JUNE 16, 2022 | 17 SIVAN 5782 CANDLELIGHTING 8:14 P.M. THIS SUMMER PAGE 17 CAMP RAMAH’S DEBBIE ALBERT READIES FOR A RETURN TO SUMMER CAMP Page 40 Jewish Exponent PHILADELPHIA Publisher & Chief Executive Offi cer Craig Burke cburke@midatlanticmedia.com Associate Publisher Jeni Mann Tough jmann@midatlanticmedia.com EDITORIAL Editor | Andy Gotlieb 215-832-0797 agotlieb@jewishexponent.com Staff Writers Jesse Berman, Jillian Diamond, Alex Krutchik, Sasha Rogelberg, Heather Ross, Jarrad Saffren, Lindsay VanAsdalan ADVERTISING Account Executives Alan Gurwitz, Pam Kuperschmidt, Jodi Lipson, Taylor Orlin, David Pintzow, Sara Priebe, Mary Ramsdale, Sharon Schmuckler, Kim Coates Schofi eld, Shari Seitz, Sylvia Witaschek 2100 Arch Street, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103 Vol. 135, No. 10 Published Weekly Since 1887 BUSINESS Accounting Manager Pattie-Ann Lamp 410-902-2311 plamp@midatlanticmedia.com accounting@midatlanticmedia.com Senior Accounts Receivable Specialist Shelly Sparks ssparks@midatlanticmedia.com MARKETING Audience Development Coordinator Julia Olaguer 410-902-2308 jolaguer@midatlanticmedia.com Accounts Receivable Specialist Sarah Appelbaum sappelbaum@midatlanticmedia.com Main Offi ce: 215-832-0700 editor@jewishexponent.com 215-832-0797 circulation@jewishexponent.com 215-832-0700, ext. 1 sales@jewishexponent.com 215-832-0700, ext. 2 classifi ed@jewishexponent.com 215-832-0749 Connect with us: Legal Notices legals@jewishexponent.com CREATIVE Art Director | Steve Burke Graphic Designers | Ebony Brown, Rachel Levitan, Paul McGuigan, Jay Sevidal, Frank Wagner, Carl Weigel If you’re having problems receiving your Philadelphia Jewish Exponent in the mail, and live in an apartment or suite, please contact our circulation department at 215-832-0700, ext. 1, or circulation@jewishexponent.com. 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Forest Hills Cemetery/Shalom Memorial Park 25 Byberry Road Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 215-673-5800 NEW COLUMBARIUM & PRIVATE ESTATES 2 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Samuel Domsky General Manager Brent Lanzi Family Service Manager THIS WEEK Local 6 Jewish Schools Enjoy (Almost) Normal Year 6 Longtime Jewish Theater Director Deborah Baer Mozes Retiring 8 Summer Breaks Necessary as Rabbis Dodge Burnout 8 Fairwold Academy Dedicates Building to Rabbi, Psychologist Opinion 12 Editorials 13 Letters 13 Opinions Feature Story 29 Jewish Camps Excited to Return to Normal Community Inspired by the natural landforms that make West Laurel Hill Cemetery’s landscape memorable, Makom Shalom is a desirable new area that respects Jewish funeral customs and culture. 34 Obituaries 36 Synagogue Spotlight 38 Calendar In every issue 4 Weekly Kibbitz 9 Jewish Federation 10 You Should Know 31 Arts & Culture 32 Food & Dining 32 Social Announcements 32 Food & Dining 37 D’var Torah 39 Last Word 41 Classifieds Begin your pre-planning journey today: Contact us at 610.668.9900 or info@westlaurelhill.com Coming July 2022 Cover: Camp Ramah’s Debbie Albert readies for a return to summer camp. 6 J ewish schools enjoy (almost) 8 S ummer breaks necessary as 29 J ewish camps excited to normal year. rabbis avoid burnout. return to normal. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 3 Weekly Kibbitz Last month, Adam Sandler threw his daughter a star-studded bat mitzvah party. Now, it looks like his production company is making a bat mitzvah- themed film. The casting site Backstage has posted a casting call for an in-the-works adaptation of “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” a 2005 young adult novel by Fiona Rosenbloom. Whether Sandler will have a role in the middle school-set story has not yet been revealed, but his Happy Madison Productions company is behind the film. Sammi Cohen, who has helmed other teen films such as “Crush,” “Hollywood Darlings” and “Mr. Student Body President,” is directing. At least part of the filming will take place between June 20 and Aug. 12 in Toronto, according to the casting call. In the novel, teenager Stacy Friedman is determined to host the best bat mitzvah ever, in the face of middle school drama and competing love interests. The Backstage post features a specific call for the role of Dante, a 12-to-14-year-old “foreign exchange student from Italy with a slight Italian accent” who is not Jewish but “is earnestly interested in the Jewish faith and helping out in the community.” The movie will likely end up on Netflix; Sandler signed a deal in the Exclusive Women’s Apparel Boutique Made in USA Custom designs, color options and free alterations available Evening Gowns Suits/Separates Cocktail Dresses 61 Buck Road Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 www.elanaboutique.com (215)953-8820 Make an appointment to consult with the designer Monday-Friday 10am-3pm 4 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images via JTA Next Up for Adam Sandler’s Production Company: A YA Bat Mitzvah Novel Adaptation Adam Sandler at “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in Los Angeles on June 1 beginning of 2020 to make four more films with the streaming giant. Since then, the production company has released two: “Hubie Halloween” and “Hustle.” Sandler threw his daughter Sunny a bat mitzvah with the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Charlie Puth and Sandler’s good friend David Spade in Los Angeles last month. Two years ago, he held an equally celebrity-filled bash for his eldest daughter Sadie, which included a performance by Adam Levine. — Caleb Guedes-Reed FREE ESTIMATES PERSONALIZED SERVICE SENIOR DOWNSIZING DECLUTTER / HOARDING CLEAN OUTS ALL ITEMS SOLD, DONATED, OR REPURPOSED RESPECTFUL OF HOMES WITH ACCUMULATIONS OF 30+ YEARS JOLIE OMINSKY OWNER SERVING PA, DE, NJ JOCSERNICA@YAHOO.COM 610-551-3105 ONTEFIORE C EMETERY C OMPANY Family-Owned and Operated for 112 years Our Promise To You... Our staff of dedicated professionals will treat you with warmth, compassion, understanding and sensitivity. Whether you want to talk with someone about pre- arrangements or just need help fi nding a loved one, we at Montefi ore are here to help. Montefi ore Cemetery is proud of upholding Jewish traditions. The cemetery offers Jewish families a beautiful resting place with character and a wide variety of options. Protect Your Family Through Pre-Planning ONTEFIORE HAPPY FATHER’S DAY C from our management team Serving the Jewish Community... Preserving Our Tradition 600 Church Road • Jenkintown, PA 19046 215-663-1250 www.montefi ore.us JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 5 local Jewish Schools Enjoy (Almost) Normal Year S JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER chools, much like the Biden administration, seem like they may never actually declare that COVID is over, and that we are back to normal. But for all intents and purposes, Jewish schools in the Philadelphia area are ... wait for it ... back to normal! (Pretty much.) School offi cials, though, are quite lit- erally paid to be wet blankets, and if you have ever talked to even one of them, you know that they are great at playing the role. So naturally, while local principals are excited about how much each day is starting to resemble 2019, they are still using the phrase “close to normal” to describe the state of the pandemic as the 2021-’22 year ends. “I would love to say we’re in the clear, but I’ve learned a lot over the past two years working in school with this,” said Rabbi Marshall Lesack, the head of school for the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy in Bryn Mawr. “I’m not going to say I know what the future looks like, but I hope we can return to normalcy for students.” But in 2021-’22, there were unmasked smiles, aft er-school sports and out-of- school trips; there was social gathering instead of distancing in classrooms and cafeterias; there was little fear of a single COVID case throwing the entire build- ing off schedule. Most area Jewish institutions imple- mented the fi ve-and-fi ve rule recom- mended by local health authorities and their medical teams. If a student got COVID, he or she left the building for fi ve days and then returned with a mask for fi ve more days. At that point, if the student remained asymptomatic, he or she ripped off the mask again and smiled like it was 2019. Th ose smiles were nice to see. Even school administrators enjoyed them. “It feels like a relief. Like everybody can take a breath of fresh air,” said Liora Knizhnik, the director of community engagement and admissions at Kohelet Yeshiva, an Orthodox institution in Merion Station. What was interesting about 2021-’22, though, was that COVID cases were still very much present, especially during the winter omicron wave between December and February. Th e Abrams Hebrew Academy in Yardley actually had more students get COVID in 2021-’22 than the previous year, according to Head of School Ira Budow. But Budow did not have to shut down any classes or, as he put it, “go Zooming.” He just had to enforce the fi ve-and-fi ve rule. Other Jewish institutions, like Kohelet Yeshiva and the Kellman Brown Academy The Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, like many area schools, enjoyed a much more normal year in 2021-’22. Photo by Jordan Cassway in Voorhees, New Jersey, also reported cases during omicron. But as Knizhnik explained about Kohelet Yeshiva, the day- to-day was not interrupted. Budow compared it to dealing with a cold or fl u. Th e rules were clear, he said. “It wasn’t like two years ago where, God forbid, you get the bug and you think you’re going to die the next month,” the rabbi added. Jewish administrators agree that keep- ing students in person is a priority. Once they fi gured out how to do that last year, with classroom cohorts, social dis- tancing and strict masking policies, they had something to build on, according to Rachel Zivic, the head of school at Kellman Brown, a pre-K-8 institution. So, even as they reopened more and more, both at the beginning of this school year and aft er omicron, they were not rewriting a plan from scratch. Th ey were merely updating their existing blue- prints to handle the changing nature of the situation. Th ey also had the confi - dence that, if another variant broke out, they could revert to the original strategy. In other words, aft er two years of deal- ing with the crisis, they knew what they were doing. “It’s all been smooth sailing. We’re a microcosm of everywhere else,” Zivic said. “We certainly are impacted, but it certainly hasn’t impacted the learning or the morale.” Judy Groner, the retiring head of school at the Perelman Jewish Day School, said that in 2021-’22 handling COVID became routine. When there was a case, Groner would get on the phone with her administrative team and decide if the student’s class needed to make any larger changes. “It does work pretty much like clock- work at this point,” she added. Administrators are not sure if another variant or virus will break out. But they know one thing as they look ahead to 2022-’23: Th ey will not be caught off guard again. Groner said she’s “beyond certain” that the Perelman administration will be able to handle a crisis in her absence. “Th ere’s defi nitely a feeling of lightness in the building,” she concluded. “People are healthy and safe.” JE jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com Longtime Jewish Theater Director Deborah Baer Mozes Retiring Y JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER ears ago, Rabbi David Ackerman, then at Tiferet Bet Israel in Blue Bell, sat down with Deborah Baer Mozes to discuss how a theatrical presentation could represent Simchat Torah. Ackerman wanted to teach the holiday 6 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM to his Hebrew school students, and Baer Mozes, as usual, had just the performa- tive idea. Th at Sunday morning, the 200 or so students would sit in the sanctuary while Baer Mozes’ actors from Th eatre Ariel, her salon theater company that puts on Jewish shows, acted out the story of the holiday. As Ackerman recalled, they unrolled the Torah around the outside of the room, and the theater troupe brought to life one story from each of the fi ve books of the Torah. Th e kids loved it; the community may have loved it more; and everybody “learned Torah together,” the rabbi said. “Our continuity as a people is based on telling and retelling our stories,” he added. “Th at’s what Deborah does.” Now, though, she will no longer be doing it in the Philadelphia area. Baer Mozes is retiring from her long- time position as founding artistic direc- tor of Th eatre Ariel which, for 30-plus years has played to intimate, micro audi- ences, oft en of between 25 and 60 people, in synagogues and living rooms on the Main Line. In press releases during its 2021-’22 season, Th eatre Ariel described itself as “Pennsylvania’s only professional theatre dedicated to illuminating the social, cultural and spiritual heritage of the Jewish people.” Since Baer Mozes founded it in 1990, it has lived up to that mission, putting on 90 “world premieres,” according to a more recent press release about the director’s retirement. But now, the woman who started and guided the theater on that mission is “going forth,” as she titled the musical revue that marked her departure on June 13 at the Merion Tribute House. Th e director is actually “going forth” to Israel, where she will try to live in Netanya near Tel Aviv. Baer Mozes’ daughter lives in Tel Aviv aft er making aliyah 13 years ago. Th e longtime Philly area resident has wanted to make aliyah herself for years. And during the pan- demic, as the theater went virtual, she had some time to step back and refl ect on when the right moment might arise. It turned out to be now. “It’s emotional,” Baer Mozes said. “But I also know that for me it’s the right time.” But she did not want to leave until she secured her legacy. As Ackerman said, telling Jewish stories is vital to the sur- A Theatre Ariel performance vival of the people, and Th eatre Ariel is the only theater organization in the area dedicated solely to doing so. Its founder did not want that mission to die so, before she departed, she found a successor. Jesse Bernstein is moving up from associate artistic director to artistic director. Bernstein, a veteran of the fi lm, TV and theater industries, joined Th eatre Ariel in 2018 to help it host an interna- tional Jewish theater conference, then never left . Baer Mozes called their initial partnership on the conference “a won- Photo by Jordan Cassway derful collaboration.” Recently, Bernstein mentioned to her that he wanted to be an artistic director at some point. Baer Mozes had not told him that she was considering him as her replacement. But she realized that they were on the same page. “Th e more we worked together, the more it seemed right for me that Jesse would take over,” she said. But Bernstein will have big shoes to fi ll. Baer Mozes brought this stage to life, and it became her singular devotion, accord- ing to several fans and colleagues. “I’ve never seen anyone more ded- icated and devoted to her craft ,” said Juliet Spitzer, a Bala Cynwyd resident and founding board member of Th eatre Ariel. “When she wasn’t sleeping or socializing, she was working.” “She’s had a tremendous impact on the Jewish community but also the general community in the Philadelphia area,” added Judy Guzman, a Bala Cynwyd resident and the theater’s co-president. Since Th eatre Ariel is a salon theater, it strips away the bells and whistles of the stage and focuses on the elements that matter: the words, the stories and the characters. All shine through in such a focused and intimate environment. Th at was why Ackerman saw the Th eatre Ariel shows as a fundamental part of the Jewish religious tradition. Th ey illuminated many diff erent types of Jewish subjects, too, from a Jewish spy in the Civil War to the women of the Torah and the Talmud. “What I liked, in particular, was that the theatrical pieces told and retold traditional stories in really relevant language,” Ackerman said. “And in a way that enabled participants to really see themselves in those stories.” JE jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 7 local Summer Breaks Necessary as Rabbis Dodge Burnout SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER T his year, 5782, is a Jewish leap year, where a second month of Adar is added to the calendar, creating another roomy 30 days in the year. For a kid, this is like adding an extra July to the calendar, a prospect of another full month of summer camp, time down the shore or numbing the brain in front of a television screen. For rabbis, however, this summer period — though it is a buff er between the major holidays of Shavuot and Rosh Hashanah — is less spacious. Th ough many spiritual leaders take a break over the summer, fi nding time to mentally and emotionally recharge is a diffi cult task. Breaks aren’t out of the question: Clergy-led Shabbat services are in a lull over the summer at Mishkan Shalom in Philadelphia, with Rabbi Shawn Zevit leading one Shabbat service a month; that allows him to take time to grab a break and take care of his grandchil- dren who stay with him and his wife for a week. Th e Reconstructionist syn- agogue is also moving services to Zoom for the season, allowing more people to attend at their leisure and taking pres- sure off of volunteer greeters. But for other synagogues, work con- tinues despite religious and preschools going dormant for the season. Marlton, New Jersey-based Congregation Beth Tikvah Rabbi Nathan Weiner is hard at work on next year’s curriculums. He also does programming for the JCC Camps at Medford’s fi rst week at the end of June. When he’s not onboarding the synagogue’s new employee, he’s planning simchas for Shabbat and out- lining pamphlet content for the High Holidays. Rabbi Abe Friedman of Philadelphia’s Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel is plan- ning for Rosh Hashanah, too, hoping Rabbi Nathan Weiner at the JCC Camps at Medford, where he conducts programming for a week in June prior to his July vacation Courtesy of Nathan Weiner to have the bulk of the work done by the time he takes his vacation to his wife’s family’s house in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. For rabbis, these breaks are neces- sary. But because of the ongoing work during the summer, a trip away has to be intentional. “You have to make Shabbos,” Weiner said. In Jerusalem, before the calm of Shabbat, it’s calamity, Weiner said. To observe Shabbat, there’s immense plan- ning that has to take place. Th e same is true of a vacation. Friedman doesn’t check his email during his vacation. Until a couple of years ago, the family vacation home didn’t even have internet. He takes the same attitude for his days off on Tuesdays, choosing to set clear work boundaries. “I am no more willing to compro- mise it than I would be to compromise the actual Shabbat,” he said. But creating boundaries, particularly in the age of technology, has proven diffi cult for some rabbis. “It’s very important and impossible” to set boundaries as a rabbi, Maple Glen-based Congregation Beth Or Rabbi Gregory Marx said. “Th ere’s always somebody in need in a congregation,” he said. “And I always feel that sense of, ‘Oh, I really should be calling this person,’ and so that sense of obligation and mitzvah is always hovering.” See Breaks, Page 33 Fairwold Academy Dedicates Building to Rabbi, Psychologist SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER T he Fairwold Academy named and dedicated its building on June 10 to honor employee, longtime psychologist and Rabbi Gary Feldman. Feldman worked as the school psy- chologist for seven years at the Fort Washington-based Fairworld Academy, an approved private school for students with disabilities and accessibility needs and part of the nonprofi t Public Health Management Corp. 8 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Th e dedication ceremony consisted of a faculty and family gathering in the building’s auditorium, a video tribute to Feldman and the display of a painting titled “Hallelujah! Sing a New Song!” by Feldman’s wife Ruth Feldman in honor of her husband. June 10 marked the one-year yahrzeit of Feldman’s death; he died at 73. On the same day as the dedication, many of his family members attended his unveil- ing ceremony in Israel; the coincidental timing of the two events was beshert, or destiny, according to Ruth Feldman. “He was so dedicated to working with students with disabilities, and felt in a very humble way that the knowledge and experience that he had needed to con- tinue to be imparted on others, so that the students would be able to benefi t,” said Amy Grossman, director of admis- sions at PHMC and colleague of Feldman who coordinated the dedication eff orts. Grossman experienced firsthand Feldman’s care for others. In 2011, Grossman lost a child and, despite not having a close friendship, Feldman wrote her a letter. “His words