Jewish News, Oct. 18, 2019

RODEO

Meet the Jewish girl who's Miss Teen Rodeo Arizona

‘Last Jewish cowboy’ couple honored with newly named award

NICK ENQUIST | STAFF WRITER

The owner of Cholla Cattle Co., Harvey Dietrich has been called “Arizona’s last Jewish cowboy.” But to only mention Harvey Dietrich’s work as a rancher would be telling half the story. He and his wife, Marnie Dietrich, have been a driving force for multiple communal organizations and charities.

This year, the Arizona Jewish Historical Society will honor the Dietrichs with its annual heritage award.

When asked how it felt to receive the award, Harvey Dietrich said, “Oh, I’m sure there are people who deserve it more than me.”

Lawrence Bell, the executive director of AZJHS, said such a reaction is common for the Dietrichs. Despite their work for multiple civic and charitable organizations, he said, they shy away from the spotlight.

“They both are silent givers and are people that do good but in a quiet kind of way,” Bell said. “They don’t need, want or even expect a lot of recognition in return. Jewish tradition says that you do not ask for recognition when you do good deeds because otherwise it’s self-serving.”

The annual heritage award is given to people who demonstrate excellence in philanthropy and community service. Some of the organizations the Dietrichs have supported include the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, the T-Gen Cancer Research Institute, the Jewish National Fund, Hillsdale College, the Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival and the Phoenix Art Museum.

The Dietrichs are longtime members of Congregation Beth Israel. Both of them are also longtime members of the AZJHS, where Harvey Dietrich

CAMP & SCHOOL GUIDE

Kids study Torah playing Dungeons & Dragons

Local congregation joins national Orthodox Union women’s initiative

As Beth Joseph Congregation joins the rest of world Jewry in celebrating Simchat Torah next week, it will also join more than 40 North American synagogues that aim to make Simchat Torah more meaningful for women.

For the second consecutive year, the Phoenix congregation is participating in the Orthodox Union Women’s Initiative Simchat Torah Together program, which provides shiurim (classes) for women on Simchat Torah morning.

These classes, taught by local female scholars, are held during aliyot, the period in the service where, at Orthodox congrega tions like Beth Joseph, all the adult men at the service are called to the Torah.

The idea for the initiative was sparked by a sense that women were looking for a meaningful experience on Simchat Torah morning

I don’t think we’re in Phoenix anymore

Local Jewish entrepreneur Alan Gellman, owner of Wall Sensations, spent six-and-a-half years developing a product before he was ready to sell it. Now his murals transform backyard spaces here and across the country. Read more about his business journey on Page 16.

LEISAH WOLDOFF | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Tzipi Turner will teach the Simchat Torah Together class at Beth Joseph on Oct. 22.

serves on its board of directors.

Bell said that Harvey Dietrich’s profession was certainly unique and wasn’t something that most would think of as a customary Jewish career.

“This event is fun because it allows us to celebrate what makes the Jews in Arizona so great,” Bell said. “One of the questions that AZJHS asks is what is it that makes Jews in Arizona distinct? Certainly, this agricultural history is one of those elements.”

The AZJHS has honored other Jewish cowboys, including Aubrey Grouskay. In addition to being a rancher, Grouskay was an advocate for the historical society. His boots and saddle reside at the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center.

Harvey Dietrich has worked in the ranching business since he was a teenager. His family moved to Los Angeles from Boston after his father needed a change in climate for his worsening asthma. After the move, Harvey

Dietrich — 15 at the time — began a summer job at a meat packing plant owned by friends of his father. He would get picked up for work at 3 a.m.

He was promoted to cattle buyer at 19 and has since devoted himself to the profession. When he moved to Phoenix, he worked with Grouskay.

Even after 70 years of working, Harvey Dietrich has no plans to stop.

“As long as I have the passion to do what I do and I wake up every morning with a purpose then I don’t see a reason to retire,” he said. “In fact, I never dreamed about retiring. I only dreamed about working.”

In 2015, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City honored Harvey Dietrich with the Chester A. Reynolds Award for “unwavering commitment to Western principles.”

In 2014, the Arizona National Livestock Show honored him as the Arizona Pioneer Stockman.

Harvey Dietrich said he feels fortunate to be in the business for so long and to be able to have made an impact for the community.

Marnie Dietrich has also had a storied career. Born in Davenport, Iowa, she always had an artistic side to her and worked to become an interior designer. She graduated with honors from California State University.

When she left college in the 1970s, she took a job as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines. She eventually returned to her passion of interior design and enrolled in UCLA’s graduate program in architecture and design

after leaving the airline.

In the ’80s, Marnie Dietrich was the lead designer of a Los Angeles firm called Canal & Chaffin.

Paying tribute to the Dietrichs comes at the same time the AZJHS has announced a name change for its annual award. It will be named after Jerry Lewkowitz this year.

Lewkowitz, who is the founding president of the AZJHS, was the inaugural honoree of the heritage award when it was presented for the first time in 2010. He served as the organization’s president for four terms.

Lewkowitz retired from the AZJHS’ active board of directors this year.

“In honor of the retirement, we thought that it would be nice to name the award after him,” Bell said. “He has been the guiding light of our organization and the force behind it.”

Although the Dietrichs may not think they deserve the award, they are happy to serve an organization that has done so much for the community.

“[The AZJHS] represents a history of what Jewish people have contributed to the state,” Harvey Dietrich said. “It’s an investment in the past and a significant investment in the future for our children. We can show them that our people really made a difference in this state.”

The award ceremony will take place at the Monterra at Westworld in Scottsdale on Saturday, Nov. 16. Attendees are encouraged to dress in “Western chic/cocktail” attire. For more information, visit azjhs.org/HeritageAward.html.

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Harvey and Marnie Dietrich will be honored with the Arizona Jewish Historical Society’s Jerry Lewkowitz Heritage Award.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

during this time period, said Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman, founding director of the OU Women’s Initiative. “I think it’s very important for women to feel on Simchat Torah, or during any religious experience, that there’s a touch point of engagement where their presence is valued and acknowledged and reflected in the programming choices.”

Tzipi Turner of Phoenix, who will teach the class at Beth Joseph, says she appreciates that the program “gives the women a chance to participate in an activity, rather than watch from the side.” Turner said she’s honored to have been asked to teach the class and hopes “it will be a meaningful experience for all who attend.”

Turner’s background is in special education, working with teachers and students in the Phoenix area for over 17 years as a co-teacher, mentor teacher,

perfect time to discuss, reflect and focus on self-care.”

“As women, we are typically socialized to be caregivers and to take care of others, and often it comes with a price when we neglect to take care of our own needs,” she said. “Sometimes there’s guilt involved with doing something for ourselves. It feels selfish.

“I think it’s important to talk about self-care right now. And, more than that, to look at what the Torah, the Talmud and modern-day leaders have to say about self-care.”

The class, which is open to all women, will start around 11 or 11:30 a.m. on Simchat Torah, Tuesday, Oct. 22, after the Hakafot, which is the time during the service when people dance and sing with the Torah scrolls. It’s difficult to pinpoint a specific time, since the length of the Hakafot varies, said Rabbi Yisroel Isaacs of Beth Joseph Congregation. Beth

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instructional coach, teacher evaluator and special education administrator. Her Simchat Torah class is titled “Self-Care and the Torah.”

“Self-care means being mindful of your own limits and needs so that you can ensure your own physical, emotional and mental well-being,” Turner said. “Simchat Torah is the end of a very busy time in the Jewish calendar,” which also includes Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret.

“It’s a good three and half weeks of busy-ness,” she said. “The wonderful part about this time of year is the opportunity it provides to spend time with family and friends, as well as to reflect on ourselves and our year. The flip side is that every few days, we are preparing for another Shabbat or another holiday. It can be very tiring. And, let’s face it, the bulk of that responsibility falls on the women.”

She feels like this time of year is “a

Joseph Congregation is located at 515 E. Bethany Home Road, Phoenix.

The OU Women’s Initiative, which started in 2017, implements national programming for women of all ages and stages of life. Programming includes lay leadership and training, wellness courses and forums and community learning.

Since Beth Joseph has been affiliated with the Orthodox Union for over 50 years as a member congregation, the partnership “is a natural fit,” Isaacs said. “We look forward to making this project an annual part of our Simchat Torah programming.”

“Beth Joseph Congregation was proud to be part of the first cohort of this program last year,” he said. “The interest and attendance exceeded our expectations. We have always looked for ways to make Simchat Torah more meaningful and engaging for our community and we welcomed this fantastic idea.” JN

“THE WONDERFUL PART ABOUT THIS TIME OF YEAR IS THE OPPORTUNITY IT PROVIDES TO SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AS WELL AS TO REFLECT ON OURSELVES AND OUR YEAR."

TZIPI TURNER, SIMCHAT TORAH PROGRAM TEACHER

602-430-3158

AmyRosenthalRealtor@gmail.com

Jewish cowgirl crowned Miss Teen Rodeo Arizona

NICK ENQUIST

T17-year-old contestant Shai Forman, who was competing for the 2019-2020 Miss Teen Rodeo Arizona title.

neck between all four contestants, including myself; no one was truly sure who was going to be crowned,” Forman said.

soed home the win. She is now one of only a handful of Jewish rodeo queens.

to the support of her family and friends. She also won in the appearance, personality and horsemanship categories, finishing first in three out of eight available categories in addition to the overall win.

pageant coach and rode horses every day in the months prior to the competition. “Even though I missed my summer break studying every day instead of being with my friends, it was totally worth it in the end and I am for ever grateful to represent the Grand Canyon State,” she said.

category, Forman’s father, Marc, said the anticipation was almost too much to handle. Forman’s friends and family in attendance were screaming with excitement when she was finally declared the pageant winner.

and chaps with “Miss Teen Rodeo Arizona” featured prominently — by the 2018-2019 Miss Teen Rodeo Arizona, Mary Norton.

rodeo is the world’s oldest continuous rodeo, having run unabated for over 130 years.

The yearly state rodeo pageant was formally created in 1983. Before that, there was no specific Miss Rodeo Arizona pageant, but a queen was crowned at the now defunct “Rodeo of Rodeos” event. While the Payson rodeo has hosted the pageant for the last three years, the competition has previously been held at different rodeos throughout Arizona.

A resident of Prescott, Forman had her bat mitzvah at Temple B’rith Shalom. She

work with large animals.

And, of course, the rodeo will always be in her life. She wants to hold onto her crown for a little longer and enter more rodeos.

“My future plans in the rodeo queen industry include competing for future titles such as Miss Turquoise Circuit, which makes up Arizona and New Mexico,” Forman said. “And hopefully I can take my horse with me for college rodeo.” JN

Shai Forman, pictured here in her “queen” attire, became Miss Teen Rodeo Arizona in August.

