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Ask about our exclusive Opening Rates An LCB Senior Living Community: More Than 25 Years of Excellence 2 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM THIS WEEK Local 6 Jewish Federation Leaders Visit Poland, Ukraine Border 8 COVID Changes Thinking on Genetic Testing 10 Resident Returns to Her Heritage to Help Ukrainians Nation World 14 Conservative US Rabbinical School Slashes Tuition by Nearly 80% Opinion 16 Editorials 17 Letters 17 Opinions Cover Story 32 Jewish Farmers Try to Fit Shmita Practices into the Modern World Community 43 Obituaries 44 Synagogue Spotlight 46 Calendar In every issue 4 Seen 12 Jewish Federation 13 You Should Know 35 Food & Dining 41 Arts & Culture 45 D’var Torah 47 Around Town 48 Last Word 49 Classifieds you’re there for them – we’re here for you created for pet lovers, by pet lovers On the cover The Alliance Community Reboot’s William and Malya Levin take the shmita year to heart 6 J ewish Federation leaders report on their visit to the Poland, Ukraine border. 8 P andemic has increased interest in Jewish genetic testing. 13 Y ou Should Know artist Zo Baker JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 3 the seen MacKenzie Scott, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Have All Donated to Support HIAS’ Work in Ukraine Scott : (Jörg Carstensen/picture alliance via Gett y Images via JTA; Veretska: Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90 via JTA Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $10 million to the Jewish humanitarian group HIAS for its work aiding refugees fl eeing the war in Ukraine. HIAS announced the gift last week as Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, revealed her latest multibillion-dollar round of charitable giving. She gave $3.8 billion to 465 organizations in this round, bringing her total philanthropic funding to $12 billion.  The HIAS grant will go toward humanitarian relief for refugees from Ukraine and help with resettlement in the countries of the European Union. Services provided to refugees by HIAS’s local partners include housing, education, health, language training and mental health with an emphasis on reducing gender-based risks for those who have been displaced by the war.  Some of the money will also help Jews from countries bordering Ukraine relocate to Western Europe, according to HIAS.  The news of Scott’s donation comes a few days after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they have given an undisclosed sum to HIAS to help Ukrainian refugees. Far more money has fl owed to HIAS in recent weeks than what the nonprofi t sees over the course of a typical quarter, the Forward reported. HIAS, formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, traces its origin to the late 19th century when millions of Jews migrating out of Eastern Europe required aid. In recent years, with few Jews impacted by the world’s new refugee crises, HIAS transformed into a humanitarian advocacy group for all displaced people.  After the fall of the Soviet Union, for example, HIAS built up a presence in Ukraine and established a local partner called Right to Protection, or R2P.  Now, HIAS says that its experience and infrastructure are proving to be critical.  “HIAS has been working in independent Ukraine for over 20 years, work- ing with Ukrainians and launching a Ukrainian-led organization (Right to Protection – R2P) to protect and welcome asylum seekers from other coun- tries as well as displaced Ukrainians themselves,” HIAS president and CEO Mark Hetfi eld said in the statement that announced Scott’s gift. “Today, we MacKenzie Scott in Berlin, Germany, on April 24, 2018 are working with partners — many of whom are displaced persons them- selves — to help refugees and the displaced be safe, welcome, and able to lead their lives until they can fi nally return home.” Scott, who is now married to Seattle science teacher Dan Jewett and whose net worth is estimated at $55 billion, has contributed to HIAS in the past. Last year, she gave HIAS an undisclosed sum along with gifts to two other Jewish nonprofi ts as a part of a $2.7 billion funding round for 286 organizations. — Asaf Shalev Ukrainian Refugee Wins Women’s Race at Jerusalem Marathon Ukrainian marathoner Valentyna Veretska speaks to the media in Jerusalem on March 25. 4 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Valentyna Veretska, a Ukrainian athlete who fl ed with her daughter as Russia attacked her country, won the women’s race in the Jerusalem marathon on March 25. Veretska completed the grueling marathon in the hilly city in 2:45:54 seconds, draping herself in the Ukraine and Israel fl ags after crossing the fi nish line. The 31-year-old had applied to run the marathon before the war; she had previously won the women’s marathon in Tirana, Albania, in October. The war Russia launched on Feb. 24 sent her and her daugh- ter into Poland, while her husband has stayed in Ukraine to fi ght. Israel has taken in close to 17,000 Ukrainian refugees since the confl ict began, and Israel’s sports ministry said on March 24 that it is ready to take in 100 athletes. Israeli Olympian Ageze Guadie won the men’s race at 2:37:17. — Ron Kampeas From Our Family From to Our Your Family Family to your family u o Y h s i W You We We Wish ” ! h c a s e P n e “ “A A Zissen ss Z i Pesach”! the generations gathers around around the Seder celebrate As As the generations of of your your family family gathers the table Seder to table to celebrate Pesach and to ask the four questions, we have 4 other questions to ask you. 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FOREST HILLS/SHALOM ROOSEVELT HUNTINGDON VALLEY TREVOSE 215-673-5800 215-673-7500 Samuel Domsky General Manager Leah Feldman General Manager Memorial Park Memorial Park JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 5 local Jewish Federation Leaders Visit Poland, Ukraine Border SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER I n the six duffl e bags stuff ed with the essentials — diapers, tooth- brushes, toothpaste and clothing — one would not expect to fi nd several new Barbie dolls. But to Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia President and CEO Michael Balaban, the dolls were “some- thing that, in such a traumatic time, a child could cling on to with a smile.” Th e dolls, along with the rest of the donations packed into the six duffl es, were distributed to Ukrainian refugees on the Medyka border between Poland and Ukraine as part of Balaban and Jewish Federation board of directors Co-Chair Gail Norry’s trip to Poland with a small delegation of organiza- tions led by the Jewish Federations of North America. From March 21-23, the Jewish Federation leaders met with Joint Distribution Committee/Jewish Agency members at the border and traveled to Lublin to meet with Jewish refugees at the Chochmei Lublin Yeshiva Building. “It was all happening in real time,” Norry said. “We weren’t just being shown the Jewish community impact that we have there; we were truly seeing it.” In addition to distributing supplies, Balaban and Norry visited the Focus hotel, where they observed Jewish Jewish Federation President and CEO Michael Balaban and board of directors Co-Chair Gail Norry visited the Poland-Ukraine border on March 21-23 as part of a Jewish Federations of North America delegation. Courtesy of Amy Swiatek 6 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Agency members processing Jewish refugees trying to make aliyah. Since the onset of the war, 3,000 people have made aliyah, Norry said. JFNA has raised and dispersed $30 million for its emergency fund for Ukraine. Th e Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia raised more than $1 million from more than 1,200 donors. With those dollars, JFNA bought out hotel rooms of multiple hotels near Warsaw to house refugees temporarily. Th ey’ve funded 300 buses and have set up a hotline for refugees to call loved ones, which has already gener- ated more than 24,000 calls. Upon arriving at the border, Balaban and Norry were struck by the presence of the Israeli fl ag. Th e Israeli govern- ment set up a fi eld hospital in Lviv in mid-March. “Th ere are throngs of Israeli volun- teers, in addition to the Jewish Agency and the JDC, who have come on their own to help with the humanitarian eff ort,” Norry said. All things considered, the scene at the border was more organized than Balaban and Norry expected, with forethought put into the needs of the incoming refugees. “Right at the gate at the border, there was a lineup of strollers — identical strollers,” Balaban said. “It dawned on me that people grabbed their children and left and didn’t have room for the strollers. People had gone out and pur- chased 20, 30 strollers so that when a person crossed the border, they had one.” At Chochmei Lublin Yeshiva, now a way station for refugees, the Jewish Federation delegates met with dis- placed women and children, some of whom had spent 36 hours crossing the border. Men aged 18-60 are forbidden to leave the country due to Ukraine’s mandatory conscription and status under martial law. Many of those arriving wore tattered clothing. Some brought their pet cats, holding onto a semblance of comfort. The trip hit close to home to Norry, whose grandfather fled to the U.S. from the pogroms in Poland. At the bor- der, she met with a couple who fled from western Poland. They had trouble trying to evacuate their 97-year-old mother from the shelter. “She had escaped the Nazis, and now she had to run from the Russians,” Norry said. Norry traveled to Poland in 2001 with a Jewish Federation Women’s Philanthropy group, but vowed never go to back after visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau and being put off by the vio- lence of which Poland was capable. “I just remember thinking, ‘Maybe the Polish people still hate us,’” Norry said. “And I felt so uncom- fortable the whole time I was there, and I swore I would never go back to Poland. But having gone again, for this experience, honestly made me feel different. Because the Polish people and the country — they have been unbelievable.” Balaban, who had Polish family members murdered in the Holocaust and has also gone on previous Jewish Federation mission trips to Poland, felt similarly, and like Norry, changed his mind following their most recent trip. He recalled visiting a train sta- tion where his family was potentially deported to concentration camps. It’s now a transit zone for refugees. “It’s incredibly difficult to wrap one’s mind around that,” Balaban said. “But it also sets a tone that the world can change for the better.” To donate to the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Emergency Response Fund, visit jewishphilly. org/ways-to-give/donate-emergency- response-fund/. JE srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 7 local Local Community More in Tune with Genetic Testing Because of COVID SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER O ver the past two years, University of Pennsylvania students have grown accus- tomed to spitting in tubes. Many line up weekly or twice-weekly for their routine COVID tests, swirling and spitting saliva without a second thought. In 2019, however, this sight would have been bizarre. “At the time, it would have been like, what is this creature?” said Mallory Kovit, director of the Greater Philly Hillel Jewish Graduate Student Network. 2019 was the last time Greater Philly Hillel Network hosted a genetic screen- ing pop-up in partnership with Penn THINKING ABOUT – Moving? Moving to Independent Senior Living? Selling your home? S 3 Living S 3 Living THINK ABOUT – Strategic Senior Solutions or Life Plan Community (CRRC). S 3 Living represents YOU , not the communities. We will recommend the best solution to meet your individual needs. Call the DelawareValley’s leading expert on Independent Senior Living David Reibstein, President 215-259-5225 (o) 215-870-7362 (c) Call today for a free consultation S3Living.com 8 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Dr. Chani Yondorf of Einstein Healthcare Network says that as COVID has waned, more people are approaching her about genetic testing. Courtesy of Judy Horwitz and national nonprofit JScreen, where undergraduates and graduate students could pick up tests to screen for Jewish genetic diseases. Many chose to take the kits home, opting to provide the saliva sample in private. But as odd as providing a saliva sam- ple for genetic testing was two years ago, Kovit believes that will no longer be the case for Penn’s next genetic screening event, which she is hoping to plan for the near future. “The COVID-19 pandemic has more or less brought people into a differ- ent kind of arena of public health,” she said. “Whether it’s a conversation about best practices for prevention of a disease, it’s all become a way more relevant conversation.” While COVID has changed many health behaviors, making some more fearful of going to the grocery store or getting vaccinated, health professionals have noticed it’s opened the minds of young people and prospective parents getting screened for Tay-Sachs, BRCA genes — which increase risk of breast and ovarian cancers — and hundreds of other diseases of which Ashkenazi Jews are at increased risk. Organizations such as JScreen have provided ways to complete genetic test- ing from home, even before the pan- demic. Hillary Regelman, director of national outreach for JScreen, said that “COVID-friendly” remote screenings remained high during the pandemic, but that educational efforts increased, especially as the pandemic saturated the news cycle. JScreen debuted its “Give a Spit” ad in Times Square on New Year’s Eve in 2021, hoping to get people to think twice about testing. “We try to be fun and proactive on social media and make it very cool and catchy,” Regelman said. “Obviously, it’s a very serious topic, but we do it in a very easy-to-digest way.” In the 1970s, when the Ashkenazi Jewish community brought the con- cern of Tay-Sachs to the forefront, genetic screening — though much more limited to what is done today — became heavily encouraged, Regelman said. For the children and grandchil- dren of this generation, the severity of Tay-Sachs 50 years ago has been largely forgotten, mostly thanks to the extensive push for genetic testing, but it remains a relevant practice for to-be parents. is indicative of people being “open and willing and interested” in their health. However, for Center City residents Charles Schnur and Brenna Stein, going through extensive genetics screenings illuminated troubles in the process that the couple hopes young, to-be parents won’t have to deal with in the future. Both Schnur and Stein are heavy pro- ponents of speaking about their experi- ence doing genetic testing and believe it was the right call for them but recognize that, especially in COVID times, going to the doctor was a hassle. Moreover, COVID has revealed how people think about their own risk. When they received the results of their testing, Schnur and Stein had a one in 3,000 “Now that we’re post-COVID, people are jumping at the opportunity to make sure that they’re in good health.” DR. CHANI YONDORF “We really try to get people where they are because everyone is just not going to hear about us at their syna- gogue,” Regelman said. Though Regelman’s concerns about getting young people tested aren’t unfounded, it appears that her fears may not come to fruition. Dr. Chani Yondorf, part of Einstein Healthcare Network’s Prevention of Jewish Genetic Diseases service, has noticed patients approach her about genetic testing now that COVID case numbers have leveled off. “Now that we’re post-COVID, peo- ple are jumping at the opportunity to make sure that they’re in good health,” she said. This phenomenon isn’t specific to genetic screening, Yondorf said, but it chance of their child having Tay-Sachs. “Think about the way that people are thinking about COVID right now,” Stein said. “The way people are making decisions is based on fear or emotions, not statistics.” Though services such as JScreen and Einstein Healthcare encourage or require a genetic counselor to discuss test results with a couple, the lack of plain language and risk analysis that is sometimes associated with genetic testing remains a concern, the couple believes. “Medical terms sound scary; all these things sound scary,” Stein said. “We need to work harder on making this stuff less scary.” JE srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 9 local Viktoriya Torchinsky-Field Courtesy of Olya Vysotskaya Center City Resident Returns to Her Heritage to Help Ukrainians JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER V iktoriya Torchinsky-Field grew up in Soviet-era Ukraine — the Ukraine of Jewish quo- tas at universities, the Ukraine where Jews couldn’t practice in public, the Ukraine where her father felt com- pelled to hide their Jewish identity from his daughter until she told him about how she and her friends left a Jewish girl out of an activity. So in 1989, the same year the Berlin Wall fell, she married a Ukrainian 10 guy who was on his way to the United States and left the Soviet Union forever. More than three decades later, though, Torchinsky-Field is going back, in spirit, to her native country. As Russia attempts to reassert control over its neighbor in a war, Torchinsky- Field is doing her small part to help her former neighbors. Aft er Russia invaded Ukraine, the Center City resident got together with some local friends to start the Philadelphia-Ukraine Rapid Response. Th e organization works with nonprof- its to raise money for Ukrainians who MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM want to stay in their homes. As Torchinsky-Field explained, Ukraine is a nation of more than 44 mil- lion people, and while 4 million are now refugees, the rest remain in the coun- try; while other organizations focus on helping the displaced, the Philadelphia resident fi gured she could do the most good by helping those trying to stay. “We narrowed the mission,” she said. Torchinsky-Field understands well how to execute a narrow mission. During the Soviet Union’s glasnost, or openness, and perestroika, or recon- struction, period in the late 1980s, the Ukrainian teen developed a dream: get to the United States. Under the communist regime, she didn’t think she’d be able go to a pro- fessional school. Torchinsky-Field was on an associate’s track for a teacher’s degree because she felt like she couldn’t aim higher. But as a single person, she said, she would be denied a visa. Instead, she married her fi rst husband and then separated from him within six months of getting to the United States. Both sides understood the arrangement. “For all intents and purposes, I did go through the immigration process on my own,” Torchinsky-Field said. When she got to the U.S., she started pursuing a law degree. Today, Torchinsky-Field is a corporate lawyer in a second marriage, one of love, not convenience. Her parents even joined her in the United States four years after her immigration. While the Ukraine native got out, many of her friends stayed. After Russia invaded, she wanted to book a plane ticket to Poland to aid refugees. But then she started talking to other former members of the Soviet Jewish diaspora in Facebook small to target the aid. One partner is the Ukrainian- American Coordinating Council, the only U.S. nonprofit to source mili- tary-grade protective gear like helmets and vests. Another is Global Surgical, which sends surgeons and medical personnel into war zones to provide care. And the last two partners, Nova Ukraine and World Central Kitchen, focus on providing food. When Torchinsky-Field came to the U.S., it was HIAS, the Jewish nonprofit that helps refugees, that paid for her ticket and connected her with a Jewish community. All these years later, “We’re a connector. The way for people to understand what their money is doing.” VIKTORIYA TORCHINSKY-FIELD P R E S E N T S P HILADELPHIA S PEAKERS S ERIES Seven Thought-Provoking Evenings of Diverse Opinions a nd World Perspectives 2 022 –2 02 3 S ea s o n at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts LORETTA LYNCH SCOTT KELLY September 19, 2022 March 6, 2023 Former U.S. Attorney General NASA Astronaut JOHN BRENNAN TOM FRIEDMAN October 24, 2022 March 27, 2023 New York Times Columnist CIA Director 2013–2017 MARIA RESSA ANTHONY RAY HINTON November 7, 2022 April 10, 2023 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Winner groups organized around humanitar- ian efforts. Her compatriots told her, frankly, it would be selfish to go back. Another body in Poland is another body to shelter, another mouth to feed, they said. Torchinsky-Field realized they were right, so she took a step back to consider what else she could do. One day, she took a walk with friends and figured it out. An organization that would help other American Jews, and Americans in general, dealing with the same conflict. They want to do something, but they don’t want to be a burden, either. They also aren’t quite sure who to contact. Torchinsky-Field’s organization could tell them who to contact. “We’re a connector,” she said. “The way for people to understand what their money is doing.” The Philadelphia-Ukraine Rapid Response is not partnering with a ros- ter full of nonprofits; Torchinsky-Field wants to keep the number of partners Torchinsky-Field is a board observer for HIAS PA, and she listened in on a call after this war broke out. HIAS PA leaders said they wanted to help both Jewish and non-Jewish refugees, and Torchinsky-Field’s orga- nization is taking the same approach to people still in Ukraine. “There’s no state-sponsored discrim- ination anymore,” Torchinsky-Field said of Jews in Ukraine. “So we’re help- ing everyone who’s in trouble.” On March 23, she held a webinar with 140 people to spread the word about her organization’s mission. Karina Sutnik, a friend of Torchinsky-Field’s and a partner in this effort, said the corporate lawyer is very convincing. “She’s remarkable at how she rallied people,” Sutnik said. To figure out how you can help, visit UkraineResponse.org. JE jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com ® ERIK LARSON Death Row Exoneree SPONSORED BY Award-winning Author January 30, 2023 Seating is limited — Order now! Series sold by subscription only. Subscriptions available starting at $355 Call (215) 893-1955 www.PhiladelphiaSpeakers.org Scan code to order tickets online! 