Mercer Bucks March 10, 2020

® NEW JERSEY
JEWISH NEWS

PRINCETON | MERCER | BUCKS COUNTIES

A PUBLICATION OF THE JEWISH WEEK MEDIA GROUP
Vol. XX I I No. 10 | March 10, 2020 | 14 ADAR 5780
njjewishnews.com

White
supremacy
leafletting
surges in NJ

Trend mirrors overall rise of

anti-Semitism in state, country

A roundup of the spring Noam Kornsgold of East Windsor is a rabbinical student and delegate on Johanna Ginsberg
offerings in theater, film, MERCAZ USA, the Conservative movement’s slate. PHOTO COURTESY NOAM KORNSGOLD
music, books, and more NJJN Senior Writer

Spring Arts 15 In early 2019 leaflets promoting a
public march for the New Jersey Eu-
Next generation of ropean Heritage Association, a white
leaders steps up for supremacist group, were hung around
World Zionist Congress the Princeton University campus, caus-
ing an uproar and sparking plans for a
Our annual no-holds- Jed Weisberger anyone can practice their religion large counter protest (the Heritage As-
barred Purim satire in a pluralistic society in Israel the sociation claimed that the announced
NJJN Staff Writer way they want to, without the Chief march was actually a hoax).
New Jersey Jewish Rabbinate of Israel imposing any sys-
Fake News 32 Noam Kornsgold, 24, is one of tem,” said Kornsgold, who grew up in By contrast, in December the New
several young members of East Windsor and is the son of Leslie Jersey European Heritage Association
Our Towns 4 New Jersey’s Jewish com- and Rabbi Jay Kornsgold. “We feel posted flyers around Maplewood and
Opinion 13 munity vying to be a delegate to the that way for Jews and anyone else.” South Orange, urging people to “Reclaim
LifeCycle 37 38th World Zionist Congress (WZC), your nation, Reclaim your heritage.” The
Agenda 39 which will take place Oct. 20-22 in Kornsgold is in his fourth year at local police and the Department of Pub-
Touch of Torah 42 Jerusalem. The Rabbinical School of the Jewish lic Works were notified, the signs were
Exit Ramp 43 Theological Seminary; his father is removed, but there was little uproar. The
Priorities for Kornsgold, who is a rabbi of Beth El Synagogue in East muted reaction was by design.
candidate for MERCAZ-The Voice Windsor. Both of them are board
of the Conservative/Masorti Move- members of MERCAZ USA. The point of leafletting, an increas-
ment, include promoting pluralism in ingly popular tactic of white suprem-
Israel and funding for United Syna- For Jay Kornsgold, the young peo- acist groups, is not only to recruit
gogue Youth (USY), the youth move- ple are vital to the future of the Jew- members, but also to portray themselves
ment affiliated with the Conservative ish community. “We need to get them as bigger than they are, with more ca-
movement. involved in as many things as we can pacity, more reach, and more power,
and build another strong generation,” according to Alex Rosemberg, the Anti-
“One of our key goals is to assure he said. Defamation League New York/New
Jersey’s director of community affairs,
The WZC is the policy-making who spoke to NJJN by telephone. The
organization of the Zionist move- idea is to have a small cadre of members
ment and is responsible for the allo- do a lot of propaganda with an outsize
cation of around $1 billion in support impact on perception. It can also garner
of Israel and global Jewish commu- publicity, and stir anxiety.
nities. Kornsgold and the two other
students interviewed by NJJN are The message is “Anyone not White
Anglo-Saxon and European: here we
Continued on page 8 are, we have a lot of power, and you
should be afraid of us,” Rosemberg said.

In response, while the ADL still re-
ports each incident to the police, it has
stopped responding publicly to every

Continued on page 6

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 20202 SAV E T H E DAT ES

1719 Route 10, Suite 307, Parsippany, NJ 07054 Feb 2020
njjewishnews.com | T: 973-739-8110

2020 Special Features Calendar | NJ Jewish News | Princeton Mercer Bucks

April 7 Passover GreetingsNA
May 5 Education / Senior Living / Retirement Living*NA
June 2 Real Estate Guide / Israel NOW*
July 7 Synagogue Connection / Back To School
August 4 Retirement Living*NA / Rosh Hashanah Foods /

Real Estate Guide / Synagogue Connection
September 8 Rosh Hashanah GreetingsNA

October 6 Mazel Tov / Fall Arts Guide
November 3 Healthy Living / Hanukkah Gifts
December 1 Hanukkah GreetingsNA

Unless noted otherwise, special sections include advertorial and advertising deadline is 9 days prior to issue date
*Feature pull out & save special issue, early deadline | NA = no advertorial

Questions? Contact Ruth Rothseid at 212-997-2954 or [email protected]

Kolbo II OI n A Jam3 With Z Z N C H EZORanmHa22e2r99B933NuAA1A1resrr33wr3ShStt00tt0assFasebiTTibGGlTnAAGmrrbrbrruuaauaattavviissvitddtdeehe22heelle77laaFFGGaFGbbiibioonnllggonlbyyGkkSSeeybbttHHTTffkSebtThhfeennmmttheelccnmhhtyyeaaaacoaahoooyaaattattoeeataaoommffttnneccammomftttcffeemnncuukkfessnnniiukshrrWW,,aappeennrkGGW,apeaaGwwmmwwddyyggwmawdygrreggiihhreeiaahddrrhhiieeemmamdrhiemttllttrnnooootltnDDeessoogguuDessoottgwwccorrtwcooggrrrrrnnoogttrrnpponnooteeeeooooGtniioeemmooiss..kkmllaeeyys.kleyllppeelssiooffffeepffslffefroollrroouurrkoloubbaarlbffrrarrHHssryyyyrddsHsffttyydbbtaaabeeeeaetteeerrttbbtrrJerbbhhboorbbiihhhbboiellnnrreeblllnreeeeeyyllleggoeyeelgwtteewwtewrrwwssrJJrrwueesJrekkeddkHHiiiiieddHiiwwffaadtttswfateehhaaeettehbbathiieerrbfmmiessrmuubbggsccrraubhhgrhttyyeetkk,,DDjyeLLi,D,,Lllttat,lsstoottii..saaoyytaaihiiannyvvmainrrnnviioorn--ioaa--dd-,a-ggduugumpkkAAiiGGrkssAissggGtteesseYYgiaayytehhhhYccayeeiieehhMMdciieierrooMooiioottrppddrttolliotpdcctrrluusscslleuurbbusaa““lkkuFFssnnba“kFsIInllaaiiuuIhhTTlaiieeutthThhaooisscceRRnntssrraahoaascaaRnsrookkavvakk..nnaaeeokvvvkgg.nnaeAAAAvnngiiiimmAvvAiiuueemvvnnttuuvuevppntuhhdsspeeeeiihddMM,,ppaaseeittM,nnpaeellaatnnneoolssiianaaoggsaattinnagttoo,,atppnooto,..rrOOyypggbbIIo22.rOy””gbIeeaaFF2”eyyaaaFeeRR88ooyaccehhR8eeoiicooddhe,,ippDDkkonndttbb,pDaakntuubwwooaeell..uworrel.vveewwruuvuuerrwEEhhccuu,,rEeehc,bbaaggewwhhaawwoobagwhaworriihhDDyyHHnneettrihDaayyyhhHnetjjeeayh..nnjeoo,,...no,.ffii““fOOaaiyy“nnOayTTnppAAllTpooeeAllloeaahhladduuhddrrRRduddoorRdeeooottessffosstcchhsfsww..aachAAeew.aeeAeeAAHHlleeAHlnnnnllaaAAnnlGGaLLAGttrrLNNddbbtrNdeebppooNNeoouupoEENouEAArrttJJwwAAttArtJhhHHwaaAteehHaewwaawwwccnnaDDwcnMMmmDttMee,,mRRte--ii,””R-iEEcc”EcYYeeYIIeFFIFUUiiRRU11ppiRnnoo1SSpnoS00//rrvv0/rJJWWvoo22JWoWWee2Weuu--FFrruii-Frppddillpiidhhlllihllnnllliilnleeaayyiaaeaeeyarreyyrmmwwymssmwmlleespplewwepssrrweaasoorffawwbbofnnwttllbnrrtl..eeuureett.ZZu——etaaZrr—yyaahharyahggggmmeeggeemee::uurriiww:u——rrriwIIee—WWrCCJJIeWNNChhJ,,Nhhuuh,heeuoowwooeiiddCCowoaaissdCrraCCsOOaaraappChhrrOaapnnhrlliinooiiNNaaiiFFlssoiNaoonniFccsoonniionmmcCConinnttmgghhCuuttntghuEEtiittttnnEittnnhhnssrrooRRiinddhsroRisseeduueennsaaTTaaeuenaTalleettrrlooiietriittSSoddiaaggooitShhdanngohnnnttnniinooeetnaallioooe..kkalyyonn.koorrynnoonoreenorreppoorvvppggddpovpoogdllffoaaaalfaaaannNNallnDDggNyylDg..y.eetteeooTTetaahheoTahrr22..vvreehh2.vehtt0011iiitee0oo1iddierrodr
IAAApppttt... NNNoooGNAPC...rdiatoimydvv/rieGNGSeedtasJJJCCeCiiamsEEEvvAEEtEaeeeeRRRLLnL/UUUEEZAAGEeSSSiBBBp-AAAimGGRRRfLLLAAiiAatffEEEiTTTttlSMMMEEaESSuduudbbbMMMraaeassyysys22cc2sc111,,rr,22ra2ii000ppni111777pttdetptFPlmiiirhnvihootrgaenaoeigienniadlotv-ntaoniTTilonigosndenooiuuoinaignc::rnTptgdagogaohfhnrtuncyoeh:loiladnw.ohcbreuceeoeonarl.ntpulertynwreeuearess,clnxemtmdttiteoeoanrnrksFeseRivEeIIERRO!oonllllAeerrJDDameerrbbWyy’’AisstJJCChpMMEEEEt.RROOLLNUUTTEEossSSBB.AARRLLAAEETTMMEE MMaayy 2211,, 22001177ZZZ ZZZ NNN CCC HHH ZZZ CCCaaallllll222111222---888777000---33333333355531 Sabbath
Spit it out GGiivvee AA GGiifftt SSuubbssccrriippttiioonn TToo:: Z Z N C H Z AMCIalRl A21M2-8OI7R0D-3E33DH5 ORAALOORRaannmmMHHIsaa22eeraarr99BBc33eNNruuolAA11rreeLnssrr33wwoSShhttA00ottaassFFeenmbbiiTTiidGGllnnAAmmrrsbbrruuJaaBaaettvviisswIettddneehh22tseetwll77’le2eaaFFGG6bbniioonnllggbbyyGGkkSSeebbttHHTTffhheennmmttwweellcctthhppyyaaaaccooaaiiPooooaattttooeerrhhiiaaoommffttnnccrmmeessttfftteennnniiccseuukkssiissllnniiCrJhhtrrsssooWW,,eeaappiieenneykkGGoddiaawwwnnommwwddlyyggdaassaameearreesRggiihh,,nkkrreeeaaannddrrthhiieemmhoommrriniitttllisttrrnnccoooooppiiDDeergssuuggutuubssggyyoottwwccanppirrhnnooBgg,,rrrrbhhnnaoosttiippotnnooddteeeettoonnooGGttttiiuammhoofss..kklloaaggMeeyyraaoltttollppaeevvssrihhiiiooffffeeffttrllIIrncsrroollrroouuiiieerrsskknwttbbyaassktllgffrrhhrrrrmHHssiiyyyyddenssMMaaffttttireebbOanaaaaEeeeeoeeiMMtteerrttrllbbcssiirrJJbbhhnbdoosbbUiiddhhttbbwwakeellnnuurreeag.aalliddeeeeyy.mmllsstggoorr,eeaanSwwttlleeowwllttrreesswwfiissaaJJrr.uureemmoood-kkee’’ssddEEHHiiiiiiIddssffreewwffaattttsssmnnaaeehheehhaaddeerttibbhhiissaaeerrnnaffmmniieesseuuttbb--ggssccrreaa--hhrttyyleetkk,,DDjjLLii,,llottaattssoottii..aaffyyssaahhaaiinnppiivvmmrrtnnwwfiirroollth--pcrraa--ddaiddssh,,gguureeoeiittsesennNmmTTddppntttsarrtggeefrrcmkkioaiiAiiniGGrruumssppccassggdtteeweeYYttiiaayymmhhorchheecceeiieeeahhMddaaeiirr,oonCCssoohiioottrrppnddttefbbllpprrccrrisstOuufasssslleeuucoooobbnhrraa““kkFFssnnoormdiieooInnllaauuiibsuuohhssaTTiirreettattaahhaaoossccnRnnass,,rrgginaaoaaiiaappoonddkkvvsnnkk..nnmeaaeecafhhPPtvvggnnllAAAnniiuuiivmmovvtaatsshuueevvnnttauurrakheeppeIIiihhnnnddsseeeeieeiinddM,,ppaannddssresttdnnteellnnssiaanndooccrssrriihaainggsooiiaattiiUnnaaadttoo,,eeppddnneeoonn..rrOyyggvbbIsee22””eecg.aaaggeeFFhhvtyyaaSoeeppllR88ooolccnnhhiieeiiiweoo?dd.aataass,,snppDkknnoottbbtteaadaiuuggwwooeedlli..iiqqnntrr.DDvveeltwwnneeouuuurrlhuuEihhcct,,yaaeenehhbbf22aaggoowhhiiaawwoo.uuhrccrr33iiihhDnnyyHnneenttmBaayy--hkkssijjeeh..nn--oosso,,..ey,ffii““-OaayynnTTppAAllnnooeeffllaaaahhooddoouumddrrnnRTTddhBoocrrUtteemootttddssafflhhssacchcchhccwwee..aas.AeeyeooeeSeeeSAooeeCCpprHHllmtlnnnnnnllgaaonnAA.beGGoorLwoottffrrNNyddambbaLLbggetssnnooeeppoohNNb,ooruuerrEssttiierraenAArrttJJabiiTeennwwrmmAttiihhnnHHaaeeeebbtggibfwwshaauuseewwccnndiDDylleaaeMwwnrmmeeetteeee,,.oRRssmlntts--ii””ddiiiEEiicctfJaeootteeYYeepooehhIsgvtFFnnxxhnnwtlUUoiiRett11eossppppnnooeSShhssgppmmpi00py//trruuvvtteesuhJJWWaafoouu22hhuWWeehlltoeweggOOuuo--ssFFaannrrrriieeuseeppddiillWwttviiigoUUhheellroollnnitll77iiiddaaeenaamyyiaaasOnn’’eessewvrryyoossirmmwmmtess,,ete,,--dUllheeisppkweentssrreaahooff-wggbbiinnkkttllRRrrnnrr.eeuunneettZ——ggaaaaaarryyaoohhddggggbbmaaeewweeuu::uubbrriww——rffaaaaIeeWWtteeCJJNhhhh,,tthuuwwSSeeeeaaoowwoiiddCssaaaassrttCCooOaa..apphhrrrr””nnttliiffooaaiiNaahhiiFssoonncc[[onniiYYmmeeCnnttHHggYYhhuEEttEiittSSttOOneennhhssuurrooRiiHHdsssseeuueeUUrrIInnaTaahhVVllwweetrrAAooiiiiittSSddaaggvvTTiiohhiinnssnnttaattwiiMMooeeaallzzoo.kkffttyyinn::AAorrtiinnooeehMMnnHHrpp““oovvppgddAAaaoollffGGaaaaaaRRaallnnNNAAllDDggllhhyyll..TTyyeettaaaaeeooTTaahhmmddrrrr22..vveehhaatt0011iieeiitteeooddttrrooee’’sstt]]--NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
Give A Gift Subscription To:
Israeli company BATM of Hod Hasha- IN CONCERT
ron announced that its biomedical divi- Name
sion has developed a diagnostics kit to Name ZAMIZRANMOIRDCEwiDHth OHRAALZEAMIR wCwawl.Zlam2i1rC2ho-ra8lF7ou0nd-a3tio3n.3or5g
Name
Address
Address
ACditdy/reSstaste/Zip
City/State/Zip

detect coronavirus from saliva samples City/State/Zip GiveAddAressGift SubscripSttiaornt hToom:e care today. Apt. No.
in less than half an hour. Provide an e-mail address and get our online newsletter FREE! Na,me Apt. No.
onCity/State/Zip
The test is compatible with the You knowProvide an e-mail address and get our online newsletter FREE!
current hospital-based method for di- Address
agnosing COVID-19, which uses re- inmwdeeadplikecinndeent.GNNGGNPAraadaoiiimmmdvvvvrieeeeeeedsesAAAanGGGe-iimifffttatilSSSauududbbbressssccscrrariinipppsdstWtttightiiiemooroteeonnuneu’lgrlTTTo,olooognavk:::lilnneene sdnsoewwhtissoleetttfrethiraeFmaRkrEtoEec,! rethnolyeionr.gApt. hwcg.com/princeton
verse-transcription polymerase chain 609.423.1200
reaction (RT-PCR) — a type of gene
NameProvide an e-mail address and get our online newsletter FREE!

City/State/Zip

Address Apt. NNooA.. ddrGePrsoisvviedeAanGe-imftailSauddbresscs rainpdtgieot onurToon:line newsletter FREE! Apt. No.

CcseoOqro“uVnTeanIhDvceii-rnku1gis9tt,ihniwasftehttchiactkeihoednssi.uasbpeopauosetrtescigaahulltshtehodeubrCsy.entC6e5rosrcfooonuranDvtriirsieeusas.shNeEaLSCOsNoAsLnMpEtIrDrAeo/ aAlFPdaVInAtGdoETTAPCCPPCPYmrrdiirittooItoMyydyrvvv///rAoiieiSSeSddGdttsteeEevaarasStttaaeaeeeennn///nZZZeeetiiipp--p-htmmmiaoaaaiiilllnnaaaddddddrrreeessssss and get our online newsletter FREE! Apt. No.
and get our online newsletter FREE!
and get our online newsletter FREE! City/NGStaiamvteee/ZAipGift Subscription To:
ProviNAddaemdraeensse-mail address and get our online newsletter FREEA!pt. No.

dpJ(tcoCaoeaprutsDimOapneCnentnar,at)tistkoeShr’sloeeroq,ce”ugutmootsyehmpa.soiiTtKtdmcieohoolDeneyrfnservIw.daosiZad,rinattvIehiettooiaolqMnlbapyusnri,a,acodarrhsaoantadohnmdscfetai,tacnchsBlooetresendAroUaacTCndre.eMarSyOnvs.rVpiCTsereuucIhEaDceserO,hih-v1I1e.ase09asrd0adpmeiIeansldeitrtinaebdeertnyoaelticlsasptthnoihfenrIryassocslrmatoiahcreu,eilcanpiauntcrrvsseoitaeghomisnalmavpsabuenealcrncv321321e123shyy.........ot,iTTCCNNCTNaloInoooduhhNhoosotttinooaos...aaaeCNooenotooollltevsssff,hsfoooOeeeeweassrrisrrnddduuNurnpppeeeeaaebbbaaddar-rrlr,sssyyycccmmmrrriiieeepppnnntttiiitttmIooommNmnnna==ss=seeieSlttt$$i$$$$Thhhn333ooAog666dddTaeee:::dEaaadSRS...rUUeAssBBTSSEm(OCCSwaURRiFitlhTiIIOniBPnOgRUTEaFd.RNSISdT.Or)SEeAsNTWs E12.. YYACYdioootyduuu/rSerrrtsasNNNteaa/aZmmmip eee & Address: Apt. No.
&& AAddddrreessss::
NNYPCNoraioatomymvu/.ieeSdroteaNtafena/Zsemip-umebai&lsadcAdrrdeisdpsratenisdosgn:etsou$r o3nl6ineeneaw.sletter FREE! Apt. No. Your Name
Apt. No.
Total order = $NAP1Adrad.omddvNrrieeedssoess.anoef-msuaibl asdcdrreipsstainodngset$o3ur6onelain.e newsletter FREE! Apt. No. Your Name N&aAmdedress:
ACditdy/reSstaste/Zip
City/State/Zip Name Address

C21Pri.toyv/TNiSdotoeatt.aaen/olZeifop-msraduilebardsdcrersispatnidogne=st o$ur3o6nlienean.ewsletter FREE! Your Name & Address:
High-flying (kosher) snacksATION, which has hubs in Israel and China. In addition, INNONATION has donated 3. CSPPS23Chrreeoo.hvvonnCToiiddoddhoeeotoaasaTsTnnoeoleees::o--pmmepraaadpiiyalleaaamyddryddmemrreenssessetaanmnnntddtemggteem=thteoootuu$ehdrr ooot:nnhdlliinn:oee dnnee:wwsslleetttteerr FREE!
500,000 pieces of protective gear, including masks, gowns, and gloves. Card Number 1 year $52 1 year $56Expiration Date FREE! Address City/State/Zip
Card Number Expiration Date Name
2 years $84 2 years $92Expiration Date
“This is about connecting people in crisis with doctors and uhnotsipl iwtaelss,C**e”SSaearaCCCdsvvhhihinanNteeegghuisccscmdekkokofbfffEEEAevrrnnenregigcccmurullloololuaassrsriseee$$t44ddd99..0000 Send To1:501 Broadway, Suite 505, New York, NY, 10036 City/State/Zip
Gal-Or, one of INNONATION’s founders. “We will continue
disappear.” — ISRAEL21c *Savings off regular $49.00 3 years $125 3 years $136subscription Choo11s55e0011pBBarryoomaaddwwewwwnwaatwyyw,,m..tSSthhuueeeiitttjjeeeheww55o00iidss55h:h,,wwNNeeeeeewwkk.YY.ccoooorrmmkk,, NY, 10036 Address Provide an e-ma
NY, 10036
subscription price.
price. Please allow up to 4 weeks for delivery of first iissssuuee3.. . 05P17 Provide an e-mail address and get our
Please allow up to 4 weeks for delivery of first
subsPcrilpetiaonspericael.lPolewase3al-lo4w wupetoe4kwseefkos rforddeellivievryeorfyfirCstaisrsdueCN. aurdmNbumerber www.thejewishweek.coEmxpiratioEnxDpaitreation D05aP1te7 City/State/Zip Send To:
of first issue. 52 issues per year.
05P17 Send To:

CheCchkeEcknEcnloclsoesedd Provide an e-mail Badrodraedsswaanyd,g1Seut5oi0tuer1

1501

UnitedAirlines’“friendly skies” have become Please mail to: *SaviSCn*SiaggarsdnviaonNtgfuufsmrroeefbfgeruerglaulrar$$4499..0000 ssuubbscsrciprtiipontipornicep.rPicleea.sePalellaowsEeuxpaptilorlao4twiwoneueDpkasttofeor4dwelieveerkysoffofirrsdt iessliuveSe.erynodf fiTrost:issue. www.theje
more heimishe with an expanded kosher food
and wine selection that has begun on U.S.- NJ Jewish News - Subscriptions ChCechkeEcnkclEosnecdlosed (made payable to JWMW, LLC.) 1501 Broadway, Suite

901 Route 10, Whippany, NJ 07981 *Savin1gsyofef raegrular $49.00 sub2scryipetioanrpsrice. Please a3llowyuepator4sweeks for deGlivMerWy of first issue. www.theje

Tel Aviv routes from Newark, New York, San ® PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT
Francisco, and Washington, D.C. New Jersey Jewish News, an independent
“We at United are committed to ensuring voice, seeks to inform, engage and inspire its
readers, covering and helping to build com-
our customer’s experience is exceptional both munity. The Princeton Mercer Bucks edition
on the ground and in the air,” said Jill Kaplan, of NJJN (USPS 1227) is published monthly
A new, kosher dinner option president, New York/New Jersey for United Vol. XXII No. 10 March 10, 2020 14 Adar 5780 by the JWMW, LLC, at 1501 Broadway, Room
in Polaris on the Newark-Tel Airlines, in a press release. “Our communities EDITORIAL 505, New York, NY 10036. © 2016, NJ Jewish
Aviv route. are a mosaic representation of the vast diversity News. All rights reserved. • Periodical post-
within our region, therefore we are pleased to age is paid at Whippany, NJ, and additional
Gabe Kahn, Editor offices. • Postmaster: Send address changes
announce we have added new and enhanced kosher options.” Shira Vickar-Fox, Managing Editor to New Jersey Jewish News, 1719 Route 10,
“An entirely new menu” is promised on the Newark-to-Tel Aviv flight with Lori Silberman Brauner, Deputy Managing Editor Suite 307 Parsippany, NJ 07054-4507. NJJN
Johanna Ginsberg, Senior Staff Writer was founded as The Jewish News on Jan.
options such as chicken marsala, kale quinoa burger, fresh bagels, and “traditional Jed Weisberger, Staff Writer 3, 1947. Member, New Jersey Press Associa-
Abby Meth Kanter, Editorial Adviser tion and American Jewish Press Association;
bakery items” such as rugelach and black and white cookies. N.J.-based companies subscriber to JTA.
Fresko and Royal Wines are partnering with United on the kosher offerings.
Those traveling in Polaris, first- and business-class service, and United Premium
Plus may sip a selection of Herzog wines and choose from an expanded selection of CONTRIBUTING WRITERS TELEPHONES/E-MAIL: Main — phone: 973-
packaged kosher snacks. Michele Alperin, Jennifer Altmann, 739-8110, fax: 973-887-4152, e-mail: edito-
Max L. Kleinman, Martin J. Raffel, [email protected], ■ Manuscripts, letters,
Merri Ukraincik, Stephen M. Flatow, documents, and photographs sent to New Jer-
Hot, kosher meal options are currently being tested in the Polaris Lounge at New- Jonathan Tobin sey Jewish News become the physical property
ark Liberty InternationalAirport as well as in-flight kosher meals for children, to keep BUSINESS of this publication, which is not responsible for
everyone happy travelers. Nancy Greenblatt, Manager Sales/ the return or loss of such material.

