February 2020

The Voice of Greater Rhode Island’s Jewish Community

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What are your summer plans?

Making memories at camp Saluting the New Year of the Trees

Celebrating your Judaism in The Conversation

Traveling in Israel with Or Cohen

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EDITOR Fran Ostendorf DESIGN & LAYOUT Leah Camara ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Peter Zeldin pzeldin@jewishallianceri.org 401-421-4111, ext. 160 Karen Borger ksborger@gmail.com 401-529-2538 CONTRIBUTORS Cynthia Benjamin, Larry Kessler, Michael Schemaille COLUMNISTS Michael Fink, Geraldine Foster, Patricia Raskin, Rabbi James Rosenberg, Daniel Stieglitz

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Do you remember?

WELCOME TO FEBRUARY! I have many reasons to like this month. This year, I’m not sick of the weather – yet.

Usually, I take a few days of vacation in February, whether it’s a quick getaway to warmer weather or an escape to a spot with welcome snow for sports and no pressure to shovel. And in February, I also find myself able to focus on brighter times ahead because we publish Jewish Rhode Island’s annual camp issue.

When we start to plan this issue, we just can’t help but smile. We sort through photos of happy children playing in the water and engaging in camp activities on green grass under blue skies. It looks so warm and bright in those photos that it’s the perfect antidote to winter’s gray skies. Even ON THE COVER: the indoor camp activCAMPERS AT CAMP JORI ities look PHOTO BY GLENN OSMUNDSON like summer to me!

This year, we traveled down memory lane when we asked people around our offices about their camp experiences (read about them, starting on page 18).

All this got me thinking about my years at camp.

Like many of you, I come from a camp family. My parents went to camp, as did my siblings and I. We did not all go to the same camp, or even the same type of camp. But each summer there was some kind

of extended activity away from home.

And while I often protested about spending eight weeks at an overnight camp in Maine while my friends stayed home and spent lazy days at the local swim club, I think camp was the right place for me. Camp is the place where I got my start in journalism, editing the camp newspaper with several other girls.

Two of us graduated from camp to a summer university journalism program – and the rest, as they say, is history.

Like everyone we asked, I still have some vivid memories of camp all these years later. Here are a few: BOSTON. A group of girls flew together into Boston, a place I’d never been, followed by a long bus ride to Maine. Yes, we were met at the airport by counselors. No, I do not believe we were accompanied by an adult on the plane. But there was a bag lunch to look forward to on the bus, including Hood milk. We didn’t have that brand at home. Years later, here I am with Hood milk once again.

HOODSIES. Somehow, I remember those traditional camp favorites.

According to Hood.com, those little cups of chocolate and vanilla ice cream have been around since 1947.

SPORTS. I’m not much of an athlete, but everyone participated in sports at camp. This is where I learned to play tennis – which I still sometimes play, albeit not very well. Also, swimming was required. There’s nothing like an early morning swim in a freezing lake in Maine! I also remember the leeches that lived in the lake – probably the reason I’m not a big swimmer to this day.

SONGS. There were many. Somewhere, I still have the songbook.

TRADITIONS. Again, many, including campfires where you had to dress properly and color teams. I was on the gray team.

UNIFORMS. Yes, that’s right. Saddle shoes and wool shorts and blazers.

A trunk was sent every summer. Nobody would believe that today. But it made getting dressed each morning very easy, and there wasn’t an ounce of competition in the outfit category.

TRIPS. We took a lot of them, to places in Maine and New Hampshire that I’ve since revisited as an adult.

As we got older, the trips got better: hikes that I’d never do again since I developed asthma as I got older, and lots of ice cream on the way back to camp.

ARTS AND CRAFTS. I still have etchings and photos from camp, tucked away in a box. I learned to develop photographs at camp.

These are just a few of my favorite memories.

On Facebook, I’ve connected with a number of the “girls” I spent summers with. We went to camp in the late ’60s and early ’70s. At the time, few camps were co-ed. My camp, which dates to the early 1900s, is still in business and still all-girls.

They hold adult reunions every so often.

Someday I will go back, but for now, I will enjoy the memories and smile when I see campers in our hallway at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center. Yes, they are rambunctious and excited. But they are making memories every day.

Fran Ostendorf, Editor

2020 State of the Union speech

BY RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA) – PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S reelection campaign is now in overdrive, judging by the way he turned much of this year’s State of the Union into a campaign pitch.

“We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back!” he said during the speech Tuesday.

In an unusually partisan address, Trump lashed out at the administration of his predecessor, President Barack Obama, and took shots at the

social democracy embraced by one of his potential Democratic rivals, Sen. Bernie Sanders. There were rehearsed surprises redolent of the reality TV that earned Trump much of his fame; moments of real drama; and a complete absence of discussion of Trump’s soon-to-conclude impeachment trial.

And there were a few moments of Jewish significance, from the Middle East peace plan the president unveiled last week to an unusual disruption to what went unsaid.

Here’s what you need to know.

ONE SENTENCE ABOUT ISRAEL: Three times on Tuesday night, Trump conjugated “fail” to ding the Obama administration. One of those occasions was when he touted the peace vision that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, rolled out last week at the White House, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in attendance.

“Last week, I announced a groundbreaking plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” Trump said.

“Recognizing that all past attempts have failed, we must be determined and creative in order to stabilize the CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

BUSINESS 30-31 CALENDAR 13 | CAMP 17-22 | COMMUNITY 24 | D’VAR TORAH 5 | FOOD 12 OBITUARIES 32-33 | OPINION 8-9 | SIMCHAS & WE ARE READ 35

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

UP FRONT izing our finance department, because we have two campuses. The campus in Warwick operated independently in managing their finances, but now we have all the finance staff here. We’re changing systems so that we’re all doing the same thing, consistently.

What should the community know about JCS?

One thing the community has been looking forward to is further development of programs. We’ve integrated different systems and brought people together, and now we feel better positioned to do longer-term planning with programs. We’re working to identify gaps that we can fill, and areas where we can develop existing programs or start new ones.

JCS manages a lot of programs already. Can you speak specifically about what’s to come?

Not yet, but we’re going to undertake a process of program evaluation. We’re going to look at our programs, make sure they’re aligned with our mission, and determine what changes we can make to more efficiently provide services. We want to identify service gaps and synergies between different programs.

What would you like to see for our community?

PHOTO | GLENN OSMUNDSON

Erin Minior

President of Jewish Collaborative Services sees great things ahead

BY MICHAEL SCHEMAILLE

E

Have there been any changes in the kinds of people using JCS?

rin Minior recently spoke with Jewish Rhode Island about last year’s merger between Jewish Family Service and Jewish Seniors Agency, the challenges and rewards of operating a community service agency, and her connection to Jewish culture.

You were previously CEO of Jewish Family Service. How has your job changed since the merger?

Well, it’s dramatically changed due to the integration of the agencies. JFS [Jewish Family Service of Rhode Island] was a $3 million agency, but combined, we’re between $12 million and $13 million. That presents challenges in terms of the different systems that are needed, so that’s how my focus has shifted.

Erin Gisherman Minior, LICSW, is the president and CEO of Jewish Collaborative Services, the agency created last year by the merger of Jewish Family Service of Rhode Island (JFSRI) and the Jewish Seniors Agency of Rhode Island. In the decade leading up to the merger, Minior was the CEO at JFSRI. Erin and her husband, David, live in Somerset, Massachusetts; the couple will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary later this year. They have three adult children: Evan, Siobhan, and James.

I think both JSA and JFS were some of the best-kept secrets, and we would often encounter people within the Jewish community who didn’t know what we did, or that we existed.

We were so focused on providing service, and as a nonprofit we didn’t have a lot of resources to put into marketing, so getting the word out has always been difficult – the merger is another opportunity for that. I would like us to become a household name, and for people to know us and turn to us. I would like us to become better known, and I would like people to use us as a resource.

Has the culture at the two agencies come together?

The culture has come together, actually!

That’s one of the biggest challenges in a merger, and we had board members and staff coming together from two different agencies, who acted very differently. We formed a committee, our “Culture Club.” They work to bring people together and establish new traditions, such as a cookie exchange, and “Hanukkah Harry,” which is a secret gift-giving exchange.

What’s the most rewarding thing you’ve seen come from the merger?

It was very rewarding just to know that we actually merged. We sat around the table so many times and it never happened, so just that fact that we did it was a major celebration. Because there was really no duplication of services between the two agencies, the staff came together seamlessly.

What challenges remain?

Right now we’re in the middle of central-

It’s interesting. Some of the services we provide appeal to a wide demographic, but there continues to be a need for people who cannot afford to help themselves, or who need financial assistance. It’s ongoing, because one of the biggest challenges related to poverty is that it creates all sorts of problems with meeting basic needs: food, medicine, shelter. It brings on social stresses, too.

One concern I have is for Middle America – the people in the middle who have difficulty making ends meet but don’t qualify for any state or government subsidies. That’s an area of worry, and it’s something we need to look at.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

I am amazed at a number of things. I am amazed every single day when I hear about the care, concern and expertise of our staff, and their dedication to the people we help.

I am amazed by the friends of the agency – financial and otherwise – who support our mission. And the board is unbelievably supportive. What they did in the process of integration, the dedication of every single board member, you had to witness to believe. I could not have gotten through this without them.

They are the backbone of the agency.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

FEBRUARY 2020

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

D’VAR TORAH

IN THE NEWS

Redeeming the bones of Joseph

D’ VA

LIKE MANY PEOPLE OF MY GENERATION (I’m 68), I’m thinking about downsizing and simplifying. Each week I look at the bookshelf in my study to identify a book I might no longer need, to give away.

Last week I came upon an old prayer book, with a tattered cover and yellowed and deteriorating pages. I thought it was time for the book to be placed in the genizah at my synagogue. (A genizah is a closet or a box where used paper, prayer books and ritual objects that are considered sacred are collected.

The general rule is that anything dealing with sacred subjects should be placed in a genizah, rather than thrown out.

Most synagogues clean out their genizot every few years, and bury the contents in a Jewish cemetery as a sign of reverence and respect.)

I quickly perused the tattered, dusty, old siddur and saw that written on the frontpiece was a dedication to my father on the occasion of his Bar Mitzvah, in 5694 in the Hebrew calendar (1934).

Suddenly, I remembered a story in Parshat Beshallach, in the Book of Exodus, which takes place just before the Israelites fled Egypt. “And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the children of Israel swear, ‘God will be sure to take notice of you: then you shall carry up my bones from here with you.’ ” Jewish tradition teaches that on the night we left Egypt, the Holy One told

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Moses to instruct the Israelites to borrow objects of gold and silver from their Egyptian neighbors. As the Israelites grabbed the booty of Egypt, Moses suddenly remembered that he had to carry the bones of Joseph with him.

But Moses did not know where Joseph’s bones were buried, and he knew that the Israelites could not leave Egypt without them.

The midrash (Mechilta) teaches that Moses searched in vain for the coffin of Joseph for three days and nights. Finally, he consulted with Serach, the daughter of Asher, the niece of Joseph, a survivor of that generation, who told Moses where Joseph was buried.

She took Moses to the RABBI ALAN banks of the Nile, and FLAM she told him that the Egyptians had sunk Joseph’s lead coffin in the Nile so that its waters would be blessed. Moses stood on the banks of the river and cried out to the waters: “Joseph, Joseph, the time has come Joseph. The time has come to redeem the oath that you extracted from your brothers. It’s time to go home.”

With those words, the coffin floated to the surface, and Moses placed it on his shoulders and walked off into the wilderness.

A generation later, after the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Joseph’s bones were buried in Shechem, in the shadow of the place he had been sold into slavery. The bones could only be buried after Joshua died, and right

TO R A H

FROM PAGE 4

Do you have a favorite Jewish holiday?

I’m not Jewish. My father was Jewish and my mother was Catholic, and me and my brothers were raised Catholic. The Jewish holiday that’s most meaningful to me, and I’m struck by it every year, is Yom Kippur.

The meaning behind it is what strikes me the most.

Having been raised Catholic, how did you wind up at Jewish Family Service?

I have my Jewish identity, and it’s very interesting. My mother used to joke, because people would ask, “What nationality are you?” and my brothers and I would always say, “Jewish.” Our mother would say, “You know, you’re Irish, too!” “Yeah, we know, but whatever.” How did I end up here? It was just sort of a natural thing; I always knew of Jewish Family Service, and I actually had a lot of trainings from [them] in Boston in my earlier years.

I was working in Rhode Island and I knew people who were connected here, so I applied. I remember my father being very thrilled by that.

Even though you don’t identify as Jewish, you’ve certainly got a solid grounding

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in the culture. Do you have a favorite Jewish food?

before Eleazar, the son of Aaron, dies, which teaches us that an entire generation must sometimes pass on before we can completely deal with that which is carried over from the past.

To carry bones is to possess the sacred; to bury the bones means getting on with life.

I can’t help but think that the tattered siddur from my father’s Bar Mitzvah is like the bones of Joseph. This siddur holds sacred memories. Perhaps an essential element of Jewish life is a quest for the bones of Joseph. Sometimes those bones come in the form of text, or ritual, or melody, or holy experiences, or holy people.

In the Talmud (Sota 13a), Rabbi Meir suggests that Moses was not alone in redeeming the bones of Joseph. Each tribe had to take the bones of their own tribal parents with them – for it is through our families that we redeem the bones of Joseph.

I looked at the siddur and decided it was certainly not destined for the genizah. I am going to proudly pass it on to my children, along with stories about their Papa Paul.

ALAN FLAM is retired and serves on the steering committee of the Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty and is the organizer and rabbi for Soulful Shabbat, a Saturday morning service that emphasizes silence, chanting, gentle stretching and meditation along with traditional davening and Torah study. He can be reached at alan.flam@gmail.com.

American Jews vote for a voice in Israel MANY AMERICAN JEWS are concerned about what is happening in Israel, the state of relations between Israel and American Jewry and about funding for programs that they support in Israel. Now, Americans can also vote to express their opinions. The elections to the World Zionist Congress are the opportunity for Americans to ensure that their views are expressed.

These elections are conducted by the American Zionist Movement, and 13 different American-based slates of candidates are running for seats in the World Zionist Congress.

These slates include Reform, Conservative and Orthodox organizations, as well as secular groups, both progressive and right-wing. All members of the Jewish community in North America who are age 18 and over are invited to vote at https://azm.org/elections.

The American Zionist Movement works to promote and defend Zionism in the United States; to deepen and expand the active relationship of the American Jewish community to Zionism in a contemporary context; to facilitate dialogue and collaboration among Zionist organizations through and with the AZM; and to be the central hub for Zionist resources in America. AZM is comprised of 33 national Jewish Zionist organizations and works across a broad ideological, political, and religious specCONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Is there a piece of advice that’s stuck

This isn’t a well-known Jewish food, with you?

When I think of my father, he but my Aunt Goldie’s Jewish Apple always … I’m going to get emotional Cake. Sometimes I’ll bake it and bring … he always encouraged me to move it to meetings, and people will say, forward in things I wanted to do. I “What is this? You need to enter a remember applying baking contest with here and saying, “I this!” What makes it One concern I have is don’t know, what Jewish, I don’t know, do you think?” and but it was her recipe. for Middle America him saying, “AbsoIf you could invite any lutely!” He always – the people in the three people to dinner, encouraged me to who would you invite, go after my dreams middle who have and why? and not hold back.

JFK [John F. difficulty making Is there anything else Kennedy], because you’d like to add?

I know of him as a ends meet but don’t I feel very honored young, progressive to work in this comleader interested qualify for any state or munity, and to work in his Irish roots. with this agency, I’d like Pope Frangovernment subsidies. particularly as a cis, even though new entity. I think he’s disappointed that the future looks very promising me lately; I had greater faith in him for us, and I’m honored to have been when he started out. And my father’s given the opportunity to lead this mother. It’s one of those things, when agency. people pass, you realize all the things you never asked them. As a result of MICHAEL SCHEMAILLE writes for Jewish working here … there’s so much more Rhode Island and the Jewish Alliance I’d want to know. of Greater Rhode Island.

Candle lighting times Greater Rhode Island February, 2020

Feb.

7

4:48 p.m.

Feb. 14

4:57 p.m.

Feb. 21

5:06 p.m.

Feb. 28

5:14 p.m.

March 6

5:23 p.m.

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY VOICES

We love you, Tom Brady, but it’s time to call it quits “The days of our years are three score and 10.”

– Psalm 90, verse 10

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S PE A

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HIGHRIDGE SWIM & TENNIS CLUB NOTICE TO ALL BONDHOLDERS AND SHAREHOLDERS

BETWEEN THE REFLECTION that usually accompanies the turning of the page to a new year and the nonstop speculation surrounding the future of a certain New England Patriots quarterback, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about growing older.

