farber - Editor to subscribe to shalom magazine

Plesase mail a check in the amount of $18/year (4 issues) payable to Farber Marketing to: 12 Edward Dr., Stoughton, MA 02072 for bulk subscriptions please email: shalomMA@msn.com Cover photo by: Shirley Farber - The Cardo, Jerusalem

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Summer

2013

Community Event Listings

Ma’yan Tikvah High Holiday Outdoor Services

Rosh HaShanah, Thursday, September 5, Shalom 9:30 a.m., Cedar Hill Camp, 265 Beaver St., Waltham Rosh HaShanah, Friday, September 6, 10:30 a.m., Place TBD Kol Nidre, Friday, September 13, 7 p.m., 169 Rice Rd., Wayland Yom Kippur, Saturday, September 14, 9:30 p.m., Cedar Hill Camp, 265 Beaver St., Waltham Neilah Service and Break-fast, Saturday, September 14, 7:15 p.m., Place TBD Wild weather plan: If the weather is too wild for an outdoor service, we will meet at Peace Lutheran Church, 107 Concord Rd., Wayland.

Ma’yan Tikvah celebrates the High Holidays in the woods with morning services on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, as well as Kol Nidre services on Erev Yom Kippur.

Details for all services will be sent upon registration. All are welcome, including families with children.

Suggested Donation of $65. Please see www. mayantikvah.org for more pricing options and for service opportunities! Register by emailing rabbi@mayantikvah.org or calling 508-358-5996.

Magazine

Temple Tifereth Israel 539 Salem St., Malden

Join us on Wednesday, August 14 for our Open House BBQ and Registration 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Come find out about our NEW SUNDAY ONLY Program! Activities for kids, Taste of Gan (ages 0-4 years), and Food. Special Temple Membership Rates on this day. The first day of Religious School is Sunday, September 8! For more information call our office at 781-3222794 or email office@templetiferethisrael. org. Visit us at www.TempleTiferethIsrael. org and on Facebook.

2nd Day Rosh Hashanah Service: guests are welcome

Summer

2013

Steve Schuster

Temple Beth David of the South Shore, 1060 Randolph St., Canton, is pleased to invite all to a special open to the public 2nd Day of Rosh Hashanah on Friday, September 6 at 10 a.m. There are no tickets required for this service. We will use the draft version of the new Reform Machzor (High Holiday prayer book), Miskan HaNefesh. It is intended to engage Reform Jews in the vital activity of t’shuvah (repentance) through new and interesting liturgies and rituals. Join us for this open service at the temple and enjoy the Wellesley Weston Chabad new prayer book.

For more information contact us at www.templebethdavid.com or Please join our High Holiday services which are open to all free call the office at 781-828-2275. of charge. Enjoy our services, in which we use English/Hebrew machzors, and include a heavy dose of meaningful explanations along with anecdotes and humor.

For information on how to include your event in listings, For more info and to reserve a spot, please visit http://www. please send an email to: shalomma@msn.com. wwjewish.org, email Chabadwellesley@aol.com, or call 781-239Shalom is not responsible for the information provided by 1076. event organizers. Please contact them before attending.

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ADL’s Centennial Torch of Liberty Award

Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III and Mary Bonauto

David Grossman, Randy Price, Mary Bonauto, Robert Trestan and Jeff Robins

On June 6th, Anti-Defamation League New England honored Mary Bonauto, groundbreaking advocate for marriage equality and LGBT rights, with ADL’s Centennial Torch of Liberty Award. The well-deserved award was presented to Mary by U.S. Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III during ADL’s Torch of Liberty Dinner held at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. Former federal judge Nancy Gertner delivered the keynote address, and WCVB TV’s Randy Price served as MC. One of the leading advocates for LGBT rights in the United States, Mary has played an historic role in securing marriage equality in this country. Mary was lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the seminal case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, resulting in the landmark decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court holding that prohibiting civil marriage for same-sex couples is unconstitutional. Mary has played a central role in the Windsor case challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act now pending before the United States Supreme Court.

State Rep. Carl Sciortino, Boston City Councilor Mike Ross, Shalom editor Shirley Farber and Senator James Eldridge

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2013

Photos by Larry Sandberg

Synagogue Council honored community leaders

Honorees Barbara Wallace Grossman & Steve Grossman are presented the Community Service Award by Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz of Temple Emanuel

Rabbi Toba Spitzer, Congregation Dorshei Tzedek and Rabbi Robert Goldstein, Temple Emanuel of Andover, present the K’lal Israel Award to Steffi Aronson Karp

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2013

On June 11th, the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts (SCM) honored three extraordinary community leaders whose passions and professions mirror the Council’s mission. These individuals - State Treasurer Steve Grossman and his wife, Tufts Professor Barbara Wallace Grossman, and LimmudBoston Founder Steffi Aronson Karp - agreed to be celebrated in this way because they believe that the Synagogue Council upholds their highest ideals and beliefs. The Grossmans received the Community Service Award, and Karp, the Klal Israel Award. Arnie Zaff, incoming president of the Board of the SCM, was installed as Sharon Levinson, the first woman president, completed her term.

More than 300 guests enjoyed a festive dinner which was followed by music by Kol B’Seder (Rabbi Danny Freelander and Cantor Jeff Klepper) and Temple Emanuel’s Shabbat Alive musicians and singers, who included Rabbi Michelle Robinson and Hazzan Elias Rosemberg. Included was a special musical presentation written and performed by Jeremiah Klarman.

For Steve Grossman, public service is a calling he learned as a young boy from his father and grandfather. An immigrant with a three-part dream, starting his own business, educating his family, and supporting his community, Steve’s grandfather instilled in his family the true essence of what it means to be a mensch, a good person. Steve honored both of these mentors by quoting the prophet Isaiah to explain why his own years in business were matched by active participation in the social fabric of our city, state, and Jewish institutions. His wife, Barbara Wallace Grossman, is a consummate teacher, and she spoke about the loss of global synagogues and their Jewish communities, particularly in the Azores and Terezin. As a professor of drama, she instills in her students the desire to give the best of themselves, and they know she cares about their success. She understands and has a tremendous sense of responsibility to give back to academia, for she has broken a lot of barriers in her career - for example, she was the first female chair of her department of dance and drama at Tufts University.

Steffi Aronson Karp, the product of Jewish youth groups, spoke of herself as a lifelong learner, and her persistence in engaging the evolving realm of Jewish learning has made her a trailblazer. Involved in congregational life over many decades, she is one of the founders of Congregation Dorshei Tzedek. Then, she discovered a way to engage everyone in her love of all things Jewish and, three years ago, founded LimmudBoston, a one-day extravaganza of arts, texts, music, food, family activities and fun that broadens the definition of community. Close to 1000 people shared the day last year of soul searching amid soothing Jewish traditions.

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400 Celebrate 75 Years at JVS Gala

The Shrage Family

Board Member Jane Matlaw with JVS staff members Carol Grady and Judy Sacks

This year’s elevate - The Jewish Vocational Service Gala, celebrating JVS’ 75th anniversary, raised over $400,000. The raffle and live appeal were also recordbreaking, raising $49,000 which includes the generous $10,000 match from the Segal and Wallack families.

Over 400 people attended the event, including over 30 clients who helped make the evening a true celebration. The event honored Barry Shrage and CJP for their dedication to JVS’ programs and clients. Also honored were All-Star clients Gabe Flam and Yamileth Lopez, who are advancing their careers and education through JVS programs.

Many special guests attended, some of whom included Robert Kraft, Elliot Tatelman of Jordan’s Furniture, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Joanne Goldstein, and City Councilor Mike Ross.

For more information on the gala, visit www.jvsboston.org/gala.

Robert Beal, President of The Beal Companies; Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots; Barry Shrage, President of CJP; Jerry Rubin, President & CEO of JVS

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Summer

2013

Why I’m Running for Mayor of Boston My father, Steve Ross, survived ten concentration camps during the Holocaust, and at the age of 14, was rescued by American soldiers at Dachau. After moving to America, he dedicated his life to breaking the cycles of poverty and connecting people to jobs. He also helped found the New England Holocaust Memorial in 1995. He taught me that I have a special duty to ensure the world we live in is more just, and equal, for all of us and those that follow. Through his eyes, I also saw the immigrant story and the value of the American Dream.

My mother is a 71-year-old, openly gay woman. Last month, we marched together, for the 14th year in a row, in Boston’s Gay Pride Parade. She taught me that we don’t judge people by how they look or whom they love. We judge them by how they treat others.

Both my parents and a vibrant Jewish community in my hometown instilled a love of Judaism and Israel in me as a child. Before I learned to ride a bike, I was told that I needed to plant a tree in Israel. The Judaism I received is about taking care of the less fortunate and being on the front lines erasing bigotry.

These are the values that called me to a career in public service as a Boston City Councilor, and they’re why I’m running for Mayor of Boston.

In order to build a better world, I believe we must embrace bold, new ideas.

That’s Boston’s history. We were the first city in America to establish a public high school, library and public park. We built the first subway and created the first police department in our country.

Our region is credited for inventing the modern shovel, the mutual fund, and Facebook. I want to continue that tradition.

For 14 years, I’ve served as a City Councilor to District 8, one of Boston’s most diverse districts. It stretches from Downtown Boston

and Back Bay to underserved neighborhoods like the Fenway and Mission Hill. I live in Mission Hill because I felt that I needed to be in the neighborhood that had been most overlooked. I’ve served these neighborhoods as they have transformed themselves.

Serving as President of the Boston City Council, I’ve worked with Mayor Menino to bring schools to underserved communities, create a groundbreaking job training center, and get the homeless into permanent housing.

We’ve done a lot, but Mayor Menino would be the first to say we’ve got a lot more to do.

City government must be a platform for growth. That means a strong public investment in essential infrastructure - education, jobs, neighborhoods, public safety, the environment, streets, transportation, and housing.

Those investments provide the platform that lets business and entrepreneurs flourish.

We need city services that are quick, efficient, and responsive. We can lead the world in quality of life by deploying the latest technologies in everything from smart classrooms to smart parking meters, and even smart policing.

We need to recognize that everything is interconnected. Our city and its communities constitute a network that is only as strong as its weakest member. We can build a city where every child has a chance to succeed, every school excels, every family works, every neighborhood thrives, and every street is safe.

I’m running for mayor of Boston because I know our city has a bright future, but only if we are bold enough to reach for it. I draw support in this campaign, and will continue to do so as mayor, from my family, my experiences, and my Jewish faith.

Michael P. Ross is a Boston City Councilor and a candidate for Mayor of Boston.

