H EADLINES
Artist Bernice Paul Dies at 103
said her daughter, Susan
Schaumberg. Paul was born Bernice
Olinsky in Moscow in 1917,
where she lived with her mother,
rabbi father, brother and three
sisters. Paul and her family left
the newly formed Soviet Union
for America in 1930, departing
in the middle of the night in a
horse-drawn wagon. Th e family
settled in Wynnefi eld.

In the U.S., Paul’s enthu-
siasm and skill for painting the
natural world fl ourished from
a young age, as the local rivers,
parks and fl owers provided her
with all of the subject matter
she needed. In 1940, she
married Nate Paul, owner of
Paul Brothers grocery store;
they were together until Nate’s
death in 1986.

While her husband was
in the Army during World
War II, Paul got a job at a
OB ITUARY
JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF
BERNICE PAUL, a Moscow-
born artist whose paintings
won plaudits, prizes and place-
ment in local museums, died
on Feb. 5 of esophageal compli-
cations at Penn Presbyterian
Medical Center. She was 103.

Paul’s portfolio consisted
of more than 100 paintings
and sculptures, displayed
throughout her lifetime at
the Philadelphia Museum of
Art, City Hall and Rosemont
College, where she held her fi rst
solo exhibition. Her four-panel
painting “Springtime” is on
permanent display at Lankenau
Medical Center’s cardiac unit.

And which of those works
did Paul prize most?
“When people would ask
her, she’d say, ‘Th e last one,’”
Bernice Paul at 101
Courtesy of Susan Schaumberg
ALICE DUSTIN
Amazing v iews are
just the beginning
NOW LEASING
R EC EI V E 2 M O NTH S FR EE O N OU R STU D I O, 1, 2, 3 A N D 4 B ED ROO MS
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FEBRUARY 18, 2021
Photo by Susan Schaumberg.

She was just willing to jump into anything and everything.”
Name: Post Brothers
Width: 5.5 in
Depth: 5.5 in
Color: Black
Comment: JE-Th e Poplar
9 0 0 N 9 T H S T R E E T, P H I L A D E L P H I A , PA 1 9 1 2 3
“Azaleas” by Bernice Paul
( 215) 613-9585
JEWISH EXPONENT
photography studio, coloring
black-and-white photographs
with oils. But it was as a young
mother that Paul decided to
take her interest in painting
from hobby to vocation. She
studied at the Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts, the
Philadelphia College of Art
(now a part of University of
the Arts) and under the artist
Filomena Dellaripa at Fleisher
Art Memorial.

Her dedication paid off . Her
work earned awards from the
Philadelphia Sketch Club and
the Plastic Club, the Upper
Merion Cultural Center and
the Main Line Art Center
and won praise from critics.

One critic, quoted in Th e
Philadelphia Inquirer, noted
the “physicality of the brush-
stroke and the exuberance of
her painting.”
Th e true reward for Paul,
of course, came from the long
hours she spent at the canvas or
in nature, studying her subject.

“Th ere are so many phases of
art. Th e joy of just creating
something,” she told the Jewish
Exponent in 2017. “Painting is
the most satisfying thing. You
lose yourself. A book — you’re
over with it ... Th ere is nothing
like painting.”
She treasured her family,
and she relished routine; Paul
lived in the same Overbook
house for more than 50 years.

She taught art classes at the
Kaiserman JCC. As her eyesight
began to fail, she made the
move to ceramics. She was still
creating art aft er turning 100.

Alice Dustin, a fellow painter
who knew Paul for 20 years,
said that she fell in love with
Paul the fi rst time she met her.

“She was just willing to jump
into anything and everything,”
Dustin said of her friend, who
beat breast cancer, practiced
yoga and swam in the Great
Salt Lake — the latter two aft er
the age of 95.

