The Voice of Greater Rhode Island’s Jewish Community
MAY 2021 | IYAR/SIVAN 5781
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Pandemic Partners Our pets are more important than ever
Try some new dairy recipes for your Shavuot table
The world’s oldest journalist, Walter Bingham has a lot to say
Check out the photos of our readers’ favorite pets
2 | MAY 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
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MAY 2021 | 3
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JEWISH RHODE ISL AND
EDITOR Fran Ostendorf DESIGN & LAYOUT Alex Foster ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Peter Zeldin pzeldin@jewishallianceri.org 401-421-4111, ext. 160 CONTRIBUTORS Hannah Altman, Cynthia Benjamin, Larry Kessler COLUMNISTS Michael Fink, Geraldine Foster, Patricia Raskin, Rabbi James Rosenberg, Daniel Stieglitz VOLUME XXVIII, ISSUE V JEWISH RHODE ISLAND
(ISSN number 1539-2104, USPS #465-710) is published monthly except twice in May, August and September. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID at Providence, R.I. POSTMASTER Send address changes to:
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COPY DEADLINES: All news releases, photographs, etc., must be received on the Wednesday 10 days prior to publication. Submissions may be sent to: editor@jewishallianceri.org. ADVERTISING: We do not accept
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ALL SUBMITTED CONTENT becomes the property of Jewish Rhode Island. Announcements and opinions contained in these pages are published as a service to the community and do not necessarily represent the views of Jewish Rhode Island or its publisher, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. We reserve the right to refuse publication and edit submitted content. ON THE COVER: Rabbi Aaron Philmus and son Aeden at the Philmus home during the Teva PVD program. PHOTO BY HANNAH ALTMAN
Our pets need to adjust to post-pandemic life too MY CAT HAS gotten way too accustomed to my workfrom-home life. In the past year, if you’ve ever been on a Zoom meeting with me, you’ve probably seen her tail go by. Her pandemic routines involve sleeping on my desk, sleeping in my lap and sleeping nearby me on her cat tree in my home office. She keeps track of of my whereabouts at all times. Can you relate? As we’ve stayed home from work, school and life, our furry friends have adjusted to our presence, becoming our most faithful companions. And when we have to leave the house, it is quite obvious that they miss us. My daughter’s cat comforts himself when home alone with a toy lion that he carries around and meows at quite loudly. Our cat meows at us when we return home. And this behavior isn’t limited to cats. If your dog scratches or whines when you leave or return, it could be that he or she is really lonely without you. Remember the 2016 movie (and its 2018 sequel), “The Secret Life of Pets”? It was a cute animated film about all the things your pets do when you aren’t at home. As we begin to return to our work sites, even part time, think about what your pets may be doing while you’re gone. When I talked to Providence veterinarian Jane Linden last year, at the start of the pandemic, she warned that pet owners should take care to ease their pets into
being alone again. It seems like we should be thinking about that advice now, as the pandemic begins to loosen its grip on the U.S., especially if you are among the proud new pet parents of a pandemic puppy. According to Rover.com, a group of folks who survey people about their pet habits, pet adoptions have soared during the pandemic. In its October 2020 survey of 1,000 people in the U.S., they found that one-third had welcomed a cat or dog into their home since March. Rover’s January 2021 survey found that 49% of the adoptees were dogs. That lucky animal hasn’t known life without you, so remember to plan an adjustment period if you’re returning to work outside your home. If all this talk about pets has you pet-less readers wondering why, stay with me. This is Jewish Rhode Island’s annual pet issue, and we have a lot of cute animal photos from your friends in our community. This year, many more readers than usual wanted to show off their pets, including lizards, bunnies and birds. In the past, we rarely got more than dog or cat photos. Many photos arrived with tales of companionship during this year of staying at home. Our pets really are our faithful friends! While we don’t have room for more than the names of the pet and their families in our print edition, we will try to get some of your stories online at JewishRhody. org, along with your pet companion’s photo. Our thanks to everyone who sent us photos and stories. We love to hear from our readers. And make sure to give those furry friends an extra treat from us! Fran Ostendorf, Editor
Interesting facts about pets in the pandemic ONE OUT OF THREE households got a new pet during the pandemic. Surveys in Spain, Israel and the United Kingdom found remarkably similar results. People believed that pets would help them or their families get through the crisis.
Globally, more than half the world’s population shares their lives with pets, according to Science Daily. And 2020 saw a record-breaking year for spending on pets – $260 billion worldwide. And our connections with animals went up in other ways, too. A British study found 55% percent of participants said they watched and fed birds in their yards and last spring and summer the United States suffered shortages of bird food in some areas. 78% of pet owners said having a pet reduced their stress or anxiety, 75% said pets reduce boredom and monotony and 74% said pets reduced depression during COVID-19.
Pets are no replacement for
being with other people but they can help. “Touch is an understudied sense, but existing evidence indicates it is crucial for growth, development and health, as well as reducing the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body,” says Dr. Janette Young who led a South Australian study about how pets are helping people get by with less human contact. “Touch may be particularly important for older people as other senses decline.”
An Israeli study showed a big increase in dog adoptions but that 80% of new dog owners during the pandemic were already planning to get a dog but the pandemic hastened their decision. A Rover.com survey showed that only 13% of those getting a pet during the pandemic we adopting their first pet. Most already had at least one pet already. Fifty-three percent of people in that survey got a dog, with 32% got a cat and 14% got a dog and a cat.
Dogs have thrived with more people at home. They typically get more attention, more walks and more playtime than in their pre-pandemic world. Cats, some of whom were good at social distancing before the pandemic, may have become more attentive and affectionate with more people at home, too. A return to normal, especially for an animal who has never experienced an empty house, can be a big stress on any pet, but especially these new pets who have only known their owners during a pandemic. Overall, pets were a positive
during the pandemic. “The positives are few and far between” from the pandemic, says Emily McCobb, an associate professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuffs University. “So we have to keep them if we can.”
D'VAR TORAH 5 | CALENDAR 6 | OPINION 8 | FOOD 10 | COMMUNITY VOICES 12 | PETS 15 COMMUNITY 22 | BUSINESS 29 | OBITUARIES 31 | PJ LIBRARY 34 | SIMCHAS 35 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.
4 | MAY 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
UP FRONT
Longtime radio journalist Walter Bingham sits in his office behind a wall filled with memorabilia, including a telegram regarding an award he won from the United Kingdom's King George VI.
PHOTO | SAM SOKOL
Walter Bingham is the world’s oldest journalist 97-year-old British-Israeli man holds the Guinness World Record BY SAM SOKOL
J
ERUSALEM (JTA) – When Walter Bingham moved to Israel following a long career as a
host on British radio, he applied for a job at Kol Israel, one of the country’s leading broadcasters. HE CAME IN for an interview but was rejected: At 80 years old, Bingham was told he was past the station’s mandatory retirement age. Other journalists might have retired. Bingham did not. The experience, he said, made him “realize this is a very ageist country.” Undeterred, he kept finding opportunities to work. Seventeen years later, Bingham is still not retired. And this month, at age 97, he was certified by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest working journalist. “I actually feel quite young,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency while sitting recently in his home office just steps away from downtown Jerusalem’s busy Hillel Street. “On a good day I feel like I’m 40; on a bad day 50.”
It’s the second such record for Bingham, a radio journalist who once was an actor and a model. In 2017, he was certified by Guinness as the “oldest radio talk show host” – the latest in a series of accolades that include a British military award for bravery during World War II and the French Légion d’honneur. The host of the ongoing “Walter’s World” program on Israel National Radio, a right-wing news site based in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, Bingham has been a fixture at media tours, news conferences and other events across Israel since emigrating from London in 2004. Known for his signature blue breton cap, audio recorder and handgun kept in a holster on his hip, he is a familiar sight to members of the foreign media here, whose companionship Brigham cites as one of the reasons he feels so young. “I have a lot of young friends,” he said. “And when I’m with them I actually feel young. The only time I realize that I’m old is when I pass a mirror.” Born Wolfgang Billig in Weimar, Germany, in 1924, Bingham was a teenager when he was brought to England as a refugee, one of thousands saved as part of the
Kindertransport effort to rescue Jewish children from Nazism. His father died in the Warsaw Ghetto. His mother survived, eventually joining him in England. During the war, he joined the British Expeditionary Force and anglicized his name to Walter Bingham, so he would not be mistreated if captured by the Nazis. He served as an ambulance driver during the 1944 D-Day invasion, and that same year earned a citation for bravery: He rescued soldiers under withering enemy fire after the Germans had knocked out his ambulance, wounding his orderly and killing an officer. Brigham, a native German speaker, was later transferred to intelligence, where he was involved in the initial interrogation of captured Germans. One he says was the Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, who Bingham recalls denied knowing about the Final Solution. Bingham says he was “really a phony.” Back in Britain after the war, he worked various jobs before answering a help wanted advertisement at a local radio station. His initial task answering the phones for a call-in show led to a series of “little jobs” before he eventually became a host for Jewish-themed programs
on the London stations Spectrum and Sound Radio. He also got degrees in philosophy and politics, and earned a pilot’s license. To make some extra money, Bingham branched out into modeling and acting, he recalled, describing a series of jobs over the years that included playing Darwin in a documentary, a wizard in the background of two “Harry Potter” movies and Santa Claus at the Harrods department store. He once pretended to be a homeless man begging on the street for a feature in the Daily Mail while a photographer hid in a nearby cafe. Like many of his other gigs, Bingham said he was given this job because of his large, bushy beard. That news article is now framed next to the door of his office alongside clippings of advertisements featuring his distinctive facial hair molded into outrageous styles. One for Virgin Cola features a sunglasses-clad Bingham with a forked beard. Along the way, Bingham married and had a daughter, who is in her 70s and now also lives in Jerusalem. He also has two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
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jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
Look to the Torah to guide us out of the wilderness AR
all parties. While Israel gave up land, the Torah and mitzvot still belong to us. That said, the mitzvot we have in our Torah include those that tell us how to take care of Eretz Yisra’el. This week’s Torah reading lists detailed mitzvot that describe how we are to treat each other and the earth. There is the Mitzvah of the RABBI RICHARD Sabbatical Year the year when PERLMAN –slaves should be freed and farms should be left unplowed to give the earth a chance to replenish itself. We also read about our personal responsibility to help the poor. If we lend a person money, we must not charge any interest. We must help all people live with dignity. Whether born Jewish, a convert, or even a resident alien, Jews are not permitted to let anyone starve. Please take note that the Torah is talking to us as individuals, not the government. It is not talking about a government “rescue package,” it is talking to each person. It is our individual responsibility to save a neighbor. The second reading, “Bechukotai – In My Statutes,” lists the mitzvot that detail expectations from us and what happens to us if we do not fulfill the mitzvot. We
TO R A
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 Bingham had always wanted to live in Israel, but his wife preferred to stay in London. She died in 1990, and in 2004, at the age of 80, Bingham made the move alone. Prior to arriving in Israel, he was contacted by Yishai Fleisher, who at the time hosted a show on Israel National Radio. Fleischer asked Bingham to document his preparations in an ongoing series of 10-minute daily spots. After the turndown by Kol Israel, Bingham went to visit Fleischer in Beit El, where he was asked to continue his series of short spots, this time documenting his new life in Israel. Within weeks Bingham was offered his own program, which he works on from his office here. The show opens with the “Superman” theme song and introduces Bingham as “the doyen of the airwaves.” On a show in early January, he said his New Year’s resolution was to learn a
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D’ V
WE END THE BOOK OF VAYIKRA with a double reading that is made up of the last three chapters of the Third Book of Torah. What is interesting is how relevant it is today. In a few weeks, we will commemorate the 54th anniversary of the Six-Day War, which ended with a cease-fire signed on June 11, 1967. That victory was nothing short of miraculous as not only did Israel win decisively, but it reunited Jerusalem and reclaimed additional historic territory. Since that time, Israel has given back much of what it won, with questionable benefit. Remarkably, our Torah reading lays out our modern history in a most amazing way. The first of these readings is called “Behar – On the Mountain.” This is about events at Mount Sinai, where our ancestors accepted God’s gift of Torah. In 1967, the Sinai Peninsula, the place that our Torah reading describes, was captured by Israel. In 1979, the Sinai was given back to Egypt in exchange for a peace agreement that has lasted ever since. Any time a lasting peace can be achieved, it is hard to argue that this was anything but a good deal for
read about further victories, and if we must go to war, “… five of you will chase a hundred enemies, and a hundred of you will chase a thousand. Your enemies will fall before you.” God then says: “I will walk among you, and you will be my people.” What happens if we do not follow the mitzvot? The response is quite stark. God says: “I will let your cities be ruined, and your holy places destroyed ....” There is a full list of curses, called the Tochacha, that seems to go on and on – these are a preview of what comes later in Devarim. In any case, looking back, it is uncanny how many of these curses have come true in one way or another. The miraculous end of the Six-Day War was amazing for Israel and world Jewry. While the miracle appeared to be based on Israel’s overwhelming military might, was it really? Israel did not have nearly enough trained soldiers, let alone the right kind of equipment, to have achieved the kind of victory it did. Most people think the victory was due to the spirit created by the Jewish people’s national unity and their drive to survive in their historical homeland. Secular kibbutzniks and ultra-religious Yeshivah students joined forces to defeat their smug enemies. They fought side by side. They were led by leaders who were untrained in military tactics
few words of Hebrew every day. Bingham’s office functions as a memorabilia room for his career of some 70 years. Its walls are covered with certificates of achievement, military awards, his Guinness records and pictures he’s taken with prominent figures such as Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. The room is dominated by a massive desk where he edits and uploads his show. Of course, the technology has changed significantly from when he began, Bingham said, describing once having to cut out sections of reel-toreel tape and splice it back together with adhesive tape – a process that has been replaced with SD cards and audio-editing software. But while the gear has evolved, the craft remains the same, he said, insisting that it is critical for young journalists to learn how to listen and not interject their own opinions into an interview.
Candle lighting times Greater Rhode Island
May 2021
and strategies. It did not matter. They fought with all they had, unwilling to retreat, unwilling to give an inch. During the battle for Jerusalem, Gen. Motta Gur radioed headquarters with a historic three-word message: “Har HaBayit BeYadeinu – The Temple Mount is in our hands!” It was then that a single soldier climbed to the top of the Dome of the Rock and planted an Israeli flag there to let the world know that the holy mountain had been returned to the Jewish people for the first time in 19 centuries. But, out of respect for his Muslim brethren, Israeli Gen. Moshe Dayan ordered the flag removed. This action weakened the national unity and spirit that had won the war. Ever since that time, appeasement groups in Israel, around the world, and even in the United States, have risen to dominance. While supporting Israel was once the norm among world Jewry, it is now the exception. National unity and Torah principles are no longer the foundation of our discussions about Israel. Additionally, the Middle East, as well as every United Nations’ committee, works hard to threaten not just Israel, but the future of Judaism itself. Next, we begin the book of “Bamidbar – In the Wilderness.” In many ways, that is
“Often I see supposed interviews where the interviewer talks more than the interviewee,” he said. “Ask questions and let them answer fully. Don’t keep interrupting. If it’s prerecorded, you can always edit out parts [in which] you think the interviewee was going on for too long.” While Bingham says that he is open about his opinions, he believes that many contemporary straight news reporters allow their unconscious biases to affect their work. “Today it’s all opinions,” he said. “This is the main change that I see. When you read a newspaper it’s opinion, not the facts.” Fleischer, now the spokesperson for the Jewish settlement in Hebron, still admires Bingham, telling JTA that he “has a unique tenacity for life and tenacity to get the story but also tenacity to live fully.” Bingham, Fleisher said, brings a “tremendous amount of perspective of history and shows a lot of personal
May 7 7:30 p.m. May 14 7:37 p.m. May 16 7:39 Erev Shavuot May 17 8:50 Shavuot May 21 7:44 p.m. May 28 7:50 p.m. where we, the Jewish people, find ourselves today. Is there any way out of this religious and historic wilderness where we allow ourselves to wander? This week’s Torah reading gives us a clear escape path. The Torah says that it is up to each of us to work together, to stop fighting with each other and to work to become a unified people – or, as the curses say, we will cease to exist as a people. Am Yisrael chai – the people of Israel live! RICHARD E. PERLMAN is the senior rabbi at Temple Ner Tamid, in Peabody, Massachusetts, a member of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island, and president of the North Shore Rabbis and Cantors Association.
courage, and has a zest for life.” Steve Linde, a longtime friend of Bingham and editor of the Jerusalem Report, wrote in an email that Bingham attaining the Guinness World Record is a testament to his persistence. He added that Bingham has a “wicked sense of humor.” “What I admire most about him is that he never gives up,” Linde wrote. “I once asked him why he doesn’t use a walking stick, and he replied that if he starts using one, then he’ll always depend on it. He’s fiercely independent and holds strong opinions on just about everything. But it’s his passion for life, people and the truth that are, perhaps, his most outstanding qualities.” Does Bingham ever plan on retiring? Before answering, he quips that he had to look up that word in the dictionary. “I will not retire,” he said. “I will keep going so long as I can.”
