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Southeastern Virginia | Vol. 59 No. 14 | 14 Iyar 5781 | April 26, 2021
Jewish Tidewater celebrates Yom Ha’Atzmaut
12 BSV’s Cantor Flax to retire
—page 10
13 Women and Mother’s Day Special Section
24 If You’re Not in the Obit May 4–May 6
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25 Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles April 26–April 28
2 | JEWISH NEWS | April 26, 2021 | jewishnewsva.org
LETTER
JEWISH NEWS jewishnewsva.org
A bit of normalcy goes a long way
Published 20 times a year by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.
E
arlier this month, our community, along with communities
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Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462-4370 voice 757-965-6100 • fax 757-965-6102 email news@ujft.org
around the world, celebrated the 73rd birthday of the State
of Israel. On Sunday, April 18, the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community was more vibrant than it has been in more than a year! Families joyfully participated in a drive-through Israel experience that brought delight to
Terri Denison, Editor Germaine Clair, Art Director Lisa Richmon, Staff Writer Sandy Goldberg, Account Executive Ronnie Jacobs Cohen, Account Executive Marilyn Cerase, Subscription Manager Reba Karp, Editor Emeritus
so many children’s faces, as well as those of their parents! That evening, a beautiful spring night, the parking lot was filled with cars that were filled with people who thoroughly enjoyed the drive-in movie, Aulcie, as part of our Virginia Festival of Jewish Film. As Joel Rubin said when he introduced the movie, “Isn’t it great to be with people??!” This year hasn’t been entirely all virtual. Our day schools have
Betty Ann Levin and her daughter, Julia, at Yom Ha’atzmaut at the Sandler Family Campus.
provided safe learning environments, some of our congregations have managed to provide COVID-safe, in-person opportunities
As we approach Mother’s Day, my mother has always told me
to worship and celebrate simchas, members have been at the
that G-d does not give us any tsuris we cannot handle. I think
Simon Family JCC in limited capacities, and members of Jewish
about that often, and especially during this past year. While our
Tidewater have been gradually reemerging. Yet, Sunday was dif-
community has celebrated many simchas, we have and continue
ferent. It felt like a true reemergence. It felt like community.
to mourn, many loved ones. We have and continue to show our
As more and more of our community, and our country, safely reemerges this spring, I hope that we remember how strong and vibrant we have been throughout this year—just in different ways. All of our organizations and institutions have discovered how we can connect with individuals virtually, which in some
strength and resiliency in so many ways.
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Amy Levy, President Alvin Wall, Treasurer Stephanie Calliott, Secretary Betty Ann Levin, Executive Vice-President jewishVA.org The appearance of advertising in the Jewish News does not constitute a kashrut, political, product or service endorsement. The articles and letters appearing herein are not necessarily the opinion of this newspaper. ©2021 Jewish News. All rights reserved.
I look forward to connecting with all of you at some point this
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year. May we all continue to go from strength to strength. From my family to yours, wishing you a celebratory Lag B’Omer and happy Mother’s Day!
JewishNewsVA
For subscription or change of address, call 757-965-6128 or email mcerase@ujft.org.
cases, has resulted in increased engagement. Upcoming Deadlines for Editorial and Advertising
Still, there is nothing like being together. The photographs and videos I have seen on social media of grandparents hugging their grandchildren for the first time in over a year have brought me so much joy. My own family experienced that joy at Passover as my parents tightly hugged my children. I hope that this joy increases for all of us in the coming months.
CONTENTS
Betty Ann Levin Executive Vice President/CEO United Jewish Federation of Tidewater/Simon Family JCC
About the cover: Photograph by Steve Budman.
Letter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Cantor Flax retires from Beth Sholom Village. . 12
Briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Rabbi Ruditsky joins Beth Sholom Village . . . . 12
Your Dollars at work: Tech support for area synagogues. . . . . . . . . . 5
Special Section: Celebrating Women and Mother’s Day. . . . . 13
House bill on Israel is flawed, but not worth a Jewish civil war. . . . . . . . . . . 6
Kids need camp this summer more than ever before. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Fauci receives award from Holocaust remembrance group. . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What’s Happening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Jewish and Arab-American groups join forces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Foxman on Murdoch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Yom Ha’atzmaut at Sandler Family Campus. . . 10
Shalom Tidewater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Pandemic inspires Jewish musicians. . . . . . . . . 31
May 10 Summer April 23 May 31 Men/Dad/Grads May 14 June 14 Healthcare June 28 June 28 Seniors June 11 July 19 Guide to Jewish Living July 2 August 23 Rosh Hashannah August 6
CANDLE LIGHTING
QUOTABLE
Friday, April 30/18 Iyar Light candles at 7:35 pm
“Even after a return to ‘normalcy,’ we see Zoom staying as part of our services and programming to encourage those who can’t be with us in person to maintain contact with all synagogue events.” —page 5
Friday, May 7/25 Iyar Light candles at 7:41 pm Friday, May 14/3 Sivan Light candles at 7:44 pm Friday, May 21/10 Sivan Light candles at 7:53 pm Friday, May 28/17 Sivan Light candles at 7:58 pm Friday, June 4/24 Sivan Light candles at 8:03 pm
jewishnewsva.org | April 26, 2021 | JEWISH NEWS | 3
BRIEFS BLUE AND WHITE LIGHTS IN US CITIES FOR ISRAEL’S INDEPENDENCE DAY Landmarks in Boston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and other major U.S. cities lit up in the blue and white colors of Israel to mark that nation’s Independence Day on the night of Wednesday, April 14. Chapters of the Israeli-American Council, an advocacy and community outreach organization, worked with local authorities to light up town halls and landmarks in areas with large Israeli-American concentrations. Other blue-and-white light exhibits were seen in Cleveland, Houston, Orlando, Atlanta, Denver, and Hollywood, Florida, as well as a number of municipalities in New Jersey, and Rockville, Maryland. The coordinated event was a first for the Israeli-American Council and was a means of celebrating Independence Day, or Yom Haatzmaut, under pandemic conditions. Follow-up events took place throughout the weekend, including drive-through celebrations in a number of cities, including Virginia Beach. (JTA) ISRAEL TO ALLOW VACCINATED TOUR GROUPS STARTING IN MAY Israel will be reopening its gates to fully vaccinated tour groups on May 23. The Jewish state hopes to allow individual vaccinated tourists by early July. Israel has vaccinated most of its own population, and largely reopened public and recreational spaces, while seeing the number of COVID cases plummet. “It is time that Israel’s unique advantage as a safe and healthy country start to assist it in recovering from the economic crisis, and not only serve other countries’ economies,” Tourism Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen said. “Only opening the skies for international tourism will truly revive the tourism industry, including restaurants, hotels, sites, tour guides, buses, and others looking to work and provide for their families.” The reopening to tourists will happen in three stages: Beginning on May 23, the country will let in a small number of tour groups, about 10 to 20 a day, led by licensed tour providers. Tourists will still need to test for COVID before the flight,
and test for antibodies upon arrival. After May 23, if case numbers remain low, the number of tour groups allowed in per day will rise. Israel then hopes to reopen to individuals and families who are vaccinated. In 2019, some 4.55 million tourists visited Israel, and the country’s tourism industry employed some 200,000 people. But Israel closed nearly all entry to foreigners with the onset of the pandemic, and shut down its main airport completely earlier this year due to rising case numbers. (JTA)
EARLIEST EVIDENCE OF KOSHER DIET IN UK FOUND IN 800-YEAR-OLD ANIMAL BONES Archaeologists in the United Kingdom discovered findings from a medieval Jewish community of Oxford that they said were the earliest evidence of a religious diet. The findings, locked inside pottery fragments excavated in Oxford, go back to the 12th and 13th centuries following William the Conqueror’s invitation to Jews in Northern France to settle in England. The fragments came from two former homes in Oxford’s center that belonged to Jews: Jacob f. mag. Moses and Elekin f. Bassina, according to a report in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences on the findings by the researchers from the University of Bristol. “A remarkable animal bone assemblage was unearthed in this latrine, dominated by domestic fowl (mainly goose), and with a complete absence of pig bones, hinting at a kosher diet,” the researchers wrote. Fish bones comprised only species such as herring, which are kosher, they added. The lead author of the research, Julie Dunne from the University of Bristol’s School of Chemistry, said about the study: “This is a remarkable example of how biomolecular information extracted from medieval pottery and combined with ancient documents and animal bones, has provided a unique insight into 800-year-old Jewish dietary practices.”
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JUDGE HANDS JEWISH NAVY MAN REPRIEVE FROM SHAVING BEARD An Orthodox Jewish Navy sailor doesn’t have to shave his beard—at least until the end of the month—thanks to a federal judge. Petty Officer 3rd Class Edmund Di Liscia, who is serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in Asia, petitioned the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after being ordered to lose the beard despite a 2018 exemption due to religious practices, Stars and Stripes reported. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly stayed the order at least until April 29, by which time a decision could be made on the petition filed on behalf of Di Liscia, who is Hasidic, by attorney Eric Baxter of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Beards may interfere with a gas mask’s seal, leading to frequent opposition by the armed forces to allow conscripts to wear them. But waivers are given on religious grounds and may be revoked only during an emergency. Di Liscia says he has passed safety inspections while wearing his gas mask with a beard. The Navy says the waiver granted to Di Liscia has been reversed, but the sailor is disputing the claim. Di Liscia had felt pressed to shave before during his service and regrets it, he wrote in a court declaration. “Out of fear, I shaved,” Di Liscia wrote. “I regretted that decision and about five months later, I sought and received a no-shave chit,” meaning waiver. (JTA) 22 SENATORS URGE BIDEN TO NAME ANTI-SEMITISM MONITOR The bipartisan Senate anti-Semitism task force urged President Joe Biden to name a State Department monitor to combat anti-Semitism. “Tragically, 76 years after the end of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism remains a serious and growing danger for Jews in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere in the world,” said the letter spearheaded by Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Jim Lankford, R-Okla, the task force chairs, and signed by another 20 senators on the panel. “To combat the rising tide of global
anti-Semitism, the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism works to promote accurate Holocaust education, improve the safety and security of at-risk Jewish communities, ensure foreign public officials condemn anti-Semitic discourse, and strengthen foreign judicial systems in their prosecution of anti-Semitic incidents.” The letter noted that a law passed just before President Donald Trump left office elevates the position to ambassador level, lending it more prestige and clout within the State Department. The new designation also means that any nominee requires Senate confirmation. The task force brings together senators who otherwise would have little to do with one another in an increasingly polarized Senate. Among the signatories are Tom Cotton, the conservative Republican from Arkansas, and Raphael Warnock, the freshman liberal from Georgia. Speculation within the organized Jewish community has been rife as to who will get the job. Some applicants for the job have made their interest public, although the Biden administration has not given any serious indication of any leading candidate. Trump left the position unfilled for two years, until naming Elan Carr in early 2019 following multiple calls from Jewish groups and Congress members. (JTA)
BAHRAIN AIRLINE TO LAUNCH DIRECT FLIGHTS TO TEL AVIV Gulf Air, Bahrain’s state-owned airline, is launching direct flights to Tel Aviv in June, another marker in the country’s ongoing normalization of ties with Israel. Globes, an Israeli business daily, first reported on Sunday, April 18 that flights would start on June 3. Gulf Air signed a code-sharing agreement with El Al, Israel’s national carrier in December. Israel signed normalization agreements with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and other neighboring Arab countries last year. El Al has been flying to Dubai since August and Etihad, the UAE carrier, has been flying to Israel since February. (JTA)
Let Your Future Shine Bright!
