A legacy reclaimed
BY DALE SINGER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
This story was commissioned by the River City Journalism Fund.
When Vera Emmons was growing up in suburban Chicago, the topic of family art treasures stolen by the Nazis was hardly at the forefront of her life.
She knew her mother, Gerda Nothmann, had survived concentration camps and made it to the United States, rebuilding her life and letting people know what she had gone through in Germany. She knew her mother’s side of the family had been wealthy, with a big house that included art. That was about as far as it went.
“She always spoke about her experiences,” recalled Emmons, who now lives in St. Louis. “But I don’t remember anything about the art. There were other things that were more important, I guess.”
In the Nazi years, art didn’t remain in the homes of Jewish families. The family of Emmons’ great-grandfather, Max Ginsberg, had made a fortune in textiles and he had acquired an extensive art collection, including an array of Islamic art. After the collection was seized, dozens of pieces were sold, with documentation and ownership details often lost, disregarded or both.
Now, Emmons is part of a growing effort by
descendants worldwide to recover such pieces. Emmons, a volunteer at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, and her son, Nathan, a lawyer in Chicago, are in a dogged but often frustrating battle to track down artwork and determine legal routes.
The art collections of Max Ginsberg and others belonged to families that suffered dearly in the war years. Experts estimate that the Nazis stole more than 600,000 works of art from Jewish families during World War II. Although she knows the road is far from easy, Emmons says the families should recover what is rightfully theirs.
“I don’t understand all of the rules about provenance,” she says. “I think the line is changing. But it was stolen from the family.”
For Nathan, the enterprise is a crash course in both art and law. It’s often daunting work that has him spending hours in libraries and trying to locate relatives.
“Sometimes I get really excited about thinking what we might find,” he said. “Another time I’m realistic and realize nothing is guaranteed that we’re going to ever really recover anything.”
Extensive array of art
The case of the stolen art begins with Ginsberg, who was born in 1872 in Berlin. According to research by the State Museums in Berlin, he was a wealthy merchant who collected an extensive array of art. It included historic
St. Louis family fights to recover art stolen by the Nazis decades ago
Islamic plates, bowls, urns, water jugs and other decorative pieces.
In 1923, he loaned an elaborately carved wooden board to the museum. (Nearly 100 years later, in 2021, it was rediscovered in a museum storeroom.)
In 1933, the museum put together an exhibi-
LEFT: Vera Emmons, a volunteer at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, is photographed on June 20 in the propaganda room there. Emmons and her family have been on a quest to get restitution on an art collection first owned by a relative, Max Ginsberg. He had made a fortune in textiles and had all he owned seized by Nazis after they came to power in Europe.
ABOVE
PHOTO: CHRISTIAN GOODEN/ ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
ABOVE RIGHT: Nathan Emmons holding up wooden piece loaned to the Museum for Islamic Art in Berlin. Nathan is the son of Vera Emmons.
LEFT: A studio portrait of Max Ginsberg in 1910.
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CANDLE LIGHTING TIMES
Shabbat begins Friday, July 12: 8:09 p.m.
Shabbat ends Saturday, July 13: 9:13 p.m.
Torah reading: Chukat
Shabbat begins Friday, July 19: 8:04 p.m.
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Torah reading: Balak
Jewish Federation search committee working to find agency’s next CEO
BY BILL MOTCHAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
The next CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis will need to hit the ground running and inspire the organization to meet new challenges. Federation’s search committee is working diligently to identify the ideal candidate, according to Abby Goldstein and Craig Rosenthal, co-chairs of the 10-member group tasked with finding that individual.
“We’re happy with the progress we’ve made,” said Rosenthal. “We want to get the right person in place so we’re not sacrificing the right fit for expedience.”
Brian Herstig, Federation CEO since early 2020, left the position on June 30. Herstig relocated to Minnesota to be closer to his family. During his tenure, the organization was faced with a number of unexpected events that impacted the local Jewish community. Those included COVID-19, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel.
“The only thing that we can count on right now in this world, as we all know, is change,” Goldstein said. “So the right leader for our community is going to be someone who’s nimble and can adapt and can
change their focus in an instant. The next leader is going to need to be able to do that and to help the staff shift focus quickly to what the next priority is.”
Rosenthal said the search committee’s goal is to identify a candidate with a specific set of skills.
“The skill sets we’re looking for include someone who can come in and lead the Federation,” he said. “That means internal and external leadership, be a voice for the Jewish community in St. Louis and be somebody the community can turn to and identify with as being that voice.”
Goldstein also pointed to leadership as a key quality.
“We’re looking for a leader among leaders,” she said. “And someone who is going to be really good with development. We want to increase our annual campaign, so the CEO will work with both major donors and people who aren’t involved at all, someone who can get them to the table to understand what Federation does and inspire them to give.
“The CEO needs to act as the driver of all of our community efforts and the convener,” she added. “It will be someone who brings all of the community leaders together to ensure that we have the best St. Louis Jewish community possible.”
New Jewish Theatre’s next play delves into life of artist Mark Rothko
The Jewish Light is a member of the American Jewish Press Association
Next up at New Jewish Theatre (NJT) is “Red,” which delves into the life of celebrated abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko during the two years he spent creating his famous Seagram Murals. The murals became the largest commission in the history of modern art at the time.
The play, written by John Logan, will run from Thursday, July 25 through Sunday, Aug. 11. Performances will take place in the Jewish Community Center’s Wool Studio Theatre on the Millstone Campus.
In the play, we see Rothko working feverishly with his young assistant Ken in his studio on the Bowery. But when Ken gains the confidence to challenge him, Rothko faces the agonizing possibility that his crowning achievement could also become his undoing. This play is an intense study of the act of artistic creation and appreciation and a fascinating look inside the mind of one of the 20th century’s greatest artists. “Red” was awarded the Tony Award for Best Play in 2010.
The play is being directed by Alan Knoll, known for his NJT productions of “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Broadway Bound” and his recent appearance as Saul in “We All Fall Down.” Christopher Harris will portray Rothko, marking his return to NJT after his performance in “Life Sucks” (2018). Joining him is Dustin Petrillo, who
‘Red’
WHEN: July 25 to Aug. 11. Performances are on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.
WHERE: New Jewish Theatre’s Wool Studio Theater in the Jewish Community Center’s Arts & Education Building, 2 Millstone Campus Drive
HOW MUCH: $27-$58
MORE INFO: Tickets are available at newjewishtheatre.org or 314-442-3283
appeared as Haskell Harelik in NJT’s 2023 season production of “The Immigrant.” Knoll’s design team includes Margery and Peter Spack as set designers, who have conducted extensive research to create a set that faithfully recreates Rothko’s Bowery studio. Justin Smith will serve as sound designer alongside Jayson Lawshee as lighting designer. Once again, NJT welcomes back Michele Friedman Siler (“The Immigrant,” STL Circle Nominated) as costume designer.
As a bonus event, Margery Spack will also be sharing a presentation on her research into Rothko’s studio and the designers’ process in translating it for the NJT stage on Sunday, Aug. 4 following the 2 p.m. performance.
Jewish Family Services employees vote to unionize
Two bargaining units created; votes were 9-7 and 6-4 in favor of joining union
BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Workers at Jewish Family Services voted last week to join Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 6400 as Jewish Family Services Workers United (JFSWU). The vote to unionize will affect about 29 of JFS’ 53 current employees.
Based on the votes, there will be two bargaining units within JFSWU, one for professional employees such as communication coordinators, bookkeepers, counselors, school-based therapists, older adult services case managers and Holocaust benefits case managers and a second for nonprofessional employees, including food pantry drivers, office managers and food pantry assistants. None of the bargaining unit employees are in supervisory or managerial roles.
Initially, JFS union organizers had hoped for just one bargaining unit, while JFS management had advocated for three units.
JFS, a nonprofit social service agency, provides services for children, families and older adults designed to alleviate hunger and improve mental health. It operates the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry and child abuse prevention programs.
According to Tammy Chaffee, district coordinator for CWA, the vote to unionize was close, with JFS professional employees voting 9-7 in favor of the union while the nonprofessionals voted 6-4. The vote was voluntary, and not all employees who were eligible took part.
In March, a couple of employee organizers approached JFS CEO Miriam Seidenfeld, telling her a majority of workers wanted a union and presenting her with paperwork needed to unionize. The organizers’ hope was that management would agree to voluntarily recognize the union.
After consulting with board members, Seidenfeld said JFS would not voluntarily agree, so organizers requested an election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The election was held July 2. “The narrow margin of the vote in favor
of unionization underscores that a vote was critical to ensure all of our staff had their voice heard as part of this, as has been our position from the beginning of this process,” Seidenfeld said, adding that JFS would not challenge the election. “Our priority will continue to be fostering an environment where everyone feels they have an important part in driving our mission forward.”
Chaffee said it would likely take a few months for both sides – JFSWU bargaining units and JFS management – to prepare for contract negotiations. Some of the provisions JFS workers said they were looking for in a union contract include better wages and benefits, protection from unfair termination, the right to have a union representative present when meeting with supervisors and additional pay when taking on more responsibilities.
In addition, the NLRB is still investigating unfair labor practice charges levied against JFS. Chaffee said JFS mounted an “aggressive” anti-union campaign that “we felt had crossed the line.” The nonprofit has long been represented by the law firm of Ogletree-Deakins, which the organizers said has a reputation of being anti-union.
“We expect these kinds of anti-union campaigns from large corporations. I was surprised that JFS, which is a progressive organization, chose to go down that path,” said Chaffee. “Hopefully, management is willing to work in a collaborative fashion at this point. We really do want JFS to be successful as an organization, and we also want the workers to have a voice at the table.”
Seidenfeld said union passage does not change the organization’s focus on “providing children, adults, and seniors with the support they need to lead vibrant, healthy lives.”
“The vote for JFS staff to form a union does not change that in any way,” she said.
“As the contract negotiation gets underway, we will actively participate in a way that best supports our staff and all those we serve.”
One of JFS’ concerns was the effect a union might cost the organization in time and money. Seidenfeld said while it’s too early to know the future impact on the agency’s finances and operations, “as a nonprofit organization focused on enhancing wellbeing in the Jewish and broader community, we will continue to be responsible and grateful stewards of the support we receive from generous donors and other partners.”
Kelly Baker, a JFS school-based art therapist and an organizing member of JFSWU, said that while she was surprised the vote was not more supportive of the unionization effort, she was pleased with the outcome.
“Over the past several months, we lost upwards of 10 (JFS) employees who were supportive of the union,” said Baker. “Between losing them and us getting split into two different bargaining units and the union-busting campaign JFS did, we still won both units. I think all of us are feeling
On July 1 and 2 unionization supporters demonstrated outside Jewish Family Services. In a July 2 vote, eligible employees voted in favor of joining Communications Workers of America Local 6400 as Jewish Family Services Workers United. PHOTO COURTESY MISSOURI JOBS WITH JUSTICE
Miriam Seidenfeld is CEO of Jewish Family Services.
PHOTO: BILL MOTCHAN
MAKING A SPLASH!
From basketball to the boardroom: Jerry Ehrlich’s journey to changing lives
BY KATHLEEN LEES
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
When Jerry Ehrlich looks back on his career, from radio announcer to CEO of a nonprofit, his invention of the “Hershey Bar Shot” stands at the forefront of his mind.
“When the time comes and my life is over, and my tombstone reads, ‘Jerry Ehrlich, founder of the Hershey Bar Shot,’ then maybe I would have lived a pretty darn good life,” he said.
His invention originated in the 1980s while he was working as a volunteer basketball coach at the St. Louis Jewish Community Center. He would stand with his back toward the opposite end of the court and hurl a basketball over his head. If he made the basket, everyone there would get a Hersey’s chocolate bar.
“Odds are, it just wasn’t gonna happen,” said Ehrlich, 66.
But he remembers one day when it did.
“I made the shot with over 200 people in the gymnasium,” Ehrlich said. “A week later, I brought one Hershey’s chocolate bar for every person there.”
Working at the J was just the beginning of an extensive and creative career helping others. Now the CEO of St. Louis nonprofit Paraquad, a position he’s held since 2021, Ehrlich’s focus is changing the lives of people with disabilities.
Helping others
Ehrlich studied at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., to explore broadcasting. For a time, he worked as a radio announcer at the school’s station and for the Chicago Bears. Not long into the job, however, he discovered that broadcasting wasn’t for him.
He returned to his home of St. Louis in the mid-1980s and started training young people as a volunteer basketball coach at the J. Soon he was offered a job rebuilding the youth sports program there.
“I love kids and sports,” Ehrlich said. “I love challenges. I love rebuilding. So I took it.”
Ehrlich worked at the J for more than 10 years and began working with children with disabilities in the organization. Throughout this time and beyond, he also started volunteering at the Senior Olympics as a track and field announcer.
After working for numerous nonprofits in the St. Louis area, Ehrlich became the executive director of the LifeBridge Partnership, an organization for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, which needed to be rebuilt.
“I like challenges, and I had success rebuilding, but the first thing that came to mind was working with individuals, kids and adults, with special needs,” he said.
Ehrlich worked at the LifeBridge Partnership for nearly 10 years before becoming CEO at the Cornerstone Center for Early Learning, an organization that helps families with child care and preschool education. In 2021, he joined Paraquad.
