March 2023

Teens learn to advocate for a better world

I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY to get a glimpse into the future recently. And the outlook is pretty rosy.

I went with a group of Jewish teens from Connecticut to a seminar on social justice. These young people and others from all across the United States took part in a weekend offered by the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism in Washington, D.C. During the four days of workshops, the teens had an opportunity to learn about national issues through a Jewish lens. These are issues that will impact them for years to come: climate change, voter rights, mental health, reproductive rights, gun violence, Israel and antisemitism. And they learned how to advocate for the issues that mattered most to them and to their lawmakers on Capitol Hill. I was amazed at how engaged, enthusiastic and committed to Judaism these 15-17 year olds are giving up a weekend to study and learn and get to know likeminded Jewish teens.

While I went with a group from Connecticut, teens from reform congregations in the Rhode Island area have been attending this program, called L’Taken, for years.

The focus is not on liberal or conservative issues here. I have no idea how these teens “lean,” and it doesn’t really matter. What matters here is that for an entire weekend, approximately 400 Jewish teens were able to come together, learn and collaborate while celebrating their Judaism from Kabbalat Shabbat at the hotel to a giant Havdalah at the Jefferson Memorial

and learn how to find their voices and speak up for what they believe is right. They were often put into groups with those they didn’t know and after just a few minutes, they were talking about home, school, family and how to speak up against antisemitism or advocate for climate change legislation.

The passion was palpable. I listened to the group from Fairfield County, Connecticut, as they talked about how the Sandy Hook shootings impacted their lives. These are kids who were 5 or 6 years old at the time but were touched by this violence and can express quite eloquently their memories and why they believe that controlling gun violence is an important issue for them.

I discovered that antisemitism is a part of all of their lives. And while they have learned to cope so far, they now have new strategies learned from peers throughout the United States.

As adults, we may lament the loss of innocence and the difficulties these teens face. But I distinctly remember a generation of anti-war protests, demonstrations for women’s rights and environmental advocacy.

Some themes may have changed, but the evidence that teens care deeply about their world and want to learn to effectively speak up and give back is there.

There are leadership training programs going on right here in Rhode Island.

The Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center has a year-long Leadership Institute For Teens (LIFT) that brings together students in grades 9-12 to learn the lessons of the Holocaust along with genocide and human rights issues. The students learn how to express their opinions on social issues and become leaders who will inspire fellow teens to stand up for those who are marginalized. The program runs during the school year. This year, which is the program’s first, there are 16 teens participating.

Hazon, a Jewish nonprofit strengthening Jewish life and contributing to a more environmentally sustainable world for all, formed the Jewish Youth Climate Movement to mitigate climate change by empowering teens. Created in 2019, the group has members all over the U.S. including locally at Brown University. Those who attended “A Jewish Response to Climate Change” on Feb. 7 at the Dwares Jewish Community Center heard JYCM member Madelyn Canfield speak passionately about how young Jews need to speak out.

Many of our most pressing issues today have a group or organization ready to help us speak out and make a difference. Our teens are learning that they can make a difference, too. We can all speak out as advocates for a better world if we work together without becoming too stratified. Let’s take a page from the hard work I’ve seen our teens doing. They were more focused on the Jewish heritage that binds them than on the differences that might separate them.

Fran Ostendorf, Editor

JEWISH RHODE ISLAND

EDITOR F ran Ostendorf

DESIGN & LAYOUT Alex Foster

ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT

Peter Zeldin | 401-421-4111, ext. 160 pzeldin@jewishallianceri.org

CONTRIBUTORS Cynthia Benjamin, Sarah Greenleaf, Robert Isenberg, Emma Newbery

COLUMNISTS Michael Fink, George M. Goodwin, Larry Kessler, Patricia Raskin, Rabbi James Rosenberg, Daniel Stieglitz

VOLUME XXX, ISSUE III

JEWISH RHODE ISLAND

(ISSN number 1539-2104, USPS #465-710) is published monthly except twice in May, August and September.

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ON THE COVER : Some of summer's bounty at the local community garden. PHOTO BY KENDRA DOE-MODE

UP FRONT

Judy’s Kindness Kitchen is feeding a need

BY ROBERT ISENBERG

Each Sunday, David Mandelbaum drives a load of sandwiches to Crossroads Rhode Island, the largest homeless-services organization in the state. But before he leaves the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, where volunteers prep the food, he packs 15 special bags, which sit next to him in the car.

AS MANDELBAUM, 70, drives 2 miles through downtown Providence, he knows he’ll pass people on the street holding signs that plead for help.

“I feel like, ‘This is ridiculous. I’ve got a carful of food,’ ” says Mandelbaum. When he spots people on a street corner, he hands out the bags of oranges, cucumbers and other healthy snacks.

“I go to Kennedy Plaza, and the bags go in a minute

or two,” he says. Mendelbaum is head manager of Judy’s Kindness Kitchen, an all-volunteer nonprofit that prepares Kosher food for local people who are homeless. The organization was founded near the end of 2004 by Barry Bessler and Deborah Kutenplon, and was long based at Congregation Beth Sholom, when it was on Camp Street. The name comes from Mandelbaum’s mother, an energetic family therapist

who died of cancer in 1980, at age 56.

You would think that serving food to people in need would be a straightforward task, but Judy’s Kindness Kitchen has traveled some rough roads. COVID-19 hit hard, making face-to-face service impossible. And the organization used to ladle out a special vegetable soup at the shelter, based on Judy Mandelbaum’s recipe, but the soup has proven too labor-intensive to prepare. Sandwiches are easier to assemble and distribute.

“Logistically, we’re not going to go back to the soup,” says Mandelbaum. “Obviously, it’s a little sad. The recipe is still on the website [www.judyskindnesskitchen.org], so people certainly have access. [But] there was something incredibly gratifying about the encounters in the shelter, and that’s lost.”

Matters got more complicated when Congregation

Beth Sholom sold its Camp Street building in mid-2020. Mandelbaum had to find a new location – right at the height of the pandemic. The operation migrated over to the JCC, where food is prepared in the kitchen and the social hall by a rotating platoon of 20 volunteers. Mandelbaum says there are 40 to 50 regulars, who assemble tuna and PB&J sandwiches on Sunday mornings. Judy’s Kindness Kitchen serves both Crossroads and Emmanuel House, another homeless shelter in Providence, distributing 600 sandwiches to hungry people.

“We get new volunteers pretty regularly,” says Mandelbaum. “I’m always a little fascinated how people find us. We have a lot of families who come and volunteer. One of the things that makes

us appealing is that kids can come.”

“The JCC has been fantastic,” he adds, crediting facilities manager Tim Morlen and events coordinator Jana Brenman with helping volunteers acclimate to the new space.

“They opened for us during COVID. They were closed on Sundays, but Tim came in for us, every Sunday, for a year,” he says.

Judy’s Kindness Kitchen has recently expanded to include Saturday assembly at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Greenwich. (The JCC is not available because of Shabbat observance.) Food is also now distributed to the Providence Rescue Mission. This has increased the number of people the kitchen can help, with a total weekend bounty of 900 sandwiches, but it also requires more money: a

PHOTO GLENN OSMUNDSON

Volunteers prepare sandwiches at Judy’s Kindness Kitchen on a recent Sunday.

What does it take to create a sacred space?

IT WAS EITHER A BRILLIANT editorial decision or just a wonderful coincidence that this issue of Jewish Rhode Island, dedicated to Home and Garden, coincides with the Torah portion of Tetzaveh.

Tetzaveh, in the Book of Exodus, is one of five portions that focus on the building of the mishkan, the portable tabernacle that accompanied the Hebrew people in their wanderings in the wilderness between Sinai and the Promised Land.

We usually associate the Book of Exodus with stories of redemption, peoplehood and wandering in the desert. So, it might come as a surprise that almost half of the book is dedicated to architectural and design plans, resource acquisition, choosing a contractor, descriptions of furniture and decorative flourishes, and even a deferred maintenance plan!

Tetzaveh focuses on interior design and it details the furnishings that are to go inside the mishkan. It also provides instructions

for lighting the menorah, descriptions of the ritual garb for Aaron and the other kohanim, or priests, details about their consecration and investiture, and instructions for the offering of incense.

A primary lesson of this Torah portion is the focus on what it takes to make a place sacred. Certainly, careful design and beautifully crafted objects were important. But we learn that it was not enough to just build a dwelling place for God and call it a holy space.

To make it a worthy place, a sacred space, it had to be a place of regular gathering and worship. A place of light (menorah) and sacred service (offering of incense).

Similarly, in our own time, if we want to regard a place as sacred, we must engage in practice to make and keep it a place where the Divine Spirit, kedushah, can be experienced.

Over the years, I have had many conversations with people about the challenges

off entire life stories.

$10,761 annual budget in 2019 ballooned to $23,094 in 2022.

“At the moment, we’re broke,” Mandelbaum says.

He’s hopeful that Judy’s Kindness Kitchen will receive a windfall of donations from regular benefactors in the coming months, and he is currently seeking a grant of $66,000 from a local nonprofit.

“Our only concrete cost is food and supplies,” he says.

The kitchen has long relied on the generosity of strangers: donated space, donated time, and volunteers who are willing to buy supplies from Shop & Save or Restaurant Depot and receive reimbursements later.

“If you [asked] how much would it cost to make this happen if I had to pay for absolutely everything that we use, $66,000 [annually] is the number that I came up with,” Mandelbaum says.

Effusive and energetic, Mandelbaum, a child neurologist, is now partly retired. During volunteer sessions, he flits around the room, introducing everyone and rattling

of finding sacred space. Some people find great inspiration in the sanctuary of their synagogue or temple. Others find their spiritual home outside, in nature. And some people describe the feeling of looking into the eyes of another as being in sacred space and time.

What does it take to feel the spirit of the Divine dwelling in a place? Why is it often hard to feel God’s presence in places constructed as “sanctuaries”?

Tetzaveh hints at some possible answers to these questions. Most of the commandments regarding the construction of the mishkan are given in the simple imperative (you shall ...) without any additional pronoun. But in Tetzaveh, three imperatives are preceded by the second person singular pronoun. Atah Tetzaveh. Atah takriv. Atah tedaber. (You, you yourself shall command. You, you yourself shall bring close. You, you yourself shall speak.)

What might we learn from this subtle grammatical change? Perhaps we can learn that there is no such thing as proxy when it comes to bringing God’s

bags.

presence into a space, even if that space is the most beautifully, divinely-designed space ever created. Unless each of us brings our pure oil to sustain perpetual light; each of us brings others near, to share in the service; and each of us uses our voice to add to the sanctity of the place and its people, there is no mishkan, there is no sacred space.

Like prayer, meditation, teshuvah practice and other self-improvement work, we can’t do it just once (although doing it once reminds us that it is possible.) These activities are called spiritual practice for a reason! We have to keep doing them again and again, when we feel like it and when we do not.

Practice certainly does not make perfect. But practice makes possible the possibility that we might experience the presence of All That Is Holy dwelling among and within us.

RABBI ALAN FLAM , now retired, spent his rabbinical career at Brown University. He is the founder and

organizer of Soulful Shabbat, a Saturday morning service that meets monthly at Temple Emanu-El, in Providence. He can be reached at alan. flam@gmail.com.

Candle lighting times

March 2023

Greater Rhode Island

March 3 5:18pm

March 10 5:26pm

March 17 6:34pm

March 24 6:42pm

March 31 6:50pm

Celebrate Purim 2023

Mandelbaum says he feels a great debt to the volunteers, including the former bank CFO who insisted on preparing tuna, the Army veteran who apologized for not attending more often, and the guy who moved to Maryland, but when he came back to Rhode Island to visit family, he made a point of packing sandwiches.

“If you feel blessed – or, if you want to make it more secular, lucky – it is very easy to be generous,” muses Mandelbaum. “Judaism is infused with that concept. We’re here by God’s grace. If we’re fortunate enough to be in a good position, it has nothing to do with what we deserve and everything to do with blessings being bestowed.

“The Torah is explicit that you have to tithe your income. ‘Charity’ is not a good translation of tzedakah. It’s ‘justice.’ I feel very strongly about that.”

And the food is filling a very real need. Once, when Mandelbaum brought snacks to Kennedy Plaza, a man noticed the Judy’s Kindness Kitchen logos stamped on the

“Judy. Is that the Jewish lady who died?” the man asked.

Mandelbaum was taken aback, but said yes.

“And you’re her son, right?”

The man remembered Mandelbaum and Judy’s Kindness Kitchen from Crossroads, when he’d stayed some years before. He had heard the story and remembered the logo of a decorated spoon.

“I thought, ‘This is fantastic,’ ” says Mandelbaum. “This guy remembers.”

Donations to Judy’s Kindness Kitchen can be directed to Congregation Beth Shalom, 55 Cromwell St., Unit 1D, Providence, RI 02907 or you can email JKK.CBS@gmail. com.

To see David Mandelbaum at Judy's Kindness Kitchen go to JewishRhody.com.

ROBERT ISENBERG (risenberg@ jewishallianceri.org) is the multimedia producer for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and a writer for Jewish Rhode Island.

Monday night, March 6, 5:30 pm

Chabad House · 360 Hope Street, Providence

Monday night · March 6, 5:30 pm

Megillah to stir your soul...

Music & Dancing to stir your heart...

Drinks & Hamantashen to stir your kishkes!

*Megillah Reading & Hamentashen

Tuesday, March 7, 8:30 am

*8:30 am at Chabad House

*12:00 pm at Alliance Board Room

401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI

*4:15 pm Megillah Reading Purim Feast dinner at Chabad House

ALAN FLAM

D ’VAR TO RAH

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

Ongoing

Kosher Senior Café and Programming. In-person lunches 11 a.m.-1 p.m. March only, Monday – Friday (except 3/31) at the Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. On 3/31, at Temple Emanu-El, in Providence; park on Poplar or Larch St., and enter through Morris Ave. entrance across from 308 Morris Ave. In-person and Zoom programming from 11 a.m.-noon followed by lunch and guest speaker or discussion noon-1 p.m. The second Tuesday of the month is “Susie’s Corner” with Susie Adler. The third Thursday of the month is a book chat with Neal Drobnis. Suggested donation: $3 per lunch for those age 60 and older as well as for younger adults with a disability. Other adults $6.50. A program of Jewish Collaborative Services, supported by the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI and Blackstone Health. Information and RSVP, Neal at neal@jfsri.org or Elaine at elaine@jfsri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 107.

