the ce ntre c all · the ce ntre c all germantown jewish centre let your spirit move you israeli...

Volume 23, Issue No. 4 ADAR 5775 MARCH 2015

www.germantownjewishcentre.org

germantown jewish centre • 400 west ellet street • Philadelphia, Pa 19119 • tel 215.844.1507 • fax 215.844.8309

Rabbi Reena Spicehandler (Visiting Rabbi)

It’s hard to believe that two monthshave passed since my last column

and that Purim and Pesach will soonbe upon us. I have learned muchabout the inner workings of GJC dur-ing this time and would like to sharesome of my observations with you. I have been very impressed by thesupport and caring that goes on in ourcommunity of communities. Whenmy husband remarked on the level ofpastoral care at GJC and asked mewhether our congregation had unusu-ally high needs, I realized that thiswas, in fact, not the case. Rather theneed appeared to be greater becauseso many of you were concerned thatfellow congregants get supportive car-ing during difficult moments. It is thelevel of caring and communicationthat is unusually high.

Several weeks ago a congregant

who had recently had surgery calledto thank me for a home-cooked mealprepared by our Chesed volunteers,accompanied by a card made by oursixth grade class wishing him well. Heintends to keep that card which

touched him greatly. Other congregantsvisit our elders at Cathedral Village andin their homes, and this too makes animportant impact.

Many of our member rabbis have

volunteered their support in a variety ofways these past months, particularly byenriching the Charry Service with theirinsights and creativity, when givingguest Divrei Torah. Perhaps it does nottake a village, but it does take our entirecommunity to insure that GJC thrivesduring this transitional time of sabbati-cal and maternity leave.

We will soon conclude the book

of Shemot (Exodus) with ParashatVayakel-Pekudei which tells of theIsraelites building a mishkan (Taberna-cle) for God in the wilderness. We readin Exodus 35: 21-29: “And everyonewho excelled in ability and everyonewhose spirit was moved came, bringingoffering for the work…. Thus theIsraelites, all the men and womenwhose hearts moved them to bring any-thing for the work that the Lord, throughMoses, had commanded to be done,brought it as a freewill offering to theLord.” It is only after this, in Exodus40:27 that “…the cloud covered theTent of Meeting, and the presence of theLord filled the Tabernacle.”

I’d like to challenge each of us

to think of what we can bring to GJC,our “Tent of Meeting,” in order to

allow God’s presence to continue tolive among us. (See Rabbi DayleFriedman’s article on Pg 12 aboutparticipating in the weekday minyan,for one possible suggestion.)

The Centre Callg e r m a n t o w n j e w i s h c e n t r e

Let Your Spirit Move You

Israeli Politics through Comedy“Arab Labor” TV Series

Viewing & Skype DiscussionRed Cross Blood Drive

sponsored by Men’s ClubMarch 1

GJC Celebrates! PurimMinyan Masorti PurimMarch 4 – Erev Purim

Purim CarnivalMarch 8

Scholar-in-Residence Shabbatwith Rabbi Emeritus Leonard

Gordon and his wifeLori Lefkovitz, Ph.D.March 13-14

Women’s Club Premier Program& Fundraiser: Flower Arranging

Kids’ Stuff ExchangeMarch 15

Passover Tot JAM withChana RothmanMarch 22

Women’s Shabbat featuringEmilie Passow Ph.D.

March 28

Program Highlights

www.germantownjewishcentre.org2

a D a r 5 7 7 5 • m a r c h 2 0 1 5

I Can’t Wait to go Back!By Mathieu Shapiro, GJC President

President’s Message

M y family-J e s s i c a ,

Jake, Alex andI had the great

pleasure and privilege of going on theGJC trip to Israel. Here are a few of mylasting images from the trip.

One morning in Jerusalem, we vis-

ited to an organization called PantryPackers, to pack bags of rice for Israel’spoorest families and senior citizens.The activity wasn’t unique. Here inPhiladelphia, one could engage insimilar activities either with Philabun-dance, which is a secular organiza-tion, or with Jewish Relief Agency,which is a much smaller Jewish organ-ization. What struck me as uniquewas that Pantry Packers is the food dis-tribution arm of Colel Chabad, whichwas founded in the 18th century bythe Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Thefull-time employees directing the vol-unteers were, I assume, Lubavitchers.Before we began, someone in ourgroup asked for whom we would bepacking the rice. We learned thatPantry Packers’ recipients are screenedand selected on a non-discriminatorybasis by local government, without re-gard to gender, ethnic background, ordegree of religious observance. Inshort, it was Lubavitchers taking careof everyone.

A few days later, we went to Kib-

butz Hannaton, whose Executive Di-rector, Rabbi Yoav Ende, has actuallybeen to GJC (and will be skyping in forprograms in March and May thisSpring). We heard how the Masorti(conservative) Kibbutz had dwindledrecently to very few families, only tobe rejuvenated by an effort to build aninnovative, pluralistic community,based on education, tradition, ecologyand Zionism. The Kibbutz views itself

as being central in an on-going dialogueabout what it means to be Jewish. Weheard that the Kibbutz was trying to holdservices that would be comfortableacross a wide range of observance, andhow they balanced those competing in-terests – so that the Synagogue could be-come a communal center. We heardabout their compromises in regards toShabbat: electronics may be used onlyin private places; cars that members in-tend to use on Shabbat must be parkedbeyond the Kibbutz gates before Shab-bat begins. We heard about their twistson the traditional kibbutz, in which theyretain cooperative elements, but alsohave differential salaries, and homeownership. Mostly we heard how themembers of the Kibbutz are trying tocreate a space that is neither secular nororthodox, that harmonizes modernityand tradition, religious tolerance andZionism, community and freedom ofchoice.

Finally, we visited Yemin Orde Youth

Village, where we met Racheli Yaso, theDirector of Visitor Relations and Out-reach Programs. Yemin Orde, as someof you may know, was founded in the1950s as a safe haven and home forHolocaust orphans and immigrant chil-dren. Today, Yemin Orde has more than

400 resident children, from around theworld, who are in need of a home anda family.

Racheli, who led our tour, was born

in Ethiopia, and made aliyah with herfamily in 1984, when she was 7, dur-ing Operation Moses. As she and herfamily struggled to adapt to Israeli life,she lived in a youth village. After grad-uating from the youth village, sheserved in the IDF as a soldier-teacherfor children from underprivilegedbackgrounds. Racheli told us the storyof her family packing up everythingthey owned, leaving Ethiopia, trekkingthrough the Sudanese desert, all withlittle knowledge of where they weregoing. She told us about being res-cued by the IDF – and then later, whenshe was older, meeting IDF soldierswho participated in Operation Moses.She told us about the more than125,000 Ethiopian Jews who havebeen brought to Israel – where theyhad to learn a new language, anda new culture. She talked about thedifficulties, including her own at-tempts as a teenager to leave herEthiopian culture behind, only to real-ize later how much it meant to her andto younger Ethiopian Jews.

continued on page 6

T h e C e n t r e C a l l g e r m a n t o w n j e w i s h c e n t r e

www.germantownjewishcentre.org 3

In CeLeBraTIon…Reena & Aryeh Friedman on the birth

of their granddaughter, Noa Reva Erlich,daughter of Ilana & Adam Ehrlich

Tamara Cohen & Gwynn Kessler on the birth of their son, Kliel

Connie & Sam Katz on the birth of their grandson, Asa Prentiss Smith, son of Lauren Katz & Prentiss Smith

Lily Seldin on becoming Bat Mitzvah

Jakob Friedman-Slifker on becoming Bar Mitzvah

Cyrilla Rosen on the marriage of her grandson, Eric Rosen,son of Sharon & Jordon Rosen, to Hilary Jacobs

Cyrilla Rosen on the birth, in Israel, of her great grandson,Gavriel Yichiam, son of Shiri & Brian Rosen, grandson ofSharon & Jordon Rosen

Rabbi Annie Lewis & Rabbi Yosef Goldman on the birth of their daughter, Zohar Lieba Lewis Goldman

Micah Ravital on becoming Bar Mitzvah

Connie Katz on her special birthday

Kathryn Hellerstein on winning the Jewish Book Council’s 2014 Women’s Studies Barbara Dobkin Award for her bookA Question of Tradition: Women Poets in Yiddish, 1586-1987

Lauren & Andy Ufberg on the birth of their son Henry

Jenna & Robert Isaacs on the birth of their daughter Magnolia

Serena Levingston on becoming Bat Mitzvah

(December 2014 – January 2015)

Shabbat Chai-Lites

March 7• Kol D’mamah

• Musical Marching Minyan

March 13-14• Beit Midrash

• Scholar-in-Residence Shabbat with Rabbi EmeritusLeonard Gordon and his wife, Lori Lefkovitz, Ph.D.

• Parshat ha-Shavua b’Ivrit

March 21• Charry Service – 6th Graders read Torah

• We welcome Nir Topper,from the Galilee Foundation for Values Education

March 27-28• Kol Zimrah

• 9:30 AM - Women’s Shabbat featuringEmilie Passow Ph.D.

April 3-4• Pesach begins

April 17-18• Hazak Shabbat• Pirke Avot Study

April 24-25• Kol Zimrah

• Charry Service – 4th Grade Ashrei & 5th Grade Haftarah• Pirke Avot Study

Kabbalat Shabbat /Kol ZimrahFridays at 6 PM

Shabbat MorningServices at 10 AM (unless otherwise noted above)

Kol D’mamah at 10 AMMusical Marching Minyan at 11 AMParshat ha-Shavua b’Ivrit at 11 AM

Shabbat Morning Kids Space - Room 305Kids are welcome to play Shabbat-friendly games in

Room 305 - bring your own and some will be provided.Please respect the space, clean up after yourselves

and put all games away after use.

