CT Jewish Ledger • August 20, 2021 • 12 Elul 5781

Friday, August 20, 2021 12 Elul 5781 Vol. 93 | No. 34 | ©2021 jewishledger.com

Booster shots, new vaccines...

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INSIDE

this week

CONNECTICUT JEWISH LEDGER | SINCE 1929 | AUGUST 20, 2021 | 12 ELUL 5781

14 Briefs

17 Crossword

18 Around CT

19 What’s Happening

19 Torah Portion

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Stepping Up........................................ 5 New York’s Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will become the states’s governor in one week’s time, has kept up with the concerns of Jews — visiting Jewish day schools, meeting regularly with Jewish community officials, touring Orthodox neighborhoods, and more.

The Social Scene............................... 5 When Simon Lichter returned to his hometown of West Hartford to sit out the pandemic, he found that the community wasn’t doing enough to create social connections between Jewish 20- and 30-somethings. And so he founded “Urban Dor.”

On Campus......................................... 6 This fall, while they are looking forward to some sense of pre-pandemic normalcy at their colleges and universities, Jewish students also risk facing BDS and proPalestinian activists with renewed energy against the Jewish state.

Obituaries

21 Business and Professional Directory

22 Classified

In Memoriam.......................................................................10 Josh Satok traveled many miles to be at the shiva of his former student, Ilan Naibryf, who was one of the victims of the Surfside building collapse in late June.

ON THE COVER:

When it comes to fighting COVID-19, the Jewish state continues to be one step ahead. Israel has already started an aggressive campaign to give over-60s a third booster shot. But is it wise? An expert talks about what we do and don’t know.

PLUS…Injectable and oral vaccines under development in Israel may prove significant in protecting people from mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. PAGE 12 jewishledger.com

Arts & Entertainment........................................................11 In the woods of northern Ukraine, filmmakers constructed a ‘shtetl’ as the centerpiece of a film set in 1941. Now, the film’s production firm wants to turn the set into a museum and memorial monument for the hundreds of shtetls destroyed by the Nazis.

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UP FRONT

CONNECTICUT JEWISH LEDGER | SINCE 1929 | AUGUST 20, 2021 | 12 ELUL 5781

What Jewish New Yorkers need to know about Kathy Hochul, the state’s next governor

Urban Dor aims to entice young Jewish professionals to settle in the Hartford area

BY STEWART AIN

H

BY STACEY DRESNER

(New York Jewish Week/JTA) – Kathy Hochul, who is set to succeed Andrew Cuomo as governor of New York, is no stranger to the New York Jewish community.

Cuomo resigned Tuesday, July 10, a week after a state investigation concluded that he sexually harassed 11 women. He had faced intense pressure to step aside, including from President Joe Biden, or face impeachment.

Cuomo enjoyed a warm working relationship with Jews across the denominational spectrum. As Cuomo’s surrogate, Hochul has made it a point to keep up with the issues and concerns of Jews, local leaders say, visiting Jewish day schools, meeting regularly with Jewish community officials and touring Orthodox neighborhoods with local community leaders.

“We have brought hundreds and hundreds of students and activists to Albany [to meet her], and most recently – last March – she spoke at our virtual mission to Albany,” said Maury Litwack, director of state political affairs at the Orthodox Union.

“And for years she has been speaking and addressing our leadership missions to Albany.”

Earlier this year, Hochul visited Jewish day schools in Brooklyn and Queens, Litwak recalled.

“The Jewish community and Kathy Hochul have a longstanding relationship,” he said. “She likes to see things and go places and learn about people and their issues, and the Jewish community is definitely a stop for Kathy.”

A native of Buffalo, Hochul, who turns 63 this month, was Cuomo’s running mate in 2014 and reelected in 2018. (In New

York, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately.) She will become governor when Cuomo formally steps down Aug. 24 and serve the rest of his term, which runs until 2022; she will be the first woman to run the state.

Hochul (which rhymes with “local”) was among the first politicians to call out a recent spate of antisemitism in the state, in May 2019. When the number of antisemitic incidents nationwide began to spike that year, she convened a meeting in the city with Jewish leaders to address the situation and wrote on Facebook that “Anti-Semitism has no place in New York.”

Among those at the meeting were David Pollock, associate executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. The meeting demonstrated that CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

NEW YORK LT. GOV. KATHY HOCHUL, CENTER, IN YELLOW JACKET, MEETS WITH LEADERS OF NEW YORK CITY’S JEWISH COMMUNITY TO DISCUSS A NATIONWIDE RISE IN ANTISEMITIC ATTACKS, MAY 9, 2019.

ARTFORD – When Simon Lichter moved to Brookline, Massachusetts a couple of years ago, he did it specifically to be in the heart of the Jewish community.

“I moved to this Jewish area thinking, ‘Wow, I’m putting a lot of money down – $1600 for 350 square feet but it will be worth it because I’m in the center of the Jewish scene,” says Lichter, 32. “But that was not the case.”

He quickly learned that the residential vibe of Brookline did not make it easy for a young single person like himself to meet and form social relationships with other young Jews.

Then, last August he returned to his hometown of West Hartford to sit out the pandemic.

In April, he moved into The Carriage House, an historic building in downtown Hartford that has been converted into 66 apartments targeted to young professionals.

Now hoping to create social connections between Jewish 20- and 30-somethings in Connecticut’s capital city, Lichter has founded Urban Dor. The name is a play on words – “dor” means generation in Hebrew; and the group is an “open door” to Jewish social and cultural events in Hartford – which has been actively trying to attract a younger crowd to its housing market.

“I created Urban Dor as a means of helping to facilitate and promote Jewish events in the community and provide resources, expertise, partner resources and community resources to develop more young Jewish adult events,” he explains. “It came out of the feeling that the community wasn’t reaching out to young Jewish adults. I moved back to the area in August and I wasn’t really finding there was a strong social scene, which is why I was somewhat hesitant to relocate back here long-term. I’m single. I’m looking for my bashert [my intended]. I don’t want to grow old and

(OFFICE OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR)

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CAMPUS NEWS Jewish advocates warn that pro-Israel college students could face aggression on campus

BY SHIRYN GHERMEZIAN

(JNS) A number of Jewish groups have significant concerns about how Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip this spring will correlate into anti-Jewish sentiment on North American college campuses as the fall semester begins.

Most colleges are resuming in-person and on-campus classes after nearly three semesters of virtual learning as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic. While pro-Israel and Jewish students are looking forward to some sense of pre-pandemic normalcy at their schools, being back on campus means they also risk facing proPalestinian activists and renewed efforts at demonstrations against the Jewish state.

It also comes in the backdrop of the July 19 announcement by the Ben & Jerry’s icecream company not to sell their products in what they deem the “Occupied Palestinian territory”—namely, the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. The Aug. 1 anti-Israel “intifada” rally in Brooklyn, N.Y., also has lingering effects.

Still, Jewish groups point to the criticism faced as a result of the Israel Defense Forces’ “Operation Guardian of the Walls”—criticism that led to a spate of antisemitic attacks in the United States and around the world. It came despite the fact that Hamas induced the conflict with rocket fire towards Israel; in the course of 11 days, the terrorist organization that runs Gaza launched more than 4,000 rockets at Israeli population centers, though many fell short of their target and landed locally, causing Palestinian fatalities and injuries.

“To us, that was a turning point: It was a bad situation before, but it got worse starting in May,” Matthew Berger, Hillel International’s vice president for strategic action programs and communications, tells JNS. He noted that Hillel International, which recently launched a partnership with the Anti-Defamation League to combat antisemitism on campus, noticed an “unprecedented” amount of antisemitic activity in May and June immediately following the conflict. Students were attacked in the streets and on social media, targeted and isolated simply for being Jewish.

He also noted that many college student groups took anti-Israel actions in May when many other campuses had already emptied out for the summer, “so we’re concerned that students may try to catch up and take anti-Israel positions or commit anti-Israel activities because they didn’t have the opportunity to do last spring.”

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Hillel is additionally concerned about a rise in pro-BDS resolutions that are almost certain to be raised and voted on by student unions and governments. “The phenomenon that we saw during the conflict in spring was student government leaders writing unilateral, biased statements against Israel without going through the resolution process and without giving Jewish and proIsrael students an opportunity to engage or express their values. We’re certainly concerned that activity will rise in the fall as well.”

‘Every opportunity to spread hate and misinformation’ Carly Schlafer, director of communications at the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC), said that during the 2020-21 academic year, 37 anti-Israel resolutions were introduced in student government—17 of which came after the start of the Mideast conflict.

Student groups and faculty associations on 152 university campuses released anti-Israel statements.

“Campus life does not exist in a vacuum,” says Schlafer. “Rather, national, global, and increasingly, digital events and circumstances deeply influence activity on campus. Students returning to campus will be facing an in-person reality deeply intertwined with a digital one. And for pro-Israel and Jewish students, that digital experience is increasingly rife with antisemitic, anti-Zionist harassment. This means the challenges facing students on campus are even more complicated, complex, and in many cases, more disparaging than in prior years.”

Since the start of 2021, some 472 cases of antisemitism have been reported on college campuses, according to the AMCHA Initiative, which tracks such instances, including the targeting of Jewish students and staff, antisemitic expression and BDS activity.

CAMERA on Campus recently held its 11th annual International Student Leadership Conference online, where students from North America, the United Kingdom and Israel discussed their academic institutions and issues that may arise in the upcoming academic year.

Hali Spiegel, CAMERA’s director of campus programming and strategic relations, told JNS that among the top concerns for pro-Israel and Jewish students is the false information and “distorted

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accounts” that are “bound to appear” in response to the Hamas rocket attacks in May. She also says that after an “incredibly successful academic year” of seeing universities adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, she thinks there will be “a trend” in more antiIHRA definition resolutions—for example, the one passed by the University of Houston student government in mid-July, which was backed by Students for Justice in Palestine.

“We have seen and expect to see more outright declarations to boycott all of Israel for its ‘apartheid’ policies,’ ” she says. “Even though we expect anti-Israel activism to be even more robust than in past years, our CAMERA Fellows and CAMERA on Coalition members are prepared to combat the lies perpetrated by groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine.”

Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of StandWithUs, says the Israel-Hamas conflict “showed once again that anti-Israel activists will use every opportunity at their disposal to spread hate and misinformation about the world’s only Jewish state.”

She adds: “In their effort to rewrite history and deny Jewish rights, these activists will continue to promote antiSemitism on campus via divestment campaigns, academic boycotts, anti-Israel statements, petitions, study-abroad boycotts, continued disruptions of in-person and Zoom events, and more. Now, more than ever, Jewish and pro-Israel students must remain proud of who they are and stand up for their civil rights and values, as they educate their peers and courageously fight antisemitism on campus.”

‘Strong, thriving Jewish communities on campus’ Ilan Sinelnikov, president and founder of Students Supporting Israel, says the months that college students spent learning online during the pandemic gave anti-Israel supporters time “to fuel their hate in virtual forums.”

