T orah P ortion
Sukkahs, Arks and Towers
BY RABBI RON SYMONS
Parshat Noach
I WRITE THESE words as
I contemplate when I might
take down my sukkah at the
end of Sukkot. I love Sukkot
for the natural elements that
make it a unique fall harvest,
for the spiritual impulses that
allow us to invite guests of ages
past into our sukkah and for
the spiritual practice of waving
lulav and etrog.

Most importantly, I love
Sukkot because I get to build
a sukkah. Our sukkah design
at home is one that was influ-
enced by the sukkah I grew
up in in Temple Emanu-El
of Lynbrook, New York.

That sukkah, centered in our
temple’s biblical garden, was
expertly constructed of lattice
and 2-by-2 lumber, stained
a dark brown, without a
wayward piece of lattice to be
found. Wherever I have tried
to duplicate that sukkah, in
our childhood home and then
our family homes in New York,
Boston and Pittsburgh, I have
never succeeded in making
Faces Continued from Page 6
ended up making — essentially,
in theater, they call it — the
“stage management Bible”; it’s
like the bulk of all of the cues
and characters and costumes
and basically everything.

I was like a little mini stage
manager at 7 years old. My
parents took me to see it when
I was 9 when it came to Philly,
and I just called out all the
differences from the movie. I
was that person.

our sukkah as pristine as that
childhood prototype.

Don’t get me wrong, I love
our sukkah and its predeces-
sors, not because of the design
— although I am proud of
its Lynbrook origins — but
because of the shared effort
it has taken over the years to
design it, build it, assemble
it, unassemble it and store it
until the next Sukkot. Over the
years, all of us in the family
have taken part in building,
assembling and decorating.

I learned that process, too,
from Temple Emanu-El where
everyone from religious school
to youth group, to sisterhood,
to men’s club would help year
after year as we prepared for
Sukkot. And now, with Sukkot
behind us, we have two
examples of building projects
in this week’s Torah portion,
Noach. Both the building of
the ark and the Tower of Babel
sit in a deep place of collective
memory, even for those who
have limited exposure to the
Bible. Both projects required
individuals to transform the
world around them to survive
Have you ever seen a
theater ghost?
When I was working in
Bucks County Playhouse. I
swear I was the only person
in the building, and the doors
were all closed and no one
was there, and it was just me.

There was no wind coming
through, and especially not in
the room that I was in. And
I felt a breeze, and I saw a
breeze come through, and then
I swear I saw like this milky
figure go through the door of
the theater.

I wasn’t scared; I just felt
calm. I was like, ‘Oh, there’s
the theater ghost.’ l
Do you have any theater
superstitions? I don’t know if I have theater
superstitions as much as I believe srogelberg@jewishexponent.com;
that theater ghosts are real.

215-832-0741 20
OCTOBER 7, 2021
and better suit their needs.

That’s where the similarities
end. After all, the ark was
built by one man as his neigh-
bors mocked him for decades
while the tower was built by an
entire community. The project
of building the ark appeared
to succeed by protecting the
animals and Noah’s family
from the waters of the flood;
but it only protected them, and
not his neighbors. They, alone,
lived to see the world the day
after the rain stopped.

The project of building the
tower appeared to fail when
God expressed frustration with
it because of the monolithic
nature of communication.

Ultimately, humanity was
dispersed across the earth
and across languages so that
we could not rise up together
again in one voice.

How sad for us? Our attempt
to make a name for ourselves
and to rise to heaven was
thwarted way back when, even
as we might strive for unity of
humanity today. It seems like
the message of the Tower of
Babel is that we should not try
to work together.

Tikvah Continued from Page 7
about 680 of them, she said.

By the time she left NORC
in 2019, it was serving more
than 1,100 households. It also
doubled its number of commu-
nity partners and increased
volunteer engagement by a third.

“By increasing volunteer
engagement, we broadened
the number of people in the
community who understood
what we were doing,” Gilbert
said. NORC taught Gilbert how
to build a community around
a specific purpose. But it was a
previous position that showed
her how to build a community.

From 1985 to 1998, she
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6:03 p.m.

That’s what I thought until
I came across the wisdom of
Rabbi Mary Zamore, execu-
tive director of the Women’s
Rabbinic Network, an affiliate
of the Central Conference of
American Rabbis.

Now I see the Babel text
differently. In contrast to their
living as 70 different nations,
the humans were able to create
peace and harmony among
themselves only when they
were united by place, language
and mission. God foiled their
plan and scattered them —
and us, their descendants — to
send a strong message, one still
needed today.

True peace, true unity lies
in respectful diversity. The
answer to the pre-flood human-
against-human violence is not
evolving into a homogenous
unit; only when we learn to
co-exist as different nations,
cultures, religions, lifestyles
and languages will we find true
peace. Her embrace of diversity
as a message of the Tower of
Babel was echoed by Rabbi
Lord Jonathan Sacks when he
wrote, “... they are attempting
to frustrate God’s command
in Genesis One, ‘Be fruitful
and multiply and fill the earth.’
They attempt to concentrate
in a city. And we have this
critique throughout the Bible
of urban civilisation.” The goal
of creation was always for us
to spread far and wide and live
diverse lives.