Maybe in biblical times – when Abraham and Sarah became parents to Isaac at the ages of 100 and 90, respectively – Brady would have been able to play quarterback until he at least qualified for Medicare.

But in these days, when the average life expectancy for Americans stands at 78.6 years, according to a 2018 Washington Post story (which also put the figures for men at 76.1 years and for women at 81.1 years), time may be winding down on No. 12’s storied career.

At least, that’s the consensus of scores of national and regional sports reporters and pundits. Many of them have been predicting Tom Brady’s downfall and/or retirement for years, but we all know what happened: TB-12 proved them wrong, winning three more Super Bowls (in 2015, 2017 and 2019), for a total of six, and coming within one score of winning another one in 2018. For nearly two decades, with few exceptions, the Patriots have practically had a standing reservation for the Big Game held on the first Sunday in February.

With that record, who can blame Brady for wanting to continue to play, even though he’ll be 43 in August, one month before the season opener? He’s repeatedly said that he intends to play some-

where in 2020; it won’t be known for a while where he’ll play because he won’t become a free agent until March 18, one day after his current contract with the Patriots expires.

Seeing Brady suit up for another team wouldn’t sit well with New England fans, who have been wicked spoiled over the last two decades.

Since 2002, Boston’s pro sports teams have delivered 12 championships: the Patriots had six, the Red Sox four, LARRY and the Celtics KESSLER and Bruins one apiece. (Nationally, some sports fans think that some of the Patriots’ titles and the Red Sox win in 2018 were tainted, but that’s a discussion for another day.)

That legacy is why so many fans outside of the region are hoping that Brady will go away. In their minds, the Patriots are Public Enemy No. 1 in the same way that national fans were green with envy over the Celtics of the 1950s and ’60s, when they claimed 11 of 13 NBA championships from 1957 to 1969. It’s also why Red Sox fans couldn’t stand the Yankees during their reigns in the ’50s and ’60s and again in the late ’90s through 2000.

Like the Patriots, the Celtics’ dynasty years were aided by the presence of an imposing superstar, in this case center Bill Russell, who retired following the 1968 and 1969 titles, when he was the player-coach. It couldn’t have been easy for Russell to walk away, but he did.

Fifty years later, that doesn’t appear to be the case for Brady. Motivated by his method of training, Brady seems to think he can go on, if not forever, then for up to

three more seasons, which would satisfy his goal of playing until he’s 45.

That might please Brady, but at what cost? The ravages of time eventually catch up with all of us not named Abraham, Sarah or Methuselah (who, according to the Bible, lived until the age of 969).

It’s true that many people are defying the average life expectancy and living well into their 90s, while others are making it to 100 or more.

In 2012, for example, a United Nations report said there were 316,600 centenarians worldwide, while a 2016 Smithsonianmag.com story reported that in 2014 there were 72,197 centenarians in the United States.

But they appear to be the exception, since most of us can’t avoid the effects of aging. That also applies to well-conditioned athletes – in spite of what they want to believe.

Baseball Hall-of-Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, for instance, played too long. Mays was a shadow of himself when the longtime San Francisco Giant played for the New York Mets in 1973, and Aaron – who in 1974 became baseball’s all-time home-run leader with the Atlanta Braves – hit only 12 and 10 homers in 1975 and 1976, respectively, when he played for the Milwaukee Brewers before his retirement.

Sports history is full of such examples of once-shining superstars paying the price for their reluctance to retire. Babe Ruth, for instance, ended his career with the Boston Braves in 1935, when his skills had significantly eroded.

Patriots fans – and Brady – should hope that the end of his career won’t come at the expense of his long-term health. That should be the most important consideration, because whether you’re a multimillionaire athlete or a retiree living on a fixed income, the time you have left depends on good health – and that’s something that even a mega-contract can’t guarantee.

LARRY KESSLER (larrythek65@gmail.com) is a freelance writer based in North Attleboro.

FEBRUARY 2020

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

COMMUNITY VOICES

IN THE NEWS

In our chemically altered landscape, signs of Eden

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“PRIVILEGE.” WHAT DOES IT MEAN? the gorgeous (but doomed) planet The help at Frenchman’s Creek – a Earth, taking off from a flat airport manicured and gated community in and landing in a concrete creation Florida’s Palm Beach – come from crafted by bulldozers. And yet, no such “exotic” places as matter what you say or think to Guatemala and Haiti, and yourself, or read about, it’s a they bring you little mix of gratitude, greed and luxuries like heatphilosophical reflection to ed beach robes, or come up with a proper perthey take away such spective on the ironic and burdens as leftover incredible “beauty” of this dishes of unfinished garden of Eden. tasty treats.

The high point for me Of course, it’s here in this land of the comfy to bask in the eternal (youth?) was a stroll MIKE FINK along the actual shoreline of welcoming sunbeams or the sheltering shade. I the ocean, picking up spectry to make use of my dated camera tacularly beautiful shells like divine – but I can’t figure out how to snap a gems, and greeting unusual – I mean shot of the elegant solitary shorebird unfamiliar – gulls, and the very same that stubbornly stays put in the fake piping plovers I see in Narragansett, lagoon (along with an actual alligator, like tiny elfin friends from home. perhaps) within the ever-intruding I haven’t really left Rhode Island golf course lawns, the hills and dales though, because I am courteously of this chemically groomed landscape. greeted by so many familiar faces But then I think, “oh well, I’ll refrom Providence. Dr. Phil Torgan member the lonely beauty of a heron shakes hands with me, as does Judge or egret in the tiny pool even without Marge Yashar. Morris Weintraub (my visual evidence”. father-in-law!) and gracious Joan After a lavish luncheon at the 19th Gelch organize a rendezvous for me Hole oasis, I make so bold as to ask the with a star witness to the abundant help what becomes of the remnants wildlife and diverse birds that survive of this rich repast. The answer is not ... nay, flourish! … despite, or because unexpected, but still shocking: “It all of, that golf course designed for hugoes into the trash,” said with a polite man games. but thoughtful and regretful halfsmile and an exotic accent.

This past month was Tevet, the occasion of a special fast to recall the destruction of a Temple of splendor – perhaps like this regal realm, away from wintry blasts. A rabbi explains that without the losses of prior splendors, we would not have brought the Torah with us into modern times, interpreting its chapters to make personal meaning of every month, and moment, and era.

Now, with Tu B’Shevat reminding us to thank the trees for their gifts to us, creation invites us to salute and bless the lives great and small that share whatever Eden we can glimpse, perhaps regretfully as well as gratefully.

My granddaughters label this place with French street names “Paradise.” But I am aware of the infinite ironies of my easy sojourn. It’s so Bird-watching in Florida convenient to fly in a jet plane all over

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BOOK

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Dr. “Burt” (almost sounds like “Dr. Bird”) takes me in his golf cart on a fabulous tour, with his guidebook in hand. He makes a mark, a checkmark, beside the snapshot of each winged species we see. We also stop for a moment to say hello to my old college classmates, who are holding their clubs and keeping their scores.

Later, I repeat this lovely adventure with my daughter, who uses her phone “device” to record each wildfowl we can get close enough to for purposes of proof and souvenirs of a splendid if brief interlude. Oh, it was a most successful holiday weekend! Babies, fledglings, distinguished elders and a chance to show off my snobbery and eccentricities and to take a break from my position of “privilege” for these blessed hours.

Back to trees and Tu B’Shevat: Morris points out a rather bare tree, just beyond the border of his home here, leafless among the swaying palms.

Aha! Upon its highest branches there is a nest, an osprey’s world. Maybe it’ll scare off the raccoon that visits the mini-pool and makes a mess. I look upward with awe and astonishment at the surprising survival of Eden, no matter what we do to it.

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

PHOTO | MIKE FINK

Visit from the Governor PROVIDENCE HEBREW DAY SCHOOL welcomed Governor Gina Raimondo on Jan. 9 when she visited the school to show her solidarity with the Orthodox community following a string of anti-Semitic attacksin New York over Hanukkah. Adam Greenman, Stephanie Hague and Wendy Joering participated in the conversation on behalf of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

Those who attended from PHDS were Reuven Schloss, Rabbi Peretz Scheinerman, Miriam Esther Weiner and Rabbi Aaron Lapin. The governor also met with New England Academy of Torah seniors Avigayil Lapin, Chavi Saklad, Bina Leah Haldorsen, Cheli Schochet and Britanny Kushner.

FROM PAGE 5 trum linking the American Jewish community together in support of Israel, Zionism, and the Jewish people.

The 14 slates running in the 2020 World Zionist Congress elections are, in ballot order: • Eretz Hakodesh: Protecting the Kedusha and Mesorah of Eretz Yisrael • Vote Reform: ARZA Representing the Reform Movement and Reconstructing Judaism • Israel Shelanu (Our Israel) • Orthodox Israel Coalition – Mizrachi: Vote Torah • Vision: Empowering the Next Generation • MERCAZ USA: The Voice of Conservative/Masorti Judaism • Dorshei Torah V’Tziyon: Torah and Israel for All • Hatikvah: Progressive Israel Slate • Ohavei Zion: World Sephardic Zionist Organization • Herut Zionists: The Jabotinsky Movement • ZOA Coalition: Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), Torah from Sinai, MIG (Make Israel Great) & National Pro-Israel Partners – Courageously Defending Israel, Sovereignty & the Jewish People • American Forum for Israel • Americans4Israel: Unity, Peace & Security • Kol Yisrael: For the Love of Israel: Making Zionism Compelling in the 21st Century Visit ZionistElection.org to learn more and sign up for updates. Party positions/ visions, supporting organizations and lists of candidates may be found for each slate at this site.

Registration and voting opened on Jan. 21 and ends on March 11. The fee to register and vote is $7.50, or $5 for those 18-25, which goes to cover the operating costs of the election.

Cranston Senior Guild sets March meeting Cranston Senior Guild’s next meeting will take place Wednesday, March 4 at 1 p.m. at the Phyllis Siperstein Tamarisk Assisted Living Residences, 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick. After a short meeting, retired Rhode Island State Police Lt. Col. Joseph Philbin will speak about his experiences in Israel during a one-week law enforcement training exchange program.

All men and women age 55 years plus are welcome to join. Membership is $12 for the year. Cranston residency is not required.

8 | FEBRUARY 2020

Anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York City fell in January

BY BEN SALES

Yeshiva U men’s basketball earns first national ranking

BY MARCY OSTER (JTA) – The Yeshiva University’s men’s basketball team has been ranked in the Division III Top 25 for the first time.

In the D3hoops.com’s poll released Feb. 3, the Maccabees are ranked No. 24, one spot ahead of Brandeis, a Jewish-sponsored, nonsectarian research university.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

Exploring humanity in “God of Vengeance” IN A 1951 ISSUE of the Israeli Yiddish was not concerned whether I wrote a sympathetic, though ruthlessly imjournal, “Di Goldeni Kayt” (“The moral or immoral play, What I wantpartial, attention…”

Golden Chain”), the prominent Yided to write was an artistic play and a In his “sympathetic, though ruthdish writer, Sholem Asch (1880-1957), true one…Jews do not need to clear lessly impartial” treatment of the four tells of the reaction of his literary themselves before anyone. They are prostitutes in his play, Asch seems to mentor and hero, I. L. Peretz, to “God as good and as bad as any race…I have epitomize Cahan’s vision of Yiddish of Vengeance” (Got Fun Nekome), a written so many Jewish characters art in his generation. During Act II, play he had completed in Switwho are good and noble, that I cannot Hindel, the eldest of the four, calls out zerland in the summer of now, when writing of a “bad” one, from her room to the others, “This is 1906: make an exception and say that our way of making a living. And be“I will never forget he is a Gentile.” lieve me, when one of us gets married, the Saturday afterThe so-called “bad” one to she is more faithful to her husband noon when I read whom Asch is referring is than any of the others. We know what aloud in Peretz’s Yekel Tchaftchovitch, who a man is.” Further along in the same salon my play ‘God is the Jewish owner of a act, the four prostitutes run out to the of Vengeance.’ brothel in what is identified street to dance in a May rain shower When I finished, the as “one of the larger towns of – a joyful act that appears if only for a entire room was still. a Russian province.” He, moment – to cleanse them inside and Nobody said a word out, to restore their lost innocence.

RABBI JAMES along with his wife Sarah until Peretz called out: and their 17-year-old I am not the first person to sense ROSENBERG ‘Burn it, Asch, burn it.’ ” daughter Rivkele, live on that “God of Vengeance” is far more How fortunate for theater-loving the first floor of an old building, while a play about questions than about audiences that Asch did not follow four prostitutes ply their trade in the answers. It seems to me that the cenPeretz’s advice. Of Asch’s more than basement. tral question in the play concerns the 20 plays, “God of Vengeance” has been Asch portrays Yekel not so much lesbian relationship between Rivkele by far his best known and most freas a “bad” man but rather as a “torn” and Manke, one of the four prostitutes quently performed. By the time this man. On the one hand, Yekel is “downstairs” – a relationship that play was first translated into English ashamed of his line of work and – by Asch portrays as both physically pasby Isaac Goldberg, in 1918, Got Fun implication – ashamed of his wife Sarsionate and emotionally tender.

Nekome had already been translatah, who was once herself a prostitute.

Act III explores the implications ed into Hebrew, German, Russian, On the other hand, his ownership of of this relationship for Rivkele, for Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, the brothel enables him to give generManke, and for the other characters Italian and French. ously to the Jewish community, whose in the play – most especially, Rivkele’s Asch’s “God of Vengeance” has rabbinical and lay leadership gladly heartbroken and increasingly debecome famous or infamous the accept his money while more or less ranged father. After his daughter’s world over, depending upon one’s turning a blind eye to unexplained disapperspective. Those who admire the its source. pearance for almost 24 play praise its frank but sensitive In the first of three hours, during which I am not the first treatment of such themes as lesbian acts, Yekel arranges time she appears to love, prostitution, domestic abuse and to purchase a Torah have been intimate the hypocrisy of organized religion – scroll, which he plans person to sense that with Manke, Yekel, subjects rarely explored on stage in to keep in his daughin mounting panic, “God of Vengeance” demands an answer: the early decades of the 20th century, ter’s bedroom in especially in puritanical America. order, through its ho“Are you –are you still is far more a play Indeed, not long after the first English liness, to protect her as pure as when you production of “God of Vengeance” purity and keep her left this house? Are about questions opened on Broadway in 1923, the away from the sordid you still a virtuous “powers that be” declared the play goings-on in the Jewish daughter? … ‘immoral” and arrested both manbrothel. Yekel vows than about answers. Are you still a chaste agement and members of the cast on to present this Torah Jewish daughter? – obscenity charges. to bride and groom Tell me, at once!”

In response to the allegation that on Rifkele’s wedding day as a guarAttempting to cover her face, “God of Vengeance” was “immoral antor of the sanctity of his daughter’s Rifkele replies: “I don’t know…,” her and defamatory,” Asch defended his Jewish home. This Torah, though not answer dressed in the dignity and the work in an open letter in “Opinions assigned a single word in the script, sorrow of her honesty. of Frank Crane and Other Prominent is in many ways an independent and At the end of the play, the audience Men and Women” (New York, 1923): “I forceful character in the play. can only echo Rivkele’s words, “I don’t In his preface to Isaac Goldberg’s know.” And the piercing pain of that 1918 English translation of “God unknowing keeps us humble, keeps us AUTHOR’S NOTE: I was inspired to of Vengeance,” Abraham Cahan, searching, keeps us human, keeps us write about “God of Vengeance” as widely-read author and editor of the alive. a result of a program focused on the Yiddish paper, Jewish Daily Forward, plays of Sholem Asch at the Yiddish comments on what he considers “the JAMES B. ROSENBERG is the rabbi Book Center in Amherst, Massachuunderlying principle of the new-born emeritus at Temple Habonim, in setts. To learn more about the Yiddish Jewish art…No human being is so Barrington. Contact him at rabbiemerBook Center, visit its website: www. utterly brutalized as to possess not itus@templehabonim.org. yiddishbookcenter.org a single spark worthy of the artist’s

EM

S TO M

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NEW YORK (JTA) – There were fewer anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York City in January than in the same month last year. The period between Jan. 1 and Feb. 2 saw 21 hate crimes directed at Jews, according to a preliminary set of statistics published Feb. 4 by the New York Police Department.

The same period last year had 25 anti-Semitic hate crimes.

In both years, anti-Semitic hate crimes made up the majority of total hate crimes in the city in January – 72% in 2020 and 65% in 2019.

“These are not great trends,” said Evan Bernstein, vice president of the Northeast Division of the Anti-Defamation League. “It’s great that there’s less anti-Semitic incidents, but we want the percentage to also go down of the overall number of hate crimes, and I think there’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”

The slight drop last month comes after anti-Semitic hate crimes rose 26% overall in New York City in 2019. Last year saw 234 anti-Semitic hate crimes, as opposed to 186 in 2018.

