April 2022

The Voice of Greater Rhode Island’s Jewish Community

APRIL 2022 | NISAN 5782

JEWISHRHODY.ORG

Passover unmasked How will you celebrate?

Try baking your macaroons with Lisa

Scenes from a Rhody Purim

Former columnist eases into retirement

2 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

THE THREAT OF

ANTISEMITISM IN OUR TIME:

A CONVERSATION WITH

BRET STEPHENS

“And how can it be that in this era of heightened sensitivity to every kind of hatred, bias, stereotype, -ism and -phobia, both conscious and unconscious, there’s so much caviling, caveating and outright denying when it comes to calling out bias aimed at Jews?”

Registration opens April 18.

THURSDAY, MAY 19 | 7:30PM In-person event at the Dwares JCC and streaming online | Cost to attend: $18 PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE LIVE SECURE C A MPAIGN

Bret Stephens, New York Times op-ed columnist and associate editor

APRIL 2022 | 3

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

Celebrating freedom … with an eye on the news MUCH IS GOING ON in the world around us.

And in this issue of Jewish Rhode Island, which focuses on Passover and celebrates freedom, I can’t help but look at what’s happening in the world and focus on the Jewish angle.

A month ago, few people thought that Ukraine would still be suffering from this level of atrocities. And it shows no signs of abating, although, as I write this, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators have just begun meeting in Turkey about a cease fire.

At least it’s a start.

The worldwide Jewish community has rallied to support the agencies and people working in Ukraine and its border countries to help fund refugee centers and other needs.

Locally, Rhode Islanders contributed more than $230,000 to the Ukraine Emergency Campaign coordinated by the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. These funds go directly to our partners on the ground in Eastern Europe, including World ORT, the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).

As of March 28, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that 3.8 million people have fled Ukraine since the brutal Russian invasion began. Poland is hosting 2.3 million, 595,868 went to Romania, 383,627 fled to Moldova, 354,041 went to Hungary, and 275,439 to Slovakia. These are not just our Jewish brethren. And these numbers are no doubt higher as you read this. But the numbers are already staggering.

If you follow the Jewish press like I do, you will see reports of Israeli medical help in Ukraine, including a field hospital set up in Lviv. And the agencies mentioned above are sending volunteers to the border crossings in Poland, Romania and Moldova.

Surely we can all see the parallels between Ukrainians fleeing to safety in the midst of a

relentless attack on their homeland to incidents in our own Jewish history, including the Exodus story, which we will retell in just a few weeks at seders around the world.

Perhaps I’m more drawn to it right now, but it seems there has been a lot of good Jewish news recently. Did you see these items?

• After months of delay, Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be the State Department’s next antisemitism monitor. The nomination now goes to the full Senate for confirmation.

• The historic Negev Summit between Israeli and Arab leaders concluded with an announcement that meetings about regional security will become a regular event, rotating among participating countries.

• The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, part of the American Jewish University and one of two Conservative seminaries training rabbis, announced that it would slash tuition by nearly 80%.

• There was a strong Jewish presence at the Academy Awards, where Hans Zimmer won his second Oscar, for his original score for the sci-fi epic “Dune,” and Marlee Matlin was front and center when the cast of “CODA” came to the stage to accept the Oscar for best picture of the year.

With Passover still two weeks away, I’m sure there will be much more in the news to discuss when families come together to celebrate our freedom from slavery all those years ago. And for the first time in two years, many families will be sharing the seder face to face – something we have all sorely missed.

And as we come together, may we all take stock of how far we have come in many ways – such as the highlights mentioned above and our emergence from the wilderness that has been the COVID-19 pandemic – and how far we still have to go to ensure that all people on Earth have the freedom to joyfully celebrate together in the years to come.

Best wishes for a Happy Pesach!

Wishing you a happy Passover.

Chag sameach.

Fran Ostendorf, Editor

D'VAR TORAH 5 | CALENDAR 6 | COMMUNITY VOICES 8 | OPINION 12 | PASSOVER 14 PURIM 22 | COMMUNITY 26 | BUSINESS 40 | OBITUARIES 42 THE MISSION OF JEWISH RHODE ISLAND is to communicate Jewish news, ideas and ideals by connecting and giving voice to the diverse views of the Jewish community in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, while adhering to Jewish values and the professional standards of journalism.

JEWISH RHODE ISL AND

EDITOR Fran Ostendorf DESIGN & LAYOUT Alex Foster ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Peter Zeldin | 401-421-4111, ext. 160 pzeldin@jewishallianceri.org CONTRIBUTORS Cynthia Benjamin, Larry Kessler, Robert Isenberg, Emma Newbery COLUMNISTS Michael Fink, Geraldine Foster, Patricia Raskin, Rabbi James Rosenberg, Daniel Stieglitz

VOLUME XXIX ISSUE IV 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: PHOTO BY ISTOCK/VALDIMIR MIRONOV

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

UP FRONT

Rabbi Barry Dolinger holds a tray of baked matzah.

PHOTOS | ROBERT ISENBERG

Mitzvah Matzos is on a mission

BY ROBERT ISENBERG

N

aomi Baine still remembers her brush with human trafficking. She was about 9 years old, traveling alone to Israel for the first time,

with a layover at London’s Heathrow Airport. She found a special room designed for kids, where a single attendant was watching.

SUDDENLY, A STRANGE man entered the room. He claimed to be picking up his niece and gestured toward Baine. The man didn’t bear any obvious resemblance to her, but he spoke confidently, and the attendant seemed to believe him.

“The only reason that that didn’t work out for him as he intended,” remembers Baine, “was that I was with it enough to say, ‘I have a connecting flight to Israel.

I’m not supposed to go home

with anyone in England.’

The [attendant] immediately put two and two together and called security, and the man ran off.”

Baine is now 36 years old and a speech-language pathologist. She lives in a cozy ranch house in Pawtucket with her husband, Rabbi Barry Dolinger, also 36, and their two young children. But even all these years later, the threat of being trafficked lingers in her memory. If she hadn’t

spoken up, her life might Baine. “Reading about what have turned out very differthe correlate to [historic] ently. slavery is, there are tons of So Baine and Dolinger children and young adults decided to do something who are facing modern about it: together, they are slavery. So we thought, what the founders of Mitzvah better way to provide for Matzos, a “spiritual startup” people of the future than to that is in its fourth year of help people who don’t have making and selling matzah. their independence?”

The organization has been Passover is a natural successful, and the matzah time to ponder this issue; supply generally sells out. there are clear thematic But you could easily purties between modern chase some of this homemade “There are tons of children soft matzah for your Passover and young adults who are celebration – and perhaps you have facing modern slavery.”

– without paying much attention to human trafficking and the its vital mission: to benefit enslavement of the Israelites organizations that combat described in Exodus. human trafficking.

But for Rabbi Dolinger and “We were looking for a Baine, there were also more way to contribute to chilpersonal reasons for baking dren of the future,” says

matzah. Baine’s forefathers established Horowitz Margareten in the 1880s, the first industrial matzah enterprise in the U.S., predating even Kosher giant Manischewitz. The company is no longer a family business, but Baine and her relatives take great pride in their legacy.

Meanwhile, Dolinger, who is the rabbi at Congregation Beth Sholom, in Providence, has long been interested in the matzah tradition.

In rabbinical school, he learned that there are distinct blessings for bread versus crackers, and that the cracker-like matzah receives the blessing for bread. He later discovered why: matzo is bread.

“Matzah, until very recently, was much thicker,” says Dolinger. “It was 3 CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

Are we now free?

D’ VA

TWO YEARS AGO, a couple hours before Passover started, I cried for the first time about the pandemic.

My husband and I had planned to have our families come in from out of state, to share food and stories and Torah, and to have a crowd of people filling our apartment.

But, like many others, we canceled, and did what was previously unthinkable – we had a Zoom seder.

In preparation, I stood in the kitchen and made chicken, matzah ball soup and a vegetable. And then I cried. In that moment, realizing I was done cooking because I only needed to cook for two people and not a dozen, the depth of the pandemic hit me. I knew we were in a narrow place, waiting to be redeemed.

Now, after two challenging years and many more losses, we are again preparing for Passover. But no one I know has started to make plans, perhaps too afraid to hope or anticipate a “normal” seder.

It is not clear to many of us how we are to relate to this moment. There are people who are living like there was never a pandemic, and there are people living as if we are still in the worst of it.

Put another way, there are people living as if we have

R

reached redemption, and others who are living as if we were still enslaved in Mitzrayim.

Passover, our holiday of redemption, reminds us that redemption has happened before, and it can happen again. The question many of us are grappling with now is: has it happened yet?

Are we now free? Or are we still in a narrow place?

This question of where we are in relation to redemption is an old one.

In the Talmud, there is an RABBI extended ALEX WEISSMAN conversation toward the end of Masechet Sanhedrin about the coming of the messiah.

“Rav Giddel said that Rav said, ‘In the future, the Jewish people will eat [from the bounty of the] years of the messiah” (Sanhedrin 98b).

In other words, for Rav and Rav Giddel, we have not yet reached ultimate redemption. The time of messianic redemption is far off in the future. We have not arrived.

This position offers some hope for us in its expectant waiting; “things will get better!” it insists.

Another opinion in this conversation comes from Rabbi Hillel (not to be con-

TO R A H

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 inches thick for Ashkenazi matzah, and Sephardic matzah sometimes was up to 9 inches thick. Matzah was an unleavened bread, as opposed to a cracker.”

Dolinger says that Mitzvah Matzos was designed to retrace those culinary roots, which he thinks were ripped up by corporate interests and mass production.

Mitzvah Matzos has a corps of volunteers in the kitchen, and retired physician Dr. David Kaplan is the chief baker. The nonprofit partners with about a dozen local organizations for a variety of purposes, from education about human trafficking to financing and sustainable-packaging solutions. Customers can even purchase its flour, branded Flour to Empower, to make their own matzah at home.

The operation has grown, too, despite the pandemic.

Baine and Dolinger first

tested their community-baking concept in friends’ homes in 2017. Now they are based in the kitchen at Temple Beth-El, in Providence, which they cleanse with boiling water and blowtorches to make Kosher.

Last year, they received 800 orders for matzah; this year, they expect 1,500. And, this year, Dolinger expects to surpass $50,000 in total revenue since Mitzvah Matzos was founded.

Most profits benefit the Nomi Network, a nonprofit based in Brooklyn, New York, that “ends slavery through economic empowerment.”

Forty million is commonly cited as the current number of people around the world who are victims of human trafficking.

“It’s in every state,” says Dolinger. “It’s part of an economic ecosystem. Really, human trafficking exists in industries, and our entire consumer society would

fused with the famous Hillel the Elder), who says, “There is no messiah [coming] for the Jewish people, as they already ate [of his bounty] in the days of Hezekiah.”

Hezekiah was a Judean king close to 1,000 years before Rabbi Hillel! From Rabbi Hillel’s perspective, redemption has already happened – this is as good as it gets. This is not about hoping or waiting for a better future, but about embracing the present because we have already been redeemed – the messiah has already come!

How do we make sense of these two perspectives?

On the one hand, we have an opinion that we are still waiting for the messiah. On the other hand, we have an opinion that the messiah has already come, so it makes no sense to keep waiting.

This tension shows up for us not just in this debate in the Talmud, but in the Passover seder as well. The Haggadah invites us into this debate with “ha lachma anya,” as we declare “Now we are slaves, next year we will be free.”

This description of us as slaves waiting for redemption supports the perspective of Rav Giddel and Rav, who are waiting for the coming of the messiah. Next year we will be free, but we are not free now.

Again, we find hope for the future and anticipation of a better world.

collapse but for human trafficking. So, it’s not really an us-and-them. There are bad actors, but we all benefit. It’s a systemic issue.”

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 143 cases of human trafficking were identified as “high probability” in Rhode Island between 2007 and 2020, with an additional 170 labeled “moderate probability.”

These figures are shaky because of privacy issues and the challenges of proving fraud or coercion. But the existence of human trafficking in Rhode Island is beyond doubt, and much goes unreported. To help address this, Mitzvah Matzos also benefits St. Mary’s Home for Children, in Providence.

Still, the experience of baking and blessing matzah in a kitchen can feel distant from the lived experience of human bondage. That all changed for Dolinger when he was approached by a member of the community.

But we also find the legacy perspective or more to Rav of Rabbi Hillel in our Haggaand Rav Giddel’s, I invite you dah too. In “Avadim Hayinu,” to hold both truths within you we say, “We were slaves to and at your seder, and maybe Pharaoh in Mitzrayim, now that way, we’ll all be a little we are free.” In other words, more free. redemption has already happened – stop waiting for ALEX WEISSMAN is the rabbi at freedom!

Congregation Agudas Achim, So, which is it? Are we free in Attleboro, and the director and finished waiting? Or are of organizing at T’ruah: The we still slaves, waiting for Rabbinic Call for Human freedom? Has the messiah Rights. already come, or are we still waiting for the arrival? The answer, of course, is: yes.

Candle lighting times Our tradition pushes us beyond April 2022 simple binaries of “redeemed” or “not redeemed” and invites us instead into dialectical thinking – a psychospiritual process in which we hold two seemingly contradictory truths at the same time, only to arrive at a truth deeper than the April 1 6:51 pm binary can offer.

We are both April 8 6:58 pm redeemed and not redeemed. We are April 15 7:06 pm Erev Pesach both waiting for this pandemic to end, and April 16 8:11 pm Pesach we are not waiting in the same way we April 21 7:13 pm were two years ago.

Whatever this April 22 7:14 pm 7th day of Pesach holiday holds for you, whether you lean April 29 7:21 pm more to Rabbi Hillel’s

Greater Rhode Island

“Someone came to me and said, ‘You might not know it, but the person I’m living with, it’s not really by choice.

I’m being trafficked,’ ” recalls Dolinger. The person went on to describe forced sexual activity and pornographic videotaping, he said.

“That was the first time we met someone who was actively being trafficked.

We’ve read a lot about it in books and articles and seminars. We knew about it.

And then you see it, and it’s a real person who’s crying.

You see how terrifying this is,” he said.

In response, Dolinger and Baine raised money for an academic scholarship, which provided the individual with vocational training. Now, they report, the person has successfully started a new life and is doing well.

“This person was determined to get on their own two feet, but they had nothing,” remembers Dolinger.

“This person was tremen-

dous. Most survivors are.

They’re heroes.”

To learn more about Mitzvah Matzos or to place an order, go to mitzvahmatzos. org. Most customers who buy matzah from the Mitzvah Matzos website pick up their orders at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence. But there are also buying clubs scattered across the East Coast, allowing households from Connecticut to New York, and Georgia, to purchase Mitzvah Matzos.

Go to jewishrhody.org to see Baine and Dolinger talk about Mitzvah Matzos and to see the bakers in action.

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

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS FOR COMPLETE MONTHLY LISTINGS, VISIT JEWISHRHODY.ORG

Ongoing

Kosher Senior Café and Programming. In-person lunches 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday – Thursday at the Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence; Friday at Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston.

Closed for Passover on 4/15 and 4/22. In-person and Zoom programming includes “Exercise for Everyone” with exercise science professional Laura Goodwin on Monday and Wednesday from 11-11:45 a.m. and chair yoga on Tuesday and Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-noon followed by lunch and a guest speaker or discussion from noon-1 p.m. The second Tuesday of the month is “Susie’s Corner” with Susie Adler from noon-1 p.m. The third Thursday of the month is a book chat with Neal Drobnis from noon-1 p.m. Suggested donation: $3 per lunch for those age 60 and older as well as for younger adults with a disability. Other adults may purchase a meal for $6.50. The Kosher Senior Café is a program of Jewish Collaborative Services and is generously supported by the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI and Blackstone Health. Information and RSVP, Neal Drobnis at neal@jfsri. org or 401-421-4111, ext. 107.

Spiritual Accounting: Benjamin Franklin and Rabbi Mendel Lefin’s Course of Character Development. Sundays 10:15-11:45 a.m. thru 6/26. No class: 4/17, 5/1, 5/29, 6/5.

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. In-depth textual study including readings and journaling at home. Taught by Rabbi Eliahu Klein.

Funded by the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. Information and to apply, Shai Afsai at shai. afsai@ppsd.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.

4/3: Hacks, Tips and Thoughts on Passover. Free. Information, projectshoresh.com or Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail.com or 401632-3165.