For that reason, he believes that grassroots pro-Israel activism is especially important since “it has been a while since groups were engaged in face-to-face advocacy efforts, and it is a skill that needs to be practiced.”

He explains that “the virtual connections and many recent events, both locally and in the Middle East, formed solid coalitions

A “FREE PALESTINE” SIGN ON DISPLAY WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA’S GOPHER MASCOT THAT WAS ERECTED

BY THE SCHOOL’S STUDENTS FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE CHAPTER. CREDIT: SJP VIA FACEBOOK.

against Israel, and we see a joining of radical voices that include Students for Justice in Palestine and their progressive allies of students who hold the same toxic ideas about Israel and support BDS. The major task of the pro-Israel side will be the recruitment of new members. An urgent issue is to build and maintain coalitions to counter the anti-Zionist and antisemitic forces that were created, correct misinformation and establish ourselves as the source of knowledge about Israel on campus.”

Moving into the new semester, Jewish advocates say it’s crucial that students educate others and stay engaged, especially with campus administrators.

Schlafer suggests working with and supporting students trying to share accurate information about the Middle East and the threats facing Israel.

Berger shares a similar sentiment, saying one of the best ways to address antisemitism is to build “strong, thriving Jewish communities on campus that demystify Judaism to the full campus community.”

He also notes the importance of working to educate university administrators “so they understand their role in addressing antisemitism, speaking out when they see it and not allowing antisemitism to go unchallenged on their campuses.”

Of course, that requires time, training and effort that add to students’ already busy schedules. It also necessitates the knowhow to approach those in charge, which can justifiably be intimidating.

Still, Berger makes it a point to say that “the same way university administrators have made a concerted effort to address racism and sexual misconduct, and in being outspoken in protecting the LGBTQ community, we want them to also address the concerns of the Jewish community and the rise of antisemitism on their campus as well.” jewishledger.com

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Hochul

Urban Dor

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“she is clearly sensitive to the issue and supportive of the community’s concerns,” he told The Jewish Week.

Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, also attended and said the meeting was just one of several times Hochul has reached out to the Jewish community.

“I have attended a number of meetings she conducted and I find it very important that she is an ardent listener,” he said. “That is a great quality. She wants to hear the concerns of Jewish leadership.”

Hochul has also visited the Yeshiva of Flatbush, a Modern Orthodox day school in Brooklyn. Its executive director, Jeffrey Rothman, said she has been a champion of state aid to private schools for the purpose of hiring qualified instructors to teach science, technology and math courses.

Devorah Halberstam, co-founder and director of external affairs at the Jewish Children’s Museum in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, said she has “known Kathy for a very long time,” seeing her at meetings about antisemitism and when Hochul visited the museum.

A visit three years ago was followed a week later by her appearance at the annual event marking the anniversary of the 1991 Crown Heights riots, in which Black residents of the neighborhood, angered after a car in the motorcade of Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson accidentally struck and killed a Black child, attacked Hasidic Jews they encountered. A Hasidic student, Yankel Rosenbaum, was stabbed to death.

“I have found her to be very personable, in touch with what is going on and very aware of the different communities,” Halberstam said.

In the fall of 2019, members of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council took her on a walking tour of their largely Hasidic neighborhood, including the Chabad Lubavitch movement’s headquarters on Eastern Parkway.

“She felt very comfortable being in our Hasidic community,” recalled Jacob Goldstein, a retired chair of Community Board 9, who accompanied her on the tour.

Married and the mother of two, Hochul holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and a law degree from Catholic University. She was an aide to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and served as a member of the Hamburg Town Board and as clerk of Erie County.

As a Democrat, she won a special election in 2011 to fill the seat of Rep. 8

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Christopher Lee. Lee resigned after a photo of him shirtless was emailed to a woman he met on Craigslist and was published online.While in Congress, Hochul fought to protect the Affordable Care Act, reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights.

The district, representing Buffalo and Niagara Falls, was considered the most Republican in the state. Hochul lost when she ran again in 2012.

Hochul was essentially the governor’s representative when he couldn’t make it to an event, observed Ezra Friedlander, CEO of the Friedlander Group, a public affairs and public policy consulting group.

“She didn’t have an independent role but was an extension of the governor and the administration,” he said. “In the Cuomo administration she was not regarded as the go-to person when you wanted something done legislatively. …

Although she was lieutenant governor, she wasn’t an insider and cannot be held accountable for the governor’s tsuris.”

But at the same time, she has used her position to travel throughout the state, visiting each of its 62 counties and attending various civic functions and getting to know community leaders.

“She knows what she’s doing,” Friedlander said. “For many years she has been waiting for this moment to be her own person. She is ambitious and wants to be governor. She has relationships she has built upon. It will be interesting to see if she can parlay that into her own term. … I think she will make a strong push to get elected in her own right. She will not go quietly into the night.”

After New York State Attorney General Letitia James released the results of her office’s investigation into Cuomo last week, multiple Democrats, including President Joe Biden, called on Cuomo to step down. The New York Assembly’s Judiciary Committee said it would hold hearings this month to decide if it will recommend that legislators move forward with impeachment.

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single here.”

Urban Dor’s first event was held on July 30 in Lichter’s apartment building on Allyn Street, a sleek mix of old industrial and modern with brick walls, exposed pipes and beams, and contemporary finishes. Fifteen young adults congregated in the building’s multi-purpose room to hang out and get to know each other. “[The group was made up of] some Jews, a couple of Muslims, a few Christians – so it was an interfaith experience for sharing a cultural Friday night,” Lichter told the

Ledger. “We did a light kiddush so everyone could experience a Jewish gathering. It was really nice.”

The Crown Market donated pizza, Yossi Catering kicked in some dips and homemade pita chips, and Rabbi Yosef Wolvovky of Chabad Jewish Center in Glastonbury added wine and challah. The group played doubles ping pong and cornhole.

In fact, the free event was so successful that now Lichter has plans to host similar events monthly.

Julie Wise, 32, a teacher living in Waterbury, heard about the first Urban Dor social and travelled to Hartford to attend.

“I enjoy going to Jewish social events in Connecticut for young Jewish professionals, so I wanted to check out this one as well,” she told the Ledger.

Wise says she usually attends Jewish social events in the New Haven area, but not she’s considering going to more events in the Hartford area.

“I definitely feel there is a need for more events for young Jewish professionals in Connecticut. These events are a great way to socialize and make friends in the young Jewish community,” she notes.

The next generation SIMON LICHTER

Lichter has some experience in both marketing and outreach to young Jews.

Born in West Hartford, the son of Audrey and Arlen Lichter, Simon attended the Bess

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS ENJOY GOOD CONVERSATION AND GOOD FOOD AT URBAN DO

and Paul Sigel Hebrew Academy and Hebrew High School of New England (the schools have since merged to become the New England Jewish Academy).

He went to Johnson and Wales University in Providence where, as president of the school’s Hillel, he “hosted a lot of Shabbat dinners” – and earned his degree in advertising and marketing communications in 2011. He returned, getting his MBA in general business at Johnson and Wales in 2016.

He has worked in marketing and advertising for several firms, including Staples in their corporate advertising agency; Thompson, Habib and Denison (THD) in Lincoln, Massachusetts, a marketing firm that works on direct mail and email campaigns for non-profit clients; the Jewish Alliance, the Jewish Federation in Providence; and Capital Good Fund, a non-profit community development financial firm.

In 2016 he founded his own company, Left Lane Marketing. One of his clients was Chabad of Brookline’s Chai Center, run by Rabbi Mayshe Schwartz, who runs a program called YJP, Young Jewish Professionals and hosts major events like the Shabbat 500, which brings in 500-plus young Jewish adults to celebrate Shabbat together. Lichter helped build the Chai Center website and provided marketing assistance.

Now, with Urban Dor, he wants to use his marketing know-how to bring young Jews in the Greater Hartford area together for fun –

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and FREE – events downtown.

“I have lots of experience working with my cohort and ,with my background in marketing, it really is easy for me to plan events and create effective marketing,” says Lichter, noting that too many times organizations get hung up on funding and marketing ideas – or the lack thereof. But, he says, “there are a lot of ways to work around that. Our first event cost less than $200 out of pocket. I got donated food. Supplies were very cheap at the Dollar Store. I printed some flyers; I bought some Facebook ads.

There’s really a lot you can do with a little money, and when you partner with various organizations you can leverage tenfold what you could do alone.”

Besides the Crown, Yosi Catering and Chabad Center of Glastonbury, Urban D’or has partnered with Charter Oak Cultural Center, Young Israel of West Hartford, Chai Mitzvah, Endow Hartford 21, the Mandell JCC, and Agave Grill – which is right across the street from his apartment building.

Urban D’or will also be doing volunteer, professional and networking events with HYPE – Hartford Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs – a part of the Metro Hartford Alliance which is actively working to bring young professionals to Hartford.

“We serve the same cohort, except our is Jewish-oriented,” Lichter says. “And we have the same goal – to put Hartford on the map as a place for young professionals, and to make Hartford more of a safer welcoming place to be.”

Urban Dor invites young Jews ages 21-39 from around Connecticut to attend its events which are centered in Hartford and its neighboring towns.

“We have Bushnell Park nearby, which is nice. There are a lot of good bars and restaurants around, and they’ve done a good job of providing outdoor seating,” Lichter says.

In addition, Lichter has reached out to synagogues; Jewish organizations, including Trinity Hillel; and restaurants and other possible venues of interest to young adults like local breweries, hoping to make Urban D’or a success.

“I’ve been really trying hard to network as much as I can,” he says. After all, he notes, “a rising tide raises all boats.

“When you have a strong Jewish community interest in young adults, it’s going to help everybody. The young adults are the next generation [of Jewish community leaders], and if we don’t create a fertile ground for us to want to stay in Hartford – professionally and religiously and socially – we’re going to look elsewhere.

“That would be a shame because Hartford has a lot to offer. It’s just about changing your attitude and putting resources into investing in our cohort.”

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IN MEMORIAM Ilan Naibryf, Jewish Surfside victim anyone would be lucky to meet

BY JOSH SATOK

I

’m writing this from Miami, 10 minutes from the beach. There are many reasons to be here – the beach, the sun, the culture. And there are many reasons not to be here. As my grandma keeps calling to tell me, COVID rates are skyrocketing in Florida, and maybe it’s not the best place to be right now. But none of these considerations really mattered to me. I came for a reason nobody should have to come for: to be at the shiva of a former student of mine, Ilan Naibryf, who was one of the victims of the Surfside building collapse in late June.

I came to see his sister Tali, another former student of mine, to be able to give her a hug, and to show up to synagogue as his sisters and parents said the Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer, for Ilan. I came to remember Ilan, to provide some tiny modicum of comfort to his family, and

ultimately, to remember what’s really important.

