Jewish News, Sept. 10, 2021

Jewish chaplains in Greater Phoenix frustrated by pandemic’s gains

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 patients are once again on the rise, but this time, it feels different.

“I don’t want to be angry because I’m a rabbi and need to be compassionate,” said Rabbi Jeffrey Lipschultz. “I just feel really sad, because the heartache of saying goodbye to somebody, or yourself saying goodbye and leaving this world is so much. Why would you do it unnecessarily?”

As a staff rabbi at Madrona Hospice and Palliative Care, which offers hospice care and chaplaincy visits to terminally ill patients in homes and hospitals, he hasn’t had much contact with COVID patients.

“There’s one good thing we can say about us Jews: We’re pretty good on vaccines. We’re pretty good with medicine,” he said.

But knowing that people are dying unnecessarily breaks his heart and adds to a mountain of grief he is still processing from 2020. Lipschultz and other area chaplains say this period has been incredibly taxing, unlike anything they’ve witnessed.

Lipschultz joined Madrona in December 2019. After 17 years of being a congregational rabbi, “I figured it’d be nice to have a little break from congregational politics.”

But just a few months after taking the job, the pandemic hit. “To put it nicely, the year sucked,” he said. Before the vaccine became available, he was not allowed to visit patients in person, unless it was to give last rites. “We had to do everything by Zoom.”

He offered as much support to families as he could, but it wasn’t the same.

“They need hugs. They need to hold hands. I need to let the person know that I’m here.” he said. “We chaplains need to give our emotional love to people to let them know it will be OK. And

Repentance ‘almost obsolete’ in a time of social media

What would Maimonedes, Rashi or other iconic Jewish scholars have thought of social media?

“I imagine the rabbis who made such a big hay about lashon hara would look at social media and just cry,” said Temple Beth Sholom of the East Valley Rabbi Herschel ‘Brodie’ Aberson.

The entire point of Twitter is to spread what others have said, he noted. Meanwhile, SnapChat, which deletes content shortly after it has been viewed, is “all about the harm that nobody can prove you did.”

Local clergy say the ubiquitous use, and misuse, of social media complicates the Jewish obligation to repent on Yom Kippur.

Chabad of North Phoenix Rabbi Mendy Levertov recalled the Jewish story of the sack filled with feathers. The sack was torn open and the feathers were strewn about indoors and outdoors, making it impossible to put them all back in the pillow.

“That’s what happens when you speak badly about someone. And it goes really fast on social media,” Levertov said. “With

Torah dedication

Members of Chabad of Flagstaff gather together to dedicate their new Torah. To read more, go to p. 14.

you just can’t do that with Zoom.”

The height of the pandemic was very depressing, he said. But he never considered bowing out.

“Helping somebody say goodbye to the world is one of the greatest mitzvahs you can do,” he said.

Once he got the vaccine in early January he felt it was at least a chance to end his patients’ isolation and his own. He is no longer limited to Zoom meetings and is grateful to be in person with patients, with the proper protective gear.

“Some of us are a little nervous about this variant, but we have faith in the vaccine, and that if we also protect ourselves through masking, we should be OK.”

In the decade that Rabbi Robert Kravitz has been a hospital chaplain with Jewish Family & Children’s Service, the COVIDera has been “the most difficult period of time,” both personally challenging and emotionally draining, he said.

He became a chaplain because he likes the opportunity to “give whatever I have that people find helpful and supportive.” Sometimes it’s just being there, and other times it’s relating to somebody.

Kravitz visits hospital patients, but since COVID many of those visits have been virtual, depending on the hospital system and individual hospital.

He hasn’t dealt with any COVID patients, but it’s been frustrating and difficult to keep up with hospitals’ changing rules regarding visits. “The painful part is sometimes not having the one-on-one direct contact with a hurting member of the community.”

He is hopeful that more and more people will recognize the value of the vaccine and get inoculated. As of the end of August, over half of all Maricopa County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.

“That will bring down the number of severely ill patients, which will ultimately allow us more access to those who are in the hospital needing the support of a rabbi,” he said.

Rabbi Zari Sussman is in the process of becoming a board-certified chaplain. She always wanted to make a deeper study of chaplaincy after learning about the importance of accompanying people through difficult times in rabbinical school.

“What do you say when someone’s dying? That is not something that comes naturally and is worth being studied. How do you give comfort to someone who’s actively dying, or their family?” she asks.

Sussman began taking a clinical pastoral education unit with Banner Hospital in June, when the infection rate was trending downward. But hospitalization rates were sharply rising just weeks after her course started and visitation was soon restricted.

“The COVID patients when I started were in one pod taking up two floors or eight pods,” she said.

The last patient she saw was a 59-year-old Jewish COVID patient who did not receive the vaccine.

His daughter and wife were not allowed to see him and he had to communicate with his family through an iPad. “And that’s heartbreaking, and really troublesome,” she said. Sussman tries not to think about the fact that a vaccine would likely have prevented a hospital stay, even if he contracted the virus.

“Not getting a vaccine is a wrong choice. But it’s not worth being punished by what these people eventually go through,” she said. “Part of the problem is nobody sees the COVID patients who are actively dying. Unless you work in a hospital, you don’t see how much pain they’re in, because nobody can visit them.”

She learned a great deal during the 11-week unit, and plans to begin another in September.

“After all these years of trying to figure out what to say, it took me a while to learn that the most powerful thing we can do is listen.” JN

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social media, one innocent comment is not one innocent comment. It has legs,” Levertov said.

Temple B’rith Shalom Rabbi Julie Kozlow said social media almost makes the concept of repentance obsolete.

“Social media has allowed every single person to believe that they are their own God and nothing else matters except whatever they happen to feel,” she said. Such posts often include lashon hara, “shared with people all over the world and for all of eternity.”

Aberson said the idea that one can do teshuvah — to fix what they’ve done — is predicated on the idea that they’re aware of where they’ve caused harm. But with social media, that may not always be the case.

Depending on where and how something is posted, it can be seen by many people beyond its intended audience.

“Maybe you can’t fix the harm you’ve done,” he said. “That should make you all the more concerned about not causing harm in the first place.”

Social media also allows for a lazy pursuit of forgiveness.

Congregation Kehillah Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman noted the process of teshuvah requires that individuals

seek forgiveness from somebody they’ve harmed three times.

But during the High Holiday season, social media often offers a stream of messages like this one:

“I kindly ask my friends to forgive me if I’ve done anything wrong to them.”

This sort of “blanket statement” highlights a problem in Jewish thinking that is more acute because of social media, Aberson said.

“Repentance in Jewish thinking is, in many ways, a life process about recognizing the wrong or harm you might have done, recognizing who you harmed with it, seeking their forgiveness for the harm you’ve done and making it a point to not repeat those behaviors in the future,” he said.

A blanket statement may reflect somebody’s acknowledgment that they’ve done harm, but “accomplishes nothing,” he said.

Kozlow is concerned that people have lost sight of the fact that speaking poorly about others on social media is wrong — just as it is in person.

“When somebody doesn’t agree with you, or does something you don’t like, that’s totally fine,” she said. “But the moment that they vilify you, it crosses many lines.”

People need to remember to see

each other as humans, with love as the first impulse instead of judgment, she said.

Aberson and Sharfman agreed.

“Social media can be impersonal and we can find ourselves saying or doing things that we wouldn’t otherwise,” Aberson said.

Sharfman said posts are too often crafted carelessly out of anger or frustration rather than out of understanding and compassion.

Social media has “wonderful abilities to connect us,” she said, but it has also been used to demonize groups or individuals, “causing immeasurable harm.”

Chabad of Mesa Rabbi Laibel Blotner said he wishes people would take time to reflect instead of rushing to respond on social media. “Do I want to put this down in this way? Do I want to look at others this way? Is this the way I want others to look at me?”

Kozlow said she believes social media has true power to uplift people, but only once people know how to stop weaponizing it.

“Social media could one day be able to help the world reach beautiful heights. But now it’s in its infancy, and it is mostly a very narcissistic toy.” JN

"REPENTANCE IN JEWISH THINKING IS A LIFE PROCESS ABOUT RECOGNIZING THE WRONG OR HARM YOU MIGHT HAVE DONE, RECOGNIZING WHO YOU HARMED WITH IT, SEEKING THEIR FORGIVENESS AND MAKING IT A POINT TO NOT REPEAT THOSE BEHAVIORS"

Rabbi Dean Shapiro launches new climate change project at ASU

NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER

Rabbi Dean Shapiro has always been interested in justice and making the world a better place. That’s why he became a rabbi in 2008.

After about a decade leading Temple Emanuel of Tempe, he found a new way to have an impact. He recently launched the Joseph Project at Arizona State University’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory.

The new venture will train clergy all over the world to lead their communities through climate change and climate crisis.

“As climate worsens, our people are going to look to us for processes and solutions that will make their lives better, and to help create meaning,” he said.

Shapiro has noticed people are beginning to experience “climate grief” as they realize their futures will likely be dimmer than they had hoped, due to the effects of climate change.

“As people contemplate moving from one region to another because of drought, flood or fire, the changing environment is arriving in people’s consciousness as a real phenomenon that will be encountered,” he said.

An August report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of scientists convened by the United Nations, found humans have largely caused the planet to heat 1.1 degrees Celsius or 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 19th century. Averaged over the next 20 years, the planet is expected to reach or exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, causing more frequent and lifethreatening heat waves, severe droughts and the extinction of some animal and plant species alive today.

“It’s clear that climate change has already become a moral issue and that it is a driver of inequality and injustice,” Shapiro said.

The Joseph Project is preparing to offer its first course to practicing clergy online by the end of the year. Called, “Rising Waters,” it will examine the impact of sea level rise, flooding and drought from academic, theological, community impact and emotional perspectives. More courses will come online as the program expands.

David Guston, associate vice provost in the Global Futures Laboratory, said the

Gesher’s annual gala in November will be virtual

SHANNON LEVITT | MANAGING EDITOR

Gesher Disability Resources’ annual gala fundraiser will be virtual in 2021, just as it was in 2020. The decision was finalized at Gesher’s August board meeting.

Amy Hummell, Gesher’s executive director, is confident the decision to stay virtual is the safest and best choice, although a tough one. In May, when a board member suggested that by November the gala might be entirely in person, Hummell wasn’t so sure. Even then she planned for a hybrid event with a virtual option.

Then came COVID-19’s delta variant, and the majority of board members agreed that it would be better to be safe than risk having a super-spreader event.

“We focus on being an inclusive organization,” said Hummell, “but we’re also a safe one.”

Nora Schaefer, Gesher’s board president, highlighted some positive aspects of a virtual format. Last year, friends and family of Gesher members, who weren’t able to attend past galas, were happy that they could finally watch the show along with everyone else. And they intend to do so again, she said.

“My mom watched from New Jersey,

and she is looking forward to seeing everyone virtually again,” Schaefer said.

Wendy Carriere, the executive director of Minkoff Center for Jewish Genetics, was part of last year’s gala. She found it “upbeat and inclusive.” It was her first experience at a virtual gala and she didn’t know what to expect. “I was really surprised how much fun it was,” she said, via email. “They kept

the program moving, and I will definitely attend and support them this year again.”

Last year, Carriere won the grand prize at the raffle, which will also be part of this year’s gala.

Hummell’s excited about the innovative programming that’s now coming together. One big difference from last year’s virtual event will be Gesher’s encouragement of

SENIOR LIVING REIMAGINED

viewers to watch in groups at house parties. “Last year we did not feel comfortable having anybody gather,” she said. “But people have their pods now, and they know who’s vaccinated and who they’re comfortable being around.”

As an added bonus, house parties with 10 or more participants will find themselves making an appearance in the webinar. Gesher’s crew, led by Barry Markson, who is reprising his role as the emcee, will pop into some parties. Just as happened last year, there will be a few rounds of Kahoot!, a trivia game, and people at house parties will have the chance to play live. They might even get to offer commentary on camera.

