O pinion
Goldstein Continued from Page 14
For those in leadership at
my organization, and I am sure
at other nonprofits as well, our
values of repairing the world and
care for others have permeated
all decisions. Reaching in and
reaching out were our top priori-
ties; our goal was to keep everyone
who worked at JFCS employed
and safe, while continuing to
support those we serve in different
and impactful ways.

To that end, we chose
to close spaces rather than
initiate layoffs. We partnered
with other agencies to provide
Halpern Continued from Page 15
is an area where even Orthodox
women have been recording their
teaching for decades now. But
what this gentle, experimental
commitment taught me was not
just that it might be easier than
I thought to find this kind of
Torah on the parshah, but that I
felt different when I sought it out.

Nothing I learned mitigates
the structural concerns that
Silverman and Soloman point
out, and however far behind
“women’s Torah” is, the Torah
of trans and nonbinary people
and of Jews of color and disabled
Jews has been even more limited.

This is, as Rosenberg notes in
his article, not just bad for Jews
but for the Torah. The Kranjec
Test is insufficient to solve that
problem. But what I was not considering
when I felt so much resistance to
the Kranjec Test was what it
might feel like to regularly learn
and teach Torah from people
who reminded me of myself in
a deep way. I have always been
blessed, in many spaces and
for much of my life, to learn
Torah — often from women and
sometimes from queer teachers
as well — in frameworks that
taught me I was its inheritor and
part of the vast conversation of
the Jewish textual tradition. I felt
close to the Torah, and like I had
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM A RESOLUTION OF ABRAMSON SENIOR CARE
support groups for staff. We held
meetings in safe virtual spaces
where we could come together
as a group to share feelings, fears
and concerns. We mobilized our
services, bringing food directly
to older and homebound individ-
uals. We shifted from pop-up
shops to emergency clothing
delivery. We launched JFCS In
Your Neighborhood, bringing
essential services right to people
in their own communities.

The essence of who we are as
an organization centers around
supporting our community
through challenging times,
and although this refers to the
specific needs of an individual
or family, it also means service
every right to learn and teach
it. I would have told you I was
extremely well-adjusted when it
comes to learning texts almost
exclusively by men.

But when I started to regularly
learn and teach written Torah
from people who were not men,
something in me almost imper-
ceptibly began to feel different. It’s
hard even a few months in to find
the words to capture the different
kind of settledness I feel in my
chest when I give a dvar Torah
that includes a Torah insight from
someone like me. I thought that
I was as close to the Torah as I
could ever get, but I was wrong.

The Kranjec Test made me
in times of more global crisis
and challenge.

When life returns to some
sense of normalcy, I believe
the humanity in all of us and
the way that we cared for
one another will prevail as
memories of how our organiza-
tions worked. We will reminisce
about how we made decisions
that enabled our industry to
thrive. As the pandemic “passes
away,” let us all reflect and focus
on what held us together, and
what inspired us and how we
can harness it, learn from it and
hold onto it in the future. l
Paula Goldstein is the president of
JFCS Greater Philadelphia.

realize that I am unsatisfied
by accepting the absence of
women’s voices in Jewish law
and other subjects as a histor-
ical reality. Being alive to that
absence instead of just pushing
past it has made me more aware
of who I am when I learn Torah,
less willing to brush aside my
own experiences and needs. I
am less willing to accept the
inevitability of who’s not there
— making me more aware that
I’m there myself. l
Avigayil Halpern is studying for
rabbinic ordination at the Hadar
Institute in New York. This piece
was first published by JTA.

LIFE CARE PLANNING | ESTATE PLANNING | MEDICAID
LONG TERM CARE ADVOCACY | ASSET PROTECTION
VIRTUAL SUPPORT VIA PHONE & VIDEO CONFERENCE
(856) 616-2923 NEW JERSEY
(215) 546-5800 PENNSYLVANIA
| ROTHKOFFLAW.COM
REQUEST A FREE SENIOR GUIDE
Solving Elder Care Law Issues with Respect and Compassion
JEWISH EXPONENT
The Board of Trustees of Abramson Senior Care record with
sorrow the passing of their esteemed colleague and friend
Ruth (Cissie) Vizak Frantz
Cissie joined Abramson Senior Care’s Board of Trustees
in 1989, but her involvement began long before when her
grandmother became a resident at the Philadelphia Geriatric
Center (PGC) in 1968. At that time, Cissie and her family,
including her parents Harry and Reba Levin z”l, became
active volunteers and supporters, generously donating
to campus improvement projects, including the Reba and
Harry Levin Building and the Cissie and Les Vizak Pavilion.

They also sponsored many special social, cultural, and
entertainment activities to help enrich the lives of residents.

In 1991, Cissie was awarded the first Family Award alongside
her family for their dedication to improving the quality of life
for the frail elderly.

Cissie’s generosity knew no bounds. She gave graciously
to Abramson Senior Care’s Annual Fund, annual fundraising
gala, and to the Capital Campaign. Additionally, she was a
lifetime member of the Auxiliary.

Her contributions and tireless support have ensured that
seniors throughout the Philadelphia region will continue
to get the care and support they need. Abramson Senior
Care and our entire Jewish community were truly fortunate
to have been the beneficiary of her time, leadership and
enduring tzedakah.

Cissie was also the wife of the late Les Vizak z”l, who served
as board chair of PGC from 1977 – 1983, and mother to the
late Jeffrey (Sheryl) Vizak z”l.

To her husband, Leonard; children Randi (Mark) Rosenberg,
Amy Vizak; grandchildren Matt (Brittany) Rosenberg, Jordan
(Mahasidhdhi) Rosenberg, Lesley Vizak and Melissa Vizak;
and all who mourn her passing, the Board of Trustees of
Abramson Senior Care offer this expression of profound
sympathy. May they find solace in the knowledge that her
dedication, generosity and good works will serve as a living
tribute to her and will benefit future generations.

Lorraine Drobny
Board Chair
C h .ia
Carol A. Irvine
President and CEO
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.

JANUARY 7, 2021
27