H eadlines
Shavuot a Special Holiday for Goodblatt Students
L OCA L
JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF
IN THE FIRST CHAPTER of
Ruth, read during the holiday of
Shavuot, the eponymous convert
speaks her most famous line.

Ruth, a Moabite woman, is
widowed around the same time
as her Jewish in-laws, Naomi
and Orpah. Naomi, mother-
in-law to Ruth and Orpah,
encourages them to leave her
and pursue new husbands. But
Ruth refuses, opting to remain
with Naomi. “Wherever you go
I will go, wherever you lodge I
will lodge; your people shall be
my people and your God shall
be my God,” Ruth says.

Over the course of her life,
Ruth’s pledge to Naomi is
bolstered by a litany of righteous
acts and, by the time of her
death, the woman who is often
described as the first convert
to Judaism has given birth to
the family line that eventually
produces King David.

The story of Ruth is
especially resonant this time
of year for the teachers and
students at the Rabbi Morris
Goodblatt Academy, a local
educational program that
provides introduction to
Judaism courses. Many of the
students join the academy
as a part of their conver-
sion processes, attending by
themselves or alongside their
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Gill Segal (left) and Eric Papa (right) with their children, Joseph and Shawn-
Benjamin. Papa was introduced to the Rabbi Morris Goodblatt Academy by
a rabbi in Durham, North Carolina.
Courtesy of Eric Papa
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MAY 20, 2021
JEWISH EXPONENT
Jewish spouses.

As Rabbi Neil Cooper
explained, the holiday-based
structure of the 23-week class
ends each year with Shavuot,
a fitting conclusion to the
students’ declarations that they,
too, will be like Ruth — in more
ways than one. The academy is
supported by the Rabbinical
Assembly (Philadelphia
Region), and the Louis and
Judith Miller Introduction to
Judaism Program of American
Jewish University.

“What we’re seeing today
is not only a steady flow of
people who are converting,
but people who are converting,
not because they have to, but
because they want to,” said
Cooper, who runs the academy
and is also the senior rabbi at
Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El in
Wynnewood. The academy’s namesake,
Rabbi Morris Goodblatt, started
the school in 1959, according to
the archives of the Jewish Post &
Opinion, a Jewish newspaper in
Indianapolis. Goodblatt started
the school as the “Academy for
See Shavuot, Page 13
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Philadelphia
Stands with
Israel Israel Emergency Fund
Support immediate needs that have resulted from the daily barrage of rocket fire
and unrest in the streets of Israel, specifically in the Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia’s partnership region of Netivot and Sdot Negev bordering Gaza.

Visit jewishphilly.org/israelemergencyfund
to make a donation or call 215.832.3484
Immediate needs identified by our partnership region include:
• Portable Bomb Shelters for those unable to get to permanent shelters
• Air Conditioning Units for shelters where conditions inside can reach 100 degrees or more and are
not conducive for long term usage
• Increased and Ongoing Trauma Services and Resiliency Efforts to alleviate the suffering and help
citizens cope with the devastation they are enduring.

Additional support will be provided through our partnership with Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI),
The Jewish Federations of North America and 147 additional Jewish Federations to provide victims
of terror with immediate financial assistance and support services.

100% of all dollars raised will go directly to address immediate needs on the ground in Israel.

Payment is requested at the time of donation so we are able to distribute the funds as quickly as possible.

2100 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
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MAY 20, 2021
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