H eadlines
Cohen Streaming
Continued from Page 5
at Main Line Reform Temple
before the High Holidays.

After his tenure as state
commissioner for aging issues
came to a close, Cohen briefly
served as the state’s commis-
sioner of family services. Soon
thereafter, he entered the Temple
University Beasley School
of Law, graduating in 1975, a
fresh-faced lawyer of 49 (he had
previously earned a master’s in
public administration from the
Maxwell School of Citizenship
& Public Affairs at Syracuse
University). He had a stint on
the faculty of the University
of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine before he became the
attorney directing the Project
on Aging, Law, and Long-Term
Care at the Public Interest Law
Center of Philadelphia.

His passion was on display in
Continued from Page 6
testimony he gave to the United
States House Permanent Select
Committee on Aging as a repre-
sentative of the Public Interest
Law Center, an episode recounted
by the Inquirer. Cohen, testi-
fying to the House after a fire
killed nine elderly residents of
an unlicensed boarding home,
thundered against the “callous
neglect” of the commonwealth
and the Department of Public
Welfare for failing to enact the
law of the land.

It wasn’t all seriousness for
Cohen. Marcia Cohen remembers
him as a quick wit and excel-
lent travel partner. It was with
his encouragement that Marcia
Cohen decided to pursue
a master’s degree in social
service at Bryn Mawr College.

She said she sees her husband’s
love of learning and desire to
serve in her sons.

Jerry Chazen attended
the University of Wisconsin
with Cohen, and the two
remained close until Cohen’s
death. Their dormitory friend-
ship expanded into a lifelong
shared interest in opera and
theater, punctuated over the
decades with joint vacations,
live performances
seen together and mutual interest
each other’s work — Chazen
is one of the founders of Liz
Claiborne Inc.

“I was proud to call Eli my
friend,” Chazen said.

Cohen is survived by his wife,
Marcia, sons Barry and Peter,
and four grandchildren. l
jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
history and culture, the content
available on IZZY focuses
mainly on secular Israeli life.

The platform, which was
founded by Josh Hoffman and
launched on May 21, features
more than 100 titles and
updates its offerings weekly. In
addition to externally produced
dramas like “Magic Men” and
comedies like “10% My Child,”
IZZY hosts exclusive offerings
like the three-part docuseries
“Under the Iron Dome” and
“Rescue Bus 300.”
The content goes beyond
doc u ment a r ies
about hummus
and religious
pilgrimages to portray a
vibrant, diverse and modern
Israel. There’s plenty of food
and military-themed footage
to be found, but there’s also
“The Stand-Up Comedians,”
a special that focuses on the
difficulty women comics
encounter while forging
careers in a male-domi-
nated industry, “Transkids,”
a documentary series about
the transgender community
in Israel, and “Where Do You
Live?” a comedy series about
a young man pulled between
his dreams to become an
actor and the wishes of his
traditional Bukharan Uzbek
Jewish family.

IZZY subscriptions cost
$4.99 per month or $49.99 per
year. The platform does not
offer a free trial period, but you
can watch selected films and
episodes for free before you
subscribe. l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
THE GOOD YOU DO JUST GOT BETTER
Je w ish Fed e ra ti o n Maimo nid es Fund G o al Ach i e ved
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia proudly
raised $1 million for critical human and social services
needs in our area. Thanks to a Jewish Federations of
North America 1:2 match, our community will receive an
additional $500,000.

Together, we make real change.

Thank you to the contributors who are Carrying the Light,
bringing brightness and hope to those who need it most.

The following agency partners will
receive an allocation from the Fund:
Abramson Senior Care
Federation Housing, Inc.

Female Hebrew Benevolent Society
Friendship Circle
Golden Slipper Gems
Hebrew Free Loan Society
JCHAI JEVS Human Services
Jewish Family and Children’s Service
Jewish Relief Agency
KAVOD SHEF
Kleinlife Mitzvah Food Program
Carry the Light
jewishphilly.org 8
DECEMBER 17, 2020
JEWISH EXPONENT
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H EADLINES
Rabbi Continued from Page 1
about the students he’s worked
with, what the next genera-
tion of Hillel leaders can do to
succeed and being mistaken
for a college junior.

What will you miss most
about Penn Hillel?
What I’ll miss most is the
students. Being around an
incredible, high-density group
of smart, passionate, nice, ideal-
istic and super-eff ective people.

Th ere are very few places with as
rich and dynamic of an under-
graduate student community as
the University of Pennsylvania,
and all of that is just maximized
by the incredible richness and
dynamic nature of the univer-
sity itself.

And being around young
people is incredibly stimu-
lating. It keeps you young,
and keeps you tied in to what’s
really happening in the world,
and how the world is changing
in front of us. And I will miss
that very deeply.

When you were hired at Hillel,
you were 28. Do you feel like
you’re the same person as
when you arrived?
No. Th at’s part of what’s so
meaningful to refl ect on.