EVJCC names new board chair

NICK ENQUIST | STAFF WRITER

The East Valley JCC has brought on the president of the Tempe and Gilbert accounting and tax preparation firm The Blau Company, Aaron Blau, as its new board chair. Blau — who is replacing the previous chair, George Goffman — has a storied past with the EVJCC. His mother, Ilene, served as the EVJCC’s first executive director for 20 years before retiring in 2005. Her commitment to the center is one of the reasons Blau took the position.

“Her work was certainly an inspiration to serve the community,” Blau said. “Having an understanding of what she went through as the leading paid professional of the organization will help me shape how I operate as a board chair.”

Some of his responsibilities include supporting the staff, providing direction and reviewing high-level policy-making.

This is not the first time Blau has embraced the legacy of one of his parents — his father, Alan, founded The Blau Company in 1965.

Blau said he wants to match his mother’s distinct vision for the center. Ilene began working at the EVJCC in the early ’80s when it was called the Tri-City JCC and located in Tempe. The organization changed its name to East Valley JCC in 2004 and moved to Chandler the following year, although Ilene retired while the new center was still under construction.

Throughout her tenure at the EVJCC, Ilene was responsible for the addition of infant and toddler programs, preschool classes for 2-yearolds, 10 weeks of summer camp, Men’s Club, Book Club and resurrecting the BBYO.

Her presence can be felt throughout the EVJCC. Recently, the center named a teen leadership program after her. The Ilene Blau Teen Leadership Institute helps nine students develop leadership skills through study and activities with a focus on Jewish identity.

Blau said that Ilene wanted the center to be a welcoming and warm place for everyone in the community, where anyone who enters receives a hug rather than just a handshake. “The EVJCC should be built on communal relationships rather than transactions and a

a partner in the EVJCC’s future growth,” said Beyo. “He is a successful business owner that brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table and I look forward to working with him as we continue to build and strengthen community.”

Blau was introduced at this year’s Pillars of

He said that his mother was proud to see him take on such an important responsibility for the EVJCC.

“I’m excited to continue the mission that my mother worked so hard on for 20 years of her career,” Blau said. “But most of all, I’m excited to make a difference and do my share.”

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Expansion of Jewish day school nears completion

In an attempt to keep up with its expanding student population, Torah Day School of Phoenix is adding five modular buildings to its campus.

“Right now we have 340 students and that does include the students in our preschool,” said Gaby Friedman, the director of TDSP’s business office. “We didn’t have enough capacity on the campus for our students, so we’ve added new classrooms and spaces for them and our teachers.”

The new buildings will house three classrooms, an art room, a science room, a library, teachers’ lounges and a multipurpose room for assemblies. The new additions will add more than 8,000 square feet to the school’s campus.

The expansion is expected to be completed within the next month. All of the modular buildings have been assembled and the school is doing final renovations for the classrooms.

Friedman — who also serves as the school’s vice president — opened Torah Day School in her home in 2010 with her husband, David. It started with just seven boys in kindergarten. Friedman said that the school has seen exciting levels of growth since they first opened. In 2011, enrollment reached 80 students and the school moved to the campus of Beth El Congregation.

The modular building expansion came thanks to the Arizona Community Foundation; earlier this year, the ACF approved a $406,000 loan for capacity expansion from its Community Impact Loan Fund.

This is the second time the school has received a loan from the ACF. In 2016, the Torah Day School received $400,000

from a partnership between Community Impact Loan Fund and Dignity Health for campus expansion in response to enrollment growth. The buildings were initially anticipated to be installed by 2018, but a second loan was eventually required to finish development next month.

TDSP borrowed from ACF due to the amount of money they needed for the campus expansion. Friedman said that organizations such as Jewish Free Loan — although helpful to the school in other ways — weren’t able to provide the sum needed. JFL has caps on the amount for its loans.

The new space was definitely needed for both the students and the teachers, said TDSP Head of School Rabbi Shmuel Field.

“Everyone is super excited to get these new buildings,” Field said. “The students on campus are buzzing and the teachers are looking forward to having the buildings. All the teachers were cramped up in a room and now they’ll have a lot more space for their work.”

He added that the new expansion will prepare the school for many more students. The school is approved to have 500 students and Friedman thought that the school could comfortably take in another 50.

Whatever the future holds, Friedman said that the school will be in stronger shape now.

“I feel like we’re accommodating our students better now that the campus is bigger,” Friedman said. “I hope that this will create a more inviting space for our students and that their parents will see that we are taking great care of them.”

Planning for Torah Day School of Phoenix’s expansion began in 2017. PHOTO COURTESY OF TORAH DAY SCHOOL OF PHOENIX

NICK ENQUIST |

Israeli American receives lengthy Russian prison term for pot smuggling

Israeli American Naama Issachar, 25, received a 7½-year prison sentence after being convicted of smuggling marijuana into Russia, JTA reported.

The Israeli army veteran was sentenced by a Moscow court on Oct. 11. She was detained in April after nine grams of marijuana — less than a third of an ounce — was found in her luggage. Issachar denied the marijuana was hers.

An initial possession of cannabis charge, which carries a fine and a month of detention, was later changed to narcotics smuggling.

Haaretz reported that Russia offered to exchange Issachar for Russia hacker Aleksey Burkov, who is being held in Israel and is set to be extradited to the United States.

Issachar’s family has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help her. New home sales up sharply in Israel

New home sales in Israel were up 52% in August, compared to the same month in 2018, Globes reported, citing Central Bureau of Statistics data.

There were 2,680 new homes sold in August, and 8,160 new homes were sold in

June-August 2019 — 50% more than in the same period last year and an 11% increase over the preceding three months.

Cities with the most homes sold were Harish (436), Or Akiva (434) and Beer Sheva (407), followed by Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with 381 homes sold apiece and Ramat Gat at 378.

Ancient city found in northern Israel

Archaeological excavations in northern Israel unearthed a 5,000-year-old city that may have once been home to up to 6,000 residents, JTA reported.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said it is one of the first and largest Bronze Age settlements ever excavated in the country.

“This is the Early Bronze Age New York of our region — a cosmopolitan and planned city where thousands of inhabitants lived,” Itai Elad, Yitzhak Paz and Dina Shalem, directors of the excavation, said in a statement.

The excavations — which have been ongoing for 2½ years — were occurring in preparation to build a highway off-ramp to the new city of Harish. Deeper excavations showed the city was built over a 7,000-year-old settlement.

The settlement will be preserved, with the interchange built above the ruins.

Kapler firing part of bad start in 5780 for Jews in baseball

When the Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Gabe Kapler on Oct. 10 after two seasons, it wasn’t the only bad news for Jews working in baseball.

Fellow manager Member of the Tribe Brad Ausmus — who once managed Israel’s national team — was fired by the Los Angeles Angels, JTA reported.

In addition, two Jewish players who suited up on Yom Kippur both lost deciding Game 5s.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried got clobbered in relief by the St. Louis Cardinals. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson did hit a double, then scored on a home run, but his team lost in extra innings.

Only Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bergman enjoyed success, as his team beat the Tampa Bay Rays to advance to the American League Championship Series. Bregman smacked a two-run double in the game.

Bagels burn before Yom Kippur

An Oct. 5 truck fire in Indiana resulted in the destruction of 38,000 pounds of frozen bagels, JTA reported.

An Indiana state trooper patrolling interstate 65 southeast of Chicago noticed a semi with heavy smoke coming from the rear axle. He pulled the truck over, but a fire spread to the trailer and the rear tires exploded. The driver wasn’t hurt.

A Chicago-area company owned the truck, but a press release didn’t note where the bagels were from or where they were going. The news release did not say where the bagels were from or where they were going.

Boy forced to kiss Muslim classmate’s shoes threatened via text

A Jewish Australian boy who was forced to kiss the shoes of a Muslim classmate is now receiving threatening texts, JTA reported. The texts said the 12-year-old boy would be slaughtered and asked if he wanted to “talk about suicide.”

The messages were sent days after photos of the initial incident appeared in newspapers around the world.

Victoria Police told the Daily Mail Australia that the text messages were under investigation but provided no other information. The boy now attends a Jewish school instead of Cheltenham Secondary College in suburban Melbourne. JN

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Betrayal of the Kurds

The Kurds, who are the abused stepchildren of the Middle East, have been abandoned, once again, by an erstwhile ally — and this time, it is us.

After helping the United States fight and triumph over ISIS in northern Syria, the Kurds were abruptly abandoned by President Donald Trump, who announced last week that he was pulling U.S. forces out of the “endless war” in the Kurdish zone of northern Syria. The surprise announcement sent shock waves through the capitals of many U.S. allies, including Israel. And the decision was met with bipartisan anger in Washington.

Although there are military, political and moral arguments against the move, the most immediate concern centers on the vicious ethnic cleansing of the Kurds at the hands of Turkish forces and their proxies — who very quickly began conducting an offensive in the Kurdish zone to eradicate what Ankara refers to as “terrorists.”

For Israel and her friends, Trump’s unceremonious abandonment of the

Kurds raises concerns about the reliability of U.S. allegiance and support when an ally is no longer deemed useful or necessary to some twist or turn of the administration’s political agenda.

According to reports, tens of thou -

of U.S. troops from northeast Syria, the last vestige of protection and stability for the Kurds has been removed, placing the entire remaining population at risk.

This isn’t the first time the Kurds have been betrayed. At the end of World War

ALTHOUGH THERE ARE MILITARY, POLITICAL AND MORAL ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE MOVE, THE MOST IMMEDIATE CONCERN CENTERS ON THE VICIOUS ETHNIC CLEANSING OF THE KURDS AT THE HANDS OF TURKISH FORCES AND THEIR PROXIES.

sands of Kurdish civilians have already been displaced, and are the newest refugees in the years-long civil war in Syria, which has brought death and ruin to the country, and destabilized neighbors and even Europe with the more than 5 million people who have fled to escape the violence. And now, with the withdrawal

Looking at overhead

Ten years ago, the Bridgestone Group, a nonprofit consulting firm, conducted a survey of nonprofits, and found that many were operating without sufficient infrastructure. They found that many of the organizations had “nonfunctioning computers, staff members who lacked the training needed for their positions, and, in one instance, furniture so old and beaten down that the movers refused to move it.”

Whether you are a beneficiary, supporter, employee or director of a nonprofit organization, you want to see the organization’s challenges dealt with efficiently and effectively, and hope for innovative programs and approaches. But in thinking about those objectives, how much thought do you give to whether the organization has enough personnel, office supplies, up-to-date computers and electronics, a functioning air conditioning system and reasonably modern furniture? Most people take all of that for granted. But they shouldn’t. It is all part of the cost of the operation, and is as important to

the organization’s success as every other component of the work done.