From 2014-2015, I spent a year working at a Jewish boarding school in Greensboro, North Carolina, the American Hebrew Academy. The school no longer exists, but for a year, I lived on the campus, doing a little bit of everything as a “fellow”: planning student activities; organizing Jewish life; coaching the cross country team; working with admissions; serving as a house parent living in the 10th and 11th grade boys dorm; even taking over the classes of the rabbi who was the head of Judaic Studies when he left midway through the year.

I’ve worked with lots of Jewish teenagers in my life, through years as a camp counselor, section head, program director and assistant director. But there’s something special about the bonds you create in spending an entire year living on campus

(JOSH SATOK)

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with students, where not only did I teach and coach them, but ate with them in the dining hall, went to Shabbat services together, and spent hours and hours on Sundays driving them back and forth to Target in big white school vans.

Ilan was, simply put, a good kid. Even as a freshman, he was a star soccer player and a laser-fast runner. His smile lit up the room, and he was kind, curious and had boundless energy. After the year we both spent at AHA, Ilan finished high school in Hawaii and then went to the University of Chicago, where he was the student president of Chabad and would have been entering his senior year this fall.

Ilan was in the Surfside building with his girlfriend Deborah, in her family’s apartment, to go to the funeral of someone they knew from their time at Camp Judaea in North Carolina. He was the kind of kid that anyone who works with teens is lucky to get to meet, to teach, to spend time with. And so is his sister Tali, who was the madricha (senior who lived in a house with younger students) for the house of 11th grade girls right next to my 10th/11th grade boys house.

My heart breaks that he’s gone at only 21, way too early.

From the moment I heard he was missing, I felt a compulsion that if the worst came to pass, if I could make it work, it felt like I needed to go down to Surfside. If there’s one important lesson I’ve learned in my 30 years of life, it’s that when you can, if you can, always try and show up for people, especially in their moments of pain. I’ll never forget a few years ago, when my beloved grandfather passed away, and I went home to Toronto for his funeral and shiva. One afternoon, my boss at the time showed up at the door of my parents’ house where the shiva was. She had flown in from New York without telling me, arriving on our doorstep with all the ingredients to make her famous guacamole.

From her, more than anyone, I learned that being there for someone – whether they expect you, whether they know you well, no matter how far the distance – matters. It was clearly a lesson Ilan himself had already learned, being there in the Surfside building in order to pay his respects to a fellow member of his community.

Especially after our last year and a half, when so many have been separated from the people we care for, unable to be physically present with them in their joys or in their sorrows, I couldn’t stop thinking that just

being there, even for a brief moment, mattered.

And I hope it did. After finally leaving Canada for the first time since COVID started, I made it down in time to be at the synagogue for the final services before the family got up from shiva – my first time back in a shul since COVID. I saw Tali for the first time in seven years. I got to give Ilan’s parents and his other sister, Mica, a hug, and say something about how special Ilan was, how much of an impression he left on me. And I got to walk to Surfside, to see the empty space where the building stood and the memorial to the victims now is. It was a lot. It was intense. And it was important.

Let me be clear: I’m not the protagonist in this story. Ilan is. This is about Ilan and the 97 other victims who were in the Champlain Towers. It’s about his sisters, Mica and Tali, his parents, Carlos and Ronit, and all the other families who had to endure the horrible limbo of not knowing if they’d see their children or their parents or their husbands or their wives or their brothers or their sisters alive again. Who held onto hope when not much remained, and who, at least now, have some closure and the ability to properly mourn their loved ones.

What can we take away from this unthinkable tragedy? I hope we can be a little more grateful for what we have, that we can hold onto our loved ones a little tighter, that we can give our grandmothers another call, send our friends another text to see how they’re doing. So many have lost so much this past year, and it’s important to put it in context. The fact that I missed out a year of going on dates or traveling to new places or going to movies is tiny compared to losing a person, especially one so young, forever.

So let’s be there for each other, through the good, and especially through the bad.

And let’s remember Ilan, a shining star taken from us way too soon.

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.

This article originally appeared on Alma.

jewishledger.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Filmmakers constructed a shtetl for a Ukrainian WWII film.

Now they want to preserve it as a museum.

BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ

(JTA) — In the woods of northern Ukraine, construction workers have built an island in time: a shtetl.

That’s the Yiddish word for the type of old-fashioned Jewish towns that existed throughout Eastern Europe before the Holocaust.

This new shtetl, comprising 18 buildings on more than an acre of land near the lakeside town of Rovzhi, near Kyiv, was built this summer over 50 days as the set for a historical feature film titled “Shttl.”

(The “e” is missing to underline emptiness, director Ady Walter, an Argentina-born filmmaker, told the Ukrainian news site KP).

The film, a joint French-Ukrainian production, is unusual both for its budget of several million dollars — a massive investment in Ukraine’s ailing economy — and its treatment of a tragic and politically sensitive period in the history of Jews in Ukraine.

Scheduled to premiere next year, the movie even has some Hollywood star power in Saul Rubinek, a Canadian-Jewish actor who featured in the 1987 classic “Wall Street” alongside Michael Douglas and has had TV guest appearances on “Frasier,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Schitt’s Creek” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Rubinek also plays a heavily accented Jewish weapons expert in the Nazi hunter drama “Hunters” on Amazon.

“Shttl,” set in the summer of 1941, follows how the Nazi invasion of Ukraine devastated the lives of two Jewish newlyweds and their one-time shtetl community in Sokal, in Western Ukraine.

It’s a potential foray into a political landmine.

During that summer, especially in Western Ukraine, locals participated in the liquidation of area Jews, sometimes with remarkable cruelty. The country is now in the midst of a polarizing debate about the jewishledger.com

glorification of some of those perpetrators amid a surge of nationalism and antipathy toward Russia, which the Nazi collaborators were fighting during World War II. President Vlodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, has expressed reservations about the practice of glorifying Nazi collaborators but has generally avoided confrontations over the issue with nationalists, who enjoy considerable popular support amid a simmering territorial conflict with Russia that began in 2014.

Following a march through Kyiv in May that featured Nazi symbols, Zelensky for the first time condemned the practice outright.

“We categorically condemn any manifestation of propaganda of totalitarian regimes, in particular the National Socialist, and attempts to revise the truth about World War II,” he said in a statement.

Reports this week in the Ukrainian media about the film have not addressed how the filmmakers intend to navigate these complicated issues. Both the film’s French and Ukrainian production companies have not responded to requests for comment.

They also declined to share with JTA photos producers had given out to Ukrainian media of the set.

Bringing a shtetl back to life was of paramount importance to Walter, he told KP. “I want the viewers to walk in the alleyways along with the actors and feel everything,” he said.

Walter added that although the protagonists of the film are the Jewish couple, a non-Jewish Ukrainian character also has an important role as a close friend of the Jewish groom.

The actress portraying the bride, Anisia Stasevich, studied Yiddish for the role. She also studied with Eli Rosen, an actor who was raised in a Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn and was consulted by makers of the Netflix series “Unorthodox.”

Stasevich’s grandfather was a Jew from the Ukrainian city of Odessa who would “be happy to see me returning to the roots,” she told KP. To lower costs, the producers bought old houses across Ukraine and scavenged them for parts to erect the set, production designer Ivan Levchenko told the news site. Doing so was cheaper than processing and aging fresh materials, he said. Some buildings were built of polystyrene, upon which artists drew fake facades. That was the solution as well for the headstones of the fake shtetl’s cemetery.

Other structures include a school, a large wooden structure with a Star of David on its gable, and a synagogue complete with massive wooden doors and an interior that took a crew of artists two weeks to paint.

The set has attracted attention in the Ukrainian media because of the unusual

(HISTORY & ART IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES)

attempt to recreate an institution that had existed for centuries in Eastern Europe.

Only remnants of shtetls can be seen now in a handful of places, including Bershad, a sleepy town 160 miles south of Kyiv. The tiny synagogues, or shtiebels, have mostly remained intact there, although the interiors have been converted into shops and auto repair shops. But 50 Jews remain, maintaining a typical shtetl synagogue with board floors.

In Belarus, the city of Babruysk also boasts a well-preserved former shtetl, though most of its Jewish population of several hundred do not live there.

The best preserved shtetl today exists

outside Europe in the town of Krasnaya Sloboda, in Azerbaijan, where several hundred Jews live with financial support from community members who left for Russia, Israel and beyond.

In other shtetls, structures have long been destroyed, taken apart or decayed and are now indistinguishable from their surrounding villages and towns.

The film’s production firm is working on turning the set into a museum and memorial monument for the hundreds of shtetls destroyed by the Nazis and their collaborators, KP reported.

“The main issue is to leave it in good hands,” Walter said.

LETTER Ben & Jerry’s by the numbers So Ben & Jerry’s has joined the anti-Semitic BDS cause.

Questions to those who support Ben and Jerry’s: —How many nations in the world is Ben & Jerry’s boycotting based on their morals litmus test?

Answer is one, Israel, the one and only nation of the Jewish people.

—How many Muslim, Christian or other non-Jewish nations in the world is Ben & Jerry’s boycotting.

Answer is none.

—How many of the Muslim, Christian and other nations in the world have really bad stuff going on there that warrant moral indignation?

Answer is lots.

Now that you have the numbers, you know Ben & Jerry’s has lots of nations to target, many of which have really bad stuff going on there.

But the business has decided to target only one nation: Israel, the only Jewish nation in the world. Why? Its a no brainer, folks — It’s called antisemitism.

Boycott Ben and Jerry’s, and tell your representatives in Hartford and Washington to take action to support the boycott of Ben and Jerry’s. I have already emailed Attorney General Tong and my member of Congress, Rep. Jim Himes.

Lester Freundlich Stamford

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Should we get a third vaccine shot? The answer isn

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BY ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

ith rising Covid-19 cases caused by the Delta variant and concerns about how long the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine remains effective – and how effective it is against Delta – the Israeli government decided on July 29 to make a booster shot available to every Israeli over age 60.

Israel has followed an aggressive vaccination policy from the start. A third Pfizer shot already has been given to immunocompromised people, and initial doses to children between 12 and 15.

ISRAEL21c turned to Jerusalem-based expert Ronald Ellis for answers to some of the most pressing questions about the Covid-19 vaccine and booster shots.

Ellis played key roles in developing five vaccines currently accounting for about $8 billion in annual sales worldwide, is a consultant to the industry and editor-in-chief of the DR. RONALD ELLIS, international journal VACCINE INDUSTRY CONSULTANT. Human Vaccines & PHOTO: COURTESY Immunotherapeutics.

Q: The Israeli Health Ministry is finding a decline in the effectiveness of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to prevent infections and symptomatic illness.

Does this mean Delta is resisting the vaccine?

Delta is one in a long line of variants. We will see more of them over time. To date, there isn’t a single variant that is totally resistant to vaccine-induced antibodies. It may take more antibodies to neutralize these variants than the original Wuhan [Alpha] variant, but the virus doesn’t totally escape them.