2022–2023 SEASON SUBSCRIBE TODAY! IN PERSON OR LIVESTREAM JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 11 The Whole Megillah and then some! Purim 2022 Recap The costumes are packed and the hamantaschen have been consumed, but the memories of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Kehillot Purim programs are still very much alive. The neighborhood groups joyfully reunited for carnivals, parades and volunteer opportunities after last year’s physically distant celebrations. The Kehillah of Buxmont brought ht P Purim i t to th the H Horsham h Center (formerly the Abramson Center) for Jewish Life Cent as part o of their Joy of Purim Project. Volunteers delivered mishloach m manot (Purim gift bags) with goodies, including cards and cr crafts created by synagogue children, to the residents on Tuesday, March 15 and Wednesday, March 16. Tue It was a packed, wonderful day for Lower Merion Kehillah’s PurimFest as parents and children celebrated at the Kaiserman JCC on Sunday, March 13. The program featured games, bouncy houses and mask-decorating. Northeast Jewish Life kept Purim alive throughout hout the weekend with a car and walking parade that began emy on at Beth Ami and ended at Politz Hebrew Academy Sunday, March 20. Attendees wore costumes, decorated ecorated ed their cars, and brought matanot l’evyonim (charitable aritable le gifts for those in need) for the Jewish Federation’s ation’s n’s Mitzvah Food Program as well as the Emergency enc ncy Response Fund for the crisis in Ukraine. . The Kehillot are part of the Jewish Federation’s neighborhood initiative to foster a vibrant Jewish community throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. To learn more about your Kehillah or community group, please contact Senior Director of Leadership Development and Community Engagement Addie Lewis Klein at alewis@jewishphilly.org. 12 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Close to 1 1,000 people showed up at Reform Co Congregation K Keneseth eseth Israel for Kehillah of Old York R Purim Ca val on Sunday, March 13. This Israeli- Road’s Carnival themed event f featured tured fun for the whole family, from music to inflatables s to a Magic Mirror Studio and more! e! YOU SHOULD KNOW ... SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER I nstead of finding a community at graduate school, Zo Baker, 29, found the experience to be rather isolating. While pursuing a master of fine arts at the University of Pennsylvania, they were surrounded by like-minded artists, but lacked Jewish colleagues who could meaningfully engage with their pieces inspired by Jewish ritual and culture. But the void of a community to engage with and provide constructive feedback on Baker’s art distilled an important value to them: “This spirit of inquiry is embedded in Jewish culture. It’s OK to ask questions and create space for our histories and traditions on our own terms.” Now a 2022 Tribe12 fellow, Baker, who grew up in Queens, New York, hopes to rectify the lack of Jewish- specific spaces in the art world by cre- ating an artist-in-residency program, providing resources for Jewish artists to hone their craft and foster a pur- poseful community along the way. The artist and educator will pilot the program this summer. How does your art incorporate Jewish ideas? Courtesy of Zo Baker I come from a sculpture background, and I do a lot of large-scale installa- tion work. Most of my work involves some sort of storytelling component that, whether it feels explicitly Jewish or not, I think is inherently rooted in my own Jewish upbringing, and I think the way Jewish conversation styles and customs and the rituals I grew up with for many years now. And usually my goal, like I said, whether it’s inherently doing or not, is to really encourage the spirit of community-building and connection and create spaces where people are excited about asking questions, and of curiosity and play, so that’s taken many forms. Can you give an example of this? One of which was an archive proj- ect about intergenerational rela- tionships, specifically with your grandparents, and collecting archive Zo Baker materials, doing an oral history proj- ect, where I was collecting stories from many people about their expe- riences with their grandparents and how that shaped their identity. I built the physical installa- tion using my own family archives because both of my grandmother’s had passed away a few years prior, and I had inherited a lot of their clothing and objects. And [I was] just considering what it means to give these objects, especially these clothes, a new life with a new gen- eration because I was just wearing, you know — I got all these coats, and I would wear them out and do often. Have you found that your Jewish identity has changed since beginning your art on these topics? Hugely. I grew up and went to Hebrew day school, pre-K through eighth grade, so I have that founda- tion. But then I went to a public arts high school in Manhattan, and I was exposed to a million different other people and wanted to have so many much more varied experiences. Throughout high school and in college, I really went out of my way to avoid Jewish communal experi- ences, especially in college because my school did not have a Hillel. Really, the only Jewish organiza- tion on campus was Chabad, which doesn’t resonate with me. And then I came to my thesis proj- ect, which was called “Dining Dreams,” where I was inviting people to Shabbat dinner. So I built out a Kabbalat Shabbat service, I wrote all my own prayers and poetry and started leading, basically a short Shabbat service along with this dinner series. Every time we did it, we talked about what people wanted and what people needed, and every single time we did it, we revised the rituals. Through doing this, a lot of my friends who were just from art school, who I’ve never connected with Jewishly — suddenly we have this Judaism that we could all engage with on our own terms in our homes and not have to go somewhere and abide by somebody else’s rules. Would you say that you’ve tried to reclaim your Judaism? I would say I am a work in progress. I am very much in the pro- cess of reclaiming my Judaism, and I think that that’s something that I want to be ongoing in my life. It’s an ongoing process that I’m very invested in, especially right now. What do you mean “especially right now”? My formal education is finally over. And the routines, the sched- ule, the calendar I’ve been adhering to my entire life doesn’t exist anymore; it doesn’t apply. But the Jewish calendar still does, and that’s something that I can find grounding. I’m moving into the next stage of my life. And I think that as I move more towards what we would consider traditional Jewish life stages, it’s important to really figure out what my values are and what I want to do so that I can feel greater agency over my Jewish life in my adult life. A lot of your art is focused around food. Why is that? There’s just so much material in Jewish food. Let’s say people who have used the “Maxwell House Haggadah” for the last 30-40 years — God knows how long the “Maxwell House Haggadah” has been around — they will still make a brisket. They don’t know why, necessarily, but they’re making these Jewish foods. Like, why are we so obsessed with bagels? People don’t necessarily know the history of bagels and bialys, but it’s part of their life. Food is really an exciting and valuable entry point to exploring these topics. Because even if somebody says, ‘Oh, I don’t know anything about Judaism,’ they know Jewish food. JE JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 13 nation / world Conservative US Rabbinical School Slashes Tuition by Nearly 80% JACKIE HAJDENBERG | JTA.ORG M ark Asher Goodman is beginning to imagine fi n- ishing paying off roughly $85,000 in student debt he incurred while training to become a rabbi — nearly two decades aft er he was ordained. So when his rabbinical school, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, announced last week that it was slash- ing tuition by nearly 80%, he was briefl y envious. Th en he was fi lled with relief that future students at the Conservative seminary, part of Los Angeles’ American Jewish University, won’t have the experience he did. “I was a day school teacher and rabbi for 12 years, and I made far less than pulpit rabbis,” said Goodman, who now leads one synagogue in Erie and works at another in Pittsburgh. “To force graduates into irrational fi nancial choices due to their loan situations, in any fi eld, is unfair.” Ziegler’s new tuition is $7,000 a year, down from $31,342 this year. Th e change makes the school just 20% the price of the Conservative movement’s larger and older rabbinical school, the Jewish Th eological Seminary in New York City. Slashing tuition could seem counter- intuitive for a school that is in so much fi nancial distress — since 2018 it has shuttered its undergraduate program, sought renters for its space and, last month, announced that it would sell its 35-acre campus. But American Jewish University administrators are betting that Ziegler’s new list price will draw more students, reversing a trend of declining enroll- ment that has contributed to the school’s fi nancial crisis. Just four students enrolled at Ziegler this year; the school ordained only two new rabbis in 2021. Th ey also say they want to be on the leading edge of a movement to make rabbinical school accessible to a larger and more diverse set of potential Jewish leaders. Training to become a rabbi typically requires fi ve years of courses and fi eldwork, such as synagogue internships, making the path burden- 14 An aerial view of American Jewish University’s Sunny & Isadore Familian Campus in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles Courtesy of Communications Department, AJU some and in many cases impossible for people who do not have family wealth. Reducing tuition, Ziegler’s dean, Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson said, “opens up the rabbinate to a much broader pool.” Artson said donations — rather than, say, anticipated revenue from the campus sale — were making possi- ble the new tuition, which applies to current students in addition to future ones. Additional funds will cover tui- tion completely while students study in Israel during their third year, according to the details of the new tuition plan. He declined to name the people who had given to support the initia- tive, saying only that AJU possesses an “extraordinary circle of philan- thropists and community leaders who understand that a literate, wise and compassionate rabbinate holds the key to energizing and strengthening the Jewish future.” It is unclear how much of a diff erence Ziegler’s new price will make to indi- vidual students, considering that many were receiving substantial fi nancial aid before. But the fl ashy price tag may make it more appealing for aspiring rabbis in the Conservative movement. At JTS, the movement’s fl agship seminary, this year’s tuition is over $36,000 — although MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM few, if any, students there pay full price. Th e price war comes in the con- text of declining overall interest in the rabbinate and in declining affi liation by American Jews with Conservative synagogues. Competition between the two schools for students who want to become Conservative rabbis “produces constant incentives to improve and to compete,” Artson said. He added, “Th e challenge is in the context of that healthy competition to realize we’re not actually competing.” A JTS spokesperson said that school would continue to off er “substantial tuition assistance, stipends, fellowships and internship opportunities” to make rabbinical school aff ordable for stu- dents who enroll. “We are delighted to hear about all initiatives that assist students in pur- suing a career in the rabbinate,” the spokesperson said. Th ere’s evidence that tuition incen- tives could have the intended eff ect — but also that increasing enrollment may not be a panacea for the woes facing a rabbinical school or its move- ment. When Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati off ered tuition incentives to make attendance there relatively inex- pensive compared to the Reform move- ment’s campuses in New York and Los Angeles, students chose Cincinnati more oft en. But when the incentives ended, the campus again became the last choice for Reform rabbinical students. Now, the school is seeking to stop train- ing rabbinical students in Cincinnati entirely. Ziegler and American Jewish University, too, face an uncertain future. Th e Bel Air campus where Ziegler has been housed since it opened in 1996 is up for sale, and while the university is retaining a diff erent parcel of land, where it has housed a camp, it’s not clear where future rabbinical students will go to class aft er next year, though administrators are emphasiz- ing that learning will take place in person. “Th ere will be a physical space, and it will be holy,” Artson said. Th ree rabbinical students deferred enrollment last year to this fall, the school said, but how many additional students will enroll at Ziegler is unclear. “Time will tell if that move will counteract the uncertainty that comes with the planned sale of the AJU’s Familian Campus,” Goodman said about the tuition reduction. “But in the long run, making rabbinic school more aff ordable is a net positive move for the Jewish people.” JE nation / world Netflix to produce a ‘Jewish Matchmaking’ series Matchmaker, matchmaker — are you going on Netflix? The streaming giant announced a new “Jewish Matchmaking” series on March 24, modeled after its hit “Indian Matchmaking,” JTA reported. Details are scant, and there is no premiere date, but Netflix companion site Tudum said it will feature “singles in the US and Israel as they turn their dating life over to a top Jewish matchmaker.” “Will using the traditional practice of shidduch help them find their soulmate in today’s world?” the show asks. “Indian Matchmaking” was nominated for an Emmy after premiering in July 2020, but it was also criticized by many who said it promoted stereotypes and classism. The show’s production group, Industrial Media’s The Intellectual Property Corp., will also produce “Jewish Matchmaking.” Netflix has sustained criticism for shows such as “Unorthodox” and “My Unorthodox Life,” for their negative portrayals of Orthodox Jews. Some of Michael Steinhardt’s Looted Antiquities Being Returned to Israel Are Missing Eight of the looted artifacts that billionaire philanthropist Michael Steinhardt must return to Israel as part of a deal with prosecutors in New York are still missing, JTA reported. That’s according to a press release on March 22 from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office announcing that $5 million in stolen antiquities previously belonging to Steinhardt are being repatriated to Israel, where Steinhardt is a prominent donor to cultural institutions. Steinhardt, 81, is one of the founders of the Birthright program. Three of the repatriated items were already on display at the Israel Museum, which years ago had borrowed them from Steinhardt. Israeli authorities on March 22 took possession of an additional 28 artifacts, including two 7,000-year-old gold masks valued at $500,000 and three even older stone masks worth $650,000. 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 Monday-Friday, 10am-3pm to consult with the designer. Instagram Reverses Ban on Anti-Israel Group Without Explanation “We’re back”: After a four-day ban from the social media platform, those words overlaid a picture of Within Our Lifetime (WOL) leader Nerdeen Kiswani in a March 13 Instagram post, JNS reported. WOL’s detractors, who applauded Instagram’s decision to ban what they say is not only an anti-Zionist group but “an extremely anti-Semitic” one, said they were dismayed by what amounted to a wrist slap for WOL. Its account had been taken down after it posted a collage of terrorist women on March 8 in celebration of International Women’s Day. Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism.org, said, “I’m extremely disappointed. We have reached out to our contacts [at Instagram], and we have not yet received a reply as to why they were reinstated.” Rez’s group had been one of those petitioning to have WOL’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts taken down. Rez said that Instagram’s failure to respond to requests for an explanation is “sadly, pretty standard. Social media companies are notoriously known for not being transparent.” Kotel Inspected Ahead of Passover Israel’s Western Wall was inspected for safety on March 22 in preparation for Passover, which begins April 15, The Jerusalem Post reported. Western Wall stones are manually inspected twice a year — once before Passover and once before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation examines the wall to avoid potential disaster during the year’s busiest times. Engineers use a crane to move from stone to stone, checking each one’s durability. Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz supervises the inspections in collabo- ration with the Israel Antiquities Authority and the engineers. A stone fell in July 2018, but nobody was hurt, even though it occurred the morning after the fast of Tisha B’av, which was a crowded day. JE — Compiled by Andy Gotlieb 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 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 15 editorials The Enemy of Our Nemesis I n our community’s consciousness, Poland, the site of Auschwitz and the Warsaw Ghetto, is the graveyard of the Jews. Like so many other places in Eastern Europe, Jewish life flourished in Poland until it was crushed by antisemitism, unfiltered hate and violence. When World War II broke out, there were 3.3 million Jews in Poland, the second-largest Jewish community in the world. Eighty-five percent were murdered in the Holocaust. The pallor of death and the stories of unimaginable evil haunted our postwar communal perception of the Polish peo- ple and their government. At the end of the Cold War, Poland made a quick turn toward the West. But even with that move we saw a disturbing shift in Poland away from democratic ideals like protection of minori- ties, and a pronounced move toward populism and authoritarianism. So, it was disappointing but not surprising that Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party eroded the free press, attacked indepen- dent courts, molested the LGBTQ community and turned increasingly anti-Europe. And in the pro- cess, Poland also poured cold water on its rela- tions will Israel. Just last August, Poland passed an offensive anti-restitution law that would block M Jewish property claims from World War II and the communist era, defying strong opposition from Israel and the United States. We joined many in the West who worried where Poland was headed. Then, in the weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, Poland shifted again — taking on the mantle of “the West” and “Europe,” and rallying support for Ukraine. Some 2.5 million Ukrainians have escaped to Poland, more than any other of Ukraine’s neighbors. And Poland has outpaced the United States and Western European coun- tries in sending weapons to Ukraine, in advocat- ing Ukraine’s immediate admittance to the EU, in envisioning a permanent American base in Albright Leaves a Legacy adeleine Albright, who died last week of cancer at age 84, left a significant legacy. She was the first woman to serve as secretary of state at a time when politics was very much a man’s game, leaving the door open for Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton, who both served in the role after her. She was a refugee and a defender of human rights and democracy. She also came from a Jewish family, a history she said she didn’t know until later in life. It also appears that many of her family members died in the Holocaust. Albright was born in Czechoslovakia. When she was a toddler, her family fled the Nazis. When she was 11, the family fled the country again, this time from the communists. They settled in Colorado. Albright studied political science at Wellesley College, then got married and started a family. She earned a Ph.D. in public law and government at Columbia University, where she studied under Zbigniew Brzezinski. She later worked as a con- gressional liaison for Brzezinski, when he was a national security adviser in the Carter adminis- tration, and served as a foreign policy adviser for Rep. Geraldine Ferraro and Gov. Michael Dukakis. She was also a supporter of Bill Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas. When Clinton was 16 If any country knows what it’s like to be sliced and diced and put out of business by its larger neighbors, it’s Poland. Poland of up to 40,000 troops and transferring MiG-29 fighter jets to the Ukrainian air force, something the United States has opposed. Then, last week, Poland’s prime minister, along with the prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovenia, rode a train to Kyiv in a very public effort to bolster Ukraine’s morale. If any country knows what it’s like to be sliced and diced and put out of business by its larger neighbors, it’s Poland. So when Poland sees what Vladimir Putin is doing in Ukraine, it may have a genuine fear that it could be next. But no matter what is driving its actions, Poland now wears a white hat and has reached a new level of interna- tional involvement and attention. Today’s realities force our Jewish memory through a mind-bending shift in our perception of Poland — similar in many respects to our changing perception of Ukraine. But with Poland it’s different, as we see Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, himself an illiberal leader, calling for support against Putin, another illiberal leader. If not for the enormity of Putin’s threat, we might ignore the plea. But we can’t. For now, Poland and Morawiecki are our friends, and enemies of our nemesis. JE MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Regardless of her complicated Jewish identity, Albright was someone the Jewish community should be proud of. elected president, he named Albright ambassa- dor to the United Nations. As a diplomat on the world stage — first as ambassador to the U.N., then as secretary of state — she wanted the United States to work with international allies to support human rights. She opposed Clinton’s decision not to intervene in the Rwandan genocide. During the Serbian geno- cide of Bosnian Muslims, she called for airstrikes against Serbian targets, and was successful in getting the Clinton administration involved. She also played a part in Middle East peace talks. In 1988, when Clinton was leading peace talks with then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Wye River, Maryland, Netanyahu ordered his team to place their suitcases in front of their cabins as a signal they were leaving. Albright interceded with Yitzhak Mordechai, the Israeli defense minister, and the Israeli team decided to stay. The peace talks led to the Wye River Memorandum to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. When Albright was in her 50s, The Washington Post uncovered her Jewish past. Her parents, who had been Jewish, converted to Catholicism, probably to protect their family from persecution. Albright was raised Catholic and said she never knew of her Jewish heritage before the Post dis- covered it. Many in the Jewish community were skeptical of her claim and speculated she was hes- itant to come forward about her history because it might jeopardize her political aspirations. Regardless of her complicated Jewish identity, Albright was someone the Jewish community should be proud of. She broke a glass ceiling for women in politics, prioritized human rights on the world stage and changed the world for the better. May her memory be a blessing. JE Why My Synagogue Is Building a 55-unit Housing Development for the Homeless BY BROOKE WIRTSCHAFTER W hen IKAR, the Jewish spiritual community where I serve as the director of community organizing, realized our long-held dream of buying land in Los Angeles so that we could build a home for ourselves, we invited the community to imagine what we’d like to see included as part of this new physical space. For many of us, and for our leadership, we know that what we build is a physical expression of our core Jewish values. We knew we wanted our first-ever permanent home to be a hub with a prayer space that would inspire the spirit, classrooms that would facilitate learning, an early childhood center to instill joy, meeting space to foster civic engagement, perfor- mance space that will feature artists from around the world, and a cafe that will nurture through food and relationship-building. But overwhelmingly our community also told us they wanted this: to manifest our values by building homes for some of the tens of thousands of our neighbors who do not have a roof over their heads. So we formed a partnership with a nonprofit housing developer, Community Corp. of Santa Monica, and started working together on a financial arrangement to share our land and allow them to build a 55-unit permanent supportive housing development for formerly unhoused seniors on our site. In Los Angeles, the price of housing, both to rent and to own, has skyrocketed in recent years, and neither wages nor the pace of building have kept up. As a result, we face a housing crisis of immense pro- portions, one that is borne most heavily by the peo- ple in our cities with the least financial resources. Our tradition calls on us to love the stranger, and over and over to remember that we were strang- ers in the Land of Egypt. We can think of no more important way to do that than to welcome those who have been cast out as “strangers” into homes of their own alongside our new communal home. And yet, we’ve learned how difficult it is and why it is so expensive to build affordable housing in cit- ies. While the two partners in our arrangement are eager to work together and solve problems, we’ve discovered the degree to which zoning regulations drive up costs and create uncertainties that can lead to delays and higher costs. In California, local governments have the power to set all kinds of zoning regulations. That allows them to shape development in ways that may be intended to ensure safety or protect local residents, but which also have a long history of excluding people, espe- cially poor people and people of color, from some neighborhoods, or even whole cities. One of the rules that impacts us is the local city parking requirement for houses of worship. The rules would require us to build much more parking than we would choose to accommodate our com- munity. Underground parking, which is all we have space for, costs upward of $60,000 per space and can cost twice that much for each additional deck below ground. We’d rather build less parking and keep the overall cost of the project manageable. Last year, California passed a bill to make it easier for faith communities to build housing on existing parking lots. That law allows houses of worship to remove up to 50 percent of their parking spaces if they replaced them with affordable housing. Now, we are proud to sponsor a bill with Assembly Member Buffy Wicks to extend that flexibility to con- gregations that are building ground-up projects. Our bill would excuse faith communities from up to 50% of their locally zoned parking requirements if they build affordable housing onsite at the same time. For us, this is a matter of justice and equity, and of building our values into the DNA and architecture of our community. We want to open our home to people without homes, and reduce our reliance on private cars as a mode of transportation. We hope this bill will make it easier for and even inspire other faith communities in the state to build housing. Jewish and other faith communities can and should do more to address the systemic housing crisis that is driving hundreds of thousands of our neighbors onto the streets and millions more into financially precarious and unstable living situations. The scale of the problem and the obstacles con- fronting us, however, sometimes keep us from dreaming big. We have the motivation; IKAR’s expe- rience shows we also need to unleash the resources and the human capital to overcome the economic, policy and political hurdles in our own backyards. Abraham was known for his concern for offering welcome to strangers. We can follow his example by using our land to offer welcome to our neighbors. All faiths teach the importance of hospitality and valuing the dignity of each human life. Building more homes for people and fewer spaces for cars at our houses of worship is one way we can help realize that shared vision for a society that centers human dignity and moves toward cities that are easier to navigate without a car. I envision a future in which our community gathers for prayer in our new home, heartened by the connection to our new neighbors, who are enjoying some measure of peace and secu- rity in their new homes as well. JE Brooke Wirtschafter serves as the director of community organizing at IKAR, a Jewish com- munity in Los Angeles, and as a commissioner on the City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission. opinions \ letters Liberals Should Take SJP at its Word The Tufts University, Amnesty International and Sierra Club articles in the March 24 Jewish Exponent dealing with strategic boycotts of Israel and the exclusion of Jews, including J Street, hopefully will awaken J Street and other so-called liberal pro-Israel Jews. The only solution that Students for Justice in Palestine want for Israel is a Final Solution. Take them at their word. I hope and pray that J Street and the liberal pro-Is- rael Jewish groups understand that SJP, as did the Nazis, mean it when they say that their vision for Palestine is the elimination of our Jewish state, Israel. Zachary Margolies | Philadelphia US Asleep Regarding Ukraine It has been said that the Ukrainian situation “does not rise to the level of direct U.S. involvement” (“Area Businessman Aids Extraction Efforts in Ukraine,” March 24). What sort of devastation of a country, murder of its civilians and abject misery inflicted on innocent people would rise to the level that we should “risk the possibility of a global economic or shooting war with Russia?” Vladimir Putin is clearly the aggressor and the war criminal. NATO needs to lay the ground rules for Russia in Ukraine. So far, we have let Russia dictate the rules for our engagement in Ukraine. This is backwards. On the ground and in the air, Russia invaded a sovereign nation. Had our government not been asleep, it would have prepared, without broadcasting its intentions to the world, air and ground resistance sufficient for the Russians to understand that setting one foot on Ukrainian land or airspace would have been met with fierce resistance from all of NATO, as if Ukraine were a NATO ally. Then we might have avoided the current situation. We should not have been making up excuses (Ukraine is not in NATO; we risk World War III) for our failure to take protective military actions beginning last fall, as we are now beginning to do throughout our NATO-allied countries. The risk of protecting Ukrainian airspace is serious, and a delicate line must be walked. However, I contend this risk is not as seri- ous as the current carnage. It is callous and cruel to say this war may continue for weeks; maybe months. I applaud the U.S., President Biden, and NATO for the aid it has given to the Ukrainian people thus far. But, throughout this war, Putin esca- lates, we send weapons, and yes, humanitarian aid. Clearly, this is not sufficient. Ukraine is burning. We are fiddling. We should all be embarrassed. JE Frank L. Friedman | Delanco, New Jersey 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 17 opinion BY STUART E. EIZENSTAT “H ow long have you known me, Stu?” Madeleine Albright asked me that question with a sense of urgency I had not heard from her before. It was mid-January 1996, and I was in my hotel room in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum. She called me through a secure line from her office in the State Department during the transition following Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection, before she was confirmed by the Senate as the first female secretary of state in American history. I was about to be nominated by the president to the position she offered me as her under secretary of state for economic, business and economic affairs. “Well,” I replied, “20 years, since you and I worked together in the West Wing of the Carter White House, you as congressional liaison for the National Security Council under Zbig Brzezinski, and me as President Carter’s chief domestic policy adviser.” The next question was even more odd: “What religion am I?” “Madeleine, of course, you are a Czech Catholic. What’s this all about?” She explained that a Washington Post reporter, Michael Dobbs, was doing an investigative article on her background as she awaited Senate con- firmation, and shockingly determined that she was Jewish, not Catholic. She had known that her parents twice fled Czechoslovakia: first to London as Hitler and the Nazis were going to take over, and then again in 1948, this time to the United States, after her father, a Czech diplomat who returned after the war, was confronted by Stalin and the Communists. She did not know that both of her parents were born Jewish and converted to Catholicism during the war, raising her and her siblings as Catholics. “What must I do?” she asked. She told me she feared the American Jewish community would oppose her nomination, believing that she was embarrassed by and covered up her Jewish past, and this might sink her confirmation. Moreover, she said, “What am I supposed to say to my three girls? Am I to tell them they should now convert to Judaism?” My instant advice was to tell the truth, which was that she never knew about her parents’ conversion; to embrace her newly discovered Jewish past with pride; and that of course, neither she nor her three children should feel they needed to convert to Judaism. I also explained that given my work on Holocaust justice in the Clinton administration, 18 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Then-U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright looks on as Stuart E. Eizenstat, then-under secretary of state for economic, business and agricultural affairs, speaks during the opening plenary session of the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 1, 1998. and frequent interaction with Holocaust survivors, that the Jewish community understood that during World War II all sorts of methods were used to protect Jewish children, including placing them in Catholic convents or in Christian households where they were raised by righteous gentiles. I told her that several of the Jewish friends I had made in Belgium when I was U.S. ambassador to the European Union had been saved in just that way. Tomas Kraus, the head of the Federation of Czech Jewish Communities, later confirmed that “[i]t is com- mon for Jews from this part of the world to be ignorant of their Jewish roots.” By being candid, I was certain there would be no blowback either from the Jewish community or the Senate. Besides, I reminded her, as U.N. ambas- sador during Clinton’s first four years in office, she had established herself as a strong, fervent sup- porter of Israel against Arab attacks. She followed my advice and was confirmed with a remarkable 99-0 vote. On her first foreign trip as secretary of state, as I was in her office for a last-minute briefing, she looked at her suitcase and, with her characteristic wit, said, “Well, with my newly discovered Jewish background, I suppose I should say I am going to schlep my suitcase!” We all burst into laughter. But Madeleine Albright went beyond my fond- est hopes in identifying with her Jewish past. As Secretary of State, in her maiden trip to her Prague birthplace in July 1997, she went straight to the Pinkas Synagogue to look for her grandpar- ents’ names among the more than 77,000 Czech and Slovak Holocaust victims lovingly inscribed by Czech survivors on the wall of the synagogue. She found the names of her paternal grandparents, Arnost and Olga Korbel, who had perished in the Nazi death camps — Arnost in Theresienstadt in 1942 and her grandmother in Auschwitz in 1944. At the synagogue she said publicly, “Tonight … their image will be forever seared into my heart.” Later during her tour to welcome her native Czech Republic and two other former Soviet bloc countries into NATO — a burning issue today with the Russian invasion of Ukraine — she toured other Jewish sites in Prague, and movingly confronted her past: “The evil of the Holocaust” has taken on “even greater personal meaning” since she learned the fate of her grandparents. “To the many values and many facets that make up who I am, I now add the knowledge that my grandparents and members of my family perished in the worst catastrophe in human history. So I leave here tonight with the cer- tainty that this new part of my identity adds some- thing stronger, sadder and richer to my life.” She went a step further and on a later trip went to the small villages where her fraternal and maternal grandparents had lived, to try to relive their history. As her under secretary, I saw up-close how her background as a refugee from fascism shaped her foreign policy views and her greatest triumphs in the two Balkan Wars, in Bosnia and Kosovo. As U.N. ambassador, she joined with National Security Adviser Tony Lake to successfully urge President Clinton, over Pentagon and State Department opposition, to take aggressive U.S. leadership of NATO and direct military strikes against Bosnian Serbs following the brutality against Bosnian Muslims encouraged by Serbian strongman President Slobodan Milosević. The July 1995 massacre of more than 7,000 Bosnian men and boys at Srebrenica, dumped into a mass grave, evoked for her the Holocaust her parents had escaped. She confronted Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Colin Powell, stating, “What’s the point of having this superb military that you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?” That military action paved the way for the Dayton Accords negotiated by Richard Holbrooke, the peace agreement that ended the war. In January 1999, following another Serb massa- cre of Kosovo Albanians at the small Kosovo village of Racak, Secretary of State Albright brilliantly com- bined diplomacy with NATO military force, again over Defense Department opposition, to secure a PHOTO COURTESY OF GERSHON BLORITZKY The Advice I Gave Madeleine Albright When She found Out She Was Jewish opinion peace which lasts to this day. She was a strong, constant supporter of my work on Holocaust justice in my negotiations with Swiss and French banks, German and Austrian slave labor companies and European insurance companies. She gave the keynote speech at the Washington Conference which led to the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, where she weaved her own Holocaust background into the contemporary challenge of returning looted art. And she asked me to lead the U.S. delegation to the Kyoto confer- ence on Climate Change, giving me strong backing for the Kyoto Protocols. She decided to name the State Department headquarters after President Harry S. Truman, to symbolize the leadership he had taken to build a new, peaceful, post-war world, with U.S. leader- ship. We shared a laugh when we found out his middle initial “S” was not an abbreviation for any name, but was just a letter his mother added to his name. We went through tragedies as well. I accompa- nied her to Dover Air Force Base, where we met the flag-draped coffins of American diplomats killed in terrorist attacks at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and she gave an uplifting speech on the sacrifices American diplomats take to try to create a better world. Madeleine Albright, tiny in stature but huge in impact, had a charisma, a sparkle, a brilliance and a fluency in Czech, French, Polish and Russian. She connected the foreign policy she forged with President Clinton to the lives of everyday people around the world. All of these qualities made her larger than life. One of her trademarks was wearing a variety of brooches on the lapel of her clothing to underline her political and dip- lomatic messages. When I asked why, since she had not done this in our early years together, she recalled when Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussein, following his invasion of Kuwait, compared her to an “unparalleled serpent.” She wore a snake pin in response, and a tradition was born. The United States has lost a great American public servant, a role model for women as the first female secretary of state, a professor at Georgetown University, an author, a lifelong proponent of democracy and human rights, a constant friend of Israel and someone who embraced her Jewish background. And I have lost a dear friend.  