were just so meaningful, and the fact that he took the time to do that was one of the most special things that happened to me during my period of such intense grief,” Grossman said. “I just will always love him, and he will always have a special place in my heart.” Before Fairwold, Feldman served as the coordinator of School Psychological Services at the School District of Philadelphia, where he helped provide resources for teachers with students with disabilities and accommodation needs. “Gary was the type of person whose assessment skills were just top notch,” See Fairwold, Page 33 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. M Ethiopian Jews Make Aliyah as Part of Operation Zur Israel ichael Balaban, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, with local philanthropists Lynne and Michael Markman, joined dozens of other community leaders from Jewish Federations of North America on a delegation to accompany 180 Ethiopian olim (immigrants) to Israel on June 1, following a special three-day mission in Ethiopia. Th e following day, a second fl ight of 160 Ethiopian olim arrived in Ben Gurion airport. “Excitement, wonder and, yes, a bit of fear. Th ese are the emotions seen on the faces of our friends as they journey to begin their new lives in Israel,” Balaban said. “All are leaving the only place they have ever known with excitement to be going to a place they have only seen in their prayers.” Th e two fl ights mark the resumption of Operation Zur Israel or Rock of Israel, an initiative approved by the Israeli government allowing 3,000 members of the Jewish community in Ethiopia to make aliyah and reunite with their family members in Israel. Some of the olim have waited over a decade to reunite with their loved ones and fulfi ll their dreams of aliyah. “Th e Jewish people in Ethiopia are living in deplorable conditions without health care, basic plumbing or housing while they struggle to survive to achieve their dream of moving to Israel,” said Michael Markman, a Jewish Federation board member, who along with his wife, Lynne, have made contributions over the years to programs that support Ethiopian immigrants. During the mission, the leaders met with Ethiopian community members in Gondar and Addis Ababa, who were waiting to make aliyah to become Israeli citizens. Other organizations present during the mission included offi cials from Th e Jewish Agency for Israel, Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, the World Zionist Organization and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Outside of the organizational delegations, Minister of Aliyah and Integration Pnina Tamano-Shata, the fi rst Ethiopian-born woman to enter the Knesset, accompanied the immigrants on their fl ight. Other notable leaders who partici- pated in the journey included Yaakov Hagoel, chairman of the WZO and acting chairman of Th e Jewish Agency, and Jeff rey A. Schoenfeld, chair of the Israel and Overseas Committee of the Jewish Federations of North America. In addition to more than $100 million in core funding Jewish Federations raise every year for partner organizations such as the Jewish Agency, which allows them to both carry out their routine work and prepare for extraordinary moments such as these, Federations have launched a campaign of more than $7 million for the continuation of aliyah from Ethiopia and for humanitarian assis- tance for the community still awaiting aliyah. “Th e North American Jewish community is proud of the way our commu- nity is stepping up once again to support Ethiopian aliyah,” Jewish Federations President and CEO Eric Fingerhut said. “Th ese inspiring moments are a reminder of how important it is to invest in the infrastructure of Jewish support organiza- tions, which Federations do year in and year out to ensure we are prepared to act when the need arises.” As the new immigrants settle in Israel, there are still those remaining in Ethiopia who are anxious to make aliyah and reunite with their families. When that time comes, Jewish Federations are ready to continue to help facilitate that journey, providing hope for Ethiopians long awaiting their homeland. Aft er his experience in Ethiopia, Markman is even more passionate about investing in resources for the absorption of immigrants in Israeli society: “As a Jewish community, we need to band together to save and support these Jewish souls and work to move them to Israel.” Ethiopian Jews pray in the synagogue in Gondar, Ethiopia, before making aliyah as part of Operation Zur Israel. Courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia Filled with hope and joy, 180 Ethiopian olim arrive safely in Israel on June 1. Courtesy of Maxim Dinshtein for The Jewish Agency for Israel The Markmans meet the matriach of a family of four living in a 10-foot-by- 10-foot room in Gondar, and learn that they will be making aliyah. Courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 9 YOU SHOULD KNOW ... HEATHER M. ROSS | STAFF WRITER M any people have used the past couple of years as a time for self-reflection and often dramatic career shifts. For Noah Schoenberg, that shift came when he took his first online writing course in January 2020. Now, at 28, he’s showcasing his first play, written two years earlier. The Bala Cynwyd native became a bar mitzvah at Congregation Beth Am Israel, where he also attended Hebrew school. His family later attended Adath Israel on the Main Line in Merion Station. Schoenberg had a very different idea of his future when he set out to college, completing his undergraduate studies at Macalester College 10 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM in applied math and neuroscience. Schoenberg always had an interest in writing but, after some time at home watching classic films with his grand- mother, he came to a realization. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about film and writing in general,” he said. He began his journey with a writ- ing class called “Gotham,” which led to several other online writing courses where Schoenberg’s creativity flourished. “Once I started writing, my inter- est and capacity were clear to me,” Schoenberg said. The play “Lev of Leningrad” is a comedy-drama inspired by the story of Lev and Marina Furman, Jewish refuseniks and Soviet-Jewish activists whose journey eventually led them to Philadelphia. The term refusenik typi- cally refers to Soviet Jews denied per- mission to emigrate from the Soviet Union, typically to Israel. Schoenberg was introduced to the Furmans’ story by his longtime friend, Michal Furman, the younger daugh- ter of Lev Furman and an Israeli- American officer in the Philadelphia Police Department. He was inspired to begin writing after a Shabbat dinner at the Furmans’ home when Marina Furman asked Schoenberg if he would like to take a shot at telling their story. Lev Furman, originally an engineer, is now a hospice rabbi in Philadelphia. Schoenberg has looked up to him for a long time. “I consider him to be the greatest guy that I know,” Schoenberg said. “They are inspiring for a lot of reasons and, in their own right, a sort of classic American immigrant story.” While Schoenberg appreciates both films and plays, he decided it was more practical to tell the Furmans’ story as a play. He reasoned that building any sort of historical world, especially for film, is a costly endeavor. The decision on whether to write the story for film or as a play was ulti- mately based on how well Schoenberg thought Lev Furman’s story could best impact the audience. While film has the advantage of zooming in on an object or a letter, flashbacks, which are central to Schoenberg’s storytelling, are better suited to the stage, he said. “Lev as a character is so engaging and dynamic, I thought a live perfor- mance would really bring the audience in,” Schoenberg said. “Lev of Leningrad” follows the Furmans’ story from Soviet Russia to Israel to Philadelphia, where Lev Furman is faced with a changing world full of diverse people and their stories. The play will feature live music per- formed by Cantor Jacob Agar, who Schoenberg met at Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park. Agar is an opera singer and composer who has committed to doing the music for the play, according to Schoenberg. The play debuted at the Fulton Theater in Lancaster during its inaugu- ral Stories of Diversity festival in 2021. “Lev of Leningrad” was selected as one of three finalists and received a staged reading. Between the rehearsals that week and the performance, Schoenberg became convinced that his dramatic career change was the right decision. “There’s nothing like it. I’ve never had more fun than in those rehearsals,” he said. Schoenberg has advice for young people considering switching to a career in creativity. “Living at home (with his family) allowed me to save up a nest egg of money. [You need to] live as cheaply and efficiently as you can for a year or two before you make the jump. You will have to sacrifice your time so you can write at your best — I’m a morning writer. Be ruthless in protecting that time; you need to be at your freshest and best to even have any chance at doing this. Put yourself in a position to succeed,” Schoenberg said. Schoenberg isn’t done telling Jewish stories, though. An upcoming project will tell the story of his grandmother, who was raised in Bucharest, Romania. A staged reading of “Lev of Leningrad” will take place on June 29 at 7 p.m. at InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia. Tickets are pay- what-you-wish. All proceeds will be donated to Sunf lower of Peace, an organization dedicated to helping Ukrainians affected by the Russian military invasion. JE hross@midatlanticmedia.com Courtesy of Noah Schoenberg Noah Schoenberg nation / world Brazilian Jewish School Takes in Hospital Patients Escaping a Fire A Jewish school in Rio de Janeiro took in more than 150 patients escaping a hospital fire, many of them in sick beds, on June 7, JTA reported. A fire broke out in the Hospital São Lucas’ laundry room that produced thick smoke and required an evacuation. Employees at the hospital in Copacabana, one of Rio’s most Jewish Barilan, a Jewish school in Rio de Janeiro, provided shelter to more than neighborhoods, wheeled patients to the 150 patients escaping a fire in a nearby nearby TTH Barilan School and the hospital. TTH Barilan school via JTA.org ground floors of apartment buildings. “Humanity is so complicated that, when you do the right thing, they say you’re like Superman,” TTH Barilan President Rafael Antaki said. “The hospital’s emer- gency plan was successful, and so was ours, focused on chesed and love.” The unprecedented scene of hospital beds lined up in the school’s courtyard made parents, teachers and employees emotional. Kindergarten classes were temporarily suspended, but elementary, junior high and high school classes were not interrupted. One patient needed to be resuscitated in the courtyard, the O Dia newspaper reported. head Merav Michaeli said. “But as happy as we are here today, it’s important to remember those who are not here, because they are being silenced into fear. We will not allow them!” The Post reported that drones flew above the crowd as a protective measure. Polygamous Jerusalem Cult Leader Found Dead in Prison Polygamous cult leader Daniel Ambash was found dead in his cell at Ayalon Prison in Ramle on June 10, The Times of Israel reported, citing the Israel Prisons Service. Paramedics declared Ambash dead after resuscitation efforts failed. The prisons service said the circumstances of his death would be examined. Ambash was sentenced to 26 years in prison on 18 charges. Those charges included sexual offenses, abuse of minors, incarceration and sadistic violence. Ambash, who was a Bratslav ultra-Orthodox Jew, headed the so-called “Jerusalem cult.” He had six wives and 14 children, who were kept by Ambash and his assistants in slavery conditions. JE — Compiled by Andy Gotlieb NAZARETH ORTHOPEDICS Pope Hosts Yad Vashem Director at Vatican, Doesn’t Discuss Catholic Church’s Holocaust Controversies Amid controversies concerning the Vatican’s Holocaust-era record, Pope Francis and the head of Yad Vashem met for a first-of-its-kind talk on June 9, JTA reported. Yad Vashem Director Dani Dayan met with the pope at his office in the Vatican. During their 30-minute talk, they spoke about ways to “bolster collaborative activities” in areas of “Holocaust remembrance, education and documentation, and to discuss efforts to fight antisemitism and racism worldwide,” Dayan’s office wrote in a statement. Dayan thanked the pope for his 2020 decision to open the Vatican’s archives related to the wartime Pope Pius XII, whose critics say did too little to intervene on behalf of the 6 million Jews that the Nazis murdered. But they did not discuss the Holocaust-related controversies, including the ongoing beatification of Pius XII, that have strained Jewish-Catholic relations for years, Dayan said. Instead, Dayan focused on areas of consensus and on strength- ening ties with the Vatican, he said. Around the corner. Beyond expectations. For the first time, female authors in Israel published more books of prose and poetry than their male counterparts, the National Library of Israel said in its 2021 annual “Book Report,” JTA reported. Of the 7,344 books sent to the library in 2021, 25% are exclusively classified as prose and poetry. Just over half, 52%, were credited to female authors, giving them a majority for the first time since the library began collecting statistics. Among the notable releases by women were “A Penguin Café at the Edge of the World,” a children’s story by author and poet Nurit Zarchi, recipient of the 2021 Israel Prize for literature, and “Strangers,” a bestselling novel by author Lihi Lapid, advocate and wife of Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. Approximately 92% of books published in Israel in 2021 were in Hebrew, with 4.8% in English, 2.2% in Arabic and a handful in Russian. More Than 170,000 March in Tel Aviv 2022 Pride Parade Despite heat warnings, more than 170,000 people dressed in rainbows and glitter par- ticipated on June 10 in the Tel Aviv Pride Parade 2022, The Jerusalem Post reported. The parade began near the Sporteque on Rokach Boulevard, leading to a per- formance area in Ganei Yehoshua within Yarkon Park. The route was different than in past years. “For the first time in 20 years, the Pride March route is running through here; there is nothing more exciting than that,” Transportation Minister and Labor THMA-937433516-NAZ A First: Female Israeli Authors Outpaced Males in Publishing in 2021 SCAN THE QR CODE TO LEARN MORE nazarethhospital.org/ortho 2630 Holme Avenue, Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19152 215.335.6270 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 11 editorials Bad Timing T he current Israeli coalition government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has exceeded everyone’s expectations. But it is now on the brink of collapse. With just 60 seats in the Knesset and threats of resignation from mem- bers on both the right and left, the government appears to be the weak- est it has ever been. It is likely just a matter of time before the govern- ment falls and new elections are held. That is why it is so strange that the Biden administration chose this moment of government instability to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. And it is even more curious that the suggestion was made since — at least until now — solving the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict did not appear to be a lead priority for the Biden administration. Add to that the fact that everyone understands that the eight-party Bennett-Lapid coalition would likely implode over peace issues. And it is for that reason that no one seriously seeks to raise them. On top of all that, given the government’s uncertain future, it is widely under- stood that any agreement reached by this government would immedi- This suggestion came at the same time as the Biden administration is reportedly considering creating a new senior diplomatic position within the State Department for a special representative for Palestinian aff airs. Israel made clear that it is not interested in a feel-good photo op for a peace summit that has no likelihood of success. We agree. ately be subject to review and recon- sideration if a new governing group takes control. Nonetheless, according to reports, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman recently suggested to Israeli National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata that Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Egypt and the U.S. convene a full-blown peace summit to address Israeli-Palestinian issues. The administration’s moves appear to be part of an attempt to appease PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who has voiced both frustra- tion and anger with the lack of move- ment on a peace process, and who has threatened retaliatory actions if nothing is done. The Israeli govern- ment is reported to have rejected the U.S. suggestion for a multiparty summit. In light of current political realities, that decision makes sense. But it doesn’t explain why the Biden administration made the suggestion or why it felt that now was the right time to raise it. Perhaps the administration is seek- ing to add substance and seriousness of purpose to President Joe Biden’s planned trip to the Middle East next month. And maybe there was some hope that an Israeli-Palestinian sum- mit would draw attention away from the politically uncomfortable rap- prochement eff orts Biden will be pursuing with Saudi Arabia. Either way, the eff ort did not work. Instead, Israel made clear that it is not interested in a feel-good photo op for a peace summit that has no likelihood of success. We agree. While we remain supportive of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, that eff ort needs to be pursued at a time and with partici- pants who not only support the eff ort but are also capable of achieving a lasting result. For a whole bunch of reasons, that is not today’s reality. JE P rimary election season is underway in many parts of the country. As Democrats and Republicans vie for their party’s endorsement for the general election, the primary results give observers and the parties insight into what voters think about the performance of their elected offi cials up to now, and what they want from them going forward. We can learn a lot from California. In that state’s primary election on June 7, voters sent a clear message to their elected offi cials — a message that the Democratic Party should take to heart if they want their candidates to compete eff ectively in November’s midterms. The most publicized race was in San Francisco, where residents voted on whether to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Boudin was elected in November 2019 on a forceful, pro- gressive criminal justice agenda. But with violent crimes and car theft soar- 12 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM ing in San Francisco, the voters in this most liberal city chose to fi re their progressive prosecutor. Sixty percent of voters in San Francisco voted to recall Boudin. During his time in offi ce, Boudin enacted a number of criminal justice reforms, including the elimination of cash bail, a reduction of the number of San Franciscans, especially minors, in state prisons, and charged a police offi cer with committing manslaughter while on duty. On paper, many of Boudin’s reforms made sense and are part of a move- ment across the country that has been pursued by a number of progressive district attorneys. But at least based upon the recall vote, it appears that voters are rejecting those progressive programs in favor of a more traditional approach to law enforcement. And then there was the Los Angeles nonpartisan primary for mayor. In that race, Rick Caruso, a billionaire real estate developer and former Republican who only recently registered as a Democrat, faced off against Democratic Rep. Karen Bass, a progressive, who wants to be Los Angeles’ fi rst Black woman mayor. The race was close. Caruso won 40.5% of the vote and Bass won 38.8%. The two will head to a runoff election in November. For many cities in America, such a tight race between a former Republican and a progressive might not be a big deal. But for Los Angeles, it is a major red fl ag, as Democratic voters refl ect their frustration with progressive policy platforms and enactments — especially when they involve leniency toward rising crime and tolerance for an increase in homelessness. Both San Francisco and Los Angeles face a homeless- ness crisis with rampant drug use and mental health emergencies over- whelming city streets. The San Francisco and Los Angeles votes highlight the challenge of the increasing infl uence of progressive politics on the Democratic Party. While there are many elements of the progressive agenda that are appeal- ing and worthwhile, many of their idealistic