As its CEO, he focuses some days on meetings and administrative duties while others involve one-on-one meetings with families and clients.
“There’s no typical day, but my standard line is that even when my door is closed, my door is open,” Ehrlich said. “I want people to know that I’m here for them now.”
Creating change
On May 20, four officials from President Joe Biden’s administration visited Paraquad to see the organization’s work and learn what the government can improve to more fully support people with disabilities. Among them was Alison Barkoff, a Jewish woman who leads the U.S. Administration for Community Living.
“When she came to Paraquad, we were very honored,” Ehrlich said.
Like Ehrlich, Barkoff feels a calling to help those with disabilities. Her younger brother Evan Barkoff was born with intellectual disabilities in the late 1970s, a time when the disability movement was just beginning.
Alison Barkoff, 49, recalls how a doctor told her family that they shouldn’t have a bris for Evan, the Jewish ceremony that marks the beginning of a boy’s life and welcomes him into the Jewish faith.
“They said there was nothing to celebrate,” she said, insinuating that having a child with a disability was a tragedy. They also estimated that Evan’s life expectancy would be just 13 years.
A local Jewish family who had a child with a disability reached out to the Barkoffs, encouraging them to join the disability movement.
“The Jewish community really wrapped around him from the beginning, and Evan became a role model not just in the Jewish community, but across the disability community,” Alison Barkoff said.
Evan Barkoff, now 45, lives in an apartment with a very active work and social life in Atlanta, where Alison Barkoff is originally from. Now, she lives in Washington.
“The future needs to be everyone’s opportunity,” Barkoff said. “It’s becoming more and more the norm, but it certainly isn’t there yet.”
Ehrlich agrees.
“We want to work with whoever and whatever agencies continue to advocate, because improvements need to be made,” said Ehrlich, citing ongoing issues with architecture, housing and transportation for individuals with disabilities as well as other marginalized groups.
Faith in action
“Being Jewish always taught me to not just look out for the other person, but take action,” said Ehrlich, who is a member of the Central Reform Congregation.
In 2010, he received the Walter “Doc” Eberhardt Memorial Award for his dedication to volunteering at the Senior Olympics.
In 2011, he received the Mitzvah Star Award, which recognizes an outstanding member of the Jewish community.
“What made this award so special to me is that 10 years prior, my parents received the same award,” he said. “In my house, I have my award right next to theirs.”
Ehrlich, the youngest of four children, is married with three grown stepchildren and four grandchildren.
“My brother and sister-in-law actually live just around the corner from me, which makes it fun,” said Ehrlich, who lives in Olivette.
When he’s not working, Ehrlich loves to frequent diners, especially Olivette Diner, and Frank and Helen’s in University City.
But when he is working, Ehrlich contin-
ues to help others, particularly through teaching and celebrating the differences in Paraquad’s staff and community.
In March, he held an optional seder for the staff that included talks on Jewish history as well as some of the food that was served: charoset, a myriad of apples, nuts and wines that symbolizes the mortar and bricks Israelite slaves used to build Egyptian structures; and matzah, an unleavened bread that the Israelites took with them when they fled Egypt.
“Every day, I know that, even in some small way, I am making a difference,” Ehrlich said. “That’s a very nice feeling to have.”
It’s also a nice feeling, he says, when he reconnects with people he’s helped in the past, particularly the children he coached at the J.
“Sometimes, I run into my old kids who are adults now who I coached at the J,” Ehrlich said. “And one of the first things they ask me is, ‘Do you still do the Hershey Bar Shot?’ ”
Paraquad CEO Jerry Ehrlich (center) with clients of the St. Louis nonprofit. SUBMITTED PHOTO
Paraquad CEO Jerry Ehrlich (right) and Wendi Neckameyer (left), grant manager at Paraquad are shown with Alison Barkoff, who leads the U.S. Administration for Community Living (part of part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), during a visit to the agency in May.
PHOTO: PHILIP DEITCH
Temple Israel plans Summer Game
Night
Get your game on at Temple Israel with friends (and some new friends you haven’t met yet) over drinks, food, laughter and light-hearted competition. And if you’ve got what it takes to win...walk away with some Catan cred, Pictionary pride, Scrabble status, Wingspan worthiness or other bragging rights as your forever trophy.
This event is for adults 21 and older on Saturday, July 27, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Temple Israel, 1 Rabbi Alvan D. Rubin Drive. The cost for members is $10 a person and $18 a couple. Non-members are $20 a person and $36 a couple. Guests can bring their own adult beverages and food; an assortment of non-alcoholic beverages and light snacks will be provided. A selection of board games will also be provided.
Please bring a canned good for donation to the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry. RSVP by Monday, July 22 at: www.ti-stl.org/GameNight
Game Night event chairs are Sarah Falkoff, Max Protzel and Stephanie Rhea.
NHBZ’S Synaplex Shabbat returns
NHBZ is excited to announce the much-anticipated return of its popular Synaplex Shabbat on Saturday, July 27. You and your family are invited to hear one of three extremely timely topics presented by three engaging speakers. Regular services begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Main Sanctuary. “Soul Building” begins at 10 a.m. in the lower level with Rabbi Yosef David of Aish HaTorah. Babysitting will be provided.
Then, join one of these sessions with guest speakers at around 11:15 a.m.:
• “What’s at Stake: U.S./Israel Relations in the Upcoming Elections” led by Keith Beardslee, St. Louis Council AIPAC.
• “Jew Hatred: Why Are ‘They’ So Intolerant? (Hint: We can fix it!)” Led by Rabbi Yosef David.
• “The Three Weeks: Distance Makes the Soul Yearn Stronger” led by Rabbi Shimmy Fried of the St. Louis Kollel.
Following these sessions, there will be a free Kiddush lunch for all at around noon. All events are free and open to the Jewish community. No reservations are required. For more information, call 314991-2100.
Kohn’s Kosher Meat and Deli closed ‘until further notice’
Kohn’s Kosher Meat and Deli, the only free-standing full-service kosher grocery in St. Louis, has closed its doors. A note released on Tuesday, July 9, by the Vaad Hoeir of St. Louis, which provides kosher certification, said the deli restaurant and grocery at 10405 Old Olive Street Road closed last week.
“The Vaad is acutely aware of the need in St. Louis for fresh kosher meat, kosher catering and a kosher restaurant,” the Vaad wrote in a letter that was posted on Kohn’s website. “Individuals are working
to make all of that available, perhaps by reopening Kohn’s, and the Vaad has done everything to support these efforts. However, numerous practical and legal issues need to be sorted through by the parties involved. We are hopeful that we will be able to announce good news early next week.”
In November 2022, Kohn’s was bought for an undisclosed amount by two Orthodox businessmen on the East Coast from Lenny Kohn and his sister, Rosemary Cooper. The two had taken
A screenshot of the Kohn’s website, kohnskosher. com, shows a message to visitors that the kosher deli and restaurant is closed until further notice.
over the business from their parents, Bobbi and Simon Kohn, who opened the grocery and deli in 1963.
Yehuda Kestenbaum, one of Kohn’s current owners, as well as Rabbi Zvi Zuravin, executive director of the Vaad, did not return calls to the Jewish Light as of press time.
This is a developing story. Please check our Morning Light email newsletter for updates (sign up at stljewishlight.org/ newsletters).
Melton course on ‘Highs and Lows: Our Communal Days of Joy and Sorrow’ planned
The St. Louis community has another opportunity for adult learning beginning in August: “Highs and Lows: Our Communal Days of Joy and Sorrow,” a six-week course offered through the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning.
Rabbi Elizabeth B. Hersh will lead the course on Thursdays, Aug. 1 through Sept. 5 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Temple Emanuel, which hosts the Melton program for the larger St. Louis community. The classes are presented in a hybrid format, with in-person or Zoom options
available. Classes are recorded so students can watch any missed classes later.
The class will look at how the Jewish year guides us through our peaks and valleys as a people, our moments of triumph and of tragedy. Together we look back on the moments that offer a deeper understanding of the Jewish people throughout the millennia – and inspire us in the present. The titles of the six lessons are:
• Purim Past and Present: Unmasking the Story
• Eight Nights: Shining Light on
Hanukkah
• The 9th of Av: Modern Mourning for Tragedies of the Past
• Yom HaShoah: Remembering the Unforgettable
• From Commemoration to Celebration in the State of Israel
• There Can Be Miracles, When You Believe
The cost for the class is $179. Those who have taken this class befores should contact Rabbi Janine Schloss at rabbijanine@ testl.org before registering. For those taking this class for the first time, register at www.meltonschool.org/st-louis.
Confidential scholarships are available. In addition, a special tuition rate of $50 is available for any full- or part-time professionals working at Jewish organizations. All scholarships and special tuition rates are thanks to the Borow Endowment for Jewish Education and the Libby Needle Memorial Fund, managed by Jewish Federation of St. Louis. Email rabbijanine@testl.org for the coupon codes.
Jewish Federation’s ‘Men’s Event’ draws
400+ to Chesterfield
More than 400 people enjoyed an evening of laughter, food and fellowship on Monday, June 10 for the inaugural gathering of The Men’s Event at The Factory in Chesterfield.
The headliner was Jewish Iranian stand-up comedian Dan Ahdoot. Music was provided by Alex Rich, Rob Aronson, Charles Glenn and the Steve Schankman Orchestra.
The event was hosted by philanthropist Michael Staenberg, who told the audience it was important to make connections with old and new friends.
The event was described as “a new way to come together as one Jewish community.” Scott Biondo, community security director at Jewish Federation of St. Louis, also offered an update on security and his work to assure that local Jewish organization remain safe.
The Men’s Event co-chairs were Ryan Holtzman and Matthew Litwack.
STORY & PHOTOS BY BILL MOTCHAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
ABOVE: Philianthropist Michael Staenberg addresses the crowd. FAR LEFT: Rabbi Tzvi Freedman and Michael Litwack. LEFT: David Singer and Greg Yawitz.
LEFT: Jewish Iranian comedian Dan Ahdoot headlined ‘The Men’s Event’ on June 10 at The Factory in Chesterfield. ABOVE: Jordan Rosenblum, Rabbi Shmuel Miller and Rabbi Mike Rovinsky.
Tracking down the art
In 1995, about 50 years after the end of World War II, countries in Europe announced details of a process to locate plundered art pieces and return them to families of the original owners. Three years later, 39 other nations pledged to help track down the stolen works of art.
That year also featured the Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets, co-hosted by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. It led to guidelines that required museums to review the ownership history of items in their collections, with an emphasis on works that may have been seized from Jewish families and others. The German government established a database as a clearinghouse for identification of such items.
Governing the process of locating and returning stolen art were the so-called Washington Principles, the result of the 1998 conference. They directed nations to identify art that had been confiscated by the Nazis, publicize when such art was found, open records to facilitate return of stolen works and establish a registry to expedite returns, among other guidelines.
But as the descendants of Max Ginsberg are finding out, the road to recovery is long and convoluted, with little guarantee of success.
Olaf S. Ossmann knows that road well.
An attorney operating in Europe, Ossmann brings both experience and a realistic attitude to art searches, which he has been involved with since 1990. About three years ago, he got in touch with Nathan Emmons and his family, whom he had located through Dodi Reifenberg, an Israeli artist who had moved to Berlin and started researching the Ginsberg collection.
Ossmann inquired about working with the Emmons family, on two continents, to try to find some of the artworks that had belonged to Ginsberg.
“There is no such thing as a typical case in this field,” Ossmann said in an email. “As artwork is a very personal issue, the way to collect it and the way to lose it are different in every case. It also depended on the position of the owner before and during the Nazi period.
“In some cases, you have well-documented collections and papers from the pre-persecution, the persecution period and the after-war period, when families started to search for it ... I have an idea of their story in general, but to research the ways their artwork went is still a separate topic.”
Part of the difficulty, he added, is the “very quiet and confidential” nature of the art market.
“Transfers are not really documented or registered like in real estate,” he wrote.
For the Ginsberg collection, Ossmann wrote, the primary obstacle is the fact that only 22 photos have been found of objects from a collection that once had nearly 400 pieces. That means objects have to be identified just by description, which is very difficult.
Another critical factor is where the artwork ended up.
“If it is in a public collection, this is good,” he wrote. “If we find the artwork in private hands or in countries not open for such solutions, prospects get worse and a solution depends on the pressure on the owners’ side to get rid of the claims to be able to sell it freely on the market.”
Regardless, the process of identifying artwork, making an ownership case and negotiating for its return can take years.
Nathan Emmons, noting how much more esoteric and convoluted the legal process is than what he is used to, puts it this way: “We’re trying to argue that, sure, it was sold, but it wasn’t a fair market sale. That’s a much more challenging case to bring when you’re already dealing in a universe where things aren’t as black and white as they normally are.”
Where is Joe Hill?
Part of the frustration is the internation-
al search for a long-lost relative who may or may not have been named Joe Hill and who may or may not have lived in Canada.
The Ginsberg estate was divided three ways, although Vera Emmons, her sister Julie and Vera’s three children are the only lineal descendants.
