Community Review - November 4, 2022

community review

Mike Doctrow to Receive 2022 Albert Hursh Leadership Award

BY ADAM GROBMAN

rowing up in Harrisburg, lifelong community member Mike Doctrow most remembers spending his early days in the community competing on the basketball court.

“We were at the JCC every day,” he says of himself and his wife, Ricci. “It was the center of the Jewish community and it’s where everyone who was Jewish went to be together, enjoy each other’s company, and have a good time.”

From an early age he was encouraged by his family to volunteer time on behalf of the community. The impact of that encouragement has rippled throughout the community, with Mike being recognized as this year’s recipient of the Albert Hursh Leadership Award in appreciation of a lifetime of impact and service. Mike is slated to receive the honor at the 2022 Joint Agency Annual Meeting on Wednesday, November 9th at the Grass Campus.

“Mike doesn’t do what he does for accolades – he does it because it’s where his heart is,” said Sam Levine, the 2021 recipient of the award. “It has been an extremely busy couple of years for our community, and he’s shown great leadership during that time.”

Mike’s leadership in the community began many years ago with a board seat at the Campus of the Jewish Home. Among other board positions, he’s been active with his synagogue, Chisuk Emuna Congregation. Alongside retiring from a career in intellectual property law a year and a half ago, he’s dedicated significant time and energy through the Jewish Community Foundation of Central PA. After joining the agency’s board about a decade ago, he became board chair in 2020, with two years remaining in his term.

“I went from going 150 miles per hour (at work) to zero miles per hour, and I needed something else to take up a significant portion of time,” he says. “The Foundation seemed like a great place to put my efforts.”

Mike mentions three recent projects of the Foundation that stand out among a lifetime of commitment and involvement – the Life and Legacy Program (which he says will “ultimately result in tens of millions of dollars in endowment funds coming to our community”), the management of Jewish cemeteries throughout North Central PA, and the creation

of the Seniors’ Fund from the proceeds of the sale of the Campus of the Jewish Home.

The Foundation was instrumental in consulting with decision-makers at the Jewish Home on how to best serve the community through the funds – with an eye to honoring the original builders and donors of the Jewish Home.

“It was a long, hard process to decide how to ensure the goals of the (original) contributors were met so long after,” he says. “We’re in a very good place to do a lot of good in the community as a result of the people involved in the project – a sizable endowment was created from the sale and that’s something that’s going to benefit seniors in our community forever.”

All three of these projects – and others that Mike’s been involved in throughout the years – have the common theme of ensuring the sustainability, vitality, and recognition of Jewish life in Harrisburg (and elsewhere) from generation to generation.

“As I’ve had children and now grandchildren, the importance of volunteering and having the Jewish community thrive has become more important,” he says. “For our family in particular, the Jewish community has always been the center of our world.”

With their three kids – Emily, Rebecca, and Annie –having grown up in the community and now beginning to start their own families, Mike and Ricci feel even more inspired to ensure the future of the community.

“It’s a community that we feel is very important and we want it to be there for our kids – I think that our kids and grandkids will be better off having access to places like the Silver Academy than they would be without it.”

He says he’s inspired to continue to support programs and organizations with the hope for the community to grow and sustain.

“As I sat at services over the holidays, I marvel at the fact of all these young people with little kids that I never knew before,” he says. “It shows that we’re being at least somewhat successful in what we’re doing – we want to make sure that this is a place where new young people are willing to come and see this as a community to live, grow, and thrive in.”

Mike Doctrow

Community Review

Vol. 96, No. 22 November 4, 2022 (ISSN 1047-9996) (USPS 126-860)

Published bi-weekly by the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg, 3301 N. Front Street, Harrisburg, PA, 17110. Subscription rate: $50 per year. Periodicals postage paid at Harrisburg, PA, and additional entry office.

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Mission Statement of The Community Review: Inform readers about local, national and international events of interest to Jews. Promote Jewish values, Jewish identity and a sense of Jewish community in central Pennsylvania.

The opinions expressed in the Community Review do not necessarily reflect the position of the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg. The Federation does not endorse any candidate or political party for any elected office.

Finding Tatteh at Yad Vashem

BY LILLIAN WEINSTOCK RAPPAPORT

This article, meant to coincide with Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, is actually an abbreviated diary from my experiences in Israel this past summer.  As a proud Jewish mother, my heart smiles that my daughter, Jenna, a third-generation Holocaust survivor, is taking up the mantle of remembrance. As part of her journey towards becoming a Holocaust Educator, she was accepted to Yad Vashem’s prestigious training program for Holocaust educators this past July in Jerusalem.

I thought this might be a good chance for me to tag along and visit my much-beloved Israel.  So, I did exactly that.

The staff at Yad Vashem allowed me to sit in on the classes and their pedagogy continues to be outstanding, meaningful, and relevant (I took this same training at Yad Vashem close to twenty years ago).

As a brief intro, here is some family background:  Both of my parents, Jacob (z”l) and Genia (z”l) Weinstock were Holocaust survivors from Poland.  Over six years, they were slave laborers and inmates at several concentration camps. My mother was liberated from Alach, a sub-camp of Dachau; my father was liberated from Buchenwald.  They met in the summer of 1945 and married in January, 1946.

As part of Yad Vashem’s programming. the course participants were taken on a guided tour of its Holocaust museum. While Jenna and I were stopping to view the images and displays, we came upon a famous picture, taken shortly after liberation, at a Shabbat (or possibly Shavuot) service led by a Rabbi Herschel Schacter at Buchenwald.

Of course, I had seen smaller versions of this picture many times before in my own studies. I had always wondered if my father was in the photo, but I could never find him. The difference, however, was that now the picture had been blown up to fit an entire wall in the museum; the faces of the liberated prisoners were more clearly visible. In this enlarged version, I found him.

There he was. Tatteh In the front row, all the way over to the side. Bent over; weary; wearing his prisoner jacket and pants.  I could not breathe. I called to Jenna, who had wandered further. “There’s my father. That’s zayde.  That’s him!”  Another museum visitor was kind enough to take a photo of me standing in front of the picture, close to my father (now, I regret not thinking of having Jenna in that picture, too).

I stood in front of tatteh’s picture for several minutes, lost in thought.  He looked so broken.  He was twenty-six years old in the photo, taken just a few weeks after his liberation, in April, 1945.

Why was he still wearing his prison uniform?  Did he not have street clothes, like some of the others had?  Or, was he possibly making a statement? Did he already know what had happened to his family?  That his parents, both brothers, both sisters, had been killed?  His aunts, uncles, and cousins still in Europe, also all gone? That he was alone in the world?  What was he feeling? Sadness? Rage? Hopelessness? Or just plain numb?

And, could he possibly have imagined that, a year after this picture was taken, he would be married and expecting his first child?

(The next day, I visited the Yad Vashem archivists, told them about my father being in the picture, and gave them his name and information).