There will be some pre-recorded portions during the gala showing earlier events throughout the year and interviews with various people who are key supporters of Gesher. And because sponsors won’t be able to purchase a table as they would at an in-person gala, they will get a short commercial so people know who they are. Thus far, Hummell said, she’s received only positive responses about the decision to keep it a virtual event. JN

To register, go to gesher.betterworld.org.

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Amy Hummell and Barry Markson leading Gesher Disability Resources’ 2020 fundraising gala. PHOTO BY GOOD EYE! MEDIA

Chandler’s new city manager says job allows for ‘one of highest forms of tzedakah’

MICHELLE TALSMA EVERSON

Growing up in Tempe, Joshua Wright always knew that he wanted a career that would enable him to serve the greater good.

“I thought that meant I needed to work for a nonprofit organization,” Wright said. “I was headed down that path and did a few internships, but ultimately local government found me and it has been a tremendously rewarding experience.”

Recently, Wright was officially named Chandler’s city manager, replacing Marsha Reed, who retired in March 2021.

“I am a ‘service first’ kind of person,” Wright said. “What inspired me to go into local government — and what continues to inspire me to work in this career — is the opportunity we have as public servants to do good in the lives of our community members.”

Wright shared that he had no knowledge of local government until graduate school at University of Arizona. In fact, he never really thought about how a city operated. “I’ve never been interested in politics or particularly opinionated about most policy issues, but I am interested in finding small, lasting ways to make the world a better place,” he said.

So, what exactly does a city manager do?

The best way to describe the role of city manager, Wright said, is to use a corporate analogy: A large corporation has a board of directors, and they in turn appoint a chief executive officer to manage the day-today affairs. In municipal government, the mayor and city council are the elected board who set the vision and policy direction of the organization. They in turn hire a politically neutral, professional administrator to implement those policies and supervise municipal services — the city manager.

The city manager also prepares the annual budget for the city council’s approval.

“In Chandler, I oversee most of our approximately 1,700 city employees and a budget of just over $1 billion this fiscal year, including such services as police, fire, transportation, parks and recreation, libraries, airport, water, sewer, garbage and recycling, and many more,” he explained.

Unlike the corporate world though, the mayor and council have to run for reelection, so Wright is guaranteed new bosses every so often. “As such, part of my job is helping facilitate a shared direction for the city while presenting professional recommendations for addressing complex policy issues,” he said. “I bring a good mix of experience, creativity, and enthusiasm to this new role.”

He was promoted to the position after serving as acting city manager since March and assistant city manager since 2017. He previously served as town manager of Wickenburg for five years and worked five years at the town of Marana as an assistant to the town manager and director of strategic initiatives.

“Through a five-month recruitment process, we interviewed a number of great candidates for the city manager position and ultimately selected the internal candidate, Joshua Wright,” said Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke. “Through his role as assistant city manager and in his recent acting position, Joshua has guided the city through many challenges and has led the city to

in public administration and bachelor’s degrees in psychology and religious studies.

Outside of work, Wright is on the board of the directors for the East Valley Jewish Community Center — a community he was a part of growing up — and he and his family have been members of Temple Emanuel of Tempe for decades. With life now beautifully full circle, his children are active in the EVJCC as well.

“All of my free time is dedicated to family activities,” he said. “My wife, Melissa, who is also Jewish, and I have been married 16 years and we have two incredible kids: Caleb, 9, and Hannah, 5. They are your typical kids these days with too many hobbies: basketball, soccer, dance, coding, drum lessons, you name it. It’s exciting to watch them grow up and find their own passions and life achievements.”

Wright also recently started working on a doctorate through Valdosta State University in Georgia, which has been a long-time personal goal. When it comes to blending the personal and professional, Wright noted that he’s always been surprised at the small number of fellow Jews he’s met in local government.

“It’s [local government] a great career that I’ve found to be highly consistent with Jewish values. In particular, I remember my parents telling me when I was a kid that

one of the highest forms of tzedakah is when the giver and the receiver do not know each other,” he said. “I get to do small acts of kindness every day, like building a new park or providing resources for our police officers and firefighters to keep the community safe, that will hopefully positively impact people for many years to come. I don’t know those people personally, and they don’t know me. But I like it that way because it’s about doing the right thing simply because it’s the right thing to do, not because you expect to be thanked or receive something in return.”

Wright highly encourages those involved in the Jewish community to also be involved in their local governments because he believes it is a great way to put the faith’s principles into practice. JN

Chandler, Arizona

Congregation Beth Israel offers fertility assistance

NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER

It was Rosh Hashanah and Lauren Hendeles sat inside Congregation Beth Israel sobbing. “God, please hear my prayer. Please bless me with a child,” she prayed. It was 2017 and Hendeles was overcome with the physical, emotional and spiritual toll of unexplained infertility. She later shared her story publicly in the spring of 2019 from the bima at CBI. “A staggering one in eight couples struggle to get pregnant,” she told her congregation. “How did I not know this before? Why was no one talking about this? So now I am.”

She and CBI Rabbi Stephen Kahn started the Mishpacha Project shortly after. The fund offers help to CBI members and their immediate families who may be struggling to build their families. The fund has around $40,000 and Khan hopes to grow it to a point that the project can be a resource beyond CBI — for all Jewish community members of Greater Phoenix. Delayed by COVID, the project officially launched this year and a CBI couple received the first grant money of $4,000 in March.

“We need to be in the business of doing

whatever we can to build Jewish families,” Kahn said.

According to The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the average cost of an in vitro fertilization cycle in the United States is $12,400. And with medication, the cost can be closer to $25,000.

“Most of this is not covered by insurance, if any,” Kahn said. “And I think people have a misconception of, ‘Oh, I have infertility and so I go do this $30,000 procedure to make a baby.’ But there are so many preliminary steps before you even get to that.”

Hendeles and her husband now have two children: Max, 3, and Eli, 1. They were both conceived “with a little help from science,” Hendeles joked. And that help came with a hefty price tag.

Hendeles and her husband didn’t need financial help, but feels “money should never prohibit someone from having a baby.”

She hopes the project will remind people who are struggling with infertility that they are not alone.

“It’s an emotionally, physically and financially draining journey. Our grants can be used to cover any expense

associated with assisted reproduction such as IUI, IVF, egg and sperm donation and surrogacy,” she said. “Infertility is real, it’s painful, and unfortunately, it’s very common.”

The seeds for the Mishpacha Project were planted in April 2019, when Hendeles approached Kahn about having CBI participate in the Infertility Awareness Shabbat. Founded by California-based Yesh Tikva, Infertility Awareness Shabbat is an annual global campaign to raise awareness and sensitivity regarding infertility.

CBI participated in IAS again earlier this year, with Hendeles speaking from the bima once more.

“All of Israel is responsible for one another,” she told congregants. “Let us demonstrate to those in struggle that they are not alone, not this Shabbat or ever.”

Mishpacha Project joins a growing list of resources available to Jewish couples experiencing infertility. Twelve Jewish organizations participated in a virtual Jewish fertility support summit earlier this year.

“Chances are, everybody knows somebody going through [infertility] because the statistics are one in eight

couples, which is quite high. It’s time for us to come together as a community and really support our loved ones,” said Chani Levertov, who launched Phoenixbased Fruitful, a support group for those navigating infertility, in 2018. JN

To learn more about the Mishpacha Project or to donate, visit cbiaz.org/ mishpacha-project-fertility-assistance-grants/.

Lauren Hendeles with her husband, Zev, and two PHOTO COURTESY OF LAUREN HENDELES

FBI report finds Jewish community remains top target of religiously-motivated hate crimes

NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER

The FBI recorded the largest number of hate crimes last year since 2008, and the Jewish community was once again a top target of religiously motivated crimes.

Of the 1,174 religiously motivated hate crimes reported to the FBI in 2020, anti-Jewish hate crimes accounted for 57%. The majority of incidents targeted individuals directly; 53% involved vandalism or property destruction, 33% involved intimidation and 10% entailed either simple or aggravated assault.

The FBI recorded 19 anti-Jewish hate crimes in Arizona, which has averaged 20 antiJewish hate crimes per year for the last decade, according to Carlos Galindo-Elvira, director of community engagement and partnerships at Chicanos Por La Causa.

“We cannot accept hate crimes as normal,” Galindo-Elvira stated, noting crimes based on race and sexual orientation in Arizona increased from the year before.

Notable local anitsemitic incidents last year include a banner with the words “Hitler was right” hung on an overpass, a Nazi flag unfurled at a Bernie Sanders’ rally, vandalism of an Arizona Senate candidate’s campaign sign and threats against a journalist from a Jewish publication.

Paul Rockower, executive director of Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix, said he was “disturbed but not surprised” by the report’s findings.

“The JCRC will continue to build coalitions with different faith and ethnic communities across the Valley of the Sun to counter hate, and ensure that no community ever faces hate crimes alone,” he said.

Phoenix Holocaust Association President Sheryl Bronkesh said she and other PHA members are “acutely aware of what can happen when antisemitism goes unchecked.” The organization is focusing on education and is working with a statewide task force to develop educational resources for schools to teach about the

Holocaust and other genocides.

“We hope that schools, youth sports teams and other organizations working with young people take this matter seriously and deal with anti-Jewish bias when it occurs,” she said. “This must be a community effort.”

The number of anti-Jewish incidents decreased last year relative to 2019, but still made up the majority of hate crimes based on religion.

“This report reminds us all that the Jewish community remains a top target for hate crimes,” said Michael Master, national director and CEO of the Secure Community Network, which describes itself as the “official safety and security organization” of the Jewish community in North America. “Despite our relatively small population, these attacks show no signs of slowing down as our community was targeted the most among religiously motivated crimes. We must continue to work to be as prepared and secure as possible so the Jewish community can continue to thrive.”

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found more than 9 in 10 Jews say there is at least “some” antisemitism in the United States, including 45% who say there is “a lot.” Slightly more than half of Jews surveyed (53%) nationally say that they feel less safe today than they did five years ago as a Jewish person in the U.S.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said reports of hate crimes increased 6.1% last year, particularly among those motivated by race, ethnicity and ancestry, and by gender identity.

In total, the FBI announced Monday that it recorded 7,759 hate crimes nationwide in 2020, a slight rise from the 7,314 it recorded in 2019. There were 2,755 anti-Black hate crimes in 2020, up from 1,972 the previous year, and 274 anti-Asian hate crimes, up from 161 in 2019.

Asian-Americans drew attention last year to a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes due to

the COVID-19 pandemic, while the increase in antiBlack racism came against the backdrop of racial justice protests in 2020.

The report looked only at 2020, before the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in May 2021 drove a spike in reports of antisemitic incidents.

David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said fighting antisemitism must be a national priority and a bipartisan effort.

“For decades, we have cautioned that antisemitism is a rising threat and that it comes from multiple sources, including the far right, the hard left and Islamist extremists.”

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, president and dean of Valley Beit Midrash, echoed that sentiment.

“Many Jews who are over-committed to their political identity argue that all antisemitism comes from one end of the political spectrum. But it is a distortion of all the facts,” he said. The political right is often complicit in defending the far-right white supremacists and the left is often complicit in defending the antisemitism emerging from far-left circles, he said.

“We will only succeed, as a community, when we choose to defend the safety and dignity of our precious Jewish people over defending our American political identities. Stopping hate starts with each of us being honest and taking responsibility,” he said.

Garland noted the FBI’s numbers do not account for the many hate crimes that go unreported.

The FBI relies on reports of hate crimes from more than 15,000 police precincts nationwide, and a report from the Department of Justice last year found that 87% of

precincts reported zero hate crimes in 2017.

Marc Krell, associate regional director of Anti-Defamation League Arizona, also noted the difference between hate incidents and crimes. “ADL deals with incidents related to antisemitism every day across the nation and internationally. And although hate incidents frequently go unreported to law enforcement, the impact of these incidents on the community cannot be overstated.”