In MeMorIaMIrving Warhaftig, father of Caren Borowsky, father-in-law

of Ned and grandfather of Sonya

Adele Ajl, mother of Diane Ajl, mother-in-law of Neil Kitrosser

and grandmother of Daniel and Jeffrey Kitrosser

Dr. Fredric Raichlen, brother of Linda Millison, brother-in-law

of Marty Millison and uncle of Martha Millison

Kalman Broitman, father of Helene Broitman

Roslyn Nissen, wife of Arthur Nissen, mother of Jill Nissen

and Diane Nissen and long-time member of GJC

Miriam Kavesh, mother of Bill Kavesh and grandmother

of Meira and Aaron

Bunny Stein, wife of Sid Stein, and a long-time member of GJC

Gabriella “Gabi” Fellner, mother of David Fellner

and Michael Fellner, mother-in-law of Betty Ann Fellner and

a long-time member of GJC

Sundays in March - April at 10 AM (not 4/5 or 4/12)

$5 per sessionFor more info

call Tamar Magdovitz at 215-247-9614

ISraeLI danCIng

Special Thanks to

the Wolfe Family Foundation

for generously supporting

programming at GJC


a D a r 5 7 7 5 • m a r c h 2 0 1 5


said. “My Talmud teacher in 10th gradecalled my parents and said I asked toomany questions, which my parents be-lieved was my job to do as a student.”So her parents sent her to a secular,private college preparatory school.Beulah went on to Swarthmore College.

After graduating, she moved to Ore-

gon and stayed for five years. She didn’tfully connect with the Jewish commu-nity aside from teaching Hebrew School.Still, Beulah’s essence is spiritual and shebegan to search for an elusive Godin other traditions. “When I got toPhiladelphia, I knew I wanted to exploreJudaism,” she said. She joined a new Re-constructionist congregation, MishkanShalom, to integrate her spiritual search-ing with her Judaism.

Professionally, she embarked on

a path towards her current work. She gota masters degree from Penn in educa-tional psychology and became certifiedas a marriage and family therapist. Sev-eral years later, she received her PhDfrom Penn, where her advisor was GJCmember Peter Kuriloff. She opened a pri-vate practice and worked as a psychol-ogist for one of the early HMOs, laterbecoming a mental health administratorthere. In 1992, Beulah brought her psy-chological experience into organiza-tions. She began to consult with theCenter for Applied Research, a manage-ment-consulting firm that was an off-shoot of the Wharton School. In 2007she started Vector Group Consultingwith colleagues in Europe. The firm fo-cuses on leadership, teams and culture,mostly in health care.

Beulah and Steve first met through

peace work at the Shalom Center duringthe first Gulf War in 1991. A year later,they began dating. Steve’s mother firstheard about Beulah when Steve calledher to say he was dating an AfricanAmerican Jew. “How wonderful,” sheanswered. They were engaged 18 monthslater on Beulah’s 36th birthday andmarried in 1995.

Beulah Trey (age 57) and SteveMasters (age 56) lead full lives.

Married almost 20 years, they havetwo sons, Ari, 17, and Charlie, 15 and aremembers of Dorshei Derekh at GJC.

Beulah was born in Port Elizabeth,

and grew up in Cape Town, SouthAfrica. Her parents’ families emigratedfrom Lithuania to South Africa whereLithuanians comprised 90% of theJewish population. Beulah was sevenwhen her family came to America.“ Myfather didn’t see a future in apartheidSouth Africa,” she said. “He didn’twant his children growing up feelingthat one race is inferior to another.”

Beulah never before had seen tele-

vision or snow. There were other sub-tle adjustments to be made. She feltlike a foreigner, but spoke English.Sometimes, her family misunderstoodAmerican idioms. “When someonesays, ‘Call at 9 am, we showed up attheir door at 9 am,” Beulah said, smil-ing. “In America call means using thephone but in South Africa it means tovisit.” Beulah’s identity is still very tiedto South Africa. “There’s nothing likean African sky. When I go back, my6-year-old senses return.”

She grew up in Brookline, Massa-

chusetts. Her parents enrolled her ina modern Orthodox Jewish dayschool, a move that had a profound,lasting impact. At age 11, she askedher father why he was sending her tothe school when the family didn’t ob-serve Orthodox practices. He an-swered, ‘So you will feel at home inany Jewish community,’ “and it didjust that,” she said.

The experience was defining. “I’ve

always been a feminist, and the Ortho-dox day school was a challenge,” she

Steve Masters and Beulah Treyat the top of Masada

continued on page 5

Member Spotlight By Linda Kriger

“One thing I love about Steve is

that he embraces Judaism in a totallyuncomplicated way,” Beulah said. “Heloves the Jewish people.” Beulah wastransitioning from the Judaism of heryouth to something different and knewshe wanted to give her future childrena love for Judaism. “And here Stevewas with that love.”

With their two boys, they joined

Mishkan Shalom. Beulah was on theboard of the Jewish ReconstructionistFederation. “Mishkan is a beautifulcommunity,” she said. “It is a place tofind yourself in Judaism.” The familyjoined GJC and Dorshei, about eightyears ago. “We love Dorshei Derekh,the singing and d’vrei torah. We feelvery at home.” Beulah was Dorshei’sHigh Holiday coordinator for two years.

Beulah’s spiritual searching brought

her to study, teach and develop a con-temporary approach to Mussar withRabbi Ira Stone of Congregation BethZion-Beth Israel (BZBI). Mussar, theJewish tradition of moral and ethicalcharacter development, is a centuriesold toolbox filled with texts and prac-tices geared to rediscover the joy andholiness which occur in those mo-ments when we are fully keyed in toothers in our lives. In 2004, togetherwith Rabbi Ira Stone, Miki Young z”land Jim Culbertson, she co-foundedthe Mussar Leadership Program to pro-mote contemporary Mussar theologyand practice. Beulah leads a Mussarstudy group at BZBI and one atMishkan Shalom. In addition to Mus-sar groups at GJC and on the MainLine, other groups have convened inCalifornia, Ohio, Washington State,Washington, D.C. and New York City. Steve grew up in Lincolnwood, Illi-nois, next to Skokie. The fourth gener-ation in an observant Reform Jewishfamily, he attended Shabbat servicesevery week and every holiday. Activein the Reform youth movement, NFTY,



Member Spotlight Continued from page 4

Steve attended Hebrew school, He-brew high school and a Hebrew-speaking Reform camp in Wisconsinfor three summers. “I’ve been in lovewith Israel and Judaism my whole life,”he said.

When Steve was a high school

freshman, he won round trip tickets toIsrael by placing first in Chicago’sJerusalem Quiz, an academic contestopen to Jewish high school students.He used those tickets during the sum-mer between high school and collegeto take the first of many trips he wouldmake to Israel. He studied in a Hebrewulpan at Ben Shemen youth villageand toured the country.

Steve majored in political science

at Yale and spent his undergraduateyears organizing on behalf of a widevariety of social justice causes likehandgun control, democratic social-ism, antiapartheid divestment and free-dom for Soviet Jews. His most notablesuccess came after he was elected tolead a new student handgun controlgroup as a freshman. By the time hehad graduated, his group had success-fully lobbied for passage of local leg-islation in New Haven and a new statelaw in Connecticut.

In college, Steve experienced

a seismic shift in thinking about Israel.During his freshman year, he wentfrom protesting PLO officials comingto speak on campus to embracing theneed for Israel to negotiate with thePLO over the creation of an independ-ent Palestinian state in the West Bankand Gaza Strip. Finding himself rela-tively alone in these views at the time,Steve wondered whether he could beboth deeply committed to Judaism andto social justice inside the Jewish com-munity. “I resolved the tension bychoosing to stay connected Jewishlyon campus and becoming an activistoutside of the Jewish world.”

Thus began Steve’s long career in

social justice work. After graduating,he took a job in Washington as na-

tional student organizer and regionallobbyist for the National Coalition toBan Handguns. He then worked on thesuccessful re-election campaign for SamGejdenson, a progressive first term con-gressman from Connecticut, the firstchild of Holocaust survivors to be electedto Congress.

Steve then moved to Boston and be-

came executive director of the Massa-chusetts state gun control group, andwent to Boston University Law School.While in law school, Steve helped torepresent black parents in Boston’sschool desegregation lawsuit andworked with the Southern Poverty LawCenter to seek justice for victims of Klanviolence.

After law school, he moved to Israel

and lived for a year in a communalhouse committed to social change inJerusalem. There, he worked for promi-nent civil rights and civil liberties organ-izations. He led the Jerusalem chapter ofIsraelis Against Apartheid and partici-pated in virtually every peace andhuman rights demonstration in the coun-try. “In Israel I could integrate my Jewishidentity with my passion for social jus-tice,” he said. He worked as a volunteerattorney for the Association for CivilRights in Israel, led a tour for AmericanJewish supporters of the Israeli peacemovement and served as a delegate tothe World Zionist Congress in June 2010.

Steve moved to Philadelphia, and

joined the Pennsylvania bar. Just after hereturned to the U.S., the Intifada began,and he became consumed with it. Hejoined with the Middle East Task Forceof the local New Jewish Agenda chapterand took a national role. “If the intifadahad started when I was still in Israel, I’dhave stayed,” he said. “I thought aboutmaking aliyah, but my Hebrew wasn’tfluent enough to practice law in Israel.”

Steve clerked at a private law firm

that did class action work before takinghis first legal job at Community LegalServices. But he didn’t leave his Israelactivism behind. “I started organizingdemonstrations in front of the Israeliconsulate along with Rabbi Brian Walt

(later the rabbi of Mishkan Shalom).I didn’t understand the effect of ourprotests on the local Jewish commu-nity,” he said. “I’d just come from Is-rael where people protested in front ofthe Prime Minister’s house all the time.The Philadelphia Jewish communitytotally freaked, even though we weresaying things that you could readevery day in the Israeli papers.”

He found a Jewish home at

P’nai Or and loved the Jewish Re-newal movement. But, “every once ina while, when I wanted a ‘really tradi-tional service,’ I’d go to Dorshei,” hesaid with a smile. A short time later, hehelped start Mishkan Shalom andserved on the board.

Steve moved to Washington to be

Assistant Director of the Jewish PeaceLobby in the early 1990s. After he be-came involved with Beulah, he movedback to Philadelphia and joined a lawfirm for six years as a labor lawyerworking on behalf of unions. In 2000,he was recruited to work at City Coun-cil where he worked closely with hismentor, the late Councilman DavidCohen. Steve stayed for twelve years.“Sadly,” he said, “all the progressivesleft toward the middle of my tenurethere.”

