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.

Super Sunday Features New Ways to Connect
with the Community
EACH YEAR, THE JEWISH FEDERATION’S SUPER SUNDAY brings together
hundreds of community members to connect and raise critical dollars to support the
community’s most pressing needs. Sadly, due to COVID-19, gathering in person isn’t
possible this year, but there still will be exciting programming planned to bring the
community together.

Danielle Weiss and Mitch Sterling are co-chairs of this year’s Super Sunday events. Both
are young leaders in the Jewish community and active within the local Jewish Federation,
as well as through The Jewish Federation of North America’s National Young Leadership
Cabinet. They have long been connected to the Jewish Federation and understand the
importance of Super Sunday in putting communal dollars to work.

“Super Sunday is a day when the Philadelphia Jewish community is truly at its best,” said
Sterling, who has participated in Super Sunday since he was a child. “It’s a day when Jews of
multiple generations, geographies, denominations and backgrounds are reminded of their
common goal of contributing individually and collectively to a strong Jewish future here
and abroad. This year, it’s an opportunity to answer the call in a new way — and at a time
when our work is more necessary and important than ever.”
Super Sunday is also a way to care for the most vulnerable Jewish populations both
locally and around the world.

“I feel a personal responsibility to make sure that the institutions that imbued me
with a strong Jewish identity will endure for the next generation. I truly believe that we
are stronger as a community when we support one another,” Weiss reflected. “I know the
investment I make each year in the vitality of the Jewish community is properly placed by
the Jewish Federation, whose knowledgeable and talented professionals work tirelessly to
leverage every dollar to do the most good for the most number of people.”
Even though it required reimagining, Weiss and Sterling are proud that the Jewish
Federation understands the underlying importance of Super Sunday by creating meaningful
opportunities for the community to come together.

“Our institutions are in critical need of our support, but more than that, we are craving
connection and togetherness,” said Weiss. “This Super Sunday will be not just a day, but a
weekend of events that will allow us to safely be together in new ways, while delivering on our
commitment to raise dollars to ensure that the most vulnerable among us will continue to
thrive.” On Saturday, March 6, the Jewish Federation is hosting a virtual Havdalah service for
the entire community. The service will be led by Joey Weisenberg, founder and director
of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute, an organization that provides a meeting place and
incubator to cultivate Jewish spiritual life through song. Following the service, attendees
will have the opportunity to continue to catch up with friends by joining Schmooze &
Share rooms.

Those interested can sign up for the Havdalah at jewishphilly.org/signup and visit
jewishphilly.org/supersunday to see the list of more than 35 schmooze room hosts.

On Sunday, March 7, volunteers can do a mitzvah by donating food and essential items
at one of the five Mitzvah Food Pantries across the community or Shir Ami Congregation
in Newtown. The Jewish Federation is accepting curbside drop offs, providing a safe and
simple way to give back. With 28% of Philadelphia residents having trouble paying for food,
these donations can help ease their burden. Visit jewishphilly.org/fooddrive for more details.

Instead of making calls, community members may still receive a call from a professional
service hired to connect on this critical day. To make a gift, please visit jewishphilly.org/give,
call 215-832-0899 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 7, or respond to a text message.

As the Jewish Federation continues to support the increased needs of our community in the
wake of COVID-19, now, more than ever, raising funds for our collective sustainability is vital.

Thank you for helping ensure a vibrant Jewish future for our community.

28 FEBRUARY 18, 2021
JEWISH EXPONENT
Mitch Sterling
Courtesy of Mitch Sterling
Danielle Weiss
Courtesy of Danielle Weiss
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



C ommunity
COMMUNITYCALENDAR FRIDAY, FEB. 19
Disability Awareness Shabbat
Or Hadash invites all to join a
virtual Shabbat service at 7 p.m.

celebrating Jewish Disability
Awareness and Inclusion Month with
guest speaker Rabbi Julia Watts
Belser, associate professor of Jewish
studies at Georgetown University.

This discussion draws the voices
of disability culture leaders into
conversation with Jewish tradition.

The event is free and open to the
public, but advanced registration at
tinyurl.com/JDAIMOH is required to
receive the Zoom link.