Administration and Circulation SUBSCRIPTIONS: ANNUAL SUBSCRIP-
Nancy Karpf, Senior Account Executive TIONS (INCLUDING POSTAGE): New Jer-
Mazal tov Gilad Steven Weisman, Account Executive sey: $52. Out of State: $56. Call Nancy
Lauri Sirois, Classified Sales Supervisor/ Greenblatt, 973-739-8115 or e-mail:
Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was held Office Manager [email protected]. For change
of address, call 973-929-3198.
prisoner by the terrorist group Hamas in GRAPHIC DESIGN/DIGITAL/PRODUCTION ADVERTISING: NJJN does not endorse the
Gaza for five years, is engaged, JTA reports. Clarissa Hamilton, Janice Hwang, goods or services advertised in its pages and
Charles J. Rosenthal, Dani Shetrit makes no representation as to the kashrut of
His girlfriend, Nitzan Shabbat, posted a EXECUTIVE STAFF food products and services in such advertising.
photo of the couple on Instagram in which Rich Waloff, Publisher The publisher shall not be liable for damages
she is holding up her hand to show a diamond Andrew Silow-Carroll, Editor in Chief if, for any reason whatsoever, the publisher
engagement ring. Shalit proposed on Feb. 14. Gary Rosenblatt, Editor at Large fails to publish an advertisement or for any
Rob Goldblum, Managing Editor error in an advertisement. Acceptance of ad-
The couple have been dating for about a Ruth Rothseid, Sales Manager vertisers and of advertising copy is subject to
year and a half. Thea Wieseltier, Director of Strategic Projects publisher’s approval. NJJN is not responsible if
Shalit, 33, was captured in June 2006 in Dan Bocchino, Art Director ads violate applicable laws and the advertiser
a cross-border raid through a Hamas tun- Gilad Shalit, at left, with fiancé Arielle Sheinwald, Print Marketing Operations will indemnify, hold harmless, and defend
nel. He was released in October 2011 in a Nitzan Shabbat. VIA TWITTER Manager NJJN from all claims made by governmental
controversial exchange for 1,027 Palestinian Gershon Fastow, Advertising Coordinator agencies and consumers for any reason based
prisoners. Miriam Groner, Web Director on ads carried in NJJN.

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 20204 Our Towns
Scholar to explain challenges of
biblical translation

Alter conveys technique, then lets readers arrive at religious vision

Michele Alperin Even in his youth, said acclaim; it won the PEN Center Literary Award for
Robert Alter, “Hebrew Translation — in a three-volume set, “The Hebrew
NJJN Contributing Writer spoke to me in all kinds of Bible: A Translation with Commentary,” in Decem-
ways, including its extraor- ber 2018.
R obert Alter didn’t plan to translate the entire dinary style.”
Tanach. In the 1990s, he received a request Alter will present “The Challenge of Translating
from an editor at Norton Critical Editions to the Bible” on Thursday evening, March 26, at The
edit a volume either on Kafka or the Bible. Alter sug- Jewish Center of Princeton.
gested instead that he translate Genesis, and would
apply his own, distinctively literary, vision. With his literary bent, Alter’s translations focus on
issues of language, syntax, and stylistic techniques.
“I’d been reading the Bible in Hebrew since my
late teens, and the Hebrew spoke to me in all kinds “I paid a lot of attention to Hebrew syntax, which
of ways, including its extraordinary style,” said Al- is different from modern English syntax, but not that
ter, a professor in the graduate school and emeritus different from certain writers,” he said. That meant
professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the following “the expressive and eloquent use of the
University of California, Berkeley. Hebrew word order in English.”

He told NJJN in a mid-February phone interview The terseness of the Hebrew in biblical narratives,
that he thought a proper translation of the books of Alter said, means there is “rather more weight to the
the Hebrew Bible should impart more “stylistic sub- single word than, say, in a novel of 150,000 words.”
tleties and the power of the Hebrew into English.” The Hebrew “generates certain distinctive, compact
rhythms,” which is why he chose shorter words rather
Alter continued to translate biblical books in sep- than multisyllabic ones in his translation; for example,
arate volumes for Norton, and four or five years ago he would use “fire” rather than “conflagration.”
he realized he had completed nearly two-thirds of the
Tanach. So he decided to finish the job. Alter also recognized the importance of preserv-
ing repetition, “a subtle literary instrument in He-
The complete work was published — to wide brew writing that modern versions [of the Bible]

Survivor comes to life in the classroom
NJ college selected for national test run of holographic technology

Jed Weisberger Pleasantville High School senior Ernest Howard prepares to ask Ed Mosberg, me while he was talking,” Ernest said
to the 100 people assembled during
NJJN Staff Writer through an interactive hologram, about food in the concentration camp of a demonstration of the Dimensions
in Testimony Interactive Biography
Pleasantville High School senior Mauthausen. PHOTOS COURTESY OF STOCKTON UNIVERSITY Program at the Sara and Sam Schoffer
Ernest Howard had a question Holocaust Resource Center at Stock-
for Shoah survivor Ed Mos- screen. “That way, I got the first cof- Mosberg’s hologram was seated in a ton University in Galloway on Feb. 12.
berg. In his Holocaust and genocide fee and the first soup with whatever chair. He wore dark blue slacks and
class, Ernest learned about Mosberg’s vegetables were there. I also cleaned a blue-and-white-striped polo shirt; The educational exchange between
torture and imprisonment in multiple the pots and was able to get the cof- his hands moved, amplifying how he Ernest and Mosberg is a program of
concentration camps and how the fee grounds to eat and whatever expressed himself. the University of Southern Califor-
Morris Plains resident witnessed the vegetables were left from the soup.” nia (USC) Shoah Foundation. The
murders of friends and relatives. “I felt like he was looking right at Dimensions in Testimony program,
which is already utilized by muse-
The question Ernest asked was ums such as the Museum of Jewish
practical in nature: “What kind of Heritage in Manhattan, is now being
meals were you served in Mauthau- rolled out to the educational sector.
sen?” And he received an honest an- Stockton University was the only
swer, albeit not in person, from the U.S. college chosen to test and pilot
94-year-old survivor. The answer the program in a three-year study.
came from a hologram based on Mos-
berg’s likeness and the script came “It’s one thing to read [about the
from five hours of interviews with the Holocaust] in the history books, but
property developer. now students get to interact with an
eyewitness,” said Gail Rosenthal, ex-
“I always volunteered to serve ecutive director of the Sara and Sam
the coffee in the morning and the Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center.
soup in the evening,” answered the
Mosberg hologram on a projection Continued on page 11

Our Towns 5 NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020

strenuously avoid because they think it the book and the divisions into Torah, in his commentary, he talks about a nique, then I let the reader do the work
is boring, and they vary terms all over Nevi’im, and Ketuvim follow the Jew-
the place.” ish canon. convention of biblical narrative in about the conclusions about religious
which the first words spoken “are a vision.” ■
As a primary source, Alter used For one thing, Alter’s approach
the “Biblia Hebraica,” published in meant retranslating loaded theologi- way of laying out the character of that
German in the 1960s, which, he said, cal terms according to their meaning in
is “not perfect, but has the advantage the biblical context. “Yeshua,” usually particular figure.” If you go
of giving you textual variance.” Alter translated as “salvation,” biblically He gave as a prime example the
said he doesn’t trust biblical lexicons means “to get someone out of a tight
because they sometimes miss subtle- fix.” So Alter translated this pragmatic, opening words of Jacob and Esau Who: Robert Alter
ties. He also consulted modern schol- worldly term as “rescue.” when the latter returns from a hunt-
arly commentaries and, from time to
time, medieval Hebrew ones. The word “nefesh” is often trans- ing expedition. Esau feels he’s on the What: “The Challenge of
lated as “soul,” but biblical Hebrew, brink of death and is willing to sell Translating the Bible”
“My most helpful tool was a concor- Alter said, had no conception of a split anything, Alter said. “In fact, Esau is
dance to the Hebrew Bible,” he said. “If between body and soul, so he rendered
I wanted to get the particular connota- it as “life breath” or, by extension, so ravenous that he says, ‘Let me gulp When: Thursday, March 26,
tion of a word, the general meaning of “throat” or “neck.” down some of that red, red stuff.’ He 7:30 p.m.
which is known, I would look at all the is totally inarticulate and can’t think of
different occurrences of the word and Initially Alter envisioned his com-
then draw my conclusion.” mentary as translator’s notes, in which the Hebrew word for porridge or stew. Cost: $18 (with preregistration
he would point out an obscure word You immediately get a picture of Esau
In his translation, Alter said, he or an untranslatable Hebrew pun. But by March 24), $25 at the door,
tried to get back to the worldview of soon he realized that because the bibli- as a man of impatient appetite.”
the biblical writers by “scraping away cal world might seem vastly different, By moving away from translations free for Jewish Center members,
all the accretions of post-biblical Jew- even strange, to modern readers, he that reflect a particular ideology and in- $10 for students
ish and Christian traditions.” would need to explain far more: mar-
riage practices, conceptions of society, stead opening the door to the Bible and
Nonetheless, he claimed that this and the roles of men and women, for its worldview, Alter leaves any theo- Information: Visit thejewish-
work is in many senses a “Jewish” example. logical interpretations to his readers.
project, “partly because I had always center.org or call 609-921-0100
related to Tanach as a Jew, and — es- He also became aware that the CSHJLe_sJaeirdus,a“lIemcoBnovokeAydnVa3r.rqaxtpiv_Leatyeocuht-1 3/2/20 2:31 PM Page 1
pecially in doing a commentary along- Bible’s literary techniques — its nar-
side the translation — I felt like I was rative styles and heavy focus on dia- The Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life
latching on to an age-old Jewish form logue — needed elucidation as well.
of expression and [way of] relating to Sunday, March 29, 4:00 p.m.
the Bible.” And, of course, the order of In keeping with Alter’s practice of
taking literary technique into account The Toby and Herbert Stolzer Endowed Program

Wilf senior campus launches Jerusalem: City of the Book
at-home services
Exploring the extraordinary
THE WILF CAMPUS for Senior Leone said WAH offers plans to city through its historic
Living in Somerset has opened meet each individual’s needs, “en- Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and
Wilf At Home (WAH), a health- suring that we create an atmosphere Armenian literary treasures
care agency providing compas- of trust, respect, dignity, account-
sionate care to those requiring ability, integrity, and excellence.” Panel:
assistance in private homes or Benjamin Balint, Van Leer Institute
assisted-living or long-term-care Wilf Campus president Bob Father Columba Stewart, Hill Museum
facilities. WAH’s team of regis- Barry said WAH “provides families & Manuscript Library
tered and licensed practical nurses with the knowledge and confidence Bedross Der Matossian,
and case managers helps fami- that their loved ones are being taken University of Nebraska–Lincoln
lies navigate the complex health- care of by trained caregivers.” The
care environment, from creating growth of the the campus’s health, Douglass Student Center
a home-care plan to aiding with wellness, and educational commu- 100 George Street, New Brunswick
transition from hospital to home; nity programs “ensures that we are
certified home health aides provide able to meet the needs of seniors Free and open to the public
assistance with bathing and dress- and disabled populations during
ing, grooming, and medication every step of their journey.” Cosponsored by the Rutgers–New Brunswick Libraries
reminders; and non-medical staff and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies
offer companionship and such ser- The program joins the other Wilf
vices as meal preparation, laundry Campus agencies: Stein Assisted RSVP and Parking Information:
assistance, and light housekeeping. Living, Wilentz Senior Residence, BildnerCenter.Rutgers.edu
As a Jewish organization, WAH Stein Hospice, and Wilf Transport
also offers pastoral care to its pa- and its Education and Resource
tients and families of all faiths. Center.

WAH executive director Jean For information, contact 732-
649-3502 or athome@wilfcampus.
org.

NJ Jewish News n njjewishnews.com n March 10, 20206 Our Towns

Leafletting

Continued from page 1

leaflet. “We are holding back and asking people

to do the same,” he said.

According to new data released by the ADL,

there was a 250 percent surge in New Jersey of

white supremacist propaganda in 2019, marking

three years of exponential growth in the Garden

State. In addition, across the country distribu-

tion of white supremacist propaganda more than

doubled in 2019 over the previous year, making

it the highest year on record for such activity in

the United States.

“White supremacists consider propaganda

distribution a convenient and anonymous way to

promote their messages of hate and intolerance,”

said Evan Bernstein, ADL’s Northeast Division

vice president, in a Feb. 12 statement. “While we

know extremists and hate groups are emboldened

by the current environment, this dramatic surge As anti-Semitic incidents in the state and across the country are surging, white supremacist groups like
in white supremacist flyering and propaganda the New Jersey European Heritage Association have used leafletting to make their organizations appear
distribution demonstrates how bigots are increas- to be larger than they are. PHOTO COURTESY ADL
ing efforts to spread their message.”

In addition to the leafletting, anti-Semitic inci- ment (a successor to the now disbanded Iden- centage of people nationwide who harbor anti-

dents also increased in New Jersey in 2019, with tity Evropa), Feuerkrieg Division, Daily Stormer Semitic views has held steady at 11 percent

143 incidents documented by the ADL, up from Book Club, Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux over the last four decades.

41 the year before and nearly 11 times higher Klan, and The Base. (See sidebar next page) However, those who do hold anti-Semitic be-

than in 2017. New Jersey has the fifth-highest The surge in leafletting, however, does liefs feel more emboldened to speak and act on

number of incidents in the nation. Of these, 15 not reflect rising affiliation with white su- their ideas, according to Rosemberg. He also

occurred on college campuses around the state. premacy groups. “Card-carrying members of warned that “The majority of all extremists in

Some 70 percent of the propaganda distributed white supremacist groups are not really many,” this country are not specifically affiliated with

in New Jersey came from the New Jersey Euro- said Rosemberg. He estimates that there are any particular organization. They just believe

pean Heritage Association, with the rest coming not more than a thousand members of white what they believe.” The perpetrators of the four

from the Patriot Front, American Identity Move- supremacist groups in the U.S., and the per- violent incidents directed at Jews and Jewish

institutions in the last 18 months — Pittsburgh;

Poway, Calif.; Monsey, N.Y.; and Jersey City

— were not official members of these groups,

though Rosemberg believes the ideas of white

FROM A FORMER supremacy helped to radicalize them.

FEDERAL RESERVE Leafletting, Rosemberg said, helps white su-
premacists advertise something of a softer ap-

CHAIRMAN TO YOUR peal. To that end, some are selling patriotism
and Americana in their symbols and manner of

OWN PRIVATE RESERVE dress in lieu of swastikas and other traditional
neo-Nazi gear. “It’s no longer the skinhead with

swastika tattoos wearing military boots,” said
Rosemberg. “Now they are wearing button-down

We insure them. shirts and crew cuts with khakis and blazers in an
effort to be palatable and … mainstream.”

The other benefit of leafletting is anonymity,

which lends an air of mystery to the organiza-

Family-owned for four generations, Borden Perlman tions and increases their power, according to
has global reach, community roots. Licensed in 50 states, Rosemberg, who noted that when individuals
we work tirelessly to insure what’s important to you. are identified, they are not embraced by society:
After the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlotte,

Va., several participants who appeared in photos

lost their jobs and were “named and shamed” on

and offline.

609.896.3434 | 800.932.4476 The release of information about the groups
BORDENPERLMAN.COM is therefore a useful exercise, Rosemberg argues.
“We’re giving the public a natural and accurate
250 Phillips Blvd., Suite 280, Ewing, NJ 08618
120 Albany St., Tower II, Suite 405, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 picture of what they’re actually up against …
which is something that they don’t want.” n

[email protected]

Our Towns 7 NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020

The short list: NJ white supremacist
groups leafletting in 2019

All descriptions below have either been taken gan in 2019 as a rebranding of Identity Evropa, ican nationalists and are part of the alt-right

directly or culled from resources on ADL.org. one of the largest groups within the alt-right segment of the white supremacist movement.

segment of the white supremacist movement.
New Jersey European Heritage Association It’s a brand of white supremacy rife with rac- Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Small, New Jersey-based white supremacist ism, anti-Semitism, and homophobia, but the (LWK)
group created in 2018 espousing racism, anti- group attempts to project an image of Ameri- One of largest and most active of the 35-40
Semitism, and intolerance under the guise of cana. It is focused on the preservation of groups that make up the organized Klan move-
saving white Europeans from imminent ex- “white American culture” and promoting white ment in the United States. Like the rest of the
tinction. Particularly active in and around European identity; uses the slogan “You will stagnant Klan movement, the LWK currently
Princeton.
not replace us.” Campus activism is a priority. operates in the shadows of segments of the

Patriot Front white supremacist movement that have moved

Feuerkrieg Division on from the outdated, stigmatized Klan robes
A white supremacist group whose members Small international neo-Nazi group established and burning crosses. LWK members follow a
maintain that their ancestors conquered Amer- in 2018 that advocates for a race war and holds version of traditional Klan ideology infused
ica and bequeathed it to them alone. They some of the white supremacist movement’s with neo-Nazi beliefs. In addition to being anti-
define themselves as American fascists or na- most extreme views. It calls for violence black, anti-immigration, anti-Muslim, and ho-
tionalists who are focused on preserving the against their perceived enemies and destruc- mophobic, they are also virulently anti-Semitic.
country’s identity as a European-American tion of “the system,” or society at large, which
identity. Split-off from Vanguard America in they believe is controlled by the Jews.
2017, they embrace Americana and use the The Base

American flag during demonstrations and often Daily Stormer Book Club Small, militant neo-Nazi organization that

wear U.S. flag-themed masks or bandanas. emerged in 2018. Members portray themselves

Small, localized crews of young white men as vigilante soldiers defending the “European

who follow and support Andrew Anglin and his race” against a broken “system” infected by
American Identity MovementWE PAY CASH FORAntiqueFurniture
neo-Nazi website, The Daily Stormer, launched Jewish values. Its mission is to prepare for an
Modern Furniture
Modern Art
Oil Paintings
Bronzes
Silver
Porcelain

$Mens & Ladies Watches
An alt-right white supremacist group that be- in 2013. Members present themselves as Amer- impending race war. ■

Judaic Art and Silver
& Chinese Art and Porcelain

Top Dollar for Any Kind of Jewelry
& Chinese Porcelain

Military Items

Coins – Individual or Entire Collections

Cameras

Entire Home Contents

Property/Real Estate Purchases – Fast Closings

ANS ANTIQUES

We come to you • Free Appraisals

CALL US!

201-861-7770 • 201-951-6224
Visit us at www.ANSAntiques.com

[email protected]
Shommer Shabbas

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 20208 Our Towns

Leaders

Continued from page 1

hoping to fill one of 152 seats allocated to U.S. Rutgers freshman Sam Lurie, a Golda Och Acad- Rutgers senior Yoni Shargian, who was born in
Jews in the upcoming Congress, which meets every emy graduate, is a delegate on the MERCAZ USA Israel, is a delegate on the progressive HATIKVAH
five years. The Congress has a total of 500 seats and slate. PHOTO COURTESY SAM LURIE slate. PHOTO COURTESY YONI SHARGIAN
allocates 29 percent of the delegates to U.S. Jewry,
38 percent to Israel, and 33 percent to the remainder vote determine the number of delegates per slate
of diaspora Jews. One of several requirements for that attend the WZC in Jerusalem, and each qualify-
the slates is that 25 percent of their delegates be ing slate chooses which delegates will attend.
between the ages of 18 and 35.
For example, in the 2015 elections ARZA-
The two other candidates interviewed by NJJN Representing Reform Judaism won 21,766 out of
are both students at Rutgers University. Freshman 56,737 votes, earning 56 delegates to the Congress,
Sam Lurie is also a member of MERCAZ USA and followed by MERCAZ USA with 9,980 votes and
senior Yoni Shargian is a part of HATIKVAH, a 25 delegates, and in third place, Vote Torah: Reli-
progressive Israel slate. gious Zionists with 9,594 votes and 24 delegates.

Lurie, 19, a Livingston native and graduate Shargian, 22, was born in Kfar Saba, Israel, and
of Golda Och Academy in West Orange, became moved to Tenafly when he was 3.
aware of MERCAZ USA’s slate through his rabbi,
Alan Silverstein of Congregation Agudath Israel of “I believe we know what we can do to help Is-
West Essex in Caldwell. Silverstein is president of raeli society grow and become more inclusive,” he
MERCAZ Olami, the World Council of Conserva- said about his secular slate, HATIKVAH, which
tive/Masorti synagogues. promotes a two-state solution, LGBTQ equality,
pluralism, and dignity for refugees, asylum seekers,
“Rabbi Silverstein impressed to me that it’s re- and foreign workers, and more.
ally important we assure funding for USY and other
important Conservative Masorti programming, and “What I really like about the slate is, for the first
make sure the next generation has this,” he said. time, organizations such as Partners for Progres-
Lurie is the son of Debbie and David Lurie. sive Israel, Ameinu, Habonim Dror, and Hashomer
Hatzair will be joined in the HATIKVAH slate by
“I’m using all the networks I have, from Golda J Street, T’ruah, and others,” said Shargian, the
Och Academy, Camp Ramah, and other spots to son of Yoel and Odelia Shargian. “Our message is
get young people I know involved,” Lurie added. strong.”
“It’s important because in the United States we
don’t realize … how good we have it,” regarding Shargian’s views were shaped by participation
Conservative youth programming. in the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement, an or-
ganization with socialist and Zionist roots. He at-
The format for the elections is as follows: U.S. tended and worked at its camps and training farms
voters choose one out of 15 slates that reflect a di- in Tenafly and East Brunswick. He also spent his
versity of Jewish political opinions, religious affili- gap year at a secular yeshiva run by BINA, which
ations, and ethnic identities. Percentages of the U.S. promotes social action and pluralism.