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The Vilna Shul

Marianne and Kenneth Novack and Barnet Kessel

Vilna Shul Gala honoring outgoing Director Steven Greenberg was held on June 13. The celebration featured world-renowned author, Rabbi Harold Samuel Kushner, as guest speaker.

The Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture, will welcome Barnet Kessel as its new executive director beginning July 22.

Barnet brings over twenty-four years of managerial experience and exceptional leadership in the Jewish community. He is currently the vice president of commercial products at Mantua Manufacturing Company.

According to Deborah Feinstein, president of the Vilna Shul, “Barnet is an inspirational leader. He is dynamic and he is dedicated to the Boston Jewish community. His great-grandfather immigrated to Boston and settled in the West End, just steps from the Vilna, starting the firm that Barnet eventually successfully ran, built and sold. Barnet did all this while taking time to give back to his community. He’s the ideal candidate to execute our vision for the future of the Vilna.”

Both Barry Shrage, President of Combined Jewish Philanthropies, and Emily Leventhal, incoming board member and Boston community leader, agree. “He is a passionate executive that will provide the vision and leadership to bring the Vilna into its next phase as Boston’s Jewish cultural and spiritual place,” they said in a statement. We look forward to working with Barnet; he is a leader that understands the importance of collective wisdom and being part of a greater community.”

Kessel has also volunteered at CJP for nearly a decade, as well as for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. He currently sits on the board of directors of the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts. Kessel holds a B.S. from Syracuse University’s School of Management and lives in Newton with his wife Nava and their son Louis.

Fall 2013 Events at the Vilna Shul Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture 18 Phillips St., Boston

Vilna Shul President Deborah Feinstein and outgoing Director Steven Greenberg

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Friday, July 19 - 7 p.m.: Kabbalat Shabbat with Havurah on the Hill and Project RePat Friday, August 16 - 7 p.m.: Kabbalat Shabbat with Havurah on the Hill High Holiday Services with Havurah on the Hill The Havurah’s unique, lay led and non-denominational services are open to everyone.

Wednesday, September 4: Erev Rosh Hashanah Thursday, September 5: Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Friday, September 6: Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Friday, September 13: Kol Nidre Saturday, September 14: Yom Kippur Sunday, September 15 - 2 p.m.: Sukkah Building with Havurah on the Hill Friday, September 20 - 7 p.m.: Sukkot Kabbalat Shabbat with Havurah on the Hill For details and reservations, please visit www.vilnashul.org or call 617-523-2324.

Summer

2013

One Thousand Words: Writing Anne Frank’s Chestnut Tree

by Jane Kohuth It’s utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see a world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too will end, that peace and tranquility will return once more. - Anne Frank, 1944

The most challenging thing I’ve ever written was only one thousand words long. I write for young children, so I’m familiar with the challenge of keeping language simple and concise while also making it interesting. But in 2011, I received a call from my editor at Random House asking if I’d like to write an early reader about Anne Frank. I had written an early reader before, I had a background in Jewish Studies and had already published one Jewish interest book for children, so why wouldn’t I want to tackle this? But I didn’t say yes right away. The publisher wanted a book for early elementary school students. I wondered, how could someone explain Anne Frank to children without delving deeply into a complicated and dark time in history? Was I prepared for the enormous responsibility of writing a book that could be a child’s introduction to the Holocaust?

Was it possible to be both honest and gentle in writing about such terrible subject? And finally, how could I say anything about Anne Frank’s experience that she hadn’t said better herself?

I thought about the first time I learned about the Shoah, in a Hebrew School class in the 1980s.

The lesson felt abrupt and dramatic, fascinating and confusing. The teacher tried her best, I believe, but a good book written for children might have helped her and helped us to better understand in a way that was appropriate for our age. Since that time many more children’s books have been published about the Holocaust. Some are very good. But there isn’t much out there for younger students about Anne Frank.

I first read The Diary of a Young Girl when I was in middle school.

And as with so many children before me, I felt like Anne was talking to me. Her voice made history real in a way that the photos and facts and numbers I’d been taught did not. I thought that if I could use as many of her words as possible, I could, perhaps, write a worthy book for children who were still too young to read her diary. Perhaps Anne could speak to them the way she had spoken to me.

I had one thousand words. I couldn’t use complex vocabulary. I had to keep clauses to a minimum. I could have no more than thirty characters in a line and no more than twelve lines on a page. When I explained my project to people they thought it might not be possible.

In the end, it helped that I needed to choose an “angle” - a way in to Anne’s story. Over and over, in her diary and stories, Anne returned to the agony of being shut inside and the power of nature to give her courage, to ease her suffering, and to help her overcome despair. She wrote about the attic window where she was able to see a sliver of sky and the branches of a chestnut tree. The tree, I learned, had become a symbol of hope to visitors of the Secret Annex, which is now the Anne Frank Museum. It had a story of its own, and its saplings, planted around the world, have come to represent Anne’s legacy. (Just this June, one was planted on Boston Common.) This was an aspect of Anne’s story I hadn’t seen in another book. It was a way to talk about Anne’s feelings that children might understand.

Summer

2013

In researching and writing Anne Frank’s Chestnut Tree, I also drew on my background in Jewish Studies and my experience teaching in Jewish classrooms. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, where I attended a Conservative synagogue. When I was fourteen, my parents moved to Falmouth, MA, where we became members of Falmouth Jewish Congregation, and I became active in NFTY. At Brandeis, I studied Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, along with English and Creative Writing. For graduate school, I attended Harvard Divinity School, where I focused on women in religion. I’ve been a teacher at several Hebrew schools, and spent time as a synagogue’s Assistant Director of Education. I found that my reading over the years had already immersed me in Jewish History and given me an understanding of Anne Frank’s era, while my classroom experience helped me to think about how children might relate to Anne’s story and how teachers might be able to use my book in the classroom.

As Jewish educators and parents we find that we must, at some point, introduce our children to the reality of the Holocaust. I hope that in focusing on something a child can imagine - being shut indoors and longing for outside - I have written a book that will allow children to empathize with Anne, a book that is both honest and gentle, and a book that is true to Anne’s view of the world.

Anne Frank’s Chestnut Tree will be published on September 24 by Random House Children’s Books. Jane Kohuth is also the author of the PJ Library book Estie the Mensch, the picture book Duck Sock Hop (A Bank Street College of Education and Chicago Publish Library Best Book of 2012), and the early reader Ducks Go Vroom (a Parents Magazine Best Book of 2011). She lives in Holliston, MA.

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ARTS

The Jewish musical King Matiusz I, based on the Polish children’s novel King Matt the First, by Janusz Korczak, was performed in June at Center Makor in Brighton. The production is a collaboration between Russian composer Leo Loginov-Katz and writer Mariya Deykute, with a cast of local youth and adults. Korczak was renowned in Poland not only for his writing, but as an educator, doctor and humanitarian.

For most of his adult life, Korczak served as a director of a Warsaw Orphanage, where children served in their own government. In 1942, when German forces moved the orphans to the Treblinka concentration camp, Korczak refused their offer of freedom in order to accompany the children, and was killed the same year in Treblinka.

The comedy “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m in Therapy!” had a great season in the Boston area, with sold-out performances during the months of April and May. Shalom found a couple that fits the perfect audience for the play: she is Jewish, and he is Italian. Peter Fogel (right photo) plays Steve in the comedy.

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Students from six Jewish day schools convene at Kehillah Schechter Academy for “Stem Expo”

Among STEM Expo organizers are Kimberly Kamborian, Ariel Margolis, Dr. Nitzan Resnick, and Nancy Kriegel

By Stanley Hurwitz Some 167 boys and girls in grades K-8 from six area Jewish day schools gathered in May at Kehillah Schechter Academy (KSA) in Norwood to “celebrate science.” It was the 4th Annual Jewish Day School Regional STEM Exposition (STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

Participating were Kehillah Schechter AcaKSA 4th graders Tova Gelb and demy, The Rashi School, Shimon Thumim Shaloh House, Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston, Striar Hebrew Academy of Sharon, and Torah Academy. The STEM Expo was co-sponsored by Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) and by the Gelfand Family Charitable Trust.

The Expo was originally planned for the week of the Boston Marathon, and all Jewish day schools in the region were to take part. However, due to the tragic events of that week, the event was rescheduled.

With the date change, several schools could not attend, including Bais Yaakov of Boston High School for Girls, Cohen-Hillel Academy, Gann Academy, Jewish Community Day School, Maimonides School, Mesivta High School, MetroWest Jewish Day School, and New England Hebrew Academy.

One Expo organizer, KSA Co-Head Dr. Nitzan Resnick, has devoted the past eight years to developing the school’s breakthrough science and math programs. “In the classrooms and beyond, we provide students with inquiry skills to promote scientific passion and curiosity,” said Resnick, a former faculty member at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, and a former visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School.

Nancy Kriegel, CJP’s Assistant Director of the Initiative for Day School Excellence and mother of three KSA students and alumni, said that she appreciated the fact that STEM brings day schools together in a community-wide program. Also attending was Gelfand Family Charitable Trust’s Program Director Kimberly Kamborian, a former science teacher, who said that her group strives “to inspire hands-on inquiry-based learning, motivating kids to pursue scientific studies and careers.”

Summer

2013

Making it in the minors

Limmud Boston 2013

Are you in le mood for LimmudBoston? Teams are forming now to plan the next LimmudBoston conference

By Arthur P. Solomon celebrating Jewish culture.

Baseball has always been my favorite sport. Although my Limmud is Hebrew for “study.” The fourth own playing career peaked when I was a 12-year-old Little annual LimmudBoston conference, which draLeague shortstop, I’ve been able to pursue my passion for our ws participants from all over New England, will national pastime by acquiring the New Hampshire Fisher Cats take place on December 8, 2013 in the Congre(the AA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays) and the Bowling gation Mishkan Tefila building in Chestnut Hill.

Green Hot Rods (the A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays).

Volunteer-driven planning teams create this Thousands of sports books have been written about what extravaganza of Jewish learning. At Limmud happens on the playing field, but few have been written about conferences throughout the world, everyone is the equally interesting, but seldom told stories about what a learner and anyone can offer to be a presenter. happens off the field, behind the scenes. So I decided to write There are multiple Limmud planning teams this book to answer some of the following questions: concerned with program, concerts, chavruta • Why does someone acquire a professional sports team? study, site and signage, volunteer coordination, • What goes into the branding, marketing and entertainment and food and Shabbat. The entire day - with that make some teams successful, and others not? more than 15 different performance and pro• Do sports teams generate a profit? gram choices each hour - is about combining • And if so, how? community building and learning.

• How do the economics of minor league baseball differ from major league baseball?

