The Jewish News - December 2018

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h • a • p • p • y Celebrating Jewish Life in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Israel and the World FEDERATION NEWS PUBLISHED BY

The Jewish Federation OF SARASOTA-MANATEE

THE LARRY GREENSPON FAMILY CAMPUS FOR JEWISH LIFE

December 2018 - Kislev/Tevet 5779 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 12A Community Focus 22A Jewish Interest 28A Israel & the Jewish World 29A Commentary 32A Focus on Youth 35A Life Cycle 1B Jewish Happenings

4 Visiting Israel Defense Forces soldiers speak at two local events

11 The Jewish Federation partners with Aviva for PJ Library in the Sukkah

33 Community Day School’s third annual “Challah-ween Bake-Off Festival”

34 Community invited to Temple Emanu-El’s Hanukkah Happening Celebration

www.jfedsrq.org

Volume 48, Number 12

The Robert and Esther Heller Israel Center joins Greenspon Campus Staff Report

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he Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee is proud to announce continued growth on The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life with the addition of The Robert and Esther Heller Israel Center.

Howard Tevlowitz, Federation Chief Executive Officer, says, “The United States and Israel are intertwined on a spiritual, economic and entrepreneurial level. With Israel’s growth as an educational, economic, hi-tech, scientific and cultural powerhouse, it is our hope to bring each of these areas and more, to our Campus in 2021 and beyond. With the Hellers’ generosity, our dream can now become a reality.”

The goal of the Heller Israel Center is simple: to bring Israel to Sarasota in new and improved ways, encouraging the building of relationships with Israel, Israeli businesses and, more importantly, individual Israelis.

Bob and Esther Heller are longship possibilities have already taken time supporters of the Federation and place with the Israel Tennis Centers; namesakes of The Robert and Esther our Sister City, Tel Mond, Israel; and Heller Community Relations Committhe Daniel Centers for Progressive Jutee, formerly known daism. The ongoing Camas the Heller Israel pus Utilization Committee Advocacy Initiative. will conduct research and Bob says, “Most make recommendations reof the news about Isgarding the usage of indoor rael deals with war and outdoor space on our and conflict. The real 32-acre Campus in order to Israel is much more bring Eretz Yisrael to life. than that. The Israel Tevlowitz adds, “We Center is designed are just thrilled to have Robert and Esther Heller to let Americans of the ongoing support of the all ages know how much Israel conHellers and look forward to expanding tributes to the well-being of all people our current Israel programming and in the world in the fields of medicine, sharing all that Israel has to offer with technology, arts and science, and how the Sarasota-Manatee community.” important Israel’s relationship is to the For more information, please consecurity of America. Israel and Ameritact Howard Tevlowitz at htevlowitz@ ca are stronger together.” jfedsrq.org.

Initial conversations about partner-

A vigil of love and unity

By Marty Katz, Sr. Director of Communications and Marketing

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“

ave you seen the news?” asked Howard Tevlowitz, Federation Chief Executive Officer, late Saturday morning, October 27. That phone call was the beginning of a three-day blur in the lives of the Jewish Federation team.

The news coming out of Pittsburgh was of a massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill. We knew there would be mass casualties, and our sense of Jewish security and safety would be forever changed.

Jessi Sheslow, director of our Heller Community Relations Committee (CRC), was the first to reach out to her committee chair, Iris Nahemow.

Iris had not heard the news yet and the news certainly hit home. As a native of Pittsburgh, Iris had been a member of Tree of Life for many years.

As staff hastily met to discuss a response, we were presented with a series of questions: How do we get the word out to show support for the Pitts-

A publication of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life Klingenstein Jewish Center, 580 McIntosh Rd., Sarasota, FL 34232 Annual voluntary subscription: $25

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burgh Jewish community? How do we show our commitment and love for the local Sarasota-Manatee community, who would feel such despair? How do we encourage kindness for the entire interfaith community? We quickly realized we needed a time set aside to come together and begin healing. Thus, a “Vigil for Tree of Life: A Community in Solidarity” was born.

We met Sunday afternoon to plan the following night’s vigil. By that time, Howard had reached out to Rabbi Michael Werbow of Temple Beth Sholom, who also chairs the SarasotaManatee Rabbinic Association, to plan the program. We decided to hold the vigil at our own location, in the Beatrice Friedman Theater on The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish ▼

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Life. We quickly put together communication pieces and got the word out.

Howard and Iris fielded one media interview after another. Much to our

See pictures on pages 18A-19A

surprise, by the following morning, the RSVP list was already well over the theater’s allotted 450 seats and growing by the minute.

On Monday, the day of the vigil, we convened an all-staff meeting at 9:30 a.m. The decision was made to move the event to a facility that could handle a larger crowd. We all got on the phones to find a location that could accommodate 1,000 people. Little did we know the event would be double that size! continued on page 2A ▼

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A vigil of love and unity...continued from page 1A At 11:00 a.m., Jessi and colleague and women of the Sarasota Police DeJeremy Lisitza met with the staff of the partment came together to provide the Sarasota Fairgrounds, the Sarasota Poneeded safety and security to allow lice Department and Sights and Sounds our community to come together and to lay out the event and security needs. show their respect for the lives lost, to By 12:30 p.m., their plan was in place. share their grief and, most importantly, Sarasota Police Department’s to share their hope for the future. The Deputy Chief, Patrick Robinson, said, men and women of the Sarasota Police “Although the timeline was tight to Department are proud to stand with our plan and operationalize a large secuall our community partners in combatrity footprint at this event, the men ing hate and violence whenever and

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FEDERATION NEWS wherever it emerges. Our officers were honored and humbled to take part in such an important community event.”

In the meantime, my communication staff worked the phones and emails to reach out to the local media to help us get the word out about the venue change. Again, we fielded requests for more interviews.

Rabbi Werbow, who had reached out to local clergy of all faiths, had the daunting task of putting together a program when so many wanted to be involved. He said, “Following a horrific Shabbat, I reached out to my colleagues to begin the process of collective support for our community. There was a speedy and strong response as we, with the institutional resources of the Federation, began to plan for a vigil on Monday night to come together in unity and show our solidarity with the Pittsburgh Jewish community. It couldn’t have been done without everyone’s support.”

Many of the Federation staff received notes and phone calls from non-Jewish friends in the community, asking how they could help. It was important that the interfaith community be involved. Jessi Sheslow said, “At a time of shock and fear in the Jewish community, the CRC was able to work with our interfaith community partners for the love and support we needed. Existing relationships are the key to a successful community, and what we ended up seeing at Monday night’s vigil was the true meaning of community.”

By late afternoon, the stage was set up at Sarasota Fairgrounds, sound and lighting equipment were ready to go, 500 chairs were placed on the lawn, and the Police Department had arranged its security personnel. The gate opened at 5:45 p.m. and guests started pouring in, many carrying blankets and lawn chairs. When the event began just after 7:00 p.m., police estimated there were 2,200 people in attendance, more than five times our original expectation.

As Howard said in his opening remarks, “We are determined to ensure that love triumphs over hate, good over evil, unity over division. That’s our America…and our Sarasota.” Faith

leaders from across the community participated. Rabbis from all local synagogues spoke and lit candles in memory of each of the 11 Jews murdered in Pittsburgh, and additional remarks were made by Christian and Muslim clergy. The anthems of both the United States and Israel were sung as were traditional Jewish songs. The memorial prayer, El Maleh Rahamim, was

By S recited as was the Kaddish.

It was a picture-perfect, crisp evening with no bugs. For the first time in six months, there was a slight chill in the air, but the feeling of love and hope warmed the crowd. Everywhere you looked, people were hugging and saying, “So good to see you, but so sorry under these circumstances.” And when Rabbi Werbow asked the crowd to wave their lit-up phones in the air, it felt like the whole community was one.

We are especially grateful to so many in our community who stepped up to help with very short notice: The Sarasota Police Department, our local media from Sarasota to Tampa, Sarasota Fairgrounds, U.S. Tent, Sights and Sounds (particularly Brent Greeno), Performance Printing, TRVST Security and American Red Cross. We also thank our faith-based community: Hazzan Cliff Abramson, Imam Mohamed Benkhaled, Rabbi Mendy Bukiet, Rabbi Anne Feibelman, Rabbi Brenner Glickman, Robert Goldman, Rabbi Jonathan Katz, Reverend Dr. Tom Pfaff, Rabbi Michael Shefrin, Rabbi Stephen Sniderman, Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, Rabbi Zev Steinmetz, Cantor Marci Vitkus, Pastor John Walker and Rabbi Michael Werbow. And finally, we offer our appreciation for our volunteers who dropped everything to help with check-in and crowd control.

For me, it was truly a night of solidarity, a soothing blanket of love, compassion, hope and collaboration. To see 2,200 people of all ethnicities and religions come together in unity was a sight I will never forget. At a time of loss and pain resulting from this senseless anti-Semitic act of hatred, we truly feel supported and loved by the community as a whole, including our Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters.

R

You can watch a video of the vigil on our website at jfedsrq.org/community. On pages 18A-19A, you will find pictures and comments that capture the feeling of that night.

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FEDERATION NEWS

December 2018

Stories of LIFE & LEGACY

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LIFE & LEGACY™ is a partnership of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee and 10 local Jewish organizations that promote after-lifetime giving to benefit synagogues, social service organizations, Jewish day schools and other Jewish entities. Legacy donors, such as those featured in the story below, are helping to secure the future of our Jewish community for generations to come.

Renee and Bert Gold: Pillars of the Jewish community

By Sandy Chase

E

ndowed with staunch dedicaunteers visit convalescing congretion to Judaism, boundless engants at local hospitals and rehab ergy, unfaltering optimism and facilities. foresight, Renee and Bert Gold have The Golds are enthusiastic when helped bolster local Jewish organizaspeaking about how the temple is thrivtions. Whether it be Temple Emanu-El ing. “We have become a vibrant, excitor Aviva – A Campus for Jewish Life, ing place, offering unique programs to the Golds have left their mark, imour congregants and the entire compressing all who are fortunate to know munity. We have many young families them. with children. In fact, this past spring, Temple Emanu-El’s Rabbi Brenner there were 16 confirmations.”

Glickman relays how Renee, who had Since moving to Kobernick, the just begun as the congregation’s presiAviva Independent Living facility in dent, joined forces to reJanuary 2018 – the juvenate the struggling month of her 85th temple when he arrived birthday – Renee in 2006. has begun organiz“She enabled me to ing a havurah for get established. She beTemple Emanu-El lieved in me and what congregants. “Resiwe could do together and dents now have an – what the temple could opportunity to share become. At the time, we Shabbat and other Renee and Bert Gold were a temple in decline. holidays or Jewish We were the fourth-largest temple in learning where they live.” the area – and shrinking.”

Aviva CEO Jay Solomon says of The rabbi explains that Renee’s the Golds, “I have been blown away insights and endless energy were parby Renee and Bert Gold’s dedication amount. “At the time, her optimism not only to Aviva but to the entire Jewmade no sense. But she was right. She ish community of Sarasota. The Golds worked hard to establish a culture of believe adamantly in the many benefits positivity – always moving forward – that a strong and united Jewish comwith an eye to the future. She’s never munity has on all those who live there. stopped working hard.”

That passion has led them to take acWhen Renee reflects on her collabtive roles in every organization they oration with Rabbi Glickman, she says, become a part of.”

“We have had many outreach events Renee had also been on the comwith the Jewish community. But probmittee for Keep the Dream Alive, a ably helping Rabbi Glickman reach his fundraiser for Aviva’s Benevolent Care goals was most memorable.” program. “We raise money for resiBoth she and Bert share their hearts dents who no longer have the financial with all: means to continue their stay,” says Re Bert sings in the temple’s volunnee. teer choir and has been the lead Jay also points out that Renee and singer in the Purim schpiels, often Bert are involved in several other camplaying the role of Haman. pus committees, including Hospitality.

Bert and Renee continue to lead “But what’s most significant is that the services three times a year.

Golds – especially Renee – have taken Renee has chaired 10 committees, our LIFE & LEGACY program to new including the self-initiated Corheights and have infused their own pernerstone Society, a group of gensonal passion into the very fiber that is erous donors who help to support the mission and vision of Aviva.” the temple financially by paying At ongoing meetings the three dishigher dues than required. cuss initiatives, review upcoming LIFE Renee chairs the temple’s Hospital & LEGACY events, and explore ways Visitation Committee, whose volto cultivate new donors. According to

Jay, “The Golds then communicate relevant information to our residents and plan programs that will entice our community.”

Unwavering in their support, Bert and Renee continue giving of themselves by donating gifts or their time.

As with others who practice tzedakah, the Golds believe fervently that “a gift to LIFE & LEGACY is one of the most important mitzvot. It’s a living charity benefitting all – a donation not only for today, but forever, enriching the Jewish community.”

Jewish community leaders, friends and acquaintances attest that Renee and Bert have hearts of “gold.” And like the most malleable metal, the Golds are “soft-hearted” or compassionate.

Susan Benson-Steenbarger, a noteworthy community supporter, says of Renee, “She stands up for her personal beliefs, giving of herself with the utmost integrity. She’s a very creative person with a great sense of humor.

Following her heart, Renee inspires and energizes individuals of all ages.

Renee lives life to the fullest and is truly a today’s woman and a positive influence on others.”

Unlike gold that can be “beaten” into shape, the Golds persevere until their objectives are realized.

Having lived and worked in Boston and Portsmouth, Virginia, where Bert was in the Navy, and Hartford, Connecticut, the site of Bert’s work as a pathologist for 30 years at St. Francis Hospital, the Golds moved to Sarasota in 1998 and have been Temple EmanuEl congregants for 15 years.

Renee has also had an illustrious career, including that of secretary to the vice president of Chanel Perfumes and project coordinator at Heublein, Inc., the Smirnoff vodka distillers in Hartford.

As the secretary to the chair in the Biochemistry Department at Boston University’s School of Medicine, Renee was also called upon to do work for Isaac Asimov, the renowned biochemist and science-fiction author who taught there.

Sarasota is most fortunate to know the Golds, who believe that LIFE & LEGACY is part of being Jewish. “We actually put Temple Emanu-El in our will many years ago. It’s a way to repay others and help them continue their work – vital to sustaining our Jewish heritage.”

For more information about the LIFE & LEGACY program, please contact Gisele Pintchuck at 941.706.0029 or gpintchuck@jfedsrq.org.

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December 2018

FEDERATION NEWS

Untold stories of the IDF

By Tayla Rosenthal

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was given the privilege of planning events for two visiting IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers through my high school internship with StandWithUs, an Israel education non-profit which sponsored their tour. Six pairs of soldiers traveled throughout the United States in October.

On October 26, the IDF soldiers, 30-year-old Barak and 26-year-old Lyra, arrived in Sarasota. Barak has a long career in the IDF, having served in the Navy and the “Meitar” special operations unit in the Artillery Corp.

He then attended officer’s training school, becoming a company commander, then a Battalion Operations Commander and eventually Deputy Battalion Commander. Lyra served in the IDF as a Behavioral Science Diagnostician in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria.

In the morning, the two soldiers presented to high school students at Sarasota Military Academy, reaching over 500 students. The students were mesmerized by their stories. As they attend a military school, being able to learn about a defense force from another country was an interesting topic for the academy.

That afternoon, the soldiers shared

their stories at Temple Emanu-El to 150 attendees. Their visit was made possible by the Israel Committee at the temple. (Please see page 20A for an article about their temple visit.)

In the evening, the soldiers were

life as an Israeli and as an officer. Lyra spoke about moving from Brazil to Israel as a child and how much the Israeli community helped her family. She also shared her experience of being a Lone Soldier, and helped by a program that

Barak presenting to the crowd

honored at an event sponsored by The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee. Board members, committee members, STEP (Shapiro Teen Engagement Program) Fellows, JWRP (Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project) participants, Hillel students and all of their families were invited. During dinner, I was able to sit and talk to the IDF soldiers and get to know them a little more. They then made a presentation about being in the military and life in Israel. Barak spoke passionately about his grandmother who was a Holocaust survivor and how that impacted his

assists soldiers who don’t have family in Israel. Without the generosity of the Federation, this event would not have been such a huge success.

The following day, the soldiers met with the NFTY youth group, STEEMY, at Temple Emanu-El. A group of teenagers were fortunate to have an intimate talk with the soldiers about the IDF. These soldiers were extremely inspiring individuals with one-of-a-kind stories, and I am so grateful I was given the opportunity to help host them in Sarasota.

Tayla Rosenthal is a 16-year-old junior at Lakewood Ranch High School.

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IDF soldiers Lyra and Barak with Tayla Rosenthal

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FEDERATION NEWS

Lyra o IsEstablished 1971 raeli also PUBLISHER Lone The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee that The Larry Greenspon Family Campus

mily f the have

for Jewish Life Klingenstein Jewish Center 580 McIntosh Road Sarasota, FL 34232-1959 Phone: 941.371.4546 Fax: 941.378.2947 E-mail: jewishnews@jfedsrq.org Website: www.jfedsrq.org Published Monthly Volume 48, Number 12 December 2018 48 pages USPS Permit No. 167

January 2019 Issue Deadlines: Editorial: November 28, 2018 Advertising: December 3, 2018

met MY, CHANGE OF ADDRESS: een- Change of address inquiries can be mate sent to Paula Ivory-Bishop F. at pibishop@jfedsrq.org y inor call 941.371.4546. kind PRESIDENT giv- Michael Ritter m in CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER nior Howard Tevlowitz SENIOR DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING Marty Katz MANAGING EDITOR Ted Epstein ADVERTISING SALES Robin Leonardi – 941.552.6307 PROOFREADERS Edward D. Cohen, Jack Mansbach, Sharon Napshin, Elliot Ofsowitz, Merry Sanders, Bryna Tevlowitz MISSION STATEMENT: The Jewish News of Sarasota-Manatee strives to be the source of news and features of special interest to the Jewish community of Sarasota-Manatee, to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions in the Jewish community, and to communicate the mission, activities and achievements of the Federation and its Jewish community partners.

OPINIONS printed in The Jewish News of Sarasota-Manatee do not necessarily reflect those of The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee, its Board of Directors or staff.

SUBMISSIONS to The Jewish News are subject to editing for space and content, and may be withheld from publication without prior notice. Approval of submissions for publication in either verbal or written form shall always be considered tentative, and does not imply a guarantee of any kind.

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December 2018

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“Twice Promised Land and 100 Years War” – Israelis to the rescue…again and again A series by Dr. Steven Derfler

Editor’s note: The “Twice Promised Land and 100 Years War” series is included as part of our Federation’s year-long celebration of Israel @ 70. iven the ‘neighborhood’ that Israel lives in, and the seemingly endless violence that appears to be the rule rather than the exception, it is no wonder that Israel is peered at under a magnifying glass for its actions relating to its survival and securing a just and lasting Dr. Steven Derfler peace for both its citizens and her Arab neighbors.

However, in the midst of all this scrutiny, one item is glaringly absent from its image – that of leading the world when it comes to international rescue and recovery in the face of disasters. It doesn’t matter where, it doesn’t matter how – what matters is the saving of human lives.

Jerusalem-ZAKA (Zihuy Korbanot Ason), “Identification, Extraction and Rescue – True Kindness,” is one of the agencies involved in worldwide rescue efforts. Oftentimes they are among the first on-site, regardless of the nation or its political leanings.

In late 2004 and early 2005, members of ZAKA provided assistance in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Forensic teams reportedly dubbed the group “the team that sleeps with the dead” because they toiled nearly 24 hours a day at Buddhist pagodas in Thailand that had been transformed into morgues to identify those who died in the tsunami. The experience of ZAKA members, who reportedly see 38 bodies a week on average in Israel, helped the Israeli forensic team to identify corpses faster than many of the other forensic teams that operated in Thailand in the aftermath of the disaster, which placed them in high demand with grieving families.

In February 2007, ZAKA sent a 10-person search and rescue team, consisting primarily of rescue divers, to Paris to search for a missing Israeli Defense official. The mission was funded by the Defense Ministry at an expected cost of $80,000.

In November 2008, ZAKA volunteers went to Mumbai, India, following terrorist attacks that included a Jewish center among its targets.

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Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, a six-man ZAKA International Search and Rescue Unit delegation arrived in Haiti to assist with search and recovery efforts. Working with the Mexican military delegation and Jewish volunteers from Mexico, eight students trapped under the rubble of the collapsed eight-story Port-au-Prince University building were rescued on the first day after their arrival.

Teams of ZAKA volunteers were sent to Japan in March 2011 to assist in search-and-rescue after the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

A ZAKA team went out with an Israeli mission to Nepal in late April 2015 to help search for casualties in the aftermath of the earthquake and subsequent avalanches.

But ZAKA is not alone. One of the main tenets of Judaism is called tikkun olam, “repairing the world.” As a result, other agencies within Israel answer the call globally as well. An agency called IsraAID, founded by Shachar Zahavi, sent supplies to a Greek island, Lesbos, in 2017, to aid refugees suffering in unexpected snow and sub-zero temperatures. It offers sustainable solutions and fills gaps that international aid agencies cannot provide, including mapping refugee movements, clean water and clean energy.

This was only its latest effort. In March 2012, IsraAID helped South Sudan set up its Ministry of Social Development to provide social services to the population after decades of war and hardship.

In July 2014, IsraAID sent a team to Washington to help in the recovery effort after the biggest wildfire in the state’s history consumed 400 square miles and approximately 300 homes.

In August 2016, IsraAID sent a 20-member staff of search and rescue, relief and trauma specialists to the site of the August 2016 Central Italy earthquake, becoming the only foreign aid organization on the ground. These are all in addition to the previous ones cited with ZAKA. And now there is Jordan. Just days after the Jordanian government announced that it would be suspending a major portion of its 1994 peace treaty with Israel, regarding shared and swapped land in the Jordan Valley just south of the Sea of Galilee, often referred to as Peace Island, Israel sent a rescue team to its Arab neighbor to the

east in the face of a disastrous desert flood.

The desert is a fickle place. I know, having spent much of my archaeological life in the Negev, it is not just a hot, dry place. In the winter, as a result of months of dryness, the parched land does not absorb moisture readily and easily. Rather, any sudden Floridalike downpours from the hill country a couple of miles to the north rushes across the land without sinking in. And in the usually dry wadis, or dry river beds, people are caught unaware of the instantaneous peril that faces them.

When word of a horrific tragedy reached Israel, she did not hesitate, and did not think of the potential political storm brewing over the dismembering of the 1994 peace accords. Rather, the Israel Defense Forces and civil rescue teams were immediately dispatched to Jordan after a bus carrying 37 schoolchildren and seven teachers was swept away by flash floods on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea. At least 17 were killed; more than 20 were injured. Several are still missing as of this writing.

Where is the rest of the world when it comes to tikkun olam? And why is Israel constantly vilified politically, yet never recognized internationally, for the good that it consistently does in the face of human tragedy?

Dr. Steven Derfler is an international educational consultant, public speaker, archaeologist, historian, researcher, teacher and writer. He has been uncovering the histories of ancient civilizations for 40 years.

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December 2018

FEDERATION NEWS

Daughter of renowned Holocaust rescuer to speak at January event

By Su Byron

I

rene Gut Opdyke (1922-2003) was a Polish nurse who received international recognition for aiding Polish Jews persecuted by Nazi Germany during World War II. Opdyke, who was Catholic at the time, hid 12 Jews in a German officer’s basement without his knowledge. She later made the most personal of sacrifices to protect her friends when their hideout was discovered.