Here is some historical background on this famous picture:

FROM THE JERUSALEM POST: Rabbi Herschel Schacter and his assistant, Private Hyman Schulman, drove five miles to the site (Buchenwald). The German guards had fled as American forces arrived earlier that day. Trembling, Schacter stepped through the front gate. His eye “caught a glimpse of a tall chimney with billowing smoke still curling upward.” It was Buchenwald’s crematorium.

“I scarcely could believe my eyes,” he later recalled. “There I stood, face to face with piles of dead bodies strewn around, waiting to be shoveled into the furnace that was still hot. It was just an incredible, harrowing sight. I stood there for a while in utter confusion and disbelief. I then began to really feel what this horror was all about.”

A GI led the rabbi to a nearby prisoners’ barracks.  “A foul odor hit me as I entered. I saw a series of shelves, hard cold planks of wood from floor to ceiling. There were hundreds of men and a few boys lying on stinking straw sacks, looking out at me from dazed and bewildered eyes, skin and bones, more dead than alive.” He noticed a small movement from among the bodies and stepped closer. The eyes of a young boy stared out at him. After extracting the child from the pile, Schacter asked him his age.  “I’m certainly older than you,” the boy replied cryptically. Schacter recalled: “‘Older than me?’ I asked, startled. ‘What makes you think so?’ ‘Because you cry and laugh as a child, while I have forgotten how to laugh and I can’t even cry. So tell me, which of us is older?’” The eight-yearold boy, known as “Lulek,” was Israel Meir Lau, who grew up to become the chief rabbi of Israel.

Schacter was “overwhelmed, stunned, terrified, not knowing what to say or do. Impulsively, instinctively, I (he) shouted in

Yiddish, ‘Sholom aleichem Yidden, ihr zeit frei – Greetings, Jews, you are free!’”  With the permission of his superiors, Schacter returned to Buchenwald every day for the next two-and-a-half months. Neglecting his army chaplain’s duties and ignoring the constant risk of communicable diseases, he devoted himself to nursing the survivors back to life. He conducted religious services, counseled the grieving and broken, and served as their liaison to the military authorities. He worked with the Red Cross and Jewish relief groups to reunite the prisoners with their families.

FROM MOMENT MAGAZINE

But it is a prayer service, captured in one iconic picture, that has perhaps remained his most enduring memory.

Rabbi Schacter wrote: “I walked into the Kinohalle (Cinema Hall) on Friday evening and there were at least 1000 people packed to the rafters. I got up on a small platform. I had a little G.I. prayer shawl and started with “Shalom Aleichem” and slowly but steadily we were singing and praying. I had no prayer book. I had nothing other than my voice (without a microphone). Yes, I did have one very interesting something which I carried with me throughout my military career. I had a little chupah; sometimes the chaplain was called upon to officiate at a marriage ceremony. So I brought this little canopy, embroidered “mazal tov” in Hebrew lettering, and put it on my little table serving as my “lectern.” In a paper cup I poured some grape juice from the mess hall, and recited Kiddush. I led the service and after it was over, many many people gathered around me and I’ll never forget those moments! Everyone spoke Yiddish; the lingua franca was Yiddish. ….They remained with me until late in the evening.

For me, this most recent trip to Israel was everything I could have wished for---and more.  I spent wonderful, “quality” time with my daughter; visited areas of the country I had not seen in many years; and reconnected with dear friends from decades past.  It was the most wonderful trip.  But, of all the memories I have from this past summer, it is finding my tatteh at Yad Vashem that has made the most lasting, most profound impact on me.  It will forever stay in my heart.  May my beloved tatteh’s memory forever be for a blessing.

Lillian Weinstock Rappaport (at right), next to photo of her father, Jacob Weinstock z'l (wearing striped prison jacket and pants)

A Complicated Veteran’s Day, Every Day

BY RABBI SAM YOLEN

There’s a difference between learning history in a classroom setting - with videos, pictures, and sterile questions directed to teachers - and learning from individuals who lived through the events themselves.

When it comes to wars, America’s foreign wars such as WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf War, Iraqi Freedom, Desert Storm, and the countless others interspersed between, hearing history from veterans is as heavy as it is meaningful – for both the listener and the storyteller. I’m reminded of the quotes by Tim O’Brien in his book, “The Things they Carried,” about a platoon of Vietnam Soldiers who “carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing-these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice.... Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to.”

For the past three months, and upcoming nine, I will be working as a full-time chaplain at the VA Hospital in Lebanon PA, one of the best VA Hospitals in America. I will be part of the Chaplain Residency Program, earning Clinical Pastoral Education credits while working supervised hours counseling veterans and their families. This unique opportunity has placed me at the foot of countless veterans, attending their bedside, helping them process a “life in review,” working with “moral injury,” and developing a “ministry of presence.” I’ve learned more about the wars fought overseas - through stories, anecdotes, and emotional grievances - than I’ve learned in any academic setting, and I can tell you this: Each war has its own texture, landscape, character, and psychological battlefield that will live forever in the veteran’s mind as we care for them. Each war will forever affect our future, whether we realize it or not.

Walking into the entrance of the VA, one is met with a quote from Abraham Lincoln’s 1865 address, stating the purpose of the VA Hospital system, “To care for him who shall be borne of battle, for his widow and for the orphan.” Lincoln, seeing the need of the Civil War ministry, set up a paradigm of spiritual care that would include chaplains in the military. In fact, Lincoln established the first Jewish military chaplain in 1862, personally appointing Jacob Frankel, who served as cantor to Synagogue Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia. Jews fought disproportionately to their population in earlier American wars. After the draft was removed postVietnam, Jewish military service became less represented. Since my tour began, I have only ministered to one Jewish veteran (Persian

Gulf War), and she had only discovered her ethnic identity within the past two years through genetic testing.

The biggest surprise I’ve discovered has to do with self-perception. Initially, I thought patients would see my yarmulke and Jewish star tie clip and politely refuse a visitation. My notion of religious exclusionism assumed that unless I was the right faith for the veteran, I would be perfunctorily knocking on doors and recording “Veteran declined spiritual care,” but I was embarrassingly wrong. When one is in the grips of pain and needing someone by their side to pray for them, the most efficacious prayer is the one that comes from the heart. Just as in the active military service, a VA chaplain is expected to minister to all people, and as “Chappy” (as I am sometimes affectionately called by former servicemen) the veterans I’ve met have shown me respect enough to assuage my apprehension.

A general principle is that “if the service of the veteran is complicated, so is their relationship to America, to God, and to the nature of grief.” In that regard, a chaplain is given sacred permission to heal the grey moral space that wartime can sometimes exact on their soldiers. When it comes to the complications of grief, or loss of innocence, a pervasive dilemma for combat veterans to face is the ethics of killing.

The term “Moral Injury,” is derived from the confliction between one’s emotions and one’s directives. It is a deep spiritual wound that affects how one relates to society at large. It’s the complicated feeling of needing to follow orders that don’t exactly comport with the still small voice of reason that one carries inside them. It can manifest as the ambiguous fog of retrospection, looking at one’s wartime record in hindsight and asking oneself, “Why was I expected to do that?” or “How could I have been able to do that?”

