Massachusetts Jewish Ledger • October 15, 2021 • 9 Cheshvan 5782

Friday, October 15, 2021 9 Heshvan 5782 Vol. 22 | No. 10 | ©2021 majewishledger.com

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MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

| OCTOBER 15, 2021

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INSIDE

this week

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER | SINCE 1929 |

OCTOBER 15, 2021 | 9 HESHVAN 5782

8 Bulletin Board

10 Jewish Federation of Central Mass.

17 Synagogue Directory

20 What’s Happening

22

Conversation with Justin Cammy....................................................................4 Smith professor translates wartime memoir of Abraham Sutzkever from Yiddish

Fighting Hunger .............................5 Sen. Eric Lesser helps secure $25,000 in funding for Rachel’s Table

Obituaries

Arts & Entertainment....................6 Author of book about the Squirrel Hill synagogue shooting will speak in person at Springfield Literatour

ON THE COVER: A chapter of Dayenu: A Jewish Call for Climate Action has been founded in Western Massachusetts with the goal of providing a just and sustainable world through “spiritual audacity and bold political action.”

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Shabbat Shalom

A Reminder From

Gary M. Gaffin

Accounting services for all size businesses Gaffin & Associates, LLC 313 Park Ave. Worcester, MA 01609 T: 508-797-4826 F: 508-797-4866 gary@gaffinassociatesllc.com

Giving it a rest..................................................................................................14 Shmita – a year-long mitzvah connected to the land

WORCESTER Metropolitan Area CANDLE LIGHTING

October 15 5:46 pm

HAVDALAH October 16 6:45 pm

A Reminder From

SPRINGFIELD Metropolitan Area

CANDLE LIGHTING

October 15 5:50 pm

HAVDALAH

October 16 6:48 pm

October 22 5:36 pm

October 23 6:35 pm

October 22 5:39 pm

October 23 6:38 pm

October 29 5:26 pm

October 30 6:26 pm

October 29 5:29 pm

October 30 6:29 pm

November 5 5:17 pm

November 6 6:18 pm

November 5 5:20 pm

November 6 6:21 pm

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Conversation with…

JUSTIN CAMMY

Smith professor on Yung-Vilne translates a wartime memoir from Yiddish to English

BY STACEY DRESNER

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ORTHAMPTON -- From the time Justin Cammy first read the work of Abraham Sutzkever, he became fascinated with the Yiddish poet and the community of Yiddish writers in the interwar literary group, Yung-Vilne (Young Vilna).

Now a leading authority on Yung-Vilne, Cammy, professor of Jewish Studies and of World Literatures, and chair of the Program in Jewish Studies at Smith College, has translated Abraham Sustzkever’s wartime memoir, From the Vilna Ghetto to Nuremberg from Yiddish to English.

Sustzkever spent two years fighting to stay alive in the Vilna ghetto, along with many of Vilna’s other young writers and artists, all the while observing “daily life, resistance and death in the ghetto.”

After he and his wife escaped to the forest to fight with the partisans, Sutzkever was airlifted in 1944 to Moscow where he met with Jewish Soviet writer Ilya Ehrenburg and other antifascists who encouraged him to write a memoir of his time in the ghetto.

He later gave testimony about his experiences in the Vilna Ghetto during the Nuremberg trials.

Cammy’s book, published this month by McGill-Queen’s University Press, includes not only the translation of Sutzkever’s memoir, but also his diary notes, his Nuremberg testimony, and photos of Sutzkever that have never been seen before.

Justin Cammy is a literary and cultural historian with research and teaching interests in Yiddish literature, Eastern European Jewish history, Zionism, and contemporary Israel. He holds appointments in Jewish studies, World Literatures, Middle Eastern studies, and Russian and East European studies at Smith and is adjunct professor graduate faculty in German studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

His publications range from essays on Yiddish literary history to scholarly translations of Yiddish literature to introductions to new editions of works by Yiddish writers and memoirists. He serves on the faculty of the Steiner Yiddish summer program at the Yiddish Book Center, the Naomi Prawer Kadar International Yiddish summer program at Tel Aviv University, and Camp Yavneh in New Hampshire. In 2006, Cammy was awarded Smith College’s Sherrerd Prize for Distinguished Teaching.

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JEWISH LEDGER: YOU SAY IN THE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IN YOUR BOOK THAT YOU FIRST READ ABRAHAM SUTZKEVER IN A RUTH WISSE CLASS IN COLLEGE. HAD YOU EVER HEARD OF HIM BEFORE THAT?

JL: WHAT WAS IT ABOUT ABRAHAM SUTZKEVER THAT INTERESTED YOU SO MUCH? JC: Three things, I would say. He starts out as a poet in the 1930s. So to me, he challenges this myth of Yiddish being old.

He represents a moment that in my next book after this I call, “When Yiddish was Young” – sort of a moment when it was the language of everyday society, including radicals, revolutionaries, progressives – and all of their politics was done in that world.

So, he was part of that world of Yiddish modernist poetry that both spoke to Jewish readers but also spoke to the world. Then when you move to a different period, he’s arguably the most important, if not one of the top three most important Yiddish writers of the ghettos and of the Holocaust. He wrote almost entirely during the war, without stop, and his poems and epic works of that period are sort of classic pieces. What really amazed me was that those two periods were only through his mid- 30s. Then he has to pick up this life and decides that the future of a Jewish writer is in a Jewish country.

And unlike many other Yiddish writers who find themselves in New York but with, with a declining readership, or in other places, he decides that he wants to be surrounded

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Professor Cammy spoke to the Jewish Ledger about his new translation and the life of Abraham Sutzkever earlier this month just after the 75th anniversary of the closing of the Nuremberg Trials on Oct. 1.

Justin Cammy: No. I hadn’t heard of any Yiddish literature before college. I mean, maybe I had heard of Sholem Aleichem.

But I did not come from that background.

So, it was sort of an eye opener to take classes on modern Jewish literature and Yiddish writers. Then I took a seminar where Sutzkever was introduced by the teacher and I have sort of been working on him, or on the literary group surrounding him ever since, and certainly on Vilna, his hometown.

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by the alef beis – in Israel – and if that is now a Hebrew speaking country, he’s going to go and establish the most important Yiddish journal Di Goldene Keyt (the Golden Chain) there and create connections between this new state and the rest of the Yiddish reading world. Most of his career takes place as an Israeli Jewish writer. So that’s the background – someone who’s engaged in the world with all the major moments in Jewish history, engaged with the building of a state and not willing to buy the common idea that there’s no place within Zionism and within Hebrew for a Yiddish writer.

What brought me to the text is the fact that you have such a famous writer, such an important Yiddish writer, who only writes one memoir his whole life, and it’s never been translated into English, in part because he was such a great poet. Early on there was a fear that everything he really had to say was in his poetry and that reading this and then translating this in some way perhaps would be a diminishment in what was accomplished artistically in the poetry.

JL: HIS POETRY HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO OTHER LANGUAGES BESIDES YIDDISH? JC: Oh yes, his poetry has been translated into Hebrew, English, many other languages.

The memoir itself was translated into Hebrew early on, soon after publication, but then sort of went dormant. He never talked about it. I think that probably the Soviet context of its composition he wanted to distance himself from. It was only just

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UP FRONT

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER | SINCE 1929 |

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OCTOBER 15, 2021 | 9 HESHVAN 5782

Rachel’s Table receives $25,000 in state funding to feed the hungry

PRINGFIELD – Earlier this month Sen. Eric P. Lesser announced that $25,000 in state funding has been secured for Rachel’s Table, the food rescue and redistribution program of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts.

Sen. Lesse was joined by Rep. Brian M. Ashe and Rep. Jacob R. Oliveira at a press conference held at the Springfield Jewish Community on Monday, Oct. 4.

They were welcomed by Jodi Falk, director of Rachel’s Table; Nora Gorenstein, interim executive director of the Jewish Federation of Western Mass.; Ellen Gold, board president of Rachel’s Table; and Sarah Maniaci, associate director of Rachel’s Table “Rachel’s Table truly is rooted in community,” said Sen. Lesser. “They went from delivering 13,000 lbs of food in October

2019 to 70,000 lbs in October 2020. It was community partners like Rachel’s Table that answered the call to feed neighbors and friends of ours that were in a lot of trouble during the pandemic. They base their mission on the Jewish and universal value that no person should be hungry and that no food should go to waste by working with partners to collect and distribute unused food to those who need it. They have a great presence and team rooted in Western Mass and I’m proud to support their efforts.”

Senator Lesser acted as lead budget sponsor in the Senate in securing this earmark in the Fiscal Year 22 budget. The budget was passed by the Senate and House and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker in July. This funding will offset the cost of a larger vehicle for the organization that their volunteers use to support food deliveries.

“This wonderful and critical support of our work from State Senator Lesser’s office will go a long way to help us feed people in our region,” said Falk. “Even before the pandemic, Massachusetts ranked number one in the highest increase in food insecurity in our country. We all need to step up to change this. It is with partnerships between non-profits, government, and private sectors that we can do this. We thank Senator Lesser for all of his tireless work to make a positive impact on the people of Springfield.”

“We are proud of the work Rachel’s Table is doing to address hunger in the Pioneer Valley and how the program staff and volunteers transformed and increased its food distribution methods to meet the current demand caused by COVID-19,” CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

REP. BRIAN ASHE; STAFF OF REP. WILLIAMS, RACHEL’S TABLE DIRECTOR JODI FALK; SEN. ERIC LESSER; SARAH MANIACI, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF RACHEL’S TABLE; NORA GORENSTEIN, INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION WESTERN MASS; ELLEN GOLD, BOARD PRESIDENT OF RACHEL’S TABLE; AND REP. JACOB OLIVEIRA AT THE OCT. 4 PRESS CONFERENCE. majewishledger.com

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

JFCM leaders share challenges of past year, and optimism for the future at Annual Meeting

BY STACEY DRESNER

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ENTRAL MASS. - The Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts held its annual meeting on Tuesday, Oct 5 via Zoom.

“Federation has adapted and responded to Covid and through the evolving challenges and opportunities in these unusual times our priorities remain the same: committing to strengthening, securing and stabilizing our community and Jewish communities around the world,” said Executive Director Steven Schimmel in his opening statement. “Thank you to all of you who have supported and partnered with us. Todah Rabah.”

Schimmel also thanked outgoing president Jonathan Sigel for his leadership and for guiding the Federation’s board of directors through the pandemic. Sigel will be succeeded

by Ben Lyons.

“Each year our highly committed and energetic leaders and volunteers face the challenges of sustaining this ever-changing community,” Sigel said.

“With our mission to ensure Jewish survival and enhance the quality of Jewish life, we touch thousands of lives each year and together we mobilize our resources to make a difference,” Sigel said. “We are a vital link to Israel, our traditions, our past and our future.

Together we are Federation.

“In a year marked by uncertainty and instability, rising antisemitism and an ongoing global pandemic, Jewish Federation again demonstrated our community’s exceptional organizational strength.

Calling the Federation’s annual fundraising campaign “the lifeblood that we need to continue to execute our CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mark Oppenheimer Finds Light In The Darkness

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BY BRIAN SLATTERY/NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT

here is a moment early in Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood, by Westvillebased author Mark Oppenheimer — released last month — that brings the writer’s intentions into crystal clarity. As part of his recounting of the largest antisemitic mass murder in U.S. history, Oppenheimer tells us about Daniel Leger, a 70-year-old hospice nurse who was inside the building on the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, with 66-yearold doctor and friend Jerry Rabinowitz when they heard the shooting start. They rushed

toward the sound of gunfire to try to help.

“We did exactly what people who train you for crisis situations tell you not to do,” Leger recounted later. “We thought that we could somehow be helpful.”

Rabinowitz was shot and killed. Leger was critically wounded and figured he would not survive. In addition to being a hospice nurse, Oppenheimer tells us, Leger was a member of the New Community Chevra Kadisha, a holy society that performs tahara, the preparation of bodies for burial according to Jewish customs.

“It just seemed like a logical extension of the work that I had been doing as a hospice nurse,” Leger said later. “It was not so unusual for me to have had a patient in hospice, been present at their tahara, and then do the funeral and bury them.”

Leger had always assumed that when his

own time came, his friends would perform tahara for him. “As the medics carried him into the ambulance, he lost consciousness,” Oppenheimer relates. “Then, at the hospital, he saw what he took to be the shadows of four people. He thought he was dead, and he wasn’t afraid. What he thought was My God, it’s the chevra kadisha. And they’re taking care of me.”

