H eadlines
Mikveh Israel Has First Women’s Eicha Reading
L OCA L
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
THIS TISHA
B ’AV,
Congregation Mikveh Israel
observed the fast day differ-
ently than it had in previous
years. On July 16, women congre-
gants from the synagogue
recited the five books
from the Scroll of Eicha, or
Lamentations, to the wider
congregation over Zoom.

This was the first time
women publicly read from the
Scroll of Eicha since Rabbi
Albert Gabbai’s tenure as
rabbi began in 1988, and one
of a series of public readings
Gabbai organized for women at
the shul, including a women’s
reading of the Book of Ruth and
Book of Esther earlier this year.

These readings are a part of
a greater initiative by women
congregants at Congregation
Mikveh Israel, as well as
Gabbai, to engage with Jewish
texts and become more spiritu-
ally involved at the synagogue.

Congregation Mikveh
Israel is the oldest synagogue
in Philadelphia, and it follows
many Orthodox practices of
Sephardic Jews, including the
separation of men and women
in synagogue with a mechitza,
and only allowing men to read
Torah and stand on the bimah;
Gabbai said the shul’s creation
predates the current delinea-
tions of denominations, which
is why he does not consider the
synagogue to be Orthodox.

About three years ago,
several women from the
congregation formed a women’s
group, wanting to become more
connected with each other, but
to also gain more knowledge
about Orthodox rituals.

They asked Gabbai to start
giving weekly lectures to the
group, which soon became
twice a week to accommodate
growing interest.

One of the women who
helped to create the group,
Rachel Harbon, said members
not only gained a foundation of
Talmudic knowledge, but also
a deeper spiritual connection.

“[Gabbai] volunteered
his time for us to have more
knowledge about what the
upcoming readings are in the
synagogue ... which is pretty
cool,” Harbon said. “It’s nice
to have a rabbi that’s involved
with his community, for us to
grow stronger into Judaism.”
The women’s group doesn’t
just benefit women congre-
gants, though, Gabbai said. It’s
a way of increasing engagement
for the whole community.

“Unfortunately, many
people go to High Holiday
services ... And they are passive
attendants in the service. They
are not active participants,”
Gabbai said.

By educating congregants
who haven’t had the same
opportunities as men to learn
Jewish texts, Gabbai hopes to
“break the cycle” of passivity
in his shul.

Technology, such as Zoom
has allowed spiritual engage-
ment in new ways.

According to Rabbanit
Dasi Fruchter of the South
Philadelphia Shtiebel, aesthetics
in synagogue matter. When
Zoom was introduced, aesthetics
of the synagogue — the arrange-
ment of seating, the position
of a bimah — were disrupted.

While this was an adjustment,
it allowed changes to ritual and
programming, including new
opportunities for women, to be
less surprising to congregations.

“It’s so different in the
first place, that it doesn’t feel
as aesthetically shocking,”
Fruchter said.

In addition to a women’s
reading over Zoom this year,
Gabbai will work with the
women’s groups to organize
readings during
Rosh Hashanah, which will be in
person. Gabbai envisions
women being able to sing Rosh
Hashanah prayers on their side
of the mechitza.

These growing opportu-
nities are not just present at
Mikveh Israel, and are not
 Rabbanit Dasi Fruchter, spiritual leader at the South Philadlephia Shtiebel
necessarily new to all Orthodox
spaces in the community.

At Lechu
Neranena Partnership Minyan in Bala
Cynwyd, an Orthodox shul,
women are permitted to “lead
Kabbalat Shabbat, give Divrei
torah, receive aliyot and read
Torah for the community,”
balancing “both halacha” —
Jewish law — “and equality,”
which has helped to forge stronger
connection to Judaism for some
of its women congregants.

“It’s an experience beyond
ritual,” said Carolyn Hochstadter,
a board member and past presi-
dent. “There’s just something
beautiful about leyning (reading
from the Torah) and davening
that really speaks to me.”
Beyond the Philadelphia
area, in Israel, Rabbanit Shira
Courtesy of Dasi Fruchter
Marili Mirvis became the first
woman spiritual leader of an
Orthodox synagogue in April,
The Jerusalem Post reported.

However, every Orthodox
synagogue’s path forward to
incorporate women into ritual
is different and must proceed
at its own pace.

