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NEW JERSEY JEWISH NEWS
G R E AT E R M E T R O W E S T E D I T I O N A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E J E W I S H W E E K M E D I A G R O U P Vol. LXX IV No. 19 | May 7, 2020 | 13 IYAR 5780
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Day schools struggle to balance needs of families, budget shortfalls
Friendship Circle delivers soup and challah page 14 ➞
Remembering someone devoted to helping others State & Local 6
Unpaid tuition, cancelled fundraisers lead to uncertainty in September
In new post, facing pandemic’s challenges HUC-JIR president Andrew Rehfeld is counting on academic and executive experience to reshape Reform movement’s four campuses Gary Rosenblatt Special to NJJN
Good riddance to Larry David’s Bernie Sanders
Exit Ramp 23
State & Local Opinion Calendar LifeCycle Touch of Torah Exit Ramp
4 11 14 15 20 23
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ndrew Rehfeld has an impressive history of adjusting to new challenges. A professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis for almost 20 years, he switched careers and served as professional head of the St. Louis Jewish Federation from 2012 until last year, when he became the president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). He is the first layman to lead the movement’s flagship center of higher education, training rabbis, cantors, educators, and communal
workers in the U.S. and Israel. It would seem that nothing could have prepared Rehfeld, 54, for dealing with the impact of the coronavirus in his first year on the job. He has been forced to cancel in-person classes at the seminary’s four campuses — New York, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem — and prepare for the human, educational, and economic fallout of the pandemic well into the future. “We’re assessing the impact for each of our students and campuses,” Rehfeld explained calmly during a recent Zoom interview from his home in Manhattan. He created a crisis management team of 32 on March 2, with heavy faculty involvement and student input “to help get through Passover.” Now a task force has been formed to prepare for the next academic year and the worstcase scenario of a year of distance learning, if necessary. “We also need to be prepared
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Johanna Ginsberg NJJN Senior Writer
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hen families call the Jewish Educational Center in Elizabeth (JEC) to discuss tuition issues that have emerged as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, they speak to executive director Steve Karp. It’s his job to balance the needs of families whose finances are suddenly precarious with JEC’s ability to pay its bills. “I tell them right away, ‘Number one, we’re there for you. We’re going to work this out. OK? Take a deep breath. You’re part of our family,’” Karp said. But he also has to tell them the second part: “‘What can you Coronavirus do? Instead of just saying, you know, you can’t pay this month, can you give us 50 percent? Can you come up with 50 percent this month and call me again next month and see whether you could continue that, or if it has to be cut in half again?’” Though there are hundreds of thousands of dollars of tuition outstanding, JEC continues to pay faculty and employees, in part thanks to a loan from the Small Business Administration’s Payroll Protection Program. Karp tries to stay optimistic, but there’s no telling what the future will bring. “We’re going to be okay one way or another, but it’s going to be a struggle, a tremendous struggle.” Jewish institutions across the country are struggling to meet all kinds of challenges through the Covid-19 shutdowns, and the financial issues facing day schools are one large piece of that puzzle. While in the foreground, teachers and students have pivoted to online instruction, the fi-
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After several grueling months caring for coronavirus patients in Paris, kosher-keeping Jewish doctors and nurses are finally getting the gourmet baguettes they deserve — stuffed amply with smoked salmon, watermelon radish, red onions, and caper-dill mayonnaise. They’re all courtesy of Ellie Balouka, a 33-year-old Ohio-born chef who moved to Paris about 14 years ago, and has been working to open her own kosher restaurant in the Opera neighborhood of the French Ellie Balouka making kocapital, where she lives with her husband and kids. sher poke bowls for mediBut she recently switched gears after learning that observant Jewish doctors and nurses treating corona- cal staff. virus patients were going empty-handed while their colleagues enjoyed free food from local non-kosher restaurants. Since Passover, Balouka has cooked and delivered some 60 meals to medical workers at hospitals in and around Paris. She has raised approximately 1,500 euros, or $1,625, and has contributed an additional 500 euros, or $541, of her own money to cover the cost of the meals and delivery, which she does herself. “For me, it’s so normal to help out,” she said. “It’s not something that I think is amazing. I think it’s something that needs to be done.” — JTA
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More black hats on color TV
If the Netflix series “Unorthodox” has whetted your appetite for portrayals of the charedi Orthodox world on TV and film, you might consider the body of work of Yehonatan Indursky, the creator of “Shtisel” and several other movies, shows, and documentaries. “Ponevezh Time”: The 2014 documentary depicts the spartan creed of study that prevails at the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. (AvailThe cast of the wildly popular able in most countries on Amazon Prime and show “Shtisel.” Google Play.) “The Cantor and the Sea”: The 2015 short film is about an unmarried, middle-aged cantor who arrives, along with his mother, at a seaside community to lead the High Holiday prayers. (YouTube) “Shtisel”: It’s the great cinematic novel of the charedi world. The characters sin and stray in different ways, but they are deeply rooted in their world and a pleasure to watch there. (Netflix) “Autonomies”: The six-part, 2018 series imagines a future in which a revolt over a draft law leads to a separation between the state of Tel Aviv and the religious autonomous region of Jerusalem. (Amazon Prime) — Mitch Ginsburg/Times of Israel COURTESY OHAD ROMANO
Defenders of the faith
A new survey found that only 7 percent of American Jews feel that the coronavirus crisis has strengthened their faith, as opposed to nearly a quarter of Americans as a whole. The survey, published April 30 by the Pew Research Center, found that Jews had the lowest percentage of respondents whose faith has been strengthened by the crisis. Along with the 7 percent of Jews whose faith has grown stronger, 69 Coronavirus strengthened relipercent say their faith hasn’t changed much and gious ties for 7 percent of Jews. 22 percent say they weren’t religious to begin with. A very small percentage, not represented numerically in the study, say their faith has gotten weaker. In the United States as a whole, 24 percent of people say their faith has gotten stronger, 2 percent say it’s gotten weaker, 47 percent say it hasn’t changed much, and 26 percent say they aren’t religious. The group with the largest number of respondents that say their faith has gotten stronger is black Protestants, 56 percent of whom reported strengthening faith. It’s possible that few Jews responded positively to the “faith” question because the question’s wording referenced “religious faith,” a terminology that tends to be less common among Jews than among Christians. — JTA GETTY IMAGES VIA JTA
CORRECTION — In “Beating pens into face shields in fight against Covid-19” (April 30), plastics company Rotuba produces 50,000 face shields each week.
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Vol. LXXIV No. 19 May 7, 2020 13 Iyar 5780 EDITORIAL Gabe Kahn, Editor Shira Vickar-Fox, Managing Editor Lori Silberman Brauner, Deputy Managing Editor Johanna Ginsberg, Senior Staff Writer Jed Weisberger, Staff Writer Abby Meth Kanter, Editorial Adviser CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Michele Alperin, Jennifer Altmann, Max L. Kleinman, Martin J. Raffel, Merri Ukraincik, Stephen M. Flatow, Jonathan Tobin BUSINESS Nancy Greenblatt, Manager Sales/ Administration and Circulation Nancy Karpf, Senior Account Executive Steven Weisman, Account Executive Lauri Sirois, Classified Sales Supervisor/ Office Manager GRAPHIC DESIGN/DIGITAL/PRODUCTION Clarissa Hamilton, Janice Hwang, Dani Shetrit EXECUTIVE STAFF Rich Waloff, Publisher Andrew Silow-Carroll, Editor in Chief Gary Rosenblatt, Editor at Large Rob Goldblum, Managing Editor Ruth Rothseid, Sales Manager Thea Wieseltier, Director of Strategic Projects Dan Bocchino, Art Director Arielle Sheinwald, Print Marketing Operations Manager Gershon Fastow, Advertising Coordinator
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Elected officials, social media fan flames of anti-Semitism in Lakewood Jed Weisberger NJJN Staff Writer
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ince the Covid-19 onslaught hit the Garden State, infecting 123,717 residents and causing the deaths of 7,742 as of May 3, there has been an uptick in social media content blaming Jews for the crisis. Not that it’s surprising that hate groups would hold the town’s large charedi population Coronavirus responsible for the spread of Covid-19; Jews were blamed without evidence for the Black Plague in 14th-century Europe, so why not coronavirus in 2020? “It’s the same kind of things we’ve seen for centuries,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), during an April 30 webinar on “Fighting Hate From Home: Viruses and Violence — Dealing with Antisemitism in the shadow of COVID-19.” “It’s the combination of myths like blood libel, Jewish power, and greed, or money, the pretense that Jews are profiting from Covid-19.” It raises some eyebrows, however, when local elected officials are responsible for stirring the pot. Take Edison council member Sam Joshi, who tweeted on March 25 that “‘To save #India and every Indian, there will be a total ban on
The Simon Wiesenthal Center and the ADL said in a recent webinar that posts like this on Telegram and other lesser-known social media platforms often filter down to Twitter and Facebook and lead to anti-Semitism. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER
venturing out of your homes,’ Modi posted,” quoting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The councilman continued, “No idea how this will work but it makes me wonder if Modi would have made an exception for #Lakewood, NJ,” followed by two smiling emoticons. After speaking with friends, Joshi deleted the post and apologized. “It was a bad joke, and I realized quickly it could have been used for anti-Semitic purposes,” Joshi told NJJN in a phone conversation. “I am a public official and am in no way anti-Semitic. I am sincerely sorry about my mistake.” Michael Cohen, Eastern director of the Wiesenthal Center, reached out to Joshi and arranged to visit Lakewood together the next day, giving the councilman the opportunity to see for himself that the charedi residents were adhering to social distancing regulations. Joshi said he is planning to return to Lakewood to meet with various rabbis when the coronavirus restrictions are eased. “It’s constructive when you can evaluate certain situations and get people to realize what social media can really do, and, like Sam, are sincere in learning about our people,” Cohen told NJJN. Such a realization has yet to come to Jackson Township Council President Barry Calogero,
Beyond the Pale: the deplorable parochialism of Satmar chasidim of Satmar chasidim who defied social distancing at the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Mertz in Wile w Yo r k liamsburg, Brooklyn. Mayor Bill This occurred despite de Blasio pleas from Satmar leadunleashed a torrent ers and the police to disof criticism when he perse the crowd. ignored the throngs of A letter signed by people watching the Jewish and elected Thunderbirds’ aerial leadership — such as acrobatics honoring Rep. Jerrold Nadler the heroes combatting (D-N.Y.), several AsCovid-19. Instead, sembly members, rabAs I See It last week he decided bis, and diverse Jewish to castigate the “Jeworganizations — exish community” for not following ap- pressed outrage that the entire Jewpropriate social distancing to flatten ish community was painted with the curve of the coronavirus. the same broad brush as those who His immediate target was a crowd flouted social distancing rules by at-
Max L. Kleinman NJJN Contributing Writer
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tending the funeral, in effect accusing all Jews of contributing to the spread of the disease. The letter said in part, “In the midst of an historic wave of antisemitic hate violence in New York City, our community — like the Asian community — has been feeling the pain of being singled out and blamed for the spread of this deadly disease.” The Satmar, a tiny subset of the Jewish community, had a police permit for the funeral, but the onslaught became too difficult to control, said one of their leaders. In other words, the crowd of hundreds was an accident, not an intentional disregard of the rules. Only after a torrent of criticism to his tweet did the mayor apologize for his poor choice of words.