Hill, who was born Joseph Hirschland but changed his name when he made it to North America, belongs to another branch of the family and did not leave much of a trail. In the United States, Nathan Emmons can call county probate offices to track down wills. But Canadian laws are different.
“That’s sort of where we’ve hit this brick wall,” he said.
So the search is proceeding on parallel tracks. While Ossmann works in Europe, Nathan spends what time he has available looking on this side of the Atlantic.
“Today I’m going to go to the library and do some more searching on Ancestry,” he said. “Usually every couple of months, I try to go spend an hour and try to find these anonymous Canadians. Every quarter, I spend an hour getting frustrated with it and then I sort of put it on the backburner again.”
The quest to find Ginsberg’s art has all of the elements of the 2014 film “The Monuments Men,” but on a smaller, familial scale. That personal aspect is what keeps Nathan and Vera Emmons engaged.
“The balance between the justice and pursuing what’s right and also just the realities of what it takes to achieve justice,” Nathan said, “is a sort of a universal feeling of the fire of wanting to do what’s right with the more sober reality of how hard it is to do — seeing something that should happen and how hard it can be to get there.”
His mother also sees the balance, and she’s realistic about the odds of reclaiming her family’s artwork.
“It’s a tricky business,” she said. “It might be serendipity, but it would be nice. It affects lives. It was ours, and it was stolen.”
For more information about the River City Journalism Fund, which seeks to support journalism in St. Louis, go to rcjf.org This story also was published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in the hopes of informing a bigger and broader audience.
LEFT: Max Nothmann and Adele Ginsberg Nothmann shown in an undated photo. They were Vera Emmons’ maternal grandparents.
BELOW: Sisters Vera and Gerda Nothmann are shown in an undated photo. Gerda was Vera Emmons’ mother and the Vera pictured is her aunt.
ABOVE: An undated exterior of Max Ginsberg’s home in Berlin.
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.
Vicki Singer received the KipnisWilson/Friedland award from Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. The national award recognizes women who exemplify the spirit of the Lion of Judah by proven commitment to the Jewish community through leadership and philanthropic giving. Singer is a member of Central Reform Congregation.
Katie Garland assumes the new role of advancement and partnerships director at Crown Center for Senior Living. Her responsibilities include communicating agency needs to donors and partners ensuring Crown Center’s ability to continue its critical work for older adults, agency fundraising efforts, grant management and supporting a feasibility study for a potential comprehensive campaign. She is a member of Congregation Shaare Emeth.
Rachel Hensold was promoted to client services director at Crown Center, overseeing all of Crown’s nutrition operations, including its meals on wheels program. Hensold will manage agency resources to provide residents and community clients with direct services including case management, referrals, advocacy and supportive counseling to ensure area older adults are able age successfully.
Linda Sandmel of Shaare Emeth received its inaugural Avodah Volunteer of the Year Award. As Rabbi Andrea
Goldstein said, “For 44 years, she has been an integral part of the tapestry of Shaare Emeth, weaving threads of dedication, kindness, and love into every aspect of
our community.” Specifically, Sandmel organized a group of volunteers to lead shiva minyanim, created a Rosh Chodesh group, and continues to lead services at local senior centers and Shaare Emeth.
Mollie Zolkind is the community engagement manager at Pedal the Cause. Her focus is to foster and recruit teams and work closely with team captains to support and guide them. Pedal the Cause’s mission is to provide critical funding for cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital through their annual cycling challenge. Zolkind is a member of Shaare Emeth.
The Kim Cameron Group, including Lisa Berger, Randee Rimmel and Nancy Rush, has joined RE/MAX Results brokerage. Located in the Chesterfield Valley, the group focuses on residential home buying, sales and investments. Berger and Rimmel are members of Shaare Emeth while Rush attends Nusach Hari B’nai Zion.
Stacy Stahl and her company, Sweeter Cards, won the Promotional Products Association International competition, the Pitch. It is a greeting card and gourmet chocolate bar all in one. Stahl is currently expanding the types of items inside the cards with a bring your own gift option.
Ken and Nancy Kranzberg received Doctor of Fine Arts honorary degrees during Washington University’s 163rd commencement. They are both philanthropists and supporters of civic, social and arts organizations at Wash U and in St. Louis.
Local magician Jeff Lefton is in Melbourne, Australia to do his Murder by Magic show for six nights at the Melbourne Magic Festival. He is the only U.S. magician selected to perform at one of the world’s largest magic festivals. In addition to performing magic, Lefton is co-owner of Psychological Associates.
Former St. Louisan Dr. Daniel Prywitch has joined Hyde Park Dental Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio practicing general dentistry.
TOP ROW, FROM LEFT: Katie Garland, Rachel Hensold, Linda Sandmel and Mollie Zolkind.
SECOND ROW: Lisa Berger, Randee Rimmel, Nancy Rush and Stacy Stahl.
THIRD ROW: Ken and Nancy Kranzberg, Jeff Lefton and Dr. Daniel Prywitch
Vicki Singer
Ericka Zoll-Phelan has launched EZP Fundraising Consulting. Her goal is to help St. Louis nonprofit organizations meet and exceed their fundraising goals. Zoll-Phelan is a member of Central Reform Congregation.
The founder and executive director of Turn the Page STL, Lisa Greening, received the Spirit of Delmar Divine Award. She received this honor because of the collaboration with United 4 Children to create a bridge between Missouri’s department of elementary and secondary education and St. Louis’ early childhood providers and families. The non-profit Turn the Page STL, St. Louis’ chapter of the National Campaign for Grade Level Reading, is a city-county wide literacy initiative dedicated to increasing the number of children that are reading proficiently by the end of third. Greening is a member of Central Reform Congregation.
AT LEFT: Ericka Zoll-Phelan and Lisa Greening.
BELOW: Jordan Oiknine
Jewish Federation joins ElevatEd initiative
Jordan Oiknine won first place at the 2024 Missouri DECA State Competition in Kansas City for his innovation business plan and presentation. An incoming junior at Ladue Horton Watkins High School, he went on to place in the Top 20 at the DECA International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, Calif. Jordan developed a biodegradable patch to assess muscle fatigue in athletes called LactaSense. He is the son of Drs. Rachel and Ralph Oiknine.
As a way to address the critical shortage of early childhood education teachers, Jewish Federation of St. Louis has joined the second cohort of cities to roll out ElevatEd, an initiative working to transform early childhood Jewish education (ECJE) by recruiting, training, mentoring and supporting more than 400 new teachers in 14 pioneer communities across North America during its first three years.
The first cohort was deemed to be extremely successful, impacting 48 schools and recruiting nearly 100 educators in the cities of Boston, Mass.; Denver-Boulder, Col.; East Bay, Calif.; Houston, Texas and Long Island, N.Y.
In St. Louis, the program’s recruitment and retention strategies will be supported locally by ElevatEd Community Coordinator Laura Fields in her new role with Federation. As community coordinator, Fields will manage recruitment and onboarding of emerging educators and mentors for many of the Jewish early childhood centers in the St. Louis area.
Fields will serve as liaison for the national ElevatEd initiative in addition to working closely with the 11 participating early childhood centers in the St. Louis Jewish community. Fundraising efforts are already underway locally to support this project and in collaboration with Jewish Community Centers Association of North America, Jewish Federations of
North America and the Union for Reform Judaism.
“As an educator for many years, my passion for this project comes in large part from a desire to help teachers and early childhood directors be successful in a profession that is frequently overlooked,” said Fields.
By investing in emerging early childhood Jewish educators, ElevatEd (online at Elevated.org) hopes to unlock the potential of ECJE as a driver of deep, longterm family engagement in the Jewish community. The $12-million project is funded generously by the Jim Joseph Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies and the Samuels Family Foundation and by Federations, foundations and philanthropists in participating communities.
Sigma Alpha Mu's mission is to foster the development of collegiate men of all beliefs who appreciate our great heritage as a fraternity of Jewish men. WHAT WE OFFER
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Sigma Alpha Mu's mission is to foster the development collegiate men of all beliefs who appreciate our as a fraternity of Jewish men. WHAT WE OFFER
We are excited to announce that we have scholarships available to incoming freshman that attend Purdue University in the fall. These range from $1000-$1,800. The application process is easy and all online!
Additionally, we offer scholarships for high school seniors involved with BBYO/USY/NFTY and for daughters of Sigma Alpha Mu members READY TO APPLY?
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Scan the QR code to get started! Applications are due July 31 !
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Laura Fields
Left: Associate Medical Director Dr. Lenise Cummings-Vaughn, Administrator Kathy Kelley, and Medical Director Dr. David Carr meet with a resident.
OPINIONS
D’VAR TORAH
Viewpoints expressed in letters, commentaries, cartoons and other opinion pieces reflect those of the writer or artist, and not those of the Light. We welcome submissions of letters and commentaries to: news@stljewishlight.org ABOUT THE
Parenting lessons from Parshat Hukkat: Finding calm amidst chaos
RABBI JEFFREY ABRAHAM CONGREGATION B’NAI AMOONA
Who hasn’t been exasperated by their children? With my active boys, ages 14, 12 and 7, each one has given me moments of frustration that have given me the urge and need to scream. The challenge is to take a deep breath and discipline myself to make my response measured when my boys, or anyone else for that matter, upsets me.
Our parsha this week, Hukkat, contains one of the most dramatic and well-known episodes in our Torah. Immediately after Miriam’s death the people are grumbling, as they are without water (presumably because Miriam had been the sole steward of the miraculous well that “traveled” with the people). God instructs Moses to “speak” to the rock, and water will flow from it. With the people continuing to kvetch, Moses becomes exasperated. Moses and Aaron went to the Tent of the Meeting, and the Lord appeared to them and said in no uncertain terms, “...take the rod and assemble the community, and
before their very eyes order the rock to yield its water!” (20:8) We know Moses struck the rock twice. Before the striking he said, “Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?”
The rod is the one used to perform miracles in Egypt. Swift (and harsh) was the punishment. Moses is told by God that since he did not sanctify his Name in the way specified, neither he nor Aaron will enter the Promised Land. As an aside, I actually believe that this rather harsh punishment was part of God’s scheme to not allow Moses into the Land so that his grave would not become a shrine. As the adage goes, if you add one letter onto “anger,” we create “danger” in our lives. As one of my professors once said, “Our tradition holds room for more than one view.”
Humans lose control. We may get excessively angry or behave impulsively. We may scream at a child. Darkness lurks behind our behavior, and suddenly, when we least expect it, we erupt into regrettable behavior.
One can never profit from losing control
and even more so when dealing with children or family. The lesson we learn from Moses is to take that extra deep breath in order to override our negative emotions. There is one dangling question. Why is Aaron given the harsh punishment, and he even dies at the end of the parsha? A legion of commentators respond to this question. Some focus on Aarons’ misdeeds (building the Golden Calf, complaining to Miriam about Moses’ wife and his leadership). Most commentators, including Rashi, point out that Aaron stood there watching the entire event. Rashi amplifies his position with the fact Aaron could have interceded after the first strike. Instead, he allows the Moses a second strike.
Our Torah reminds us time and again that we are not allowed to stand by if we see a wrong. Standing up takes guts. Judaism believes in guilt by association. These past few months have been incredibly challenging for each and every Jew. We cannot be indifferent.
Through Moses’ actions in Parshat Hukkat, we are reminded how important
and Cantorial Association, which coordinates the d’var Torah for the Jewish Light.
it is to keep our emotions in and to stand up when we see injustices and antisemitism.
I could not help but think of the miracle of the rock that accompanied our forefathers in the desert and how such open miracles (it still took a man to step in to allow the Red Sea to open, and the daily manna miraculously appearing in the wilderness, along with Balaam’s talking donkey in next week’s parsha, as well) were necessary, but certainly not seen in our time. Miracles abound today. The birth of a child dwarfs anything humans can do. When one of my sons infuriates me, all I have to do is recall the first time I saw him and I become 99% calmer. Anytime we may be frustrated, think of the miracles around us, and take those thoughts immediately to calm ourselves as well.
Shabbat Shalom!
The Reform movement’s decision to admit intermarried rabbis is good. Truly welcoming them would be great.
BY EDMUND C. CASE
I’ve been advocating for 15 years for Hebrew Union College to admit rabbinical students in interfaith relationships. As the founder of organizations that advocate for interfaith families’ Jewish engagement, I heard the voices of interfaith couples who wanted to feel that they could belong in Jewish settings and were discouraged by policies and statements that demeaned their relationships.
I have shared papers with the administrators stating their case and privately lobbied HUC faculty members and administrators to adopt a policy based on the inclusion that liberal Judaism needs to thrive in a future that is already here.
HUC’s long-awaited decision to do so is momentous. HUC’s president, Andrew Rehfeld, should be congratulated for stewarding a policy change he described as “not easy,” met by largely generational opposition.
While a major step forward, the messaging surrounding the decision does not express the fully inclusive attitude towards interfaith marriage that would encourage more interfaith families to engage Jewishly, in turn enabling liberal Judaism to thrive in the future.