YOUR DOLLARS AT WORK
Remote religion ramps up during pandemic thanks in part to UJFT zooming in with tech support to local synagogues Lisa Richmon
I
n the digital-tur ned-remote age of work and worship, every single dollar makes a difference. Five synagogues in the area received funds from United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund of the Tidewater Jewish Community to upgrade and purchase equipment needed for a richer remote religious experience, including Congregation Beth El, Kempsville Conservative Synagogue, Ohef Sholom Temple, Temple Emanuel, and Temple Israel. Kempsville Conservative Synagogue, KBH, received grant money from UJFT before the High Holidays enabling an investment in equipment needed to share High Holiday and Shabbat services with members and guests via Zoom. “These were members who would not, otherwise, have been able to attend due to reduced seating availability to maintain social distancing during the height of the pandemic; as well as members who chose to continue to self-isolate,” says KBH Chazzan M. David Proser. Ohef Sholom Temple had the capability to conduct Shabbat Services, meetings, and programs virtually, but major expenses were incurred to conduct virtual High Holidays. “UJFT support helped make it possible to video tape and stream our holiday services, and allowed the Ohef Sholom Temple membership, unaffiliated Jews, and other community members to connect to each other, and to our extended Temple family,” says Linda Peck, executive director. “And, funds from UJFT allowed our Religious School to upgrade its ‘Zoom’ capabilities so we could continue to educate our children virtually,”
Old Point Mortgage Is Here To Guide You Old Point Mortgage offers exceptional loan products, superior service and support to guide KBH used UJFT funds to purchase two laptop computers, cameras, and a tripod which enabled them to focus its Zoom stream simultaneously on both the upper bema and ark, and the lower bema where the Cantor chanted services. The computer monitors enabled prayer leaders to see who was joining via Zoom and include them on various occasions. “Even after a return to ‘normalcy,’ we see Zoom staying as part of our services and programming to encourage those who can’t be with us in person to maintain contact with all synagogue events,” says Proser. “We are certainly grateful to the UJFT for its generous funding at a time when we really needed it.” When the pandemic hit last March, the collective religious community tackled a revolving door of challenging logistical obstacles to religious events. “Jews are a gathering people who gain strength, solace, and inspiration from being in proximity to one another,” says Peck. “How to do so during the pandemic? We were blessed with UJFT’s financial support that helped us afford the tools to address these issues.” This is part of a series of articles spotlighting local and overseas partner agencies that are beneficiaries of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s annual Community Campaign.
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ISRAEL A House bill on Israel is flawed, but not worth a Jewish civil war Yehuda Kurtzer
(JTA)—In the partisan changeover that resulted from the 2020 U.S. elections, there were bound to be some tests and challenges for those of us who identify within the broad spectrum of “pro-Israel.” The first is now upon us: a proposed bill emerging in the House of Representatives that places a set of limitations on how U.S. aid to Israel is used. The bill, introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., and endorsed by a growing number of progressives, would prohibit American dollars from being used for actions by Israel that involve the detaining of Palestinian children, the appropriation or destruction of Palestinian property, the forcible removal of Palestinians or toward unilateral annexation. The measure would put in place a new level of oversight. There is reason for the pro-Israel world to be concerned about this legislation. The bill’s principal authors and its first sponsors are lawmakers with a track record of outspoken criticism of the State of Israel that at times has trafficked in anti-Semitism. Some of us who identify as progressive Zionists would support a goodfaith attempt to criticize Israeli policy while genuinely supporting its security. This bill does not strike that balance. Moreover, the bill takes some of the most extreme and egregious moral failures of the occupation—the detention of minors, for instance—and makes them emblematic of Israeli policy rather than exceptional. In this context, some Israel advocates fear that even a bill with limited scope and no chance of passing represents a slippery slope—namely toward conditioning U.S. aid to Israel, as some lawmakers are proposing, or even eventually cutting the aid entirely. Israeli government policy has been shifting rightward, and American political attitudes are changing. The consensus bipartisan support that Israel enjoyed for two generations is eroding. If Congress is willing to question the historically sacrosanct commitment to Israeli military aid based on the question of home demolitions, will this pave the way toward more grievous sanctioning?
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Meantime, on the other side of the aisle, some progressives view these legislative efforts as the only available lever. Frustrated with Israeli policy, and believing that the status quo entrenches unsustainable injustices, they are grasping at an obvious tool – even if this change in policy challenges a deeply held orthodoxy. Now some of this divide—AIPAC opposes, J Street supports—is just reflective of partisan instincts. Some of it is just good old politics, using legislation that is not likely to pass in order to plant a flag. Besides, the Jewish community likes a good public fight, especially as it relates to Israel. Our controversies are witnesses to our values. But beyond the political theater, two separate issues about the future of support for Israel are being conflated. The first is the importance of this particular legislation and the “red line” it appears to cross, and the second is whether or not we can brook legitimate dissent on Israeli policy within the framework of our community. Unfortunately, we give all our attention to the first, even as the second is more important for the future of our relationship with Israel. Effective Jewish support for Israel depends on some notion of Jewish community. Without it, we are vulnerable on both sides of the political spectrum: The narrower your subcommunity, the less effective it will be in the long run at mobilizing wider support for its position, and the more dependent it becomes on building unwieldy coalitions. If the American Jewish community is going to remain broadly supportive of Israel, it must maintain within its big tent a wider range of policy positions than are currently tolerated under the banner of “pro-Israel.” This means, in turn, that the organized Jewish community has to open a wider lane than what now exists for political progressives to stay engaged with Israeli policy and for them to express their values. Many of us who identify as Zionist or pro-Israel believe in the fundamental legitimacy of Palestinian self-determination and advocating for Palestinian human rights as part and parcel of our commitment to the State of Israel. These dual commitments
should find their home in our political discourse. To argue that any gesture toward Palestinian human rights and dignity constitutes a prima facie security risk to Israel—as many in the organized Jewish community do—is horrifying, inaccurate and self-defeating to the objective of building as big and broad a coalition as possible that supports the State of Israel. When it shuts out progressive values— including, most importantly, a concern for Palestinian human rights—the pro-Israel camp may win the political fights in this generation and lose the entire next generation. More important, we also will be complicit in turning human rights for Palestinians into the inverse of political rights for Jews. Every time you close down one pathway for dissent on a communal orthodoxy, you need to open another. Dissent over Israeli policy is a legitimate expression of Jewish participation and engagement with Israel. Pro-Israel voices sometimes acknowledge this with platitudes, but more often than not dismiss political strategies associated with dissent as disloyalty. This is untenable. Not every issue that puts AIPAC on one side and J Street on the other demands a knockdown fight. Outspoken criticism of Israeli policy will remain a feature of the Jewish and American political conversation. Much of this criticism is becoming more shrill, and the days of bipartisan support are behind us. We are going to be tested with new “slippery slopes.” But when you are on a slippery slope, sometimes the best thing is not to try to reach the top of the mountain but simply to gain secure footing. I doubt this legislation will pass, and it should not. American military aid to Israel is vital for the long-term security interests of both countries. But not every disagreement calls for internal war. We need to notice how much we lose when we follow the belligerent instinct indiscriminately. All the wins, over time, may bring about a bigger loss. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
NATION Fauci receives award from Holocaust remembrance group and references Maimonides (JTA)—Drawing a line between its mission of Holocaust remembrance and the ravages inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic, the March of the Living honored Dr. Anthony Fauci with an award for “moral courage in medicine” on the eve of Yom Hashoah, Israel’s Holocaust commemoration day. The award to Fauci, who for decades has been the top U.S. official handling infectious diseases, culminated in an online program called “Medicine and Morality.”
I believe that the healing arts lie on the path of goodness, the same path, all of you have chosen in remembering and listening to the voices of those who perished in the Holocaust.
In his acceptance remarks, Fauci referred to Maimonides, the medieval Jewish scholar and physician. “Maimonides reminded us that goodness and evil coexist, but that we are free to choose one over the other,” Fauci said. “I believe that the healing arts lie on the path of goodness, the same path, all of you have chosen in remembering and listening to the voices of those who perished in the Holocaust.” Fauci has faced a barrage of criticism, notably from Republicans including former
President Donald Trump, for his warnings about neglecting recommended public health practices, including mask-wearing and social distancing, to limit the pandemic’s spread. Brian Strom, the chancellor of Rutgers University, which joined the March of the Living, the Maimonides Institute for Medicine, Ethics and the Holocaust, and the Shoah Foundation in organizing the event, alluded to attacks on figures like Fauci from skeptics of the potency of the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re very fortunate to have one guiding light throughout the pandemic,” Strom said. “In an era when public-spiritedness and confidence in the disciplines and methodologies of science, were not held up as virtues of high esteem, Dr. Anthony Fauci embodied both.” The program broadcast on YouTube is among several virtual events that the March of the Living is substituting during the pandemic for its annual educational program in Israel and Poland, which includes a nearly 2-mile march at the site of the Auschwitz death camp. According to the March of the Living, the symposium was meant to launch a long-range project on medicine, ethics and the Holocaust. Presentations by historians, physicians, and philosophers described the depredations of physicians who collaborated with the Nazis, and also the heroics of doctors who resisted the Nazi rise. Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer, the first pharmaceutical company to bring a successful coronavirus vaccine to market, described how his parents, Jews in Thessaloniki, survived the Holocaust. Mois and Sara Bourla were among 2,000 survivors from the Greek port city, which had been home to more than 50,000 Jews before the Holocaust. “My parents talked about it a great deal,” he said. “They did this because they wanted us to remember. To remember the lives that were lost, to remember what can happen when the virus of evil is allowed to spread. But most importantly, to remember the value of a human life.”
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NATION Jewish and Arab-American groups back bill Ron Kampeas
(JTA)—Jewish and Arab-Americans are joining in support of a bipartisan bill in the House and Senate that would streamline the reporting of hate crimes. The NO HATE bill introduced would train law enforcement across the country to report hate crimes according to a single standard. Anti-defamation groups have long complained that assessing hate crimes in the United States is frustrated by wildly varying standards among police departments determining what crimes should be designated as hate crimes, when law enforcement reports the crime at all. Among the groups backing the new bill in a joint release were the Jewish Federations of North America, the American Jewish Committee, the AntiDefamation League, the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council and the Arab American Institute. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Reps. Don Beyer, D-Va., Fred Upton, R-Mich., Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., introduced the measure. Blumenthal is Jewish.
Jewish Federations of North America spearheaded a letter last month signed by 30 Jewish organizations covering all Jewish religious streams, and ranging from left to right, from Ameinu to the Zionist Organization of America, urging backing for the bill, which was then in draft mode. That letter was pinned to reports of a rise in crimes targeting Asian Americans spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. Others joining in praising the introduction of the bill included Asian American umbrella groups; the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, an umbrella group; law enforcement in Miami and Washington, D.C.; and the families of Heather Heyer and Khalid Jabara. The bill is named in part for Heyer, killed in 2017 during a neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Jabara, who was murdered in Tulsa in 2016 by a neighbor who for years had targeted Jabara’s family with anti-Arab epithets and violence. The bill also backs programs that rehabilitate perpetrators of hate crime through community service and education.
