! v o T l e z a M Supplement to Jewish News October 11, 2021
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Mazel Tov
C E L E B R AT E YO U R
Mazel Tov A T
Dear Readers,
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n the best of times, planning a milestone event is known to create stressful situations. Throw in a pandemic, along with months of uncertainty, and the stress leaps to a
never-seen-before level. Believe me, I know. My husband and I just returned from Boston celebrating our daughter’s delayed May 2020 Commencement from Boston University. While there was never a consideration not
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to attend, we had concerns, including wondering how many others would make the trip. Upon arriving in Boston, we soon learned the answer. Approximately 8,000 BU Grads and families said yes to the weekend and traveled from around the globe to celebrate these graduates’ achievements and tenacity. It was a glorious weekend of ceremonies and reunions and we were so glad we chose to be part of the happiness…complete with masks adorned with BU logos and Class of 2020. Eighteen months into COVID-19, one friend, who happens to be an intelligent nurse and tends to lean on the cautious side when it comes to medicine and this pandemic, said to me, “We need to celebrate life’s simchas…we just need to take smart precautions.” How right she is. And, that’s exactly what we did in Boston and what we’ll do when our older daughter soon gets married. In fact, I plan to take lessons from the three women featured on page 18: Two mothers of the bride and one bride. They managed joyful weddings in three very different settings. Mazel Tov to them all! Weddings and graduations are just two reasons for shouting Mazel Tov! and within these pages, we have articles celebrating some of the others—a big birthday (page 21),
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the first Bar Mitzvah in Bahrain since 2005 (page 25) and the birth of a precious baby just 10 days after the death of her beloved grandfather (page 24). As we learn to celebrate in slightly different fashions, let’s embrace each Mazel Tov
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moment, for as the student speaker at BU’s Commencement noted, “…cherish this experience, because the next one isn’t promised.” Mazel Tov!
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Mazel Tov
Weddings 2021: Happy ever after, hitches and all Lisa Richmon
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he 2020–21 wedding theme is a mix of Suspend Disbelief and Hello Fantastical. For three recently married couples, snookered by the pandemic and forced to alter their original dream wedding plans dramatically, getting the last laugh was extra sweet. Erin Leon and Charlie Olson; Danielle Campion and Chris Adsit; Rachel Gross and Aviv Faraj; and their good friends and families, learned overnight that a hitch-less
wedding was not beshert. In reality, however, the wedding of their dreams turned out to be one they could never have imagined. Nor would it have been possible if not for the wrath of Mother Nature and her ruinous rival, COVID-19. Turns out moving a wedding from Israel to Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, diluting the guest list from 200 plus people to 18—or bringing 150 people together in a rain-drenched tent—can bring joy and delight in greater measure than a fleeting sense of discomfort or disappointment. For these couples, a
turbulent year surviving marital mashups and letdowns, and zigging and zagging right up to the altar, getting the last laugh was the best revenge of all. For our March Mazel Tov section, Jewish News spoke with Beth Campion and Laura Gross as they were planning their daughters’ weddings. Now, we ask them, along with a bride, Erin Leon Olson, how their weddings and dreams turned out. Jewish News: After all the ups and downs, and twists and turns, what was the biggest and best surprise?
Laura Gross, mother of Rachel Gross Faraj The biggest and best surprise is that the wedding was every bit as beautiful, incredible, family-oriented, happy, and fun as it could have been. Could not have been more hamisha. The Israeli crew brought their own sensibilities…the Hora went on forever. When you have family and friends like we have, you can count on that support regardless of what obstacles are put in your path. Between that, and Rachel and Aviv being who they are, it was seamless. Credit also goes to the caterer, band, and florist. After a year of working sporadically, or with next to nothing for a year, I give a lot of credit to the professionals. It’s amazing. After what they’ve been through with COVID.
Rachel Gross Faraj and Aviv Faraj.
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Rachel Gross Faraj and Aviv Faraj dance their first dance.
Mazel Tov
Erin Leon and Charlie Olson are married in front of the Teton Mountain Range.
