Jewish News, 6.27.22 by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater

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Southeastern Virginia | Vol. 60 No. 18 | 28 Sivan 5782 | June 27, 2022

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JEWISH NEWS

JEWISH TIDEWATER

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Progress continues on Marty Einhorn Pavilion Debbie Burke

Tidewater Ukraine Emergency Fund raises more than $675,000

Published 20 times a year by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.

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Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462-4370 voice 757-965-6100 • fax 757-965-6102 email news@ujft.org

xciting things are happening as construction on the Marty Einhorn Pavilion at the Sandler Family Campus continues to move forward. The concrete is in, the ceiling fans are on site, and the LED color-changing lights have just been installed. Named in memory of Marty Einhorn, a beloved leader in both the Jewish and secular Tidewater communities, fundraising for the Pavilion “is approximately halfway to its goal,” says Betty Ann Levin, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater executive vice president/CEO. “It’s been wonderful to see so many of Marty’s friends and colleagues reach out to us to contribute to this facility, which, even before it is fully completed, is being enjoyed by the community.” “We’re getting a price on patios for each end to make it more of a nice space and create a pathway,” says Glenn Saucier, Sandler Family Campus facility director. “Once we get power to it, we’ll be installing the sound system, and we’ll have Wi-Fi and electrical outlets.” Wall sconces were just shipped and they’re waiting for the Dectron unit, which also controls the heat for the pool, and the air conditioning and dehumidifying for the building, says Saucier. The pool is temporarily being heated by auxiliary power. Camp JCC is using the Pavilion in the afternoons two days a week. The Pavilion, however, is not just for camp, as all of the Campus agencies, including Strelitz International Academy, are using the shaded structure for meetings and events. Plus, Saucier notes that the Pavilion is rented for a birthday party in July, and he anticipates many other events will follow. As for a projected completion date, Saucier says, “Due to materials and labor, we’re hoping for the end of August.”

CONTENTS

Terri Denison, Editor Germaine Clair, Art Director Sandy Goldberg, Account Executive Debbie Burke, Copywriter Marilyn Cerase, Subscription Manager Reba Karp, Editor Emeritus United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Laura G. Gross, President Alvin Wall, Treasurer Mona Flax, Secretary Betty Ann Levin, Executive Vice President JewishVA.org

s the war rages on in Ukraine, Jewish Tidewater has continued to give to the Tidewater Ukraine Emergency Fund. The fund has now raised and distributed approximately $678,000 to help the people of Ukraine via United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s overseas partners, the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and United Hatzalah. “Thank you to all who have contributed,” says Betty Ann Levin, UJFT executive vice president/CEO. “Your generosity is directly helping Ukrainians.” To give online, go to: www.jewishva.org/Ukraine2022. To give with a check, mail to: United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Attention: Ukraine Emergency Fund 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200 Virginia Beach, VA 23462

About the cover: Campers at Camp JCC.

Upfront. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Supreme Court ruling could lead to broad funding for religious schools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 AJC Global Forum 2022. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Simon Family Passport: Yael Schranz spends gap year in Israel . . . . . . 8 SIA student creates “Feel Better” bags . . . . . . . . . 9 JFiT director makes it to Final 8 in national contest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Abbot Granoff’s family’s story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Healthcare in the Jewish Community. . . . . . . . 13 2022 Grads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Women’s Spring Lunch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Tour of yads exhibit at the Chrysler. . . . . . . . . . 24 Chalk Over Hate raises antisemitism awareness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Camp JCC orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 SIA students celebrate Shavuot with a Mitzvah Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 ShinShinim are coming to Tidewater. . . . . . . . . 27 What’s Happening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Sandy Koufax honored with a statue at Dodger Stadium. . . . . . . . . . 29 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

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BRIEFS JUDGE ORDERS YESHIVA UNIVERSITY TO RECOGNIZE LGBTQ ORGANIZATION The New York County Supreme Court ruled that Yeshiva University must recognize a campus LGBTQ pride group. Judge Lynn Kotler directed the Modern Orthodox university to provide the YU Pride Alliance “full equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges afforded to all other student groups at Yeshiva University.” The decision caps a dispute that dates back at least to 2020, when seven LGBTQ student activists and allies filed a complaint with the New York City Commission on Human Rights charging the university with discrimination. Administrators had overruled a student government decision to recognize the gay pride group. In her ruling, Kotler said that YU is chartered as a non-religious organization and as a result is subject to New York City Human Rights Law. In its court filings, Yeshiva University acknowledged that while it was incorporated as non-sectarian, it was guided by its religious beliefs. “The court’s ruling violates the religious liberty upon which this country was founded,” a YU spokesperson told The Commentator, a campus newspaper. Gay sex is forbidden by nearly all Orthodox interpretations of Jewish law, although attitudes toward individuals who identify as queer have eased somewhat in Modern Orthodox settings in recent years. The Manhattan-based university intends to appeal the decision. Jewish Queer Youth, a nonprofit representing the interests of gay Orthodox Jews, hailed the ruling as “a victory for human dignity, mental health and safety on campus,” Rachael Fried, executive director of JQY and a YU alum, said in a statement. (JTA) TEXAS RABBI WHO FOUNDED UNDERWEAR NONPROFIT NAMED CNN HERO A Houston rabbi was named a CNN Hero for her work as the founder and CEO of Undies for Everyone, which provides underwear and dignity to children in need.

Rabbi Amy Weiss founded the project in 2012 to assist the majority of students in Texas’ largest school district, Houston ISD, who are economically disadvantaged. She initially ran underwear drives from her home. Undies for Everyone has provided more than two million pairs of underwear to children across the country who are living in poverty. In times of natural disaster, Weiss’ organization has stepped up to include adults in need, too. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey claimed the lives of more than 100 people and destroyed more than 150,000 Houstonarea homes, including Weiss’ own home. In the days following the natural disaster, Weiss learned that underwear was a high-demand item at evacuee shelters and guided the efforts of her nonprofit there. Weiss’ friend and neighbor, social worker and public speaker Brené Brown, uploaded a video to her Facebook page at the time asking her followers to consider donating to Undies for Everyone. Over four months, more than 1.4 million pairs of brand-new underwear were sent to people affected by Hurricane Harvey. In 2019, Undies for Everyone expanded to eight other states. This year alone, the organization has distributed 1.1 million pairs of underwear to children in need. “Ten years later, through the vision of my incredible board and leadership team, Undies for Everyone now serves communities throughout the country helping kids stay in school and reach their potential,” Weiss said in a statement. CNN Heroes honors ordinary people who lead charitable causes. Every week, a different CNN Hero is profiled on CNN and CNN.com and viewers vote online for their top 10 heroes. At the end of the year, another online vote is held for the CNN Hero of the Year. Weiss, who was ordained as a rabbi from Hebrew Union College, has also worked as a chef for Shabbat and holiday meals at Houston Hillel, where her husband, Rabbi Kenny Weiss, is the executive director. Houston Hillel serves the Houston area’s Jewish university students. (JTA)

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‘NAZI HUNTER’ ELI ROSENBAUM TAPPED TO HEAD DOJ TEAM INVESTIGATING WAR CRIMES IN UKRAINE Eli Rosenbaum, a Justice Department veteran known for his work tracking and deporting former Nazis residing in the United States, will lead a team working to identify and prosecute people responsible for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment in a statement on Tuesday, June 21 while in Ukraine. “There is no hiding place for war criminals. The U.S. Justice Department will pursue every avenue of accountability for those who commit war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine,” Garland wrote in the news release. Rosenbaum will lead the DOJ’s War Crimes Accountability Team. Starting in 1979, Rosenbaum had led a team through the Office of Special Investigations, or OSI, that over decades deported over 95 war criminals and their allies. Amid reports of war crimes by Russian soldiers as the invasion continues, Rosenbaum is expected to work with both domestic and international offices regarding crimes over which the United States has jurisdiction, including the killing of American journalists. “Working alongside our domestic and international partners, the Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to hold accountable every person complicit in the commission of war crimes, torture, and other grave violations during the unprovoked conflict in Ukraine,” Garland added. (JTA) CONTROVERSIAL TEXAS GOP PLATFORM WOULD ‘PROHIBIT’ PALESTINIAN STATE The Texas Republican Party approved a platform that supports the “prohibition” of a Palestinian state in lands that Israel now controls. The platform approved by 5,100 delegates in Houston on Saturday, June 18, supports the “prohibition of a Palestinian state within the historical borders of Israel, as it would jeopardize Israel’s security and it would force Israel to give

up land that God gave to the Jewish people as referenced in Genesis.” In outright suggesting a “prohibition” on a Palestinian state, the platform goes farther than the 2016 national GOP platform, which withdrew Republican support for a two-state outcome to the Israeli-Palestinian outcome, arguing that any solution should be left to the two parties involved. That platform did not include a biblical reference, but called Israel an “exceptional country that shares our most essential values.” The Texas platform also supports a “prohibition” on the movement to boycott, divest and sanction Israel. Party platforms do not necessarily shape government policy even when a party controls all branches, as Republicans do in Texas. Platform conventions are dominated by activists who often stake out positions more extreme than average voters. Republicans who are very popular among Republicans statewide, such Rep. Dan Crenshaw and Sen. John Cornyn, were booed at the convention. Still, the platform has been garnering headlines because its positions signal how far right the party has drifted. Among other positions, the platform proposes a referendum on seceding from the United States; rejects Joe Biden’s presidency; calls for the repeal of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed Black voters representation; calls homosexuality “an abnormal lifestyle choice”; and supports the repeal of a law mandating direct voting for U.S. senators, preferring a return to their appointment by a state’s legislature. The party banned a gay Republican group, Log Cabin Republicans, from having an official presence at the convention. “We can’t compromise with Democrats who have a different and incompatible vision for our future,” Matt Rinaldi, the Texas GOP chairman, told the convention. “We need to be a bold and unapologetic conservative party, ready to go on offense and win the fight for our country.” (JTA)

NATION

Breyer fears Supreme Court ruling in Maine school case could lead to broad funding for religious schools Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA)—The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Maine parents seeking funding to send their children to religious schools, a development that a dissenting Jewish justice, Stephen Breyer, suggested could open the door to broad public funding of parochial schools. Ruling Tuesday, June 21 in Carson v. Makin, the 6-3 majority favored parents in Maine who objected to a state policy that funded private school education for students who lived in districts without public schools, but explicitly excluded religious schools on church-state grounds. The court’s two Jewish justices, Elena Kagan and Breyer, who is retiring, were in the dissenting minority. Jewish groups were split on the case: The Orthodox Union filed a brief on behalf of the parents, and the AntiDefamation League filed a friend of the court brief favoring the state. The court divided conservatives from liberals on the bench. John Roberts, the chief justice, wrote the decision. “Maine’s ‘nonsectarian’ requirement for its otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment,” Roberts wrote. “Regardless of how the benefit and restriction are described, the program operates to identify and exclude otherwise eligible schools on the basis of their religious exercise.” Breyer said in his written dissent that the ruling could open the door to broader public funding of religious schools. “Does that transformation mean that a school district that pays for public schools must pay equivalent funds to parents who wish to send their children to religious schools?” Breyer wrote. “Does it mean that school districts that give vouchers for use at charter schools must pay equivalent funds to parents who wish to give their children a religious education?”

