May 25, 2018

Volume XXIV, Issue X | www.jvhri.org Serving Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts

PETS

11 Sivan 5778 | May 25, 2018

7 treasures from a centennial exhibit on Leonard Bernstein

BY PENNY SCHWARTZ JTA – From his birthplace in Boston to New York, Berlin, South Africa, China and Israel, Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), the larger-than-life conductor, pianist, composer, educator and bon vivant, is being celebrated in a two-year bonanza of concerts, stage productions and programs marking the centennial of his birth.

The American-born son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, Bernstein’s influence spanned the musical world, from classical music to Broadway.

Thousands of events are featured as a part of #Bernsteinat100, including “Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music,” an exhibit at the National Museum

Leonard Bernstein of American Jewish History in Philadelphia.

And in April, the Library BERNSTEIN | 4

Chef Michael Solomonov dishes about how food connects us

BY FRAN OSTENDORF

PROVIDENCE – More than 300 people listened to a conversation between renowned chef and restaurateur Michael Solomonov and Rabbi Sarah Mack on May 2 in the Victor and Gussie Baxt Social Hall at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center.

Solomonov, the son of an American mother and Bulgarian father, grew up in Pittsburgh and Israel. He attended high school in the U.S., then completed three semesters at the University of Vermont. His parents live in Israel; his younger brother David was killed three

Chef Michael Solomonov days before his release from the SOLOMONOV | 14

EDOX is hard at work around Providence

BY FRAN OSTENDORF EDOX is a frequent visitor to the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center. And that’s a good thing.

You may not have noticed him or know who he is, but he’s an important part of protecting our community.

EDOX and his partner, Patrolman Scott Keenan, are at the Providence JCC prior to almost every large gathering to sniff out problems and dangers.

EDOX is an acronym for Explosive Detection Odor Expert.

EDOX is also an almost 2-yearold Belgian Malinois who lives with Keenan. The breed is known for being “smart, confidant, world-class workers,” according to the American Kennel Club website. A Belgian Malinois, which looks like a small German Shepherd, will “forge an unbreakable bond with his human partner.”

When you talk to Keenan about EDOX, you certainly get the impression that’s true.

EDOX is one of six dogs employed by the Providence Police Department. Two work with explosives only, two are patrol and explosives dogs and one is a patrol/narcotics dog. The sixth dog works as a comfort animal, riding along with Family Services to help victims.

Keenan says he must “walk a fine line” with EDOX. “You have to remember he’s a working dog,” he says.

EDOX doesn’t get treats and he must work for his toys. When he finds something, he’s rewarded with his Kong toy. And hide-and-seek is one of the ways

PHOTOS | FRAN OSTENDORF

Patrolman Scott Keenan with EDOX at the JCC. they train.

Keenan and EDOX both work hard at training, at the Rhode Island K9 Academy, under master trainer Roger Reardon.

“I came from a motorcycle

unit. I didn’t know a lot about dogs. I’m new. I learn a lot. But to see him mature and learn” is pretty amazing, Keenan said.

“It’s a great experience,” he said.

EDOX | 23

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Naomi Fink Cotrone, President of RAH - RI, with her senior dog, Sammy.

2 | May 25, 2018

INSIDE Arts 12 Business 25-27 Calendar 11 Community 2, 4-7, 13-16, 25, 32-34 D’var Torah 7 Food 17 Nation 4, 9, 33 Obituaries 28-29 Opinion 8-10 Pets 18-24 Seniors 30-31 Simchas 35 We Are Read 34

THIS ISSUE’S QUOTABLE QUOTE “Relationship building is invaluable. …

Relationships will move our country.”

COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice

Record crowd attends Interfaith Poverty Conference

BY FRAN OSTENDORF The Interfaith Poverty Conference attracted its largest crowd ever at its 10th annual gathering, held on May 9 at Rhode Island College, to hear the Rev. Traci Blackmon speak and to attend workshops to inspire faith leaders to fight poverty in Rhode Island.

More than 300 people representing virtually every religion in the state gathered at RIC, in Providence, for the program organized by the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty. The audience filled the Donovan Dining Center.

Maxine Richman welcomed participants on behalf of the R.I. Interfaith Coalition’s Steering Committee and outlined the accomplishments of the past 10 years. The group has successfully advocated in the state legislature for a higher minimum wage, full-day kindergarten, Head Start, child-care assistance and no-fare bus passes.

Currently, it is working on reforming payday lending. Richman closed by telling the group, “there is still so much more to be done.”

Blackmon, executive minister of justice and local church ministries for the United Church of Christ and senior pastor of Christ the King United Church of Christ, in Florissant, Missouri, near St. Louis, started her keynote address with a sa-

lute to the audience.

“You have certainly been busy,” she said.

The crowd listened intently as she talked about participating in protests in Washington, D.C., and her efforts – with other clergy – to keep young protesters calm in Ferguson, Missouri, after Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer in 2014.

Blackmon, a sought-after inspirational speaker, believes that prayer can be a sign and an active form of protest. She also believes that “faith shifts the atmosphere.”

“We have become so accustomed to the toxicity of the time that we have forgotten that the divine resides in those we oppose,” she said.

Blackmon said no area escapes poverty, and that she believes her message resonates with all faiths.

“Relationship building is invaluable. Only where you find places to connect can we get to know each other, and we find we have much more in common,” she said. “Relationships will move our country.”

After the keynote address, participants attended workshops on housing, child care, race, poverty and fair pay.

Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser and Swami Yogatmananda.

FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org) is the editor of The Jewish Voice.

Rev. Traci Blackmon.

PHOTOS | JUAN ESPINOZA

May 25, 2018 |

jvhri.org

ANNUAL MEETING

Wednesday, June 13 | 7:00pm Dwares JCC | 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence

Board Installations: Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island Jewish Federation Foundation Alliance Realty, Inc. Presentation of Leadership Awards Reception to follow

LEADERSHIP AWARDS 2018 - 2019 Proposed Slate of Officers and Board Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island Chair Mitzi Berkelhammer Vice Chairs Rabbi Barry Dolinger, Governance Janet Goldman, Community Development James Pious, Philanthropy (Chair Elect) Oswald Schwartz, Jewish Life & Learning Richard Silverman, Communications Treasurer Harris Chorney Board of Directors Jason Bazarsky Adam Cable Susan Leach DeBlasio Michael Eides Donna Evans Ryan Forman Susan Odessa Froehlich, Leadership Development Marisa Garber Marc Gertsacov Richard Glucksman, Community Relations Council Robert Landau Shoshana Lew Sara Miller, Chair Appointee Cara Mitnick Vincent Mor Mara Ostro

2018 Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award Presented to Sharon Gaines Joseph W. Ress Community Service Award Presented to Rabbi Wayne Franklin Rabbi Alvan & Giveret Marcia Kanufer Day School Educator Award Presented to Emily Dennen, Jewish Community Day School

Judy Rosenstein Cheryl Greenfeld Teverow, Chair Appointee Miriam Esther Weiner Faye Wisen Rabbi Rachel Zerin, Rabbinical Representative Honorary Directors Melvin G. Alperin Alan G. Hassenfeld Sharon Gaines, Immediate Past Chair Adam Greenman, President and CEO

2018 - 2019 Proposed Jewish Federation Foundation of Greater Rhode Island Board Sharon Gaines, Chair Robert Sherwin, Vice Chair Melvin Alperin Robin Engle H. Jack Feibelman Mark Feinstein David Hirsch Marilyn Kaplan Scott Libman Richard Licht Michael Nulman Ralph Posner Jay Rosenstein Steven Shalansky, Treasurer Mathew Shuster Herbert Stern Cheryl Greenfeld Teverow, Secretary Mindy Wachtenheim

2018 - 2019 Proposed Alliance Realty, Inc. Board Ronald C. Markoff, Chair Robert Stolzman, Vice Chair Sharon Gaines, Secretary/Treasurer Adam Greenman, President and CEO

3

4 | May 25, 2018

COMMUNITY | NATION

The Jewish Voice

Program commemorates 2016 law requiring Holocaust, genocide education

BY MARTY COOPER A special program to commemorate legislation requiring that Holocaust and genocide education be studied in Rhode Island’s public middle and high schools took place in the State Room at the State House on May 10.

Henry Theriault, a distinguished authority on genocide studies and president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, discussed the current climate of human rights as it relates to genocide and why this subject should be studied in school.

Theriault, a professor and associate vice president of academic affairs at Worcester State University, in Massachusetts, said educating students to become more active in the world can make a difference when it comes to recognizing and combating genocide. The professor cited recent examples of how students can bring about change, including protests by students after the school shootings in Parkland, Florida, and during the Vietnam War. People stood by, watching, while millions were killed in the Holocaust and during the Armenian genocide, Theriault noted. Why, he asked, did nobody do anything about it?

Not until the genocides in Kosovo, Bosnia and Rwanda did people work toward putting an end to such atrocities, he said. Students from organizations such as STAND (Students Taking Action: Darfur) brought public awareness to genocide.

STAND was one of the first groups to bring attention to the mass killings and displacement of people in the Sudan genocide, which began in 2003 and continues today.

Theriault said that through education and study, we can create a framework for community dialogue, leading to activism and understanding that will put an end to these atrocities. We need to teach students to understand people in our

PHOTOS | LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, MUSIC DIVISION

Leonard Bernstein with his parents, Jennie and Samuel Bernstein, circa 1921.

FROM PAGE 1

BERNSTEIN

Henry Theriault society, as well as in other societies, to bring about positive change, he continued. Genocide education, he said, is not just about the past, but about now.

Shortly after the presentation, resolutions to commemorate the 2016 legislation requiring Holocaust and genocide education in the state were unanimously passed in both the House and Senate.

Rep. Jason Knight (Barrington, Warren), the primary sponsor of the House resolution, spoke about the importance of

CONTRIBUTORS Cynthia Benjamin Seth Chitwood Stephanie Ross EDITOR Fran Ostendorf DESIGN & LAYOUT Leah Camara ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Chris Westerkamp cwesterkamp@jewishallianceri.org 401-421-4111, ext. 160 Karen Borger ksborger@gmail.com 401-529-2538

COLUMNISTS Michael Fink Rabbi James Rosenberg Daniel Stieglitz THE JEWISH VOICE (ISSN number 1539-2104, USPS #465-710) is published biweekly, except in July, when it does not publish.

Holocaust and genocide education, as did Sen. Gayle Goldin (Providence), the primary sponsor in the Senate.

Sen. James C. Sheehan (Narragansett, North Kingstown), a school teacher in Warwick, added that he teaches the Holocaust to his students and sees how meaningful the subject matter is to them.

MARTY COOPER is a member of the R.I. Holocaust and Genocide Education Committee.

of Congress got in on the act, making available online for the first time free access to more than 3,700 items including letters, photographs, audio recordings, and other material from its vast Leonard Bernstein Collection. The release nearly tripled the library’s digital offerings.

Curious fans with time on their hands can cue up “West Side Story,” “On the Town” or the “Chichester Psalms,” and peruse volumes of scrapbooks in the Library’s collection that were meticulously compiled

by Helen Coates, his piano teacher and later, his careerlong secretary.

“Bernstein arguably was the most prominent music figure in America in the second half of the 20th century,” according to Mark Horowitz, the collection’s curator, who has been immersed in the details of the maestro’s life for a quarter century. He described Bernstein as a “polymath, a Renaissance man who wanted to do it all,” from music to education to social activism.

PERIODICALS Postage paid at Providence, R.I. POSTMASTER Send address changes to: The Jewish Voice, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906.

PUBLISHER The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, President/CEO Adam Greenman, Chair Mitzi Berkelhammer, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906.

Phone: 401-421-4111 • Fax 401-331-7961

MEMBER of the Rhode Island Press Association and the American Jewish Press Association

Born on Aug. 28, 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to Jennie and Samuel Bernstein, the young musician famously catapulted onto the world stage in November 1943, when he filled in on short notice as conductor for the New York Philharmonic for an ailing Bruno Walter, in a concert broadcast on national television.

Five years later, with his 1958 appointment as music director of the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein became the first American-born and educated conductor – and the first American Jewish conductor – to lead a major American orchestra.

With an estimated 400,000 items, the Bernstein Collection is one of the largest and most varied in the Library’s music division, Horowitz told JTA. The archives fill 1,723 boxes that measure 710 linear feet.

Here are seven treasures from the Library of Congress collection: 1. Bernstein grew up in Boston in a deeply religious family and was influenced by the BERNSTEIN | 33

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All submitted content becomes the property of The Voice. Announcements and opinions contained in these pages are published as a service to the community and do not necessarily represent the views of The Voice or its publisher, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. We reserve the right to refuse publication

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Arms around each other, swaying in unison, the award-winning performers from Shir Ba’Emek and students from the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island in Providence joyfully sang together on a sunny spring morning.

And while they’ve won singing competitions and performed throughout Israel and abroad, the members of Shir Ba’Emek were thrilled to discover that JCDSRI students were familiar with so many Israeli songs, declaring their May 1 visit to the school one of the highlights of their New England trip.

Shir Ba’Emek is composed of singers who are from the Israeli city of Afula and the Gilboa region. They are students, mothers and professionals who rehearse every Tuesday evening at the Afula Music Conservatory. The group has a repertoire that ranges from traditional Hebrew songs to modern pop.

Amir Cohen, who helped make the group’s trip to the U.S. possible, arranged the performance at JCDSRI (where his children were students years ago).

“How would you like it if these guys had a private concert at the school?” he asked. “Love it!” we answered.

The night before arriving at JCDSRI, the 16-member group performed at the New Bedford Whaling Museum – the featured act at the Jewish Federa-

May 25, 2018 |

5

Shir Ba’Emek visits JCDSRI

Shir Ba’Emek singers Zohar, David, Yael and Yael singing and dancing with JCDSRI teachers and students. tion of Greater New Bedford’s celebration in honor of Israel’s 70th birthday.

Partnership 2Gether was launched in Afula/Gilboa in 1995, twinning the city of Afula and the Gilboa Regional Council with the Southern New England Consortium (SNEC), comprising 11 communities in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Cohen is the executive director of the New Bedford Federation and is coordinator of SNEC. Submitted by the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island PHOTOS | JCDSRI

Shir Ba’Emek made a surprise visit to the Jewish Community Day School of RI on May 1.

BIG MISSION FOR A REALLY BIG BIRTHDAY A REALLY

RHODE ISLAND GOES TO ISRAEL

OCTOBER 15 - 23, 2018

Join us for an INFORMATION SESSION to learn more about our upcoming mission:

Tuesday, May 29 @ 5:30pm | Dwares JCC | 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence RSVP to Gail Putnam at 401.421.4111 ext. 158 or gputnam@jewishallianceri.org

EXPERIENCE THE HISTORY, ART, CULTURE, AND FLAVOR OF THE COUNTRY WITH YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND OTHER RHODE ISLANDERS. Subsidies available for those under the age of 40.

Learn more at jewishallianceri.org/mission

401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI 02906 | 401.421.4111

COMMUNITY

6 | May 25, 2018

The Jewish Voice

Cranston man tells his life story so we never forget

BY LEV POPLOW We’ve all seen pictures of the Nazis marching down the Champs-Elysées after the fall of Paris, but Edmond Goldberg, of Cranston, was there when it happened in June 1940.

Born in Paris in 1932, Goldberg was 8 years old when the Nazis took the city. His father, Elie Simon Goldberg, volunteered for the French army, was captured and spent time in a notorious German POW camp, Stalag 17.

Goldberg recalled that “when the Germans came into Paris, I remember they came down Gambatta Avenue – they came right down the hill – and people had mixed reactions, some were crying and some threw flowers.

“Once the Nazis arrived, the Jews had to wear the yellow star, they weren’t allowed to be in the front of a bus or metro [train], and after 8 p.m., Jewish people were not allowed to go out.”

He continued, “In 1941, my father got home from Germany …. Then he spent at least six months in the hospital because he had been wounded in the war and the Germans never took care of it. After … the Germans wanted him to work for them.”

Instead of going to work for the Germans, Goldberg’s father fled, along with Goldberg’s halfsister, Estelle, to the town of Perpignan, in the “free” part of France, near the Spanish border (the Vichy government had made a deal with the Nazis to

PHOTOS | LEV POPLOW

Convoy Manifest: The circled name is Edmond Goldberg’s grandfather

Edmond Goldberg with his partner Judy Chorney. delay occupation of France).

A little while later, Goldberg, his mother, Mariam, and younger sister, Suzanne, also fled to Perpignan. They had to bribe a guide, who took them by train and then through the woods.

They went to Perpignan for

two reasons: because Goldberg’s mother had an uncle there, and because they thought that if the Germans came into “free” France, they could escape to Spain.

They later learned, however, that it was too dangerous to go to Spain when a guard who

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Goldberg’s father had befriended in Stalag 17 appeared, as the Nazis came to occupy Perpignan.

“My father was a barber who worked across from the school [in Perpignan] that the Nazis took over and used as their barracks. One day my father was cutting hair and the German officer got in there, and they recognized each other. They hugged and kissed each other. It was the guard from Stalag 17,” Goldberg said.

“I remembered him. He used to come to our house without his uniform on, and brought us food. He told us to leave Perpignan because they were starting to take Jewish people.”

The family backtracked to the town of Flayat, where they stayed for the duration of the war, hiding in plain sight of the Nazis. They adopted a Christian last name (Colbert) and attended church on Sundays.

To survive, the family bartered Goldberg’s father’s services as a barber for food.

In June of 1944, Americans liberated Flayat. Soon afterward, the family returned to Paris.

“Believe it or not, we moved back into the same apartment,” Goldberg said. “There used to be a lot of kids, but when we came back, I didn’t see anyone I knew from before the war.

When they arrived in Paris, his mother was sick; she died in January 1945 in a Paris hospital. His father, unable to make a living and take care of him and his younger sister, temporarily placed them in an orphanage. Most of the kids there were Jewish and had been in concentration camps and lost their families in the war.

Eventually, everyone but Goldberg’s older half-sister, Estelle, came to America in 1948.

Estelle stayed in Paris, where she lived until her death in 2017. For many years, she tried to learn what had happened to their grandfather.

About 10 years ago, she sent

a copy of a partial manifest of a Nazi train convoy of Jews, including his grandfather, to Goldberg. She got the list from the municipal office of the 20th arrondissement, where they lived.

“On that particular day, there were 3,500 Jewish people from Paris who were taken away, and out of all those people, 15 men survived,” Goldberg said.

Although his sister found out about the train that took their grandfather away, she was never able to find out where he died.

Once in America, Goldberg settled in Worcester, Massachusetts. He apprenticed as a printer though he could not yet speak English. Eventually he got a job in the print shop of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

In 1952, he met his future wife, Sandra Solomon, who was from Providence. They married in 1955 and lived on Pine Street in Pawtucket. His sister met a man from New York, married and still lives there.

