Jewish Journal March 2025

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Authentic Leadership

By Keith Krivitzky, Managing Director

Jewish Federation of Ocean County keith@ocjf.org

www.jewishoceancounty.org

www.jewishoceancounty.org/donate 732.363.0530

Our world is rife with challenges and disruption. While disruption can lead to positive changes, especially if one is primed strategically to take advantage of such “plastic” moments – the truth is most people affected feel anxiety…which can often manifest as fear or resistance.

At times like this people are looking for authentic leadership. As we think about the holiday of Purim, there are some lessons we can learn about what this looks like – and what this doesn’t.

The challenge with the story of Purim is that its characters don’t come across as

Proclaiming

Be real. Use more authenticity and transparency. Own up to your strengths and shortcomings. Bottom line – act like a ben adam, a human being.

quite “real.” Esther hides her identity and her voice/agency until a pivotal moment in the story…and even then this gets revealed through something of a pantomime featuring not one but two dinner parties. Mordechai plays the role of Esther’s guardian but also seems to be a party to court intrigue – providing intel about a plot to kill the king while also finding ways to needle the second most important person in the kingdom…perhaps unnecessarily. The king comes across as a buffoon, yet he rules a massive kingdom and everyone defers to him. Even Haman is a caricature. He’s evil, but in a “Boris and Natasha” cartoonish kind of way.

The entire Purim story is “performative”. Everyone seems to be acting out a role in an exaggerated way…like stage actors in a melodrama or camp production (not the summer camp variety). Performative,

The Truth

By Rabbi Shmuel Naparstek Chabad Jewish Center of Jackson www.ChabadofJackson.com

At Rep. Elise Stefanik’s confirmation hearing for ambassador to the U.N., the following exchange happened with Senator Chris Van Hollen.

Van Hollen: “Do you subscribe to the view… that Israel has a biblical right to the entire West Bank?”

Stefanik: “Yes”

Van Hollen: “[This is] a view that was not held by the founders of the State of Israel.”

While I commend Rep. Stefanik for publicly declaring the truth and am deligh-

to quote one of Webster’s definitions, means: “Made or done for show (as to bolster one's own image or make a positive impression on others).”

For us, with the benefit of historical distance, this type of story is one we can retell and learn from, with lessons about agency, leveraging strengths, the presence of baseless hatred, and overcoming victimhood. Yet, such a performance works best when read in hindsight. When leaders in real time assume a role and play a part, trying to manipulate the story versus being transparent, it doesn’t play so well.

Case in point…after three hostages –Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy were released…looking gaunt and pale and compared to victims of the Shoah (Holocaust), many politicians in Israel were quick to express their shock and surprise.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, in an interview on Israeli television, pointed out that these politicians all knew the conditions under which hostages were kept and how they suffered – in actual fact and not in abstract theory since, as she said, Hersh’s malnutrition and weight-loss were known months before he was murdered. All those politicians who expressed

surprise in front of journalists were role-playing for the cameras, hiding from their responsibility and minimizing their agency. They were being performative, telling people what they wanted to hear to augment their support rather than own up to outcomes.

OK…we all get that politicians do this. And, while this is not a partisan trait, it seems especially prevalent today, whether in Israel or in the United States.

It is one thing to recount and mine lessons from such a performative story like Purim. However, it is another when we are living it in real time. There are times when playacting can be useful, such as while engaging with adversaries – but with constituents, especially at a time of disruption and anxiety, a different approach is needed.

Be real. Use more authenticity and transparency. Own up to your strengths and shortcomings. Bottom line – act like a ben adam, a human being. Showing empathy can help bring people together and actually makes change, an often bitter pill that is much easier to swallow.

Just being confident and secure with the knowledge that we have the strongest, irrefutable claim and right to the land is enough to project this truth to everyone and make an impact.

ted that many in the new administration share this view, this part of Senator Van Hollen’s response was unfortunately on target. Not only did the state founders not publicly declare this view, but it remains virtually absent from the official public relations talking points of its representatives until today.

If the representatives of the United States are publicly proclaiming the truth, the time has come for Israel to do the same, publicly and unabashedly. Now is a good time to correct this historic and tragic error.

The Torah portion Vaeira opens with G-d’s promise to the Jewish people they

will be redeemed from Egyptian slavery and inherit the Promised Land. “I will bring you to the land regarding which I raised My hand to swear that I would give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a heritage; for I am G-d.” (Exodus 6:8)

The land is ours. Not because it was a Jewish state 3,000 years ago. Not because ever since then there has been a continuous Jewish presence. Not because the United Nations agrees that this is the Jewish homeland. Not because an independent state was proclaimed in 1948. These facts, when devoid of the true basis of our claim, fail to hold firm in the current struggle. The basis of our right to the land is that G-d, the Creator of the world, gave it to us as an eternal inheritance, as recorded in the Torah.

Israel is facing tremendous challenges. We hope and pray for G-d’s protection, and that true peace and tranquility reign there for all. However, we must know and appreciate why Jews belong there in the first place and be open and candid about it. Even if Israel’s detractors and enemies refuse to share these beliefs, they will certainly respect Israel for being honest in its beliefs.

While it would be wonderful to influence Israeli society with this, I believe this message is relevant to every Jew in the world. Although I discourage engaging in useless debates on the topic, every Jew automatically represents Israel to a circle of friends and acquaintances. Just being confident and secure with the knowledge that we have the strongest, irrefutable claim and right to the land is enough to project this truth to everyone and make an impact.

I highly recommend watching the video entitled “Israel's Deed of Ownership –The Rebbe's Roadmap to Peace, Episode 1” to appreciate this perspective’s fundamental truth, intellectual depth, and practical relevance.

May we merit the coming of Moshiach very soon, when peace and truth will prevail.

The Jewish Journal is pleased to host a monthly Rabbi Column, rotating among our community’s pulpit rabbis. The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Jewish Journal, the Jewish Federation of Ocean County or the author’s Congregation.

Israel Bonds Breakfast

Securing Our Community

Secure Community Network January 2025 Report

By Michael G. Masters National Director & CEO

Secure Community Network

The deadly Hamas terrorist attacks of 07 October 2023 ushered in the busiest year in the Secure Community Network’s history: 2024 saw a continuation of the unprecedented levels of Threat Incident and Suspicious Activity Reports (TISARs) and law enforcement referrals we saw after 07 October.

In 2024, we took in 5,409 reports from members of the community, our security director network, and law enforcement. In turn, we made over 1,300 referrals to our law enforcement partners.

At the same time, in 2024 we made significant enhancements to the security shield protecting our community: working together, over 40,000 members of the community took part in life-saving, empowering training; and all 11 regions across the United States are now overseen by a Regional Director, a former member of law enforcement; and an

additional 10 communities hired a professional security director to oversee the security of their community, to include the launch of SCN’s first security partnership in Canada.

As we move into 2025, we take note of the progress we have made and the challenges we have faced, while being cleareyed about the future. This year began with an ISIS-inspired terror attack on one of the most iconic locations in North America, and over the last several weeks, we have noted multiple arrests of individuals threatening or planning to undertake attacks on the Jewish community.

The threats we face today are not limited by borders or bound by conventional norms. 2025 will require ongoing commitment to protect our community. We must remain proactive, anticipating the challenges of tomorrow while addressing the urgent needs of today.

This proactive approach is at the heart of everything we do at SCN. Whether engaging with public sector partners to ensure

Temple Beth Or

continuity of protection and collaboration or equipping families with resources to ensure the safety of their children, our work is guided by the belief that preparation and empowerment are the most powerful tools we have.

At its core, our work is about protecting more than buildings or institutions – it is about our ability to live openly, free-

ly, and proudly as Jewish Americans. As we continue together into a new calendar year, we are better prepared than ever. We will continue to identify new ways to strengthen and expand our security shield. Thank you for your unwavering partnership in this work.

Stay safe.

Made an Impact through the Jewish Federation of Ocean CountyKeshet, One Ocean County, Heroes Against Hate

In Honor of the Heroes Against Hate Jewish Federation of Ocean County “Paid it Forward”

Donations were made by the Jewish Federation of Ocean County in Honor of this year’s Heroes Against Hate as designated by the honorees themselves. Following the Community of Caring celebration, JFOC made donations to the nonprofit organizations chosen by our honorees. We were proud to make donations in their honor to: Catholic Charities, Rutgers Chabad, Ocean Harbor House, Men of Purpose, Love Your Neighbor Association of Ocean County, St. Junipero Serra Parish, and Keshet. We again thank our Heroes Against Hate for these wonderful suggestions: Chief Gregory Meyer, Dr. Henry Jackson, Ariel Ifrah, Avi Kotler, Father Michael Lorensten, Reisa Sweet, and our lifetime achievement honoree Rabbi Stephen Gold.

One Ocean County Projects Supported by Jewish Federation of Ocean County

Similar to the three large Jewish Federation events each year, three times a year we get to support projects undertaken by One Ocean County and help them pursue their goal of building bridges and create a diverse and mutually respectful community.

JFOC is proud of the Fall Festival which it helped create, but equally happy to support their Super Soul Party and Pass It Over for Passover programs. While only the third year as a sponsor, the Super Soul Party just had its seventh Annual Super Soul Super Bowl Party on Sunday, February 9, 2025, as the Chiefs and Eagles faced off. The free program is open

to individuals and families in need and started at 6:15 PM for an evening of fun, food, and community. Goods and services provided included:

• Hot meals

• Free haircuts

• Personal care items

• Warm clothing, blankets, and toys for children

• Activities for kids while families enjoy the game

It's not too early to start planning for the Pass It Over program. If you want to help out with this food drive contact Avi by text at 732-806-0261 or email avkotler@ gmail.com.

Thank you to the Jewish Federation of Ocean County for supporting Keshet!

We are grateful to have you as a partner to advance LGBTQ equality in Jewish life. Thanks to your support, staff and leaders are gaining the skills and tools to build Jewish communities where LGBTQ people can be our full selves, whether at synagogues, day schools, JCCs, summer camps, Jewish federations, social service agencies, or other institutions. Keshet mobilizes those Jewish leaders and all our communities to advocate for LGBTQ civil rights in the broader world, and we create

spaces where LGBTQ Jewish youth can feel safe, whole, and powerful.

Thank you for helping to make our work possible. Together, we are building a world of dignity, belonging, and joy for all of us.

L'Shalom, Idit Klein

President & CEO Pronouns: she/her/hers

a matching amount of $50,000 from the Jewish Federation of Ocean County)

Local News

The Jewish War Veterans

of

the

United

States of America – Post 178 Update

“A Jewish Voice for Veterans, A Veterans Voice for Jews since 1896”

By Al Adler

January 2025

The Jewish War Veterans Post 178 held its monthly breakfast meeting on January 12. Our guest speaker at this meeting was Allen Rothman who is a docent at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Museum. Mr. Rothman spoke about the history and construction of the memorial and museum in Holmdel. The Vietnam Memorial and Museum is the only museum and memorial dedicated to the Vietnam War in our country. As a Vietnam Veteran I urge everyone to visit this hallowed spot.

On Tuesday, January 28 and Wednesday, January 29, JWV and its Ladies Auxiliary will be visiting our Federal Legislators in order to discuss issues of concern to our Veterans. I would like to thank Carol Adler, Tracey Adler, Bob Jacobs, Fran Gimpel, Selina Kanowitz, Merci Silverman, Michael Steinhorn and Dorit Attias for helping on the hill.

On Sunday March 9, The Jewish War Veterans Department of New Jersey, the Jewish War Veterans Ladies Auxiliary Department of New Jersey and JWVA Auxi-

liary 178 will be hosting a Purim Party at the Menlo Park Veterans Home. For more information, please contact Carol Adler at (732) 580-9264.

The Jewish War Veteran of the USA is the oldest Veterans service organization still in existence chartered by Congress in 1896. JWV was founded by a group of Jewish Civil War Veterans who were angry about the myth being spread by the press at that time that Jews did not serve in combat.

In fact, Jews served proudly in all of America’s wars. Many Jewish service people were honored with our country’s highest military award the Medal of Honor. In the next several months I will spotlight some of our Jewish Medal of Honor recipients. Here is the story of one such recipient – William Shemin.

William Shemin was born on October 14, 1896, and died on August 15, 1973. He served during World War I in Vesie River, Southeast of Bazoches, France.

Sergeant Shemin was serving as a rifleman with G company, second battalion, 47th infantry regiment 4th division, American expeditionary forces, in action against an armed enemy from August 7 to August 9, 1918. Sergeant Shemin exposed himself to enemy rifle and machine gun fire to rescue wounded soldiers. Sergeant Shemin took command when his officers were disabled. Sergeant Shemin showed extreme courage under fire until he was wounded on August 9.

Sergeant Shemin’s actions were above and beyond the call of duty and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Army. In 2015 his distinguished service cross was finally upgraded to the Medal of Honor. Jewish War Veteran Colonel Erwin Burtnick was instrumental in ensuring that Sergeant Shemin received his due after nearly 100 years.

Tu BiShevat Seder Held at Temple Beth Or, Brick

The Temple Beth Or Sisterhood hosted a Tu BiShevat Seder in honor of the Jewish New Year for Trees on February 2. The celebration involved readings, songs and interactive discussions and included many fruits, four cups (grape juice) and socializing. The Seder was led by Rabbi Chaim Respes and was organized by Sisterhood President Marlene Vogel and her committee. Tu BiShevat is on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat, which this year was on Wednesday night-Thursday, February 12-13. For information about future events call 732-458-4700 or email templebethorbrick@gmail.com.

Purim Fun and Support for Israel at Congregation B’nai Israel, Toms River

There will be food, activities and costumes, as well as a parade and reading. Congregation B’nai Israel will host its annual Purim Extravaganza – a “very Wicked” one at that – on Thursday, March 13, and all are welcome.

The event at the synagogue at 1488 Old Freehold Road begins at 6:00 PM with a family Megillah reading and costume parade. That will be followed by activities for all ages, including some just for the adults. Hamantaschen and other refreshments will be served. The event is free, and costumes are optional (but encouraged).

Anyone who is interested in joining the traditional Megillah reading the next morning should contact the synagogue office at 732-349-1244.

Israel Bonds

The community is also invited to CBI on Sunday, March 23, for an Israel Bonds Drive Breakfast. Dr. Joel Kurtz, a congregant, will be honored, and the renowned Israel and Middle East affairs expert Yoram Ettinger, a former Israeli ambassador, will speak.

A catered breakfast, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Ocean County, will be served. Registration is required and the cost is $10 a person. To register, call the synagogue office at 732-349-1244 or visit https://www.cbitr.org/event/israel-bonds-breakfast-2025.html.

All bond purchases or reinvestments made at the event, or before or after, may be credited to the drive. Please specify “CBI Toms River Breakfast.” See the ad on page 3 for more information.

Docent Allen Rothman speaking to members of JWV post 178 and JWVA auxiliary 178 at the January meeting

Family Shabbat Service for Tu BiShevat Held at Beth Am Shalom, Lakewood

On Friday, February 7, Beth Am Shalom conducted a Family Shabbat Service. Rabbi Stephen D. Gold and Cantor Jon Saouma led the service and included many people in it. For information about future events, call the BAS Office at 732-363-2800.

Second Night Passover Seder at Beth Am Shalom, Lakewood

Beth Am Shalom will be hosting a Second Night Seder for the community on Sunday evening, April 13. Doors will open at 4:30 PM with Rabbi Stephen D. Gold and Cantor Jon Saouma commencing the Seder promptly at 5:00 PM. Individuals that do not have a table to sit at for the Second Night Seder are cordially invited to attend at 1235 Route 70, Lakewood. The menu will be provided by the Pickled Herring Kosher-Style Deli of Englishtown, New

Jersey. Reservations can be made by calling 732- 477-2585 prior to April 1, 2025. Covert is $54 per member, $60 per non-Member, children ages 5 to 12 are $15. and children under age 5 are no charge. For reservations and additional information, call Lois at 732-477-2585 prior to April 1. Beth Am Shalom is a warm, friendly and diverse congregation and the only Reform Congregation in Ocean County. For further information, visit www.bethamshalom.org.

Many congregations are conducting prayer services and classes online which may be accessible from a computer or a telephone. Contact each congregation for further information to access these events.

Chanukah Toy Drive Held by Temple Beth Or, Brick

Temple Beth Or collected toys for Chanukah to donate to Chai Lifeline whose services meet the unique emotional, social and financial needs of families living with serious illness or loss. New unwrapped items may be brought throughout the year to Chai Lifeline, 5 Airport Road, Lakewood.