Temple Torat Yisrael Jewish Literacy and Culture. Sundays 10:30-11:15 a.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Taught by Rabbi David Barnett. Based on the idea that there are a certain number of informational items necessary for functional and cultural literacy, Joseph Telushkin put together a curriculum to apply this approach to the Jewish world. Individual class sessions will be distinct. Information and RSVP, deanna@ toratyisrael.org.

Project Shoresh Ladies’ Partners in Torah Night. Sundays

7:45-8:45 p.m. Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Partner-based study group. On-site facilitators available. Free. Information, projectshoresh. com or Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@ gmail.com or 401-632-3165.

Let’s Talk Hebrew Spring Session. Mondays and Tuesdays. Mondays thru 4/17; Tuesdays thru 4/18. 6:30-7:30 p.m. In-person classes at Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Monday evening beginner level in person; Monday evening intermediate level virtual; Tuesday evening advanced beginner level in person and virtual; Tuesday evening advanced class in person. Information, Toby Liebowitz at tobyaane@gmail.com.

Project Shoresh TNT (Tuesday Night Torah). Tuesdays (except holidays) 7:45-8:45 p.m. Ohawe Sholam, 671 East Ave., Pawtucket. If you would like a study partner or to be a part of a learning group, contact Rabbi Naftali Karp. Drop-ins welcome. Refreshments served. Information, Rabbi Naftali Karp at

naftalikarp@projectshoresh.com or 401-479-6953.

Let’s Talk Hebrew Spring Session. Wednesdays thru 4/20. 9:3010:30 a.m. Advanced Intermediate level. Via Zoom. Information, Toby Liebowitz at tobyaane@gmail.com.

Temple Habonim “The Wisdom’s Literature.” Wednesdays 11 a.m.noon. Study the texts found in the Writings, the final section of the Hebrew Bible. These texts offer perspectives on our relationship with God and the meaning and purpose of our lives. Via Zoom. Information, Adina Davies at office@ templehabonim.org or 401-2456536.

Temple Sinai “Big Issues of Our Time.” Fourth Wednesday of each month 7-8 p.m. thru 5/24. Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser leads this adult education course on Zoom. Each class will tackle an issue in our society and probe Jewish perspectives and impact on the Jewish community. Zoom link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@ templesinairi.org.

Temple Habonim Lunch and Learn. Thursdays noon-1:15 p.m. 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. In person Torah Study on Pirke

Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics with Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman. Free. Information, Adina Davies at office@templehabonim.org or 401-245-6536.

Delve Deeper: Adam & Eve in the Jewish Tradition. Thursdays 7:309:30 p.m. thru 3/23. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Taught by Michael Satlow, Ph.D., Brown University Professor of Religious Studies and Judaic Studies, this course will focus on how Jews and Christians have interpreted this story. Presented in cooperation with the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI and Congregation Beth Sholom, Temple Beth-El, Temple Emanu-El, Temple Habonim, Temple Sinai and Temple Torat Yisrael. Information, Morty Miller at mortymiller1945@ gmail.com.

Project Shoresh Lively Kabbalat Shabbat. Fridays. Services will begin at the commencement of Shabbat. Be in touch for exact timing each week. Providence Hebrew Day School (side entrance), 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Welcome Shabbat with a few inspiring words, melodious songs and traditional services. Open to all. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail.com or 401-632-3165.

Temple Sinai Shabbat Evening Service. Fridays (except 3/24 –Joint Reform service) 6 p.m. 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Song, prayer and reflection in person or on Zoom. With Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwas-

ser and Cantor Deborah Johnson. Zoom link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@templesinairi. org or 401-942-8350.

Cape Cod Synagogue Shabbat Services. Fridays 7 p.m., except second Friday of the month 6:30 p.m. when Family Shabbat services take place. 145 Winter St., Hyannis, Mass. With Rabbi David Freelund. In-person and livestreamed website, Facebook, Cape Media, YouTube and Community Television Comcast channel 99. Information, 508-775-2988 or capecodsynagogue.org.

Temple Beth-El Shabbat Morning Service. Second Saturday of the month 9-10:30 a.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Shabbat morning minyan with lay participation incorporating study, Torah and Haftarah readings. In person or via Zoom. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@temple-beth-el.org or 401-331-6070, ext. 100.

Temple Beth-El Torah Study. Saturdays except second Saturday of the month 9-10:30 a.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Delve into the weekly portion with Rabbi Sarah Mack and Rabbi Preston Neimeiser. In person only. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@ temple-beth-el.org or 401-3316070, ext. 100.

Temple Sinai Shabbat Breakfast & Torah Study In-person and via Zoom. Saturdays 9:30-11 a.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Breakfast followed by interactive discussion at 10 a.m. with Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser or others in our community. Zoom link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@templesinairi.org or 401942-8350.

Temple Habonim Torah Study. Saturdays (no Torah Study when there is a Bar or Bat Mitzvah) 10-11 a.m. Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman leads Torah study on current portion. Via Zoom. Information, Adina Davies at office@templehabonim. org or 401-245-6536.

Cape Cod Synagogue Shabbat Services. Saturdays 10:30 a.m. 145 Winter St., Hyannis, Mass. With Rabbi David Freelund. In-person and livestreamed on website, Facebook and YouTube. Information, Cape Cod Synagogue at 508-7752988 or capecodsynagogue.org.

Temple Sinai Shabbat Morning Service. Saturdays 11 a.m. (10:30 a.m. when celebrating a Bar or Bat Mitzvah). 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. In-person and via Zoom. Information, templesinairi.org or Dottie at 401-942-8350.

Friday | March 3

Kosher Senior Café Purim Party. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Featuring karaoke and dancing. Prizes for best solo and group performances as well as for best costumes. Suggested donation: $3. The Kosher Senior Café is a program of Jewish Collaborative Services supported by the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI. Information and RSVP, Neal or Elaine at 401-421-4111, ext. 107.

Temple Habonim Silly Shabbat. 5:45 p.m. 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. 5:45 p.m. Tot Shabbat followed by 6:15 p.m. Shabbat pizza dinner (with gluten-free option) and 6:45 p.m. family service. Information, Adina Davies at office@templehabonim.org or 401-245-6536.

Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual Kabbalat Shabbat Songs & Torah Services. 5:45-6:30 p.m. Led by Rabbi David Barnett. Information and Zoom link, Temple@toratyisrael.org.

Temple Beth-El Shabbat Service. 7-8:30 p.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. In person, via Zoom or on Facebook Live. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@temple-beth-el.org or 401-331-6070, ext. 100.

Saturday | March 4

Temple Torat Yisrael Shabbat Services. Saturdays 9:30-10:30 a.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Both virtual and in person. Led by Rabbi David Barnett. Information, Temple@toratyisrael.org.

Sunday | March 5

Temple Torat Yisrael Torah Sprouts: Purim/Hamantaschen Baking. 9:15-10:15 a.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. With Morah Leah. For children ages 3-5 and their parents. Open to all. You do not need to be a member of the synagogue. Cost: $12 per session. Information and RSVP, Temple@ toratyisrael.org.

Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center’s Baxt Lecture Series: NEVER AGAIN? Antisemitism’s Explosive Return and My Parents’ Painful Legacy. 10 a.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Presented by Deborah Gastfreund Schuss, the daughter of Holocaust survivors and an award-winning journalist who has written and lectured extensively on antisemitism. Information, info@ hercri.org or 401-453-7860.

Temple Emanu-El Purim A-Mazeing Race. 10 a.m.-12:15 p.m. 99 Taft Ave., Providence. Meet the stars of the Purim story, and race your way through new games and challenges.

Activities include bounce house, face paint, michloach manot, sand art and more. Cost: $10 per child in advance | $12 at the door. Information, Rachel Cohn at rcohn@teprov. org or 401-331-1616.

Temple Habonim Purim Carnival and Shoreshim: Roots Pre-K Program. 10-11 a.m. 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. Come in costume for some fun and games. All are welcome. Information or RSVP, office@templehabonim.org or 401-245-6536.

Congregation Beth David Purim Carnival. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Narragansett Community Center, 53 Mumford Road, Narragansett. Annual Purim Carnival with games, food and prizes. Information, Michelle Neri at michelleneri11@gmail.com.

Temple Torat Yisrael Purim Carnival. Noon-1:30 p.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Kidfriendly lunch and hamantaschen. Carnival games, pop-a-shot, prizes, music and more. Wear a costume. Everyone welcome. Information, Temple@toratyisrael.org.

Monday | March 6

Temple Beth-El Purim Carnival and Celebration. 5:30-7 p.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Annual carnival filled with games, face-painting and more. Stay for a costume parade, Megillah reading, singing and our Beth-El Purim Spiel. Dinner included. For all ages. Information, Rachel Mersky Woda at rmerskywoda@temple-bethel. org.

Temple Habonim Encanto Purim Spiel. 5:45 p.m. 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. Mac & Cheese dinner with some Encanto Colombian flare and hamantaschen followed by Encanto Purim Spiel at 6:30 p.m. Come in costume. Bring unopened boxes of mac and cheese for your groggers that afterward will be donated to TapIn. Dinner RSVP, office@templehabonim.org. Information, Adina Davies at office@ templehabonim.org or 401-2456536

Temple Beth-El Purim Spiel. 6:45-8 p.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Get into a Shushan State of Mind at the Megillah Reading and Purim spiel. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@temple-beth-el. org or 401-331-6070, ext. 100.

Temple Beth-El’s Shushan After Dark. 8-9:30 p.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Adults 21+ after-party with cocktails and a nosh following the spiel. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@temple-beth-el. org or 401-331-6070, ext. 100.

COMMUNITY VOICES

Tuesday | March 7

Chabad of West Bay Purim Feast. 4:30-7 p.m. Varnum Armory Museum, 6 Main St., East Greenwich. Megillah reading, full catered Kosher buffet dinner and desserts, mechanical bull rides and light show by Sh8peshiftr. Optional: come in costume. Cost: $20 adult | $10 child | $100 Sponsor. Information, RabbiWarwick@gmail.com.

Project Shoresh Community Purim Feast. 5 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Information, Avigayil Rauch at avigayilps@gmail.com or 414-3139291.

Wednesday | March 8

Israeli Culture Series presents: IsraAID and Women’s Day. 7 p.m. Through the lens of some of IsraAID’s global missions, Rachael Sonntag-Bloom will explore challenges facing women and girls in refugee and displacement contexts, emergency response programming, water resource management and protection interventions focused on supporting their needs. Free. Via Zoom. Information, Elihay at eskital@jewishallianceri.org.

Friday | March 10

Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual Kabbalat Shabbat Songs & Torah Services. 5:45-6:30 p.m. Led by Rabbi David Barnett. Information and Zoom link, Temple@toratyisrael.org.

Temple Beth-El Broadway Shabbat Service. 7-8:30 p.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Special service using tunes from Broadway favorites. In person, via Zoom or on Facebook Live. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@temple-beth-el.org or 401-331-6070, ext. 100.

Saturday | March 11

Temple Torat Yisrael Shabbat Services. Saturdays 9:30-10:30 a.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Virtual and in person. Led by Rabbi David Barnett. Information, Temple@toratyisrael.org.

Temple Beth-El’s Death & Dying Series (Session 1). 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Join us for a brunch-and-learn conversation with Erev Rav (soon-to-be Rabbi) Heather Shore as we explore Jewish texts in conversation with medical aid in dying. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@temple-beth-el.org or 401-331-6070, ext. 100.

Temple Torat Yisrael Laugh the Night Away Comedy Fundraiser. 8 p.m. 1251 Middle Road, East

Greenwich. Featuring top local comedians, raffles and lottery tree to benefit the temple. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets: $50 (includes light dinner and one drink). 18+ event. Information and RSVP, deanna@ toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Sunday | March 12

Congregation Beth David Story Time and Crafts with PJ Library.

9:45-10:30 a.m. 102 Kingstown Road, Narragansett. Explore a variety of PJ Library books, and participate in crafts and games. Free; synagogue membership is not required. For ages 2-8. In partnership with PJ Library. Information, Amanda Stevens at greenspan. amanda@gmail.com.

Tuesday | March 14

Behind the Book: “More After the Break: A Reporter Returns to Ten Unforgettable News Stories.” 7 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Based on her career as a TV news reporter in New York City, Jen Maxfield takes readers on a dramatic ride-along in the live truck. Free. Event made possible by a partnership with the Jewish Book Council. Information, Emma Newbery at enewbery@ jewishallianceri.org.

Hadassah RI Presents “Let’s Talk.” 7 p.m. Current topic is Rising Antisemitism. Everyone is welcome to participate in this monthly series of virtual discussions. Free. You do not have to be a member of Hadassah. Information or RSVP, chapri@ Hadassah.org.

Core Connects RI Book Group

Discussion: “Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing as We Age” by Mary Pipher. 7:30-8:30 p.m. Women contend with ageism, misogyny and loss as they grow older. Yet most older women are deeply happy and filled with gratitude for the gifts of life. Via Zoom. Information, Elissa Felder at CoreConnectsRI@gmail.com.

Friday | March 17

Temple Torat Yisrael Friday Night Live (FNL). 6 p.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Musical service led by Rabbi David Barnett with the help of the TTY band. In person and livestreamed. Dinner by Men’s Club with Chef Lary Norin to follow service. Adults (full chicken meal): $18 | Kids (smaller portions): $8. Information and RSVP, Temple office at 401-885-6600.

Temple Beth-El Hallelu Shabbat Service. 6:30-8:30 p.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Hors d’oeuvres followed by musical service featuring Temple Beth-El

musicians and a short D’var Torah. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@temple-beth-el.org or 401-331-6070, ext. 100.