In 1960, Goldberg was hired as a printer for the Providence Journal, where he worked until his retirement in 1995.

Today, Goldberg lives in Cranston with his longtime partner Judy Chorney (his wife passed away many years ago). He is thankful for his three children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, and proud to be a longtime member of the Touro Fraternal Association.

Reflecting on his wartime experience and the world today, Goldberg is troubled. He sees a lot of “problems” with rising hate in Europe and America, and finds it “inconceivable that these things are still happening.” He fears that people are forgetting history and it could happen again – so he is now telling his story for the first time.

LEV POPLOW is a communication consultant writing on behalf of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center. He can be reached at levpoplow@ gmail.com.

jvhri.org D’VAR

TORAH | COMMUNITY

May 25, 2018 |

7

Lessons on gender acceptance from the Talmud and Torah Parashat Naso Recently, a local Catholic church welcomed a medical doctor, Michelle Cretella, to speak about the health of transgender children. On the surface, this is wonderful. Religious conviction demands that we take the well-being of marginalized individuals seriously.

The problem is that Cretella came as a member RABBI of an organiALEX zation called WEISSMAN the American College of Ped iat r icia ns, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has condemned as a hate group, and which the National Institutes of Health has accused of misrepresenting its research to push its agenda.

Cretella describes being transgender as a mental illness and views any medical intervention to support transgender kids as child abuse. Cretella and her organization advocate for a binary view of gender – male and female – and argue that people cannot blur or move across these categories. Jewish tradition, however, has another view.

According to our ancient rabbis, there are six distinct gen-

ders. The two we are most familiar with are n’kevah/female, and zachar/male. These are the only two Cretella and her organization recognize, but we know there are more. Two others our traditions recognizes are the tumtum and the androgynous. The tumtum is a person with indeterminate or obscured sex characteristics while the androgynous is a person with both “male” and “female” sex characteristics. Despite these terms showing up in hundreds of Jewish texts, most of us never learn about them. If we did, we would know that we are all descended from people outside the gender binary.

In a Talmudic discussion about why it was so hard for our ancestors to have children, Rabbi Ami states that the parents of the Jewish people, Avraham and Sarah were tumtumin (Yevamot 64a). He brings his evidence from two verses in the book of Isaiah, “Look to the rock from where you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from where you were dug. Look to Avraham your father and to Sarah who bore you” (Isaiah 51:1-2). Seeing a parallelism in the two verses, Rabbi Ami argues that Avraham and Sarah’s genitals were “hewn” and “dug,” i.e., that their bodies were changed as they changed genders and were only then able to conceive. This

Shining light on aging communities

BY FRAN OSTENDORF To build a strong future, you have to have a connection to the past.

And Rabbi Raphie Schochet is hoping to inspire Rhode Islanders in the Jewish community to learn more about the history of the community in a series of short talks he’s calling “Communities of Rhode Island.”

“It’s important to know where you come from,” he said. “Rhode Island has been around a long time. My hope is to draw a little more attention to some of these communities.”

Schochet, rosh kollel of Kollel/Shoresh, said he plans to focus on some of the remaining historical communities in the state: Congregation B’nai Israel in Woonsocket, Congregation Sons of Jacob in Providence, Touro Synagogue in Newport and Congregation Beth David in Narragansett.

“I want to draw attention to these little pearls,” he said.

There are so many unsung

heroes in Rhode Island, he said. He’s hoping to bring attention to them and draw community interest to these historic Jewish communities, some that may be aging and losing members.

The talks will last 45-60 minutes with question-andanswer sessions to follow.

Schochet said he hopes those who attend will share reflections and memories of these synagogues.

The free programs will start on June 5 at Congregation Sons of Jacob, 24 Douglas Ave., Providence, and continue on June 19 at Touro Synagogue. The other two dates will be scheduled on Tuesdays in June and July. All the programs will start at 6 p.m.

The project is a collaboration of Kollel/Shoresh, Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association and the synagogues where the programs are being held.

For more information, contact rabbiraphie@gmail.com.

FRAN OSTENDORF is the editor of The Jewish Voice.

is not the usual story we learn about Sarah and Avraham, but it is in our Talmud.

We see similar conversations elsewhere involving our ancestors, including Adam, the first human, who is described as an androgynous (Breishit Rabbah 18:1). Our rabbis imagined the first human and our first Jews as living outside the gender binary. If we can be as bold as the ancient rabbis, what would happen if we saw them this way?

What would change within us?

How might we see transgender and gender non-conforming people in our midst? How might we see ourselves differently?

In parashat Naso, we get an additional lesson on gender, though it is not as immediately obvious as the one the ancient rabbis offer us. This week’s parashah begins with God giving Moshe instructions on taking a census among different Levites. Seven times, the Torah describes the ages of the Levite men fit to serve in the mishkan – from/mi 30 years of age until/ad 50 years of age. We see this formulation of “from/mi... until/ad” repeated in each description of the Levites’ ages.

At the beginning of the next chapter, Numbers 5, God instructs Moshe regarding individuals who need to spend time outside of the Israelite camp in accordance with ritual

purity laws. Numbers 5:3 begins, “Mi’zachar ad n’kevah, t’shaleychu.” English translations of this text read something like, “both men and women, you shall send them out.”

That is to say, most readings see the text as describing two distinct genders, male and female.

These translations oddly ignore the meaning of the words that we have been reading in all of Numbers 4, “mi...ad” used to describe the range of ages. “Mi...ad,” does not mean, “both...and.” The text does not refer to Levites who are “30 and 50,” but rather that they should serve if they are 30, 31, 32, etc., all the way up to 50.

To read Numbers 5:3 in light of this understanding of “mi... ad” from Numbers 4, we have no choice but to understand “zachar/male” and “n’kevah/ female” as being descriptions

of two points on a line, as we could imagine age to be, on a spectrum. Gender, like age, is something with a wide range of expression and experience – a range recognized by Torah and by our ancient rabbis.

As Jews, we must refuse all narratives that people do not exist outside the gender binary.

This very idea is anti-Jewish.

When we deny or denigrate transgender lives, we deny and denigrate Torah. If we recognize and respect our ancestors Adam, Sarah and Avraham, then we must recognize and respect transgender lives. Our tradition demands nothing less.

RABBI ALEX WEISSMAN serves at the senior Jewish educator at Brown RISD Hillel.

Candle Lighting Times Greater Rhode Island May 25 June 1 June 8 June 15 June 22

7:50 7:56 8:01 8:04 8:06

OPINION

8 | May 25, 2018

A little of this, a little of that Well, dear readers, you’ve done it again. Welcome to our pet edition, featuring a record number of your pet photos.

We love seeing these photos. And from the response to our requests for photos, apparently you love seeing EDITOR your beloved furry friends in the paper.

FRAN Once again, OSTENDORF only cats and dogs were featured in photos from our readers.

But this year, columnist Mike Fink writes about his special pet. Turn to page 31 to see what it is. It will surprise you. And it might appeal to those of you who don’t have – or want – a dog or cat.

The Voice staff is about equally split on cat and dog ownership. We even have a parrot owner in our midst. It seems that reflects our readership, too. Studies show that more households own dogs than cats but, since cat owners often have multiple cats, there are more pet cats than dogs in the United States. The top three pets are fish, cats and dogs in that order. Birds are next, followed by small mammals, a group led by rabbits.

Then reptiles and horses. So, next year, send us photos of your fish! We know they are out there!

Pet ownership is growing. In 2017, 68 percent of U.S. households had pets, up from 56 percent in 1988.

Regular readers know about my family’s cat, Charlotte. She is the third cat my husband and I have owned since we’ve been married. Her favorite spot is my lap while I work at the computer. Put a blanket there and she’s even happier.

Sometimes, it works out well.

Other times, I can barely reach the keyboard. Her spelling is atrocious and her grammar is worse, so she’s not much help with the paper. And she refuses to comment when I try to inter-

view her. But she offers some tranquility when a deadline has me feeling anxious.

Our love for cats has apparently rubbed off on our children, as they both now have cats of their own.

I’m not much of a dog person.

That goes way back to a childhood incident with a schnauzer at my grandmother’s house.

But I must say, there’s a dog we see around the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center quite often, and he’s hard to resist. He has a great, enthusiastic personality and perky ears – and he’s on today’s cover. If you skipped it, go back and read about him and his important role in keeping us safe.

You might even see the story featured on our Facebook page next week. Have you noticed that our Facebook page has become more active? And a long dormant Twitter account is active once again. If you use social media, please like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. Tell your loved ones to do so too. We will try to keep you informed!

The newest member of the Alliance’s Marketing and Communications team, digital media associate Ben Goldberg, is helping The Voice raise its social media presence so you know what we’re doing, and the latest news. We are grateful for his help and advice!

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OUR MISSION The mission of The Jewish Voice is to communicate Jewish news, ideas and ideals by connecting and giving voice to the diverse views of the Jewish community in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, while adhering to Jewish values and the professional standards of journalism.

The Jewish Voice

Combatants for Peace According to its promotional material, Combatants for Peace was founded in 2006, when “Israeli and Palestinian former fighters, people who had taken an active role in the conflict, laid down their weapons” and established the organizaIT SEEMS tion to work to “both TO ME transform and resolve RABBI JIM the conflict by ROSENBERG ending Israeli occupation and all forms of violence between the two sides.”

The organization, which was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, is based on three pillars: non-violence, complete cooperation between its Israeli and Palestinian members, and the honoring of human rights for both Israelis and Palestinians.

“Combatants for Peace is the only organization, worldwide, in which former fighters on both sides of an active conflict have laid down their weapons, choosing to work together for peace and justice.”

On April 29, between 50 and 60 people came to the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence, to hear two members of Combatants for Peace, Osama Iliwit and Netta Hazan, share their perspectives.

Iliwit, a Palestinian, agreed to speak with just a few hours notice; he came from Boston after being told that the scheduled Palestinian presenter, Kholud Abud Raeya, had her travel visa to the United States canceled at the last minute.

Hazan, a former member of the Israeli army, spoke after Iliwit.

Iliwit’s first image of Jews was three armed soldiers standing in front of his elementary school in Jericho. It took him several years to come to see Jews as anything other than armed and dangerous.

Slowly, despite being arrested and thrown into an Israeli prison for attempting to fly a Palestinian flag, he was able to let go of his negative stereotypes and see the humanity in the “other.” Today he is devoting his life to attempting to bridge the abyss between “us”

and “them.”

Toward the end of his talk, Iliwit alluded to the frustrations he continues to face with the Israeli bureaucracy: as a West Bank Palestinian, he is permitted to spend the day in Israel, but he is not allowed to sleep there.

“I guess,” he quipped sardonically, but without any evident rancor, “I am considered more dangerous when I am sleeping

“Combatants for Peace is the only organization, world wide, in which former fighters on both sides of an active conflict have laid down their weapons …” than when I am awake.”

In many ways, Hazan told a story similar to Iliwit’s. Like Iliwit, over time Hazan learned to overcome stereotypes and to discover the humanity in the “other.” And like Iliwit, Hazan paid a heavy price for working with “the enemy.”

What has made matters particularly difficult for Hazan is that, with a Moroccan father and an Egyptian mother, she grew up among Israel’s Sephardic community, which tends to be Jewishly observant and right-leaning politically. She is secular, mostly non-observant, and politically on the left.

Hazan’s involvement with Combatants for Peace has led to her estrangement from some members of her family, as well as from many former friends and army buddies. But she has the satisfaction of knowing that she is living her life in accordance with her deeply held commitments to non-violence, to dialogue, to cooperation, to building a better life for both Israelis and Palestinians – and she has the joy of becoming close to men and women who share these ideals.

After Iliwit and Hazan concluded their remarks, I presided over the Q-and-A session. I began by asking the two presenters to respond to the 10 or so questions that members of the audience had written on index cards. I read the first question verbatim:

“Please speak about the surrounding countries accepting Israel. Please speak about the surrounding countries accepting a Jewish Israel. Do you/ your organization think Israel should be a Jewish state?”

Iliwit responded that what other countries do is not his business; his concern is how Israelis and Palestinians can best learn to live peacefully with each other. If Israelis choose to have a Jewish state – provided that such a decision is part of a just and peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – that’s fine with him.

As a secular Jew, Hazan expressed little enthusiasm for insisting that Israel be a Jewish state. Like Iliwit, her primary concern is working for a resolution of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Hazan gave voice to her frustration with the restrictions – relating to Sabbath observance, for example – imposed by the religious establishment upon the secular majority.

The final question posed to Iliwit and Hazan asked for their sense of how their respective communities viewed the so-called two-state solution.

Both speakers suggested that the majority of their communities approve of a two-state solution in theory; however, such support begins to ebb as soon as the specifics are taken into account – in particular, where the proposed borders are ultimately drawn.

Perhaps the most promising aspect of that Sunday afternoon gathering was that our Jewish community was able to come together in civil, respectful dialogue about profoundly contentious issues. In addition to Combatants for Peace, four other organizations offered their sponsorship: J Street Rhode Island; J Street Brown; The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island; and Temple Beth-El, in Providence.

One of the index cards handed to me for the Q-and-A session expressed the sense of that special afternoon: “No question. Just wanted to say thank you for your sacred work. Thank you for your courage, faith, and inspiration. You are the future of Israel!!!”

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

COLUMNS | LETTERS POLICY

The Jewish Voice 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 The Jewish Voice or the Alliance.

Send letters and op-eds to: The Jewish Voice, 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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OPINION

The #MeToo movement goes to camp

BY DEBORAH MEYER AND JEREMY FINGERMAN JTA – The #MeToo movement has empowered women to speak up against harassment and abuse. It is heartening to see many men standing as allies and organizations beginning to hold themselves accountable for establishing policies, procedures and transparency and for changing the workplace culture.

For those of us working in youth-serving spaces, it is difficult to think that even one of the people charged with keeping kids safe is capable of doing harm, but we cannot change what we do not acknowledge.

The firing of once-beloved camp leaders facing credible accusations is painful. Removing offenders feels dramatic but it is a critical next step forward in building a healthy culture around gender, sex and power at Jewish summer camp.

Summer camp is where many of us form our deepest and longest-lasting relationships.

It is often rightly held up as a healthy oasis, an alternative to the social pressures of popular culture, including a muchneeded break from life driven by screens.

And yet, we bring all of our cultural norms and expectations with us to camp. Normative discriminatory or biased attitudes toward gender, sex and power can lead to inappropriate behavior mirroring the outside world, from all levels – administration, counselors and campers.

According to research conducted in 2017 by Moving Traditions and Foundation for Jewish Camp involving staff from 25 camps, even at camps with strong policies, many pre-teens and teens still feel intense pressure to conform to rigid codes of dress, speech and behavior based on gender. Even at camps with excellent policies, sexist shaming and sexual pressure are unfortunately commonplace and are too often ignored or even encouraged by young

staff. Despite efforts and intentions otherwise, camp is a microcosm of the larger world outside and these behaviors are ingrained in the culture. While for many, youth camp is a safe place to explore emerging desires and romantic interest, for others the camp environment brings harmful pressure to “hook up” for acceptance, and reinforces painful heteronormativity for questioning youth.

In an effort to open the discourse around sex, gender, power and violence, and create a community of practice for prevention and response in the Jewish camp field, FJC launched the Shmira Initiative.

Shmira will be a robust multiyear program to create common language and policies around consent and respect at camp.

Camp professionals will train with experts like Moving Traditions, which offers training and curricula around healthy sexuality, gender norms, and resisting sexism through a Jewish framework. Moving Traditions has brought its programs to summer camps, as well as to teens in their Rosh Hodesh, Shevet, and Tzelem groups.

Starting this month, more than 90 camps will be represented at the FJC-sponsored day-long training in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Moving Traditions’ faculty will share new tools and approaches to address these issues proactively, and camp professionals will share strategies and challenges with each other. These meetings will open the conversation on gender, sex and power at camp – removing the stigma and fear so that we can adequately address issues head-on.

Good policy doesn’t always beget good behavior. As Peter Drucker once noted, “Culture eats strategy.”

We need to take time to nourish a healthier culture: to identify where and how to set healthy boundaries to protect all campers. To foster healthy conversations about personal and communal values on body

image, gender codes, sexual identity and sexuality. To make it clear that sexist, misogynistic and homophobic humor at camp can create a hostile environment. To help staff to challenge expectations based on gender, reduce communal pressures of “hook-up” culture and create an environment conducive to building friendships.

And, ultimately, for those camp leaders who are seeking to create an environment that supports healthy romantic relationships, we need to explore the best practices for teaching consent, and the Jewish values that guide sexual decision-making. Camp staff and counselors need to develop a common language of consent and a clear process for reporting and dealing with concerns as they arise.

Systemic change takes time.

Now is the time to stand together – lay leaders, professionals, funders and parents – in support of these leaders. It takes courage to engage in this discourse and some of the interim results may lead to painful decisions. We need to give camp leaders the space to share the challenges that they have encountered, to implement new forms of training, and to create healthier ways of relating at camp.

This effort will take time, but it is, without question, an effort that will positively contribute to the lives of the thousands of college students who work at camps each summer and the tens of thousands of campers who are in their care.

DEBORAH MEYER is the founder and CEO of Moving Traditions, which trains Jewish educators and emboldens teens by fostering self-discovery, challenging sexism, and inspiring a commitment to Jewish life and learning. JEREMY J. FINGERMAN is the CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp. FJC works to highlight the value and importance of the nonprofit Jewish camp experience to parents, leaders and communities.

JORI working to change culture

BY RICKY KODNER

In the wake of our country’s concern about the “Me Too Movement,” Camp JORI recognizes the need to be a safe place and have safe spaces. We have to strive to ensure that harassment, abuse and gender power dynamics become a thing of the past.

Camp JORI is taking the initiative to educate and provide resources to camp staff about preventing, identifying and reporting sexual misconduct, as well as creating a campaign to change camp culture around

the issue of sexuality and gender expression.

Training will be done ahead of this, and next summer and throughout the year through in-person programs and online materials. We will be working with our staff and campers with sensitivity training led by licensed professionals as well as our seasoned senior staff.

Camp JORI encourages campers and staffers to report sexual pressure, misconduct, homophobic language and bullying at camp throughout the summer. Summer camps are a great place to begin to change the

culture and attitudes of young people. Since camps are trying to develop the future leaders of our Jewish community, it only makes sense that camps begin the learning process of what the next generation of Jewish community leaders will look like.

Our young people, both staff and campers, have the power to shift the culture and to influence change of our future relationships.

RICKY ‘CHIEF’ KODNER (ricky@campjori.com) is director of Camp JORI in Wakefield.