Last week, in a thoughtful piece published on eJewishPhilanthropy.com, Lisa Eisen, president of the U.S. Jewish Portfolio of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, and Barry Finestone, president and CEO of

I, the Allies called for an autonomous Kurdistan — just as they promised the Jews a homeland in Palestine — from land conquered from the defeated Ottoman Empire. But the Kurds never got their state and remain the largest population in the Middle East without a country of their own. Without territorial and state-

hood protection, the Kurds have remained vulnerable.

The Kurds were openly aligned with and supported the U.S. and Western mission in Syria. They joined with U.S. forces to help conquer ISIS and other promoters of hate, terror and antiWestern provocation. But now they are left to defend themselves, alone, against overwhelming force and aggression from Turkey.

In response to the mayhem, Trump has threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey — through what appears to be the administration’s one-size-fits-all economic elixir to deal with every bad acting international adversary. But economic sanctions won’t bring back the lives lost to the blood thirst of ethnic cleansing. Nor will they restore the political and military imbalance that appears to be developing in the region, leaning heavily toward Iran and its malign regime.

The Kurds have been worthy allies and friends. We owe them much better treatment. JN

a time when organizations are eager to dream big, tackle community challenges and strengthen their operations, many funders continue to direct their grants to a narrow set of programmatic goals. And all too often, these grants do not cover the true cost of the work.”

Darren Walker, who leads the Ford

administration of our project grants.”

These philanthropists make a very valid point. The business of nonprofits needs to be viewed through the economic lens of for-profit activity. And just like it takes significant financial investment to build a functioning and productive enterprise, it takes similar investment to build and sustain the infrastructure to operate high performance nonprofit organizations that attract our interest and support.

Eisen and Finestone encourage increased focus on the cost of getting results, and suggest that philanthropists consider unrestricted multiyear grants to nonprofits, and increased focus on and sensitivity toward significant institutional operating costs that feed the growth and success of work in the nonprofit world.

the Jim Joseph Foundation, suggested that Jewish foundations should follow the lead of five of America’s wealthiest foundations, who have pledged to do more to help grantees pay for rent, decent wages, technology and other overhead.

According to Eisen and Finestone: “At

Foundation, put it this way: “We funders like to think that we are fair in our funding in terms of administrative costs, overhead, etc., when in fact we kid ourselves. We’re not being honest with ourselves if we think that [paying] 10% of overhead actually covers the true

Over the past several years, we have seen an increasing application of fundamental business principles to the operations in the nonprofit world. The focus on the importance of sustaining nonprofit infrastructure is a welcome step in that process. JN

IT TAKES INVESTMENT TO BUILD AND SUSTAIN THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO OPERATE HIGHPERFORMANCE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ATTRACT OUR INTEREST AND SUPPORT.

The Tree of Life anniversary and a call to action

CARLOS GALINDO-ELVIRA

Like many members of the Jewish community in Arizona and around the world, to observe the High Holidays meant walking by police officers at the entrance of synagogues and temples. That is a reality and necessity facing Jews locally and globally.

The single deadliest anti-Semitic attack in United States history will be commemorated on Oct. 27. Eleven people were murdered by a white supremacist at the Tree of Life building in Pittsburgh, which housed three congregations.

Sadly, that attack would be followed by more acts of violence and intended violence against Jews and other religious groups.

The FBI warns that domestic terrorism is one of the most urgent national security threats in the United States today. We’ve seen orchestrated and coordinated propaganda by neo-Nazi groups targeting synagogues across the country. White supremacy is a disease, and the United States is currently experiencing an epidemic.

Attacks against Jewish institutions have been

thwarted in Youngstown, Ohio, and in Las Vegas, Nevada — where a white supremacist intended to attack a synagogue and the ADL Nevada regional office. And, while no violence resulted, the attempt was clearly meant to intimidate our Jewish community.

The threat is not limited to American soil, as white supremacist violence continues at a global level. Closer to home, in Arizona, anti-Semitic acts of harassment and vandalism continue to escalate annually. In 2018, the increase was by 23%.

We must face that we’re in an unprecedented time in our American history. From African American churchgoers in Charleston, Jews in Pittsburgh and Poway and Sikhs in Oak Creek to Muslims in New Zealand and Latinos in El Paso, vulnerable and marginalized communities are under attack. White supremacy is indiscriminate in its discrimination.

Policymakers and industry leaders need to step up and take solid, concrete action to stop this extremism from spreading. The White House must call out this threat by name. We need for social media platforms to enforce their terms of service and take down hate speech.

The toll of domestic abuse

ALEXIS SMITH-SCHALLENBERGER

Ialways believed I could do anything. I was an outspoken social activist from five generations of activists. My favorite quote is “Well-behaved women rarely make history,” and I have eight acts of civil disobedience on my record to prove it.

My Instagram account shows how I see the world differently. A Southern California surfer girl displaced to the desert and now a Phoenix resident for 25 years, I have been married three times and I have two daughters. The first two marriages ended in domestic abuse.

I now realize that domestic violence ran in my first husband’s family. I made excuses for the black eye and bruises: “A baseball hit me during a game,” and “I slipped on a rock while hiking.” We had a 2-year-old daughter and I was concerned for her safety. It took a year for the divorce to finalize.

I remarried and moved back to California. The abuse showed up again, this time psychological. Promise of forgiveness, a move back to Phoenix for a fresh start, but old habits resurfaced. I made the decision to leave and

filed for divorce.

I could support myself and my daughters financially, not something all survivors can do.

In 2004, I met Steve. He was different — gentle and kind, consistent and supportive. We fell in love, married and became a blended family of four. Life was perfect. It was Steve who helped me overcome my issues of flinching when a hand came near my face.

A family friend skated with Desert Dolls Roller Derby and we quickly became fans. That led us to serving as non-skating track officials with our own skating names: Steve as Space Cowboy because he was Honeywell’s senior quality engineer for the space station and shuttle, while I became Sister Mary Discipline — Order of the Bad Habits.

When a skater was physically abused by her boyfriend, her Facebook posting prompted other skaters to come forward as domestic violence survivors. One woman joined roller derby to justify the bruises of her abuser. It took another eight times before leaving her abuser, but when she was ready, skaters were there to move her out and get her to a safe place. Statistics tell us that one in four women

We need all faith communities, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations to step forward and lock arms and stand together. We need you.

Make no mistake, our continued Jewish existence is resistance to extremism and white nationalism.

One of the best responses and advice that I’ve heard on how we can respond to the tragic attacks from Pittsburgh to Poway is from Rabbi David Sandmel: “It is important for us to remember this moment. The real blessing comes when that remembering inspires us to act. None of us can do everything; each of us can do something.”

In the days after the attack at the Tree of Life building, author Monica Brown reached out to ADL’s Arizona regional office and shared a poem entitled “Tree of Life.” Her words then and now commemorate the lives lost and our call to remember, love and to do something:

Tree of Life

Tree of Wisdom

Tree of Light

We bear witness

will experience domestic violence. In roller derby, it’s more like one in two. However, I use it as an opportunity to offer support and counsel to skaters who need it.

Currently, I work as the grants manager for Jewish Family & Children’s Service. I chose the nonprofit for its reputation and services. My life and career have touched so many of the areas that are a focus for JFCS; I’m able to write funding proposals for the “Shelter Without Walls” program through the lens of a domestic violence survivor.

On May 30, 2018, suddenly and unexpectedly, I lost my husband. If it wasn’t for my support systems of roller derby, my JFCS work family, friends and immediate family, I’m not sure what I would have done. As I work through the pain of losing Steve, the need to be open to new possibilities and adopt a flexible approach to life’s journey is important. Steve encouraged me to tell my story. Our love was and is a novel, forever bookmarked. The story’s not over. There is more work to do.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which highlights the struggles of victims and celebrates the steps taken to inde-

The profane tremor of eleven dead taken on a sacred day, in a sacred space.

Joyce Fienberg

Richard Gottfried

Rose Mallinger

Jerry Rabinowitz

Cecil Rosenthal

David Rosenthal

Bernice Simon

Sylvan Simon

Daniel Stein

Melvin Wax

Irving Younger

Tree of Life

Tree of Wisdom

Tree of Light

We bear witness

Foulness steps out into the light reflected and refracted

pendence. The signs of an abusive relationship are not always obvious. Domestic violence is about controlling someone’s mind and emotions as much as hurting their body. I hope the below information will be helpful.

Signs of abuse:

• Extreme jealousy, possessiveness

• Unpredictability

• Bad temper

• Cruelty to animals

• Verbal abuse

• Extremely controlling behavior

• Antiquated beliefs about roles of women and men in relationships

• Forced sex or disregard of partner’s unwillingness to have sex

OCT. 18 - 5:33 P.M.

Wherever He leads

SUKKOT RABBI REUVEN MANN

Sukkot is one of the most intriguing holidays on the Jewish calendar. There is no doubt that the purpose of Passover is to commemorate the story of the Exodus from Egypt. It is unanimously agreed that we celebrate Shavuot because of the revelation that took place before the entire Jewish people on Sinai.

However, things are not that simple when it comes to the chag of Sukkot. What is the rationale for dwelling in the flimsy huts that Jews retire to on the first part of this holiday?

It is also strange that this yom tov culminates with Shmini Atzeret — which is considered a separate holiday in its own right — and yet is connected to Sukkot. On this day we abandon the sukkah and return to our homes. If the basic theme of Sukkot is to take up habitation in minimal dwellings, why is an extra day added when we resume residence in our regular abodes?

To add to the complexity, there is disagreement in the Talmud as to the underlying purpose of the sukkah. One rabbi maintains that it commemorates the physical huts in which Hashem “housed” the children of Israel when “He liberated them from the land of Egypt”.

However, another Talmudic Sage disagrees. He says that we must understand the sukkah in a symbolic sense. It represents the “clouds of glory” with which Hashem enveloped the Jews during their extended trek in the wilderness. This refers to the special divine providence that was extended to the

GALINDO-ELVIRA

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

by malevolent sons

A clarion call. A bell and a warning.

We bear witness

Bark thickens

Roots sink deep into the earth

Leaves seek sunlight

May their memories be for blessing

May their lives inspire love

Tree of Life Tree of Wisdom Tree of Light

Jews in their desert sojourn.

This is a most tantalizing rabbinic dispute, which requires elucidation.

At first glance, it seems easier to understand the second position. The purpose of the three pilgrimage festivals is to remember and celebrate the major miracles that Hashem performed for His chosen nation. First, He freed us from an oppressive and hopeless enslavement. Then He provided for all our needs and kept us totally safe when we traversed through a treacherous place in which there was no sustenance. Finally, the purpose of the Exodus was realized when He gathered the entire nation on Mt. Sinai and revealed His Torah.

