GET IN LINE DEAD OF WINTER Virtual museum highlights diagonality in art and design. FEBRUARY 11, 2021 / 29 SHEVAT 5781 PAGE 21 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM — WHAT IT MEANS TO BE JEWISH IN PHILADELPHIA — $1.00 LOCAL Israeli Cuisine the Focus of Virtual Market Tour Country’s food a mix of worldwide delicacies. Page 6 BOOKS February Book Harvest Healthy See capsule reviews of several good choices. Page 24 Volume 133 Number 44 Published Weekly Since 1887 SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF THE WALLS OF Germantown Jewish Centre bear the remnants of last year’s Purim celebration. “We still have signs in our building that say, ‘Extra hand washing station behind the bar’ because we were trying to encourage people to take the steps we thought at that time were going to help to contain the pandemic,” Rabbi Adam Zeff said. For many synagogues, Purim was the last Jewish holiday celebrated in person. On March 9, 2020, news of the pandemic was making people uneasy, but widespread shutdowns and research about the dangers of gatherings had yet to fully take hold. Many political leaders and health experts were still recommending hand washing as the main preventative measure against COVID-19’s spread. Some shuls canceled events, while others held them cautiously: no shared food, no handshakes. One Jewish calendar year later, leaders and congregants fi nd themselves planning virtual and socially distanced celebrations Federation Housing residents wait in line at their COVID-19 vaccine clinic. Photos by Eric Naftulin Jewish Philadelphia Reports Rocky COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF WHEN MICHAEL SAEWITZ, 67, tried to sign up for an appointment at the Atlantic City Convention Center COVID-19 vacci- nation site, the registration system informed him he was number 11,800 in line. He hasn’t heard back from any local vaccination sites, so he called a number to register for another site in New Jersey, which put him on hold before hanging up on him. “Th at’s sort of typical of the whole process,” he said. Saewitz, who lives in Philadelphia and See Purim, Page 15 See Vaccine, Page 14 INTRODUCING RS U OO SA ti • Sa sf yi Name: Floors USA* • Page 4 76 Hazzan’s career stretched 90 years. ng 19 Cantor Isaac Wall Dies at 103 c e OBITUARY Purim Marks a Year of Altered Ritual Life FL OF NOTE n C u s t o m e rs Si PAY OVER 5 YEARS 555 S. HE HENDERSON EN DERSO RD KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 610.757.4000 10 YEARS 15 5 YEARS THIS WEEK I N T H IS I SSU E 4 HEADLINES Local Israel National Global 16 OPINION Columns Kvetch ’n’ Kvell 18 LIFESTYLE & CULTURE Food Arts 26 TORAH COMMENTARY 27 COMMUNITY Jewish Federation Mazel Tovs Deaths 32 CLASSIFIEDS CANDLE LIGHTING Feb. 12 5:15 p.m. Feb. 19 5:24 p.m. Sisters persevere, open online bakery. 10 Book reviews: Fashion’s fl aws, getting a get. Purim and eating go hand in hand. 23 18 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Miriam’s Advice Well Philacatessen A reader is subjected to a rant from a co-worker she runs into at a park and wonders how she should have responded. Miriam replies with some ways to defuse the situation if it happens again, among other suggestions. From dating to parenting, Miriam welcomes all questions. Email yours to news@jewishexponent.com and put “Advice Well Question” in the subject line. jewishexponent.com/2021/02/08/dear-miriam-pandemic- rant-proves-uncomfortable Food columnist Keri White explores chilaquiles, a traditional Mexican dish that can work at any mealtime; it’s also a great way to use leftover tortillas. As always, there are plenty of variations you can incorporate into the dish. Read Philacatessen, her online blog, for the recipe. And check Philacatessen regularly for food content not normally found in the printed edition. jewishexponent.com/2021/02/08/chilaquiles-breakfast- brunch-lunch-or-dinner PANDEMIC RANT PROVES UNCOMFORTABLE CHILAQUILES: BREAKFAST, BRUNCH, LUNCH OR DINNER Virtual Memory Café: Drama Recognizing Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Those Living with Dementia Name: Artis Senior Living- ANR Width: 9.25 in Depth: 5.5 in Color: Black plus one Comment: Recognizing Symptom of Anxiety Ad Number: 00093365 Presented by Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA, Owner and CEO of Positive Approach to Care ® , and nationally renowned Dementia Care Expert This webinar will assist learners in recognizing some of the signs and symptoms of anxiety and depression in those living with dementia. It will address the similarities and differences between symptoms seen in those with healthy brains and those living with brain change. This session will also help attendees learn to respond to these symptoms to decrease the chances for escalation and ‘non-helpful’ hospitalizations. Join us for this FREE Community Event Please Register By Monday, February 22 nd TheArtisWay.com/JewishExponent 267-277-2307 Wednesday, February 24 th 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Virtually Hosted By: Artis Senior Living of Huntingdon Valley Artis Senior Living of Princeton Junction Artis Senior Living of Yardley To Register Artis Senior Living of Huntingdon Valley: 2085 Lieberman Drive, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 Check out our other nearby community in Yardley. 2 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 JEWISH EXPONENT JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Name: West Laurel Hill Width: 4.5006 in Depth: 7.375 in Color: Black plus one Comment: Jewish Exponent Ad Number: 00093445 2100 Arch Street, 4th. Floor, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103 2018 MAIN PHONE NUMBER: 215-832-0700 JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA David Adelman and Gail Norry, Co-Chairs Steven Rosenberg, Chief Operating Officer JEWISH PUBLISHING GROUP Andrew L. Cherry, Chair Jay Minkoff, Immediate Past Chair Ken Adelberg, Lonnie Barish, Allison Benton, Justin Chairman, Elliot Curson, Dayna Finkelstein, Nancy Astor Fox, Joan Gubernick, Shawn Neuman, Hershel Richman, Rachael Rothbard Heller, Lee Rosenfield, Brett Studner SALES & MARKETING BUSINESS DISPLAY sales@jewishexponent.com Laura Frank Publisher’s Representative 215-832-0512 lfrank@jewishphilly.org Sharon Schmuckler Director of Sales 215-832-0753 sschmuckler@jewishexponent.com Susan Baron 215-832-0757 sbaron@jewishexponent.com Taylor Orlin 215-832-0732 torlin@jewishexponent.com Shari Seitz 215-832-0702 sseitz@jewishexponent.com CLASSIFIED/ DEATH NOTICES classified@jewishexponent.com Nicole McNally, 215-832-0749 Mike Costello Finance Director 215-832-0757 mcostello@jewishexponent.com Liz Spikol, Editor-in-Chief 215-832-0747 lspikol@jewishexponent.com Andy Gotlieb, Managing Editor 215-832-0797 agotlieb@jewishexponent.com Jesse Bernstein, Staff Writer/ Books Editor 215-832-0740 jbernstein@jewishexponent.com SUBSCRIPTIONS subscriptions@jewishexponent.com 215-832-0710 Sophie Panzer, Staff Writer 215-832-0729 spanzer@jewishexponent.com EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT 215-832-0797 PRODUCTION production@jewishexponent.com News & Tips news@jewishexponent.com Jeni Mann Tough, Director Letters letters@jewishexponent.com Justin Tice, Graphic Designer Steve Burke, Art Director Calendar Events listings@jewishexponent.com SNAPSHOT: FEBRUARY 16, 1990 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT ANY ADVERTISER’S OFFERS FEATURED IN SNAPSHOT ARE NULL AND VOID FEBRUARY 11, 2021 3 H eadlines Longtime Cantor Isaac Wall Dies at 103 OB ITUARY ANDY GOTLIEB | JE MANAGING EDITOR SI LE A Name: Residences at The Promenade Width: 5.5 in Depth: 7.38 in Color: Black plus one Comment: JE-ROP Ad Number: 00093514 EN OP UPPE R DU BLI N NO W to New York when he was 9 — he often was dubbed a wunderkind, daughter Ahavia Scheindlin said. In New York, Wall studied the Talmud, liturgy and voice and, by 13, was davening as a cantor for the High Holidays in Hartford, Connecticut, including a performance for the governor. Ever noted that Wall’s bar mitzvah invitation referred to him as Hazzan Isaac Wall. S EL OD M NG ! CANTOR ISAAC WALL, whose 90-year career included serving for 47 years as Har Zion Temple’s cantor and nearly 30 years in the same role at Congregation Rodef Shalom in Atlantic City, died Jan. 11. He was 103. “He was the king, he really was, of his craft. What man today can say, ‘For 75 years I led congregations and was the superstar?,’” Rodef Shalom Rabbi Shalom Ever said. “He was the crown jewel of our synagogue.” Wall was born in Poland on Dec. 23, 1917, and moved with his family to Denver in 1919. He received Jewish religious training under the guidance of his father and had already displayed his hazzanut talent by the time the family moved Cantor Isaac Wall UPSCALE LIVING STEPS ABOVE IT ALL! Designed with luxury in mind, The Residences at the Promenade off er lavish apartments situated above a beautiful town center. • Park Trails • Dog Parks & Washrooms • Bocce Court • Pool with Sundeck • Fitness Center • Media & Game Rooms Amenities too many to mention! • Clean Juice • Sprouts Farmers Market • lululemon • Fine Wine and Good Spirits! And Other Fine Stores & Restaurants Welsh & Dreshertown Roads • Dresher, PA 833-238-1100 ResidencesUD.com A Bruce E. Toll Community 4 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 JEWISH EXPONENT Wall served as a cantor for several New York synagogues over the next few years, then took a job in Houston, traveling around Texas to conduct services for the armed forces during World War II. He arrived at Conservative Har Zion in 1944 — after synagogue congregants heard him sing during a visit to the Jersey shore — and further made a name for himself. “He was a lot of the reason I came to the congregation,” said Cantor Eliot Vogel, his successor at Har Zion. Wall had a deep respect for his profession, which was reflected in his modesty, Vogel said. “It wasn’t about the bimah as a stage. It was all about the prayer,” he said. “Many people would say he’s a hazzan’s hazzan, a true pulpit artist.” “He had a beautiful baritone Photo by Rebbetzin Sera Ever voice and never overdid it,” said son Joshua Wall, adding that many people have told him that when they listen to a cantor now, they always compare that hazzan to his father. “He was part of everyone’s family lives and their important moments.” Over the years, Wall prepared thousands of boys for their bar mitzvahs, Scheindlin said. Those boys never forgot the cantor. “I met them wherever I went in the world,” she said. Wall retired and moved to Ventnor, New Jersey, in 1991, becoming the full-time volunteer cantor at Orthodox Congregation Rodef Shalom shortly thereafter. Wall’s cantorial gifts mixed with an overriding sense of service, even in his later days, Ever said, noting that he braved snow and bad weather despite being urged to stay home. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM H eadlines Loneliness and Social Isolation’s Impact on Aging Wunderkind Isaac Wall, who was known in Yiddish as Isacle Voll Name: HCR Manor Care/Arden Court Width: 5.5 in Depth: 11 in Color: Black plus one Comment: Jewish Exponent Ad Number: 00093442 A Free Virtual Dementia Education Webinar Courtesy of the Wall family Featuring Guest Speaker Karra Harrington, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Scholar, Center for Healthy Aging The Pennsylvania State University Clinical Psychologist “For a quarter century, he was there every day — at 98, 99, until 100,” Ever said. “We should all learn from him.” In September 2017, Rodef Shalom honored Wall’s 100th birthday with a tribute dinner. A Jewish Community Voice article about the event quoted synagogue leaders as saying Wall was the first one at Rodef Sholom each morning for davening. His appearances grew infre- quent his last couple years, although congregants still brought children to his apart- ment to receive blessings and prepare for religious life events, Ever said. “He welcomed his home to several of my grandchildren,” said Frank Gelb, a former Rodef Shalom president, who knew of Wall from his time growing up in Har Zion’s original Wynnefield neighborhood. Congregant Raye Felder of Ventnor said Wall had a great sense of humor and enjoyed puns, recalling a time when she brought him a shankbone for Passover from her hometown of Pittsburgh, and he responded, “Shank you very much.” Joshua Wall said that when his father got together with his siblings, they’d speak to each other with a pronounced Irish brogue. Scheindlin said her father was a great mimic and did a spot-on Charlie Chaplin. Wall had a large community following and was often seen walking the Atlantic City boardwalk between his home and the shul. “When people saw him on the boardwalk, they’d always stop him,” she said. Aside from his religious singing, Wall was a fan of many kinds of secular music, including opera, big band, Broadway musicals and even the Beatles, Scheindlin said. Unfortunately, he became increasingly deaf in his final years and could no longer listen to music, although it didn’t impact his singing. In addition to his canto- rial service, he was a founder and past president of the Cantors Assembly and a fellow and founder of the Cantors Institute at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He also taught music, liturgy and the reading of the Torah for 20 years at Solomon Schechter Day School (now Perelman Jewish Day School), which he helped found. Wall’s wife, Sheva, died in 2004. He is survived by daughter Ahavia Scheindlin (Lon Levin); sons Shalom Wall (Kathy Conti) and Joshua Wall (Kathleen Dougherty); a sister, Florence Wall Gallop; 13 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren. l Tuesday, February 16, 2021 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm During this webinar, Dr. Karra Harrington will discuss: • Overview of loneliness and social isolation • How do loneliness and social isolation affect older adults? • What are the consequences of loneliness and social isolation (particularly for brain health)? • How to recognize loneliness and what can be done to help someone who is lonely? ENROLLING IS EASY! Register in advance for this Zoom webinar by visiting the LINK below: https://tinyurl.com/y52rbhjj Questions can be directed to VirtualSeminars@arden-courts.org agotlieb@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0797 13935_Warminster-Yardley_5.5x11.indd 1 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT 1/21/21 11:53 AM FEBRUARY 11, 2021 5 H eadlines Israeli Cuisine Displayed in Virtual Market Tour ONLINE SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF A N YON E W HO H A S visited Israel knows a tour of the country is not complete without sampling pita, falafel and hummus. However, educator Danny Stein knows that if you don’t try Yemenite lachuch and Tunisian burika, you’re missing out on the country’s diverse culinary heritage. On Feb. 3, Jewish National Fund Women for Israel offered Eastern Pennsylvania residents a virtual tour of a site where nearly every category of Israeli cuisine can be found: Carmel Market in Tel Aviv. The virtual tour of the market, or shuk, “From Our Jewish Home to Our Jewish Homeland,” was guided by Stein, a Philadelphia native and Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy (formerly Akiba Hebrew Academy) alum. He attended JNF-USA’s college prep study abroad program Alexander Muss High School in Israel as a student and now works as an educator there. During the tour, Stein highlighted dishes from Jewish groups throughout Europe and the Middle East. In addition to describing recipes and family businesses, Stein explained how each food arrived in Israel with Jewish groups making aliyah, from pastries made by Holocaust survivors from Hungary to kebabs brought by Romanian Jews who immigrated from the Soviet Union. He also spoke about the Danny Stein, lower right, shares photos of a coffee shop in Carmel Market during his Zoom presentation. Courtesy of Jewish National Fund-USA creation of the market itself, early 20th century. Stein’s photos and videos of which was created by Russian Jews who fled pogroms and hummus were accompanied settled in Tel Aviv during the by stories of Jews who fled Name: Holland Village W������ T� B�������� B���� C�����’� Width: 5.5 in H������ V������ Depth: 5.5 in Color: Black plus one P�������� E���������� L��������� A�� Comment: JE-ROP Ad Number: 00093186 H����� C��� T� O�� R��������. OUR CONTINUING CARE CAMPUS INCLUDES: • Newly renovated luxury independent living apartment homes and cottages Egypt in the 1950s after Israel was founded, as well as Nazi scientists who moved to Egypt after World War II to build a FOLLOW THE JEWISH EXPONENT AND NEVER MISS A STORY. #JEWISHINPHILLY • Nurturing Personal Care, Memory Care and Subacute Rehab facebook.com/jewishexponent twitter.com/jewishexponent • Expansive Wellness Center • Community Auditorium • Indoor Pool • Activities with Warm Welcoming Neighbors R������ ���� ��� ���� ��� ��������� �� M���� 31�� ��� ���� 10% �� �������� ����! Call 215-396-7217 to schedule your tour. Holland Village 280 Middle Holland Road Holland, PA 18966 www.hollandvillage.net 6 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 JEWISH EXPONENT JEWISHEXPONENT.COM H eadlines long-range missile designed to wipe out the Jewish state. The project, which was one of the first major strategic threats the young state faced, eventually fell through. He played a video of a stall in the market that sells Yemenite lachuch, a type of flatbread that can be served with toppings. In the 1950s, the Jewish state was facing economic devasta- tion caused by war, but leaders insisted on continuing to transport Jewish populations from around the world. With the help of Alaska Airlines, nearly 50,000 Yemenite Jews boarded 380 flights to Israel. Even more amazing, Stein said, is the fact that Jewish immigration from Yemen has continued to the present day. “There actually still are Jewish families left in Yemen, very, very few,” he explained as he displayed a photo of a family in Ben Gurion Airport. “And one of them, a big family, made aliyah in 2016. As we know, the civil war’s been raging in Yemen for quite some time.” Stein shared a video of Tunisian burika, a fried dough stuffed with potato, egg and other fillings, along with stories of the country’s Zionist their European brethren, but many were sent to labor camps and concentration camps by Nazis and local collaborators in their own governments, which caused many to flee to Israel. Stein told his audience that Tunisia was the birthplace Vienna and Berlin. She was known for her angelic voice, became a household name despite the obstacles she faced as a Jewish woman in a Muslim country and demanded equal wages with her male colleagues. For dessert, Stein displayed photos of Hungarian chimney When my students, when they come to Israel, when you guys come to Israel, you’re eating a German schnitzel on a French baguette with Egyptian hummus and Yemenite curry, and all these amazing groups of Jews from Romania and Iraq and Yemen and Hungary, they all came to Israel and formed this amazing country with an amazing culture.” DANNY STEIN movement and impact of the Holocaust in North Africa. “People don’t even realize that the Holocaust did touch North African Jews as well,” Stein said. They were not exter- minated to the same extent as of Habiba Msika, one of the most famous singers and actresses in the world during the 1920s. Msika, who was Jewish, performed across the Arabic-speaking world, as well as in European cities like Paris, cake pastries and told the story of his best friend’s Hungarian great-grandmother, who was separated from her sister during the Holocaust and searched for her in every spanzer@jewishexponent.com; concentration camp she was 215-832-0729 Name: Brightview Senior Living Width: 9.25 in Depth: 5.5 in Color: Black plus one Comment: JE Ad Number: 00093476 S TAY S O C I A L . S TAY S A F E . STAY Bright. Brightview residents are thriving in our active communities, where highly trained associates provide around-the-clock support and strict safety protocols continue to protect the health and happiness of all who live and work here. Right now, residents are enjoying delicious, chef-prepared meals, socially distanced programs, recreation, entertainment, happy hours, fitness classes, and so much more with friends and neighbors who share their interests. Join them in our always warm, always bright communities for a worry-free winter and beyond. Schedule your visit today! Independent Living | Personal Care | Dementia Care JEWISHEXPONENT.COM imprisoned in. She finally found her in Auschwitz at the end of the war and kept her alive until liberation. The two sisters survived and never went more than a few days without seeing each other for the rest of their lives. Stein ended his virtual tour with a picture of his students dancing in the Carmel Market and a reflection on the diver- sity of Israeli culture. “When my students, when they come to Israel, when you guys come to Israel, you’re eating a German schnitzel on a French baguette with Egyptian hummus and Yemenite curry, and all these amazing groups of Jews from Romania