6 | MAY 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS FOR COMPLETE MONTHLY LISTINGS, VISIT JEWISHRHODY.ORG
Ongoing
Kosher Senior Café and Zoom programming. Cold box lunches delivered to all of our Café guests who request home delivery while meal sites are closed due to COVID19. Two lunches delivered on Mondays and Wednesdays; one lunch delivered on Fridays. Additionally, in-person, outdoor Friday lunches begin May 7 (weather dependent). Zoom programming includes yoga on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m.-noon followed by lunch and a guest speaker or discussion from noon-1 p.m. The fourth 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. Information, Neal Drobnis at neal@jfsri.org or 401678-6464 or 401-331-1244.
Project Shoresh “The Path of the Just – The Jewish Waze.” Mondays 8-9 p.m. Journey the path of life using the WAZE of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato in his book "Messilas Yesharim" via Zoom. Free. Information, Noach Karp at rnoachkarp@ gmail.com or 401-429-8244.
Temple Habonim Lunch & Learn with Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman via Zoom. Thursdays noon-1 p.m. Torah Study on Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics. Information, Adina Davies at office@templehabonim.org or 401245-6536.
Basic Beginners Hebrew Classes via Zoom. Tuesdays 6:15-7:15 p.m. 5/11 thru 7/20. Must be able to read and write Hebrew alphabet. Partnership of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and Temple Emanu-El. No class 5/18, 6/1, 7/6. $100 for 8 sessions. Information, Toby Liebowitz at TobyAane@gmail. com.
Project Shoresh Parsha Powwow with Rabbi Naftali Karp. Thursdays 7:30-8:15 p.m. Discover via Zoom sessions how topical and relevant the Parsha’s ideas and concepts are. Free. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail. com or 401-632-3165.
Music with Raymond Buttero via Zoom. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 3-4 p.m. Temple Sinai's pianist performs. Link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@ templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.
Project Shoresh “48 Ways to Wisdom” with Rabbi Naftali Karp. Tuesdays 7:45-8:45 p.m. The Mishnah describes 48 essential tools to acquire Torah. Rav Noach Weinberg taught these 48 ways as guidelines to achieving success in every facet of life. Free. Each class self-contained. Information or RSVP, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@ gmail.com or 401-632-3165.
Project Shoresh Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program. Sundays 1-2 p.m. thru 5/16. 10-week journey that brings parents and their kids together through inspiring classes and hands-on experiences to learn real life skills centered around the Bar or Bat Mitzvah. $199. Information worldwidebarbat.com or Noach Karp at rnoachkarp@gmail.com or 401-429-8244.
Project Shoresh Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program. Tuesdays 8-9 p.m. thru 5/18. 10-week journey that brings parents and their kids together through inspiring classes and hands-on experiences to learn real life skills centered around the Bar or Bat Mitzvah. $199. Information worldwidebarbat.com or Noach Karp at rnoachkarp@gmail.com or 401-429-8244.
Conversational Hebrew Classes via Zoom. Mondays 7-8:15 p.m. 5/10 thru 7/19. Three levels offered. Partnership of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and Temple Emanu-El. No class 5/17, 5/31, 7/5. $100 for 8 sessions. Information, Toby Liebowitz at TobyAane@gmail. com.
Project Shoresh Jewish Young Professionals Shmooze. Wednesdays 7:15-8:15 p.m. Mishkon Tfiloh, 203 Summit Ave., Providence. Shmooze, snack and have a beer. Free. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail.com or 401-6323165.
Temple Emanu-El: Delve Deeper: The Jews of Spain. Thursdays 7:30-9:30 p.m. thru 5/13. Discuss some of the core Jewish texts of Spain, and explore their resonance among Sephardim and Jews the world over. Instructor: Alan Verskin, professor of Islamic & Jewish History at URI. $250. Information, Rabbi Rachel Zerin at rzerin@ teprov.org or 401-331-1616. Temple Emanu-El Parashah HaShavua. Fridays 8:30-9 a.m. (after Z'man Kodesh: Daily Minyan Alternative Experience). Rabbi Alvan Kaunfer leads a study session on highlights from the weekly Torah portion. All welcome. Information and Zoom link, Rabbi Alvan Kaunfer at akaunfer@cox.net or 401-3311616. Temple Sinai Morning Meditation via Zoom. Fridays 10-10:30 a.m. Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser leads meditation that includes reflections on Jewish wisdom and mindfulness. No prior experience required. Information, templesinairi.org or Dottie at 401-942-8350. Pre-Shabbat under the Tent. Fridays 11 a.m.-noon thru 5/28. Temple Beth-El back patio, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Join us in our ohel moed (tent of meeting) for community and conversation with Rabbi Sarah Mack and Cantor Judith Seplowin. Enjoy iced coffee, iced tea and a Buns Bakery treat. Pre-registration and contact tracing registration required. Limited to 50 guests. Information, Jenn Thomas at jthomas@temple-beth-el.org. Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual Children’s Welcome Shabbat Services with the Rabbi. Fridays 5:30 p.m. except the 3rd Friday of the month. 5:15 p.m. for TGIS filled with songs and stories. With Rabbi Aaron Philmus. For Zoom link, email Temple@toratyisrael.org. Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual Kabbalat Shabbat Songs and Torah Service. Fridays 5:45 p.m. With Rabbi Aaron Philmus. For adults.
For Zoom link, email Temple@ toratyisrael.org. Temple Sinai Shabbat Services via Zoom. Fridays 6-7:15 p.m. With Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser and Cantor Deborah Johnson. Link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@templesinairi.org or 401942-8350. Temple Shalom Kabbalat Shabbat Services. In-person and via Zoom. Fridays 7 p.m. 223 Valley Road, Middletown. With Cantor Fred Scheff. All are welcome. Information and Zoom link, templeshalomrhodeisland.org. Temple Beth-El Remote Torah Study. Saturdays 9-10 a.m. Zoom led by one of Beth-El's clergy. Information, Kim Campbell at kcampbell@temple-beth-el.org. Temple Torat Yisrael Virtual and In-person Shabbat Services. Saturdays 9:30-10:30 a.m. With Rabbi Aaron Philmus. 5/22 Virtual Services only. 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. For Zoom link, email Temple@toratyisrael.org. Temple Habonim Torah Study via Zoom. Saturdays 10-11 a.m. Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman leads weekly Torah study on current portion. Information, Adina Davies at office@ templehabonim.org or 401-2456536. Temple Sinai Torah Study via Zoom. Saturdays 10-11:15 a.m. Interactive discussion with Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser. Zoom link at templesinairi.org. Information, dottie@templesinairi.org or 401942-8350. Temple Sinai Shabbat Torah Reading via Zoom. First and third Saturday of each month 11 a.m.noon. Information, templesinairi.org or Dottie at 401-942-8350.
Sunday | May 9
Behind the Book: “The Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook” by Elisa Spungen Bildner and Robert Bildner. 7 p.m. The Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts are famous for their scenic views and artistic and literary attractions. Telling the story of family-run agriculture through the language of food, this cookbook offers recipes to recall the region. Free. Information, Lisa Maybruch at lmaybruch@jewishallianceri.org.
Monday | May 10
JNF Women for Israel “Let's Talk ‘Shtisel’: An Exclusive Conversation with Michael Aloni” via Zoom. 7-8 p.m. Danna Stern, managing director of Israel’s
yesStudios, will interview Israeli actor Michael Aloni, best known for his roles in the award-winning hit Netflix series "Shtisel" (Kive) and "When Heroes Fly" (Dotan). Free; donations to Jewish National FundUSA encouraged. Information, Dar Nadler at dnadler@jnf.org.
Tuesday | May 11
Little States, Big Innovation, Rhode Island X Israel Monthly Webinar Series. Noon-1 p.m. Interactive session with some of Israel’s startup entrepreneurs. A collaboration of Rhode Island – Israel Collaborative (RIIC), District Hall Providence and RIHub. Information, info@districthallprovidence.org.
Wednesday | May 12
Israeli Culture Night: “Multi-Gender Hebrew: Creating a New Space in the Hebrew Language” via Zoom. 5 p.m. Gender plays a different role in Hebrew than in English. Michal Shomer created Multi-Gender Hebrew to facilitate multi-gender reading and writing. Her presentation will explore why it is important to use Hebrew in an inclusive and gender-neutral way. Information, Or Cohen at ocohen@ jewishallianceri.org. Core Connects RI Rosh Chodesh and Pre-Shavuot Inspiration with Aliza Bulow via Zoom. 7-8:30 p.m. Over the past four decades, author, educator, mentor, founder and director of Core Aliza Bulow has worked with hundreds of women in five continents to strengthen the social fabric of the Jewish people. Information, coreconnectsri.com or Elissa Felder at CoreConnectsRI@ gmail.com or 401-241-9631.
Thursday | May 13
Touro Synagogue Foundation Historic Preservation Presentation via Zoom. 7-8 p.m. Thompson M. Mayes of the National Trust for Historic Preservation will discuss his book "Why Old Places Matter: How Historic Places Affect Our Identity and Well-Being." A panel discussion of the importance of Newport’s commitment to historic preservation will follow. Free. Information, Meryle Cawley at meryle@ tourosynagogue.org or 401-8474794, ext. 207. Temple Sinai Series “Jews and Palestinians at the Movies”: Zoom Discussion of “Bethlehem.” 7-8:30 p.m. “Bethlehem” describes a dangerous relationship between a trusting Shin Bet officer and a confused Palestinian teenager. This Ophir Award-winning movie is offered on several streaming services. Information, Dottie at templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.
MAY 2021 | 7
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
CALENDAR Saturday | May 15
Tot Shabbat Outdoors. 10-10:45 a.m. Congregation Agudas Achim, 901 N. Main St., Attleboro, Mass. Education Director Linda Myer will lead a service for infants, toddlers, pre-K kids and their parents. Older siblings welcome. COVID-19 guidelines followed. Information, Linda Myer at school@agudasma.org.
Sunday | May 16
PJ Library Virtual Shavuot Celebration. 5-6 p.m. Enjoy a PJ Library Shavuot-themed story, and learn how to make a kidfriendly frozen custard treat with a professional chef. $10 per family. For families with children ages 5+. Limited space. RSVP (by 5/10) or information, Lyndsey Ursillo at lursillo@jewishallianceri.org. Temple Sinai – Tikkun Leil Shavuot via Zoom. 9 p.m. Celebrate the festival with this vigil of study in remembrance of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. The focus will be on the Ten Commandments and how they have shaped Judaism's approach to law and morality. The vigil will continue as late as possible. Information, Dottie at templesinairi.org or 401-9428350.
Monday | May 17
Temple Sinai – Festival of Shavuot Yizkor Service via Zoom. 11 a.m. Memorial service that occurs four times each year to remember loved ones. Information, Dottie at templesinairi.org or 401942-8350.
Thursday | May 20
Temple Sinai Series “Jews and Palestinians at the Movies”: Zoom Discussion of “Tel Aviv on Fire.” 7-8:30 p.m. This comedy satire about a Palestinian who lives in East Jerusalem and works on the set of a soap opera has a major plot point that hinges on hummus. Movie is offered on several streaming services. Information, Dottie at templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.
8-9:30 p.m. Professor Wilfred Reilly, public policy expert Ian Rowe, education activist Asra Nomani and anti-indoctrination high school teacher Paul Rossi will discuss alternatives to racial divisiveness as a path forward for America. Information, Howard Brown at ricoalitionforisrael@ gmail.com or 401-338-3916.
Monday | May 24
Jewish Alliance Hosts Blood Drive. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Help support the critical work of the RI Blood Center. Donors must make an appointment. Information, Stephanie Hague at shague@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 127.
Temple Beth-El's 166th Rosalea E. & Newton B. Cohn Annual Meeting via Zoom. 7-9 p.m. Hosted by Judy and John Moseley in honor of Judy's 10 years as executive director of Temple Beth-El. Information, Jenn Thomas at jthomas@ temple-beth-el.org.
Temple Sinai Virtual Panel Discussion on Grief and Loss. 7-8 p.m. Temple Sinai's Kesher Worker, Shana Prohofsky, and her colleague, Tara Watkins, will facilitate a panel discussion on grief and loss. Information, Dottie at dottie@ templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.
Sunday | May 23
Virtual Panel Discussion: “Black Lives Matter – Contours of a Contemporary Social Movement.” 7-8:30 p.m. Part 1 of a three-part
RI Coalition for Israel "Unity Not Division: A Non-Racist Approach to Community and Education."
series on Black Lives Matter and Jewish Community Obligations: Allyship with Not Free to Desist. With panel participants Yolanda Savage-Narva, Lewis R. Gordon and Marco McWilliams Gordon. Information, Judy Mosely at JMoseley@temple-beth-el.org.
grapple with love, violence, faith, the slipperiness of identity and the challenges of balancing old traditions with modern times. Information, coreconnectsri.com or Elissa Felder at CoreConnectsRI@gmail. com or 401-241-9631.
Tuesday | May 25
Temple Sinai Series “Jews and Palestinians at the Movies”: Zoom Discussion of “A Borrowed Identity.” 7-8:30 p.m. An Arab-Israeli boy who is sent to a prestigious boarding school in Jerusalem struggles to adapt to the culture and figure out his own identity. Movie is offered on several streaming services. Information, Dottie at templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.
“Relational Judaism” via Zoom. Noon-1:15 p.m. First of three professional development programs on Relational Judaism, led by Ron Wolfson and his team, for synagogues and agencies. Upcoming dates: 6/8, 8/24. Information, Larry Katz at lkatz@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 179.
Wednesday | May 26
Thursday | May 27
Core Connects RI Book Group via Zoom: "The Best Place on Earth." 8-9:15 p.m. Ayelet Tsabari’s award-winning collection of stories is global in scope yet intimate in feel. Her indelible characters
MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Rhode Island area schools seek part-time Hebrew and/or Judaica teachers, youth advisors and specialists for the 2021 - 2022 academic year.
For more information contact Larry Katz at the Jewish Alliance at 401.421.4111 ext. 179 or lkatz@jewishallianceri.org
Please Join Us For ’s Sunday, May 23 at 2 p.m. Through Zoom—All Welcome Please call or email the office for the Zoom Link 401-331-1360 office@rijha.org
“Remember This?” Prelude to the Jewish Rhode Tour 70th Anniversary 1951-2021
8 | MAY 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
COMMUNITY VOICES | OPINION A remarkable doctor
Thomas Cooper Somerset, Mass.
Photo of Dr. Cooperstein
M. Charles Bakst sent us this photo of Dr. Cooperstein, left, with Lester Bakst.
New peace institute (JTA) – Jared Kushner has launched an institute to promote his major accomplishment when he advised his father-in-law, former President Donald Trump: the normalization agreements between Israel and a number of Sunni Arab countries. Kushner founded the Abraham Accords Institute for Peace with Avi Berkowitz, a friend who Kushner brought in to be the chief Middle East peace negotiator in the latter part of his father’s single presidential term, Axios reported on Wednesday. Berkowitz helped broker the accords last year that brought normalization agreements between Israel and Sudan, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. The institute will promote trade, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges between Israel and the Arab countries.