OPINION | NATION

May 25, 2018 |

9

HUC appoints Rabbi David Ellenson as interim president JTA – The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion appointed Rabbi David Ellenson to serve as interim president, following the death of Rabbi Aaron Panken in a plane crash earlier this month.

On May 14, the Reform movement’s flagship seminary said Ellenson would serve as interim president of its four campuses, in New York, Jerusalem, Cincinnati and Los Angeles. He previously served in the role from 2001 to 2013, prior to Panken’s appointment.

Panken, a licensed pilot, was killed on May 5 at the age of 53 while piloting a small aircraft near Wawayanda, New York, near the New Jersey border. A passenger, Frank Reiss, a flight instructor, was injured in the crash.

The cause of the accident is unclear and pending investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Panken was remembered by colleagues and friends as a joyful leader who was pas-

sionate about Israel and embodied “the best of the Reform movement.”

In a statement after his appointment, Ellenson, who is concluding his tenure as director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University, praised Panken’s legacy.

“Rabbi Aaron Panken will be remembered for his leadership, skills, visions, judgment, and ability to inspire and move others to action,” Ellenson said. “I am confident that his dreams for HUC-JIR will yet be realized through the foundations he constructed and the visions he has bequeathed us. These dreams and visions will constitute his unforgettable monument, as we secure his enduring legacy.”

Ellenson is a scholar of modern Jewish thought and history who has worked at institutions including the University of Southern California, the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Shalom Hartman Institute, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and New York University.

REMEMBRANCE

Rabbi Aaron D. Panken

BY GEORGE M. GOODWIN I met Rabbi Panken, the recently deceased president of Hebrew Union College, only once.

On May 17, 2010, he presided, as the College’s vice president, at graduation ceremonies on the Los Angeles campus. President David Ellenson, the College’s president and one of my dear former professors, had been unable to attend.

Along with new degree recipients, five of my former classmates and I were present to receive honorary doctorates in Jewish communal service.

The ceremonies marked the 25th anniversary of our graduation from the College’s School of Jewish Communal Service, and a renewal of our dedication to Jewish ideals, values and learning.

Before the outdoor ceremonies began, we honorary degree candidates, including eight rabbis and educators, gathered in the College’s intimate chapel. I was quite surprised when, after offering only a few remarks, Rabbi Panken, our younger colleague, invited each of us to speak. How, he wanted to know, had God shown his presence in our lives?

Only seldom during our post-

graduate studies had professors or students raised this question. More often than not, we were focused on more academic or practical matters.

So, in no particular order but without hesitation, each honorary degree candidate spoke briefly, but from the depths of his or her being. I, too, spoke about a loving relationship.

Mine focused on my aged mother’s selfless care for my even older, ailing father. Dad, who died later that year, was too weak to attend the graduation ceremonies, but Mom was there along with my wife, Betsey, my sister, Betty, and our first cousin, Morley. As a longtime member of a College advisory board, my mother was also privileged to march in the academic procession.

Thank you, Rabbi Pankin, for having the wisdom not to preach but to listen. We alumni were able to share our joy with one another, as we also fondly remembered departed professors and classmates. These were indeed glorious and sacred moments.

GEORGE GOODWIN lives in Providence and is a member of Temple Beth-El.

10 | May 25, 2018

OPINION

The Jewish Voice

Could Israel’s army have acted differently on the Gaza border? Experts disagree.

BY BEN SALES JTA – What should an army do when tens of thousands of protesters mass on its border?

When that happened on Gaza’s border with Israel recently, Israeli soldiers opened fire on protesters who were storming the border fence, killing 60 and wounding more than a thousand. In the days since, debates have raged over larger ideas and issues like terrorism, occupation, withdrawal, blockade, civilians and militants.

But in real time, did the Israel Defense Forces conduct itself appropriately? Could it have defended its border with less bloodshed? Here are the cases for and against the IDF’s conduct – and an example of a similar situation where things ended a little differently.

Defenders of Israel’s conduct say it minimized casualties

“The number of casualties was very, very small,” said Doron Almog, who led the IDF Southern Command from 2000 to 2003.

Like other Israeli officials and veterans, he is defiant. What the world described as a protest, he said, was a crowd-sourced operation by Hamas, the militant group governing Gaza, to infiltrate Israeli territory and harm civilians.

“What’s the last time you stood opposite 47,000 people?” he said. “Are you crazy enough to imagine what that is? What

happened was a planned affair

by Hamas. Hamas took out operational directives, it gave orders that within the groups of people there would be people armed with pistols.”

Defenders of Israel’s conduct all said that the core threat lay in protesters who were trying to break through the fence, which is only a couple hundred yards away from Israeli towns.

Protesters had to be stopped before they breached the fence, the Israeli officers said, because a break in the fence could allow thousands to stream through and overwhelm Israeli forces, and then Israeli civilians, at a close distance.

Shooting protesters before that happened, they said, minimized the number of dead. And they all emphasized that Israel used crowd-dispersal means like tear gas and rubber bullets before turning to sniper fire.

“Once it becomes a question of 2 meters, 3 meters, 10 meters, if you’re 100 soldiers there, and there are 2,000 unarmed people, at that point the numbers talk,” said Noru Tsalic, a veteran of the IDF who was a low-level officer during the first Palestinian intifada in the late 1980s, which saw frequent Palestinian protests. “If there is no fence anymore and thousands of people are coming toward you, then your only option is to shoot into the crowd and try to kill as many people as possible.”

Rhode Island’s best kept secret What is a Jewish War Veteran and what is he doing in Rhode Island? Our grandparents all knew the answer, as did those who served during WWII and the Korean War. But for the generation that followed, nobody wanted to think that a Jew served in Vietnam, that they were drafted let alone enlisted.

The truth is that many Rhode Island Jews wore the uniform during the Vietnam War. Whether they were in the National Guard, got drafted, or enlisted, hundreds of us served. Where are you now?

We need you to identify yourselves. We need you to stand with us and help preserve what was started in Rhode Island by Jews who served in WWI, and was continued by our grandparents, parents, and sisters and brothers.

The Jewish War Veterans of the United States is the oldest organized veterans group in the country. It was started in 1896 by a group of soldiers from both the North and the South who responded to the claim that Jews never lifted

a weapon to defend their country. After WWI, Post 23 was started in Rhode Island.

They were the 23rd post organized as part of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States. After WWII there were many posts in Rhode Island and thousands of Jews proudly belonged.

Sadly, with our surviving WWII veterans becoming fewer and fewer, it is up to the rest of us to pick up the mantle and carry it forward.

Don’t let us become an interesting artifact in the RI Jewish Historical Association Museum.

We know you are out there.

You know you are out there.

Join us, stand with us as we carry on the proud tradition of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States, Department of Rhode Island. If you have questions, if you need information, if you want an application, please call me at 401-265-2330 or e-mail me at ijinri@aol.com.

Ira Jay Fleisher, Senior Vice Commander, Department of RI

Israel has not officially accounted for every person it killed, instead publicly relying on a declaration from Hamas that 50 of the victims were its own members. But Shaul Shay, the former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council, said the issue boils down to Israel facing an incursion on its southern border – and acting as any sovereign state would.

“The role of the IDF on the Gaza border is to defend the borders of the state of Israel, and the way the IDF functioned was correct,” said Shay, now the director of research at the Interdisciplinary Center’s Institute for Policy and Strategy.

“It showed a lot of strength, and in the end, no Gazans infiltrated into Israel.”

A human rights lawyer says Israel must do more to protect human life

“The Israeli forces have adopted rules of engagement that deviate in a not just dangerous but immoral way from what international law allows,” said Michael Sfard, a prominent Israeli human rights lawyer.

Sfard acknowledged that Israel faced a threat on its border and had the responsibility to counter that threat. But those counter measures, he said, should not include live fire except if someone’s life is under clear threat.

“Using force that is is potentially lethal can only be done in an immediate danger to life,” he said. “Not to property, not to sovereignty, not to anything else. That does not mean

if there is a danger to property, to sovereignty, that we should stand idle.”

In other words, Sfard says Israel is not allowed to use live fire to stop someone from breaking through the fence. If that person has a gun and is coming toward soldiers, force would be acceptable, he said. But if not, soldiers should wound or arrest the culprit. Soldiers cannot simply assume, he said, that every infiltrator intends to kill civilians.

“This is killing people on the basis of a speculation,” he said.

“You have enough forces in [border kibbutz] Nahal Oz and everywhere else, and the IDF knows exactly if the border is being cracked.”

“If you see someone who’s armed, that’s a different matter,” he continued. “You can shoot to kill. We’re talking about unarmed civilians. To say that cracking the fence and infiltrating Israel is a capital offense – someone completely lost their mind.”

Sfard likewise questioned the relevance of 50 of the dead belonging to Hamas. While Hamas is a terror group, it also has a political party and a bureaucracy that runs the coastal strip. The key question, Sfard said, was whether those Hamas members posed a threat to Israeli lives when they were shot.

“The question is not whether someone is a member of a terror organization,” Sfard said. “The question is whether a person is a combatant or a civilian, and if a civilian, does he engage in

combat or pose an immediate danger? Their ideology has no bearing on whether they should be targeted.”

What happened when protesters breached Israel’s northern border?

Both Sfard and Shay discussed a previous time when Israel had to deal with the same problem: a mass rush on its border by civilians. In June 2011, thousands of people in Syria stormed toward the border into the Golan Heights, with some crossing over. Israeli forces fired on them, killing 22 and wounding 350. No Israelis died in the clashes.

Sfard and Shay both pointed to the incident as proof of their points. Sfard says that, in a case when protesters did actually rush into Israel, its citizens were unscathed, and fewer people died. Israel could have taken the same approach this week, he said.

“Did the sky fall?” he said.

“No, they were arrested. Many people got in, and what happened? We’re dealing with unarmed civilian protesters.”

But Shay said the 2011 incident should be seen as a debacle, not a test case. The army was unprepared, he said, and should never have allowed anyone to cross the border. The fact that no Israelis were harmed, he added, was a lucky break that Israel cannot expect again.

“It was a failure that the IDF wasn’t ready as it should have been,” he said. “Don’t bring a failure as a best practice.

LETTERS Questions for J Street On April 29, representatives of the RI Coalition for Israel (RICI) attended a public meeting at the Dwares Jewish Community Center, of which J Street-RI and affiliates were the principal sponsors. We were taken aback to learn that at this public meeting, no questions about J Street would be taken. This letter is addressed as a public invitation to J Street to respond to the questions we were prepared to ask .

How does J-Street-RI justify the fact that for two years it was kept from the public that J Street received $250,000 as start-up money from George Soros?

J Street recently opposed the Taylor Force Act, which will help end ‘Pay to Slay’. J Street also opposes moving the US embassy to Jerusalem. These positions are contrary to Israeli public opinion. How can you claim to be “proIsrael, pro-peace” in view of your fringe politics?

When you bring groups like Combatants for Peace to the US, which are sympathetic to the so-called “Palestinian narrative”, it only serves to widen the gap between North American Jews and Israeli Jews. Why do you promote Jewish disunity especially at a time when Israel is faced with terror attacks on multiple fronts?

Mary Greene President RI Coalition for Israel

Re: Reflections on Israel’s 70th anniversary (May 4) Alan Elsner stated that Netanyahu is undermining ‘core democratic principles.’ Let’s look at that from the perspective President Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms.”

1-Freedom of Speech-in the last dozen years in Israel over 500 new podcasts were created. No media outlet has been shut down and Haaretz among others, hits on Netanyahu daily.

2-Freedom of Religion-All religions are accepted; a far cry when the Arabs destroyed synagogues in the Middle East and now constantly persecute minorities.

3-Freedom of Assembly-Israeli Arabs are marching daily against the regime.

4-Freedom from Want and Fear-Israel has the highest standard of living in the Middle East.

Jews rightfully have never been without fear in the last two milleniums.

AIPAC as opposed to J Street will support any Israeli government. True lovers of Israel are not carrying the weight of American politics unto Israeli shores.

Sy Dill Providence Board of Directors RI Coalition for Israel

jvhri.org

Ongoing Alliance Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every weekday.

Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Noon lunch; 1 p.m. program. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under 60 with disabilities. Neal or Elaine, 401-421-4111, ext. 107.

West Bay Kosher Senior Café. Kosher lunch and program every weekday.

Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston.

11:15 a.m. program; noon lunch. $3 lunch donation from individuals 60+ or under 60 with disabilities. Steve, 401743-0009.

Duplicate Bridge. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Mondays noon-2 p.m.: 0-20 masterpoint game.

For less-experienced players. $5 per day. Mondays and Wednesdays noon-3 p.m.: Open stratified game for experienced players at all levels. $7 per day.

Tuesdays and Fridays 11 a.m.-2 p.m: Open stratified game for players at all levels. $7 per day. Thursdays 1:30-3:30 p.m.: Guided play. Beginners and those seeking to hone skills play under the guidance of nationally known instructor Bart Buffington. $6 per day. Information, Bart Buffington at abarton295@ aol.com or 401-390-9244.

Through June 28 Diverse Creative Approaches. Bunny Fain Gallery, Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. Works of Nickerson B. Miles, Karen Murtha and Mural 5778 created by the Religious School classes are featured. Gallery hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and by appointment. For information, call 401-245-6536 or email gallery@templehabonim.org.

Friday | May 25 Special Visitors Day. 8:30-11 a.m. Jewish Community Day School of RI, 85 Taft Ave., Providence. Grandparents and special visitors have breakfast and spend time with children and teachers in their classrooms, participating in hands-on activities and seeing student work. Information, awalter@jcdsri.com or 401-751-2470.

Kabbalat Shabbat Service. 7:30-9 p.m.

Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Kabbalat Shabbat service followed by an Oneg. Information, stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Saturday | May 26 Taste of Shabbat. 9-11 a.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. 9 a.m. Torah discussion and 9:45 a.m. Service followed by light Kiddush.

Information, stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

Children’s Shabbat Program and Jr. Kiddush Club. 9:30-11:15 a.m.

Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. Weekly program for children. Activities include prayer, parashah, play time and a special Kiddush.

Three age groups: Tots, Pre-K thru 1st grade and 2nd grade and up. Located in Kids Room, Social Hall and Chapel on the lower level. Information, office@ bethsholom-ri.org.

Tuesday | May 29 Israel Mission Informational Session.

5:30-6:30 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Experience the history, art, culture and flavor of Israel

with family, friends and other Rhode Islanders. Information, including trip highlights, travel and tourism videos, tentative itinerary and application, visit jewishallianceri.org/mission. Questions, Gail Putnam at gputnam@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 158 Yoga. 6-7 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich. Cost: $30 for 3 sessions paid in advance; $12 per session at the door. Bring a mat.

Information, stephanie@toratyisael.org or 401-885-6600.

Wednesday | May 30 Game Night: Mah Jongg, Canasta and Table Tennis. 7-9 p.m. Temple Torat Yisrael, 1251 Middle Road, East Greenwich.

Free. Information, stephanie@toratyisrael.org or 401-885-6600.

“Bridging the Gap” with Rabbi Raphie.

8-8:45 p.m. Kollel Center for Jewish Studies, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Explore the development and refinement of our personalities through the eyes of the Mussar movement.

Text is “Bridging the Gap.” Free. Thru 1/30/19. Information, rabbiraphie@ gmail.com or 401-383-2786.

Friday | June 1 Shabbat on Broadway. 7-9:30 p.m.

Temple Sinai, 30 Hagen Ave., Cranston. Cantor Emeritus Remmie Brown will join Cantor Deborah Johnson and Shireinu for a special Shabbat service featuring songs from Broadway. It is an all-new service with new settings of prayers to melodies from Broadway musicals. An Oneg Shabbat will follow.

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

Saturday | June 2 Children’s Shabbat Program and Jr. Kiddush Club. 9:30-11:15 a.m. Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. Weekly program for children. Activities include prayer, parashah, play time and a special Kiddush.

Three age groups: Tots, Pre-K thru 1st grade and 2nd grade and up. Located in Kids Room, Social Hall and Chapel on the lower level. Information, office@ bethsholom-ri.org.

Hope Street Spring Block Party. Noon-6 p.m. Hope Street from Rochambeau to Seven Stars, Providence. Festivities include live music, food trucks and fun activities and crafts for kids. Free.

Presented by Hope Street Merchants Association. The Jewish Alliance will be one of nearly 50 organizations represented.

Sunday | June 3

Premium Support Brunch. 10-11:30 a.m. Temple Beth-El, 70 Orchard Ave., Providence. Information, Temple BethEl office at 401-331-6070.

“Mean What You Pray” Workshops: Making Jewish Prayer Meaningful through Theater Techniques. 10 a.m.noon. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Presented and directed by Jason Slavick of JMS Coaching. Series of six workshops, using basic acting exercises. Each workshop is different – join any or all. Participants welcome from all streams of Judaism. Session 2: 6/11 7-9 p.m. Funded by an Innovation Grant from the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI. Information, Alan Krinsky at adkrinksy@netzero.net.

Dedication Ceremony for New Bais Medrash. 3-5 p.m. New England

Rabbinical College, 262 Blackstone Boulevard, Providence. Children’s entertainment, refreshments and dancing. All welcome. Free. Information, Chana Twersky at cftwersky.nerc@ gmail.com or 646-942-6388.

Sunday Afternoon Film Series: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” 3:305:30 p.m. Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. This film tells the story of songwriter, arranger and pianist Harold Arlen. Such noted performers as Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Johnny Mercer, Bing Crosby and Judy Garland are featured performing Arlen’s simple melodies. Free (includes popcorn). Open to all. Information, Temple Habonim office at 401-245-6536.

Sunday | June 4 2018 Ziskind Memorial Lecture: “Bug in the Software of the West; A Personal Report on Anti-Semitism.” 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tifereth Israel Congregation, 145 Brownell Ave., New Bedford, Mass.

Presenter James Carroll is the author of 11 novels, most recently “Warburg in Rome,” and eight works of non-fiction, including his latest, “Christ Actually: Re-imagining Faith in the Modern Age.” Dessert reception follows. Information, Gershon Levine at glevine@tinewbedford.org or 508-997-3171.

Tuesday | June 5 Jewish Heritage Night at Fenway Park.

7:10 p.m. Fenway Park, 4 Jersey Street, Boston, Mass. The Mensch on a Bench teams up with the Boston Red Sox for this annual event. The life-size Mascot Moshe the Mensch on a Bench will be hanging out on the field with the Red Sox’s mascot Wally the Green Monster. The Red Sox host the Detroit Tigers. Fans may purchase their tickets through a special offer to receive a limited-edition Mensch on a Bench Red Sox bobblehead. Arrive early to meet and snap a picture with Moshe the Mensch on Jersey Street, as well as hear the Jewish youth choir Sheir Rhythm sing the National Anthem.

