Jewish Light Digital Edition: March 8, 2023

Reviews of films in the 2023

St. Louis Jewish Film Festival

PAGES 14-15

MAKING EVERY MOMENT COUNT EVERY

Family, community rally to help child through cancer journey

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

What would you do as a parent if you found out your first grader had brain cancer? What would you do if less than four years later, after several successful surgeries to remove the tumors causing the brain cancer, you learned a new tumor had formed, even closer to the brain stem than the previous ones, and this new tumor was deemed inoperable?

After the initial shock, fear, despair and anxiety, how would you go about advocating for your sick child, making sure you’ve exhausted every possible remedy, while trying to take care of the rest of your family and yourself?

Thankfully, those are questions most of us will never have to answer. But for Jennifer and Doug Patchin of Creve Coeur, who last month learned their son Drew’s cancer prognosis is dire, making as many memories together as a family is now a way of life.

To help achieve this goal, they have turned to social media. Both Jennifer, 42, and her sister “Aunt Debbie” Schultz, 44, have a near-daily presence on Facebook where they keep the 1,000-plus member “Drew’s Crew” community up to date on his medical con dition as well as the various fun adventures they are having while Drew is now asymptomatic.

“The oncologist said he definitely recommended planning travel, and everything Drew wants to do while he can,” wrote Jennifer in a recent Drew’s Crew post. “I can’t even believe we are working on a bucket list for my baby who is almost 10 (on March 20). We are scrambling to plan everything we can think of for this spring. It’s going to be a challenge enjoying these things knowing why we are cramming them all in like this.”

Cram, says Jennifer, is an understatement. Consider that in the past couple of weeks, Drew, a fourth grader at Bellerive Elementary School, along with his 5-year-old brother Tyler:

• Attended the home opener of St. Louis City SC where prior to its start, the two got to sit on the bench with some of the soccer players

• Shook hands with Kansas University basketball Coach Bill Self, and received his autograph, as well as visited with some of the team’s players in the locker room after enjoying the game in primo seats

• Practiced basketball skills with members of the St. Louis Billikens

• Signed “contracts” along with others on the University of Missouri St. Louis Tritons baseball team, which last year “adopted” the brothers as honorary teammates

• And toured a Domino’s pizza facility, where in addition to making pizza, they rode in a new electric car and left with bags of swag including fun pins, personalized tumblers and a Domino’s Lego set.

Oh, and come noon on Saturday, March 11, Drew will be honorary chairman of the 54th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, leading floats down Market Street from his perch atop the back of a stretch convertible limo, decked out in a custom-tailored, Shamrock-green sports jacket and match-

ing tie. Also riding with him will be Tyler, his parents and Aunt Debbie while friends in his cub scout pack walk behind them, joining other Drew’s Crew supporters cheering on “Super Drew” and “Super Sib Tyler.”

Most of these opportunities came about because of Jennifer and Debbie’s social media posts and people reaching out to help. People like Sara Frieberger Brooks, a self-described “nice Jewish girl from Olivette” who has been volunteering with the St. Pat’s parade for 12 years.

“Drew loves parades and mascots. And Jennifer asked for ideas for his bucket list,” said Brooks, who lives in Chesterfield. “That motivated ‘this nice Jewish girl with a German maiden name who works with the Irish parade’ to do whatever possible to give Drew a memorable experience – and to give his family a special memory to hold onto in the months and years to come.”

If all this activity sounds overwhelming, Drew and Tyler seem to thrive on it. At Sunday’s Purim carnival at Temple Israel, where the family belongs, both boys dressed in Pokemon costumes darted among the various attractions, stopping for a minute at one, then zooming off to another.

Drew’s cancer journey, as his family refers to it, began in 2019 when intense, vomit-producing headaches led to a diagnosis of Anaplastic Ependymoma, which required two surgeries totaling 29 hours at St. Louis Children’s Hospital to remove the brain tumor. That was followed by 30 rounds of radiation.

Drew Patchin, who will be 10 on March 20, and his brother, Tyler, 5, enjoy time together blowing bubbles during a visit last year to Disneyworld.

Drew is fitted for his sportscoat, which he will wear as honorary chairman of the 54th annual St. St. Patrick’s Day Saturday, March

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Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham is just a vote away from becoming senior rabbi at B’nai Amoona

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Members of Congregation B’nai Amoona will decide during a May 15 vote whether Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham will be the synagogue’s next senior rabbi. The role has been vacant since longtime Senior Rabbi Carnie Rose stepped down in October to become the CEO of the Jewish Community Center in Cleveland.

B’nai Amoona Board President Jeff Singer said the synagogue’s personnel committee recommended Abraham for the role, and the board unanimously agreed to move forward with a vote at the congregation’s annual meeting in May. Singer feels confident that the congregation will give their approval.

“Rabbi Abraham has been engaged from day one with our congregants, reaching out to all ages,” Singer wrote in a note to congregants. “He has brought to life programs for young couples and families. His vision to bring in young families to the congregation is starting to come to life. His family has had a positive impact and involvement in St. Louis. Rabbi Abraham has proven to be a great communicator, as well as responsive to the needs of our congregants.”

Singer also noted that Abraham, 39, has successfully collaborated with the remaining clergy, Cantor Sharon Nathanson and Rabbi Neal Rose, father of Carnie Rose.

In an interview last week with the Jewish Light, Singer said that despite stepping into his role as associate rabbi right before the start of the pandemic in 2020, Abraham has

done an incredible job getting to know — and reaching out to — the roughly 750 families that make up B’nai Amoona, the largest Conservative congregation in St. Louis.

“I think if you identify what the congregation needs over the next 10 years, he checks off all the boxes,” said Singer. “He’s good and engaged with young families, he’s very open in terms of his communications with all demographics and generations, he’s got a lot of great, creative ideas. Some say Conservative Judaism is dying, but in reality we think we can rekindle

Conservative Judaism at B’nai Amoona under his leadership.”

Abraham said he was extremely pleased at the prospect of becoming senior rabbi and continuing to serve the congregation.

“We’re extremely excited for this opportunity. We’ve really loved our three years already at B’nai Amoona,” said Abraham. “And we’re really looking forward to moving B’nai Amoona into the next few years and continuing to be part of this wonderful community.”

Abraham, who grew up in Albuquerque,

The J introduces new group for empty nesters

The Jewish Community Center’s new group, J Next, is designed to create space for recent empty nesters around the ages of 40 to 55 with children recently out of the house. The program is designed for members and non-members of the J who have kids around 18-25 years old. The program was developed by Avital Kadosh, the J’s new director of Jewish experience and innovation.

“Our goal is to connect with couples and singles alike, who may not have engaged with the J recently (or at least not without

their children) to experience a Jewish community and special programming,” says Kadosh. “It will be a group full of fun, social, Jewish programming, and a great time to connect with new and old friends.” Participants will have the opportunity to engage in happy hours, hands-on volunteering, cooking classes and new ways to engage Jewishly with chances to get outdoors and off-site.

J Next’s first kick off program is planned for March 16 and there are plans for a second program in May. The March

program is “Cocktail and Knishes” with Jon Hoffman from Papa Mark Catering at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 16. Hoffman will teach the group how to make his famous knishes and you can take the recipe with you to add to your repertoire of Jewish foods. Join Hoffman and other empty nesters at the J’s Staenberg Family Complex’s Performing Arts Center. To register, visit https://community.jccstl.org/s/registration.

Stay updated with J Next programming by visiting jccstl.com/programs/j-next.

N.M., attended the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and has been in the rabbinate for 12 years. His wife, Lauren, is director of Student to Student, a school-based teen peer program run by the Jewish Community Relations Council that teaches non-Jewish high school students about Judaism. The couple has three sons, Benny, 12, Henry, 10, and Joey, 5. Over the next few weeks, Abraham will host a series of “Ask the Rabbi” sessions so that B’nai Amoona congregants can ask questions and get to know him better.

by Certified Mohel Rabbi Michael Rovinsky

“Where

Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham

Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham participates in a tashlich ceremony held in September by the Israeli American Council, Shevet Keshet (Israeli Scouts), the Jewish Community Center and PJ Library. FILE PHOTO: BILL MOTCHAN

Jewish Family Services works to help Holocaust survivors here age with dignity

BY JORDAN PALMER CHIEF DIGITAL CONTENT OFFICER

Irina’s son, Aleks, was always close to his mother. When she was admitted to hospice in 2021, Irina was started on a liquid diet and her nutritional supplements were very expensive and not covered by insurance. Additionally, Irina began having incontinence issues and insurance did not cover the cost of essential supplies, like hygiene wipes, necessary to keep her clean.

Neither Irina nor her family (who asked that their last names not be used for privacy reasons) could afford these items on their own. Irina is a Holocaust survivor living in St. Louis. Many survivors and their families are left to navigate tough situations like this, not realizing help is just a phone call away.

Jewish Family Services

For more than 150 years, Jewish Family Services (JFS) has been dedicated to helping seniors in the St. Louis Jewish community age with dignity. Some of these seniors are among the estimated 50,000 Holocaust survivors living in the United States. More than one-third of them are estimated to live in poverty.

“In 2020, we began seeing an increase in the volume of calls from Holocaust survivors in the St. Louis region who were trying to access benefits through Claims Conference and Blue Card,” said Bethany Goff, director of JFS’ Older Adult Services. “They faced an uphill battle.”

This battle is because many of these programs that offer much-needed services to St. Louis families like Irina’s require an intermediary to register and process each survivor’s request for support.

“As we began to see the increased need, JFS stepped in to advocate for Holocaust survivors,” said Goff.

The programs

Holocaust survivors were persecuted by the Nazis and underwent major traumatic experiences. As they age, many become vulnerable and are plagued with modern-day consequences of surviving, including poor nutrition and minimal medical care.

As a result, Claims Conference was

founded in 1951 to negotiate compensation and restitution for those persecuted by the Nazis during the Holocaust. This global organization helps Holocaust survivors access in-home support services to help them age safely at home.

Additionally, the Blue Card was founded to provide assistance to Holocaust survivors living in the United States who are in need of financial support for medical and dental care not covered by other insurance or benefits.

Each program requires applications and assessments to be completed. Survivors are unable to access these benefits on their own; Claims Conference and the Blue Card require a case manager from an authorized Jewish organization apply on behalf of the survivor.

JFS and its Older Adults Services team is where the survivors can find this help.

The Older Adults Services team

Luckily for Irina and her family, she was already working with JFS. Aleks immediately contacted Irina’s JFS case manager for support.

“Since Irina is a Holocaust survivor, her JFS case manager had already connected

her to Claims Conference for much-needed in-home assistance. After learning about her son’s concerns, the case manager applied for financial assistance through The Blue Card, and a program called “Family-to-Family,” which connects survivors with sponsor families who provide them additional financial support,” said Anna Hale, the Holocaust Survivor Benefits case manager.

The process to receive approval can be emotionally draining and the case managers are trained to help Holocaust survivors and their families as the process unfolds.

“Irina tried to recount her life in a ghetto, but it was difficult for her to communicate. Her son, Aleks, stepped in to share his mother’s story,” said Hale. “Emotions were high as Aleks described the atrocities his mother witnessed. Part of my role includes providing emotional support to the family of survivors like Irina, who struggle to process the real-life trauma their family members experienced.”

As a result of the case manager’s intervention, Irina was paired with a sponsor family. Additionally, Hale worked closely with Irina and Aleks to apply for the United Way’s 100 Neediest Cases, which provides financial assistance to St. Louis

families and individuals struggling to make ends meet.

Now, they are spending the final days of Irina’s life cherishing the memories they have made together.

How to get help

Over the years, the number of survivors JFS has assisted continued to climb. In 2022, JFS connected 177 survivors to nearly $4 million dollars in eligible benefits. Currently, JFS has a dedicated Holocaust Survivor Benefits Coordinator/Case Manager to directly support the St. Louis community of survivors.

If you or someone you know is a Holocaust survivor in the St. Louis area, JFS encourages you to reach out for support. For specific questions about Holocaust Benefits, contact the JFS Holocaust Survivor Benefits Coordinator at 314-812-9335. This work has been made possible by support from the JCA Charitable Foundation and Steinberg Family Foundation. For other older adult resource information or general questions, contact ElderLink at 314-812-9300.

Anna Hale (at left) is the Holocaust Survivor Benefits case manager at JFS. Above, Bethany Goff is the director of JFS’ Older Adult Services.

Applications being accepted for Holocaust education funding

Individual educators may apply, but funds will be dispersed to the educational institute with which they are affiliated.

Esther Miller Bais Yaakov plans annual golf tournament fundraiser March 21

The St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum recently announced the opening of the spring funding cycle for the Rubin and Gloria Feldman Family Educational Institute. Interested individuals and organizations can apply for funds of up to $5,000 on the institute’s online portal. The application cycle closes on April 1, and award winners will be notified later that month. The Feldman Institute supports projects that reject hatred, promote understanding, and inspire change using the history and lessons of the Holocaust. The institute is especially, but not exclusively, interested in projects that benefit Missouri and the Midwest region. Institute funds will be dispersed to nonprofits and educational institutions.

Businesses, nonprofits may still qualify for COVID relief program

BY MICHAEL SLAWIN

A little-known COVID relief program for businesses and nonprofits, called the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) refund, has been getting a lot of news coverage lately. That’s largely because the eligibility has expanded, allowing more businesses and nonprofits to qualify.