The total number of hate crimes also dropped citywide in January, falling to 29 from 38.

Crime overall rose nearly 17%.

According to Mitchell Silber, UJA-Federation of New York’s top security official, nearly twothirds of the anti-Semitic incidents in New York are committed by young people. In a statement accompanying the January data, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the NYPD has assigned certain officers to address crimes committed by youth and help young people avoid interacting with the criminal justice system.

“As we double down on our efforts, we will be building bonds with our youngest New Yorkers to make our city safer and fairer,” de Blasio said in the statement

COMMUNITY VOICES | OPINION

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IN THE NEWS

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.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 Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

Send letters and op-eds to: Jewish Rhode Island, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906 or editor@jewishallianceri.org. Include name, city of residence and a contact phone number or email (not for publication).

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COMMUNITY VOICES | THE CONVERSATION “THE CONVERSATION” PROVIDES A BIMONTHLY OPPORTUNITY for discussion on topics of interest to the entire greater Rhode Island Jewish community. Every other month, we will offer a topic and ask our readers to write an Op-Ed of approximately 750 words. “The Conversation” is not a point/counterpoint or pro/con feature; it is our hope that readers will think about the topic, consider their own experiences and comment online at jewishrhody.org, by email to editor@jewishallianceri.org or by mail to Editor, Jewish Rhode Island, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906. We hope you’ll join in the conversation.

Jewish Rhode Island Staff

Have you ever felt judged for how you celebrate Judaism?

When the box doesn’t fit

BY RABBI GAVI RUIT JUDAISM HAS always been a complex, evolving organism with multiple perspectives that often resist one another.

The priestly Sadducee literalists resisted the democratization promoted by the Pharisees. The rabbinic age was rife with conflicting opinions (Hillel and Shammai, anyone?). Maimonides and other medieval philosophers scorned the kabbalists’ mysticism.

The Talmud-focused Mitnagim opposed the rise of the spirituality-focused Hasidism. And in early modernity, those representing what would come to be known as “Orthodox” railed against the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) and the Reform movement that came in its wake. And so it is with Judaism – we are a complex and multi-varied people and our tradition is likewise complex and multi-varied.

When thinking about my own experience as a member of klal Israel, I find our complicated history comforting. I am not the first, nor will I be the last, to struggle with how I “fit” with the Jewish people, customs and practice. At various times in my life I haven’t felt judged for my Jewish practice, as much as I’ve felt misunderstood. Others seemed to have a preconceived idea of the “Jewish box” that was supposed to fit me and were surprised when it pinched in all the wrong places. The first time I encountered that poorly fitting box was in rabbinical school.

After a career in psychology, and after having recovered from a significant injury, I was excited to pursue the vocation that had been calling me since I was 12 – the rabbinate.

But the challenging question was: where to apply to rabbinical school?

This was a harder question than you might think; it proved to be my first big “pick a box” moment. I considered both the Reform (HUC) and Conservative (AJU) seminaries in Los Angeles, and both appealed for different reasons. Like most people, I am a multifaceted mix of charac-

teristics, including how I approach Jewish life. In many ways I’m a traditionalist; our tradition is what binds us as klal Israel and deserves care and respect. While Jewish tradition has necessarily evolved, I believe the innovations we make for our communities should be thought out, careful and purposeful. At the same time, I have been a voracious student of Jewish history, theology, mores and practice. The more I learned about the theology that undergirds certain elements of our tradition, the more I saw the need for thoughtful innovation. A congregant recently described my approach as “scholarly and critical, yet clearly inspired by respect and affection.”

I think that’s accurate, but it made choosing a school challenging.

After spending time on both campuses, I chose HUC [Hebrew Union College]. The Reform movement’s focus on inclusion and social justice resonated, and I was excited to learn from some of the exemplary scholars – such as Rachel Adler, Tamara Eskenazi, and Lewis Barth – whose work I had been reading for years.

The Conservative responsum that allowed for openly-LGBTQ clergy had just come out and I didn’t want to be a part of the first class to have out rabbinical students. I had fought those battles years before in college and grad school, and I wasn’t interested in my orientation being a primary focus again.

In many ways HUC exceeded all of my expectations. I received a truly wonderful education from rabbis and scholars who cared deeply about their students, I developed a cohort of colleagues and friends whom I respect and love, and I came away with the beginnings of a manuscript for a book that was finally published last year.

What I didn’t expect was for my approach to Judaism to surprise (and sometimes shock) my classmates. Some assumed that I was on the ultra-liberal end of the progressive Jewish spectrum.

They assumed I supported avoiding problematic Torah verses such as Leviticus 18:22 (I don’t). Some were shocked to learn that I laid tefillin.

Others were perplexed that I saw CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Judged or judging: It’s not that easy

BY RABBI RAPHIE SCHOCHET AS A PERSON with very strong convictions about my Judaism and my Jewish practices, I have to say that I do not feel judged. I wear my convictions quite literally on my sleeve, I am proud of them and own them! Having said so, I would like to present what is perhaps the other side of the coin. That is, quite often I do feel, and sometimes I am even told, that I am judging another person. It is not what I say, not a gesture or a facial expression. It is just there, an elephant in the room that somehow will not go away.

Perhaps there is a natural defensiveness when something is different. Maybe the beard or the conservative mode of dress set me apart, make me look like I am different or is it something else? When I first arrived in Rhode Island over 15 years ago, I would take off my jacket as soon as I entered a meeting room just to make others feel more at ease.

Even so, there was always something that made people uncomfortable. Is it my adherence to a strict set of formal, traditional practices that govern every aspect of my life that somehow intimate that I think fellow Jews who are not doing the same are somehow inferior? Truly I am not sure what is, but it makes no difference. Let me explain why: I try to live my life by the following aphorism, and when I am successful in communicating it I think that people feel a lot more comfortable. In “Ethics of Our Fathers,” a repository of amazing insight into human nature and relationships, the sages taught, “Who is the one who is wise? Somebody who learns from all those around him.” It is true, my Judaism has very defined boundaries, unyielding measures of what is right and what is wrong. This does not give me or anyone else license to pass judgment on another person.

It does open the door for meaningful discussion. Sometimes we may come to agree with one another and sometimes we may agree to dis-

agree. This is an inevitable truth of life, just as G-D created people with different facial features so are peoples’ views and perspectives on life going to be different. Life is about a meaningful pursuit of the truth, so that all perspectives count and are helpful in arriving at that goal.

Over many years of teaching and reaching out in an effort to inspire people to explore their Judaism more fully, I have been blessed to form many meaningful relationships with people from across the spectrum of this beautiful community. I have inevitably walked away from these encounters enriched in one way or another. We should put aside our preconceived notions and open ourselves up to one another because even if we are unable to agree we are one family. Genuine love and concern as well as respect for one another is what we should all be striving for.

A final thought on the subject of judging, based on our ancient traditions: The sages taught, “You cannot judge your friend until you have stood in his place.” The reality of the material world is that no two objects can coexist in the same space, which means that no individual can subject someone else to their personal qualifications. We can share ideas, debate them and come to agreement or respectfully disagree, but we cannot judge another from our own perspective. We have to open the door to hearing, seeing and feeling other perspectives. When that does not happen, consider that it may not be because we are being judged but rather because we are judging.

Measuring another by my standard prevents me from making a real connection with what he is expressing. The feeling we have when we feel judged; is that what we wish to project onto someone else?

Feeling judged is often the result of our judging. Let’s pause and stop the cycle so that positive energy and understanding can flow, and we finally build the kind of unity we all so deeply desire.

RABBI RAPHIE SCHOCHET is the rosh kollel of the Providence Community Kollel, an organization that provides programs to enhance and enrich Jewish life in Rhode Island.

TO SUBMIT your comments, go to jewishrhody.org and comment on the article (you have to register first with a valid email address) or go to the Jewish Rhode Island Facebook page and comment on the post. You can also send comments to editor@jewishallianceri.org or send us a letter to the editor.

10 | FEBRUARY 2020

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COMMUNITY VOICES

Memories of the New Year of the Trees

BY GERALDINE S. FOSTER

TU B’SHEVAT, which falls on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, is a favorite holiday of mine. It is one of the four new years in the annual Jewish cycle, the New Year of the Trees. According to some online references, it is a “minor” Jewish holiday with religious and agricultural significance. It is also known as the Jewish Arbor Day, since planting trees is a common activity on the oneday holiday.

For over 100 years, Tu B’Shevat has been associated with planting trees in Eretz Israel, mainly by the Jewish National Fund. But, the holiday had – and has – other significance. Though celebrations in Israel still include tree planting, they also incorporate programs designed to raise awareness of ecology and ecological issues. In our own community religious schools, ecological issues have also become part of the holiday curricula.

Back when my daughters and their peers went to religious schools, in addition to their weekly donation to Keren Am, they were encouraged to bring an extra dime on Sundays. That 10 cents bought a paper leaf that they could paste on a sheet of paper showing a tree. Eventually, all those dimes would purchase trees that would be

planted in Israel in the name of their school. They thus had a share in the greening of Israel.

In my childhood, we called the New Year of the Trees Chamisha Asar B’Shvat, a more formal – or old-fashioned – name for the holiday. The celebrations were cultural and social rather than religious. We did not get a day’s respite from school or work to go to shul. Friends came together to schmooze and socialize. Organizations, from socialist to secular to Zionist to religious, sponsored evening “get-togethers.”

The programs varied, depending on the sponsoring group and their ideals, but the menu – nosherei – did not.

Whether at a home or in a hall, a platter of dried fruits and nuts (always including almonds) graced the centers of the tables, along with some Kosher wine or a soft drink or glass of tea. The fruit and nuts, though no doubt grown in California, embodied something of a cultural memory of Eretz Israel, recapturing a moment of our shared history – or, perhaps a dream of the future to celebrate together.

One additional fruit – this one from Eretz Israel – had a place at the table. We knew it as bokser, a long brown pod, hard as a rock. No Tu B’Shevat celebration would be complete without it. There was

PHOTO | © CAN STOCK PHOTO / ROSTISLAVV

An almond tree blooms in Israel. always someone present who was foolhardy enough to risk a huge dental bill by trying to bite off a piece of the pod. For his trouble, if successful, he (never a she) found a mealy textured, sweetish tasting center with a pungent odor.

Later, I would learn bokser was dried carob pod. I prefer the Yiddish word bokser.

Dried carob pod sounds too mundane.

Many years later, when Warren and I were spending four or five months a year in Florida, we hosted Chamisha Asar B’Shvat seders at our home. Sadly, no bokser could be found to grace our table.

We contented ourselves, after lunch, with noshing on dried fruit and nuts (especially

almonds), singing Hebrew songs (usually off key) and engaging in great conversations.

One final, wonderful memory of Tu B’Shevat, from some 40 years ago.

During the holiday, the almond trees in Israel are in bloom, an event hailed in song by generations of schoolchildren all over the country.

It is a never-to-be-forgotten vision of sheer beauty: A mantle of pink-white blossoms decorates the branches of each tree.

As I was leaving Jerusalem for the airport, I spotted through the side window of the cab a gorgeous pink cloud just beyond the highway. It was a grove of blossoming

almond trees. The driver did not understand my excitement. “Nu – come again next year. They will blossom for you again.”

Although I had visited Israel many times, this was the first and only trip that occurred at that season.

But every Chamisha Asar B’Shvat, I see those splendid blossoming almond trees with my heart.

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 401-331-1360.

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FOOD & DINING

We should all eat more blintzes this year

BY MELISSA KLURMAN This recipe originally appeared on The Nosher.

MY NOT-SO-HEALTHY Jewish food resolution for 2020 sounds simple: eat more blintzes. But as with the best blintzes, it’s a little more complex than this simple statement.

My grandmother, Mama Pearl, was 99 when she passed away in February.

She was my baking buddy and Crisco guru. She taught me to make apple pie when I still had to stand on a stool to reach the counter, and I’m now the keeper of her index box full of sweet recipes for everything from Passover apple fritters to pecan chocolate pie.

One thing I never learned to make, though: her blueberry blintzes.

No restaurant, diner, Jewish food emporium or synagogue has ever served me a blintz that looked like Mama Pearl’s. The dough was so thin it was nearly transparent, and the whole blueberries in the filling – never jam – pushed up almost to the point of breaking through.

Forget any tightly folded blankets of barely filled

Blueberry blintzes dough, these looked more like children’s sharp elbows poking up under the sheets.

How do I remember what they look like so clearly? I’ve got the last one in my freezer.

She made it as part of a batch in the summer of 2018, and I held on to it thinking I’d wait until she made more. Now I’m too emotionally attached to either eat it or throw it away.

The only thing I can think to do is to master her recipe and create more to keep the “one”

PHOTO | GETTY IMAGES

company, so I don’t have to continuously check to make sure no one has eaten it or defrosted my freezer in the night.

But how to go about making a blintz that’s mostly a memory?

To the recipe box I go. Only there’s no recipe here. A blintz is the kind of instinctual comfort food women of her generation made simply by the memories in their hands.

So to the internet I head,

It’s official! The Rhode Island Kosher Chili Cook-Off is back!

KOSHER RHODE ISLAND

CHILI

COOK-OFF June 7, 2020

Who will be crowned the Chili Champs of 2020? There’s only one way to find out!

Join us on Sunday, June 7, from 11:00am – 4:00pm at the JCC: 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence.

Enjoy a day filled with Kosher chili, music and entertainment, a beer garden, and activities for the whole family. Attendees will vote for their favorite recipe.

It’s going to be a great “thyme!”

Volunteer with us! Learn more at jewishallianceri.org/chili

but as with my restaurant quest, I can only find “fresh blueberries” that have been cooked down into jam.

Then my mom saves the day with a recipe she wrote down by watching over my grandmother’s shoulder, and it’s exactly how I remember it.

I head back to my own kitchen and pull out my frozen keepsake, which I’ve been too emotional to do before now. The blueberries have shriveled from being in the

deep freeze for two years, and there’s a layer of frost on one side that nearly brings me to tears.

In fact, everything about my New Year’s blintz project makes me verklempt. I don’t want to be the only holder of the last blintz, what I truly desire is impossible: for my grandmother to make me a cup of coffee from her 50-year-old percolator and ask me to take out the garden furniture while she fries up her sweet summer specialty.

But a funny thing happens as I pour and swirl the batter in the frying pan: My own hand memories start to kick in. I can picture mama in the kitchen, and I know I’m going too slowly. The only way to get a thin, lacy blini is to make the pan hotter, pull it away from the heat quicker and swirl it more deftly.

In the end, my pancakes are a bit thick, but my blueberries are lemony and delicious, bursting with flavor and still whole.

The first batch was good, but there’s room for improvement. And that, I think, is the best part of having a New Year’s resolution to eat more blintzes: I still have the whole year to get it right.

Blueberry Blintzes About 18 blintzes, serving 8

Ingredients

For the blueberry filling:

For the blintzes:

2 pints blueberries 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar 2 teaspoons lemon zest Lemon juice (about 1 teaspoon)

3 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 cup water 1 cup all-purpose flour Unsalted butter, for frying Sour cream, for serving.

Directions Blitz all the blintz ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Heat a nonstick skillet on medium heat until hot and lightly grease with butter.

Pour about 1/8 cup (or 2 tablespoons) batter into the pan and tilt the pan in a circular motion until the batter coats the entire bottom of the pan.

Cook for 60-75 seconds until the edges of the blintz brown and the bottom is lightly golden. (You can tell it’s ready by touching the center of the pancake’s surface – it should be dry and slightly tacky to the touch.) Do not flip the blintz to cook the other side.

Place the blintz on a plate lined with parchment or wax

paper. (Use parchment or wax paper or paper towels between blintzes to keep them from sticking together.)

Combine all ingredients for the blueberry filling.

To wrap blintzes, place 1 tablespoon filling just offcenter. Fold the top down and the sides up over the filling, then roll down to the bottom (because the blueberries are lumpy, go slow and try and to stretch the dough over them without tearing it).

You can serve the blintzes at this point or freeze them for later use.

When you’re ready to eat them, fry on all sides in butter until golden. Serve with sour cream.

FEBRUARY 2020

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

| 13

UP FRONT | CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS FOR COMPLETE MONTHLY LISTINGS, VISIT JEWISHRHODY.ORG

Ongoing

Alliance Kosher Senior Café.

Weekdays (except holidays) noon-2 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Kosher lunch followed by program. Information or RSVP, 401-421-4111, ext. 107.

West Bay Kosher Senior Café.

Fridays 11:15 a.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Program followed by Kosher lunch. Information or RSVP, 401-421-4111, ext. 107.