Wednesday | June 6 Israel at 70: YemeNight. 7 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence.

Who are the Yemenite Jews? How have their fascinating aliyah to Israel and the struggles they faced influenced Israeli culture today? Enter the world of the Jewish-Yemenite tradition. Learn about the fascinating history of Yemenite Jews, their immigration to Israel and the difficulties of assimilation. Discover what makes a Yemenite different from Ashkenazi, Sephardi and other Jewish groups. Listen to music, discuss traditions and enjoy traditional JewishYemenite food including malawach, a fried bread consisting of layers of puff pastry. Information, Tslil Reichman at treichman@jewishallianceri.org or 401421-4111, ext. 121.

“Bridging the Gap” with Rabbi Raphie.

8-8:45 p.m. Kollel Center for Jewish Studies, 450 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Explore the development and refinement of our personalities through the eyes of the Mussar movement.

Text is “Bridging the Gap.” Free. Thru 1/30/19. Information, rabbiraphie@ gmail.com or 401-383-2786.

CALENDAR

Friday | June 8 LGBTQ Pride Shabbat. 7:30-8:45 p.m.

Temple Habonim, 165 New Meadow Road, Barrington. THB’s 7th Annual Pride Shabbat service will feature guest speaker Elana Rosenberg, executive director of Youth Pride, Inc. She will speak about the services YPI, a drop-in center for young people and their allies, provides. Free. Information, Jodi Sullivan at Temple Habonim office at 401-245-6536.

Saturday | June 9 Children’s Shabbat Program and Jr. Kiddush Club. 9:30-11:15 a.m.

Congregation Beth Sholom, 275 Camp St., Providence. Weekly program for children. Activities include prayer, parashah, play time and a special Kiddush.

Three age groups: Tots, Pre-K thru 1st grade and 2nd grade and up. Located in Kids Room, Social Hall and Chapel on the lower level. Information, office@ bethsholom-ri.org.

Kids’ Night Out: All about Animals. Ages 5-12: 5-10 p.m. Ages 2-5: 5-8:30 p.m. (extended times available). Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence.

Children spend the evening with friends in a fun and safe environment, and parents get a night out, “kid free.”

Themed activities include sports, crafts, swimming and more. A pizza dinner and snacks are served. For ages 2-5, make sure to send your child with PJs as each evening ends with a movie. Price: $35 | Members: $25 | Siblings: $15.

Information and registration for ages 2-5, Sheena Medeiros at smedeiros@ jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111, ext. 132. Information and registration for ages 5-12, Shannon Kochanek at skochanek@jewishallianceri.org or

May 25, 2018 |

11

401-421-4111, ext. 147.

Film: “Bagels Over Berlin.” 7-9 p.m.

Narragansett Community Center, 63 Mumford Road, Narragansett. Meet filmmaker Alan Feinberg, who will be at Congregation Beth David to introduce his documentary “Bagels Over Berlin,” based on interviews with Jewish Airmen who fought in the U.S. Army Air Corps during the World War II. Free.

Sponsored by Susan and Harvey Smith.

RSVP to info@cbdri.org.

Monday | June 11 33rd Annual Dwares JCC Golf Classic.

11 a.m. Warwick Country Club, 394 Narragansett Bay Ave., Warwick. Participation and support of the annual Golf Classic will allow the Alliance to continue vital programs and services that benefit the entire community, including those who find themselves in difficult economic situations. 11 a.m. Registration; 11:30 a.m. Lunch; 1 p.m. Shotgun start; 5:30 p.m. Cocktails, dinner and awards. Information, contact Stephanie Hague at shague@jewishallianceri. org or 401-421-4111, ext. 127, or visit jewishallianceri.org.

“Mean What You Pray” Workshop: Making Jewish Prayer Meaningful through Theater Techniques. 7-9 p.m. Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence. Presented and directed by Jason Slavick of JMS Coaching. Second of six workshops, using basic acting exercises. Each workshop is different – join any or all. Participants welcome from all streams of Judaism. Funded by an Innovation Grant from the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI. Information, Alan Krinsky at adkrinksy@netzero.net.

You can post your community calendar information to The Voice calendar online, accessible at jvhri.org or jewishallianceri.org.

It only takes a few minutes to register and fill in the form. Your listing will appear both on The Jewish Voice website and the Alliance website and selected items will also be published in the Voice.

Contact editor@jewishallianceri.org with any questions.

2018 Boston Jewish Food Conference: Living Off the Land The annual Boston Jewish Food Conference (BJFC) brings together community members to learn about Jewish agriculture, labor issues, health, food access, kashrut, and local food history. The fun day of learning and community building includes workshops, a meal, a shuk (marketplace), and DIY activities.

As Jews, we have historical roots in the land and a contemporary reputation as “people of the book.” How do we reconcile that? From agricultural bestpractices to holiday celebrations and family stories, our ties to place and culture bind us together.

It’s our duty to be mindful not

only of the quality of the food we put in our bodies but also the overall health of our communities. What can we learn from the cycles of the seasons, the harvests and our historical traditions to nurture our bodies, spirits, and communities?

The 2018 Boston Jewish Food Conference takes place Sunday, June 10 from noon to 7 p.m. at Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Ave. It will inspire you to grow your relationship with the land, and with others. *Jewish dietary laws observed.* For more information, go to beantownjewishgardens.org/ programs/boston-jewish-foodconference/

Visit us at www.JVHRI.ORG to stay current with local Jewish news

ARTS

12 | May 25, 2018

The Jewish Voice

5 Jewish facts about the new Han Solo ‘Star Wars’ movie

BY GABE FRIEDMAN JTA – “Star Wars” fans are eagerly awaiting the franchise’s latest film, “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” As its title suggests, the flick focuses on Han Solo, the legendary character made famous by Harrison Ford in the series’ first films from the late ‘70s.

The “Solo” movie, which hits theaters on May 25, is the second of what are being called the “Star Wars” anthology films – or offshoots of the main series (which, for now, is made up of three trilogies: the original films, the early 2000s prequels and the more recent sequels – got that?). The first anthology film was “Rogue One,” released in 2016.

“Solo” follows a young version of the intergalactic smuggler on the planet Corellia, and his furry sidekick Chewbacca. The “space western,” as it’s being called, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this week and has been described as “crackingly enjoyable” and a “winning chapter” in the “Star Wars” canon.

Here are some Jewish facts about the film (and its titular character) you might not have known.

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The new Han Solo is a nice Jewish boy from LA

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His name is Alden Ehrenreich, and he attended a Reconstructionist synagogue in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Ehrenreich, 28, is not yet a recognizable star, but he has appeared in films such as Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” and the Coen brothers’ “Hail, Caesar!” According to at least one interview, he seems to enjoy the famous Canter’s Jewish deli.

The old Han Solo is also (partly) Jewish

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Harrison Ford once delivered one of the strangest lines ever said about Jewish identity: “As a man I’ve always felt Irish, as an actor I’ve always felt Jewish,” he said on “Inside the Actors Studio” in 2000. Ford’s father was Irish, and his maternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Belarus. (Ehrenreich referenced Ford’s Jewishness in a recent interview.)

We’ll leave it to the reader to interpret the quote.

Steven Spielberg discovered Ehrenreich at a Bat Mitzvah

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Fourteen years ago, Ehrenreich made a home movie to show at his friend’s Bat Mitzvah. Steven Spielberg’s daughter happened to be friends with the Bat Mitzvah girl, and the director attended the ceremony. Ehrenreich described the movie as a “piece of sh--,” but Spielberg clearly saw some-

Alden Ehrenreich thing in Ehrenreich’s performance. He invited Ehrenreich to his Dreamworks studio and introduced him to fellow legend Francis Ford Coppola, who would later cast him in multiple films. Ehrenreich’s wellreviewed performance in Coppola’s “Tetro” in 2009 put him on the map.

4 other Jewish actors were considered for the role

After thousands auditioned for the coveted Han Solo role, a final list of around a dozen actors was announced in early 2016. Among the finalists were four different Jewish actors: Logan Lerman (known for roles in “Fury,” alongside Brad Pitt, and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”), Dave Franco (James Franco’s brother, who’s now a marquee star), Ansel Elgort (star of the action film “Baby Driver,” whose non-Jewish grandmother helped Norwegian Jews escape Nazis) and Emory Cohen (best known for co-starring in “Brooklyn” with Saoirse Ronan).

The script was written by a Jewish father-and-son duo

“Solo” was penned by Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan.

Lawrence co-wrote two of the original “Star Wars” films, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” and has said this will be the last “Star Wars” movie he works on. He received an award from the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival in 2016. Jonathan, 38, has acted in small roles and doesn’t have a long list of writing credits to his name yet. (Meanwhile, Jonathan’s brother Jake – not involved in “Solo” – has worked on shows such as “New Girl” and “Fresh Off the Boat” and films such as “Sex Tape” and the recent “Jumanji” remake.)

COMMUNITY

jvhri.org

May 25, 2018 |

13

A funny – and not so funny – look at Americans’ bloopers in Hebrew

BY LARRY KATZ “Don’t Ask for a Hot Dog! Hilarious bloopers from ordinary people who thought they knew Hebrew” can be considered many things: a humorous book or a sad book, a book of minimysteries or ethnographic insights, a book that might teach people some Hebrew – or even as a book that scares readers from ever again attempting to speak Hebrew.

My wife commented that when I read the book (except for the last section), I was laughing harder than I have in quite a while. However, some people might say that I was laughing at the misfortune of others.

The 150 anecdotes in “Don’t Ask for a Hot Dog!” were collected by two Orthodox women who made aliyah (moved to Israel) after attending a seminary (a post-high school program) there. The men’s equivalent of a seminary would be a yeshiva,

and perhaps 10 percent of the anecdotes were written by men in yeshiva.

Each anecdote is introduced by the two anthologizers, and each tells the story of a blooper that an American made while speaking Hebrew to Israelis (who generally think the bloopers are hilarious). The Americans who report these bloopers were usually mortified at the time of their mistake, but eventually saw the hilarity of the situation. However, I fear that the book might stop some readers from ever trying to speak Hebrew.

I think that I am among those who are too conscious of misspeaking in Hebrew, though I do work to overcome my fears.

My wife just jumps in without a care. In fact, when I first randomly opened a page in the book, it was about a Hebrew word that she often misuses. I admire her lack of fear.

I saw each anecdote as a mini-

mystery, and tried to spot each blooper before it was explained.

I think readers can learn some Hebrew from the explanations – and perhaps avoid embarrassing themselves.

These anecdotes and the introductions also provide some

insights into the culture of the Americans attending these seminaries and yeshivot, as well as into some Americans as they try to integrate into Israeli society.

The book ends with a request for more anecdotes to be used in a second (or even third?) volume. In that spirit, I feel that I must mention my own blooper.

In 1997, two other local educators and I were invited to a United Nations education conference in Israel. On Shabbat before the conference, we were invited to the home of a Yemenite rabbi, along with a number of Israeli teachers.

I spoke freely in Hebrew.

But, after the meal, some of the teachers I was talking with started laughing hysterically, which is how I learned that my conversation included many words and phrases no longer used in Israel or current only in poetry. Apparently, my bloopers were based on the outdated

Hebrew I was taught in the U.S. This is a different kind of blooper from most of those in the book, but still embarrassing.

My only complaint about the book, which is written in English, is that it only contains transliterated Hebrew. There is not a single Hebrew letter in a book about Hebrew! However, some may find this appealing.

It would also have been nice to have a glossary/dictionary/vocabulary list at the end of the book.

But, if you know some basic Hebrew, consider reading “Don’t Ask for a Hot Dog! Hilarious bloopers from ordinary people who thought they knew Hebrew,” by R. Schreiber and R. Newton, Israel Bookshop Publications, 2018.

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

Memories of the old JCC The Alliance’s beautiful Dwares Jewish Community Center is located at 401 Elmgrove Ave. in Providence. But, back in the day, the JCC was in a building that was once a Providence police station.

I am sure that Donald Dwares shares some of my memories of those days.

The first thing I rememMAY-RONNY ber about goZEIDMAN ing to the JCC was attending meetings of the Judy Ann Levitt B’nai B’rith Girls. I also remember that many Aleph Zadik Aleph meetings were held in the old JCC. I remember that when I walked into the building, I’d see girls and boys running up and down the stairs to meetings.

The atmosphere was happy and fun. Groups of young people

would gather outside the building to talk and perhaps make a few new friends. I can remember police cars riding by, but I never recall them driving up to see what we were doing. We were just a group of harmless teenagers having fun.

There were Saturday evening dances at the JCC. What anticipation! What were you going to wear, who would you meet and, most of all, would someone ask you to dance.

After a dance, or perhaps a Saturday night date, we would go to the East Side Diner or Crawshaw’s restaurant, over the “Red Bridge,” for a bite to eat.

Later, in high school, I joined a Jewish sorority. There were two: Iota Phi and Phi Delta. The sorority opened a whole new Jewish world: the young women came from different parts of Providence and Pawtucket.

I discovered that there was also a JCC in South Providence, on Hamilton Street – also in a former police station. They also

had dances. After the dances, they probably went to Burns Pullman Diner for a bite.

I do not remember my parents telling me that I could not “hang out” at the JCC. I believe they were happy to know there was a safe place for me to visit with my friends and other teenagers.

Please feel free to email me,

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Attorney General: 2003-2011

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at mayronnyzeidman3@gmail. com, about your teenage memories. They need not be from Rhode Island – I am finding out that life was not all that different in other places.

In my April 20 column, I mentioned the Sunbeam baking company. A few people have told me that it was the Tip Top Baking Company at that cor-

ner. I welcome any corrections.

All of this was a long time ago, and I do my best to remember accurately.

MAY-RONNY ZEIDMAN is executive director of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center, located in the Alliance’s JCC in Providence.

14 | May 25, 2018

COMMUNITY

At the Women’s pre-reception (left to right): Judy Robbins, Judy Levitt, Hope Hirsch and Barbara Feldstein.

The Jewish Voice

Gathering at the women’s event are (left to right): Donna Frank, Mitzi Berkelhammer, Chef Michael Solomonov, Adam Greenman and Lezli Pious

PHOTOS | RUTH CLEGG

Chef Solomonov and Rabbi Sarah Mack FROM PAGE 1

Before listening to Chef Solomonov (left to right): Adam Greenman, Jeremy Isenberg, Amanda Isenberg, Rabbi Sarah Mack and Jeff Isaacs

SOLOMONOV

Israeli Defense Forces.

In 2017, Solomonov won the coveted James Beard Award for outstanding American chef.

As he told his story of growing up in two nations, he traced the evolution of his love of Israel, its culture and food.

After dropping out of UVM, Solomonov returned to Israel and found work in a bakery.

“I learned to work tremendously hard in the bakery,” he said. “Every kind of person works in a bakery in Israel. Every kind of person buys baked goods. It felt like a town hall. I fell in love with cooking.”

This love of cooking took him to culinary school in Florida and then to Philadelphia, where he worked in several restaurants before opening the modern Israeli cuisine restaurant Zahav in 2008. He now has four restaurants in Philadelphia and one in New York City.

“The best Israeli meals are in the home. You see Israel through the food in people’s homes,” Solomonov told the crowd.

“People ask, ‘What is Israeli cuisine? Does Israel have a cuisine? It’s only 70 years old.’ But Israel is thousands of years old.

Food [in Israel] comes from everywhere. There were no lemons in the Middle East till the Moors brought them.

“Through food we celebrate commonality, we celebrate richness of culture. You can share a meal with somebody

and give them an experience they’ve never had.”

In fact, Solomonov suggested that food could work in place of traditional diplomacy.

As part of the program, guests were encouraged to send a text message to help fight food insecurity in Rhode Island’s Jewish community. Each text resulted in a donation to The Louis and Goldie Chester Full Plate Kosher Food Pantry.

Solomonov’s appearance was part of the Rhode Island Jewish community’s celebration of Israel at 70. The evening was chaired by Amanda and Jeremy Isenberg, who introduced Solomonov. The event was made possible through the generosity of the Dr. James and Judge Marjorie Yasher Endowment Fund at the Jewish Federation Foundation.

Earlier, Solomonov attended a donor event for the Women’s Alliance. Donna Frank and Lezli Pious chaired the prereception, held in The Nelson and Sapinsley Families Gymnasium at the JCC. This event was held to thank women who donate a minimum of $1,000 to the Jewish Alliance’s Annual Campaign. Attendees had the opportunity to try recipes from Solomonov’s cookbook “Zahav,” and hear his account of growing up in a JCC and his inspiration for some of the dishes that were served.

FRAN OSTENDORF is the editor of The Jewish Voice.

COMMUNITY

jvhri.org

May 25, 2018 |

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STEAM Splash a smash hit at JCDSRI

BY TIFERET ROSE On April 12-13, the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island opened its doors to students from Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design, parents, grandparents, and other community members, all of whom created STEAM-oriented workshops for JCDSRI’s STEAM Splash event.

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math, and the workshops highlighted the relevance of each subject, as well as important overlaps among the subjects.

Students were freed from their usual schedule to participate in three or four STEAM workshops over the course of the two days. The workshops’ leaders, with support from JCDSRI teachers, enjoyed teaching the students about their passions and engaging them in hands-on ways. In turn, the students enjoyed learning more about STEAM. In addition to the workshops, most students were able to visit the incredible RISD Nature Lab. The students were enthralled by the thousands of specimens – both living and otherwise – on display, and eagerly practiced their scientific drawing skills.

Here are just a few more highlights from STEAM Splash: Baby Goats, Mammals and Milk: Rabbi Aaron Philmus, of Temple Torat Yisrael, in East Greenwich, brought in his 3-month-old kids (goats!) to help teach about the natural miracle

Studens enjoyed learning from guests at the STEAM event. that is “mama’s milk.” The students participated in cheeseand ice-cream-making demonstrations (with taste tests, of course!) and compared what mammals produce to feed their offspring with the obscure ingredients found in milk substitutes. They learned about goat behavior by practicing herding, and made scientific observations in their notebooks. An additional perk of this workshop was all the cuddles that were shared.

Men can see Israel with JWRP The Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project (JWRP) Men’s Trip is now accepting applications for the 2nd Men’s Trip. While Rhode Island women are entering the 5th year of the JWRP Women’s Trip, the 2nd Rhode Island Men’s contingent will be joining other men from all over the United States and abroad for the legendary trip of a lifetime Oct. 8-15.

“I had never been to Israel.

Being with 100 guys from four countries was a transformational experience. I learned more about myself and really connected with being Jewish.

