local
Local Jews Worry
About Gas Prices
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
I t’s April, which means Margate
and Ventnor season is almost here
for Jews in Greater Philadelphia.

But shore season is also driving
season, and with gas prices hovering
around record levels, local Jews are
thinking twice about driving long dis-
tances ... or driving at all.

Yet while they are thinking twice,
they are still choosing to fill up the
tank and take the drive in most cases,
they say.

“It’s not keeping me from driving,
but it is getting me to plan accordingly,
so I’m not driving unnecessarily,” said
Melinda Engel, a Jewish Center City
resident. her house after two years of COVID-
induced isolation.

“We spent so much time being stuck
inside and away from the people we
care about; I don’t think it’s healthy,”
Engel said. “It’s time to come back and
start living again.”
The last thing Engel mentioned was
that the gas situation had gotten her to
at least think about going electric. She
called the electric car option appealing
because it’s good for the environment,
too, though she has not yet considered
other factors that make an EV different
— like having to charge it back up on
a long trip.

Ellen and David Tilman of Elkins
Park (he is the cantor emeritus at Beth
Sholom Congregation), split the dif-
ference between gas and electric with
“It’s not keeping me
from driving,
but it is getting me
to plan accordingly,
so I’m not driving
unnecessarily.” MELINDA ENGEL
Engel’s kids attend school on the
Main Line, so she’s “constantly driv-
ing,” she added. Now, she explained,
if she can drive out to the Main Line
“once instead of twice,” she consoli-
dates her trips.

Engel has also gotten strategic about
finding the best gas prices. On a recent
drive through New Jersey to get to the
Pennsylvania Turnpike, she drove 2
miles out of her way to find a Costco.

“Because it has the best gas prices,”
she said.

At the same time, Engel explained,
the benefits of driving still outweigh
the costs. She can decide when she
comes and goes. She can also get out of
6 APRIL 14, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
their hybrid cars.

The couple gets about 50 miles to the
gallon, so they don’t have to fill up as
often. But they also don’t have to worry
about charging their car on long trips,
like to their home in the Poconos or to
their son’s house in New Jersey.

At this point, the Tilmans are not
forgoing any family trips to the Garden
State or to the mountains.

“Those things are important to us,”
Ellen Tilman said.

But they are combining errands and
gaining a better sense of the gas station
map. The couple fills up at their local
Giant store, where they get a discount
as grocery store members, and near



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David and Ellen Tilman have gotten strategic about finding the lowest prices when
they need to fill up. 
Courtesy of David and Ellen Tilman
their son’s home in New Jersey, where
fuel is cheaper.

“We’re trying hard to make sure we
don’t fill up our tank a lot,” Tilman
said. Jerel Wohl of Warrington said that
he’s adopted the same mindset.

Wohl and his wife were just looking
at colleges with one of their kids in
Montana and Idaho, and it was expen-
sive to drive from Montana to Idaho.

Back in the Northeast, the family likes
to go down the shore in the summer,
but Wohl is already thinking about
how much it will cost.

You can’t help but notice it when
prices are over $4 per gallon, he said.

“In the summer, if you want to go to
the shore, yeah, it’s going to cost a lot,”
he added.

That said, Wohl takes public transpor-
tation to work, and his wife has her miles
covered by her employer, so the family is
not yet in the position where it has to cut
any drives out. Not yet, at least.

“I’m just hoping that it’s temporary,”
Wohl said.

Greg Halperin of Dresher is also
taking it day by day, hoping that the
prices go down. He’s letting his tank
run lower and lower before he decides
to fill up.

“To see if I can capitalize on a
decrease in price,” he said.

But Halperin and his wife, like other
area Jews, are not canceling any plans.

They still visit their Poconos house
almost every weekend.

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484-534-2087 Melinda Engel recently drove 2 miles
out of her way to fill up at a Costco.

Courtesy of Melinda Engel
Unlike Engel, the Halperins are
doing more than just considering going
electric with their next car. The Dresher
resident’s wife has been interested in an
EV, he said, but now they are viewing it
more as “a requirement” than “a nice-
to-have.” The Tesla Model 3, the most afford-
able Tesla model, is high on their list,
according to the husband. But they
also are researching hybrids like the
Hyundai Tucson.

“Is it impacting me materially? No,”
Halperin said of the price situation.

“It’s more of a nuisance. For the first
time yesterday,I spent $60 to fill my
tank.” JE
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