Gimmel and Daled Conversational Hebrew Classes. Mondays 6:30-7:30 p.m. Thru 5/23. No class 5/2. Improve your speaking skills.

Sponsored by Temple Emanu-El and the Jewish Alliance. Gimmel (can read and write Hebrew; can speak using basic vocabulary in the present tense; past tense will be introduced) offered via Zoom; Daled (can have a basic discussion in present and past tense; need to work on improving vocabulary and fluency) offered both in-person at the Dwares JCC (401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence) and virtually.

Cost: $100 per person. Financial aid available. Information, Toby Liebowitz at tobyaane@gmail.com.

Alef Spring Session Hebrew Class. Tuesdays 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Thru 5/24. No class 5/3. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Will review the Hebrew alphabet while learning basic Hebrew phrases. In-person only.

Cost: $100 per person. Financial aid available. Information, Toby Liebowitz at tobyaane@gmail.com.

Bet and Hey Conversational Spring Session Hebrew Classes.

Tuesdays 6:30-7:30 p.m. Thru 5/24.

No class 5/3. Improve your speaking skills. Sponsored by Temple Emanu-El and the Jewish Alliance.

Bet (can read and write Hebrew with some background in Hebrew conversation) offered both virtually and in-person at the Dwares JCC (401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence).

Hey (can speak Hebrew easily; can read articles and poetry; can discuss a variety of topics in present, past and future tenses) is virtual only. Cost: $100 per person.

Financial aid available. Information, Toby Liebowitz at tobyaane@gmail. com.

Project Shoresh: For Young Professionals – A Walk Through Torah. Tuesdays 7-8 p.m. 132 Lancaster St., Providence. Explore the Five Books of Moses with Rabbi Chaim Yehuda and Mrs. Guta Shaps. RSVP (requested but not required) or information, text or call Rabbi Shaps at 732-822-0028.

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 provocative 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 401-245-6536.

Project Shoresh Men’s Partners in Torah Night. Wednesdays 7:45-8:45 p.m. Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Partner-based study group. On-site facilitators available.

Free. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail.com or 401-6323165.

Temple Habonim Lunch and Learn via Zoom. Thursdays noon-1:30 p.m. Weekly Torah discussion with Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman. No Hebrew fluency or background in Jewish textual analysis needed.

Free. Information, Adina Davies at office@templehabonim.org or 401245-6536.

Delve Deeper: “The Jews of Italy.” Thursdays 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Thru 4/7. Using primary and secondary sources, explore via Zoom the special position of Jews in Italy from the Roman Empire until the Holocaust. Instructor: Professor Dana W. Fishkin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History & Humanities at Touro’s Graduate School of Jewish Studies in NYC. Information, Morty Miller at mortymiller1945@ gmail.com.

6:30 p.m., when Family Shabbat Services take place. 145 Winter St., Hyannis, Mass. With Rabbi David Freelund. In-person and livestreamed on multiple platforms (website, Facebook, Cape Media, YouTube and Community Television Comcast channel 99). In-person for all ages with mask – proof of vaccination needed for those old enough to have been vaccinated.

Information, 508-775-2988 or capecodsynagogue.org.

Project Shoresh presents “Jew in 2022: Exploring a Meaningful Life” with Rabbi Eli Kasirer.

Thursdays 8-9 p.m. Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Rabbi Moshe Don Kestenbaum’s book “Olam Ha’avodah – A guide to understanding and achieving our purpose in this world” will be the basis for discussion. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail.com or 401-632-3165.

Temple Beth-El Torah Study. Saturdays 9-10 a.m. (No Torah Study second Saturday of the month or 4/16) 70 Orchard Ave., Providence.

Delve into the weekly portion with Rabbi Sarah Mack and Rabbi Preston Neimeiser. Multi-access – in-person or on Zoom. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@temple-beth-el.org or 401-331-6070, ext. 100.

Music with Raymond Buttero via Zoom. Fridays 3-3:30 p.m. Temple Sinai’s pianist performs. Link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@templesinairi.org or 401942-8350.

Temple Beth-El Shabbat Services. Fridays (except 4/15) 7-8:15 p.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence.

Multi-access – in-person, on Zoom or on Facebook Live. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@temple-beth-el.org or 401-331-6070, ext. 100.

Temple Sinai Shabbat Services.

Fridays 6 p.m. (4 p.m. on 4/15) 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Song, prayer and reflection in-person or on Zoom. With Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser and Cantor Deborah Johnson.

Zoom link at templesinairi.org.

Information, dottie@templesinairi. org or 401-942-8350.

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 Torat Yisrael Virtual Kabbalat Shabbat Songs & Torah Services. Fridays (except 4/15) 5:45-6:30 p.m. Led by Rabbi Aaron Philmus. For information or Zoom link, Temple@toratyisrael.org.

Cape Cod Synagogue Shabbat Services. Fridays 7 p.m., except second Friday of the month

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. Multi-access: in-person or on Zoom. Information, Joie Magnone at jmagnone@temple-beth-el. org or 401-331-6070, ext. 100.

Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual and In-Person Shabbat Services. Saturdays 9:30-10:30 a.m. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Led by Rabbi Aaron Philmus. Information or Zoom link, Temple@toratyisrael. org.

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 with Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser or others in the community. Zoom link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@ templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.

Temple Habonim Torah Study.

Saturdays 10-11 a.m. Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman leads weekly Torah study on current portion. Via Zoom.

Information, Adina Davies at office@ templehabonim.org or 401-2456536.

Cape Cod Synagogue Shabbat Services. Saturdays 10:30 a.m.

145 Winter St., Hyannis, Mass. With Rabbi David Freelund. In-person and livestreamed on multiple platforms. Services are in-person with proof of vaccination; must wear a mask. Services also available on website, Facebook and YouTube.

Information, Cape Cod Synagogue at 508-775-2988 or capecodsynagogue.org.

Temple Sinai Shabbat Morning Service In-person and via Zoom.

Saturdays 11 a.m. (10:30 a.m. when celebrating a Bar or Bat Mitzvah)-noon. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Information, templesinairi.org or Dottie at 401942-8350.

Friday | April 1

Kosher Senior Café Community Model seder. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. With Susie Adler. Celebrate in-person or on Zoom. Suggested donation: $3.

Information and RSVP (for meal by 3/29), Neal Drobnis at neal@jfsri. org or 401-421-4111, ext. 107.

Temple Habonim Tot Shabbat.

6-6:30 p.m. 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. Interactive service designed for families with young children. Experience the joy of Shabbat in-person through music, story and prayer. No RSVP. Information, Adina Davies at office@templehabonim.org or 401-245-6536.

Sunday | April 3

Community Good Deeds Day. Various times and locations. This international day of service was founded in Israel in 2007. This year’s local projects are hosted by Congregation Beth David, Jewish Alliance and PJ Library, Jewish Community Day School of RI, Judy’s Kindness Kitchen/Congregation Beth Sholom, Temple Emanu-El, Temple Sinai, Touro Synagogue, Temple Shalom and Newport Havurah. Information, jewishallianceri.org/gooddeeds/.

Temple Beth-El Brotherhood Herbert Wagner Memorial Breakfast.

8:30-10 a.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Features WJAR Channel 10 anchor and award-winning journalist Gene Valicenti. Cost: $5.

Information, Barry Schiff at seal11@ aol.com.

Temple Torat Yisrael Sprouts Program: Pesach. 9:30-10:30 a.m.

1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Active program to learn about Jewish culture and holidays with Rabbi Aaron and Morah Leah.

For children ages 3-5 and their parents. Open to the community.

Cost: $10. COVID precautions will be taken. Activities will be outside, weather permitting. Dress accordingly. Information, temple@ toratyisrael.org.

Live Virtual Tour of Florence, Italy. 9:30 a.m. Jewish-centric, interactive opportunity to see Florence, including the former site of the Jewish Ghetto and the Grand Synagogue. Participants may ask the tour guide questions directly.

Dwares JCC members: $18 | nonmembers: $25. Information, Larry Katz at lkatz@jewishallianceri.org.

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jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

CALENDAR Good Deeds Day with the Jewish Alliance and PJ Library. 10 a.m.noon. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Drop off gently used PJ Library books to donate to local schools and libraries. Children may then participate in PJ Library storytime highlighting stories about good deeds and repairing the world. Paint rocks to help beautify the JCC gardens. Information, Michelle Cicchitelli at mcicchitelli@ jewishallianceri.org.

Temple Emanu-El Spring Book Discussion. 99 Taft Ave., Providence. 3-4:30 p.m. Jonathan Kaufman, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author, will speak about his latest book, “The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China.” A Q&A session will follow the presentation. Cost: $10.

Masks required. Register, teprov. org/library. Information, Temple Emanu-El office at 401-331-1616.

Behind the Book: “Florence Adler Swims Forever.” 4-5 p.m. With author Rachel Beanland. When tragedy strikes, it pulls the Adler family into an elaborate web of secret-keeping and lies as well as betrayal. Free. Via Zoom. Presented by the Jewish Alliance in partnership with the Jewish Book Council.

Register for link at jewishallianceri. org/beanland/. Information, Lisa Maybruch at lmaybruch@jewishallianceri.org.

Tuesday | April 5

Israeli Culture Series presents: Glass Art in Israel. 7 p.m. Ariel Aravot will present a brief history of glass, from Roman times to today’s glass movement, and modern implications. He will share his own story as an Israeli glass artist. Ariel is currently an MFA student in the Glass Department at RISD. Via Zoom. Free. Information, Amit Oren at aoren@jewishallianceri.org.

Thursday | April 7

Temple Beth-El Lunch & Learn: Inspiring Texts with Rabbi Barry Dolinger. Noon-1 p.m. Learn the hidden, subversive lessons of the Haggadah that challenge us to think and act differently as a response to our encounter with human trafficking (aka modern slavery) and our collective history. Via Zoom. Free.

Register and information, link on calendar at temple-beth-el.org or Temple Beth-El office at 401-3316070.

Why Do We Hate? An Evening with Pardeep Singh Kaleka and Arno Michaelis. 7 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. A conversation between the authors of “The Gift of Our Wounds,” the true story of a Sikh

and a former white supremacist who find forgiveness after hate.

Cost: $10. Hosted by the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Alliance. Register, jewishallianceri. org/hate/. Information, Stephanie Hague at shague@jewishallianceri. org or 401-421-4111, ext. 127.

Friday | April 8

Temple Torat Yisrael TGIS Musical Family Shabbat. 5-5:30 p.m.

1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

In-person service followed by a free kid-friendly dairy Shabbat dinner. Information, Temple@ toratyisrael.org.

Temple Beth-El K’tantan Shabbat with PJ Library. 5:30-6:45 p.m.

70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Celebrate Shabbat with children ages 0-5 with a family-friendly Kabbalat Shabbat service and dinner with PJ Library. Information, Rachel Mersky Woda at rmerskywoda@ temple-beth-el.org or 401-3316070, ext. 107.

Sunday | April 10

Live Virtual Tour of Venice, Italy.

9:30 a.m. Interactive opportunity to see the world’s oldest Ghetto, founded in 1516 when the Senate approved the establishment of an urban area in which the Jewish population was required to reside.

Dwares JCC members: $18 | nonmembers: $25. Information, Larry Katz at lkatz@jewishallianceri.org.

Congregation Beth David Story Time and Crafts with PJ Library.

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

Hadassah RI Nature Walk and Speaker Series: “Spring Fantasy Nature Walk.” 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Meet outside Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, 1401 Hope St., Bristol. Explore beautiful gardens followed by talk “Bitter & Sweet of the Garden at Passover.”

Sample treats from Buns Bakery.

Then head down the boardwalk to glimpse marsh life. Free. RSVP to chapri@hadassah.org. or 857-4040599.

Monday | April 11

Passover and the Modern-Day Struggle for Freedom Series: Mass Incarceration. 7 p.m.

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. We retell the Passover story to remember our history and continue to live by these values today. With Rabbi Hilly Haber, director of Social Justice Organizing and Education, Central Synagogue, NYC, in conversation with an

impacted individual. Via Zoom. Free.

Information and RSVP, Stephanie Hague at shague@jewishallianceri. org. or 401-421-4111, ext. 127.

Tuesday | April 12

Graphic Novel Club for Teens. 6 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. This group will meet the 2nd Tuesday of each month through May. April meeting will feature a discussion of “Fruits Basket” by Natsuki Takaya. Offered via Zoom and in person. Information, Amit Oren at aoren@jewishallianceri.org or 401-864-3786.

Thursday | April 14

Temple Beth-El Lunch & Learn with Paul Liptz – 55 Years in Israel: A Personal Story. Noon-1 p.m. Amazing adventure including involvement in academic and educational institutions, active army reserve duty and the perspectives of Israel from June 4, 1967 to the present. Via Zoom. Free. Register and information, link on calendar at temple-beth-el.org or temple office at 401-331-6070.

Friday | April 15

Temple Emanu-El First Night Community Passover seder.

6 p.m. 99 Taft Ave., Providence.

Traditional, song-filled seder led

by Cantor Silverberg. Choice of brisket, poached salmon, chicken marsala or vegetarian option; wine/ grape juice and other beverages; and dessert. Catered by Accounting for Taste. Cost: adult: $72 | child (12 years and under) $54. Register (by 4/8), teprov.org/form/seder2022.

Saturday | April 16

Temple Beth-El Community Second seder. 6 p.m. 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Led by Rabbi Preston Neimeiser and Cantor Judy Seplowin. seder plate and dinner (Kosher style) provided. Attendees provide dessert to share. Cost: adult $36 | child (10 and under) $18.

Register (by 4/8), temple-beth-el. org/event/secondseder. Information, temple office at 401-331-6070.

Sunday | April 24

The RI Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty: Seeds of Faith Earth Day Event. 2-4 p.m. 157 Sherman St., Pawtucket. Join environmental activists, faith leaders, community gardeners and elected officials to celebrate community, the Earth and environmental justice.

Held at and co-sponsored by the Roots 2 Empower Community Green Space. Rain date: 5/1. Information, David Veliz at riinterfaithcoalition@gmail.com or 401-421-4111, ext. 132.

Monday | April 25

Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center’s Educators’ Workshop: Teaching Texts for Young Readers: “Hana’s Suitcase” and “Like Water on Stone.” 4-6 p.m.

Teachers are invited to join in this conversation about Holocaust and Armenian genocide texts for young readers. Receive 6 PLUs. Via Zoom.

Information, Kelly Vest at kvest@ hercri.org or 401-453-7860.

Wednesday | April 27

Yom HaShoah Community Observance. 7-8 p.m. Holocaust Memorial, Memorial Park, South Main St., Providence. (Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence, in the event of bad weather.) Musical performances by congregational cantors and brief addresses by Holocaust survivors and young members of the community.

Organized by the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center. Information, Kelly Vest at kvest@hercri. org or 401-453-7860.

Touro Fraternal Association Open House. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Touro Fraternal Association Hall, 45 Rolfe Square, Cranston. Learn more about Touro as you enjoy a Kosher baked chicken dinner with guest speaker Joe Andruzzi, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots who now assists cancer patients and their families. Free.

Information, info@tourofraternal. org or 401-785-0066.

Best Wishes for a Happy and Kosher Passover.

The Executive Committee, Staff and Parents of the Providence Hebrew Day School Rabbi Peretz Scheinerman Dean Rabbi Gidon Goldberg Head of School

450 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island 02906 (401) 331-5327 Ext. 21

Happy Passover!

8 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY VOICES

A few of my favorite (seder) things singing of “Chad Gadya.”

You know the lyrics: A father pays two zuzim for “one little goat”; a cat somehow comes along and kills the kid; a dog bites the cat; a big stick beats up the fierce canine. Fire then somehow enters the scene, followed by water, which puts out the fire.

THEN ALONG COMES an ox and slurps up the water ... that is, until the shochet, the ritual slaughterer, puts down the ox. Then the angel of death takes the life of the slaughterer ... and family and guests at the seder table sing the whole long catalog of cruel destinies with each stanza until the incredible final stanza: God steps into the drama

and destroys death itself!

This ancient litany appealed to me as a youngster, and I have never outgrown it. It strikes me, in all its silly and absurd nonsense, as really and truly profound. It poses the problem of the frailty of life for all its characters and all its contents. Everything is fragile, limited in power and plight, and yet at the

T

comes at the close of the seder: the

same time there is eternal hope for justice and mercy.