Drawn from hundreds of hours of interviews with dozens of residents of Squirrel Hill, from survivors to activists to bystanders, Oppenheimer’s book isn’t so much about the massacre at Tree of Life synagogue — in which 11 people (Joyce Fienberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65; Rose Mallinger, 97; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Cecil and David Rosenthal, 59 and 54; Bernice and Sylvan Simon, 84 and 86; Daniel Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 88; and Irving Younger, 69) were murdered. Instead, it is about the community’s overwhelming response to it.

There is a retelling of the shooting, as there needs to be to understand what follows. But Oppenheimer quickly moves from the horrific event itself to the way the violence affected so many, both within the neighborhood’s vibrant Jewish community and beyond.

It’s a story about dealing with trauma, about the long road of coming to terms with what happened, and about the questions it raises — not about why bad things happen to good people, but about what people can do about it when bad things happen.

In The Neighborhood

The focus of Oppenheimer’s book steers him immediately away from a discussion of the motivations of the shooter, Robert Bowers.

It’s a brave choice and an important one.

Other writers have already covered some of that ground. Bowers himself — who is still awaiting trial — spelled out on social media the deep anti-immigrant and antisemitic rage that fueled his attack. It’s natural to want to probe these motivations further to try to understand why he (or anyone) would commit mass murder. Maybe a book about Bowers would yield the kind of harrowing insight Dave Cullen offered in his writing about the Columbine school shooting.

But maybe the same research would run up against a version of Hannah Arendt’s “banality of evil,” the term she coined to describe Adolf Eichmann’s maddeningly shallow defense for being a major organizer

LITERATOUR BOOK FESTIVAL Announces 2021 - 2022 Lineup

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PRINGFIELD -- Literatour, the Springfield Jewish Community Center’s celebration of Jewish books and authors, has announced its 2021 - 2022 lineup of authors. Literatour events will take place either in person at the J or online via Zoom, welcoming a robust list of novelists, memoirists, comedians, and artists.

“This year’s Literatour line-up is quite diverse, and our authors’ books cover many different topics for a wide array of interests,” said Bev Nadler, the Springfield JCC’s director of Adult Life. “Whether you’re comfortable coming to the J for an in-person program or wish to participate in our virtual programs from the comfort of your home, all are welcome.”

Books featured during Literatouyr will be available for purchase and autograph at all in-person author events. All Literatour authors’ books can be purchased at the JCC. Online events are free and open to the public. In-person events are free for JCC members and $10 per person for the general public. Reservations are required.

Sponsors of this year’s Literatour festival include Life Lessons: The William & Margery Sadowsky Center for Adult Learning, A.W. Brown’s, Kehillah: the Springfield JCC’s Special Need Department, Springfield Museums, and the Jewish Book Council. Geneous funding is provided by the Posnick Family Endowment and the Norman and Frances Cohen Fund for Adult Arts and Education.

UPCOMING LITERATOUR DATES: Woodrow on the Bench: Life Lessons from a Wise Old Dog, Jenna Blum Tuesday, Nov. 2, 6:30 p.m.

In-Person Program at the J From best-selling author Jenna Blum comes a memoir that pays tribute to her black Lab, Woodrow. Known to many as “the George Clooney of dogs” for his good looks and charm, Woodrow and Blum are fixtures in their Boston neighborhood.

But Woodrow is aging. As he begins to fail, the true nature of his extraordinary relationship with Blum is revealed. Over the last seven months of his life, Woodrow and Blum’s neighbors taught her new lessons about life and love, including the power of community to carry a person through troubled times.

Free for JCC members, $10 general public Co-sponsored by A.W. Brown’s Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood, Mark Oppenheimer Wednesday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m.

In-Person Program at the J On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman killed eleven Jews who were worshipping at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Squirrel Hill -- the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history. Many neighborhoods would be understandably subsumed by despair after such an event, but not this one. By speaking with residents and nonresidents, Jews and gentiles, survivors and witnesses, teenagers and seniors, activists and historians, Oppenheimer provides a kaleidoscopic and nuanced account of collective grief, love, support, and revival.

Oppenheimer, a Springfield native, is the author of five books, including The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia. He is a former religion columnist for The New York Times, and a co-host of Tablet’s podcast Unorthodox. Oppenheimer directs the Yale Journalism Initiative.

Free for JCC members, $10 general public Co-sponsored by Temple Beth El The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz Tuesday, Dec. 7, 7 p.m.

Online Program (Zoom) Jake, once a promising young novelist, is now teaching a third-rate MFA program.

When his most arrogant student announces that they don’t need his help, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as amateur narcissism. When he discovers that his student has died, Jake does what any selfrespecting writer would do with a story like that - a story that absolutely needs to be told. In a few short years, Jake is the author enjoying the wave of success. But at the height of his glorious new life, an email arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.

Hanff Korelitz is the author of the novels You Should Have Known (which aired on HBO as The Undoing), Admission, The Devil and Webster, The White Rose, The Sabbathday River and a Jury of Her Peers, as well as Interference Powder.

This program is free and open to the public.

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MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

| OCTOBER 15, 2021

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!

PJ LIBRARY PRESENTS

A new podcast network for kids

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GAWAM - PJ Library, known for sending free books that celebrate Jewish values and culture to children worldwide, will launch PJ Library Presents, a podcast network featuring two new free podcasts for kids this fall.

“Afternoons with Mimi” and “Beyond the Bookcase” both bring well-known stories of all types to life in a fun new way that connects them to Jewish traditions, culture, holidays, and values. On the go or at home, families can now listen to Jewish stories everywhere with PJ Library Presents podcasts.

First up from the storytellers at PJ Library comes an afternoon with the ultimate storyteller: everyone’s favorite warm and spunky grandmother, Mimi. Kids 2 to 5 and their families are invited to listen to the “Afternoons with Mimi” podcast and join Mimi for an afternoon of snacks and stories ranging from favorite PJ Library books to Jewish folktales and new original fables that will capture the imaginations of young and old alike. “PJ Library Presents: Afternoons with Mimi” premieres on October 4 on pjlibrary.org/podcast and your favorite podcast streaming platforms.

Next, PJ Library Presents “Beyond the Bookcase.” Developed for kids ages 6 to 12, “Beyond the Bookcase” features the serialized adventures of intrepid siblings Micah and Miri and their friends as they explore the magical land of Mashal, where familiar fairy tales come to life in unexpected and hilarious ways – weaving Jewish holidays and traditions with an exciting mystery that unravels week after week, “PJ Library Presents: Beyond the Bookcase” premieres October 18, also on pjlibrary.org/podcast and your favorite podcast streaming platforms.

In the debut episode of “Beyond the Bookcase,” Miri and her exhausted brother Micah stumble upon a strange, dusty copy of a book called “The Tortoise and the Hare: A Shabbat Story” at the synagogue library. When they open the book, the kids

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are transported to a magical land where Tortoise and Hare are preparing to run a ridiculous obstacle course race with Snow White, Humpty Dumpty, and all their other favorite fairy tale characters. The children are left to wonder: Where are they? How do they get home? What does the Tortoise and the Hare story have to do with Shabbat?

When they end up taking part in the story unfolding in front of them, Miri and Micah learn the benefits of taking time to rest.

“Afternoons with Mimi,” also kicks off with a story about Shabbat, featuring a reading of “The Sabbath Lion,” a folktale from Algeria as retold by Howard Schwartz and Barbara Rush and published as a picture book by PJ Publishing. In the tale, young Yosef is abandoned by an untrustworthy caravan leader who won’t keep his promise to obey the Sabbath, when a magnificent lion appears and comes to his aid.

And with Chanukah coming early this year, kids can join Mimi on Nov. 1 for a plate of sufganiyot and to hear the story of Judah Maccabee. Then on Nov. 15 follow the next adventure of Miri and Micah when they and their friends are transported back to Mashall to help Jack Be Nimble find the courage to jump over a hanukkiyah full of candles.

Produced by a PJ Library creative team headed by Alli Thresher, “Afternoons with Mimi” and “Beyond the Bookcase” offer a fresh way to share Jewish culture and ideals with children through screenfree entertainment at its best. As Alex Zablotsky, Managing Director of PJ Library, says, “It’s PJ Library’s mission to reach kids and families with stories that celebrate Jewish values and culture, and podcasts are such a fantastic way for families to enjoy story time together in those small but busy moments throughout the day, whether they’re carpooling to school, preparing dinner, or settling down for bedtime. We’re so excited to share these two new podcasts from PJ Library Presents with kids and families around the world.”

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| OCTOBER 15, 2021

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BULLETIN BOARD LYA OFFERS JEWISH LEARNING INSTITUTE COURSE ON “OUTSMARTING ANTISEMITISM” LONGMEADOW/SPRINGFIELD – This fall Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) and Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy (LYA) will offer a new four-session course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), titled “Outsmarting Antisemitism.”

Using history, Talmudic sources, Jewish mysticism, and contemporary expert analysis, the course addresses some of the niggling questions we grapple with as individuals and as a community. Why does antisemitism persist? How can we make hate go away? How can we counter Israelfocused antisemitism and prevent our own youth from unwittingly lending their voices to anti-Semitic agendas?

“Many Jews are anxious about rising antisemitism today and worry about how to respond to it,” remarked Rabbi Yakov Wolff LYA JLI instructor in.

“By exploring the mechanics of antisemitism and probing historical strategies for reducing it, this course offers a framework for confronting it head-on with purpose, positivity, and pride.”

Informative, interesting, and empowering, Outsmarting Antisemitism is well suited for community leaders and laypersons alike. “All those who care about religious freedom, both Jews and others, confront a disturbing increase in antisemitism worldwide,” said Cary Nelson, past president of the American Association of University Professors. “It is no longer enough just to be opposed to antisemitism.

We all have to be knowledgeable about its history and current manifestations if we are to be equipped to combat its spread. That is why this course matters.”

“What distinguishes the present moment is the rise of antisemitism simultaneously on all fronts,” said Natan Sharansky, former refusenik and chairman at the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy. “To succeed in the struggle against these dangerous phenomena, we have to confront antisemitism on all fronts simultaneously. Therefore, this course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute is very important.”

Outsmarting Antisemitism will be offered on zoom beginning Wednesday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m. Upon registering for the course, you will receive the zoom link. Rabbi Wolff will offer a live socially distanced class on Thursday at law offices of James Smith, 1331 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01103, Springfield, MA, for four consecutive Thursdays beginning November 4 from 12:45 – 1:45 p.m. Thursday’s class will also be offered on zoom. Cost is $100 to attend.

Like all JLI programs, it is designed to appeal to people at all levels of 8

knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning. All JLI courses are open to the public, and attendees need not be affiliated with a particular synagogue, temple, or other house of worship.

To register or for more information, call (413) 348-4978 or visit www.myJLI.com for registration and for other course-related information.

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF WESTERN MASS. GETS $250,000 CITIZENSHIP AND INTEGRATION GRANT SPRINGFIELD – Jewish Family Service of Western Mass has been awarded a competitive two-year $250,000 Citizenship and Integration Grant from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

This grant enables JFS to continue its work helping legal permanent residents become citizens of the United States.

The fiscal year 2021 grants, which run through September 2023, will fund legal services for citizenship applicants and educational programs designed to deepen an applicant’s knowledge of English, U.S. history and civics. Since it began in 2009, the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program has awarded more than $112 million through 513 competitive grants to immigrant-serving organizations in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Now in its 13th year, the program has helped more than 290,500 LPRs prepare for citizenship.

JFS is one of 40 organizations in 25 states to receive nearly $10 million in funding to support citizenship preparation services. Now in its 13th year, the USCIS Citizenship and Integration Grant Program has helped more than 290,500 lawful permanent residents prepare for citizenship. A “permanent resident” is a person authorized by the U.S. government to live and work in the country on a permanent basis. Jewish Family Service is a nonprofit social service agency that has developed both substantive legal and programmatic expertise during its ten years of experience in Citizenship and Naturalization services. “The program began as a response to a glaring unmet need in our community. Today, JFS is a wellrespected and trusted partner in engaging the immigrant community in Hampden County,” said Maxine Stein, JFS CEO. “JFS is excited and pleased to have received this grant opportunity. It will allow us to strengthen our current work in citizenship and positions us to be a leader in helping those on the path to becoming U.S. citizens.