Speaking to the local Jewish community in June, Special Agent Dan Johnson of the Phoenix FBI urged people to report any red flags or concerns.

“There is nothing wrong with communicating your anxiety, your concern about a person to me or my colleagues,” Johnson said.

The FBI has studied those who’ve committed “the most heinous acts” and found what “behavioral conditions were present in them before they acted,” Johnson said. A lot of these things were seen by the people around them. “If something appears threatening it might be a threat and we’re the ones who will be in the best place to know,” he said. JN

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Jewish News Syndicate contributed to this report.

Seth Blattman’s campaign sign in Scottsdale was vandalized with a swastika.

PHOTO BY SETH BLATTMAN

Locals surprised by recognition, awards

Cantor Ross Wolman recognized for volunteer efforts Temple Chai Cantor Ross

Wolman received a sweet surprise on June 30, as he was preparing to leave for a stint at Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, California, with his family.

While he was busily multitasking during a Zoom conference call with the American Conference of Cantors, the main organization for Reform cantors, the meeting host suddenly asked him to turn on his camera.

“What is going on?” he wondered. To his surprise and delight, he was being honored with the President’s Award for Volunteerism in recognition of his commitment and dedication to Jewish music and the cantorate. The award was presented by Cantor Claire Franco, a cantor in New York and president of the ACC.

In presenting the award, Franco said there was a long list of people she could have selected, but Wolman “emerged as someone who was deserving of special recognition — not just for efforts this year but for all of the work he has done for many years.”

She also said that Wolman is happy to help when asked and even volunteers

assistance before someone has to ask.

“Ross Wolman, you have one of the biggest hearts that I know,” she told those watching.

Normally, the award would be given in person and accompanied by “silly little songs about the winner,” Wolman said.

But even virtually, the award “was a beautiful, pleasant surprise,” he said.

The ACC describes itself as “an organization that, through its members, advocates, designs, facilitates and hosts sacred time and space within Jewish life.”

Local boy wins trophy for Torah knowledge

In May, New York-based Chidon Sefer HaMitzvos hosted its annual international Jewish law competition for grades four through eight. More than 5,000 students were tested through a series of exams and competitions on their knowledge of the Torah’s 613 commandments.

Meir Tiechtel, 10, a student at Phoenix’s Cheder Lubavitch Arizona, took home the silver trophy for fourthgraders. Tiechtel said he loves learning, and Torah is his favorite subject.

Tiechtel, who lives in Tempe and has four siblings, hopes to one day become a rabbi like his father, Rabbi Shmuel Tiechtel. The senior Tiechtel is the director for Chabad at Arizona State University.

“I want to be a rabbi and work at a university like my father,” Meir said. But there’s a caveat. “It depends if there’s a lot of kosher ice cream shops and pizza stores and a great Jewish community by the university,” he said.

Rabbi Tiechtel observed that while his son is a picky eater, “he loves candy, ice cream and pizza.” Meir is also a voracious reader. “You’ll usually find him

with a book,” the rabbi said. “He loves knowledge.”

Meir loves learning, but he doesn’t always appreciate a formal school structure because of the way it makes him feel “forced” to learn. He likes reading and studying for pleasure. Plus, “I don’t like doing worksheets,” he said.

Meir was in the Chidon competition with other students from his class, and when the announcer said the winner of the trophy is from Phoenix, he thought it was his friend, and his friend thought it was Meir.

Rabbi Tiechtel was happy with how supportive the boys were of one another despite being in competition. And he’s not surprised with his son’s future career choice. “He’s a junior rabbi already,” he said. “Meir teaches people about Torah and about Judaism.”

That’s the idea behind the competition.

Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, encouraged children to study all 613 mitzvot as Maimonides elucidated them in his Sefer HaMitzvot.

Students who enter the contest all five years — representing the Torah’s five

Wolman’s volunteer work for the nonprofit centered mostly around the Jewish music it publishes. He has the knowledge and skills to do typesetting for sheet music as well as proofreading of the Hebrew, and volunteered hours of his already busy schedule for those tasks. He also volunteered his skills as a videographer.

By watching virtual seders and videos of people sharing music at the beginning of the pandemic, Wolman began to see behind some of the technical tricks. As a “tech savvy cantor,” Wolman realized he could do something similar. Over the past 18 months, he has become something of an expert in videography, making some 60 videos in the past year, the majority of them for Temple Chai.

But he also created videos with and for the ACC.

“When you develop a skill, you say, ‘I can do this, so how can I give back?’” he asked. “There’s work, there’s your job, but so many people have given to me and the least I can do is to give back.”

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books — have the opportunity to win a medal signifying their knowledge of the whole Torah. Meir intends to enter every year until he takes home that medal. JN

For more info on the Chidon Sefer HaMitzvos visit Chidon613.com.

Meir Tiechtel proudly holding his winning trophy, which weighs 12 pounds.

PHOTO BY RABBI SHMUEL TIECHTEL

Cantor Ross Wolman holds up his award from American Conference of Cantors.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSS WOLMAN

Ari Levin wants to bring theatre magic to Greater Phoenix

MICHELLE TALSMA EVERSON

While he’s an Arizona State University alum, this is the first time Ari Levin, the executive director of The Madison Center for the Arts, is calling Greater Phoenix home during his professional career. And it’s been quite an impressive and eclectic career.

Levin, who is Jewish, is one of only a handful of Americans to play the title role of Hamlet, as well as produce and direct national tours with members of the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company in England. He was also the executive producer and director of the “Superstars of the Kirov Ballet” for their only U.S. performance. In addition, he has directed “Star Trek: The Experience,” had his own show on the Las Vegas strip called “Xtreme Magic” and produced and directed the grand opening of 2007 NBA All-Star Game with Kobe Bryant.

“I would say my top career highlight was as the producer and director of over 30 episodes of Oprah’s ‘Where are they Now.’ Oprah’s people actually reached out to me after seeing my work and I couldn’t believe it,” Levin said. “When Oprah asks for you, you say yes. She’s amazing.”

Other highlights include directing and executive producing several Lifetime Achievement Awards. “I’ve had the honor of producing the Lifetime Achievement Award for so many incredibly talented people, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Goldie

Hawn and Jodie Foster,” he said. These credits and more give Levin the background needed to support The Madison during its inaugural season. The center recently had its official opening in Phoenix and its staff and performers are working to bring live performances back after the pandemic’s restrictions. The new venue is home to a 904-seat auditorium and is at the beginning of its 2021-2022 season.

Leading the charge in a changed world is Levin, who moved to Greater Phoenix for the executive director role in April 2020 — right as the pandemic paused live performances.

He has been at work signing “Broadway performances,” which have yet to reach Arizona, he said.

“As the executive director of The Madison it’s my job to create the theatre’s first-ever professional season and fill it with memorable, exciting performances,” Levin explained. “I’m really focused on bringing in acts that have never been to the Valley or state and that add another level of cultural influence into the community.”

For example, in May, The Madison hosted two cultural performances: “Mariachi Sol de Mexico” and the “Zuzu African Acrobats.”

With a new role and a brand-new theatre, Levin shared that his work also includes building awareness of the new venue. “I want people to know we’re

here. The Madison Center for the Arts is a brand new, beautiful, $24 million venue in Central Phoenix, but because we’ve never had big shows before, a lot of people have never heard of us,” he said.

A unique aspect of The Madison is that it is owned by the Madison School District and the funds from its shows go directly back to the schools and the Madison Education Foundation.

The Madison is “ready to wow Phoenix with our inaugural season,” Levin said. The 2021 season includes Jimmy Buffet’s “Escape to Margaritaville,” “Potted Potter,” “American Ballet Theatre Studio” and “Santa’s Circus.”

For potential patrons concerned about pandemic safety precautions, Levin shared that The Madison is doing what they can to keep the community safe. “The Madison has the necessary health and safety guidelines in place, including requiring all patrons to wear masks while inside the building; seats are sanitized between every performance, and hand sanitizer is placed throughout the venue,” he said.

As a new resident, Levin admitted he is still finding his footing in the local Jewish community.

“I just moved from Scottsdale to Gilbert a couple of months ago and work has kept me extremely busy, so I’m still settling in,” he said. “I’ve already met some wonderful people in the Jewish community that have helped

me in starting my career and life here. The support I’ve received has meant the world to me.”

One reason for taking the job is the challenge of building the first season of a new venue with a lot of potential. “I can be as creative and ambitious as I want to be and I’m beyond thankful for the opportunity,” he said.

While his resume in the entertainment industry is impressive, Levin said that his proudest accomplishment is being a father to his son, Jonah, 17, who made the move to Arizona with him. JN

To learn more about The Madison Center for the Arts, visit themadison.org.

Ari Levin

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARI

Marrying inside the faith still key for some Jewish Arizonans looking for love

NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER

It’s so important to Reed Heller to marry a Jewish woman that he moved from Tempe to Florida in January 2020 to meet one.

“I just realized that Florida was a good move, not only for the business, but there’s just a huge Jewish population over here,” said Heller, who runs a swim school, Superhero Swim Academy, in Pompano Beach, Florida. Just 2% of Arizona residents are Jewish, according to a 2020 study by Brandeis University’s Steinhardt Social Research Institute, compared with 10% of Florida residents.

“Chabad here is like Starbucks, there’s one on every corner,” he said, noting there are also several Moishe Houses in the area and a Kspace in Miami — another Jewish hub.

“With each of those having events, that’s already like three events a week to meet people,” he said. “The opportunity here to meet Jewish people has been incredible.”

Heller ranks the importance of marrying in-faith very high. That challenges recent data showing intermarriage continues to rise. A May Pew Research Center survey found 61% of Jews who married between

2010 and 2020 have a non-Jewish spouse, compared to 45% among Jews who married in the previous decade.

Heller, 28, said he wants to marry a Jewish woman to ensure they have the same Jewish values to pass onto their kids.

“If I stayed in Arizona, I’m sure I probably would have met someone, but I think it would have taken a lot longer,” he said.

For others, like Jacob Ollanik, marrying a Jewish woman is of “medium importance.”

“The big thing for me is I do want to raise Jewish children,” said Ollanik, 26. “So whoever I find, if they’re cool with that, then it doesn’t matter as much to me whether they are personally religious or not.”

Ollanik, who lives in Tucson, identifies as a Conservative Jew and has been dating Kate Stansfield, who is not Jewish, since October.

They’ve already had that conversation, and Ollanik said she is open to potentially raising their kids Jewish.

“She’s never really had much exposure to Judaism. So in this time that we’ve been dating, she’s learned a lot by exposure,” he said. She’s learned about Shabbat, holidays

and they watched the Netflix series “Unorthodox” together.

“She’s been really curious about the culture and the philosophy of the religion,” he said.

Ollanik said he occasionally observes Shabbat and is a member of Congregation Anshei Israel.

Shale Brenner, 24, is single and actively looking for her “partner in crime.” It is very important to her that whomever she finds is Jewish.

“I want to have a Jewish family,” she said. “I’m not very religious, really, but I’m very culturally Jewish.”

She is involved in the Jewish community, goes to Jewish events and is on the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix’s NowGen, which aims to connect Jewish adults through their 40s in community, philanthropy and leadership.

“I would just connect better with someone who also went to Jewish summer camp, or went on Birthright,” she said, noting she

wants to be able to talk about things related to those experiences.

Jacob Mann, 28, also feels marrying a fellow Jew is “very important.”

When religion is a value and a part of your life, it is important to find somebody who shares that value, he said.

“I’m more of a traditional kind of guy, I’m looking for someone that really appreciates the values of the religion, and has a basic means of practicing them,” he said, adding it is also important to him to raise his kids in a Jewish home.

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

Reed Heller PHOTO COURTESY OF REED HELLER

meeting over lunch on Friday, June 4.

Jewish networking group providing support during pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for small businesses to manage. One local group of Jewish business owners and professionals is helping each other make it through.

