To Honor Cecil and David

I never met Cecil and David Rosenthal, may their memories always be a blessing, but I knew them. I can see Cecil, described as a “gentle giant” by his family and many, many friends, standing at the front door of the Tree of Life sanctuary, greeting everyone who arrived there with a broad smile and a strong handshake. I can hear him offering every person who came through those doors a warm word of welcome – “Shabbat shalom!,” “Good morning!” His brother-in-law, Michael Hirt, said in his eulogy that Cecil could have been the mayor of Pittsburgh, if not for his developmental challenges, challenges he triumphantly overcame to be the most beloved person in the community.

His brother David, quieter by nature, was no less beloved, admired for his fastidiousness, taking care to hand out siddurim (prayer books) to those arriving and ensuring the tallitot (prayer shawls) were lovingly cared for. They were the “greeters,” the “ambassadors,” the m’kablei panim, the “face” of the sacred community.

How sadly ironic that these warm souls were murdered in cold blood by a stranger with anti-Semitism flowing through his veins on the very Shabbat when we read the Torah portion Vayeira. We learn the story of Abraham and Sarah’s tent, the classic text teaching us the deep Jewish value of hachnasat orchim, welcoming guests. Sitting in the heat of the day at the entrance of his tent, three strangers appear to Abraham. He runs to greet them – “My lords, if it please you, do not go past your servant.” Did Abraham know who these men were? In that split second of recognition, did Abraham wonder if there was malice in their hearts or were they just wanderers in search of a morsel of bread and a drink of water? It did not matter to Abraham. He ran to greet the strangers, as, undoubtedly, so did Cecil and David, who cared not whether those entering the synagogue were members or guests, rich or poor, gay or straight, Republican or Democrat. What they never imagined was that a stranger filled with hate for Jews would enter a welcoming sanctuary intent on massacre.

I am devastated by the loss of these two sweet men who were so deeply valued by a community who appreciated their greetings. And I am heartbroken that we will once again consider the awful necessity of  “hardening the targets” – our synagogues, schools, centers, campuses and organizations. There will be those who assert that we must do this, no matter the cost both economically and spiritually, in order to protect our people against those who seek to do us harm. There will be others who will say that security guards with pistols would have no chance against a crazed assassin wielding an AR-15.

I wonder what Cecil and David would have us do. Somehow, I believe they would understand the need for security measures on the perimeter of the building, but they would teach the guards how to say “Shabbat Shalom” or “Shana Tova” to everyone, even as they search purses and tallit bags, as many of our wonderful security personnel already do. I know they would never want us to stop greeting each other. They would likely tell us how wonderful it would be if all of us knew each other like they did, for building a community of relationships begins by telling each other our stories, by knowing each other’s names, by being there for each other in good times…and bad.

This Friday night and Saturday morning, tens of thousands of us will stream into our synagogues for Solidarity Shabbat services to stand with the Pittsburgh Jewish community. There will be beautiful prayers and words of comfort. There will be “regulars” and many guests. There will be heightened security, likely causing delays to enter our buildings, and crowded pews filled with those we know and those we don’t.

Let us honor the memory of Cecil and David by practicing their art of hospitality and welcome each other with a smile, a handshake, and a warm embrace. As we join together to grieve and remember, let us resolve that “the Rosenthal boys” would want us to never allow hate to trump love.

---

Dr. Ron Wolfson is Fingerhut Professor of Education at American Jewish University and the author of Relational Judaism (Jewish Lights Publishing).

Let's block ads! (Why?)

To Honor Cecil and David : https://ift.tt/2ESkSa2

Response to Pittsburgh? Let’s Go to Shul This Shabbat

What is the proper response to Pittsburgh? Grief, yes. Sorrow, yes. Anger, yes. Resolve, yes. Unity, yes.  Surprise, no. Fear, no. My dear rabbi, Rabbi David Wolpe, likes to say that we in America live in a golden age of Judaism after 2,000 years of persecution, fear, torture, murder, hiding and being on the run from land to land.  Now we are living in a country where we are generally treated with warmth and respect by our Christian, Muslim and other non-Jewish neighbors, friends and strangers. We need to be grateful for this.