So what was the reaction of the Satmar leaders to this controversy? Shaul Perlstein, a Satmar leader, disavowed “the attacks and derogatory language against our mayor, from people outside the community and from reckless people among us,” as reported in The Times of Israel. This response is typical of how Satmar chasidim have disassociated from the fabric of the Jewish people. When 25,000 concerned Jews outside of their self-described community marched across the Brooklyn Bridge in a demonstration against violence, primarily directed against groups such as the Satmars, they were greeted with indifference if not indignation by the group’s leaders. Many Jews from New Jersey
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who, during an April 14 council meeting, called on Gov. Phil Murphy to send the National Guard to Ocean County to enforce social distancing regulations on “groups of people who hide behind cultures and religious beliefs, to put themselves, first responders, and quite honestly all of Jackson … at risk for their selfishness, irresponsibility, and inability to follow the law put in place by President [Donald] Trump and Gov. Murphy.” Most of his critics said that Calogero, who was appointed executive director for the USDA New Jersey Farm Service Agency by Trump in 2017, was referring to Lakewood’s charedi community and that his remarks were anti-Semitic and inflammatory. “In face of this public crisis, we share the fears that many residents in Ocean County feel for their safety and that of their loved ones,” Evan Bernstein, vice president of the ADL’s Northeast Division, said in a statement. “But we cannot allow this fear to embolden those who would take advantage of this moment to stir hatred and division. In this regard, we are deeply concerned by recent statements of Jackson Township Council President, Barry Calogero … As we are seeing a spike in online anti-Semitism and attempts to scapegoat the Jewish community in Ocean County for Covid-19, these accusations are not only baseless — the virus has spared no religion, township or
county — but also deeply offensive to a community that like everyone else is coping with the loss of life.” As Bernstein noted, web-based hate groups appear to be picking up on the messages, spread intentionally or inadvertently, by elected officials. Days after Joshi’s comments about Lakewood, Anthony Lodespoto of Howell was arrested and charged with making “terroristic threats,” posting on Facebook that he would use a baseball bat to beat members of the Lakewood community who were not complying with Covid-19 regulations. Authorities have had to break up several large gatherings in Lakewood since social distancing regulations were enacted, and the town’s coronavirus numbers are staggering: As of May 2 Lakewood had the most infections in Ocean County with 1,822, almost 700 more than Toms River, which had the second most with 1,150; Lakewood also leads the county in Covid-19 deaths with 88, nine more than Brick, which had the next highest. “In situations like this, the Jewish community has to be very careful,” said Cohen. “There are those looking to take pictures, shoot videos that can be used on social media to blame Jews for what we are going through.” Rick Eaton, a senior researcher who directs the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Digital Terror-
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ism and Hate Project, sees some less-recognizable social media channels as forums where anti-Semitic content can filter down to more popular platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. “I’ve seen a definite increase in anti-Semitism on the internet since Covid began,” Eaton told NJJN in a telephone interview. He said that the Digital Terrorism and Hate Project monitors popular social media platforms and alerts them to posts with hateful content, but anti-Semitic groups frequently post on obscure channels. “Right now, Telegram seems to be the choice of these groups.” Telegram, which according to its website has 400 million monthly active users and claims to have 1.5 million new users every day, offers its members more privacy than other social media platforms. Both Eaton’s group and the ADL’s Center for Technology and Society flagged near-identical anti-Semitic posts from Telegram, both of which were included as part of the ADL webinar last week. “It’s now these types of obscure platforms,” said Eaton. “I’ve been at the Wiesenthal Center for 34 years. We all work hard to keep monitoring all this content and stay ahead of it. We see more and more of it.” ■ jweisberger@njjewishnews.com
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Remembering a philanthropist with a ‘wonderful spirit’ Maxine Myers dies at 84 Jed Weisberger NJJN Staff Writer
E
llen Goldner has many memories of her work with Maxine Myers, but one in particular stands out. More than two decades ago, Myers approached Goldner, who was president of Women’s Division at what was then known as the United Maxine Myers, who died Jewish Federation of in April, gave generously of her time to local causes. MetroWest. “Maxine came to me with a large check and told me we were going to start something,” Goldner told NJJN in a telephone interview. “She was worried about domestic violence and wanted to address it. So, with her initial backing, COURTESY JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER METROWEST NJ
we created the Rachel Coalition. Maxine was a founding member.” The Rachel Coalition, a division of Jewish Family Service of MetroWest (JFS), is now a partnership of several organizations providing services and support programs for victims of domestic violence in Essex and Morris counties. Maxine Myers of Maplewood, a champion fundraiser for women’s causes and advocate for people with disabilities, died April 25, 2020. She was 84. “Maxine was instrumental in making so much happen in Greater MetroWest … and around the world,” said Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ executive vice president/CEO Dov Ben-Shimon in a statement. “She was deeply devoted to the community, to Israel, and to the Jewish people. I was always grateful to see her at the many events and meetings and missions in which she served as a role model for so many of us. Her philanthropy, her generosity, and her passion for connections were all a testament to her wonderful spirit. We are deeply sorry for the loss of a true friend and an icon of the community.”
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Myers was a founding member in the mid-2000s of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of NJ, which is a part of the Jewish Community Foundation, federation’s planned gifts and endowments arm. She was on the board of Women’s Philanthropy and the Jewish Women’s Foundation at the time of her death. In addition, Myers was a long-standing trustee of Jewish Family Service of MetroWest and led many JFS committees and significant fund-raising campaigns. In 2007 she was honored for her outstanding work and commitment to the social service agency. Despite all her volunteer work and communal accomplishments, her oldest son Mark Myers, a sixthgrade teacher in Arlington, Mass., said his mother was not one to flaunt the praise she received. “My mother was extremely modest,” he told NJJN in a telephone interview. “I never fully appreciated all she did until I was a little older.” Goldner, the first woman president of federation in 2002 and current president of Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled (JSDD), worked with Myers in Women’s Philanthropy and numerous other federation projects. “We took a lot of trips to a lot of places,” said Goldner. “It meant a lot to Maxine to see and meet people all over the world. She was always looking to help and will be greatly missed.” Myers was particularly devoted to helping people such as immigrant youth and organizations advocating for those with visual disabilities like New Jersey Council of the Blind. In the 1980s she adopted Van Nguyen, a teenage girl from Vietnam. Myers, a member of Temple Sholom of West Essex in Cedar Grove, also was a passionate bridge player. She loved to read, do crossword puzzles, and go to the theater, concerts, and movies. Myers was born in 1935 to Carl and Eleanor Leff. She was raised in Manhattan. She married George Myers, a biomedical engineer, during her junior year at Sarah Lawrence College. The couple settled in Maplewood and divorced 30 years later. She wanted to be buried in Israel because “she had really developed a love for Israel and its people,” said Mark. Also, her second son Asher and his family live in the country, in Efrat. “She wanted to be buried where people would be able to visit her.” Predeceased by her daughter, Myers is survived by three sons, Mark (Nancy) of Arlington, Mass., Asher (Attara) of Efrat, Israel, and Rabbi Baruch (Chanie) of Bratislava, Slovakia; a sister, Margie Miller; 20 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. Burial took place April 28 in Israel with arrangements by Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, Livingston. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey at cpnj.org. ■
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HUC
Continued from page 1 for “an on-again, off-again year if the quarantine comes back.” The task force is now learning management systems and training teachers to be effective in their online classes. Rehfeld’s varied professional background of scholar, Jewish communal leader, and executive administrator may provide just the right components to meet the current crisis. Unlike the previous nine presidents of HUC-JIR, who go back to 1875, Rehfeld is not a rabbi. He says it took three weeks for the HUC-JIR’s presidential search committee to convince him to take the position. “I was excited, humbled, and amazed at the opportunity,” he recalled, “but I didn’t see the plausibility of a non-rabbi in this position.” Gradually, he came around. Joy Greenberg, who chaired the 23-member presidential search committee, described Rehfeld as “uniquely qualified intellectually, spiritually, and professionally” to lead the institution in its “mission to transform the Jewish community and the broader world.” Rehfeld lived in Ventnor as a young child. He returned to the state in the late ’80s and early ’90s, working as the regional director of NFTYGER, what was then known as the NJ region of NFTY, the official youth movement of Reform Judaism. When his appointment was announced last year, he said he hoped to combine “a return to an academic footing, but in a position of leadership, management, fundraising, strategic planning, and public messaging.” Now, as all those skills are being employed, Rehfeld notes that disruption can also result in “great innovation.” The impact of the coronavirus crisis has underscored some of the themes he emphasized in his inaugural address at his installation as president last fall. It was during that moving speech that he acknowledged the poignancy of his succeeding Rabbi Aaron Panken, who was killed when the small plane he was piloting crashed seven months earlier. “I take on a presidency that no one wished needed to be filled, under circumstances we pray we may never face again,” Rehfeld said, praising Panken as “a gifted and beloved teacher.” Setting forth his own views, Rehfeld asserted that the Reform
movement faces “a crisis of identity and authenticity.” By that, as he explained in his inaugural address, he meant Reform Jews too often define themselves by the things they don’t do, or only by their commitment to
For example, though the seminary’s first-year-in-Israel program was created more than five decades ago to help immerse students in the Hebrew language, Phillips said Rehfeld came to realize that “Israel is an important
Andrew Rehfeld, with students at HUC’s campus in Israel, is bracing for a year of distance learning or “an on-again, off-again year if the quarantine comes back.” inclusion and social justice. place where Reform Judaism will He called for inspiring more peo- grow, and he said we should make ple “to live committed, engaged lives nurturing Reform Judaism there core as religiously, progressive Jews,” and to our mission.” strengthening “the ideological founSarah Berman, who is in her fifth dations of the Reform Jewish public year in the rabbinic program at the sphere” that he worried “are not felt New York campus, has been deeply strongly enough in the pews to sustain impressed by Rehfeld’s personal us in the 21st century.” warmth — she was one of several One of those foundations, he said, people interviewed who mentioned is “the primacy of reason ... under- his gift for remembering people’s standing the world, including reli- names — and his ability to inspire by gious life, through reason, evidence, sharing his vision. and science.” He believes that “reason Rehfeld spoke at a retreat Berand rationality must be the primary man chaired last summer, and she way to understand our world and said “it was instructive to hear him in God’s place in it.” an open and honest way talk about” Over the course of several in- who and what has influenced him in terviews, Rehfeld observed that “a his path. “He thinks differently from greater expectation and respect for any other administrative leader,” she science” was one of the lessons said, “in using the past to approach learned from the current pandemic. the future. And he was able to make He also noted the need for a restruc- people feel seen and heard in a really turing of America’s safety net, based on a policy of public welfare and caring for others. PHOTO COURTESY HUC.EDU
A systems thinker In his first months in his new post, Rehfeld fulfilled his pledge to spend a month residing at each of HUCJIR’s four campuses, assessing the culture of each — seeing what practices could be shared — and getting to know faculty and students. Bruce Phillips, a professor of sociology at HUC-JIR’s Los Angeles campus, was impressed with how Rehfeld “asked different kinds of questions from a management perspective. He was looking at what resources make our campus unique and which ones can be shared with the other campuses. He’s a systems thinker.”