“One of the greatest things was just hearing from other people, what they were doing to keep afloat, how they were making changes,” said Audrey Jung, president of the Jewish Business Network of Arizona and a psychotherapist in private practice.

Bruce Newman, a member of the group for about six years and president of IT services company CMIT Solutions, said he was able to help some group members with the abrupt transition to remote work.

“A lot of people didn’t have to work remotely or didn’t think about it as much prior to the situation we were thrown into,” he said.

JBNA has been around for more than a decade and its members meet twice a month. Those meetings became virtual during COVID, and offered “a much different value than any other year,” said Eddie Pantiliat, longtime JBNA member and an attorney with Hymson Goldstein & Pantiliat & Lohr PLLC.

Pantiliat said it has been helpful to have a support system over the past 18 months, as businesses large and small deal with the pandemic’s economic toll. Even more than that, it was helpful to have a social outlet during an isolating year.

“The group just helped people engage in a type of social activity that was almost impossible, especially during times of quarantine,” he said. “Knowing that two Tuesdays a month we were able to see each other — at least on a screen — and talk to each other really helped me, and I think it helped a lot of people.”

JBNA has 13 members now giving it room to grow. There is one seat available

for each industry in Greater Phoenix and spots are first come, first serve. “There’s no competitive members,” Jung said.

The group includes “a little taste of Jewishness,” she said, in the way the meeting is run. It always begins with some Jewish learning, be it reflections on the weekly parshah or thoughts on an upcoming holiday.

Pantiliat, who often delivers those “Jewish moments,” said they set the tone for the meetings and help people relate on a deeper level than just, “I know someone who may know someone that can help you.”

Newman said the group is part community, part spiritual and part work.

“It’s kind of the whole package for me.”

The networking group had its first in-person meeting since last March on June 4. The group’s next meeting is Sept. 21.

“Everybody’s spirits were just a little bit higher being able to be out and see people in person again, and get back into a little bit of a routine,” Newman said.

Celebrating Grandparents Day: Resources for grandparents raising grandchildren

Sunday, September 12 is National Grandparents Day, which is a day for recognizing grandparents for the unique roles they play in the life of a family. Grandparents who are parenting a second time around by raising their grandchildren, are one of the distinct groups celebrated on this day. According to Grandfamilies.org, more than 60,000 grandparents in Arizona are responsible for their grandchildren.

Grandparents may end up raising grandchildren for a variety of reasons, including incarceration, addiction issues, abuse or neglect, death or other factors. When this happens, many organizations and nonprofits are there to support these grandfamilies as they navigate challenges like custody, financial

also acknowledged the various factors that make it a reality for some older people.

“On National Grandparents Day, let’s take this time not only to honor all the grandparents out there, but let’s take a moment and be thankful to all of those grandparents making the ultimate sacrifice in raising their grandchildren,” Roth said.

Stu Turgel, Duet board member and philanthropy/nonprofit consultant, noted some statistics:

“Today there are more than 2.4 million grandparents nationwide who have suddenly been forced to change their lifestyle or given up their retirement plans in order to step in to raise their grandchildren when the children’s own parents are not able or willing to do so."

He pointed to Duet’s kinship care services and those like them as essential to the “millions of loving grandparents who sacrifice their leisurely life for diapers, daycare, teacher conferences and everything else that comes along with raising children in order to provide a better life for their grandchildren.” The following is a list of resources

to honor her performance in the Tokyo Olympics.

Several local dignitaries attended to offer their personal congratulations: Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Tempe Vice Mayor Randy Keating, former Arizona State Senator, Steve Smith, and State Rep. Greg Stanton.

Gallego was first to speak, proclaiming Aug. 17 “Jade Carey Day” in the city of Phoenix. Then came Keating, who proclaimed it “Jade Carey Recognition Day” in Tempe.

Carey, 21, will now attend Oregon State University where she will begin competing for their women’s gymnastics team.

Arizona Sunrays Gymnastics & Dance Center, owned by Julie Witenstein, was founded in 1990 and has two Phoenix locations: 15801 N. 32nd Street and 3923 E. Indian School Road in Arcadia. The gymnastics center on 32nd Street is where Carey trained for the past four years and was coached by her dad, Brian Carey, and Team Director, Pam Evans. JN For more information, visit arizonasunrays.com

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this election cycle. For those involved in the election process, whether it was informing voters, advising poll observers or canvassing for a candidate, it was a long campaign season. Ahead of Election Day, voters were bombarded with outreach efforts and reminders to vote, all of which helped produce record voter turnout: In Maricopa County, over 2 million ballots were cast, representing just over 80% of eligible voters. Temple Chai’s civic engagement initiative was one of many outreach campaigns. Since July, volunteers were busy participating in phone banks that focused both on the Temple Chai community itself and on reaching marginalized communities where people were less likely to vote. For Kaylie Medansky, director of teen, community and social action programs

CAMP & SCHOOL GUIDE | 18 CAMP:

With COVID-19 cases rising in Maricopa County and reports of new positive cases in the Jewish community of Greater Phoenix, synagogues are tightening restrictions and even closing their doors to limit the spread of the disease. Two synagogues, Congregation Beth Israel and Congregation Or Tzion, closed in recent weeks, citing the increasing number of COVID-19 infections. Since mid- October, the number of confirmed cases per day in Maricopa County has risen steadily, surpassing 2,800 cases on Nov. 9. Both synagogues reopened in September for the High Holidays. CBI’s first in-person service was held on Rosh Hashanah with 60 members in attendance; after the High Holidays, attendance fell to around 30 people, and Friday evening services moved outside. Speaking to the Jewish News last month about CBI’s decision to reopen, Rabbi Stephen Kahn said that CBI

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Voice of hate at State

“Jesus Christ came to save the whole world from the Jews — the founders of the original Anti-Christ religion, they who are the seed of the Serpent, that brood of vipers.” Those are not the words of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, nor of one of his disciples at the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. They come from a post on the website of Fritz Berggren, a current U.S. Foreign Service officer, entitled: “Jews are Not God’s Chosen People. Judeo-Christian is Anti-Christ.”

This past July, 70 of Berggren’s coworkers sent a letter to their boss, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling for Berggren’s firing. The coworkers asserted: “Not only is [Berggren’s] propagation of antisemitic ideas highly disturbing and offensive to

Jewish and non-Jewish employees alike, but as Jewish employees, we feel his presence at the Department is threatening.”

Blinken appears to be handcuffed by First Amendment protections of speech. But he responded on Aug. 9 that “the Department treats reports of alleged misconduct with the utmost seriousness.” And although he could not comment on Berggren for privacy reasons, he noted that employees engaged in discriminatory behavior can be disciplined “up to and including separation when warranted.”

We will wait to see Berggren’s fate. But his antisemitic messages and their ramifications remain troubling. This is particularly so given the incongruity in an FBI report on hate crimes, released last week, which showed that hate crimes in 2020 were at

the highest level in more than a decade, even while showing a drop in anti-Jewish hate crimes. But even with the reported drop in anti-Jewish incidents, when 2020’s religious bias hate crimes were analyzed, nearly 60% targeted Jews.

The almost 30% drop in anti-Jewish crimes (a total of 676 in 2020) as reported by the FBI is in sharp contrast to the Anti-Defamation League’s 2020 audit on antisemitism, which reported 2,204 hate crimes against Jews — almost three times the number reported by the FBI.

The discrepancy between the two reports has to do with how the FBI compiles its data. The FBI does not include an incident in its religious bias or hate crime accounting unless the underlying act itself is a crime. ADL tabulates the event if it is driven by

The challenge of a parole decision

hate and/or religious bias. In addition, the information on which the FBI tabulation is based seems to be incomplete, as reports confirm that the vast majority of police precincts across the country only submitted limited data on hate crimes or, in some cases, none at all.

ADL has criticized the FBI’s incomplete data, and so do we. Bureaucratic reporting is only as good as its inputs. And if reporting is incomplete or limited, the report itself can be no better. Thus, while we wish that the FBI was correct that hate crimes against Jews are down, both anecdotal evidence and the real numbers tells us otherwise. And it is the unchecked bile of haters like State’s Berggren who continue to feed the religious bias that drives those numbers. JN

F

ifty-three years ago, in June 1968, 24-year old Sirhan Sirhan rocked America when he shot and killed Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), then the leading contender to be his party’s presidential nominee.

Last month, the 77-year-old convicted murderer was recommended for parole by a two-member panel of the California parole board after prosecutors declined to participate in the parole proceedings or oppose his release under a “hands off” policy of the Los Angeles District Attorney. According to the parole board panel, Sirhan is no longer a threat to society.

Sen. Kennedy’s assassination occurred two months after the murder of historic civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and less than five years after the assassination of Kennedy’s

Commentary

older brother, President John F. Kennedy. 1968 was a year of turmoil in America. Emotions were raw over the war in Vietnam and civil rights. Americans struggled with new forms of protest and appropriate reactions to them. And the string of brutal assassinations of political and civil rights leaders struck a significant blow to the optimism, youth and idealism of a rising generation.

For those of a certain age, the RFK killing was added to the list of “Where were you when…?” that included other historic and tragic events. And the iconic black-and-white photo of the mortally wounded Kennedy lying on the floor of a hotel kitchen just after learning he had won the California Democratic presidential primary preserved the image of grief, and extended the tragedy

A new Torah, a new year

RABBI

DOVIE SHAPIRO

ur Sages tell us,

“According to the effort is the reward.”

(Ethics of the Fathers 5:26) This is similarly expressed in another popular quote, “The greater the effort, the sweeter the reward.”

Perhaps this sentiment explains why Passover (remember that holiday last spring?) is the most widely celebrated of the three major festivals — Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. As anyone who experiences Passover can tell you, the

preparations go above and beyond what we do before any other holiday, making a huge impression on the entire family.

There are so many mitzvot in the Torah. One of the most complex, timeconsuming and expensive mitzvot is to write an entire Sefer Torah by hand, or, as in most cases, to commission a trained scribe, a sofer, to do so on our behalf.

So when a new Sefer Torah is written and dedicated, it’s cause for a huge celebration in the community. Last month, the Flagstaff Jewish community was overjoyed to celebrate this tremendous

to countless others in the years that followed. When the question of possible parole for Sirhan was raised last week, it seemed like an old, almost-forgotten issue was being stirred from the dust. The convicted murderer’s earlier applications for parole were denied, in part because he has never expressed fullthroated remorse for what he did.

Opinions are divided over possible parole for Sirhan, a Palestinian Christian from Jerusalem. Robert Kennedy’s adult children are divided over whether Sirhan should be released, although most have spoken out against it. And the Jewish community, too, quickly divided along center-left and centerright lines. Many who lean left have reminded us of how many years have passed since the assassination, and how the septuagenarian is

unlikely to pose a threat to anyone should he be released.

Many who lean right remind us of Sirhan’s stated motivation: “All my hopes were focused on Robert Kennedy. I was his supporter,” he told interviewer David Frost in 1989. But he was concerned that Kennedy, his anti-war “savior,” supported arms for Israel — a position Sirhan could not tolerate. That anti-Israel bias leads opponents on the right to fear him receiving a hero’s welcome in Ramallah, and argue that murdering RFK because of Israel was an antisemitic act.

While parole is proper in some cases, it isn’t appropriate in all. Sirhan took the life of a dynamic, iconic leader and traumatized the nation. That lingering hurt endures. And it spurs a lack of forgiveness in many. JN

milestone when the family of Bruce Goldberg dedicated the writing of a Torah in celebration of Bruce’s 70th birthday.