We can see a paradigm for violence in the Bible when God is so disappointed in Cain when he kills his brother Abel. God, sensing this murder, addresses Cain’s guilt, who announces, “My pain is too great to bear…since you have banished me… anyone may kill me.” Cain, the first murderer, needs to heal from the pain of killing another. For many of those who have come back from war, challenged by circumstances beyond the imagination of peaceful civilian life, reconciliation is a lifelong process. Just like the World War Two veterans who were known not to speak about their experiences during combat, Cain has no other speaking roles after God confronts him in The Bible, he is silent. However, despite Cain’s silence, he still does happen to (somewhat) heal. He marries, has a son named Enoch, and founds a city named

after his son Enoch. Later in the Midrash, the city of Enoch is developed as a refuge city for all Cain’s progeny, a prototypical sanctuary city for individuals who happen to cause manslaughter.

There is another form of moral injury whereby the reasoning an individual uses to go to war has been undermined by the government’s change in political stances. We can only imagine how it feels to be a serviceperson sent to promote democracy abroad, and then left idly by as our government abruptly withdrew from the battlefront. Sitting with Vietnam veterans, I’ve experienced conversations that swing wildly from tears of gratitude upon recognizing the sacrifices of the veteran’s service, to personal disgust at what the government “made us do.” For those who fought in this most recent war, they may feel the political whiplash like during the civil war between King David and his son Absalom. In II Samuel, Absalom mounts a rebellion to overthrow King David. The Israelites loyal to King David sacrifice so much to defeat Absalom, that after an incredibly bloody civil war, it is insensitive that King David’s only obsession is with his son Absalom’s safety. King David asks multiple times, “Is my boy safe?” while addressing military generals whom have undoubtedly lost family fighting in the war with King David’s “boy.”

Another text that deals directly with moral injury is Jonah. Jonah, who only wants to live his life, is called by God to make proclamations against the “Great City Nineveh,” as God wants to destroy it. Nineveh, in the historical register, is horrible to the Israelite people, torturing and mutilating Israelites in sport. Jonah, therefore, flees from his obligation to relay God’s prophecy, as it could be that his desire is to see the enemies of Israel (Nineveh) destroyed by God. When Jonah finally does relay the prophecy, and the prophecy is heard and the city is saved, Jonah feels as if his life’s work, the very nature of his Israelite identity

is tossed aside by God. Again, I can only imagine the complicated emotions of a Desert Storm or Iraqi Freedom veteran watching as political administrations shift, and new treaties are made that negate the emotional reality of the servicemen who were once called to make a great sacrifice.

As I walk around the VA Hospital and minister to servicemen who gave a great sacrifice to our nation, I am most reminded of my grandfather, Poppy. Poppy was a decorated World War Two pilot. He faced antisemitism and still won a Distinguished Flying Cross for multiple bomber flights across Germany and was even shot down over German lines. Despite his impressive service record, he never spoke a word of his experiences. I never knew why the family walked on eggshells around him, until one Passover night (after more than four cups of wine), Poppy broke down. I had never seen my grandfather yell so loud, or shout so hard at the fear and anger he experienced as a young boy during the war.

“You don’t know what it was like,” he bellowed at the entire family, “You don’t know what we lost out there.” The glasses on the tables shook, and the room was frozen.

My mom and my aunt calmed Poppy as best they could and managed to escort him out of the room, but he taught me a deep truth that I will forever remember. What we expect from our soldiers, especially those who see combat, deserve our support indefinitely. While society may categorize World War Two as a “good guys versus bad guys” conflict, all our veterans, no matter their military era, deserve the respect and backing of our national institutions. They have seen a side of society that exists under the burden of violence, and they have carried what they could.

As Tim O’Brien wrote in The Things They Carried, “They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.”

FOUNDING CIRCLE

JOIN THESE EARLY DONORS TO THE ALEXANDER GRASS CAMPUS FOR JEWISH LIFE IN SUPPORTING THE FUTURE HOME OF JEWISH HARRISBURG

The Alexander Grass Foundation

Chris Baldrige & David Skerpon

Teri Berman & Keith Welks

Nat & Robin Freeman Bernstein

Gail & Joel Burcat

Sandy & Marcia Cohen

Michael & Ricci Doctrow

The Forman Family

Larry Freedman

Linda & Harvey Freedenberg

Robert Grass

Dr. Margaret Grotzinger & Dr. Mark Glick

The Hodara Family

The Kluger Family

The Dorothy B. and Dr. S. Lawrence Koplovitz Foundation In memory of Dr. S. Lawrence Koplovitz D.O.

Sam Levine & Irene Berman-Levine

The Maisel Family in Honor of Diane & Jay Maisel

Carol & Joel Ressler

Susan & David Rosenberg Family Fund

Myrna & Bert Rubin and Family

Myra & Stuart Sacks

The Alfred J. Sherman Family

Marjorie Sherman

Doug & Jill Sherman

Julie Sherman & Marty Rogoff

Louise & Danny Zemel

Conrad & Gail Siegel

Zachary & Nancy Simmons

Abby, Brandon, Aaron, & Adam Smith

Sheri & Michael Solomon

Updated 10.28.22. For details on joining the Founding Circle, please contact us at grasscampus@jewishfedhbg.org or 717-236-9555 x 3299. Donor LOI must be received by 11/22.

Jewish Community Foundation of Central Pennsylvania

Jewish Community Foundation of Central PA (JCF) State of the Foundation Fall 2022

JCF BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2022-2023

Executive Committee:

Mike Doctrow

Maggie Grotzinger

Josh Millman

Bill Adler

Harvey Freedenberg

Sam Levine Lee Siegel

j Trustees: Shelley Adler Ed Beck

Sandy Cohen Stacy Feldman Peggy Grove

Jennie Kornfeld

Rick Miller Michael Reichman

Joel Ressler Alan Schein Dan Schulder Abby Smith Samara Sofian, Arnie Sohinki David Spector Bill Walter Arlynn Weber Bruce Weber Elliott Weinstein

Emergent Needs Fund: 100% of your gifts during the COVID 19 Pandemic will be used to support people in the Jewish community of Central PA who are this fund we have been providing fresh kosher food and grants to pay for food.

Free Loan Fund: Provides interest free loans to families who have exhausted other sources of financial assistance. Recipients will not be obl igated to repay the loan. They will be asked to pay it forward by making gifts to the Free Loan Fund when they are able to help replenish the fund.

Never Again Holocaust Education Fund: Your gift will support Holocaust education and curriculum resources for teachers - and other initiatives - to teach lessons of t he Holocaust to help prevent anti-Semitism, bigotry and hate behaviors. We are working in collaboration with Penn State to present this program that was developed and is supported by the PA State D epartment of Education.

Legacy Program Fund: Your gift will keep our community wide Legacy Program building critical financial resources to provide support for our Jewish community. Legacy gifts are give us hope that we will sustain our Jewish future. Many gifts are already benefiting our people now. We can say yes to a legacy gift even if we cannot say yes to cash gifts now.