R I S T O R A N T E

Liberal groups tracking the case agreed that the decision was far-reaching and could transform education funding. “Far from honoring religious freedom, this decision tramples the religious freedom of everyone,” said Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Worse, the court has opened the door to government-enforced tithing, an invitation religious extremists will not ignore.”

I N S P I R E D

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“Far from honoring religious freedom, this decision tramples the religious freedom of everyone.” Roberts, responding to Breyer, said the liberal justice was reading too much into the majority opinion. In Maine’s case, he noted, the state had a range of options, including building schools in the affected districts or creating boarding options for students who must travel long distances to neighboring districts to attend public schools. Orthodox groups, who have long sought state support for families sending their children to private Jewish day schools and yeshivas, praised the decision. “A state discriminating against religion —as Maine did in its tuition assistance program—is just as unconstitutional as a state promoting one particular religion,” the O.U.’s Washington director, Nathan Diament, said in a statement. “In today’s ruling, the Supreme Court has advanced religious liberty for all Americans of all faiths.”

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AJC Global Forum 2022 highlights American Jewish Committee’s work Terri Denison

F Bill Goldback’s legacy lives on through the arts. Bill, who died in 2007, left a donation in his will for the performing arts in Hampton Roads.

or the first time since 2019, the American Jewish Committee convened its AJC Global Forum in person. More than 1,000 people attended the conference held at Temple Emanu-El in New York City to hear from world leaders and top experts, consider tough questions, and get inspired to advocate for measures critical to the security of the

Jewish people. One of the Forum’s first speakers, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, denounced BDS and promised that New York will not invest in any business that participated in BDS activities. She also declared that her state “shall not bow to hatred” in speaking about antisemitism. Hochul also announced that her administration had just issued a proclamation about the importance of the IHRA

Working Definition of Antisemitism and how it is vital to the state’s efforts to fight hatred. Antisemitism was a frequent, sobering topic at the Forum. A panel discussion at the Open Plenary noted that today’s antisemitism is coming from very different sources—from the far left and the far right, from universities, colleagues,

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Simone Rodan-Benzaquen AJC managing director of Europe; Katharina von Schnurbein, the first European Commission coordinator on combating anti-Semitism; and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.

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Can Governments Win the Fight Against Antisemitism? discussion in Temple Emanu-El’s sanctuary.

Leaving a Legacy in Jewish Tidewater

AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to the AJC Forum from the frontlines.

artists, and friends. In another panel on the same topic, Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, AJC managing director of Europe, interviewed Katharina von Schnurbein, the first European Commission coordinator on combating antisemitism, and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. The discussion began by noting that World Jewry is currently experiencing the largest amount of antisemitism since the Holocaust. When asked what keeps her up at night, Lipstadt replied, “the failure of people to take antisemitism seriously. “Antisemitism has the unique characteristic of prejudice being a conspiracy theory,” Lipstadt said. She explained the impact of the conspiracy theory: “Jews caused the pandemic, are controlling of the banks, media, institutions, inflation, etc. The outcome is a lack of confidence in all of these things, and therefore the erosion of the government and democracy.” An attendee asked how to deal with antisemitism when it comes from a group one is generally aligned with. Lipstadt responded, “You have to be willing to call out the people with whom you agree on many things when it comes to antisemitism. We can’t just fight it with

“The use of our legacy has to be taught to each succeeding generation. One must give his or her all to enhance the spirit of belonging, leading, and giving back to our community. The more effort we put into these endeavors the larger reward we will receive.

Members of the Antisemitism Up Close panel: Holly Huffnagle, AJC director, Combating Antisemitism; Andrew Rehfeld, president, Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion; April Powers, managing director, DEI Strategy; and Jacob Konbluh, senior political reporter, The Forward.

indignation.” The good news that Lipstadt reported was that countries are now taking antisemitism seriously, and she is about to convene a conference with world leaders on the topic. Reminding the attendees that AJC was the first Jewish organization to stand with Ukraine in 1991 in backing the restoration of Ukrainian independence, David Harris, AJC CEO, emphatically stated, “The need for denazification is in Moscow.” In a powerful video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to the crowd from the frontlines. The courageous and embattled world leader called for a stepped-up response to Russia’s brutal war, debunked Putin’s absurd claims that he is “denazifying” Ukraine, and thanked AJC for its significant help. In the earliest days of the war, AJC’s emergency #StandWithUkraine fund raised $2.4 million for urgent humanitarian assistance. Zelensky closed by saying, “We now have a historic opportunity to defend our common freedom, our common security, our common cultural diversity from the greatest wave of hatred.” Among other video addresses, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken vowed, “The United States is committed to working by your side to tackle the

alarming rise in antisemitism around the world.” He said that it is a scourge that the entire U.S. State Department— and he personally—takes very seriously. He also didn’t mince words on Israel, declaring that the U.S. “commitment to Israel’s security remains ironclad,” and that “dealing with Iran’s nuclear program is a shared top priority.” One particularly upbeat panel, Winds of Change: The New Middle East, featured ambassadors from the Kingdom of Bahrain, Israel, Morocco, and United Arab Emirates on what the Abraham Accords have meant to their countries. They all spoke of peace, tourism, billion-dollar-business deals, and the desire for more countries to participate in the Accords. David Harris, AJC’s outgoing CEO, was honored throughout the conference, but especially during a program on the final evening. Harris is credited with building AJC into the leading global Jewish organization it is today. Congressman Ted Deutch, AJC’s incoming CEO, begins his tenure on October 1. Next year’s AJC Global Forum 2023 heads to Tel Aviv, in celebration of 75 years of Israeli independence. Steve Budman Photography

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Simon Family Passport: Yael Schranz spends gap year in Israel Yael Schranz

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t’s been almost a month, and it feels like I just left yesterday. You know the experience was especially amazing when it is so difficult to move on from it. I went to Israel on a gap year known as Young Judaea Year Course. First, I lived in Jerusalem taking classes on Judaism, Zionism, Middle Eastern studies, and Leadership. We also took lots of educational trips to learn about all aspects of Israeli society. Then, I lived in Tel Aviv where I learned how to code through a tech track and then interned at Nefesh B’Nefesh. Between the two semesters, we all participated in a program called Sar-El, where we volunteered at army bases for two weeks. Throughout the year, I had a variety of unique experiences including Tuesday trips, road trips with the rabbi, and Shabbat B’Yachad. With the freedom this program provided, I also made my own travel plans to visit friends and family all around Israel. I had a variety of Shabbos experiences that I hold so close to my heart. I got to participate in Tikvah Overseas Scholars program where I took an additional class and listened to amazing speakers. And, I was a fellow of Nitzavim, where we learned how to be Jewish leaders on a college campus after our year in Israel. I think I had the most broad and diverse Israel experience. I created the most amazing friends in my gap year and grew closer with the ones I already knew from other programs. I strengthened my Jewish observance because it simply felt right. This was also the hardest and best year of my life. I had so many difficult moments struggling with homesickness, friendships, and debating my religious practice. But all these rough moments allowed me to grow and experience all the beautiful things Israel had to offer. Every single day, I want to go back. I

Yael Schranz, left, with a friend during her stay in Israel.

felt an unbelievable connection to Israel, the land of our people. I felt like I was becoming the best and truest version of myself. At the airport crying my heart out that I was leaving this place and people, my rabbi said to me, “Your nefesh is here. You will be back soon.” I felt that with every inch of my body. I may have been leaving then, but I knew it wouldn’t be too long before I was back in the homeland of the Jewish people. For more information, visit bit.ly/tjf-passport, or contact Ann Swindell, Tidewater Jewish Foundation donor relations and grant manager, at aswindell@ujft.org or 757-965-6106.