HUC’s decision acknowledges arguments that I and other proponents of inclusion have been making for years: that intermarried rabbis would be particularly inspiring role models to the interfaith couples whom they served, and that HUC’s
Edmund C. Case is the founder of 18Doors (formerly InterfaithFamily), author of “A New Theory of Interfaith Marriage,” and advocate for interfaith families’ Jewish engagement. His commentary was distributed by JTA.
policy discriminated against any group with higher-than-average rates of interfaith marriage (including Jews of color, LGBTQ Jews and children of intermarried parents). What’s more, the policy restricted the pool of eligible students at a time of shrinking enrollment.
In the meantime, other seminaries were changing their polices: The Reconstructionist movement revoked its ban on rabbinic students who are intermarried or in committed relationships in 2015; Hebrew College welcomed students in interfaith relationships in 2023.
Unfortunately, in explaining the policy change, HUC missed a unique opportunity to express a positive and fully inclusive attitude towards interfaith marriage. The now-revoked policy followed a 2001 Central Conference of American Rabbis responsum (rabbinic decision) that says “we do not condone interfaith marriage” and that “the ideal to which we rabbis strive” is in-marriage. This amounts to an
official statement by the association of Reform rabbis that interfaith marriage is disapproved and beloved partners from different faith backgrounds are undesirable. Why would interfaith couples want to be part of a community that views their marriage and one of the partners so negatively?
Instead of explicitly countering that viewpoint, HUC’s main stated reason for the change is that “many Jewish individuals with non-Jewish partners maintain a Jewish family and home in which Judaism exclusively is practiced and are deeply engaged with Jewish communal life and peoplehood.” That’s similar to the way the Reconstructionists explained their decision back in 2015, saying that Jews with non-Jewish partners demonstrate commitment to Judaism in their communal, personal and family lives “every day in many Jewish communities.”
But the Reconstructionist explanation is different in two respects. The Reconstructionists went on to affirmatively say that the “issue of Jews intermarrying is no longer something we want to police; we want to welcome Jews and the people who love us to join us in the very difficult project of bringing meaning, justice, and hope into our world.” In contrast, Dr. Rehfeld was quoted by JTA as saying that “We’re not backing down from the statement that Jewish endogamy [in-marriage] is a value.”
More important, instead of being enthusiastic, the explanation takes a crabbed
approach, adding language about “exclusively Jewish practice” such that it comes across as, “We’ll take you, but because we’re taking you we are adding requirements that you’ll have an exclusively Jewish home and raise exclusively Jewish children.” As Susan Katz Miller, the longtime advocate for interfaith families, aptly writes, the decision seems “based in fear, control, and frankly, despair. There is no trace of understanding of the benefits — for rabbis, for their families, or for their communities — of the joy of living in an interfaith family.”
The requirement of exclusivity, if it is enforced, will lead to all sorts of definitional problems. It’s not as simple as Rehfeld’s example of a couple going to shul on Saturday morning and celebrating mass on Sunday. As Katz Miller writes, parents can choose one formal religious affiliation for a child, but as “anyone who is part of an interfaith family can attest, you cannot erase the religion and culture of a parent, or extended family, from the child’s experience. They will attend a beloved grandparent’s funeral in another religious tradition, a cousin’s baptism, an aunt’s wedding. These are intimate and formative experiences in the life of an interfaith child.”
Or, as Samira Mehta points out, it is a “poor pastoral practice [to ask] couples to block out one half of their families’ heritage.”
Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham serves Congregation
B’nai Amoona and is a member of the St. Louis Rabbinical
OPINIONS
We’ve been here before:
Reproductive rights redux
BY FRANCES LEVINE
What would Vivian do?
Vivian Zwick was a pillar of the pro-choice and the Jewish community of St. Louis. She was the first woman elected as the president of the Jewish Light Board of Trusteess in 1975 (Jewish Light Aug. 10, 2022). I met her at several Planned Parenthood events, and I was inspired by her long history of reproductive activism. She died the day after her 106th birthday in April 2022, and until the end of her life she cautioned that the end of the protection of rights guaranteed by Roe vs. Wade, would represent a return to the perils of illegal abortion and dangerous conditions for reproductive healthcare that she had seen before.
There were many other St. Louisans —doctors, nurses and individuals with no specific medical training, whose work began long before Roe, through an “underground” of sorts that fought for reproductive choice.
They knew firsthand about women who died from unsafe abortions. They knew families who could not afford to feed, clothe and care adequately for their children. They knew that safe reproductive choice was essential for the welfare of our communities.
As I’ve followed the fallout from Missouri’s abortion ban and the effort to overturn it at the ballot box, I’ve been reflecting on the secrecy around sex and pregnancy that I experienced growing up in the pre-Roe days.
What I learned as a child and adolescent about sex and reproduction came from my older sister and brother or from eavesdropping on conversations among the adults talking about their health, family history and the sometimes salacious details of gossip. I didn’t know where to turn to ask questions or to evaluate the information I received from these purloined and fragmented conversations.
I understood that pregnancy outside of marriage was a
sin or at least a source of family embarrassment and community shame. These babies were “illegitimate.” My mother seemed to be more focused that I did not get pregnant in my teens than if I would go to college.
By my college years, the momentum for change was growing and a new information environment made it more possible to avoid unintended pregnancy, but it took the Supreme Court’s recognition in Roe that a person had a right to choose whether to carry a pregnancy to term to truly give us autonomy over our lives and bodies.
Roe diminished the market for what had been at least three decades of profitable sales of white infants and the practice of coerced adoptions in this country. For the last 50 years — from 1973 to 2022, the right to choose, to plan a family, or to have an abortion for medical or other reasons was protected by law and guaranteed to individuals. Doctors were trained and hospitals equipped to provide safe, legal abortions and other care for difficult pregnancies.
No longer. Now family-planning and individual choice have been seriously curtailed across this country; the threat in Missouri is ever-widening. After the Dobbs decision terminating Roe v. Wade as federal law in June 2022, reproductive choice and reproductive health care were thrust backwards, exposing women, men and their families to choices that lay outside their private, family considerations.
Women and men are being asked to surrender our most intimate health and family decisions to others. We are being asked to allow political decisions to override our physicians’ knowledge and our own religious and moral teachings and to empower others to make choices about what’s best for our family or child.
Reproductive choice matters. Choice provides accurate, nonjudgmental sex education. Choice offers facts and sources of information about the needs of children, their families and the community resources that support them
Bean counting racial outcomes is no way to achieve equality
BY MARTY ROCHESTER
Yes, unfortunately, there is still racism in America. There will probably always be a degree of racism in America, as there is in virtually every country on earth. It is almost impossible to rid the United States and any other nation of the last bigot.
Still, two truths are plain. First, there has been enormous progress in improving race relations in the U.S., perhaps most visibly demonstrated by the election of a Black president in 2008 and 2012 and a Black vice president in 2020.
Second, to the extent progress will continue to be made, it is not likely to occur through diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) bean counting whereby we attempt to ensure exact numerical representation of each racial/ethnic group in every sector of society. Race-based decisions, after all, are by definition racist.
As Heather Mac Donald put it succinctly in Imprimis in a February commentary headlined “Disparate Impact Thinking is Destroying Our Civilization”:
“The most consequential falsehood in American public policy today is the idea that any racial disparity in any institution is by definition the result of racial discrimination. If a cancer research lab, for example, does not have 13% Black oncologists — the Black share of the national population — it is by definition a racist lab that discriminates against competitively qualified Black oncologists; if an airline company doesn’t have 13% Black pilots, it is by definition a racist airline company that discriminates against competitively qualified Black pilots; and if a prison population contains more than 13% Black prisoners, our law enforcement system is racist.”
Well, let’s engage in this silly bean counting exercise for a moment and see where it takes us. Have you noticed when watching TV lately that we have “disparate impacts” in television advertising. That is, based on observing TV ads, one would think that Blacks make up roughly half of American society rather than only 13%, because in the post-George Floyd, DEI, “woke” era, this is what TV commercials look
like. If you think I am exaggerating, try doing a content analysis of commercials on almost any TV station.
Should we be upset by this? No, not really, because it is not as if it is important that the actors in TV commercials be selected based on merit rather than skin color or political correctness. Surely, though, it makes a difference when, under the DEI regime, merit is secondary in hiring doctors and airline pilots. As I have written previously, when you are about to undergo an open-heart operation or board an airplane, do you want a surgical team or cockpit crew that “looks like America” or, rather, is the very best no matter the coloration? The answer should be obvious.
John Sailor notes in a March 12 commentary in the Wall Street Journal, for example, that the National Institutes of Health has prioritized “diversity statements” in funding neurobiology research grants and other medical research at Cornell University and elsewhere. In 2020, NIH gave 12 universities more than $240 million over nine years for “diversity focused faculty hiring,” i.e. “ideological litmus tests.”
Mac Donald writes that “the average Medical College Achievement Test (MCAT) score for Black applicants is a standard deviation below the average score of white applicants. Some medical schools have waived the submission of MCAT scores altogether for Black applicants. … Heads of medical schools and chairmen of departments like pediatric surgery are being selected on the basis of identity, not knowledge.”
She writes that what is at stake here is “future medical progress and, ultimately, lives.”
Similar undermining of meritocracy can be seen in law, the arts and other sectors. There are perverse effects felt here also, including the unfortunate uncertainty over whether minority hires fully have earned their appointments, a stigma they do not deserve.
Let me stress that I understand and value diversity. I respect, for example, my friend Phyllis Markus, recently recognized as a “Woman of Achievement” for her “multicultural advocacy,” who “has worked tirelessly to foster connections between diverse religions, ethnic and racial
Dr. Frances Levine has held executive leadership positions as the former President, Missouri Historical Society; she served for the opening year as Interim President, St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum. She holds a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology with a specialization in ethnohistory and historical archaeology from Southern Methodist University, Dallas.
for the long-term. Choice is a part of how we care for other people’s children, for families that may look different than our own families of origin and how we build resilient, supportive communities. Reproductive choice should not be confused with morality or immorality. Choice is not only a reference to the right to choose to terminate a pregnancy through abortion. Familyplanning choices, by whatever means and according to one’s religious and ethical beliefs, are the foundation of family health and community stability.
Recently, news coverage has reported cases where the lives of mothers and babies were endangered because medical practitioners in states with restrictive practices — like Missouri — fear lawsuits and loss of medical licenses.
When Dobbs ended constitutional protection for reproductive health care two years ago, Missouri legislators and officials immediately chose to go back to the days before Roe. This year, as Missouri voters, we expect to have a choice at the ballot box in November. A proposed state constitutional amendment — if approved by voters — will restore reproductive choice. Your vote counts, and the choice is yours. Me, I’ll do what Vivian would have done.
J. Martin Rochester, Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, is the author of 10 books on international and American politics.
groups in St. Louis, all to cultivate a more inclusive society” (Ladue News).
It does a disservice to her and others to reduce this to bean counting. As Bill Ackman, a prominent Harvard alum who has accused the university of antisemitism, has stated: “I have always believed that diversity is an important feature of a successful organization, but by diversity I mean … diversity of viewpoints, politics, ethnicity, race, age, religion, experience, socioeconomic background, sexual identity, gender, one’s upbringing and more. What I learned however, is that DEI … was a political advocacy movement on behalf of certain groups that are deemed oppressed [based on unequal outcomes].” (The Free Press, Jan. 3).
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) states that a “forthcoming study … demonstrates that colleges [when considering job candidates] penalize … prospective faculty whose [DEI] statements focus on rural diversity, socioeconomic diversity or intellectual diversity rather than race, ethnicity or gender.”
FIRE points to a hopeful sign, that “MIT is taking a bold step by abolishing these mandatory [diversity] statements. True to its mission, the university chose to prioritize ‘generating, disseminating and preserving knowledge’ above any singular ideology.” (FIRE, May 9).
More institutions need to follow MIT’s lead. The DEI movement not only, in Mac Donald’s words, threatens to “destroy civilization” but also undermines the legacy of Martin Luther King and his commitment to a colorblind society.
We can do much better, for example, trying to address the academic skills gap that accounts for so many disparate outcomes.
Bean counting is not the answer.
PHOTO: DANIEL QUAT
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The art of jewish life
How a Jewish kid from Clara Ave. became a ‘Picasso’ of nostalgia
BY JORDAN PALMER CHIEF DIGITAL CONTENT OFFICER
The term “Renaissance man or woman” is one we should all aspire to be called at some point in our lives. It refers to someone exceptionally knowledgeable, skilled, and proficient in a wide range of fields or disciplines. Ed Farber is just such a person.
Let’s introduce you to him.
His personal website bio describes Farber as a ‘prominent artist and writer deeply rooted in the St. Louis community, where his art and literature intertwine seamlessly.’ It’s this seamless integration that is particularly compelling.
Born on March 14, 1932, at the old Jewish Hospital on Kingshighway, Ed Farber’s upbringing on Clara Avenue in St. Louis deeply influenced his artistic vision, shaped by his Ukrainian immigrant roots and Orthodox Jewish traditions.
“Growing up on Clara, my home was filled with stories of the old country and bustling Jewish life in St. Louis,” Farber recalls. “My bubbe, ‘Bahba,’ was so devout (‘frum’) she wouldn’t eat at weddings, even when the rabbi partook. My Zeyde, originally a groats dealer in the old country, became a junk dealer in St. Louis.”