Currently, the LimmudBoston planning team • Finally, how useful was my business experience, as a senior seeks creative, dynamic session submissions executive at Sears Roebuck, Chief Financial Officer at Fannie for the December conference. LimmudBoston Mae, partner on Wall Street and real estate entrepreneur, in topics include arts and culture, text and thought, the management of a professional sports team? lifecycle, Israel, movement, politics, spirituality One of the most important lessons that I learned early in and peoplehood,-and more. LimmudBoston my ownership was that if we only attracted hardcore baseball brings the entire Jewish community together, fans, it would be difficult to fill the stadium. Therefore, I dewith many points of view. This conference day cided to make a meaningful commitment to the surrounding is an opportunity to put forth dynamic convercommunities and to provide affordable family entertainment sations on the myriad issues facing our Jewish at each ballgame. community. Limmud makes it possible for We developed an active outreach program throughout the every facet of the Jewish community, from the region. Our staff, mascots and ballplayers visited hospitals, secular to the very observant, to come together senior citizen centers and elementary/secondary schools. We for the common purpose of sharing, learning sponsored little league clinics and encouraged community Arthur P. Solomon and growing together. Children ages 3-13 may interest by having local residents vote for the team’s name, come with their parents and participate in the colors and mascots on our websites. And through social networking, we constantly promoted community involvement and Camp Limmud program.

For more information about presenting, volunteering or regisinteraction with our fans and sponsors.

Another important early lesson we learned was that when one owns tering at the low early rate for LimmudBoston 2013, please visit a minor league baseball franchise, they are not exclusively in the www.limmundboston.org. baseball business, but rather, in the family entertainment business. Actually, among professional sports, minor league baseball attracts more mothers between the ages of 25-45 along with their children than any other sport. Therefore, to succeed, we needed to deliver a full season of entertainment that was both family-oriented and multi-generational.

For example, our bat boy in New Hampshire is a golden retriever; in both ballparks we have special kids play areas with slides, bouncing trampolines, face painting and other fund activities; we have sleepover nights for scouts; and we operate baseball camps during the season.

Minor League baseball used to be a family affair played in old wooden stadiums, where a local husband and wife who enjoyed baseball would boil the hot dogs, mow the lawn, and sell the tickets themselves.

Gradually, a new breed of owners, primarily individual entrepreneurs and even some corporations, have acquired most of the 160 minor league franchises. With over 40 million fans a year, they came to realize that one could generate a decent return-on-investment, while having a great deal of fun, if one owned and managed their team in a businesslike manner.

If you enjoy sports, and would find an insider’s perspective of interest, I would encourage you to visit the book’s website www.baseballisbusiness.com and buy the book from Amazon, since all profit from book sales go to minor league baseball charities that generously support organizations such as the Special Olympics, Bat for the Cure of Prostate Cancer, Big Brother Big Sister, and many other worthy causes.

In addition, the book’s website contains many early reviews from a cross-section of knowledgeable people in sports, who include Cy Young Award pitcher Chris Carpenter, Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Conner, and Harvard Business School Professor Stephen Greyser.

A team owner’s lessons in the business of Baseball

Summer

2013

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Temple Israel of Sharon Road to Remembrance Trip Each year on Memorial Day, the Temple Israel of Sharon BroIn the aftermath of the Holocaust, many of the survivors found therhood sponsors a free trip to Washington, so that USY teens can shelter in displaced persons (DP) camps administered by the Allied visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the WWII Memo- powers. Between 1948 and 1951, almost 700,000 Jews emigrated to rial, to remember the victims of the Holocaust and honor the US and Israel, including 136,000 Jewish displaced persons from Europe. Other Allied troops who liberated the Jewish DPs emigrated to the Jews from Nazi concentration United States and other nations. camps. This trip is supported The last DP camp closed in 1957.

by Temple Israel of Sharon The crimes committed during through congregation conthe Holocaust devastated every tributions received from the European Jewish family, and Yom HaShoah Yellow Candle eliminated hundreds of Jewish Program. communities in occupied Eastern The 2013 “Road to RememEurope entirely. brance Trip” winners included Irv Kempner’s mother (MarTemple Israel USYers Danielle lene Freidenreich) and father Tesler and Justin Korn, who (David Kempner) were among were accompanied by the those Holocaust survivors liberasynagogue’s own Holocaust ted by American troops, in April Docent, Irv Kempner. Here and May of 1945, respectively. is what Danille and Justin leAfter reuniting and spending arned on this memorable and four years in various DP camps, educational trip: Irv’s parents were fortunate to be During the era of the Holosponsored by American friends, caust, German authorities also enabling them to gain entry into targeted other groups because the US in 1949 and to settle in of their perceived “racial infeNew York. Irv’s father died in riority”: Roma (Gypsies), the 1999, but his mother Marlene is Irv Kempner with Justin Kornl and Danielle Tesler disabled, and some of the Slacurrently 90 years old, and resivic peoples (Poles, Russians, des at Tamarisk Assisted Living and others). Other groups were in Warwick, Rhode Island. persecuted on political, ideological, and behavioral grounds, among Although David and Marlene lost their parents and siblings in the them Communists, Socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and homosexuals. Shoah, Marlene survived to see her first great-grandchild Bar Mitzvahed In the final months of the war, SS guards moved camp inmates this past May, and visits with her nine great-grandchildren and three by train or on forced marches, often called “death marches,” in an grandchildren. attempt to prevent the Allied liberation of large numbers of prisoners.

It is our obligation to learn what caused this genocide, and to ensure As Allied forces moved across Europe in a series of offensives against that it never happens again. This can be best accomplished through Germany, they began to encounter and liberate concentration camp educating the next generation, as well as our own, to fight bigotry, and prisoners, as well as prisoners who were en route by forced march by advocating for the protection of civil rights for all minorities as we from one camp to another. stand up for a strong Israel and United States.

Article sent by Irv Kempner.

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The 27th Annual Hillula of the Baba Sali This January, warm thoughts of a spiritual master and great tzadik filled the Greater Boston Sephardic Center in Brighton as the Sephardic community observed the 27th annual Hillula of the Baba Sali, Rabbi Israel Abuchatzera (1889–1984).

The keynote speaker was Ami Avinoam, whose father, Yosef, was Baba Sali’s personal driver.

The Avinoam family organized the event, which included a dinner prepared by Catering by Silvia and music performed by Joel Davidson. Other speakers included Rabbi Aharon Hamoui, Rabbi Naftoly Beir, and Ami Ben David, who shared personal stories about and wisdom imparted by the Baba Sali and his family members.

The Baba Sali was revered by a wide range of admirers, who included the leading Israeli rabbis of two generations ago: Rebbe Aaron of Belz, the Beis Yisroel of Gur, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Ezra Attia, and the Chazon Ish - may their sacred memories protect us - who all held the Baba Sali in highest esteem.

The Baba Sali lived in Netivot, in the south of Israel, where he was considered the region’s undisputed spiritual master. To this day, his holy gravesite is like the “Meron” of Israel’s south, attracting thousands of visitors every year.

Baba Sali had a profound impact on Netivot and its surrounding settlements. Many residents of these settlements changed their entire lifestyle due to his influence. Baba Sali, from a spiritual standpoint, brought the Negev desert into full spiritual bloom. He would engage in hours of secluded personal prayer, and it is said that his holiness and prayers led to many miracles and resulted in a magnificent sanctification of Hashem’s name. Here is one well-known story about him: A young man was injured in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. He underwent a series of operations, but was still rendered a cripple. One of his legs was so badly mangled that the doctors wanted to amputate it. A friend suggested he visit the Baba Sali, who was known to work wonders with his prayers. At first, the soldier, a non-religious Jew, refused. But, in despair, he decided to give it a try, and he was henceforth ushered into the Baba Sali’s study.

“Do you put on Tefillin every day?” Baba Sali asked.

“No.” “Do you keep Shabbat?”

“No.” “If that’s the case, “Baba Sali replied, “you should be thankful that only one leg is in such a serious condition. We believe that Hashem gives us healthy limbs so that we may serve Him. Those who don’t keep the mitzvot should regard their healthy limbs as gifts.”

At that, the young man burst into tears. Baba Sali looked him the eye and asked, “If I bless you so that you will be able to stand, will you begin to observe the mitzvot?”

“I promise,” the young man eagerly replied.

“Then give me your hand, and may you have a complete recovery, with Hashem’s help.”

After the young man kissed Baba Sali’s hand, Rebbetzin Abuchatzera told him to try and stand up.

To his surprise, he was able to stand up immediately, and even take a number of steps without assistance.

Startled by the remarkable change in his situation, the young man ran out of the house in search of a telephone. The nearest telephone was in Yeshivas Hanegev, a few feet away from the Baba Sali’s home.

The young man raced over to the yeshiva, and called his family members to tell them about the miracle. The yeshiva students, who overheard the conversation, were stunned. Taking him by the hand, they broke out into a fervent dance.

A short while later, the young man returned to the Baba Sali’s house with many of the yeshiva students, and a special festive meal was held in honor of the miracle. The young man’s story spread like wildfire throughout the country, and caused many to adopt a Torah lifestyle.

“May Baba Sali’s holy and beloved memory invoke Divine compassion on all of us, Amen,” said Avinoam, who said that the dinner event was a great success, with all the donations collected sent to the Baba Sali Yeshiva in Netivot, Israel. The community greatly looks forward to next year’s celebration, to be held on January 4.

Information for this article was provided courtesy of Ami Avinoam.

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Jewish teens are making a difference in people’s lives. Tell ‘em to do TELEM! To find out more about TELEM’s community service and learning programs, contact sczik@jcrcboston.org or call 617-457-8671 TELEM is a program of JCRC of Greater Boston and supported by Combined Jewish Philanthropies.

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Boston group participates in U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s 20th Anniversary Tribute

By Susie Davidson physicist and sculptor who escaped to Brussels via the Kindertransport; Photos: Ludwik S. Szymanski Frieda Schwartz, who was not able to play with other Jews until she Janet Stein made sure that Bostonians were among the nearly 4000 was 6, at a postwar refugee settlement near Berlin; and Eva Paddock, people, who included 875 Holocaust survivors and 140 World War a former school principal and one of “Nicky’s Children” saved by a II veterans, who attended the April 28-29 United States Holocaust kindertransport arranged by British humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton.