After the war, Opdyke found refuge in America and kept her story to herself until 1974. She was honored as the Righteous Among the Nations

by Yad Vashem for risking her own life to save 12 Jewish people from certain death. Her story became a nation-

ally acclaimed Broadway play, Irena’s Vow. Her book, In My Hands, is used in classrooms across the country.

Opdyke’s daughter, Jeannie Smith, has told her mother’s story all over the U.S., Canada and Europe. She says that sharing her mother’s story over the past 15 years has become one of her life’s passions, a calling that she views as a great honor and a privilege. She is currently in the process of producing a film about her mother’s life.

Smith is the keynote speaker at the Lion of Judah & Pomegranate Luncheon on Thursday, January 10. Guests must be Lion of Judah or Pomegranate donors.

I recently spoke with a belief that one person can Jeannie Smith. truly make a difference.

What was the wakeHave you heard from up call that initially insurvivors and descenspired your mother to dants of survivors who tell her story? are alive because of your My mother’s wakemother’s heroic actions? up call was when she was During the Broadway confronted by a denier play about my mother’s Irene Gut Opdyke in the early 1970s. She life, we were able to have was shocked to find out some people relatives of the people my mother didn’t believe the Holocaust happened saved come to the show. They were and realized her and others’ stories had always introduced on stage. It was to be told so history would not repeat such a pleasure meeting them and itself. hearing what they were So many people did told about those years in nothing and looked World War II. away. What is it about What’s the most imyour mother’s characportant advice you can ter that made her put give to anyone who wants her own life at risk to to make a positive differsave others? ence in the life of others?

My mother said What’s our first step? she just could not stand I guess the best advice Jeannie Smith by and do nothing. She to give someone about wasn’t raised to ignore hate, suffering making a difference is this: We are our or discrimination. I remember her saybrother’s keeper. The kindness, love ing that doing nothing to help might and caring we give out is by far the save your own life, but for her, knowhighest achievement we can reach. The ing she could have helped but didn’t, results are life-altering and ongoing. would have left her with a tortured life.

How does your mother’s experiWhy is it important for you to ence inform your own beliefs about continue telling her story? today’s Syrian refugee situation and It’s more vital, maybe now more other social injustices? than ever. History has repeated itself.

There is so much suffering and inPeople are slow to learn that we are all justice in our world. It’s overwhelmpart of one human family, all connected ing, thinking how we as individuals can to each other. I’m honored to carry on continued on next page

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December 2018

FEDERATION NEWS

January event...continued from page 6A help. We can and should collectively vote, legislate and inform others about the issues we’re passionate about, but still, I come back to the starfish example. A man walking along the beach n can is spotted throwing a stranded starfish e. back into the water. When asked how rom he thinks it makes any significant difcenference when so many starfish are laywho ing along the shore, the man stoops your down, picks up another, throws it back ns? into the water and says, “It makes a way difference to this one.” We do what we her’s can when we have the opportunity. have What is the most important other thing you hope people will take away were from your talk here? was My hope for the audience is simand ple. We are all family, regardless of our were vast differences. Love wins out over s in hate every time, and each of us is needed to make a positive difference in our impart of the world. can ants fferers? ? viceStaff Report bout he Jewish Federation of Sarae our sota-Manatee is proud to partlove ner with the Sarasota County theBar Association’s Diversity & IncluThesion Committee, Embracing Our Difg. ferences and the Boxser Diversity peri-Initiative to bring the nationally acboutclaimed production of Letters from andAnne & Martin to Sarasota in February

The Lion of Judah and Pomegranate programs recognize women who make an annual gift of $5,000 and $1,800 (or more) respectively to The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. The program attracts active women who are passionate about helping others and wish to be part of something extraordinary. Once a Lion, women can choose to wear the internationally recognized Lion pin, which represents sisterhood and connectedness, philanthropy and power, Jewish values and social action. The Pomegranate pin is also worn proudly as a symbol of a woman’s commitment to honoring the mitzvot of tzedakah and gemilut chassadim (acts of righteousness and loving kindness). For more information on becoming a Lion of Judah or Pomegranate donor, contact Ilene Fox at 941.343.2111 or ifox@jfedsrq.org.

7A

TH E T H M R H Y N NA IS GOYOU! GET

DEC 26-30

Letters from Anne & Martin coming to Sarasota

T

2019. d inCreated by the Anne Frank Center elm-for Mutual Respect, this compelling s caninteractive theatre program was developed from excerpts from The Diary of Anne Frank and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Starring New York’s Alexandra Gellners and Weslie Spencer, the performance combines Frank’s and King’s iconic voices, and evokes the timeless message of hope for peace and a more united world.

Attorney Charlie Ann Syprett, Event Coordinator, says, “This production is a unique way to begin a dialogue about the injustices that still exist, and it will definitely spark ideas of ways to confront intolerance and discrimi-

SPONSORS

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nation today. We are bringing our community together and acting as important stewards of Anne Frank’s and Dr. King’s spirit and legacy.”

For one night only, on Tuesday, February 5 at 7:00 p.m., the play will be presented to the public at Temple Beth Sholom. Ticket prices begin at $10 for students, and general admission tickets are $30 with a $5 discount for members of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee and Temple Beth Sholom members. Sponsorships begin at $100.

In addition, through our combined financial support, the play will be presented to over 3,000 students free of charge at four Sarasota high schools throughout the first week of February.

Following each performance, students will participate in a robust discussion led by the Hon. Charles E. Williams.

Teachers or students wishing to attend the school performances should email Sarah@EmbracingOurDifferences.org.

For tickets or more information, please visit www.sarasotabar.com or call 941.350.1089.

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8A

December 2018

FEDERATION NEWS

! s e t a d e h t ve

sa

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Naiditch Family Foundation

50 CHILDREN: THE RESCUE MISSION OF MR. & MRS. KRAUS January 14, 2019 • 6:30 pm A Jewish couple travels to Nazi Germany in 1939 and rescues Jewish children from Vienna, finding them homes in Philadelphia.

Special guest David Milberg, whose mother was child 49, will be holding a Q & A after the screening.

WHO DO YOU LOVE February 26, 2019 • 6:30 pm The life story of legendary record producer, Leonard Chess, who helped popularize Blues music during the 1950s and 1960s.

(Strong language)

BOTH FILMS SHOWING AT THE BEATRICE FRIEDMAN THEATER on The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota

March 6-17, 2019 CO - C H A I R S

FRAN BRAVERMAN AND CHERYL SHAPIRO F E D E R AT I O N TO R C H S P O N S O R S

EDIE AND DAVID CHAIFETZ | LEON R. AND MARGARET M. ELLIN NAIDITCH FAMILY FOUNDATION | THE ROSENTHAL ROOTS FAMILY FOUNDATION BUNNY AND MORT SKIRBOLL | HADASSAH AND MARTIN STROBEL BRONZE SPONSOR

CHAIR: ROSANN BLACK THE SERIES IS FREE but you are encouraged to bring cans of food, toys and school supplies, which will be donated to All Faiths Food Bank, Toys for Tots and Title 1 Schools.

For more information, contact Jeremy Lisitza at jlisitza@jfedsrq.org or 941.343.2113

Fe in sc

M E D I A PA R T N E R S

LIMIT 2 TICKETS PER FILM

TO REGISTER: JFEDSRQ.ORG/EVENTS

To become a sponsor, contact Jeremy Lisitza at Staff 941.343.2113 or jlisitza@jfedsrq.org

T

J oin us for

ligio stud com assis International of L sota, Tem Tem T Honoring the Greek Community prog Shar Guest Speaker ensu tunit DR. MIMIS COHEN very light Dr. Mimis Cohen, MD, FACS, FAAP, tunit is a founding member of the American herit Friends of the Jewish Museum of Greece S and a professor at the University of and Illinois at Chicago Medical School. says “Thi our c Entertainment not h scho GREEK JEWISH VIOLINIST to le ASI MATATHIAS nity. and violinist TOSKA OPDAM S Educ giou THE SAINT BARBARA GREEK is “e ORTHODOX CHURCH tion https:// https://www.google.com/ FOLK DANCERS vide stud temp Y 2 R 0 ever A ,

Holocaust

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 10:00am Community Foundation of Sarasota County 2635 Fruitville Rd • Sarasota

OPEN HOUSE AND PROGRAM We invite you to learn about the Women’s Giving Circle and the exciting projects we have supported.

Over $40,000 was granted by last year’s Women’s Giving Circle members to eight organizations in Israel benefiting women and children.

RSVP by November 30

00

4:

to Paula Bishop at 941.552.6304 or pibishop@jfedsrq.org QUESTIONS? Contact Jeremy Lisitza 941.343.2113 or jlisitza@jfedsrq.org

U

19 20

Adrea Sukin, Chair

JAN

JoinUs

Remembrance Day

–6:00 PM

BEATRICE FRIEDMAN THEATER • THE LARRY GREENSPON FAMILY CAMPUS FOR JEWISH LIFE • 580 McIntosh Road

Register online at jfedsrq.org/events For more information, contact Jessi Sheslow

941.343.2109 • jsheslow@jfedsrq.org

FEDERATION NEWS

December 2018

9A

Where your dollars go This series highlights mission-based programs and projects that are supported by the Federation and generous donors. See the two articles below.

Jewish Overnight Camp Grants available!

By Saul Landesberg

I

t’s late fall in Florida and the days are growing cooler, but The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee is already working on Jewish Overnight Camp Grants for our Jewish youth. We are pleased that in 2018, through the generous support of the Federation in partnership with local philanthropists, we were able to help 77 campers, both through incentive grants and need-based scholarships.

If you ever attended a Jewish overnight camp, or if you have a friend or family member that has attended an overnight camp, you know just what a positive and fun experience it is.

This year we have yet another way to help more children attend camp!

Thanks to a generous donation from Brian and Joan Wides, the “Melissa Wides Summer Camp Scholarship” will provide funds for Jewish campers who have special needs, including emotional, developmental and physical differences. This scholarship will help children have a camping experience in an environment that can address their specific needs and challenges.

As always, incentive grants will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis (set grant amounts are based on

the number of years the child has attended camp and the length of the program), along with a limited number of need-based scholarships. The goal of the Camp Grant Committee is simple: to give every Jewish child in our community who wants to attend a Jewish summer camp the opportunity to do so, regardless of the family’s ability to pay.

Applications for Overnight Camp Grants will be accepted through January 25, 2019. For more information, contact Andrea Eiffert at aeiffert@jfed srq.org or call 941.552.6308. To apply, visit www.jfedsrq.org/camp.

Contributions to the Jewish Federation are always appreciated to help send more children to camp. To make a contribution, visit www.jfedsrq.org/ give and click on the general donations tab. In the comments section, mention that your contribution is for the Jewish Overnight Camp Grant program.

On behalf of the Camp Grant Committee, we thank everyone who has supported this important program and we wish all of our children who participate a great summer camp experience.

Saul Landesberg is the chair of the Overnight Camp Grant committee.

Federation awards $32,585 in need-based religious school scholarships Staff Report

T

he Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee recently awarded $32,585 in need-based religious school scholarships to 85 area students at six schools. This year, every completed application received some assistance. The schools are Chabad of Lakewood Ranch, Chabad of Sarasota, Chabad of Venice & North Port, Temple Emanu-El, Temple Sinai and Temple Beth El. The Federation’s co-chairs for this program are Peter Wells and Mark Sharff. “As a community, we should ensure cultural and educational opportunities for all,” says Sharff. “We’re very proud of this program and delighted to offer area students the opportunity to learn more about their Jewish heritage.”

Steve Weintraub, Director of Youth and Adult Learning at Temple Sinai, says the program has been invaluable.

“This initiative has allowed families in our congregation who might otherwise not have been able to send children to school, ensure that they stay connected to learning and to our Jewish community.”

Sabrina Silverberg, Director of Education for Temple Emanu-El Religious School, says that the organization is “extremely grateful to the Federation for the financial support it has provided to some of our religious school students these past few years. It is our temple’s policy that no Jewish child is ever turned away because of financial

reasons. Without Federation support, our temple would have to bear the entire burden. We’re dedicated to providing students and families with a firm Jewish foundation and we are thankful that the Federation partners with us toward reaching this endeavor.”

Below, we offer a quick glance at some of the comments we received from parents and students: “I wanted to thank you for awarding our son a scholarship to attend Hebrew school for another year. The teachers have been so patient and accommodating to our son’s special needs. They really went out of their way to create a learning environment in which he has thrived. I cannot imagine him not being able to participate, which would be the case were it not for your assistance financially. Because of this we have so much to look forward to this year.”

“Thank you for helping my daughter get to know more about her culture and her heritage.”

“Thank you for supporting Jewish education in our family. It is very much appreciated!”

“We love going to Hebrew school!”

“Thank you so very much! It means the world for my children to go to Hebrew school.”

For more information about needbased religious scholarships, please contact Jeremy Lisitza, Director of Innovation and Volunteer Engagement, at 941.343.2113.

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CHANUKAH KLEZMER FESTIVAL

with the Freylekh Klezmer Band

with a special tribute to the Pittsburgh victims

Wis hin and g you you r Hap s a Cha py nuk ah!

A “TREE OF LIFE" MENORAH FOR THE 11 PITTSBURGH SYNAGOGUE VICTIMS

SUNDAY, DEC. 9 4:30 – 6:30pm

Centennial Park 200 W Venice Avenue (Downtown Venice) Event is free of charge

LIGHTING OF A 12 FT. GIANT MENORAH PHOTO-OP AT THE “KOTEL” THE WESTERN WALL REPLICA HUGE INTERACTIVE DREIDEL HOUSE HEBREW SCHOOL PERFORMANCE MOON BOUNCE FALAFEL MATZAH BALL SOUP HOT LATKES SUFGANIOT REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

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1 N Lemon Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236

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To register visit www.jfedsrq.org/events To RSVP or for more information contact Jeremy Lisitza 941.343.2113 or jlisitza@jfedsrq.org

941.371.4546

jfedsrq.org

10A

December 2018

FEDERATION NEWS

Leading child rights advocate addresses Women’s Giving Circle’s Open House attendees

By Su Byron

H

anita Zimrin, Ph.D., is the founder and general director of ELI, the Israel Association for Child Protection. Since 1979, Dr. Zimrin and her organization have worked tirelessly to increase the awareness of this painful problem by educating the public at large, training professionals, lobbying policy decision-makers, and providing vital information to potential victims and parents – all to increase ELI’s ability to intervene and give assistance to victims of child abuse.

Dr. Zimrin and her staff approach this painful problem in a unique and innovative way by offering singlepoint-of-entry comprehensive services.

Families receive therapy, legal counseling and other needed support services without having to go from agency to agency.

Since founding ELI, Dr. Zimrin has successfully brought about significant improvements in Israel’s child protection laws and has received numerous awards for her achievements.

Internationally renowned as a leader in child rights and protection, she frequently speaks at events and conferences throughout the world.

In the last few years, ELI expanded its initiatives to include a focus on sexual abuse in the army. The organization works with Ma’hot, an IDF unit that provides therapy and support for victims of sexual abuse. This year, in recognition of Dr. Zimrin’s and ELI’s significant advances, The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee’s Women’s Giving Circle granted the organization $4,697 – specifically designated for its work with victims of

sexual abuse in the military. Chaired other NGOs came on board, ELI was

by Adrea Sukin, the group invited Dr. able to reach out to other populations, Zimrin to speak at its Open House this including the ultra-Orthodox, special October. I spoke with Dr. Zimrin at the needs and Arab families, and respond event about her organization and her to emerging needs in society. ELI has work. led the way and continues to do so.

What inspired you to launch ELI A 2015 study shows that almost in 1979?

53 percent of Israeli children have In 1970, I began my dissertation suffered some form of abuse and vicabout child abuse. I fell into it by actimization. Is this a statistic you supcident when a pediatriport? cian friend told me that As a member of the there were children who steering committee for weren’t being “cared this survey, I’m very fafor” properly. This was miliar with it. It looked the first time anyone at a very wide definition ever spoke about child of abuse, such as beabuse in Israel. After ing hit once in the last I received my doctoryear. I wasn’t in agreeate in 1978, I wanted to ment with their criteria stay in research, but felt of how to define abuse. that there was too much ELI defines child abuse important information much more severely: Dr. Hanita Zimrin about child abuse not to extreme cases of physishare it. I approached the government cal and sexual abuse, and neglect. We to take responsibility for this issue, estimate that 1.5 to 2 percent of Israel’s but they claimed that this kind of thing children, or around 50,000 to 60,000 doesn’t happen in the Jewish home! I children, fit that criteria of abuse. This felt I owed it to the children of Israel to is similar to the rate in the U.S. There start ELI while still hoping the governare thousands of children who are ment would eventually take responsiabused who don’t get help because no bility. one knows about them or they fall beWhat happened next? tween the cracks.

ELI’s initial focus was on develWhat are the contributing facoping awareness of the issue of child tors that lead to child abuse in Isabuse. After several years, ELI rerael? ceived calls for help and we had to There are certain factors that are make the decision to provide services. the same internationally: children beThe government eventually took liming perceived as objects, parents or ited responsibility for dealing with the other abusers who can’t empathize issue while ELI continued to serve as with the pain of the child, perpetrators a watchdog. Once the government and putting their needs before the needs

PJ w

By M

T

of their children, or perpetrators who were abused themselves, which is then their role model for raising children.

In Israel, when there are increases inof S economic, security and other stressors,on th children become the victims and childcam Sukk abuse increases.

T ELI has a full-time staff of 50 professional social workers, psy-ing chologists and other clinicians. Areerso these services offered only on-site orInde do you bring help throughout Israel?unde We work all over Israel by utilizingful g a mobile van and a network of satellitevolu offices, many of which are part of thetion and municipality offices.

Israel is a nation of diverse cul-dren tures. Do you employ therapists whoSukk come from different cultural and re-from Sukk ligious backgrounds?

Yes, we pride ourselves on a multi-Rabb cultural approach. We employ Haredi,and Arab and Ethiopian social workers. Weand even have an English-speaking group.item S ELI has adapted its school-based prevention programs to serve these popu-the s lations as well, including children with special needs. ELI even has a program working in concert with the IDF dealing with the issue of sexual abuse in the army.

Do you use trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and are there other types of therapies you employ?

Our team works with all techniques and modalities that relate to trauma. ELI provides ongoing training to its therapists to ensure that they are updated on all the latest research and approaches. continued on next page

December 2018

FEDERATION NEWS

PJ Library in the Sukkah with friends

By Maria Leonardo

T

his September, Aviva – A Campus for Senior Life partnered with The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee and PJ Library on the grounds of the continuing care campus for a festive intergenerational Sukkot event between the ages.

The Anchin Pavilion Assisted Living and Memory Community, Benderson Skilled Nursing and Kobernick Independent residents came together under the shade of trees on the beautiful grounds to join PJ Library families, volunteers and staff from the Federation and Aviva. Rabbi Anne Feibelman and Cantor Deborah Suta led the children and residents in familiar songs of Sukkot. Volunteer Amy Levison read from the PJ Library book What is Sukkot? to the children in attendance.

Rabbi Anne explained the tradition and meaning of the lulav and etrog, and Federation volunteers brought the items to each resident.

Several residents danced around the sukkah, and children sat with their

parents, family and friends listening to the readings as they were shown the beautiful pictures in the book. The multi-dimensional experience culminated with socializing and sharing water, fruit drinks, veggie snacks and ice-cold fruit pops. Music played in the background with sounds of The Maccabeats permeating the pre-autumn afternoon. Families who came to be with their loved ones and Kobernick resident volunteers also offered a hand distributing the goodies.

The sharing and gathering together enhanced the festive feel of what it must have been like to be together in one gathering place and how early sukkahs became an extended home for family and friends.

For more information about PJ Library and to find out about upcoming events, visit https://jfedsrq.org/ pj; check us out on Facebook at PJ Library of Sarasota-Manatee; or call Andrea Eiffert at 941.552.6306.

11A

Congregation Kol HaNeshama A place of

Community, Spirituality, Tikun Olam At Kol HaNeshama, our members share meaningful discussion and learning; holiday celebrations; books; films; meditation; social-action projects; and Rabbi Jennifer’s uplifting services that are participatory, musical and informed by tradition.

Our Spiritual Leader Rabbi Jennifer Singer

Outside KH our members become friends who share activities as diverse as pickleball, concerts, opera and mahjong.

KH is Family – Make it Yours Congkh.org

941 244 2042

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Volunteer Amy Levison reads from the PJ Library book What is Sukkot?

Dr. Hanita Zimrin...continued from page 10A How many children and families more than 30,000 were successfully do you serve every year? helped in some way.

We provide therapy to approxiFor more information on ELI, the mately 4,200 children and their famiIsrael Association for Children Proteclies per year. There are 90,000 school tion, visit www.eli-usa.org. children who participate in our schoolThe Women’s Giving Circle’s based abuse prevention programs. The (Ma’agal Nashim) mission is to prachotline receives over 7,000 calls from tice tikkun olam (improving the world) victims, friends, relatives and even through a circle of caring women with perpetrators themselves. the goal of enhancing the lives of JewHow do you define success? ish women and children in Israel. VotSuccess is a difficult question to ing participation requires a donation answer when it comes to child abuse of $500 per year. Overseas not-foras children can be scarred for life. We profit projects in Israel supporting define success when we can stop the women and/or children are eligible to abuse or, even better, prevent it from submit grant proposals for considerhappening in the first place. In those ation. After the proposals are received, cases where the abuse has already hapmembers of the Women’s Giving Circle pened, we define success by changing review them and determine how to and improving the long-term effects of distribute the funds for the greatest abuse on the child (anger, self-blame, impact. To join Ma’agal Nashim or etc.), and changing the dynamic of the for more information, contact Jeremy family to prevent further abuse. Out of Lisitza at 941.343.2113 or jlisitza@ the almost 40,000 children who were jfedsrq.org. treated by ELI over the past 10 years,

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12A

December 2018

COMMUNITY FOCUS

Do you know the history of Russian Jewry?

By Marden Paru, Dean, Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva | This program is Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

I

f your parents or grandparents came from Russia or the Pale of Settlement, you might be interested in tracing your roots or participating in a journey through time.

A Jewish presence in Russia can be traced back over 2,500 years. Some recent archaeological findings suggest that remnants of the Ten Lost Tribes intermingled with the Cimmerians and the Scythians in the 7th century BCE. These groups, that in those times lived in the vicinity of the Black Sea, migrated north and westward into what became the larger Russian Empire of Europe and Asia.

Since the Middle Ages, the rapid and expansive growth of Eastern European Jewry established the Ashkenazi experience familiar to many of us: a rich literary and Yiddish cultural tradition, Talmudic erudition, the Yiddish language, the enlightenment, Zionism, communism and other social movements. Why was it necessary to develop a unique new Jewish language written in Hebrew script? With so many paths leading back to Russia, it compels us to study the demographic, survival and genetic forces at play.

What were the conditions that enabled Jewish life to flourish – in many

instances to barely survive – in the harsh atmosphere in which Ashkenazi Jews found themselves? For at least a millennium, Jews faced pogroms, extreme weather conditions, subjugation of Czars, occupational limitations and basic anti-Semitism.

Have you ever traced the origin of your family’s surname? There is much to learn just from genealogical research with all the new resources available today.