When I came to Philadelphia,
my wife and I had just gotten
married. And essentially, in a
16-year period, I learned to be
a husband, and learned what
it meant to really be a rabbi. I
learned what it meant to be a
father, three times over. I learned
what it meant to become a leader.

I think that that’s a word
that was thrown around, but
actually having the respon-
sibility of taking care of a
relatively large organization
and a huge constituency of
students, parents and alumni, I
think I’ve learned how to stand
up publicly and stand up for
the things that I believe in.

And I am an entirely
diff erent person in that way.

When I started, people would
be like, “Oh, are you a junior?”
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM best d’var torah that a Hillel
rabbi could ever give is when a
student gives it.

A successful Hillel leader is
someone who knows how to
put their ego aside and to make
room for the student. Th e goal
is not to shine on their own,
but to create space.

The second thing is
that because campuses are
becoming increasingly polit-
ical and fractured, just like
the rest of American society,
future Hillel directors have to
be politically nimble, so that
they can relate to and care for
a very large spectrum of Jews,
of diff erent Jewish identity
formulations, diff erent polit-
ical orientations and to hold
together a very broad tent.

Rabbi Mike Uram
Photo by Scott Spitzer Photography
Th e third piece is a really
And then a few years went by, into Jewish leaders in their deep emphasis on impact over
and students would say, “Oh, own right. We always say, the attendance. If we’re just focused
are you a grad student?” And
now freshmen even say, “Oh,
are you someone’s dad?”
Th e way that I relate to
students has really changed,
from being the cooler older
DONʼT SELL
brother or camp counselor vibe.

Th ere was a period in the middle
UNTIL YOU
where I wasn’t really sure how
CONTACT US!
I related, because I was too old
ENTIRE ESTATES
PURCHASED to be the new young rabbi, but I
▲▲▲▲▲ wasn’t yet at the uncle or parent
CALL SEGAL
FINANCIAL place yet. And that’s actually
Silver • Coins • Gold
TO GUIDE YOU.

Sterling Flatware &
been one of the nice things
Pieces •
COMMERCIAL LOANS
about the last four or fi ve years,
Costume &
• INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE
Estate Jewelry
that I’m able to play a role that
Glassware • Trains • Dolls
• CONSTRUCTION
is defi nitely an adult role with
Vintage Clothing/
• WORKING CAPITAL
Handbag students, with all of the distance
evan@segalfinancial.com Entire
cleanout &
www.segalfinancial.com that comes with that, but none of
removal service
See CALL/TEXT
recent success EVAN
stories on AT our
the baggage of the student might
provided. Facebook page
215-704-2080 30 years experience.

have with their parents or their
SEGAL FINANCIAL is a
▲▲▲▲▲ direct relatives.

commercial loan advisory fi rm.

on getting more students to
show up and to participate, that’s
not a deep enough mission.

Th e mission has to be to create
experiences and relationships
and communities that really
provoke students to grow into
fully self-actualized adults. And
that is a much more serious
mission than just attendance.

And the fi nal thing is that
they have to be really gift ed
at both the kind of art of the
work, which is this intan-
gible ability to connect with
people, to inspire people about
Judaism, but also have strong
business skills, to use data and
metrics to work more eff ec-
tively and more effi ciently, and
be able to not just do the work,
but to able to build systems. ●
jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
BUSINESS DIRECTORY
NEED A
NEW BANK?
What is going to make the next
generation of Hillel leaders
successful? What would you
tell them?
Th e fi rst thing and most
important thing is to be incred-
ibly, deeply committed to
students. College is a learning
laboratory, where students take
the lead. And so the highest
level of Hillel work is where it is
not about providing services to
students, but pushing certain
students into action, to grow
We thoughtfully and expertly arrange fi nancing
for businesses and investors in PA and NJ.

www.segalfi nancial.com
CALL KEVIN “D”
267-934-3002 Power Washing
Window Washing
Chandelier Cleaning
Hardwood Wax
Gutter Cleaning
BRUCKER’S Paper Hanging
Painting Deck Sealing
Estate Clean Outs
Carpet Cleaning
Home Maintenance
215-576-7708 Insured
“We fix what your husband repaired”
JEWISH EXPONENT
PA054592 5HYHUVH0RUWJDJH
5HYHUVH3XUFKDVH 6HUYLQJ3$ )/
0LFKDHO)ULHGPDQ nmls 
$)LQDQFLDO3ODQQLQJ7RRO $6DIHW\1HW)RU
6HQLRUV2OGHU$GXOWV  
LQIR#UHYHUVLQJPWJFRP ZZZUHYHUVLQJPWJFRP
BOOKEEPING SERVICES
Quickbooks Experience
610-715-3637 To advertise in our
Business Directories
Call 215-832-0749
DECEMBER 17, 2020
9