and Iraq and Yemen and Hungary, they all came to Israel and formed this amazing country with an amazing culture,” Stein said. l Senior Living Devon 301 E. Conestoga Road | Wayne 484.519.0097 www.BrightviewDevon.com 300 East Germantown Pike | East Norriton 610.239.7700 www.BrightviewEastNorriton.com JEWISH EXPONENT BRIGHTVIEW SENIOR LIVING IS AMERICA’S #1 BEST WORKPLACE FEBRUARY 11, 2021 7 H eadlines NEWSBRIEFS Former Nazi Death Camp Secretary to Stand Trial GERMAN PROSECUTORS indicted a 95-year-old woman who served as a secretary to a Nazi death camp’s commander during the Holocaust and charged her with complicity in the murders of 10,000 people at Stutthof, a camp in occupied Poland, JTA reported. The woman, identified under German privacy laws only as Irmgard F., will be tried in juvenile court because she was under 21 when she worked at Stutthof. The indictment is based on camp survivors now living in the United States and Israel. About 65,000 people were murdered at Stutthof. The indictment against Irmgard F. was the result of a five-year inves- tigation, prosecutors said. The woman reportedly resides in an old-age home north of Hamburg. Celebrities Sign Statement Launching Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance More than 170 entertainment industry leaders signed a statement launching the Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance, which is designed to foster dialogue and mutual understanding, JTA reported. High-profile signees include Tiffany Haddish (who is Black and Jewish), Mayim Bialik, NFL player Zach Banner (a leading pro athlete voice against anti-Semitism), Terry Crews, Herbie Hancock, Sharon Osbourne and Nick Cannon, who made anti-Semitic statements in 2020 on a podcast episode, but later apologized. “In the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., Rabbi Abraham Heschel, and the many Blacks and Jews who stood together in the fight for civil rights, we come together to support each other in the struggle against hatred and bigotry,” the group’s “unity state- ment” reads. The organization will sponsor programming geared to its goals, along with “in-person trips such as pilgrimages to destinations that are historically and/or culturally significant to each community,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jewish Inmate’s COVID-19 Death Cited in Push to Vaccinate NY Prisoners Lawyers working to expand vaccine eligibility for New York state prisoners are citing the case of an elderly Jewish inmate who died of COVID-19, JTA reported. Ira Goldberg, 72, of Brooklyn, who was serving a seven-year minimum sentence for burglary, died on a ventilator on Jan. 4. His lawyers said he suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, asthma, chronic renal failure and high blood pressure. The Center for Appellate Litigation and others are suing New York state to give people in its prisons and jails access to vaccines in accordance with guidance from the American Medical Association. Congregation Beit Simchat Torah of Manhattan sponsored a letter signed by 120 clergy pressing Gov. Andrew Cuomo to include inmates in the state’s vaccine plan; 27 other states have already done so. Supreme Court Rejects Holocaust Heirs Appeal The Supreme Court unanimously rejected an appeal by Holocaust survivors and their heirs who wanted to pursue restitution claims in the United States after failing in the countries where the art was stolen, JTA reported. The opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts said that allowing the lawsuits to go forward would contradict international agreements. “As a nation, we would be surprised — and might even initiate reciprocal action — if a court in Germany adjudicated claims by Americans that they were entitled to hundreds of millions of dollars because of human rights violations committed by the United States government years ago,” Roberts wrote. “There is no reason to anticipate that Germany’s reaction would be any different were American courts to exercise the jurisdiction claimed in this case.” l — Compiled by Andy Gotlieb Name: Erickson Retirement Communities Width: 9.25 in Depth: 5.5 in Color: Black plus one Comment: JE-ROP Ad Number: 00093510 Choose Senior Living at Ann’s Choice or Maris Grove. Here are 3 reasons why... When you put your trust in the area’s most popular senior living communities, you choose a life of 1. financial stability, 2. care and connection, and 3. healthy peace of mind. We’re managed by Erickson Living,® a national leader in senior living. You’re free to live your life with confidence and ease. 14464172-JE Learn more today. Call 1-800-989-3958 or visit SeniorLivingPA.com for your FREE brochure. 8 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 JEWISH EXPONENT JEWISHEXPONENT.COM H eadlines ISRAELBRIEFS The Jewish Federation's Name: Jewish Fed. of Greater Phila. ( Width: 5.5 in Depth: 11 in Color: Black plus one Comment: JE-Super Sunday Ad Number: 00093410 Israeli Pay Rises 10%, Number of Salaried Jobs Drops 13% THE AVERAGE MONTHLY SALARY in Israel rose 9.9% to the equivalent of $3,526 between November 2019 and November 2020, but the number of Israelis in salaried jobs in that period fell 13%, from 3.74 million to 3.252 million, Globes reported, citing Central Bureau of Statistics data. The rise in pay was attributed to the likelihood that most of the employees placed on unpaid leave in that period earn low salaries in sectors hit hard by the pandemic. Those include the accommodation and catering fields (average monthly pay of $1,756), where the number of jobs dropped 63.4%, and the arts, entertainment and leisure sector (average monthly pay of $2,678), where jobs were down 53.2%. But in the well-paid high-tech sector — where the average monthly salary increased 2.7% to $7,202 — the number of salaried jobs dropped only 1.2%, from 326,500 jobs to 322,500. Vaccine Drive Slows, ‘Fake News’ Cited for Promoting Skepticism The pace of COVID-19 inoculations in Israel has slowed by roughly 50%, and officials believe the slowdown is because of online “fake news” that promotes skepticism about the vaccine, The Times of Israel reported. “At the beginning of the [vaccination] campaign we got used to inoculating between 100,000 and 120,000 people per day, and in the last few days we are barely reaching half of those figures,” Kalanit Kaye, the manager of Clalit’s vaccination drive, told the Ynet news site. As of Feb. 7, 3.43 million Israelis had received the first dose of the vaccine, with 2.02 million also having received the second dose. Vaccines are now being offered all Israelis over 16. The death toll from COVID-19 reached 5,096, as of Feb. 7. There were 2,625 new infections recorded the previous day, and 1,144 patients were listed in serious condition, including 312 who are on ventilators. Western Wall Plaza Reopens The Western Wall reopened to visitors from across the country on Feb. 7 as Israel lifted lockdown restrictions that prevented people from traveling outside a 1-kilometer radius from their homes, The Jerusalem Post reported. The restriction was in place for 40 days as part of the nation’s third lockdown in response to COVID-19. The Western Wall is now divided into separate sections, allowing people to pray in “capsules,” with ushers providing directions at the site, the Post reported. Pandemic Prompts Half of Israeli Families to Reduce Savings About half of all Israeli families have reduced their savings because of the pandemic — and one in six had to borrow money — The Jerusalem Post reported, citing a report by the Myers-JDC Brookdale Institute. Fifty-one percent of the 1,501 survey participants said they used extra financial resources to deal with the crisis. That included reducing current savings, withdrawing money from savings, taking loans from banks or non-bank lenders or a combination of those actions. In addition, 76% of those surveyed said they received some government assistance at some point, with 21% receiving multiple types of assistance. l — Compiled by Andy Gotlieb JEWISHEXPONENT.COM March 6 & 7 S a t u r d ay, M a r c h 6 Connect With Community Havdalah service with Joey Weisenberg of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute followed by Schmooze Rooms to catch up with friends old and new. S u n d ay, M a r c h 7 Do A Mitzvah Drop off a bag of food to one of six locations from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to ensure that those who are hungry have access to food. Make A Gift Make a pledge to the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia: Answer the call • Donate online • Respond to the text message Visit JewishPhilly.org/SuperSunday or call 215.832.0899 for more details Eve n t Co - Ch a i r s B oard Co -Cha i r s Ca m p a i g n C h a i r Danielle Weiss and Mitch Sterling Gail Norry and David Adelman Sherrie Savett JEWISH EXPONENT FEBRUARY 11, 2021 9 H eadlines Philly Faces: Rhonda Saltzman and Mercedes Brooks P H I LLY FACES JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF IT MAY APPEAR that the Jan. 12 opening of Second Daughter Baking Co., an online bakery that draws on the Black and Jewish heritage of its founders, was just the begin- ning for Rhonda Saltzman and Mercedes Brooks. But to know their story is to know that it’s just another chapter of a winding tale. Saltzman, 29, and Brooks, 27, sisters who grew up together in Delaware County, had talked for years about the possi- bility of such a venture before launching last month. Though their goal is to eventually open a brick-and-mortar store, Saltzman and Brooks are ready for the uncertain path that lies ahead. After all, the trials that the pair have already endured together — a devastating fire, the loss of a husband, layoffs at the beginning of the pandemic — haven’t stopped them yet. “I feel like Rhonda brings out the best in me,” Brooks said. “Mercedes and I are best friends,” Saltzman said. Saltzman, a graduate of the The Culinary Institute of America, and Brooks, who has worked in hospitality while pursuing a degree in accounting, knew that their personal- ities would complement each other as much as their skills (Saltzman is the baker, while Brooks handles marketing, design and taste-testing). Brooks and Saltzman live together and work together, a difficult proposition for any siblings. But their love for the project itself and their inter- secting interests — Brooks has brought Saltzman closer to photography, while Saltzman brought her sister closer to food — has made keeping the peace a cinch. “I don’t want to spend time with anyone else,” Saltzman said. Saltzman and Brooks had one Jewish grandfather, who passed certain traditions on to their father. Those practices, often food-centric, were reinforced for the sisters by their grandmother, who took to her husband’s Jewish life. Though they weren’t raised Jewish, Saltzman and Brooks watched as their father worked in Jewish delis around Philadelphia. Later, after she’d graduated from CIA, Saltzman worked in Hymie’s and Izenberg’s between other gigs as a line cook and a baker. When she was “courting” her SUPERIOR CARE IN EVERY WAY! Name: Paul’s Run - DIRECT Width: 5.5 in Depth: 5.5 in Color: Black plus one Comment: JE-Skilled Nursing Ad Number: 00093415 Nationally Recognized for our Long-Term Care and Short-Term Rehabilitation by U.S. News and World Report and Medicare with a Five-Star Rating. For more information contact Kellie, Clinical Liaison by calling 215-934-3021 PaulsRun.org/Save Retirement Community 9896 Bustleton Avenue • Philadelphia, PA 19115 10 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 JEWISH EXPONENT From left: Rhonda Saltzman and Mercedes Brooks Courtesy of Rhonda Saltzman future Jewish husband, as Saltzman put it, freshly baked babka and bagels made for an effective means of persuasion. Saltzman and her husband, Lee Saltzman, a cook and graduate of the CIA himself, dreamed of opening a Jewish bakery together as she made her conversion to Judaism. In 2015, Lee Saltzman died at 29 from pancreatic cancer, an episode that Saltzman recently recounted in an interview with KYW Newsradio. His death dealt a heavy blow to Saltzman and Brooks, and Brooks moved in with her sister the next year. Painful as it was to contem- plate, the dream of the bakery stayed vivid. In January 2020, Saltzman and Brooks suffered a severe fire at their home. They moved into their mother’s house, where they expected to be until June. Then, March came around, and both sisters were laid off from their jobs. It’s a familiar tale at this stage of the pandemic: With more time on their hands than ever before, and a moment to catch their breath, the sisters decided that the time had come to make their dream into a reality. As the second of three sisters, “Second Daughter” is solely Saltzman’s title to claim in this family, but in the minds of Saltzman and Brooks, the name is a nod to the fact that the store is owned by the two of them. In the fall of 2020, they began to offer baked goods out of their home. Before the pandemic, and before Second Daughter, they’d sold baked goods through Etsy under a different name. The beginning stages of Second Daughter followed a similar pattern, as they advertised their tastefully photographed wares online, courtesy of Brooks, and baked everything from their kitchen. But it soon became apparent that a home kitchen couldn’t handle the volume of orders that their cakes, cookies and focaccia breads attracted. In January, they moved into a commercial kitchen at the Bok Building in South Philadelphia, debuting a new website and social media presence. As of now, the sisters offer their baked goods via pickup and delivery as the dream of a storefront — and a few more Jewish pastries for the menu — shimmers in the distance. “I dare say, ‘I plan’ or ‘I hope’ to that,” said Saltzman, “but that’s something I would like to do.” l jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM H EADLINES French Chief Rabbi Clashes with Fellow Communal Leaders in Debate Over Nation’s Jewish Future WORLD CNAAN LIPHSHIZ | JTA.ORG FRENCH CHIEF Rabbi Haim Korsia has long argued that his community is inseparable from the wider French society, which he insists will overcome its many challenges, including the anti-Semitism that has driven thousands of French Jews to seek a more secure existence in Israel. But this hopeful message, a Korsia trademark, is for the fi rst time coming under fi re from prominent French Jews who accuse the chief rabbi of failing to recognize a bitter reality and unfairly faulting those who choose to leave. In op-eds and social media posts in recent weeks, French- speaking Jews in France and Israel have pushed back against Korsia’s optimistic take and his assertion that fear should not be the basis for emigra- tion by French Jews. Th e debate, set off by a controversial and deeply pessimistic op-ed in the mainstream community weekly Actualité Juive, has dragged into the open a conversation about the fate of French Jewish life that more commonly takes place behind closed doors. “It may actually be time to say aloud what many think inside: France is overrun,” wrote the op-ed’s author, Ariel Kandel, the Jerusalem-based director of an organization promoting French immigra- tion to Israel and the former head of the Jewish Agency’s France operations. “It’s overrun in the fi ght on COVID-19, in the distribution of vaccines, but also in the fi ght against radical Islam and anti-Semitism,” wrote Kandel, who is well-known in the community. Kandel cited the common concerns of Jews in France for their security, recalling being harassed for wearing a yarmulke as a teenager on the Paris subway. But he went further in suggesting that French-Jewish patriotism amounts to little more than cheap symbolism. “Jews live in France for practical reasons. Th ey love French culture, but their support for France is mostly on the pitch at soccer matches,” Kandel wrote. “It’s no coinci- dence that so many children of our community leaders live in Israel.” Despite years in which French Jews have been the target of terrorist attacks and hundreds of violent assaults, Jewish leader- ship and notable fi gures have rarely voiced hopelessness about the future. Korsia has taken the lead in combating perceived defeatism. He called Kandel’s piece “biased, bitter and one that caricaturizes a whole society.” Noting the French Jews who had died fi ghting for France in the 20th century, Korsia, a former military chaplain and self- described French patriot, wrote in Actualité Juive that they “died because they were French, not because they were Jews!” Korsia has consistently argued positions to this eff ect, insisting that French Jews assert their rightful place in French society and immigrate to Israel only as “an ideolog- ical and spiritual choice,” not because of fear for their safety. 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And then there’s the execu- tive chef and owner, Sharon Shvarzman, the son of Israeli immigrants to Brighton Beach, New York, who raised their son in the restaurant business. Shvarzman was deemed sufficiently colorful to appear on two Food Network televi- sion programs in the past, and now he’ll bring that same sensibility to Keshet Kitchen in Queen Village. “Our goal is to completely change what people’s idea is of Middle Eastern food,” Shvarzman said. “So yes, you can have mac and cheese and have it Middle Eastern-style.” The key: harissa. Shvarzman and his partner, Abraham Bloom — also of Brooklyn, also of Israeli ancestry, also the son of food industry professionals — moved to Philadelphia from New York last summer so that Bloom could pursue a doctorate in physical therapy. Though they quickly came to love their adopted home, and especially Queen Village, moving during the pandemic made it difficult for them to meet other Jewish people. Shvarzman dreamed of opening his own restau- rant for some time, inspired by his parents’ long-gone Mediterranean spot and his grandparents — a baker and a chef. Underwhelmed by Philadelphia’s Middle Eastern offerings, and determined to create a little haimish feeling in a time that can seem devoid of such comforts, Shvarzman and Bloom decided to give the dream a shot. Thus, Keshet Kitchen was born. The pair teamed up with New Jersey-based public relations representative and consultant Morissa Schwartz, a longtime friend of Shvarzman’s, who he’ll rely on heavily in the opening months. At a time when foot traffic is low, a strong social media presence will be key for the new restaurant. The trio wants Keshet Kitchen to become a social magnet when indoor gather- ings become a part of life again, a fragrant way to bring friends and family together over Shvarzman’s take on Middle Eastern food. There will be staples like falafel and shawarma, but there will also be pine nut and olive meatloaf and Shvarzman’s Our goal is to completely change what people’s idea is of Middle Eastern food.” SHARON SHVARZMAN Sharon Shvarzman, executive chef at Keshet Kitchen Courtesy of Sharon Shvarzman Name: Dunwoody Village Width: 5.5 in A simpler, more convenient lifestyle Depth: 3.62 in awaits at Dunwoody Village. Newly Color: Black plus one renovated one- and two-bedroom apartments are currently available, allowing you to spend less time worrying and more time living in the moment, doing the things you enjoy. Contact us today.     ®     