Jewish Democrats reintroduce ‘Jaime’s Law,’ named for Jewish Parkland victim Ron Kampeas
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WASHINGTON (JTA)—In the midst of a spate of mass shootings, top Jewish Democrats in the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives have reintroduced legislation named after a Jewish victim of the Parkland school shooting that would subject ammunition purchases to background checks. The bill, introduced in the House by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and in the Senate by Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, is named for Jaime Guttenberg, the Jewish girl who was among the 17 people killed at a high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Gun purchases are subject to background checks under federal law to find
criminal records, domestic abuse reports and mental illness, but ammunition purchases are not. The last Congress had launched the measure, but it failed to advance with Republicans controlling the Senate and White House. Backers are hoping that President Joe Biden’s vocal backing for gun control reforms, and the Democratic majority in the Senate, will improve the chances of passage. Also present at the introduction of the legislation was Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., the Jewish congressman whose district includes Parkland. Blumenthal’s state was the scene of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown in 2012 that killed 26, including 20 first-graders.
Local Relationships Matter
NATION Former ADL chief Abe Foxman says he would still give an award to Rupert Murdoch Ben Sales
(JTA)—Days after his successor at the Anti-Defamation League said he would not honor Rupert Murdoch today, Abraham Foxman said he stands by the award he gave to the Fox News owner a decade ago. In 2010, under Foxman’s leadership, the ADL gave Murdoch its International Leadership Award in recognition of his “stalwart support of Israel and his commitment to promoting respect and speaking out against anti-Semitism.” In the years since, critics of Fox have called out the network, and particularly its popular talk show host Tucker Carlson, for giving a platform to far-right ideas. Earlier this month, Greenblatt called on Fox to fire Carlson for endorsing the white supremacist theory that there is a coordinated effort to “replace” the population of the United States with immigrants from the “third world.” (Carlson said he was not discussing an issue of race.) Greenblatt said he would not honor Murdoch if the Australian media magnate were up for an award today. Foxman had a different take. “I’m proud that I gave it to him then and I would give it to him again today,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Foxman declined to comment on Carlson’s remarks. But he did say he believes Fox as a network is not anti-Semitic. “Fox is not an anti-Semitic network,” he said. “It’s a lot of things but it’s not an anti-Semitic network and it’s certainly not an anti-Israel network.” He added, “The issue was not giving an award to Fox. That was not the issue. The issue was giving an award to Rupert Murdoch.” In his nearly three-decade tenure at the helm of the ADL, from which he retired in 2015, Foxman was perhaps the most prominent public arbiter of what was and was not anti-Semitic. As the organization’s director, he saw combating anti-Semitism across the political spectrum and supporting Israel as part and parcel of the same mission. Under Greenblatt, the ADL has
retained that dual mission of fighting anti-Semitism and defending Israel. While the organization has condemned anti-Semitism on the right and left, Greenblatt has been especially outspoken about the danger of white supremacists in the United States and has criticized former President Donald Trump’s failure to consistently condemn them.
MEET:
“The Group for Women has remained a private practice in an era when so much of medical care has become ‘big business’. As a physician here, I am an owner of our business. We feel we are part of the fabric of the community and it is important for us to support the community. Our physicians serve in leadership positions in women’s health throughout the community. As owners we work to effect changes in our practice to better serve the needs of the women and their families who rely on us.”
“He should be recognized for who he is and was on issues relating to the Jewish people and Israel.” A Holocaust survivor, Foxman came out publicly against Donald Trump, Fox’s favored candidate, ahead of the 2020 election. He said Murdoch’s support for the Republican candidate also did not cause him to rethink the decision to honor Murdoch. “There are a number of people throughout my years at the ADL who I had the opportunity, the fortune, the privilege to honor,” he said. “Some of them support Donald Trump. I think Donald Trump was a danger to American Jews. That doesn’t cancel out all these people who even today still support him.” He said that regardless of his political disagreements with Fox, he still appreciated Murdoch’s personal opposition to anti-Semitism and his support of Israel. “He should be recognized for who he is and was on issues relating to the Jewish people and Israel,” Foxman said. “That hasn’t changed. I may not like what his newspaper writes. I may not like what his TV network projects. But he has still earned what I believe he earned 10 years ago.”
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YOM HA’ATZMAUT
Jewish Tidewater celebrates Yom Ha’atzmaut all day long T he sun was shining and the air crisp, making it a perfect day to hang out of car windows and stand up through sunroofs waving Israeli flags and streamers to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s 73rd Independence Day, at the Sandler Family Campus on Sunday, April 18. Families enjoyed “traveling through Israel” while never leaving their car, getting treats and being treated to Israeli experiences and music throughout the afternoon. That same evening, cars filled the parking lot for a Drive-In movie. Prior to the start of the film, the primarily adult audience mingled in social-distant fashion, all remarking how good it was to actually see each other. Following the showing of the film, Aulcie, a conversation with the film’s director, Dani Menkin, and Joel Rubin took place. While all things Israel was the prime common denominator of the day, happy faces were a close second.
Joan Johnson poses with Oscar the Camel in the Negev Desert.
Avi Weinstein proudly waves his Israeli flag.
Danny, Shikma, Shai, and Niv Rubin celebrate Israel’s 73rd Independence Day.
Photography by Mark Robbins.
Taking a ride through the Bedouin tent in the Negev, featuring tapestries painted by artist, Sharon Serbin.
Camp JCC art specialist, Chris Fenley, with Humans of Tel Aviv exhibit.
Gan Strelitz Kibbutz passes out containers of cream so tourists can make butter at home.
10 | JEWISH NEWS | April 26, 2021 | jewishnewsva.org
Yolanda Muhammad at the Simon Family JCC Fitness Center leads others in a bike tour “Around the Kinneret.”
The Farm at Gan Strelitz Kibbutz.
YOM HA’ATZMAUT
Amie Harrell and her family are ready for their tour.
Sylvia and mom, Julie Blumenthal.
Julia and Millie Rose Levin.
PJ Library program professional, Nofar Trem greets tourists to the Negev.
Cantor David and Rona Proser enjoy their road trip with the top down.
Drive-In movie gets ready to start.
The Ramos family celebrate Israel @ 73.
Cantor Wendi Fried and family are ready to celebrate.
Cars are lined up and ready to enter the Shuk in Jerusalem.
Beth Sholom Village residents arrive at the celebration
Thank you to Yom Ha’atzmaut Sponsors Harbor Group International Mercedes Benz of Virginia Beach
The Baker family waves their flags.
The Rivera family enjoys the day.
jewishnewsva.org | April 26, 2021 | JEWISH NEWS | 11
BETH SHOLOM VILLAGE
Cantor Elihu Flax retires from Beth Sholom Village Marcia Futterman Brodie
A
Marcia Hofheimer and her daughter, Stacie Moss
Happy Mother’s Day! In celebration of women, the Tidewater Jewish Foundation wishes to honor those who have established Lion of Judah Endowments (LOJE) perpetuating their annual campaign gifts to the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Thanks to their vision and generosity, the LOJE women will have an impact that extends far beyond their lifetime. Bonnie Brand Stephanie Calliott Ann Copeland Anne Fleder Gail Fleder Esther Fleder* Shari Friedman Helen Gifford* Amy Ginsburg Hara Glasser-Frei Laura Gross Fay Halpern* Brenda Horwitz Beth Cohen Jaffe Lee Jaffe* Sheila Josephberg
Eileen Kahn Mimi Karesh Betsy Karotkin Jodi Klebanoff Sofia Konikoff* Cynthia Kramer Alma Laderberg* Phyllis Lannik* Telsa Leon* Betty Ann Levin Amy Levy Karen Lombart Martha Mednick-Glasser Laura Miller Marcia Moss Eleanor Rashkind*
Judy Rubin Annie Sandler Toni Sandler Terri Sarfan Lynn Schoenbaum Deborah Segaloff Annette Shore* Cheryl Sloane Linda Spindel Jane Stein Joyce H. Strelitz* Randi R. Strelitz Renée Strelitz Sylvia Yavner*
*of blessed memory | Accurate as of 4/9/21 | Denotes new member
If you are interested in establishing a Lion of Judah Endowment or Perpetual Campaign Endowment fund to benefit UJFT’s Annual Campaign at the Tidewater Jewish Foundation please contact Naomi Limor Sedek at 615-965-6109 or nsedek@ujft.org.
12 | JEWISH NEWS | April 26, 2021 | jewishnewsva.org
fter almost 18 years of serving the spiritual and religious needs of Beth Sholom Village as its director of Religious Services, Cantor Elihu Flax is retiring in July. Cantor Flax became a fixture at BSV, taking an interest in all of the residents who lived there, both long-term or short-term for rehabilitation. During his years with the long-term care community, he officiated or co-officiated for more than 200 funerals, as well as for a few weddings. Cantor Flax was always available to offer prayers of comfort for those who were ailing and for those who were transitioning from this life. He was a tremendous support to family members who were bereft with grief after losing a loved one. Residents enjoyed Cantor Flax’s voice in daily services and in weekly
sing-a-longs as a group activity, with Take Me Out to the Ball Game being a special favorite. Flax educated staff and residents about Cantor Elihu Flax. the meaning behind all Jewish holidays, assisting both Jewish and Gentile residents in practicing their faith. He also oversaw kashering kitchens for Passover and maintaining kashruth for all meals. Possesing a good sense of humor, Flax often entertained the BSV team with great puns. He was known for being a team player and even took a few pies to the face for a pie-throwing contest to raise money for Alzheimer’s Association. Cantor Flax will be missed. BSV wishes him “a wonderful retirement.”
Rabbi Adam Ruditsky joins BSV Marcia Futterman Brodie
B
eth Sholom Village is set to welcome Rabbi Adam Ruditsky as its new Religious Cultural Leader. Ordained by the Academy for Jewish Religion of California in Los Angeles, Ruditsky embraces the words of the Kotzker Rebbe, who taught, “a whole heart is a broken heart,” meaning that on the journey of life, everyone has the opportunity to be strengthened and restored, making the heart joyful along the way— and how much more for seniors as they look for restored and renewed meaning in the latter part of life. Rabbi Adam (as he prefers to be called) was a spiritual counselor for Skirball Hospice, the hospice of the Los Angeles Jewish Home, and led a Jewish Renewal Synagogue called Makom Ohr Shalom. Prior to becoming a rabbi, he worked as a healthcare chaplain for 13 years. Before he was a chaplain, he owned a Judaica business for 15 years. At Beth Sholom Village, Rabbi Adam
says he is committed to the spiritual care of each person as he aspires—considering BSV’s diverse population—to make sure that each faith is respected Rabbi Adam Ruditsky. and celebrated. Rabbi Adam holds multiple masters degrees in Rabbinic Studies from AJR, Jewish Studies from Hebrew College in Boston, Mass., and New Testament Studies from ATS, Nyack, N.Y., as well as a professional license with the National Association of Jewish Chaplains, and certificates in Palliative Care Chaplaincy from University of San Marcos, Calif. He also holds a certificate in Composing and Arranging from Dick Grove School of Music in Los Angeles. Ruditsky now lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, Catharine and has four adult sons, Joel, Austin, Ben, and Reuven, who live in Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.
Celebrating Women and Mother’s Day
Supplement to Jewish News April 26, 2021 jewishnewsva.org | April 26, 2021 | Women | JEWISH NEWS | 13
Women Dear Readers, This will be my first Mother’s Day without my mom. R I S T O R A N T E
As much as I miss her—it’s been just three months—I remind myself often how fortunate I was to have her for so many Mother’s Days and birthdays and every days.