SATURDAY, FEB. 20
Disability Awareness Shabbat
Melrose B’nai Israel Emanu-El
invites the community to virtual
Inclusion Shabbat services at
9:30 a.m. Lauren Appelbaum, vice
president of communications of
the disability advocacy nonprofit
RespectAbility, will be the guest
speaker. For more information,
contact the MBIEE office at
215-635-1505 or facebook.com/
groups/mbiee.org. The Vigil Virtual Screening
Steeped in ancient Jewish lore
and demonology, “The Vigil” is a
supernatural horror film set over
the course of a single evening
in Brooklyn’s Chasidic Borough
Park neighborhood. Gershman
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
will stream the film for seven
days beginning Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.

in partnership with IFC Films and
Tamar Simon from Mean Streets
Management. General admission
$12. Email info@pjff.org for more
information. SUNDAY, FEB. 21
Purim Speed Dating
Tribe12 invites Jewish singles in the
Philadelphia area who are in their
20s and 30s to Love is Masked,
a speed dating event on Zoom.

In keeping with the Purim theme,
participants are encouraged to wear
masks and costumes. Cost $5-$24.

Register for the 5 p.m. event at
tribe12.org/event/love-is-masked/. WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24
JFCS Author Series
Join Jewish Family and Children’s
Service and Beyond the Bookends
at 7:30 p.m. for a series of intimate
conversations with award-winning
authors. This week’s selection is
Anita Abriel’s “Lana’s War: A Novel,”
a story of a young woman recruited
to spy for the French resistance
during World War II. Cost $36-48.

RSVP at jfcsphilly.org/authorseries.

Zoom link provided after registration.

For more information, contact
Sharon Schwartz at 267.256.2112 or
sschwartz@jfcsphilly.org. THURSDAY, FEB. 25
The Race for America
“Jews, Race and Religion,” a free online
lecture series offered 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, 1:30–2:30 p.m. Register at
katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/blog/ jews-race-and-religion. l
Chai. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
COMMUNITYBRIEFS AJC Philadelphia to Honor Fox Rothschild’s Stephanie Resnick
STEPHANIE RESNICK, the managing partner of Fox Rothschild’s Philadelphia office, was
honored by the American Jewish Committee Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey on Feb. 17 with
its 2021 Judge Learned Hand Award.

The award is given “annually to recognize outstanding members of the Philadelphia legal
community who have distinguished themselves through professional achievement and dedicated
community leadership.”
A former chair of the board of governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association, Resnick was
appointed to serve as the Third Circuit representative to the ABA’s Standing Committee on the
Federal Judiciary. She also served as chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Federal Courts
Committee, and chaired its Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention.

Then-Mayor Michael Nutter appointed Resnick to his Advisory Task Force on Ethics and
Campaign Finance Reform and she also served on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas
Gender Fairness Task Force.

Resnick is a former board chair of Women’s Way, a member of the corporate board of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art and a volunteer lawyer for Support Center for Child Advocates.

PICC Elects New Board and Advisory Board Members
Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce announced the Jan. 26 election of several people to its
board and advisory board.

Lori Gavrin, executive director of business development for Tmunity Therapeutics, and
Elizabeth D. Sigety, a partner at Fox Rothschild LLP, will serve a second term on the board.

Matt Dane Baker, senior vice provost for academic affairs at Thomas Jefferson University; Sarah
Fishman Goncher, deputy general counsel — operations, legal/risk management at ChristianaCare
Health System; and Lawton Laurence Sr., director of applied research and technology at West
Pharmaceutical Services, will serve a first term.

The following two-term board members were appointed to the advisory board: Eric B. Kmiec,
director of the Gene Editing Institute of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute at
ChristianaCare; Michael R. Kelsen, CEO of Paramount Enterprises International, Inc.; and Bernard
C. Rudnick, managing partner of CapGenic Advisors, LLC.

They will be joined by David Baker, president and CEO of Vallon Pharmaceuticals, and
Gwen Melincoff, managing director of Gemini Advisors LLC.

Cardiologist Bernard L. Segal Dies at 91
Prominent cardiologist Bernard L. Segal, who practiced medicine for more than 60 years, died
on Feb. 10 in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 91.

The Montreal native, whose parents were Russian immigrants, came to Philadelphia to work
at Hahnemann University Hospital, where he was later appointed chief of cardiology. He then
developed the Philadelphia Heart Institute at Presbyterian Medical Center.

After 10 years there, the entire faculty moved with Segal to create a new cardiovascular
network with Allegheny University, where he served as senior vice president.

In 1998, Segal joined Thomas Jefferson University, serving for 10 years as director of the
Division of Cardiology and endowing a chair in clinical cardiology.

He retired in 2016, having written 12 books and 375 scientific papers. 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
FEBRUARY 18, 2021
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