Philanthropic Fund: Our beloved synagogues and Jewish agencies are keeping us connected through creative virtual community programs. Even without face to face events they have financial needs. You are providing grants to help with new, unanticipated technology needs that will ensure our synagogues, seniors and youth stay connected. Such as audio equipment to ensure isolated seniors with hearing challenges can talk to their families. Call the Jewish Community Foundation to discuss what is in your heart and how you can leave a legacy to causes that are important to you!

Contact Paulette Keifer at (904) 307-2413 or paulette.keifer@pajewishendowment.org

Many of you, our donors, have made gifts to help with critical needs of struggling families. Your gifts have given our people Please consider contributing and choose from these 5 JCF sponsored funds to help meet emergent needs & make an impact on our

Meet Our Foundation Professional Team!

Billie Jo Lake Finance/ IT Specialist

Paulette Keifer Executive Director

Rebecca Robinson Legacy Director

Mike Doctrow Chair Maggie Grotzinger Vice Chair

Josh Millman

Bill Adler

Sam Levine

Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg

State of the Agency

The past year has been a year of growth and resurgence for our organization, and for our community as a whole.

Like communities and organizations across the nation and the world, we’ve seen our friends, family, and neighbors emerge from the pandemic and once again come together in person on a regular basis. We take for granted the power that in-person programming, relationships, and community has in bringing us closer together.

At the Jewish Federation, we’ve been blessed to be able to bring community members together again through our role as the central unifying Jewish organization in our community. Through our programming, we had a sense of normalcy return to JCC Summer Camp at Green Hills and mainstays like Iddy Biddy Basketball and Girls on the Run. We saw more smiling faces in our hallways and fitness center and classes. We were able to celebrate our heritage alongside our fellow community neighbors during events like Yom Hazikaron/Yom Haatzmaut and Community Purim Carnival.

We saw skyrocketing participation from our senior community. Our Senior Adult Club returned to learning, kibitzing, and participating in our weekly programs, and bonded on the road during dinner theatre trips and weeklong excursions. They have inspired us with their creativity through the Artist-in-Residency sessions, and we look forward to continuing to connect them with younger generations through our partnership with the Silver Academy and the Better Together program.

Coming out of the worst of the COVID pandemic, we were not free from the staffing challenges and turnover that was common across the country, especially in our Early Learning Center and programming departments. We’re happy to report that we now have a (mostly) filled slate of professionals – some new and others who have stepped up to the plate beyond their previous roles – to bring our high-quality programming to all ages of our community. While our programming and services are open to all, we bring a haimish approach to everything we do – stepping into our community with Jewish values. A major concern in the Jewish world –

today and always – is anti-semitism. With hatred of Jews on the rise, we continued our focus on educating and providing resources to combat hate. We are thankful for partnerships with ADL, who joined us for multiple programs focusing on community action against anti-semitism, and continue to always advocate for Israel.

We are thankful to have had so much community participation and interest in what we do. From volunteers who helped with events throughout the year or who have taken on a planning role in the development of the Grass Campus, to increased board engagement and higher readership of our various communications, we appreciate the time and attention that our community members – you – have offered this year. We are extremely grateful to those who have already committed to financially supporting the Grass Campus and who helped us to reach our goal in supporting the community through the Annual Campaign.

As we turn to the year ahead – one in which we are sure to see the Grass Campus develop and flourish – let’s take a moment to celebrate how far we’ve already come in building the future home of Jewish Harrisburg. A year ago, our community had so much excitement and so many questions. Today, we’ve hosted events on the Campus and begun construction which will transform the campus’ six buildings into homes for organizations and services across our community. We’ve launched a website and social media channels, and are nearing the beginning of our Comprehensive Campaign – your chance to be part of building this cultural hub for Jewish Harrisburg. We’ve added a swimming pool, gymnasium/auditorium, and kosher commercial kitchen to the plans, and engaged so many constituents to join in the excitement.

Our community has a lot to be thankful for – in the past year and the year ahead. We should all congratulate ourselves on the progress we’ve made together.

Abby Smith, Interim President/CEO Board Chair

JCC Volunteers of the Year:

Patty Schwab and Barbara Plesco

Schwab Barbara Plesco

Patty Schwab moved to Harrisburg in the mid-1990s with her husband, Dan. Together, they built their family of five – with children Alexa, Madison, and Sammy – around the Jewish community.

“My kids grew up at the JCC and The Silver Academy,” she says, remembering countless games of flag football, basketball, and “any other sport possible.”

Through her love of sports and her kids, she found many opportunities to give back – whether working the clock or refereeing basketball games, coaching Iddy Biddy, or volunteering for the JCC 5K and Girls on the Run. “Sports will always bring the community together with passion and commitment,” says Patty, a JCC Sports Hall of Fame inductee. “I truly believe it builds character and there’s no better place to do that in the world than the JCC!”

In between the whistles, Patty is always around to lend her commitment, guidance, resources, and passion. One of her first roles was being active in the Brenner Family ELC’s PTA, and she worked alongside other community leaders to increase the sustainability and marketability of The Silver Academy. As a Harrisburg transplant, she enjoyed serving as an ambassador for the JCC, sharing her passion and pride with new and potential families.

“You can really carve out a difference here,” she says. “Here in Harrisburg, you have the opportunity to create new programming, build a vision, and support tradition through the JCC.”

With more than 25 years of involvement under her belt, she’s excited for the future as the community looks ahead to the Grass Campus. Patty, along with co-JCC Volunteer of the Year, Barbara Plesco, helped to introduce many community members to the Campus through the “Cocktails on Campus” event in August 2022.

“The Campus is breathtaking, beautiful, humongous,” she says. “It’s a win-win and I hope the community will come together and support and grow it, because there’s so much opportunity.”

Barbara Plesco first began giving back through the JCC in support of the programs her family participated in and loved.

Starting with her oldest son, Ryan, and continuing with younger son, Matthew, and daughter, Sydney, she took an active part in the Brenner Family ELC’s PTA. Then, she pitched in at JCC Summer Camp, as her children advanced from pre-school campers to become counselors themselves.

And then, of course, she helped out with sports and special events –Barbara and her husband, Ron, took a hand in organizing Big Night in 2015, and she’s always around to pitch in to help with basketball games and other needs. It’s the programming and community that fosters her devotion and passion for volunteering.

“I don’t know where our family would be without the JCC,” she says. “The amazing friends we’ve made and the programs and activities that our kids have been able to participate in –they’ve learned such great lessons and how important it is to be a part of a community.”

Through her volunteering and experiences with programming, Barbara feels a responsibility to give back and ensure the ability for other families to have as enrichening an experience as her family has had.

“We want to make sure that the JCC continues to grow and thrive so that young families coming up behind us have the same opportunities our children had,” she says. “We have to make sure the JCC stays strong and continues to provide opportunities for everybody.”

Barbara encourages all community members to get involved, in hopes that others will be inspired to give back in their own way.