I N S P I R E D
B Y
I T A LY
I don’t recall when she started the habit, but on Mother’s Day, my mom would give me gifts, and eventually, also my daughters. She always wanted to share—and besides, she would say, I made her a mom and my daughters made her a grandmother. So, why not? In addition to how she observed holidays, my mom had her own special perspective on so many things. For instance, she always reminded me that there were ‘three sides to every story—her side, his side, and the truth.’ When planning an event, she told me, ‘people won’t remember what you served, but they’ll remember if they weren’t invited.’ During my dating decades (she thought I’d never get married), she always told me, ‘don’t marry for money. It’s the hardest money you’ll ever make.’ I could go on and on with examples of her philosophies in her trademark one-liners, but I’ll save some for another time. Still, I’m sure you get the idea. Those are the real gifts she gave—gifts that I cherish and live by each day. So, I plan to celebrate this Mother’s Day focusing on some of my favorite memories of my mother, thinking about the love she shared, her practical wisdom, and the cookies she baked. And like she did, I’ll celebrate my daughters who made me, I’m certain,
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Terri Denison Editor
Women Tovah Feldshuh Gets Deep About Jewish Motherhood Emily Burack
(Kveller)—Being Jewish, Tovah Feldshuh writes, is all about schmoozing, suffering, and guilt. But to her, it’s not just those three things—it’s so much more. Being Jewish defines her, and it’s simply everything. “My Judaism is like a third leg that goes down deep into the earth that lies between my two legs. It’s a ballast. It’s an anchor. It’s a shortcut to be intimate with millions of other people, particularly Jews,” Feldshuh explains. “I love being Jewish. And one of the reasons I love being Jewish because my father loved being Jewish and I loved my father. He loved it. I loved it.” “What it means for me to be Jewish? A man just passed with Hebrew on the back of his T-shirt—it means that I could have a conversation with a stranger,” she adds.
The actress, 68, spoke to Kveller as she sat on a bench in New York’s Central Park. She often paused in order to say hello to a nearby child, comment on the happenings of the New Yorkers around her, or, to my delight, break into song. (If you want Tovah Feldshuh to sing to you, too, download the audiobook of her forthcoming memoir.) A career actress, she is known for her iconic Jewish roles on stage and screen. She originated the role of Yentl on Broadway in 1975; played Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in Golda’s Balcony, which became the longest-running one-woman play in Broadway history; portrayed fictional Jewish partisan Helena Slomova in Holocaust, the Emmy-winning miniseries (that also starred Meryl Streep); and played Jessica Stein’s mom, Judy, in Kissing Jessica Stein. More recently, Feldshuh appeared as Naomi Bunch, the
Jewish mother in Rachel Bloom’s musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and politician Deanna Monroe in The Walking Dead, the role she is most often recognized for. To list all her credits, we’d be here for hours. Feldshuh’s new memoir, Lilyville: Mother, Daughter, and Other Roles I’ve Played, touches on her career, but is not the type of book you would expect from a legendary actress. It’s a moving and at times laugh-out-loud funny story of mother and daughter. (But yes, there’s some classic Hollywood memoir details: If you’re a theater fan, you will be delighted by the anecdotes of Barbra Streisand, Broadway auditions, and Tony parties.) “What hit me, on the heels of the death of my mother at over 103, was: I’d like her to live forever, like any child who loves their mother. And, she was hilarious, caustic, and wise. That caustic, unique, hilarious humor and wisdom
should get out into the world,” she says. “I’m hoping that Lilyville, in part, hits the river of common human experience. And I certainly trust it will hit the river of common Jewish mother experience.” Feldshuh’s relationship with her mother was not always easy, though. “She did not express her love with words. She never told me she loved me. And I would say that created a slight black hole in my early socialization and influenced my whole life. And she meant well, it just wasn’t her thing,” she says. “I found it very difficult. So, I went into the theater. How lonely could you be in a play where you know the story beforehand?” She made her Broadway debut in 1973, early after graduating from Sarah Lawrence College and won the McKnight Fellowship to study at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. However, Tovah Feldshuh continued on page 20
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Women Federation Women’s Division: Hard at work, even during a pandemic Amy Zelenka
T
he past 12 months have been unlike any before them in myriad ways. No one can argue with that. However, in other ways, it’s been business as usual for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Women’s Division—with creative programming and fundraising. This year’s Women’s Cabinet, chaired by Mona Flax, made calls, sent letters, texts, and emails, and in some rare cases, met face-to-face with donors throughout the community, asking for gifts of support for the Community Campaign, as well as the COVID-19 Emergency Relief campaign. And those efforts paid off! On April 16, 2021, the UJFT Community Campaign stood at $4,576,200 from 1,232 individual gifts of support (just $123,000 from its goal of $4.7 million), and the Women’s Division accounts for $1,414,100 of that total. In addition to the $4.5
million+, more than $300,000 came in for COVID Emergency Relief. What an incredibly generous community! While the central purpose of the Women’s Division is to raise funds from
area women, there are also plenty of opportunities for fun, education, and social programming. And, even during a pandemic, those opportunities abounded. Back in July, at the very start of the
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campaign year, the Women’s Cabinet kicked off with a virtual (online) mission to the Jewish communities of Minsk, Belarus and Sofia, Bulgaria… all through the magic and brilliance of UJFT’s overseas mission host (and service delivery partner), the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (the JDC). Throughout the course of the three-part mission, participants “met” with elderly homebound Jews receiving services from JDC through food delivery, on-line fitness classes, on-line and over-the-phone counseling, and regular welfare checks. It was the teen volunteers in the community who delivered their meals, bringing with them not just food, but energy and hope to what might otherwise have been a beleaguered group of seniors, feeling isolated and alone. Mission participants met those Active Jewish Teens (AJT) finding ways to build community during isolation and engage in meaningful volunteerism. The AJT kids inspired participants beyond belief, showing that there is every reason to hope for a successful future for the Jewish communities of Belarus and Bulgaria. Despite the mission taking place online, participants engaged in real-time, interactive programming throughout, which included a short work-out session with the community’s fitness trainer (who does the same exercises with his homebound seniors) and sewing face masks with the teens. The group also met with Jewish community professionals and lay leaders in both countries to learn about the unique challenges facing each community and how they are addressing them head on. The mission was followed by a couple of outstanding women speakers—The Women’s Ruby Lion event, co-chaired by Karen Lombart and Annie Sandler, was a true celebration of Tidewater’s Jewish community—this “place we call home.” It welcomed guest speaker Marina Yudborovsky, chief executive officer at Genesis Philanthropy Group to the community (live via Zoom). Marina talked about her childhood in Russia, and how resettling in America planted the seeds
Women
Starting the Conversation
How to talk to Mom and Dad about Senior Living
for her journey to Jewish philanthropy, and her eventual position at Genesis. The Lion-TikvaChai Lunch (also on-line) brought guest speaker Meredith Jacobs to the screen. Jacobs is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, and she is CEO of Jewish Women International. Jacobs talked a good deal about Jewish life on campus and about the role that young Jews can play in strengthening each other against the slings and arrows that “life” throws at them, especially as young people, young women, and young Jews. This year’s hybrid Super Sunday event, held in September, saw great success, thanks in large part to the women volunteer solicitors calling from the Sandler Family Campus and from home. They conveyed their passion for the Jewish community and the imperative for supporting the campaign this year in particular, with every call they made. The women also took center stage in helping to decide which authors would visit Tidewater this year, as they attended the Jewish Book Council Conference in droves. And what an amazing job they did, working with UJFT/Simon Family JCC’s Cultural Arts department to come
Mom may have had a hard time recalling names when you spoke with her over the phone the last few times, but you weren’t prepared for what you found during a recent visit. While you were happy to see her again, you were concerned. It was clear the carpets needed vacuuming and the bathrooms had not been scrubbed in some time. Most worrisome, however, was Mom’s appearance. She looked like she’d lost a lot of weight.
sadness can be staggering. Now is the time to make a plan and find a senior living community that you would both feel comfortable with, rather than being forced to make a choice in an emergency.
Here are some tips for discussing your concerns with your loved one: • Remind Mom or Dad that you love them and are worried about their wellbeing. • Ask what he/she would need to happen for them to decide it was time to move. • Discuss his/her concerns about senior living and what he/she would like to see in a community.
to consensus on which authors would provide the wow-factor here in Tidewater. The Women’s Division will close the 2021 Campaign with a Women’s Cabinet Installation Lunch in May, featuring the return of one of its favorite guest speakers, Michal Barkai Brody. An Israeli, Brody is a women’s advocate, activist, and social entrepreneur. The Women’s Cabinet is bringing her “back” to Tidewater (this time via Zoom) by popular demand. This year’s Women’s Cabinet Spring Lunch will welcome new cabinet members and thank and recognize those completing their terms of service. As the 2021 campaign winds down, the Women’s Division can look back on their many successes in the face of extraordinary challenges. So maybe it wasn’t exactly business as usual.… Perhaps it can better be described “business as… meaningful, productive, and a lot of fun.” Amy Zelenka is United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s campaign director.