Q: Why do we see fewer instances of serious Covid-19 among vaccinated people who do get infected?

The vaccine may not stimulate production of enough antibodies to stop the virus cold; the virus may get in and start replicating. That will stimulate immune memory, which will greatly increase the level of antibodies within just a few days, and in most people that will prevent severe disease – and worse.

Q: So, the Pfizer vaccine is still doing its job?

With Wuhan, the vaccine was up to 90% effective against infection and 95% effective against symptomatic disease. With Delta, it looks to be about 30-40% effective against

SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER NURSE LINA AHMAD VACCINATES PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG, 60, WHILE HIS WIFE MICHAL WAITS HER TURN AND PRIME MINISTER NAFTALI BENNETT (RIGHT) LOOKS ON. THE HERZOGS WERE FIRST IN THE WORLD TO RECEIVE THE THIRD PFIZER VACCINE AS A BOOSTER, ON JULY 30.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER

infection and 90% effective against disease.

During the last two months, the number of serious cases has gone up less than tenfold despite the number of cases going up more than 100-fold. So, the vaccine is doing the job.

In general, vaccines prevent disease much more than they prevent infection.

Q: As soon as Pfizer released data showing “reasonable safety” for 12- to 16-year-olds, Israel began an aggressive campaign to inoculate this population. Are you in favor of this policy?

In terms of the balance between benefit and risk, yes. There are rare reports of mild myocarditis or significant side effects in teens.

On the other hand, there are serious Covid-19 cases that arise even among teenagers, and serious side effects that persist after infection or disease.

There’s also the issue of altruistic vaccination – vaccinating teens not only to protect them but also to keep the level of coronavirus down in the community and in the vaccinee’s family.

Q: What about vaccinating younger children? Pending clinical trial results, the United States may approve vaccinating under-12s in the coming months.

How young you go depends on the disease statistics. If the vaccine proves safe in ages nine to 12, then depending on the amount of virus circulating we probably want to do it.

However, 12- to 16-year-olds have larger lungs than little kids. Because they’re exhaling larger volumes of air, they are more likely to infect somebody than is a small child exhaling smaller volumes.

Also, infection is spread by droplets and gravity gradually pulls them down to the ground. A 16-year-old is exhaling at a vertical level to adults, whereas two-year-olds are exhaling near an adult’s legs. So the bigger risk is from this taller kid with a larger volume of air, and that is also one reason vaccinating teens may have a higher altruistic effect for adults.

Q: Israel was the first country to begin giving booster doses of the vaccine to immunocompromised citizens.

Many of these people did not develop antibodies in response to the first two doses. Was this a sound decision?

We won’t know for certain until we see if it has the desired effect. It is hard to do clinical trials in immunocompromised patients, so it seems a reasonable benefit-to-risk balance to boost the most vulnerable populations as the Delta variant spreads. We must make

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decisions in real time even though all our decisions will not be perfect decisions.

Let’s remember that the vaccine is being given under emergency use authorization – to this day, the FDA still hasn’t given formal approval to any Covid vaccine. We are only learning now about how Covid vaccines boost and how long antibodies last. It will take a couple of months to see those results and any adverse effects.

Q: On July 29, the Israeli Ministry of Health decided to offer boosters for those over 60. Is it wise to start giving everyone third shots?

We’re only six months post-vaccination for most people, and most are retaining protective levels against Covid-19 disease. The decision to boost should be based on decay of antibodies. And the longer you wait, the stronger the boost you get. If you boost too many times, your immune system might not respond as well.

In addition, since there will be future variants, it might not be reasonable to boost again each time there is a new one, and it might be difficult to “sell” people on the idea of too many boosters.

However, in light of the recent very large increase in Delta infections, I feel that a benefit-risk analysis clearly favors getting the booster shot in terms of how the booster significantly raises antibody levels.

This is taking a bit of a chance in that we are the first country to recommend boosters, and we did so ahead of an FDA decision in the US. We need to monitor safety in individuals post-booster. We also should continue to take other preventive measures, such as indoor masking.

Editor’s note: Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Asher Shalmon told ISRAEL21c on August 1 that antibody testing for those over 60 is not being recommended as a basis for deciding whether to get boosted because the correlation between antibody levels and immunity still is uncertain.

Q: Do you think we’ll need booster shots yearly, like with flu shots?

Corona is different from the flu because it’s not escaping the antibodies from the previous vaccine as flu virus does. With flu, the surface of the virus changes, or “drifts,” so the old vaccine doesn’t work well and you need a new composition.

With corona, the question is what do you boost with? The vaccine developed for Wuhan might boost antibodies against Delta and against the future hypothetical variant Epsilon. Or it may work only against Delta if Epsilon has drifted onto a different branch of the coronavirus tree. We need lab and jewishledger.com

n’t so simple animal studies to test whether we have to boost against Wuhan, Delta, Epsilon, or a combination.

The right policy [for most healthy people] is to wait maybe a year or so from the initial vaccination. If you boost for Delta, and Epsilon comes along in six months and it’s resistant to the Delta-induced antibodies, what do you do?

Time will tell if there will be annual boosters.

Editor’s note: The Israeli Ministry of Health is recruiting 1,000 families to participate in a study to evaluate what segments of the population would most benefit from a booster dose, and when.

Q: If you got the Pfizer vaccine, will you have to get a Pfizer booster as well?

Clinical studies are already under way on people already vaccinated to see how well the different vaccine types boost each other. They all express the same protein from the virus although in a different form.

A booster re-exposes the individual to the antigen, so I expect that most vaccines will boost most other vaccines. But you need the data to be sure, and some combinations might present unexpected safety issues.

Q: What about the issue of vaccine equity?

Corona is a worldwide problem. Should wealthy countries give lots of booster shots and vaccines to children, or should they send those doses to impoverished areas that don’t have enough for everyone? From an ethical health equity point of view, it’s a tough issue and will influence how vaccines are distributed and used.

This article is reprinted from Israel21c.org.

jewishledger.com

Will an Israeli vaccine be the solution to new variants?

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BY ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

everal Covid-19 vaccines under development in Israel hold out promise for their ability to protect against variants of the virus that are challenging existing vaccines.

Back in May 2020, research groups across the world were racing to formulate vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Realizing it was not going to win that race, Israel purchased millions of PfizerBioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines from the United States and led the world in getting eligible citizens vaccinated.

Israel was the first country to offer the vaccine to 12 -to 15-year-olds and to offer booster shots to immunocompromised people and those over 60.

However, domestic inoculations still to come may become significant as primary vaccinations or as boosters against highly contagious variants of the virus.

BriLife U.S.-based NRx Pharmaceuticals will receive a license for exclusive worldwide development, manufacturing and marketing rights to the novel BriLife coronavirus vaccine developed by the Defense Ministry’s Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR). BriLife is based on a previous, FDAapproved vaccine platform that was further optimized by IIBR and targeted towards Covid-19. Because it is a live-virus vaccine, NRx anticipates rapid and affordable industrial scaleup and manufacturing.

“As the first-generation Covid vaccines are increasingly challenged by rapid mutation of the coronavirus, we aim to develop a vaccine that can rapidly scale at low cost to serve the needs of both the developed and the developing world,” said Chaim Hurvitz, who is director of NRx, chairman of Israeli private equity group CH Health, former director of Teva Pharmaceuticals and former president of the Teva International Group.

Hurvitz is co-leading this initiative with NRx Pharmaceuticals chairman and CEO Dr. Jonathan Javitt, a public health expert who had leadership roles in seven successful healthcare IT and biopharma startups and led drug-development programs for Merck, Allergan, Pharmacia, Novartis and Pfizer.

Javitt tells ISRAEL21c that BriLife presents the entire spike protein of the coronavirus to the body’s immune system, while mRNA vaccines present a small slice of the spike protein to the immune system.

“We expect BriLife will create a broader immunological response and will enhance protection against Covid-19 and its variants,” says Javitt.

BriLife is continuing Phase II clinical trials in Israel and the nation of Georgia.

Phase III trials are to take place in Georgia, Ukraine and other European countries.

ALGAE GROWING AT TRANSALGAE IN REHOVOT. PHOTO: COURTESY

MigVax MigVax, a vaccine-development startup spun out of the Israeli Science and Technology Ministry’s Migal Galilee Research Institute, is developing an oral Covid-19 vaccine, MigVax-101. This “sub-unit” vaccine contains pieces of coronavirus protein (not live or dead virus) delivered by mouth to stimulate antibodies and immune cells to fight coronavirus in mucosa, blood and cells.

On June 10, MigVax released results from preclinical tests on lab rats that demonstrated the potential effectiveness of MigVax-101 as an antibody booster for previously vaccinated people.

Now the company is raising funds to launch Phase I and Phase II human clinical trials. If such trials prove successful, the vaccine could be commercialized within a year after the trials begin.

An oral vaccine offers significant advantages over injected vaccines because it could be taken at home – no appointments, etc. Although it would have to be refrigerated, it would not need “deep freeze” conditions that make the mRNA vaccines expensive and difficult to ship and store.

MigVax says its vaccine candidate is uniquely positioned to tackle new variants because the subunit can be adapted quickly to novel variants. And its protein components are stable, meaning the vaccine may remain effective for longer periods before requiring a booster.

Furthermore, MigVax-101 could be more acceptable to a wider population, including people wary of receiving injections of genetic or viral material, as well as infants, children, pregnant women and others.

Commented Prof. Itamar Shalit, MigVax’s infectious disease exper: “Oral boosters such as our MigVax-101 will be key enablers that will help health organizations the world over transition from ‘panic mode’ to routine, due to their ability to reduce the cost and expand the reach of ongoing vaccination programs.”

Oravax Another oral Covid-19 vaccine is under development at Oravax Medical, a subsidiary of Jerusalem-based Oramed Pharmaceuticals formed last March as a joint venture with India-based Premas Biotech.

Oravax capitalizes on Oramed’s proprietary protein oral delivery (POD) technology and Premas’ exclusive viruslike particle vaccine technology, which will target three SARS CoV-2 virus surface proteins – including proteins less susceptible

to mutation. That could make Oravax potentially effective against current and future mutations both as a standalone vaccine as well as a booster for previously vaccinated people.

“Our vaccine is a particularly strong candidate against the evolving Covid-19 virus due to its unique targeting of three proteins rather than one,” said Nadav Kidron, CEO of Oramed.

Oravax completed a successful pilot study on animals. Now the vaccine candidate is being tested in animals against variants including the Delta variant. Proof-of-concept clinical trials are soon to start in Israel at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center to measure the level of antibodies and other immunity indicators.

Kidron has said that Oramed initially wants to target its vaccine to countries that haven’t been able to afford mRNA vaccines for their populations. An oral vaccine, as stated above, is less costly to ship, store and administer without the need of healthcare professionals.