During the martyrology service this year on Yom Kippur I reflected on how our forebears dared to worship in public, despite Roman orders not to, and paid the ultimate price for it, sometimes in unbelievably cruel ways. Yet the synagogue I attended was nearly empty. It’s a funny thing about freedom — some things we just take for granted. I do. We all do.

Two other prayers stood out for me during the same service. One prayer was for our fellow Jews in other places who are being persecuted. Miraculously, I could not think of one country where this is systematically occurring on a daily basis. Anti-Semitism, yes. But active persecution –even in countries that don’t particularly like us — no, partly because we have been driven out of many countries and are choosing to leave others, because finally after 2 millennia we have a choice. Perhaps it is because we have the United States on our side and countries would face sanctions and far worse. Perhaps because we ourselves have the will and means with which to fight back.

The other prayer is that we should be in Israel next year. But how many Jews have never been to Israel, actively criticize it, don’t support it or don’t stand up to the insidious anti-Semitism that is the BDS movement or to the bullying of our children on their college campuses? As I said, some things we just take for granted.

I do not mean to imply that I am saying I am “religious.” I am not, by standard measures, but I am proudly a Jew. I was reading the Wall Street Journal Saturday morning when I happened to see a friend’s text about “what happened in Pittsburgh.”  So the first thought I had, after I had the chance to digest the news, is that I should have been in that day and I vowed that I would next Shabbat. I texted my kids and told them they should go, too. My brother asked me if we had armed security at our synagogue. The answer happens to be yes, but I go to a high-profile temple (I do not wish to get into the politics of that whole issue except to say that I think we could all agree that no one needs a personal arsenal of military assault weapons). Not every synagogue might make this choice, and law enforcement has vowed to increase its presence. The good news is that 99.99% of Americans are not sociopathic anti-Semitic killers with personal arsenals. So our response shouldn’t be fear.

My suggested response to Pittsburgh? Let’s go to shul this Shabbat.  Let’s fill up ALL the synagogues this Shabbat. Conservative, Reform, Orthodox, LGBT, it doesn’t matter. If you normally go to synagogue, bring your children. If they usually go, have them bring their friends. Bring your friends. Bring your neighbors. By going to synagogue this Shabbat, we can show our resolve and we can thank G-d for living in such a wonderful country. By doing so, we can exercise our precious First Amendment rights to freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly all at the same time.

G-d bless America and the Jewish people.

---

Dr. Joel Geiderman is the former vice-chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and is the California chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Response to Pittsburgh? Let’s Go to Shul This Shabbat : https://ift.tt/2F0aPzI

The Devil’s Paradise in Pittsburgh

Police vehicles are deployed near the vicinity of the home of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect Robert Bowers’ home in Baldwin borough, suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 27, 2018. REUTERS/John Altdorfer

I got the chills when I heard about the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Shabbat morning that left 11 worshippers dead and many others injured, including police officers.

For the rabid Jew-hater who entered the synagogue, it must have been a devil’s paradise: Look at all those Jews in one place!

I have had that dark thought for years, and have never shared it with anyone. The thought usually comes when I’m in synagogue. I look at all the Jews around me and think: My God, it’d be so easy for any Jew-hater with a gun to walk in and start mowing us down.

And then I think: There are thousands of similar “Jew houses” throughout our country that are such easy prey for Jew haters. In virtually any town in America, a Jew-hater with a gun has the pick of the litter.

So, when I heard about the Pittsburgh tragedy, a tiny voice inside me asked: What took the bastards so long?

We Jews in America are eons away from the days of pogroms and inquisitions, when many of our ancestors had to worship underground. We live in a wide open country, with celebrity rabbis, beautiful buildings and, above all, freedom—the freedom to worship as we please.