For many families, sheltering in place due to COVID opened their eyes to the side effects of isolation. You may wonder if Mom is safe? Is she happy? The combination of guilt, fear, and
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Women FIRST PERSON
Motherhood reflections on shared traditions Naomi Limor Sedek
W
hen I was in college, I remember saying to my friends that I did not want to be a mother. It came with responsibility that I did not want. As a mother, you are given a precious gift, yet it comes with no instruction manual and no way to know that you’ll get it right. And, I always wanted to get things right (type “A” here). Three years after that conversation, I was married and gifted my first child. Five years later, we were a family of five. My heart was full and I had learned that there was no right way to raise a child. This precious gift of motherhood comes with awesome power, responsibility, and promise. A legacy to our lives. As a grandchild of four Holocaust survivors, I didn’t have a legacy of cherished items like photos or candlesticks to pass down to my children as reminders of where they came from. Rather, we had more intangible gifts to share between the generations; stories, values, hopes, dreams, and philanthropic aspirations as part of my legacy that I wanted to share with my children. In honor of Mother’s Day and celebrating the influence of women this year, I wanted to talk about creating a shared tradition of philanthropy across generations. As parents, we can influence, engage, and empower our children specifically around the values of tzedakah and repairing the world. Role-modeling and conversations about giving to charity will affect children as they develop into adulthood. Our children have watched us attend fundraising dinners for organizations we support and watched us when we rolled down our car windows to buy the paper that gives a livelihood to the homeless in our community. They’ve participated in their own giving when we send them to school with their own tzedakah, put coins in the pushka before we light candles for Shabbat, or when they open a B’nai Tzedek Fund at the time of 18 | JEWISH NEWS | Women | April 26, 2021 | jewishnewsva.org
their Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Parents play an important role in preparing their children to become charitable adults. We should talk and role-model charitable giving with our children throughout their adolescence and share the values from which our philanthropic actions spring. Parents need to ask themselves, “Do my children know that I give to charity? Do they know which charities I give to? Do they know why I give, and why I give to those specific charities?” We can communicate these values purposefully with our children. I have personally found the best time for these conversations was during carpool rides or around the dinner table. Open dialogue, thoughtful conversations, and age-appropriate explanations about giving are helpful strategies for raising charitable children and future leaders in our community. This is a life-long conversation—it should continue even when our children become adults. My children are now 18, 21, and almost 23; two girls and a boy in the middle. We spend time talking about their charitable interests as well as ours. Sometimes we come to a consensus and sometimes we each have our specific areas we want to impact. Almost always at this point, we agree that we have an ongoing responsibility and commitment of support to the Jewish community where we are and where we hope it will be. The ongoing intergenerational wealth transfer has deepened interest from parents and scholars alike in understanding more about how the transmission of generosity occurs. For philanthropy, this unprecedented transfer opens up tremendous possibilities. The Jewish community is no different and engaging in these types of conversations with our children in their 20s, 30s, and upwards is critical to ensuring the future of the Jewish community. Right now, there is an unprecedented opportunity to secure the funds necessary for a vibrant Jewish future. Over the
Women next 25 years, a mind-boggling $68 trillion will transfer to the next generation, with $6.3 trillion allocated to charity. We estimate that 20 percent of this allocation, or $1.26 trillion charitable dollars, will be given from Jewish donors. This is why the Jewish Future Pledge exists and why the Tidewater Jewish Foundation is engaged in the process, partnering with United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Naomi Limor Sedek (second from right) and her family. all of our LIFE & LEGACY partners. This will help address the need for these But whose values and whose charities multi-generational conversations to take are questions that can disrupt family harplace and enable us to articulate our own mony. These questions can be difficult and “whys” and engage in the conversation with do not happen organically, particularly our adult children to pass on the “giving when multiple generations are involved. mantle.” Together we can do our part in our Families can make choices with their community to help ensure that more than philanthropic resources; they may allocate $600 billion is set aside for Jewish causes a portion of the funds for each member’s when wealth is transferred from this generinterests, or they may create a family philation to the next. anthropic mission statement that is broad Parental giving matters for the interenough to encompass them all. Parents generational transmission of generosity. may choose to endow specific areas of However, sons and daughters are receivinterest and then pass philanthropic ing different messages—or responding resources to the next generation for them to those messages in different ways. to make their own decisions. This is the Heightened awareness about the gap in avenue we have chosen for our family. I charitable giving between sons and daughhave endowed my gift to the Federation ters suggests opportunities to increase Annual Campaign, made legacy gifts to awareness and develop traditions around organizations I care about, and am setting giving intentionally. up donor-advised funds for my children We should engage children in philthrough the Bnai Tzedek program. We at anthropic practice year-round, not just TJF can help facilitate these conversations around the holidays and special occaaround family philanthropic planning. sions like Bar/Bat Mitzvahs or other For families, philanthropy can serve as happy occasions. As my children grew the tie that binds. Transmitting the “genup, watching us as parents give wasn’t erosity gene” from one generation to the enough. The transmission of the philnext is the first stepping-stone to creating anthropic spirit required a deep-seated a strong foundation for the continuity of connection to influencing the world and family giving and volunteering. supporting causes that not only we, as Intentionality and open communiparents, care about, but also incorpocation are key to the intergenerational rate the values and experiences that our transmission of generosity. Think about next generation has grown to care about how you share your passion for giving as well. Incorporating discussion about with your children and grandchildren. Do caring for and helping others at family you talk about your giving and volunteermeals and gatherings, reading books ing candidly? Do you explain why caring that illustrate philanthropic values and for others is important to you? describing our charitable activities, and Here are a few starter questions on why we are involved, are purposeful and how to open a dialogue with family memdeliberate strategies to ensure that the bers about philanthropy: transmission of values occurs from one • How did you learn about generation to the next. philanthropy?
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• Who were your role models? • What are the traditions you had in your family around giving and volunteering when you were growing up? What traditions have you instituted in your own family? • What do you value, and how do you apply those values in your philanthropy? • How can we as a family make a difference in our community and the world? What causes can we support together to effect that change? Advisors at Tidewater Jewish Foundation are available to help facilitate
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discussions on topics such as what causes you are passionate about, what charities you want to support, or more importantly, what impact you want to make and what legacy you want to leave for future generations. I hope I get the chance to engage in these meaningful conversations with your family just as I have with my own. Our future is depending on it. I look forward to getting to know members of this community better. Do not hesitate to reach out. Naomi Limor Sedek is Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s president and CEO. She may be reached at nsedek@ujft.
jewishnewsva.org | April 26, 2021 | Women | JEWISH NEWS | 19
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20 | JEWISH NEWS | Women | April 26, 2021 | jewishnewsva.org
Women continued from page 15
was, quite literally, not always Tovah Feldshuh. Born Terri Sue Feldshuh, she changed her name after graduation. Her mother’s reaction? “We didn’t come to this country for you to change your name to Tovah!” It was Michael Fairchild, a college love of Feldshuh’s, who said, “Terri Sue doesn’t fit you at all. Were you called anything else?” To which she replied, “I was called Tovah in Sunday school.” Fairchild replied, “Tovah! Now That’s a name!” Her first role on Broadway was in Cyrano, which starred the late Christopher Plummer. “He was very kind to me,” she says. “He liked me very, very much. And not just because I was young and pretty, but because I did my work and never let him down. I had one scene with him. I had the first line of my first show on Broadway—I opened the show [singing], ‘oranges, pomegranates. lemonade.’” And with that, she hit the ground running 18 months later she landed her breakout role in Yentl, a role she believes she got, partly, thanks to her name. For Lily, Feldshuh’s best roles had nothing to do with the quality of the performance—it was how she appeared in character that mattered. “I rate your parts by how you look: Dolly Levi is a 10, Golda Meir, zero,” Feldshuh says, channeling her mother’s thick Bronx accent. “If you’re pretty, great. If you’re ugly, what do I need to look at this for?” As she details in Lilyville, much of Feldshuh’s relationship with her mother was fraught. “My mother did not answer my fondest wish as a child, which was to tell me she loved me.” And here, Feldshuh, who has, until now, been talking a mile a minute, pauses. “It’s interesting, at my wedding, it just hit me. I’ve never said this to anybody. At my wedding, I sang a song that goes, ‘Tell me please. Does anybody love you? Do you have a secret love affair? Someone who worries about you? Who’s always true, and tender too, and waits for you somewhere? So please say, does anybody love you? For by some lucky chance, the answer is no. And you don’t have anyone to love you. Then do you mind if I do? Because I love you so.’ I actually sang
that at my wedding to my groom. But I realized, why did I choose that lyric? Why did that lyric move me so much? Because there was an absence of those three words from my mother.” Feldshuh, now a mother and grandmother, believes in a different method of parenting, one more rooted in unconditional love. “My greatest advice to anybody who’s parenting is: Put in your child what you hope for your child. When you put that child to bed, you say, ‘I am the luckiest mother in the world because I have such a kind, good empathic child.’ I remember [my daughter] Amanda used to say, ‘what em-pa-thic, Mama?’ And I would say, ‘to feel with people.’ And I kept putting these virtues into them. Likewise, if you’re constantly manifesting your love by fixing people, and correcting and correcting them, the real message is they’re not good enough. They’re not measuring up. I got a lot of that. It is very disempowering.” “You will have to be a great listener as a parent to see what’s wanted and needed in the space of the child,” she adds. “And more than that, [the] only place you get unconditional love in this world is from immediate family. When children go out of the house, they need to be equipped with an abundance of love to take forth into the world.” In her role as Naomi Bunch on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, she played that constantly correcting, tough-love type of Jewish mother—and although some may view Naomi as a larger-than-life stereotype, Feldshuh can understand where she’s coming from. “Preserve and protect is the motto of the Jewish people. It’s that old cliché, ‘They tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat.’ Therefore, to protect the child, you have to make sure the child’s on the right path. So, you correct the child to protect the child, thinking that this is your one obligation to teach. But too much correction is so disempowering.” Ultimately, she hopes people who read Lilyville leave hopeful. “There is no relationship that cannot be worked out,” she says. “It can be worked out. There’s a saying that a branch, in order to bear fruit, must learn to bend. So, my mother and I bent toward each other.”
camp Lag B’Omer Happy Hour and Celebration Thursday, April 29, 6:30 pm BACK IN PERSON! Outside/Socially Distant/Limited Spots
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networking, relaxing, and celebration of Lag B’Omer! Outside, in the back of the the Sandler Family Campus. Spots are free, but registration is required as there is limited space available to maintain social distancing and guests’ safety. Register at ujft.salsalabs.org/lagbomer21 Kosher Wine, Beer, and BBQ available for purchase. Music and Celebration of Lag B’Omer to begin at 8 pm
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campjcc.org jewishnewsva.org | April 26, 2021 | JEWISH NEWS | 21
camp ‘Kids need camp this summer more than ever before’: What Jewish summer camp will look like this year Shira Hanau
(JTA)—Last year at this time, the message out of Jewish summer camps was one of doom and gloom. In April 2020, the Union for Reform Judaism announced that COVID would force a closure of its camps for the summer, affecting some 10,000 kids. In May, the Conservative movement’s Ramah camps across the country followed suit. This year, the outlook could not be more different. Camps in the United States are opening again with a combination of testing and vaccinations, along with a better understanding of how COVID-19 spreads. “It’s absolutely exhausting, but incredibly exhilarating,” says Rabbi Mitchell Cohen, national director of the National Ramah Commission, which runs the Ramah camps across the U.S. and Canada. Cohen’s exhaustion has to do with the extra planning involved in fitting campers into existing space while allowing for social distancing and keeping campers in pods and outdoors as much as possible. And while most of Ramah’s 10 overnight camps are expected to open without issue, the group’s Canadian camp may have trouble due to Canada’s sluggish vaccine rollout and rising infection rates in Ontario, where the camp is located. (Cohen says the camp is exploring options for a new U.S. campus to serve campers from New York and Ohio who would typically attend the Canadian camp.) At most Ramah camps, campers will be kept in pods of one or two cabins for most of their activities. Spaces like the dining hall, where hundreds of campers and staff would come together for meal times, will be subdivided with temporary walls or plastic sheeting to separate pods. Where birkat hamazon, the blessing after meals, was once a rollicking camp-wide songfest, some campers will have to step outside the dining hall to a tent to say the blessings this year to allow another shift of campers to eat in the hall at a reduced
22 | JEWISH NEWS | April 26, 2021 | jewishnewsva.org
capacity. “The last thing you want to do is to have a super spreader event at camp,” Cohen says. “We don’t need that. We can go one summer without everyone davening [praying] together or singing together.” Most camps will be able to aggressively test their campers and staff, and receive results quickly enough to isolate and prevent the spread of the virus. Vaccinated staffers will add another layer of protection, ensuring that the adults at camp, who are more vulnerable to death and serious illness from COVID than children, will be protected. And with increased understanding of how COVID spreads and preventative measures— namely through mask wearing, social distancing, and activities held outdoors or in buildings with improved ventilation—keeping the virus under control seems doable, even if it does require extra preparation. Helping to cover some of the extra costs for camps to buy tents, upgrade buildings, and increase capacity is $3.8 million in funding from the Foundation for Jewish Camp. Its grants are set to add capacity for 4,000 campers and will help the camps recoup some of the money that was lost last year. (Jeremy Fingerman, the foundation’s chief executive officer, says Jewish overnight camps lost about $150 million last year, the vast majority of which was covered by loans, cost reductions, donations, and tuition rolled over to this year.) “We’re estimating that as a result of this grant, it’ll raise more than $16 million of revenue that will drop to the bottom line,” Fingerman says. At the Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute, a URJ camp in Wisconsin more commonly known as OSRUI, camp director Solly Kane is looking forward to welcoming back about 900 campers after closing last year. Staffers, including about 35 from Israel, will be required to be vaccinated, and there will be surveillance testing
throughout the summer. While the camp won’t be bringing everyone together in one room for singing the way it usually might, OSRUI has ideas about gathering the entire camp. “Something like a Friday-night song session, instead of being all together [inside], we’re in a soccer field with kids sitting in pods and wearing masks,” Kane says. But no matter how much testing has to be done and how many events have to be reconfigured to work outside, the most important thing to Kane is to get the kids back to camp. “It’s been a hard last year for everybody,” Kane says. “Kids need camp this summer more than ever before.” Camp Modin in Belgrade Lakes, Maine, was one of the few Jewish camps to open last year, hosting about 300 children for one five-week session. The camp asked families to quarantine before camp, and tested campers and staff multiple times in the first weeks. Co-director Howard Salzberg plans to follow the same playbook this year, though at a significantly reduced cost now that testing has become cheaper and more widely available. “We learned a lot last year, so we don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” Salzberg says. Modin campers will be asked to get a COVID test in the days before camp and will be tested on the first day—and possibly again with a rapid antigen test before boarding buses to camp. “We have the ability to test, test, test,” Salzberg says. “That is so much more than we even had at our disposal last year and cost-wise it’s now affordable.” Still, Salzberg is worried that parents this year may be less on guard than they were in 2020, when parents were overjoyed to be able to send their kids to camp at all. “The thing that was most effective was that the parents were partners with us and they really, really locked down and they tested negative,” he says.