Early stages Several other potential Israeli vaccines are in early stages of development, some of them in labs at universities including the TechnionIsrael Institute of Technology, Tel Aviv University and Bar-Ilan University.

An oral sub-unit coronavirus vaccine being developed in Rehovot at TransAlgae would use an edible delivery vehicle based on engineered algae. Bioencapsulated inside the algae, a specific coronavirus protein molecule travels intact through the digestive system to stimulate its target, the immune system.

Eyal Ronen, VP for business development, tells ISRAEL21c this vaccine candidate is undergoing preclinical trials.

TransAlgae is seeking collaborations and strategic partnerships with American companies to advance development. The company’s main field of expertise is animal and fish vaccines as well as crop insecticides.

“We are not a pharma company and were not interested in going into human health at this moment. But our shareholders were asking us, why not use this for human beings? We took the challenge,” says Ronen.

This article is reprinted from Israel21c.org.

JEWISH LEDGER

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AUGUST 20, 2021

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Briefs US concerned by Polish bill blocking Holocaust victims from reclaiming property

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(JNS) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the United States is “deeply concerned” by legislation passed by the Polish parliament earlier in the day barring Holocaust survivors and their descendants from reclaiming property seized by the country’s communist regime. Blinken called on Polish President Andrzej Duda not to sign the bill into law, or to refer it to Poland’s constitutional tribunal.

“A comprehensive law for resolving confiscated property claims is needed to provide some measure of justice for victims.

Such a law would benefit many Polish citizens, as well as people who were forced to leave Poland during and after World War II and who subsequently became naturalized citizens of other countries,” said Blinken. “Until such a law is enacted, the pathway to compensation should not be closed for new claims or those pending decisions in administrative courts,” he added.

The Polish legislation states that administrative decisions can’t be legally challenged after a 30-year period, effectively preventing Jews (and non-Jews) from reclaiming property confiscated by the communist-led Polish People’s Republic (1947-1989).

Gideon Taylor, chairman of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, also called on Duda to veto the bill, stating that the WJRO was “outraged” by the passing of the legislation.

In response to the move by the Polish parliament, Israeli Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy decided not to re-establish the IsraeliPolish parliamentary friendship group. “The anti-restitution law restricting property claims by victims of the Holocaust is a daylight robbery that desecrates the memory of the Holocaust,” said Levy. “Poland’s decision to pass this immoral law harms the friendship and bilateral relations between Israel and Poland. Consequently, there is no place to re-establish the parliamentary friendship group between the Israeli Knesset and the Polish Sejm and senate, which regularly holds various activities to strengthen ties between the countries,” said Levy. “I urge the president of the Republic of Poland, H.E Andrzej Duda, “to veto this wrongful law.”

Lapid launches liaison office in Morocco, embassies will open soon (JNS) Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid inaugurated the Israeli liaison office in Rabat, Morocco, on Thursday, formally re-establishing ties between the two nations.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lapid was joined by Moroccan Deputy Foreign Minister Mohcine Jazouli for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which also included affixing a mezuzah at the entrance of the office. The visit by Lapid was the first by an Israeli minister since 2003. Israel and Morocco established relations during the 1990s, but those ties were severed by Morocco at the start of the Second Intifada in 2000.

Lapid said that Israel and Morocco would open embassies in each country within two months with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita slated to travel to Tel Aviv in October or November. The step forward in relations comes after the countries signed a trilateral declaration in December that included an obligation “to resume full official contacts between Israeli and Moroccan counterparts.” As part of the deal that was negotiated under the Trump administration, the United States would also recognize Moroccan sovereignty in the disputed region of Western Sahara. The December agreement did not include the establishment of full diplomatic ties at the time. Morocco had reportedly been waiting to see if the new Biden administration would roll back the decision on Western Sahara. However, after receiving assurances from the Biden administration that it would not, the country decided to move forward with full normalization.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the reopening of the liaison office.

While the Biden administration has praised the normalization deals negotiated under the Trump administration and has vowed to expand on those efforts, including the appointment of a possible special envoy on normalization, so far, the administration appears to have done little publicly to advance any future deals between Israel and Arab countries.

The Israeli foreign minister also revealed that he has been in touch with his counterpart in Bahrain about inaugurated Israel’s diplomatic mission there in the near future. Lapid inaugurated the Israeli consulate in Dubai in June. Lapid said that Israel’s relations with Morocco and other Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt, represent a strategic regional alliance against Iran. “We are creating a cycle of life in the face of the cycle of death created by Iran and its emissaries,” he said.

Mayim Bialik to host ‘Jeopardy!’ specials as part of post-Trebek lineup (JTA) – “Jeopardy!” is getting its first-ever Jewish host as Sony Pictures Television announced that actress Mayim Bialik will host some of the game show’s new primetime specials. Following longtime host Alex Trebek’s death last fall, Bialik served as one of the show’s celebrity guest hosts for two weeks in June. In her new role, the star of “The Big Bang Theory” will host new spinoff series, including a college tournament next year. jewishledger.com

Mike Richards, one of the show’s executive producers, will host the daily syndicated episodes.

“IT’S TRUE!!! Been waiting a long time to tell you all. Really really honored and astounded and excited for this - it’s beyond anything I ever imagined could happen,” Bialik tweeted after the announcement on Wednesday.

Bialik, who holds a doctorate in neuroscience and often writes about her observant Jewish practice, will also be the show’s first permanent woman host.

She posted a video response to the news as well, paying tribute to her Jewish immigrant grandparents. “I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that I am a second generation American and my grandparents were immigrants…my mother’s parents in particular…never had a command of the English language. And it’s a tremendously bizarre and humbling and surreal experience to see that in the time that my grandparents fled Eastern Europe until now, how much has changed in my life,” she said.

Guess who came to Shabbat dinner? The ‘Real Housewives of NYC’ (JTA) – On an episode of “Real Housewives of New York City” that aired Tuesday, Aug. 10, the cast of the Bravo reality TV series about socialites in the city is shown attending a drama-filled event described as “Black Shabbat” by its host.

Eboni Williams, the show’s first Black cast member, hosted the dinner at the home of Archie Gottesman, a founder of JewBelong, a nonprofit that set out to “rebrand Judaism” and recently took out billboards in several cities in an effort to combat antisemitism.

Williams, who has described a 2016 trip to Israel as transformative, became close friends with Gottesman after a different Shabbat dinner some years ago.

The attendees noshed on challah and Leah McSweeney, a cast member who is in the process of converting to Judaism, recited a blessing in Hebrew. During the meal, Williams initiated a conversation about Black and Jewish relations in the U.S. But fans of the show have focused mostly on the behavior of cast member Ramona Singer, who mistakenly calls the dinner a “Black seder” (leading one New York Magazine commenter to write, “How can these women have lived so long in NYC and know so little?”)

Gottesman jumped at the chance to host the dinner, which took place last December at her home in Summit, New Jersey, because of her belief – baked into JewBelong’s programming – that Shabbat meals are ideal venues for meaningful conversations. She said the discussion at her table had been more in depth than was depicted and that the Aug. 17 episode is also slated to include Shabbat content. Gottesman said she was grateful to Williams and McSweeney for representing Jewish life in popular media, especially after they told her that they received jewishledger.com

antisemitic messages after the show aired.

There are currently no Jews on the local cast, although there have been in the past. “What’s interesting and fabulous about Ebony is that when she pitched Shabbat [to the show’s producers], she said they had never been pitched Shabbat before,” Gottesman said.

“There have been Jewish Housewives and Jewish producers on the show, and I think it’s really beautiful that it’s a non-Jewish Black woman who said this should be on TV. It was brave.”

Eric Holtz quits as Team Israel’s baseball manager (JTA) – Eric Holtz, the manager for Israel’s national baseball team over the past four years, has stepped down from his post. Team Israel failed to medal in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, finishing fifth with a squad of nearly all Americans, including former major league All-Star Ian Kinsler. Some had predicted that Israel, making its Olympics debut, would finish in the top 3 of the six-team field. Team Israel was also forced to apologize after a video of its players breaking a bed at the Olympics went viral on TikTok. Holtz, 55, informed Jordy Alter, the president of the Israel Association of Baseball, and Team Israel’s general manager, Peter Kurz, of his decision earlier this week, Israel Baseball said in a statement. “Israel Baseball thanks Holtz for his hard work in advancing the game during his tenure with the national team and wishes him much success in his future endeavors,” the statement said. Guided

by Holtz, Israel earned its historic Olympics berth by winning the Africa/Europe Qualifying Event in September 2019, emerging from the second tier of European baseball along the way.

A former player-coach in Israeli professional baseball, he was an assistant on the Team USA that won the gold medal in baseball at the 2013 Maccabiah Games and the head coach of the Under-18 U.S. club that took gold at the ’17 Maccabiah.

Norwegian imam who has promoted interfaith dialogue said Jews should be killed (JTA) – A Muslim imam in Norway who has led interfaith dialogue projects has made antisemitic statements on Facebook, including on how Jews are dangerous and “should be killed,” for years. The Norway branch of Minhaj-ul-Quran, an international Muslim organization that is considered moderate and geared toward outreach, suspended Noor Ahmad Noor indefinitely on Monday, Aug. 9, following an expose published last week by the Vartland newspaper on his antisemitic statements. Noor had served for years as the branch’s director. Police have launched an investigation into his remarks. In one post from 2019, Noor wrote that Jews “put the world in danger” and it is “necessary to kill them.”

In a short statement to the Norwegian media, Noor said: “My posts were published in frustration over attacks in Gaza. Innocent children and women were killed. My criticism and frustration should have been directed at the regime. And not against a group of people.

I apologize.”

As director of Minhaj-ul-Quran, he has participated in meetings and projects with top government officials, including Cabinet ministers and Ivar Flaten, head of the Church Dialogue Center in Drammen, the Norwegian city where Noor lives. Flaten initially defended Noor to Vartland, arguing dialogue occurs amid disagreements, but has since called the remarks “unacceptable, shocking.”

In a statement, Minhaj-ul-Quran wrote: “These are attitudes and values we have zero tolerance for as a religious community. This is contrary to what we have been working for for decades.”

Russian scientist beaten by man seeking to ‘finish Hitler’s job’ (JTA) – An 82-year-old prominent scientist was assaulted on a bus in Moscow by a much younger assailant who shouted that “Hitler should have finished the job, so I’ll do it for him.” The assailant began hitting Vladimir Tselin, a researcher of radiation who has worked on the Russian space program, soon after Tselin boarded a bus on his way to work Friday, Aug. 6, the news site MK reported Sunday. Shouting about Jews and Hitler, the man followed Tselin out of the bus after Tselin got off to escape the assailant. No one on the bus or on the street intervened, according to the report, which did not say whether Tselin is Jewish. Tselin did tell MK he believes the assault was a hate crime “based on ethnic grounds.” Physical assaults on Jews are rare in Russia, where authorities have pursued a tough stance on such hate crimes. Tselin reported the incident to police and sought medical treatment for minor injuries he sustained in the incident.