Memorial Museum’s 20th Anniversary Tribute Ceremony. Thanks Her daughter, Alison Paddock Shoemaker, also was on the trip. to her efforts and donations from sponsors, a group of 49 Holocaust Representing the next generations were 2Gs who included Reggie survivors, 2Gs, 3Gs and Holocaust community activists were able Silberberg, who produces adult learning programming at Temple Beth to go as a group, sponsored by a Zion in Brookline, AAJHS Director community-wide fund-raising effort. and Generations After officer Fred Stein, who is President of the AmeCalm, and AAJHS Director and rican Association of Jewish Holocaust President of Generations After IsaSurvivors of Greater Boston and Vice ac Kot, as well as Rivka Gluzband President of Generations After, a Mascoop, there with her brother and group for descendants of survivors, mother, survivor Eta Gluzband; and oversaw transportation, accommoAAJHS Director and Secretary and dations, meals and itineraries for the Boston 3G President Elizabeth Bolocal group, who included former brow, AAJHS Director and Boston AAJHS President Israel Arbeiter and 3G Officer Elizabeth Goldman, and fellow Holocaust survivor and AAJHS Josh Hipsman, grandson of survivor Treasurer Tania Lefman. Other BosHyme and Ella Hipsman. Stein said ton-area survivors who attended were that having survivors, 2Gs and 3Gs Robert L. Berger, a cardiothoracic together only enhanced the special surgeon whose is responsible for the anniversary observance. discrediting of medical data obtained Events began on Sunday night from Nazi experimentation; Alfred with a videotaped message by PreZenner, who was a partisan among sident Obama, and a welcoming by the Bielski brothers’ group in the USHMM Chairman Tom Bernstein Belorussian forests that was the subin the outdoor tent. The Elie Wieject of the 2008 movie Defiance; and sel Award, the Museum’s highest Ludwik Szymanski, director emeritus honor, was presented to Susan of Psychiatry in the University CenEisenhower, granddaughter of the ter of Developmental Disabilities at late President, in honor of all World Children’s, who recently received War II veterans. Wladyslaw Barits first Leon Eisenberg Award in toszewski of Poland also received Developmental Psychiatry, honoring the Wiesel Award, in appreciation his work in child mental health and of all rescuers. development. Daisy Brand, who Bernstein also acknowledged spoke at this year’s annual Holocaust foreign dignitaries and rescuer commemoration at Faneuil Hall, was Mark Toureille, who with his father, also in attendance, as was Margot Pastor Pierre Charles Toureille, proHolocaust survivors Ludwik Szymanski, Shalom Newman and Blank, a pediatrician and former vided false IDs and money to help champion gymnast denied entry to Israel Arbeiter with child survivor Fred and wife Annette Manasse hundreds of Jews escape. All 3500 the 1936 Olympics; Suzanne Resniattendees then stood for a moment ck, a child survivor from France; and Marianne Kronenberg, who was of silence to the memory of all rescuers. He also welcomed Artemis rounded up in Hungary as a child and became an engineer and math Joukowsky, grandson of Martha and Waitstill Sharp, a couple from teacher as well as Secretary of the World Federation of Jewish Child Wellesley, who are among only three Americans recognized by Yad Survivors of the Holocaust. Rosian Zerner, who was imprisoned in the Vashem in Jerusalem as Righteous Among the Nations, non-Jewish Kovno Ghetto as a child and went on to hold many official positions rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust. The Sharps will be the subject in international Holocaust organizations; Fred Manasse, an engineer, of an upcoming exhibit at the USHMM, “Americans in the Holocaust.”

Keynote speaker and USHMM Founding Chairman Elie Wiesel said that with the Museum’s tens of thousands of documents, we know how it happened. But we still did not know why. “What kind of sins could our grandparents have committed to warrant such punishment?” he asked, citing hope as part of any answer. But we cannot turn our backs from it in anger or defeat, he said. “It hurts - so it hurts,” he told the audience. “Every one who committed those crimes had a choice, and they committed those crimes. Their punishment is our memory - as long as we remember what they did,” he said. “We still believe that human beings are a sacred presence to each other,” said Wiesel to the attendees. “When we are all here, not only does it bring joy, but we never imagined that this event would have such a dimension of goodness and hope,” he said.

Monday’s Tribute Ceremony began with a presentation of Division Flags and of National Colors representing U.S. Army divisions certified

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2013

Boston group participates in U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s 20th Anniversary Tribute

by the United States Army Center of Military History as Liberating following local screenings of “Nicky’s Family,” a Czech documentary film about Sir Nicholas Winton, a British humanitarian who rescued 669 Divisions.

Bernstein and USHMM Director Sara Bloomfield stood with Wiesel Czech and Slovak children in 1938. “I was astounded at the scale of the and President Bill Clinton, who had dedicated the Museum 20 years celebration - a remarkable testament to the 2nd and 3rd generations who prior, as well as Lisa Zaid, a granddaughter of survivors, and Rebecca are truly working constantly to ensure that we never forget,” she said.

Stein called the trip a privilege and the experience of a lifetime. “We Dupas, the coordinator of the USHMM’s Leadership Programs. “I am not the likely voice of a Holocaust survivor,” said Dupas. “One might stood in awe and gratitude as we watched honor guards bring forth the assume that a black woman with a tragic history of her own might not flags of each United States military division and heard the names recibe,” she continued. But, she said, wrong is wrong, and she referenced ted of each concentration camp they liberated,” she said. “We listened Martin Luther King, Jr. and Wiesel. Clinton pinned a special pin on to presentations and participated in conversations and lit memorial candles. We were enriched, Scottie Ooton, a veteran of 101 Tremont St., Boston, MA (617)423-1515 and02108 the unbreakable bond we Fa the 84th Infantry Division E-Mail: kpmedia@aol.com • www.pinkweb.com have with the USHMM was• ww that liberated the Ahlem and made stronger.”

Salzwedel (subcamps of the Frieda for Schwartz wrote to Pag Neuengamme concentration 1. Please review the changes to your ads and listing below the 2009 Pink Stein upon arriving home. camp) in Germany in April, “Your warmth, kindness and 1945.

2. Fax or mail this proof back to production within genuine 48 Hours at (617) w caring attitude423-7147 put us “This Museum is not an at ease and we felt enveloped answer,” said Wiesel, to an 3. If there are any corrections, please indicate theby changes on this your gracious andproof. loving audience as transfixed by his demeanor,” she wrote.

“Your as presence as they were on the If the proof is not signed and returned, the advertisement will be printed great leadership and guidanprevious night. “It is a quesce will take the organization tion.” He called out President to reach new heights. I know Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inacthat you must be exhausted, tion. “Franklin Roosevelt was but hopefully fulfilled by the better known than the names fact that you have touched of our own leaders such as BOSTON GROUP and enriched so many lives Theodor Herzl,” Wiesel said.

Copy Approval Signature and Date with your generosity and “He was known as a father concern,” she said. figure of the Jewish people.”

Apologizing to the 42nd President standing behind him, he said that (Please sign here) Paddock similarly praised Stein’s level of care and commitment. his predecessors may have been great men, but a measure of sorrow “Janet and her assistants arranged every detail of our three days in DC and made it possible for us to attend,” she said. remains in their wake.

“The event is over, but the memories we home will warm us Attendee Frank Levine of Malden, whose uncle and namesake naviReminder tobrought Credit Card Custom the restonofyour our days,” Schwartz. gated the Exodus ship, was surprised. “Nobody criticizes a former Pre- willfor Charges appear Credit said Cards as “M. Kennedy Publishing/Pink Pages”O To help sponsor the local Holocaust survivor community’s trip to the sident in front of another,” he said. “But in this case, it’s about time.”

Clinton hailed the USHMM mission to keep the uniting power of USHMM’s 20th Anniversary Tribute events, please mail a donation memories and stories from fading away, remarking that “no matter to: AAJHS, 391 Boylston St., Brookline, MA 02445, or visit www. how smart you are, if you have a head without a heart, you’re a bostonholocaustsurvivors.org and click on “General Donation.” non-human.” He spoke of the nearby Lincoln, Jefferson and World War II memorials. “All the memorials give something,” he said. “But the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will be our conscience.”

The sequencing of the human genome, he said, was the singularly greatest scientific development of the past 20 years, and he noted several genetic discoveries that changed the field of health care. “We are 99.5 percent the same,” he then said, explaining that scientists had determined that all of humanity is the same, except for one-half of one percent. “Black or brown, tall or short, decora, Schrock, apple Valley, legacy and JSi cabinetry Asian or white, we are the same,” he said, “but we spend all typeS of countertopS from too much time thinking about that one-half percent that granite, quartz, Solid Surface and laminateS. makes us different.” He remained by the stage after his we come out and meaSure, deSign and alSo address, shaking hands and chatting with audience members before walking off the stage, waving. offer inStallation of the aboVe A luncheon in the tent was followed by an Open House at the Museum. Members of the Boston group took in the exhibits, some of the places where they had been imprisoned, or had hidden. Zenner pointed to a poster of the Bielski brothers.

“It was a remarkable occasion made even more memorable by experiencing the event not only with my daughter, but also in the warm and supportive company of our Bos- 781-485-3303 www.directkitchen.net ton group of Holocaust survivors and descendants,” said 195 Squire rd. revere, Ma. 02151 Eva Paddock, who has been present for Q&A segments

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Ed Markey’s wife: the lovely, accomplished, and haimische Susan Blumenthal

By Susie Davidson Senator-elect Ed Markey’s wife carries an impressive resume by any measure, but over the recent special election campaign for U.S. Senator, she was a formidable advocate for her husband.

A former U.S. Assistant Surgeon General and a Rear Admiral, Susan Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A. opened a recent campaign stop at Lyndell’s Bakery in Cambridge with warm remarks about his strong work ethic and achievements in equitable health care, gun control, the environment, helping the disadvantaged, technology and other areas.

She was there with famed musician and songwriter Carole King, who made a string of appearances last month on behalf of the Senate candidate. Blumenthal spoke highly of her husband, even praising Markey’s sense of humor. “He cares for people,” she said. “He remembers everything about you, which so impresses me. He remembers where you went to school, who your brothers are,” she said. The couple celebrated their 25th anniversary the day after the election.

At the Markey home in Malden the next day, Blumenthal, a women’s health care advocate who helped increase federal funding for breast cancer research, told Shalom that she was a native of Palo Alto and a past president of Hadassah in California, and was very proud of the honorary Doctorate of Science that she received in 2005 from Ben Gurion University. (Blumenthal was also named Jewish Heroine of America from the Florida Atlantic University Libraries in 2008. and received the Woman of Valor Award from the United Jewish Appeal in 1999. She was a Women’s Studies professor at Brandeis, which in 2005 presented her with the Abram L. Sachar Silver Medallion for outstanding contributions to education at its National Women’s Committee Conference.)

“And Ed has always strongly supported the Jewish people,” she said. “When Israel destroyed the Iraqi nuclear facility at Osirek, they were condemned by many countries, and Ed went right there and defended Israel.”