As a Jewish organization, we are proud to provide this important service to our local residents. Like all of us, we value freedom, safety and opportunity. Citizenship helps

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| OCTOBER 15, 2021

to provide that and we can help make that happen.”

JFS was a sub-awardee of a USCIS Office of Citizenship National Capacity Building Grant awarded to HIAS for FY 2010. JFS’ citizenship curriculum was highlighted by USCIS on their website for best practices in 2011. In 2013, JFS received a similar two-year citizenship grant, and received the twoyear USCIS Citizenship and Integration Grant in 2017, 2019 and now in 2021. In addition to processing naturalization applications and providing citizenship instruction, JFS prepares a cadre of volunteers who are trained to provide ESOL tutoring and civics instruction.

“Our staff is accredited by the Department of Justice. This additional support is a tremendous resource for our clients and our program as well.”

LIFE & LEGACY: ASSURING JEWISH TOMORROWS CENTRAL MASS – Sometimes it is interesting to look back at old photos and think about what places were like before we knew them. What did the Jewish Community in Central Massachusetts look like 50 years ago? What does it look like now? The Jewish community we see today was shaped by our family and neighbors of the past. Did they do a good job? They created the Jewish community in which you now live, in which you are raising your children and grandchildren. I think they created a vibrant and living history for us, but where is it headed?

Now think about the Jewish community in Central Massachusetts 50 years from now. What do you see? Are you happy with that vision? Is there more you want to do? What are we creating today that will be the foundation when our grandchildren are grandparents?

Legacy giving is, perhaps, THE most impactful way to give. Legacy commitments allow us to make substantial contributions, above what any of us could make today.

Legacy gifts most commonly contribute to endowment which sustains an organization.

Legacy gifts are the most important gifts an organization can receive.

That is why JFCM has partnered with the Harold Grinspoon foundation and selected 11 organizations to work with us in the HGF LIFE & LEGACYTM Program: Beth Tikvah Synagogue, Westborough, Clark University Hillel, Worcester, Congregation Beth Israel, Worcester, Congregation B’nai Shalom, Westborough, Congregation Shaarai Torah West, Worcester, Jewish Family & Children’s Service, Worcester, Jewish Federation of Central Mass, Worcester, Jewish Healthcare Center, Worcester, Temple Emanuel Sinai, Worcester, Temple Israel, Athol, and The

Worcester JCC, Worcester.

According to Arlene D. Schiff, National Director of the LIFE & LEGACY program. “The time is right. This legacy program will make the most of the generational transfer of wealth, change the language and landscape of giving and provide generous and forward-thinking members of the JFCM Jewish community with the opportunity to express their passion, purpose and commitment to their most valued Jewish organizations.”

After 4 years in the LIFE & LEGACY program, 400 people have stood up in Central Massachusetts and said, “I’m the somebody who will do something about that.” Are you ready to be the somebody who will join them? Start thinking about your legacy today.

For more information, contact Leah C. Shuldiner at legacy@jfcm.org.

“CAN WE TALK ABOUT ISRAEL” The Worcester JCC Author Series in partnership with Falmouth Jewish Congregation presents a virtual author event with Daniel Sokatch, CEO of the New Israel Fund and author of “Can We Talk About Israel?”, Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.

“Can’t you just explain the Israel situation to me? In, like, 10 minutes or less?” This is the question Daniel Sokatch is used to answering on an almost daily basis as the head of the New Israel Fund (NIF), an organization dedicated to equality and democracy for all Israelis, not just Jews.

Sokatch is well-versed on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Can We Talk About Israel?: A Guide for Curious, Confused and Conflicted is the story of that conflict, and of why so many people feel so strongly about it without actually understanding it very well at all. It’s an attempt to explain why Israel (and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) inspires such extreme feelings-why it seems like Israel is the answer to “what is wrong with the world” for half the people in it, and “what is right with the world” for the other half. As Sokatch asks, is there any other topic about which so many intelligent, educated and sophisticated people express such strongly and passionately held convictions, and about which they actually know so little?

Sokatch holds an MA from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, a JD from Boston College Law School, and a BA from Brandeis University. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and other publications.

For more information and for Zoom registration, contact Nancy Greenberg, ngreenberg@worcesterjcc.org; 508-7567109 x 232

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BULLETIN BOARD The full calendar of events can be found at yiddishbookcenter.org/events.

YIDDISH BOOK CENTER ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE OF FREE VIRTUAL PROGRAMS The Yiddish Book Center has announced its Fall 2021 calendar of virtual public programs.

The Center has been presenting virtual public programs since April 2020.

The upcoming schedule includes programs on a range of topics: n Secular Yidishkayt and Social Justice in the US South, with Josh Parshall/Goldring/ Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life n The story behind the discovery of a treasure trove of thousands of glass plates that offer a glimpse into the everyday lives of Jews and Poles before 1939, with Piotr Nazaruk, curator at Poland’s Grodzka Gate–NN Theatre n Scholar and author Jeffrey Veidlinger will talk about his newly released book, In the Midst of Civilized Europe n Amy Shreeve’s multimedia presentation, “This Used to Be a Synagogue,” will compare the locations of Manhattan’s old synagogues with pictures of the churches, luxury apartments, and salons occupy their spaces today n And two programs will touch on popular topics: Mahjongg in American Jewish Life and From Smoked Salmon to Pickles—Getting Jewish Food Delivered to Your Door.

LITTLE-KNOWN WORK OF SHOLEM ALEICHEM TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH Originally published in 1903, Sholem Aleichem’s Moshkeleh Ganev was recently translated into English for the first time by lauded Sholem Aleichem translator Curt Leviant. On Thursday, Oct. 7, at 1 p.m., Leviant, in conversation with Dvora Reich, will give a FREE virtual talk about Sholem Aleichem and this newly re- discovered novel. The lecture is presented by YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Moshkeleh Ganev was a first for Yiddish literature featuring as its hero a rowdy, uneducated horse thief. The novel is unique in its focus on the Jewish underclass and portrayal of Jews interacting with non-Jews in the Russian Pale of Settlement. Breaking norms, it centers on Jewish characters on the fringe of respectability. It was published three times in Poland and in the Soviet Union in the first half of the 20th century, but it was not included in compilations of Sholem Aleichem’s collected works. Upon encountering the forgotten novel a few years ago, Leviant brought the text to light with its very first translation into English.

For reservations: yivo.org/MoshkelehGanev

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| OCTOBER 15, 2021

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News and Jewish Community Update

THE FUTURE WE WANT

S

everal years back when I was first given the honor of serving as Executive Director of Jewish Federation, I heard loud and clear from our leadership that more than anything else our Jewish community wanted to ensure a strong future. That meant more young people taking on leadership roles, giving to campaign, more families involved and supporting community programming, Federation needed to better coordinate the many institutions and organizations in Central MA, we wanted STEVEN SCHIMMEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR to better reach all of the Jewish families in our area, we wanted to ensure the security of our institutions, we wanted more donors, a stronger campaign, more fundraising and a better endowment- we wanted to be the type of Jewish community we knew we could be, we wanted to reach our potential. I’m very pleased to that by nearly every one of those measures our community is on the right track- yes, there is still plenty of work yet to be done, but we are headed in the right direction. Some statistics: we increased the number of new donors to campaignabout 75 people this past year, almost 10% of the donors hadn’t given the prior year.

The number families involved in PJ library nearly doubled in the past five years, the number of young adults involved in YAD nearly doubled and more of them are giving today. In fact, our newly appointed Board President Ben Lyons was first involved in Federation while active in YAD, he and his family then became involved in PJ Library and they have been involved as Federation leaders in nearly every stage of our

programming- including JFNA’s prestigious National Young Leadership Cabinet, that in itself is a wonderful testament to our community. We have significantly increased overall fundraising and financial resource development- which including the $785,000 from the Annual Campaign rose to well over $1M up significantly from just a few years ago- that’s total financial resources largely driven by more designated gifts, COVID related funding, and special campaigns like the successful effort to beautify our cemeteries. We also had 209 people increase their support to the Annual Campaignincreases in their donations, it’s remarkable.

Through LIFE & LEGACY our community will someday receive close to $11M which will be placed into the endowment. We are also a growing community- the number of names in our database has increased by nearly a 1,000 in the past five years. During the recent Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly which is a gathering of all of the communities and leadership from around the world, much of what was discussed, particularly new security initiatives are already happening here. Other communities are hoping to have what we have. Our campaign may not be where we want it to be yet, but we certainly are building and growing. This isn’t about my work, it is about you, our donors, for entrusting Federation and supporting our efforts and work through the years, and I hope you’ll do so again this year. We will continue to work hard on your behalf and on behalf of the Jewish community together as your partner.

jewishcentralmass.org

STAY CONNECTED PJ LIBRARY & PJ OUR WAY

PJ/PJOW Virtual Open House at MetroWest Jewish Day School, Wednesday, October 27th, 7:30 pm (zoom) PJ Library Goes to Shabbatniks at Beth Tikvah Synagogue with Congregation B’nai Shalom, Weekly Friday Pre-School program, 9:30-11:00 am (in-person drop-off) PJ/PJOW Fills the Fridge at Worcester Community Fridge, Sunday, November 7th, 2:30 pm (outdoors, in-person) PJ/PJOW Challah Making with MetroWest Jewish Day School, November 11th, 10:00-11:00 am (outdoors, in tent) PJ/PJOW Goes to Congregation Beth Israel for Bagels, Books & Latkes, Sunday, November 28th, 4-6pm (in person) PJ/PJOW Library Goes to Worcester Art Museum with the Worcester JCC for Hanukkah, Sunday, December 5th, 11:00am-3:00 pm

YAD (YOUNG ADULT DIVISION) Fall Hike at Cascades, October 17th, 11:00 am

October Shabbat Lunch Outdoors, October 23rd, 12:00 pm, hosted at private home in Auburn November Shabbat Lunch Outdoors, November 6th, 12:00 pm, hosted at private home in Marlborough LEAD Program, World Ort, November, Date/Time TBA YAD Virtual Hanukkah Party, Saturday, December 4th, 6:30 pm (zoom) Chinese and Netflix Day, December 25th, Time TBA

CHAVERIM Fall Hike, Jog, or Bike (then Gelato), Sunday, October 24th, 2:00 pm, West Boylston Rail Trail Café Chaverot, November 5th, 12:00 pm, LaLa Java, Northborough (outdoor seating)

COMMUNITY-WIDE Hanukkah at Polar Park. Sunday, December 5th, 5:00pm

LADIES LUNCH TOGETHER AT CHAVERIM’S CAFE CHAVEROT

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HAPPY PJ LIBRARY FACES PAINTING PUMPKINS AT DAVIDIAN’S

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Keep up with other ongoing events and changes via our Facebook Pages and emails, or contact Mindy Hall, Director of Outreach and Engagement, mhall@jfcm.org

majewishledger.com

News and Jewish Community Update

YAD CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS WITH A ROSH HASHANAH DINNER AL FRESCO AND A PIZZA IN THE HUT FOR SUKKOT

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JFED COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER AT JEWISH HERITAGE NIGHT AT THE WOOSOX

jewishcentralmass.org

WONDERFUL SUKKOT CELEBRATION WITH SOME FAMILIES NEW TO PJ LIBRARY OVER THE PAST 2 YEARS

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

CHAVERIM WELCOMES THE NEW YEAR WITH AN OUTDOOR TOAST AND DESSERT RECEPTION

| OCTOBER 15, 2021

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HEARING THE CALL Dayenu s

BY STACEY DRESNER

S

PRINGFIELD – At a rally in front of U.S. Representative Richard Neal’s Springfield office in August, a chorus of shofars were blown to ask Rep. Neal to “hear the call for climate action.”

The shofar blowers were members of the Western Massachusetts chapter – or “circle” – of Dayenu: A Jewish Call for Climate Action. Dayenu joined with groups like Springfield Climate Coalition, Sunrise Hampden County, the Sierra Club, and Arise for Social Justice at the “#SealTheDeal” rally to encourage Rep. Neal – chair of Congress’ Ways and Means Committee -- to support President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill.

The $3.5 trillion reconciliation budget bill, which President Biden has been struggling to get passed due to disagreements between even moderate and progressive Democrats, includes numerous climate control provisions among its infrastructure proposals.

“People are talking a lot about the infrastructure bill, which would have a potentially positive impact on our country’s response to climate change, both in terms of attempts at mitigation -- moving our energy sources away from the highest polluting ones; and also adaptation -- recognizing that like it or not, climate change is here,” explained Rabbi Benjamin Weiner of Deerfield. “How are we going to begin to support communities, especially underresourced communities, communities of color, frontline communities? How are we going to, not just address climate change, but try to address it by way of social justice and tikkun olam?”

Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, the founder of the national Dayenu movement, asked that Dayenu circles around the country use their shofars to sound an “alarm” calling Congress to act after increasing climate emergencies, including the California oil spill.

“After months of promises and activism, including unprecedented mobilization by the American Jewish community in support of a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill supporting climate, jobs, and justice, it is appalling that a few, isolated moderates in the Democratic caucus remain willing to threaten the hope of a just and livable planet for generations to come,” Rabbi Rosenn said in a press release. “Our leaders have promised, time and time again, that they will deliver historic investments in 12

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RABBI BENJAMIN WEINER (LEFT) LEADS A CHORUS OF SHOFAR BLOWERS AT THE #SEALTHEDEAL RALLY I climate that meet the scale that science demands. Now, as negotiations reach their conclusion, they must follow through.”

At the August rally in Springfield, Rabbi Weiner explained the significance of the shofar, then called out the words that summon the shofar blasts. The air was filled with the sounds of shofars blown by several Dayenu members.

“We did a shofar blowing ceremony because it was during the month of elul and we felt like one of the things that we have to offer to our allies, given that we’re both a politically active organization but also a spiritual community, is the gift of Jewish ritual as a means of spiritual | OCTOBER 15, 2021

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empowerment,” said Rabbi Weiner. “We blew the shofar to say, ‘The month of elul for us is about the urgency of change and the sound of the shofar is about awakening to that urgency, so here we are offering you this practice as a way of bolstering all of us in this urgent action.”

At the same time, Dayenu circles around the country were also blowing their shofars for climate change at rallies including those held at a field office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and near the Newark, N.J. office of Sen. Cory Booker. In Boston, Dayenu members participated in rallies near the offices of Sen. Ed Markey and Senator Elizabeth Warren.

“They are obviously supporters of the bill, but the goal of the rallies was really to show support from their constituents and to give all these legislators the courage to go big on climate action,” said Joyce Samet, Western Mass.’s liaison to the national Dayenu organization.

Rabbi Weiner also stressed that the goal of the Springfield rally was not to disparage or protest against Sen. Neal in any way.

“It was in the spirit of democratic activism--showing up as constituents to indicate to our reps where our priorities lie.

Though the topic is obviously different, it reminds me of the advocacy I was raised on, on behalf of Soviet Jews, and other times

seeks a just, sustainable world Since then, chapters or Dayenu “circles” have opened in the U.S. and Canada.

The August rally – and a smaller followup rally in at Rep. Neal’s office at the beginning of September -- were the first events in which Western Mass. Dayeinu participated.

Last winter members of Congregation B’nai Israel in Northampton took the lead in organizing the local Dayeinu circle with interest from members of the Jewish Community of Amherst (JCA), Beit Ahavah in Florence and Temple Israel of Greenfield.

“It was good to have a vehicle for the Jewish community to bring a voice. There is a lot we can do about climate change and

IN SPRINGFIELD we’ve taken a stand for issues of concern to the Jewish community. We believe that climate change needs to rise to a similar level of priority for Jews--and all humanity.”

SPIRITUAL AUDACITY Rabbi Rosenn’s mission in founding Dayeinu in April 2020 was to “secure a just, livable and sustainable world for all people for generations to come by building a multi-generational Jewish movement that confronts the climate crisis with spiritual audacity and bold political action.”

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“One is to engage in targeted and concerted political action in support of climate related and generally speaking environmental policy initiatives and to motivate Jews across the area to show up in support of those types of initiatives.

“And then the secondary role is just to kind of create community for each other.

The climate crisis is really emotionally overwhelming and intense, and so we thought that sharing the bonds of culture, ethnicity and religion and spirituality, we can also really form a very supportive and nourish community for each other as we engage in this work.”

and express thoughts and feelings and feel a sense of camaraderie and community.”

Both Rabbi Weiner and Samet stressed that Dayenu is not a synagogue-affiliated group.

“We really want anyone in the upper and lower Connecticut Valley of Western Mass. whether they are affiliated or unaffiliated,” Samet said. “It’s really a place where we can share around a real common desire to build a just green recovery for the future generations, with a Jewish spirit to it. We can join other groups and send them our donations but there was something that was really compelling to many of the people that have joined about this Jewish spirituality,

DAYENU MEMBERS AT THE #SEALTHEDEAL RALLY IN SPRINGFIELD moral authority is one of them,” said Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener, who came to Dayenu after learning about it from a congregant at Temple Israel of Greenfield.

The first meeting was held via Zoom with a representative of the national Dayenu organization who explained how the movement and Dayenu circles work. Fifty or 60 people showed up for that first meeting.

Since then, a steering committee of around 15 to 20 people has been meeting on a monthly basis, while there is a growing pool of members who are ready to act when a rally is scheduled or letters need to be mailed to legislators.

“We ended up deciding we have two main motivating goals,” said Rabbi Weiner.

As co-chairs of networking and outreach, Rabbi Weiner and Sarah Evelyn Lane, are hoping to reach out to Jews in Western Mass., and want to encourage multigenerational participation.

While waiting to see what happens with the infrastructure bill in Congress, Dayenu in Western Mass. is still working on how it wants to proceed in its efforts.

“In addition to the steering committee meetings which are about planning events, these political manifestations, we’re also trying to get together a rhythm of basic gatherings, which are more open and that will speak more to the communal aspect of things,” Weiner said. “It’s the chance for people to come together and share ideas MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

and making sure that it somehow relates to us as Jews.”

“If you’re kind of climate aware the world can be a very overwhelming place a lot of the time,” added Rabbi Weiner, spiritual leader of the Jewish Community of Amherst, “so for me, it’s been very meaningful to be able to open up a place -- to have a way of responding to things so deeply rooted in my sense of Jewish community. And in my rhythm of Jewish practice, I found it on some level very empowering, at least spiritually.

I don’t do this as the rabbi of the JCA; really, I do it as a father of young children.”

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SHMITA: The Israeli farmers who are g

BY ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

(Israel21c) — Starting the second week of September, Israeli organic farmer Ben Rosenberg stopped planting in the field.

He will nogrow his veggies in raised containers inside fabric-covered hothouses until next September.

The hothouse setup was expensive, and he will only be able to grow about half the usual 40 seasonal varieties he raises in the field during a normal year. But it’s not going to be a normal year. The year 5782 on the Jewish calendar is a sabbatical year for the land.

According to the Bible, every seventh year in the Land of Israel is a shmita (“release”) year, when debts are canceled and fields lie fallow and ownerless.

Promoting growth through most forms of plowing, planting and pruning is forbidden, as are the usual methods of reaping and harvesting.

Any previously planted vegetable, flower or fruit that grows in the soil during the sabbatical year has a special sanctity. It must not be wasted or sold — it should be made available freely to anyone, in acknowledgement that the land is God’s, not ours.

The Bible promises a triple bounty in the sixth year of the agricultural cycle — enough for the sixth, seventh and eighth years until new crops can be planted and harvested (Leviticus 25:20-23).

In modern Israel, most large commercial farmers symbolically relinquish ownership of their land for the sabbatical year, enabling them to sell produce grown in the soil with certain modifications, such as plowing before shmita begins.

Farmers choosing to practice shmita more literally can use various methods to continue providing produce to the market.

One option is to grow hydroponically or in raised containers, as Rosenberg does.

His quarter acre of shmita hothouses were built under rabbinical supervision to ensure the plants have no contact with the soil in his three-acre field.

“The ground is the best way to grow food because it’s the natural environment, but there’s no doubt that if the land rests it replenishes itself. I saw that when I started growing here 13 years ago,” he said.

Simple crop rotation could accomplish that goal, but shmita is a larger concept and is meaningful to this transplanted American.

“It’s an emotional thing for me,” said Rosenberg. “To be able to do a mitzvah [commandment] that is connected to the land is very special.”

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‘A wonderful experience’ Rehovot-based patent attorney Sandy Colb agrees.

Colb’s charity farm, Hatov V’hameitiv, provides 50 tons of fruits and vegetables each week from approximately 200 acres of leased, bought and borrowed fields. The harvest is distributed to 35 social-service agencies for allocation to nutritionally challenged Israeli populations.

In sabbatical years, he and his farm team consult with a local rabbi to make sure they strictly adhere to rules about resting the soil.

“I think shmita is a great mitzvah, and we do it right. It’s rather complex, but it forces you to do things in a different way,” said Colb. “You just have to plan it very carefully and, with the proper attitude, it’s a wonderful experience.”

Much of his acreage is devoted to fruit trees that produce perennially.

“Citrus and most other tree crops form before shmita begins and can be picked during the shmita year,” he explained.

Fruit that forms during the sabbatical year will have the special sanctified status even though it will be picked after shmita is over.

“Vegetables are different,” he said, because they must be planted anew each season.

Some field crops can be planted early to avoid planting during the seventh year.

Colb raises veggies such as tomatoes and cucumbers in greenhouses, disconnected from the ground.

He makes a point not to furlough any employees during shmita, “but we will use contractors less toward the end of the year because we won’t be planting.”

Agtech for shmita In the late 1950s, the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture established a Unit for Agriculture According to the Torah at the ministry’s Agricultural Research Organization-Volcani Center.

Pioneered by Moshe Sachs, a founder of Kibbutz Shaalbim, this unit experimented with solutions for growing crops without violating shmita rules, such as raising roses in haybales rather than in the ground.

Joshua Klein took over the unit in 1989.

Arriving with a PhD in plant science from Cornell University, Klein began introducing techniques for managing fruit orchards and vineyards during shmita.

One innovation is chemical thinning, which reduces the number of flowers to

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| OCTOBER 15, 2021

promote bigger, higher-quality fruit without performing any prohibited pruning.

Another project was developing seedling treatments to induce drought resistance so that crops can be sown early, before shmita and the rainy season begin.

“We have an experiment funded by the chief scientist of the Ministry of Agriculture on early [vineyard] pruning in the fall before Rosh Hashanah of a shmita year, rather than the usual timing in the spring, if you want to have a yield of grapes during shmita,” said Klein.

“If you don’t want to have a yield at all, you can do extreme pruning and the vines will only yield in the eighth year while renewing the vineyard.”

The unit’s plant scientists also are trying to extend storage of produce harvested in the sixth year so that it can be sold in the seventh year.

Experimental approaches range from wrapping in plastic (partially successful with citrons) to spraying with mint oil (more successful for potatoes than carrots).

“All of these projects have relevance to farmers who don’t keep shmita, as well as to farmers outside Israel,” emphasizes Klein, who lectures across the world and answers questions from agriculture students, farmers and rabbis.

He explains that shmita applies only within the borders settled by the ancient Israelites upon their return from Egyptian slavery. This excludes the southern Arava Valley and large portions of the Negev, where farming continues as usual.

Advantages and disadvantages According to Klein, the main ecological advantage of letting the land lie fallow for a year is that diseases cannot infect unplanted soil.

“Nematodes — worm-like animals that live in the ground and chew on roots, and thus damage and infect plants with disease — die from lack of food. The same can happen with other diseases because with no food, there is no place for the disease to remain established, so you start the eighth year with a cleaner slate,” said Klein.

“On the other hand, letting weeds grow freely during shmita consumes water stored in the ground that could otherwise be used for crops after shmita, and makes for a very large investment in time and money to return the field to a productive state,” he added. “We developed methods of managing weeds in fallow fields to save water and effort.”

There is another advantage, that he can’t

prove scientifically.

“I do not understand the reason, but wine from the grape harvest of shmita has been a superior vintage in four out of the five shmita years I have been in Israel,” he says.

Grape giveaway Ari Pollack is a partner in Tom Winery, founded after the sabbatical year that concluded at Rosh Hashanah 2008.

The boutique operation produces about 4,500 bottles annually from its cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and shiraz grapes.

When their first shmita approached in 2014, Pollack and head grape-grower/ winemaker Tomer Pnini pruned the vines in their seven-and-a-half-acre Kerem Meirav vineyard just before Rosh Hashanah.

“It’s risky to do it before the fall because the vineyard can ‘wake up’ early, but we were okay,” says Pollack, who works in high-tech on the side.

The partners took seriously the Bible’s admonition not to sell or waste the shmita fruit.