Please join our entourage as we explore this vast history. The Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva is offering an eightweek course, “The History of Russian

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habad of Venice will host its annual Chanukah Klezmer Festival on Sunday, December 9 at Centennial Park in downtown Venice, an open event for the entire community starting at 4:30 p.m. A special 12-foot “Tree of Life” menorah with photos of the 11 victims of the Pittsburgh massacre will be unveiled at the event. Participants will have the chance to add notes of well wishes to the families and good-deeds (mitzvah) resolutions on the menorah.

OVER 175 PROGRAMS

“The Chanukah story is about freedom from religious oppression,” explains Chabad of Venice Rabbi Sholom Schmerling. “In light of the recent religious and racial violence in our country, it is so important that we all come together – all of our community regardless of religious faith, race or cultural background. The strength that exists in our combined unity will truly turn this dark period to light.

“Together we march in solidarity; arm in arm. We kindle each other as

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we add light to the world. At this time of celebration, turn on your light. Our Pittsburgh brothers and sisters were about life, not death. In their memory we are their light. The menorah perfectly embodies this theme – to take from the darkest of dark and transform it into the greatest of lights,” Schmerling says.

This year’s event features a live performance from the Freylekh Klezmer Band, a presentation by Chabad’s Hebrew School students, and a dreidel house and moon bounce for children. Traditional Chanukah foods

T

Jewry,” starting Friday, December 7.

Classes take place from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. on The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life, 580 McIntoshlar, a ting Road, Sarasota.

To enroll, please contact me atmidd 941.379.5655 or marden.paru@gmail.’90s, com. The course fee of $60 includescam all materials. This course is open tosion everyone regardless of background ormun personal orientation. The Sarasota Lib-espe eral Yeshiva is a 501(c)(3) non-denom-a lot inational not-for-profit organization,their which also operates in part through aon th grant from The Jewish Federation ofcom Life.

Sarasota-Manatee.

A livin plish its fo cam – latkes, donuts and matzah ball soup – nick will be served, in what promises to be inclu a most enjoyable evening. The event is chin co-sponsored by The Jewish FederaBend tion of Sarasota-Manatee. tatio Other public menorah lightings uum will take place at 5:00 pm on Sunday, histo December 2 at Warm Mineral Springs to a in North Port, and on Tuesday, Dewelln cember 4 at 420 West Dearborn St. in conn Englewood. of ea For more information, please call A 941.493.2770 or visit www.chabad ate ofvenice.com. uniq resid the the m bein initi valu cont ISRAEL PROGRAMS tures gear IN MEMORY OF gage Stephen Albert Sara Bryna and Howard Tevlowitz and Betty Schoenbaum Bryna and Howard Tevlowitz

Chanukah event to honor Tree of Life synagogue victims This program is Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

25

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13A

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25 years of living life to the fullest

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wenty-five years ago, the world was a pretty different place. A tank of gas cost just over a dollar, and the internet was only just getting ready to make its big debut. In the middle of the hustle and bustle of the ’90s, a group of dedicated Sarasotans came together with a dream and a mission. This group believed that our community could do more for one another, especially when it came to seniors. With a lot of determination and a passion for their dream, this group broke ground on the campus that would one day become Aviva – A Campus for Senior Life.

As Sarasota’s premier rental senior living campus, Aviva has seen, accomplished and changed a great deal since its founding on November 5, 1993. The campus, which started out as Kobernick House, has added new services including Anchin Assisted Living, Anchin Memory Care and, most recently, Benderson Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation, as it works to create a full continuum of care for residents. In its 25-year history, Aviva has introduced residents to a whole new world of programming, wellness, social activity and spiritual connection which form the very heart of each resident’s experience.

Aviva has worked tirelessly to create a programming calendar that is unique, engaging and active for its residents. The campus has held fast to the longstanding idea of improving the mind, body, spirit and social wellbeing through its programming, health initiatives and celebration of its Jewish values. Aviva University, the campus’s continuing education program, features a diverse collection of lectures geared to stimulate the mind and engage residents. Taught by popular Sarasota professors, historians, artists and researchers, these classes serve as

a fascinating way for residents to stay current in many of the fields they have since retired from.

Aviva4Life, Aviva’s personalized health and wellness program, works to provide each resident with a team of

supportive professionals to turn to for guidance and encouragement. Residents work closely with members of the wellness and therapy team to craft a unique health plan that targets areas of concern like balance, fitness, diet or mobility. Every class they attend, every workout they complete, and every meal they eat can be made to support a resident’s unique health goal.

One of Aviva’s defining qualities is its commitment to its roots, to the heart of the organization. Twenty-five years ago, Aviva’s founders believed they could create a community for all but led and inspired by the Jewish values and customs they themselves were raised on. Values like compassion, hospitality, respect for life and a passion for celebration are deeply woven into the culture and atmosphere of Aviva.

This is what gives Aviva the unique “Aviva Feeling” that visitors, family members and residents highlight when they arrive on campus. It is the feeling of knowing that you or your loved one are truly at home and part of a loving community at Aviva.

So, what’s next for Aviva? The cam-

s ’ n e m Wo Day2018 Monday, December 3, 2018 11:30 am • Art Ovation Hotel

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pus is eager to continue nurturing its rapidly expanding relationship with its neighbors in the Meadows through joint programming such as the incredibly popular balance and fitness class taught by members of the Aviva therapy team. Staff and leadership at Aviva also hope to see the early stages of a large-scale renovation project begin on areas of the campus including common areas, the main rotunda and main dining room at Kobernick Independent Living. Finally, building on the success of their annual Keep the Dream Alive gala event, the Aviva team and Aviva Jewish Housing Foundation are set to introduce new programs and initiatives

schedule a tour, visit www.avivaseniorlife.org or call 941.225.8369 for more information.

About Aviva – A Campus for Senior Life Founded in 1993, Aviva – A Campus for Senior Life is Sarasota’s only senior living campus which offers all levels of living on a rental basis, including independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation.

Our location in The Meadows community provides our campus with true Florida natural beauty while making it easy to access all of the arts, culture and entertainment of downtown Sarasota. As a Jewish faith-based community and not-for-profit organization, we are proud that our deeply rooted values provide residents of all faiths the ability to live life to the fullest and to experience a world of new possibilities.

to allow for greater participation from the Sarasota community.

To learn more about Aviva – A Campus for Senior Life and experience the possibilities of senior living, or to

Come see what makes Aviva a one of a kind community. All that’s missing is you!

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HOW TO HEAL: HEALING THE RIFT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND AMERICAN JEWS Monday, February 11, 2019 • 7:00 PM Hyatt Regency • 1000 Blvd of The Arts, Sarasota, FL FEATURING

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Robert and Esther Heller

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COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE

Artwork by: Debbie Dannheisser

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December 2018

COMMUNITY FOCUS

Dr. Daniel Gordis is the author of more than ten books. He is a regular columnist for both The Jerusalem Post and The New York Times. Gordis’ most recent book is a history of the State of Israel entitled Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn, which received the 2016 National Jewish Book Award as “Book of the Year.”

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Gordis is now writing a book on American Jews and their relationship to Israel.

“One of the 50 most influential Jews in the world” —The Jerusalem Post

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Co-chairs: Michelle Mallitz and Susan Mallitz

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14A

December 2018

COMMUNITY FOCUS

Not a handout, a hand across

By Rabbi Jonathan R. Katz | This program is Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

S

ometimes, not getting what you want or think you need turns out to be blessing in disguise. For example, a couple that had moved to Sarasota from out of state requested assistance for move-in costs from JFCS’s Jewish Financial Assistance (JFA) program. However, because their situation was not determined to actually be a case of emergency financial need, the request was not allocated. Nevertheless, JFA’s case manager, Jill Mooney, worked with them to develop an economically viable family budget and fiscal goals. She also assisted with referrals to helpful resources in the community.

When Jill followed up two months later, the husband shared that the denial of JFA funds was the best thing that could have happened because it led to the curtailing of unnecessary spending habits and spurred him to obtain fulltime employment with benefits. He reported he was already being interviewed for a promotion to management and that he and his wife were quite happy.

Of course, for those JFA clients who qualify for emergency help, the assistance is pivotal. Recently, a woman in her sixties contacted Jill for help with rent and past-due utility expenses after her husband unexpectedly passed away. Together they had been raising his granddaughter. Jill worked with her to create a budget and goals, negotiate with vendors/creditors and bring in additional income.

Through JFA, which The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee makes possible, Jill provided the woman with financial assistance for rent.

However, when the landlord subsequently refused to renew her lease, she and Jill searched for affordable apartment rentals. After finding one, JFA assisted with move-in costs. JFA’s help allowed the woman to catch up on her past due bills, reduce expenses and find a part-time job to supplement her income.

Another client, in her late 20s, who had overcome a rough childhood riddled with drugs and a broken family to be a productive member of society, lost

her job shortly after the birth of a child.

Though the father had moved out, he offered to pay for rent and bills when he could. When she came to JFA, the father had lost a second job and could no longer provide funds to pay for utilities and other expenses including food.

With Jill’s expertise, they created a budget and discussed ways to reduce expenses and negotiate with vendors.

Jill even contacted some vendors herself to explain how the woman was now being assisted by JFA. A grant from the Yonover fund, specifically created for families with children under 18, covered past due utilities, additional expenses (auto insurance, car loan) and a month’s supply of Publix gift cards.

A few weeks later, the client found a part-time job. She told Jill that the support she received from JFA enabled her to get back on a more promising life track. After receiving assistance from JFA, clients will often send heartfelt “thank you” notes to express their appreciation.

JFA financially assists individuals and families in the Jewish community

who have a legitimate, unexpected financial crisis beyond their immediate means. Grants aren’t made to clients and personal loans are not permitted.

This one-time assistance goes directly to respective vendors. Short-term case management (at least two meetings for assessment and to create a budget and goals) are required before grants can be facilitated. Sometimes, clients, especially Holocaust survivors, who do not possess insurance, come to JFA in need of dental work. JFA can often help if the request is reasonable.

“I take pride in the ability to help our clients,” says Jill. “We are there for them. The Jewish community can take pride in knowing that the Federation and JFCS are making a real difference at a crucial time in their lives.”

Rabbi Jonathan R. Katz serves as a Community Chaplain and Director of JFCS’s Jewish Healing Program, a partnership between The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee and JFCS of the Suncoast.

Temple Beth Sholom Men’s Club announces a fascinating series of speakers

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emple Beth Sholom Men’s Club is looking forward to its Monthly Sunday Breakfast Program Speaker Series. There are some very exciting speaking engagements planned that the entire community is encouraged to attend.

On December 9 we welcome JFCS of the Suncoast and the Sarasota Po-

lice Department for “Homeless, But Not Hopeless.” Seth Miller, Executive Director of the Innocence Project of Florida, will join us on January 13 for “Guilty Until Proven Innocent?,” regarding the Jewish prison population.

On February 3, the TBS Men’s Club is joined by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee and

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the Dalet Group (Temple Beth Israel, Temple Beth Sholom, Temple EmanuEl and Temple Sinai) in presenting “Israel Under Siege: Sderot and Gaza.”

Join us as we learn about the plight of the residents of the Israeli town of Sderot, who have faced ongoing missile attacks from Hamas. We will view the film Rock in the Red Zone, followed by a possible Skype session with people living in this Israeli border community.

Our last program of the series will be on March 10. Bud Livingston, a Civil War historian, will present “American Jewry and the Civil War.” Temple Beth Sholom believes these topics to be of interest to teens and adults alike. As such, we welcome youth participation for this series at no charge. The program runs from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m., with breakfast included.

For more information or to register, call the temple office at 941.955.8121.

25 YEARS AFTER the

OSLO ACCORDS ABE FOXMAN, former National Director of the Anti-Defamation League

JANUARY 15, 2019

7:00pm – 8:30pm

Beatrice Friedman Theatre, The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life, 580 McIntosh Rd, Sarasota

ABE FOXMAN is an American lawyer and activist. He was National Director of the Anti-Defamation League from 1987 to 2015. In the forefront of major issues of the day, including the rise of global anti-Semitism, the war on terrorism, church/state issues, religious intolerance and issues relating to the Holocaust, he consistently speaks out against hatred and violence wherever they occur.

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15A

16A

December 2018

COMMUNITY FOCUS

National Council of Jewish Women, Sarasota-Manatee Section’s 37th Annual Women in Power Luncheon

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he National Council of Jewish Women, Sarasota-Manatee Section’s 37th Annual Women in Power Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, January 16 at Michael’s On East. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m. with lunch being served at noon. The event will honor four women whose accomplishments mirror NCJW’s focus on social justice by improving the lives of women, children and families, and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms. For the first time, closed captioning will be available at the event.

Jo Rutstein Non-Profit Event Leader, Scholarship Sponsor, Performing Arts Supporter Jo Rutstein is a Realtor specializing in luxury properties in Sarasota and Longboat Key and a top 25 Realtor for Premier Sotheby’s International Realty.

She is also a proud recipient of the FIVE STAR Best in Client Satisfaction Award for 11 years.

Her mother’s strength and perseverance showed Jo that anything is possible, which helped her in graduating from East Carolina University. Family has always been very important to Jo and continues to be one of her greatest strengths. She has held many positions within Children First including Chairwoman of the Board. She is also a proud member of the Rotary Club of Sarasota, JFCS of the Suncoast and American Jewish Committee, having co-chaired many of their events. She has also served on committees for the

Ringling College of Art + Design and is a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood. Each year, Jo and her husband Stan sponsor a piece of artwork for Embracing Our Differences. They also provide annual education scholarships through Hillels of the Florida Suncoast through the Rutstein Judaic Essay contest. Jo also supports the performing arts community including the symphony, ballet and the opera.

Diane Roskamp Senior Living Communities Developer, Roskamp Institute Founder, National and Local Board Member Diane Roskamp was born and raised in Washington, D.C., by several “Women of Power” – an intelligent, beautiful mother who ran the Classified Library at the U.S Information Agency, and her grandmother. Diane met Bob Roskamp in 1984 when they partnered to start Freedom Group, Inc. to develop senior living communities locally and nationally. Their Florida projects include Sarasota Bay Club, Jacaranda Trace in Venice and The Glenview in Naples.

Their senior living campuses have become a model for successful “life care” communities in the U.S. They married in 1996 and moved to Longboat Key. Out of family challenges and the onslaught of our epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease in the United States, the Roskamp Foundation founded the local Roskamp Institute on Whitfield Ave. for research in diseases of the brain. Researchers, MDs and Ph.D. specialists come from all over the world to join the Roskamp team of

brain researchers in Alzheimer’s disease, PTSD, Parkinson’s, head trauma and other related brain diseases. Diane also serves on several national and local boards including Minding Your Mind for teen suicide prevention, as a Life Trustee at Ringling College and as a Founding Mother of Designing Women.

Luz Corcuera Psychotherapist, Non-profit Executive Director, Community Organizer for Education, Health and Empowerment Luz Corcuera is the Executive Director of UnidosNow, a non-profit organization committed to empowering Hispanics/Latinos to achieve the American dream through education, integration and civic engagement. Luz emigrated from Peru to Canada where she practiced family and group therapy as a psychotherapist for 16 years. She has a proven track record in community-building and engagement. She previously served as Program Director for Healthy Start Manatee and as a Community Health Director for the Florida Department of Health in Manatee.

Luz is passionate about education, health, cultural competency, and understanding the social determinants influencing socio-economic well-being. Her significant work includes developing and overseeing diverse community-based initiatives to empower underserved and at-risk communities via preven-

tion and education. Luz has been recognized with numerous awards for building strong relationships in the Manasota region with private, public, faith-based and civic organizations to close the education achievement gap, reverse negative health trends and empower people to civic integration.

Julie Leach Non-Profit Board of Trustee Member, Social Justice Outreach and Service Leader, Non-Profit Executive Director Julie Leach’s formal education, including a BS in Economics from Johns Hopkins University, an MBA from University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and Certified Public Accountant have served her well in her employment and non-profit board experience. Her work experience includes Audit Manager and Director of Religious Education. When you think of Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, you think of Julie! She was the Vice Chair, Board of Trustees from 2009-2010, and Chair, Board of Trustees from 2010-2015. Julie became Interim Director in April 2015 and has been Executive Director from September 2015 to the present. Julie is also the President, Board of Trustees, Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School Endowment Board; and is Co-Chair of the Social Justice Committee, a position she has held for many years.

Julie is married to Brock H. Leach.

They have two children who are the joy of their lives.

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17A

Dr. Gary P. Zola to speak at Temple Beth Israel

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emple Beth Israel of Longboat Under Professor Zola’s leadership, Key is honored to present Dr. the AJA began a new phase in its deGary P. Zola as its Scholar-invelopment. Its renowned collection has Residence the weekend of January grown and is housed in a world-class 18-20. Dr. Zola is Executive Director complex of three interconnected strucof the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of tures, including the Edwin A. Malloy the American Jewish Education Building.

Archives (AJA) and a Professor Zola is a hisprofessor at the Ameritorian of American Jewry can Jewish Experience who specializes in the deat Hebrew Union Colvelopment of American lege-Jewish Institute of Reform Judaism. In 2011, Religion in Cincinnati.

President Obama apThe AJA is the world’s pointed Zola to serve as a largest freestanding remember of the U.S. Comsearch center dedicated mission for the Preservasolely to the study of the tion of America’s Heritage American Jewish expeAbroad, an independent Dr. Gary P. Zola rience. Professor Zola agency of the Federal govbecame the AJA’s second director in ernment. Established by Public Law in 1998, succeeding his teacher and men1985, the Commission exists to foster tor, Professor Jacob Rader Marcus. the preservation and protection of the

cemeteries, monuments and historic buildings associated with the foreign heritage of United States citizens.

The weekend program, entitled “The Historical Significance of the American Jewish Experience,” consists of three captivating topics: Friday, January 18 at 8:00 p.m.: “For I am an American and I am a Jew – The Historical Significance of American Jewry” Saturday, January 19 at 10:00 a.m.: Text Study: “What this Week’s Torah Portion B’Shalach Can Teach Us About American Jewry.” Following the service and presentation, all in attendance are invited to partake of a light lunch at TBI’s Shabbat Café.

Sunday, January 20 at 9:30 a.m.:

Men’s Club Breakfast, “George Washington, Jews and the Story of Religious Freedom in America.”

Reservations for the breakfast must be made in advance by calling the TBI office at 941.383.3428.

The weekend will provide the entire Sarasota-Manatee Jewish community the opportunity to sit together and engage in study and conversation with one of the Reform Movement’s outstanding scholars.

The Scholar-in-Residence program is made possible through the generosity and support of the Charlotte P. Graver Fund at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. For more information on this community event, call Isaac Azerad, Temple Beth Israel Executive Director, at 941.383.3428.

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NCJW gift wraps at Barnes & Noble Join the fun and spread some holiday cheer. The National Council of Jewish Women will again be supporting our community by gift wrapping at Barnes & Noble this November and December. Barnes & Noble supplies the paper and NCJW supplies the smiles. Please consider joining us Monday, November 26 thru Friday, November 30 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. each day at Barnes & Noble, 4010 S. Tamiami Trail. No experience necessary...just lots of enthusiasm.

To participate or hear about upcoming December dates, please email Carol Papish at cfpap22@gmail.com.

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18A

December 2018

COMMUNITY FOCUS

Vigil f or Tree of Li

A COMMUNITY IN SOLIDA

Photos by Dan Wagner, Herald-Tribu

We will always be Pittsburgh-ers deep in our souls, but the vigil felt like a magical, soothing Sarasota blanket.

— Essie and Ray Garfinkel

We must heal together, continue to educate and always strive for a more tolerant and peaceful world.

— Bette Zaret

COMMUNITY FOCUS

December 2018

19A

OCTOBER 29, 2018

Life

IDARITY

Herald-Tribune and Seth Berman

The warmth, caring, love and solidarity represented our compassionate and united city.

— Linda Lipson

Although I wasn’t able to attend physically, my family watched live via Facebook. It felt good to glimpse what love and passion can get done.

— Sepi Ackerman

20A

December 2018

COMMUNITY FOCUS

Author Deborah Vadas Levison to speak at Temple Beth Sholom

A

ward-winning author Deborah der, and Justice. It has received four Vadas Levison will speak at awards: it won Outstanding First NonTemple Beth Sholom (1050 S. fiction, a Gold Medal, a 5-Star Award, Tuttle Avenue, Sarasota) on Saturday, and was named a finalist in the 2018 December 22 at 12:30 p.m. The SaraBook Awards. It was released this past sota Jewish community is summer and has invited to attend Shabbat been called “heart services that morning and wrenching” and a to hear Levison after the “necessary read.”

Kiddush. Debbie will be It is the true sharing an amazing Holostory of a gruesome caust story that will mescrime that involved merize her audience. The her family of Hochild of Holocaust surlocaust survivors. vivors, she was born and In 2010, her family raised in Toronto, Canada. discovered a woodShe presently lives in Conen crate, nailed necticut with her husband tightly shut and hidand three children. den underneath the Deborah Vadas Levison Levison attended the family home north Royal Conservatory of Music and the of Toronto. They were not prepared University of Toronto. For the past 20 for the horrific contents of the crate. years, she has resided in the United States. She is an award-winning writer, published in national and international media. Her first book, a true crime story with echoes of the Holocaust, is The Crate: A Story of War, a Murn partnership with Israeli advocacy organization StandWithUs, Temple Emanu-El was honored to host two Israel Defense Forces soldiers for an educating, inspiring weekend.

Under the leadership of 16-yearold StandWithUs intern Tayla Rosenthal – who serves as president of Temple Emanu-El’s youth group – 150 temple members and guests had the opportunity to meet the soldiers and hear their stories on October 26. The evening began with Israeli-style treats provided by the Israel Committee, including a custom-designed cake.

Attendees heard the riveting story of Barak – who shared his grandmother’s history as a Holocaust survivor and how it inspires his service; his experience overseeing the first-ever opening of the Israel-Syria border to provide lifesaving medical treatment to Syrians; and his split-second decision to

It contained the remains of a young mother, brutally murdered. The discovery traumatized the family, especially her fragile parents. It dredged up their memories of the Holocaust – of surviving concentration camps, cattle cars, death marches – and forced them to confront violence again.

Reviewers have commented on Levison’s “gorgeous poetic writing.” Levison stated that, “As fewer and fewer Shoah survivors are left, it becomes incumbent upon the second generation to tell the stories.”

“Debbie is a gifted storyteller, and attendees of Debbie’s presentation will leave wanting to hear more,” stated Al Treidel, Chair of Continuing Education at Temple Beth Sholom.

IDF soldiers visit Temple Emanu-El

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abort a strike that would certainly have neutralized a Hamas terrorist sending bombs into Israel – but that might have harmed small children forced to serve as human shields for the terrorist.

Another soldier, Lyra, spoke about being a Lone Soldier and her work evaluating potential Army officers’ mental and emotional fitness to serve.

She made aliyah from Brazil at age five, with her mother – her only family. When Lyra was16, her mother suffered a heart attack and stroke, and was comatose for a year. During that year – and her mother’s subsequent permanent move to a medical facility – Lyra found a home with other Lone Soldiers and those who support them.

The soldiers returned to Temple Emanu-El for a gathering with community teens on October 27 that also proved important and inspiring.

StandWithUs intern and Temple Emanu-El youth group president Tayla Rosenthal, StandWithUs Southeast High School Coordinator Rayna Rose Exelbierd, and Israel Defense Forces soldiers Lyla and Barak

New to the Sarasota-Manatee area?

We Welcome You

Shalom! Welcome to paradise!

We hope you feel at home and become active members of the Sarasota-Manatee Jewish community. Please stop by and visit us!