The theory that the sukkah represents the “clouds of glory” is fully commensurate with the themes of the other pilgrimage festivals.

However, we need to understand the view of the rabbi who held that the sukkah signifies the actual huts in which the Jews dwelled on their journey to the Promised Land. Why is this particular fact of our history so important? What are the great lessons that are imparted by reliving this aspect of our past?

I believe the answer can be found in a passage from Scripture. The Prophet invokes Hashem as saying, “I remember the kindness of your youth, the love of your marriage ties, following after Me in the wilderness in a land not sown.”

According to this, the journey of the Jews in the desert is not only testament to Hashem’s miracles but to their spirit of absolute faith and courage. The willingness to follow Hashem wherever He leads, no matter how fearful, uncomfortable and contrary to our need for the basic amenities is central to our religion.

Thus Hashem’s first command to Avraham

was to take leave of his land, his birthplace and the “house of your father” and travel to the “Land which I will show you.” Avraham had no sense of where he was headed and how he would be sustained on this treacherous journey. He put himself completely in the hands of the creator. He “surrendered to the A-mighty” just as he did when he embarked on the lonesome journey with Yizchak to the Akeda on Mt. Moriah.

The Jews, as a nation, had to duplicate the courage and absolute faith of their forefathers. They were prepared to relinquish all of life’s pleasures and comforts and ordinary means of security in order to assume the mission to be a Holy Nation.

Thus the willingness of the Jews to enter into the wilderness represents a glorious moment in the history of our people.

We must be on guard not to become corrupted by enslavement to excessive pleasures and comforts. We can’t become addicted to the superficial divine service that always accompanies a life of ease and material indulgence.

We must never lose sight of the divine challenge to rise to the occasion and be willing to sacrifice everything when we are called upon to follow Hashem “into the wilderness.”

We can now understand the reason for Shmini Atzeret. Hashem does not want us to embrace a life of deprivation. We should be comfortable and happy and make use of the life-enhancing inventions that can even enhance our service of Hashem.

The moments of “Lech Lecha,” of uprooting ourselves from of our normal habitations, are rare and temporary — not permanent existential states. But our level of faith and inner fortitude must be such that we are always ready

SMITH-SCHALLENBERGER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

We bear witness We bend our branches towards compassion justice

Tikkun Olam

A healing of the world Tree of Life Tree of Wisdom Tree of Light

We bear witness JN

Carlos Galindo-Elvira is ADL Arizona’s regional director and can be followed on Twitter @carlosgeADL.

• Sabotage of birth control methods or refusal to honor agreed upon methods

• Blaming the victim for anything bad

• Sabotage or obstruction of the victim’s ability to work or attend school

• Control of all the finances

• Abuse of other family members, children

• Accusations of the victim flirting with others or having an affair

OCT. 25 - 5:25 P.M.

SHABBAT ENDS

OCT. 19 - 6:27 P.M.

OCT. 26 - 6:20 P.M.

to abandon everything and find refuge in the sukkah of Hashem.

There are very practical benefits associated with relinquishing our ordinary comforts and reliving the spartan existence of our ancestors. The Rambam says, “The moral lesson derived from these feats is this: Man ought to remember his evil days in his times of prosperity. He will thereby be induced to thank G-d repeatedly, to lead a modest and humble life. We eat, therefore, unleavened bread and bitter herbs on Passover in memory of what has happened unto us, and leave (on Sukkot) our houses in order to dwell in tabernacles, as inhabitants of deserts do that are in want of comfort. We shall thereby remember that this has once been our condition as it says, ‘I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths.’”

Both explanations of sukkah are relevant. We must develop the inner courage and fortitude to withstand the storms of hatred and condemnation that assail us. And may we thus become worthy of the “clouds of glory” that protected and sustained our ancestors from all who sought to consume them.

Shabbat shalom v’Chag sameach JN

• Control of what the victim wears and how they act

• Demeaning the victim, privately or publicly

• Humiliation of the victim in front of others

• Harassment of the victim at work JN

Alexis Smith-Schallenberger is a grants manager for Jewish Family & Children’s Service. If you know of or suspect any victims, please contact the Domestic Violence Hotline immediately at 800-799-SAFE (7233).

Rabbi Reuven Mann is the founder of Congregation Torat Emet in Phoenix.

Find area congregations at jewishaz.com, where you can also find our 2019 Community Directory.

Review: Israeli novel tackles secrets and lies and their inevitable consequences

JESSE BERNSTEIN | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

attention that she craves and doesn’t have the clear skin that she desires.

Swirling in those fairly typical anxieties of teenager-dom, Nofar is working her shift at an ice cream shop when a fading musician, similarly afflicted by self-loathing, sets the big lie in motion. Frustrated with her slowness behind the counter, he unleashes a string of cruel insults at Nofar, each seeming to pierce her greatest vulnerabilities. She flees the shop in tears, he follows to apologize and grabs her by the hand. She screams, bringing passersby running towards the scene. Nofar, caught up in a rare moment of attention, decides to confirm what the crowd believes happened: an attempted rape.

her TV interviews. This lie, for the benefit of his long-disappointed, LieutenantColonel father, begins a sweet, bizarre relationship between Lavi and Nofar.

As suspicions start to grow — from Nofar’s sister, from her mother, from the female detective assigned to her case — so does the self-deception. That, GundarGoshen seems to say, is the ever-present lie. We tell lies of all stripes to other people, but the ones that are most damaging (as well as most necessary) are the ones we tell ourselves. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” Edward Albee famously said, “means who’s afraid of the big bad wolf … who’s afraid of living life without false illusions?” Everyone, of course.

“The Liar”

Ayelet Gundar-Goshen (translated from Hebrew by Sondra Silverston) Little, Brown and Company

Here is a woefully incomplete list of the lies that are told in Ayelet GundarGoshen’s “The Liar:” A wife tells her husband that she is headed off to Pilates, when she is in fact headed to an extramarital affair. A silent, uncomfortable therapy session is described as “pretty good.” An octogenarian assumes the identity of a deceased Holocaust survivor, speaking to student groups and connecting with other survivors. A mother uses a fake name in conversation with a lawyer. A father lies about a traffic jam.

The lies, Gundar-Goshen writes, come in all shapes and sizes — “small tall thick thin lovely ugly white lies, always white,” one character muses — but they are all dwarfed by the inciting lie of the novel.

Nofar is 17 and distressingly average, by her own assessment. Each glimpse of her younger, more attractive sister, Maya, is a reminder that she is larger than she would like to be, doesn’t have the friends that she wants to have, doesn’t get the male

Nofar’s lie becomes headline news all over the country, as the musician, faded as he may be, once had enough of a following for a salacious accusation to hold public attention. The novel relies heavily on the overwhelming public support for Nofar, one of the only elements of the story that seems hollow; that the accuser of a once-loved musician would be summoned to the president’s residence to stand as a symbol of bravery, or that she would be feted by clothing companies begging her to wear their products in public, or that invitations to tell her story on television would be extended while the investigation is ongoing, seem off. Perhaps this is a cultural difference with Israel.

That element aside, there is nothing false about the feeling of having crafted a snowballing lie, one that implicates an innocent person and is figured out immediately by one enterprising onlooker (more on him later). To see Nofar’s lie grow unchallenged and unquestioned is to feel queasy. You, too, know that she is lying, and you, too, don’t particularly want to see her caught. In this way, “The Liar” is a reverse-detective story: I knew the truth, and found myself rooting for it to remain hidden.

Besides an unwell homeless man, the sole witness to the truth is classmate of Nofar’s, Lavi. Lavi exploits the situation to his benefit, blackmailing Nofar into mentioning that he is being considered for an elite combat unit during one of

The detective needs to believe that Nofar is a young woman wronged in a world that knows how to do little else. Nofar’s mother needs to believe that her daughter would never tell such a lie. And when Raymonde, the would-be Holocaust survivor, admits her lie to a genuine survivor of the camps, he summons up 90 years of wisdom to pretend that he did not hear her.

“The Liar,” despite just about everything I’ve just said, can be very funny at points; the true survivor of German atrocity, upon finding a fellow prisoner from his youth, remarks that he’d “been a schmuck in Theresienstadt, and had only gotten worse since then.”

Some of her tricks grow a little tiresome by the end. Every desk, every lasagna and every bench has a short history to be told before it is used. She also has a habit of pulling back to wide generalities, in order to then re-focus on something minute; “Some changes occur slowly,” and “some changes erupt all at once,” she writes, describing geological shifts and a flaming match before she gets to the point: Nofar had changed quickly. She uses this again three pages later. And though the story is contemporary, “The Liar” does often read like a parent’s reading of how a teen relates to social media.

Here’s the secret, though: Those are just quibbles. JN

A matter of taste: ‘The Jewish Cookbook’

JESSE BERNSTEIN | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

It’s a bit funny to review a cookbook, isn’t it? It is, in the truest sense, a matter of taste. And in cooking for oneself, the little idiosyncrasies of individual taste may conflict with someone else’s; as a matter of course, I tend to double the amount of garlic any recipe calls for.

Leah Koenig’s “The Jewish Cookbook,” out this month, is another variation on the theme of many modern Jewish cookbooks. Her recipes, rather than simply giving you some new ideas about tzimmes (not that there’s anything wrong with that!), draw from the kitchens of Jews the world over. The food of Italian Jews, Iraqi Jews and Bukharan Jews is all represented,

among that of many others.

The result is a beautifully bound collection, complete with the elusive luxury of two bookmarks and a well-ordered index. Bonus recipes from Michael Solomonov and other Jewish chefs are sprinkled throughout, and the full-page color photographs help to visualize some of the more difficult-to-conceive recipes. There are also little markers for recipes that are dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, use five ingredients or fewer or take less than 30 minutes to prepare.

Speaking of recipes! Here are a few I took a crack at over the last few weeks, re-printed with permission from Phaidon.

KHARCHO

This beef stew recipe comes to us from Georgia (the country, not the state). It was a blessed 45 degrees when I woke up this morning, and there could not be a more appropriate temperature for this dish than this time of year. The number of vegetables, plus the other elements — pulverized walnuts and rice — made the catch of each spoonsubmersion a little surprise. And even if you come up empty-handed, the broth is rich enough to sustain you until your next dive.

1 3 cup walnut halves

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes

JEWISH-STYLE BRAISED FENNEL

Where you aware that there was such a thing as Jewish-style fennel? I certainly wasn’t. I didn’t even eat fennel until 2018. Always thought it was a real adult vegetable. The fennel lobby needs whoever helped cauliflower and Brussels sprouts to step in here, because it was delicious – tender, filling and unique.