But a free society doesn’t mean a society free of evil.

Evil can’t be legislated away. The same freedom that allows the greatness of a Martin Luther King allows the darkness of a Robert Bowers. We’re free to love, but we’re also free to hate. We’re free to choose happiness, but we’re also free to choose misery.

To be able to enter a house of worship and murder innocent souls must be the height of depravity; the height of misery. I think of all the Tree of Life families whose lives have been suddenly shattered, whose futures have been irreparably darkened.

We go to synagogue to connect with community, to schmooze with friends, to hear words of wisdom, to pray with God. We don’t go to risk our lives– we go to elevate them.

Tragedies like the one at the Tree of Life can shake our faith and weaken our resolve.

But after we internalize tragedies, there’s also a human tendency to look to the future. It’s a coping mechanism, a way of showing resiliency. We ask: “Now what?”

It turns out that “Now What?” was the title of a recent sermon by the spiritual leader of the Tree of Life synagogue, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers.

“We have passed through the non-stop Fall holiday phase, hopefully feeling grateful for the life that God has blessed us with,” the rabbi says.  “We have now entered a nearly two-month period without any holiday celebrations until Chanukah.  Now what?  What can fill the gap?”

He then proceeds to make several suggestions. Here are the first two:

1. “Commit to attending weekday morning minyan once per week.  By doing so, you will ensure a minyan for those of us reciting Kaddish, be it as mourners or for a yahrtzeit.  You will also have the opportunity to enjoy breakfast with a lovely community of fellow congregants.”

2. “Attend either Friday evening services or Shabbat morning services once per month.  Friday evening services are one hour, filled with singing and joy.  Shabbat morning services are less than 2 ½ hours, complete with Torah discussion and a delicious Kiddush lunch.”

It’s hard to read those words without them breaking your heart.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

The Devil’s Paradise in Pittsburgh : https://ift.tt/2Ppuihl

Lesley Wolman: A Life of Song

Singer Lesley Wolman talks about her upcoming cabaret show, and how she kept her love of music through motherhood and the temporary loss of her voice.

Purchase tickets to Lesley’s upcoming show here and be sure to check out her website for more information and links to her music.

For Lesley’s fashion and lifestyle blog visit Fabulesley.

Follow David Suissa on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Check out this episode!

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Lesley Wolman: A Life of Song : https://ift.tt/2qeQ4X6

These I Remember…. by Isaac Pollak

I have done many taharot in the last 36 years, but there are a handful that stand out, and come back to me again and again, especially during days of Yizkor (remembrance) and Zayin Adar (7th of the month of Aar, when many Chevrai Kadisha choose to acknowledge their members), when my custom is to fast, ask forgiveness, and remember those for whom I have performed this mitzvah.

At those times I particularly recall:

–      a 16 year old who drowned

–      a 30 year old who died of AIDS

–      a 40 year old heir to a Sephardic Rabbinic Dynasty who came to the States for treatment for a blood disease,

–      and just a short time ago, an 8 month old little boy who had been abandoned by both parents.

When I think of them, all I can say is that one’s heart goes out, one has no words or explanations, one cries with the families, and one feels G-d’s pain – as G-d says in Psalm 91 “I am with him in distress.”  Ps. 91:15.

But at the same time, it makes us appreciate life all that much more, and we – all of us doing G-d’s work, all who serve as part of the Chevrah Kadisha – are better off for it. Despite the pain and sadness we may encounter, we get so much more than we give.

Isaac Pollak is President and CEO of an international marketing business for almost 4 decades at this point. He holds graduate degrees in Marketing, Industrial Psychology, Art History, and Jewish Material Culture from City College, LIU, JTS, and Columbia University. He has been a student in the Gamliel Institute, and serves as a consultant to the institution. He has been the rosh/head of a Chevrah Kadisha on the upper East Side of Manhattan, NYC, for over 3 decades, and is an avid collector of Chevrah Kadisha material cultural items, having several hundred in his own collection. He serves as chairperson of the Acquisition Committee for Traditional Material Culture at the Jewish Museum in NYC. Born and raised in NYC, married, with 3 children and 3 grandchildren. He has written multiple articles for Expired And Inspired over the years.

