March 27, 2015

Volume XXI, Issue VII | www.thejewishvoice.org Serving Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts

PASSOVER

7 Nisan 5775 | March 27, 2015

Model Community Passover Seder

Nazi refuge discovered in Argentine jungle, archaeologist says BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) – A team of archaeologists and researchers discovered what they believe was a refuge for Nazis in an Argentine forest near the border with Paraguay.

It is believed that the Nazis prepared the hideout in the fi rst half of the 1940s as a place to flee should World War II not go in their favor, but they did not use the refuge.

The director of the Urban Archaeology Center of the Buenos Aires University, Daniel Schavelzon, is leading the investigative team that is working at Misiones National Park in Teyu Cuare, a province in the northeastern cone of Argentina.

His team discovered German coins minted between 1938 and 1941 and porcelain dishes made by the German Meissen Company between 1890 and 1949.

“We found here an extraordinary type of construction, rare,” Schavelzon told Argentina’s Clarin newspaper. “We have not yet reached a fi nal conclusion, but our fi rst explanation, or idea, is that we have found a refuge for the Nazi hierarchy. The building is very exceptional, with objects and characteristics of building that are not from the region.”

Supporting the theory, he said, is the fact that the walls of the hideout were 10 feet thick REFUGE | 29

JFS sponsors a celebration for R.I. seniors

BY IRINA MISSIURO imissiuro@jewishallianceri.org WARWICK – On March 20, buses delivered seniors from the community to Congregation Am David to celebrate Passover.

Older Rhode Islanders and people with disabilities united for a special Seder that was designed with their needs in mind. Shorter than the usual Passover meal, the luncheon celebration was a fitting way for the participants to recognize

Sam Buckler and Tillie Orleck, above, and Miriam Snell, right, with Cantor Steven Dress.

PHOTOS | IRINA MISSIURO

SEDER | 3

Netanyahu facing challenges, criticism from Jewish liberals

BY RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA) – With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing escalating criticism and pressure from the White House, he could use some help from Israel’s erstwhile allies in the American Jewish community – especially those with sway in liberal and Democratic circles.

But several leading Jewish liberal critics of Netanyahu are working to rally American Jewish opinion against him by stepping up their condemnation of the prime minister and calling on the United States to ratchet up the pressure on Israel.

The epicenter of this liberal Jewish push is the annual J Street conference in Washington, where in a speech March 21 to 3,000 attendees, the group’s executive director, Jeremy Ben-Ami, accused Netanyahu of harming the U.S.-Israel relationship through “partisan gamesmanship” and called on the Obama administration to put forth the parameters for a resolution to the confl ict at the U.N. Security Council.

Ben-Ami’s remarks came days after another harsh Netanyahu critic, Peter Beinart, called for the Obama administration to “punish” Israel on several

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2 | March 27, 2015

The Jewish Voice

Arts 12 Business 34-35 Calendar 10 Classified 35 Community 2-6, 11, 13, 15, 33, 42 D’Var Torah 7 Food 16-19 Nation 14, 40 Obituaries 36-37 Opinion 8-9 Passover 20-33 Seniors 38-39, 41 We Are Read 42 World 14

On March 1, Temple Sinai’s Youth Group (CRAFTY) hosted its new-and-improved Purim carnival. The goal this year was to change the community’s perception of what a Purim carnival is. In the planning stages, the youth participants, alongside parent volunteers, brainstormed new games and prizes that would make this year’s carnival unforgettable. Traditional games, such as “Temple Sinai Jail” and “Fishing,” brought smiles and laughter. However, the new games, such as “Eating the Donut Off the String” and “Casting Lots,” really entertained the families that attended the event.

For the fi rst time, the Temple Sinai Pu-

rim Carnival added an aspect of tzedakah.

CRAFTY collected jars of peanut butter for donation to the weekly “Sandwiches at Sinai.” The jars were used to make sandwiches to donate to men at Harrington Hall. All together, CRAFTY collected 32 pounds of peanut butter.

Everyone in the community helped make this year’s carnival a success with support, participation and donations, including the Temple Sinai Youth Committee, Temple Sinai Sisterhood and Membership Committees, and the Board of Trustees.

PHOTO | TEMPLE SINAI

Temple Sinai improves on annual Purim carnival

INSIDE

THIS ISSUE’S QUOTABLE QUOTE “Part of the power of Passover is its ability to encapsulate and convey so much so succinctly.”

PHOTOS | NERC

New England Rabbinical College students with community members on Purim.

Dancing at NERC on Purim.

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March 27, 2015 |

3

PHOTOS | IRINA MISSIURO

The R.I. Community of Living and Support attend the Seder every year.

FROM PAGE 1 |

the substance (lamb) to foSEDER on cusing on the spirit (listening to

the occasion. The round tables beckoned with Passover platters and grape juice masquerading as wine. As the guests settled down, Hazzan Steven W. Dress, of Temple Israel in Sharon, Massachusetts, kicked off the event with song. The seniors loved his repertoire, which included a rendition of “A Few of My Favorite Passover Things” and “Take Me Out to the Seder.”

The cantor has been practicing his craft for nearly three decades, one of them at Am David, where he served the congregation from 1982 until 1991. After he wished everyone a happy fi rst day of spring, Dress lightened the mood by saying that, instead of a foot of snow, we’ll only have three to four inches now. Later, while describing the symbolism of the foods on the Seder plate, he made another dig at our New England weather, pointing out that the greens’ representation of spring is more evident in Israel.

The cantor conducted the main part of the Seder in a Socratic manner. Those guests who answered his questions correctly were rewarded with generous praise. Would you have known the real significance of the shank bone? Dress explained that animal sacrifice, which we haven’t done for 2,000 years, used to be our primary form of worship. The bone is a nostalgic reminder that offerings were given with a full heart, and that our priorities need to change from focusing

the Seder’s readings attentively, not repeating them by rote).

He also explained the reason Ashkenazim don’t serve lamb at the Passover table: they are wary that guests might assume that they sacrificed the animal.

Lunch highlights included a performance of the Four Questions, chanted masterfully by Rabbi Aaron Philmus, of Temple Torat Yisrael, and the profound insights shared by Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser, of Temple Sinai. Goldwasser surprised everyone by saying that Purim and Pesach are essentially the same holiday. After all, the story centers on a foreign power’s threat to kill the Jews, who are ultimately saved at the last moment.

However, he admitted that the differences are quite important as well. While the Book of Esther, which we read on Purim, does not contain the name of God, the Haggadah, which we read on Passover, mentions God often, but brings up Moses only once. This reminds us that there’s more than one way to look at the world – you can choose either the human (it’s all up to us) or the divine (it’s all up to God) perspective.

Neal Drobnis, coordinator of kosher nutrition at JFS, and the organizer of the event, seemed to focus on the human perspective that day. He joyfully rolled the matzah ball soup cart, dancing to the appreciative laughter of the onlookers, a few of whom remarked how much they liked his colorful kippah. The man had every reason to celebrate

the holiday in style since he pulled off a great Seder.

Together with Steve Tragar, Kosher Senior Café manager at Temple Am David, Elaine Shapiro, assistant meal site manager, and 10 volunteers, Drobnis served a delicious meal prepared by Accounting for Taste.

Seniors and guests dined on chicken cutlets in apricot sauce and potato kugel with carrots.

Some groups, such as The Fogarty Center and AccessPoint R.I., continued their tradition of making an annual appearance at the Seder. Steven Buonfiglio, supervisor at R.I. Community of Living and Support, said these groups attend every year so that people who may not go to temple can be connected to their culture. He added, “The folks really look forward to it.” Next year, Drobnis hopes to invite disabled veterans to the celebration.

Everyone deserves a chance to taste outstanding matzah balls surrounded by a sea of broth and carrots. The seniors didn’t demur for a second when offered another bowl of soup.

They responded immediately, “Well, since you asked, don’t mind if I do!” The only dislikes at the table were lost knives and misplaced forks.

Paulette Green, an energetic senior, was full of zingers, one of which pinpointed the duplicate nature of matzah balls.

She said, “If they’re made right, they’re lovely. If they’re not, you can play baseball with them.”

When asked about a dear Seder memory, she responded, “They last too long, and you starve to death!” Green loved not having

Rabbi Aaron Philmus of Temple Torat Yisrael.

Paulette Green, left, and Betsy Yetra. to prepare the meal, “I don’t cook. I defrost.” She hasn’t hosted a Seder in ages, “I stopped when my daughter-in-law found out I would cook the brisket ahead of time and freeze it.”

Ann Trimmel, Drobnis’ aunt by marriage, was delighted to be at the Seder. She said, “I’m not Jewish, but I enjoy every moment.” A resident of Shalom Apartments, Trimmel accepted her neighbor, Corinne Resnick’s, invitation to attend the celebration for the second year.

The seniors arrived at the

Seder for various reasons. Some were brought by their caregivers, some by their friends. Many wanted to celebrate Passover without the burden of Seder preparation. Others appreciated the company of fellow Seder guests. Whatever the reason, they were glad to be a part of the event. Resnick summed up the sentiment, “It’s great. They do a wonderful job.”

IRINA MISSIURO is a writer and editorial consultant for The Jewish Voice.

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The Jewish Voice

Watching ‘The Dovekeepers’ miniseries on March 31 and April 1?

BY JEWISH VOICE STAFF “The Dovekeepers” by Alice Hoffman has been turned into a miniseries airing on CBS (Channel 12 in Providence) March 31 and April 1. The fourhour series, which runs from 9-11 p.m. each night, is set in Israel and based on the events at Masada in 70 C.E. The events are told from the perspective of few extraordinary women.

The show stars Cote de Pablo, Rachel Brosnahan and Kathryn Prescott in the title dovekeeper roles, Sam Neill as first-century Jewish scholar and historian Josephus, and Diego Boneta as a star warrior of the Jewish army at Masada.

Though we do not know how well the television version follows Alice Hoffman’s book by the same name, we thought that these reader’s discussion ques-

Park Service presentation was enjoyed by all

tions prepared by the Jewish Book Council might add to your viewing experience.

Here’s the link:

jewishbookcouncil.org/book/ the-dovekeepers?A=SearchRes ult&SearchID=13066383&Obje ctID=4400431&ObjectType=35.

FROM THE T TO TEL AVIV,

On March 24, National Park Service Ranger John McNiff captivated and enthralled an audience of 21, including seven from Tamarisk, at Congregation Am David. The enthusiastic and animated presentation centered on the colonial history of Rhode Island and Providence’s founder Roger Williams. McNiff was able to weave the story of the period into a fabric, and he traced the evolution of the key American doctrines of

separation of church and state and religious freedom. Both of these ideals started right here in Rhode Island, and predated our country’s Bill of Rights by 150 years.

After his presentation, McNiff led the group in a fascinating open discussion, helping to mold the facts and interpretations into ideas we all could relate to. The program was part of Am David Chavurah’s calendar of events.

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March 27, 2015 |

5

A Taste of HaZamir

BY JANA BRENMAN jbrenman@jewishallianceri.org On March 22, 16 teen members of HaZamir Providence performed at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Choir is a network of choral chapters across the U.S. and Israel that provides Jewish teens with a high-level choral experience in a Jewish environment. HaZamir transcends boundaries, giving teenagers a valuable and transdenominational experience as an opportunity to forge close bonds and unite in a common goal: music.

Members come from all over Rhode Island for a weekly twohour rehearsal. Lunch is included. Music theory and exercises add to the choral aspect.

It’s not all work.

The weekly rehearsals of a shared repertoire lead to regional, national and international events where chapters meet, rehearse together and grow in friendship. The season culminates in the annual Gala Concert at a major New York City venue. This performance brings together music, Judaism, community and spirituality in a powerful blend.

“I just think that everyone is always so intimidated to go so far away with so many new people, but when you get there, you don’t even realize the numbers, and you just focus on how many friends you are making and learning your music,” says Rachel Wasser, a high school senior from Cranston.

“It always sounds great when we have rehearsals on Sundays at Emanu-El, but when you

add 300 more voices to those melodies? It’s just an unbelievable sound. It’s crazy how many kids can be in love with music and Judaism that they’d take the time out of their hectic schedules as teens, to learn these songs and perform them on these well-known stages.

It’s an unbelievable experience I’ve had the pleasure of going through four times.”

Penina Satlow, a high school sophomore from Providence, agrees that the experience is well worth it. “Not only has HaZamir helped to train my voice and strengthen my musical knowledge and abilities, but it’s also exposed me to so much Jewish culture and history, among the repertoire and the other singers.”

All are invited to come for a taste of HaZamir Providence as the group is recruiting for the next season! On April 19 at noon in the vestry at Temple EmanuEl in Providence, come meet the singers along with conductor Cantor Brian Mayer and accompanist Judith Stillman and learn how you can be a member of this exceptional group. And you’ll probably get a chance to listen to them sing, too.

HaZamir Providence is a program sponsored by the Jewish Alliance, Temple Emanu-El and the Sylvia Zimet Memorial Kol Kesem HaZamir Endowment.

The group rehearses with Cantor Brian Mayer.

JANA BRENMAN is director of Teen Engagement and Education at the Jewish Alliance. For more information on HaZamir, contact her at 401-421-4111, ext.

181.

PHOTOS | JANA BRENMAN

HaZamir on the bus to New York.

David Mayer, left, and others perform.

It’s not manna from heaven, but this Passover, provide something just as crucial to the survival of the Israeli people.

In a country where terrorism and sporadic rocket barrages are an all-too-frequent occurrence, your gift to Magen David Adom ensures Israel’s national paramedic organization has the medical supplies it needs to save lives. So this year, while you recount the story of the Jews’ redemption from slavery, your gift will help modern-day Israelis survive the threats they face today.

Thank you for making a gift today. And we wish you and your family a Pesach kasher v’sameach.

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The Jewish Voice

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NEW BEDFORD – The Holocaust Education and Memorial Committee has planned several events in April to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) on April 16, according to Cynthia Yoken, chair of the committee, part of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford. This year is also the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps in western Europe. Several events have been planned at different venues in the area to teach us about the Holocaust.

On April 9 at Bristol Community College, Esther Bauer will speak about her experiences as a Holocaust survivor at 4 p.m. in the Jackson Arts Center.

On April 15 at UMass Dartmouth, the Center for Jewish Culture and the Boivin Center for French Language and Culture present Sarah Miller and Joyce Miller. They will speak at noon in the Grand Reading Room of the Claire T. Carney Library on Sarah’s memoir, “Eluding the Nazis in Occupied France.” On April 16, the Zeiterion Theatre will be presenting “Nazi Hunter: Simon Wiesenthal,” the oneman show by Tom Duggan who portrays Simon Wiesen-

Wishing all the joys of the Passover holiday to you and those you hold dear. May you be blessed with happiness, prosperity, peace, and good health on Passover and always.

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thal. In partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford, the morning performance will sponsor area students to attend this performance and also to view an exhibit of local Holocaust survivor Abraham Landau by Spinner Publications. There will be a book discussion of Abe’s book, “Branded on My Arm and in My Soul” at 6 p.m. before the evening performance.

The community observance of Yom HaShoah will take place on Sunday, April 26, beginning with a memorial service at the Holocaust Monument in Buttonwood Park at 6:30 p.m. This year we will be paying tribute to the liberators of the concentration camps as well as the intellectuals, the clergy and the children of the Holocaust. Following a candlelight procession to Tifereth Israel Synagogue, Robert Fokos will speak about his childhood growing up in Hungary during the war, and more recently, rediscovering his Jewish roots.

There will be an exhibit of the liberators, of the life of Abraham Landau and artwork and essays done by the students in the area.

D’VAR TORAH

thejewishvoice.org

March 27, 2015 |

7

The power and inspiration of Passover

BY RABBI MARK ELBER I remember sitting in my father’s car, waiting for him to return from visiting patients while I was trying to memorize the Four Questions for the Seder (or the Vier Kashes, as my parents called them in their Galitzianer Yiddish). I had recently turned 9 and had just learned to read Hebrew that year. Though I attended Seders long before that, my stream of Seder memories really begins with that memory in the back seat of my father’s Oldsmobile 88. Passover, and the Seders in particular, connected me to a past of mythological import.

The melodies my mother and father sang connected me to the grandparents I never knew, connected me to the obliterated past that they were fortunate to survive.

Part of the power of Passover is its ability to encapsulate and convey so much so succinctly.

The combination of the Haggadah and the ritual foods, the melodies, and the framework of questions that lends itself to relating personally to the story – all come together to create a visceral experience that places us in a continuum that

starts with our foundational myths and continues beyond us to the dream of a future Utopia or redemption. By myth, I don’t mean a bubbe-mayse or fairy tale, but rather a story that tells a truth greater than historical facts, that conveys deep meaning and addresses the broad sweep of life. This power of the Seder experience is what makes it the most celebrated of Jewish rituals, whether it is conducted with an adapted or completely revised Haggadah or whether it has morphed into simply a meal with matzah eaten in memory of one’s past Seders. There are Haggadot written from a feminist or socialist perspective, Haggadot that address modern day Pharaohs, and even Haggadot from whose pages God is as absent as Moses from their pages. However, the universal tale of liberation that is central to the Haggadah remains perennially inspiring.

Our tradition, structured as it is around canonical texts, has often evolved through divining new insights in older formulations. The fact that Hebrew had no symbols for its vowel sounds until around the year 800 CE, facilitates many striking rereadings of Torah that open the

texts further. One of my favorites rereads the phrase for “the Exodus from Egypt,” (yetzi’at mitzrayim) as yetzi’at meytzarim, exodus from “narrow places”; these could be physical or psychological confi nes – the innumerable ways in which we limit ourselves or in which external circumstances constrict us. Suddenly our ancestors’ Exodus becomes emblematic of every sort of confi nement, and our confrontation with the Biblical story includes within it our contemporary conditions.

The word Haggadah literally means “telling.” The book’s name comes from Exodus 13:8 that says “you shall tell (v’higgad’ta) your child on that day” (the 15th of Nisan) about the Exodus from Egypt – literally “when I went out from Egypt”. That phrase “when I went out from Egypt” is central to the Haggadah. One of the peaks of the Seder is when we recite that “in every generation one is obligated to see him/ herself as if s/he personally went out from Egypt.” Identifying with the story, experiencing it as our story, not only as the story of our ancestors who lived 3,300 years ago, is a crucial component of the Seder. That

Holy Moses, don’t worry!

A three-step process for the worrywart in all of us

BY KARA MARZIALI kmarziali@jewishallianceri.org There is a small sign on the bulletin board in my office that reads: Don’t let worry get you down. Remember Moses started out as a basket case.

This witticism reminds me daily to free myself from worry.

All too often, we let unnecessary cares distress us. The uncertainly of life, agitation from the mundane, personal struggles or the burden of work can often trouble our souls. (Can you even imagine the anxiety Moses carried around trying to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?!)

The dictionary describes worry as “to torment oneself with or suffer from dist u rbi n g t hou g ht s.” T he word worry comes from the Old English wyrgan, meaning “to strangle.” That’s precisely what worry does. It strangles our minds, seizing our thoughts and choking our better judgment.

I see my mind like Pharaoh.

He is powerful and often tyrannical. (Let my worry go!)

Worrying is worrisome, anxiety is nothing but trouble, and losing sleep is never useful.

Agonizing over situations paralyzes productivity, and problem solving is stifled. It can also cause difficulties in relationships. The trouble is, many nervous minds are simply running on the habit of excess concern, and the worrisome thoughts

take on a life of their own.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

We can let go of the shackles of apprehension, uneasiness and fret. We simply need to interrupt the worry habit. Easier said than done, but I have found freedom from anxiety by following these three actions: stop complaining, accept the

situation as it is and adopt an attitude of gratitude. It sounds simple – almost too simple – but this three-step process really works.

Again, I ask you to think back to Moses…. Boy, did the Israelites fret and complain! God sent manna from heaven and they still worried, grabbing more bread than they were instructed to take. (And we all know how that turned out.)

Try to avoid worrying whenever possible and cast your cares on loftier thoughts. This is not always easy, especially this time of year when the preparation for Passover demands

so much of us. That’s when the “It would be enough” refrain in Dayenu during the Seder comes to mind. Because sometimes it is enough. And let’s face it, all our worrying will not add a single moment to our already busy lives. In fact, chronic worriers can actually shorten their lives.

So, as nature shifts her energy and shakes off her winter mantle, I invite you to do the same. Let’s release the negativity of the past and surrender concerns for what’s to come. “Pesach pressure” is a wasted emotion. Your “Oys” should not be louder than the celebration and appreciation of the holiday. (Remember that cobwebs and curtains are not hametz!)

Instead of anxiety, let’s recondition our minds, breathe new life into old behaviors and focus on gratitude. Moses’ song of deliverance (Exodus 15:1) is an exemplary prayer of thanksgiving. My sincere hope for you this Passover is liberation from worry. I ask God to free us from discontentment and instead fi ll us with gratitude. May we all honor the simple rhythms of nature, and rest in the joy of the season. Hag same’ah and Al tid’ag!

KARA MARZIALI is the director of Communications for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

section introduces the eating of matzah, maror and haroset – foods that are meant to give us a tactile connection to the experience of the Exodus. Our tradition is fi lled with practices that try to both spiritualize the physical and express the spiritual through the physical.

Rather than being merely a system of disembodied beliefs, our tradition is built around practices that give our bodies physical memories of our spiritual experiences.

Much of the structure of the Haggadah is focused around teaching the next generation by having the youngest ask the Four Questions near the beginning of the Seder, and having various elements of the Seder provoke questions (such as what is the meaning of this or that special food), of hiding the afikoman, of the kid-friendly songs at the Seder’s end, etc. So much of the Seder experience has to do with our mouths – either the words that come out or the foods that go in. One commentary explains that the word

Pesach (Passover) should be understood as peh sah (conversing mouth) and Pharaoh (Par’oh) with its letters switched around to reveal its hidden meaning of peh ra (evil mouth).

Language is central to our tradition, starting from the very beginning of the Torah in which God creates the universe via divine speech. Words have great power. What we say and how we say it affects our consciousness. As with the words of prayer, the more familiar we are with the words we recite, the more we can inhabit them and allow them to transport us. The great questions remain from generation to generation – the answers evolve over time. So much of the culture in which we live is fi xated on the fashions of the moment, on the ephemeral, whereas Passover tries to connect us to the eternal. May this Passover be a joyous one. Hag kasher v’same’ah!

MARK ELBER is rabbi of Temple Beth El in Fall River.

Candle Lighting Times

Greater Rhode Island March 27 ................................ 6:45 April 3 1st day of Pesach ...6:53 April 4 2nd day of Pesach....7:58 April 9 7th day of Pesach .....6:59 April 10 8th day of Pesach .7:00 April 11 Pesach ends ...........8:06

Women’s Alliance

of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island

Come celebrate Rosh Hodesh with us!

Thursday, April 23, 2015 | 4 Iyar 5775 12:00 - 1:15pm Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence Cost: $10 (includes lunch) Speaker: Ross Kraemer "Smyrna Sadie, Synagogue Lady: Did Women Run the Show in Some Ancient Shuls?”