After the second Intifada began,

Steve co-founded the 50,000- memberJewish peace group Brit Tzedekv’Shalom and served as its second na-tional president. In 2010, Brit Tzedekmerged with J Street, becoming itsgrassroots arm and Steve becamea founding national board member ofJ Street. “Brit Tzedek never had muchaccess to the White House whileGeorge W. Bush was President,” hesaid. “But when President Obama waselected, I was invited to the WhiteHouse for Hanukah and the Vice Pres-ident’s home for Rosh Hashanah.”

About to turn 50, Steve got back

into long distance cycling, a passionfrom his youth. He completed his firstcentury (100 mile) bike ride in NewYork during Hazon’s Labor Day ride,

continued on page 6


a D a r 5 7 7 5 • m a r c h 2 0 1 5

raising funds for the environment.“Doing something in the Jewish com-munity that wasn’t about protesting Is-rael was such a pleasure,” he said witha broad smile. “Nobody’s getting bentout of shape. There’s a whole way to besocially active without alienating peo-ple. What a concept! In my youngerdays I used to gravitate toward polariz-ing, conflicting positions. That doesn’tmake me as happy as it once did.”

In 2012, after leaving City Council,

Steve took on his most challengingcycling challenge, riding 1,100 milesover three weeks from Helena,Montana to Saint Paul/Minneapolis aspart of Hazon’s Cross-USA ride. Alongwith 14 others, he rode about 70 miles

a day, visiting Jewish communities inMontana and the Dakotas and raisingawareness for sustainability and foodjustice.

Later in 2012, Steve opened his own

law practice “to empower groups thattraditionally haven’t had access to power,”including the Bicycle Coalition, ScenicPhiladelphia - an anti-billboard group -and a labor union for airport workers.

He soon realized that while lobbyists

for wealthy clients received year-roundretainers, his clients couldn’t afford topay him when City Council was in re-cess. “So I started to represent commu-nity groups and community-focuseddevelopers who want to work toward amore collaborative approach to commu-nity development,” he said. He joinedthe board of the Sustainable Business

Member Spotlight Continued from page 5

One thing that really struck me

while listening to Racheli was her loveand appreciation for Israel, and hergratefulness to the IDF. And, Rachelihad my absolute favorite line of theentire trip, when she told us about herarrival in Israel. She was shocked,she said, to look around and see thefaces of the Israelis. “Who knew,” shereported thinking, “there were somany white Jews?”

Space precludes me from writing

about all of the people we met, and allof the issues about which we learned.These three stand out as examples ofmy lasting impression from the GJCtrip: Israel is a sixty-six years youngcountry, that exists against the odds ina rough and frequently Anti-Semiticneighborhood, that has been attackedtoo many times in its brief history andmust devote too many of its preciousresources to defense, and still, it existsas the proud and accomplished hometo an amazingly diverse group of Jews,engaged in many different ways ofbeing Jewish, and using their respec-tive understandings of Judaism tomake Israel a better place. I can’t waitto go back.

President’s MessageContinued from page 2

Network and leads their policy initia-tives. “I want to work with people whohave similar values and look at busi-ness as a social enterprise.”

As for GJC, Beulah and Steve have

found a spiritual home here. Steveis a member of the Israel ProgrammingGroup and Social Action Committee.Mourning his mother, Benita, whodied last fall, he frequents the morn-ing minyan and the offsite Mondayevening minyan organized by Masorti,where he appreciates praying togetherwith members from other minyanim.Beulah enjoys and appreciates DorsheiDerekh. “I get so much pleasure sayingwe are a community of minyanim,”she said, because we view our differ-ences not as a stopping point but asthe beginning of a conversation.”

Seeing Israel through Fresh Eyes:The Experience of an Interfaith Pilgrimage

with Christians & Muslims

with Rabbi Leonard Gordon, GJC’s Rabbi Emeritusand his wife Lori Lefkovitz, Ph.D.

Friday - Saturday, March 13 - 14

Friday, March 13 • 6:00 PM • Kabbalat Shabbat Service“Jerusalem as a City of Compromise” teaching by Rabbi Gordon

Saturday Morning, March 14 • 10:00 AM • Charry Service“What We Remember When We Remember the Shoah in Israel:

Visiting Yad Vashem with Christians and Muslims”D’var Torah with Rabbi Gordon & Lori Lefkovitz, Ph.D.

Rabbi Gordon will also honor Cherie Goren on her 90th Birthday

The entire GJC community is invited to join together for Kiddushfollowing services sponsored by Cherie Goren, along with Dorshei Derekh,

Minyan Masorti and Germantown Jewish Centre

Saturday Afternoon, March 14Program following Kiddush at approximately 1:30 PM

“The Imperative of Interfaith Work: Lessons from a Pilgrimageto Israel and the Palestinian Authority” with Rabbi Gordon

Rabbi Gordon with Shimon Peres



early Childhood Program (eCP)

ECP celebrated Tu bi’Shevat (TheNew Year of the Trees) with

a special seder where we enjoyedsome fruits which grow in Israel suchas figs, oranges and grapes. We alsohad a visit from Mark Fallon, anECP Parent and Naturalist at BriarBush Nature Center. We learnedall about trees and what they givepeople and what trees give animals.

By Jodi Gordon, ECP Director

Celebrating, Learning and Growing in ECP

We had someanimal vistorstoo! We end-ed our visitwith Markby investigat-ing how treesgrow and ob-

served tree rings or “birthday rings” andof course sang Happy Birthday to theTrees!


a D a r 5 7 7 5 • m a r c h 2 0 1 5

During my years on the ExecutiveCommittee, and now as Presi-

dent, this community has repeatedlyastounded and inspired me with itsgenerosity, its kind-heartedness, andits dedication. I am so pleased toshare with you an extraordinary act of generosity by congregants whoexemplify those attributes.

Many of you knew Dr. Anthony

and Malvene Arce as active andengaged members of our community.Malvene was active in Women’s Club.Tony was active in Men’s Club. Healso studied Jewish history and textwith Rabbi Gordon, and learned He-brew at GJC. Dr. Arce died recently.We were deeply surprised to learnthat, unbeknownst to anyone, Dr. Arceleft a $500,000 bequest to GJC inhis will.

The Arces’ daughter, Judy, recalls

her parents moving to Philadelphiaand finding GJC. They immediatelyfelt a sense of belonging at the Centre.They found people to be warm,friendly, and “real.” They found theycould relate to people they met andright away felt “welcomed into thefold.” They appreciated GJC's unpre-tentious culture and its focus on mean-ingful issues. Judy remembers that herparents “loved supporting German-town Jewish Centre because it meantso much to them.” She recalls themdiscussing the amount they would giveeach year, and saying, “Let’s increaseit, because we are getting so much outof it!”

After careful consideration, and

discussion with Rabbi Zeff and theBoard, the Executive Committee intendsto use Dr. Arce's bequest in two ways.First, we know that the Arces caredabout religious education, so we arecreating the Anthony and Malvene ArceEducation Fund, to support the GJC Re-ligious School. Many of you know thatour Religious School - like virtually allsynagogue religious schools - operatesat a deficit. The Anthony and MalveneArce Education Fund will contributeeach year to help operate our ReligiousSchool.

Second, Dr. Arce’s gift demonstrates

the importance of planned giving in hisown life. So we plan to use a portion ofhis bequest to create the Anthony andMalvene Arce Legacy Program. This

annual program will be designed toeducate and assist our congregants inestate planning. The event will alsogently encourage planned giving toGJC, to honor the very behaviorwhich Tony and Mal have so ablymodeled. We hope to create eventsthat will be both educational andenjoyable, and that will help usremember Tony and Mal.

We hope these two uses of the

bequest will keep Tony and Mal inour thoughts and memories, and setan example of generosity, for yearsto come. If you are interested infollowing the Arces’ example, andmaking a planned gift to GJC of yourown, please contact either me or NinaPeskin.

an act of extraordinary generosityBy Mathieu Shapiro, GJC President

Run, Run, Run (Don’t Walk, RUN) to the Little Shop

D(nuR,nuR,nuR

)NUR,klaWt’noD

pohSelttiLehtot

Come to the Little Shop for

all of your Pesach needs!

All our wine is kosher for Passover

We have what you need for Pesach

And it is ON SALE!!

*Combine our monthly specials

with the Early Bird Special for 20%

off our already low, low prices

*except Wine, Books, Mezuzot

Scrolls, Tefillin and Sale Items

Sunday 9:00 – 12:30

Monday Closed

Tuesday 12:00 – 7:30

Wednesday12:00 – 7:30

Thursday 12:00 – 5:00

Friday 12:00 – 4:00

Remember Our Hours

Dr. Anthony and Malvene Arce

March Special: 10%

Seder plates, matzah plates, matzah covers,

and Elijah & Miriam’s cups *

April Special: 10% off all Kiddush CupsAnd gift certificates for the Little Shop

always make great presents for every occasion



My Visit with Bunny Stein: Tribute to a great LadyBy Helen Feinberg

One beautiful summer day in2008 I had the pleasure of spendingtime with Bunny and Sid Stein in theirbeautiful Bryn Mawr home. I had moreor less invited myself, in order to probeBunny's memory and raid her recipecollection for inclusion in the “GJCCooks” cookbook that was in theworks. It was a memorable afternoon.

The Steins’ home, like Bunny her-self, was gracious and elegant; thegardens were lush and well-tended.There was a pool, in which Bunnytold me she skinny-dipped regularlybecause it was, she said, better for hertremor. Inside, sitting at the diningroom table, Bunny’s stories flowed,and Sid sometimes joined in, with hisbrilliance and humor (which I hadnever experienced before that day,he had always seemed kind of intim-idating).