ERC refunds eligible businesses and nonprofits up to $26,000 per W-2 employee (based on companies with anywhere from one to 500 fulltime and unlimited part-time employees). The $400 billion program is not a loan; even if the business or nonprofit received PPP and/or had increased revenue during COVID they are still eligible.

This $400 billion, the last of the COVID CARES Act, is an unrestricted refund, and can be used for whatever the business or nonprofit wants. The program even benefits those that had to shut their doors because of the negative effects of COVID on daily business operations.

The Institute funds programs of educational and artistic merit that do one or more of the following: explore the history and legacy of the Holocaust; use the lessons of the Holocaust to examine subjects of ethical, social, and political importance; facilitate dialogue between people of different ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds; combat antisemitism, racism, and discrimination based on disability, sex, religion, sexual-orientation, or age. The Institute does not fund capital improvements or operating expenses.

“Education is such a crucial part of teaching future generations about the Holocaust and empowering them to fight hatred and bigotry,” said Gloria Kaplan Feldman, whose family endows the Institute. “Our family is grateful to support projects each year that help to further this goal.”

To apply, visit STLHolocaustMuseum. org/Feldman-Institute.

Esther Miller Bais Yaakov High School invites the community to participate in the school’s 21st Annual John T. Glore Excellence in Education Golf Tournament on Tuesday, March 21. Funds raised from the tournament help support Bais Yaakov’s scholarship fund.

The annual golf tournament is in memory of Dr. John T. Glore, general studies principal of Bais Yaakov for more than 15 years.

“Dr. Glore’s commitment to the success of each Bais Yaakov student and to the school’s academic program has made an everlasting impact that continues to be felt to this day,” notes a statement from the school. “Join us in continuing Dr. Glore’s legacy and invest in the next generation of strong women leaders.”

The format for the outing is a four-person scramble. Teams of male or female golfers, as well as mixed gender teams, are welcome. Golfers of all skill levels are encouraged to play. Individuals are also welcome and will be formed into foursomes.

For more information or to register, visit

www.GolfForGirlsEducation.com or email golf@embystl.com.

There are several ways the community can support the cause: sponsor a hole; generate publicity for your business or organization while supporting education; make a donation to the fund; donate a prize; play in the tournament.

Registration and lunch begin at 12:30 followed by a shotgun start at 1:30. At 6:30 p.m. there will be a barbecue dinner and prize distribution. The cost is $150 for individual golfers or $50 for the barbecue dinner only, with a variety of additional sponsorship levels available.

Need a grave marker for a Jewish veteran? Contact JWV

The Jewish War Veterans (JWV) provides markers for Jewish veterans’ graves and places United States flags at each grave of a Jewish veteran on Memorial Day. If you have a deceased veteran family member, whose grave does not have a JWV marker, contact Les Birenbaum (birenbaumL@aol.com), with the name of the deceased, name of the cemetery and location of the grave. A marker will be placed.

Michael Slawin

My team and I currently work with businesses and nonprofits across the country that qualify for the ERC. We have secured refunds of $5,000 to $24 million for more than 40,000 businesses and nonprofits.

One challenge we’ve found is spreading the word to eligible businesses and nonprofits. This program is being underutilized, although 80%+ of businesses we talk with qualify for refunds. This money has had a tremendous positive impact on businesses and nonprofits. We feel very grateful that we can help in such an important way, especially during these trying times.

Although this is a $400 billion program, it could end at any time, given the new makeup of Congress. As a result, my team and I are working overtime trying to reach as many businesses and nonprofits as possible before the program ends. My sense of urgency comes from not wanting those that are eligible to leave money on the table. It’s imperative that businesses and nonprofits make a 20-minute appointment to see if they are eligible, which can be done by going here: bit.ly/JewishLight

Michael Slawin, a native. St Louisan, has been involved in business and volunteerism since his bar mitzvah. You can call or text Slawin at 314-503-5153 or email him at mslawin@AppreciationFinancial.com

Rubin and Gloria Feldman Family Educational Institute funds projects up to $5,000; April 1 deadline

Bais Yaakov hosts three-day Shabbaton event

Last month, Esther Miller Bais Yaakov (all-women’s) High School in University City welcomed about 150 Orthodox high school students and chaperones from 15 other Bais Yaakov schools around the country for a three-day Shabbaton. The theme was “Walking in the Ways of God.”

During the event, students heard from a variety of speakers, ate meals and studied together, went ice skating, created art projects and enjoyed musical and dance performances at the culminating Saturday night dinner event. Visiting students also got a chance to view a myriad of displays depicting Jewish lifecycle and historical events that their Esther Miller St. Louis counterparts had worked on for months, including an entire room dedicated to the Holocaust.

Junior Rivka Kowalsky explained that

the theme of that room, “What They Couldn’t Take Away,” paid tribute to the resilience of the millions of Jews in concentration camps and ghettos. In one display entitled, “Spiritual Freedom,” she noted that “even though (Jews) were in physical captivity, they were spiritually able” to express their Jewish freedom in a variety of ways, even if they had to do so clandestinely.

Several of the students at the Shabbaton remarked that one of the best parts was spending the night at their host family’s home and getting to make friends

ACHIEVING A FIT AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: "FIT FOR LIFE TALK"

BY: DR BETH TEMPLIN PT DPT GCS GERIATRIC PHYSICAL THERAPIST

ople believe that y will eventually d dependent on way to avoid that path

Have you slowed down due to nagging aches and pains? Are you having more trouble doing the things you did easily a few years ago? Have you been told by friends and family or even your physician that it’s just a “normal” part of aging?

Instead of having a good plan in place for combating the changes that happen with aging, are you going to play the “wait and see” game? Where you hope things will get better, or at the very least, that they don’t get worse?

Maybe you haven’t gotten to the point of noticing any weakness or declines yet but you've seen how aging has negatively impacted a parent, friend or other family member You've watched someone who was once vibrant and full of life begin to slow down as they got older Now you re determined not to let the same thing happen to you

It may surprise you to learn that we reach our peak brain mass, bone density and muscle mass in our 20’s and 30’s! Our job is to maximize each of these areas as much as possible to delay the decline and to slow the progression of aging

If your goal is to stay healthy and active as long as possible, you are not alone! If you want a way to take control of your aging journey and make better choices to maintain your health, fitness and independence, then join us for our Free Community Talk to learn how to stay Fit For Life!

When: Friday, March 17th at 1:00pm

Where: 3809 Lemay Ferry Rd, 63125

Workshop Topics:

The key to fight aging and stay independent longer

Two Paths To Aging: You can choose your journey

The most important exercise factors for aging adults

'Being too old' to exercise and other myths of aging

How our fitness options help you stay active longer

*Attend in-person or join us online from your home Call (314) 939-1377 to register Space is limited

At HouseFit, we help adults 55+ maximize their independence and fitness, so they can continue to enjoy a full and active life

with young women in other cities.

“It’s so much fun to be meeting people from all over the country because I never thought I’d meet someone from Memphis, Rochester and Las Vegas and sit at the same table as them,” said Rechie Herskovitz, a senior from Dallas. “It’s also great because next year I’m going to Israel (for a gap year) and I’m meeting so many people here that maybe I will be able to spend time with next year, when I get to Israel.”

- Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-Chief

jewishemployment@mersgoodwill.org

Moments: Family makes every moment matter

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

For the next two years all seemed fine, until a routine scan in the fall of 2021 detected a new, much smaller brain tumor. Drew had surgery at Children’s to remove it and then went to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis for another 30 rounds of radiation. Jennifer, a health coach, stayed with him for the six weeks he was there, in St. Jude’s sponsored housing, while family members visited frequently.

Then last month another routine scan delivered devastating news. Doctors noticed a spot in a slightly different, more dangerous location than Drew’s other brain tumors. Both doctors at Children’s and St. Jude’s agreed that the tumor was inoperable, and they no longer advised radiation as an option.

Next week, Drew will start a regimen of oral chemotherapy. Its intent is to slow or stop the cancer progression, but it is not curative. It won’t shrink the tumor, though it may keep it from growing bigger.

“One thing about the chemo, it won’t leave him immunocompromised so he can still go to school, and continue with Ninja classes, basketball, Cub Scouts and horseback riding lessons. And Tyler can continue at pre-school (at TI)” said Jennifer, adding that the family is proactively seeking second opinions from neurosurgeons around the country as well as information about clinical trials or protocols for which Drew might qualify.

Once again, Jennifer’s social media posts have helped in this regard. After reading about Drew’s plight on Facebook, a Parkway Central High School friend of Jennifer’s who is now a physician in North Carolina connected her with Duke (University) Cancer Center Brain Tumor Clinic, where she and Drew are seeing doctors this week to see what, if anything, can be done. A college friend who also saw her social media is helping to broker a visit to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, one of the most renowned brain tumor treatment and research centers in the world.

More than anything, say the Patchins, they want Drew to enjoy life, laugh and have fun for as long as he can. And while they’re also concerned about the impact Drew’s cancer has on Tyler, they want him to have as many lasting memories with Drew as possible. To that end, the family went on three separate Disney adventures last year (two of them had been postponed because of the pandemic). This year, they have planned a Disney cruise in Alaska.

“Some of these trips have been funded through cancer organizations, as well as friends who have donated hotel points and the like, and some we are paying for,” explained Jennifer. “Even with the ones that are funded, there are still extra

When Jennifer and Doug, who is an engineer at Boeing, told Drew that his cancer had returned, they knew he would be anxious. He takes medicine for severe anxiety as well as ADHD and has been known to run away on a few occasions.

“He is flight or fight when he is anxious,” said his mother. “His anxiety has increased every step along the way. He has a lot more anxiety around IVs than he does his cancer.

“When we told him his cancer was back, we explained the fight will look much different,” Jennifer continued. “He’s going to take a lot of pills and have a lot of blood draws and IVs and because of that, we want to do fun stuff for him. People want to do things for him because they want to show they are supporting him in his cancer fight.”

It takes a village. It takes Drew’s Crew. Nobody understands –or appreciates – that better than this family.

If you’re interested in supporting Drew and his family in their fight against recurrent brain cancer join the Drew’s Crew Facebook page. In addition, a family-friendly 23rd from 1-4 p.m. at Temple Israel to help the Patchins with medical and other related expenses. To register, go to https://givebutter.com/drewscrew0320

ABOVE: Tyler and Drew share a quiet moment before a Kansas University basketball game, where the boys got an autograph from Coach Bill Self.

RIGHT: The Pachin family making memories together on a Disney trip. Fron left to right: Doug Patchin, Tyler, Jennifer Patchin, Drew and "Aunt Debbie" Schultz.

LEFT: Doug and Jennifer Patchin with their sons, Drew and Tyler.

ABOVE: Drew says his brother Tyler is his "best friend."

NEWSMAKERS

Newsmakers is a compilation of the Jewish community’s newsworthy professional and academic accomplishments. Submit your news to news@stljewishlight.org. Call 314-743-3669 for more information. Newsmakers is compiled by Elise Krug.

BROUGHT TO YOU THIS

MONTH BY:

Claire Sawyer Caplan has won Vocalist of the Year at the second annual Key West Music Awards in Florida. She is a jazz singer who performs in Key West venues. When in St. Louis, Caplan attends Central Reform Congregation. The Key West Music Awards is a nonprofit organization that supports children and adults and helps to further the development of the Key West music industry.

Debbie Lefton has joined the board of the Friends of St. Louis Children’s Hospital for a two-year term. She has also served on the Jewish Light’s board and is a member of Congregation Shaare Emeth.

Steve Shankman is being honored with an Excellence in the Arts award at the St. Louis Arts & Education Council’s Arts Awards on April 17 at the Chase Park Plaza. Shankman built Contemporary Productions into one of the largest entertainment producers in the nation. The company built Riverport (now Verizon Wireless) Amphitheater, partnered with Joe Edwards on the Pageant, started Dialtix and is one of the founders of the new Evolution Festival, which will debut at Forest Park in late August.

Wendi Alper-Pressman has joined Armstrong Teasdale as a partner at its St. Louis office. She is an experienced financial and real estate services partner having served financial institutions and their customers for decades. Her practice focuses on representing borrowers and lenders in connection with construction financing,

asset-based loan facilities and commercial real estate loans.

Joanne Iskiwitch , an agent with Coldwell Banker Realty-Gundaker, has received the President’s Elite designation, one of Coldwell Banker’s highest honors signifying that she ranks in the top 1% of the company’s more than 1,400 agents. She is a member of Temple Emanuel.

Debra Klevens has been named the National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA). Klevens, an English teacher and publications adviser at Parkway West High School, was selected from among 11 teachers nationally. Klevens, who belongs to United Hebrew Congregation, will receive her award at the CSPA Spring Convention at Columbia University in New York City on March 16. Klevins is also secretary of the board of the STL Jewish Light.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Benjamin Hochman has received a 2022 Associated Press Sports Editors award as a Top 10 Sports Columnist in the B-division. Hochman and his family attend CRC.

Jess Burse won First Place All Around in the Xcel Bronze gymnastics meet, and First Place All-Around at the River City Gymnastics meet.

Eliot Cooper, 10, received the prestigious Aleph Emblem on Feb. 3 at Shaare

Emeth. The Aleph Emblem is a special award for Cub Scouts who have shown interest in learning about Jewish history and have included these teachings in their Cub activities and daily life. This award is sponsored by the Jewish Committee on Scouting, Greater St. Louis Area Council. Eliot attends Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School.