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Strelitz International Academy student creates “Feel Better” bags to help others Carin Simon

hen Molly Futterman’s kindergarten class at the Strelitz International Academy kicked off their IB unit with a focus on goal setting this past January, her friends had wonderful goals for themselves. Goals included scoring more soccer goals, learning to ride a bike with no trainMolly with her “Feel Better Bags.” ing wheels, and swinging across the monkey bars—both ways. Molly immedithe bags. Each bag contained a feel ately knew she wanted her goal to be one better note, Band-Aids, water, a fidget where she could help people. toy, hand wipes, tissues, crayons, and a Molly’s kindergarten teacher, Jamie small notebook. Baker, explained that in order to attain “Molly is so proud of her accomplishtheir goals, students would create an ment!” says Goldstein. “Mrs. Baker did outline of the steps to reach their indisuch a great job teaching her students to vidualized goal. She coached Molly to ask create steps to attain a manageable goal. herself, “Who could I help? What kinds Molly is talking about making bags for of things do people need when they are the homeless next.” sick?” Molly realized that she could start Molly was excited to deliver her Feel with helping her friends at school. Better Bags to the school clinic, but Before the pandemic, Molly and her she realized that she was faced with a mom, Dr. Ilene Goldstein, helped out dilemma. She wanted each of her classwith the Beach Bag Program, and Molly mates to get a bag, but in order to get one, enjoyed packing the Beach Bags with they’d have to get sick. Molly’s bags were snacks for children in need. She decided so impressive that all the kids in the class that her goal would be to create “Feel hoped that they could get sick so that they Better Bags” to help students at SIA when could get one. Fortunately, Molly’s classthey get sick and need to go home from mates were able to participate by making school. a rice sock to keep when their bodies hurt. The next step was to earn money to Molly’s Feel Better Bags resulted in buy the items for the bags. Molly tried a a wonderful addition to her class and lemonade stand, but it was February, so entire school community. At the Strelitz she was only able to raise $2. When that International Academy, the merging of didn’t work, she decided to get sponsors Jewish values and student agency and for running the Shamrock Final Mile. design are highlighted with the IB World Molly raised $56, which went toward School approach to learning, making it buying items she needed for the bags. a school where students are inspired to Fortunately, she already had some of learn and make the world a better place. the supplies around her house to create

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n a particularly sunny morning in late April, between Life Fit and Stretch classes he teaches at the Simon Family JCC’s JFiT Wellness Center, an email caught Tom Purcell’s eye. The message was an inquiry about submitting for the Tom Purcell. opportunity to be named “Mr. Muscle & Fitness, USA” from a magazine that bears the same name. The top prize — $20,000 — would be given to the winning trainer mid-summer, after a series of hurdles, something completely familiar to Purcell. “I was a very competitive collegiate basketball player,” Purcell, the Simon Family JCC’s Wellness director says. “I played for East Carolina University [in Greenville, North Carolina]. I was in great shape.” After Purcell hung up his high-tops, his weight immediately ballooned. “I got really heavy. I remember shopping with my mom and she held up a pair of huge pants, asking if I wanted to try them on. I said to myself, ‘How did I get here?’ And I swore two things: I would get the weight off, and afterward, spend all my time helping people get and remain healthy, so they’d never have to feel the shame or pains of being unhealthy.” Purcell joined the contest in a field with thousands of entrants. He seemed to glide through the first two rounds until the field was whittled down to fewer than 100 trainers from across America. Scrolling through the profiles listed on Muscle & Fitness magazine’s site, the glistening muscles and intense stories were plenty. Former armed service specialists and professional bodybuilders were the norm. Then, there was Purcell, looking svelte, posing in his living room doing a plank with his son in the same position on his back.

The contest allowed anyone, anywhere, to vote for his or her favorite trainer once each day. Friends and family could also purchase votes for their candidates, with the proceeds intended for the Wounded Warriors Project. The first week of the contest took place during the JCC’s largest community event of the year, Yom Ha’Atzmaut or Israel Fest, presented by Avraham and Karen Ashkenazi, Israel Today, and community partners. More than 2,000 people turned out at the Sandler Family Campus on May 1 for the event, and Purcell shared the news of his competition with many. “Over the coming weeks, so many people took the time to go online and vote for me,” Purcell says. “Considering the whole reason I’ve dedicated my life to training is to help others, it was amazing to have so many of my clients and the JCC community turn around and vote for me.” He added it was many of the seniors in his various group exercise classes that came together like a family to help vote him up. He also spotlights members John Strelitz, Miles and Sandra Porter Leon, and Ron and Arlene Kauffman who supported in various ways, too. Purcell made it through multiple rounds—and finished in third place in a final field of eight national trainers. Although he didn’t jump to the final showdown, he’s no less enthusiastic about fitness, his role in serving people wanting to get healthy, and the tremendous support he received from the JCC community. Tom Purcell has been the wellness director at JFiT at the Simon Family JCC since 2016. He manages some of the best personal trainers in Tidewater and is always available to discuss personal fitness goals. Contact him at TPurcell@UJFT.org or 757-321-2338.

JEWISH TIDEWATER

Children’s story gets passed from generation to generation

he Tsigala Story told to Abbot Granoff, MD, by his paternal grandfather Morris Granoff (Pa) ignited a curiosity about his family’s history. In addition to spending time in Ukraine, the Granoff family story is a tale of travel, perseverance, and creativity. Here is what he learned: Zalman and Esther were Granoff’s great-grandparents. Morris Granoff said that Zeda, his great-grandfather, told the Tsigala Story to him. They lived in a small, rural town in Ukraine named Tzimyornifka, north of Kyiv. He asked his Zeda where the story came from and Zeda told Morris that his grandfather told it to him when he was a boy. Granoff was told Zeda lived to be 119!

Zeda told him he asked his grandfather that same question at about the same age and his grandfather told him the family originally came from Spain and during the Inquisition, moved to Turkey. Later, the family moved to Poland and had to take a family name. In 1808, Napoleon required all Jews to take family names. The family took the name Agradnov, which meant they were from the town of Grad, Poland. “When we moved to Kyiv, we Russianized it, adding a ‘ski’ at the end to Agradnovski. Jews took the name of the city, town, or area they were from, the profession they were in, or the Jewish sect they were in, ie: Goldsmith, Stein, or Levine,” says Granoff. In 1903 when Morris was 17, the oldest of nine children, the Czar’s men came to the shtetl, a small Jewish farming

village. They took all of the able-bodied boys and men who could fight for the Czar and put them in the army. The Great Russian War of 1903–4 was being fought at the time. Morris was taken to a training camp and given a rifle. He knew that if he deserted and was found, he would be shot. He was not going to fight for the Czar since his village had been on more than one occasion attacked by the Cossacks who raped and pillaged with the Czar’s approval. He threw down

his rifle, ran back home and told his family that he had to leave Russia. They gave him what little money they had. They continued on page 12

He was not going to fight for the Czar since his village had been on more than one occasion

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attacked by the Cossacks who raped and pillaged with the Czar’s approval.

Granoff asked Morris where they had come from when he was five years old. Morris said he asked Zeda the same question when he was about the same age.

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jewishnewsva.org | June 27, 2022 | JEWISH NEWS | 11

JEWISH TIDEWATER continued from page 11

gave him as much food as they could and he took off on his own, heading toward the German port of Bremen. Morris was an extremely resourceful man. He had to walk the entire way, find food to eat, and places to sleep. When he came to Warsaw, he was walking down one of the main streets in the city and two men came running toward him with a satchel. They threw the satchel at him and kept running past him. He looked inside the satchel. It was filled with money. They had just robbed a bank. The police were chasing the men and now he was in possession of the satchel! He threw down the satchel and began running in the opposite direction. He knew that if any of the money was found on him, he would be put into jail at best or murdered at worst. When Morris came to the Port of

Bremen, he had no money to book passage to America. He had been a baker’s apprentice, so he got a job on a ship bound for America as a baker. He stayed in the bottom of the ship not seeing the light of day for three weeks, baking bread during passage. The ship finally arrived in New York. Upon disembarking at Ellis Island, Morris got into one of the lines. The American immigration clerk asked him what his name was. He told him Morris Agranofsky. The man told him his new American name was Morris Granoff. With his new name, Morris initially went to St. Louis where he thought he had family. He met a girl from a neighboring shtetl whom he knew named Freida. They married and he went to work at a bakery. He was the only Jew at that bakery where the other workers were German. Freida,

12 | JEWISH NEWS | June 27, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

also known as Bubby, didn’t like them because they drank and played poker all the time and were not very kind to Morris. They moved to Philadelphia and Morris again tried baking. While they lived there, a young Zionist woman who was making her American rounds named Golda Meir stayed with them. Philadelphia didn’t work out, so they moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where Morris opened a small paper and notions store named Star Paper. This became fairly successful. During the heady days of the ’20s, Morris bought real estate on margin and kept increasing his properties to the point that he became a wealthy man. When Morris had any extra money, he sent for his eight siblings and parents to join him in America. Only one sibling refused to leave Russia because she had married a non-Jewish Russian man.

During the 1929 stock market crash and the following Great Depression, people couldn’t pay their rents. Morris couldn’t pay his mortgages and he lost all his real estate holdings. Star Paper continued to flourish, however, and the family would vacation in Miami Beach during the winter. In 1945, after his children moved to Miami Beach because they didn’t like the cold New Haven winters, Morris sold Star Paper. He and Frieda also moved down to Miami Beach where he retired and lived out his years. “My family and I lived with Pa and Bubby until I was five years old,” says Granoff. “The highlight of going to bed was Pa telling us the Tsigala Story making sounds like tsigala (a goat). My children and grandchildren loved the Tsigala Story as much as I loved telling it to them.”

Health Care

in the Jewish community

Supplement to June 27, 2022 jewishnewsva.org | June 27, 2022 | Health Care | JEWISH NEWS | 13

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King’s Daughters about the state of local mental health services. The articles begin on page 16. For some, COVID isn’t over after it’s over. The interview on page 20 with Dr. Lisa Barr discusses, among other topics, a pain management approach to long-haul

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14 | JEWISH NEWS | Health Care | June 27, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

Terri Denison Editor

Health Care

Alan Wagner, MD Local ophthalmologist is first in region to use gene therapy to halt/reverse blindness and other conditions wall of the eye, Wagner explains, and it dispenses medicine throughout the day. It only needs to be refilled once or twice a year. “It’s amazing,” says Wagner. “For the last 10 years, we have been injecting things inside the eye. Now we are putting a gene inside the eye and the body makes the medicine, and we have a device that eliminates the need for injections.” In addition to gene transfer therapies, they are the only surgeons in Eastern Virginia that were involved in the

validating research of, and are presently implanting, this new technology. Wagner Kapoor Institute and its Research Institute is the first practice providing these therapies in a four-state region. In addition, the Institute has a full-time geneticist onsite for the testing of retinal and ocular diseases such as macular degeneration—many other potentially blinding diseases are also inherited. Having a family history of macular degeneration is not a green light to start gene therapy until the patient’s other risk factors are studied and their specific diagnosis and symptoms are appropriate for the treatment. “We do not give the

medicine prophylactically, and there are provisos, just like for any kind of treatment,” says Wagner. The most important thing of all is early detection and prophylaxis. When it comes to blurry vision, Wagner states, see a professional immediately. “With state-of-the-art science, we now have a much better understanding of the processes that make people go blind,” says Wagner. “We find the little places along all those different disease pathways to stop or reverse these conditions. That’s what drives our groundbreaking research. It’s revolutionary!”