Bunny told me about the heydayof Women’s Club, in the 1950’s,when “we had covered dish luncheson an afternoon during the week.Two hundred women would come,all wearing hats and gloves.” Lunch-eon dishes included a liver and onionsappetizer, poached salmon on a silvertray, and cakes. This was the era when,for a Bar Mitzvah, the parents andtheir friends (whose kitchens werekosher) baked cakes and cookies andbrought them in to be enjoyed at the

Friday night Oneg Shabbat after services.The women offered, and took, cook-

ing classes. Bunny taught challah mak-ing. She would not give me the recipe,making clear that “you have to watchme do it. No two bags of flour are thesame.” She explained that her recipewas the result of experimenting, be-cause at the time she needed to makea salt-free challah. When this was nolonger a requirement, she added somesugar and salt, but the quantities of in-gredients remain unknown. Bunny toldme twice that Mildred Magil (z”l),Frankie Moses (z”l) and Carol Kaplan,our own master baker of biscotti andother treats, took the challah-bakingclass. So maybe I will have to ask Carolfor a demonstration!

Bunny offered several of her cook-ing secrets, which shall remain secretno longer. She suggested adding onetablespoon of Manischewitz wine to arecipe or knaidlach. Also for Pesach, sherecommended poaching Anjou pears inred wine (probably Manischewitz again),and serving them with a chocolatesauce. For Rosh Hashanah she liked tooffer pot roast with onion and kreplach,which she had boiled for soup.

Perusing her earlier GJC cookbooks,(and including page numbers), Bunnycredited long-time GJC members likeLillian Feldman for “Selma’s CoffeeCake,” Julia Fox for her Mushrooms andRice, Cele Brown for her HungarianSour Cream Schnecken, and JeanetteDudnick for her Russian Tea Balls. Sheread out several recipes, which I wrote

as fast as she spoke, including SplitPea Soup from Diana Stern (z”l), JoanN. Stern’s mother, Ann Nodler'sChocolate Icebox Cake which is goodfor Pesach, and Anne Orloff's (z”l)Half-Hour Vegetable Soup, whichmany of us might not be able to usebecause it contained a teaspoon ofAccent (MSG).*

Bunny told me about the time herdaughter Joanne, a pastry chef, tookher to a Pastry Chef Society affair,where she was able to obtain – nodoubt she charmed it out of them --the recipe for Le Bec Fin’s chocolatechip cookies.*

But Bunny’s best story was of therecipe for the cake she recommendedmost highly, which she had beengiven by a member of the Board of theTechnion in Haifa, Israel. She gave mea copy of the recipe. Like manyrecipes of the 1960’s it calls for pre-pared cake mix, canned fruit and in-stant pudding. It is actually called“Better Than Sex Cake,” but Bunnyrenamed it the “Aishes Chayeel”(Woman of Valor) Cake.* I’m going tomake it this month, in Bunny’s memory.

Oh, and as I was getting ready toleave, Bunny brought me into thekitchen and gave me a 9” square bak-ing pan containing an unbaked chal-lah, to take home. She instructed mehow long to bake it, and said I couldkeep the pan, she had so many.Whenever I use it I think of Bunny.

*Recipes available upon request

Bertha (Bunny) Stein was a long-time mem-ber of Germantown Jewish Centre whopassed away in January 2015. GJC Past Pres-ident (and new co-chair of Hazak), HelenFeinberg, was moved to share the followingstory of an afternoon spent with Bunnyseveral years ago.


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Social action Update

This year’s Ralph Granger MemorialShabbat program on January 18 of-

fered a window into the experience ofBlacks in today’s America. GJC mem-ber Rabbi George Stern led a dialoguewith his friend Reverend Cean James,founding pastor of Grace Christian Fel-lowship (GCF), a church in southwestPhiladelphia that has recently spawneda satellite community in Mt. Airy. Rev-erend James spoke candidly and per-sonally about his experience and that ofhis congregants, including countless oc-casions of being viewed as suspiciousin situations where white people arenot. GJC member David Mosenkis pre-sented the results of his researchdemonstrating dramatic racial dispari-ties in the way Pennsylvania distributesmoney to its 500 school districts,whereby districts with predominantlywhite student populations receive sig-nificantly more funding per studentthan economically similar districts that

are more racially diverse. Reverend Jamesrecounted his experiences in Fergusonlast fall as one of several POWER clergyleaders who supported non-violentdemonstrations in the face of an aggres-sive and militarized police response. Hepraised the markedly more disciplinedand restrained response of Philadelphiapolice to local protests.

Two days following the Granger event,

on MLK day, following a morning whenmany participated in service projects,dozens of GJC members joined thousandsof Philadelphians in an afternoon marchand rally for justice, jobs and education.The previous week, 5 GJC members gath-ered with 200 members of POWER con-gregations from across the city to learnand experience how to talk openly andhonestly about race. And Sunday Febru-ary 1, a standing-room only crowd in theTemin Canteen Room heard ProfessorAbigail Perkiss and GJC members JudahLabovitz, Joan Silver, and Ellen Kopeland

By Andrea Moselle and David Mosenkis

What’s Race Got to Do With It?

share research and personal experienceson the racial integration of Mt. Airy.

The topic of race has become central

in discussions of public schools, pursu-ing economic justice, and understand-ing the history and future of GJC and theMt. Airy community. The Social ActionCommittee is planning further opportu-nities for members to engage in dia-logue about race. If you are interested,contact George Stern, Andi Moselle, orDavid Mosenkis.

GJC members were among thousands at theMLK day march and rally for justice, jobs,and education.

Programming for Adults 55+By Hazak Co-Chair, Coleman Poses

After ably chairing the Hazak Com-mittee for many years, Cherie Gorenhas “retired”from the job of reachingout to GJC members “of a certainage” (over 55), and organizing andcreating engaging programs. Thenew co-chairs are Helen Feinbergand Coleman Poses, who thankCherie deeply for all the work shehas done to keep Hazak “hazak.”

It seems like I’m always followingHelen. At Beth Am Israel in the

50’s and 60’s, the 200+ junior con-gregation was divided into “units” ofabout ten children to a unit. Eachunit had a Unit Leader, and a UnitLeader in Training (ULIT). Helen wasmy ULIT. She was the person that al-ways gave me direction during theservice. At Germantown Jewish Cen-tre, Helen was the VP assigned to the

Hazak

Social Action Committee, with whichI am still very much involved, andIserved as a GJC board member whenHelen was president. So when Helenapproached me on the street to ask ifI wanted to co-chair Hazak with her,how could I say no to somebody towhom I have listened all of my life. Hazak, for people unfamiliar withthe group, serves the members of theGJC community who are 55 andover. Although, ironically, Hazak isone of the youngest committees inthe synagogue (it has been in exis-tence for only about 10 years). Evenso, Hazak has made its mark in thefabric of GJC’s culture. Sam Feinberg’swell curated annual summer event,Opera Under the Stars, has becomeas much of a GJC institution as thePurim Bash, the Hanukiyah, and theGranger and Charry memorial events,

amongst others. During the next fewmonths, Helen and I will be discuss-ing ideas for the coming year witheach other, the synagogue leader-ship, and our membership. If youhave any program ideas or visions forHazak, or would like to volunteer,please contact Coleman Poses [email protected] or HelenFeinberg at [email protected].

Hazak is the United Synagogue ofConservative Judaism’s organizationfor Jewish men and women, 55 yearsand older. The name HAZAK is anacronym. The het stands for Hokhma(wisdom), that zayan for Ziknah (ma-turity) and the kuph for Kadima (look-ing ahead). The Rhea Shils Chapter ofHazak at Germantown Jewish Centrehas offered programs that appeal toa wide audience since 2003.



religious School

Every Tuesday night, from 7:00-9:00pm, I watch as GJC is trans-

formed! As our 7th-10th graderscome into the building, they bringtheir curiosity about Jewish tradition,charisma and deep connection toone another to a wide range ofcourses that both challenge them in-tellectually and model for them themany ways they can engage withJewish education as they becomeadults. Here is a just a small glimpseof what our teens are up to in just afew of their electives at T2 (our TeenTuesdays & Confirmation program).Exodus 31:1-5 And Adonai spoke to Moses, say-ing, “See, I have called by nameBezalel the son of Uri, the son ofHur, of the tribe of Judah, and I havefilled him with the spirit of God, inwisdom, and in understanding, andin knowledge, and in all manner ofworkmanship, to devise skillfulworks, to work in gold, and in silver,

and in brass, and in cuttingof stones for setting, and incarving of wood, to work inall manner of workmanship.Song of Songs Rabbah 6:11 A walnut that falls in thedirt – if you pick it up, wipeit, rinse it and wash it, thenut is restored to the way itwas and is good for eating.So too with Israel, when theyare dirtied by sin all yearlong, on Yom Kippur they arecleansed (and restored totheir original condition).

By Rabbi Alanna Sklover

Pinat Ha-Hinuch (Education Corner)

Teens in our T2 program this semester are learning ModernHebrew as they build Knock-hockey sets for kids atGJC, and to donate to other local youth organizationsthroughout the city.

In “Beyond Bubbe’s Kitchen,” our 7th-9th graders to so much more than just cooks! Teens studyJewish texts about food and learn about history and culture of Jewish communities aroundthe world.

It’s time to start collecting yourkids’ stuff!

Germantown Jewish Centre willhold our 6th annual Kids’ Stuff Ex-change on Sunday, March 15th from11 am – 2 pm. This WIN-WIN eventallows families to donate kids’ cloth-ing, toys and equipment that theirchildren have outgrown and takehome what they can use for the nextphase of family life. With a sug-gested $20 donation, families takehome up to 3 bags of “new-to-you”kids’ stuff and one larger item. The Kids’ Stuff Exchange acceptsclothing (infant to teenage sizes),shoes, books, maternity clothes,

toys, games, high chairs,strollers, sports equipmentand more! Items can bedropped off at GJC, fromSunday, March 8th throughFriday, March 13th. Colec-tion bins are located in theChapel Lobby and outsidethe Charry Lobby doors(easily accessible from theparking lot, if you have lotsof stuff!). Please bring itemsin bags or boxes. Items should not bebroken, stained or torn. Thanks! We are still recruiting volunteers tohelp sort the items on Saturday evening,March 14th and to help with the event

Annual Kids’ Stuff ExchangeSunday, March 15 from 11am - 2pm

By Amy Schrager

on Sunday, March 15th. If you are avail-able, please contact Amy Schragerat [email protected]. Be sure to join us for this fun andworthwhile event.