St. Louis native Michael Wielansky is one of 30 players on Team Israel’s roster for the World Baseball Classic. Team Israel will compete in Miami on March 12-15. Wielansky most recently played for Panama in the Caribbean Series this winter.

The Titan 100 program, which recognizes St. Louis’ Top 100 CEOs and C-level executives, includes among this year’s honorees Keith Alper, founder of Nitrous Effect; Terry Crouppen, founding partner of Brown & Crouppen; Mark Gershenson, CEO of ARCH Design and a Jewish Light board member; James Halpern, president of Cardinal Building Materials; Bonnie Laiderman , founder, and David Laiderman, CEO, of Veterans Home Care; Scott Levine, founder and managing lawyer of AEGIS Law; Dave Singer, president of Warehouse of Fixtures TNG; Todd Waldman, chief financial officer of Essex Industries; and Larry Weinberg, president of Accounting Career Consultants/HR Career Consultants. The Titan 100 uses criteria that include demonstrating exceptional leadership, vision and passion. They will be celebrated during an April 6 event at the Factory in Chesterfield.

TOP ROW, FROM LEFT: Claire Sawyer Caplan, Debbie Lefton, Steve Shankman and Wendi Alper-Pressman.

SECOND ROW: Joanne Iskiwitch, Debra Klevens, Benjamin Hochman and Jess Burse.

TOP ROW, FROM LEFT: Keith Alper, Terry Crouppen, Mark Gershenson and James Halpern.

SECOND ROW: Bonnie Laiderman, David Laiderman, Scott Levine and Dave Singer. AT RIGHT: Todd Waldman and Larry Weinberg.

Michael Wielansky

Cub Scout Eliot Cooper is flanked by (from left) Jeff and Carly Sparks; Ken Etter, advisor to the Council Jewish Committee on Scouting; Earl Binder, chair of the Council Jewish Committee on Scouting; and Joe Sadewasser, Greater St. Louis Area Council Scout Executive.

NHBZ’s Synaplex Shabbat event will host nationally recognized Israel advocate

Nusach Hari B’nai Zion’s Synaplex Shabbat on Saturday, March 11 will feature, as one of its three presenters, nationally recognized speaker on Israel advocacy Destiny Albritton, whose presentation is titled “Lessons Learned from Israel Advocacy on College Campuses . . . and Beyond.”

Albritton is the national outreach Director at the Israel on College Campus Coalition (ICC). ICC is a national organization whose mission is to inspire American college students to see Israel as a source of pride and empower them to stand up for Israel on campus.

Albritton holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies with a focus in peace studies from the University of Missouri and a master’s of arts from Tel Aviv University in political science and political communication. She oversees ICC’s efforts to broaden the base of Israel’s friends beyond the Jewish community. She was the Southeast Regional Director at ICC for four years before taking on her current role.

The other speaks will be NHBZ’s Rabbi Chaim Bogopulsky, who will present, “From Purim to Passover: Recognizing and Appreciating Everyday Miracles.” Bogopulsky will draw on the connections between the two holidays to open our eyes to appreciating the everyday miracles each of us experiences on an ongoing basis.

Rabbi Yosef David, executive director of Aish HaTorah, will discuss “Not All That Glitters Is Gold -- a Deeper Look at the Enigma of the Golden Calf.” He will

Waitlist opens for Covenant Place III

draw on classical sources to provide insights into that week’s Torah portion— and an often-misunderstood chapter of our Jewish heritage. Each of these three Synaplex breakout sessions will begin at approximately 11 a.m.

The full schedule for this Synaplex Shabbat is as follows: Regular services begin at 8:30 a.m. in the main sanctuary. Rabbi David will lead his weekly discussion-oriented “Soul Building” session at 10 a.m. in the lower level, titled “Why Inspiration Never Lasts Unless . . .” There will also be youth programming and babysitting starting at 10 a.m. Following the three Synaplex breakout sessions at 11 a.m., there will be a free kiddush lunch for all at around noon.

All events are free and open to the Jewish community and take place at NHBZ, 650 N. Price Road. No reservations are required. For more information, call 314-991-2100, ext. 2.

The waitlist for the newly renovated Covenant Place III, JCA Building opened for applications on Feb. 17.

Apartments are anticipated to be ready for move-in, on or before Summer 2024. “This is a new waitlist for a beautifully renovated building,” said Covenant Place CEO Joan Denison. “The apartments have been updated with open floor plans, modern finishings and fixtures, ample storage, and light-filled spaces.”

In addition to existing Covenant Place amenities, including Mirowitz Center classes, programs, medical providers, and café, a new Resident Service Center is being constructed in the middle of the three Covenant Place properties. The RSC offers a central dining room, lounge, tech center, and screened in

porch and patio, where residents can socialize, and enjoy special services and program opportunities. Weeknight meal program (choice of kosher or non-kosher), affordable housekeeping and laundry services, transportation to shopping and field trips, service coordination, are some of the supportive services that help residents stay engaged and independent.

The building provides 155 affordable one-bedroom apartments, of which 150 have HUD Section 8 subsidy; residents must be 62+ and income qualify. Interested applicants can call to have an eligibility questionnaire mailed to your home (contact David Lee, at 314-4321610 ext. 1102, for more information) or by visiting https://covenantplacestl.org/ our-community/leasing-information/.

OPINIONS

NEW COLUMNIST: NINA NEEDLEMAN

Jewish tradition teaches us an important lesson: Everyone can be a philanthropist

BY NINA NEEDLEMAN

As Jews, philanthropy is as much part of our culture and our legacy as noisemakers are to boo Haman on Purim. Giving to the less fortunate was part of what our families did. Almost all of us grew up with a tzedakah box. Almost all of us grew up with some family member who volunteered or helped others.

In my case, Mom was my first role model. She always said, “We’re lucky and should give back.”

And she lived that mantra. When I was in grade school, she was a volunteer at Jewish Hospital. When I was older, she helped seniors with their checkbooks and in other ways. When I was in junior high, she went back to school to become a social worker, then worked at Jewish Hospital helping support families going through the new in vitro fertilization program, which was not so successful back then.

Next, she and Dad started donating annually to Jewish Federation, to Israel, to food banks and to other causes important to them.

Later, Dad started using his science advisory and business skills to help Ben Gurion University and acted as a leader on boards at Washington University and several

science institutions. Mom was on the board of Washington University’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work, serving several years as board president in the mid 1990s. Mom was also a member of a diverse group interested in facilitating the healing of racism through conversation and education.

My parents modeled for me that philanthropy is time, talent and treasure. They contributed and continue to contribute to the community in many ways.

Perhaps you’re wondering, how do we raise charitable children?

St. Louisan Carol Weisman, a motivational speaker and fundraising expert who has written numerous books about volunteerism, fundraising and governance, has a great book on this topic entitled “Raising Charitable Children.” Additionally, this column will help address that.

Over the next year, we will introduce and define different charitable giving vehicles, giving strategies and questions for you to discuss and think about to determine your charitable and legacy goals.

You don’t have to be a millionaire to be a philanthropist. There are many ways to make a positive impact on the Jewish community, the St. Louis community and the rest of the world.

Nina Needleman is a retired financial planner. She spent the first three decades of her career in the financial services industry, where she mentored salespeople so they could teach, educate and sell financial products to consumers. For the past nine years, she worked directly with consumers as a financial planner to help them reach their life goals. Now she uses her business skills to help nonprofit organizations and, more importantly, as a volunteer to teach people about personal finance and philanthropy.

A different viewpoint on abortion and Judaism

BY JORDAN B. CHERRICK

The Jewish Light’s Jan. 25 article on Missouri’s new abortion statute inadvertently excludes the position of normative Jewish law or halacha that has been practiced by Jews for thousands of years. Missouri’s abortion statute is fully consistent with normative Jewish law, which holds that abortion is only allowed if the mother’s life is endangered, an exception stated explicitly in Missouri’s statute.

With all due respect, the implication of some of the individuals quoted in the Light’s article — that a person should be allowed to act based on his or her view of religion even if the action violates the secular law of United States — is wrong. The Supreme Court of the United States has held that laws of general moral applicability are constitutional even if they conflict with an individual’s religious beliefs. Thus, one may not use illegal drugs even if one claims that they are a central part of a religious service. One may not murder or steal when the acts are prohibited under state or federal law even if one claims that one’s religious, ethical or moral conscience allows one to commit these crimes.

A principal article of faith of Orthodox Judaism is the belief held by Jews for thousands of years that authentic or normative Judaism is rooted in the Revelation of the Torah that God transmitted to the Prophet Moses on Mount Sinai, who transmitted the Torah to the People of Israel, both in a written form and in an oral transmission that explains the meaning of the text of the Torah and its Commandments.

Many agree that the greatest Jewish scholar in Jewish history is Maimonides, or Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, who died in 1204. He codified and explained the faith obligations of every Jew and the ritual and ethical obligations of every Jew that are contained in 613 Commandments of the Torah. Many also agree that the teachings Rabbi B.

Soloveitchik (the “Rav”) reflect the definitive statement of Jewish law and ethics in the modern period.

The Rav held that, unless the mother’s life is endangered, one may “absolutely not” kill an “infant” or a “fetus in the womb.” Rabbi Abraham R. Besdin, Reflections on the Rav, volume one, “Surrendering Our Minds to God,” at 104 (KTAV, Revised ed. 1993).

The Rav explained that, under Jewish normative law, which contains both Commandments that have no clear reason and commandments that appear to be moral and rational (such as a prohibition against murder), the source of one’s obligation to observe any commandment is the will of God and one’s faith in God and his Torah. While reason may be helpful in gaining insight into the lessons of the commandments, it is not relevant to one’s commitment to observe the commandments.

One’s use of “reason” is an important and relevant human method of functioning in the world, but it is unstable and may evolve in unknown directions by fallible human beings as society navigates different intellectual, social, and cultural periods. Many modern methods of human reasoning, which are often rooted in selfish motivations, may repudiate commandments even in the case of the prohibition against murder, which many would agree is the most “reasonable” of the commandments. If the dictates of human beings who view physical happiness, pleasure, power, and the autonomy of one’s self as among the principal purposes of human life, we would soon live in a morally chaotic and uncivilized world, as we sadly see in the news every day.

God gave the Jews the gift of the Torah so that we would conduct our lives based on our faith in him, which supersedes one’s reliance on any human being to decide issues one might think are morally self-evident. Indeed, the Rav observed that God’s most “reasonable” commandments, such as the prohibition of murder, were included in the Torah because a person’s selfish motives

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Attorney Jordan B. Cherrick, born and raised in St. Louis, has practiced in the areas of appellate, constitutional law and complex commercial litigation since he graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1981. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Yeshiva University in 1978.

may not necessarily be consistent with human reason. The ramifications of a person murdering another person can result in a long prison term under secular law. Under religious law, the punishment may also be severe. While God is the only judge of any person at the end of their lives in this world, the souls of unrepentant people who intentionally violated God’s commandments in the Torah may be prevented from experiencing the peace and holiness of one’s eternal life of the world to come.

We must ask ourselves whether human beings have the authority and ability to make decisions about the beginning and end of human life especially when the decision applies to an innocent life who is unable to communicate. We must ask ourselves whether there is any absolute and sacred standard governing our personal moral and ethical behavior in life that is based on Divine Revelation, which is rooted in our faith regardless of the pain and sacrifice involved in “surrendering our minds to God,” which the Rav taught is a foundational principle in Judaism.

Please include your name, municipality of residence and a daytime phone number when submitting a letter. Letters should be 250 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length or clarity.

PHOTO: F. FINCH PHOTOGRAPHY

Viewpoints expressed in letters, commentaries, cartoons and other opinion pieces reflect those of the writer or artist, and not those of the Light.

OTHER VIEWPOINTS

Voices on Jewish topics from St. Louis and beyond

Pogrom? Terrorism?

What do we call what happened in Huwara?

BY ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL JTA

On Sunday, after a Palestinian gunman shot and killed two Israeli brothers in the West Bank, Jewish settlers rioted in the nearby Palestinian town of Huwara, burning cars and buildings. A Palestinian was killed and dozens were injured.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Jewish rioters for “taking the law in their own hands,” but many observers — including the top Israeli general in the West Bank and Abraham Foxman, director emeritus of the the Anti-Defamation League — used stronger language, calling the attacks a “pogrom.”

The use of the word, which most famously refers to a wave of anti-Jewish violence in the Russian empire beginning in the late 19th century, in turn became the subject of debate. Does using “pogrom” co-opt Jewish history unfairly and inaccurately by suggesting Jews are no better than their historical persecutors? Does avoiding the term mean Israel and its supporters are not taking sufficient responsibility for the actions of its Jewish citizens?

The debate is not just about language, but about controlling the narrative. Political speech can minimize or exaggerate events, put them in their proper context or distort them in ways that, per George Orwell, can “corrupt thought.”

We asked historians, linguists and activists to consider the word pogrom, and asked them what politicians, journalists and everyday people should call what happened at Huwara. Their responses are below.