The Torah completion ceremony took place on Sunday, Aug. 8, Rosh Chodesh Elul, amid joyous celebration and fanfare. The writing of a Sefer Torah was the most appropriate gift Bruce Goldberg’s family could have given him, honoring Bruce’s dedication and commitment to the values of Torah and to Jewish continuity. Fittingly, on this historic occasion, Bruce and his wife, Barbara, were surrounded by the love of

A NOTE ON OPINION

their children and grandchildren. It was incredibly moving to see family and friends being honored with writing the final letters in the Torah with special ink on parchment, under the direction of a skilled scribe. When Bruce and Barbara completed the final word of the Torah, “Yisroel,” it signified our community’s endless commitment to G-d and appreciation for the gift of the Torah. Amid singing and dancing, we then escorted the Torah, which is compared to a bride of G-d, under a chuppah to its

SEE SHAPIRO, PAGE 15

We are a diverse community. The views expressed in the signed opinion columns and letters to the editor published in the Jewish News are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the officers and boards of the Jewish Community Foundation, Mid-Atlantic Media or the staff of the Jewish News. Letters must respond to content published by the Jewish News and should be a maximum of 200 words. They may be edited for space and clarity. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters and op-ed submissions should be sent to editor@jewishaz.com.

Five lessons from 5781

RABBI PINCHAS ALLOUCHE

Apparently, this was one of the most popular quotes during the past year. And understandably so. From the global COVID-19 pandemic to the presidential election, from political protests to millions of people worldwide losing their jobs, from the Taliban’s conquest of Afghanistan to Hurricane Ida, it certainly feels as if “decades have happened” in this historic year.

It is thus no wonder that so many have expressed their wish to “delete the past year” and “just forget the past, and focus on the future,” as if this year was akin to a virusfilled computer program that can simply be deleted.

Yet, Judaism teaches that everything happens for a reason. In the words of the saintly Baal Shem Tov of the 17th century: “Nothing in G-d’s world, happens by chance. Every single thing one sees or hears

must serve as a Divine instruction.”

And so, I dare to ask: As we bid farewell to the Jewish Year of 5781, and welcome the new year of 5782, what can we learn from this tumultuous year?

Here are five possible lessons to consider: If one sneeze can affect our world so dramatically, one positive deed can certainly produce an even greater change. This past year was filled with turmoil and havoc. COVID respiratory droplets quickly spread and brought about a pandemic that the world hasn’t seen in over a century.

The idea that invisible molecules can create such havoc is astonishing. But it also begs the question: If such small particles from our body can produce such a pandemic, how much good can our souls create with its Divine particles?

To paraphrase Maimonides: “Each person must view himself and the entire world as being half meritorious and half guilty. If he does one single good deed, he

can tip the scale and bring deliverance to the entire world.”

When we come together as one, even the most destructive of diseases become curable, and even the cruelest of challenges are, eventually, surmountable.

As I write these words, people worldwide are being vaccinated against COVID. This vaccine is a result of the unprecedented collaboration between world governments and international experts. It is in historic moments of unity such as these that we are privy to the power of collective responsibility. And in spite of the divisiveness in our society, this year has taught us that when we come together as one, even the most destructive of diseases become curable, and even the cruelest of challenges are, eventually, surmountable. Keeping good hygiene is true both physically and spiritually.

In the past year, health officials warned us, time and time again, to “keep good

hygiene.” But I wonder if we are as careful about physical infections as we are about spiritual ones, such as negative words and actions.

We live in an age of impulses. In social media, we often do not hesitate to voice our immediate reaction to every story under the sun. But in the race to speak back, we often forget to think. In the urge to reply, our swirl of emotions often eclipses our clarity of thought. And in the heat of disagreements, spiritual viruses can spread uncontrollably.

In the wise words of the Kotzker Rebbe (1787-1859): “All that is thought should not be said, all that is said should not be written, all that is written should not be published and all that is published should not be read.” Ask not what you want from life; ask what life wants from you.

Viktor Frankl, the famed psychotherapist, once taught his students “not to ask what

SEE ALLOUCHE, PAGE 16

Proud to be part of Bureau of Jewish Education

LINDA FELDMAN AND RABBI AVIVA FUNKE

We appreciate last week’s article “Bureau of Jewish Education celebrates 50th anniversary this month” in the Jewish News, but we also wanted to offer some personal reflections on being part of the Bureau of Jewish Education, how it’s impacted our own Jewish journey and what it means going forward.

I, Linda, have proudly been a part of this amazing institution for 24 years and have seen the tremendous impact the BJE has had on our Jewish community. My own adult children graduated from Hebrew High. They came every Tuesday evening throughout their high school years to learn

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

new home in the ark at the Molly Blank Jewish Community Center.

The entire ceremony will remain in our collective hearts and memories forever.

From the lifting of the brand new Torah after completion, dressing it with its beautiful new velvet mantel cover, the parade, the music, the dancing, the food, the l’chaims, the immense joy — all made

and socialize with other Jewish teens.

I wish Care-A-Van, the experiential community service travel camp, had been available at that time, but Hebrew High made a tremendous impact on their lives. Today’s high school teens can even take Hebrew to satisfy their high school foreign language requirement.

I am especially proud and amazed that Jewish Baby University for Expectant Parents, which started in 1998, and its successor, Jewish Marriage University, which began in 2002, have had such an impact on our community. They have provided hundreds of couples the opportunity to learn, grow, make life-long friends and become part of our Jewish world. Babies born from our first class are seniors in college now, and many of them still have friends because their parents took

for a truly memorable occasion.

We wish abundant blessings of health, happiness, prosperity and nachas to Bruce and Barbara and the entire Goldberg Family.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, who inspired the founding of Chabad of Flagstaff, sent this message to another community upon the completion of a Sefer Torah:

“May G-d grant that the dedication of the Sefer Torah in the Chabad House should symbolize the dedication of the

the class before they were born. Our adult learning classes have covered myriad topics and had excellent teachers, including our former director, Aaron Scholar. Today the list of classes and extraordinary teachers has become even more valuable and offers a remarkable array of topics.

Prior to our first trip to Israel, my husband and I took a special Israel class from the shiliach, who offered it for the BJE. Getting to listen to an Israeli share all sorts of tidbits only a native could know made us feel like we had a special insight into the country before we even got on the plane.

In addition, the BJE has been a resource in the community for teachers, religious schools and Jewish preschools. Even the non-Jewish community has looked to

Sefer Torah in each and every Jewish home in the community, and strengthen adherence of the Torah and mitzvot in daily life, not only on special occasions or special days, but in accordance with the well-known commandment in the Shema, ‘And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak them when you sit in your house or when you walk in the way, when you lie down and when you rise up.’”

In these special Days of Awe, when we

the BJE for speakers, books and general information.

Holocaust education, too, has always been an important aspect of our educational programming. Through the years of our Holocaust conferences for public high school teachers to our current Veterans Day programs for teens, the BJE has striven to educate, educate, educate and be a source of factual information.

Caring for the community through our Passover food drive, Cookies for Hunger, bikur cholim and a host of other services, the BJE has had a tremendous impact on those in need.

Now, the Wise Aging Center has expanded beyond our expectations to

SEE FELDMAN AND FUNKE, PAGE 16

pray collectively and individually for a blessed year, the tremendous celebration upon the completion of the Sefer Torah reminds us that the greater effort we expend on living a Jewish life illuminated with Torah values, the more our efforts will be rewarded and have a lasting impact upon ourselves, our families and generations to come. JN

“There are decades when nothing happens, and weeks when decades happen.”

Rabbi Dovie Shapiro is the spiritual leader of Chabad of Flagstaff.

SHAPIRO

Writing a Torah for ourselves

DEUTERONOMY 31:1-31:30

RABBI STEPHEN KAHN

nd now write for yourselves this song and teach it to the children of Israel, put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me among the children of Israel.”

(Deuteronomy 31:19)

Imagine Moses, standing east of the Jordan River, on Mt. Nebo 3,200 years ago. As his life is about to come to an end, he shares this final instruction to the People of Israel as they are about to enter the Promised Land. Perhaps this can be described as a liminal space between — a past, present and future moment of the eternal story of the Jewish People — what has transpired up until this moment, while mindful of the transition from life to death he is facing.

Moses’ instruction to “write for

ALLOUCHE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

they want from life.” Instead, they should ask “what life wants from them, and then, happiness will follow.”

What we wanted from life this year was surely different than “what life wanted from us.” We may have planned for one thing, but another happened. But the question begs itself: How did we respond? Did we bury ourselves in frustration, or did we learn to accept the hidden blessings in God’s unannounced plans for us?

Frankl was right. As we march into the new Jewish year of 5782, we must learn to accept what life wants from us, even

yourselves this song” and then to “teach it” not only preserves the eternal covenant at Sinai but also insures that collective soul of the People of Israel will be inseparably bound with the “song,” composed by the God of Israel.

“AThe rabbis teach that this was the 613th Mitzvah — the final Mitzvah — given to our ancestors. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l posits that the words, “And now write for yourselves,” applies to the Torah as a whole. Thus, the last of all the 613 commands is to write — or at least take part in writing, if only a single letter — a Torah scroll.

Maimonides’ takes this idea one step further:

“Every Israelite is commanded to write a Torah scroll for him[her]self, as it says, “Now therefore write this song,” meaning, “Write for yourselves [a complete copy of] the Torah that contains this song,” since we do not write isolated passages of the Torah [but only a complete scroll]. Even if one has inherited a Torah scroll from his [her] parents, nonetheless it is a mitzvah to write one

for oneself, and one who does so is as if he had received [the Torah] from Mount Sinai. One who does not know how to write a scroll may engage [a scribe] to do it for him, and whoever corrects even one letter is as if he has written a whole scroll.” (Mishneh Torah)

Whether we interpret Maimonides’ explanation literally, figuratively, the idea that each and every one of us must write a Torah for ourselves is a fundamental principle of Judaism. The idea in this week’s portion, Vayelech, that this should be in the form of a song teaches us that Torah should not only be viewed for its prose but for its poetry as well. That is, every Jew must find for themselves the song of their individual hearts and minds in order to bequeath its ultimate essence to the next generation.

As we enter the Jewish New Year and approach the end of our Torah cycle, I pray we will see ourselves as lyricists, composers of a Torah of meaning and purpose, compassion and hope, aspiration and peace. May we write a Torah of joy

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

But this year has also taught us that the only senses that are reliable and trustworthy are our spiritual ones, such as our ability to love and to care, or our power to be kind and compassionate, or our capacity to have faith in the One Above and in ourselves.

Astonishingly, it is those spiritual senses that have helped so many of us cope with our apparent solitude during this year. Our spiritual senses know that solitude is but an illusion, and we are never truly alone.

When we find ourselves alone at home,

provide adults a venue to continue to learn and grow. The list goes on and on. We take great pride in that all our offerings have produced lifelong friendships and caring for one another. And the BJE is run by only four women: Myra Shindler, our executive director, Elaine Hirsch, director of adult education and the BJE library, Rabbi Aviva Funke, principal of Hebrew High and me, the director of family education.

I, Rabbi Funke, remember my graduation from Hebrew High almost 20 years ago.

and courage which informs the coming moment and inspires our children and grandchildren to do the same, yet with their own sense of their unique place within its eternality.

May each one of us stand before God, ready to say, “I choose to do justly,” “to love mercy,” “to walk with a pure heart,” and most of all to acknowledge, within the song of our heart, that we are of the People of Israel in our strivings and our suffering toward repairing our world for the sake of all humanity. JN

when it interferes with our own plans. At times, we may not see the blessings in the unexpected twists and turns of life, but we must believe that they exist if we can muster the courage to embrace them and heed their call.

The only senses that are reliable and trustworthy are our spiritual ones. This past year, in many ways, has demonstrated the unreliability of our physical senses. After all, what they perceived as certain — our well-being, our jobs, our future — has become so uncertain.

God is with us. When we were forced to celebrate festive occasions alone, the affection of our loved ones still enveloped us. And when people die alone, we realize that their good deeds and many merits were with them, accompanying them from this world to the next.

May our spiritual senses, and of all of the aforementioned lessons, continue to guide us during this new year, toward a better, healthier and brighter future. JN

Rabbi Pinchas Allouche is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Tefillah.