Grave of Rabbi Nachman’s daughter destroyed, desecrated with pig parts (JTA) – The grave of a daughter of the Breslover movement’s founder, Rabbi Nachman, was razed and desecrated with pig heads. In unrelated incidents this week, a grave at a Jewish cemetery in Greece and a monument for Holocaust victims in Moldova also were vandalized.

In Ukraine, the desecration this week of Sarah’s grave in Kremenchuk is the fifth such act since 2013 and the most serious, Jewish. ru reported. In 2015, the grave from 1831 in the central Ukraine city was set ablaze and defaced with swastikas. But the latest incident resulted in the destruction of the aboveground parts of the gravesite, the report said.

The unidentified perpetrators placed several severed heads of pig carcasses atop the razed

tombstone. The area of the gravesite of Rabbi Nachman’s daughter was designated in recent years to become a construction site, but the Oholei Tzdikim association, which preserves Jewish heritage sites, helped prevent the project.

Rabbi Nachman’s teachings have inspired hundreds of thousands of followers worldwide.

His grave in the Ukrainian city of Uman is among the Hasidic world’s most visited burial sites.

In Moldova, a southern neighbor of Ukraine, the names of the Holocaust victims listed on the monument in Cosauti were crossed out. In Greece, a grave in Ioannina was opened and damaged.

Trevor Noah takes aim at Ted Cruz’s love for ‘chutzpah’ (JTA) – Ted Cruz has “chutzpah” – on the tip of his tongue. The Republican Texas senator’s frequent use of the Yiddish word for gumption caught the ear of Trevor Noah, host of “The Daily Show,” the nightly comedic take on the news. On Thursday night, Aug. 5, Noah’s show aired a compilation of clips of Cruz using the word in various contexts – from explaining its meaning to Fox News hosts to accusing President Joe Biden of having too much of it.

Noah even pulled in a clip of Jewish comedian Larry David at the end, telling Cruz, too impolitely to republish, it was enough already.

The segment was the popular show’s “Moment of Zen” for the night. On Friday, Aug. 6, Cruz extended his Yiddish language showdown with Noah, shooting back with a different, and dare we say, chutzpadik, Yiddish word: “Trevor Noah is a putz,” he wrote.

Israel launches of plan to fight Arab-sector crime (JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on August 11 announced a national plan to fight crime in the country’s Arab sector.

Referring to out-of-control violence in the streets of Arab-majority towns and villages, Bennett said, “my government is determined to take action and wage an unceasing, constant and persistent fight, with full force, against crime and violence in the Arab sector.” The sector, he said, comprises 20 percent of the overall population but accounts for 60 percent of the crime. “This situation cannot be and we will stop this neglect,” he added.

The plan, whose goals are to increase the personal security of Arab Israeli citizens and raise their confidence in Israel’s law enforcement agencies, calls for increasing police presence in Arab towns and on highways, strengthening intelligence and investigation capabilities and combating crime families and protection rackets. Eleven hundred personnel will be added to the Israel Police, in addition to two financial units, which will be tasked with protection rackets and economic crime.

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THE KOSHER CROSSWORD AUGUST 20, 2021 “Sandwiches” By: Yoni Glatt

Difficulty Level: Medium

Vol. 93 No. 34 JHL Ledger LLC Publisher Henry M. Zachs Managing Partner

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Leslie Iarusso Associate Publisher Judie Jacobson Editor judiej@jewishledger.com • x3024 Hillary Sarrasin Digital Media Manager hillaryp@jewishledger.com EDITORIAL Stacey Dresner Massachusetts Editor staceyd@jewishledger.com • x3008 Tim Knecht Proofreader

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10 days prior to publication. Advertising deadline: Tuesday noon one week prior to issue.

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The publishers cannot warrant, nor assume responsibility for, the legitimacy, reputability or legality of any products or services offered in advertisements in any of its publications. The entire contents of the Jewish Ledger are copyright © 2021. No portion may be reproduced without written permission of the publishers. JHL Ledger LLC also publishes Jewish Ledger MA, All Things Jewish CT, and All Things Jewish MA.

ANSWERS TO AUGUST 13 CROSSWORD

jewishledger.com

Across 1. “To the ___ go the 74-across” 7. Office equipment 11. Lads and dads 14. Locust we’ve been hearing 15. “Mater” preceder 16. Poetic palindrome 17. Chanced 18. It can color commentary 19. Yeshiva leader 20. Tinker with text 22. Photography dairy product?

24. Play like Phish or Soulfarm 26. Circular cereal 28. Anti-Semitic German leader, once 29. “Ni-i-i-ice!”

31. Headwear, for some men 33. “The Big Board” of Wall St. 34. For each and every one 35. Unlike something that 74-Across 39. Crazy commotion 40. Like one who is a 1-Across...or a literal hint to the shaded parts of this puzzle 41. Leave stunned 44. Fictional Russian town where they most likely ate 50-Across 45. Common sight at a bris 46. What the suspicious smell?

49. Initials on an oil can 50. Challah option 52. Flatter, with “up”

55. G-d 57. “Bill ___ Saves the World” (Netflix series) 58. A seder includes it 59. Got rid of chametz 61. College, to an Aussie 62. College test for a future JD 65. Republic after 28-Across’s reign 69. 1-100 A.D., e.g.

70. Musical James 71. Most notable Hava 72. Italian three 73. Speak with laryngitis, say 74. Good things for 1-Across...or goes bad like the shaded parts of this puzzle when left out

Down 1. Electronics device you’re very unlikely to find in a millennial’s home 2. Rocky when he loses and wins 3. Adds to an e-mail 4. “I wanna go too!”

5. Prophet in 2 Chronicles 6. Electronics device you’re only slightly more likely to find in a millennial’s home than 1-Down 7. Pat 8. Man’s name that means “my G-d” 9. Give a potch 10. Talmudic question 11. Inquisition charge

12. Rubs out 13. Harsh 21. Hamas often issues them 23. “Zwei” preceder 24. Modern option for finding ones bashert 25. Plane prefix, formerly 27. Bizarre, as a work of art 29. Hot place to chill 30. Yosemite Sam, for one 32. Actors Donald and Crispin 36. Genetic matter 37. Kosher animal in North America 38. A house may be built on it 41. Friend in war 42. Like virtually everything

Hollywood makes nowadays 43. Application extension on PCs 44. Business envelope abbr.

46. Kidnap 47. Demolisher 48. When many businesses open 51. Part of ROY G BIV 53. Angler for congers 54. Amtrak stop: Abbr.

56. Half of these clues 60. Kind of year 63. @@@ 64. Dance like Caleb Teicher 66. 1,002, in old Rome 67. Detergent option 68. Dorm folk

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AROUND CT A walk into New Haven’s Jewish Past SPECIAL TO THE LEDGER

NEW HAVEN – About 15 people walked through the streets north of the Green one recent Sunday, looking for traces of Jewish life in New Haven during the late 19th Century.

Sponsored by Temple Emanuel of Greater New Haven, the tour was conducted by the Ethnic Heritage Center and the Jewish Historical Society of Greater New Haven.

The tour began with an overview of New Haven’s religious history and a stop at the home of William Pinto, one of the sons of the original New Haven Jewish settlers, who arrived in 1758. Pinto was the second owner of the plain green house on Orange Street that was built around 1810. A Yale grad, William Pinto was a Revolutionary War soldier and a merchant. He was chosen to copy the Declaration of Independence

for distribution. And his friend Eli Whitney died in the house in 1825 while awaiting the completion of his own home nearby.

Other stops on the tour relevant to the area’s Jewish history included visits to: • The site of the United Workers Building, which was torn down and replaced by the Hall of Records. The building was home to the YMHA which evolved to become the Jewish Community Center, today housed in Woodbridge.

• The site of the original home of Congregation Mishkin Israel. Now located in Hamden, it was the first synagogue in New Haven.

• The home of Lafayette Mendel, one of the first Jewish tenured Yale professors and the man who laid the groundwork for today’s food science and dietary studies.

Besides Jewish sites, the group walked across the Farmington Canal, learning about the first wave of Irish immigration.

They visited the home of Dr. Stephen J. Maher, who helped fight the tuberculosis epidemic and founded Saint Raphael’s Hospital; and learned about Father Michael McGivney who, in 1882, founded the Knights of Columbus.

PARTICIPANTS GATHER IN ORANGE FOR A WALK THROUGH NEW HAVEN’S JEWISH HISTORY.

“It was very enlightening,” said Mark Weber of Milford. “I’ve been in the New Haven area since the 1970s, but I didn’t

Trudy Goldstein marks 45 years at the Jewish Ledger On August 21, Trudy Goldstein celebrated her 45th year as a valued member of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger staff, granting her exclusive elder-stateswoman status as the longest-employed associate of the organization.

“Trudy is still a very valuable part of our team,” says Ledger Associate Publisher Leslie Iarusso, who has worked with Trudy for close to 25 years. “She is sharp, well-organized, and professional with a wealth of information from her many years in the community. We’re

so happy she is still part of the Ledger family – with no signs of slowing down!”

A native of Hartford’s North End, Trudy Goldstein is the daughter of the late Julius and Sadie Weiner – owners of Weiner’s Men’s Clothes, a Hartford business chronicled in the 2013 book, Revisiting Our Neighborhoods: Stories from Hartford’s Past (Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford).

She and her husband, Alex Goldstein z”l, raised their three daughters in West Hartford. It was when their youngest

AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR OF WORKING VIRTUALLY, THE LEDGER STAFF RECENTLY RECONVENED AT THE NEWSPAPER’S OFFICE FOR A SPECIAL LUNCH.

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daughter was entering high school that she decided to find a job.

“I played Mah Jongg with three other women and they all worked,” she recalls.

“When I’d say, ‘Let’s play another hand,’ they would say, ‘You don’t have to work tomorrow.’”

When she began her career at the Ledger – which was then owned and operated by Bert Gaster z”l and Shirley Bunis z”l – the newspaper was housed above The Crown supermarket at West Hartford’s Bishops Corner, within walking distance from the Goldsteins’ home. The job was clerical and Goldstein did everything, from ad design to labelprinting to newspaper layout.

“I even took out the garbage,” she laughs.

Today, Trudy is one of the Ledger’s top advertising sales representatives.

She has an uncanny ability to recite addresses and/or phone off the top of her head – a great help to her co-coworkers.

Above all else, she still finds satisfaction in her work and her Ledger “family.”

“The Ledger is like a second home to me,” she says. “It’s so nice to be appreciated by our publisher and staff.

I’m surrounded at the office by good company and close friends. I’m so grateful!”

know about our rich Jewish history here.

And being with others as we learned about our heritage made it more enjoyable.”