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ƒ„­…†    12 FEBRUARY 11, 2021    Pet Friendly JEWISH EXPONENT Israeli grandmother’s spin on borscht. Shvarzman first made a name for himself as a cook when he appeared on the Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America.” He swears that his appearance on the show was not a reflection of his skills as a chef, but rather the result of a friendship with one of the show’s producers, who saw his obvious talents for the screen. He later competed in another Food Network show, “The Great Food Truck Race.” “The show has done me right,” Shvarzman said. “I graduated Food Network university.” The grand opening at 705 E. Passyunk Ave. is on March 1, and though it can’t be the proper indoor dining experi- ence that the trio wants to provide just yet, their collective excitement for Keshet Kitchen will be hearty enough to subsist on for the cold months to come. In Shvarzman’s telling, it’ll be the place Jews of all stripes to forget about their differences for a while. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a Cohen or a Liebowitz or a Schwartzman or a Schwartz,” Shvarzman declared. “We are a family that all came from the same Jews, our ancestors dealt with the same hell that we are all dealing with today.” l jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM H eadlines Debate Continued from Page 11 synagogue in Denmark. In 2016, Korsia admonished a commu- nity leader from Marseille, Zvi Amar, for suggesting amid a spate of anti-Semitic stabbings that Jews avoid wearing yarmulkes in public. “We will not cede an inch, we will continue to wear the kippah,” Korsia said. Roger Cukierman, who at the time was the president of the CRIF umbrella of French Jewish communities, warned against voicing positions like the one put forth by Amar, as they “translate into a defeatist attitude of resignation.” Such assertions have previ- ously earned little public rebuke, even as France endured a series of jihadist attacks over the past decade, including several that have targeted Jews. In 2012, four Jews were killed at a Jewish school in Toulouse. In 2015, four more were killed at a kosher supermarket in Paris. Despite vows by the govern- ment to stop the violence, each year dozens of anti- Semitic assaults occur in France, including cases of rape, murder and even torture. Particularly painful to French Jews are the cases in which they believe the judiciary has failed to deliver justice. In one such case from 2017, a Muslim man pummeled his Jewish neighbor, Sarah Halimi, to death for 30 minutes at her home and then threw her body out a window while shouting about Allah and killing “the demon.” A court deemed him not accountable for his actions because he was high on marijuana at the time. Anti-Jewish violence in France has pushed immigra- tion to Israel to new heights. At least 33,278 French Jews have immigrated there since 2013, more than double the 15,401 French citizens who made that move in the prior seven years. Tens of thousands more have moved internally, from dangerous neighborhoods to JEWISHEXPONENT.COM The trademark optimism of Haim Korsia, the chief rabbi of France, is coming under fire for the first time in the Jewish community. Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images via JTA.org safer, heavily Jewish areas. Kandel’s op-ed has brought the question of what this all means for the future of French Jews into the open, and found support from some of Korsia’s prominent constituents, who are loath to fault Jews who choose to emigrate. Rabbi Mikael Journo, the secre- tary general of Korsia’s own Association of French Rabbis, admonished Korsia in a Jan. 29 op-ed for insensitivity to Jews who leave France out of fear. “We have the responsibility as religious leaders not to fault those who decide to leave and to support them no matter their reasons,” Journo wrote. “Who are we to judge those who want to be able to wear a kippah on the street?” Veronique Chemla, a French-Jewish journalist and blogger, said that she’s never seen a rabbi oppose the chief rabbi publicly in this manner. “I think we’re seeing two things here: the accumulated effect of 20 years of anti-Semitic violence, mainly by Muslims, against French Jews, which is of course making many French Jews doubt their future, and growing distrust of communal leaders who are largely insulated in their daily lives from this violence,” she said. “Increasingly, they’re seen as out of touch and representing the government to the Jews rather than the other way around.” The debate was a rare public reflection of growing tension between French Jews, many of them living in rough areas with frequent anti-Semitic incidents, and communal leaders who tend to live in more upscale areas. Nowhere is this gap more noticeable than in the creeping rehabilitation of far-right ideol- ogies among the rank-and-file of French Jewry. Despite the public rebuke of communal leaders, support for Jewish defense groups in France is on the rise. Polls also suggest that Jewish support for the far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen moved from being nonexis- tent 20 years ago to just a few points below the national average. Rabbi Dov Maimon, head of the Europe activity of the Jerusalem-based Jewish People Policy Institute, wrote on Facebook that Korsia’s propo- sition is “to love Israel but from a distance, literally alienated from it. He has fallen in love with his galut [exile].” But Paul Levy, a regional leader in the Consistoire, the organization responsible for religious Jewish life in France that employs Korsia, said Journo’s op-ed “divides us French Jews when a rabbi’s job is to unite.” l Name: Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. 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Her husband, who is 75 and has a qualifying medical condition, was able to schedule an appointment for his first dose at Penn Medicine, where he is a patient, on Feb. 8. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health did not respond to a request for comment. Residents of the counties outside Philadelphia are also experiencing setbacks. Ilana Ponce has tried to Continued from Page 1 has a home in New Jersey, has a medical condition that qualifies him for vaccination according to both state and local vaccine eligibility criteria. He is one of many Jewish Philadelphians joining the nationwide lineup for a COVID-19 vaccine. He hasn’t had much luck. “Early on, I came to the conclusion that it was a very disorganized process, and I kept hearing about friends and family who were able to get appointments, but every time I tried to get one, I would hit a stumbling block,” he said. “The system just was not prepared to handle the number of people that were applying in Pennsylvania and, to a lesser extent, New Jersey.” Vaccine distribution across the country has been plagued by delays, logistical failures and supply shortages. Philadelphia’s rollout has garnered particularly negative attention due to the city’s partnership with Philly Fighting Covid, a startup created by a 22-year-old Drexel University student with no experience working in health care. The startup’s disorganized approach, lack of staff training and switch to a for-profit model as reported by WHYY led the city to sever ties with the organization, but not before its registration system caused widespread confusion about vaccine appointments and eligibility. The differences between Philadelphia’s guidelines and Pennsylvania’s guidelines have also caused confusion among vaccine seekers. Pennsylvania’s Department of Health website states that the commonwealth is in Phase 1A of vaccine distribution and eligible groups include health care workers, Pennsylvanians living in long-term care facilities, people age 65 and older and those age 16-64 with high-risk conditions like cancer. 14 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 the government has not been proactive enough in reaching out to people to inform them of their eligibility. “To put the burden on the people to get an appointment is misguided,” he said. Vaccine appointments haven’t been chaotic for everyone, however. Federation Housing, which provides affordable living communities for seniors aged 62 and older, asked the city for vaccine priority three months ago. In January, the organi- zation was notified its request There is no next step because there’s no information. Nobody knows anything.” ILANA PONCE Connie Berkowitz sits after receiving her first dose. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health website states that the vaccine is being distrib- uted to people who are eligible in Phase 1A and Phase 1B of the city’s own plan. Phase 1A includes patient-facing health care workers and elderly residents of long-term care facilities, and Phase 1B includes high-risk essential workers, those who work and reside in congregate settings, seniors 75 years and older and people with high-risk medical conditions. As a result, Philadelphia residents who are eligible under state guidelines but not city guidelines find themselves at a loss. Many who are eligible under both have not been able to get appointments. Lori Turner, a Center City resident with an immune deficiency that makes her eligible under both city and state guidelines, feels like she has tried every registra- tion option available with no results. “I’ve signed up for every single waitlist, every single clinic, every single pharmacy where I would be eligible for a vaccine, only to either get a response saying, ‘Thank you so much for signing up for the waitlist,’ or I am not quali- fied for the category. And that’s been the biggest confusion,” she said. “It seems every place that you go the category is a little bit different of who they’re actually taking and who they’re not taking. So what the state says versus what the city says versus what the place that’s giving and administering the vaccine says doesn’t seem to align,” she added. Sallie Gorohoff, 73, lives in Center City and has regis- tered with five different places, including local pharmacies and the State of New Jersey. So far, none have given her a call back. She thinks Philadelphia and Pennsylvania’s vaccine rollouts have been less efficient than those in other states. “The thing that’s the most JEWISH EXPONENT get her parents, who live in Montgomery County, vacci- nated because they are both over 65 and diabetic. A contact sent her a link for a local vacci- nation site and she managed to reserve a spot, only to be told it was a mistake, that the appointments were for people getting their second doses and that if her parents showed up they would be escorted away. Her parents contacted pharmacies like Walgreens when they heard the vaccines would be distributed there, but were told they weren’t available yet. Now, Ponce is considering driving them to Florida or flying them to Colorado, where she hears people have had more success. “There is no next step because there’s no information. Nobody knows anything,” she said. Saewitz said he wouldn’t care if he got an appointment scheduled later in the year, as long as he knew he had a date and a time. He thinks would be granted due to the age of its 1,500 residents living in congregate housing. The city paired the organi- zation with CVS Pharmacy to set up clinics to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at each of its 11 properties at the beginning of February. The city also has allowed Federation Housing’s front- line staff members to receive the vaccine. “It’s really been a blessing,” said Eric Naftulin, executive director and CEO of Federation Housing. C on n ie B erkow it z , a resident at Miriam and Robert Rieder Apartments, got her first dose on Feb. 5 and is looking forward to getting her second. “My first thing I want to do when I’m fully immune is meet my new great-granddaughter, who was born on the fourth of January,” she said. l spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM F TAY-SACHS R F R E E E E H eadlines Purim changes, all that means is that our mindset has changed. We have tried to identify, ‘OK, what does God want from us now?’” he said. “Maybe in the past we were emphasizing certain parts of Judaism, but now that those are harder to do or unsafe, what are our priorities? What does God want from us now? And that can change in anyone’s life, anytime, but the goal is the same.” l Continued from Page 1 yet again as the pandemic rages. At Temple Sholom in Broomall, Cantor Jamie Marx is busy adapting Purim spiels for Zoom. His company, The Spiel Guy, writes and sells scripts to synagogues across North America and the United Kingdom. He is adapting two previous scripts by changing ensemble songs and duets into solos (group singing is difficult on Zoom because of delays) and altering stage directions. Instead of writing “Vashti exits stage left,” think “Vashti turns off camera.” He’s also working with a graphic designer to create Purim-themed backgrounds. One of the skits has a timely twist. “I wrote a new spiel called ‘Pandemic in Persia,’ which is a lot of pandemic humor. So for synagogues that really wanted a timely, pandemic-themed spiel, which a lot of people seem to want, it tells a story of the Book of Esther, but as if there was a pandemic in Persia,” Marx said. Congregation B’nai Israel Ohev Zedek plans to hold some in-person activities with precautions. Rabbi Yehoshua Yeamans said the synagogue will hold several staggered megillah readings to accom- modate social distancing, and participants will be required to wear masks. He is also planning a Zoom celebration that will take place a few days before the holiday and an ice cream truck rental to provide outdoor entertainment for younger congregation members. “The fact that it’s a holiday doesn’t change the imperative to continue to be as strict as we have been with those protocols. At the same time, that does not preclude the opportunity to fulfill the commandments and the obligations of the day,” Yeamans said. His congregation held an in-person Purim celebra- tion last year during which people were discouraged from JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Participants at Kehillah of Old York Road’s 2020 Purim carnival Courtesy of Kim Decker touching hands. Two days later, he called an emergency board meeting, and members decided to close the synagogue. Kehillah of Old York Road will host its Purim CARnival on Feb. 21 at Perelman Jewish Day School’s Mandell Education Campus. The event will consist of activities and performances that families can enjoy from their cars, including a clown performance, groggers and change-throwing booth with proceeds going to charity. Nearly 20 local Jewish organizations will participate. This is the first car-based event the KOYR community has organized, and Director Kim Decker said having access to a large outdoor space was a game-changer. “I feel really blessed that we can try to do something that’s not on Zoom,” she said. “We can have something a little different to look forward to.” The most recent in-person event she organized was last year’s Purim carnival. “We got a huge donation of hand sanitizer that we used as a raffle item,” she recalled. Germantown Jewish Centre typically holds a joint celebration among its multiple minyans during Purim, and this year it plans to hold it on Zoom. “One of the things we’re planning is to have a sort of retro- spective. We have wonderful video going back more than 15 years from celebrations past and so we’re going to create a sort of greatest hits reel of celebrations, to allow people to feel some of that joy,” Zeff said. He added that this year of altered ritual life has taught him to embrace a different defini- tion of participation. With in-person celebrations, there’s an expectation that attendees need to participate in the same way for it to count. On Zoom, however, the options are endless, from typing in the chat box to dressing up to dancing. “There’s a lot of ways for people to give feedback, other than being the one who’s speaking and has all eyes,” he said. Marx said the pandemic has taught him the importance of virtual services in keeping far-flung community members engaged. Whereas streamed services were once consid- ered an occasional project, the synagogue now realizes their potential for allowing college students, people with limited mobility and people in rehabili- tation facilities to feel connected. In other words, they’re essential. “This technology has enabled us to reach all of them and we have heard such an outpouring of gratitude and love and support from our community,” he said. For Yeamans, this year has been a reminder that serving God can look different. “God draws the picture of our lives and our job is just to color it in. We cannot draw the picture. And when the picture JEWISH EXPONENT spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729 & & TAY-SACHS CANAVAN CANAVAN SCREENING SCREENING CALL (215) 887-0877 FOR DETAILS e-mail: ntsad@aol.com; visit: www.tay-sachs.org ■ Screening for other Jewish Genetic Diseases also available. This message is sponsored by a friend of Nat’l Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association of Delaware Valley WE’RE A twitter ABOUT JEWISH PHILADELPHIA. Follow us @jewishexponent FEBRUARY 11, 2021 15 O pinion Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski Made Jewish Addiction Work Possible Twerski deserves to be who was known simply in our the matter with anyone who saw the issue differently. remembered as a tzaddik (a family as “Reb Shia.” In addition to being avail- I will never forget the time righteous person), a title that he rightfully earned in his I reached out to him to discuss able to offer guidance on lifetime. But Twerski was so the suitability of 12-step specific cases or emergencies much more than a psychia- meetings, trying to ascertain as they arose, Twerski was trist, author of dozens of books how I could send religious helpful to me in many other and brilliant Torah scholar. He Jewish clients to a meeting ways. Nearly 15 years ago, I was also a man who positively that more often than not was found myself dealing with a impacted countless families being held in a church (many crisis involving a family that and individuals in so many Orthodox Jews believe Jewish had multiple children living in ways, ranging from pulling law forbids one to enter any an abusive environment. With numerous rabbis weighing in out the rug from within the Christian houses of worship). BY RABBI ZVI GLUCK Explaining to me that cases with different views, I reached community of addiction to ON JAN. 31, the Jewish being outspoken about abuse that had reached that level out to Twerski for an outside community lost one of the biggest forces fighting for those who are suffering the most. Rabbi Twerski also taught me the perplexing nature of recovery. He At Amudim, a crisis inter- vention organization serving explained that while some go through recovery and fare well in the long the Orthodox Jewish commu- run, others keep repeating the same destructive patterns again and again. nity, we have been humbled by the increasing number of were clearly life threatening, opinion. He introduced me to community members who issues, and so much more. he told me straight out, “When someone that he felt could get My father, Rabbi Edgar have come to accept the reali- a patient has cancer, do you to the heart of the matter — Dr. Gluck, and Twerski shared a ties of mental health challenges look for the best doctor or a David Pelcovitz. Not only was close relationship that spanned in recent years. None of what Jewish doctor?” He discussed Pelcovitz perfectly suited to 60 years. When I became we do today would be possible this issue in one of his many help me navigate the complex- involved with those in danger without the groundbreaking books, and he made it clear ities of this particular case, but of slipping through our societal work of Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. to me that he was more than he became a tremendous inspi- cracks, it was a privilege to be Twerski, of blessed memory, able to reach out to the man happy to have a discussion on ration to me and an invaluable who died at 90 years old. asset to Amudim since the day we opened in 2014. Over the years, Twerski became a guiding light for Amudim. He wasn’t able to join us for our 2015 mental health conference, a ground- breaking two days that gave mental health professionals the opportunity to share their feedback from the trenches, helping us focus our efforts to help as many people as possible in their personal struggles. But he worked with us every step of the way to create the program, spending hours on the phone with Amudim’s founder, Mendy Klein, and me in order to maximize the event’s potential. Rabbi Twerski also taught me the perplexing nature of recovery. He explained that while some go through recovery and fare well in the long run, others keep repeating the same destruc- tive patterns again and again. In order to end the vicious See Gluck, Page 26 Finding God in Nature After My Dog’s Death BY DIONNA DASH MY DOG’S NAME was Solomon Samson Dash. He had a nose longer than his face and could be calmed by listening to my family sing Ma’oz Tzur on Chanukah. We once pinned a kippah on his head and brought 16 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 him to our synagogue for a pet parade. He loved sweets, even the kosher-for-Passover ones, and his German Shepherd stature echoed his kingly namesake. He was Jewish through and through. My dog died at the begin- ning of July 2020. His neck gave a funny little twist and his throat made a rattling groan, and even now, I still believe I witnessed the moment his soul left his body. My family and I wore kippot and recited Psalm 23 over his still frame and I freaked out when I found out he had to be cremated because Jews don’t do that! The very next day, we drove up to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, to a farmhouse that was clean and fur-free and didn’t smell so eerily of the past 12 years. The first day we were there, it rained, heavily, as if the world was moaning. I laughed and ran and let the violent shivers cleanse my empty hands. The mornings brought crisp air and fog rolling off the mountain- tops. Someone said Solly would’ve loved the open land and the new smells and I hoped suddenly and desperately that his soul wouldn’t turn into a dybbuk because we hadn’t covered up the mirrors in our house before we left. In the nights, we roasted marshmal- lows around a fire and gazed JEWISH EXPONENT into the midnight expanse. My brother explained how the stars we see are already dead by the time our eyes capture them, and I thought about how something departed could still seem to light our whole world. When we finally made it up to the peaks surrounding the canyon, my mind pictured Solly in the shadow of the valley of death below. My labored breathing had almost nothing to do with the climb up, and the edge of the trail I