Amichai’s ‘Poems of Jerusalem’ I HAVE in my home library a number of volumes of the poetry of Yehuda Amichai (19242000), perhaps Israel’s best-known post-state poet. Many are in the Hebrew original, others are English translations, and two or three are Hebrew-English bilingual editions. Of these dozen or so books of Amichai’s poetry, my most cherished is a timeworn paperback dual-language edition of “Poems of Jerusalem,” published by Harper Row in 1978. This collection includes 36 relatively short poems, plus excerpts from two much longer poems. Eight different translators worked to echo Amichai’s vernacular, though richly allusive Hebrew, in the rhythms and sounds of spoken English. “Poems of Jerusalem” does not, in my opinion, represent Amichai’s best poetry; many literary critics would argue that that distinction belongs to his final volume, “Patuach Sagur Patuach” (1998; an incomplete English translation by Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld appeared in 2000, published by Harcourt). What makes “Poems of Jerusalem” so special to me is that Amichai himself signed my copy after delivering the inaugural William G. Braude Lecture at Providence’s Temple Beth-El on Nov. 2, 1997. Moreover, it was this very volume that I carried with me on my last two trips to Jerusalem. In the fall of 1995, my
EM
son David spent the first semester of his junior year in high school as a student in the Reform Movement’s Eisendrath International Exchange program, housed in the movement’s Beth Shmuel, next door to the world-renowned King David Hotel. It was during my visit with David that on Saturday evening, Nov. 4, Yitzhak Rabin was assas-
S TO M
E
MEL YOKEN’S excellent and interesting interview with Nancy Cooperstein Charney [April 2021] brought back luminous feelings about on of my favorite people. When I was a senior at Durfee High School, and that was many, many years ago, I had Nancy’s father as my doctor (in Fall River) for a while, and he was the very best. As I read the interview, he was mentioned, and I was reminded of my huge debt of gratitude for Dr. Cooperstein, truly on of those old-fashioned doctors who did everything for his patient, and didn’t worry at all if he was paid or not. I am now 70, and Dr. Cooperstein’s kindness has left in indelible mark on my mind. Thank you for publishing such a wonderful piece.
IT S E
LETTER
RABBI JAMES ROSENBERG
me that Jerusalem was precisely where I needed to be at that time as a Jew and as a rabbi, despite the threats posed by the Intifada – or rather, because of those threats. At home in the United States, I shared two of the poems in “Poems of Jerusalem” with a class of Barrington High School students to help them grasp some of the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In “The Diameter of the Bomb,” the poet tells us that “The diameter of the bomb was thirty centimeters/and the diameter of its effective range about seven meters/with four dead and eleven wounded.” Amichai continues to expand the circles of pain and bereavement until he concludes with these despairing words: “And I won’t even mention the crying of orphans/that
sinated. As I read and reread passages from “Poems of Jerusalem” during those subsequent tear-filled days in a city convulsed, the poet’s depth of insight about the place he knew so intimately helped to ‘… the poet’s depth of restore my emoinsight about the place he tional and spiritual knew so intimately helped balance. I was to restore my emotional back in Jerusalem and spiritual balance.’ in March of 2002, reaches up to the throne during the height of the of God and /beyond, makSecond Intifada; this ing/a circle with no end time I was attending the and no God.” annual convention of The students explored the Central Conference with me, their guest of American Rabbis. teacher, the poet’s bitOnce again, Amichai’s terness about the ongoing “Poems of Jerusalem” random bombings perpeoffered me the perspective I needed to face a city trated by Arab terrorists, and yet …. And yet he has almost devoid of tourists included in his “Poems of because of a seemingly endless string of terrorist Jerusalem” a selection, “An Arab Shepherd is bombings. Searching for his Goat on Reading Amichai’s Mt. Zion,” composed in a poems celebrating and very different tone, a tone criticizing the city he loved so deeply convinced of sympathy, understand-
ing, even reconciliation with “the other”: “An Arab shepherd is searching for his goat on Mt. Zion/and on the opposite mountain I am searching/for my little boy.” Amichai looks beneath the shepherd’s identity as an Arab and finds a man of shared humanity: “An Arab shepherd and a Jewish father/both in their temporary failure./ Our voices meet/above the Sultan’s Pool in the valley between us.” Amichai chooses to end his poem with words of haunting ambiguity: “Searching for a goat or a son/has always been the beginning/of a new religion in these mountains.” By the end of that lively session at Barrington High School, many of the students came to sense the intolerable pain and almost compulsive need to even the score that has poisoned the relationship between Israeli Jew and Palestinian Arab for decade after decade. The tonal tension between Amichai’s “The Diameter of the Bomb” and “An Arab Shepherd …” prod us to acknowledge the tragic consequences of harboring vengefulness within our hearts and souls: Should we take revenge upon our enemies, we will wind up destroying ourselves. As an old Middle East proverb puts it: If you want revenge, dig two graves – one for your enemy and one for yourself. JAMES B. ROSENBERG is a rabbi emeritus at Temple Habonim, in Barrington. Contact him at rabbiemeritus@templehabonim.org.
Jewish Rhode Island publishes thoughtful and informative contributors’ columns (op-eds of 500 – 800 words) and letters to the editor (300 words, maximum) on issues of interest to our Jewish community. At our discretion, we may edit pieces for publication or refuse publication. Letters and columns, whether from our regular contributors or from guest columnists, represent the views of the authors; they do not represent the views of Jewish Rhode Island or the Alliance.
MAY 2021 | 9
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
COMMUNITY VOICES | OPINION
Memorial Day Memories of a World War II hero BY HELEN KAGAN WHEN SAM COHEN graduated from high school in 1942, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. Since childhood, his passion had been building model airplanes out of balsa wood. In a few years, he had quite a collection of these model planes, which competed with books for space on his bookshelves. The airplanes won out. Shortly after graduating from high school, Sam enlisted in the Army Air Corps, hoping to become a pilot. Unfortunately, his eyesight wasn’t good enough, but because of his strong math skills, he was trained to be a navigator. Sam received his diploma in aerial navigation in Casper, Wyoming, and shortly afterward he was assigned to the U.S. Air Force base in Norwich, England. His airplane was a B-24 bomber (The Liberator), which was a four-engine aircraft. His assignment, alongside the rest of the crew,
was to bomb the oil fields in Hamburg, Germany. During Sam’s 34th mission, his aircraft suffered severe flak damage in an attack by German airplanes. As a result, the crew immediately broke formation and continued alone, without the benefit of a fighter escort. Unable to land in emergency fields behind Allied lines, Flight Officer Cohen successfully guided the aircraft back to England, where it crash-landed in Norwich. Luckily, the crew members suffered only minor burns and injuries, since the gas tank was almost empty. All crew members walked off the plane. As a result of the strong teamwork between the pilot and the navigator, Sam received the Distinguished Flying Cross, along with six bronze clusters. After the war, Sam, with the help of the GI bill, attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and graduated with a degree in civil engineering. He worked for the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts until his retirement, at which time he and his wife, Ellen, moved to Florida to be near one of their daughters. Sam was my second-oldest brother and the age difference is great. I was too young to ask him questions when he returned home from serving in the military, and by the time I was ready to ask, he was already married and working full time, and didn’t want to discuss it. Sam is gone now, and I have many questions that will never be answered by him. I should have been more persistent when he was alive.
HELEN KAGAN lives in Providence and is a member of Temple Emanu-El. She is a retired high school teacher and is involved in the Harvard Lifelong learning program.
My son was at the Mount Meron disaster BY RABBI ROBYN FRISCH JTA – On Thursday evening, as I was just about to close my computer, I saw the news alert from The New York Times: “Breaking News: At least 15 people are dead and dozens are injured after a stampede at a religious celebration in Israel.” A surge of panic ran through my body and I felt like I was going to collapse. I stopped reading because I knew this happened at Mount Meron, the site of the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, where over 100,000 Hasids and other Jews had gathered to celebrate Lag b’Omer. This tragedy would have been upsetting in any circumstances. But my terrified reaction was deeply personal: I knew that my 21-year-old son was there. Horrifying thoughts ran through my head. What kind of devastating things had he witnessed? Was he injured? I couldn’t bear to let myself think beyond that. The Friday before, my son had shared with me that his yeshiva in Jerusalem was providing a bus for students who wanted to celebrate Lag b’Omer at Mount Meron. I was so excited for him. During the eight months he’s been in Israel, he hasn’t been able to leave Jerusalem very often due to COVID-19 restrictions. Now he was getting to travel and have an opportunity to participate in a unique experience that I knew he would find deeply spiritual.
My son and I are both deeply passionate about Judaism, but our practices differ enormously: I am a Reform rabbi and he is haredi Orthodox. I myself had been to Mount Meron on Lag b’Omer some 25 years ago, and I still remember it well – the thousands of Hasidic men dancing and singing; the 3-year-old boys getting their first haircuts; the bonfires and the joyful celebration. While as a non-Orthodox female I experienced Lag b’Omer on Mount Meron more as a voyeur, watching with great interest as the Hasidic men celebrated, I knew that my son, although he is not Hasidic, would fully engage in the spirituality and joy of the celebration. But now, here I was at home in Philadelphia feeling helpless and terrified about my son on Mount Meron. It was after 8:30 p.m. – way past the time I’d ever normally call him, as Israel is 7 hours ahead of us – but this night was different in every way. Fingers trembling, I reached for my phone and dialed, but I couldn’t get through. Nightmare scenarios raced through my brain. As I sat there, practically unable to move, my phone rang – I saw that it was my husband, who wasn’t home at the time. He was calling to let me know that he had reached our son and he was safe. He described sensing trauma in my son’s voice (how could there not be?), but at that moment only one thing mattered to me: He was alive! I was
so relieved, so grateful. Though I wasn’t able to speak with my son – the cell system went down soon after my husband reached him – I knew that he was safe. I learned the next day that the death toll was 45, and more than 150 people were injured. I was finally able to talk to my son before Shabbat began in Israel, and he told me that two young men from his yeshiva were still missing. He shared this news with great concern, and I felt incredibly sad thinking about what Shabbat would be like for all of the young men at the yeshiva, and even more so for those two young men’s families – the uncertainty, the fear that in all likelihood their worst nightmares were going to come true. Throughout Shabbat, all I could think about was what happened at Mount Meron. Forty-five human beings; 45 families that had lost loved ones. I was so grateful that my son was alive, and at the same time felt this terrible pain for the parents, grandparents, siblings and children who weren’t so fortunate. I could have been one of them – and I still can’t stop thinking about this. I haven’t been able to bring myself to read a single article about what happened, though I see the headlines and I hear people talk about it. I envision the crush of people and innocent people dying of asphyxiation. All I’ve read on the topic are the emails from my son’s yeshiva. Yesterday’s
email informed us that there was a funeral for one young man from the yeshiva on Saturday night, after Shabbat ended; there were two more on Sunday. My son said that all three of those who died – one was married, the other engaged and the other was 21, just like my son – were very well liked and known to be really good people. Because my son is on a religious path that’s so different than mine, I often think about how dissimilar our family is from those of his haredi peers. We have three kids, while many of them have 10 or 12. Our understanding and observance of Jewish law is very different. But these past few days, I can’t stop thinking about how similar we are; how much all Jews – and all humans, for that matter – love their children. Haredi parents may have more children than I do, but I know that losing one of them is every bit as tragic for them as it would be for me. Just as my worst fear for a brief time on Thursday evening was that something might have happened to my son, for some of these families, their worst fear has come true. My heart is broken for the families of the victims, but their hearts are truly broken forever. While we are deeply grateful that our son is physically unharmed, my husband and I worry that he could CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
10 | MAY 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
FOOD
Instant Pot cheesecake is a creamy, delicious treat BY SHERI SILVER This recipe originally appeared on The Nosher. A QUICK SEARCH for “Instant Pot recipes” will yield hundreds of ideas for savory dishes — everything from chilis, pasta, soups, casseroles, and more. But did you know that you can also use your Instant Pot
to make dessert? And that your Instant Pot just happens to make the very best cheesecake? While cheesecake is not time-consuming or difficult to prepare, there are a few tips to ensure a smooth, creamy filling with no cracking. You want to make sure that all of your ingredients are completely at room temperature – especially the
cream cheese. If it’s even a bit chilled it will not incorporate evenly into your other ingredients, leaving you with bits of the cream cheese throughout the filling. You also want to thoroughly scrape down the sides of the mixer after each ingredient addition. You’ll get any thicker parts of the batter that typically collect around the sides of the bowl down
into the center so that they get mixed in completely with the rest of the batter. Finally, you want to bake the cheesecake in a “bain-marie” – or water bath. By placing the springform pan into a larger pan filled partly with water, you insulate the filling and at the same time create steam as the water heats up. Both of these factors are key to achieving a smooth cheesecake with no cracks. Filling your Instant Pot with a bit of water and placing the cheesecake on a trivet inside creates an ideal cooking environment, and results in perfect cheesecake in about 30 minutes! I paired this creamy cheesecake with an easy fudge sauce, making this an ideal dessert for Shavuot – or any time you are craving some indulgence.
CHEESECAKE INGREDIENTS For the fudge sauce:
1/3 cup chocolate chips 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon sugar, divided 1/4 cup water 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, divided
For the cheesecake:
1 cup graham cracker (or other cookie) crumbs 4 tablespoons butter (2) 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature 1 1/4 cups sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup flour
DIRECTIONS To make the fudge sauce:
Combine chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter, 3/4 cup sugar, water and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Simmer for 5 minutes, remove from heat and stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Let cool completely and store covered, in the fridge (bring to room temperature before using). Place 1 1/2 cups water into the stainless steel insert in your Instant Pot; put the trivet in. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a medium bowl and add 1 tablespoon sugar and the graham cracker crumbs – stir to combine. Press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 7-inch springform pan; place in the freezer. Beat the cream cheese and remaining 1/2 cup sugar for 2 minutes; scrape down the sides. Add the eggs, sour cream and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides. Add the flour and beat once more. Scrape the batter over your prepared crust and place on the trivet. Place the lid on top, close and seal. Set to cook on “high” pressure and set the timer for 30 minutes. When the time is up, carefully remove the lid according to your manufacturer’s instructions. Blot any moisture that is on the cheesecake and let cool for 5 minutes. Carefully remove from the Instant Pot and let cool completely. Chill in the fridge overnight. To serve, either pour the fudge sauce over and cut into slices or pass the sauce separately. Serves 8-10.
MAY 2021 | 11
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
FOOD
Perfect DIY project: Homemade labneh BY EMILY PASTER This recipe originally appeared on The Nosher
Extra virgin olive oil, za’atar and fresh herbs for serving (optional)
DIRECTIONS
remove the inner pot. You will have a large amount of runny, tangy yogurt. The next step is to strain the liquid whey out of the yogurt. Place a large, fine-mesh strainer over a deep bowl and line the strainer with a paper towel, coffee filter or several layers of cheesecloth. Depending on the size of your strainer, you may need to use two strainers and two bowls. Ladle the yogurt into the strainer or strainers. Place the bowl or bowls in the refrigerator. Allow the yogurt to drain for 4-8 hours. At this point, you will have approximately a quart of much thicker yogurt and a substantial amount of clear, yellowish whey in the bowl. Transfer the yogurt to a small bowl and mix in the salt and lemon juice. Return to the yogurt to the sieve. (If you were using cheesecloth to line the sieve, you can reuse the same cloth;
if using a coffee filter or paper towel, place a fresh one in the sieve. Also, if you had to use two sieves before, you should now be able to combine the yogurt into one sieve.) Drain off the whey and set it aside for another use. Return the bowl to the refrigerator and allow to drain until the yogurt is spreadable and similar in texture to cream cheese. This can take 24 to 48 hours. Remove the labneh from the sieve and, if not serving right away, place in a covered container and refrigerate. Serves 2 cups. To make labneh balls, line a dinner plate with a paper towel. With clean hands, form the labneh into eight or 10 equally-sized balls and place them on the plate. Cover with another paper towel. Refrigerate until the balls are firm and dry, approximately eight hours. Transfer the balls to a clean quart jar. Cover with olive oil. You can also add whole cloves of garlic, sprigs of fresh herbs – such as thyme or oregano – strips of lemon zest, or dried red chiles to the jar. Labneh in oil will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. Allow labneh balls and oil to come to room temperature before serving.