Ross S. Kraemer, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies and Judaic Studies at Brown University, specializes in early Christianity and other religions of the Greco-Roman Mediterranean, including early Judaism. While much of her research focuses on aspects of women's religions in the Greco-Roman world, particularly Christian and Jewish women, her interests also extend to questions of theory and method in the academic study of religion, the study of women and religion cross-culturally and trans-historically, and even religion and modern media.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Danielle Germanowski at 401.421.4111 ext. 109, or dgermanowski@jewishallianceri.org, or visit jewishallianceri.org/rosh-hodesh/.

8 | March 27, 2015

OPINION

Home for the holidays Somehow, throughout the years, our house has become the gathering place for my extended fami l y. N o b o d y else actually lives in this area. But they all end up at my door.

We started out small …

EDITOR My siblings for the High H o l y D a y s FRAN when they OSTENDORF were young, u na f f i l iated and craved family. They lived closer to me than to our parents. Gradually, more family members wanted in on the fun.

Soon, even my parents were making the trip. And because gathering means a schlep on everyone’s part, the crowd settles in for a nice long visit.

For Thanksgiving, that means a full house, beginning on Tuesday or Wednesday before the holiday until Sunday and sometimes Monday after.

Feeding and entertaining is a challenge, but everybody chips in. And, thankfully, dinners out have become a tradition.

Pesach is a whole other story.

This holiday, by definition, is much more labor-intensive.

And eating out (or bringing in food) is often just not an option. So the thought of my family arriving for the first Seder and staying a couple of days was pretty daunting at first.

But it’s been happening since my kids were young, and now I look forward to the family reunion.

My sister usually arrives early to help. We both love to cook,

and we enjoy cooking together.

It’s bonding time. Through the years, everyone has learned to prepare all the traditional foods in my kitchen. My sister specializes in fancy vegetable dishes. My mother arrives and makes the matzah balls. And like all other holidays, there are expectations and menu items that can’t be changed.

Feel free to add to the menu.

But forget about taking away.

It wouldn’t be a traditional Seder without…

But this year, things at my house are going to be different.

Family members are a bit more scattered than usual. Which means there are those complicated travel plans. So instead of the usual large, multi-day gathering, we are anticipating a small Seder.

And the biggest change of all. The younger family members have volunteered to play a bigger role. This is quite a change and will take some getting used to. Will they be able to handle it? Will they really clean up? Am I just being a paranoid mother? Perhaps I’m a bit of a control freak?

We are told that the purpose of parenting is to instill skills in our children so that they can leave the house and lead meaningful, purposeful lives.

And support themselves, too.

That’s a pretty tall order. So I’m going to step back and allow those volunteers to take over this year. I know they’ll be practicing life skills. If anyone asks for advice I’ll give it.

And I’ll try not to criticize, not even silently.

Maybe, just maybe, another nice holiday tradition will result.

LETTERS Thanks to the community

As those who know us know, our family has recently suffered some serious setbacks, including medical conditions and our house exploding from a gas leak. Difficult as this period has been, it has been made bearable by the help and support of so many people in the Providence Jewish community who were right there for us, offering and providing every sort of imaginable assistance.

In particular the wonderful community at the Jewish

Community Day School really stepped up, including the administration, faculty and staff, and many parents, as did the wonderful folks at the Jewish Alliance who offered us critical child care when we needed it most. We’d like to register our profound gratitude and thanks to these and others, and say how wonderful it is to be part of such a strong community.

Pessin-Rothman family Providence, R.I.

Re: Advocacy for Israel

It is regrettable that Jewish people can be found among those who defame Israel. If Jewish people do not stand up for the Jewish state, who will?

We do not have the luxury of engaging in polite political discussions when Israel’s existence it is at stake. There are many millions who are eager to defame Jews and the Jewish state. They do not need Jewish help.

This does not mean unreservedly agreeing with every-

thing Israel does. Israel strives to be the best world citizen it can be, under circumstances that no other country in the world has to bear, and makes mistakes like any country.

But no purported mistakes can justify risking the existence of the country. Israel needs advocates, especially Jewish ones, to make its case and ensure its survival, and needs them right now.

Russell Raskin, Esq. Providence, R.I.

The Jewish Voice

A prophet in our midst H. Philip West Jr., executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island from 1988 to 2006, is a prophet in our midst. Like such Biblical prophets as Amos or Isaiah or Jeremiah, West is not so much a “foreteller” a s a “ fo r t h tel ler.” T h at is to say, he is a man who “tells it like it IT SEEMS is,” a man who is not afraid to TO ME afflict the comfortable even as he comforts RABBI JIM the afflicted.

ROSENBERG An ordained Methodist minister, he has devoted the last several decades to speaking out against the social ills of contemporary American society – with special attention to our home state of Rhode Island – while warning all who are willing to listen of the consequences of our continuing tolerance of widespread political, social and economic injustice.

West’s encyclopedic volume, “Secrets & Scandals: Reforming Rhode Island, 1986-2006,” is a labor of passion and love.

Over the course of almost 700 pages (plus an additional 100 pages of meticulous notes), West details the efforts of Common Cause and other reformminded groups to make Rhode Island’s government more responsive to the citizens it is supposed to serve.

The scope of West’s book is vast: pay-to-play corruption contaminating even the highest levels of political office, lobbying abuses, the quest for thoroughgoing ethics reform, campaign finance, fiscal oversight, endemic conflicts of interest, all this is just for starters! Although such topics could make for very heavy reading, West is a gifted writer and a master storyteller. Those of us who are relatively close followers of Rhode Island news know in advance how many of the stories West tells eventually turn out.

Nevertheless, West offers a rich supply of behind-the-scenes particulars to which only a handful of individuals have been privy until now.

With a novelist’s sensibilities, West sets up one “You Are There” scene after the other.

For example, “Snow blew from impenetrable clouds on December 17 (1991), one of the year’s shortest days, and night seemed to be falling at mid-afternoon.”

Or “(Nancy Hsu Fleming’s) contralto voice had the warm timbre of a bassoon.” Or, with more than a touch of irony, “On June 18 (1992), in a red paisley tie and gray suit, DiPrete raised his hand and swore to tell the truth.”

While Rhode Island’s secrets and scandals are seen primarily through West’s eyes in his role as the executive director of our state’s Common Cause, he is generous in giving credit where credit is due. Thus, he highlights the many contributions of Alan Hassenfeld, chairman and CEO of Hasbro Toys, 19892008. He lets his readers “hear” Hassenfeld’s inspiring words delivered at a fundraiser for the “good government” RIght Now! Coalition in October 1992:

“How can we protect and defend a government that empowers us to govern ourelves?How can we make a government good for all?”

“Our goal from the beginning has been to make Rhode Island what it should be – a place of hope, a place of equality, a place of freedom – rather than what it had become – a place of despair, a place of inequality and special interests, a den of corruption, almost a prison.”

In addition to permitting many others to speak during the course of his narrative, West further humanizes himself by admitting his shortcomings. Early on, he states: “Anger has always been a problem for me...” We later learn that one of his supporters needs to remind him that he has “a chaotic managerial style” and seems incapable of “timely attention to administrative detail.”

Of all the many issues that West brings up in his magnum opus, the separation of powers gets the most attention. Sheldon Whitehouse, as Gov. Bruce Sundlun’s policy chief, instructed West back in April 1992, “... you’ll never cut the deep root of Rhode Island’s corruption until you get to separation of powers...”

“You can’t have Americanstyle democracy without honest-to-God separation of powers. But there is no such thing

in Rhode Island...”

Continuing his lesson in civics, Whitehouse emphasized that “Our problem in Rhode Island is that the legislature exercises broad appointment power of a kind forbidden to Congress by the Supreme Court. By naming people to boards that execute state laws, the speaker and the Senate majority leader control most of state government.”

Rhode Island’s uniquely powerful legislature and correspondingly weak executive go all the way back to the Royal Charter of 1663, which “established the General Assembly as Rhode Island’s government.”

On the very last page of “Secrets & Scandals,” West asks: “How can we protect and defend a government that empowers us to govern ourselves? How can we make government good for all?”

Looking back at the two decades of attempts at reforming Rhode Island, so ably documented by West, readers might be tempted to shrug their shoulders and lament, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” Just a few weeks ago, former speaker of the House, Gordon Fox – once viewed as a beacon of reform – confessed to the crimes of bribery, misappropriating campaign funds and falsifying tax returns.

On the other hand, Common Cause’s protracted struggle to bring separation of powers to Rhode Island did lead to our voters overwhelmingly supporting separation of power amendments to the state constitution (Question 1) in the November 2004 election. However, this being Rhode Island, ever since that 2004 election reform groups have had to fight to convert the spirit of the law into the mechanics of political practice.

As Wendell Phillips warned us well over a hundred years ago, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”

“Secrets & Scandals” should be on the bookshelf of every Rhode Islander who cares about good government; it is a book to be consulted over and over again as old issues continue to appear in new guises. West certainly knows how to tell a good story. Too bad for Rhode Island that every story he tells happens to be true.

JAMES B. ROSENBERG is rabbi emeritus at Temple Habonim in Barrington. Contact him at rabbiemeritus@templehabonim.org.

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OPINION

thejewishvoice.org

March 27, 2015 |

9

Israeli Elections 2015 The first time I voted in an Israeli election was during my time in the IDF. I had lived in Israel for just over a year, and the political landscape was still a bit of a mystery to me. The army set aside a room on base as a place for all of the soldiers to vote. While I waited in line with my friends,

LETTERS HOME DANIEL STIEGLITZ most of whom were around 1819 years old, I looked at the list of candidates and asked them, “Who should I vote for?”

I might as well have said, “Free vote here!”

Within moments of asking the question, my young friends

began engaging each other in heated political debates and discussions, and I literally found myself caught in the middle.

They each had an opinion as to whom I should vote for and why, citing facts and statistics to support their points. It impressed me that not only did my young friends know these facts, but that they were so passionate about politics in their home country of Israel.

This year I once again saw this same passion expressed by the citizens of Israel. It’s a passion that I always felt was mostly lacking in America, especially among American youth. Election Day in Israel is treated like a national holiday. Schools and businesses are closed. This year almost three-quarters of those eligible to vote turned out at the polls. Of all the voter images I saw from that day, my favorite was a bride voting in her wedding dress. This is how seriously Israelis take their elections.

When I still lived in America,

during a time when I wasn’t certain if I’d ever fulfill my dream of aliyah (immigration to Israel), my heart already faced Israel.

Although I was a resident of the United States, the primary topic I focused on when voting in U.S. elections wasn’t the U.S. economy or the wars that the country was fighting. Even then my focus was centered on which American candidate would be most supportive of policies toward Israel.

With the Israeli political system so dissimilar to that of the U.S. electoral college that I grew up with, I still find myself a little overwhelmed by the choices facing me in each Israeli election.

This is partially because just about every Israeli citizen treats his or her vote as if it will be the deciding factor among the millions of votes cast. One of my friends said that her husband even promised to do all of the dishes for an entire year if she voted for his candidate. (She declined his offer, and voted for the

candidate that she believed in.)

Not only are there many candidates to choose from, but numerous parties to choose from as well. Just about everyone has a candidate and party that most closely represents what they want Israel to be in the immediate future.

I have chosen to exercise my right of keeping my vote a secret.

Some of my friends find this odd in a country where everyone is so open about many things, including the candidate they voted for. What I will reveal is that I voted more toward the right.

I want peace as much as anyone. First we need to see Israel’s so-called partners in peace making changes of their own; for example, not standing by terrorist organizations such as Hamas, before peace can be achieved.

The “land for peace” model has been proven beyond ineffective.

Israel withdrew from Gaza less than a decade ago and, as late as this past year, we have gotten nothing but pain, grief and rock-

et fire in return for this deal.

Still, I took my vote very seriously. Up until the moment I cast my vote, I found myself wavering between various candidates, trying to decide which one best represented not just my safety and well-being, but the (Jewish) values I want my safety and wellbeing guarded with. Only time will tell if I made the right decision. However, what is important is that, like most of the country, I made the decision feeling as if my single vote was the most important one of all.

DANIEL STIEGLITZ (dstieglitz@gmail.com), a Providence native, made aliyah in 2007. He holds a master’s degree in creative writing from Bar Ilan University; works as a trip coordinator at Sachlav/Israelonthehouse, a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip organizer; does freelance content writing; and lives in Jerusalem.

His short story “End” was just published in FictionMagazines. com’s magazine, New Realm.

Elections in Israel: Is Racism a Jewish Value?

BY NINA TANNENWALD Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s victory in the Israeli elections reinforced some deeply depressing trends in Israel. The concrete outcome of the Israeli election – what the ruling coalition will be – may be unclear for several weeks. What is clear is the declining quality of Israeli democracy.

Yes, there were contested elections, with at least 26 parties running. But elections in Israel have become a device for moving Israel increasingly in the direction of right wing ethnic nationalism, not democratic values.

Israeli democracy is in steady decline. We’re not talking about soft authoritarianism here, as in Putin’s Russia. We’re talking about hard racism. During the election campaign, Netanyahu used the kind of blatant anti-Arab racist language to scare his right-wing supporters into going to the polls that would be unthinkable in a Western country.

LETTERS We can now look back on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress and evaluate its impact. My assessment: not helpful.

Everyone knew what he would say, there was nothing new. But the PM’s support for Republican politics was needlessly divisive and erodes Israel’s long-term need for bipartisan support. Seen as a warmonger, he gave fresh ammunition to the Israel haters and the worldwide boycott Israel movement. While Netanyahu wanted to undermine Obama, he offered no realistic alternative strategy. Neither did the 47 Senate Republicans whose incredibly irresponsible “open” letter to Iran, intended to score political points against Obama, could

He publically expressed strong alarm at the high level of Arab voter turnout. Israeli Arabs make up 20 percent of Israel’s population.

Imagine if a U.S. presidential campaigner publically expressed alarm at the high level of black turnout. “No other Western leader would dare utter such a racist remark,” Shelly Yacimovich, a member of the Labor Party, wrote on Twitter.

“Imagine a warning that starts, ‘Our rule is in danger, black voters are streaming in quantity to the polling stations.’ ” Indeed.

Imagine, even, that a leader stated “Our rule is in danger, Jewish voters are streaming to the polls.”

It’s hard to know what’s more depressing: that Netanyahu thought that appealing to overt racism might work or the fact that it did work. Earlier, on March 8, foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, said that “disloyal Arabs

Re: Netanyahu’s speech sabotage negotiations and lead to war.

It is wishful thinking that Iran would cave in if sanctions were increased. Not just Obama but world leaders including Conservative British Prime Minister Cameron have warned that if that happens, Iran is most likely to walk away from talks and their willingness to allow inspections and reduce enrichment will be gone. Attacking Iran would then be the option to stop its nuclear program. Instigating such a U.S.-Iran war may have been Netanyahu’s goal, but such a war is likely to be disastrous for all with unforeseeable consequences. The U.S. has already wasted enormous resources on wars in

should be beheaded.” One could be excused for thinking of a Jewish ISIS. This is what passes for acceptable discourse in Israel these days. Elections there have become a vehicle, not for democracy, but for legitimizing anti-democratic values and practices. The problem goes deeper than simply the craven election rhetoric of leaders who want to get re-elected. Public opinion polling provides troubling evidence of the rising racism of Israeli society.

Polls consistently show rising anti-Arab sentiment among Israeli Jews. For example, a March 2010 poll by Tel Aviv University found that 49.5 percent of Israeli Jewish high school students believe Israeli Arabs should not be entitled to the same rights as Jews in Israel. Fifty-six percent believe Arabs should not be eligible to be in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

In October 2014, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin called for Israel to live up to its promise as a

land of equality and to cure the epidemic of racism. “Israeli society is sick, and it is our duty to treat this disease,” he said.

But the election showed that Israel is getting sicker. Racism and discrimination are becoming acceptable among large segments of the public. A majority of Israelis, responding to Netanyahu’s racist scare tactics, voted for continued military occupation and the denial of Palestinian rights. Millions of West Bank Palestinians, whose lives are entirely controlled by Israel, did not get to cast a ballot in the recent elections. They live under an occupation apparatus that entrenches two separate legal systems, unjust military courts and a permit regime controlling most aspects of Palestinian life.

Netanyahu’s statement just before the vote that he would never allow creation of a Palestinian state confirmed the suspicions of many observers that he had never been serious about a two-state solution. It added to the picture

of a state determined to head toward international isolation.

These deeply troubling trends suggest that the Obama administration will need a new course of action. It should begin by making clear that it will no longer use its veto to protect Israel from resolutions in the UN Security Council.

Further, the outcome of the election is an open invitation to the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, or BDS, movement. As Israel’s government adopts a stance of permanent intransigence, even those who consider themselves friends of Israel will come to believe that the only strategy left for achieving a settlement of the conflict with the Palestinians is overt external pressure on the Israeli government.

NINA TANNENWALD is Director of the International Relations Program at Brown University.

Re: Tannenwald letter (March 13)

the region, at the least we would face a big spike in oil prices. That would not be popular, even in our own Jewish community, and those that are seen to have promoted such a war will be blamed.

Many analysts, including some in the Israeli intelligence community, think Netanyahu was exaggerating the danger from Iran, perhaps in order to help his reelection. In that case Americans would be best off supporting continued negotiations, reserving judgment about a deal with Iran that has not even been finalized, and resisting calls for yet another Middle East war.

Barry Schiller North Providence, R.I.

Nina Tannenwald’s nefarious letter denigrated P.M. Netanyahu’s recent address to Congress: “Netanyahu has no alternative plan for dealing with the Iran nuclear issues”; praised “moderate” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and R.I. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse for boycotting the speech.

Netanyahu clearly specified steps for lifting sanctions against Iran’s nuclear arsenals, including I.C.B.M.s: Iran must renounce threats to “wipe Israel off the face of the earth,” cease supporting/ supplying terrorist organizations and cease enrichment of weaponsgrade uranium embedded in hundreds of underground centrifuges. This current Iranian agenda contradicts its statement: ...”for peaceful purposes only.” Iran sits

on an eternity of oil; why then is it pursuing enrichment of weaponsgrade uranium and I.C.B.M.s? For 36 years Iran’s deception and defiance of U.N. inspections contradicts the Obama administration’s “any deal is better than no deal.”

Bibi Netanyahu is a leader imbued with courageous leadership, moral clarity, insight and wisdom. Nina would do well not to denigrate but to emulate him and strive to escape from the “twilight zone.” Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them (Santayana). Indeed, “history keeps repeating itself” in the guise of current Neville Chamberlains. She is never so blind as one who cannot see!

Anne Schwartz Providence, R.I.

10 | March 27, 2015

Ongoing Alliance Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Noon lunch; 1 p.m. program. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under 60 with disabilities. Neal or Elaine, 401421-4111, ext. 107.

Am David Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every weekday.

Temple Am David, 40 Gardiner St., Warwick. 11:15 a.m. program; Noon lunch. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under 60 with disabilities. Elaine or Steve 401-732-0047.

Through | April 16

“Silence and Stones/Captured by Memory: Photographs and Thoughts from Poland” by Alan Metnick. gallery (401) | Dwares JCC. What began as a one-time visit to Auschwitz evolved into a complex relationship with a haunting locale. For 45 years, Alan Metnick has expressed many of his thoughts and feelings through images including drawings, stained glass, quilts and photography. Some of the images in this exhibit are drawn from an upcoming book of photographs and texts to be published later this year. For more information, contact Erin Moseley, director of Arts & Culture, at 401-421-4111, ext. 108 or emoseley@jewishallianceri.org.

Through | April 30

Watercolors and Large Acrylics.

Temple Habonim Gallery. Paula Visnoski and Shirley Koller exhibit their works.

Visnoski works in watercolor, oil, graphic design and photography. Koller is a sculptor and painter. 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. Hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and by appointment. For information, call 401-245-6536, or email gallery@ templehabonim.org.

Friday | March 27 PJ Library Passover Storytime. 10-11 a.m. Dwares JCC. Enjoy a PJ Library story, songs, movement, crafts and a holiday-themed snack. All children ages 5 and under are welcome. To RSVP or for more information, contact Michelle Cicchitelli at 401-421-4111, ext. 178 or mcicchitelli@jewishallianceri.org.

KTantan Shabbat and Dinner. 5:30 p.m.

All are welcome! Celebrate Shabbat with children age birth–5 years. Songs, games and crafts to learn about Shabbat followed by dinner. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. 401-3316070, ext. 113. info@temple-beth-el.org.

Sunday | March 29

Sprouts Preschool Program in Partnership with the PJ Library. 9 a.m.Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Rd., East Greenwich. 401-885-6600, toratyisrael.org. Our March Topic: Passover.

CALENDAR Jewish Meditation. 9:30 a.m. Judaism has a long tradition of meditation and contemplation. Course is geared for beginners looking to try something new. Sessions are 30 minutes and will consist of education, discussion and 10-15 minutes of sitting as we build our practice together. Beth Sholom downstairs chapel. 275 Camp St., Providence. 401-621-9393.

Yoga Shalom. Two sessions: 9:30 or 10:30 a.m. Led by author/originator Cantor Lisa Levine, Yoga Shalom combines Jewish spiritual discipline and yoga practice, bringing together body, mind and spirit. Adaptable postures.

Cong. Agudath Achim. Taunton, 36 Winthrop Street (lower level), Adults/teens.

Open to all. $15/50-min. session. Bring a mat. Chair modifications included. For later group or personal practice, contact Rabbi Anne Heath 781-956-8673 or rabbi.taunton@verizon.net.

Afternoon of music with singer-songwriter Craig Sonnenfeld at Congregation Am David. 2-4 p.m. Born and raised a block from the Atlantic Ocean on the South Jersey shore, Craig grew up during the folk-boom of the ‘60s and was influenced by such artists as Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Linda Ronstadt and others. Many have described Craig’s original songs as sounding like traditional folk songs: some influenced by old classic country music, and some influenced by old rural blues stylings.

Admission is $5, and is payable at the door! Contact Mark at 401-2485010 for information.

Early Childhood Center Heroes Dinner. 6 p.m. Dwares JCC. Join us as we honor our David C. Isenberg Family Early Childhood Center Heroes, David. C. Isenberg for his philanthropy and Judy Nagle for her 25 years of dedication. Dinner, dancing and auction.

Sponsored by the David C. Isenberg Family Early Childhood Center Parent Committee. Admission $54. For more information, contact Nicole Katzman at 401-421-4111, ext. 180 or nkatzman@jewishallianceri.org.

Tuesday | March 31 TNT! (Tuesday Night Talmud). 8-9 p.m. Open to men, women and teens of all levels and backgrounds. This is a collaborative group study of the first chapter of Masechet Berachot, tractate dealing with blessings. Meets weekly in the rabbi’s study at Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. For information, 401-621-9393.