“When our grapes were ready, we sent messages on Facebook and email that anyone could come pick for free, and we would help them make wine from the grapes they picked,” Pollack said.

“Everything was picked.”

A powerful message To prepare for the coming shmita, Pollack and Pnini stepped up wine production by 50 percent to 70 percent as a hedge against lost income in the seventh and eighth years.

But pre-shmita pruning may not be possible, because Rosh Hashanah comes early this year.

“We might still be harvesting the sixth year after the holiday. If so, we won’t be able to prune for a long time because the point of pruning is to get better fruit and you can’t do that after shmita begins,” explained Pollack.

To find a solution, they may consult with experts such as Yishai Netzer from the chemical engineering department of Ariel University, who is testing methods of pruning before shmita.

“It’s a big test of faith to take a break from working the land,” Pollack admitted.

“Especially in today’s global market where you can get anything anytime.”

Yet he and Pnini find shmita meaningful.

“Everyone is talking about social justice and bridging gaps between poor and rich, majewishledger.com

giving their land a year’s rest

BEN ROSENBERG WILL LET HIS ORGANIC FARM REST DURING THE SABBATICAL YEAR. PHOTO COURTESY OF BEN’S FARM

and here we have something every seven years where there is no rich and no poor; everyone is equal. To remember that the land is His, not ours — it’s a pretty powerful message,” says Pollack.

Shmita innovations Agronomists from the nonprofit Institute for Torah and the Land of Israel (Machon Ha-Torah Ve’HaAretz) teach Israeli municipalities how public gardening can follow shmita rules.

Prior to the sabbatical year they switch from annuals to perennials and perform seasonal treatments. During the year, they only preserve and maintain existing trees and plants.

The institute also educates the public about home gardening during shmita, and mechanisms for distributing, acquiring and handling seventh-year produce.

“It is very important that in our gardens we let the land rest and acknowledge that the fruits are not ours. We may maintain our gardens but allow everyone to come and harvest what was planted before shmita,” says Rabbi Moshe Bloom of the institute’s English-language department.

To ensure seeds planted early before Rosh Hashanah don’t sprout and die before the rainy season, the institute advises farmers to sow more densely and deeply and avoid watering. This way, the seeds will sprout only after the early fall/winter rains majewishledger.com

ARI POLLACK AND HIS SON BENAYAHU HARVESTING GRAPES IN 2015.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARI POLLACK

arrive.

One of the institute’s agronomists bought a special refrigerator in Europe and found a unique use for it in Israel — keeping heads of bug-free cabbage fresh for three months.

This enables farmers to plant extra cabbage, pick it just before shmita begins, store it

and sell it for the first three months of the sabbatical year.

“Maybe these technologies are the fulfillment of the Torah’s promise of a surplus in the sixth year,” said Bloom. “We won’t have to rely on sources outside of Israel MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

and we will have enough to eat in the seventh and eighth years.”

The Institute for Torah and the Land of Israel offers tours of its innovations concerning shmita as well as other biblical agricultural laws. Click here for more information. | OCTOBER 15, 2021

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Rachel’s Table

JFCM Leaders

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

said Gorenstein. “The funding secured by Senator Lesser will allow our Rachel’s Table program to more sustainably fight hunger in our region in furtherance of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts’ mission to support those in need.”

The funding arrives at Rachel’s Table as the agency has joined forces with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts (FBWM) to transport food directly from designated grocery stores to the FBWM agencies, filling the gap where agencies lacked transportation or when its volunteers were needed elsewhere.

“We are thrilled to partner with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts to help deliver food to agencies, especially for those who need our transportation,” Falk said. “Transporting healthy food to people instead of it going into landfill is what we have been doing for almost 30 years and being able to use our operations to better serve our neighbors in the Pioneer Valley is a win for everyone. It is the epitome of partnership to fill gaps and support each other’s good work.”

Rachel’s Table partnership with The Food Bank began pre-pandemic in Westfield and has become revitalized during the past several months. Together, Rachel’s Table and The Food Bank serve seven agencies, with 13 Rachel’s Table volunteer drivers rescuing rescue nutritious food from eight donors in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin Counties.

Starting slowly but deliberately, more than 15,000 lbs. of healthy meat, produce and dairy have been delivered since the program began, and there is more to come.

“Our teams met together and it was clear that our services were complementary, and working together, we would positively impact the communities we serve,” said Shirley DelRio, director of Food Operations at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.

Currently using volunteer cars, the Rachel’s Table - Food Bank Partnership drivers are servsafe-trained and use freezer blankets and infrared thermometers to ensure food deliveries remain safe.

Rachel’s Table also received $7,000 from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts in 2019 that helped purchase 100 blankets and thermometers for this task.

People interested in driving for Rachel’s Table, or who know of food from a local restaurant, bakery or grocery store that is going to waste, please contact Rachel’s Table at www.rachelstablepv.org.

Lesser; Sarah Maniaci, associate director of Rachel’s Table; Nora Gorenstein, interim executive director of the Jewish Federation Western Mass; Ellen Gold, board president of Rachel’s Table; and Rep. Jacob Oliveira at the Oct. 4 press conference.

mission,” he announced that since 2018, total campaign dollars have “increased year over year,” that the 2020 campaign had 75 new donors; that 209 donors increased their gifts, and that the campaign is currently at $767,000 and is projected to close at $805,000 – the first time in several years the campaign has exceeded $800,000.

“My 3 years as Federation president were fulfilling and challenging, but they were also fun,” Sigel added. “I so enjoy working with our executive committee and board members and our terrific Federation staff, led by our ‘rock star’ executive director Steven Schimmel. Thanks to our board and our staff for all of your hard work and dedication to this organization and to our special community.”

Emily Rosenbaum, executive director of the Worcester JCC, spoke about some of the issues the JCC has had to deal with since the beginning of Covid, including the closure of the building for three months, a decline in membership and cuts in staff.

“The fact is the JCC and the Federation are partners together… we know that Federation has been there as our partner, had always funded very important Jewish programming, our cultural arts and our senior adult programming.

With your partnership, we know that we will continue to thrive.”

Sigel presided over the vote to approve the new governing board, and the new officers for 2021-2022: Ben Lyon, president; secretary, Carol goodman Kaufman; treasurer Jeremy Lurier, before introducing Lyons.

“Ben is the poster child for our Young Adult Division, which is where he began his Federation involvement,” Sigel said.

Lyons also has served on various committees of the Federation board of governors and as the Federation representative on the Life and Legacy program. He has also served on Jewish Federations of North American’s national Young Leadership Cabinet.

He and his wife Cara and their children are a PJ Library family, and they have served as a host family for the Young Emissary program.

“I know he will do a fantastic job of leading and inspiring us,” Sigel said.

Lyons spoke of his excitement at being able to serve the Jewish community as president of the Jewish Federation and at following in the footsteps of his predecessors, including Sigel and the late

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MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

| OCTOBER 15, 2021

Toby Richmond.

“I’ve been the recipient of so much incredible mentorship from so many across the community over the years and I am delighted to be able to be bringing in the next generation of Federation…I am elated to be able to represent the younger generation in the community.”

Lyons spoke about being a newcomer in the community in 2010 when he and his wife were introduced to YAD by Mindy Hall.

Young Emissary Aviv Jervbi, introduced himself via a video, talking about his time in the Israeli army and his excitement to be back in Central Mass.

Before the evening was over, Sigel spoke about Federation accomplishments, including the Life & Legacy program and its 450 pledged gifts in the amount of $11 million to 10 Jewish organizations; allocations including funding to the JCC (and emergency financial assistant to the JCC during the early days of the

COMMUNITIES MEMBERS COME TOGETHER ON ZOOM FOR THE JFCM ANNUAL MEETING It was a Jewish Federations of North America Young Leadership mission to Israel in 2011 that really inspired the Lyons to serve the Federation.

“I never knew a trip to Israel would play such an impactful role in my life and truly be my introduction to everything that Federation does,” Lyons saud. “I returned home excited and energized with my cup overflowing.”

The next few years, Lyons says were filled with mentorship and participation in a variety of Federation committees, such as Life & Legacy, and the Israel Action Committee.

“My commitment to serving the Federation and the Jewish community is unwavering. As a young leader taking over the Federation, I want you to know that I am very enthusiastic and intend to bring a confident and fresh lens to our community.”

Current Israeli Shaliach – and past

pandemic); to Hillel; to safety and security in the community and a strong relationship with law enforcement; and the final stages of the a Jewish cemetery improvement project, and much more.

“There are many who feel that our community’s best days are behind us, but I promise you that that is not the case,” Sigel said. “We are growing and adapting and have a bright future. In fact, as someone who has been involved in Federation for many years, I can say that I haven’t felt this optimistic about its future in a long time.

“We managed difficulties of the pandemic and other problems with care and thoughtfulness, and we will continue to work tirelessly on the behalf of our community. Whether allocating hundreds of thousands of dollars to ensure the strength and vitality of our local community or advocating in support of Israel, Jewish Federation is there, and we couldn’t do it without all of you.”

majewishledger.com

SYNAGOGUE DIRECTORY Western and Central Massachusetts

AMHERST

Jewish Community of Amherst Reconstructionist Rabbi Benjamin Weiner (413) 256-0160 info@jcamherst.org www.jcamherst.org 742 Main St., Amherst, MA 01002

ATHOL

Temple Israel Unaffiliated/Egalitarian Reb Sarah Noyovitz (978) 249-9481 templeisraelathol@gmail.com 107 Walnut Street Athol, MA 01331

BENNINGTON, VT

Congregation Beth El Reconstructionist Rabbi Micah Becker Klein (802) 442-9645 cbevtoffice@gmail.com www.cbevermont.org 225 North St., Bennington, VT 05201

CLINTON

Congregation Shaarei Zedeck Conservative Lay Leadership - Elena Feinberg (978) 501-2744 sherryesq@yahoo.com www.shaareizedeck.org 104 Water St., Clinton, MA 01510

FLORENCE

Beit Ahavah, The Reform Synagogue of Greater Northampton Reform Rabbi Riqi Kosovske (413) 587-3770 info@beitahavah.org www.beitahavah.org 130 Pine St. Florence, MA 01062

GREENFIELD

Temple Israel of Greenfield Unaffiliated Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener (413) 773-5884 office@templeisraelgreenfield.org www.templeisraelgreenfield.org 27 Pierce St. Greenfield, MA 01301

HOLYOKE

Congregation Rodphey Sholom Orthodox Rabbi Tuvia Helfen Religious Leader (413) 534-5262 djs1818@aol.com 1800 Northampton St., Holyoke, MA 01040 Congregation Sons of Zion Conservative Rabbi Saul Perlmutter (413) 534-3369 office@sonsofzionholyoke.org www.sonsofzionholyoke.org 378 Maple St. Holyoke, MA 01040

LEOMINSTER

Congregation Agudat Achim Conservative Rabbi Eve Eichenholtz (978) 534-6121 office@agudat-achim.org www.agudat-achim.org 268 Washington St., Leominster, MA 01453

LONGMEADOW

Central Mass Chabad Rabbi Mendel Fogelman, Rabbi Chaim Fishman, Rabbi Michael Phillips, Cantor Eli Abramowitz (508) 752-0904 rabbi@centralmasschabad.com www.centralmasschabad.com 22 Newton Avenue, Worcester, MA 01602

WESTBOROUGH

Beth Tikvah Synagogue Independent Rabbi Michael Swarttz (508) 616-9037 president@bethtikvahsynagogue.org www.bethtikvahsynagogue.org 45 Oak St., Westborough, MA 01581

NORTHAMPTON

Congregation B’nai Israel Conservative Rabbi Justin David (413) 584-3593 office@CBINorthampton.org www.CBINorthampton.org 253 Prospect St. Northampton, MA 01060

Congregation B’nai Shalom Reform Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz/ Rabbi-Educator Joseph Eiduson (508) 366-7191 info@cbnaishalom.org www.cbnaishalom.org 117 East Main St., PO Box 1019, Westborough, MA 01581

PITTSFIELD

Temple Anshe Amunim Reform Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch (413) 442-5910 rabbiliz@ansheamunim.org www.ansheamunim.org 26 Broad St., Pittsfield, MA 01201

SPRINGFIELD

WORCESTER

Temple Beth El Conservative Rabbi Amy Walk Katz (413) 733-4149 office@tbesprinfield.org www.tbespringfield.org 979 Dickinson St., Springfield, MA 01108

Congregation B’nai Torah Orthodox Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe Rabbi Yakov Wolff (413) 567-0036 office@bnaitorahma.org rabbi@bnaitorahma.org www.bnaitorahma.org 2 Eunice Drive Longmeadow, MA 01106 Neighborhood Minyan 124 Sumner Avenue Springfield, MA 01108

WESTFIELD

Sinai Temple Reform Rabbi Jeremy Master (413) 736-3619 rblanchettegage@sinai-temple.org www.sinai-temple.org 1100 Dickinson St., Springfield, MA 01108

Congregation Ahavas Achim Unaffiliated Rabbi Dawn Rose (413) 642-1797 ahavasachiminquiry@gmail.com www.congregationahavasachim.org Ferst Interfaith Center, Westfield State University PO Box 334, 577 Western Avenue, Westfield, MA 01086 Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AhavasAchimWestfield/

Congregation Beth Israel Conservative Rabbi Aviva Fellman (508) 756-6204 receptionist@bethisraelworc.org www.bethisraelworc.org 15 Jamesbury Drive Worcester, MA 01609 Congregation Shaarai Torah West Orthodox Rabbi Yakov Blotner (508) 791-0013 Brotman156@aol.com www.shaaraitorah.org 835 Pleasant St. Worcester, MA 01602 Temple Emanuel Sinai Reform Rabbi Valerie Cohen (508) 755-1257 amayou@emanuelsinai.org www.emanuelsinai.org 661 Salisbury St., Worcester, MA 01609

To join our synagogue directory, contact Howard Meyerowitz at (860) 231-2424 x3035 or howardm@jewishledger.com majewishledger.com

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

| OCTOBER 15, 2021

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Squirrel Hill CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

of the Holocaust; even in the face of a capital trial for murder on a scale and ferocity that horrified the world, Eichmann submitted that he was just following orders.