“For the last

Alan Wagner, MD.

10 years, Debbie Burke

hrough the Virginia Beach-based Wagner Kapoor Research Institute, local ophthalmologists and vitreoretinal surgeons Alan L. Wagner, MD, FACS, FICS, FASRS, AME, and Kapil G. Kapoor, MD, FACS, FICS, are conducting trials of an FDA-approved study into gene therapy to halt or even reverse certain blinding eye conditions including macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, and stroke inside the eye. “Most blindness is preventable, and frequently, reversible. If detected early, it can be stopped from getting worse,” says Wagner. “This gene transfer study is the first of its kind, and has been in trials for about six months.” The technology involves implanting a new and proven small device that eliminates the monthly to every-six-weeks regimen of eye injections for macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease. With a minor outpatient operation, a tiny reservoir of medicine is placed in the

we have been injecting things inside the eye. Now we are putting a gene inside the eye and the body makes the medicine, and we have a device that eliminates the need for injections.”

jewishnewsva.org | June 27, 2022 | Health Care | JEWISH NEWS | 15

Health Care

New Children’s Pavilion at CHKD serves the community’s pediatric mental health needs Debbie Burke

hildren’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters opened its new $224 million, 14-story Children’s Pavilion on April 25. The facility offers a wide array of outpatient psychiatric services that include pediatric psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, mental health therapists, primary care pediatrics, laboratory and radiology services, sports medicine, and more. Later this year, CHKD will launch its 60-bed inpatient psychiatric care program. Carl Petersen, DO, is the chief of psychiatry and mental health services at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. He is dual board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in general and child and adolescent psychiatry. A retired U.S. Navy captain, his experience includes overseeing several mental health initiatives and programs. Petersen spent the last 10 years of his military career at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, serving the last three as its director of mental health. Here, he shares his insights with Jewish News, including keeping up with trends

and research in mental health, serving the community, and working to help families and children that are seeking treatment.

children have suffered from social isolation and family trauma caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Jewish News: When did the idea arise for this new building? Dr. Carl Petersen: CHKD began expanding its mental health program in 2018 in response to parents asking for mental health treatment for their children, both directly and through community needs assessment surveys. Pediatricians within our system were also asking for help in treating a growing number of children coming to them with mental health concerns. Also, our emergency department was treating an increasing number of children who arrived in crisis because of a mental health issue, some of whom spent days in the ED while we searched for proper inpatient care for them. We broke ground on the Children’s Pavilion in September of 2019.

JN: What services/amenities will be available through the inpatient units once they are complete, and what is the timeline? CP: The 60 inpatient psychiatric rooms will be private and will have room for a parent or caregiver to spend the night. The inpatient rooms and gathering places on the unit have been designed to keep children safe, but still be full of light. The building has stunning views of Hampton Roads, a rooftop area where children can play and get fresh air, and healing amenities such as art and music therapy rooms. Evidence-based treatments, an academic training program, and clinical research to guide mental health innovation for children will put the facility among the top pediatric mental health facilities in the nation. We will be phasing in the opening of the beds starting this fall.

JN: Comparing the building from concept to today, has pediatric mental health remained as prevalent an issue or become even more urgent? CP: It has become more urgent because

Children’s Pavilion.

16 | JEWISH NEWS | Health Care | June 27, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

JN: What are the most successful modalities today that help prevent suicide in minors? CP: There have been few randomized trials on effective suicide treatment approaches in the pediatric population. This is an active area of research with a goal to identify the most effective interventions to prevent suicide. Screening children for suicidal thoughts or behaviors has been shown to be very effective. For example, universal suicide screening of all children being seen in emergency departments was recently found to be a best practice to help identify those children at risk of suicide, which is why we implemented such screening 18 months ago. In the past, treatment for suicidal youth focused on addressing the underlying psychiatric disorders such as major depression, and suicidal behavior was viewed only as a symptom of the underlying disorder. More recently, treatments have targeted the suicidal behavior directly to reduce risk of self-harm. The challenge

Dr. Carl Petersen.

is most youth with suicidal ideation or attempts do not share this information with their parents or guardians, As such, effective screening of children for suicidal ideation is critical as is educating parents, educators, and teens themselves on the signs that a child may be contemplating suicide. In addition to addressing the underlying psychiatric disorders, psychotherapeutic interventions such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy target the suicidal thoughts and behaviors directly, and have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing suicide-related behavior. Additionally, limiting access to firearms has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing suicide. JN: What are you looking for in a professional as far as knowledge, experience, and relatability to the patient and their family? CP: Later this year, we will have 18 board-certified child psychiatrists, 11 child psychologists, 10 pediatric psychiatric nurse practitioners, and 20 pediatric mental health therapists on staff. All of these professionals have demonstrated expertise in the field and a commitment

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www.GilbertEyecare.com to providing evidence-based care. Additionally, as an academic program, we have carefully selected our team to ensure our providers are committed to continuous learning, education, and participating in research to help identify future interventions that help children and families. With respect to relatability, we are aggressively recruiting a diverse team of clinicians that understands the challenges different parts of our community face each and every day. JN: How does a program measure its success in outcomes? CP: We use several symptoms scales that have been validated in research to track treatment severity and improvement with appropriate treatment. In addition, we use quality-of-life measures before and during treatment to ensure our patients are improving. JN: What are some misconceptions that a family may have about seeking/receiving treatment for a child with a mental health issue? CP: One that is often repeated is that mental health issues in children are rare. The truth is between one in four and one in five children will have a diagnosable

psychiatric condition. Over the past 30 years, a growing body of research has demonstrated treatment is highly effective. Early identification and intervention are important because these disorders tend to be more amenable to treatment when addressed early. JN: What are your hopes for the facility insofar as serving the needs of the community? CP: We are hopeful families and their children will not have to wait as long for mental health care, and that there will be a wide array of services to help children with mental health concerns. We want to provide a full continuum of care ranging from preventive care to outpatient care to more intensive inpatient psychiatric care to meet children’s needs at all stages. JN: Other comments? CP: The talented mental health team at CHKD is excited at the opportunity to build programs to help families in Hampton Roads and we appreciate the support of the community. Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters Children’s Pavilion is located at 401 Gresham Dr. in Norfolk.

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Health Care

Insight-centered approach to mental health An interview with Dr. Michael Weissman but pervasive. “It’s a huge growth step if a person approaches it the right way: I want to fix it, I want to grow.” While medicine tends to be illness-focused as if something is “broken” and causing a patient to feel they are “defective,” Weissman’s approach is to teach ways of coping that are effective, whether in one’s marriage, work, or for one’s own inner peace. “At some point, everyone has to look at themselves and say ‘I want to change.’ That’s a huge sign of strength.”

Dr. Michael Weissman.

Debbie Burke

udging by the waiting list of more than 400 people for Dr. Michael S. Weissman, Ph.D.’s outpatient practice, you would think there is a heightened need for mental health services today, and you would be exactly right. According to the Chesapeake and Norfolk-based psychologist who opened a private practice in 1981, the last three years have felt like a “different era.” A general state of angst, he says, is evident, transforming what used to be a large number of patients with depression and anxiety into patients now presenting with an “overlay” of an overarching sense of “existential questioning.” “We still dig for what is triggering a person’s distress,” he says. “Before, you could say ‘let’s explore why you are anxious.’ Now, you say ‘of course you’re anxious.’” Weissman helps patients develop tools to find their own purpose and meaning. There are two major myths people tend to have about therapy before they start. The first is that it is somehow a weakness or a crutch. That’s flawed, he says,

“I’m most hopeful about the significant increase in people who are now seeking help.”

The other misconception about therapy is that it’s a passive process; that the therapist will somehow fix you. “This couldn’t be further from the truth. Usually they realize ‘hey, this is not sit back and let the doctor do it.’ It’s a shared journey in mastery helping a person to learn new skills and to develop better character traits. They have to be very active in that process.” In 2019, Weissman and Rabbi Mordechai Wecker co-authored a book called Therapy According to G-d (Mosaica Press). The idea for the book came at a moment when Weissman was attending Rabbi Wecker’s weekly class on Torah and noticed how integral faith insights from the Torah were to his daily practice (he is

18 | JEWISH NEWS | Health Care | June 27, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

a secular practitioner, taking patients of all backgrounds and faiths). “The book is a reflection of my entire career, but I didn’t know it until I became Orthodox. Both daily life issues and existential questions are best answered by digging into insights from the Torah about purpose, meaning, personal growth, and mortality,” says Weissman. Even with the present state of the world, Weissman remains optimistic about the mental health field and how people can continue to learn, grow, and heal. “I’m most hopeful about the significant increase in people who are now seeking help,” says Weissman. “Much of the stigma [over therapy] has softened or gone away. It’s troubling that there is so much need, but more people are trying to find healthier solutions to reducing such symptoms as depression and anxiety rather than resorting to substances or allowing their feelings to manifest in acting-out behaviors. So many people are coming in with frustration and hopelessness watching the world crumble, and they feel ‘so what am I; what’s the point?’ In the Torah, each one of us is responsible for fixing the world through the development of our character traits, how we deal with problems, and how we treat other people.” Weissman received his undergraduate education at Princeton University in 1970 and earned his Master of Science (1972) and Doctorate (1974) degrees from the University of Massachusetts in the field of Clinical Psychology. He completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, New York, before moving to Virginia in 1975 to take a position as the first doctoral level psychologist at Maryview Community Mental Health Center followed by five years at Portsmouth Psychiatric Center. He started his private practice in 1981 which has grown to two locations, one on Colley Ave. in Norfolk, and the main office at Churchland Psychological Center.