Eligible voters in the WZC elections must be
Jewish, at least 18, and a citizen or permanent resi-
dent of the United States. Anyone who participates
in Knesset elections are ineligible.

Voting, which can be accessed at azm.org/elec-
tion or at any of the slate’s sites (an option for paper
ballots is also available), began Jan. 21 and con-
cludes March 11. The fee for voting is $7.50, and $5
for those 25 and under. At press time, 55,000 votes,
or 1 percent of the estimated American-Jewish
population of 5.7 million, have been recorded. ■

[email protected]

Our Towns 9 NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020

Scientist on antidotes N.J. congressional
to life’s poisons leaders criticize cuts to
federal security funds

Michele Alperin Jed Weisberger fair share of federal anti-terrorism
NJJN Contributing Writer funding, particularly because we
NJJN Staff Writer have the most densely populated
Every life brings challenges, state in the nation and are host to
but Myra L. Weiner’s tale of Led by Rep. Bill Pascrell (D- many transportation hubs,” said
varying tzuris, troubles, and Dist. 9), all 14 members of the Rep. Chris Smith (R-Dist. 4) in a
the wisdom she gained in dealing New Jersey Congressional del- statement.
with them “is an interesting and egation last week sent a letter to Act-
perhaps unique story,” she told ing Secretary of the U.S. Department Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman
NJJN. That’s what compelled her of Homeland Security (DHS) Chad (D-Dist.12) called the budget cuts
to write her memoir, “Uprooting the Wolf, criticizing the reduction in fed- “deeply concerning.”
Poison Tree” (2019, Eliezer Tristan eral funding to the State Homeland
Publishing). Security Program (SHSP) and Urban “In a time where we’re seeing
Area Security Initiative (UASI) pre- upticks in anti-Semitism, in racism,
“By sharing my story I hope to paredness grant programs for Fiscal and ignorance-fueled hate, and when
help other people who go through Year 2020. terrorist attacks in Jersey City have
various challenges that may be sim- demonstrated just how much is at
ilar to the ones that I faced, such “… our cities rely on the fed- stake, it’s deeply concerning that
as dysfunction in my birth family eral support provided by these pro- New Jersey might not have access
and being a woman in science in an grams to strengthen their emergency to resources that would keep our
era when I was a minority and had preparedness and protect the daily communities safe — particularly if
threats our communities face,” the these decisions were politically mo-
If you go letter said. It requested “a full and tivated,” she said.
complete explanation of the rationale
Who: Author Myra L. Weiner for lowering New Jersey’s funding Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Dist. 11)
discusses “Uprooting the Poison eligibility.” said the N.J. delegation will continue
Tree” to “stand together to fight for the
New Jersey is eligible to receive full funding that our state needs and
When: Sunday, March 22, between $6,153,600-$7,692,000 deserves.”
4-5:30 p.m. in SHSP funds and between
$15,240,000-$19,050,000 in UASI Sherrill also said, “After the re-
Where: The Jewish Center, funds, the lowest levels in seven cent attacks in our region, it is clear
Princeton fiscal years. The peak amounts oc- the federal government should be
curred in FY2018 when the state doing more, not less, to help New
Contact: No RSVP required. received $7,993,000 in SHSP and Jersey fight the growing tide of hate
For more information, contact $22,750,000 in UASI allocations. in our country.” ■
Myra Weiner at 908-928-2733
or [email protected] “We in New Jersey must get our [email protected]

to advocate for myself to advance For the Sophisticated Traveler:
in the corporate world,” she said.
Weiner is a member of The Jewish Biblical Archaeology in Israel
Center in Princeton.
Monday, June 1st, to Friday, June 12th, 2020
Her book intertwines three
themes — Jewish identity and spiri- with
tuality, development of a satisfying
career in science, and devotion to Professor Gary A. Rendsburg
family.
Rutgers University
Weiner, a toxicologist, structured &
the book using metaphors from her
professional career: She labeled Dr. Dudu Cohen
as “toxic” each challenging expe-
rience and her efforts to cope as Israeli Archeologist/Guide
“emotional and spiritual antidotes.”
Among them are Jewish rituals, Prof. Rendsburg Dr. Cohen
chanting, prayer, offering forgive-
ness, being in nature, and more. Jerusalem, Qumran, Masada,
Ein Gedi, Megiddo, Caesarea,
Another antidote for Weiner was Bet She’an, Gamla, Bet Alpha,
writing her memoir. “Writing this
book brought me both a cathartic Sephorris and more.
healing and the opportunity to share
in a way that I hope will help oth- jewish-explorations.com
ers,” she said. ■ 866-898-0037

For the Sophisticated Traveler:

Biblical Archaeology in Israel

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 202010Our Towns

From sacred text to Maxwell House to social justice

Vanessa Ochs examines ‘quirky,’ ‘beloved’ Haggadah

Michele Alperin Vanessa Ochs said she wanted to cago to meet with Stephen Durchslag, who has one of
focus on “a particular book that the largest personal collections of printed Haggadot.
NJJN Contributing Writer is incredibly beloved to individu- I looked at the collections at the Jewish Theological
als and to families.” Seminary, the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem,
A sked why she was the right person to write The Israel Museum, and at several beautiful kibbutz
“The Passover Haggadah: A Biography” for that is incredibly beloved to individuals and to families. Haggadot in the Cotsen Children’s Library at Princeton
the Princeton University Press series “Lives of It’s such a quirky book: Unlike a Torah, which University. In America and Israel I went into people’s
Great Religious Books,” Vanessa L. Ochs might simply houses and saw where and how they stored and dis-
have given her bona fides. An ordained rabbi, she is a has to be stored in a particular way, the Haggadah is played their Haggadot and heard the stories of the Hag-
professor in the Department of Religious Studies at usually wrapped with a bunch of other Haggadot that gadot they had.
the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and has a you’ve used at the table. People haven’t fully shaken
doctorate in the anthropology of religion from Drew out the crumbs, the wine hasn’t dried, and there are NJJN: How has the role of a Haggadah, which is pri-
University in Madison. She has also written, edited, or brisket stains; they stick it in a box with the Passover marily designed to educate each generation about the
contributed to numerous Judaism-centered books, in- mixing bowl and take it down into the basement or up Exodus story, changed?
cluding “Inventing Jewish Ritual,” “The Book of Jew- into the attic. Ochs: The Haggadah as an opportunity for pedagogy is
ish Sacred Practices,” and “The Jewish Dream Book.” usually a failed opportunity. The text is used by people
If you think about a Maxwell House Haggadah, it is who are not Jewish educators, by everyday people who
But she feels she was particularly suited to author a sacred book that has an advertisement for coffee on may not know the Exodus story themselves. It has also
“The Passover Haggadah,” she said, because, with her it. Or, last year, in cooperation with Amazon, Maxwell become more complicated these days as people who
background, “I was able to consider the Haggadah as House featured the “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” along come to our seder table are sons- and daughters-in-
a material object used in ritual and in innovated rituals, with a stained index card with Midge’s brisket recipe. law and best friends who are not Jewish. People are
as well as a historical text; I could study it as an object coming to see a rite that is not familiar to them, and as
as well as a literary, liturgical text.” This is a blurring between life and text, and I was hospitable as a Jewish family might be, it is part of a
curious to try to grasp how is it that one of our Jewish foreign experience.
Ochs will speak on “The Contemporary Passover sacred texts would be in 6,000 versions.
Haggadah” at The Jewish Center of Princeton on Thurs- NJJN: How are new Haggadot being designed to make
day evening, March 12. She talked about the topic and NJJN: How do homemade Haggadot fit in? the seder more meaningful to today’s participants?
her book with NJJN. Ochs: In the ’60s and ’70s, people were cobbling Ochs: [Some offer interpretations of the text that con-
together Haggadot for their families or for women’s vey] the human value of caring for the vulnerable;
NJJN: What does a “biography” of a Haggadah or interracial seders. When it was Passover time, you others are created to be more welcoming to interfaith
mean? Is it the biography of the book or the people would see other Jews in Kinko’s, copying seders. users, or focus on caring for the stranger, “because we
who use it? Now, with available online tools, anyone can make were strangers” — recognizing otherness and the need
Ochs: As an anthropologist who writes about material a Haggadah, drawing on all sorts of resources and to relieve the pain of otherness. Or [they focus on]
culture, I wanted to focus not just on how the words in themes. People are sending their friends and families social justice; people seize on a problem, like Israel-
the text came about; I wanted to do more than account texts they’ve made, and they are asked, in the name Palestine peace, the environment, or food justice, and
for the history of the generation of a text…. I wanted to of environmental concerns, to download the text and the issue is made analogous somehow to an enslave-
focus as well on what it means to have a particular book bring it on their phones and iPads. ment, and then the Haggadah demonstrates how one
can liberate the world or a segment of the population
Seasonal Menus Available NJJN: How did you conduct the research for this book? of that particular oppression and how you can leave
On and Off Premise Catering Ochs: It was the hardest thing I ever did, and I worked the seder and go out into the world and honor the com-
on it for 10 years. I felt like I had to learn the scholar- mitments you’ve made.
Private Events ship in every single phase: Bible, Mishna, midrash, and
Weddings & Showers Talmud. I had to learn about illuminated manuscripts Even in traditional families, more devices have been
and the first generation of print, just for starters. Once brought in…. More and more families are introducing
JOIN US FOR LAWRENCEVILLE I learned that information, I needed to ask myself — activities or props to address the fact that children and
RESTAURANT WEEK MARCH 22–MARCH 27! given my perspective as a scholar of ritual and material adults both have shorter attention spans and require
culture — what new insights could I bring to areas more stimulus. ■
CALL FOR DETAILS! where there has already been incredibly solid research?
If you go
LUNCH DINNER NJJN: What kinds of sources did you use to create this
TUE - FRI: 11:30 - 2:30 TUE - THUR: biography? Who: Rabbi Dr. Vanessa Ochs
Please note: Lunch 5:00 - 9:00 Ochs: I did a lot of textual research. I went to Chi-
is not served on What: “The Contemporary Passover
weekends. We are FRI: 5:00 - 10:00 Haggadah”
closed on Mondays. SAT: 5:00 - 10:00
SUN: 5:00 - 9:00 Where: The Jewish Center, Princeton

2637 Main Street, Lawrenceville, NJ When: Thursday, March 12, 7:30 p.m.
Acacianj.com • 609-895-9885
Cost: $20, free to Jewish Center members

Information: Visit thejewishcenter.org
or call 609-921-0100

Our Towns11 NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020

Survivor

Continued from page 4

“They see the emotion and feel connected with Ed Mosberg in hologram form with, center, Kori Street and Gail Rosenthal.
the survivor and their testimony.”
vite all students in New Jersey, from grades five-12, gram. She said, “The ultimate takeaway is why
As the population of Holocaust survivors dwin- to learn from the Mosberg hologram. do things like the [Holocaust] keep happening
dles, and fewer remain to tell their stories, the USC and what can my class do to prevent things like
Shoah Foundation, started by film producer Steven Ernest’s history teacher, Kelsey Shockley, this from happening.” ■
Spielberg, has developed 40 other interactive ho- sees an important value in the interactive pro-
lograms of Holocaust survivors to assure their life
stories remain alive in perpetuity. A Senior Community Providing Exceptional Care

“This is so important because it’s keeping Ho- As a not-for-profit senior community, we are committed to
locaust education alive and taking it to the next ensuring that personal, medical and spiritual needs are recognized
level,” said Rosenthal. “The worry of having no and met by providing a home where seniors live active, independent
eyewitness records of survivors is gone.” lives with the support of compassionate, professional caregivers.

Rosenthal said teachers whose classes are partic- Jewish traditions, culture, and Kosher fine dining
ipating in the Stockton test run are required to learn Gracious, private accommodations • Nurses on premises 24/7
about Mosberg in advance, prepare questions, and
then hold a post-event lesson on what they learned. Social, fitness and educational activities • Beauty salon
Housekeeping services • Transportation
The technology used is a work in progress, ac- and much more!
cording to the foundation. Basically, the system
uses common language and picks up on key words Call us to find out why Stein Assisted Living is the right fit
to return the most relevant answers. for you or your aging parent, 732-568-1155.

“We still have a few glitches to work out with 350 DeMott Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873 • (732)568-1155 • www.wilfcampus.org
some questions,” said Kori Street, the USC founda-
tion’s senior director of programs and operations, The Oscar and Ella Wilf Campus for Senior Living
who mentioned that some detailed queries about
Mosberg’s background and Holocaust experiences Stein Assisted Living • Wilentz Senior Residence • Stein Hospice • Wilf Transport • The Foundation
fail to generate a response. “It’s like Siri or Al-
exa, sometimes questions are not answered…. We
see what’s going on in the system and train it. The
more questions we add, the better the system gets
in terms of its accuracy and responding.”

To record the information for the hologram
Mosberg spent five days in Los Angeles. “We
asked in excess of 1,000 questions,” said Street.
“We asked general questions about the Holocaust,
his life before and about his life today. We also
asked hundreds of questions about his specific
experience.”

“What is being done with this will certainly fur-
ther Holocaust education,” said Karen Small, man-
aging director of Rutgers University’s Allen and
Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life.

A 2017 documentary, “116 Cameras,” was made
about interviewing survivor Eva Schloss for the
USC Shoah Foundation’s hologram project. Small,
who is also the founding director of the Rutgers
Jewish Film Festival, plans to include “116 Can-
dles” in the 2020 festival this fall.

“We can’t let the message of the Holocaust go
when all survivors are gone,” said Small. “This
program will assure the message stays alive.”

The Reverend Lawrence E. Frizzell, director and
associate professor in the Jewish-Christian Studies
Graduate Program at Seton Hall University, praised
Stockton’s Holocaust education program.

“Stockton has always been one of the leaders in
Holocaust education, and they have always done
an excellent job,” said Frizzell, who hosts a weekly
radio program “The Kinship of Catholics and Jews”
on WSOU (FM 89.5).

Frizzell said new technology could inform stu-
dents and the public at-large. “Technology is good
if we follow guidelines and use it for good.”

The Holocaust center’s goal is to eventually in-

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 202012 Editorial Letters to the Editor

What a Netanyahu Spell check Let Kobe fans mourn
victory means for
“‘Anti-Semitism’ by any other I am not a sports addict in any
the diaspora name” notes that in the general form. I doubt I would stutter or
media the term “anti-Semitism” stumble had I seen or met Kobe
GETTY IMAGES ity of American Jews continue to sup- remains “the preference” of Bryant (Garden State of Mind,
port the assumptions of the left-wing The New York Times (Edito- “Remembering all of Kobe,” Feb.
I ttook11monthsandthreeelections, agenda, especially in supporting a two- rial, Feb. 11). Given the New 11). However, I do know that a
but Israelis have finally handed a state solution. In addition, the majority of York paper ’s notorious history week after his untimely death in
candidate, as of press time, an ap- American Jews support the Democrats, with this issue, both long-term a tragic helicopter crash, out of
parent path to create a sustainable gov- while Netanyahu and perhaps most Is- and more recently with the of- respect for his accomplishments
ernment. That the candidate is Benjamin raelis consider Trump a true friend: That fensive cartoons it callously pub- on and off the court, and in def-
Netanyahu is a testament to the resiliency is a formula for distancing between the lished last year, I couldn’t help erence to his fans and mourning
of Israel’s longest-serving premier and a world’s two largest Jewish communities. but think of the irony of that family, I think (really, I know)
sign that a wary relationship between Is- The relationship is being further tested statement. that Gabe Kahn’s reporting and
rael and much of the diaspora is not going here at home by the surging candidacy of personal note on Bryant’s life
to become stronger anytime soon. Vermont’s Sen. Bernie Sanders. The vo- Sadly, many would deem should have been shelved.
ciferousness with which he criticizes Ne- that sentence true even with-
For the Jewish minority in this tanyahu and his tolerance for anti-Israel out the quotes around “anti- Because Kahn evokes King
country that supports annexing the surrogates is deeply alienating to Jewish Semitism.” David and God we should not al-
settlements and the Jordan Valley (as moderates, who may otherwise share his low this brutal personal reporting
envisioned under President Donald personal views on a secure Israel and a Joel Sklar to pass without a note. We have
Trump’s Middle East plan) and that in just resolution for the Palestinians. Rockaway all read in these pages how we
general sees a two-state solution as folly, should be better people and learn
the election results are very good news Some American Jews might have During my tenure as director of from our past, etc., but maybe
indeed. Over much of his current ten- been quietly pulling for Gantz if for no the Holocaust Council of Greater Kahn could give family and fans
ure, which began in 2009, Netanyahu other reason than to forestall the spectacle MetroWest NJ we did not use a moment to mourn and breathe.
preferred to govern as a pragmatist, leav- of Netanyahu beginning his latest term the hyphen and uppercase letters
ing the hardcore ideological language to as a defendant in a corruption trial, or (anti-Semitism) in deference to Jonathan Blank
various coalition partners and ministers. undermining the legal system through the highest academic standards of West Orange
This time, he ran as a leader intent on set- political machinations. Either possibility Holocaust scholarship. However,
tling the country’s borders and winning a is an unhappy prospect for advocates of despite my rational arguments, Gabe Kahn writes that “it feels
culture war against Israel’s “elites” in the the Middle East’s only real democracy. I was unable to convince any of dirty, even callous” to bring up
media, academia, and the courts. the editors to step into the here Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault ac-
The results of Israel’s latest election and now. NJJN was unrelenting cusations days after his death in
Clearly, this distinct vision proved aren’t much of a surprise, and only con- in its insistence that antisemitism a helicopter crash on Jan. 26. I
attractive to more Israeli voters than the firm trends that have been in place for be spelled the old way for any- wonder if Kahn received many
vague platform of Blue and White, the ri- years. For many, if not most, American thing we wanted published in its responses to the effect that he did
val party of Benny Gantz, which couldn’t Jews, supporting Israel means loving its newspaper. the right thing.
seem to articulate a message any clearer land and people even when disappointed
than “just not Bibi.” Netanyahu also capi- with its political leadership; focusing on As a former journalist for There were many reminders of
talized on his close relationship with an the everyday miracle of a robust democ- the The New York Times, I was the dark side of Kobe in the me-
ideologically aligned Trump, which bol- racy and thriving economy while fretting aware that every publication uses dia. We didn’t need Kahn’s voice
stered the argument that Netanyahu is the about the long-term prospects for peace. their own set of standards and I on this issue. Why did he feel the
“indispensable man” when it comes to the The election doesn’t change that — nor acceded to NJJN’s rules for ar- NEED to speak up about this, es-
world stage. does it offer much hope for a closer ticles, flyers, etc. I took it in the pecially since it clearly pained
alignment of the majorities here and in spirit of “Every Jew makes his him to do so?
Gantz was no leftist, and the dismal Israel. ■ own Shabbes.” That said, I made
showing of the Labor-Gesher-Meretz my own Shabbes for correspon- Neil Litt
alliance showed once again that Israel’s dence, articles, and academic pa-
left is on life support. Still, the major- pers I wrote. Send letters to the editor to edito-

Now that the editors are fully [email protected] without
aware that the reasoning behind
omitting the hyphen and up- attachments. Indicate “letter”
percase is not only sound but
actually necessary given the in the subject line of the e-mail.
unprecedented antisemitism we
face, it is time to listen to the Include your full name, place of
scholars. Or, if they prefer, use
the alternative phrase “Jew ha- residence, and daytime telephone
tred.”
number. If you are referring to an
Barbara Wind
Charleston, S.C. article in NJJN, please include the

Editor’s Note: NJJN’s style is to headline and edition and date of
write anti-Semitism; however,
we’ve left the writer’s preferred the paper in which it appeared.
spelling, antisemitism, in her
letter. 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.

Opinion13 NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020

The power of Purim to bind families

Roberta Kwall tury Persia by a villain strengthening intergenerational character of American culture.
known as Haman, and ties. In fact, grandparents often Still, surveys show that the major-
Special to NJJN ultimately Jewish vic- have the time and energy to devote ity of American Jews are proud to
tory. Four major mitz- to organizing these activities and be Jewish and have a strong Jew-
My earliest vot, commandments, will relish the ability to help plan ish identity. Although this identity
Jewish mem- are associated with these events. is not necessarily based on observ-
ory is go- Purim: hearing the ing Jewish law, many Jews still
ing to synagogue on Megillah; participat- Additionally, the obligation to care about what they perceive as
Purim with my mom, ing in the Purim seu- give tzedakah on Purim provides the more cultural aspects of Jew-
along with my dearest dah, a special meal; families with ready-made oppor- ish tradition, and desire to see this
childhood friend Sue preparing Purim gift tunities to develop unique, sea- tradition perpetuated.
and her mother. I was baskets for friends sonally based family traditions
probably around 4 at and family known as focused on providing assistance Purim can be a powerful in-
the time and still viv- mishloach manot; and to those who are less fortunate. gredient in a successful recipe for
idly recall being in the giving tzedakah, money to the These traditions can include keeping Jewish tradition thriving
synagogue and eating strawberry poor. hands-on activities such as volun- among the majority of American
ice cream. Although Jewish law Listening to the Megillah typi- teering in a local soup kitchen or Jews. ■
mandates hearing every word of cally requires attending a syna- packing and delivering groceries
the Megillah, the biblical Book gogue service, which can be a hard through locally sponsored orga- Roberta Rosenthal Kwall is the
of Esther that provides the basis sell for many families, especially nizational programs. All of these
for Purim, the typical synagogue those who are unaffiliated. But as Purim traditions provide won- Raymond P. Niro Professor at De-
atmosphere on Purim resembles my childhood memory illustrates, derful avenues for joy, memory
more of a carnival than a prayer Purim actually is one of the best making, and family bonding in a Paul University College of Law. She
service. I did not understand why times to try a synagogue experi- context that emphasizes Jewish
people were making so much clat- ence. The evening service at the tradition. is the author of “Remix Judaism:
ter with the little noisemakers that start of the holiday is super short,
were handed to us, but I had a lot and the bulk of the time is spent Transmitting any religious tra- Preserving Tradition in Diverse
of fun joining in, and acting like a reading the Megillah. This en- dition is no easy task these days
typical kid. vironment is ideal for squirmy, given the increasingly secular World” (Rowman & Littlefield,
noisy children. Plus, children and
Purim’s laws and customs have even adults wear costumes to the 2020), “The Myth of the Cultural
a unique richness that can provide Megillah reading, a custom that
all Jews with ways to deepen their adds yet another fun dimension to Jew” (Oxford University Press),
connection to Jewish tradition Purim’s celebration. Many syn-
and transmit this tradition to the agogues also serve a traditional and “The Soul of Creativity” (Stan-
next generation. For Jews seek- seudah following the evening Me-
ing a path for developing a trans- gillah service, but even those con- ford University Press).
missible Jewish tradition outside gregations that do not have a full
of strict observance of halacha, meal provide sweets such as the For Those Who Value Community
Jewish law, Purim provides some holiday’s signature treat, haman-
especially significant opportu- taschen. From the standpoint of The preferred career resource
nities for tapping into authentic creating positive family memories for the Jewish community.
tradition that can be infused with based around a synagogue service,
personal meaning. When these it really doesn’t get much better [email protected] | 973-739-8113
traditions are observed consis- than this.
tently through the years, they will But even without attending
become a familiar and a memo- synagogue, Purim provides spe-
rable part of the fabric of Jew- cial opportunities to bolster a
ish family life. Children growing family’s Jewish identity through
up with exposure to these tradi- observance of authentic tradition.
tions will likely want to recreate A celebratory family meal at home
these experiences for their own in which parents recount a child-
families. friendly version of the Purim
story, sing songs, and eat yummy
Sadly, despite being a perfect foods will always be a hit. Fami-
model for family fun, many Amer- lies also can mark the holiday by
ican Jews do not celebrate Purim dedicating special family time to
or even know when it occurs. In shopping for, assembling, and de-
cultural terms, Purim is dwarfed livering the mishloach manot, not
by Chanukah, the other child-ori- to mention baking hamantaschen.
ented holiday in the Jewish calen- Grandparents and other special ex-
dar. The element of joy — known tended family members also can
in Hebrew as simcha — is the hall- be included in these preparations,
mark of Purim, given the biblical
narrative’s focus on threatened de-
struction of the Jews in fifth-cen-

14 Opinion
NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
Jordan: the U.S. ‘ally’ that protects
killers of Americans

Who shelters a murderer and then gives her a TV show?