A huge group of Jewish seniors stood proudly as the BJE acknowledged our dedication to our continued Jewish learning. Hebrew classes were tough, but it paid off when I left junior year for a semester in Israel. Hebrew High gave me the foundation to make that trip a success. When I went off to college and couldn’t decide between Hillel or Chabad, I chose both, because Hebrew High taught me that Jewish diversity is what makes Judaism so beautiful. I couldn’t agree more.

I saw the value of the BJE as a benefactor for so many years. Now as the principal

of Hebrew High, I am compelled to give back and make sure the next generation has what I received — meaningful Jewish experiences.

I am continually blown away by the impact this incredible organization is making. Creating special experiences for today’s Jewish teens to reflect, connect and expand on their identity and the awareness of the world around them is only one part of the power of the BJE.

We were there for the teens when the pandemic broke out, launching virtual programs that were full of surprise and

excitement. We’re there for them to process reentry, create healthy social experiences based on virtues and culture and provide them a chance to go out to the community and make a difference, one mitzvah at a time.

So we raise our glasses to toast the BJE as we are most thankful for the opportunity to be a part of such an incredible institution. JN

Rabbi Stephen Kahn is the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel.

Find area congregations at jewishaz.com, where you can also find our 2021 Community Directory.

FELDMAN & FUNKE

PARSHAH VAYELECH

Linda Feldman is the Bureau of Jewish Education’s director of family education. Rabbi Aviva Funke is the principal of Hebrew High, a program of the BJE.

AS WE MARCH INTO THE NEW JEWISH YEAR OF 5782, WE MUST LEARN TO ACCEPT WHAT LIFE WANTS FROM US, EVEN WHEN IT INTERFERES WITH OUR OWN PLANS.

WE TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN THAT ALL OUR OFFERINGS HAVE PRODUCED LIFELONG FRIENDSHIPS AND CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER.

Keep your holiday going with meaningful recipes

JENNIFER STARRETT | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

While we’re going through the Days of Awe, here are some delicious recipes to enjoy. They include ingredients with significant meaning this time of year. Happily, they’re also easy to prepare for smaller gatherings, since it looks as if our get-togethers will still be limited.

CARROT CAKE RING

While I haven’t ever really loved the carrot rings I ate growing up, I do love carrot cake. So I decided to combine a few of my favorite recipes to come up with a delicious carrot cake ring to serve this year. I love using colorful carrots to create a fun visual dish, and it definitely made the inside look even more delicious than if only using orange carrots. It will be a delicious way to break your fast, as well. The (dairy-free) cream cheese frosting on top of the cooled carrot cake adds such a nice richness to it, and the pineapple and walnuts inside the cake really compliment all the other flavors.

APRICOT AND DATE CHICKEN

Dried fruit like apricots and dates are traditionally enjoyed during High Holidays to symbolize a sweet new year. One of the things that I love about this dish is that it can be made very easily and quickly, so definitely no suffering in the kitchen is involved. The thick sauce, which is created by dried fruit pairs perfectly with a couscous or rice side. You are going to love the sweetness and richness from this dish.

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ pounds of chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

½ red onion, chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided into half

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Salt and pepper to taste

Orange zest (about 1 tablespoon)

10 dried apricots, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

6 dates, chopped into ¼-inch pieces

2 cups chicken broth

Sliced almonds, optional

Pat chicken dry and cut into ¼-inch pieces. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook chicken for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to allow for even cooking. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add onions. Cook until translucent. Add garlic and spices and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add in cooked chicken, apricots, dates, broth and orange zest. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat to medium-low temp. Let cook for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked through and sauce reduced.

Top with sliced almonds before serving.

COD WITH OLIVE AND PARSLEY SAUCE

Fish is a traditional food symbolizing the head of the new year. Some families include a fish head on their table during meals in order to wish family and friends a blessing of heading into the year strong and healthy. “And God will make you as the head, and not as the tail, and you will be only at the top, and you will not be at the bottom.” (Deuteronomy 28:13)

While I can’t bring myself to place a fish head on the table, I came up with a delicious fish dish instead to enjoy. This dish has a nice brightness from the acidity in the parsley sauce and is easy to adapt based on the number of people enjoying the meal. You can also decide to make the sauce ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for a few days before using. Overall, there is very little cooking time involved, so this is a great dish if you’re short on time but want to make a big impression.

INGREDIENTS

4 pieces (about 6 ounces each) of fresh cod

½ cup flour (for coating, optional)

2 cups parsley, washed

4 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 garlic cloves

Juice from 1 lemon

10 ounces mixed (kalamata and green) olives, chopped Salt and pepper to taste

Pat the fish dry and lightly coat each side with flour. Heat a pan with a drop of olive oil and cook fish about 1 minute per side to slightly brown. Remove fish from pan and set aside.

Using a food processor or blender, pulse the parsley, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice until desired consistency. Add the chopped olives to the pan and add the parsley sauce. Mix to combine and cook for a few minutes until fragrant.

Add the cooked fish back into the pan and cover to finish cooking for about 2 to 3 minutes over low heat. Plate and serve.

Whether you have never made a carrot ring before or you want to change it up a bit this year, I recommend giving this recipe a try and enjoying it for a sweet year.

CAKE INGREDIENTS

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup canola oil

1 egg (can sub 1/4 cup applesauce to make vegan)

1 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

8 ounces raw grated carrots

½ cup chopped pineapple

½ cup chopped walnuts

ICING INGREDIENTS

4 ounces dairy-free cream cheese

4 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray a bundt pan with cooking spray. Using a hand mixer or mixing bowl, beat the brown sugar and oil until fully combined.

Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat well. Mix in the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder until a batter forms. Fold in the grated carrots, chopped pineapple and chopped walnuts until evenly combined. Pour batter into greased bundt pan and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before flipping the cake out of the pan onto a rack to continue cooling completely.

Once cake is cooled, make the icing by beating the dairy-free cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice until desired consistency. Add a drop more lemon juice if you want to thin out the icing. Pour or brush the icing onto the cooled cake and serve immediately or store in fridge until ready to serve. JN

Jennifer Starrett is an events and marketing consultant. Visit jewphx.com, for more of her recipes and blogs.

PHOTOS BY JENNIFER STARRETT

My journey to a Jewish life

SARAH ETTINGER

Iam a Jewish educator at Pardes Jewish Day School, and my husband, Seth, is the cantor at Congregation Beth Israel. If you were to drive by our house during the month of Kislev, two things would become apparent: We’re the only Jews in our neighborhood and we really like large Chanukah decorations. In fact, we decorate for most Jewish holidays.

We proudly live Jewishly, but what many people don’t know is that I’m a convert to Judaism. And crafting a completely new religious identity is tough business.

When people discover I converted, they always ask if I did it for Seth. The answer is no. I converted when I was 23, six years before meeting him. Then comes the inevitable second question: Why did you convert?

The answer to that is much more complicated.

My father, Randy, was Lutheran and my mother, Lisa, is Anglican. My father’s family was very observant, and I remember going to the yearly Nativity play with my grandparents. My parents divorced when I was two, and my dad and I didn’t stay in contact. He passed away 10 years ago, without us ever really finding common ground.

My maternal grandmother, Georgina O’Bryan, whom I affectionately called “nan,” was born in London. She was raised in the Anglican church, and along with my uncle and grandfather, immigrated to America in 1962. A year later my mom was born.

My nan never talked about religion, even on her deathbed. She felt that any connection one has with God should be private. As I got older, I began asking her questions about her family, her life in England and why we never really went to church. She explained that she was the youngest of 13 children and was forced to attend in order to ensure the "banns" were read. (In the Anglican church, if two people want to get married their names must be read for three consecutive Sundays.) Needless to say she attended church a lot in her youth.

I was baptized an Anglican and attended church a few times. My mom was a single mother raising three children and occasionally she would seek community. In the rare times she went to Christian support groups, she would decide that we all had to attend church. In an effort to show her newfound community how serious she was, my mother would often have us sit in the front row.

In silent teenage protest, I would wait until the pastor began his sermon to take out a very graphic romance novel — the covers illustrated with a Fabio-type man

holding a damsel in distress. I wanted to embarrass my mom enough so we wouldn’t have to go again. It worked.

I felt zero connection to the pastor’s message. I remember being confused when the pastor would talk about Heaven or that Jesus forgives wrongdoings. As the pastor would sermonize, the questions would start: Why can’t people just do good or right because that’s the right thing to do? If there is a reward for doing

Dec. 11, 2007. It felt as if the entire foundation of our home had exploded. This one event marked the beginning of an insanely intense struggle for me and my entire family. We were all left stumbling in the dark trying to figure out what had happened and why. Feelings of grief washed over us in waves.

No priest would preside at his funeral. Suicide is a mortal sin in the Catholic faith.

religious leaders from various Christian denominations. I would sit with them in their office and tell them my story, in tears every time. Most would say some version of “I’m so sorry that happened, but suicide is a sin.”

I was upset by this. I kept thinking this can’t be the only answer. I thoroughly distanced myself from any Christian affiliation. When asked, I would reply that I was agnostic. And then I went to

straight to God without apologizing to the person they wronged?

I did not realize at the time that these were Jewish ideas.

So I existed in a limbo of nonreligion. I didn’t really think about God or spirituality.

When I was about 19, my mom met and married my stepfather, Tom. He was a Catholic and regularly attended Ash Wednesday services and Lent, but he never asked any of us to go with him. I continued to exist as a religionless person.

When I was 23 an event so traumatic happened that it shook me to my core and caused me to reexamine religion, spirituality and life.

My stepfather died by suicide on

know what will happen and every time an issue around the suicide or the person arises, the rubble will shift again.”

That’s exactly what this felt like — every attempt to find a priest that ended in rejection sent all of us into a panic: “What if we can’t bury him?” Finally, we found a retired priest who was willing to do it. The priest was a very kind, elderly gentleman, who sympathized with us. But I kept thinking this just can’t be right. Here was a good and honest man who was in so much pain that he forgot his problems were temporary.

Three months after my stepfather’s passing, I started to think about religion. I wanted to know what had happened to his soul. I reached out to many

beautiful. I distinctly remember the part about forgiveness and the idea that to seek forgiveness one must actually go to the person they have wronged and ask him or her first before seeking it from God. That was so powerful to me. I decided I had to meet with a rabbi.

I contacted Rabbi Michele Paskow of Congregation B’nai Emet in Simi Valley, California. I told her about my stepfather and I will never forget her response. She looked at me and said, “Let’s not worry about him. Wherever he is, he is just fine. I’m worried about you and if you’re going to be OK.” The moment she said those words it was as if a weight had been lifted. My entire search really had nothing to do with my stepfather and his neshama,

but I needed to know that I would be OK.

I became her student. I took an introduction to Judaism course. I devoured every book on the subject. She and I would meet for lengthy discussions about anything and everything. Eventually, I asked her to be my sponsoring rabbi for conversion.

Converting to Judaism is a fairly lengthy process. Rabbi Paskow would give me homework: Try keeping kosher for a month, light the Shabbat candles every Friday and attend services regularly. We would meet to talk about what I felt when I would do these things and how to make them feel more natural. It was about three years into my studies when she looked at me and said, “You’re ready.”

My mother and nan had thought this was some sort of fad. But to their everlasting credit, they never made me feel less than, or that I shouldn’t be doing it. They just didn’t know what would happen. Once I knew the beit din, rabbinical court, was going to be called to oversee the last steps of my conversion, I knew I had to tell them.

My nan and I were incredibly close, and her approval was an absolute necessity. I had to wonder if she rejected me being Jewish, could I live without her? Could I live without being Jewish?

But I had to be real and honest. I sat down with both of them, hands wringing, and said “I’m going to become Jewish.” I waited with bated breath for their response. My grandmother looked at me and said, “Sounds good. You aren’t even the first to become Jewish in our family.” (Two of my cousins also converted.) It was a done deal; I had their approval.