JE Stuart E. Eizenstat worked with Madeleine Albright when they were both in the Carter White House and during the Clinton administration in which she was the secretary of state and he was undersecretary of state for economic business and agriculture affairs and special representative of President Clinton and Secretary Albright on Holocaust-era issues. BY FARLEY WEISS T The New Iran Deal Is a Disaster, and Everyone Knows it he United States and Iran are reportedly on the cusp of a new nuclear agreement. One of the last remaining issues is said to be whether or not the Biden administration removes the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list. The administration is purportedly offering to do so on the condition that Iran makes some amor- phous commitment to rein in its regional aggres- sion and refrain from targeting Americans. In other words, as far as the Biden administra- tion is concerned, it’s OK if the Iranians attack Europeans, Saudis, Israelis or Emiratis. Such an agreement brings to mind the deal West Germany reportedly made with Fatah shortly after the Palestinian terrorist group Black September hijacked Lufthansa flight 615 on Oct. 29, 1972. There is strong evidence suggesting that West Germany released the three surviving Palestinian Arab terrorists involved in the Munich massacre in exchange for a commitment that no terrorist attacks would be carried out in the country. The Biden administration was supposed to be negotiating an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program. Instead, the revised agreement apparently includes many provisions regarding the lifting of terror-related sanctions on the IRGC and numerous individual Iranians, despite their ongo- ing involvement in terror activity. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) recently stated that while the agreement taking shape in Vienna will not prevent Iran from eventually obtaining a nuclear weapon, neither will the absence of a deal. However, this misses the point — with no deal in place over the past three years, it has been the actions taken by both Israel and the United States that have prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Furthermore, there is the example of North Korea. The United States signed a deal with North Korea on Oct. 21, 1994, under which Pyongyang committed to freeze its nuclear program. In exchange for North Korea agreeing to shut down its main nuclear plant and abandon others under construction, the United States would provide two light-water reactors, along with oil for heating and energy production until the new reactors were completed. In addition, the United States agreed to lift economic sanctions and end its diplomatic freeze on North Korea. Ultimately, however, North Korea never gave up its nuclear weapons program, and did develop nuclear weapons, all while economically benefit- ing from the mistaken agreement. In other words, the United States would have been far better off maintaining the sanctions on North Korea. The original nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed in 2015, was supposed to change Iran’s behavior and rein in its nuclear weapons program, in exchange for over $100 billion in sanctions relief. However, Iran clandestinely continued its nuclear weapons pro- gram, using the massive influx of money to increase its defense budget by 40%, as well as upping the budgets of Hamas and Hezbollah. After the United States unilaterally pulled out of the JCPOA in 2018 under President Donald Trump, Iran’s defense budget plummeted, its for- eign reserves dropped to just $4 billion and Hamas and Hezbollah budgets were drastically cut. The United States and Israel were able to take military action to prevent Iran from obtaining a bomb; Germany, France and Britain stayed in the JCPOA, despite Iran openly and flagrantly violat- ing its provisions. The Biden administration has already loosened sanctions even before a new deal has been reached. Iran’s foreign reserves have already increased to well over $30 billion, and are still rising. Iran flagrantly violated the original JCPOA, and the Biden administration is now pursuing a sec- ond, weaker agreement, with less nuclear over- sight and significant terrorism sanctions relief. Not only that, but that sanctions relief will now benefit not only Iran but also Russia, which is per- secuting a war in Ukraine. It’s obvious that the Biden administration’s attempt to reach a new agreement with Iran is an unmitigated disaster. They aren’t even attempting to sell it as a good deal — instead they’re trying to blame the Trump administration’s pullout from the JCPOA for the bad deal they are about to sign. In the end, providing massive sanctions relief to an evil regime that calls for the destruction of Israel and America, and which is the leading global state sponsor of terrorism, is a terrible idea — and one that has already been tried. If, as Albert Einstein famously said, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, then what is doing the same thing over and over despite expecting worse results? Apparently, only the Biden administration can answer that question. JE Farley Weiss, former president of the National Council of Young Israel, is an intellectual property attorney for the law firm of Weiss & Moy. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 19 opinion AIPAC’s Defense of Extremist Candidates is Indefensible BY JON GREENWALD A 20 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) How can an organization that purports to ground its support for pro-Israel policies in the United States on the existence of shared national values put its seal of approval on politicians … who remain proud of their contribution to the fundamentally undemocratic activities of Jan. 6 and to the poisonous half-life of that shameful day? as the Middle East’s sole democracy and the U.S. as the essential strate- gic partner for securing that distinc- tion. But can politicians who blatantly undermine democracy at home be relied on to uphold it abroad? Those who undermine American democracy are not true friends of Israel, and no amount of pro-Israel posturing can excuse endorsing them. Many genuine friends of Israel have said as much. Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, for example, wrote: “First you must be a defender of democracy …. After all, democracy is at the root of the Israel-U.S. relationship.” Likewise, Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haas noted that what ties Israel and the U.S. together is “a commitment to democracy. An undem- ocratic America could easily distance itself from the Jewish state.” And Abe Foxman, the former head MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM of the Anti-Defamation League, said AIPAC’s decision was a “sad mistake,” and “those who undermine America‘s democracy undermine America, and a weak America will not be able to stand and support its ally Israel.” AIPAC’s letter stated that the orga- nization “would base decisions about political contributions on only one thing: whether a political candidate supports the US-Israel relationship.” Endorsement of the 37 deniers of a free and fair election, however, is the latest indication that AIPAC is increasingly out of touch with the views and values of most Americans as well as most Jews. For years, it has defended the Israeli government’s actions under nearly all circumstances, even as those actions have eroded democracy in Israel and led further away from the peaceful two-state solution that AIPAC says it supports. Now, the organization seems to extend its lack of care for democracy to include our own domes- tic politics. Americans who fear for the future of democracy at home, in Israel and around the world need to make clear that AIPAC’s ideology and actions do not speak for us. We must show Congress and the world that most pro-Israel Americans fiercely oppose the kind of extremism AIPAC is now fundraising for, and that true support for Israel means defending democracy rather than sacrificing it for the sake of blind defense of Israel. Simply put – AIPAC’s defense of extremism is indefensible. JE Jon Greenwald is a former U.S. foreign service officer who worked on issues including the Middle East, counterterrorism and international law. He is also a former vice presi- dent at the Washington, D.C.-based International Crisis Group. “[Photographer Name]/[Collection Name]/Getty Images. few weeks ago, the new political action committee established by the influential lobbying group American Israel Political Action Committee announced its first 130 endorsements for members of Congress. The list was divided almost evenly between Democrats and Republicans – not a surprise since AIPAC calls itself bipartisan. But the inclusion of 37 Republicans who refused to vote to certify Joe Biden as president was a shock. The vote in question, of course, came on Jan. 6, 2021, a few hours after a violent mob supporting then- President Trump’s lies about a stolen election had broken into the Capitol, threatening the lives of senators and members of Congress. The horrors of that day were witnessed across the country but experienced even more personally by residents of Washington, D.C. and its Virginia and Maryland sub- urbs. And of course, the stolen elec- tion lie remains a virulent element in today’s fevered political environment. How can an organization that purports to ground its support for pro-Israel policies in the U.S. on the existence of shared national values put its seal of approval on politicians like Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas, and Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, who remain proud of their contribution to the fundamentally undemocratic activities of January 6 and to the poisonous half-life of that shameful day? Last week, in a letter to its mem- bers, AIPAC defended its endorse- ment of the 37 by arguing that “this is no moment for the pro-Israel move- ment to become selective about its friends.” But surely that argument is deeply flawed. The U.S.-Israel relationship is indeed grounded on mutual respect for jus- tice, equality and democracy. To say that one supports that relationship while simultaneously undermining its shared values, however, involves a dangerous contradiction. AIPAC regularly describes Israel Likoper / iStock / Getty Images Plus l e z a M o v! T JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 21 Mazel Tov! Jewish Baby Names Becoming Classic, Modern JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER A May 2021 Pew Research Center study revealed that younger Jews in the United States were more likely than older generations to migrate to the reli- gion’s extremes; compared to their 22 elders, more American Jews in the 18-49 demographic identifi ed as either Orthodox or of “no particular branch.” Th ese are also the Jewish generations bringing new Jews into the world and, in naming their babies, they are exhib- iting similar trends. Philadelphia-area rabbis and cantors who offi ciate at baby-naming ceremo- MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM nies are seeing parents both rediscover classic names and bring new ones into fashion. Cantor Mark Kushner is a full-time, certifi ed mohel, as he describes him- self. A 2019 Jewish Exponent article on baby naming said Kushner had “multi- ple decades of experience performing brit milahs and simchat bats,” and estimated that he’d been “involved in the naming of thousands of children.” Kushner is still active in the area, and he rattled off some of the names he’s been seeing in the past few years. “Many people are using names like Rebel, Skye and Crew,” he said of the more modern names. “Th ere’s also, on the opposite, a preponderance of Jacob, Max, Leo,” Kushner added of the more classic names. A December Kveller article backed up at least half of Kushner’s claim, listing several older, more traditional names among the top selections of 2021. Monikers included Asher, Ezra and Gideon for boys and Abigail, Ava and Eliana for girls. Babynames.com, which ranks the most popular baby names in the U.S., listed some classic boy names, like Oliver and Th eodore, near the top as well, while the girls’ list showed more-modern selections like Luna and Hazel. Kushner explained that these trends probably come from two emotional places in the minds of parents; they want their kids to stand out and they want a name to off er insight into a child’s, and eventually into an adult’s, personality. Skye, for example, is a peaceful insight; parents who choose this name hope for their baby to have the qual- ity of a blue sky: relaxed. Kushner has conducted several ceremonies for new babies named Shir, which means song in Hebrew. Th ose parents prob- ably desire their child to live a life of rhythm, music and happiness. Th is kind of symbolism is also an excellent reason not to name your kid Rebel, according to the cantor. Cantor Mark Kushner Cantor Kushner Archives “If you call your child Rebel, be care- ful what you wish for,” he said. Rabbi Jonathan Kremer, who leads the Shirat Hayam Congregation in Ventnor, New Jersey, believes that the classic and modern naming approaches are positive. Not only do they show respect for tradition and a desire to be unique, but they also reveal a genera- tion of adults that’s less enamored with popular culture. Kremer used to see more kids with trendy names, perhaps inspired by celebrities. He mentioned Britney, for Britney Spears, and Lindsay, for Lindsay Lohan, as two examples that he remembered from 10 or more years ago. But in the past decade, the rabbi has seen everything from Brooklyn for a girl to Erez, meaning cedar tree, for a boy, to biblical options like Rachel and David. “You can’t escape popular culture if you’re online,” Kremer said. “But my impression is parents are pushing away from that and letting their hearts be their guide.” Rabbi Aaron Krauss, who guides Beth El Synagogue in Margate, New Jersey, agrees with Kremer that these developments are for the better. In particular, Krauss is happy to see traditional and even biblical names making a comeback. Parents who use Jewish-sounding names are confi dent in their Jewishness, according to the rabbi. Th ey are also a Mazel Tov! stark contrast to their ancestors who, in an understandable eff ort to assimilate, chose names that didn’t sound as Jewish. Today, in a society with more inter- marriage than it used to have, even “the non-Jewish partner seems to be comfort- able with a Jewish name,” said Krauss. “It’s a step in the direction of peo- ple feeling more comfortable with their Jewishness,” he added. No matter what the modern trends are, though, Jewish naming practices continue to take on timeless qualities, according to local rabbis. First and foremost, there’s a divine inspi- ration, they say. A couple of months ago, Rabbi Moshe Brennan of the Chabad of Penn Wynne and his wife did not know what to name their newborn son. So before leaving the hospital, Brennan wrote Nehenya, mean- ing comfort, on his son’s form. Ten days later, Brennan’s cousin, who was doing some research on their great-grandmother, sent him a picture of their great-grandmother’s grandfather’s grave. It said Mordecai, son of Nehenya. “It was a name in the family,” the rabbi said. “No one else in the family for fi ve generations.” “You’re going to pick a name and you feel and think you’re making the choice,” he added. “But it’s simply being revealed to you.” Th ere’s also a more conscious element, according to Rabbi Abe Friedman of Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel in Philadelphia. Oft en, parents will tell Friedman before a naming ceremony that they picked a moniker to honor a relative. Th e rabbi will respond by asking them to think about why they wanted to honor that relative, and then to explain those reasons to the child in a letter they read aloud during the ceremony. By the time they stand up to speak, they understand what stories, qualities and les- sons they want to pass down from the elder to the child. “I think parents are very aware of what they’re choosing,” he said. “Th is name is a container of meaning.” JE jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com Cantor Mark Kushner with a couple and a new baby at a naming ceremony. Mazel Tov! Celebrate in Style! Bar/Bat Mitzvah - Weddings - Celebrations Contact eventsphiladelphia@citywinery.com for more info 990 Filbert Street, Philadelphia PA 19107 267.479.7373 | citywinery.com/philadelphia JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 23 Mazel Tov! Today’s B’nai Mitzvah Tunes Take TikTok’s Cues SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER W hen Justin Kodroff had his bar mitzvah party in 2006, Lil Jon’s “Snap Yo Fingers” and Yung Joc’s “It’s Goin’ Down” were as big of hits on the dance fl oor as they were on MTV and VH1, which then still favored music videos over reality television. His party at LuLu Country Club in Glenside was defi ned by the break- dancing lessons the party starters and DJs conducted for the pubescent guests — a fl eet of seventh graders trying their best to “walk it out” and two-step with gawky limbs and ill-fi tted dress pants. Either today’s teens are cooler than those from yesteryear or it’s easy to roman- ticize the past, but the b’nai mitzvahs of today have certainly changed to align with today’s popular culture, although some tracks and trends are timeless. A DJ for Horsham-based HotHotHot Entertainment since 2015, Kodroff has since leveled up to spend b’nai mitzvahs on the other side of the proverbial turntables. Maybe the most obvious change to the b’nai mitzvah music of today? How it’s played. Gone are the days of DJs lugging records, tapes, CDs and turntables to a venue. Instead, they bring a laptop loaded with thousands of songs, with thousands more available online, mak- ing spontaneous song requests for deep cuts available at the click of a trackpad. With a minimalist setup, DJs are nimble, sometimes cycling through 400-500 songs for one event, Kodroff said, opting out of playing an entire three- or four-minute song. Technology has accounted for the change in more ways than one. With kids compulsively scrolling on their phones, their attention spans have deteriorated, argued Michael Langsner 24 of the Englishtown, New Jersey-based Xplosive Entertainment. Minute-long TikToks and Instagram Reels have cap- tured the catchiest minute of a song, and that’s the minute kids want to hear. “It’s not uncommon to be playing a minute-and-a-half or two minutes of each song before you switch to the next, because if you don’t, you’ll lose your dance fl oor now,” Langsner said. Kodroff calls this new styling of DJ-ing “rapid mixing,” and it’s gaining popularity among younger audiences. For younger DJs like Kodroff , the shift is understandable. “Being a millennial, I get it. We want things instantaneously, to have that Justin Kodroff is a DJ for the Horsham-based HotHotHot Entertainment. Courtesy of Justin Kodroff Xplosive Entertainment DJ Michael Langsner has noticed TikTok making its mark on the songs tweens are dancing to these days. Courtesy of Xplosive Entertainment MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM The Cynwyd Club “The best kept secret on the Mainline” Event venue for Bar & Bat Mitzvahs and other special events! 332 Trevor Lane Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 610-667-4524 ex. 3240 banquets@cynwydclub.com www.cynwydclub.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 25 Mazel Tov! gratifi cation,” he said. But for Langsner, who’s been in the business for more than two decades, the impact of TikTok has presented additional surprises, namely that the songs he played at b’nai mitzvahs and weddings 20 years ago are getting requested at today’s parties. “I have a 7-year-old daughter, and one of her favorite movies is ‘Sing 2,’ So much of that music was all the music that came back,” Langsner said. Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and Aretha Franklin’s “I Say A Little Prayer” have dominant basslines and beats laid over them in the animated fi lm integrated in a soundtrack that blends classics and contemporary songs. Madonna’s “Material Girl” and Rod Stewart’s “Da Ya Th ink I’m Sexy” are the latest throwbacks to make an appear- ance on Spotify’s “Viral Hits” playlist, indicating their popularity on TikTok. Recently, Langsner even has received requests for Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” as even 35 years aft er the song’s release, he still can’t avoid getting rick-rolled. “I always get a kick out of how certain songs stand the test of time and others don’t,” said Todd Frederick, DJ at Silver Sound DJ Entertainment in Malvern. GIVE GIFTS OF ISRAEL BONDS FOR ALL CELEBRATORY OCCASIONS MAZEL TOV BONDS* Starting at $100 eMAZEL TOV BONDS** Starting at $36 INVEST IN ISRAEL BONDS • ISRAELBONDS.COM Development Corporation for Israel Ari Sirner, Executive Director Sharon Richman, Registered Representative 1511 Walnut St, Suite 301 • Philadelphia, PA 19102 215.545.8380 • philadelphia@israelbonds.com YOUR BOND WITH A NATION OF LIMITLESS POTENTIAL israelbonds.com *Not Available online. **Available only online. This is not an offering, which can be made only by prospectus. Read the prospectus carefully before investing to fully evaluate the risks associated with investing in Israel bonds. Issues subject to availability. Member FINRA. Photos: iStock, AdobeStock 26 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM “And it’s not necessarily a quality thing.” Not all songs from yesteryear have been accepted by today’s teens. Line dances like “Electric Slide” are a sure way to have guests promptly leave the dance fl oor. But the “Cha-Cha Slide” and even “Cotton-Eyed Joe” are still played, due to their ability to appease both the younger crowds and their parents, who, aft er all, are either paying the party bill or generously carpooling kids there and back, Frederick said. Langsner calls these songs, and oth- ers that are guaranteed crowd-pleasers “crutches,” though he prefers not to play them. Frederick fi nds a great deal of merit in keeping line dances on his playlists, however, because they level the playing fi eld of not just children and adults, but of those who have fancy feet and those with two left feet. “ It’s something that everybody can do if they know it, and if you don’t know, you can get out there and learn it without feeling like you’re the only one out there,” Frederick said. “It also enables people that are maybe not necessarily good dancers to get out and do their thing.” While DJs have noticed kids appear interested in doing TikTok dances in small groups, scattered around the dance fl oor, line dances are still here to stay. Th ough TikTok has clearly made its mark on the b’nai mitzvahs of 2022, the lasting power of the app is still in question, Frederick believes. With 60-second song clips going in and out of popularity depending on the day or week, it’s hard for DJs to tell what will be the popular tracks of tomorrow. “Th ose things are a lot more short-lived,” Frederick said. “Th ey come and they go, and then so on to the next thing.” JE srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com “My husband and I often spoke about it. If we had known the lifestyle we could have had, we would’ve moved in I think 10 years before. I made the decision, and I knew it was a good move.” – Dee L., Watermark resident for eight years “The social activity is sort of secondary to me. The place is secure, it’s safe. I think Watermark did an outstanding job considering that nobody’s been through this [pandemic] before. They were way ahead of the curve.” – Jack, Dee’s son Call 215-902-9553 for a virtual or in-person private consultation today. Learn more about our community and hear from Dee and her family: Hover phone camera over the QR code or visit wrcsafe.com/logansquare. 2 Franklin Town Boulevard • Philadelphia, PA 19103 • logansquare.watermarkcommunities.com IN DEPEN DEN T L IVIN G • PERSONAL CARE MEMORY CARE • REHABIL ITATION & SKIL L ED N URSING 22-WLS-0861 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 27 Mazel Tov! Big Jewish Weddings Are Back in 2022 JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER T he New York Times reported in February a pre- diction from the trade group Wedding Report that about 2.5 million weddings would “take place” this year, a “bump not seen since 1984.” Locally, rabbis and event managers are corroborating the forecast. Weddings are back in 2022, they say. But aside from the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, the lockdown period, weddings never really went away, accord- ing to rabbis and event managers. Th ey just changed shape. Philadelphia-area Jews held smaller celebrations, some- times even micro aff airs with 10 or 12 people. Th ey also hosted parties in diff erent locations than traditional ven- ues, like backyards and public parks. Some gatherings still crossed the 100-guest threshold but, in general, these major life events were scaled down due to pandemic concerns. In 2022, though, the standard big party is back, and it’s back in full. Samantha Foxwell, a coordinator at the Artesano Gallery in Philadelphia, said, “We’re seeing 200-, 250-person wed- dings.” Michelle Durinzi, the marketing director for Robert Ryan Catering, which services three area venues, estimated that the average 2022 wedding crowd is between 125 and 175 guests. Both ranges are larger than the planners saw in 2020 and ’21. “People are ready to party again,” Durinzi said. And it’s not just crowd sizes that are standing out — it’s the sheer amount of bookings that venues and caterers are seeing. According to Foxwell, Artesano Gallery already has 43 events on its 2022 schedule. She mentioned that, “we’ve seen a ton of inquiries for 2023 and 2024.” Nancy Schwoebel, who runs catering sales for Catering by Design, a company that serves event spaces in Bucks County, on the Main Line and in Philadelphia, said, “people are booking much more short-term than they were.” Between From Generation to Generation A Family Tradition For All Occasions Formerly of Fleets T AILORED C LOTHING S PORTSWEAR A CCESSORIES F OOTWEAR S ALES & R ENTALS F OR M EN & B OYS ! Sizes 2-50+ Regulars Slims - Huskies Portlys - X-Longs Perlmutter Family HOURS: M. T. TH. F. SAT. 10-5 • WED. 10-8 WARMINSTER SHOPPING CENTER • 320 York Road • Warminster, PA 18974 215-914-2060 • WWW.THEMENSANDBOYSSTORE.COM 28 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM courtesy of Hy Paul Studios F ORMAL A TTIRE ... Making Women Look and Feel Beautiful Beautiful!! 40 $ OFF 40 $ O Of f f * COUPON . Mon-Wed 10-6, Thurs-Fri 10-7, Sat 10-6, Sun 11-6 JUSTA FARM SHOPPING CENTER * Shoes Only. Minimum Purchse $200 Excludes prior purchases, layaway & other discounts, certain merchandise excluded Photo by Ashely Errington Photography 1966 County Line Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 the short-term bookings and rollover reservations from 2021, when many couples postponed weddings, Catering by Design has far more dates in 2022 than a year ago. “People are very much eager to get married,” Foxwell said. And in the Jewish tradition, the cer- emony is merely part one. The ensuing party with the whole village is close to a necessity in its own right. Rabbi Aaron Gaber of Congregation Brothers of Israel in Newtown said “people are planning the follow-on affair,” meaning they got married last year and “now they’re going to cele- brate.” “People are still getting married, and people are still having fun,” he added. Rabbi Nathan Weiner of Congregation Beth Tikvah in Marlton, New Jersey, is noticing the same trend in the COVID era — receptions detached from ceremonies, and recep- tions that are starting to happen now for those ceremonies. Such celebrations fulfill the desire to party in full that the rabbi is seeing in general right now. He is set to officiate at two weddings this spring; both will include “cocktail hours, schmoozing, drinking, singing and dancing with over 100 people,” he said. Jewish spiritual leaders, quite natu- rally, view this as a beautiful thing. “You want to perform the mitzvah of rejoicing with a wedding couple,” Weiner said. “People need joy and a source of resil- ience,” added Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari of Kol Tzedek in Philadelphia. “Any couple getting married is a great celebration and represents a new beginning,” Gaber said. “Now that we’re coming into the endemic, peo- ple are looking for ways to celebrate together.” But even as we enter what appears to be the endemic, local Jews are still taking a cautious approach to their weddings. At the Artesano Gallery, couples still ask event coordinators to “make sure there’s space” for guests to maneu- ver without getting too close to one another. There are also still “tons of couples who want smaller weddings,” Foxwell said. Durinzi mentioned similar trends among Robert Ryan clients; over the winter, couples mostly kept their guest lists between 70 and 100 people because their friends and family mem- bers were concerned about the virus; and there are still “a fair share” of peo- ple who ask for weddings with between 12 and 40 loved ones in attendance, though Robert Ryan doesn’t usually 215-969-9626 • HOT-FOOT-BOUTIQUE.SHOPTIQUES.COM Changing Changing Addresses? Addresses? DON’T MISS A SINGLE ISSUE OF THE Jewish Exponent PHILADELPHIA Call 215.832.0700 or email subscriptions@jewishexponent.com with your new address. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 29 Mazel Tov! 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Th e sales coordinator believes this is not an accident, either, as the smaller, more intimate aff airs have benefi ts beyond safety. Th ey are more intimate, as well as less expensive and less stressful for the bride and groom. “Th ey saw it was a good thing,” Schwoebel said. “’Let’s have a smaller wedding. We don’t need hundreds of people.’” Sometimes, less can be more, accord- ing to the sales coordinator. At a smaller aff air, the guests of honor can just enjoy their guests. Th ey don’t have to make sure that they see and talk to everyone. Schwoebel compared the smaller wedding to a dinner party which, for a more introverted couple, may be better than an epic blowout. Photo by Natalia Wajde “Th ey don’t want to be the center of attention, and they just want to have a little dinner party,” she said. Plus, aft er two years of smaller, more intimate celebrations, there’s a whole online history of them for people to reference. “Now brides can look at that infor- mation,” Schwoebel said. Rabbis say those weddings are as beautiful as the ones involving the whole village. Rabbi Benjamin David of Adath Emanu-El in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, offi ciated at several micro-celebrations during the pandemic and called them “a joy.” “Th ey spoke to love and family and community in this really honest way,” he said. “Th ey stripped away big bands and big fl owers, big caterer. It stripped all of that away to the essentials of the bride, the groom, the fact that love will not be denied.” JE jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com Wish Your Friends & Family A HAPPY PASSOVER in the Jewish Exponent Be a part of our April 14 th holiday edition. DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 TH $ Best Wishes $ A SWEET & JOYOUS Passover to all for a Happy Passover Happy Passover YOUR NAME N C 45 D YOUR NAME ESIG $ YOUR NAME ESIG D 45 D D $ N D B 75 N A 95 ESIG N ESIG Warm Passover Greetings From YOUR NAME – Personal Greetings Only – PLEASE RUN MY GREETING IN YOUR HOLIDAY ISSUE. I WOULD LIKE AD (circle one here) A, B, C, D Name _______________________________________________Phone Number __________________________________ Street Address ________________________________________ City ________________________ZIP _______________ Th e name(s) on the message should read: __________________________________________________________________ I am enclosing a check for $ _________________________________________ (All greetings must be paid for in advance.) OR email your information and credit card number to: classifi ed@jewishexponent.com. MAIL TO: CLASSIFIED DEPT., 2100 ARCH ST., 4TH FLOOR, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 19103 If you have any questions, contact the Jewish Exponent at 215.832.0749 or classifi ed@jewishexponent.com. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 31 Jewish Farmers Try to Fit Shmita Practices into the Modern World A portion of William and Malya Levin’s farm in South Jersey Photo by Nathan Kleinman JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER 32 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Rustic / iStock / Getty Images Plus I n our modern capitalist society, Jewish farmers can’t really observe the shmita year — the once every seven years tradition of letting the land lie fallow so farmers can rest and refresh themselves. Th ere are too many economic forces at play. But Jewish farmers can at least follow the spirit of the tradition, they say. Th ey can let pieces of the land lie fallow for the year, or they can use parts of it for more communal purposes like education. Following the spirit of the tradition still allows farmers, both locally and outside the Philadelphia area, to get some of the benefi ts of a traditional shmita year, like time for refl ection and then a gradual re-centering and reorientation to the grind of cultivating the land. As rabbinic authorities explained, shmita is like an extended Shabbat and, in a modern context, it can be like the current-day observation of the Sabbath: Jews fi nding a way to recharge, even if they’re not strictly following the letter of the Jewish law. “How can you have more practices that nourish you?” said Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, the founder of Kol Tzedek in Philadelphia and a spiritual leader at SAJ in New York City. “A wide view of what it can mean to your life,” she added. “If I can experience the Shabbos, I can understand what the earth is experiencing. Why it needs to rest and heal and regenerate.” YITZHAK GLASMAN William and Malya Levin run the Alliance Community Reboot in Salem County, New Jersey. It’s also perfectly OK for farmers to not take shmita literally, as they aren’t actually required to by law. Halachic custom states that shmita only applies to Jews in Israel. “As Jewish farmers in North America, we have zero obligation,” said Shani Mink, the executive director of the Jewish Farmer Network, which helps Jewish farmers across the United States. So then, according to Mink, the question becomes, what can we learn from shmita by observing it in spirit? William and Malya Levin, who run the Alliance Community Reboot, a nonprofi t farming community in Salem County, New Jersey, took over their land aft er years of conventional farmers using pesticides and herbicides on it. But the Levins wanted to go organic, so they needed to detoxify the fi elds. To get an organic certifi cation from the United States Department of Agriculture, the husband-and-wife team had to uphold a requirement of abstinence from synthetic substances for 36 months. It was essentially three years of shmita, they said. “It was recuperating,” Malya Levin added. Photo by Ahron Moeller Th ree years into its organic farming life, the Alliance Community Reboot, or ACRe, is using the actual shmita year to cultivate another shmita-inspired eff ort. Th e Levins are turning a grant from Salem County into a model farm on a portion of their South Jersey property. Th ey plan to use the model farm for educational tours. “Launching during the shmita year is appropriate,” Malya Levin said. “Taking a breath from commercial enterprise, showing why we do what we do.” Yitzhak Glasman, who operates the Shalem Farm in Doylestown, is taking on a similar eff ort. Glasman described his Bucks County land as “destroyed” when he took it over a year ago. So now, he’s in the process of “regenerating” it for farming use. Th e farmer explained that shmita doesn’t apply to him because he doesn’t live in Israel. But he still believes in using its concepts to “manage and heal the land.” Glasman also said that, “If I can experience the Shabbos, I can understand JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 33 what the earth is experiencing.” “Why it needs to rest and heal and regenerate,” he added. Plus, even if organic farms like ACRe and Shalem aren’t literally observing shmita, they are pursuing the same goal that the Jewish tradi- tion implies: sustainability. Th e purpose of resting and recharging is to ultimately return and last longer, according to Glasman. “Durable, long-term, long vision,” he said. “It’s a simple concept but it’s so useful in this capitalist society where everyone wants to produce, produce, produce.” Useful, but still for the most part impractical, according to Perri Dejarnette, the assistant director of stewardship at the Pearlstone Center, a Maryland retreat center with an eight-acre organic farm. Dejarnette does not think of herself as a capitalist; yet she can’t escape its all-encom- passing nature, she said. At the same time, she agrees with Glasman: It’s valuable, both inher- ently and communally, to try and carve out spaces where you can. Maybe you make like the Levins and Glasman and detox the land to purify it; or perhaps you follow the Levins’ lead in using land to build a more community-minded education space; or maybe you do what Pearlstone does and donate more produce to emergency recovery eff orts and off er employees extra days off . “It’s just another time for us to really go ahead and donate more pro- duce, and also just being more open to the idea of radical rest,” Dejarnette said. But even while Pearlstone does these things, they feel a little hollow, according to the assistant director. She said there’s a disconnection between following the spirit of shmita and observing shmita itself. Shmita is community-oriented, according to Dejarnette. If you want to live like that, you need the people around you to do it, too. Communities have to plan in seven-year cycles to make sure they have enough food for the year of rest. Community members also must uphold the standard of letting the commons lie fallow. Capitalism is at odds with those goals. “We can only work within our current economic system,” Dejarnette said. “I’m stuck in this world, so I have to play the game.” Jews outside Israel may not have to practice shmita, but Dejarnette believes it might benefi t American Jews to live according to it anyway. “If we thought of everything as commons, maybe we’d take better care of it,” she concluded. “Maybe we’d have more empathy.” JE jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com “Launching during the shmita year is appropriate. Taking a breath from commercialenterprise, showing why we do what we do.” MALYA LEVIN William and Malya Levin’s South Jersey property From video footage by Greg Ulan 34 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM PASSOVER TR ADITIONS (Where Available, While Supplies Last) Matzo Specials for Passover One (1) 5-lb. Box Imported Matzos One (1) 6 Sale Price: $ 99 DIGITAL COUPON - $ 5 00 5-lb. 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KERI WHITE | SPECIAL TO THE EXPONENT Y ou may recall my New Year’s resolution to try different foods and combinations. This dinner, the chicken in particular, com- plies with that aim. I saw a version of the dish while scrolling Instagram, and the combina- tion struck me as strange but intrigu- ing, so I gave it a whirl. I did an all-day marinade, but if you are pressed for time, you can slice the chicken thinly and give it a 30-minute soak before cooking. The salad optimizes the root vege- tables that are still available in some farmers markets and local purveyors. I am realistic enough to face the fact that Philadelphia doesn’t reap a bountiful harvest in February, but some growers offer stored root vegetables or operate greenhouses for year-round produce. And the dessert was a revelation. I often struggle to find delicious pareve desserts to chase meat meals, but the coconut milk in this rice pudding did the trick. 2 tablespoons Wondra flour (If you do not have Wondra, you can substitute 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour mixed with 2 tablespoons of water.) In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, garlic, honey, rosemary, oil and vinegar. Add the chicken and mix to coat it. Refrigerate it and let it marinate for several hours (up to 24). In a large skillet with a cover, heat the oil, and sear the chicken breasts on both sides. Do not discard the marinade. Lower the heat, cover the skillet and cook the chicken for about 30 minutes until done. In a small saucepan, pour the mar- inade with the broth or water, and bring it to a boil. Add the Wondra flour and whisk it until smooth and thickened. When the chicken is done, remove it to a serving dish and pour the sauce over it. Garnish it with a rose- mary sprig, if desired. Winter Salad with Pickled Onions Serves 4 Pickled onions do double duty here as a salad ingredient plus a base for the dressing. You can make them a few minutes before dinner or a few days in advance. They last in the refrigerator for several days and add a tasty zip to pretty much any savory dish. For the pickled onions: 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped ½ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons white vinegar Water to cover For the salad: 6 cups baby greens 1 carrot 1 raw beet Pinch salt Generous sprinkles of garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper 1-2 tablespoons olive oil 1-2 teaspoons onion vinegar brine Make the onions: Place the onions in a small, sealable container, and sprinkle them with salt. Cover and shake. Add the vinegar, then add Soy-Rosemary Chicken Serves 4 I used boneless breasts for this, but thighs are fine. And you can use a bone-in version if that is your prefer- ence; just be sure to cook it longer, on low heat, to ensure that it is done. I used fresh rosemary because I had some in the crisper drawer, but dried rosemary would be fine; just reduce the amount to 2 teaspoons. 