3 pounds fennel bulbs, stems trimmed off

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 ½ cups vegetable stock

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest

Finely chopped fennel fronds, for garnish

Cut each fennel bulb in quarters (or eights if large), removing most of the woody core, but leaving just enough to keep the fennel wedges

intact. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Working in batches if necessary, add the fennel pieces in a single layer and cook, turning occasionally, until slightly softened and lightly browned, 8-10 minutes.

Return all the browned fennel pieces to the pan, add the garlic, and cook, gently stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the stock, salt and pepper. Increase the heat to mediumhigh and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the fennel is tender, 15-20 minutes.

Transfer the fennel pieces to a serving plate. Increase the heat under the pan to medium high, add the honey and orange zest, and cook, stirring often, until it reduces slightly, 5-10 minutes. Taste and add more salt, if desired. Pour the sauce over the fennel pieces and sprinkle with fennel fronds. Serve hot.

Serves 6. Prep time is 10 minutes. Cooking time is 45 minutes.

2 large onions, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 teaspoon ground fenugreek

¾ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon dried mint

½ teaspoon crushed pepper flakes

1 cup canned crushed, finely diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tamarind paste or pomegranate molasses

8 cups beef or vegetable stock

¼ cup long-grain white rice, rinsed well and drained

Freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chopped fresh cilantro and dill, for serving

Pulse the walnuts in a good food processor, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or

twice, until nuts are finely ground with a few slightly larger pieces. Set aside.

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over mediumhigh heat. Working in batches, add the beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add a drizzle more oil if the pot begins to look dry. Transfer the beef to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, carrots, garlic and a pinch of salt to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned 8-10 minutes. Add the paprika, fenugreek, coriander, mint and pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stir in the tomatoes, tamarind paste, browned beef and stock. Increase the heat to mediumhigh and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beef is very tender, about 1½ hours.

Stir in the ground walnuts, rice, salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Continue cooking, covered, until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if desired. (The amount of salt needed will depend on how salty the beef and stock are.) Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped cilantro (coriander) and dill.

Serves 6-8. Prep time is 20 minutes. Cooking time is 2 hours and 15 minutes.

In addition to these recipes, I also tried my hand at roast chicken with thyme and honey, cooked over carrots, parsnips and onions, as well as a recipe for curried sweet potato latkes. My review: yes. JN

Jesse Bernstein is a staff writer for the Jewish Exponent, a Jewish News-affiliated publication.

Jewish-style braised fennel

Kharcho, a Georgian beef stew

JEWISH NATIONAL FUND INVITES YOU TO ATTEND OUR ANNUAL WOMEN FOR ISRAEL LUNCHEON

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FEATURING GUEST SPEAKER

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Dungeons, dragons and Torah

NICK ENQUIST | STAFF WRITER

In the 1980s, Dungeons & Dragons was considered a cause for moral panic among religious circles, particularly in Christian communities. But today, public perception of the fantasy game has shifted to the positive thanks to Internet communities and platforms such as YouTube. So much so that one Sunday school teacher at Temple Chai is using D&D as an educational tool in the synagogue’s religious school program.

Jeremiah Kaplan is combining his love for the game with the stories of the Torah to give six students a unique learning adventure. Kaplan knew that pitching the idea might be a tough sell due to negative connotations surrounding D&D’s early years, but he nonetheless felt that it would be a great way to teach children religious literature.

“We needed a class that didn’t start with some old man with a beard saying, ‘The Torah says this, the Torah says that,’” Kaplan said. “If our kids don’t understand who these stories are about then they’re not going to care. At this age we have to meet them on their level and one of the ways that we can do that is having shared common interests. The idea of telling stories together is a big part of building those interests.”

Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop role-playing game that first appeared in the mid-’70s. While there are rules akin to an average board game, the genre allows for a collaborative story to be told where players create characters that can make narrative-based decisions. One of the players, dubbed the Dungeon Master, is tasked with creating the world and encounters. The setting is usually inspired by high fantasy stories like “A Song of Ice and Fire” or “The Lord of the Rings.”

Kaplan grew up reading fantasy and science fiction novels; the love for the genres came from his father, Rabbi-Cantor John Kaplan of Congregation B’nai Israel in Jackson, Tennessee. The younger Kaplan eventually got into D&D through some friends and fell in love with it. The game has since been one of his favorite hobbies and even serves as a family bonding activity for Kaplan and his wife and children.

For the Temple Chai version, Kaplan diverted from the norm of high fantasy and created a world where his players explore the literal Torah. The players explore a specific Torah story in each session as a way to study its teachings. Once the lesson is learned, the players move on to the next story.

In their most recent session, the adventuring party found themselves at the top of the Tower of Babel as it was being destroyed. The six were split into groups of three, and each group was given a simple jigsaw puzzle to solve. However, the puzzle pieces were jumbled between

Although it was not a graceful exit, the group managed to survive and ended up moving on to the next adventure to meet Abraham before the Battle of Siddim. Kaplan makes no assumption that his fifth- through seventhgrade players know everything about the Torah, and so he makes sure that the game is interactive enough that the students feel invested in learning more about the world.

Of course, the students also bring a lot of personality to the world through their characters.

Some of the player characters of this journey through the Torah included a fighter named Pizza, a wizard named Spookieboi and even Albus Dumbledore of “Harry Potter” fame. Dumbledore’s player, Max, spoke with a British accent for the session.

D&D is known to be a complicated game, so Kaplan condensed and simplified the rules. Although that decision created more restrictions for his players, Kaplan felt it was for the best to keep them away from any odd complications. For example, he said that “one of the kids asked to play as a necromancer (zombie raiser) and I immediately said ‘no.’”

When the players were creating their characters Kaplan steered them toward finding inspiration from the heroes in the Torah. He wrote and developed examples of how different heroes used different skills to succeed in their stories.

However, he wants to do more with this than just give his players a weekly 45-minute adventure.

“I’d like to turn this into a resource that I can share with other religious schools as a way for them to teach the Torah,” Kaplan said. He’s even begun to write up the material that he hopes to one day publish.

Although he is unsure when that will be, Temple Chai’s religious school leadership has been impressed with this style of teaching and think it helps the students get more excited about coming to school on Sunday.

the two groups. The players had to role-play their characters sharing the pieces and solving the puzzles. Kaplan explained that it was to show how language and humanity split.

The players then had to escape the crumbling tower.

“I think we’re moving more toward a sense of interactivity and community building,” said Amanda Campbell, the principal of administration and curriculum for Temple Chai’s religious school. “It’s definitely more hands-on and more of a camp-style of education. We’re really looking to reexamine how we teach these lessons and move away from the traditional school. It’s great to see these kids get excited about learning these stories and Jeremiah has found a unique and fun way to do it.”

Teacher Jeremiah Kaplan takes students through Torah with Dungeons & Dragons. Kaplan’s Sunday school class at Temple Chai uses the popular fantasy game as an educational tool.

PHOTO BY NICK ENQUIST

“WE NEEDED A CLASS THAT DIDN’T START WITH SOME OLD MAN WITH A BEARD SAYING, ‘THE TORAH SAYS THIS, THE TORAH SAYS THAT.’”

JEREMIAH KAPLAN, TEMPLE CHAI SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER

Menachem Mendel Academy receives over $5K in Jewish book donations

RICH SOLOMON | MANAGING EDITOR

Menachem Mendel Academy hosted a community-wide event at the beginning of September to celebrate the school’s new campus — which includes a Beis Hamedrash, gymnasium, woodwork room, science lab, art room, library and extra classrooms. With over 250 people in attendance, the different workshops and activities available included a shofar factory, a bounce house, food and school tours. But it was the Jewish book fair that provided cause for the most excitement.

Visitors and parents strolled past various Jewish texts, using the opportunity to purchase books for the home or for gifting to family. Copies could be ordered of any of the 6,000 different works available. In addition to buying copies for their own use, visitors could also choose to place orders as donations to the school.

By the end of the day, MMA had received almost $5,000 in book donations, a sizeable start as it looks to complete and fully establish its new library. This is only MMA’s second academic year of operation. Last year, MMA started as a first- through sixth-grade all-boys school, but for this year MMA expanded the boys’ division to grade eight and added classes for girls in first- through sixth-grade. Over the summer, the school hired its new principal, Rabbi Yoseph Wernick. Wernick has nearly 25 years of experience as a teacher and principal in Jewish schools, something that appealed to the newly established MMA.

Chaya Mushka Ben-Shabat, founder and CEO of MMA, praised Wernick’s storied career during the hiring announcement. She cited his reputation as an educator that cared for students and his experience developing faculty to focus on the needs of individual students as a perfect match for MMA. The administration was confident that Wernick would be able to instill students with a connection to the Torah while teaching them to trust in themselves and their abilities. This fit well with the school mission, which is to facilitate learning and mastery of life skills such as time management, emotional management, communication skills,

leadership, goal-setting, home management, nutrition, money management and long-term planning, among others.

As part of this alternative approach, MMA allows students to grow plants, take care of animals, participate in school maintenance, learn outdoors and actively prepare for Jewish holidays. However, there is still course work in the classroom, and having more Jewish texts available is a tremendous help.

MMA had three types of text to offer at the book fair. Wernick was given the option of choosing any combination of Jewish books, books that had Jewish themes and general studies books. He decided to avoid the latter entirely due to availability. “I chose Jewish books over general ones because, look around, you can get math and history textbooks everywhere. So this allowed us to get books that aren’t available nearby,” Wernick said. The school administration said it was happy about the final number of donated texts.

Although MMA’s academic year has only just begun its students have been kept busy preparing for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, reviewing the limbic system and taking trips to places like Legoland. While the latter is associated with fun and games, the school administration provided a more thoughtful explanation for the choice in destination: “In Elul, we have been focusing on the concept that Hashem will lovingly judge the whole world in Tishrei, and each person is an entire world on his own. We will apply these concepts at Legoland as we travel through their different ‘miniature worlds’ and bring these principles to life.”

Helping students see the connection between the Jewish faith and the environment around them in a unique way is precisely what MMA and Rabbi Wernick have set out to do. The school will continue to host community events and fundraising opportunities in the future in order to ensure that the academic setting has the proper tools for teaching. It won’t be easy for its library to keep pace with enrollment, but the innovative efforts and local generosity give the administration reason for optimism. JN

Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019 7:00 pm

Temple Solel, Paradise Valley AZ

Hosted by Temple Solel in partnership with NAU Martin-Springer Institute

Mohammad Darawshe is the Director of the Center of Equality and Shared Society at Givat Haviva, Israel. He is currently a faculty member at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. An expert on Jewish-Arab relations, he is considered a leading political analyst in Arabic press and has presented at the European parliament, NATO Defense College, The World Economic Forum, Herzlia Conference, Haaretz Conference, and Israel’s Presidential Conference.