“There’s a place for everyone to get involved,” she says. “There’s room for everyone who has time to give, whether you want to do a little or a lot.”

Patty

JFGH Board list will be published after Joint Agency Annual Meeting (November 9th at Grass Campus)

The Silver Academy State of the Agency

The Silver Academy school year 2021-2022 was filled with so much learning and joy. We are very grateful to our school leadership, faculty, staff, students, families, Board, donors, alumni, supporters, and community. We completed our 77th school year and remain steadfast in our dedication to fulfill our mission to provide a quality Jewish Day School education here in Central Pennsylvania.

The theme for our school year was Kehilah - Community. The students began the year by working to build their school community with an opening assembly where the students learned about the attributes of a community. The students introduced themselves and everyone met a new friend and they each shared a bit about themselves. This activity helped set the tone for the year as we welcomed guests from the community to teach the students about what they do and how they support our local and world kehilah

Welcomed guests this past year were in person and online. One of our alumna came to speak about her work as an Israeli soldier. We also welcomed parents of students who are officers in the Israeli armed forces to speak about how they were working in our local community as well as their communities back in Israel. Students heard presentations from community members who are volunteers, police, and a veterinarian. We listened to the gripping story of a parent describing her family’s exodus from Ethiopia to Israel. Grandparents joined online from communities all over the United States and around the globe.

We partnered with Jewish Family Service to help welcome the refugees new to our area from Afghanistan. School families donated food, books, toys, bicycles, car seats, and clothing to help our new neighbors settle into their surroundings. The students welcomed the children to the school for playdates and games. Despite the language barrier, fun transcended all! It was an invaluable experience for them to see their actions contributing directly to make a difference in their community.

We happily carried on with old and newly established traditions. We davened, baked challah, held shabbat parties, celebrated receiving Siddurim and Chumashim. We tasted apples and honeys, decorated our sukkah, celebrated tashlich at Italian Lake, enjoyed Mitzvah Day and volunteered at the JCC Purim Carnival. We celebrated the 100th day of school with a hot chocolate party, held student council elections, enjoyed a Scholastic Book Fair, Science Fair presentations, STEM open houses, food drives to benefit the JFS kosher food pantry, and the list goes on. Our school

Secular Teacher of the Year: Susan Gaughan

The Silver Academy is so proud to recognize Susan Gaughan as our Secular Teacher of the Year!

Mrs. Gaughan has been a teacher with us for the past twentyeight years. As a woman in science, she is an exemplary role model for all of our students and shows them science is fun!

From the hands-on science labs, experiments, and projects, our students learn that the connections and learning in the science lab extends well past the classroom and into practical application in everyday life. Her colleagues say her greatest traits are her positivity and inspirational nature. In fact, a former student found her so inspiring, she herself is now an award winning science teacher.

Thank you Mrs. Gaughan for all you do and have done to create a generation of scientists. We are grateful you are a member of our faculty!

year contained so many wonderful activities, lessons, highlights, and memories.

One of our highlights relates to our Middle School Social Justice Program. The Silver Academy is part of a consortium of smaller Jewish Day schools participating in social justice programming involving 6th-8th grades. This integrated curriculum component begins once they enter middle school. The Alliance of Jewish Day Schools came together to discuss and advance programs at their schools, centering around a social justice theme.

In sixth grade the students study Civil Rights. The content includes studies on the Civil War, Jim Crow, Reconstruction, Non-Violence, Awareness of Injustice and Being A Moral and Courageous Voice. The students spend a week in Alabama going to many important locations in Birmingham and Selma.

In seventh grade, the students study Advocacy and American Justice. They focus on contemporary case studies and projects to highlight this learning course. They review American history and reference where we have been and where we are going. The students spend four days in Washington D.C. visiting important locations like the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. They meet with legislators and present white papers on the issues most important to them.

In eighth grade, the curriculum culminates with a keystone trip to Israel where students take all of the lessons from the prior two years and engage in some partnership work with the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to apply those historical lessons to offer their unique voice regarding a future for the land of Israel and its people. We are so grateful to be participating in this program and our students are eager to speak with anyone regarding their trips last year - find one of the students and ask them about it! This opportunity would not have been possible without the support of their families and our local community to help them raise some of the funds to make these once in a lifetime trips occur. Thank you!

As we begin our 78th year we want to say we are so thankful for you, our Central Pennsylvania Jewish kehilah - community, along with our families, friends, alumni, and supporters. We are so grateful our students get to be part of such a caring and wonderful community.

Samara Sofian Emily Halper Head of School Board President

The Silver Academy continued

Judaics Teacher of the Year: Alla Fligelman

The Silver Academy is so proud to recognize Alla Fligelman, aka Morah Alla, as our Judaics Teacher of the Year!

Morah Alla has been teaching with us for the past sixteen years and current and former students and families would tell you this - her enthusiasm, love of learning, and dedication to the students is unparalleled. Between her songs, skits, projects, and plays, you look up one day and you are a Hebrew speaker! She makes a new language acquisition challenging and fun. Her colleagues say she is a caring co-worker and a great listener.

Thank you Morah Alla for all you do and for all of your time and care. We are grateful you are a member of our faculty!

Volunteer of the Year : Marcy Flicker

The Silver Academy is so happy to recognize Marcy Flicker as our Volunteer of the Year!

Marcy has been volunteering with the school for the past seventeen years in more ways than we can count: from Kid Writing guide, book fair volunteer, serving lunches, making seder plates, and helping out with anything that is asked of her. She enthusiastically answers the call when volunteer opportunities arise and happily helps wherever she can. The list could go on and on.

Marcy believes that it is important to give back, pay it forward, and be involved in our local community. She is an example of living your values and showing gratitude each and every day.

She is a loving and dedicated mother and savta.

Thank you Marcy for all you do! We are so thankful and grateful for you.

JAAM

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE

State of the Agency

This past year was a remarkable year for Jewish Family Service of Greater Harrisburg. Faced with the growing mental health crisis and with the need for nonprofits to assist with resettling Afghan refugees, JFS stepped up to increase its program and services across every department. Our highlights for the year include:

• The Finkelstein-Cohen Kosher Meals on Wheels (KMOW) Program celebrated its 50th anniversary this year with a special event featuring Chef Michael Solomonov. At the event, we shared that we have served over 250,000 fresh, nutritious, low-sodium, healthy, and kosher meals to local, homebound seniors over the past fifty years, including serving more than 6,000 meals this past year.

• JFS has successfully resettled forty-four Afghan refugees, comprised of nineteen children & twenty-six adults. All of the refugees were housed within days of arrival and all children are in school with all eligible adults working and learning English. We could only have done this with our active volunteer corps of seventy community members who became surrogate families for our new Afghan neighbors.

• JFS distributed $47,324 in Emergency Financial Assistance to 300 clients last year. This was double the number of clients and funds given out from the prior year.

• JFS provided 5,550 mental health counseling sessions last year to children, teens, families, and seniors. This is an increase of 37% over the prior year. JFS also provided weekly consultation services to the Brenner Family Early Learning Center and The Silver Academy to help children, parents, and teachers cope with life’s many stresses.