I would go again in a heartbeat and can’t believe that I didn’t come visit Israel sooner. There are so many amazing things about the trip, from connecting with other Jewish men to the spiritual connection with Israel. Israel truly is a land for the Jewish people and this is the emotional and spiritual journey of a lifetime.” said Joel Evans

of East Greenwich, a member of the inaugural Rhode Island group, after the 2016 trip.

The inaugural trip was led

by Rabbi Raphie Shochet of the Kollel: Center for Jewish Studies and the 2018 trip will be led by Rabbi Noach Karp.

The trip is just the beginning of an amazing journey together.

Whether this is a first trip to Israel, a preview opportunity for a future family trip, or a return visit, dads from Rhode Island who are interested in learning more about this uniquely incredible experience are encouraged to apply for the limited remaining spots available at www. jwrp.org. Feel free to contact Rabbi Noach Karp by emailrnoachkarp@gmail.com for further information on the upcoming trip or donor opportunities to support the growing organization.

Submitted by Rabbi Noach Karp

Magic Show Using Scientific Principles: Roey Tzezana wowed the students with his bag of tricks. Many of the tricks he performed taught scientific principles, such as chemical reactions, fire behavior and surface tension. He demonstrated these by setting a $20 bill on fire (after dousing it in alcohol), “eating” fire, and adding a drop of soap to a full cup of water.

Biomimicry: Brown University students Katya Scocimara and Zoe Phillips shared their

PHOTO | JCDSRI

knowledge of biomimicry and design. Biomimicry is the practice of observing nature’s adaptations and behaviors and using those observations to solve design challenges. The students learned about real-world examples of biomimicry and then tried their hand at designing, based on the movements of jellyfish and/or snakes. The kids had a blast building and trying out their designs.

Aquaponics: RISD students Qianyi Zhang and Danny Lee

taught about the nitrogen cycle, showcasing the JCDSRI Design Lab’s newest addition, an aquaponics system. Fish waste from the lower tank is converted to nitrates by bacteria and then pumped up to a “growing bin” to feed plants. The plants filter the nutrients out of the water, and then clean water is returned to the fish tank.

The students learned how to test for water quality, transplanted plants into the upper bin, and drew their own interpretations of the aquaponics cycle.

DNA and Microscopy: Kristin Rosler, a professor at Johnson & Wales, taught the basics of evolution through the extraction of strawberry DNA. Students crushed up strawberries and poured their juice into a test tube. Then they added a small amount of soap, which further breaks down cell walls and allows access to the DNA. When cold alcohol was added to the juicy solution, the DNA precipitated out and became visible to the naked eye. The tangledup strands floating in the alcohol looked a bit like saliva, but it was actually strawberry DNA! Rosler also brought microscopy slides for the students to observe, providing some students with their first experience with microscopes.

TIFERET ROSE is the Design Lab (TikkunXDesign) teacher at the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, in Providence.

COMMUNITY

16 | May 25, 2018

The Jewish Voice

URI Hillel members lend a helping hand in Houston

BY LEAH KAPLAN In March, four students from the University of Rhode Island Hillel traveled to Houston for an Alternative Spring Break Trip coordinated by Nechama, a Jewish disaster relief organization.

During this once-in-a-lifetime experience, Sarah Rubinrott, Emily Goldberg, Erica Ryan and Emily Leddington helped repair homes that were damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Each student returned to Rhode Island with memories that she’ll never forget.

Rubinrott, Class of 2019, came back with a new outlook on global warming.

“It’s an issue that affects more than just the South and states that are vulnerable to hurricanes. It is our job to care for our planet, and this trip really helped me put that into perspective,” she said.

Rubinrott hopes to go on more disaster-relief trips to help people who have suffered from destructive events such as Hurricane Harvey.

Goldberg, class of 2020, signed up for the trip without having any experience using power tools, let alone building houses.

But once she arrived in Houston, she was taught everything she needed to know about safely building a house.

At first, she didn’t realize the importance of her hard work, but then the house’s owner came to take a look, and said, “Wow, it’s starting to look like a

Sarah Rubinrott house again!”

Erica Ryan, class of 2020, was initially unsure if she wanted to make the trip: All she wanted to do during spring break was lie in her bed. But she ended up getting on the plane, and never looked back.

Ryan was surprised by how much she learned in just one week, and by how different the Jewish culture is in Houston from the culture in her hometown in New Jersey. But, she said, “When the week was over,

Helping out in Houston (left to right): URI Hillel students Sarah Rubinrott, Emily Leddington, Erica Ryan, Emily Goldberg on an Alternative Spring Break Trip

I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we were overcome with a sense of pride and accomplishment.”

Emily Leddington, class of 2020, believes she’s become “a different person” since making the spring break trip. She said the culture of the Texans, as well as their friendliness, inspired her. She was amazed at how a community that had been through so much hardship still looked on the bright side.

“The beauty of Houston is its

Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s

Classic

33rd Annual Dwares JCC

GOLF

Monday, June 11, 2018 Warwick Country Club 394 Narragansett Bay Avenue, Warwick

Visit jewishallianceri.org/golf-classic to learn more about the event and available sponsorship opportunities.

Dwares Rhode Island

401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI 02906 | 401.421.4111 | jewishallianceri.org

On the job (left to right): Emily Leddington, Emily Goldberg, Erica Ryan sense of bravery and determination. We always see on the news when destruction occurs, but then we get back to our daily lives and forget about all the damage that is left over,” said Leddington. “I learned that sometimes we don’t anticipate what will happen in the world, but through hard work, community and love, anything is possible.”

Students’ participation in URI Hillel’s Alternative Spring Break Trip to Houston was subsidized by grants from the Ocean State Job Lot/Presidential Partnership Fund at URI and Repair the World. To read each student’s full story about her experience, visit http:// www.urihillel.org/blog.

LEAH KAPLAN, URI class of 2018, is graduating with a major in public relations.

Meals on Wheels wants your help!

Kosher Meals on Wheels needs volunteers to help homebound seniors in need. If you have a car and one hour to spare once a week, please contact us. If you can help out once a month, please contact us! Volunteers allow the frail to stay in the comfort of his or her home as long as possible. Contact Neal at 401-421-4111, ext. 107 or ndrobnis@jewishallianceri.org. Thank you!

FOOD

jvhri.org

May 25, 2018 |

17

Tasty bourekas mix cultures

BY CHAYA RAPPOPORT (The Nosher via JTA) – These bourekas are a mix of New York Jewish and Middle Eastern Israeli food cultures. It sounds a little crazy, but it’s incredibly good: the flavorful seasoning blend, slightly sweet from the dried onion and garlic, balances out the salty, briny feta interior, and the cream and cottage cheese in the filling. A little bit of spinach, a personal must for me in cheese bourekas, adds color and flavor.

Best part? These bourekas, made with store-bought puff pastry, are relatively quick to throw together.

I planned on serving these for the Shavuot holiday, when it’s common to eat dairy foods, but they are really perfect for anytime: a Middle Eastern brunch spread with shakshuka and dips, or a cocktail party or as an appetizer for a dinner party.

No matter when you choose to serve them, I know you will have people clamoring for seconds and thirds, as well as the recipe, so be prepared to make lots and keep this recipe on hand.

Note: These bourekas freeze beautifully unbaked. Simply freeze them filled and shaped, but without the egg wash and bagel spice topping, and apply the egg wash and spice when you’re ready to bake them, adding 5-10 minutes to the baking time.

Everything Bagel Bourekas Ingredients 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/3 cup cream cheese

ingredients in a bowl. Reserve until needed.

Line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 9 puff pastry squares on each sheet, evenly spaced, giving them some room to expand during baking.

Place 1 scant tablespoon of the cheese filling in the center of each dough square.

Fold the dough squares by grasping one corner and folding it over to the opposite corner to make triangles. Pinch firmly along the outer open edge of the triangles to seal. If you’re having trouble sealing the dough and getting it to stick together, wet your finger with a bit of water and run it around the edge of the square before folding — this will help it stick together.

Brush the triangles with the beaten egg and sprinkle the

1/2 cup cottage cheese 1 egg 4 cups spinach Salt and pepper For the everything bagel spice mix 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds 2 tablespoons poppy seeds 1 tablespoon dried minced onion 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic 1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt For assembly 1 large egg, whisked, for egg wash 36 puff pastry squares, defrosted (can also use 2 packages

everything bagel spice mix on top. Bake the bourekas for 30-35 minutes, switching the baking sheets between the upper and lower racks halfway through cooking. Bake until golden brown, puffed up and cooked through. It makes 36 bourekas.

CHAYA RAPPOPORT is the blogger, baker and picture taker behind retrolillies.wordpress.com. Currently a pastry sous-chef at a Brooklyn bakery, she’s been blogging since 2012 and her work has been featured on The Feed Feed, Delish.com, Food and Wine, and Conde Nast Traveler. The Nosher food blog offers new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. TheNosher.com.

of puff pastry sheets cut into squares)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a frying pan over medium heat, wilt the spinach. Remove the spinach from frying pan, let cool down, wring out any liquid and finely chop.

In a mixing bowl, combine feta, cream cheese, ricotta, egg, chopped wilted spinach, a pinch of salt and a good shake of black pepper.

Use a fork to mix ingredients together until well blended. Reserve mixture.

Make the everything bagel spice mix by combining all the

JCC sponsors Summer Food Service Program for Children J-Camp at the Dwares JCC, a program of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, announces the sponsorship of the Summer Food Service Program for Children. This program is designed primarily to provide meals to children at our day camp from June 25–Aug. 24 2018. All campers are eligible to receive free meals while participating in the program.

J-Camp at the Dwares JCC is located at 401 Elmgrove Ave. in Providence. Our camp day runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Early arrival (8 a.m. to 9 a.m.) and extended day (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.) programs are available. Each week, campers participate in a variety of activities focused around specific themes. Campers are split into groups by age, allowing them to fill their days with exciting, age-appropriate activities and challenging opportunities to discover new interests, develop new skills and explore their surroundings.

At times, all campers come together as a group to help build community. The camps start each day outside on the fields with a morning huddle to hear news and activities and to set the tone for the day. Campers also have the opportunity come together as a whole during lunch. Special programs are planned throughout the summer.

Weekly schedules allow children to rotate through a variety of activities, including specialties many have grown to love. There are electives each day that allow campers to focus on a specific interest, with the number of elective periods varying by age. Campers have swim lessons daily and the opportunity to choose free swim for one of their electives. Each week a special visitor conducts lessons and activities based on the week’s theme. The camp takes weekly field trips. Campers make challah for Shabbat every Friday.

For more information or to register, please visit the camp website at jewishallianceri.org or contact Seth Finkle at 401421-4111, ext. 146.

ADVERTISE WITH CONFIDENCE IN

THE JEWISH VOICE

CONTACT KAREN BORGER

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CHRIS WESTERKAMP

cwesterkamp@jewishallianceri.org

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18 | May 25, 2018

PETS

The Jewish Voice

Pets Bernie Rabbi Howard, Annie, Emilie, Judah, and Adi Voss-Altman

W

elcome to the annual gallery of pets. Each year, we feature your pets in the pages of The Voice. We hope we spelled everyone’s name correctly! Thanks for sending us your photos.

Callie Leona Cynthia Zenofsky, Cranston

Abbie, Farrow Family,

Rylie and Cassie, Marc Greenstein

Roxi Dorothy Lampal

Crosby | Karen, Michael, Samantha Isenberg

Diana Elissa Arffa

Georgia Stern Family

Simba Judy Moseley

Teddy Rachel Hurlich

jvhri.org

PETS

May 25, 2018 |

Pets

Chloe, left, and Callie, right.

Sydney Goldstein

Brisket Deborah Carr and Sam Zwetchkenbaum

Bella Arlene Fishman

Jackson, back, and Dodger, front Evelyn and Dick Seigle

Beatrice Emily, Steven, Julia and Mia Shalansky

Bella Niece of Tracy White

19

20 | May 25, 2018

PETS

The Jewish Voice

Pets

Mia Jess Larko, Ronan and Asher Goldstein

Livvi and Frankie Karen Flippo

Koji Sen. Gayle Goldin

Gracie Judy Siegel

Gizmo Robin Goldberg

Haley, CoCoa and Jill Neil H. Dwares

jvhri.org

PETS

Pets Penny Michael Strashnick

Trina Rescue greyhound David Madi, back, and Amber, front Jonathan Weitzner

Lily Beverly Mann Paris

Max Rhoda Strauss

Miguel Peter Neivert and Arthur Richter

Wilson Nephew of Tracey White

May 25, 2018 |

21

22 | May 25, 2018

PETS

The Jewish Voice

Tuesdays at Tockwotton: Therapy of giving

BY KAREN AND ELSIE BORGER Never having had children, I finally grew up when I turned 55 and decided it was time to be responsible for, and committed to, something other than myself!

My lifelong love of dogs culminated with becoming the mother to one. A combination Shih Tzu Poodle, my Shihpoo’s blackand-white coloring reminded me of Borden’s iconic Elsie the cow; hence, Elsie Borger joined my sparse family tree.

Anybody who knows me knows Elsie. We’re a team. Because I never mothered a child, I can’t say how it compares.

All I know is it’s the closest I’ll ever come to understanding that bond. My love for her and the immeasurable joy she has brought me have truly been life altering.

About two years ago, I thought it was a bit selfish to be the sole beneficiary of Elsie’s phenomenal personality, so off we went to educate ourselves on the art of being a therapy dog and the mother of one. Beyond her

PHOTO BY GEORGIA BLUE PHOTOGRAPHY

award-winning disposition, I beam at her instant aptitude for higher learning, which quickly led to her official designation as

Did you say we're going to Classic Clips?

Meetu (top) and Kai Goodno

Classic Clips Pet Salon All Breeds Pet Grooming “Where Your Pet is Our Specialty” 259 Waterman Avenue East Providence, RI 02914 401-438-3888 401-351-3310

a therapy dog.

My search for a location to “share the love” led us to Tockwotten on the Waterfront’s Memory Care unit, the place where Elsie practices being a therapy dog most Tuesdays, and I practice the art of giving that has become my therapy.

The smiles she brings to our new friends’ faces, the giggles she elicits from her new playmates and the wonder of the parades she leads down the halls – with her followers not far behind using walkers, canes or their sheer determination – is a sight to behold.

Elsie and friend at Tockwotten. At left, Elsie with Karen.

We leave Tockwotten sated.

Elsie having had one hour of undivided attention from her adoring audience, and me kvelling that others now also partake of her delicious presence.

It’s the kind of therapy money can’t buy.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Contact sgeorg iablue@g mail.com to schedule your dog for the June Sunset Beach Photoshoot. 100%

of your $150 fee will support the Kiwi K9 Project.

Fee includes 15-20 minutes, five hi-res edited images with personal use agreement and 10-20 low-res images for use on digital sharing sites.

KAREN BORGER is an independent sales representative for The Jewish Voice. ELSIE BORGER is a proud therapy dog.

Cookie’s in the House!

Meet Cookie, the Guinea Pig. He is the Eides Family J-Space class pet. An Abyssinian, he was adopted from the Providence Animal Rescue League on Nov. 1 and was estimated to be 1 year old at that time.

The children in J-Space helped to choose what type of pet to adopt; they were able to learn about a few different Guinea Pigs available for adoption before choosing Cookie. It only took about a week for him to get used to his new home,

and now he greats everyone with happy squeaks.

Children in J-Space volunteer for “Cookie Care” daily, where they help to clean his bedding, give him hay, fresh water, pellet food and vegetables. After they care for him, the daily volunteers get to spend time with Cookie in his play pen.

Contact Shannon Kochanek for more information or to set up a time to come meet Cookie at skochanek@ jewishallianceri.org.

Cookie

PETS

jvhri.org

May 25, 2018 |

23

Get to know EDOX Breed: Belgian Malinois Birthdate: June 6, 2016 Place: Georgia Training: RI K9 Academy Favorite Activities: Exercising while chasing a ball Favorite food: Purina ProPlan and an occasional Greenie for teeth Treats: No treats for this working dog.

Patrolman Scott Keenan reads to ECC children.

FROM PAGE 1

EDOX

A police dog partner is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-aweek commitment. EDOX lives with Keenan and his wife, and has become part of the family.

“We really enjoy being with him,” Keenan said.

When the Providence Police

Elsie | Karen Borger

Department assigns the team to the JCC, Keenan and his partner walk through the building, checking for hidden dangers.

Sometimes, they stay for part of an event to monitor who – and what – comes into the building.

Staff members who deal with the pair are always glad to see them, understanding the role

EDOX sits quietly with Keenan. they play in keeping us all safer.

The children in the David C. Isenberg Family Early Childhood Center love to see EDOX, too. And he gets pretty excited to see them, said Keenan.

But if you see EDOX around the building, Keenan suggests that you remember that he is working and make sure to ask

Lola | Mindy and Rob Sherwin

before petting.

A police dog is “another tool in the toolbox,” says Keenan.

“His scent and ability to work is so above what we can do.

What that deters, we will never know.”

FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org) is the editor of The Jewish Voice.

Charlotte | Ostendorf family

24 | May 25, 2018

PETS

The Jewish Voice

In the U.S., freedom to own a dog as a pet Bruce Boguslav is a consumer advocate and friend I have interviewed on my radio program several times and someone with whom I feel a special bond through our heritage. Bruce comes from Orthodox Jewish lineage and his greatg r a n d f at h e r was an ordained rabbi.

For The Jewish Voice’s pet issue, I i nter v iewe d PATRICIA Bruce about RASKIN his family’s long history with dogs, going back to his great-grandmother Ethel, a dynamic businesswoman generations ahead of her time.

Bruce said, “My great-grandmother decided with my greatgrandfather to have a dog as soon as they came to America. I think, in part, the dog was a replacement for my great-grandmother’s sisters, who stayed in the old country of Russia.

“As I was told, they felt that the dog was a symbol [of] making it here. It was also a symbol of freedom for my greatgrandparents, as in the old country, dogs were work, like having cows. They could come to America and be free, and the dog symbolized that for them.”

He continued, “The first thing they did when they got to America was to go straight to Philadelphia, take pictures and then buy a dog. My great-grandmother always wanted a dog as she never had one in Russia.

“I learned from my grandmother, Ethel’s daughter, that it is important to not only take care of family and friends, but animals as well. As early as I can remember, dogs were a part of my family.”

Bruce’s great-grandmother had a German shepherd. His grandparents also had dogs while they raised his mother and uncle.

From his early childhood, Bruce heard about dogs and saw dogs in all corners of his family – they had become a family tradition. He refers to dogs as “dogs,” not animals, in the

Summer brings special hazards to our furry friends

BY FRAN OSTENDORF

same way that we call people “people,” not animals.

He said, “Dogs are their own special species and I can’t imagine my life without them. I went for five years without a dog in my middle adult years, and I wouldn’t do it again.