The truth is that when we
arrived to “build” the sukkah
at Temple Emanu-El, it was
already built. You see, Charlie,
the Temple caretaker, and his
diverse staff of non-Jews had
already built the frame. The job
of the young and old, inexpe-
rienced and experienced, was
to put the corn stalks on the
walls and the roof. We built
that sukkah year after year on a
foundation of diversity. That’s
how we need to build commu-
nity today, tomorrow and the
next day. l
served as youth director
and then program director
at Congregation Beth Or in
Montgomery County. In both
roles, Gilbert introduced
a variety of programs: from
common interest groups,
like knitting circles and a
photography club, to a congre-
gation-wide Mitzvah Day to
regular theater trips.

“Things people might do on
their own if they weren’t part
of a congregation,” she said.

With Gilbert’s
help, Congregation Beth Or grew
from 350 families in 1985 to
850 by 1998.

“It was really all about
community building to
attract new families and also
to retain people through their
connections to one another,”
Gilbert said.

Gilbert cared
deeply about both of those missions:
building a congregation and
helping senior citizens. And
she feels the same way about
her new mission.

Gilbert has family members
living with mental illnesses.

Based on those experiences,
she believes the best way to
help them is to surround them
with strong support systems.

“It’s about the family
members learning how to
effectively support them,” she
said. “And for them to get the
supports they need as well.” l
Rabbi Ron Symons is the senior
director of Jewish life and the
director of the Center for Loving
Kindness at the Jewish Community
Center of Greater Pittsburgh. This
column is a service of the Greater
Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

jsaffren@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
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Brooke is a graduate of the University of
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in interior design. She works as a senior
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Michael is a graduate of the University of
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Brooke and Michael live in Center City Philadelphia and are planning a May
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COMMUNITYBRIEFS Arts and Culture Promoter Phoebe Resnick
Dies at 85
PHOEBE RESNICK, who promoted Philadelphia’s
cultural and arts scene for many years, died Sept. 25
from lung cancer. She was 85.

Resnick’s career began in
the 1970s as cultural affairs
director at Delaware County
Community College, where
she booked musical bands
and performing artists. Those
early bookings included
the magic and comedy duo
Penn & Teller and rockers
George Thorogood and the
Destroyers. She later became head
Phoebe Resnick
of public relations at what Courtesy of the Resnick family
is now called the Penn
Museum. In 1986, she opened her own public relations firm,
Resnick Communications, and focused on clients in
the arts, culture and philanthropy circles. Among her
clients were the Moderne Gallery and Thos. Moser,
the furniture maker.

Resnick also volunteered with the Mighty Writers
organization in Philadelphia 10 years ago.

Resnick is survived by her husband Myron; three
children Rosalind Resnick, Bruce Resnick (Robyn
Martin) and Dave Resnick (Marlys Miller); and eight
grandchildren. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Charles “Les” Robbins Named JFCS Board Chair
Charles “Les” Robbins was named the new board
chair of Jewish Family and Children’s Service of
Greater Philadelphia.

Robbins, who is an
associate vice president
for investments at Wells
Fargo, has been on the
JFCS board since 2016,
serving as both treasurer
and assistant treasurer.

As chair, Robbins will
oversee a 25-member
board of volunteers and
a full-time professional
Charles “Les” Robinson
team to help guide and
Courtesy of Jewish Family and
support the organiza-
Children’s Service
tion in its mission to
strengthen families and individuals across genera-
tions and cultures to achieve stability, independence
and community.

Robbins wants to help expand JFCS’ mental health
support, diversity, equity and inclusion; its organiza-
tional evolution; resource development; and achieving
a new culture of learning and innovation.

“I plan to reach out to solicit support from more
members of our diverse community to help support
those in need,” Robbins said. “I also want to find
opportunities that engage our board members and
the community to help us continue to impact the lives
of thousands across the region.”
JEWISH EXPONENT
Robert Miller Wins Edward N. Polisher Award
from Jewish Federationof Greater Philadelphia
Robert A. Miller, president of Charlap & Miller,
Inc., received the 16th annual Edward N. Polisher
Award during the Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia’s 26th annual Solomon and Sylvia
Bronstein Seminar for Professionals held via Zoom
on Sept. 10.

Charlap & Miller is a
four-generation life insur-
ance consulting firm.

The award is presented
to an estate planning
professional in recognition
of distinguished service to
Jewish Federation endow-
ment programs.

Miller has
been involved with the Jewish
Robert A. Miller
Federation of
Federation’s endow- Courtesy of Jewish
Greater Philadelphia
ment strategy and helped
develop the key donor
life insurance program. He also has served on the
boards of the Philadelphia Estate Planning Council,
Federation Endowments Corporation, Congregation
Beth Or and Boys Town Jerusalem. l
Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
OCTOBER 7, 2021
21