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DEATH NOTICES
DEATH NOTICES
MEMORIALS Z E R U L D
Halpern Jane Zeruld (nee Cohan) April 11, 2021, of
Upper Gwynedd, PA. Wife of the late Herbert
Zeruld; Mother of Debra Brunetto (the late
Scott Brunetto), Bill (Sharon) Zeruld and the
late Edward Zeruld. Sister of Robert (Elaine
Sherman) Cohan (the late Lois Cohan);
Grandmother of Joshua, Matthew, Maya and
Katie. Services and Interment were Private.

The family respectfully requests that contri-
butions in her memory be made to the
Mitzvah Circle or the Lustgarten Foundation.

JOSEPH LEVINE and SONS
www.levinefuneral.com S T R A U S S
Michael Alexander Strauss, age 66, beloved
son of Mona Strauss of Ocean City and
Chestertown, Maryland and the late Dr.

Robert Strauss, passed away peacefully at
the home of his mother on March 9, 2021
after a short illness. He is sadly missed. A
1976 graduate of Yale University, Michael
also held a Master’s degree in Performance
from the New England Conservatory of Mu-
sic. He played in a number of orchestras in
the United States and abroad, as principal vi-
olist of Omaha Symphony for eleven years
and the Cedar Rapids Symphony for eight
years before moving to the Eastern Shore of
Maryland in 1999 where he was principal vi-
olist of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra
and a founding member of the Mariner String
Quartet. Michael’s role as a teacher and
mentor to string students was central to his
identity as a musician. In recent years, he
conducted a private teaching studio in Upper
Gwynedd, Pennsylvania. His lifelong quest
for ways to improve the teaching of string in-
struments resulted in the development of a
unique program that utilizes whole brain
learning. Exercise volumes for violin, viola
and cello and the teaching manual, Metatech-
nical Systems for Strings, accelerate the
learning process. The first volume develops
tone, note-reading, rhythm, and intonation.

The second volume develops shifting, glis-
sando, velocity, ear-training, and vibrato.

Both students and experienced players bene-
fit when they utilize this new and revolution-
ary teaching system for string instruments.

Michael was also a writer and a poet. Beach
Sequences, a volume of poetry written dur-
ing a winter sojourn in Ocean City, and A Tao
for Now: The Music of Lao-Tsu are being
readied for publication. Michael became a
father later in life, and relished that role. He
was extremely proud of his son Arhon
Strauss, a sophomore at Phillips Exeter
Academy, who like his father has a writing
bent. In addition to his mother, he is sur-
vived by his son Arhon; two sisters, Dr.

Sarah Strauss of Holden, Massachusetts and
Jane Strauss, Esq. of Minneapolis, Min-
nesota; five nieces and two nephews.

Continued from Page 15
same word used in Tazria-
Metzora to describe the marks
of tzaraat.

This is a striking example
for the rabbis to choose. This
is not a verse about run-of-the-
mill sexual misbehavior, like
adultery. This is a reference to
a story about sexual violence
and power. Pharaoh, who holds
all the cards, takes Sarah to
his palace simply because he
wants to. Some commentators
also hold Abraham responsible
for standing by and allowing
this to happen — he had
claimed Sarah was his sister
in hopes that Pharaoh would
not harm him when taking her
away. While many commen-
tators excuse Abraham’s lie,
the medieval commentator
Nachmanides is critical of
Abraham’s decision to expose
his wife to sexual sin.

By invoking this story
in the context of tzaraat, the
rabbis offer us an opportu-
nity to understand the biblical
processes for responding to
tzaraat as a mode for responding
to sexual violence. Banishing
someone “outside the camp” is
a key part of a community’s
response to such behavior. Time
away is necessary, and it is the
responsibility of the culpable
party to keep others safe, to
prioritize their needs over his or
hers. The person with tzaraat is
commanded to warn passersby
of their state.

In a dvar Torah, Dr. Rachel
Rosenthal, a Talmud professor,
writes: “Often, it is diffi-
cult to acknowledge our own
weaknesses and failings. We
excuse behaviors in ourselves
MEMORIALS DAVID W . R INEK
1 2/7/54 - 2/1 2/21
Dave will be
remembered most by those
he loved and in the hearts
of all who loved him.

T A F L I N
Martin Taflin, April 10, 2021, of Richboro,
PA; beloved husband of the late Sylvia B.

(nee Buschel); loving father of Rita Kane (Mi-
chael) and Nancy Taflin-Frederick (Joseph);
cherished grandfather of Jennifer Yoas and
Jordan Kane (Rachael), adored great-grand-
father of Jeremy, Drake, Betty, Sarah and
Alex. Services will be private. Contributions
in Martin’s memory may be made to the Jew-
ish War Veterans (jwv.org) or Hadassah (ha-
dassah.org) JOSEPH LEVINE and SONS
www.levinefuneral.com Honor the memory
of your loved one...

Call 215.832.0749 to
place your memorial.

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that we condemn in others,
justifying our actions even as
we are uncomfortably aware
that we do not really believe
we are doing the right thing.

Imagine if, every time we
wronged ourselves and others,
we were forced to stand up and
admit it.”
Rosenthal challenges us
to embrace the mode of the
metzora, to see the value in
making public our wrongs.

Rosenthal’s words are directed
at individuals: We must all own
our misdeeds and take time
to contemplate them. But her
words also offer wisdom as we
as a community consider what
is moral and right: “Rather
than hiding behind excuses, we
would be forced to stand before
the world and say, Look, this is
who I am, both for good and
for bad. And while this might
cause us to be temporarily
separated from our communi-
ties, ultimately it would have
the potential to bring us back
in, presenting a more honest
and more righteous version of
ourselves, scars and all.”
Time outside the camp and
public communication about
misdeeds are key parts of
healing, both for individuals
and a community. The case of
the metzora teaches that for
someone not to be welcomed
in communal spaces after
they do harm is necessary and
important. Without it, there
can be no moving forward. l
Avigayil Halpern is studying for
rabbinic ordination at the Hadar
Institute in New York, and can be
found on Twitter at @avigayiln.

www.jewishexponent.com JEWISH EXPONENT
APRIL 22, 2021
27