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Ihave just finished saying Kaddish fortwo dear ones in the past year and

a half. First, I said Kaddish for 11months or my Dad, Don Friedman,z’l, who died in August, 2013. It wasnot a given that I would end up sayingKaddish at daily minyan for my father.His connection to Judaism was vestig-ial and gastronomic. He would havebeen bemused by my taking on thispractice. But, on reflection, this wasthe right way for me to mourn, bothfor my own sake, and for the sake ofha’alat haneshamah, elevating myDad’s soul.

More recently, I have just com-

pleted sheloshim, thirty days of sayingKaddish for my beloved sister, JillFriedman Fixler, who died all toosoon of cancer at 61.

I have had the blessings of saying

Kaddish in the morning minyan in ourhome shul, GJC, and inCongregation Adath Israel in MerionStation, in addition to at least 8 othercongregations I’ve encountered onmy travels.

When I first started saying Kad-

dish, I was stopped by the very firstwords:Yitgadal v’yitkadash shemei rabbaB’alma divra chiruteiLet God’s great name be magnifiedand sanctified In this world created according toGod’s will.

How could that be so? Did God

will a world of loss? A world of ashentaste and sight? A world of primalorder disturbed?

Over time, I came to notice words

that follow soon after those:Vi-yamlich malchutei b’chayeichonuviyomeichonGod’s reign is made manifestthrough our lives, through our days.

The Divine was manifest in the life

and days of the Dad I mourn, the

precious sister I will miss forever.

In the life and days I make as I take

in their legacies, sifting, winnowing outall that grew from their wounds andbrokenness, savoring and nurturingall the brilliance and beauty that flowedfrom their neshamot tehorot, pure soulsthat became more and more evident astheir small souls melted away through-out their long illnesses.

Later, my attention was drawn to this

phrase:L’eilah mikol birchata v’shirataTushbechata v’nechemataBeyond all blessing and song, praiseand comfort…

The experience of saying Kaddish in

the minyan has truly been beyondall praise, beyond any consolation Icould imagine.

In the minyan, I’ve been able to be

simply a mourner--not a mother, nota rabbi, not a wife, just a bereaveddaughter and sister. I had a place wherenothing was demanded of me, andwhere I was not alone in my grief.

The minyan has been a world of

immense kindness–whether it wasBerel’s friendly welcome or Mitchell,who kept inviting me to lead parts ofthe service as I tried my hardest to meltinto the wall, until he finally placed hishand on my shoulder and gently said,“Tell you what. You tell me when you’reready.” Such tenderness.

The minyan has been a place of

wrestling--with so many words, withrepetition (why 2 Ashrei’s--one isn’tenough?) and with the bareness of thedavening--no rousing melodies, justbusiness-like intention to say the wordsand get through in time to get to workand whatever responsibilities await us.

The minyan has been a place of

learning, thanks to the beautiful, pithyTorah teachings shared each morningby Rabbis Zeff, Lewis and Sklover.

Ultimately, I have come to treasure

saying Kaddish in the minyan. I havecome to feel that the words of theprayers and the melodies of chantingare the soundtrack, but what has beenkey, for me, is the feelingof being en-folded in a warm embrace, olamchesed, a world of kindness.

The minyan can be intimidating–

so much ritual and liturgy – but ittruly doesn’t matter whether youknow the liturgy, whether you arepraying, meditating, or spacingout. Just by walking through the door,you become a hero, for by yourvery presence you are makinga difference.

These words come near the end of

the Kaddish:Yehei shelama raba...aleinu v’al kolyisrael.May great peace come upon us andupon all Israel.

I am grateful for the peace that has

come to me through the long, bitter-sweet slog of saying Kaddish in theminyan. I am grateful to each andevery person who helps constitute thequorum of ten adults so that mournerscan say Kaddish; I intend to continuedoing my part to help to make theminyan. And I pray that all who dothis sacred mitzvah will be met withpeace, well-being and wholeness.

You, too, can perform the mitzvah ofmaking the minyan. GJC’s morningminyan meets every Monday andThursday at 7:15 a.m. (and ends intime to make the 8:18 train to CenterCity), and every Sunday at 9:00 a.m.

By Rabbi Dayle Friedman

A Place of Comfort: Saying Kaddish in the Morning Minyan



Women’s Club news

Yona Dansky and Dena Lake, co-presidents of Women’s Club

Sunday, May 3rd ~ 11:00AMPlease join us for our annual TorahFund Brunch when we honor BevSomerson and Judy Schwartz, formerWomen’s Club Co-Presidents. Arnie Eisen, Jewish TheologicalSeminary Chancellor, one of theworld’s foremost authorities on Amer-ican Judaism, will be the guestspeaker. Under his tenure he hasbeen recognized for transforming theeducation of religious, pedagogical,professional, and lay leaders for Con-servative Judaism. He has made hisphilosophy of Jewish “learning, lead-ership, and vision” a principle bywhich to study and live within andbeyond the walls of JTS. Our gracious hosts will be Kathy

and George Amrom, 8319 SeminoleStreet in Chestnut Hill. Torah Fun Chairsare Barb Menin [email protected],Maxine Feldman [email protected]& Connie Katz [email protected] All proceeds support the JewishTheological Seminary. Contributionsare welcomed at the door.

Building Beautiful Update Thanks to all of you who have sogenerously contributed to this year’sproject – the installation of benches out-side of the Religious School and theCharry Sanctuary. We are very close toreaching our goal. It is not too late toadd your name to the list of donors.Checks can be mailed to GJC, attentionMarilyn Silberstein.

Women’sIntergenerational Gathering

The next Women’s Intergenera-tional Gathering is Sunday, March1st. Contact Naomi [email protected] or CarolTinkleman [email protected] formore information about this group.

A GJC Women’s ClubPremier Program & Fundraiser

Create Your Own FlowerArrangement Sunday afternoon

March 15th Here’s your chance to learnhow tocreate this kind of beautiful center-piece!

Learn to make yourown beautiful flowerarrangements underthe tutorial of GwenWhedon a profession-al flower arranger

and teacher from Penny’s Flowers.Each participant will create two beau-tiful centerpieces to take home. This is a great opportunity to bringyour mother, son, daughter, sister, bro-ther, or best friend. Of course, there willbe refreshments! Scrumptious dessertsand sandwiches served with tea. For more information, contact BarbMenin at [email protected] is a Women’s Club Fundraiser.

PEOPLE OF

THE BOOK

GJC’s Jewish Book Reading Group

We meet at Germantown JewishCentre in the Quitman Library.

We read fiction and nonfiction booksof Jewish interest written mostly, butnot solely, by Jewish writers and cho-sen by the group. Volunteer groupmembers lead the discussion. Formore information, contact VilmaLieberman at [email protected] 215-885-5753.

March 10, 2015Hope: A Tragedy by Shalom Auslander

April 14, 2015The End of Your LifeBook Club by Will Schwalbe

Mark your calendars!Women’s Shabbat & Scholar-in-Residence

Saturday, March 28th We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Emilie S. Passow will be ourScholar-in-Residence. Dr. Passow serves as the Co-Director of the CertificateProgram in Medical Humanities as well as being an Associate Teaching Pro-fessor of English and Philosophy and Judaic Studies Program at Drexel Uni-versity. She will give the D’var Torah in the Charry service. Following the commu-nity wide Kiddush, she will enlighten and entertain us with a text teachingentitled, “ADAM and EVE: WHAT in the WORLD WERE they thinking????” Women’s Club will provide free extended Childcare on Saturday. How-ever, it is necessary to RSVP to Joan Silver at [email protected]

Platform Lift Ribbon-CuttingA ribbon-cutting for the new platform lift was heldjust following the outdoor Hanukiyah candle lightingat GJC on December 18. As noted on the nearbyplaque, the lift was dedicated in loving memory ofAlan J. Phillips, by the Julius and Ray CharlesteinFoundation, and Ellyn and Amy Phillips, with grati-tude for the generous contributions from GJC mem-

bers. With these gifts, you have all demonstrated the value our communityplaces on making Judaism accessible. Ellyn and her family were present.


a D a r 5 7 7 5 • m a r c h 2 0 1 5

SAVE THE DATE Money & Politics: A Civil Discourse Program

Wednesday, April 29 at 7 PM at GJCBy Lou Walinsky

On Wednesday, April 8 BethSholom Congregation in

Elkins Park will host their 3rd AnnualBernard Wolfman Civil DiscourseForum; this year’s topic is Money +Politics: Does Money Make Policy?GJC is pleased to be hosting the first-ever follow up to this program onWednesday, April 29.

The initial Civil Discourse Forum

at Beth Sholom focuses on the im-plications of how we fund politicalcampaigns, parties and organiza-tions. The program will be moder-ated by Chris Satullo, WHYY’s VicePresident of News and Civic Dia-logue, and features experts with op-posing views about political funding– Craig Holman, Ph.D. is the Gov-ernment Affairs Lobbyist for PublicCitizen and will speak in favor ofcampaign finance reform, and JohnSamples, Ph.D. is the Vice Presidentand Publisher of the Cato Institute,

who will present as skeptic of cam-paign finance regulation. Now in itsthird year, the Civil Discourse Project’smission is to explore the critical issuesof our time, to model civil disagree-ment, and to provide opportunities forpeople on all sides of an issue to learnfrom each other and take meaningfulaction.

The follow up program at GJC on

April 29th will be moderated by GJCmember Lila Corwin Berman, Directorof Temple University’s Feinstein Centerfor American Jewish History. Whetheryou are able to attend the initial pro-gram at Beth Sholom or not, we inviteyou to partake in the dialogue at GJCto further explore the ideas presentedby Drs. Holman and Samples.

To prepare for the follow-up discus-

sion, the GJC Civil Discourse Commit-tee (Lou Walinsky, Anne Shlay, andDan Kanofsky) is seeking six volunteersto attend the April 8 program and to

function as reporters, with threepeople listening closely to onespeaker and three to the other. Atthe GJC program, these volunteerswill present the perspectives offeredby their assigned speakers. LilaBerman will then facilitate an inter-active discussion on the topicamong all participants.

As is policy for the Bernard Wolf-

man Civil Discourse Project, themoderator and all attendees will berequired to engage in conversationin a civil and respectful manner.