Ilene Fox • 941.343.2111 • ifox@jfedsrq.org Get Newcomer information: jfedsrq.org/new

The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life • Klingenstein Jewish Center 580 McIntosh Rd, Sarasota, FL 34232

December 2018

COMMUNITY FOCUS

21A

Temple Sinai leadership transition

By Gail Glickman

T

emple Sinai’s Rabbinic Search Committee has begun its search for a new rabbi who blends well with Temple Sinai’s members and who will carry forth our mission. The comd upmittee has received many resumes of – ofoutstanding candidates. We are in the attleprocess of contacting appropriate indihemviduals and selecting the most highly qualified to visit the temple.

A priority during the transition n Lehas been to maintain our high-quality LeewerShabbat, High Holy Days and festival s in-services. During this period, we have on tobeen fortunate to welcome back Rabbi Geoff Huntting, resuming his role as andspiritual leader. He provides continuity willto our religious services and educationd Alal programs.

In addition, there are a number of ation new ideas being discussed to further enhance our programs. Temple Sinai has always been on the forefront of being innovative. We look forward to

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our celebratory Rhythm & Jews Erev Shabbat, Chanukah Services on Friday, December 7, with the Bruno Trio adding beautiful music to accompany Chazzan Cliff Abramson, followed by our traditional Chanukah dinner.

Our educational programs under the leadership of Director of Youth and Adult Education Steve Weintraub, Director of Early Childhood Education Laura Freedman and Youth Director Deb Bryan continue to be the bedrock of our commitment to inspire the next generation of Jewish members of the community.

With change comes great opportunity, and while there are some changes at Temple Sinai, we view this as an opportunity to make plans to ensure our stability, continuity and growth. We constantly strive to seek ways to improve and we are excited about the future.

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HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN RUSSIA FRIDAYS 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM Starting December 7 (Eight weeks) If your parents or grandparents came from Russia or the Pale of Settlement, you might be interested in tracing your roots or participating in a journey through time. Russian Jewish presence goes back over two millenia. Since the Middle Ages, the rapid and expansive growth of Eastern European Jewry established the Ashkenazi experience familiar to us: a rich literary and Yiddish cultural tradition, Talmudic erudition, the enlightenment, Zionism and other social movements. With so many paths leading back to Russia, join our entourage as we explore this vast history. Instructor: Marden Paru; fee $60.

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Classes are held at The Jewish Federation on The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. To register or seek more information, please contact Marden Paru, Dean and Rosh Yeshiva at 941.379.5655 or marden.paru@gmail.com. Please make checks payable to the Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva and mail to Marden Paru, 5445 Pamela Wood Way #160, Sarasota, FL 34233.

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22A

December 2018

AUG.18 FEB.10

JEWISH INTEREST

Saving the children

By Paul R. Bartrop, PhD

O

n the night of November 9-10, 1938, the Nazis launched the pogrom that became known as Kristallnacht. In response, the British government approved a measure to allow the entry of Jewish refugees younger than 17 – on the proviso that they had a place to stay and landing money of £50 to enable them eventually to Dr. Paul Bartrop return home. On December 2, 1938 – exactly 80 years ago this month – the first arrivals of Jewish children arrived in Britain.

Much of the preliminary work was done by Jewish relief organizations, which planned to rescue these German and Austrian Jewish children in what became known as the Kindertransport (children’s transport) program. Ultimately, the initiative would bring some 10,000 unaccompanied children to safety in Britain prior to the outbreak of war in September 1939.

Kindertransport was the informal term used to describe the program.

The official name of the effort was the Refugee Children Movement. For the most part, Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland were “resettled” or “relocated” between December 1938 and September 1939. The rescued children were resettled in hostels, foster homes and sometimes on farms.

On November 15, 1938, in the immediate aftermath of Kristallnacht, Jewish leaders in Britain appealed directly to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain for help in rescuing Jewish children from Germany and Austria.

Specifically, they asked that immigration requirements be altered so that unaccompanied Jewish children might be allowed into the country on a temporary basis. In short order, Parliament took up the issue and agreed to the request, deciding not to set a limit on the number of children to be admitted.

Various Jewish relief agencies swung into action, as did the World Jewish Relief Fund, which worked with British officials in identifying children to be moved and making arrangements for their transport and resettlement.

Once word was received of the British offer, Jewish community organizations in Germany and Austria planned the best ways to send the children to safety. Parents would send letters through bodies such as the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society (HIAS) to sponsors in Britain; some of these sponsors were Jewish, some not.

Within days of the public announcement of the Kindertransport program, some 500 British households offered

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to take in a child (and sometimes more than one). Children were sent by train to the Netherlands or Belgium, and then by boat to Harwich in southeast England, where they were oriented and then resettled. They left their homes without valuables, a maximum of ten marks, and one small suitcase. None were accompanied by their parents; a few were babies carried by children.

Most were marked with a name tag on their clothes for the purpose of identification.

The first Kindertransport left Berlin on December 1, 1938, bringing 196 children from a Jewish orphanage burned by the Nazis during the night of the pogrom on November 9. It arrived in Harwich the following day.

Most transports left by train from Vienna, Berlin, Prague and other major cities. Hundreds of children, who did not go straight to the UK, remained in Belgium and Holland, safe for the time being. On one occasion, a Dutch social worker, Geertruida WijsmullerMeijer, went to Vienna to see Adolf Eichmann in person, demanding that he permit children to leave for the United Kingdom immediately. After suffering many indignities at the hands of the Gestapo, she was granted permission to take 600 children out of Austria, and the first Kindertransport from Austria was able to proceed.

In England, a number of hostels were administered by members of the Zionist Habonim youth movement in order to house the children. Many others spent time with English families in cities or on farms in the countryside.

Later, after the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia, the program was expanded to include Czech children, in an initiative that lay directly at the feet of a British Jew acting in a private capacity, Nicholas (later Sir Nicholas) Winton.

Several groups also came from Poland, especially during the summer of 1939.

The Kindertransport program effectively ended in September 1939, when Germany attacked Poland, though one last transport for Britain left from the Dutch port of Ijmuiden on May 14, 1940, one day before Holland surrendered. The 80 children on board had been brought by earlier transports to what was expected to be a safe haven in the Netherlands. Despite the remarkable figure of around 10,000 children who were saved and resettled in Britain, there is room for speculation to suggest that had the program commenced earlier, that number would certainly have been much larger. It took the November pogrom, however, for Jewish parents in Germany and Austria to realize the urgency of the situation facing their families.

In 1945, with the end of the war, many Kindertransport children attempted to reunite with their loved ones. Although some were successful, it was a sad fact that many were unable to do so, as their families had perished in the Holocaust or been killed in other wartime tragedies. This month, 80 years after that first transport, it is worth recalling once again the value of each individual life saved – the more so when it is considered that these were, literally, innocents abroad.

Dr. Paul Bartrop is Professor of History and the Dir. of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University. He can be reached at pbartrop@fgcu.edu.

Need to reach the editor of The Jewish News?

Send an email to

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December 2018

JEWISH INTEREST

23A

Aging Jewishly – What our traditions teach us about growing old

Rededicate your home on Chanukah

more trainBy Rabbi Barbara Aiello and olly said, “It’s early this year,” heast and Helen agreed. Edith conand fessed that she just wasn’t ready. omes George complained that his retirement f ten community proNone hibited the use of ts; a lighted candles dren. and asked, “So g on how am I gonna entimake Chanukah this year?” Joyce Bersaid it all with a ging sigh and an “Oi!” nage Regardless ht of Rabbi Barbara Aiello of whether you ived consider it a blessing that Chanukah comes early in December – “I like it from early” says Karen, “because it doesn’t major compete with Christmas,” – or later in did the month as Sam prefers when he says, ined “When Chanukah comes later then my r the grandkids are off from school and we utch can celebrate together,” there are crellerative ways to celebrate Chanukah.

Adolf One of the most interesting is to that inaugurate a Chanukat HaBayit or a the rededication of your home. The cerAfemony has historical roots. After the the Maccabees’ victory against the army of nted King Antiochus, the Jews reclaimed the out Temple by performing a ceremony to ansrestore it as a sacred and holy place. The eed. ceremony was called Chanukat HaBaywere it. Our sages tell us that our ancestors Zionkindled the chanukiyah, the special oil order lamp, and in the glow of the menorah hers light, we Jews reclaimed our home. n citToday, Chanukah can be a special time to remember that our homes are aded our sanctuaries and that each of the exeight nights of Chanukah can offer our n an families an opportunity to rededicate of a our homes to our Jewish traditions. city, Each night, as we kindle our candles, nton. and, 939. m ef939, n November 5, hundreds of and, friends, family, volunteers, itain staff and supporters gathered n on landat Michael’s On East with one mission oardin mind, one singular dream. Twentyportsfive years ago, from that date, a group e ha-of passionate members of the Sarasota thecommunity came together with a vi,000sion, to create a campus for seniors ttledbuilt on the Jewish values of love, unationderstanding and compassion. Their vicom-sion would one day become Aviva – A cer-Campus for Senior Life, Sarasota’s pretookmier rental senior living campus. As forRabbi Anne Feibelman, campus rabbi, striasaid in her speech that evening, the ationwarmth and nurturing environment harbored at Aviva is as essential to Jewwar,ish culture as matzah ball soup, and at-that environment is offered to all who ovedvisit the community.

Aviva on its own represented only a sful, piece of what these incredible men and unper-woman dreamed for the Sarasota comilledmunity. After establishing what was onth,then known as Kobernick House, these it isleaders went on to lay the groundwork ue ofof the Aviva Jewish Housing Foundamoretion, a unique philanthropic arm of heseAviva. As a non-profit organization, Aviva’s success has always been closely His-tied to the support of dedicated memr Ju-bers of the community and it has been udiesthe role of the Aviva Jewish Housing . HeFoundation to provide direction to that edu. support.

Each year, the Aviva Jewish Housing Foundation holds Keep the Dream Alive, Aviva’s largest fundraising gala.

The dream, which is so integral to this event, comes from Aviva’s founders who believed that no qualified resident of Aviva should ever feel the burden of facing eviction due to financial loss or struggle. For residents who qualify, this dream has since become a promise, that through the Benevolent Care

P

or twist a bulb on our electric chanukiyah, we can renew the light of the spirit within each room.

Thanks to The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership’s (CLAL) Resource Center, a new ritual of rededication can add depth and meaning to the Chanukah experience.

On each of the eight nights, begin with a meditation: “My home is the place where I celebrate life, mark the seasons, welcome guests, light candles, remember the past, dream about the future and open my heart to the present. At Chanukah, may I rededicate my home to the values and relationships I hold sacred.”

Make this special blessing each night before kindling the candles: “As this menorah fills with light, may our home be rededicated to the Source of Blessing that connects us all.”

Eight ways to dedicate your home: The First Candle: Invite guests, cook a special meal together, plan a family event or make time for those you love, creating and expanding shalom bayit, relationships of peace.

The Second Candle: Revitalize your home as a center for Jewish learning. Add a new book to your Jewish bookshelf.

The Third Candle: Invite a friend and together read a chapter from your new Jewish book. Share your thoughts and opinions. “Talk among yourselves!”

The Fourth Candle: Choose a place in your home where you can devote yourself to prayer, meditation or reflection. CLAL suggests making a mizrach, a marker

pointing eastward, and placing it on your own eastern wall to focus your attention toward Jerusalem.

The Fifth Candle: In solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel, use your mizrach to turn your thoughts and recollections to the beauty and strength of our ancestral homeland. Invite a friend to share photos and memories of a visit to Israel.

The Sixth Candle: As the Chanukah lights burn, gather a coat, sweater or blanket to donate to a homeless shelter, or collect canned or packaged food to donate to a food drive.

The Seventh Candle: In anticipation of the seventh night, have your grandchildren create handmade tzedakah boxes, and with your little ones, place them in each room of your home so they will be available for collecting loose change.

The Eighth Candle: Gather family and friends and formally rededicate the rooms of your home so they can better accomplish their sacred tasks – the dining room for guests, the kitchen for sustaining life, the living room for family interaction, the bedroom for rest and intimacy. Obtain additional mezuzot and with your friends and family affix these on each entry way.

If you have young grandchildren, affix two mezuzot, with one placed down low for little ones to touch.

Like Polly said, Chanukah does come early this year with the first candle kindled on the night of Sunday, December 2. If you are fortunate enough to live near your family, you can plan your Chanukat HaBayit festivities by

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inviting children and grandchildren to your home. If you live in a retirement community, you can share these activities with your friends by selecting one apartment for each of the eight nights. And remember, no worries if you are not permitted to use candles and matches. An electric menorah will do nicely!

For ten years Rabbi Barbara Aiello served the Aviva Campus for Senior Life as resident rabbi. Currently she is program host of The Radio Rabbi program (AM 930 The Answer), and she serves as Aviva’s Rabbi Emerita. Contact her at Rabbi@RabbiBarbara.com.

Fund, these residents are ensured a place to live and the many amenities that come with living at Aviva.

Not only does this fund support them where they currently live, such as those who live at Kobernick Independent

Living, but it covers the cost associated as they age into Aviva’s complete continuum of care including Anchin Assisted Living and Benderson Skilled Nursing.

This year’s Keep the Dream Alive gala took the spirit of the world’s greatest promoters of love and peace to heart.

Co-chaired by Sheila Birnbaum and Susan Steenbarger, the event celebrated love through The Beatles and their smash-hit “All You Need is Love.” On a dazzling evening, attendees danced the night away to classic Beatles hits performed by local favorite, The Glass Onion Band, while enjoying delicious house-made desserts presented by Michael’s On East.

While the night was full of laughter, singing and dancing, the community took a moment to hear from the family members of three current Aviva residents. These speakers served as live testimonials sharing the joy, security and the one-of-a-kind experience their loved ones have had while living at Aviva. The crowd was stunned to find out later in the night that there was a fourth unplanned testimonial when a mem-

ber of The Glass Onion Band shared his own experience of when his mother was a resident at Aviva.

What makes Aviva’s Keep the Dream Alive event so special is how it brings members of the Sarasota community of all ages together to support our seniors and to give them the greatest gift of all. Volunteers at the event were nearly as diverse as the attendees themselves, including members of the Aviva team and students from Temple Emanu-El. Together, this dynamic group of volunteers worked with the event co-chairs and committee, all of whom also volun-

raised ensured a life full of possibilities and new experiences for a senior in need.

About Aviva – A Campus for Senior Life Founded in 1993, Aviva – A Campus for Senior Life is Sarasota’s only senior living campus which offers all levels of living on a rental basis, including independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation.

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24A

December 2018

JEWISH INTEREST

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra – uniting Arabs and IsraelisS

By Arlene Stolnitz

I

n 1999, renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim and his friend, the late Edward Said, Arab-Israeli scholar and activist, came up with an idea that they thought could be the promise of the future for ArabIsraeli relations.

Called the WestEastern Divan, the name of the group is based on a set of poems by Goethe. Originally, it was set up Arlene Stolnitz as a workshop for Israeli, Palestinian and Arab musicians with the hope of “replacing ignorance with education, knowledge and understanding.”

By working together during rehearsals and discussions, the experiment was meant to transcend deep ideological divides. The experiment in coexistence evolved into an orchestra that has become renowned in the world of music. Based in Seville, Spain, the orchestra consists of young musicians from countries in the Middle East and includes members from Egyptian,

Iranian, Israeli, Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian and Spanish backgrounds.

In 2005, the West-Eastern Divan presented a program in Ramallah, its first performance in the Occupied Territories. For many Palestinians, it was a first. They had never seen Israelis in a non-military setting. A young girl remarked to Daniel Barenboim, “You are the first thing I’ve seen from Israel that is not a soldier or tank.”

It has not been a smooth road for the orchestra. There have been times that orchestra members could not attend rehearsals due to escalations that have caused emotions to run high. In Arab cultures, music is only played for celebrations. The thinking was “should we be playing at all?” For individuals who have been positioned as enemies, the hope that people who come from such different backgrounds can get along peacefully is nothing more than a dream. Before the 2009 Gaza war, Barenboim began the Divan’s performances with the statement, “We aspire to total freedom and equality between Israelis and Palestinians, and it is on this basis that we come together today

to play music.”

The prestigious group has appeared in the United States in places such as Carnegie Hall in New York City, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Chicago Symphony Center in Chicago.

Barenboim’s concept provides a forum for Israeli, Palestinian and other Arab musicians to meet, talk and play alongside each other. So far it has succeeded in its goal, but not without cost to Barenboim who has been targeted as “a Jew hater” and “champion of the Palestinian cause.” He holds both Israeli and Palestinian nationalities and even owns a house in Jerusalem, although he has been accused of “cultural rape” for performing music by Wagner. Among some musicians there is a somewhat cooled enthusiasm.

Even though musicians acknowledge that it has made them more appreciative of their neighbors, some comment “there’s a lot of heat, but they never resolve anything.”

Recently, I have been reading a book by Amos Oz entitled Judas. A passage that resonated with me reminded me of what Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said have set out to do.

“And I say this to you also, blessed are the dreamers, and cursed be the man who opens their eyes. True, the dreamers cannot save us, neither they nor their disciples, but without dreams and without dreamers the curse that lies upon us would be seven times heavier.

Thanks to the dreamers, maybe we who are awake are a little less ossified and desperate than we would be without them.”

Arlene Stolnitz, founder of the Sarasota Jewish Chorale, has sung in choral groups for over 25 years. A retired educator, she is a graduate of the Gulf Coast Community Leadership Foundation. A member of the Jewish Congregation of Venice, the Venice Chorale and the Sarasota Jewish Chorale, her interest in choral music has led to this series of articles on Jewish Folk Music in the Diaspora.

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JEWISH INTEREST

Stars of David

By Nate Bloom, Contributing Columnist

Editor’s note: Persons in BOLD CAPS are deemed by Nate Bloom to be Jewish for the purpose of the column. Persons identified as Jewish have at least one Jewish parent and were not raised in a faith other than Judaism – and don’t identify with a faith other than Judaism as an adult. Converts to Judaism, of course, are also identified as Jewish.

Pittsburgh Notes Like many others, I was struck by the vibrant, tight-knit nature of the Pittsburgh Jewish community. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised when even a quick search revealed that a number of famous Jews were born and raised in Pittsburgh or mostly grew up there.

Here is my quick list: Actor JEFF GOLDBLUM, 66; high-tech and sports businessman MARC CUBAN, 60; LORIN MAAZEL (1930-2014), violinist, composer, and conductor of many top orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony; Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist MICHAEL CHABON, 55; reporter HOWARD FINEMAN, 69; New York Times editor BARI WEISS, 34.

Both Fineman and Weiss grew up in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood and noted in TV news appearances that they attended the neighborhood’s Tree of Life synagogue and had their bar/bat mitzvah there. Weiss wrote (October 27) a moving op-ed piece for the Times about the shooting – “A Massacre in the Heart of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: Squirrel Hill will continue to live by the values that Jews have sustained for more than 2,000 years. They can never be gunned down.” (Her title references that Fred Rogers lived most of his adult life in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood.)

On October 29, Jeff Goldblum posted to Instagram a photo of a statement he handwrote on a plain piece of white paper. It said: “I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Near Squirrel Hill.

These events are devastating. And infuriating. I send my love and deepest sympathies to everybody who’s grieving. What can we do that’s positive, active? I just made a gift to HIAS. Perhaps that. And vote. I’m searching.”

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, 40, recently joined CBS This Morning as the show’s 4th anchor. By now, everyone knows that the synagogue shooter said he was enraged by the role of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) in helping refugees. On October 28, Golodryga told her CBS colleagues how HIAS helped her family. HIAS,

she said, bought her family’s airline tickets to America from the former Soviet Union and, therefore, “This story [the shooting] hits close to home.” She added, “I remember my parents every month, as much money as they could, maybe $20 a month, they would write checks to pay HIAS back for bringing us here.”

Golodryga was born in the former Soviet republic of Moldova (on the Romanian border). She was 18 months old when she and her family came to the States as political refugees (they arrived with $75). They settled in Houston. Her father is a mechanical engineer. Her mother is a Senior Vice President at Phillips 66 Oil Co. (in charge of digital media). In 2010, Bianna wed (in a Jewish ceremony) PETER ORSZAG, 49, the former budget director in the Obama administration. They now have two children.

Movie Notes The COEN brothers’ original film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was released on Netflix on November 16. Six different tales from the Old West are told.

The first story co-stars TIM BLAKE NELSON, 54, and DAVID KRUMHOLTZ, 40. JAMES FRANCO, 40, stars in the second story, and our Canadian landsman, SAUL RUBINEK, 70, stars in the sixth story.

Kids might like the new entry in the Transformer series. It’s called Bumblebee and it’s the first entry in the series not directed by MICHAEL BAY, 53. In this live-action film, Bumblebee is a Transformer “disguised” as a yellow Camaro (car) with black stripes. The year is 1987 and Bumblebee takes refuge in a California junkyard. There its befriended by Charlie, a teen girl (HAILEE STEINFELD, 21).

PAMELA ADLON, 52, plays Charlie’s mother (opens Friday, December 21).

Opening Tuesday, December 25 is On the Basis of Sex, a bio-pic about Justice RUTH BADER GINSBURG, 85, and her late husband, attorney MARTIN GINSBURG (1932-2010).

As Justice Ginsburg said in her confirmation hearing, her husband was not

December 2018

25A

Interested in Your Family’s History?

Nate Bloom (see column at left) has become a family history expert in 10 years of doing his celebrity column, and he has expert friends who can help when called on. Most family history experts charge $1,000 or more to do a full family-tree search. However, Bloom knows that most people want to start with a limited search of one family line.

So here’s the deal:

Write Bloom at nteibloom@aol.com and enclose a phone number.

Nate will then contact you about starting a limited search. If that goes well, additional and more extensive searches are possible.

The first search fee is no more than $100. No upfront cost. Also, several of this newspaper’s readers have asked Bloom to locate friends and family members from their past, and that’s worked out great for them. So contact him about this as well. the typical ’50s era man. He saw no reason why women shouldn’t be treated equally, and he fully supported his wife’s ambition to be an attorney. The film’s climax comes when the couple team up in 1972 to argue, and win, a landmark sex-discrimination case.

Felicity Jones plays Ruth and Armie

Hammer plays Martin. (The ‘gorgeous’ Hammer is not absurd as Martin. Mr. Ginsburg was a very handsome man.)

By the way, if you get Hulu, you can stream RBG, a well-made 2018 documentary about the Justice. It’s also available on Amazon, etc., for a fee.

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26A

December 2018

JEWISH INTEREST

A complex, brilliant family saga that explores the early decades of the Jewish state Book review by Philip K. Jason, Special to The Jewish News Promised Land: A Novel of Israel,

by Martin Fletcher. Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin’s Press.

416 pages. Hardcover $28.99.

M

artin Fletcher’s Promised Land is a literary triumph of near-contemporary historical fiction that is magnetic, surprising, and should be read and enjoyed for decades to come.

The scope of the book runs from 1950, shortly after Israel’s establishment as a modern nation, to 1967, a time of its most severe testing.

Fletcher deals Phil Jason in wars: the wars amongst the Jewish citizenry, the wars with Israel’s neighbors, and the wars within an extended family that contains Egyptian Jews exiled (fortunately) to the Jewish state.

And there is the aftermath of war, too, expressed through the sons of Holocaust victims, the elder of whom reached freedom in the United States before settling in Israel, and the younger son – emotionally wounded – who was incarcerated, tortured and barely escaped with his life.