was balancing on seemed increasingly unstable. Yet the air smelled of wildflowers and slight condensation, and only the rustle of the tree leaves and the calls of low-flying hawks dipped into the circling silence. I stepped back a bit onto firmer ground. Standing atop that mountain, surrounded by towering trees that had been there for decades before me and would continue to be there for decades after me, I felt grounded. I stood in that dichotomy of life so fleeting and life endlessly evergreen and I accepted it all. Later that day, my mom told me she had seen Solly in the woods on the way back down. He had told her that he was OK, and that it was time to let him go, and when I closed my eyes See Dash, Page 34 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM O pinion Time Running Out to Preserve Endangered Jewish Languages BY SARAH BUNIN BENOR I CAN’T STOP THINKING about Flory Jagoda, Joseph Sassoon and Kitty Sassoon — three American Jews in their 90s who died last week. As an Ashkenazi Jew, I do not share their family backgrounds. But their deaths hit home for me, as they were among the last native speakers of endangered Jewish languages — languages I’m helping to document before it’s too late. Flory Jagoda devoted much of her life to preserving one of those languages. She grew up in Bosnia speaking Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish, which her ancestors had maintained since their expulsion from Spain in 1492. She survived the Holocaust in part through her musical skills, playing accordion and singing in Serbo- Croatian. For decades, she wrote and performed Ladino songs, maintaining the Sephardic folk traditions of her nona (grandmother), innovating on them and bringing them to a wider audience. Jagoda’s music introduced me to Ladino and ignited my interest in Jewish languages. In my fifth-grade class at Jewish day school, my classmates and I learned her catchy tune “Ocho Kandelikas” (Eight Little Candles) along with Hebrew and English Chanukah songs. As a teenager, I heard Jagoda perform at a Jewish Folk Life Festival — of which she was JEWISHEXPONENT.COM a founder — and purchased a cassette of hers, “La Nona Kanta” (The Grandmother Sings). I still listen to those songs and now share them — especially my favorite, “Laz Tiyas” (The Aunties) — with my students when I teach about Jewish languages. My students read an article about Jagoda’s work to promote Sephardic language and culture just a week before she died. While Jagoda is among the last generation of native Ladino speakers, young people have continued her language preservation work, as we see in Devin Naar’s archive of Ladino letters, books and other histor- ical treasures; Bryan Kirschen’s Ladino research and classes; and Sarah Aroeste’s contemporary Ladino music and children’s books. Due to these efforts, American Jews tend to know about the language. When I ask audiences which Jewish languages they have heard of, they generally mention Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino. People are less familiar with other Jewish languages, including Judeo-Shirazi (from Iran), Judeo-Malayalam (from India) and Jewish Neo-Aramaic (from the Kurdish region) — all critically endangered. The many endan- gered dialects of Judeo-Arabic have been documented to varying extents, from Egypt to Morocco, from Syria to Yemen. And some young people are keeping the music alive, such as Neta Elkayam, A-WA and Asher Shasho Levy for Moroccan, Yemenite and Syrian traditions. Even so, most American Jews have never heard of Judeo- Arabic. Whenever a speaker dies, we lose an opportunity to learn and teach more about the nuances of this rich language and culture. Joseph and Kitty Sassoon died of COVID-19 within 12 hours of each other, months after their 76th anniversary. Both were children of Baghdadi parents who spoke Judeo-Arabic natively. Growing up in Rangoon, Burma and Calcutta, India, Joseph and Kitty spoke multiple languages, but their parents spoke Judeo- Arabic when they didn’t want the children to understand. As many American-born children of immigrants know, this means they picked up snippets of the language. As adults, living most recently in Los Angeles, Joseph and Kitty spoke Hindi and English together and did not have much opportunity to use Judeo-Arabic, but their grand- daughters remember them using some words and phrases. Kitty used pet names for grandchil- dren, like “abdalnuana” for boys and “abdalki” for girls (both literally meaning “penance” like the Hebrew “kapara”) and frequently said “mashallah” (what God has willed) when expressing pride and joy. Joseph called his mother Umm Shalom (mother of Shalom, her first son), in line with Judeo-Arabic convention, and hurled joking insults at grandchildren, such as “harami” (thief) and “mamzerim” (bastards — a Hebrew word used in several Jewish languages). The Sassoons are character- istic of speakers of endangered languages. Unlike Jagoda, they did not devote their lives to cultural preservation. And they had varying degrees of knowledge of the language — Joseph grew up speaking more Judeo-Arabic than Kitty. While language documenters would prefer fluent speakers, even semi-speakers can provide important information, partic- ularly when the language is severely endangered. Every day, especially during See Benor, Page 34 JEWISH EXPONENT KVETCH ’N’ KVELL Lifelong Democrat Shares Concern THANK YOU, THANK YOU, SOPHIA RODNEY (“I’m a Student and I’m Afraid of Where My Party Is Headed,” Jan. 28) and the Jewish Exponent for printing this opinion. I could have written that letter myself, and I wholly agree with everything you said. As a lifelong Democrat, I have been in increasingly serious disagreement with their platform. Democrats are no supporters of Israel, and I am an ardent Zionist. I have wanted to change my registration to independent, but I can’t do that until Pennsylvania allows independents to vote in primary elections. (Republicans are responsible for this blatant voter suppression.) “The Squad,” a foursome of blatantly anti-Israel and anti-Jewish members of Congress, is an example of the direction that the Democrats have been going. And don’t anyone tell me that anti-Israel is not anti-Jewish. The atmosphere on college campuses is atrocious — anti-Jewish and anti-Israel — and dangerous to Jews to be able to freely speak their opinions. The sad irony that a student should accuse Rodney of being “Trumpian” is that Trump supporters will not accept facts and blindly accept everything Trump says, and [the same goes for] anti-Israel and anti-Semites, who only believe what they have been brainwashed with and don’t ever want to hear the whole complicated history. Zionists on campus get shouted down and are not protected. Lisa Sandler | Pipersville Voices of Reason Will Win Out I am a lifelong liberal Democrat and I am worried about the shift of the Democratic Party toward the leftist/progressive voice (“I’m a Student and I’m Afraid of Where My Party Is Headed,” Jan. 28). “The Squad” of Omar, Pressley, AOC and Tlaib in the House and Bernie Sanders in the Senate are making the Democratic Party feel unsafe for Jews who support Jewish right of self-determina- tion (support of Israel). These people are anti-Zionists and, unfortunately, anti- Semitic. An alternative is to support the repugnant party of Trumpism but that is not a real alternative. Still, the Democratic Party is the big tent and we, as liberal Democrats, must call out the Jew hatred in the progressive wing. As we know, leftists and the extreme right can agree on one thing — their hatred of the Jews. My suspicion is that as President Biden shores up the liberal elements in the Democratic Party, the voices of reason and enlightenment principles will win out. There ought to be little support for the anti-democratic, anti-free speech of the leftists except those universities that have adopted loss of intellectual and honest debate. l Neil Sussman | Philadelphia STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER We are a diverse community. The views expressed in the signed opinion columns and let- ters to the editor published in the Jewish Exponent are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the officers and boards of the Jewish Publishing Group, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia or the Jewish Exponent. Send letters to letters@jewishexponent.com or fax to 215-569-3389. Letters should be a maximum of 200 words and may be edited for clarity and brevity. Unsigned letters will not be published. FEBRUARY 11, 2021 17 L ifestyle /C ulture An Easy Purim Dinner F OO D LINDA MOREL | JE FOOD COLUMNIST PURIM IS A JOYOUS holiday that celebrates the triumph of good over evil, survival over adversity and the defeat of a dangerous enemy. Traditionally, Purim parties are boisterous and large. Purim starts on Thursday evening, Feb. 25. But because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Purim party is likely to be smaller than the usual crowd of revelers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still advises limiting the size of gather- ings. Although the COVID-19 vaccine is becoming avail- able, it is wise to invite only immediate family and people in your pod. However, this offers the opportunity for a cozy, casual evening, calling for a carefree dinner that pays homage to foods in the Purim story. The story’s setting is ancient Persia, where King Ahasuerus throws a contest to select his wife. Mordecai, a respected member of the Jewish community, tells his niece Esther to enter. Smitten by her beauty, the king chooses Esther. But as queen, Esther finds herself in a predicament. No one at the court knows she is Jewish. How can she keep kosher? Thinking quickly, the queen becomes a vegetarian, eating chickpeas and seeds. Soon Queen Esther learns that Haman, the king’s chief Spinach and mozzarella frittata  fotocebela / iStock / Getty Images Plus UNPLUG with the Jewish Exponent. You can have all of the Exponent’s printed publications delivered directly to your home for less than a dollar a week. WHAT IT MEANS TO BE JEWISH IN PHILADELPHIA jewishexponent.com/subscribe 18 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 JEWISH EXPONENT JEWISHEXPONENT.COM L ifestyle /C ulture Bake the seeds at 350 degrees for 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Serves 4-6 Check often so they don’t burn. This can be made in the oven, ¼ cup sunflower seeds too. Cool to room temperature. Break off all the escarole 1 large head of escarole leaves. Rinse them well under 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cold water. Cut the leaves into rinsed and dried in paper bite-sized pieces. Dry them towels in a salad spinner or shake Kosher salt to taste them in paper towels. Move the 2 tablespoons lemon juice leaves to a salad bowl. Add the ¼ cup olive oil sunflower seeds and remaining Place aluminum foil on the ingredients and toss until tray of a toaster oven. Spread the the escarole is coated. Serve sunflower seeds over the foil. immediately. l ESCAROLE AND SUNFLOWER SEED SALAD | PAREVE Warm chickpea salad adviser, is plotting to annihi- late the Jews. She foils his plot and arranges for Haman to be hung on the gallows he’d planned for the Jews. Honoring Queen Esther, the ideal Purim menu is vegetarian, brimming with beans and seeds. These informal foods set the tone for a relaxed evening. The most fitting dessert are hamantaschen, triangular in shape, just like Haman’s hat. To rejoice the defeat of a murderous enemy, shake groggers and make noise every time someone shouts Haman’s name. Keep the wine flowing. Less people doesn’t mean less fun. SPINACH AND MOZZARELLA FRITTATA | DAIRY Serves 4-6 Equipment: 8-inch cast-iron skillet 2 tablespoons, plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, or more if needed 5-ounce container fresh baby spinach 4 large eggs Kosher salt to taste 1 small onion, diced fine 3 ounces of mozzarella, cut into small pieces and sliced thin JEWISHEXPONENT.COM margouillatphotos / iStock / Getty Images Plus Preheat the broiler. If the broiler feature is inside of your oven, place a rack in the center of the oven, close the door and turn on the broiler. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot on a medium flame. Put in the spinach in two or three batches. Stir the spinach after each addition until wilted but not cooked through. Add more oil, at any point, if needed. Cool to warm. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs with the salt until foamy. Reserve. On a medium flame, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the skillet until warm. Using the handle, tilt the skillet so the oil covers the bottom evenly. Add the onion and sauté until fragrant and sweating, about two minutes. Briskly whisk the egg mixture again until fluffy. Add the spinach and stir. Pour the eggs into the skillet. Place the mozza- rella evenly around the skillet. Shake the skillet so the eggs move evenly between the ingre- dients. Leave the skillet on the flame until the eggs are set at the bottom but loose at the surface. Using an oven mitt, move the skillet to the preheated broiler. Broil for about 5 minutes, checking often, until the eggs are completely set and golden brown. The edges may begin to curl. Remove from the oven and cut into pie-shaped pieces. Serve immediately. WARM CHICKPEA SALAD | PAREVE Serves 4-6 1 teaspoon fresh parsley 1 teaspoon fresh basil 1 (8-ounce) can of chickpeas ¼ cup olive oil, or more if needed ¼ cup red wine vinegar, or more if needed Kosher salt to taste Chop the parsley and basil until fine. Reserve. Place the can of chickpeas, liquid and all, into a medium sized pot. Heat on a medium flame until the chickpeas soften and are heated through. Place a colander in the sink. Drain the chickpeas in the colander, letting the liquid go down the drain. Move chickpeas to an attractive bowl. Add the olive oil, vinegar, kosher salt, parsley and basil. Gently toss until ingredients are combined. If the chickpeas are a little dry, add more oil and vinegar. Serve immediately. JEWISH EXPONENT changing addresses? DON’T MISS A SINGLE ISSUE OF THE Call 215.832.0700 or email subscriptions@jewishexponent.com with your new address. SHOP THE HOUSE FROM YOUR HOME. Name: House of Kosher Supermarket Width: 3.625 in Depth: 5.5 in Color: Black plus one Comment: JE-FF Program Ad Number: 00093417 Shop your groceries, meat, fish, and fresh takeout online and we'll deliver your order to your door. HOUSEOFKOSHER.COM STORE HOURS Shop online at Houseofkosher.com or download our FREE HOUSE OF KOSHER APP Strictly Kosher 215.677.8100 9806 BUSTLETON AVE. PHILADELPHIA, PA 19115 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 19 Name: Showboat Hotel C/o Tower Invest Width: 9.25 in Depth: 11 in Color: Black plus one Comment: JE News February 4,11,18,25 Ad Number: 00093401 20 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 JEWISH EXPONENT JEWISHEXPONENT.COM L ifestyle /C ulture Architect Opens ‘Daring’ Virtual Museum ARTS JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF THE DARING DIAGONAL Virtual Museum, an online collection of photos and writings concerned with historically significant expres- sions of diagonality in art and design, launched on Dec. 3. For Joel Levinson, the founder and curator of the DDVM, it’s the culmination of the curiosity he’s harbored since he was a student of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania nearly 60 years ago. Though the museum is primarily intended to provide historians with what Levinson believes is a crucial intervention in the study of architecture and design, the DDVM might just have something for everyone. “I hope that readers of all stripes will see the world in a different way,” said Levinson, founder of the architecture and interior design firm Joel Levinson Associates. Though Levinson has long dreamed of creating some sort of archive of his collected material on diagonality, it was only about two years ago that the current iteration started to come together. A well-re- ceived lecture on the subject to a group in Germantown connected him with the physicist Kenneth Ford, who enthusiastically offered to edit any material that Levinson had into a book. While the material for the book was being selected and arranged, Levinson created a website to host it all for public consumption. That website was eventually converted into the DDVM. Coincidentally, Levinson’s drawings, corre- spondence and models are in the midst of being collected for publication as separate book by the Architectural Archives at the University of Pennsylvania. The structure of the website that “houses” the museum JEWISHEXPONENT.COM is based on Levinson’s own design, mimicking the layout of a stately home built by Levinson many years ago. Each of the “rooms” are home to webpages covering individual aspects of diagonality, complete with plenty of photographed examples, often by Levinson himself. One can jump from 1.12 (Works by Children) to 3.5 (Fashion) with a few clicks of the mouse, and there’s enough material for one to spend hours wandering the digital halls. Levinson is 82 and a native of Philadelphia. Born and raised in Strawberry Mansion, Levinson’s family moved to Mt. Airy when he was still a boy, where the spitball-firing Levinson spent more time in the principal’s office at Germantown Jewish Centre than he did in the classroom. His highest aspiration in those days was to be a farmer or a writer. Informed by his father that farming and writing were out of the question, and presented with a list of acceptable profes- sions, Levinson landed on architecture at 13. Though the other personae pop up from time to time — he cultivated a small vegetable garden in his youth, and later wrote a novel about the Bosnian War — it’s been a lifetime of thinking about buildings. Entering Penn in 1957, Levinson had already devel- oped a bit of an iconoclastic sense of self, he said. Coming from a line of rabbis on one side and Bertrand Russell- reading skeptics on the other, it was only logical that Levinson’s architectural interests might become uncategorizable. Levinson first became interested in what he calls the “Phenomenon of Diagonality” around 1960. Diagonal lines, in Levinson’s estimation, were much more than met the eye. Everywhere he looked, he saw them, and not just in the buildings he studied. They Joel Levinson, creator of the DDVM Photo by Julie Levinson were in paintings and sculp- tures, chairs and graphics, products galore. It gnawed at him: How could something so fundamental be discussed so little? “It became apparent to me that there is a big story here,” Levinson said. Ever since, Levinson has tried to make up for the gaps in the scholarship. His theory of diagonality encompasses design elements from antiquity to today, and art forms both high and low. Eventually, Levinson said, material he’s been gathering for decades will lead to a book, “The Daring Diagonal,” for which there is already a preface, introduction and “a critically important chapter dealing with the right angle in architecture.” If this all sounds like it borders on the marginal or quixotic, it wouldn’t take long for Levinson to make you think twice the next time you see a triangle. Even the distaste he holds for symmetry in design could get your brain moving. For Levinson, architecture is a way to look for truth — both a mode of inquiry and the answer to questions, some urgent, some idle. “There is a difference between what we observe, and what underlies that in reality,” Levinson said. “These rather JEWISH EXPONENT The interior of the Danish Jewish Museum in Copenhagen Photo by Joel Levinson abstract ideas become expressed in my architecture — not in an academic way, I’m not trying to teach anybody anything — but they’re just part of my thought process, and they are embedded in my architecture.” l jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740 Name: WWDB AM 860 Width: 3.625 in Depth: 3.62 in Color: Black FEBRUARY 11, 2021 21 Wish Your Friends & Family Name: House Ads/rop Width: 9.25 in Depth: 11 in Color: Black Comment: JE-Passover Ad Number: 00093176 A HAPPY PASSOVER in the Jewish Exponent Be a part of our March 25 th holiday edition. DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17 TH $ Best Wishes $ A SWEET & JOYOUS Passover to all for a Happy Passover Happy Passover YOUR NAME N C 45 D YOUR NAME ESIG $ YOUR NAME ESIG D 45 D D $ N D B 75 N A 95 ESIG N ESIG Warm Passover Greetings From YOUR NAME – Personal Greetings Only – PLEASE RUN MY GREETING IN YOUR HOLIDAY ISSUE. I WOULD LIKE AD (circle one here) A, B, C, D Name _______________________________________________Phone Number __________________________________ Street Address ________________________________________ City ________________________ZIP _______________ Th e name(s) on the message should read: __________________________________________________________________ I am enclosing a check for $ _________________________________________ (All greetings must be paid for in advance.) OR email your information and credit card number to: classifi ed@jewishexponent.com. MAIL TO: CLASSIFIED DEPT., 2100 ARCH ST., 4TH FLOOR, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 