For more information about the

Beth Sholom program and toregister, please go towww.civildiscourseproject.org. Formore info about the GJC program, tovolunteer to be a reporter at theBeth Sholom program, or to RSVPfor attending the GJC program,please contact Elana Shaw in theGJC office.



Shmita Corner

By Rabbi Arthur Waskow

From Eden to Manna to Shmita: An Ancient Teaching for Our Generation

The Shmita year ispart of one of the

most important threadsof Torah, one deeplyconcerned with the re-lationships betweenadam (humankind) andadamah (Mother Earth).It is hardly surprisingthat an indigenous peo-ple of shepherds andfarmers saw their rela-tionship with the HolyOne Who breathes all life, shaped bytheir sacred relationship with theirland, especially through the foodsthey grew and then offered as sacri-fice.

Rabbinic Judaism, bereft of emo-

tional or political connection withany land, turned its attention towords of prayer and midrash as waysof getting in touch with God, and toshaping a decent community ofadam with but little relationship toadamah. It is our own generation,facing a catastrophic crisis in theEarth-earthling relationship, that hasgone back to Biblical Judaismfor guidance on how to applyindigenous wisdom to the planet asa whole.

From this perspective, the Eden

story is a powerful parable. In thestory, God speaks on behalf of realitysaying to the human race: “Beforeyou there is great abundance. Eat ofit in joy! And eat with self-restraint:there is one tree whose fruit youshould abstain from.” But the humanrace does not restrain itself, and theresult is that the abundance vanishes.History unfolds in scarcity, as humanbeings work every day with sweatpouring down their faces, in order towring barely enough food froman Earth that gives forth thorns andthistles.

The story presages and prophesies

our history. It is, for example, the

story of the Gulf of Mexico, when BPrefused to restrain itself and broughtdeath upon its workers and disaster forthe abundance of the Gulf. Yet the Torahteaches us to see beyond disaster. It tellsanother story that begins with disaster -- a Pharaoh who oppresses human be-ings and pours Plagues upon the Earth. And then comes the great hinge ofhuman history. Pharaoh’s tyranny is dis-solved into the Sea of Reeds, and thencomes the first step in reversal of Eden'sdisaster. When the people belly-acheabout the scarcity of food in the Wilder-ness, YHWH – the Breath of Life --brings forth an astonishing abundance.There falls a flaky food that the peoplehave never seen. They call it mahn-hu—“what’s that” – – and we know itas “manna.” And it comes with Shab-bat, one day of utter restfulness that isthe first hint that toilsome labor neednot govern all the future.

This story is, I think, also a parable.

In the story, the people learn to restrainthemselves not sullenly or ascetically,but with the joy that pervades Shabbat.As they do so, abundance continues topour forth. But this is a story in thewilderness. How can this teaching beof use when the people cross the Jordanand begin to cultivate a land? And herewe come to Shmita. Shepherds quicklylearn that they must rhythmically movetheir flocks to new pastures, for other-wise the sheep will gobble up the grass,destroy it and themselves. Self-restraint:they move the sheep.

The farmers cannot move in

space. So they learn, perhaps throughgenerations of experience, to move intime. They let the entire land lie fal-low for one year of every seven.Mother Earth herself, says Leviticus25, is entitled to a restful Shabbat. Inthe next chapter of the Torah, we arewarned what will happen if we refuseto let the Earth make Shabbat. TheEarth will rest, regardless. It will reston our heads: there will be famines,plagues, floods, draught, and thepeople will become refugees in exile.A warning that is echoed by ourmodern ecologists.

So today we realize: For about

200 years, the most powerful institu-tions and cultures of the humanspecies have refused to let the Earthmake Shabbos. By pouring carbondioxide and methane into ourplanet's air, we have disturbed the sa-cred balance in which we breathe inwhat the trees breathe out, and thetrees breathe in what we breathe out.We are suffering from what I like tocall “global scorching,” it’s more thanjust global warming.

So now we are struggling to work

out what it means to let our planetrest from overwork. For Biblical Is-rael, this was the central question intheir relationship to the Holy One.And for us and for our children andtheir children, this is once again thecentral question of our lives and ofour God.

Rabbi Waskow will be leading a GJC course entitled “Learning fromthe Shmita Year: Now What?” that begins April 14. Contact the of-

fice for more info or to register. He founded (1983) and directs TheShalom Center. In 2014 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award asHuman Rights Hero from T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.His most recent book of 22 is Freedom Journeys: The Tale of Exodus& Wilderness Across Millennia, co-authored with Rabbi Phyllis Berman(Jewish Lights Publ., 2011). His most recent arrest of about 22 was inan interfaith climate action at the White House before Passover & PalmSunday, 2013.


a D a r 5 7 7 5 • m a r c h 2 0 1 5

GJC’s annual Granger MemorialShabbat honors Ralph Granger, a

respected and well-loved former custo-dian of the Germantown Jewish Centre.Mr. Granger was a Christian African-American who was known for his dig-nity and his dedication and love for theCentre. During his lifetime, he servedas a role model to our community forvaluing and respecting differences inothers. The Granger Memorial Shabbat,held annually over MLK weekend, paystribute to his memory, giving us time tofocus on how we deal with differencein our neighborhood, our city, and inthe larger world.

On Granger Memorial Shabbat we

also take the time to honor our currentmaintenance staff team, who we are sograteful for, and who really are the menbehind the scenes making GJC runsmoothly. In case you did not join us forGranger Memorial Shabbat, please

read a bit about ourincredible mainte-nance staff here.Eric Word, the headof our maintenancestaff, has been work-ing at GJC for 26years and values therelationships he has

formed within the community since hefirst came to the Centre at age 5 andstarted working here at age 14. In addi-tion to his invaluable handywork, in thelast years Eric took on new projectmanagement responsibilities, and con-tinues to excel at all he does. Born in1974 in Germantown, Eric has lived inPhiladelphia his whole life and enjoyssports, movies and learning new things.When he is not at work, Eric likes torelax and spend time with his son. Erichopes to own and run his own businessone day. For now, Eric is the musclethat keeps the GJC facility running andwe are incredibly appreciative!

Jose Toro was born inPuerto Rico in 1964.He has lived in Phillyfor more than 40years and has beenworking at GJC forthe past 11 years. Heis a kind, serious,hard-working man

Meet the Men Behind the Scenes...who enjoys helping others. Jose appreci-ates the nice people and great staff hereat GJC and hopes to keep learning moreso he can continue to contribute to thecommunity and help others achieve theirgoals. He recently has taken on somenew administrative responsibilities in themaintenance department. When he is notworking, Jose enjoys spending time withhis family, especially with Kayla, hisdaughter, who attends Carnegie MellonUniversity on a full academic scholarship.

Dennis Plowden is aGermantown nativewho joined the GJCteam 1.5 years ago. Hestrives to help out in allways possible and aimsto make setups justright. He enjoys gettingto know all of the GJC

members and staff. In the past Dennis hasworked for a tour bus company and alsoin silk-screening. He is married and has3 children. When not working hard atGJC, he mostly enjoys relaxing andwatching television.

Bill Jenkins joinedthe maintenanceteam 1.5 years ago,however, he hasbeen making deli-cious food withCentre Catering forabout 5 years. Hecontinues to enjoyboth jobs. Workingoutside of thekitchen has betterenabled Bill to getto know the mem-bers and staff ofGJC, and he isgrateful for the peo-ple in our commu-nity. Bill, a goodperson and a hardworker, was born in

Philadelphia in 1960 and has lived inthe city his entire life. He graduatedfrom cooking school in 1978 and hasheld many sous chef positions, includ-ing in several center city hotels over the

last three decades.Hakim Fisher, GJC’snewest maintenancestaff hire, joined theteam in September2014. He was bornand raised in Phila-delphia, and haslived in the city his

entire life. Hakim attended RandolphCareer and Technical High School. Hedescribes himself as a homebody, andwhen not at work he enjoys spendingtime with his 3 sons. He also dabblesin the music industry as a sound engi-neer. Hakim has enjoyed getting toknow the staff at GJC, as well as syna-gogue members, and likes working ina place where we all are grateful andappreciative of what the maintenancestaff accomplishes.