Lakewood Police Chief Gregory Meyer Honored as a Hero Against Hate Combating Hate

Jewish Federation of Ocean County Board Chair Annabel Lindenbaum presented Lakewood Police Chief Gregory Meyer with his Hero Against Hate award in his office as he was unable to attend the Community of Caring event on December 18 due to illness.

A Gift Shop at Auschwitz? New Films and a Graphic Memoir Explore the Contradictions of “Dark Tourism”

Millennial authors and filmmakers add their voices to a growing genre about Holocaust heritage tours.

By Andrew Silow-Carroll

January 26, 2025 jta.org

In a fraught moment in the film “A Real Pain,” Kieran Culkin, playing the more volatile of a pair of Jewish cousins who go on a roots tour of Poland, berates his fellow travelers for riding in a first-class train car in a country where so many Jews rode cattle cars to their deaths.

A few scenes later, after breaking away from the tour group, he happily sits in first class, essentially telling his cousin, played by Jesse Eisenberg, “Screw it. We’re owed this.”

“I love that scene,” said Ari Richter, the author and illustrator of “Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz,” a “graphic family memoir” describing Richter’s own visits to the places where his Holocaust survivor grandparents lived and suffered. Richter said that in the train scenes, “A Real Pain” expertly captures the contradictions felt by second and third generation Jewish visitors like him on pilgrimages to a grim Jewish past.

In his book, Richter describes those emotions on a visit to the Dachau camp memorial. He is both impressed by the efforts made by the German curators to focus on “the nexus of German cruelty and Jewish suffering” (unlike the Polish guides at Auschwitz, where he learns “mostly about the suffering of non-Jewish Poles”) and touched by small gestures, like the “kosher-friendly options” on the menu at the Dachau café.

And yet … “In a way, I know they seek my absolution,” Richter ruminates back

at the hotel, “and I resent that I offer it by accepting their kindness.”

Richter’s is a multilayered book, published last summer, about his grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ imprisonment in Dachau, Buchenwald and Auschwitz; the lives they made in America (including Tampa, Florida, where Richter grew up); and what Richter calls the safe, “white American identity” he inherited. Richter draws on the survivor memoirs written and recorded by his relatives, collaging actual photographs with his own scratchy but realistic drawings.

But two important episodes in the book feature his roots-slash-research trips – in 2019 and 2021 – that included stops at Auschwitz, Dachau, Jewish cemeteries and his grandparents’ hometowns in present-day Poland and Germany.

The book describes a process familiar to Jewish visitors to the death camps and the former homes of vanished loved ones: an occasion to face the enormity of the Holocaust, the inheritance of family trauma and what being Jewish means to the pilgrim. In “Never Again…,” between scenes depicting his grandparents’ stories, Richter asks in the present if his relatives’ survival and second chances give him license to put the past aside, and what lessons about Jewish life and survival he’d like to pass on to his children.

Richter’s book arrives at a perhaps not coincidental moment that recently saw the release of two films about such roots trips – “A Real Pain” and Lena Dunham’s 2024 film “Treasure.” They join a genre that already includes Jonathan Safran Foer’s 2002 novel “Everything Is Illuminated,” Francine Prose’s 1997

novella “Guided Tours of Hell” and screenwriter Jerry Stahl’s 2022 memoir, “Nein, Nein, Nein!”

So-called “dark tourism” has even spawned its own academic sub-specialty: In her 2014 book “Jewish Poland Revisited: Heritage Tourism in Unquiet Places,” anthropologist Erica T. Lehrer describes encounters between Jewish tourists and Polish locals and their halting and occasionally hostile attempts to understand each other. In “Dark Tourism, the Holocaust, and Well-being,” three academics offer an almost comically understated review of the literature: “Dark tourism carried out by Jewish people often has a transformative effect, despite the negative emotional impact it can have on these dark tourists.”

Comedy is not the first thing that comes to mind when you consider visits to death camps, but if there is one thing the popular treatments of the visits share, it is a mordant sense of humor. Foer’s novel, and its 2005 film adaptation, is about the Jewish author’s journey to Ukraine in search of the woman who saved his grandfather’s life during the Nazi liquidation of the family shtetl. Perhaps the best known character in the book is a local handler who speaks a comically broken English.

Prose’s novella is about an obscure playwright enduring a tour of a concentration camp led by a flamboyant and much more successful writer who himself survived the camp. The tone, like the title, is satiric and pitch black. And in “Treasure,” playing a journalist who accompanies her survivor father on a trip through 1990s Poland, Dunham goes for bittersweet comedy before the inevitable visit to Auschwitz and her father’s stolen home.

The humor could be a distinctly Jewish response to tragedy, or a choice to make morbid material more palatable to a wide audience. The very idea of death camps being turned into tourist sites, with gift shops and snack bars, is the sort of “ludicrous” incongruity that everyone from Freud to Schopenhauer to Mel Brooks include in their theories of laughter. Eisenberg told interviewers that “A Real Pain” was inspired by an advertisement promising a “Holocaust tour, with lunch.”

Stahl’s gonzo travelogue gleefully mocks the tourist trappings at Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Dachau, but he ultima-

“There’s a certain point where I realized that my parents weren’t going to be the ones telling their parents’ story, so it sort of fell into my lap generationally,” Ari Richter said of his graphic memoir. (Fantagraphics Books, Inc.)

tely concludes that they don’t diminish the impact of his visits. “I don’t care if you can buy a slice after the crematorium and wash it down with Fanta,” he writes. “Nothing, in the end, can diminish the searing gravitas of the physical place on which the martyrs, our ancestors, walked.”

Holocaust tourism has also spawned unrelentingly somber books. In his 2014 novel “In Paradise,” the late writer Peter Matthiessen describes a real-life “Bearing Witness” meditation retreat held at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The tone is as chilly as a Polish winter. And in “The Memory Monster,” a slim, searing 2020 novel by the Israeli writer Yishai Sarid, an Israeli academic who conducts tours of the camps for school groups and tourists has a breakdown under the weight of the memories he is forced to carry and convey.

What “A Real Pain,” “Treasure” and Richter’s graphic memoir also share is the age of their creators: Richter and Eisenberg are both 41 and Dunham is 39. On January 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the world will mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, meaning living Holocaust survivors could only have been youngsters when the war ended. Their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren could

Continued on page 30

Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin play cousins who visit Majdanek while on a heritage tour of Poland in “A Real Pain.” (Courtesy Searchlight Pictures)

Four Mitzvot of Purim

By Sarah Rochel Hewitt Jewish Treats by NJOP

This year, Purim (which is on 14 Adar) will be celebrated on Thursday night-Friday, March 13-14. Four mitzvot are associated with the holiday.

Keriat Hamegillah – Megillah (Scroll) Reading of the Book of Esther – The Megillah is read twice on Purim, once at night and once during the day. In order to properly fulfill the mitzvah of Megillah, it is necessary to hear every word during the reading. For this reason it is imperative that people not speak during the Megillah reading.

Mishloach Manot/Shalach Manos – Sending Gifts – On Purim day, every Jew should give at least one Mishloach Manot gift containing at least two different types of ready-to-eat food items.

Matanot La'evyonim – Gifts to the Poor – Giving to the poor is a mitzvah all year round. However, the mitzvah to do so on Purim is in addition to the general mitzvah of tzedakah (charity). To properly fulfill the mitzvah of Matanot La'evyonim one must give to two poor

individuals. Although one may fulfill this mitzvah by giving a minimal amount of money to each person, the sages noted that the highest form of fulfilling this mitzvah is by giving enough money for a meal, or the equivalent in food. This mitzvah may be fulfilled by donating beforehand to an organization that will distribute the money or food on Purim day.

Seudah – Festive Meal – One should partake in a festive meal on Purim day. The minimum to fulfill this mitzvah requires that one ritually wash one's hands (netillat yadayim), eat bread and then recite the Birkat Hamazon, the Grace after Meals.

The Purim seudah is often associated with drinking. The Talmud says: "A person should drink on Purim up to the point where they cannot tell the difference between 'Blessed is Mordechai' and 'Cursed is Haman.'" (Megillah 7a and also in the Shulchan Aruch/Code of Jewish Law). Generally, this is interpreted as drinking more than one usually does or enough to make one sleepy.

While drinking on Purim is often seen as a mitzvah, risking one's life is never permitted. Whether host or guest, it

is important to be responsible. Do not drink and drive. Beware of underage drinking. While Purim is a religious holiday, and underage alcohol consumption is allowed for religious occasions, adults are still responsible for minors. Please do not give young people any alcohol beyond the bare minimum of wine, if at all. (For other “Jewish Treats: Juicy Bits of Judaism, Daily” and many other Jewish resources visit www.jewishtreats.org and www.njop.org.)