Isaac Pollak

_____________________

Gamliel Courses

The next course in the cycle of core courses offered by the Gamliel Institute will be Course 4 – Nechama/Comfort. It will be offered online during the Fall from October 9^th to December 25^th on Tuesday evenings, for 90 minutes each week for 12 weeks. The classes will begin at 5 pm PST/8 pm EST. Primary instructors will be Dan Fendel and Edna Stewart, with guest instructors.

Registration is now open – click here.

The course planned for Winter 2019 is Course 2 – Chevrah Kadisha: Taharah & Shmirah. Plan ahead! You can register online now.

___________

Gamliel Café

Gamliel Students are invited to a free informal online session, held monthly. On the third (3^rd) THURSDAY of each month, different person(s) will offer a short teaching or share some thoughts on a topic of interest to them, and those who are online will have a chance to respond, share their own stories and information, and build our Gamliel Institute community connections. This initiative is being headed up by Rena Boroditsky and Rick Light. You should receive email reminders monthly. The next scheduled session of the Gamliel Café is October 18^th. More details will be sent out soon.

If you are interested in teaching a session, you can contact us at rboroditsky@jewisgh-funerals.org, rlight@jewish-funerals.org, or info@jewish-funerals.org.

_______________

Gamliel Continuing Education Courses

Gamliel students should be on the lookout for information on a series of Gamliel Continuing Education  Courses, advanced sessions focusing in on different topics. These will usually be in groups of three ninety minute sessions (three consecutive Wednesdays) offered roughly twice yearly, with different topics addressed in each series. The goal is to look at these topics in more depth than possible during the core courses. The first course took place in Fall 2017, focusing on Psalms, and the second was on The World to Come and the Zohar.

The next course will be November 28^th, December 5^th, and December 12^th. We will continue to look at death as seen in the Zohar, taught by Beth Huppin.

Registration is required, and there will be a tuition charge of $72 for each three session series. Contact us for information, by email info@jewish-funerals.org, or call 410-733-3700, or simply register online at www.jewish-funerals.org/gamreg/.

You can also register for prior courses and access them via recording.

____________________

Taste of Gamliel Series

The 2018 Taste of Gamliel series has concluded, but it is not too late if you want to access the recordings. You can Register for the 2018 series, Your’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone: Jewish Practices of Remembrance, or any of the series from prior years, and view them in recordings.  There are usually five sessions in a series, and each session is approximately 90 minutes.

The 2019 series is being planned now. Registration for Taste of Gamliel is mandatory to access the sessions. The Registration fee of $36 for each series helps us defray the out of pocket costs.
Those registered will be sent the information on how to connect to the sessions. To register, click here: register.

_____________________

DONATIONS

Donations are always needed and most welcome to support the work of Kavod v’Nichum and the Gamliel Institute, helping us to bring you the annual conference, offer community trainings, provide scholarships to students, refurbish and update course materials, expand our teaching, support programs such as Taste of Gamliel, the Gamliel Café, and the Gamliel Continuing Education courses, provide and add to online resources, encourage and support communities in establishing, training, and improving their Chevrah Kadisha, and assist with many other programs and activities. There is a matching donation program in progress so your dollars go further. See the website for details.

You can donate online at http://jewish-funerals.org/gamliel-institute-financial-support or by snail mail to either:

Kavod v’Nichum, or to The Gamliel Institute,

c/o David Zinner, Executive Director, Kavod v’Nichum,

8112 Sea Water Path,

Columbia, MD  21045.