Oppenheimer isn’t interested in delving broadly into the psychology of mass killers, about which much has been written. In turning to the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill — and following what happens in it for the first year after the shooting — he ventures into much less well-trod territory. He takes on the complicated issues regarding whether and how people persevere, how those in a community sustain themselves and one another, after an episode of mass violence. He sheds light on the basic questions of what people do when confronted with choices of whether and how to intervene and help, and how to do the work of recovery — the same kinds of questions embedded in the study of genocide, and in school curricula like Facing History and Ourselves (the magnet theme of New Haven Academy).

Addressing those questions begins with getting to know individual people, not solely as individuals, but as threads in the social fabric of Squirrel Hill.

“There were a number of people who could have been books unto themselves,” Oppenheimer said. In addition to Leger, whose story runs through the book, there is Tammy Hepps, a community organizer.

“I also think that Jerry Rabinowitz, who scarcely shows up in the book — who was murdered, and who was this extraordinary doctor, who was one of the principal primary care physicians for people with HIV back in the ‘80s and ‘90s — deserves a book of his own,” Oppenheimer said. “And it was hard to resist the temptation to write books about these extraordinary people. But I really did keep getting pulled back to the idea that the protagonist was the neighborhood.”

Oppenheimer was first drawn to the story because he had a family connection to Squirrel Hill and a reporter’s curiosity for how the neighborhood was coping. When he first began his research for the book, “I came in with the idea that I wanted to meet as many people as possible in Squirrel Hill, and if I had a thesis, it was the pretty obvious one that something like this touches everybody,” Oppenheimer said. Five months later, after about a dozen trips to Pittsburgh meeting people and getting to know the place, “I realized there was no one character emerging, that instead it was entire social networks of characters, spread out across this geographically small but spiritually really dense place called Squirrel Hill. If you walk around the neighborhood, it insists on itself as a serious place. There’s street life. The shop windows all had these ‘Stronger Than Hate’ signs that I write about.” And, in the winter of 2018-19, “there were all of these 18

stars of David and snowflakes and hearts that people had made from all over the world, that were hanging in the trees. So you would walk down Forbes Avenue, in the heart of the business district, and there was this reminder ... it was as if angels were there. It was really, really deep to be there. It was kind of inescapable, and I wanted to capture that.”

Or, he added with humility, try to.

Making the neighborhood itself the primary subject meant adopting a somewhat unusual structure for a nonfiction book, of hopping from person to person, and to some extent backward and forward in time, even as the year progressed. “The idea of bouncing both chronologically but also across different points of view — moving through a year, but also shifting perspective throughout that year — I think came pretty organically,” Oppenheimer said. “It’s when I sat down and kept outlining the book, and re-outlining the book, and figuring out how to get in all the stuff I wanted to get in — it just kind of eventually emerged.”

In structuring the book he thought back to J. Anthony Lukas’s Common Ground, about racial tensions in Boston in the 1960s and 1970s. His “love of short chapters” came from Mrs. Bridge, a novel by Evan S. Cannell.

He took inspiration from Janet Malcolm. He didn’t write the sections in the order in which they appear in the book. The first part he

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

| OCTOBER 15, 2021

wrote was about the community’s observance of Tisha B’av — “the bleakest holiday on the Jewish calendar,” as he describes it in the book, commemorating a series of disasters that have befallen the Jewish people on that day, including the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Babylon and Jerusalem — “because that was a moment when all of these disparate characters were in one place, chanting the liturgy ... and the liturgy is the Book of Lamentations.”

It seemed to pull together so many who had been involved. “In some ways the book radiated backward and forward from there.”

The sense of a roving eye gives the first part of the book velocity and high emotional impact. Fred Rogers, perhaps Squirrel Hill’s most famous resident, once said in times of calamity to “look for the helpers.” Oppenheimer shows them to us, from those who guarded the bodies to those who organized community gatherings and collected donations. The outpouring of compassion is a deluge, and it is moving stuff.

Hard Questions

The opening chapters also set the reader up for the more complicated questions that arise as the initial months pass. What should be done with the physical building of Tree of Life? What is the best use of the

donated funds, and who gets to decide how they’re allocated? These trickier situations reach a head at a huge community gathering a year after the event. The speakers agree beforehand that they won’t talk about politics. But then Rabbi Jonathan Perlman of the New Light Congregation does just that. He’s criticized for his outspokenness.

But then, can we talk about what happened at Tree of Life without talking about politics? Without mentioning gun control, or the rhetoric of a certain former president and the possibility that it gave courage to antisemites?

“That’s really a question that Tammy Hepps was posing: is this all Jews can be?

Just take care of each other and not have prophetic witness about gun control, or White supremacy, or Trump?” Oppenheimer said. “She struggles with that, and I wanted to show her struggle. I wanted to show Rabbi Perlman’s struggle.”

There are no easy answers to these questions — not really — and in giving space for so many to speak, Oppenheimer is able to present those questions in all their complexity. “I don’t have a lot of conclusions about this stuff,” he said. Deeper still, he has a keen sense of limits of his own understanding. “After 32 trips to Pittsburgh, I still don’t think I know what it was like to be at or close to a mass killing,” he said. “Just majewishledger.com

as, before we went through a pandemic, we could have imagined what it was like to go through a pandemic, but we didn’t know what it was like to go through a pandemic.”

Still, he added, “maybe writing this book brought me closer to understanding what it was like to be near Tree of Life, or in Squirrel Hill, at the time.” There’s a good word for the act of trying to connect with another person’s experience while knowing that full understanding is impossible: at its heart, Squirrel Hill is a work of profound empathy.

Oppenheimer doesn’t see his book as the final, definitive word on what the Tree of Life massacre means — for the survivors, for the neighborhood, for Pittsburgh, for Jews, or for the country. “There are people from the community who have written about it, and more will write about it, and that’s all to the good. There’s no cap on the number of different perspectives we can have, or the number of different versions out there,” he said. “Hopefully people will keep talking about the Tree of Life shooting.

The great fear is that nobody will keep talking about the Tree of Life shooting.

When I talk to Gentiles now about the book I’m working on, and I say, ‘it’s about the shooting in Pittsburgh,’ most of them say, ‘what shooting in Pittsburgh?’ Because there have been other mass shootings since, and people move on in America. It’s special to me because I wrote about it and also because I’m Jewish, and I think the Jewish community remembers it, just as I think the Black community remembers the shooting in Charleston, and the gay community and the Latino community remember the shooting at Pulse, in Orlando. But there have been several hundred killings of four or more people since Columbine, and most of us don’t remember most of them.”

In that sense, Oppenheimer sees himself as writing for the widest audience possible — “curious readers,” as he put it. While acknowledging the book’s importance to Jews, “the book will be a failure if only the Jewish community pays attention.”

That matters because “I think America is definitely entering one of its cyclical periods of heightened antisemitism, and I think that there is a lot to be said about it that I didn’t touch on, and there will be people who think more deeply and profoundly about why hatred cycles back to the Jews. But it’s pretty concerning,” Oppenheimer said.

He pointed to a recent survey from the Cohen Research Group, partnering with the Louis D. Brandeis Center, showing that half of Jewish college students had at some point hidden their identity, and 65 percent had felt unsafe on campus.

“In the several decades after the Holocaust, the Western world felt so guilty that there was a bit of a holiday from overt antisemitism, at least in the United States, Canada and Australia. But I think that’s coming to an end, and we’re probably resetting to normal levels of it, which are too high,” Oppenheimer said. He sees it in the rise of conspiratorial thinking in majewishledger.com

the far right, and also in some of the proPalestinian statements from the far left. He sees it — and tolerance for it — in the general “willingness to forgive and forget who Louis Farrakhan really is, as an antisemite and a homophobe,” and in the “continued career of Mel Gibson, who has referred to Jews as ‘oven dodgers.’” He sees it also in the relative inattention paid to the attacks on Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn in recent years, and in the recent murders of Jews in Jersey City.

But Squirrel Hill isn’t a polemic against antisemitism, or a full-throated argument for gun control, or a broadside against the former president. It’s about a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, the way it rallied around those most harmed by a single brutal attack, and the way it continues to find a way into the future without forgetting the past. In the face of the many questions the book raises, the people of Squirrel Hill seem to be providing something like answers, if only in how they live their lives.

“I really do feel like this is a hopeful book,” Oppenheimer said. “The portrait of warm, caring community is big enough to drown out the germ of evil that got this all started.” The shooter, he said, “really is one guy. There are other people who share his ideology, but this was the act of one person.

That’s not bigger than the thousands of people in Squirrel Hill.”

Mark Oppenheimer will speak at the Mandell JCC on Sunday, Nov. 7. For information, visit mandelljcc.org.

This is article first appeared in the New Haven Independent (www. newhavenindependent.com) and is reprinted with permission.

Literatour CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

An Observant Wife, Naomi Ragen Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022, 2 p.m.

Online Program (Zoom) Yaakov and Leah are plunged into their new lives together as Yaakov leaves his beloved yeshiva to work in the city, and Leah confronts the restrictions imposed by religious laws that govern even their most intimate moments. Adding to their difficulties is the hostility of some who continue to view Leah as a dangerous interloper, questioning her sincerity and adherence to religious laws and spreading outrageous rumors. During their attempts to reach balance between their human needs and their spiritual obligations, the discovery of a forbidden relationship between troubled teenage daughter Shaindele and a local boy precipitates a

maelstrom of life-changing consequences for all.

Ragen is an award-winning novelist, journalist, and playwright. Her first book, Jephte’s Daughter, was listed among the top 100 most important Jewish books of all time.

This program is free and open to the public.

A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools that Changed America, Andrew Feiler Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022 7 p.m.

Online Program (Zoom) Born to Jewish immigrants, Julius Rosenwald rose to lead Sears, Roebuck & Company and turned it into the world’s largest retailer. Born into slavery, Booker T. Washington became the founding principal of Tuskegee Institute. In 1912 the two men launched a program to partner with Southern Black communities to build public schools for African American children. This collaboration drove dramatic improvement in African American educational attainment and fostered the generation who became the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights movement.

Feiler grew up Jewish in Savannah and has created numerous community initiatives, serves on multiple not-for-profit boards, and is an active advisor to political leaders. His art is an extension of his civic values.

This program is free and open to the public.

Co-sponsored by Temple Beth El and the Springfield Museum.

Hannah’s War, Jan Eliasberg Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 7 p.m.

In-Person Program at the J In 1938 physicist Dr. Hannah Weiss was on the verge of the greatest discovery of the 20th Century: splitting the atom. As a Jewish woman living under the rule of the Third Reich, her research is belittled, overlooked, and eventually stolen by her German colleagues. In 1945 Major Jack Delaney, wounded from the liberation of Paris, returned to the New Mexican desert with a mission: to catch a spy. Someone in the top-secret nuclear lab at Los Alamos has been leaking encoded equations to Hitler’s scientists. Chief among Jack’s suspects is Hannah Weiss. All signs point to Hannah as the traitor, but over three days of interrogation, Jack will realize that they have more in common than either one bargained for.