Sidestepping the real issue

Dr. Jeffrey Shandler

Distinguished Professor, Department of Jewish Studies, Rutgers University

The meanings of the word “pogrom” in different languages are key here. In Russian, it means a massacre or raid, as it does in Yiddish; in neither language is it understood as specifically about violence against Jews. The Oxford English Dictionary concurs that pogrom means an “organized massacre… of any body or class,” but notes that, in the Englishlanguage press, it was first used mostly to refer to anti-Jewish attacks in Russia, citing examples from 1905-1906.

Therefore, though the association of pogrom with violence targeting Jews is widely familiar, its meaning is broader.

That said, because of English speakers’ widely familiar association of the term with Jews as victims, to use pogrom to describe violence perpetrated by Jews is provocative. As to whether it is appropriate to refer to recent attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians, it seems to me that this question sidesteps the more important question of whether the

actions being called pogroms are appropriate.

Call it what it is: “settler terrorism”

Sara Yael Hirschhorn

’22-’23 Research Fellow at the Center for Antisemitism Research at the ADL, and author, “City on a Hilltop: American Jews and the Israeli Settler Movement”

Let me say first with a loud and clear conscience: What happened in Huwara was abhorrent, immoral, and unconscionable and certainly was not committed in my name.

But to paraphrase Raymond Carver’s famous formulation: How do we talk about it when we talk about Huwara? What kind of descriptive and analytical framework can adequately and contextually interpret that horrific event?

The shorthand of choice seems to be “pogrom” — but it isn’t clear that all who deploy the term are signifying the same thing. For some, pogrom is a synonym for pillage, rampage, fire, property damage and violence in the streets — a one-word general summary of brutal acts. For others, pogrom refers to vigilante justice, an abbreviated story of the non-state or non-institutional actors and their motivations.

More specifically, however, pogrom is seemingly being mobilized as a metaphor to Jewish history, juxtaposing the Jewish victims of yesterday to the Jewish-Israeli perpetrators of today, an implicit analogy to the prelude to the Shoah, recasting Zionists as organized bands of genocidaires (with or without regime sponsorship) like the Cossacks, the Nationalist Fronts or even the Einsatzgruppen. Some would use the word to incorporate all three meanings (and more).

As a historian, I am troubled by the haphazard and harmful use of terms that are attached to a specific time and place — such as the thousand-year history of Jews in the Rhinelands and Eastern Europe, with many layers of imperial, national, local, economic and religious forces that precipitated these events — in such an ahistorical manner. Nor do I find the parallels between Zionists and Nazis to be historically careful (if deliberately offensive) — the State of Israel is committing crimes in the West Bank, but not a genocide. The equivalence also all too easily and incorrectly grafts tropes of racism and white supremacy drawn from American history into the West Bank’s soil.

So what to say about Huwara? Israel — for reasons both political and lexiconographical — has failed to consistently adopt a term for such attacks. (Often the euphemism of “errant weeds” who are “taking matters into their own hands” is the choice of Knesset politicians.) To my mind, the best term is “settler terrorism,” which puts Jewish-Israeli acts on par with Palestinian terrorism. It should also mean that these actions merit the same consequences under the occupation like trial, imprisonment, home demolition and other deterrents enforced against all those who choose the path of violence.

Last but not least, a pogrom was historically an unpunished crime against humanity that led only to war and annihilation. Don’t we aspire for more in Israel/ Palestine?

by Smotrich

abhorrent, but so was response from Amnesty International

BY JONATHAN S. TOBIN JNS

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel

Smotrich does not appear to be ready for prime time. Last week, he “clarified” public remarks saying that the Arab village of Huwara—site of the terrorist slaying of two young Israeli men as well as a host of other attacks on Jews—should be “wiped out.” But he brought down on himself and the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the kind of opprobrium that served to further undermine it at a moment when they were already facing intolerable pressure from the opposition and the international community over efforts to enact judicial reform.

Smotrich now claims that the comment wasn’t intended to suggest “erasing the village.” Instead, he said it was a call “to act in a focused manner against terrorists and supporters of terrorism within it and to exact a heavy price from them in order to restore security to the residents of the area.”

Had he merely said that in the first place, the comment wouldn’t have generated headlines around the world, as well as condemnations from Israel’s opposition parties, the U.S. State Department and many American Jews. Smotrich is still planning on coming to the United States this week. But thanks to this controversy, the chilly reception he was already likely to get is probably now going to be even colder.

His statement played right into the hands of those who believe that the government he helped form is neither responsible nor able to deal with the complex problems the country faces. Expressing such repugnant sentiments at a time when many Israelis are justifiably enraged about the recent surge in terrorist murders may help Smotrich compete with Minister of Public Security Itamar Ben-Gvir—his electoral partner and rival for the affection of the Israeli right. But they also demonstrate that Smotrich doesn’t seem to understand that along with responsibilities and power, the challenge of high office involves showing that he’s capable of evolving from a right-wing provocateur into something like a statesman who works for the good of the country and all who live in it. To have spoken in that matter strengthens the argument that he simply is undeserving of a senior cabinet post, let alone the respect of his fellow citizens.

Still, what’s interesting about the furor stirred up by Smotrich is that it helped obscure some other outrageous stands about recent events, including one by Amnesty International. Many on the intersectional and anti-Zionist left reacted to the terror attacks and then the subsequent riot in which a group of Jews rampaged through Huwara setting fires, damaging property and fighting with local Arabs with a predictable lack of interest in the murder of Israelis. None, however, was more outrageous than the assertion by the group still considered by many to be a prestigious and reliable advocate for human rights around the world.

Amnesty’s statement on the Huwara riot made no reference to the terror attack that preceded it or to the many other brutal incidents Jews have been subjected to

while traveling on a highway that passes the town. Instead, they focus only on the issue of “settler” violence against Arabs. While any crimes committed by Jews who live in Judea and Samaria against Palestinian Arabs should be punished, the narrative about the subject is distorted because incidents of Arab violence far outnumber those of Jewish attacks.

The riot in Huwara—and statements like those of Smotrich, which seemed to justify it—was wrong, and the perpetrators should be held accountable for it. Yet even if every rioter were prosecuted and jailed, that wouldn’t be enough for Amnesty. While it deplores some of Israel’s efforts to punish and deter terrorism, such as blowing up the homes of the families of terrorists, as “collective punishment,” it thinks that the only proper punishment for the damage done in Huwara is to expel every Jew living in Judea and Samaria from their homes.

That would involve the uprooting of nearly 500,000 people from towns and villages they have lived in for decades. And, since groups like Amnesty consider those parts of Jerusalem that were illegally occupied by Jordan from 1949 to 1967 as no different from the most remote hilltop settlement in what they call the West Bank, the logic of Amnesty’s demand would also involve the expulsion of approximately 250,000 Jews from their homes in various neighborhoods that have been built since 1967, in addition to those who live in the Old City. Amnesty and others, including some who say they accept the legitimacy of Israel in the pre-1967 armistice lines, believe that all Jewish communities in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria are illegal settlements. In order to promote the fiction that the West Bank is historically Arab, they ignore not just the history of the country but the early 20th-century international agreements such as the San Remo Treaty of 1920 and the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine that both recognized the right of Jews to “close settlement” throughout all of the country.

Jonathan

S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS (Jewish News Syndicate). Follow him on Twitter at: @ jonathans_tobin.

Contrary to the mythology in which Israel is depicted as a colonial enterprise, Jews are the indigenous people of their historic homeland. That fact doesn’t invalidate the rights of Palestinian Arabs.

But the anomalous situation in the West Bank, whose Arab communities are autonomously ruled by the corrupt Palestinian Authority, is a function of their refusal to negotiate a peace in which they would recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders might be drawn.

To note this is not “whataboutism.” Amnesty is already one of the principal authors of the “apartheid Israel” smear, a big lie rooted in antisemitism and hatred. But for Amnesty, and others in the “human rights” sector, Jews have no rights. That is the reason why they view the destruction of the homes of several

Threats

were

Andrew Silow-Carroll is editor in chief of the New York Jewish Week and senior editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Follow him @SilowCarroll.

Manischewitz Cake Mixes 9–15 oz. pkg. Select varieties.

Jewish Film Fest’s ‘Persian Lessons’ presents harrowing story of survival

BY CATE MARQUIS

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT

Ukrainian-born director Vadim Perelman crafts a harrowing Shoah survivor’s tale in “Persian Lessons,” a cat-and-mouse tale in which a concentration camp prisoner named Gilles (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) convinces Nazi SS officer Klaus Koch (Lars Eidinger), the camp’s commissary director, that he is not Jewish, but Persian, and can teach him to speak Farsi.

The Nazi officer was a chef in civilian life and dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran (then Persia) after the war.

The key to this deceit is a valuable book written in Farsi that Gilles got from another

Odd

Jewish man on the transport truck headed to the concentration camp in exchange for a sandwich. He tells Gilles he took it from a neighbor’s house.

When a Nazi soldier points a gun at him, the quick-witted Belgian claims to be Persian, offering the book as proof. He says the book was a gift from his father, remembering that the man who traded him the book said the signature in the book’s inscription, Baba, means father in Farsi.

It is the only word of Farsi that Gilles actually knows. The book, with its inscription “to Reza from Baba,” is what seals the deal with Koch. Now Gilles, to stay alive, must invent a language and keep track of it as he teaches the Nazi.

The film is billed as “inspired by true events” but director Perelman says it is not based on one story but on numerous, amazing survivor stories he has heard in which life depends on quick thinking, resourcefulness, memory and the ability to convince their captors.

“Persian Lessons” has all that plus an amazing performance by Argentine actor Biscayart. It succeeds as a psychological study as much as anything with scene after brilliant scene with the haunted Biscayart portraying any Shoah survivor living on a knife edge.

“Persian Lessons,” in German, French, Italian, with English subtitles, will be shown at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, at the Marcus Des Peres Cinema as part of the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival.

new neighbor sparks older couple’s renewal

BY CATE MARQUIS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT

The Israeli film “Karaoke” is billed as a comedy, but it is the wry, sardonic kind, not the laugh out loud kind. It’s about an older couple who fall under the spell of a rich and charismatic new neighbor. Comedy dominates at first, but this surprising tale turns more empathetic and evolves into a commentary on old age and finding renewal.

Meir (Sasson Gabay) and Tova (Rita Shukrun) have been married almost 50 years and although they are content, they don’t seem very happy. Tova is outgoing and considers herself an artistic soul, while Meir is quiet, even morose. Tova complains that Meir never wants to do anything, and Meir quietly dodges her (and others). When the new neighbor blocks Meir’s car in their building’s garage, Meir is upset but doesn’t want to confront him. Another neighbor leaves a note on the car.

The next day, Meir and Tova receive a note apologizing for blocking their car and inviting them to the penthouse apartment for karaoke. When they meet Itzik (Lior Ashkenazi), he is handsome, charming and seems younger than they are although he is their age. Something is odd about him, however, but he is charismatic and seems deeply interested in them. Quickly,

they have a new best friend and the door is open to a more exciting life.

There is a “grass is always greener” aspect to this story, but this thoughtful film delves deeper than that. The cleverly written story is full of twists, but it is the

actors who really sparkle. Director Moshe Rosenthal makes full use of his talented cast — Israeli star Ashkenazi; Gabay, star of the hit “The Band’s Visit”; and the sassy Shukrun. They also movingly plumb the depths of complex feelings and self-reflec-

Sasson Gabay as Meir and Rita Shukrun as Tova, in ‘Karaoke,’ which screens at the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival on Monday, March 13

tion that follows from the comedy.

“Karaoke,” in Hebrew with English subtitles, will be shown at 7 p.m. Monday, March 13, at the Marcus Des Peres Cinema, as part of the 2023 St. Louis Jewish Film Festival.

Nahuel Perez Biscayart in ‘Persian Lessons,’ part of this year’s St. Louis Jewish Film Festival.

PHOTO COURTESY OF COHEN MEDIA

PHOTO COURTESY OF GREENWICH ENTERTAINMENT

Jewish jeweler’s life hangs by thread in occupied Paris

BY CATE MARQUIS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT

French star Daniel Auteuil plays Joseph Haffmann, a talented Jewish jeweler in 1942 Paris who hopes to escape with his family before the Nazis arrive.

Haffmann has sent his wife and children ahead and has arranged to transfer title of his jewelry shop to his new assistant, Francois (Gilles Lellouche), with an agreement that it will be returned after the war. In exchange, Haffmann will set up Francois with this own shop. Transferring title to the non-Jewish assistant will prevent the Nazis from closing it and confiscating the merchandise.

When Haffmann leaves, Francois and his new wife, Blanche (Sara Giraudeau), move into the shop and apartment above. Francois is unsure about the deal at first, but it brings out his own ambitions.

However, things go wrong at the train station, and Haffmann returns. Although he hopes it will be only for the night, he winds up trapped.

Francois and Blanche tell Haffmann they will hide him. As the Nazi occupation drags on, things shift between the Jewish jeweler and the non-Jewish assistant he must rely on for survival.

This tense tale takes some startling turns, and the relationships between the three go in some unexpected and complex directions as the characters are changed by events. Nazi occupation means the jewelry shop draws Nazi customers, which adds even more pressure and danger, and it has a strange effect on Francois.

The characters evolve under the pressure, and some of our assumptions are upended. This acclaimed film is based on a play, but director Fred Cavayé opens up the story by moving Haffmann from a base-

ment hideout in the stage version to the film’s shop, apartment and street. The story and characters are involving and intriguing, and the film is masterfully directed by Cavayé.