In my olden times, we used the free haggadot produced

by Maxwell House Coffee (“Good to the Last Drop”) and distributed at local delis – remember?

I liked the simple drawings in those haggadot, but today we have a variety of Passover guidebooks to choose from, with a wide range of art, styles and emphasis. Renowned Jewish authors and artists write their memoirs into haggadot or personally illustrate the cat, dog, torch, ox, butcher, angel ....

But I keep and cherish one of the free Depression-era

CH

haggadot, bound in soft blue cardboard.

On a nostalgia note, isn’t the death of your first pet – be it pup, kitten, canary, parakeet, even a single goldfish in a bowl – your first outrage at the grief of losing MIKE FINK a first love?

Don’t you – or didn’t you – hope that there was a heaven where you and your beloved pet might meet up once again?

I even read, once upon a time, that the long and rather eerie “Chad Gadya” predates Pesach and reaches backward into the anguish of our human – but not always humane – species upon the earth.

I usually invite a student

BOOK

SKE

M

y all-time favorite part of Passover

to join us at our seder table.

I make sure to leave the front door wide open, place an extra glass of wine for “Elijah,” and a chair with a nice cushion, and explain my kooky version of the symbolism.

After the lovely dinner is served, and the hidden afikoman has given the children a chance to run around and play and argue, I try to get everyone back to the table to chant the prayer for the lost beloved little baby goat – the “one only kid” with the soul that the Eternal means to restore and avenge!

MIKE FINK (mfink33@aol. com) teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design.

One Splendid Day: Lester, Hyman and Charlotte

BY GEORGE M. GOODWIN

O

n Jan. 31, as usual, I felt propelled by numerous historical inquiries. Following hours of reading, writing and emailing, I

enjoyed a lengthy phone conversation with a quite elderly friend who no longer lives in Little Rhody.

MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO, I wanted to write an article about an astounding painting that once belonged to the RISD Museum.

Picasso’s “La Vie,” created in 1903, had been miraculously acquired in 1937, but then “deaccessioned,” a fancy word for sold, only seven years later.

In 1945, this stunning example of Picasso’s Blue Period was acquired by the distinguished Cleveland Art Museum. I have seen it there, and in numerous exhibitions elsewhere. The RISD Museum’s archives preserved some basic facts about “La Vie,” but not enough information to guide me further.

Given that much of my deep fascination with Picasso relates to the beauty of horror –specif-

ically the Spanish Civil War – I somehow came up with another question. And it was not how horror and beauty could possibly have some meaning for Jews.

Rather, knowing that many American Jews had joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade to fight in the Spanish Armageddon, I wondered if there had been any volunteers from the Ocean State. And how could I possibly find out?

Fortunately, my curiosity led me to many fragmentary sources, including an archive about American volunteers that was temporarily housed at Brandeis University. So I went there several times – far more than I had imagined. The result was an article published in the 2001 issue of the Rhode Island Jewish

Historical Notes.

I was able to identify nine Gentiles who had lived at least briefly in Rhode Island before traveling to Spain to fight with Republican forces against Gen. Francisco Franco’s legions.

I also found Lester Jacobs, who had lived at 55 Warrington St., in South Providence, only a few blocks from where Temple Beth-El’s second synagogue, built in 1911, still stands.

He was most likely a Jew. Unfortunately, I was unable to uncover much information about him – where he was born and grew up, and what he did for a living. I did learn, however, that this idealist gave his life for Spanish democracy.

In recent years, I have occasionally wondered if I could gather some more shreds of information about Jacobs and the people he loved. The internet has created amazing possibilities, and I have come to rely on Ancestry.com on an almost daily basis.

So, on Jan. 31, I discovered several facts. For example, Lester lost his life in October 1937, at the Bat-

tle of Fuentes de Ebro.

There was another American volunteer, Hyman Jacobs, in Spain, so I sought to determine if these idealists were more than ideological brothers. Indeed, they were; census records show that their Russian-born parents were Rubin and Rebecca, and that Lester was about two years older than Hyman.

Fortunately, Hyman survived and returned from Spain, possibly on the Île de France, which sailed from Le Havre to New York City in October 1938. Unless this was another Hyman Jacobs.

But did Lester’s brother have a family? How long did he live? Where is he buried?

Through my persistence and some measure of good luck, I could see from various federal and state census records, as well as city directories, that the Jacobs family had lived in Roxbury, Massachusetts, during the 1930s and ’40s.

After learning that Lester and Hyman were born in New York, I eventually discovered that this was not Manhattan, but Rochester.

Then I could identify their maternal grandparents – Jacob and Etta Hamburg – and even the Jewish cemetery near Rochester where they are buried.

Similarly, I found the graves of Lester and Hyman’s parents in Sharon Memorial Park. I also discovered that in May 1937, Hyman somehow survived a torpedo attack on a Spanish ship that killed 70 Republican fighters.

Unfortunately, I have not discovered what brought Lester to Providence and what sustained him here. I doubt that I ever will.

Occasionally, I have wondered about an old friend, Charlotte Penn, a fellow Beth-El member who was responsible for deepening my involvement in the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association. She and I met more than 30 years ago, but we became better acquainted a few years later, when I taught a temple course on genealogical research.

She then recruited me for the historical association’s board, and in 2003, thanks CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

APRIL 2022 | 9

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

COMMUNITY VOICES

This Passover, another fight for freedom, another exodus Y L I VI

HEA

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songs, prayers, readings and sharing with others at the table.

What most strikes me at this time is the word “freedom,” especially in light of what is happening in Ukraine, where “David” is fighting “Goliath.” Ukrainians believe in their country and will defend it to the end – something Jews are very PATRICIA familiar with.

As of 2021, the RASKIN Jewish population was estimated at 15.2 million, or 0.19% of the 7.89 billion population worldwide.

Yet we have survived and thrived. Much of this is due to our determination, belief and

NG

L

AS WE PREPARE to celebrate Passover, commemorating the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt, it is even more meaningful to me this year in light of the Ukrainians’ fight for freedom.

I have been to all kinds of seders throughout my life. They range from restaurant settings with participants from different religions, to synagogues with the congregation, to homes where the seder can last from two hours to over six hours and way beyond midnight.

But the setting isn’t that important. What’s most meaningful to me on Passover is the seder itself, the

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IST

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faith. is exemplified in Ukraine In an article in the Jerusanow. lem Post in 2020, “A comparIn the article “Ukraine, ison of Exodus from Egypt to The Escape Road Not Taken,” ‘Exodus from Europe,’ ” Gol posted at aish.com, Sara Kalev writes, “While Moses’s Yoheved Rigler states it Judaism has indeed develwell: “Throughout Jewish oped since, its primary ethos history, there has been a remains the Exodus from fine, hard-to-determine line Egypt. It is the first of the Ten Commandments The drive to optimism, and reflected through the spectrum of Jewish that it will all work religious life.

“The Exodus’s core out, can serve as a essence is recited daily: ‘I am the Lord your God, noble force... who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God’. The centrality between danger and doom. of the Exodus is also demonDenying a frightening reality strated through the holiday of is a basic human response – Passover.” whether it’s a terminal diagPassover celebrates freenosis, an unfaithful spouse, dom, resilience and faith or an imminent war. against all odds, all of which “The drive to optimism,

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that it will all work out, can serve as a noble force that keeps us on our feet when we would otherwise be writhing on the floor in despair …. The Jews of the Ukraine held onto such hope rather than walking away from their homes, communities, and way of life.”

This year, Passover is closer to home than it has ever been!

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

EVENT CO-CHAIRS Jeffrey Brier Doug Emanuel Jeffrey Vogel HOST COMMITTEE Stewart Lander Lawrence Sadwin Mindy Sherwin HONORARY CHAIRS Richard Bornstein Bruce Leach Alan Litwin Rose Malkin Mark S. Mandell Richard Mittleman Sam Suls

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COMMUNITY VOICES

This Passover, dayeinu!

BY LARRY KESSLER

REBECCA

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WHEN PEOPLE SIT down for the first seder, on Friday, April 15, it will mark the third straight year that Passover will be observed under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic.

Two years ago, as lockdowns and restrictions were being implemented, our seders were held in mostly virtual settings – friends and relatives outside of the household had to settle for online participation via Zoom or another platform. We were barely a month into the pandemic, and the future looked bleak and uncertain.

Last year, with vaccines starting to be made available, optimism was on the rise and more people were able to welcome their loved ones to their seder tables.

This year, with restrictions significantly reduced, including indoor mask-wearing, our seders figure to approach normalcy, but don’t kid yourselves: we won’t be able to rejoice as we did in the pre-pandemic “good old days,” for two main reasons.

The first reason is that while COVID-19 may be a reduced threat for now, it’s not going away anytime soon – and it may never completely disappear. The disease has claimed more than 6 million lives worldwide, including about 1 million in the United States.

Although we should be optimistic about the future, valid concerns are tempering our good feelings. For one thing, it didn’t take long for the health experts to depress us anew by talking about the likelihood of new variants coming to the United States, which means that every time we sneeze, or have the sniffles or a scratchy throat, we’ll worry that we might have COVID. Such nonstop warnings

are why it’s clear that two years into the pandemic, it might be time to concede that the “normal” we knew BCE – Before the COVID Era – might never return.

The second reason is that the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with its carnage, destruction, deaths and millions of refugees, has made it clear that the main lesson of Pesach – the importance of standing up to brutal dictators who have taken LARRY away our freeKESSLER doms – is one that we must never forget.

The images coming out of Ukraine, which are eerily reminiscent of the scenes from Europe after the Nazis launched their blitz in September 1939, should serve as ample warning of the consequences of not stopping a tyrant’s desire for dominance over neighboring countries.

That’s why, as we cope with those overwhelming issues, I’m proposing, for the second straight year, a change in how we observe the seder rituals. Last year, I offered four COVID-related questions to be asked in addition to the Four Questions. This year, I’m suggesting that we take a new approach to another major component of the seder, the reading of the 10 plagues.

Before traditionalists take to social media to ask for my scalp, listen to my reasoning: With our 21st-century “biblical” plague entering its third year – and with the horrific images from Ukraine depressing and distressing us daily – it would be unseemly to dwell on the punishments directed at the ancient Egyptians: 1. Dam (blood), 2. ts’fardei-a (frogs), 3. kinim (lice), 4. arov (wild beasts), 5. dever (diseases), 6. sh’chin (boils), 7. barad (hail), 8. arbeh (locusts), 9. choshech (darkness), 10.

makat b’chorot (the death of the first-born son in every Egyptian family).

So how should we approach the plagues? Tradition and history demand that we read them, and spill a drop of wine or grape juice after mentioning each one. But this year, I suggest we follow the recitation by emphasizing what comes next in the seder, rather than the plagues: the singing of one of the most joyous seder songs, “Dayeinu.”

Why? Because its inspiring and humbling verses offer hope for better days ahead: “If God had only created the world and not brought us out of Egypt, it would have been enough (dayeinu).

“If God had only brought us out of Egypt but not divided the sea, it would have been enough (dayeinu).

“If God had only divided the sea but not helped us cross on dry land, it would have been enough (dayeinu).

“If God had only helped us cross on dry land, but had not given us the Sabbath, it would have been enough (dayeinu).

“If God had only given us the Sabbath but had not given us the Torah, it would have been enough (dayeinu).

“If God had only given us the Torah, but had not sent us wise teachers, it would have been enough (dayeinu).”

The song is the balm we need to soothe our frayed nerves, and to restore some of our faith in humanity’s ability to persevere in these turbulent times.

Bless you, and have a meaningful and happy Pesach.

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

APRIL 2022 | 11

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

COMMUNITY VOICES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 to Gene Weinberg and other leaders, I succeeded Bob Berkelhammer as president. Weinberg is now around 95, and he still cares deeply about the association, as does his slightly younger neighbor, Mel Zurier.

About a decade ago, Charlotte Penn left Rhode Island to live in a senior-citizens home in Northborough, Massachusetts, close to her younger son, Jonas. I occasionally wondered what had become of her. So, about a year ago, having figured out how to reach Jonas by email, I inquired about her.

Charlotte was in her late 90s then, and Jonas didn’t encourage me to visit. Perhaps I would be shocked or disappointed.

Then, a few days before researching the Jacobs family, I emailed Jonas again. Yes, Charlotte was relatively well, and I could give her a call. So I did, on Jan. 31.

I easily recognized the upbeat sound of her voice, and we chatted and laughed for nearly an hour. Of course, she had to tell me about her ongoing devotion to genealogical research, which has resulted in an ever-expanding family tree, as well as many photo albums.

Needless to say, she also told me about her four adorable great-grandchildren, and her eagerness to see the kids’ grandmother – her daughter – once again. Cori Maass had passed away in 2009.

Only somewhat in jest, Charlotte said she planned to decorate a new home, “upstairs,” where they could visit each other. She also mentioned that she had planned for a young Rhode Island rabbi to officiate at her funeral, but he, my contemporary, had passed away.

Charlotte added that she had outlived all of her closest friends, who had so much enjoyed traveling together, but a few others call once in a while. Yes, she would be happy to read the latest issue of the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes, if her eyesight allowed it.

Strangely, it did not occur to me until later on that my quests to learn more about Lester, Hyman and Charlotte were closely related. Lester had lived about 25 years, and Charlotte will turn 100 in October. Did Hyman, who surely mourned his brother, also live a long and fulfilling life?

I felt so grateful to have encountered this remarkable trio. Then I reminded myself that my research had begun with “La Vie,” Picasso’s haunting, timeless painting.

GEORGE M. GOODWIN, of Providence, is the editor of Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes.

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COMMUNITY VOICES | OPINION LETTER Looking for ideas

Revisiting ‘Walk on Water’ I FIRST SAW THE ISRAELI FILM “Walk Add to this potent brew the tanon Water” on a rainy weekend gled issues of sexual identity, the afternoon back in May of 2005, power of guilt, the power of forat the Avon, on Thayer Street in giveness, our need to hate, and our Providence. I left the theater someneed to love, and you have a richly what confused, but exhilarated; textured and deeply satisfying film. the movie presented too much to be On still another level, “Walk on absorbed at a single sitting.

Water” is about how language both Much to my delight, the film reveals and conceals. The movie is turned up at the now-defunct Cable shot in Turkey, Israel and BerCar Cinema a couple of weeks lin, and is spoken in three later, offering me a second languages – English, chance to explore its layHebrew and German – ered complexity of plot, with a smattering of character development Arabic as well. The and multiple themes.

Hebrew and GerWhat is the movie man dialogue have about? On one level it English subtitles. is about the personal When they are transformation of Eyal, together, Eyal, an Israeli Mossad intelliRABBI JAMES Axel and Pia speak gence agent and assassin who ROSENBERG English to each is trying to put the pieces of his other as their shattered life back together after common language. his wife’s suicide.

Axel speaks no Hebrew at all, and His redemption comes about as Pia’s Hebrew is still rudimentary; a result of his relationship with a thus, she has placed a sign with German brother and sister, Axel MIKARER written in bold Hebrew and Pia. Pia has exiled herself from letters on her refrigerator to remind her parents in Berlin and is living a her of the Hebrew word for it. simple life working in the fishponds Presumably, Eyal doesn’t know of a kibbutz. Axel has come to any German. Ah, but here’s the Israel in hope of persuading Pia to rub! Eyal’s mother is a German return to Germany for their father’s Holocaust survivor, and as a result 60th birthday. he is fluent in German.

Meanwhile, Eyal’s superior has After hiding a bug in Pia’s assigned him the task of posing as cramped living quarters, Eyal is a tour guide to find out from Axel able to eavesdrop on her private and Pia if their conversaNazi grandtions in father is still German with ‘Walk on Water’ is about alive and has in her brother. fact returned Nothing is almost everything to Berlin from as it appears Argentina. to the On another level, “Walk on brother and sister: the privacy and Water” is about almost everything: safety of conversing in Pia’s room the ongoing struggle between in their native tongue is an illusion; Palestinians and Israelis; intergenGerman is not a foreign language to erational conflict; the question of their Hebrew-speaking tour guide; how young Israelis, still living in and their tour guide is in fact an the shadow of the Holocaust, ought agent of Mossad. to relate to Germans of their own “Walk on Water” forces the age, who were not even alive during viewer to navigate the confusing Nazi rule; the need to remember and elusive path that wanders versus the need to forget. between appearance and reality.