Eliasberg is an award-winning writer and director whose career includes dramatic pilots for Miami Vice and Wiseguy, and episodes of TV series including Bull, Nashville, Parenthood, and Blue Bloods.

Free for JCC members, $10 general public

MASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER

I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust: A Memoir of Autism and Hope, Valerie Gilpeer Thursday, April 7, 2022, 7 p.m.

Online Program (Zoom) “I have been buried under years of dust and now I have so much to say.” These were the first words 25-year-old Emily Gordon ever wrote. Born with nonverbal autism, Emily’s only means of communicating had been one-word responses or physical gestures.

This miraculous breakthrough allowed Emily to finally provide insight into the life, frustrations, and joys of a person with autism.

Gilpeer, Emily Gordon’s mother, worked together with Emily to bring this remarkable memoir to life.

This program is free and open to the public.

Co-sponsored by Kehillah, the JCC’s Special Needs Department Laugh Lines: Helping Funny People Be Funnier, Alan Zweibel Thursday, May 12, 2022, at 7 p.m.

In-Person Program at the J (Zoom) Alan Zweibel caught the attention of Lorne Michaels becoming one of the first writers at Saturday Night Live, where he penned classic material for Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and all of the original Not Ready for Prime-Time Players. Zweibel weaves together his own stories and interviews with his friends and contemporaries, including Richard Lewis, Eric Idle, Bob Saget, Mike Birbiglia, Sarah Silverman, Judd Apatow, Dave Barry, Carl Reiner, and more.

Zweibel has won multiple Emmys and Writers Guild awards for his work in television.

Free for JCC members, $10 general public HumanKind: Changing the World One Small Act at a Time, Brad Aronson Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at 7 p.m.

Online Program (Zoom) Brad Aronson’s life changed in an instant when his wife, Mia, was diagnosed with leukemia. Amid the stress and despair of waiting for the treatment to work, Brad and Mia were met by an outpouring of kindness from friends, family, and even complete strangers. Inspired by the many demonstrations of “humankindness” that supported their family through Mia’s recovery, Brad began writing about the people who rescued his family from that dark time, often with the smallest of gestures.

This program is free and open to the public.

For more information or to register for Literatour, visit SpringfieldJCC.org, call (413) 739-4715, or email Arts@ SpringfieldJCC.org.

| OCTOBER 15, 2021

19

WHAT’S HAPPENING SUNDAY, OCT. 17 ASHFIELD – PJ Library at Double Edge Theatre for children and families with backstage tour, stilt walking and visiting farm animals, 10 a.m. – 12 noon, 948 Conway Road, ebarber@ jewishwesternmass.org NORTHAMPTON – Lander-Grinspoon Academy 25th Anniversary Celebration Launch, with food, song, dance, tours, games and other outdoor fun for the whole family -- All friends and extended families, alums, supporters and those interested in becoming part of the LGA family are invited, 12:30 – 2 p.m., 257 Prospect St., Contact: dkolodnyr@LanderGrinspoon.org; (413) 584-6622

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 20 WORCESTER – Worcester JCC Virtual Author Talk - David Grossman, author of More Than I Love My Life, 12:30 - 2:30 p.m.; For link or more information contact

Nancy Greenberg at (508) 756-7109, ext.

232 or ngreenberg@worcesterjcc.org

THURSDAY, OCT. 21 WORCESTER – Worcester JCC Author’s talk In Person with Leslie Epstein, author of Hill of Beans, 7-9 p.m., 633 Salisbury St., For more information contact Nancy Greenberg at (508) 756-7109, ext. 232 or; ngreenberg@worcesterjcc.org

SUNDAY, OCT. 24 SOUTH DEERFIELD - Judaica and History Book Celebration and Extravaganza, sponsored by the Jewish Historical Society of Western Mass., 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (Rain date the following Sunday) Schoen Books, 7 Sugarloaf St., Contact: Ken Schoen at (413) 665-0066, schoen@schoenbooks.com; Website: https://templeisraelgreenfield. org/events/judaica-and-history-bookcelebration-and-extravaganza/

0CT. 17 – NOV. 10 TUESDAY, NOV 2 SPRINGFIELD – Literatour event with Jenna Blum discussing her new memoir Woodrow on the Bench: Life Lessons from a Wise Old Dog, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Springfield JCC, 1160m Dickinson St., arts@ springfieldjcc.org Free for JCC members; $10/general public

lectures-at-soz-2021-11-09-19-00 Website: www.sonsofzionholyoke.org WORCESTER – Worcester JCC Virtual Author Talk, Faris Cassell author of The Unanswered Letter: One Holocaust Family’s Desperate Plea for Help, 7-9 p.m., For link or more information contact Nancy Greenberg at (508) 756-7109, ext. 232 or ngreenberg@worcesterjcc.org

SUNDAY, NOV. 7

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10

WORCESTER - PJ/PJOW Field Trip to the Worcester Fridge on Brooks Street, for families with children 5 - 12 years old, 2:30 p.m., mhall@jfcm.org

SPRINGFIELD – Literatour event with Mark Oppenheimer, discussing his new book, Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue and the Soul of a Neighborhood, 7-8 p.m., arts@springfieldjcc.org Free for JCC members; $10/general public

TUESDAY, NOV. 9 HOLYOKE – Sons of Zion Fall 2021 Lecture Series II: Dr. Simon Sibelman will leads two Jewish geographic journeys to France, the Czech Republic, and Poland, at 7-8:30 p.m. via Zoom, Registration: https://www. sonsofzionholyoke.org/events-1/fall-2021-

Conversation with Justin Cammy CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

before his death in 2010 that there started to be many more translations. Not only this poetry, but also of this memoir. English is really the last one to come out – there’s Hebrew, there’s Lituanian, German, French, but not English. So, now I’m able to bring out not only the memoir, which exists in all the other editions, but also all these other materials like the testimonial at Nuremberg, like the diary notes. And I think most importantly for me, these essays about what it was like to be a Yiddish writer in late Stalinism and the fear of that environment, and the self-censorship. So, he writes the memoir under certain conditions that I think also are interesting.

JL: HOW DID HE GET FROM THE VILNA GHETTO TO THE SOVIET UNION WHEN THE WAR WAS STILL GOING ON? JC: He was in the Vilna Ghetto for the entire period of the existence of the ghetto – two years. Then as the ghettos are being liquidated, he escaped with his wife and several colleagues and goes and fights and lives among the partisans for about six months.

Literature is smuggled out to the Soviet Union to major Yiddish writers there, and

to the major Russian writer, Ilya Ehrenburg, who was Jewish but not a Yiddish writer.

He was the most well-known Russian Soviet writer at the time. A plane is sent to rescue Sutzkever. Whether it was sent to rescue him or whether he was rescued because the plane was going to the partisans anyway twice a week, he was brought along with his wife to Moscow. And immediately within the week, spoke about the destruction of Vilna for the Jewish and the antifascists.

Ehrenburg and Vasily Grossman, two of the most important Soviet Jewish writers at the time, were creating this thing called the Black Book of Soviet Jewry, which was meant to be a very specific genre of reportage that would indict the perpetrators and name and specify their crimes. This was before there are Holocaust museums. This is very early on – 1944.

So Sutzkever is enlisted to write a chapter on Vilna. And he does that. But at a certain point the politics of the regime interfere, and they don’t want the book released, so then he publishes it on his own; simultaneously, one edition in Moscow, one edition in Paris. There are slight differences between the editions, which suggests there was some self-censorship by Sutzkever and of the editor in saying what could be published in the Soviet Union as opposed

to what could be published in France. And Sutzkever himself tailored the manuscript towards what they wanted.

So in a way it’s a schematic text that fits into sort of this role of the Jew as fighter, the Jew as not being silent, but he adds in a lot of things that are new there, like the role of culture and self-organization of the ghetto.

JL: MANY OF THE PEOPLE HE WRITES ABOUT MEMBERS OF THE AMAZING COMMUNITY OF YOUNG JEWISH WRITERS AND ARTISTS IN THE VILNA GHETTO. JC: Yes, he was part of the most important young Yiddish literary movement of the 1930s. He was part of “Young Vilna” and not only did that mean he was sort of au courant with all the young writers and artists and journalists in Vilna, but also the editors and the teachers. So, this all part of one, we might call it “linguistic cultural system” that he was part of there.

And then the same thing can be said when he gets to Moscow, because he’s this Yiddish poet, and he falls in immediately with all of the most famous poets of the revolution.

JL: WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR THESE YIDDISH AND JEWISH WRITERS UNDER STALIN? JC: They started hearing that they would meet the same fate as those who were purged in the late 1930s. Many of them are very important in the 1940s in Jewish AntiFascist activity, but most of the people that I quote from are killed by Stalin, whether it be [Peretz] Markish, my favorite poet of the revolution, and [Solomon] Mikhoels, the director of the Moscow State Jewish Theater.

They were killed in 1952 along with all the other most important Soviet Yiddish writers, so in a way, the volume is Sutzkever’s decision to reflect not only on the destruction of one Jewish community that is Vilna, but also, he’s there in Moscow writing this at a time that is on the precipice of another destruction. He understands what totalitarianism is all about.

Earlier this week was the 75th anniversary of the close of the Nuremberg trials, so the fact that the volume also includes the testimony, and his diary notes is also interesting because the Soviets only were allowed a certain number of witnesses and they chose Sutzkever to be one of CONTINUED NEXT PAGE

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those witnesses. He’s the only Yiddish poet, the only Jewish writer who testifies, and the only one who really has first-hand experience of what life was like in a ghetto like Vilna.

JL: HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO DO THIS TRANSLATION? JC: I wanted to do it since 2013. So, it’s been sort of a slow thing. It would have come out much earlier if I would have just stopped with the memoir itself -- really that is less than half of what’s in there.

But then I was like ‘No, there’s more.

There’s opportunity to have this book not only be the memoir but to be about the entire moment around the memoir, including Nuremberg, including these encounters with writers in Moscow. So, then it grew and grew as these things do.

That’s what makes me proud, that not only is it in English, but I think it’s the most comprehensive version. It’s the only version that includes both of his editions – the Moscow and the French.

It’s the only one that includes a lot of footnotes and photographs, many of which haven’t been published before, and it is the only one that includes the Nuremberg materials. So, it’s a look at a moment – we could say that it’s like 1944 to 1946 – a little sliver in Jewish life right during and after destruction.

different. I think that we need more of those in order to really understand what it was to live at a moment where you were between life and death, as you were cut off from the rest of the world. There were rumors all around you that eventually you would be liquidated, but there was also hope that you would be able to outlast the Nazis if the Red Army or the Americans or the British would come.

And that if only you were useful, and if only you were productive, the Nazis

wouldn’t kill you. Because after all, you’re making their food, you’re making their coats. They need those to fight, so as long as we’re productive and slave laborers we can outlast this.

It’s also an exercise in how people live in extremis. I think that’s amazing, and I think it’s a credit to Jewish self-organization in the ghetto. How quickly ghetto leaders tried to replicate some of the systems that existed before the ghetto in normal society.

So, if you have Yiddish and Hebrew schools

JL: WAS HIS MEMOIR ONE OF THE FIRST, AND HOW DID IT COMPARE TO OTHER ACCOUNTS OF LIFE FOR JEWS DURING THE WAR? JC: In the back of the book, I provide a bibliography of sorts of films or writing and about the Holocaust. There are diaries that come out that were written during the Holocaust. His work is not a diary. It’s a very close reflection while the smoke was still burning... It’s among the earliest because he starts writing it in 1944 before the end of the war.

In a way his is the most far reaching in wanting to talk a little bit about the beginning of the war and the arrival of the Nazis.

Then a whole section on Jewish self-organization, whether it be self-help, or health, or hospitals or culture, theater, music, schools.

And then only in the third section, looking at the resistance.

For him, the resistance was twofold. It wasn’t only physical resistance but cultural. The theme that being a teacher is also a form of resistance because teachers could have just stayed home and hidden. But they decided to go and teach kids, and every day those kids would be fewer in number.

That’s a form of resistance for him.

And then the last chapter is of going backwards -- visiting the town after its destruction, going to visit the killing fields and talking to some of the witnesses.