Saturday | March 18

Temple Torat Yisrael Shabbat Services. Saturdays 9:30-10:30 a.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Virtual and in person. Led by Rabbi David Barnett. Information, Temple@toratyisrael.org.

Kids’ Night Out – J-Camp. 6-10 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Kids have fun while parents have the night off. Gym games/sports, art, board games, free play and a movie. Dinner and popcorn included. Cost: $40 members | $50 nonmembers. Siblings: $20 members | $25 nonmembers. Information and registration (required), Jimmy Rawl at jrawl@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 140.

Sunday | March 19

Temple Sinai joins Woodridge Church for service “Hate Has No Place at Woodridge.” 9-10:30 a.m. 30 Jackson Road, Cranston. Diverse communities come together in solidarity against racism and antisemitism. Shireinu, the chorus of Temple Sinai, will join the choruses affiliated with Woodridge Church as part of this service. Rabbi Goldwasser will give the homily. Information, dottie@templesinairi.org or 401-942- 8350

Wednesday | March 22

A Special Evening Honoring the Legacies of Robert Berkelhammer and Ronald Markoff. 5:30 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Join The Cardozo Society in honoring Robert Berkelhammer and Ronald Markoff. Dr. David G. Dalin will share remarks on his book “Jewish Justices of the Supreme Court: From Brandeis to Kagan.” Wine and hors d’oeuvres reception. Information, Gail Putnam at gputnam@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 158.

Thursday | March 23

Core Connects RI and Congregation Beth Sholom Spa Night. 6-8 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Join us for an evening of relaxation and rejuvenation including meditation and movement, a yoga class, a 15-minute chair or table compression massage, a “DIY” luxurious facial and delicious, healthy refreshments. Limited to 50 women. Cost: $36. Information, coreconnectsri.com or Elissa Felder at CoreConnectsRI@gmail.com.

Friday | March 24

Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual Kabbalat Shabbat Songs & Torah Services. 5:45-6:30 p.m. Led by Rabbi David Barnett. Information and Zoom link, Temple@toratyisrael.org.

Joint Reform Shabbat. 7:30 p.m. Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. Every year the Reform congregations of RI –Temple Habonim, Temple Beth-El, Temple Sinai and the Newport Havurah – come together to celebrate Shabbat. This year’s service sponsored by Temple Habonim. Information, Adina Davies at office@ templehabonim.org or 401-2456536.

Saturday | March 25

Temple Torat Yisrael Shabbat Service with Bat Mitzvah. 9:30 a.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Led by Rabbi David Barnett. In person with streaming available. Information and Zoom link, Temple@toratyisrael.org.

Sunday | March 26

Day-at-the-J & Spin-a-thon. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Join us for a day filled with activities for the whole family. Activities include Spin-a-thon, video game tournament, film screenings of “Here We Are” and “Abulele,” bounce house, free play open gym, group exercise classes and family swim. Free. Everyone welcome. Hosted by the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI. Details including registration links, jewishallianceri.org/day-at-the-jspin-a-thon/.

Tuesday | March 28

Temple Beth-El Sisterhood Women’s Community Seder. 6-8:30 p.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Women of all faiths and girls 8 and older are invited to a special Passover seder that honors women

in Jewish history and leaders of today. Cost: $36 + voluntary contribution to HAIS. RSVP by 3/13. Information, temple-beth-el.org or tbesisterhood70@gmail.com.

Wednesday | March 29

Israeli Culture Series presents: Film “Kosher Beach.” 7 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. A group of Orthodox Jewish women enjoy freedom at the “Kosher Beach” in Tel Aviv. When the heads of their closed-off community threaten to close it, the women fear that they will lose this island of freedom. Discussion follows. Free. Information, Elihay at eskital@jewishallianceri.org or 401-864-3786.

Friday | March 31

Jewish Alliance Hosts Blood Drive. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Donations by appointment. Walk-ins if availability permits at time of arrival. Eat, hydrate and bring identification with you. Information, Lynne Bell at lbell@ jewishallianceri.org or 401-4214111.

Temple Sinai Women Composers’ Shabbat. 6-7:30 p.m. 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. March is Women’s History month. Celebrate the music of women composers of Jewish liturgical music, including Temple Sinai’s Catherine Walters, who founded and for many years directed Shireinu, the temple’s chorus. Shireinu will join Cantor Johnson in song. Information, dottie@templesinairi.org or 401942-8350.

COMMUNITY VOICES

Joyous

Purim is entertaining … and more

IN FRENCH, this month is spelled like the war divinity: “Mars.” In ancient, classical Greece, Athena is the goddess of wisdom ... and war!

Now, Mordecai, the hero of Purim, is an uncle figure, or a guardian, or a trusted political adviser, who sets up the sequence of the story line. In our present-day, popular-culture lingo, he fixes up lovely Esther with the king, and thus evokes the hatred and envy of the villain Haman, arch-enemy of the Jews.

The tale ends with a nice, violent Hollywood scene of revenge, with the bad guys suffering the very fate they had planned for the Hebrews. But the plot is titled with a suggestive plural word that we can translate as “Dice.” And we celebrate with secret candy gifts, kids’ costumes and party noise-makers for the small fry to rattle when they hear the name “Haman” in the comic-book text. Boys rather like to dress up as the bad guy to give vent to their preteen taste for naughtiness.

And what about Vashti? No proper Jewish girl would be named for this victim of royal rage, which followed her refusal to dance for his guests. She is either beheaded or dismissed, depending on the translation of text. (She might serve as a heroine these days, and Vashti has always

been a girl’s name for other ethnic groups that admire her personal courage in refuting and repudiating royalty.)

Anyway, this is a holiday for the month that has evermore been about turmoil, in the firmament above, on the ground below and among the wildlife in the wilderness.

“March winds doth blow.”

“What will poor Robin do then?”

And even, “Beware the ides of March,” wrote the Bard in his play about the fate of Caesar on the infamous 15th when friend became a fatal foe … and when taxes used to be levied.

We play Purim for laughs,

not vengeance, and frankly keep it light-hearted. A bit like Hollywood in its heyday, when Hedy Lamarr, like Garbo and Dietrich, used their brains to fight against Hitler, and their beauty just to entertain customers in the cinema.

MIKE FINK (mfink33@aol. com) is a professor emeritus at the Rhode Island School of Design.

‘No proper Jewish girl would be named for this victim of royal rage.’

MIKE FINK

COMMUNITY VOICES

My dad: Long gone, but never forgotten

Imarked the 20th anniversary of my father’s death this month by observing his yahrzeit on the ninth of Adar, and my memories of him remain vivid.

Over the years, there have been many times when I’ve had a feeling that Ike was thinking about me, either because of a dream I had or because a solicitation letter from a charity that he supported suddenly arrived in the mail addressed to him.

I THINK OF HIM OFTEN – during the holidays, on his birthday (Aug. 11; he was born in 1918), during family celebrations and especially in the spring, at the start of baseball season. My dad and I did a lot of bonding at the ballpark watching the Red Sox, and we both enjoyed spending time at spring training in the late ’70s and early ’80s, when I was working in Florida.

I cherish those times, which is why the rest of this column is a letter to my dad as a way of updating the former linotype operator at Philadelphia and Boston newspapers on the news – family and otherwise.

Dear Ike,

It’s been two decades since we last talked, and I miss you every day. Our bonds grew deeper in my 20s and 30s, when you visited me while I was living in Florida.

The first time you stayed with me, in 1978, while I was in a high-rise apartment complex on Route 1 in Titusville, Florida, stands out. I had been there almost a year, yet in the week or so that you visited, you met more people and made more friends than I had.

During that same trip, we had a blast going to a couple of Red Sox exhibition games. I can’t remember if the Sox won, but I do recall our trip home from Winter Haven, the Sox’s former spring training site, when we got lost and saw more of central Florida than I knew existed.

Our bonding over the Sox continued, most notably in 1986, when we spent a Saturday night watching Game 6 of the World Series in a hotel room near Newport, where we had traveled for the next day’s Ocean State Marathon.

With the Sox one strike away from winning that World Series against the New York Mets, we had started to high-five each other – until it all fell apart in what remains, to diehard Sox fans, five traumatic minutes. The

and anti-Vietnam War movements, race riots and multiple political assassi nations.

But two things are surely worse in 2023 than 60 years ago:

Sox in that time blew a 5-3 lead and the Mets came back to win the game and tie the series 3-3. (The Sox lost the championship two days later, when the Mets took the decisive Game 7.)

As you likely know, since I suspected that you had something to do with the Red Sox’ miraculous comeback from trailing the New York Yankees 3-0 in the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Sox finally broke the 86-year “Curse of the Bambino” by winning that year’s World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. I was sad not to be able to share that victory with you.

You’ll be happy to learn that the Sox also won titles in 2007, 2013 and 2018, although they’ve finished last two of the past three years.

Our other sports teams have also done well since we last spoke. The Patriots added more Super Bowl wins to their legacy, winning six and losing three others with Tom Brady at quarterback. Brady, however, left the team for Tampa Bay in 2020, and he just retired – for the second time in a year.

New England fans have been spoiled as the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and came agonizingly close to winning titles in 2013 and 2019. The Celtics won it all in 2008 and lost the NBA title in both 2010 and 2022.

Besides sports, the world is a really crazy place right now, but I wonder if it’s any crazier than it was in your lifetime. You lived through a worldwide depression and fought valiantly while in the Navy during World War II. The 1950s were rife with antisemitism and racism, the 1960s brought the Civil Rights

• The two major political parties are so divided and broken that their more zealous adherents would rather demonize their foes and wish them dead than work together to solve our problems.

• There’s far more deadly violence now, as mass shootings by people brandishing automatic weapons – meant for use by soldiers in war and not by civilians in schools, colleges, stores, arenas, churches and synagogues – have long ago reached a crisis point.

Despite those bleak realities, you’d no doubt tell me to count my blessings and be glad that my loved ones are healthy. And you’d be right, because I’ve been blessed.

Lynne and I have raised two smart, capable daughters. Arianna, who was just shy of 7 when you passed, is thriving in New York City (don’t worry, she’s not a Yankees fan, like her mother).

Alana, who was nearly 2 when you died, will be a college graduate in May. If I had one more minute with you, I’d thank you for being a supportive dad as you helped me get started in the newspaper business. You also told me to relax more, and since I retired, I’m doing more of that, besides volunteering to help causes that I support.

In addition, your longtime support of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund inspired me to raise money for the American Cancer Society for the last 25 years.

So, Dad, thank you for your service in World War II and thank you for the sacrifices you made to raise me. You were a real mensch, and that’s why I’ll always miss you.

LARRY KESSLER (larrythek65@ gmail.com) is a freelance writer based in North Attleboro. He blogs at https://larrytheklineup. blogspot.com.

‘My dad and I did a lot of bonding at the ballpark watching the Red Sox...’

Isaac “Ike” Kessler and his wife, Sylvia, in the 1990s, a few years before their 50th wedding anniversary. LARRY KESSLER

Glimpses, flavors and echoes of Houston

BY GEORGE M. GOODWIN

OVER A HALF-CENTURY, I’ve visited Texas several times, primarily to enjoy its splendid art museums. I’m particularly fond of the Kimbell, in Fort Worth. In addition to having a magnificent collection, the museum’s original building, which opened in 1972, was designed by the great American-Jewish architect Louis Kahn. As much as I enjoy both of his splendid art museums at Yale, I’ve been back to Fort Worth three times to savor what he accomplished.

I’ve also visited art museums in Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas and Houston. But there isn’t one in Van, Texas. This is where the late Adrian Hall, the founding artistic director of Trinity Rep, grew up and retired. In 1992, as the theater com pany’s archivist, I journeyed there to complete a lengthy series of oral history interviews with him.

Betsey and I were recently in Houston, America’s fourth-largest city, primarily to visit our son,

Michael, who has lived there for two years.

It was wonderful seeing Michael and his new home, and there was also time to explore many cultural sites. Metropolitan Houston’s Jewish population is around 65,000, making it the 17th largest in the country. So there are numerous places of Jewish interest, though not necessarily in Jewish institutions.

The Rothko Chapel, a veritable art museum, was established in 1971 by leading Gentile benefactors John and Dominique de Menil. (They were also instrumental in recommending Andy Warhol for curating “Raid the Icebox,” a 1970 exhibition at the RISD Museum.)

A small, nondenominational shrine, designed for prayer and contemplation, the Rothko Chapel is adorned with 14 abstract paintings, which were created by perhaps America’s greatest Jewish visual artist, Mark Rothko, shortly before his untimely death.

When entering the chapel from the bright out-of-doors, the paintings appear almost monochromatic. Upon close examination, however, this haunting cycle displays subtle variations. But if the canvases convey a religious meaning, it is far from uplifting. In my opinion, only the skylight atop the hexagonal structure provides a hopeful message.

By the way, another major American-Jewish abstractionist, Barnett Newman, created the chapel’s nearby steel sculpture, which adorns a reflecting pool. A broken obelisk, placed upside down, it perhaps illustrates the precariousness of human existence. Also commissioned by the de Menils, it was intended to commemorate improved race relations, but city officials rejected it.

The same couple built the nearby and extraordinary Menil Collection, which opened in 1987. The Italian architect, Renzo Piano, whose work I much admire, designed the original building and a smaller satellite gallery. An amazing synthesis of ancient, tribal and modern art, the

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

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The dining room at Kenny & Ziggy’s in Houston.

PHOTOS | GEORGE M. GOODWIN

The Newman sculpture in front of the Rothko Chapel.

COMMUNITY VOICES

Planting seeds for growth and love in your life

WITH THE SPRING SEASON on its way, I’ve been thinking about how the seeds we have planted start to bear fruit. And this includes something we often don’t think about –the seeds we plant in our lives every day. Some seeds don’t grow much, while some show tremendous growth. We don’t know which seeds will grow, so we keep planting.

Examples of “planting seeds” in our lives are:

• The smiles and encouragement we give to make someone’s day.

• The daily prayers we say to strengthen our beliefs.

• Learning daily, which grows into big knowledge.