The family home on Clara took on additional significance as Farber’s father, then a teenager, apprenticed as a paperhanger/ painter. Initially residing in a small attic, he later purchased the entire house where the family lived together.
Farber had a childhood passion for drawing, painting, and writing.
“Art was my first love,” he recalls, “but writing came a close second.” His formal education took him to Harris Junior College and later the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, where he honed his skills in both fields.
Farber’s professional journey began in advertising, where he combined his skills
in art and writing. His tenure at Edison Brothers Stores and later as the owner of Farber-Fulbright, Inc. showcased his ability to blend creativity with business acumen. Yet, it was his return to personal art and writing that truly defines his Renaissance legacy.
“My painting tends to be realistic, but I’m not a slave to realism,” Farber explains. Influenced by impressionism, his works often capture the vibrant essence of urban life, drawing inspiration from the Clara Ave. neighborhood of his youth. Farber’s paintings vividly capture the essence of mid-20th century Jewish St. Louis. His series “Streetscapes” and “Echoes of Another Time” serve as nostalgic snapshots of Jewish life and culture, resonating with personal and historical significance. Specifically, “Grampa’s Back Porch” depicts a quiet moment of his Jewish immigrant life in St. Louis, evoking a delightful and peaceful connection with the viewer.
“It’s my memory of my Zeyde’s back
porch and the view from that porch on Clara Avenue, although the people in it (including the Zeyde figure) are totally my imagination,” said Farber. “The painting, which has won a number of prizes, evokes memories of a similar neighborhood where they or their parents used to live.”
In his four-piece series “Echoes of Another Time” Farber was inspired by his own research into his family history and recalling the shtetl way of life that disappeared with the Holocaust.
“Mixed in with that are my memories of going to the synagogue in the neighborhood with my Zeyde. My painting of ‘Evening Prayers’ is a combination of both as is the painting, ‘Rabbi with Torah,’” said Farber. “For that painting, depicting the prayer shawl, including the Hebrew lettering and the Torah elements, was both a challenge and a fond memory.”
Growing up on Clara Avenue, his family were not big readers, so books were scarce. But the books Farber did find led him to love adventure stories like those by
‘Evening Prayers’
and
Jack London or Kipling’s Captains Courageous, the first book he ever borrowed from a library.
“And I was a pretty good writer too. High school compositions came easy to me. And I began to play with writing short stories. Art was my first love, but writing came a close second,” remembers Farber.
One of his first stories, “The Elixir of the Incas,” was bought by Cricket Magazine, a prominent children’s publication, and became the seed from which two later novels would grow.
Since 2000, Farber has authored six books, including his humorous memoir “Looking Back with a Smile” and the short story collection “Echoes of Clara Avenue.”
“I have two books now in the works. The first is entitled ‘The Rover,’ and another book of short stories, ‘Gambler’s Luck and Other Short Stories,’” said Farber.
For more information about Ed Farber and his artwork, visit www.farberart.com and explore his collection at FineArtAmerica.
(above),
‘Grandpa’s Back Porch #1’ (below).
ARTWORK BY ED FARBER
Ed Farber
FEATURES
NANCY KRANZBERG — THE ARTS IN ST. LOUIS
Helping St. Louis arts and culture shine bright: Let’s spotlight
BY NANCY KRANZBERG SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
St. Louis is not a perfect city by any means. However, let’s take a look at what is darn near perfect in our city and that would be the arts and culture scene. I really believe that we are the most culturally rich city, per capita in the country. We are not New York or Chicago, but we have a top of the line line up for all the arts in our wonderful St.Louis.
Let’s take a look at some of our shining stars in most our art disciplines starting with the opera scene. Of course, we remember Grace Bumbry and Robert McFerrin and the currently active Christine Brewer, but our native Julie Bullock got her start right here at Opera Theatre of St. Louis and just made her Metropolitan Opera debut. Bullock has sung in major theaters throughout the world. Another native who also started at Opera Theatre, Jennifer Johnson Cano, sings regularly at all the major houses around the world.
Kim Eberlein, chairperson of the board of OTSL, reminded me that St. Louis’ Jermaine Smith has been deeply connected to OTSL since high school. He made his debut in the 1990s and became the definitive “Sportin’ Life” in Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” performing this role worldwide.
To narrow our native visual artists down to a few is virtually impossible but let’s look at two who live in our city and are world renowned.
Katherine Bernhardt’s art is a reflection of her diverse influences, absorbing elements from pop art, graffiti and street art traditions. She skillfully employs brush and spray paint to craft her pieces, which are characterized by their rhythmic patterns reminiscent of Moroccan rugs and African textiles. Her work is not just aesthetically pleasing but also serves as a subtle critique of the environmental degradation caused by consumer waste, as seen in her depictions of sea creatures navigating a sea of household products.
Bernhard’s work has been shown and lauded all over the world and we are thrilled to have her back in St. Louis.
St. Louis-based Kahlil Irving creates assemblages made up of layered images and sculptures composed of replicas of everyday objects. He often compares systems of control, compression and histories of anti-Blackness operate on the edges of our attention. Like sifting through archaeological strata, Irving’s work reveals how our present moment is made up physical remnants that begin to tell a fragmented story.
We remember greats such as Katherine Dunham — dancer, archaeologist and educator of years gone by. Now we have Antonio and Kirvin Douthit-Boyd who came to St. Louis in 2015 to take the helm of COCA. Antonio, originally from St. Louis, is said to have danced 10,000 miles and come full circle. Both have recently retired as professional dancers with Alvin Ailey.
Antonio not only heads the dance program at COCA but also teaches at Washington University. Kervin is now the artistic director of St. Louis Dance Theater (formerly Big Muddy Dance).
And the music scene in St. Louis is, and has always been, a major force. Just
a few of our city’s remarkable artists
touching on the music scene, we remember Chuck Berry and Josephine Baker, Miles Davis and Scott Joplin, among so many others.
Two incredible current jazz pianists are Peter Martin and Adam Manness. Both are in a class by themselves. Martin has been a member of Chris Botti’s touring band and has toured with Christian McBride. He has recorded with Victor Goins, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman and Diane Reeves, just to name a few.
Manness has recently created “Pop, Pop, Pop” an orchestra playing pop music, with the mission of spreading the incredible music, stories and artistry of the greatest songwriters in history via the most iconic medium: the symphony orchestra.
And our own Keyon Harrold crisscross-
es musical styles on trumpet and with vocals. He is a composer, writer and producer and has made St. Louisans proud.
T.S. Eliot, Maya Angelou and Eugene Field were all from St. Louis. Today, the city is still producing very talented young poets, such as Jessica Baran, who writes about art, place and identity.
Baran has been nationally recognized and awarded for her books of poetry, “Equivalents” and “Remains to be Used,” as well as other works. She has written art criticism and done other writing for Art Forum and Art in America.
And we just can’t forget our star of stars, Jon Hamm, who lauds his native city all the time and who looks like a work of art.
I hope all who see this will come share the joy with me and enjoy some of what St.
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.
Louis has to offer in the world of art and culture.
Let ‘Tiles Tuesday’ be your weekly Mah Jongg fix for fun and friendship in St. Louis
BY AMY FENSTER BROWN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
I. Love. Mah Jongg.
Formerly a game where for your Bubbe and her blue-haired friends, Mah Jongg is cool amongst the 40- and 50-something crowd. Tiles and numbers, symbols and strategy, rules and adult women telling each other they’re doing it wrong. It’s the best.
Mah Jongg, or Mahj for short, is a club similar to others we know of, like book club.
I could never be in a book club because being assigned a book is too much like homework, and the only novel I really can get into is the Cheesecake Factory menu.
Between Mah Jongg and the Aldi shopping cart situation, I’ve really highlighted my need to hoard quarters.
Does playing Mah Jongg make me feel like my group is the modern-day version of “The Golden Girls?” Yes. Does it make me want to buy boxy linen button-down shirts and chunky statement necklaces to wear on a cruise ship? Yes. Does it make me want to always have a variety of shelf-stable snacks on hand in case an impromptu game whips up out of nowhere? Yes, but to be fair, it’s important to have shelf-stable snacks on hand anyway. You know for, like, a Tuesday.
It’s hilarious that no matter how long you’ve played, we still question the rules and rhetoric. Is Charleston clockwise or counterclockwise? Can you do both mish mosh and optionals or only one? Will my group ever fall for my made-up situations where it’s legal to use a Joker in a pair?
Nothing can beat the private jokes in your Mahj group. Ours has so many that we’ve started keeping a journal of
them because who can remember? We spend more time eating and talking over one another than actually playing the game. No one can finish a sentence and everyone is hilarious. Once I laughed so hard tears were running down my legs.
We discuss things that are important to us, like hot flashes, what to cook for dinner and a recent sighting of a Groupon for skin tag removal.
The game is more than just a game. Similar to Bridge, Bunco and Canasta groups, it’s about the friendships and fun that you look forward to. I asked several Mah Jongg mavens why they love their grown up group playdates.
“I love spending time with friends, laughing over strategy and unique game rules, and using my brain a bit.”
“It’s a social connection and a way to chal-
lenge myself differently than my day-to-day tasks.”
“It’s our group, the camaraderie, and our inside jokes about the tiles and rules.”
“I like the strategy of the game, the company of the people, and screaming over each other to pick a flipping hand already.”
Actually, the last game I played, we had pushed out the fourth wall, and one of the girls said, “OK, I’ve finally decided on a hand.”
If you love to play Mah Jongg and have a group, or you want to play but don’t have a group, or you’ve always wanted to learn, come to Tiles Tuesday, every Tuesday in July. Jewish Federation of St. Louis Women’s Philanthropy group is hosting it at Mirowitz Center at Covenant Place, 7-9 p.m. It’s $18 a session and includes the 2024 card. For more information and to register, go to www. jfedstl.org/events/tiles-tuesday.
Women’s Philanthropy President (and wicked good Mahj player) Amy Lampert says, “We created Tiles Tuesday because a lot of people said they wanted to learn to play, and also because it brings people together, many of whom you might not meet otherwise. Mah Jongg isn’t just a game. It’s a way to connect as a Jewish community and build new friendships.”
One of these days I’m going to figure out a way to use a Joker in a pair.
Columnist Amy Fenster Brown is married to Jeff and has two teenage sons, Davis and Leo. She volunteers for several Jewish not-for-profit groups. Fenster Brown is an Emmy Award-winning TV news writer and counts time with family and friends, talking and eating peanut butter among her hobbies.
Amy Fenster Brown (left) and fellow members of a MahJongg club.
The latest in streaming
BY NATE BLOOM SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
On July 3, Netflix began streaming “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” the fourth film in the “BHC” feature film franchise. Here’s the premise: Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), a Detroit police officer, returns to Beverly Hills after his daughter Jane’s life is threatened. She and Axel team up with her ex-boyfriend (JOSEPH GORDONLEVITT, 43) and Axel’s old pals, John Taggart, now the Beverly Hills Police Chief, and Billy Rosewood, a police lieutenant. Together, they uncover a conspiracy.
Taggart (John Ashton) was a police sergeant and Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) was a police detective in the original “BHC” film (1984), which made over $700 million (adjusted for inflation). The first “BHC” film was directed by MARTIN BREST, now 72, and the third “BHC” film (1987) was directed by JOHN LANDIS, now 73.
The first “BHC” flick had three Jewish co-stars: STEPHEN ELLIOTT (19182005) as the chief of the Beverly Hills P.D.; British Jew STEVEN BERKOFF, now 86, as top evil guy Victor Maitland and PAUL REISER , now 68. He played Detective Jeffrey Friedman. (Reiser, as Friedman, was also in “BHC II,” and he is in “Axel F.”)
vvv
“Sunny” is a dark comedy series that premieres July 10 on Apple+ TV. RASHIDA JONES, 48, stars as Suzie Sakamoto, an American married to a Japanese scientist who creates sophisticated robots.
Suzie’s husband and her son mysteriously vanish in a plane crash. After the crash, her husband’s company gives Suzie one of their best new robots (named “Sunny”). The robot is a sort of “consolation prize.” Sunny and Suzie set-out to dig-out the truth behind the crash and disappearances.
Jones is the daughter of the late actress PEGGY LIPTON and legendary African American music producer Quincy Jones. She identifies strongly as Jewish. Her partner, since 2015, is EZRA KOENIG, 40. He’s the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the popular indie rock band Vampire Weekend. He’s won two Grammys. The couple have one child.
vvv
“Fly Me to the Moon” is a romantic comedy, which opens in theaters on July 12. It’s set in the late ‘60s, when the U.S. and the Soviet Union race to land on the moon first. A relationship develops between the NASA director in charge of the Apollo 11 mission (Channing Tatum) and a marketing specialist (SCARLETT JOHANSSON, 39) brought in to fix NASA’s public image and stage a “back-up” fake moon landing.
vvv
“Lady in the Lake” is a seven-episode limited series that premieres on Apple+ on July 19. Here’s the set-up: In the 1960s, a bored Jewish housewife (NATALIE PORTMAN, 42) leaves her husband and moves to downtown Baltimore to become an investigative reporter. She soon begins unraveling the mystery behind the murder of a black bartender and a young Jewish girl.