Another thing about the text is that it’s poly-vocal in nature, with diverse voices and a lot of quotation of other people – “So and so told me this.” He’s not only a memoirist and chronicler, but he’s also the avenue through which others testify. He’s the address for others’ testimony.

JL: WHO DO YOU THINK WILL BE INTERESTED IN READING SUTZKEVER’S MEMOIR? JC: I think that actually it is going to go beyond scholars because I think people are interested in World War II biographies and memoir. There’s a lot of people in the general readership who have discovered Sutzkever. There are two films that were shown at the Yiddish Book Center. There have been new translations into English of Sutzkever’s poetry…there was a new edition, earlier this year published of Sutzkever stories, fiction.

It will be useful to students of Holocaust history and Holocaust memory. And then I’m always amazed at the amount of general readers who are just interested in reading Jewish history. There are a lot of people who find this fascinating even someone like me who teaches both Holocaust history and Holocaust literature. There are stories in this text that are so shocking and surprising that you don’t get in your normal stuff in the general canon of Eli Weisel and Primo Levy and Anne Frank.

Those are all different. Anne Frank is hiding. That’s one Holocaust experience.

Primo Levy is at a work camp in Auschwitz - that’s a different experience.

Eli Weisel, also at a death camp. This is a ghetto memoir which was entirely majewishledger.com

before the war, you’re going to create them in the ghetto. If you have a Yiddish theater before the war, you’re now going to have a Yiddish theater during the war. But we have to think about sort of the conditions that these people are living in. On the one hand it’s totally understandable. On the other hand, I’m like, these people could have just sat around doing nothing, right? But they threw themselves into this work.

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OBITUARIES JONAS Leon Jonas, 94, of Worcester and Delray Beach, Fla. died Sept. 12 at home. He was the widower of Claire (Pollack) Jonas, his wife of 51 years. Born in Worcester, he was the son of Charles and Rose (Silber) Jonas.

He lived in Worcester for most of his life, before retiring to Delray Beach many years ago. He founded New England Canteen Service, Inc., which he operated for many years before his retirement. A veteran, he was an avid bridge player and golfer.

He is survived by two sons, Lawrence Katz and his wife, Jill, of New Jersey and Jeffrey Jonas of New York City; a daughter, Michele Schmitt of Florida; a daughterin-law, Cantor Marcie Jonas of Sudbury; seven grandchildren; and six greatgrandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to support cancer research and patient care: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or via www.jimmyfund.org/gift.

MILES FUNERAL HOME KASS Marilyn (Bell) Kass, 86, of Worcester died Sept. 29. She was the widow of Israel Kass.

Born in Worcester, she was the daughter of the late Lew and Ceil (Solod) Bell. She graduated from Classical High School and attended the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. She went on to teach art and religious school for many years and was greatly loved by her students. She also studied dance in Worcester and Boston and taught Ballet early in her life. For many years, she volunteered for a variety of organizations. She is survived by a daughter, Robin, and her husband, Orrin Zucker of Needham; four grandsons, Ben, Josh, Noah and Nate; a brother, Paul Bell and his wife, Ellie, of Jacksonville, Fla.; and a daughter-in-law, Lynn Tischler Kass of Natick. She was predeceased by a son, Scott Kass. Memorial contributions may be made to Temple Emanuel Sinai, 661 Salisbury St., Worcester, MA 01609 or to the Epilepsy Foundation, https://www.epilepsy.com/ make-difference/ways-give RICHARD PERLMAN OF MILES FUNERAL HOME

KATZ Frances Deborah Katz, 60, of Decatur, Ga., formerly of Boston, NYC and Leominster, died Sept. 14. Born in Leominster, she was the daughter of the Harry and Matilda (Jaffe) Katz. She graduated from Boston University with a degree in journalism and earned a masters’ degree in English and American literature at Harvard University.

After graduate school, she was a staff writer at the Boston Herald, working in the features department covering television and culture. Moving to New York City, she worked for the New York Times’ earliest digital efforts, Cowles Media Daily, and MTV. Moving to Atlanta in 1998, working as a technology reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She later graduated from New England Law School of Boston, where she helped write the first edition of the Digital Media Law Guide as a clerk at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. She became a project attorney at the law firm of Alston & Bird.

She returned to journalism, building out a successful freelance career focused on books, television, food, culture, and travel. Her work appeared in a wide range of publications, The Washington Post, The New York Post, The Week, USA Today, Marie Claire, Redbook, and Roads & Kingdoms, Chowhound, and Lonely Planet News. She is survived by an aunt, Ethel Katz Abramoff of Worcester; and 17 cousins, Ruth Katz Berman of Worcester; Harriet Joseph Robbins of Worcester; David Chaifetz of Florida; Robert Joseph of Sudbury; Jerome Katy of Florida; Richard Chaifetz of Maryland; Ruth, Gail, and Joseph Cohen of Eastham; Martha Katz-Hyman of Virginia; Daniel Joseph of Leominster; Barbara Abramoff Levey of North Carolina; Judith Katz of Rhode Island; Lawrence Abramoff of Worcester; David Abramoff of Colorado; Debra Abramoff Brooks of Marblehead; and Robert, Richard and Raymond Perlman.

Memorial contributions may be made to Congregation Agudat Achim, 268 Washington St., Leominster, MA 01453; or to Rachel’s Table, 633 Salisbury St., Worcester, MA 01609.

RICHARD PERLMAN OF MILES FUNERAL HOME OF HOLDEN

PITKIN Marion E. (Cobert) Pitkin, 84, of Westborough, formerly of Wrentham, died Oct. 1. She was the widow of Stanley Pitkin. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., she was the daughter of the late Max and Anna (Liff) Cobert. She attended NYC public schools and due to her academic gifts, graduated Taft High School at the age of 16. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Hunter College by the age of 19 and held her first teaching job in the Bronx.

She was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honors society. She and her family resided in Pittsfield for 25 years where they were members of Temple Anshe Amunim where she taught pre-school for many years. She is survived by two daughters, Lauren Smith (Bradford) of Westborough and Barbara Crooke (Robert) of Underwood, Wash.; four grandchildren, Joshua Smith (Tiffany), Johanna Smith, Rachael Crooke (Emiliano) and Alyssa Crooke (Robert); a sister-in-law, Florence Pitkin; and a niece and nephews.

She was predeceased by a sister, Phyllis Fogel. Memorial contributions may be made to Dakin Humane Society, 171 Union St., Springfield, MA 01105.

TAMARKIN Maurry James Tamarkin, 83, of Brimfield, died on July 12. He was the husband of Julie Chipps Tamarkin. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, he was the son of Joseph and Leona Tamarkin. He attended Washington University where he received his A. B., MBA, and Ph. D. He was a U.S. Army veteran. A polymath, he worked in numerous jobs, from carnival ride operator to highschool chemistry teacher to commodities broker, before settling at Clark University where he taught finance for more than 30 years. He published numerous articles on sports betting. In addition to his wife, he is survived by four children, Joseph (Heidi), Molly (Ken), Susannah (Javier), Jacob (Elisabeth); seven grandchildren, Alora, Ezekiel, Elias, Seth, Sophie, Jay, and Sasha; two brothers, Allan and Stanley; two sisters, Pamela and Sasha; and numerous nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to the Tamarkin Finance Fellowship Award at the Clark University School of Management, 950 Main St., Worcester, MA 01610.

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Commander in the United States Navy and served in Vietnam attached to the Marine Corp Third Medical Battalion. He was a board certified general surgeon, and thoracic and vascular surgeon. He was in private practice for 39 years serving Springfield and its surrounding communities. He was an active and devoted member of Temple Beth El for over 40 years. In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Brian; two grandsons, Thompson and Calvin; and a daughter-in-law, Ashley, of Charleston, S.C. He was pre-deceased by his eldest son, Keith, who passed away in January 2021.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Keith Sherman Memorial Award, at www.

Albany.edu/giving or send a check by mail.

Checks payable to The UAlbany Foundation, 1400 Washington Avenue, UAB 226, Albany, NY, 12222. Please indicate your gift is or the Keith Sherman Memorial Award in memory of Mark Sherman; or Veterans on Deck, at www.veteransondeck. org/donate.

ASCHER-ZIMMERMAN FUNERAL HOME SOLOMON Arthur Solomon, 87, a longtime resident of Longmeadow, died Oct. 5. He was the husband of Linda (Steinberg) Solomon.

Born in New York City, he was the son of the late Sophie and Alexander Weiner, and stepfather, Leon Solomon. He graduated from Classical High School, Springfield and received a bachelors degree from AIC, Springfield, MA. He was the business owner of Superior Industrial Products Corp. in West Springfield. In addition to his wife of 64 years, he is survived by a sister, Dorothy Blackman; three children, Laurie Zimmerman (Bruce), Jeffrey Solomon (Rhonda), and Joel Solomon (Lynn); and grandchildren, Sarah St. Pierre (Andrew), Joshua, Amy, Jill, Mark, Abigail and Dena.

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SHERMAN Mark M. Sherman of Springfield and Chatham died peacefully at Baystate Medical Center. He was the husband of Jane Sherman. He grew up in Worcester and attended Clark University where he was captain of the varsity tennis team and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He received his medical degree from Cornell Medical School and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. He was Lieutenant 22

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| OCTOBER 15, 2021

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RABBI MOSHE TENDLER SHAPED ORTHODOX VIEWS ON ORGAN DONATION

Serving the Jewish Communities of Worcester, Worcester County and Surrounding areas

BY SHIRA HANAU

(JTA) — Rabbi Moshe Tendler, an expert in Jewish law and medical ethics, died Tuesday, Sept. 28 at age 95.

A dean of the rabbinical school and a professor of Jewish medical ethics and biology at Yeshiva University, Tendler was considered an expert in issues of Jewish law and medical ethics.

But he was most famous for the fierceness with which he advocated for the Jewish legal position that brain death constituted death, thus allowing Orthodox Jews to donate and receive organ transplants for organ donation in the case of brain death.

He was also known for the sometimes dismissive attitude with which he regarded those who disagreed with him on that question and others. When a group of rabbis issued an opinion concluding that the cessation of heartbeat, rather than brain death, constitutes death, he denounced them publicly, in an act unusual in the typically sober world of Orthodox Jewish law decisors.

“You say a thing, I believe you’re ignorant on this topic,” Tendler told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in 2011. “That’s not an insult. It’s a fact.”

Born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Tendler was immersed in the dual pursuit of rigorous secular and religious studies from a young age under the tutelage of his mother, a law school graduate, and his father, head of the Rabbi Jacob Joseph yeshiva.

Tendler grew up just a few blocks away from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, one of the most important Orthodox rabbinic authorities in the United States in the 20th century. Tendler eventually became Feinstein’s son-in-law. He met Feinstein’s daughter, Shifra, when she approached him at a public library in the neighborhood to ask him a question about chemistry.

“After that, somehow I managed to come more often to the library to study,” Tendler recalled. He studied at New York University, was ordained at Yeshiva University in 1949 and earned a doctorate in microbiology from Columbia University in 1957. In his tenure teaching biology and Talmud at Yeshiva University, he taught hundreds of doctors and rabbis.

In addition to teaching, Tendler also served as the rabbi of the Community Synagogue in Monsey, New York from 1967 until his death.

Tendler became an important influence on Feinstein’s positions on questions of Jewish law and medicine and served as a bridge between the scientific experts and the experts in Jewish law and ethics, writing articles in the top medical journals as well as for Jewish scholars.

“I remember him telling me how he used to sit with Rabbi Feinstein and he would describe the science behind it. Rabbi Feinstein would ultimately make the rulings but Rabbi Tendler was his interpreter of much of the scientific knowledge,” said Alan Jotkowitz, a professor at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, director of the Jacobovits Center for Jewish Medical Ethics and director of the Medical School for International Health and Medicine.

Jotkowitz, who was a student in Tendler’s biology and Talmud classes at Yeshiva University, described Tendler as a major influence for himself and other Orthodox doctors, whom Tendler empowered to be scholars of both Judaism and science.

“He was a personal role model, that there’s no conflict between scientific knowledge and Torah….he said you could see God’s wisdom in the Torah, but Rabbi Tendler also thought you could see God’s wisdom in nature and studying nature,” Jotkowitz said.

Tendler’s funeral, which was delayed because he died on the first day of a twoday holiday, is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at the Community Synagogue in Monsey, New York. He is survived by eight children. majewishledger.com

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