Are Available for Jewish Day/Overnight Camping Experiences and Jewish Day

Don’t need help with Jewish Summer Camp or Day School, but could use an interest-free loan for something else?

Please visit our website or contact us at the JFL office.

Making a business from durability and jaw-drops

TROY HILL | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Phoenix-based Wall Sensations, which transforms backyards and other spaces with custom outdoor and indoor murals, wallpapers and floor graphics, has completed thousands of projects since its owner and president, Alan Gellman, started selling its product in 2013.

Gellman actually started Wall Sensations in 2006 but he spent six-and-a-half years perfecting the materials and process for his murals before he sold the service commercially. Now, the Jewish entrepreneur says that Wall Sensations is the only outdoor mural manufacturer that can guarantee its product.

Most murals and prints deteriorate and fade relatively quickly, but the special material that Wall Sensations uses lasts much longer. The increased durability allows the company to offer a warranty for its product, providing customers with a long-lasting design solution.

The murals can last a minimum of three years if in direct sunlight, longer if in partial or complete shade. The material that allows this is a high-density vinyl that withstands harsh conditions and allows ink to harden over time and withstand sun exposure. Gellman said his murals can endure “the suns of Arizona to Las Vegas to the cold of Buffalo, New York.”

When customers contact Wall Sensations, the company sends a team out to see the location and verify that a

mural will fit in and complement the area.

Gellman enjoys the variety his job brings, as each project is different from the last, from beginning to end. It’s most exciting to see the finished product, of course, and gratifying to see the reactions of the customers, too, after their product has been installed.

More than once, Gellman has seen peoples’ mouths drop open when they see the transformation that a wall mural has made in their backyard. Those are what Gellman calls the “warm-fuzzy” moments.

“We do not have an unhappy customer in the nation,” Gellman said, explaining that his business is very service-oriented.

“If a mistake is made, we fix it — which is pretty rare.”

Gellman was raised in a Conservative Jewish household. Judaism “always gave me a great sense of balance in my life, the ability to pursue dreams and take risks,” he said, “as long as they benefit others as well as yourself.”

Starting Wall Sensations was one of those risk-taking, dream-fulfilling moments — but until Gellman found the right process and materials for the murals, he wasn’t satisfied.

“I wanted to make sure that our clients would be happy with the longevity of the product,” Gellman said. “And it took us quite a while to develop that. Patience was a virtue in this instance.”

Gellman also decided that if he was

going to satisfy the customers, he’d have to ensure the murals had excellent resolution.

Wall Sensations uses high-quality digital photos printed directly onto vinyl material that has been measured to fit each customer’s wall. The company has an expansive library of high-resolution photos for customers to choose from. They have even taken on Kathleen Croft, a photographer known for her work in National Geographic, to help supply them with pictures.

“We’re always in search of new and exciting imagery that we think our clients will be interested in,” Gellman said.

Sometimes the murals look almost too real, like a giant trompe l’oeil. In fact, Gellman said that they once installed a photo of a pathway and later heard that a child, thinking the pathway was real, ran straight into the wall.

If a customer doesn’t like any of the photos Wall Sensations has at its disposal, a designer from the company will get in contact with the client to better understand what they’re looking for.

Gellman said that business has had good, steady growth since the beginning. They have been able to expand and meet requests from all over the country.

For the future, Gellman is considering expanding into working with home builders so Wall Sensations can install murals in homes even before an individual or family moves in. At that point, the

company would be transforming backyards before customers even lived there.

This would be especially helpful in selling homes that have either plain or unsightly structures.

“That’s what I love about it. It’s bringing beauty to otherwise pretty heinous block walls, wood fences, chain link,” Gellman said. “We’re really able to transform a backyard into an oasis

Sensations in 2006, but it was almost seven years before he felt confident enough in his product to begin selling it. He credits his company's success to customer satisfaction.

Invest in the Southwest.

Opportunity Zones 101

WHAT ARE OPPORTUNITY ZONE FUNDS?

Opportunity Zone funds, including the Caliber Tax Advantaged Opportunity Zone Fund, LP, are investment vehicles created for investors to take advantage of the recent tax code changes. The change allows for a reduction in capital gains tax through investments in qualified “Opportunity Zones”.

WHAT IS AN OPPORTUNITY ZONE?

Opportunity Zones are financially distressed communities around the United States that qualify for designation through the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and are being revitalized using private investments instead of taxpayer dollars.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO INVESTING?

Investing into an Opportunity Zone Fund offers three important tax benefits: it gives private investors the chance to benefit from their investments thanks to the capital gains tax incentives, it defers federal taxation on recent capital gains until December 31, 2026, and lastly it allows investments held for ten (or more) years to pay as little as zero taxes on profits.

ARIZONA | COLORADO | TEXAS | NEVADA | UTAH

We, the families of the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting, want to thank you for your support and love over the past year. Our families lost 11 irreplaceable beautiful Jewish souls. e sorrow and agony was deeply personal and unending. rough your unwavering support you showed us that we are all one in our sorrow. You showed that the mindless hate that stole our loved ones has no place in America. ank you for showing us that we are one Community — one Jewish, one interfaith, one Pittsburgh, one country and one world.

We are truly stronger together.

With love from the families of:

Joyce Fienberg

Richard Gottfried

Rose Mallinger

Jerry Rabinowitz

Cecil Rosenthal

David Rosenthal

Bernice Simon

Sylvan Simon

Daniel Stein

Melvin Wax

Irving Younger

Two-toned beauty

There’s nothing like a gorgeous, welldesigned kitchen to set the right vibe for the rest of the home. That’s clearly what Stephanie Gamble of Stephanie Gamble Interiors had in mind when she was commissioned to fix up a newly purchased home in Maryland.

The client, who was relocating from Brooklyn, New York, with her two children, loved the location and the size of the home yet thought it was dated and lacking in “good flow.” This meant a reconfiguration was necessary.

“We started by completely relocating the kitchen,” Gamble says. “We moved it to where the family room used to be, and then we also took down the wall between the old family room and the former kitchen.”

This allowed for a much larger, expansive kitchen that the client had initially hoped for.

“The client wanted a kitchen area that was more open and could accommodate her family and guests,” Gamble says.

Once the space opened up, they got to work on the fine details.

For the overall concept, the client requested a “fairly modern” space with a “super clean design.” And, Gamble notes, the client “loves navy and white,” which gave her a great starting point. So Gamble and her team drew from this inspiration and followed along with a sharp, twotoned look with fresh white on all of the uppers and deep navy blue on all of the lower elements, including the island.

With this color scheme as the main focus, “everything fell into place from there,” Gamble says.

“We then chose to do the countertops in Statuary Classique Quartz and carried

that material up the wall in lieu of a tiled backsplash,” she says, also mentioning that they chose this material because of its durability and ease of maintenance.

“We also went with a Wolf gas range and Subzero Fully Integrated refrigerator with a paneled front to give the kitchen a clean look,” she adds.

A particular standout in the kitchen is the banquette area, which Gamble states she had planned to include from the beginning and “just needed to convince the client that it would turn out amazing.”

And it did. The neutral-based customcushioned seating, the wooden table and the fun, ultra-modern acrylic chairs join together flawlessly to create a pictureperfect banquette set-up.

The particular gem in this corner area, however, is the vibrant, large-scale modern art piece that carries over the same bold blue from the other side of the room.

“My client is great friends with the artist Ilana Greenberg, so we thought using her art above the built-in banquette would be ideal,” Gamble says. “This banquette is where the family eats most of their meals, so we wanted to make it comfortable and great looking at the same time.”

Finishing off the general aesthetic are the various gold accents placed throughout the space, such as the cabinet and refrigerator hardware, faucet and gold-lined hanging light fixtures. These elements pair stunningly with the dark navy and white combination, adding richness and a sophisticated allure.

Gamble concludes that the final overall design is exactly what she had envisioned and what her client wanted, which is a super functional and beautifully designed kitchen that is “crisp, clean and not even the least bit fussy.” JN

BRITNI PETERSEN

Professor Nancy Harrowitz of Boston University’s Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies will read written works by two Auschwitz survivors, Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel, and discuss how they started a new life after surviving the Holocaust.

PHOTO BY JENNIFER HUGHES

Light up your home to light up your life

BARBARA KAPLAN

“What to do about lighting?” is the question every client asks me. They want to know: “Do I buy lamps, install track lighting, have recessed cans put in the ceiling, use up-lights, indirect lights or cable lights? What’s the difference between halogen bulbs and incandescent bulbs and now LED?”

Lighting, magically, makes everything in a room come alive, so it’s important to place lights strategically. Proper lighting makes the difference! Because all color is affected by light, the type of lighting used will make a huge difference in the feel of your rooms. Lighting affects mood and brings style and personality to any environment. You can have tranquility or excitement with a flick of a switch.

There is no one answer. Decide on the effect you want to create in your home. Builders understand the importance of lighting and provide recessed canned lights, flush with the ceiling; however, they don’t provide very many. Add more cans in strategic areas where lighting is beneficial and to create the effect you want to achieve.

Bulbs: LED is replacing incandescent and halogen. Incandescent bulbs give off a yellow light. Halogen bulbs throw off a white light. The new LED lighting now comes in a variety light that resembles these traditional bulbs. They have to be chosen carefully for the affect you want to achieve. Lumens is a measurement of the light output. The color temperature of the light source is measured in Kelvins. White light doesn’t change the true color of fabrics, wall coverings and flooring. Yellow light adds warmth. It is very important to question the differences based on your preference. Lenses can also be changed to control the spread of the light.

LED is now widely used for chandeliers and pendant fixtures. The decorative covering will change the lighting color based on its design and color.

Switches: I’m a great believer in using as many as possible and practical — it’s a great way to save money in the long run. Particularly if you have installed several ceiling lights over different areas in the room. Switching lights individually gives versatility and is energy-efficient. The more you separate the lights and give them their own switches, the greater the choice you have in putting light where it is needed or wanted.

Lighting can be glaring so you might want to include dimmer switches. They control the amount of light you want in a room and often add a wonderful mood.

Lamps: When choosing a lamp, consider design, size and proportion, as well as color and material. Shades come in many colors and with trims such as beads or glass. Ask yourself: Is the lamp making a fashion statement or is it an art object? Of course, whatever you choose has to accent the style of the room.