“Farewell Mister Haffmann,” in French with English subtitles, will be shown at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 12, at the Marcus Des Peres Cinema as part of the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival.

Daniel Auteuil as Joseph Haffman, in ‘Farewell Mister Haffman.’

PHOTO COURTESY OF MENEMSHA FILMS

Journey to the Big Screen’

Here’s a look at some of this year’s Jewish Academy Award nominees

BY NATE BLOOM

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT

The Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, March 12, at 7 p.m. on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel will host. The ceremony is produced by GLENN WEISS, 61, and his professional partner, RICKY KIRSHNER, 60.

Rihanna will sing at the ceremony, as will DIANE WARREN, 66. Warren and Sofia Carson will perform “Applause,” a contender this year for the best song Oscar. Warren, who wrote the song, has been previously nominated 13 times for this Oscar and has never won.

She was given an Honorary Oscar last November. At the ceremony, she exclaimed from the stage: “I’ve waited 34 years to say this. “I’d like to thank the academy!”

Here are the “verified” Jewish nominees in all but the technical categories, and one “honorable mention.”

Acting Categories:

Michelle Williams (honorable mention) is nominated (lead actress) for playing Mitzi Fabelman, a Jewish woman, in “The Fabelmans,” a semi-autobiographical film directed and co-written by STEVEN SPIELBERG, 76.

In a recent interview, Williams said that her two young children with theater director THOMAS KAIL, 45, would be raised Jewish and that she was studying Judaism herself. Williams added that Jewish families lived on both sides of her childhood home and she “adored being in their homes… the discourse at the tables and the deep sense of belonging that tradition fosters.”

JAMIE LEE CURTIS, 62, is nominated

for best supporting actress for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” This interesting sci-fi film posited that a person could exist in different universes and have differing personalities in each universe. So, Curtis’ character varied greatly depending on the universe she came from.

Jaime is the secular daughter of the late actors TONY CURTIS and Janet Leigh. Tony was an absent father, and a hard guy to be around, period. But Jamie managed to maintain ties to him. Together, they helped restore synagogues in Hungary, where Tony’s parents came from. Her husband of 39-years is actor/writer CHRISTOPHER GUEST, 74. His parents, he says, were “Jewish atheists.”

JUDD HIRSCH, 87, is frankly, a “miracle.” He has the look and energy of a man 20-years younger. In a recent “CBS Sunday Morning” segment, Hirsch detailed his early life, which included the expectation that he would settle for a “safe” job. Instead, he ditched a college engineering degree program with one semester to go and plunged into acting. He was 43 when he got his first hit TV role (“Taxi,” of course) and since then he has never stopped giving great TV and film performances (often playing Jews).

In “The Fablemans,” Hirsch brought wacko, poignant, unexpected energy to the film as he played (for 10 minutes) the family’s only adult in showbiz. Hirsch, and a few scenes of teenage Sammy Fabelman making mini-movies, were high-energy highlights. The rest of “The Fabelmans” was, frankly, kind of a “downer” and that helped make it a box-office flop.

Hirsch has three children with his (Jewish) ex-wife.

Directing, screenplays & music

STEVEN SPIELBERG, 76, is the only Jewish nominee in the director category (“The Fabelmans”) and Spielberg and TONY KUSHNER, 66 (“Fabelmans”) are the only Jewish nominees for the original screenplay Oscar.

ERIC WARREN SINGER, 54, shares the nomination for adapted screenplay with four other “Top Gun: Maverick” writers. He was previously nominated (2013) for his original script for “American Hustle” (with director DAVID O. RUSSELL).

Diane Warren, as noted above, is a up for a best song Oscar and JUSTIN HURWITZ, 38 (“Babylon”) is an original score nominee. He previously won this Oscar for “La La Land” (2016).

Best Picture

There are 10 nominated films. The Oscar goes to the film’s principal producers. Here are six best picture nominees with a “verified” Jewish producer(s).

“Avatar: The Way of the Water,” was co-produced by JON LANDAU, 62. Landau is either freakishly lucky or a kind of genius. He’s only produced nine films, including the three Avatar movies (“Avatar 3” to be released in 2024). But these nine include “Titanic” (over $2.2 billion grossed) and the two released Avatar films (together, grossed about $6 billion).

Landau’s late parents, ELY and EDIE LANDAU, were top producers who made scores of films and TV shows.

Tár, a strong drama, stars Cate Blanchett, as Lydia Tár, a top classical conductor. The producers include ALEXANDRA MILCHAN, 51, the daughter of ARON MILCHAN, 78, an Israeli billionaire who is a prolific film producer. Her mother, a former French model, is a convert to Judaism.

“Top Gun: Maverick,” a hit action sequel, was co-produced by veteran “uber-producer” JERRY BRUCKHEIMER , 79. “Maverick” is his first best picture nomination.

“The Fabelmans”: Spielberg and Kushner also produced this film.

“Elvis” is about the real Elvis, not an imitator. The producers include GAIL BERMAN, 66, long a Hollywood big-time player, and SCHUYLER WEISS, 40.

“Women Talking” is about female members of an Amish-like religious sect who stand up against sexual abuse by male members. The producers include JEREMY KLEINER, 43. This film was directed and written by Sarah Polley (her screenplay is nominated). As I have wrote before, she found out as an adult that her biological father is Jewish.

BY NANCY KRANZBERG SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT

When thinking about the arts, I don’t normally think of comedy and yet it has been a part of the arts going way back to Greek and Roman times. Think of the well-known masks of comedy and tragedy. In an article by Cristina D’ Almeida for On Stage Blog, she states, “When people think of theater, the masks are probably one of the most well-known symbols that come to mind with many interpretations that go beyond just the comedy and tragedy, happy and sad meaning. The comedy and tragedy symbol dates back to Greek Mythology and has been the central representation of the creative arts for decades.”

When I think of comedy, I think of the way-back days of my youth. I think of Milton Berle, Abbot and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, Lucille Ball, Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca and Red Skelton.

How would I even begin to talk about comedy. There’s slapstick, a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy and mishap. Think of The Three Stooges, Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope, and going even farther back — think of Buster Keaton and Fatty Arbuckle.

Then there’s burlesque and farce, and there’s satire, which is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a literary work holding up human vices to ridicule and scorn” and there are drag shows, which are often comedic.

There’s Comedy Central on television and there are gazillions of movies that are comedies. And think of Grand Opera and all the comedies.

My husband and I went to see the very popular movie “It’s a Mad, Mad,

For more of Nancy Kranzberg’s commentary, listen to KWMU (90.7) St. Louis on the Air the first Friday of each month at approximately 12:50 p.m. She also hosts a weekly Arts Interview podcast for KDHX (88.1), available at artsinterview.kdhxtra.org.

See NANCY KRANZBERG, page 22

The arts and humor go hand in hand

In Mel Brooks’ ‘History of the World Part II,’ Jewish jokes reign from BCE to the Beatles

Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers for “History of the World Part II.”

BY JACKIE HAJDENBERG JTA

In a scene now streaming on Hulu, a group of early Christian bishops gathers to set a promotion strategy for their newish religion — to “make the Bible an international blockbuster,” as one puts it.

But the plot is unclear: “Who are the bad guys in this story?” asks one. He and his fellow clerics consider two options: the Jews and the Romans.

“Let’s make them the Jews, for sure,” says a bishop. “They run everything,” says another.

And thus the First Council of Nicaea, a gathering in 325 C.E. that is considered the birth of Christian antisemitism, gets the Mel Brooks treatment in “History of the World Part II,” the long-awaited sequel to the classic Mel Brooks film that revolves around Jewish history — and skewers it. The new four-part series even had a Jewish premiere date — March 6, which was the eve of the merrymaking holiday of Purim.

As with the 1981 original — written, directed and produced by Brooks, who also stars — the new series is littered with Jewish subject matter, even in the sketches that aren’t about Jews. And although comedy mores have changed in the past four decades, the series aims to retain Brooks’ signature combination of sharp parody, vaudevillian vulgarity and Borscht Belt antics.

“We really tried to embrace what we loved about [Brooks’] work and apply that to the work that we were doing, whether that was the themes of funny character names, or breaking the fourth wall or anachronisms or certain kinds of playful blocking,” director Alice Mathias told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “The kind of

comedy work that I was doing up until this point was a touch more restrained and not quite as slapstick in places. So it was really fun to get a little sillier.”

And the creators aren’t concerned about a show with repeated send-ups of Jewish history at a time of rising antisemitism.

“Saying ‘the Jews are the bad guys’ is only funny because you’re making fun of the people saying it,” said showrunner David Stassen. “You’re punching up, you’re making fun of the bishops in power. That was the intent.”

Part of the series’ Jewishness is thanks to Nick Kroll, the Jewish comedian who had been interested in creating “History of the World Part II” for a very long time and

“nudzhed” Brooks to agree, Stassen told JTA, using the Yiddish word for pester. Kroll is the co-creator of the critically acclaimed cartoon “Big Mouth,” which was largely based on his experience attending the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester. He also grew up in a Conservative, kosher-keeping household.

Kroll joins Brooks, 96, Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen as a writer and executive producer, with Mathias of Netflix’s absurdist sketch series “I Think You Should Leave” as director.

“It wasn’t a matter of, is this the right time for this?” Stassen told JTA. “It was just like, how do we honor Mel? How do we do a show that’s different than current sketch shows, that is in Mel’s tone?”

“History of the World Part I” spoofs the epic films of the mid-20th century, with sketches including a musical number take on the Spanish Inquisition; an alternate history of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments; and cavemen discover-

See NOW STREAMING, page 22

Pictured from left: Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, Mel Brooks, Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen at the Los Angeles premiere of History of the World Part II.

PHOTO: TOMMASO BODDI VIA GETTY IMAGES

Schmuck Mudman (Nick Kroll), Fanny (Pamela Adlon), and Joshy (Charles Melton) discuss leaving the shtetl as the Russian Revolution breaks out.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HULU

CHAI LIGHTS

SATURDAY | MARCH 11

NHBZ Synaplex Shabbat

See related news brief on page 9.

SUNDAY | MARCH 12

B’nai Amoona Art Gallery opening reception

The B’nai Amoona Art Gallery will be holding an artists’ wine and cheese reception from 2 to 4 p.m. The artists who will be exhibiting their works are Lenore Pepper, Mark Koritz, Jill Nassau, Jonathan Levy and Dganit Moreno.

TUESDAY | MARCH 14

Current conditions in the economy & capital markets

Mike Ferman, a former partner at RubinBrown Advisors and the founder and managing director of its financial planning and investment advisory practice, will discuss current conditions in the economy and capital markets. From 10-11 a.m. This free program is provided in conjunction with FEL (Friends Enjoying Life), an organization supported by Mirowitz Center and is open to the community. Register online at http://bit. ly/Register_MirowitzCenter or call 314-7339813.

The ABCs of Judaism

Judaism has its own “ABCs” – teachings to guide your life. On the second Tuesday of each month, join Rabbi Ze’ev Smason from noon to 1 p.m. to discuss a different subject each month with a Jewish theme. The March topic is “Finding Joy in Purim: Is Happiness a Choice?” This Mirowitz Center event is free and open to the community. Register online at http://bit.ly/Register_MirowitzCenter or call 314-733-9813.

WENESDAY | MARCH 15

Virtual tour of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art

Join Elana Kaplan, museum educator and lecturer for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, for a monthly tour (also 4/19) from 2-3 p.m. featuring some of The Met’s world- renowned collections. Attend all sessions or just one (prior attendance is not required). This Mirowitz Center event is free and open to the community. Register online at http://bit.ly/Register_MirowitzCenter or call 314-733-9813.

Sharsheret’s Breast and Ovarian Cancer Support Group

This monthly group provides support, connection and education to women in the St. Louis Jewish community who have been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer and are anywhere along their treatment path –before, during, or post-treatment. Facilitated by a licensed clinical social worker, this group meets from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday via Zoom until further notice. Newcomers are always welcome along with female family and friends.

Sharsheret Supports STL is a program of the J’s Nishmah and a partner of the national, not for profit Sharsheret organization. This program is free but pre-registration is requested to Debbi Braunstein at 314-4423266 or dbraunstein@jccstl.org.

THURSDAY | MARCH 16

NCJW Lunch & Learn: Courts Matter to All of Us

Typically, 100 cases or fewer are heard by the U.S. Supreme Court each term. Most decisions are made in the federal district

and appellate courts. These decisions impact every aspect of our lives, such as our ability to start a family when we choose, our religious freedoms, and our voting rights. NCJWSTL has been a leading voice in the fight to ensure a fair and independent judiciary and welcomes one of the area’s top courts experts (and NCJWSTL board member), Nicole Gorovsky, an attorney at Jenkins and Kling, representing businesses in litigation. Her practice focuses on complex business and commercial litigation. Goorovsky. has participated in over 50 trials at the federal and state levels. She has argued in the Missouri Supreme Court, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and in each district of the Missouri Court of Appeals.Visit https://bit.ly/ Mar23LnL to register for the March Lunch and Learn at noon. Questions? Email Jen Bernstein at jbernstein@ncjwstl.org or call 314-993-5181.