special way.” During the retreat, Rehfeld was asked some “hard questions” by students, Berman recalled, like why he feels qualified as a layman to lead HUC-JIR. “Without being defensive, he talked about where he saw his strengths and limitations.” As he did in our interviews, Rehfeld has noted in his talks that he has been deeply involved in the Reform movement since his childhood in Baltimore. He taught Hebrew school, was a member of a temple youth group, served as a youth director in the movement’s camps, and later served on the board of the congregation he belonged to in Chicago. It all began, he said, with his first temple youth group retreat at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation in 1981, from which he came away “inspired by a caring community of peers who took … ideas seriously, engaged in meaningful ritual and song, and created the space to welcome an outsider among them.” He said it was the first time he felt “at home in my own tradition.” In seeking to promote “the ideas and the leadership that strengthen the Jewish Public Sphere — the institutions that form the canvas of Jewish communal life,” Rehfeld says that HUC-JIR must be flexible in “responding to the needs of the consumer without wavering in our mission.” That mission, he believes, is “to drive our ideas and help build a foundation of goodness, holiness, righteousness, and justice for all who inhabit the earth.” n Gary Rosenblatt is editor at large for The New York Jewish Week, NJJN’s sister publication. He can be reached at Gary@jewishweek.org.
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7 NJ Jewish News n njjewishnews.com n May 7, 2020
State&Local
NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ May 7, 2020
8
State&Local Day Schools
Continued from page 1 nancial pressures hover over the background. All four local day schools — Golda Och Academy (GOA) in West Orange, Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy/Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School (Kushner) in Livingston, Gottesman RTW Academy in Randolph, and JEC — have applied for and received payroll protection loans, which will provide some relief for eight weeks. But as they prepare to send off their graduates with what can, at best, be described as creative alternatives to their usual rituals, they also have to start thinking about a fall of uncertainty — academically, of course, but also financially. GOA Head of School Adam Shapiro said it’s too difficult to predict where the school will be in September. “If we had that crystal ball and knew exactly how this all ends…If the economy comes back to where it was and everybody just goes back to their normal jobs and everything goes back to the way it was, then OK, fine,” he said. “But if it lingers for months and years, it will change the face of the economy in ways that right now, it would just not be prudent for me to even comment.” In the meantime, the day schools are just trying to close the gaps, raise funds, and avoid dips in enrollment. Like Karp, Kushner head of school Rabbi Eliezer Rubin said he’s doing his best to ease the difficulties of families while keeping the school afloat. “The financial impact on individual
School leaders at a 2017 conference organized by Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ’s Day School Initiative. PHOTO COURTESY JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER METROWEST NJ
families is devastating. And we are feeling it from the parents who are looking to us for tuition relief,” he said. “Our business and development offices are working very assiduously to support those families on one hand, and to maintain the financial viability of the school on the other hand.” Confronting these issues head on, the Day School Initiative of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, which tries to make local day schools more affordable, swung into action and raised emergency funding in the course of a few weeks to provide some speedy relief through a series of one-time grants to families with outstanding tuition bills. It distributed a total of $272,000 to 177 families who attend the local day schools, with each family receiving a grant of up to $2,000 to cover gaps in tuition. Rebecca Hindin, director of the Day School Initiative, called the
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program “unprecedented” in that it distributed funds directly to families rather than via the schools, as they
typically do. Hindin said that there were 100 applications within an hour of the application being released on April 13, and in less than a week and a half, “We had exhausted our funds.” Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools is tracking other similar community initiatives, including ones undertaken by UJA Federation of New York, the federations of Toronto and Montreal, and SAR Academy in Riverdale. Despite the success of the undertaking, it was not intended to rescue the schools, nor can it cover what they’ve lost in tuition. As Karp at JEC pointed out, some families have shortfalls approaching $6,000, and schools will have to raise their own funds to survive. But fundraising is another problem, as dinners and galas have been
Rethinking end-of-the-year rituals AS THIS UNUSUAL academic year draws to a close and the rituals that seal bonds for students and mark rites of passage for families are all but lost, the four local day schools are employing creativity to plan meaningful alternatives. Steve Karp, executive director of the Jewish Educational Center (JEC) in Elizabeth, said he’s viewing the situation as an opportunity for change. The administration is soliciting student input for their graduation ceremony, which has remained unchanged for the past 70 years. “It’s an opportunity for them to participate, make suggestions, and be listened to,” he told NJJN. “They’ll direct graduation. We’re not going to dictate that this is the way we do it.” Golda Och Academy (GOA) in West Orange is pushing back its graduation from late May into June in the hope that an in-person ceremony can be held. “We know we will not be gathering hundreds of people … but we are working as hard as we can with our whole team to figure out ways that we can ideally do something where we can bring them together, even if it is bringing them together in a distanced way,” said Head of School Adam Shapiro. At Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School (RKYHS), senior dinner is the centerpiece of graduation, as students are recognized for their achievements and they watch a video put together by classmates. Now the dinner and screening will move online, and Head of School Rabbi Eliezer Rubin told NJJN he is trying to find a creative way to hold the June 10 graduation ceremony. He said it’s inevitable that some family members will be excluded from any in-person end-of-the-year celebrations. “Grandparents are missing out on opportunities to see these special moments of their grandchildren[’s lives] that are so, so dear and special,” he said. Gottesman RTW Academy in Randolph has not made a final decision about graduation for its oldest students, eighth graders, but the event will likely be virtual, according to Naomi Bacharach, director of institutional advancement, who added that the school is working with students “not to dwell on what they are missing.” In some ways, months of remote learning make the end of the school year more memorable than routine traditions. “They will always remember they were the class of 2020,” said Shapiro. “There will still be many more milestones for all of them in the future…[but] they will not forget the end of their high school experience.” — JOHANNA GINSBERG
Kleinman
Continued from page 4 participated in the January march. When the Satmar hero who thwarted a murderous knife attack in Monsey, N.Y., was offered a $10,000 award for his heroism by ADL and UJA-Federation of New York, he refused it because he said the organizations support Zionism. Satmar is virulently anti-Zionist; followers believe no sovereignty should be established by the Jewish people before the coming of the Messiah. Speaking of the Jewish state, Satmar chasidim in the U.S. had a $12 million fund-raising campaign to bribe fervently Orthodox voters in Israel not to participate in elections. One of the organizers hoped to sway 35,000 voters, according to JTA. In a speech last April, Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, one of the head rabbis of the movement, cancelled, postponed indefinitely, or moved online. Gottesman cancelled two events in early March, a dinner and a GRL PWR event. Most of the money had already been raised for the dinner, according to Naomi Bacharach, Gottesman’s director of institutional advancement, but not so for the GRL PWR event, which the school had hoped would raise “significant” funds. “We will not be having any more fundraising events this year and are working with individual donors as well as a community fundraising campaign that will be launched this week,” she wrote in a May 4 email. JEC’s major fund-raising dinner, honoring Rabbi Joseph Oratz, who is retiring as principal of Bruriah High School, and his wife, Debbie, had been scheduled for May 12. The couple plans to make aliyah. “They deserve the proper kavod [honor], not just a virtual dinner,” said Karp. “Im yirtze Hashem (May it be God’s will) that will be next year, and we’ll fly them in from Israel.” In the meantime, he said, “We’ll still get on the phone and try to raise those funds.” GOA has changed its gala to a virtual event, raising the fund-raising goal to cover some of this year’s tuition gap and the anticipated shortfall for next year. Kushner’s plan for its annual dinner, which the school counts on to raise approximately 66 percent of its annual campaign funds, is still in flux, though they will still have an ad journal, and Rubin said that members of the donor community “are really stepping up.” For now, the schools are managing, but they all have an eye on enrollment for September. Gottesman and GOA told NJJN that they are “on pace” with enrollment numbers from the same time last year; in the last week in April Kushner reported that it was at about 80 percent of last year’s enrollment, and JEC said its enrollment numbers were around 75 percent. But as Rubin pointed out, no one knows where they will be when fall rolls around. jginsberg@njjewishnews.com
condemned Israeli leaders because “they took part in the murder of Jewish souls and were built by evildoers,” as reported in JTA. Another Satmar leader called the Israeli government “uprooters of Torah and haters of religion” who pose a “terrible danger projected onto future generations.” Such statements are particularly ironic as the secular Israeli taxpayer heavily subsidizes charedi yeshivot, tens of thousands of whose students are allowed to forego mandatory military service by virtue of their Torah study, even as this puts a strain on Israeli citizenry to address the gap in manpower. This visceral hatred of Israel is pathetic in that the Satmar-Hungarian community, almost wiped out by the Germans during World War II, could have been saved if there had been a Jewish state. To be sure, I am not anti-chasid; in fact, I come from chasidic stock. My maternal grandparents and their parents were members of the Gerer chasidim in Poland. The chasidic move-
ment was, in its religious populism, a reaction to the elitism of the Talmudic scholars, exemplified by the Vilna Gaon of Lithuania. As such they celebrated spiritual Jewish practices and enfranchised the poor and uneducated. Moreover, the work of the chasidic group Chabad Lubavitch has had a profound positive impact on building and sustaining Jewish communities throughout the globe, which we should celebrate. But the members of Satmar are beyond the pale. In Pirkei Avot 2:4, the great sage Hillel implores us not to “separate yourself from the community.” By ignoring this, the Satmar are indeed ‘unorthodox” in their isolation from klal Yisrael. ■ Max L. Kleinman is president of the Fifth Commandment Foundation; from 1995 to 2014 he served as CEO/executive vice president of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ.