camp
Camp JCC is filling fast, spaces are limited T
he most common questions that people ask regarding summer camp, says Dave Flagler, Camp JCC director, concerns swimming. “People want to know if swimming will take place,” he says. “’Of course, it will!’ I tell everyone.” Camp JCC, after all, is known for its successful swim program and beautiful pool facilities. And, this year, will be no different. In fact, all aspects about camp are gearing up, Flagler says. And, he notes, “a few groups are just on the verge of starting a waiting list.” That’s a good sign for day camps. Parents, it appears, are ready to send their children to a place where they are able to be active, happy campers for the summer. Now in the later stages of preparation, Flagler says he is still hiring some senior counselors and specialists. “We’ve got a great, safe and fun camp program planned that promises to be memorable for campers and counselors, alike.”
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“Parents are ready to send their children to a place where they are able to be active, happy campers for the summer.”
For information about Camp JCC, go to CampJCC.org or contact Dave Flagler at dflagler@ujft.org.
Camp JCC Open House Learn about Camp JCC 2021 Monday, April 26, 8 pm To register, visit CampJCC.org
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jewishnewsva.org | April 26, 2021 | JEWISH NEWS | 23
WHAT’S HAPPENING What’s the secret to thriving after turning 90? Carl Reiner asks a few friends. If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast, Tuesday, May 4–Thursday, May 6, virtual, $12 per household Conversation with Director Danny Gold, Thursday, May 6, 12 pm, Zoom Robyn Sidersky
D
irector Danny Gold shares details from behind the scenes with Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, Betty White, Kirk Douglas, and in a free virtual event that is part of this year’s United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s 28th annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Patricia & Avraham Ashkenazi and Alma & Howard Laderberg. The event is paired with the screening of Gold’s film, If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast. It is being brought back to Tidewater for a second time to honor the
incredible work of Carl Reiner, following his passing last year. Before joining the conversation on May 6 between Gold and Carol Jason, watch Reiner and his star-studded cast of friends share their secrets to thriving in their 90s and beyond. Tickets to both the event on May 6 and the virtual screening of the film, along with more information about the festival, are available on jewishva.org/filmfest.For questions, contact Jill Grossman, UJFT director of Arts + Ideas at jgrossman@ujft.org or 757-965-6137.
Is your name on this list? Your Jewish roots might be in Cairo, Baghdad or nearby Asaf Shalev
(JTA)—In the late 1800s, the Ottoman Empire was looking to conscript men into its army, including the several thousand young Jewish ones who were living in the city of Baghdad. The Jewish community didn’t like the idea of the imperial forces taking away its young men, so it arranged to pay authorities for exemptions. Rabbi Shlomo Bekhor Husin of Baghdad documented the exemptions, carefully jotting each down name in medieval Rashi script. In the following decades, many of those names vanished or morphed as the Jews living there dispersed across the globe. But the lists survived and now are housed at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem—if you’re willing to deal with the microfilm format on which they are preserved. Retired Israeli diplomat and independent researcher Jacob Rosen-Koenigsbuch has squinted to read and translate every single one of the nearly 3,500 names on Husin’s lists. And the lists are just one of the dozens of idiosyncratic sources that RosenKoenigsbuch has consulted in his years-long hunt for lost Jewish family names. Rosen-Koenigsbuch, 73, has published
the world’s most complete lists of Jewish surnames from the cities of Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo and Alexandria. (Next up are probably Basra, Mosul and Erbil, he says.) The four lists have been combined by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency into this searchable database. (If you know your name belongs but isn’t there, email Rosen-Koenigsbuch, who’s always making additions and corrections.) Before I spotted Rosen-Koenigsbuch’s research on the internet, I had only once ever seen a written reference to my family’s original Baghdadi last name. The generically Israeli sounding “Shalev” was “Shaloo” until my grandfather changed it upon moving from Iraq to Israel in 1951. An act of assimilation, the switch was easy because “Shalev” and “Shaloo” are spelled the same in Hebrew script: shin-lamed-vav. I searched and found no “Shaloo” on Rosen-Koenigsbuch’s list. But I did find a “Shellu,” and it felt close enough. “One of the biggest problems in this work is transliteration,” Rosen-Koenigsbuch says on the phone from Jerusalem as he began to confirm my inkling. “There are different ways to pronounce the names and different ways to spell them.” I asked him where he had found “Shellu.”
24 | JEWISH NEWS | April 26, 2021 | jewishnewsva.org
He pulled up his sources and quickly told me that the name appeared three times. First, he told me about Husin’s Ottoman exemptions, and among them was a young lad with the name spelled “shin-lamed-vav.” Shellu. Shaloo. Shalev. Bingo. This could be a forgotten ancestor. Then, he said the name appeared twice in a 1950 registry from Iraq. This was a list of people whose citizenship was revoked during the Iraqi Jewish exodus—definitely my ancestors. After years of curiosity, and some research, I had finally made a genealogical breakthrough. Rosen-Koenigsbuch started on the surnames project while doing his own genealogical research. But his family is not from the Middle East; they’re from Poland. “My parents were Holocaust survivors,” he says. “And they didn’t speak. My father was completely silent.” To learn anything about his family’s past, he had to dig. He discovered elaborate family connections and eventually gave lectures on his findings. Audience members with Mizrahi heritage would approach him and they tended to have a certain reaction. “I would hear this mantra,” he says. “We don’t know anything about our families
because we left Egypt or Syria or Iraq in a hurry. We left everything behind and the archives are closed. We came out alive from those countries, but the documents are not with us. In Europe, most of the Jews were annihilated but the archives are open.’” Rosen-Koenigsbuch, who served as Israel’s ambassador to Jordan from 2006 to 2009, had the geographic interest and some of the linguistic knowledge to find out what kind of information might still exist despite the lacunae. He decided to focus on surnames and found thousands of them in historic newspapers, business directories, a circumcision registry, court records, previously published research and through the help of social media groups dedicated to the various Jewish diasporas. None of these sources are comprehensive. Your family was more likely to be mentioned somewhere, for example, if you donated money or if you sent your kids to Jewish schools. “There are many limitations, but we have to try to gather the history because we still have among us people in their 70s, early 80s and in 10 years there will be no one to talk to,” Rosen-Koenigsbuch says. “If we will not hurry they will be gone.”
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Virginia festival
Famed Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi takes viewers on a trip to Versailles through his new film
jewish film of
CAKES OTTOLENGHI A N D
Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles. Virtual screening: April 26–28, $12 per household Conversation: Wednesday, April 28, 8 pm
T H E
O F
VERSAILLES WATCH APRIL 26-28
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 8:00 PM
Robin Sidersky
T
he intersection of food and art will be celebrated as part of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s 28th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film presented by Patricia & Avraham Ashkenazi and Alma & Howard Laderberg with the screening of Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles. This exciting documentary is about Israeli Master Chef Yotam Ottolenghi and the work he did at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to bring 17th century Versailles to life in the form of beautiful patisserie. Tidewater film fans will get a behindthe-scenes look at the whole process with the film, which will be available virtually. The film festival pivoted to a mostly virtual format this year. Though the film will be shown virtually, festival attendees will be treated to a conversation about food and film with one of the film’s stars, Deborah Krohn, who
served as Ottolenghi’s academic guide for the Met on Wednesday, April 28. Krohn is a Bard Center associate professor and the chair of Academic Programs. She’ll be joined by Betsy DiJulio, a writer, educator, and artist, who is currently part of MOCA’s exhibit, Nourish, which runs through June 6. The two will be in conversation with Anne Fleder, co-chair of the 28th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film. To celebrate the magical relationship between art and food, UJFT and Simon Family JCC have partnered with MOCA to bring foodies and art lovers a delicious experience. The MOCA exhibit shows 12 pieces of art inspired by local food experts. The teams explored the intersection of food and art. For more information and tickets, visit jewishva.org/filmfest. For additional questions, contact Jill Grossman, UJFT director of Arts + Ideas at jgrossman@ujft.org or 757-965-6137.
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Summer Employment Opportunity The ADVENTURE begins…UJFT/Simon Family JCC A wonderful place to work! Now hiring fun and creative staff for SUMMER CAMP 2021 Great opportunity to earn extra $$ for the summer. Excellent Career Experience for College Students: Special Ed, Education or Early Childhood majors High School students (rising Juniors, Seniors) or graduates Positions Available: • Lead Counselors (High School graduates; minimum requirement) • Junior Counselors (HS rising Junior; minimum requirement) • Special Needs Counselors • Specialist for Activities: Sports, Music, and Arts, etc. • Camp Nurse
Staff Orientation: June 14-18 Camp JCC Adventure begins June 21- August 13 Last Blast (Post Camp): August 16-27 Application availble at www.simonfamilyjcc.org
Submit completed application to resumes@ujft.org Submit by mail to: United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Attention: Taftaleen T. Hunter, Director of Human Resources – Confidential 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Virginia Beach 23462 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
JEWISH TIDEWATER
Shalom Tidewater welcomes new neighbors to Jewish Tidewater Ronnie Jacobs Cohen
H
ave you met or do you know someone who has recently moved to our community? If so, Shalom Tidewater would love to welcome them on behalf of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the Simon Family JCC. Please direct them to the link on our website, JewishVa.org/shalom-tidewater or share their name and contact information with me so we may: • Deliver a welcome bag (socially distant, of course) with goodies from our Jewish organizations and synagogues; • Give them a personal tour of our beautiful Sandler Family Campus and make them aware of all that it has to offer; and • L earn about their interests and needs and help them get involved. Shalom Tidewater would like to show our new neighbors our “UJFT Southern Seeking Full-Time Nanny Hospitality,” make them feel welcome, and share all there is to know Jewishly To care for newborn and to do light housework in Ghent starting mid-to late August. about our wonderful community. Should be experienced, provide references and be CPR certified.
Ronnie Jacobs Cohen may be reached at rcohen@ujft.org or 757-321-2341.