agenda items fail in the real world and are being rejected by voters. If the Democratic Party wants to remain competitive in November, it needs to get its arms around the progressive agenda and make appro- priate course adjustments. JE gguy44 / iStock / Getty Images Plus A Tale of Two California Cities opinions & letters In-person Beats Online Israel and the US: Danger Just Around the Corner BY SHUKI FRIEDMAN Oleksii Liskonih / iStock / Getty Images Plus A strong U.S. relationship with Israel depends on broad support for the Jewish state among American citizens. At fi rst glance, a survey published a few days ago by the Pew Research Center shows that American support for Israel is adequate and has even increased slightly. A closer look, however, reveals a far less rosy future. Support for Israel among the younger generation of Americans is declin- ing, and support for the Palestinians is on the rise. To maintain the existentially necessary strategic backing of the United States, Israel must address the challenge of this eroding support among young Americans before they become tomorrow’s leaders and turn their backs on the Jewish state. The headline of the Pew survey — “Modest Warming in U.S. Views on Israel and Palestinians” — is gratifying, and the overall picture presented by the survey is indeed positive. The share of Americans who take a favorable view of Israel (67%) and of the Israeli government (48%) has climbed by several percentage points over the past two years. Among older Americans (65+), sup- port for Israel is skyrocketing (78%). Another piece of good news is that, although Israelis often have the impression that the BDS movement is a great success in the United States, the survey shows that the over- whelming majority of Americans (84%) have heard nothing or very little about it. Only 5% support the movement. There are dark clouds on the horizon, how- ever. The statistics show a dramatic split in support for Israel based on party affi liation. While 44% of Republicans support Israel and take an unfavorable view of the Palestinians, only 12% of Democrats feel the same. Moreover, support for Israel over the Palestinians decreases dramatically as one moves down the age scale. While 37% of those aged 65 and older prefer Israel, that preference plunges to just 11% among those in the 18-29 age range, while 17% support the Palestinians and a signifi cant number take an equally favorable view of both sides. The younger generation shows similarly low levels of support for the Israeli government. Alongside, one fi nds increasingly favorable views of the Palestinian government. In other words, the younger generation prefers the Palestinians over Israel. This disparity between generations also exists in the American Jewish community. A comprehensive Pew survey of Jewish Americans published a year ago revealed a disturbing picture. Regarding attachment to Israel, caring about Israel, a sense of partner- ship with Israel and more, there are striking disparities between the older and younger generations. Among young Jews unaffi liated with any Jewish denomination (40%), only a third see Israel as important. Other surveys published over the past year confi rmed this: Young American Jews are more liberal and less emotionally attached to Israel than their older counterparts. Some of the processes underway in American society, including in the Jewish community, are unrelated to Israel and its policies, but nevertheless, aff ect it. Still, Israeli policy is naturally an infl uential factor in shaping attitudes toward the state. Israel cannot change America, but engag- ing with the younger generation there, and making every eff ort to foster an attachment to the Israeli story and the Jewish state, are critical to maintaining the special closeness between the United States and Israel, as well as American support for the Jewish state and its existence. JE Shuki Friedman is vice president of the Jewish People Policy Institute and a lecturer in law at the Peres Academic Center. No doubt, online education is the direction of the future (“Gratz Refocuses, Ahead of the Curve with Online Classes,” May 26), but call me old-fashioned. I am more attentive to in-person classes and fi nd that personal interactions are a critical component to learning. I attended Gratz Hebrew High School decades ago and still have strong memories of my teachers and classmates, in addition to the content of many of my courses. It’s hard to imagine that children learn as much in Hebrew schools of today, with fewer hours and tests and more entertainment. It will be interesting to measure the eff ectiveness of online Hebrew school education at Gratz since in-person Hebrew high school was eliminated years ago. Ina Asher Merion Second Amendment Argument Rings Hollow Jonathan Tobin’s recent invitation to an “honest discussion” about guns and the Second Amendment (“The Only Honest Discussion About Guns Rests on the Second Amendment,” June 2) feels rather hollow. In addition to declaring that no gun restrictions could possibly reduce gun violence, he also suggests that the liberal Jewish groups pushing gun control are largely bicoastal urbanites who are out of touch with real Americans and real American culture. Rather than an honest labeling of those who demand unfettered access to guns as right-wing or conservative, Tobin repeatedly identifi es gun advocates and their position simply as “American.” Not surprisingly, liberal Jews are never described as equally American. This insinuation that liberal Jews and their political activity are in some way un-Ameri- can is reminiscent of ugly accusations that have been made about Jews’ place in America. If there is to be an honest debate, then the assumption that guns are an integral part of “American culture” and “American political tradition” needs to be critically evalu- ated rather than blindly accepted. Respected historians of Colonial America have challenged the idea that guns were a major part of Colonial American culture. For example, it is estimated that perhaps only one in 10 people even owned a gun at that time, compared to nearly four in 10 today. To suggest that a gun-saturated society is a necessary feature of American culture, or that any regulation of guns is an aff ront to all authentic Americans, represents a particular interpretation of the Second Amendment that only became popular in the last half-century. JE Stuart Charme Philadelphia Letters should be related to articles that have run in the print or online editions of the JE, and may be edited for space and clarity prior to publication. Please include your first and last name, as well your town/neighborhood of residence. Send letters to letters@jewishexponent.com. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 13 opinion When Your Family Is the Victim of Antisemitism BY BENJAMIN KERSTEIN R ecently, and at long last, the antisemite who has been vandalizing my family’s business in a Jewish suburb of Boston for nearly a year was caught. My family owns a small store that sells, among other things, Israeli products. A sign hung from the store’s awning advertises this fact. Over the past year, this sign was repeatedly stolen, torn down and defaced by an unknown rac- ist. Finally tired of replacing it, my fam- ily installed security cameras. The next time it happened, the criminal’s face and license plate were captured as he com- mitted the crime, and the police tracked him down. The self-righteous fiend told the police that his crimes were justified because he found the sign “extremely offensive.” The police were forced to inform him that this did not entitle him to break the law. The question now before us is what the next step will be. The police want to settle things privately, with the criminal paying some kind of restitution. My father wants compensation paid, but also wants to meet with the criminal and require him to attend an educational course given by a group like the Anti-Defamation League. He feels that an overly punitive reaction may only intensify the criminal’s antisemitism. I, on the other hand, want the criminal prose- cuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law. (In my darker moments, I also want to see his legs broken in multiple places with a baseball bat, preferably wielded by myself.) For the most part, however, this entire ordeal has forced me to recognize a gaping divide between me and the rest of my family on the issue of antisemitism in general. A divide that, I believe, may be emblematic of a larger divide within the Jewish community itself. I have lived in Israel for 20 years. I am a Zionist and make no apologies for it. I believe that when faced with racism and/or violence, the Jews should respond in the most punitive manner available in order to achieve justice and create deterrence. I do not believe antisemites can be educated, changed or cured. They won’t stop unless they are stopped — until they are made to understand that the cost of hating the Jews is higher than its sadistic benefits. Even more telling is the emotional divide 14 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM some kind of relatively painless solution to the issue. The protection of the law, in this case, appears to have worked. Perhaps it is better to let it go. Perhaps. But for myself, I can only see the gaping divide between us. And this divide, above all, frightens me. It fright- ens me because I am painfully aware of certain facts: A terrifying percentage of the progressive left and the Muslim- American community holds antisemitic attitudes and is prepared to act on them. And antisemitic violence, if not checked, always escalates, as it did last May, when Muslim-American and pro-Palestinian thugs attacked Jews across the United States. To me, this criminal and his van- dalism were not an aberration — they are the new normal. And this normal has now struck frighteningly close to home. I also know that, perhaps when Israel fights its next war, it will happen again. And this time, it will likely be much worse. There is a very good chance that it will end in a murder — per- haps many murders — and I fear that the attitude taken by most American Jews cannot stop such a terrible eventuality. I also know that, when this happens, my family will be vulnerable to such violence, and so will the entire American Jewish community. This is because the police, however well-mean- ing they may be (and they are), cannot be every- where and cannot act until the thing actually happens. And at the moment, most American Jews have no other options. With a few local exceptions, usually in Orthodox communities, they have no security or defense force of their own. When it happens, there will be no one there to protect them. And even if local law enforcement takes action to secure Jewish sites and busi- nesses after the fact, this means the Jews will be forced to live their lives under continuing siege. All of this is unacceptable to me. So, I am forced to look across the divide at my loved ones, hoping that despite my misgivings, they will turn out to be right. I wish very much that this divide could be bridged, and that the larger divide between Jews like me and most American Jews could be bridged as well. At the moment, this appears unlikely. And so, I am forced to worry, and know that I will continue to worry for a very long time. JE between me and the rest of my family. They appear to be inclined toward something like mag- nanimity, while I am comfortable with the fact that I hate those who hate the Jews. I have never met the criminal himself, and I do not care to. But I hate this person. Hate him. My family, perhaps to their credit, does not. My family are American Jews. For the most part, they have always lived in America. And I think that their attitude is emblematic of that of the vast majority of American Jews. They believe that antisemitism can be fought by nonpunitive means — education, reconciliation and dialogue. They believe that antisemitic incidents should be dealt with in a moderate and measured way. When one of my father’s friends compared the vandalism to Kristallnacht, my father felt he was going a bit far. The rest of my family has not said as much, but I sense that they would agree with this. They don’t feel the sense of urgency that I do. I am fully prepared to admit that they may be right. Perhaps it’s better not to overreact. Perhaps my reaction is somewhat hysterical. Perhaps our long history of persecution has fostered a certain paranoia among the Jews, which causes us to exaggerate and overstate what may simply be the random acts of distasteful individuals. Perhaps America really is different, the Jews are relatively safe there and we must be aware of this in dealing with the small amount of American antisemitism that does exist. And perhaps education, reconcil- iation and dialogue are indeed better than stern justice. Moreover, the police acted promptly and effec- Benjamin Kerstein is a writer and editor living in tively to the vandalism, and are trying to arrange Tel Aviv. opinion I’m Neither ‘Ukrainian’ Nor ‘German.’ But as a Jew in Germany Born in Ukraine, I Am Trying to Help BY IRINA ROSENSAFT iStock / Getty Images Plus F RANKFURT, Germany — I was born in Ukraine but have never considered myself Ukrainian. My parents had immigrated to Germany, seeking political and economic stability during the chaotic time of the Soviet Union’s collapse, and I still live here, in Frankfurt. Now, as a mother of two with a full-time job, I spend most of my spare time trying to help the country my family left when I was 12. Along the way, I am also finding ways to reconcile my com- plex Jewish identities. Until Russia invaded Ukraine in February, I didn’t think much about my native country. Instead, I was focused on my family and my career. My professional background is in con- sulting and management; I am also a member of the World Jewish Congress’s Jewish Diplomatic Corps, a network of people ages 30 to 45 whom WJC trains to influence Jewish interests through diplomacy and public policy. Even if I hadn’t been a member of the JD Corps, as we call it, I would have followed the war closely and probably tried to help. As part of the network, however, I realized that I could do more. Soon after the war started, I understood that despite my complicated relationship with Ukraine, I had absolutely no hesitation about doing every- thing within my power to help others. And even though WJC is a Jewish organization — it is obvi- ously aware of Ukraine’s history of antisemitism — the group’s leadership as well as my peers in the JD Corps felt compelled to help everyone. I plunged into an array of relief work, including helping people escape Ukraine and find safe havens that have the medical care and other sup- port they need. With the help of WJC, I also focused on procuring medicine, an effort inspired in part by my mother, who has diabetes. If she doesn’t have access to insulin, she will not survive. I do not have a medical background, and I started to use creative methods to secure medicine and get it into Ukraine. At first, it seemed like I might not succeed. It’s almost impossible for an ordinary person to buy prescription medicine in bulk, let alone transport it. A pharmaceutical executive told me how to buy in big quantities, and connected me to her con- tacts, including sellers. A doctor friend made the actual purchase. My mother even collected extra insulin and other medicines from her friends and the pharmacies she patronizes. Procuring the drug was only the first step, however. Insulin must be stored below a certain temperature. A biochemist who is also a pharma- ceutical logistics professional advised me on the logistics of how to best ship it and connected me to her partner company, which donated a special box for the journey. WJC put me in touch with a Jewish communal professional, who helped me locate a driver to transport the medicine — insu- lin and other life-saving drugs that would last 80 people between two and three months — to Kyiv, where the Vaad of Ukraine, the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities, distrib- utes it to their affiliated organizations. After that first shipment, we did a second one that was logistically quite different. We soon learned that finding a viable path one time didn’t guarantee that it would be there the next. For the next shipment, we are working to assemble and transport about 1.5 tons of medicine including heart, asthma and thyroid drugs. We’d buy the medicine with the help of Pharmacists Without Borders and store it in Cologne at a facility owned by the Blue-Yellow Cross, a new organization that collects and transports donations for Ukraine. All this talk of storage temperatures and phar- maceutical logistics might make this work sound very clinical, but for me, it isn’t. It’s centered in a web of feelings and memories and questions that connect my past and my future, and me to family, community and country. Of course, I’ve been troubled by anxiety and guilt related to my children. I’ve been online and on the phone constantly despite their need for attention. I have sent them to play, telling them I needed another three minutes when I knew that I would probably need a half-hour to finish a phone call, and that I would then need to make another one. I didn’t attend our community’s Purim celebration because I received a call from a refugee who had no food and no money. When our second shipment was en route to Ukraine, I stayed online on Shabbat in case there were any problems. Yet during this time, I’ve also realized that I do have a connection to the country of my birth. I have remembered my hometown, Zhytomyr, the fields full of sunflowers, the black seacoast of Crimea. I love the Ukrainian songs of Sofia Rotaru, and I wore vyshyvanka (an embroidered shirt that’s part of the national costume) to sing them as part of the school choir. I loved to visit Kyiv with my mom. It’s true that there was antisemitism. I grew up knowing that Jews were not fully part of Ukraine or the Soviet Union before its collapse. We were Jews, something apart. Not Jewish — Jews. We left Ukraine with very mixed feelings. As Jews, we tend to feel solidarity with people in need. By working through some of those feel- ings, I also found a way to identify with Ukraine, my native country. As I learned of cities in my for- mer homeland being destroyed, my connection to Ukraine strengthened. I plan to learn more about the Jewish community in Ukraine. I’ve spoken to my parents to better understand why we left. I still don’t call myself “Ukrainian,” but I also have the same problem calling myself “German.” Of course, I share the democratic values of the German state, but I have a different culture and customs, have another mother tongue, a complex heritage and belong ethnically to another group (which can be very problematic to speak about in Germany after the Holocaust). We all know that Jewish identity is complex. But for now, I’m happy to help other people, set a positive example for my children and future generations and better understand myself in the process. JE Irina Rosensaft is the digital transformation lead at the Central Welfare Board of Jews in Germany. She is a board member of B’nai B’rith Frankfurt and a member of the World Jewish Congress Jewish Diplomatic Corps. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 15 opinion Fewer Guns = Fewer Deaths BY BURT SIEGEL A fter each incident in which someone takes the lives of numerous others — typically strangers — with military-style weapons, our nation embroils itself once again in the gun debate. This debate generates much heat, anger and finger pointing but rarely any long-term substantial change. People on the right will claim that those of us who advocate for greater restrictions on guns contribute to the carnage of the young by refusing to arm classroom teachers. Somehow, the National Rifle Association has convinced nearly all Republican members of Congress that a fourth- grade teacher will be able to win a shootout with an enraged teenager carrying an AR-15 rifle. The fact that in nearly all of these violent incidents armed security was soon present but hasn’t prevented any of these has had little, if any, impact. As disturbing as it is, no facts have changed the minds of those who seem willing to lose children rather than lose their so-called gun rights. Does anyone who reads this doubt that armed elementary school teachers will be effective where trained law enforcement profession- als have frequently failed? There are slightly more than 3 million teachers in approximately 131,000 public, private and charter K-12 schools in the U.S. Even if only half of the teaching population was armed that would mean a very lucrative bonanza for the firearms industry. We can assume that many administrators would wish to be armed as well. Not that these companies would ever put profits ahead of public safety, of course. There is an interesting phenom- enon associated with the three- year-old pandemic. According to the collective tax filings of both gun and ammunition makers, their profits 16 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM have been the highest in history. No one is sure why this is so. Perhaps Smith and Wesson has been work- ing on a gun that can kill the COVID virus? Many of us assert that white rac- ism is a major contributing factor in the upswing in multiple shoot- ings. And unquestionably there has been a marked increase in the pro- found anger expressed by white men toward anyone they consider to be the “other,” including Jews. Nearly all of the shooters have been white male adolescents, but the vast majority of the victims have also been white. And those responsible for these deaths have included a small number of African Americans and Latinos. For some reason, the racial iden- tity of the gunmen in Columbine, Newtown and recently Buffalo is often identified in the media but not so in the recent multiple deaths on South Street in Philadelphia and in Chattanooga, Tennessee. While mass shootings are much more com- mon within the white population, racial minorities are more likely to be shot by members of their own cohort, although rarely in large-scale violence. It would seem obvious that the major contributing factor in these deaths is not only the hatred of the other but also the love of guns. We should be proud of the Jewish public policy advocacy groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and the synagogue movements for their support of those measures that will make it harder for individuals to get guns designed for the sole purpose of killing others. Some few critics within the Jewish community assert that those who believe that 18-year-olds should not be able to purchase military-style weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition are merely “virtue sig- naling” and posturing. These people claim that those who advocate for reducing access to such weapons are naïve, but all evidence shows that where it is harder to get such weapons, fewer people are killed by them. To argue otherwise is like arguing that speed limits don’t reduce vehic- ular deaths and injuries. It will come as no surprise that a waiting period and limiting the number of bullets that can be purchased at once in some jurisdictions also contributes to fewer gun deaths. It is worth keeping in mind that the language of the Second Amendment reads as follows: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the secu- rity of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The NRA, extreme conservative jurists and too many gun owners claim that this amendment guaran- tees the right of Americans to own guns. They also insist that this ‘”right” was not intended to be solely in the context of a “well-regulated militia.” We can and will continue to debate exactly what the authors of this amendment had in mind over two hundred years ago. However, mem- bers of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts have not been of one mind in holding that this amendment provides a right to all and every individual to own any firearm they so wish. In fact, from 1994 until 2004 the individual possession of what is commonly referred to as an assault weapon was banned under federal law. Unfortunately, the legislation outlawing such private ownership expired in 2004. Not surprisingly mass murders then increased as well. The Second Amendment was writ- ten in 1791, a time when fighting another war with England was cer- tainly a possibility. And, war was again fought with Great Britain some 20 years later. It is, therefore, no sur- prise that the Founding Fathers felt that it was necessary for our nation to have the ability to defend itself. But it is preposterous to believe that the drafters ever imagined weapons that could discharge 40 rounds per minute. Nor is it likely that they envisioned shootouts in classrooms between a third-grade teacher and an irate teenage boy. Gun advocates also seem to forget that in 1791 conditions in America, a significantly rural nation, people depended upon guns to provide food for their families, provide pro- tection from unhappy native people who objected to foreigners taking their land and to create a relatively peaceful environment in an often hostile land. Opponents of laws designed to reduce deaths from firearms accuse us of being naïve and that “bad guys” will always get guns and use them, and this is obviously so. But it is also so that fewer guns will lead to fewer deaths by guns. We are taught in the Talmud that saving even one life is as though the whole world was saved. I’d like to suggest that lawmakers who think that saving even one life is point- less should look at the faces of the mothers and fathers who stood outside their children’s classroom in Uvalde, Texas, listening to their chil- dren being shot and tell them that preventing Salvador Ramos from buying two semiautomatic weap- ons would have been pointless. Or perhaps go to a funeral with parents whose sons and daughters were so badly maimed that they needed DNA matches to prove that a small cadaver was their child’s. Until then, all we can do is elect men and women who understand that fewer guns, in the hands of fewer people, will mean fewer deaths. JE Burt Siegel is the retired executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council. He served on the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations for 18 years, including serving as vice chair. ozgurcankaya / i-stock / gettyimages this r e m m Su JUNE 16, 2022 Jewish Couples Remember SUMMER CAMP MEET-CUTES SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER T The Rose Family 18 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Photo by Hy Paul he song of the summer in 1988 was Richard Marx’s “Hold Onto the Night,” though Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” was also an earworm, at least for Randi and Kenny Leese. It was a memorable summer, the year the two of them met at Golden Slipper Camp in the Poconos. Now looking back at their summer camp memories aft er 27 years of marriage, the signifi cance of the experience is clear: “I wasn’t looking for a wife,” Kenny Leese said. “I was looking for fun, which turned into a girlfriend, fi ance, then marriage. But it’s really those connections. It’s really just sitting there, bonding, every day.” Th e Leeses aren’t the only couple who met at Jewish summer camp. Th e sleep- away camp experience is a cultural touchstone for so many Jews, and the genesis of quite a few relationships. With another year of camp on the horizon, couples reminisce about the good ol’ days. Kenny and Randi Leese at Golden Slipper Camp in the late 1980s Courtesy of Randi Leese Golden Slipper Camp When Kenny Leese said he wasn’t looking for a wife during his 1988 summer as a Golden Slipper camp counselor, he meant it. He took interest in another girl at Golden Slipper, even aft er meeting young counselor Randi Leese briefl y on move-in day. “You hook up with people,” Kenny Leese said. “It’s what you do.” Randi Leese didn’t take this per- sonally; she also was interested in someone else. But when the two talked again at a basketball game he was reff - ing, their friendly relationship started to change. “I remember every morning the whole camp would gather around the fl agpole fi rst and do roll calls before we would go into the dining hall,” Randi Leese said. “And he would give me lollipops, Tootsie Roll pops. And I thought, ‘Oh, that was very nice.’” One night, when Kenny Leese planned on meeting up with another girl and Randi Leese planned to go home on an overnighter, the two ended up talking. “I never went off with the other girl,” Kenny Leese said. “Th irty-four years later, here we are.” “Two kids and a dog later,” Randi Leese added. Th e couple was engaged in 1993 and married two years later. Likewise, Bonnie Chalfi n wasn’t expecting to meet her now-husband Rob Chalfi n at Golden Slipper in 1989. He was dating another girl at the time and was hard to get to know. Th e then-friends kept in touch over the summer, and Bonnie Chalfi n found out about his break-up. Th eir relationship developed “organically,” and the two later married. Rob Chalfi n wasn’t the only one with whom Bonnie Chalfi n stayed in contact. Th e couple made friends with several other couples, who still keep in touch. Th eir kids are now becoming good friends. “It’s like a family bond,” Bonnie Chalfi n said. Camps Arthur and Reeta Decades before the Leeses and Chalfi ns met, Elliot Rosen worked as a counselor Bonnie and Rob Chalfi n at their at the Zieglersville-based Camp Arthur, wedding Courtesy of Bonnie Chalfi n the sibling camp to Camp Reeta, which were part of the Young Men’s-Young Women’s Hebrew Association, the precursors to the JCCs of today. Rosen was a camp veteran, attending the camp as a camper at age 11 in 1952, and graduating to counselor in 1957 at 17. Th at same year, camp newbie Maxine Rosen, hailing from Salisbury, Maryland, came to Camp Reeta as a counselor-in-training. Unlike the Golden Slipper couples, Elliot Rosen’s intentions were clear when he fi rst met his to-be wife. He was a skinny kid at the time, and a friend of his inter- rupted a basketball game to introduce him to her friend. “We stopped the basketball game, underneath the basket, so she could introduce me to her friend, Maxine Battlebaum,” Elliot Rosen said. “And I looked at Maxine, and I knew I was going to marry her.” It was, of course, not that simple. Maxine Rosen was less impressed than Elliot Rosen was with their respective appearances, but their overlapping schedules meant the two remained friendly over their seven or eight interactions that summer, despite living on opposite sides of the ground’s lake. Maxine Rosen didn’t return to camp the next year, but did the year aft er. Th e couple’s relationship bloomed but then faltered due to distance, college and jobs. In 1962, Elliot Rosen’s last year of summer camp, he received a “Dear John” letter from Maxine Rosen, saying she was seeing other people in college. “I was very melancholy at the end of summer of ‘62, knowing that, I guess, my youth was ending,” Elliot Rosen said. His fortune took a turn the next year, when he learned of Maxine Rosen’s breakup when he was on a nine-week trip across Europe. He sent her a post card but didn’t hear back. By 1965, the two at last reunited in Alexandria, Virginia, just for the aft ernoon. “I saw Elliot, and he was a completely transformed person,” Maxine Rosen said. “He had fi lled out; his teeth were kind of straighter; his face was fuller. He was very handsome.” By June of that year, the couple was engaged. “Around three in the morning, I woke my mother up and told her that I asked Maxine if she would accept a ring from me,” Elliot Rosen said. “My mother told me, until her dying day, from that minute on, she never came down from the ceiling, that she was in the clouds.” Elliot and Maxine Rosen at their wedding Courtesy of Elliot Rosen Why Summer Camp? Th ough every couple’s story is diff erent, the summer camp setting as a hotbed for meet-cutes begs the question: Why do so many young couples meet at summer camp? No one really thinks it’s a coincidence, but for Bonnie Chalfi n, it’s diffi cult to put into words. “It’s just a diff erent kind of connection than, even a day camp or sports team or neighborhood friend group,” she said. “It’s all those similar stories, all the songs and the teams ... It’s just an intangible thing.” Aft er 56 years of marriage, Elliot and Maxine Rosen have seemed to fi gure out what brought them together in an unlikely way. “You see people for who they are. If they’re gonna cheat, it’s something you would see; if they’re not nice to somebody, you would see it; if they’re genuine, you see it,” Maxine Rosen said. “You just see qualities. You’re not hiding behind anything.” JE JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 19 Screening Room Vasil_Onyskiv / iStock / Getty Images Plus Movies and Shows to Watch This Summer JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER T he flow of movie and TV-watching has changed over the past decade or so. No lon- ger do we know exactly when and where to find something new and potentially interesting. We used to follow the title release schedule, then hit the theater or flip to the appropriate channel at a specific time. Now, when the watching mood hits us, we ask if there’s anything interesting on one of the perhaps four or five streaming services to which we subscribe. Occasionally, with that being the key word, there is something worth seeing in the theater as well. But as a viewer, you shouldn’t have to spend so much time just trying to figure what’s out and where. That is why, for the summer of 2022, the Jewish Exponent is here to make this easier for you. These are the movies and shows that you should find this summer. Many of them have at least a tenu- ous Jewish connection. of former General Manager Sam Hinkie’s drafting record, though it sounds like one. Cha Cha Real Smooth (June 17, Apple TV+) The main character in this movie, played by Cooper Raiff, works as “a bar mitzvah party host.” The film, which also stars Dakota Johnson, is get- ting rave early reviews as well. Elvis (June 24, theaters) Director Baz Luhrmann brings his flashy, hit-or-miss directorial style to a story about the “King of Rock and Roll.” The Luhrmann treatment works well with a glitzy subject matter, like the 2013 smash hit movie version of “The Great Gatsby.” The story of Elvis Presley could be another example. Nope (July 22, Theaters) This summer is being hyped from Hollywood to Wall Street as the possible return of the movie theater. If the “Top Gun” sequel on Memorial Day weekend started that narrative, the latest Jordan Peele production may culminate it. Anticipation for “Nope” started all the way back in February with a chilling Super Bowl commercial. Peele is in a class with Quentin Tarantino as one of the only directors left who can still create a theater event with each release. The Musical (August 12, Netflix) This adaptation of an actual musical — about a boy struggling with his parents’ divorce and a move to a new town — appears to build up to a MOVIES Firestarter (May 13, theaters) You can’t make a list of movies with tenuous Jewish connections without including one that features noted Jewish everyman Zac Efron. In “Firestarter,” Efron maintains his attainable status for us Jewish boys by playing a dad. The movie has not gotten good reviews, but it is a Stephen King adaptation, so the story is probably good. The Bob’s Burgers Movie (May 27, theaters) The guy who voices Bob in this critically-ac- claimed animated comedy series-turned movie, H. Jon Benjamin, is Jewish. You probably also need a good laugh these days. Hustle (June 8, Netflix) Adam Sandler plays a basketball scout for the Philadelphia 76ers. I don’t believe this is a satire 20 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Cooper Raiff in “Cha Cha Real Smooth” on Apple TV+  COURTESY OF APPLE TV+ climactic bar mitzvah. Now what’s a better metaphor for the Jewish com- ing-of-age than that? TV SHOWS The Staircase (May 5, HBO Max) I am not normally a true crime per- son. My wife actually just threw this limited series on while I happened to be sitting on the couch. But then a funny thing happened: I got hooked. Colin Firth offers up an Emmy- worthy portrayal of Michael Peterson, the North Carolina novel- ist convicted of killing his wife in the early 2000s. Jewish actor Michael Stuhlbarg, best known for always playing Jewish roles, including gang- ster Arnold Rothstein in “Boardwalk Empire,” turns in another stellar, and very Jewish, performance of his own as Peterson’s defense attorney David Rudolf. Did Peterson throw his wife, Kathleen Peterson, played by Toni Collette, down “The Staircase”? That turns out to be a very loaded question. with Peace of Mind! Compassionate Care The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem (May 20, Netflix) This Israeli series explores some very deep themes in Jewish life, from our relationship with God to our responsibility to honor our elders to the presence of fate in our lives. It also stars Michael Aloni of “Shtisel” fame. God’s Favorite Idiot (June 15, Netflix) A regular, insignificant man, played by Ben Falcone, falls in love, finds God and then realizes that it’s his duty to fight Satan and save the world. I am not sure if this comedy series is a metaphor for surviving your 20s. But I am now interested enough to watch and find out. A League of Their Own (Amazon Prime) It is hard to see how a show based on the classic 1992 movie starring Tom Hanks and Geena Davis could possibly measure up. But while the movie only focused on one season in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, a show could draw out the story of the league’s very real existence from 1943-1954. Either way, there should still be no crying in baseball. JE Visit! Come The Hearth is a very special community, where our residents enjoy the compassionate care, sense of family, a homelike feeling, with beautiful and personalized apartment homes. As a Licensed Assisted Living and Memory Care community, your loved ones can remain living in their new home even as their health and support needs change. For additional information and to schedule your in-person or virtual tour, please go to www.TheHearthAtDrexel.org/Visit or call 1-877-205-9428. Assisted Living • Memory Care • Respite Care 238 Belmont Ave. | Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 www.TheHearthAtDrexel.org jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 21 Day Trip Ideas petrenkod / iStock / Getty Images Plus for Your Summer Weekends JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER I f you are reading this, welcome to your chance to join an exclusive club — the club of people who choose not to go down the shore on summer week- ends and, instead, go on day trips to cool towns. Down the shore on a June, July or August weekend, you will encounter hordes of bodies and minds all do- ing the same activities at the same times. You will be charged for any and all actions that you take in public. And if you happen to power through all this chaos and make it to the beach, you will bake in the midday sun and writhe in sunburn for the remainder of the month. But in a cool downtown on a June, July or August weekend, you will be able to park without turning in your savings account. You will be able to maneuver up and down the sidewalk without weaving through people like a running back in search of a fi rst down. And you will be able to stay cool, literally as well as fi guratively, by ducking into restaurants, bars and shops as you please. Choosing cool towns over the shore on summer weekends is not merely a fi guratively cool thing to do. It’s also a decision to summer it up while retaining your sanity and respect for other people. God imbues all humans with dignity according to the Torah and our nation’s founding alike. But a sum- mer weekend at the shore makes it easy to forget that principle. Don’t forget it. Choose the day trip. Here are some local towns you can visit. Doylestown The county seat of Bucks County also has its most beautiful and active downtown. There are count- less places to eat, drink and eat dessert. Pick an outdoor option so you can eat and take in the scenery at the same time. Newtown Once just a typical suburban town with not much to do, this Lower Bucks County locality has trans- formed its downtown area into an upscale dining and shopping scene in recent years. Media The Delaware County version of Newtown. Ardmore The ever-changing Suburban Square is a desti- nation unto itself, and the stores along Lancaster Avenue are a mix of upscale and quirky. Merchantville, New Jersey’s downtown heartbeat area PHOTOS BY JARRAD SAFFREN 22 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Phoenixville Phoenixville combines so many of the amenities that make a main street great: eateries, places to drink, history and beautiful scenery. West Chester Known largely as a college town, there’s much more than meets the eye, with plenty of dining options and picturesque streets for walking. Narberth After a brief absence, Narberth’s iconic Independence Day fi reworks are back. Although upscale condos are going up seemingly every- where, Narberth remains a quintessential smalltown USA kind of place, with a main drag featuring three pubs, as well as a park with basketball courts where Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant once played. Ambler Just ask anyone who lives near Ambler: It’s back, and you should visit. Maple Shade, New Jersey Maple Shade’s main street is small but exciting. You can eat pizza at Tacconelli’s, grab a beer at Dr. Brewlittle’s Beer Co. and go thrifting, if you’re into that sort of thing. Burlington City, New Jersey A micro city on the Delaware River that Benjamin Franklin used to frequent off ers a lot of history for local buff s. It also has a burgeoning scene of eat- eries, bars and shops. Be sure to stop and stare out at the Delaware for a few minutes halfway through the loop. Burlington City, New Jersey Bordentown City, New Jersey An Italian restaurant, a candy shop and a brew- ery are among the amenities at this other South Jersey micro city. And like Burlington, its history is alive as you walk through it and see the old buildings. Bordentown also displays signs that explain that history. One fun fact is that it was once the home of Thomas Paine, the man whose pamphlet “Common Sense” helped inspire the American Revolution. Lambertville, New Jersey New Hope across the Delaware River is the JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 23 obvious day trip choice for many Philadelphia-area residents. But while New Hope once catered to members of the bourgeoisie looking to get their hippie on for an afternoon, it now just caters to the bourgeoisie, which is why it’s as crowded as the shore on summer Saturdays. Lambertville, just over the bridge, is now the better and more peaceful spot, and with about as many places to eat, drink and shop. Stockton, New Jersey This little borough in Hunterdon County is just pretty to walk through. But it also has a farm market and some nice restaurants. Merchantville, New Jersey This little borough in Camden County is trying to revitalize its downtown area. So far, it only really has a heartbeat stretch that includes a brewery, coffee shop and tavern. But all three are high-quality and, taken together, make the town worth the trip. Collingswood, New Jersey Collingswood and Haddonfield are technically separate towns, but together | Investments | Asset Management | | Capital Markets | Financial advice from a knowledgeable neighbor. E. Matthew Steinberg Managing Director – Investments Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. 