Duplicate Bridge. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Mondays noon-2 p.m.: 0-20 masterpoint game for less-experienced players. $5.

Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and Fridays 11 a.m.-3 p.m.: open stratified game, all levels. $7. Thursdays 1-3 p.m.: Guided play. $6. Information, abarton295@aol.com or 401-3909244.

Mahjong. Mondays 1:30-4:00 p.m.

Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Lessons available. Free. Information, Torat Yisrael office at 401-885-6600.

“The Many Blessings of Masekhet (Tractate) Berakhot.” Tuesdays 7:30-9 p.m. thru 3/3. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence.

Explore this tractate through a historical, literary and spiritual dimension to gain a better understanding of prayer and liturgy. Led by Rabbi Michael Fel. $36; $25 students/ seniors. Information, Rachel Zerin at rzerin@teprov.org or 401-331-1616.

“Girls in Trouble: Stories about Biblical Women through Text, Music and Art.” Tuesdays 7:30-9 p.m. thru 3/3. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. Explore how biblical women are portrayed in the Tanakh, midrash, visual art and music. Led by Rabbi Rachel Zerin. $36; $25 students/seniors. Information, Rachel Zerin at rzerin@teprov. org or 401-331-1616.

Prayer Study with Cantor Brian Mayer. Wednesdays 6:15-7:15 p.m. thru 5/20. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. Discussion focuses on sections of the siddur.

Class members are invited to offer interpretations of the prayers while studying classical and contemporary commentaries. Information, Rachel Zerin at rzerin@teprov.org or 401331-1616.

Delve Deeper: “Sacred Space in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.”

Thursdays 7-9 p.m. thru 4/2. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence.

Led by Joan Branham, a look at how Jews make their buildings holy.

Examine the role of gender, sacrifice, blood and pilgrimage in constructing the sacred. $250; financial assistance available. Information, Temple Emanu-El Office at 401-331-1616.

Project Shoresh Jewish Young Professionals Parsha Pathways

Powwow. Thursdays 7:45-9:15 p.m. thru 3/19. Congregation Mishkon Tfiloh, 203 Summit Ave., Providence.

Each stand-alone session includes dinner, weekly Torah portion discussion and chance to socialize.

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

Parashat Hashavua. Fridays 7:45-8:35 a.m. thru 6/5. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence.

Study highlights of weekly Torah portion. Led by Rabbi Alvan Kaunfer.

Information, Rachel Zerin at rzerin@ teprov.org or 401-331-1616.

Minyan Breakfast and Torah Study. Saturdays 9:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Breakfast 9:30 a.m., Torah study 10-11 a.m., Shabbat services follow. Information, Dottie@ templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.

Children’s Programs and Kiddush.

Shabbat mornings 10-11:30 a.m.

Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. Ages 2 to 12.

Free. Information, office@bethsholom-ri.org.

Tot Shabbat. Saturdays 11 a.m.12:30 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. Sing, dance, learn, listen to stories, play and pray.

No RSVP. Challah and juice served.

Free. Information or to advise of allergy concerns, Shosh Jacob at shosh@teprov.org.

Friday | February 7

Family Shabbat Service. 5:45-7:30 p.m. Temple Shalom, 223 Valley Road, Middletown. Pizza at 5:45 p.m., family service at 6:30 p.m. Oneg follows. All welcome. Information, Temple Shalom office at 401-8469002 or templeshalomrhodeisland@ gmail.com.

Friday Night Live. 5:45-8 p.m.

Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Cocktails and appetizers at 5:45 p.m.; musical Shabbat service at 7 p.m. Free.

Information, Temple Torat Yisrael office at 401-885-6600.

Pizza Shabbat. 6 p.m. Congregation Beth David, 102 Kingstown Road, Narragansett. Friday evening service followed by pizza. Information, Jerry Kasten at 401-885-1296.

Scout Shabbat. 6-7:30 p.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston.

Service followed by Oneg. Presented by the Narragansett Council Jewish Committee on Scouting. All welcome.

Information, Curt Abbott at cabbott183@gmail.com.

Shabbat Chai. 6-8 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence.

Led by Cantor Brian Mayer and the Shabbat Chai Band. The Rabbi gives a brief D’var Torah between Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv. Services followed by a Shabbat dinner at no cost to service attendees.

Information, bjmayer@teprov.org or 401-331-1616.

Saturday | February 8

USY - Chopped Event. 6-7 p.m.

Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. For grades 6-8. Information, Alicia Blazer at blazeralicia3@gmail.com.

Motown Love! 7-10 p.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston.

Cantor Deborah Johnson, with Raymond Buttero on piano, performs love songs from the Motown era.

Desserts. $18 in advance, $25 at the door. Information, Dottie at dottie@ templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.

NEAT Ladies Production. 7-10 p.m.

Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence.

New England Academy of Torah’s annual song, dance and drama production for ladies and girls. $12.

Information, Rabbi Peretz Scheinerman at pscheinerman@phdschool. org or 401-331-5327.

Sunday | February 9

Sprouts. 9:30-10:30 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Stories, songs, crafts and a snack for preschoolers. $12 per session. Information, Torat Yisrael office at 401-885-6600.

School Tu B’Shevat Activity. 11 a.m.-noon. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Information, Torat Yisrael office at 401-885-6600.

USY Cooking, Baking and Decorating. Noon. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Kadima for grades 3-5 only. Information, Alicia Blazer at blazeralicia3@ gmail.com.

NEAT Ladies Production.

Noon-4 p.m. Providence Hebrew Day School, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. New England Academy of Torah’s annual song, dance and drama production for ladies and girls. $12. Information, Rabbi Peretz Scheinerman at pscheinerman@ phdschool.org or 401-331-5327.

Gender in Israeli and Palestinian Film Festival. 4-7 p.m. Watson Institute, 111 Thayer St., Providence. Presentations, screenings and panels address differing social realities, their cinematic representations, and the financial and political contexts of filmmaking in the region. Directors’ panel follows film screenings. Sponsored by Brown University’s Judaic Studies Department. Information, Michael Malpiedi at michael_malpiedi@brown.edu or 401-863-7812.

Book Group: “If All the Seas Were Ink, A Memoir” by Ilana Kurshan.

6-8 p.m. Private home, Providence.

For Jewish women. Information or RSVP, Elissa Felder at CoreConnectsRI.com or 401-241-9631.

“Brave New World.” 7:30 p.m.

Brown RISD Hillel, 80 Brown St., Providence. Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz will speak about breakthroughs in medical science and how they impact Jewish life. Hosted by Kollel Center for Jewish Studies in conjunction with Brown RISD Hillel. Sponsors’ reception follows. Suggested donation: $10, students free. Information or RSVP, Rabbi Raphie Schochet at rabbiraphie@gmail.com or 401-9356867.

Monday | February 10

Gender in Israeli and Palestinian Film Festival. 4-7 p.m. Watson Institute, 111 Thayer St., Providence. See Feb. 9 listing. Sponsored by Brown University’s Judaic Studies Department. Information, Michael Malpiedi at michael_malpiedi@brown.edu or 401-863-7812.

Tuesday | February 11

Adult Education Course: “The Jewish Demographic TimeBomb.” 10-11:30 a.m. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Examine implications of declining number of Jews for future of anti-Semitism, for relationship between the American Jewish community and Israel, for liberal and Orthodox Judaism, and for Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Led

by Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser. Last class. Information, Dottie@templesinairi.org or 401-942-8350.

Temple Torat Yisrael’s Lunch and Learn: Jewish Wedding Rituals.

Noon. T’s Restaurant, 5600 Post Road, East Greenwich. Order from the menu, and study Jewish sources addressing current issues. Led

by Rabbi Aaron Philmus and Leah Ross-Coke. Open to all. Information, Temple Torat Yisrael office at 401885-6600.

“Confronting Anti-Semitism – Past, Present and Future.” 6:15-8 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. Learn about the roots and current trends of anti-Semitism as well as strategies to combat it.

Dinnner, community and learning, led by Ronni Guttin. For 8th-12th graders. Last class. Members $40; nonmembers $60. Information, Ronni Guttin at ronni@teprov.org or 401-331-1616.

Wednesday | February 12

Israeli Culture Night: Druze Culture. 7-9 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Tamim Saad, a former naval officer now in the Finance Ministry, speaks. Hosted by shlichah (Israeli Emissary), Or Cohen. Free. Information, Or Cohen at ocohen@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 121.

Thursday | February 13

Lunch and Learn: “Girls In Trouble: Stories about Biblical Women through Text, Music, and Art.” Noon-1:20 p.m. Tamarisk

Assisted Living, 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick. Explore how biblical women are portrayed in the Tanakh, midrash, visual art and music. Led

by Rabbi Rachel Zerin. First of two classes. $25 (includes lunch; free for Tamarisk residents). Information, Rachel Zerin at rzerin@teprov.org or 401-331-1616.

Hadassah Rhode Island’s Installation of Officers. 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Private home, Warwick. New president is Maxine Bornstein. Free.

Directions and information, chapri@ hadassah.org.

Friday | February 14

Nice and Easy Shabbat. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. 5:30 p.m. tot Shabbat; 6 p.m. pizza dinner (sign up on Temple website); 6:30 p.m. service. Information, office@templehabonim.org or 401-245-6536.

T.G.I.F. – Thank G-D It’s Friday.

5:45-8 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Shabbat songs and story with Rabbi Aaron Philmus followed by a kid-friendly Shabbat dinner and services. Information or RSVP, Torat Yisrael office at 401-885-6600.

Kabbalat Shabbat Service. 8 p.m.

Congregation Beth David, 102 Kingstown Road, Narragansett. Service followed by light Kiddush. Information, Jerry Kasten at 401-885-1296.

Saturday | February 15

Shabbat Service. 9 a.m. Congregation Beth David, 102 Kingstown Road, Narragansett. Service followed by light Kiddush. Information, Jerry Kasten at 401-885-1296.

Spoken Story Saturdays – February: “Sweet…” 2 p.m. Family Fare. 3 p.m. ages 14 and up. The Parlour Pub, 1119 North Main St., Providence. Host Mark Binder will be joined by Marlon Carey – poet, hip hop communicator, actor and Shakespearean from Jamaica. Food and drinks (including craft beer on tap) available. Information, Beth Hellman at beth@transmitjoy.com or 401-484-0228.

Kids’ Night Out. Ages 5-11: 5-10 p.m.

Ages 2-4: 5-8 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence.

Sports, crafts and movie. Pizza and snacks served. Older kids enjoy free swim. $40 | Dwares JCC Members: $30 | Siblings: $20. Information and registration, Shannon Kochanek at skochanek@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 147.

K’TanTan. 5:30-7 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Sisterhood Family Event with Rock-a-Baby. Celebrate Shabbat and holidays with children birth to 5. Singing and community dinner.

Free. Information, Jenn Thomas at CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

14 | FEBRUARY 2020

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY VOICES

HEA

IN MY BOOK, “Pathfinding: Seven Principles for Positive Living,” I incorporate stories from my late father, who shared the following story about his father, my grandfather.

“In Czarist Russia, most Jews were Orthodox, and Jewish boys attended their own schools, called yeshivas. There was a military draft PATRICIA for all boys of military age.

RASKIN When Jewish boys were drafted into the Czars’ army, they were treated as inferiors. They could not obtain Kosher foods. So it wasn’t surprising that many of the Jewish boys facing military service left

TH

Y L I VI

NG

L

Old family stories create dividends for our future

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

jthomas@temple-beth-el.org or 401331-6070.

Sunday | February 16

Torah Tots. 9-11 a.m. Temple Shalom, 223 Valley Road, Middletown. Monthly program for children from birth to pre-K. Story, craft or activity, snack and social time. February’s theme is Purim. Information, templeshalomrhodeisland@gmail. com.

Tuesday | February 18

Project Shoresh Lecture: “Relationships” with Rabbi Dovid Schwartz. 7:30-8:30 p.m. Project Shoresh Headquarters, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Jewish wisdom for relationships in 2020.

Suggested donation: $8; students/ young professionals $5. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail. com or 401-632-3165.

Wednesday | February 19

“Did Women Marry Other Women in the Roman World? Jewish and Christian Sources.” 4-5:30 p.m.

Petteruti Lounge, Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, Brown University, 85 Waterman St., Providence.

Brown University Program in Judaic Studies lecture presented by Prof.

Bernadette Brooten of Brandeis University. Free and open to the public.

Information, judaic@brown.edu.

Thursday | February 20

Lunch and Learn: “Girls In Trouble: Stories about Biblical Women through Text, Music, and Art.” Noon-1:20 p.m. Tamarisk Assisted Living, 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick.

Explore how biblical women are portrayed in the Tanakh, midrash, visual art and music. Led by Rabbi Rachel Zerin. Second of two classes. $25 (includes lunch; free

Russia before they could be drafted.

Where did they go? They went to America.

“Your grandfather, as a youth, traveled all over Siberia. He was an entrepreneur and a salesman, so it wasn’t surprising that when he faced the draft he decided to leave Russia and go to America. He sewed five hundred dollars into the lining of his coat. That is all that he owned.

He kissed his mother goodbye, said goodbye to his friends, and left for America.

“At that time there was an underground that operated throughout Europe, and it was able to spirit Jewish boys from town to town westward until they got to the German border. Once they got to Germany, they could board a ship that was bound for America.

“Your grandfather got all the way across Poland, and at the last Jewish

for Tamarisk residents). Information, Rachel Zerin at rzerin@teprov.org or 401-331-1616.

Friday | February 21

Family First Cozy Shabbat. 5:30-7 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. Snacks and Shabbat-friendly crafts followed by 5:45 p.m. service geared toward children 0-7 and their parents. Followed by dinner and social time for parents and supervised activities for kids, and dessert. Wear pajamas. Free.

RSVP, Shosh Jacob at shosh@ teprov.org.

Student-led Kabbalat Shabbat. 6 p.m. Congregation Beth David, 102 Kingstown Road, Narragansett. Service led by CBD students. Information, Jerry Kasten at 401-885-1296.

Shabbat Hallelu. 6:30 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Shabbat with Cantor Judy Seplowin and the Hallelu Band.

Light refreshments and sangria at 6:30 p.m. Services at 7 p.m. Free.

Information, Temple Beth-El office at 401-331-6070.

Saturday | February 22

Rabbi Fel’s Installation Program.

7-9 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. Temple Emanu-El celebrates Rabbi Fel’s installation with an evening program. Information, Paul Stouber at pstouber@ teprov.org or 401-331-1616.

Sunday | February 23

Day-at-the-J! 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Last Sunday of the month during the winter features additional programs along with regularly scheduled programs. Free.

Information, Carissa Hill at chill@ jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 178.

outpost of the underground there was a family who had an eligible daughter. Her father took a fancy to your grandfather and demanded that he marry his daughter. But your grandfather didn’t want to marry his daughter. They threatened him that if he didn’t marry her, they would turn him in to the authorities.

So during that night, he sneaked out and escaped.

“He made his own way across Germany, got on a ship from Germany and came to New York. Later when he settled in America, he brought some of his family over, including your great-grandmother. Your great-grandfather died in Russia.

“Your grandfather left New York and came to Boston with the help of people he knew from the old country.

There he started his own business and proceeded to raise his own family.”

Game Night Drop-In. 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Bring your favorite board and card games, or borrow them from our library. Join Frank Petrie, lead teacher at J-Space, for “Magic: The Gathering.” Free.

Information, Lisa Maybruch at lmaybruch@jewishallianceri.org.

Annual Pool Party. 3-5 p.m.

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Special family swim with toys and floatation devices, and games both in the pool and on the pool deck for children of all ages. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Free. Information, Doug Immel at dimmel@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 153.

Tuesday | February 25

Adult Education: Women in the Bible. 10 a.m.-noon. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Look at how women like Deborah, Esther, Ruth and Hannah took action to redefine the role of women and Judaism. Led by Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser. Tuesday mornings thru 3/17.

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

Core Connects RI Rosh Chodesh Celebration. 6:30-9 p.m.

Wilmark Studios, 59 Blackstone Ave., Pawtucket. Explore layers of our identities by embellishing personal mirrors with community artist Nancy Katz. “Art phobics” are encouraged to come. For Jewish women. $18 for supplies and nosh.

RSVP required, CoreConnectsRI. com. Information, Elissa Felder at CoreConnectsRI@gmail.com or 401241-9631.

Wednesday | February 26

“A Rainbow Thread: An Anthology of Queer Jewish Texts from the First Century to 1969.” 7 p.m.

Recording this story in my book honors my grandfather and his voyage to America. My grandfather left an incredible legacy, and his courage and persistence are qualities that define each generation of our family.

Where these stories of our legacy fit into our current worldview carries considerable intellectual weight.