Then the beit din asked me all sorts of questions: How will you raise your children? How will you keep a Jewish home? How will you be engaged in the Jewish community? They had me recite my favorite blessing and recount details about a holiday I feel connected to and why. It felt intensely personal. The beit din dismissed me to discuss my answers privately. I sat in the foyer of the synagogue waiting for an answer for what felt like forever.

Finally, Rabbi Paskow emerged with a smile on her face. “It’s time to go to the mikvah,” she said.

My mom and grandmother came with me. I was so nervous because the rules for immersion are fairly extensive: no nail polish, no fake nails, no makeup, no jewelry and so on. My heart was pounding as I stepped into the mikvah and immersed myself. The mikvah attendant would announce when a dip was “kosher,” and I’d recite the blessings

while my rabbi and family sat on the other side of the curtain.

I suddenly had a whole new identity to learn and be comfortable with. When we left, my mom and grandmother took me to Canter’s Delicatessen and presented me with my very first tallit.

I still lived at home with my mother and siblings, the lone Jewish person in a house that celebrated Christian holidays. My family always allowed space for me to practice my Judaism, but I had no one to show me how to do certain things. I felt awkward and embarrassed. I’ll never forget my first Chanukah as a Jew. I couldn’t remember the blessings, so there I was in my darkened bedroom attempting to google the blessings while lighting the candles.

Forget creating a connection, it was never going to happen in that setting. Nevertheless, I continued to fumble in the dark forging my newfound identity.

Years later, when I signed up for JDate, Seth’s profile immediately stood out. I had an adult bat mitzvah. Seth and I married. I’m happy to report I’m now very comfortable lighting the Chanukiah and keeping a Jewish home. I still struggle with baking challah — I just can’t quite get it right.

My family is very involved in our lives and honor my children for being Jewish. They give my children Chanukah gifts and join our Passover seder every year. I still feel an incredible connection to my nan, z”l, despite losing her three years ago. We named our daughter Georgina in her honor. We also include her information in the Yom Kippur Yizkor service.

As I embark on that inward journey during High Holidays, I remember how I found Judaism, and I am most reminded of Yom Kippur.

The Day of Atonement is all about returning to who we are and returning to God. I think of the moments in my story where my Jewish soul was seeking me. I believe that somewhere in my family, we must have a Jewish ancestor, and this is why there are several Jewish converts in my family.

During this time of introspection, I think about my children, Ronen and Georgina, and how I want them to proudly affirm the Jewish faith in a way that might be different from mine, but meaningful for them. I also hope that, like me, they will seek this time to be reflective and return to their true authentic selves and, in turn, return to God. JN

One of the disadvantages of someone dying is that you can’t ask that person questions. They take all their stories with them.

This issue arose as I prepared to build my sukkah last year and couldn’t remember something my late husband, Rabbi Leo Abrami, had taught me.

He would take an onion, pull two feathers out of the feather duster, which got so tatty I had to buy a new one, and poke them into opposite sides of said onion. He would then hang it in the sukkah. I remembered the ritual had something to do with a play on words in certain prayers about “the shelter of your wings” but was blowed if I could get it right.

But, for obvious reasons, I wanted to carry on Leo’s tradition.

I asked a few people, but no one had a clue. I thought it might have been a French, or even family, in-joke.

Research turned up a website with some information, which basically explained how the custom was common in small communities in Alsace, France. The area’s Jews, who didn’t know Hebrew well, read the daily “Ma’ariv” prayer and connected the phrase “spread out your sukkah (betzeil) of peace” with “hide us in the shadow of Your wings.”

In a modified prayer for Erev Shabbat, G-d “spreads out a sukkah of peace over us and over all His nation Yisrael, and over Jerusalem.”

The word for onion in Hebrew is “batzal.” Therefore, the onion is depicted with wings spread.

I was fascinated by this explanation and sent it to my sister for her erudition and entertainment.

Unbeknownst to me she forwarded it to assorted family members in South Africa, Australia, the United States and also a cousin in London. He, in turn, sent it to a friend of his, whom I have met during my visits to London. This friend confirmed the explanation since his mother was from Alsace.

He added his contribution to the story. Their custom, however, was just to hang onions, not dress them up with feathers.

So that’s the story of the onion in the sukkah finally explained.

When I erected the sukkah I hung all the decorations, including my onion, and thought how even after Leo’s death he continues to teach and to influence, not only my life, but many others —and literally, worldwide.

For those of you who are curious to learn more about the subject, go to the Facebook group: site internet du judaisme d’al-sace et de Lorraine. It is absolutely delightful and well worth visiting. It is in French but even if one doesn’t read French the pictures are amusing. JN

Rosemary Abrami, a bookbinder who lives in Sun City West, belongs to Beth Emeth Congregation.

Sarah Ettinger teaches at Pardes Jewish Day School and raises her Jewish family in Scottsdale with her husband, Cantor Seth Ettinger.

Featured Event

MONDAY, SEPT. 13

From Shadows to Life: 6 p.m. Join the Martin Pear Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for an in-person author presentation by Judy Pearson. Learn about the creation of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, which forever changed the definition of what it means to be a “survivor.” Part medical history, part inspirational biography, Pearson tells the story of a social movement that continues to improve life for millions. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for guests. For more information and to register, visit jewishphoenix.regfox.com/meet-the-authors-series.

Events

TUESDAY, SEPT. 14

Lunch and Learn: 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Join Melissa Brown, CEO & founder of Copper Sky Social Media and co-founder of Scottsdale Wine Club, at the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for a learning session about social media. She has worked with business owners and nonprofits to unlock the tools, tips, and strategies used by the digital business experts to attract prospects, connect influencers, and generate over a million dollars in sales without paid advertising. Cost: $10. For more information and to register, visit eventbrite.com/e/lunch-learn-series-withmelissa-brown-tickets-167544948451.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 19

Sukkah Bag Pickup: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. PJ Library has created Sukkot bags to help families celebrate the holiday. Inside each bag are Sukkot-themed snacks, activities and crafts for kids to learn about the holiday. Pick up will be at the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale. Cost: $5 per bag. For more information and to register, visit mpjcc.org/pjsukkah.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 23

Comedy: 7 p.m. Jennie Fahn’s solo 90-minute comedy, UNDER THE JELLO MOLD, makes its Arizona debut at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. The show was winner of the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival’s Best Solo Show and Producer’s Encore Awards and named Pick of the Fringe. Cost: $35. Purchase online at UnderTheJelloMold.com or call (480) 499-TKTS (8587).

Jews of the Southwest: 7 p.m. Join the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, 122 E Culver St, Phoenix, for an in-person film screening of “A Long Journey: The Hidden Jews of the Southwest.” The film is about self-awareness and reaffirmation, and a celebration of the richness and diversity of Jewish and Latino cultures in the American Southwest. Streaming is available as well. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit azjhs.org/documentary-film-series.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 24

Sukkot Tot Shabbat: 5 p.m. Join PlayDates by Design for a holiday tot shabbat at Pardes Jewish Day School, 12753 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale. Partners include Harper Jack, Modern Mitzvah and PJ Library. A craft will be offered. Enter to win a Harper Jack sensory kit. Cost: $15 per family. Masks required for adults. For more information and to register, visitplaydatesbydesign.com/ event-details/sukkot-tot-shabbat.

SATURDAY, OCT. 2

The Red Rocks Music Festival will present concerts at the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, 122 E Culver St, Phoenix, on Wednesday, September 1st, at 7:30 p.m. featuring works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Bartok; Thursday, September 2nd at 7:30 p.m. featuring works by

Boccherini, Piazzolla and Dvorak; and Saturday, October 2nd at 7:30 p.m. featuring works by Ravel, Rodrigo, Boskovich, Lavry, and Schumann. Cost: $36. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit redrocksmusicfestival.com.

THURSDAY, OCT. 7

Bingo for breast cancer: Join the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for The J’s second annual event of which 10% of proceeds will benefit a local cancer organization. Enjoy a wine tasting, raffle prizes, dessert, and bingo. Cost: $30 for members, $40 for guests. For more information and to register, visit apm. activecommunities.com/valleyofthesunjcc/ Activity_Search/1831.

SUNDAY, OCT. 10

Fiddler: 10 a.m. Join the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for an in-person film screening of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Before the film, professional violinist, Maggie Martinc will play music from the musical. Cost: starting at $10. For more information and to register, visit jewishphoenix.regfox.com/movies-with-amessage-a-documentary-film-series.

THURSDAY, OCT. 21

Wine Tasting Day Trip: 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Join the Martin Pear JCC for a Northern Arizona wine tour that includes a private tastings at three wineries in the Cornville/Cottonwood Vineyards region, lunch at one of the vineyards, and round trip private transportation to and from The J in a luxury van. Register now as space is limited to 14 people. Cost: $250 for members, $280 for guests. For more information and to register, visit apm.activecommunities.com/valleyofthesunjcc/ Activity_Search/1890.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 27

Founder Presentations: 6:30 p.m. The founders of two prominent Jewish organizations, Becca Hornstein of Gesher Disability Resources and Andi Minkoff of the Minkoff Center for Jewish Genetics will each speak about their agency’s remarkable origins in a virtual presentation. This panel is sponsored by the Women’s Leadership Institute. For more information and to register, visit bit.ly/ WLIOct21.

SUNDAY, NOV. 7

It’s Not That Simple: Join the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for an in-person author presentation by Pam Ostrowski If your loved one has been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s, be prepared for anything - it can be a shocking disease. Ostrowski’s guidebook, walks you through what can happen and prepares you for the challenges you may face.. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for guests. For more information and to register, visit jewishphoenix.regfox.com/ meet-the-authors-series.

Community festival: Noon-4 p.m. Join the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, 122 E Culver

St, Phoenix, for a community festival celebrating the 100th anniversary of the construction of the Cutler Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center. There will be music, food trucks, activities for families and children, and special guest speakers. For more information and to donate, visit azjhs.org/ cpjhc-centennial.

TUESDAY, NOV. 9

No Place On Earth: 6:30 p.m. Join the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for an in-person film screening of “No place on Earth.” In 1942, 38 men, women and children slide down a cold, muddy hole in the ground, seeking refuge from the war above in a pitch-black underground world where no human had gone before. After 511 days, the cave dwellers, ages 2 to 76, emerged at war’s end. Cost: starting at $10. For more information and to register, visit jewishphoenix. regfox.com/movies-with-a-message-adocumentary-film-series.

THURSDAYS

Storytime at Modern Milk: 9:30 a.m. Bring your babies, toddlers and preschoolers to our weekly all ages in-person storytime at Modern Milk, 3802 N Scottsdale Rd STE 163. We will integrate favorite children’s books and songs while giving parents new ideas for play. Cost: $5. For more information and to register, visit modernmilk.com/after-baby.

SUNDAYS Bagels: 9-11 a.m. Join the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for Bagels And Gabbing every last Sunday of the month in-person. Grab a bagel and a cup of coffee and enjoy some time with your friends and make new ones. You must register to attend. Bagels and coffee will be provided. Cost: Free for members, $5 for guests. For more information and to register, visit apm.activecommunities.com/ valleyofthesunjcc/Activity_Search/1787.

Virtual Meetings, Lectures & Classes

TUESDAY, SEPT. 14

Museum at the J: 10 a.m. Join the East Valley Jewish Community Center for a virtual presentation by the Chandler Art Museum about Dorothea Lange’s depression-era photography in Chandler. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit evjcc.org/tuesdays.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 17

Wise Aging: 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. In this virtual Bureau of Jewish Education course, learn positive ways to navigate a meaningful transition to your next chapter on life’s journey. Wise Aging is designed specifically to meet the social, emotional and spiritual needs of Jewish seekers entering second adulthood. Explore the tools and resources to age wisely through the lens of Jewish wisdom. Cost: $10. For more information and to register, visit bjephoenix.org/ course-events/2021/09/17/wise-aging.