The series, based on a best-selling novel, was directed by ALMA HAR’EL, 45, an Israeli-American. Har’el also wrote the series scripts. MIKEY MADISON, 25, and BRETT GELMAN, 47, have major supporting roles.
Why kosher rules and ‘The Bear’ keep the J’s Brad Hartman on his toes
STORY AND PHOTO BY BILL MOTCHAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
Brad Hartman has worked in kitchens all over the world. He was also at one time the owner of Pumpernickle’s deli in Creve Coeur. Recently, he was named head chef at the Jewish Community Center.
Hartman, 63, and a member of Central Reform Congregation, learned to cook at a young age from his mom, who was a home economics teacher. Recently, he sat down with the Jewish Light to discuss his new role, the rewards of working in a commercial kosher kitchen and why he tenses up when watching cooking shows on TV, including “The Bear,” which returned with Season 3 on June 26 on Hulu. Meals prepared for the J’s Early Childhood program, Adult Day at the J and Meal on Wheels participants served out of the J’s kitchen are all supervised by the Vaad Hoeir of St. Louis.
What are some of the unique aspects of managing the kitchen at the J?
Making sure that we prepare and send out food that people will enjoy and that we pay attention to the needs of all the different and varied clients that we have. We serve the early childhood center and the adult day center. We do a kosher meals-on-wheels program. You can’t necessarily send an 80- year-old meals-on-wheels client the same sandwich you’re giving to a 7-year-old.
Does adherence to kosher dietary laws add to the challenges for your staff?
We have a meat and a milk kitchen. We have meat and milk freezers and refrigerators. And we take it very seriously. We could fudge but there’s a
respect I have for the process as a Jewish person. I could sneak a little milk into a sauce to make it better, but it doesn’t occur to me to do it. I’d say, no, that’s disrespectful and it’s not acceptable.
Have you watched the hit TV show, “The Bear” about the pressure-filled kitchen of a fine dining kitchen? I know that it’s wonderfully done. I usually don’t watch shows like that because I’ll get anxiety attacks. I get all clenched. I think “No, no, you’ve got to get that sauce done! It’s going to burn!” My wife (Margie Guller Hartman) will say, “What are you doing to yourself? It’s not real!” But, it’s real to me.
You’re an alum of the Culinary Institute of America. What that an
intense experience?
Yes—getting the final product was not the most important thing. It was the steps you took to get there and how you presented it. I made perfect a hollandaise sauce in my first shot. Making a consommé was one of the first things that you have to master. And it sounds easy, but you have to get the clarity just right. Nobody eats consommé anymore, but getting it right was the sign of a great chef.
What items are always in your refrigerator at home?
Massive amounts of condiments, probably 30. Apple cider, a bottle of white wine, usually a couple of meals worth of leftovers. And always strawberry ice pops. Late at night, I can eat a pile of chocolate or an ice pop.
Brad Hartman
CHAI LIGHTS
YOUR CALENDAR OF ST. LOUIS JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS
Editor’s note: All Mirowitz Center events are free unless otherwise noted. To register for a Mirowitz Center event, visit http://bit.ly/ Mirowitz-registration, call 314-733-9813 or email info@mirowitzcenter.org.
SUNDAY | JULY 14
Aish’s summer family picnic
Join Aish for a day of friendship and outdoor activities at our summer family picnic at Stacy Park, 9750 Old Bonhomme Rd., in Olivette from 2-6 p.m. The day of fun includes the rabbis’ softball game, BBQ food for purchase, covered pavilion, accessible playground, walking paths, Natural Prairie Habitat and ample parking. RSVP by Friday, July 12 to Caren Goldstein at cgoldstein@ aishstl.com.
TUESDAY | JULY 16
Mirowitz Center discussion looks at history of ballpark food
From 10-11 a.m. step up to the plate with Ken Weintraub as he explores the iconic food that has become as much a part of baseball lore as the game itself. From the early days of peanuts and crackerjacks to contemporary gourmet offerings in state-ofthe-art stadiums, today’s fans continue to embrace America’s favorite pastime as well as its culinary traditions. This online program at the Mirowitz Center is provided with FEL (Friends Enjoying Life), the Mirowitz Center men’s organization.
A Jewish perspective on secrets of successful relationships
Join Rabbi Ze’ev Smason from noon to 1 p.m. at the Mirowitz Center for a three-part series on building long-lasting and successful relationships based on Jewish values and teachings. Smason will provide unique insights on nurturing deeper interactions, respect, and peace in evolving relationships, including those with challenging personalities. No cost to register, but RSVP is required. Part 1 topic: The Naked Truth –Relationship Lessons from Adam & Eve.
WEDNESDAY | JULY 17
Breast and Ovarian Cancer Support Group
This monthly group provides support, connection and education to women in the community who have been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer and are anywhere along their treatment path – before, during, or post-treatment. Facilitated by Kathy Bearman, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, this group meets from 5:15 – 6:45 p.m. on the third Wednesday at the J near Creve Coeur. Newcomers are always welcome along with female family and friends. Light kosher dinner will be served. The Hamsa Wellness Community is a program at the J and a community 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.
THUSDAY | JULY 18
NHBZ Whiskey & Wisdom
Gentlemen, don’t miss this opportunity to booze and schmooze at NHBZ’s “Whiskey & Wisdom” event at 7:30 p.m. Join us on the terrace, sip some whiskey and hear words of
Torah wisdom from Rabbi Avi Feigenbaum of Esther Miller Bais Yaakov. This event is free of charge, and NHBZ membership is not necessary to attend. RSVP is recommended but not required. For more information, call 314-991-2100.
Between the Covers Book Club
Reference Librarian Hillary Peppers facilitates an online book club every third Thursday of each month from 10-11 a.m. at the Mirowitz Center. No cost to register, but RSVP is required. The book selection for July is “Heartland” by Sarah Smarsh.
Beyond the Spotlight: Jewish values in the theater
This series introduces the upcoming New Jewish Theatre (NJT) season and explores Jewish playwrights, characters, and values from 1-2 p.m. at the Mirowitz Center. Each session also includes insights from NJT’s artistic team, discussions with a rabbi and a discount on play tickets. No cost to register, but RSVP required. Part three topic: “Red” by John Logan, with guest speaker Rabbi James Stone Goodman of Central Reform Congregation.
SUNDAY | JULY 21
Jewish War Veterans meeting
Jewish War Veterans Post 644 will meet in the Kaplan-Feldman Holocaust Museum at 10 a.m. on the third Sunday of each month (unless otherwise indicated). A Zoom option will be available for those not able to attend in person. 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 | JULY 23
Affordable Home Internet –Senior Planet from AARP
Home-internet service can help you save money, look for a job, connect with others, make everyday tasks easier and much more! Trainer Jim Salih will cover the basics from 1-2 p.m. at the Mirowitz Center, plus explain all your options and how to sign up. Also learn about resources for finding low-cost programs from internet-service providers across the country. No cost to register, but RSVP required.
The Week in Review
Moderated by Harvey Gerstein and Marilyn Alton, this is a forum for thoughtful discussion about the most pressing news stories of the week, which takes place online
JUL
through the Mirowitz Center from 10-11 a.m. No cost to register, but RSVP required.
MindMatters
Provident Behavioral Health facilitator and licensed social worker Nicole Adams leads this monthly group at the Mirowitz Center every fourth Tuesday from 10-11 a.m. This free, in-person class offers a safe space to share experiences, feelings and thoughts with other adults experiencing the challenges of aging. Free, but RSVP required. Supported by a grant from the Women’s Auxiliary Foundation for Jewish Aged.
WEDNESDAY | JULY 24
Mirowitz Center online program on American art
Elana Kaplan, museum educator and lecturer for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, returns for an online tour from 10-11 a.m. of the ever-evolving American Wing at The Met, which includes paintings, sculpture, furniture, period rooms, decorative arts and architectural spaces. No cost to register, but RSVP required.
The Rabbi is IN!
On the fourth Wednesday of every month, join Rabbi Neal Rose, Chaplain for Jewish Family Services (JFS), for a monthly discussion with a Jewish theme from 3-4 p.m. at the Mirowitz Center. No cost to register, but RSVP required. Program is co-sponsored by JFS of St. Louis.
THURSDAY | JULY 25
The J plans Israeli cooking class
Spice up your culinary skills at our Israeli Cooking Class with Snir, the Israeli Shaliach from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center near Creve Coeur. Learn to make an Israeli favorite, shakshuka. The cost is $15. Register at https://www.showpass. com/o/st-louis-jewish-community-center/ categories/6535/
Safety Smarts: Personal security and how to spot Scammers
Scary headlines and crime statistics can be alarming, so learn how to proactively protect yourself and your family without unnecessary worry. Scott Biondo, director of community security for the Jewish Federation and broader St. Louis Jewish community, will explain how to increase your situational awareness and personal confidence while reducing your chance of becoming a crime victim from 1-2 p.m. at the Mirowitz Center. No cost to register, but RSVP required.
SATURDAY | JULY 27
Nusach Hari B’nai Zion’s Synaplex Shabbat returns
See related news brief on page 7.
Temple Israel plans Summer Game Night
See related news brief on page 7.
SUNDAY | JULY 28
NHBZ Pizza Night
Bring your entire family to NHBZ’s Pizza Night from 5-7 p.m. for an all-you-can-eat delicious buffet of kosher pizza, pasta, salad and French fries plus a dessert and bever-
Local Jewish organizations and congregations can submit calendar items to news@ stljewishlight.org. Items must be received by 5 p.m. the Friday prior to publication to be considered for inclusion (see a list of remaining 2024 publication dates on page 2).
age. Prices are: $15 for adults; $8 kids ages 3-12; free for kids ages 3 and under. Credit cards are accepted. For more information, call 314-991-2100, ext. 2.
Peace like a river: An evening of story and song at MaTovu
Join Lucy Greenbaum, the Prayer Lab musicians, Rabbi Andrea Goldstein and other talented and soulful St. Louis artists at 7 p.m. for an evening dedicated to songs and stories of peace at MaTovu, 4200 Blaine Ave. All donations collected before and during the program will go to Combatants for Peace, a joint Israeli-Palestinian community guided by the values of nonviolent resistance and working together to end the occupation, discrimination, and oppression of all people living in Israel and Palestine. Registration is required and donations are appreciated. Contact Stacy at sjespersen@sestl.org or call 314-569-0010 for more information.
TUESDAY | JULY 30
Rabbi leads introduction to Jewish Mysticism
On Tuesday, July 30 and Aug. 6, from 7-8:30 p.m., join the Jewish Mindfulness Center of St. Louis at Congregation Shaare Emeth for a class with Rabbi Andrea Goldstein surveying some of the central themes of Jewish mysticism found in the Hebrew Bible, the Zohar and traditional Hasidic texts. The programs are free, but registration is required. Contact Stacy at sjespersen@sestl.org or call 314-569-0010 for more information.
STARTING | AUG. 1
Melton course on ‘Our Communal Days of Joy and Sorrow’ See news brief on page 7.
ONGOING
Spiritual Direction with Rabbi Andrea Goldstein
Spiritual Direction is a practice that involves meeting with a spiritual director on a monthly basis to cultivate our ability to discern God’s presence, the presence of holiness, in all aspects of our lives – the celebrations, the struggles and each moment in between. Anyone can benefit from Spiritual Direction. You do not need to hold any particular image of God, or a belief in God at all. Rabbi Andrea Goldstein offers Spiritual Direction most Monday afternoons. There is no cost for members of Congregation Shaare Emeth, though it is customary to make a donation to the Jewish Mindfulness Center of St. Louis after each session. The cost for non-Shaare Emeth members is $50 per session. To set up a first appointment contact Stacy Jespersen at sjespersen@ sestl.org.
Kol Chadash musical Shabbat service at Kol Rinah
This live prayer service will feature music with acoustic instruments, bringing together beautiful melodies and words of Torah to create a deep and moving prayer experience. Participants can come together at 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays at Kol Rinah to find spiritual meaning and fulfillment through music, harmony, joy and spirit. For more information, visit kolrinahstl.org or call 314-727-1747.
Snir Dagan will lead an Israeli cooking class at the J on July 25.
SIMCHAS
BIRTHS ENGAGEMENTS WEDDINGS MITZVOT
SUBMIT YOUR SIMCHA ANNOUNCEMENT FOR FREE!
KRUG-HERMAN WEDDING
Paige Krug and Nathan Herman were married May 26, 2024 at the Marriott St. Louis Grand.
Paige is the daughter of Elise and Mark Krug of St. Louis. She is the granddaughter of the late Kathleen Jacobson of Dallas, the late Philip and Corrine Jacobson of Fort Worth. Texas, the late Judy Krug of Overland Park, Kan. and Barbara Krug and the late Sanford Krug of Prairie Village, Kan.
Nathan is the son of Adina Herman of Highland Park, Ill. and Mark Herman of Chicago. He is the grandson of Elissa Rolnick Rubinstein and the late Lawrence Rubinstein of Glencoe, Ill. and Gayle Herman and the late Morton Herman of Chicago.
The bride’s sister, Rachel Krug, served as Maid of Honor. Bridesmaids were Ellie Marschinke, Jordyn Previn and Shayna Rosenak. Billy Do served as a bridesman. The groom’s brother, Sammy Herman, as well as Ari Nemetz and Pierre Deliso served as Best Men. Groomsmen were Brennen Muller, Mack Muller and Scott Hammersley.