Learning old lessons can help us reap new benefits. Learning from the past is earning from the past.

The dividends of the positive lessons we’ve learned are the currency of our future.

PATRICIA RASKIN, owner of Raskin Resources Productions, is a media host, coach and award-winning radio producer and business owner. She has served on the board of directors of Temple Emanu-El, in Providence.

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Noam Sienna will read from his groundbreaking collection of queer Jewish texts. After the reading, Q&A followed by book signing. Free. RSVP, jewishallianceri. org/sienna/. Information, Stephanie Hague at shague@jewishallianceri. org or 401-421-4111, ext. 127.

Thursday | February 27

Lunch and Learn: “The Many Blessings of Masekhet (Tractate) Berakhot.” Noon-1:20 p.m.

Tamarisk Assisted Living, 3 Shalom Drive, Warwick. Explore this tractate through a historical, literary and spiritual dimension in this two-session adult education class led by Rabbi Michael Fel. Also on 3/5. $25 (includes lunch; free for Tamarisk residents). Information, Rachel Zerin at rzerin@teprov.org or 401-3311616.

Friday | February 28

Shabbat Dinner. 5:30-8 p.m. Jewish Community Day School of RI, 85 Taft Ave., Providence. Students and families welcome Shabbat with a student-led service followed by dinner, under the supervision of Rabbi Dolinger, with vegetarian and gluten-free options. $15, children under 3 free, $50 family max. Information, Alison Walter at awalter@ jcdsri.com or 401-751-2470.

Saturday | February 29

Kids’ Night Out. Ages 5-11: 5-10 p.m.

Ages 2-4: 5-8 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence.

Sports, crafts and movie. Pizza and snacks served. Older kids enjoy free swim. $40 | Dwares JCC Members: $30 | Siblings: $20. Information and registration, Shannon Kochanek at skochanek@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 147.

Film “The Spy Behind Home Plate.” 7:30-9:30 p.m. Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. True story of Jewish hero Moe Berg, who played major league baseball and spied for the OSS, precursor to the CIA, during World War II. Director Aviva Kempner will speak. $18 in advance | $25 at the door. Information, Brian Mayer at bjmayer@ teprov.org or 401-331-1616.

Sunday | March 1

“Women in the Rabbinate: A Local Perspective.” 1-3 p.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. The Sisterhood of Temple Beth-El presents a panel discussion moderated by Rabbi Sarah Mack.

With Rabbanite Avital Engelberg, Rabbi Michelle Dardashti, Rabbi Jackie Satlow and Rabbi Gavi S. Ruit. Sisterhood members free, Nonmembers $5. Information or RSVP, Marcy Cohen at marcycohen401@ gmail.com.

Tuesday | March 3

Adult Education: Women in the Bible. 10 a.m.-noon. Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Look at how women like Deborah, Esther, Ruth and Hannah took action to redefine the role of women and Judaism. Led by Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser. Tuesday mornings thru 3/17.

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

Lecture: “Esther.” 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Project Shoresh Headquarters, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Learn about Esther, the pivotal role she played and how she relates to us in 2020. For women only. Suggested donation: $8; students/young professionals $5. Information, Naftali Karp at naftalikarp@gmail.com or 401-632-3165.

FEBRUARY 2020

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

COMMUNITY VOICES

A chance meeting brings closure

BY DANIEL STIEGLITZ

ER

Shalom Mendelsohn inside the Aish HaTorah building.

S HOM

E

LE T T

YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN, if ever, things in life will come full circle.

A few months ago, I was at a Shabbat meal.

Among the other guests was a young man named Shalom. It was obvious that Shalom had an interesting story – along with tattoos and large holes in his earlobes where earrings used to be, he had payot (religious sideburns) and wore the black hat worn by some Orthodox Jews.

Shalom mentioned that he went to public school in Brooklyn, New York, and was a wrestler in high school.

My only connection to wrestling is that in spring 2007, I ran the Yeshiva University Henry Wittenberg Wrestling Tournament, an event that brought together wrestlers from 10 Jewish high schools across the United States.

Prior to the tournament, I received an email from a public high-school student.

He wrote that he would like the chance to connect with young Jewish wrestlers, such as himself, and asked if he could participate.

Sadly, insurance issues led me to reject this young man’s request. As a former Jewish public-school student, and one who also yearned for a greater connection to Judaism, this decision was particularly difficult for me.

Fast-forward to the Shabbat meal a few months ago. After putting two-and-two together, Shalom and I figured out that he was the student I had rejected!

I told Shalom that the fact that I remember that single rejection over 12 years later shows how heavily the decision still weighed on me.

Now, after 12 years, I finally had a chance to ask his forgiveness, which he gladly gave me.

So who was Shalom before our single correspondence, and what happened to him afterward?

Shalom Reuven Mendelsohn, or Elliott

Carcamo, as he used to be called, grew up in Brooklyn. His Jewish mother and non-Jewish father raised him in a secular home. The family was poor. By the age of 15, Shalom had moved 10 times.

Shalom got into wrestling in sixth grade.

As an overweight kid who got picked on, he had anger and aggression; wrestling had a big influence on him.

Shalom had a handful of Jewish friends.

One of those friends went to MTA, the Yeshiva University high school for boys. Even though the team’s coach (who was the one who referred Shalom to me) allowed Shalom to practice with the MTA team, Shalom felt like an outsider among the upper-middle-class Jewish wrestlers. A pair of their wrestling shoes cost more than his wardrobe.

Over the years, Shalom exDANIEL plored different religions. NothSTIEGLITZ ing stuck. And with his tattoos, red Mohawk and piercings, his local synagogue didn’t accept him.

The only thing that really stuck was his gang. Where he lived, you were either in a gang or a target.

He barely graduated from high school and couldn’t get a wrestling scholarship due to his poor grades.

By the age of 20, Shalom was working as a bouncer and feeling very down. One day, he passed a booth advertising free trips to Israel.

He befriended the rabbi running the booth, who went on to meet with Shalom weekly and introduced him to people who Shalom says, “Treated me like a person.”

To get to Israel, Shalom needed a letter from a lawyer since he had a criminal record. The rabbi helped him get that letter.

Another thing Shalom needed was to get out of the gang. There were few ways to get out, and going to Israel was not one of them.

But the gang leader told Shalom to go, make something of himself, and never come back.

He even gave Shalom money to pay for his passport, a suit and luggage.

Shalom spent three hours on the flight to Israel crying, since he knew his life was changing.

Among the trip’s many activities, it was Jewish studies that resonated with Shalom.

He knew he wanted to stay in Israel longer. He got blessings to do so from several people back in the U.S., including his mother, since he was helping to support the family.

An extra month became an extra year, and now, six years later, Shalom is studying at Aish HaTorah to become a rabbi, does motivational speaking, and is writing his biography.

For a long time I had wondered what happened to the young man I rejected from a wrestling tournament. Now I’ve come to know a young man who has miraculously defied the odds – and who has helped me come to terms with a decision that weighed on me by showing me that his life is now better than it has ever been.

DANIEL STIEGLITZ (dstieglitz@gmail.com) lives in Jerusalem, where he works as a Life Coach.

His collection of short stories, “Tavern of the Mind,” is available for paperback and Kindle purchase on Amazon at www.amzn.to/2Izssrz.

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BEHIND

THE BOOK a visiting author series

For years, the Jewish Alliance has welcomed authors visiting our community. In the past, we’ve welcomed such notable writers as Martin Fletcher, Jennifer Teege, and Michael Solomonov. This year, we continue the tradition of connecting people with ideas, and with each other, by presenting a wide range of speakers for Behind the Book: a visiting author series.

• A Rainbow Thread: An Anthology of Queer Jewish Texts from the First Century to 1969, with Noam Sienna Wednesday, February 26 | 7:00pm | Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence • The Flight Portfolio, with Julie Orringer | Monday, May 4 Monday, May 4 | 7:00pm | Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence • Palestine Posts: An Eye-witness Account of the Birth of Israel, with Daniel Chertoff | Wednesday, May 13 Wednesday, May 13 | 7:00pm | Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence

For more information or to register for any of the events in this series, please visit jewishallianceri.org/BehindTheBook.

This series is made possible with generous support from TW Financial Group.

401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI | 401.421.4111 | jewishallianceri.org

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

FEBRUARY 2020

| 17

CAMP

PHOTOS | GLENN OSMUNDSON

J-Campers from the day camp at the Alliance’s Dwares JCC spend a day on the lake each summer at Camp JORI, a Jewish overnight camp in Wakefield.

Making memories at camp Summer will be here sooner than you think

BY FRAN OSTENDORF

T

he sweet memories of summer. Each year, parents struggle with the question, “What will my children do during summer vacation?” Years ago, the kids played outside, unsupervised, from morning till night. Many no longer feel that’s

an option.

According to figures from the American Camping Association (ACA), more than 14 million children and adults attend camp in the United States. They spend their time at more than 14,000 day and resident (overnight) camps. Camp is an $18 billion industry, according to a 2015 ACA Business Operations Report.

Camp programming is constantly updated to meet the needs of today’s youngsters.

According to the ACA, camps have added service and volunteering programs, college planning courses, cooking with food from the camp garden and health and wellness programs.

And 79% of parents report that camp makes their children feel proud to be Jewish, according to the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

In the next few pages, Jewish Rhode Island offers a glimpse into Rhode Island’s Jewish camps and a few memories from those who went to camp in years past.

Arts and crafts take a lot of concentration at J-Camp at the Dwares JCC.

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

CAMP

Overnight camp or day camp: Which is right for your child?

BY AARON GUTTIN I AM OFTEN ASKED about the differences between day camp and overnight camp – besides the obvious difference that you sleep at overnight camp but not at day camp.

I have been fortunate to spend the past 26 summers at camp in various roles, including camper, counselor, head counselor, program specialist, assistant director and camp director. In that time, I have become well acquainted with many different types of camps, including traditional overnight camp and day camp.

Despite some differences, overnight camps and day camps have much in common, including:

• Sparking lifelong interests. I personally am an avid outdoorsman who first paddled a canoe, tied a fishing hook on a line, and stayed overnight in a tent at camp.

• Helping kids conquer fears.

Camp may be the first place where

Above: The dining hall at Camp JORI is a busy place during lunch.

Right: A J-Camper takes a turn on the obstacle course.

PHOTOS | GLENN OSMUNDSON

OVERNIGHT OR DAY, CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

Memories of summers past

BY JEWISH RHODE ISLAND STAFF WHENEVER YOU START TALKING about camp someone nearby speaks up with a memory. We thought that you might be interested in what we learned about camp memories from staff at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. Your memories might be similar or vastly different. Let us know by commenting online or send an email to editor@jewishallianceri.org.

We love to hear about our reader’s experiences. And we may print a few.

“I loved se

eing FRIEN DS A ND C OUN S ELORS eve ry summer th at I didn’t normally s ee. I loved everythin g from spo rts, to arts and crafts, to sewing, to cooking.”

Lyndsey U rsillo

camp.

“I loved my day ing I remember cook ing at camp and mak were the LOLLIPOPS; they ever had.” best lollipops I

Wendy Joering

“Definitely not swim

ming lessons. I reme mber walking in the shad e along a gravel path , PICKING HONEYSUCKL E.” Lynne Bell

en 11 or 1 “I must have be th to take opened my mou n, and A F from my cantee OUTH an RIGHT INTO MY M down!”

FEBRUARY 2020

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

Left: Artwork from West Bay’s Gan Israel, a day camp at Temple Torat Yisrael.

PHOTO | GAN ISRAEL

Below: The rope course at Camp JORI.

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Rainy days and Mondays always get me down … but not at camp!

BY RONNI GUTTIN

PHOTO | GLENN OSMUNDSON

Far left: Tennis time at J-Camp.

Left: Rabbi Aaron Philmus’s goats love the campers at Camp Gan Israel,

PHOTO | GAN ISRAEL

“The day we were

supposed to learn

to dive, there was a

WATER SNAKE and

they evacuated the

lake. We were excited

2. I’d just e a drink

FLY FLEW nd all the way Lawrence Katz

that we didn’t have to

dive, but the next da y

the snake was gone,

and we had to do it

anyway.”

Alisa Goldin

RVICE “I really liked SE learn the LEARNING. We’d ies of a history and stor it meant place and what native to our culture as d see Hawaiians. We’ t a place pictures of wha e, and we’d used to look lik e it. It go in and restor inue that was nice to cont rt of our legacy and be pa own history.”

Reyn Chambers

THERE IS A SAYING that the worst day at summer camp is better than the best day not at camp … or something like that.

Even waking up to rain is fun – sleeping in a little bit, hot chocolate for breakfast, and wearing boots … the better to puddle jump! The first rainy day of the season following a few really, really hot days is pretty welcome!

Some campers, and even a few staffers at Camp Avoda, are true “early birds.” But many campers and most of our staff were treated to a late wake-up call on one particular rainy day … and that extra half-hour of cozy under-the-covers snoozing was appreciated. But don’t kid yourself: cozy blankets and sleep are not the typical order of a camp day. But they do have their uses.

On this particular rainy day, after a lengthy “deep clean” of bunks, campers chose from a variety of morning activities. Balls were in play during dodgeball, creativity flowed in the woodshop and arts and crafts cabin, and the competition was heated during the pingpong tournament in the mess hall. The latter half of the morning offered some of those activities, as well as a movie in the lodge and a pitch tournament in the mess hall.

Some time during the morning, I realized that at least a half-dozen campers had asked RAINY, CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

“Going on a

ISL AND wit

friends wa

trip to BLO CK h all my

s an aweso me experience . Spendin g time with the sh lichim ove r the summers h as been re ally cool, and I’ ve mainta ined friendship s with them and have even visited the m in Israel.”

Aaron Gutt

in

l “I went to Gir and Scout camp HOLE CRIED THE W d my TIME. I misse te her mom and wro

s.” lots of letter na Col Don

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

CAMP “Nothing distinct, ju st

lot of happy memorie

COLOR WAR, singing

a

s.

songs with my friends, lea rning how to develop photo s, taking kayaks out on the lake.”

“I don’t know if I want to share any memories of

playing ‘KISS TAG’ in the woods.”

ek Shannon Kochan

Michelle Cicchitelli

Campers cool off in the Camp JORI pool.

PHOTO | GLENN OSMUNDSON

RAINY, FROM PREVIOUS PAGE me for big binder clips. Hmmm, something “creative” was afoot! Apparently, many of the freshmen had decided that it was a great day to build a fort. They were so right. There’s nothing like huddling in your fort with a flashlight to play board games and cards and to tell stories. I kind of felt like an art patroness for contributing the clips that held all the wires at my desk to their creativity!

While the thunder and lightning abated after a while, and the rain was coming down at a slower pace, the fields were soaked and the courts were still drenched. We added Mooseball, known in some camps as Gaga, to the lineup of activities.

After the rain stopped, we were able to play hoops. Truth be told, there were some diehard campers in yellow ponchos who played in the rain!

As the grounds dried, we knew that our plans for the evening would still work out.

One of the campers’ favorite evening events is “bunk night”: Each bunk plans its own activity and spends the evening together.

Some of the plans included a game of “man in the middle,” time at the waterfront, sand volleyball, manhunt, and, of course, treats.

(I think my favorite part of the evening was having bunk 6B join me in my living room for hot chocolate.)

The aftermath of the rain brought what seemed like hundreds of geese out to every water source we have, wet T-shirts littering the fields, flip-flops on every porch, and happy, tired campers who earned their showers – in fact, it was a scene much like each day at Camp Avoda!

RONNI GUTTIN is the director of Camp Avoda, a Jewish boys’ overnight camp in Middleboro, Massachusetts.

FEBRUARY 2020

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

“We had a pro ject based on Hawaii a nd volcanoes that was rea lly fun. We had an END-O F-SUMMER LUAU; we dre ssed up in skirts and le is, and it wa s so colorful a nd everyone was so nice.”

“We usually had swim rning instruction in the mo and free-swim in the per-hot, afternoon. If it was su IPLE they’d announce a ‘TR ne SWIM DAY,’ and everyo would go ballistic.”

Claire Uziel

“My camp in M aine did a JUNK FOOD DAY. It was all junk food, and it was amazing!

They dropped ca ndy from a helicopter, an d we had to run after it. Oh, and I took a glassblowing cl ass.”

Lisa Maybruch

“Every time I smell HERBAL ESSENCES SHAMPOO, I think of

camp. We would hike l down to the water fal ere. and wash our hair th It was my first hiking experience.”

Julia Ramos

Jamie Moretti

OVERNIGHT OR DAY, FROM PAGE 18 your child jumps into the deep end, touches a snake or a worm, tries a new food, or sleeps under the stars.

• Developing a child’s understanding of community. At J-Camp, held at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence, we talk a lot about the middle “C” in JCC (Community). The middle C shapes everything we do throughout our camp day.