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9 NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ May 7, 2020
State&Local
Editorial
NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ May 7, 2020
10
The false choice between safety and the economy
T
he “open-up” protesters seen holding signs comparing governmentissued stay-at-home orders to Nazi directives seem to care as little about historical accuracy as they do about the well-being of their fellow citizens. Nazism was a cult of death; the political leaders who are listening to the best advice of scientists and, yes, economists are out to slow the spread of a dangerous contagion, save lives, and make the economy itself healthier in the long term. Jewish institutions are for the most part resisting the urge to rush back to business as usual, as was evidenced in the painful but necessary decision by the Union for Reform Judaism to close all of its summer camps, a bellwether of closures to come. As URJ said in its announcement, “the risks posed by Covid-19 threaten our most sacred values: the health and well-being of our children, staff, and faculty that attend camp, along with their communities back home.” Responsible leaders aren’t asking for a complete shutdown of Jewish life until we can safely venture from our homes; rather, they are taking what Reconstructing Judaism movement leaders, in a model statement, describe and prescribe as “actions dictated by our values and [that] are in concert with the best scientific and medical advice available.... Decisions must be local and contextual, based on local circumstances such as infection rates, testing availability, health-care capacity, population make-up, availability of PPE, etc.” The Reconstructing Judaism statement also warns that openings of synagogues, JCCs, camps, schools, institutions and organizations “will happen in stages and may also be sporadic and inconsistent.” Like the URJ’s statement,
the Reconstructing Judaism statement asks leaders of its affiliated institutions to take into consideration “our deeply held values of pikuach nefesh (saving lives); caring for the elderly, infirm, and at-risk; and focusing on community wellness over individual comfort.” Note how that contrasts with the words of Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a supporter of the “re-open” movement, who said, “There are more important things than living, and that’s saving this country for my children and grandchildren and saving this country for all of us.” A country that treats its GDP as a sacred value and doesn’t do all it can to protect the most vulnerable — which includes the elderly, first responders, health-care workers and, evidence shows, people of color — is hardly a country worth saving. Patrick and others are presenting their fellow Americans with a false choice between saving lives and reviving the economy. As the vast majority of economists told researchers from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, abandoning the drastic lockdowns too soon would lead to “greater total economic damage” down the road. This doesn’t mean ignoring the deep pain caused by the devastating losses of jobs, savings, and revenue. Everyone wants business, schools, and entertainment venues to open as soon as possible; thankfully, the majority of Americans agree that this has to go hand-in-hand with adequate testing, contact tracing, proper sanitation, and social distancing. They support a massive program of emergency aid to those who need it, understanding such assistance is an investment, not a handout. That’s what we and our leaders need to focus on. It doesn’t make you “soft” or unpatriotic to choose life. ■
Letters to the Editor Fond memories of Passaic
After reading Abby Meth Kanter’s Exit Ramp (“Denied Memories,” April 2), the bell that rang in my head was related to her Passaic references. Like Meth Kanter, I also grew up in Passaic, where the Jewish community was a tightly knit enclave. Parents and grandparents easily identified Jewish names and made connections to their families. For one small suburban town, Passaic claimed three hospitals and more than five shuls. One could hop on a Route 3 bus and make it to “the city” in about 20 minutes. We grew up in real suburban neighborhoods, with young families and plenty of kids our age. We played kickball in the street, hopscotch on the sidewalks, and created Broadway productions in our backyard. That’s what memories were made of in Jewish Passaic back in the ’50s and ’60s. Debbie Fields Littman Berkeley Heights
Insulting editorial
What Bernie Sanders got wrong negates anything he got right (Editorial, “What Sanders got right — and wrong,” April 16). NJJN’s wistful and fawning editorial about Sanders is an insult to the Jewish community. I’m writing this note in protest as someone whose father, grandmother, uncles, and aunts were murdered by the Nazis. Sanders calling Benjamin Netanyahu a “racist,” referring to AIPAC as empowering “bigotry,” and denouncing Israel for using “disproportionate” force (for defending itself) marks him as a purveyor of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Sanders has emboldened the so-called progressives to attack and question America’s erstwhile bipartisan support for Israel. He has done much enduring harm to the Jewish cause. Though he may be a Jew by birth, he is in no way a “Jewish” candidate. Sanders has it wrong and the NJJN editorial got it wrong. Henry I. Schanzer Edison
Is NJJN Jewish?
To what extent does NJJN further Jewish values when it advertises the pleasures of eating bacon, shrimp, and mixing milk and meat together? NJJN is a Jewish paper. Laws of kashrut have been around for thousands of years and were designed to keep the
Jewish people a holy people, to make the simple animal act of eating into a spiritual experience, and to prevent Jews from assimilating. “In every generation oppressors rose up against us,” not just with a sword but with an enticing promotion of culinary delights that are in dissonance with Jewish values. Why do you call yourself a Jewish newspaper, why not a nonobservant Jewish newspaper? I consider myself a modern, educated Jew who has been exposed to secular life for eight decades. I went through public schools and colleges and have attended public forms of entertainment. I have taught in Reform and Conservative synagogues and Orthodox schools. I cannot begin to tell you how many times secular Jews have explained kosher laws as Orthodox laws or laws only practiced by fanatics, or, more kindly, by “observant Jews,” as if to say that more modern Jews have no need to adhere to the dietary laws. “Food is cleaner today.” “Pigs no longer carry diseases.” “I am an American,” as if to say that keeping kosher is no longer obligatory for Jews because we live in a country that allows the freedom to make choices, even bad ones. Jews have been around for thousands of years and so have their laws. If you feel that you have to publish a Jewish newspaper, then make it a Jewish newspaper. I would find it difficult for any practicing Jews — Reform, Conservative, or Orthodox — to take offense if you left out foods that run contrary to Jewish dietary laws. NJJN really needs to check its conscience. What is the motivation to produce this newspaper? Joel M. Glazer Elizabeth Send letters to the editor to editorial@ njjewishnews.com without attachments. Indicate “letter” in the subject line of the e-mail. Include your full name, place of residence, and daytime telephone number. If you are referring to an article in NJJN, please include the headline and edition and date of the paper in which it appeared. Letters also can be mailed to Letters to the Editor, New Jersey Jewish News, 1719 Route 10, Parsippany, NJ 07054; or faxed to 973-887-5999. NJJN reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity, content, and accuracy.
NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ May 7, 2020
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t was a thorn in U.S.-Israel relations for years. Right or wrong, former President Barack Obama’s decision, right at the start of his presidency, to visit Muslim nations around the Middle East while skipping Israel was seen
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Gary Rosenbla tt Editor and Publi sher
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City/State/Zip Parsippany, NJ 07054 HamDara d down. skin, so you can theH AGotham down Nbut a Star on N A H we Lin- Girls Fineman, who the oval. DREYFUS/JW ofonDavid their keep survivin The over league 102-pla heryer goes by the treif leftleague, g.” February. “Those eye — iswhich get back up in not the same goes but lov- ish is only ranked ablyThe Jewplayer campy No.to1 monikefor you fallare As again when sport her Judaism Continued on page r being Jewish, said saidtraits. down,” proudly Gotham Girls we fall Ham LinFinemaan,people, Fineman — 20 roller Hebrew but we 102-pla oval. The derby skater who paintsona the surviving.”28, who joineddown the Gotham Dara keep league, Fineman, who goes Girls league in David over heryer is Star of No. left eye — which February. “Those by 1 isContinu not the ranked only page 20to are ably campy monike the treif but lov- ish traits. As a people, we fall down Jew- proudly sport her Judaism ed on player r Hebrew Ham Linon the IN CONCER but we 102-pla keep surviving.” yer league, which T oval. The is ranked No. 1 Continued
IN CONCERT
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on page 20
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G R E AT E R M E T R O W E ST E D I T I O N
A P U B L I C AT I O N O F THE JEWISH WEEK MEDIA GROUP Vol. LXX I No. 37 | September 14, 2017 | 23 E LU L 5777
IN CONCERT
njjewishnews.com
A year for ‘dreamers’ ‘We have lost a giant to realize their goals in our community’ Gary Rosenblatt
Local rabbis let Bibi hear it
State & Local 4
Las Vegas novel has roots in Newark
Arts 26
Opinion
Arts
Community
23
26
30
Crossword
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Calendar
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LifeCycle
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Touch of Torah Exit Ramp
55
45
with
AMIR HORALE AMIR ODED A AMIR
Gottesman dead at 87
of a Washington struggle beSpecial to NJJN tween moral decency and poJohanna Ginsberg litical expediency. NJJN Staff Writer t’s only fitting that The program, launched “dreamers” are in the during the Obama adminhilanthropist Jerome news on the istration, protects “Jerry” Gottesman, eve of Rosh undocumented immiHaShanah, ushering 87, of Morristown, grants who arrived in in a High Holy Day the cofounder and the U.S. as children. chair season that focuses of Edison Properties T h e s e a r e y o u n g in Newark, Jerry Gottesman was us on visions, goals, died in Israel on people — the oldest Sept. and aspirations for 10. The funeral was honored at the Joseph would now be 36 and h e l d the new year. a t G o t t e s m a n RT W Kushner Hebrew AcadBetween most are between the Academy in Randolph two emy/Rae Kushner Yeshiva The media headl i n e s h a v e b e e n The Lines ages of 22 and 28 days later, with interment at High School 69th annual — who trusted the B’nai about President Abraham Memorial dinner in May. government and pro- Park Trump’s callous decision to in Union. vided personal information to “We have lost a dear friend end the Deferred Action for and a giant in our commuenroll in the program, which nity,” said Scott Krieger, president Childhood Arrivals (DACA) allowed them to apply for leof the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, program, which could result which spans Essex, Morris, gal status and work permits, Sussex, Union, and parts of in the U.S. deporting about Somerset counties. “Thinking renewable every two years. through the lens of real estate, 800,000 so-called “dreamers” Jerry understood that building By all indications, these Jewish community meant deep who are the innocent victims investment today, but always Continued on page 20 with an eye to the future.”
