DIM THE
LIGHTS FALL BACK
The 41st annual Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
begins on Nov. 7.

NOVEMBER 4, 2021 / 29 CHESHVAN 5782
PAGE 17
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM — WHAT IT MEANS TO BE JEWISH IN PHILADELPHIA —
$1.00 OF NOTE
LOCAL AJC Study Shows
That 40% of Jews
Changed Behavior
Does that trend
apply locally, too?
Page 4
LOCAL Antisemitism Not
Surging on Local
Campuses Problems more
prevalent on social
media. Page 5
PHILLY FACES
Meet Eli Robbins
Bout with paralysis
shaped career path.

Page 19
Volume 134
Number 30
Published Weekly Since 1887
Rituals Remain
Despite COVID
Death Surge
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
JOSEPH LEVINE & SONS Memorial
Chapel in Trevose buried many more
people this past year than previously. And
Goldsteins’ Rosenberg’s Raphael-Sacks
funeral home had its busiest 12-month
period ever from March 2020-’21.

But despite working earlier days and
later nights and holding more funerals,
Adam Levine, a partner at Joseph Levine
& Sons and supervisor at Haym Salomon
Memorial Park in Malvern, hasn’t wavered.

“COVID got tiring, got upsetting, got
personal. It was not easy for everyone to
make it through COVID,” Levine said.

“But we put a lot of ourselves into taking
care of our families, and we only put more
into it during the height of COVID.”
Th ough the pandemic has resulted in
changes to the logistics of Jewish rituals
surrounding death, the job of Jewish spiri-
tual leaders and funeral homes hasn’t
changed, as they work to provide dignity
for the dead and comfort to their loved ones
in a time of profound and widespread grief.

“Our main goal is to help these families
who have lost their loved ones, try to help
them through this whole process and give
them the type of funeral service that
Abrams Hebrew Academy students are playing sports again in 2021-’22.

Courtesy of the Abrams Hebrew Academy
Jewish Schools Become
Communities Again
JARRAD SAFFREN | JE STAFF
FOR LOCAL JEWISH SCHOOLS,
pandemic-era restrictions like masks and
physical distancing are part of the daily
routine at this point.

But despite those inhibitors to human
connection, students are connecting again
in their schools, just like they did before
March 2020.

Th at’s because, with most teachers and
eligible students vaccinated, administra-
tors have brought back the full lineup of
clubs, sports and other activities.

In 2021-’22, schools are communities
again. “Th ere’s a buzz that we didn’t have
last year,” said Rabbi Ira Budow, the
See Rituals, Page 10
See Schools, Page 11
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