We now have two wonderful dogs again, our third Lhasa Apso and our first Havanese, named Benjamin and Franklin.”

Bruce, who is in his early 60s, has had dogs since he was 8 years old.

“When I was a child, my first dog was a Yorkshire terrier named Twiggy, as my parents went smaller. My cousins had larger dogs – bulldogs, shepherds and shepherd mixes.”

“Dogs have taught me how to be patient, how to listen, watch and learn. Dogs are also protective. They depend on us, but we also depend on them. For me, it is part of giving back … tikkun olam, repairing the world,” he said.

Bruce told how his mother insisted that he get a dog when he and his wife, Linda, married.

“My mother got the dog for us, a wonderful Lhasa Apso named

Huey. My oldest’s first word was Huey,” he said.

“When our third child was born, we decided to add another Lhasa Apso, named Billy, to our family. Dogs have been in our family for five generations, counting our children, who lived with Huey and raised Billy, and claim Benjamin and Franklin as their own, even though the dogs live with Linda and me.”

I asked Bruce if he would get dogs for his children when they get married. His answer was an unequivocal “yes, and maybe before then.”

He added, “On holidays our male dogs wear yarmulkes and stay with us when we light candles. They are an integral part of our family, join our celebration of Jewish life and bring us great joy.”

PATRICIA RASKIN, president of Raskin Resources Productions Inc., is an awardwinning radio producer and Rhode Island business owner.

She is the host of “The Patricia Raskin” show, a radio and podcast coach, and a board member of Temple Emanu-El, in Providence.

We are all happy to get outdoors as the weather warms up. Fluffy and Rover are no different. But whether it’s an outdoor escape for Fluffy or a jog in the park for Rover, the warm weather presents challenges for our pets.

We asked Providence veterinarian Dr. Jane Linden, owner of the Providence River Animal Hospital, for advice about warm-weather care for our furry friends. Linden graduated from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. She founded PRAH in 2004, and has two dogs and a cat of her own.

Summer poses more health threats for our pets than any other season, Linden said.

“The most horrific and scary is when people leave their pets in a closed car,” she said.

Linden explained that even if it’s a pleasant 65 degrees outside, a car heats up quickly – and can be a brutal 100 degrees or more in no time.

Running with a dog is fun, but it can be dangerous too. If the dog hasn’t run in months, Linden said, he could be in danger of overheating and collapsing.

Dogs with short noses and long nostrils, in particular, have a lot of issues. They need air conditioning in the summer.

“Heat stresses a pet,” she said. Try to keep them cool and offer plenty of water. They don’t have sweat glands, so they have to pant. Shade is important, too.

Other summer hazards for our beloved pets?

Eating things: “We see a lot more foreign-body ingestion in summer,” Linden said. For example, people give their dogs corncobs to chew on, and the dog will swallow some of the cob. That can be very dangerous: Dogs can’t digest the cob and chunks block their digestive track, she said. Watch what your pet is eating.

Toxic plants: Toxic plants can harm both dogs and cats.

Be careful indoors and outdoors. Linden used lilies as an

Dr. Jane Linden example of a toxic landscaping plant that is also seen in indoor floral bouquets.

Pests: “We see ticks on dogs year-round, so we recommend prevention year-round,” she said. Cats should have tick and flea prevention if they go outdoors – or are likely to “escape” now and then. But even indoor cats should have flea and heartworm prevention, because those two problems can be picked up indoors.

“If you have a mouse inside your house, your cat could end up with fleas,” Linden said.

Thunder and fireworks: Dogs can have thunderstorm anxiety. “Thundershirts help a little. So does an owner being home. But thunderstorms [often] hit in the middle of the day, and there’s nothing you can do,” Linden said.

Thundershirts are a product for dogs and cats that help reduce stress and anxiety from loud noises.

And now that some fireworks are legal in Rhode Island, that noise is becoming a problem for pets, too.

“You don’t just hear fireworks on July Fourth. They go on before and after,” Linden said, causing agitation for many pets.

FRAN OSTENDORF is the editor of The Jewish Voice.

jvhri.org BUSINESS

| COMMUNITY

May 25, 2018 |

25

Israeli firm a global innovator in medical cannabis

BY MARC RUSSMAN “Wherever you go, I will go.

Wherever you stay, I will stay.

Your people will be my people ….”

– Book of Ruth With these words, which we recited a couple of weeks ago on Shavuot, Ruth, a Moabite woman and a widow, follows her mother-in-law, Naomi, an Israelite and a lonely widow herself, to the Jewish people. With this act of lovingkindness, Ruth endeavors to repair Naomi’s broken world. With her actions, Ruth embraces tikkun olam.

Today, a pioneering Israeli company named Tikun Olam is bringing a new dimension to the practice of repairing the world (in Hebrew, tikkun olam) by delivering health benefits from breakthrough strains of medical cannabis.

Tikun Olam’s medical cannabis (marijuana) has been taken by more than 20,000 Israelis to relieve chronic pain, inflammation, anxiety and a variety of other symptoms associated

with illness or the side effects of medical treatments.

The use of medical cannabis in Israel is highly regulated by the Ministry of Health. What differentiates Tikun Olam from other businesses in the medical cannabis industry is leading-edge research, patient experience data, state-of-theart growing techniques, global distribution and governmentsanctioned clinical trials.

Tikun Olam, which is building a reputation for world leadership in the rapidly expanding market for products that improve health and wellness, is a growing Israeli intellectual property success story.

The company is poised for growth as more countries gain a deeper understanding of the health benefits associated with medical cannabis. Tikun Olam operates outside of Israel through partnerships in Canada, Australia and the United States. Tikun Olam Global currently serves seven states in the U.S. and is developing a partnership with MariMed Ad-

Speaker to discuss Jewish response to the global refugee crisis

BY LEV POPLOW On June 6, 1939, the United States turned away the MS St. Louis, which carried almost 1,000 Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust. Following the refusal of the U.S., Canadian and Cuban governments to permit the passengers to disembark, the St. Louis sailed back to Europe. Of the 937 Jewish refugees on board, just over half survived the Holocaust.

On June 6, coinciding with the 79th anniversary of the St. Louis being turned away, Temple Emanu-El will welcome Rabbi Rachel Grant Meyer, director of education for community engagement at HIAS, a U.S. nonprofit that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees.

Over the last year, the number of refugees and displaced persons across the world has grown to more than 65 million – more than at any time in history.

In her presentation, Rabbi Meyer will give an overview of the current crisis, grounded in a shared understanding of the plight of refugees. She will explore the Jewish values that command us to welcome the stranger. The program will also instruct attendees on ways to take action in support of refugees worldwide.

HIAS, which has been bringing Jewish refugees to safety for over 130 years, stands for a world in which refugees find welcome, safety and freedom.

visors, in Rhode Island, which plans to offer the company’s products by the end of the year.

Tikun Olam was the first cannabis supplier in Israel founded as a nonprofit, in 2006, and is now the largest, with 12,000 active patients. In Israel, the company delivers health-care services directly through clinics and nursing centers.

Cannabis has two primary chemical agents: THC, which delivers the “high,” and CBD, which provides the health benefits. Avidekel is a strain of medical cannabis developed by Tikun Olam that has less than 1 percent THC and 16 percent CBD. This brand can be consumed as a smokeless product, which is more acceptable for geriatric and pediatric patients.

Tikun Olam also has dozens of other strains of cannabis, created by varying the THC/CBD ratio, along with trace elements.

Today, six primary strains are marketed outside of Israel.

Clinical trials and extensive patient studies have shown that medical cannabis can help manage conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, Crohn’s disease, colitis, glaucoma, posttraumatic stress disorder, and nausea associated with chemotherapy.

The majority of the research on medical cannabis takes place outside the U.S., which restricts such studies. Recent large population studies, described in respected journals such as The European Journal of Internal Medicine, have demonstrated the efficacy of medical cannabis. In one study

of approximately 3,000 cancer patients, some 36 percent were able to successfully eliminate opioid use. Another study, of an elderly population, found an opioid-reduction rate of 18 percent.

Some patients say that the most significant advantage of using organically grown cannabis is that it gives them some control over treatment for chronic conditions. Loss of control is a common fear associated with illness. Medical cannabis can be used as little or as frequently as the patient chooses, under the supervision of a health-care professional.

In the U.S. to date, 29 states have approved cannabis for medical use (nine states have legalized it for both medical and recreational uses). Cannabis remains classified as a Drug Enforcement Administration Schedule 1 drug – considered to have a high potential for abuse and no medical value – and the Justice Department is committed to preserving this status.

The schism between the states and the federal government on this issue could prove to be a headwind for the industry.

Social acceptance is also an impediment for those who associate cannabis with “reefer madness” and “stoners” like Cheech and Chong. Tikun Olam believes a core part of its mission is to provide evidence of the drug’s health benefits that is data-driven and supported by gover n ment- s a nc t ione d studies.

Recent endorsements of medical cannabis from respected

U.S. political leaders may reduce the stigma of cannabis use and accelerate its legal status. Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld and former Speaker of the House John Boehner both recently announced their support for medical cannabis. In a podcast interview on “P&L With Pimm Fox and Lisa Abramowicz” on April 20, Weld stated that 94 percent of Americans favor legalization of cannabis for medical purposes.

Market research by Cowan and Company, a leading investment bank, estimates that the U.S. market for cannabis will reach $75 billion by 2030.

Nationwide legalization or decriminalization, if they occur, are likely to bring more businesses into the market, driving down prices and margins.

Tikun Olam assumes the responsibility implied by its name. Repairing the world by reducing suffering and improving health and wellness is a large mission. Tikun Olam is fulfilling this promise by operating as a trusted partner, global innovator and accomplished representative of Israel. For more information, go to tikunolamusa.com.

This article is a business profile of Tikun Olam and is in no way an informed medical opinion, product representation or endorsement. As always, before using any products, seek advice from your medical professional.

MARC RUSSMAN (marc.russman@gmail.com) is a student of Jewish thought and interpretation.

RI Foundation offers $35,000 to Providence Jewish groups Rabbi Rachel Grant Meyer Jewish ethics drives its commitment to assist refugees and displaced persons of many backgrounds around the world.

In her work at HIAS, Meyer develops compelling educational materials, resources and programs to educate American Jews about refugee issues, connecting the plight of contemporary refugees to Jewish values and history. She also serves as an educator as part of an effort to inspire American Jews to help today’s refugees.

Rabbi Meyer will speak on Wednesday, June 6, at 7:30 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. The program, presented by Emanu-El’s Social Justice Committee, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Committee Chair Maia Brumberg Kraus at maiabkraus@gmail.com.

LEV POPLOW is a communications consultant. He can be reached at levpoplow@gmail. com.

PROVIDENCE – Jewish community charitable organizations, synagogues and day schools from Barrington to East Greenwich have until June 8 to apply for $35,000 in grants through the Bliss, Gross, Horowitz Fund at the Rhode Island Foundation.

“We are pleased to offer Jewish charitable organizations serving the greater Providence community additional support,” said Inés Merchan, grant programs officer at the Foundation. “We look forward to working with eligible nonprofits in their vital work addressing the needs of all Rhode Islanders.”

The Bliss, Gross, Horowitz Fund awards grants to proposals that develop connections between the Jewish community and greater Rhode Island, deepen the understanding of Jewish life and culture through scholarship and historic preservation or provide for basic human needs such as food and housing. In addition, Jewish charitable organizations that provide these services can ap-

ply for funding to support capacity-building activities such as board development, strategic planning, nonprofit business development, fundraising or program evaluation.

Synagogues and day schools are eligible to apply only for project support, and their proposals must be non-sectarian in nature and designed to reach beyond their own constituents. Capital requests are not eligible for funding under this grant program.

Grants typically range in size from $5,000 to $10,000. Priority will be given to proposals that have clearly stated goals and objectives, measurable outcomes and a clear sustainability plan.

Organizations that received funding last year include the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, for a collaboration with the Islamic School of Rhode Island on its Partners in Peace Program; Temple Emanu-El, to bring singers from throughout Rhode Island together for “Singing the Dream,” a musical

tribute to the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; and Jewish Family Service, to provide home-based mental health counseling to home-bound seniors and disabled clients who cannot access services in an office setting.

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. The Foundation raised $38 million and awarded $43 million in grants to organizations addressing the state’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities in 2017. Through leadership, fundraising and grant-making activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the Foundation is helping Rhode Island reach its true potential. For more information about applying for a Bliss, Gross, Horowitz Fund grant, visit rifoundation. org.

Submitted by the Rhode Island Foundation

26 | May 25, 2018

BUSINESS

The Jewish Voice

Business and Professional Directory R E ROCHELLE ELLEN ZIEGLER REALTOR®

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By NRT LLC.

For a list of current homes and condominiums for sale, email me at CMSellsSarasota@gmail.com

Carol Bienenfeld Mitchell 831 Bald Hill Road | Warwick, RI 02886 www.NewEnglandMoves.com

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T J V Let our advertisers know you saw them in The Voice!

I Retirement Medicare 101 Finding the Right Medicare Option for You Jeffrey G. Brier CLU, ChFC, CASL

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May 25, 2018 |

27

New insights and resources for small businesses StatePoint – Small businesses are critical to powering the national economy. They are also responsible for creating two out of every three new jobs in the country each year, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Are you a small business owner or looking to start your own company? Consider the following trends and developments.

Insights

Three out of four small businesses expect to increase their range of products and services in the next year, according to a recent survey commissioned

by CIT Group and conducted by The Harris Poll.

According to the survey, top priorities include expanding within current geographies

(72 percent) and adjacent markets (58 percent). Half of small businesses also say improving technology is a top investment priority this year, followed by equipment upgrades (47 percent) and hiring staff (36 percent).

Despite optimism, some concerns for small business owners remain around data security, inflation, interest rates and capital costs in the coming year. Full survey results and methodology can be found at cit.com/blog/small-businessoutlook/.

Resources

“Understanding these key trends can help small businesses innovate and contextualize potential challenges,” says John Donohue, head of CIT’s digital small business lending

group. “Whether a business is updating its technology, purchasing new equipment or expanding into new markets, an experienced lender can provide the capital needed.”

Educational resources can help empower small business owners, too. To learn more about accessing capital, building a team, cultivating a brand and more, check out free resources like the Launch and Grow series, a new video series developed out of a partnership between CIT and Operation HOPE, a global provider of financial education programs.

Individuals can follow the content and resources by visiting cit.com/launch-grow and engage on social media by following #LaunchAndGrow.

Additionally, the U.S. Small

Business Administration’s Learning Center provides online courses to help you learn about the financing process and a number of other critical small business topics.

To grow your small business, learn more about opportunities and resources available to you.

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Billionaire David Tepper buys NFL’s Carolina Panthers JTA – Billionaire hedge fund manager David Tepper is the new owner of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.

Tepper on May 16 purchased the team for a record $2.3 billion from Jerry Richardson, who announced plans to sell the team after reports accusing him of workplace misconduct, including sexual harassment and the use of a racial slur. NFL team owners are expected to approve the sale later this month.

“I am thrilled to have been

selected to be the next owner of the Carolina Panthers,” Tepper, 60, who has given to Jewish causes, said in a statement. “I have learned a great deal about the community and the team over the past several months and look forward to becoming part of the Carolinas.” Tepper was a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2009.

Forbes estimates Tepper’s worth at $11 billion. He has donated about $125 million to Carnegie Melon University,

where he attended business school, including a $67 million gift in 2013 to develop the Tepper Quadrangle which includes a school of business, as well as other buildings and a university welcome center.

He reportedly donates around $25,000 annually to ORT America and also has funded Chabad on Campus. Tepper in 2006 donated $1 million to United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey toward their Israel Emergency Campaign.

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OBITUARIES

28 | May 25, 2018

The Jewish Voice

Gloria J. Cohen, 90

ASK THE DIRECTOR

BY MICHAEL D. SMITH F.D./R.E. Shalom Memorial Chapel

QUESTION: What is a green burial?

W.R., California Dear W.R., A green burial, also called a natural burial, involves burying the decedent with as little environmental impact as possible. For example, using biodegradable shrouds and caskets of all wood construction would be considered “green.” Jewish burials have been “green” for over 5,000 years.

QUESTIONS ARE WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED. Please send questions to: ShalomChapel@aol.com or by mail to Ask the Director, c/o Shalom Memorial Chapel, 1100 New London Ave., Cranston, R.I. 02920.

CRANSTON, R.I. – Gloria J. Cohen died May 9 at Scandinavian Home. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, a daughter of the late Lewis and Lucille (Jurin) Wein, she was a lifelong resident of Cranston.

She was a salesperson and buyer for Maxine’s in Warwick for 22 years, and Brides of Boston for 20 years.

She was the mother of Stuart Cohen and his wife, Sandra, of Cranston, and Jacqueline Lee Baptista and her husband, Robbie, of North Providence. She was the sister of Michael Wein of San Miguel, Mexico, and the late Jay Wein and his wife Meryl of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the grandmother of Cara, Kyla, Rebecca, and Danielle. She was the cherished great-grandmother to Kyle, Alessia, Isabella and Leonardo.

Contributions in her memory may be made to Hope Hospice & Palliative Care of RI, 1085 North Main St., Providence, RI 02904.

Edward M. Entin, 83

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EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Edward M. Entin, Ph.D., died May 1. Born in 1935 in Polotsk (Belarus) to Colonel Matvey Entin and Sophia Richter, he spent his childhood in locations from Eastern Europe to the Caucasus to Central Asia to the Far East, following his father’s military deployment.

He was a historian by education. He worked in the city of Gomel in Belarus until his 1996 retirement – first in the regional museum, then in the state archives, and starting in 1970 at the Gomel State University where he served as associate professor, full professor and, in the last years before retirement, as department chair.

He authored or co-authored a number of publications, wrote and participated in documentary TV series, and was active on a lecture circuit within his main fields of study: labor relations and regional history.

Throughout his life he was an avid reader and soccer enthusiast and passionately followed

international politics.

A resident of Rhode Island since 1997, he is survived by his brother Lev, of Moscow, children Michael and Larisa of Rhode Island, grandchildren Amy, Elliott and Emily, son-inlaw Vitaly, daughter-in-law Victoria, and nephews Vladimir and Mark.

Melvin Korman, 93

NORTH ATTLEBORO, MASS. – Melvin Korman died May 10 at home. He was the husband of Mary (F i nnegan) Korman for 34 years. He was born in P rov idence, a son of the late William and Tillie (Jacobs) Korman. He had lived in North Attleboro for more than 50 years, previously living in Warwick.

He was a manufacturing engineer at General Electric Co., Wiring Devices Dept., until his retirement. He also taught plastic engineering courses at Brown University and Rhode Island State. After retirement, he was a counselor at SBA’s SCORE organization.