Erin Leon Olson and Charlie Olson.
an intimate ceremony and reception with our immediate families. We chose Jackson, Wyoming because it is the special place where Charlie and I first met. We are so grateful to our parents— Sandra and Miles Leon and Mimi and David Olson—for supporting us through the wedding planning journey, and all of our family who travelled great distances to join us. What made all of the “zig-zagging” worth it? Without hesitation, the meaningful and loving relationships created between our families, thankfully including our grandparents—Papa Arnold Leon, Grandma Ellie Porter, and Grandma Katie Olson—who were able to celebrate with us. This special setting also allowed us to deliver personal touches like handwritten notes, family wedding portraits displayed during dinner, and even Grandma Ellie’s homemade wedding cake, carried cross-country! With a smaller wedding, Charlie and I could really focus on our marriage ceremony (with the help of Jackson Hole’s “Rabbi Josh”) and bring our families together. The fact that each of our siblings and grandparents (seven in Time for the Horah for Erin Leon Olson and Charlie Olson. total) were able to recite the seven blessings, with the Erin Leon Olson Teton mountain range in the background, Charlie and I are both very lucky to was more beautiful than we could have have large extended families and ever imagined. And the celebration deep friendships around afterwards (with bluegrass, of the world, and deficourse) was pure magic. nitely envisioned a Toasts, roasts and lots big wedding preof laughter brought COVID. While so much joy, espeit was beyond cially when we did the difficult not to Horah! include all family We left knowing members and dear that all eighteen (Chai!) friends, the panguests felt as special and demic forced us to create full of love as we did! L’CHAIM! continued on page 19
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Mazel Tov Beth Campion, mother of Danielle Campion Adsit
The bridal party poses for pictures on the Campion’s porch.
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Danielle Campion Adsit and Chris Adsit.
We zigged and zagged right up to the walk down the aisle, but there is not one thing we would change. Not even the weather. The best surprise is that we just moved to East Beach in March. Who would have known we would have used our new house for wedding photos a few months later on Memorial Day weekend, or that it would rain more than three inches in three hours on that Saturday when the Farmer’s Almanac hasn’t seen over .04 inches ever on that day. We had to put slits in tents to suck out the water and make it happen. My daughter doesn’t know about any of this, or the shot of tequila I took with her bridesmaids. Taking photos on the porch with all of Chris’ family and the bridal party was totally unplanned, but it was so much fun. The pictures could not have turned out better! Danielle was not fazed about her veil, which was not cooperating, or her hair that didn’t curl because of the rain. Her attitude was, ‘This is about me and Chris and our families. I want to look like myself.’ Another highlight came from the band and a completely impromptu song they played after hearing my husband’s welcome speech which referenced a line from Message of Love by The Pretenders. The line is, “when love walks in the room stand up.” That was just another beautiful surprise in what felt like a Hallmark movie wedding.
Mazel Tov Congregation Beth El plans anniversary celebration with Six13 Sunday, December 5, 4 pm
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OVID might have delayed Congregation Beth El’s plans to celebrate its 170th Anniversary by a year, but it could not dampen the enthusiasm and excitement of the planning committee to create a community-wide event to celebrate Hanukkah and its 171st Anniversary. The groundbreaking, six-man a cappella vocal band, Six13 will perform their signature, soulful harmonies in Norfolk, both in-person and virtually. Six13’s videos are an international phenomenon. They have been featured on national television, around the world, and at the White House for a private audience of President and First Lady Obama and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. They handle the Jewish repertoire with the same flair as secular classics. Known for their high-energy performance and catchy original songs performed by top-notch professional
singers, Six13 is sure to have everyone clapping their hands, tapping their feet, and dancing in the aisles. Mark calendars for what will certainly be a fun-filled, family-friendly, musical celebration. Admission is free and reservations are requested. Sponsorship opportunities are requested in support of Congregation Beth El. The in-person concert will take place at Congregation Beth El in Norfolk. Seating will be socially distant, masks will be required, as will vaccinations, for those who are age-eligible. For more information or to RSVP, contact Noelle Wright at Congregation Beth El at noelle@bethelnorfolk.com or 757-6257821. For sponsorship information, call Deb Segaloff at 757-285-9009. Reservations and sponsorships will soon be available through www.bethelnorfolk.com.
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Chasia Zoberman, Rabbi Israel Zoberman’s mom, celebrates her 101st birthday in Israel. Mazel Tov!
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In Israel, a chicken farm released special-edition eggs to mark egg-related Talmud study milestone Shira Hanau
(JTA)—As participants in the Daf Yomi, a program in which participants study one page of Talmud each day, near the end of the current tractate, an Israeli chicken farm decided to join in the celebration. In honor of the completion of the Talmud Tractate Beitzah, which means “egg” in Hebrew, Meshek Kedumim printed the words of the text recited upon the completion of a Talmud tractate directly onto the eggs. “We will return to you, Tractate
An aerial banner said ‘Jew, I have a question.’ It turned out to be a marriage proposal. Ben Sales
(JTA)—The banner, dragged by a plane last month across the Florida sky, looked disconcerting. “Jew, I have a question,” it said.