Excerpt, Therapy According to G-d by Rabbi Mordechai Wecker and Michael Weissman, Ph.D. Chapter 3 “No One in My Family Gets Along” Both Jennifer and George state that their discussions get nowhere, and they realize that they have a severe breakdown in communication. They acknowledged that they both end up saying very hurtful things to the other…. They…are willing to try one more attempt at therapy with the goal of trying to address these communication issues as well as more deeply rooted underlying issues…. “…Jennifer and George…were presenting with a myriad of interconnected issues which result in a family which is always close to a state of chaos. In complex situations such as this, it becomes important to find a place to start which will allow both persons to feel that what they have to say counts, that their feelings are important, and that the other person in the relationship wants to understand their feelings. … [T]he starting place should be in helping them learn that there are proper ways to talk with each other as well as ways that are unacceptable, ways that never work, and therefore need to be first identified and then abandoned. … [L]et us see what the Torah has to tell us. The Torah is infinitely rich in giving us rules for living which we have learned from how our forefathers conducted their lives, as well as from the commandments themselves.”

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hink about it: the world went through a pandemic, a lockdown, reintegration, new variants, social isolation, and financial uncertainty. Why wouldn’t anxiety be at an all-time high? “The level of stress has exploded,” says Debra Mayer, LCSW, CT director of clinical services at Jewish Family Service of Tidewater. “Since COVID started, the trend we are seeing is that everybody across the country has a demand for service greater than the providers that are available. This is especially true in working with children and the elderly.”

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www.altmeyerfuneralandcremation.com through telehealth. Now, they’re moving back to in-office appointments while keeping some telehealth patients, making it a hybrid situation. The insurance companies, Mayer relates, revise telehealth coverage guidelines frequently, but she hopes JFS will be able to stick with the hybrid model. It’s especially important to keep telehealth for the elderly that do not drive, she says. Mayer is also a Certified Thanatologist (grief counselor), and she and her staff specialize in grief counseling. This includes coping with life transitions, divorce, and illness, as well as the death

of a loved one. For the past 21 years, JFS has also partnered with Edmarc Hospice to provide “Peace by Piece” which are free community support groups for grieving children and their families. “So much of it has piled up on people,” says Mayer. “The elderly are experiencing lots of isolation. For kids, it’s been difficult to not be around other children for so long. Now that they’re back with other kids, it’s been hard for them to reintegrate.” For more information, contact JFS at www. jfshamptonroads.org or 757-459-4640.

jewishnewsva.org | June 27, 2022 | Health Care | JEWISH NEWS | 19

Health Care

A pain management approach to long-haul COVID, gut issues, and what to know about medical marijuana Debbie Burke

taying on top of current research in pain management is very important to Dr. Lisa Barr, who has more than 30 years of experience as a board-certified physician treating patients in Tidewater with muscle, nerve, and joint problems related to sports injuries and degenerative conditions. The author of Outsmart Your Pain: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Pain and Transforming Your Life (Synergy Health Quest, LLC, 2018), Barr discusses with Jewish News the most common issues she comes across and what new research reveals. Jewish News: What are the different types of pain and their causes that you typically see in your practice? Dr. Lisa Barr: At the Barr Center, we

provide non-surgical treatment for low back and neck pain, as well as sports injuries and overuse conditions using traditional modalities as well as regenerative therapies. We also have a keen interest in functional medicine which seeks to assess the root cause of many diseases and conditions. This includes looking for nutrient deficiencies, hidden gut infections and genetic weaknesses that impact cellular function. As an offshoot of our functional medicine program, we recently opened an IV therapy practice with a focus on solving challenging problems like long-haul COVID. We also advocate the use of CBD products as the studies of the endocannabinoid system are overwhelmingly positive for reducing pain, improving gut function, and helping with brain function and mood, as well as supporting immune function.

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JN: With long-haul COVID, what should people know about for pain management? LB: The primary concerns we see are brain fog and generalized fatigue. The reason people get long-haul issues is the effect of the virus on ACE2 receptors that ultimately cause vascular issues and inflammation that can impact any organ system. It also impacts the critical energy-producing organelles called mitochondria. Brain inflammation causes brain fog and mitochondrial dysfunction severely limits our ability to produce energy, causing fatigue. COVID also effects the gut microbiome which impacts production of the crucial neurotransmitters responsible for pain threshold. JN: Concerning medical marijuana, what do people need to know about its use, including the legality of it for pain management as prescribed by a doctor? LB: Marijuana and CBD are both phytocannabinoids. That means that they are plant-based substances that can influence our endocannabinoid system (the role of which is to regulate one’s ability to achieve homeostasis; by regulating the nervous system, it protects the immune system). Both marijuana and CBD come from the hemp plant, but each is bred to yield plant material with different features; some plants have more THC and others have more CBD. There are nearly 60 different phytocannabinoids and these are the most popular, but there is also CBN, CBC, and CBG which have different therapeutic effects. The legal limit of THC in any phytocannabinoid in the US is < 0.3%. Anything higher than that is considered marijuana. THC is a powerful pain reliever, but it is also a hallucinogen and potentially addicting, while CBD is not, so when we determine someone would benefit from a phytocannabinoid, we consider these factors. Topical CBD salves are effective in treating pain in the neck and extremities as they are easily absorbed and provide an all-natural form of pain relief and reduced

inflammation. For more diffuse pain conditions, most patients start with full spectrum CBD gummies or tinctures and only if they don’t respond do they consider getting a medical marijuana card. Products are purchased at a dispensary. To obtain a medical marijuana card, you have to apply online through the Virginia Board of Medicine and have a physician’s support. JN: What role does the gut’s microbiome play in pain? LB: The gut microbiome is responsible for about 60% of our immune system. A healthy and diverse gut microbiome is essential for good health. When there is an overgrowth of certain bacteria or a significant deficiency, we can experience symptoms such as IBS and autoimmunity. Pathogenic bacteria, viruses, parasites, and candida can cause pain, arthritis, gastric ulcers, IBS, cancer, and many other disorders. A simple stool sample can assess the health and diversity of one’s microbiome. The gut microbiome is linked to the gut-brain connection and that is why our gut is often referred to as our second brain. Think ‘gut instincts.’ They are real! JN: Advice to people experiencing pain about how to find the right practitioner? LB: Seek providers that focus on the root cause of pain so that the underlying cause/causes are addressed rather than simply treating symptoms. Make sure that your provider can distinguish between compensatory patterns and pathology, and address each appropriately. In other words, we can have an injury, and through our body’s innate protective behaviors, adopt painful postural and gait patterns. At a certain point, these compensatory patterns can take over and become the cause of persistent pain. The Barr Center for Innovative Pain & Regenerative Therapies is located in Virginia Beach. Visit barrcenter.com or call 757-578-2260.

2022 Graduates Jewish News celebrates these 2022 graduates with their families and the community. Mazel Tov on these students’ achievements and best of luck as they take their next steps.

Brett Goldman Elon University Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Management Next: Brett will attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for a Master of Science in Aviation. Brett is the daughter of Ilene and Dean Goldman.

Maren Council Nansemond-Suffolk Academy NSA Class of 2022 Salutatorian Next: Maren will attend the University of Virginia to study biology as she plans to pursue a career in medicine. Maren is the daughter of Kenda Goldberg Council and Michael Council. She is the granddaughter of Kay and Don Goldberg.

Leia Rose Morrissey Granby High School Next: Leia will attend University of Virginia to study architecture. Leia is the daughter of Alyson and Chris Morrissey.

Lindsey Foer Maury High School Next: Lindsey will attend James Madison University majoring in Finance and Actuarial Sciences. Lindsey is the daughter of Tammi and Jerry Foer.

Jessica Patish First Colonial High School Next: Jessica will attend Longwood University, where she plans to major in Biology. She is the recipient of the Longwood University STEM scholarship award. Jessica is the daughter of Dana and Larry Patish.

jewishnewsva.org | June 27, 2022 | JEWISH NEWS | 21

WOMEN

Women’s Spring Lunch brings joy and tears ometimes, a topic touches so close to one’s heart that it’s impossible to ignore it or turn away. On Wednesday, June 1, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Women’s Cabinet hosted its annual Spring Lunch at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach. The topic that resonated with everyone there was…Ukraine. This was the first in-person Spring lunch since 2019 (due to COVID

restrictions) and Barbara Dudley, Women’s Cabinet chair, opened it with her thanks to all who helped to make this year’s Federation Community Campaign a success. She further thanked those who went “beyond” by supporting the Tidewater Ukraine Emergency Fund, whose funds will help meet the overwhelming needs of Jewish communities caught in the crossfire of the war with Russia. That support will undoubtedly grow in the months to come. Tidewater’s Jewish community will continue to assist in every way possible.

Laura Gross, UJFT president.

Sandy Katz, JDC.

Amy Zelenka

Women’s Spring Lunch. The first in-person lunch since 2019.

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After installing returning Cabinet members and bidding farewell to those whose terms were ending (and who were rotating off Cabinet), Dudley thanked her outgoing co-chair, Mona Flax, for extending her term an extra year (thereby ensuring uninterrupted leadership at Cabinet meetings and events, even if one or the other of them began traveling once COVID restrictions were lifted!). Dudley presented Flax with a beautiful modern menorah. “Jewish tradition is replete with references to light,” said Dudley. “From ‘Let there be light…’ in the creation story… Barbara Dudley, Women’s Cabinet chair to the oft used phrase describing with Mona Flax, outgoing co-chair. the Jewish People as a ‘light unto the nations.’ That light unto the nations Red Rose, White Rose, Film Festival, Israel is the light of inspiration, which illumiFest, and other fundraising efforts of the nates a path and encourages others to Federation and Simon Family JCC. Dayenu! follow… and Mona has been that for all Ours is truly a remarkable community.” of us; inspiring others to join in buildAnd even more remarkable is the ing and strengthening Jewish community impact these campaigns are making here here and around the world. This menorah at home and in places around the Jewish is perfect for you; it combines traditional world. values with contemporary aspirations for The featured speaker for the lunch was a more just and equitable future.” Sandy Katz, senior director of Strategic A brief campaign report showed the Relations, at the American Jewish Joint success of this Distribution Committee ( JDC)—the year’s fundraising. Federation’s overseas service delivery Borrowing from the partner—who just returned from the Passover Haggadah, Polish border with Ukraine, where she Dudley listed some had been working with colleagues to of those successes: help meet the immediate and longer-term “Annual Campaign needs of Jews (and others) coming into in excess of $4.81 Poland (and surprisingly, some returning million. Dayenu! Add to Ukraine). to that an additional Katz brought three photographs with $678,000 raised her. They showed a handful of the reffor the Tidewater ugees she encountered during her time Ukraine Emergency in Poland and illustrated the incredible Fund. Dayenu! And challenges facing these families—almost another $750,000 all of them women and children and very raised for campaigns old men. These are children who will deal other than the with post-traumatic stress for a very long annual campaign— time, having experienced bombings and Patron of the Arts, witnessing death all around them—living

WOMEN

Rabbi Roz Mandelberg with Debby Casey.

in a constant state of fear, not to mention hunger and thirst. Katz’s accounts were heartbreaking. She thanked the Tidewater community and its generous donors on behalf of the families who were able to receive assistance from JDC, because of the funds raised here. Laura Gross, UJFT president, then closed the event with her own thanks to the women in the room: those who have served, those who continue to serve, and those who may someday serve on Women’s Cabinet. With additional thanks to the Federation and Tidewater Jewish Foundation professionals, as well as the donors, Gross called for a close to the lunch, wished all a great summer, and reminded everyone about upcoming events and activities in the community.