FUND BY OCCASIONAdult Education Fund Evelyn Caplin in memory of Floence Brown, sister-in-law in memory of Freida Becker, mother-in-law Linda Dzuba in memory of Samuel L. Pinkenson, parent Mitchell Hirsch in memory of Robert Hirsch, father Jacob Kanofsky in memory of Paul Benjamin Kanofsky, brother Sylvia Lifschitz in memory of Joseph Lifschitz, father Adina & Norman Newberg in honor of Rabbi Reena Spicehandler, for all of her work at GJC David & Naomi Young in memory of Jill Friedman Fixler, sister of Rabbi Dayle FriedmanBeck Scholar-In-Residence Fund Elizabeth Beck Lizanne Berger in memory of Joan Marcus Berger, motherBess Schick Memorial Fund Dena & Ed Lake in memory of Roslyn Nissen, wife of Arthur Nissen & mother of Jill Nissen Ellyn Phillips in memory of Malvina Charlestein, mother Mariann Schick in memory of Morris Zack, uncle Charles Schleifer in memory of Philip Schleifer, father Martha Schleifer in memory of John Furman, father Joan Silver in honor of Connie & Sam Katz, on the birth of their grandson, Asa Prentiss Smith, son of Lauren Katz & Prentiss Smith Cy & Lois Swartz in memory of Jill Friedman Fixler, sister of Rabbi Dayle FriedmanCamp Scholarships Fund Lizanne Berger in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Michael Sivitz in memory of Sidney Sivitz, fatherChesed Fund Fredi & Heshie Coper in memory of Scott Oster, brother of Allan Oster in memory of Jill Friedman Fixler, sister of Rabbi Dayle Friedman Judah Labovitz in memory of Rohama Siegel Lee, aunt Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner in honor of the Chesed volunteers Adina & Norman Newberg in memory of Miriam Kavesh, mother of Bill Kavesh Daniel Sapon in memory of Rhoda M. Sapon, mother Billie Schnall in memory of Charles Schnall, fatherDorshei Derekh Shirley Brown & Henry Salama in memory of Jill Friedman Fixler, sister of Rabbi Dayle Friedman Maura Sostack in memory of Scott Oster, brother of Allan OsterEarly Childhood Program Fund Marcy & Dan Bacine in memory of Irving Warhaftig, father of Caren Borowsky in memory of Adele Ajl, mother of Diane Ajl in memory of Marc Barag, husband of Nancy Barag Michael Dzuba in memory of Albert Dzuba, father Beth Rosenbaum & Noel Eisenstat in honor of David & Betsy Teutsch, on the birth of their granddaughter Diane Ajl & Neil Kitrosser in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Neil Kitrosser & Diane Ajl in honor of Connie & Sam Katz, on the birth of their grandson, Asa Prentiss Smith, son of Lauren Katz & Prentiss Smith Sandy & Alex Murland in memory of Adele Ajl, mother of Diane Ajl Adina & Norman Newberg in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Michael Robinson in memory of Julius robinson, father Bev & Ira Somerson in honor of Nina Gordon & Lou Walinsky, on the birth of their granddaughter, Amira Taeaolasi King, daughter of Naomi Walinsky-King & Gary King in honor of Sandy & Jim Meyer, on the birth of their grandson, Henry Joan Stern in honor of Connie & Sam Katz, on the birth of their grandchildren Joyce Videlock in memory of Matthew Wainer, fatherFloral Fund Richard Rosenbaum in memory of Rose Rosenbaum, motherGeneral Fund Lewis & Flicka Bateman in honor of Patricia Segal Debbrah J. Coverdale in memory of Bertha “Bunny” Stein, wife of Sidney Stein Naomi & Avi Decter in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Sherrie Diamond in honor of Maxine Feldman Helene Feinberg in memory of Anne Rosenberg, mother Ruth Fisher in memory of Bertha “Bunny” Stein, wife of Sidney Stein Jonathan Friedan & Ilana Trachtman in honor of Jeanette Dudnick, on her birthday Benzion Ginn in memory of Bertha “Bunny” Stein, wife of Sidney Stein Yolande B. Gizynski in memory of Gabriella “Gabi” Fellner, mother of David Fellner Amy Goldman in memory of Kalman Broitman, father of Helene Broitman Marvin & Marilynn Goldman in honor of Denis & Annalena Lattanzi Sheldon Isaac Don Joseph in memory of Sylvia Levinson, mother Harriet Joseph in memory of Alfred Bickelman, father

Contributions For the period of December, 2014 through January, 2015

Todah Rabbah!Sincere thanks and appreciation to those who remember to honor their friends and loved ones through their generous contributions.

The fastest way for your contribution to be processed is for you to fill out a Contribution Form (available in the office or on our website) and return it

to the office along with a check. Or just send in a check with a note.


a D a r 5 7 7 5 • m a r c h 2 0 1 5

Contributions ContinuedGeneral Fund Neil Kitrosser & Diane Ajl in memory of Marc Barag, husband of Nancy Barag Rosemary & Gerald Lorenz in memory of Bertha “Bunny” Stein, wife of Sidney Stein Jim & Sandy Meyer in memory of Miriam Kavesh, mother of Bill Kavesh Carl & Joyce Norden in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Joyce Norden in memory of Myrtle Manheimer, mother Allan Oster & Izhar Naveh in memory of Jill Friedman Fixler, sister of Rabbi Dayle Friedman Michael Paskiewicz in memory of Bertha “Bunny” Stein, wife of Sidney Betsy & Hershel Richman in memory of Gabriella “Gabi” Fellner, mother of David Fellner Chuck & Martha Schleifer in memory of Miriam Kavesh, mother of Bill Kavesh in memory of Marc Barag, husband of Nancy Barag in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Ruth Schulman in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Patty & Stephen Segal in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Joan Silver refuah shleimah to Linda Needleman refuah shleimah to Jay Seitchik Samuel Silver in honor of Jim Meyer, on his 70th birthday Maura Sostack in memory of Edward Sostack, father Michael Spear in memory of Esther Narrow, great-aunt in memory of Gertrude Spear, grandmother Melvin Sterling in memory of Jacob Sterling, father Norma Walton in memory of Henry M Walton, husband in memory of David Horn, father Ted & Marcia Wasserman in memory of Irving Warhaftig, father of Caren in memory of Irvin J. Borowsky, father of Ned BorowskyHazak Fund Sam & Helene Feinberg in memory of Eleanor Barchonowitz, sister of Corinne Baker Cherie Goren in memory of Neil Goren, son Jim & Sandy Meyer in honor of Marty Kaplan, on his 85th birthday Lucille Weber in memory of Phillip Applebaum, fatherInterfaith Hospitality Network Gisha Berkowitz in memory of Fanny Seligman, mother Sylvia Lifschitz in honor of Esther Raphel Cecile Merion in memory of Isaac Kopstein, father Frieda Sanders in memory of Solomon Goldenberg, father in memory of Milton Sanders, husband in memory of Jack Sanders, father-in-law in memory of Ray Wasserberg, aunt Martha Millison in memory of Fredric Raichlen, uncle Geanne Zelkowitz in memory of Norma Kulberg, motherIsrael Affairs Fund Mindelle Goldstein in honor of Marty Kaplan, on his 85th birthday in honor of Carol & Marty Kaplan, on the Bat Mitzvah of their granddaughter, Emily Kaplan, daughter of Elon & Beth Kaplan Phyllis & Michael Kauffman refuah shleimah to Marty Kaplan Dena Lake in memory of Michael Rosenman, brother Cyrilla Rosen in honor of on the marriage of her grandson, Eric Rosen, son of Sharon & Jordon Rosen, to Hilary Jacobs in honor of on the birth, in Israel, of her great grandson, son of Shiri & Brian Rosen, grandson of Sharon & Jordon Rosen Judy Schwartz & Jay Seitchik refuah shleimah to Linda Needleman in honor of Marty Kaplan, on his 85th birthday Bev & Ira Somerson in honor of Marty Kaplan, on his 85th birthdayIsrael Garden Fund Helen & Michael Feinberg in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter in honor of Connie & Sam Katz, on the birth of their grandsons, Asa Prentiss Smith & James Aaron Katz in honor of David & Betsy Teutsch, on the birth of their granddaughter Carol & Marty Kaplan in memory of Gabriella “Gabi” Fellner, mother of David Fellner Beth Stearman in memory of Freda Denniberg, grandmotherKiddush Fund Lizanne Berger in memory of Dorothy Jean Walton, mother Mitchell Berk in memory of Samuel Needleman, grandfather Bonnie Buyum in memory of Barbara Buyum, aunt Sonia Dishler in memory of Rose Feinberg, mother Carol Kaplan in memory of samuel Pinn, father Rebecca Ladenheim & Judith Rossman in memory of Willian R. Ladenheim, father Richard Menin in memory of Benjamin Menin, uncle Betsy & Hershel Richman refuah shleimah to Marty Kaplan Michael Rodin in memory of Israel Akselrod, grandfather Leah & Norman Schwartz in honor of Maxine & Maurice Feldman, on the Bat mitzvah of their granddaughter, Lauren Mermelstein, daughter of Andrew & Ellen Mermelstein Marta Sivitz in memory of Clemens Brand, father



Contributions ContinuedKiddush Fund Bev & Ira Somerson in honor of Maxine & Maurice Feldman, on the Bat mitzvah of their granddaughter, Lauren Mermelstein, daughter of Andrew & Ellen Mermelstein in honor of Carol & Marty Kaplan, on the Bat Mitzvah of their granddaughter, Emily Kaplan, daughter of Elon & Beth Kaplan Joan Stern in memory of David Winderman, father in memory of Lillian Winderman, auntLibrary Fund Harriet Segal in memory of David Segal, fatherMen’s Club Vincent DiLorenzo in memory of Gabriel DiLorenzo, father Dena & Ed Lake in honor of Marty Kaplan, on his 85th birthdayMinyan Masorti Marvin & Marilynn Goldman in honor of Denis & Annalena LattanziMemorial Shabbat Fund Wendy Weingarten in memory of Nancy Traub, mother

Music Fund Bonnie Buyum in memory of Eda Kaufman, grandmother Evelyn Eskin & David Major in honor of the Bat Mitzvah of their granddaughter, Mira HaLevi Steve Perkiss in honor of Nina Peskin Seldin Family in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Margaret Shapiro in memory of Arnold Segel, father David Young in memory of John J. Carlton, father-in-lawPrayerbook & Ritual Items Fund Gloria Salmansohn in memory of Eva Smilowitz, motherProgram Fund Andrew Chirls & Jim Bulizzi in appreciation of JAM ProgrammingRabbi Lewis’ Discretionary Fund Michael Beer in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Beth Stearman & Mitchell Berk in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Lila Booth in memory of Newlin Booth, husband Ned Borowsky in memory of Irvin Borowsky, father Caren Borowsky in memory of Irving Warhaftig, father Eleanor Brownstein in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Steve & Linda Corsover in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Yona & Howard Dansky in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Beth Rosenbaum & Noel Eisenstat in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Maxine & Maurice Feldman in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Rochelle Fellman in memory of Esther Abrams, mother Reena & Aryeh Friedman in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Lena Glaser in memory of harold Moss, grandfather in memory of Karen Glaser, mother Mindelle Goldstein in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Carol & Marty Kaplan refuah shleimah to Jay Seitchik refuah shleimah to Ira Somerson in memory of Marc Barag, husband of Nancy Barag in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Myra & Isador Kranzel in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Peter Kuriloff in memory of Nancy Isaac Kuriloff, sister Kate Margo in memory of Warren Lane, father Barbara Menin in memory of Ronald Lance, father Richard Menin in memory of Elinor Menin, mother Jim & Sandy Meyer in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Nan Myers & Mark Lipshutz in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Jeffrey Needleman in memory of Beatrice Needleman, mother of Jeff Needleman Linda & Jeffrey Needleman in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Charlotte Peitzman in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Simcha Raphael in memory of Rose Paull, mother Seldin Family in appreciation of Rabbi Lewis Joan Silver in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Bev & Ira Somerson in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Joan N. Stern in memory of Diana Stern, mother Thomas & Jessica Taylor in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Ellen Ufberg in memory of Emanuel Katz, significant other Aaron & Lucille Weber in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Eli Yaron & Randi Hoffman in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Joan Stern in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughterRabbi Zeff’s Discretionary Fund Gisha Berkowitz in memory of Samuel Merion, husband of Cecile Merion Emily Blake in memory of Jill Friedman Fixler, sister of Rabbi Dayle Friedman in honor of Rabbi David Teutsch, on the publication of the 3rd Volume of A Guide to Jewish Practice in honor of Betsy Teutsch, on the publication of 100 under $100 in honor of Rabbi David & Betsy Teutsch, on the birth of their granddaughter Lila Booth in memory of Nathan Wolfman, father Linda Hahn in memory of Sanford Hahn, husband Edith Klausner in memory of Sidney L. Quitman, father in memory of Belle F. Quitman, mother