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Beitzah,” the eggs read in Hebrew. “Be strong and take courage, from the chicken coops of Kedumim.” Daf Yomi participants will complete Tractate Beitzah, so named because it begins with a story related to an egg, before continuing on to Tractate Rosh Hashana. The entire Daf Yomi cycle, in which participants study one double-sided page of the 37 tractates of the Talmud each day in order, takes about seven and a half years to complete. At the end of the cycle, celebrations are typically held, including a massive gathering at MetLife Stadium.
Certainly, it was a moment made for Twitter, attracting both jokesters and antisemitism watchdogs. A tweet of the photo by the group StopAntisemitism got more than 100 shares. Another group, United With Israel, shared the photo and tweeted, “Antisemitism is alive and well.” Others poked fun. “Judging by my experience of Judaism the question is either something deep, philosophical and existential or ‘when are we eating? I’m STARVING,” one person tweeted. Ben Shapiro, the Orthodox Jewish rightwing commentator, tweeted the photo out to his 3.5 million followers along with a joking, obscure reference to how rabbis answer questions of Jewish law.
Turns out the banner wasn’t meant to be hate speech or a joke: It was a marriage proposal to a woman nicknamed “Jew.” (What that’s short for—Julia? Jewel? Judith? Remains unclear.) According to Glenna Milberg, a local South Florida television reporter, the banner was created and flown by Aerial Banners, whose Instagram page shows examples of similar marriage proposals— though others tend to say “Will you marry me?” That probably would have cleared up the confusion here. Milberg reported that Milo Srkal Jr., a representative of Aerial Banners, said he didn’t realize the banner could be read as offensive until he got a call from the local branch of the Anti-Defamation League. “It was like, ‘Wait, what? What are you talking about?’” he said, according to News10, Milberg’s station. “And then after sitting back, thinking about it, reading a few things and having things explained to us, it was like, ‘Oh my God.’” Of course, the real story of the banner prompted another question: Did “Jew” say yes? According to Milberg, she did.
Mazel Tov
Sunlight enhances romantic passion Scientific study from Tel Aviv University shows sunlight makes you fall in love
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un exposure has its benefits, among them: enhancing passion in humans. Researchers in Professor Carmit Levy’s Tel Aviv University (TAU) laboratory have found that exposure to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight increases levels of romantic passion in both genders. The radiation affects the regulation of the endocrine system responsible for the release of sexual hormones in humans. The discovery was published as a cover story in the new issue of the scientific journal Cell Reports. Professor Levy of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine says, “It has been known for many years now that ultraviolet radiation
from sunlight increases testosterone levels in males, and we also know that sunlight plays a major role in both the behavioral and hormonal regulation of sexuality. However, the mechanism responsible for this regulation remained unknown. Our study enabled a better understanding of this mechanism.” The discovery may lead to practical applications, such as UVB treatments for sexual hormone disorders. More research is required before this can be achieved, but according to Professor Levy, the breakthrough will also lead to further discoveries in basic science. “Our findings open many scientific and philosophical questions,” Professor Levy says. “As humans, we have no fur, and our
skin is directly exposed to sunlight. We are only beginning to understand what this exposure does to us, and the key roles it might play in various physiological and behavioral processes. It’s only the tip of the iceberg.” The study culminated in a survey of 32 human subjects, who filled out validated questionnaires on behaviors of romantic passion and aggression. Treated with type b ultraviolet (UVB) phototherapy at the Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) and Assuta Medical Centers, both genders exhibited a rise in romantic passion, and males also noted an increase in levels of aggression. Similar results were found when the subjects were asked to avoid sunlight for two days, and then tan themselves
for approximately 25 minutes. Blood tests revealed that exposure to sunlight resulted in a higher release of hormones like testosterone compared to one day before exposure. A rise in testosterone in males during the summer was also found in analyses of data from the Clalit and Maccabi Health Services. Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a globally top-ranked university, a leading research institution, and a center of discovery. As Israel’s largest public institution of higher learning, TAU is home to 30,000 students, including 2,100 international students from over 100 countries. The University encompasses nine faculties, 35 schools, 400 labs, and has 17 affiliated hospitals in its network.