Up-lights: Up-lights on timers can be used to highlight plants and artwork. The drama of up-lights is also a surprise feature. Because people don’t customarily expect lighting on the floor, it adds a new dimension to the room. It also creates designs on your ceiling. I have up-lights on timers in every room of my home so I always have subtle illumination until bedtime.

Create lighting for your lifestyle and to highlight the beauty in your home. Remember, rooms have no feelings but you do. So light up your life! JN

Barbara Kaplan, IFDA and Allied ASID, is a Phoenixbased interior designer and the CEO of Barbara’s Picks, an online resource for interior design. Visit barbaraspicks.com for more information.

FEATURED EVENT

SATURDAY, OCT. 26

Maricopa Music Fest, LLC: 1-7 p.m., The Copper Sky Recreation Multigenerational Center, 44345 MLK Jr. Blvd., Maricopa. The public will be able enjoy a free Motown Impersonation Show, compete in a lip sync contest, play laser tag, game trucks and corn tossing with a half-time skateboard competition. Maricopa Mayor Christian Price will take the stage to receive scholarship funds from Amazon and more. Visit maricopamusicfest.us for more information.

Events

OCT. 18-20, FRIDAY-SUNDAY

The Diary of Anne Frank: 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. on Sundays, Stage Left Theatre,: 11340 West Bell Road # 105, Surprise AZ. A drama about the lives of eight people hiding from the Nazis in a concealed storage attic. Additionally, from Oct. 7-20 the lobby will showcase “Anne Frank — History of Today,” a traveling exhibit that will give patrons and guests an inside look at Anne Frank and her family. The exhibit is free, however a small donation is greatly appreciated. To purchase tickets, call 623285-6321 Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-1 p.m., or email tickets@stageleftaz.com or visit stageleftaz.com.

SATURDAY, OCT. 26

Night of the Living Will: By appointment only, central Phoenix. The Area Agency on Aging and the Elder Law, Mental Health and Special Needs Planning Section of the State Bar of Arizona are partnering to provide individuals with a free consultation to develop their living will and healthcare power of attorney. Once an appointment is scheduled, an address will be provided. Call the 24-hour Senior Help Line at 602-2644357 to schedule an appointment.

SUNDAY, NOV. 3

Cactus hot dog day: 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Beth Emeth Synagogue, 13702 W. Meeker Blvd., Sun City West. ¼ pound Hebrew National hot dog, soda and chips. Cost is $5. For more information, call 623-584-7210 or email bethemethaz@gmail.com.

MONDAY, NOV. 11

Brandeis concert: 1 p.m., Palo Cristi Church, 3535 E. Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley. Brandeis National Committee presents the first of four BNC Roz Fischer Concerts & Conversations. Soprano Abigail Krawson, winner of Phoenix Opera’s 2018 Southwest Vocal Competition, will be accompanied by pianist John Massaro, principal conductor of the Phoenix Opera. Admission is $7 at the door, no reservations required. Refreshments provided. For more information, call Joan Sitver at 602-818-4264 or email her at joansitver@aol.com.

SATURDAY, NOV. 16

AJHS Heritage Award Dinner: 6 p.m., Monterra at Westworld, 16601 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale. The Arizona Jewish Historical Society will honor Marnie and Harvey Dietrich with the 2019 Jerry

Lewkowitz Heritage Award, which is presented to individuals who have made an exceptional impact on the community through outstanding leadership, service and dedication. In keeping with the evening’s western theme, entertainment includes cowboy poet, singer, songwriter and storyteller Red Steagall and the DEO Entertainment Group. Tickets are $200 per person. Call 602-241-7870 or visit azjhs.org for information and reservations.

Meetings, Lectures & Classes

MONDAYS

Mahjong Mondays: 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., East Valley JCC, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Every Monday, except on Jewish or legal holidays. You are invited to come and play, no RSVP is necessary, just come. This free program is intended for players with prior experience. Be sure to bring your current mahjong card and a set if you have one. evjcc.org or 480-897-0588

WEDNESDAYS

‘The Valley News’: 10-11:30 a.m., Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. The class focuses on current events and is led by Dr. Michael Epner. No registration required.

THIRD SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH

Jewish War Veterans: 10 a.m., Arizona State Veterans Home, 4141 N. S. Herrera Way, Phoenix. Scottsdale Post 210 welcomes all Jewish veterans to its monthly meetings. Due to Sukkot the October meeting will be on the 27th. Refreshments served at 9:30 a.m. Call 602-256-0658 for more information.

SUNDAY, OCT. 20

Phoenix Jewish Genealogy Group: 1-3 p.m., Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center, 122 E. Culver St., Phoenix. Professional genealogist Risa Daitzman Heywood of Denver, Colorado will be the guest speaker and will cover “The Power of Catalog – Unindexed Records and How to Find Them.” Free, donations accepted. For more information, visit azjhs.org/Genealogy.html or contact emilyhgarber@gmail.com.

MONDAY, OCT. 21

Israel Table: 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. An opportunity to pick up general information on travel, facts and historic sites to visit in Israel. Stop by if you have never visited Israel and are considering

a trip this year or in the near future. Contact franklin.mindy@gmail.com for more information.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 23

BJE’s Jewish Marriage University: 6:308:30 p.m., Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Extra session for interfaith couples. Learn ways to enhance one’s relationship including communication and conflict resolution skills, planning for one’s financial future, how Judaism can help build strong relationships and marriages, along with many other topics. $45 per couple. Register at bjephoenix.org. Email Linda Feldman at lindaf@bjephoenix.org for more information.

THURSDAY, OCT. 24

Open Beit Midrash class: 9 a.m., East Valley JCC, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. The Life and Tragedy of King David, taught by Rabbi Michael Beyo. Free, but registration required: evjcc.org/open-beit-midrash

Talmudic Heroes: 10 a.m., East Valley JCC, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Taught by Rabbi Michael Beyo. Cost: $14. Registration required: evjcc.org/ open-beit-midrash

Speaker Series: 11 a.m., East Valley JCC, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Pastor Rock Fremont of Shepherd of the Hills UCC discusses how religion drives social action and the challenges facing the church community. Cost: $14, includes kosher lunch. Registration required: evjcc.org/ open-beit-midrash

Child Sacrifice: Considering the Context: 1-2 p.m., Beth Emeth Congregation of the West Valley, 13702 W. Meeker Blvd., Sun City West. Speaker: Professor Ziony Zevit. Suggested donation: $18. Register at VBMTorah.org. Letters from the Dead: Three Ancient Texts Discovered by Archaeologists : 7-8:30 p.m., Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Road, Phoenix. Speaker: Professor Ziony Zevit. Suggested donation: $18. Register at VBMTorah.org.

SUNDAY, OCT. 27

Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation Friends of Israel: 3-4:30 p.m., Sun Lakes Chapel For All Faiths, 9240 E. Sun Lakes Blvd. N., Sun Lakes. Lieb Bolel, CEO of the Arizona Israel Technology Alliance, will speak. Topic: Tech in Israel and the Power of the American; Impacting U.S. Israel Relations Beyond Political Advocacy. No RSVP, free and open to the public. For more information, email mwcohen000@gmail.com or call 480-895-4660.

The Hammerman Family Lecture –Almighty? No Way! Embracing the God We Actually Love: 5-6:30 p.m., Congregation Or Tzion, 16415 N. 90th St., Scottsdale. Speaker: Rabbi Dr. Bradley Shavit Artson. Suggested donation: $18. Register at VBMTorah.org.

MONDAY, OCT. 28

Cactus ORT: 7 p.m., Mountain Gate Apartments Clubhouse, 4602 E. Paradise Village Parkway N., Phoenix. Paul Rockower, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, will discuss Jewish communal public diplomacy. Prospective members, current members and the public

are welcome to attend this free event. Refreshments provided. To RSVP or for more information, call Ellen at 602-953-9302.

The Hero is a Harlot: A Conversation about The Book of Joshua’s Most Intriguing Character: 7-8:30 p.m., Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Road, Phoenix. Suggested donation: $18. Register at VBMTorah.org.

THURSDAY, OCT. 31

Open Beit Midrash class: 9 a.m., East Valley JCC, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. The Life and Tragedy of King David, taught by Rabbi Michael Beyo. Free, but registration required: evjcc.org/open-beit-midrash

Talmudic Heroes: 10 a.m., East Valley JCC, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Taught by Rabbi Michael Beyo. Cost: $14. Registration required: evjcc.org/ open-beit-midrash

Speaker Series: 11 a.m., East Valley JCC, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler.

Speaker: Rabbi Shimi Ash. Topic: Is plastic surgery allowed? Cost: $14, includes kosher lunch. Registration required: evjcc.org/ open-beit-midrash

SUNDAY, NOV. 3

Valley Jewish Singles Ages 50+ brunch: Noon, Chompies PV Mall, 4550-324 E. Cactus Road, Phoenix. Reservations required; email valleyjewishsingles@cox.net to RSVP.

THURSDAYS, NOV. 7, 14 & 21

Mini-courses open to the public: 10:3011:30 a.m., Beth Emeth Synagogue, 13702 W. Meeker Blvd., Sun City West. A series of 3-4 classes throughout the year on a variety of subjects. Topic: ‘What you should know about the Israeli government.’ A primer on how the Knesset and the parliamentary system works. Who are the major parties, what are their main platforms and how do they decide who gets to hold what offices in the country? No charge for members, $10 per class for non-members. For more information, call 623-584-7210 or email bethemethaz@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 13

Taste of LimmudAZ: 6-9 p.m., Temple Solel, 6805 E. McDonald Drive, Paradise Valley. Special Guest: Christopher Noxon, author of “Good Trouble, Lessons of the Civil Rights Playbook.” Presentations available before keynote event. $18 for general admission, $54 for VIP experience. The VIP pre-tasting includes appetizers, wine, program and dessert reception along with a copy of “Good Trouble.” For more information or to RVSP, visit limmudaz.org/limmud-az-event/ taste-of-limmud.

Family

MONDAYS

Free baby gym classes: 9:30-10 a.m., Arizona Sunrays Gymnastics & Dance Center, 15801 N. 32nd Street, Phoenix. Parents (and grandparents) are invited to bring in their babies, ages 6 months to 18 months. This parent-child class uses tumbling mats, balance beams, parallel bars and trampolines. Work on strength, balancing and coordination with your

PHOTO BY WENDY WEI FROM PEXELS

CALENDAR

baby. This is a “drop in” class. Advanced registration is not required. Call 602-9925790 or visit arizonasunrays.com for more information.

Breakfast Babies: 9-10:30 a.m., The Brunch Café, 15507 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 100, Scottsdale. A fun-filled morning gathering for parents and grandparents with babies or toddlers. Complimentary coffee and a chocolate-covered strawberry with the purchase of any meal. Includes a story time picture book reading. Call 480-398-7174 or visit brunchcafe.com for more information.