For all of its impression of compactness, Promised Land is a novel of generations, reminiscent of the Old Testament’s presentation of Jewish families to whom, as the story goes, the Creator conditionally gave the original promised land. What would seem more biblical than warring brothers?

When they were still children, Peter Berg was put on a train that took him west, the initial stage of a journey

that led to safety with an American ernment to finish the work of family. He grew up with their children. the Third Reich. Peter plays Arie, then called Aren, was somewhat a role in undermining these later put on a train that took him, his efforts; some Germans are parents and his sisters to the concentrabought off, threatened or tion camps. Aren alone survived, but at otherwise persuaded to asgreat cost to his psyche. sist in Israel’s survival and Miraculously, the brothers are resecurity efforts. united in 1947. Peter, who had been Each of the brothers in the U.S. Army, is already a foundfalls in love with Tamara. ing agent of the young CIA. Learning Arie is the more aggresof his brother’s survival, he searches sive, as he is in most for him in Palestine. Aren Berg is now things. Tamara becomes his wife named Arie ben Nesher, and Peter Berg and the mother of his children. But Pedecides to become Peter Nesher, transter had wooed her and won her heart ferring his allegiance to the cause of first. He finds that his work as a shadJewish nationhood. ow person, a spy and operative, is at Peter becomes a leader in matters the center of his identity, and that idenof Israeli security, and Arie becomes tity is a threat to Tamara or any others a prominent entrepreneur who enjoys who are close to him. showing off his wealth. Along the way, However, Arie’s unfaithfulness another family enters their lives, a famand materialism make him a poor ily of Jewish-Egyptian refugees whose match for Tamara. He neglects her to glory is their beautifeed his warped sense of ful, intelligent daughimportance and entitleter Tamara. ment.

The time markers Peter marries a wonmove along: 1950, derful woman named 1952, 1953, 1954, Diana, who is also a se1956 and so on into curity professional. He the 1960s, with the is a good husband to her author carefully dein spite of his lingering veloping his characfeelings for Tamara. Diters and his portrait ana’s unexpected death of the burgeoning creates an opening for Israeli nation, along Peter to test the waters of Martin Fletcher with reminders of the a despondent Tamara’s constant menace of its nearby Arabneeds. It’s clear to him that Arie doesn’t Islamic neighbors. deserve her, and yet Peter’s love for his Egypt, the country with which Tabrother is genuine and deep. mara’s father continues to identify even All of the family’s ups and downs, after his forced relocation to Israel, beall of the doings of younger siblings comes a place where hireling German (Tamara’s brother) and children of the scientists, usually Nazis or Nazi symprincipal players (sets of twins) are efpathizers, work with the Egyptian govfectively integrated with the march of

events over the 17-year span. Fletcher skillfully handles governmental squabbles, power shifts, wars large and small, and the texture of life under pressure in the Jewish state.

The author is clearly a great admirer of Israel, but he is not blind to issues that burst the bubble of unqualified boosterism.

A case in point is the inclusion of material suggesting that Israel too often provokes the Palestinians into taking hostile, deadly action for the sole purpose of being able to justify an overpowering response. Such a response might have the end goal of resetting borders.

In scope, vividness and the representation of complex, intertwined forces, Fletcher’s book is a candidate for the highest acclaim: “masterpiece” fits. I’m hoping for a sequel that reaches through the last third of the 20th century. As I did with Leon Uris’s Exodus, I also await the movie. (Since this review was first published, I have learned that Promised Land is the first in a planned trilogy.)

This review first appeared in the Washington Independent Review of Books and is reprinted with permission.

Philip K. Jason is Professor Emeritus of English from the United States Naval Academy. He reviews regularly for Florida Weekly, Washington Independent Review of Books, Southern Literary Review, other publications and the Jewish Book Council. Please visit Phil’s website at www.philjason.word press.com.

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December 2018

JEWISH INTEREST

K’zohar Ha-Ivrit Menorah – Candelabrum

By Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin

T

his month the Jewish world celebrates the holiday of Hanukkah, also known as Chag Ha-urim, “the Holiday of Lights.” The menorah, the vessel upon which the colorful Hanukkah candles are placed during the eight-day celebration, stands as a yearly reminder of the courageous Maccabean revolt (approximately 167 to 160 BCE) against the religious and national oppression imposed by the Seleucid-Greek Dr. Rachel Dulin empire. In honor of Hanukkah, let us briefly explore the menorah’s biblical history and the root of the word.

The menorah is the candelabrum in which oil or candles were lit. The menorah is mentioned in the Bible 42 times, mostly in connection with the desert Tabernacle and the Temple in Yeru-sha-la-yim. According to the Book of Exodus, a golden menorah was used in the portable sanctuary of the wilderness. The menorah had seven branches, three on each side of a middle shaft (Ex. 25:31-40). Later, King Solomon placed similarly structured menorot of gold in the Temple (I Kgs. 7:44). The earliest depiction of the Temple’s menorah can be found in Titus’ Arch in Rome, which commemorates the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in the year 70 CE. We should also mention that menorot were used in private homes as well (II Kgs 4:10), and were made of clay and had a low base.

Traditionally, the colorful nerot Hanukkah, “the Hanukkah candles,” are placed on a Hanukkah menorah of

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nine branches, eight for candles lit each night and the ninth, called shamash, or “the auxiliary candle,” is a candle used to light the others. Through the years, many ornate menorot were designed, a custom which began during the Middle Ages and continues to this day.

The words menorah, and ner, or “candle,” are derived from the noun nur, meaning “fire,” which is based in the verb n.u.r, meaning “to shine.”

However, in Israel, with the awakening of the spoken Hebrew language toward the end of the 19th century, a new word was coined for the Hanukkah menorah. The word was based on the trend of the time, which added the suffix yah to nouns in order to create new words. For example, sif-ri-yah, meaning “library,” is based on the noun safer, “book,” plus yah. Commensurate with this logic, the Hanukkah menorah is called ha-nu-ki-yah, a combination of the name of the holiday plus the suffix yah. By the way, ha-nuki-yah was coined by Hemda, the wife of Eliezer Ben Yehudah, the famous Hebrew linguist. And even though hanu-ki-yah did not enter Ben Yehudah’s famous dictionary, it entered the spoken language like the light to which it alludes, and is a popular word to this day.

May the lights of nerot Hanukkah shine forever as they are proudly placed yearly on the menorah or the ha-nu-ki-yah. Let them be a reminder of the miracle of overcoming oppression and enjoying freedom.

Chag Urim Sa-me-ach.

Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin is a professor of biblical literature at Spertus College in Chicago, and an adjunct professor of Hebrew and Bible at New College in Sarasota.

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December 2018

BRIEFS OCTOBER WAS RECORD MONTH FOR ISRAELI TOURISM

In October, 486,000 tourists visited Israel. Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said, “The month of October broke a historic record with unprecedented numbers of almost half a million tourists that visited Israel in just one month.”

Compared to the previous year, 65% more Hungarians and 50% more Italians visited Israel in October, and the country saw a 40% increase of visitors from Poland, the Netherlands and Romania. (Uri Bollag, Jerusalem Post)

MUSLIM NONPROFITS RAISE MORE THAN $200,000 FOR TREE OF LIFE VICTIMS’ FAMILIES

After a gunman murdered 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue,

ISRAEL & THE JEWISH WORLD the director of a local mosque was determined that the victims’ families wouldn’t shoulder the funeral costs alone.

Wasi Mohamed contacted two U.S. Muslim nonprofits, MPower Change and CelebrateMercy, and arranged an online fundraiser. The fundraiser quickly shattered its $25,000 target, bringing in more than $214,000.

“Whatever the community needs, we’ll be there for them,” Mohamed said. “If it’s guarding the synagogue, if

Saving lives.

It’s in our blood.

Efrayim Yanko Paramedic, Kiryat Gat MDA Station

Efrayim saves lives every day, but he doesn’t do it alone. Gifts such as yours help to mobilize our EMTs and paramedics who carry more than 700,000 Israelis to safety each year. We’re Israel’s emergency medical and ambulance service, Magen David Adom.

Together, we’ll make this year a healthy one for millions of Israelis. Help save lives in Israel.

Saving lives. It’s in our blood – and it’s in yours, too.

Save a life in Israel with a gift to support Magen David Adom.

Donate on AFMDA.org/give or call 800.626.0046

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it’s walking to the grocery store, we’ll be there to support them. (The Week)

ALIBABA’S JACK MA LAUDS ISRAELI INNOVATION

Jack Ma Yun, founder and executive chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba, told the Innovation Summit in Tel Aviv: “Most people innovate for success, but Israel innovates for survival.

You have no diamonds, but you have a large diamond industry. You have no car industry, but you are a leader in auto technology. You have no water, but you export vegetables to Europe.” (Zhang Hongpei, Global Times - China)

NASA, ISRAEL SPACE AGENCY INK DEAL FOR MOON-BOUND MISSION

The United States space agency, NASA, signed an agreement on Wednesday, October 3 with the Israel Space Agency to cooperatively utilize Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL’s commercial lunar mission, expected to land on the moon in 2019.

As a part of the agreement, a retroreflector from NASA will be installed on SpaceIL’s unmanned spacecraft.

This instrument reflects laser beams, which will enable NASA to locate the spacecraft precisely on the lunar surface after the landing.

NASA will grant SpaceIL access to its Deep Space Network communication services, and its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter – currently orbiting the moon – will try to capture images of the Israeli spacecraft during its landing.

Also under the agreement, NASA will have access to data gathered by the magnetometer installed aboard the spacecraft. This instrument, developed in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, will measure the magnetic field on and above the landing site.

The agreement was signed by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Avi Blasberger, director of the Israel Space Agency, in the presence of SpaceIL CEO Ido Anteby.

“I’m thrilled to extend progress in commercial cooperation we’ve made in low-Earth orbit to the lunar environment with this new agreement with the Israel Space Agency and SpaceIL,” said Bridenstine. “Innovative partnerships like this are going to be essential as we go forward to the moon and create new opportunities there.”

SpaceIL competed in the Google Lunar XPRIZE and continues to work toward landing the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon. Together, NASA and SpaceIL will collaborate on analyzing the scientific data returned from the mission. (ISRAEL21c)

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COMMENTARY

We are living in perilous times

we’ll ek)

utive liban Tel sucival. have e no auto you hangRabbi Michael P. Sternfield

From the Bimah

Temple Beth El of Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch

T

here are no words sufficient to describe the sense of shock, bewilderment and sorrow that ency,is being felt by Jews throughout the onworld in the wake of the horrifying sraelmass murder at the Tree of Life synailizegogue in Pittsburgh. That it took place rcialat all is tragic in and of itself. For this n theto have occurred on the Sabbath, a day most notably associated with peace, etro-is beyond ironic. Wherever Jews asalledsemble for prayer on Saturdays, we raft.all wish one another “Shabbat Shaams,lom,” “A Sabbath of Peace.” But as the e theprophet Amos lamented almost 3,000 sur-years ago, “Peace, peace, they say, but there is no peace.” cess We are living in perilous times. The muni-rhetoric of intolerance continues to rise con-in intensity. Angry words with actions itingto match, that not long ago were conagessidered beneath contempt, now are beand-ing voiced unashamedly, as our nation witnessed in Charlottesville, Virginia.

ASAVarious public officials bemoan that d bythis does not represent America. I hope d thenot, but my gut tells me otherwise. opedThere have been far too many shootmannings and precious little action. will Are we really to believe that if andteachers were armed, if synagogues were protected by armed guards, that bythe epidemic would end? What about stineother houses of worship and assembly? e Is-Must every church, mosque and shrine ce ofrequire guards as well? Meaningful gun control seems to be a lost cause. ss inStill, this tragic state of affairs runs far made enviwith IL,” tnerntial cre-

ogle work aceASA anafrom

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deeper than the proliferation of guns.

Even with stricter gun laws, this ongoing dangerous situation is not about to subside.

There is truth to the cliché: “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”

The horrible question we must face is why there have been so many tragic shootings in America. For quite some time there has been an increasing volume of angry, hateful speech that unfortunately seems to be an accurate reflection of the mood of many in our country. The airwaves, particularly talk radio, are infected with intolerant speech, invariably aimed at those who are considered “other,” whether they be people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people, Muslims or Jews. Of specific alarm was the chant of the mob in Charlottesville: “The Jews will not replace us.”

Is that what all this is about: the fear by the previously white majority being replaced by others (and not just Jews)? I believe this to be accurate.

This is why, until America comes to terms with its diversity and learns to embrace it rather than to fear it, our country will continue to slip farther into the abyss of hatred.

As a Jew, I mourn the deaths of my fellow Jews of the Tree of Life synagogue. As an American, I greatly fear the decline of civility, of reasonable disagreement without anger. These are horrifying portents for what could lie ahead. America is not immune. To look upon the tragedy in Pittsburgh as just another isolated act of a deranged bigot would be to ignore the much greater looming tragedy, of an America so divided that it may not be healed. God forbid. We need to address directly and urgently the poisoned atmosphere to which the Tree of Life massacre clearly points.

Making light From the Bimah Rabbi Mendy Bukiet Chabad of Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch

L

atkes sizzling. Mmmm, I can almost smell them. Menorahs shining, dreidels spinning, happy kids, their faces smeared with chocolate gelt coins…yes, it’s that wonderful time again – Chanukah!

Going beyond the warm childhood memories, and festive celebrations with our kids and grandkids, I’d like to share a deeper look into this rich and beloved holiday’s meaning.

I recently asked a group of acquaintances what Chanukah was about and they said, “Small army won against the big army.” “Little jar of oil lasted eight days.” “Something about the Temple in Jerusalem.” “Brave Maccabees.”

All true. But those are mostly historical facts. What does Chanukah really have to say to you and me, in 2018.

How can it impact my life (besides adding a few inches to my waistline)?

Chanukah is about light.

All holidays incorporate light – we light candles to usher them in. The Torah is called Torah Ohr – Torah of light – as being connected to the Torah brings light into our lives. But Chanukah is the one holiday whose primary mitzvah and observance is making light.

Light is nebulous, non-physical, but a most vital part of our lives. We gravitate to it. We get depressed if we

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don’t have enough of it. We use it as a metaphor. Lighten up! I feel the light.

Shine your light.

Chanukah is celebrated by lighting one light each night, and adding another. Why? Not just to count how many days have passed, but to show that we must always increase in light, in goodness, in holiness, in spirituality. We might only be able to muster enough willpower and spiritual energy to break a bad habit just a bit, to make a small gesture to help another, to light just one small candle. But the next day we should increase – and we can increase.

That one bit of light will give us the energy to shine a bit brighter the next day, and the next we can light three candles.

And so on.

No matter how overwhelming the darkness in our inner world or the world around us seems, Chanukah teaches us not to despair. If we can muster the energy to light one small candle, we can dispel the blackness and the bleakness, and generate more spiritual energy and then even more. By the eighth night, that one lonely brave effort against the darkness will grow to a full menorah of eight blazing, dancing lights. Another way of putting it: if we do our best to keep making light, tomorrow will be better than today.

We have the ability to make light, and keep increasing it, step by step. We have the obligation to make light, and keep increasing it, step by step. The darkest December night, the darkest nights of our lives, will be illuminated by our efforts. When we put ourselves out there and try, no matter the odds, like the Maccabees, we will experience G-d’s assistance in ways we can’t even imagine.

Wishing you an illuminated Chanukah, full of meaning and joy.

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December 2018

Embracing Our Differences, The SCBA Diversity & Inclusion Committee, The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee & The Boxser Diversity Initiative present

“LETTERS FROM ANNE AND MARTIN”

COMMENTARY

The Oslo Accords: 25 years later

By Rabbi Howard A. Simon

S

By R

S

eptember 13, 1993, was a bright, with sunny day in Washington, D.C., an o Combining the iconic voices of Anne Frank and Martin Luther King, Jr., when Prime Minister Yitzhak this compelling production evokes the timeless message of Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Aralived, it’s believed he would have doneily th hope for peace and a more united world. fat signed the first Oslo Accords, to all he could to make peace a reality. three A help bring peace to the Middle East and Eight months after the signing of Discussion led by Hon. Charles E. Williams to follow the performance men provide the path to a two-state solution the Accords, Arafat went to a Johanto the problems between the two parnesburg mosque where he called for Tuesday, February 5, 2019 at 7:00PM ties. Twenty-five years later, we look at a jihad to free Jerusalem from Israel’s VIP Reception: 5:30PM both Israel and the Palestinian Authorcontrol. This led to times of violence, at TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM ity and ask: Were the Oslo Accords a terrorist attacks, and denunciation of 1050 S. Tuttle Ave. Sarasota success or a failure?

Israel by Arafat. More What did the Oslo Acstruggles have develcords accomplish?

It esoped, and the Oslo AcGeneral Admission - $30 VIP - $100 Students - $10 tablished the Palestinian cords have now become Special Discount - General Admission for members of the SCBA Diversity Authority as a governing something not worth the & Inclusion Committee and Temple Beth Sholom - $25 power. It created a Palestinpaper they were written temp ian security force. It dividon.

Tickets and Sponsorship Information: ed the West Bank into three The next question isshe’ districts and it furthered the where do these adversar-one please visit: www.sarasotabar.com T idea of a two-state solution. ies go now in search of Or call 941.350.1089 It was supposed to lead to peace and understand-a “S Rabbi Howard A. Simon a final agreement within the ing? A possible answer isfrien Honorary Chairs: next five years. Further negotiations the alleged peace accord being devel-Whe Terri Vitale, Sydney Sforzo did take place at Camp David in 2000, oped by the Trump administration thatcong and Chip Gaylor, Esq. at Annapolis in 2007, and informally is supposed to be made public soon,dent with John Kerry in 2014. However, no although no date has been determinedindic final agreement was ever reached or yet. No one knows what this documenta flu signed by the parties involved. contains or whether it will be acceptederror W The reality is, with all the talk and by either party involved. not a all the posturing, the Oslo Accords So, what we have is the status quo, have failed to move the countries to which is becoming more and more ac-Satu any semblance of peace. The question ceptable to Israelis, and less and lessan e is why. Why has there been little or no acceptable to the Palestinians. We wait,in th movement toward a lasting peace? we wonder, we watch and we pray thatagre There are two primary reasons positive results will be forthcoming. rema W for this. First, Arafat never commitRabbi Howard A. Simon is the foundfoun ted himself or his people to a two-state ing chair of the Robert and Esther solution recognizing Israel as a JewHeller Community Relations Com-som Letters from Anne and Martin, Graphic designed by: Mave Cappar, 12th Grade, Out of Door Academy ish state. The assassination of Rabin in mittee, formerly known as the Hellerthe e his Diversity and 1995 is the second reason. Had Rabin Israel Advocacy Initiative.

Inclusion bless Committee Opinions and letters printed in The Jewish News of Sarasota-Manatee refra do not necessarily reflect those of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota- throu (Special performances to be held at select Sarasota County High Schools) Manatee, its Board of Directors or staff, or its advertisers. and drop brou clud the e the b the m T well who Soon in di Meetings with elected officials are increasingly important as we see ran support for Israel eroding around the world. Advocating for Jewish the h interests starts locally and often goes to Washington D.C. You can “Wh farm count on the Heller CRC when it matters most, from advocating in A our local school systems to championing national bills. retur farm mast brou ^ Builds Bridges mast it’s g ^ Advocates through A turne Government Affairs only ^ Remembers the Holocaust COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE the h more ^ Supports Hillel if it’ T cam men caus Heller CRC assists school teachers, synagogues and take churches as well as local libraries to “Never Forget.”

A prise The Holocaust Speakers Bureau brings personal nega stories told by survivors themselves to school posi children and adults alike, leaving lasting memories brigh for those who hear them. Such stories generate assu change, creating upstanders not bystanders.

L the s keep HELLER CRC’S MISSION for o To build relationships within main J the Jewish and non-Jewish pect communities and to advance voke bar m common interests through repre education and advocacy. in an N Written, produced and directed by the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect

build. advocate. remember. support.

Government Affairs

Robert and Esther Heller

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jfedsrq.org/HellerCRC

December 2018

COMMENTARY

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One never knows

By Rabbi Jonathan R. Katz, Community Chaplain

S

everal years ago, a prominent member of a large congregation in Washington, D.C., shared with me about her son’s bar mitzvah, an occasion so important to her famdoneily that she reserved the date more than y. three years in advance.

About ten months before the mog of mentous event, she checked with the hansynagogue’s ofd for fice to inquire ael’s about the Hebrew nce, tutoring process. n of To her shock, she More was informed evelthat the bar mitzAcvah date had not ome actually been h the Rabbi Jonathan R. Katz registered on the itten temple calendar. The Shabbat morning on isshe’d selected now belonged to somersar-one else.

The woman had already long sent h of and-a “Save the Date” announcement to er isfriends and family across the country. evel-When she expressed objection to the thatcongregation’s administrator and presioon,dent, they apologized profusely while inedindicating the problem was traceable to menta flurry of staff changes that had led to ptederrors in the office.

While congregational policy did not allow b’nai mitzvah to be held on quo, e ac-Saturday afternoons, the president said lessan exception would certainly be made wait,in this case. Facing no real choice, she thatagreed. The day of the service would g. remain the same, just not the time.

When the service began, she still undfound herself ruing the snafu. But then sther Com-something remarkable happened. At ellerthe exact moment that the rabbi placed his hands on her son’s shoulders to bless him in front of the ark, a bright, refracted rainbow shaft of light shone through one of the sanctuary’s windows and fell directly on them. This jawdropping, almost mystical occurrence brought many in the congregation, including her, to tears. So powerful was the experience, she now felt gratitude the bar mitzvah had been moved from the morning to late afternoon.

This outcome reminded me of a well-known Zen story about a farmer who’d acquired a beautiful stallion.

Soon after, he went to the Zen master in distress when the horse got loose and ran away: “Master, the horse is gone, the horse is gone!” The master replied, “Who knows if it’s good or bad?” The farmer returned to his work in despair.

A couple of days later the stallion returned along with two mares. The farmer quickly shared his joy with the master: “The horse is back and has brought two others with him.” The master again replied, “Who knows if it’s good or bad?”

A few weeks hence the farmer returned to the master crying because his only son had been thrown from one of the horses and broken his back. Once more the master told him, “Who knows if it’s good or bad?”

The next day a group of soldiers came to the farm to conscript young men to fight in a foreign war. But, because of his condition, they did not take the farmer’s son.

At times, we are pleasantly surprised when a situation that appears negative may, in fact, turn out to be positive. These occasions teach us that bright sides are possible even when we assumed they are not.

Look at Hanukkah. According to the story, there was only enough oil to keep the Temple’s eternal light going for one night, but it miraculously remained lit for eight.

Just like the light that burst unexpectedly through just as the rabbi invoked the Priestly Benediction on the bar mitzvah, the hanukkiahs we kindle represent an illumination that occurred in an unforeseen way.

Never a straight path, life is filled

with detours, forks in the road, and inevitable construction delays. Yet, this is not always bad because, as a consequence, good results can still be obtained.

Hanukkah isn’t just about the oil lasting longer than anticipated, it also concerns being resilient, staying the course, looking at a situation from a different perspective, and recognizing that even with evidence seemingly to the contrary, we still don’t always know how things will turn out. This too is part of the holiday’s wonder.

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December 2018

FOCUS ON YOUTH

Pluralism today can be the antidote to hatred tomorrow

Education Corner

J

By Dan Ceaser

ust two days after the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, our community came together – at least 2,000 strong – for a vigil, organized by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, to mourn the 11 lives lost and to affirm that we will not let hate win. While many of the assembled were Jewish,

other religions were well-represented and, in fact, leaders from diverse faiths made it clear from the stage and the crowd that we were all standing together at this terrible time.