On the Same Page: STL County Library Book Club

St. Louis County Library Reference Librarian Hillary Peppers will be facilitating an afternoon group discussion from 1-2 p.m. at the Mirowitz Center every third Thursday of each month. Peppers, who has worked in public libraries for many years, also leads an online book club for the Mirowitz Center, “Between the Covers: STL County Library Book Club.” The two clubs will collaborate, in person as well as online, on book selections. The March book is “White Ivy” by Susie Yang. This Mirowitz Center event is free and open to the community. Register online at http://bit.ly/Register_MirowitzCenter or call 314-733-9813.

STARTING | MARCH 16

New Jewish Theatre presents Every Brilliant Thing starring Will Bonfiglio

The next play in the New Jewish Theatre’s 2023 season is “Every Brilliant Thing,” March 16 to April 2. Written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, this show gives an uplifting look at the challenges of life and love and the joy of finding light amidst the darkness of depression. Director Ellie Schwetye and Actor Will Bonfiglio are reuniting after last teaming up after NJT’s successful 2019 production of “Fully Committed.” “Every Brilliant Thing” will perform at the J’s Wool Studio Theatre, 2 Millstone Campus Dr. Individual tickets are $49-$54. Tickets are available by phone at 314-4423283 or online at newjewishtheatre.org.

SUNDAY | MARCH 19

Kol Rinah’s Verein group presents: Rodney Winfield Stained Glass

The accomplished career of this great artist was propelled by the revolutionary and creative strength of the windows he created

Local Jewish organizations and congregations can submit calendar items to news@ stljewishlight.org. All items received by 5 p.m. Friday will be considered for the following week’s edition. MAR

WED. | MARCH 22

Tech Tutor Computer Lab: Computer skills for book lovers

for Kol Rinah’s legacy synagogue, Shaare Zedek. The windows have been preserved, restored and installed in the Kol Rinah Guller Chapel, and soon to be, the Staenberg Family Community Hall. Gary Kodner will take participants through the history, themes and significance of this treasured art in a live and Zoom presentation from 4-6 p.m. RSVP by March 17th at https://www.kolrinahstl.org/ event/rodney-winfield-stained-glass.html

Jewish War Veterans meeting

Jewish War Veterans Post 644 will meet in the Kaplan-Feldman Holocaust Museum meeting room at 10 a.m. on the third Sunday each month (please ask for directions at the desk). A Zoom option will be available for those who are unable to be at the meeting. For more information and the Zoom link contact Post 644 Commander Ellis Frohman at 636-519-7512 (leave a message if no one answers).

TUESDAY | MARCH 21

NCJWSTL Coffee Talk: The fashion industry in St. Louis

At 8:30 a.m. NCJWSTL welcomes Susan Sherman and Phyllis Langsdorf at 8:30 a.m. to discuss the fashion industry in St. Louis. At one time, St. Louis was one of the premiere locations in the United States for the design and production of clothing, hats, shoes and other apparel items for both women and men. This program will explore what that world was like and how the St. Louis Fashion Fund has resurrected that industry here today. Also highlighted will be current trends in fashion for spring and summer as well as the evolution of designers and nonprofits in St. Louis.Wear a favorite piece of clothing, jewelry, hat, scarf, etc. for this Coffee Talk program. Drawings will occur for a Fashion Fund swag bag and for a special fashion tour for one winner (and four friends) led by Sherman. Visit http://bit.ly/Mar23CT to register. Questions? Email Alec Rothman at arothman@ncjwstl.org or call 314.993.5181.

Living with Early Dementia

It’s a terrifying diagnosis that nobody wants to hear: dementia. But author Sally Faith says there’s much you can do to secure a satisfying life if you do it now, while you still have the mental capacity to make solid choices for yourself Faith is a not-for-profit fundraiser, a former Republican member of the Missouri House of Representatives and former mayor of the city of St. Charles. This program, from 10-11 a.m., is provided in conjunction with FEL (Friends Enjoying Life), an organization supported by the Mirowitz Center. This Mirowitz Center event is free and open to the community. Register online at http://bit.ly/Register_MirowitzCenter or call 314-733-9813.

Esther Miller Bais Yaakov annual golf tournament fundraiser

See related news brief on page 5.

Do you want to learn how to read books online? Then sign up for this educational step-by-step class and discover how to access your favorite titles and authors by using digital resources such as the St. Louis County Library system (Libby and Hoopla). You will be provided a Chromebook computer during this program from 2-3 p.m.to follow along with the instructor. Tech Tutor is supported by a grant from the Women’s Auxiliary Foundation for Jewish Aged. This Mirowitz Center event is free and open to the community. Register online at http://bit. ly/Register_MirowitzCenter or call 314-7339813.

THURSDAY | MARCH 23

Concert with Cantor Murray and Joyce Hochberg

Get ready for an in-person concert you won’t want to miss with Cantor Murray and Joyce Hochberg, from 2-3 p.m. This Mirowitz Center event is free and open to the community. Register online at http://bit.ly/Register_MirowitzCenter or call 314-733-9813.

FRIDAY | MARCH

24

Build-a-bowl dinner at Bais Abraham

Join a Kabbalat Shabbat at 7 p.m. and continue the night with constructing your own entree bowl for dinner. Vegan options will be available. The cost is $18/adult and $10/ child. Advance registration at: https://www. baisabe.com/event/MarchDinner23 or contact the Bais Abe office at 314-721-3030 or abby@baisabe.com.Bais Abe is located at 6910 Delmar Blvd.

ONGOING

Get your game on at the Mirowitz Center

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the Mirowitz Center welcomes guests to play Mahjong, bridge, poker or Mexican Train dominoes – whatever games you like. The Mirowitz Center will provide complimentary coffee, tea and water (guests can bring their own snacks to enjoy and share). No reservations are necessary for these weekly games, held in the multipurpose room, but plan to coordinate your group’s schedule and any needed substitutions. (If you want game instruction or already know how to play but are looking for other players, drop in during game days to see what groups are available for instruction and/or need participants.) Register online at http://bit.ly/Register_ MirowitzCenter, call 314-733-9813, or email skemppainen@mirowitzcenter.org.

Tech Tutor at Mirowitz Center

For those looking for one-on-one assistance with their technology devices and those who are wanting to acquire new skills, free, in-person 30-minute appointments are available at the Mirowitz Center. Tech Tutor’s in-person classes will be led by an extraordinarily qualified instructor, Larry Edison. Tech Tutor is supported through a grant from the Women’s Auxiliary Foundation for Jewish Aged. Register online at http://bit.ly/Register_MirowitzCenter, call 314-733-9813 or email skemppainen@mirowitzcenter.org.

PHOTO: GREG LAZERWITZ

Will Bonfiglio (at left) stars in the New Jewish Theatre’s upcoming production of ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ which is directed by Ellie Schwetye (above).

BAR MITZVAH: ASHER SOLOMON LEVEY

Asher Solomon Levey, son of Jackie and Jim Levey of University City, became a bar mitzvah Oct. 8, 2022 at Congregation Shaare Emeth with an evening celebration at the Saint Louis Club.

Asher is the grandson of Richard Levey (Faye z”l) of Clayton, and Adele Greenberg-Ulin (Michael z”l) of Williamsville, N.Y. and Las Vegas. He has one sibling, Madeline, who is 6.

A seventh-grade student at Miriam School, Asher loves indoor rock climbing and is on the Advanced ULI Team at Upper Limits in Maryland Heights. He is an avid St. Louis Blues and St. Louis Cardinals fan and is excited to cheer on the Cards against the Chicago Cubs in London this summer.

BIRTH: CHLOE LEIGH BRANDVEIN

Lindsay and Adam Brandvein of St. Louis would like to announce the birth of their daughter, Chloe Leigh Brandvein, on Jan. 27, 2023, weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce.

Chloe is the granddaughter of Teri and Harvey Brandvein, Sherri Waxman and Brent Waxman, all of St. Louis. She is the great-grand-

daughter of Judy and John Brandvein, Joan and the late Lester Sherman, the late Gloria and Charles Wax-man, and Helyn and the late Morris Kevrick, all of St. Louis.

Chloe has one sibling, Austin Micah, who will be 3 years old in May.

For his bar mitzvah project, Asher’s family worked with a local designer to create a T-shirt expressing solidarity with Ukraine. The shirts featured “Zelensky Strong” on the front and “Peace in Ukraine” in 14 languages on the back. Asher sold more than 140 shirts to date, hand-delivering each local shirt sold. Between his sale proceeds, additional funds raised, and his grandfather’s matching gift, he donated $6,000 to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Voices of Children Foundation, and Hillel International’s Emergency Relief Fund to support their respective Ukrainian relief efforts. Adult XL and all youth size shirts are still available for $18 at https://bit.ly/Asher-mitzvah-project.

The family would like to offer a special thank you to Jennifer Stanfield and the Shaare Emeth clergy who were with Asher every step of the way and helped to make his bar mitzvah possible.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPOONFUL OF SUGAR PHOTOGRAPHY

OBITUARIES

PHIL BARRON died peacefully in his sleep on February 24th, 2023. He was 87 years old. He is survived by his wife Beverly (Koplar), and their four children; Steve (Susan), Deana (Bruce), Ted, Betsy (Jason), his grandchildren; Zach (Steph), Max (Hillary), Sophia, Elio, Isabel, Lincoln, and Desmond, great-grandson Charlie, and sister Judy Palson.

Phil was born in Boston on November 2nd, 1935. He attended Tulane University and Boston University where he met the love of his life Beverly Koplar. In 1958 they married and moved to St. Louis where he started his family and began his real estate career with Solon Gershman. He later founded his own real estate firm, Philip H. Barron Realty.

A born leader and a friend and mentor to many, Phil lent his talents to coaching youth sports in Clayton including Optimist League baseball and softball, Saturday basketball, and ice hockey, culminating with seven years as coach of the Clayton High School hockey team. He also enjoyed playing tennis at Shaw Park.

With his family, he traveled summers by car all over the United States and regularly to the family beach house at Nantasket Beach. Later in life, he and Beverly enjoyed traveling to Europe, especially France and Italy where he visited many wineries. He was a wine connoisseur, and an avid follower of the stock market. A lifelong Celtics and Red Sox fan, he never missed a game. Phil was an honorable man and a true gentleman. We will forever miss him and his Boston accent.

A funeral service was held Friday, March 3 at Temple Israel, 1 Alvan D Rubin Drive. Memorial contributions can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or Planned Parenthood. Please visit bergermemorialchapel.com for more information. Berger Memorial Service

OBITUARIES INDEX

Barron, Phil Fiman, Jerry Marvin Fisher, Jill Lewin Lachman, Rita Larson, Leah

Moll, Beverly Nuell, Gloria Ann Wolff, Charlotte “Sherry” Zeid, Jan Stephanie

JERRY MARVIN FIMAN, February 23, 2023

Beloved father and father-in-law of Randi (David) Schenberg and Keith (Marcia) Fiman; dear grandfather of Ben and Adam Schenberg and Alex and Drew Fiman; preceded in death by wives Sheila Lisak Fiman and Marlene Miller Fiman; beloved brother of Vivian (Larry) Waldman and the late Lillian (Hy) Fredman; cherished uncle, greatuncle and friend.

Jerry was a lifelong St. Louisan who was known for his warmth, sense of humor, and love of family and friends (and the Cardinals).

He was educated at U. City High School and Washington University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity.

He proudly served in the US Navy for 3 years immediately after college.

Jerry’s career began in sales, owning his own company before discovering a second career in substitute teaching

He was loved by everyone he met because of his wonderful smile and his dad jokes.

A funeral service was held Sunday, February 26, in the Chapel at Congregation B’nai Amoona, 324 S. Mason Rd. Burial followed at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, 650 White Rd. Memorial contributions preferred to Congregation B’nai Amoona or Crown Center for Senior Living.

Please visit www.bergermemorialchapel.com for more information. Berger Memorial Service

JILL LEWIN FISHER, March 1, 2023

Jill Lewin Fisher is at rest after 80 wonderful years with her family and friends. She is survived by her husband of 58 years, Ronald, and three children, Jon Fisher, Steve Fisher, and Julie Roads. Her favorite things in the world are her four grandchildren, Sophie, Jack, Rylee, and Emerson. And of course, her dog, Slam – who never left her side. Jill is the beloved daughter of the late Harold and the late Elinor Lewin, sister of Tom Lewin (Joyce), and sister-in-law, aunt, cousin, and friend.

Jill was born on July 17, 1942 in St. Louis. She went to Glenridge Elementary and then Clayton High School – just like her children after her. Starting at age 10, Jill went to Camp Nokomis in Mercer, Wisconsin where she met her dearest friend of 70 years, Jeanie Marks Entine. In college at the University of Wisconsin, Jill Lewin met Ronald Fisher. Ronnie says he knew he would marry her the moment he saw her, and they were married for 58 years. After studying physical education at Madison, Jill became a gym teacher.

Jill spent the next chapter being an incredible mom, a quilter, a competitive tennis player, and active Clayton community member. She had a business with her dear friend, Julie Heifetz, called the Artist’s Palette – mixing art and incredible food for women.

Jill worked at Camp Kamaji in Bemidji, MN as Assistant Director from 1988-1995 and traveled solo all over the US talking to prospective campers and spent every summer in the Northwoods.

Meanwhile she and Maryanne Ellison Simmons brought Quilt National to St. Louis biennially to benefit Women’s Support and Community Services, now Safe Connections. Soon enough, Jill became the Development Director, raising money and creating a successful capital campaign for the domestic violence agency for 12 years.