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Mazel Tov Bittersweet blessings for Paul Turok’s growing family Lisa Richmon
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aul Len Turok was born to count many blessings: Building a sweet life with Vivian (Viv); moving from South Africa to Virginia at just the right time; feeling embraced by the local Jewish community; raising two healthy children with good souls and great hair; and designing and building bold spaces for people to live, work, and gather. He made lifelong friends year after year. An artist architect, Paul always found something to smile about. His biggest blessing was Vivian, his life partner of 42 years. Beaming brightly wherever they went, Paul and Viv loved hard on their friends and family, but it was the way they cherished each other’s company daily that was a blessing of rare intensity and duration. Paul passed away 10 days before the birth of their fourth grandchild. Parker Lane Turok, born on March 26, 2021,
shares the initials P.L.T. with her grandfather. This burst of new life has Davey Turok soaking up his father’s affirming parenting practices like a sponge. “We all miss him so much, and it honestly doesn’t seem real that he is gone,” says Davey. “The biggest thing I learned from my dad, and I hope to pass along to my kids is not how to succeed, but how to fail. Out of every negative he would challenge me to find a positive. He taught me that as long as you have the right mindset, you can never lose. You either win or you learn.” Keeping Paul’s powerful presence is not a struggle for Davey and his younger sister Lindi Gold, but facing his loss on a daily basis, can be. “He was my sounding board, my spiritual guide, and my voice of reason. Something he would always say to us (and I will teach to my kids) is to ‘keep a cool head,’” says Lindi. “For anyone who knew my dad, it is perfectly fitting for the type of person he was.”
The Turok family.
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One Happy Camper: Summer Hoffman connects with her Jewish roots in summer program
Summer Hoffman at her Bat Mitzvah.
Summer Hoffman
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his summer, I went on BBYO’s Kallah summer program. When the catalog came in for all the summer programs, I chose Kallah for one main reason: it was the summer program of connection. At any given moment on Shabbat, I could look out at a sea of tallit and siddurim. I could watch people who I only just met wrapped in each other’s arms during Havdalah. It was just so beyond mind-blowing to see how one thing we all shared in common could bring us that close, that fast. Every time I would see one of these things, I could feel my Jewish identity growing stronger by the second. Going to Kallah and knowing I was completely safe in being Jewish was such a weight lifted off my shoulders that I did not even know it was there to begin with. I felt a sense of safety and comfort in the person I realized I had wanted to be all along, which was a strong Jewish young woman. This experience made me realize the thing I was missing all this time was not external, but internal. I wanted to be more
Jewish, but simply did not know how. Kallah taught me how to do that, and I had the incredible opportunity to get Bat Mitzvahed and receive a Hebrew name while I was there. Before this, I had never spoken a lick of Hebrew in my life, and then when I was given a Torah portion about a minute long, I could feel myself getting more and more nervous. On top of learning my Torah portion, I also had to pick out a name. I chose Chaya for my paternal great-grandmother and its meaning of life. The ceremony came and went, and I was B’nai Mitzvahed and given a name alongside four other wonderful BBGs and AZAs. It was something I had always felt somewhat ashamed of, almost a fraud for not ever having a Bat Mitzvah or a Hebrew name. However, Kallah made me realize it did not matter how “Jewish” I was, but that the simple fact that I identified as Jewish was good enough. I will forever be grateful for what those three weeks have taught me, and the people I met while I was there.
Mazel Tov Bahrain’s Jewish community celebrates its first bar mitzvah in 16 years
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( JTA)—The Jewish community of Bahrain celebrated the country’s first bar mitzvah since 2005. The bar mitzvah ceremony took place in the House of the Ten Commandments in Manama, the kingdom’s only operational synagogue, according to a release from the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, which coordinates and promotes Jewish life in the region. The bar mitzvah boy, who was not named in the release, read from a Torah scroll donated by Jared Kushner, the adviser to former President Donald Trump. The bar mitzvah ceremony comes about a year after Bahrain signed a normalization accord with Israel that Kushner helped broker. Israel has signed or committed to similar agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan. There are currently about 50 Jews living in Bahrain. According to the release, Jews in Oman recently celebrated a bat mitzvah, though it did not provide further details in order to protect the family’s privacy. “It is a very exciting time for Jewish life in the GCC as more families celebrate Jewish milestones more publicly,” read a statement by Rabbi Eli Abadie of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities,
referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional alliance. “This is an affirmation of the continued growth of Jewish life in the region.”