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26 | JEWISH NEWS | April 26, 2021 | jewishnewsva.org
Kosher hors d’oeuvres served RSVP required to
Wynston Hammack, whammack@ujft.org or 757.965.6124
CALENDAR THROUGH MAY 27, THURSDAYS The Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning presents OMG, Can You Believe?! In this 6-week course, taught by Rabbi Marc Kraus of Temple Emanuel, students will seek answers to the BIG questions around G-d and G-d’s relationship to humankind. This course will offer the tools to continue asking deep questions, probing personal beliefs, and rethinking the “G-d-question” that confronts everyone. Course cost: $179, scholarships are available. The Melton School of Tidewater is a part of the Konikoff Center for Learning at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. 9–10:30 am. For more information about the Konikoff Center of Learning or to register, visit www.jewishVA.org/ KCL or contact Sierra Lautman, director of Jewish Innovation, at slautman@ujft.org or 757-965-6107. APRIL 26, MONDAY Camp JCC Virtual Open House. Camp JCC is returning to in-person programming this summer. Join this informational session to learn about Camp JCC 2021 and the plans to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Dave Flagler, director of Camp and Teen Engagement, will present and answer questions about what is in store for an amazing upcoming summer at the Simon Family JCC. 8 pm. Contact Dave Flagler, at dflagler@ujft.org. APRIL 26, MONDAY–APRIL 28, WEDNESDAY Virtual Cinema: Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles. In collaboration with the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s Patricia & Avraham Ashkenazi and Alma & Howard Laderberg Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, present a virtual screening of Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles. Join a conversation about food and film with Deborah Krohn, Ottolenghi’s academic guide, Bard Graduate Center associate professor, chair of Academic Programs, and coordinator for History and Theory of Museums, and Betsy DiJulio, nourish exhibiting artist, accomplished writer, and master educator on Wednesday, April 28 at 8 pm. Tickets are $12 per household for virtual cinema with pre-registration required. If purchased by April 23, ticket includes sweet treats and tickets to see Nourish exhibit at MOCA. For more information on the 28th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, and to register, go to JewishVA.org/Film Festival or contact Jill Grossman, director, Arts + Ideas, at jgrossman@ujft.org or 757-965-6137. See page 25. MAY 3, MONDAY My Year of Kaddish: Mourning, Memory, and Meaning. Dr. Naomi Baum draws on her personal and professional experience as an expert in trauma and resilience building, inviting readers to journey with her as she says Kaddish. Presented by the Konikoff Center for Learning as a part of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival.12 pm. Free with pre-registration required. For more information and to register go to JewishVA.org/KCL or contact Sierra Lautman at slautman@ujft.org or 757-965-6107.
MAY 4, TUESDAY–MAY 6, THURSDAY The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s Patricia & Avraham Ashkenazi and Alma & Howard Laderberg Virginia Festival of Jewish Film recognizes Carl Reiner’s remarkable seven-decade career with the virtual screening of If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast. Carl Reiner tracks down several nonagenarians, and a few others over 100, to show how the twilight years can truly be the happiest and most rewarding. Join a community Zoom conversation with Director, Danny Gold, on Thursday, May 6, at 12 pm, and hear from local community leaders, area octogenarians-and-up! Tickets are $12 per household for virtual cinema with pre-registration required. For more information on the 28th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, and to register, go to JewishVA. org/FilmFest or contact Jill Grossman, director, Arts + Ideas, at jgrossman@ujft.org or 757-965-6137. MAY 12, WEDNESDAY What We Will Become: A Mother, A Son, and a Journey of Transformation by Mimi Lemay. Presented by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival in partnership with Jewish Family Service of Tidewater.12 pm. Free a with pre-registration required. For more information and to register, visit JewishVA.org/ BookFest, or contact Jill Grossman, director, Arts + Ideas, at jgrossman@ujft.org or 757-965-6137. MAY 13, THURSDAY As part of the Simon Family JCC’s Book Club Series, join New York Times best-selling author and award-winning book reviewer for the Boston Globe Hallie Ephron for a conversation on her book Careful What You Wish For. Presented by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival. 7:30 pm. FREE with pre-registration required. For more information and to register, visit JewishVA.org/BookFest or contact Jill Grossman, director, Arts + Ideas, at jgrossman@ujft.org or 757-965-6137. MAY 20, THURSDAY For the longest time, Jewish community avoided talking about the issues related to mental health. #Quieting the Silence: Personal Stories with The Blue Dove Foundation offers people a chance to share stories and perspectives related to their own life-changing experiences involving mental illness and addiction. Presented by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival in partnership with Jewish Family Service of Tidewater. 7:30 pm Free with pre-registration required. For more information and to register, visit JewishVA.org/BookFest, or contact Jill Grossman, director, Arts + Ideas, at jgrossman@ujft.org or 757-965-6137. Send submissions for calendar to news@ujft.org. Be sure to note “calendar” in the subject. Include date, event name, sponsor, address, time, cost and phone.
WHO KNEW? KARLIE KLOSS’ BABY’S NAME WAS LEAKED—BY JOSH KUSHNER’S FORMER ISRAELI YESHIVA Shira Hanau
(JTA)—It’s common practice in Jewish circles to wait until eight days after a baby boy is born before publicly sharing the baby’s name at the time of circumcision. Josh Kushner and Karlie Kloss, the brother and sisterin-law of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, wanted to wait even longer than that to make the baby’s name, Levi Joseph, public. But Kushner’s Israeli yeshiva had other plans. Yeshivat Reishit, where Kushner was a student in 2003, congratulated the couple in an alumni email, announcing the baby’s name in the process. The yeshiva, located in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, runs a Modern Orthodox post-high school gap year program for American boys. When the New York Post, which first reported on the leak, asked Kushner and Kloss for comment, Kloss posted the name to Instagram herself.
Born in March, the baby may be named for Kushner’s grandfather, real estate scion and philanthropist Joseph Kushner, who died in 1985. The Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy in Livingston, New Jersey, is named for him. Kushner, who founded the Oscar Health insurance company, and Kloss, a supermodel and TV star, married in 2018. Kloss is a convert to Judaism.
STEVEN SPIELBERG LAUNCHES FOUNDATION TO FUND JEWISHTHEMED DOCUMENTARIES Gabe Friedman
(JTA)—Steven Spielberg has launched a film foundation called Jewish Story Partners to fund documentaries that “tell stories about a diverse spectrum of Jewish experiences, histories, and cultures.” It’s funded by the Righteous Persons Foundation, which Spielberg and his actress wife Kate Capshaw founded after Spielberg’s experience making Schindler’s List in 1993. Two Jewish philanthropies—the Maimonides
Fund and the Jim Joseph Foundation—also contributed funds. (Both organizations also help fund 70 Faces Media, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s parent company.) “We are especially proud to help establish this initiative—which will make visible a fuller range of Jewish voices, identities, experiences, and perspectives—at a time when social divisions run painfully deep and mainstream depictions too often fail to reflect the Jewish community in all its complexity,” Spielberg and Capshaw said in a statement announcing the foundation. The organization, which starts with $2 million, will soon announce its first round of grantees, who will receive $500,000 in total this year. It is already taking applications for a second round of grants and says it hopes to ramp up its funding over time. The project’s director is Roberta Grossman, a filmmaker who has specialized in Jewish-themed documentaries. Caroline Libresco, a longtime Sundance Film Festival programmer, will be its artistic director. And Friends creator Marta Kauffman is a board member. jewishnewsva.org | April 26, 2021 | JEWISH NEWS | 27
OBITUARIES ELSIE HIRSCH VIRGINIA BEACH—Elsie Hirsch, 99, passed away peacefully at home on April 1, 2021, just days shy of her 100th birthday. She was born in Ulm, Germany on April 6, 1921 to Carl and Hilda Moos. In 1939, Elsie immigrated to the United States with her parents as a Holocaust refugee. Her brother, Henry Moos, had arrived a year earlier. After a perilous transatlantic voyage, the family settled in Portsmouth, Va. to begin their new lives. Not long after, Elsie met the love of her life, Jerry Hirsch while working in a garment factory. They married in 1944 and built a life together, welcoming two children, Evelyn and Steve, along the way. Oma, as she was affectionately known by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, always lived in the present, preferring not to dwell on past hardships. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Jerry, her brother Henry, and her granddaughter Lisa Clerici. Survivors include her children Evelyn ( Jeffrey, of blessed memory) and Steve (Pamela); her grandchildren Carrie Fuchs (Dave), Jessica Fielek and Vanessa Freihofer ( Jim), as well as eight great-grandchildren whom she cherished. She was one of Temple Israel’s earliest members in the 1950’s. She enjoyed being a part of the Temple Israel Sisterhood and Jewish Lodge Brith Sholom. Elsie was known for many things: her unending love and devotion to her family, her talent as a seamstress, her beautiful German accent, and her potato salad that none of us can seem to recreate. She always had a warm smile and a kind nature that will not be forgotten by anyone who knew her. The family would be remiss not to mention the attentive and compassionate care that Elsie received at Beth Sholom Village in the last years of her life. Elsie was beloved by staff and residents alike and she will be lovingly remembered. A graveside service was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery by Rabbi Dr. Michael E. Panitz and Cantor Elihu Flax. The service was live-streamed on the Facebook
page of H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Inc. Online condolences may be offered to the family at hdoliver.com. Donations to the Beth Sholom Village.
SEYMOUR BENJAMIN MENDELSSOHN VIRGINIA BEACH—Seymour B. “Baca” Mendelssohn, 78, of Virginia Beach, and formerly of Scranton, passed away peacefully on April 7, 2021, at Beth Sholom Village. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Maxine Marcus Mendelssohn. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., he is the son of the late Irving and Frieda Steinwasser Mendelssohn. Seymour attended Scranton Central High School and went on to attend the University of Scranton, where he graduated magna cum laude with his bachelor of science degree and a master’s degree in business administration. Before his retirement, he was first employed by the Government Accounting Office and then moved to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, working as a program analyst. Seymour was a member of Temple Hesed. Seymour was an Eagle Scout and little league baseball coach. He loved to collect shells in Sanibel Island and won a dance contest during the musical, Grease as he danced with his wife, Maxine. Seymour loved Neil Diamond and was a stamp and coin collector. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend. Seymour is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Alan and Gerry Mendelssohn; daughter and son-in-law, Rachel and Eric Anderson; and son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Jennifer Mendelssohn. Seymour is also survived by his four granddaughters, Courtney and Lindsey Anderson and Gracie and Stella Mendelssohn. A graveside service was held in Temple Hesed Cemetery, Dunmore, by Rabbi Daniel Swartz and Cantor Wendi Fried. The family would like to thank the nurses and staff at Beth Sholom Village for the excellent care they provided. Memorial contributions in Seymour’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association.