Farrel I. Klein Providence, RI

COMING IN MAY – Jewish Rhode Island’s annual Pet issue, featuring your favorite pet photos. Get ready to send in your best pictures of Fido and Fluffy. We love featuring your pets in our May paper, and we hear

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NINA TANNENWALD (March 2022) uses the specious argument that consensus among leftist groups critical of Israel is proof of malfeasance. Israel is a democracy with Arabs having full rights to vote and serve in the Knesset. There is an Arab party now part of the Knesset ruling coalition. This alone should be proof Israel is not an apartheid state.

The democratically elected government is aware it has a duty to protect the citizens of the country.

Unfortunately, Israel is situated in a neighborhood where tyranny and Jew-hatred is prevalent. There is a cold peace with Egypt and Jordan, mainly because these countries have been defeated trying to destroy Israel. Lebanon is a failed client state of Iran, a country dedicated to destroying Israel. Syria is a failed state, increasingly under the control of Iran.

Israel withdrew from Gaza.

Gaza is now ruled by Hamas, a terrorist group not satisfied with destroying Israel, but having in its charter a mission to kill all Jews on earth. Israel reluctantly controls the Arab population of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Israel has granted autonomy for civil affairs to the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority is a corrupt kleptocracy ruled by Mahmoud Abbas, who began his 4-year term as president in 2005, having repeatedly found excuses to not hold another election. The Palestinian Authority still gives bonuses and stipends to family members of terrorists who are imprisoned or have died attacking Israeli civilians.

Israel does the best it can to balance the rights and safety of its citizens and Arabs in the territories it holds against the security needs of controlling a hostile population. Previous withdrawals, sometimes wishfully thought of as “land for peace,” have led to land for terrorist enclaves. I would like to see if Prof. Tannenwald has any ideas of how to pacify the terrorist organizations with which Israel has to deal, and if she is at least as vehement in criticizing the human rights records of Israel’s neighbors.

Though Eyal is the one character who is fluent in all three languages, he uses them to deceive as well as to illuminate.

To a large degree, Eyal’s recovery of his own humanity rests upon his decision to renounce the language of deception and concealment, and to embrace a language of truth. This enables him to be fully present to Axel and to Pia, and – perhaps for the first time – fully present to his own self.

Though almost 17 years have passed since my review of “Walk on Water” appeared in the Barrington Times, the film has continued to haunt me – especially one particular scene, set just outside of Berlin in the elegant home of Axel’s and Mia’s parents: the prodigal son – naively, maliciously, or both – manages to infuriate his father at his 60th birthday celebration by insisting on teaching the assembled guests an Israeli circle dance to the languid tune of a contemporary Hebrew song, “Erev Ba” (“Evening Comes”).

For reasons I cannot yet fathom, I felt compelled to watch “Walk on Water” (on a Netflix DVD) for a third time just a few days before Vladimir Putin’s savage invasion of Ukraine.

How much the world has reshaped itself during the past 17 years.

Today between 10,000 and 12,000 Jewish Israelis have chosen to make their homes in Berlin. Today the face of Hitler has been followed by the cruel and evil face of Putin.

Today, the hero of our fractured world is a 44-year-old secular Jew, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, who, some would say, walks on water.

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

Watch for the annual Pet parade! every year how much our readers love to see the photos of their pets.

You can send photos with pet owner’s name and town of residence to Editor, Jewish Rhode Island, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906.

You can also post the photo electronically at JewishRhody.org. Click on the “Submit News” button on our home page and follow the instructions. Please remember to include contact information.

Jewish Rhode Island publishes thoughtful and informative contributors’ columns (op-eds of 500 – 800 words) and letters to the edi-

tor (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.

APRIL 2022 | 13

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

OPINION

For a Polish Jew like me, the war on Ukraine is about our shared futures

BY KONSTANTY GEBERT JTA

A

s a Jew growing up in Poland, I participated in the Polish democratic opposition of the 1970s, then the pro-

democracy Solidarity movement and finally the anti-Communist underground of the 1980s.

I was very painfully aware that some of my fellow militants were antisemitic, and that at times this antisemitism, not a love of freedom, could be the main motivation of their actions.

YET I HAD NO DOUBT that if we won and secured freedom for all, antisemites included, it would have been well worth it.

Thirty years of an independent and free Poland have given me no reasons to question that commitment, even though antisemitism remains a visible presence, occasionally threatening and always obscene.

When Russia first invaded our eastern neighbor one month ago, some around the world were puzzled about how Jews could so easily support Ukraine, given what Jews suffered there during the Shoah.

Neither have Poles forgotten about the fierce Ukrainian-led massacres of World War II, which claimed the lives of 120,000 Poles, and may remember the Russian occupation up to World War I and after World War II. But here in Poland, and in neighboring countries in Central Europe, there was no question about supporting Ukraine.

Figures and institutions like the chief rabbi, the Union of Jewish Religious Communities, the Polin Museum and local Jewish communities centers, as well as other Jewish institutions and organizations, immedi-

ately expressed solidarity with Ukraine.

To understand this, you need consider the value of freedom.

Freedom is something many outside observers take for granted, having, like their parents, enjoyed it all their lives.

Even I, though I have spent more than the first half of my life deprived of its blessings, no longer think twice about writing and publishing what I think, under my own name, and without fear of repression.

Similarly, the Ukrainians, despite the dysfunctional, heavy-handed and corrupt state that emerged after independence, eventually won their freedom at the price of blood, during the Maidan Revolution of 2013–14. This is the freedom Russia would now take away from them.

The yearning for freedom is why I publicly endorsed the Ukrainian Orange Revolution of 2004. Some other Jewish observers, no less knowledgeable about East Central Europe, criticized me by stressing that “Ukraine is not Poland.” In other words, they reasoned, the Polish experiment in democracy could not be expected to succeed in its eastern neighbor — and,

given the heavy legacy of Ukrainian antisemitism, did not deserve to be supported there.

Their fear was legitimate, but has proven unsubstantiated: There is less antisemitism in Ukraine today than in Poland, even if the organized presence of extreme nationalists there gives grounds for serious concern.

Set aside the fact that Jews and Poles taking a common position on anything since World War II — or 1989, to be more generous — is in itself a stunning development. Those who do not understand our support for Ukraine overlook another fundamental thing: This is not about the past. It is about the future. As Marta Kubica, executive director of the Poland office of the European Leadership Network, an NGO dedicated to strengthening European-Israeli relations, has said: “Political quarrels have been set aside, and we’re finally looking in the same direction: the future. It’s regrettable that it took a war for this to happen, but hopefully we can remember this feeling and use it to strengthen our future relationship.”

To be sure, Ukrainians have not yet fully owned up to the unspeakable suffering they inflicted on Jews and Poles alike, if not equally, during World War II. But Poles, too, have yet to fully acknowledge their own role in the violence against Ukrainians and Jews before, during and after the Second World War. Ukrainians, Poles and Jews who lived under the former Soviet Union will, like the Russians, have to make a reckoning of their roles as both victims and servants of the bloody Soviet system.

This is not to say that history is just a cruel mess, full of unacknowledged and unpunished crimes everybody is guilty of.

We can make sense of history, and different crimes are not equal to each other. But in order for this reckoning to take place at all, we need freedom.

And freedom is what the war is all about. You might have seen the brief scenes, bravely recorded on smartphones in occupied territory, of a Ukrainian woman in Sumy explaining to the Russians manning a military checkpoint that, under the Ukrainian constitution and the country’s privacy laws, she is not obligated to show them her ID. Or unarmed civilians in Melitopol blocking the way of a Russian army convoy, chanting “Go home! Go home!” – and not stopping or scattering even as a nervous infantryman starts firing into the air.

Or elderly ladies singing the Ukrainian national anthem in front of the Russian-occupied city hall in Berdyansk.

Only after denying Russians their freedom could Putin send his army into Ukraine to deny Ukrainians the same. Poles and Jews support Ukrainians under the old Polish revolutionary slogan, “For our freedom and yours.”

The Russian army could adopt a counter-slogan: “For your oppression and ours.” Russia had become a corrupt and lawless dictatorship just as Ukraine was ceasing to be one.

Their smaller Western neighbor was becoming, to Russians, an alternative to their dictatorial present. The only way to protect that present was to destroy the alternative. Hence the missiles CONTINUED ON PAGE 43

LETTER Violation of safe space IT FEELS LIKE A VIOLATION of a safe Jewish community space when antisemitic Op-Eds find their way in. Ms. Nina Tannenwald has written to this paper a number of times, and recently targeted Jews in her writing of “The Jewish Community and the Stain of Denial.” [March 2020] She sees the widely accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism as flawed because, in her opinion, it “focuses excessively on stigmatizing criticism of Israel.” However, the antisemitic bit was not her criticism of Israel, but her pointing of criticism directly at Jews.

The definition makes it clear that holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the state of Israel is antisemitic. Ms. Tannenwald did this by calling Israel’s treatment of Palestinians “the single biggest moral stain on the Jewish community today” and by stating that, “Jews pretend that international human-rights standards do not apply to Israel.”

The definition expertly makes the distinction between criticism of Israel and true antisemitism, which she clearly exemplified.

Why is she writing to our Jewish newspaper and what place does it have here? She has exhibited a pattern of writing to our community with blatant antisemitic language. Another Op Ed, listed on her Curriculum Vitae, is titled, “Israeli Elections: Is Racism a Jewish Value?”

I question what her Brown University students think of her barrage of antisemitic pieces, as they try to understand geopolitical tensions halfway across the globe.

With antisemitic attacks on the rise, we need to be diligent in calling out antisemitic language that may incite further violence.

Ms. Tannenwald needs to be held accountable. Our local community, our newspaper, Brown University, and Brown RISD Hillel should all be taking a look at her targeted statements and demanding fair treatment of the Jewish people. Enough is enough, Ms. Tannenwald.

Sarah Rizzo North Attleboro, Mass.

14 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

PASSOVER

Homemade macaroons to sweeten your Passover

PHOTOS | ROBERT ISENBERG

BY LISA MAYBRUCH WHO LOVES A SWEET TREAT that tastes a bit like cardboard, is packed with preservatives, makes your mouth dry and comes from a can? I sure don’t!

And yet, I’m sure we’re all very familiar with this classic Passover dessert: coconut macaroons from a can. I’ve had my fair share of these storebought cookies after my family’s seder. (I’ve also consumed one too many chocolate-covered jelly rings which, let’s face it, are pretty disgusting.)

This year, it’s time we go homemade!

There are endless possibilities for Passover desserts, despite the many restrictions, but I’m focusing on the classic macaroon to prove that a

simple homemade treat can be delicious and more than make up for skipping those canisters in the grocery aisle.

When made from scratch, macaroons are sweet little bites of coconut bliss that are

perfectly crisp on the outside, gooey on the inside, and sure to tempt and impress your friends and families.

Macaroons originated in the 16th century in Italy, where they were first made with almond paste. Eventually, Americans popularized the coconut version. Due to their lack of leavening agents, mac-

aroons became a great dessert option to be enjoyed during Passover.

These cookies will keep well if stored in an airtight container, so double the batch and enjoy throughout the eight days of Passover. You won’t regret it!

Have a baking question?

Want me to make your family recipe? Feel free to email me at lmaybruch@jewishallianceri.org. And check out all my baking videos, at Jewishrhody.org/baking-with-lisa.

Coconut Macaroons

LISA MAYBRUCH (lmaybruch@ jewishallianceri.org) is the manager of adult programs at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. Her occasional series, “Baking with Lisa,” appears in Jewish Rhode Island and online at Jewishrhody.org/baking-withlisa.

DIRECTIONS

INGREDIENTS 14 ounces sweetened coconut flakes 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large egg whites, room temperature 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup chocolate (your choice), melted, optional 1/2 cup sprinkles, optional Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together coconut flakes, condensed milk and vanilla until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the egg whites and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold the egg

whites into the coconut mixture until completely combined.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop mixture into balls and place on prepared cookie sheets, at least 1-2 inches apart.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until tops are just beginning to turn golden brown.

Let macaroons cool on the pans for a couple minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Dip the bottom of each macaroon in the chocolate, followed by the sprinkles. Let the macaroons set at room temperature.

Eat and enjoy!

Makes approximately 20 using a 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop.

APRIL 2022 | 15

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

PASSOVER

Get Pumped For Passover!

BY RABBI ELI KASIRER

1 2 3

This year Passover starts at sundown on Friday April 15. Don’t

forget to grab some matzah, maror, and wine. Manischewitz is the way to go!

The seder is held this night.

Passover is the yearly commemoration of the

Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, traditionally passed down from parent to child.

If you can spend the holiday with family, even better.

Can you guess how many generations (grandparent to grandchild) there are between the Exodus (Moses) and us? About 44. Not as many as you thought!

Celebrate together with your grandparents and be part of the chain.

4 5 6 7

As we gather around the Pesach table to reflect on and celebrate our collective journey to freedom, let us think about all those living in the grips of persecution.

As drops of wine fall to our plates, let us remember all those who fall victim to today’s plagues of hatred, bigotry, indifference, violence, and war. And as we leave our doors open to Elijah, let us awaken the true meaning of opening our doors, our hearts, and our minds to all.

On behalf of all of us at the Jewish Alliance, Hag Pesach Sameach,

James Pious Chair of the Board

Adam Greenman President & CEO

Let’s keep the seder fun and focused! Treats for our kids when they participate always works wonders.

Some have a custom to

act out parts of the story, like walking around the table with matzah on their backs, just like the Jews leaving Egypt.

Starting from the youngest (and usually

the shy-est) ask the Ma Nishtana (4 questions). Even better, can anyone think of some answers?

“If G-d hasn’t taken us out of Egypt we would still be slaves to Pharaoh.” What do you think that would mean for us in 2022?

8 9 10

Don’t forget the four

sons. Which one do you connect with?

Discuss the 10 plagues!

Imagine what it was like to be a Jew in Egypt at that time.

Do you remember just eating

macaroons and borscht on Passover? Check out your local grocery for hundreds of Kosher for Passover products.

NOT PUMPED FOR PASSOVER? Let’s talk. Email me at kasirereli@gmail.com, or check out projectshoresh. com for more Passover information.

RABBI ELI KASIRER is a rabbi with Project Shoresh of Rhode Island.

16 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

PASSOVER

These Passover pancake noodles are better than matzah balls

BY LIZ SUSMAN KARP AND NATALIE GORLIN LAST APRIL, as the pandemic raged in my area, I opened my front door to my dear friend, Natalie, who literally threw at me from a distance a plastic sandwich bag containing her family’s cherished Passover tradition: flädla.

Less commonly known than the universally beloved matzah ball, these Passover egg noodles are made from a thin crepe that’s coiled and cut into strips, over which steaming broth is poured.

Natalie’s family recipe was handed down from her mother’s Tante Ilse, who emigrated from Germany in 1939 post-Kristallnacht.

Ask around about flädla and, like the history of any good noodle, you’ll discover the topic covers a lot of ground. Flädla, also spelled flädle, didn’t start off as a Passover food, but evolved into a dish that reflects the ingenuity and frugality of Jewish Eastern European cooks, who repurposed leftover dough or pancakes into noodles.

Noodles were a significant part of the Ashkenazi diet.

In medieval times, Europeans began boiling dough in water rather than baking or frying it. In the “Encyclopedia of Jewish Food,” Gil Marks writes that noodles were predominantly used in soup and that some cooks cut up matzah meal blintzes

into the liquid. No name was ascribed to that noodle or dish.

Recipes for Passover noodles are included in numerous Jewish cookbooks, notably June Feiss Hersh’s compilation of recipes from Holocaust survivors titled, “Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival,” illustrating how deeply ingrained the dish was in people’s memories. Sometimes called lokshen, the Yiddish word for noodle, the recipes use matzah meal or potato starch, and always the same method of frying a thin crepe and cutting it into strips.

Pinpointing when, where, or who first adapted these noodle ribbons for the holiday is a challenge. “What is most fascinating to me,” says Gaby Rossmer, co-author with her daughter, Sonya Gropman, of “The German-Jewish Cookbook,” “is how these food traditions travel. They do follow routes.

You can see it, but you can’t tell exactly which one came first, which came second.”

Many Jews, like Natalie’s ancestors and Rossmer, lived in southern Germany; in the Swabian region, pancakes are known as flädle. The recipe has been handed down over generations; tradition dictates the crepes be thin and crispy. Flädlesuppe was a popular dish, but “never for Passover,” says Rossmer.