Pour the milk and cream into the WITH SPENDING so much time at home, inner pot of the Instant Pot and cover. now is the perfect time to tackle a Select the Yogurt function and press DIY kitchen project that you never the Adjust button until “more” is seemed to have time for before. This illuminated. one requires you to find some whole The word “boil” milk and cream. But the end result — will appear on tangy, creamy homemade labneh — is the display. The so worth it. Instant Pot will Labneh is also known as yogurt heat the yogurt cheese because it is as thick and to 180 degrees creamy as soft cheese. This unique to pasteurize it. texture is achieved by straining the This can take as liquid out of plain yogurt. Labneh is long as a halfa staple ingredient throughout the hour. Levant, but especially in Israel where When the it is served as a sandwich spread, milk reaches as the base for different mezze, and 180 degrees, the as part of lavish breakfast buffets. machine will Labneh can also be used in cooking beep and the because it does not curdle at high display will read temperatures. “Yogt” Remove Most labneh recipes begin with the lid. store-bought Greek yogurt and Press Yogurt and then Adjust until instruct you to strain it until thickthe display once again reads “boil.” ened. But with the Instant Pot, it is Set a timer for 5 minutes. The Instant incredibly easy – and inexpensive Pot will hold the milk at 180 degrees, – to make your own yogurt, and which will help thicken the yogurt. then turn that into labneh. Yes, this When the timer is done, turn off the process takes time, but most of that Instant Pot and remove the inner pot. time is passive, requiring very little Cool the milk down to hands-on work. Begin by making 115 degrees. You can plain, unsweetened yogurt in the place the pot on a rack Instant Pot and once that process is and allow it to cool complete, simply allow your homenaturally, which can made yogurt to drain in the refrigera- take approximately tor for a day or so until it is thick and a half-hour. Alternaspreadable. tively, place the pot We will be Once you have made the labneh, following all CDC in an ice bath, which you can leave it as is. Drizzled with and RI State camp will speed up this BASKETBALL TRAINING olive oil and sprinkled with za’atar or guidelines for process considerably, driedTH mint, labneh makes a delicious the safety of our and stir the milk until dip. Alternatively, you can form the campers. it reaches the target labneh into balls and dry it out even temperature. further. You can then place these GORDON SCHOOL, East Providence: When the milk has PROVIDENCE COUNTRY DAY, East Providence: balls in a jar and cover them with ,"6
Ê "1 /,9Ê 9Ê- "" cooled to 115 degrees July 26th - 30th • 9am - 2pm olive oil and preserve them in the August 16th - 20th • 9am - 2pm – if you don’t have East Providence, RI labneh balls refrigerator. Serve these (EARLY drop off at 8:30 a.m.) BOYS & Girls Ages 5-15 • Cost $195 a thermometer, it EAST PROVIDENCE 9ÊÓÈÌ Ê ÊÎäÌ ÊUÊ9:00 AM eat TO one 2 PM drop-off) as an appetizer, for(8:30am breakfast EAST PROVIDENCE Boys & Girls Grades 1-9 • Cost $195 should feel hot to the or simply spread on crusty ÞÃÊEÊ À ÃIÊÊ Ages 5-15* Cost: bread $195.00 This is a beginner to advanced level touch but not painAugust 16–20 (9amCoaches! –2pm) July 26–30 (9am–2pm) Experienced – perhaps homemade as well – and fully hot – remove 1/2 camp at the 3 court PCD Fieldhouse. Skill Stations T-Shirts enjoy. Boys & Girls*, Ages 5–15 UÊ ", " Ê- "" Early drop off• at 8:30for amall campers cup of milk and whisk *Separate instruction for girls and advanced players. • Multi-camp and sibling discounts available Recipe note: Do not discard the it with the plain East Providence, RI Lunch, beveragesWand will be e follsnacks Boys & Girls, Grades 1–9 Air Conditioned Gym Cost $195 whey that drains from the yogurt! ow all CD yogurt in a small bowl C available for purchase. Ê£ÈÌ Ê ÊÓäÌ ÊUÊ9:00 AM TOnutritious 2 PM (8:30am a n d Whey is extremely anddrop-off) to inoculate it with a R This is a beginner to I State ca Cost $195 m p guideline ÞÃÊEÊ À ÃÊÊ Grades 1-9, of Cost: $195.00 can be used in place water or milk advanced level camp s for the Call Frank Luca at 401-639-0814 Or Register @ at www.1on1basketball.com starter culture. Air Conditioned Gym in baking – try it in your favorite safety of Return the milk-yoour the 3 court PCD Fieldhouse. eparate instruction by gender pancake recipe – as well as soups campers. We will and be gurt mixture to the and age/ability stews. You can also add it tofollowing smoothall pot and place the in the three PCD ies forcourt extra protein, cook CDC pasta inState & RI Experienced Coaches! | Skill Stations inner pot back in the Camp Guidelines it or use it to soak steel-cut oats. Not Fieldhouse Instant Pot making FREE T-Shirts for all campers | Multi-camp & sibling discounts for theofsafety of only is it useful, but this type whey sure to dry the bottom Ý«iÀ i Vi`Ê >V iÃÊ players to is highly acidic and can be harmful *Separate instructions by gender/age/ability. of the pot was in an UÊ , Ê/ - ÀÌ the environment if poured down the ice bath. Lunch, beverages, and snacks will be available for purchase. drain. iple Camp & Sibling Discounts Available*Select the Yogurt function followed r more info call Frank Luca at 401-639-0814 again by the “adjust” LABNEH INGREDIENTS Other Camp Locations: Cumberland, East Greenwich, and Scituate Register on-line @ www.1on1basketball.com button until “normal” 2 quarts whole milk click Prov, then Camps is illuminated. Set the 1/2 cup cream To register or for more info contact Camp Director, Frank Luca timer for 10 hours. 2 tablespoons plain yogurt with live At the completion of and active cultures the yogurt cycle, turn 1 teaspoon kosher salt off the Instant Pot and Juice of one lemon
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12 | MAY 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
COMMUNITY VOICES
Bring
HopeHealth earns national Jewish hospice accreditation manager of chaplains and social workers. “As a mission-driven organization committed to ensuring our patients’ care is handled with respect and dignity, we are carefully looking at our social responsibility to understand how we can better meet the cultural, spiritual and religious needs of anyone who is on service with us,” Sinel said. Sinel attended the NIJH conference with HopeHealth chaplain Wilson Hood, MDiv. Over the past 34 years, NIJH has accredited hundreds of hospices across the country and trained thousands of professionals to develop knowledge of Jewish culture, values and traditions. The accreditation comes at a time when HopeHealth has launched a comprehensive approach to create
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a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, said President & CEO Diana Franchitto. “We believe it is important to our core mission that all staff members are trained to be sensitive to all religious and cultural traditions,” Franchitto said. Submitted by HopeHealth. For more than a century, HopeHealth has provided care to people in various stages of illness to communities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Its roots began in home care in 1908 and then in hospice in 1976, coming together as HopeHealth in 2011 providing home care, palliative care and hospice care. HopeHealth is a teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
be suffering from PTSD. Fortunately I am incredibly impressed with how his yeshiva, which I have always respected but usually feel I can’t relate to, is handling this devastating situation. It has provided for all kinds of counseling for those who want – the young men even make anonymous phone calls to a counselor if they prefer – and is working hard to get entry permits to Israel for those parents who want to visit their sons. If the yeshiva is able to pull this off, my husband is going to go for a couple of days to see my son, to check in on him and see how he’s doing. I can’t go because I have responsibilities here, including caring for our other two kids. But part of me (OK, all of me) wants to fly over to Israel just for a day, even an hour, just to see my son and hug him. Knowing that my son is in good hands – and that my husband may
see him in person soon – gives me comfort. Yet I just can’t move on from what has happened. No matter what I’m doing, my mind drifts to Mount Meron, imagining that horrific evening that my son was lucky enough to survive — but many others weren’t. As I go about my day, I find myself constantly fighting back tears, although sometimes I don’t bother to hold them back. I will continue to pray and mourn for all the families who lost loved ones, with the humble acknowledgement that we are far more alike than we are different. May the memories of these 45 souls be a blessing. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media. This article first appeared on Kveller.
Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s
ANNUAL MEETING
tenth
HOPEHEALTH recently achieved accreditation from the National Institute for Jewish Hospice (NIJH) for its commitment to providing culturally sensitive care to Jewish hospice patients and their families. The accreditation follows the participation of two HopeHealth chaplains in the NIJH annual national conference, which took place virtually last November. The conference covered training in Jewish holidays and prayers, medical ethics, burial practices and mourning customs. All HopeHealth staff will receive educational information before all Jewish holidays this year. The materials will explain the history and significance of each holiday and any areas of concerns relevant to end-of life-care, said Meredith Sinel, MSW, HopeHealth
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
June 17 @ 7:00pm via zoom
Presentation of Leadership Awards Board Installations: Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island Jewish Federation Foundation Alliance Realty, Inc. Rabbi Rachel Zerin, Installing Officer
JAMES PIOUS Chair of the Board
ADAM GREENMAN President & CEO
HERE FOR GOOD.
MAY 2021 | 13
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
COMMUNITY VOICES
The delights of a single spring bloom IN MY SCHOOL DAYS, we had to learn poems by heart and then recite them by rote on the auditorium stage. I remember Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ode to the month of May, “The Rhodora”:
CH
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In May, when sea winds pierce our solitudes, I found the fresh rhodora in the woods, spreading its blooms in a damp nook to please the dessert and the sluggish brook. …
I’ve left out a few verses, but the gist of it is a connection to the various ways we salute the month we call May with our Shavuot. We share its weeks and days with the other seasonal holidays, from Mother’s Day to the veterans and flag commemorations, and, of course, Memorial Day. We launched the latter to grieve over the tragedy of our Civil War and its loss of lives, as in all our military wars. But back to our festival of springMIKE FINK time and the gift at Mount Sinai of the Torah, given on stone tablets to Moses. Well, it seems that during the Babylonian Exile, the Temple was neglected and thorns overwhelmed the rose garden ... except for one single blossom. And that shy single flower captured the soul of the visitor, who blessed it as a miracle of hope and faith. And the midrash cites it as a parable
Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose! I never thought to ask; I never knew; But in my simple ignorance suppose The self-same power that brought me there, brought you.
about the creator’s patience with our steep human failures. That’s what I read, after thoroughly consulting any number of recipe books, dictionaries, and even Google, to seek something to focus on and identify with. I found a bond between Emerson’s “Rhodora” and his transcendentalist philosophy – and our Judaism. And I can find my own “miniaturist” taste for small souvenirs of all kinds, to keep yesterdays alive and with me and within me. I can’t set the world on fire, but I can see, honor and be satisfied with a single peony, or a daffodil, or one bright, friendly smile. Plus, I eagerly look forward to a festive slice of cheesecake, and will choose, existentially, to wear my white mid-spring vest as I face forward to greet the day and honor my mother’s memory (and my father’s next month) to obey that commandment! MIKE FINK (mfink33@aol.com) teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design.
The contagious power of positive energy HEA
TH
ing the dirty sweet potatoes. Legend has it that in the autumn of 1958, when the sun rose one morning, there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island that had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Later that morning, the inevitable happened: The 100th monkey learned to wash PATRICIA potatoes. RASKIN Then something amazing happened. By that evening, almost every monkey in the tribe was washing the sweet potatoes before eating them. It appeared that the added energy of the 100th monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough – washing the sweet potatoes became a cultural behavior rather than an individual choice! Then the scientists observed something even more amazing: The habit of washing sweet potatoes jumped over the sea: Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland
Y L I VI
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WHAT WE FOCUS on grows. I’ve written about this in my book, “Pathfinding: Seven Principles for Positive Living.” An example of this is The Hundredth Monkey phenomenon. In 1952, on the Japanese island of Koshima, scientists fed monkeys sweet potatoes, which were dropped in the sand. The monkeys loved the sweet potatoes, but found the gritty sand unpleasant. An 18-month-old female monkey named Imo solved the problem by washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her family. Between 1952 and 1958, all the young monkeys followed Imo’s lead and learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement. Other adults, stuck in the old ways, continued eat-
began washing their sweet had about fifteen Jewish potatoes! attendees. “Towards the conclusion It appears that when a of the service, I looked up certain critical number and there to my astonishachieves a new awareness, ment were about fifty natives this new awareness may be who sat in the chapel and communicated from mind several dozen more standing to mind. Although the exact outside looknuming in. They ber may Then the scientists appeared to be vary, The and Hundredth observed something interested respectful. Monkey “After the phenomeven more amazing service was enon sugover, I asked gests that their leader if he understood there is a point at which, the service. He said he did if only one more person not, but was told by the engages in a new awaremissionaries that whenever ness, a field is strengthened there was a service in the so that this awareness is chapel, it was good and they absorbed by many more peoshould attend.” ple, almost simultaneously. When my father told me One of my late father’s stothis story, he pointed out ries expresses this concept what a beautiful thing it is wonderfully: for people to attend a reli“During World War II, I gious ceremony without found myself stationed at knowing or understanding Christmas Island in the what they are listening to. Pacific for a short period of He said, “These people time. It so happened that it were seeking the spirituwas the time of Jewish High ality of a religious service. Holy Days. I was leading If they could feel a warmth the services in a little grass and spiritual uplift from shack with open sides that something they didn’t underserved as a chapel. It seated stand, think about how much about fifty people and we
easier it is for knowledgeable people to get a spiritual uplift when they surround themselves with people who practice loving kindness and brotherly love.” This high frequency of energy is contagious. When I think about The Hundredth Monkey, I realize how much energy we transfer when we learn, model and take action. When we are immersed in positive energy, we can tell immediately when something does or does not feel right, and it becomes much easier to make the right choices. EDITOR’S NOTE: While many scientific studies have discredited The Hundredth Monkey phenomenon, it continues to have believers. PATRICIA RASKIN is the owner of Raskin Resources Productions, a media host, coach and an 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.
14 | MAY 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
COMMUNITY VOICES
Spring cleaning reveals old memories BY GERALDINE S. FOSTER THE LAST DAYS of Passover have come and gone. Now begins the process of putting away Pesach items until next year and restoring the kitchen to its normal condition. Then, after a short breather, it’s time for the annual spring cleaning. In our house, the cleaning means going through all the drawers filled with ephemera accumulated over the winter months, as well as papers that must be discarded, read or filed away. But that still leaves the unpacked boxes from our move almost two years ago. The time had come to include at least one box in the spring-cleaning ritual. The chosen box, as it happens, contained materials I had accumulated while researching articles that I wrote for many years in the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association’s “Notes.” There, between the long legal-type pad of jottings and folders of copied papers, lay an old photo that immediately halted my cleaning. The small, glossy, ripple-edged print featured three smiling teenaged girls (one of them me) dressed in the baggy shorts, sleeveless cotton blouses, bobby socks and
Business Disputes
tennis shoes that were then stylish what you saw in the viewfinder: too and appropriate summer-leisure close, and heads were missing; too clothing for high school girls. The far, and the subject became too tiny camera used was a Kodak Baby to recognize. Brownie, which was easily deterBut the most difficult maneuver mined by the size of the print. had to do with threading the “127” There were a series of Baby film. Removing the back of the camBrownie cameras beginning in the era was easy, as was removing the 1930s and continuing wrapping on the for about 25 years. The Inevitably, a portion film, which was Baby Brownie popurolled up around lar during my youth a slotted spindle of the film was was not brown: It that was clicked was a black, Bakelite a designated accidentally exposed into plastic, squarish box. space on the left. Art Deco-style pleats On the right side, in the process. flanked the fixed lens another slotted above the mechanism spindle waited. of the shutter. It had a pop-up The roll of film began with a pointed viewfinder and a turning knob to tongue, which had to be inserted advance the film. into the opposite spindle, then Everybody had one of these camadvanced by turning the knob on eras to take to the beach, outings the top. Inevitably, a portion of the or gatherings of friends. The prints film was accidentally exposed in the were small and not meant for scenic process. This did not become apparvistas. But in your teens, who cares ent until the finished roll was taken about scenic vistas? to be developed – and you still had The Baby Brownies were inexto pay for prints with no picture, pensive and easy to use: just point just darkness. and shoot and you had a permanent My Baby Brownie had disaprecord of a person or persons. But peared long before my graduation first, you had to master the viewfrom high school. I had never finder and replacing the film. Those mastered the technique of successwere the tricky parts. ful BB photography – indeed, of any The lens did not always capture photography. I left that to others. I
suspect my mother had noticed the camera lying on the bureau unused and had given it to a younger cousin whose hand was out for any of my unwanted treasures. My attention then returned to the box chosen for the spring cleaning. The contents of the folders and the pads were consigned to the shredder and the recycling bin. The empty folders were placed on a desk for possible future use. Only the photo remained, a souvenir of a summer friendship. In the fall, we returned to three different high schools, one of them in another town. The arc of our lives then took us in separate directions. What to do with the photo? It did not belong in the family albums so carefully tended by my daughter Judith. Nor did it have value as a vintage shot, an important glimpse of the past. But I found the perfect solution – I placed the photo in the back of the closet, with those delicate China tea cups that nobody wants. GERALDINE S. FOSTER is a past president of the R.I. Jewish Historical Association. To comment about this or any RIJHA article, contact the RIJHA office at info@rijha.org or 401331-1360.