Jill’s dedication to her community and natural leadership saw her involved with Leadership (Focus) St. Louis, Go! St. Louis, and the Clayton Art Fair.

Jill lived a wonderful life filled with family, friends, and dedication to her community – and we were blessed to be part of it.

A Memorial Service was held Sunday, March 5 at Berger Memorial Chapel, 9430 Olive Boulevard. In lieu of flowers, Jill and her family ask you to please consider making a donation to one of two causes very near and dear to Jill’s heart: The St. Louis Children’s Hospital NICU or Home 2 Home Canine Orphanage.

Please visit bergermemorialchapel.com for Live Stream details. Berger Memorial Service

RITA LACHMAN, March 2, 2023

Beloved wife of the late Howard Frank Lachman. Dear mother of Maxine Lachman Berens. Loving grandmother of Shaun Hayden Berens. Beloved sister of Raymond (the late Mary Ellen) Baum. Dear aunt, cousin and friend.

Rita spent many years as an usher at the Fox Theater, providing her the opportunity to see many of her favorite plays and musicals. She became a fountain of information, not just about the Fox, but also of the intricacies and stories behind the performances.

When

LEAH LARSON, born April 6, 1930 in Joplin, Missouri to Carl and Frieda Sadow, died February 21, 2023 at the age of 92.

Leah was raised in Chicago with older sisters Bella and Pearl and younger brother and sister, Jerry, and Reva. They lived in Hyde Park where Leah’s favorite pastime was spending Sunday afternoons with her cousin Renah going to the movies at one of four neighborhood theaters; her favorite was the posh Picadilly. In 1955 Leah married Eugene (Gene) and raised three children first in Chicago then in Racine, Wisconsin. They eventually moved to St. Louis to be near their children.

Leah’s stage experiences in the 60s with the Lombard Park Players helped prepare her for her role as an activist in the 70s and 80s. Leah attended anti-war rallies, gave speeches, and often drove to Milwaukee to work as a volunteer for the National Mobilization Committee to End War in Vietnam (MOBE). Leah faced life with a fearless and adventurous spirit. She liked good wine, working crossword puzzles in pen, jazz tunes, and dancing to Songs in the Key of Life. She encouraged and nurtured Gene’s artistic pursuits, sometimes to the exclusion of her own artistic expression as a writer, actor, and humorist in her own right.

She will be lovingly remembered by her children: Barry (Kelly), Steve, and Judy (Cindy); sister: Reva; grandchildren: Nathan (Crystal), Hannah (Drew), Sarah (David), and Addie (Gordon) and eight great-grandchildren.  Dear aunt, cousin and friend.

Graveside service Sunday, March 12, 11:30 a.m. at United Hebrew Cemetery, 7855 Canton Avenue. If desired, donations can be sent to The St. Louis Arc, 1177 Warson Road, St. Louis, MO 63132.

A Rindskopf-Roth Service

BEVERLY MOLL, March 6, 2023

Beloved wife of the late Donald Moll; dear mother and mother-in-law of A.J. Moll (Robin); dear grandmother of Noah and Michaella Moll; dear sister of Harris Gaynor (Janice); dear sisterin-law, aunt, great-aunt, cousin, and friend.

A Graveside Service was planned for Wednesday, March 8 at United Hebrew Cemetery, 7855 Canton Ave., St. Louis, MO 63130.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions preferred to JFS St. Louis, 10950 Schuetz Rd, St. Louis, MO 63146. Please visit bergermemorialchapel.com for more information. Berger Memorial Service

GLORIA ANN NUELL, February 26, 2023

Loving wife of the late Eugene Nuell; dear mother and mother-in-law of Stuart Nuell (Becky) and Susan Steinmeyer (Steve); loving grandmother of Sam, Spencer, Anna, and Sara; dear sister of Lester Tettenhorst (Sharon) and the late Eugene Tettenhorst (Dorothy); loving cousin, aunt and friend.

Rita enjoyed traveling and made three trips to Israel, as well as visiting Vienna and Prague. She loved to watch her shows, gardening, listening to music and going out. She liked staying busy, driving her car and enjoyed being outside in nature.

Rita was a social butterfly and people were drawn to her warm and charming personality. In her, they found someone they could relate to, someone they wanted to be around. Most important to Rita was family.  She loved being a mom and grandma. She will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.

A graveside service was held Monday, March 6 at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, 650 White Road. Live stream available at www. rindskopfroth.com. Contributions in her memory may be made to United Hebrew Congregation, 13788 Conway Road, St. Louis, MO 63141. A Rindskopf-Roth Service

Gorgeous Gloria, beautiful on the inside and out she made friends wherever she went. She was an avid reader, a lover of art, music and theatre. She was passionate about politics, serving as an election official for over 20 years. Gloria loved travel and could spend hours getting “lost” in an art museum or a botanic garden. She had amazing stories to tell and had a fabulous karaoke repertoire.

She truly was the life of the party!

Graveside Services in St. Louis and a Celebration of the Life of Gloria will be planned and announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to places near and dear to Gloria.

• STAGES ST. LOUIS: https://bit.ly/Stagesdonation

• ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY:  https:// foundation.slcl.org/membership-support

Please visit bergermemorialchapel.com for more information. Berger Memorial Service

you make your final arrangements in advance, you can plan a memorial that truly reflects your faith and passions. Whether planning for yourself or a loved one, rely on us to help you design a funeral that honors the customs and rituals you cherish.

CHARLOTTE “SHERRY” WOLFF, March 4, 2023

Beloved wife of the late Richard “Dick” Wolff; dear mother and mother-in-law of Jeff (Jeri) Wolff, Debbie (Jeff) Pernikoff, Elysia (Ray) Zale, and Jackie (Dean) Fuller; dear grandmother of Elizabeth Wolff, Brad Wolff, Jordan (Erin) Pernikoff, Andrew (Sarah) Pernikoff, Carolyn (Nat) Young, Emily (Tahlor) Levine, David (Gillian) Zale, Josh (Susan) Fuller, Jake (Leah) Fuller; dear great grandmother of Camryn, Ethan, Julia, Eliana, Isabelle, Xander, and Luke. Dear friend. A graveside service was held Monday, March 6 at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery-White Road. Please visit bergermemorialchapel.com for more information. Berger Memorial Service

JAN STEPHANIE ZEID, February 27, 2023

Beloved wife of Stewart Zeid for almost 43 years.  Dear mother of Ashley Zeid and Brittany (Andrew) Jerram.  Loving grandmother of Aubree Rose Jerram and Xander Jonathan Jerram.  Dear sister of Robin Weiss.  Beloved daughter of the late Harold and Marlene Weiss.  Dear sister-inlaw of Neal Zeid.  Beloved daughter-in-law of Marian and the late Irvin Zeid.  Dear cousin and friend.

Jan was born and raised in St. Louis and was a graduate of Parkway Central High School.  She first met Stewart in August of 1973.  After a semester at Mizzou, Jan returned home to work.  Jan and Stewart married in May of 1980, and raised two daughters, Ashley, and Brittany.  She and Stewart were very active in school activities at Ross Elementary, Northeast Middle, and Parkway North High School with their daughters. Jan went back to work in 2001 at The Tiger’s Eye jewelry store in Frontenac.  It was a natural fit for her.  When The Tiger’s Eye closed in 2004, Jan joined Vincent’s Jewelers in Creve Coeur.  She was known as the store’s mom, responsible for greeting customers, and writing up sales and repair orders.  Jan’s knowledge of precious and semi-precious gemstones was phenomenal.  She was fortunate to find a job dealing with something she had a passion for. Besides work, Jan enjoyed time with friends and family.  She loved traveling with their best friends, and went on many vacations together to Cancun, Mexico as well as Florida.  In addition to those trips, Jan and Stewart traveled to Spain, Hawaii, and various destinations in the United States.  Among the trips that Jan went on, she loved going to Chicago with Ashley, Brittany, and Stewart.  Jan was a voracious reader of fiction novels in the romance and murder mystery genres.  She will be missed by her family, her friends, her Vincent’s Jewelry family and their customers.

A funeral service was held Wednesday, March 1 at Congregation Shaare Emeth, 11645 Ladue Road, followed by interment at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, 650 White Road. Live stream available at https://sestl.co/jan_zeid. Contributions in her memory may be made to the St. Louis Crisis Nursery, 11710 Administration Drive, Suite 18, St. Louis, MO 63146; or to the Foster Adoption Support Team (FAST), 1806 Boone’s Lick Road, St. Charles, MO, 63301; or to St. Louis Ovarian Cancer Awareness (SLOCA), 12015 Manchester Road, Suite 130, St. Louis, MO, 63131.

A Rindskopf-Roth Service

American Flag symbol denotes a United States military veteran.

Judy Heumann, 75, Jewish disability advocate who spurred a movement

PHILISSA CRAMER JTA

In Judith Heumann’s 2020 memoir, the lifelong advocate for people with disabilities describes feeling shocked upon being invited to read from the Torah at her synagogue in Berkeley, Calif. Not only were women permitted to carry out the sacred task, unlike in the Orthodox synagogue of her Brooklyn childhood, but the bimah, or prayer platform, had been made accessible just for her.

“Oh my God, I thought, I’ve never been asked to do an aliyah,” Heumann wrote, using the Hebrew word for the ritual. “I learned how to do it.”

The moment was just one of many when Heumann, who died March 4 at 75, charted ground that had previously been off-limits to wheelchair users like her. Since contracting polio as a toddler, Heumann broke down barriers for disabled children and educators in New York City schools, protested until federal legislation protecting people with disabilities was passed and advised multiple presidential administrations on disability issues.

A cause of death was not immediately given for Heumann, whose website announced her death on Saturday in Washington, D.C. Heumann had lived there for 30 years, since being tapped by the Clinton administration to serve as assistant secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services.

Heumann was born in 1947 to two parents who had separately fled Nazi Germany as children in the 1930s; all of her grandparents and countless other family members were murdered in the Holocaust.

She said she believed it was her parents’ experience that led them to reject doctors’ advice to have their daughter institutionalized after she contracted polio and lost the use of her legs. “They came from a country where families got separated, some children sent away, others taken from their families by the authorities and never returned — all part of a campaign of systematic dehumanization and murder,” she wrote in her memoir, “Being Heumann.” “Their daughter, disabled or not, wasn’t going anywhere.”

Instead her parents, and in particular her mother, Ilse, set about to advocate for her. When the city school system said Judith could not attend her neighborhood school, Ilse got a rabbi to agree that she could attend his yeshiva if her daughter learned Hebrew. Judith did, but the rabbi did not keep his word. Instead, Ilse lined up an array of activities for Judith,

including thrice-weekly Hebrew school classes accessible only if her father carried her in her chair up a flight of stairs, until the city opened a program for children with disabilities.

There, Heumann wrote, she first encountered “disability culture” — what she described as “a culture that has learned to value the humanity in all people, without dismissing anyone for looking, thinking, believing or acting differently.” She would experience and then help craft this culture during a decade at summer camp, in a movement captured in the 2020 documentary “Crip Camp,” and then throughout a lifetime of advocacy that earned her the moniker “mother of the disability rights movement.”

One notable win came in 1970, after Heumann graduated from college with a degree in speech therapy. Told that she could not teach in New York City schools because she could not help children leave in case of fire, Heumann sued. She was represented in part by an attorney who would argue Roe v. Wade in front of the Supreme Court, and the case came before Judge Constance Baker Motley, the only woman on the NAACP legal team that argued Brown v. Board of Education. The city quickly settled and Heumann ultimately got a job at her old elementary school.

The public fight propelled Heumann into the leadership of an inchoate disability rights movement. Two years later, she participated in New York City protests in favor of federal anti-discrimination laws that President Richard Nixon ultimately signed. In 1977, she was one of dozens of disability advocates to occupy a federal building in San Francisco in a demon-

stration calling for enforcement mechanisms. Their advocacy led to Section 504, a federal statute that requires entities receiving government funds to show that they do not discriminate on the basis of disability.

The episode was dramatized on Comedy Central’s “Drunk History.” Heumann was played by Ali Stroker, a Jewish actress who was the first wheelchair user to perform on Broadway. Heumann was also recognized as Time Magazine’s 1977 Woman of the Year in a 2020 retrospective.

Heumann was a cofounder of the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley before returning to the East Coast and the government advisory roles. Through it all, Heumann remained involved with the Jewish communities where she lived, including by having a bat mitzvah ceremony as an adult. In Washington, she was a member of Adas Israel Congregation.

In 2016, she cited tikkun olam, the ancient rabbinical imperative to repair the world, during a 2016 White House event during Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month. “The Jewish community has an obligation, I believe, to be leaders,” said Heumann, then special advisor for international disability rights in the State Department.

She also traveled as an adult to her father’s hometown in Germany, Hoffenheim, where she was taken to the site of the synagogue that the Nazis destroyed but noted that no one there spoke openly about what had happened to the local Jews.

In “Being Heumann,” she connected the experience to her own efforts to bring people with disabilities into the mainstream. “What a pervasive influence silence and avoidance have had on my life,” she wrote. “Why wasn’t I in school? Silence. Why aren’t we allowed on buses? Silence. Why can’t disabled people teach? Silence. Where are all the Jews going? Piercing silence.