She was a year old when she came to America from

Bavaria, but fondly remembers frequently frying flour crepes with her father; the goal was always to have enough left over to make flädlesuppe.

The noodles are a key component of a comparable, popular Austrian soup called frittatensuppe, or pancake soup, which is always made with beef broth, says Nino Shaye Weiss, a blogger at JewishVienneseFood.com and a Jewish food guide in Vienna. There, the crepes are called palatschinken; cut up they’re referred to as frittaten. “Jews do seemingly love them as they cannot live the eight days of Passover without them,” he comments, adding that frittaten for Passover are simply known as Peisachdike lokshen (kosher for Passover noodles).

Legend has it that frittatensuppe may have originated in 19th century Austria to feed Austrian, French, and Italian diplomats secretly meeting during the Congress of Vienna. One participant was Conte Romano de Frittata, whose coachman prepared the pancake. Frittata comes from the Italian word friggere, to fry; perhaps suggesting that the dish was named after the coachman’s employer. However, the only similar Italian-Jewish recipe I could find was for Minestra di Sfoglietti Per Pesach, a soup containing noodles of baked dough, in The Classic Cuisine of the

Italian Jews by Edda Servi Machlin. If the story is true, the dish did not make its way back to Italy.

Holocaust survivor Cecile Gruer, 86, is known as her family’s chef. She movingly recalls eating flädla in 1946 at the first Passover she celebrated with her family in an Austrian displaced persons camp after they were reunited. Then a teen, she watched her mother prepare the noodle as her mother had done in Hungary. Greuer makes flädla year-round, using potato starch, matzah meal, or quinoa or almond flour for gluten-free relatives.

Sometimes she’ll just mix egg and water, essentially an omelette. Gruer suggests adding any herb, such as dill or cilantro, to heighten the soup’s flavor. She continues these traditions because, she says, “You do not want to break the chain.”

Gruer’s and Natalie’s families enjoy their flädla in chicken broth with matzah balls. The Lubavitch sect, who follow the custom of gebrokts and don’t eat any dish where matzah can touch liquid, have just the noodle in their soup, says Leah Koenig, author of “The Jewish Cookbook.” Gruer confides she doesn’t like chicken soup. How does she eat her flädla? She laughs. “I would have it on the plate!”

Fladla (Passover Noodles) INGREDIENTS 4 eggs, separated 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4-1/2 cup (to taste) chopped chives 4 tablespoons potato starch 1/4 cup chicken broth Oil

DIRECTIONS Separate the eggs and add the salt to the yolks.

Mix chives and potato starch in with the egg yolks.

Add as much chicken broth as is necessary for the mixture to be the consistency of pancake batter.

Beat egg whites until stiff and add to yolk mixture (mix occasionally while cooking batches to avoid separation).

Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan and add enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan. Fry like a crepe, and remove from pan. Lay fladla on paper towels to absorb any excess oil.

Let cool, then roll each crepe and cut into thin strips. Fladla can be made a few days in advance and refrigerated.

Serve in hot soup and enjoy.

APRIL 2022 | 17

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PASSOVER

Growing up in Iran, I thought the whole country celebrated Passover

BY AYLIN SEDIGHI-GABBAIZADEH

G

rowing up in Iran, I never truly appreciated the difference between spring cleaning, New Year’s and getting ready for Passover. The

Jewish holiday takes place almost simultaneously with the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, when the whole country engages in a frenzy of preparations.

NOWRUZ (A NEW DAY), which marks the beginning of spring, is Iran’s most festive and colorful holiday. Persians, Jews, Muslims, Zoroastrians and even Bahais all purchase new clothes, make traditional cookies and engage in 12 days of celebrations.

These celebrations include setting a special table, known as a haft-seen, that consists of various items signifying renewal, luck and blessings. The seven S’s, as they are known, would take their ceremonial places on the same number of plates: sabzeh (a green plate of grown wheat); seeb (red apples); samanoo (a wheatbased dish); senjed (a fruit of the lotus tree); seer (garlic); serkeh (vinegar); and sekkeh (coins laid in water). No table would be complete without swimming goldfish, an elaborate mirror to reflect joy to the viewer, hand-painted eggs and a

holy book.

Where our Muslim neighbors placed a Quran on their haft-seen table, we placed a Torah or a siddur. Where our Muslim neighbors sprouted wheat, we grew lentils, given the proximity of the secular holiday to Passover, when we removed wheat from our homes.

For years I believed Passover to be the beginning of the Jewish calendar because it was synonymous with all things new and a promise of starting afresh.

Given the mild climate of the country, by the time the holiday came around, cherry blossoms were in bloom and the aroma of jasmine flowers filled our noses.

Just as the entire country went into full spring-cleaning mode for the national holiday, Jews scoured their homes of forbidden hametz, or leavened products. In our home, all the closets would

be emptied and reorganized.

All the rugs would be taken into the yard and washed in hot, soapy water in order to rid even the tiniest morsel of hametz. I knew Passover was close when my grandmother dug out her larger-than-life-size iron pot and started the process of kashering every item in her kitchen in boiling water.

My grandmother told me stories of stuffing her mattress and blankets with clean cotton — something I was thankful we no longer had to do. Nonetheless, the tasks were still endless, and everyone in the family was involved in the process.

Given that there were no kosher-for-Passover shops (or even Kosher shops), every cake and cookie had to be made from scratch, a task that entailed the washing, drying and blending of all the needed nuts. The week before the holiday, the aroma of roasted nuts would fill the house, and the sweet smell of homemade cookies couldn’t summon the holiday fast enough. Given the lack of Kosher products, we hardly consumed any dairy for the eight days, our diets consisting of eggs, meats and, according to Iranian Jewish custom, rice.

Our Muslim neighbors, too, were busy cleaning, readying themselves for the coming of spring. A Muslim

family with whom we were particularly friendly would come over each Passover for a taste of matzah, saying how they looked forward to it all year. My father’s co-workers knew it was an auspicious time of the year for him and wished him especially well as he took a holiday for the seders. In the market and in the streets, though, we kept quiet about our Passover preparations.

We did not discuss details with strangers and those with whom we did not feel a connection.

The seder itself brought its own associations and customs. At the end of each ritual meal, as we bid farewell to yet another holiday and sang “Next Year in Jerusalem,” the words had a deep significance for us. Our seder table became quieter with each passing year, with so many family and friends already gone to other promised lands.

We each wondered out loud when our turn would come to leave a country that treated us like second-class citizens, when we would find security and peace in other lands.

Over time, our entire extended family fled to Israel and the United States.

My immediate family was the last of our clan to finally pick up and leave, in September 1990.

The story of Iran’s ancient Jewish community unfolds over more than 2,700 years, back to when the Jews were exiled from Jerusalem through to today, after most members of the community have relocated throughout the world. Today there are fewer than 10,000 Jews left in Iran, the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside of Israel.

My Passover experience here is vastly different from the one I grew up with.

Every year as I put away one set of dishes and bring out my Passover ware, I feel a pang of guilt at how easy it is to get ready for the holiday compared with what my mother and grandmother had to do in Iran. The shelves of the supermarkets here are filled with kosherfor-Passover cookies, cakes, chocolates, sweets and dairy products. One could almost forget that we are experiencing a holiday that celebrates the Jews’ escape from slavery.

But I am forever grateful for the freedoms that I have been granted here, and to celebrate this most auspicious holiday alongside so many of our people.

TOBI & ZAIDE TOMER GET READY FOR PASSOVER!

Art and Dialogue by Kendall Krantz / Story by Amit Moshe Oren, Israeli Shaliach

APRIL 2022 | 19

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

A Kosher & Happy Passover B’H 2022 Holiday Schedule 5782

Remember

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

Search for Chometz – Thursday night, April 14 Fast of first-born – Friday, April 15

2022

Friday, April 15

Providence time only

5782

Eating Chometz until .............. Fri, April 15, 10:30 am Sell & Burn Chametz before... Fri, April 15, 11:38 am Passover and Seder begins ... Fri, April 15, 7:06 pm Passover ends ........................ Fri, April 23, 8:20 pm

Candle lighting times for Passover 2022 Friday, April 15.............................7:06 pm Shabbas, April 16 ........................after 8:11 pm Thursday, April 21 .......................7:13 pm Friday, April 22.............................7:14 pm

Whether it’s a missile attack, a new Covid variant, or serious car crash, your gift to Magen David Adom ensures its 30,000 emergency medical technicians and paramedics have the supplies and resources they need to save lives. So this Passover, while you recount the story of the Jews’ redemption from slavery, your gift will help modern-day Israelis survive the threats they face today.

Make a gift to Magen David Adom today. Pesach kasher v’sameach.

afmda.org/passover

Blessings

Thursday, April 21, ERUV TAVSHILIN April 15 .......First Eve of Passover .......... 2 & 3 April 16 .......Second Eve of Passover ..... 1 & 3 April 21 .......7th Eve of Passover ............ 1 April 22 .......8th Eve of Passover ............ 2 #1 BO-RUH A-TOH ADO-NOI E-LO-HEI-NU MELECH HO-OLOM A-SHER KI-DE-SHA-NU BEMITZ-VO-TOV VI-TZI-VO-NU LE-HAD-LIK NER SHEL YOM-TOV

SUMMER

LCOME! ALL ARE WE

#2 BO-RUH A-TOH ADO-NOI E-LO-HEI-NU MELECH HO-OLOM A-SHER KI-DE-SHA-NU BEMITZ-VO-TOV VI-TZI-VO-NU LE-HAD-LIK NER SHEL SHABBAT V'YOM-TOV #3 BO-RUCH A-TOH ADO-NOI E-LO-HEI-NU MELECH HO-OLOM SHE-HEH-CHE-YOH-NU VIKIYE-MONU VE-HE GE-O-NU LEZ-MAN HA-ZEH Special instructions for holidays (but not Shabbat).

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

Courtesy of Chabad House – Lubavitch 360 Hope St. • Providence, RI 02906 401-273-7238 Please do not destroy or deface this card.

SUMMER J-CAMP 2022 SAF E & FU R O F N June 27 - August 26 EASY FOR KI !

S T N DS! Grades K - 6: Campers PARE Grades 7 - 10: Counselor-in-Training (CIT) Registration for Summer J-Camp is now open.

Visit jewishallianceri.org/summer-j-camp/ Questions? Contact Jimmy Rawl at jrawl@jewishallianceri.org.

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HAPPY PASSOVER! Mahra B. Rubinstein DDS, Robert J. Ducoff DMD, David W. Persky DMD East Side General, Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry

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PASSOVER

Make stuffed cabbage and stand by Ukraine

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BY CHANIE APFELBAUM THERE’S NOTHING LIKE PASSOVER to remind us where we come from. In many Jewish homes, Passover traditions are carried down from father to son, establishing the family’s customs and setting the standards for their Passover pantry.

Growing up, my family’s standards were quite stringent. We did not eat any processed ingredients, and we only used produce that could be peeled. My mother prepared simple syrup in place of sugar, and we seasoned our dishes minimally with kosher salt, no spices allowed. Thankfully, I married into a family whose customs were slightly more lenient. My in-laws allow a variety of fruits and vegetables, including cabbage, as well as some minimally processed foods, like tomato sauce.

When I spent Passover with my in-laws last year, I decided to pay homage to my roots by adapting my grandmother’s stuffed cabbage recipe for the holiday. While my grandmother would never have made this recipe for Passover, to me, it signifies the union of my husband’s familial customs with my Eastern European heritage. And that is precisely how we celebrate Passover.

Stuffed cabbage is popular in Ukraine and is known as holubtsi, which literally translates as “little pigeons.” Make some in solidarity with the Jews who were forced to flee their homes during this year's Russia-Ukraine war.

Passover Stuffed Cabbage Rolls INGREDIENTS 1 head of green cabbage 1 pound ground beef 1 heaping cup leftover mashed potatoes 1 small onion, grated 1 egg Salt and pepper, to taste For the sauce: 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated 1 large tomato, finely chopped 1/3 cup sugar Juice of 1 lemon Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS Place the cabbage in the freezer overnight (about 12 hours). Remove and place in a colander in the sink to defrost. This makes the cabbage pliable for rolling and stuffing.

Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage and discard. Peel the remaining large leaves, taking care not to tear the cabbage as you go. Set the whole leaves aside and chop up the remaining cabbage for later.

In a bowl, combine the ground beef, potatoes, onion, egg, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Set up a stuffing station with your whole cabbage leaves and ground beef mixture. With a paring knife, trim the thick part

of the stem off the base of the leaves, taking care not to cut through the rest of the leaf. Place the leaves so that they are curling upward like a bowl.

Place a small handful of filling toward the base of each leaf and fold over the leaf from the left side. Roll the cabbage leaf up and using your finger, stuff the loose end of the leaf inward, pushing it into the center. Rolling the cabbage this way ensures that it holds together nicely during cooking.

Continue with remaining leaves. If you have any leftover filling, simply roll into meatballs to place in the pot alongside the cabbage rolls.

Place the stuffed cabbage rolls in a large pot and cover with sauce ingredients. If you had any leftover cabbage or meatballs, add to the pot as well.

Bring the sauce to a gentle boil over medium heat and reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot, leaving it slightly open so that the steam does not force the cabbage rolls to open.

Cook for approximately 2 – 2 1/2 hours, until cabbage is tender and sauce has thickened.

APRIL 2022 | 21

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

PASSOVER

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BY SHANNON SARNA I LOVE IT WHEN people taste my pareve desserts and say, “Wow—this is pareve!?”

It’s the same rule with Passover dishes and desserts. Which is why I am on a never-ending search for the perfect Passover desserts that are good enough to eat all year and just happen to also be Passover-friendly.

In one of my searches I came across this recipe for Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies, which I realized could easily be made Passover-friendly just by swapping out the peanut butter for almond butter. I adjusted a few ingredients and the result is a super tasty, chewy cookie that is good enough to enjoy all year. Your guests are sure to ask incredulously, “Are you sure these are Kosher for Passover?” Truly the ultimate compliment.

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies INGREDIENTS 1 cup almond butter 1 egg 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup chopped walnuts Thick sea salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together almond butter, egg, brown sugar and vanilla.

Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Spoon out tablespoon-sized mounds onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Sprinkle with pinch of thick sea salt on top if desired.

Bake for 11 minutes, and then allow to cool for 5 minutes while cookies remain on the baking sheet. Transfer to baking rack to cool completely.

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22 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

Celebrating Purim 2022

A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL at the annual community Purim parade sponsored by the New England Rabbinical College. This year's parade took place March 17, starting on Elmgrove Avenue in front of the Dwares Jewish Community Center.

PHOTOS | ROBERT ISENBERG

PHOTO | SUSIE ADLER

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

APRIL 2022 | 23

24 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

PURIM

A very happy Adar ADAR WAS A BUSY TIME at the Providence Hebrew Day School. The lead up to Purim involved the entire school community.

Twin Day in the Providence Hebrew Day School middle school

Providence Hebrew Day School first and second graders making hamantaschen as they prepare for Purim

Providence Hebrew Day School pre-k students celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday

New England Academy of Torah students enjoy Pi Day (3/14)

PHOTOS | PROVIDENCE HEBREW DAY SCHOOL

Spreading Purim joy PROJECT SHORESH had a blast this Purim spreading joy throughout Providence and Southern New England!

This Purim, Project Shoresh: • Distributed over 200 mishloach manot to families in Providence and Pawtucket.

• Led lively megillah readings for 55 men, women and children in Providence and Barrington.

• Hosted 150 people from all over Rhode Island for the festive Purim meal, featuring two smoked briskets and a delicious homemade spread, lots of good wine, Disco the clown, and a great time for all!

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APRIL 2022 | 25

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY

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Passover gets a ‘Chelm’ makeover in Mark Binder’s new book

BY ROBERT ISENBERG

M

ark Binder still remembers the first “Chelm” story he ever published.

The year was 1991, and Binder was

the editor of the Jewish Herald newspaper.

“IT WAS A WEDNESDAY,” Binder recalls, “and somebody didn’t turn in their assignment, so we had a hole in the paper.”

Thinking quickly, Binder wrote a short tale called “How the Cantor Lost His Voice.”

This would be the first of many such stories – so many, in fact, that Binder doesn’t know the full tally.

Some have appeared in the Jewish newspaper The Forward, in the children’s magazine Cricket and in periodicals overseas.