Sasha and Rory Durlester served as flower girls.
The groom’s cousin, Rabbi Joel Alter of Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid in Milwaukee, and Cantor Sharon Nathanson of Congregation B’nai Amoona officiated.
The couple met while Paige was preparing to move to Chicago. Before the move, Paige wanted to meet someone living there and thanks to Hinge (an online dating app), she and Nathan connected. Three weeks later, he came to St. Louis to meet Paige in person. They had Shabbat dinner with her family, and the rest is history. To propose, Nathan surprised Paige on the beach in Mexico, asking her to marry him.
The couple enjoyed a wedding trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Paige and Nathan reside in Chicago.
Thanks to the generous support of the Harvey Kornblum Foundation, members of the St. Louis Jewish community can submit simcha announcements for free. Submit an announcement for your family’s recent simcha (birth, bar/bat mitzvah, engagement, wedding or major anniversary): How to submit your family’s simcha announcement
stljewishlight.org/simchas
CODINGTON-SASS WEDDING
Thalia Halcyon Sass and Zachary Benjamin Fredlich Codington were married June 1, 2024 in Watertown, Mass.
Thalia is the daughter of Elisabeth Sass of University City and Jeffrey Sass of St. Louis. She is the granddaughter of Halcyon Kramer (z”l) of Mount Clemens, Mich., and Richard and Joyce Sass of St. Louis.
Zak is the son of Marcia Fredlich, Cape Cod, Mass. and William Codington of Montague, Mass. He is the grandson of the late Morris and Shirley Fredlich (z”l) of Town and Country, and John and Celia Codington (z”l) of Newton, Mass.
Bridesmaids and Bridesman attendants were cousin Rachel Sass, friends Holli Franklin, Daniela Sirtori-Cortina, Amy Maher, Kaileen Suneson, Katie Peck and Jason Thon. Groomsmen were friends Kevin Hebard, Matt Bandes, Dan Shields, Manit Munshi, Conrad Beckmann, Andy Scott and Tim Steis. Cousin Evie Winograd served as flower girl. Rabbi Jackson Mercer officiated.
The couple celebrated with a ‘minimoon’ in New Brunswick. An extended wedding trip is planned for a later date.
Zak and Thalia met shortly after Thalia relocated from St. Louis to Boston for graduate studies at Brandeis University. All concerns about Thalia being a Blues fan in Bruins territory dissipated upon discovering that Zak prefers cheering on the Celtics and their mutual love of live music.
Thalia and Zak became engaged on New Year’s Eve, 2021 on the banks of Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vt.
BETTY AND BUDDY ROSENBAUM CELEBRATE 60TH ANNIVERSARY
Betty (Rubin) and Buddy Rosenbaum of Chesterfield celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary on June 14, 2024. They were married at Meadowbrook Country Club and have enjoyed traveling the world together over these many years. The couple celebrated this incredible milestone with their children and grandchildren.
Zak is in IT for financial services and Thalia is continuing her post-doctoral research. The couple will reside near Boston.
PHOTO: BEN SCHAEFER, SILVER AND SALT PHOTOGRAPHY, BOSTON
PHOTO: MICHELLE SCHWARTZ/WHITE KLUMP PHOTOGRAPHY
OBITUARIES
ALAN ABRAMS passed away in Nevada on June 26, 2024 of pancreatic cancer. He had been in hospice care for a month and died surrounded by his loving family, including his loving “best wife in the world” Susan Brown and his younger brother Ken.
Alan was born in St. Louis on May 12, 1943 to Jack and Adele Abrams. Alan graduated from University City High School in 1961 and earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Washington University in 1969. Before entering Wash U, Alan served in the Army in Vietnam. There he was shot by a sniper and was critically injured. As a result Alan was awarded the Purple Heart.
After graduating from college, Alan sold insurance in Chicago. He eventually retired to Mesquite, Nevada where he enjoyed the Las Vegas attractions. Alan is survived by his wife Sue and his two stepsons, ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren as well as his brother Ken. Before he passed, he wanted everyone to know he was “very blessed” and had no regrets.
Alan’s funeral was be held via You Tube on Sunday, July 7 at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
PHYLLIS GADSBY COHEN, 77, passed away quietly at home on June 29, 2024. Phyllis, widow of Stanley W. Cohen, mother to Stacy Cohen Sun (Brian), Angie Cohen Scariano (John), and grandmother to Harper Evan Sun and Aiden Scariano. Sister to Paula Lennard and Michael Gadsby, relative and friend to many.
Phyllis was a force like none other. As she joins her beloved husband, her family wishes to thank all who have loved and laughed with us through the years. Additional thanks to her care team for whom we are thankful for during her final days.
On behalf of our family, we wish to mourn this loss privately per our mother’s request. In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the St. Louis Jewish Federation, 12 Millstone Campus Dr, St. Louis, MO 63146 (https://www.jfedstl.org/) or the Lupus Foundation of America, 2121 K Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20037-1830 (https://www.lupus.org/).
A Rindskopf-Roth Service
THELMA DAVIDSON, June 29, 2024
Dear daughter of the late Rachel and Suly Davidson. Beloved sister of the late Marvin, Sidney, Raymond, Bobby, Joseph and Tauba Davidson. Sister-in-law of Bernice Davidson. Dear aunt and friend.
Thelma was a long-time and active member of Congregation Temple Israel and a board member of the Jewish Community Center – Health Club.
A graveside service was held Friday, July 5 at B’nai Amoona Cemetery, 930 North and South Road. Contributions in her memory may be made to Congregation Temple Israel or the charity of your choice.
A Rindskopf-Roth Service
HENRY NATHAN DEUTSCH, July 1st, 2024.
Beloved son of David and Beth Deutsch; dear brother of Marcus and Audrey Deutsch. Dear grandson of Jack and Ellen Deutsch and the (late) David and Sina Beil. Dear nephew, cousin and friend to many.
From the time Henry was a child, he loved nature. Once he got stung trying to pet a fuzzy bumblebee. Bleeding hearts were his favorite flower. His father taught him to fish and he was hooked from the start.
Over the years, they stood side by side, along with his brother, tying lures, casting, and unsnagging their line before reeling them in. Of the three children, it was Henry who could linger for hours with his mother inside an Art Museum or outside at the Botanical Gardens. From childhood to adulthood, Henry could be found snuggling under blankets watching horror or anime movies with his sister.
He had the palate of a food critic, although he didn’t particularly like to cook, and would point out whenever an ingredient was missing from a family recipe, which altered it’s taste (in his opinion) for the worst. Although his favorite music was rap, which could be heard blasting from his car stereo a block before he approached, Henry also created playlists that spanned all genres — blues, jazz, reggae and rock — which he shared with friends and family. And although Henry struggled with dyslexia, he became a voracious reader of comic books. Indeed a walking encyclopedia of both Marvel and DC right up until his passing.
But above all, Henry made us belly laugh. His quirky mannerisms and off-beat expressions were legendary in our family. Memories that will carry us as we join hands together and cross this ocean of tears.
Families may submit an obituary for a loved one through the funeral home they work with or by using a form on the Jewish Light’s website: stljewishlight.org/submit-obituary
OBITUARIES INDEX
Abrams, Alan Cohen, Phyllis Gadsby Davidson, Thelma Deutsch, Henry Fischer, David Freed, Rita B. Friedman, Harvey
Jablonow, Scott Kramer, Genevieve Levy, Donald Prince, Vida “Sister” Sandler, Gene Saltzman, Leo Jay
A Funeral Service was held July 5th at Congregation Temple Israel #1 Rabbi Alvan D. Rubin Drive at Spoede Road. Private family-only burial to follow. Visit bergermemorialchapel.com for more information.
In Lieu of flowers please send contributions to: The Harris House, an organization that helps people achieve sobriety and become healthy and productive individuals (a memorial fund has been created in memory of Henry) https:// harrishousestl.org/donate/ OR PreventEd, an organization that works to prevent and reduce the harms of alcohol and other drug use through education, intervention and advocacy, through community coalitions like the one Beth started in Clayton. https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/ give/prevented/henry_deutsch Berger Memorial Service
American Flag symbol denotes a United States military veteran.
personality will forever remain in our hearts. Visitation and service will be held at Krieshauser Mortuary - West Chapel on July 11th. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Gaucher Foundation at 5410 Edson Ln #220, Rockville, MD 20852.
HARVEY PAUL FRIEDMAN, December 31, 1935 – July 5, 2024
Beloved husband of the late Carol Chazen Friedman. Dear brother of Norman (the late Dina) Friedman. Loving uncle of Beth Ann, Lisa, Dan, Michael, Jed and (Gaby).
Harvey was born in New York, New York and worked his way westward receiving his PhD from the University of Kansas. He eventually settled in St. Louis and served as a Professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis for forty years. Shortly after arriving in St. Louis he attended a mixer at the Jewish Community Center and it was there that he caught the eye of a young co-ed. It was love at first sight and he and Carol were constant companions until her passing in 2011.
Harvey was a beloved and respected mentor and educator. He never met a stranger and was always willing to lend a hand or to brighten spirits by telling one of his many jokes. He will be missed by his family and many friends.
DAVID SAMUEL FISCHER, 75, passed away while visiting Santa Barbara, CA on June 10, 2024. Born on November 13, 1948, to Rudy and Eleanor (Jeffe) Fischer, David was a loving brother to Debbie and Joyce Fischer, and proud father of Elizabeth Haertter and Jesse Fischer. He was a cherished grandfather to Charlie Haertter and Eli Fischer, and a dear uncle to Scott Kozloff, Jim Kozloff, Rick Kozloff, Sarah Byrne, and Rey Byrne.
David’s life was enriched by his connections with former-wives Debbie (Wald) Dunn, Edith James, and Linda (Sibert) Fischer. As a beloved friend and co-founder/steward of Hummingbird Community in New Mexico, David’s legacy of kindness and community will be deeply missed.
His career as a Pedorthist spanned 40 plus years touching soles/souls across the globe. Plans for a Celebration of Life are being coordinated.
RITA B FREED peacefully passed away on July 4, 2024.
She was the beloved mother of Stacy (Felino) Deleste and Julie Freed, and the cherished bubbie of Galvé Deleste and Rian Edwards.
A graveside service was held Tuesday, July 9, at B’nai Amoona Cemetery, 930 North and South Rd. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to the Carol Chazen Friedman Fund at the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry, 10950 Schuetz Road, St. Louis, MO 63146 or to the Manuel and Mary Chazen Endowed Nursing Scholarship Fund, c/o The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, 1001 Highlands Plaza Dr., Suite #140, St. Louis, MO 63110. A Rindskopf-Roth Service
SCOTT JABLONOW, a beloved son, brother, and father, passed away peacefully on June 14, 2024. Born in Clayton, he excelled in sports at Clayton High School. Scott worked with his father, Louis, and uncle Julian at their familyowned Mid-America Theaters. Later, he relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona, with his wife Ellen and daughter Carrie, establishing the successful real estate company Ladue Development.
Rita was born in New York City, graduating from Bronx High School of Science in 1951 and Hunter College in 1955. She was a dedicated educator who both taught and tutored mathematics. Rita had a deep affection for coffee from Zabar’s, pastrami sandwiches from Katz’s Delicatessen, and Broadway musicals such as Oklahoma, South Pacific, and My Fair Lady. She enjoyed listening to music by Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand, and loved traveling to explore new places around the globe.
Her witty jokes, sharp math skills, and vibrant
Scott was a lifelong golfer and a former member of Westwood Country Club. He enjoyed water skiing at the Lake of the Ozarks and was an avid Master Scuba Diver, exploring the world’s oceans. His culinary talents delighted friends and family, and he will be remembered for his sarcastic sense of humor, love for movies and nature documentaries, knowledge of music, fine art, and world events, and his appreciation for classic automobiles. A loyal and selfless individual, Scott consistently went above and beyond to support his associates and friends. He is deeply missed by his mother, Eleanor (Komm); sister, Julie (Black); and Ellen and Carrie Jablonow. The family expresses gratitude to the staff, nurses, and doctors at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, particularly Dr. Marcos Rothstein. Contributions in Scott’s memory can be made to the Scott Jablonow Kidney Endowed Fund at FoundationBarnesJewish.org or mailed to The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, 1001 Highlands Plaza Drive West, Suite 140, St. Louis, MO 63110.
Scott’s legacy will endure through the many lives he touched and those who loved him. May he rest in peace, and may his memory be a blessing.
A private family service was held. Visit bergermemorialchapel.com for more information. Berger Memorial Service
GENEVIEVE S KRAMER passed away peacefully in St. Louis on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. She had recently celebrated her 100th birthday with family and friends.
Genevieve was the daughter of the late Professor William and Celia Shaw, and sister to the late Ruth Shaw Kahan and the late Milton Shaw, and the mother to the late Geoffrey W Kramer. She is survived by three children, Elizabeth Bikoff (Elizabeth Robertson), Ephraim Kramer (Shelly) and Becky Shimony (Josh), 17 grandchildren, over 50 great grandchildren and 2 great great grandchildren.