Carole King and Susan Blumenthal

The next week at the house, Blumenthal remained gracious and personable, taking time from a hectic day of campaigning with her husband to inquire where Shalom had just come from (a Psychedelic Furs concert) and smiling genuinely when told that it was conceivable that she might have accompanied us.

But here’s what Shalom especially admired about Blumenthal. On Friday, June 21, she appeared on FOX News as part of a feature on the Markeys and their home and Malden neighborhood. When asked by reporter Maria Stephanos if they had celebrated Christmases there, Blumenthal said, “Yes, and we’ve had Chanukahs here, too.”

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As part of American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) efforts to promote strategic relations based on a shared commitment to democratic values and human rights, AJC Boston and the American Islamic Congress (AIC) hosted a public conversation on May 2, about a new vision of Muslim-Jewish relations, with keynote speaker Governor Deval PaEvent organizers and Governor Deval Patrick trick. Over 250 people gathered at the Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street to hear how Muslims and Jews have, and can, work together around areas of mutual concern at home and abroad. The panel discussion was followed by a MuslimJewish celebration of shared music and food at the AIC Cultural Center.

Mondays July 8 through August 19 Lenox Memorial High School, 187 East St., Lenox American, Israeli and International films July 8, 4 p.m. Koch; 8 p.m. My Best Holidays July 15, 4 p.m. Defiant Requiem July 22, 4.p.m. Dorfman in Love; 8 p.m. Sonny Boy July 29, 4 p.m. Ordinary Miracles: The Photo League’s New York; 8 p.m. Dandelions August 5, 4 p.m. Hitler’s Children; 6 p.m. One Day After Peace; 8 p.m. The Last White Knight August 12, 4 p.m. The First Fagin; 8 p.m. The Gatekeepers August 19, 4 p.m. Hannah Arendt; 8 p.m. When Comedy Went to School For more information: 413-445-4872, ext 25 www.berkshirejewishfilmfestival.org

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Food For Thought Torah With A Challachic Twist

By Rabbi Susan Abramson When my son Aaron was in pre-school, a friend of mine suggested that we braid our own challahs as part of the monthly Tot Shabbat program at Temple Shalom Emeth in Burlington. She brought a tub full of dough. Every family had a great time creating their own loaf.

She provided everyone with a copy of the recipe, which she entitled “No Fail Hallah.” She informed me that even I, a total non-baker, could make this myself.

The following Friday I took her up on the challenge. Aaron and I attempted the recipe. Of course, it failed. The dough didn’t rise. It was as hard as a rock when I took it out of the oven.

The next week we tried again. By this time, I had learned that yeast is only effective if it is mixed with hot water, not cold water. You need to add the flour a little at a time until the dough is the right consistency, not dump it all in at once and hope for the best.

Baking challah every Friday afternoon became part of our family ritual.

I would rush Aaron home from daycare, turn on the hot water, throw in the yeast and sugar, stir in the water, and prepare the mixture of egg, sugar, oil and salt while the yeast was “exploding.” We each had our own bowl to make our own challah. For some reason, his always came out fluffier than mine.

As I began writing my Rabbi Rocketpower children’s holiday books, we produced two YouTube videos to teach others how easy it is to begin this tradition at home: “The Rabbi’s Kitchen Episode 1: A Beginner’s Guide to Great Challah.”

About a year ago, a Facebook friend posted a picture of a challah in the shape of a Chanukah menorah. Not to be outdone, I decided to up the ante and make two challot each week in the shape of the weekly Torah portion, then post them on my Facebook page. After so many “likes,” my next challenge is to publish a book with a challah and brief explanation for every Torah portion.

As Abraham Joshua Heschel said, “More than Israel has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept Israel.” The tactile experience of mixing ingredients, kneading dough, braiding it into shapes, putting it in a warm oven, smelling the aroma permeating the house, uncovering it as we say the motzi at the beginning of a Shabbat meal, is among the most profound ways of keeping this time-honored connection. Adding a new layer of meaning enhances our connection with our faith tradition.

Parashat Ekev The Ten Challandments The Torah portion Ekev (Deut.

7.12-11.25) is read the weekend of July 26. Moses reminds the Israelites how he broke the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments after he saw them worshipping the golden calf. He recounts how G-d instructed him to carve two tablets like the first, which Moses then brought up the mountain to be inscribed in the same manner.

The central theme of this week’s portion is to keep the Commandments.

The Israelites will be rewarded if they do so by receiving G-d’s many blessings. We will be rewarded both literally and figuratively by devouring these challandments.

Susan Abramson is the longest-serving female rabbi in Massachusetts.

She has been the rabbi of Temple Shalom Emeth, Burlington, since 1984. She is the author of the Rabbi Rocketpower children’s book series and an upcoming book on Torah with a Challachic Twist.

Rabbi Abramson is the rabbi of Temple Shalom Emeth, Burlington.

She is one of the first 50 women to be ordained and is the longest female rabbi in Massachusetts.

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A Rainbow at the Bus Stop

By Rabbi Katy Z. Allen A friend just sent me a picture of a double rainbow she’d seen while waiting for her bus to arrive to take her home. The rains come in torrents, the sun comes out, and presto! A rainbow! And this time, not just a single rainbow, but a double one!

Once, I saw a rainbow while driving on the highway. I noticed it because I saw people pulled over and stopped at the side of the road.

Curious, I followed their gaze. They had stopped driving to get a good look at the rainbow.

A rainbow - the sign of G-d’s covenant with all living things never again to destroy the Earth. A rainbow - an opportunity to say a blessing, a very particular blessing, just for this occasion. A rainbow - a wonderfully magical light show put on at irregular intervals by Mother Nature. A rainbow - a reminder of just how beautiful the Universe can be, visible whether you are in the heart of the city or the heart of the wilderness. Seeing a rainbow simply requires being in the right place at the right time, and then paying attention and looking.

In Judaism, there are other special nature blessings. One is said upon hearing thunder, another upon seeing the first blossoms of the spring, and another when viewing a vast ocean. These blessings are designed for WOW moments, when one is confronted by the wonders of creation.

In order to be prepared, we can learn the traditional blessings by heart, or carry them on a paper in our pockets. But what if we forget or don’t have the paper with us when a rainbow mysteriously appears? We can still say WOW! We can still say THANK YOU G-D! We can still be amazed by the beauty of the natural world around us, and be reminded that creation is made up of a multitude of wonders. And we can always say a prayer in our heart.

The blessing over the rainbow: Baruch atah Adonai eloheynu me- lech ha-olam zo-cher ha-berit v’neh-eh-mon beev-ree-toe v’ka-yam b’ma-a-ma-ro.

Blessed are You, Eternal our G!d, Ruler of the Universe, Who remembers the covenant, is faithful to the covenant and Who fulfills Your word.

Rabbi Katy Z. Allen is a chaplain at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Rabbi at Ma’yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope.

Summer

2013

Boston Resident Writes History of

Creativity.

Laughter.

Imagination.

Local Synagogue in West End “The Boston Synagogue: 1888-2013,” by Back Bay resident Michael Weingarten, was released at the synagogue’s 125th anniversary celebration on Sunday, May 19 at the Boston Synagogue.

In some ways, the story of The Boston Synagogue is the story of Boston generally: substantial growth due to immigration at the turn of the 20th century; followed by a long period of urban decline; then substantial resurgence as downtown Boston has become an increasingly attractive place for people to live. As such, it celebrates not just this synagogue, but also the entire downtown Boston community.

Among those interviewed were former West End resident Leonard Nimoy, who shared recollections and commented that the famous Vulcan salute came from the priestly blessing that he observed as a teenager at a predecessor synagogue’s High Holiday services.

The book includes a comprehensive history of the synagogue, its predecessor synagogues and the old West End, including historic images, maps, graphs, and anecdotes.

The Boston Synagogue is an unaffiliated, traditional, egalitarian synagogue. It is a warm, joyful, pluralistic neighborhood community that is inclusive, with women, men and children actively participating in its services. It welcomes individuals, young professionals and couples as well as families and others, wherever one might be on their spiritual journey, including interfaith couples and families. The Boston Synagogue is located at 55 Martha Rd., in Charles River Park. The closest subway stop is Science Park, or North Station.

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Gospel Kabbalat Shabbat On Friday, July 19 at 7:15 p.m. Ahavath Torah Congregation (ATC) will hold a Gospel Kabbalat Shabbat featuring The Boston Community Choir (BCC). A full Shabbat dinner will be served (by reservations only) beginning at 6 p.m. Adult price is $15 per adult, $9 per child. The Gospel Kabbalat Shabbat service is free and open to all.

Oneg (refreshments) will follow the service. The deadline for reservations is Monday, July 15.

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ASK BUBBE

QUESTION: I like feta cheese on my salads; however, I have to cut down on salt. Is there a similar cheese I can have instead?

ANSWER: Absolutely - try farmer cheese, which even comes in unsalted varieties.

Turkey Croquettes

A Family Trip to Ellis Island

Since summer is the best time to go on sightseeing trips, I recommend taking a boat trip to Ellis Island, especially since members of your family likely came through there many years ago, with great hope from Europe to start a new life in America.

Today, the museum contains the latest technology to learn about the ships and passengers. And several years ago, my family learned that for a donation of $100 per name, we could list our parent’s names and country of origin, which would be placed on plaques along a special wall known as “The American Immigrant Wall of Honor.”

For my siblings and I, this gave us both great emotional impact and a sense of deep personal satisfaction of remembrance and devotion.

We took photos of the wall as well.

Years later, one of the grandchildren in our family had a school assignment to write an essay about their family ancestors, and was able to include both information about their beginnings dating from Ellis Island and photos as well for their project.

Have a Healthy and Safe Summer, Bubbe www.feedmebubbe.com - 646-402-5231 - bubbe@feedmebubbe.com.

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Makes 12 Croquettes 1 lb. ground turkey 1 large egg 1/2 cup matzo meal 1/4 cup water 1 medium onion, minced 2 medium garlic cloves, minced 1/8 tsp. of salt-free garlic and herb seasoning blend For the coating - corn flake crumbs Slightly mix water and egg together in a large bowl. Add all ingredients.

With clean hands, mix all together, do not over mix. Refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make rolls with 1/4 cup mixture 1x1x 2/1/2 inches long, and coat with corn flake crumbs.

Line a baking pan with nonstick aluminum foil, or lightly grease the pan. Place croquettes in pan. Bake for twenty minutes.

Mix the duck sauce with 2 tablespoons water, and heat.

Serve sauce over croquettes, and serve with medium size noodles and vegetables of your choice.

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Ask The Rabbi Question: There is something that has been eating at me ever since my father’s funeral. Immediately after the burial, everyone came to wish me and my family condolences, and then after a few minutes, we all left the cemetery. For me, this was the toughest moment of the whole day. I felt as if we were leaving my father behind all by himself. Was his soul lonely? Is it as hard for the dead to part from the living as it is for the living to part from the dead? Or has he moved on? What does Judaism say about the soul right after burial?

