H eadlines
The 2021 Caroline Zelaznik Gruss and
Joseph S. Gruss Lecture in Talmudic Civil Law
Is the Value of Human Life
Paramount?: Law and Personal Autonomy in Rabbinic Law
9/11 Continued from Page 6
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021
Π5:30 PM
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
3501 Sansom Street
Dr. Ayelet Hoffmann
2021-2022 Gruss Professor of Talmudic Law
Individually packaged meals will be available
after the lecture for in-person guests. Dietary laws
will be observed. In-person registration is required
for entrance into the building.

This program has been approved for 1.0 Substantive CLE credits for Pennsylvania lawyers. CLE credit may be available
in other jurisdictions as well. Attendees seeking CLE credit should make a payment via the online registration link in
the amount of $40.00 ($20.00 public interest/non-profit attorneys). In order to receive the appropriate amount of credit,
passwords provided throughout the program must be noted in your evaluation form.

Penn Law Alumni receive CLE credits free through The W.P. Carey Foundation’s generous commitment to Lifelong Learning.

To RSVP, please e-mail Neoshie Giles at:
gilesne@law.upenn.edu BUSINESS DIRECTORY
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12 AUGUST 26, 2021
PA054592 Virginia Buckingham published her memoir “On My Watch” last year, but it remains a timely story as the 20th
anniversary of 9/11 approaches.

story with Melrose B’nai Israel
Emanu-El in a conversation
with Rabbi Charles Sherman
on Aug. 28 over Zoom as part
of the synagogue’s Selichot
services. Sherman believes that
Buckingham’s story is an
important one for Jews to hear,
especially during Selichot, the
Saturday before Rosh Hashanah
that begins the period of
reflecting and repentance
leading to the High Holidays.

“Her messages were not just
about 9/11,” Sherman said. “She
is really dealing with a message
that a lot of us deal with: How
do you get up the next day,
when you find yourself in this
dark, dark, dark place?”
Sherman is no stranger to
tragedy and life’s unexpected
turns. After the death of one
of his sons several years ago,
Sherman published another
memoir, “The Broken and
the Whole: Discovering Joy
after Heartbreak,” in 2014.

He knows firsthand that the
message of finding strength in
loss is easier said than done.

Buckingham’s journey to
acceptance was similarly rocky.

After the wrongful death
lawsuit, Buckingham hit
a low point. She focused on
parenting her children as a way
JEWISH EXPONENT
of keeping afloat.

In 2015, her life took another
turn. She was accepted into
a program called Presidential
Leadership Scholars, a leader-
ship development program
created by the presidential
libraries of Bill Clinton and
George W. Bush. For her leader-
ship project at the program,
she completed her book.

Buckingham compares
resilience to sea glass in her
memoir: “Something that
originates from a bottle, but
that’s in a form that it doesn’t
resemble at all by the time
it gets tossed around in the
waves, in the salt, in the sand
for 20, 30, 50 years.”
She offers that an individual
is not the same as they were
before experiencing terrible loss.

“You’re different forever, but
that doesn’t mean you don’t
offer meaning, can’t provide
joy and build a meaningful
life,” Buckingham said.

Sherman’s hope is that after
hearing Buckingham speak,
the audience will leave with a
feeling of empowerment when
weathering hardships and the
unknown. “Life is not about endings;
it’s about beginnings,” he said.

This theme is reflective of
Rosh Hashanah, said Sherman,
who tries to find balance in the
tradition of the holidays, while
also honoring the new year.

“On one hand, there’s a
sameness to the liturgy and
there’s a sameness, really, to
the rituals. But I’m not the
same person I was last year,”
Sherman said.

Though Buckingham isn’t
Jewish, she finds meaning in
the Jewish people’s story of
resilience. Buckingham’s
husband is Jewish, and they made
the choice to raise Jewish
children. She remembers
going to synagogue with her
family shortly after 9/11 and
hearing Debbie Friedman’s Mi
Shebeirach: “Help us find the
courage to make our lives a
blessing.” The line resonated
with her.

“The Jewish people who
have gone through so much
pain over the centuries, yet still
live lives with such incredible
joy,” Buckingham said.

The event will take place
virtually at 8:15 p.m., followed
by Selichot services virtu-
ally or in-person at 9:45 p.m.

Visit mbiee.org for more
information. l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H eadlines
ISRAELBRIEFS Israeli Economy Grows 15.4% in Q2
ISRAEL’S ECONOMY GREW 15.4% in the year’s second quarter
compared to the previous quarter — an increase attributed to the
removal of COVID-19 restrictions, Globes reported, citing data
from the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Overall, the economy grew 5.3% in the first half of 2021,
compared to the final six months of 2020.

A sharp increase in car imports contributed to 12.4% gross
domestic product growth. GDP per capita rose by 13.5% and
private consumption grew by 36.3%.

Israel’s quarterly growth figure was higher than Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development countries Belgium
(14.5%), Canada (13.8%), United States (12.2%) and Austria (11.4%),
but less than Portugal (15.4%), Italy (1.3%) and France (18.7%).

Major Wildfire Near Jerusalem Contained
A large wildfire near Jerusalem that was considered contained
as of Aug. 17 reignited two days later, requiring additional
firefighting efforts, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Evacuated residents were initially allowed to return home
except in some areas in Ramat Raziel and Giv’at Ye’arim.

More than 6,000 acres were burned in the mountains of
Jerusalem. About 150 Fire and Rescue teams worked with the
Israel Air Force, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund,
Home Front Command, Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and
Palestinian Authority firefighting teams from Jericho and Ramallah
to contain the fire. More than 1,500 firefighters participated.

“The devastation is unimaginable,” Environmental Protection
Minister Tamar Zandberg said. “There is extensive damage
to the environment. Entire ecosystems have been completely
destroyed. The nature of the Jerusalem mountains [means it] will
have a hard time rehabilitating itself.”
IDF Troops Compete in Capture the Flag Tournament
Forty-five Israel Defense Forces troops from the joint Cyber
Defense Division were among the teams from 10 countries
participating in an international Capture the Flag cyber tourna-
ment hosted by U.S. Army Cyber, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Israel’s team placed second in the event, which involves the
teams defending their cybersecurity systems from would-be
hackers — a take-off of the staple child’s game where two teams
seek to retrieve the opposing team’s flag from their territory.

“This was a great way to train our people in a new environ-
ment that they are not used to, and take their skills and test them
in a new environment,” said Lt.-Col. O, a senior officer in the
JCDD. “It’s four to five hours where your mind is tested in the
most extreme way to find new challenges.”
Israeli Grower to Begin Avocado Production in Morocco
Mehadrin, which is Israel’s largest citrus grower and exporter,
entered into an agreement to grow avocados in Morocco, The
Jerusalem Post reported.

“Planting the avocados in Morocco is part of a larger plan to
be able to supply our European customers more easily than from
Israel in terms of geography and in terms of more competitive
costs,” Shaul Shelach, CEO of Mehadrin, told The Algemeiner.

Mehadrin now exports Israeli avocados during its growing
season from October to either March or April. Demand is
outstripping supply, and avocados are expected to be the fastest-
growing commodity among fresh tropical fruits. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT
AUGUST 26, 2021
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