1½ pounds boneless chicken breasts, each cut in half ¼ cup soy sauce 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil, plus more for sautéing ½ cup chicken broth, vegetable broth or water 36 Soy-rosemary chicken MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Photos by Keri White enough water to just cover it. Cover and shake it again. Set it aside for a few minutes, a few hours or a few days (if hours or days, store in the fridge). Make the salad: Place the lettuce in a salad bowl. Grate the carrot over the lettuce. Peel the beet, and grate or slice it with a vegetable peeler. Sprinkle the salad with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add the vinegar and oil. Start with 1 teaspoon of vinegar brine and 1 tablespoon of oil; toss. If the salad seems dry, add the remaining vinegar and oil. Pareve Rice Pudding Serves 2 generously or 4 sparingly If you wish to make this vegan, you can skip the egg, which will make a slightly lighter pudding. If you seek a vegan dish but still want the richness, add a generous spoonful of virgin coconut oil in place of the egg. 1½ cups cooked rice (I used basmati, but any type will work.) 1 15-ounce can full-fat coconut milk 2 tablespoons water ⅔ cup sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla In a medium saucepan, mix the coconut milk and rice. Using the water, rinse the coconut milk can and pour the residue into the pan. Add the water and stir. Cook over low at a simmer for about 15 minutes until thick and creamy. Beat the egg with a fork in a small cup, and pour into the pudding. Mix well. Keri White is a Jewish Exponent food columnist. JE Coconut rice pudding 2616 E. County Line Rd. Ardmore, PA 19003 128 W. Market St. West Chester, PA 19382 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 37 food & dining These Passover Pancake Noodles Are Better Than Matzah Balls LIZ SUSMAN KARP AND NATALIE GORLIN | JTA.ORG L ast April, as the pandemic raged in my area, I opened my front door to my dear friend Natalie, who literally threw at me from a dis- tance a plastic sandwich bag contain- ing her family’s cherished Passover tradition: flädla. Less commonly known than the universally beloved matzah ball, these Passover egg noodles are made from a thin crepe that’s coiled and cut into strips, over which steaming broth is poured. Natalie’s family recipe was handed down from her mother’s tante Ilse, who emigrated from Germany in 1939 post-Kristallnacht. Ask around about flädla and, like the history of any good noodle, you’ll dis- of Survival,” illustrating how deeply ingrained the dish was in people’s mem- ories. Sometimes called lokshen, the Yiddish word for noodle, the recipes use matzah meal or potato starch, and always the same method of frying a thin crepe and cutting it into strips. Pinpointing when, where, or who first adapted these noodle ribbons for the holiday is a challenge. “What is most fas- cinating to me,” says Gaby Rossmer, coau- thor with her daughter, Sonya Gropman, of “The German-Jewish Cookbook,” “is how these food traditions travel. They do follow routes. You can see it, but you can’t tell exactly which one came first, which came second.” Many Jews, like Natalie’s ances- tors and Rossmer, lived in southern Germany; in the Swabian region, pan- cakes are known as flädle. The recipe has been handed down over gener- cover the topic covers a lot of ground. Flädla, also spelled flädle, didn’t start off as a Passover food, but evolved into a dish that reflects the ingenuity and frugality of Jewish Eastern European cooks, who repurposed leftover dough or pancakes into noodles. Noodles were a significant part of the Ashkenazi diet. In medieval times, Europeans began boiling dough in water rather than baking or frying it. In the “Encyclopedia of Jewish Food,” Gil Marks writes that noodles were predominantly used in soup and that some cooks cut up matzah meal blin- tzes into the liquid. No name was ascribed to that noodle or dish. Recipes for Passover noodles are included in numerous Jewish cookbooks, notably June Feiss Hersh’s compilation of recipes from Holocaust survivors titled, “Recipes Remembered: A Celebration ations; tradition dictates the crepes be thin and crispy. Flädlesuppe was a popular dish, but “never for Passover,” says Rossmer. She was a year old when she came to America from Bavaria, but fondly remembers frequently frying flour crepes with her father; the goal was always to have enough left over to make flädlesuppe. The noodles are a key component of a comparable, popular Austrian soup called frittatensuppe, or pancake soup, which is always made with beef broth, says Nino Shaye Weiss, a blog- ger at JewishVienneseFood.com and Jewish food guide in Vienna. There, the crepes are called palatschinken; cut up they’re referred to as frittaten. “Jews do seemingly love them as they cannot live the eight days of Passover without them,” he comments, adding that frittaten for Passover are simply — DIGITAL ONLY — **Coupon must be downloaded to your ACME for U account prior to purchase and is one time use only. Limit 1 offer per household. SALE PRICE DIGITAL COUPON SAVINGS 2 3 for $ - $ 1 WHEN YOU BUY 3 SALE PRICES EFFECTIVE FRIDAY, APRIL 1 THRU FRIDAY, APRIL 15 Visit the THE KOSHER MARKETPLACE ™ AT ACME 829 MONTGOMERY AVE., NARBERTH! Manischewitz Original Tam Tam 8 oz. pkg. Celebrate the festival of Passover 2 99 FREE 5 lb. pkg. 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GL00180719 ACM Philadelphia Jewish Exponent 4/1_9.25x5.5 38 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Getty Images via JTA.org known as Peisachdike lokshen (kosher for Passover noodles). Legend has it that frittatensuppe may have originated in 19th century Austria to feed Austrian, French and Italian diplomats secretly meeting during the Congress of Vienna. One participant was Conte Romano de Frittata, whose coachman prepared the pancake. Frittata comes from the Italian word friggere, to fry; perhaps suggesting that the dish was named aft er the coach- man’s employer. However, the only similar Italian-Jewish recipe I could fi nd was for Minestra di Sfoglietti Per Pesach, a soup containing noodles of baked dough, in Th e Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews by Edda Servi Machlin. If the story is true, the dish did not make its way back to Italy. Holocaust survivor Cecile Gruer, 86, is known as her family’s chef. She mov- ingly recalls eating fl ädla in 1946 at the fi rst Passover she celebrated with her family in an Austrian displaced persons camp aft er they were reunited. Th en a teen, she watched her mother prepare the noodle as her mother had done in Hungary. Greuer makes fl ädla year- round, using potato starch, matzah meal or quinoa or almond fl our for gluten-free relatives. Sometimes she’ll just mix egg and water, essentially an omelette. Gruer suggests adding any herb, such as dill or cilantro, to heighten the soup’s fl avor. She contin- ues these traditions because, she says, “You do not want to break the chain.” Gruer’s and Natalie’s families enjoy their fl ädla in chicken broth with matzah balls. Th e Lubavitch sect, who follow the custom of gebrokts and don’t eat any dish where matzah can touch liquid, have just the noodle in their soup, says Leah Koenig, author of “Th e Jewish Cookbook.” Gruer confi des she doesn’t like chicken soup. How does she eat her fl ädla? She laughs. “I would LEGAL DIRECTORY have it on the plate!” Ingredients 4 eggs, separated ¾ teaspoon salt ¼-½ cup (to taste) chopped chives 4 tablespoons potato starch ¼ cup of chicken broth oil Separate the eggs and add the salt to the yolks. Mix chives and potato starch in with the egg yolks. Add as much chicken broth as is necessary for the mixture to be the consistency of pancake batter. Beat egg whites until stiff and add to yolk mixture (mix occasion- ally while cooking batches to avoid separation). Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan and add enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan. Fry like a crepe, and remove from pan. Lay fl ädla on paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Let cool, then roll each crepe and cut into thin strips. Flädla can be made a few days in advance and refrigerated. Serve in hot soup and enjoy. JE Th is article fi rst appeared on Th e Nosher. BUSINESS DIRECTORY Overwhelmed with the thought of moving? THINKING OF A RETIREMENT COMMUNITY? nmls 215-901-6521 • 561-631-1701 Can I afford it? What if I need care? What will I do with all of my stuff? These and the rest of your questions will be answered by the senior living experts at S3Living. Real Estate Brokerage for Seniors Looking to Thrive Point Your Phone’s Camera below to learn more www. jewishexponent.com Chai. Call David L. Reibstein Broker of Record 215-259-5225 (o) 215-870-7362 (c) News for people who know we don’t mean spiced tea. Every Thursday in the Jewish Exponent and all the time online at jewishexponent.com. For home delivery, call 215.832.0700, ext. 1 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 39 food & dining Passover Foods with Fiber — Is That Possible? LINDA MOREL | SPECIAL TO THE EXPONENT 2 split chicken breasts, 4 pieces in all (with bones; and with or without skin) 6 carrots 6 celery stalks 1 large parsnip 1 large onion 2 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped 5 chicken bouillon cubes Kosher salt to taste M ost Jews look forward every Passover to their family’s tra- ditional foods: matzah balls, briskets, kugels and rich desserts. They enjoy matzah with a myriad of delicious toppings for breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, the religious prohibition against eating any leavened wheat, bar- ley, rye, spelt or oats essentially elimi- nates much of the fiber from the typical American diet. Jews of Eastern European descent also avoid legumes, cutting out even more fiber. But this change in diet presents many people with a situation they rarely discuss —constipation. To complicate matters, the foods many American Jews use to replace these grain- based staples aren’t high-fiber fruits and vegetables but rather starchy, fiber-free packaged foods. Matzah is made from fiber-free white flour and water. But the Bread of Affliction is also a digestive system blocker. Constipation is a normal side effect of eating refined white-flour products with practically no fiber, explained Danielle Zolotnitsky, a dietitian in Philadelphia, in a Diet and Nutrition article. She suggested the best thing to do to counteract matzah-induced constipation is to eat lots of fiber-rich vegetables and fruits. Drinking lots of water can also reverse the slowing effect of gluey carbs. Here are some ways to increase fiber in your diet during Passover: Eat whole wheat matzah, which has three grams of fiber per sheet. Include fruit in your breakfast, such as berries, melon and citrus. Snack on raw vegetables. Add veggies and fruit to kugels. Serve side dishes brimming with produce. Eat fruit for dessert, or bake it into pastries. Dip strawberries or dried apricots in melted chocolate, and refrigerate it until serving. Reaching for fruits and vegetables instead of packaged foods will encourage your digestive system to run smoothly during Passover and throughout the year. Chicken Vegetable Soup | Meat Serves 8 1 small cabbage, 2-3 pounds 40 Cut the cabbage in half. Remove and discard the core. Slice the leaves into ribbons, and then chop them. Place the cabbage in a large pot. Peel and dice the carrots, celery, parsnip and onion. Add them to the pot, along with the remaining ingredients. Pour in enough water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches. Place the lid on the pot, and bring it to a boil on a high flame. Then lower the flame to medium so that the soup simmers. If the water is boiling off too fast, lower the flame. Simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through. With a slotted spoon utensil, remove the pieces of chicken. Cool them down to warm. Discard the skin. Pull the chicken off the bones and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Return the chicken to the pot and stir. Serve immediately, or cover the pot and refrigerate until serving. This can be made 2 days in advance. Kale and Strawberry Salad | Pareve Serves 8 1 bunch kale, any variety 2 (16-ounce) containers of strawberries 3 Granny Smith apples ⅓ cup raisins Kosher salt to taste 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice Rinse the kale under cold water and drain it on paper towels or in a salad spinner. Remove the spines of each kale leaf. Chop the kale into bite-sized pieces. Move it to a large salad bowl. Rinse the strawberries under cold water and drain them on paper tow- MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM els. Cut off the leaves. Slice the straw- berries into bite-sized pieces, about 4-6 pieces per strawberry. Peel and core the apples. Dice them into bite-sized pieces. Add the strawberries and apples to the salad bowl. The salad can be made to this point several hours ahead if covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated. Sprinkle on the salt. Drizzle on the oil and lemon juice. Toss the ingre- dients together until well-combined. Serve immediately. Thyme Roasted Zucchini and Yellow Squash | Pareve Serves 8 Equipment: 2 large skillets, an 11-inch-by-7-inch baking pan, such as Pyrex Nonstick vegetable spray 2 zucchini 2 yellow squash 2 extra-large onions 4 tablespoon olive oil, or more if needed to sauté, plus oil for drizzling Kosher salt to taste ½ teaspoon thyme Coat the baking pan with non- stick spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the zucchini and yellow squash thinly. Place them on separate plates and reserve. Slice the onions thinly. Coat each skillet with 2 table- spoons of olive oil. Place the skillets on medium-low flames until warm. Put 1 sliced onion into each skillet. Sprinkle the onions with salt. Sauté, turning every few minutes until car- amelized. The onion slices will break into rings. Lower the flame if the onions brown too quickly. Add more oil, if needed. When caramelized, dis- tribute the onions evenly across the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer the zucchini slices over the onions. Drizzle a small amount of oil over the top. Sprinkle on the salt and ¼ teaspoon of thyme. Repeat with the yellow squash. Cover the vegetables with parchment paper or loosely with aluminum foil. Place them in the oven. Remove the parchment or foil after 20 minutes and continue roasting for another 40 minutes, or until the zucchini and yel- low squash are cooked through and the yellow squash is browned on top. Baked Pears with Cinnamon and Chocolate | Dairy or Pareve Serves 8 Nonstick vegetable spray 4 ripe Bosc pears 1 teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons unsalted butter; or unsalted, dairy-free margarine 4 ounces semisweet chocolate (Glicks brand is kosher-for Passover and dairy-free) Optional accompaniment: vanilla ice cream or coconut sorbet With a chef’s knife, cut the pears in half lengthwise. Cut off a small slice from the rounded part of the pear halves, so they will rest evenly while baking. With a paring knife, remove the cores, seeds and any trace of the stems. Sprinkle each half evenly with sugar and cinnamon. Dot each cavity with ¼ teaspoon of butter or mar- garine. Bake for 1 hour, or until the centers are softened. Remove them from the oven and cool them to room temperature. Set up a double boiler with an inch or so of water in the bottom part. Place the chocolate in the top part and cover it with the lid. (Or rig up a double boiler by placing a heatproof bowl over a pot of water and use alu- minum foil as a lid.) Bring the water to a rolling boil. Stir occasionally until the chocolate melts. Remove the top pot (or bowl) from the boiling water, and cool the chocolate briefly. Using a dinner fork, stir the choco- late. Drizzle the chocolate a little at a time over the pear halves, creating hap- hazard but attractive lines of chocolate. Serve immediately, or refrigerate them until the chocolate hardens. Cover the pears loosely with alumi- num foil. Bring the pears to room tempera- ture before serving. They can be served with vanilla ice cream or coco- nut sorbet. JE arts & culture New Play Explores Israel-Palestine Confl ict JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER P hiladelphia’s InterAct Th eatre Co. produces plays that “pro- voke conversation” about sensi- tive topics, according to a recent press release. Beginning on April 1, it will take on perhaps the most diffi cult conversa- tion in Jewish life: the Israel-Palestine confl ict. “Settlements,” written by Seth Rozin, a Jewish playwright and InterAct’s pro- ducing artistic director, is about “a res- ident theater at a Jewish Community Center which fi nds itself pulled in con- fl icting directions when it commissions a new play about the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict,” according to a press release detailing the show. Rozin wrote the play over several years aft er reading a 2014 Washington Post story about a similar incident, in which a Washington, D.C., theater director was dismissed from his JCC home aft er commissioning a play about Israeli soldiers killing Palestinians. Rozin said he feels it’s important to explore not who’s right and who’s wrong in the confl ict, but why it’s so diffi cult to discuss. He summed up “Settlements” as a meditation on society losing its politi- cal center of gravity. “If we can’t have civil, construc- tive conversation about the insoluble problem, how do we ever hope to get anywhere?” he asked. It’s a question Rozin asks in his personal life, too. During Donald Trump’s fi rst presi- dential run in 2016 and his presidency over the ensuing four years, Rozin grew apart from his oldest friend. Th e friend was a Trump supporter, while the playwright was not. Th e two became friends in second grade, and it wasn’t until college that Rozin learned of his buddy’s conserva- tive political leanings. But at the time, he found their ideological diff erences stimulating. He described his friend as “a Liz Cheney conservative” and “a principled conservative.” “We could disagree,” Rozin said. “But I respected there were principles.” But aft er Trump rode down the golden escalator at Trump Tower in 2015 and announced his candidacy, the playwright’s friend jumped on the bandwagon. Th en, throughout Trump’s presidency, they started fi ghting via text. Th ey disagreed on everything from Seth Rozin Courtesy of Seth Rozin JFCSHONORS ANNA ZURITSKY BONI & Two women, one shared mission JANE GOLDEN TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2022 Join JFCS for this major donor event celebrating two phenomenal women who make Philadelphia a more vibrant city. Learn more at jfcsphilly.org JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 41 A play presented by the InterAct Theatre Co. Courtesy of Metcalfe Architecture & Design, LLC the 45th president’s stance on repre- sentative democracy to the meaning of Western identity. Th eir last heated text exchange was a little over two years ago before the pandemic even broke out in the United States, according to Rozin. Th e men are still friends today, but they only really discuss two topics. “We can’t have a conversation other than, ‘how are your kids and happy birthday,’” the playwright said. Th ere was never one “big, searing fi ght,” Rozin added. Just a series of heated, frustrating and ultimately unproductive exchanges. “We know it’s not going to be produc- tive. It’s not rational and healthy for us,” Rozin said. “I just fi nd it deeply sad.” Th e playwright still views his friend’s beliefs as “irrational,” so he didn’t base a character on his friend. He said he wanted the characters in “Settlements” to be emotional, at times, but never irrational. “It’s something that’s thoughtful and provocative without being a grenade. I’m not trying to be provocative to be provocative,” Rozin added. “I’m trying to be provocative in a way that’s stimu- lating discourse.” “Settlements” will run from April 1-24 on Wednesday and Th ursday at 7 p.m., 42 MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Most performances at the 121- seat Proscenium Th eatre at the Drake at 302 S. Hicks St., which is playing at 75% capacity due to COVID restrictions, will be followed by a conversation between Rozin and the audience. Th e playwright said that’s the part he’s most looking forward to. “We’re going to have some really good, lively conversations aft er the show,” he added. David Winitsky, the show’s director, believes it will work because theater is an art form well-suited to asking diffi - cult questions. “Th eater