19103 If you have any questions, contact the Jewish Exponent at 215.832.0749 or classifi ed@jewishexponent.com. 22 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 JEWISH EXPONENT JEWISHEXPONENT.COM L ifestyle /C ulture Reviews: Fashion’s Flaws, Getting a Get Beauty Hurts in Editor’s Essays B OOKS SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF “Everybody (Else) Is Perfect: How I Survived Hypocrisy, Beauty, Clicks, and Likes” Gabrielle Korn Atria Books WHEN GABRIELLE KORN was a Jewish teenager growing up on Long Island, fashion fell into two categories. Korn and her peers could be either Jewish American Princesses, clad in velour sweatsuits and Tiffany jewelry, or emo kids in black hoodies and Converse sneakers. She fell somewhere in the middle and put together outfits consisting of bat mitzvah jewelry layered over band T-shirts or dresses with combat boots. In her essay collection “Everybody (Else) Is Perfect: How I Survived Hypocrisy, Beauty, Clicks, and Likes,” the former editor-in-chief of Nylon Courtesy of Atria Publishing Group chronicles her journey to the upper echelons of fashion and beauty media. She also details her fight to use her role to make the industry more inclu- sive to people of different races, genders, sexual orientations and body sizes. Korn balances accounts of the misogyny and homophobia she encounters as an out lesbian in a largely straight workforce with her awareness of the privilege that allows her to obtain positions of influence in a system rooted in white supremacist beauty standards. “I understood that as a white Jewish lesbian, the parts of my identity that might marginalize me were largely invisible; I was benefiting from the system while being tokenized by it,” she writes. Toxicity in the fashion and media industries is often played for laughs in pop culture — think “The Devil Wears Prada” or even “Zoolander” — but Korn articulates the deeply personal and disturbing toll of a workplace that glorifies impossible beauty standards. She battles anorexia for years amid peers who compliment her dangerous weight loss (she weighs around 100 pounds at her lightest and sickest), promote unhealthy fad diets and issue passive-aggressive judgments if she dares to eat a bagel. Korn is also the grand- child of Holocaust survivors and writes about how she first learned about the atrocity from her parents’ explana- tions of her grandmother’s hurtful behavior, like telling Korn she was ugly to “ward off the evil eye.” A link between trauma and outward appear- ances is established early in her childhood, and the pattern reproduces viciously in the fashion world, where constant insecurity is weaponized against workers and eating disorders are common. The title of the book comes from another toxic phenom- enon Korn identifies: how often women are willing to declare other women beautiful while privately tormenting themselves over perceived flaws. Even as brands push “woke” lifestyles and people become increasingly willing to support body diversity and empowerment for others, many remain incapable of embracing themselves. Korn is bracingly honest about her struggles to find meaningful work and healthy relationships in her industry’s vortex of image obsession and personal branding. Even more intriguing are her abilities as a cultural commentator; in one essay, she successfully ties the restrictive skinny jeans trend of the early ’00s to the politics of the Bush administration. Reading the book during an unprecedented health and economic crisis makes it diffi- cult to sympathize with her stories of six-figure salary negotiations and attending fashion week, but her grueling quest for inclusivity and self-ac- ceptance in an industry built on exclusion forms the basis of a book that is both compelling memoir and haunting exposé. a nattering mother-in-law here and a cantor straight out of Chelm there. When Iczkovits stays with the perspectives of his most compelling charac- ters — Fanny, Mende, a painter named Ignat Shepkin and Zizek (forced to leave his Jewish name and past behind after he’s conscripted into the czar’s army) — the book is a pleasure. But the time spent with some of the stock charac- ters, as well as with the secret agent of the Russian Empire who’s meant to be somewhat menacing, can be a drag. Fanny, the vilde chaya of the village and the one-time apprentice to her shochet father, wields her knife across the Pale, slitting and threat- ening her way to Minsk while she tries to figure out how to reconcile her lives as a mother, wife, Jew and woman. When the narration stays close to the slaughterman’s daughter herself, the novel shines. Iczkovits’ story is often funny, if a bit old-hat in its sense of humor, which makes the conclusions he appears to arrive at regarding religion, conformity and the calam- ities to come to these Jews of the Pale feel oddly harsh. He demonstrates real love for the characters of “The Slaughterman’s Daughter,” though the space given to some overestimates the extent to which readers might feel the same. And in a 515-page novel, Iczkovits may have done well to take after Fanny, and carve with a little more precision. l spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729 Married Woman Seeks Get at Knifepoint JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF “The Slaughterman’s Daughter” Yaniv Iczkovits, translated by Orr Scharf Schocken The year is 5654 in the Pale of Settlement (1894 to you Gregorians out there). Mende Speismann’s holy fool of a husband has run off some time ago, leaving her an impoverished agunah depen- dent on the generosity of her sister Fanny’s comparatively wealthy husband. In a fit of indulgence, Mende turns the handful of rubles she’s scraped together for survival into a disastrously expensive day at the market, ending her spree only with a plunge into the Yaselda River. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Courtesy of Schocken She survives, but Fanny, the strange, wolfishly intense younger sister, knows that Mende was born to be a wife and mother, and that she’ll never be happy in the world she returns to unless some things are made right. Unhappy with her loving but mostly silent husband, and determined to give Mende a better life, Fanny enlists the assumed town fool Zizek Breshov in her journey to find Mende’s husband and force him to sign a get. The road from Motal to Minsk, it turns out, is longer than the miles the pair sets out to cover; the chaos that ensues will ask them to trek across their entire lives, as misunderstandings and a few sticky rumors soon involve the secret police, hostile locals, the czar’s army and a terrible cantor named Shleiml. Iczkovits, a celebrated Israeli writer with several novels to his name, sets out to tell a rollicking, madcap tale, and mostly succeeds. He populates his story with a mix of original characters and stock Jews, with JEWISH EXPONENT jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 23 L IFESTYLE /C ULTURE BUSINESS DIRECTORY BRUCKER’S Home Maintenance B O O KS 215-576-7708 Insured WELCOMES BEGINNERS THROUGH ADVANCED FOR WATERCOLOR WORKSHOPS CELEBRATING COLOR EVALUATIONS, VALUE STUDY, PERSPECTIVE, COMPOSITION AND PORTRAITS $120.00 for two hour six week sessions 10-12 am or 1-3 pm Monday thru Thursday. BRING YOUR ENTHUSIASM AND EXCITEMENT For more information, visit www.dianeharkart.com To register, email dianeharkart@aol.com 5HYHUVH0RUWJDJH 5HYHUVH3XUFKDVH 6HUYLQJ3$ )/ 0LFKDHO)ULHGPDQ nmls  $)LQDQFLDO3ODQQLQJ7RRO $6DIHW\1HW)RU 6HQLRUV2OGHU$GXOWV   LQIR#UHYHUVLQJPWJFRP ZZZUHYHUVLQJPWJFRP “We fix what your husband repaired” NEED A NEW BANK? CALL SEGAL FINANCIAL TO GUIDE YOU. 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We thoughtfully and expertly arrange fi nancing for businesses and investors in PA and NJ. www.segalfi nancial.com 610-828-7060 SJHorrow.com SJHorrow@gmail.com To advertise in our DIRECTORIES Call 215-832-0749 HEALTHCARE DIRECTORY What We Off er: Respite Care ★ Hospice Care ★ Dementia Care ★ Alzheimer’s Care Assistance with Daily Living, Personal Care Needs & Holistic Services Servicing: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and all of Philadelphia 610-257-7097 ★ healingenergycares.com www.jewishexponent.com 24 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 Jewish Books Bonanza in February JEWISH EXPONENT MAYBE IT’S THE FACT that the wave of dull insider accounts of the Trump regime seems to have fi nally crested. Maybe everyone had a lot of time for high-yield contem- plation during 2020. Maybe the entire publishing industry wanted to create some diffi cult choices for me, personally. Whatever the reason may be, February has proven to be a particularly exciting month for new releases in Jewish book publishing. As the Jewish Exponent, a print publication with fi nite column inches, has room for just two book reviews per month, here are a few books that would have merited a full review if not for such restrictions. Courtesy of Other Press DIANE HARK Paper Hanging Painting Deck Sealing Estate Clean Outs Carpet Cleaning “Th e Sun and Her Stars: Salka Viertel and Hitler’s Exiles in the Golden Age of Hollywood” Donna Rifk ind Salka Viertel was a glowing node of connection during the Golden Age of Hollywood, a screenwriter and actor who could call on Greta Garbo, Aldous Huxley and Charlie Chaplin, among many others. Born in 1889 in Sambor, a small Mitteleuropean city wrested back and forth between long-gone kingdoms, Virtel was an actor and screenwriter who fl ed anti-Semitic persecution for the welcoming shores of the American West Coast. Viertel’s great talent was for shmoozing; her keen intuition for salon introductions and profes- sional shidduchs made her well-known to the well-known. Rifk ind’s biography is the fi rst book-length treatment of Viertel, who is as charming on the page as you might imagine. Courtesy of Scribner LEARN WATERCOLOR PAINTING FROM AWARD WINNING ARTIST Power Washing Window Washing Chandelier Cleaning Hardwood Wax Gutter Cleaning Courtesy of Knopf ART CLASSES “Milk Fed” Melissa Broder “Milk Fed” is just 304 pages, with a small cast of characters. And yet, to try and succinctly describe what goes on here JEWISHEXPONENT.COM L ifestyle /C ulture would be a disservice to this odd, exciting little book. Broder’s story — about secular American Judaism, the contemporary professional woman’s relationship to food and sex, and an Orthodox woman who works the counter at a frozen yogurt shop — is not for the faint of heart. If you’re appropriately girded, give this one a shot. “God I Feel Modern Tonight: Poems from a Gal About Town” Catherine Cohen If you had to put Catherine Cohen into a single category, “comedian” would come closest to describing what she does. But Cohen’s career as a cabaret performer, actor, podcaster and stand-up all points to unique ambitions as an artist — she’s appeared in mainstream shows like “Broad City” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” but she’s also someone who, prior to the pandemic, performed weekly as a chanteuse at a New York club with an unprintable name. And you can still catch her podcast, if you’re missing that live Cohen zing. “God I Feel Modern Tonight” reads like poetry written by a non-poet; Cohen’s singular voice and performance instincts give her work a quality you don’t come across frequently. The PR for this book tries to brand Cohen as a very particular millennial type that exists more as an elevator pitch than a person — “A Dorothy Parker for our time, a Starbucks philosophe with no primary-care doctor” — but Cohen is blessedly uncategorizable. “Osnat and Her Dove: The True Story of the World’s First Female Rabbi” Written by Sigal Samuel, illus- trated by Vali Mintzi We don’t often write about illustrated children’s books, but an exception must be made for “Osnat and Her Dove.” Why the story of Osnat has stuck with me since I was a child is anyone’s guess, though it probably has something to do with finding the name funny when I was 10 and the fact that I heard it told with great care by the rabbi at Perelman Jewish Day School. Whatever the reason, Samuels’ retelling and Mintzi’s striking illustrations — brilliant reds, yellows and oranges — transported me back to those days and, for that, I’m grateful. “Nuestra America: My Family in the Vertigo of Translation” Claudio Lomnitz family memoir. His eye for the meta-stories of peoples and nations is brought to bear on the forces that shaped the lives of his grandparents, Jews who fled what is now Romania for Peru in the 1920s. They arrived to find that terrible truth that if one insists on being Jewish everywhere, one will be treated as a Jew everywhere. “Nuestra America” is more than the tragic tale of a family caught in the gears of 20th century -isms, though that subject is certainly worthy of exploration on its own. Lomnitz reads his life and the lives of his family members as closely as he does political and cultural texts, complicating our understanding of both. The language can be a little dry, but the characters and the subject matter are anything but. l Lomnitz, an anthropolo- gist at Columbia University, jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; bites off quite a bit in this 215-832-0740 PLAN PLAN AHEAD AHEAD FOR FOR peace peace of of mind. mind. Courtesy of Levine Querido Courtesy of Other Press Name: Dignity Memorial Width: 9.25 in Depth: 5.5 in Color: Black plus one Comment: JE-Combo Ad Number: 00093517 WHEN YOU MA KE YOU R FI N A L A R RANGEMENTS IN ADVANCE, WHEN YOU MA KE YOU R FI N A L A R RANGEMENTS IN ADVANCE, WHEN YOU MA KE YOU R that FI N A L A reflects R RANGEMENTS IN ADVANCE, plan passions. 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When I go through my photos on the computer, I realize that so many of the big events have just been put on hold. This is, of course, a minor pain when compared to the massive unemployment, economic downturn and increase of suicides in recent months. COVID takes life both directly and indirectly. So how do we deal with all this emotional pain? What wisdom does out tradition offer to those who just “can’t take it anymore?” The solution is doing things small. In our home, to cope with the new reality, we have created mini vacations, set up special dinners in our home and, of course, set up virtual gatherings. It is small in comparison to the big events of Gluck Continued from Page 16 cycle haunting those in the latter group, Twerski said, one must give them the tools to approach life and its sometimes daunting circumstances in a healthier way. But perhaps one of the most incredible lessons I learned from Twerski came during a Zoom conference for high-level mental health professionals, community leaders and philanthropists that took place approximately two years ago. One participant averred that a person can only be helped once they have hit rock bottom. When I disagreed wholeheartedly, another person jumped in, saying that Twerski had said exactly that 26 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 CAN DL E L IGHTIN G Feb. 12 Feb. 19 last year, but in celebrating the small stuff we learn a critical lesson of Torah. Little things are more important than the big things. Consider that last week’s Torah portion described the most decisive events in Jewish history, that shining movement when our ancestors stood at the foot of a quaking and smoking Mount Sinai and heard the majestic Ten Commandments proclaimed amidst thunder and lightning. The moment is grand in tone and content. From Sinai, we learned fundamental teachings of our faith, absolute monotheism, uncompromising opposi- tion to idolatry, the holiness of Shabbat, the sanctity of human life and marriage, and the inviolable rights of our neighbors. By contrast, so many of the laws, which are proclaimed in this Torah portion, appear almost trivial, small in compar- ison. They deal with wounds inflicted during arguments, the treatment of slaves, oxen that gore, livestock which graze in a neighbor’s field, gossiping. Our sages wisely comment that these laws are just as holy as the Ten Commandments. They are no less significant, no less sacred. The rabbis decreed this to counter two prevailing trends in the ancient world. First, in the Temple in Jerusalem, the order of daily worship included the recitation of the Ten Commandments (Mishnah Tamid 5:1). However, after the rise of Christianity, the reading of the Ten Commandments at daily worship services was discon- tinued. The early Christians contended that only these commandments were given at Sinai and none other. T herefore , t he ot her laws had no divine sanction (Pa lestinian Ta l m u d , Berakkhot 3c). To deemphasize the Ten Commandments, the sages removed them from the regular order of worship, and then augmented the authority of the “little laws” by explic- itly claiming for them Sinaitic origin. All of the mitzvot are binding, not just the big and lofty. Second, our sages knew what we have learned again in COVID. The little things are what make life meaningful. Life is lived around the kitchen table, on walks with our children in the beauty and splendor of nature, and, of course, in the honest conversations between life partners. When we can’t enjoy the big moments of life, like flying to a romantic destination, then make the little things big. Find intimacy wherever you are. Live and love and laugh because we don’t need to go to New York for a great night out. We can find joy in our own homes, enjoying the simple pleasures we used to take for granted. George Eliot in “Middlemarch” wrote about the power of little people doing little things, “But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhis- toric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” in one of his books. Wasting no time, Twerski explained that while he had made that state- ment 30 years ago, it no longer applied in today’s world, where hitting rock bottom too often means death. That was vintage Twerski. He could balance Torah, medical knowledge and practical life skills while still being able to adapt his expertise and advice to changing reali- ties. I have tried to model my own approach at Amudim after the example set by Twerski. When it has sometimes seemed awkward and embarrassing to do an about-face, I remind myself that if Twerski could publicly change his mind, I could, too. T h rou g hout my l i fe , whenever I hit a speed bump, I knew I could always count on Twerski. I treasure the moments I spent with him, particularly the time he sat me down at a family wedding and told me that he truly believed that Amudim’s work over the past several years to promote aware- ness and destigmatize mental health challenges had surpassed anything he had done in his lifetime. Surely it was an exaggeration and was meant as a form of encouragement, but it was meaningful and touched my heart all the same. That was Twerski. Always uplifting. Always inspiring. I remember the times when people would try to convince him to give his stamp of approval for one organization over another and he would have none of it, saying only, “I do what is best for Klal Yisroel. Don’t get me involved in politics and games.” During his 90 years on this earth, Twerski made a tremen- dous impression as a Torah scholar, a psychiatrist, a rabbi, a clinician and a mentor, a man whose sage advice was a godsend to so many, empow- ering individuals and families and giving them strength even during their darkest moments. His ability to integrate his seemingly boundless knowl- edge of mental health with an equally vast ocean of Torah values was unparalleled, and even with his incredible erudition, he had the ability to inspire every person — his JEWISH EXPONENT 5:15 p.m. 5:24 p.m. The little act, the little task performed regularly and faith- fully by little people, this is what gives tone, content and character to a society. In her darkness, Helen Keller saw a shining truth, “I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty and joy to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble ... For the world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggre- gate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.” In doing little things may we find both greatness and joy. l Rabbi Gregory Marx is the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen. The Board of Rabbis is proud to provide diverse perspectives on Torah commentary for the Jewish Exponent. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of the Board of Rabbis. kindness, humility and sensi- tivity shining with every word and on every page. Despite his many profes- sional accomplishments, I can’t help but remember Twerski as someone who spent his days and nights sowing seeds of happi- ness. As I close my eyes, the words and notes of his iconic “Hoshia Es Amecha” echo in my mind, a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to making the world a better place. l Rabbi Zvi Gluck is the CEO of Amudim, an organization dedicated to helping abuse victims and those suffering with addiction within the Jewish community. He has been heavily involved in crisis intervention for 21 years. This piece was first published by JTA. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM COMMUNITY NEWS The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia mobilizes financial and volunteer resources to address the communities’ most critical priorities locally, in Israel and around the world. February is Jewish Disability Awareness & Inclusion Month Celebrate Disability Inclusion with These Local (Virtual) Events The national Jewish Disability Awareness & Inclusion Month (JDAIM) is back for its 13 th year this February. On the local level, Jewish Learning Venture’s (JLV) Whole Community Inclusion initiative and the Jewish Special Needs/Disability Awareness Consortium of Greater Philadelphia, annually provide a month of programming and resources to help bridge the gap in creating a more inclusive Jewish community. The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia is proud to be a part of this effort as a member of the consortium and a funder of JLV. While JDAIM’s programming will be virtual this February, the month is still jam packed with opportunities to learn more about disability inclusion in our local Jewish community. Check out jewishphilly.org/jdaim to see what this month of empowerment has to offer and how to register. JDAIM Shabbat: Tikvah Shabbat Service Saturday, Feb. 13, 9:00 a.m. Join Camp Ramah in the Poconos for a Shabbat morning service led by and geared for kids and young adults with special needs and their families. JDAIM Shabbat: Mental Health and Our Community Saturday, Feb. 13, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Everyone’s welcome! Join Mishkan Shalom for an inclusive Shabbat morning service that will feature a talk by Dr. Mark Salzer of Temple University about his ground- breaking research on mental health and the importance of faith communities. JDAIM Shabbat: A Disabled Artist’s Journey Through Art & Activism Sunday, Feb. 14, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Join Germantown Jewish Centre to hear from Wendy Elliott-Vandivier, an artist and long-time disability advocate, present information on her experiences as an artist and disability activist. As a member of the Jewish community in Philadelphia, she will also talk about some of the ways that synagogues can be welcoming and inclusive for people with disabilities. Whole Community Inclusion: Purim Fun! Sunday, Feb. 14, 4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Purim fun for kids of all abilities! Join jkidphilly for music, storytime and a fun craft to get ready for Purim. An ASL interpreter will be present. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Making the World More Accessible in the Time of COVID Monday, Feb. 15, 12:00 p.m. Join the Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council for a conversation with Stacy Levitan, Executive Director JCHAI, and Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, Acting Co-Executive Director of Jewish Learning Venture. Stacy and Gabrielle will describe their agencies, the people they serve and what they are doing to ensure that their communities are remaining engaged during the time of COVID. Did You Know? Learn more about the Jewish disability communities in the five-county, Greater Philadelphia region with these facts and figures from the Jewish Federation’s 2019 Community Portrait: Mental, Behavioral and Developmental Health Conditions 17% of Jewish households include someone with a learning disability or developmental disability, such as ADHD, dyslexia or an Autism spectrum disorder. 33% of Jewish households include someone with a mental health condition, such as anxiety or depression. Physical Health Conditions 55% of Jewish households include someone diagnosed with a physical health condition. 16% of Jewish households report someone who has a physical disability that impacts daily activities. Brunch and Belonging Series Tuesday, Feb. 16, 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. The Jewish Disability Consortium of Greater Philadelphia invites you to take a break from work – grab a coffee or nosh – and learn with us from an expert in the field. In this presentation, disability advocate Shelly Christensen defines the concept of ‘belonging’ and how it relates to the lives of people with disabilities, their family members and all of us who are part of faith communities. Disability Inclusion in Israel Sunday, Feb. 21, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. How is disability inclusion happening in Israel today? How do individuals with disabilities live with purpose and possibility? Kalman Samuels of SHALVA, an organization that supports and empowers individuals with disabilities and their families in Israel, explains these issues and more. Sponsored by the Temple Beth Hillel- Beth El Inclusion Committee and Adath Israel, come learn about how one innovative Israeli organization leads the way! JEWISH EXPONENT Caregiving 17% of Jewish adults are caregivers for an older adult who has a health condition or disability. 7% of Jewish adults are caregivers for someone under the age of 65 who has a health condition or disability. The Jewish Federation commissions a population study once every 10 years to most effectively evaluate and support the needs of our local Jewish communities. Explore the basic socio-economic, demographic and public health trends across the region’s Jewish populations here: communityportrait.org FEBRUARY 11, 2021 27 C ommunity / mazel tovs B I RTH SHARE your engagement, wedding, birth, Bar/Bat Mitzvah announcement and any other simcha on both jewishexponent.com and the weekly Jewish Exponent newspaper for ... FREE. PHOEBE ROSE AND MILLIE RUTH KLINGHOFFER Wendy and Neil Klinghoffer of Huntingdon Valley announce the birth of their identical twin granddaughters, Phoebe Rose and Millie Ruth Klinghoffer, on Dec. 1, 2020. Sharing in their joy are parents Alexandra Neophytou and Scott Klinghoffer, sisters Zoe and Nora, Aunt Abbie and Uncle Kenny, and cousin Charlie. Photo by Alexandra Neophytou J E W I S H E X P O N E N T . C O M / S U B M I T - M A Z E L - T O V COMMUNITYBRIEFS Abramson Senior Care Appoints First Female Board Chair ABRAMSON SENIOR CARE named Lorraine Drobny as the first female in its 155-year history to serve as chair of its board of trustees. After serving as board vice chair (2012-2019) and first vice chair (2019-2020), Drobny stepped into the role of chair in October. Drobny succeeds Howard Davis as board of trustees chair. “This type of confident leadership doesn’t come just from stellar professional experience, which Lorraine certainly has,” said Carol Irvine, president and CEO of Abramson Senior Care. “It comes from deep, unparal- leled passion born of her personal experience finding someone to entrust with the care of her own father and finding herself being cared for in the process.” Aside from her roles at Abramson Senior Care, Drobny is a member of the board of trustees and women’s philanthropy for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and past president of Hakol Group for Hadassah. Outside of her volunteerism, she is a principal at Stumar Investigations. OROT Annual Event Slated for Feb. 20 OROT, which works to ensure that special needs children enrolled in Jewish day school can remain in their schools, with their peers and engaged in their communities, will host its annual gala virtually at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20. This year’s honoree is Perri Specter, a 2007 OROT alumna, who started with OROT in the third grade, graduated from Perelman Jewish Day School and the Delaware Valley Friends School, then studied illustration at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. She now works full time as a graphic designer for the law firm Pond Lehocky Giordano. Five program alumni graduating high school this year — Michael Andelman, Olivia Collis, Lily Rabinowitz, Brenen Grossman and Raphael Shmulevich — also will be recognized during the event. Teachers, current students and board Chair Chavi Schwarzbaum are slated to speak. OROT was founded in 1999 and today has about 50 students in area schools. Chai. 28 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 NMAJH to Host North African Jewish Music Presentation The National Museum of American Jewish History will host a free presentation of North African Jewish music on Feb. 17. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Jewish vocalists and instrumentalists played an outsized role in the production of music in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia — a region known as The Maghreb. Historian Christopher Silver will provide a musical tour of the North African Jewish past through sounds both traditional and popular by drawing on rare shellac records from his personal archive. The presentation will be followed by an audience question-and-answer session. The public may tune in online for free, with a $10 suggested donation. Visit nmajh.org/virtual-museum for details. l — Compiled by Andy Gotlieb News for people who know we don’t mean spiced tea. Every Thursday in the JEWISH EXPONENT and all the time online @jewishexponent.com. For home delivery, call 215.832.0710. JEWISH EXPONENT JEWISHEXPONENT.COM C ommunity / deaths DEATH NOTICES DEATH NOTICES DIAMOND GOLDBERG Dr. Herbert Diamond, 98, passed away in Bryn Mawr on January 31, 2021 after a fall and rapid decline. He was predeceased by his loving wife, Charlotte (2007) and his later-in- life love, Shirley Luber (2020). Dr. Diamond is survived by his immediate family, Lenore and Dr. Stephen Robins, Meg Diamond, Dr. Steven Diamond, Dr. Diane Lichtenstein and his granddaughters, Dr. Rachel Diamond and her fiancé Josh Sandler, Paula Diamond and Cara Robins. Dr. Diamond was a graduate of both The University of Pennsylvania and its School of Medicine and spent his life living and working in the greater Philadelphia area. He began his career at a time when anti- psychotic medication first became available and there was optimism that patients in state mental hospitals could be transitioned into community based psychiatric clinics. The promise of independence for those with ma- jor mental illness was on the horizon. Dr. Diamond believed in this potential and spent his career as Medical Director of the West Philadelphia Community Mental Health Con- sortium. He spent his retirement contribut- ing to the community he lived in, Beaumont at Bryn Mawr, through multiple volunteer po- sitions as well as tending a garden to be as- sured of a supply of summer fresh tomatoes. He also travelled widely throughout his life, enjoying many family adventures and nature tours. A private burial is planned. JOSEPH LEVINE and SONS www.levinefuneral.com ELS Joan Els, a resident of Langhorne PA and formerly of Rydal PA died peacefully on January 27th at Chandler Hall Nursing home in Newtown, PA. Born on October 25, 1932 in Muncy PA, Joan was the daughter of Dr. Sterling C. King and Cecelia C. King. A gradu- ate of Jefferson Nursing School, Joan prac- ticed as an RN at Jefferson and later as the head of rehab at Rolling Hill Hospital in Elkins Park, PA. Joan was a loving Wife, Mother, Grandmother and Great-grandmother. She was adored by friends and family as a warm loving person with a big heart, a great sense of humor and impeccable style. Joan is sur- vived by her son Todd A. Gross of New York City; Step Daughter Liz Lieberman of Park City, Utah; Grandsons: Zachary and Dallas Krum of Bensalem and great grandchildren, Carter and Saylor Krum. In addition to her parents, Joan was preceded in death by her daughter Karen Krum and husband Wilbert Els and siblings, Dorothy, Barbara and Ster- ling. Donations may be made in lieu of flowers to St. Jude Children's research hos- pital and Chandler hall hospice of Newtown PA. Honor the memory of your loved one... Call 215.832.0749 to place your memorial. William Goldberg passed away peacefully on January 26, 2021 after a 25 year battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 82. Beloved husband of Evelyn (nee Kallen) for 57 years. Devoted father of David (Anne Marie) Gold- berg and Becky (David) Shmukler. Devoted zaydah of David Jr, Ilana, Ava, Jenna, Ben, and Rachael. Loving great-zaydah of David, Trey, and Kelly. Loving brother of Evelyn Mendelsohn. Born in Paris, France to Erwin Goldberg and Taube Gerstenhaber as they were fleeing from Austria in 1938. He gradu- ated from Central High School, class of 206 and Temple University for his Bachelors and Masters Degrees plus 60. He taught English at Frankford High School for 32 years and at Northeast High School teaching English for foreign born adults. He was active in the formation of the Philadelphia Teacher’s Uni- on. He was well read and enjoyed sharing his many hundreds of books. His book discus- sions highlighted his rich wit and charm. He was a member of Mensa, Philadelphia Ethic- al Society, B’nai Brith, Esperanto League of North Philadelphia and a Chavurah. He en- joyed flea markets, reading, playing his violin, chess, and classical music. He was the violin maestro of the orchestra at Central High School. Graveside services will be private. Contributions in his memory may be made to Parkinson’s Foundation, Free Library of Phil- adelphia, or the Ethical Society of Phil- adelphia. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG'S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com A Community Remembers Monthly archives of Jewish Exponent Death Notices are available online. www.JewishExponent.com Honor the memory of your loved one... Call 215.832.0749 to place your memorial. BERSCHLER and SHENBERG Funeral Chapels, Inc. WE MAKE THINGS EASIER ...WE COME TO YOU Arrangements, Monuments & Graves HONOR THE MEMORY OF YOUR LOVED ONE... CALL 215-832-0749 www.JewishExponent.com www.JewishExponent.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 215-329-2900 Howard D. Shenberg Supervisor www.BerschlerandShenberg.com JEWISH EXPONENT FEBRUARY 11, 2021 29 C ommunity / deaths DEATH NOTICES DEATH NOTICES GOLDSTEIN Gerald P. Goldstein, retired US Air Force vet- eran and top-notch salesman, died February 4, 2021. He lived in Newtown, Pa, formerly of Levittown, Pa. Gerald was a member of the Fegelson-Young-Feinberg Post #697 Jewish War Veterans, where he helped develop their Holocaust program for area schools. Hus- band of the late Sonia. Father of Mark N. Goldstein (Judith), Nancy J. Schnitzer (Rabbi Jeffery) and the late Dr. Jeffrey Goldstein. Grandfather of Rebecca Schnitzer, Jonathan Schnitzer, Gedalia Goldstein (Chani), Tuvia Goldstein (Chani) and Daniel Goldstein (Talia), also survived by 18 great grandchil- dren. Family was everything to him and he was ever-present in the lives of his children and grandchildren. Contributions in his memory may be made to Congregation Ti- fereth Israel of Bucks County, 2909 Bristol Road, Bensalem, Pa. 19020. GOLDSTEINS' ROSENBERG'S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com GROSSMAN Stella Grossman of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania died Wednesday, January 6, 2021 at Jefferson Torresdale Hospital. She was 93 years old. Stella was born February 7, 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, daughter of the late Abraham Wexler and the late Bessie Wexler (nee - Kleiman). She is the be- loved wife of the late Malvin F. Grossman; father of Alan Grossman and his wife Carol, Gail Vladimir and her husband Larry; grand- mother of Anna, Marcella, Alissa, Joshua, Sara, Dana, Jonathan, and Matthew; great grandmother of Luca, Matylda, Violet, Tru- man, Autumn, Ella, Liam; sister of Selma Hochman; aunt of Anita Hochman and Arthur Hochman. She is also survived by a loving extended family. Services were held in Janu- ary by Rabbi Howard Cove, a close family friend. Donations may be made in her memory to City of Hope, 1420 Walnut Street, Suite 817, Philadelphia, PA 19102. WETZEL and SON FUNERAL HOME www.wetzelandson.com GROSS Richard J. Gross, of Ambler, formerly of Elkins Park, passed away on January 31, 2021, his 87th birthday. The husband of the late Irene Muhr Gross, he is survived by his longtime significant other, Nancy Guggen- heim Berger, his children, Linda Gross and Robert Gross, and three grandchildren. A graduate of Cheltenham High School, he at- tended Vanderbilt University, graduating with a BA in Management. He first worked for Franklin Metal & Rubber Co., then owned and operated The Working Press, followed by a career as a Tin Man with the Home Depot, re- tiring in 2013. An avid sports and game en- thusiast throughout his life, he enjoyed play- ing bridge, tennis, golf and poker. When not playing, he watched! He enjoyed a life full of crossword puzzles, extensive travel, theatre, concerts and dear friends. His body is being donated to the Humanity Gifts Registry in a nod to his mother, who always wanted him to attend medical school. There is no funeral planned. Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or the charity of one’s choice. To place a Memorial Ad call 215.832.0749 facebook.com/jewishexponent A Community Remembers Monthly archives of Jewish Exponent Death Notices are available online. www.JewishExponent.com DEATH NOTICES DEATH NOTICES HARVITZ ISAACMAN Irwin Joel “Jerry” Harvitz passed away on January 25, 2021. Jerry was born June 28, 1934 at 40th and Girard Avenue. He gradu- ated from Overbrook High School. While there, he was on the bowling team and bowled a 249 game to lead the league in scoring. Jerry’s father had a small printing shop and he, his mother and two sisters lived in the back and above the shop. Jerry’s fath- er had a massive heart attack when Jerry was 15 and after a semester at Temple University he took over the business setting type and running the jobs on the press, some by hand, some on an automatic. He worked 6 1/2 days a week and after becoming successful tried to explain that he wasn’t born with his Porsche in the driveway. He went to Temple University six years in the evening to achieve his degree while running the business. As an adult, he became very involved in charitable organizations, belonging to B’nai B’rith and then serving as President of the Golden Slip- per Club and Charities, three years as Presid- ent of Jewish National Fund and also Nation- al Tay Sachs and Allied Diseases. He re- mained active in Golden Slipper by serving as Co-Chair, with his wife Patty, of the Scholar- ship Committee. Jerry was awarded the Gold Medallion and Horatio Alger Award. Jerry was an avid sailor and owned a 37’ cutter rigged sailboat named the Graphic Ark. He sailed the Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic Ocean and once in a race with 150 boats sailed from Marian, MA to Bermuda in 4 1/2 days at sea. He was able to cross that off his bucket list. He often sailed from Atlantic City to Newport, RI overnight for a week of sailing in Nantuck- et Bay. Jerry also loved tennis, played sever- al times a week and enjoyed going to the U.S. Open followed by dinner at Peter Luggers every year with the boys. He went skiing in Aspen every winter until he was 80 years old and continued to play tennis until he became ill last year. His most enjoyable times were spent with his wife Patty, daughter Betsy, son-in-law Michael Dubin, and his two grand- daughters Jessica and Sari Dubin. Together they travelled to Disney World, on Disney Cruises to Alaska and the Caribbean and to Aruba. He enjoyed holidays with his entire family which extended to nieces, nephews and their families and even twin great-great grandnieces. Jerry made and kept many friends over the years and will be re- membered for his kindness, sense of humor, loyalty and generosity. He truly will be missed by his devoted wife, loving daughter and entire family. He will be reunited with his parents Anna and Jack, his sister and broth- er-in-law Betty and Jules Freedman and sis- ter and brother-in-law Elaine and Arthur Gold. Contributions in Jerry’s memory can be made to Golden Slipper Gems, Scholarship Fund or Jewish National Fund. TO PLACE A MEMORIAL AD CALL 215.832.0749 Florence Isaacman, 88, of Harrisburg, passed away on Monday, February 1, 2021 at the Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg. She was born on April 14, 1932 in Philadelphia, PA to the late Stanley and Lena (Myer) Cooke. Florence was a retired teacher from the Susquehanna Township School District. She was an active member of Beth El Temple, Beth El Sisterhood, Hadassah, the Jewish Community Center and the Retired Teachers Association. Florence was the widow of Bruce “Buddy” Isaacman and preceded in death by a brother, Dr. Stanford Cooke. Sur- viving is her son, Dr. Scott Isaacman and his wife, Bethany of Silver Bay, MN; 3 daughters, Jill Henig and her husband, Pinny of Harris- burg, Debra Bosin and her husband, Dan of Philadelphia, Karen Isaacman and her part- ner, Steve Prescott of Harrisburg, 12 grand- children and 9 great grandchildren. Graveside services were held on February 3, 2021 at Beth El Cemetery, Harrisburg, PA. Donations in her memory: Beth El Temple Isaacman Fund or The Jewish Home of Greater Harris- burg. LAFAIR Charlotte Lafair (nee Wolf) Jan. 30 of Phil- adelphia. Wife of the late Leonard Lafair; mother of Julie (Harris) Miller, Beth (Steve) Burak and the late Jonathan