MAY 2021 | 15
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
PETS
Our Annual Showcase of Pets
Midnight is the pet bunny of Richard Berger from East Greenwich.
Bailey is Richard Berger’s faithful Scottish terrier. Denny is the granddog of Esta Avedisian of Cranston. He is a retired bomb-sniffing Belgian Malinois K9.
Rocky belongs to Richard Berger. Parakeets Ari and Forest belong to Richard Berger.
Gerbils Ying and Yang belong to Richard Berger.
Compassionate Care, Modern Medicine.
Providence River Animal Hospital 131 Point Street - Providence, RI | 401-274-PRAH (7724) providenceriveranimalhospital.com Dr. Jane Linden, DVM
www.facebook.com/PRAHvet
16 | MAY 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
PETS
Elsie is the beloved pet of Karen Borger of Providence.
Rosalie Buckler and daughter Debbie Rich adopted Lady last May. She’s 10 and lives in Warwick.
Marc Bochner’s dog Happy is 6 years old and lives in Cranston.
Paula Christianson’s best buddy Brutus.
Deborah Carr and Samuel Zwetchkenbaum’s dog Brisket wears a favorite sweater. David Diamond’s dog Phoebe with her shofar. Phoebe is 2 and lives in Point Judith.
Lola belongs to Jonathan and Leah Cohen and parents of Plainville, Massachusetts.
Compassionate Care, Modern Medicine.
Providence River Animal Hospital 131 Point Street - Providence, RI | 401-274-PRAH (7724) providenceriveranimalhospital.com Dr. Jane Linden, DVM
www.facebook.com/PRAHvet
MAY 2021 | 17
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
PETS
The Ginzburg family’s pandemic pet Gnocchi is 15 months old and lives in Pawtucket.
Menchy Goldstein’s doggy mom is Elaina and they live on the East Side of Providence. Menchy just turned 13.
Hayley, 7 years old, with Jill and Cocoa, both 5 years old, belong to Neal Dwares of East Providence.
Harry, who loves tuna juice, lives with Neal Cerel and Diane Hanke in Warwick.
Chary Greengart’s sweet cat Mia.
Talulah K. lives in Riverside with Suzanne Grossman.
Will, who likes to play with water, lives with Neal Cerel and Diane Hanke in Warwick.
Compassionate Care, Modern Medicine.
Providence River Animal Hospital 131 Point Street - Providence, RI | 401-274-PRAH (7724) providenceriveranimalhospital.com Dr. Jane Linden, DVM
www.facebook.com/PRAHvet
18 | MAY 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
Dog Coordinator Scout Clode plays with adoptable dog Mia in the courtyard.
Executive Director Rebecca Baylies with a dwarf hamster in the small animals wing of the shelter.
With dogged determination, PARL is keeping animals safe during pandemic BY HANNAH ALTMAN
R
ebecca Baylies was thrilled to join the Providence Animal Rescue League team
as its executive director on March 1, 2020. But she was immediately met with immense challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions. THROUGHOUT THE LAST YEAR, Baylies said, major changes in the operations and programming of the shelter, 34 Elbow St., were implemented to ensure the safety of both the animals and the community. PARL, which has been providing rescue and relief to dogs, cats and small animals since 1913,
shifted from a walk-in location to appointment-only for surrenders and adoptions, and emphasized the shelter’s social media and website (www.parl.org) as the primary place to view adoptable animals. (Integrated with pet-adoption software, the listings automatically update if an animal has a pending adoption or is taken home.) With so many people isolating at home, many people moved ahead with long-delayed plans to adopt a pet. Others, suffering from depression and loneliness, brought home a rescue for company and a sense of purpose. The high demand, coupled with the virus, ratcheted up the stress on PARL’s employees. “We are a smaller facility here, we have 21 people on staff,” Baylies said. “When this started, and throughout most of last year, my
main concern as a director was setting up the animals and staff for a situation where if someone got sick, and we had a full house of animals … we needed to make sure someone is always able to take care of the animals, so we actually had to limit our intake for several months. “That was hard because we had so many people ready to adopt, but we couldn’t responsibly keep up with the demand.” In 2020, the shelter placed 500 animals in homes, about half of its usual number for a calendar year. Another big change for PARL during the pandemic was the expansion and use of foster homes as a primary housing space for the animals, Baylies said. “Foster placement became huge. If an animal came in and was able to spend most of their
time in foster care prior to adoption, that eliminated that concern of having a full house and no staff to take care of them.” PARL saw its registered foster families grow from around 20 to around 80 in the last year. In March, 66 animals were fostered over the course of the month. Animals are still housed in the shelter, but capacity has been limited. The shelter’s food pantry also saw exponential growth during the pandemic. PARL Pet Food Pantry provides owners who are experiencing financial hardships with pet food, cat litter and other necessary supplies. The pantry is stocked solely through donations. During the pandemic, people who were in need of such services increased, CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
MAY 2021 | 19
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
PETS
Pets speak up about the pandemic BY LARRY KESSLER
SPE A
K IN
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WHEN I LAST WROTE about my pets two years ago, the world of pets – like the world of humans – was much different than it is today. Since the start of the pandemic, my pets, like millions across the country, have become spoiled by having their adult “parents” around pretty much 24-7. But I was curious about how they’ve been coping with everything, and so, as a salute to Jewish Rhode Island’s annual Pet Edition, I thought I’d get in touch with my inner feline and canine by conducting an updated interview with my cat Cooper and my dog Buddy, a Shih Tzu-Pekingese mix. One thing I discovered is that Cooper, like most felines, has been pretty much unaffected by the pandemic and continues to do what cats do best: chill out. He still meows when his food and water bowls are empty, purrs when he annexes our laps as his personal leisure space, likes to nap at my wife Lynne’s feet and enjoys practicing his long-jump maneuvers by leaping onto our kitchen table whenever I walk out of the room and foolishly leave food there. Buddy, on the other hand, has been more affected, barking his head off more than in the past. That’s especially noticeable whenever Buddy hears Lynne’s voice on a work Zoom
call, or just the phone, or when he feels left out when we put him on the other side of the gate that separates the family room from the kitchen. He also barks like clockwork when the 6:30 p.m. news is over, jumping on the gate and whining until my wife threatens LARRY KESSLER him with banishment to the crate. Not to mention the barking jags every time the doorbell rings. So, to delve into those and other matters, I recently chatted with both Buddy and Cooper:
BUDDY’S VIEW Me: Have you been more agitated than last year? Buddy: Not really, but I’ve been wondering why you guys don’t get out of the house more. Me: That’s an excruciatingly long story, but why does our being home seem to cause you so much consternation? Buddy: Hey, I’m a dog, not a linguist. In plain English, please. Me: Why are you barking so much? Buddy: I bark, therefore I am. In other words, when you guys are around, I want to talk – and barking is how I communicate. I thought I made that clear the last time we talked. Me: You did, but you seem to be a lot more on edge these days.
Buddy: That’s your perception. I’m just a dog, and actually, I’ve enjoyed walking in the park with Lynne. So, this arrangement has had some positive results. Me: I’m glad you think so. I just wish you’d stop going mental whenever the doorbell rings. Buddy: I just can’t help myself. Me: That’s not good enough. What will it take for you to stop yapping so much? Buddy: Bribe me with more snacks so my mouth will be too full to bark. Me: Speaking of your food habits, why do you prefer egg matzah over wheat? Buddy: Hey, I may be a dog, but I know the difference between real food and a piece of cardboard.
COOPER’S VIEW Me: Have you been upset over the last year? Cooper: Not in the least. Why do you ask? Me: Never mind. I should have realized that cats can relax much easier than dogs. Have you changed any of your behaviors? Cooper: Don’t be ridiculous. I’m a cat, and I know how to deal with strang-
ers. Whenever someone comes over I don’t recognize, I do what all cats do: flee to a safe hiding place and reemerge when the intruder is gone. Me: How have your days been going? Cooper: Same as always. I meow for food, water and for you to open the basement door when I become too lazy to open the cat door. And I’ll walk all over you just when you’ve found your sweet spot on the couch, or are trying to figure out the Jumble. Me: What’s your favorite activity? Cooper: Being on the lookout for my next vacant lap. The Q-and-A sessions with Buddy and Cooper reinforced what I knew two years ago, and what I’ve known ever since the pandemic began: Our pets may on occasion drive us crazy, but they’ve been a constant source of comfort, relief and hope throughout this ordeal that has grossly overstayed its welcome – and for that, like pet owners everywhere, I’m extremely grateful. LARRY KESSLER (larrythek65@gmail. com) is a freelance writer based in North Attleboro. He blogs at larrytheklineup.blogspot.com.
Animals provide a boost to Tamarisk residents BY FRAN OSTENDORF WE LOVE OUR PETS! And they can help us heal, too. It’s been documented that pets often offer therapeutic benefits to those around them. Specially trained therapy pets can provide directed comfort and solace, reduce anxiety, pain and stress, and boost mental health. These animals, and their humans, are usually trained to help people of all ages. Therapy animals are often used in hospital settings and in memory-care units at longterm-care facilities. But that welcoming wag of a tail can make anyone smile. At the Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living Residence, in Warwick, exec-
utive director Roberta Ragge brings her dogs to work with her. They are trained to interact with the community’s residents to offer a bit of comfort and joy. It’s one of several ways the pet-friendly community gets the therapeutic benefits of animals. While it's more common to see therapy animals in nursing homes than assisted-living, Ragge says the benefits are well-known for the elderly everywhere. Ragge, who is an occupational therapist by training, has two Portuguese Water Dogs. Phelps is a certified therapy dog and works with the Renaissance memory support unit at Tamarisk. His son is a therapy-dog-in-training named Rownan.
“They are both wonderful dogs,” Ragge says. Phelps is all black while Rowie is a blackand-white puppy. Both dogs have been coming to Tamarisk since they were quite young so they are accustomed to the Tamarisk residents and Phelps. residents, and to walkdents to enjoy. And residents ers that might startle are allowed to have pets other dogs. Ragge and Phelps under 30 pounds, including meet with residents in formal groups once a week. And both dogs, birds and fish, but not cats. dogs do one-on-one visits. Ragge said there is a “codThe residents love the dogs ified bird sanctuary” area and the other animals that in the Renaissance memory visit, Ragge said. unit that “residents really Before COVID-19, the enjoy.” The bird feeders are Roger Williams Park Zoo, in supported by the Wild Birds Providence, and the ASPCA Unlimited franchise in Warbrought in animals for resi-
PHOTO | SUSAN ADLER
wick. The lawn products are organic so the birds aren’t hurt. “Animals create a hominess,” says Ragge. “They connect people to unconditional love and to nature.” FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org) is the editor of Jewish Rhode Island.
20 | MAY 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
PETS
Harry Dwares lives with Barbara and Kevin Dwares in Cranston. He is 3, and we hear he loves reading Jewish Rhode Island.
Lauri Lee’s Golden Mountain dog Fergus is a pandemic puppy who turned 1 at the end of February.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18 but so did donations of supplies. Baylies, who lives in Providence, hopes that these donations continue past the pandemic. “We’re really able to identify it as a clear goal for the future, we’re talking about new storage places for food now,” she said. In March 2020, PARL
Tootsie, 15, is the constant companion of Sandra Kopel.
Janice Saltzman Martin and her dog Winston live in North Attleboro, Massachusetts.
distributed around 2,000 meals a month. In the first four months of 2021, they’ve distributed 45,000 meals. “There’s a real tangible demand,” Baylies noted. As more vaccinations guide Rhode Island to a new normal, PARL plans on continuing the expansion of its pantry through drivethrough and mobile events, in addition to slowly reopening
the shelter. “The need for support has definitely been heightened due to the pandemic, but it’s also existed for a long time, and so being able to fine-tune and continue these programs is important to us,” Baylies said. As the programs expand, Baylies hopes to be able to return to PARL’s usual adoption rate of around 1,000 pets
Lauri Lee’s cat Frankie is 18 ½.
Latka is the Moskowitz family’s bunny. She is a rescue Giant Flemish/Rex mix adopted from the house rabbit network on Jan. 1. Latka turns 1 on May 7.
per year. “The goal is to be able to resume those previous numbers, but also continue to help more through foster programs,” she said. To learn more about PARL’s adoptable animals, visit www.parl.org/adoptable-animals-providence. To learn about more PARL’s Pet Food Pantry, visit www.parl.org/ pet-food-pantry.
To keep up with PARL’s adoptions and programming, follow their social media: instagram.com/parlri, facebook. com/providenceanimalrescueleague. HANNAH ALTMAN (haltman@ jewishallianceri.org) is the content producer for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and writes for Jewish Rhode Island.
Compassionate Care, Modern Medicine.
Providence River Animal Hospital 131 Point Street - Providence, RI | 401-274-PRAH (7724) providenceriveranimalhospital.com Dr. Jane Linden, DVM
www.facebook.com/PRAHvet
MAY 2021 | 21
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
PETS
Charlee Rubenstein belongs to Michael and Linda and Gracie Shocket belongs to Mahra and Jon.
Beverly Paris’ beloved companion is Lilly.
Cliff and Karen Drucker-Stern, of Pawtucket, spoil Finnegan, a 5-6 year old Norwegian forest rescue cat.
Scott and Mitzvah Williams also own Sherlock Holmes.
Scott and Mitzvah Williams own Phantom.
Jewish
Compassionate Care, Modern Medicine.
Providence River Animal Hospital 131 Point Street - Providence, RI | 401-274-PRAH (7724) providenceriveranimalhospital.com Dr. Jane Linden, DVM
www.facebook.com/PRAHvet
22 | MAY 2021
Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org
COMMUNITY
BUSINESS 29 | OBITUARIES 31
Teva PVD connects Jewish children with nature
Teva PVD participants holding a chicken at Rabbi Aaron Philmus’ home. BY HANNAH ALTMAN
E
AST GREENWICH – In his expansive yard, where chickens roam through the trees, Temple Torat
Yisrael's Rabbi Aaron Philmus lights a fire, which quickly draws participants in the Teva PVD program to its warmth.