• Forgiveness of others in small prayers, and expanding on that forgiveness to help us let go and love again.

• Creative efforts, which plant nourishment and grace.

I FOUND a beautiful story at Atiqmakers.org, which, according to the website, is the Jewish Maker Institute, “an applied arts yeshiva which nourishes an embodied spirit of belonging and creative confidence in Jewish tradition.” The title of the article is, “A Seed is a Prayer: Blessings for Things that Grow.” In the article, writer Heather Vidmar-McEwen adapts a story from Talmud Bavli, Taanit 23a.

Words Matter: Found, Created or Imagined a Call for Entries

She writes, “Rabbi Yochanan tells the story of a righteous man, Choni, who was walking along a path and saw a person planting a carob tree. Choni asked them, ‘How many years will it be until this tree bears fruit?’ They replied that it would take seventy years to harvest carob pods from the tree.

“Choni was surprised, because the person planting was old.

“He said to them, ‘Do you expect to live seventy more years so that you will benefit from the fruit produced by this tree?’ And the person said, “As a child I found the world filled with beautiful trees, bearing delicious fruit, all planted for me by my ancestors. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants.”

Let’s keep planting those positive seeds. Happy spring!

PATRICIA RASKIN , owner of Raskin Resources Productions, is an awardwinning radio producer, business owner and leader. She is on the board of directors of Temple Emanu-El, in Providence, and is a recipient of the Providence Business News 2020 Leaders and Achievers award.

Her “Positive Aging with Patricia Raskin” podcast is broadcast on the Rhode Island PBS website, ripbs.org/ positiveaging.

Registration Deadline April 1st

Aim your smart phone camera at the QR Code for entry details

Explore how words alter how we interpret a photograph or how we view the world. Open to Street Photography, Conceptual work and everything in between.

Entry is open for a call to explore how words alter how we interpret a photograph or how we view the world. Open to all photography exploring the power of words, the power to alter opinions, the power to alter how you view yourself. Text need not be a part of the image itself but images should address how words alter the human experience and may include titles, captions or short statements to express, explain or alter a narrative.

Words Matter will open on June 15th in tandem with Sticks & Stones by Gershon Stark We are accepting entries now through April 1st, entry for Words Matter can be found on https://www.riphotocenter.org/words-matter-found-created-or-imaginedl-a-call-for-entries or scan the QR code above.

Awards: First Place: $150, Second Place: $100, Third Place: $50 Exhibition: Thursday, June 15th through Friday, July14th 2022

riphotocenter.org phone: (401) 400-2542 email: gallery@riphotocenter.org

Monday, June

PATRICIA RASKIN

A few thoughts

THANK YOU for publishing the review of “Bad Jews” (see page 16)

The play title “Bad Jews” bothers me deeply. After I read the review of the play in The Forward, I learned other reasons to criticize this play. The review's main focus is on how the play treats women, namely badly.

Equally serious for me is the demeaning way the play treats decency – it makes the main characters look like fools. It tries to get cheap laughs at the expense of making Jews look petty and ridiculous.

In the past three decades, many playwrights and film and TV script writers have gone into the gutter of cheap, crass humor – often at the expense of some defenseless person or group. Saturday Night Live does that most egregiously. Evidently, it is a fast and easy way to make money.

Maybe Joshua Harmon rationalizes his writing as parody. But in my opinion, by his doing this at the expense of an ethnic group, at the expense of his own mishpocha, he is feeding bad stereotypes in the minds of play viewers and newspaper readers. Some critics would say his real purpose is not parody, but fame and money

At the very least, Gamm should inform the audience that the play contains words and themes that demean well-intentioned human beings and that might nourish antisemitic attitudes. And ask the audience to question the playwright's intentions.

More effective would be to have a brief discussion during intermission or before the play starts about the dangers and costs of not tolerating differences. The inability to handle cognitive dissonance might have helped mankind survive in cave dwelling times. But in modern times that inability has been deadly, be it lynchings and shootings of Blacks, the killings of Asians, Jews and other ethnic peoples, or wars by fundamentalists, or the failure to address global warming.

Tony Estrella, the Gamm’s artistic director, wrote in his program notes. “There is little agreement in any culture about who or what constitutes the ‘good’ or the ‘bad.’ There is no consensus on either the nature of our debt to the past or our aspirations for the future.”

Every major religion and sensible ethicist disagrees strongly with that statement. Every rational society believes in the arc of progress and in tikkun olam or its translation. Otherwise, why have children. In my opinion, that statement revels one more serious defect with the play.

Know that my mother and father witnessed the worst antisemitic behavior in Germany pre-WW2. In the last months of 1944, my mother and I were hidden by a farmer in Belgium – he and family risked their lives. My mother lost 5 siblings in Auschwitz. She and I would have been among them, but for the grace of God and some decent people, who knew the difference between good and bad.

Gary Leib Tiverton, RI

This letter has been excerpted due to space limitations. The original letter is available online.

Mark Elber’s poetry celebrates the chain of our generations

“MY FATHER WENT TO SLEEP in his skin in the sun-flushed morning, in the flatlined morning / That shoveled a pit into my 35th year spadeful by spadeful and the sky collapsed over Queens.”

So begins “Requiem,” the first poem in Mark Elber’s recently published “Headstone” (Passager Books, 2022). “Headstone” contains 30 of Elber’s poems, with two of them –“Headstone” and “The Ingathering of the Exiles” –running about a dozen pages each. The author is the winner of the 2022 Henry Morgenthau III Poetry Prize for a first book published by an author who is 70 years of age or older.

Elber is my friend and my colleague; he has been the rabbi at Temple Beth El, in Fall River, since July 1, 2013, and his wife, Shoshana, is the cantor.

It is no accident that the first two words in Elber’s collection of poems are “My father,” since one of the poet’s central conflicts is his need to grow into himself, to form his own unique identity, versus his need not to disappoint his father (the doctor), whose older son, Erwin, happens to be – surprise! – a doctor. In part II of the book’s title poem, “Headstone,” Elber writes:

“And I receive letters (from my father) filled with instruction / How to be someone I’m not / How to wend my way out of the clouds into a wood-paneled office, diplomas above my head / How to stop being ‘pathologically religious,’ / How to look in the mirror and not recognize myself / Stop writing poetry and start waxing the car.”

Elber’s ongoing struggle between his developing sense of self and the expectations of his now-deceased parents is made more burdensome by the fact that his father, Gerson, and his mother, Regina, are Holocaust survivors, both having fled east-

ward from the Nazi butchers in Poland into the relative safety of Soviet Russia, where they joined in the fight against Hitler’s maniacal aggressions.

Many of Elber’s poems are haunted by the Holocaust, the Shoah. While he found it difficult to speak with his father about the World War II years, the poet did manage to find ways to speak with his mother about the traumas they endured during the insanity of Nazi terror. In “My Mother’s Song,” Elber alludes, somewhat obliquely, to such conversations.

the comic absurdity, reminiscent of Allen Ginsberg, that defines the opening lines of “Resume”: “Somehow I was born, though my parents could never explain it – /

“Either I stepped off a train from Cracow or a conveyor belt in a milk processing plant in urban Queens – / … I was weaned on borsht.”

Or, laugh along with Elber at his self-parody in “The Ingathering of Exiles”: “I tried to exorcise my economic dependence by every which way but work.”

RABBI JAMES ROSENBERG

Toward the end of the lengthy “The Ingathering of the Exiles,” Elber confesses: “I am the sixword profession of faith (the Sh’ma), one for each million who died in vain.” And, similarly, Elber concludes “An Ode to Accents” with “The words of my parents / A living link to the world turned to ash by 1945.”

While it is not surprising that the shadow of the Shoah falls on many of Elber’s poems, what is surprising is that so much of his poetry is flooded with sunlight, as in “Red Walls,” where Elber, walking down a boardwalk with his young son, Lev, exults: “And I am leaphappy in my dark jeans.”

As a deeply committed Jew, as a congregational rabbi, Elber knows in his bones that we cannot permit the Holocaust to become our primary identity as Jews; he understands that Jewish history spreads a huge canvas of light and darkness over the millennia. Many of his poems have biblical echoes; two of them, “Avishag the Shunamite” and “Moses Took a Second Wife,” are contemporary takes on specific biblical passages.

I would be doing Elber a disservice if I did not comment on the laugh-out-loud qualities in some of his most engaging poems. Consider, for example,

In a letter in the Jan. 16 issue of The New York Times, Julien Poirier, a published poet, wrote that “A poem is a process set in motion by a compulsion to sing in the teeth of death.”

Yes, many of Elber’s poems do arise out of his compulsion to sing in the teeth of death – most especially, in the teeth of the Shoah. And, at age 71, Elber is singing in the teeth of his own mortality.

But perhaps it is more appropriate to say that, in a broader sense, Elber’s poems are celebrations of the chain of our generations – all those who have gone before us, all of us who now are filled with the breath of life, and all of those who are yet to come.

Just as Elber begins his collection of poems with the words “My father,” it is altogether appropriate that the first words of the final stanza of the final poem, “The God of Surprises,” are “my son”: “my son must sense something imported from Poland beneath my Borough of Queens English an undertone of exile God stunned silent.”

Mark Elber’s “Headstone” is for sale at Books on the Square, 471 Angell St., Providence, or online at www.passagerbooks. com, Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.

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

Jewish Rhode Island publishes thoughtful and informative contributors’ columns (op-eds of 500 – 800 words) and letters to the editor (300 words, maximum) on issues of interest to our Jewish community. At our discretion, we may edit pieces for publication or refuse publication. Letters and columns, whether from our regular contributors or from guest columnists, represent the views of the authors; they do not represent the views of Jewish Rhode Island or the Alliance.

‘Many of his poems have biblical echoes...’

Ukrainian Jews mark 1 year of war and survival OPINION

BY DEBORAH DANAN

(JTA) – Most of the passengers on the flight from Chisinua, Moldova, to Tel Aviv earlier in February were subdued.

Some had just witnessed scene after scene of hardship on a tour of war-torn Ukraine organized by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Others, about 90 in all, were Ukrainians in the process of moving permanently to Israel, talking in hushed tones about being on a plane for the first time, their uncertain future and the loved ones they left behind.

Alexei Shkurat was not subdued.

Bespectacled and bearded, he was standing in his seat, making wisecracks that caused the elderly woman in the seat next to him to guffaw despite herself.

“I like joking and communicating. It’s my life, why waste it being nervous?” Shkurat told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in English.

“And anyway, I’m happy, happy, happy I will soon see my sons again,” he added.

Switching to Russian, Shkurat’s brow furrowed

and his voice lowered when he recounted how, on Feb. 28, 2022, he had risked his life to transport his sons, 14 and 12, to the border with Poland with their mother and grandmother. From there they would move to Israel.

Shkurat could not go with them. The borders were closed for military-aged men, so Shkurat was forced to drive back to his hometown of Odessa. What happened next, as he recounts it, was harrowing: As he passed an empty field near Lviv, he encountered two Ukrainian soldiers, their AK-74 rifles trained on him. Shkurat raised his hands and was told to step out of his vehicle. He knew that if he made one false move, he would be shot.

The soldiers searched the car and interrogated him, asking him why he was traveling alone after curfew and even asking if he was a Russian spy. Shkurat later learned that 40 Russian paratroopers had recently landed in the area and had stolen ambulances and police cars.

“I was terrified. I know that they were only doing their job, but the situation was so

scary. Everything I ever knew in life had changed,” he said.

By a considerable stroke of luck, Shkurat, a street artist, was able to prove his identity by showing the soldiers his Instagram page, filled with posts of his art in locations all over Odessa.

But according to Shkurat, the story was far from over. The next chapter of his life was far more hair-raising, he said. Pressed on the details, Shkurat grinned and switched back to English.

“I can’t tell you a thing,” he said. “I want to sell the story to Netflix.”

Whatever cinematic experience Shkurat might have had, his fellow passengers surely had made-for-the-movies stories of their own. They had made it through nearly a year of war before deciding to move to Israel, making them the latest of 5,000 new immigrants from Ukraine facilitated by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, working in collaboration with Israeli government entities such as Nativ and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. Approximately 15,000 Ukrainians in total have

immigrated, or made aliyah, in the last year.

According to the group’s vice president, Gidi Schmerling, if there is any upside to the war from Israel’s perspective, it’s that many middle-class Ukrainians – doctors, engineers and high-tech employees – who wouldn’t have otherwise made aliyah are now choosing to do so.

But IFCJ’s mandate also includes the Jews who stayed behind. Since Russian tanks first rumbled across the border a year ago, the group has raised more than $30 million dollars – primarily from evangelical Christians from North America and Korea –for the main Jewish organizations in Ukraine including the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, or JDC, and Chabad. (Both groups do extensive fundraising of their own.) This week, the anniversary of Russia’s invasion, it announced another $4 million in planned spending.

In Odessa, more than 7,000 people currently receive aid from IFJC via local Jewish groups. The Jewish community, once 50,000 strong, now stands at 20,000, according to

‘Bad Jews’ is bad for Jews

BY KAREN HURVITZ

THE GAMM THEATER in Warwick is planning to present a “blisteringly funny” production called “Bad Jews.”

A large sign in front of the theater advertises it. Reviews on its website describe it as “delicious, nasty fun” and “a radioactive brew.”

In any generation, at any time, denigrating a race or a religion, whether it is considered delicious or nasty or fun is dangerous. This play’s title is dangerous because of the unambiguously condemnatory meaning of the word “bad.” Among the dictionary definitions of bad are “evil,” “unpleasant,” “unhealthy” and “diseased” – all of which terms have been used throughout history to justify persecution and extermination of Jews.

Since the time of the gospels, Christian theologians have linked Jews with the devil. During the Middle Ages, Jews were often described as children of the devil and depicted with horns and bulging eyes. Muslim

texts from the 20th century onward present the same views, and today throughout the Middle East, hatred for Jews and Zionists can be found in textbooks for children as young as three, complete with illustrations of Jews with monster-like qualities. In Middle Eastern media, Jews are variously compared to pigs, donkeys, rats and cockroaches.