Wednesday | April 1 Cranston Senior Guild meeting. 1 p.m., Tamarisk Assisted Living. 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick. Followed by bingo, refreshments and raffle, All men and women ages 55 years and older are welcome to join. Cranston residency is not required.

Calendar Submissions

APRIL. 10 issue, SENIORS – must be received by APRIL 1.

APRIL 24 issue, MOTHER’S DAY – must be received by APRIL 15.

SEND ALL CALENDAR ITEMS TO: editor@jewishallianceri.org with the subject line “CALENDAR.” Calendar entries may be edited for content, length and relevance. Please submit two weeks prior to issue of publication.

The Jewish Voice Jewish Culture through Film: “50 Children.” 7 p.m. Dwares JCC. 2014 Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Historical Programming. With guest speaker Steven Pressman, producer and author.

In the spring of 1939, a Jewish lawyer and his wife left their home and two children in Philadelphia and embarked on a bold and improbable plan to rescue fifty children from Nazi-controlled Vienna. Despite the oncoming horrors of the Holocaust, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus traveled into the heart of the Nazi empire in an effort to save innocent lives. Their mission would turn an ordinary American couple into heroes. Their incredible story has never been told... until now. Admission $10 | Members $6. For more information or to RSVP, contact Erin Moseley at 401-421-4111 ext. 108 or emoseley@jewishallianceri. org.

Mothers Circle. 7-9 p.m. Dwares JCC. Join the Mothers Circle to learn about Jewish rituals, holidays, ethics and how to create Jewish family life at home.

This free course began in Jan. and runs through May 13. No experience necessary! All are welcome, and participants do not have to be affiliated with a Jewish institution. For information, contact Sara Foster at 401-421-4111 ext. 184 or sfoster@jewishallianceri.org.

Sunday | April 5 Jewish Meditation. 9:30 a.m. Judaism has a long tradition of meditation and contemplation. Course is geared for beginners looking to try something new. Sessions are 30 minutes and will consist of education, discussion and 10-15 minutes of sitting as we build our practice together. Beth Sholom downstairs chapel. 275 Camp St., Providence. 401-621-9393.

Tuesday | April 7 TNT! (Tuesday Night Talmud). 8-9 p.m. Open to men, women and teens of all levels and backgrounds. This is a collaborative group study of the first chapter of Masechet Berachot, tractate dealing with blessings. Meets weekly in the rabbi’s study at Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. For information, 401-621-9393.

Sunday | April 12 Jewish Meditation. 9:30 a.m. Judaism has a long tradition of meditation and contemplation. Course is geared for beginners looking to try something new. Sessions are 30 minutes and will consist of education, discussion and 10-15 minutes of sitting as we build our practice together. Beth Sholom downstairs chapel. 275 Camp St., Providence. 401-621-9393.

Monday | April 13

An Evening with Ambassador Martin S. Indyk. 7 p.m. Temple Beth-El, Providence. Ambassador Indyk will analyze the developments in the Arab world – from revolution to sectarian warfare. What does it all mean for Israel’s security and hope for peace?

Ambassador Indyk plays a leading role in building bridges to peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. info@ temple-beth-el.org.

Tuesday | April 14 TNT! (Tuesday Night Talmud). 8-9 p.m. Open to men, women and teens of all levels and backgrounds. This is a collaborative group study of the first

chapter of Masechet Berachot, tractate dealing with blessings. Meets weekly in the rabbi’s study at Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. For information, 401-621-9393.

Wednesday | April 15 Tamarisk Talk. Alice Goldstein, “Holocaust Remembrance Day” 6:30 p.m.

Tamarisk Community Room. The Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living, 3 Shalom Dr., Warwick, R.I. Free to the public. Please RSVP to dianneg@tamariskri.org or call at 401-732-0037.

“Against All Odds, Change Is Possible,” The 31st Annual Rhode Island Interfaith Commemoration of The Holocaust. 7 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, Providence.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Berdnt Wollschlaeger. Free and Open to the Public Mothers Circle. 7-9 p.m. Dwares JCC. Join the Mothers Circle to learn about Jewish rituals, holidays, ethics and how to create Jewish family life at home.

This free course began in Jan. and runs through May 13. No experience necessary! All are welcome, and participants do not have to be affiliated with a Jewish institution. For more information, contact Sara Foster at 401-421-4111 ext.

184 or sfoster@jewishallianceri.org.

Friday | April 17 PJ Library Storytime: Israel. 10-11 a.m. Dwares JCC. Join us for an Israelthemed storytime with PJ Library books, songs and movement, crafts and a holiday-themed snack. All children ages 5 and under are welcome. To RSVP or for more information, contact Michelle Cicchitelli at 401-421-4111, ext. 178 or mcicchitelli@jewishallianceri.org.

Shalom Friends A Music and Movement Class. 10-11 a.m. Jewish Community Day School of RI Library. Free of charge.

Yom HaShoah service. Temple Sinai.

7:30 p.m. Shireinu, the community chorus of Temple Sinai, will participate.

This service is open to the public. 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston.

Saturday | April 18 Night Out Under the Stars. Dusk to Dawn. Congregation Am David Chavurah. Skilled astronomer and director of the Frosty Drew Observatory, Scott MacNeill, offers a private viewing through the powerful telescope located at Ninigret Park, in Charlestown. Scott has an encyclopedic knowledge of his field, and is enthusiastic and engaging, making complex ideas seem simple. The Observatory will stay open as long as clouds, or the rising sun, don’t chase us out. The heated sky theater will be showcasing some of Scott’s astrophotography, and provide a respite from the cold early spring night. Dress for winter conditions. Call Mark at 401 248-5010 for more information.

Tuesday | April 21 Tamarisk Talk. Jim Goldman “Daily Money Management Programs” 6:30 p.m. Tamarisk Community Room. The Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living, 3 Shalom Dr., Warwick, R.I. Free to the public. Please RSVP to dianneg@ tamariskri.org or call at 401-7320037.

Yom HaZikaron/Israel Memorial Day Event. 7-8:30 p.m. Dwares JCC. Honoring our community members who have served in the IDF throughout the years, and remembering those who

have given their lives to protect the State of Israel. For more information, contact Gilor Meshulam at 401-4214111, ext. 121 or gmeshulam@ jewishallianceri.org

Wednesday | April 22

Touro Fraternal Organization New Member Open House. 6:30 p.m. Touro Hall, 45 Rolfe Square, Cranston. Attend a brief business meeting, followed by a Membership Committee presentation. and a kosher baked chicken dinner.

Following dinner, Michaela Johnson (co-host of The Rhode Show) will speak.

Open to all Jewish men age 18 and older. Free. RSVP to 401-785-0066 or email info@tourofraternal.org.

Thursday | April 23

Women’s Alliance of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island Rosh Hodesh. “Smyrna Sadie, Synagogue Lady: Did Women Run the Show in Some Ancient Shuls?” 12-1:15 p.m.

Dwares JCC. Tradition tells us that Rosh Hodesh (the marking of the new moon) was once celebrated by both Jewish men and women. In later years, Rosh Hodesh became primarily a women’s holiday – a day for women to be together to enjoy meaningful introspection, dialogue and study. Speaker: Ross Kraemer, professor emerita of Religious Studies and Judaic Studies, Brown University. For more information or to RSVP, contact Danielle Germanowski at 401-421-4111, ext. 109 or dgermanowski@jewishallianceri.org or visit jewishallianceri.org/rosh-hodesh/.

RSVP by April 15.

Yom HaAtzma’ut/Israel Independence Day Celebration. 5:30-7 p.m. Dwares JCC. Join us at the Jewish Alliance for an amazing all-Israel celebration featuring Kosher Israeli food (The Chubby Chickpea), an Israeli band, pita baking, a henna artist, workshops and more!

For more information, contact Gilor Meshulam at 401-421-4111, ext. 121 or gmeshulam@jewishallianceri.org.

Friday | April 24 Yom HaAtzma’ut service. Temple Sinai.

7:30 p.m. Shireinu, the community chorus of Temple Sinai, will participate.

This service is open to the public. 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston.

Sunday | April 26 Early Spring Wonderland Walk. 1:303:15 p.m. Join Congregation Am David’s Chavurah at the Rhode Island Audubon Society’s Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge in Coventry for a moderate walk (about 2 miles) past meadows and through the forest to Carr Pond! Bring water. Meet at the Refuge at 1:20. Walk is limited to 15 people; contact Mark at 401 2485010 to register, for more information, and last minute cancellation.

Wednesday | April 29 Mothers Circle. 7-9 p.m. Dwares JCC. Join the Mothers Circle to learn about Jewish rituals, holidays, ethics and how to create Jewish family life at home.

This free course began in Jan. and runs through May 13. No experience necessary! All are welcome, and participants do not have to be affiliated with a Jewish institution. For more information, contact Sara Foster at 401-421-4111 ext.

184 or sfoster@jewishallianceri.org.

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March 27, 2015 |

11

Lifelong Learning Collaborative launches series on aging well Lifelong Learning Collaborative’s (LLC) “What’s Next?” panel discussion series will run from April 7 through May 5.

The keynote talk will take place April 7 at 3:30 p.m. by Joseph F. Coughlin, founder and director of MIT’s AgeLab. Each Tuesday from 3:30-5:00 p.m., an expert-led panel will discuss such topics as aging in community, the role of the arts, the newest medical research and technologies to improve longevity and more.

Coughlin’s keynote will highlight AgeLab’s research on global aging, technology and innovation. “MIT AgeLab was created in 1999 to invent new ideas and creatively translate technologies into practical solutions that improve people’s health and enable them to ‘do things,’” Coughlin said.

“Equal to the need for ideas and new technologies is the belief that innovations in how products are designed, services are delivered, or policies are implemented are of critical importance to our quality of life tomorrow.”

What’s Next?” is created and sponsored by Lifelong Learning Collaborative, in collaboration with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, with grants from the Washington Trust Company and The Rhode Island Foundation.

The program is hosted by Temple Beth-El in Providence.

The series is free and open to the public. Registration is required at lifelonglearningcollaborative.org. Information on each session can also be found there.

Lifelong Learning Collaborative (LLC, formerly BCLIR), a

not-for-profit, organization in Providence, offers its 450 members a variety of opportunities for lifelong learning – courses, lectures, cultural events and social activities – in a pleasant, accessible environment at a reasonable cost.

What’s next series schedule

All sessions are held at Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence

Tuesday, April 7, 3:30 p.m.

Living Longer and Better: how new technology will reinvent old age Keynote Speaker: Joseph F. Coughlin, Ph.D., founder and director of MIT AgeLab

Tuesday, April 14, 3:30 p.m.

Aging In Community: Benefits for all; most promising models Moderator: Angelina Gennis, MIT AgeLab

Tuesday, April 21, 3:30 p.m.

Wellness And Health: Latest research, programs that work Moderator: Dr. Tracey Cohen, medical director, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island

Tuesday, April 28, 3:30 p.m.

The Art Of Aging: Innovative trends, new options for seniors Moderator: Catherine Taylor, former director, Rhode Island Dept. of Elderly Affairs

Tuesday, May 5, 3:30 p.m.

Technology In Our Lives: Cutting edge technology for homecare and healthcare Moderator: Chad Jenkins, associate professor, Brown University Computer Science

A new guide to the secret meaning of Jewish words

BY ZACHARY SOLOMON What do Jews speak? The answer isn’t exactly simple. And how could it be, when Yiddish, Aramaic, ancient and modern Hebrew, Ladino and Arabic all play into the mix?

Which is exactly why the Jewish English Lexicon feels so necessary. The JEL, a collaborative repository of the distinctively Jewish words used by Englishspeaking Jews, helps organize our slippery, ever-growing lingua franca. “Think of it as the Wikipedia or Urban Dictionary of Jewish language,” states the welcome.

The philosophy behind the JEL is that the words that English-speaking Jews use indicate not only that they’re Jews, but what kind of Jew they are, too.

For instance, an English speaker who uses the word avodah, meaning “work,” has a higher

likelihood of having attended a Jewish summer camp; whereas one who uses the phrase ba’al tshuvah to refer to a secular Jew who became religious is most likely Orthodox.

A visitor can peruse at random, or narrow his search by language of origin, regions in which the word is most used, types of people who tend to use the word, and dictionaries in which the word appears.

It’s all quite helpful if you want to know more about, say, bageling.

ZACHARY SOLOMON wrote this for Jewniverse, a daily email list and blog featuring extraordinary, inspirational, forgotten, and just-plain-strange dispatches from Jewish culture, tradition and history. Look for it at TheJewniverse.com.

‘Golda’s Balcony’ returns to Rhode Island WAKEFIELD – “Golda’s Balcony” returns to the Rhode Island stage this spring thanks to The Contemporary Theater Company.

Running from April 10 to 18, “Golda’s Balcony” is a onewoman play about the life and politics of Golda Meir. It compares the challenges of her difficult personal life and eventful political career, examining how a strong-willed girl from Kiev earned her way into one of the most powerful and controversial offices in the world.

The production features regionally-acclaimed Sandra Laub as Golda Meir, a role she played to rave reviews last year.

The Providence Journal said, “Sandra Laub is fabulous as Meir, an actress who captures Meir’s idealistic drive as well as her humanness and humor.”

This fascinating live biography covers Meir’s life from childhood through her efforts to end the Yom Kippur War, facing difficult decisions in life, love, politics, and war.

As the first half of the company’s two-part spring season, “Golda’s Balcony” is directed

by URI Professor Bryna Wortman.

The production will feature free talk-back sessions with company artists after the Thursday, Saturday and Sunday showings.

The company is pairing “Golda’s Balcony” with “Lysistrata,” an ancient Greek comedy about women, war, and power.

Nine women take on all the roles, male and female, in “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes with performances April 24 - May 23.

Tickets and more information are available online at contemporarytheatercompany.com or by calling 401-218-0282.

Performances dates for “Golda’s Balcony” are April 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 at 7 p.m., Apr 12 at 2 p.m.; Lysistrata runs April 24, 25, 30, May 1, 2, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 at 7 p.m., May 17 at 2 p.m. The Contemporary Theatre Co. is at 327 Main St.

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12 | March 27, 2015

ARTS

The Jewish Voice

Review: A glance into an alternate universe

BY IRINA MISSIURO imissiuro@jewishallianceri.org If you enjoy spending hours strolling through photo galleries and reading the captions, see “Ida.” If you think Edward Hopper’s paintings are beautiful, see “Ida.” If you don’t mind not knowing enough about the characters to understand why they choose what they choose, see “Ida.” Those who watched the Oscars and expect the film to be as clever and witty as Pawel Pawlikowski’s acceptance speech for the Best Foreign Language Film might be disappointed. Yes, the movie has garnered high praise from critics worldwide. Yes, it’s unusual and artsy and charming. It’s also unnecessarily slow, unfortunately incomplete and unnervingly unmoving for the most part, considering the subject matter.

Pawlikowski seems to rely on cinematography to fill the gaps in the story, character development and historical background.

However, even that method is somewhat flawed considering the language barrier. If you’re forced to read the subtitles, you might miss the essential element of the film – the bare beauty of the imagery.

Anton Chekhov has said, “Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.” In this compact and understated 82-minute movie about a novitiate in 1960s Po-

Ida leaving the monastery to meet her aunt. land, Pawlikowski removes not only the rifle, but also the nail it was hanging from, as well as the wall and the house. All that’s left is the scenery and your imagination.

Ida, an 18-year-old who was raised in a convent and knows nothing about her family, is not particularly interested in learning about her roots. When Mother Superior tells her that she has an aunt, Ida agrees to visit her only because she has to. After all, Ida’s allegiance is to Jesus – we see that from the very beginning of the film in a scene where Ida is cleaning his statue and helping to place it on a pedestal. Standing in for family, Jesus provides comfort when Ida

needs it. She kisses the cross on her chain when she has trouble sleeping. She relies on Jesus to watch over her as she is packing her suitcase. She prays to him on her knees when she encounters his likeness during travel.

Nevertheless, Ida leaves the serenity of the convent for the chaos of the city. Rushing trains replace vast fields. Briskly walking passersby contrast with the novitiates who lie prostrate on the ground, praying. Ida’s movement is significant here as well.

In more than one scene, we witness her walking up stairs. She is shown ascending when she is following Mother Superior’s orders – walking away from a meeting, determined to visit the

The Professional Advisory Council of the Jewish Federation Foundation of Greater Rhode Island invites you to attend a breakfast workshop “Charitable Gifts of Complex Assets” with Jere Doyle, Senior Vice President BNY Mellon

Professional Advisory Council Committee: Daniel Gamm, Chair Jerry Dorfman James Goldman Paul Silver

Tuesday, April 28, 2015 8:00-9:30am Marriott Downtown | 1 Orms Street, Providence Registration fee: $25 Continuing Education credits available.

Registration and payment will be accepted online and at the door.

For more information or to register, contact Jennifer Zwirn at 401.421.4111 ext. 102 or jzwirn@jewishallianceri.org.

Jere Doyle is an estate planning strategist for BNY Mellon Wealth Management and a senior vice president of BNY Mellon. He has been with the firm since 1981. Jere provides wealthy individuals and families throughout the country with integrated wealth management advice on how to hold, manage, and transfer their wealth in a tax efficient manner.

Jeremiah W. Doyle, IV

Speaker courtesy of

Ida and her aunt visit the home they knew as children. aunt, and walking toward the aunt’s apartment.

Wanda, the aunt, is an austere woman of few words. She feels no shame at having a man in her bed, wearing a robe in the middle of the day or not having picked up Ida from the orphanage. Refusing to reveal any details, Wanda speaks in curt statements that don’t invite dialogue. Her responses bear a hint of annoyance at having been asked in the first place. It’s no surprise that Wanda chooses not to soften her disclosure that her niece is “a Jewish nun.”

This jaded Nazi resistance fighter and Communist party member eschews emotion, acknowledging only hard facts.

The consequences of her vices don’t concern Wanda; Pawlikowski illustrates that with every pothole the drunken woman hits. As the two of them drive to the village in hopes of learning what happened to Ida’s parents, Wanda feels it’s her duty to instill some sense into Ida by suggesting that the vows she’s about to take would be more meaningful if she knew what she was sacrificing. The words stay with the niece.

Upon Ida’s disapproval of Wanda’s straying from their goal, the aunt sets her straight by uttering the sole redundant statement of the movie, “I’m a slut, and you’re a little saint.” She’s mocking Ida because she thinks her niece’s imminent choice will lead to a wasted life. Toward the end, Pawlikowski’s clichéd series of scenes prove that there are other ways to waste a life. The viewer wishes that Wanda had explored Ida’s point of view further and gotten herself to a nunnery.

However, the aunt is far from the type of woman who would listen to anyone, let alone God. Past prosecutor of “the enemies of the people,” Wanda demands answers despite her awareness of the fact that Poles are terrified to expose anything out of fear that the Communists will punish those who helped the Jews.

Sadly, the director does not clarify this point for audiences who

might be unfamiliar with the nuances of history and the fact that three million Jews were killed in Poland during the war.

Being around Wanda, Ida begins to inherit some of her brutality. Even though Ida rips the Bible out of Wanda’s hands, as if the latter is not worthy and might contaminate it, Ida is starting to feel curious about what else life has to offer. When she decides to listen to a jazz band performing in their hotel, she walks down a staircase for a change. It’s as if the director is hinting to us that this is the beginning of her descent into sin. Ida’s appreciation of a Coltrane cover is that rifle that’s about to go off.

Unlike the pretty jazz singer, who expresses herself through suggestive movements, loud makeup and high hair, Ida reveals her changing mindset with a barely perceptible smile upon being complimented. Later, as she stands in front of a mirror, letting her hair down, she seems to be trying to see herself in the same light as the man who gave her the compliment. She succeeds.

After her visit, Ida realizes that she’s no longer a naïve girl.

In a telling succession of scenes, novitiates go about their monastic lifestyle in unison. As they’re eating, Ida suppresses a laugh – a misstep that earns her a punishing look from the Mother Superior. It’s reminiscent of the look Ida gives Wanda when the aunt questions her devotion.

As everyone prays, Ida stands out again, silently staring into space. We realize Ida is wondering whether chastity, poverty and obedience are preferable to marriage, a house and children.

You’ll have to watch the film to find out what decision Ida makes. Unsurprisingly, the director lets us figure it out rather than show us a clear ending.

He foreshadows the final scene with Symphony No. 41 – the last one Mozart composed. Possibly, Pawlikowski chose this piece of music to symbolize other lasts in this movie.

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PHOTOS | NERC

Gathered at the NERC dinner are (left to right): Rabbi Yosef Lipson, associate dean; Rabbi Naftali Karp, Pillar of Torah awardee; Rabbi Berish Edelman, Alumni Achievement awardee; and Rabbi Eliezer Gibber, dean.

Dinner and awards recognize 30 years of New England Rabbinical College spoke on the video. It portrayed the effect that the Yeshiva has on its students, the lifelong bond that they maintain with the rabbis and the influence that the NERC has had on the community.

The dinner was held in the Korn Auditorium of the Providence Hebrew Day School, and was catered by Divine Providence Catering. Approximately 170 people attended.

CHANA FAIGA TWERSKY is administrative director of New England Rabbinical College.

13

CHAG SAMEACH FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS! SENATOR

HAPPY PASSOVER Wishing you happiness, peace, prosperity and all the joys of Passover!

HAPPY PASSO

Wishing you happiness, and all the joys of

HAPPY PASSOVER Passover Services April 15 at 9:00 AM April 21 at 9:00 AM

Passover Ser April 15 at 9: April 21 at 9:

Synagogue serving SE Mass &peace, RI A Reconstructionist Synagogue serving WishingA Reconstructionist you happiness, prosperity and all the joys of Passover!

Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 N. Main St., Attleboro, MA 02703

Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 N. Main St., A

Shabbat PASSOVER & Passover Service with Yizkor HAPPY HAPPY PASSO Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 10am

Congregation Agudas Achim | 901 N. Main St., Attleboro, MA 02703 Wishing you happiness, peace, prosperity Wishing you happiness, A Reconstructionist Synagogue serving SE Mass & RI and all the joys of Passover! and all the joys of Passover Services April 15 at 9:00 AM April 21 at 9:00 AM

Mapping Rhode Island

Passover Ser April 15 at 9: April 21 at 9:

Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 N. Main St., Attleboro, MA 02703 A Reconstructionist Synagogue serving SE Mass & RI

Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 N. Main St., A A Reconstructionist Synagogue serving

HAPPY PASSOVER

HAPPY PASSO

a love (sometimes) story in maps

“Maps are more about their makers than the places they describe.

Map who you are. Map where you are. Fill the map with a Wishing story,you happiness, Wishing you happiness, peace, prosperity and all the joys of Passover! and all the joys of or paint your favorite cup of coffee.

Passover Services Passover Ser Map the invisible. Map the obvious.

Map your memories.” April April 15 at 9:00 AM 15 at 9: April 21 at 9:00 AM

Submissions will be used to create the exhibit Mapping Rhode Island.

Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 N. Main St., Attleboro, MA 02703 A Reconstructionist Synagogue serving SE Mass & RI

April 21 at 9:

Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 N. Main St., A A Reconstructionist Synagogue serving

To learn more, and to download your map, visit jewishallianceri.org.

To request a printed copy of the map, contact Erin Moseley at 401.421.4111 ext. 108 or emoseley@jewishallianceri.org.

Important Dates for Mapping Rhode Island Submission Deadline: April 13, 2015 Gallery Opening: April 23, 2015 @ 7:00pm The exhibit will be on display in gallery (401) through May 28, 2015

culture

this year’s Alumni Achievement Award to Rabbi and Mrs. Berish Edelman of Cincinnati, Ohio. Rabbi Edelman is a close alumnus of the college and has maintained strong ties with his Providence mentors. He and his wife began their family in Providence, where he studied in the NERC Kollel. Rabbi Edelman is a graphic designer by profession, but is first and foremost dedicated to studying Torah and performing acts of kindness. He is involved with many of the organizations in his community in a leadership capacity.

The Marbitzei Torah Award was bestowed upon Rabbi and Mrs. Yitzi Weiner. Rabbi Nisson Dov Miller, Rabbi of Congregation Etz Chaim in Sharon, Mass., presented the award. The Weiners moved to Sharon eight years ago to begin the Sharon Community Kollel. Since then, they have reached out and touched all segments of the Sharon Jewish community and are truly beloved by all. Rabbi Weiner, and the other members of the Sharon Kollel, attended NERC’s morning program and lectures for many years.

The evening concluded with a video presentation that highlighted the 30th anniversary of NERC. A number of alumni, parents and community members

1) 0 4 ( y r galle

BY CHANA FAIGA TWERSKY The New England Rabbinical College hosted its 30th Anniversary Dinner on March 1. The local community and many out of town visitors turned out in support of the school and its honorees. Those attending were rewarded with an inspiring and entertaining evening.

The evening began with a performance by the Kol Neurayich Boys Choir directed by Yehoshua Shepherd, one of the students at NERC. Rabbi Dovid Bielory, teacher at Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael in Boston, acted as master of ceremonies. He began by introducing Rabbi Eliezer Gibber, dean, who gave the opening greetings and Divrei Torah. Rabbi Gibber presented the Pillars of Torah Award to Rabbi and Mrs. Naftali Karp. Rabbi Karp came to NERC as a student, then went on to become a member of the Kollel, and ultimately to serve as its executive director. Both Rabbi and Mrs. Karp are actively involved in every communal organization in the city. Rabbi Karp is the director of a successful outreach program called Project Shoresh, which focuses on young professionals and families.

Rabbi Yosef Lipson, associate dean of the college, presented

March 27, 2015 |

arts&

Inspired by the book Mapping Manhattan by Becky Cooper 401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI

14 | March 27, 2015

NATION | WORLD

House establishes bipartisan task force to combat anti-Semitism WASHINGTON (JTA) – A bipartisan task force to combat antiSemitism around the world was established by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The task force launched March 24 is designed to educate Congress about anti-Semitism, which its members referred to as “the 21st century face of this age-old bigotry.”

Members will share ideas with the executive branch, foreign leaders and other orga n i zat ions on combating anti-Semitism.

The task force also will promote Holocaust remembrance through teaching tolerance and confronting hate.

“Jewish populations are facing increased levels of hatred, frequently under the guise of political differences or other alibis, but in reality it is solely because of their faith,” task force co-chairs Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Ileana RosLehtinen (R-Fla.), Kay Granger (R-Tex.), Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) said in a statement.

“It is the responsibility of everyone who believes in basic universal liberties and freedoms to condemn this trend and work together to root out the hatred which underlies anti-Semitism,” the statement said.

Smith, the chairman of the House’s human rights subcommittee, chaired a subcommittee session on antiSemitism March 24.

Among the witnesses were Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress; Roger Cukierman, the president of CRIF, the French Jewish umbrella organization; and Dan Rosenberg Asmussen, president of the Danish Jewish Community.

Lauder called on the United States to show greater leadership in combating the phenomenon.

“In my travels to all of these communities, I am asked the same question around Europe and the world: Where is the United States?” he said. “Why isn’t the United States leading the world in this crisis?”

“It is the responsibility of everyone who believes in basic universal liberties and freedoms to condemn this trend.”

The Jewish Voice

FROM PAGE 1

NETANYAHU

fronts – including by backing Palestinian “bids” at the United Nations and denying visas to and freezing the assets of Israeli settler leaders. Beinart also urged American Jews to ensure that Netanyahu and members of his Cabinet are met with protesters at Jewish events.

While more establishment liberal and centrist Jewish organizations show no signs of writing off the prime minister or endorsing such aggressive steps, some have expressed concerns about Netanyahu’s 11th-hour campaign tactics – specifically his vow that no Palestinian state would be established on his watch and his urging supporters to counter the “droves” of Arabs coming out to vote.

Leaders of the two largest religious streams in American Judaism, the Reform and Conservative movements, both issued statements last week condemning Netanyahu’s comments about Arab-Israeli voters.

“Because we proudly and unreservedly continue our unflagging support for the State of Israel, its citizens and its values, we must condemn the prime minister’s statement, singling out Arab citizens for exercising their legitimate right to vote,” the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly said in a statement March 19. “It is incumbent upon Jews around the world to denounce the prime minister’s divisive and undemocratic statement, and we do so here.”

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, called the statement “disheartening” and a “naked appeal to his hard-right base’s fears rather than their hopes.”

For his part, Netanyahu moved quickly post-election to contain the damage from his pre-election remarks. He held interviews with several U.S. media outlets in which he insisted that he remains committed to a two-state solution but circumstances do not allow for one because of Palestinian intransigence and ongoing turmoil across the region. In a sign that Netanyahu was seeking to send the word out beyond his conservative base, the prime minister not only did an interview with Fox News, but also talked with two leading liberal media outlets, MSNBC and NPR. Several mainstream centrist organizations – including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Anti-Defamation League – were quick to embrace Netanyahu’s post-election insistence. AIPAC criticized the Obama administration for having “rebuffed” the prime minister’s efforts to put relations with the United States back on track.

But Denis McDonough, the White House chief of staff who spoke March 23 at the J Street conference, held his ground.

“We cannot simply pretend that those comments were never made, or that they don’t raise questions about the prime minister’s commitment to achieving peace through direct negotiations,” McDonough told J Street.

Netanyahu has also sought to contain the damage from his Election Day appeal to supporters to counter the “droves” of

Arabs heading to the polls. Netanyahu said he did not intend to suppress Arab voters, only to inspire his base, and on March 24 he apologized directly to a group of Arab-Israeli leaders gathered at his residence in Jerusalem.

Yet even as Netanyahu sought to defuse the controversy over his remarks, reports suggested that the makeup of his emerging coalition could keep U.S.-Israeli tensions boiling on several fronts.

The first party he invited into the government was Jewish Home, which rejects a Palestinian state. Another likely coalition partner is Yisrael Beiteinu, whose leader Avigdor Liberman recently said that disloyal Arab-Israelis should be beheaded. The coalition government is also likely to include Haredi Orthodox parties, whose rejection of non-Orthodox streams has been a cause of tension with U.S. Jews for decades.

Still, the mood at the J Street conference was one of jubilance in defeat, as speaker after speaker spoke of “clarity” now that Netanyahu had repudiated the two-state solution.

“There’s more fuel in advocacy movements when you’re fired up in opposition to something,” Ben-Ami told JTA. One star of the conference was Stav Shaffir, the 29-year old Labor Party member whose pre-election Knesset speech accusing Netanyahu’s government of abdicating Zionist leadership by neglecting the marginalized went viral online.

Saying her message to J Street was one of hope, Shaffir told reporters that when she encountered a depressed conferencegoer, she counseled activism.

“I don’t accept despair as a political strategy,” she said.

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Dealing with a loss during the holiday

BY NICOLE JELLINEK, LICSW and ERIN MINIOR, LICSW Facing Passover following the loss of a loved one can be a difficult experience, especially if that person played a prominent role in the Seder, which is often the centerpiece of the Passover experience. For some, it can be particularly hard to celebrate when feeling sad. The first year can be especially painful as we realize that our lives have changed and that our holiday rituals will never be the same without our lost loved one.

Sometimes the anticipation of the holiday is actually worse than the celebration itself.

So how can we prepare for the holiday?

• Plan your holiday in advance. Making changes in your usual traditions can be helpful.

• Surround yourself with people who love and support you, even if this means attending a different Seder than usual.

• If you are the person who usually hosts the Seder, ask other participants to help out by shopping for food or cooking.

Do not engage in tasks that you feel unable to handle, but try to avoid canceling your Seder.

Isolating yourself does not resolve uncomfortable feelings.

• Allow yourself to experience pleasure during the celebration. These positive feelings do not mean that you miss the person any less.

• Take good care of yourself by eating properly, engaging in physical activity and even indulging in playful activities occasionally.

But how can we deal with transitional issues, when perhaps the lost loved one used to

lead the Seder?

Consider the ways you can honor your loved one and bring their memory into the Seder: is there a special Kiddush cup you can use, a Haggadah that your loved one felt attached to, a special family recipe that your loved one always enjoyed.

Don’t try to avoid the memories; instead find ways to keep your loved one alive as you continue a family tradition. It may also be a good time to create new traditions. Discuss with others who usually participate in the Seder some new rituals before the holiday.. Examples of new traditions may include: • Determine in advance a new leader for the Seder.

• Share a memory about the loved one.

• Plan for contemplative time before or after the Seder for your family and friends.

• Seek out new songs or new Haggadot.

The most important thing to remember is that there is no right or wrong way of grieving during holidays. What is important is that we do not overextend ourselves and that we surround ourselves with those who support us during difficult times.

These suggestions can also be applied when a loved one becomes ill or disabled and we are grieving the loss of their functionality. If you are struggling with a loss, please call Jewish Family Service at 401-331-1244 for support.

NICOLE JELLINEK, LICSW is a social worker and coordinator of the Kesher program at Jewish Family Service. ERIN MINIOR, LICSW is the CEO of Jewish Family Service.

HERCRI sponsors program at Cranston Public Library The Holocaust Education & Resource Center of Rhode Island welcomes Geraldine Foster who will speak on “Providence Jewish Community and the Rise of Hitler; 1933-1939.”

The program takes place March 29 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Cranston Public Library 150 Sockanosset Cross Road.

Foster’s lecture will focus on the state of the Providence Jewish community during this time period, what community members knew about the changes in Europe, how they came to learn of new developments, and how they reacted to global events.

An English teacher with degrees from Pembroke and Brown University, Foster is an active member of the Jewish community, working closely

with the Jewish Historical Association, the former Jewish Federation, Miriam Hospital and the Alperin Schechter Day School (now the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island). Foster is the editor of “The History of the Jews in Rhode Island”; “Congregation Sons of Israel and David: a Pictorial Memoir”; and “Moments and Memories.” She is the co-author of the book “Jews of Rhode Island 16581958,” has written articles for Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association Notes for the past 15 years; and writes a monthly column for the Jewish Voice called “Remember the Past.”

For more information, contact May-Ronny Zeidman at mzeidman@hercri.org

March 27, 2015 |

15

Passover’s just around the corner – establish a tradition of family giving with a DAF Fund

BY JENNIFER ZWIRN jzwirn@jewishallianceri.org The snow’s melting and the sunshine seems here to stay – two signs that the long-awaited spring has finally arrived.

And with Passover in just a few days, it is a special time for family and friends to welcome a new beginning. One valuable way to step into spring together is by making memories with loved ones today that create a legacy for tomorrow.

Establishing a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) with the Jewish Federation Foundation of Greater Rhode Island is a meaningful way to celebrate this time of year and to build a tradition of family philanthropy. It speaks to the meaning of Passover because donor advised funds secure and sustain our Jewish future. “A donor advised fund is an easy way to grant the organizations you support and believe in most with gifts throughout the year. Contributing to the Jewish Federation Foundation in this manner not only helps the Jewish community today and tomorrow, but allows you to leave your legacy and illustrate for your children and grandchildren how important giving is at all ages and stages,” said Jay Rosenstein, chair of the Jewish Federation Foundation. The Foundation was established in 1945 as the endowment fund of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

A DAF is a charitable giving fund created with an irrevocable gift of cash or other assets in the amount of $2,500 or more, with the option to add to the fund at any time. Some people refer to it as a “philanthropic checkbook.” The fund is invested through the Jewish Alliance’s endowment, where it grows over time. The donor recommends grants to his or her favorite Jewish and secular nonprofit organizations or Jewish Alliance Annual Campaign. It can even be used to fulfill synagogue dues.

Creating a DAF centralizes an individual’s charitable dollars in one convenient account. A user-friendly fund, it provides maximum tax advantages and flexibility in grant making. It is also an opportunity to involve the next generation in grant making.

Whether a person is looking to minimize taxes, create a char-

itable family legacy or honor a loved one’s memory, a DAF may be the right fit.

So much of Passover centers around the special family meal, or Seder, filled with rituals to remind us of the significance of the holiday. May it also serve to mark a family milestone, and spark action toward protecting our Jewish future through the creation of a DAF with the Jewish Federation Foundation.

For more information on ways to establish a DAF with the Jewish Federation Foundation, please contact Trine Lustig, vice president of Philanthropy at the Jewish Alliance at tlustig@jewishallienceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 223.

JENNIFER ZWIRN is in Grants and Philanthropy at the Jewish Alliance.

16 | March 27, 2015

FOOD

The Jewish Voice

For Passover, a clergy couple’s vegetarian Seder menu

BY MARSHALL WEISS (The Dayton Jewish Observer/ JTA) – Vegetarian food brought Cantor Jenna Greenberg and Rabbi Josh Ginsberg together.

The two met as students at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, when a classmate organized a singles dinner at a kosher vegetarian restaurant in Chinatown.

Greenberg had become a vegetarian in her teens, Ginsberg in his 20s.

Now married, the two settled in Dayton, Ohio, two years ago.

Ginsberg is the rabbi at Beth Abraham Synagogue, Dayton’s only Conservative congregation, while Greenberg leads the music program at Hillel Academy, the city’s Jewish day school, and teaches high school Judaic classes at the Miami Valley School, a nondenominational private prep school.

Ginsberg says he neither encourages his congregants to become vegetarians nor discourages them from eating meat.

“People know I’m a vegetarian, but I don’t engage in proselytizing vegetarianism,” he says. “Jewish tradition allows that one can eat meat. I really applaud the trend of some who are trying to create ethical, eco-kashrut and small-scale slaughtering where animals are fed a better diet and treated better.”

A few times a year, Greenberg and Ginsberg have prepared vegetarian entrees alongside meat dishes for Shabbat dinners at the synagogue. They’ve received rave reviews from congregants, many of whom hadn’t tried tofu as a meat substitute before.

At home, they turn out creative vegetarian meals for their boys – ages 7, 5 and eight months. Jenna says their recipes come from experimentation, some guidance from cookbooks and online recipes, along with suggestions from friends and family.

Here, they offer a kosher-forPassover Seder menu that suits their fast-paced, vegetarian lifestyle – and keeps their children happy:

Roman Soup with Passover Dumplings

(developed by the couple’s friend Susan K. Finston, author of “Dining in the Garden of Eden”) This is a tasty spring alternative to the traditional matzah ball soup.

Ingredients

3 - 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or other vegetable oil 1 small onion, chopped 1 medium carrot, small dice 1 celery stalk, chopped 6 cups chopped mixed greens: Swiss chard, spinach, kale, butter lettuce, Savoy cabbage or other seasonally available greens 6 cups vegetable broth or water

Salt and pepper to taste Parmesan cheese Instructions Sauté chopped onion in oil until translucent over mediumlow heat.

Add carrot and celery and cook until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally.

Stir in 6 cups of mixed chopped greens (described above).

When vegetables are wilted, add soup stock.

Bring to a boil and then simmer for 45 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add 1 - 2 tablespoons Passover dumplings per serving.

Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Passover Soup Dumplings

Ingredients 2 cups mashed potatoes 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 cup Passover cake meal 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley or basil (optional) Reserve: 1 - 2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil Instructions Mix all ingredients, adding additional cake meal to form a dough that is pliable and not too sticky.

Bring water to a boil in a 2 - 3 quart pot.

Form small balls out of the dough and carefully slide them into the water to bring them to a boil.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the dumplings from the pot as they rise to the top and transfer to a container, adding 1-2 tsp of extra-virgin olive oil.

Caprese Salad

This preface to the main course tastes best when the tomatoes are ripe and sweet, and the basil is very fresh.

Ingredients 2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes (about 4 large), sliced ¼-inch thick 1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced ¼-inch thick 1/4 cup packed fresh basil 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Fine sea salt to taste Freshly ground black pepper to taste Instructions On a large platter, arrange tomato and mozzarella slices and basil leaves, alternating and overlapping them. Sprinkle salad with oregano and arugula, and drizzle with oil. Season salad with salt and pepper.

Potato Spinach Gnocchi

This delicious dish, also from Susan K. Finston, is a creative pasta alternative for Pesach.

Ingredients 2 pounds potatoes 1 1/2 cups potato starch 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 teaspoons salt 1 pound cooked, finely chopped spinach (frozen or fresh) 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1 cup ricotta cheese for richer gnocchi

Reserve: 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese Instructions Peel, boil and mash potatoes.

Add remaining ingredients to create the gnocchi dough, adding additional potato starch in case the dough is too sticky.

Fill a 4 - 6 quart pot with cold water and bring water to a boil.

While the water is heating, form small patties out of the gnocchi and then carefully slide them one at a time into the boiling water.

When the gnocchi rise to the top of the pot, they are ready – use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pot and place them in an oiled baking dish.

Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes to melt the cheese.

Tomato Sauce for Gnocchi

Ingredients 2 - 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or other cooking oil 1/2 cup chopped onion 1 - 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1/4 cup parsley, chopped 1 bay leaf 26-ounce jar crushed or stewed tomatoes 1 small can tomato paste Instructions Heat oil in saute pan, add onion and garlic and cook on low heat until translucent.

Add parsley, bay leaf, tomatoes and tomato paste.

Bring to a low boil and then turn heat down and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.

Eggplant Parmesan

This is a favorite dish yearround, even with matzah meal as the breading!

Ingredients 2 large eggplants, sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces Salt, for sweating eggplants 4 eggs, beaten with a fork 3 cups matzah meal 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 26-ounce jar pasta sauce (any variety) 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese Instructions Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Sweat eggplant slices, sprinkling salt, allowing time for the moisture to come out; rinse and wipe the eggplant slices. Coat eggplant slices with beaten egg, then bread with matzah meal.

Sauté coated eggplant slices in oil until lightly brown on both sides.

In a 9 x 11-inch ovenproof dish, layer pasta sauce, then eggplant and top with cheeses.

Repeat, finishing with cheese.

Bake until the cheese melts and turns golden in spots, about 30 minutes.

VEGETARIAN | 17

FOOD

thejewishvoice.org

FROM PAGE 16

VEGETARIAN

of the roasting pan. Pour hot tap water into the roasting pan to a depth of one inch along the outside of the cake pan. Avoid splashing water on the cake batter. Gently push pan into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the cake pan and cool

Mushroom Quinoa Pilaf

A hearty side dish for mushroom lovers that can be served either warm or cold.

Ingredients 1 cup red, black or mixed quinoa 2 cups water Vegetable soup base OR salt to taste Medley of 3 varieties of fresh mushrooms: portobello, cremini, white mushrooms Olive oil for cooking Splash of balsamic vinegar 4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed Rinse quinoa. Sauté quinoa in nonstick pan for 5 minutes, tossing regularly to avoid burning.

Combine quinoa with water and broth in a medium saucepan.

Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, add the garlic. Once the garlic is lightly browned, add the mushrooms and balsamic vinegar. Sauté until the mushrooms are well cooked.

Toss the sautéed mushrooms in with the quinoa and serve.

Melon Salad

This simple tossing of freshly diced ripe melons is inspired by the couple’s cantaloupe and

March 27, 2015 |

cake.

When ready to serve, run a butter knife along the edge of the cake. Unmold the cake onto serving plate.

Chill. Can be made one day ahead.

Bête Noir honeydew-loving sons!

1 honeydew and 1 cantaloupe: Dice the melons and toss together!

Lora Brody’s Bête Noir

This recipe is inspired by the taste buds and by the baking artistry of the couple’s mothers, Linda Greenberg and Tina Strauss-Hoder.

Ingredients 1 1/3 cups superfine sugar 1/2 cup water 8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into 10 chunks 6 large eggs, room temperature

Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9-inch round cake pan, line with parchment, lightly grease. Have a larger roasting pan available for a bain marie.

In a medium saucepan, place one cup of sugar and the 4 ounces of water. Heat to boil stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from its heat source, melt the chocolate in the hot syrup, stirring to melt. Add the chunks of butter, stirring each chunk in before adding another.

Beat eggs together, with an electric beater until foamy and thickened. Stir eggs into cooled chocolate mixture, stirring until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place a roasting pan on the middle oven rack, placing the cake in the middle

For Passover recipes visit stopandshop.com/recipes

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18 | March 27, 2015

FOOD

The Jewish Voice

New cookbooks offer ideas to freshen your Passover menu

BY CYNTHIA BENJAMIN (Part 2 of 2) “Passover is coming! Don’t panic!”

So begins Mindy Ginsberg’s new cookbook, “The Easy-WayOut-of Passover Cookbook,” which goes on to say: “Believe it or not you may even enjoy this crazy week” and “I actually like to stay home” during Passover “specifically because of the delicious, special and unique dishes.”

It’s a whole new way of thinking about the holiday, reflected in many, many “new Jewish cuisine” cookbooks – instead of eight days of oppression, eight days to try out delightful new dishes. Mix and match with your traditional favorites, and you’ll hardly notice that you’re eating well and happily without pizza or pasta. In fact, many of these recipes are too good to serve just once a year and are likely to find their way onto your table all year long. Pair these recipes with the entrees presented in the March 13 Jewish Voice – and enjoy!

From The Easy-Way-Out-of Passover Cookbook (Gefen Publishing House Ltd., 2015) The recipe makes about 24 latkes, using 1/3 ladleful of batter each time. (One full ladle makes 3 latkes.)

Cheese Latkes

3 eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup cottage cheese 1 cup matzah meal

in the oven. Serve with the topping of your choice.

1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon sugar Butter for frying

Spaghetti squash

1 spaghetti squash, roughly 3 pounds Olive oil Garlic cloves, minced or left whole Coarse salt Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Beat together eggs, milk and cottage cheese. Combine remaining ingredients and add to egg mixture. Blend well. Heat butter over low flame. Increase flame to medium and fry batter by spoonfuls. Brown on both sides. Serve with sour cream, applesauce or jam.

Method

Cheese Latkes

From The New Jewish Table (St. Martin’s Press, 2013) by Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray, of the Equinox Restaurant, in Washington, D.C.

Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato Latkes

2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes 2 medium sweet potatoes 1 medium yellow onion

2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 cup matzah meal 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves 1 tablespoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup canola oil

For serving (optional)

Crème fraiche, freshly grated horseradish and salmon caviar or sour cream and applesauce or fresh or frozen cherries Mix the latkes. Grate the Yukon Gold and sweet potatoes on the large-mesh side of a box grater or in a food processor.

With your hands, squeeze out any liquid and transfer the po-

PHOTO | MARION ROSEN

tatoes to a medium bowl. With the same grater, grate the onions into the bowl with the potatoes. Add the eggs, matzah meal, thyme, salt and pepper.

Using a wooden spoon or your hands, mix together until ingredients are well blended.

Cook the latkes. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Heat a 12inch nonstick sauté pan over high heat, add 1/4 cup of the oil and heat until it begins to smoke. Working in batches to cook three cakes at a time, shape the potato mixture into 5-inch round cakes about a 1/2inch thick, adding each to the pan as you do so. Lower the heat to medium and cook the cakes without moving them until brown on one side – about 4 minutes; turn them over and cook until the other side is brown – about 4 minutes more.

Remove the cakes from the pan and transfer to a paper towellined plate to drain. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1/4 cup oil in the pan and shape and cook the remaining potato mixture.

When the first batch of latkes has drained, transfer them to a serving plate and keep warm

Rinse the squash and dry. Using a sharp paring knife, carefully pierce the skin in five or six places. Wiggle the knife blade in each slit so it widens slightly to ensure the slit remains opens during cooking to vent steam. Place the squash on a paper towel in microwave oven and cook on high 10 to 12 minutes, turning three times, or until squash gives slightly when pressed. Let stand 5 to 7 minutes or until cool enough to touch. Carefully cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard or save to clean and roast as you would pumpkin seeds. Rake flesh lengthwise with a fork – it will separate into spaghetti-like strands.

Heat olive oil in frying or sauté pan until hot. Add garlic and cook a few seconds or until lightly browned. Toss in spaghetti squash, quickly mix until coated with olive oil. Remove from heat, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Makes 6 servings.

After preparing basic recipe, possible add-ins include: Chopped fresh parsley or whole basil leaves (they will wilt) Shredded Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta cheese Capers, chunks of cooked or marinated artichoke hearts, sliced black olives Bite-size chunks of steamed or roasted veggies such as carrots, zucchini, broccoli, onion Or, cook squash but do not coat with olive oil. Instead, mix with hot marinara sauce or pesto.

FOOD

thejewishvoice.org

From The Easy-Way-Out-of Passover Cookbook

balls). Quickly remove the mix from the pot and pour onto a flat surface, such as a cutting board. Flatten slightly with the back of a wooden spoon.

Cool. Serve whole, so diners can pull pieces from the teiglach, or cut into squares.

Cabbage & Pecans

1 cabbage, coarsely grated 2 tablespoons oil 3 cloves garlic, crushed 2 onions, diced 2 teaspoons paprika 1–1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 teaspoons sugar 2 tomatoes, pureed 1/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

From The Easy-Way-Out-of Passover Cookbook

Cheese cake

For Matzah-Meal Crust 1–1 1/4 cups matzah meal 1/2 cup (100 g) butter, melted

Method

In flat dish, microwave cabbage on high for about 6 minutes (to soften). Sauté garlic and onion in heated oil for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add paprika a few minutes into the sautéing. Add cabbage and sauté another 10 minutes. In small bowl, combine seasoning ingredients. Add seasoning and rest of ingredients and toss.

This traditional recipe can also be used as a fruit dip (omit toppings) or a frosting

Strawberry Whip

1 cup strawberries, diced 2 egg whites 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon lemon juice Coconut flakes and chopped walnuts for topping.

Place fi rst four ingredients in bowl of electric mixer. Turn mixer to low setting and mix for 2 minutes. Turn mixer to high and continue to mix for 15 minutes or until mixture is stiff and smooth. Spoon into serving bowl or individual serving cups or bowls. Top with shredded coconut and walnuts.

This traditional recipe was eagerly anticipated at my house when I was growing up.

1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and spread in springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes.

For fi lling 3 cups cream cheese 2 cups sour cream 1 1/4 cups sugar 4 eggs 3 tablespoons potato starch 1 cup cottage cheese 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Kid-friendly Passover breakfast

BY SHANNON SARNA

Scrambled Egg Potato Muffins

Yields 12 potato-egg muffins

Passover Teiglach

6 eggs, room temperature 1 tablespoon oil Matzah cake meal 1 pound honey 8 ounces sugar 1/2 teaspoon ginger 1/2 cup candied cherries, raisins and/or chopped walnuts (optional)

Method

Beat eggs well. Add oil and just enough meal to form a soft dough. Sprinkle matzah meal on a work surface and roll out dough with hands into long strips about as thick as a fi nger.

Cut strips into 1/2-inch pieces and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cook in oven preheated to 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Mix honey, sugar, ginger in a pot and bring to a boil. Add pieces of baked dough, fruit and nuts, if desired. Simmer, stirring frequently, until honey barely reaches the hard ball stage (test by sprinkling a few drops of the honey mixture into cold water – it should form little

2 medium-large Yukon gold potatoes 3 large eggs 1 1/2 tablespoon milk 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (or other veggie) 1/4 cup cheese (cheddar, goat, or feta recommended) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place whole potatoes in the oven and roast until almost totally cooked, but not quite edible – around 25 minutes.

Cut potatoes open and allow to cool. Peel off skin (it should come off pretty easily). This step can also be done the night before to save time.

Grate potatoes and season well with salt and pepper. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.

Whisk eggs, milk, cheese, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Grease a standard size muffin tin. Push shredded potatoes into the bottom and sides of each cup. Pour about 2 tablespoons of egg mix into each cup and top with diced red pepper. Don’t allow them to sit too long – pop them quickly into the oven.

Bake 12-14 minutes until the eggs are golden and baked, and the sides of the potatoes are starting to brown. Using a small spatula or butter knife, loosen sides of egg-potato muffins and remove. Serve warm.

SHANNON SARNA wrote this for Kveller.com

March 27, 2015 |

1/4 cup flaked coconut

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In mixer, mix all of the fi lling ingredients until well blended Ilan Davis: and spread over baked crust.

I love J-Camp Bake for about 50 minutes. because get to Leave in oven we to settle.

play games!

CYNTHIA BENJAMIN is a Ilan is in chef, an editor at the Profifi rst grade dence Journal and freelance writer. She is a member of Temple B’nai Israel in Woonsocket.

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Stress Management

Everyone deals with workplace stress on a daily basis, whether it is distress (negative) or eustress (positive.) While some workplace stress is normal, excessive stress can interfere with productivity and impact your mental, emotional and physical health.

Signs and symptoms of excessive workplace stress include: • Feeling anxious, irritable or depressed • Apathy and loss of interest in work • Sleep issues • Fatigue • Difficulty concentrating • Muscle tension • Headaches You can reduce your workplace stress several ways including: • Take responsibility for your health • Prioritize and organize • Use humor to cope • Break Bad Habits • Think Positively Ways to dispel stress • Take time away • Talk it over with someone • Connect with others at work or at home EDITOR’S NOTE: A health tip from the employee wellness team at the Jewish Alliance: Angela Sullivan, Andrew McKeon and Caroline Casey.

19

from your friends at

20 | March 27, 2015

PASSOVER

The Jewish Voice

Need a Passover preparation push?

Here are a few online Passover resources

BY IRINA MISSIURO imissiuro@jewishallianceri.org Passover is a holiday that’s as much about doubt as it is about certainty. In addition to the four questions, there are many others we ask ourselves during the celebration. Is it necessary to place pillows on our chairs to eat in a reclining position since the slaves were forced to eat in a hurried manner? Should we abstain from certain foods to honor the holiday or rewrite the rules? Do we consider matzah to be the bread of affliction or the taste of freedom? Must we teach the Exodus story to children because it’s an obligation or do we deem it a mitzvah? We can go on and on. Overwhelmed by uncertainty? Let the resources below provide some answers.

I Left with Moses!

ileftwithmoses.weebly.com This resource is great for families. It contains a slew of children’s videos, readings, activities and ritual explanations.

Both parents and teachers will fi nd numerous Passover resources on this new site. While

the site prepares children for the Seder with its “Let’s Do!” and “Let’s Practice” pages, it’s more than just a tutorial. Its ultimate goal seems to be to guide children in their quest to empathize with those less fortunate.

Passover children’s books

pjlibrary.org/Parents-and-

Families/Reading-Tips-andResources/Jewish-Holidays/ Passover/Passover-Books.aspx PJ Library’s numerous Passover-related selections are for every age. If you read them, you’ll notice certain emerging themes. One that stood out included illustrated popular songs, such as The Afikomen

Mambo and Dayenu. Another included the participation of cute animals, such as enthusiastic dinosaurs, hoppy bunnies, dog Moe, Kippi the Porcupine, Little Red Hen and Sheep Snowball. And we can’t disregard the creation theme – creations of all sorts, including a miraculous cleaning machine, matzah, matzah balls, matzah ball boy, birthday cake and haroset, make their appearance.

Downloadable children’s stories

ajws.org/what_we_do/education/publications/holiday_resources/passover_resources. html American Jewish World Service (AJWS), a human rights and development organization, offers some downloadable Passover stories for kids, in case you don’t have the time to pop into a library. Written and illustrated

by Nechama Liss-Levinson, the

books are for kindergarten, elementary and middle school students.

“When the Storm Came to Plink” is intended for ages 3 to 6 years old. Its theme is transformation – from disaster to development. Children learn about gradual liberation from oppression, similar to what the Jews experienced after spending 40 years in the desert. It teaches the concept of working together and addressing longterm needs. The book is meant to be read before drinking the four cups.

“Afikomen Hunt: Now and Later” is for children ages 7 to 11. It touches on the issue of immediate assistance versus longterm help. Meant to be read when the matzah is broken, this story mirrors the message of the Passover one.

My Jewish Learning article on Haggadah options

myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Passover/The_ Seder/Haggadah/ New_Haggadot.shtml?p=0 Choosing a Haggadah is not as easy as it used to be.

One can relate to Vladimir, the Robin Williams character in “Moscow on the Hudson,” who faints in a supermarket aisle, repeating “Coffee, coffee, coffee!” shortly after arriving in the U.S. Sharonne Cohen writes an in-depth article on various versions. She includes historical footnotes and explains what to expect in different types of Haggadot.

The examples she brings up include The New American Haggadah, The Survivor’s HagRESOURCES | 21

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PASSOVER

thejewishvoice.org

RESOURCES

reformjudaism.org/food-restrictions-passover-explainedchametz-and-kitniyot Rabbi Eric Berk and Rabbi Paul Kipnes discuss permissible and forbidden foods. The article contemplates dilemmas regarding the consumption of hametz, a symbol of pride and self-importance. It also explains the Ashkenazim’s avoidance of legumes and beans – kitniyot – and discusses the reasons why two groups of rabbis now permit these foods on Passover.

Recipes for Passover

chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach _cdo/aid/32593/ jewish/Recipes.htm This site offers a vast array of recipes catered to the occasion.

They lure with classic Passover foods, such as Matzah Balls, beguile with interesting salads, such as Baby Spinach and Portobello Mushroom, and entice with healthful soups, such as Cabbage Cranberry. In addition to side dishes; meat, poultry and fish entrees; dairy and desserts, the site provides Passover cooking tips. Get some help selecting wine, fi nding an allergy-free recipe and learning the nutrition facts of the dishes you consume.

BY JEWISH VOICE STAFF We asked Sara Foster, lead teacher at the David C. Isenberg Early Childhood Center and facilitator of the Mother’s Circle, for some ideas on how to include your children in Pesach preparations. Here’s her advice.

1. Include children in all the preparations. They can chop apples for haroset, set up the Seder plate, make place cards and roll matzah balls.

2. Have the children help set the table.

3. Have children create artifacts for the table. The can make special Seder plates, create a special cup for Elijah, make kiddush cups (wrapping aluminum foil around plastic cups works well), make afikoman holders and pillows for reclining (decorated pillow cases on bed pillows).

4. Be sure you have childfriendly Haggadot. Look for those with lots of illustrations, songs and even somewhat abbreviated versions (but make sure they have the Four Questions).

5. Allow children to hold props that can help illustrate the story such as plastic frogs, baby Moses dolls and puppets.

6. Consider making the story interactive. Act out the parting of the sea. Jump like frogs. Move as if you are building 7. Be sure to hide the afikoman where children can easily fi nd it. Don’t hide it at adult height.

8. All children should receive a prize when the afikoman is found.

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IRINA MISSIURO is a writer and editorial consultant for The Jewish Voice.

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Six parts of the Seder Plate

reformjudaism.org/interactive-Seder-plate Reform Judaism offers a thorough explanation of the Seder plate. On its interactive site, you can roll a mouse to fi nd

Food restrictions on Passover explained: hametz and kitniyot

Tips to include children in your Seder

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The Gateways Haggadah

jgateways.org /Resou rces/ GatewaysHaggadah Access to Jewish Education and Behrman House Publishers intended this particular Haggadah to ease Passover celebration for children with special needs. It contains more than 150 communication symbols for songs and blessings, as well as a step-by-step Seder process captured in clear photos. Rebecca Redner, a curriculum specialist, created this resource to help not only special-needs kids, but also families with young children who can’t read yet.

If you would like to order directly from the publisher, you will fi nd the Haggadah here: b eh r m a n hou s e.c om /s t or e/ product-sku/929

out the Hebrew name of the food and its significance. Learn what symbolism the foods have, what substitutions are permissible and why we perform certain routines regarding food.

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gadah, The Wolloch Haggadah, the Shir Hama’alot LeDavid Haggadah, the Open Door Haggadah, A Growing Haggadah, A Night of Questions, the Feast of Freedom, the Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva, the Family Participation Haggadah and the Liberated Haggadah.

Cohen also incorporates political Haggadot, such as Kibbutz, Universalist and Feminist, in her list. Additionally, the article explains the options for audiences that include recovering addicts and vegetarians. Overall, more than 3,000 versions of Haggadot are in existence.

21

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FROM PAGE 20

March 27, 2015 |

The Miriam Hospital wishes you a happy passover. miriamhospital.org

22 | March 27, 2015

PASSOVER

The Jewish Voice

A Kosher & Happy Passover

B’H

2015 Holiday Schedule 5775

Remember

Search for Chometz – Thursday night, April 2ND Fast or Siyum of first-born – Friday, April 3rd

Friday, April 3rd

Providence time only Eating of Chometz: until 10:30 a.m.

Burning of Chometz: until 11:30 a.m.

Passover begins:

6:55 p.m.

Seder begins at:

8:00 p.m.

BY PENNY SCHWARTZ

Passover ends: Saturday night, April 11, 8:10 p.m.

Candle lighting times for Passover 2015 Providence time

Friday, April 3 ...................... 6:55 p.m.

Saturday, April 4 ................. 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 9 ................. 7:00 p.m.

Friday, April 10 .................... 7:02 p.m.

Blessings

Passover children’s books: choo-choos, baa-baas and back to Sinai BOSTON (JTA) – When Deborah Bodin Cohen immersed herself in rabbinical school in the early 1990s, she expected to spend a year in Israel as part of her studies with Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. What she didn’t know was that a decade later, the experience of living in Jerusalem would spark her inspiration for a children’s book that has become a popular award-winning series.

“Engineer Ari and the Passover Rush,” Bodin Co-

hen’s fourth book in Kar-Ben’s “Engineer Ari” series, is among a trio of new children’s books for the eight-day holiday marking the Jewish exodus from Egypt. Shahar Kober provides the illustrations.

Passover begins this year with the fi rst Seder on the evening of April 3.

Other new books for the holiday include “And Then Another Sheep Turned Up” by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Amy Adele, and a rare middle-reader Passover chapter book, “Scarlett and Sam: Escape from Egypt” by the popular writer

Eric Kimmel and illustrated by Ivica Stevanovic.

Bodin Cohen, the author of other award-winning Jewish children’s books, including “The Seventh Day” and “Nachshon Who was Afraid to Swim,” credits the idea for the Ari character to her daughter Ariana, who as a preschooler was a train enthusiast. Her daughter’s train play stirred memories of living near Jerusalem’s historic train station that dated back to the 1890s.

“I literally passed it every day,” she told JTA. BOOKS | 23

Blessing

April 3: First Eve of Passover.................................. 3 & 2 April 4: Second Eve of Passover............................. 1 & 2 FRIDAY – YOM TOV, ERUV TAVSHILIN April 9: Seventh Eve of Passover ............................ 1 April 10: Eighth Eve of Passover .............................. 3 #1 BO-RUH A-TOH ADO-NOI E-LO-HEI-NU MELECH HO-OLOM A-SHER KI-DE-SHA-NU BEMITZ-VO-TOV VI-TZI-VO-NU LE-HAD-LIK NER SHEL YOM-TOV #2 BO-RUCH A-TOH ADO-NOI E-LO-HEI-NU MELECH HO-OLOM SHE-HEH-CHE-YOH-NU VIKIYE-MONU VE-HE GE-O-NU LEZ-MAN HA-ZEH #3 BO-RUCH A-TOH ADO-NOI E-LO-HEI-NU MELECH HO-OLOM A-SHER KI-DE-SHA-NU BEMITZ-VO-TOV VI-TZI-VO-NU LE-HAD-LIK NER SHEL SHA-BAT V’SHEL YOMTOV Special instructions for holidays (but not Shabbat).

On holidays it is forbidden to create a new fire by striking a match, lighter, etc. However, it is permissible to use a flame already burning continuously since before the inception of the holiday, such as a pilot light, gas or candle flame.

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FROM PAGE 22

BOOKS

Bodin Cohen, the director of congregational learning at Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac, Md., realized that she could create a story of a train adventure based in historic Israel – one that would also entertain her own daughter and her friends.

Each of the Engineer Ari stories has some historical element, she points out, with extensive research and consultation with a curator of the Israel Railway Museum in Haifa.

While the book is not about Israel, it is the backdrop, one of Bodin Cohen’s goals.

“The idea of an illustrated book exposes kids to some of the beauty of Israel, the wildlife and the agriculture,” she said.

keep track of time for the train schedule is a perfect pairing for the story of Passover, when the Israelites fled Egypt.

His ride to Jerusalem has neighbors offering him foods for his Seder plate, including a bowl of haroset made with almonds and dates, a traditional Sephardi custom. Ari promises that on his return route, he’ll deliver newly baked matzah in exchange. As he arrives back in Jaffa in the nick of time, he and his neighbors swap the Jerusalem matzah for the Seder plate foods.

Engineer Ari and the Passover Rush by Deborah Bodin Cohen, illustrated by Shahar Kober Kar-Ben ($17.95 hardcover, $7.95 paperback, $6.99 eBook); ages 5-9 Engineer Ari is a friendly train engineer, an imagined character based on Jerusalem’s early railway system that transported people and goods between Jaffa and Jerusalem dating back to the end of the 19th century in prestate Palestine. Like the previous books in the series – for Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot and Hanukkah – this charming tale is set at the eve of the holiday.

In “Passover Rush,” Engineer Ari is in a hurry to make his last run before the start of the Seder. The sense of urgency to

Young kids will enjoy the fun adventure, which also introduces the elements of preparing the Passover Seder.

The cartoon-like illustrations by the Israeli artist Kober will delight young readers with animated characters dressed in colorful native garb and bustling scenes of city life and rolling hillsides and farms.

For some young readers, the

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biggest thrill will likely be the red locomotive, with its whistle cord that regularly announces “Toot, toot!”

And Then Another Sheep Turned Up Laura Gehl, illustrated by Amy Adele Kar-Ben ($17.95 hardcover; $7.95 paperback; $6.99 eBook); ages 3-8 As a friendly family of sheep prepares for Passover, one guest after another arrives, from grandma with the macaroons and wine to uncles and friends who arrive unexpectedly. As the Seder progresses from the Four Questions to hiding the afikoman and dipping the parsley, each page brings another unexpected visitor.

Gehl’s delightful rhymes will tickle young ones. Even nonreaders will join the repeating refrain, “And then another sheep turned up.” Kids will be entertained with page after page of Adele’s colorful, lively illustrations of adorable sheep having fun at Passover.

Scarlett and Sam: Escape from Egypt Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated

by Ivica Stevanovic Kar-Ben ($15.95 hardcover, $5.95 paperback, $6.99 eBook); ages 6-9 When twins Scarlett and Sam bicker about who is going to recite the Four Questions at the Seder, their magical Grandma Mina cuts the squabbling short: “Tonight, at the Seder, we don’t just tell the story of Passover.

We become part of it.”

So sets the stage for Kimmel’s time-travel Passover adventure that transports the duo to the Egyptian desert, back to the time of Moses and Aaron as they prepare to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. The Ten Plagues, Pharaoh’s palace, and the suffering and indignity endured by Israelite slaves come alive for the siblings, who manage to make a podcast of their experience.

Older readers familiar with Kimmel’s hugely popular illustrated books (“Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins,” “Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock” and “The Chanukkah Guest”)

March 27, 2015 |

23

will again enjoy his deft humor and flair for storytelling in the illustrated chapter book that will appeal to school-age kids.

It’s a terrific pairing with Kimmel’s earlier “Wonders and Miracles,” a lavishly illustrated Seder companion that explains and demystifies the customs and traditions.

PASSOVER

24 | March 27, 2015

The Jewish Voice

‘Let’s Go Free with Miri & Tzvi,’ Children’s Haggadah

BY KARA MARZIALI kmarziali@jewishallianceri.org I’ve heard it said that Passover is only as meaningful as your Haggadah and that’s especially true for children. Keeping them engaged at the Seder table can be a challenge. Let’s face it – children want lively illustrations, great graphics and a spellbinding story, which means their Haggadah needs to be both fun and functional.

“Let’s Go Free with Miri & Tzvi” is a children’s Haggadah that’s trending this year. The Exodus story comes alive through the eyes of sister and brother team Miri and Tzvi. “Let’s Go Free” keeps children involved during the Seder and makes them feel as if they themselves are going out of Egypt! All the outstanding events detailed in 109 pages –

slavery in Egypt, the plagues, the exodus, parting the sea and much more – are meant to be taught in a way children can relate to.

Youngsters will enjoy the bright, bold, full-color illustrations depicting the trials and miracles experienced in Egypt. The graphics are as eye-catching as a comic book but don’t fall short on content. Written and illustrated

by Devorah Benedict, the beautifully arranged, fully translated Haggadah text includes annotated sources

at the back of the book. Parents can easily use excerpts from the Torah and Midrashim as well as Miri and Tzvi’s commentaries to help children experience the journey from slavery to salvation. This Haggadah is both reverent and relevant. “[It] was prepared with this purpose in mind – to engrave in our children’s hearts the experience of yetzias Mitzrayim [the Exodus from Egypt],” says Benedict.

