obituaries
BALL JOSEPH H.-April 6, 2023 of Penn
Valley, PA. Beloved husband of
Sandra (nee Cohan); loving father of
Robert Ball (Keilla Schmidt), Yelane
Rosenbaum, and Nanelle Meyers (the
late Robert Meyers); adoring grandfa-
ther of Eric, Emylie, Eriya, Madison,
Griffi n, Maxwell, Jessica, and Benjamin;
devoted brother of Jayne Flaxman and
late sisters Barbara Myers and Dana
Meyers. Memorial services were held
Monday April 10. In lieu of fl owers, con-
tributions in his memory may be made
to a charity of the donor’s choice.

JOSEPH LEVINE & SONS
www.levinefuneral.com BLOOM
LEATRICE MARYLIN (nee Mitchell)
on April 20, 2023. Wife of the late Dr.

Harry Owen Bloom. Mother of Marc
Bloom, Jerry Bloom and Todd Bloom.

Grandmother of Ross (Emily) Bloom,
Cara Bloom, Mitchell Bloom (Katy
Kienitz) and Jason Bloom. Great grand-
mother of Connor, Miles and Maxine.

Contributions in her memory may be
made to the American Cancer Society,
www.cancer.org or the Women’s League
for Conservative Judaism, www.wlcj.org
GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S
RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com
KRANICH PERLA S. (Schultz), 95 of York, PA
died peacefully, surrounded by family
both near and far, on Tuesday, April
25, 2023. She was predeceased by
her eldest daughter Clarabeth (Hirsch)
Grossman and her husband of 55
years, Ivan “Ike” Kranich. She is sur-
vived by her brother M. Barry Schultz
of Doylestown, PA, three children, Fritz
S. Hirsch and his wife Nancy of Lake
Forest, IL, Sally K. Eisenberg and her
husband Stewart of Philadelphia, PA,
David S. Kranich of New York, NY,
and her son-in-law Mitchell Grossman
of York, PA. She is also survived by 2
step-children, Marge Gorkin of New
York, NY, Nancy Kranich and her hus-
band Jorge Schement of Highland
Park, NJ and by 9 grandchildren, and 6
great grandchildren. Perla was born in
Philadelphia, PA on October 17, 1927,
the daughter of the late Bertha and
Gustave Schultz. She relocated from
Philadelphia, PA to York, PA in 1962,
after meeting and marrying her be-
loved Ike. Perla graduated from West
Philadelphia High School and received
her Bachelor of Science in Education
from Temple University. She worked as
a Business Secretarial Skills instructor
at York College and proudly managed
the books for Tioga Mill Outlet Stores
in York, PA, a family-owned textile
business. She was actively involved
May Their
Memor y
Be For a Bless ing
Th e Philadelphia Jewish Exponent
extends condolences to the families
of those who have passed.

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22 MAY 4, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
in the Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood,
the United Jewish Appeal and the
York JCC. She loved music, painting
with oils, reading, practicing T’ai Chi,
playing bridge, doing the crossword,
and learning. More than anything else,
Perla loved her family and all being
together. Donations in Perla’s memory
can be made to: The National Ovarian
Cancer Coalition, (NOCC) - 4950 York
Road, #631, Holicong, PA 18928 or
Temple Beth Israel, 2090 Hollywood
Drive, York, PA 17403 or to a charity of
your choice. Online condolences may
be made at www.geiple.com.

GEIPLE-PREDICCE FUNERAL AND
CREMATION SERVICES, INC.

www.geiple.com she lit up a room. She put everyone
before herself. Lois was a devoted
wife, mother, grandmother, and friend
to all who knew her. She was a pas-
sionate woman with many talents. She
was an accomplished artist, pianist,
competitive tennis player, and bridge
player. She was an active member of
The Temple. She was a vibrant and
creative person and will leave a last-
ing legacy to everyone who knew her.

Services were held in Louisville, KY,
with burial in The Temple Cemetery.

Contributions can be made to The
Temple, 5101 US-42, Louisville,
KY, 40241, in Lois Shapero’s honor.

Arrangements entrusted to Herman
Meyer & Son, Inc.