• Our expanded Libby Urie Food Pantry provided more than 12,000 lbs. of food to local community members who struggle to put food on their tables. JFS remains the only food pantry that stocks Kosher items in our pantry, and we also have non-kosher food items and a selection of personal care items.

• JFS worked with more than seventy families last year to help local children find forever families through our foster care and adoption program. JFS estimates that since launching our adoption and foster care services, we have placed over 5,000 children in loving and supportive homes.

• JFS launched a bereavement group in partnership with area synagogues to provide comfort to community members who lost a loved one over the past year.

With mental health stresses touching all of our lives and with so many families facing financial uncertainty caused by economic uncertainty, JFS remains committed to continuing to “answering the call,” to help those in need. We will maintain all of our current activities while we are also preparing to resettle Ukrainian refugees.

If you or anyone you know needs our services, please contact our office at 717-233-1681.

Steven Schauder, Frank Fleishman Executive Director, Board President Jewish Family Service

JFS BOARD OF DIRECTORS LIST

2022/23

Officers

Frank Fleishman President

Dr. Robyn Chotiner Vice President

Stephen Tambolas Treasurer

Sandy Krevsky Secretary

Dr. Jordan Klein

Resource Development

Dr. Dara Bourassa

Program Committee

Directors

Sam Brenner

Jill Henig

Dr. Dean Leis

Dr. Rachael Miller

Mary Mcgrath

Rosette Roth

Beth Shuman

Bob Wolff

Immediate Past President

Burt

Ruth

Harvey Freedenberg

Steve Irwin

Adam Kessler

Judith Lasker

Evan Myers

Dina Lichtman Smith

Sharon Perelman

Martin Raffel

Rabbi Seymour Rosenbloom

Nina Rosenthal

Rabbi Joshua Runyan Paige Seeherman

Marla Werner

Contributors

Lynne Abraham Howard Addison

Gilda Kramer & Samuel Adenbaum

Anna Adler

Meryl & David Ainsman

Karen Albert Naomi Altman

Debra & Stewart Anderson

Tami Astorino

Robert Atkins

Marcy & Dan Bacine Karen Ball

Jill Marcus & Janice Lott Balmuth

Marcia Balonick

Irl Barg Jesse Barlow

Jo-Ann Barrett Barrett

Pamela Barroway

Phyllis Barsky

Joanna Baskin

Cynthia Baum-Baicker

Esther & Edward Beck

Leslie Becker

Andrea Becker-Arnold

Sher Berenbaum

Roberta Berg

Nanci Goldman & Steven

Bergstein

Sue Port & Michael Berkman

Debbie & Sam Berkovitz

Judy & Peter Berkowitz

Sandra Berkowitz

Sarina Berlow

Bryna & Fred Berman

Len Berman

Rose & Ed Berman

Scott Berman

Nancy Bernstein

Kathleen Biggs

Barbara & Mickey Black

Jamie Blatter

Dana & Gidon Blitstein

Bev & Zack Block

Helene Bludman

Debbie Blum

Sylvia Blume

Matthew Bocchi

Cheryl Bradshaw

Patricia Brady

Cathy Reifer & Sam Braver

Marcy Brenner

Saralee Bresler

Jeremy Brochin

Ellen Brookstein

Selma Brothman

Betsy & Marc Brown

Lynn Brown

Gwendolen Bryant

Pam Bryer

Jane Buchman

Jane Buchman

Jill A. Carnig

Michelle G. Newman & Louis

Castonguay

Margot Cavalier

Margery Chachkin

Maris Chavenson

Nancy Chiswick

PROUDLY ENDORSES

In 2022, Pennsylvania voters must decide whether it matters to us that our leaders’ fundamental values align with those enshrined in the history of our great Commonwealth—pluralism, tolerance, and opportunity for ALL.

Whether it’s religious diversity, racial equality, free and fair elections, protecting reproductive freedom or making our streets safer by enacting common sense gun safety legislation, our candidates stand for all that is best in our past and best for our future.

Ed Shephard

Carol & Stephen Shore

Judy Shrager

Barb & Ed Siegel

Daniel Siegel

Lynne & David Siegel

RIta & Bob Siegle

Anna Lisa Silberman

Erica Zimmerman & David

Silverman

Claudia Pine & Mickey Simon

Diane & Mark Simon

Linda & Ken Simon

Roger Simon

Matthew Sklar

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Eileen Sklaroff

Laurence Smith

Nancy Smith

Sue & Ron Smith

Linda Snyder

Phyllis Snyder

Please join DJOP’s collective effort. Add your name to this list -- $60 per person, $100 per couple. It will enable us to run additional messages state-wide to elect democratic candidates.

Robert Paul

Roberta Penn

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Fredrica Friedman Rabbi Dayle Friedman Bonnie Friedman Rabbi Jeanette Friedman Sieradski Jane Friehling

Cheryl Gerson Americus

Doris Gillman

Andrea & David Glickman

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Lisa Gottschalk

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Lynne Jacobs Carol Stewart James

A M & P M Johnson

Maria & Noah Jordan

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Edwin Kay

Barbara Kelly

Ginny & Ben Kendall

Marcia & Stephen Klein

Abbie Knopper

Sherry Kohn

Beth Kozinn

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Gilda Kramer

Eileen Kraus

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Ruth & Peter Laibson

Cheryl Kaufman & Stephen

Laidhold Carole Landis

Merry Landis

Mollie Hanna & Tom Lang

Brooke Lawrence

Lynette & Stanley Lederman

Susan & Louis Leff

Sueann Lehner

William Leopold

Ari Letwin

Roberta & Jeffrey Letwin

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Caryl Levin

Cyvi Levin Patty & Stan Levine

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Lynn Levy Connie Lior

Vicki Lipoff Elaine & Alan London

Sara London

Michelle London

Betty Jo Hirschfield & Howard Louik

Andrea & Michael Lowenstein

Andy Lubell

Mark Maisel

Mark Maisel

Davinder Malhotra

Richard Malkin

John Mason

Beula Trey & Steve Masters

Sara & Jonathan Mayo

Kathleen McFadden

Dottie & Bob Miller

Elaine & Todd Miller

Shelley & Spence Miller

Debbie & David Miner

Jay Brian Minkoff

Montgomery County Democratic Women’s Leadership Initiative (MCDWLI)

Diane & David Morgan

Denise Moser

Daniel Muroff

Evan Myers Lynn Myers

Sue & Ken Myers

Ezra Nanes

H. Gerald Nanos

Susan Nernberg

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Mary Kate Owens

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Hilary Tyson & Charles Porter