Ashley Zittrain, Leora Drory, and Jodi Klebanoff.

Ellen Wagner, Ellen Hundley, and Carol Brum.

Rachel Abrams and Kristy Foleck.

Stephanie Calliott, Mona Flax, and Susan Cohen.

For more information about the UJFT Community Campaign, Women’s Division, or Ukraine Emergency Appeal, contact Amy Zelenka, UJFT’s chief development officer, at azelenka@ujft.org or 757-965-6139. Photography by Mark Robbins

Alicia Freidman, Shelly Simon, Shari Friedman, Renee Strelitz, and Annie Sandler.

Betsy Karotkin, Laura Miller, and Susan Alper.

jewishnewsva.org | June 27, 2022 | JEWISH NEWS | 23

IT’S A WRAP Chalk Over Hate raises antisemitism awareness

Special tour of yads exhibit at the Chrysler organized by UJFT Sierra Lautman

nthusiasts of the Jewish Art Education classes offered by the Konikoff Center for Learning at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and other members of the Simon Family JCC, joined Clay Barr for a private tour of Clay Barr shares the story of her collaboration with an artist The Guiding Hand: at a craft show to create a custom yad. The Barr Foundation Collection of Torah Pointers exhibit at the at the beautiful works of art while Barr Chrysler Museum of Art on June 10. shared the stories of how she acquired To create the collection, Barr has pureach piece for the collection. chased historical yads and commissioned modern yads made from unique materials The exhibit will be on display until August 14. by present-day artists—some of whom To join a future tour with Clay Barr, contact have never even seen a yad before speakSierra Lautman, director of Jewish Innovation ing with her. at slautman@ujft.org or 757-965-6107 for Spaces for the tour were limited so that more information. participants could enjoy an up-close look

Brith Sholom Annual Indoor Picnic and Bingo Sunday, July 3, Masonic Temple, 11 am

his year’s theme for Brith Sholom’s Annual Indoor Picnic and Bingo is the beach. Door prizes have been added and the Girl Scout helpers are back. The menu includes hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken wings, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, brownies, canned drinks (regular and diet), and bottled water. Masks are mandatory and attendees are required to wear gloves, which will be provided. Stay for Bingo and the chance

to win part of the $180 gift card giveaway (the prize has been increased from last year’s $150). Bring something to mark cards with. Paid reservations are due by June 23 at noon. Cost: $10 per person. For more information, call 757-461-1150 or email Brith. sholom1@gmail.com. The Masonic Temple is located at 7001 Granby St. in Norfolk.

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Sam Levin makes his mark during Chalk Over Hate Day of Action at the Sandler Family Campus.

Hunter Thomas and Debbie Burke

nited Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC joined Jewish organizations across North America for Chalk Over Hate, an initiative of Artists 4 Israel to fight antisemitism through public art on Friday, June 3. “As the CEO of Artists 4 Israel, I am ecstatic to see another one of our programs find so much success. The final total of registered organizations was 28, plus all the multi-faith and multicultural partners they then partnered with, bringing more than 900 individual chalkers—surpassing our goal,” says Craig Dershowitz, Artists 4 Israel CEO. “A4I’s Chalk Over Hate Day of Action put messages against antisemitism everywhere from the front of grocery stores to town squares and everywhere in between. Individuals had no choice but to pay attention to the impact of antisemitism on our community and our willingness to creatively oppose it,” says Dershowitz. “We’ve made a major step in rallying the community against antisemitic vandalism and hate. “Many people commented that it was powerful in its simplicity and empowering in creating advocates of everyone who participated. Above all, people are commenting on it being fun, which allowed

them to deal with an otherwise difficult topic.” More than a dozen UJFT staff members and JCC visitors used chalk to create inspirational messages of love, hope, and peace in front of the Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community. One participant was local student Sam Levin. When asked why he was participating in Chalk Over Hate, he said, “I’m here because it promotes nonviolence and equality in our society, which is very much needed in this time of unrest and injustice.” Dershowitz hopes that efforts like Chalk Over Hate can change the conversation around opposing antisemitism. “I feel hopeful that such opportunities for opposing antisemitism are possible and that the Jewish community rallied behind such a novel idea. This program and, frankly, so much of our other work is incredibly important because it is new, unusual and takes the Jewish world out of its comfort zone. “Being the first ones out of the gate with unique projects, A4I always has to worry about how we will be received by the traditional community and I am honored that this program was embraced and that its results are proving the creativity and effectiveness of our cutting-edge ideas.”

IT’S A WRAP Camp JCC orientation Kicks Off

Camp JCC counselors and CITs brainstorm various activities to do with their campers.

Dave Flagler

efore the start of Camp JCC’s 2022 summer season, Camp JCC counselors, CITs (counselors in training), specialists, leadership, and support staff were invited to attend a four-day orientation at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Elizabeth Hughes, Dani Byers, and Shyane Reyes Campus. The collaborate on a silly sign as a team-building activity. agenda was packed full of team-building activities, braineach other better, and for all of us to prestorming sessions, safety training, activity pare for an exciting summer of camp. I’m planning, and more. excited to watch these counselors grow “Spirited staff and high energy were throughout the summer and see their easy to spot during Camp JCC’s staff impact on the campers,” says Nofar Trem, orientation,” says Chris Fenley, Camp United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s JCC lead specialist. “I’m looking forward Youth and Family Program coordinator to seeing these counselors in action this and Camp JCC’s Camp Katan unit head. summer!” “I’m sure that this great group of emergOn Tuesday, June 21, Camp JCC ing leaders will bring Camp JCC to new opened its doors to more than 200 heights.” campers. The time and energy that the counselors put into preparing for their For more information about Camp JCC, visit arrival will guarantee a fantastic summer. CampJCC.org or contact Dave Flagler, direc“Orientation week is such a great way tor of Camp and Teen Engagement at UJFT at for camp leadership to get to know the DFlagler@UJFT.org. counselors better, for them to get to know

Guide 2018

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jewishnewsva.org | June 27, 2022 | JEWISH NEWS | 25

IT’S A WRAP Strelitz International Academy students celebrate Shavuot with a Mitzvah Fair Rashi Brashevitzvky, SIA Judaic Studies director

rimary Years students at Strelitz International Academy had excitement in their eyes as they entered the room for the Shavuot Mitzvah Fair on Friday, June 3. Richard Glasser’s family dedicated the unique holiday celebration in his memory. His brother Michael, sister-in-law Lori, and nephew Ross, attended the special occasion. Students learned that Richard Glasser had a mantra with which he lived his life, “Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reason.” This view on life is very much connected to the holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the day on which the Torah was given. Students were reminded that the Torah teaches the 613 Mitzvot and is a guide, teaching right

from wrong. The Mitzvah Fair was filled with a wide variety of Mitzvah-themed activities. Students braided their own challahs for Shabbat and painted rocks for the JFS Rock Healing Garden. Laughter was heard from the stage where students played a Mitzvot-themed dancing game and cheers came from the “Pin The Shin On The Mezuzah” station. Havdalah candles were carefully twisted and cookies decorated as flowers for Shavuot. Creativity was on display as students decorated their very own Tzedakah boxes and students showed their delight at practicing to write Torah letters like a scribe. Blessings for food were reviewed in a fun word search and students built Mitzvah-themed creations at the Lego station. “Michael, Ross, and I thoroughly

26 | JEWISH NEWS | June 27, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

Quinn Margulies and Mia Pinto get ready to braid their challah dough.

Sylvie Lomogda paints a rock for the JFS Healing Garden.

enjoyed attending SI A’s Shavuot celebration,” says Lori Glasser. “Listening to the explanations of the various Mitzvah activities and watching the student s — a l l grades and various ages— performing a Mitzvah at each station was a wonderful way for them to learn the importance of doing the right thing, all while having fun. “We were happy to Michael, Ross, and Lori Glasser attend the SIA Mitzvah Fair in memory of their beloved Richard Glasser. sponsor the day through Richard’s Foundation,” she says. “I’m sure Baccalaureate® World School for infants he would’ve been proud.” through grade 5. For more information, contact Carin Simon, admissions director, at The Strelitz International Academy is the com757-424-4327, ext. 4189 or csimon@stremunity’s Jewish Day School and International litzacademy.org.