Kavod v’Nichum and the Gamliel Institute] are recognized and registered 501(c)(3) organization, and donations may be tax-deductible to the full extent provided by law. Call 410-733-3700 if you have any questions or want to know more about supporting Kavod v’Nichum or the Gamliel Institute.

You can also become a member (Individual or Group) of Kavod v’Nichum to help support our work. Click here (http://www.jewish-funerals.org/money/).

___________

SUBMISSIONS WELCOME

Please note: this blog depends on you for content. Without you it cannot publish new material. If you have an idea for an entry you would like to submit to this blog, please be in touch. Email J.blair@jewish-funerals.org. We are always interested in original unpublished materials that would be of interest to our readers, relating to the broad topics surrounding the continuum of Jewish preparation, planning, rituals, rites, customs, practices, activities, and celebrations approaching the end of life, at the time of death, during the funeral, in the grief and mourning process, and in comforting those dying and those mourning, as well as the actions and work of those who address those needs, including those serving in Bikkur Cholim, Caring Committees, the Chevrah Kadisha, as Shomrim, funeral providers, in funeral homes and mortuaries, and operators and maintainers of cemeteries.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

These I Remember…. by Isaac Pollak : https://ift.tt/2ApUvEc

Sandra Heller: How do you care for the elderly?

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Industry Expert Sandra Heller discusses […]

The post Sandra Heller: How do you care for the elderly? appeared first on Jewish Journal.

Sandra Heller: How do you care for the elderly? : https://ift.tt/2CTZlw2

Norman Eisen: Can the European project survive?

A wide-ranging conversation with former Ambassador Norman Eisen on the future of Europe, being Jewish in America, working next to President Obama and his new book, “The Last Palace.”

Follow David Suissa on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Check out this episode!

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Norman Eisen: Can the European project survive? : https://ift.tt/2Cd9JxV

Ramona Schindelheim: The darker side of the low unemployment figures

Ramona Schindelheim of Working Nation discusses why we shouldn’t be fooled by “record unemployment” and envisions strategies for the future.

Follow David Suissa on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Check out this episode!

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Ramona Schindelheim: The darker side of the low unemployment figures : https://ift.tt/2C2EzsJ

‘History Matters’ but Hope Lives Only If People Remember

Editor’s Notes: This is a JJ online exclusive piece. 

---

The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), a public transit agency, recently accepted money for running ads produced by an anti-Semitic group that promotes Holocaust denial and distortion. The transit agency defended its controversial decision based on the First Amendment rights of the group. This action comes at a time when the number of anti-Semitic incidents has risen rapidly in the United States, especially on college campuses.

Along with hundreds of thousands of commuters who use the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco and its suburbs, we are deeply disturbed at BART’s misguided decision to allow advertising on its electronic billboards from a nefarious hate group that masks its denial of history in a veneer of pseudo-scholarship. This California-based group believes that Hitler was a role model, denied that anyone was gassed at Auschwitz and “questions” the historical validity of the Nazi Holocaust.

We wish that BART had contacted the Simon Wiesenthal Center to seek its counsel on what would be an appropriate response when first approached by the so-called Institute for Historical Review (IHR).

For starters we would have informed BART, the IHR tried to place its disgusting advertising on the Washington, D.C. METRO system but was turned down by METRO.

The decision makers at BART appear to have a blind spot for the concerns of the Jewish community, especially Holocaust survivors and their families. Nobody at BART took notice that the IHR ad ran during the Jewish High Holy Days. Without question, had this hate group targeted women or Hispanics or African Americans or the LGBT Community, BART would have rejected the hate ads in a picosecond! But in the immortal words of George Orwell in his classic book, “Animal Farm,” … “but some groups are less equal than others!”  So much for the hypocrisy of governmental commitment to a level playing field.

Not surprising, an IHR spokesman boasted that as a result of the ads on the BART subway platforms, IHR saw an increase in web traffic and received inquiries from other people.  Congratulations, BART, on proving that advertising works — even when it comes to Holocaust denial and distortion.