The “Let’s Go Free” Haggadah also includes an “I spy” feature inviting children to fi nd a hidden chameleon on every page. This cute charac-

ter is a different color on each page (remember, it’s a chameleon!) and blends in with the surroundings. Children will enjoy seeking out the chameleon and lots of other interesting details within the illustrations.

Parents will enjoy the special price offered by Feldheim Publishers (feldheim.com): only $17.99 plus $1.99 shipping.

Let Miri and Tzvi be your children’s guide this Pesach. Looking at the pictures, using their imaginations and talking about the great events of Passover will make a lasting impression with your children. “Let’s Go Free with Miri & Tzvi: A Chil-

dren’s Haggadah” will provide them with an incredible learning experience as, year after year, they are drawn into the story of freedom from slavery.

(And don’t be surprised if you

get swept up in the drama of events as well!)

KARA MARZIALI is the director of Communications for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

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25

‘Mosaic Haggadah’ rethinks the Passover Seder through a thematic approach

BY JACOB KAMARAS JNS.org

ner, the topic at hand can be discussed and analyzed within the framework of the traditional Seder and hopefully remembered and internalized.”

The essays include previously published writings (or speeches and quotes) by names as wellknown as David Ben-Gurion, Elie Wiesel, Maimonides, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Rabbi David Wolpe, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Winston Churchill, Bob Dylan, Abraham Lincoln, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, and Natan Sharansky. Other essays in “The Mosaic Haggadah” come from lesser-known scholars, Silberman himself, media outlets, and anonymous sources.

Eight years ago, Silberman decided to incorporate contemporary sources and voices into his Passover Seder.

“My family and guests received it enthusiastically, so I knew that I had found something different, which allowed everyone to participate in lengthy conversations that went above and beyond the text itself and contributed some depth and meaning to that night,” Silberman tells JNS.org.

Thus, the idea for “The Mosaic Haggadah” was born. Silberman says some of the themes he chose – such as freedom and redemption – are “rather evident in the text of the Haggadah itself.” Since the Hallel prayer, a liturgical expression of gratitude to God, is included in the Haggadah, gratitude found its way into Silberman’s six themes. Israel, the author notes, is mentioned in the Haggadah and represents “one of the endpoints of the journey of leaving Egypt.”

“It seemed to me that the idea of coming from a foreign land to Israel is an extremely contempo-

How is this year’s Passover Seder different from all other Seders? More often than not, the answer might be, “Nothing’s different at all.” David Silberman’s Haggadah offers not one, but six possible solutions for Seder participants who are starving to mix things up.

As his children grew older and intellectual discussions became possible, Silberman – a dentist by profession who also teaches a weekly Talmud class at his local congregation, United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston (UOS) – says he was “tired of looking at the various analytical or exegetical explanations that varied from paragraph to paragraph within the Haggadah.” Rather than continuing to slog through the same routine each year, Silberman produced the most proactive solution possible: he compiled his own Haggadah.

Published in 2014, “The Mosaic Haggadah” identifies six color-coded themes central to the Passover story – freedom, contemporary (the Haggadah as a modern story), family and community, gratitude, redemption, and Israel – and intersperses essays on those subjects throughout the traditional text, allowing users to follow one theme/color throughout the night.

“Since the [Haggadah] text itself is a disparate collection of various excerpts, overall messages and topics are blurred,” states the introduction to Silberman’s Haggadah. “As a result, a Seder participant could easily lose sight of the forest for the trees. … It is the purpose of this Haggadah to identify these themes and present them with an emphasis on one theme per reading of the text. In this man-

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rary story that we see every day of our lives, to this very day,” he says.

Other themes in “The Mosaic Haggadah,” such as “family and community,” require slightly more interpretation.

“The Seder has always been a family affair, and the rules of the Passover experience involve that for generations, a family and pre-arranged groups have embraced the Passover Seder as one of the most celebrated annual events,” Silberman says.

The “contemporary” theme, he says, was inspired by “A Night to Remember: The Haggadah of Contemporary Voices,” a 2007 Haggadah written by Mishael Zion and Noam Zion.

“In a certain way, all of us are experiencing or have witnessed gratitude and redemption in our time,” says Silberman. “We’ve made changes for ourselves, our communities have changed… and I wanted to emphasize that much of what happened to

the Jews as they left Mizraim (Egypt), and has been celebrated on the Passover holiday year after year, is a relevant theme.”

How did a dentist come to write a Haggadah? Silberman recalls that when he was 16, his father would bring him – or “perhaps drag me” – to Talmud classes led by Rabbi David Novak in Oklahoma City. Eventually, Silberman fully embraced Talmud study and generally gravitated toward an analytical approach to texts. For the last nine years, Silberman has been leading a Talmud study group on Shabbat for both men and women at Houston’s UOS synagogue.

Silberman’s affinity for textual analysis, then, resulted in his desire to create a more meaningful Seder experience.

“As my children grew, I adapted the [Haggadah] text and approach to be appropriate for their age… This continued as an intellectual study of the Haggadah itself, which is not very long, so it’s a very embraceable unit of subject matter,” he says.

Silberman recommends that each family or group “conduct a Seder that’s appropriate for the guests that they have.” He says that “Mosaic Haggadah” users can read as much of the traditional Haggadah text as they’d like in Hebrew or English, choose a theme, and then see how the theme goes for them throughout the night.

“If you have very young children, admittedly this Haggadah may not be for them… If the people are the type who are willing to engage in intellectual discus-

sions, then the text of the Haggadah becomes almost secondary to the themes that are presented in this ‘Mosaic Haggadah,’ ” he says.

Silberman suggests that users “read the different essays out loud, compelling everybody to pay attention to the reader, and then to discuss [the essay] as they may wish, and then move to the next passage in the Haggadah.”

The author himself has already used all six themes in his book for the Seder, and has moved on to new ones such as miracles, which might be among the themes if there is a second edition of “The Mosaic Haggadah.”

“Everyone has a miracle story,” Silberman says. “That theme generated by far the greatest levels of participation and conversation than any other theme [I’ve used at a Seder].”

Silberman encourages Seder participants to look for their own themes. He says, “They may identify themes I have yet to find that are no less meaningful for themselves and their collective group.”

Ultimately, Silberman hopes “The Mosaic Haggadah” is an easy-to-use book that makes the Seder ritual more meaningful, memorable and modern.

“The Mosaic Haggadah: Themes of the Passover Haggadah,” by David Silberman, 198 pages, Haggadah Publishing, March 2014, ISBN-10: 0615974112, ISBN-13: 978-0615974118.

26 | March 27, 2015

PASSOVER

The Jewish Voice

FIRST PERSON

GOD IS NOT A MAN Feminism and fights around the Seder table

BY YEKATERINA GINZBURG-BRAM Passover approaches, bringing its annual share of lovely labors and traditions, as my husband and I dive headlong into our respective tasks: conjuring up scrumptious Seder meals in his case, surgically scrubbing and “unleavening” the house

in mine. And then another, less lovely tradition – our annual battle – rears its head, when I ask if we can please, please, finally find a new Haggadah this year. He professes his devotion to the Maxwell House books of his childhood; I offer (threaten) to whip out a scalpel and go full Thomas Jefferson on the things until we reach an acceptable

compromise; he refuses, and … matters don’t improve from there.

My implacable opposition to my beloved’s beloved Haggadot comes down to two words: they’re sexist. Again and again, they limit The Name with the words “Father,” “King,” “He.” Again and again, I say, “No, I’m not reading that.”

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God is not a man. Insisting otherwise isn’t just misogyny – it’s bad theology. We all learned The Name has no body. No body means no XX or XY chromosome pair; thus, no gender.

Even if we delve into the esoteric delights of Kabbalah, which is more open to the idea of a divine body, we find, for every “male” aspect of God an equal and opposite “female” one. Besides, Hebrew has no word for “it”; the Lord was designated “He” rather than “She” purely through patriarchy. To deny the feminine divine distances females from divinity; I’m not OK with that.

Alas, semantic sexism extends to the H a gga d ah’s human characters, repeatedly designated as sons, fathers, men ... If we speak only of “four sons,” are we denying our obligation to teach our daughters the Passover story equally? Or are we merely claiming that female children cannot be wise, wicked, simple or unable to ask? Just what traits do they possess? Does either position actually sound reasonable? Besides, did not our foremothers suffer as much as their mates in Egypt – and journey to freedom as valiantly? Miriam matters no less than Moses: it certainly takes a great hero to lead his entire people out of Egypt and into the desert – but how far could they go without an equally great heroine to find them water and deliver their babies?

Still, people don’t understand why I care about this. Every Seder the eye rolls and smirks among guests and family say it, with or without spoken words, “Get off your soapbox, you women’s libber/man-hater/ killjoy/noodge. Why does it matter? After all, other women don’t mind.” And to me, this hurts worst of all: to see women so thoroughly taught to accept unfairness that they don’t even feel wronged when it happens.

Well, I do. On Passover, I’ll celebrate being free – and there can be no freedom without equality. I’ll claim women’s fair share of God, of the Exodus, and of our people’s history. Not just as a matter of principle, but because I’m a motherin-law who hopes, someday, to watch a little girl at the Seder table learning to be truly free. So, this Passover, come celebrate with us, at a feast my husband and I prepare with equal labor and love. The food will be outof-this-world, the house (virtually) spotless, the spirits high … and my soapbox will stay right where it is. Ignore it, or, better yet, climb on with me – you might find yourself liking a different view.

“My implacable opposition to my beloved’s beloved Haggadot comes down to two words: they’re sexist.”

YEKATERINA GINZBURGBRAM, a resident of Providence, is a member of Temple Emanu-El and an elementary school art teacher in the Providence Public Schools.

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PASSOVER

thejewishvoice.org

10 ways to add some girl power to your Seder

BY AVITAL NORMAN NATHMAN Kveller via JTA – Whether you weave in one, a few, or all 10 of these tips, consider honoring the matriarchal roots of Judaism this Passover with a little girl power fun at your Seder this year.

1. Add an orange and coffee bean to your Seder plate

The orange represents both inclusion and solidarity with women and the LGBT community. The new tradition was started by Professor Susannah Heschel, who was inspired by women at Oberlin College in 1984 who made space on their Seder plate to represent all who were not explicitly present in the Passover story.

The coffee bean represents and honors both the bitterness and strength of juggling your work life and family life – something we’re pretty sure you can relate to.

2. Miriam’s Cup

In addition to the traditional cup of Elijah, include Miriam’s Cup and begin your Seder by filling it up together. It serves as the symbol of Miriam’s Well – the source of water for the Israelites in the desert.

Pass the cup around the table, and let each guest add a bit of water from his or her own cup, establishing that the Seder is an inclusive and participatory one. Remind your guests that, while they may enjoy drinking our four cups of wine, water is just as important. Like Miriam’s Well, water sustains and nourishes us (and prevents hangovers).

3. Lighting candles

Candle lighting has traditionally fallen to women in Jewish practice. Honor this by recognizing that the lighting of candles helps usher light into the darkness and allows us to begin our holidays peacefully. This poem, written by Hannah Senesch, is an excellent way to help usher in that feeling: Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.

Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart.

Blessed is the heart with the strength to stop its beating for honor’s sake.

Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.

4. The four mothers

Speaking of those four cups of wine, you can note during your Seder that some scholars connect the four cups of wine with the four mothers: Sarah, Rivka, Rachel and Leah. After all, the only thing better than one Jewish mother is four.

5. Honor the women in your life

The four cups of wine are also excellent opportunities to honor the women, both past and present, in your own life. With each glass of wine, take a moment to dedicate it to a woman who has impacted your life in some way. (Pro tip: If your own mom is in attendance, you might want to go ahead and include her.)

6. The four daughters

While we’re familiar with the story of the four sons from the traditional Haggadah, why not also give a nod to the four biblical daughters cited in “A Night To Remember: The Haggadah of Contemporary Voices” by Mishael and Noam Zion. The reading shares wisdom from Miriam, Tamar, Ruth and “The Beautiful Captive.”

7. Four alternative questions

After reciting the Mah Nishtanah, the

traditional Four Questions, take the time to ask four alternative questions, ones that feel relevant to you and your family and ignite discussion. Here’s one example to get you started: What still enslaves us as Jewish women today, and how do we seek freedom from our own Pharaohs (or Sheryl Sandbergs, if you will)?

8. Add to the story!

There are many women who play crucial roles in the Exodus story, yet they’re usually left out of the retelling. Take some time to sing their praises: Shifra and Puah: These two midwives were respected members of their community. Despite risk of punishment, they defied the Pharaoh’s orders and continued to help deliver baby boys for Jewish women in Egypt.

Yocheved: Having gone into labor early, Yocheved kept her secret from the Egyptians, saving Moses’ life. She then made the ultimate mother’s sacrifice by sending him down the river – her only hope in saving him from otherwise certain death.

Now there’s a birth story to remember.

Batya: Pharaoh’s daughter, knowingly going against her father’s decree to kill all male Jewish babies, found Moses in the reeds of the Nile and decided to raise him as her own. Without her defiance and bravery, our Passover story might have looked very different.

Miriam: One of the most well-known women in the Bible, Miriam was the brave young woman who ensured Moses was safe during his journey down the Nile River. She also was the one to bring Yocheved to Batya to be used as a nursemaid, ensuring that mother and son were never far apart. We don’t hear much about Miriam again until the Exodus from Egypt, but when we do, her strength and song stick with us, which brings us to …

March 27, 2015 |

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9. Miriam’s Song

One of Debbie Friedman’s most joyful songs, “Miriam’s Song” is rooted in the Exodus verse describing how Miriam led the Israelite women in song and dance after they crossed the Red Sea. “… Miriam the Prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went after her with timbrels, dancing. And Miriam called to them: Sing to God …”

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10. Wise women

Many songs, poems and stories written by women are a perfect match for Passover; include them in your Seder along the way. Some of my favorites: Marge Piercy’s poem “Season of the Egg” Rabbi Rachel Berenblat (aka “The Velveteen Rabbi”) has a poem about what happens after the Seder.

Rabbi Jill Hammer’s “Orah Hi,” a feminist version of the traditional end of Seder song “Adir Hu.” AVITAL NORMAN NATHMAN is a freelance writer whose work has been featured in Bitch Magazine (and Bitch Media), The Guardian UK, CNN.com, Ms. Magazine, The Frisky and more. You can catch her musing online about motherhood and feminism on Twitter and at her blog, The Mamafesto, which was named a Top 25 Political Blog by Circle of Moms.

She is also the editor of “The Good Mother Myth: Redefining Motherhood to Fit Reality.”

(This piece was originally published on Kveller, a 70 Faces Media property.)

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28 | March 27, 2015

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The Jewish Voice

At Streit’s 90-year-old factory, ‘the men’ turn out their last matzah batch

BY GABE FRIEDMAN NEW YORK (JTA) – Seated in his Lower East Side office, in front of a large portrait of company patriarch Aron Streit, Alan Adler avoids becoming too nostalgic.

“It’s like I tell my family members: none of you own a car from 1935; why do you think a matzah factory from 1935 is what we should be using today?” says Adler, one of Streit’s Matzos’ 11 co-owners.

This is the line of thought behind the imminent closing of Streit’s matzah factory, a longtime Jewish fixture in a city neighborhood that once was home to one of the highest concentration of Jews in the country.

Streit’s, the last family-owned matzah company in the United States, announced in December that it would be permanently closing its 90-year-old factory after this Passover season because of longstanding mechanical problems and subsequent economic concerns. Sometime in April, the company will shift its matzah production either to its other factory across the river in northern New Jersey, where several other products such as macaroons and wafers are made, or to another non-Manhattan location.

The greatly gentrified Lower East Side has seen its real estate values skyrocket in recent decades. Although Streit’s has not yet identified a buyer for its landmark building on Rivington Street, the property was estimated to be worth $25 million in 2008, when the company first considered shuttering the factory.

“We should’ve been out of here five or 10 years ago,” says Adler, 63, who oversees the company’s day-to-day operations along with two cousins. “But we feel committed to the men [who work here] and we feel committed to the neighborhood, so we tried to keep this place afloat as long as we could. We probably could’ve stayed here even longer if I could’ve found somebody to work on the ovens.”

The ovens, identified only by “Springfield, Mass” on their side, date back to the 1930s. They are 75 feet long and are continuously fed a thin sheet of dough that emerges from the convection heat in perfect crisp form.

Streit’s does not disclose its official production numbers, but Adler says the factory churns out millions of pounds of matzah each year.

However, Adler also estimates that the ovens are now about 25 percent slower than they used to be, and he cannot find a mechanic willing to fix them. The slower pace decreases matzah output and affects the product’s flavor.

But the ovens aren’t the only outdated element of the factory. Except for a few electrical parts added to the machinery over the years, nearly all of the

other equipment is more than 70 years old. As a result, employees’ tasks have barely changed in more than half a century – from mixing the flour in small batches (in under 18 minutes to satisfy kosher requirements) to separating the matzah sheets into pieces that then travel up to higher floors on a conveyor belt.

“Nothing changes at Streit’s,” says Rabbi Mayer Kirshner, who oversees the factory’s kosher certification.

However, plenty has changed in the matzah business since Adler’s childhood in the 1950s and ’60s, when he liked to spend time picking fresh matzah out of the ovens. Back in the “heyday,” as Adler calls it, of the 1930s through the 1960s, there were four matzah factories in the New York metropolitan area: Horowitz-Margareten and Goodman’s in Queens, Manischewitz in New Jersey and Streit’s in Manhattan. Horowitz-Margareten and Goodman’s were sold to Manischewitz, which was bought by the private equity firm Kohlberg and Company in 1990. (Today it is owned

by Bain Capital, Mitt Romney’s former investment firm.)

The Streit’s factory also used

to boast a vibrant storefront with lines that spilled outside and around the corner. Today there is still a retail counter, but often it is left unmanned.

“Families have moved on, the Lower East Side has changed, so now we’ve sort of transitioned from a local bakery where people would stop by and pick up their matzah hot out of the oven in 1925 to now where 99.9 percent of our sales are wholesale to distributors who resell,” Adler says.

While his cousins helped at the retail counter, Adler, who joined the company 18 years ago after a law career, says he was always more comfortable working behind the scenes. In the factory’s freight elevator he has clearly ridden in innumerable times, he cracks a rare joke.

“You couldn’t build an elevator like this today,” he says. “It’s passed every safety law from 1925 and not one since.”

Adler says the 30 factory employees were shocked by the

news in December but are taking it “surprisingly well.” The company has told them that there are many jobs available at the New Jersey facility, but only three employees have taken the company up on the offer.

Many of “the men,” as Adler calls the employees, live in Queens and take public transportation to work, meaning that a potential commute to New Jersey would be difficult. Streit’s is working with the New York Department of Labor to help them find new jobs.

Anthony Zapata, who has worked at Streit’s for 33 years and who Adler says does everything from packing matzah to putting out fires (“literally, not figuratively”), tells JTA that he is very depressed about the factory’s closing. He says the increased transportation costs of traveling to New Jersey would be too much for him.

“I’m going to miss this place, and I’m going to miss everyone in it,” Zapata says. “I’ve never had a modern job to know what’s old and what’s different between modern and old.”

Zapata, 53, says that all the employees are friends and have barbecues together around the city in the warmer months.

“We’ll remain tight,” he says.

Adler does not betray many emotions on the matter, but he offers a bittersweet anecdote on the neighborhood’s evolution.

Shortly before the company first thought of selling the property in 2008, a man living in one of the condos adjacent to the factory complained to Adler about the noise and flour dust coming out of the building. Adler responded to his requests by blocking in and sealing several factory walls, and when he saw the man months later, he told him what he thought would be “good news” about the factory’s potential closing.

“He said, ‘Oh, God, I don’t want condos – there won’t be enough parking on this street!’”

Adler recalls. “All of a sudden, he liked my noise and my flour dust.

“I don’t know what they’ll do with this building now,” he adds, “but people don’t like change.”

Crunching the childhood lessons of Passover

BY EDMON J. RODMAN LOS ANGELES (JTA) – What did I really learn at the Seder table? That is, besides discovering that the white horseradish was way hotter than the red and that my very worldly uncles couldn’t read a word of Hebrew.

It’s a question worth considering as we invite new generations of participants to sit down at our Seder tables.

Today we have a whole Haggadah of apps, texts and websites that help us drain every last drop of meaning out of our yearly dinners remembering the going-out from Egypt. But in the midst of all this learning, have we somehow taken for granted the childhood lessons simmered into our meal built with a set order?

At my family Seders, which were held in my suburban Southern California home, I recall that little Hebrew was read from the red-and-yellowcovered Goldberg “Passover Haggadah” we used. Yet I also remember them as a welcome break, a time that set me free for a few hours from my childhood pattern of Koufax, Gumby and all things rockets.

My sister, Wendy, a school district administrator specializing in literacy and language who is five years older, remembers being uncomfortable due to the behavior of the adults: one relative refused to read anything, and others participated with a mocking tone, upsetting my mother. But even in that environment, she says that besides learning to endure, she was allowed the space to sit and find her own meaning in the proceedings.

I remember having lots of questions, none of them Exodus-related: where did these dishes come from? We didn’t use them any other time of the year. Why was there plastic all over the floor? To protect the carpet from wine spills? And why did my big sister get to sit up near the head of the table?

Was it because she had started Hebrew school and was the only

FROM PAGE 1

one at the table who could read the Hebrew?

The answers were there for even a simple son to see: the Seder was a special time, something you prepared for as indicated by the table settings and plastic. And as for my sister’s raised status, a little bit of knowledge gets you a better seat.

For many of us, our first serious encounter with the Seder comes when an adult tells you that as the youngest, it’s your turn to chant the Four Questions. “Why the youngest?” was my fifth question. “Why not someone older and more experienced, like my sister?”

Though my first-grade He-

“At the Seder, a child also learns how to defeat boredom, an important life lesson as anyone who watches cable TV can tell you.” brew school teacher and synagogue cantor prepped us in leading the Four Questions, little did they know that this lesson would teach us so much more. Or maybe they did. Even though I didn’t understand completely what I was doing, I did get the impression that this was serious stuff meant to be studied and not messed up, especially in front of my family. I also learned that I could repeat it in front of a group of people and remember feeling how good it felt to finally get it out, down to the last m’subbin (reclining).

My recitation also made me a participant: That was now my page in the Haggadah.

I also realized that I could learn stuff after school, and my head would not explode.

And the answers? They were in a book, and the Seder made it seem perfectly normal to read one before and after dinner.

I also learned from listening

REFUGE

and it was located in an inaccessible location.

In a video interview from the excavations, Schavelzon said he rejects the theory that Nazi official Martin Borman, who served as Adolf Hitler’s private secretary, had lived there.

When the Nazis did enter Argentina, they reportedly did so with the blessing of Argentine President Juan Peron and, thus, did not need the hiding places and the plans to spirit them there.