JTS Board of Trustees Elects New Members A Connecticut resident is among five new members of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) Board of Trustees. Hazzan Rabbi Luis Cattan is cantor of The Conservative Synagogue in Westport and president of the Cantors Assembly.

“By welcoming these new Board of Trustee members, we welcome new ideas, skills, and wisdom. This group represents committed Jewish communal leaders of diverse backgrounds and experiences and continues to build on the transformation of the Board with the next generation of Jewish leaders,” said Alan Levine, chair of the board.

A native of Montevideo, Uruguay, Cattan previously worked at the Cuban Hebrew Congregation of Miami as cantor and executive director, and at Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus as cantor and education director. He has also held several roles in synagogues and Jewish organizations in Latin America.

In addition to Cattan, the other newly elected members of the JTS Board include: Hillary Gardenswartz, a senior project manager at the Jewish Education Project; Ariel Glasner, a partner at the law firm of Blank Rome LLP, and a member of the Board of Directors for the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists and on the Attorney/Client Arbitration Board for the District of Columbia Bar Association; Allan Kahan, president of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs; Deborah Shapira, a New York facilitator and consultant living, who serves on the boards of Pardes North America, Prizmah, and SAR Academy and High School. jewishledger.com

WHAT’S HAPPENING AUGUST 19 – SEPTEMBER 19 THURSDAY, AUGUST 19 The Rosh Hashanah You Thought You Knew Dip into an inspiring and thought-provoking exploration of the Jewish New Year with Rabbi Tzvi Sytner. Hosted by UJA/JCC Greenwich on Aug. 19, 112:30-1:30 p.m. For more information, visit ujajcc.org.

class with 5-time James Beard Foundation award-winning Chef Michael Solomon and NY Times best-selling cookbook author Adeena Susan, on Sept. 1, 8 p.m. Recipes include: Halvah Gazoz and chicken with date syrup from Adeena, and salatim (a two of salads) from Michael. $10

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 SATURDAY, AUGUST 21 Screening of “Maktub” in West Hartford The Emanuel Synagogue will host a screening of the Israeli comedy, “Maktub,” on Aug. 21 at 8:30 p.m., in the synagogue’s parking lot, 160 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford. Admission is FREE. For information, call (860) 236-1275.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25 Dignity Grows Packing Party UJA/Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford will host a Dignity Grown “Young Ladies” Night Out Packing party on Aug. 25, 7-8 p.m. Join this effort to pack 100 bas of personal care items for those in need.

Suggested sponsorship is $10 per bag.

Register at ujf.org/dignity.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 26 Jewish Approaches to Health and Wellness Mind says yes, body, not so much. A look at how our tradition sees both physical and mental health issues led by Rabbi Richard F. Address. Hosted by UJA/JCC Greenwich on Aug. 26, 112:30-1:30 p.m. For more information, visit ujajcc.org

FRIDAY, AUGUST 27 “Shabbat Under the Stars” at Emanuel Synagogue Friday, Aug. 27, 6:00 p.m.–The Emanuel Synagogue will host “Shabbat Under the Stars” in the shul’s parking lot, on Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. Services followed by Shabbat dinner. Located at 160 Mohegan. Dr., West Hartford. Reservations and payment needed for dinner. For information or to register, visit emanuelsynagogue.org.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 1 “A Very Israeli Rosh Hashanah” Cooking Demo A one-hour live interactive virtual cooking jewishledger.com

Young Israel LegenDAIRY! The Young Israel of West Hartford invites everyone – members and nonmembers – to take a break from your Rosh Hanah prep dn enjoy dinner, ice cream and fun with old and new shul friends at the LegenDRAIY Welcome Back Eent on Sept. 5, 4:40 - 6:30 pm. ARSVP optional. For more information: youngisaelwh.org/legendairy.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 Picking for the Pantry Pick apples at Silverman’s Farm in Easton on Sept. 12, 3 - 4:30 p.m. Hosted by PJ Library and UJA/JCC of Greenwich, this event will benefit local families who use the Schoke Jewish Family Service Kosher Food Pantry. No rain date. $36/family (includes a bag for picked apples to be donated to the food pantry. For information, contact uja@ ujajcc.org.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 Keney Park Reunion Share memories of Keney Park and the North End at this reunion to be held at the park on Sept. 19 at 2 p.m.; Learn about the Keney Park Sustainability Project and tour their site with its vegetable garden beekeeping and maple syrup making. Hoted by the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford. $15/members; $18/non-members.

For more information or to register, visit jhsgh.org.

10th Anniversary Murray Lender 5K Bagel Run The annual Murray Lender 5K Bagel Run Road Race, 2-mile Family Fit Walk and Free Kids’ Costume Run will be held Sept. 19; 8 a.m. registration, 9 am Kid’ Costume Race, 9:30 a.m. Bagel Run and 2 Mile Family Fit Walk, 10:30 a.m. Bagel Breakfast and Awards. Enjoy music, food and activities for the kids. USA Track & Field Cetified 5K court will wind through the residential neighborhoods of Woodbridge. Groups are encouraged. Free event t-shirts. Save 20% by registering before Sept. 1. For information, visit jewishnewhaven.org.

TORAHPortion Ki Tetzei

M

BY RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

any years ago, on the occasion of this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tetzei, I was conducted a Friday morning lesson on the parish with a group of teenagers, frustrated by the fact that they could find little relevance in many of the biblical passages that we were studying. I told them that I would challenge the entire congregation to find relevance in some of the passages of that week’s parsha, Ki Tetzei.

I stood up that Saturday morning and began by quoting the following verse: “If you see your fellow’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it; you must help him raise it.” (Deuteronomy 22:4) Rashi, following the explanation of the Talmud, understands this to mean that if the donkey’s pack falls off his back you must help your friend replace it there.

This is the mitzvah known as te’inah, or uploading.

I challenged the audience with the following question: “Of what possible relevance is placing a fallen burden back on a donkey to us in our daily lives?

When is the last time you met a donkey or an ox on the road, with or without a sack on the ground beside it?”

I then asked the audience to take out their Chumashim, their Bibles, and turned back to a passage we had studied together during the previous winter in the Torah portion of Mishpatim. There we read, “When you see the donkey of your enemy lying under its burden and would otherwise refrain from helping him, you must nevertheless help him.” (Exodus 23:5) Rashi, again following the Talmud, sees this as the mitzvah of perikah, of helping to unload the donkey of its burden, and helping even one’s enemy in the process. “Now I understand,” I argued to the audience, “that the lesson of helping one’s enemy may be a relevant, if unpopular, one. But unloading a donkey?

When was the last time anyone here did that?”

Then I announced a contest to be judged by myself and two congregants, in which each congregant was asked to write your their own answers to these questions.

As the second runner up – that is, the third of the top three responses – we chose the answer submitted by our a young student who found the answers to most of his questions in the Talmud. He reminded us of the passage in Tractate Bava Metzia which imagined a situation

in which a person would have to choose between the mitzvot of uploading and unloading, between te’inah and perikah.

The Talmud describes the dilemma of the person who encounters not one, but two, donkeys. One donkey has its fallen cargo on the ground next to it; the other is bent under its burden. You have time for only one donkey. Which one do you attend to?

The Talmud answers that your priority is to unload the overburdened donkey. The Jewish value of tza’ar ba’alei chayim, sensitivity to the suffering of animals, trumps the mitzvah of te’inah.

“Surely teaching about the need to avoid cruelty to animals is a relevant lesson,” argued the budding Talmudic scholar.

The runner up, number two in the contest, was a psychologist. “Every day,” he asserted, “I help to unload peoples’ burdens. I try to listen to them and to somehow lighten the weight that they feel. That’s perikah. And then there are those whom one must encourage to ‘upload’ the packs on their backs and to ‘keep on truckin,’ to get back on the road, and to get on with their lives. That’s te’inah.”

Our panel of judges was in for a surprise when it came to the contestant who won the grand prize. Of all the many members of the synagogue, it was the aging cantor who was clearly the winner.

His voice was far from what it once was, but we kept him on, and indeed cherished him, for his genuine piety and sincere humanity.

“Whenever I stand in front of the congregation,” he said, “and anticipate the difficulty I am about to have in reaching the high notes, I appreciate those of you who sing and chant along with me and help me achieve those high notes. You uplift me. When you do that, you fulfill the mitzvah of te’inah. And as I falter in trying to descend the musical ladder to those lower notes, and you, the congregation, come to my aid with your voices, you help lower my burden, and you perform the mitzvah of perikah.

We are told that there are 70 facets to the Torah. We had about 70 contributions to our contest that Shabbat. I have shared only the top three with you, and challenge you to come up with yet others.

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb is the Executive Vice President, Emeritus of the Orthodox Union.

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OBITUARIES PALTEN Joy Esther Palten, 100, of West Hartford died August 12. She was the widow of Atty.

Paul M. Palten. She was born in New Haven.

She was a long-time member of Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford. She is survived by her children, Katherine Yacavone and her husband John, of Cheshire, and David Palten and his wife Barbara of West Hartford; her grandchildren; Daniel (Kathrin), Peter (Olivia), James (Susan), Elizabeth (Joe), and Emily (Karl); and her great-grandchildren, Ada, Nicholas, Lucinda, Anthony, Edwin, and Marco). She was also predeceased by her son Richard.

PETERMAN Beverly Peterman, 90, of Redding, formerly of Stamford and Florida, died August 1.

She was the widow of Ira Peterman. She

daughter of Edith Lottie and Dr. William Cohen of Providence, R.I. She was a member of Temple Sinai. She is survived by her children, Amy Schneider and son Eric Peterman, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

YITNIKOFF Walter R. Yetnikoff of Westport died August 7, four days short of his 88th birthday. He was the husband of Lynda Yetnikoff. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his sons, Michael and Daniel, four grandchildren, his sister Carol Goldstein and her husband Sid Goldstein of Glastonbury.

For more information on placing an obituary, contact: judiej@ jewishledger.

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Nach Waxman, NYC cookbook store owner, was a Jewish text enthusiast

BY SHIRA HANAU

(JTA) – Nach Waxman, owner of the beloved New York City cookbook store Kitchen Arts & Letters, as well as a maven of both Jewish cooking and Jewish texts, has died. He was 84.

“He built the store into a worldwide haven for people who were serious about food and drink books,” the read an announcement issued by his Upper East Side shop. “He encouraged the best authors, respected the passion and curiosity of cooks and readers at all levels, and never lost a sense of pleasure and wonder at discovering the myriad ways people wrote about cooking, eating, and drinking. All of us who worked with him will miss him deeply.”

Waxman was a mainstay of a small group of friends who met every Sunday morning for more than 25 years at his Upper West Side apartment to study Jewish texts.

As much as he loved studying Torah, Waxman was equally devoted to traditional Jewish foods, especially schmaltz and liver, and kept a collection of his own Jewish cookbooks in the back of his store.

Joan Nathan, the Jewish food writer and author of multiple Jewish cookbooks, said Waxman helped her find Yemenite and Sephardic cookbooks – often synagogue and community cookbooks from all over the United States – before those styles of cooking became popular among Ashkenazi cooks.

“We clicked right away, and clicked over brisket because he really liked brisket,” said Nathan, who first became friends with Waxman in the 1980s.

Waxman grew up in Vineland, New Jersey, a town that was once home to a community of Jewish farmers. He attended a Jewish day school in Philadelphia, which meant traveling by train early each morning and returning home late in the evening.

Still, he fell in love with Judaism.

After college he began studying for a doctorate in anthropology but moved into the publishing industry and worked as an editor. His love of literature extended to the Bible.

The Sunday morning study group originally began with a few parents who met at the Stephen Wise Temple while their children attended Hebrew school.

The meetings eventually moved to the Waxmans’ apartment, where the group would usually nosh on bagels and lox while they studied. On holidays, however, Waxman would prepare a special breakfast like latkes for Chanukah and matzah brei for Passover.

“They have a total love of study, they had a great intellectual curiosity and a sense of wow isn’t that amazing,” said Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed, where Waxman and his wife, Maron, were members.

Kalmanofsky said the Waxmans arrived exactly on time for services each Saturday morning and stayed through the end. Waxman’s son, Joshua, is a Reconstructionist rabbi in New Jersey and has taught at the same school his father attended as a child. The Waxmans also have a daughter, Sarah, and several grandchildren.

Leah Koenig, a food writer and author of several Jewish cookbooks, met Waxman when she found his recipe for russel, a fermented beet broth made by Russian Jews to add to borscht, in an Anshe Chesed community cookbook. She visited Waxman at his home in 2019 to learn how he made the broth in his mother’s old ceramic crock used exclusively for that purpose each spring in preparation for Passover.

“Growing up, we kept the crock in a special cabinet in our cellar where the Passover dishes were stored,” Waxman told Koenig. “It was something you waited for.

There was real excitement when the crock came out and the beets were done.”

Waxman described russel in the Anshe Chesed cookbook as the dish that “heralded, as clearly as a shofar blast, that change was on the way –that we were beginning the countdown to Pesach,” according to Koenig.

“I think he’s somebody who understood the importance of cookbooks as literature and understood the importance of food books to telling cultural stories,” Koenig told JTA. But the Jewish recipe Waxman will be best known for is his brisket. The onionheavy recipe – developed as a hybrid of his mother and mother-in-law’s techniques – was first published in the 1989 New Basics Cookbook.

Waxman’s study group did not meet during the shiva period and group member Rita Falbel, a friend of Waxman, said she didn’t know when the group would get together next, but she knew Waxman would be sorely missed.

Struggling to fully describe her friend, Falbel asked: “How can I describe somebody who loved life in all its forms?”

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CT SYNAGOGUE DIRECTORY To join our synagogue directories, contact Howard Meyerowitz at (860) 231-2424 x3035 or howardm@jewishledger.com.

BLOOMFIELD B’nai Tikvoh-Sholom/ Neshama Center for Lifelong Learning Conservative Rabbi Debra Cantor (860) 243-3576 office@BTSonline.org www.btsonline.org BRIDGEPORT Congregation B’nai Israel Reform Rabbi Evan Schultz (203) 336-1858 info@cbibpt.org www.cbibpt.org Congregation Rodeph Sholom Conservative (203) 334-0159 Rabbi Richard Eisenberg, Cantor Niema Hirsch info@rodephsholom.com www.rodephsholom.com CHESHIRE Temple Beth David Reform Rabbi Micah Ellenson (203) 272-0037 office@TBDCheshire.org www.TBDCheshire.org CHESTER Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek Reform Rabbi Marci Bellows (860) 526-8920 rabbibellows@cbsrz.org www.cbsrz.org COLCHESTER Congregation Ahavath Achim Conservative Rabbi Kenneth Alter (860) 537-2809 secretary@congregationahavathachim.org

EAST HARTFORD Temple Beth Tefilah Conservative Rabbi Yisroel Snyder (860) 569-0670 templebetht@yahoo.com FAIRFIELD Congregation Ahavath Achim Orthodox (203) 372-6529 office@ahavathachim.org www.ahavathachim.org Congregation Beth El, Fairfield Conservative Rabbi Marcelo Kormis (203) 374-5544 office@bethelfairfield.org www.bethelfairfield.org GLASTONBURY Congregation Kol Haverim Reform Rabbi Dr. Kari Tuling (860) 633-3966 office@kolhaverim.org www.kolhaverim.org GREENWICH Greenwich Reform Synagogue Reform Rabbi Jordie Gerson (203) 629-0018 hadaselias@grs.org www.grs.org Temple Sholom Conservative Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz Rabbi Kevin Peters (203) 869-7191 info@templesholom.com www.templesholom.com

HAMDEN Temple Beth Sholom Conservative Rabbi Benjamin Edidin Scolnic (203) 288-7748 tbsoffice@tbshamden.com www.tbshamden.com MADISON Temple Beth Tikvah Reform Rabbi Stacy Offner (203) 245-7028 office@tbtshoreline.org www.tbtshoreline.org MANCHESTER Beth Sholom B’nai Israel Conservative Rabbi Randall Konigsburg (860) 643-9563 Rabbenu@myshul.org programming@myshul.org www.myshul.org MIDDLETOWN Adath Israel Conservative Rabbi Nelly Altenburger (860) 346-4709 office@adathisraelct.org www.adathisraelct.org NEW HAVEN The Towers at Tower Lane Conservative Ruth Greenblatt, Spiritual Leader Sarah Moskowitz, Spiritual Leader (203) 772-1816 rebecca@towerlane.org www.towerlane.org Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel Conservative Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen (203) 389-2108 office@BEKI.org www.BEKI.org

Orchard Street ShulCongregation Beth Israel Orthodox Rabbi Mendy Hecht 203-776-1468 www.orchardstreetshul.org NEW LONDON Ahavath Chesed Synagogue Orthodox Rabbi Avrohom Sternberg 860-442-3234 Ahavath.chesed@att.net Congregation Beth El Conservative Rabbi Earl Kideckel (860) 442-0418 office@bethel-nl.org www.bethel-nl.org NEWINGTON Temple Sinai Reform Rabbi Jeffrey Bennett (860) 561-1055 templesinaict@gmail.com www.sinaict.org NEWTOWN Congregation Adath Israel Conservative Rabbi Barukh Schectman (203) 426-5188 office@congadathisrael.org www.congadathisrael.org NORWALK Beth Israel Synagogue – Chabad of Westport/ Norwalk Orthodox-Chabad Rabbi Yehoshua S. Hecht (203) 866-0534 info@bethisraelchabad.org bethisraelchabad.org Temple Shalom Reform Rabbi Cantor Shirah Sklar (203) 866-0148 admin@templeshalomweb.org www.templeshalomweb.org NORWICH Congregation Brothers of Joseph Modern Orthodox Rabbi Yosef Resnick (781 )201-0377 yosef.resnick@gmail.com https://brofjo.tripod.com

ORANGE Chabad of Orange/ Woodbridge Chabad Rabbi Sheya Hecht (203) 795-5261 info@chabadow.org www.chabadow.org

WASHINGTON Greater Washington Coalition for Jewish Life Rabbi James Greene (860) 868-2434 jewishlifect@gmail.com www.jewishlife.org

The Emanuel Synagogue Conservative Rabbi David J. Small (860) 236-1275 communications@emanuelsynagogue.org www.emanuelsynagogue.org

Congregation Or Shalom Conservative Rabbi Alvin Wainhaus (203) 799-2341 info@orshalomct.org www.orshalomct.org

WATERFORD Temple Emanu - El Reform Rabbi Marc Ekstrand Rabbi Emeritus Aaron Rosenberg (860) 443-3005 office@tewaterfrord.org www.tewaterford.org

United Synagogues of Greater Hartford Orthodox Rabbi Eli Ostrozynsk i synagogue voice mail (860) 586-8067 Rabbi’s mobile (718) 6794446 ostro770@hotmail.com www.usgh.org

WEST HARTFORD Beth David Synagogue Orthodox Rabbi Yitzchok Adler (860) 236-1241 office@bethdavidwh.org www.bethdavidwh.org

Young Israel of West Hartford Orthodox Rabbi Tuvia Brander (860) 233-3084 info@youngisraelwh.org www.youngisraelwh.org

SIMSBURY Chabad of the Farmington Valley Chabad Rabbi Mendel Samuels (860) 658-4903 chabadsimsbury@gmail.com www.chabadotvalley.org Farmington Valley Jewish Congregation, Emek Shalom Reform Rabbi Rebekah Goldman Mag (860) 658-1075 admin@fvjc.org www.fvjc.org

Beth El Temple Conservative Rabbi James Rosen Rabbi Ilana Garber (860) 233-9696 hsowalsky@bethelwh.org www.bethelwesthartford.org Chabad House of Greater Hartford Rabbi Joseph Gopin Rabbi Shaya Gopin, Director of Education (860) 232-1116 info@chabadhartford.com www.chabadhartford.com

SOUTH WINDSOR Temple Beth Hillel of South Windsor Reform Rabbi Jeffrey Glickman (860) 282-8466 tbhrabbi@gmail.com www.tbhsw.org

Congregation Beth Israel Reform Rabbi Michael Pincus Rabbi Andi Fliegel Cantor Stephanie Kupfer (860) 233-8215 bethisrael@cbict.org www.cbict.org

SOUTHINGTON Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation Reform Rabbi Alana Wasserman (860) 276-9113 President@gsjc.org www.gsjc.org TRUMBULL Congregation B’nai Torah Conservative Rabbi Colin Brodie (203) 268-6940 office@bnaitorahct.org www.bnaitorahct.org WALLINGFORD Beth Israel Synagogue Conservative Rabbi Bruce Alpert (203) 269-5983 info@bethisraelwallingford.org www.bethisraelwallingford.org

Congregation P’nai Or Jewish Renewal Shabbat Services Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener (860) 561-5905 pnaiorct@gmail.com www.jewishrenewalct.org

WESTPORT Temple Israel Reform Rabbi Michael S. Friedman, Senior Rabbi Rabbi Danny M. Moss, Associate Rabbi Rabbi Elana Nemitoff-Bresler, Rabbi Educator (203) 227-1293 info@tiwestport.org www.tiwestport.org WETHERSFIELD Temple Beth Torah Unaffiliated Rabbi Alan Lefkowitz (860) 828-3377 tbt.w.ct@gmail.com templebethtorahwethersfield.org WOODBRIDGE Congregation B’nai Jacob Conservative Rabbi Rona Shapiro (203) 389-2111 info@bnaijacob.org www.bnaijacob.org

Kehilat Chaverim of Greater Hartford Chavurah Adm. - Nancy Malley (860) 951-6877 mnmalley@yahoo.com www.kehilatchaverim.org

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