It felt good to be there. My daughter, who attended the vigil with me, told me how moved she was to see that faith leaders from across the community were there. She said it made her feel safer, like she wasn’t alone.

For several years, we have seen an upsurge in anti-Semitism in our country. The Anti-Defamation League reports a 57 percent rise in anti-Semitic incidents in 2017 as compared to the previous year, with bomb threats, white supremacist marches, vandalism, and increased anti-Semitic activity on college campuses. Jewish institutions have had to ramp up security to ensure the communities they serve will be safe.

But what can we do to counteract these developments and foster a greater compassion for Jewish lives in our

Chabad Kaplan Preschool Learn • Grow • Play

country and around the globe? I believe one of the most effective strategies is to establish educational opportunities that bring Jewish and non-Jewish people together – starting at a young age – in order to build bridges of mutual understanding and respect. By welcoming and exposing others to our Jewish heritage, we can create lifelong friendships that cross cultural and religious boundaries.

Community Day School has taken this concept to heart. One of our namesake patrons, Herbert Schiff, was a lifelong Jewish philanthropist and respected community leader who believed that exposing other faiths to Judaism – especially while they were young – demystified our religion and discouraged the spread of anti-Semitism.

Those who think that opening our doors to non-Jews is an unconventional path for a Jewish day school might be surprised to learn that the concept has moved into the mainstream. While Jewish values guide all that we do at Community Day, our student population is comprised of students who are Jewish, non-Jewish and mixed faith.

One of the hopes for our school is that our students – regardless of their beliefs or level of affiliation – will serve as righteous leaders in the fight against anti-Semitism and intolerance in any form.

Studies have shown that pluralism can reduce prejudice and discrimination, and help people to look beyond

F

their own lens when considering the beliefs and customs of others. It can also enhance student achievement. The authors of the 2016 report, “How Ra-dom cially Diverse Schools and Classroomstinue Can Benefit All Students,” state therelowe is evidence that “diversity makes us“Cha B smarter,” noting, “Researchers have ward documented that students’ exposure to other students who are different fromof c themselves and the novel ideas andtroph challenges that such exposure bringsners T leads to improved cognitive skills, including critical thinking and problemmun and solving.”

By making a commitment to com-siast passion, kindness and inclusivity, wejudg believe that youth development andgani education programs can help to createfami a generation of leaders whose dedica-The tion to making the world a better placehous F will serve as the antidote to the hatred that feeds tragedies like the shooting inGur with Pittsburgh.

While devastated by the circumstances behind the vigil, the affirmation of the community’s response proves the value of pluralism. It is important to know that others – regardless of race, religion, age or other differences – will be there for you when you need them. I firmly believe the community we are working to build through purposeful pluralism in our classrooms has the power to spread throughout the wider community, our country and around the globe.

Dan Ceaser is Head of School at Hershorin Schiff Community Day School.

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a Chanukah Garden Party hosted by Temple Beth Sholom sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

Sunday, December 2, 2018 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

FREE for children! Registration is required!

THE CHILDREN'S GARDEN 1670 TENTH WAY SARASOTA, FLORIDA 34236

To register, please contact Rebecca at Temple Beth Sholom at (941) 955-8121 or rrothstein@templebethsholomfl.org

Join us for an afternoon of fun in the garden with dreidels, gelt, & more!

PJ Library helps families on their Jewish journey by sending Jewishcontent books and music on a monthly basis to children from age six-months to eight-years. This program is completely free for families, thanks to the generosity of The Harold Grinspoon Foundation, The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee and our incredible donors.

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FOCUS ON YOUTH

December 2018

33A

Community Day School celebrates ‘Challah-ween’

F

orget about ghouls, ghosts and goblins. At the Hershorin Schiff Community Day School, carbs dominated the day as the school continued to add a Jewish twist to the Halloween season with its third annual “Challah-ween Bake-Off Festival.”

Bakers put their best challah forward to be blind taste-tested by a panel of celebrity and student judges, with trophies and bragging rights to the winners.

The judges included Jewish community leaders, school board members and parents, plus a handful of enthusiastic student tasters. Challah up for judging was baked by local Jewish organizations, religious leaders, school families, Publix, BJ’s and Sam’s Club.

The festival also included a bounce house and challah-braiding station.

First place went to school parent Gur Mitzafon for the Nutella Challah with White Chocolate and Wild Berry

Dipping Sauce; second place was awarded to parent Brenna Wilhm for her Apple Cider Challah with a Brown Sugar Caramel Glaze; and third place went to student Maya Werbow for her Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Challah. The commercial winner was BJ’s.

The students spent the morning prior to the event learning about the significance and history of challah during Shabbat, and braiding Play-Doh throughout the day.

“As a Jewish day school that is committed to pluralism, we are always seeking new and fun ways to add a Jewish touch to the multi-cultural celebrations taking place in the wider community,” said Community Day head of school Dan Ceaser. “We enjoy the opportunity not only to educate our students about Jewish history and traditions, but also to help them better understand and appreciate the culture and celebrations of others.”

Community Day head of school Dan Ceaser with Challah-ween Bake-Off winners (or family representatives) Shai Mitzafon, Benjamin Lalo and Maya Werbow

Rigorous ACADEMICS plus outdoor LEARNING and PLAY ... every day!

The judges for the Challah-ween Bake-Off Festival included Jewish community leaders, school supporters and parents, and students

BBYO happenings this month

By Jessica Zimmerman, Associate Regional Director

I

n October, BBYO Achim AZA and Anachnu Tamid BBG hosted a challah bake. The event was a hit and teens went home with a wonderful new recipe for yummy challah. Sarasota BBYO also hosted an event at Hunsader Farms’ famous Pumpkin Festival. Teens enjoyed fresh kettle corn, handmade pretzels and frozen lemonJessica Zimmerman ade while exploring the various areas of the festival which included a petting zoo, corn maze, art fair and live entertainment.

This month, BBYO is gearing up for Fall Fest, which will take place at USF Tampa Hillel on Sunday, December 2 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Teens will take part in a cooking lesson put together by a professional chef.

We invite all youth groups in Sarasota, St. Pete and Tampa to join us for this very special event.

We are looking forward to our traditional B’nai Mitzvah Sleepover, which will take place on Saturday, December 15. For more details about this event, contact me directly.

BBYO elections will take place on Sunday, January 13 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life We are actively looking for a Sarasota BBYO advisor. Advisors must be at least 21 years old and interested in positively impacting the lives of Jewish teens in the Sarasota community.

Advising is an incredible service to take part in. It not only impacts the kids you work with but will have a tremendous impact on you. Contact me for more information.

For those of you unaware of what BBYO is and what it does: We believe that we can enrich the life of a young person in a very profound way.

We bring Jewish teens together so they can form powerful, authentic relationships with each other and with inspiring adult role models. We do this by creating compelling Jewish environments and experiences where teens feel pride in who they are, in control of their own destiny and a part of something greater than themselves.

For more information about BBYO and to RSVP for events, contact me at jesszimmerman@bbyo.

Chloe Colburn and Danielle Rudd enjoy frozen lemonade while finding their way through a corn maze org or 239.263.4205.

Call (941) 552-2770 or email admissions@communityday.org to schedule a tour.

• Preschool - 8th grade • Rigorous, project-based curriculum • Instruction tailored to each child’s strengths and needs • Competitive athletics • Multiple foreign languages • Fine arts programs daily • Intensive outdoor learning and play • Convenient hours for working parents • Accredited by FCIS, FKC & PRIZMAH

Hershorin Schiff Community Day School 1050 S. Tuttle Ave. Sarasota | (941) 552-2770

www.CommunityDay.org

SPONSORED BY

The Jewish News is a monthly nonprofit newspaper supported by generous readers, committed advertisers and The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.

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December 2018

FOCUS ON YOUTH

Community invited to Temple Emanu-El’s Hanukkah Happening Family Dinner and Celebration

D

id you know that we’ll be lighting the first Hanukkah candle on Sunday, December 2? And just a few nights later, the community is warmly invited to celebrate the Festival of Lights at Temple Emanu-El’s wonderful annual Hanukkah Happening!

This year’s Hanukkah Happening promises to be another special event for all ages! Mark your calendar for Friday, December 7 at 6:00 p.m., and

begin your Shabbat and Hanukkah celebration with a delicious dinner of brisket, roast chicken, salad, kasha varnishkes, rolls and plenty of latkes with all the trimmings!

Attendees will also enjoy a terrific silent auction – with over $10,000 worth of available items, including passes to popular Florida attractions and fabulous accommodations – a 50/50 raffle, Hanukkah crafts and games of dreidel, a menorah-making

The Murphy sisters showed their Hanukkah spirit at last year’s Hanukkah Happening

contest, and even a visit from Judah Maccabee. Services, which follow at 7:15 p.m., will be highlighted by a menorah lighting, blessings and festive song session.

“The Hanukkah Happening is one of the most anticipated events for our temple and community,” stated Director of Education Sabrina Silverberg, MARE. “People young and old gather to celebrate the joy of the season together.”

“At a time when Jews may feel a sense of isolation, and Jewish children may even feel excluded, the Hanukkah Happening provides a meaningful and engaging opportunity to embrace our Jewishness with pride and glee,” she continued. “No wonder it is one of the best attended programs of the year!”

For more information or to reserve your spot at the Hanukkah Happening, please call 941.378.5567 or email teers@sarasotatemple.org.

Temple Emanu-El Religious School students Ava Rosin and Dani Mallitz made edible dreidels at last year’s Hanukkah Happening

Aiden “Judah Maccabee” Pearson welcomed attendees to last year’s event

Temple Sinai Religious School’s exciting new year

By Gail Glickman

T

emple Sinai’s Religious School has a tradition of providing an amazing program, and the goal is to make it even better. Sixteen new students were called to the bimah, blessed and presented with a miniature Torah, a Certificate of Consecration and a $200 scholarship to Camp Coleman at Temple Sinai’s Simchat Torah Celebration and Service.

In the sukkah, students were excited to smell the etrog and shake the

lulav with snacks and prayers. They learned about Sukkot and participated in hands-on projects with their teachers. Each second-grade student built a miniature graham cracker sukkah.

A special third-grade family program included a fun and educational scavenger hunt. Teams of children and parents searched for clues around the building with questions, the answers to which led to other clues. The program culminated with each student receiving a prayer book and learning about some of the prayers.

A new program for grades 3-6 is the integration of Religious School and youth groups.

All students in grades 3-6 are members of Sarasota Area Federation of Extreme Temple Youth (SAFETY) and Junior Organization of Sinai Youth (JOOSY). Thirty members attended the kick-off at LivingsLucy Thomas and Amelia Hilton at a youth group outing ton’s, a fun gaming center. Part

of the integrated program is a project, “The IDF and Self-Defense,” examining how the Israel Defense Forces keeps the population safe and what we can learn from them to keep ourselves safe in America.

Steve Weintraub, Director of Youth

and Adults Education, is excited to report on one of the newest programs being developed involving parents in the Hebrew curriculum. He is proud of the successful start of the Religious School year.

for

2019

Grade 4 students in the sukkah: Avery Portugal, Alexa Scharf, Davina Chait, Alayna Cassell, Iyar Ben-Herut, Liza Collier

The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, in partnership with local philanthropists, helps Jewish children from Sarasota and Manatee counties attend not-for-profit camps.

For more information, contact Andrea Eiffert at 941.552.6308 or aeiffert@jfedsrq.org.

Application window November 1, 2018 APPLY AT opens JFEDSRQ.org/Camp Temple Sinai consecration of new Religious School students

December 2018

LIFE CYCLE ANNIVERSARIES

70th Herb & Ilse Stutman Temple Emanu-El 65th Eldene & Norman Mohl Temple Sinai 50th George & Felice Hedge Temple Emanu-El

45th Toniet & James Wolfson Temple Sinai 40th Lisa Naiburg & Daniel Kisch Temple Sinai 5th Dr. Rebekah & Daniel Weber Temple Emanu-El

IN MEMORIAM

Gerald Chait, 85, of Sarasota, formerly of Buffalo, NY, October 24 Bernice Feinstein, 87, of Sarasota, formerly of Syosset, NY, October 21 Beatrice Friedman, 98, of Sarasota, formerly of Chicago, IL, October 4 Dr. Walter Gutstein, 85, of Sarasota, formerly of Scarsdale, NY, October 7 Lee H. Kimmell, 68, of Sarasota, October 18 Leonard Melmed, of Venice, FL, October 18 Margrit Schechtman, 89, of Sarasota, October 7 Mildred Stein, of Sarasota, formerly of Pittsburg, PA, October 15 Probyn Thompson, Jr., of Sarasota, October 24 Jack “Dale” Vendeland, of Sarasota, formerly of Cleveland, OH, September 7 Harvey Vengroff, 77, of Sarasota, formerly of New York, NY, October 11 Blanche Yadven, 88, of Sarasota, formerly of New York, NY, October 19

Please submit your life cycle events (births, B’nai Mitzvah, anniversaries, weddings) to

35A

Sarasota-Manatee Chevra Kadisha TAHARA

jewishnews@jfedsrq.org Photos are appreciated; email as JPGs at 300ppi.

men

941.484.2790 941.224.0778

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stay connected @ www.jfedsrq.org Welcome Rabbi Simon to the Toale Family We’re pleased to welcome Rabbi Howard A. Simon as our liaison to the Jewish community. Rabbi Simon will provide counseling and outreach, with a focus on serving the needs of Jewish families.

Trusted for Generations

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STAY CONNECTED

941-955-4171

ROBERT TOALE & SONS,

Welcome to the Dignity Memorial® family. is pleased to welcome Robert Toale, Debbie Toale and their sons, Jason and Jeff, to our family of firms in Sarasota and Manatee County.

As proud members of North America’s largest network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers, the Toale family will continue their commitment to serving families with personal, compassionate care.

THE DIGNITY MEMORIAL NETWORK

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In honor of the Toales and in recognition of their longstanding dedication to the Sarasota and Bradenton area communities, three local funeral homes will be renamed to reflect this change in leadership, and two of the funeral homes will undergo renovations to better serve our community with beautiful new facilities and enhanced capabilities.

Rely on the Toale family and your local Dignity Memorial professionals to help you and your loved ones celebrate each life like no other.

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Send your new address to Paula at pibishop@jfedsrq.org or 941.371.4546 x0

36A

December 2018

Making a better world takes the right ingredients.

This Chanukah, before mixing the ingredients and frying the latkes, you can make something even more satisfying — a better world.

By giving to The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, you protect our weakest, feed our hungriest and help those who’ve fallen on hard times get back on their feet. Your gift helps provide local Holocaust survivors with home health care and dental assistance. Overseas, you help rescue and resettle Jewish families who are escaping war, economic turmoil and anti-Semitism.

And while nobody will deny that latkes are enjoyable, the satisfaction you get from supporting your global Jewish family will go deeper and last longer. So, please measure generously.

Make it a truly happier Chanukah for your entire family. Give today.

AMOUNT

o $18

o $36

o $90

o OTHER: ____________ (USD)

Make checks payable to:

Mail to:

The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL 34232

NAME: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CITY/STATE/ZIP: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PHONE: _________________________________________________________________________ E-MAIL: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ BIRTHDATE: ___________________________________ PAYMENT METHOD (CHECK ONE):

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TOTAL $ ENCLOSED: ___________________________________________________ CREDIT CARD NUMBER: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ EXPIRATION DATE: ______________________________ SECURITY CODE: ________________________________________ SIGNATURE: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-HELP-FLA OR ONLINE AT FLORIDACONSUMERHELP.COM. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION #: CH449

18JNHAN

Celebrating Jewish Life in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Israel and the World FEDERATION NEWS PUBLISHED BY

The Jewish Federation OF SARASOTA-MANATEE

THE LARRY GREENSPON FAMILY CAMPUS FOR JEWISH LIFE

December 2018 - Kislev/Tevet 5779

www.jfedsrq.org

Volume 48, Number 12

Jewish Happenings SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1 CHJ Chanukah Service and Party The Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, which meets at Unity Church (3023 Proctor Road, Sarasota), will hold a Chanukah service and party at 10:30 a.m. with special guest Mindy Simmons. Mindy is said to be a combination of Carol Burnett and Peggy Lee. She has toured nationally since the 1980s and is a Sarasota favorite, singing her own Florida original material and songs by others, with lyrics that move audiences. CHJ members are welcome at no charge; there is a $5 charge for nonmembers. For more information, call 941.929.7771 or email chjsarasota@hotmail.com.

Chanukah begins Sunday night, December 2 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2 PJ Library Presents: A Chanukah Garden Party Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

Learn About Judaism

Celebrate Chanukah during an afternoon of fun in the garden with dreidels, gelt and more! Join us from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Children’s Garden, 1670 10th Way, Sarasota. Co-sponsored by Temple Beth Sholom, this event is free, but you must pre-register. For more information or to register, contact Rebecca Rothstein at TBS at 941.955.8121 or rrothstein@ templebethsholomfl.org.

JCV Sunday Learning Breakfast Join us at 9:30 a.m. at the Jewish Congregation of Venice (600 N. Auburn Rd.) for Cantor Aaron Marcus’s presentation of “The Best of Our Songs.”

Breakfast will be served. Members and guests welcome. The cost of $8 includes breakfast and the program. RSVP requested. For more information or to RSVP, contact the JCV office at 941.484.2022 or jcvenice2@ gmail.com.

Attend this 10-Week Course,

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2

“On One Foot: A Course in Basic

Judaism,” instructed by professional

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educator and expert, Melissa Werbow.

TOP ICS INCLUDE

G-d, Prayer, Torah, Food, Shabbat, Holidays/Calendars, Lifecycle, Rituals, Ethics, Values, Jewish History, site visits to synagogues, visit with rabbis, and more!

NOV 17 – DEC 29

REGIST ER

PREVIEWS NOV 13–16

JFEDSRQ.org/Events or call Brieana at 941.552.6305.

QUEST IONS

Contact Melissa Werbow at 412.401.1960 or melissawerbow@gmail.com

Starts

$54 pp.

SPONSORED BY

includes materials and certificate

7-8:15pm, Tuesday, November 27

Hecht School on the Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish LIfe, 580 McIntosh Rd., Sarasota

941.351.8000 | asolorep.org SPONSORS

SEASON SPONSORS

Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation

2B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

December 2018

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2 CKids – Maccabee Makerspace Dream, create, build – anything is possible in our Maccabee Makerspace.

Filled with tools, recyclables and building materials, this teamworkbuilding workshop brings kids and families together for total imagination domination. Make a spinning robot dreidel, help build a jumbo s’more menorah, and join us for the lighting ceremony! The event begins at 11:00 a.m. at The Chabad House, 5712 Lorraine Road, Bradenton. Admission is $10; free to Chabad Hebrew School students. For more information, please contact Rabbi Mendy Bukiet at 941.752.3030 or rabbi@chabad ofbradenton.com.

See you in December

December 2:

Women of Sinai Dinner & Movie

Every Wednesday:

The Sounds of The Sanctuary with Chazzan Abramson

Opening Reception – Moses Levy: Original Exhibit

The Original Brown Bag with Rabbi Huntting

Largely unknown today, Jewish-American pioneer Moses Elias Levy was the founder of a refuge in central Florida for persecuted European Jews in the 1820s, and the first Jewish abolitionist, publishing a book in 1828 advocating the abolition of slavery. Levy’s life, times and his impact on America and American Jews will be on display in an original multi-media exhibit all month. Though forgotten in history, Levy’s vision of freedom for Jews and American slaves remains his extraordinary legacy. Join us from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Al Katz Center, 5710 Cortez Road West, Bradenton. Donations greatly appreciated. Refreshments included. For more information or to RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

December 7:

Rhythm & Jews Shabbat & Chanukah Family Service with Dinner

December 8:

SAFETY & JOOSY Youth Group Ice Skating Social

Chanukah Menorah Lighting in Englewood Join us at 5:00 p.m. to celebrate the first night of Chanukah in Englewood (420 W. Dearborn St. at Vino Loco Wines) with music, latkes and donuts.

Bring the entire family and make this your special Chanukah celebration.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Rabbi Sholom Schmerling at 941.493.2770 or info@chabadofvenice.com.

For more information on upcoming events and Temple Sinai, visit SinaiSRQ.org

Women of Sinai Dinner and Movie Temple Sinai’s Women of Sinai presents The Human Stain, a movie based on a novel by Philip Roth about a college professor with a horrible 50-yearold secret that he has kept hidden from everyone including his wife and young lover. The movie asks the question, “How far would you go to escape the past?” Prior to the screening, there will be a delicious Chinese dinner.

The event begins at 5:00 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 4631 South Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota (enter off of Proctor Road only, between Beneva and Swift). For more information, contact Patty Schreiber at 941.923.7992 or pattyschreiber@comcast.net.

#InnovativeReform

Comedy Central Live at Chabad of Sarasota

4631 South Lockwood Ridge Rd. Sarasota, FL 34231 (Enter off of Proctor Rd. Only)

Chabad of Sarasota’s 15th annual comedy night features Johnny Lampert, considered to be one of the premier comedians in the country. He is a regular at New York City’s and Los Angeles’ best comedy clubs, and has made numerous appearances on national TV. The evening begins at 7:00 p.m. at Chabad of Sarasota, 7700 Beneva Road. Mini-desserts, soft drinks and wine will be served. At 6:30 p.m. there will be a private pre-show for event sponsors. Cost: $40. Be an event sponsor for $500 or an event producer for $2,000. For more information or to buy a ticket, call 941.925.0770 or visit www.sarasotachabad.com.

941-924-1802

Office@SinaiSRQ.org

MAINSTAGE

CABARET

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

Unchained Melodies

Book and Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman with Music and Lyrics

by Steve Lutvak

4TIME TONY AWARDWINNER A distant heir to a family fortune sets out to speed up the line of succession any way he can.

“Hilarious” - The New York Times

Straight White Men

By Young Jean Lee

REGIONAL PREMIERE. Ed has gathered his adult sons to celebrate Christmas with matching pajamas, trash talking, and Chinese takeout. What could possibly go wrong?

“Undeniably Powerful” - The New York Times

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

By Young Jean Lee

Christopher investigates the bizarre death of a neighbor’s dog, inspiring a series of events that expose far greater mysteries.

“Undeniably Powerful” - The New York Times

Wednesday’s Child

By Young Jean Lee

WORLD PREMIERE An investigation into the murder of a young surrogate mother explodes the lives of everyone who knew her.

YO U A R E C OR DI A L LY I N V I T E D T O T H E

By Richard Hopkins and Rebecca Hopkins With arrangements by Jim Prosser

Celebrating the great male harmony groups of the 20th century.

“World Class” - The Observer

Guitar Girls

By Richard Hopkins, Rebecca Hopkins, and Catherine Randazzo With arrangements by Jim Prosser.

A celebration of female singer-songwriters.

The Wonder Years:

The Music of the Baby Boomers

By Richard Hopkins and Rebecca Hopkins With arrangements by Jim Prosser.

Take a musical ride through the Boomer Years!