Stephen M. Flatow for giving financial as- Czech Republic and taken into cus- most headline-grabbing issue around
sistance to Al-Nusra tody in November 2018.” or the most exciting for fund-raising
NJJN Contributing — the Syrian affiliate purposes. But seeking justice is an
Writer of Al-Qaeda — and Now compare Jordan’s extradi- obligation, not a choice.
helping his brother and tion of Shehadeh with its refusal to
At first glance, sister-in-law join that extradite another Palestinian-Arab I am equally troubled by those or-
you might not terrorist group. terrorist. ganizations that feign interest in the
think there was issue, but then bury it. A few months
anything very signifi- But the most impor- On Aug. 9, 2001, terrorists ago, a Jewish think tank, the Wash-
cant about the recent tant part of the story was bombed the Sbarro pizzeria in down- ington Institute for Near East Policy,
trial of a little-known not the trial, the verdict, town Jerusalem. Fifteen people were held a gala dinner to honor King
Muslim imam in the nor the sentencing. It killed and 130 wounded. Three of the Abdullah. The Roth family protested
Czech Republic. was how Shehadeh was fatalities were American citizens, in- that American Jews should not be
captured. Way down near the end cluding 15-year-old Malki Roth. One honoring a king who shelters a mur-
Samer Shehadeh, a Palestinian of the news accounts of the case we of the perpetrators, Ahlam Tamimi, derer of American Jews.
Arab who is serving as a Muslim learned: “Shehadeh was arrested in lives in Jordan and used to have her
religious leader in Prague, was sen- Jordan before being flown back to the own TV show. The United States has The institute’s executive director,
tenced last week to 10 years in prison requested her extradition. Jordan’s Robert Satloff, responded by heap-
King Abdullah has refused. ing praise on the king and proclaim-
ing how “very proud” he was to be
Whenever Malki’s parents have honoring the Jordanian dictator. As
raised this issue with State Depart- for Abdullah’s sheltering of mass-
ment officials or leaders of certain murderer Tamimi, Satloff said he
Jewish organizations, they have been has “great sympathy,” but it can only
told that Abdullah can’t extradite any be one item “on a lengthy agenda.”
Palestinian-Arab terrorists because Satloff claimed it is “an important
the population of Jordan consists item,” but I have not seen anything
mostly of Palestinian Arabs, and they in the three months since that dinner
will overthrow him if he surrenders to demonstrate that the Washington
any terrorists. Institute has done anything concrete
about it.
“And, after all,” these apologists
tell the grieving parents, “if Abdullah The Jordanian government is
is overthrown, Jordan could become currently in the midst of receiving
radicalized and that would be bad for a five-year, $6.375 billion aid pack-
Israel, and you wouldn’t want to hurt age from the United States. We are
Israel, would you?” constantly told that the aid is justi-
fied because Jordan is America’s
Now we see that such excuses are “ally.” What kind of “ally” shelters a
not only insulting and patronizing, murderer of Americans — and then
they are also patently disingenuous. gives her a television show? The
The Shehadeh case clearly dem- Washington Institute for Near East
onstrates that Abdullah is perfectly Policy, and other Jewish and Zionist
capable of extraditing a Palestinian- organizations, should be demanding
Arab terrorist without suffering any that the Trump administration make
repercussions. that aid conditional on the extradi-
tion of Tamimi.
Abdullah’s decision to harbor
Tamimi, a woman who brags about Those who harbor killers of Amer-
her role in the murders, is a matter of icans do not deserve American tax-
choice. He has no problem extraditing payers’ dollars. Those who shelter
Palestinian-Arab terrorists — it just murderers of American Jews do not
depends on which ones. A Palestinian deserve to be praised and defended
Arab involved with Syrian terrorists by American-Jewish organizations. ■
in the Czech Republic is extraditable.
A Palestinian-Arab terrorist who mur- Stephen M. Flatow, an attorney in New
ders Jews, including U.S. citizens,
must be shielded from extradition. Jersey, is the father of Alisa Flatow,

I am deeply disappointed at the si- who was murdered in an Iranian-
lence of most American-Jewish and
Zionist organizations on this issue, sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack
including some groups that were once
outspoken on the plight of American in 1995. He is the author of “A Father’s
victims of Palestinian-Arab terror-
ism. I realize that it may not be the Story: My Fight for Justice Against

Iranian Terrorism,” now available on

Kindle.

Spring Arts
PREVIEW

The new
season in
theater,
film, music,
the visual
arts, and

books
Edited by
Shira Vickar-Fox
NJJN Managing Editor

Listings compiled by
Elizabeth Zakaim

16

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020 Concert to explore
‘Exile’ music in early
modern Europe
Jewish and non-Jewish musicians
learned from each other

A concert at Rutgers Uni- space is misleading and a misunder- Rebecca Cypess, a professor at Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts,
versity will provide standing of what was going on,” said said there was a lot of musical integration between non-Jews and Jews in
more than a musical in- music historian Rebecca Cypess, a 16th- and 17th-century Italy.
terlude; the program will explore professor of musicology and associ-
ate director of the Music Department out, and non-Jews would go in, and aspora,” referencing the Jews’ exile
Michele Alperin at Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of there was a lot of integration.” from Israel and then the continual
the Arts. wandering to many other regions.
NJJN Contributing Writer The concert will explore Jewish “Jews would be settling in and inte-
Speaking to NJJN in her office on musical culture in early modern Eu- grated into their society,” said Mal-
history through period compositions Jan. 31, Cypess said that although rope, spotlighting its encounters with amut, “and then exiled from that place
and, in the process, upend some some scholars have assumed that other traditions. Incantare, a Boston- where they had made their home.”
long-held assumptions about Jew- ghettoized Jews lived separately based period-instrument ensemble,
ish ghettos in early modern Europe. from non-Jews, new evidence sug- will perform along with Cypess, who Cypess said the historic wandering
gests that Jews did mix with their is also a historical harpsichordist and meant that in terms of cultural expres-
“Exile: Music of the Early-Mod- neighbors — in varying degrees. “In fortepianist. sion, “there is a cross-fertilization and
ern Jewish Diaspora” will take place 16th-century Italian cities, ghettos a rich and robust cultural influence
Wednesday evening, March 25, at the were usually at the center of a city, The title of the concert was chosen that works both ways….”
Mason Gross Performing Arts Center and the gates were open during day- to reflect what trombonist and teach-
in New Brunswick. light hours,” she said. “Jews would go ing artist Liza Malamut, a cofounder The performers will show that
of Incantare, said was a “double di-
“The idea of the ghetto as a closed Continued on page 18

The Incantare ensemble will perform music of the early- modern Jewish If you go
diaspora at Rutgers University on Wednesday, March 25.
What: “Exile: Music of the Early-Modern
Jewish Diaspora,” a concert with commentary
When: Wednesday, March 25, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Robert E. Mortenson Hall, Mason Gross
Performing Arts Center, New Brunswick
Cost: Free, cosponsored by Rutgers University’s Allen and
Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life
Contact: Call 848-932-7511 or visit masongross.rutgers.
edu/event-list/music

The program will also be presented on Thursday, March 26,
at 8 p.m. at the Center for Jewish History in New York City.

17

Concerts to celebrate Israel, NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
and ‘soul’ of synagogue

CONGREGATION AGU- Alan Silverstein. Bea and Nat Taubenfeld will present a program, also spon-
DATH Israel (CAI) in Two years ago, when CAI pre- sored by the Taubenfelds, featuring
Caldwell will host two con- pearing Tuesday evening, April 28. The Shuk, an acclaimed ensemble of
certs this spring that will do more than sented the popular a cappella group Originally from Yeshiva University, musicians and educators performing
provide lively evenings of musical The Maccabeats at a community- the 10-man ensemble’s repertoire is Jewish fusion, Israeli, traditional, pro-
entertainment; they will also honor wide Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration, at once Jewish in theme and univer- gressive, and world music. ✿
the memory of Nat Taubenfeld, the Taubenfeld was so moved by the en- sal in message.
beloved “soul” of the congregation. thusiastic response of the audience
that he pledged, along with his wife, And on Wednesday, June 10, CAI
Taubenfeld was a onetime CAI Bea, to sponsor an annual concert
president and gabbai for over six de- marking the anniversary of Israel’s
cades. He was also the “candy man,” independence.
dispensing lollipops to delighted kids
at services; a frequent commentator Last year’s event — featuring
on the Shabbat sermon who delivered Six13, the New York-based a cap-
his observations in a booming voice pella band — was also a tribute to
colored by his Old World accent; and the Taubenfelds, who were honored,
a generous purveyor of acts of loving- said Silverstein, “for their leadership,
kindness to untold recipients of his friendship, and vision,” particularly
largesse. “Nat’s vision for these concerts to en-
gage all ages in the celebration of our
After coming to Caldwell in the pride in being Jewish.”
early ’50s, Taubenfeld, a Holocaust
survivor, “was passionately deter- This year’s Yom Ha’Atzmaut
mined to rebuild his family life and event — the first without Tauben-
the life of his synagogue and larger feld, who died last erev Rosh HaSha-
Jewish community,” said CAI’s Rabbi nah at the age of 91 — will spotlight
the a cappella group Y-Studs, ap-

cing the Jews’ exile ArtsR e d e f i n i n g a g R e a t expeRience
then the continual
any other regions. SBtReepthenSindependent voiceS Juilliard @ SOPAC
settling in and inte- ThU, MAY 14
society,” said Mal- AT 7:30PM MACkENziE MElEMEd,
xiled from that place PiANO
made their home.” pulitzer prize-winning
e historic wandering New York Times SUN, MAR 15 AT 3PM
ms of cultural expres- columnist and former
oss-fertilization and editor-in-chief of the Bach, Beethoven, Bartok and more.
t cultural influence Jerusalem Post.
ways….” kT TUNSTAll
ers will show that
FRi, MAR 27 AT 8PM
david BRoza
Singer-songwriter of
and tRio havana “Suddenly I See” fame.

SAT, MAR 21 AT 8PM dAMiEN ESCOBAR

international multi-platinum israeli musician david Broza is joined “Elements of love Tour”
by cuban “trio havana” (Jorge Bringas, manuel alejandro carro,
yuniel Jiminez) and special guest flute virtuoso itai Kris. SUN, MAR 29 AT 7:30PM

Billboard chart-topping violinist
crossing classical with pop.

ThE MOTh MAiNSTAgE

SAT, MAY 16 AT 7:30PM

The story-telling podcast at the
top of the charts!

Buy Tickets Today! Box office (973) 313-2787 | SOPACnow.org

South oRange Juilliard @ SOPAC is supported in part by Samuel Convissor. Independent Voices is sponsored by the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.
peRfoRming aRtS centeR SEASON
one Sopac Way
South oRange, nJ 07079 SPONSOR

18

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020 ‘Exile’ practicing Christians, Cypess said. the ducal court, the concert will in- in the exact form of the madrigal; it is
“It is impossible to know the pre- clude instrumental pieces and Italian clearly meant to be sung to that tune,
Continued from page 16 madrigals by the composer. The pro- which has four parts,” Malamut said.
cise ways in which Jews influenced gram will also feature excerpts from
“Jews absorbed elements of musical non-Jews and vice versa.” However, Rossi’s “Hashirim Asher Lishlomo” And the madrigal, Cypess added,
culture in Italy and across Europe and she said — citing such cases as Italian- (the title includes a play on the com- “comes out of the majority culture; it
influenced non-Jewish musical prac- Jewish violinist and composer Sal- poser’s first name — Solomon is is popular music.”
tices and composition and also instru- amone Rossi (ca. 1570-1630); his sister, Shlomo in Hebrew — and the bibli-
ment building.” known as Madama Europa, who may cal “Song of Songs,” also known as In the concert they will perform
have been the first professional Jewish “Song of Solomon”), including fa- the original music of Vecchi’s mad-
The ideas behind the concert are woman opera singer; composer Mutio miliar texts like Ein Kelokenu and rigal, but will use Modena’s lyrics
developed in a forthcoming book, Effrem; and the Bassanos, a large fam- settings of some Psalms texts. instead of the original Italian poetry.
“Music and Jewish Culture in Early ily of musicians — these “and many “That’s what Modena indicated that
Modern Italy,” coedited by Cypess, others point to Jews, active involvement In a preface that echoes some dis- performers could/should do with his
Malamut, and Lynette Bowring. in musical activities of the wider Italian agreements today over the use of music poem,” Cypess wrote.
and European communities.” in synagogues, Rabbi Leon of Modena,
By juxtaposing “music by Jews, mu- a cantor, scholar, and writer in 16th- Malamut said Incantare con-
sic that Jews adapted and performed, One particularly striking example 17th-century Venice, defends Rossi’s centrates on performing works by
and music by non-Jews who worked of cultural sharing is evident in the musical choices in “Hashirim.” Cypess composers who don’t get enough ex-
with Jewish music, it will be interest- work of Rossi, who published the said, “Some people in the Jewish com- posure, including those of members
ing to see how much overlap there is in only Hebrew polyphonic music for munity thought that this went against of marginal populations — like the
those populations of people,” Malamut multiple voices from that period. the Talmudic prohibition on music- Jews in that time period. “We’ve also
said. “We can see non-Jews influenced Rossi served as court musician in the making as a sign of mourning for the done programs on composers who
by Jews and vice versa.” Gonzaga court in Mantua, where he Temple. Modena argued that music maybe became refugees in war … and
would have interacted profession- had always been a component of Jew- disappeared into obscurity,” she said.
When Jews were expelled from ally with non-Jewish composers like ish culture and that it aided in the praise
Spain, for instance, many migrated to Claudio Monteverdi. of God and inspiring Jews to prayer.” The difference between musicians
Italy, and Jewish instrument builders who are successful and those who van-
brought with them Spanish traditions “The Gonzagas would throw huge Modena himself, in the manuscript ish, she added, often has more to do with
that they fused with the Italian prac- theatrical events for which they would of one poem, indicates that it is to be funding and opportunity than talent.
tices in their new home. Many impor- hire both Jewish and non-Jewish mu- sung to the tune of “Tra verdi campi,”
tant violin and lute builders were either sicians to compose music, perform, a secular madrigal by composer Ora- “We find this really relevant today
Jews or Jews who had converted to and oversee theatrical activities,” zio Vecchi. because there is so much displace-
Christianity — either as crypto-Jews Malamut said. ment and moving around and so much
(secretly maintaining their faith) or “He specifically writes the poem art in danger of being lost, and we
To reflect Rossi’s involvement in want to make sure we preserve the art
and that people get to hear it.” ✿

PRINCETON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The Y-Studs When: Wednesday, June
10, 8 p.m..
ROSSEN MILANOV, MUSIC DIRECTOR If you go

Order Your Who: The Y-Studs Tickets: $20, $10 for CAI
Tickets Today! What: Annual Yom congregants, free for 18
Ha’Atzmaut concert and under; $25 at the door
STEFAN JACKIW for all
Plays MENDELSSOHN When: Tuesday, April 28,
8 p.m. Information:
Saturday March 21 8pm Sunday March 22 4pm Contact 973-226-3600
Tickets: $15, $10 for CAI or visit agudath.org
Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University congregants, free for 18
and under; $20 at the door
Rossen Milanov, conductor Stefan Jackiw, violin for all
Julian GRANT / 五代同堂 (Five Generations, One House) US PREMIERE
✿✿❀✿ ✿❀✿
MENDELSSOHN / Violin Concerto in E Minor
BEETHOVEN / Symphony No. 2 Who: The Shuk: Jewish
Roots, World Music
TICKETS princetonsymphony.org 609 / 497-0020
What: Spring concert The Shuk
Programs, artists, dates, and times subject to change
Made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the
Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

19

The Music List The Hester Street Troupe. The group NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
will perform songs from Yiddish
Sonia Kurland Memorial Purim Con- vaudeville and Second Avenue the-
cert: Voce Nova. Voce Nova is a mu- ater, as well as classic and contempo-
sical experience that fuses opera with rary Jewish melodies. March 27, April
contemporary and classic pop music. 24, and June 5, 7:30 p.m. Temple Har
March 12, 12:30 p.m. $15; $8 mem- Shalom, Warren, templeharshalom.
bers. JCC MetroWest, West Orange, org, 732-356-8777
jccmetrowest.org, 973-530-3474
“Bruce Off Broadway.” Jim Boggia’s
Alan Goodis. The musician and sing- loving tribute to the Bruce Springs-
er will perform a concert for families teen songbook performed on ukulele.
with young children. March 13, 5:30 March 28, 8 p.m. $25. Beer and wine
p.m., Shabbat services follow at 7:15. available for purchase. JCC of Central
Temple B’nai Or, Morristown, templeb- New Jersey, Scotch Plains, jccnj.org,
naior.org, 973-539-4539 908-889-8800, ext. 253

Deborah Sacks Mintz. Mintz, a prayer “Decades of Jewish Divas.” Lisa Sher-
leader, songwriter, and teacher, will man and Bob Egan will perform works
lead an afternoon of inspiring Jewish by female songwriters and entertainers
music. March 15, 2-3:45 p.m. Free; such as Barbra Streisand, Carole King,
$10 suggested donation. Kehilat Ha- and more. March 29, 2 p.m. Free; pre-
nahar, The Little Shul by the River, registration requested. Jewish Com-
New Hope, Pa., kehilathanahar.org, munity Center of Middlesex County,
215-862-1912 Edison, jccmc.org, 732-494-3232

Handel Festival Orchestra Con-
cert. An all-Mozart program featuring
violinist and concertmaster Jieming
Tang, playing Violin Concerto No. 4
and Symphony No. 36 (“Linz”). March
31, 5:30-10 p.m. $55, $50 members.
Transportation provided. JCC of Cen-
tral New Jersey, Scotch Plains, jccnj.
org, 908-889-8800, ext. 260

Alexander MacDonald “Mostly Music.” Musicians will be
performing selections from Bach, Mo-
“Exploring From Gottschalk to zart, Mendelssohn, and Herman. April
Gershwin.” Trace the important 5, 3:30 p.m. $40; free for students.
role Jewish composers played in the Temple Emanu-El, Westfield, mostly-
history of American music. The show music.org, 908-789-8578
features pianist Alex Pryrodny, mez-
zo-soprano Leslie Valentine, and tap “An Evening with Itzhak Perlman.”
dancer Alexander MacDonald. March This musical celebration will honor the
15, 2:30 p.m. Light refreshments 75th birthday of the reigning virtuoso
served. $20. Temple B’nai Abraham, of the violin and will feature a solo
Livingston, tbanj.org, 973-994-2290 recital with Perlman and his longtime
pianist Rohan De Silva. April 25, 8 p.m.
State Theatre New Jersey, New Bruns-
wick, stnj.org, 732-246-7469

“Annelies.” The words of Anne Frank’s “A Lecture in Song.” Fred Miller will pres-
diary set to music for chorus, soprano, ent a program about composers Ham-
and chamber ensemble. March 15, 4 merstein and Sondheim, both Bucks
p.m. Princeton Pro Musica, Princeton, County natives. April 26, 2-4 p.m. $20.
princetonpromusica.org, 609-683-5122 Adath Israel Congregation, Lawrence-
ville, adathisraelnj.org, 609-896-4977
David Broza & Trio Havana. Israeli
musician and humanitarian David “A World of Jewish Music Plus Ameri-
Broza, with special guest Itai Kriss, can Favorites.” This performance will
perform hit songs. March 21, 8 p.m. celebrate a diverse array of music from
$30-$48. South Orange Performing communities in Uganda, Yemen, Eastern
Arts Center, South Orange, sopacnow. Europe, Spain, and more. April 26, 3 p.m.
org, 973-313-2787 Free; pre-registration requested. Jewish
Community Center of Middlesex County,
“Broadway Revue.” Synagogue mem- Edison, jccmc.org, 732-494-3232
bers perform solos, duets, and ensem-
ble pieces from some of Broadway’s Lisa Lipkin. The songstress plays pia-
most popular shows. March 21, 8:30 no and sings. May 8, 7 p.m. Free. Bring
p.m. $15, $10 children 5-12, children a potluck vegetarian dinner. RSVP to
under 4 free. East Brunswick Jewish offi[email protected]. Congregation Kol
Center, East Brunswick, ebjc.org, 732- Emet, Yardley, kolemet.org, 215-493-
257-7070, ext. 5 8522, ext. 113

20

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020 Celebrating 25 years Homegr
of Israeli music broadcast aims to ‘
from Central Jersey complex

Josh Shron and wife Mairov Dubrovsky have big way, I’m glad Mairov and I are still Rachel Harrison G
co-hosted Israel Hour Radio — 60 minutes involved.” ‘mosaic of identit
of Israeli folk and rock music — since 1994
The show airs live on 88.7 FM at Abby Meth Ka

when they were both students at Rutgers University. 11 a.m. on Sundays, and listeners can NJJN Editorial Adv

Little did they know when they first volunteered to also tune in at myisraelimusic.com or Top: East Brunswick’s Josh Shron, at left, and wife
Mairov Dubrovsky have hosted Israel Hour Radio
host the Sunday morning radio Jed Weisberger subscribe to the Israel since 1994. PHOTO COURTESY JOSH SHRON
show that aired on the school’s Hour Radio podcast.

FM station, WRSU, that they NJJN Staff Writer “What has happened

would end up committed to each in radio and how people

other, and to 25 years of the program. can listen is exciting,” said Shron. “We

“It was a humble beginning,” said Shron, of East can be heard all over the world at any

Brunswick, who is also the founder and president of time a listener wants … We have pod-

Stampless Marketing, an email marketing agency. casts. We’re on apps like TuneIn. We

Dubrovsky is a realtor at the Leora Dubrovsky Re- hear from listeners in Europe, in Israel.”

alty Group in Howell. “The show had run since In addition to listeners now being able

1976, and had some listeners in Central Jersey, to access the program through modern technology, the

but that was it. I really got interested in both radio WRSU studios were renovated in 2019 and upgraded

and Israeli music when I was at Rutgers and, in a to state-of-the-art production facilities. “It’s not just

AUGUST WILSON’S “Surprising, the old board with dials anymore,” Shron said.
suspenseful, and The show’s mission is to introduce listeners to
DIRECTED BY BRANDON J. DIRDEN crowd-rousing.”
the joy and complexities of Israeli music. “You
Photo by and of the August Wilson House. — The New York Times don’t have to be fluent in Hebrew to become an
Israeli music fan,” Shron said. “You just need to
FEB 29 – close your eyes, soak in the sounds, and imagine
MAR 22 you’re sitting in a café in Tel Aviv. Next thing you
know, you’ll be hooked.”
TICKETS AT 732.345.1400
TWORIVERTHEATER.ORG On the show’s website Shron blogs about Is-
21 BRIDGE AVENUE, rael’s top artists and how they affect the mood of
RED BANK the country. For instance, he praised “Shevet Achim
Ve’achayot,” Israel’s top song of 2019, for “uniting
the country in song on the eve of its 71st birthday.”