Humans of Judaism – Sylvan Goldman

December 17, 2024

Did you know the shopping cart was created by Jewish inventor Sylvan Goldman? He was born in 1898 to Jewish immigrants in Oklahoma. After serving in WWI, Sylvan ope-

ned a wholesale fruit and produce store with his brother Alfred. During a trip to California, the brothers observed the rise of a new concept in shopping: the supermarket, which introduced the convenience of having a variety of products all under one roof. Soon, they purchased several grocery stores and markets across Oklahoma, pioneering the supermarket concept in their home state. In 1934, Sylvan purchased the struggling Humpty-Dumpty grocery chain and noticed that customers were limited in their purchases by what could fit in a handheld basket. His idea was to combine a carriage with a wire basket, and so, in 1937, the shopping cart was born. The rest, as they say, is history. Sylvan revolutionized shopping, and today, on average, Americans use 15 million shopping carts each day.

Photo: Goldman in 1976, Oklahoma Historical Society

Jewish Federations Celebrate Impact at Lions of Judah Conference

January 17, 2025

Jewish Federations wrapped up their International Lions of Judah Conference (ILOJC) with record attendance and inspirational messages. Under the visionary leadership of Iris Kraemer, Chair of National Women’s Philanthropy (NWP), along with Carolyn Gitlin, Immediate Past Chair of NWP, and Conference CoChairs Danielle Wild and Dana Keller, the event was a resounding success.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, devoted mother to Hersh Goldberg-Polin z”l and a tireless advocate for the Israeli hostages in Gaza, was awarded the Lion of Valor Award for her unwavering courage and dedication.

The Lions of Judah are an international sisterhood of over 18,000 philanthropic women of all ages who serve as leaders in their communities to strengthen the Jewish future. Every Lion plays a critical role in driving social justice, helping the vulnerable, and building flourishing Jewish communities around the world with high-impact philanthropic gifts through their Jewish Federations.

Goldberg-Polin thanked Jewish Federations International Lions of Judah as she received the honor. “You've never stopped advocating, shouting, praying, crying, being with us,” said Goldberg-Polin, who was recently named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024. “We appreciate it. We need it. We feel it. We are all grateful.”

Michal Herzog, the First Lady of the State of Israel, received the Ruth Bader Ginsberg Award for her tireless work in exposing the systematic sexual crimes perpetrated by Hamas.

Lions of Judah have raised over one billion dollars in total, contributing to the advancement of thriving Jewish communities and aiding vulnerable Jews domestically, in Israel, and worldwide.

The Lions of Judah program was established in 1972 by Norma Kipnis Wilson and Toby Friedland, of blessed memory, to recognize the significant role of women in philanthropy within the Jewish community and allow women to show their commitment to Jewish people through their philanthropy. At the time Lions of Judah was created, $5,000 was the amount needed to bring a Jewish family from the Former Soviet Union to the United States. Since its inception, the program has experienced substantial growth, with over 20,000 women worldwide becoming Lions and expanding its reach.

Every other year, the Lions gather at the International Lion of Judah Conference (ILOJC), a transformative gathering of dynamic, influential, and philanthropic women from across the world. It is their chance to show off their Jewish pride, embrace their power, and stand strong for what they believe in. They inspire one another and hear from the world’s leading speakers in the fields of religion, culture, art, business, and politics.

IETA Seeks to Boost Educational Travel to Israel by 50% in 2025

From JFNA January 20, 2025

In their first-ever convening in Israel, members of the Israel Educational Travel Alliance's (IETA) set a goal of increasing the number or participants in educational Israel travel in 2025 by over 50%.

“At a time when Israel is facing unprecedented challenges, the commitment to bringing tens of thousands of young Jewish leaders to experience Israel firsthand is more critical than ever,” said Jewish Federations of North America President and CEO Eric D. Fingerhut. “The Jewish Federations of North America are proud to support programs that we know strengthen the bond between North American Jewry and Israel, instill a deep sense of shared responsibility, and empower young people to stand by Israel as ambassadors of truth and resilience.”

IETA is a consortium of over 100 Israel educational travel organizations, programs, and philanthropies housed at Jewish Federations of North America, and includes groups such as Birthright Israel, RootOne, Masa, and Passages. These programs are critical to Israel-Diaspora relations, and the decisions made at this convening could have significant implications for those ties going forward.

The group kicked off its first-ever convening in Israel on January 20 in Jerusalem to discuss the future of educational Israel travel programs in the aftermath of October 7 and the field's significant impact on Israel's economic recovery.

The educational travel sector played a pivotal role in Israel’s economy throughout the war, growing from a 5% share of tourism before October 7 to a 15% share during the war. At the convening,

the groups laid out a goal of increasing participation to 53,700 participants, up from 35,500 in 2024.

“Immersive educational travel experiences in Israel are not only a growth engine for the country but are also a symbol of hope that help connect the State of Israel and world Jewry,” said Jewish Agency for Israel CEO Yehudah Setton. “During this critical period, our goal is to enable every young Jew from around the world to take an active role in both strengthening and rebuilding the State of Israel, and in creating our collective future. The Jewish Agency is a proud partner and supporter of the hundreds of leaders running educational tourism programs in Israel.”

Studies show that participating in education trips to Israel significantly shapes the Jewish identity of young North American Jews, boosting their Jewish identity, their involvement in Jewish communal life, and bolstering their commitment to the State of Israel.

Approximately 140 community leaders, CEOs, and senior leaders from North America are attending the IETA convening, sponsored by Jewish Federations of North America, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and Mosaic United, an initiative of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, in order to pave the way for tens of thousands of North American youth to participate in educational trips to Israel in 2025.

“We are honored to have Mosaic United, an initiative of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism as one of our key sponsors. Mosaic invests millions of dollars in transformative travel programming that deepen Jewish identity and connection to Israel.”

Holocaust Survivors Alert

If you are a Holocaust Survivor who has never applied for compensation, or was turned down previously, there are new funds and guidelines. For more information, you may call the Claims Conference in NY at 646-536-9100 or go to their website: www.claimscon.org.

Click on survivor resources, then click on compensation programs. They have a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section which should be read prior to applying.

From JFNA

MAIMONIDES SOCIETY

JOIN OCEAN COUNTY'S MAIMONIDES SOCIETY

Named for Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (also known as Maimonides or Rambam, perhaps the most famous Jewish physician of all time) the Jewish Federation of Ocean County Maimonides Society is the place for physicians, surgeons, dentists and other healthcare professionals – people dedicated to healing the sick and committed to the notion of tikkun olam (repairing the world).

MEMBERSHIP :

$1000 Entire practice listed on JFOC's website and 1/2 page ad in Ocean JPages

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Become a Maimonides Society Member at www jewishoceancounty org/maimonides

Jewish Life Stories: One of the Last ‘Ritchie Boys’ dies at 101

Other recent notable Jewish deaths include a Spanish fashion mogul, an iconic Israeli singer and a former refusenik at the center of a daring escape plot.

By Andrew Silow-Carroll December 27, 2024 jta.org

Victor Brombert, 101, a literature scholar and World War II hero

Victor Brombert fled the Nazis for America as a teen and went on to a distinguished career as a professor of comparative literature at Yale and Princeton Universities. But while analyzing others’ stories he kept one of his own hidden: During World War II, he worked for a secret American intelligence unit that deployed multilingual refugees in the fight against Hitler.

Brombert revealed his role only in 2004, in the acclaimed documentary “The Ritchie Boys,” named for the Maryland base where they trained. Until then, he had been known mainly for his scholarship on French culture, literary tropes and authors including Stendhal, Flaubert and Victor Hugo.

Born in Germany to Russian-Jewish parents, he grew up in Paris but fled to the United States during the German occupation of France, experiences he recounted in a highly regarded memoir, “Trains of Thought: Memories of a Stateless Youth” (2002). In 1943, Brombert joined the U.S. Army and later landed with the Second Armored Division on Omaha Beach.

“My parents were determined pacifists and made me read anti-militaristic books,” he wrote in an essay about visiting the beach on the anniversary of D-Day. “Yet they knew that certain wars cannot be avoided, and that this one, against Hitler, had to be fought and won. But it had to be won precisely by those who hated war.” Brombert died on November 26 at his home in Princeton. He was 101.