165 Township Line Road Jenkintown, PA 19046 (215) 576-3015 matthew.steinberg@opco.com Serving Investors in Philadelphia and South Jersey for 28 Years Forbes is not affiliated with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Transacts Business on All Principal Exchanges and Member SIPC. 4504954.1 24 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM they form a single Camden County stretch with a lot of activity. Pro tip: Do not pick a place to eat until you get there and start walking around. There are too many options. Other pro tip: If you want to watch a game that day, too, end your walk at P.J. Whelihan’s at the edge of North Haddon Avenue in Haddonfield. Rancocas Woods, New Jersey Crafters and antique dealers line this little commercial stretch at the edge of a Mount Laurel neighborhood. Not quite a downtown and not quite a yard sale, Rancocas Woods is something unique in the region. It also has places to eat along the path. Medford, New Jersey Many downtowns today have one brewery. Medford has three. It also offers antique shops, ice cream and a great barbecue place called the Whole Hog Café. That’s a rarity in South Jersey. Walk the loop and choose your brewery along the way. You can’t miss at any of the spots. JE jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com Living (Zero) Proof Restaurants Pivot Toward Alcohol-Free Drinks G one are the days of ordering a virgin Jack and Coke or mimosa at a summer pool party or brunch for those who don’t imbibe alcohol, leav- ing them with a simple soda or glass of orange juice in a sea of fancy cocktails. Slowly but surely, the tides are turning for sober bar and restaurant goers, with more and more restaurants off ering zero-proof counterparts to their extensive menu of spir- it-heavy drinks. Jewish-owned and kosher restaurants in Philadelphia are no exception, and chefs, restaurant owners and bar- tenders note the emergence of these drinks as a sign of changing times for restaurants. “Th ere’s a lot of diff erent social reasons why this is becoming a little bit more popular,” said Steven McAllister, beverage director of CookNSolo, Steve Cook and Michael Solomonov’s restaurant group. McAllister guesses that personal health is the primary reason many are turning to nonalcoholic drinks. “A lot of people realize that alcohol doesn’t necessarily agree with them,” he said. For others who are traveling or jet-lagged, mocktails can provide a distinguished restaurant experience that doesn’t take as much of a physical toll. In the past fi ve to seven years, monthly challenges like Dry January and NAvember (non-alcohol November) have created low-risk, easy entry points for those dipping their toe into an alcohol-free lifestyle. From a consumer perspective, no-alcohol or low- alcohol-by-volume drinks allow simply for more drinking. “It’s really important to off er lower ABV cocktails for people who want to enjoy more drinks and fl avors without the hangover or getting smashed or whatever,” kosher restaurant Charlie was a sinner. owner Nicole Marquis said. Th oughtful zero-proof drinks also help to maintain the atmosphere restaurants work hard to create. “I love going to a really nice bar or really nice lounge and just enjoying that experience, but I don’t want to drink when I’m there, necessarily,” Marquis said. “So I want peo- ple who don’t drink as well to feel like they can still enjoy a really sexy vibe.” But the emergence of mocktails serves just as much a purpose for the back of house, for both the restaurant and chefs behind the scenes. Many chefs have come forward with their experiences struggling with substance abuse, said Ginevra Rieff , the Jewish bartender at Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby’s Vedge in Center City. “A lot of restaurant industry people have always had bat- tles with it,” she said. “Th is young generation, treating the industry diff erently, really values diff erent things.” Following a generation of chefs whose experience in the kitchen was defi ned by verbal abuse, long hours and unhealthy lifestyles, younger chefs are looking to maintain a better balance between their work and family and look aft er their bodies, tired aft er a 12-hour shift . “Th e hospitality industry is hitting its stride in becoming a lot more professional,” McAllister said. “We can get bene- fi ts; you can make a livable wage, whether you’re in front of Courtesy of Charlie was a sinner. SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER Charlie was a sinner.’s spicy pineapple zero- proof cocktail CookNSolo restaurant Laser Wolf’s cocktail lineup Photo by Michael Persico JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 25 house or back house; and there’s a lot of these forward-thinking restaurateurs that are putting these concepts into place.” Solomonov has been outspoken about being sober on social media, and zero-proof drinks have become a way for McAllister to give back to the chef. “I put a lot of eff ort into creating cocktails. And I get to taste the food that Michael makes and that the restaurants make, and it’s like, almost like something I wasn’t able to give back to him,” McAllister said. “So it made me want to put more eff ort — just as much, if not even more — into these zero-proof drinks, so that I could give something for him to enjoy, something for him to be excited about and showcase my talent.” But unlike bars that off er cranberry juice or ginger ale as their only nonalcoholic off erings, restaurants are putting just as much, if not more eff ort into their booze-free beverages. “It just aligned with our food menu, that has seasonal vegetables and very vegetable-for- ward dishes, so I thought that was important for the concept,” Marquis said. Charlie was a sinner. has had mocktails on its menu since its 2014 opening, and Marquis developed a zero-proof gin for the restaurant, using glycerin to mimic the rich mouthfeel of drinking alcohol and botanicals such as juni- per to recreate the spirit’s herbal quality. At Vedge, the bar team considers what 26 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM makes a good drink without booze as its base. “As you’re creating drinks, you’re also con- sidering how they could be used without the alcohol as its structure,” Rieff said. Rieff recently developed a carrot-ginger shrub to be used in both a cocktail and mock- tail for the restaurant. Th e shrub has a vinegar base infused with fresh produce. It’s one of several ingredients that goes into one drink. Vedge also has a drink with a pineapple syrup containing more than 15 components, which takes hours to make. But it’s the eff ort that sets these drinks apart. “It’s not that you can’t do it at home. It’s that you also need an open grill, and you also need high heat, and you also need access to all the spices and to know that those need to be toasted,” Rieff said. “And so a lot of times people are like, ‘Wow, these drinks are amazing,’ and it’s because of the time and eff ort that’s put into them.” For both a restaurant’s effi ciency and phi- losophy around quality ingredients, bar programs aren’t cutting corners to create mocktails. While cocktails are still the most popular drink items on the menu, mocktails have become far from an aft erthought. “I look at zero-proof and my cocktails through the same lens,” McAllister said. “I’m putting in the same amount of eff ort.” JE srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com Steven McAllister is the beverage director for CookNSolo. Photos by Colby Kingston Advertiser Index Sale UP TO 40 % Off* MADE IN ISRAEL *Excludes prior purchases, layaways and other discounts. Shoes only, certain merchandise may be excluded. 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Background: Anastasia Shemetova /iStock / Getty Images Plus JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER I n the next couple of weeks, Jewish camps will open around the region and, upon arrival, camp- ers will take COVID tests to make sure they’re healthy enough to walk to their cabins. If they pass, they may not have to worry about the virus again for the rest of the summer. Unlike in 2021, when restrictions abounded due to the ongoing pandemic, local camp directors are allowing kids and counselors to relax a little this year. Gone are the bubble approaches that required every- one to stay on the grounds, the masks that prevented people from smiling at each other and the cohorts that restricted interaction between bunks. None of this is to say that both overnight and day camp operations are ignoring the threat. If a camper gets COVID, he or she will have to quarantine for fi ve days. Some camps still require vaccinations. But no longer is the pesky virus going to defi ne the summer, as it did when it canceled the 2020 season at many camps and restricted the 2021 season. “We’re on our way to normalcy — or as much as normal might be these days,” said David Weiss, the executive director of Camp Galil in Ottsville. “We’re really looking forward to a very exciting summer, campers and staff coming together again.” Last summer, Galil, an overnight operation with just under 150 campers, canceled out-of-camp trips and required kids to wear masks when they were with other bunks and/or indoors. Th is year, though, the trips are back, and the masks are gone. Weiss feels confi dent because, unlike in 2021, kids under 12 can receive the COVID vaccine. Galil is mandating inoculation shots for campers and staff members in 2022. Weiss, who took over as director in 2014, compared COVID vaccines to other, more Courtesy of Pinemere Camp normal vaccines, which he said the camp always required. “Camps are no strangers to being strong stewards of public health,” he said. “It’s how we weathered Swine Flu (in 2009 and ’10), made the hard decisions in 2020 and came back strong in 2021.” Justin Guida, the director of the Golden Slipper Camp in Stroudsburg, is using rapid testing as his primary mitigation tool. Th e overnight camp will stagger arrivals on the fi rst day to make sure that every camper completes a test and gets a result. If the results are clean, campers can keep walking in. Th at’s enough for Guida and his team. “We think the testing is a great mitigation tool,” he said. Th at approach is diff erent from the one Golden Slipper implemented in 2021. A year ago, the over- night camp tested kids again on the fi ft h day and required masks for out-of-cohort activities. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 29 A Camp Galil activity in 2021 Courtesy of Camp Galil Photographers Golden Slipper campers still got to enjoy their summers last year, despite certain COVID restrictions. Photo by Matvey Lozinsky Th ere were not too many of those activities, either. Campers ate only with their bunks, swam only in small groups and enjoyed electives with just one other bunk. In 2022, though, campers will eat meals together in the dining hall again; boys and girls will come together for free swim; and kids from all bunks can choose electives based on their preferences. Guida said the approach will bring Golden Slipper “pretty much back to normal.” At the same time, he said the lack of restrictions makes him a little ner- vous. But much like a school administrator, he learned 30 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM how to deal with the virus last year. So now, if an out- break happens, he knows he can just revert to 2021 limitations. Golden Slipper had zero cases during its reopening summer a year ago. “I feel good that we have the plans,” Guida said. Golden Slipper has 230 campers signed up for its fi rst 3½-week session. It’s a higher number than last year’s 75% capacity but not as high as the camp’s pre-COVID average. Guida acknowledged that the Stroudsburg operation is still trying to “rebuild.” Other camps in the area, like Pinemere Camp in Stroudsburg, the JCC Camps at Medford in South Jersey and Southampton Summer Day Camp in Bucks County, face a diff erent challenge: Th ey are all back to normal, pre-COVID numbers for 2022. For the JCC Camps, that’s 1,500 kids, up from 200 in 2020 and 1,400 in 2021; for Southampton, it’s 500 instead of the 350 of a year ago; and for Pinemere, the numbers are at record levels for a camp that is cele- brating its 80th anniversary this year: 330 campers in the fi rst session, 275 in the second. At all three camps, directors said they are ready for the increase. Eytan Graubart, the executive director of Pinemere, is requiring two negative tests per person upon arrival and vaccinations for campers and staff members. He is also not allowing overnight off days for counselors, out-of-camp trips to big amusement parks and inter- camp games. “We don’t need to expose 300 kids to another 300 kids that they haven’t been around,” Graubart said. But outside of those limitations, camp activities will resemble 2019 as much as camper numbers. As Graubart put it, kids can come to Pinemere and inter- act with everyone, even those outside of their bunks. And counselors will be allowed to take off days during the day, while out-of-camp trips will be back. “Last year, parents wanted to know everything about it. Th is year, parents are saying we’ve seen our kids go through school, Little League,” the director said. “Th ey are saying, ‘We trust you.’” Graubart takes that responsibility seriously. If nec- essary, Pinemere can quarantine campers at camp or send them home to their families. It can also imple- ment backup schedules if bunks have outbreaks. “A little bit of it depends on the scenario,” Graubart said. Day camps don’t have the same level of responsi- bility since campers go home at night. But they take it seriously, too. Th e JCC Camps at Medford are continuing out- door dining, just like last year, according to Director Sara Sideman. Th ey are also keeping most of their programming outside. Cohorts, though, are gone, while electives are back in full. Perhaps most importantly, masks are gone. “It’s going to be special to see our kids step off the bus and smile that fi rst day,” Sideman said. Southampton leaders are walking a similar tightrope. Like last summer, they are mandating daily health screenings for all campers and staff members before they arrive. Th ey are also going to continue making use of shaded areas for outdoor activities as well as adding an extra outdoor tent for the camp infi rmary. Despite those lingering COVID policies, others are going away. Campers can return to some pop- ular indoor activities like cooking and the arcade. Director Lindsay Blum Schlesinger, who is taking over day-to-day management from her parents, said that some big Southampton events will return in 2022. “Kids have never needed camp more; we can’t wait to see all those smiling faces on the fi rst day,” she added. “Th is will be our 49th summer, and our top priority has always been the health and safety of our campers and staff , and this year will be no diff erent.” JE jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com arts & culture ‘Hustle’ Director Jeremiah Zagar Tells Local Love Story SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER I n “Hustle,” the summer feel-good sports fi lm now streaming on Netfl ix, a luckless basketball scout Stanley Sugarman, played by Adam Sandler, meanders down the streets of South Philadelphia’s Italian Market with his wife Teresa Sugarman (Queen Latifah). Th e neon animal silhouettes in the window of Cannuli’s Quality Meats and Poultry gently light their faces. As Stanley refi nes his scrappy Spanish protege Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangomez) aft er bringing back the amateur sports- man from Mallorca, they play pick-up games at the court in the Capitolo Playground, with Pat’s and Geno’s chees- esteak shops providing an apt backdrop. Th e fi lm — loaded with Philadelphia grit and blink-and-you-miss-it cameos — is the latest project of locally-born Jewish director Jeremiah Zagar. For Sandler and writers Taylor Materne and Will Fetters, the fi lm is a love letter to basketball; for Zagar, it’s a love letter to his home and his childhood. Zagar’s name carries the weight of a dynasty. His parents were artists who shaped the landscape of South Street. His father, Isaiah Zagar, is the mosaicist behind Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens. Raised on John’s Water Ice and his parents’ hippie values, Zagar developed his parents’ same loyalties. “My father writes all over his walls: ‘Philadelphia is the center of the art world, and art is the center of the real world,’” Zagar said. “So ... this idea that Philly was the center of the world was sort of my par- ents’ ethos, and I subscribed.” Zagar frequented the Landmark’s Ritz 5 at the Bourse and the Th eatre of the Living Arts, where he “found refuge” from the noise of being a teenager. He also inherited a love of Philadelphia sports. Sixers player Allen Iverson was Zagar’s hero; he still remembers the out- fi t Iverson’s mother wore to a fi nals game against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001. “Th at’s how much I loved Allen Iverson; I thought about what his mother was wearing,” Zagar said. “I also loved him because he loved his mother so much, and I love my mother so much.” Juancho Hernangomez and Adam Sandler, donning a Federal Donuts sweatshirt, in “Hustle” Courtesy of Scott Yamano/Netfl ix Inevitably, Zagar devoured sports fi lms — “Blue Crush,” “Remember the Titans,” “Hoosiers” — fi nding that sports stories and fi lmmaking had a lot in common. “It seems like an insurmountable thing, making a fi lm; it seems like an impossible dream to achieve a career in sports, but you try anyway,” Zagar said. “I love that process of willing yourself to achieve something impossible. Th at that’s what sports fi lms are about, and that’s what they instill in the audience.” Zagar has his Jewish upbringing to thank in part for the start of his fi lm career. He met producer Jeremy Yaches in the seventh grade at what is now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy. Th e two were in the lower levels of Hebrew classes (Zagar was self-admittedly a “poor” Hebrew speaker) and began making fi lms together, eventually starting Public Record, a Brooklyn production company. Th e duo’s 2008 documentary “In a Dream” about Isaiah Zagar and his art was Emmy-nominated. In 2018, Zagar wrote and directed “We the Animals,” a coming-of-age story. Sandler found and viewed the fi lm, even with the fi lm’s small-audience, indie status. Sandler approached Zagar about directing “Hustle,” but Zagar, despite his love for the script, initially turned the project down, feeling like it didn’t fi t into where his fi lm career was heading. “Th en I couldn’t get the script out of my mind, and so I called him back,” Zagar said. Zagar fi gured he could pair Sandler’s vision of dropping real-life NBA players into a Philadelphia fi lm set with his documentary-style direction. Th e fi lm’s clean and snappy cuts during intense scrimmage scenes are evidence of this. Zagar’s infl uence has a lighter touch in the fi lm, too. Inspired by his relationship with his wife, who is Black, Zagar fi lled the Sugarman household with a mingling of Judaica and African American history. Looking closely, audience members can fi nd a framed photo of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. It’s a detail that encompasses what Zagar wanted to do with “Hustle” and what he believes a director has the power to do with a fi lm: make it one’s own. “You have to be able to give yourself over the project, and the project has to be able to give to you,” Zagar said. “And so you use what’s familiar and comfortable and true.” JE srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 31 food & dining KERI WHITE | SPECIAL TO THE JE I had a great trip to Quebec recently. I highly recommend this jaunt as a relatively easy place to reach while having an authentic feeling of being in a foreign country. The city is beautiful, clean, friendly and accessible. Although there is a thriving food scene, some excellent museums and lots of culture, there is not a signif- icant Jewish community in Quebec. According to my guide, commerce his- torically moved up the river. As many Jews were merchants and business owners, they followed the economic opportunity to other cities, such as Montreal and Toronto, where there are larger Jewish communities today. I had several excellent meals during my trip, one at a trendy restaurant called Don Vegan (donresto.com) — a trendy, hipster place where I was one of the very few guests over 30. But I did not hold that against them; the cock- tails were excellent, and I very much enjoyed my “beet tartare.” I also had a fantastic meal at Chez Boulay, (chezboulay.com) a farm-to- fork (the French Canadian jargon for farm-to-table) place that focuses on hyperlocal ingredients prepared with a French flair. There I enjoyed some spectacular carrots. The chef roasted them “in their soil,” which, full disclo- sure, generated an eye roll from this food writer, then cleaned them, shaved social announcements GRADUATION S SKYLER SCHORK kyler Schork of Villanova graduated from the United States Naval Academy on May 27 with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. Schork is commissioned as a pilot in the Navy. Prior to reporting to Pensacola, Florida, for flight training, Schork will attend Stanford University to pursue a master of science in mechanical engineering. A Trident Scholar, Schork is ranked in the top 5% of the USNA Class of 2022. At USNA, Schork received aca- demic commendations including Commandant’s List (2022 and Courtesy of D. Winter 2021), Superintendent’s List (2020, 2019 and 2018), Golden Key National Honor Society and was recognized for earning the highest grade point average among the Jewish Midshipmen Club. On the athletic front, Schork competed on the Women’s Varsity Rowing Team and was named to the Patriot League All-Academic Team (2022), CRCA National Scholar-Athlete (2021 and 2020) and Patriot League Academic Roll (2021, 2020 and 2019). 