JEWISH TIDEWATER

Sierra Lautman

ShinShinim are coming to Tidewater S

ya Sever of Kefar Sava, located 15 miles north of Tel Aviv, and Alma Ben Chorin, of Hertzliya, will fly into Norfolk this August to live in Tidewater through summer 2023. Both 18, Sever and Chorin are two of the 200 Israeli high school graduates that are among Israel’s most energetic, hard-working, and effective shlichim (emissaries). In Hebrew, these young adults are called ShinShinim, which stands for shnat sherut, meaning ‘year of service.’ They are part of the Jewish Agency for Israel’s gap-year program that sends Israeli high school graduates to volunteer in Jewish communities around the world for a year prior to beginning their mandatory military service. United Jewish Federation of Tidewater works with JAFI as one of its Israel and Overseas partners and will facilitate the local program. ShinShinim spend the year immersed in the local Jewish community, teaching about Israeli culture and society, the Hebrew language, current affairs, and Jewish tradition. The appeal of these young emissaries crosses all age boundaries as they arrive ready to work and connect with all ages. They bond with young children as well as with students their own age. Plus, adults in the communities treat them like their own children and grandchildren. Tidewater’s ShinShinim will work in a variety of community environments

Alma Ben Chorin.

including with the Simon Family Jewish Community Center, local synagogues, Jewish day schools, senior centers, university Hillels, and more. Known throughout the national Jewish community for its strong ties to Israel, Tidewater will be able to deepen its connection to the Jewish homeland with the ShinShinim initiative.

AYA SEVER This won’t be Aya Sever’s first trip to the United States. She’s visited family in New York with her twin sister and two other siblings. “I am so excited to meet everyone in Tidewater, and I am especially excited to work with the children,” says Sever. “I am not nervous; I just can’t wait to get there and get started. This Shlichut experience is an extraordinary, once-in-ailfetime opportunity, and is absolutely my dream. I hope to build new friendships and deepen the Tidewater community’s bond with Israel.”

ever and Chorin have been preparing for their year of service by getting to know each other in Israel, meeting halfway between their cities to talk more about how all their experiences can come together for a great year of programming and building relationships. Participants in the Aya Sever and Alma Ben Chorin meet as a part of their ShinShinim training. ShinShinim program live with host families in the Jewish comother experiences—creating lasting conmunity for an average of three months nections that will last a lifetime. before moving to another home. Those who are fortunate enough to For more information on the ShinShinim host these dynamic teens will be able program, or to get involved, visit JewishVA. to share meals with them, take them on org/ShinShinim or contact Nofar Trem at vacation, to a baseball game, or countless NTrem@UJFT.org or 757-321-2334.

ALMA BEN CHORIN Alma Ben Chorin, one of three children, also has family in the States, and has spent time with them in Boston. “I have done so much with the Israeli Scouts and I am excited to bring those programs and experiences to Tidewater!” says Chorin. “I think that being a ShinShin is a great way to build on the work I have already done with the Tsofim (Israeli Scouts) and prepare me for what comes next in giving back to Israel and the global Jewish community.”

Aya Sever.

jewishnewsva.org | June 27, 2022 | JEWISH NEWS | 27

WHAT’S HAPPENING Wonderful Wednesdays at The Jewish Museum and Cultural Center

Jewish geography: Who Knows One? Thursday, June 30, 7:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus

Wednesday, July 6, 13, 20 and August 24, 7 pm Hunter Thomas Karen Plotnick

he Jewish Museum and Cultural Center sponsors The Zelma G. Rivin Wonderful Wednesdays Summer Music Series each summer with a diverse lineup. This year is no exception. All concerts are held at The Jewish The Alma Ensemble Chamber Trio. Museum, also known as Chevra T’hillim, in Portsmouth. Chevra T’hilllim is a historic example of Eastern European Jewish Orthodoxy, which is recognized by the National Trust for Historic preservation and is on the Virginia Historic Register. T he Music Series kicks off on Valetta Fellenbaum. Billye Brown Youmans. Wednesday, July 6 with soprano vocalist Billye Brown The Wednesday, July 20 concert will Youmanns accompanied by pianist Valletta feature The Alma Ensemble Chamber Trio, Fellenbaum. with flutist Sarah Wardle Jones, clarinetist On Wednesday, July 13, John Bullard Michelle Smith Johnson, and pianist Erica will perform on classical banjo accompaSipes. nied by Markus Compton on keyboard. The season concludes on Wednesday, August 24 with solo pianist, Lynne Mackey. Information on performers can be found at www.jewishmuseumportsmouth. org. Tickets may also be purchased through the site. Tickets cost $20 per performance in advance, and $25 at the door. All four performances may be purchased for a discount rate of $75. Concerts will also be live-streamed and all begin at 7 pm. The Jewish Museum and Cultural Center strives to preserve the Jewish History of Hampton Roads and recognize the contributions of Tidewater Jewry to the growth and development of the area. It is located at 607 Effingham Street in Portsmouth. John Bullard on classical banjo.

28 | JEWISH NEWS | June 27, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

ho Knows One?, a live show combining Jewish geography and six degrees of separation that began online at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, will take place live in Tidewater. Founded and hosted by Micah Hart, the show will pit two local Jewish community members against each other as they search for The Chosen One, a Jewish person from somewhere else in the world. To win, the contestants will leverage their own connections with friends and acquaintances.

Audience members will also have the opportunity to join the fun by sharing their own Jewish geography stories with Hart, and watching as two faraway contestants compete to find a Tidewater Chosen One. Tickets are $18 beginning June 24 and at the door. Seats are limited. Purchase tickets at JewishVA.org/WhoKnowsOne. For more information about Arts + Ideas programming, contact Hunter Thomas, director of Arts + Ideas at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, at HThomas@ UJFT.org.

Hart (left) with contestants at a recent live show at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Manhattan.

BeAR seeks volunteers for upcoming school year

nited Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Jewish Community Relations Council’s Be a Reader (BeAR) literacy program is looking for volunteers to add to its team of

young reader mentors. BeAR works with eight area Title 1 elementary schools. BeAR mentors say they “never regret helping a child learn to read.” For those concerned about the time commitment, the program offers a “share” volunteer option where two volunteers share the weekly time obligation for their student. Contact Robin Ford, BeAR program coordinator, at 757-321-2304 or RFord@UJFT.org to learn more about BeAR and volunteer. Visit JewishVA.org/BeAR for more information.

WHO KNEW ?

OBITUARIES

Sandy Koufax honored with a statue at Dodger Stadium Jacob Gurvis

LOS ANGELES (JTA)—For Jewish sports fans around the world, Sandy Koufax has for decades occupied an unmatched legendary status. Now, 57 years after the Hall of Fame pitcher sat out a World Series game to observe Yom Kippur, Koufax has officially been immortalized with a statue at Dodger Stadium—next to his former teammate, Jackie Robinson. The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled the Koufax statue with a pregame ceremony on Saturday, June 18, three years after the statue was initially announced. The unveiling was originally planned for the summer of 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Emceed by Dodgers broadcaster Charley Steiner, who is Jewish, the ceremony was attended by dozens of Koufax’s friends and family, plus members of the Dodgers organization, including manager Dave Roberts. Koufax’s Jewish identity—and his famous Yom Kippur sit-out—were highlighted alongside his many career accolades, which include three Cy Young Awards for the National League’s best pitcher and three seasons each with more than 300 strikeouts and an earned run average below two. “An African American star athlete from Pasadena is about to be joined by a Jewish left-handed pitcher from Brooklyn, who in one defining moment, prior to the first game of the 1965 World Series, galvanized an entire community, and a generation of Baby Boomers—children of the ’60s and ’70s who are now adults in their 60s and 70s,” Steiner said in his opening remarks. During a tribute video played later in the event, Koufax’s decision not to pitch in Game 1 of the 1965 World Series was referred to as “an act of conscience, principle and even peaceful disobedience.” The Jewish references ended there— with no mention that the ceremony took place on Shabbat—but the praise for the 86-year-old lefty did not.

Sandy Koufax with his statue at Dodger Stadium.

In addition to Steiner, the crowd also heard from Joe Torre, a Hall of Fame player and longtime New York Yankees manager who now works for the commissioner’s office; current Dodgers star and fellow lefty Clayton Kershaw; and Dodgers owner and chairman Mark Walter. Torre, who ended his managerial career with the Dodgers 2008–2010, marveled at Koufax’s pitching prowess, including the times he faced him as an opposing batter. Kershaw spoke about Koufax’s friendship and mentorship. “Sandy, one day I hope I can impact someone the way you championed me— you really have—left-handed pitcher or not,” Kershaw said. Following the tribute video, Walter took his turn at the podium. He called Koufax “one of the greatest players of all time,” but also emphasized his influence off the field. “So, Sandy, when you’re great on and off the field, this is one of the things that happens for you,” Walter said, pointing toward Koufax’s heretofore covered statue, which was then revealed to applause. Finally, Koufax himself addressed the crowd. He called the statue “one of the greatest honors of my life,” and offered a brief retrospective of his illustrious career, beginning with his introduction to

baseball at Lafayette High School in the Bath Beach section of Brooklyn. Koufax thanked various coaches and teammates, paying special tribute to Robinson. The two Hall of Famers overlapped for two years with the Brooklyn Dodgers— the first two seasons of Koufax’s career and the last two of Robinson’s. The Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958, Koufax’s fourth season with the team. “Jackie went out of his way to make me feel welcome, and I’ll never forget his kindness on that,” he said. The two statues were both made by sculptor Branly Cadet. Koufax chose the pose for the statue and the quotes engraved on its edges. The sculpture— showing the 6-foot 2-inch Koufax in his full enormous stride, about to deliver a pitch—is 10% larger than life size. In 1972, the three-time World Series champion became the youngest player ever elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and that same year the Dodgers retired his No. 32. His career was cut short at the age of 30 by arthritis in his left elbow. Fifty years later, the golden-armed Jewish left-hander from Brooklyn—and his iconic windup—are permanently set into bronze.