Answer: There is a striking parallel between a soul’s journey to its place of rest in heaven, and the grieving process experienced by the mourners down here on earth. Both the departed soul and the loved ones left behind have to walk a slow and measured progression towards a new reality.

For seven days after a funeral, the family stays home in mourning, for what is called sitting Shiva (Hebrew for the number seven).

The kabbalists describe the departed soul during this time as being in a state of flux between the world of the living and the world of the dead. For that week, the soul commutes back and forth from the grave, to the house of mourning, and back again. The soul’s journey fluctuates - sometimes it is in the home with the family, and other times it returns to the gravesite.

This explains the roller coaster of emotions often experienced by grieving relatives. At one moment they feel as if nothing has happened, as if their loved one is about to walk into the room.

At the next moment the pain of loss hits, and they feel the void left by the death of their beloved. The pendulum of emotion is a reflection of the to and fro of the soul of the departed. The feeling that he may walk into the room is real, for his soul is there in the home. But then the soul leaves, and the sharp feeling of separation returns in its place.

Each day, a part of the soul is left behind at the grave, and less of the soul returns to the home, until a week has passed, and the soul stops its commute. It then begins its journey upwards to higher realms. But a part of the soul always remains at the gravesite.

After your father’s funeral, as the family was leaving the ceme-

Summer

2013

tery, you were not leaving your father’s soul behind. His soul accompanied you home. Just as you could not let him go all at once, he could not leave you so suddenly either. The Jewish mourning process - seven intense days, thirty days of lesser intensity, and an entire year of subdued remembrance - is not only a way for you to gradually adjust to the new reality, it is a mirror image of the steps your father’s soul takes towards reaching final rest.

So don’t feel guilty as you slowly make your way back into life.

It is a sign that your father’s soul is finding peace. You will never leave him behind, and he will never leave you.

Question: I am a Cohen by birth, but I have not done the Priestly Blessing in Shul for many years. I feel I am not worthy to bless the community. I do not observe Shabbos, I eat non-kosher (I mean really non-kosher), and I would never describe myself as pious in the least. Who am I to get up and serve as a priest to bless the nation?

Answer: You are just the type of Cohen I would like to bless me. You have the most important ingredient that makes the blessing work. You feel unworthy.

It seems strange that the Torah imparts the power to bless on an entire tribe. The descendants of Aaron, Moses’ brother, known as the Cohen tribe, are commanded to bless the children of Israel.

Cohenship is not a status that you can earn, it is a fact of birth. So why should a Cohen automatically have the gift of blessing?

The Torah is making it clear that the Cohen is not the source of the blessing. G-d is. The Cohen blesses not out of his own righteousness, but merely serves as a pipeline for the divine blessing to pass through. And to be a pipeline you can’t be full of yourself. A Cohen who feels he is worthy to give blessings is missing the point.

You were born a Cohen, and that means you have this power. Be generous with it. It’s not about you, it’s about the goodness that comes through you. I’ll have your blessing any day.

Rabbi Moshe Bleich Wellesley Weston Chabad

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23

Ah, the Joys of Centrism!

David Harris We live in such a sharply polarized world that, regrettably, centrism, independence, and, yes, nuance are alien to many.

Instead, too often, it’s a bifurcated liberal-conservative, hawk-dove, with-us or against-us environment.

But AJC has been fighting mightily against such binary thinking for a long time - and well before Bill Clinton’s “triangulation” or Tony Blair’s “third way” entered the political discourse.

It’s not that we were necessarily so visionary, but rather that we saw the complexity of certain issues, which couldn’t easily be placed in a convenient, airtight, doctrinal box.

Take the Arab-Israeli conflict. We stubbornly refuse to be quarantined in one ideological corner within the pro-Israel community, of which we are among the staunchest of members.

That, though, can lead to some telling and even humorous moments. The last few days are an illustration.

On June 17th, AJC condemned the statement of Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, who declared that the “attempt to establish a Palestinian state in our land has ended.” He called on fellow Israelis to “build, build, build” in the West Bank.

Bennett is a pillar of the new Israeli government. He is also at odds with the prime minister, who has supported the vision of a two-state accord. And he contradicts the chief negotiator for Israeli-Palestinian talks, and fellow Cabinet member, Tzipi Livni, who declared earlier this month, at the AJC Global Forum, that the vision is of “two states for two peoples.”

We believe in a democratically-elected Israeli government that speaks with one, not multiple, voices. And, above all for Israel’s sake, we believe in the pursuit of an enduring peace based on two states, even as we noted in our statement that “we are under no illusion about the difficulties of achieving a two-state accord.” So we chose to speak up. It wasn’t the first time, nor is it likely to be the last time, but this time, for some reason, it was widely noticed.

Along came voices on the right.

One columnist asserted that ours was “an act of sheer lunacy.”

He claimed our statement “condemned a democratically-elected Jewish government.” For good measure he added, “In an act of even more sheer lunacy, this organization [AJC] which speaks for probably no one - other than a handful of wealthy liberals - says ‘Bennett contravenes the outlook of Prime Minister Netanyahu.’”

Moreover, he alleges that our job is to “assail Jewish organizations which criticize [President] Obama’s support of the Palestinian Arabs.” And last, he claims to have visited our website and found “nothing on the Arabs, naturally - but condemnation of Jews, sure they step right up.”

Not to be outdone, a fellow ideologue wrote a public email claiming we were doing irreparable “harm to the Jewish State and putting its very existence in jeopardy.”

And then there were the voices on the left.

There was the assertion that “This is certainly not the first time the AJC has issued a statement of criticism, but it’s still quite a rarity.

The last known time was in March 2011.” Then came the charge that “These days, the AJC is more likely to criticize the U.S. government on Israel’s behalf.” Finally, we were accused of having ignored the comments a few days earlier by Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon, which were very much in the spirit of Bennett’s. The writer then asked rhetorically if AJC would also take him on, replying to her own query with the words: “It is doubtful.”

Meanwhile, an editorial welcoming our statement on Bennett nonetheless slipped in that: “It’s good to see they’ve [AJC] begun applying the same standard to officials of the Israeli government” as to other governments and officials, whose actions AJC has challenged when they “endanger the Jewish people or the Jewish state.”

It makes you want to laugh - or cry.

Here are the facts, all of which are out there for anyone who cares to grapple with them. But then again that would undermine the zeitgeist, wherein inconvenient truths are too often best ignored, lest they upset one’s carefully constructed outlook.

How could we “condemn a democratically elected government,” when we specifically supported the prime minister who was challenged by one of his deputies? And isn’t Netanyahu on record in support of a two-state agreement, whereas Bennett opposes that objective?

As for our approach to the administration, I’ll let our left-wing and right-wing critics thrash that one out, since one sees us as the nemesis and the other as the handmaiden of the White House. Maybe, just maybe, our stance is precisely what a non-partisan group is supposed to do - support when appropriate, criticize when necessary.

And if there’s nothing on the AJC website about the ongoing Arab campaign against Israel, then this observer has failed to see the hundreds, if not thousands, of national radio broadcasts, blogs (including dozens on this Jerusalem Post website), columns, lettersto-the-editor, analyses, and advocacy and diplomatic campaigns that we continue to author.

As for his mirror image on the left, equally blinded, it seems, by an all-encompassing ideology, she could easily have found our June 12th press release criticizing the remarks of the very same Danon to whom she refers. And she could have located other statements repeatedly supporting the objective of a two-state accord, including after the speeches of Secretary of State John Kerry and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni earlier this month at the AJC Global Forum.

So, too, the editorial writer could have found the same things, challenging the paper’s notion that we’ve only now “begun” speaking up.

The bottom line: First, all I can say is caveat lector. Let the reader beware.

And second, at AJC, we’ll proudly continue to defy ideological pigeonholing and call them as we see them.

David Harris is the Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee.

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Summer

2013

Brazilian Jews and the current protests

By Shirley Nigri Farber Brazilians have seen the government expend large sums of money In recent years, we have seen people taking to the streets in for building stadiums and improving tourist areas, in order to comprotests all over the world. From the Arab Spring to the Occupy ply with FIFA’s demands. movement, citizens are fighting for democracy and social justice.

While Brazil is seen around the world as a new economic power, It took a bit longer, but last month Brazilians woke up to begin and our president Dilma Rousseff brags about the fact that millions fighting for their own rights. Demonstrators poured out onto the of Brazilians were able to move up to the middle class, there are streets throughout the country during the Confederation Cup, and still a lot of improvements that need to be done. they have not left.

Every year I go back to Brazil and I see beggars on the streets, I was born and raised in Brazil. I am accustomed to seeing a families sleeping on the sidewalks and people being robbed in major gap between the rich and the poor, corruption within many daylight and on main streets. On the other hand, I see many intergovernmental agencies, inadequate public education and rampant national companies opening branches in Brazil with very high-end poverty. brands such as Chanel, Christian Louboutin, Diane Von Furstenberg, When I tell Jewish people that I am from Brazil, they usually Starbucks and Gucci. The rich are getting richer and the poor are ask me if there are many Jews there. And when I tell Brazilians I getting fed up with the lack of opportunities. Yet as I see on social meet in Massachusetts that I am Jewish, media, it is the middle class who are some of them even ask what it means to protesting, not the very poor. be a Jew, or if it means that I was born in Most of the Brazilians Jews that I know Israel. Most of my Brazilian friends here, attended private Jewish schools and were who are originally from small towns, do able to obtain a diploma. In Brazil, Fedenot understand the difference between ral and State universities are totally free Israelis and the biblical Israelites. and are very well regarded, but the poor There are maybe 110,000 Jews spread usually do not get a chance to pass the among 200 million people in Brazil. Most exam to enter those highly competitive of them live in large metropolises such as schools. Most of the time, the ones who my home city of Rio de Janeiro, which has attend private schools end up going to around 26,000 Jewish residents, and São college for free.

Paulo, which has about 50,000.

Although the Jewish community is The Brazilians that interact with Jewish small, it is also very organized and unipeople hold the perception that all Jews ted. Throughout the years, Jews were are wealthy and highly educated. In fact, able to build their own schools, clubs Chanukyah built by Beit Lubavitch at if you look at the Forbes list of the weal(called Hebraica), senior homes, synaLeblon Beach in Rio de Janeiro thiest Brazilians, you will find that more gogues, hospitals and cemeteries. One than 10 percent of the top 100 are Jews. thing that I’m very proud of is the fact But just like in the rest of the society, in the that the Jewish Federation of Rio de Janeiro Jewish community there are some who are (FIERJ) has councilors and president who middle class and some who are lower class, are democratically elected by anyone in the especially the elderly and those who live community. During the time that I had my far from the major population centers. The Jewish FM radio program, Shalom Israel, I difference is that Jews are very good about received the most votes of any female council helping each other with programs that promember. vide incentives such as interest-free loans, As Brazilians are protesting against goprivate healthcare, scholarships to Jewish vernment corruption they are also protesting schools, senior centers, and soup kitchens.