WEDNESDAYS

Free baby dance classes: 9:15-9:45 a.m., Arizona Sunrays Gymnastics & Dance Center, 15801 N. 32nd Street, Phoenix. For babies who are walking up to age 2 ½. This baby dance class is a fun introduction to music, movement and dancing. Babies will dance to the music while using all kinds of different props and toys. Parent/ grandparent participation is required. This is a “drop in” class. Advanced registration is not required. Call 602-992-5790 or visit arizonasunrays.com for more information.

Shabbat

FIRST FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH

First Fridays: 6:30-8 p.m., Beth Emeth Synagogue, 13702 W. Meeker Blvd., Sun City West. Begins Nov. 1. Traditional Friday night services with a twist; each month a special aspect, theme or prayer from the Shabbat evening liturgy is focused on. Questions about the service, and Jewish prayer in general, will be answered to help each person. No fee, open to everyone, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. For beginners and experienced members. For more information, call 623-584-7210 or email bethemethaz@gmail.com.

FIRST SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH

Kavana Café: 8:45 a.m., Congregation Or Tzion, 16415 N. 90th St., Scottsdale. This is an informal opportunity to learn with Rabbi Micah Caplan prior to Saturday-morning services. A light breakfast will be served. For more information, visit congregationortzion. org or call 480-342-8858.

EVERY SATURDAY

Torah Express: Noon, Congregation Or Tzion, 16415 N. 90th St., Scottsdale. On Shabbat mornings, during the congregation’s Kiddush lunch, join Rabbi Micah Caplan and other Jewish professionals and teachers from the community for an in-depth study of the Torah portion of the week. No RSVP required. For more information, visit congregationortzion.org or call 480-342-8858.

FRIDAY, OCT. 28

Shabbat Service: 7 p.m., North Scottsdale location. The Desert Foothills Jewish Community Association will have a brief Shabbat service followed by a presentation by Lois Tager, author of “What to do with

your Stuff.” Dues are $60 per year. For more information, call Andrea at 480-664-8847.

Sukkot

SATURDAY, OCT. 19

Nextdor Sukkot Craft & Cider Event: 5:30 p.m., Congregation Beth Israel, 10460 N. 56th St., Scottsdale. The evening will include a hard cider tasting as well as a painting class. CBI members $10, non-members $18. RSVP at cbiaz.org/?event=nextdor-sipscider-in-the-sukkah&event_date=2019-10-19.

SATURDAY, OCT. 19

Phoenix’s Seventh Annual Moho Sukkot Party: 7 p.m.-midnight, Phoenix. Co-hosted by JNFuture, experience the largest Sukkah in AZ. The night begins with dinner under the stars, followed by an outdoor party with an open bar. $5 for pre-sale tickets, $10 for week-of tickets and $15 at the door. Visit eventbrite.com/e/7th-annualmoho-phoenix-sukkot-party-with-jnfuturetickets-74375221289 for more information.

SUNDAY, OCT. 20

Preserve Hike & Sukkot Lunch: 8:30 a.m.-noon, Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Easy, 3-mile hike at Phoenix Mountain Preserve — 40th Street Trailhead 100. Depart the J at 8:40 a.m., car-a-van to the 90-minute hike and then return for lunch in the J’s Sukkah. Pack your own Kosher-style lunch or purchase lunch from milk+honey. Free for members, mile+honey lunch additional purchase. Register online at vosjcc.org/ event/preserve-hike-sukkot-lunch or call 480-481-7090.

Seniors

THURSDAY, NOV. 7

Memory Café: 10-11:30 a.m., Beth El Congregation, 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix. Jewish Family and Children’s Service hosts a monthly Memory Café event, which will include refreshments along with stimulating, interactive programming geared toward those who have memory loss and their care partners. Keith Johnson of Sankofa Island Magic is this month’s special guest artist. For more information or to confirm times, please contact Kathy Rood at 602-452-4627 or via email at kathy.rood@jfcsaz.org.

Arts

SUNDAY, OCT. 27

‘Robbery of the Heart’: 2-3:30 p.m., Civic Center Library, 3839 N. Drinkwater Blvd., Scottsdale. This documentary delves into the story of Kristallnacht from the point of view of Holocaust survivors and German citizens. Q&A with producer Micah Brandt and Rabbi Micah Caplan following the film. Contact Pat Toftoy at ptoftoy@scottsdaleaz.gov or 480-312-2180 for more information.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 30

‘Robbery of the Heart’: 5:30-7 p.m., Scottsdale Appaloosa Library, 7377 E. Silverstone Drive, Scottsdale. This documentary delves into the story of Kristallnacht from the point of view of Holocaust survivors and German citizens. Q&A with producer Micah Brandt following the film JN

Upcoming Special Sections

Senior Lifestyle

November

From home health aides to travel agents, financial planners to realtors, Senior Lifestyle is the perfect venue to showcase your products and services for older Jewish Phoenix area residents.

November 1

Devoted to each stage of Jewish family life, topics will include parenting advice, education, family health, Jewish identity, household finances and much more.

Music for memory

Where’s your Jewish News?

Ellie Colan took a road trip to Gull Lake — part of the Eastern Sierra Nevada scenic area in California — and remembered to bring her favorite Jewish newspaper.

Holiday treats

Chef Melinda McNeil demonstrates how to make a round

challah

Jewish Family & Children’s Service featured a musical guest at its Oct. 3 Memory Café at Beth El Congregation. Memory Café presents interactive activities for those with cognitive concerns and their care partners. From left: Katie Malpiedi, Kathy Rood, musical entertainer Joe Bousard, Janet Rees and Joey Jacobellis.

LIRIT RUTH KAYE

Lirit Ruth Kaye becomes a bat mitzvah on Oct. 26, 2019, at Congregation Merkaz Ha-Iyr. She is the daughter of Denise and Eric Kaye of Phoenix.

Grandparents are Linda and Stanley Burech of Scottsdale; and Julia and Harvey Kaye of Scottsdale. Aunts are Congregation Merkaz Ha-Iyr Rabbi Erica Burech and Temple Kol Ami Cantorial Soloist Emily Kaye.

For her mitzvah project, Lirit baked and sold dog treats. She contributed the money along with toys, blankets and food for the animals at the Home Fur Good shelter.

A student at Basis Phoenix, Lirit enjoys volleyball and dance.

JESSICA WEIL AND ADAM LERNER

Lynn and Mike Barinbaum of Scottsdale announce the engagement of their son, Adam Lerner of Scottsdale, to Jessica Weil, also of Scottsdale.

Parents of the bride-to-be are Marcie Weil and the late John Weil. Parents of the groom-to-be are Lynn and Mike Barinbaum and the late Paul Lerner.

Jessica graduated from the University of Arizona in 2005 and works as an account executive for Epionce.

Jeffrey graduated from the USC Gould School of Law in 2007 and is senior corporate counsel with Accumen.

The wedding will take place on Nov. 7, 2020, in Phoenix.

With great sorrow, we announce the passing of Mark Chernoff who died two months short of his 50th birthday. Mark was all determination. He never failed to apply the best of himself to the task at hand, whether the task involved complex legal arguments or organizing camping equipment for a weekend away. He was also adventurous, had traveled extensively and had a vast vault of knowledge ranging from car mechanics to world affairs. But he was most soughtafter at parties for his goofy jokes and unfailing conviction to just be himself. Mark earned his bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Southern California. After graduation from the University of Arizona Law School, Mark earned a master’s degree in public administration at Rutgers University. He then volunteered for the Peace Corps where he was assigned to the Republic of Moldova. n Moldova, he learned uent Romanian, ade uate Russian and organized the newly burgeoning free press to form an association to buy goods in bulk and share reporting resources. This is an organization that still exists today (APi – Asociatiei Presei Indepenedente).

n 199 , Mark returned to rizona where he o founded the law firm of aVoy Chernoff. ventually, aVoy Chernoff merged with a larger firm. After a short stint, Mark opened the Chernoff Law Firm, which operated in two states. Mark was a lawyer you wanted on your side. He was wellinformed, left no detail to chance and advocated strongly for his clients.

Cayla Leann Orr and Daniel Aaron Waxman were married on Aug. 14, 2019, at Station 67 in Columbus, Ohio.

The bride’s parents are Cynthia and Scott Orr of East Liberty, Ohio. The groom’s parents are Andrea and Michael Waxman of

The bride obtained her bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and is a registered dietitian and lactation consultant at WIC Mountain Park Health Center in Phoenix.

The groom received his bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and works as a senior financial analyst at Salucro Healthcare Solutions in Phoenix. Attendants included Chelsey Ferguson, Catarina Orr and Sam Waxman. After a honeymoon in Cancun, the couple will make their home in Tempe.

OBITUARY

SHARON LEE OSTER

Sharon Lee Oster, 76, died Oct. 12, 2019. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and lived in Phoenix. She is survived by her spouse, James Ronald Oster; her daughter, Jacqueline Rodman; her sons, Marc Oster and Harold Oster; and five grandchildren.

Services were held at Mt. Sinai Cemetery.

Arrangements by Sinai Mortuary of Arizona. JN

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Mark married Sharon in 2006 and had two daughters, Natalie and Sophie. n all his a omplishments, he was most proud of his kids. is role as fier e protector of his family was only rivaled by his role as soft-hearted pushover. Mark was also an incredibly generous friend. He was always willing to volunteer his time and efforts whether it came in the form of legal advice or moving heavy boxes.

We will miss his gregarious personality, his creative intelligence, his skill for getting things done, his unfailing humor even in the face of insurmountable obstacles and his huge heart. Mark battled brain cancer with boundless courage and dignity.

He is survived by his bride Sharon, daughters Natalie (10) and Sophie (7), parents Earl and Lolly, and brother Michael (Kate). Mark’s funeral was held on Sept. 20, 2019, at Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach, California. Donations may be made in his honor to Tarbut V’Torah (tarbut.com/donate-now).

Samuel “Sam” Israel Walzer, 88, of Sun City, a decorated Korean War United States Navy Veteran, passed away on Sept. 24, 2019. Born in North Minneapolis, Minnesota, Samuel lived in several parts of the world, finally settling in beautiful Arizona. He was preceded in death by his parents, Max Walzer and Sarah Walzer. He is survived by his beloved wife, Cathryn Walzer; son Harold “Hal” (Christie) Walzer; and daughter Robin (Ron) Shulman and her two daughters. Samuel was a 32nd degree Mason, a Shriner and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Sam lived a full life and he lived it his way!

Interment was at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix on Sept. 27, 2019. To sign the guestbook online and to share memories and send condolences and well-wishes to the family, please visit surprisefuneralcare.com.

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