Shron told NJJN, “Perhaps what I enjoy the
most about present Israeli music is how it gives
you the feeling of being there and identifying with
the nation of Israel and the blending of secular and
religious.”

In celebration of 25 years on the air, the couple,
who have five children, is planning “My Israeli
Music Experience” — a musical tour of Israel to
take place Aug. 4-14. The itinerary includes at-
tending live concerts; meeting with celebrities in
the Israeli music world, such as the Shalva Band
and Hadar Marks, a DJ at Israel’s music radio sta-
tion Galgalatz; and recording a live broadcast of
Israel Hour Radio. Information on the tour may be
obtained at myisraelimusic.com/tour.

“Summer is an amazing time for concerts in
Israel,” Shron said. “You sit under the stars, singing
at the top of your lungs with thousands of Israelis.
It’s magic.” ✿

[email protected]

21

Homegrown NJ film NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
aims to ‘celebrate
complexities of people’

Rachel Harrison Gordon explores
‘mosaic of identities’ in first film

A mong the works being
screened as part of the
New Jersey Jewish Film
Festival’s first-ever Afternoon of

Abby Meth Kanter

NJJN Editorial Adviser

Shorts on Sunday, March 22, is a
true homegrown offering. “Broken
Bird” is a narrative about Birdie, a
biracial suburban Jersey girl, and
, at left, and wife her struggles with her dual identi-
rael Hour Radio ties as she prepares to become bat
mitzvah. The filmmaker, Rachel
Harrison Gordon, set and shot virtu-
ally all of her semi-autobiographical
first film on her home turf, includ-
ing at Oheb Shalom Congregation
in South Orange.

Filmmaker Rachel Harrison Gor-
don: Her film explores “ideas
of race expectations and self-

discovery.” At the time of her bat
mitzvah, in 2002, top right: Rachel

Harrison Gordon stands with
her mother at the bimah in Oheb
Shalom Congregation in South Or-
ange. Right: “Birdie” prepares for
her bat mitzvah at Oheb Shalom,

from “Broken Bird.”

Now living in Brooklyn, Gor- If you go continues “to be a supporter of my
don grew up in Millburn with her passions, including this relatively
mother, who still lives there, and What: “Broken Bird,” part of New Jersey Jewish Film new one of filmmaking.”
was the third generation of her Festival’s Afternoon of Shorts
family to belong to Oheb Shalom, When: Sunday, March 22, 1:30 p.m. Gordon attended the University of
where she became bat mitzvah in Where: JCC MetroWest, West Orange Pennsylvania, where she earned her
2002. Gordon is biracial — her fa- Tickets: $12 B.S.E. in mechanical engineering in
ther is African-American — and, Information: jccmetrowest.org/njjff 2012 and where she met Alon Gur,
she said in an emailed conversation who is originally from Israel and
with NJJN, the synagogue was “a Filmmaker Rachel Harrison Gordon will address whom she married in 2018. Her re-
place where I didn’t always feel the audience following the Afternoon of Shorts screenings. sume is teeming with achievements
comfortable”; she credits “Cantor in the field of data analytics garnered
Riki” — Erica Lippitz — as her through journalism and government
“biggest ally,” providing “guidance service, including an award-winning
and love” as Gordon made her way stint as manager of Mobile Analyt-
through her studies, her bat mitz- ics at The New York Times and as a
vah, and beyond and who, she said, Presidential Innovation Fellow under
the Obama administration, where she
explored the experiences of veterans

22

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020 The Film List

Continued from previous page “#AnneFrank. Parallel Stories.” This documentary — nar-
rated by Helen Mirren — retells the story of Anne Frank’s

life via her diary and through the lives of five women who

upon their return to civilian life. as young girls were also deported to concentration camps
It was her husband, said Gordon, but survived. March 12, 7:30 p.m. $23. Pollak Theatre, West
Long Branch, monmouth.edu, 732-263-6889
“who convinced me to see myself

as an artist … and kept encouraging “In Our Own Hands — The Hidden Story of the Jewish
me to put myself in places where I Brigade in World War II.” Veterans of the Jewish Brigade,
could learn a new part of myself. a regiment of the British Army, describe their experiences
While I was good at learning about as young soldiers during the war. April 21, 1:30 p.m. Free.

people and systems through quan- Snacks will be provided. Jewish Community Center of Mid-

titative data, I realized I was most dlesex County, Edison, jccmc.org, 732-494-3232

interested in the stories I heard be-

tween those information points.”

Gordon is now a dual M.B.A./

M.F.A. candidate at New York Uni-

versity’s Stern School of Business

and Tisch School of the Arts. She

has also worked as a producer of

student films and in post-production

on documentaries.

With “Broken Bird,” she said, she

aimed to explore “ideas of race expec- “Ben-Gurion, Epilogue.” Former Israeli Prime Minister Da-

tations and self-discovery, including “Ben-Gurion, Epilogue” vid Ben-Gurion’s introspective soul-searching at age 82 is
the distance we can feel to our heritage the focus of this film, and his voice provides a surprising
and family.” She is grateful to both her vision for today’s crucial decisions and the future of Israel.
mother, Terri Harrison, and father, An- April 29, 12:30 p.m. Free. JCC MetroWest, West Orange,
thony Gordon, “for letting me incorpo- jccmetrowest.org, 973-530-3474

rate aspects of memories into this film.

It was important to try to depict both lationship we have now.”

Jewish Film Festival ofBirdie’s love for her mom and curios- Regarding portrayals of black
ity about the other components of the Jews, Gordon said it seems to her Central NJ kicks off April 13
mosaic that make up her identity.” they are “tokenized and fetishized
as something strange or for com- THE 15TH ANNUAL Jewish Film Festival of Central NJ will screen
One important component is edy.” In her personal interactions, five films from Monday, April 13-Monday, May 18.
Birdie’s relationship with her father. she said, she has “learned to re-in- “Each season it’s rewarding and challenging to choose five
As for Gordon’s own father, she terpret this ‘strangeness’ as unique-
said they weren’t always close, “but

the small moments — similar to the ness,” leading to a key lesson of the films that demonstrate the excellent breadth of choices out there,” said Randi

day Birdie spends with her father film: “to embrace each part of your Zucker, director of arts, culture and Jewish programming at the JCC of Cen-

— over the course of my early life, identity, as well as the beautiful tral New Jersey in Scotch Plains. “It’s also important to us that we choose
grew into the beautiful and deep re- whole the parts create.” ✿
films that will provide an opportunity among our diverse audience for deep

discussion and thought.”

The spring festival opens with

“Aulcie,” a documentary about Aulcie

Perry, an athlete who put Israeli bas-

ketball on the map. From basketball

courts in Harlem to playing on Maccabi

M A R 6 , 7, 8 Tel Aviv ’76, Perry helped Israel win
its first European Championship. But
NEW JERSEY CONVENTION & EXPO CTR “The Song of Names” fame led to a dramatic downfall, then
ultimate redemption for this superstar.
EDISON, NEW JERSEY
The closing film, “The Crossing,”
I 95 EXIT 10 or RT 287 TO 514W “RARITAN CTR” will be screened on Monday, May 18. “The Crossing” is about the confidence,
uncompromising loyalty, and great courage to be found among children.
3 DAYS ONLY!
Other films include “Stand-

Shop 250+ Artists ing Up, Falling Down,” star-
ring Billy Crystal and Ben
Art, Fashion, Decor, Live Art Demos, Kids’ Show & More! Schwartz; “The Song of
Names”; and the documentary

Fri & Sat 10-6, Sun 10-5 “Latter Day Jew.”
All films screen at 7:30

BUY TICKETS! p.m. at AMC Theater in Moun-
tainside. Tickets available for
w w w. S u g a r l o a f C r a f t s . c o m purchase at the JCC of Central

$8 ONLINE $10 AT DOOR KIDS 12 & UNDER FREE New Jersey in Scotch Plains or “Standing Up, Falling Down”
at jccnj.org. ✿

23

‘Wiesenthal’ NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020

Play recounts Nazi hunter’s dedication to justice

In the play, Simon Wiesenthal The fact that it speaks to him as a Jew Christopher Gibbs of Fanwood plays Nazi
walks out of his office for the with a personal connection to survivors hunter Simon Wiesenthal. MARK LIEBERT
last time. The final days of his made “Wiesenthal” a play that he said
career are reimagined through the con- he was eager to direct.
ceit of sharing his story with one last
group of visitors. He leaves behind his A former child actor, in his adult
desk, still strewn with decades of pa- years Liebert became a physical thera-
pers and notes he constantly scribbled pist. In addition to his private practice
in his painstaking search for Nazi war
criminals.

“Wiesenthal” is the award-winning
2014 Off-Broadway play written by
Tom Dugan, an actor and playwright
of critically acclaimed one-person

Sherry S. Kirschenbaum
Special to NJJN

shows. Set in 2003, two years before he worked at Daughters of Miriam in Gibbs, who plays Wiesenthal, is Mark Liebert of Verona directs
Wiesenthal’s death, the play is an inti- Clifton for 12 years. “I had 100 Jew- a seasoned actor and retired history “Wiesenthal.”
mate, emotional recounting of a hand- ish grandmothers, many of whom were teacher. He has appeared in over 80
ful of his hundreds of investigations, survivors,” he said. Liebert is a member plays and musicals with New Jersey’s victims and survivors of the Holocaust.
including the 16-year hunt for Adolph of Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield. Chester Theatre Group and Studio Play- “Our goal is to create an impactful
Eichmann and the pursuit of Karl ers and in venues such as the George
Silberbauer, the Gestapo officer who After a 15-year hiatus, he returned to Street Playhouse, Barn Theatre, Kelsey evening that leaves people energized
arrested Anne Frank. Wiesenthal’s per- theater. He has directed dozens of pro- Theatre, and Mondo. and talking,” said Liebert. “This is why
sistence and hard-won humor are con- ductions, designed the sets for 70 shows, we have decided to do a talk back af-
veyed throughout the show’s 80-minute and has written several full-length plays. He taught history at Rutgers Uni- ter each performance. We are hopeful
running time. He has also written or adapted 13 musi- versity and Middlesex and Union that people will leave the theater with
cals to be performed by and for children County colleges. His last teaching more knowledge than they entered and
Wiesenthal survived five concentra- with special needs. Currently, he is man- gig was at Temple Emanu-El in West- driven to find out even more.”
tion camps and a death march before ar- aging producer on the board of managers field, where for many years he taught
riving in Mauthausen in February 1945. of Studio Players in Montclair. in its adult education program. One It’s no coincidence that the perfor-
Weighing less than 100 pounds, he was of his topics was the rise of Hitler and mances of “Wiesenthal” coincide with
barely alive when the camp was liber- Liebert said an experience with a the Final Solution “from the point of the observance of Yom HaShoah on
ated by the U.S. Army in May. family member had a profound impact view of people in the United States: April 21. Liebert is deeply concerned
on his life. the people working to keep Jews out, that knowledge of, and interest in, the
After regaining his health, Wiesen- the people demanding the govern- Holocaust is rapidly fading in both the
thal began gathering and preparing In the 1960s a relative in Germany ment ‘do something.’” Jewish community and larger world.
evidence on Nazi atrocities for the War was seeking family members and she
Crimes Section of the U.S. Army. He found Liebert’s father. “Her mother Eager to do more acting, Gibbs re- “It doesn’t feel like ‘just history’
ultimately opened the Jewish Docu- died and her sister committed suicide tired from teaching in 2015. After one anymore,” he said. “It’s especially rel-
mentation Center, based in Vienna, in after the war,” Liebert said. “I will never of his former students at Emanu-El evant today as I see what I can only call
the early 1960s. It was from this of- forget the look in my relative’s eyes — saw Dugan perform “Wiesenthal,” he the dehumanization of immigrants, and
fice that he dedicated the rest of his it was like nothing I had ever seen.” contacted Gibbs, urging him to see the people of different races, religions, and
life to documenting the crimes of the play. Gibbs then reached out to Liebert, gender. For me, it is frightfully reminis-
Holocaust and hunting down the per- “With ‘Wiesenthal,’” he said, “I with whom he had worked a number of cent of Germany in the 1930s.” ✿
petrators so that they could be brought hope to keep the history of the Holo- times, and the two agreed that the play
to trial. caust and its lessons alive by bring- powerfully illuminates Wiesenthal’s For information on upcoming shows
ing the play to a diverse range of dedication to achieving justice for the or to schedule a performance, contact
Directed by Mark Liebert of Verona, audiences.” The play is suitable for high [email protected].
and starring Christopher Gibbs of Fan- school age and above.
wood, “Wiesenthal” will be performed
at Studio Playhouse in Montclair on
April 17, followed by a show at Temple
Sinai in Summit on April 18.

As an actor and director, Liebert has
always been compelled by theater that
is thought provoking and emotional.

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 202024 Frank Ferrante as
Groucho Marx
The Theater List
PHOTO BY
“An Evening with Groucho.” Award-winning actor
Frank Ferrante’s acclaimed portrayal of legendary co- MICHAEL DOUCETT
median Groucho Marx features classic one-liners, an-
ecdotes, and songs. March 27, 8 p.m. $29-$59. Mayo
Performing Arts Center, Morristown, mayoarts.org,
973-539-8008

“My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m in “Florenz Ziegfeld: The Man Who Redefined Broad-
Therapy!” Broadway actor Steve Solomon will per- way.” John Kenrick, author, teacher, and theater his-
form his one-man comedy show that highlights the torian, will present the story of Ziegfeld, a Chicago
different dynamics at a family dinner. March 28, 8 promoter and Broadway empresario. April 14, 1:30
p.m. $35-$60. Pollak Theatre, West Long Branch, mon- p.m. $11, $8 members. Jewish Community Center of
mouth.edu, 732-263-6889 Middlesex County, Edison, jccmc.org, 732-494-3232

Temple Emanu-El, Westfield, NJ “Through the Darkness.” A staged reading of a play, writ-
Sundays at 3:30 ten by Alan Breindel of Short Hills, about four people who
outran the Holocaust. April 20, 7:30 p.m. Temple Sholom
of West Essex, Cedar Grove, sholom.net, 973-239-1321

“The Diary of Anne Frank.” While in hiding in Am-
sterdam Anne Frank finds solace writing in her diary,
capturing the daily lives of the secret annex’s inhabit-
ants. April 27, 7 p.m. $25. Mayo Performing Arts Cen-
ter, Morristown, mayoarts.org, 973-539-8008

March 1, 2020 “Capitol Steps.” The political satire group performs
skits and parodies of contemporary songs. May 3, 6
Haydn, Trio for Strings in G Major p.m. Dinner served. $36, patron $72, benefactor $136.
Kodály, Intermezzo for String Trio RSVP by April 24. Ohev Shalom, Bucks County, ohev.
Beethoven, Trio in G Major for Strings org, 215-322-9595

Penderecki, Trio for Strings Jewish artists series
Dohnányi, Serenade for String Trio in C Major at Caldwell synagogue

Featuring
Amaud Sussmann, Violin Nicholas Canellakis, Cello

Paul Neubauer, Viola

April 5, 2020

Bach, Fugues for String Quartet
Mozart, Adagio and Fugue in C Minor
Mendelssohn, Capriccio in E Minor

Herrmann, Souvenirs de Voyage
Mozart, Clarinet Quintet in A Major

David Shifrin, Clarinet Featuring
Kerry McDermott, Violin
Ani Kavafian, Violin Paul Neubauer, Viola
Fred Sherry, Cello

May 31, 2020 by Marc Chagall

Scott, Startin’ Sumthin’ A RTIST AND INSTRUCTOR Margie
Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade Samuels of West Caldwell will teach
a series of four two-hour classes, each
Shifrin, La Nouvelle Orleans dedicated to one artist, Mondays, 12:30-2:30 p.m.,
Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin at Congregation Agudath Israel in Caldwell. Ses-
Esmail, The Light is the Same sions will include a discussion about the artist’s
work and art projects in that painter’s style, inspired
Coleman, Tzigane by the artwork under discussion.

Featuring IMANI WINDS: The series will include — March 30: Marc Cha-
Brandon Patrick George, Flute Mark Dover, Clarinet gall, April 6: Wassily Kandinsky, April 13: Amedeo
Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Oboe Jeff Scott, French Horn Modigliani, and April 20: Yaacov Agam.
Monica Ellis, Bassoon
No experience is required; participants may reg-
MostlyMusic.org • (908) 789-8578 ister for the entire series or for individual classes. by Amedeo Modigliani
The fee per class is $50, free for Agudath Israel
Tickets $40 at the door, students free. members; materials will be supplied. Register at
agudath.org/events.

25

The Visual NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
Arts List

“Separation” by Madeleine Shaw

by Cara London “All the Places She has Been” by Judy Beck
by Susan Roth

masterchef
junior live!

Tue, Mar 10 @ 7PM
Bring the family for a night of delicious excitement from the
TV competition show, live on stage!

johnny
mathis

The Voice of
Romance Tour
Fri, Mar 20 @ 8PM
Greatest hits and
personal favorites
from a music legend.

“And Then He Kicked the Door” Paintings by Cara London. The artist will be showcas- Fri, Apr 3 @ 8PM
by Gail Winbury ing her work at the newly renovated art gallery through The Beach Boys bring
May 10. Gallery at the Park, Park Theatre, Union City, “Good Vibrations” on
parktheatreNJ.org, 201-430-5067
their 12 Sides of
“Reinventing Eve.” Works by 10 Jewish female artists Summer tour!
will be exhibited in an exploration of identities and
diversity. March 29-May 24. Sundays, 1-5 p.m. and by In association with John
appointment. Jewish Museum of New Jersey, Newark, Scher/Metropolitan
jewishmuseumnj.org, 973-207-3095 Entertainment

“Hineni: Here I am.” An exhibition of recent works by local art- rob reiner
ist and psychologist Susan Roth. Runs through April 12. Temple live
B’nai Or, Morristown, templebnaior.org, 973-539-4539
& This Is Spinal Tap
21st Annual Gaelen Juried Art Show & Sale. Local art- Fri, Apr 17 @ 8PM
ists submit works in multiple categories to be judged Celebrate the 35th
by jurors. Opening reception June 14, 2-4 p.m. Free. Ex- anniversary of This Is
hibit runs through July 26. JCC MetroWest, West Orange, Spinal Tap with
jccmetrowest.org, 973-530-3400 a screening and
conversation with
director Rob Reiner.

For tickets & full schedule
visit njpac.org or call 1.888.GO.NJPAC

One Center Street • Newark, NJ

2_27_jewish_news_2.833x8.75.indd 1 2/20/20 2:58 PM

26

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020 Ghetto

Continued

Gate crasher

In Chatham author’s new work of fiction, the
Enlightenment brings freedom to a ghetto Jew

Sunlight barely pene- optimistic, I felt like the problem [of Michelle Cameron thodox Jewish upbringing still clung
trates the ghetto where hatred] could go away if we just edu- to him. He was accustomed to girls
Mirelle d’Ancona lives cate people,” she said. “But I also feel PHOTOS COURTESY MICHELLE CAMERON who were modest and covered their
with her parents and brother, and like so much of it is bred in the bone. chests, not these lighthearted, light-
where her family runs a renowned It’s what you hear from parents. It’s and a soldier in Bonaparte’s skirted women who tossed roses and
ketubah shop in late 18th-century what you hear from your peers. And army, who has felt the impact of called bold invitations to the French-
Italy. The heroine of “Beyond the of course, we’re seeing it today.” France’s Reign of Terror and its men they thought most handsome.”
Ghetto Gates” (She Writes Press, rules against religion in his own
2020), d’Ancona must navigate She feels more pressure writing family. Although he daydreams Cameron spent three months re-
sometimes violent anti-Semitism about anti-Semitism now than she about his mother’s Shabbat din- searching this book before writing a
did while writing her previous novel, ners, compares his hunger as a single word and continued through-
Johanna Ginsberg “The Fruit of Her Hands: The Story soldier to that of fasting on Yom out the writing and editing process.
NJJN Senior Writer of Shira of Ashkenaz” (Pocket Books, Kippur, and recites a blessing “Research is something I love, but I
2009). before he eats bread, he also eats always warn historical novelists: it
as she yearns for adventure be- plenty of treif. And he blushes when can be a pit — you can dive in and
yond the Jewish ghetto and for “There’s a new urgency to my his childhood friend and fellow sol- never want to come out.”
a future outside the expectations wanting to get my writing out in the dier, Christophe, discusses his interac-
of her traditional upbringing — world, with the hope that it will reach tions with women. “Despite his shorn Research matters for getting the
she’d rather run the shop’s fi- people who don’t, currently, under- hair and clean-shaven chin, his Or- details right, from the clothing her
nances than marry. stand the stakes and the danger that characters wear to the battle scenes
we Jews have lived with for centu-
The community rabbi has ries,” she said. If you go
other ideas and considers her
presence among the ketubah She set the novel at the end of the Michelle Cameron has numerous local appearances
scribes as placing them “in danger of 18th century because the time period in the coming months, including the following:
sinful impulses.” Despite her protes- forces her characters to confront dif- April 16: Bernardsville Library, Bernardsville, 7 p.m.
tations, he continues, “This is man’s ficult choices. “It was one of the first
work — holy work — a world in times when the Jews of France and April 22: Conversation with Short Hills author
which you do not belong.” Italy had really the opportunity — un- Dara Horn at The Book House, Millburn, 6:30 p.m.
less they converted to Catholicism —
In Michelle Cameron’s third his- to decide how much of the rules they May 3: Kahal Chaverim: NJ Congregation
torical novel, Napoleon Bonaparte’s were going to keep and how much of for Humanistic Judaism, Mt. Freedom, 9:30 a.m.
invasion of Italy provides the perfect the rules they were going to break,”
opportunity for d’Ancona; it brings she said. May 7: Morristown Jewish Center Beit Yisrael,
the values of enlightenment, but also Morristown, 7:30 p.m.
raises questions about assimilation, Among the cast of Jewish char-
piety, hatred, and the complexities acters is Daniel, d’Ancona’s cousin May 17: White Meadow Temple, Rockaway, 2 p.m.
surrounding changing norms.
May 20: Bnai Keshet, Montclair, 7:30 p.m.
Cameron is fascinated by choices
of assimilation. “It’s hard to decide May 31: Congregation Beth Ohr, Old Bridge, 1 p.m.
where you draw the line,” she said
over blueberry tea in her Chatham June 17: Caldwell Public Library, Caldwell, 6:30 p.m.
kitchen on a recent Thursday morn-
ing, surrounded by her husband’s
trivet collection. A secular Jew who
spent 14 years living in Israel, she ob-
served the sharp divide between secu-
lar and religious Jews there, pointing
out, “They did not always live com-
fortably together.”

In “Beyond the Ghetto Gates,” she
takes the time to examine the ques-
tions and issues that arise when peo-
ple living behind bars are suddenly
free — not only the people who no
longer have to live in the ghetto, but
also their non-Jewish countrymen.