Deconstructing Shylock
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Continued on page 31
faculty of the Yale Split casting uncovers ambiguity School of Drama and in innovative ‘Merchant’ at MSU whose work has been shown and acAbby Meth Kanter ductive “binary” take on what claimed across NJJN Editorial Adviser is arguably Shakespeare’s the United most controversial character. States and around s Shylock a venal vilIn its American premiere, The Compagnia de’ Colomthe world, is also lain, an embodiment of Compagnia founding director de’ Colombari’s bari, including Sorab Wadia negative Jewish stereo- innovative of Colombari. The production of “The (Graziano) and Ned Eisentypes, or a tragic vic- Merchant theater company, of Venice” will play berg (Shylock #5) in “The tim doomed by his enemies’ at Montclair State University Merchant of Venice.” an international anti-Semitic antipathy? An Sept. 19-Oct. 1 as part of the P HOTOS BY AN DR EA M ESSANA collective of expert involved in a visionary Peak Performances series. performing artgender play Shylock — was staging of “The Merchant of ists, is based in New York but The revolutionary producinitially performed in the JewVenice” claims that a daring was conceived in Orvieto, tion — in which five actors ish Ghetto of Venice last year casting move helps avoid a reItaly, in 2004. of diverse race, ethnicity, and to mark the site’s 500th anniCoonrod said she discovversary and the 400th anniverered that it is the ambiguity sary of Shakespeare’s death. that lies at the heart of ShakeThe play “seems to dig speare’s “comedy” — “In the deeper into the heart of manworld of the play, a mercy kind beneath [the] two unnever expressed for the Jew compromising poles of justice in the street is conveniently and mercy,” its director, Karin required of the Jew in the Coonrod, has said. court” — that “opens the soul Coonrod, who is on the Continued on page 24
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Opinion
Honoring our teachers’ devotion to students in unprecedented times Emily Fox and Rebecca Hindin Special to NJJN
W
e are both professionals at Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, both of our roles focus on working with educators in our Jewish community, and we are both parents of children who attend some type of Jewish educational programming — be it day school, early childhood, and/or a congregational school. For these reasons, we are uniquely qualified to extol the virtues of the Jewish educators in our Greater MetroWest Jewish community who are proving now, more than ever, how truly amazing they are. And what better time to express our profound appreciation than National Teacher Appreciation Week, which began on May 4? In mid-March, as many of us were stocking up on non-perishables and toilet paper, administrators and teachers in our local schools were preparing to pivot to a whole new way of teaching. For some, this switch to online learning was quite daunting. But since that initial pivot, the teachers in our community have gone above and beyond to engage students of all ages — and their families — in thoughtful learning and meaningful connections. The educators – whether they teach in a congregational religious school, an early childhood center, or a day school – attended online trainings, practiced internally, and read articles about best practices in virtual education. Teachers in afternoon and weekend religious schools have found tremendous success engaging students with a variety of virtual tools including Kahoot, a platform for interactive content-driven games, and using creative techniques on Zoom, such as polling and sharing videos to capture students’ attention. Hebrew and b’nai mitzvah tutors continue to make time to meet virtually with each student to ensure they continue to progress and thrive in their studies. Day school teachers are working overtime in order to provide students with engaging Zoom lessons, while also addressing diverse learn-
Emily Fox
Rebecca Hindin
ing needs and attending to the social and emotional needs of students. One teacher told us she offers evening office hours where students can “drop in” via Zoom to ask questions and get extra support. She recognizes that for many students, learning via video conferencing can be very challenging, so she has been experimenting with different strategies and resources to further differentiate her instruction. The challenges for early childhood teachers are different — they need to find creative ways to bring the magic of their intimate, playbased classrooms into the homes of young students. Many are using the Marco Polo app to share videos and engage the entire class at their convenience, while others are FaceTiming for a personalized check-in with each student and parent. They’re emailing weekly lists of materials that families should collect to explore, create, build, cook, and do a variety of activities that classes will work on together on Zoom.
observations about her experience. One team of early childhood teachers told us how they have followed their students’ interests virtually and discovered that their class is into sounds. This has led to “listening walks” and virtual jam sessions. One of the teachers even taught herself to play the ukulele to keep up with her sound enthusiasts! Another class we heard of is very interested in recycling. During a Zoom class the teachers shared a short video to reinforce the importance of recycling and then engaged the children in a recycling game. The meeting ended with a challenge: Bring three recyclables to the next Zoom. Teachers at congregational religious schools also have been working hard to preserve the sense of community, despite the distance. Overwhelmingly, we’ve heard that teachers for students of all ages are ensuring individualized attention, outside of what’s become traditional “Zoom” time. At one synagogue, two amazing kindergarten teachers have done one-on-one hangouts with students who are not comfortable on the video conferencing app. Last week one of them sent a “mystery recipe” to one student, and then they baked together for 45 minutes — according to the teacher, both the student and the teacher had a blast. Although most religious schools’ calendars are set to end in the next week or two, some dedicated teachers plan to keep going. Two teachers at one synagogue will be volunteering once the year officially is
Emily Fox: I am so appreciative of my daughter’s teacher, who has been checking in on us regularly. My almost-3-year-old is not so interested in participating in group Zoom calls, but does enjoy doing many of the activities her teacher suggests in her emails to parents. Through our class Marco Polo group, I’m able to share photos and videos of her engaging in the suggested activities, and her teacher will respond with a personalized video asking questions and making
finished to teach free classes and provide individual tutoring to ensure that no child is behind due to the challenges of the past few weeks. They also want to stay connected to the students and know that the children want to see one another. While teachers in our day schools are used to collaborating on a regular basis, they’ve made it an even higher priority in order to best support the needs of all students, including their social ones. And the fact that day school teachers have less students in their classroom ensures that they know their students well and know how they learn best, especially under these unusual circumstances. Rebecca Hindin: I have been moved by the way that my three daughters’ teachers have virtually invited students into their homes (my children range from toddler to middle-school aged). One middleschool teacher at our day school made challah with the children in her kitchen, and another made cholent for Shabbat. Seeing one another’s living rooms, kitchen tables, families, and pets is giving teachers and students a way to connect more personally. One beloved first-grade teacher worked while sick with Covid-19. This week she listened to my daughter practice reading Hebrew and then took time to virtually tour my daughter’s new dollhouse. The truth is, we could go on for pages and pages with examples of how our local teachers have been truly heroic in providing constant, rich, and meaningful content and connections for our students and their families. On behalf of all our colleagues at federation, and all the parents of students in our Greater MetroWest community, we express our gratitude for their tireless dedication: Todah raba, thank you very much. ■ Emily Fox is the director of Jewish Educational Initiatives and Rebecca Hindin is the director of the Greater MetroWest Day School Initiative, both at Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ.
State&Local
TA’AMOD: STAND UP!, an initiative dedicated to helping Jewish communal organizations and institutions create safe, respectful, and equitable workplaces and communal spaces, is launching a new call line to support individuals who have experienced or witnessed negative behavior — online or in person. The call line — 1-833-760-0330 — will provide national phone-based support, legal information, advocacy, counseling, and referrals to vetted experts nationwide. The call line is free, anonymous, and confidential. “During this moment of extreme uncertainty, harassment, discrimination, and abuse prevention, and equity issues in general, tend to be pushed aside,” said Ta’amod national director Nicole Nevarez. “But these behaviors still take place in the virtual world and can even be more insidious as anxiety levels rise and distance may encourage inappropriate or abusive behavior. We are already losing ground on issues that affect women disproportionately and this is a troubling trend that can’t wait until the pandemic ends.” Ta’amod is an initiative of the Millburn-based Good People Fund and the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York. In addition to the new call line, Ta’amod provides Jewish organizations with training and resources framed in Jewish wisdom including webinars, access to experts, and partnerships with other organizations dedicated to safe workplaces. To learn more, visit taamod.org.
Journal WHAT IS HAPPENING at this moment is unprecedented, and the ground beneath us continues to shift. But perhaps there are some silver linings to be uncovered during these trying times. We’d like to know how this pandemic is affecting you, your family, and your community. What is your synagogue doing to aid congregants through the crisis? Have you adjusted your Jewish practices or adopted new traditions? Tell us about those who have volunteered to help the elderly and other high-risk individuals, or innovative programs that organizations have launched to maintain a sense of normalcy. Please share these stories with us and we’ll try to include your accounts in future editions of NJJN. Email submissions to editorial@njjewishnews.com and put “SILVER LININGS” in the subject line. You can also call and leave a message with your contact information at 973-739-8110. We pray for the full and speedy recovery of those who are sickened by the virus and wish everyone chazak v’amatz, “strength and courage,” as we navigate this crisis together.
jcfgmw.org In accordance with the bylaws of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater MetroWest NJ (the Foundation), the following individuals have been nominated for membership on the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for the 2020-2021 fiscal year (July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021). Trustees of the Foundation are elected by the trustees of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ at the Board of Trustees Meeting, which will take place during the Annual Meeting of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ on Zoom on Wednesday, June 3, 2020 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. Register in advance at www.jfedgmw.org/annual-meeting. In accordance with the bylaws of the Foundation, other members may be nominated to stand for election as trustees of the Foundation by filing, within fifteen days of the date of this notice, a petition, or petitions, in the office of the Executive Vice-President/CEO of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ. Any petition must be signed by not less than 20 trustees of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ. Steven D. Levy, President Dov Ben-Shimon, Secretary
Trustees Martin Barber* Dov Ben-Shimon Phyllis Bernstein Gary R. Botwinick Jeffrey Braemer Debby Brafman Jody Hurwitz Caplan Laura Cohen William A. Cohen Jerome A. Deener Steven A. Fishman Michael Goldberg Neil B. Goldstein Renee Golush Michael N. Gooen Lawrence Gotfried Paula Gottesman Judith Harrison Lynne B Harrison Kenneth R. Heyman Allan Janoff Jay Kaplan Scott R. Krieger*
Robert G. Kuchner Benjamin Lehrhoff Simon Levin* Joan Schiffer Levinson Steven D. Levy Jonathan Liss Jean Mandell Victoria A. Morrison Jay Murnick Maxine B. Murnick Erica Needle Ariel Nelson Harris Nydick Kenneth Rosenberg David Saginaw Jonathan A. Schwartz Floyd Shapiro Sandra Sherman Anita J. Siegel Andrew J. Stamelman Jon Ulanet Michael A. Weinstock Edward Zinbarg *trustee emeritus
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Call line launches to create safe Jewish workplaces
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Calendar
Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, most synagogues and organizations have cancelled all in-person activities for the rest of the spring. Some are offering online learning opportunities or plan to reschedule. Please email calendar@njjewishnews.com with online events open to the community.