Stories
LED BY Rabbi Philmus and Teva co-founder Tiferet Rose, the Teva PVD program provides a space to explore nature’s relationship to Judaism for fifth- through eighth-grade students at the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, as well as alumni and extended community members. In its third year, the group meets one Sunday each month, usually in Philmus’ yard, to nurture various outdoor skills while learning about the seasonal cycles of
the Hebrew calendar and its holidays. The idea of activating Jewish thought through nature is based on the environmental organization Hazon, which develops programming that “strengthens Jewish life and contributes to a more environmentally sustainable world for all,” as it states on its website, https://hazon.org. One such program is Teva, which was founded in 1994 with a mission of showcasing how Judaism is deeply integrated into nature – and vice versa. Teva and Teva PVD use awareness activities to heighten the senses to develop a more intentional and meaningful relationship with nature and to encourage children to live in tune with the land and agricultural cycles. The website states that the philosophy is “immersing participants in the natural world and providing structured activities to sensitize participants to nature’s rhythms [to] help them develop a more meaningful rela-
PHOTO | HANNAH ALTMAN
tionship with nature, and deepen their own connection to Jewish practices and traditions. This process also facilitates personal growth, community building, and a genuine commitment to Tikkun Olam, healing the world.” Before Teva PVD was founded, fifth-grade students at the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, in Providence, attended a four-day immersive Teva program at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, in Canaan, Connecticut. Rose, of Providence, found that many of the alumni of that program were looking for more regular nature experiences in Rhode Island. She and Rabbi Philmus initially took willing students on occasional hikes to destinations including Borderland State Park, in Easton, Massachusetts, among other excursions. In 2019, they began meeting monthly in Rabbi CONTINUED ON PAGE 23
MAY 2021 | 23
jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island
COMMUNITY
Holocaust Through the Arts screens the powerful film ‘The Windermere Children’ BY LEV POPLOW IF THIS were a normal year, the third week of April would have seen a couple thousand Rhode Island middle and high school students come together over two days at the Showcase Theater in Warwick for the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center’s Holocaust Through the Arts program. But, as we all know, the past year has been anything but normal. Adapting to the work-athome, learn-at-home world we have been living in, the center went virtual with this year’s Holocaust Through the Arts program. During the week of April 12-15, the center welcomed schools, groups and individuals to a Zoom presentation of the film “The Windermere Children,” which tells the remarkable true story of a group of young Holocaust survivors. The film goes back in time to August 1945 and describes how 300 young orphaned Jewish refugees arrived at the
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22 Philmus’ yard. “The magic was that, during COVID last year, when we started up again regularly in the fall, a lot of things were canceled, but because we were completely outside, we were able to do these offerings, and people really responded to it,” Rose said. They plan each meeting around the Jewish calendar. “We try to connect the Jewish calendar to the seasons we’re experiencing now, and just have kids get to reflect on their own experiences in nature, like how does Pass-
Calgarth Estate, near Lake Windermere in England, with nothing but the clothes they were wearing and a few meager possessions. They bore the emotional and physical scars of all they had suffered. The children were the first group in a pioneering rehabilitation scheme, in which boys and girls from labor and concentration camps in eastern Europe were transported to the Lake District to find new families and get a fresh start. What kind of physical and mental shape must these children have been in? How do you begin to repair the damage done to individuals who, in many cases, were the only surviving members of large families? How do you try to imagine what they might be thinking? These were the questions that the therapists and educators at Windermere faced in August 1945. The immediate priorities were to get the children clothed and find out about their families. The Red Cross supplied clothes, but they
over connect to springtime for them,” Rose said. On this particular overcast Sunday in mid-April, a group of eight children added hay to chicken coops and tumbled compost before convening around a fire. It was during the weeks between Passover and Shavuot, a 49-day period in which Jews do the mitzvah of counting the Omer. This time frame signifies the start of the barley harvest, when, in biblical times, Jews brought sheaves to the temple as a means of thanking God for the harvest. This Omer period symbolizes the link between Passover and Shavuot using nature.
were odd shapes and sizes, so many children walked around in their underwear for a few days until donations of garments from local families started arriving. Dormitory accommodations were provided as well as single rooms for older boys. News of their families took time to trickle in. For most, there was only despair. But there is One of the Holocaust Through the Arts Zoom presentations. a powerful moment in “The Windermere and redemptive story of the educate about the Holocaust Children” when one of the bonds that the children make and genocides. SBHEC is children is reunited with a with each other, and of how also a vital member of the long-lost brother, whom he the friendships they formed at state’s Holocaust and Genohad been told was probably Windermere became a lifeline cide Education Curriculum dead. Although the children to a flourishing future – and Committee. are played by Polish actors, remain strong to this day. this really happened. LEV POPLOW is a communiThe annual Holocaust “The Windermere Chilcations consultant writing on Through the Arts program dren” allows us to witness behalf of the Sandra Bornis just one of the many ways the children reclaiming their stein Holocaust Education that the Sandra Bornstein lives following the tragedy of Center. He can be reached at Holocaust Education Centhe Holocaust. Ultimately, the levpoplow@gmail.com. ter, in Providence, partners movie is a powerful, moving with Rhode Island schools to
Rabbi Philmus explained these concepts around the fire as a bundle of barley was passed around, bringing the metaphor into physicality. A hike into the woods followed, to further exemplify these concepts and connect them to the living world. “Teva thinking is really about diving into the roots of Judaism, which are connected to nature,” Rose said. HANNAH ALTMAN (Haltman@ jewishallianceri.org) is the content producer for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and writes for Jewish Rhode Island.
Teva PVD Day Camp
When: July 5-9, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. daily
Teva PVD will host a five-day camp this summer. The day camp will have a 12-student maximum and state COVID-19 restrictions will be followed.
For: Jewish students entering fifth through eighth grades
Where: Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Rd., East Greenwich, and nearby sites Cost: $270 per camper How to register: Email trose@jcdsri.com by May 7 to reserve your spot. $50 deposit required.
Temple Habonim class explores ‘Judaism and Otherness’ "JUDAISM AND OTHERNESS" is the next adult education class at Temple Habonim in Barrington. It will meet on Zoom from 7-8:30 p.m. on June 1, 8, 15 and 22. The American Jewish experience has been defined by the tension between our desire to assimilate and our desire to protect our identity. Recently, however, this tension has increased as our minority Jewish identity has come into conflict with our majority "white" identity. This class will explore the intersection between our religious and racial identities, what it
means to be "the other," and the ramifications of assimilating (or not) the increasing number of Jews of color. While this class will consider some of the themes of "Sacred Conversations, Difficult Conversations," offered last fall, it is open to anyone in our community. It will be facilitated by Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman. The class is free for temple members and $50 for nonmembers. For more information, contact Adina at office@templehabonim.org
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Historic preservation subject of Touro Synagogue Foundation program
Thompson M. Mayes ON MAY 13 at 7 p.m.,Thompson M. Mayes of the National Trust for Historic Preservation will discuss his book, “Why Old Places Matter: How Historic Places Affect Our Identity and Well-Being.” The Zoom presentation, with a panel discussion to follow, is the second in the Touro Synagogue Foundation 2021 Judah Touro Program Series. Touro Synagogue, America’s oldest synagogue, is one of the National Trust’s 27 affiliated historic sites, and this collaborative event is part of the foundation’s new education initiative. Following the discussion with Mayes, in which he will address his book’s themes, the program will turn to a panel of representatives from three leading Rhode Island preservation organizations. Val Talmadge, executive director of Preserve Rhode Island, John Paul Loether, executive director of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, and Alyssa Lozupone, director of preservation at the Newport Restoration Foundation, will discuss the importance of Newport’s commitment to historic preservation, including the vital importance of protecting the neighborhood surrounding Touro Synagogue. Mayes is the chief legal officer and general counsel of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organiza-
tion headquartered in Washington, D.C. He received a B.A. in history and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in writing from Johns Hopkins University. In 2013 he was selected as a winner of the National Endowment for The Arts Rome Prize, which is awarded to about 30 emerging artists and scholars who represent the highest standard of excellence. The award enabled him to spend a six-month residency in Rome as a fellow at the America Academy in Rome. The essays that make up his book “Why Old Places Matter” came out of that experience. There is no fee to participate in this virtual event, but reservations are required to receive the Zoom login information. You may register by visiting the home page of tourosynagogue.org, by going to this link tinyurl.com/cdxw4zee , or by sending an email to meryle@tourosynagogue.org. For more information, please contact Meryle Cawley at 401-847-4794, extension 207. Submitted by the Touro Synagogue Foundation.
Germany sees 15% rise in politically motivated antiSemitic crimes BERLIN (JTA) – The number of politically motivated crimes rose to record levels in Germany last year and include a 15% rise in anti-Semitic offenses. The annual report by the Federal Criminal Police Office released May 4 showed an 8.54% increase over 2019, to 44,692 crimes, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said. Within that total, the number of anti-Semitic crimes reported to police across the country rose to 2,351 from 2,032. The vast majority — 85 % — fell into the categories of incitement to hate, insults and propaganda, including Holocaust denial and glorification of Nazi ideology. The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, called the news “absolutely alarming and evidence of Germany’s failure” to deal with the problem. According to the German media, Schuster said that anti-Jewish harassment is found “everywhere, on the street and on the internet.” Several NGOs noted that many cases are not reported to police. “A large darkfield study by the criminal investigation unit of the state of Lower Saxony [in the former West Germany] in 2017 showed that only 12% of hate crimes are reported overall,” Alexander Rasumny, a spokesperson for the Berlin-based Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Anti-Semitism, or RIAS, which monitors and analyzes anti-Semitism, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in a phone interview. Rasumny said the state’s criminal investigations department is preparing a follow-up study. Statistics on politically
motivated crimes were first singled out starting in 2001. Violent crimes with a political motivation jumped by 18.82% over the previous year. There were 11 murders in this category – nine in a right-wing extremist attack in February 2020 on a shisha bar in the city of Hanau. Right-wing extremism remains Germany’s largest domestic security threat, Seehofer said. The report found that 23,604 crimes were linked to right-wing perpetrators, an increase of 5.6%, while crimes linked to left-wing political ideologies rose 11.4%, to 10,971. Meanwhile, a groundbreaking effort has been launched to help sensitize police to anti-Semitic crimes in the former East German state of Saxony. The state attorney general and state police, working with local Jewish communities, have prepared a new “action guide” to help police recognize anti-Semitic motivations and take them into consideration in a trial. “We’re always hearing complaints … that when it comes to crimes with an anti-Semitic background, this aspect is either not recognized or not given enough weight,” Dresden’s attorney general, Hans Strobl, said at an online news conference Wednesday announcing the new guidelines. “We want the police officers who are first on the scene to know what indicators matter in a possible anti-Semitic crime.” Schuster called the new guidelines “unparalleled in Germany” and at the news conference urged all of Germany’s states to adopt them.
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Alliance to offer virtual relational Judaism learning series BY LARRY KATZ AND JENNIFER ZWIRN
Our Mission: To improve the quality of life for those we serve.
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SUMMER J-CAMP 2021 SAFE & OR F FUN Y S A E June 28 August 28 F O ! R TS KIDS! PAREN Grades 1 - 6: Campers Grades 7 - 10: Counselor-in-Training (CIT) Learn more about Summer J-Camp: jewishallianceri.org/summer-j-camp/ Or contact Aaron Guttin at aguttin@jewishallianceri.org Powered by the Jewish Alliance
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WHAT IS the relationship between Warren Buffet, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Rhode Island Jews? Decades ago, Rabbi Myer S. Kripke and business tycoon Warren Buffet became friends and bridge partners, after meeting through their wives. At his wife’s urging, Rabbi Kripke invested a modest inheritance with Buffet, and it eventually grew into the millions of dollars that was used to found the Dorothy K. and Myer S. Kripke Institute. American Jewry scholar Ron Wolfson, Kripke’s friend and fellow Omahan, is president of the institute, which publishes his books. In the preface to one of Wolfson’s books, Rabbi Ed Feinstein quotes Heschel: “ ‘The modern temple suffers from a severe cold!’ declared Abraham Joshua Heschel in 1953. But as with most prophetic words, no one listened.” But Wolfson did listen, and came up with a cure for that “cold” – a transformational change based on relationships. This transformation will serve as the basis for an upcoming virtual learning series for synagogue and agency professionals and lay leaders throughout Rhode Island. As Rabbi Rick Jacobs writes in the forward to
one of Wolfson’s books, “Relational Judaism is arguably at the core of Jewish religious life from its very beginning.” However, Jacobs believes we are now living with “ossified religious bureaucracies.” Wolfson lays out a mission that is not based on programs and structures. He believes the ultimate mission of our institutions is “to strengthen each individual’s relationship with Judaism, its religion, values, culture, and peoplehood. Goal: connecting with the Jewish experience” and “building a sacred community of relationships.” He advocates that the central focus of any Jewish institution should be building relationships “with Judaism, between leadership and the community, amongst peers.” Programs and institutions have no real value unless they build these relationships, Wolfson maintains. The Rabbi William G. Braude Memorial Fund of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island is generously subsidizing CONTINUED ON PAGE 27
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COMMUNITY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26 a three-part, lunch-hour series aimed at helping professionals and lay leaders plan and implement collective strategies that affect transformational change. Best practices will be discussed and case studies will be presented by Wolfson and Rabbis Nicole Auerbach and Lydia Medwin. Wolfson has been at the center of synagogue-transformation initiatives for decades, and has worked with Jewish Community Centers, Hillels and other organizations across the country as well. One board member of a Rhode Island synagogue, noting the institutional affiliations of the presenters, asked if these experts have “specific experience with suburban/ low density Jewish communities.” Wolfson responded by saying that he has vast experience with such communities. “We believe that one of the key best principles of a relational engagement campaign is to ‘learn the passions, talents, interests’
of each congregant ... to ‘hear their stories.’ This is often done in a ‘one-on-one’ conversation or in a small group ... even on Zoom. Someone from a small suburban congregation might think: ‘Oh, everybody knows everyone else.’ Not true. In fact, we will do an exercise with the group to illustrate this.” The three-part series takes place on Tuesday, May 25, June 8 and Aug. 24, from noon to 1:15 p.m. If you are a local professional or lay leader in the community and think your organization would benefit from this virtual learning opportunity, please contact Jennifer Zwirn (jzwirn@ jewishallianceri.org) or Larry Katz (lkatz@jewishallianceri.org) at the Jewish Alliance for registration information. LARRY KATZ is the director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. JENNIFER ZWIRN is the director of community investment at the Alliance.
The Miriam Hospital Women’s Association honors longtime volunteer PROVIDENCE – The Miriam Hospital Women’s Association will present its 36th annual Recognition Award to Judy Siegel at the association’s 124th Annual Meeting and Luncheon, on June 2. The event will be held virtually and in person at the Ledgemont Country Club, in Seekonk. Siegel has been a dedicated volunteer with Lifespan hospitals for over 25 years and with The Miriam Hospital for the past 10 years. She has sat on the boards of both the Rhode Island Hospital Guild and The Miriam Hospital Women’s Association. For the hospital guild, she has served in various positions, including president. At The Miriam Hospital group, she sits on the board and has served as recording secretary, and, most recently, as membership chair, coming
up with new and fun ideas to recruit members. In addition, her duties have included organizing the very event that she will be honored at this year! Siegel was often the first friendly face to greet families and patients at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and was a patient liaison Judy Siegel before coming to The Miriam to volunteer in the surgical center, where she checks patients in and is a comforting presence for families in the waiting room. “Having to come to the hospital for any type of procedure can be unnerving for patients and their families,” Siegel said. “I’ve
always felt that having a friendly face to greet you and be a source of comfort and information goes a long way toward making someone feel at ease.” Siegel said she was thrilled to recently be able to resume her in-person volunteer duties at The Miriam. For more information about The Miriam Hospital Women’s Association Annual Meeting and Luncheon, contact Vickie Scott at The Miriam Hospital, at 401-793-2520. Submitted by the Miriam Hospital Women’s Association.
At the Jewish Alliance, we work to find new and creative ways of meeting people’s needs in an ever changing landscape. In these uncertain times when so many people are finding themselves in need of assistance – many of them for the first time – we are providing programs that help the most vulnerable among us, both locally and globally. With your support, we keep people safe and cared for. With your increased commitment to the Annual Community Campaign, you will provide continuity and the expanded services that people so desperately need right now. We appreciate your past support and hope you’ll consider increasing your gift.
2021 ANNUAL COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN JEWISHALLIANCERI.ORG/DONATE
HERE FOR GOOD. 401 Elmgrove Avenue • Providence, RI 02906 • 401.421.4111 • jewishallianceri.org
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Donors support PJ Library in a big way during 401Gives fundraiser BY ABI WEINER
On April 1, 2021, Rhode Islanders woke up with an opportunity to make a tremendous difference to nonprofits of all kinds.