IMPROV

Pictured left to right: Nick Anastasia and Micah Jeremiah Mims in Unchained Melodies

www.SinaiSRQ.org

FST Improv

EVERY SATURDAY “Hilarious” - Sarasota Herald Tribune

*GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE

AIPAC SARASOTA ANNUAL EVENT F E AT U R E D SPE A K ER THE HONORABLE

JOSEPH LIEBERMAN

FORMER U.S. SENATOR (I-CT)

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018 6:30 P.M. LIGHT DESSERT RECEPTION • 7:15 P.M. PROGRAM

RITZ-CARLTON 1111 RITZ-CARLTON DRIVE • SARASOTA

$36 PER PERSON REGISTRATION REQUIRED TO ATTEND. TO REGISTER, VISIT:

WWW.AIPAC.ORG/SAE

941.366.9000 �oridastudiotheatre.org

1241 N. Palm Avenue, Downtown Sarasota

THIS EVENT IS OFF THE RECORD AND CLOSED TO THE PRESS.

JEWISH HAPPENINGS MONDAY, DECEMBER 3 Women’s Day Luncheon with Guest Speaker Nancy Spielberg

t u o d l so

Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

Join us at 11:30 a.m. at Art Ovation Hotel, 1255 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota.

Tickets available online at jfedsrq.org/events. For more information, contact Lisa Feinman at lfeinman@jfedsrq.org or call 941.706.0034.

December 2018

3B

Happy Hanukkah

NCJW’s “The Blankee Bee” The National Council of Jewish Women has an ongoing project called “The Blankee Bee.” The project has involved its members in making nosew fleece blankets which have been distributed to various agencies, such as Manatee Community Action Agency, HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters), residents of Anchin Pavilion, patients at the Florida Cancer Center, and children at Camp Mariposa as a joint venture with JFCS. Join us from 10:00 a.m. to noon on The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life (580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota) to make these blankets. For more information, contact Joan Bour at 941.281.2133 or joanbour5@yahoo.com.

Celebrate deliciously!

For home, office, family and friends, let TooJay’s handle your Holiday Feast!

Day Trip to Tervis Tumbler Factory Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood warmly invites you to a day trip from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to the Tervis Tumbler Factory, 928 South Tamiami Trail, Osprey. In 1946, Tervis invented the world’s first insulated tumbler; and in 1968, Tervis founded its first retail store and original factory right here in Osprey! Tour this remarkable facility and enjoy making your very own tumbler, which can be customized with photos, emojis, “anything we wish!” event organizer Mollie Sernau says. For more information, pricing or to RSVP, please call Mollie at 941.388.0863.

Chanukah Community Celebration Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

All are welcome to join us at 6:00 p.m. for our annual Chanukah community celebration at the DeSoto Square Mall (near the food court), 303 301 Blvd. W., Bradenton. Enjoy a grand menorah lighting, hot latkes, doughnuts, children’s crafts, raffles and more, with fun for the whole family! This free event is sponsored in part by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. For more information, please contact Rabbi Zev Steinmetz at 941.735.9049 or info@chabadofwestbradenton.com.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4 Jewish Learning Institute Torah Studies Give your week a Jewish boost by delving into the Torah’s timeless wisdom through stimulating text and discussion-based classes led by Rabbi Zev Steinmetz. Hebrew reading is not necessary. Each class is a stand-alone subject, so you can benefit from each one even if you cannot make the next. Classes are free and meet every Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee, 1822 59th St. W., Bradenton. For more information, please contact Rabbi Zev Steinmetz at 941.735.9049 or info @chabadofwestbradenton.com.

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Join Chabad of Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch for Chanukah at 6:00 p.m. for celebrations on Main Street in Lakewood Ranch, featuring a Chanukah Gelt Drop and Live Bubble Show! Enjoy all different types of food, live music, and join in many fun activities including face painting, a dreidel bounce house and doughnut decorating! Special thanks to The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee for sponsoring this event. Admission is free. Nominal food fees apply. For more information, contact Rabbi Mendy Bukiet at 941.752.3030 or rabbi@chabadofbradenton.com.

941-417-4104

TH

Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

Jesse LeBaron, PA-C

E RCL

Chanukah on Main Street

upderm.com

CI

The entire community is invited to celebrate Chanukah in North Port on the third night of Chanukah. Join us at 5:00 p.m. at Warm Mineral Springs, 12200 San Servando Ave. Festivities include the lighting of a 9-foot menorah, music, dancing, latkes, donuts, dreidels, chocolate gelt crafts and more. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Rabbi Sholom Schmerling at 941.493.2770 or info@ chabadofvenice.com.

Carlee LaPensee, ARNP

Board Certified Dermatologist

E OF W I RA E S A S H F E D E AT E RAS O TA - M A N

TI

Chanukah Menorah Lighting in North Port

David S. Sax, MD

8451 Shade Avenue, Suite 205 Sarasota, FL 34243

WOM E

This Temple Beth Israel Miniversity class with Rabbi Sniderman begins at 2:00 p.m. at 567 Bay Isles Rd., Longboat Key. The cost is $10 for guests; free for Temple Beth Israel members. For more information, call the temple office at 941.383.3428.

Every woman matters here.

The Women’s Giving Circle [ “Ma’agal Nashim”] is a giving circle that empowers women as funders, decision makers and agents of change. Each member contributes $500, and each has an equal voice in directing our funds. The giving circle model multiplies individual actions, creating a tremendous collective impact.

In the last five years, we have distributed more than $178,788 in grants to nonprofits in Israel that help women and children of all backgrounds live safer, healthier and more meaningful lives.

OUR MISSION To enhance the lives of Jewish women and children who are in need of help and live in Israel.

Contact Jeremy Lisitza at 941.343.2113 or jlisitza@jfedsrq.org

4B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

December 2018 AJC’S WINTER LUNCH & LEARN SERIES! PROUDLY SPONSORED BY WILLIAMS PARKER

December 12 | January 14

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5 Women’s Giving Circle Open House Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

Bring a friend or two and learn about the exciting projects the Women’s Giving Circle has supported. The Open House takes place from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, 2635 Fruitville Road, Sarasota. For more information, contact Jeremy Lisitza at 941.343.2113 or jlisitza@jfedsrq.org.

11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Michael’s On East, Sarasota Only $28 Per Lecture – Includes Luncheon!

Cost - $28 Per Person Sponsorships Available - $75 Per Person

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Building Bridges Across the Islam, Jewish, and Christian Communities

Mohammed AL Samawi, Author & Peace Activist Born in Yemen and raised as a practicing Muslim, Mohammed’s memoir, The Fox Hunt, shares the moving story of love, war, and hope in which he recounts his harrowing personal transformation from a traditionalist to an interfaith peace activist, and how he escaped the brutal civil war in Yemen with the help of a daring plan engineered on social media by a small group of Facebook friends in the West.

Monday, January 14, 2019

Three Popes I Have Known

The Sounds of Our Sanctuary Temple Sinai’s Chazzan Abramson presents a fascinating music workshop examining the evolution of synagogue music through a lens that allows the student to use what has been experienced in the synagogue, camp or youth group to develop a deeper understanding of synagogue music. Many recorded musical examples are used to facilitate learning and enjoyment.

Classes meet at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesdays, December 5, 12, 19 and 26 at Temple Sinai, 4631 South Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota (enter off of Proctor Road only, between Beneva and Swift). For more information, contact Steve Weintraub at sweintraub@sinaisrq.org or 941.922.9322.

Temple Emanu-El “Lunch with the Rabbis”

David Rosen, AJC’s Director of International Interreligious Affairs AJC’s Jerusalem based, Rabbi David Rosen is one of the few Jews who has had close interaction with Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. He is the only Orthodox rabbi and the only Israeli rabbi to have ever been knighted by the Pope and is a Commander of the Order of Gregory the Great.

Reservations Required R.S.V.P. to AJC: 941.365.4955 or email sarasota@ajc.org

SARASOTA • DOWNTOWN BRADENTON LAKEWOOD RANCH • ANNA MARIA ISLAND

Are you looking for a great lunch date? Join Rabbi Brenner Glickman, Rabbi Michael Shefrin and friendly, interesting companions for lunch, socializing and a discussion of current events and subjects of Jewish interest. All are invited to this popular, stimulating and enjoyable program at noon at Temple Emanu-El, 151 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Attendees are asked to bring a brown-bag lunch and are also welcome to bring a newspaper article for discussion. Homemade dessert and terrific company are provided! For more information, call the temple office at 941.371.2788.

The Original Brown Bag with Rabbi Geoff Huntting Temple Sinai has a longstanding tradition of Rabbi Geoff Huntting hosting a brown bag lunch and discussion of timely topics. Join with congregants, friends and neighbors in spirited conversations surrounding worldly events. Bring a bag lunch and an open mind to discuss important issues.

This free workshop is open to the community. Participants are encouraged to introduce ideas for discussion, analysis and/or debate. Meet at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesdays, December 5, 12, 19 and 26 at Temple Sinai, 4631 South Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota (enter off of Proctor Road only, between Beneva and Swift). For more information, contact the temple office at 941.924.1802 or office@sinaisrq.org.

Book Review at Temple Beth Sholom Please join us as Jane Greenfield reviews The Jews of Key West by Arlo Haskell. This fascinating book tells the dramatic story of the Jewish community of Key West, from the town’s founding through its post-war boom.

It includes stories of Jewish sailors, religious leaders, smugglers, cigar makers, tavern owners, Cuban independence supporters, and activists who helped smuggle European Jewish refugees into the United States from nearby Cuba. Light refreshments will be served. This free event is open to the public and begins at 1:15 p.m. at Temple Beth Sholom, Chapel, 1050 S. Tuttle Avenue, Sarasota. For more information, please contact the temple office at 941.955.8121 or info@templebethsholomfl.org.

Lecture Series

Offering noncredit courses, lectures, and educational travel for people who are engaged in learning for the pure joy of it.

S

Experience high-level intellectual and cultural stimulation in an informal, supportive atmosphere!

WINTER SEMESTER: JANUARY 14-MARCH 8 Registration opens December 4!

JAN. 23: OLDIES DANCE! Alan “DJ Al” Fisher will play hits from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. DJ Al has emceed for Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, and Ray Price.

Join the fun, and get your groove on!

Request or view a catalog or register online or by phone: www.OlliatRinglingCollege.org • 941-309-5111

Dr. Steven Derfler, Ph.D.

ince their discovery in the desert caves of Qumran in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have been a source of fascination and debate.

Over this four-lecture series you will learn about the isolated, ascetic community that created and secreted these documents long ago, and about the cloak-and-dagger exploits of the archaeologists who recovered them. Then explore what these rare documents tell us about the emergence of Judaism and Christianity in the ancient world.

Tuesday, January 15 | Tuesday, January 22 | Tuesday, February 5 | Tuesday, February 12 All lectures are held at 10:30am on The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life at The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, 580 McIntosh Rd., Sarasota, FL

For more information and to register, go to

JFEDSRQ.org/ClubFedLS

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

December 2018

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6

5B

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7

Hadassah Lunch & Game Day

Rhythm and Jews Erev Shabbat

Mah jongg, bridge, canasta, bunco, etc.! Plan your table or come alone.

You do not have to be a Hadassah member to attend. The fun takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Kobernick House at Aviva, 1951 N. Honore Ave., Sarasota. RSVP by Thursday, November 29. Send your check for $30 (payable to SaBra Hadassah) to Claudia Dombrow, 12409 Thornhill Ct., Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202. For more information, call Claudia at 941.306.5514 or contact Joy Siegel at 941.306.5941 or jesiegel@hotmail. com.

Join Rabbi Geoff Huntting and Chazzan Cliff Abramson at 6:00 p.m. for the Rhythm and Jews Erev Shabbat Chanukah Family Service with participation from students in grades K-2. Enjoy the Bruno Family Musicians as they join the rabbi and chazzan for an uplifting service with a variety of traditional melodies. A welcome reception begins at 5:15 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 4631 South Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota (enter off of Proctor Road only, between Beneva and Swift). Following the service, our Chanukah dinner will feature all the holiday favorites, brisket, latkes and more! For more information, the cost of dinner and reservations, contact the temple office at 941.924.1802 or office@sinaisrq.org.

Lunch & Learn: “Experiencing Jewish Music” Bring a dairy bagged lunch with you and enjoy this fascinating series titled “Experiencing Jewish Music,” led by Cantor Neil Newman. What is Jewish music? Join us for this interactive exploration through the ages, from cantillation to choral music and Israeli song. Come enjoy the melodies of our people on Thursdays, December 6, 13 and 20 from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. at Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Avenue, Sarasota. Coffee, tea and water will be provided. No charge for TBS members; $5 for nonmembers.

For more information, please contact the temple office at 941.955.8121 or info@templebethsholomfl.org.

Chanukah at Kol HaNeshama Celebrate Chanukah with Congregation Kol HaNeshama at Southgate Community Center, 3145 Southgate Circle, Sarasota. You are invited to bring a menorah and candles for a beautiful candle-lighting ceremony at 5:45 p.m. A song-filled Kabbalat Shabbat Service at 6:00 p.m. will precede a kosher catered dinner featuring salmon and latkes (vegan option available). Singer-songwriter Mindy Simmons will entertain. Cost: $25 for CKH members and $30 for guests. For more information or to RSVP, call 941.244.2042 or visit congkh.org.

Bridge... Anyone?

Chanukah in Ellenton

First Fridays

Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

The Bridge Group meets Thursday Join Chabad of Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch at 6:00 p.m. for the Miracle afternoons from 1:00–4:00 pm and Magic of Chanukah at Ellenton Outlets, 5461 Factory Shops Blvd. on themagic Federation The event features fun activities, shows, Campus raffles, music, latkes (582 McIntosh and doughnuts! Special thanks to The JewishRoad).

Federation of SarasotaOpen to intermediate Manatee and Ellenton Outlets for sponsoring the event. Admission is free. and advanced bridge players.

For more information, contact Rabbi Mendy Bukiet at 941.752.3030 or rabbi@chabadofbradenton.com.

For more information, call Bob Satnick at 941.538.3739

Do you play???

Thursdays / 12pm to 4ish Thursdays / 12pm to 4ish

55

Seasoned

+

Join us for warm and inspiring Friday night services followed by a Kiddush the first Friday of every month. Services take place at 7:00 p.m. at Chabad of West Bradenton, 3611 Southern Pkwy. W., Bradenton. For more information, contact Rabbi Zev Steinmetz at 941.735.9049 or info@ chabadofwestbradenton.com.

TBE Family Hanukkah Menorah Lighting Service

Join the Temple Beth El family for its Annual Family Menorah Lighting Erev Shabbat Service at 7:00 p.m. at 5150 Peridia Blvd. East, Bradenton.

Bring your favorite menorah to this wonderful and inspiring service. We 5 5 + A P A R T EE NH H EOour E S latkes and dreidels. This is a family-friendly A5 P 5 A +R TA MP EA NR T MH Ewill ONMMThave S Tmusic, O M SM choir, service so bring the kids and grandkids. For more information, please call the temple office at 941.755.4900.

LIVE LIVE LIVE

HecHt ScHool – tHe JewiSH Federation on Room, Federation Campus Jerusalem tHe larry GreenSpon Family campuS (582 McIntosh Road) For JewiSH liFe $5 pie.

582 mcintoSH road

FAMILY

$5 pie.

Friendly but serious game!

Contact Marilyn Oslander Contact Marilyn Oslander 941.951.2029 941.951.2029 marasota@yahoo.com marasota@yahoo.com

jfedsrq.org

THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE. THE POWER OF COMMUNITY.

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One Bedrwoom One Bedroom One BedroomOne Bedroom 1 Bed | 1 Bath Bed | 1 Bath 1 Bed | 1 Bath 1 Bed | 11Bath 940 Sq. Ft. 940 Sq. Ft. 940 Sq.940 Ft. Sq. Ft. Call for pricing Call for pricing Call for pricingCall for pricing

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JEWISH HAPPENINGS

December 2018

•R• A•T•I• B • E N• L• • E

G

ONE THING I WISH

C•

60

YOU KNEW A mental health awareness event

Celebrate Federation’s 60TH Anniversary!

S u n d a y,

An event open to the community, highlighting the vulnerability of our mental health. This program will feature candid narratives from four local teenagers.

• 4pm 4 2 ry Fe b r u a

SUNDAY, JANUARY 13

BEATRICE FRIEDMAN THEATER The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life Join us in celebrating Federation’s anniversary with a NOD TO THE 60’S. Free and open to the community, we will pay homage to the past and look forward to our exciting future.

4:00PM

The Beatrice Friedman Theater The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life 582 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL 34232

Co-Chairs: LAUREN GLASSMAN AND BUNNY SKIRBOLL Silver Sponsors:

Copper Sponsors:

EDIE AND DAVID CHAIFETZ LEON R. AND MARGARET M. ELLIN NAIDITCH FAMILY FOUNDATION THE ROSENTHAL ROOTS FAMILY FOUNDATION BUNNY AND MORT SKIRBOLL HADASSAH AND MARTIN STROBEL

GERRY DANIEL

COOKIE BLOOM MARSHA AND HARRY EISENBERG ILENE AND MICHAEL FOX MARSHA AND MARVIN FRANK BONNY AND BOB ISRAELOFF JOAN AND BART LEVENSON CHERYL AND STEVE SHAPIRO PATTI AND DAVID WERTHEIMER

Bronze Sponsors: LORI AND DAVID LINER UDELL ASSOCIATES

Light refreshments will be served

Register at: jfedsrq.org/events For further information, contact Ella Steinmetz at 941.928.2220

Space is limited

IRE AT T AL

Please RSVP at jfedsrq.org/events.

OPTION

Betty & Marie Healy Family Foundation

For information, please contact Lisa Feinman at 941.706.0034 or lfeinman@jfedsrq.org.

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6 0’s

Federation Torch Sponsors:

Community resource fair and panel with leading mental health professionals

Sa

6B

Chabad

From Estate Planning to Wealth Enjoyment

From Estate Planning to Wealth Enjoyment

Create Your

Jewish Legacy Today Impact Jewish Lives tomorrow

LIFE & LEGACY™ LIFE & LEGACY™ is a partnership of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee and ten other local Jewish organizations that promotes after-lifetime giving to benefit synagogues, social service organizations, Jewish day schools and other Jewish entities.

The Jewish Federation is the only local organization focused on the whole, all of us thriving together. Whatever you cherish most about Jewish life — learning, community, supporting Israel, combating anti-Semitism, social justice or caring for those in need — you can ensure your values are sustained for future generations by leaving a legacy to The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.

Your Jewish Federation Legacy Gift

Our Legacy Society Members are people like you. By leaving a legacy to Federation, you can trust that your legacy will be sustained for future generations. Please remember The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee with a gift in your will, trust, retirement account or life insurance policy.

Start planning today to help impact Jewish lives tomorrow!

FOR INFORMATION ON LEAVING YOUR LEGACY, CONTACT Ilene Fox ifox@jfedsrq.org | 941.343.2111 JFEDSRQ.org/lLegacy

December 2018

7B

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9 “Homeless, but not Hopeless” Join the Temple Beth Sholom Men’s Club, JFCS of the Suncoast and the Sarasota Police Department for a breakfast lecture series titled, “Homeless, but not Hopeless.” Open to the public, the event takes place from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. at Temple Beth Sholom, Sainer Social Hall, 1050 S. Tuttle Avenue, Sarasota. The cost of $5 includes breakfast. For more information, please call Rabbi Dr. Ed Weinsberg, Program Vice President, at 941.444.9790.

Brandeis at the Asolo Repertory Theatre Please join Brandeis National Committee members and friends at the Asolo Repertory Theatre (5555 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota) for our opening event of the season. At 11:30 a.m. there will be a panel discussion, followed at 12:30 p.m. with a catered box lunch on the mezzanine. Curtain time for the performance of The Music Man is 2:00 p.m. Cost: $95 for BNC members; $110 for guests; $135 for Patrons. Mail your check (payable to BNC) by Friday, November 30 to Maris Margulies, 6542 43rd Court East, Sarasota, FL 34243. For more information, contact Janet Tolbert at 941.388.9624 or janetrtolbert@gmail.com.

A sparkling celebration in support of the Venice Friendship Center

Lecture: “Life of Moses Levy” The son of a Jewish advisor to the Sultan of Morocco, Moses Levy was born in 1782. Following violent anti-Jewish riots, the family sailed for the New World, living for years on Caribbean islands. After acquiring over 100,000 acres in central Florida, Moses Levy moved there in 1821, where he started a Jewish colony the following year, which he named Pilgrimage Plantation. Levy’s son later became the first U.S. Representative and the first U.S. Senator of Jewish ancestry. Join us at 3:00 p.m. at the Al Katz Center, 5710 Cortez Road West, Bradenton. Cost: $10 per adult; $5 per student; refreshments included. To RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

Thursday, December 13, 2018 5:30 PM

Venice Yacht Club

A Taste of Chanukah Israeli Style

1330 Tarpon Center Drive, Venice, Florida

Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

Sponsorships are available

The 8th annual Taste of Chanukah celebration, hosted by Chabad of Sarasota, takes place from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Phillippi Estate Park, 5500 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. It features The Pompeyo Family dog show, helicopter Chanukah gelt drop, human chess game – Maccabees vs Greeks – circus train, full-color laser show, circus and carnival games, magician, arts and crafts, face painting and more. There will be hot pretzels, popcorn and Glatt Kosher catered food available for purchase from Michael’s On East. The kindling of a large Lego Menorah will be a highlight. Appreciation is extended to the following sponsors: The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, Family Practice Associates, Gold Coast Eagle Distributing, Michael’s On East, Midas of Sarasota, Sunset GMC, Hershorin Schiff Community Day School, Sarasota Herald-Tribune and WWSB ABC 7. Cost: $5; free for children under 13 free; free parking. To volunteer, sponsor, be a vendor or for more information, call 941.925.0770 or visit www.atasteofchanukah.com.

Tickets $150 Please join us! Call 941.556.3253 for information.

OUR MISSION:

To promote health, dignity and quality of life throughout the journey of aging. friendshipcenters.org

Sarasota Concert Association

2019

Temple Emanu-El Presents “Jazz in the Afternoon”

GREAT

The Brotherhood of Temple Emanu-El is delighted to present its annual jazz concert featuring the incomparable Art Hecker Jazz AllStars. The community is warmly invited to spend a wonderful Sunday afternoon listening to “the smoothest jazz this side of the Manatee River,” event chair Don Malawsky promises. Wine, soft drinks and “noshes galore” will be served. The event begins at 3:00 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 151 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Cost: $15. For more information or to RSVP, contact Don Malawsky at 941.359.2890 or dmalawsky@msn.com.

PERFORMERS SERIES

Anderson & Roe, piano duo

Home Depot Menorah Workshop Join us at 3:30 p.m. at the Home Depot (5475 University Parkway) and learn how to build your own menorah! Each participant will receive a free worker’s apron. Refreshments available on site. This free workshop has limited space and an RSVP is required. For more information or to RSVP, contact Rabbi Mendy Bukiet at 941.752.3030 or rabbi@ chabadofbradenton.com.

Jan 14 • 7:30 pm • Van Wezel

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Jan 24 • 7:30 pm • Van Wezel

Chanukah Klezmer Festival

Czech National Symphony Orchestra

Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

Join Chabad of Venice in lighting a 12-foot Pittsburgh Memorial Menorah to remember the 11 victims of the Tree of Life synagogue. Show your solidarity and Jewish pride at this annual festival. There will be a presentation from Chabad’s Hebrew School students, a Dreidel House and moon bounce for the kids. Enjoy klezmer music by the Freylekh Klezmer Band. Traditional Chanukah and Israeli foods – falafel, latkes, donuts and matzah ball soup – will be served. The event takes place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Centennial Park, 200 W. Venice Ave. This event is sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. For more information call Chaya Rivka Schmerling at 941.493.2770 or visit www.chabadofvenice. com.