Paul is survived by her
daughter, Susan Schaumburg;
two granddaughters; and
numerous nieces, nephews,
grandnieces and grand-
nephews. ●
jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H eadlines
Events Highlight Disability Awareness
L OCA L
JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF
BEFORE THE CAR accident
— before two years of rehabil-
itation in a Jerusalem hospital,
before the breathing machine
and the wheelchair, before the
new life — Raz Rutman loved
nature. The Yokneam Moshava
native spent his days on the
Nahal Hashofet trails near
his home, tramping around
with his family and his youth
group. When Rutman became
paralyzed, the idea that he
would resume hiking through
Israel’s green spaces seemed
distant. But through LOTEM, a
Jewish National Fund-USA
affiliate that happens to be
headquartered near his family
home, Rutman didn’t just get
back on the trails again, he’s
become a sought-after tour
guide for hikers with physical
impairments and special needs,
leading thousands of tours
since 2014. Many of those tours
have traced the same path that
he took on the Nahal Hashofet
trails as a child. For Rutman,
working with LOTEM is the
mission of a lifetime.

Rutman has delivered
countless lectures on his story,
speaking to audiences about
accessibility, disability and his
work with LOTEM.

“I’m just lucky,” Rutman
said. “I’m lucky and happy to be
a part of LOTEM and to know
that I’m able to be in contact so
many people through LOTEM.”
Rutman, 27, will be the
featured guest speaker at
JNFuture Philadelphia’s
“Investing in Inclusion”
event on Feb. 21, intended
to highlight JNF-USA’s work
with disabled Jewish commu-
nities. February has been
Jewish Disabilities Awareness,
Acceptance & Inclusion Month
since 2009.

Speaking from his home
in Israel, Rutman will address
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM In addition to the tours,
the organization offers nature
education to those populations
as well as at-risk children and
families in domestic violence
shelters. LOTEM is able to
connect with more than
30,000 participants each year,
taking them from the trail to
its ecological farm in Emek
HaShalom. Rutman and LOTEM both
came into the world in the
same year, 1993, and each
hopes to be in the other’s life
for quite some time.

“It’s the best way for me
Raz Rutman will be the featured guest speaker at JNFuture Philadelphia’s “Investing in Inclusion” event on Feb. 21. to see nature, to experience
Courtesy Jewish National Fund-USA learning about nature, to
meet new people and to bring
the messages of accessibility,
— wherever
trails have
been Raz [Rutman] exemplifies the idea that being
made accessible, and in the inclusion and equality to other
disabled does not prevent someone from
city of Jerusalem. They provide people,” Rutman said. l
multiculturally focused educa-
leading an active, fulfilling life.”
tional events, delivered in jbernstein@jewishexponent.com;
Hebrew and Arabic.

215-832-0740 DANIELLE HANKIN
young professionals via Zoom
in an event organized by
JNFuture Philadelphia.

“Raz exemplifies the idea
that being disabled does not
prevent someone from leading
an active, fulfilling life,
especially with the support of
organizations like LOTEM,”
said Danielle Hankin, presi-
dent of JNFuture Philadelphia.

JNF-USA has marked
JDAAIM for a few years now,
joined by the regional offices.

Samantha van Adelsberg,
the Eastern PA director of
JNF-USA, explained that this
year’s JDAAIM event will
be a chance for JNFuture
Philadelphia members to think
more deeply about disability,
get inspired and be reminded
that JNF is “not just the tree
people,” as van Adelsberg
put it. The work done under-
taken by LOTEM, a JNF-USA
affiliate, made the group an
obvious candidate for this
year’s JDAAIM event, van
Adelsberg said.

For Rutman, LOTEM has
become like family.

Unable to fulfill his national
service duties with the IDF,
Rutman decided that he would
volunteer with LOTEM. An
employee ever since then,
Rutman is known and loved by
everyone in the office. They’ve
seen him go from teenaged client
to office helper to tour guide.

Gaylee Schiff, director
of development at LOTEM,
said they’ve been inspired by
Rutman at each stage.

“Raz is an amazing human
being. He is now a friend,”
Schiff said. “Every person that
comes to LOTEM gets Raz as
part of the package.”
As a seasoned tour guide,
Rutman has his shtick down
pat. Rutman sees his ability
to connect with his groups on
a personal level as especially
crucial to those who aren’t able
to go on too many tours.

“I have a sense of humor,
just like you. I love to learn
and to study about nature, just
like you,” he said. “Even more
because I’m a complete nerd.”
LOTEM offers tours in
English, Hebrew and Arabic
to hikers with disabilities and
special needs all over Israel
JEWISH EXPONENT
FEBRUARY 18, 2021
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