Jews have long been described, literally or metaphorically, as carriers of a physical defect, deformity or disease, often associated with ugliness, weakness, dirt and excrement. The phrase “dirty Jew” is all too familiar. Jews were banned from German swimming pools and quarantined during the cholera and typhus epidemics of 1892. In Nazi Germany, Jewishness was compared to cancer.

To describe Jews as “bad” – at any time and at this time in particular – is particularly pernicious. Recent studies reveal shocking statistics about the growth of antisemitism in the United States:

• Belief in antisemitic prejudice has nearly doubled since 2019.

• 85% of Americans believe at least one anti-Jewish trope.

• 20% of Americans believe six or more tropes—the highest rate since the early 1990s.

THE STATISTICS above merely track beliefs. It is important to understand that beliefs are the underpinnings of actions. People act on their beliefs. There is much data tracking the upsurge in antisemitic actions:

• Antisemitic hate crimes in New York City spiked by 125% in November 2022 compared to November 2021,

• Hate crimes against Jews nationwide set an all-time high last year. Most took the form of violent attacks and vandalism against synagogues and Jewish temples, but many were physical attacks.

• A new wave of antisemitism is infecting college

the city’s chief rabbi, Avraham Wolff. Seven thousand food packages are distributed every month in Chabad centers. Many of the beneficiaries are older — among them some 187 Holocaust survivors – but not all. Some are the so-called new poor, those for whom the war has plunged into poverty from loss of income and rising inflation.

Ala Yakov Livne, an 86-year-old widow, is one of many who lined up recently to receive a box with oil, flour and other basic necessities. For Livne, the part that stings most about the last year is the sense of betrayal.

“[The Russians] were our neighbors. Many of them were our friends,” she said.

“Times have changed but some things never change,” Livne went on. “Back then, we were under occupation under the Nazis, back then, they tried to kill us, and now again, we are under occupation and they are trying to destroy us.”

It was a refrain that would be repeated several times over the ensuing days. In a

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

campuses, with public demonstrations where pro-Palestinian protestors call for Jews to be purged from college campuses and classrooms.

• 50% of Jewish college students now hide their Jewish identity for fear of derision, antisemitic comments, or physical attacks.

• Social media platforms have witnesses an enormous surge in antisemitic content.

THE SIGN “BAD JEWS” adds fuel to the tsunami of antisemitism flooding almost every arena today, and provides another foundational layer to antisemitic attacks. This is DANGEROUS. It rises to the level of religious/ race defamation. The UN passed a resolution on "Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief” in 2011. Although “BAD JEWS” is not such a direct incite -

ment to violence that it could be considered criminal, it is shamefully close. It could, in the words of the 1927 Supreme Court case of Whitney v. California, be considered “inimical to the public welfare, tending to incite crime, [or]disturb the peace.” I would like to know the intent of the theater in choosing to present such a play in times like these, and whether it has considered the consequences.

ATTORNEY KAREN HURVITZ has taught at Georgetown, Boston University, and Suffolk University law schools and now represents high school and college students who object to politicized curricula, and students targeted for exercising their First Amendment rights. She has published in JNS, Israel HaYom, American Thinker, Times of Israel, and White Rose Magazine. She serves as counsel for Education Without Indoctrination and on the Boards of LIBI and Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center. The views expressed here are her own.

Everything your garden will need this spring

BY KENDRA DOE-MODE

Looking to start a garden, but don’t know where to begin? Here’s the information you need to set you on the right foot this season.

ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING tasks of spring is perusing seed catalogs and plant sales – but it can be overwhelming if you don’t know what will thrive in your space or what you’re looking for. Before taking out your wallet, ask yourself the questions below and get familiar with your grow site – especially if you’re new to gardening.

How much sun/shade does my space get throughout the year?

What’s the hardiness zone in my area? The hardiness zone is the average minimum temperature in your area; it dictates what plants can thrive where you’re located.

What are the first and last frost dates for my area?

Am I looking to grow food, flowers or plants for landscaping?

How much time can I realistically allot to tending my garden? An hour a day or an hour a week, it’s OK as long as you set realistic expectations and plant accordingly.

What are the measurements of my garden space?

Who else frequents this area? Consider wildlife, pets, neighbors, children, etc.

Is my water source simple or challenging to access? Avoid discouragement down the line from tangled hoses or too-far-away watering spouts by setting a routine and making adjustments at the start.

TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION your goals and limitations, as well as the parameters of your grow space, supports making smart decisions that can create a fulfilling gardening experience.

Now comes the fun part: deciding what to grow! There

are tons of seeds, from many companies, to choose from, as well as many plant sales, usually in May. If you’re in the Providence area, you can browse native and common garden seedlings and seeds at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center Plant Sale on May 7.

When making your selections, keep in mind that different plants have different needs and may be light, moderate or heavy feeders. Collect a soil sample to send to your local university’s lab or extension program for a

Turn your compost pile, if you have one.

Organize, repair, clean and sharpen your tools. Remove the risk of spreading disease or infection to this year’s garden by disinfecting your tools, containers and watering cans.

The lengthening days of spring will stimulate any houseplants you have. Repot them with fresh soil.

Prune any perennials, trees and shrubs while they’re still dormant. Push aside mulch on asparagus and strawberries to aid new growth.

LASTLY, a few principles to note. Avoid stepping on or working your soil while it’s wet. This can create compaction, which can lead to issues like poor soil structure, restricted root growth, and lack of oxygen and water space for root uptake.

nutrient and pH analysis or purchase a home soil test. Armed with information from the test, you can add whatever improvements the soil test suggests.

The final step in the planning stage is creating a map for where your plants will actually be situated. Plants develop symbiotic relationships that may nurture or inhibit the growth of one another. Water and nutrient uptake, insect management, and sun and shade availability can be affected when plants are grown close together. Companion planting, square foot gardening, and landscaping principles may provide guidance. Though this final step applies to in-ground or raised-bed gardens more than container gardening, the information can still be useful for any gardener.

Here are some tasks to be done in March and April to get you ready for garden season: Clean up any debris from the previous year and compost it if it hasn’t been treated with chemicals.

A good rule of thumb for watering: a long session once a week is more efficient than several shallow waterings. It allows the water to penetrate deeper into the soil, encouraging roots to grow downwards, and creates stronger plants. Watering in the morning or when sunlight is less harsh is also appreciated by your plants.

I hope to see you in the garden – happy spring!

KENDRA DOE-MODE (kdoe@ jewishallianceri.org) has been farming chemical-free herbs, flowers and vegetables for four years. She graduated from the Southside Community Land Trust Registered Apprenticeship Program and the URI Master Gardener Core Training program in 2022. During the summer, you can find her in the Dwares JCC garden sharing researchbased garden techniques with J-Camp youth, at the Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market, or making floral bouquets at Blue Sky’s Farm in Cranston. During the winter, you can find her in the Membership Department at the Fitness Desk at the JCC.

Working in your garden now will yield great results this summer. Photos from J-Camp in the garden behind the Dwares JCC and in the nearby community garden.

I LOVE STUFFING all sorts of veggies into a summer roll and seeing them peek through the translucent rice paper. Here I combined salmon with creamy avocado, herby cilantro, scallions, and a touch of jalapeño for heat. I wouldn’t be opposed to a few slices of mango for fruity sweetness or a medley of sprouts and crunchy radish. The options are limitless. Things go over-the-top when the rolls get a short fry — the rice paper gets a glorious crisp — and are dipped into the eye-popping delicious sauce. It’s not to be missed.

‘Best of Kosher’ tasty addition to your bookshelf

BY FRAN OSTENDORF

IF YOUR COOKBOOK collection needs an update that touches on the recipes from all your favorite Kosher recipe developers and cookbook authors, this is your book.

“Best of Kosher” (Mesorah Publications, 2022) is filled with recipes from 14 different cookbook authors. You get a little taste from each author and many of their books. And, at the beginning of the book, readers

get a glimpse into each author’s story including how they came to develop recipes. It’s a fascinating read.

The recipes are a useful addition to your kitchen. The photography is beautiful. The layout is easy to follow and user friendly. Many of the recipes have tips from other authors featured in the book. And the book itself lies flat on the counter, which is always welcomed when you are trying to follow a recipe.

Salmon Rolls with Crazy-Good Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1½ lb salmon fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

Dipping Sauce

3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp mirin

1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp peanut butter

1 garlic clove, minced

1-inch ginger, minced

½ tsp chili flakes

½ tsp toasted sesame seeds

For Assembly

½ avocado, sliced

1 jalapeño, sliced

2-3 scallions, sliced

1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

10 rice papers

• Oil, for frying

• Sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS

Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to broil.

Place salmon into a baking dish; season with garlic, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil; rub to coat. Broil until golden and cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Prepare the dipping sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Set aside.

Set up an assembly station with salmon,

sliced avocado, jalapeño, scallions, and cilantro. Coat a cutting board with oil.

Fill a wide bowl with lukewarm water. Immerse 1 sheet of rice paper into the water, leave it in for 30 seconds or until the edges start curling. The paper should be pliable but still slightly firm. Place on the greased cutting board. Layer center with jalapeno slices, avocado, scallions, cilantro, and salmon. Fold the edges over the filling to create a tight roll. Set aside; repeat with remaining rice paper and filling.

Heat a large, wide skillet over medium

The book starts with four pages of appetizer ideas. These are recipes from other sections of the book that could serve well starters. Photos and page numbers are included. Then we launch right into salads and go through baked goods and desserts. In all, 315 pages of recipes that you will just have to try.

Here is one to start with:

Salmon Rolls with Crazy Good Sauce. Happy cooking!

high heat. Add a thin layer of oil. Fry each roll on all sides until golden and crisp, 2-3 minutes per side. Repeat with the rest of the rolls. Place on a platter, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and

serve with dipping sauce.

Tip! You can use leftover salmon in this dish.

Yield 10 rolls

Reprinted with permission, “Best of Kosher,” Mesorah Publications.

Sina Mizrahi

‘Bad Jews’: The play behind the title COMMUNITY

BY ROBERT ISENBERG

Alot has happened since 2013, when Joshua Harmon’s play “Bad Jews” was first staged, at the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City. True, antisemitism was thriving in 2013, but the decade since has been even more frightening for American Jews: Antisemitic violence in the U.S. is now at an all-time high, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

SO, IF YOU happened to be driving down Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick, and you saw a big red sign proclaiming “Bad Jews,” your alarm would be understandable. Even learning that the sign was an advertisement for a stage play was small consolation to many.

Yet the Gamm Theatre is proceeding with its production of “Bad Jews” this month.

“Despite the deliberately provocative, and ironic, nature of the title, ‘Bad Jews’ is a testament to the fact that no one person is a monolith,” Tony Estrella, the Gamm’s artistic director, wrote in his program notes. “There is little agreement in any culture about who or what constitutes the ‘good’ or the ‘bad.’ There is no consensus on either the nature of our debt to the past or our aspirations for the future.”

“Bad Jews” takes place over the course of one night in a studio apartment in Manhattan. A beloved patriarch has just died, and his grandchildren are bickering over his

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

trembling voice, 85-year-old Holocaust survivor Yelena Kuklova, who as a child was hidden by her non-Jewish neighbors in a suitcase in a closet, echoed the sentiment.

“They killed us then because we were Jews. They are killing us today because we are Ukrainian,” she said, a slow cascade of tears spilling over her cheekbones. “We started our lives in war and we’re finishing them in war.”

legacy. Daphna is fiery, loyal to her family and deeply committed to her Judaism. Liam missed the funeral, behaves with secular ambivalence and is dating a non-Jewish woman. In the middle is Jonah, who is both diplomatic and emotionally riven. Their bickering escalates as they debate the fate of a family heirloom, which barely escaped Nazi scavengers.

“I definitely relate,” says actor Hillel Rosenshine, 23, who plays Jonah in the Gamm production. “At times in the play, it feels like characters are talking past each other because one person is arguing about cultural Judaism while the other is arguing about religious Judaism. It can be a worthwhile distinction to make.”

Rosenshine is a Brown University alumnus, and his parents are both Israeli. He says his background is secular.

“I never went to Hebrew school, I seldom attended synagogue, and I eat pork,” he says. “So, on the one hand I grew up battling expectations of how Jewish I’m meant to be, trying to be as assimilated into secular society as possible.

“On the other hand, I’ve gone through periods of strong pride in my Judaism. There are times when I’m deeply afraid of becoming someone rootless, without some community or tradition to call upon. And in those moments, I echo Daphna in her pleas for preserving Jewish identity as an American.”

But the play is about more than Jewish identity, and many of the themes will speak to audiences regardless of their religion.

“I’ve lost a lot of people I love,” says actress Sarah Corey, who plays Daphna. Corey, who grew up in a Jewish family in Massachusetts, says she is also drawn to the theme of grief.

“One other thing I understand on a deep level, which this play really focuses in on, is the obligation for family to be there in a family member’s last months and weeks and hours

And so it was in battle-scarred Mykolaiv, 140 kilometers northeast of Odessa.

“What the Germans never managed to do, the Russians did,” said Eli Ben Mendel Hopstein, standing in front of his building, pockmarked from the shrapnel of a Russian missile.

Inside his home, Hopstein rifled through decades-old photos of himself in the navy.

“I know danger,” he said, “and I don’t feel it now.” He

and minutes, or whatever you can make happen. To rush to bedsides and spend quality time or palliative time. You do not miss a family member’s last days and their funeral because you lost your phone skiing in Aspen. I judge Liam very harshly for that.”

For her lead role in the world premiere of “Bad Jews,” Tracee Chimo won a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play. The New York Times said the play “crackled with energy.” But still, those involved in the Gamm’s production know how badly the title comes across in these days of swelling antisemitism, which has led to concerns from friends and loved ones.

“My aunt just recently asked me worriedly if it was an antisemitic play,” says John Hardin, 36, who plays Liam. “I’m willing to bet it’s not the last time I’ll have that reaction to the title.”

Hardin is not Jewish, but he sees a connection between his relationship with Catholicism and the characters in “Bad Jews.”