32 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Photo by Keri White Vegan Dishes from Quebec 1½ teaspoons capers off a few bits which became crispy 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard carrot chips, and pureed the green 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce carrot tops with mustard to create a 1 teaspoon olive oil delicious sauce. Salt and pepper to taste My version is far simpler — I skip the soil and use parsley for the sauce, although when the farmers market Mix all the ingredients in a medi- offers carrots with their greens, I will um-sized bowl. Chill until ready to likely give the Chez Boulay version serve. Taste for seasoning, and add a whirl. salt and pepper if needed. Beet Tartare Serves 2 This version, created in my kitchen, is not vegan. It uses Worcestershire sauce, which contains small amounts of anchovies. If a vegan dish is required, there are vegan versions of the sauce available at some markets or from online vendors. Failing that, you can use soy sauce, balsamic vinegar or miso paste mixed with water (1:1 ratio). I prefer to boil the beets whole for about 20 minutes, until soft, then peel and cube them. Some more patient cooks roast the beets, wrapped in foil at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes, and that’s fine, too. This dish is best served chilled, so make it a few hours before you plan to serve it. I like it on a bed of lightly dressed arugula with some toast points or Melba rounds. Don Vegan served it garnished with a giant caper, which was aestheti- cally pleasing but not necessary if your home kitchen does not have a spare jar lying around. Quebecois Roasted Carrots with Mustard Sauce Serves 4 1 pound carrots, whole and unpeeled 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided Sprinkle of salt and pepper ½ cup fresh parsley ¼ cup grainy mustard Additional fresh parsley or garnish Heat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and place the carrots in a single layer on it. Toss the carrots with 1 tablespoon of the oil to coat them lightly, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast the carrots in the oven for 30-40 minutes until they are cooked through and beginning to turn golden in places. While the carrots roast, puree the parsley with the mustard and the remaining tablespoon of oil. Taste and, if needed, add salt and pepper. When the carrots are done, place 2 beets, cooked, peeled and diced them in a shallow bowl, and drizzle into small cubes them with mustard sauce. 2 tablespoons finely minced Serve garnished with a few sprigs scallion, white and green parts of fresh parsley, hot or at room 2 tablespoons finely minced parsley temperature. JE local Breaks Fairwold Per his wife’s suggestion, Marx tries to only check his emails for 30 minutes in the mornings and evenings. He tries to respectfully turn down requests for Zoom meetings. Increased access to technology and remote communication has coincided with the pandemic, which has brought another challenge to rabbis. Th e past two years have been an intense time of emotional turmoil, where people are increasingly turning to spiritual lead- ers for guidance, Rabbi Kami Knapp Schechter of Congregation Or Shalom in Berwyn argued. Th ere’s an “immense amount of pressure that’s on the rabbis right now of constantly having to reinvent things and constantly having to be the cheer- leader and holding the community together,” Knapp Schechter said. “On top of also stepping in for fi rst-line responders who are also overwhelmed — so like, therapists and doctors and chaplains, all these people who are spread super-thin — we’re having to step up and kind of fi ll some of those holes.” Even before the pandemic, rabbis had trouble taking breaks, Knapp Schechter argued. Th e nature of the job requires immense emotional fortitude and patience. “I don’t think we really know how to refi ll our cups,” she said. “We’re trying to force ourselves to take breaks. We’re trying to give ourselves permission to take breaks. But it’s really hard, espe- cially when you feel like your commu- nity really needs you.” As rabbis work to fl ex their bound- aries and make the most of their vaca- tions, they’re also putting feelers out, sharing their needs with their lead- ership team, trying to subtly share their experiences with their commu- nity without placing their baggage on congregants. “It’s a hard thing to fi gure out because you, as a rabbi, you want to put on the best face for your community. And you want to give them hope and give them inspiration,” Knapp Shechter said. “So there’s a fi ne line between trying to do that but also being a human being and being authentic about what your expe- riences are.” JE said School District of Philadelphia Chief of Special Education Linda Williams, who attended the dedication. “He knew how to assess, and he knew how to help teachers help children.” “His name should be on this building because he epitomizes what a true educa- tor is,” she added. Th ough not a pulpit rabbi, Feldman became ordained in 2006 aft er complet- ing the online Yeshiva Pirchei Shoshanim program. He was heavily involved in Lower Merion Synagogue and vol- unteered there for 18 years. Feldman brought his spirituality to his job, and his job experience gave him a unique perspective on Jewish texts, according to his son Uri Feldman. “He really brought to the Jewish text that he was studying a perspective from a very well-trained and seasoned practi- tioner,” he said. Feldman was born in Queens, New York, and got his bachelor’s from Queens College. He moved to Philadelphia in the Continued from Page 8 Continued from Page 8 Rabbi Gary Feldman with his grandchildren Courtesy of Uri Feldman 1970s to pursue his doctorate from Temple University and raised his family of three children with his wife in Lower Merion. According to Uri Feldman, his father’s legacy was in his ability to connect the pieces of his life with a strong set of values. “It was a combination of living a life of family and community and pro- fession, all intertwined into one,” he said. JE srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 33 Obituaries OB-GYN, Veteran Howard Isaacson Dies at 99 L SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER ongtime obstetrician and gyne- cologist Dr. Howard Isaacson of Wynnewood, who served in the Air Force after World War II, died May 15 of cancer at Waverly Heights retire- ment community. He was 99. During his 60-plus-year career as an OB-GYN, Isaacson delivered more than 10,000 children, including his three grandchildren. He practiced at Philadelphia General, Haverford, Pennsylvania, Presbyterian, Lankenau and Thomas Jefferson University hospi- tals. He was only the second Jewish doc- tor to practice at Pennsylvania Hospital, according to granddaughter Zoë Slutzky. “He was really just somebody that every- body could trust,” son Bill Isaacson said. A member of Adath Israel in Merion Station, Isaacson was a supporter of a myriad of Jewish organizations, includ- ing the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, B’nai Brith and the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation. “He attended synagogue all his life, and he kept kosher, for example, and those values were important to him. [He] raised his family according to them,” daughter Joan Ockman said. Family members described Isaacson as kind to a fault, which was reflected in his dedication to his job. Ockman remembers her father taking calls during dinner or in the middle of the night. After late-night or early-morn- ing deliveries, he’d come home at dawn and promptly leave again for work for his daily office hours. In the winter, Isaacson would roll down the driveway, jack the car up and tie chains on the tires to drive in the snow. Born in the Bronx and the grandson of Jewish immigrants in 1922, Isaacson grew up in Dr. Howard Isaacson and granddaughter Zoë Slutzky Courtesy of Zoë Slutzky Freehold, New Jersey. His He also befriended a Palestinian father eventually owned a clothing and fabrics store that Isaacson would clock man and his family while living in hours at, teaching himself customer ser- Montgomery. They were lifelong friends, vice and learning admiration for his par- keeping in touch and exchanging gifts for years. ents. “He respected their work ethic, their After his service, Isaacson returned hard work,” Slutzky said. “That infused to Philadelphia, where he completed the way he approached his career.” residences at Jefferson and Philadelphia Isaacson planned to become a gen- General hospitals. He was a practicing eral surgeon and graduated from Rutgers OB-GYN until his retirement in 2003 and University in 1943. continued to advise patients years after. Despite Jefferson Medical College’s After the death of his wife in 1993, quota on Jewish students, Isaacson was Isaacson became partners with Reta accepted there and graduated in 1946. Eisenberg, who died in 2018. The two The war, which sent many young men loved to travel. overseas, increased university demand With a deep love for the the- for students, giving Jews, women and ater, Isaacson shared his passion for other under-enrolled populations the Shakespeare with his family. opportunity to attend. Throughout his life, Isaacson took But Isaacson held his own, Ockman an interest in the hobbies of his loved said: “The story he told was he was inter- ones. He talked about sports and med- viewed and was offered admission on the icine with his son, who is also a doctor, spot. He was very bright and impressed and poetry with his daughter. He kept a them with his intelligence, aptitude.” garden with Slutzky until his mid-90s. He interned at the Philadelphia “He was really a gentleman,” Bill General Hospital in 1947, the same year Isaacson said. “A great, great role he married chemist June Golove. model.” Isaacson joined the Air Force and Isaacson is survived by his two was assigned to the Maxwell Air Force children, Bill Isaacson and Joan Base in Montgomery, Alabama, where, Ockman; three grandchildren; and one instead of performing general surgery, he great-grandchild. JE was asked to deliver babies in the grow- ing baby boomer era. srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com BASS Beverley (nee Feingold)-May 26, 2022, Moorestown, NJ. formerly of Dresher, PA. Wife of Bernard Bass z”l. Mother of Beth Bass Gersten and Bradford (Bryna) Bass. Grandmother of Brittany (Josh), Jack (Su- zanne), Maxwell and Andrew. Great-Grand- mother of Sarah, Jonathan, William, Eliza- beth, and Johnny. Sister of Irene Hyman z”l, Seymour Feingold z”l, and Jeffrey Feingold. PLATT MEMORIAL CHAPELS www.plattmemorial.com CRESKOFF www.jewishexponent.com 34 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Howard J. Creskoff peacefully passed away surrounded by loved ones in his daughter’s home in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania on June 7, 2022 at the age of 81. He was the beloved son of Edith (née Milgram) and Leonard Cre- skoff and was born in Philadelphia on March 26, 1941. Howard was exceptionally close to his siblings and is survived by his older brother, David (Joyce Belchic) and younger sister Susan Creskoff Hirsch (Lar- ry). Howard attended Olney High School, from which he graduated in 1959. He received his B.A. degree four years later from Penn State and was a brother of ZBT. While there, he met his wife-to-be Bet- ty Jane Sauer (BJ). Post college, Howard worked in California after driving cross-country there with his best friend Robert Wechsler and then returned to Philadelphia to at- tend Temple University Law School, graduating in 1966 with a J.D. de- gree. Howard served his country in the United States Army Reserves, where he met life-long friends. Howard’s professional legal career began as an associate attorney in the firm of Freedman, Borowsky, and Lorry in Philadelphia. He be- came a partner and successfully practiced there under the mentor- ship of Bill Lorry. He and a few part- ners later left and formed the firm of Adler, Barish, Daniels, Levin and Creskoff. In 1982, Howard founded his own firm in partnership with Mi- chael J. Rotko. In 1993 he became business partners with Gary Baker, joining Windsor Distribution, Inc. as co-owner. Howard’s legal acumen was recognized by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which ap- pointed him as a judge of its disci- plinary Board where he served for nine years. He was an officer and director of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association for four years. Among his many honors, he re- ceived The Outstanding Volunteer Award from the Legal Aid Society of Philadelphia for pro-bono work. Howard’s charitable work included serving for many years on various boards including Willowcrest-Bam- berger, Albert Einstein Medical Cen- ter, and the Jewish National Fund. Growing up, Howard, along with his parents and siblings, spent blissful summers in Longport on the Jersey shore. He helped build their family home on Sunset Avenue in Long- port in the early 1960’s. All of How- ard’s siblings, nieces, nephews as well as his wife and children spent many summers together there. Howard ultimately built his own fam- ily home in Longport in the mid-70’s, which his children and grandchil- dren enjoy to this day. It would take volumes to write just how wonderful, revered, and kind Howard was and how much help and joy he gave to so many people. He was a car- ing and loving father to daughters Lauren Kline (Chris) and Rebecca Creskoff (Michael Glassner) and a devoted grandfather to Josh, Jen- na, and Maggie Kline and Sadie, Isla, and Goldie Glassner and his step-grandchildren Max (Liz Giam- pa), Ilana (Greg Milstein), David, and Mackenzie Glassner. Howard is also survived by his nieces and nephews; Hope, Nancy, Danny, Stacey, Daria and Brad as well as his faithful and loyal friend, Lucy, his 13-year-old springer spaniel. We mourn the loss of this sweet-na- tured, smart, genial, devoted father, grandfather, attorney, brother, and friend who loved and appreciated the simplest joys in life: a beach, a good book, and family. We are grateful for the compassionate care Howard received from Dr. Michael Mastrangelo at Jefferson and Dr. Lynn Schuchter at Penn. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Howard’s memory to the Tara Miller Melanoma Center at the Abramson Cancer Center, 3535 Market St., Suite 750, Philadelphia, PA 19104. WEST LAUREL HILL FUNERAL HOME www.westlaurelhill.com DONIGER Irene G. (nee Shapiro)-June 6, 2022 of King of Prussia, PA. Be- loved fiancée of the late William Cooper; mother of Robin Galla- gher and Shawn Doniger; adoring grandmother of Bailey, Kenny, and Kyle Gallagher; treasured sister of Larry (Karen), Ira (Joanie), Mat- thew (Lisa), and Douglas (Car- men). Irene was an avid learner and devoted her life to health and spirituality. She began her career as a registered nurse, earned a bachelor’s in nursing, and a mas- ter’s in psychology. She was also a Certified Laughter Trainer. Irene was a builder and founder of Tem- ple Brith Achim in King of Prussia, an active part of P’Nai Or of Phila- delphia, and became ordained as a Magid. In lieu of flowers, contribu- tions in her memory may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice which focuses on feeding the hun- gry or housing the homeless, or to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (alzfdn.org). JOSEPH LEVINE AND SONS www.levinefuneral.com ESCOVITZ Dr. Gerald “Gerry” H. May 29, 2022, of Ardmore. Husband of Francyn Sacks (nee Elion). Father of Kar- en Escovitz (Elizabeth Reilly) and Lisa Kerness (Jay); step father of Rand Sacks (Melissa) and Matthew Sacks (Stephanie); brother of Jo- seph Escovitz (Flavia); grandfather of Ben, Jack, Eli, Justin and Des- mond. Contributions in his memory may be made to Dr. Gerald Esco- vitz Memorial Fund at Freire Char- ter School, Freire Foundation, PO Box 59028, Phila., PA 19102 JOSEPH LEVINE AND SONS www.levinefuneral.com FELDSCHER Helen Gordon Feldscher died peacefully in her sleep, Monday June 6th after a 5-year battle with cancer. Born in 1932, to Al Gordon and Jean Cohen, she grew up in the Kensington section of Philadel- phia. Helen attended Olney High and Temple University. She taught in the Philadelphia School District, and then years later, went back to Temple for a Masters in Psy- chology. She worked as a school psychologist for the Philadelphia School District for most of her ca- reer, even part-time into her 80s. Helen valued people and they val- ued her. She saw the good in ev- eryone. She met the love of her life on the beach in Atlantic City. Mar- ried to Jerome Herbert Feldscher in 1955, she raised a family in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia and then in Plymouth Meeting. Jer- ry passed away in 2015 after 60 wonderful years of marriage. Helen and Jerry spent most summers at the shore, recapturing the mag- ic. They both loved the shore and looked forward to their time there. Helen was very active with her syn- agogue, Tiferet Bet Israel, right up to her last days. For years prior to Covid you could find her there ev- ery day. She always made an effort to stay connected with her friends and family, and was beloved and appreciated for it. Thoughtful and caring, she let people know how she felt about them, and how im- portant they were to her. She was blessed in return by an enormous community of friends and family that felt privileged to have her in their lives. Helen is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Kar- en Feldscher and Dan Winograd, her son and daughter-in-law, Lee Feldscher and Lisa Mintz, and her grandchildren, Adam, Ben, Rebec- ca, Talia and Hayden. Contributions can be made in her honor to Tiferet Bet Israel, Hadassah, the American Cancer Society, University of Penn Abramson Cancer Center, Memo- rial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center or a charity of your choice. JOSEPH LEVINE AND SONS www.levinefuneral.com GUBER Selma Guber (nee Greitzer) on June 7, 2022. Wife of the late Erwin M.; Mother of Stuart (Judy) Guber, Esq. and Wayne Guber. Sister of Cissy Goldstein. Grandmother of Harrison Guber and Paige (Alan) Nochenson. Great grandmother of Raquel, Ayton and Dov. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com IVINS Dr. Richard George, June 8, 2022, of Boothwyn, PA. Father of David Ivins, Jenifer Kronbar (George), Allyson Groff (Steven) and Em- ily Ivins; Brother of Jesse Elin Upchurch and Carole Ann Ivins; Grandfather of Brady, Annabelle, Dylan, Owen, Madelyn, Lucas and Rhys; former spouse of Betsey Wallace Ivins. The family respect- fully requests contributions in lieu of flowers, be made to the Wound- ed Warriors Project (https://www. woundedwarriorproject.org) or Viet- nam Veterans of America (https:// vva.org). JOSEPH LEVINE AND SONS www.levinefuneral.com JAFFE-MYER Nancy (nee Schwartz)-June 1, 2022 of Elkins Park, PA. Beloved wife of the late Eli Jaffe and the late Bill Myer; loving mother of Lee Jaffe (Molly Jaffe), Henry Jaffe (Kathleen Winter), and Steven Jaffe (Debbie Finer); adoring grandmother of JJ Weinberger (Dylan), and Kaitlin Vannatten (Ryan). Services for Nancy were held privately. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her mem- ory may be made to Hadassah Greater Philadelphia (hadassah. org/philadelphia), the American Cancer Society (cancer.org), or Huntington’s Disease Society of America (hdsa.org). JOSEPH LEVINE AND SONS www.levinefuneral.com KAUFMAN Suzi (Nee Golluber)-On June 2, 2022, of Dresher, PA, loving wife of the late Bernard Kaufman, loving mother of David Kaufman (Li Ping Zhong), Stephen Kaufman (Rosely) and Dr. Rachel Kaufman (Nathan Novemsky) sister of Ellen Weiner. She was also cherished by her 5 grandchildren and 8 great grand- children. She was a Philadelphia public school art teacher and librar- ian. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to Ha- dassah or a charity of the donors choice. JOSEPH LEVINE AND SONS www.levinefuneral.com RUDNICK Jeannette (nee Chesin)-June 2, 2022 of Philadelphia, PA. Beloved wife of the late Jesse Rudnick; lov- ing mother of Suzanne Payne (Mi- chael), David Rudnick (Claire), and Barbara Rudnick (Jerry Zeeman); adoring grandmother of Alexandra, Helen, Martha, Max, and Sam. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be directed to the Support Student Scholars depart- ment of Temple University (giving. temple.edu). JOSEPH LEVINE AND SONS www.levinefuneral.com SELTZER Geraldine K. “Gerry” (nee Kram- er) on June 9, 2022. Beloved wife of the late Louis E.; Loving father of David Seltzer (Shari), Robert Seltzer (Susan) and Deborah Selt- zer Cohen; Dear sister of Eleanor Shaffer; Devoted Grandmother of Matthew (Stacy) Seltzer, Jeremy (Liora) Seltzer, Sara (Jason) Kreis- man, Rabbi Joel (Eliana) Seltzer, Rachel (Dr. Scott) Goldstein, Jes- sie Fast, Jacob (Sarah Waxman) Cohen, Rachel Cohen, and Dr. Jonah Cohen; Adoring great-grand- mother of Gabrielle, Avi, and Jor- dana Seltzer, Leo and Maya Selt- zer, Samuel, Isaac, Asher and Nili Kreisman, Ayelet, Talia and Noa Seltzer, Zoe and Tessa Goldstein, and Elan and Aliza Cohen. Mrs. Seltzer was an Elementary school teacher at Solis Cohen Elementa- ry where she oversaw Spotlight on People, a desegregation program for the school district of Phila. She received an award from the city due to this program. After retiring from teaching, she became an artist and painted a series of 24 paintings using the Holocaust as a theme. These paintings were showcased at Gratz College. She was also an amateur musician, a former long- time member of Temple Sinai and Cong. Adath Jeshurun. Contribu- tions in her memory may be made to Alzheimer’s Assoc., 225 N. Mich- igan Ave, Fl 17, Chicago, IL 60601, www.alz.org or Bancroft School Development Office, 1255 Caldwell Rd., Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 or to a charity of the donor’s choice. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com SWIMMER Alan N., June 2, 2022. Husband of the late Evelyn Swimmer (nee Feld- man). Father of Todd Swimmer and Susan (James) Brennan. Brother of Harry (the late Marilyn) Swimmer. Grandfather of Amelia and Simone Brennan. Services and interment private. Contributions in his mem- ory may be made to Congregation Ohev Shalom, 2 Chester Rd., Wall- ingford, PA 19086, www.ohev.net or to the Community Arts Center, 414 Plush Mill Rd., Wallingford, PA 19086, www.communityartscenter. org. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com WEINBAUM Miriam J Weinbaum(née Brown), died on June 6, 2022, in Rye, NY; Beloved wife of the late Alexander S Weinbaum, III; Loving mother of Ann Sacher (Bill), and Steven(Janet); Devoted bubby to Emily and Alexan- dra Sacher and Seth, Elliot, and Adi- na Weinbaum. Sister of Bea Match- en and the late Jacob Brown. Miriam was born on November 19, 1934 in south Philadelphia and proudly resided in Philadelphia for most of her life. After graduating from South Philadelphia High School for Girls and Temple University, she taught kindergarten for several years at the Francis Reed school. She was a long time member of Congregations of Shaare Shamayim. Donations can be made to Congregations of Shaare Shamayim or the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 35 synagogue spotlight What’s happening at ... Ohev Shalom Synagogue Ohev Shalom Continues to Survive and Grow JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER O hev Shalom of Bucks County opened in 1976 — just as Jews were moving to the area — and, in that time, it has reflected the evo- lution of the area’s Jewish community. From the mid-1970s through the ’90s, the Conservative synagogue grew from 25 founding families to more than 700 members, as baby boomers sought a place to attend High Holiday services and for their children to attend preschool and religious school. But since the late ’90s, Ohev’s membership has declined to about 425 families. Yet in many ways for this Richboro community, less is more. Today’s con- gregants are not, on average, joining for their kids to have a place to grow up Jewish, as Ohev only holds 15-20 bar and bat mitzvahs a year, compared to three or four on a given weekend a few decades ago. Instead, they are joining so they can have a place to practice Judaism and come together in community. Executive Director Barbara Glickman recently started a walking club in a local park. It’s the first life- style-type club in the 46-year history of the temple, according to Rabbi Eliott Perlstein, who has been with the syna- gogue since the beginning. And more of those types of activities may follow. Glickman wants to open a yoga club. Perlstein may ask congre- gants if they are interested in doing Torah study in the park. “We’ve become a boutique syna- gogue,” the rabbi said. Perlstein and other Ohev leaders saw the change coming as far back as 2016 when they decided to change their financial model. For decades, like many other Conservative and Reform shuls in the Philadelphia area, Ohev operated on a hierarchical system for paying dues. Essentially, if you paid X amount, you became a member. But the financial transaction came first and foremost. 36 Rabbi Eliott Perlstein of Ohev Shalom of Bucks County A Passover activity at Ohev Shalom of Bucks County Photo by Barbara Glickman Courtesy of Rabbi Eliott Perlstein In 2016, though, Perlstein and his team decided to let families join with- out paying anything. They could put their children through religious school from ages 4-7 and still not pay a dime. At that point, if they wanted to join, they could start paying dues. “Would families want to be members when the time came?” Perlstein asked. The answer was pretty much “yes.” Perlstein said the retention rate for such members is more than 90%. Once they joined and became part of the community, they wanted to stay. Ohev’s membership was stagnant before it changed its payment plan, according to Perlstein. Since then, the synagogue has attracted new members who may not have joined otherwise. The rabbi disputes the notion that millennials are not interested in join- ing things. He said synagogues just need to meet them where they are. “They hear that there’s a synagogue interested in reaching out to people, and it’s not all about the bottom line,” the rabbi said. To be clear, Ohev’s bottom line is still pretty strong. JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Perlstein described a membership of more than 400 families as “relatively large.” Ohev also has more than 100 students in its religious school, though it no longer offers a preschool. And while the bar and bat mitzvah schedule is not as busy as it once was, there is still more than one a month. As it approaches its 50th anniver- sary, Ohev remains a functional and well-adapted institution. Perlstein, Glickman and Cantor Annelise Ocanto-Romo believe the temple’s values are to thank for its ability to survive. No matter what may be going on outside its doors, the Richboro con- gregation takes the same approach to growing with the times. Perlstein describes it as tradition plus creativity. A continued emphasis on Conservative elements of Judaism like Kashrut and the Conservative prayer book combines with a consistent will- ingness to embrace change, such as allowing girls to have bat mitzvahs on Shabbat morning, which Ohev started as soon as it opened, unlike other Conservative synagogues of the day. “We started off with full equality,” Perlstein said. Glickman joined Ohev in 1999 because she was looking for a preschool for her children. Ocanto-Romo took on her role in 2015 after serving at a syn- agogue in Worcester, Massachusetts. Both spoke of the same feeling when they first walked in and started engag- ing in temple activities. “Everybody was super welcoming and very friendly,” Glickman said. “I just felt the warmth,” Ocanto- Romo added. So did her husband, a Jew by choice. “Ohev was inviting him to come,” the cantor said. Ocanto-Romo runs the bar and bat mitzvah tutoring program at the syn- agogue and, in her role, led another important change for the Conservative community — allowing non-Jewish parents to stand on the bimah next to their Jewish spouses during their chil- dren’s bar and bat mitzvahs. “The cantor is right,” Perlstein said. “It’s a very major change.” JE jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com d’var torah Acting in Our Higher Selves BY RABBI VALERIE JOSEPH A Parshat Beha’alotcha lot happens in this week’s Parshat Beha’alotcha. • G-d tells Moses to assign his brother Aaron to “lift up” and light the golden menorah; • Th e Levites purify themselves as they begin their service in the Tabernacle; • Pesach Sheni, a second Passover, is created for those who couldn’t par- take in the fi rst Passover off ering; • A cloud cover covers the Israelite camp and lift s when they are to con- tinue on their journey; • Silver trumpets are made to call the people to assembly; • Th e Israelites complain about the taste of manna and wish for meat; prophets prophesize; • Miriam and Aaron are stricken by Tzaraat (skin disease) aft er Miriam speaks lashon hara. Th e last event — Miriam’s sudden illness — brings forward a remarkable response by Moses as he recites one of the shortest prayers in the Torah: “And Moshe cried unto the Lord, say- ing, ‘Please God, heal her (Miriam), I beseech you” (Numbers 12:13). In “El Na Refah Na Lah,” we learn greatness from this simple and humble act by Moses. Just a few sentences ear- lier his sister (and Aaron his brother) had spoken against him; the siblings accuse their brother of making a poor choice in marriage. It was an act that could have started a rebellion among the grumbling masses and angered G-d so much that he called a family meet- ing and struck Miriam with Tzaraat as punishment. Many of us would have reacted as G-d did, with anger. But Moses, the self-eff ac- ing leader, had forgiven Miriam already, and his behavior provided enlightenment and a model of behavior. Moses then responds to G-d’s punishment with for- giveness and prayer for her well-being, her refuah shlemah (complete healing). Perhaps he remembered with gratitude that as a young girl: • Miriam in her greatness saved his infant life, an event that was instru- mental in Moses growing up in the home of Pharoah’s daughter and ini- tiating the Exodus; • Sparked the enthusiasm and appre- ciation of the Israelites by leading the dancing with timbrels aft er walking through the Red Sea; • Created the well that bears her name, which provided fresh water in the desert for the Israelites. Th e custom of praying for the sick comes from this parshah. Among the many actions that we can admire in Moses, one of the most signif- icant — and one which we can emulate to this day — is holding the sick in our thoughts and prayers by reciting a mi sheberach (prayer for healing). “So Miriam was shut out of camp seven days; and the people did not march on until Miriam was readmitted” (Numbers 12:15). Equally important, for seven days the Israelites stopped in their tracks. Arguments, complaints and disagree- ments were set aside. Th e delay must have seemed interminable. Th e Israelites did not journey on, despite their constant impatience and complaints in other mat- ters during 40 years in the desert. In turn, Miriam was given veneration due to her, and the community’s support- ive willingness to stay brought honor in the eyes of G-d not only to an ill sister but also to her family member, Moses. In reading the text, we see and under- stand what the Torah considers most important in life. When the commu- nity — including Moses — cries out for healing, the power of their love and connection to each other comes to the forefront. While it’s not possible to know if prayer works or G-d exists, “Ninety per- cent (range 84-90%) of medical schools have courses or content on spirituality and health (S&H)” (G. Lucchetti, 2012). We know that Moses lived a long life of 120 years, and Miriam lived a long life also. Th ere may be many reasons for this, but one common explanation is that their lives were extended by virtue of humble- ness in the face of interpersonal confl icts. In the Talmud, there is a discussion on why certain rabbis lived long lives. “Rabbi Nehunya ben Hakana was asked by his disciples: Why were you blessed with longevity? He said to them: ‘In my days, I never attained veneration at my fellow’s degradation. Nor did my fel- low’s curse go up with me upon my bed. And I was openhanded with my money’” (Talmud Megillah 28). Another sage, Rabbi Zeira, cites similar virtues for growing quite old: “Rabbi Zeira was asked by his disciples: Why were you blessed with longevity? He said to them, ‘In my days, I was never angry inside my house. Nor did I ever walk ahead of someone who was greater than me.’” Quite a few more rabbis cite that their meriting a long life is not only due to Torah study, but also being generous, charitable, respectful, forgiving, not hold- ing on to anger, and kind to others. May we all be reminded of what is dear to us and treasure those moments. JE LEGAL DIRECTORIES BUSINESS DIRECTORIES Rabbi Valerie Joseph is a National Association of Veterans Affairs Chaplains and Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains certifi ed retired Veteran’s Hospital chaplain. Th e Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia is proud to provide diverse perspectives on Torah commentary for the Jewish Exponent. Th e opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not refl ect the view of the Board of Rabbis. nmls 215-901-6521 • 561-631-1701 Full Charge Bookkeeper (QuickBooks Pro) Available for absent employees due to sickness, maternity leave, vacation Excellent skills, Prompt, Dependable Call 215-886-2429 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 37 calendar FRIDAY, JUNE 17 C R A FT BE E R A N D B LU E S MON DAY, JU N E 20 MAHJONG GAME Melrose B’nai Israel Emanu-El Sisterhood invites the community to join our weekly mahjong game at 7 p.m. Cost is $36 per year or free with MBIEE Sisterhood membership. For more information, call 215-635- 1505 or email office@mbiee.org. 8339 Old York Road, Elkins Park. T U E SDAY, JU N E 21 ‘EAT - PRAY - LOVE’ Why do Jews eat a triangle-shaped dough on Purim? What is the importance of dates in Islam? These questions and more will be the focus of this virtual course. Each week in June, Golden Slipper on the Main Line will explore a different religious tradition and the food that is accompanied by it. 11 a.m. Contact msimonhazani@goldenslipper.org or 610-359-8632 for more information. BINGO WITH BARRY Join Barry at Tabas Kleinlife for an afternoon of bingo from 12:30-3:30 p.m. on June 21, 22 and 23. Free parking and free to play with snacks available on June 22. For more information, call 215-745-3127. 2101 Strahle St., Philadelphia. ‘MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY’ Join Cantor Jacob Agar and the band at Beth Sholom Congregation for a Craft Beer and Blues Shabbat. Snacks at 5:45 p.m. with extended oneg and craft beer following the service. Visit bethsholomcongregation.org for more information. 8231 Old York Road, Elkins Park. FRI DAY, J UN E 17 PARSHA FOR LIFE Join Rabbi Alexander Coleman, Jewish educator and psychotherapist at the Institute for Jewish Ethics, at 9 a.m. for a weekly journey through the Torah portion of the week with eternal lessons on personal growth and spirituality. Go to ijethics.org/weekly-torah- portion.html to receive the Zoom link and password. 38 BLUEGRASS SHABBAT There will be a very different Shabbat service at Temple Brith Achim tonight. As part of the synagogue’s year-long 50th anniversary celebration, the Boston-based Jewish bluegrass band Kol Kahol will lead the regular Friday night service at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact Temple Brith Achim at 610-337-2222. JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM The institute for Jewish Ethics presents a discussion on disagreeing with dignity with Rabbi Anthony Manning at noon. Who should we tolerate, and who should we oppose? Can there be multiple truths? How do we express ourselves in ways that honor our own beliefs without putting others down? ijeseminars.com/products/ my-way-or-the-highway. HOARDING SUPPORT Join Jewish Family and Children’s Service and participants who have completed a prior hoarding support group program from 4-5 p.m., in a supportive community where you will learn tools to address compulsive acquiring and saving while deepening your understanding of clutter and how you got here. To register or for more information on sliding-scale options, contact Rivka Goldman at 267-256-2250 or rgoldman@ jfcsphilly.org. W E D N E SDAY, JU N E 22 BIBLICAL THEMES IN MUSIC Join Golden Slipper on the Main Line at 10 a.m. as we explore how historical biblical leaders (and villains) inspired composers’ music for the stage and the concert hall in a virtual lecture. Contact msimonhazani@goldenslipper. org or 610-359-8632 for more information. ‘NEW HOLLYWOOD’ SERIES In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a new breed of young filmmakers infiltrated Hollywood. This four- week virtual course by Golden Slipper on the Main Line looks at the revolution that occurred in the movie business during that period when a young Steven Spielberg became the most successful filmmaker in history. 11:15 a.m. Contact msimonhazani@ goldenslipper.org or 610-359-8632 for more information. HOARDING SUPPORT Join Jewish Family and Children’s Service and like-minded individuals from April 13-July 27 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., in a supportive community where you will learn tools to address compulsive acquiring and saving while deepening your understanding of clutter and how you got here. To register or for more information on sliding-scale options, contact Rivka Goldman at 267-256-2250 or rgoldman@jfcsphilly.org. TH U RSDAY, JU N E 23 LINDY SUMMERFEST Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media is partnering with the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History for Lindy SummerFest 2022, a summer film series. The last of three premieres on Thursday nights will be at the newly reopened Dell Theater, located in the concourse level of the museum. Visit phillyjfm. org/tribe-events/category/lindy- summerfest-2022 for more information. 101 S. Independence Mall E., Philadelphia. JE zmurciuk_k / iStock / Getty Images Plus JUNE 17–JUNE 23 1 Courtesy of AJC Philadelphia/Southern NJ 4 2 Courtesy of LookPR 2 5 3 3 Photo by Missy Dietz Courtesy of the Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties Photo by Jay Gorodetzer Photography Courtesy of the Abrams Hebrew Academy Out & About around town 6 1 The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority provided the Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties with a $685,000 multiyear grant to support outpatient counseling services. 2 The Philly Friendship Circle raised $350,000 at its annual gala. 3 The Abrams Hebrew Academy had a fun-filled field day celebrating the end of the school year. 4 The American Jewish Committee Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey hosted training for Philadelphia officials on dealing with antisemitism on June 3. 5 Dr. Jason Bresler, clinical director of Special Olympics PA Healthy Athletes, and Temple University dental students provided oral health and dental screenings, oral hygiene instructions and nutritional counseling to athletes at the Special Olympics PA Summer Games at Penn State University over the June 4-5 weekend. 