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Mazel Tov Impossible Pork is here—but the plant-based meat won’t be certified as kosher Don’t expect to see it served at festive meals—yet Jacob Gurvis
(JTA)—Impossible Foods, the plant-based meat company, is releasing a long-awaited new product—but unlike the wildly popular Impossible Burger, it won’t be certified kosher. The largest and most influential certifier of kosher products in the world has declined to endorse Impossible Pork, even though nothing about its ingredients or preparation conflicts with Jewish dietary laws. “The Impossible Pork, we didn’t give an ‘OU’ to it, not because it wasn’t kosher per se,” says Rabbi Menachem Genack, the CEO of the Orthodox Union’s kosher division. “It may indeed be completely in terms of its ingredients: If it’s completely plant-derived, it’s kosher. Just in terms of sensitivities to the consumer…it didn’t get it.”
For Jews who keep kosher, the Impossible Burger has allowed some food experiences that would otherwise be off-limits because of the prohibition in dietary law on mixing milk and meat. For the last five years, Jews and kosher restaurants have been able to serve up cheese-topped chili, greasy cheeseburgers, and that quintessential American diner pairing: a hamburger with a milkshake. “The Impossible Burger itself is a huge, huge success and people really, really like it,” Genack says. “It’s a really excellent, excellent product in every respect.” With the new product, Impossible Foods wanted to give that same experience to Jews and Muslims who do not eat pork, along with others who are seeking to avoid animal products or reduce their environmental impact.
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But Genack says he and others at the OU recalled what happened when they once certified “bacon” that wasn’t made of pig. “We still get deluged with calls from consumers who either don’t get it or they’re uncomfortable with it,” he says. The OU has held back certification for reasons other than food preparation before. In 2013, for example, it required a Manhattan restaurant to change its name from Jezebel, the name of a biblical figure associated with immorality, to retain its certification. But the organization certifies other products that might seem to conflict with Jewish dietary law, explaining on its website that “a fish sauce may display a picture of a non-kosher fish, the OU may appear on artificial crab or pork, or there may be a recipe for a non-kosher food item on the label.” It even certifies other products that aim to replicate the pork experience, such as Trader Joe’s “spicy porkless plant-based snack rinds.” But ultimately, agency officials decided that a product called “pork” just wouldn’t fly, Genack says. “We of course discussed it with the company and they understood,” he says. For Impossible Foods, the word “pork” is here to stay. “While Impossible Pork was originally designed for Halal and Kosher certification, we aren’t moving forward with those certifications as we wish to continue to use the term ‘Pork’ in our product name,” an Impossible Foods spokesperson says. The decision means Impossible Pork won’t be on the menu at kosher restaurants, which must use only kosher-certified products in order to retain their own kosher certification. That includes kosher and/ or vegan Asian restaurants with mainstay dishes that would typically include pork, such as the dumplings and dim sum that marked Impossible Pork’s first outings this week in New York and Hong Kong. It also means that Jews who seek to follow traditional dietary rules will have to make their own freighted decisions about Impossible Pork—including
whether to follow the OU’s ruling. “I don’t think the OU labeling on it has a huge impact on me,” says Rabbi Justin Held, the director of Jewish education at Herzl Camp and the University of Minnesota Hillel, who described himself as a “huge Impossible fan.” But he says he was concerned about marit ayin, or appearance to the eye, a concept in Jewish law that prohibits actions which appear to violate Jewish law, even if they technically do not. The concept raises the concern that someone who sees Held eating an Impossible Pork banh mi sandwich, for example, might think that he eats non-kosher meat. A different concept, lifnei iver, or not placing stumbling blocks before the blind, could also come into play. The concept raises a related concern: whether someone who sees an observant Jew eating Impossible Pork dumplings could conclude that pork must actually be kosher. For Held, the issues related to dietary law pale in comparison to the ick factor of consuming something that replicates one of Judaism’s strongest taboos—and even that isn’t enough to keep him away. “The word pork is definitely a gross aversion to me,” he says. “But knowing it’s not [pork], I will try it.” Rena Kates, an attorney in Baltimore, isn’t sure she will. Like Held, Kates keeps kosher and also uses ingredients, not an agency’s certification, as her guide for whether food is acceptable. An avid consumer of plant-based meat products, she doesn’t think she can stomach Impossible Pork. “I have this visceral reaction to it,” she says. “There is something about pork that is just triggering.” It was that reaction, Genack says, that swayed the OU’s decision-making— though he says Impossible Pork came close to carrying the agency’s label, and still could one day. “It could have gone either way, frankly,” Genack says. He adds, “This is something which we absolutely would be willing to review in the future.”
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