“I still feel a sense of responsibility for what the Catholic Church supports and enacts in the world,” he says. “It’s a strange dilemma to habitually avoid the church and still feel tethered to it. I think that’s the same kind of friction that Liam deals with in the play.”

The phrase “bad Jews” could mean different things to different people, Corey adds. It could be a self-effacing joke, an accusation within the community or, indeed, a hostile slur. To

describes himself as a proud Jew. “First, I am a Jew, then I am Ukrainian, and I never once hid this from anyone.” Mykolaiv, pro-Russia before the war, has become a source of pride for its residents because of Russia’s failure to occupy it. Even before the war, Mykolaiv was desperately poor. But now, following eight months of daily explosions, destruction is everywhere and the city’s critical infrastructure has been badly

Corey, Harmon’s fictional scenario evokes all these meanings.

“I think the meaning of the [title] is clear and multifaceted when you’ve seen the play,” she says. “In the Jewish faith, there is such an emphasis on mitzvah and performing mitzvot. So, I read the title also to mean that these [characters] are bad Jews – not all of them, I’ll let the audience decide who –because they are acting selfishly, and not with kindness and compassion to others. It’s an anti-mitzvah.”

Corey, who has performed in a wide range of productions as an actress and singer, says she was familiar with “Bad Jews” long before she was cast in the Gamm’s production.

“I loved [the play] from the first time I read it,” she says. “It is so spot-on as an exploration of grief and faith and family and Judaism and compassion and miscommunication. It’s hilarious and heartbreaking. When I found out about auditions at the Gamm, I really wanted this. This could easily be my family!”

“Bad Jews” plays through March 26 at the Gamm Theatre, in Warwick, GammTheatre.org. Join a free discussion, moderated by Rabbi Sarah Mack, on March 12 at 3:45 p.m. at the Gamm.

ROBERT ISENBERG (risenberg@ jewishallianceri.org) is the multimedia producer for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and a writer for Jewish Rhode Island.

damaged.

Like Odessa, the city has no electricity for up to 22 hours a day. For more than half a year, large swaths of the city had no water at all. Today, residents can turn on the tap and get a murky brown liquid known as technical water, but it is far from potable. For drinking and cooking, they are forced to collect safe water in plastic gallon bottles at water stations all over the city, many of which

were installed by the Israeli nonprofit IsraAID.

The first anniversary of the war marks two weeks since Alexei Shkurat and the other 89 new arrivals were greeted on the tarmac of Ben Gurion Airport by Israel’s new immigration minister, Ofir Sofer. Shkurat is on the lookout for a permanent home in a place where he can sell his art.

“Meeting with my children was the best event of the last year,” he said.

Sarah Corey Hillel Rosenshine John Hardin

COMMUNITY

Book review

‘Sadie on a Plate’ satisfies

BY SARAH GREENLEAF

Sadie is not having a good time. We first meet the protagonist in “Sadie on a Plate,” by Amanda Elliot ( Berkley, March 2022), as she is fired from her job as a chef at a Seattle restaurant over a text message. Though we won’t find out what led to this firing until almost the end of the novel, Sadie is distraught and feels like she has been blacklisted from the entire Seattle restaurant scene.

IT IS HARD to know if this is true because most of this book is spent inside Sadie’s head, and that can be a tough place to be. Sadie is self-critical and mentally berates herself. I’m happy to say that this eases as the plot picks up, because I found her inner voice difficult to read. Much more fun is her inner voice from her deceased grandmother, sassing her, guiding her and asking of every cute man Sadie meets, “Is he Jewish?”

Sadie may leave Seattle in disgrace, but she flees to an amazing opportunity, a chance to compete on a reality TV cooking show, “Chef Supreme,” which is essentially “Top Chef.”

On the plane to New York, she meets Luke, an attractive young chef. She’s worried that he might turn out to be a competitor on the show, but that doesn’t stop her from flirting.

After a magical and romantic dinner with Luke in a speakeasy/Korean restaurant, Sadie makes it to the contestants’ house, and finds that Luke isn’t a competitor after all.

He’s a judge.

That’s not the only com plication Sadie has to deal with – a “frenemy” from her restaurant days in Seattle, Kaitlyn Avilleira, turns out to be one of her com petitors. Sadie is worried that Kaitlyn will spill the details on whatever it was that happened to Sadie.

Between worrying that her Seattle secret will get out and worrying that Luke will spill the beans about their previous interactions, Sadie is a bit of a mess.

Luke takes the tack of being unkind to Sadie, pretending she didn’t mean

anything to him, in what is (to the reader at least) clearly an attempt to keep Sadie on the show and his conflict-of-interest secret. This takes Sadie much of the rest of the book to figure out, so while this is sort of a romantic comedy (romcom), it doesn’t have many of the traditional elements of one, considering that the two leads are avoiding each

plays with Korean food and is affordable. Instead, he is following his dad’s path and running a three-star restaurant that follows a very traditional definition of “fine dining.”

The idea that the food of one’s ancestors can be transformed and modernized is what brings Luke and Sadie together again and again. As Sadie says, “That was what dishes like my matzah ball ramen were all about. That’s the fun of food, to me. I want to take things my grandma did, or my ancestors did, and make those things new and fresh and exciting. ”

Both Luke and Sadie chafe against what society has deemed “fine dining,” and ultimately, they both manage to create restaurants that honor their heritage while allowing for experimentation and play.

“Sadie on a Plate” is

less of a romance between Luke and Sadie and more of a romance between all the characters and food. It grapples with issues of selfworth, kitchen culture and marginalized identities.

“I want people to know that we have thousands of years of cuisine on offer. And so many different kinds! We were part of the Diaspora for so long, living in places as diverse as India and Yemen and Italy and Poland for thousands of years, and each community developed their own cuisine, and then they all came together again in Israel and America and fused with each other, and there’s so much potential for a fine-dining restaurant.”

This book is light and fun and filled with food. Though it touches on big topics, the ideas are sprinkled throughout the book, like when

Sadie replies to a judge asking about her over-reliance on pickling, “Ashkenazi food uses pickling a lot. We were frequently running for our lives, which made fresh foods inconvenient.”

The book doesn’t go into many of the issues it touches on in depth. Food is really at the heart of this novel, along with Sadie’s journey toward self-acceptance and esteem – because how can you love anyone when you don’t love yourself and your food?

SARAH GREENLEAF (sgreenleaf@ jewishallianceri.org) is the digital marketing specialist for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and writes for Jewish Rhode Island.

COMMUNITY

Alliance program to celebrate heroines

BY LARRY KATZ

On March 8, in “IsraAID and Women’s Day,” Rachael Sonntag-Bloom virtually will share her experiences as a woman working in the humanitarian-aid sector and her insights into the many issues that disproportionately affect women and girls during humanitarian crises.

INTERNATIONAL Women’s Day is also on March 8, one day after Purim, which commemorates the courage of a woman, Esther, who saved the Jewish people. The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island this year is honoring heroines, such as Sonntag-Bloom and her colleagues.

Through the lens of some of IsraAID’s global missions in Ukraine, South Sudan, Kenya and Colombia, Sonntag-Bloom will explore the challenges women and girls face in refugee and displacement situations, emergency-response programming and water-resource management, and the interventions focused on supporting their psychological, emotional and social needs.

The program will also feature stories from IsraAID staff members, volunteers and program beneficiaries in navigating the seemingly insurmountable challenges women and girls face, as well as stories of hope and resilience in rebuilding their lives, communities and futures together.

Sonntag-Bloom joined IsraAID in 2019 as the U.S. resource development director, based in Los Angeles. She traveled to the organization’s Guatemala field mission following the eruption of Volcan de Fuego in 2018, and was a member of IsraAID’s U.S. emergency response to COVID-19, supporting communities that faced food insecurity.

Sonntag-Bloom has over a decade of experience working in the nonprofit sector

Rachel Sonntag-Bloom

at communal, medical and philanthropic organizations.

Prior to joining IsraAID, Sonntag-Bloom worked in various development and community-engagement roles, including at Jewish World Watch and the USC Keck School of Medicine.

The free program is part of the Israeli Culture Series, which usually takes place on the second Wednesday of each month. The program will be held on Wednesday, March 8, at 7 p.m. on Zoom. It will be hosted by Elihay Skital, Rhode Island’s shaliach (Israeli emissary). Register at jewishallianceri. org/ics-march.

For more information about the program, contact Skital at 401-421-4111 or eskital@jewishallianceri.org.

LARRY KATZ is the director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

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Fifth

takes the lead at

In January, the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island’s 5th grade students led more than 150 families, students, staff and alumni in a joyous and meaningful Havdallah program.

On Feb. 28, the expansion of the Providence-Pawtucket eruv in the Pleasant Street area of Pawtucket was made official in Mayor Donald Grebien’s office. Attending (left to right): Laurie Noorparvar, Nita Pliskin, Mayor Grebien, Marc Diamond, BenTzion Taube, Rahmat Noorparvar.

Israeli documentary ‘Kosher Beach’ plays at JCC on March 29

BY LARRY KATZ

AS PART OF THE Israeli Culture Series, the documentary “Kosher Beach,” about a gender-segregated beach in Tel Aviv, will be screened at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center on March 29.

The “Kosher Beach” is a gated strip of sand on the Mediterranean coast that has dedicated days for women and men to bathe separately.

The beach is only a halfhour drive from Bnei-Brak, a closed Orthodox city, but for the “Brave Bunch,” a female Orthodox sisterhood from Bnei-Brak, it’s light years away. It’s their source of quiet sanity, their own private haven of freedom, where they can be themselves, take a deep ocean breath and open their hearts to the sea.

On the beach, an entire hidden world full of humor is exposed, one that only exists from the moment they get on the minibus that takes them to the beach to the moment they get off the bus and reenter their city. Viewers get a taste of this forbidden

fruit, discovering the inner world of these ultra-Orthodox women.

But when the heads of their community threaten to close the beach, will the women give in or fight to save their island of freedom?

The free program will take place on Wednesday, March 29, at 7 p.m., in the boardroom of the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Israeli Culture Series’ programs are usually on the second Wednesday of each month, but the April program has been moved to March so it doesn’t interfere with Passover.

For more information about the program, contact Elihay Skital, Israeli shaliach, or emissary, at 401-864-3786 or eskital@ jewishallianceri.org. Registration for the program will be available shortly.

LARRY KATZ (lkatz@

jewishallianceri.org) is the director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

But wait – there’s more!

TWO MORE ISRAELI FILMS will be screened at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence, on March 26, as part of the Day-at-the-J. Preregistration is not required and there is no charge to attend.

The first film, scheduled for 10 a.m., will be “The Unorthodox.” The plot centers on an Orthodox single father whose daughter is expelled from school for no reason but her ethnic background. He decides to run for office, and almost single-handedly establishes the first ethnic political group in Israel. The film is based in Jerusalem in the 1980s and inspired by a true story.

At 1 p.m., “The Art of Waiting” will be screened. In the movie, Liran and Tali, a couple in their thirties who dream of having a child together, are told that they will need fertility treatments. What seems simple at first turns out to be very complex. They discover that in order to become parents, they will have to undergo a long journey full of hardships both physical and mental. Will their love survive?

– Larry Katz

Jewish groups mobilize to fight climate change

BY FRAN OSTENDORF — PROVIDENCE

On Feb. 7, some 40 people gathered to learn about the Jewish climate movement’s efforts to fight climate change both locally and nationally.

JAKIR MANELA , CEO of the nonprofit organization Hazon, along with Rachel Siegal, chief development officer at Hazon, were featured speakers at “A Jewish Response to Climate Change: A Briefing and Conversation with Hazon.” The program, held at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, was chaired by Mitzi Berkelhammer and sponsored by the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

Manela and Siegal explained how the climate crisis affects everyone around the world. Their words had a uniquely Jewish focus as they discussed what groups in the United States are doing to help local communities. And they pointed out that the climate crisis is deeply affecting Israel, a situation that we often don’t consider here in the U.S. Israel is one of the regions

most impacted by the changing climate, Sigel said.

Hazon, according to its mission statement, is “leading a transformative movement weaving sustainability into the fabric of Jewish life, in order to create a healthier, more sustainable and more equitable world for all.”

Siegal talked to the group about the reality of climate-change anxiety.

“One of the challenges is how do we create solutions,” she said. “We know climate change is human-induced, and we don’t all experience it equally.”

Hazon has organized groups across the U.S. into the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition. The Alliance has signed on. Like the other organizations involved, the Alliance will put together a climate action plan to work toward carbon neutrality, said Adam Greenman, president and CEO.

“The Alliance is already one of the leaders in this area,” he said after the program. “We get nearly 100% of our electricity from solar.”

At the program, Greenman explained why the Alliance is taking a leadership role in environmental action.

“I am excited to be talking about this topic and partnering with Hazon,” he said. “It all came into

Purim at PHDS

focus last summer as to how much of a threat this really is.”

He then told the story of a particularly heavy rainstorm in the summer of 2022, which led to water pouring out of the pipes on the lower level of the JCC.

“It was far beyond anything we had ever seen,” Greenman said. “You can’t say that wasn’t related to climate change. It’s incumbent upon us to do this work.”

The Alliance is also working with Congregation Beth Sholom, which worships in the JCC building, to implement a composting program.

Manela pointed out that the Alliance’s efforts rank among the top in the country for similar organizations.

The audience was also introduced to Madelyn Canfield, a Brown University student and member of the Hazon-sponsored Jewish Youth Climate Movement, who spoke about leveraging

A JEWISH RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

the voice of young Jews.

A Houston native, Canfield felt the need to act after seeing the effects of several floods on the Jewish institutions in her hometown. She now works part time for Hazon, helping to organize and educate her peers to fight climate change.

Manela, Siegal, Greenman and Canfield spoke about the need to pass down a healthy

planet to the community’s young people.

As Greenman said, “The Torah talks about taking care of the environment. So it’s incumbent to pass down a healthy planet. D’or l’dor.”

FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@jewishallianceri.

org) is the editor of Jewish Rhode Island.