MONDAY, Oct. 4

Squirrel Hill: 11 a.m. - noon. In this virtual Valley Beit Midrash class, Mark Oppenheimer, from the Podcast Unorthodox, will discuss the Tree of Life shooting and how the historically Jewish community of Squirrel Hill embodied resilience in the aftermath. Cost: $18. For more information and to register, visit valleybeitmidrash.org/event.

TUESDAY, Oct. 5

Music of Broadway: 10 a.m. Join the East Valley JCC for a virtual presentation by violinist Julie Ivanhoe. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit evjcc.org/tuesdays.

TUESDAY, OCT. 12

Museum at the J: 10 a.m. Join the East Valley JCC for a virtual presentation by the Chandler Art Museum called “Frank Lloyd Wright and a New Vision for Chandler.” Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit evjcc.org/ tuesdays.

MONDAYS Partners in Torah: 7:30 p.m. Join a growing group of inspired learners with Project Inspire. Cost: Free. Tune in at: us04web.zoom. us/j/3940479736#success, password is 613. For more information, email Robin Meyerson at robin@projectinspireaz.com.

Ethics of Our Fathers: 7 p.m. Learn with Rabbi Zalman Levertov online. Tune in at: bit. ly/2Y0wdgv. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Quotable Quotes by our Sages: 7 p.m. Learn with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov online. Tune in at: JewishParadiseValley.com/class. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. Learning to Trust in God: 7:30 p.m. Learn with Rabbi Yossi Friedman online. Tune in at: ChabadAZ.com/ LiveClass. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Torah & Tea: 7:30 p.m. Learn with Rabbi Yossie Shemtov online. Cost: Free. For more information, visit Facebook.com/ChabadTucson.

Seniors

FRIDAY, SEPT. 10

High Holiday Lunch: Noon. Join Sharon Friendly of Desert Foothills Jewish Community for a High Holiday lunch open to the public. Contact janet.rees@jfcsaz.org or 480-599-7198 for details or with questions.

MONDAY, SEPT. 13

Brain Fitness: 1-2 p.m. Join Toby Lazarus in this virtual brain fitness class, which works to engage the brain in innovative ways in a variety of cognitive areas and can help increase mental acuity. Word play, puzzles, memory games and problem-solving activities are employed to enhance your brain power. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit jfcsaz.org/

Screenshot of careadvocacy.org TAKEN BY NICOLE RAZ

events/. Contact CSE Director Jennifer Brauner at seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or 602-343-0192 with questions.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 14

Opera: 11 a.m. - noon. In this virtual presentation, Dr. Miriam Schildkret will explore the history of opera. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit jfcsaz.org/events/.

Contact CSE Director Jennifer Brauner at seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or 602-343-0192 with questions.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 21

Sing-a-long: 11 a.m. - noon. Join pianist Lynne Haeseler in this virtual and interactive performance. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit jfcsaz.org/events/.

Contact CSE Director Jennifer Brauner at seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or 602-343-0192 with questions.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22

As Mama Told Us: 1-2 p.m. How does the research describe the impact of the Holocaust on the survivors and their children? Hear some personal anecdotes from an analysis by Dr. Ettie Zilber –a Second Generation Survivor, and author of “A Holocaust Memoir of Love & Resilience: Mama’s Survival from Lithuania to USA.”

Contact CSE Director Jennifer Brauner at seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or 602-343-0192 with questions.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 23

Arizona Photographer: 11 a.m. - noon. In this virtual offering, enjoy breathtaking images of Arizona with renown landscape photographer Tim Murphy. Tim has published four books of his photography and has been featured in multiple publications. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit jfcsaz.org/events/.

Contact CSE Director Jennifer Brauner at seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or 602-343-0192 with questions.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 30

Scottsdale Museum of the West: 11 a.m. -noon. Take a live, virtual tour from within the Scottsdale Museum of the West. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit jfcsaz.org/ events/. Contact CSE Director Jennifer Brauner at seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or 602-343-0192 with questions.

MONDAYS

Tai Chi with Brian Stevens: 10-10:30 a.m. Tai Chi and Qigong are health practices that incorporate a form of ancient Korean healing martial arts known as DahnMuDo, which produces an overall limitless state of being, through focused movement and focused breathing. Experience a renewed sense of being, boost your immune system, and enjoy doing so in this virtual class. For more information and to register, visit jfcsaz.org/events/.

Contact CSE Director Jennifer Brauner at seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or 602-343-0192 with questions.

Brain Fitness: 1-2 p.m. Join Toby Lazarus in this virtual brain fitness class, which works to engage the brain in innovative ways in a variety of cognitive areas and can help increase mental acuity. Word play, puzzles, memory games and problem-solving activities are employed to enhance your brain power. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit jfcsaz.org/ events/. Contact CSE Director Jennifer Brauner at seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or 602-343-0192 with questions.

Dance Fusion with Michele Dionisio: 11 a.m.-noon. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: 1-2:30 p.m.

In a seven week series that begins April 5, learn

how to use mindfulness techniques to help relieve anxiety, depression and pain. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, contact seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or call Jennifer Brauner at 602-343-0192.

TUESDAYS

Zumba Gold with Adriana Padilla: 9:30-10:15 a.m. This virtual class is perfect for active older adults who want a modified Zumba class with lower-intensity. Class focuses on all elements of fitness: cardiovascular, muscular conditioning, flexibility and balance. Come to this virtual class ready to sweat, and prepare to leave empowered and feeling strong. For more information and to register, visit jfcsaz.org/events/.

Contact CSE Director Jennifer Brauner at seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or 602-343-0192 with questions.

Brain Games with Friends: 2-3 p.m. Challenge your brains while having fun. Experts believe that active learning helps maintain brain health by preventing loss of cognitive skills such as memory, reasoning and judgment. For more information or to register, visit vosjcc.org/j-at-home-adults.

Movie Discussion Group: 11 a.m. Join Smile on Seniors on the third Tuesday of every month hosted by Issy Lifshitz. Cost: Free. For full details and the movie of the month visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org. Because of Shavuot, May’s event will be May 20 instead of May 18.

WEDNESDAYS

Fitness Fun with Zoe: 10-10:45 a.m. In this virtual class, do some light chair exercise class with optional weights. Class follows a format of a warmup weight free movement, optional weights, then a cool down. Some standing options, however all moves can be done sitting. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz. org/cse. Contact CSE Director Jennifer Brauner at seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or 602-343-0192 with questions.

Chair Yoga with Zoe: 11-11:45 a.m. Grab a chair and sit down for a 45 minute chair yoga class with Zoe! Yoga is beneficial to mind, body and spirit. Prior to class, please let Zoe know if you have any limitations in order for exercises to be modified. No prior yoga experience required. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz. org/cse.

THURSDAYS

In the Kitchen with Benita: 12:30 p.m. Join Smile on Seniors on the fourth Thursday of every month for some delicious cooking or baking fun! Cost: Free. For full details visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org.

FRIDAYS

Adult Chair Ballet Class: Noon-12:45 p.m. Join Jennifer Cafarella and Elaine Seretis from Ballet Theatre of Phoenix as they teach a ballet class that will help improve strength, flexibility, movement and balance. No prior dance experience required. Presented by the JFCS Virtual Center for Senior Enrichment. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Musical Friday: 12:30 p.m. Join Smile on Seniors on the first Friday of every month for a musical presentation. Cost: Free. For full details visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org.

Welcome Shabbat: 11-11:45 a.m. Celebrate Shabbat virtually with songs, blessings and inspirational teachings. For more information and to register, visit jfcsaz.org/events/.

Contact CSE Director Jennifer Brauner at seniorcenter@jfcsaz.org or 602-343-0192 with questions. JN

Wonderful Weddings

September 24

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October 1

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October 15

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out where to go!

Welcome students!

Rabbi Pinchas Allouche gave an orientation lecture for new students at Nishmat Adin - Shalhevet Scottsdale. PHOTO COURTESY OF ARIELLA FRIEDMAN

This COMMUNITY page features photos of community members around the Valley and the world. Submit photos and details each week to editor@jewishaz.com by 10 a.m. Monday.

Figuring

When Nishmat Adin - Shalhevet Scottsdale had orientation last month, new students got the lay of the land.

Joseph Project will help clergy face the multifaceted challenges of climate change.

“That these challenges cross many areas of human knowledge — water, food, energy, economics, social organization, government — means that a radically transdisciplinary organization like the Global Futures Laboratory is a perfect partner.”

The partners also share the same values, Guston said. The laboratory is rooted in the idea that “we can and must make a meaningful contribution to ensuring a habitable planet and a future in which wellbeing is attainable for all humankind,” he said. Meanwhile, the Joseph Project is rooted in the idea that “while we are not obliged to solve the problems of the world, we are obliged to contribute to their solution.”

Clergy are in a unique position given their training and set of understandings, Shapiro said, and faith leaders from all backgrounds benefit from learning from and engaging with each other.

“I have really benefited from the time I’ve spent with fellow clergy — Jewish, through the Greater Phoenix Board of Rabbis, and non-Jewish, through Tempe Interfaith Fellowship — there’s a real bond when bonafide clergy people come together,” Shapiro said.

MILESTONES

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT

SHIRA BATYA PANTILIAT

Andrew Schwartz, director of sustainability and global affairs at the New York-based Center for Earth Ethics, said Shapiro is filling a “very necessary gap” with the Joseph Project.

Schwartz and Shapiro have talked about faith efforts around climate change for several years.

people and the planet alike at the altar of profit,” Schwartz said.

Faith leaders are necessary to help advocate for change in communities and to help those in their community emotionally process what’s going on. Clergy needs support in this work, too, Schwartz pointed out.

Rev. Doug Bland, executive director of Arizona Interfaith Power and Light, said Shapiro has long been a “rock star prophetic voice for environmental justice,” and the two have worked together during Shapiro’s time at Temple Emanuel.

“We live in a world where nothing is held sacred and everything is commodified, a mere resource to be used and discarded,” Bland said. Faith leaders remind communities that the planet is not owned by humans, and is not to be exploited for short-term gain.

“Earth is the promise of brokenness healed and relationships restored,” he said. “Faithful climate action is rooted in love and justice.”

Shapiro said he would have personally benefited from the kind of training he is now working to provide.

During his time at Temple Emanuel, he led many joyous baby-naming ceremonies.

The climate crisis is causing “deep existential questions” about the state of things now and what is to come, he said, and those questions don’t have simple answers.

“The climate crisis is a crisis of values more than anything else in my opinion. It’s reflective of our society’s willingness to sacrifice the health of

Rev. Shokuchi Deirdre Carrigan, a Zen Buddhist priest practicing and teaching in Brooklyn, met Shapiro at a training with the Climate Reality Project.

“I am very impressed with the thoroughness and expansiveness of his vision,” she said. “I believe deeply in spiritual leaders and communities coming together in times of crisis.”

“But as I held that baby in my arms, I knew that the future for that child 50 years down the track was not necessarily going to be rosy,” he said. Today’s children will live through difficult times, causing him to “rethink” the naming ceremony. More than simply a joyous occasion, it should also task parents with the responsibility of raising their child to be a good citizen of the earth. JN

Shira Batya Pantiliat was born Aug. 18, 2021. She is the daughter of Ariella and Ari Pantiliat of Teaneck, New Jersey. Grandparents are Lisa and Eddie Pantiliat of Woodmere, New York.

OBITUARY

SOLOMON “SOL” WOLFUS

Solomon “Sol” Wolfus, 94, died Aug. 24, 2021. He was born in Chicago and lived in Scottsdale.

He is survived by his spouse, Marsha; his daughter, Gail Louis; his son, Larry Wolfus; and two grandchildren.

Services were held at Mt. Sinai Cemetery. Arrangements by Sinai Mortuary. JN

"EARTH IS THE PROMISE OF BROKENNESS HEALED AND RELATIONSHIPS RESTORED. FAITHFUL CLIMATE ACTION IS ROOTED IN LOVE AND JUSTICE."

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