The stories are thematically linked, sharing characters and plot points, but each can stand alone.

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because they’re fractal,” says Binder.

Binder’s latest publication is “The Village Feasts,” a 104-page short-story collection released in February. The new paperback marks a sea change for the longtime author and raconteur: Binder has started writing under the pseudonym Izzy Abrahmson, and he has rebranded his series from “the Chelm stories” to “The Village Life.”

“When people hear ‘Chelm,’ they think of silly stories for kids,” says Binder, who borrowed the village from a 400-year-old tradition of snarky Jewish folktales. “They don’t think of stories with depth and character.”

Binder is a literary Renaissance man, having published a small library of books under his own imprint, Light Publications, of Providence. His repertoire is wide-ranging, from the family-friendly “Bed Time Story Book” to the earthy coming-of-age novel “The Groston Rules.”

In addition to being a prolific author, Binder has worked as a professional storyteller for many years, performing in schools and other institutions across the region and even overseas.

Binder traces his narrative impulse to his earliest

Mark Binder years, growing up in the suburbs around Washington, D.C., and attending temple in Silver Spring, Maryland. Binder, who now lives in the East Side of Providence, with his wife, Heather, says he felt a strong connection to the millennia-old Jewish tradition of “writing things down.”

“I didn’t learn a lot of Torah and prayer [in temple], but I did absorb a lot of stories and history,” he says.

Under the Abrahmson pen name, Binder put together “The Village Feasts” as a good-humored homage to Jewish celebrations, Passover in particular. The book is packed with Jewish inside jokes and cultural ephemera, from the evolution of matzah to the Maxwell House Haggadah.

In one story, he embellishes a real-life anecdote

by Mark Twain, in which the 19th-century humorist stumbles into a house

in Chelm. Each story is a gauntlet of plot twists and misunderstandings.

In addition to “The Village Feasts,” “The Village Life” series currently includes two novellas, “A

Village Romance” and “The Village Twins,” along with the short-story collection “Winter Blessings.” Binder is continuing to write, alongside his many other creative projects, including “The Village Life” podcast.

After so many years churning out Chelm stories, Binder/Abrahmson has created a world of his own – one he hopes has wide appeal.

Binder quotes his own central character, the baker Reb Gold: “Visiting the Village is like eating warm rye bread. You don’t need to be Jewish to enjoy it.”

“The Village Feasts” is available at local bookstores and at Amazon.com.

For more information, visit IzzyAbrahmson.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.

APRIL 2022 | 27

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

Happy Passover!

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

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APRIL 2022 | 29

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

COMMUNITY

Arts Emanu-El presents a film about life in Germanoccupied Denmark

Joyful, thoughtful camp experiences for ages 3-14 on a scenic 12-acre campus in East Providence

BY PAMELA HANZEL

A

rts Emanu-El will present the film “Into the Darkness,” which

Register now at gordonschool.org/summer

centers on the dilemmas of the

Danish population during World War II, on Eventive from April 28 through May 2.

IN THE FILM, Karl, the family patriarch, tries to carry on, like the government, farmers and industry are doing. But his efforts to keep his electronics factory going leads him into a problematic collaboration with the Germans.

Karl’s eldest son, Aksel, reacts to the increasing oppression and persecution of Jews and Communists by joining the rising resistance movement. Another son, Michael, joins the Danish army and fights side by side with the Germans.

A daughter, Helene, is smitten with a dashing German U-boat officer, much to the disgust of her mother.

Meanwhile, Jewish family friends are being taken away, causing members of the family to question their choices.

“Into the Darkness” forces us to address the question of how we reconcile major differences, like party affiliations, within a family? In addition, movie critic Alex Savelyev says the film serves as “a keen por-

trait of a deeply divided country, unsure of where its allegiance lies.”

The film is set in Denmark in the three years following the German attack, in April 1940. In 1943, the Danes fought back against the Germans.

“Into the Darkness” will be shown on Eventive from Thursday, April 28, at 12 p.m., until Monday, May 2, at 11:59 p.m.

In addition, Arts Emanu-El will present “Betrayed,” from Thursday, May 5, at 12 p.m., and “The Good Traitor,” beginning on Thursday, May 19, at 12 p.m., both on Eventive.

Tickets for the films are $20 each, or $50 for all three. Contact the Temple Emanu-El office (401-331-1616) to purchase a 3-ticket package. To purchase single tickets go to watch.eventive.org/ teprov.

PAMELA HANZEL is the chair of Arts Emanu-El at Temple Emanu-El, in Providence.

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30 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY

It's going to be more expensive to eat this Passover

BY SETH CHITWOOD

Happy Passover!

Edith H. Ajello Representative, District 1

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Edith H. Ajello Jennifer Kiddie, Treasurer

WITH PASSOVER just around the corner, it’s time to start planning the seder menu, from matzah ball soup to macaroons. But this year, you might also want to plan for higher prices for groceries and catering.

Jeffrey Ingber, co-owner of Bubbie’s Market & Deli, in Providence, said that over the past 18 months, the price of Kosher meats, including beef and chicken, have risen over 50%. For example, when Bubbie’s first opened, in March 2021, the wholesale cost of chicken cutlets was $4.73; in late March of this year, it was $6.78.

“It’s been a gradual increase,” Ingber said.

On March 10, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index rose 7.9% in the last year, citing gasoline and food prices as major reasons for the increase.

Another big factor driving up prices has been the disruption of the supply chain, caused by a number of issues related to COVID-19.

Ingber said Bubbie’s and its sister company, Ahava Catering, had to increase their retail food prices by 30%, typically adding $15 to $20 to this year’s Passover-groceries bill.

He said that none of his customers has said a word about the higher prices.

“I think people notice. But I also have to think they’re keenly aware of what’s going on,” he said.

In February 2022, according to KosherToday, a food industry newsletter, Israelis were reeling from proposed price increases by food giant Osem, but received a reprieve when the company caved the pressure and postponed the higher prices until after Passover.

“A customer who hasn’t realized anything over the last three to six months is living in a shell,” joked Josh Ruboy, manager of Zayde’s Market, in Canton, Massachusetts.

He added, “It is what it is, you just have to go with the flow and stay as competitive as you can.”

Ruboy said items at Zayde’s have gone up anywhere from 10% to 50%.

“It really is across the board. There’s not a single item that has not gone up in price,” he said.

Ruboy said that not every store is the same when it comes to pricing its products – but everybody’s the same when trying to keep their businesses thriving and their staff employed.

“Some companies just choose to take a smaller profit margin, because that’s their business model, and other companies don’t,” he said.

“Things seem to be inherently more expensive for no reason,” Ingber said. “Why is Kosher meat double the price, or somewhat more expensive than regular meat? It’s just the process required to get the product to the table,” he said.

But Ingber does warn that matzah will see a significant increase in price in 2023 because most of the wheat used in matzah is grown in Ukraine.

“It’s April, the box [of matzah] has been made in November or December,” he said. “But, if you think gasoline wars in America are intriguing to you, wait until wheat prices on products next year.”

Ingber recalled the 2021 “great Kosher ketchup shortage,” which saw Heinz stepping in to produce a Kosher product to fill the demand in America.

In addition to price hikes, people may see shortages of some products this year. According to a story

at Parade.com on Feb. 9, consumers may see supply issues with egg-based products, such as egg matzah, and some cheeses. Plantbased proteins, such as tofu and almond milk, could also be in short supply.

In the Parade.com story, Rick Williams, of JPG Resources, a food and beverage-services company, said, “Plantbased saw a huge rise in demand as animal-meat processors were forced to shut down operations” due to COVID. Canned food might also be in short supply, due to low availability of aluminum.

However, Ruboy doesn’t believe that most people will cut down their invitation list to save money or be discouraged enough to cancel seders.

The biggest concern, he believes, is COVID safety.

As in the past two years, he thinks some people will take the pandemic into account when planning their guest list.

“Some people still just aren’t ready to have large family seders. Some families wholeheartedly can’t wait for large seders,” he said, adding that his family always has a large seder.

Ingber agrees, but adds that just as the show must go on, the seder must go on.

“Passover is still going to happen, and I think the Kosher manufacturers know that,” he said. “Because you have to have it, and I think most people will still buy it.”

SETH CHITWOOD (www. sethchitwood.com), of Barrington, is a features reporter for The StandardTimes, in New Bedford. He is also the creative director of the award-winning Angelwood Pictures

APRIL 2022 | 31

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

2022 ANNUAL COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN

Help us help others.

In these uncertain times, we’re continuing to provide and support programs that: • Assist Rhode Islanders in Need • Educate Children and Foster Jewish Identity • Promote a Just Society Through Social Action • Provide Jewish Arts & Cultural Programming • Offer Aid and Education Overseas

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32 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY

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R.I. Coalition for Israel to honor May-Ronny Zeidman

BY JEWISH RHODE ISLAND STAFF MAY-RONNY ZEIDMAN will receive the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel’s Sy Dill Mensch of the Year Award on Sunday, April 24.

Zeidman, who was executive director of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center, in Providence, from 2005 to 2021, is receiving the 2021 award for her critical role in guiding the SBHEC through the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Anti-Semitism.

The IHRA Definition has been recognized domestically and worldwide as an indispensable tool for identifying specific behaviors as antisemitic. Promotion of the IHRA Definition in both religious and secular organizations is a priority for the R.I. Coalition for Israel (RICI).

During the April 24 Zoom program, Zeidman will give a presentation, “Back to the Future: Holocaust Education. Where Have We Been and Where are We Going?”

She will also give a brief history of the SBHEC and the work it has done over the last 30 years, address changes in education facing all Holocaust centers, and discuss whether it is time for Holocaust centers to add fighting antisemitism to their core mission.

RICI initiated the Mensch

of the Year Award in 2019 to reward extraordinary effort by ordinary Rhode Islanders on behalf of the fight against Jewish hatred and in support of Israel.

The first award was given to Lt. Col. Joe Philbin of the R.I. State Police, now retired. He was chosen by the RICI board of directors for his energetic in-state talks to organizations, retirement groups, colleges and other groups, where he debunked the “Deadly Exchange.” The Deadly Exchange is a false allegation by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, or BDS, that Israel is responsible for training American police in tactics of police brutality against minorities.

In 2020, the award was renamed in honor of the late Sy Dill, who was a prime mover in RICI. The award that year went to Brian Goldman, CEO of Blue Bug Solutions, in recognition of his display of RICI’s giant STOP ANTI-SEMITISM banner on the iconic Big Blue Bug statue, which hovers over Interstate 95 in Providence, during July of 2020.

The April 24 program begins at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. A link will be sent by email to all registrants. To register, go to www.tinyurl. com/84unxxa3.

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APRIL 2022 | 33

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

COMMUNITY

Temple Habonim group defends voting rights The Jewish Alliance is giving you the opportunity to connect to an Israeli farmer who will create for you your own private brand of boutique olive oil bottles.

BY FRAN OSTENDORF A GROUP OF CONGREGANTS at Temple Habonim has taken their concerns for voting rights and channeled them into advocacy work at the local and national level.

According to W. Robert Kemp, he and Joseph Schechtman, both members of Temple Habonim, in Barrington, shared a concern about recent efforts by some states that appear to undermine voting rights. They met with the congregation’s Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman last August to discuss these concerns, and out of that meeting a committee was formed, with Kemp and Schechtman as co-chairs.

The Voting Rights Committee has 10 members. They aim to make the congregation aware of legislation or laws in some states that many people believe undermine the most basic of rights in our democracy, as well as to let the Rhode Island congressional delegation know the importance of prioritizing voting rights.

In September and October, the committee organized a meeting with the congressional delegation and produced a call to action for the general congregation. They worked on educating and being educated. In November they made a presentation to the congressional delegation.

And the group joined with the Religious Action Center, an arm of the Reform movement that is active in similar activities. In fact, the RAC was critically active, along with the NAACP, in helping to write the original Civil Rights Act of 1965.

Kemp, a retired attorney who has served in many capacities on the board of Temple Habonim, said the group was disappointed that Congress did not approve The Freedom to Vote Act and The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. But they plan to regroup and monitor how states are treating voters –

and do what they can locally.

“People need to get out and vote even if it means standing in line,” Kemp said.

He said that U.S. Rep. David Cicilline suggested that people interested in the cause look to nearby swing states, such as New Hampshire, to help get out the vote in upcoming elections.

Members of the group also participated in a "Town Hall", held by U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on Feb. 8, on continuing the fight to advance legislation to protect the right to vote.

In an email, Rabbi VossAltman said, “In accordance with the principles of Reform Judaism, and the political arm of our movement, the Religious Action Center, our Voting Rights committee stands in solidarity with every American citizen who wishes to participate in our democracy through the ballot box.

“Voting rights are the backbone of our democracy, and sadly, there are too many representatives in both Washington, D.C., and at the state level who wish to limit, or even deny, that fundamental right.

“We hope that significant voting rights legislation will be revived in Congress, and that our future elections will, once again, stand as a beacon of integrity and hope for our nation.”

The committee has also prepared a list of websites of nonpartisan organizations that are pursuing voting-rights legislation. You can find that list online at jewishrhody.org “I think we can be most effective by following these organizations that are already doing this work.

They have the infrastructure,” said Kemp.

FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@jewishallianceri. org) is the editor of Jewish Rhode Island.

To learn more, visit JewishAllianceRI.org/My-Tree/ or scan the QR code with your smart phone.

Promote Israel while supporting Rhode Island’s Jewish community!

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Annual Community Campaign.

Behind the Book a visiting author series

To learn more about the books and authors featured in the remainder of this series, and to sign up, visit jewishallianceri.org/behind-the-book/ or scan here using your smart phone:

And A Cat From Carmel Market with Alyssa Satin Capucilli May 5, 6:00pm In-person at the Dwares JCC This event is sponsored by PJ Library Rhode Island.

Beautiful Country with Qian Julie Wang | May 16, 6:30pm Qian Julie was born in Shijiazhuang, China. At age 7, she moved to Brooklyn, New York, with her parents. For five years thereafter, the three lived in the shadows of undocumented life in New York City. Qian Julie’s first book is a poignant literary memoir that follows the family through those years, as they grappled with poverty, manual labor in sweatshops, lack of access to medical care, and the perpetual threat of deportation.

This event is made possible by a partnership with the Jewish Book Council, and sponsored by the Jewish Alliance’s Community Relations Council and the Interfaith Coalition of Rhode Island.

34 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY

$3,000 vouchers available for teens traveling to Israel

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3/11/22 10:59 AM

TO ENCOURAGE TEENS to travel to Israel during the summer, RootOne is providing $3,000 vouchers for particular programs, on top of the stipends and needs-based scholarships available from the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode island.

RootOne, an ambitious initiative that aims to help bring tens of thousands of Jewish teens from the U.S. and Canada to Israel on immersive summer trips, is actively recruiting for the summer of 2022. In addition to subsidies, RootOne offers a unique educational framework for the trips.

RootOne first made its $3,000 vouchers available last summer, sending almost 4,000 teens to Israel, including 11 participants from the Rhode Island area. They plan to double the number of participants this summer. Participants choose from and apply through one of dozens of providers.

RootOne conducted surveys with last year’s participants. Here are some

of the results: 100% feel capable of standing up to antisemitism, versus 0% before the trip 83% feel a strong sense of connection to Israel, versus 56% pre-trip RootOne’s pre-trip programming received 3.95 out of 5 stars from all alumni, and 3.5 stars from Rhode Island’s alumni.

Overall, the trips received 4.7/5 stars from 2021 alumni, and 4.5/5 stars from Rhode Island’s alumni.

In addition, 83% agree that the trip included meaningful opportunities to think more deeply about Israel and 83% agree that the atmosphere was welcoming and supportive for sharing opinions and ideas.

For more information about the vouchers, go to rootone.org/tripproviders. To learn about local stipends and scholarships, contact the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island at IsraelDesk@jewishallianceri.org.

Submitted by Larry Katz

Dor L’Dor Society members get virtual tour of Jewish Museum exhibit April 15-22, 2022

Temple Beth-El

In this season of our redemption we dream of a world free from illness, war and hatred.

Wishing you a sweet and meaningful Passover

THE ANNUAL DOR L’DOR Society event was held on March 3 and featured a virtual tour of the exhibition “Afterlives: Recovering the Lost Stories of Looted Art,”

by The Jewish Museum, in New York City.

The 45 people who gathered online were treated to the docent’s deep knowledge of the subject while viewing detailed images of artwork and exhibition photos.