OBITUARIES
VIDA “SISTER” TUCKER GOLDMAN PRINCE
of St. Louis, Missouri died peacefully on June 23, 2024 at the age of 91.
Genevieve was a woman before her time. She always worked outside of the home, rising to a prestigious job with the Department of Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, while raising 4 children. She was involved in many causes outside of work, always giving to the community in both Oak Ridge and Knoxville. She worked tirelessly for both Jewish Communities, Soviet Jewry, Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center, and helped so many people.
She moved to St. Louis after her husband died and quickly became part of the Jewish Community in U City. She made many friends young and old and continued her acts of loving kindness by knitting baby hats for friends, hosting young people in her home, and being a friend to all.
A graveside funeral took place at the New Jewish Cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee on Sunday, July 7, 2024.
Memorial contributions can be made to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem and Camp Judaea in Hendersonville, NC.
DONALD GLASER LEVY, at the age of 92 on Saturday, June 22, 2024.
Beloved father of Deborah Levy Davenport (Mitchell) and Sally Levy; dear grandfather of Jessica White (Michael) and Terry Davenport (Stephanie); loving great-grandfather and dear brother of Julie Plax.
A service was conducted at the Glaser Family Mausoleum, New Mount Sinai Cemetery, 8430 Gravois on Thursday, June 27, 2024.
In lieu of flowers, memorials appreciated to any animal support organization. Lupton Chapel, Inc.
Born in 1933 to adoring parents Myron Goldman and Vida Tucker Goldman. After the untimely early death of her father, Mrs. Prince’s mother married Lawrence Goldman, MD, a devoted stepfather. Predeceased by her brother, Myron Goldman, she was the dear wife of Ronald Stanford Prince (deceased) for 61 years. Loving mother to their three children: Patricia Francis Prince Slosburg (Daniel), Ronald Stanford Prince, jr. (deceased), and Susan Prince Barron (Steven).
Grandmother to Tucker Joseph Slosburg (Krista Nelson), Grace Leah Slosburg, Samuel Prince Slosburg, Zachary Elliot Barron (Steph), Maxwell Prince Barron (Hillary), Blair Jacqueline Prince, Ronald Stanford Prince III (deceased), and Tess Prince Harris (Michael).
Great grandmother to Oriah, Adira, Shael, Mollie, Charlie, and Annie.
As a young woman in St. Louis Mrs. Prince volunteered as a swim instructor for blind children and helped teach reading to children in the St. Louis City schools. She continued her one-on-one community volunteer service first at the St. Louis Holocaust Center (St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum) and then at the Missouri Historical Society.
Mrs. Prince began her volunteer work at the Holocaust Center in 1979. In addition to acting as a docent for the museum, she helped develop the St. Louis Holocaust Museum’s Oral History Project. In the early days she would drive survivors to schools and churches where they would reveal, many for the first time, their personal trauma in the midst of strangers. Afterwards, when the speaking engagement had concluded, Mrs. Prince always provided a compassionate “soft- landing” for the survivors. In addition, Mrs. Prince was gentle, understanding, and gifted at listening intently to each survivor’s testimony—a master at providing the time and grace for them to safely recall their stark memories. Mrs. Prince cared deeply for each person she interviewed and held their stories close to her heart. She recently underwrote part of the current St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Center’s website so that The Oral History Project would be available for all to access on a digital platform.
In the early 1990’s, Mrs. Prince initiated an oral history project at the St. Louis Historical Society. She wanted this work to focus on the history of racism in St. Louis and decided to reach out to African Americans who had grown up in the Mill Creek neighborhood. The interviews she
obtained revealed the harsh reality of segregation for African Americans living in St. Louis during the 20th century. This oral history work culminated in a book, “The Way It Was: Stories of Struggle, Survival and Self-Respect in Twentieth Century Black St. Louis” published in 2013. As a first person primary source, this book provided a faithful transcription from thirteen of the men and women Mrs. Prince interviewed. The artist, Damon Davis, included a few quotes from this book for his St. Louis permanent public art installation, Pillars of the Valley.
In 2013 Mrs. Prince was honored as a St. Louis Woman of Achievement in the area of Multicultural Leadership.
We extend our deepest gratitude for the gentle daily care of Mrs. Prince by Veronica Lewis, Chikondi Hickman, Tammy Lavendar, Diane Starks, and Winnie Njoroge. In addition, we are grateful for the kind and thoughtful care from BJC Hospice.
A private graveside service was held. A reception took place Wednesday, June 26, 2024 in honor of Mrs. Prince. In lieu of flowers, tributes in her memory may be made to the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum or to a charity of one’s choice.
Please visit bergermemorialchapel.com for more information. Berger Memorial Service
GENE SANDLER, Age 89, passed away peacefully at Missouri Baptist Hospital on July 7, 2024 after battling cancer.
Murray) Kalina. Cherished dog father of Gracie. Dear uncle, cousin and friend to many. Gene started his professional career as a Doctor of Chiropractic and then moved on to be the President of his family’s business, Sandler Dental Supply. Gene never met a stranger and was always willing to lend a hand. He loved his family and always had a smile on his face. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him.
Graveside service Wednesday, July 10, 11:00am at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, 650 White Road. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Gene’s memory may be made to the American Cancer Society
A Rindskopf-Roth Service
LEO JAY SALTZMAN , 74, passed away peacefully on July 3, 2024 at Evelyn’s House after a battle with cancer. Son of the late William and the late Selma (Seltzer) Saltzman, and preceded in death by spouse Marilyn-Jo, Leo is survived by loving daughter Heather (Jacob) Lampert, grandchildren Naomi, Bridget and Sawyer Lampert, sister Beth Saltzman, and brother Michael (Penny) Saltzman, nephews, a niece, cousins and many friends.
Leo attended University City High School, then the University of Missouri Columbia where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.
Dear son of the late Philip and the late Gussie Schaap Sandler. Beloved and devoted husband to the love of his life, Geraldine Rich Sandler. Dear father of Debra Levy, Rick (Maureen) Levy, Tracy (the late Eddie) Aho and the late William Sandler. Loving grandfather of Derek Levy, Avigayil Levy and Averi Aho. Beloved brother-in-law of Myra Rich (the late Harold) Snell, Sanford Rich and Ron Rich. Dear first cousin of Maxine (the late
Leo enjoyed boating, cooking, and leaving the gym after a workout. He was reserved and introverted, while also being fiercely loyal to those closest to him.
A graveside funeral was held July 5, 2024 at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, 650 White Road, Chesterfield, MO 63017.
In Leo’s memory, contributions to the Siteman Cancer Center and B’nai Amoona Mitzvah Corps Soup & Challah Fund are welcomed. Visit www. bergermemorialchapel.com for more information. Berger Memorial Service
JEWISH LITE
JEWISH CROSSWORD PUZZLE
By Yoni Glatt, koshercrosswords@gmail.com | ‘Big Bats’ Difficulty: Easy
Find answers to this puzzle online at stljewishlight.org/0710-crossword
33. Biden’s is almost up
35. Words with tear or roll
6. Split hair pieces
10. Digital blockchain artwork
14. Replacement in the trunk
15. “Follow closely, Fido!”
16. Wife of Zeus
17. He sounds like a Kohen-Shofet?
19. A real schlump
20. Went below 1%
21. Yeshiva title
23. 8 1/2” x 11” page size: Abbr.
24. Block a shot
27. He stood up in respect for the elderly rabbi?
29. ___ for effort
30. Etsy transaction, e.g.
32. Gapes
36. Fragrant yellow flower
37. “Say birkat hamazon, Yona!”
40. Some baseball games end with them
41. “American Pie” singer McLean
42. Part of a children’s game
45. Spots with indoor trees, perhaps
46. Bits
48. “Before,” when placed before
49. Young wife of Boaz?
51. Animal that goes “pop”
53. ___Lanka
54. Org. for Biden in
COMMENTARY
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12
When Hebrew College changed their policy, they didn’t say anything at all about interfaith marriage; they simply promulgated new standards for admission that did not refer to the previous ban. When I expressed disappointment at the silence, one faculty member told me that if they had had to say anything one way or the other about interfaith marriage, the policy change would never have been approved. So it may well be that HUC’s statements about in-marriage as a value, and exclusive Jewish practice, had to be made in
2020 (and maybe 2024?)
55. Zip about
56. 11,000-foot Sicilian peak
58. He really gels with the bochrim?
63. Breeds or varieties
64. Prophetic sign
65. “’Have ___ myself clear?”
66. Grateful Dead bassist Phil
67. Prefix meaning “alien”
68. Colorado resort town Down
1. Org. that might deal with leaks
2. Org. that might deal with leaks
3. Fish with long, narrow jaws
4. Disappear, bit by
bit
5. It’s ghetto is now a popular (Jewish) vacation destination
6. The longest serving leader in Jewish history
7. Homer’s neighbor
8. Brut alternative
9. It’s slippery
10. Org. for topnotch H.S. students
11. Top students (and top hobbits) might be part of them
12. Communist leader Leon
13. Buffalo NHL team
18. Family of the future
22. Got going
24. Splinter, e.g.
25. Haifa to Tsfat dir.
order to get the necessary buy-in for the policy change.
But in the near term, when the liberal Jewish community is beset by challenges, and needs more young people who are highly likely to be in interfaith relationships to engage, it’s more important than ever to convey an inclusive attitude.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, head of the Union for Reform Judaism, is quoted by JTA as saying, “Many of our best rabbis and cantors were raised in homes with only one formally Jewish parent. … Many of our temple lay leaders are married to people who are not formally Jewish.” The URJ could do much more to explicitly and affirmatively invite interfaith families to engage.
To
26. Not the most popular character from “The Phantom Menace”
27. Fun Factory clay
28. Dijon alternative
31. Coulter or Curry
34. It’s the reel thing?
36. Like a guess of 90 when the answer is 100 38. Listened
39. Spammer, perhaps 40. Alarm
43. Dr. who prescribes Beats headphones
44. Shocking fish
45. Rappel
And it’s past time for the CCAR to review and revoke its out-dated rulings like the responsum on intermarried rabbis, or its responsum that, despite the fact that the vast majority of Reform rabbis perform interfaith marriages, still officially opposes rabbis officiating at such weddings. A formal process could establish new official opinions; at the least, they could attach language to no-longer-binding opinions explaining that they are out of date and not aligned with the movement’s current policies.
The decisions of HUC and the other liberal seminaries provide hope that in the longer run, with more rabbis who are the children of interfaith parents, or who are
46. “My package is here!”
47. Belgrade’s republic
50. Remove from a carton
52. Tiny physical elements
55. Bond baddie, of 1962
57. Erev Tisha B’Av
dip
59. Kylo who might be even less popular than 26-Down
60. You might look forward to one on Shabbat
61. ‘50s pres. monogram
62. Schumer’s abbr.
in interfaith relationships themselves, liberal Judaism’s message will evolve so that all marriages are equally valued and that interfaith couples are invited to fully engage in Jewish life. Progress is happening, slowly but surely, and we can continue to do more to build that radically inclusive Jewish community.
Edmund C. Case is the founder of 18Doors (formerly InterfaithFamily), author of “A New Theory of Interfaith Marriage,” and advocate for interfaith families’ Jewish engagement. His commentary was distributed by JTA.
TORAH PREP GRADUATION
At right, the graduating girls were Shayna Fromowitz, Rachelli Goldenhersh, Chana Miriam Mazer, Nili Schuss, Chanah Sasportas, Hadassah Travis, Chava Bogopulsky, Chana Bermanski, Atara Davidovits and Chaya Kass.
Torah Prep School recently held commencement ceremonies for its graduating eighth-grade students (June 16 for the boys school and June 17 for the girls school) at U. City Shul. Above, the graduating boys were (back row left to right): Shlomo Dov Berkowitz, Elchonon Muller, Yitzchak Kamins, Aharon Glazer, Yisroel Meir Gordon, Yona Lefton, Yehuda Baruch Bregman, Aryeh Perlman and Nochi Staum; (front row left to right) Moshe Friedman, Chanoch Winter, Tzvi Greengart, Mordechai Anton, Meshulam Hermelin and Joshua Vorobeychik.
SP TLIGHT
PHOTOS FROM RECENT JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS
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SAUL MIROWITZ JEWISH COMMUNITY SCHOOL GRADUATION
The Mirowitz community celebrated the Class of 2024 with special “send-off” words from their teachers and high fives from their adoring Mirowitz community, followed a meaningful ceremony Thursday, May 23. Above are graduates (from left) Sophia Kourbatova, Marni Rosen, Dylan Becker, Max Kushnir, Josh Cohen and Ronald Pittman.
PHOTOS: PRO PHOTO STL
Above, Josh Cohen crowns his parents, Susan and Bob Cohen, a tradition when a family’s youngest child is graduating from Mirowitz.
At left, to chants of “Marni! Marni! Marni!,” Marni Rosen takes her parting run through a line of Mirowitz students while her teachers share many of her accomplishments during her nine years at Mirowitz.
Conferring a certificate of completion to Dylan Becker are (from left) Lauren Abraham, PTO President, Raquel Scharf-Anderson, Head of School, and Dr. Sara Lander, Board President.
