local
Are you seeking a warm Jewish
community for Passover and
beyond – independent, rooted
in tradition, flourishing with life?
Lifelong Philadelphian
Leaves Behind
Scholarship for
Young Jewish
Women Join us for an engaging 2 nd Night
Seder at Society Hill Synagogue,
led by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar!
Thursday, April 6 • 6:00-8:30 pm
Enjoy a delicious Kosher for Passover dinner, including chicken,
salmon, and vegetarian entrée options. For the full menu and
to register, visit www.societyhillsynagogue.org or call Leanne
Bendetti at 215-922-6590. Registration is due by March 10.

Jarrad Saff ren | Staff Writer
418 Spruce Street, Philadelphia
www.societyhillsynagogue.org 6
FEBRUARY 23, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
J ewish Army veteran, real
estate developer and lifelong
Philadelphian Harold Slotnick
did not leave any children behind
when he died in 2020. So instead of
bequeathing his money to descen-
dants, he is spreading the wealth to
fellow members of the tribe.

His estate left the Harold Slotnick
Endowed Scholarship to the Jewish
National Fund, a not-for-profi t organi-
zation devoted to investing in Israel.

Slotnick’s gift off ers $1,000 to “young
American Jewish women interested
in attending the Alexander Muss High
School in Israel,” according to a JNF
news release.

The Alexander Muss High School,
run by JNF, off ers programs of four
weeks or longer that take American
Jewish students to the holy land. Sixty
percent of the institution’s enrollees
are female, according to Stephanie
Feit of JNF.

Slotnick, a lifelong bachelor, devoted
his free time to ballroom dancing,
traveling to Israel and contributing
to Jewish causes. The news release
calls him “a passionate Zionist” who
“believed a strong Jewish education
was the most eff ective way to ensure
the future of the community.”
“We want to empower these women
to feel they have the experience
needed to become future Jewish
leaders,” said Feit, a campaign associ-
ate for the school.

AMHSI off ers immersive programs
during the school year and over the
summer. Students learn the history,
culture, language and geography of
Israel by exploring the country, accord-
ing to descriptions on amhsi.org. For
sessions during the academic year, kids
also have time to complete their course-
work from their schools back home.

As Feit explained, “AMHSI’s mission
is to connect Jewish high school
students to Israel and their Jewish
identity.” That is why all of its programs
are at least four weeks. It takes four
weekends, according to Feit, to be able
to listen to and experience enough
in Israel to feel that deeper connec-
tion. Teenagers are also establishing
friendships with peers who are going
through the same experience.

The school has more than 50,000
alumni, at least 30,000 of whom are
Jewish leaders, according to Feit.

Some work at JNF. Others are rabbis,
teachers and “leaders in all diff erent
types of fi elds,” she said. AMHSI helps
women, in particular, gain the confi -
dence to fi rst speak up in the class-
room and later become a synagogue
president or some other important role
in the community. But Judaism also
starts in the home, so giving women
— and men — the confi dence to host
a Shabbat dinner is just as important
as any activity outside the home, Feit
explained. Slotnick agreed with that, according
to his cousin Jeff Slotnick. His parents
were immigrants from Eastern Europe
who spoke Yiddish, so he always