35 14 JUNE
Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s
Classic
35th Annual Dwares JCC
GOLF
Ledgemont Country Club 131 Brown Avenue | Seekonk, MA
Golfer and sponsor opportunities are available. For more information and to sign up, visit jewishallianceri.org/golf-classic/ or contact Abi Weiner at 401.421.4111 ext. 146 or aweiner@jewishallianceri.org.
In its first year, in 2020, 401Gives raised $1.3 million for 366 organizations across the state. This year, 422 organizations took part and a total of $2.2 million was raised. And the Jewish community raised almost $15,000 from 60 different donors, which will help expand PJ Library Rhode Island. 401Gives is a statewide day of giving created by United Way of Rhode Island with a goal of bringing a collective voice to the nonprofit community and deepening Rhode Island’s culture of giving. It highlights the impact of Rhode Island’s nonprofit sector, which accounts for 18% of the state’s total workforce. PJ Library is a worldwide program that mails free high-quality, age-appropriate Jewish books to children every month. A program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, PJ Library is made possible through a partnership with local philanthropists and Jewish organizations. Locally, it is funded by the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, the Grinspoon Foundation and other donors. The Alliance welcomed PJ Library to Rhode Island in September 2007, and to date has served nearly 2,500 children in more than 1,700 families. There are currently 750 children receiving books in 41 cities and towns throughout Rhode Island, and 17 cities and towns in southeastern Massachusetts.
Since its inception, PJ Library has expanded to include 29 countries across six continents, and PJ Library books are published in seven languages. All told, some 675,000 books are mailed worldwide each month! During 401Gives day, there were a variety of contests and matching-gift incentives, and the Jewish Alliance was the beneficiary of two of them. First was the Rhode Island Foundation’s $50,000 Early Bird Match, which started at 6 a.m. and matched every unique donation of up to $500 until the $50,000 was depleted. The Alliance made sure our community knew about this match, and was blown away by the response – some people even set their alarms for 5:45 a.m. just to make sure their donation counted toward the match! The Alliance was also fortunate to have won the Banker’s Hour Contest – by having at least 25 unique donors by 5 p.m., it was awarded $1,000 from Centerville Bank. Thanks to the amazing generosity of our community, the Alliance is well on its way to its goal of expanding PJ Library Rhode Island to reach 1,000 children and their families monthly. ABI WEINER (aweiner@ jewishallianceri.org) is the development officer for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.
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There’s an app for that: Budgeting tools for every personality type RS & S
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you stand, it helps you make changes if you need to, and to be more disciplined about your spending. From smartphone apps to tools that work on multiple devices and in online or offline settings, today’s generation of budgeting and personal-finance tools come with a wide range of features, among them the ability to tie into and JASON E. view multiple SIPERSTEIN bank and credit accounts, to automate payments and to monitor spending according to category. Here are just three of today’s go-to tools to help manage your money:
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SOME PEOPLE want immediate mobile access to their finances via a smartphone. Others prefer to manage their money with an oldschool spreadsheet or ledger. Some crave a comprehensive platform for viewing and managing their entire financial picture. Others want a tool for a narrower financial purpose, such as to automatically divert money into a savings account or just to pay bills. Whatever your priority or level of tech savvy, chances are there is a tool that’s suited to you. Finding it is the challenge. It’s important to get a tool that fits your financial-personality type. Some people want something that provides a lot of detail. For others, too much detail can become overwhelming. Some work on a personal computer. Others prefer a tablet or a smartphone. The tool has to match your profile, or you won’t use it. Whatever your personality type, using a personal financial tool for budgeting and other purposes has tangible benefits. It makes you a better decision-maker by giving you a clearer understanding of what’s going on with your finances – what you can and can’t afford to do. In addition to helping you see where
For the general user, Mint.com is among the most user-friendly, feature-rich and comprehensive personal-finance tools available today. Versatile and free to users, Mint.com provides a real-time look across multiple account balances. It also provides budgeting tools, bill-pay alerts and automatic transactions.
For the committed user, the YouNeedABudget software platform ($12 a month after a free trial; youneedabudget.com) offers access to financial literacy classes, tutorials, money-management tips and
R.I. Jewish Historical Association’s annual meeting will make history
other resources, along with the ability to set goals and view information from multiple accounts on a single page.
For couples, the Honeydue app (honeydue.com) allows you and your partner to see your financial pictures in one spot, including bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investments. It also gives you the option of choosing how much you share with your significant other. Together, you can set up monthly limits in multiple categories, and Honeydue will alert you when you or your partner nears them. Honeydue also sends reminders for upcoming bills and lets you chat and send emojis.
BY GEORGE M. GOODWIN WHEN THE Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association holds its annual meeting, on May 23, it will make some history of its own: The incoming president, Harold Foster, will be the third in his family to hold the position. Foster’s mother, Geraldine Foster, was the first woman president. Geraldine, who is still quite involved in her 90s, followed her father, Beryl Segal, as president. Harold Foster will be RIJHA’s first third-generation president. How many of Little Rhody’s Jewish organizations can claim such a distinction? At its annual meeting, RIJHA will thank outgoing president Mel Topf for his three years of thoughtful leadership as its 18th president. And it will welcome a new first vice president, Linda Lotridge Levin, already an active member of the board. Lowell Lisker will continue as second vice president, Mel Blake as treasurer and Ruth Breindel as secretary. Breindel previously was RIJHA’s second woman president.
For people who prefer to manage their money the old-fashioned way, there are homemade Excel spreadsheets, checkbooks and even the ledger sheet and pencil approach. Ultimately, any tool that helps you get a better handle on your budget is a tool worth using. JASON E. SIPERSTEIN, CFA, CFP, RMA, is the chairman of the Financial Planning Association of Rhode Island, program director for the CFA Society Providence and president of Eliot Rose Wealth Management. He can be reached by email at jes@eliotrose.com.
Anne Sherman and Cliff Karton will become new board members, while many others continue to honor the past through their service on the board. Sherman served with distinction for 25 years as RIJHA’s office manager. The annual meeting will feature a program called “ ‘Remember This?’: A Prelude to the Jewish RhodeTour.” With support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Breindel and a team of volunteers created a wonderful audio guide, accessible as a free mobile app, to Jewish sites throughout Rhode Island. For access to RIJHA’s annual meeting, which will be held on Zoom on Sunday, May 23, at 2 p.m., nonmembers may contact staff member Jaime Walden at 331-1360 or office@rijha.org. Once again, the annual meeting will be sponsored by the Arline Ruth Weinberg Memorial Fund. GEORGE M. GOODWIN, of Providence, is the editor of Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes.
Spend the summer working at camp CHILDREN are looking forward to enjoying a great summer doing normal summer activities at camp, but many camps are still seeking counselors who would like to make a difference and have a great summer at the same time. Young adults who want to get outside, play in the lake, stare at the stars and wiggle their toes in the grass can find no better place to do this than as a staff member at
an overnight Jewish camp. These camps are taking all of the necessary precautions to be safe, pandemic-free retreats. They offer communities and opportunities to make real in-person connections. At the same time, everyone takes an atctive part in creating a more ideal world. Camp counselors are a community that prioritizes growth and responsibility for each other.
Anyone who wants to unleash their creativity, expand their bubble, create a magical experience for kids and teens who need it more than ever this summer, should consider serving as a camp counselor or specialist. If you want to inspire, laugh or lead, to make this summer count, consider a camp job and an incredible summer away from it all. There are positions for
camp counselors and specialists of all kinds (arts, nature, music, swim, and many more). There are positions as close as Camp JORI and across the country. For more information, contact Alicia at Camp JORI (alicia@campjori. com or 908-578-6506) or jewishcamp.org/summer. If overnight camp is not for you, yet you enjoy spending your summers doing similar activities with children, per-
haps a position at the Dwares Jewish Community Center’s J-Camp or the David C. Isenberg Family Early Childhood Center is the place for you. For more information about day-camp jobs, contact Michelle Cicchitelli at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island (mcicchitelli@ jewishallianceri.org or 401421-4111).
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OBITUARIES Lorelei Benatovich, 86 EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. – No ordinary woman, funny, warm, loving, generous, smart and a little bit of kookiness, Lorelei Fox Benatovich will be missed by her family more than imaginable. Anyone lucky enough to have known her, was quickly engulfed in her world – whether you wanted to hear about her daughters, her granddaughters or not! Although born in the north (Minneapolis, Minnesota), she was raised in Houston, Texas, and always identified as a Texan, even if sometimes “misplaced” in New York or Rhode Island. Lorelei was a true Southerner – complete with a hint of accent (especially after a phone call with her parents or other Texas friends), Southern hospitality and a few confederate dollars. She attended Sophie Newcomb College (the women’s college of Tulane University) in New Orleans and was a member of the AEPhi sorority. While visiting family in Buffalo, New York, during the summers away from Houston, she met her husband of 62 years, Harvey Benatovich, and lost most of her accent during her first Buffalo blizzard. At parties, the Benatoviches were always the first couple on the dance floor and the last to leave it! Her favorite dance spot, however, was in the back of the amphi-
theater in Chautauqua! A favorite nursery school teacher in her early career, she later opened Lorelei Graphics Gallery and was tempted to run for mayor of Buffalo. However, it was more important to never miss a match or game and to root for her kids’ sports teams. That tradition continued in the next generation and was she was a loyal, snack-providing fan of the Classical High School girls’ tennis team in Providence. Survived by her daughters, Penny Benatovich and Lisa Brosofsky, her son-in-law, Dan Brosofsky, and her twin granddaughters Sarah and Jillian Brosofsky, as well as Eric Brosofsky, many nieces and nephews, and countless friends. She was pre-deceased by her parents, Sam and Mary Fox, her brother, Myles Fox, as well her husband, Harvey Benatovich. A donation may be made to Temple Beth- El of Providence; The Miriam Hospital, Providence; Winslow Gardens/Alderbridge Community (E.Providence); Evergreen House Health Center (E. Providence), and Hope Hospice (Providence).
William Black, 85 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – William G. Black passed away April 20. “Will” was the father of four and husband of the late Eileen Rosenberg-Black.
Born and raised in the West End of Boston, he was the son of the late Hyman (Teddy) and Mary Black, and brother of the late Richard N. Black. Will was a business owner who worked in the garment industry for 35 years. He had a passion for movies, was a lifelong fan of the Patriots and Celtics and loved Motown. He was known for his quiet sense of humor and unwavering dedication to his family. He will always be remembered for his ability to get any kid up on water skis during summers on Lake Winnisquam, New Hampshire. He is survived by his children Jessica Black (Jon Trombley), Benjamin Black, Ellen Jacobs (Mark), Stephen Black (Karen); grandchildren Leah Jacobs Varo, Jordan and Meaghan Black, and Erroll Trombley; and great-grandchildren Tristan Varo, Greyson and Easton Black, and Scarlett Hunter. Contributions may be made to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Care Research Center where his wife Eileen received treatment for cancer.
Lois Fain, 92 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Lois H. Fain died on April 17. She was a lifelong Rhode Islander. She also enjoyed time in Jupiter, Florida, following retirement and before returning full time to Rhode Island. Most recently, she had been a resident of Tockwotton on the Waterfront in East Providence. Lois was wife of Burton M. Fain who predeceased her, passing away two days after they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in May 2015. Born and raised in Providence, Lois was the daughter of Dr. Carl Jagolinzer, a prominent optometrist, and Mrs. Dorothy (Schneidman) Jagolinzer, who died at age 45 before cures for cancer were known. Lois attended John Howland Elementary School, Nathan Bishop Junior High School and Hope High School, and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1949 from Pembroke College (later Brown University) and a Master of Teaching from Rhode Island College in 1970. Her husband graduated from Brown two years earlier than Lois and together they were
a socially active couple and proud supporters of “everything Brown.” Active in the Brown Association of Class Officers, Lois served as president and vice president of her class, chaired her class’ 10th, 25th, 40th and 45th reunions. In 1994, she received the Alumni Service Award. Lois was a dedicated teacher of the deaf and taught at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf from 1970 to 1988. Her interest in the deaf developed during her college years when she worked at a summer camp in Maine attended by many deaf children and later volunteered at the RI School for the Deaf. As a teacher, she became a model for many student teachers from Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C., who worked with Lois. Lois’ life was typified by a saying that she repeated often: “One day at a time”. Her niece found a small pillow with this saying and it stayed near until her death. Lois was easy to be around, very pragmatic and had incredible patience. Lois is survived by her niece Barbara Goldsmith of Warwick and nephew David Goldsmith of Harmony, son Frederick Fain and grandsons Michael Fain and Grant Rodgers, and many loving nieces and nephews and great-nieces and nephews and other lifelong and special friends. Lois was predeceased by her husband and by her daughter Debra Fain. Lois’ life was filled with much joy and warmth. She loved to entertain and often had groups of friends and family to her home for delicious and gracious meals always served with “class.” She also regularly had students to her home and they especially loved the “Kentucky Fried Chicken” (their choice) lunches served there. Her garden, notably on Balton Road in Providence where she and her husband lived for many years, was superb and its beauty lent itself to easy gatherings on the very large backyard deck overlooking an amazing array of flowers. She was a loyal friend and a very devoted wife, daughter, sister, niece, daughter in law and aunt. She especially loved her time in Florida and their home on the ocean. She and Burt were fortunate to travel widely and notably to spend time in China where Burt had business interests before most other people did. She loved to bake, especially mandelbreit and chocolate macaroons,
and she made the best ice cream pie in creation. She also loved card games and sewing and quilting. She was a member of the Narragansett Bay Quilters, played piano including as an active member of the Chaminade Club in Providence and in recitals at the Music Mansion. She was a volunteer at RISD, a member of Temple Emanu-El and later Temple Beth-El, the National Council of Jewish Women and served as the local advisor for the RI unit of the girls youth group called “Councilettes” at one point. She was a proud co-founder of the annual Dorothy and Carl Jagolinzer Commencement Concert of Brown University’s Music Department, which she established in 1981 with her sister Marion Goldsmith in memory of their parents. She also was integral to the establishment of Camp Dotty, part of The Tomorrow Fund at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, set up in memory of her niece Dorothy Goldsmith Jansma in 1998. She was involved in many civic and service activities and was a Save the Children sponsor of a child in Bangladesh. Donations may be sent to the Brown University Music Department, Attn: Dorothy and Carl Jagolinzer Memorial Concert, P.O. Box 1924, 1 Young Orchard Ave., Providence, RI 02912 or the charity of your choice.
Marshall Glasshoffer, 73 POMPANO BEACH, FLA. – Marshall H. Glasshoffer died April 2 at home. Born in Providence, a son of the late Hyman and Lillian (Shatz) Glasshoffer, he had lived in Florida for over five years, previously living in Massachusetts. He was a regional manager for several optical companies over the years. He was very dedicated to and knowledgeable in his craft, He retired five years ago. Marshall was a Vietnam War Navy veteran, serving in Vietnam. He was a member of Congregation Shaare Zedek and Congregation Beth Sholom. Marshall was an avid golfer. Contributions in his memory may be made to Jewish War Veterans, P.O. Box 100064, Cranston, RI 02910 or Jewish National Fund, 42 E. 69th St., New York, NY 10021.
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OBITUARIES Herbert Leshinsky, 93 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Herbert Leshinsky passed away April 26. Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, he was a son of the late Max and Bessie (Bornstein) Leshinsky. He spent his golden years in Providence, and previously lived in Mexico, Australia, South Africa, England, Argentina, Columbia, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico. He served in the United States Army in Japan in 1946. Herb graduated from Providence College in 1952 and earned a master’s degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961. Herb worked for Chrysler Corporation for nearly 30 years where he was the vice president of the international division in Latin America until 1980. He then transitioned to academia and worked at the University of St. Thomas. In 1983, he became director of the Master’s Program in International Management until retiring in 1996. Herb was a lover of the Boston Red Sox and was always happy to talk about the team and their players. He was a regular at Gregg’s restaurants where he would ask for hot, hot tea while he sat with his granddaughters, son and daughter-in-law on Saturdays after temple. He was a regular member in the congregation at Temple Emanu-El. Of all things in this world – more than ice cream and the Red Sox, Herb was most proud of his granddaughters. He enjoyed singing as Rebecca played the violin (“Are You Sleeping” was a favorite) and was always up for a trip to Garden City to take Hannah (his Hannie)
shopping for dresses. He is survived by his son Michael Leshinsky and his wife Amy, beloved granddaughters Rebecca and Hannah Leshinsky, and “that good looking dog” Oreo (known to him as Éclair). He was the brother of the late Albert Leshinsky, Ida Smith, and Rose Leshinsky. Contributions in his memory may be made to Temple Emanu-El in Providence.