WEDNESDAY, May 13 How to Find a Job During the Pandemic. Sponsored by Jewish Family Service of Central NJ (JFSCNJ) and held at 10 a.m. via Zoom. To RSVP and receive a Zoom invitation, email Susan Reeves at sreeves@jfscentralnj.org. MONDAY, May 18 Coping with Loss and Grief During Quarantine. Sponsored by Jewish Family Service of Central NJ (JFSCNJ)and held at 8 p.m. via Zoom with JFSCNJ social workers Lauren Laudati, LSW, CRC, and Greg Yucht, LSW. Email info@jfscentralnj.org for the Zoom invitation. TUESDAY, May 19 Kulanu Virtual Open House. Hebrew School program for children in grades 3-12 not en-
rolled in day school or yeshiva hosted at JCC MetroWest, West Orange. The open house will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom; to obtain a link, contact info@kulanumw.org or 855-4KULANU or visit KulanuMW.org. Remote women’s programs NCJW/Essex and Linda & Rudy Slucker Center for Women, Livingston, while closed through May 15, continues to offer remote programs for women in the community and will share information and resources with women who are seeking employment, have marital law questions, or are in need of computer classes. For more information, contact centerforwomen@ncjwessex.org or 973-9944994 or visit centerforwomenNJ.org.
The following national and international organizations are offering various online resources: Jewish Teens Thrive (jewishteensthrive.
org), a project of the Jewish Teen Education & Engagement Funder Collaborative, aspires to support parents and Jewish educators with skills, tools, and resources to build teens’ resilience and help them thrive. With May serving as National Mental Health Awareness Month, “Collective Compassion” (collectivecompassion2020.com) will offer dozens of experiences to draw on the power of Jewish creativity, culture, learning, and values to support teens. National Museum of American Jewish History (nmajh.org) will celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month with online conversations with historians on May 7, 14, 21, and 27. For more information, visit JewishAmericanHeritage.org.
Weizmann Institute of Science’s Davidson Institute of Science Education in Rehovot, Israel, has launched a new online learning website in response to the coronavirus outbreak, “Stuck at Home?,” at davidsoncourses. com/stuck-at-home-en. The site includes content on immunology, virology, and other Covid19-related information.
Jewish Together launches campaign to aid frontline workers JEWISH TOGETHER, a program of The Jewish Federations of North America, announced Pledge to Protect, a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to ensure that health-care providers at Jewish nursing homes, hospices, home care, and other social service agencies have the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need. Pledge to Protect aims to raise $3 million. Caregivers at Jewish institutions face dire shortages of essential PPE due to increased costs and delays in shipments. Immediate access to lifesaving supplies like masks, gloves, and gowns is the best defense against the coronavirus pandemic for these workers and the people they serve. “Nursing homes and other health-care and human service providers, including those in the Jewish community, have suffered devastating fatalities due to the coronavirus pandemic,” said Rebecca Dinar on behalf of Jewish Together. “The frontline workers at these institutions, who care every day for our mothers, fathers, and grandparents, are in desperate need of additional protective gear to ensure that they can protect themselves and our loved ones.” One hundred percent of every dollar raised through the campaign will go to covering the costs of purchasing and distributing PPE. To donate, visit jewishtogether.org/pledgetoprotect.
SHABBAT DELIVERIES — Liba Grossbaum displays the main item in “Challah and Chicken Soup for the Quarantined Soul” packages for Shabbat. Nearly 300 packages were prepared and distributed on Friday, May 1, by Friendship Circle in Livingston. Each package included a quart of homemade chicken soup (matzah balls optional), challah from West Orange Bake Shop, and grape juice for kiddush.
B’nei mitzvah
SAMUEL COHEN, son of Cheryl and Jeffrey Cohen of Westfield, March 7 at Temple Emanu-El, Westfield. CASSIE SOLOMON, daughter of Erica and Gregory Solomon of Westfield, March 7 at Temple Emanu-El, Westfield. SAVANNAH COHEN, daughter of Kelly and Michael Cohen of Westfield, March 14 at Temple Emanu-El, Westfield. JOSHUA KETSCHKE, son of Jennifer and Matthew Ketschke of Cranford, March 14 at Temple Emanu-El, Westfield. ETHAN SELVERS, son of Farrah and Rob Selvers of Westfield, March 21, at home. The family are members of Temple Emanu-El, Westfield. EMILY DICKS, daughter of Caroline and Robert Dicks of Warren, May 2. The family are members of Temple Har Shalom, Warren. MATTHEW DICKS, son of Caroline and Robert Dicks of Warren, May 2. The family are members of Temple Har Shalom, Warren.
Obituaries Barry Lauton
Dr. Barry Lauton, 88, of Livingston died on April 22, 2020. He was born in Bayonne. Dr. Lauton practiced pediatric medicine in Springfield for 40 years. He was an attending physician at St. Barnabas Medical Center and Overlook Hospital, where he served on the bioethics committees, and
later was a pediatric consultant for the NJ Labor Department. He graduated from University of Pennsylvania and New York University’s Medical School. He served as a U.S. Army captain in Korea. Active in Jewish life, he was a congregant of Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael in Springfield and later Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston. He played piano with his wife Catalina and sang in several choirs, and also enjoyed gardening, playing handball, and swimming. Predeceased by his first wife, Thea Odem Lauton, and a daughter, Amy Lauton, he is survived by his wife, Catalina Fiszer Lauton; two daughters, Julie Lauton and Lisa Lauton; his stepchildren, George and Lainie Fiszer, Karen Fiszer-Stern, and Jeff Stern; a sister, Joyce Lauton Nestle; and four step-grandchildren. Arrangements were handled by Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, Livingston.
Tobias Gordon
Tobias (Ted) Gordon, 88, of Springfield died April 23, 2020. A Union Township resident for 40 years, he moved to Springfield in 2003. Mr. Gordon worked for Prudential Insurance as an agent from 1980 until his retirement in 1992. Prior to that, he worked with his father and sister in a family business, Ben and Ted’s Army Navy Store of Newark. In retirement, he worked as a school crossing guard for Union Township. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean and Vietnam wars and was a member of the Jewish War Veterans, participating in the annual Memorial Day Parade.
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LifeCycle Continued from previous page He was an involved community member at Congregation Israel in Springfield. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sandie; his daughter, Tracie (Nathaniel) Feldman of Short Hills; his son, Lee (Amy) of Caldwell; and two grandchildren. Private services were held. Memorial contributions may be made to Jewish National Fund.
Stephen Parker
Dr. Stephen Dan Parker, 79, of Union died March 17, 2020. Born in Newark, he lived in Linden, Roselle Park, and Springfield before moving to Union five years ago. Dr. Parker was a family practice and sports medicine physician in Roselle Park for many years. During this time, he was associated with the police in Roselle Park, Kenilworth, and Mountainside, as well as the county sheriff’s department. He was honored for his work with the FBI. He was a team doctor for high school and college athletics, and worked with some semi-professional and professional teams. He earned a B.S. degree from Upsala College and a D.O. degree from the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Zucker Parker; his son, Craig (Jill); two daughters, Lisa (Steve Weber) and Michele (Walter) Schweikardt; a sister, Judy Schwartz; and four grandchildren. Services were held March 19 with arrangements by Ross’ Shalom Chapels, Springfield.
Daniel Braun
Daniel Braun, 86, of Madison died April 3, 2020. He was born in Tyumen in Siberia, Russia, where he spent his childhood. At the age of 13 he moved to Wroclaw, Poland, where he completed his primary education and received his B.S. in engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of Wroclaw.
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He immigrated to Israel in 1957 and came to the United States in 1962, settling first in Newark and then in Morris County, building homes in both Cedar Knolls and East Hanover and moving to Madison eight years ago. Mr. Braun spent his entire career as a chemist until retiring six years ago. He was a member of the American Chemical Society and American Chemical and Textile Colorists Society. He served in the Israel Defense Forces. He was a longtime member of Morristown Jewish Center Beit Yisrael and of Congregation Beth Hatikvah, Summit, for the last 10 years. He enjoyed reading, music and opera, and traveling. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Regina; two daughters, Edna (Paul) Fine and Ari (Ivan) Zahemski; a brother, Henry (Olga); a sister, Ryva Windman; and three grandchildren. Graveside services were held April 6 with arrangements by Ross’ Shalom Chapels, Springfield. Memorial contributions may be made to Interfaith Food Pantry of Morris County or Congregation Beth Hatikvah.
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Louis Sarrel, 58, of Rockaway died April 21, 2020. Born in Brooklyn, he resided in West Orange before moving to Rockaway 26 years ago. Mr. Sarrel was a realtor associate with Century 21 Christel Realtors in Rockaway as well as a property manager for Wilkin Management Group in Wayne. He graduated from William Paterson College with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He was a member of North Central Jersey Board of Realtors and National Association of Realtors. He was active in many charitable organizations as well as White Meadow Temple, Rockaway. He enjoyed sports and coaching football. He is survived by his wife, Marla (Geldzahler); two sons, Eric and Jacob; a brother, Ronald of Whippany; and his wife’s parents. Private services were held April 26 with arrangements by Menorah Chapels at Millburn, Union. Memorial contributions may be made to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, New Jersey Chapter, 14 Commerce Drive, Suite 301, Cranford, N.J. 07016; Project KIND (projectkind123.org/donate-money); or Trial Blazers for Kids (trialblazers.org).
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Stephen Raitt, 84, of Bloomfield died April 5, 2020. His wife of 53 years, Jane (Wildman), 76, died April 20, 2020. Mr. Raitt was born in Brooklyn and had lived in Great Neck, N.Y., before his marriage. He attended University of Michigan, Hobart College, and New York
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University. He was a career entrepreneur and sales executive. After marrying in 1967 the couple moved to West Bloomfield, Mich., where they lived for 50 years before returning to New Jersey in 2016. Mrs. Raitt was raised in Newark, where she attended Weequahic High School. She graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University and earned a master’s degree from Wayne State University. She was a teacher, entrepreneur, sales executive, and career coach. A volunteer and community activist, she led the establishment of a dog park in West Bloomfield. She became a passionate student of Reform Judaism later in life. She was an active member of Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield and later Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield. The couple are survived by their son, Jayson; their daughter, Marni (Kelly Easterling); and a grandson. Mr. Raitt is also survived by a sister, Barbara Raitt, while Mrs. Raitt is survived by a sister, Judie. Arrangements were handled by J.L. Apter Memorial Chapels.
Nellie Morris
Nellie Morris (Schlesinger), 105, of Whippany died April 20, 2020. Born in Brooklyn, she grew up in Iselin and also had lived in Maplewood and Pittsburgh. Mrs. Morris graduated from Metuchen High School and worked in various office and retail jobs before becoming a wife and mother. She was a lifelong advocate for women’s rights and enjoyed music and reading. In her later years, she began writing and painting. Predeceased by her husband of 67 years, Barney, in 2009, she is survived by her son, Marty (Chrys); her daughter, Holly (Dennis) Fruchter; five grandchildren; and four greatgrandchildren. Graveside services were held April 24 with arrangements by Menorah Chapels at Millburn, Union.