Lafair; grand- mother of Eric, Helena (Dara) and Herschel: great grandmother of Leonard, Micah, Rox- anne, Zivah and Rafi. Graveside services were held at Mt. Sharon Cem. Jan 31. Contribu- tions in her memory may be made to Cong. Or Shalom, Berwyn PA or Alex's Lemonade Stand. JOSEPH LEVINE and SONS www.levinefuneral.com LOVE KORNFELD Adele Kornfeld (nee Levin), aged 90, January 27, 2021, of Philadelphia, formerly of Willow Grove. Beloved wife of the late Bertram H.; loving mother of David (Ellen), Robert (Pamela), and Anne Westrom (Michael); ad- oring grandmother of Julie, Billy (Heather), Danny, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Jacqueline; devoted sister of Fredda Segal and aunt to many loving nieces and nephews. She loved music, art and loved to cook for family and friends. Funeral services were held Wednes- day, February 3, 2021 at Joseph Levine & Sons in Trevose, PA. Interment at Washing- ton Crossing National Cemetery. Contribu- tions in her memory may be made to The Philadelphia Orchestra (philorch.org) or The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society (pcm- sconcerts.org/support). JOSEPH LEVINE and SONS www.levinefuneral.com A Community Remembers Monthly archives of Jewish Exponent Death Notices are available online. HONOR THE MEMORY OF YOUR LOVED ONE... CALL 215-832-0749 DEATH NOTICES www.JewishExponent.com Susan Love, January 31, 2021 of Voorhees, NJ. Dear mother of Ashley Freedman, life partner of David Farber (loving son Drew Farber), loving daughter of Judy (and the late Donald) Love, dear sister of Sylvia Miller (Mi- chael) and Roberta Budman, loving aunt of Rebecca Miller and Abby Budman. Former wife of Michael Freedman. Throughout a long career, Susan devoted herself to providing an enjoyable and meaningful living environment to seniors and their families. She served in a variety of leadership roles at the Jewish Geri- atric Home in Cherry Hill, and helped man- age its transition to Lions Gate Continuing Care Retirement Community in Voorhees. She served as CEO of Lions Gate since 2016. Susan’s gentle and kind demeanor earned the trust and friendship of residents, staff, and the community. Susan genuinely cared for each and every resident. She was also a re- spected leader in the senior care field, active in many professional associations. Susan was a member of the Board of Trustees of Leading Age NJ & DE, and just prior to her illness she was appointed to an advisory board within Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business. Susan was a very spe- cial individual who worked hard to achieve her goals, whether it was her professional work, obtaining her Master’s degree and li- cense in Nursing Home Administration, or volunteering her time to various organiza- tions. In her spare time, Susan enjoyed golf- ing, reading and spending time with family. Susan also loved golfing with her parents in Boca Raton. Contributions in Susan’s memory can be made to Lions Gate CCRC, www.lionsgateccrc.org or Urban Promise, www.urbanpromiseusa.org or a charity of the donor’s choice. PLATT MEMORIAL CHAPELS, Inc. Cherry Hill, NJ HONOR THE MEMORY OF YOUR LOVED ONE... CALL 215-832-0749 Family owned and Operated since 1883 30 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 JEWISH EXPONENT JEWISHEXPONENT.COM C ommunity / deaths DEATH NOTICES DEATH NOTICES DEATH NOTICES DEATH NOTICES MYEROV SCHWARTZ TANNENBAUM WATSON Loretta Myerov (nee Epstein) on February 1, 2021. Beloved wife of Joseph; Loving moth- er of Anita (Harry) Yampolsky, Neil (Joan) Myerov and Benjamin (Susan) Myerov; De- voted grandmother of Aaron, Megan (Robert), Micah and Celia; Adoring great- grandmother of Sebastian. Services and in- terment were private. Contributions in her memory may be made to Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, 636 Morris Turn- pike, Ste 3 A, Short Hills, NJ 07078. GOLDSTEINS' ROSENBERG'S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com NEFF Claire R. Neff, died on January 28, 2021. Claire was the third of four daughters of Miri- am and, Philadelphia bandleader Abe Neff. She lived most of her 92 years in New York City where she retired from CBS. Her final two years were spent at the Horsham Center for Jewish Life. She survived the deaths of her three sisters and is survived by her be- loved nieces and nephews. No memorial is presently planned. Please plant a tree in Is- rael or make a donation to the charity of your choice in her memory. Barry H. Schwartz, 69, of Oakton, Virginia, passed away on Sunday, January 31st, 2021. He is survived by his beloved wife, Sheryl J. Schwartz; children, Robert Schwartz (Julia Bernstein), Lauren (Lance) Shapiro, and Rachel (Ben) Kramer; granddaughter, Miri- elle Schwartz; sister-in-laws, Rhonda (Shaun) Schwartz and Robin Simmens; sister, Susan (Howard) Levinson; and mother and father- in-laws Elaine and Arthur Gamburg. He was predeceased by his parents, Shirlee and Sol Schwartz. A graveside service will be held at Red Butte Cemetery in Aspen, CO. Contribu- tions in Barry's memory may be sent to HomeAid Northern Virginia or the Barry and Sheryl Schwartz UVA Fund. SOL LEVINSON & BROS. FUNERAL HOME www.sollevinson.com ROSOV Helene A. Rosov, January 29, 2021, of Voorhees, NJ formerly of Cherry Hill, NJ. Mother of Philip G. Rosov, Karen M. Rosov and Wendy J. (Peg Sandel) Rosov. Grand- mother of Elijah (Terri), Liat, Ariel, Talya and Gaby. Great- grandmother of Gideon. Sister of Henry S. Popell. Former mother-in-law of Cheryl Rosov. Helene was born and raised in Malden, MA. She was an ardent Zionist and lover of all things Jewish. Helene worked at Prudential Fox Roach Realty in the Ritten- house, Philadelphia office. She loved a good bourbon Manhattan. PLATT MEMORIAL CHAPELS, Inc. Cherry Hill, NJ SCHWARTZ Erika Schwartz, February 4, 2021, of Glad- wyne, Pennsylvania, born in Vienna, Austria. Loving mother of Michael Schwartz and Melissa (Eric) Lakness. Devoted grandmoth- er to Mackenzie, Thomas, Heidi, and Parker. Survived by her brothers, Fritz Gotz and Wil- helm Kramer. Predeceased by her sister, Vic- toria Pio. Also survived by her sister-in-law, Nanci Gilberg, and brothers-in-law, Kenny Gilberg and Ed Pio. Adoring aunt to Ernie, Linda (Bill), Lisa (Jim), Michael, Brian (Eden) and Adam (Alli). She will be forever cher- ished by her family and many friends. Ser- vices and interment were private. Contribu- tions in her memory may be made to the charity of the donors choice. JOSEPH LEVINE and SONS www.levinefuneral.com Honor the memory of your loved one... Call 215.832.0749 to place your memorial. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM SPIEGEL Edward Michael Spiegel, 81, died on January 29, 2021 in Pennsylvania. Edward was origin- ally from Irvington, NJ where he grew up with his sister Civia Spiegel Yellin and par- ents, Fannie Waxman Spiegel and Ned Spiegel. After graduating from Irvington High School (1957), he went on to attend and graduate from Rutgers University. Edward served in the United States Coast Guard. He was a retailer/co-owner of Fierstien Olds- mobile in Philadelphia, Levis Hot Dogs in Jenkintown, PA/Ocean City, NJ, The Smithville Zoo in Smithville, NJ, and This Place Rocks at The Barn in Bucks County, PA. Edward Spiegel dedicated countless hours and many years to supporting youth athletics. He coached Little League Baseball for GYAC in Glenside PA and helped organize the JJBL in 1985, where he served as the leagues’ first commissioner. Some may even remember him as Santa Claus, where he vo- lunteered for many years to help bring joy to underserved children in Philadelphia. An avid NY Yankees fan, he enjoyed watching sports, talking about sports, and playing along with Jeopardy! each evening. He loved boating, summer vacations, spending time at the shore, and being with his family. Edward married his wife after just 6 months of dat- ing. The dynamic duo remained inseparable for over 50 years. Like most, they endured the highs and the lows, but were always at each other’s side no matter what. His greatest joy had been watching his grandchil- dren play sports and perform in theater. Be- loved husband of the late Karen Spiegel (nee Fierstien). Loving Father of Neil (late Beth; Angie) Spiegel and Dr. Ian (Crystal) Spiegel. Grandfather to Ryan, Ricky, Evan, and Lucy Spiegel. Son of the late Fannie (nee Waxman) and Ned Spiegel and brother to the late Ar- lene (“Civia”) Yellin. Uncle to Dr. Joel Yellin, late Dr. Lawrence Yellin, and late Nancy Yel- lin, and countless friends and family mem- bers whose lives he touched. Due to the cur- rent health crisis, funeral services and Shiva will be conducted privately. In his memory, his family encourages friends and family to consider making contributions to The Rut- gers University Yellin Family Biomedical Col- loquium Fund. Please be sure to mark gifts as tributes to the Yellin Family. TO PLACE A MEMORIAL AD CALL 215.832.0749 Philip J. Tannenbaum of Audubon, PA passed away peacefully on January 26, 2021. He was 91. Philip was extremely intelligent and ac- complished, and his love of learning endured throughout his lifetime. After serving as a medic during the Korean War, Philip earned his undergraduate degree from the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania with a triple major. He then continued his education and earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. For most of his career, he worked for Smithkline Pharmaceuticals and rose to become SeniorVice President and Dir- ector of US Medical Affairs. In his fifties, he left Smithkline and attended law school at Vil- lanova University. He used his legal degree to serve the community by donating his time at Delaware County Community Legal Services.Family was very important to Philip. He was the son of immigrant parents and the oldest of three children. Philip was a devoted father, a loving grandfather and adoring great-grandfather. He was an avid tennis player, passionate about politics and loved to travel and read. Husband of the late Mar- garet Tannenbaum, he will be missed by his children Randi Tannenbaum (Wayne Morse), Dr. Alan Tannenbaum (Anna May), Dr. Amy Fitzsimmons (Mike), and Dr. David Tannen- baum, as well as his grandchildren Caitlin, Al- exandra, Lauren (Will), Jason, Jordan, Elliot (Sam), Ian, Emma, Sophie, Jacob, Sydney, Katharine, Talia, and Max, great-grandchil- dren Riley and Jolene and sisters Lynne (Lou) Russo and the late Edda Gruber. Con- tributions in his memory may be made to a Charity of the Donor’s Choice. Memorial Ser- vice to be planned at a later date. GOLDSTEINS' ROSENBERG'S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com A Community Remembers Monthly archives of Jewish Exponent Death Notices are available online. www.JewishExponent.com Elizabeth Mae Watson passed away on Janu- ary 31, 2021. Mother of Jenny Psaki (David Gordon). Grandmother of Avery Gordon. Sis- ter to Barbara Kaufman and Eugene Watson. Ms. Watson was a child television and radio personality in the 1940’s on “The Juvenile Jury”, starring Jack Barry. Later in her career, she became an actress, a published poet and a long-time supporter of the Philadelphia Theatre community including Plays and Play- ers Theatre and Interact. Private Graveside Services are being held at Montefiore Cemetery. Contributions in her memory may be made to The Arbor Day Foundation, www.arborday.org/trees, or Project Home www.projecthome.org/donate. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com WOLF Marilyn Wolf (nee Caplan) On Jan. 27, 2021, cherished mother of Janice (Steve) Wolf Ra- binowitz, Abby (Daniel) Wolf-Weiss and Joanne (Paul) Wolf Jablonski, beloved sister of Stanley (Barbara) Caplan, devoted grand- mother of Josh (Annie) Rabinowitz, Amanda (Robbie) Rabinowitz Towle, Elijah Weiss, Sascha Weiss, Jack Jablonski and Jonah Jablonski, adored daughter of the late Ed- ward Caplan and the late Sally (Levin) Caplan. She will also be dearly missed by her much- loved extended family and friends. Marilyn was born and raised in West Philadelphia and was a graduate of West Philadelphia High School. A woman of many creative talents, she was the proud owner of Marilyn Wolf Designs in Narberth, PA. Marilyn loved life every single day and leaves a legacy to her dear family and friends of recipes, stories, and an abundance of joy. Services and Inter- ment were private. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Obama Founda- tion, www.obama.org JOSEPH LEVINE and SONS www.levinefuneral.com MEMORIALS BERGER In Memory of Reneé Berger April 7, 1955 - February 15, 2019 From our wedding, from the Song of Solomon: I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine. When you come to visit me in my dreams, you always seem to be happy. That’s good. I love you very much, and I always will. I miss you terribly. Proverbs 3:15 She is more precious than rubies, and all the things thou canst desire are not to be com- pared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is everyone that holdeth her fast. How profoundly we miss you. Kenneth Berger and Family & Friends ELIAS WIEZER (4/30/62-2/5/2000) Although your life was cut short, You made an HUGE Impact that Will Last A LIFETIME! 21 Years later.......Feels like yesterday. We LOVE You ALWAYS! Betty and Sara Honor the memory of your loved one … CALL 215-832-0749 TO PLACE YOUR YAHRTZEIT AD. classified@jewishexponent.com JEWISH EXPONENT FEBRUARY 11, 2021 31 CLASSIFIEDS REAL ESTATE YARD SERVICES RENTALS EDUCATION ACTIVITIES BUSINESS/ FINANCIAL EMPLOYMENT/ HELP WANTED OUT OF AREA VACATION SALES/RENTALS INFORMATION SERVICES PROFESSIONAL/ PERSONAL AUTOMOTIVE HOUSEHOLD SERVICES MERCHANDISE MARKETING REPAIRS/ CONSTRUCTION STATEWIDE ADS TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: LINE CLASSIFIED: 215-832-0749 classified@jewishexponent.com DISPLAY ADVERTISING: 215-832-0753 DEADLINES: LINE CLASSIFIED: 12 p.m. Mondays DISPLAY ADVERTISING: 12 p.m. Fridays HOMES FOR SALE Place an ad in the Real Estate Section CALL: NICOLE MCNALLY 215.832.0749 32 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 MAIN LINE PENN VALLEY “OAK HILL" CEMETERY LOTS FOR SALE TOWER-Available immediately! 4th floor All new, designer stu- dio apartment. New kitchen, bathroom, lighting. Wood floors. Sunny balcony. Includes heat, 24 hr doorman, pool, bulk cable, storage $1350 Har Jehuda Cemetery-2 Plots Area S-Line 16, Plots 15 & 16 Asking $2750 each, list $3125 each. Call Harold 610-724- 8506 TERRACES-3rd Floor, sunny 1 BD, 1 BA. New carpets, modern kitchen and bath. Lots of closets, large sunny balcony, new hallways and lobby! Avail- able immediately! $1450 TOWER-3rd floor, Roomy 2 BD 2 BA, Sunny front balcony, modern kitchen, custom closets, washer/dryer, custom lighting, mirrored closets, new wood floors, coat closet, large balcony. Inlcudes heat, 24 hr doorman, pool, bulk cable, stor- age. Available immediately. $1900 Includes Heat/AC TERRACES-Renovated 2 BD, 2 BA, open granite kitchen, new wood floors, full size washer/dryer, lots of closets, custom lighting & window treat- ments. Includes heat. New hall- ways and lobby! $2150 The Spring Market has Sprung! Prices are Up & Interest Rates Are Down! Now is the Best Time to List with Us! Call Andi or Rick DeSouza for an appointment & we will deliver: Results, Not Promises! RE/MAX Eastern, Inc. Eric DeSouza Associate Broker Andrea DeSouza Sales Associate SOUTH TERRACE-Sun- drenched 2 BD, 2 BA, modern, granite, open galley kitchen w/ granite counters, tiled back splash, custom lighting, ceiling fans. TOWER-Special renovation. Large 3 BD, 3 BA, open granite kitchen, wood floors, new win- dows, sunny corner balcony, washer/dryer. Includes heat, gym, pool, 24 hr doorman, stor- age. Available immediately! TERRACES-2nd floor. Designer, roomy 1 BD, 1 BA. Corian kit- chen counters, wood floors, lots of closets, washer/dryer, large balcony over looking woods. New hallways and lobby! $149,900 TOWER-5th floor, renovated 2 BD, 2 BA, open kitchen, lots of closets, washer/dryer, wood floors, sunny balcony, pool, gym, doorman, reduced cable package($76). Heat/AC in- cluded. $210,000 610-667-9999 Realtor® Emeritus. 5 Star winner, Philly Mag Google Harvey Sklaroff oakhillcondominiums.com Eric Cell 215-431-8300/8304 Bus 215-953-8800 rickdesouza70@gmail.com CLEANING Louise & Kedecia Cleaning Service facebook.com/jewishexponent Follow us on @jewishexponent TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD CALL 215.832.0749 ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL PARK Section D-3, entire lot, plots 1-4. Lovely, granite monument area surroun- ded by mature trees and bushes. $12,800 for en- tire lot obo. Call 610-998- 5197 SHALOM MEMORIAL PARK 2 Premium Side by Side Lots. Section David - Lot 307 Sites 3 & 4 $9,000 o.b.o. Contact Mike 904-460-5284 KKKKKK SOUTH TERRACE-Top floor. Im- maculate, designer, rarely avail- able 1 BD, 1.5 BA, open kitchen, custom window treatments, lots of closets, main BD suite w/dressing room area, W/D, wood floors, lrg. sunny balcony, just steps to elevator. REDUCED $194,900 TOWER-5th floor, renovated 2 BD, 2 BA, open kitchen, lots of closets, washer/dryer, wood floors, sunny balcony, pool, gym, doorman, reduced cable package($76). Heat/AC in- cluded. $209,900 The DeSouzas are Back on Bustleton! Montefiore Cemetery Pre-need ar- rangement includes 2 plots in Section 19, opening and closing of graves, and Double Monument with Perpetual Care. Over $14,000 value, asking $12,000. Please call 912-592-8953. For all your residential and commercial cleaning. 215-459-1300/484-687-3895 To place an ad in the Real Estate Section, call 215.832.0749 SITUATION WANTED Caring & Reliable Experienced & Trained BONDED & LICENSED Available 24/7 20 Years Experience Very Affordable 215-477-1050 22 Years Exp C.N.A. 24 Hr. Avail- ability. Run errands, light house- work etc. Live-in or hourly. Exc Refs. Neg Salary Theresa 267- 591-9382 COMPANION/AIDE seeks pos. to care for sick/elderly live out, 30 yrs exp., great references; own car 215-681-5905 or 215-242-5691 Caregiver with 10 years live-in exp., seeks full or part time job. I have experience with Dementia, Alzheimerʼs, stroke & hospice patients. Please call 302-724-1764 LEGAL NOTICES ARSENAL PHOTO SUPPLIES INC. filed a foreign registration state- ment with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The address of the principal office is 1238 CAL- LOWHILL STREET, SUITE 404, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19123. The Corporation is filed in compliance with the requirements of the applic- able provisions of 15 Pa. C.S. 412. Notice is hereby given that, pursu- ant to the Business Corporation Law of 1988, Concord Buying Group, Inc., a corporation incorpor- ated under the laws of the State of New Hampshire, withdrew from do- ing business in Pennsylvania on 1/21/21. The address of its princip- al office in its jurisdiction of incor- poration is 770 Cochituate Road, Framingham, MA 01701 and the name of its commercial registered office provider in Pennsylvania is C T Corporation System. LEGAL NOTICES PET SERVICES Notice is hereby given that Articles of Incorporation were filed for Donor Names It inc with the Com- monwealth of Pennsylvania. The re- gistered office address is located at 3 Narbrook Park, Narberth PA 19072 in Montgomery county. This corporation is incorporated under the provisions of the Business Cor- poration Law of 1988, as amended. WE SCOOP DOG POOP 215-DOG-POOP Philly Sugaring Salons and Educa- tion, Inc. has been incorporated un- der the provisions of the Pennsylvania Business Corpora- tion Law of 1988. StoTime, Inc. has been incorpor- ated under the provisions of the Pennsylvania Business Corpora- tion Law of 1988. Michael E. Stosic, Esquire 236 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 ESTATE NOTICES ESTATE OF CAMILLE W. MARKER a/k/a CAMILLE W. MARKER- DODGE; CAMILLE MARKER- DODGE, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to PETER B. DODGE, EXECUTOR, c/o Roy Yaffe, Esq., One Commerce Square, 2005 Market St., 16 th Fl., Philadelphia, PA 19103-7042, Or to his Attorney: ROY YAFFE GOULD YAFFE AND GOLDEN One Commerce Square 2005 Market St., 16 th Fl. Philadelphia, PA 19103-7042 ESTATE of CLARENCE FARMER, Sr., Deceased Late of Pennsylvania LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been gran- ted to the undersigned, who re- quest all persons having claims or demands against the Estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the de- cedent to make payment without delay to Nicole Farmer-Administrat- rix, c/o their attorney Debra G. Speyer, Two Bala Plaza, Suite 300, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. ESTATE OF DEBORAH G. GREENE, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been gran- ted to the undersigned, who re- quest all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the de- cedent to make payment without delay to WAYNE S. GREENE, AD- MINISTRATOR, c/o Andrew J. Bar- ron, Esq., 1701 Walnut St., 6 th Fl., Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to his Attorney: ANDREW J. BARRON THE LAW OFFICES OF PETER L. KLENK & ASSOCIATES 1701 Walnut St., 6 th Fl. Philadelphia, PA 19103 ESTATE OF ROBERT P. DISTEFANO Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who