Melvin was a WWII Army veteran, earning the rank of Sgt. and serving in Germany.

He was a member of Temple Emanu-El, past president of the Society of Plastic Engineers – Southeast New England Chapter, had 3 US patents assigned to him, was a field associate for the International Executive Service Corps with assignments in Egypt and Costa Rica. He was the program director at the North Attleboro Council on Aging, volunteered at Sturdy Memorial Hospital, was a board member of Norton Institution of Continuing Education, and enjoyed photography, computers and genealogy.

He was the father of Janet S. Korman-Parra and her husband, Luis, of Braintree, Massachusetts, Professor Murray S. Korman and his wife, Catharine Hall, of Annapolis, Mary-

land, Lawrence T. Korman and his wife, Susan, of Baltimore, Maryland, Diane Korman Stacy and her husband, Douglas, of Greenville, Michael J. Savastano and his wife, Kimberly, of Coventry, and Kevin P. Savastano and his fiancé, Maria Brum, of Warwick. He was the brother of Lois Fine-Sergeant of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and the late Leah Kaplan, Arnold J. Korman, Nathaniel I. Korman, Anne G. Fine and Rosalie M. Bloom. He was the grandfather of seven and the greatgrandfather of two. He was the grandson of the late Mendel and Raisell (Halpern) Korman and Abraham and Lena (Brown) Jacobs.

Contributions in his memory may be made to Richards Memorial Library Building Fund, 118 North Washington St., North Attleboro, MA 02760.

Irving Levine, 96

REHOBOTH, MASS. – Irving Levine, of Hillside Ave., Rehoboth, died at home on May 5.

He was the husband of Bernice Harris Levine for the past 70 years.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, son of the late Louis and Miriam (Jolt) Levine, he lived in the Rehoboth and Providence area most of his adult life.

The Levines also enjoyed spending time during the winter months at their home in Palm Beach, Florida.

Levine was a graduate of New Bedford High School and The University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in English.

Levine was the founder of The Copley Mutual Fund, which he launched in 1978 and managed until the time of his death. In July 2016, Levine and The Copley Fund won the Wall Street Journal’s Winner’s’ Circle Contest, which measures the best 12-month performance by a stock-fund manager using the same approach to investing the $82.9 million of assets in Copley Fund. Levine was featured in the WSJ 7/4/2016 for this award.

OBITUARIES | 29

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OBITUARIES Levine had been more likely to make the pages of his hometown newspaper, The Herald News of Fall River, Massachusetts, for his tennis prowess than for his involvement with investments. He was a topranked tennis player both in New England and nationally in his age group. His participation in tennis competition allowed him and his wife the opportunity to engage in world travel.

He was inducted into The New England Tennis Hall of Fame in 1998 for his contributions to the sport of tennis both on and off the court. Levine also excelled in table tennis where he was an intercollegiate champion while attending the University of Pennsylvania.

Survivors include his widow, a brother Arthur Levine of West Orange, New Jersey, and his two children; Stephanie Levine of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Laurence Levine of Bethesda, Maryland. Levine is also survived by his niece Louise J Guy, of S. Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He was also the brother of the late Selma L. Guy of Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

He was the brother-in-law of Nancy S. Harris and the brother-in-law of the late Harold J. Harris of Providence.

Contributions in his memory may be made to Brigham & Women’s Cardiology Dept. or a Tennis Association of your own choosing.

Jerome A. Magner, 89

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Jerome A. Magner, died May 14, in Boynton Beach, Florida.

He was the husband of Frances (Ogens) Magner; they were married for 65 years.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of the late Herman and Evelyn (Wolfe) Magner.

Jerome graduated cum laude from The City College of New York (CCNY) School of Business, majoring in accounting.

Forty years of his working life were spent at National Amusements, ending up in the position of executive vice president

of finance. Over the years, he was on the board of Viacom and the board of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO).

Two of his granddaughters have Type I diabetes, and in 2001, he was honored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) for his excellence in fundraising.

Besides his wife, he is survived by daughter Merrill Magner and her husband, Barry Napear, son Steve Magner and his wife, Phyllis Joseph, and sister Ellen Smith. He was the beloved “Papa” to granddaughters Jesslyn Magner, and Ashley, Beth and Julie Napear and her husband, Travis Wyman, and his two great-granddaughters Lorelei and Amber.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Gerald Moverman, 96

WARWICK, R.I. – Gerald Moverman died May 3 at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston. He was the beloved husband of Mildred (Zelman) Moverman for 67 years. Born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of the late Samuel and Rose (Kutzenco) Moverman, he had lived in Warwick since 1952.

He taught psychology at Boston University and the Community College of Rhode Island.

He and his wife owned and operated The Rainbow Store in downtown Providence for many years. Gerald was a decorated WW II Army veteran, serving overseas, including in the Battle of the Bulge.

He was a lover of nature. He was a lifelong learner, and spoke several languages; he was a symphony and opera aficionado. His talent for making people laugh endeared him to all.

He was the father of Paul Moverman of Milford, New Hampshire, Robert Moverman and his wife, Barbara, of North Andover, Massachusetts, David Moverman and his wife, Hagit, of North Easton, Massachusetts, and Judy Moverman of Reston, Virginia. He was the brother of the late Jean Jaffa, Mollie Blumenthal, Estelle Friedman, Shirley Dauer, Evelyn Finger, and Phyllis Salk. He was the grandfather of Rebecca Moverman (Peggy), Carla Sato

(Hiro), Hannah Moverman, Sadie Moverman, Michael Moverman, Sharone Moverman and Daniel Moverman.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20037 or your favorite charity.

June Penn, 82

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. – June Penn died April 30, at Scalabrini Villa. She was the wife of the late Robert “Bob” Penn. Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Max and Anna (Alprin) Weinberg, she was a resident of North Kingstown for 6 years, previously living in Warwick.

She worked in sales for several retail stores for 12 years, retiring in 2006.

She was the mother of SueAnn Fuesz and her husband, Conrad, of West Greenwich, and Lynn Zwolinski of Deltona, Florida. She was the sister of the late Barbara Myers. She was the grandmother of Robert Jr. and the late Katelyn. She was the great-grandmother of Zoey.

Contributions in her memory may be made to Amedisys, c/o Beacon Hospice, 1 Catamore Blvd., East Providence, RI 02914.

Miriam Rusnak, 81

CRANSTON, R.I. – Miriam Rusnak died May 17, at Rhode Island Hospital. She was the wife of Paul Rusnak for 33 years.

Born in Providence, a daughter of the late William and Bessie (Mendelson) Lett, she was a lifelong resident of Cranston.

She was a waitress at the former Vincent Marcello’s and Quick Stop, retiring in 1994.

Miriam was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary.

She was the mother of Donna Murray of Cranston, and David Clark of Orlando, Florida. She was the sister of the late Mildred Fain and the grandmother of Wayne, Terrance, Carl, Thomas and Michelle. She was the great-grandmother of six.

Contributions in her memory may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 260 Cochituate Road, #200, Framingham, MA 01701.

Arthur S. Shlevin, 67

PAWTUCKET, R.I. – Arthur S. Shlevin died May 2, at Philip Hulitar Inpatient Center. He

OBITUARIES was the husband of Irene (Kaplan) Shlevin for 45 years. Born in Providence, he was a son of the late Harold Isaac Bloom and Irene (Labush/Bloom) Shlevin, and Samuel Shlevin. He was a lifelong resident of Pawtucket.

He was a Rescue Lieutenant EMT for the Pawtucket Fire Department for 11 years, retiring in 1985. Arthur was a member of Touro Fraternal Association and a volunteer for more than 14 years with the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team.

He was the father of Amy-Beth Shlevin of Pawtucket. He was the brother of Harold Shlevin of Pompano Beach, Florida, and Karen Fink of Providence. He was the uncle to several nieces and nephews.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the American Red Cross, R.I. Chapter, 105 Gano St., Providence, RI 02906.

Naftali (Marty) Weissman, 93.

WARWICK, R.I. – Naftali (Marty) Weissman died May 3, at Philip Hulitar Inpatient Center.

He was the husband of Helene (Price) Weissman for 61 years.

He was a Holocaust survivor, born in Lublin, Poland, a son of the late Samuel and Hena (Aptaker) Weissman. Marty was a longtime resident of Warwick.

He was the owner of Marty’s Kosher Meat Market in Cranston. Marty was a Korean Conflict Marine veteran, serving in Korea. He was a member of Touro Fraternal Association. He was the father of David Wiessman of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Jeffrey Weissman of Fort Mill, South Carolina. He was the brother of the late Saja, David and Freida Shlomo.

Contributions in his memory may be made to US Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, Washington, DC 20024-2126.

Gary B. Witman, 68

PROVIDENCE,

R.I. – Gary B. Witman, M.D., died unexpectedly on April 30. Born in New York and raised in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, he was the son of the late Seymour and Ruth (Malamud) Witman, and

May 25, 2018 |

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is survived by his wife Dee Dee (Zarum) Witman.

He was an Eagle Scout, a lover of sports, an avid traveller, and an accomplished skier on the U.S. Ski team.

A graduate of Rutgers University, Dr. Witman received his medical degree from SUNY Medical School, Downstate. He continued his training at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, followed by Brown University and then Yale – as the American Cancer Society scholar in medical oncology – and became a program director at the National Cancer Institute as the head of all 12 comprehensive cancer centers throughout North and South America.

During his accomplished career in oncology research and internal medicine, Gary never put aside his hands-on work treating patients whose lives were on the line. He ran several Boston area emergency rooms where he thrived in what he called “battlefield” conditions.

With an uncanny talent to counsel, comfort and diagnose, he demonstrated his great love for all around him with warmth, humor, confidence and a depth of great humanity. His was the first and second medical opinion of countless friends and relatives, and was regarded within the medical community as a “physician’s physician.”

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his three children, Samantha Witman Friedland, Zachary Witman, and Amanda Rose Witman Speiser; two sonsin-law, Michael Friedland and Brian Speiser; three grandchildren, Emmanuelle, Juliette and Hershel Friedland; and three brothers Leonard, Philip, and Michael.

As accomplished as he was in his younger life, his achievements paled in comparison to his last eight years, when he suffered a life-altering accident, rendering him a quadriplegic. Despite his injury, his brilliance and passion for others only grew stronger; he relished his expanding family, and continued to work as a full-time physician.

Contributions may be made to Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence, RI, and the United Spinal Association www.unitedspinal.org, in memory of Dr. Gary B. Witman.

Philip Roth, enfant terrible turned peerless chronicler of American Jewish life, is dead at 85

BY JTA STAFF JTA – Philip Roth, whose notorious novels about the sex drives of American men gave way to some of the most probing examinations of the American Jewish condition in the 20th and 21st centuries, has died.

He was 85. His death was confirmed to The New York Times by his friend, Judith Thurman.

Early in his career, Roth drew

outrage with sometimes stinging depictions of Jewish life, as well as his graphic portrayal in his breakout 1969 novel “Portnoy’s Complaint” of the protagonist’s sexual desires. Some worried that his work would endanger American Jews, providing fodder for anti-Semites.

Roth, in his books, poked fun at the wrath he incurred from some in the Jewish community.

One of his recurring protago-

nists, Nathan Zuckerman, is a novelist whose own writings have similarly upset many Jews.

But after decades as one of America’s leading literary lights, the anger Roth once evoked was eclipsed by acclaim.

Long after lesser novelists embraced semi-retirement, Roth published three magisterial novels that came to be known as the American Trilogy. In

“American Pastoral” (1997), “I Married a Communist”(1998) and “The Human Stain” (2000), Roth traced the upheavals of the 1940s Red Scare, the turbulent 1960s and the debates over political correctness in the 1990s.

His 2004 novel “The Plot Against America” imagines an alternative history in which Franklin D. Roosevelt is defeated in the presidential

election of 1940 by the pro-Nazi demagogue Charles Lindbergh.

In 2016, the book was much discussed as a prescient look at the populist tides that would sweep Donald Trump into the Oval Office over the more conventional Democrat.

In addition to winning nearly every literary award for writers in English, Roth was also embraced by the Jewish ROTH | 30

SENIORS

30 | May 25, 2018 FROM PAGE 29

ROTH community over his long career. Three of his books were honored with the American Jewish Book Award, and in 1998 he won the Jewish Book Council’s Lifetime Literary Achievement Award.

He was for decades considered a front-runner for the Nobel Prize in Literature; it is one of the rare honors he wasn’t able to claim.

In 2014, the writer whose works were once denounced as profane and even self-hating was honored by one of American Jewry’s sacred citadels when the Jewish Theological Seminary, Conservative Judaism’s flagship educational institution, awarded Roth an honorary doctorate at its commencement ceremony.

“From enfant terrible to elder statesman. Time heals all wounds,” Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles remarked to JTA via email at the time.

In 2012, Roth announced that he would not be writing more books. In 2014, he declared after a reading at New York’s 92nd Street Y that he was done with public appearances.

The seminary’s chancellor, Arnold Eisen, himself a sociologist, called Roth the “greatest sociologist on American Jewish life, without doubt.”

In an interview, Eisen noted his admiration for the Roth novels that examined the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora, such as “The Counterlife” and “Operation Shylock,” as well as works that explored the American scene, like “The Human Stain” and “American Pastoral.”

“We are a community that treasures someone who holds up such a penetrating and insightful mirror to who we are and reveals the dilemmas and contradictions and aspirations of the community,” Eisen said.

“We are grateful for the mirror even if not everything you see in it is easy.”

Many Jewish leaders in the 1950s and 1960s found it hard to embrace Roth, who had emerged from his cherished Jewish Weequahic neighbor-

PHOTO | JIM WATSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Philip Roth at the National Humanities Medal ceremony at the White House, March 2, 2011. hood of Newark, New Jersey, to wide acclaim with his first novella and short story collection, “Goodbye, Columbus.”

Although “Goodbye, Columbus” won the National Book Award, older Jewish leaders objected to its portrayal of a conflict between a stuck-up, well-to-do Jewish family in New Jersey and a young working-class Jewish man from Newark. A short story in the collection – “Defender of the Faith” – was about a Jewish army officer’s conflict with Jewish soldiers trying to avoid combat duty. Jewish leaders’ outrage at Roth peaked a decade later with “Portnoy’s Complaint” and its exploration of lustful Jewish paranoia – including a scene where the protagonist pleasures himself with a piece of liver.

“What is being done to silence this man?” an American rabbi asked in a 1963 letter to the Anti-Defamation League.

In one notorious incident, Roth was shaken by a hostile reception he received at a 1962 literary symposium at New York’s Yeshiva University. Recalling being shouted at by hostile students after the event, Roth vowed to “never write about Jews again” – a promise, of course, that he did not keep.

“There is a certain amount of poetic justice, an aestheti-

The Jewish Voice cally satisfying irony, in Philip Roth’s beginning his career with a brouhaha at Yeshiva University and ending it with an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary – an honor perhaps more significant than the Nobel Prize that eludes him,” Michael Kramer, associate professor of literature at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, wrote in an email to JTA in 2014. “Would Roth himself have imagined such a plot? His endings tend to the tragic.”

The president of the Philip Roth Society, Aimee Pozorski, once said of Roth, “From the very beginning of his career, he has been deeply invested in representing the lives and fates of Jewish youth.”

Roth, however, often demurred when it was suggested that he should be defined as an American Jewish writer.

“I did not want to, did not intend to, and was not able to speak for American Jews; I surely did not deny, and no one questioned the fact, that I spoke to them, and I hope to others as well,” Roth wrote in his essay “Writing About Jews.”

Roth was also criticized by some as a misogynist, owing to his frequent portrayals of women as sex objects (the protagonist’s romantic partners in “Portnoy’s Complaint,” for example, all have derisive nicknames) and allegations about his behavior in his personal relationships with women.

Nevertheless, appreciation abounded for Roth’s contributions to the Jewish world, including his championing of writers from Eastern Europe.

“If the Western world views itself through the lens of the modern Jewish experience, it is in large measure due to the novels, novellas and short stories of Philip Roth,” wrote David Roskies, a JTS Jewish literature professor, in a note to the class of 2014.

He added that Roth “has done more than anyone to further the literary exploration of the Holocaust, in his own writings, and by promoting great works and writers throughout the world.”

(Beth Kissileff contributed to this article.)

Time to move forward on the past

BY RUTH BREINDEL Nowadays we consider time a commodity – we save time, spend time, buy time, lose time, waste time, etc. Time can be static or fluid. In addition, we consider time to be a line stretching from the past to the present, as in the timelines we saw in our history textbooks.

Religious time, on the other hand, is cyclic time – Passover and Purim come every spring, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur come every fall, Hanukkah comes every winter, and so forth.

For the past three years, I have been president of the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association, and now I am handing over that duty to Mel Topf. My time in office has been marked by “saving time” – that is, the lessons of the past – by reorganizing our holdings and digitizing many documents.

Time is static when it comes to the past, yet fluid when it comes to the future; the future is what we plan for, with goals of more digitizing, checking over our holdings to make sure they are in good condition and working toward our mission of providing a record of the life of Jews in Rhode Island.

I have also dealt with religious time: we are asked for pictures about holidays and we see the cycle of life in back-toschool articles and in obituaries.

I have been making up an index of The Jewish Voice articles (working backward – another interesting use of time) and am currently in 2012; as soon as we start receiving PDFs of our oldest Heralds/Voices (going back to the 1930s), I will continue to work forward, too. (These indices are a fascinating view of life in Rhode Island, but un-

fortunately, the same issues keep coming up – anti-Semitism, political confusion and fear.)

That’s just one of the wonderful things we have spent time on over the past three years – all of them free for everyone to enjoy. We have also: • Developed history packets about Jewish life in Rhode Island for undergraduates; contact us if you would like to use them.

• Put our collection of over 400 oral history tapes onto CDs, which are available for listening to at our office.

• Digitized the Providence Passover Journal and put it on our website, www.rijha.org (which has been updated).

• Posted an abbreviated Index of The Jewish Voice (currently 20132017) on our website.

• Moved into new, beautiful quarters, which we would love to show you!

Please call us if you’d like a tour or want to do research (401331-1360).

• Posted copies of our Notes on the website. Our library holdings are in a catalog on the website, so if there is a book you want to look at, you can come in and see it at the office.

This is the past and present – what about the future? The digitizing will continue; there is a great deal of work yet to be done on our collections, especially the photographs. If you would like to help with our future, please contact us at the office by phone or email (info@rijha.org) and you can be part of an exciting journey through time: past, present and future!

“Time is static when it comes to the past, yet fluid when it comes to the future.”

RUTH BREINDEL is a past president of the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association, and its new secretary.