Bernice Peitzer
Bernice Peitzer (Wechsler), 91, of West Orange died April 2, 2020. She was born in Brooklyn and moved to West Orange in 1960. Mrs. Peitzer was the owner and creator of Peitzer Floral Arts. She worked on pressed flower stationery, portraits, bouquets, invitations, and jewelry for over 50 years, and sold her pressed flower art to many national department stores and celebrities. She participated in many arts and craft shows as well as
trade shows at the Javits Center in New York City. She was a Girl Scout Leader with her twin sister Joan when they were young. She volunteered at St. Barnabas Medical Center with the pastoral staff for 20 years, volunteered for 30 years with hospice, and also visited local nursing homes to provide spiritual care. She studied with Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and was ordained as a rebbe (spiritual teacher) for instruction on living a Jewish spiritual life. She led Jewish spiritual meditation groups in her home. She enjoyed attending area writing groups and poetry. She wrote and published a book, “Forever Flowers,” which provides instruction about how to press flowers, and also wrote two unpublished books, The Keys to Happiness and Jacob’s Ladder. She was a member of B’nai Shalom in West Orange and the JCC MetroWest’s Couples at Leisure group. She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Herbert; two sons, Jay (Barbara) of Boca Raton, Fla., and Haywood “Woody” (Wendy) of Randolph; a sister, Irma W. Bryerman of Melville, N.Y.; and four grandchildren. Private graveside services were held April 5 with arrangements by Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, Livingston. Memorial contributions may be made to B’nai Shalom.
Edwin Corey
Edwin Lowell Corey, 90, of Springfield died April 12, 2020. Born and raised in Newark, he lived in Irvington for a short time and then in Springfield for 70 years. He also had a summer home in Long Branch. Mr. Corey, a CPA, worked for the IRS for 35 years and was the president of the union. After that, he opened his own practice in Springfield. He graduated from Weequahic High School, Newark, and Rutgers University. He served in the Army for two years during the Korean War as a corporal. He enjoyed traveling, reading, fishing, and swimming. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Joan (Rosenberg); two sons, Michael (Rosa Travares) of Cranford and David of Springfield; his daughter, Frances (Gary Katz) of North Caldwell; four grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren. Services were held April 16 with arrangements by Menorah Chapels at Millburn, Union.
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SPECIAL NOTICE TO: MEMBERS, WOMEN’S PHILANTHROPY JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER METROWEST NJ SUBJECT:
1) ANNUAL MEETING 2) NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS OF OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES
The Annual Meeting of Women’s Philanthropy of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, at which time officers and trustees will be elected and other business transacted, will take place during the Annual Meeting of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ on Zoom on Wednesday, June 3, 2020 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. All members of Women’s Philanthropy are invited to attend and vote under the provisions of the governance. Any woman shall be considered a member as long as she contributes to the annual UJA Campaign of Greater MetroWest NJ. Register in advance at www.jfedgmw.org/annual-meeting.
NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES In accordance with the provision of Women’s Philanthropy Governance, the Nominating Committee met and herewith submits: TO SERVE AS PRESIDENT FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF A TWO-YEAR TERM: Michele Landau TO SERVE AS VICE-PRESIDENT FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF A TWO-YEAR TERM: Shari Broder Heidi Cohen
Marcia Grosswald Robyn Laveman Deborah Vineberg Jacob
TO SERVE AS A TRUSTEE FOR A TWO-YEAR TERM: Susan Aidekman Taryn Berelowitz Michelle Berger Elizabeth Bier Deborah Brody Susie Bruch Michelle Cohen Sylvia Cohn Betty Feinberg Alexandra Feinstein Rebecca Fisher Isabella Fiske Terri Friedman
Terri Goldberg Melissa Goldman Caroline Goldstein Amanda Greenblatt Dr Lynne B Harrison Merle Kalishman Jeri Kimowitz Carol Koransky Merle Lomrantz Sydra Miller Stacey Nadell Amy Paternite Robin Polson
Laura Dorf Queller Marian E. Rocker Gerri Rothfleisch Shira Rothschild Bunny Schwartz Victoria Shpilsky Lisa Smelkinson Chana D. Solomon Sylvia Steiner Michele Strumeier Ilyssa Tepperman Suzanne Tucker
TO SERVE AS A TRUSTEE FOR A ONE-YEAR TERM: Audrey Bartner Shari Berman Alia Covel Elyse Deutsch Bernice Fleischmann Thelma Florin Abbi Halpern Tracey Hoberman Carrie Jaffe
Stephanie Karp Nicole Levitt Amy Lipsey Gina L. Mandelbaum Jean Mandell Ruth B. Margolin Sheryl Pearlstein Joanne Perrotta Robin Plattman
Michelle Retik Amy Rollins Mindunn Rose Wendy Rosenberg Jessica Silverstein Gail P. Kreitman Toll Eileen Weiss Deborah Zuckerman
TRUSTEES CONTINUING IN OFFICE: Andrea G. Bier Soraya Chafetz Dorie Eisenstein Stacie Friedman
1 2
Alexandra Kerner Lauren La Conti Beena Levy Cynthia Root
National Women’s Philanthropy Board National Women’s Philanthropy Lifetime Board
June Schechner Joanie Schwarz Jane Wilf1
The nominating committee consisted of: Shari Berman, Susie Bruch, Heidi Cohen, Barbara Drench, Dorie Eisenstein, Rebecca A. Gold, Caroline Goldstein, Abbi Halpern, Tracey Hoberman, Jody Hurwitz Caplan, Deborah Vineberg Jacob, Michele Landau, Robyn Laveman, Beena Levy, Ruth B. Margolin, Gerri Rothfleisch, Shira Rothschild, Bunny Schwartz, Maxine Schwartz and Victoria Shpilsky. Other members may be nominated for election as officers or trustees by filing in the office of Women’s Philanthropy, in person or by mail, no later than May 27, 2020, a petition or petitions, each signed by no less than 25 members qualified to vote at the Annual Meeting. Whereas, the outgoing officers and trustees of Women’s Philanthropy have given their time and thought to the well-being of Women’s Philanthropy and community, and whereas, each has fulfilled her duties and responsibilities in a manner befitting the importance of her office, now, therefore, be it resolved that the officers, trustees, and members of Women’s Philanthropy express their grateful appreciation of the devoted labors of their colleagues and that Women’s Philanthropy hereby publicly expresses its high regard for the services of the following who are leaving office: Phyllis Becker JoAnn Boyko Debby Brafman Lisa Buber Robin Buchalter Laura Cohen Anita Dickman Pamela Fishman Mindy Goldberger Alice Goldfarb
Lisa Gutkin Marit Halper Sharon Halpern Mindy Kirschner Linda Laulicht Ellen Levine Cramer Melanie Levitan Lisa Lisser Lee Murnick Sandra Newman
Lisa Olender Stacey Pinke Michelle Reback Linda Rosenthal Debbie Rovner Rachel Scherzer Shari-Beth Susskind Linda Weissbrod
THE FOLLOWING WILL SERVE FOR LIFE AS PAST PRESIDENTS AND/OR CHAIRS: Harriette Baime Phyllis Bernstein Robyn Bier Elaine Cahn Stacey Davis1 Barbara Drench Elise Feldman Anna Fisch1 Yona Freiden Norma Fuerst Marcia Gillette Rebecca A. Gold1 Ellen Goldner Paula Gottesman Sandra L. Greenberg Mimi Heyman Merle Hirschmann Jody Hurwitz Caplan Lori Klinghoffer2
Jill Kopelman Lois Lautenberg Saundra Lautenberg Marcy Lazar Adele Lebersfeld Brenda LeVine Jacqueline K. Levine2 Joan Schiffer Levinson1 Julie Lipsett-Singer Susan Lubow Jayne Mackta Carol Marcus Judith May Maxine B. Murnick1 Erica Needle Pearl Schlossman Pall Wendie Ploscowe Freida Posnock Elaine Ravich
Federation cares for people in need, builds Jewish life, and saves the world, one person at a time, every day. Building an inclusive community is a priority. Contact us and we will make every effort to meet your needs.
Genie Reichman Sharon Rockman Leslie Dannin Rosenthal Lois Ruderman Paula Saginaw Geri Samuel Cynthia Hollander Schechner Maxine Schwartz1 Betty Seidel Sylvia Seltzer Frances Stern Cathy Tabak Marcia Tabatchnick Lynda Wachsteter Janice Weinberg
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COVID-19 RELIEF
For the latest information & happenings in the Jewish community, visit us at jfedgmw.org
NOTICE To:
Members of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ
Subject:
1) Annual Meeting of the General Assembly 2) Nomination and Election of Trustees for the 2021 fiscal year (July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021). 1) The Annual Meeting of the General Assembly of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, at which time trustees of Federation will be elected and other business transacted, will take place on Zoom on Wednesday, June 3, 2020 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. All members of Federation are invited to attend and vote. The members of Federation constitute the General Assembly. Register in advance at www.jfedgmw.org/annual-meeting. 2) Nomination and election of trustees: In accordance with the provisions of the by-laws of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, the Board Governance Committee met and nominated the individuals listed below to serve as members of the Board of Trustees. The Board Governance Committee consisted of Shari Brandt, Leslie Dannin Rosenthal, Jody Hurwitz Caplan, Lori Klinghoffer, Scott Krieger, Michele Landau, Joan Schiffer Levinson, Steven D. Levy, Maxine B. Murnick, Erica Needle, David Saginaw, and Paula Saginaw. In accordance with the provisions of the by-laws, other members may be nominated for election as trustees by filing in the office of the Executive Vice President, in person or by mail, no later than May 14, 2020, of a petition or petitions, each signed by not less than 250 members who will be qualified to vote at the Annual Meeting of the General Assembly of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ. Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ Dov Ben-Shimon, Assistant Secretary
TRUSTEES SERVING BY CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION
Other Trustees
President, Federation
David Saginaw
Gary O. Aidekman
Marsha G. Hoch
Sheryl Pearlstein
Past President, Federation
Scott Krieger
Shari Brandt
Ben Hoffer
Vice President
Scott Newman
Shari Broder
Leslie Dannin Rosenthal
Treasurer
Peter A. Langerman
Lisa Buber
Sanford L. Hollander
Assistant Treasurer
David M. Hyman
Lawrence Chodor
Secretary President, Women’s Philanthropy
Joan Schiffer Levinson Michele Landau
President, Jewish Community Foundation Steven D. Levy
Michael A. Cohen Stacey Davis Barbara Drench
Chair, UJA Annual Campaign
Michael Goldberg
Mariela Dybner
Chair, Community Relations
Sheri Goldberg
Michael Elchoness
Chair, Community Engagement
Jody Hurwitz Caplan
David Feuerstein
Chair, Unified Allocations Council
Jonathan Liss
Robert A. Francis
Chair, Global Connections
Rebecca Gold
Terri Friedman
Chair, Local Allocations
Robbie Weissenberg
Ellen Goldner Renee Golush Abbi Halpern Lynne B Harrison
Shira B. Rothschild
Allan H. Janoff
Debbie Rovner
Mindy S. Kahn
Paula Saginaw
Alan Kirshenbaum
Zev S. Scherl
Lori Klinghoffer
Maxine Schwartz
Steven H. Klinghoffer
Carol Simon
Robert G. Kuchner
Brett Tanzman
Benjamin Lehrhoff David Leit Ruth B. Margolin Erica Needle
Gerald N. Tuch Jon Ulanet Jane Wilf Mark Wilf
Ariel Nelson RoAnna Pascher
Federation cares for people in need, builds Jewish life, and saves the world, one person at a time, every day. Building an inclusive community is a priority. Contact us and we will make every effort to meet your needs.