is a thick medium,” he said. “You’re going to sit, you’re going to be in it for a chunk of time, and that’s the only way to get into these conversations.” Becca Khalil, an actor in the play, thinks that calling people out, out of love, can be an attempt to bridge a gap, and the play does call people out, out of love. “I love calling people out, I love get- ting called out and I love engaging in diffi cult conversations,” she explained. “It’s the only thing that brings us together as people.” JE jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com obituaries GERALD “JERRY” March 21, 2022, of Wynnewood, PA; be- loved husband of Ann (nee Axelrod); lov- ing father of Buddy Altus (Helaine) and Francy Altus; devoted brother of Miriam Robin (James); cherished grandfather of Zoe Robin Altus. In lieu of flowers, contri- butions in Gerald’s memory may be made to the Bright Horizons Fund, c/o tbhbe.org. WWW.LEVINEFUNERAL.COM LEVINE FUNERAL HOME LEO MAYNARD BERNSTEIN March 14, 1929 – July 1, 2020 Leo Bernstein was born in Elgin, Illinois and was raised in Chicago, Illinois. Leo attended the University of Chicago from 1947 – 1949. In the summer of 1950, he became a communication specialist in the U.S. Air Force. With the help of the GI Bill, he graduated in 1959 from The New School for Social Research with a B.A. in Economics. After graduating, he moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the Office of Business Economics, U.S. Department Commerce (now the Bureau of Economic Analysis). He retired from the Department of Commerce in the early 1990’s. He was a movie enthusiast, and he loved animals, baseball and the opera. His ashes will be interred at Riverside National Cemetery, in Riverside, California. COHEN Israel Howard Cohen, 96, passed peace- fully away in the early morning hours of March 17, 2022. Izzy was married to the love of his life, the late Mildred “Molly” Wine, for 66 years and was the cherished father of Jamie Roberts and Brad Cohen (Lori) and the beloved grandpa of Melanie Roberts, Kent Roberts (Tori), Troy Cohen and Rebecca Cohen. He also leaves be- hind his brother, Mark Cohen (Marlyn). Although a poet and an artist at heart, Izzy was a pharmacist for 50 years, most nota- bly at Feasterville Pharmacy and Campus Chemists. He was put to rest of the first full day of spring, March 21,2022. Donations in Izzy’s name can be made to hias.org. JAMIE ROBERTS 267-226-7923 COHEN SIDNEY M. COHEN of Spring Hill, FL, age 89, passed away on March 17, 2022. Husband of the late Bernice. Loving father of Brian (Lois) Cohen and the late Faithe Renee Spena. Adoring brother of Claire Rimerman. Special friend of Catherine Leonardo. Caring grandfather of Julie (Brandon) Cole. Adoring great grandfather of Dylan. Proud uncle of Scriabin, Douglas, Ivy and Ian. Proud great uncle of Lauren, Andrew, Axel, Matthew, Alex and Jacob. Stepfather of Mitchell Gordon and Cindy (Jim) Burrows. Contributions in his memo- ry may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS WWW.GOLDSTEINSFUNERAL.COM In Loving Memory Of My Dear Grandmother FANNIE GLASSMAN March 29, 1983 15 Nissan Always In My Heart Loved And Remembered On Her 39rd Yahrzeit And Everyday LARRY D. GLASSMAN GRADESS Michael Gradess, III on March 20, 2022. Husband of the late Elaine; father of Beverly (Rick) Auslander, Lisa (Robert) Weinstein and Steven (Svetlana) Gradess; grandfather of Melissa, Adam and Amy and the late Alexander and Matthew. Contributions in his memory may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSEMBERG’S RAPHAEL- SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com KLEVAN FLORA LEE KLEVAN December 16,1933-March 31, 1982 40th Yahrzeit Although nothing can replace the gaping hole your death has left in my life, I want to thank you for all the ways in which you blessed my life. Because mixed together with all of my sadness, there is a great joy knowing you were my mom. I will remem- ber your smile, your touch, your laughter, your kindness, your love. Thank you for the time we shared, for the love you gave, for the wisdom you spread. I will always treasure the lessons you taught me. I will carry them with me for the rest of my life. I am so proud to be your child. I love you. Your loving daughter LISA (KLEVAN) SOFFER GODFREY CAROL H. GODFREY (nee Hauptman), died peacefully in her sleep on Sunday morning, March 20, 2022. Mother of Scott (Sharon), Robin, Jami (Jessica) and Dean Godfrey. Sister of Dr. Stephen Hauptman. Grandmother of Jason, Alyssa, Jillian, Mason, Carter, Harrison and Eddison. All that knew Carol were struck by her large personality in such a tiny frame. Carol was devoted to her children, and was the driv- ing force supporting each of her children to follow their unique individual paths, whether it be medical school, law school, or skateboarding. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 399 Market St., Suite 250, Phila., PA 19106, www.alz.org/delval. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL- SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com Always remembered by Lisa, Howard, Nolan and Ilana Soffer LEWENSON Lewenson Helen (nee Trachtman) March 16, 2022, of East Norriton, PA; beloved wife of the late Dr. Fred S. Lewenson; lov- ing mother of Stephen Lewenson (Marci) and Peter Lewenson (Victoria); cherished grandmother of Jared, Ethan, Aaron, Eric and Channa. Relatives and friends are in- vited to Graveside Services, Sunday, March 20, 2022, 11:00 A.M., at Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose, PA. In lieu of flowers, contri- butions in Helen’s memory may be made to the Jewish Federation of Greater Phila. (jew- ishphilly.org), or to the P.S.P.C.A. (pspca.org). LEVINE FUNERAL HOME WWW.LEVINEFUNERAL.COM LONG DEBORAH ANN on March 16, 2022. Beloved wife of Mitchell Baxt; Loving sister of Janet Long Weger (and the late Gerald). Also survived by many cousins. Contributions in her memory may be to the ASPCA, www.aspca.org. www.GOLDSTEINSFUNERAL.COM GOLDSTEINS’ Rosenberg’s Raphael-Sacks MALTZMAN MALTZMAN AMY (nee GOLDMAN) On March 16, 2022, of Lafayette Hill, PA. Wife of the late Rabbi Marshall Maltzman and the late Ellis Greenspan; Mother of Mitchell (Anita) Greenspan and Linda August; also survived by 5 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. Services are Private. The family respectfully requested contributions in her memory be made to Temple Beth Torah (https://www.bethto- rah.org/). LEVINE FUNERAL HOME WWW.LEVINEFUNERAL.COM MARMELSTEIN Randie Marmelstein (nee Richman) March 17, 2022 of Havertown, PA; beloved wife of Jeffrey Marmelstein; doting moth- er of Jason (Jennifer) Epstein, Jordan (Abigail) Marmelstein, and Alex (Briana) Marmelstein; cherished grandmother of Caitlyn, Joshua, Theodore, Preston and Derek; devoted sister to Warren (Susan) Richman. In lieu of flowers, contribu- tions in Randie’s memory can be made to the Sarcoma Foundation of America (https://www.curesarcoma.org/donate/). LEVINE FUNERAL HOME WWW.LEVINEFUNERAL.COM RUBIN Gisela Ruth (nee Bludau) on March 4, 2022. Beloved wife of William; Loving mother of Caryn Rogin (Paul), Eric Rubin, and Linda Quinby (Adam); Devoted grandmother of Joshua (Ciar), Benjamin, Zachary, and Samuel. Contributions in her memory may be made to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 100 N. 20th St., Ste. 405, Phila., PA 19103 GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL- SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com SILBERMAN Michael Steven Silberman March 20, 2022, of Penn Valley, PA and Longport, NJ, beloved husband of Ellen (nee Goldman); loving father of Tracy (Joshua) Kardon, Scott (Carrie) Silberman and Leigh (John) Calarco; and devoted grandfather of Jackson and Liv Kardon, Skylar, Elle and Jones Calarco and Zachary Silberman. Michael was a prominent trans- actional commercial real estate, bankrupt- cy and banking attorney in practice for 46 years, and the founder of Silberman & Difilippo, P.C. Contributions in his memory may be made to Hematology-Oncology Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine or Penn Hospice Rittenhouse. WWW.LEVINEFUNERAL.COM JOSEPH LEVINE & SONS SILL Sill, Betsy Kanter of Ventnor passed away on March 20th, daughter of the late Martin and Ethel Kanter, husband of William J. Sill, mother of Rachel (Dr. Ryan Graham) Sill and Dr. Jordan (Claudia Cieslak-Sill) Sill, sister of Bonnie Kanter, and grandmother of Eliada Sill. Betsy was devoted to her husband and children, her extended family, her loyal basset hounds, mahjong, and canasta. Services are pri- vate at the request of the family. In lieu of flowers the family asks that contributions in her memory may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice. J.S. GOLDSTEIN FUNERAL HOME & MONUMENTS INC. WWW.JSGFUNERALS.COM Jewish Careers.com FOR THOSE WHO VALUE COMMUNITY The preferred career resource for the Jewish community info.jewishcareers.com 410-902-2300 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 43 synagogue spotlight What’s happening at ... Congregation Beth Israel JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER Beth Israel Focuses on Anti-racism C ongregation Beth Israel, a Reconstructionist synagogue in Media, has focused on social justice in its community activity for years. But in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the tem- ple clarified its mission to emphasize anti-racism. Beth Israel hosted an anti-racism summit in January; this spring, sum- mer and fall, it’s holding a book study on an Ibram X. Kendi title; through- out this year, synagogue leaders are starting an adult education class on anti-racism. And big picture, they are examining their policies and research- ing which organizations in the com- munity they can support. “We’ve been working hard on anti-racism,” said Emma Lefkowitz, the president of Beth Israel’s board of directors. Lefkowitz and Rabbi Linda Potemken have an activist-oriented congregant base of about 160 families; and the leaders want to motivate members to target their activism toward anti-racist efforts. They say it’s in line with the Jewish value of tikkun olam, or healing the world. “What is the Jewish mission?” Potemken said. “To walk in the world in the image of God.” At the small synagogue, members are faithful, but they are not strict about attending Shabbat services. Potemken said 15 people on Zoom is a decent turnout. But there’s no shortage of Beth Israel congregants who want to help with social justice, according to the rabbi. And this latest development is just a continuation of Beth Israel’s existing mission. In the past, members have focused their activism on food banks, soup kitchens and on helping new moms get supplies for their children. Almost two decades ago, Potemken started a program to partner with com- 44 Rabbi Nathan Martin and Rabbi Linda Potemken An event at Congregation Beth Israel Courtesy of Congregation Beth Israel munities down the road, like Chester and Marcus Hook, on social action efforts, a program that continues to this day. “Beth Israel members tend to be pas- sionate and they tend to be fighters,” Lefkowitz said. “Everybody has some- thing they care deeply about, and they want to make change.” Potemken is in her 25th year as rabbi at Beth Israel. She joined the temple after leading a service and teaching a class there during rabbinical school. She was drawn to the institution’s “warm, down-to-Earth family feel,” she said. The rabbi said she had the good for- tune to become the spiritual leader at Beth Israel right after it bought a new building. At that point, she started building the community’s schedule and congregation. Since Beth Israel members only met on Friday nights, Potemken added a Saturday service and Torah study. She also opened a Shabbat din- ner on Friday nights and a Sabbath MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM lunch on Saturdays. “She saw it as her task to expand the programming,” Lefkowitz said. “It was a change that was quite welcome.” Larry Hamermesh joined Beth Israel with his wife 15 years ago. He said they left their old synagogue in Wilmington, Delaware, where they still live, because of Potemken. They got to know her through mutual friends and liked her. “She’s very approachable, enthusi- astic and supportive of congregational participation,” Hamermesh said. After Potemken came on, Beth Israel grew for about 10 years before leveling off, and then declining a little. But while its membership is small, it is also steady, according to synagogue leaders. To help Potemken lead it, the temple hired Rabbi Nathan Martin six years ago. Potemken wanted to reduce her role so she could have more time to breathe. The decision was uncomfort- able at first, Potemken said, but after Martin arrived, she grew to love having a rabbinic partner. Photo by John Greenstine “To have a thought partner was amaz- ing,” she said. “Communities resist change. We’ve benefited from it. Two rabbinic voices, styles and energies.” After the pandemic broke out, Martin led the pivot to virtual services. The new rabbi also motivated syna- gogue leaders to start the process of adding solar panels to the building in the coming years. Potemken made it clear that she sees Martin as her successor when she even- tually retires. “When I retire, it won’t be the shock that most communities get,” she said. Lefkowitz thinks the synagogue can be as sustainable as Martin’s solar pan- els. A new member joined just last week, she said. Plus, at hybrid ser- vices, people are joining from as far as Vermont, Oregon and Florida. “When you come into the building, you feel like you’re coming into a com- munity you’ve been in your whole life,” she said. JE jsaffren@jewishexponent.com d’var torah Torah Applies to Modern-day Circumstances BY RABBI PETER RIGLER I Parshat Tazriah never imagined it! Th ey used to come into my offi ce when I handed the b’nai mitzvah students the Torah portion of Tazriah, and I could see disappointment. “Really?” one student said, “Some kids get Noah, and I get this stuff about skin disease?” In Leviticus 13, we read, “And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying: When a man shall have in the skin of his fl esh a rising, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes in the skin of his fl esh the plague of tzaraat, then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests.” A beloved colleague tells the story that the only time someone was happy when they saw Tazriah was when it turned out the parents were dermatologists. Our perspectives can shift and the meaning of our text adjusts with it! Th is portion will never be read the same way again! What student would want to embrace a portion about disease? Th is portion grapples not only with the disease known as tzaraat, oft en mistranslated as leprosy, but also with the societal behaviors in response. An acknowledgment that disease can be scary not just for the person who is ill but for those who live with and near them who don’t understand what is hap- pening. Th e symptoms are described in detail — really graphic detail! What’s described is leprosy, skin affl ictions, anything from eczema or psoriasis to deep infections. It was actually the priest who would diag- nose and determine if the person had to be quarantined, was actually clean enough to stay in the community and how/when they could return. I could never have imagined the moment that happened for an upcom- ing b’nai mitzvah student who said, “Rabbi, I got the most important por- tion!” Th ey explained that the portion Tazriah felt relevant in the wake of Our Torah portion considers, in a cutting edge way for the time it was written, how not to cast people aside when they are sick. the pandemic. What my student realized was that the Torah was struggling with the same things we are today. Th ink about the central questions we are experiencing: How are our leaders protecting exposure? Is there a connec- tion between materialism over matters of health? Does the individual or needs of the community come fi rst? How are the needs of those who live on the mar- gins of our society being addressed? How do we look at those who are in the center of the storm including health workers, teachers, deliverers and leaders? Our Torah portion considers, in a cutting edge way for the time it was written, how not to cast people aside when they are sick, how to create safety and care for the larger community and how to lead through such a crisis. Take just one example about the communal need to care for others. Th e Talmud reminds us when con- sidering these verses, one calls out their infected status not only to warn others of the contagion but also to elicit compassion and prayers on one’s behalf (BT Moed Katan 5a). It is the responsi- bility of the aff ected person to isolate, ask for help, social-distance, and it is the responsibility of the community to off er the support, prayer and ultimately whatever assistance was possible. No one should be isolated more than nec- essary for as much as the individual suff ers, so does the community. Whatever the cause of the separation from community, it was the priest who would tend to the individual and help determine when they could return. It is precisely because we come back to Torah text so oft en that in it we con- stantly fi nd wisdom. Th is is even more true as our world and lives change like this reading of Tazriah. A disciple of Rabbi Hillel’s known as Ben Bag-Bag said the following: “Turn it, and turn it, for everything is in it. Refl ect on it and grow old and gray with it. Don’t turn from it, for nothing is better than it (Mishnah Pirkei Avot 5:22). Our tradition is built on this model. We return to the text activating prior knowledge and holding new experi- ences so that we can gain new under- standings. We are not alone as life brings new challenges — we have the wisdom of Torah to hold and guide us! JE Rabbi Peter Rigler is the rabbi at Temple Sholom in Broomall. 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. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 45 calendar APRIL 1–APRIL 7 FRI DAY, A P R IL 1 TUESDAY, APRIL 5 VIRTUAL CLASSES Golden Slipper Gems is a great place to connect with friends and meet new people. Our diverse speakers will stimulate your pas- sion for learning, and you’ll keep returning to sample all that we have to offer. Click on our website and learn more about our most recent classes at goldenslippergems.org. AU T HO R LEC T U RE BOOK TALK Har Zion Temple Sisterhood and Department of Lifelong Learning present the “Open A Book … Open Your Mind” event series via Zoom. Each event will cost $18. At 7 p.m., author Jean Hanff Korelitz will dis- cuss “The Plot.” For information and to register, email openabook@ harziontemple.org. SHABBATUNE! Temple Har Zion welcomes visiting scholar Rabbi Geela Raphael, who will lead a Renewal Shabbat service at 8 p.m. On Saturday, services/ Torah study will be led by Rabbi Emeritus Richard Simon at 10 a.m., followed by an oneg. At 1 p.m., Raphael will lead an interactive sin- galong workshop. To register for access to the virtual event, visit TempleHarZion.org/events1. TH U RSDAY, A P RIL 7 GRATZ LECTURE Gratz College welcomes Laura Arnold Leibman, professor of English and humanities at Reed College and the author of “Once We Were Slaves,” which tells a story of the largely forgotten people of mixed African and Jewish ancestry. Free event, but registration is required to receive Zoom link. For more information: mcohen@gratz.edu or 215-635-7300, ext. 155. S UN DAY, A P R I L 3 BARGAIN SALE Refresh your home for the spring with the Better Home & Garden Bargain Sale at Main Line Reform Temple from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on April 3 and 4. You won’t find better deals on home goods, decor, tools, linens, crafts and more anywhere. 410 Montgomery Ave., Wynnewood. BOOK TALK Har Zion Temple Sisterhood and Department of Lifelong Learning present the “Open A Book … Open Your Mind” event series via Zoom. Each event will cost $18. At 7 p.m., author Ira Rosen will discuss “Tick- ing Clock.” For information and to register, email openabook@harzi- ontemple.org. M ON DAY, A P R I L 4 MAHJONG GAME Melrose B’nai Israel Emanu-El Sis- terhood 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. 46 NPR’s “All Things Considered”) inter- views Ambassador Ivo Daalder, Robin Wright, Kimberly Marten and Donald Jensen as part of Global Connections: Navigating the New Normal. 4 p.m. Free registration: rb.gy/ix9llk. BOOK TALK Har Zion Temple Sisterhood and Department of Lifelong Learning present the “Open A Book … Open Your Mind” event series via Zoom. Each event will cost $18. At 11:30 a.m., author Annabelle Gurwich will discuss “You’re Leaving When?” For information and to register, email openabook@harziontemple.org. TUESDAY, APRIL 5 BOOK TALK Har Zion Temple Sisterhood and Department of Lifelong Learning present the “Open A Book … Open Your Mind” event series via Zoom. Each event will cost $18. At 11:30 a.m., author Linda Kaufman will discuss “Mishugas.” For information and to register, email openabook@ harziontemple.org BINGO WITH BARRY Join Barry at Tabas Kleinlife for an afternoon of bingo from 12:30-3:30 p.m. on April 4 and 5. Free parking and free to play with snacks available on April 5. For more MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM information, call 215-745-3127. 