Hanna Katzir, 79, former October 7 hostage

Hanna Katzir was taken captive on October 7, 2023, alongside her son from Kibbutz Nir Oz in Israel’s south. She was released more than a month later during a brief ceasefire but never regained her health, dying on December 24 of maladies her family said were exacerbated by her ordeal.

“Mom was a loving woman, wife and mother who gave nothing but love,” her daughter Carmit Palty Katzir said in a message via the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. “Her heart could not

withstand the terrible suffering since October 7.” Katzir, who was 79, is survived by three children; a son, Elad, was abducted and later killed in Gaza, while her husband Rami was murdered in their safe room on October 7. She was buried at Nir Oz.

Eduard Kuznetsov, 85, refusenik who plotted a daring escape

Eduard Kuznetsov, a former Soviet refusenik who helped lead one of the most daring and attention-grabbing escape plans in the history of the movement to free Soviet Jewry, died December 21. He was 85 and had been living in Hadera, Israel.

In 1970, he and 16 others who were unable to emigrate attempted to hijack an empty civilian aircraft and escape to the West. “Operation Wedding” (the conspirators pretended they were traveling to a family wedding) failed, but the arrest and imprisonment of the would-be hijackers drew international attention to their cause.

After his release from a Siberian labor camp in 1979, Kuznetsov immigrated to Israel, where he worked as a journalist for Russian-language newspapers and radio stations. While imprisoned in Russia,

he wrote two books: “Prison Diary” and “I am an Israeli Citizen!”

Barbi Weinberg, 95, founder of a pro-Israel think tank

Barbi Weinberg, the founding president of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the first woman to oversee a major American Jewish federation, died December 12 in Los Angeles. She was 95.

In 1969, she and her husband Larry Weinberg joined the then-tiny American Israel Public Affairs Committee and played a vital role in forming the infrastructure of what became AIPAC’s lobbying juggernaut. (Larry Weinberg died in 2019.)

In 1973, she was chosen to lead the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles; in 1985, she and Michael Stein co-founded the Washington Institute, a bipartisan think tank described by its first director, the late Martin Indyk, as “friendly to Israel but doing credible research on the Middle East in a realistic and balanced way.”

“Barbi animated the life of the Institute by advocating principles that remain at the core of the Institute’s work today –that America is a force for good in the Middle East and that a strong, vibrant U.S.-Israel relationship serves [the] American national interest,” the institute wrote in a tribute.

Isak Andic, 71, billionaire founder of the Mango fashion chain

Isak Andic, the billionaire founder of the women’s wear chain Mango, died December 14 after falling down a 490-foot ravine while hiking with family in an area near Barcelona known for its deep caves. He was 71.

Born in Istanbul to a Sephardic Jewish family, Andik emigrated to the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia in the 1960s. His first business venture was selling T-shirts to fellow students at Barcelona’s American high school; he and his brother founded Mango and turned it into a 3,000-store chain in 120 countries. Forbes estimated Andic’s net worth at $4.5 billion.

The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain mourned Andic, a supporter of the Masorti Jewish Community of Catalonia. “His numerous contributions have led to great advances for Spanish Judaism,” a federation statement said. “The void left behind is irreplaceable.”

Allal, 69,

Israeli singer, songwriter and producer Corinne Allal, who composed the music for Ehud Manor’s iconic song “Ein Li Eretz Aheret” (“I Have No Other Country”), died December 12 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 69.

The prolific musician, who recorded and produced numerous albums over a 50year career, was born in 1955 in Tunisia. Her family eventually fled the country for Israel, and she began performing in military bands and choirs.

In 2001, when “out” performers were still a rarity in Israel, she revealed her same-sex relationship with her manager, Ruti Parran, with whom she raised two sons. Allal continued to perform after her cancer diagnosis, and weeks before her death recorded a final song, “I Will Reveal Your Face,” with Moshe Waldman. While competing on an Israeli version of the reality show “Big Brother” in 2009, she spent her downtime reading Psalms. “When I returned home, I continued to connect with God and began discovering Judaism – out of nowhere,” she told an interviewer in 2017.

Corinne

Israeli singer, songwriter and producer

In 1973, Barbi Weinberg was chosen to lead the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, becoming the first woman to oversee a major Jewish federation in America. (Courtesy Washington Institute)

Isak Andik was born in 1953 in Istanbul and moved with his family to Barcelona as a teenager. (Wikipedia)

Corinne Allal performing live in Kibbutz Cabri, June 5, 2006. (Chai/Wikipedia)

Victor Brombert escaped from France during the German occupation, and served with the U.S. Army, landing in Normandy in the D-day invasion. (Princeton University)

Hanna Katzir is shown in a photo released by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Facebook)

Eduard Kuznetsov in 2009. (Eduard Arzunyan/Wikipedia)

Jules Feiffer, a “Smartass” Jew whose Work Spanned Comics and Cinema, Dies at 95

The Pulitzer winner was working on a new book and just moved upstate.

By PJ Grisar

January 21, 2025 forward.com

Jules Feiffer, the Pulitzer-winning polymath whose career spanned the fields of comic books, film, theater, has died. He was 95.

Feiffer was born in the Bronx on January 26, 1929, to Jewish parents from Poland. He told the Yiddish Book Center in an oral history that, as a child, he loved E.C. Seeger’s Popeye and later the “adventure scripts” like Terry and the Pirates. But when he first read Will Eisner, he was bowled over by the grittiness of the subject matter and the angles he chose to tell stories.

Out of high school and in need of a job, Feiffer decided “amazingly, ’cause I had no courage at all,” to find Eisner in the phone book. He went to his office on Wall Street, looked at his samples and, according to Feiffer, “told me how shitty my work was.” But Feiffer deflected – changing the subject to Eisner and his work. He got the job.

Feiffer soon began “ghosting” for Eisner’s comic The Spirit. Eisner admired his flair for writing and ear for dialogue. It was also in his teen years that he encountered a type of Jewish identity that resonated with him. “The antisemites made me a Jew. The Jews made me want to escape being a Jew – or the Jews I knew in the Bronx,” Feiffer said. Being in Manhattan he found “smartass, funny, wise guy” Jews. “It was only when I started hanging out in Manhattan that I realized it wasn’t so bad being a Jew, because I’m not the only Jew like this.”

Leaving the Eisner apprenticeship in the 1950s – he was drafted into the Army in 1951 and discharged in 1953 – Feiffer started a weekly comic for The Village

Voice, then a new publication. His style, with its deceptively simple linework, and countercultural content, became a touchstone for the era – and was uniquely acerbic. He filleted the neuroses and narcissism of the age, but also the misrule of its leaders, showing, for instance, a young boy watching a series of consecutive presidents giving televised speeches on the war in Vietnam ending. The boy gets older until, at last, he’s in a flag-draped coffin.

He quipped that the Army made him a satirist. He was an unabashedly liberal one, friend to luminaries like James Baldwin, who introduced him to Maya Angelou. (Feiffer’s first wife, Judy, called Random House and suggested they have Angelou write a book for them – the result was I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.)

One characteristic comic, which seems to have anticipated the term mansplaining –or the Me Generation – shows a couple at a restaurant. The man releases a flurry of “Me”s. When his date, a woman, responds with a solitary “I,” he yawns.

Feiffer often spoke of his Jewish mother, Rhoda, one to rival Sophie Portnoy. Of his burgeoning career as a cartoonist he once told the Forward she was at first supportive, but “when she learned what kind of cartoonist I became, she must have had serious thoughts about that, because the last thing my mother wanted was public notice because of controversy.”

“She was a U.S. citizen, but she never took the citizenship as seriously as the ongoing persecution of the Jews wherever they happened to be or happened to hide,” Feiffer said. “So she knew that if I made a scene, she’d be shipped back to Poland. She didn’t think I would be shipped back – but she would be shipped back. So she wanted me to be a nice boy, and I was until I was drafted to join the Army. And then I wasn’t under my mother’s thumb. All hell broke loose from that point on.”

This “hell” was in fact acclaim, and it didn’t stay confined to panels for long. In the 1960s Feiffer illustrated Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth and began writing plays. His 1967 work, Little Murders, debuted on Broadway. His best-known screenplay was Carnal Knowledge, directed by Mike Nichols, a friend and collaborator.

But even as he wrote screenplays for Robert Altman (Popeye) and Alain Res-

nais (I Want to Go Home), Feiffer never stopped drawing, producing a graphic memoir, Kill My Mother, and making an uncredited contribution to the films of Quentin Tarantino.

At a 2023 virtual appearance at the Jewish Comics Convention, Feiffer and others noted that Bill’s Superman monologue in Kill Bill Volume II was lifted from his

1965 book The Great Comic Book Heroes. (In conversation with comic writer and former president of DC Comics Paul Levitz, he said he “blew the cover on Superman and wrote about Siegel and Shuster’s hero being Jewish.”)

Last year, Feiffer published a graphic novel for young readers, Amazing Grapes, and spoke with The New York Times from his new home in upstate New York, an escape from the city – and his former home in Shelter Island – in which he spent so much of his life. He was at work on a new book called My License to Fail. “It’s my way of paying back for all this beauty,” Feiffer said.

PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at grisar@forward. com and @pjgrisar on Twitter.

Jules Feiffer, who dominated the world of comics, film and theater, died at 95. Image by Dick Demarisco

Feiffer’s mom, Rhoda, and Feiffer at his bar mitzvah. Courtesy of Jules Feiffer

Feiffer’s work often depicted dancing. Courtesy of Jules Feiffer

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Beyond Borders: The History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict Part I

BUILDING A JEWISH COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Taught by: JCC of LBI’s Rabbi Michael Jay

CHOICE OF CLASS ON ZOOM:

MONDAYS, 10:00–11:30AM (10 SESSIONS)

March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31

April 7, 28

May 5, 12, 19 or

WEDNESDAYS, 8:00–9:30PM (10 SESSIONS)

March 5, 12, 19, 26

April 2, 9, 30

May 7, 14, 21

First 25 Registrants from Ocean County fee: $175*

Thanks to a $100 subsidy from the Jewish Federation of Ocean County and an additional $50 subsidy available through the Grotta Fund.

*Includes course materials

Study the roots of the conflict between Jews and Arabs over the modern State of Israel. Analyzing newspaper articles, speeches, poems, photographs, and maps, we will retrace history on a path from 1948 to today, examining each war and attempt at peace. Debate about religion, culture, politics, economics, identity, and survival is encouraged, challenging learners to appreciate the basis of the claims made by all sides. Together, we’ll leap into these complex topics, probing why a lasting peace between Israel and the Arab world has been so elusive.

To register, contact: Rachel Davis at 973-530-3989 or rdavis1@jccmetrowest.org.

Memorial Tribute – Lynn Perlmutter z”l

Lynn Perlmutter passed away on January 18. Here are three special tributes.

From Shelley Lynnworth, personal friend:

Our Lynn Perlmutter, who had such a beautiful, gentle, loving soul, has passed. She and her beloved husband Joel, who left this world seven years ago, were the epitome of kindness. If you were lucky enough to have them in your lives, you would be smiling now. Their commitment to helping those around them was always evident. How lucky to have these loving people in our community. Lynn spent her days lifting those around her and planting a kiss on one’s cheek. Knowing Lynn for over sixty years has been an honor and we wish her memory to be forever in our hearts.

From Patricia Donaghue, Executive Director of the Joel Perlmutter Memorial Food Pantry:

If you are truly blessed, you would have the opportunity to have someone like Lynn Perlmutter in your life. Lynn was the most kind, loving, supportive person I have ever had the pleasure to know. It seemed as though she had incredible intuition. Although we spoke fairly often (just the ordinary calls or texts to “check in”), she somehow knew when I needed them the most. Lynn always had the much-needed words of encouragement that at times were a lifeline to me. Her calls always left me with a smile and the added energy I needed to continue. Those calls always ended with the same questions/comments – “Don’t forget to eat! Are you resting?” She would then remind me to take care of myself and to go do something fun.

From Annabel Lindenbaum, Board Chair of the Jewish Federation of Ocean County:

Lynn Perlmutter knew that your family always starts with your immediate family but continues to the Jewish Community at large. Her generosity was always supportive of programs that the Jewish Federation of Ocean County ran, most notably the film festival which reached so many people. She was such a gentle sweet woman who will be sorely missed by so many. Our condolences to the entire Perlmutter family.

Memorial Tribute – Rosalie Donadio z”l

Rosalie Donadio passed away on January 11. Rosalie was a cherished member of the Sha'arey Ha-Yam community and will be sorely missed. Rosalie was active in the Jewish Federation of Ocean County. She reviewed films for the film festival and wrote over 60 movie reviews over a five-year period for the Jewish Journal. A woman of many talents and an avid reader, her warm spirit will continue to surround others.

Jewish Community Calendar – March 2025

Compiled by the Jewish Federation of Ocean County based on submissions from the event hosts – Events can be submitted at www.jewishoceancounty.org/calendar.

Most of the Jewish Virtual University webinars are emergent with only a few days’ notice and are updated on the page www.jewishoceancounty.org/jvu and our facebook page facebook.com/jewishocean.

Monday, March 3, 10:00 AM (10 morning sessions on Mondays through April and May) – History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, see ad on page 17 Monday, March 3, 2:00 PM (and every week on Monday) – Israel Briefings, Jewish Federations of North America, check JVU page for updated registration links

Tuesday, March 4, 1:00 PM (and every week on Tuesday) – Grief After Loss Group led by Rita Sason, Jewish Family and Children’s Service, virtual online, 732-363-8010

Wednesday, March 5, 3:00 PM (and March 19 and April 2) – Center for Jewish Belonging Webinar Series, Jewish Federations of North America, check JVU page for registration links

Wednesday, March 5, 8:00 PM (10 evening sessions on Wednesdays through April and May) – History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, see ad on page 17

Thursday, March 6, 7:30 PM (and the first Thursday of every month) – Caregivers Group led by Rita Sason, Jewish Family and Children’s Service, virtual online, 732363-8010

Thursday, March 13 – Taanit Esther (Fast of Esther) Thursday night-Friday, March 13-14 – Purim Friday night-Saturday, March 14-15 – Shushan Purim

Monday, March 17, 8:00 PM (and every month on the third Monday) – Living Our Values: Jewish Parenting with PJ Library, register at www.jewishoceancounty. org/pj-library

Tuesday, March 18, 11:00 AM – PJ Library Hebrew Circle Time, register at www.jewishoceancounty.org/pj-library

Friday, March 21, 11:00 AM – PJ Tot Shabbat, register at www.jewishoceancounty.org/pj-library

Sunday, March 23, 10:00 AM – Israel Bonds Breakfast; held at Congregation B’nai Israel, Toms River; see pages 3 and 6 for more information

Save the following dates: April 13 – Second Night Passover Seder, June 26 – Game Day, June 29 – Brunch in honor of Rabbi Stephen Gold

For information, contact the event host or see related publicity in this issue of The Jewish Journal.

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Support all the eff orts of Jewish Federation of Ocean County and Jewish Family and Children’s Service:

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Be a GEM like:

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Contact JFOC office by calling 732-363-0530 sending your pledge to: 1235A Route 70, Lakewood, NJ 08701 or https://jewishoceancounty.org/gem

Email, Poem and Response

On January 23, the Jewish Federation of Ocean County sent out an email about International Holocaust Remembrance Day (on January 27) which included this poem. A response to that email was received and is here included.

POEM

In response to Martin Niemoller (z”l):

First they came for the African Americans and I spoke up—

Because I am my sisters’ and my brothers’ keeper.

And then they came for the women and I spoke up—

Because women hold up half the sky.

And then they came for the immigrants and I spoke up—

Because I remember the ideals of our democracy.

And then they came for the Muslims and I spoke up—

Because they are my cousins and we are one human family.

And then they came for the Native Americans and Mother Earth and I spoke up—

Because the blood-soaked land cries and the mountains weep. They keep coming.

We keep rising up.

Because we Jews know the cost of silence.

We remember where we came from.

And we will link arms, because when you come for our neighbors, you come for us—

and THAT just won’t stand.

By Rabbi Michael Adam Latz

RESPONSE – February 3, 2025

As the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, where is "never again" when it comes to immigrants? Where is the "never again" when it comes to raids in NJ without due process? Where is the "never again" when it comes to raids of Jewish businesses? Where is the "never again" when it comes to raids of Holocaust survivors' families?  Please see this link to one of the ICE raids in Newark last week (https://bsky.app/profile/stevenfulop.bsky.social/post/3lhc33rvatk2v/quotes) that affected a residential apartments owned by Steven Fulop's father. I would hope that the Jewish community comes out loud and strong in stopping these round ups. If we are not going to speak out re: modern day Naziism, what is the point of "never again"! As we learn in Pirke Avot (Rabbi Hillel), "If I am not for myself, who is for me; If I am only for myself, what am I?  If not now, when?"