Rousseff’s leadership and party, with some Because the community is small, it is not too even asking for her impeachment. In recent difficult to reach all of its members. years, Jews have seen the proximity of this Recent protests in Brazil began following president and past administrations with the announcements of proposed increases in bus governments of Iran and Venezuela. So even fares, but that issue was just another drop in if Brazilian Jews are not joining the hundreds a longstanding bucket of grievances that was of protesters in the streets, they may also already overflowing. With two major events have good reason to ask for change. One of set to be held in the country (the World Cup the biggest concerns in the community is in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016), Temple Talmud Tora, Bom Retiro, S. Paulo violence, as Jews have been victims of assault and even kidnapping.

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Brazilian Jews and the current Protests I have been giving lectures on Jews in Brazil, so I know some was September, 2001 and the place had just been discovered and of the curiosity that American Jews have for their communities renovated. We had an exclusive tour and got a chance to see the oriin Brazil. They often ask me, “What kind of business do they ginal mikva of the oldest synagogue in America, Kahal Zur Israel. have?” Most of the Sephardic families I know of went from the Today, there are many Brazilians with Jewish ancestors, but after shmatte (fabric) business into opening clothing stores and some of so many years within Christianity, they do not have a connection the largest factories in Brazil. There are Jews in various other fields, to Judaism anymore. such as banking (for example, the Jewish-owned Safra Bank), meAnother notable wave of immigration occurred at the beginning dicine, real estate (Cyrela), cellulose of the 1900s, when Jewish agricul(Suzano/Klabin), jewelry (H. Stern), tural colonization, supported by the lingerie (Hope and DuLoren), and Jewish Colonization Association general commerce (O Boticario).

(JCA), brought Russian Jews to the Some of the protesters are demanstate of Rio Grande do Sul, in the ding more investments in public south of Brazil, to start the colonies of hospitals and schools. The population Philippson (1904) and Quatro Irmãos is in fact seeing large investments in (1912). Other recent waves occurred the country, but not in the education in the face of the Holocaust and again, and health sectors. Not every Jew after the creation of the State of Israel, can afford private school or hospital with Jewish immigrants coming from stays, but there are many Jewish Arab countries such as Lebanon, institutions that take care of the less Egypt and Syria. fortunate in our community that Zionism in Brazil allow for Jews to send their children When I realize that there are some to excellent schools and to be treated 20,000 Brazilians living in Israel and in Latin America’s top hospitals such 110,000 Jews in Brazil, I think that as Albert Einstein in São Paulo. But Brazilians are very inclined toward there are always the ones who are making Aliyah. Zionist Youth movecaught in the middle: not too rich ments were very popular when I grew Kahal Zur Israel in Recife to afford, not too poor to ask for up. Groups such as Shomer Hatzayir, help, or maybe just embarrassed to Netzach, Bnei Akiva and Chazit Habe exposed as indigent in their own noar would gather on weekends for community. youth activities, and organize overnight camps. Members of those Where are the Jews originally from? movements would go on a special trip to Israel when they graduated Jews began to arrive in Brazil when they left Portugal, escaping high school, usually spending one to three months at a kibbutz in from the Inquisition in the 16th century. They were known as a program called Tapuz (orange). Adults were also very involved “New Christians” (Conversos or Maranos, Jews obliged to convert in Zionist organizations such as WIZO, B’nai B’rith, Na’amat and to Catholicism). When I was on my honeymoon in Recife, in the Hadassah, some with chapters spread all over the country. Since the north east of Brazil, the tour guide was walking us through Rua majority of Jewish children who attend Jewish schools are learning do Bom Jesus (Good Jesus Street) when I noticed a synagogue. It Hebrew, it makes Aliyah a little bit easier.

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Brazilian Jews and the Protests worth is estimated at US $1 billion, accorOrthodox and Reform in Brazil ding to Forbes.

In a city such as São Paulo, the number of Eli Horn - Sephardic and Orthodox kosher establishments (around 17) and synaJewish owner of one of the largest consgogues is disproportionate to the numbers of truction companies in the country, Cyrela.

Jews, if you compare this to the situation in Reported to give 10 percent of his profit the Boston area. For the past 20 years, we have to charities (mainly Jewish), and to also seen an increase in the numbers of Orthodox request that the companies he partners with Jews, which can be credited in large part to do the same. the work of Chabad/Lubavitch emissaries Jaime Lerner - former governor of the that make every effort to bring Judaism to a state of Paraná, in southern Brazil, for two country known for its Carnival and love for terms, and three-time mayor of Curitiba, its beach and soccer. Chabad has opened schools, capital. Lerner is renowned as an architect yeshivot and synagogues all over the country and urban planner. for Brazilian Jews, and have also instituted Luciano Huck (Grostein) - TV presenter special holiday programs for young Israeli with one of the highest-viewing ratings in tourists. its time slot. Attended Jewish school in Reform Judaism is also growing, due in São Paulo, and has 4.5 million followers part to their very contemporary manners of on Twitter (@lucianohuck). attracting people as well as to the increased A samba school in Rio de Janeiro (2001) Rabbi David Weitman - charismatic numbers of mixed marriages. presents the story of Jews Sheliach (emissary) of the LubaSome of the highlights of the São vitcher Rebbe to São Paulo and Paulo Jewish community are: the www.hebraica.org.br rabbi of the Sephardi synagogue large JCC in Latin America called Beit Jacob (Safra). Weitman is the Hebraica, that includes a school, founder of Ten Yad, a soup kitchen synagogue, tennis courts, pools, program that offers food to Jews as gymnasium, theaters, function halls well as non-Jews. and restaurants; Hospital Israelita Henry Sobel - reform rabbi and Albert Einstein, which offers social American citizen who was presiassistance to the poor; an increasing dent of the Congregação Israelita number of synagogues; and my Paulista (CIP), the second-largest own brother’s pizza place Cantina Jewish congregation in Latin Amedo Bero, which is the first brick rica, located in São Paulo. Used to oven kosher (chalav Israel) pizza in be recognized as an informal leaBrazil, and just celebrated 18 years der, regularly appearing on natioin business. nal news programming ­speaking Some famous Brazilian Jews on behalf of the community. include: Hebraica S. Paulo, possibly the largest Jewish club in the world Silvio Santos (Born Senor Abravanel) - Brazilian TV owner and one of the most well-known faces on TV. Known as a benefactor of the Jewish community, his net worth is US $2.7 billion, according to Forbes.

Joseph Safra – philanthropist born in Lebanon who is the owner of Safra Bank, the 6th largest private bank in Brazil, headquartered in São Paulo. His net wealth, according to Forbes, is US $13.8 billion.

Lily Safra - philanthropist born in Porto Alegre who attained considerable wealth after four marriages. Her latest husband, Edmond Safra, died in a fire at his Monaco home (1999). Her net

Beggars at Paulista Ave. accross the street from Safra Bank headquarters, in the heart of S. Paulo Summer

2013

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L.A. Holocaust Survivor Portrait Exhibit

Text and Photo by David Miller Albert Rosa spied his sister Luna across the chain link fence. He remembered her as beautiful, with big blue eyes and long dark hair.

Now she was skinny and filthy, her head shaved. “It broke my heart,” he said. Albert had been at Auschwitz only three weeks and had given up two days’ rations to persuade a bunkmate to trade uniforms and work details so he could see his older sister. She was digging, supervised by female guards with guns, whips and German shepherds. He stood by the fence, attracting her attention.

“Do you know anything about my children?” she asked him. “My husband? Mommy and Daddy?” A guard quickly appeared, clubbing Luna on the head. She fell, as blood gushed. The guard continued beating her.

Albert tried to rip the chain link apart, yelling the only words he knew in German, “Work faster, god-damned Jew.” The guard unleashed the German shepherd, commanding the dog to kill. As the dog charged his throat, Albert, a boxer in his native Greece, hit the dog with all his strength. They fought. Albert was mauled and, in his words, “left for three-quarters dead.” Still, he was ordered back to work. He later saw two women pulling a wooden cart. They picked up Luna’s body and threw it on top, “like trash,” Albert said. It was 1943; Albert was 18.

Albert was born Jan. 25, 1925, in Salonika, Greece. Today, at age 88, he lives in Encino, Calif., and speaks regularly at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust as well as to Jewish, law enforcement and military groups in various U.S. and Canadian cities.

Albert is one of more than 35 survivors who currently reside in the Los Angeles area whom I have photographed, and writer Jane Ulman has profiled, for a column that has been running in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal since October 2011. All of their stories began in the cities and shtetls of Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. Many endured the harsh conditions of labor camps and/or ghettos, and the unspeakable terrors of concentration camps and death marches. Others lived as Christians or were hidden by gentiles, continually fearful. Some fought in the resistance. But almost all faced starvation, brutality, and the devastating loss of close family members.

We are now working to turn these photographs and profiles into an exhibit at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, which will stand as a monument to living history and to one of the most horrific and defining moments of the 20th century, Adolph Hitler’s plan to exterminate the Jews of Europe. The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the exhibit, which will consist of enlarged photographs of all the survivors and a catalog with the stories that appeared in the Jewish Journal.

Having grown up in Sharon, Mass., in a close and vibrant Jewish community, I know the importance of keeping memories alive. This exhibit, once funded, will be available to the many groups of students as well as people of all ages, races and religions who visit Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust on a daily basis. Afterward, we anticipate that it will be available to travel to museums and community centers across the United States.

Both writer Jane Ulman and I hope that the portraits of Albert Rosa and the other survivors and their words, which speak to devastating loss and extraordinary resilience, continue to educate and inspire us.

For more information, visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/89677304/holocaust-survivor-portrait-exhibit?ref=email

David Miller grew up in the Sharon Jewish community, graduating from Sharon High School in 1998 and then the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2002. Presently, David is owner of David Miller Studios, a Los Angeles-based photography and videography company.

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2013

Let’s Kibbitz!

Guy Kokken

By Susie Davidson Holder on the state of the written word Up on the website of Mass. Poetry, which held its annual state festival last month in Salem is a new essay by Ibbetson Street Press of Somerville honcho Doug Holder.