Community is what brings us together and helps us learn how to get along with people.

A Jewish Overnight Sports Camp for Boys Ages 7-15 located south of Boston, right near Cape Cod!

Now, here are a few things specific to day camps that makes it such a great experience:

Community is what brings us together and helps us learn how to get along with people.

• Parents get to see the new skills their children have learned on a daily basis.

• For parents who are anxious about sending their kids off on their own, day camp provides a much lower barrier than overnight camp.

• The cost is usually quite reasonable.

• The camp may be in your neighborhood, offering great exposure to what your community has to offer.

Camp Avoda is intimate in size with a focus on sports, woodworking, arts and crafts, sailing and more! Plus- check out our climbing wall!

781-433-0131 www.campavoda.org info@campavoda.org

ENJOY A SUMMER OF:

• Day camps accept very young children and expose them to new activities.

Advantages to overnight camp include: • A technology-free environment. Many overnight camps have adopted this policy to provide children with a break from phones, iPads, computers, etc.

• Access to activities that might not be available at home, such as boating, water skiing and rock climbing.

• Learning how to share space. Studies consistently show that kids who attend overnight camp have an easier transition to living in a dorm.

• Earning useful certifications in skills such as lifeguarding, CPR and babysitting.

In conclusion, either type of camp is a great place for kids to hone skills they didn’t know they had, break down barriers they didn’t know existed, and learn where their place is in the greater community.

We are lucky to live in a part of the country with literally hundreds of camp options. We are even luckier that we have many great camps right here in Rhode Island.

AARON GUTTIN is J-Camp and teen director at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

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Contact us today for an awesome summer!

22 | FEBRUARY 2020

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

CAMP “Camp was always a chance to see FRIENDS I DIDN’T SEE DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR,

but who I could always count on to be at camp for the summer. I

still keep in touch with a couple of them to this day.”

Sara Masri

“Camp was m y favorite thing in the world; it still is. On e of my favorite mem ories was being CAPTA IN OF THE WHITE TEAM during Olympics an d winning two years in a row, after W hite hadn’t won in 12 yea rs. I remember d oing water polo and scre aming the most rid iculous things.

Erin Barry

Day of Service

ALL ARE WELCOME!

Camp JORI in Wakefield had a wonderful group of families who chose to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day with a day of service. Everyone worked hard at special projects to beautify the grounds at camp. Director Kara Liberman said, “We are lucky to have such kindhearted and dedicated camp families that love giving back to camp.”

PHOTO | CAMP JORI

A SUMMER OF FUN AWAITS! More information coming soon at jewishallianceri.org!

Dwares Rhode Island

401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI | 401.421.4111 | jewishallianceri.org

FEBRUARY 2020

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

| 23

Grants and scholarships available for travel in Israel

BY LARRY KATZ

PHOTO | MARSHALL H. COHEN

President Donald Trump at the end of his State of the Union address with Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

FROM PAGE 3 region and give millions of young people the change to realize a better future.”

It’s been critical for Kushner and Trump to note that the plan, which sanctions Israel’s partial annexation of the West Bank, comes in the place of failed initiatives by Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The plan, so far, is stuck in neutral, with the Palestinians rejecting it outright and Israeli action likely delayed until after next month’s elections.

BIPARTISAN APPLAUSE FOR IRAN INTERVENTION: Trump celebrated his administration’s most notable kill, the assassination in December of Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian general. That brought one of the rare moments of applause from both sides of the aisle.

Trump also extended the possibility of peace with Iran, as long as the country capitulates to his demand that it kill its nuclear program entirely (Iran insists it is not a weapons program) and end its adventurism.

“The Iranian regime must abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons, stop spreading terror, death and destruction, and start working for the good of its own people,” Trump said.

“Because of our powerful sanctions, the Iranian economy is doing very poorly. We can help them make it very good in a short period of time, but perhaps they are too proud or too foolish to ask for that help.”

The overture to Iran, however cautious, fit into an overarching theme of the foreign policy portion of Trump’s speech: the need to end U.S. involvement in overseas conflicts.

“It is also not our function to serve other nations as a law enforcement agency,” Trump said. “These are warfighters, the best in the world, and they either want to fight to win or not fight at all.”

SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE SCHOOLS: One rehearsed surprise reality TV-friendly moments came when Trump announced that Janiyah Davis, a fourth-grader from Philadelphia who was present, would receive an “Opportunity Scholarship,” money to attend whichever schools she prefers, public or private.

Trump used the moment to tout his administration’s signature education legislation, a bill that would expand the scholarships, music to the ears of many Orthodox Jews who favor increased public funding of Jewish day schools. That legislation, which has not advanced in any of the years Trump has urged Congress to act on it, would create a national version of programs that exist already in 18

states.

Trump also declared that he would protect “the Constitutional right to pray in public schools,” but mentioned only Christian symbols, such as crosses. A Jewish parent in the 1960s spearheaded the case that led the Supreme Court to restrict organized school prayer.

RENEWED ATTACKS ON UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS: A big chunk of Trump’s speech was a vivid and grim depiction of migrants as criminal threats. He was touting a Republican bill that would allow victims to sue cities that had offered sanctuary to migrants who go on to commit crimes.

“The United States of America should be a sanctuary for law-abiding Americans – not criminal aliens!” Trump said.

Jewish groups, particularly HIAS and T’ruah, have been at the forefront of the sanctuary movement since Trump first cracked down on undocumented migrants.

They note that the crimes cited by Trump and his aides are not representative of a population numbering in the millions.

DISRUPTION BY A GRIEVING JEWISH FATHER: When Trump spoke about protecting the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms, one person in attendance shouted out and was quickly escorted from the room.

That person was Fred Guttenberg, the father of Jaime Guttenberg, one of 17 students and teachers murdered during the school shooting two years ago in Parkland, Florida.

Guttenberg, who has dedicated himself to protesting for gun safety, had been present as a guest of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“Tonight was a rough night. I disrupted the State of The Union and was detained because I let my emotions get the best of me.”

Guttenberg later wrote on Twitter.

“That said, I should not have yelled out. I am thankful for the overwhelming support that I am receiving. However, I do owe my family and friends an apology.”

WHAT WENT UNMENTIONED: Jewish defense groups say anti-Semitic expression has spiked; there were two violent attacks in New Jersey and New York in the final weeks of 2019. Yet anti-Semitism went unmentioned.

“We were disappointed that the president did not acknowledge the alarming rise of anti-Semitism in the United States,” B’nai B’rith International said in a statement that praised Trump’s foreign policy initiatives.

THE RHODE ISLAND JEWISH COMMUNITY supports an Israel experience as an integral part of a student’s education and growing Jewish identity. Thanks to several area families’ generosity, students and other young adults, along with educators at Jewish Alliance-affiliated schools, can apply for funds to join a recognized study or travel program, volunteer or participate in professional internships in Israel.

The grants and scholarships for travel in Israel are available to residents of the greater Rhode Island area through age 26, and to Alliance-affiliated educators, who may apply at any age.

The Leonard I. Salmanson Fund of the Jewish Federation Foundation provides both non-needs-based grants and some needs-based funds, which are available without full financial disclosure. The Graubart Irving Scholarship Fund, the Lillian and Sidney Ross Fund and The Marochnack Zionist Memorial Fund all provide needsbased grants, with full financial disclosure. The latter fund offers special consideration to immigrants from the former Soviet Union. A few other funds also support travel in Israel.

In addition, the Alperin-Hirsch family funds the Joel H. Zaiman Fund. The award is granted each year to one participant who demonstrates academic achievement and a commitment to community service.

Limited funds are available for educators in affiliated Jewish schools to attend conferences, workshops, courses and travel in Israel to improve their teaching skills and background knowledge. Programs considered for grant funds must be high quality and relevant to the participant’s current and future goals.

Teens, young twenty-somethings and Jewish educators who would like to explore opportunities to visit or study in Israel or get an application for funding may contact the Israel Desk at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, 401-421-4111, or IsraelDesk@jewishallianceri.org.

The submission deadline for summer, fall and year-long programs is March 15. Deadlines for winter programs are at the end of October, and at the end of November for spring programs.

In addition, parents who would like to enroll their children in a savings program that would supplement these grants and scholarships should do so while they are in grades three to six. Each year’s annual contribution of $150 may be matched by $250 from the community, a 266% return on the investment. Over the course of eight years, a contribution of $1,200 is matched by up to $2,000 by the community. Parents may withdraw their annual contributions in full at any time. For more information about this program, The Gift of Israel, contact the Israel Desk.

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

YESHIVA U CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 Swarthmore is ranked No. 1.

The Maccabees have a 14-1 record overall and are in first place in the Skyline League with a 7-0 mark.

The Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors and reporters from across the country.

In 2018, Yeshiva qualified for the NCAA Division III basketball tournament for the first time but was eliminated in the first round.

Division III institutions do not offer scholarships to their student-athletes.

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COMMUNITY

OBITUARIES 32-33 | BUSINESS 30-31 | SIMCHA 35

Natalie Anne Powers, Mel Weyn and Ruthy Froch in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

PHOTO | JOAN MARCUS

Actress sees beauty and relevance in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ coming to PPAC

BY FRAN OSTENDORF WHEN YOU THINK OF “Fiddler on the Roof,” does the music start playing in your head? Are the words to “Tradition” booming in your thoughts?

Ruthy Froch, who plays Hodel in the upcoming production at the Providence Performing Arts Center, says the classic play still ‘Fiddler’ is so timeless resonates with audiences today.

In a recent phone and very relevant, interview, she said, ‘Fiddler’ is so especially with what’s “timeless and very especially going on in our world’. relevant, with what’s going on in our world.

There’s a gift on every page.

“No matter how many times you see it, you relate to something different. You discover something new.”

“Fiddler on the Roof” is a Jewish play with universal themes. Take the sisters, for example: Five girls in turn-of-the-century Russia with the expectations that came with that era. Hodel is the second oldest. The three oldest siblings stand up

to their father, breaking tradition. They are learning to advocate for themselves, said Froch.

“Hodel is an early feminist,” she said. “I’ve always felt a little like Hodel.”

Like many of us, Froch grew up with “Fiddler.”

“It was the first movie I saw that wasn’t animated. I was maybe 6,” she said. “I’ve always been singing ‘Fiddler.’ ” Froch went on to perform in the show in high school, and then she saw the 2015 revival on Broadway. She’s been in the current touring production since September 2018, performing in about 440 shows, she estimates.

Froch, who is Jewish, grew up in California in what she calls a Jewish household. She graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts and has a variety of shows to her credit, including “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

As for “Fiddler,” she says, “There are so many biblical references and Torah references that I remember studying as a kid.”

Froch said she had trouble understanding some of those references, so she consulted her father.

He helped her “unpack” some of the scenes, including the train scene, when Hodel leaves for Siberia to find her imprisoned fiancée. Froch said he was very helpful in explaining the references in layman’s terms.

“Everyone who does this show and is Jewish, a small part of them is beaming,” she said.

“We each bring our own soul to it. All of us understand the gravity of what we are doing.”

The “Fiddler” tour features reimagined choreography by Israeli Hofesh Shechter, which Froch describes as “beautiful.”

“It’s completely stunning,” she said. “Part of the magic of our production is that it focuses on the circumstances and the humanity of the play. To me it looks like a painting.”

Froch is obviously proud of being Jewish and appearing in “Fiddler.” A statement from her bio says it all: “I am incredibly proud to be Jewish.

I hope young Jewish kids who come to see this show understand that Jewish expression is imperative to our world, our history and the American theater. We are stronger together.”

“Fiddler on the Roof” is playing at the Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset St., Feb. 11-16. Show times vary. Tickets are $38-$93.

For more information, go to ppacri.org or call 401421-2997.

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

FEBRUARY 2020

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

| 25

Gutterman Memorial Lecture to explore solutions to societal violence

BY JESSICA MURPHY

at school, so there’s indirect anxiety around a real or potential threat.

Lockdowns can feel empowering on one hand, but on the other hand, students wonder: “Is this a drill or an active shooter situation?” We hear so much in the media about mass shootings, and we’re inundated with information. Those experiences definitely impact communities. That’s why I wanted Dr. Intolubbe-Chmil to explain how we can identify the ideology of violence and how to enhance our practice related to societal violence.

“ENHANCING PRACTICE for Healthy Communities in Response to Societal Violence” is the title of this year’s Julie Claire Gutterman Memorial Lecture. The full-day workshop for mental-health and human-services practitioners will be held on April 3.

Educator and activist Loren G. Intolubbe-Chmil, Ph.D., will be the keynote speaker. Intolubbe-Chmil is a co-founder and partner in Core Collaborative International, a consulting firm that focuses on catalyzing What will be the focus transformative pracof Dr. Intolubbe-Chmil’s tice, cultivating interpresentation? cultural consciousness, [That] we have opand enhancing the tions; we have to talk capacity for meaningabout violence in an ful evidence-based open, transparent and decision-making. constructive fashion.

We talked with Dr. Loren Intolubbe-Chimil Too often, people are Jewish Collaborative in denial and, when their community Services’ Clinical Supervisor Jeremy is impacted by a mass shooting, they Thayer, LICSW, to learn more about say: “I didn’t see how it could happen the upcoming Gutterman Memorial here.”

Lecture, the 21st such event honoring Dr. Intolubbe-Chmil will lead us the memory of the late Julie Claire through exercises and discussions Gutterman, a gifted social worker and educator who served for six years that are designed to develop a difas Jewish Family Service’s director of ferent set of tools, with the goal of contributing environments that are professional services. free from violence, rather than teachIs violence an issue of concern for JCS’ ing people how to communicate about Counseling Center clients? preparing for violence. We don’t want Yes, it is. It could be an acute issue violence to be an everyday occurfor someone who’s been impacted by rence, so we should be identifying the domestic violence or violence in the kind of community we want, then live community. We also have schoolchilthose values and create a generationdren going through lockdown drills al structure for what those values are.

What do you hope comes out of this lecture? What do you hope attendees will learn?

We have real violence, with children and adults being sexually assaulted, shootings in Providence and beyond, and domestic violence.

Violence happens in our supermarkets, synagogues, schools and movie theaters; we expect violence to happen as if it’s in the air we breathe.

Dr. Intolubbe-Chmil tells us that it doesn’t have to be that way; we have choices. We want to take apart that social construct so that, as individuals and as neighbors, we can depend on one another and feel safe, nurtured and supported.

I’ve seen hyper-masculinity even in my home. I’m the father of three boys. When my sons, Riley, age 8, and Owen, age 6, and I were throwing baseballs back and forth, Riley inadvertently clocked Owen with the baseball, and Owen began crying. Riley stormed up to Owen and said, “How come you didn’t catch the baseball?”

In talking with Riley, I reminded him that there were so many other feelings going on – such as fear and remorse – even while it’s easier to be angry. I took that moment with Riley to say, “Anger doesn’t fit in this situation; what else can we do?”

Riley then ran to the kitchen and got an ice pack for Owen, and acknowledged that he felt bad and scared, even as he’d immediately jumped to expressing anger. That’s the kind of exchange that every parent can do to reduce hyper-masculine behaviors.

Through this memorial lecture

and throughout my career, I want to help create a community – even a community as small as one’s home or one’s workplace – where violence is not allowed. It’s intuitive that patriarchy and hyper-masculinity, endemic throughout society, create opportunities for violence. I talk about the irony of campaigns or slogans [saying] “Let’s fight bullying”; violence never heals violence.

The annual Julie Claire Gutterman Memorial Lecture, which fulfills the late Julie Gutterman’s commitment to social workers’ continued professionalism and ongoing learning, is made possible thanks to the generous philanthropy of her husband, Rabbi Leslie Y. Gutterman.

The Julie Claire Gutterman Memorial Lecture is open to mental-health clinicians, human-service professionals, and all other interested parties.

Participants are eligible for two ethics CEUs and three cross-cultural practice CEUs. The cost for the full-day program, which includes a continental breakfast and a luncheon, is $110 until March 6 and $125 after that date. JCS is also offering a student rate of $85.

The lecture will be held on Friday, April 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Ledgemont Country Club, 131 Brown Ave., Seekonk, Mass. To register for the Memorial Lecture, visit the JCS website, JCSRI.org.

JESSICA MURPHY is Jewish Collaborative Services’ marketing and communications manager.

Happenings at Congregation Beth David in Narragansett

PHOTOS | CONGREGATION BETH DAVID

Left: Children get ready to light the candles at the annual Hanukkah celebration. Above: Ayla Kushner works on shaping her challah.

26 | FEBRUARY 2020

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COMMUNITY

Herb Meister and his family brighten lives with ‘Meister Menorahs’ and more

BY JESSICA MURPHY WHILE “MEISTER MENORAHS” sound like a niche Hanukkah item – and, in fact, they could be – they are what Herb Meister, of Newport, and his family have being crafting and delivering to Jewish nursing-homes residents in New England.