a D a r 5 7 7 5 • m a r c h 2 0 1 5

Rabbi Zeff’s Discretionary Fund Jeffrey Needleman in memory of Alan Needleman, brother Joyce Norden in memory of William Manheimer, father Cyrilla Rosen in honor of the marriage of her grandson Eric Rosen, son of Sharon & Jordon Rosen, to Hilary Jacobs in honor of on the birth, in Israel, of her great grandson, Gavriel Yichiam, son of Shiri & Brian Rosen, grandson of Sharon & Jordon Rosen in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter Norman Schwartz in appreciation of Cheryl Bettigole & Rabbi Zeff, for hosting a lovely luncheon during the GJC Israel Trip in appreciation of Rabbi Zeff, for organizing & leading the recent GJC Israel Trip Michael Steinlauf in memory of Doris Wald Steinlauf, mother Joan N. Stern in memory of Miriam Leah Gafni, sister Susan Sternthal in memory of Samuel Gross, father Jeffrey Sultar in memory of Dr. Robert Sultar, father Julia Bell in memory of Myrtle Lester Bell, mother Joel Sweet & Orit Netter in memory of Adele Ajl, mother of Diane Ajl Juliet I. Spitzert & Philip Wachs in memory of Adele Ajl, mother of Diane Ajl Ken & Susan Weiss in honor of Marty Kaplan, on his 85th birthday in memory of Jill Friedman Fixler, sister of Rabbi Dayle FriedmanReligious School Fund Marvin & Marilynn Goldman in honor of Denis & Annalena Lattanzi Jewish Women International in appreciation of Rabbi Sklover, for her interesting & informative message and program Alex Seldin in memory of Max Routtenberg, grandfather Seldin Family in appreciation of Rabbi Sklover Lee Silverman & Chung Yi Young Beverly & Phillip Sklover in honor of their daughter, Rabbi SkloverSocial Action Fund Howard Dansky in memory of Annettee Dansky, mother Beth Rosenbaum in memory of Newlin Booth, step-father Betty Ann & David Fellner in memory of Adele Ajl, mother of Diane Ajl in honor of Ameet & Genie Ravital, on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Micah Rabbi Seth Goren in honor of David Mosenkis, for all of his work for social justice Dena & Ed Lake in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter The Marwil Family in memory of Adele Ajl, mother of Diane Ajl Adina & Norman Newberg in honor of Judd Levingston & Hillary Kruger, on the Bat mitzvah of their daughter, Serena Daniel Piser in memory of Leonore Piser, mother Alex Seldin in memory of Milton Seldin, father George Stern in memory of Edwin Stern, father Kristen Suzda & Jason Curtis in honor of Rona Pietrzak Rivkah Walton in memory of Henry M Walton, father Rebecca Zaslow in memory of Anne Kalcheim Zaslow, motherSpecial Education Fund Phyllis Kauffman in memory of Esther Reitman Tatarsky, motherTorah Restoration Fund George Amrom in memory of Leon Amrom, father in memory of Ida Amrom, mother Kathy & George Amrom in memory of Adele Ajl, mother of Diane Ajl in memory of Miriam Kavesh, mother of Bill Kavesh in honor of Judd Levingston & Hillary Kruger, on the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Serena in honor of Kathryn Hellerstein, on winning the Jewish Book Council’s 2014 Women’s Studies Barbara Dobkin Award for her book “A Question of Tradition: Women Poets in Yiddish, 1586-1987” Kathy Amrom in memory of Elizabeth McCain, sister Maxine & Maurice Feldman in honor of Carol & Marty Kaplan, on the Bat Mitzvah of their granddaughter, Emily Kaplan, daughter of Elon & Beth Kaplan Eve Pinkenson in memory of Ignaz Spitzer, grandfather Michael Rodin in memory of Alexander Rodin, grandfather Joan Silver in memory of Jill Friedman Fixler, sister of Rabbi Dayle Friedman Charlie, Sonnie & Neil Wise in appreciation of Rabbi Fredi CooperWomen’s Club Mikael Elsila & Dina Pinsky Carol & Marty Kaplan in honor of Connie & Sam Katz, on the birth of their grandson, Asa Prentiss Smith, son of Lauren Katz & Prentiss Smith in honor of Maxine & Maurice Feldman, on the Bat mitzvah of their granddaughter, Lauren Mermelstein, daughter of Andrew & Ellen Mermelstein refuah shleimah to Linda Needleman

Contributions Continued



Women’s Club Carol & Marty Kaplan in honor of Connie Katz, on her special birthday in memory of Bertha “Bunny” Stein, wife of Sidney Stein in honor of Dena Lake, on her 70th birthday Marc Newman Genie & Ameet Ravital in honor of David & Keira Axelrod, on the birth of their son, Max in honor of Tamara Cohen & Gwynn Kessler, on the birth of their son, KlielYoung Families Retreat Fund Beth Janus in memory of Murray Janus, father Nathan Martin in memory of George & Faye Berman, grandparentsYouth Activities Fund Barbara Lissy in memory of Hannah Shaines, mother Leslie & Curt Pontz in memory of Sawyer Pontz, grandson in memory of Marc Barag, husband of Nancy Barag in memory of Irvin J. Borowsky, father of Ned Borowsky in memory of Judge Murray Goldman, husband of Rosemary Goldman in memory of Irving Warhaftig, father of Caren Borowsky in memory of Roslyn Nissen, wife of Arthur Nissen & mother of Jill Nissen in honor of Rabbis Lewis & Goldman, on the birth of their daughter in memory of Bertha “Bunny” Stein, wife of Sidney Stein in memory of Gabriella “Gabi” Fellner, mother of David Fellner Leah & Norman Schwartz in honor of Andrew & Ellen Mermelstein, on the Bat mitzvah of their daughter, Lauren Mermelstein Bunny Stein in memory of Jacob Weinstein, father in memory of Charles Stein, brother

GJC Family RetreatFor ALL GJC Families with Kids 10 and under!

May 8-10, 2015

Join your peers for a fabulous Shabbat in the country!We promise fun for the ENTIRE family.

This retreat is organized by GJC parents for GJC families!

Please contact Genie Ravital at [email protected] with questions or suggestions.We look forward to spending Shabbat with you and your family!

THE DETAILS: Date of retreat: May 8-10, 2015 Place: Malvern Retreat House (315 S. Warren Avenue, Malvern, PA, 19355) Who is invited: All families with at least one child 10 or under. Registration deadline is April 10. After April 10, add a $15 late fee. Early bird deadline is April 1.

Costs*:

• Limited subsidies are available to families to reduce costs. Please register by March 20 and • indicate that you would like to be contacted regarding receiving financial aid.

TO REGISTER:Fill out the on-line form located at http://tinyurl.com/GJC-FR2015Click on (or go to) the link above to fill out the on-line registration form.Send your check payable to GJC (with “Families Retreat” in the memo) to:GJC (400 W. Ellet. St. Phila, PA 19119).

YOUR SPACE WILL BE RESERVED ONCE YOUR CHECK IS RECEIVED.

# Adults

Cost for 2 adult family:

Cost for single adult family:

EARLY BIRD (by 4/1/15)

$410

$225

Regular Fee (by 4/1/0/15)

$445

$250


a D a r 5 7 7 5 • m a r c h 2 0 1 5


400 West Ellet Street

Philadelphia, PA 19119

Please submit all articles via email to

[email protected].

Deadline for the May Issue is April 1.

First Class Pre-Sort

U.S. Postage

PA I D Ft. Washington, PA

Permit No. 7944

Inside Centre CallRabbi’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 1

President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 2

Shabbat Chai-Lites . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 3

What’s New in the Mishpoche . . . .Page 3

Member Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 4

JAM: Jewish Arts & Movement . . . .Page 7

ECP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 7

Little Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 8

Social Action Update . . . . . . . . . .Page 10

Hazak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 10

Religious School . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 11

People of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 13

Women’s Club News . . . . . . . . . .Page 13

Purim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 14

Shmita Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 15

Maintenance Bios . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 16

Contributions (begin on) . . . . . . . .Page 17

Mathieu J. ShapiroP R E S I D E N T

Adam ZeffR A B B I

Annie LewisA S S I S TA N T R A B B I

Nina PeskinE x E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R

Alanna SkloverR A B B I E D U C AT O R

Gloria Geissler F I N A N C E D I R E C T O R

Jodi GordonE A R LY C H I L D H O O D D I R E C T O R

Elana ShawP R O G R A M D I R E C T O R

Leonard D. GordonR A B B I E M E R I T U S

David FishM E N ’ S C L U B P R E S I D E N T

Dena Lake & Yona Diamond DanskyW O M E N ’ S C L U B C O -P R E S I D E N T S

affiliated with the United synagogue of conservative judaism

(215) 844-1507 fax: (215) 844-8309Web: www.GermantownJewishCentre.org Save the Dates

Pesach Begins – 1st SederApril 3

Civil Discourse: Money & Politics Part I (offsite at Beth Sholom)

April 8

Yom ha-Shoah CommemorationApril 12

Learning from the Shmita Year with Rabbi Arthur WaskowAdult Ed class begins

April 14

The Samaritans: True Keepers of the Torah or Strangers in the Land?

Katz Center Public Program at GJCApril 15

Hazak ShabbatApril 18

High Holiday Trope with Eve PinkensonAdult Ed class begins

April 22

Civil Discourse: Money & Politics Part II (at GJC)April 29

the ce ntre c all · the ce ntre c all germantown jewish centre let your spirit move you israeli...

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