6 The 15th Cis Golder “Quality of Life” Luncheon and Fashion Show at Boyds Philadelphia raised more than $50,000 for women in financial need due to breast cancer. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 39 last word Debbie Albert SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER D ebbie Albert was often gawked at by her public school class- mates in the cafeteria during Passover, her kosher meals drawing unwanted attention. That is how it was for most of the year: Albert was one of the few kids in her town who kept kosher and built a sukkah on Sukkot — one of the few religious Jews. But over the summers, things were different. For eight weeks out of the year for eight years, Albert, along with a gaggle of Jewish teens, would spend each morning singing “Hatikvah,” each Friday night celebrating Shabbat at Camp Ramah in the Poconos. The feel- ings of isolation and otherness Albert had for the other 44 weeks of the year melted away. “When you’re at camp, you don’t have to explain your Judaism,” Albert said. “It’s just part of your being.” It’s that feeling that kept her coming back to Ramah, not only as a camper but as a member of Camp Ramah in the Poconos’ board of directors. As president of the board since October 2019 — and a board member for another seven years — Albert, 61, has steered the camp and its three prongs (the sleepaway camp, day camp and Tikvah program for disabled campers) during two pandemic summers. After a camp-less summer in 2020, 2021 brought a unique challenge. Kids were thrilled to return to camp, but a year of pandemic living left its mark on campers’ mental health. “The kids had one of the best sum- mers of their lives; the staff had maybe one of the hardest of their lives,” Albert said. Ramah staff paid extra emotional care to campers, helping them adjust to being back around a large group of kids or being away from parents after a year cooped up in their homes. As 2022 and a new normal approaches, it provides another opportunity to take 40 stock of the almost 50 years Albert has been involved in Ramah. It will also be her first time returning to camp since becoming board president. “Everything and nothing” has changed since Albert was a camper, she said. A new generation of campers raised on technology are arriving at camp, but they are happy to relinquish their JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM phones for the summer. Many even say that’s the best part of the eight-week experience, Albert said. Without kids tethered to their phones, Ramah has maintained the founding spirit of the camp. “The thing that hasn’t changed is the way we celebrate Shabbat and the way we talk about Israel,” Albert said. “The values of Judaism have remained intact, of course, and that’s been the same since the ’50s, when camp started, to today.” Albert sent her kids to Camp Ramah in the Poconos and continued to donate money to the organization but didn’t take on a leadership role there for decades after her time as a camper. After getting a bachelor’s degree in journalism from George Washington University, Albert, a Dresher resident, returned to Philadelphia to work as an assignment editor for channels 3 and 6 news. Her time in journalism was short- lived, however, due to burnout from the job. She coincidentally got in touch with her 12th-grade teacher around the same time, who helped Albert pivot toward public relations. Albert worked for the Spectrum area and var- ious trade organizations before joining Aramark for 15 years. In 2010, Albert left Aramark to build her own PR company but later rejoined Aramark under the new title of senior vice president of Corporate Communications. Camp Ramah was never far from Albert’s thoughts. A member of both Adath Israel in Merion Station and Temple Sinai in Dresher, Albert has always been involved in the Jewish community. She’s still in touch with her edah, her cohort of campers, many of whom she met in 1973. “I talk to them all the time,” Albert said. “When you live with people ... it creates a bond that lasts a long time. Forever, I would have to say.” The longevity of their friendship exists outside of the campgrounds, but it is also unique to the experience of Camp Ramah. “You’re surrounded by teachers and rabbis and the culture and Zionism in a way that you can’t be in our secular world,” Albert said. “When you go there, you’re having the time of your life, and you’re being Jewish, and it’s seamless.” JE srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com Courtesy of Debbie Albert READIES FOR A RETURN TO SUMMER CAMP SEASHORE SALE LOVE where you LIVE VOTED ATLANTIC COUNTY BOARD OF REALTORS 2020 REALTOR OF THE YEAR! *TOP 10 in the country out of all Berkshire Hathaway agents *GCI 2019 NEW LISTING! MARGATE $5,400,000 FINALLY! OPEN BAYFRONT WITH BREATHTAKING VIEWS IS NOW AVAILABLE! THIS MANSION HAS IT ALL! NEW LISTING!! 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Get free infor- mational package and learn how to get rid of your time- share! Free consultations. Over 450 positive reviews. Call 855-402-5341 TUTORING EDUCATION PLUS Private tutoring, all subjects, elemen.-college, SAT/ACT prep. 7 days/week. Expd. & motivated instructors. (215)576-1096 www.educationplusinc.com LEGALS GRAND SWAP CORP. has been incorporated under the provisions of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988. Moonjelly Foundation has been incorporated under the provisions of the PA Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988. Cheshire Law Group Clarkson-Watson House 5275 Germantown Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19144 Notice is hereby given that an Application for Registration of Fictitious Name was filed in the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on June 02, 2022 for Spring House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at 905 Penllyn Pike, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA 19002. The entity interested in such business is Silver Stream Nursing and Rehab Facility LLC, whose Commercial Registered Office provider’s address is 905 Penllyn Pike, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA 19002. in Montgomery County. This was filed in accordance with 54 PaC.S. 311. Notice is hereby given that Articles of Incorporation for a Domestic Non-Profit Corporation were filed in the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for Mural Miles, Inc. This Corporation is Incorporated under the provi- sions of the Pennsylvania Non- Profit Corporation Law of 1988, as amended. Notice is hereby given that Articles of Incorporation were filed for HM Express Distribution Inc. with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The corporation’s registered office is 3235 Sunset Lane, Hatboro PA 19040 in Montgomery County. This corporation is incorporated under the provisions of the Business Corporation Law of 1988, as amended. Notice is hereby given that Articles of Incorporation were filed in the Department of State of The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania June 06, 2022 for BRIGHT SHINE LICENSED BEHAVIOR ANALYST P.C. under the provisions of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988, as amended. QUEVIZ HOME IMPROVEMENT, INC has been incorporated under the provisions of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988. VBraccia Construction Inc. has been incorporated under the provi- sions of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988. Eastburn & Gray, P.C. 60 East Court Street PO Box 1389 Doylestown, PA 189017719 ENTERPRISES INC. has been incorporated under the provisions of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988. McCreesh, McCreesh, McCreesh & Cannon 7053 Terminal Square Upper Darby, PA 19082 CBS Kosher Food Program is a federally funded non-profit food program that provides day care centers, schools, after schools, and summer food programs with nutri- tious child-friendly meals. Entities are invited to request a proposal to bid on the rental of kosher kitchen for three years lease agreement. Request for RFP should be emailed to blake@cbsfoodprogram.com by July 7, 2022 with Reference #CBSKK22-25. Awarded entity will be notified in writing by July 21, 2022. ESTATE OF KENNETH M. CLARK a/k/a KENNETH CLARK, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to KATHLEEN J. SCANNELL, ADMINISTRATRIX, c/o Harry Metka, Esq., 4802 Neshaminy Blvd., Ste. 9, Bensalem, PA 19020, Or to her Attorney: HARRY METKA 4802 Neshaminy Blvd., Ste. 9 Bensalem, PA 19020 ESTATE OF BARRY J. MAGARICK Magarick, Barry J. late of Philadelphia, PA. Rochelle Magarick, 1810 S. Rittenhouse Sq., Apt. 1703, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Executrix. Edward J. Campanella, Esq. 477 West Valley Rd. Wayne, PA 19087 ESTATE OF Dennis S Barr, DECEASED LETTERS on the above Estate have been granted to the under- signed, who request all persons having claims or demands against the Estate of the decedent to make known the same, and all persons indebted to the decedents to make payment without delay, to Siana Ritzinger Administratrix CTA Or to Attorney Vincent Carosella, Jr., Esq. Carosella & Associates, P.C. 882 South Matlack Street, Suite 101 West Chester, PA 19382-4505 610-431-3300 diana@carosella.com ESTATE OF DOROTHY R. JONES a/k/a DOROTHY RICE JONES, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been grant- ed to the undersigned, who re- quest all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to CHERYL JONES- DIX, EXECUTRIX, c/o Roy Yaffe, Esq., One Commerce Square, 2005 Market St., 16th Fl., Philadelphia, PA 19103-7042, Or to her Attorney: ROY YAFFE GOULD YAFFE AND GOLDEN One Commerce Square 2005 Market St., 16th Fl. Philadelphia, PA 19103-7042 ESTATE OF EDWARD W. WASSER, JR., DECEASED. Late of Warminster Township, Bucks County, PA LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to ELIZABETH DOYLE, EXECUTRIX, c/o Wendy Fein Cooper, Esq., 50 S. 16th St., Ste. 3530, Philadelphia, PA 19102, Or to her Attorney: WENDY FEIN COOPER DOLCHIN, SLOTKIN & TODD, P.C. 50 S. 16th St., Ste. 3530 Philadelphia, PA 19102 ESTATE OF FRANCIS J. LEE, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to KEW LEE, EXECUTOR, 321 Box Run Circle, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234 ESTATE OF HILDA GRACE MITCHELL a/k/a HILDA G. MITCHELL, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to LATISHA DENISE BRANCH, EXECUTRIX, 355 Kevin Court, Philadelphia, PA 19116, Or to her Attorney: MARK J. DAVIS CONNOR ELDER LAW 644 Germantown Pike, 2-C Lafayette Hill, PA 19444 ESTATE OF JAMES SCHWOERER a/k/a JAMES E. SCHWOERER, JAMES EDWARD SCHWOERER, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to VANESSA A. SCHWOERER, EXECUTRIX, c/o Harry Metka, Esq., 4802 Neshaminy Blvd., Ste. 9, Bensalem, PA 19020, Or to her Attorney: HARRY METKA 4802 Neshaminy Blvd., Ste. 9 Bensalem, PA 19020 ESTATE OF JEANNE MATTHEWS Anderson, DECEASED LETTERS on the above Estate have been granted to the under- signed, who request all persons having claims or demands against the Estate of the decedent to make known the same, and all persons indebted to the decedents to make payment without delay, to Kenneth M. Anderson, Jr., Executor Or to Attorney Vincent Carosella, Jr., Esq. Carosella & Associates, P.C. 882 South Matlack Street, Suite 101 West Chester, PA 19382-4505 610-431-3300 diana@carosella.com ESTATE OF JOANNE T. PFEIFER, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or de- mands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to ANNE-MARIE GIBBONS, EXECUTRIX, 1607 E. Eyre St., Philadelphia, PA 19125 ESTATE OF JOHN MICHAEL BORUCH a/k/a JOHN BORUCH, JOHN M. BORUCH, SR., DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to JOHN MICHAEL BORUCH, EXECUTOR, 10 Trout Trail, Delanco, NJ 08075, Or to his Attorney: BETH B. MCGOVERN Trevose Corporate Center 4624 Street Rd. Trevose, PA 19053 ESTATE OF JOHN THOMAS GALLAGHER aka John T. Gallagher Gallagher, John Thomas aka Gallagher, John T. late of Philadelphia, PA. John Michael Gallagher, c/o David W. Crosson, Esq., Crosson Richetti & Daigle, LLC, 609 W. Hamilton St., Suite 210, Allentown, PA 18101, Executor. Crosson Richetti & Daigle, LLC 609 W. Hamilton St. Suite 210 Allentown, PA 18101 ESTATE OF JOSEPH ALFRED DANIELS a/k/a JOSEPH DANIELS, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been grant- ed to the undersigned, who re- quest all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebt- ed to the decedent to make pay- ment without delay to DANIELLE WILSON and CHANTELL L. POOLE, EXECUTRICES, c/o Arnold Machles, Esq., Two Bala Plaza, Ste. 300, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004, Or to their Attorney: ARNOLD MACHLES Two Bala Plaza, Ste. 300 Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 ESTATE OF JOSEPH CHARLES GRAHAM a/k/a JOSEPH C. GRAHAM, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to MARY DUPLINSKY, EXECUTRIX, c/o Justin M. Pilchman, Esq., P.O. Box 70, Newtown, PA 18940, Or to her Attorney: JUSTIN M. PILCHMAN STUCKERT AND YATES P.O. Box 70 Newtown, PA 18940 ESTATE OF JOSEPH LOMAZOFF Lomazoff, Joseph late of Philadelphia, PA. Gene Lomazoff, c/o Jeffrey R. Solar, Esquire, 349 Bustleton Pike, Front Office Bldg., Feasterville, PA 19053, Executor. Jeffrey R. Solar, Esquire 349 Bustleton Pike Front Office Bldg. Feasterville, PA 19053 ESTATE OF JOSEPH T. HASSEY /k/a JOSEPH THOMAS HASSEY, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to PAULETTE HASSEY, EXECUTRIX, 301 Hartel Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19111 ESTATE OF KATHLEEN MARTINO Martino, Kathleen late of Philadelphia, PA. Richard Martino and David Martino, 1715 S. 11th St., Philadelphia, PA 19148, Co-Administrators. George V. Troilo, Esq. Law Offices of Gregory J. Pagano, PC 1315 Walnut St., 12th Fl. Philadelphia, PA 19107 ESTATE OF LORRAINE M. MACH Mach, Lorrraine M. late of Philadelphia, PA. Lorraine K. Higman, 4489 E. Allen St., Philadelphia, PA 19137 and Edward S. Mach, 2822 Lefevere St., Philadelphia, PA 19137, Executors. Andrew I. Roseman, Esquire 1528 Walnut St. Suite 1412 Philadelphia, PA 19102 ESTATE OF MARSHA DUBIN, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to HOWARD M. SOLOMON, ADMINISTRATOR, 1760 Market St., Ste. 404, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to his Attorney: HOWARD M. SOLOMON 1760 Market St., Ste. 404 Philadelphia, PA 19103 ESTATE OF MILDRED GRALNICK, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION CTA on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to FRANCIS WAYNE HOLTON, ADMINISTRATOR CTA, c/o Martin J. Pezzner, Esq., 100 W. Sixth St., Ste. 204, Media, PA 19063, Or to his Attorney: MARTIN J. PEZZNER GIBSON & PERKINS, PC 100 W. Sixth St., Ste. 204 Media, PA 19063 ESTATE OF PAUL ZAFFO a/k/a PAUL ZAFFO, JR., DECEASED. Late of Lower Merion Township LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to Barbara Zaffo, Administratrix, c/o Amy W. Sosnov 540 Swede St., Norristown, PA 19401 ESTATE OF QUYNH BUI, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to HELEN BUI VO, ADMINISTRATRIX, c/o Daniella A. Horn, Esq., 2202 Delancey Place, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to her Attorney: DANIELLA A. HORN Klenk Law, LLC 2202 Delancey Place Philadelphia, PA 19103 ESTATE OF SAMUEL F. BROWN, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or de- mands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to BARBARA ANN BROWN, EXECUTRIX, c/o Adam S. Bernick, Esq., 2047 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to her Attorney: ADAM S. BERNICK LAW OFFICE OF ADAM S. BERNICK 2047 Locust St. Philadelphia, PA 19103 ESTATE OF SAUL MAURICE SCHWARTZ a/k/a SAUL M. SCHWARTZ, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to FREDERICK SCHMALHEISER, EXECUTOR, 4161 Harlem Rd., Amhurst, NY 14226, Or to his Attorney: MARK S. HARRIS KRAUT HARRIS, P.C. 5 Valley Square, Ste. 120 Blue Bell, PA 19422 ESTATE OF STEPHEN JOSEPH SENDZIK a/k/a STEPHEN SENDZIK, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to EUGENE MALADY, EXECUTOR, c/o Daniella A. Horn, Esq., 2202 Delancey Place, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to his Attorney: DANIELLA A. HORN KLENK LAW, LLC 2202 Delancey Place Philadelphia, PA 19103 ESTATE OF THEODORE MUSE, SR. Muse, Sr., Theodore late of Philadelphia, PA. Theodore Muse, Jr., c/o David W. Crosson, Esq., Crosson Richetti & Daigle, LLC, 609 W. Hamilton St., Suite 210, Allentown, PA 18101, Administrator. Crosson Richetti & Daigle, LLC 609 W. Hamilton St. Suite 210 Allentown, PA 18101 ESTATE OF VENTURA ALAMO, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment with- out delay to MARITZA ESTEVES, ADMINISTRATRIX, c/o Amy H. Besser, Esq., 2202 Delancey Place, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to her Attorney: AMY H. BESSER KLENK LAW, LLC 2202 Delancey Place Philadelphia, PA 19103 ESTATE OF WALTER WILLIAM WALLACE, JR., DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to DAVID BOGDAN, ADMINISTRATOR, 2725 West Chester Pike, Broomall, PA 19008, Or to his Attorney: DAVID V. BOGDAN 2725 West Chester Pike Broomall, PA 19008 ESTATE OF WILLIE GREGORY, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment with- out delay to DAVID V. BOGDAN, ADMINISTRATOR, 2725 West Chester Pike, Broomall, PA 19008, Or to his Attorney: DAVID V. BOGDAN 2725 West Chester Pike Broomall, PA 19008 CONGRATULATE YOUR GRADUATE The Jewish Exponent’s graduation issue will publish on Thursday, June 30 TH DEADLINE IS THURSDAY, JUNE 24 TH SIZE A 150 $ 3” x 5.25” Congratulations Rachael, We wish you the best in this next chapterof your life. 3” x 2.57” SIZE B 95 $ Adam, Work hard in College next year, we wish you the best! Mom & Dad 3” x 1.25” Mazel Tov! SIZE C 55 $ Jeremy, on your graduation! Grandma & Grandpa Dad, Mom, Sister & Brother Highlight the achievements of your graduate! Limit 25 words and photo. PLEASE RUN MY CONGRATULATIONS IN YOUR GRADUATION ISSUE. I WOULD LIKE AD (circle one here) A, B, C Name _________________________________________________ Phone Number _________________________________________ Street Address __________________________________________ City____________________ ZIP __________________________ Th e message should read: __________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ I am enclosing a check for $ _______________________________ (all congratulations must be paid for in advance) OR email your information and credit card number to: pkuperschmidt@midatlanticmedia.com. MAIL TO: CLASSIFIED DEPT., 11459 Cronhill Drive, Suite A • Owings Mills, MD 21117 If you have any questions, contact the Jewish Exponent at 215-832-0757 or pkuperschmidt@midatlanticmedia.com. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 43 Morgan Stanley is proud to congratulate Jacob Guzman and Robert Biggs On being named to Forbes’ Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors 2021 and Forbes’ Best-In-State Wealth Advisors 2022 These awards are a testament to your experience, professionalism and dedication to your clients. Thank you for the work you do each day and for carrying forward the culture of excellence at our firm. Jacob Guzman Senior Vice President Corporate Client Group Director Family Wealth Director Senior Portfolio Manager Financial Advisor 215-963-3853 jacob.guzman@morganstanley.com Robert Biggs Senior Vice President Corporate Equity Solutions Director Alternative Investments Director Senior Portfolio Manager Financial Advisor 215-963-3827 robert.biggs@morganstanley.com 1 Liberty Place — 1650 Market Philadelphia, PA 19103 advisor.morganstanley.com/ the-ces-group Source: Forbes.com (September, 2021). SHOOK considered advisors born in 1981 or later with a minimum 4 years as an advisor. Advisors have: built their own practices and lead their teams; joined teams and are viewed as future leadership; or a combination of both. Ranking algorithm is based on qualitative measures: telephone and in-person interviews, client retention, industry experience, credentials, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, such as: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC, and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Neither Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC nor its Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors pay a fee to Forbes or SHOOK Research in exchange for the ranking. For more information, see www.SHOOKresearch.com. Source: Forbes.com (April, 2022) Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person and telephone due diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively, a major component of a ranking algorithm that includes: client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Neither Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC nor its Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors pay a fee to Forbes or SHOOK Research in exchange for the ranking. For more information: www.SHOOKresearch.com. © 2022 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. 44 CRC 4668564 05/22 CS 325578_2306822 05/22 JUNE 9, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JOB INFORMATION PROJ. NO.: 325578_2306822 TRIM SIZE: SPECIFICATIONS 8.5 x 11” NOTES