C ommunity / mazel tovs
ENGAGEMENT B I RT H
COFF-HOFFMAN MILES LEV GOLDSTEIN
Caryn and Howard Coff of Holland
announce the engagement of their
daughter, Allyson Beth Coff, to
Gregor Read Hoffman, son of
Penney Read (Richard Cohen)
of Tenants Harbor, Maine, and
Michael Hoffman (Kim Sizelove)
of Brattleboro, Vermont.

Allyson, a graduate of Lehigh
University, works in the music
industry. Gregor, a graduate of
Macalester College, works in
mental health technology.

Sharing in their joy are their grandparents E. Pat Rosenthal
and the late Dr. Ronald Rosenthal, the late Shirley and Dave Coff,
Bill Read and the late Libby Chase Read, Sid Rose and the late
Ellaine Quint Rose. Also sharing in their joy are siblings Sarah
Coff (Michael Matza) and Samuel Hoffman (Nicole Brynes) with
children Elijah and Ruth.

Allyson and Gregor plan to marry in Roxbury, New York in
August. Courtesy of the Coff family
Marjorie and Marc Boxbaum of Upper Gwynedd and Minka and
David Goldstein of Potomac, Maryland, announce the birth of
their grandson, Miles Lev Goldstein (Mordecai Lev), son of Lisa
Boxbaum and Joseph Goldstein.

Miles is named in memory of his maternal great-grandpar-
ents Lois and Martin Bachman, and paternal great-grandfather
Maurice Krasow.

Sharing in the happiness are aunt Rebecca, along with many
aunts, uncles and cousins.

Photo by Lisa Boxbaum
GRADUATION ARIELLE LAUREN YACKER
Arielle Lauren Yacker, daughter of Shira and Scott Yacker
of Easton, graduated Columbia University and the Jewish
Theological Seminary in April.

She majored in human rights and Jewish thought and will
attend law school in the fall.

Photo by Shira Yacker
COMMUNITYBRIEFS Area Man Releases Music Video About
Disability, Connection During Pandemic
MICHAEL BIHOVSKY RELEASED a music video
for “Paperweight,” a song about what it’s like to be
disabled during the pandemic.

Bihovsky, who deals with a rare connective tissue
disorder called Ehlers-Danos Syndrome, said he
hopes “the video will help bring awareness to the
condition and to chronic illnesses and disabilities in
general.” Bihovsky, 34, who grew up in Wynnewood, was
featured in a May 2020 Jewish Exponent article about
a pandemic parody called “Trapped Inside the House”
that was based on a song from “Les Miserables.”
He is an alum of Perelman Jewish Day School
and what’s now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy.

He graduated magna cum laude from New York
University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study
in 2009, majoring in musical theater performance
and composition, with minors in astrophysics and
mythology. He also studied orchestration at The
Juilliard School.

“Paperweight” can be viewed at youtube.com/
watch?v=zMYM74hbOHE. 24
JUNE 17, 2021
Local Resident to Present at August
Genealogy Conference
Sharon Taylor of Upper Dublin will present at the
41st annual International Association of Jewish
Genealogical Societies International Conference on
Jewish Genealogy, held virtually from Aug. 1-5.

Taylor will present “Schlep Me Home Country
Road: A Virtual Visit to our Ancestral Shtetls”
and a poster session titled, “Wish You Were Here:
Postcards from Eastern Europe.” Both presentations
feature images of Jewish life in Eastern Europe prior
to the Holocaust, and participants are encouraged
to think about shtetl life in a nuanced way, beyond
stereotypes. Taylor is a writer, researcher and speaker, as well
as a member of the Jewish Genealogical and Archival
Society of Greater Philadelphia and a member of
Gesher Galicia, an organization dedicated to genea-
logical research in the former Austrian province of
Galicia. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
Sharon Taylor
JEWISH EXPONENT
Courtesy of Sharon Taylor
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM