C ommunity / mazel tovs
MAR R I AG E
KIRSCHNER-ROSEN Hope and Lee Kirschner of Bala Cynwyd and Deborah and
Craig Rosen of King of Prussia announce the marriage of their
children, Brittany Jill Kirschner and Blake Henry Rosen, on Nov.

13. The ceremony took place at the Hilton Philadelphia Hotel.

Brittany graduated from Dean College, earning her degree
in early childhood education. She is a teacher in the Jewish
community. Blake is a graduate of Arizona State University and works as
the chief operating officer for a medical practice in Philadelphia.

Sharing in their happiness are siblings Bryan Kirschner
(Danielle Assour), Lauren Burman (David), Blair Rosen and
Jeffrey Rosen (z’l).

The couple resides in Center City and will take their honey-
moon next summer.

Photo by Hope Kirschner
COMMUNITYBRIEFS Artist Zelda Edelson Dies at 92
ZELDA EDELSON, an editor at the Yale Peabody
Museum of Natural History for 20 years who took up
painting later in life, died Nov. 12. She was 92.

Edelson was featured in the Jewish Exponent in
2018 shortly after her solo exhibition “Color in the
Moment” debuted at the Old City Jewish Art Center.

“It’s really meaningful,” Edelson said. “It gave me a
view of my paintings that I never experienced before,
simply because you don’t have enough space to show
stuff in most places.”
Zelda Edelson
A native of Philadelphia, Edelson’s love of art dated
to her high school days, when she took a course from
prominent experimental artist Jack Bookbinder.

Edelson forged a career, first as an editor at
Discovery magazine, then as the editor and head
of print publications at the Yale museum, forgoing
serious painting until her 1995 retirement.

“I wanted to do something that was my own thing,”
she said.

When her husband Marshall Edelson, a professor
of psychiatry at Yale, died in 2005, she returned to
Philadelphia and continued to paint, influenced by
artists such as Paul Klee and Jackson Pollock.

“Caliph’s Palace” (2018)
“I feel a lot of influences, not necessarily those
by Zelda Edelson
names,” she said. “Painting is not just what comes Courtesy of the Edelson family
out of your hand or arm, it’s what’s in your brain, and
that’s the ultimate decisive part of the experience of painting.”
In 2018, she published “Zelda Edelson – Painter,” a book of her paintings and
poetry. She is survived by sons Jon Edelson and Dave Tolchinsky; daughter Bec
Edelson; sister Charlotte Thurschwell; and six grandchildren.

22 NOVEMBER 25, 2021
JRA to Host Virtual Event to End Hunger
The Jewish Relief Agency will host its second virtual Annual Event to End
Hunger: Growing Needs, Glowing Deeds on Dec. 5 at 6 p.m.

The program will illuminate the stories of three volunteer families while
underscoring the growing needs of area families struggling with food insecurity.

“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, JRA has seen an unprece-
dented increase in families requesting food assistance, many for the first time,”
said Jodi Roth-Saks, JRA’s executive director.

Before the pandemic, 1,000 volunteers would come to JRA’s warehouse in
Northeast Philadelphia on one Sunday each month to pack and deliver food. When
social distancing recommendations were put in place, JRA modified its program
model to limit the risk of exposure for both clients and volunteers. The organiza-
tion developed a drive-thru pickup model for food pantries across the state.

JRA continues to operate with the community’s health and safety in mind
and has increased its offerings by delivering more food per box and supplying
critical household items like soap, toilet paper and face masks.

The public can watch the event, which will stream live, by visiting jewishrelief.

org/annual-event-2021. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
Jewish Relief
Agency volunteers
prepare food for
delivery. Courtesy of the
Jewish Relief Agency
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