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UKRAINE Family separated by distance, united by love STORY & PHOTOS BY BILL MOTCHAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
Between work conference calls, Olga Gorodetsky anxiously checks text messages from her mother Valentina Timoshina. They live in vastly different circumstances. Gorodetsky is in her second-floor home office in Chesterfield and Timoshina is hiding out in a cellar storage area amidst bombing in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Gorodetsky, 49, grew up in Kharkiv and moved to Israel as an adult. She’s lived in St. Louis for 25 years and raised a family here. Timoshina still lives in her home country. She is an Israeli citizen and could have moved there or the United States before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Now it may be too late. Nearly a half million Ukrainians have fled as Russian rockets battered the country. Russian shelling continued early this week in Kharkiv and on March 1, a video showed a rocket striking directly in front of an administrative building in the city. The United Nations reported at least 136 civilians were killed in the first five days of the invasion. Those deaths included 13 children.
Olga Gorodetsky holds a photograph of her mother, Valentina Timoshina, who is in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
“Ukrainians did not believe this would happen, that their brother would attack them,” Gorodetsky said. “Russians are bombing civilians. She did not want to leave and today she said, ‘I’m so sorry that I didn’t leave.’ But she’s in the northeast corner of Ukraine. For her to go anywhere now would be difficult. I haven’t seen her for a while, so we are mostly texting. And I’m reaching out to her when I hear something on the news to see how she’s See UKRAINE on page 24
JEWISH FEDERATION EMERGENCY FUND Read more about the fund or donate online by visiting jfedstl.org/crisis-inukraine
MORE INSIDE For many Jews, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is a ‘modern Maccabee’ — Page 9 Read commentaries from Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Robert A. Cohn, JNS editor Jonathan Tobin and more — Page 10
COVID two years later: Learning to live a new normal BY ERIC BERGER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
About a year ago, Mike Weinhaus was on the phone with a representative from his insurance company when the person asked, “Are you the family that was on the news with COVID?” Weinhaus, a member of Congregation Shaare Emeth, was indeed part of the family that attracted international attention because in March 2020, he and his wife, Jane, were among the first people to became severely ill from the virus. They both ended up at Missouri Baptist Hospital — Jane on a ventilator — and their sons, Jason and Ryan, and Ryan’s wife, Brittanie, also became sick with the virus, too. The insurance representative lived in Newfoundland, Canada and said, “If it wasn’t for your story, our small town would not have taken this seriously.” Unfortunately, there have since been plenty of other examples of people becoming sick from the virus.
People in the St. Louis Jewish community have also, of course, not been immune from the pandemic’s effects, which include sickness; death; disconnection from family, friends and communal organizations; and added strain on mental health. Still, two years after the World Health Organization declared the virus a pandemic, the number of COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths are in decline, and governments are lifting masking requirements, among other restrictions. As such, some local Jews are again gathering in person and able to more easily find comfort and meaning in religious life. “The restrictions on the number of attendees at a graveside service or tents not being able to be put up because of COVID or everyone being required to wear a mask or the need for private services or limited attendance — that has been hard for everyone, whether we are working with someone whose (loved one) has passed away from COVID or not,” said
Mike and Jane Weinhaus are flanked by their extended family. The couple, along with their two adult sons and one of their son’s wives, were among the first St. Louisans to contract the virus in March 2020. Both Michael and Jane were hospitalized; she spent nine days on a ventilator. Emily MacDonald, manager of Berger Memorial Chapel, a Jewish funeral home. “But I do think with some of these restrictions being lifted, that will bring comfort to families and allow them to adhere to the traditions that we are used to.” After Jane Weinhaus’ 20-day hospital stay and her husband’s 10-day stint, the
two returned to their home in Chesterfield. Mike Weinhaus remained on oxygen. Jane did not but spent three weeks working with a physical therapist at home. While her recovery happened quickly, Jane said she experienced “survivor’s guilt.” See PANDEMIC on page 4