By Rosalee Keech

May those who are still captive as hostages be released soon and safely.

May those who are wounded have a complete recovery. May the memories of those who died be forever a blessing. May all have peace.

Jewish Holiday Family Photos

We invite our community members to submit a few photographs of their family’s recent holiday celebrations. Include a one-line caption describing the activity in the photo. You may include everyone’s name or just your family’s name or without any names at all. All submissions are subject to our editorial review, and we do not promise that all submitted photos will be published.

Email your submission to jfoceditor@ocjf.org.

We now have two matching grants that provide over 4 million dollars in home

We invite our community members to submit original poetry or short essays (500 words or less) to the Jewish Journal. All submissions are subject to our editorial review, and we do not promise that all will be published.

Email your submission to jfoceditor@ocjf.org.

at

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JFOC Tributes

January 11 – February 10

In Honor of

Fran Gimpel by Lynn Kaban

In Memory of

Rosalie Donadio

Rosalie Donadio by Wendi Higgins

Norton Geier by Suzanne & Jon Geier

Jarrod Kaufman

Jarrod Kaufman by Lisa & Ross Gertner

Jack & Lenore Matin by Linda Mauel

Lynn Perlmutter

Lynn Perlmutter by Manny and Annabel Lindenbaum

Lynn Perlmutter by Anise Singer

Ira Rush by Howard Alexander

Tributes

PJ Library Photos with Children

Do you have a photo of your child reading or holding a PJ Library book? We would like to publish some of them. We omit the names of children. The names of any adults in the photos could be included or omitted based on the guidance of the adult submitting the photo(s). Email them to JFOCeditor@ocjf.org

is How You Can Support Our Holocaust Survivors and Seniors

Please contribute to:

• Friends of JFCS

• The Holocaust Survivors’ Special Fund

• The Seniors Lunch Program Special Fund

It is easy to donate a little each month, to make a big impact!

• Go online to www. jewishoceancounty.org

• Send a check, use your credit card, transfer stock.

• Call the office and talk with our staff.

• Bring in your Tzedakah box. We will count it for you.

• Consider making a monthly gift to support your community.

Jewish Federation of Ocean County 1235A Route 70, Lakewood, NJ 08701 732-363-0530

At My School Visits this Year on Holocaust Day, I Started with Jewish Joy

These Italian kids don't know much about being Jewish, but I introduce them to both religious ritual and antisemitic graffiti, and they get it. They really do.

By Barbara Aiello

Feb 1, 2025

blogs.timesofisrael.com

Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them.

Iam rabbi of the only synagogue in Calabria, Italy, a region located in the “toe” of the Italian “boot.” Calabria is the geographical size of the US state of Virginia, and it is among the least populated and least affluent in all of Italy.

As Calabria’s only rabbi and one of only a handful of Jews who live here, each year I am asked to visit a number of schools during the month of January, in honor of the European Union’s official commemoration, Holocaust Remembrance Day.

This year was no exception. In six days I visited nine elementary, middle, and

secondary schools and spoke to students ranging in age from 7 to 19 years old. Audiences numbered from 24 little ones in a second grade class to over 100 students in their late teens.

In my 18 years in Calabria, I have answered the call to bring Holocaust education to any school that desires it. At first my

focus was limited to detailing the Holocaust horror that elderly camp survivors experienced, as well as the emotional trauma that my own father suffered as a liberator of the Buchenwald death camp. But over the years I’ve come to the understanding that as powerful as Holocaust testimonials are, these accounts are not enough.

For two reasons; first, a school program that highlights only survivor testimony risks emphasizing to young people, the vast majority of whom have never met a Jewish person, that more than anything else we Jews are victims. Our stories are poignant and often horrific, and the students feel pity for us. I believe that pity and compassion for those who suffered the horrors of persecution is not inappropriate. In fact, it is an emotionally healthy response.

But second, and maybe just as important, is giving equal attention to the personhood of the Jewish people. That’s why, in recent years, I’ve added a special component to my school presentations. It’s called “Joyfully Jewish” and before I share the camp stories, I engage students with photos of Jewish life cycle events and Judaica brought from our synagogue.

Student comments are encouraging. One 9-year-old who viewed a large laminated photo of a Jewish wedding remarked, “There’s a bride and a groom like in the

Continued on page 31

The Department of Health and Human Services has made available and asked JFOC for help with distribution of at-home Covid

Tests are currently available at these locations: Beth Am Shalom, Lakewood 732-363-2800 Temple Beth Or, Brick

732-458-4700

Congregation Ahavat Olam, Howell

732-719-3500

Judaica comes to school. (courtesy)

CONGREGATION

BETH AM SHALOM

SECOND NIGHT SEDER

SUNDAY APRIL 13, 2025

5:00 pm (doors open at 4:30 pm)

Rabbi Stephen D Gold and Cantor Jon Saouma will conduct the Seder

Kosher-Style Menu to include Chopped Liver, Charoses

Matzah Ball Soup

Roast Chicken, Brisket, Matzah Lazagna

Broccoli Souffle, Roasted Red Potatoes,Tzimmes

Fresh Fruit Platters and Cakes

Wine, Juice, Coffee and Tea

RESERVATION ARE REQUIRED PRIOR TO APRIL 1, 2025

Covert: Members $54 per Adult (Age 13 and over)

Non-Members $60 per Adult (Age 13 and over)

$15 Children Age 5 to 12

No Charge for Children under 5

For Reservation and additional information: Call Lois Pollinger at 732-477-2585

Checks for payment to be mailed to:

Beth Am Shallom – Second Night Seder in memo 1236 Route 70 Lakewood, New Jersey 08701 bethamshalom.org

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"I’m tired of relatives and friends criticizing me. I’m doing the best I can.” JOIN US FOR A MONTHLY SUPPORT GROUP

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National Reading Month The More Reading,

By Kayly Donovan, MSW Intern Jewish Family & Children’s Service

Reading is something we all do every single day, whether it’s reading signs on the road, the menu at a restaurant, text messages from friends, emails at work, the subtitles on TV, or, you guessed it, a favorite book. Many people find joy in reading because it allows us the opportunity to widen our perspective and imagine worlds vastly different from our own. Not to mention, it has been shown to have a multitude of health benefits, mentally, emotionally, and physically. With March being National Reading Month, let’s explore some of the ways in which reading can enhance your life.

the Better

timately take a mental break from any outside stressors.

For our emotional health, consider the many emotions you have experienced while reading. Books have the power to make us feel sad, happy, inspired, confused, angry, and some make us feel all of this in just one chapter. Moving through so many emotions helps us become more resilient and prepared to face these emotions in the future, and it increases our ability to connect with and understand others.

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of reading is that it increases knowledge. As children, many of us read beginner books to learn about colors and animals and then may have started reading classic novels and history textbooks in school which taught us about styles of writing and how different nations were formed. While we may not have enjoyed everything we’ve ever read, there is no doubt that reading has the potential to expose us to new information, therefore leaving us a little bit more knowledgeable than we were before.

Additionally, reading leads to a variety of health benefits. Reading can improve our mental health as it significantly reduces stress and anxiety and has been shown to greatly strengthen memory and critical thinking skills, especially as we age. It provides us with an activity that helps us slow down, calm down, and ul-

The physical benefits of reading are also worth noting. Reading helps lower the heart rate, ease tension in the muscles, improve sleep, and lower blood pressure over time. There are also several benefits for the brain, specifically as reading helps stimulate neural pathways. By enhancing brain activity, we are promoting healthy brain functioning and ultimately reducing the risk of future cognitive decline.

With all the benefits outlined above, it’s clear that more reading leads to a healthier you. This National Reading Month I encourage you to pick up a book; a new genre, an old favorite, the sequel you’ve been waiting for, or the one you started but never finished. Incorporating the simple activity of reading into our routines can help us live mentally, emotionally, and physically healthier lives. It gives us a chance to gain more knowledge and explore new places without ever having to leave the comfort of our homes. With so many stories, poems, biographies, essays, and articles out there, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this one.

Together with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) and a grant from the State of New Jersey, the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of the Jewish Federation of Ocean County has been providing the sacred obligation of pikuach nefesh (saving a life in jeopardy) to Holocaust Survivors for many years. We realize that unless you are impacted directly, you may not fully appreciate how important this work is. Every dollar you contribute will be matched 25 times!