The Jewish value of l’dor v’dor (from generation to generation) is alive and well in the Meister family, thanks in no small part to Herb, the family’s patriarch.

“A passion was sparked when I was just 12, delivering Meister Menorahs for my Bat Mitzvah project,” says Rachel Salzman, one of six Meister grandchildren. “Grandpa has always had a passion for older adults and [for] providing them with a little joy by visiting them in nursing homes or assisted-living facilities. I discovered this same passion when I was 12 and … giving older

Meister Menorahs

adults menorahs for them to celebrate Hanukkah. I wanted to help a population that was not always acknowledged, and I wanted to meet them face-to-face.”

These are not your typical menorahs. Meister Menorahs, which are made of wood, use colorful crayons instead of candles, which are barred from residents’ rooms due to fire and other safety concerns.

After Herb taught Rachel how to design the menorah and explained the story behind the Meister Menorahs, “I took control … by having family friends and my dad help me build the wooden menorahs and paint them,” recalls Rachel. “My parents and I hand-delivered the menorahs to local nursing homes, and I gave my grandpa a call to update him on … the reactions of those who were truly touched.”

“Herb and [his late wife] Melba were great influences in our girls’ lives. They knew what foods to make from my mom for every Jewish holiday … and my dad was in the kitchen with them,” says Beth Salzman, Rachel’s mother. “They were role models about giving back and being selfless; it’s what you do as a Jew.” It’s no surprise, then, that Beth got involved in Temple Israel, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, soon after moving to the state’s seacoast. She is now a synagogue board member. She and other members of a new mahjong group are now pooling funds to give monthly anonymous donations to a worthwhile cause, such as a Thanksgiving meal for people in a shelter. “If you get into the groove of it, there’s no stopping that,” Beth says.

Elyse Thaler, another of Herb’s three adult children, says that her handy father, who had “an engineer-

PHOTO | JCS

‘Children of the Inquisition’ draws a crowd at local screening “CHILDREN OF THE INQUISITION,” a film

by Joseph Lovett, played to a crowd of over 120 people at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center in Providence on Jan. 19. The program was sponsored by the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association in collaboration with Touro Synagogue and the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

The film took the audience on a 500-year trek across continents, following those forced by religious persecution in Spain and Portugal to convert or flee. It stretched across time to the present day and the descendants who seek to understand connections that still resonate.

Prominent in the film are David Gitlitz, professor emeritus at the University of Rhode Island, along with Joseph Lovett, who grew up in Providence and attended Temple Beth-El, where he was inspired by Rabbi William G. Braude to delve into Jewish history. After the viewing, more than half of the attendees remained for a discussion session.

For more information on the film, or to host a showing, contact Lovett at lovett@lovettproductions. com.

Submitted by Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association

ing mind,” always had a workbench with projects in progress.

“He and my mom designed and figured out” how to make the menorahs, says Elyse.

Ethan, who is Elyse’s older son and Rachel’s cousin, followed in Herb and Rachel’s footsteps by making some 100 Meister Menorahs for his Bar Mitzvah project, at Temple Habonim, in Barrington.

Ethan, with Elyse and Herb, delivered the menorahs to various nursing homes in the East Bay. Ethan and his cousins – when they came to visit – painted the menorahs, and Elyse, who taught first grade at Temple Habonim’s religious school, also engaged her pupils in painting them.

“I was glad I was able to connect with my grandpa and bring something to the Jewish community,” says Ethan, who learned Herb’s Jewish values at holiday celebrations and through Herb’s stories of his own childhood memories.

In addition to his Meister Menorah project, many years ago Herb served as Brotherhood president, and Melba as Sisterhood president, at Temple Beth-El, in Providence, where Elyse and her siblings – Beth Salzman and Andrew Meister – attended religious school. Of her parents, Elyse says, “They gave and gave to Beth-El, which benefited tremendously. They never pushed any of us [into philanthropic activities]; it was all observation. All three of us were presidents of PROVTY, Beth-El’s youth group.”

After delivering 30 Meister Menorahs for her Bat Mitzvah project, Rachel continued to make, paint and deliver them through her junior year in college. Today, she is completing her final year of graduate school in occupational therapy at the University of New Hampshire.

“I hope to work some day with older adults in a skilled-nursing facility or assisted-living facility,” she says.

“This passion that I learned from my grandpa is now my dream career, improving overall quality of life and bringing joy to older adults.”

Herb’s volunteerism runs deep. In addition to being active at Beth-El, and in Newport’s Touro Synagogue, he has been a longtime volunteer with JERI, a program established by the Jewish Seniors Agency (JSA) and now part of Jewish Collaborative Services, and a dedicated and consistent donor to JSA, says Sara Ades Goodwin, JCS director of major gifts. Many former JSA staff members, who now work at JCS, “think the world of Herb,” she says.

“In appreciation of Herb’s extraordinary dedication and generous commitment to bettering the lives of so many of our Jewish seniors, JCS chose to dedicate our annual Hanukkah programs for, and outreach to, Jewish residents in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in honor of Herb’s beloved Melba, whose holiday meals, Shabbat traditions and kindnesses enriched the lives of so many,” Goodwin said.

Known for having strong opinions and being comfortable expressing them, Herb is proud that his three children are all engaged with their Jewish communities. Of his grandchildren, he says, “They listen; they watched; they did. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Matter-of-fact about his myriad contributions and acts of loving-kindness, he says, “This is my religion; helping people is what we do.”

JESSICA MURPHY is Jewish Collaborative Services’ marketing and communications manager.

FEBRUARY 2020

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

COMMUNITY

Rhode Islanders joined others at MetLife Stadium for the Siyum.

RI Jews join in joyous celebration of the 13th Global Siyum HaShas of Daf Yomi

BY SHAI AFSAI AT THE FIRST International Congress of Agudath Israel, held in Vienna in 1923, the Eastern European Rabbi Meir Shapiro proposed that Jews around the world study a double-sided page (daf ) of the Babylonian Talmud together each day. Rabbi Shapiro saw this global engagement with a daily Talmud folio (daf yomi) as advancing both Jewish knowledge and Jewish unity.

If a person devotes about an hour a day to studying the Babylonian Talmud’s 2,711 double-sided pages, he or she can complete its volumes in about seven and a half years. Jan. 4 marked the 13th Global Siyum HaShas of Daf Yomi – the completion of the Babylonian Talmud by studying a folio a day – since 1923.

Though I did not feel compelled to take on this daunting task of daily study, I admire those committed to the seven-and-half-year cycle, and eagerly sought to participate in the celebrations of their accomplishments taking place in New Jersey and Providence.

The Providence Hebrew Day School and Congregation Mishkon Tfiloh’s Rabbi Yechezkel Yudkowsky arranged for a bus from Providence to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the main North American Siyum HaShas gathering took place on New Year’s Day. About a dozen of those on the bus, myself included, received tickets to attend the event from the Olami Foundation, an affiliate of Rhode Island’s Project

Shoresh, which is run by Rabbis Naftali Karp and Noach Karp.

MetLife Stadium was packed with about 88,000 people. The theme of the event was “One Nation. One Siyum.”

Though the overwhelming majority of attendees were Haredi Jews from North America, our Project Shoresh group was seated in the Olami section, which included diverse groups of Jews who had traveled from as far away as Germany and South Africa for the celebration.

The stadium program began with a communal Mincha service and the recitation of Psalms, and was followed by speeches by Yeshiva heads and Hasidic rebbes, and video presentations celebrating individuals around the world, including Israeli soldiers, who had completed the cycle.

Part of the program was dedicated to Masmidei HaSiyum, a project designed to include children in the worldwide Siyum HaShas celebrations by offering prizes and other incentives for young people learning Talmud, Mishna or Torah in their homes. There were many children on our Providence bus, and thousands in the stadium.

After this, there was singing and dancing led by several vocalists and choirs.

The communal completion of the last page of the Talmud was almost immediately followed by publicly beginning its first page, thus commencing the seven-and-a-half-year cycle once more. No doubt quite a few people in the crowd were inspired by

PHOTO | PROJECT SHORESH

the gathering to join those already determined to embark on the new cycle.

A significant portion of the rest of the event was devoted to honoring the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Rabbi Avi Shafran, director of public affairs and spokesman for Agudath Israel of America and a columnist for the Jerusalem newspaper Hamodia, explained that the gathering was “dedicated to the concept of Torah’s primacy in every Jew’s life” and was also “a memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.”

In the narrative of Agudath Israel’s Siyum HaShas, the fact that Judaism flourishes today signifies the defeat of the Jewish nation’s enemies. “The celebration of Torah as life, in a poignant way, represents the perseverance of the Jewish people and its ultimate victory over the Nazis and over all those over the course of history who have wished to destroy the Jewish faith and people,” Rabbi Shafran said.

Many of the speakers stressed that Jewish unity was evident at the gathering. As Rabbi Noach Karp quipped after the event, “It took a few days to thaw from the weather, but our souls and hearts are still warm from the sense of unity and Jewish pride in the stadium.”

The Siyum HaShas festivities

Living the Jewish calendar through the natural world IN THE WILDERNESS close to Congregation Torat Yisrael in East Greenwich, sixththrough eighth-grade Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island students, alumni and other members of the community spend one Sunday afternoon a month outside, gaining wilderness and farming skills while living the Jewish calendar in its seasonal cycles.

Some of the skills they practice include fire building, shelter building, whittling, hiking, shepherding and animal care. They also learn

about local flora and fauna and have the opportunity to take time for Hitbodedut, the practice of self-secluded Jewish meditation.

The program is called Teva PVD and it is taught by trained educators Rabbi Aaron Philmus and Tiferet Rose.

To learn more and to sign up for upcoming sessions, email trose@jcdsri.com. Program dates include: Feb. 9, March 15, April 12, May 3, and June 7 from 12:45-5 p.m. Pickup and drop-off is in the Temple Emanu-El parking lot in Providence.

Left: In October, students attempted the “One Match Fire Challenge” while learning about Jewish teachings pertaining to fire.

Right: In November, students learned more about the winter forest by creating debris huts.

PHOTOS | JCDSRI

| 27

continued in Providence, where Rabbi Shafran, who worked at Providence’s New England Academy of Torah until 1994, was invited to be a guest scholar during Shabbat on Jan. 3-4 as part of the celebrations put on by the local Daf Yomi Chaburah. On Friday evening, he spoke at the home of Rabbi Avrohom and Lynn Jakubowicz, and he spoke the following morning at Sha’arei Tefilla, in Providence. Also that morning, a Kiddush was held at Congregation Beth Sholom, in Providence, in honor of Michael Pelcovits, who was a participant in the 13th Daf Yomi Siyum HaShas.

On Saturday evening, the Jewish community was invited to a melave malke (post-Shabbat meal) sponsored

by Ben Zion Taube, of Pawtucket, to celebrate the local Daf Yomi Chaburah’s completion of the Babylonian Talmud at the Kollel Center for Jewish Studies, in Providence. There was singing, dancing and dining, as well as a third talk by Rabbi Shafran.

The occasion marked the second time that Taube has concluded the Daf Yomi cycle. He is now working on completing the less-studied Jerusalem Talmud with Norman Rosenfeld, of Providence.

“We learn weekdays at 5:30 a.m.,” Taube said. “Sundays we take it easy and start at 6:45.”

28 | FEBRUARY 2020

35

SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR 35th ANNUAL DWARES JCC GOLF CLASSIC!

Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

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Some of the scenery at Ein Kanaf

Ein Kanaf IF YOU TRAVEL to the Golan Heights, be sure you don’t miss a short visit in Ein Kanaf.

WHAT? It is a natural spring in Moshav Kanaf. The spring serves as a memorial to fallen veterans of the Second Lebanon War. This spring overlooks the Sea of Galilee one of the best views in Israel!

TR

WHEN? All year.

WHERE? Located in the southern Golan Heights, you can put the name in Waze: ‫ףנכ ןיע‬ ‫עין כנף‬ WHAT ELSE? At the Moshav there is an ancient synagogue from Talmud Period. This synagogue destroyed by an earthquake in 749 and discovered at the beginning of 19th century.

WHY? As a commander in

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More information coming soon at jewishallianceri.org

AVEL

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MY ISR

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the Israeli Navy I tried to bring my crew to a place they might not have visited.

When we had day off (once a year), I chose some place in Israel that connected us. Once, I took them to Ein Kanaf and we slept overnight under the OR COHEN sky next to the spring. For me this place is amazing connection between our tradition as Jews and modern history of Israel. It connects past and present. It a place to take a rest, cook coffee or tea and look over beautiful Israel.

BEGINNING THIS MONTH, Or Cohen, community shlichah, will offer a travel tip to Jewish Rhode Island readers.

FEBRUARY 2020

jewishrhody.org | Jewish Rhode Island

| 29

COMMUNITY

Arts Emanu-El presents a film, talk on Renaissance man Moe Berg

BY PAMELA HANZEL “THE SPY BEHIND HOME PLATE,” the first documentary to tell the real story of Morris “Moe” Berg, the enigmatic and brilliant Jewish baseball player turned spy, will be shown at Temple Emanu-El on Feb. 29.

Berg caught and fielded in the major leagues during baseball’s golden age, in the 1920s and 1930s.

Very few people know that Berg also worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, the precursor of the CIA), spying in Europe and playing a prominent role in America’s efforts to undermine the German atomic bomb program during World War II. The film follows Berg, a son of Jewish immigrants, from his roots in Newark, New Jersey. An erudite scholar, he spoke several languages and earned degrees from Princeton University and Columbia Law School, and attended the Sorbonne.

As a Major League baseball catcher and fielder, Berg played

on five teams – the Brooklyn Robins (which became the Dodgers), the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the Washington Senators and the Boston Red Sox. In 1934, Berg joined the All Americans Baseball Team for an all-star exhibition tour in Japan with future Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Gomez, Charlie Gehringer and Lou Gehrig. The film features footage from the Japan trip that was taken by the players themselves – Fox, Gomez and Berg. It is enriched with interviews with family members, as well as fellow players and OSS members.

In 1944, the OSS assigned Berg to attend a lecture by German physicist Werner Heisenberg in Zurich. For the Swiss trip, Berg was given a gun and a cyanide pill and was instructed to shoot Heisenberg if he was constructing a bomb for the Nazis. He determined that Germany was not developing an atomic bomb after hearing Heisenberg’s lecture and speaking to him privately.

His dangerous mission aided the Manhattan Project.

In addition to the film, the Arts Emanu-El program will feature a talk by Aviva Kempner, the director of the film. Kempner is the child of a Holocaust-survivor mother and an Army-officer father. Her career as a writer, director and producer has focused on films about unsung Jewish heroes. Kempner received a Peabody Award for “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg” (2000).

She is the founder and executive director of The Ciesla Foundation, a nonprofit organization that produces documentaries that investigate non-stereotypical images of Jews in history and celebrate the untold stories of Jewish heroes.

Kempner is the founder of the Washington Jewish Film Festival, in Washington, D.C., where she lives.

Join Arts Emanu-El on Saturday, Feb. 29, at 7:30 p.m., for a screening of “The Catcher Behind Home Plate” and a talk by film director Aviva Kempner, at Temple

Moe Berg

PHOTO | COURTESY IRWIN BERG

Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. Tickets are $18 online, at www.teprov.org/form/spy, or $25 at the door. Refreshments will be served.

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

Day at the J!

PHOTOS | GLENN OSMUNDSON

TO KICK OFF the 2020 Day at the J! series at the Alliance’s Dwares JCC, families in their jammies came to craft and sing-along with the author of “Goodnight Bubbala,” Sheryl Haft.

Haft read her book and the audience danced and sang.

Crafts included making paper pajamas and finger puppets, and kids learned Yiddish words to teach to the whole mishpacha (extended family)!

Lots of dough TWO HUNDRED WOMEN and girls spent the evening Jan. 23 baking challah and socializing at the RI Pink Challah Bake.

The annual event turned pink this year and included screenings for BRCA and educational resources about breast cancer along with food and beverages. Sponsored by Core Connects RI, along with other local organizations, the bake was held at Temple Emanu-El. Participants made and took home two challahs to bake.

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| 31

BUSINESS

BY NAOMI FINK COTRONE

AR

largely on your stage in life and personal needs.

Start reducing debt. When household budgets tighten, paying large amounts of interest on credit-card balances, for example, can add additional financial strain. So, before the downturn hits, make a concerted effort to pay down debt. Having lower credit-card debt heading into a recession also provides a safety JASON E. net and financial SIPERSTEIN flexibility.