Nicole & Fred Rabner

Joan Rappaport

K Reber

Judith Reider

Beth & Richard Reisboard

Mary & Nathan Relles

Sharon Richman

Julie & Martin Rogoff

Shelly Rosebnerg

Jeremy Rosenau

Shelley Rosenberg

Barbara & Bryan Rosenberger

Cindy Rosenbloom

Michael Rosenthal

Joyce & David Rosner

Ann Bass & RIchard Roth

Tracy & Josh Royston

Susan Rubin

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Arlene & Steve Sablowsky

Renee Sackey

Shirley Sacks

Stephen Sacks

Stuart Sacks

Michael Salsburg

Cathy & Michael Samuels

Dana Sandweiss

Bonnie Satz

Linda & Barton Schachter

Elaine Schaefer

Alan Schein

Alan Schein

Barbara Schiffrin

Susan Schmidt

David Schoenholtz

Bunny & Alan Schorr

Bernice & Mark Schwartz

Linda Schwartz Mark Schwartz

Michael Schwartz

Robert Schwartz

Rhonda Seaton

Tracy & Evan Segal

Jordan Segall

Danielle Selber

Carol & Bernie Selkovits

Bruce Sham

Jonathan Shapiro

Jacqueline & Joe Sobel

Ellen Sogolow

Jo & Arnie Sohinki

Laura & Lewis Sohinki

Marcia & Mel Solomon

David Sonenshein

Jennifer & David Soneshein

Sari Sosnick

Rabbi Reena Spicehandler Stephen Spivak Bonnie Squires

Diane & Phil Stein Jackie & Evan Stein

Deborah & Rabbi George Stern Lani Strom

Myrna Pollock & Charles Strotz

Diane Samuels & David Sufrin

Jan Swenson

Ritchie Tabachnick Charles Tabas

Nancy & Lee Tabas

Lisa & Marc Tannenbaum

Susan & Peter Tanzer

Lynnda Targan

Pamela Tate

Ezekiel Tayler

Randall Tenor

Rabbi David Teutsch

Marvin Tick

Becca & Scott Tobe

Judy Tobe

Leslie & Matthew Tobe

Lynn Turkington

Marilyn & Joe Turner

Deena & Jim Ultman

Linda & Barry Ungar

Elizabeth Vale

Claire Vatz

Sarah Vogel

Debra Wachspress

Shelly & Bob Waldman

Scott Wallace

Sheila Weinberg

Kim Weiner

Sandra Weingarten

Ken Weinstein

Elizabeth Goldberg & Michael Weisberg

Melanie & Steven Weisbord

Ann Weiss

Tracey Welson

Marla & Michael Werner

Susan & David Werner

Betsy Whitman Daniel Wofford

Jonathan & Lori Wynn

Marilyn Yarmark

Anne & Dennis Zavett

Lynn & Marc Zelenski

Joan & Isaias Zelkowicz

Barbara Ziff

Howard Zipin

Rachel Zipin

Samantha Zipin

Toby & Earl Zipin

Ashley Ehasz PA-1 Brendan Boyle PA-2 Dwight Evans PA-3

Madeleine Dean PA-4 Mary Gay Scanlon PA-5 Chrissy Houlahan PA-6

Susan Wild PA-7 Matt Cartwright PA-8 Amanda Waldman PA-9 Shamaine Daniels PA-10

Mike Molesevich PA-15 Dan Pastore PA-16

Chris Deluzio PA-17

Bob Hollister PA-11

Summer Lee PA-12

Austin Davis for Lt. Governor

John Fetterman for Senator Josh Shapiro for Governor

On November 8th, we must stand up for our values by electing Josh Shapiro as Governor, Austin Davis as Lt. Governor and John Fetterman as US Senator, as well as these Democratic House candidates. They will fight to preserve our rights.

The signers of this ad are your friends and neighbors organized by Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania (DJOP.)

DJOP Board

David Broida (Founder)

Bill Epstein (Founder)

Brett Goldman (Founder)

Siegel (Founder)

Jill Zipin (Founder and Chair)

Damsker

Marilyn Claire Daniel Clearfield

Andrea Clyman Barbara Cohen

Betsy Sheerr

Synagogue Life

BETH EL TEMPLE

2637 N Front St | (717) 232-0556 | www.bethelhbg.org

Beth El Temple has resumed in-person Friday evening and Shabbat morning services. We also offer a mix of in-person and Zoom minyans. For more information, visit Beth El's website.

CHISUK EMUNA CONGREGATION 3219 Green St | (717) 232-4851 | info@chisukemuna.org | www.chisukemuna.org

Chisuk Emuna Congregation will be holding services in person and on Zoom. For more information, please contact the office at 717-232-4851 or info@chisukemuna.org.

CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL, LEBANON 411 S 8th St | (717) 273-2669 | www.congregation-beth-israel.org

Contact Rabbi Sam Yolen at yolen002@gmail.com for details on both programming and minyan. For more information, visit Beth Israel's website.

CONGREGATION BETH TIKVAH, CARLISLE Asbell Center, 262 W High Street | (717)-240-8627 | www.bethtikvah.org

HISTORIC B’NAI JACOB, MIDDLETOWN

Water & Nissley Streets | (717) 319-3014 www.bnai-jacob.org

Historic B’nai Jacob Synagogue, located at Water and Nissley Streets in Middletown, near the Harrisburg International Airport and Penn State-Harrisburg, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Marc Bluestein is currently leading the services. Connection information

and program materials will be provided by email to the Congregation and also can be requested by using the contact form on our Shul website: http://www.bnai-jacob.org. We are a community Shul and you are welcome to join us. There are no membership dues or admission fees.

KESHER ISRAEL CONGREGATION 3200 N 3rd St | (717) 238-0763 | www.kesherisrael.org

Kesher Israel is holding in-person daily and Shabbat davening. For details about services, meetings, and programming, contact Benjamin Altman, President, at president@kesherisrael.org, or Ashley Caraballo at office@kesherisrael.org.

For more information, visit Kesher Israel's website.

OHEV SHOLOM CONGREGATION, YORK 2090 Hollywood Drive | 717-852-0000 | www.OhevSholomYork.org

Ohev Sholom Congregation is a Conservative congregation serving York County in an inclusive, egalitarian manner. Established in 1902, the congregation is led by our student rabbi in association with our lay leadership. Ohev Sholom provides adult educational opportunities in conjunction with our local Chabad Learning Center while embracing different levels of observance, stages of life, and family structures.

TEMPLE BETH ISRAEL 2090 Hollywood Dr, York | (717) 843-2676 | www.tbiyork.org York’s 140-year-old Reform congregation.

TEMPLE BETH SHALOM 913 Allendale Rd, Mechanicsburg | (717) 697-2662 | www.tbshalom.org

Shabbat services will be held on November 11, and December 2 and 16. Services are both in person and via Zoom. If you are not on our email contact list and would like to attend, please call or email the Temple office in advance of the service in case of scheduling changes. Services are led by Rabbi Carl Choper of Beth Shalom. Please email the office at tbshalom@ gmail.com or call 717-697-2662 for information if you would like to join the services. Temple Beth Shalom will be participating in the West Shore Interfaith Thanksgiving service on Sunday, November 20 at 6pm at Shiremanstown United Methodist Church. For details on upcoming Temple Beth Shalom services and events, check the website: http://tbshalom.org.