JEWISH ALLIANCE OF GREATER RHODE ISLAND INVITES YOU TO

A SPECIAL EVENING HONORING THE LEGACIES OF ROBERT BERKELHAMMER & RONALD MARKOFF

The Cardozo Society

Please join The Cardozo Society in a special evening honoring the legacies of esteemed lawyers and philanthropists Robert Berkelhammer and Ronald Markoff.

Wednesday, March 22 at 5:30 pm

Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence

We will also be joined by Rabbi and historian Dr. David G. Dalin who will share remarks on his book, Jewish Justices of the Supreme Court: From Brandeis to Kagan.

Event Co-chairs: Susan Leach DeBlasio and Jeff Prystowsky

Wine and hors d’oeuvres reception

For more information, and to sign up, visit jewishallianceri.org.

*Registration is available with your gift to the Annual Community Campaign.

The Cardozo Society is an association of Jewish attorneys, judges, and law students affiliated through the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. Its mission is to strengthen relationships among legal professionals in the Jewish community through educational, social, and philanthropic activities, as well as community involvement and opportunities for leadership.

Sponsored by:

Second graders at Providence Hebrew Day School prepare for Purim.

PHOTO | PHDS

Life & Relationship Coaching

If you’re seeking better understanding and communication to help strengthen your relationship, then we encourage you to contact us. Our unique couple-to-couple approach combines Angel’s skills as a Certified Coach with those of her husband, Charles Granoff, a licensed Therapist.

COMMUNITY

Touro Fraternal Association hosts open house on March 15

CRANSTON – Jewish men

18 and older are invited to attend an open house, hosted by Touro Fraternal Association, on Wednesday, March 15, at 6:30 p.m. at Touro Hall, 45 Rolfe Square, Cranston.

The guest speaker is Christian Fauria, a two-time Super Bowl champion as a player for the New England Patriots and a current sports talk show host on WEEI radio in Boston and Providence.

Fauria played tight end in the NFL for 12 years, including as a member of the Patriots from 2002 to 2005.

Attendees will also enjoy a catered Kosher baked chicken dinner. There is no

cost for the open house or the dinner, but reservations are required.

Touro is the largest Jewish men’s fraternal organization in the Northeast. Founded in 1917, Touro offers numerous social activities and gives back to the community through dozens of annual contributions to Jewish and non-secular causes.

To attend the open house, or for more information, contact Touro at 401-785-0066 or email info@tourofraternal. org.

Submitted by Touro Fraternal Association

Why is this Seder different from all other Seders?

1At this seder, we sit among women of all faiths.

2At this seder, we focus on the contributions of the heroines of the Passover story and throughout history.

3At this seder, we embrace new traditions as we explain the feminist symbolism behind an orange and Miriam’s cup on the seder plate.

4At this seder, women will be celebrated by women leaders.

ON TUESDAY, March 28, 2023, at 6 p.m., the Women’s Community Passover Seder will be held at Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Cost is $36 for an unreserved seat and $360 for a reserved table of 8. The menu is vegetarian menu with a vegan option. Contact tbesisterhood70@gmail.com to request a registration form. RSVP and payment is due by March 13!

You can top off your

registration fee to include a charitable donation to HIAS (www.hias.org), a nonprofit Jewish organization that supports refugees worldwide during their time of exodus. Submitted by Temple Beth-El

Charles Granoff, LICSW, LMFT Angel Canada Granoff, PCC

PHOTO | ELAINE SANDY

At the 2017 seder, Sherry Cohen breaks the afikoman for the young girls to find!

COMMUNITY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

Menil includes several fine pieces by avant-garde Jewish artists, among others.

For Houston residents and visitors who enjoy sculpture gardens, the example found amid the five-building Sarofim Campus of the Museum of Fine Arts is a treat. Designed by the great Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Naguchi, and dedicated in 1986, it presents more than 30 representational and abstract pieces.

The Houston garden was surely inspired by Noguchi’s astonishing Billy Rose Sculpture Garden, one dimension of the extraordinary Israel Museum, which opened in 1965. In addition to showcasing outstanding examples of modern and contemporary sculpture by leading Jewish and Gentile artists, the Rose offers sweeping vistas of Jerusalem in nearly every direction. I’m afraid that Houston’s more modest sculpture garden, which includes a few pieces by Jewish artists, cannot measure up. What could?

The Houston museum’s three major buildings, connected underground, were also designed by leading architects. The second, the Beck Building, which opened in 2000, was the work of a Spaniard, Rafael Moneo, who later designed the Chace Center at our RISD Museum.

The museum’s newest structure, the Kinder Building, designed by Steven Holl and dedicated in 2020, is by far the most sensational. Focusing on mid-20th century and contemporary art, it includes impressive examples by several American-Jewish artists, including Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler and Louise Nevelson, all three of whom are also represented at RISD.

Fortunately, our family’s nourishment was not limited to art and architecture. Michael explained that, according to some recent studies, Houstonians eat out more often than residents of most large American cities.

Hamsa is a quite popular Israeli restaurant not far from our son’s home. The mostly vegetarian dishes were not only tasty, but gorgeous to behold

But for lovers of Jewish food, I cannot exaggerate the rewards of the enormous deli where we had Sunday lunch. I believe that the sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts at Kenny & Ziggy’s are as huge and delicious as any that I’ve

ever tasted in the U.S. And a carnival atmosphere also prevailed.

But our enormous and joyous lunch also raised a somber note; any troublemaker could have barged in and wreaked havoc.

I mention this possibility because that Sunday morning, I had attempted to visit Temple Emanu El, a Reform congregation. Built in 1948, it was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s much earlier work.

Not having written or called ahead, I thought that I could explain my Jewish and architectural credentials to a temple staffer on duty during religious school. Wrong! Not only do high metal fences keep Jews and strangers away, but my three conversations with guards – two by intercom, one in the parking lot – had no effect. Not knowing that even exterior photos were forbidden, I had taken a few before being warned.

Fortunately, I did feel welcomed by Houston’s large and vibrant Jewish community when Michael showed me a copy of its newspaper, the Jewish Herald Voice. I quickly noticed a column by Rabbi David B. Rosen, a Houston native who led Cranston’s Temple Torat Yisrael from 1984 to 1996, before returning to lead Houston’s major Conservative congregation, Beth Yeshurun. This was in fact the congregation where he had grown up.

I’m aware that two more Houstonians have served Rhode Island congregations. Rabbi Wayne M. Franklin, who led Providence’s Temple Emanu-El from 1981 to 2019, had also grown up at Beth Yeshurun. And Michael Z. Cahana, the son and brother of rabbis, was an assistant rabbi at Providence’s Temple Beth-El from 1995 to 2000.

Even with its excellent art museums and bagels, would I feel at home in Houston? Well, the city is an hour’s drive from an ocean, but it feels larger than our entire state. And where are Houston’s Benefit Street, College Hill or Blackstone Boulevard? Even compared to my native Los Angeles, the city looks and feels brand new!

M. GOODWIN , of Providence, has edited Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes for 19 years.

RISD Museum objects highlight final Winter Series Touro Foundation presentation

THE FOURTH AND FINAL program of the Touro Synagogue Foundation Winter 2022-2023 Judah Touro Program Series will take place virtually on Thursday, March 30 at noon.

This is a special collaborative presentation hosted by the Rhode Island School of Design Museum’s “Local Collections in Conversation” series.

The Ner Tamid (Eternal Light) and the main chandelier in Touro Synagogue will be featured in a comparative perspective of objects from the RISD Museum collection, chosen by its staff. Presenters will include Howard Newman, a nationally respected Newport artist and conservator, who restored

the featured objects from Touro Synagogue. These objects helped to remind the Colonial-era Newport Jewish community of their connections to other Jews throughout the Atlantic world.

There is no fee to participate, but reservations are required to receive the Zoom login information. To reserve, please visit the “Program & Events” page at tourosynagogue. org, where you may view recordings of past presentations, or use this link: https://tinyurl.com/ bdd9863u

The Foundation also announces the start of the 2023 tour season at Touro Synagogue National Historic Site, beginning

Sunday, March 5. During March and April, the site will be open on Sundays only, with six tours offered daily, running every 45 minutes, starting at 10 a.m., with the last tour beginning at 1:45 p.m. The schedule will expand beginning in May. Please visit the “Plan a Visit” page on tourosynagogue. org for schedule details and admission prices. Entrance into the synagogue is by tour only, and all tickets are sold in person at the Loeb Visitors Center. For additional information, please write tours@tourosynagogue. org or phone 401-847-4794.

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The Executive Director needs:

Excellent skills in interpersonal relationships and communication.

Flexibility to meet the changing demands of the congregation and the position.

A solid foundation in fiscal and facilities management.

Background in managing/mentoring personnel and human relations.

Comfort with synagogue’s technical, computer, telephone systems and web presence.

We’re seeking a FULL-TIME EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

GEORGE

OBITUARIES

Sydney Bander, 95

WARWICK, R.I. – Sydney Bander passed away on Feb. 24, 2023, at his home. He was the husband of the late Mildred (Servita) Bander. Born in Providence, a son of Samuel and Sandie (Goldstein) Bander, he had lived in Warwick for seven years, previously living in Boynton Beach, Florida.

He owned the former Syd Bander Discount Jewelry Co. and worked for various prime manufacturers in the jewelry industry, retiring in 1993. Sydney was a founding member of Temple Sinai and a member of Touro Fraternal Association. He enjoyed staying active, playing sports such as tennis, golf, bowling, horseback riding and downhill skiing. Sydney also enjoyed playing bridge and other card games with friends. He was an animal lover as well.

He was the father of Scott Bander and his wife, Susan, of Naples, Florida, and Howard Bander of Warwick. He was the brother of the late Frances Gerstenblatt. He was the grandfather of Adam and Gregory.

Contributions may be made to the Rhode Island SPCA, 186 Amaral St., Riverside, RI 02915 via https://www.rispca. com/tribute-gifts/.

Hope Davidson, 88

WARWICK, R.I. – Hope S. (Fradin)

Davidson, of Warwick and formerly of Providence, passed away Feb. 20, 2023, at Kent County Hospital.

Born in Providence, the daughter of the late Hyman and Dorothy (Bernstein) Fradin, she was a lifelong resident of the area.

Hope was a graduate of Lincoln School and attended Boston University. An avid and very skilled gardener, Hope enjoyed interior decorating and was well known for having a great sense of fashion. Her many admirers noted her sharp wit and intelligence no matter the topic. She was a long-time member of Temple Beth-El in Providence.

Survivors include: her loving daughter Deborah Davidson of Washington, D.C.; granddaughter, Alexandra Adams; nephew, Charles S. Fradin, niece, Marjorie Diaco and many lifelong friends. She was predeceased by her brother Paul Fradin and his wife, Janet (Saklad); and Deborah’s partner

Dennis Buki. Other survivors include a great-niece, Lillian Fradin, great-nephew, Michael Fradin, their mother Elizabeth Fradin and Dennis Buki’s daughter Alison and son Chris.

Contributions may be made to Jewish Collaborative Services, 1165 N. Main St., Providence, RI 02904.

Rosalyn Factor, 94

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rosalyn

R. Factor passed away on Feb. 20, 2023, at the HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence. She was the wife of the late Max Factor for 57 years. Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, she was a daughter of the late William and Dorothy (Blum) Cohen. She lived her whole life in Rhode Island, most recently residing at The Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living Residence.

Rosalyn was an avid reader who passed this passion on to her children and grandchild. She was masterful at mahjong and an unbeatable Scrabble player.

She was the mother of Ellen and her husband, Jeffrey Kasle, of Providence and Leslie Factor and her husband, Rui Rodrigues, of Georgia. She was the sister of Joel Cohen and his wife, Pamela, of Warwick. She was the grandmother of Whitney Howell and her husband, Zachary, of Maryland. She was the great-grandmother of Miriam Wallace Howell.

Contributions may be made to Saint Elizabeth Home, 1 St. Elizabeth Way, East Greenwich, RI 02818 or HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center, 1085 N. Main St., Providence, RI 02904.

Harris Feinstein, 85 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Harris

Feinstein Harris Feinstein died on Jan. 27, 2023, at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Faith L Feinstein; son, Mitchell Feinstein, and his wife, Wendy; daughter, Ellen Mayer, and her boyfriend, Jeffrey Beatrice; granddaughter, Alexa R. Mayer. He is predeceased by his late grandson, Jamie Mayer.

He was a devoted husband, father and papa as well as a great friend and uncle.

He joined the 102nd Air National Guard as a cook and during his time spent one year in Germany during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

He was the proud owner for many years of Teresa’s Coffee

Shop in downtown Providence.

In his retirement, he volunteered at Meals on Wheels. He will be deeply missed and never forgotten by all who knew him and loved him as he was the most selfless man to all.

Kayla Fishman, 85 WARREN, R.I. – Kayla Lois Fishman died at home in Warren on Dec. 10, 2022.

Kayla Lois Fishman was born on March 22, 1937 in Providence. Kayla was the first daughter of the six children of Harry Hyman Fishman (“Harold Fishman,” the son of Louis Fishman and Sarah Spivak) of Providence and Tessie Walder (“Tessie Fishman”, the daughter of Joseph Walder and Libby Weinberg) of New York, New York.

Kayla was an alumnus of Hope High School (1955) and a member of the Rhode Island Honor Society. She later attended Framingham State College, where she studied English literature.

Soon after graduating Hope High School, Kayla married and moved to Oxford, England. Kayla’s enjoyment of British culture became an enduring feature of her life. Her other interests included comparative religion, ancient languages (Hebrew and Latin), and vegetarian cooking. She was a talented home chef who created vegetarian cuisine influenced by traditional Jewish recipes. She worked professionally as a legal secretary for a prominent law firm in Framingham, Massachusetts.

In retirement, Kayla enjoyed and cherished her active social life in the seaside senior community of Harbor House in Newport, where she resided for 20 years. She later moved to Warren, in the loving care of her family.

Kayla is the mother four children, Sarah, Jonathan, Daniel and Elizabeth. Sarah Gail Chernov was born in England in 1957 and, sadly, predeceased her.

Kayla is survived by her sons, Jonathan Chernov and wife Jolita Jonenaite of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Daniel Chernov of Westerly, and daughter, Elizabeth Kathleen (Fishman) Lima and husband, John Carlos Resendes Lima. Kayla is also survived by her five grandchildren, Lila Rose Chernov, Maia Tess Chernov, Ilana Kay Lima, Natacia Sadie Lima and Logan Brady Lima.

Ileane Hamer, 92 PAWTUCKET, R.I. – Ileane (Dressler) Hamer, of Pawtucket, passed away on Jan. 29, 2023, at The Miriam Hospital. She was the wife of the late Morton Hamer.

Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Hyman and Esther (Zuckerman)

Dressler, she was a lifelong resident of the area.

A loving wife, mother, sister, mommom and friend, she will be deeply missed.

Survivors include: two loving daughters, Susan Kaplan and her husband, Saul, of Providence, and Maureen Krensky and her husband, Alan, of Sudbury, Massachusetts; four grandchildren, Rachel Caldwell and her husband, Benjamin, Adam Kaplan, Alyssa Kaplan and her fiancé, Robert Forgione, and Mollie Krensky; three great-grandchildren, Rory,

OBITUARIES

Reese and Remy Caldwell; one brother, Max Dressler and his wife, Rona, and many nieces and nephews. She was the sister of the late Naomi Keller, Laura Bernstein, Earl Dressler and Priscila Baker.

As the matriarch of her family, Ileane was the glue that kept a large family and friends close and made sure family traditions continued to thrive and flourish. Mommom’s matzah ball soup and homemade pies were legendary. She got great joy from feeding and nourishing her family and friends.

The family would like to thank the physicians, nurses and staff at The Miriam Hospital for their compassion, dedication and quality of care. Donations may be made to The Miriam Hospital Foundation in her memory at PO Box H, Providence, RI 02901 or at lifespan.org/ TMH-giving.

Sanford Gorodetsky, 94

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Sanford Gorodetsky, of Warren, passed away on Feb. 25, 2023, at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence. He was the beloved husband of Barbara Blossom for 42 years; devoted father of Evan Gorodetsky and Brian Gorodetsky; stepfather of Robin Blossom and Perry (Pam) Blossom; brother of Lenore Gorodetsky; son of the late

Louis and Sally (Rice) Gorodetsky. He was previously married to (deceased) Harriet (Lieberman) Gorodetsky.

Born in Providence, Sanford was a graduate of Classical High School, Providence College and earned a J.D. from Boston University Law School. Prior to joining the legal profession, he enlisted in the military and served active duty in the Pacific Region.

Dedicated to Providence, he served most notably as the Providence Director of Public Safety, Chief Judge for the Providence Municipal Court, and a member of the Providence City Council. He practiced law for 62 years, and was professionally recognized by the Rhode Island Bar Association.

Active in the veteran’s community, Sanford served as Commander of the Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Rhode Island Chapter. He was a former secretary for the Permanent Advisory Council of the House Veteran Affairs Committee and a member for the United Veterans Council, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 15 in Bristol and the World War II Monument Committee.

His professional confidence and affable personality contributed to success in artistic pursuits. He was a talented local singer, band musician and actor. He enjoyed performing on both stage and screen, and earned numerous acting credits in both television and film.

Contributions in his memory may be made to Disabled American Veterans Chapter 15, Bristol Town Hall, Bristol, R.I.

Michael Hoffer, 84 VERO BEACH, FLA. –Michael G. Hoffer of Vero Beach, formerly of Narragansett, passed away on Feb. 20, 2023.

Born in Brooklyn, New York on Jan. 5, 1939, He is survived by his wife, Donna Hoffer, his son Mark Hoffer and his wife, Ellie, of Wakefield; his son David and his wife, Seycelle, of Wakefield; his daughter Jill LePage and her husband, Peter, of West Greenwich; and stepson Jason Lowe and his wife, Katie, of West Bridgewater, Massachusetts and eight grandchildren.

Michael was a graduate of the University of Rhode Island and was a member of AEPi, the Varsity Track and Field, and the Varsity Soccer teams. After graduating college he served in the US Marine Corps. He worked at Arkwright Incorporated in Fiskville. He worked his way up to vice president of purchasing before his retirement.

One of Michael's greatest joys was being involved in coaching and watching his children and grandchildren in sports and other activities. Michael was a volunteer coach with the Special Olympics, and a coach and participant with his wife, Donna, with Team in Training of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in marathons all over the world. Even in retirement, Michael stayed very active playing golf, softball, and walking with the local walking club.

Donations may be made to the American Stroke Association.

Gerald Kasten, 85 EAST GREENWICH, R.I. –Gerald (Jerry) Kasten died on Jan. 6, 2023, at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence. He was the husband of Ruth (Rahm) Kasten for 30 years. Born in Brooklyn, New York, a son of the late Louis Kasten and Hannah (Mathisson) Kasten, he had lived in East Greenwich for 30 years, previously a long-time resident of Framingham, Massachusetts.

Jerry was a technical documentation manager at Digital Equipment Corporation, in Massachusetts, for many years, retiring in 1992. He continued to work

as a software developer after that, and he enjoyed working independently on software development. He loved traveling overseas with his wife, Ruth, playing chess with his nephew, Glenn Kasten, and doting on his grandchildren.

He was the father of Sheryl (Kasten) Caissie and her husband, Brian Caissie, of Alva, Florida; Lawrence Kasten and his wife, Jill Kasten, of Worcester, Massachusetts; and Susan (Kasten) Abrahams and her husband, David Abrahams, of Austin, Texas. He was the stepfather of Adam Alper and his wife, Kim Sinclair, of Randolph, Massachusetts, and Jen Zinno and her husband, Matt Zinno, of Sharon, Massachusetts.

He was the brother of the late Matthew Kasten. He was the grandfather of Daniel and Sarah Caissie; Joshua, Hannah, Avery and Levi Kasten; Samuel and the late Harry Abrahams; Elizabeth, Jacob and Thomas Zinno.

Contributions may be made to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, nami.org, or Congregation Beth David, cbdri.org.

George Morgan, 98 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Professor George W. Morgan, one of the most transformative teachers ever to serve the Brown University community, created one more poignant moment of genuine connection on Feb. 4, 2023, the final day of his long and extraordinarily well-lived life.

Beloved father of Alexandra, grandpa of Benjamin and Madelin, step-grandfather of Raymond, husband and best friend of the late Barbara (Rogers) Morgan, whose memory is indeed a blessing, George passed away peacefully with four loved ones by his side, a few months shy of his 99th birthday.

Morgan was a beloved teacher and scholar who showed how the enduring questions about the human condition had no simple answers. To borrow from the poet Rilke, one of Morgan’s favorites, George helped us all learn how to “live the questions” as we met them in our own lives and times.

Morgan helped generations of Brown students search for meaning, come to know themselves better and consider ways to work for healing and justice in the world.

Morgan pioneered interdisciplinary study at the college level and was the intellectual architect of Brown University’s globally renowned “Open Curriculum” and the inspiration for many of those students who participated in its creation. Arguably there was no single person more responsible for the rise in Brown’s popularity and growth than George Morgan.

Donations can be made to The Nature Conservancy, https://preserve.nature. org/page/80429/donate/1 or mail donation to The Nature Conservancy, Attn: Treasury, 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203.

Gail

Perlow

JOHNSTON, R.I. – Gail I. Perlow, of Johnston, passed away on Jan. 29, 2023, at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence.

Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Dr. Milton and Lillian (Rosenberg) Perlow, she was a lifelong resident of the city.

Gail worked at the Providence Journal for many years before retiring.

Survivors include: her sister, Mary-Ellen Leer and her significant other, John, of Stoughton, Massachusetts; two nephews, Ryan Leer and his wife, Samantha, and Jeffrey Leer and his wife, Amy; three great-nieces, Bella, Meilana and Kennedy; and one great-nephew Tatum. Contributions may be made to HopeHealth Hospice, 1085 North Main St., Providence, RI 02904; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105; or Friends of Dana-Farber, 450 Brookline Ave., SW120, Boston, MA 02215.

Jacob

Portnoy, 91

CRANSTON, R.I. – Jacob D. Portnoy passed away on Feb. 6, 2023, at his home in Cranston. He was the husband of Patricia (Romanoff) Portnoy for many hilarious and incredibly loving years. Born in Providence, he was a son of the late Bradford M.S. and Rebecca (Tanenbaum) Portnoy.

He attended Boston University as an undergrad and received a J.D. degree from Yale. Jake had lived in Crans -

OBITUARIES SIMCHAS

ton for over 10 years, previously living in the many nooks and crannies of Rhode Island. He was a skilled attorney for years, proudly serving his clients prior to retiring in 2013. Jake was a self-proclaimed comedian, a savior of Herman the squirrel, as well as a frequent flier of Rhode Island’s best breakfast spots.

He was the father of Eric Portnoy, of Boston, Massachusetts, and Robert Portnoy, of Colorado.

He was the brother of Eveline (Portnoy) Rothman, of Manhattan, New York, and uncle of Rebecca Rothman. Jake was a cherished friend to so many incredible people; he was always so grateful and fortunate for those individuals with whom he shared his life. He was a fan of comedy and had a Rolodex of jokes that were classified as too funny to print for this story of his life.

Contributions may be made to a charity of your choice.

Bernice Salzberg, 93

NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bernice F. Salzberg, of North Smithfield, passed away Feb. 2, 2023. Born in Pawtucket, she was the daughter of the late Hassan and Ida Hassan and sister of the late Eleanor Torun, Louise Condon, of Needham, Massachusetts, and Robert Hassan, of North Smithfield. Her husband, Richard Salzberg, predeceased her in 1993.

Bernice’s career in real estate in northern Rhode Island spanned over 50 years. She was past president of both the local Woonsocket chapter and State Board of Realtors. She was the founder and owner of her own real estate brokerage firm, which is still today family operated. Bernice was very active in many community affairs in northern Rhode Island.

She is survived by her three children, Sylvia Spitalnick, of Rye, New York, Bernerd Salzberg and spouse, Margy, of Solana Beach, California, and Marilyn Bennett and spouse, Doug, of North Smithfield; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Marcia Zisman, 91 NEWPORT, R.I. – Marcia V. (Cohen) Zisman of Newport, formerly of Barrington,

passed away Feb. 6, 2023, at Village House in Newport. She was the lwife of the late Bernard Zisman. They were married for 52 fun-filled years.

Born in Everett, Massachusetts, she was the daughter of the late Henry and Beatrice (Weiss) Cohen. She grew up in Taunton, graduating with the high school class of 1949. Marcia studied fashion design at the Rhode Island School of Design prior to marriage and then joined Bern in Texas and Salzburg where he was stationed during the Korean War.

Marcia was a very talented artist who brought inspiration to all around her. Cooking was a favorite pastime and all holidays and celebrations took place in Marcia’s home with as many friends and family as possible. She was instrumental in forming a gourmet club with her friends, making amazing dinner experiences. She was a member of Temple Habonim’ s Sisterhood for many years and worked diligently and lovingly on their Butterfingers cookbook.

Marcia and Bernie owned BZ Engineering Corporation in Lincoln. Marcia and close friend, Rhoda Gran, owned The Jewelry Loft in Warren, where they sold beautiful jewelry and Marcia’s decorative painted items. In later years, Marcia started teaching decorative painting in her very warm and inviting 1886 home, which was the perfect setting for artists.

Survivors include: two children, David Zisman and his wife, Maria, of Reno, Nevada and Stacey Carter and her husband, Scott, of Middletown; three granddaughters, Aliya (Carter) Eichacker newly married to Nathan of Coventry, Connecticut; Ava Zisman of Zephyrhills, Florida, and Sofia Zisman of Reno; brother Lewis Cohen and his wife, Ella (Shenkyn), of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and very special cousins, nieces and nephews.

Contributions may be made to Temple Habonim, Marjorie Blowers Temple Beautification Fund, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington, RI 02806 or Visiting Nurse Home and Hospice, 1184 E. Main Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871.

MAZAL TOV

MARY AND JACK SUCHODOLSKI would like to announce the engagement of their son James Suchodolski to Angelina Hodgkins. James Suchodolski is a middle school music teacher in Providence. Angelina Hodgkins is a physician assistant who graduated from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The couple plans to wed in May 2023.

WE ARE READ

Larry Katz, Elihay Skital and Leah Garber hold Jewish Rhode Island at the recent annual conference of shlichim and their supervisors organized by the Jewish Agency for Israel in association with the Jewish Community Centers Association. Katz is the director of Jewish Life and Learning for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, Skital is the Rhode Island community Israeli shlichah (emissary) and Garber is the Vice President of Israel Engagement at the JCCA.

PHOTO LARRY KATZ

Hazzen beloved by all

CANTOR JACOB HOHENEMSER was beloved at Temple Emanu-El in Providence and beyond, and his unexpected death in 1964 sent shockwaves through the community. Nicknamed “Hohney,” Hohenemser was born in Haigerloch, Germany, in 1911. He was a respected singer in Europe before his internment at the Dachau concentration camp.

Temple Emanu-El’s full-time music director, Arthur Einstein, sponsored Hohenemser’s emigration in 1940 and most likely saved his life. Hohenemser served as the

temple’s cantor for 24 years; he also served as director of the Cantor’s Assembly of America and earned the first-ever Doctorate in Sacred Music from the Jewish Theological Seminary.

“He had a gorgeous voice,” recalls Dr. Brian Mayer, who has served as Temple Emanu-El’s cantor for the past 34 years. “People still speak well of him.” This memorial concert, held in 1965, helped create the Hohenemser Scholarship Fund, which has supported students of liturgical music to this day.

The Celebrations Guide is an all-color publication printed on glossy paper aimed at folks who are planning major events such as weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, birthdays, anniversaries, retirements and graduations. Content includes features on successful celebrations and how-to tips for your upcoming event. Publication date: May 19, 2023. Ads and copy due April 21.

We are looking for your old Bar/Bat

Mitzvah photos for an article in the guide. Send to editor@jewishallianceri.org or Jewish Rhode Island, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906.