requests all persons as having claims or de- mands against the Estate of the de- cedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the de- cedent to make payment without delay to James Spingler and Mary Spingler, Executors or to their at- torney Michael Wolinsky, Esq. 1015 Chestnut Street Ste. 414 Phil- adelphia, PA 19107 www.poopiescoopersr-us.com ESTATE NOTICES ESTATE OF DEBRA MARIA THOM- SON, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been gran- ted to the undersigned, who re- quest all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the de- cedent to make payment without delay to ANDREW E. STECKIW, AD- MINISTRATOR, The Land Title Bldg., 100 S. Broad St., Ste. 1830, Philadelphia, PA 19110, Or to his Attorney: ANDREW E. STECKIW THE LAND TITLE BLDG. 100 S. Broad St., Ste. 1830 Philadelphia, PA 19110 ESTATE of DOROTHY MARIE FITZGERALD a/k/a DOROTHY M. FITZGERALD a/k/a DOROTHY FITZGERALD, DECEASED Late of Caln Township, Chester County Notice is hereby given that, in the estate of the decedent set forth be- low, the Register of Wills has gran- ted Letters Testamentary to the persons named. All persons hav- ing claims against said estate are requested to make known the same to them or their attorneys and all persons indebted to said decedent are requested to make payment without delay to the Executors named below. Executor Edwin S. Fitzgerald, Pottstown, PA 19465 c/o his Attorney: Steven R. Sosnov, Esquire SOSNOV & SOSNOV 540 Swede Street Norristown, PA 19401 ESTATE OF FREDERICK SCHROEDER, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been gran- ted to the undersigned, who re- quest all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the de- cedent to make payment without delay to WILLIAM WEAVER, SR., ADMINISTRATOR, c/o Harry Metka, Esq., 4802 Neshaminy Blvd., Ste. 9, Bensalem, PA 19020, Or to his Attorney: HARRY METKA 4802 Neshaminy Blvd., Ste. 9 Bensalem, PA 19020 ESTATE OF GABOR SZALONTAY a/k/a GABOR A. SZALONTAY, II, GABOR A. SZALONTAY, GABOR ANATALE SZALONTAY, GABRIEL SZALONTAY, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been gran- ted to the undersigned, who re- quest all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the de- cedent to make payment without delay to - ERIN JOHNSON, ADMIN- ISTRATRIX-CTA, c/o Benjamin L. Jerner, Esq., 5401 Wissahickon Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19144, Or to her Attorney: BENJAMIN L. JERNER JERNER LAW GROUP, P.C. 5401 Wissahickon Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19144 To Place a Classifi ed Ad CALL: NICOLE MCNALLY 215.832.0749 JEWISH EXPONENT ESTATE NOTICES ESTATE of Irena Kozuchowski, Deceased Late of Philadelphia; Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above estate have been granted to the undersigned. All persons in- debted to said estate are requested to make immediate payment, and those having legal claims are to present same without delay to: Executrix: Margaret Wisniewski c/o Thomas J. Profy, IV, Esquire Begley, Carlin & Mandio, LLP P.O. Box 308 Langhorne, PA 19047 Attorney: Thomas J. Profy, IV, Esquire Begley, Carlin & Mandio, LLP P.O. Box 308 Langhorne, PA 19047 ESTATE OF JAMES J. HENDRICKS a/k/a JAMES HENDRICKS, DE- CEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to KYLE HENDRICKS, KEVIN HENDRICKS AND KURT HENDRICKS, EXECUTORS, c/o Bruce M. Dolfman, Esq., 901 N. Penn St., F-2102, Philadelphia, PA 19123, Or to their Attorney: BRUCE M. DOLFMAN 901 N. Penn St., F-2102 Philadelphia, PA 19123 Estate of Jeannette F. Maitin, Deceased LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who requests all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent, to make known the same, and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to Karin Maitin Schnoll, Executrix c/o her attorney: Ellen S. Fischer, Esquire Fenningham, Dempster & Coval LLP 5 Neshaminy Interplex Suite 315 Trevose, PA 19053 ESTATE of JOEL SLUTZ, DECEASED Late of Philadelphia, PA LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same, and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to Beverly S. Sitrin, Administratrix, 237 Emerson Drive, Lafayette Hill, PA 19444. ESTATE of KAREN G. CLANTON, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia, PA LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the Estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to Owen Clanton, Executor c/o Jon Taylor, Esquire PC 1617 JFK Blvd. Suite 1838, Philadelphia, PA 19103. The Law Office of Jon Taylor 1617 JFK Blvd. Suite 1838 Philadelphia, PA 19103 To place an ad in the Real Estate Section, call 215.832.0749 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM SEASHORE SALE LOVE where you LIVE VOTED ATLANTIC COUNTY BOARD OF REALTORS 2020 REALTOR OF THE YEAR! *TOP 10 in the country out of all Berkshire Hathaway agents *GCI 2019 www.HartmanHomeTeam.com NEW LISTING! VENTNOR NEW LISTING! $2,800,000 COMPLETELY RENOVATED PRIVATE ESTATE AT THE SHORE! 7 BEDS, 6.5 BATH, ELEVATOR & IN-GROUND POOL! NEW LISTING! LONGPORT MARGATE NEW LISTING! $2,450,000 BAYSHORE DRIVE STUNNER! 3-STORY HOME OFFERS 6 BEDS, 5 FULL BATHS, POOL & SPA, AND A BASKETBALL COURT! NEW LISTING! $899,000 RARE TOP FLOOR IN OCEANPLAZA! RENOVATED 2 BR, 2 BA WITH OCEAN VIEWS FROM EVERY WINDOW! VENTNOR VENTNOR $699,000 VENTNOR ESTATE NOTICES STATEWIDE ADS ESTATE OF MARY J. ENGLE, DE- CEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to ROBERT A. ENGLE, EXECUTOR, c/o Harry Metka, Esq., 4802 Nesham- iny Blvd., Ste. 9, Bensalem, PA 19020, Or to his Attorney: HARRY METKA 4802 Neshaminy Blvd., Ste. 9 Bensalem, PA 19020 Miscellaneous: DISH Network. $59.99 for 190 Channels! Blazing Fast Internet, $19.99/mo. (where available.) Switch & Get a FREE $100 Visa Gift Card. FREE Voice Remote. FREE HD DVR. FREE Streaming on ALL Devices. Call today! 1-855-335-6094 Miscellaneous: GENERAC Standby Generators provide backup power during util- ity power outages, so your home and family stay safe and comfort- able. Prepare now. Free 7-year extended warranty ($695 value!). Request a free quote today! 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Call 855-402-5341 ESTATE of MARJORIE FARMER, Deceased Late of Pennsylvania LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been gran- ted to the undersigned, who re- quest all persons having claims or demands against the Estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the de- cedent to make payment without delay to Nicole Farmer-Administrat- rix, c/o their attorney Debra G. Speyer, Two Bala Plaza, Suite 300, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM FICTITIOUS NAME FICTITIOUS NAME REGISTRATION An application for registration of the fictitious name Tri-State Eye Associates, 4101 Tyson Ave., Phil- adelphia, PA 19135, was filed in the Department of State at Harrisburg, PA, January 21, 2021, pursuant to the Fictitious Names Act, Act 1982- 295. The name and address of the person who is a party to the regis- tration is Edward Gerner, MD, 4101 Tyson Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19135. www.JewishExponent.com VENTNOR $1,788,000 ST. LEONARDS TRACT BEACHBLOCK! 6,000 SQFT BEAUTY. 7 BEDS, 6 BATHS & FINISHED BASEMENT! NEW PRICE! $649,000 LUXURY NEW CONSTRUC- TION TOWNHOME! 4 BR, 3.5 BATH WITH FABULOUS UPGRADES & BONUS ROOM! ESTATE NOTICES ESTATE OF MARIE C. PERRY a/k/a MARIE PERRY, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to ALBERT PERRY, III and DANIEL PERRY, EXECUTORS, c/o Lauren Rosalinda Donati, Esq., 25 W. Third St., Media, PA 19063, Or to their Attorney: LAUREN ROSALINDA DONATI THOMPSON & DONATI LAW 25 W. Third St. Media, PA 19063 $2,000,000 RARE ST. LEONARDS TRACT FIND! HUGE SOUTHSIDE LOT OFFERS PRIVACY & ROOM FOR POOL! 4 BR, 3.5 BA. ESTATE OF MARGIE L. JOHNSON a/k/a MARGIE JOHNSON, DE- CEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to CLARENCE GIBSON, JUANITA MICHEL AND BARBARA E. JOHN- SON, EXECUTORS, c/o David S. Workman, Esq., The Bellevue, 6 th Fl., 200 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102, Or to their Attorney: DAVID S. WORKMAN ASTOR WEISS KAPLAN & MAN- DEL, LLP The Bellevue, 6 th Fl. 200 S. Broad St. Philadelphia, PA 19102 ESTATE OF MUNIRA BAKHRIEVA a/k/a MUNIRA HAKIMOVNA YUSUPOVA, MUNIRA BUKHRIEVA, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been gran- ted to the undersigned, who re- quest all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the de- cedent to make payment without delay to SHAKHNOZA S. BAKHRIEVA, ADMINISTRATRIX, c/o Francois-Ihor Mazur, Esq., 2434 Huntingdon Pike, Ste. 1, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006, Or to her Attorney: FRANCOIS-IHOR MAZUR MAZUR LAW FIRM, PC 2434 Huntingdon Pike, Ste. 1 Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 NEW LISTING! NEW LISTING! SOUTHSIDE NEW CON- STRUCTION! ONE-OF-A-KIND 3 BR, 2.5 BA JUST STEPS TO THE BEACH & BOARDWALK! HHT Office 609-487-7234 VENTNOR $499,000 OCEANFRONT IN THE OXFORD! FIRST FLOOR 2 BEDROOM, 2 BATH WELL- MAINTAINED AND STUNNING! 9211 Ventnor Avenue, Margate 8017 Ventnor Avenue, Margate NEW LISTING! LONGPORT $1,650,000 CUSTOM 5 BR, 4.5 BA HOME ONLY 5 YEARS YOUNG FEATURING OPEN CONCEPT, 1ST FL. DEN & ELEVATOR! NEW LISTING! MARGATE $320,000 TURN KEY SOUTHSIDE IN MARGATE’S DOWNBEACH SECTION! 2 BEDROOMS AND RENOVATED FULL BATH! NEW PRICE! LOWER CHELSEA $929,000 BEST BUY OCEANFRONT! IMMACULATE 3 BR, 3.5 BA WITH INCREDIBLE OCEAN VIEWS RIGHT ON THE BOARDWALK! NEW PRICE! MARGATE $235,000 1 BR, 1 BATH IN MARGATE MARINER! JUST TAKEN DOWN TO THE STUDS & COMPLETELY REDONE! RIGHT NEAR POOL! WANTED TO BUY To Place a Classified Ad CALL: NICOLE MCNALLY 215.832.0749 To place an ad in the Real Estate Section, call 215.832.0749 www.jewishexponent.com www.JewishExponent.com JEWISH EXPONENT FEBRUARY 11, 2021 33 SENIORS TO SENIORS O PINION Dash Continued from Page 16 SENIORS TO SENIORS BOX REPLIES will be forwarded once a week on Friday. To answer a Senior to Senior ad, address your reply to: JE Box ( ) Classifi ed Dept. 2100 Arch Street 4th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 DEADLINE - TO PLACE YOUR SENIOR TO SENIOR AD Friday by 10 am for the following Thursday’s issue Call 215-832-0749 that night, my nightmares of barking Jewish demons ceased. Th ose seven days were a shiva. Not the traditional ones we held for my grandmother or my uncle, but one of quiet acceptance and world-altering mourning. Aft er the week had passed, both the sky and my thoughts had cleared. Th ere’s an Anne Frank quote I fi rst read in eighth grade that I’ve been thinking about recently: “Th e best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.” I used to think that I understood this quote, that surely bright yellow daff odils blooming in the summer and variegated snowfl akes dancing down in the winter could make us smile for a time, but I never knew nature to be so healing, so restorative, so spiritual, and I feel profoundly grateful that I experienced its power. Since I’ve been back at school, I’ve been going on long walks, ranging anywhere from four to 12 miles. I don’t take a set course, I just put on some music and wander. Around 6 p.m., as I begin to meander back to my apartment, the sky paints itself in brilliant colors. Oft en, I stop and just watch the cotton-candy clouds and the fading sun and I think about stars that die quickly but shine long and a merciful God who sculpted such beauty and granted us eyes with which to see it. I think about souls’ safe passages and prayers whispered into the sound of paws scratching velvet ears. I used to see God in Jewish objects and spaces, in pinned-on kippot, family- fi lled synagogues, and the neat Hebrew lettering of printed prayers. Yet it seems now that God is equally in nature, holding the paintbrush that colors the sunsets, sprin- kling the water that quenches the buds’ thirst, coughing up the fog that collects on the mountains like rings of smoke from a cosmic pipe, and maybe even shepherding the souls of those who lacked covered mirrors and funeral processions and burial rites to greener, endless pastures. ● Project and Wikitongues in the United States and the Mother Tongue Project in Israel. Th is is not just a Jewish issue. Of the 7,000 languages of the world, about half are now endangered. Organizations like these are our last hope to record them before the last speakers are gone. We can all get involved by donating funds, volunteering or connecting the projects with speakers of endangered languages. May the memories of Flory Jagoda and Joseph and Kitty Sassoon be a blessing — and a wakeup call: We must act now to preserve their languages and cultures while we still can. ● Philadelphia native Dionna Dash attends the University of Pittsburgh, where she is a student leader at Hillel JUC. This piece was fi rst published by Times of Israel. LEGAL SERVICES ATTORNEYS! ADVERTISE YOUR LEGAL NOTICES AND LEGAL SERVICES WE GUARANTEE THE BEST RATES! WE CIRCULATE THROUGHOUT THE TRI-STATE AREA (PA, NJ, DE) Benor Continued from Page 17 the COVID-19 pandemic, more speakers of endangered languages die. If we don’t interview them now, we will lose our opportunity forever. Fortunately, several organi- zations have been doing this important work, including the Endangered Language Alliance, the Jewish Language Sarah Bunin Benor is a professor of contemporary Jewish studies and linguistics at Hebrew Union College. She directs the Jewish Language Project and edits the Journal of Jewish Languages. This piece was fi rst published by JTA. Be heard. Email your letters to the editor. CALL THE CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT FOR DETAILS 215-832-0749 or 215-832-0750 letters@jewishexponent.com classifi ed@jewishexponent.com FAX: 215-832-0785 34 FEBRUARY 11, 2021 JEWISH EXPONENT JEWISHEXPONENT.COM C OMMUNITY / calendar SUNDAY, FEB 14 Virtual Tour of Rome Join Micaela Pavoncello and Golden Slipper Gems for a virtual tour at noon to learn about the Roman Jews’ resilience, culinary traditions and interesting customs. Pavoncello is a well-known tour guide and art historian who specializes in bringing the history of the Jews in Rome to life. Cost $36. Register at facebook. com/events/3516815891747778. ‘The Vigil’ Screening Steeped in ancient Jewish lore and demonology, “The Vigil” is a supernatural horror fi lm set over the course of a single evening in Brooklyn’s Chasidic Borough Park neighborhood. Gershman Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival will stream the fi lm for seven days beginning at 7 p.m. in partnership with IFC Films and Tamar Simon from Mean Streets Management. Email info@pjff .org for more information. TUESDAY, FEB 16 LGBTQ Art Join art therapist Debora King and Jewish Family and Children’s Service LGBTQ+ Initiative Program Manager Galia Godel at 4 p.m. to explore your gender, your sexuality and your questioning nature through art making. The facilitators will provide a safe space to express feelings about one’s identity, build self-esteem and increase a sense of support. To register or for more information, contact GGodel@ jfcsphilly.org or 267-273-6006. Israel Bonds Book Club Israel Bonds Women’s Division holds a book club every two months, normally rotating meeting locations in private homes and currently holding the book club virtually. Both fi ction and non-fi ction books, with Israel as the backdrop, are selected. The next book club will take place at 7:30 p.m. with the selection “Murder on a Kibbutz,” by Batya Gur. Visit conta. cc/34DQYB2 for more information. Participants must make a $100 minimum bond purchase in 2021. THURSDAY, FEB 18 JEVS Career Webinar Join JEVS career counselor Samara Fritzsche and JFCS social worker Sarah M. Waxman at noon for a free JEVS Human Services Zoom webinar discussion about the universal emotional stages experienced due to job loss and how to re-energize and focus on next steps. Register at jevshumanservices.org/upcoming/ career-strategies-events/. The Race for America “Jews, Race and Religion,” a free online lecture series off ered by the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, will focus on intersections of race and religion, drawing lessons from the history of anti-Semitism, examining the role of Jews in the racialized culture of the United States and exploring the role of race in Jewish identity. All events in the series will take place on Thursdays from 1:30–2:30 p.m. Register at katz.sas.upenn.edu/ resources/blog/jews-race-and- religion. Not Antigone’s Heirs Join the Center for Jewish History at 4 p.m. for a talk by Miriam Schulz, AJS dissertation completion fellow 2020/21, who looks at a little- known chapter of Soviet Jewry: Soviet Yiddish cultural groups and infl uential individuals and the ways in which they created their own vernacular Holocaust memory culture in the Soviet Union. Pay what you wish and registration required at tickets/not-antigone-2021-02-18 to receive a link to the Zoom webinar. ● N E W S MAKE R S Kellman Brown Academy hosted a Tu B’Shevat cookies and craft kit event on Jan. 31 in front of Homemade Goodies By Roz. KBA students Ilana Wizmur, left, and Natalie Wizmur Photo by Lisa Feingold Members of the Jewish Children’s Folkshul & Adult Community gathered via Zoom on Jan. 24 for Th e Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest, a Tu B’Shevat celebra- tion focusing on environmental education and climate justice. Each participating family received supplies to start two parsley plants. Jenia Jolley, Folkshul member and gardener, teaches participants how to plant parsley seeds. Photos by Leah Wright On Feb. 13 and Feb. 14, Th eatre Ariel will present Zoom performances of “Th e Value of Names” by Jeff rey Sweat. Isadora Wright, a Folkshul student, displays artwork she created. Rena and Harold Fruchter, performing as Gramma and Zabba, have told Jewish stories and performed parody songs for children since last spring. Th eir videos are available via their YouTube channel and the Gramma and Zabba Facebook page. Here, the pair prepares for Tu B’Shevat. Clockwise from top left: Robb Hutter, Joe Canuso and Rachel Brodeur rehearse “The Value of Names.” Photo by Deborah Baer Mozes www.jewishexponent.com Rena, left, and Harold Fruchter Photo by Harold Fruchter PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT Published weekly since 1887 with a special issue in September (ISSN 0021-6437) ©2021 Jewish Exponent (all rights reserved) Any funds realized from the operation of the Jewish Exponent exceeding expenses are required to be made available to the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, a nonprofit corporation with offices at 2100 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19103. 215-832-0700. Periodical postage paid in Philadelphia, PA, and additional offices. Postmaster: All address changes should be sent to Jewish Exponent Circulation Dept., 2100 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19103. A one-year subscription is $50, 2 years, $100. Foreign rates on request. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT FEBRUARY 11, 2021 35 OUR MISSION EXPANDS ITS REACH Abramson Senior Care has served as a safety net for the frail Jewish elderly for 150 years. And while the senior care landscape has changed around us, we have remained passionately committed to this mission. From 2008 through 2019, we gradually expanded our reach through services such as Transitional Care, Home Care, Hospice, Care Advisors, Medical Adult Day, Outpatient Memory Care, Primary Care and Palliative Care. This array of services now provides care to nearly 5,000 seniors throughout our community each year—wherever and however they need us. THROUGH BOLD LEADERSHIP In 2020, with Medicaid increasingly directing seniors away from nursing homes and toward home-based æäõèäñçúì÷ëðòõèöèñìòõöèûóõèööìñêäóõèéèõèñæèéòõäêìñêìñóïäæèúèðäçè÷ëèçìĦ  æøï÷çèæìöìòñ to sell our treasured Horsham campus, the Abramson Center for Jewish Life. While we share in our community’s many emotions about this sale, it was necessary for sustaining our vital work. TO SERVE MORE SENIORS Today, Abramson Senior Care means a spectrum of caring services that empowers seniors to remain safely independent at home for as long as possible—choosing a nursing home only when absolutely necessary—aging in place with dignity, purpose and choice. It means support not only for seniors, but for the families who love them. The vulnerability of our seniors has never been more painfully apparent. We continue to ask- how can we serve them better? Our evolution began years before the pandemic, but the many lessons learned this past year inform our path forward. FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. We are humbled and privileged that the community has entrusted us with caring for seniors since 1866. We will continue to be here for you and your family for generations to come as we navigate the aging journey together. Follow our journey by visiting us at www.abramsonseniorcare.org. Our Spectrum of Care 36 Birnhak Transitional Care at Lankenau Medical Center Edna Young Gordon Healthy Brain & Memory Center Lila H. Levin Palliative Care Program Hospice Polisher Research Institute Care Advisors Home Care Primary Care FEBRUARY 11, 2021 JEWISH EXPONENT Medical Adult Day Services JEWISHEXPONENT.COM