Richard Pipes, historian of Russia and Reagan aide, dies at 94 JTA – Richard Pipes, the author of a monumental series of historical works on Russia and a top advisor to the Reagan administration, died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the age of 94.

His son Daniel confirmed the death, the New York Times reported May 17.

Pipes, who spent his entire academic career at Harvard, took his place in the front rank of Russian historians with the publication of “Russia Under the Old Regime” in 1974. But he

achieved much wider renown as a public intellectual deeply skeptical about the American policy of détente with the Soviet Union.

In 1976, he led a group of military and foreign-policy experts, known as Team B, in an ultimately pessimistic analysis of Soviet military strategy and foreign policy. The group’s report, commissioned by the Central Intelligence Agency, helped galvanize conservative opposition to arms-control talks and accommodation with the Soviet

Union.

And it set the stage for Ronald Reagan’s policy of challenging Soviet foreign policy and seeking to undermine its hold over Eastern Europe, according to the Times.

A moralist shaped by his experiences as a Jew who had fled the Nazi occupation of Poland, Pipes presented the Bolshevik Party in Russia – one of the movements that vied for control of the vast country following the 1917 communist revolution that brought down the Czar’s

rule – as a conspiratorial, deeply unpopular clique rather than the spearhead of a mass movement.

According to Commentary, Pipes was born in Polish Silesia in 1921, “the son of an assimilated, upper-middle-class Jewish family with international business connections.” His family escaped after the German invasion in 1939, making their way to Hoboken, New Jersey, when Pipes was 17.

In the early 1970s he challenged the primarily left-lean-

ing world of “Sovietology,” saying his colleagues refused to see the Soviet Union as it was despite the evidence of its tyranny. “Nothing,” Pipes wrote in his 2003 memoir, “Vixi: Memoirs of a Non-Belonger,” “not even travel to the Soviet Union or the appearance in the West of tens of thousands of Jewish refugees with their own tales to tale, could sway the Sovietological profession in its opinions.”

Among his survivors is his son Daniel Pipes, the president of the Middle East Forum.

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SENIORS

May 25, 2018 |

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A pet tree has brightened my life and my yard The numbers on our street don’t make obvious sense: our house hides in plain view.

SKETCHBOOK MIKE FINK When those trucks bearing cartons have a delivery for number 12, the drivers give up in despair and return to their headquarters. Then somebody calls us, and I describe the color and shape of our residence.

“Red, with a high tapestry brick chimney and a cobblestone alleyway,” I say, loudly, on our phone, which I don’t trust. It’s a new model and I miss the old heavy wall receiver in the Bell days of long ago.

A large tan cardboard box appeared on the stoop. My wife (who, incidentally, doesn’t respect my incompetence with gadgets) opened it and handed me what it contained: a tiny,

thriving pine tree in an oval pot! A pet plant! Who sent it?

Was it for me or for her? It came from Mississippi, via Amazon.

It was fun not knowing. It made me think of the song with these lyrics: “Somebody loves me, I wonder who?”

My lady was not satisfied with my speculations. She believed that one of our children sent it, maybe as a get-well present for my bout with the flu. So she called our three grown offspring, but carefully, so as not to suggest that any one of them ought to have done something like that generous gesture.

She used her social skills, which are considerable, and she was, of course, correct. It was my eldest daughter, Emily, who had marvelously but mysteriously chosen to set this drama in motion.

Now, while you don’t have to housebreak a pet bonsai tree, you must do other chores to keep it content and sturdy. My bonsai came with white pebbles in a package, a booklet explaining the responsibilities of caring for it, and a calendar of future

windy.

If I can succeed in sustaining its life, I’ll need to be on guard about its roots overgrowing its ceramic home – which would mean it’s time to re-pot.

In the earliest week of our l at e - c om i n g s pr i n g t i me , I placed my bonsai tree outdoors on a little white wrought-iron two-chairs-with-table deck decoration.

I had been dwelling upon the dilemma of this spring’s weather pattern. Robert Frost, my former favorite poet, asked, “When to the heart of man was it ever less than a treason to yield and accept the end of a season?”

My deck looks neglected at the onset of early and uncertain May, or at the end of August, or with a pile of fallen leaves before the snowfalls of December/ January.

I had been brooding, as I made my way around my property, which is so hard and confusing to find, about what I could do to liven up and refresh this neglected nest of mine.

And then, that very day, Emily’s gift appeared and answered my unstated plea for the rescue of our property.

So, I took my outdated camera (also a present from Em) and snapped a few shots, both indoors and outdoors, of my Japanese pet tree – and here it is!

Installation set for Cranston Seniors

T h e C r a n s t o n Senior Guild will hold its installation luncheon on June 6 at noon at Mesa Café & Grill, 100 Rolfe St., Cranston.

The luncheon will include a choice of chicken Marsala or baked fish, rolls, chicken escarole soup, salad, pasta, green beans and carrots. The dessert choice is tiramisu or fresh fruit cup with coffee or tea. Cost is $25 (tax and tip are included). A raffle will follow the luncheon.

Make check payable to CRANSTON SENIOR GUILD and include choice

of entrée and dessert in the memo of the check. For more information call Harriet 401942-2220 or Sylvia 401-9446812.

Bus Trip to Foxwoods

A bus trip to Foxwoods is planned for July 11. Cost is $25 per person, which includes roundtrip motorcoach bus, buffet or $10 food coupon to any restaurant at the casino, and $10 bonus slot play (bonus subject to change). Make check payable to CRANSTON SENIOR GUILD. Payment due June 20. For more information, call Sunny at 401785-0748.

The Jewish Voice inspires a sense of community among its readers.

86% say that reading The Jewish Voice makes them feel more connected to their local community.

Information gathered from our April 2017 survey.

growth and developments.

I am obligated to water it daily, and to place it in sunbeams,

but only under certain conditions: warm, yes, hot, no. Rain is okay, but not if it’s stormy or

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

ASSISTED LIVING | MEMORY CARE

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Call Helena Dias today to learn more: 401-273-6565 353 Blackstone Blvd, Providence, RI | WingateHealthcare.com

32 | May 25, 2018

BY DORI ADLER On April 29, The Cohen School celebrated Israel’s 70th birthday so that the students could build a strong commitment to the Jewish people and the land of Israel.

Throughout the year, students in each grade worked on selected Israeli attractions.

Those in kindergarten and first grade focused on Jerusalem’s Gates while second and third graders explored Beer Sheva.

The fourth and fifth grade class was excited to learn about Tel Aviv, while the sixth and seventh graders dove into learning about the Dead Sea. Tslil Reichman, the community shlichah (emissary), helped the students prepare their research and provided them an introduction to their topic. Then, the teachers helped guide them throughout the year with online research creating posters and creating other interactive models to teach other students.

The day of the Yom haAtzmaut celebration began and each class had the opportunity to travel through the other classrooms to explore.

The students were encouraged to gain knowledge about Israel and then confidently present to their school peers.

The sixth and seventh graders recreated the Dead Sea with “fabric water” and sand, beach chairs, and a floating experiment. The kindergarten and first grade class adorned each classroom door with a ban-

COMMUNITY

The Jewish Voice

Cohen School celebrates Yom ha-Atzmaut

ner with the name of the gate, while the second and third graders made amazing Beer Sheva posters. The fourth and fifth graders revealed cool tips about places to visit, museums, restaurants and special attractions in Tel Aviv.

After the classroom tours, everyone stopped for a bite to eat at the “Falafel Stand.” Students enjoyed homemade falafel, pita, hummus and Israeli salad.

Then they gathered on the giant Israel map, provided by Reichman, and searched for special cities and landmarks.

Following the map search, they sang songs with Rabbi Aaron Philmus, near the school’s Kotel replica. The program ended with the whole school singing “Hatikvah” by the Israeli flag.

DORI ADLER is the education director at Temple Torat Yisrael in East Greenwich.

Kindergartners and first graders proudly stand under one of their gates.

Rabbi Aaron Philmus leading songs by the Kotel replica.

Summer J-Camp

Dwares Rhode Island

June 25 - August 24

A student enjoys the falafel!

WHAT MAKES J-CAMP DIFFERENT? • • • •

Lunch and snacks provided daily Coordinated Judaic themes that focus on universal human values Swim lessons for all campers Weekly field trips & special visitors

ALL ARE WELC0ME!

Learn more at jewishallianceri.org/summer-j-camp

401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI 02906 | 401.421.4111

PHOTOS | TORAT YISRAEL

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PHOTOS | JEWISH ALLIANCE

Mitzi Berkelhammer visits her granddaughter’s classroom

May 25, 2018 |

COMMUNITY | NATION

33

A student welcomes his two sisters to his classroom.

Special visitors spend a morning at ECC

BY STEPHANIE HAGUE On April 27, the Jewish Alliance’s Victor and Gussie Baxt Social Hall was packed with close to 100 visitors attending the David C. Isenberg Family Early Childhood Center’s first “Special Visitors Day.” Chaired

by Mitzi Berkelhammer, this event welcomed grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors and friends who spent the morning experiencing a fun program at the exceptional ECC. Berkelhammer began the morning by telling the crowd that in addition to chairing the FROM PAGE 4

BERNSTEIN music he heard at Congregation Mishkan Tefila.

At Congregation Mishkan Tefila, his family’s synagogue, the young Bernstein came under the influence of Solomon Braslavsky, a Viennese composer who became the synagogue’s music director and led its choir.

On Oct. 10, 1946, Bernstein wrote to Braslavsky, shortly after Yom Kippur: “I have come to realize what a debt I really owe to you ... for the marvelous music at Mishkan Tefila services.

They surpass any that I have ever heard.”

Bernstein had a strained relati2. Bernstein’s Harvard years were instrumental in shaping his music.

A page in a bluebook dated Jan. 25, 1937, during Bernstein’s sophomore year at Harvard University, displays “handwriting thoroughly familiar to a Bernstein scholar,” according to Carol Oja, a professor at the

board of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, she is also a grandmother to Maya, a student at the ECC. She shared a few anecdotes, including Maya’s joy after dunking her head in swim class and her love of Friday Challah during Shabbat at school. The visitors, separated by class, had time to experience some of the exciting activities happening in the school on Friday morning: art projects, field and playground time, swim, music, Shabbat celebrations and more.

With the help of a host comHarvard Department of Music. In the exam book, Bernstein described Baroque-era toccatas, a musical notation for virtuosic keyboard, as “dramatic, brilliant, ... and very technical, difficult, effective.” These descriptions “would later characterize his own compositions,” Oja observed in an email.

3. Bernstein was smitten by Israel and became a devoted and influential supporter of the Israel Philharmonic.

In November 1948, during Israel’s War of Independence, amid fighting between the Israeli and Arab armies, Bernstein made his second conducting tour of Israel. He wrote a nine-page letter to his mother, Jennie, that glows with colorful, playful illustrations by Yossi Stern, a Hungarian refugee who became known as the “painter of Jerusalem.”

4. Following the Six-Dar War, Bernstein performed a concert in Israel.

The July 1967 concert, with violinist Isaac Stern and the Israel Philharmonic, included Hatikvah, Israel’s national an-

mittee including Rachel Alexander Levy, Dr. Paul Alexander and Robyn Furman, this event offered visitors from across Rhode Island and around the country the chance to learn and play with a special child in their lives, while also observing the impact of the Jewish Alliance on the Rhode Island community.

STEPHANIE HAGUE (shague@jewishallianceri.org) is the philanthropy officer at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

them; Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto; and the final movement of Mahler’s Second Symphony, known as the “Resurrection Symphony.”

In his speech at the performance, handwritten on stationery from Jerusalem’s Shemesh Oriental Restaurant, Bernstein recalled his exhilaration conducting the Mahler symphony 19 years earlier, during Israel’s War of Independence. He marveled at the recent unification of Jerusalem, a city he envisioned would inspire peace.

5. Bernstein was gay. His wife Felicia seemed okay with that.

In 1946, Bernstein married Felicia Cohn Montealegre, a Chilean actress who performed the role of narrator in Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3, the “Kaddish Symphony.” They had three children, Jamie, Alexander and Nina.

Bernstein didn’t hide his homosexuality and attraction to men from his wife. Early in their marriage, Felicia wrote a stirring and remarkably broadminded letter, undated, that revealed the deep love and bond

Parents and grandparents gather around to do an art project together. between the couple.

“You are a homosexual and may never change – you don’t admit to the possibility of a double life, but if your peace of mind, your health ... depend on a certain sexual pattern, what can you do?” she wrote. “I am willing to accept you as you are, without being a martyr. I happen to love you very much ...”

6. “West Side Story” was originally about Jews and Catholics.

In the 1950s, Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins took inspiration from William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” adapting it to the ethnic and racial tensions of the 20th century. An annotated copy of “Romeo and Juliet” in the Library of Congress collection is on view at the NMAJH exhibit and includes notes by Bernstein and Robbins. It was originally conceived as “East Side Story,” about conflicts between Jews and Catholics. Audition notes for “West Side Story,” which opened on Broadway in 1957, include Bernstein’s comments about a young Warren Beatty, who sought the role of Riff

(“Good voice, can’t open jaw – charming as hell – clean cut”).

7. Bernstein had a passion for education Bernstein relished his role as an educator. His children often say it’s among their father’s most enduring legacies. Just two weeks after beginning his notable role as music director of the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein stepped up to the podium at Carnegie Hall to lead the first of his dozens of Young People’s Concerts. It was the first time the series was broadcast live on national television, bringing the engaging maestro into America’s living rooms.

For the Feb. 28, 1961 Young People’s Concert, Bernstein captivated his audience with the question, ‘What Makes Music Funny?” The 39-year old maestro started off with a joke about an elephant and a mouse.

Humor, even in music, needs an element of surprise, he said.

“It’s like a bag full of tricks coming at you,” and always has “something new and eye opening.”

34 | May 25, 2018

COMMUNITY | WE ARE READ

The Jewish Voice

On May 4, the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel held a news conference at the Rhode Island State House to raise awareness about the Iran nuclear deal. They appealed to the R.I. congressional delegation to fix or oppose the deal. Standing (left to right) are Stan Freedman, Dave Talan, Bev Brozinski, Judi Dill and Sy Dill. Seated is Howard Brown.

PHOTO | RICI

WE ARE READ ON THE OCEAN – Ida and Tom Brown of Hopatcong, New Jersey (Ida is a former Rhode Islander), recently celebrated their 27th anniversary on board a Celebrity Cruise to Bermuda.

When they travel, the Voice is always along for the celebration.

PHOTO | PHDS

PHDS celebrates Yom ha-Atzmaut with the help of the big map of Israel from the Jewish Alliance of Greater RI.

Highlights of what we offer: • Functional-Style Classes including TRX, Kettlebells, Battle Ropes & Medicine Balls • Lenny Krayzelburg Swim Academy • Certified Personal Trainers • Indoor Heated Pool • Group Ex • Indoor Cycling • Basketball Gymnasium • Sports Leagues • Pilates Mat Classes • Cardio Machines • Free-weight Area • Teen Fitness Certification • Fit Forever Classes for Seniors • TigerSharks Swim Club and much more!

J-FITNESS

at the Dwares JCC

To learn more about Personal Training, Specialty Group Training or any of our fitness programs, contact Dori Venditti at 401.421.4111 ext. 210 or dvenditti@jewishallianceri.org.

401 Elmgrove Avenue | Providence, RI | jewishallianceri.org

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EAGLE HONORS – Samuel Molloy of Troop 126, Franklin, Massachusetts, was elevated to Eagle Scout on March 18 in an Eagle Court of Honor. For Sam’s Eagle Scout project, he raised funds, purchased, assembled, and installed four permanent metal benches at his high school’s multi-use field, totaling over 730 hours and utilizing over 60 volunteers. The benches now provide seating for spectators during soccer, lacrosse

SIMCHAS

PHOTO | JAMES IMIRIE

BAT MITZVAH – Samantha Scoca, Senior Bryant Hillel student, joyfully carries the Torah after chanting the weekly portion as she becomes a Bat Mitzvah.

35

and field hockey games at Franklin High School where he is a junior. Sam can be found on the soccer field or on a wrestling mat. He has recently been nominated to the National Honor Society.

Pictured with Sam are his parents, Shelly and Peter Molloy, and his brother, Brian. All three Molloy men are Eagle Scouts. Proud grandparents are Pamela and Joel Cohen of Warwick.

Bryant University celebrates first Bat Mitzvah On Shabbat Tazria-Metzora, Saturday, April 21, Bryant University Hillel and guests celebrated as one of its own became a Bat Mitzvah. The service was held in the Ronald K. and Kati C. Machtley Interfaith Center on Bryant’s campus with Hillel members, campus friends and family members from as far away as Florida, Washington, D.C., and Long Island, New York. The service

May 25, 2018 |

was led by student Samantha Scoca, of Bellmore, New York, and Rabbi Steven Jablow, the campus rabbi and Hillel director. The service culminated a year of intensive Judaic and Hebrew learning for the honors student and campus business leader, who was determined to reach this milestone prior to graduation, which occurred on May 19.

MAZAL TOV – Georgi J. Vogel-Rosen of Providence, announces the birth of her daughter, Rivka Arielle, on Feb. 26. Rivka is the granddaughter of Hon. Netti Vogel of Providence, and the late Richard Rosen. She is named for her grandfather and her great-grandmother, Anita Vogel.

ESTABLISH YOUR LEGACY TODAY.

Invest in our Jewish community tomorrow.

Creating your legacy shows the ones you love most just how important they are to you because you are committing to their future. A legacy gift—such as an endowment—promises that your generosity and vision will have an impact far beyond your lifetime.

With a Jewish Federation Foundation legacy, you guarantee that the most vulnerable among us know they are not alone. You support community programs and services that welcome everyone.

You show your children and grandchildren how precious they are to you.

Through your Jewish Federation Foundation legacy, you have the power to ensure Jewish families will not just survive—they will thrive.

And that is timeless.

Your investments should grow with you—and for you.

For more information on ways to leave your Jewish legacy, please contact Trine Lustig, Vice President of Philanthropy, at tlustig@jewishallianceri.org or 401.421.4111 ext. 223.

Let’s grow together.

36 | May 25, 2018

The Jewish Voice

The Krieger Family Jewish Alliance 2018 Annual Campaign: Donate. Volunteer. Make a difference.

The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island is dedicated to building a stronger and more inclusive community here at home, in Israel and around the world. We are fueled by Jewish values and driven by tradition— reimagined for today’s world. Together, with your support, we are committed to strengthening lives and communities everywhere.

With your gift, we continue to bring renewed hope to those who experience hardship, vital assistance to those who have fallen ill, and compassion to those who suffer injustice. No matter our differences, what brings us together is the reality that everyone counts.

everyONE counts

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