The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s Dor

L’Dor Society celebrates donors who have created planned gifts, bequests or permanent endowments to sustain the Rhode Island Jewish community in perpetuity. For more information on such gifts, contact Sara Masri at 401-421-4111, ext. 223, or endowment@ jewishallianceri.org.

Submitted by the Jewish Alliance

APRIL 2022 | 35

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

COMMUNITY

Lawrence Hopfenberg’s life of service inspires upcoming leaders fellows in previous years have gone on to greater leadership positions at Hillel LAWRENCE HOPFENBERG and have stayed connected cared deeply about family to Judaism in their profesand community. sional and/or personal lives.

His daughter, Bobby “The Hopfenberg FelMorgenstern, recalls that lowship is an incredible when she was growing up, resource for furthering stuthere were meetings at their dents’ connection to Jewish house in Providence at least life at URI,” said Amy Olson, four nights a week – B’nai director of URI Hillel.

B’rith, the National CoaliThis year’s Hopfenberg tion of Christians and Jews, Fellow is Bailey Rapaport, Hebrew Free Loan, Jewish a Communicative Disorders War Veterans, and more. major from Maryland.

“My father was not obser“Throughout my life, vant, but he was very community-centric. His Judaism Judaism has always been important to me,” Rapaport was the center of his life,” said. “When I got to college, Morgenstern said.

I knew that I wanted the Though he passed away at just 56, in 1983, Hopfenberg’s opportunity to continue learning about Jewish vallegacy lives on in the form ues and help others feel the of the Lawrence Hopfenberg same way. That is why the Memorial Fellowship at the Hopfenberg Fellowship is so University of Rhode Island important to Hillel. me.

While Hopfenberg “I get to was a graduate of plan programs Brown University, and work with both of his children other Jewish went to URI. He students to served on the Hillel make Hillel boards at both a welcoming universities, and and comfortwas proud of his able space for family’s connection everyone. I am to URI. looking forWhen Hopfenberg ward to creatpassed away, his Lawrence ing activities wife and children Hopfenberg, 1981. with my peers decided that a schol- Courtesy of Bobby and making arship for a URI Morgenstern connections Hillel student would with Jewish students so that be a fitting way to honor his they love Hillel and their legacy and make a commitJudaism as much as I do!” ment to both education and The Lawrence Hopfenberg Judaism. By establishing Memorial Fellowship is just the Lawrence Hopfenberg one of the endowed scholMemorial Fund with the arships stewarded by the Jewish Federation FounJFF. In addition to two for dation of Greater Rhode URI Hillel, JFF currently Island (JFF), they ensured maintains funds for scholthe scholarship would be arships to be awarded by available annually.

Brown University chaplains, The fellowship is open to Providence College chapJewish first-year students at lains, Rhode Island College, URI. For one year, the fellow Dartmouth High School, works at strengthening Camp JORI and BBYO New the Jewish community at England. the university by engaging Creating an endowment and building meaningful fund to benefit our comrelationships with Jewish munity’s youth ensures students, planning prothat you or a loved one will grams or working on projects for Hillel, and helping to always be actively supporting our future. connect his or her peers to The Hopfenberg family Jewish life on campus, while is committed to continudeveloping valuable engageing to give to the fund, and ment, networking and projthey encourage friends and ect-management skills. family to do so as well. The Students who have been

fellowship is helping to create the next generation of leaders; people who understand the importance of giving back, as Lawrence Hopfenberg did. As the fund grows, the family hopes it will provide an even larger

scholarship to deserving students.

For information on endowing a scholarship or award, contact Sara Masri at endowment@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 223.

SARA MASRI (smasri@ jewishallianceri.org) is the chief development officer at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

BY SARA MASRI

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY

Alliance to host an Israeli shuk on May 5

BY LARRY KATZ

A

shuk, an Israeli outdoor market, will be held at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s celebration of Yom

HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, on May 5.

OUTDOOR MARKETS can be found throughout Israel, and often attract throngs of people, especially before Shabbat and holidays. Visitors to Israel are often enthralled by the variety of items offered in an Israeli shuk, which is truly a soup-to-nuts experience, with everything but the kitchen sink in between.

While the Alliance cannot rival an Israeli shuk, the May 5 event, at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence, will feature a range of goods, live music, food, including Israeli olive oils, wines and whiskey, and local art. Also, in response to popular demand, Clover Food Lab, of Boston, will be returning with its meal boxes.

In addition, the shuk will have on-site dining and a tequila tasting, to mark Mexico’s Cinco de Mayo holiday. At 5:30 p.m., author Alyssa Satin Capucilli will read from her new children’s book, “And a Cat from Carmel Market,” and lead fun interactive activities for all ages based on the book.

In the book, Bubbe goes to the outdoor Carmel Market to shop for Shabbat, but finds herself coming home with a slew of stray cats. The Alliance’s shuk will be filled with pictures of cats, many of them hiding, for a type of scavenger hunt.

Capucilli is the author of over 100 books for young readers, including “Biscuit,” which has been deemed a modern classic.

In celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut, Clover Food

Lab will deliver its Mediterranean boxes, or any of its boxes, for pickup at the shuk. Last year, there were about 100 orders.

Clover is under the Kosher supervision of Rabbi Barry Dolinger, of Congregation Beth Sholom, in Providence, and is a cult-favorite restaurant chain founded by environmentalist Ayr Muir.

Ordering information will be available closer to the event. A two-person box provides three meals each, for a total of six meals. A four-person box provides a dozen meals.

The shuk will be held on Thursday, May 5, 5 to 7 p.m., behind the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. In case of bad weather, the program will take place in the JCC’s Social Hall. Admission is free but registration is requested for the book event. Go to www.jewishallianceri.org/capucilli/ to register.

For more information, contact Amit Moshe Oren, at AOren@jewishallianceri.org, or 401-421-4111.

LARRY KATZ (lkatz@ jewishallianceri.org) is the director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

APRIL 2022 | 37

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

COMMUNITY

Moses Brown student elected to BBYO’s international board

JACK ELICE, 17, who attends the Moses Brown School, in Providence, was elected as the international s’gan (international vice president of programming) during the BBYO International Convention 2022, held Feb. 17-21 in Baltimore.

In his new role, Jack, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, will be part of a 12-member international teen board that will help organize BBYO’s vision for the coming year and provide leadership and support to teen leaders in communities throughout the BBYO system.

“I am beyond excited to represent not only New England Region BBYO but the New England Jewish community in its entirety this upcoming year,” Jack said. “BBYO has been an amazing opportunity within my life to strengthen and develop my Jewish identity.

I hope to spread that love for BBYO and Judaism to all who will listen in the year to come.”

Fifty teens from the New England area joined thousands of other teens, educators, thought and business leaders, celebrities, political figures and philanthropists from around the world at the in-person gathering.

Jeff Hast, director of the New England Region (Eastern Massachusetts

and Rhode Island), said, “Building resilient Jewish teen leaders is at the core of what we do in BBYO. Each of our teens takes such pride and an active role in their chapters and on a regional level, and it shows with their elections to BBYO’s international board.

“We are so excited to see Jack impact the lives of BBYO teens all over the world, execute his vision for next year and continue to empower teens to leave their mark on Jewish history. We know he will help to create meaningful teen programming not only here locally, but all over the country and world, including leading next year’s International Convention 2023, in Dallas.”

BBYO, the leading pluralistic Jewish teen movement, aspires to involve more Jewish teens in more meaningful Jewish experiences.

For more information about BBYO, go to bbyo.org, or BBYO on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. For more information about BBYO in the New England Region, go to bbyo.org/bbyo-nearyou/ regions/new-england-region, or email Jeff Hast, regional director, at jhast@ bbyo.org.

Submitted by BBYO

Touro is Looking for a Few Good Jewish Men!

Free open House

Enjoy a delicious KBC (Kosher Baked Chicken) and our guest speaker, former New England Patriot and 3-time Super Bowl champion

Joe Andruzzi Wednesday • 6:30 p.m. • Touro Hall

April 27

45 Rolfe Square, Cranston GreAt IncentIves to JoIn! To register for the Open House or for more information

call 401-785-0066

Email us at info@tourofraternal.org or visit the website: tourofraternal.org

Touro is the largest independent Jewish fraternal organization in the Northeast. We offer fun social activities, outstanding benefits, and we give generously back to the community.

38 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY

Memorial Touro Open House features program will be Joe Andruzzi held May 4 CRANSTON – Jewish men aged 18 and older are invited to attend an open house, hosted

by Touro Fraternal Association, on Wednesday, April 27, at 6:30 p.m. at Touro Hall, 45 Rolfe Square, Cranston.

The guest speaker is Joe Andruzzi, a former three-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots.

A cancer survivor, he now heads the Joe Andruzzi Foundation, which assists cancer patients and their families throughout the region.

Attendees will also enjoy a Kosher baked

chicken dinner. There is no cost for the open house or the dinner.

Touro is the largest Jewish 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.

We Are Read

“From the depths of pain sprung the fountains of love (Miriam Peretz, 2019)”.

THIS YEAR’S MEMORIAL program for Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) will take place via Zoom on May 4 at 7 p.m.

This event will commemorate the lives of the heroes who fell while serving Israel, and it is held in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts.

The program will explore the history of this sad yet important day in Israeli culture, which immediately precedes Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. The schlihim of both communities will share their personal stories regarding this day. In

addition, they will share an emotional story of a lone soldier who fell in 2014 and describe how an entire community came together to pay their respects. This will be followed by the story of a mother who lost her children to the terrible wars, and how she chose to deal with the heavy loss.

For more information about the program, contact Amit Moshe Oren, community shaliach, at aoren@jewishallianceri. org. Registration will take place through the website of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, www.jewishallianceri.org.

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND HILLEL Director Amy Olson and Brown RISD Hillel Director Rabbi Joshua Bolton attended a Hillel Directors’ Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 7-9.

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

APRIL 2022 | 39

COMMUNITY

Father-daughter team lead Moes Chitim fundraiser

BY JESSICA MURPHY

L

’dor v’dor, the Jewish principle of passing on cultural values, rituals, traditions and history to the next generation, is embodied

in the father-and-daughter team of Ronald Markoff and Stephanie Markoff Cohen.

COHEN JOINS HER FATHER this year as co-chair of the Jewish Collaborative Services’ Moes Chitim (Money for Wheat) fundraising campaign.

Markoff is a longtime Jewish Family Service and now JCS board member who has chaired the annual campaign for many years.

Cohen also served as a JFS board member for a number of years, prior to starting her family. Now that her children are a little older, she has returned to JCS as a volunteer.

“This is such a meaningful way for both my father and I to be involved with JCS,” Cohen said of their co-chair duties.

“I had two community-minded parents growing up,” she recalled, adding that community-engagement activities are among her earliest childhood memories. Today, she continues this tradition by instilling the concept of l’dor v’dor in her own children.

Markoff remembers his teachers passing around an envelope for donations when he was a Hebrew school student at Temple Emanu-El, in Providence.

“We’d each put a penny or a nickel in the envelope,” he recalled, adding, “My parents were very charitable; that’s how I got involved in helping to support Jewish institutions – JFS at the time and JCS now, Temple Emanu-El, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, and Brown RISD Hillel. [Philanthropy] must start at home – it’s so important – if we don’t take

care of ourselves, no one else will … look at the world.”

Together, Markoff and Cohen hope to continue to lead by example, ensuring l’dor v’dor through their leadership in the Moes Chitim fundraising campaign and beyond.

Moes Chitim also helps pay for community-based Passover seders, such as those held at the Kosher Senior Café, at Temple Sinai in Cranston, and at local synagogues, as well as supporting those who need Passover assistance.

Once qualified, individuals seeking help will receive a $60 gift card; couples will receive a $100 gift card; and large families with adult children will receive a $200 gift card, JCS reported.

In these uncertain times, Cohen stressed that every little bit helps. Her father agreed, saying, “more than ever, now is the time to give” if you are able.

As of March 23, the Moes Chitim campaign had raised 77% of its $15,000 goal.

To donate to Moes Chitim, go to jcsri.org/donate/donatenow. You can designate your donation for Moes Chitim. To apply for Passover assistance, contact Katie Giardino, case manager at Jewish Collaborative Services, 401-331-1244, or email her at Katie@jfsri.org.

JESSICA MURPHY is the marketing and communications manager for Jewish Collaborative Services.

Ronald Markoff and Stephanie Markoff Cohen

40 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

NEWS

BUSINESS

Jeshuat Israel and N.Y. congregation back in court

It may take time to ease into the wonderful freedom of retirement

BY JEWISH RHODE ISLAND STAFF In the latest action in the long-running dispute over control of the historic Touro Synagogue, both sides were in District Court in Newport on March 28.

Jeshuat Israel, the congregation that worships in the Newport synagogue, was seeking to enforce what it claims is a settlement that will allow it to remain as tenants of the Touro Synagogue through June 2024.

But Congregation Shearith Israel, in New York City, sees things differently. While a federal appeals court ruled in 2017 that Shearith Israel is the rightful owner of the Touro Synagogue building, the congregation returned to court in January seeking to eject Jeshuat Israel’s leadership.

On March 28, according to an account at providencejournal.com, the New York congregation argued that the “settlement” that the Newport congregation seeks to make binding isn’t really a settlement at all.

Louis M. Solomon, president of the board at Shearith Israel, said the settlement is merely a summary of

Shearith Israel’s proposal.

Solomon has also said that Shearith Israel isn’t trying to eject the Newport congregation, but is seeking transparency and to hold two seats on Jeshuat Israel’s 15-member board, according to the Providence Journal story.

Jeshuat Israel wants the New York congregation to be held to the settlement terms mailed to Newport congregants on Feb. 10, which would extend Jeshuat Israel’s $1 annual lease until June 30, 2024, as the two congregations work to rebuild trust.

Barring approval of the settlement, the paper reported, Jeshuat Israel asked the court to dismiss Shearith Israel’s repossession action altogether because “New York-based Shearith Israel is so detached from this jewel in Rhode island that it does not even know the synagogue’s address.” Shearith Israel’s notice to terminate Jeshuat Israel’s tenancy was sent to the wrong address on Touro Street.

District Court Judge Christopher K. Smith continued the hearing to May 23 to give Shearith Israel a chance to respond to the motion to dismiss.

Bomb threats target Jewish institutions outside R.I. WASHINGTON (JTA) — Security officials are reporting a spate of bomb threats targeting Jewish institutions in a number of states.

The threats came into Jewish community centers around the country in recent weeks, according to Michael Masters, who directs the Secure Community Network, a consultancy that works with national Jewish groups.

JCCs targeted have been in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Jersey. The threats come through online contact forms and have similar language.

The most recent target, the JCC of Staten Island, briefly evacuated its buildings March 25 following a bomb threat.

Communications Director Allison Cohen told the New York Jewish Week that the JCC received a threatening email, in what may be the latest in a spate of such false threats sent into JCCs and other Jewish institutions around the country.

In Rhode Island, there have been no threats received, according to Napolean Brito, manager of community security at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. “We are

monitoring the situation and we are prepared in case it does happen,” he said. “We have advised staff on protocols, and we are up-to-date on our procedures.”

Like many JCCs around the country, Dwares JCC partners with the SCN. Masters, of the SCN, said that the perpetrators appear frustrated when the targeted institution does not shut down after security officials determine that the threat is not credible.

“We think that these guys are doing other calls because they’re not getting the outcome that they want, which is to potentially shut down the facility or sow discontent or fear,” he said.

In 2017 hundreds of bomb threats were called into JCCs – including the Dwares JCC – sowing widespread fear; a 20-year-old American-Israeli man was eventually convicted of making those calls.

In 2020, more than 50 Jewish community centers in 23 states received emailed bomb threats. None proved credible.

With reports from Jewish Rhode Island

BY BARBARA KENERSON SO, YOU ASK, how’s my perfect gig at the Halfway House at the golf course in Florida?

(Jewish Rhode Island, March 2021.) Done. It ran its course (cute, huh?). Done, I say.

Working at the restaurant was wonderful – fun, interesting, certainly very different from my great life in the challenging world of investments, and the perfect answer, at the time, to my total frustration with the new, wholly unaccustomed world of the newly retired.

This year’s totally changed, difficult, crass management style at the golf course couldn’t have been more different, and all the employees, who are mostly new, worked in fear of being unnecessarily yelled at, or sworn at, and definitely not the least bit appreciated for all of their endless hard work.