TBE Celebrates Hanukkah at Summerfield Park Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

Let’s celebrate Hanukkah together! Temple Beth El Bradenton/Lakewood Ranch will light its giant menorah at 6:00 p.m. at Summerfield Park, 6402 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Bradenton. Sing songs along with our choir and the TBE band, listen to holiday music, say the prayers and have a good time. Refreshments (including latkes) will be available. Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, this is a fun evening for the young and not so young. Bring a lawn chair! Free and open to the community. For more information, please call the temple office at 941.755.4900.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS THEY HELP MAKE THE JEWISH NEWS POSSIBLE

Elizabeth Joy Roe and Greg Anderson

,

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

Feb 11 • 7:30 pm • Van Wezel

Academy of St Martin in the Fields Feb 21 • 7:30 pm • Van Wezel

Pavel Haas Quartet

March 15 • 7:30 pm Riverview Performing Arts Center

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

April 3 • 7:30 pm • Van Wezel

941-225-6500 www.scasarasota.org

Programs and artists subject to change without notice.

8B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

December 2018 MONDAY, DECEMBER 10

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13

NCJW Book Club

Temple Sinai Men’s Club Lunch & Learn

The National Council of Jewish Women Book Club will discuss Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue at the Gulf Gate Public Library (7112 Curtiss Ave., Sarasota) from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. The NCJW Sarasota-Manatee section website (ncjwsarasota-manatee.org) has information about the Book Club, the title selections and dates for the current season. Click on Community Services at the top of the page. You will also find Goodreads reviews of the books. Guests welcome. For more information, contact Barbara Aferiat at barbara@aferiat.com or 703.338.7112.

At the Lunch & Learn Adult Education program, Ron Rosenthal will discuss the Dreyfus Affair, anti-Semitism then, and its lasting impact on French society and elsewhere. Rosenthal is an experienced presenter on this interesting topic. Bring your brown-bag lunch. Free and open to the community, the program begins at noon at Temple Sinai, 4631 South Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota (enter off of Proctor Road only, between Beneva and Swift). For more information, email Richard Stollman at stollmant@ aol.com.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11 Fifty Shades of J Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

It’s back! Join us for Fifty Shades of J, our popular get-together evening of fun. Designed for those age 50 and above, it’s a chance to mingle and get to know friends in the community. The event takes place from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Mattison’s City Grille, 1 N. Lemon Ave., Sarasota. For reservations, visit jfedsrq.org/events. For more information, contact Jeremy Lisitza at 941.343.2113 or jlisitza@jfedsrq.org.

Mitzvah Knitting Group at Temple Emanu-El Are you a knitter or crocheter interested in using your talent to brighten the lives of others while making new friends? If so, please come to the Mitzvah Knitting Group sponsored by Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood. We gather monthly to craft and socialize, and our beautiful handiwork has been donated to local new parents as well as needy families in Sarasota-Manatee and in Israel. Bring your needles or crochet hook and a favorite pattern – we’ll supply the yarn and great company! The group meets at 10:00 a.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 151 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. For more information, email Susan Bernstein at susanhope22@comcast.net.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12 AJC’s Winter Lunch & Learn Join us from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Michael’s On East (1212 S. East Avenue, Sarasota) for a presentation by Mohammed Al Samawi, author of The Fox Hunt. Mohammed will recount his harrowing escape from a brutal civil war in Yemen with the help of a daring plan engineered on social media by a small group of interfaith activists, comprised in part of AJC’s passionate young leaders. Williams Parker is the generous sponsor of the Winter Lunch & Learn Series. The cost of $28 includes lunch. Advance registration is required. For more information or to RSVP, contact West Coast Florida AJC at 941.365.4955 or sarasota@ajc.org.

NCJW General Meeting The National Council of Jewish Women’s General Meeting will feature guest speaker Harriet Hendel of the Innocence Project of Florida, which is based in Tallahassee and is the only non-profit organization in the state devoted to litigating cases of wrongful conviction. The Innocence Project works pro bono for all of its clients. Hendel has been a mentor for JFCS of the Suncoast, the YMCA and Take Stock in Children for many years. The meeting will be held at 1:00 p.m. on The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Admission is free and guests are welcome. Refreshments will be served. For more information, email Carole Shaw at cins@juno.com.

L’Dor V’Dor

Rosh Chodesh Society Course Women are invited to join RCS’s latest course, “Larger Than Life.” The Rosh Chodesh Society meets monthly, yet each segment stands alone. This month’s segment, entitled “The Consumed Consumer,” will explore Torah ethics and Jewish values regarding the rights of the consumer. Following the class, participants will enjoy a Zumba class with Yael Campbell. Refreshments will be served. For assistance with underwriting this course, appreciation is extended to Anne Stein. Join us at 7:15 p.m. at Chabad of Sarasota, 7700 Beneva Road. Cost: free for Rebbetzin Circle members; $10 for RCS members; $12 for nonmembers. Anyone joining the class for the first time is our guest at no charge. For more information or to RSVP, contact Sara Steinmetz at 941.925.0770 or sara@chabadofsarasota.com.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14 Women of Sinai Erev Shabbat Service Join Rabbi Geoff Huntting, Chazzan Cliff Abramson, the Women of Sinai, congregants, friends and neighbors at 6:00 p.m. for an uplifting service. A wine-and-cheese welcome reception begins at 5:15 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 4631 South Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota (enter off of Proctor Road only, between Beneva and Swift). For more information, contact the temple office at 941.924.1802 or office@sinaisrq.org.

“The Mote Marine and Israel Coral Project” The Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, which meets at Unity Church (3023 Proctor Road, Sarasota), will introduce Dr. Emily Hall, Staff Scientist and Program Manager at Mote Marine Laboratory, at 7:30 p.m. She has developed ocean acidification and climate change experiments to study the effects on coral reef ecosystems and other organisms. The collaboration between Mote and Israeli scientists is an ongoing one. They work together in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. An Oneg will follow the service and speaker. For more information, call 941.929.7771 or email chjsarasota@hotmail.com.

TBS Shabbat Goes to the Ranch Mark your calendars to join in singing, meeting and greeting new people, and sharing in a sweet Oneg Shabbat. Usher in Shabbat at these warm and welcoming services, led by Cantors Neil Newman and Aaron Marcus, and Sharon Strassfeld. Temple Beth Sholom members and nonmembers are welcome at 7:30 p.m. at The Windsor, 8220 Natures Way, Lakewood Ranch. The Shabbat services in Lakewood Ranch are in addition to the regular Friday night Shabbat services at Temple Beth Sholom on Tuttle Avenue. For more information, please contact Saranee Newman at 612.220.2382.

Bridge...

Anyone?

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THE BRIDGE GROUP meets

Thursday afternoons 1:00–4:00 pm

For more information

The Hecht School, The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life Open to intermediate and advanced bridge players.

call Bob Satnick at 941.538.3739

FIND JEWISH The COMMUNITY DIRECTORY on The Federation website gives you information at your fingertips. Any time of the day or night, you can Search and Click on our database of Jewish congregations, service providers and retail merchants.

CHECK IT OUT TODAY!

JFEDSRQ.org/Community-Directory

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

December 2018

9B

THE PERLMAN MUSIC PROGRAM/SUNCOAST

15th Anniversary Events Itzhak Perlman —

In the Fiddler’s House — A Night of Klezmer

FEATURING: Hankus Netsky, Music Director, Saxophone and Piano Andy Statman, Clarinet and Mandolin Members of the Brave Old World and Klezmer Conservatory Band and other special guests

MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2018 • 7:30 PM Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall SEATING IS LIMITED! Van Wezel Box Office 941-953-3368 Groups 10 or more call 941-363-2025

The Perlman Music Program Sarasota Winter Residency 2018-2019 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Join us! 20+ events featuring 35 international string students (ages 12-20+), PMP Founder Toby Perlman, acclaimed concert violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman, and the renowned PMP faculty.

All events are free and take place at USF Sarasota-Manatee (8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota 34243) in a heated outdoor performance tent, unless otherwise noted.

Celebration Concert JANUARY 5, 2019 5:00 PM Sarasota Opera House Tickets on sale now! $40, $60, $80 Sarasota Opera House Box Office 941-328-1300 Groups 10 or more ask for Perlman Groups

Saturday, Dec. 22

7:00 PM

Sunday, Dec. 23

- NO PUBLIC EVENTS -

Monday, Dec. 24

5:00 PM

Tuesday, Dec. 25

- NO PUBLIC EVENTS -

Works-In-Progress Student Recital

Works-In-Progress Student Recital

Wednesday, Dec. 26 7:00 PM

Works-In-Progress Student Recital

Thursday, Dec. 27

5:00 PM 7:00 PM

Chorus Rehearsal Orchestra Rehearsal

Friday, Dec. 28

11:00 AM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM

Master Class w/ Clara Minhye Kim, Cello Faculty Chorus Rehearsal Works-In-Progress Student Recital

Saturday, Dec. 29

5:00 PM 7:00 PM

Chorus Rehearsal Super Strings and Orchestra Rehearsal (Tickets $10; Members/Sponsors free upon request)

Sunday, Dec. 30

3:30 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM

Chorus Rehearsal Orchestra Rehearsal Works-In-Progress Student Recital

Monday, Dec. 31

5:00 PM 6:30 PM

Orchestra Rehearsal Chorus Rehearsal

Tuesday, Jan. 1

- NO PUBLIC EVENTS -

Wednesday, Jan. 2

11:00 AM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM

Master Class w/ Carol Rodland, Viola Faculty Chorus Rehearsal Orchestra Rehearsal

Thursday, Jan. 3

7:00 PM

Chamber Music Works-In-Progress Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota 34237 (Tickets $10; Members/Sponsors free upon request)

Friday, Jan. 4

11:00 AM 3:30 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM

Master Class w/ Zvi Plessar, Cello Faculty Orchestra Rehearsal Chorus Rehearsal Works-In-Progress Student Recital

Saturday, Jan. 5

5:00 PM

Celebration Concert, Sarasota Opera House 941-328-1300 (Tickets $40, $60, $80)

Free ticket distribution for early access into the Performance Tent begins December 4.

E-tickets $7.50–$10 • Information and tickets online at PMPSuncoast.org Schedule subject to change.

th PMPSuncoast.org • 941-955-4942

Anniversary

Special hotel rates are available. Visit PMPSuncoast.org for more information.

10B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

December 2018

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15

SHOWCASE YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE

Tot Shabbat Havdalah at Bayfront Park Join Temple Emanu-El’s Tot Shabbat at 4:00 p.m. for a very special evening at Bayfront Park. Young Jewish and interfaith families are warmly invited to enjoy Shabbat songs, blessings, movement and a story; crafts and snacks; and free play on the playground and along the waterfront. As the sun sets over the bay, we’ll participate in a beautiful Havdalah service to say goodbye to Shabbat – and to welcome the week ahead. For more information, please call Rabbi Elaine Rose Glickman at 941.379.1997.

EXCLUSIVE

Maximum of 4 sponsorships per eBlast, per profession.

AFFORDABLE

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16

$75.00 per week, less than 1¢ per recipient.

FAR REACHING Delivered to over 8,000 subscribers.

Jewish War Veterans Meeting Jewish War Veterans, Sarasota/Manatee Post 172, will hold its next meeting in the Kretzmer Center at Aviva/Kobernick, 1951 North Honore Avenue, Sarasota. The lox-and-bagel brunch will begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by this month’s guest speaker, Rabbi Anne Feibelman (Aviva’s Resident Rabbi).

She will introduce the documentary film, The Richie Boys, about Jews in Europe who escaped the Nazis, joined the American Armed Forces, and then returned in their American uniforms to fight their own kind of war.

Rabbi Anne’s father was one of the Richie Boys. The cost for brunch is $7 and is payable at the door. Active military, spouses, significant others, snowbirds and guests are always welcome and also pay the $7. For further information or directions, please contact Stan Levinson, Commander, Post 172, at stanlevinson172@gmail.com or 941.226.7185.

EFFECTIVE

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Sponsoring Federation’s eBlast Newsletter is Tax Deductible, and a Great Way to Reinforce Your Business Presence in Our Community.

Temple Beth Israel Men’s Club Breakfast Join us for the first breakfast of the season at 9:30 a.m. at 567 Bay Isles Rd., Longboat Key. Enjoy coffee, bagels, lox and more. All are welcome.

Cost: $12. For more information, call the temple office at 941.383.3428.

TBI Sisterhood – Gift Shop Open House Come browse through a new and exciting selection of Judaica from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Rd., Longboat Key. For more information, call the temple office at 941.383.3428.

Due to the exclusivity of this offer, sponsorships go fast. CALL TODAY!

CTeen: Segway the CTeen way!

Robin Leonardi, Account Executive | 941.552.6307 | rleonardi@jfedsrq.org

Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

Join CTeen and become more aware of our environment! Participate in the teen recycling challenge of being environmentally aware the “Torah Way.” Also explore Anna Maria Island with Segway Segs by the Sea! Lunch will be served. Meet at 12:45 p.m. at The Chabad House, 5712 Lorraine Road, Bradenton. The event will end at approximately 4:15 p.m.

The CTeen annual membership is $180 and includes all trips and activities except the International CTeen Shabbaton in New York. Special thanks to The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee for sponsoring CTeen 5779. For more information, contact Rabbi Mendy Bukiet at 941.752.3030 or rabbi@chabadofbradenton.com.

For more about Jewish life in SRQ, visit www.jfedsrq.org.

“A Toolkit for Genealogical Research” Are you new to genealogy, returning after a hiatus, or just in need of a refresher? This Jewish Genealogical Society of Southwest Florida presentation highlights some of Dr. Leah Cook’s favorite genealogical internet sites and other tools for research. To illustrate, she will ask for the name of an ancestor to demonstrate how the tool can be used. Although Dr. Cook is a huge fan of ancestry.com, she will focus on free websites for doing genealogical research. This free class begins at 1:00 p.m. at Kobernick House at Aviva, 1951 N. Honore Ave., Sarasota. For more information, contact Kim Sheintal at 941.302.1433 or klapshein@aol.com.

Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas Temple Emanu-El’s Adult Education Committee proudly screens this offbeat, irreverent musical documentary – set almost entirely in a Chinese restaurant! Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas tells the story of a group of Jewish songwriters, including Irving Berlin, Mel Tormé, Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, Gloria Shayne Baker and Johnny Marks, who wrote the soundtrack to Christianity’s most musical holiday. It’s an amazing tale of immigrant outsiders who became irreplaceable players in pop culture’s mainstream. A lively discussion follows. Join us at 2:00 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 151 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Cost: $5. For more information, please email Howard Kilman at howardkilman@hotmail.com.

“Plantation of Refuge for Persecuted Jews, 1822”

+ ENTERTAINMENT source

ConneCt with your Jewish Community XNLV16736

Your ARTS

Driven from his birthplace of Morocco due to anti-Jewish riots despite his family’s high position in the government, Moses Levy was acutely aware of the need of a refuge for persecuted Jews of the world. After becoming a wealthy landowner in the newly-acquired U.S. Territory of Florida, Levy established a Jewish colony called Pilgrimage Plantation, two miles north of Micanopy, Florida, named for a Seminole chief and still a quaint village located off I-75 north of Tampa. Join us for this lecture at 3:00 p.m. at the Al Katz Center, 5710 Cortez Road West, Bradenton. Cost: $10 per adult; $5 per student; refreshments included. To RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

facebook.com/jfedsrq

JEWISH HAPPENINGS MONDAY, DECEMBER 17

December 2018

11B

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24

Perlman Music Program/Suncoast Program

Dinner and a Movie at Temple Beth Sholom

Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

This year’s movie is A Serious Man, a seriously funny, black comedy about a Midwestern physics professor who seeks advice from three rabbis as his life seems to be spinning out of control. It features a cameo appearance and the beautiful singing voice of our own Cantor Neil Newman, who will be on hand to speak about the movie. The event begins at 6:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Avenue, Sarasota. Reservations are required

by Monday, December 17. Cost: $20. (The movie is rated R.) Make checks payable to TBS Men’s Club. For more information, please contact Joel Servetz at 941.351.5280 or videobyjoel@aol.com.

Join us for a special event – Itzhak Perlman in “In the Fiddler’s House: A Night of Klezmer” – at 7:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are on sale through the Van Wezel box office at 941.953.3368.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18 Sarasota Jewish Singles Dinner Meeting The Sarasota Jewish Singles is an outreach program of Temple Beth Israel to give all Jewish singles in the area the opportunity to meet other men and women who are alone. The group meets once a month for dinner, laughter and a time to turn acquaintances into lifelong friends. Join us at 5:30 p.m. at Roessler’s Restaurant, 2033 Vamo Way, Sarasota. To make a reservation or for more information, call or text Rosalyn Fleischer at 941.915.6631 or email rozfleischer@gmail.com.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20 Rosh Chodesh Society Course Women are invited to join RCS’s latest course, “Larger Than Life – Weaving G-d in the Details.” This second class is entitled “Carried Away, the Consumed Consumer.” Lunch will be served. Join us at noon at The Chabad House, 5712 Lorraine Road, Bradenton. The course fee is $75 (textbooks included) or $18 per class. For more information, contact Rabbi Mendy Bukiet at 941.752.3030 or rabbi@chabadofbradenton.com.

Film Matinee at Temple Beth Sholom The Idelson Library Film Matinee Series presents The Sturgeon Queens, a “delectable” documentary about the famed lox and herring emporium, Russ and Daughters, a staple on New York’s Lower East Side for 100 years. The film traces four generations of the Jewish immigrant family that created and continues to run the store today. Famous devoted customers are interviewed, including Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Morley Safer and Maggie Gyllenhaal (2014; 52 minutes). Ronnie Riceburg will lead a Q&A session after the screening. Refreshments, including popcorn, are provided courtesy of the Temple Beth Sholom Men’s Club. The event begins at 1:15 p.m. at Temple Beth Sholom, Sainer Social Hall, 1050 S. Tuttle Avenue, Sarasota. Suggested donation: $3 for members and $5 for nonmembers.

For more information, please contact the temple office at 941.955.8121 or info@templebethsholomfl.org.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23 “Counter-Assault Training: Surviving and Saving Lives in a Mass Shooting”

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25 Lecture: “The First Jewish Abolitionist, 1828” As a child in Morocco, Moses Levy reviled the slavery he saw there of black Africans and white Christians. After arriving in America in 1821, Levy published A Plan for the Abolition of Slavery in 1828, writing, “I have resided in slave-holding countries for more than twenty-four years and, during that time, I have experienced the weaknesses and infirmities, the temptations and passions, which are incident to slave-owners … every individual … should equally lend their aid in the cause.” Join us at noon at the Al Katz Center, 5710 Cortez Road West, Bradenton. Cost: $12 per adult; $5 per student; brunch included. To RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

Temple Beth El’s Annual Jewish (Christmas Day) Event What else do Jews do on Christmas but eat Chinese food and watch a delightful movie! This will be a great night of family and fun. We will be screening the movie Up, a 2009 computer-animated, comedy-drama adventure. It centers on an elderly widower named Carl and a boy named Russell. The fun starts at 5:00 p.m. at Temple Beth El, 5150 Peridia Blvd.

East, Bradenton. Cost: $13 for TBE members; $15 for guests. For more information, please call the temple office at 941.755.4900.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30 Book Review – Moses Levy of Florida One of the antebellum South’s most influential and fascinating Jewish citizens was a nineteenth-century Jewish social activist without equal. It is only recently that the enormous legacy of Moses Elias Levy (1782-1854) as a Jewish activist and reformer has come to be revealed through Dr. C. S. Monaco’s discovery of Levy’s courageous Plan for the Abolition of Slavery, 1828, which began the transformation of historians’ understanding of the monumental contributions and visionary works of Moses Elias Levy. Join us at 3:00 p.m. at the Al Katz Center, 5710 Cortez Road West, Bradenton. Cost: $10 per adult; $5 per student; refreshments included. To RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

It is no longer a theoretical or hypothetical matter of the necessity for Jewish counter-assault training. No Jew or Jewish agency can afford to be unknowledgeable of basic life-saving skills to employ in the event of a crisis or mass shooting. Many of the techniques are simple enough for children to apply, and the key is mental preparedness. With the mindset of a trained individual, it is possible to save lives – a great, great mitzvah. Join us at 2:00 p.m. at the Al Katz Center, 5710 Cortez Road West, Bradenton.

Cost: $18 per adult; $5 per student; refreshments included. Instructor TBA. To RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

Hits the Road

Jewels

The Diversity of Ancient Israel: A Retrospective of Archeology, History and Religion

Diversity – of community, of thought, of practice – has marked Ancient Israel from its beginnings in the central hill country of Canaan to its life in the Diaspora. This course consisting of six 1½ hour sessions, is built on an ongoing study of archeology, history and religion that highlights this variety.

of the

the Museum of Fine Art HitsIMAGINATION theto Road

Steven Stark-Riemer

January 24, 31 and February 7 - Temple Sinai February 14, 21, 28 - Temple Beth Sholom Thursdays, 10:00 -11:30 am Steven Stark-Riemer graduated magna cum laude from the City College of New York in 1972, studying Anthropology, and specializing in Archaeology. He conducted fieldwork in Israel at the Tel Gezer excavations under the direction of William G. Dever, today’s preeminent American biblical archaeologist. Following graduation, he was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society and accepted into the doctoral program in Anthropology at the UCLA on the strength of his senior thesis on the comparative origins of agriculture in the Nile, Indus, and Mekong River Valleys. Though he did not formally pursue these studies, his interest in the archaeology, history, and religion of the biblical world continues, and he is well-read in these fields.

Registration—All six sessions only $36 for members, $50 for guests. Send check payable to Temple Sinai, 4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota, FL 34231 Attn: Steve Weintraub

ST. PETERSBURG, FL

Radiant Masterworks by Jean Schlumberger from the Mellon Collection

The glittering jewelry designs of Jean Schlumberger were the epitome of mid-century elegance. Inspired by nature, his creations graced such notable style icons as Jacqueline Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn. This exhibition—the largest public collection from this artist— highlights the work of this innovative artist, placing his jewelry and objects d’art as inimitable examples of twentieth-century design.

WHEN

Friday, February 22 Departs from the Federation parking lot at 9 a.m.

COST

RSVP

$70pp Online at Includes private docent JFEDSRQ.org/Events, tour, lunch and bus. or contact Brieana at 941.552.6305.

RESERVE EARLY! SEATING IS LIMITED! FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Jeremy Lisitza at 941.343.2113 or jlisitza@jfedsrq.org

12B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

December 2018

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DECEMBER 3

Women’s Day Featuring Nancy Spielberg

DECEMBER 17

In the Fiddler’s House – A Night of Klezmer Featuring Itzhak Perlman in partnership with The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast

JANUARY 8

Newcomers Reception

JANUARY 15

25 Years After the Oslo Accords Featuring Abe Foxman, former National Director of the Anti-Defamation League

JANUARY 20

International Holocaust Remembrance Day Honoring the Greek Community

FEBRUARY 7

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with Conductor Zubin Mehta Lead sponsor of Van Wezel program

FEBRUARY 11

Community Lecture with Author Daniel Gordis

FEBRUARY 24

Celebrating 60 Honoring Federation’s 60th Anniversary

MARCH 6 – 17

10th Annual Jewish Film Festival

MAY 5

Yom Ha’atzmaut A community-wide celebration

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FOR INFORMATION, GO TO JFEDSRQ.ORG/EVENTS

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The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life

941.371.4546 • info@jfedsrq.org