CHILDREN'S SERVICE

...making a difference

PJ Library Announcements

PJ Library has taken over the Jewish Federation of Ocean County’s Facebook page on Fridays! We have been posting our weekly parsha graphic, highlighting the value of the week and books with that message. And if you're not on Facebook (good for you!), our posts appear on our homepage – www.jewishoceancounty. org.

Want to get a jump on the books by parsha? A link to all of them can be found on our PJ Library page – www.jewshoceancounty.org/pj-library.

March dates:

Hebrew Circle Time – March 18

Tot Shabbat – March 21

Jewish Federation of Ocean County, a non-profit corporation, publishes The Jewish Journal 12 times a year. Views expressed by columnists, in readers’ letters and in reprinted opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Jewish Journal, the Jewish Federation of Ocean County or any agency of the Jewish Federation of Ocean County. Submissions of copy and .jpeg photos may be sent to Editor (jfoceditor@ocjf.org) or mailed to the known office of publication. All copy or photos submitted to The Jewish Journal shall become the property of The Jewish Journal and the Jewish Federation of Ocean County. All submissions of text or photography may be changed and printed at the discretion of the editor without notice to the submitter. The Jewish Journal reserves full discretion to decide what will be published. No material will be accepted which is considered against the best interest of the Jewish community. Acceptance of advertising neither endorses advertisers nor guarantees kashrut.

TUESDAYS 1:00 -2:30pm

more information, or to register, contact: JFCS at 732-363-8010

SYNAGOGUES

CHABAD

CHABAD JEWISH CENTER OF JACKSON

645 Cross Street

Lakewood, NJ 08701

Rabbi Shmuel Naparstek

732-523-5112

Email: info@chabadofjackson.com www.ChabadofJackson.com

CHABAD JEWISH CENTER OF TOMS RIVER

2001 Church Road

Toms River, NJ 08753

Rabbi Moshe Gourarie 732-349-4199

Email: rabbi@chabadtomsriver.com www.chabadtomsriver.com

CONSERVATIVE

CONGREGATION AHAVAT OLAM 106 Windeler Road Howell, NJ 07731

Rabbi Cantor David Amar

Rabbi Emeritus Michael Klein

732-719-3500

email: CAOReceptionist@cao-nj.org www.cao-nj.org

CONGREGATION B'NAI ISRAEL

1488 Old Freehold Road

Toms River, NJ 08753

Rabbi William Gershon Cantor Vadim Yucht

Rabbi Emeritus Richard Hammerman Cantor Emeritus Daniel Green 732-349-1244

Email: info@cbitr.org www.cbitr.org

TEMPLE BETH OR P.O. Box 789 Brick, NJ 08723

Rabbi Chaim Respes

Rabbi Emeritus Robert E. Fierstien z”l 732-458-4700

Email: templebethorbrick@gmail.com www.templebethorbrick.org

ORTHODOX

CONGREGATION SONS OF ISRAEL 590 Madison Avenue Lakewood, NJ 08701

Rabbi Shmuel Tendler 732-364-2230

Chazan Zelig Freilich

CONGREGATION SONS OF ISRAEL 401 Park Ave. Lakewood, NJ 08701

Rabbi Baruch Ber Yoffe 732-367-3116

SHABBAT CANDLE LIGHTING IN LAKEWOOD

February 21 5:22 PM

February 28 5:30 PM

March 7 5:38 PM

March 14 6:45 PM

March 21 6:52 PM

March 28 6:59 PM

REFORM

BETH AM SHALOM 1235 State Highway 70 Lakewood, NJ 08701

Rabbi Stephen D. Gold Cantor Jon Saouma

732-363-2800

Email: office@bethamshalom.org www.bethamshalom.org

UNAFFILIATED

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF LBI 2411 Long Beach Blvd. Spray Beach, NJ 08008

Rabbi Michael Jay 609-492-4090

Email: jccoflbi@gmail.com www.jccoflbi.org

For Shabbat:

Blessed are You, Ad-nai our G-d, Sovereign of the universe, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to kindle the light of Shabbat.

Please contribute to:

• Friends of JFCS

• The Holocaust Survivors’ Special Fund

• The Seniors Lunch Program Special Fund

It is easy to donate a little each month, to make a big impact!

• Go online to www. jewishoceancounty.org.

• Send a check, use your credit card, transfer stock.

• Call the office and talk with our staff.

• Bring in your Tzedakah box. We will count it for you.

• Consider making a monthly gift to support your community.

Jewish Federation of Ocean County 1235A Route 70, Lakewood, NJ 08701 732-363-0530

Nesanel “Nate” M. Rabenstein

Behold the Guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep (Tehillim 121)

Continued from page 8

only have learned about the Holocaust second-hand in an inheritance that some call “generational trauma” and Richter calls a “generational trust.”

“There’s a certain point where I realized that my parents weren’t going to be the ones telling their parents’ story, so it sort of fell into my lap generationally,” said Richter, a professor of fine arts at The City University of New York.

These third-generation works also share an intense self-consciousness: Eisenberg and Dunham focus less on the history of the Holocaust or the experiences of the victims and survivors than on the interiors of the young protagonists.

“A Real Pain,” with its tight focus on two millennial Jews facing the loss of their grandmother, has been criticized for being more of a buddy dramedy than a real confrontation with the horrors of the Holocaust. But the film’s scenes set in the Majdanek concentration camp are somber and emotionally draining, as is a montage juxtaposing current sites in Lublin with descriptions of the yeshivas,

synagogues and Jewish homes that they replaced.

And others see the film’s focus on the characters’ individualized pain and personal grieving as its strength: New York Times critic Manohla Dargis writes that the dark history the cousins confront is “inseparable from the existential reality of their grandmother, from the woman and the mother she became, and from the family that she had.”

Richter’s book, by contrast, digs deep into his relatives’ histories and memories – throwing his own struggle to make sense of the “generational trust” into sharp relief. In the book his sense of complacency as a middle-class Jewish American is shattered by the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 and the resurgence of the far right. He finds solace in the words of his grandfather Karl: “I am ultimately an optimist – I have to be. Because the haters have won if they succeed in hardening your heart.”

Late in his book, after the birth of a daughter, Richter begins to consider the next generation. “I want her to feel completely free in the world,” he writes, “unencum-

bered by the pressures of Jewish continuity and undoing Hitler’s work.” At the same time, he finds it sad to think about a cultural heritage “erased through assimilation into generic American whiteness.”

“I want them to be well aware of their history. I made this book for them,” he

told me, in what could be a mission statement for Holocaust tourism. “It’s a starting point for them to do their own research, go down their own rabbit holes and to learn more about that history. It’s a starting place for them to explore their family history and their Jewish history.”

JOIN THE LEGACY SOCIETY

A key element of our Jewish tradition is sharing our customs and values from one generation to the next. The Jewish Federation of Ocean County is your local partner in ensuring that your commitment to the Jewish people is implemented in the smartest and most effective way.

S hould y ou have any questions, please contact keith@ocjf.org for more info and to discuss options.

A spread from “Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz” depicts the author’s guided tour of the camp complex. (Fantagraphics Books, Inc.)

School Visits

Continued from page 24

church.” Another student, fascinated with the large shofar I displayed, noted the similarity between the Jewish instrument and the one sounded by the Vatican to open the Jubilee celebrations.

Photos of kids dressed in Purim costumes reminded the children of Carnival while a bar mitzvah photo prompted questions about the Torah scroll and the Hebrew language. Photos of antisemitic graffiti scrawled on a wall in a neighborhood where I once lived, allowed me to explain how frightened it made me feel and prompted this response from one middle school boy who said, “If we don’t

rub out the graffiti then people will see it every day. It gets in their heads and then in their hearts.”

Personalizing the Jewish experience that includes examples of normal Jewish life, makes the segue into Holocaust testimonials more meaningful. The posters, artwork and displays made by each class offer students the opportunity to combine the important historical event with a real life Jewish cultural experience.

Balancing a joyful depiction of Jewish life with the tragedy that is the Holocaust will not, in and of itself, ameliorate anti-

semitism, but given the reaction of hundreds of school children, I’m convinced it is a start.

Rabbi Barbara Aiello is the first woman and first non-orthodox rabbi in Italy. She opened the first active synagogue in Calabria since Inquisition times and is the founder of the B'nei Anousim movement in Calabria and Sicily that helps Italians discover and embrace their Jewish roots.