The Holocaust is the most thoroughly documented, genocide in human history. Nazi Germany was meticulous in its record-keeping about its victims. In the post-WWII era, the German government in cooperation with the International Tracing Service took possession of some 50 million records regarding 17 million of the victims of The Third Reich. Readers are welcome to search online to learn more about this unimaginable low point in human history.

So what should BART do?

1. End the ads immediately.  
2. Donate the monies that they received from the IHR to local Holocaust survivors in the SF Bay Area.
3. Run ads for free with the faces of real victims of the Nazi Holocaust victims who rebuilt lives in California.
4. Order a review of current by-laws and upgrade those rules immediately. Otherwise, prepare for a bevy of extremist groups to follow up on the IHR victory.

Emil Fackenheim, who died in 2003, was a noted Jewish philosopher and rabbi. He taught and believed that in addition to the 613 commandments in Jewish tradition, Jews should observe a 614th: Do not grant Hitler a posthumous victory. By allowing this horrible error in judgment to go unanswered, BART has violated the 614th commandment.

Simon Wiesenthal, the great Nazi hunter who himself lost 89 family members in the Holocaust, and the unofficial ambassador of 6 million victims of the Holocaust, against all odds, brought some 1,100 Nazi War Criminals before the bar of justice. He stated these two important calls to action to the post-Holocaust world:

“Freedom is not a gift from heaven, it must be earned every day” and “Hope lives when people remember.”

BART, are you listening?

---

Rabbi Abraham Cooper is Associate Dean, director of Global Social Action Agenda at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. Morey Schapira is a past national president of the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews and lives in the SF Bay Area.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

‘History Matters’ but Hope Lives Only If People Remember : https://ift.tt/2BZ426B

The Kavanaugh Fiasco: Just Win, Baby

I was never this cynical. If anything, I’m more of a romantic. I like to believe people, even politicians. I’ve met some amazing politicians who work very hard and have strong convictions. I know they don’t have an easy job.

So why am I totally disgusted with the political spectacle of the Brett Kavanaugh Senate hearings? For a number of reasons, but one in particular.

I feel I’m watching a UFC Championship fight. Two combatants locked in a cage ready to do whatever it takes to crush his or her opponent.

Whenever I see one of these combatants try to convince me it’s not a cage I’m seeing but a conversational salon, I roll my eyes. Who are they kidding?

Before the hearings even started, before anyone had even heard the name Christine Ford, one side had already announced that the candidate in question was evil and must be crushed by any means necessary.

In fact, you can go back a few years and note that the other side would not even allow a hearing in the first place. Why? For the same reason the latest candidate was called evil: because one must do whatever it takes to win. Nothing else matters.

The crazy thing is, I’m not saying anything new. We’ve always known that “partisan politics” is a contact sport where people fight over power. So why is it disgusting me so much all of a sudden?

Maybe because I don’t recall it ever being so viciously and shamelessly blatant. It’s possible that the stakes are seen as so high—a majority in the Supreme Court for years—that combatants have thrown every scruple and principle out the window. Except for one, of course: Win at all cost.

Our politics have descended all the way down to the UFC cage. Actually, they’re lower. At least with UFC, no one is pretending to have a conversation. They’re only there to fight. The politics of the Kavanaugh hearings is UFC without the honesty.

Behind the fancy suits and righteous blather, it’s hand-to-hand combat. Everyone knows it: Find any weapon you can, destroy whomever you must. The newest standard is now the lowest standard.

There are exceptions. There still are noble politicians who want to do the right thing and put decorum and decency ahead of winning. The problem is that their voices are drowning in the chaotic din of the arena.

Perhaps the saddest part of this whole fiasco is that I’m not sure any of this upsets the combatants.

When you’re in the cage, looking at your enemy, there is only victory, and it is priceless.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

The Kavanaugh Fiasco: Just Win, Baby : https://ift.tt/2DUqaSb