HERMAN MEYER & SON, INC.

meyerfuneral.com a long-time dedication to the Crohn’s
& Colitis Foundation, for which she
served many years as a board mem-
ber. She was also an ardent supporter
of groups seeking a cure for ALS. But
her true love, passion and devotion
was to family. She was an incredible
spouse, an even better mother, and an
absolutely extraordinary grandmother.

Her outgoing telephone recording per-
haps said it best: “You have reached
Cindy Spector, grandmother to four
delicious grandchildren.” She men-
tored, encouraged, and loved her fam-
ily – to the moon and stars and back.

In lieu of fl owers, those who wish to
make a contribution in her memory
may donate to the Crohn’s & Colitis
Foundation of Philadelphia, 2 Bala
Plaza, Suite 526, Bala Cynwyd, PA
19004. JOSEPH LEVINE & SONS
www.levinefuneral.com VOGEL, ESQ.

SHAPERO Lois Shapero, daughter of Blanch
Leifer Plank and William Plank, died
peacefully in her home surrounded by
her family on April 20th, 2023. Born in
Muncie, Indiana, Lois lived most of her
life in Louisville, Kentucky. She is sur-
vived by her husband, Julian Shapero,
her children Vicki Lurie (Ronnie), Leslie
Trager, Amy Manuel (Gerald); and her
grandchildren, Nathan Lurie, Alyssa
Lurie, Samantha Trager, Carly Trager,
Megan Manuel, and Leah Manuel.

Lois was the defi nition of kindness and
a gift to all who knew her. She was
warm-hearted, loving, selfl ess, and
Cytron-Walker Continued from page 6
in Philadelphia, were interviewed on
stage by Jane Eisner, the director of
academic aff airs at the Graduate School
of Journalism at Columbia University.

“It is really, really hard to love the
stranger,” Cytron-Walker added during
the event. “But if we did a little bit
more of loving the stranger, instead of
demonizing, instead of casting aside,
then we’d have a lot less people feeling
estranged.” Tyler’s church is a sister institution
to the Emanuel African Methodist
Episcopal Church in Charleston, South
Carolina, where the white suprema-
cist-inspired shooting in June 2015
killed nine worshipers; the two
SPECTOR CINDY (nee Rawitt)-April 27, 2023
of Bala Cynwyd, PA. Wife of Martin
Spector; mother of Steven (Sheri)
Spector and Michael (Alison) Spector;
grandmother of Megan, Harrison, Cole,
and Evan; sister of Susan Schwartz
and Leslie Rawitt. Cindy was an entre-
preneur who started and ran several
small businesses, the most successful
of which was named Beautiful Treats,
a candy confection business catering
for special occasions. She was active
in many charitable organizations, with
churches have been intertwined since
early in the 19th century.

During the event, the rabbi and
reverend both discussed the question
of forgiveness, with Tyler noting that
families of those lost in the Charleston
shooting have taken different
approaches, and that he respects the
diff erent reactions.

Cytron-Walker said he doesn’t speak
the name of the man who took him
hostage, and that while he feels compas-
sion for the gunman’s family, “I have
absolutely no emotion, for better or for
worse, about the fact that he died.” He
added that while Jewish people are “all
over the map” on the death penalty,
struggling with such questions is “what
we’re supposed to do.”
The rabbi has testifi ed before
WARREN, Esq. on April 25, 2023.

Beloved husband of Gayle (nee Katz);
cherished father of Jeffrey (Sarah)
Vogel and Michael (Fernanda) Vogel;
devoted brother of Ruth (Jay) Silberg,
Esq.; absolutely adored Zayde of Ruby,
Siena, Josie, Max and Emilia. Warren
practiced law for 49 years. He was
a board member and general coun-
sel for Beth Sholom Congregation.

Contributions in his memory may be
made to the Rabbi’s Discretionary
Fund at Beth Sholom Congregation,
8231 Old York Rd, Elkins Park PA
19027 or the American Heart Assoc,
www.heart.org GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S
RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com
Congress three times, seeking greater
security funding for nonprofi t institu-
tions, which led to a signifi cant increase
in such funding. He has also become a
special adviser on security to the ADL.