DORIS RUBIN ADLER BONITA SPRINGS, FLA.—Doris Rubin Adler of Manchester, Connecticut and Bonita Springs, Florida, died Friday, June 10, 2022, at 90 years of age. She was born in Everett, Massachusetts to Harry and Martha Rubin, one of five children and two sets of twins. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of 57 years, Sheldon Adler; her brother Arnold; and twin brothers Larry and Paul. She is survived by her twin brother Bob Rubin; her daughters, Debbie Adler Kaprove and her husband, Michael and Susan Adler Maloney and her husband, Glen; her three grandsons, Adam Kaprove and his wife Sarah, Jared Kaprove and his wife, Caitlin, Daniel Meyer Maloney; and three great-grandchildren, Emma, Abigail, and Eleanor. Doris was the person to call when you needed to see the positive side of the issue. She loved golfing with Shelly, having her family for Friday night dinners and sleepovers with her grandsons. A graveside service was held at Beth Sholom Memorial Park Cemetery in Manchester. Donations can be made to Temple Beth Sholom B’nai Israel; the Sheldon and Doris Adler Fund, Manchester; the Alzheimer’s Association; Temple Beth Shalom of Naples Florida; or to any charity of the donor’s choice. SHERRI FOX VIRGINIA BEACH—On Monday, May 30, 2022, Memorial Day, Sherri Fox, age 94, passed away peacefully in her sleep at her condominium in Virginia Beach, Va. As a single independent woman, Sherri left home at the age of 17 to join the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in January 1945 with WWII still raging. She served as a surgical technician in a medical unit, giving medical attention to wounded soldiers returning. She was awarded the World War II Victory Medal and The Good Conduct Medal. After military service, she attended the Towson State Teacher’s College receiving her B.S. degree in Education and later in 1975, a Master of Arts in Communication Science from Governor’s State University in Illinois. Over the years, Sherri lived in

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OBITUARIES over 12 cities from New York to Phoenix and Seattle to Boca Raton, Fla. She loved the theater and owned and operated theatrical coffee houses in New York and Chicago in the 70s and 80s. Wherever she lived and worked, she cultivated close, warm friendships. In later years, she became interested in helping immigrants settle in the United States and was an administrator for Refugee Resettlement Services In Seattle, then later in Norfolk. Over the years, her passport showed her independent travel to Japan, New Zealand, Turkey, Australia, Hungary, Germany, Israel, Kenya, Jordan, Hong Kong, Russia, Vietnam, China, Latvia, and Alaska. She enjoyed a life of adventure and challenge. Sherri was the daughter of Lillian and Martin Fox, of blessed memory. She is survived by her brothers, Jack Fox of Virginia Beach, Harold Fox of Baltimore, and deceased brother, Edwin Fox; niece, Linda Fox-Jarvis; and nephews,

Fred Fox, Jeffrey Fox, Lee Fox, Steve Fox; and cousins in Baltimore and Charleston. Sherri had a full life and now God has a new independent angel. A graveside service was held at Arlington Cemetery of Chizok Amuni, Baltimore, Md.

JOSHUA DAVID HARRIS VIRGINIA BEACH—Joshua David Harris, 30, of Virginia Beach, died May 26, 2022. Joshua was born in Norfolk May 13, 1992. Survivors include his mother, Dina Harris; brothers; Zack Rehpelz, Charles Rehpelz IV, his sister, Alison Rehpelz; their spouses and children; Josh’s NY/NJ family, the Shapiros and Fleishmans, and his Israeli family, the Karitis, as well as lifelong best friend, Spencer Hayden. He was predeceased by his maternal grandparents, Leonard and Geraldine Ruth Harris. A graveside service was held at B’nai

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MARILYN CHELDER HECHTKOPF VIRGINIA BEACH—Marilyn Chelder Hechtkopf, 75, died Sunday, June 12, 2022, at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Virginia Beach. Marilyn was born on February 1, 1947, in Springfield, Massachusetts, to Irving and Sylvia Chelder. Her family moved around many times. She lived in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Richmond, Va. until she married the love of her life, Paul Hechtkopf, on June 23, 1974, and moved to Norfolk. In 1969, Marilyn graduated from the University of Richmond with a degree in English language. She furthered her education by receiving her Master’s Degree in education from Regent University in 2002. She started her teaching career in Richmond at Varina High School and taught there until she moved to Norfolk. Marilyn took a short hiatus from teaching as she started working for the Hechtkopf family business. In 1986, Marilyn went back to teaching in Suffolk, Va. Her dreams and aspirations were to work with Virginia Beach City Public Schools. In 1989, Marilyn got a teaching job at Plaza Middle School in Virginia Beach where she proudly taught for 23 years. She was loved and adored by her students. She had a special place in her heart for educating her students about the Holocaust. After she retired, she became an active volunteer with the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. She was so proud going into churches, colleges, and high schools talking about the Holocaust and what survivors went through. Marilyn was predeceased by her father, mother, and in-laws, Jack and Hattie Hechtkopf. She is survived by her husband, Paul; her children, Jason (Erica), Allison (Edward), and Jenny; grandchildren; Josh and Sydney Whiteman, and Hunter and Asher Hechtkopf, brother; Aryeh Ben-Yehudah (Sheila); brotherin-law Michael (Judy); nephews, Ahmi, Gilad, and Ron Ben-Yehudah and Matt, Dan, and Jon Hechtkopf. Marilyn is also

survived by several cousins, great-nieces and nephews, and wonderful friends. She will be missed by all who loved her. Marilyn lived her life loving her Shetland Sheepdogs, especially Maddie who she lost last summer. She also adored her grand-dogs, Bailey Hechtkopf and Izzy Whiteman. She supported her children unconditionally. Marilyn’s grandchildren were the apples of her eyes. She loved nothing more than being their Bubbe. During her days of teaching, she loved “snow days” and would never let her students mention the word SNOW for fear they would jinx her storm from coming! This began what would become a collection of snowmen that her students so proudly gave her. As an avid sports fan, Marilyn loved following the Braves and Patriots. Marilyn was a lifelong member of Temple Israel in Norfolk. Throughout her battle with cancer, her family is thankful for the care provided through Virginia Oncology Associates under the leadership of Dr. Alberico, and the staff at Beth Sholom Village. Their dedication and support for her and her family was a gift. Donations in her honor can be made to the American Cancer Society at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/ bubbe. A funeral service was held at H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments, followed by interment at Forest Lawn Cemetery. The service was live-streamed to the H.D. Oliver Facebook page.

BARRY KANTOR NORFOLK—Barry Kantor passed away on June 19, 2022. He is predeceased by his parents, Irving and Jean Kantor, Taft and Dora Mirman, daughter Debbie Kantor Brooks, grandson Zachary Kantor, and brothersand sisters-in-law, Stanley and Benita Mirman and Pearl Brooks. A graduate of Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia School of Law, Barry served the Hampton Roads area for many years as a distinguished attorney. As well as being a founding member of the law firm of Christie, Kantor, Griffin & Smith, Barry was listed in the Best Lawyers of America for over 20 consecutive years, he was named 2009 Best

OBITUARIES Lawyer of America for Family Law in the Norfolk area and has been recognized as a Virginia Super Lawyer and a Virginia Legal Elite. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and past president of the Virginia Chapter; a past president of the NorfolkPortsmouth Bar Association; past chair of the Virginia State Bar criminal law section; a former member of the Virginia State Bar Board of Governors of the family law section; a former member of the board of directors of the National Center for Family Law; and a former member of the Second District Disciplinary Committee. He also formerly served as a Substitute Judge of the General District Courts and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. His other accomplishments include serving as CLE lecturer for the Virginia State Bar; Virginia Trial Lawyers Association; State Bar course on Professionalism; and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Barry was a proud Master and member of Masonic Lodge Norfolk No.1 and a member of Congregation Beth El. Left to cherish Barry’s memory is his wife, Reatha Kantor, son David Kantor, grandchildren Bryan, Chad, Paige, Dori, Alec, and Jake, sister Brenda Bromley, brother-in-law Hymie Brooks, cousins Jody and Ina Jo Robin Meldon, Sandy and Carl Rothman, Judy and Ray Goldman, Steve and Angie Mirman, Jeri and Chris Johnson, and Mia and Phil Hanczaryk, adopted family Franchone and Wanda Dukes, and many loving nephews and nieces. A graveside service was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery. The service was

livestreamed at https://www.facebook. com/hdoliverfuneralapts. Memorial donations may be made in Barry’s name to a charity of choice.

CHARLES “SONNY” STUART LEGUM NORFOLK—Charles “Sonny” Stuart Legum, 95, was born May 10, 1927, in Norfolk, Va. to the late Harry and Alma Legum. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Robin Legum Siegel. Sonny was a graduate of Fork Union Military Academy, Coast Guard Officer Candidate School and attended Richmond Polytechnic Institute. He retired as a Commander from the US Coast Guard Reserve. He was well known as the long-time owner/proprietor of Stark and Legum until his retirement at age 87. Sonny enjoyed tennis, bridge, spending time with his family and was active at Beth El and in the Beth El Men’s club. Left to cherish Sonny’s memory are his loving wife of 71 years, Betty Lou Rafelman Legum, son and daughterin-law, Jason and Gerri Pierce Legum; son-in-law, Gary Siegel (Laurie); grandchildren: Austin Siegel (Aimee), Corey Siegel, Marni Siegel McClure (Mark), Bryan Legum (Sara), Alex Legum; five great-grandchildren; and brother, Stanley Legum (Marsha). Sonny will always be remembered for his kindness and readiness to assist and that endeared him to friends, relatives, neighbors, and anyone with whom he did business or engaged socially. A graveside service was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery. Visit www.hdoliver. com to leave a tribute to him for his family. IRENE GELRUD SCHWARTZ ROCKVILLE, MD.—Irene Gelrud Schwartz, of Rockville, Md., just 12 days shy of her 95th birthday, passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 12, 2022. Devoted wife of the late Isadore Schwartz and the late Barney Snukals. Beloved mother of Arlynn Joffe, Aaron Snukals (Beverly), Carol Freedman (Calvin), and Madeleine Samuels (Alan); cherished grandmother of Brett Joffe, David Joffe, Jay Samuels, Bari

Weins (Jesse), Sharon Fullerton (Chris), Philip Freedman (Mindy), and Seth Bateman (Angela); loving Bubbi to eight great-grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews and their families. She was predeceased by her brother Jack Gelrud; sister Pauline Sherman and daughter Loretta Schwartz Bateman. Graveside service was held at Garden

of Remembrance Memorial Park in Clarksburg, MD. Memorial contributions may be made to Temple Beth Ami/ Tikkun Olam Fund, 14330 Travilah Road, Rockville, MD 20850, the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) or to the charity of your choice. Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.

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