TEMPLE OHEV SHOLOM 2345 N Front St | (717) 233-6459 | www.ohevsholom.org

Shabbat Services are held Friday evenings at 6pm in person and are also live-streamed on the Ohev Facebook page at www.facebook.com/OhevSholom and on the Ohev YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/TempleOhevSholomHbgPa.

• Friday, Nov. 4 at 6:45 to 8pm: Sisterhood Soup and Study

• Sunday, Nov. 6 at 9:45am: Sisterhood Board Meeting

• Sunday, Nov. 6 at 11am: “Books, Bagels and Basketball” – for preschoolers. RSVP to Barb Plesco at plescobarbara@gmail.com .

• Thursday, Nov. 10 at 8pm: Sisterhood Rose Symons Book Review celebrates 25 years of books, authors and dinners with “Bagels, Schmears, and a Nice Piece of Fish” by author Cathy Barrow. RSVP required for dinner, lecture and dessert reception; RSVP to Carol Liebman at cul4700@aol.com by Oct. 28. Dinner reservation is $45 for 1; $80 for 2. Lecture, dessert and cookbook reservation is $30; Lecture and dessert reservation is $18.

• Friday, Nov. 11: There will be a Special Oneg following Shabbat services honoring Veteran’s Day and in memory of Floyd Baturin.

• Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7pm: Ohev Board of Trustees Meeting

• Friday, Nov. 18: 6th grade family Shabbat service

• Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7pm, doors open at 6pm: Sisterhood Social - “Designer Bag Bingo.” Refreshments will be served. Cost is $30 in advance, $36 at the door. For more information and to RSVP, contact Jodi Neuschwander, jjnoosh@hotmail.com.

• Thursday, Dec. 15 at 7pm: Ohev Board of Trustees Meeting

• Friday, Dec. 16: 4th and 5th grade family Shabbat service

• Sunday, Dec. 18 at 5:30pm: Sisterhood Hanukkah dinner

www.jewishharrisburg.org

Obituaries

LAUREL FULMER

Laurel Fulmer, 67, of Harrisburg, passed away on Thursday, October 13, 2022 at home.

I am Laurel Laurie Goldberg Fulmer. I am the wife of John James Fulmer and I have 2 sons. I have an oldest son, Nicholas James Fulmer married to Acacia Skye Hess, a grandson, Gage Samuel Fulmer and a granddaughter, Ivy Paige Fulmer. I also have my youngest son, Alexander James Fulmer.

I am also survived by a twin sister, Yvonne Goldberg Renno and my 2 nieces; Skylin Claire Spencer, her husband, Chris Spencer and their 2 daughters; Rowan and Lennyn. Also, my youngest niece, Spencer Leigh Renno and her fiancé, Derek Viscusi. My older sisters, Roslyn Rose Taylor and

her husband, George Robert Taylor and their 2 children Toby Robert Taylor and Alicia Faye Taylor and her son, Avery Weyant. And last but not least my oldest sister, Noreen Gail Cunningham and her 2 children Corinna Lee Tyger and David Dennison Cunningham, Jr.

After fighting breast cancer for 12 years, I would like to thank the other women before me that have fought. It has been through their strength and fortitude that has helped me through this battle.

I’ll be free, pain free and moving onto the next great adventure. And now that I’m headed for bigger and better things, I expect you all to have a big party.

So, Bon Voyage!

Services will be private for the family.

JCC Senior Adult Programs

UPCOMING PROGRAMS INCLUDE:

NOV 8 Business Meeting/Birthday Party

NOV 10 Session 7 of “Holocaust Education in the 20th Century” with Educator

Lillian Rappaport

NOV 15 Retired Army Colonel John Maietta will discuss “Eternal Egypt: From King Tut to the Arab Spring (Part 1)”

This program is the first of two that will take you on a journey through 5,000 years of Egyptian Civilization. We’ll begin this month exploring the glories of Ancient Egypt: The Temples, Tombs, and Treasures that still have a powerful hold on our imaginations today. Part history, part travelogue, this two-part exploration will give you a new appreciation for the beauty, grandeur and lasting cultural impact of eternal Egypt.

NOV 17 Join the Silver Academy Middle School students for our 3rd Better Together program of the year. We will celebrate Thanksgiving together with a delicious lunch with the students and then fun Thanksgiving-themed activities. Don’t forget to bring in a copy of your favorite holiday recipe to share with the group – hope to see you there!

Senior Update

BY ROBERTA KRIEGER

Due to the way the holidays of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret fell this year, we missed having two Tuesday lunch programs. For this reason, not an error, our business/ birthday party lunch was scheduled for a Thursday.

On Tuesday, October 4th, we had our Current Events program with moderator, Jeff Jacobs. As is the norm, we all remain awake for this so that we can contribute to the discussions. The afternoon started off with a most popular tuna platter.

On Thursday, October 6th, Rebecca Nurick, PA-SMP Project Manager at CARIE, the center for advocacy for the rights and interests of elders, spoke with us about healthcare fraud and how prevalent it is. She gave us some hints on how to avoid being on the receiving end. It was a very enlightening program. Rebecca had our undivided attention from start to finish. Prior to Rebecca's program, we feasted on Norman Gras' turkey salad.

Terri Travers spoke with us about the (then) upcoming Sukkah Sock Hop and Soda Social. Many of us were planning on attending and a collection was taken to fund the purchase of socks. We seniors did our part. We donated 48 pairs of socks. Those of us who were able to make it had a FANTASTIC time. There were many activities of interest to all, including a tour of our future home. For those who weren't able to make it, Sydney Plesco's mother, Barbara, said she would be glad to take a group around at a pre-arranged date.

On Thursday, October 13th, after one of our favorite Norman Gras specialties, sweet and sour meatballs, Lillian Rappaport did session #6 of Holocaust Education in the 21st Century. Two short films were shown, each differing in the manner of explanation, with one being a little more explicit than the other. We discussed which method we felt would be beneficial for the classroom and I believe most of us felt a combination of the two, depending on the age of the students.

As I normally advise, please check your monthly calendars for upcoming programs scheduled by our great Senior Advisor, Cheryl Yablon. Make your reservations early so you don't miss out...I look forward to seeing you at lunch.

Hope you stay well, are properly vaccinated and wear masks appropriately. Take care.

NOV 22 Thanksgiving Membership Luncheon Entertainment by Pianist Clint Edwards. Pay your 2023 dues and sign up for 2023 Day Trips starting at this luncheon!

NOV 24 Thanksgiving Day – No Senior Lunch or activities

NOV 29 Our discussion will focus on “Jewish Women Who Made History: From Biblical Times to the Present,” led by Heather Jackson. Heather will give you her Top Ten from Biblical days and her Top Ten present-day leaders. Joni the discussion by adding your picks. Remember – Jewish women have stood out through history because of Tikkun Olam.

JCC Senior Adult Club Lunches and programs are held twice-weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Lunch is served at 12 noon, with to-go options available for those who prefer not to unmask to eat. All programs begin after lunch unless otherwise indicated.

PJ babka bash!