“It’s important to know that it doesn’t
matter where it happens,” Cytron-Walker
said of antisemitism, citing Colleyville as
an example. “It can happen anywhere,
and we all feel it, the entirety of the
Jewish people, the entirety of the Jewish
community, feels it.” He added that, “We
shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it, and
also, what’s really important is not only
that we ask others to stand up for us,
but also to make sure that we stand up
for others.” ■
Stephen Silver is a Philadelphia area
freelance writer.




synagogue spotlight
After Surviving COVID, the South
Philadelphia Shtiebel Looks Ahead
Jarrad Saffren | Staff Writer
A fter becoming one of the first female
rabbis in the Orthodox denomination, Dasi
Fruchter chose South Philadelphia as the
place to build her congregation. She met with Jewish
residents of the area for a year before opening
the South Philadelphia Shtiebel, with backing from
Start-Up Shul and Hillel International, in July 2019.

Rabbanit Fruchter, as she likes to call herself,
welcomed “80 or so worshippers” into the
synagogue’s storefront home on East Passyunk
Avenue for the community’s first Shabbat service,
according to a Jewish Exponent article. The
same article described the evening as a “joyous,
foot-stomping service.” But the moment ended less
than a year later with the arrival of COVID-19.

Fruchter got COVID herself and the Shtiebel, like
other shuls, had to find creative ways to survive. But
survive it did.

The rabbanit, who came to Philadelphia from
Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah in
Maryland, remains in South Philadelphia, and now
she’s married and a homeowner. Her synagogue
remains here, too, only in a rented row home instead
of a storefront. But with more than 100 Shabbat
worshippers each week, it has grown since that
inaugural Sabbath.

“It’s going great,” Fruchter said.

When COVID hit, Shtiebel regulars could no longer
gather on Shabbat. Halachic rules do not allow for an
online gathering on the Sabbath. Fruchter and her
congregants had to wait out those early weeks apart
until they could assemble again in a field at a six-foot
distance while wearing masks.

As time marched on though, members got closer.

They gathered in a theater, a Catholic school parking
lot and a bocce court. Eventually, they took their
masks off and stood together. By the High Holidays
in 2021, almost 150 Shtiebel regulars congregated
on that bocce court. They said their prayers and the
noise floated “up to the heavens,” Fruchter said.

But even while synagogue members could not
convene for Shabbat, the shul was “never closed,”
Fruchter said. She taught a daily Talmud class
online. She hosted Kaddish services for congregants
or family members of congregants. She delivered
packages and made phone calls.

“I was trying to support people who were treading
water,” the rabbi said.

Rabbanit Dasi Fruchter
During the pandemic, some people left South
Philadelphia Shtiebel. But many of those original
members stayed. And many more, who were “hungry
for something,” as Fruchter put it, arrived. The
Shtiebel dropped to about 30 regulars during the
initial stage of COVID before growing back to 50-75
members. After securing the new space on Juniper
Street, the Shtiebel grew again.

“I believe very strongly in physical space and
what that does for our sense of rootedness and
community,” Fruchter said. “There is something
about having a place.”
The 33-year-old, female, Orthodox rabbi has her
place, and it is allowing her to give members theirs.

As a result, the base is now big enough to help
support the organization. But it remains “too fiscally
young, probably, to own,” the rabbi said.

The South Philadelphia Shtiebel receives one-third
of its funding from local support, with the rest coming
from outside grants and major gifts, according to
Fruchter. Her goal for year five is to “shift more to
local support,” she said.

Courtesy of Rabbinat Dasi Fruchter
This past Shabbat, there was a room for kids 0-3, and
another room for kids 5-7 to have a parsha discussion.

During the Kiddush lunch, a group of congregants older
than 50 was having an “intense parsha discussion,” as
Fruchter described it, with a group of members “in the
younger professional part of their lives.”
Most of the members, as is customary in Orthodox
communities, live within a mile of the synagogue so
they can walk. But people also come from Fairmount,
the Main Line and Wilmington, Delaware. There are
no schools in the synagogue yet, but Fruchter is now
thinking about a 30-year plan. For the first time since
March 2020, she feels like she has time to plan.

“The most interesting thing is that in the last month
or so, I decided that we need one,” she said.

Fruchter met her husband, Daniel Krupka, a
software engineer, at a Center City Kehillah event
during COVID. They got married and bought a house
in the past year.

“This is my place. I love it,” she said. ■
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
23