March 27, 2015 |

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thejewishvoice.org

“We think that we found a huge refuge that ultimately they didn’t use,” said Schavelzon, who also is a researcher on the National Scientific and Technical Research Council, or CONICET. Misiones province is located on the frontier between Argentina and Paraguay, which is populated by a large number of European immigrants. In 1940, Misiones had a population of 190,000, including 80,000 immigrants – 14,000 from Germany.

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HADASSAH WISHES YOU A HAPPY PASSOVER.

to the adults who did enjoy the Seder that it was important to read the words with feeling – “the mighty hand” was awesome, the plagues solemn and sorrowful.

My wife, Brenda, who had difficulty reading when she was a child, remembers at her family Seders trying to anticipate which paragraph she would be asked to read so that she could prepare and not have to be “helped.”

Yes, I know it’s a Jewish value not to embarrass someone, but we do, and however much the corrections might momentarily sting, they do teach another lesCELEBRATE SPRING · CELEBRATE FREEDOM · CELEBRATE PASSOVER son: if someone corrects you, you won’t die.

Hadassah Northeast At the Seder, a child also learns how to defeat boredom, 1320 Centre Street #205 an important life lesson as Newton Centre, MA 02459 anyone who watches cable TV 781.455.9055 can tell you. I remember my mother saying, “People who say hadassah.org they are bored are boring.” Not HADASSAH THE WOMEN’S ZIONIST wanting to fit into that categoORGANIZATION OF AMERICA, INC. ry, I entertained myself during ©2015 Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. Hadassah is a registered trademark of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist what seemed like forever by folOrganization of America, Inc. lowing the Haggadah’s instructions. I leaned and dipped and pointed and crunched hard, and when that failed, I checked out the plague drawings NE_Passover15_JVoice_Adv.indd and 1 3/13/15 thought about the weird matzah sandwiches I would be finding in my lunch bag all that week.

Most of all, I think, a child learns at the Seder that there is order in his universe. In a body that changes weekly, occupied by interests that come and go in a flash, order is kind of a relief.

As I recall, the order of our Seder was quite simple: It began with my sister singing the Kiddush and me learning what wine tasted like. The halfway point was marked by my mother’s brisket, from which I gained a taste for Jewish food.

And the end? That was when my mother and uncles argued, the lesson being that sweet reason doesn’t always prevail.

Hag Sameah.

From Our Jewish Seniors Agency Family to Yours

EDMON J. RODMAN is a JTA columnist who writes on Jewish life from Los Angeles.

Contact him at edmojace@ gmail.com.

“It is very interesting scientific research, and we believe that full transparency is crucial to understanding the scope of the Nazi presence in Argentina and South America,” Sergio Widder, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s director for Latin America, told JTA. “I believe that the enthusiasm should be balanced with a professional approach, which seems to be the case. It is important to note that Schavelzon makes clear that no secret hiding plans were needed in Argentina, since the protection of the Nazis was out in the open.”

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From the Board of Directors and Staff of the Jewish Seniors Agency: Jewish Eldercare of Rhode Island* To Life Center Adult Day Services at JSA Shalom and Shalom ll Apartments The Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living Residence Celebrations Adult Day Services at Tamarisk JSA Women's Association The Louis and Goldie Chester Full Plate Kosher Food Pantry* *

*Partially funded by the Jewish Alliance of Rhode Island

Jeffrey Padwa President Jewish Seniors Agency

Paul Barrette Executive Director Jewish Seniors Agency

10:14 AM

30 | March 27, 2015

PASSOVER

Where to go for a Passover Seder Passover, one of the most celebrated holidays, is upon us. It is the time to hear the story of how the Israelites were freed in ancient Egypt.

And time for the ritual feast – a feast shared with family, friends and community. There are several options ASK available if you want to attend WENDY a community Seder.

WENDY CongregaJOERING tion Am David, Warwick, Annual Second Evening Seder led by Rabbi Richard Perlman.

After services, enjoy a traditional Passover meal catered by Accounting for Taste LLC with your choice of brisket, poached salmon or vegetarian option.

April 4, 6-8 p.m. $42 per adult, $26.50 per child 12 and under, Please call for reservations and more information 401-463-7944.

Temple Habonim, Barrington, Annual Community 2nd Night Seder on April 4 at 6 p.m. The Sisterhood will provide the entire meal, including main course as well as traditional Passover trimmings: wine, matzah, Seder plates, place settings, and more. Requested donation is $15 per family, and it is requested that people bring a canned good as a donation for Tap-In, a Barrington food pantry. The Seder is open to the community with

reservations required by Monday, March 30. Call the Temple office at 401-245-6536 or sign up online at templehabonim.org.

Temple Sinai, Cranston, Second night Seder. April 4, 5:30 p.m. Social Hall. Complete kosher-style Seder dinner will be served. The cost is $30 for adults, $15 for children ages 6-12, and $5 for children age 5 and under. Open to the community, but seating is limited.

For more information call 401942-8350 or email dottie@templesinairi.org.

Chabad of Warwick, no cost, donations to Chabad welcome.

Seder is at 8 p.m. April 3. Please call Rabbi Yossi Laufer at 401884-7888, reservations required.

Chabad of Barrington, no cost, donations to Chabad welcome. RSVP to Rabbi Moshe Laufer 401-247-4747 for more information, reservations required. Seder both nights: Friday 7 p.m., Saturday 8:15 p.m.

If you or someone you know needs some assistance with food during this time, Passover food will be available on the following days at the Louis and Goldie Chester Full Plate Kosher Food Pantry from 10 a.m.

-2 p.m.: March 27, March 31, April 3 and April 7. For more information, contact Susan Adler at 401-621-5374.

WENDY JOERING is community concierge and director of membership at the Jewish Alliance. Send questions to wjoering@jewishallianceri.org.

The Jewish Voice

In eastern Ukraine, a unique matzah factory puts food on Jewish tables

BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ DNEPROPETROVSK, Ukraine (JTA) – With one eye on a digital countdown timer, Binyamin Vestrikov jumps up and down while slamming a heavy rolling pin into a piece of dough.

Aware of his comical appearance to the journalist watching, he exaggerates his movements to draw laughs from a dozen colleagues at the kneading station of Tiferet Hamatzot – a factory believed to be Europe’s only permanently open bakery for handmade matzah, or shmurah matzah.

But Vestrikov’s urgency is not just for entertainment.

Rather it is designed to meet the production standards that have allowed this unique bakery in eastern Ukraine to provide the Jewish world with a specialty product at affordable prices. The factory here also offers job security to about 50 Jews living in a war-ravaged region with a weakened economy and high unemployment.

Each time Vestrikov and his co-workers receive a new chunk of dough, the timers over their work stations give them only minutes to turn it into a 2-pound package of fully baked matzah – a constraint meant to satisfy even the strictest religious requirements for the unleavened crackers that Jews consume on Passover to commemorate their ancestors’ hurried flight out of Egypt.

“The faster the process, the more certain we are that no extra water came into contact with the dough and that it did not have any chance of leavening,” says Rabbi Shmuel Liber-

man, one of two kashrut supervisors who ensure that the factory’s monthly production of approximately eight tons complies with kosher standards for shmurah matzah.

The time limitation means the entire production line has only 18 minutes to transform flour and water into fully baked and packaged matzah.

ing off even at the height of the harsh Ukrainian winter – the factory’s workers form a tight community whose social currency is made up of jokes and lively banter, mostly on cigarette breaks.

Workers like Vestrikov say they receive good wages, but production costs and taxes in Ukraine are so low that

Still, the workers are not complaining. They are happy to have a steady, dollar-adjusted income in a country whose currency is now worth a third of its February 2014 value – the result of a civil war between government troops and pro-Russian separatists that has paralyzed Ukraine’s industrial heart and flooded the job market with hundreds of thousands of refugees from the battle zones.

“It’s hard work, sure, but I am very happy to be doing it,” Vestrikov says. “I don’t need to worry about how to feed my family. There is very little hiring going on, and every job has dozens of takers because all the refugees from the east are here.”

Rolling up a sleeve over a throbbing bicep, he adds, “Besides, this way I don’t need to go to the gym.”

Despite working under pressure in a hectic and overheated environment – the ovens at Tiferet Hamatzot remain heated for days, preventing the building from ever cool-

the factory can still afford to charge customers significantly less than its competitors in the West, said Stella Umanskaya, a member of the Dnepropetrovsk Jewish community and the factory’s administrative manager.

A 2-pound box of Tiferet Hamatzot costs approximately $10 locally and $15 abroad compared to more than double that price for shmurah matzah produced in bakeries in western Europe, such as the Neymann matzah bakery in France, or those operating in Israel and the United States.

Shmurah matzah, Hebrew for “guarded matzah,” is more expensive than regular matzah because it requires manual labor by people whose task is to guard that it does not become leavened bread – a concept derived from a verse in the book of Exodus that states “You shall guard the matzot.”

Some consider it a mitzvah to consume shmurah matzah because it upholds that commandment of devoting special attention or effort to guarding the matzah.

For this reason, traditional Jewish law requires that the handling of matzah and its ingredients be done by Jews only. But the factory also employs more than a dozen nonJews who perform other tasks, including distribution.

To Rabbi Meir Stambler, the owner of Tiferet Hamatzot, this means the bakery “not only puts matzah shmurah on Jewish tables, but also helps build bridges and do mitzvot with non-Jews.”

Stambler, an Israeli Chabad rabbi who lives in Dnepropetrovsk and opened the factory 12 years ago, said his father used to bake shmurah matzah in secrecy in Tashkent, when the Uzbek capital was still part of the Soviet Union and subject to its anti-religious policies.

“Back then, matzah used to be smuggled from Israel into the Soviet Union before its collapse in 1990,” he said. “It’s just unbelievable that now, some years later, we bake matzah in Ukraine and send it all over the world.”

PASSOVER

thejewishvoice.org

March 27, 2015 |

31

Four cups for four sons

BY ANNA HARWOOD Every year families all over the world unite to enjoy the Seder.

While calling all members of the family together may feel like the gathering of the exiles, it is the laughter and discussion held around the table that all will remember for years to come. Many households are made up of a range of personalities reminiscent of the four sons we discuss during the Seder.

Placating them may, at times, feel like a balancing act. This Passover, the Golan Heights Winery presents fun recommendations for wines to fit each type, so that the differing personalities do not create a havoc worse than the 10 plagues.

Type 1: The Firecracker or the Evil Son This boisterous personality is not always the “evil son,” rather the family member who enjoys being the antagonist, often leaving us in fits of laughter.

The rebel rouser has a tendency of taking things too far, and often can turn an evening into the unexpected. Appease this “evil” one with a glass of the sensational Yarden Rose 2009 sparkling wine. As the newest sparkling wine from the Golan Heights Winery, the delicious Yarden Rose exemplifies its fi ne quality through each sip.

The wine’s subtle flavors make it a perfect match for delicate dishes, as well as bubbly personalities. The Yarden Rose’s attractive rose color and acidity raises spirits and offers the perfect opportunity to make a toast to the evening’s celebrations.

The wine opens with a pop and will begin the Seder with an energetic fi zz, fitting to placate this guests’ malevolent (albeit

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loveable) demeanor. Such a wine could transform the “evil” son into an angel.

Type 2: The Favorite or the Wise Son The “wise son” may at times be too smart for his own good, and it is usually a treat for the rest of the family to fi nd those rare moments he gets surprised or stumped. Sometimes he is the favorite and other times – the antagonist himself; the fellow siblings especially relish putting this son in his place.

Test this know-it-all’s wine knowledge with the Yarden 2T, a Portuguese-style dry red wine made up of two less familiar varieties, the Touriga Nacional and the Tinta Cao, exhibiting a rich, fruity and complex body.

The Yarden 2T will reward all guests both as a perfect accompaniment to the meaty dishes of the Seder and with precious few moments of silence as this “wise son” tries to ascertain the appropriate varieties within.

Type 3: The Quiet One or the Simple Son We all know this personality, who seems to repeat his contributions year to year (is this night really different than all other nights?). Though his observations may seem, well, obvious, we can try and add some points to this son’s IQ by giving him a wine that is anything but simple: the Galil Mountain Meron. The Meron evolves during the meal as new flavors are expressed with every sip and is the ideal engagement to begin wine discussion. This strong and well-balanced wine exhibits a silky texture and a long velvety fi nish, which fi lls the palate with its rich tastes and is the perfect companion to the

Seder plate’s lamb. Not only will this wine greatly aid the “simple” son’s wisdom, after a cup or two of the Meron, you may fi nd the brilliance of all the guests gathered round the table enhanced.

Type 4: The Youngsters or the Ones Who Do Not Know How to Ask While this guest may usually give a “deer in the headlights” look when asked a question, the Seder is ultimately about engaging all of our company, thus securing the links in our

tradition. Studies have shown that the glazed-over look can be recharged with a good glass of fi ne, sweet wine. For “the one who does not know how to ask”, choose the Yarden Heights wine. This award winning wine is truly a dessert wine with a difference, compelling your guests to ask “why can’t all other wines be like this one?”

The Yarden Heights wine is a delightful and rich wine comprised of an aromatic mix of tropical fruit flavors layered with honeysuckle, jasmine and a hint of spice, truly described as the “taste of Gan Eden.”

Keep the all your guests awake and alert by the end of the Seder without engaging in the search for the afikoman but simply by fi lling their glasses with this delectable choice.

Next year, in Jerusalem!

With all personalities satisfied by wine, bring a unifying close to this wonderful evening.

Anticipation (and attendance) for the year to come can be ensured by providing a wine that the whole table can raise a united glass and toast “next year in Jerusalem.” The Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon is an Israeli classic; a rich wine with complex flavors and a full body. Containing all the elements of a quality and elegant Cabernet, this is the perfect choice to bring together the whole family.

ANNA HARWOOD studies Clinical Psychology at Bar Ilan University and made aliyah from England 4 years ago.

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32 | March 27, 2015

PASSOVER | WORLD

The Jewish Voice

That first Passover

BY REGINA BRETT JNS.ORG That fi rst Passover was a tough one. I had been dating a Jewish man for the fi rst time in my life, and he invited me to celebrate Passover with a few dozen friends.

He didn’t warn me about the four cups of wine. (I don’t drink.)

He didn’t tell me about the meat. (I’m a vegetarian.)

He didn’t give me any clues about what to wear. (I’m fashion impaired.)

So I showed up wearing a sporty red, white and blue dress that was probably a few inches too short and a few shades too red. What was I thinking? That it was the 4th of July?

I would have stood out anyway. The name Regina is like a brand that you’re Catholic. I was clueless about Jewish traditions and had never heard of Jewish geography since it doesn’t extend too deeply into counties Clare and Mayo where my dad’s parents came from in Ireland.

I gave up on blending in at the Seder the minute I walked in the door. Before my boyfriend could introduce me, the host shouted with glee from across the room, “A goy!” then rushed over to welcome me into his home. That was the fi rst time I met philanthropist Lee Seidman, whose joy for all things Jewish became contagious and got me hooked for life.

That Passover night I became Jew “ish.”

As a Catholic growing up in a small town, I was rarely exposed to anyone Jewish. The only thing my parents said about Jews is that they were still waiting for the Messiah, as if they had missed some spiritual bus the rest of us had climbed on.

In Catholic school when we

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Regina Brett collectively played the part of the Jewish crowd on Good Friday chanting, “Crucify him!” we didn’t know it was anti-Semitic. We believed God chose for Jesus to die on a cross for the salvation of mankind. Anyone else involved was like an extra that got a small speaking part in that Passion play.

My parents never said anything negative about anyone Jewish, but they didn’t teach us anything about Jews or Judaism and all the rich rituals and traditions and endless holidays that seem to occur every third day of the year.

Most Gentiles I know (yes, I’ve adopted that word over the years) are clueless about anything Jewish except for Seinfeld reruns and Sondheim lyrics. In one newsroom where I worked, the café attempted to recognize Passover one spring. Next to the freshly baked bread they posted a sign that read: Passover bread.

Ouch.

So I stumbled through my fi rst Seder, but it didn’t matter, because I soon felt like family.

As soon as they started the service, my heart relaxed. I knew the story from Exodus about how Moses led the people from

bondage to freedom. This was my life story, too. This was my past, too.

Exodus. Deuteronomy. Isaiah.

The paschal lamb. The breaking of the bread. It was all familiar, except for the matzah, haroset and gefilte fish, which doesn’t even resemble a fish.

Passover taught me to re-view the past, to see it all through the eyes of gratitude, framed by that powerful word Dayenu. It would have been enough for us.

If God had only brought us out of Egypt, it would have been enough.

If God had just parted the sea for us, it would have been enough.

If God had merely fed us manna in the desert, it would have been enough.

But God kept – and keeps – on giving.

Passover is the story of how much we are loved.

As I listened to the history of the Jews, I heard my own history in a new light. If God had only given me my daughter, it would have been enough. If God had just bestowed on me good health, it would have been enough. If God had merely given me any one of the endless gifts in my life, it would have been enough.

I ended up marrying the boyfriend who took me to my fi rst Passover. God ended up giving me a Jewish husband, who came with two wonderful sons, three amazing siblings and more Jewish friends than I can count.

That fi rst Passover pulled me into a new world, one that now feels like home.

REGINA BRETT is a columnist for the Cleveland Jewish News (where this article fi rst appeared) and a Pulitzer Prize fi nalist.

New initiative to promote global Jewish volunteering JTA – Three foundations have partnered for an initiative to promote global Jewish volunteering and service.

The launch of OLAM was announced March 24. The Alliance for Global Good, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Pears Foundation are the partners in an initiative that will promote volunteering and service learning, international development and social justice advocacy around the world.

It will serve as a field-building resource, championing, coordinating and educating for the benefit of organizations, practitioners and volunteers, according to the foundation partners.

There are more than 40 Jewish organizations in the fields of volunteering and service learning, international development and social justice advocacy, an analysis commissioned by OLAM found.

However, many are underfunded, undernetworked and underrecognized. The groups address issues such as disease, poverty and hunger.

Each of the three founding groups has been independently funding organizations in the fields of volunteering and service learning, international development and social justice advocacy for many years.

“Today’s global Jewish community is blessed with unprecedented wealth and influence.

Israel, which was a developing

country less than 60 years ago, has a strong economy and is a world leader in many realms,” said Dyonna Ginsburg, OLAM’s executive director. “Yet with resources comes responsibility – a responsibility to be true to our own tradition of tikkun olam, repairing a fractured world, and to do our part to address some of the world’s most complex issues, which no single organization or funder can solve alone. It is only by coming together and learning from one another that we can leverage the tremendous wisdom that already exists.”

Ginsburg previously served as director of education and service learning at The Jewish Agency for Israel.

PASSOVER | COMMUNITY

thejewishvoice.org

March 27, 2015 |

Faith leaders get lessons in advance care

BY MARTY COOPER mcooper@jewishallianceri.org Faith leaders should be a critical source for end-of-life information. That was the message to the 67 leaders who attended an interfaith advanced care training program March 24.

The program was put together by the interfaith community in conjunction with C-TAC, the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care. The purpose was to teach the proper methods to help those who face end-of-life situations.

The training program, which included sessions on spiritual, ethical, medical and legal perspectives facing individuals and families, opened with a prerecorded message from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse who was unable to attend. Whitehouse has been an advocate for end-oflife care legislation in Congress.

In his message Whitehouse said that this is an important issue.

Everyone will have to face this issue at one time or another with loved ones.

Dr. Michael Fine, outgoing director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, reinforced the senator’s concern that people in treatment should get the best care for their individual needs, including advanced, or end of life care. Fine said there are human implications that are not always looked at properly. The medical industry should do “for” the person instead of “to” the person. The system, he said, too often rewards the

Rabbi Jim Rosenberg speaks to the group. medical community for what they do “to” the patient. This is not always what is necessary for the person.

Rabbi Jim Rosenberg led the discussion on the spiritual issue, focusing on Psalm 88; A Poem for the Winter Solstice.

Attorney Maureen Glynn spoke on the issue of legal documents that assist with advanced care situations such as the Do not Resuscitate (DNR) orders.

Dr. Myles Sheehan, SJ, who did his residency in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, gave the keynote address. Sheehan discussed what he called the trajectory of dying and described the difference between palliative and hospice care. Too often, he said, the patient is the actor in a death. The

person and the family need the support of the community. This is where clergy can be most helpful. The problem however, is that many members of the clergy need to learn how to deal with this issue.

Rabbi Barry Dolinger from Congregation Beth Sholom, Rabbi Ethan Adler of Congregation Beth David and the Jewish Seniors Agency and Rabbi Sarah Mack of Temple Beth-El were instrumental in setting the agenda for the program which the Rhode Island State Council of Churches facilitated.

The program was held at Phillips Memorial Church in Cranston.

MARTY COOPER is the Community Relations Director for the Jewish Alliance.

Happy Passover!

33

BUSINESS

34 | March 27, 2015

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Hain Celestial buys Empire, largest kosher poultry producer in U.S. JTA – The Hain Celestial Group has bought Empire Kosher Poultry Inc., the largest kosher poultry producer in the United States.

Hain Celestial, one of the country’s largest sellers of natural and organic foods, had owned roughly 20 percent of EK Holdings Inc., Empire Kosher Poultry’s parent

corporation, before announcing on March 4 that it had purchased the remaining 80 percent.

Empire generated more than $100 million in net sales in 2014. “Empire expands our Farm to Table product offerings, a growing category that appeals to those seeking ‘the pure foods trend,’ including

our core natural and organic consumers,” Irwin Simon, the president and CEO of Hain Celestial, said in a news release. “We plan to expand the product offerings into deli, fresh prepared foods and other grocery categories.”

Simon is the son of a kosher butcher from Nova Scotia.

Pay Pal buys Israeli cyber security start-up JERUSALEM (JTA) – PayPal has purchased the Israeli cyber security company CyActive for $60 million.

The deal for the Beershebabased CyActive was signed last week and is expected to

close shortly, the Israeli business daily Globes reported.

A spokeswoman for CyActive, which was founded in 2013, declined to comment on the reports to local media and Reuters. Pay Pal also de-

clined to comment.

CyActive is the second Israeli company that PayPal has purchased. In 2008 it paid $169 million for FraudSciences, which monitors financial fraud.

5 young innovators picked for Jewish education award NEW YORK (JTA) – Five Jewish educators under 36 were selected for the Young Pioneers Award given by New York’s Jewish Education Project.

The annual award, launched in 2012, is for young professionals working with children or teens in a Jewish educational setting in New York City, Westchester County or on Long Island.

The Jewish Education Project said the five educators were

chosen for their commitment to innovation, proven use of technology or other new approaches to inspire students and/or families and designing or implementing new educational initiatives.

This year’s recipients are Maya Blank, a teacher and special education consultant at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in Manhattan; Noah Hichenberg, director of the JCC in Manhattan nursery school; Lindsay Ganci, direc-

tor of youth engagement at the Community Synagogue in Rye; Benjamin Gross, director of educational technology at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway; and Rinat Levy-Cohen, Hebrew-language teacher at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in Manhattan.

The award recipients will receive a $360 professional development stipend and tickets to a conference hosted by The Jewish Education Project.