“When I was younger and more

27

Ghetto lenges facing writers of historical fiction, especially THE WHAT’S COMING UP NEXT ... NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
when a woman is the main character. “I call it the
Continued ‘feisty heroine’ struggle,” she said. “You are writing SMITHEREENS
about people in one time for people reading in the
she describes. (She worries about experts pointing 21st century,” she said. WITHMARSHALL CRENSHAW
out errors.) But the research also produces gifts that
can provide the right setting and details for the plot. People don’t want to read about passive women, MARCH 7 ● 8 PM
even if it’s questionable whether someone like
Cameron set the novel in the town of Ancona d’Ancona would really have been able to hold some MARCH 28 ● 8 PM
because it was actually the first town in Italy where of the ideas and attitudes she does, living in the
Napoleon’s army broke down the gates of the 18th-century ghetto. But as Cameron pointed out, COLIN
ghetto. And it didn’t hurt when she learned the town one of her own favorite heroines is Fanny Price HAY
was a center for decorative illuminated ketubot, from Jane Austen’s “Mansfield Park.” “If you wrote
providing d’Ancona’s family with their livelihood. a Fanny today, no one would read it,” she said. APRIL 2 ● 8 PM

Of course, in the novel, a single shop replaced One thing is for certain. Cameron, director of the Leighann Lord Robin Fox Erin Maguire
the many that actually existed. Cameron’s research Writer’s Circle, a New Jersey writing community
also led her to a “miracle” portrait of the Virgin Mary offering workshops for children and adults, is no APRIL 4 ● 8 PM
who would “look” at viewers, sometimes crying, passive Fanny. When it comes to writing about Jew MAX WEINBERG’S
sometimes with a glare, and she knew she would in- hatred from centuries ago in an age of rising anti-
corporate it into the plot. Other historical figures dot Semitism, she said, she won’t be changing anything JUKEBOX
the tale, including David Morpurgo, a wealthy Jew she’s doing. “I’m refusing to do anything differ-
who foiled an attempt to melt the town’s church bell ently. [It’s] the Israeli in me, unwilling to alter my APRIL 30 ● 8 PM
into a cannon in a riot that pitted the Italian Catholics approach as a result of these very real threats.” ✿
against the Jews and the French. STARRING
[email protected]
Beyond the details, Cameron describes the chal- CHAZZ
PALMINTERI
The Books List ered archival materials to tell the
dramatic story of America’s little- MAY 16 ● 8 PM
“The Man Who Solved the Market: known efforts to save the Jews of
How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Europe. April 21, 12:30 p.m. Free. AND MORE!! CHECK OUT ALL OUR EVENTS ONLINE!
Revolution.” Gregory Zuckerman will dis- JCC MetroWest, West Orange, jcc-
cuss his book about mathematician Jon metrowest.org, 973-530-3915 ALL SHOWS AT THE POLLAK THEATRE
Simons, who pioneered the era of the
algorithm. March 19, 7:30 p.m. [words] “Feast Your Eyes.” A compelling FOR TICKETS CALL 732.263.6889
Bookstore, Maplewood, wordsbookstore. and original story about a female OR VISIT MONMOUTH.EDU/MCA
com, 973-763-9500 photographer grappling with am-
bition and motherhood, a bal-
Donald & Ruth Kahn Book and Author ancing act familiar to women of
Event. The three authors appearing in- every generation. May 1, 1 p.m.
clude Talia Carner, author of “The Third $10 for guests; members free.
Daughter,” fiction inspired by the true JCC MetroWest, West Orange, jc-
story of young Jew-
ish girls from Russia cmetrowest.org, 973-
who become vic- 530-3915
tims of sex traffick-
ing in Buenos Aires. “Mengele: Unmasking
Eileen Pollack is the the Angel of Death.”
author of “The Pro- David G. Marwell dis-
fessor of Immortal- cusses his book that
ity,” a crime thriller details the search for
and family drama Mengele’s remains.
inspired by the June 1, 6 p.m. Labyrinth
Unabomber. Cher- Books, Princeton, laby-
ise Wolas’ novel rinthbooks.com, 609-
“The Family Tabor” 497-1600
explores the price
paid for second “From Left To Right:
chances when family members are forced to confront Lucy S. Dawidowicz,
the falsehoods upon which their lives are built. March The New York Intel-
22, 10 a.m. Free. Refreshments available at 9:30 a.m. lectuals, and the Pol-
Congregation Neve Shalom, Metuchen, neveshalom. itics of Jewish Histo-
net, 732-548-2238 ry.” Nancy Sinkoff and
Esther Schor discuss
“Uprooting the Poison Tree.” Myra Weiner, a toxi- the life and work of
cologist and member of The Jewish Center, will Lucy Dawidowicz and
discuss her recently published memoir. March 22, the politics of Jewish
4-5:30 p.m. Free. The Jewish Center, Princeton, the- history in the post-
jewishcenter.org, 609-921-0100, ext. 200 war years. June 28, 6
p.m. Labyrinth Books,
“Rescue Board.” Holocaust historian Rebecca Erbeld- Princeton, labyrinth-
ing pieces together years of research and newly uncov- books.com, 609-497-
1600

28

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020 New releases
blooming this spring

Nonfiction: Taking a literary and spiritual ap- issues of 20th-century Jewish life. had a “Holocaust drawer” in their Con-
proach, Elliot Rabin, in “The Biblical A biography of a charismatic trail- necticut home, where they kept docu-
“A Delayed Life: The True Story Hero: Portraits in Nobility and Fal- ments relating to both sides of her family.
of the Librarian of Auschwitz” by libility” (JPS), compares six biblical blazer, “Rebel Cinderella: From Rags The author, a book designer and teacher,
Dita Kraus (Feiwel and Friends) de- heroes with heroes of world literature, to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey pieced together the letters, diaries, and
scribes how the author risked her exploring the complexity, flaws, and of Rose Pastor Stokes” byAdam Hoch- other papers plus additional research to
life, as a young girl imprisoned in power of these figures; he also includes schild (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) rewind their stories into a single narra-
Auschwitz, to care for the books a chapter on the heroic stature of God. chronicles the life of a Jewish refugee tive. The illustrated book has the feel of
smuggled in by other prisoners, and from Russia; she was a factory worker, a a museum catalog; images of the drawer
details her life after the war. Kraus “Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an journalist, and eventually the wife of the liner serve as endpapers.
is the subject of Antonio Iturbe’s American Heiress, and a Legendary son of a very wealthy gentile family. To-
bestselling book, “The Librarian of Car Beat Hitler’s Best” by Neal Bas- gether they campaigned for labor equal- “Yes To Life: In Spite of Every-
Auschwitz” (2017). comb (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) ity and women’s rights. Once among the thing” by Victor E. Frankel (Beacon)
is a fast-paced true story from the most famous women inAmerica, Pastor is the first English-language edition of
Sandee Brawarsky golden age of auto racing. Stokes is now largely forgotten. a collection of lectures published by
Special to NJJN the acclaimed psychologist and Holo-
Esther Safran Foer, the daughter “Houdini: The Elusive Ameri- caust survivor in 1946. For him, every
A wide-ranging anthology of of Holocaust survivors, writes in “I can” by Adam Begley (Yale) is the crisis also includes an opportunity.
contemporary and historical voices, Want You to Know We’re Still Here: latest in the Jewish Lives series.
“How Yiddish Changed America and A Post-Holocaust Memoir” (Tim “Saving Free Speech … From It-
How America Changed Yiddish,” ed- Dugan Books) that she grew up as if In the illustrated volume, “Jewish self” by Thane Rosenbaum (Fig Tree)
ited by Ilan Stavans and Josh Lambert surrounded by ghosts, relatives who Identity in American Art: A Golden explores the meaning of the First
(Restless Books), chronicles the on- were rarely spoken of, their stories Age since the 1970s” (Syracuse), art Amendment and sparks a timely con-
going vitality of Yiddish. secret. The book is her journey to un- historian Matthew Baigell explores the versation about whether some regula-
cover her family’s history. She is the work of artists born between 1930 and tion of free speech is warranted. Even
In “The Escape Artist” (Gallery mother of prominent writers Jonathan 1960 who infuse their work with Jew- some of the strongest advocates of free
Books), a follow-up to “After Long Safran Foer and Franklin Foer. ish themes. speech are second-guessing whether
Silence,” Helen Fremont, the daughter neo-Nazis should have been allowed to
of Holocaust survivors, tries to make Published 50 years after it was Journalist Svenja O’Donnell, the march in Skokie in 1977 or alt-righters
sense of the deep secrets underlying written, “Franci’s War: A Woman’s daughter of a German mother and to march in Charlottesville in 2017.
her family’s experience and, in light Story of Survival” (Penguin) is a Irish father, grew up in Paris, and only
of her last book, their dismissal of her. Holocaust memoir by Franci Rabi- later in life learned about her family’s Fiction:
nek Epstein, a fashion designer experiences during World War II; she
Based on brief snippets shared on and mother of writer Helen Epstein unveils rarely seen aspects of the war An impressive debut by a New York
WINS Radio, “Just Give Me a Min- (“Children of the Holocaust”). She in “Inge’s War: A German Woman’s City high school student, “The Lie in
ute: Insights from the Radio Rabbi” writes candidly about the experience Story of Family, Secrets, and Sur-
by Joseph Potasnik (Wordsmithy) in- of women during the war. vival Under Hitler” (Viking).
cludes anecdotes and Torah learning,
along with some biographical details. In the illustrated work, “The Dairy “Concealed: Memoir of a Jewish-
A long-time radio regular, the author Restaurant” (Schocken), cartoonist Iranian Daughter Caught Between
heads the New York Board of Rabbis Ben Katchor (who has been described the Chador and America” (Green-
and serves as chaplain of the FDNY. as “a poet of the gone world”) tells the point) is Esther Amini’s debut. She
history of a restaurant culture that has writes of her family’s journey from
“Hakibbutz Ha’artzi, Mapam, all but faded. He includes a directory Mashhad in Iran to Queens and her
and the Demise of the Israeli Labor of all the dairy places once present in own coming of age in a new and very
Movement” by Tal Elmaliach, trans- New York City, their menus, and their different world, making her own
lated by Haim Watzman (Syracuse), distinctive practices. choices, like Barnard College over a
is a history of Israel’s political trans- prearranged marriage.
formation. In her debut, “Nobody Will Tell
You This But Me” (Knopf), comedian “Invisible Years: A Family’s Col-
An English edition of an Israeli Bess Kalb pays tribute to her family lected Account of Separation and
bestseller, “Prepare My Prayer: and her powerful, loving connection Survival during the Holocaust in the
Recipes to Awaken the Soul” by Dov to her grandmother — as told by her Netherlands” by Daphne Geismar (Go-
Singer (Koren) is a poetic guide, a grandmother from beyond the grave. dine), published to coincide with the 75th
book about words and how words are anniversary of the liberation of the Neth-
heard. Singer, who heads Yeshivat “From Left to Right: Lucy S. Da- erlands, is an unusual second-generation
Makor Chaim in Israel, is an inno- widowicz, the New York Intellectuals, Holocaust memoir. Geismar’s parents
vative educator and a leader of the and the Politics of Jewish History”
modern Israeli revival of chasidut by Nancy Sinkoff (Wayne State) is
(chasidic philosophy). the first comprehensive biography of
the pioneering historian; her life expe-
riences provide a lens into the major

Our Hearts” by Evelyn Landy (Sky) is From Turkish bestselling author, 29
a coming-of-age story about a teenager composer, and film director Zulfu
finding her own voice amidst the dramas Livaneli, “Serenade for Nadia” MARCH 19TH NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
of high school romance, studies, friend- (Other Press) is a novel based on the
ship, and the wide-open future ahead. actual episode of the sinking of the MAY 3RD
Jewish refugee ship, the Sturma, in
“Villa of Delirium” byAdrien Goetz 1942. Set in 2001 Istanbul, an elderly For upcoming performances and to
(NewVessel Press) is set along the French German-born Harvard professor visits purchase tickets, visit
Riviera in the early 1900s, when a Jewish the city where he taught years earlier
family builds a grand villa, replicating a and last saw his wife, still haunted grunincenter.org
Greek palace. The narrator, the son of a by the circumstances. The narrator is
servant from a nearby estate owned by the woman who hosts him at Istanbul Box O ce Hours: Mon - Fri ∙10am - 5pm
the designer of the Eiffel Tower, is ad- University, 60 years after the sinking. 732.255.0500 ∙ College Drive ∙ Toms River ∙ NJ
opted by the family and survives the Nazi
confiscation of the house and deportation “The Body Politic” by Brian Group Rates Available
to death camps of the family. Platzer (Atria) follows the lives of
four friends who meet in New York
A first novel that draws on Jewish City in the aftermath of 9/11. Fifteen
folklore, Latin American oral literary years later, finding their lives and
traditions, and stories of exile, “The their city very different in the wake
of the 2016 elections, they face a be-
Lost Book of Adana Moreau” by Mi- trayal. As in his earlier novel, “Bed
chael Zapata (Hanover Square) tells of Stuy is Burning,” Platzer captures the
a Latin American science fiction writer many dimensions of life in the city.
whose lost manuscript turns up decades
later, connecting lives in New Orleans. Inspired by the story and genius
of Lise Meitner, the Jewish woman
Inspired by a true story found in man- who discovered nuclear fission,
uscript fragments in the Cairo Genizah, screenwriter and film director Jan
“The Convert” by Stefan Hertmans Eliasberg reimagines the race to build
(Pantheon) reimagines a young woman the atomic bomb in her debut novel,
from a wealthy family in 11th-century “Hannah’s War” (Little Brown).
France who falls in love with a rabbi’s
son, facing dangerous anti-Semitism; “The King of Warsaw” by Szcz-
the author weaves in his own story of epan Twardoch (Amazon Publishing)
tracking the woman’s history. fictionalizes the very real tensions felt
within the Jewish community in Po-
“Apeirogon” by Colum McCann land in the late 1930s, focusing on one
(Random House) is rooted in the real boxer’s interests in power, both inside
friendship between an Israeli and a Pal- and outside the ring.
estinian, both of whom lost children to
the conflict in their land. The story is told “The Drive” by Yair Assulin, trans-
in 1,001 small numbered sections, with lated by Jessica Cohen (New Vessel
two passages in the middle in which the Press), is the story of a young Israeli
real-life men speak in their own words. soldier at a critical moment, deciding
The short episodes, set across the world whether to leave the army, a decision
and through time, link to form this novel, discussed during a car ride with his
named for a shape with a countably infi- father. His soul searching reflects the
nite number of sides. complexities of Israeli society.

Jennifer Rosner interviewed a num- A mix of fact and fiction, “Keep
ber of Jewish child survivors for her Saying Their Names” by Simon
debut novel, “The Yellow Bird Sings” Stranger (Knopf) was published to
(Flatiron), about a mother and her much acclaim in Norway. The author
young daughter, a musical prodigy, first heard the story of Henry Rinnan,
hiding in Poland during the Holocaust. a secret agent for the Nazis, while
visiting his Jewish mother-in-law,
who grew up above a basement that
had been his secret headquarters. The
novel, formed like an encyclopedia, is
shaped as a letter to the author’s chil-
dren’s grandfather, who was killed.

“The Book of V.” by Anna Solo-
mon (Henry Holt and Co.) intertwines
the lives of women across centuries:
a Brooklyn mom in 2016, a senator’s
wife in 1970s Washington, D.C., and
the biblical Queen Esther. ✿

Sandee Brawarsky is culture editor at

The New York Jewish Week, NJJN’s

sister publication.

With additional reporting by Aderet

Fishbane.

Warning: Satire Purim31 NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020

Point: Achashverosh Counterpoint: Keep
must go Shushan great again

Gabe Kahn There’s a similar notion to his Abe Hahn literally hung him

NJJN Editor acolytes that, late in his adminis- Special to NJJN out to dry for all

T here’s no use ignor- tration, the king’s top adviser was I t’s almost funny: to see.
ing it anymore, so Jewish. Such a weak defense. Mor- Here we are in You can’t blame
let’s face the facts: dechai’s appointment was either a the negative
favor to the queen or a ploy to have him for not know-
ing who to trust.
Achashverosh is the worst a fall guy for the ill-conceived tax
300s and Shushan The deep state in-
king in Shushan’s storied reform plan that lined the king’s
is once again the side the govern-
history. Yet a significant pockets but put small businesses,
portion of the population Garden State like Shushan’s beloved triangle greatest city in the Toxic Waste ment has been
believes that this boastful, Of Mind hat shop, out of business, and left world. The econ- of Time plotting to derail
omy is thriving as Achashverosh’s
disgusting man is a benign ruler, inter- people in the streets wearing sackcloth
evidenced by our ability to reign from the very beginning
ested in the welfare of his people more and ash.
throw numerous parties — — two officers in his own
than his own. To everyone who has dug What’s that you say — he saved the
one lasting 180 days! — and police force were revealed
their heels into the rich Persian soil, allow Jews? Only when it became politically
hold national beauty contests. to have conspired against
me to explain why your logic is faulty, expedient for him to do so. Before then
Upward mobility is such that him! Thank goodness for
your conclusions absurd. Achashverosh was either complicit in
even paupers are wearing the good people of Shushan
The biggest defense for supporters of planning our destruction, or such a blus-
the king’s crown and royal w h o u n c o v e r e d t h e p l o t
our would-be dictator is that he is a friend tering fool that he didn’t realize his top
clothes and riding his horse and exposed these very bad
to the Jews. Let me state unequivocally lieutenant was inviting outside forces to
in the streets. hombres for what they are.
that he is not. At best he’s ambivalent settle personal scores that would have
Don’t take my word for it. Or were.
toward the chosen people, and there’s a undermined his own city. Whether he’s a
The Megillah itself declared, Sure, he’s not what the
wealth of evidence demonstrating that his co-conspirator or just a moron, the man is
“The city of Shushan shouted elites would consider politi-
intentions are far more unseemly. For one, clearly unfit to be king.
and rejoiced!” cally correct, as he is known
it’s undeniable that he appointed an un- On that point, our despot should not
Even so, the scholarly elites to shoot from the hip and
apologetic Jew-hater as his first in com- be so impulsive that makes monumen-
are so bitter about coming out tell it like it is from time to
mand, a man who wrote propaganda and tal, life-or-death decisions on a whim.
on the losing end of Achash- time when he’d be better off
whispered lies about our people to him, I mean, he literally made a life-or-death
verosh’s ascendance that they keeping his thoughts to him-
lies the king was all-too-willing to believe. decision to have former Queen Vashti
want to relitigate the Babylo- self — we all remember his
This is the part where Achashverosh’s killed — a decision he acknowledged,
nian exile instead of waiting “The silver is given to you,
base screams, “The king can’t be anti- once he calmed down, that he regretted.
for the Temple to be rebuilt in and the people to do to them
Semitic — members of his own family A notorious insomniac, he is known to
just a few short years. At that as it pleases you” gaffe — but
are Jewish!” Wake up and smell the fes- come to conclusions in the middle of the
point the Jews can elect to re- what has PC ever gotten us
enjan. He didn’t have any idea that Queen night, wildly changing course on state
main in the thriving province other than a fallen Temple and
Esther was Jewish when he married her. policy — without consulting with his
of Shushan or return to Zion a ravaged Promised Land?
And why didn’t she tell him? Because advisers — on the basis of something he
if their lives in this city of The king’s personal life is
she was afraid he’d kill her! Besides, it’s read seconds before. (Then again, there’s
wealth and happiness are too complicated, but how many
not as if they have a real relationship. little evidence that the king even knows
miserable to bear. monarchs have been angels?
Sources inside the palace said that no less how to read; in one well-documented
The king’s ill will against King David had a dalliance
than Esther herself was overheard telling instance, Achashverosh, a grown man,
the Jewish people is nothing with a woman he spied bath-
her uncle Mordechai that on at least one ordered his servants to read him a bed-
but fake news. Members of ing on a rooftop and Solomon,
occasion the king hadn’t even called to time story.)
the royal family are Jewish, as the son born from that union,
see her in more than 30 days. In the end, the best case against the
is Achashverosh’s second in had hundreds of wives and
To Achashverosh, Esther was just a king was made by the confidence, or lack
command. And who can argue concubines. Solomon even
pretty thing that he discarded once he thereof, he instills in his own staff, two
that it was the king who saved used one of his marriages to
grew bored of her, placating his wife by of whom felt so strongly about his in-
the Jews when they faced cer- negotiate a deal to purchase
acceding to her wishes to host parties, competence that they conspired to bring
tain death? Such chutzpah to horses from Egypt, which was
throw her enemy out of the administra- the kingdom down from within. Were it
criticize our king when we’ve at best unethical and at worse
tion, and appoint her uncle in his place not for a speaker of many tongues lin-
never had a better friend in illegal.
— just so she would leave him alone. gering close to the officers, our long re-
the kingdom. Achashverosh is better
Besides, there’s an established pattern gional nightmare would have been over
It’s true, the king tangen- than all of them put together,
of how Achashverosh treats women, years ago.
tially played a key role in probably the best ancient king
ogling them at his own beauty contests. So let’s do something special to cel-
a plot to kill us all, but that in history. And no one knows
And that’s to say nothing of the uncon- ebrate Purim this year: Namely, kick
was a result of his getting more about ancient kings than
firmed reports about the sordid act he al- Achashverosh’s royal backside over
bad counsel from one of the he does.
legedly demanded of his former wife at Shushan’s walls that he so desperately more extreme voices in his Chag Purim Sameach! ■
a party some years ago. Just imagine if a wanted to build. ■
administration. The moment
foreign government were to get ahold of
he realized the betrayal of the Abe Hahn’s byline is unlikely
such incriminating evidence and use it to Contact Gabe Kahn via email: gkahn@
adviser in question he threw to appear in the pages of NJJN
blackmail him! njjewishnews.com, or Twitter: sgabekahn.
him out of his palace and again.

32NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020 ® NEW JERSEY
JEWISH FAKE NEWS
KNESSET OPTS FOR
‘COIN TOSS’ ELECTIONS NJJEWISHNEWS.COM
Cheaper and quicker, experts agree. Heads,
Bibi loses; Tails, he wins and goes to jail. Vol. LXX IV No. 10 | March 10, 2020 | 9 ADAR 5780
njjewishnews.com

Trump acknowledges
‘fake Pence’; body sought

VEEP JOE BIDIN’ HIS TIME
Former Democratic front-runner says he’s ‘a slow
starter, but warming up now’for 2024 election.

DAY SCHOOL’S HONOR PROGRAM
BEGUN LASTYEAR SHUTS DOWN
Organizers of ‘Kavod-19’don’t understand what
went wrong.

SANDERS ADMITS HE’S LARRY DAVID’S
IDENTICAL TWIN
Democratic front-runner/outlier insists he’s ‘the
funny one, just look at my economic plans.’