Entitled “The State of Poetry,” Holder gives an overview on the Boston area small press and poetry scene, dating from when he arrived from Brooklyn to attend college in 1973. “Back then you basically had the academic poetry crowd, and the alternative crowd of non-academic barbarians in the Stone Soup Poetry group founded by the late Jack Powers,” he writes. Poetry chapbooks were zeroxed, as were magazines (our beautiful Shalom certainly attests to positive development since). “Our first issue of Ibbetson Street was handled by a friend of mine, Jim Resnick, an employee of Copy Cop,” Holder recalls. Back then too, during the 70s and 80s, poets and writers were generally unplugged, and low-tech. “They were not adorned by earphones or Google Glasses, and their fingers did not expressively dance out text messages. They would simply walk down the street, taking it all in,” says Holder.

Now, of course, all is digital, and this has its benefits. “No more ungainly paper manuscripts to mark up. Documents, graphics and formatting are done by my tech-savvy designer Steve Glines.” Ibbetson still prints books, but they are mainly print on demand.

“We now publish books when they are actually needed,” says Holder. It’s certainly more cost-effective. “Before, we would order a whole bunch, and they would wind up collecting arcane species of mold in some nook in the basement,” recalls Holder.

Brother Donald Holder Steve Wynn works with lights instead of words, and has won Tony Awards for his work on shows including the Lion King and South Pacific. Donald lives in Croton On the Hudson with wife Evan, a Yale drama professor, and their children Josh and Sarah, who will enter Yale this fall.

Times are still good for the written word, reports Holder. He and poet Harris Gardner say their Somerville-based literary group the Bagel Bards draws great attendance, puts out a yearly anthology, and has an online literary journal, the Wilderness House Literary Review, founded by Glines. He cites bustling reading series such as the Carpenter Poets in Jamaica Plain; the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge’s Wednesday poetry slams; the Out of the Blue Arts Gallery readings hosted by Timothy Gager and Chad Parenteau; and the new Arts Armory, which houses the Cervena Barva Book Shop and Reading Series and Gardner and Gloria Mindock’s First and Last Word Reading Series.

Holder, who teaches English at Bunker Hill Community College and Endicott College in Beverly, does find that his students are often texting, tuning into their earbuds, and answering calls. “I always tell my students–for the most part 18 to 20 year olds, that they have to unplug to be open to their senses: sight, smell, sound, taste, etc.”

Of course Holder has his own phone and laptop, so he optimistically focuses on commonalities: “I am anxious to see what the new generations bring to the plate because after all we feed off each other, and I am glad to be part of that continuum.”

Holder is Arts Editor for The Somerville News, the director of the Newton Free Library Poetry Series, the producer of Poet to Poet: Writer to Writer on Somerville Community Access TV. Summer

2013

A Holocaust Museum in North Adams?

While in Western Mass., Shalom stopped in at the The New England Holocaust Institute in North Adams. Yes, that’s right - thanks to the efforts of World War II collector and lifelong North Adams resident Darrell English (yes- not Jewish), there is a new stop in the Berkshires for learning more about this most tragic period in world history. English, a mensch if ever there was one, makes nothing for his efforts, which include renting the storefront museum and taking an 8th grade class to the USHMM in Washington every year with friend and teacher Mike Little (yes, also not Jewish).

So the first question is why? “I always say, you gotta play Mike Wallace and his old TV show History of the 20th Century,” English said over dinner, while adding that his ancestors played a large part of the Civil War and that he had four uncles who served in World War II. He began collecting World War II artifacts and said that It all leads to the Holocaust, which he called the worst tragedy ever to befall the human race. His goal is to expand and build museum in order to tell the complete sordid story.

The New England Holocaust Institute is located at 45 Eagle St. in downtown North Adams. Email English at squarecompass. al6006@yahoo.com or call 413-664-9103 or 413-522-0070.

Talking Judaism with the Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn While in North Adams, Shalom ventured over to Mass MoCA for the band Wilco’s Solid Sound music festival.

There we saw Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate, who is Jewish, lead the group’s first U.S. show since 1988. Long a staple on college radio stations, the Dream Syndicate were mainstays of the Los Angeles psychedelic alternative music scene. Called “One of rock’s true heroes of the underground” by the Philadelphia Weekly, and his work, “A veritable Ph.D. of timeless rock songcraft” by the Chicago Tribune and “A force to be reckoned with and cherished” by the London Sunday Times, over 300 of his songs have been recorded and/or performed by groups including REM, Luna, Concrete Blonde, The Black Crowes, and Yo La Tengo. Italian, Belgian, Spanish, and fans of other nationalities fill the band’s websites with requests for future shows in their countries.

Shalom asked Wynn if Judaism had influenced his life and music. “The short answer? Minor chords. Lots and lots of minor chords,” he responded.

“I was listening to a lot of radio and hanging out in record stores from the time I was about six years old, during the latter part of the sixties, so I was exposed to and influenced by all of the great music that was coming out at that time,” he said. “But a lot of my time during those same years was spent in temple, Hebrew school and Jewish summer camps, so I was also hearing so much great music, both traditional and secular, that was usually in a minor key, haunting and yet comforting, foreboding and grounded,” he continued. “And I know that had a huge influence on me - so many of my songs come from that very Jewish and traditional style of music.”

Oh, and his mother was a big fan of Fiddler on the Roof and Caberet, he also recalled, citing Jewish musicians Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan as further influences. “And I often hear those same qualities in their music, which should hardly be surprising,” he said.

“We’re all drawing from the same well, I suppose.”

All we can say is that Dream Syndicate classics like “Tell Me (When It’s Over),” “Halloween,” “When You Smile,” and “Days of Wine And Roses” sounded better than ever, and that Wynn and guitarist Jason Victor were on definite schpilkes, engaging in a frenetic guitar jam at one point that was as perfectly executed as it was wildly entertaining. So the question is, what does Europe know that the U.S. doesn’t?

The Dream Syndicate are currently touring with several stops in Norway, but will be in our area when they play Passim as an acoustic trio on August 10. For information, visit www.passim.org.

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COMMUNITY NOTES & EVENTS

CJP merges with JFNS

As of July 1, Combined Jewish Philantropy (CJP) has officially merged with the Jewish Federation of the North Shore.

According to an email sent to the community, both organizations have pledged to aid the poor and oppressed, to support those with disabilities, and to develop an inclusive and caring community.

In the email, CJP President Barry Schrage explained that the merge between the two agencied had been planned for over a year.

The new North Shore Advisory Committee (NSAC) of CJP will be chaired by Amanda Clayman, with Shep Remis serving as honorary chair. Over the next two years, NSAC will make recommendations to CJP’s Commission on Strategic Priorities on allocations to organizations, as well as suggest means by which to attract and retain volunteers.

As part of the merge arrangements, the North Shore office will relocate in August from Salem to the Cohen Hillel Academy campus in Marblehead.

Shabbat Retreat in Nature Weekend of August 16-18, commencing at 4 p.m. on Friday and ending at 1 p.m. on Sunday The Shabbat Retreat in Nature is a weekend of Judaism outdoors in the woods and will include Kabbalat Shabbat beneath the sky, outdoor services, walks in the woods, meditation, storytelling, music, arts & crafts, environmental education, activities for kids and adults, havdalah under the stars, and more. Our spiritual preparation for the Days of Awe will be part of the weekend as well. Camp Winnetaska is located beside Ashland State Park and the Ashland Reservoir. It is close to the commuter rail line from Boston.

The retreat is open to all who live, work, or daven in the Metrowest area. You may come for...an afternoon...a day...or the whole weekend.

Everyone, of every age and every background, is welcome.

Dietary laws will be observed, meals will be vegetarian, and food will be mostly local.

The cost for the weekend is $145 with an early bird discount of 10 percent if registration is complete before June 30th. This price reflects cost to the general public. Please visit www.mayantikvah.org for additional pricing options, scholarship information, and to peruse the weekend’s program. Please RSVP to rabbikza@verizon.net

Shalom Magazine offers free event listing to non-profit Jewish organizations in Mass. Preference to free or low-cost events. Please email us for more information: shalomMA@msn.com.

To place an AD call Scott at: 781-975-0482 Subscriptions are available for $18 a year (4 issues). Please mail a check payable to Farber Marketing, 12 Edward Dr., Stoughton, MA 02072. Bulk subscription also available, please email us for more information.

Boston-based charity providing effective support for the IDF Increasingly, non-profit organizations complain that it is getting difficult to find dedicated volunteers. Overhead and budgets are constantly expanding, as organizations are forced to hire professional staff to do more and more of the tasks previously fulfilled by volunteers.

It’s not unheard of for a non-profit organization to spend one-third to one-half of all funds raised to cover its overhead expenses. Yet, there is one Boston-based charity that stands out for its continued reliance on volunteers and that is also fiercely proud of its low overhead: American Friends of LIBI (AFL), the fund dedicated to caring for Israel’s soldiers.

Started in 1980 by Israeli Prime Minister Menacham Begin and IDF Chief of Staff Raful Eitan, the LIBI Fund is the official charity of the IDF, providing for the educational, social and religious needs of Israeli soldiers. When the IDF wanted to turn away young Israelis from troubled backgrounds for behavioral and disciplinary problems, Raful Eitan felt strongly that the unique role of the IDF was not just to defend the Jewish state, but to create the backbone of Israeli society, and he wanted the IDF to prepare young men and women to be contributing members of that society. As such, for the last thirty-three years, the LIBI Fund’s signature program has been “Bagrut” training, to help soldiers prepare for their college entrance exams near the end of their army service.

American Friends of LIBI was established as a 501c3 tax deductible charity in 2004 in Boston by a small group of volunteers, at the height of the Second Intifada. According to Vice Chairman Shimshon Erenfeld, “What makes AFL so unique is that we are all volunteers and keep our costs extremely low. As a result over 95 percent of the money we raise goes right to the soldiers of the IDF, which makes us a favorite of large donors and foundations who want to create maximum impact with their dollars.”

As Israel and the IDF have been vilified by the press in recent years, LIBI USA made a strategic decision to advocate for Tzahal in other ways in addition to raising funds, and thus launched a social media blitz to publicize the morality and kindness of the Israeli army. The motto of LIBI is “They support us, help support them.”

Web: www.friendsoflibi.org

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2013

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The College Club is situated on the Wellesley College Campus, over 500 acres of pristine woodlands, meadows, hills and footpaths overlooking a spectacular view of Lake Waban.

It is our pleasure to provide the Club’s facilities and services to you and your guests.

With events ranging from 20 to 200 guests, The College Club is the ideal venue for your special event.

Visit our website for more information at www.wellesleycollegeclub.com Social Events: Maria Tzigizis, 781-283-2706 Corporate Events: Emily Connor, 781-283-2701

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Meredith Purdue Photography

Summer

2013