Michael Mroz, 65 NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. – Michael F. Mroz, of North Kingstown, passed away on April 20. He was a devoted husband to Ellen, and dedicated father to Lyle, Alyssa and Seth. He retired from Johnson & Wales University, and more recently taught part time at the Community College of Rhode Island. Besides his wife and children, Michael leaves behind his sister and brother-in-law, Karlene and Dave Venancio, and their children. Spending time with his family was always his first priority. Michael also was an avid New England sports fan, volunteered at the North Kingstown Senior Center, enjoyed working outdoors in the garden, and spending time with the family dog, Rascal. Donations may be sent to HopeHealth Hospice, 1085 North Main St., Providence, RI 02904.
M. Michael Sadick, 102 Tamah Lichterman Sadick, 94 KEY BISCAYNE, FLA. – M. Michael and Tamah Lichterman Sadick died in April within six days of each other at their home in Key Biscayne, Florida, after almost 73 years of marriage. Mike was seven weeks short of his 103rd birthday. Tamah was 94. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Mike was the son of Abraham Sadick and Lena Malovany Sadick, immigrants from Poland. Tamah, born in Brooklyn, New York, was the daughter of Benjamin Lichterman, born in St. Louis, Missouri, and Nettie Yelon Lichterman, born in Russia. Mike was a graduate of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute; was commissioned into the Navy as a lieutenant during World War II; began his career in Springfield, Massachusetts; and then moved to Providence in 1953. He was the president of Paige Industrial Corporation, Sightmaster Corporation and National Collapsible Tube Company. Tamah was a graduate of Smith College where she earned a B.S. in Zoology and an M.S. in Biology. She founded the Biology Department at Roger Williams Junior College (now Roger Williams University); taught at Brown University and Rhode Island College; earned a Ph.D. in Bio Behavioral Science at the University of Connecticut; and then studied genetics and became a genetic counselor. She also founded Project Eye Opener, which enabled inner city children to enjoy nature field trips. Mike and Tamah spent many years sailing on Narragansett Bay and around the world. They traveled extensively and lived in Zambia where Mike volunteered as a consultant to advise and teach factory workers. For a number of years, they spent summers in the mountains of Colorado until they became year-round residents of Key Biscayne. They are survived by Mike’s sister Marian Sadick Adler of Hartford, Connecticut; two daughters: Martha Sadick Aron (Barry) of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Barbara Sadick of New York City and were predeceased in 2002 by their son Peter William Sadick; five grandchildren: Benjamin Jablow
(Abbey), Rachel Jablow, Abigail Jablow Sherman (Brad), Michael King-Sadick and Alexander King, six nieces and two nephews. Four great-grandchildren also survive them: Henry Sherman, Anna Sherman, Cooper Jablow and Ella Jablow. The family thanks caregivers Kettie, Jenny, Anna, Rosa, Simone, Maude, Oni, Woody and Staby. Contributions may be made to Catholic Hospice, 14875 NW 77th Avenue, Suite 100, Miami Lakes, Florida 33014 or to Key Biscayne Fire Rescue Department, 560 Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne, Florida 33149.
Gloria Siegel, 73 EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Gloria S. Siegel died April 26 at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center. She was the wife of the late Arnold Siegel, mother of the late Melanie Siegel and grandmother of two. Born in Providence, the daughter of the late John and Selma Souza, she was a lifelong resident of Rhode Island, most recently residing in Riverside. Gloria was an avid knitter, making stuffed animals and always willing to take a request from a neighbor for a knitted item. She also enjoyed playing mahjong, cards and bingo. Previously, Gloria was active with the Warwick Senior Center shopping trips, always looking for the best bargains. Contributions in her memory may be made to the charity of your choice.
Moris Tcath, 89 HAMDEN, CONN. – Moris Aaron "Moe" Tcath of Hamden, Connecticut, passed away on April 1. He was the husband of Beverly (Hendel) Tcath, and they were married for almost 63 years. Born in Providence, Moe was the son of the late Jacob and Gertrude (Lahn) Tcath. Moe was predeceased by his sister, Sybil (Leonard) Michelman. He grew up on the East Side of Providence, attending John Howland Elementary School, Nathan Bishop Middle School and graduated from Manlius Military Prep School in Manlius, New York. Moe graduated from Brown University in 1953, and entered the US Army during the Korean conflict. Moe married his soul mate,
Beverly, in New London, Connecticut, June 16, 1957. Their family grew with Laurie (Peter) Sterling, of Chicago, Illinois, Jay (Amy) of Deerfield, Illinois, and Pam (Barry) Schiff of Cranston. He was always willing to kvell over his grandchildren: Max and Sam Sterling, Gordon, William and Lily Tcath and Bennett Schiff. He worked for several retail stores before buying the Carousel, a children's clothing store in Wallingford, Connecticut, working side by side with Bev for almost 20 years. Moe's first love was his family but he also had other passions. He was a voracious crossword puzzler, avid setback and bridge player, and a lover of TV judge shows. Moe achieved a national bridge ranking in 1953. Moe and Bev traveled to amazing locations and took many cruises. Moe served on the executive board of PROBUS, as well as the Board of Directors of Temple Beth Sholom in Hamden. He was also a Hadassah associate. Donations may be made to American Heart Association or Temple Beth Sholom (Hamden) Israeli Bond Fund or the Hendel Family Scholarship at the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut. https://cfect.fcsuite. com/erp/donate/create?funit_id=1323.
Beatrice Yanku, 95 WARWICK, R.I. – Beatrice Yanku died April 25 at Steere House. She was the wife of the late Victor Yanku. Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, a daughter of the late Harry and Ida (Kaplan) Ziman, she had lived in Warwick for six years, previously living in Cranston. She was the mother of Francine Phaneuf and her husband, Walter, of West Warwick, Ronald Yanku and his wife, Sharon, of Cranston and Steven Yanku of Charlotte, North Carolina. She was the sister of the late Jordan Ziman, Fred Ziman and Evelyn Friedman. She was the grandmother of Nathan, Kenneth, Amy, Robert, Ilana and Lauren. She was the great-grandmother of Nathan, Kaeden, Natalie, Ryan and Theo. Contributions may be made to Steere House, Employees Appreciation Fund, 100 Borden St., Providence, RI 02903.
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OBITUARIES
Youngest survivor to testify at Eichmann trial dies at 91
Stray bullet kills Jewish reporter for NPR affiliate in Kansas City
(JTA) – Yosef Kleinman, the youngest Holocaust survivor to testify at the trial of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann, has died at 91. Kleinman, who lived in Jerusalem, died May 4, according to Akiva Weisz, a reporter for Israel’s Kan public broadcaster. Weisz posted the notice on Twitter. Kleinman was one of 110 witnesses at the 1961 trial of Eichmann, the most senior German official in charge of the extermination of the Jews, and at 31 was the youngest. His testimony, delivered just after another witness fainted, was about the fate of Jewish youths at Auschwitz. Deported to Auschwitz in 1944 from Budapest when he was 14, Kleinman saw his mother and younger sister sent to their deaths. In vivid terms that riveted the trial judges, Steinman described Josef Mengele, the physician at Auschwitz whom Steinman referred to in his testimony by his sobriquet, “The Angel of Death,” arriving at a soccer field on a bicycle with a measuring device. It became immediately clear to the youths gathered on the field that those who were shorter than the device’s measurements would die. “Every one of us stood straight, each one of us sought an extra centimeter of height,” Kleinman said at the trial. He immediately discerned that he was not tall enough. His brother gave him pebbles to put in his shoes to get to the requisite height. Through some maneuvering, Kleinman remained with his brother in the line of those destined to slave labor. Kleinman said the youths, who were grouped in the camp with the Roma, soon were able to tell whether humans were being killed in the crematoria. “We became experts on smoke,” he told Israel’s Channel 13 in a 2019
documentary. His testimony helped send Eichmann to the gallows. Kleinman and his brother would get out of Auschwitz by sneaking into a work detail sent to Dachau. He told reporters that a Jewish soldier among the Americans liberating the camp gave him a shirt to wear, which he kept his entire life. Following liberation, he and his brother wandered around Europe until they joined a ship to Cyprus, where they were interned until they were allowed to immigrate to prestate Israel in 1947. He served in the Israeli army and with his brother later opened a carpentry business. Around the time of his testimony, Kleinman began to encourage Holocaust remembrance authorities in Israel to compile the stories of the youths who perished in the Holocaust, which until then had largely been unknown. He became a much-wanted speaker at schools and to troops. He kept the striped hat he was forced to wear at Auschwitz his entire life. After the siren on Holocaust Remembrance Day each year, he would emerge from his Jerusalem apartment wearing the cap and holding up a big portrait of his large family arrayed around him and his wife, Chaya, who is also a survivor. There were three children, 16 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren as of 2019. “Am Yisrael Chai,” he would repeat. “The people of Israel live.”
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(JTA) – Aviva Okeson-Haberman had come home after apartment hunting in Lawrence, Kansas, where the reporter for the Kansas City NPR affiliate was about to start a new job covering social services and criminal justice. On April 23, Okeson-Haberman was hit by a stray bullet that entered her first-floor apartment in Kansas City’s Santa Fe neighborhood. The Jewish journalist was found unconscious and rushed to a hospital, where she was placed on life support. On April 26, her colleagues at the affiliate, KCUR, posted an anguished obituary reporting her death. Okeson-Haberman was 24. Kansas City police are investigating the shooting. “Social services is a tough beat, but I’m a tough reporter,” she wrote in her application for her new job at the Kansas News Service, a statewide reporting initiative headquartered at KCUR. “I’ll ask the hard questions, dig into the data and spend time building trust with sources. It’s what’s required to provide an unflinching look at how state government affects those entrusted to its care.” Okeson-Haberman hoped to focus on foster care because she had spent time in foster homes in her teens. One of her most compelling recent reports was an audio diary of nurses on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. Peggy Lowe, the reporter who found Okeson-Haberman unconscious and went with her to the hospital, told the first responders about those reports. “That made the nurses love her last night, even though she wasn’t conscious,” Lowe said in the KCUR obituary. Kansas City’s mayor and the governor of Kansas were among those who offered their condolences and memories of Okeson-Haberman on Twitter. Okeson-Haberman, a
native of Springfield, Missouri, won prizes for her efforts at the University of Missouri’s highly regarded journalism school, from where she graduated in 2019. One of her early reports for KCUR was in 2018 at an event featuring talks by survivors of gun violence, among them Jewish students from the mass killing that year in Parkland, Florida. She also spoke to Jack Reeves, a friend of Reat Underwood, one of the victims of a deadly anti-Semitic attack at the Overland Park Jewish Community Center in suburban Kansas City. “Losing someone that you personally know is unlike any other feeling because it’s not like it’s some issue that you are isolated from that’s happening on the other side of the country,” Reeves told her. “It’s something that is happening in your community that you have a direct relationship with.” Okeson-Haberman’s passion and powers of suasion are evident in a high school report from 2015 on practical ways to help the environment. She urged other students to emulate her temple, which she said was “like a church for Jewish people,” and which donated 50 cents for each page of Hebrew school homework for a cause chosen by the class. “Last year we chose WWF (World Wildlife Foundation), a charity that helps wild animals,” she said at the time. “They wrote back, telling us we raised enough money that we had saved a tiger! They had also enclosed a picture of the tiger. So maybe you could do something like that for your neighborhood. Many small steps lead to one great deed.” On April 9, on Twitter, she announced her new job and seemed more than ready to take on the task. “I won’t officially start until mid-May but in the meantime you can DM me or reach me at aviva@ kcur.org,” she said.
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PJ LIBRARY
PJ Our Way contest has a winner
*** BY OLIVIA VILNER My teeth chattered. The basement was freezing. The cold, drafty air felt icy against my skin. It bit me with no mercy. I stood on the top of the stairs, shivering. Did I really want to go down there? I discarded my flashlight because I found a light string on the ceiling. I gently gave it a tug, standing a long distance away, cautious of something heavy falling on my head. It happens in movies all the time. I felt relieved when no dumbbells fell on top of me. I started down the stairs, reassuringly glancing at the light of the open door then and now, reminding myself that the second I do it, I’ll go back. The steps creaked, causing me to jump. I drew in
In February as part of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s Behind the Book series, Jewish Book Council and PJ Our Way author Casey Breton spoke via Zoom with families about her new novel, “Going Rogue (At Hebrew School),” and how she goes about the writing process. As a follow up to the event, tweens enrolled in the PJ Our Way program, the "next chapter" of the larger PJ Library program, were given the opportunity to submit entries to the first-ever Jewish Alliance/PJ Our Way writing contest. Entries had to be original, could be any topic of their choosing, fiction, and no more than 1,000 words. Breton agreed to be a judge and gave feedback to all of the young writers. Out of seven entries, Olivia Vilner, 11, of Lincoln, was chosen as the winner.
a deep breath and continued slowly creeping down the stairs. I scolded the ladder under my breath for startling me. I knew what I was walking into from the start, but never expected it to be so. . . so. . . so scary. Yet somehow, I had convinced myself to go on this daring mission. I grasped the rail in one hand steadying myself on the un-sturdy stairs. Soon I reached the bottom. Slowly but surely, I took the last step. The wood had rotted away and it fell under my weight. I screamed. The light decided to betray me and flickered as if they were a person taking their last breath, and slowly gave way. Turning off completely. Leaving me, in the dark...
Kids’ Activities Last month, the PJ Library Kids’ Activities page encouraged you to get outside. This month, we invite you to dive deeper into the pages of Jewish Rhode Island! Your mission, should you choose to accept it: find the secret messages hidden throughout the paper… PJ Library is a program of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island in partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
Paper-wide Word Hunt
PJ Library Secret Message
We’ve hidden a message throughout this issue of Jewish Rhode Island. Flip to the page numbers below to find the words that go in each blank.
PJ Library has something special. To find out what it is, you’ll need to decode the secret message below.
12 XX
_______ ___ S T O R I ES F OR
21 XX
________ EVER Y O X E CODE KEY
22 XX
XX 28
AB C D E FG H I JKL M A B C D E F G H I J K L M
X O PQ R S TUV W N Y Z N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Answer: Stories For Everyone
Let’s have some fun!
Answer: Bring Jewish Stories Home
To learn more about PJ Library, visit jewishallianceri.org/pj-library/ or contact Lyndsey Ursillo at lursillo@jewishallianceri.org.
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SIMCHAS
Crossword creator has Rhody ties NATHAN HASEGAWA, son of former Rhode Island resident Andrea Miller Hasegawa and her husband, Steve Hasegawa, and grandson of Ann Messier of Warwick, recently constructed a crossword puzzle and had it published in the New York Times on April 14 as his high school senior capstone project. Nathan, age 17, is a senior at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay in San Francisco, California. The clues in his puzzle include nods to both his Jewish heritage (12 down: “Observe Yom Kippur”) and his Japanese heritage (13 across: “Dish that may be eaten with either chopsticks
or a spoon”). His parents, Andrea and Steve, inspired him to take up puzzle construction. They have been solving the New York Times puzzles together since their days Nathan Hasegawa with his winning puzzle. in law school at demic, he volunteered in the University of their soup kitchen several Chicago. times each month, going in Nathan donated the on weekends, holidays, or money he received from other days off from school. this puzzle to the St. AnthoNathan will attend ny’s Foundation. St. AnthoHarvey Mudd College in ny’s is an organization that Claremont, Californa, in provides meals, clothes, technology and other essen- August, and plans to major in physics and math. tials to San Franciscans in need. Prior to the pan-
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