SCHUMER, PELOSI RUEFUL The Donald’s No. 2 Doll: A staple from Nancy Pelosi’s ripped State of the Union speech pierced what
OVER DEMS’TROUBLES appeared to be the real Veep. GETTY IMAGES
‘Where’s Marianne Williamson when we need her?’
Washington, D.C. — In a two-hour- mer governor and congressman from Indiana.
BLOOMBERG BUYS TRUMP TOWER, and-37-minute impromptu press Trump, insisting that he now be called
SEEKS REVENGE conference on the White House
Former NYC mayor evicts Trump from home, calls lawn, President Trump confirmed for the first “His Royal Donald,” and speaking without
for new stop-and-frisk policy aimed at large white time that Vice President Mike Pence “disap- the benefit of a script, notes, coherent sen-
men with orange hair. peared, sort of” more than a year ago and has tences, or adoring admirers, blurted: “Look.
not been heard from since. Annoying guy. Too religious. Wife’s not my
BELGIANS SAY CARNIVAL COSTUMES type. Never left his side. Jeez. Said my red ties
DEPICTING JEWS WITH BIG NOSES In his place, the president confirmed, an are too long. Big mistake. Huge.”
WEREN’T ANTI-SEMITIC inflatable rubber “VP Pence” doll has accom-
This really happened. Like, last week. Honest to God. panied the president at cabinet meetings, cam- The president continued: “I’ve got no
paign stops, and all other public appearances. comment on that tape of the call from my
AL SHARPTON RELEASES office telling the Secret Service to ‘get rid of
RACIAL FITNESS VIDEO Observers had long commented that Pence Mostly Mute Mikey.’ Wasn’t me. Sounded
Slimmed-down reverend describes reverse-bias was expressionless in public — Republi- like me, yeah. Go check out Alec Baldwin.
techniques, including Walking Back the Rhetoric, can officials preferred the term “stoic.” But Lousy actor. Maybe it was him. Call was
Verbal Contortion, and Leaps of Bad Faith. sharp-eyed Twitter users noted that Pence had fine. It was perfect.”
started to look surprisingly life-like, raising
JEW-HATERS PLAN UNITY MARCH suspicions it couldn’t be the real him. Sen. Lindsey Graham, the Trumplican
ON BROOKLYN BRIDGE from South Carolina, said that if foul play
‘Who else could bring the far left and the far right The dramatic revelation first came to was involved in Pence’s disappearance, “the
together in common cause but us?’proclaim light at the end of the president’s most re- Senate will make it a priority to look into this
leaders of Anti-Semites in Solidarity. cent State of the Union speech. While most matter in the years to come.”
eyes were on Nancy Pelosi tearing up a copy
BIBI AND TRUMP TO CO-AUTHOR of the president’s talk, a congressional aide As the president was about to board a heli-
BOOK ON POLITICAL POWER heard a sharp “pop” and noticed “VP Pence” copter for his residence in Florida, he turned
President says new work ‘based on ideas slowly deflating in its chair next to the House to the press and asserted: “And even if, say,
from this 16th-century guy, sounds like Speaker. One of the staples from Pelosi’s I assigned the guy to head up a commission
Mack E. Velli, I think. Not sure. I’m the copy of the speech had apparently pierced on voter fraud and he was never heard from
main author, Bibi’s just writing the words.’ the vice-presidential doll. again, what’s it to you? Wanna impeach me
again?”
MEDICAL DISCOVERY CHANGES It also explains a Jan. 28 tweet by the pres-
UNDERSTANDING OF PURIM STORY ident declaring, “There is no inflation!” He added: “By the way, since you guys
Persian Jews were nearly wiped out think you’re so smart, I got the ‘VP Pence’
by ‘Achesh-virus.’ Reporters immediately peppered the presi- doll from the same place that made my ‘First
dent with questions about what happened to Lady Melania’ doll three years ago, and you
the uncannily stiff but apparently sentient for- guys never even noticed.”

NJ Jewish Fake News.Warning: Satire At The Movies 33 NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020

WS Study: College-age Jews say they’re JoJo Rabbi — Pharaoh gives his Jewish
pro-Israel, but please don’t tell our parents adviser an endearing nickname
Pair o’ Sites — Israeli guide offers tours
780 The overwhelming majority of col- of Masada and Ein Gedi
lege-age Jews say they are pro-Israel, Kittel Women — Orthodox feminists de-
but are afraid to tell their parents be- mand right to lead High Holiday services
cause they don’t want to be pressured to at- Vahntz Upon aTime…in Hollywood —
An annoying little guy tries to break
tend Hillel events and go on trips to Israel into the movies
Fur v Fedora — Chasidic sects
sponsored by campus Jewish organizations. end a 50-year fashion feud
The Amishman — Pennsylvania Dutch
“Look, Israel is a great country, but I hitman is mistaken for a Chasid
Jewker — A failed Catskills comedian
planned to chill this semester and the last goes crazy
Remarriage Story — Even their family is
thing I need is to stand at a table at the so over the on-again, off-again couple
$19.17 — A $20 value, but for you…
student center and hand out iPhone cases Chrain and Glory — Grandmother’s
horseradish recipe wins cooking con-
printed with the Israeli flag,” said Scott L., test
TheTwo Pupas — Brothers vie for the
a Penn State student contacted for the sur- leadership of chasidic sect
A Beautiful Day for the Neighbor Hood —
vey. “I tell my dad I’m with Students for Sophia K., a sophomore at Syracuse University, said she would be Meyer Lansky gains control of Las Vegas
Justice in Palestine just so he stops nudging happy to sign a pro-Israel petition but is afraid she will be late for Three-Star Wars: The Rise
me to go the campus AIPAC meetings.” class. JANICE HWANG/JW of Skywatchers — Rabbis debate
when Shabbos is over
The survey, conducted by Musk Mell- HairyYet — Woman wears same sheitel
for 25 years
man for the campus group HandStandsforIsrael, found port of Israel. Of course I lie and tell her I am an anti- Judyism — Renee Zellweger converts

that many students hide their yarmulkes and other vis- Zionist!” said Sarah H. The Wesleyan junior also said In Theaters

ible signs of Jewishness not because of anti-Semitism, she really wants to spend spring break with her Jewish Ain’t Too Loud — Bride’s father warns the
band before the wedding
but out of fear that any of a dozen pro-Israel groups sorority in Cartagena, Colombia, while her parents are Bottlejews — Shul has a popular kiddush
club
on campus will ask them to volunteer at the Yom insisting she go to Israel for the seventh time. Come Away Frum — High school grads
spend gap year in Israel
Ha’Atzmaut rally. In response to the survey, a shadowy group known Who’s Afraid of Virgin Wool? — Shatnez
discovered at an Italian suit factory
“I’m trying to graduate on time, and my mom wants as the Ostrich Mission has begun posting the names of Flying Past Sunset — Delayed air travelers
violate the Sabbath
me to take a leadership seminar with Students in Sup- college students who are secretly Zionist. Ladiestown — Women’s tefillah groups
multiply
Television news: Show about Reform Jews Jagged Little Pillow — Zayde hides the
is a surprise hit among the Ultra-Orthodox afikoman
Mean Curls —Yeshiva boy seeks approval
Who knew that a half-hour com- of payos-wearing clique
edy/drama about the loves and Moo Long Route — After the sin of the
lives of a Reform Jewish fam- Golden Calf, God extends the Jews’ trek
ily would be such a runaway hit in Israel’s in the desert
Mrs. Debt Fire — Building owner’s widow
ultra-Orthodox community? That’s exactly commits arson to avoid bankruptcy
The Music Mun — Fantasy about singing
what’s happening with “Shtickl,” the new hamantaschen
To Kill an Early Bird — Murder trial
series from Ori Kumi and Elchanan Duran- at a Florida condo community
West Side Store — Fairway Market
duransky, now showing on Netflix. threatens to close
Wick It — Family lights an oil menorah
The series stars Jeff Goldblum as Ar-

thur Shtickl, the patriarch of a loving

but complicated Reform Jewish family

living in Syosset, N.Y. Arthur, a psy-

chiatrist, goes to synagogue three times Charedi Orthodox Jews enjoy an episode of “Shtickl,” a Netflix

a year and feels bad about it, but feels series about a Reform Jewish family. JANICE HWANG/JW

even worse that his daughter Lindsey is

becoming a rabbi and will probably be dependent to their cellphones and laptops.

on him until she pays off her student debt. His Orthodox viewers say they appreciate the pre-

wife, Shelly (Fran Drescher), a real estate broker, cise attention to detail, from the late model Prius

has opened a boutique selling scented candles and that Arthur drives to the Marc Chagall print that

has been feuding with Linda (Christine Baranski), hangs in the Shtickls’ living room. Baruch Fru-

the synagogue administrator, who refuses to carry man, of Har Nof, said the program reminds him of

her products in the Beth Elohim Judaica shop. his ancestors. “I was born Barry Fruman in New-

Rounding out the cast is Zack Schor as Evan Shtickl, ton, Mass. ‘Shtickl’ makes me nostalgic for my

who is living at home after graduating Brandeis with a summers at URJ Eisner Camp, before I enrolled

degree in philosophy, and Grandpa Harvey (Billy Crys- at Yeesh Hatorah seminary, met my bashert, and

tal), whose MSNBC habit and loosely tied bathrobe is raised eight children.”

driving the rest of the family crazy. Ultimately, says Duranduransky, himself the

Despite an emphasis on the strict Reform customs grandson of Reform Jews, “the show is about how

of a suburban Long Island family (Shelley Shtickl, much we have in common. Whether we spend

for example, chairs her temple’s social action com- Sunday mornings over bagels and The New York

mittee; Evan met his on-again, off-again boyfriend at Times before heading to the gym, or whether we

a NFTY convention), the show is wildly popular in devote most of our waking hours to studying To-

charedi neighborhoods like Mea Shearim and Bnei rah and protesting Saturday bus service, it turns

Brak, where people are secretly downloading the show out we are all one people.”

34 NJ Jewish Fake News.Warning: Satire

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020 President Trump says,‘I could shoot a Jew
on Fifth Avenue, and you’d still vote for me’
W ashington — Sup-
porters of President president’s sense of humor,” said hat. “Or when he told the joke
Trump said he was Lawrence Imglick, a longtime about the greedy Jewish banker
Trump supporter since Nov. 8, who conspires with Macron to

only joking when he told them that 2016. “I think what he meant was control the Federal Reserve: We

“I could shoot a Jew on Fifth Av- that he was grateful for our support, knew he was gently ribbing us

enue, and you’d still vote for me.” and that even though we are Jewish and our French ally.”

Members of Republican Jews he respected our judgment.” The president used his appear-

for Trump said the president’s “C’mon, I don’t think some- ance at the Jewish condo commu-

words were meant in jest, and were one who has Jewish grandchildren nity to boast about moving the U.S.

received with laughter by those at- meant any harm when, for exam- embassy to Jerusalem, to remind

tending Sunday’s event at the Polo, ple, he said we are vicious sharks supporters that he cut off aid to the

Fox Hunt and Mah Jongg Club of who really drive a hard bargain,” Palestinians, and to praise Alan

West Palm Beach, Fla. said Danya Hitziger, who wore Dershowitz as “a tough, tough guy

“You have to appreciate the a red “Make Israel Great Again” — people say he’s my Shylock.”

Jewish Federations blame their decline Addition-tray!
on bicycling fundraisers ‘Fiddler’ to perform
The Jewish federation in Pig Latin
movement said it would
suspend nearly all tradi- N ew York — Following the sold-out suc-
tional fundraising activities, in- cess of its Yiddish production of “Fid-
dler on the Roof,” the Folksbinderdundat
cluding gala dinners and Israel Theater announced that a new production of the
hit musical will be performed in Pig Latin.
missions, and focus instead on
“‘Fiddler’ will have a special sentimental
sponsored bicycle rides. appeal in Pig Latin,” explained the company’s
artistic director, Smokked Salmon. “After all,
The news comes in response to it’s the language the characters would have spo-

a report that bike rides accounted NEW KOSHER SYMBOLS

for nearly 90 percent of all Jewish Confused by the proliferation of
kosher supervision agencies?
charitable giving in 2019. Here’s a quick guide:

Last year Facebook users were K-Pasa — Under the supervision of
the Latin-American Jewish Federation
asked to sponsor as many as 2 mil-
K-O – Hashgacha of the World Box-
lion people taking part in 3 mil- ing Federation

lion bike rides. Sponsors included Yud K Vav K – Under divine super-
vision (but consult your local rabbi)
Hazon,ALYN Children’s Hospital,
Danny K – Supervised by the Va’ad
Bike4Chai, Ramah Camps, The Members of the Council of Presidents of American Jewish Organizations of Late Comedians
Arava Institute, the JCC Krakow, have ditched meetings with Israeli leaders for fundraising bicycle rides in
NY’s Jewish Board of Family and the Negev Desert. FLICKR COMMONS

Children’s Services, Chai Lifeline, outings anymore because they are bike ride,” he said. “I think they

Jewish Federation of Greater Wash- either on bicycles or on Facebook were really glad when I broke my

ington, World Jewish Relief, and sponsoring other riders.” leg playing pickup basketball last

every single Jewish genetic disease, Armstrong Lanzman, an ac- year.”

including some you never heard of. countant in Merion Station, Pa., The trend is not without con-

“We have seen the future, and has personally logged 60,000 troversy, however. In 2016, hun-

it has two wheels,” said Elvis Fin- miles and raised $2.1 billion for dreds were injured when the JNF

gerpull, CEO of the North Ameri- various Jewish causes, including “Sore Knees for More Trees” ride

can Jewish Federation of North a playground for his synagogue. crashed into Chabad’s “Rollin’ for

American Jewish Federations. “No “I am constantly asking friends the Rebbe” ride at an intersection

one comes to our dinners or golf to sponsor me when I go on a near Bet Shemesh, Israel.

From the middle:The new new anti-Semitism

By Nathan Joe Blattgreen Semitisms. We here at the Anti-Denigration League that you’ll be visiting your family on Passover, and
are offering these important examples to help you she says, “Is that the one with the huts?”
CEO, Executive Director, and Commissioner call out anti-Semitism even when it barely exists: ☞ At an interfaith meeting with the local United
The Anti-Denigration League ☞ You are at work with your gentile friend who Methodist church, the pastor greets you by saying
has voted for Republicans and Democrats. She says “Shalom!”
We all know how deadly anti-Semitism she’s been watching “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and ☞ It’s a humid day, and a woman wearing a
from the right can be, and we have says, “I bet you’re a fan.” “Klobuchar 2020” button says, “I love your hair!
learned that left-wing anti-Semitism, ☞ Your non-Jewish coworker is a fiscal conservative and You’re so lucky to have natural curls!”
often disguised as anti-Zionism, is also a threat. But liberal on social issues. He says he likes Mike Bloom- ☞ An independent voter from a purple state is
what about anti-Semitism from the middle? berg’s policies, but can’t stand his speaking voice. watching the Democratic debate with you and says,
☞ You are on a date with a swing voter. You say “Why does Bernie Sanders always seem angry?”
Anti-Semitism from the middle can be difficult
to detect because it is the most subtle of all anti-

NJ Jewish Fake News.Warning: Satire 35

Talk of Bloomberg-Sanders ticket NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
causes anti-Semites’ heads to explode
The problem of anti-Semitism was all but
Cast members of the new Pig Latin “Iddler-Fay on the eradicated yesterday when billionaire Mi- The headless body of Richards Panzer, a lead-
Oof-ray” sing “Atchmaker-May, Atchmaker-May.” chael Bloomberg and socialist Bernie Sand- ing white supremacist, was found in front his com-
ers both said they would agree to pair up on the puter in a Seattle Starbucks. On the screen were
FLICKR COMMONS Democratic presidential ballot in November. the words of a half-written tweet, “The Jews will
not replace ussss………”
Explosions heard in basements and attics across
the country turned out to be the heads of young Only a few anti-Semites apparently survived
white supremacists absorbing the news on Reddit the epidemic of spontaneous cranial combustion.
and 4Chan. Former White House aide and alt-right hero Stone
Bananas is said to be in critical condition after be-
Leading anti-Semites rushed to their laptops in ing found on a Washington, D.C., sidewalk glassy-
their parents’basements to report the news of the pact eyed and muttering, “Globalists, globalists…”
between “the blood-sucking Zio Rothschild who ran
Jew York City” and the “Cuba-loving commie Hebe The Anti-Denigration League said it would shift
who’d take away your guns and religion.” Moments its focus away from the dwindling problem of anti-
later their brains apparently detonated, police say. Semitism and instead concentrate on attacks from
fellow Jewish organizations.

Ben Who? Synagogue hit with rash
of identity thefts
ken had they been 12 years old and attending No Score, N.Y. — An Orthodox synagogue
summer camp.” in this largely chasidic community north of Congregants discovered the identity thefts only after
Manhattan is investigating cases of iden- receiving invoices from the shul office. One synagogue
The cast has yet to be announced. tity theft after intruders used stolen Hebrew names member, Noah Mazel ben Nissan Altima, said he was
“We’re hoping to get major stars to play Ev- when called to the Torah. falsely billed for nine aliyahs over the past half year.
yatay and Oldiegay,” Salmon said. “And we’re
looking for a top-notch ensemble that can handle According to a police report, several individuals “It’s outrageous,” said Rabbi Mayer Culpa,
beautiful songs like ‘Unrisesay, Unsetsay.’” who were not synagogue members approached the spiritual leader of Congregation Ohbehave Yisrael.
Salmon is also excited about a new Morse code shul’s gabbai, or sexton, at Sabbath services and “The blessing of the Torah is a beautiful, sacred
version of “Fiddler.” identified themselves by the stolen Hebrew names. trust, and instead we get stiffed for $1,700.”
“‘If I Were a Rich Man’ is especially powerful The impostors were then called to the Torah for a
in Morse,” said Salmon, who then sang, “.. ..-. / .. blessing, known as an aliyah, when per custom they Rabbi Culpa said he is unsure how the Hebrew
/ .-- . .-. . / .- / .-. .. -.-. .... / -- .- -.” pledged a donation to the synagogue. names were stolen. “Sadly, identity theft isn’t a new
crime,” the rabbi noted. “It goes all the way back to
ANNOUNCED Esau and Jacob in the Bible.”

K Sera Sera – Hashgacha Rabbis debate: Is global warming
of Determinist Judaism permissible on Shabbat?
Jerusalem — Rabbinical authorities met here
K-Mart – Hashgacha of rabbis recently to discuss whether it is permissible to Other rabbis disagreed.
who will discount their normal fees warm the planet on Shabbat. “Once you allow global warming,” warned Rabbi
and make it up in volume Israeli Ashkenormic Chief Rabbi Daven Loud Herr Splitter, of the Orthodox Hotel Workers and Team-
maintained that global warming is permitted on sters’Union, “it can easily lead to boiling temperatures,
I’m O-K You’re O-K – Hashgacha Shabbat, since it is merely warming and not cook- and boiling is clearly forbidden on Shabbat.”
of the Association of Jews ing—an activity strictly prohibited to observant Asked how the problem of global warming on
in Psychology Jews on the Sabbath. Shabbat might be solved, one rabbi suggested,
“Find a non-Jew to warm the globe for you.”

LMK – Kashrut questions? They’ve asked you to lift the Torah?!
Send us a text
K9 – Kosher enough for your Don’t worry – WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK!
dog to eat
ism Are you worried about accidentally dropping munity in case of an unfortunate accident.
the Torah while getting hagbah? Do you regu- And for just a little more, a State Frum agent
on Passover, and K-POP – Suitable for South Korean larly turn down this important honor for fear will stand behind you on the bima and offer
huts?” boy bands and their fans
the local United that it might cause the entire community a you a helping hand — just in case!
ts you by saying K-C K-Sum – When you need needless fast? Bad back? Weak wrists? No need to turn
to know the Top 40 glatt products down those hagbah honors any longer!
man wearing a Fear no more! Also available…Umbrella coverage for
I love your hair! Contributors: Andrew Silow-Carroll, b’nai mitzvah and the soon-to-be-married
rls!” Gary Rosenblatt, Meish Goldish, and STATE FRUM introduces who expect to get candy thrown at them in
a purple state is shul. Literally, we’ll send someone to stand
ith you and says, Michael Feldstein. HAGBAH INSURANCE
s seem angry?” Art: Dan Bocchino and Janice Hwang. there with an umbrella.
It’s an affordable way to keep you from
becoming the laughingstock of your syna- State Frum InSurance:

gogue. For a modest fee (based on the IF YOU’VE GOT YOUR HEAD COVERED,
weight of the Torah and which parsha the WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED.
scroll is rolled to), we’ll arrange for someone
else to fast for you and the rest of the com-

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 202036Our Towns

Jerusalem’s cultural diversity Interest-free loans offered
revealed through manuscripts
for health-care students
WHAT MIGHT IT look like to imag- at the University of Nebraska-Lin-
ine Jerusalem — known as a city coln and president of the Society for APPLICATIONS ARE being accepted for the Blum
of peoples with diverse faiths and Armenian Studies, will explore liter- Trust’s interest-free educational loans for Jewish stu-
cultures — as a city of the book? ary treasures of Armenian Jerusalem. dents who are pursuing degrees in the health-care
On March 29, a panel will tell the Also to be discussed is the digitiza- professions.
story of this extraordinary place, tion and preservation of endangered
where some of the Western world’s documents. Established in 1952, the Blum Trust provides need-
most enduring ideas were devel- based financial aid up to $7,500 per year for each of four
oped through its Jewish, Christian, The program, presented by Rut- years, interest free for 10 years.
Islamic, and Armenian literary gers University’s Allen and Joan
treasures. Bildner Center for the Study of Jew- Eligible applicants are Jewish students pursuing
ish Life, is free. It will take place at careers in the fields of medicine, dentistry, podiatry,
Panelists include Benjamin Balint, 4 p.m. at the Douglass Student Cen- pharmacy, chiropractic, nursing, and other allied health
coauthor of “Jerusalem: City of the ter, New Brunswick. The event is the professions. The loans are available to residents of
Book,” who will discuss unusual Toby and Herbert Stolzer Endowed Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon, Monmouth,
caretakers of Jewish library col- Program and is cosponsored by the and Burlington counties in New Jersey and Bucks
lections; Father Columba Stewart, Rutgers-New Brunswick Libraries County in Pennsylvania.
executive director of the Hill Mu- and the Center for Middle Eastern
seum & Manuscript Library, will Studies. Students must provide documentation of their Jewish
talk about rare early Christian and heritage and/or affiliation(s), a copy of their most recent
Islamic manuscripts; and Bedross Advance registration is required. FAFSA form, a transcript of their most recent college
Der Matossian, associate director of Email [email protected] grades, and a current tuition bill or announcement of tu-
the Harris Center for Judaic Studies or register online at BildnerCenter. ition charges.
Rutgers.edu.
The Blum Trust was established in 1952 under the will
of Dr. Joseph M. Blum, a prominent Trenton physician. To
apply and for information, go to BlumTrust.com.

Ask about Camp Guide
our “Rising
SUMMER TEEN ENRICHMENT 8th Grader” MARKETPL ACE
special
Summer enrichment
July 20-24 July 26-August 7 program appeals to
wide range of interests
Rising 7th-11th graders Boarding & Day
Interested in Robotics? Music? Debate? At
One- & two-week classes: STEM, Music, Humanities Solebury School Summer Teen Enrichment
you can explore all that and more in
Solebury.org/summerprograms [email protected] our one- and two-week summer sessions!
There are a wide range of offerings for ris-
ing 7th-12th graders.

One-week classes allow for you to dive
deep into a topic of interest.

In two-week classes, you have the option
to sign up for three different classes based
on your interests along with students from
around the world! Small class sizes offer
personal attention and support. For those
interested in photo or rock climbing, take
a two-week immersion class.

Boarding students extend their day
with fun and interesting activities both on
and off campus.

Check out all that the Solebury School
is offering this summer at solebury.org/
summerprograms. Ask about our “Rising
8th Grader” special offer at summerpro-
[email protected].