“I refuse to give in to the pressure of the silence,” she concluded.

Heumann’s allies in the Jewish disability advocacy community mourned her death.

“So sad to learn of Judy Heumann’s passing,” tweeted Jay Ruderman, whose family foundation has been a leader in supporting Jewish disability inclusion. “She was one of the preeminent disability rights leaders in our country’s history and her accomplishments made our world a better place. I’ll miss you Judy and may your memory be a blessing.”

Judith Heumann is pictured in a 2014 photo.

PHOTO: WILLIAM NG/ STATE DEPARTMENT

Now streaming

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

ing music. The new series puts a 21st century spin on that idea, reminiscent of Comedy Central’s “Drunk History” (and featuring many of the same cast members, including Joe Lo Truglio, who plays one of the bishops at Nicaea) with hints of the Netflix series “I Think You Should Leave.”

Audiences will see comedic sendups of historical events including Black congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s historic run for president; Marco Polo’s arrival at the palace of Kublai Khan in China; the Russian Revolution; and the signing of the Oslo Accords, the 1993 Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

Just a few of the Jewish jokes: Jason Alexander makes an appearance as a notary-slash-mohel who brings the wrong bag, full of his ritual tools, to the official signing of the Confederate Army’s surrender at the end of the Civil War.

“Useless. Unless somebody wants to take a little off the top,” Alexander’s character says, gesturing to his tools.

The story of Jesus Christ gets parodied via

multiple genres and is arguably one of the most Jewish recurring sketches of the whole series. In a “Curb Your Enthusiasm”-inspired sketch in the second episode, Judas (Kroll) and Luke (JB Smoove) realize that Jesus (Jay Ellis) has abandoned keeping kosher when they catch him publicly eating a bacon cheeseburger. A subsequent sketch spoofs the documentary “The Beatles: Get Back,” in which fans of the apostles eat matzah on sticks outside of the Apples & Honey recording studio.

And a recurring sketch focusing on the Russian Revolution and parodying parts of “Fiddler on the Roof” features a literal mud pie salesman named “Schmuck Mudman” who lives in an Eastern European shtetl. Mudman sells his wares via Putz Mates, a Yiddish play on the food delivery app PostMates. After moving from the village to Moscow, Mudman, played by Kroll, is surprised to find a meeting of the Mensheviks, the opposition to the Communist Bolshevik party, in his apartment.

“Your misery looks familiar to me. Are we from the same shtetl?” Mudman asks one of the Mensheviks in a depressing round of early 20th century Jewish geography.

“No. I get this all the time,” the man responds. “But I’m a miserable city Jew.”

JEWISH LITE

Across

1. “Young Frankenstein” assistant

5. Easy guitar chord, briefly

9. 1937 Shirley Temple title role

14. 2021 sci-fi hit

15. Joker portrayer Jared

16. One making a bracha, often

17. Saturated substances

18. Salt Lake state

19. Fight

20. Alternative to a Sunday morning staple

23. Kin of et al.

24. Uncomfortably inquisitive

25. Mathematician’s highest degree?

27. Alternative to a Rosh Hashana staple

34. Perfect game box score

35. Opus ___ (real life group depicted in “The Da Vinci Code”)

36. ___customer

37. “In Cold Blood” writer, informally

38. Alternative to a Friday night appetizer

41. 12 oz. and others

42. Bygone Turkish title

44. “The ___” (Uris novel)

45. Raised eyebrow remarks

46. Alternative

to a Chanukah staple

50. Big retailer of camping gear

51. Letters between Q and V

52. It’s used to make 46-Across

54. Mishloach Manot, simplistically...or another title for this puzzle

60. Goodman once called the “Jewish Jordan”

61. Thumim’s partner

62. Chief Rabbi’s Yisrael Meir and David

64. “Can I see ___?” (question at a restaurant)

65. Major Amora

66. Works ___ many levels (like a layered joke)

67. Where one can get stitches in Israel

68. Where one can get news in Israel (or out of Israel)

69. “The Star-Spangled Banner” start

Down

1. Holy Land protectors, for short

2. Avocado dip, for short

3. “No charge”

4. Came back for another photo shoot

5. Last month of the year

6. Facebook, now

7. Baruch follower

8. Bach’s first name

9. Part of a LinkedIn profile

10. At the start

11. “Just let ___”

12. Two, in Toulouse

13. Ticked-off state

21. FIT’s counterpart in the UK

22. Say “yes” without speaking

25. Potentially offensive, briefly

26. Jewish book full of hidden secrets

28. Words at some weddings

29. New Jew

30. “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”

host Tyler

31. City known for an annual celebration with

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

Mad, Mad World” on our first date. We saw it on Channel Nine public television the other night, and it’s still funny.

I was talking with Chris Denman, one of the founders of Mid-Coast Media, asking him about the comedy scene in St. Louis. His organization produces live comedy shows here in town as well as around the country. He reminded me that Central Stage in Grand Center has live shows at the KDHX building, which his company produces.

Denman talked about some of the other top comedy clubs in St. Louis such as the Funny Bone in Westport Plaza, the Helium Comedy Club at the Galleria and mentioned that national stars perform standup comedy in huge spaces such as the Fox and the Enterprise Center.

The Flyover Comedy Festival takes place in St. Louis every year and is a major festival to see top-of-the-line

comedy. It is independently produced and takes place in the Grove neighborhood. Denman feels that comedy in our town is really an economic driver and true art form.

And our hometown Sam Crouppen, who currently lives in Los Angeles, is performing all over the country as a professional comedian. When I asked him how he would define comedy, he said, “Comedians are dreamers. They are much more important than politicians because they tell the truth.” He said that he feels as if he is often walking on a tightrope and is not scared because he is telling the truth.

So where does one draw the line? What about puppetry and ventriloquism and clowns and jokes — and I didn’t even mention “Saturday Night Live,” which never fails to give me wonderful belly laughs.

I was actually voted the funniest senior in my high school class and never realized back then how far a good sense of humor would get me. I didn’t ever really think about the expansive scene and power of comedy in the arts.

costumes and drinking

32. “____ Extra-Terrestrial”

33. What Joey might be called in Israel

38. Spot for a rock band’s logo

39. You’re way more likely to see this rather than a rat in Israel

40. Letters between G and L, on a keyboard

Find

43. Wonder Woman, for one

47. Summer, in Montreal

48. What a fivestar hotel offers

49. Very long

time

53. Home of ice

54. It’s often paired with fortune

55. Sefirat Ha’___

56. Start of some blended juice names

57. Combed item on some farms

“Amo, amas, ___”

the answers to this week’s puzzle by visiting the following link: http://bit.ly/0308-crossword

2023 Songleader Boot Camp

The 2023 Songleader Boot Camp drew nearly 500 participants to St. Louis for its national training conference. Attendees included clergy, Jewish educators, religious and day school teachers, family engagement and early childhood specialists, teen leaders, Jewish camping staff, and songleaders. They gathered to learn a holistic approach to leadership through music. During day two of the conference on Feb. 20, song and dance filled the meeting rooms and hallways of the J’s Staenberg Family Complex. Photos: Bill Motchan

SP TLIGHT

PHOTOS FROM RECENT JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS

SUBMIT A PHOTO: Have a photo of a recent Jewish community event you would like to submit? Email the image and a suggested caption to news@stljewishlight.org.

VIEW MORE ONLINE: stljewishlight.org/multimedia

T radi T ional C ongrega T ion

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

All-you-can-eat Taste of Soup

After a three-year hiatus, Traditional Congregation had a very successful and delicious, all-you-can-eat Taste of Soup evening on Feb. 19. They served a wide variety of meat and vegetarian soups, garlic bread and hand-made desserts. In addition to the yummy food, everyone was delighted to be back together, in person, for this event held each year (other than during COVID) in memory of our good member (and great cook) Anna Brick.

W ashing T on U niversi T y alexander hamilton society

Washington University’s chapter of the Alexander Hamilton Society, which holds discussions and events pertaining to U.S. foreign policy and national security, hosted Robert Greenway, a principal architect of the Abraham Accords, during a Feb. 13 event at WashU. Greenway is an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute and executive director of the Abraham Accords Peace Institute. Greenway is shown below speaking at the event with Jacob Leon, a senior at WashU studying political science and the leader of the Alexander Hamilton Society chapter

The chief cooks and bottle washers pose for a picture during service. From left to right: Rabbi Seth Gordon, Barbara Levin, Christy Brick, Nanci Gold, Dr. Phil Brick, Justin Zeid, Mimi Levy and Marty Levy

at the university.

Commentary: What do we call what happened in Huwara?

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

In the name of historical accuracy

Rukhl Schaechter Yiddish Editor, The Forward

The recent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in Huwara are abhorrent. I commend those in Israel calling them peulot teror, “actions of terror,” and I trust that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. But these riots were not pogroms. The word pogrom refers to one of the many violent riots and subsequent massacres of Jews in Eastern Europe between the 17th and 20th centuries. These attacks were committed by local non-Jewish, often peasant populations. They were instigated by rabble-rousers like Bogdan Chmielnicki, who led a Cossack and peasant uprising against Polish rule in Ukraine in 1648 and ended up destroying hundreds of Jewish communities. According to eyewitnesses, the attackers also committed atrocities on pregnant women.

Tobin:

Note that the massacres of Jews carried out by the Nazis, and the murders of Armenians by the Turkish government at the turn of the 20th century — as horrific as they were — were never called pogroms because in both cases, there was a government behind it. In the name of historic accuracy, let’s continue to use the word pogrom solely for mob attacks on and massacres of Jews.

When the Poles banned “pogrom”

Samuel D. Kassow Professor of History, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut

In Poland in the late 1930s, altercations between a Jew and a Pole sometimes ended with either the Jew or the Pole getting badly hurt or even killed. When the victim was a Pole, mobs of Poles rampaged through Jewish neighborhoods smashing windows, looting shops and often beating or even killing Jews. Poles often held Jews collectively responsible for the death of one of their own. This happened in Przytyk,

Minsk-Mazowieck, Grodno and other places. Jews called these riots “pogroms,” which they were. But the Polish government banned use of the term in the press. After all, “pogrom” was a Russian word, and “pogroms” happened only in a place characterized by barbarism and ignorance. Since Poland was not Russia, and since Poles were eminently civilized, logically speaking, pogroms simply did not take place in Poland. What happened in these towns were to be called “excesses” (zajscia). But certainly not pogroms!

I take it that since we Jews are so civilized, we too are incapable of pogroms. So should we label what these settlers did “‘excesses”? Or perhaps we should take a deep breath and call them pogroms?

A Jewish, but not exclusive, history

Henry Abramson, Historian

The word “pogrom” is rooted in time and place, although the type of violence it

describes is as old as human history. It is a Russian word, but it entered the English language in the late 19th century through the medium of Yiddish-speakers, outraged at the wave of antisemitic disturbances that surged under rule of the last tsar of the Russian Empire, Nicholas II. Russians themselves used a variety of words for the ugly phenomenon, with translations like “riot” or “persecution,” but the term “pogrom” proved the most evocative: the Slavic prefix “po” suggests a directed attack, and the root “grom” is the word for “thunder.” A pogrom, therefore, meant a focused point where a great deal of energy was dissipated in a single dramatic act of violence.

The focused point, in the context of that dark history, was the civilian Jewish population in the tiny shtetls that dotted the Pale of Settlement. In this regard the word could be used to encompass attacks on Jewish populations from as long ago as the year 38 in Alexandria, Egypt. It does not, however, have any specific designation to indicate that Jews are the victims.

Smotrich’s words were abhorrent, as was Amnesty’s response

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

hundred thousand people, including schools and synagogues in places where Jews have lived for millennia, as “justice.” If any Israeli or Jew were to suggest depopulating Arab villages and towns and expelling that many Palestinians, Amnesty would be labeling them racists who should be treated as pariahs. But say the same about Jews, and you can be considered an “anti-racist” or advocate for human rights. That’s also why they treat Palestinian terrorist murders as merely a case of Jews getting their just desserts

instead of crimes against humanity.

So, perhaps it is understandable that while Smotrich is roasted, Amnesty’s call for the mass expulsion of Jews in response to Huwara was ignored.

None of this should get Smotrich off the hook.

The results of the November Knesset election gave him the opportunity to recreate himself as a major figure in Israeli politics. But for this arrangement to work out in the long run, it was also going to have to mean that his behavior was going to have to change along with their job titles. That meant acting like an adult government

minister with real power—and not as if he was still operating on the margins of Israeli political life and the subject of investigations from a security establishment that still views him with suspicion.

By diving into the Huwara mess in the worst possible way, Smotrich demonstrated more than a dark side to his personality. It showed that he has not yet started thinking like someone who sees the big picture the way Netanyahu or anyone who aspires to lead the country should.

Still, those who are preparing to boycott him should ask themselves how they would behave towards Arabs or other opponents of

Israel with their own records of inflammatory statements. Those calling for the State Department to deny him a visa to enter the United States are not just overreacting to a terrible statement. If they don’t similarly oppose visas for Palestinians or Iranians or anyone else who calls for Israel’s elimination, then they aren’t just hypocrites; they’re enablers of antisemitism. If you see no problem with hosting members of Israeli Arab parties that are anti-Zionist or Islamist or those who share Amnesty’s desire to make the West Bank judenrein, then don’t pretend you stand on the moral high ground in relation to Smotrich.