Be ready for investing opportunities. Softer stock prices provide opportunities to “buy low” on individual stocks, mutual funds and other equity-based investments. Capitalizing on those opportunities could mean purchasing investments for a taxable portfolio or increasing equity-based investments inside retirement accounts, college savings plans and the like.

Maintain perspective. Although some last longer than others, market corrections are always

S&S

SE

NAOMI FINK COTRONE runs the Right at Home of Rhode Island agency, which provides care to elderly and disabled adults throughout Rhode Island.

AMID ONE OF THE longest economic expansions in recent American history, financial planners can’t help but be pragmatic. Sometime in the not-too-distant future – it could be months, it could be years – the current cycle will give way to the next recession.

It’s time to examine how your money and your assets are positioned and to take any necessary steps to ensure that you will be protected when the next economic downturn arrives.

Taking precautions starts with having an appropriate, formal financial plan in place. A financial plan should take into consideration the possibility of a weakening stock market and economy, and the negative impact they’re likely to have on your assets, retirement planning, etc. It serves as a compass during challenging economic times.

Having a sizable cash reserve can provide an important protective buffer against the fallout of an economic downturn. The amount to keep in that reserve depends

EN

IN MY WORK WITH SENIORS, as head of the Right at Home of Rhode Island agency, I’m often in the room during conversations about financial planning for seniors who want to age in place.

I don’t consider myself anything close to being a financial adviser, especially when the quality and viability of a person’s sunset years depends on proper guidance. That said, I’ve come to learn a bit about what questions to ask, and of whom to ask them. And so, I wanted to shed light on this important topic, and loop in some of my favorite experts to do so.

Certified Financial Planner Jeff Massey, the founder and president of Massey and Associates, in Warwick, and host of the “Massey on Money” radio show, was kind enough to speak with me about the right questions to ask if you or a loved one is hoping to age in place, and how to fund and financially structure that choice. For those who may be new to the term, aging in place refers to seniors staying in their home, usually with support, as opposed to moving into a facility.

Here’s a roundup of key questions that should start you down the right path – so you don’t need to go anywhere at all.

• What are your qualifications? Before even scheduling a meeting with a financial planner, you should ask questions about their background, experience and training. Speaking with someone with the correct specialty and ethics will help ensure that they have the expertise to guide you. According to Massey, financial planners specialize in the “dull and boring” – and that’s just perfect. Don’t choose a planner based on charisma or chemistry – instead, look for the proper credentials and experience.

• Who else should you consult? Any planner worth their salt will understand that there’s much more to comfortably aging in place than just finances, and that’s where a geriatric-care specialist may be helpful. For example, geriatric social worker/consultant Karen Egan helps some of my clients put together the whole picture of support that they will need.

A good financial planner may also suggest that you consult with a trusts and estates attorney or an elder-law attorney. An attorney can create a trust, last will and testament, financial and health-care power of attorney, and a living will – all key documents to have in place as part of a well-thought-out financial plan.

• What is your philosophy on risk? Once you’re 50+, it’s about dialing down the risk, and diversifying your financial portfolio. If someone is trying to sell you something high-risk/high reward, be wary.

• Is Medicare relevant to me, and how? Medicare planning is a specialty all in itself.

Speaking with an expert who understands the state-specific nuances will serve you best.

There are a lot of misconceptions out there – and many people get it wrong.

Best wishes for a 2020 full of good questions and good answers!

Be prepared for the next recession

D O LL

How to plan for aging in place

temporary and a part of the market cycle. Rather than trying to time the market, a practice that carries inherent risk, seek out solid fundamental investment opportunities.

Establish an automated savings schedule. Set up automatic transfers so that you have no choice but to put money into savings before you have a chance to spend it.

Run through the “what-ifs.”

Play out scenarios and ask yourself how you would handle any market downturn. If you think you would sell out of the market, your portfolio is probably too aggressive.

If you don’t have a financial planner, now is the time to hire one. I believe planners provide the most value during difficult periods and help you stay on track to meet your retirement goals.

JASON E. SIPERSTEIN, CFA, CFP, is the president-elect of the Financial Planning Association of Rhode Island and president of Eliot Rose Wealth Management. He can be reached by email, at jes@eliotrose.com.

32 | FEBRUARY 2020

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Jewish Rhode Island | jewishrhody.org

COMMUNITY | OBITUARIES Anita Filler, 94 CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. – Anita Ratush Filler died Jan. 20 at home. She was the wife of the late Harold Ratush and Milton Filler. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, a daughter of the late Mike and Sylvia (Silberberg) Harris, she had lived in Chestnut Hill for 25 years, previously living in Cranston. Anita graduated from Boston University, was a member of the former Temple Beth Torah and its sisterhood and was a volunteer at the Miriam Hospital.

She was the mother of Elliot Ratush of Cranston and Roz Bilow and her husband, Howard, of Natick, Massachusetts. She was the sister of the late Marty Harris and his late wife, Arlene. She was the grandmother of Haley, Lisa (Jeff) and Maggie (Justin).

Contributions may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, 309 Waverly Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02452 or Season’s Hospice Foundation, 1 Edgewater Dr., #103, Norwood, MA 02062.

Robert Glashow, 89 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Robert A. Glashow, son of the late Sarah (Bereson) and David Glashow, passed away on Jan. 16.

Robert is survived by his wife of 64 years, Diana (Ziskind) Glashow; his three children: David Glashow (Sue) of Barrington; Jill Padwa (Jeffrey) of Providence; Andrew Glashow (Amy) of Middletown. He is also survived by his sister Harriet Singer of Warren; seven grandchildren: Alex Cirillo (Mark) of Barrington, Mackie Glashow of Riverside, Jamie Freihofner (Sam) of Barrington, Joshua Padwa (Katherine) of Rumford, David Padwa of Los Angeles, Jacob Glashow of Middletown, and Sadie Glashow of Middletown; and three great-grandchildren Connor, Hallie and Piper.

Bob grew up in Brookline Massachusetts, and was an alumnus of Brookline High School. He was a graduate of Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, and Bentley College in Massachusetts.

Bob was president and owner of Woonsocket Sponging for more than 60 years and a member of the Woonsocket Rotary.

Contributions may be made to Woonsocket Rotary Charitable Foundation P.O. Box 1212, Woonsocket, RI 02895 or a charity of your choice.

Harriet R. Grunberg, 85 CRANSTON, R.I. – Harriet R. Grunberg died Jan. 26

at Rhode Island Hospital.

She was the wife of the late Sydney Grunberg. Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, a daughter of the late Aaron and Lena (Dondis) Solotist, she was a longtime resident of Cranston.

She was the treasurer for a finance company for many years. Harriet was a member of Temple Emanu-El, a life member of both Hadassah and the former Jewish Home for the Aged, and a member of the Women’s League of Temple Beth Shalom in Las Vegas.

She was the sister of the late Frances Levien. She was the friend of Angelina Palmieri, Maria Del Signore and Angela Iaonnitti.

Contributions may be made to a favorite charity.

Natalie Knasin, 85 CRANSTON, R.I. – Natalie Knasin died Jan. 17 at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center. Born in Providence, a daughter of the late David and Johanna (Lemchen) Bloomberg, she was a longtime resident of Cranston. She worked with her son as a business manager for the former College Rent A Fridge, retiring in 2003. She was one of the founders of the former Alan Jewelry Company. Natalie was a graduate of Hope High School.

She was the mother of Sheryl Rothman and her husband, Stephen, of New Haven, Connecticut, and Paul Knasin and his wife, Ellen, of Cranston. She was the sister of Phyllis Manekofsky of Cranston. She was the grandmother of Danielle, Michael, Dayna, Mara, Alison and Lauren. She was the great-grandmother of five.

Contributions may be made to Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston, RI 02920.

Stanley Marcus, 98 EL PASO, TEXAS – Stanley S. Marcus died in El Paso on Jan. 11. He was born on Feb. 3, 1921, in New York City. He is preceded in death by his father Louis Marcus and mother Mamie Marcus; sister Lillian and brothers, Robert and Jerrold.

Stanley received a business degree in 1942 at the college of business of New York. He enlisted in the Army in March 1942 as a Private and fought in the European theater. In 1944, he saw combat in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Czechoslovakia. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge as an artilleryman, helped in the liberation of

three concentration camps, and the liberation of the City of Pilsen, Czechoslovakia.

He earned four battle stars, Pilsen liberation occupation medal, Czechoslovakian legion of honor and commendations from President Harry Truman. He retired from William Beaumont Army Medical Center in 1947.

Stanley loved fishing in the Sea of Cortez originally with 25 buddies of five airplanes, but as of 2015, he was last of the Mohicans. He was the commander of Rio Grande Sailing Club and he was a lifelong sailor, owning a 27 ft.

Coronado sailboat in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He was an avid bridge player, silver life master, skier, bowler, sea diver, and world traveler.

Stanley was the owner from 1953 to retirement in 1986 of Airway Loan Company, Midway Loan Company, and Atlas Loan Company. He had been a member of Temple Mt. Sinai in El Paso, Texas, since 1947. He was a member of the Jewish War Veteran’s Temple Mt. Sinai.

He is survived by his wife Armandina Marcus and stepsons Armando Benjamin Cordova, Samuel Cordova and former wife Nancy C. Marcus, daughter Wendy S. Marcus of Providence, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Contributions may be made to Chabad of West Bay, Warwick, Providence, Barrington and/or Brown University.

Avery Plaw, 51 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Avery Elias Plaw died Jan. 21. He was the husband of Jane Danek, father of Alexandra (Sasha) and Michaela (Misha) Plaw.

He was the son of the late Gilbert Plaw, Charlotte (Bullock) and Catherine (Shavick).

He was the brother of Sara Plaw (Stephen Ibbott) and Joshua Plaw (Nancy Lis Plaw) and brother-in-law of Eric Danek (Preeti Anand).

He was the uncle of Eda, Benno, Chris, Charlie, Baron and Andy. He was the nephew of Anita Lapof (Ray), Margaret Shavick (Stephen Wallace) and the late Danya and Richard Pelzman.

Born in Milford, Mass., Avery spent his early years in Canada. A graduate of St. George’s school, Montreal, followed by Trinity College

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COMMUNITY | OBITUARIES at the University of Toronto, he completed his doctorate at McGill University in Montreal.

A passionate scholar and teacher, Avery was an esteemed professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

He traveled extensively, often to give papers and for pleasure with his family.

An inveterate sailor, he took great joy in navigating the St. Lawrence as well as hosting friends and family at Sandy Beach, in the 1000 Islands, Gananoque, Canada.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the charity of your choice.

Y. Jacob Schinazi, M.D., 87 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Y. Jacob “Jack” Schinazi, M.D. died Jan. 29. He was the husband of Helen Schinazi, M.D., for 56 years. Born in Cairo, Egypt, he was the son of the late Solomon and Renèe (Abadi) Schinazi.

He earned his medical degree from Cairo University, with post-graduate degrees and training in England and the United States. He was in private practice for many years, assistant professor at Brown University and Boston University. He served as president of the New England Ophthalmological Society (NEOS), as well as of the Rhode Island Ophthalmological Society. During his tenure at NEOS he created the Educational Trust Fund, one of his proudest contributions to the future of the field.

An old-school physician, his profession was the gift of sight, yet his true gift was making each patient feel truly seen. Known for his calming presence, and welcoming, gentle soul, he was always an entirely present listener, rich with meaningful pearls shared at the right moment.

Loved by all who knew him, he will be dearly missed.

Besides his wife, he is survived by his sons Alan Schinazi and his wife, Bre Goldsmith, and Robert Schinazi and his wife, Lauren DeRosset; sister Laurette Galapo; and grandson Robert Jacob Schinazi.

Contributions may be made to The New England Ophthalmological Society’s Educational Trust Fund, http://www.neos-eyes.org/ Donations.

Harvey Snyder, 88 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Harvey M. Snyder, of Providence, died on Jan. 24 at the Miriam Hospital with his family at his side.

Born on March 13, 1931, in Fall River, Massachusetts, Harvey was an authentic son of New England. He and his wife, Dorothea, raised their two daughters on the East Side of Providence and for the past 30 years spent memorable summers in Narragansett.

An avid reader, Harvey had an extraordinary thirst for knowledge and was a perpetual and enthusiastic student.

He attended Brown University, graduated in the top 10% of his class from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, and earned an MBA from the University of Rhode Island.

In 1985, he decided to teach himself to become a CPA. Ever the over-achiever, when he received the Nicholas Picchione Silver Medal for attaining the second highest score on the CPA exam in the state of Rhode Island, he joked that if he’d known how close he was to the gold he would’ve pushed himself a bit harder.

Harvey spent much of his professional life as treasurer and vice-president of Uncas Manufacturing Co. until he retired. But Harvey remained actively involved in his real estate investment business for the rest of his life.

Harvey was an especially generous man, devoted to his country and his community.

He was a Korean War veteran, a member of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Valley of Southeastern MA, and a Hope High School student mentor.

But perhaps his greatest act of generosity was leaving his body to Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School.

Harvey had a ready smile, a constant twinkle in his eye, was quick with a genuine compliment, possessed a brilliant sense of humor, and absolutely adored his friends and family.

He will be profoundly missed by his wife Dorothea, daughters Ellen and Julie, and sister Audrey Rifkin of Jacksonville, Florida. He was preceded in death by his brother David Snyder of Hol-

lywood, Florida.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the BrownRISD Hillel Foundation.

Anne Teifeld, 75 BRISTOL, R.I. – Anne L. Teifeld died on Jan. 19. She was the wife of the late Robert S. Teifeld.

Born in Bronx, New York, she was the daughter of the late Maurice and Clara (Cohn) Liebling, and a resident of Barrington.

Anne grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, then received a master’s degree from Boston University. Anne had a life-long passion for education. She was a teacher for the early part of her career and later an administrator for the Edward E. Ford Foundation. Anne also enjoyed her time as a Sunday school teacher at Temple Habonim, volunteered as a docent at the Haffenreffer Museum in Bristol and led the East Bay Parkinson’s support group.

She is survived by her children Laurie Ufland and her husband, Jon; Michael Teifeld and his wife, Mirit; and four granddaughters, Brooke, Aubrey, Sofia and Avery.

Contributions may be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, https:// secure.pancan.org/site/ Donation2?df_id=2681&mfc_ pref=T&2681.donation=form1

sition, generous and kind heart, and ability to make others laugh, brought joy into the lives of everyone he knew.

He was the father of Vic Weinstein and his wife, Randi, of Charleston, South Carolina, Jane Weinstein and her partner, Linda Meyer, of Portland, Maine, Rob Weinstein and his wife, Claudia Bemis, of Branford, Connecticut, and Dan Weinstein and his wife, Pam Grocer, of East Greenwich. He was the grandfather of Ben, Carrie, Molly, Jeff and Seth. He was great-grandfather to Gwendolyn and Avery.

He was the brother of the late Leonard Weinstein.

The family is grateful to Will Jameson for the friendship and care he provided to Ed. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, 311 East Jericho Tpk., Smithtown, NY 11787-2976.

Sylvia Zalkind, 100 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Sylvia D. Zalkind, 100, passed away Jan. 19. She was the wife of the late Charles S. Zalkind

and her first husband, the late Irving Kaplan. Born in Providence, she was the daughter of the late Meyer and Anna (Yogel) Goldman.

She had beautiful taste, always dressed elegantly and lived life to its fullest. Sylvia was a Life Master duplicate bridge player; it was her first passion. Also passionate about golf, she was a lifelong member of Ledgemont Country Club. She was a devoted mother to her daughters and they to her.

She is survived by her daughters Susan Zalkind (the late Paul Adams Hawkins), Deborah Z. Semine (Dr. Chris), Batsheva Drori (Rabbi Reuven); 14 grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren (and counting). She was the sister of the late Sidney and Seymour Goldman.

Contributions may be made to the charity of your choice.

Edward Weinstein, 93 WARWICK, R.I. – Edward B. Weinstein died Jan. 31 at Kent Hospital, Warwick. He was the husband of Frances Weinstein for 70 years. A native of Babylon, New York, he was a son of the late Mike and Frances Weinstein. He resided in Warwick since 2013.

The retired proprietor of Harwein Feed & Fuel, Ed was active in the Babylon Lions Club, serving in various leadership positions including president, His service to others was recognized with a Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, Lions International’s highest honor. He served the Lions Eye Bank of Long Island for many years, delivering over 250 corneas. Ed was an avid sailor and gardener, known for his love of cherry tomatoes and dahlias. He was a proponent of solar energy and a conservationist.

Ed will be remembered as a happy family man, who through his friendly dispo-

taking care of each other is what community is all about. we’ve proudly served our Jewish community with personal, compassionate care. As your Dignity Memorial professionals, we are dedicated to helping families create a personal, meaningful memorial that truly honors the life it represents.

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Celebrations

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