March 27, 2015 |

35

The Jewish Voice Classified FAMILY DAY CARE A new and unique family day care is opening in the East Side area. It combines spoken Hebrew, Judaic themes and natural living.

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36 | March 27, 2015

OBITUARIES

The Jewish Voice

Rebbetzin Tichyeh Schochet

Happy Passover

Sharon, Massachusetts | 781-828-7216 www.sharonmemorial.com

PROV I DENCE – Rebb et z i n Tichyeh Schochet died March 18 after a four-year illness.

She was the wife of Rabbi Raphie Schochet who founded the Providence Community Kollel in the autumn of 2004. After teaching at PHDS for two years, she became the Judaic Studies principal of the New England Academy of Torah. A Brooklyn native, she was educated in the Bais Yaakov school system and attended the Beth Jacob Jerusalem Seminary. She taught and did outreach in Baltimore with her husband, a prominent member of the Kollel of the Ner Israel Rabbinical College. She arrived in Providence knowing no one, yet hundreds from the entire spectrum of our Jewish community attended her funeral and feel bereft on her passing.

In little more than a decade, Tichyeh served as a principal, teacher, mentor, hostess, friend and most of all, devoted wife and mother of seven with energy, dignity and aplomb. Yet her most sublime achievement surpasses all of these accomplishments. During the four years of her devastating illness, she became a role model for all of us, of every age and every walk of life, and this is her greatest legacy. Tichyeh serves as a paradigm of faith and acceptance, the servant of God, who did not allow her physical challenges to impede spiritual achievements.

When Tichyeh came to Provi-

Rebbetzin Tichyeh Schochet dence, her energy and enthusiasm were boundless. She hosted dinners, organized a yearly Women’s Conference, gave Torah classes, all while serving as the principal of NEAT, directing its Judaic Studies as well as all other aspects of student life.

Yet, her greatest joy revolved around her role as wife and mother, creating a safe haven for her family of kedusha (sanctity) and simcha (joy).

Tichyeh touched so many lives in New York, Baltimore and, ultimately, Providence.

Unaffected and open, she drew people to her like a magnet, whether in school or at Kollel events. She truly saw the Godliness in every individual. Her commitment to others was motivated by her giving nature,

Neil Arbor, 64 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Neil Arbor passed away March 21. He was the beloved husband of Elaine Arbor; they were married for 41 years. He was born in Providence, a son of Gerald and Shirley (Schuster) Arbor.

He was a dedicated CPA and a decorated pilot. He was on the Board of Directors for the United Brothers Synagogue. He was a member of the United States Air Force Auxiliary, the Quonset Aero Club, Touro Fraternal Association, Alpine Country Club and the Sons of Italy Renaissance Lodge.

He was the dear father of Mitchell and Eric Arbor and the loving brother of Paul Arbor.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 931 Jefferson Blvd., Suite 3004, Warwick, R.I. 02886.

Gerald Coken, 85 CAMPTON, N. H. – Gerald “Jerry” Coken, Campton, N.H., formerly of Cranston, died March 19 in Lebanon, N.H. He was the beloved husband of Patricia (Pokras) Coken. They were married for 59 years. Born in Providence, he was a son of the late Irving and Sylvia (Barasch) Coken.

Jerry was a graduate of Hope High School, class of 1948, and Roger Williams University,

a selflessness. Yet she had a strong sense of self reflected in her personal standards as well as her ability to be decisive, a leader.

During her illness, which became increasingly challenging and debilitating, she persevered to maintain the activities that for her were labors of love. She orchestrated the high school production and put together a successful conference for more than 100 women this winter. Four days before her final hospital stay, she was still coming to school as both principal and teacher, still advising the girls, still teaching.

The illness was ravaging her body, but it could not destroy her spirit. What fueled her was her indomitable will. It was her unquenchable urge to keep on giving selflessly to others, to continue teaching and inspiring those around her with the tenets of Torah Judaism, to sustain the fabric of her family and home life with a strength that was purely spiritual and spiritually pure.

Rebbetzin Tichyeh Schochet will be missed profoundly by her family and all those that she touched in her brief life.

Yet it was a life of tremendous accomplishment and impact on her surroundings. Her actions and spirit will remain with us, and we hope they will continue to teach, animate and inspire us.

class of 1950. He was an Air National Guard Veteran of the Korean War, serving in Tripoli, Libya, with the 102nd AC & W Squadron from 1952-1954.

He was the vice president and treasurer of Coken Co., Providence, for 30 years, retiring in 1983, and a charter boat captain for 15 years. He was a member of Touro Fraternal Association, Temple Sinai and its Men’s Club and Overseas Lodge of the Masons and Potowomut Country Club. He was a past president of the R.I. Chapter of N.E.C.A. He was an avid skier and golfer.

Devoted father of Lawrence Coken and his wife Cynthia of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Jane Ryan and her husband Christopher of Spencer, Mass., and Stacey Burns and her husband Thomas of Duxbury, Mass. He was the brother of Myron Coken of Cranston. Loving grandfather of Samantha, Tyler, Cierra, Ryan, Jackson and Meagan.

Contributions in his memory may be made to your favorite charity.

Norman A. Elman WARWICK, R.I. – Norman A. Elman died March 14 at home, surrounded by his loving family and beloved Bichon, Tevy.

He was the beloved husband of OBITUARIES | 37

OBITUARIES

thejewishvoice.org

FROM PAGE 36

OBITUARIES

Arline (Raskin) Elman for 39 years. Born in Providence, a son of the late Morris and Dorothy (Ackerman) Elman, he had lived in Warwick for 39 years, previously residing in Cranston.

He was the owner of Olnyville Tire Co. in Providence. He was a member of Touro Fraternal Association, Redwood Lodge #35 AF & AM, Temple Beth-El and its Brotherhood, was a former member of Temple Sinai and past president of its Brotherhood and was a board member of Lincoln Park Cemetery.

Loving father of Dory E. Elman of Cranston and Michelle J. Elman of Brookline, Mass.

Contributions in his memory may be made to your favorite charity.

Anita Lazarus, 94

HOLLYWOOD, FLA. – Anita Lazarus passed away on March 4 in Hollywood Fla. She was the beloved wife of Herman Lazarus. Born in Providence on Aug. 25, 1920, a daughter of the late Martin and Ida Golden; the sister of Florence Golden and the late Harvey Golden.

She was the mother of the late Pauline Brown. She is survived by her son Howard Lazarus and his wife Diane, granddaughters Dr. Stephanie Bernell, Pamela Rickett, Susy Epps; her greatgrandchildren; Danielle, Jake, Eli and Miles.

She was a lifelong resident of Providence and, in her later years, of Hollywood, Fla. She was known for her unending kindness and gentle spirit, for being always happy to lend a helping hand to those in need.

She loved playing bridge and

curling up with a good book; she was loved and adored by all.

Contributions in her memory may be made to the Dwares Jewish Community Center, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, R.I. 02906.

Ira B. Lukens, Esq., 63

CRANSTON , R.I. – Ira Bernard Lukens, J.D., of Cranston, died quietly in his sleep March 16.

He leaves behind family and friends, Patricia, Josh, David, Steve, Sarah, Jean, Josh, David, Anne and his two cats, Duie and Benjamin.

He was born June 30, 1951. He grew up in South Orange, N.J., and attended Peddie School in Hightstown and then Columbia H.S. in Maplewood, N.J. After high school, he attended Tufts University but after two years transferred to Pratt University, where he received a bachelor’s in fine arts. He was an accomplished artist and sculptor. Later in life, he earned a J.D. from Tulane University and had his own law practice, as well as practiced environmental law for New England Gas Co. He enjoyed kayaking, tennis, bicycling, skiing, drawing and sculpture, all types of music and intellectual discussions on any subject.

He will be sorely missed by his many friends and family members.

Malvern ‘Mal’ Ross, 89

PAWTUCKET, R.I. – Malvern “Mal” Ross died March 15 at Rhode Island Hospital. He was the beloved husband of Eleanor (Young) Ross for 67 years.

Devoted father of David Ross of Lincoln. Dear brother of the

OBITUARIES

We print death notices of approximately 300 words for people with ties to our circulation area. There is no charge. We will print a photo if submitted and a small flag for veterans. Please submit obituary and photo to editor@jewishallianceri.org and indicate if a photo and/or a flag should accompany the obituary.

late Seymour Rosenberg and Martha Tommassino. Loving grandfather of Michael.

Born in Providence, a son of the late David and Anna Rosenberg, he had lived in Pawtucket since 1956. He was the former co-owner of Lewis-Williams Furniture Co. in East Providence for 27 years, retiring in 1997. He was a WWII Army veteran. He was a member of Touro Fraternal Association, Redwood Lodge #35 AF & AM, Barker Players, Temple BethEl and a former member of

Temple Emanu-El and the Jewish Bowling Congress. He was a past president of the Cranston Senior Guild.

Contributions in his memory may be made to your favorite charity.

Anna Schwartz, 90

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Anna ( Wa c h t e n h e i m ) S c h w a r t z passed away March 16. She was the wife of the late Bernard Schwartz. Born in Berehova, Hungary, she was the daughter of the late Shmuel and Malka Wachtenheim.

March 27, 2015 |

37

She was an active member of Congregation Beth Sholom and the Providence Hebrew Day School.

She is survived by her son Herbert Schwartz and many dear friends.

Contributions in her memory may be made to Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence; Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence; or New England Rabbinical College, 262 Blackstone Blvd., Providence.

Yehuda Avner, speechwriter for 4 Israeli prime ministers, dies JERUSALEM (JTA) – Yehuda Avner, a speechwriter and adviser to four Israeli prime ministers, has died.

Avner, who wrote a memoir about his government service called “The Prime Ministers,” died March 24 at his home in Jerusalem. He was 86.

As the speechwriter and adviser to Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and Menachem Begin, Avner was present at many of the most historical and private moments of the state and its leaders.

His son-in-law David Sable called Avner “Begin’s Shakespeare.” Sable also wrote in a

statement sent to reporters that Avner “was a true servant of the Jewish people. The statement said that in Avner’s role as adviser “to the Generation of Legendary Leaders of Israel he was never political, never took personal gain, never shied from conflict.”

Avner “listened, advised and wrote giving voice to the Prime Ministers he served and voice to our cause and our people,” Sable wrote.

An emigre from England to British Mandate Palestine in 1947, Avner also served as Israeli ambassador to Australia and the United Kingdom.

Yehuda Avner

Anne Frank’s cousin, actor Buddy Elias, dies at 89

JTA – Buddy Elias, a former president of the Anne Frank Fonds in Basel and a cousin of the teenage diarist from Amsterdam, has died.

Elias, an actor who headed the charity named after his cousin, died March 16 shortly before his 90th birthday at his home in Basel, according to Tachles, the Swiss Jewish newspaper.

“For decades, Buddy Elias campaigned for civil society, dialogue and education against discrimination,” Yves Kugelmann, a board member of the Anne Frank Fonds, wrote in a

statement. “As a contemporary witness and cousin of Margot and Anne Frank, he was tirelessly engaged in educational work, human rights and, in particular, the rights of children and adolescents.”

In 2012, Elias was instrumental in founding the Frank Family Centre in Frankfurt where archives of the Frank, Elias, Stern and Kahn families will be

made accessible to the public.

Born in Frankfurt am Main in 1925, where he spent his early years with Anne Frank, Elias immigrated to Basel in 1931 with his Jewish family.

After World War II, he began his acting career as a clown with Holiday on Ice, touring the world with the show for 14 years. He later became a film actor.

38 | March 27, 2015

SENIORS

The Jewish Voice

A journey of discovery to Sosua We hired a cab. It got a flat tire on the road from Puerto Plata to Sosua. We were heading for the downtown strip, between a hotel and a bank, where, hidden

SKETCHBOOK MIKE FINK

by a fence and a wall, there was a Jewish historical museum.

And, right next door, a small synagogue. We had no guide to show us around, but our driver dug up somebody to unlock the gate for us.

The story behind this scene begins in 1940. The Evian conference had been held in France to gather the international community and discuss what to do about, or with, the Jewish victims of Nazi/ German persecution. Lots of tongue clicking and clucking, but no action taken. With one

PHOTOS | MEL BLAKE

Discovering Jewish artifacts in Sosua. noble and notable exception.

The Dominican Republic, in the

time and term of the Trujillo tyranny, most graciously and gallantly invited the desperate and despairing refugees to the town of Sosua promising every courtesy and welcome.

The guarantee of safety would be backed up and funded by the government itself.

Sadly, tragically and mysteriously, only a fraction of the genuinely and generously invited guests accepted the kind offer. Trujillo’s motivations for the magnificent gesture may have remained unknown, but the little memorial gallery is most elegantly eloquent in its explanatory signage. There is the usual customary museum objection to the taking of photographs of the displays. I can however mention a few items.

A pine fi le cabinet, simple but

somehow a handsome and telling relic. It says the urban kibbutzniks unfamiliar with the economy of agriculture, used their skills to organize and record their progress. These pioneers managed to survive and to build a new world with swiftly learned manual talents.

Some took local native wives and lived to see their grandchildren and great-grandchildren truly enter the ordinary life of the Dominican Republic. Mostly, however, they did the best they could until, in 1945, they could emigrate to more promising urban postwar places and

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take up the familiar patterns of their prewar cultures and folkways. This devout “ghost town” struck me as the secret half-buried treasure of the Caribbean world.

The buildings impressed me and brought to my mind words I like to use but have very few, and rare, occasions to do so. Words like “noble,” “honorable,”poetic” and “poignant.” Little white wildflowers grew shyly on the grassy garden entrance space, poking up like greetings. The front entrance of the synagogue has JOURNEY | 39

Cranston seniors set busy schedule

The next Cranston Senior Guild meeting is April 1, at 1 p.m. at Tamarisk Assisted Living. 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick. It will be followed by bingo, refreshments and a raffle. All men and women ages 55 years and older are welcome to join. Cranston residency is not required.

Join us to see a show. Members and nonmembers have the opportunity to purchase tickets at a group rate of $48.50 each to see “Old Jews Telling Jokes” at Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St., Providence on April 29 at 2 p.m. Don’t miss out. The deadline for purchasing tickets is April 14. The production consists of five actors in a comedy that pays tribute to and reinvents classic jokes of the past and present. The show also features comic songs.

Cranston residency is not required.

For additional information call Sunny at 401-785-0748.

SENIORS

thejewishvoice.org

the only nation on the planet that opened its heart and its helping hand when the more powerful domains were busy slamming their doors shut.

There is a mood of sacredness and spirituality right in the midst of the town, troubled though it may be by tough economic and political times.

There is a richness of tone, and our visit brought the four of us

March 27, 2015 |

39

together for a few moments of silent prayer for peace in the world. Thanks to Mel and Pat Blake and to my wife Michael – I call her sometimes “Lady Michael” – for sharing this academic adventure.

MIKE FINK (mfi nk33@aol. com) teaches at RISD.

GOLDA’S BALCONY

by William Gibson

The outside gate was locked.

JOURNEY

FROM PAGE 38 a southern veranda, but we entered by another door: the Sephardic tradition of arranging pews all around the ark does not resemble the design of a church with pews facing an altar. Like the biblical tent, there are doors at each side. The stained glass windows above illustrate Genesis stories, but they seem to say L’chaim – to life itself, in a way that is startlingly modern, like a declaration of environmental respect for all creatures designed by God in six marvelous days and everything proclaimed “good,” with artistic sighs of satisfaction and success, true blessings

on the world. In this case, the entire wooden hut seemed to say a grateful thank-you to the Dominican Republic for its fabulous redemption, like any episode in Jewish legend and lore.

It is a moving miniature architectural remnant, proud with its construction and paneling of royal palm lumber. It is not a forgotten or unknown spot on earth, just unique in its cheerful mood. I like to visit tiny synagogues when I travel to escape the winter winds. There is nothing tragic about Sosua – except for the dreadful context that it is unique. The entire tale is steeped in irony. The dicta-

PHOTO | MIKE FINK

tor does a beautiful deed. Simon Wiesenthal wrote “Sails of Hope” to argue that Christopher Columbus was seeking a safe harbor for the Jews fleeing the Inquisition. Harry Ezratty wrote “The Jewish Caribbean” and brought the paradoxes of our hemisphere closer to our own time. From Inquisition to Holocaust.

Our journey – more of a pilgrimage – was inspired in part also by Marion Kaplan’s book “Dominican Haven.” I’m not breaking any new ground here, merely expressing an impression of the quiet and enduring sheer beauty of that act, that brief sojourn, and its legacy, a blessing upon all who may visit

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40 | March 27, 2015

The Jewish Voice

Swarthmore’s former Hillel votes to rename itself Kehilah

Classic

30th Annual Dwares JCC

GOLF

Monday, June 8, 2015

Dwares Learn more at jewishallianceri.org.

Rhode Island

Funds raised from this event will: • help support life-enriching programs and services; • ensure strong Jewish identities for the next generation; • provide education and programs for families with young children; • and make scholarships available for our Early Childhood Center, J-Camp, and J-Space after school programs at the Dwares JCC. For information contact Hillary Schulman at 401.421.4111 ext. 127 or hschulman@jewishallianceri.org.

JTA – Swarthmore College’s former Hillel voted to rename itself the Swarthmore Kehilah.

The name change announced March 22 follows the decision by the campus Jewish organization to drop its affiliation with Hillel International over restrictions on Israel issues.

The decision was made through an open submission process for new names and two rounds of voting in less than a week.

The initial ballots resulted in a tie between Kehilah, w h i c h means community, and Ruach, or spirit, the former name of the campus Jewish community organization before it affiliated with Hillel. A tie-breaking vote was held.

In December 2013, the Hillel of Swarthmore College, located in Swarthmore, Pa., declared itself an Open Hillel, saying it would not abide by Hillel International’s rules prohibiting partnering with or hosting groups or speakers who deny Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish or democratic state; delegitimize, demonize or apply a

Let them be the

reason

double standard to Israel; or support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel.

On March 16, Hillel International emailed a letter to Swarthmore deans threatening legal action if students at the college’s Hillel chapter hosted an upcoming program with speakers espousing anti-Israel or pro-BDS viewpoints. The campus Jewish group voted the same day to disaffiliate with Hillel International and to change its name.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to be writing with the new name of Swarthmore’s Jewish community – a name that together, we all chose for ourselves,” Kehilah President Sarah Revesz, a Swarthmore senior, wrote in the announcement email to Jewish students on campus. “It’s been wonderful to see how many people have gotten involved in this process over the past week. We had a strong voter turnout and it makes me glad to see so many people taking the steps to make this community your own.”

Some things never change.

Like the way each generation plans and builds for the next, ensuring that the foundation of Jewish life remains strong.

When you leave a bequest or a planned gift at the Jewish Federation Foundation, you touch each one of us. You leave your children and grandchildren a precious inheritance and a lasting testimony to your love and values.

For more information on establishing your Jewish legacy, please contact Trine Lustig, Vice President of Philanthropy at 401.421.4111 ext. 223 or tlustig@jewishallianceri.org.

There are many ways to create your legacy.

Let us show you a few.

SENIORS

thejewishvoice.org

March 27, 2015 |

41

Passover advertisements Family at the center of past celebrations

BY TOBY ROSSNER If you were asked to make word associations regarding preparations for Passover, your first thoughts would probably be cleaning and cooking. Passover ads in newspapers most often reflect these associations. But this historic 1924 American Express advertisement, originally appearing in a Yiddish newspaper and reprinted in the article “Unusual Passover Non Food Advertisements” in American Jewish Legacy Quarterly (Spring 2008), reveals yet another important pre-Passover task for America’s recently arrived Jewish immigrant families.

“Maintaining a close connection to family and friends in Europe was an important part of life for both American born and immigrant Jews.

Friends and relatives in Europe often expected financial assistance from their brothers and sisters in the Goldena Medina (The Golden Land) – America. This was especially true before the Jewish holidays.

“Focusing on this need, companies such as Ameri-

can Express did a significant amount of business helping transfer funds from a number of cities across the United States to numerous locations throughout Europe. Some ads specifically mention ‘serving the countries of Poland, Galicia and Lithuania.’ The American Express Company created a number of adver-

“Maintaining a close connection to family and friends in Europe was an important part of life for both American born and immigrant Jews.” tisements appearing in Jewish newspapers prior to the holidays reminding their Jewish customers that ‘The holidays are almost here ...

Remember your relatives in the Alta Heim (old home).’

This message – coupled with holiday theme line drawings, such as sitting by the Menorah on Hanukkah; Women

cleaning the house for Passover; etc. – aimed to evoke memories of those less fortunate across the seas who would be happy to receive funds “by American Express – via radio, cable, post or money order.” Reprinted with permission from the American Jewish Legacy (ajlegacy. org).

The American Jewish Legacy (AJL) is a national effort to preserve and document the unique, rich history of traditional Jewish congregations, individuals and communities in the United States from Colonial times to the present.

Working with noted academics, public and private archives, regional and national historic organizations across the country and abroad, the AJL has initiated projects and activities that seek to save this important historical resource and to gather archival information which is in imminent danger of being lost.

TOBY ROSSNER (tobyross@ cox.net) was the director of media services at the Bureau of Jewish Education from 1978 to 2002.

THE HIT NEW YORK COMEDY COMES TO PROVIDENCE!

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42 | March 27, 2015

WE ARE READ | COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice

Purim

WE ARE READ – At the Jewish Museum in Sosua, Dominican Republic, the Finks are joined by Pat and Mel Blake, all of Providence, and The Voice.

WE ARE READ – On a recent trip to Prague, Czech Republic, (left to right), Gershon Levine, Daniella Levine and Rabbi Andrea Gouze proudly display The Jewish Voice.

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PHOTOS | CBS

CBS event was full of fun Despite the freezing temperatures, it was a warm and festive evening inside the Congregation Beth Sholom social hall. Pictured are: Rabbi Barry Dolinger with a few of the costume contest contestants and Hannah Girard, winner of the teen and adult costume division, with Ezra Stieglitz. She

won a gift certificate donated

by Benny’s in the Purim raffle organized by Elly Lehman. The more than $600 raised by the raffle will be used toward building a handicap accessible entrance for the lower level of CBS so that future Purim carnivals – and all social hall events – can be fully accessible.

thejewishvoice.org

March 27, 2015 |

43

On Passover, children ask more than just the four questions.

This year, we have an extra question as well: will you help us make a difference in the lives of Jewish children, here in Rhode Island and around the world? Your donation to the 2015 Annual Campaign will allow children to connect to Judaism through PJ Library, after-school programs, Jewish summer camp, and Israel trips.

You feed hungry children through the Kosher Food Pantry. Your dollars secure the future for our next generation, and so this Passover our fifth question is: “Will you help make a difference in the lives of our Jewish youth?”

Please answer “yes” and give as generously as you can. Visit jewishallianceri.org and donate today.

401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI 02906 | 401.421.4111 | jewishallianceri.org

44 | March 27, 2015

The Jewish Voice