Ira Steinberg
Ari Wise
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NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ May 7, 2020
Greater MetroWest UPDATE
FEDERATION
NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ May 7, 2020
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| SHABBAT CANDLELIGHTING | May 8: 7:43 p.m.
The mitzvah of a proper burial Emor Leviticus 21:1-24:23 Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb
D
ead. Unburied. Abandoned. Forgotten. What can be a worse fate? I once read a very moving novel by Joseph Roth, “The Radetzky March,” about the events immediately preceding World War I and the fate of those who were caught up in the chaos of the opening days of that war. I was drawn to this book because it deals, in part, with the Jews of Galicia and the effect that World War I had upon them. Both my paternal and maternal great-grandparents were caught up in the events of those times, and I wished to learn more about those events, if only from a fictional account. I found the book informative and troubling, but the single event recorded in it that had the most impact on me was a description of the novel’s hero, a combatant in the initial outbreak of the battle and gunfire. At one point, as he was fleeing for safety, he encountered the corpse of one of his fellows. Rather than pass this corpse by, he chose to drag the corpse to a nearby graveyard, dig a shallow grave with his bayonet, and bury the poor man. Although the hero of this story was not a Jew, he was acting in accordance with a supreme Jewish value. At great personal risk, he buried a “met mitzvah,” an abandoned corpse with no one else
present to bury it. Our Torah insists that giving such a corpse the dignity of a proper burial is a mitzvah, one which takes priority over almost any other good deed. The source for this mitzvah is in this week’s Torah portion, Emor, where we read of the strict prohibition upon kohanim, members of the priestly caste, to come into contact with the dead. Exceptions are made for the kohen’s parents, children, siblings, and spouse. An exception is also made for the met mitzvah. Should the kohen encounter an abandoned corpse, and no one else is available to bury it, he is commanded to ignore the prohibition against contact with the dead, and he must bury that corpse himself. This is the meaning of the phrase in the very first verse of our parsha, “... he shall not defile himself for any dead person among his people...” (Leviticus 21:1). Paraphrasing Rashi’s words here: “When the dead man is among his people, the kohen cannot defile himself, but when the dead man is not among his people, i.e., there is no one else to bury him, then the prohibition does not apply.” Our tradition is unusually sensitive to the sanctity of the human body. A proper Jewish burial is the last chesed shel emet (kindness of truth) that one can perform for another. It is this important Jewish value that has led Jewish communities throughout the ages to do all that they could to recover the bodies of those of our brethren who perished in prisons, on battlefields, or in
tragic natural disasters. I must note a poignant incident in our history, an incident which culminated in the recovery of two metei mitzvah. Part of the narrative of these two heroes is recounted in the book “The Deed” by Gerold Frank. It is the story of two boys, Eliahu Bet Zouri and Eliahu Hakim, who gave their lives to assassinate a high British official, based in Egypt, whose policies threatened to block Jewish immigration into what was then Palestine. They succeeded in assassinating the official, but were tried and hanged for their efforts, and buried near Cairo in 1945. But they were never forgotten. In 1975, the State of Israel exchanged 20 Arab prisoners for the bodies of these two young men and reburied them in heroes’ graves upon Mount Herzl. In recovering their bodies and eventually affording them an appropriate Jewish burial, the Israeli government was adhering to the teaching of this week’s Torah portion. They saw to it that these metei mitzvah were buried properly. Even at this moment, the remains of several Israel soldiers are unrecovered and are held by our enemies. These soldiers are metei mitzvah in every sense of that phrase. They performed great mitzvot in their military service, and bringing them home for a proper burial is the least we can do to honor their memories. Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb is executive vice president emeritus of the Orthodox Union.
State&Local
Jewish Historical Society creating pandemic archive
Johanna Ginsberg NJJN Senior Writer
T
he Jewish Historical Society of New Jersey (JHS), an agency of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, seeks documents demonstrating the changes wrought by Covid-19 on the Jewish communities of Morris, Essex, Sussex, Union, and parts of Somerset counties. “The goal is to understand how life is changed,” said Linda Forgosh, JHS executive director. JHS is part of national and international efforts by Jewish institutions to collect a variety of original documents that create a record of this moment to preserve for future generations and for historians to use in their research. For example, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research has launched a link on its website that people can access to document, through a directed questionnaire, the ways in which
Volunteers picking up food to be delivered to Holocaust survivors is an example of the archival material being collected by the Jewish Historical Society of New Jersey. COURTESY JHS
their Jewish lives have changed (visit yivo.org/ share-your-story). In Jerusalem, the National Library of Israel
is soliciting contributions ranging from emails about online synagogue services to appeals for isolated community members to announcements about innovative Jewish law rulings. Ironically, in the last year, long before the pandemic became a reality in New Jersey, an academic tapped JHS’ archives to research the impact of the 1918 Spanish flu on the Newark Jewish community. JHS archives, housed on the Alex Aidekman Family Jewish Community Campus in Whippany, include letters between prominent families that discuss the pandemic. JHS is seeking diary entries, social media posts, newsletters, emails, photographs, videos, audio recordings, announcements, and other documentation of how the Greater MetroWest community has been affected by Covid-19. Plans include the creation of a searchable digital archive. For more information or to make a contribution, visit jhs-nj.org or email lforgosh@jhs-nj.org. ■
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NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ May 7, 2020
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Eli Reiter Special to NJJN
A
s a voter, I was saddened when Bernie Sanders dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary race. As a consumer of culture, I was thrilled. It means that Larry David’s character will not likely appear as often on “Saturday Night Live” (though maybe there’ll be a skit with Bernie trying to sneak into the Democratic Platform Committee meeting posing as a bagels-and-lox delivery guy.) When I saw the last “SNL” skit with the comedian lampooning the democratic socialist senator, I laughed, then cried, then went to see my therapist. Shelving that Jewish stereotype of a character was overdue, especially after a spectator attending a Sanders rally unfurled a flag with a swastika. The video of the Arizona event could have been a scene from HBO’s mini-series “The Plot Against America.” I’m not concerned about white nationalists, but I see hate spreading through the world like coronavirus. I’m concerned about recently desecrated cemeteries in France and ongoing anti-Semitic violence in New York City, home to the largest concentration of Jews in America. I’m concerned about ongoing annual parades in Aalst, Belgium, a suburb of Brussels, which feature age-old stereotypes of big-nosed Jews with side curls. In February, the parade featured marchers in Nazi soldier costumes as well as marchers with fake beards and big noses and large, faux-fur streimels. This is not dissimilar to the event at the Sanders rally. They’re both instances of pop culture influencing thought and behavior. It’s easy to write off a thing like the Brussels parade. But the Nazi iconography, mixed with Europe’s
capacity for cultural genocide, tells a scary story. Satire works best when it punches up, when it attacks people or ideas that aren’t vulnerable to its attacks. Jon Stewart, the king of American contemporary satire, said that satire is “a story we tell ourselves about the rightness of our position.” But the art of satire is limited in efficacy, and when it’s used as an attack on weak populations, it’s more sinister. There are caricatures aplenty in David’s portrayal of the middle-class-Brooklyn-reared, thickly Brooklyn-accented Sanders, whose speaking volume is dialed up to a perpetual yell, like an arms-waving radical in full jeremiad. Bernie/David complaining about the height of the podium on the debate stage reminds me of the old Polish Jews in the shtiebel I attended growing up arguing about the design of the table and benches they sat on as they drank Old Williamsburg during Shabbat kiddush. Something so inconsequential — how high the table was and how low the chairs were — created so much acrimony. It’s not just Sanders’ age, it’s how David plays up Sanders’ meekness and frumpiness. It’s the anxiety over small things that cuts close because it’s painfully accurate. The portrayal reminds me of the survivor shtiebel Jews of my childhood. They dressed messily, made mountains out of molehills, and took ridiculous stands on minute things, like how small the herring had to be cut. Pardon me for feeling defensive about Holocaust survivors. Perhaps I’m romantic and I miss them. This kind of Jew wasn’t powerful or rich or a social climber. Lampooning him isn’t punching up; it’s like taking free swings at the little guy suffering from genocidal trauma. The negative stereotypes of Jews, of course, are
centuries old (Jesus killers, moneylenders, global financial string pullers). A principled politician who, against all odds, built a huge progressive movement, being played as a nonstop complainer may not seem like a terrible thing. But making him appear puny is as othering as making him appear evil. Jews in pop culture portrayals are stripped of nuance and become dehumanized. They’re reduced to yelling old men. Portrayals of money-grubbing and puniness serve the same ends: Jews are not us. In David’s hands (and mouth), Sanders is merely “The Jew” — the old, wild-haired, difficult germaphobe who has big ears and says “oy” every third sentence. We’ve seen this before with Larry David; there is sexism behind the characters on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” for instance, Susie Essman’s character Susie Green, who only scowls, yells, and swears — the image of the pushy, nosy mom is worse than that of the feeble Jew. We box ourselves in with this kind of self-imposed minstrels; we’re acting, in a sense, according to the image crafted by anti-Semites. I’ll admit, I found some of Larry David’s shticky Bernie Sanders routine funny — in large part because I feel seen in my own neuroticisms. But too often, David’s Bernie crashed and burned, an old dissatisfied Ashkenazi man who has overstayed his welcome — especially at a time with so much Jewhatred in the air. It’s time to reconsider the place these Jewish clichés have in our culture. ■ Eli Reiter is a teacher and writer and host of the MuslimJewish storytelling series.
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