LifeCycle 37

Obituaries association in Boca Raton. He enjoyed golf, ten- an administrator before his retirement in 2012. NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
nis, pickleball, sailing, and motor boating. The Richard Pearl Pavilion was named after him
Philip Savage at the camp.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Janice
Philip Savage, 93, of Middletown died Feb. 9, Jay Berger; his son, Phillip; his daughter, Alison His family members were longtime members
2020. Born in Newark, he was a former resident Saifer; a brother, Bruce; a sister, Karen Levin; and of Temple Beth El of Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn.
of North Arlington. five grandchildren. He later became a member of Congregation Beth
Chaim in Princeton Junction.
Mr. Savage was the proprietor of Savage Services were held Feb. 19 with arrangements
Hardware in Kearny before retiring. by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing. He enjoyed woodworking, photography, travel-
Memorial contributions may be made to Greenwood ing, and spending time with his family.
He was a graduate of Stevens Institute of House, Ewing, or American Heart Association.
Technology. Predeceased by his first wife, Beth, he is survived
Richard Pearl by his wife, Arlene; three stepchildren, Michael
He served in the U.S. Navy and the Korean War. (Nicole) Mulry, Hillary Mulry, and Rebekah (Joel)
He was an avid golfer. Richard A. Pearl, 82, of Hamilton Township Schiller; a brother, Martin; and six grandchildren.
Predeceased by his wife, Charlotte, he is died Feb. 20, 2020. He was born and raised in
survived by two sons, Paul (Debra) and Scott Brooklyn. Services were held Feb. 24 with arrangements
(Marlyn); his daughter, Susan (Kevin) Gallagher; by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing.
nine grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. Mr. Pearl worked in the New York City public Memorial contributions may be made to Michael
Services were held Feb. 11 with arrangements school system in a career spanning over 30 years, J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing. beginning as a teacher and ultimately retiring as a
principal of James Reynolds Junior High School Max Gross
Laurence Gould in Brooklyn.
Max Sidney Gross, 91, of Newtown, Pa., died
Laurence Gould, 65, of Bordentown died Feb. 15, He was a graduate of Brooklyn College and Feb. 21, 2020. Born in Trenton, he lived in the
2020. also earned two master’s degrees. Washington, D.C., area and Ewing Township
before moving to Newtown in 2005.
Mr. Gould is survived by his children, Zachary As a child and adult, he spent 63 summers at
Gould and Alexandra Gould. Trail’s End Camp in Beach Lake, Pa., beginning Following his high school graduation at 17,
in 1947. He started as a camper and later became
Private services were held with arrangements Continued on next page
by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing.

Susan Loew Be part of a
tradition
Susan Loew, 84, of Skillman died Feb. 15, 2020.
Born in Freiberg, Germany, she was a Princeton that honors those who’ve passed.
resident for many years and a resident of Skillman
for the past 10 years.

Mrs. Loew was a freelance writer at Princeton
University Press.

She was a congregant of The Jewish Center of
Princeton.

She is survived by her husband of over 60
years, Harold; her children, Michael Loew and
Karen Brew; and four grandchildren.

Services were held Feb. 18 with arrangements
by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing.

Howard Berger 1534 Pennington Road For more than 50 years we have honored the bonds
Trenton, NJ 08618 of family and faith, guided by the traditions of
Howard M. Berger, 77, of Boca Raton, Fla., died 609.883.1400 our people. We handle everything, so that you can
Jan. 17, 2020. Born in Jersey City, he was a former focus on the people that matter most during this
resident of Yardley, Pa. OrlandsMemorialChapel.com difficult time.

Mr. Berger was the proprietor of Building Our third generation of family ownership.
Maintenance Systems in Hamilton Township
before retiring. AT-HOME CONSULTATIONS | SERVING ALL COMMUNITIES
Joel E. Orland, Senior Director | NJ License No. 3091
He was a graduate of Rutgers University Max J. Orland, Director | NJ License. 5064
and the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania, where he earned an M.B.A. Member of KAVOD:
Independent Jewish Funeral Chapels
He was involved in and led many organizations
in the Trenton area throughout his life. He was
the former president of Har Sinai Temple, Trenton
Rotary Club, George Washington Council of Boy
Scouts, the Better Business Bureau, Children’s
Home Society, and Greenwood House. He was
a longtime member of Greenacres Country Club.

He continued to stay active well into his retire-
ment, serving on the board of his condominium

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 202038LifeCycle Gallery

Continued from previous page TREES’ BIRTHDAY
— Children in the
Mr. Gross was employed by his fam- ematics. He attended Medical School Tot Funday Sunday
ily’s hat business, Reed Millinery, at the University of Pennsylvania. program at Adath
traveling continually throughout Israel Congregation,
the southern United States into his He is survived by his wife, Joyce Lawrenceville, cel-
20s. In the late 1950s, he became a (Salsburg); his son, Christopher; his ebrated Tu b’Shvat
stockbroker, joining Bache & Co. daughter, Jessica; daughter-in-law, by creating edible art
and rising to the level of first vice Laura Diamond; and two grandsons. projects illustrating the
president, where he oversaw more four seasons.
than 500 branch locations in the Arrangements were handled by
U.S., was periodically quoted in The Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, PHOTO BY KORBMAN AND COMPANY PHOTOGRAPHY
Wall Street Journal, and at times had Ewing. A celebration of his life will
seats on the Midwest and Canadian be held in the spring. TEEN PHILANTHROPY — The Jewish Community Youth Foundation
stock exchanges. He continued in his (JCYF) — a project of Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer
career well into his 70s. Shirley Rubman County and funded by the Ricky and Andrew J. Shechtel Philanthropic Fund
and Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks — celebrated its 17th year
He was a member of the board of Shirley Weiss Rubman, 91, of of giving at its annual check-presentation ceremony on Feb. 9 at Robbinsville
managers of the Washington Hebrew Princeton died Feb. 26, 2020. She High School. More than $46,000 was distributed to 20 non-profit organiza-
Congregation, the Jewish Community resided in the Bronx for most of her tions by 163 teens representing 11 synagogues and 36 area schools. Students
Center of Greater Washington, and life. Jason Licht and Ariella Livstone are shown with Cynthia Groomes Katz,
the Metropolitan Board of Trade, and center, supervising attorney at HIAS.
served on other committees through- Predeceased by her husband,
out the years. He joined the Bucks Carl, she is survived by her daugh- GROWING GARDENS — The JCC Princeton Mercer Bucks and
County Youth Aid Panel, volunteered ter, Beverly (Mark Goldfus) of Hadassah held a Ladies Night Out on Feb. 6 at the JCC in East Windsor.
with SCORE for many years, par- Lawrenceville; her son, David (Gail The women created individual succulent gardens.
ticipated on the finance committee Grossman) of Evanston, Ill.; five
of Pennswood Village in Newtown grandchildren; and five great-grand-
(where he resided), and frequently children.
gave seminars on financial planning.
Private services were held Feb.
He married his first wife, Cora 28 with arrangements by Orland’s
Lee Kaufmann, in 1955 and had four Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing.
children, Caren, James, Gary, and Memorial contributions may be made
Steven, who survive him. His second to HIAS or the PKD Foundation.
wife of over 40 years, Josephine
(Jo) Tuemmler, predeceased him last Suzanne Hyman
year, and he is also survived by
her children, Jan, Sue, and Dave; Suzanne Hyman (Katz), 82, of
10 grandchildren; and five great- Princeton died Feb. 20, 2020. She
grandchildren. was born in New York City and
moved to the New Brunswick area
Services were held Feb. 23 in 1966.
with arrangements by Orland’s
Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing. Mrs. Hyman was the founding
Memorial contributions may be managing editor of Raritan Review,
made to The Hildred E. and I. Irving a literary and cultural magazine based
Gross Fund of the Jewish Braille at Rutgers University. She served
Institute International or Alzheimer’s as managing editor for nearly two
Association. decades in the 1980s and 1990s, work-
ing with Professor Richard Poirier, the
Peter Heisen magazine’s editor, to publish some of
the literary world’s most renowned
Peter Roger Heisen, 76, of essayists, poets, and critics.
Washington Crossing, Pa., died
Feb. 23, 2020. Born in Neptune, he She was a graduate of Douglass
was raised in Imlaystown, a farm- College at Rutgers, and held a mas-
ing community, where he and his ter’s degree from Rutgers in English
sister Perijane attended a one-room literature.
schoolhouse. He raised his fam-
ily in Yardley, Pa., before moving to She played the piano throughout
Washington Crossing. her lifetime.

An infectious disease specialist, She is survived by her husband,
Dr. Heisen took over his father’s Prof. Ronald T. Hyman; her son,
medical practice based at Mercer Jonathan C. Hyman (Gail Rubenfeld)
Hospital in Trenton. For the last 12 of Bethel, N.Y.; two daughters, Elana
years, he worked in the education (Juha) Hollo of Cheltenham, Pa., and
software business with his son. Rachel Hyman of Brooklyn; and four
grandchildren.
He attended Peddie School
in Hightstown and Swarthmore Services were held Feb. 23 with
College, where he majored in math- arrangements by Crabiel Parkwest
Funeral Chapel, New Brunswick.
Memorial contributions may be made
to Southern Poverty Law Center or
PEN America.

Agenda 39

Kosher Café House, which is cosponsoring the program along The cost is $14 adults/$10 children before NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
with Jewish Family and Children’s Service of March 16; $16/$12 up to March 19. RSVP to ad-
Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County; there is a requested $5 do- [email protected] or 609-443-4454.
Greater Mercer County offers a Kosher nation per person. Participants may also bring their
Café lunch program Tuesdays-Fridays at own kosher-style lunch. RSVP by March 13 to Beth Book discussion
11:30 a.m. at Adath Israel Congregation, Englezos at [email protected].
Lawrenceville. RSVP to Debi Henritzy at Beverly Rubman will lead a
[email protected] or 609-987-8100, The multifaceted King David discussion on Alice Hoffman’s
ext. 236. “The World That We Knew”
“The Many Faces of King David” will be presented on Sunday, March 29, 3-5 p.m.
Holidays and grief at The Jewish Center in Princeton on Thursday, Guest speaker is Maud Dahme,
March 19, at noon. who will discuss her experi-
“Handling the Holidays: Programs for those
Grieving the Loss of a Family Member,” Instructors are Beverly Rubman, a Jewish ences as a hidden child during
a series of sessions facilitated by Chap- chaplain and adult education teacher; and Roslyn World War II. Light refresh-
lain Beverly Rubman, will continue with Vanderbilt, a retired reading specialist and former ments will be served. Call
“Passover: The Empty Chair,” Wednesday, children’s librarian at The Jewish Center. 609-896-4977 or go to adathisraelnj.org.
March 18, 10:30-11:45 a.m. at Jewish Fam-
ily and Children’s Service of Greater Mer- Contact [email protected] or 609-921- Passover stories
cer County, Princeton. 0100, ext. 200.
Passover Storytime, sponsored by Beth El Syna-
Each session costs $10; light refresh- Rabbinic martyrs gogue in East Windsor, will be held Thursday, April
ments will be served. 2, at 4:45 p.m. at the Robbinsville Branch of the
Great Minds Salon: “Collective Sin and Vicarious Mercer County Library. Pre-register beginning
RSVP to 609-987-8100, ext. 139, or bev- Atonement in Rabbinic Martyrology” will be pre- March 19 at mcl.org.
[email protected]. sented by Ra’anan Boustan on Thursday, March 19,
at 8 p.m. at The Jewish Center, Princeton. Composer review
Haggadah exploration
Boustan is a research scholar in the Pro- A lecture-in-song by Fred Miller on “Composers of
“The Haggadah in Depth” will be presented by gram in Judaic Studies at Princeton Univer- Bucks County: Hammerstein and Sondheim” will
Rabbi Ben Adler at Adath Israel Congregation, sity and author of “From Martyr to Mystic” be presented on Sunday, April 26, at 2 p.m. at Adath
Lawrenceville, on Thursday, March 12, 7:30-9 p.m. (2005). Shalom Congregation, Lawrenceville.
Call 609-896-4977 or go to adathisraelnj.org.
Dessert will be served. There is a $5 fee for non- RSVP to 609-896-4977 or adathisraelnj.org.
Jewish concert members. Contact [email protected] or
609-921-0100, ext. 200. Business Briefs
Sharim v’Sharot: People of Song, and their con-
ductor, Dr. Elayne Robinson Grossman, will be Refugee Shabbat Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO)
featured in “Sing Hallelujah, Broadway: A Jewish will continue its 2019-20 chamber sea-
Legacy” on Tuesday, March 17, at Philadelphia’s Refugee Shabbat: Celebrating Transitions will son with a performance of “Duo Borea-
Kimmel Center. be held on Friday, March 20, at 6:30 p.m. at The lis,” a chamber concert with soprano
Jewish Center, Princeton, with services followed Mary Bonhag and double bassist Evan
Over 160 singers, including stars from the Yid- by a potluck dinner in which refugee families will Premo, founders of Scrag Mountain Mu-
dish-language Broadway production of “Fiddler participate. sic in Marshfield, Vt., on Sunday, April
on the Roof,” will be conducted by music director 5, at 4:30 p.m. at Wolfensohn Hall, lo-
Cantor David Tilman. Bring a vegetarian dish; a hot entrée, salad, and cated on the campus of the Institute for
beverages will be provided by the synagogue. Con- Advanced Study in Princeton.
Go to Kimmelcenter.org for ticket details and tact [email protected] or 609-921-0100,
group sales. Save 15 percent with code SVS15. ext. 200. For information on the PSO’s
2019-2020 chamber concerts, go to
Model seder Family trees the PSO calendar or chamber series
links under “Tickets & Events” at
Beth El Seniors and Jewish Family and Children’s “Where Do You Plant Your Tree?” will be presented princetonsymphony.org.
Service of Greater Mercer County will hold their by Susan Kobrin, president of the Jewish Genea-
annual model seder led by Rabbi Matt Nover at logical Society of North Jersey, at a meeting of Mary Bonhag and Evan Premo of Scrag
Beth El Synagogue, East Windsor, on Thursday, the Mercer County Genealogy Society on Sunday, Mountain Music
March 19, at noon. March 22, at 7:30 p.m. at Beth El Synagogue of
East Windsor.
Cost is $10. RSVP by March 13 to Beth En-
glezos at [email protected] or the temple at Kobrin will discuss the benefits and drawbacks
609-443-4454. of creating and maintaining digital and paper family
trees as well as the features of commercial family
Torah’s structure tree programs.

Nosh & Knowledge: The Structure of Torah will Call 609-443-4454 or go to bethel.net.
be offered on Thursday, March 19, at 12:30 p.m. at
Congregation Beth Chaim, West Windsor. Springtime Shabbat

A kosher lunch will be provided by Greenwood Spring Into Shabbat will be held at Beth El Syna-
gogue, East Windsor, on Friday, March 27, at 6 p.m.
Participants may choose between family or regular
Friday night services, followed by a congregational
Shabbat dinner.

NJ Jewish News ■ Princeton-Mercer-Bucks Edition ■ March 10, 2020 40

41NJ Jewish News ■ Princeton-Mercer-Bucks Edition ■ March 10, 2020

WP Spring Luncheon has Blossomed into …

HAPPY
PURIM!

NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 202042

| SHABBAT CANDLELIGHTING | March 13: 6:44 p.m.

How a biblical mistranslation led to anti-Semitism

Ki Tisa nai. And when Moses had finished speak- where else in the Tanach. However, the noun
ing with them, he put a veil over his face. “keren” (same consonants, different vowels)
Exodus 30:11-34:35 Clearly the time he had spent in the im- is common. Keren means ray or beam, but
mediate presence of God had changed Moses, also horn. As the Torah was translated from
Rabbi Joyce Newmark not just spiritually but physically — his face Hebrew into Greek (the Septuagint) and from
glowed with light. Greek into Latin (the Vulgate), the text no
M ost of parashat Ki Tisa deals with One midrash explains that this happened longer said that Moses’ face was radiant, but
the episode of the egel hazahav, when Moses asked to see God’s face and that it had horns.
the golden calf — the sin, its God told him that what he wanted was im-
aftermath, and Moses’ plea that possible, but “I will put you in a cleft of the If you have seen Michelangelo’s statue of
God forgive His people. God agrees, and af- rock and shield you with My hand until I have Moses (or a picture of it), you surely noticed
ter Moses spends another 40-day period on passed by. Then I will take My hand away that it portrays Moses with small horns above
Mount Sinai, he comes down with a second and you will see My back; but My face must his forehead. And, of course, you can imagine
set of luchot, the tablets inscribed with the not be seen.” As God shielded Moses, God’s how this image played out in medieval Eu-
Ten Statements. hand touched Moses’ face and transferred rope, where the Church often demonized the
just the tiniest fraction of divine radiance Jews. In fact, I once heard someone explain
The parasha ends this way: to him. quite seriously that the reason Jews never re-
So Moses came down from Mount Sinai. Another explanation is found in the moved their hats was to hide their horns (and,
And as Moses came down from the moun- Yerushalmi Shekalim. As Moses sat on Mount obviously, their connection to Satan).
tain bearing the two tablets of the Pact, Sinai for 40 days and nights writing down
Moses was not aware that the skin of his the Torah as God dictated it, his quill would Fortunately, the Catholic Church has, for
face was radiant, since he had spoken with sometimes become clogged with ink. So Mo- the past 55 years, taught that God has never
Him. Aaron and all the Israelites saw that ses would wipe the quill in his hair to clean it. abandoned His covenant with the Jews and
the skin of Moses’ face was radiant; and Over time this holy ink (which the rabbis call that anti-Semitism is a sin. The Christian Bi-
they shrank from coming near him. But black fire) ran down Moses’ face and caused ble no longer reports that Moses had horns.
Moses called to them, and Aaron and all it to glow with holy light. It’s too bad that not everyone has gotten the
the chieftains in the assembly returned But something curious happened to this message.
to him, and Moses spoke to them. After- passage in translation. The verb translated
ward all the Israelites came near, and he as “was radiant” — “karan” — appears no- Rabbi Joyce Newmark, a resident of River
instructed them concerning all that the
LORD had imparted to him on Mount Si- Vale, is a former religious leader of congre-

gations in Leonia and Lancaster, Pa.

Our Towns

Chabad to celebrate 41 years at Rutgers University

Chabad House Jewish Student Ed and the late Cecile Mosberg NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal The gala dinner marks the
Center at Rutgers University seventh year of operation of the
and its 10 Chabad Houses, all af- and his late wife Cecile, will be cation efforts lasting several de- Les Turchin Chabad House, a
filiated with Chabad of Central honored for their Holocaust edu- cades and spanning the globe. 90,000-square foot complex on
NJ, will celebrate their National College Avenue in New Bruns-
Founders 41st Anniversary Din- wick which includes women’s
ner on Monday, March 16, at 6 and men’s dormitories, two syn-
p.m. at the Chabad House in New agogues, a kosher dining hall,
Brunswick. gym, counseling center, and
more.
More than 600 people are ex-
pected to attend the dinner, which Chabad House is available to
will honor N.J. Attorney General serve the 7,000 Jewish students
Gurbir Grewal and Ed Mosberg, at Rutgers University, among the
Holocaust survivor and real es- largest Jewish student popula-
tate developer. Shai Abramson, tions at colleges in the U.S.
chief cantor (ret.) of Israel De-
fense Forces, will perform. Dinner attendees will receive
a commemorative “41st Anniver-
Grewal will be honored for his sary Album” which covers the
role in combatting anti-Semitism history of Rutgers Chabad, which
in the state and for his leader- began in 1978.
ship following the mass murders
at a kosher grocery store in Jer- For reservations or to place a
sey City on Dec. 10. Mosberg, journal ad, call 732-296-1800 or
email [email protected].

ExitRamp 43

When our cleaning woman (finally) NJ Jewish News ■ njjewishnews.com ■ March 10, 2020
invited us to her home

Merri Ukraincik ies, she tucked me in as if I were her child. family. She was grateful for her years in the
And she gave each of our boys a bar mitzvah States. Still, she knew she could never afford
NJJN Contributing gift — a little gelt in a Serbian Orthodox to retire here.
Writer Christmas card. To her, we shared one God.
We said Little else mattered. I glanced around, hoping in vain to find
good- the missing pieces of her story. Most of her
bye She read the story of our lives in our belongings were on a lift already at sea. She
to our detritus like tea leaves. I, on the other hand, smiled when I spotted the pretty coffee jar
cleaning woman had none of the clues her home would have I once gave her, telling me that everything
given me, speaking volumes in the way she she owned was either from the people she
on a frigid evening Close to Home decorated and the scents coming from her cleaned for or a yard sale. Only the televi-
back in November. kitchen. I learned only what she told me, all sion was bought new, and she planned to
of it pointing to an essential way of being: leave it for the person taking over the lease.
She had been work hard, eat simply, love fiercely. I wanted
to know more. She would shrug, saying With that, she shifted in her chair. We
coming to us for more than 20 years, yet she that’s all there was to tell. presented her with a gift, and she gave us her
address — just her name and the city with a
never once invited us to her home. I didn’t When we first met, she had already lived post office nearest her village. Then finally,
in the U.S. for some time, having left the for- after ages of waiting, she invited us to visit
think about it often, but I suspected the rea- mer Yugoslavia years before it deconstructed her should we ever find ourselves in Serbia.
into a bloody civil war. She didn’t care much “Nothing would make me happier,” she said,
sons had nothing to do with the fact that we for politics, and it was never a discussion, though the tears, hers and ours, would come
let alone a point of contention, that she and as we stood to go.
kept kosher and she did not. Rather, I chalked my Croatian husband hailed from oppos-
ing former Yugoslav republics or that their In a final embrace, she told us how much
it up to that invisible divide between employ- immigrant stories were unrecognizable from she loved us. The proof? She said she ironed
one another. She even called me, a born only for me, confessing that her assistant
ers and employees, no matter their bond or the “Amerikanka,” one of her own. liked cleaning our house least of all.

length of their relationship. Even the night we Though I lived in Zagreb in the early And then, as if she’d been with us always,
1990s, I finally learned to prepare proper as if we’d continue to see her every other
dropped by to see her before she left the coun- Balkan coffee when she taught me in my Thursday, we stepped out into the night.
New Jersey kitchen. She cherished the fact
try, it was we who had asked to come. that I baked challah and crocheted in a world We already missed her fiercely. ■
where so much comes ready-made in plastic
For months, I noticed her catching her packaging. On the other hand, she admon- Merri Ukraincik of Edison is a regular contribu-
ished me for refusing to iron, and I her for tor to NJJN. Follow her at merriukraincik.com.
breath. “I’m OK!” she insisted. Only later, never vacuuming beneath the bed.
Professional Directory
when she found out her kidneys were failing, Our circumstances changed when I stopped
commuting to a full-time job in Manhattan $ WE PAY $
would she finally admit she was not. and began freelancing. I was home to shoul-
der most of the cleaning and could no longer CASH FOR
She started dialysis in a whirlwind, quick- justify the expense of regular help. But my
husband and I agreed. We would keep her on Modern Art • Oil Paintings • Bronzes
ly losing her strength, and her hands their until she retired. We owed her that after all Silver • Porcelain • China
this time. Mens & Ladies watches
cunning. We cried together over the phone Judaic Art and Silver
On the evening we went to say goodbye,
as she told me she’d already bought a return we had a lump in our throats. Her house, set Top Dollar for Any Kind of Jewelry
off a dimly lit road, was hard to find in the & Chinese Art & Porcelain
ticket to her native Serbia, where she would dark, though we soon realized we had passed
it countless times on the way to Target. Antique furniture • Modern furniture
continue her treatment. But she missed knit- Touched to see us, she talked about her
health and her plans to enjoy being near her A N S ANTIQUES
ting, driving, and working in the meantime.
KADDISH We come to you • Free Appraisals
She could have retired there years ago. Yet
KADDISH & YAHRTZEITSERVICES CAll US!
even after her husband died, she remained in 201-861-7770
718 953-1000 Ext. 113 201-951-6224
America, cleaning other people’s homes and
SayKaddish.com $ $Email: [email protected]
sending most of her earnings back to her Shommer Shabbas

family. I often felt ashamed that she saw the

intimate details of our day-to-day existence

reflected in our mess. She, however, loved

her work and was proud of it.

“Good cleaning help is hard to find,” many

said when I told them she stopped coming to

us. For a long time, our connection with her

was about more than housekeeping anyway.

She had been with us through so much —

the births of two of our sons, the passing of

my grandmother and in-laws, a big move,

and two decades of cleaning our refrigerator

in preparation for Passover. After my surger-

MEMORIAL
OBSERVANCE

Call
1-800-KADDISH

Colel Chabad