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BENITA “BUNNY” MIRMAN NORFOLK—Benita “Bunny” Mirman passed away peacefully on April 5, 2021, surrounded by her three children. Bunny was born on May 23, 1938, to Herman and Pauline Bernstein in Suffolk, Virginia, and moved to Norfolk following her marriage to Stanley (Sonny) Mirman in 1958. She spent much of her life supporting important causes, including ORT, DePaul Hospital Auxiliary, and local law enforcement agencies. Bunny is survived by her three children, Jeri Johnson (Chris), Steven Mirman (Angie) and Mia Hanczaryk (Phil); three grandchildren, Harrison Weisberger, Jessica Mirman, and Samantha Hanczaryk; her brother Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein (Janet) of Atlanta, as well as a host of extended family and close friends. Bunny was predeceased by her husband of 41 years, Stanley “Sonny” Mirman. Bunny was a talented artist who enjoyed sharing her work and will be greatly missed by many who were fortunate enough to call her their friend. A graveside service was conducted at Forest Lawn Cemetery by Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg. Memorial donations to the Fraternal Order of Police Associates, 2501 La Mirage Court, Virginia Beach, Va. 23456, or to a favorite charity. Online condolences can be made at hdoliver.com. JUDGE NORMAN OLITSKY NORFOLK—Judge Norman Olitsky, 96, passed away peacefully on April 8, 2021, after a courageous and debilitating battle with congestive heart failure. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, he was the only child of Jack and Celia Olitsky. His childhood years were happy and full, encompassed by a family of loving aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Family gatherings meant lots of laughter, good times, and, of course, music. His father’s Philadelphia family provided the same loving experiences, which stayed with Norman throughout his life. Upon graduation from Maury High School, Norman was soon drafted into the U. S. Army during World War II.
In his three years of service at many stateside bases, he sealed his reputation for excellence by playing his saxophone and clarinet in numerous Army bands. He often said it was great to provide some joy and music to the troops. This gift was also recognized in his earlier years in Norfolk, when he was selected as first chair clarinetist in the Norfolk Symphony at a very early age. While still in high school, he also played in the pit in several Norfolk theaters in an effort to supplement family finances during the depression. After being honorably discharged from the Army, Norman attended the Norfolk Division of William and Mary and ultimately graduated from the University of Miami with a business administration degree. His pursuit of a law degree took a three-year hiatus while he ran his parents’ Portsmouth business for his ailing father. He eventually graduated from the University of Georgia Law School. In 1956, Norman returned to Portsmouth with his wife Marcia and began his law practice. These proved to be very busy years, building a law practice; starting a family; and having many community commitments too numerous to name, but included civic; the arts, which included the Musicians’ Local 125, political, and of course, the law. Even after retiring from the bench, he enjoyed supporting the wonderful work of LifeNet Health in Virginia Beach by serving on its board. During Norman’s 35 years of private practice in Portsmouth, Marcia read the law under his supervision; passed the bar; and became the first female attorney in Portsmouth, a tribute to a man who did not have one female in his graduating law class in 1956. By 1975, he helped bring the first female attorney to Portsmouth. They were both trailblazers. Following his 35 years of private practice, he was appointed to the Portsmouth Circuit Court in 1991, and retired in 1999. He continued to serve as a substitute judge throughout the Commonwealth in addition to mediation with The McCammon Group until 2018. His love of the law was life-long, while
OBITUARIES his reputation for being prepared, thorough, and fair is his legacy. Norman is survived by his devoted wife of 33 years, Susan Olitsky. Both were well aware of how blessed they were to share their lives in good health and surrounded by love. Fortunately, there are many wonderful memories from which to draw strength, solace, and warmth in the years ahead. He is also survived by his adoring daughters: Ronni Olitsky (Jeff Young), Rozanne Worrell (Brad), Jacky Olitsky, and Caryn Wall (Gresh); and his three adoring grandchildren: Lily Young, Kenzie Wall, and Gresham Wall. He will also be fondly remembered by sisters in-law Kathy Dutlinger and Linda Crooks, as well as nieces Heather Short (Jas), Lyn Cherry (Taylor), and nephew John Crooks. There are also 11 grand nieces and nephews who so enjoyed Uncle NoNo providing the wonderful music at so many family affairs through the years. He was a man so full of life that the only way to describe him was to say, “He was always young,” young of spirit; young of heart; the curiosity of youth; and the pursuit of life to its fullest. Due to COVID, the burial was a private family service handled by H. D. Oliver Funeral Apartments. The service was conducted by Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg, and was available via live stream. A celebration of Norman’s life will be held at a later and safer date. Memorial donations may be made to Virginia Symphony Orchestra, WHRO, or a charity of choice. Online condolences may be sent to the family through hdoliver.com.
GLORIA GROSSMAN PADERSKY NORFOLK—Gloria Grossman Padersky passed away on April 14, 2021 at the age of 94. She was predeceased by her husband of 74 years, Louis, just three days before. Gloria could not bear to be without him. She was also predeceased by her parents Charles and Lily Grossman. Left to cherish her memory are her two daughters Michele (Skip) and Lynn (Burt), as well as her brother Howard Grossman (Annette). Gloria’s grandchildren will miss her dearly: Dana (Brian), Marc, Jason, Scott, Leanne (Kevin) and Joni. Gloria enjoyed her grandsons by
choice, Josh and Michael. She was also blessed with eight great grandchildren. Gloria was born in Brooklyn, New York, surrounded by her parents and grandparents. She and Lou met as children and later reunited on a bus. They were married on October 6, 1946 and settled in the New York area for several years. In 1960, they moved the family to Norfolk and quickly settled into the community. She worked in the family business, Arco Hardware and was a member of Temple Israel. Gloria enjoyed spending time with friends—playing mah jong and canasta. She delighted in the children and grandchildren’s activities. She never met a server or store associate that she truly liked. But there were some lucky ones. One never had to wonder what her opinion was—she was straightforward, no nonsense, but most of all, loving. We are comforted to know that Gloria and Lou are now reunited with their best
friends the Kormans. The foursome also lovingly known as the Ricardos and the Mertzes. Burial was at Forest Lawn Cemetery with a live stream available. Altmeyer Funeral Homes. Memorial donations can be made to your charity of choice.
LOUIS PADERSKY NORFOLK—Louis Padersky passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 11 2021 at the age of 95, surrounded by his loving family. He was survived by his wife of 74 years, Gloria and two daughters Michele (Skip) and Lynn (Burt). Lou adored his grandchildren who will miss “Papa continued on page 30
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OBITUARIES continued from page 29
Lou” dearly: Dana (Brian), Marc, Jason, Scott, Leanne (Kevin) and Joni. Lou also enjoyed his grandsons by choice Josh (Tasia) and Michael. Lou was blessed with eight great grandchildren. He was pre-deceased by his parents, Samuel and Molly Padersky, brother Ben “Sonny” Padersky, and sister, Jean Somer. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and served in the US Army during World War II. Lou moved the family to Norfolk in 1960 and was a long-time member of Temple Israel. He had a deep love of his Jewish faith and especially loved his borscht, matzah ball soup, and challah. Lou basked in the glow of his family’s “Simchas” and had the great honor of reciting the blessings at each celebration. He devoted his heart and soul to his family. After working in the plumbing business for several years, he became the owner of Arco Hardware. If he had his way, he would never have stopped working.
Burial was at Forest Lawn with a live stream available. Altmeyer Funeral Homes. Memorial donations to a charity of the donor’s choice.
MARIANNE STEINER, 101, STYLISH HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR WHO SUPPORTED RESEARCH ON GERMAN JEWRY (JTA)—As a young Jewish refugee in the late 1930s, Marianne Steiner brought creative flair to her job as a window dresser at Saks Fifth Avenue, the upscale department store in Manhattan. While her family was well off before fleeing Nazi Germany, their finances in New York were more limited. At the time, Steiner owned only one black dress that she wore to work each day, embellishing it with different collars and cuffs and even fooling her co-workers. When they asked what she wanted for her birthday, to their surprise she said she hoped for a new dress.
The story is among the many she enjoyed sharing with her family, according to her son, Tom. “She had a lot of style,” he says. “She knew everyone. My friends who were much younger than she was, they loved her. She was the life of the party.” Steiner was in good health and awaiting her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine when she contracted the coronavirus. She died in New York City on Feb. 26, 2021. She was 101. Born in 1919, Steiner had an idyllic childhood growing up in a family of successful livestock traders. As a teenager in the early 1930s, she watched from her window in horror as Nazi soldiers marched in the streets of her hometown. In 1933, her parents sent her to a Catholic school in Belgium, hoping to protect her from the looming danger. She later transferred to a school in England to study art. Her parents managed to escape and reunited with Steiner in England
before traveling on to New York, settling on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. In 1942, she married Paul Steiner, an Austrian refugee who had rented a room from her parents. A writer, Paul Steiner founded Chanticleer Press and became an influential publisher who created the Audubon Society Field Guides. He died in 1996. The couple was passionate about the arts and became collectors of notable works of early Greek art. They were also longtime supporters of the Leo Baeck Institute, a research library that holds family papers, including archival material going back to prewar Germany. Steiner continued her involvement with the organization after her husband’s death. “They were involved so no one would forget what happened in the Holocaust,” Tom Steiner says. Along with her son, Steiner is survived by three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
IF YOU'RE NOT IN THE OBIT,
EAT BREAKFAST AFTER 90, PEOPLE DON'T RETIRE. THEY INSPIRE.
watch may 4-6 Thursday, May 6, 12:00 PM
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ARTS AND CULTURE Inspired by the pandemic, Jewish musicians are rolling out a year’s worth of spiritual ‘healing songs’ Shira Hanau
(JTA)—It was only about a week into lockdown last spring when Elana Brody took out her keyboard piano for a jam session. It was late at night, so it made sense that the new melody that came to her then was “B’shem Hashem” a part of the Shema. “It was kind of natural to want to sing this prayer because it’s a bedtime prayer,” Brody says, calling it an “incantation” of sorts. The words call on four angels to surround her—Michael to the right, Gabriel to the left, Uriel in front and Raphael behind—with God above her head. Brody imagined the angels surrounding the people of New York City, which she had left behind a week before when she drove to her parents’ home in Virginia to ride out the beginning of the pandemic, and protecting them as the first wave of the pandemic engulfed the city.
For Brody, a Jewish singer-songwriter who also leads prayer services and runs spiritual retreats, the healing intention behind that song came to characterize her music throughout the pandemic year. Along with eight other Jewish singers and prayer leaders, Brody will showcased the songs written during the pandemic during a concert earlier this month timed to the release of the studio recording of her B’shem Hashem. For singers and musicians, the past year of canceled concerts has made the pandemic especially difficult. But for some it’s also been a year of expanded capacity to write new material. And for artists who focus on Jewish spiritual and devotional music, much of the new material has drawn on the challenging shared emotions of the pandemic and transformed them into prayer. “We’re kind of hard-wired to digest grief and turn it into art or song,” Brody
says of artists like herself. “I wrote an album’s worth of material through this last year, all transmuting loss into song.” When the pandemic began last spring, Deborah Sacks Mintz had been preparing for a series of concerts and prayer services to promote her new album of Jewish music released in May. When those concerts were canceled, it not only kept her at home. It also forced Mintz—someone who works as a prayer leader and educator teaching her songs and leading communal singing experiences—to rethink her approach to music. “It became clear to me pretty quickly that there was going to need to be a way for me to be willing to encounter myself and my own voice,” she says. “I couldn’t just be thinking about communal singing and gathering.” While Mintz has typically drawn from the prayer book and the genre of niggunim, wordless melodies, that can be sung
by a group, she found herself drawn to the poetry of Yehuda Amichai, an Israeli poet who died in 2000 and often infused his work with biblical imagery, and writing melodies for his poems. “That’s something I probably would not have spent time doing before the pandemic,” Mintz says. Brody is hoping to keep the ability for music to heal and connect at the front of her songwriting going forward. “I really hope that what has happened this year, with the focus being on healing and prayer and community, that my music kind of stays there,” she says. And Brody is already planning additional concerts to include more artists who wrote new material during the pandemic. “There are so many artists out there who have written a healing song this year, so now I’m excited to try to make a platform for even more artists,” she says. “For more healing songs.”
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