2101 Strahle St., Philadelphia. SISTERHOOD MEETING The Sisterhood of Congregations of Shaare Shamayim will be hosting a general meeting at 7:30 p.m. Our pro- gram features Cathryn Miller-Wilson, HIAS Pennsylvania executive director. Contact the synagogue office at 215-677-1600 for further details. 9768 Verree Road, Philadelphia. MOVING TRADITIONS MEETING What does the gender language of the preteens and teens in your life mean? Why does gender lan- guage matter so much to teens of all genders? Join Moving Tra- ditions at 8 p.m. for a webinar on how to let your teens take the lead in teaching you what gender expansiveness means. movingtra- ditions.org/demystifying-teen-lan- guage-around-gender/. WE D N E SDAY, AP RIL 6 GLOBAL CONNECTIONS Robert Siegel (former senior host of This Gratz College Continuing Legal Education program will examine the relationship between the Federal Arbitration Act, the U.S. Constitution and arbitration in rabbinical courts in the U.S. Registrants can partic- ipate in-person or on Zoom. For more information contact, mco- hen@gratz.edu. BEREAVEMENT GROUP Jewish Family and Children’s Service is offering this eight-session online support group for individuals who have suffered the loss of a loved one. Sessions will be held from 10:30 a.m.-noon until April 21 on Zoom, and the cost is $144 total. Contact Rivka Goldman at 267- 256-2250 or rgoldman@jfcsphilly. org for more information. TREE OF LIFE EVENT Jewish National Fund-USA will host a Tree of Life event honoring Amer- isourceBergen Corp. Chairman, Pres- ident and CEO Steven Collis at 6 p.m. Visit jnf.org/epatol for more informa- tion. 4200 City Ave., Philadelphia. BOOK TALK Har Zion Temple Sisterhood and Department of Lifelong Learning present the “Open A Book … Open Your Mind” event series via Zoom. Each event will cost $18. At 7 p.m., author Tracy Walder will discuss “The Unexpected Spy.” For infor- mation and to register, email openabook@harziontemple.org. JE Courtesy of Kohelet Yeshiva High School Courtesy of Lower Merion Area Hebrew High School 2 1 Courtesy of Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy Courtesy of Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy Courtesy of Abrams Hebrew Academy Out & About around town 3 4 5 1 Abrams Hebrew Academy students celebrated Purim by reading the Megillah, dressing in costumes and enjoying a carnival. 2 Lower Merion Area Hebrew High School students made hamentashen for themselves and others. 3 Eight Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy seniors received awards for their top performances at the DECA state conference for emerging business leaders. 4 To fulfill the mitzvah of Matanot L’Evyonim (gifts for those in need) on Purim, Barrack students made more than 400 bags of essential items for Project Home, an organization that fights to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty in Philadelphia. 5 Kohelet Yeshiva High School, an Orthodox Jewish day school in Lower Merion, held a “Day of Learning Related to the Ongoing War in Ukraine” on March 22. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 47 last word CREATING A PROTAGONIST WITH SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER J oel Burcat claims he didn’t base his protagonist Mike Jacobs on himself, but the similarities are undoubtedly there. Both are environmental lawyers, Jewish and attended the Pennsylvania State University and studied geogra- phy. But the comparison ends there, Burcat insisted. “I often say that he has the DNA from a lot of different people,” Burcat said. The Wynnefield native, who now lives in Harrisburg, is the author of three environmental legal thriller nov- els and dozens more short stories. He has spent the last 15 years pursuing writing as a passion project, drawing inspiration from his 38-year law career and from the everyday. His most recent novel “Strange Fire,” published by Headline Books, came out on Feb 2. The novel, a standalone piece in the series of three Mike Jacobs novels, follows Mike as he investigates a Bradford County water source con- taminated by fracking. Along the way, the 29-year-old protagonist falls in love and grapples with his Jewish identity. Growing up, Burcat did not neces- sarily think of himself an author, but he definitely didn’t intend to become a lawyer. In fact, he didn’t even think about law until the Penn State regis- trar’s office sent him a “nasty letter” asking him to pick a major. While a geography degree lends itself to a career in cartography or city planning, Burcat was most drawn to law. A job as assistant attorney general with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources in 1980 set his career in motion. Since he began in environmental law 42 years ago, global warming has taken a stronger hold on the politics and culture of the world, Burcat said. Environmental cases used to be local, but now focus on the greater global implications of climate change. 48 Burcat found a love for his unex- pected career path and found that it melded effortlessly with his Jewish val- ues. Burcat, who grew up attending Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley, has always had a deep sense of his Jewish values, which he believes bolstered his work as an environmental lawyer. “The Torah says, ‘The earth is mine. You are but strangers and sojourners to me,’” Burcat said. His decision to make Mike Jacobs Jewish was a no-brainer. “I didn’t know of too many other Jewish legal thriller heroes, and I felt that this would be something ... that MARCH 31, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM hadn’t really been done that much before,” Burcat said. But the protagonist isn’t just sym- bolically Jewish; he’s a practicing Jew with an odd year of rabbinical school under his belt. Mike is a “mensch” trying to figure out how to live out his Jewish values as a 20-something in the real world, deciding whether or not to date Jewish women and, at some points in the novels, stop practicing Judaism altogether. Burcat is far from a stranger to exis- tential crossroads himself. In 2018, he was diagnosed with nonarteritic ante- rior ischemic optic neuropathy, which gave him blood clots in the back of his eyes, rendering him legally blind and precipitating a leave of absence- turned-early retirement from his law practice. Though he had written fiction for more than 10 years at that point, it was in the early days of the disease in 2019 that he wrote “Strange Fire,” which took only seven weeks to write. Beyond environmental legal thrillers, Burcat has written a short story about beer, a speculative fiction piece about a small-town police department going to war with the FBI and a young adult post-apocalyptic thriller about what would happen if adults died off in a pandemic, leaving only teens to survive. Fiction writing gave Burcat the “awe- some” feeling of being creative and the gratification of creating something educational and accessible to non-law- yers, he said. Burcat’s extensive law career helped him craft a realistic nar- rative, but his understanding of how to get inside his characters’ heads is what makes him a good storyteller. “When people read fiction they’re looking to be transported; they’re looking to understand something that they couldn’t otherwise understand,” Burcat said. “When you’re writing a legal thriller, you are transporting people — not just into a courtroom, because anybody can go to any court- room in the United States and sit there and watch. You’re transporting the reader into the head of the lawyer. You’re learning what it is that a lawyer is thinking about, what his strategy is, what his tactics are.” Burcat is working on a fourth book in the Mike Jacobs series inspired by the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, in which thousands of children were exposed to water contaminated with lead. 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(215)576-1096 www.educationplusinc.com Legals ESTATE OF BERNICE ARMSTRONG a/k/a BERNICE HOBBS ARMSTRONG, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia 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 FRANCES WEBSTER BROWN, EXECUTRIX, c/o Jay E. Kivitz, Esq., 7901 Ogontz Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19150; Or to her Attorney: JAY E. KIVITZ KIVITZ & KIVITZ, P.C. 7901 Ogontz Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19150 CHANGE OF NAME IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CIVIL DIVISION OF PHILADELPHIA COUNTYCourt of Common Pleas for the County of Philadelphia, March Term, 2022, No. 001133. Notice is hereby given that on March 22nd, 2022 the peti- tion was filed, praying for a decree to change his name from Adam Izanoutene to Ouelhadj Izanoutene. The Court has fixed April 28th, 2022 at 10:00 A.M. in Courtroom 691, City Hall, Philadelphia, PA for the hearing. All persons interested may appear and show cause if any they have, why the prayer of the said petition should not be granted. Ejaz A. Sabir, Esq. Sabir Law Group 6454 Market Street Second Floor Upper Darby, PA 19082 Solicitor CHANGE OF NAME IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CIVIL DIVISION OF PHILADELPHIA COUNTY Court of Common Pleas for the County of Philadelphia, March Term, 2022, No. 001133. Notice is hereby given that on March 22nd, 2022 the petition was filed, praying for a decree to change his name from Adam Izanoutene to Ouelhadj Izanoutene. The Court has fixed April 28th, 2022 at 10:00 A.M. in Courtroom 691, City Hall, Philadelphia, PA for the hearing. All persons interested may appear and show cause if any they have, why the prayer of the said petition should not be granted. Ejaz A. Sabir, Esq. Sabir Law Group 6454 Market Street Second Floor Upper Darby, PA 19082 Solicitor ESTATE OF ANNA MAE PAONESSA, 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 PAULINE PAONESSA, EXECUTRIX, 191 Willow Ct., 2nd Fl., Bensalem, PA 19020, Or to her Attorney: MARYBETH O. LAURIA LAURIA LAW LLC 3031 Walton Rd., Ste. A320 Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462 ESTATE OF BARBARA ANN RYAN a/k/a BARBARA RYAN, BARBARA A. RYAN, 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 DAWN MARIE THOMPSON, ADMINISTRATRIX, c/o Stephen T. Loester, Esq., 100 W. 6th St., Ste. 204, Media, PA 19063, Or to her Attorney: STEPHEN T. LOESTER GIBSON & PERKINS, P.C. 100 W. 6th St., Ste. 204 Media, PA 19063 ESTATE OF BRUCE S. ALLEN, DECEASED. Late of Upper Merion Township, Montgomery 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 DIANE ALLEN, EXECUTRIX, 205 Valley Forge Lookout Place, Radnor, PA 19087, Or to her Attorney: WARREN VOGEL ECKERT SEAMANS CHERIN & MELLOTT, LLC Two Liberty Place 50 S. 16th St., 22nd Fl. Philadelphia, PA 19102 ESTATE OF CHARLOTTE MIDDLEMAN, 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 MARK MIDDLEMAN, EXECUTOR, c/o Bradley Newman, Esq., 123 S. Broad St., Ste. 1030, Philadelphia, PA 19109, Or to his Attorney: BRADLEY NEWMAN ESTATE & ELDER LAW OFFICE OF BRADLEY NEWMAN 123 S. Broad St., Ste. 1030 Philadelphia, PA 19109 ESTATE OF CLAUDIA WOLF, 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 DAVID S. WOLF, EXECUTOR, c/o Andrew Gavrin, Esq., 306 Clairemont Rd., Villanova, PA 19085, Or to his Attorney: ANDREW GAVRIN 306 Clairemont Rd. Villanova, PA 19085 ESTATE OF CONSTANCE WILF, DECEASED. Late of Lower Merion Town- ship, Montgomery County, PA LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the under- signed, who request all per- sons 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 KAREN WILF, EXECU- TRIX, c/o Rebecca Rosen- berger Smolen, Esq., 1 Bala Plaza, Ste. 623, Bala Cyn- wyd, PA 19004, Or to her Attorney: REBECCA ROSENBERG- ER SMOLEN BALA LAW GROUP, LLC 1 Bala Plaza, Ste. 623 Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 ESTATE OF DANIEL J. PETERSEN, 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 DEBRA BRITT, 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 DUANE AUGUSTUS WILLIE, 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 ALAN S. FORMAN, ESQ. and PETER KLENK, ESQ., 2202 Delancey Place, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to their Attorney: DANIELLA A. HORN KLENK LAW 2202 Delancey Place Philadelphia, PA 19103 ESTATE OF ELIZABETH STEVENSON, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all HOME SERVICES GOLDEN HARMONY HOME CARE Independence while at the same time improving their quality of life by helping them remain in the comfort of their own homes. Non-medical Home Care • Dememtia/Aizheimer’s Care • 24-hour care/ hourly/Live-in Medication Reminders • Meal preparation/ light housekeeping Transportation/ Doctor’s visit/ Mobility Assistance • Companionship • Shopping and errands License/insured/bonded Call 267-969-8312 for more information www.golden-harmony.com 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 Arthur W. Stevenson, Executor, c/o Harry Metka, Esq., 4802 Neshaminy Blvd, Ste. 9, Bensalem, PA 19020, Or to his Attorney: HARRY METKA 4802 Neshaminy Blvd, Ste. 9 Bensalem, PA 19020 ESTATE OF ELVAYANN LEIGH WEAVER, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION on the above estate have been granted to the undersigned, who bequest 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 Savilla Jiles, Executrix, c/o Samuel Ben-Samuel, Esquire 273 Montgomery Ave., Ste., 201, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 or to his attorney: Samuel Ben-Samuel 273 Montgomery Ave. Ste. 201 Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 ESTATE OF EMMA ROSARIO a/k/a EMMA LUCY ROSARIO, 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 MIGUEL ANGEL MIRANDA, JR., ADMINISTRATOR, c/o Kenneth R. Pugh, Esq., 5401 Wissahickon Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19144, OR to his Attorney: KENNETH R. PUGH JERNER LAW GROUP, P.C. 5401 Wissahickon Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19144 ESTATE OF ERIC ROEBUCK, 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 EVANS ROEBUCK, ADMINISTRATOR, 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 ESSER LUE DAVIS, 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 PAULINE COLEMAN, EXECUTRIX, c/o Nathan Snyder, Esq., 3070 Bristol Pike, Bldg. 2, Ste. 204, Bensalem, PA 19020, Or to her Attorney: NATHAN SNYDER LAW OFFICE OF NATHAN SNYDER 3070 Bristol Pike, Bldg. 2, Ste. 204 Bensalem, PA 19020 Estate of EVA MAE DANIELS, deceased. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION on the above estate have been granted to the undersigned, who bequest 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 Nathan Daniels, Administrator, c/o Samuel Ben-Samuel, Esquire 273 Montgomery Ave., Ste., 201, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 or to his attorney: Samuel Ben-Samuel 273 Montgomery Ave. Ste. 201 Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 ESTATE OF FITZGERALD ANDERSON, 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 CHARMAIN ANDERSON- COVER, EXECUTRIX, c/o Angela D. Giampolo, Esq., 1221 Locust St., Ste. 202, Philadelphia, PA 19107, Or to her Attorney: ANGELA D. GIAMPOLO GIAMPOLO LAW GROUP, LLC 1221 Locust St., Ste. 202 Philadelphia, PA 19107 ESTATE OF GLADYCE F. RUBIN, DECEASED. Late of Upper Moreland Township, Montgomery County, PA 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 ARLENE B. RUBIN and JEFFRY F. RUBIN, EXECUTORS, PET SERVICES WE SCOOP DOG POOP 215-DOG-POOP www.poopiescoopersr-us.com c/o Lawrence S. Chane, Esq., One Logan Square, 130 N. 18th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103-6998, Or to their Attorney: LAWRENCE S. CHANE BLANK ROME LLP One Logan Square 130 N. 18th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103-6998 ESTATE OF HELEN D. DELMOOR BROWN a/k/a HELEN D. BROWN, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION CTA on the above Estate have been granted 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 AYANNA E. DELMOOR, ADMINISTRATRIX CTA, c/o Jay E. Kivitz, Esq., 7901 Ogontz Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19150, Or to her Attorney: JAY E. KIVITZ KIVITZ & KIVITZ, P.C. 7901 Ogontz Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19150 ESTATE OF HENRIETTA SLAP, DECEASED Late of Philadelphia, 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 with- out delay, to Eve Slap and Alison Tress, Executrices, c/o Gary A. Zlotnick, Esq., Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer & Toddy, PC, One Commerce Sq., 2005 Market St., 16th Fl., Philadelphia, PA 19103 or to their attorneys, Gary A. Zlotnick, Esq. Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer & Toddy, PC One Commerce Sq. 2005 Market St., 16th Fl. Philadelphia, PA 19103 ESTATE OF HENRY M. WILKOWSKI a/k/a HENRY WILKOWSKI, 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 ROBERT STEPHEN WILKOWSKI, EXECUTOR, c/o John M. Pelet, III, Esq., 200 S. Broad St., Ste. 600, Philadelphia, PA 19102, Or to his Attorney: John M. Pelet, III Astor Weiss Kaplan & Mandel, LLP 200 S. Broad St., Ste. 600 Philadelphia, PA 19102 ESTATE OF JEANETTE L. SANTUCCI, (a/k/a JEANETTE SANTUCCI, 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 NIKKI JOHNSON, EXECUTRIX, c/o Carolyn M. Marchesani, Esq., 800 E. High St., Pottstown, PA 19464, Or to her Attorney: CAROLYN M. MARCHESANI WOLF, BALDWIN & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 800 E. High St. Pottstown, PA 19464 ESTATE OF JEANNIE ADAMS, 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 RALPH NICHOLS, JR., EXECUTOR, Adam S. Bernick, Esq., 2047 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to his Attorney: ADAM S. BERNICK LAW OFFICE OF ADAM S. BERNICK 2047 Locust St. Philadelphia, PA 19103 JEWISH EXPONENT CLASSIFIEDS To advertise, call 215-832-0749 ESTATE OF MARC ZOLL Deceased Late of Philadelphia, 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, Melissa Caplan, 6 Shamrock Court, Newtown, PA 18940 Administratrix. Jeffrey S. Michels, Esq. 1234 Bridgetown Pike Suite 110 Feasterville, PA 19053 ESTATE OF PEARL SAMSON, 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 David Samson, Executor, c/o Harry Metka, Esq., 4802 Neshaminy Blvd, Ste. 9, Bensalem, PA 19020, Or to his Attorney: HARRY METKA 4802 Neshaminy Blvd, Ste. 9 Bensalem, PA 19020 Estate of LOUIS I. PIATETSKY, Deceased. Late of Pennsylvania LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION on the above estate have been granted to the undersigned, who bequest 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 Debra G. Speyer, Esq., Administrator c/o his attorney Debra G. Speyer, Two Bala Plaza, Suite 300, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. ESTATE OF SALLY ANN HAMILTON, DECEASED. Late of Philadelpia 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 KARYN L. COATES, ADMINISTRATRIX, c/o Donna J. Wengiel, Esq., P.O. Box 70, Newtown, PA 18940, Or to her Attorney: DONNA J. WENGIEL STUCKERT AND YATES P.O. Box 70 Newtown, PA 18940 Estate of LUKASZ PAWLOWSKI, deceased. Late of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA. LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION on the above estate have been granted to the undersigned, who bequest 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 Radoslaw Pawlowski, Administrator, c/o Gary Stewart Seflin, Esquire, 30 West Third Street, Media, PA 19063 or to his attorney: Gary Stewart Seflin 30 West Third Street Media, PA 19063 ESTATE OF SHIRLEY SCHMUCKLER a/k/a SHIRLEY HYMAN SCHMUCKLER, DECEASED. Late of Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, PA 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 LOUIS A. SCHMUCKLER, EXECUTOR, c/o Katherine F. Thackray, Esq., 1880 JFK Blvd., Ste. 1740, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to his Attorney: KATHERINE F. THACKRAY ALEXANDER & PELLI, LLC 1880 JFK Blvd., Ste. 1740 Philadelphia, PA 19103 ESTATE OF STANLEY JULES RIPKIN a/k/a STANLEY RIPKIN, STANLEY J. RIPKIN, 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 SETH J. RIPKIN, Executor, c/o Harry Metka, Esq., 4802 Neshaminy Blvd, Ste. 9, Bensalem, PA 19020, Or to his Attorney: HARRY METKA 4802 Neshaminy Blvd, Ste. 9 Bensalem, PA 19020 ESTATE OF STEPHEN PATRICK CONLON, SR., DECEASED. Late of PhiladelphiaLETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the un- dersigned, 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 CAITLIN CONLON, ADMINISTRATRIX, c/o Amy F. Steerman, Esq., 1900 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to her Attorney: AMY F. STEERMAN AMY F. STEERMAN LLC 1900 Spruce St. Philadelphia, PA 19103 ESTATE OF THOMAS RISPO, 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 VINCENT RISPO, ADMINISTRATOR, 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 Notice is hereby given that Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 3/14/22, with respect to a pro- posed nonprofit corporation, The Hermitage Philadelphia, which has been incorporated under the Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988. 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