With the entire workforce a microcosm of behavior and attitudes modeled at the top, there was rampant dissention, rudeness and blatant unkindness displayed by most of the employees, all of whom were endlessly fearful of losing their jobs.

At the risk of repeating myself: I’m done. In the middle of January, my “retirement career” in the difficult world of food service came to its conclusion. Exit, Stage Right.

Oy, again with the retirement anxiety?

No, I don’t feel anxious about it at all!

So, nu? What’s different?

I came to the outstandingly brilliant observation that retirement is not something that happens over a weekend, or from Monday to Friday, but

it’s a whole process, not unlike a death, having children, getting divorced … and all of those other extremely significant life-altering events.

Retirement issues, however, are exacerbated if you loved your career. You’re not needed anymore, not important, not making serious decisions … your phone doesn’t ring all day ….

Boys and girls, here’s an illuminating fact: if this describes you, it’s all about your ego and our never-ending quest to be necessary, needed, relevant … and, yes, important.

As in all cases (see divorce, death, etc., above), it is time that’s the great healer and the pain-reducing element.

And here’s Barbie’s Great Shout-Out to Florida as an amazing place to be whatever you define as retired: Eighty is the new 60, you’re outside all the time – beam me up to that glorious Vitamin D sunshine, Scotty! – walking outside at all hours, either with Fluffy or dogless, biking, golfing, fishing (there’s a beautiful 500foot fishing pier right in front of me, full of sheepshead, red snapper, etc.), playing cards, mahjong, etc.

I’ve never seen so many intellectual, cultural, spiritual (huge Jewish community) and interesting events, and gorgeous fine arts and crafts festivals, every weekend.

For instance, in one week I saw Noa Tishby talk about her excellent book, “Israel, a Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth” (do read it!), saw a superb play, went to an extremely high-quality arts festival, attended a gun show (!) and did lots of other things with

a wonderful Chabad group.

Bored? Are you kidding me? I still haven’t had time to play golf!

So you want to be important? Pack meals for Meals on Wheels, make Purim boxes and help deliver them, take elderly folks to their appointments, teach English to immigrants, or put yourself out there in some other way. Every day is such a precious gift to be treasured!

You haven’t heard the last of me! But, for now, I’m cherishing this lovely freedom that I was previously so totally unfamiliar with, since I have worked and had other commitments that left me virtually no free time since I was an ambitious, hard-working teenager. And freedom is what retirement is about – and in this blessed country that I love, isn’t freedom what it’s all about? It’s boring people who get bored.

Embrace your retirement and freedom and be the best that you can be for yourself while going through this challenging, but so satisfying, stage of life BARBARA KENERSON (kbarbara5641@ gmail.com) was first vice president of investments at JanneyMontgomeryScott LLC for almost four decades and wrote the Investment Column for the then Jewish Voice for many years. She also was a motivational speaker for women and wrote Broadway reviews for years. Never bored.

APRIL 2022 | 41

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OBITUARIES Susan Gregerman, 70

JAMESTOWN, R.I. – Susan G. Gregerman passed away on Feb. 26, 2022, at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice in Providence. Born and raised on the East Side of Providence, she was the daughter of the late Arthur and Sally (Fogel) Greenberg. She had been a resident of Jamestown for the past 35 years.

Susan was a graduate of Hope High School and the University of Rhode Island.

She was the controller/office manager for the Barry Auto Group for over 40 years, a job that she was immensely proud of and where she made many lifelong friends. Susan loved living on Conanicut Island and spending many hours at

Mackerel Cove Beach. She enjoyed reading and listening to music and was a fantastic cook.

Susan is survived by her husband of 45 years, Abbott L. Gregerman; brother Robert (Sheryl) Greenberg, of Arizona; sister Marilyn (Andrew) Spirito, of North Providence; and sister-in-law Enid Cohen, of Colorado. She will also be greatly missed by nephew Daten (Terri) Cohen, of Providence, and niece Samara (Paul) Cohen, of Colorado, both of whom she helped raise and to whom she was like a second mother. She was the coolest great-aunt to Zeke, Jonah and Willow. Susan also leaves many dear cousins and close friends.

Donations may be sent to HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice, 1085 North Main St., Providence, RI 02904.

Maida Horovitz, 94

LANTANA, FLA. – Maida Horovitz passed away on March 18, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida. She was the wife of the late David Horovitz.

Born in Providence, she was the daughter of the late Leah (Bachrach) Billingkoff and Morris Billingkoff (“Young Montreal”).

She was the granddaughter of the late Rabbi David Bachrach. She was the mother of Dr. Nancy Bachrach, Dr. Len Horovitz and Dr. Ellen Horovitz (Jay Marino). She was the aunt of Amy Panzer (Andy). She was the grandmother of Daniel Horovitz, Kaitlyn Darby and Bryan Darby. She was the friend of companions Jasmine Fung, Chantal Police and Geraldine Toussaint.

Maida was generous and charitable, a lifelong volunteer, a dog lover, a music lover, a jingle writer, a bridge player who made her contracts, and a golfer who sometimes helped herself to an extra ball. She was the inspiration for the memoir “The Center of the Universe.” She was an original, and she will be missed.

Bernard Lightman, 91

Bernard “Bernie” Lightman passed away on March 25, 2022, surrounded by family. Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, a son of the late Harry and Dora (Melamed) Lightman, Bernie married his wife Barbara in 1956, and together they raised their four children in Providence. Bernie is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Harry Muslow; his son and daughterin-law, Michael and Monica Lightman; his daughter, Stefanie Lightman; his sonin-law Jay Granat (husband of the late Robin Granat); his 10 grandchildren; and his four great-grandchildren.

Bernie, together with partners, co-founded Blackstone Webbing, a textile manufacturer in Pawtucket. He was an active member of the Jewish community, serving as president of Temple Emanu-El in Providence, and as founding member of Falmouth Jewish

Congregation on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Bernie spent his retirement years with his wife, Barbara, in Ballenisles, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Perhaps above all else, Bernie was a prankster with a loving and dry sense of humor who truly made the world a better place.

Memorial contributions may be made to the National Brain Tumor Society, 55 Chapel St., Suite #200, Newton, MA 02458 (http://braintumor.org).

Helene Liner, 85

COVENTRY, R.I. – Helene Liner passed away on March 23, 2022, at the Miriam Hospital. She was the wife of Jordan Liner for 64 years.

Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Hyman and Jean (Hassenfeld) Blasbalg, she had lived in Coventry since 1994, previously living in Framingham, Massachusetts.

She was a graduate of Classical High School and the University of Rhode Island.

Helene was the founder of Liner Personnel and was a member of the former Temple Am David. Helene’s greatest joys were spending time with her family, enjoying summer days on Narragansett Beach and cheering on the New England Patriots. She was a wonderful mother and grandmother, never missing a game, school event or recital.

She was the mother of Rick Liner and his wife, Karen, Robin Liner, and Tome Liner and his wife, Judi, all of Coventry. She was the sister of Arnold Blasbalg of Coventry and the late Dr. Melvin Blasball, Morton Blasbalg, and Ruthie Blasbalg. She was the grandmother (Bubbie) of Jamie, Alexandra and her husband, Ilan, Jessica and Briana.

Contributions may be made to your favorite charity.

Harry Mancoll, 87

CRANSTON, R.I. – Harry Mancoll passed away on Feb. 17, 2022, at Briarcliffe Gardens.

He was the husband of Terrie (Simone) Mancoll for 32 years.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, a son of the late Morris and Edith (Mellamed) Mancoll, he had lived in Cranston since 2016, previously living in Narragansett. He was an optometrist for 50 years in Hartford. Harry was a mem-

ber of Temple Beth-El, Providence. For the last five years of his career, he volunteered for Helen Keller Child Sight.

He was the stepfather of Michael Feldman and his wife, Rachel, of San Francisco, California, and Tina “TJ” Feldman, of Cranston. He was the father of Deborah Casey, Dr. John Mancoll and his wife, Joanna, Susan Albert and her husband, Brett, and Matthew Mancoll and his wife, Robin, all of Virginia Beach, Virginia. He was the brother of Tovia Ann Siegel, of Providence, Isadora Safner, of Brewster, Massachusetts, and his twin, Dr. William Mancoll, of West Hartford, Connecticut.

He was the grandfather of Ollie and Abe Feldman; Caroline, Emily and Ben Casey; Alex and Ryan Mancoll; Joe, Maggie and Mark Albert; and Hannah and Molly Mancoll.

Contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org, or Dana Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund at danafarber. jimmyfund.org.

Donald Reingardt, 91

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. – Donald Reingardt passed away on March 28, 2022.

He was the husband of his beloved French Moroccan bride of over 70 years, Suzanne (Ohana) Reingardt.

He was born in DeKalb, Illinois, one of 13 children of the late Oscar and Grace (Eberly) Reingardt. Donald was a retired Navy Vietnam veteran, proudly serving in the Seabee Construction Corp. He was stationed all over the world, but often requested Morocco to be near his sweetheart, Suzanne.

After retiring from the Navy, Donald continued working at the Quonset Point Base as a heavy-duty mechanic for an additional 20 years. He was a member and volunteer with the Seabees Museum and Memorial Park in North Kingstown.

He was the devoted father of Deborah Neal of Daytona Beach, Florida, David Reingardt of Alna, Maine and the late Joseph Allen Reingardt. He was the loving grandfather of Alden, Cyrus, Jaime and Trevor. He was the cherished great-grandfather of Lucas, Marie, Elijah, Kaya and Raven. He was predeceased by his 12 siblings.

Contributions in his memory may be made to Kosher Meals on Wheels RI, made payable to Jewish Collaborative Services, 1165 N. Main St., Providence, RI 02904.

APRIL 2022 | 43

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

OBITUARIES Natalie Ann Robinson, 92

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Natalie Ann “Nat” (Rabinovitz) Robinson, of Providence, passed away March 12, 2022, at her residence. She was the wife of the late Norman Robinson.

Born in Woonsocket, she was the only child of the late Israel and Helen (Ginsburg) Rabinovitz.

Natalie graduated at the top of her class in 1946 from Woonsocket High School.

She then went on to become a member of Phi Beta Kappa at Mount Holyoke College, earning a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History and later a master’s degree in U.S. History from Brown University. She was very involved politically in the community and volunteered for organizations such as The League of Women Voters and the ACLU. She was a high school teacher at the former ALP School and School One in Providence for many years before retiring.

An avid reader, Natalie enjoyed practicing and teaching yoga, going to the theatre and attending concerts. For close to 40 years, she treasured time spent with family and friends at her second home on Cape Cod. Survivors include: two daughters, Leslie Robinson and her husband, Stephen Kass, of Hamden, Connecticut, and Debora Kolwey and her husband, Neil, of Boulder, Colorado, and three grandchildren, Julia Robinson-Kass, Hannah Larson and her husband, Todd, and Frederica “Freddie” Kolwey.

Leslie and Debora would like to extend their deepest gratitude to the dedicated team of caregivers for the compassionate care they provided to Natalie over the past 10 years and to the hospice team for their support in her final days.

Contributions may be made to VNA of Care New England, 51 Health Lane, Warwick, RI 02886 (https:// foundation.vnacarenewengland.org/donatenow) or League of Women Voters of Rhode Island, One Richmond Square, Suite 220 A-W, Providence, RI 02906 (https:// my.lwv.org/rhode-island/ donate).

Carl Solomon, 82

EAST FALMOUTH, MASS. – Carl Solomon passed away on March 26, 2022, at Charlton Memorial Hospital, Fall River, Massachusetts.

Born in Providence, the son of the late Nathan and Mae (Bochner) Solomon. He lived in East Falmouth for 36 years, previously living in Buzzards Bay. Carl was an Air Force veteran, rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant, and served in Panama. He was the owner of the Mad Hatter, selling hats and gloves at area flea markets and annually at the Big E. Until recently, Carl spent his free time driving a cab, during which he enjoyed meeting people from around the country, as well as attending Patriots games and spending time at Amvets Post 70, of Falmouth, of which he was an active member.

He was the brother of the late Marvin Solomon, cousin to Ron Bochner. He was the uncle of Lori Leff, Nancy Lipschutz, and Dr. Robin Solomon. He was the great-uncle to five great-nieces and great-nephews.

Contributions may be made to Providence Hebrew Free Loan, 400 Reservoir Ave., Providence, RI 02907 or Amvets, Post 70, 366 Palmer Ave., Falmouth, MA 02540.

Wendy Speck, 71

CRANSTON, R.I. – Wendy B. Speck passed away on March 25, 2022, at Rhode Island Hospital. She was the wife of the late William Speck.

Born in Bangor, Maine, a daughter of the late Jacob and Beatrice (Kushner) Rose, she was a lifelong Cranston resident.

She was a graduate of Cranston East, Class of 1968, and a graduate of Northeastern University, earning a B.S. in nursing. Wendy began her nursing career at Roger Williams Hospital, and later became the longtime director of Health Services at Johnson & Wales University. She was an avid beachgoer and was a member of Narragansett Town Beach.

She was the mother of

Kelly Speck and his wife, Gianna Boulet, of Cranston, Juliette Deroxas and her husband, Paolo, of Cranston, and the late Andrew Speck.

She was the sister of Gary Rose of Cranston, Marc Rose of Westford, Massachusetts, and the late Karen Rose. She was the sister-in-law of Peg Rose of Cranston. She was the grandmother of Reese, Malin and Camdyn. She was the companion of Ernie Simone.

Contributions may be made to Ronald McDonald House, 45 Gay St., Providence, RI 02905.

Beverly Zuller, 93

WARWICK, R.I. – Beverly (Klein) Zuller passed away on March 14, 2022, in Kent County Hospital. She was the former wife of Abraham Zuller.

Born in New Bedford, a daughter of the late Morris and Jennie (Liss) Klein, she was a longtime resident of Warwick.

A bookkeeper, she worked for many years in business at the family furniture store, Abe Zuller Sales with her daughters and also with her daughter Marilyn at SERJobs for Progress as well as volunteering at other workplaces with her daughter.

Skilled at knitting, she also enjoyed playing Gin Rummy, Go Fish, Old Maid, Scrabble and mahjong. Beverly especially loved time spent with her family.

She is survived by her daughters, Marilyn Zuller Morin and her husband, David, and Barbara Zuller; grandson Michael Zuller and his wife, Holly; great-grandchildren, Jacob and Isabella Zuller and nephews and niece, Nemi Klein and his wife, Rina, David Klein and his wife, Michele, and Sara Glashofer and her husband, Paul. She was the sister of the late Maxie Klein, great-grandmother of the late Elanna Zuller and mother-in-law of the late Lester Kushner.

Contributions may be made to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health) 4301 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22203

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 against Kyiv.

The Polish Jewish community has prepared reception centers for Ukrainian refugees near the border, and in Lublin, Łódź and near Warsaw.

Thousands of people have already been assisted.

“How many of them are Jewish?” a journalist from a haredi publication asked in a phone interview with Poland’s Chief Rabbi, Michael Schudrich. “I don’t have the faintest idea,” answered Schudrich, “but I know they were all God’s children.” The journalist hung up, and a minute later called again – not to apologize, but to angrily comment that he “doesn’t need to be preached at.” “Oh, but he does,” Schudrich told me.

Freedom is never given once and for all. Shameful democratic backsliding, not just in Poland but in Hungary and Slovenia, demonstrates this all too clearly. And there is no guarantee that Ukraine, if it manages to repel the Russian onslaught, will become a democratic showcase, happily engag-

ing in debate about the sins of its past. It is legitimate to be skeptical.

But there can be no doubt that if Putin wins, freedom will not have a chance. Just look at Russia today (or at Russia Today, before it abruptly shut down). Or imagine Poland after such a victory, say, 10 years from now. Between Putin’s brutal terror, and our homegrown autocrats, freedom would not stand much of a chance.

Should Jews care? If this were a Monopoly game, and if there were a “Get out of history free” card, I wouldn’t blame those who would grab it in order to show it to the next jackbooted thug who came to break down their door. But good luck to anyone who thinks the men with guns will play by the rules of the game.

Or believe it’s a game at all.

KONSTANTY GEBERT is a veteran Polish journalist, Jewish community figure and former underground activist in Warsaw.

Certified by the Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island Jacquelyn Aubuchon, Funeral Director

44 | APRIL 2022

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

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