“It’s important to get creative
and not assume that there’s only
one way forward, both philo-
sophically and also spiritually,”
Fruchter said. “Creating prayer
spaces, it’s a dance, to help it be
a transformational place, a place
where people feel valued, where
their voices matter, where you
really feel like you’re praying in
community.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
Jewish World Responds to Ben & Jerry’s
WORLD JTA STAFF
KOSHER SUPERMARKETS
are rethinking their inven-
tory. Politicians are emptying
their freezers. And the foreign
minister of Israel is vowing
to get involved in local U.S.

politics. The reactions were all part
8 JULY 22, 2021
of the firestorm that quirky
ice cream manufacturer Ben
& Jerry’s set off July 19 with
its announcement that it
would no longer sell ice cream
in “Occupied Palestinian
Territory.” The
Ve r m o n t- b a s e d
company, founded by two
Jews and long known for its
left-leaning politics, had gone
dark on social media for two
months since the recent outbreak
of violence in Israel and Gaza.

The announcement broke that
silence, simultaneously infuri-
ating Israel advocates who said
the decision was an unfair attack
on Israel and disappointing
pro-Palestinian advocates who
said the company should have
gone farther.

Israeli politicians, super-
markets in the U.S., various
JEWISH EXPONENT
pundits and even Ben & Jerry’s
current Israeli licensee went
after the ice cream maker and
its corporate parent, the British
multinational Unilever, for its
statement. (The company’s
Jewish founders, Ben Cohen
and Jerry Greenfield, no longer
manage the brand but have
often used their frozen treats
to push social justice causes.)
Here are some of the
reactions to the company’s
freezing out of its business
relations in Israel.

Israeli politicians go on the
offensive Reactions from Israel’s
leaders were harsh. Despite the
distinctions Ben & Jerry’s made
in its statement between Israel
See Ben & Jerry’s, Page 26
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H eadlines
Author Continued from Page 5
listening to The Who.

The destructive collision
with the Mack truck.

The coma that caused Jenny
to miss several months of
school and she had to relearn
to walk and talk.

The conversation in which
Barish told Jenny, now back in
school, that she couldn’t talk to
her because of the lawsuit.

Barish, who
didn’t remember all the details from
the accident itself, asked Jenny
if she did. Jenny looked her in
the eye and recounted them in
a tone that Barish described as
“reportorial.” But the women still agreed
to exchange numbers and talk
more. The journey
Courtesy of Shanti Arts Publishing
“My goal that night was to
apologize,” Barish said.

Barish picked up Jenny at her
home in North Wales and drove
to a nearby Olive Garden. It
was a Monday night and hardly
anyone else was in the restau-
rant. The women were free to
talk candidly, and they did for
more than three hours.

Barish apologized and
Jenny apologized back. They
had both been told to be silent
in those days, they reminded
each other.

Jenny reminded Barish that
Barish had visited her in the
hospital after the accident.

“I hadn’t remembered that,”
the author said.

Finally, toward the end of
the night, Jenny told Barish
that she needed to write about
their experience. Barish gulped
and then started crying.

She had already started
thinking about the memoir.

But she wanted Jenny’s blessing
before following through.

“We realized it was
unhealthy to not talk about
horrible things that happened
to you,” the author said.

Barish talked to Jenny
over the phone once a month
during the writing process.

Now, the women see each other
whenever the author visits the
area. “It’s a friendship,” Barish
said. l
Barish’s book is called “Seven
Springs” because she would
always think about the spring-
time accident during the season
of rebirth. After the reunion, she
even visited Mt. Airy again to
look deeper into what happened
and to try to process it.

She interviewed her parents,
talked to her two best friends
from high school and dug
through old journals and
papers. She even visited the
accident site.

But Barish didn’t really
learn anything new, she said.

Nonetheless, in 2006, she
emailed Jenny, asking if her
old friend would be willing
to talk to her for a nonfiction
book about the accident.

Jenny said no.

“So then I put it away,”
Barish said.

And she started to work on
herself, she added. The writer
reconnected with her faith by
reading Torah. She meditated,
did yoga and went to therapy.

Over time, Barish began to feel
better, like she was carrying a
little less weight.

Then, she returned to the
area for her 40-year reunion,
and she called Jenny to make a jsaffren@jewishexponent.com;
215-832-0740 dinner plan.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Enjoy a Fulfilling
Life with Us!
The very best in compassionate care for your
loved one and peace of mind for you!
Come for a Visit!
Call 1-877-205-9428 or visit
www.TheHearthAtDrexel.org/Care to schedule
a virtual tour or to obtain additional information.

238 Belmont Ave. | Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
JEWISH EXPONENT
www.TheHearthAtDrexel.org JULY 22, 2021
9