The J. Samuel Goldback Scholarship Grants Selection Committee is accepting applications for the coming academic year.
Scholarship grants of $500 to $4,000 are available to the children/dependents of Congregation Beth El members only. Grants are awarded based on the applicant’s academic achievement, promise, and financial need.
Application instructions and forms may be obtained by contacting Congregation Beth El at 757-625-7821.
Applications are due no later than 5 pm on Thursday, June 21, 2018.
Through June
A contemporary mixed media artist, Holly Berger Markhoff’s paintings are currently on exhibit at Richard Stravitz Sculpture & Fine Art Galleries in Virginia Beach.
Influenced by the elongated figures of Modigliani and the gilding of Klimt, her painting incorporates sculptural elements and a variety of mixed media. Acrylic, enamel, and metallic paints are built up between layers of acrylic gloss, creating a glass like coating and translucence.
In addition to patrons’ homes and corporate collections, Markhoff’s art may be found in Richmond’s Weinstein Jewish Community Center and Beth Ahabah Museum and Archives.
A native of New York City, Markhoff resides in Richmond, Va.
Stravitz Sculpture & Fine Art Galleries is located at 1217 Laskin Road in Virginia Beach. Call 757-305-9411 or go to www.stravitzartgallery.com for more information.
Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman’s article on Israel’s 70th Anniversary, which was published in the Virginian-Pilot, was inserted into the Congressional Record by Congressman Scott Taylor. Dr. Zoberman is the founding rabbi of Congregation Beth Chaverim and Honorary Senior Rabbi Scholar at Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church.
A native New Yorker, Fern Leibowitz always was attracted to jewelry. While working as a CPA in New York City where she had contacts with wholesale jewelers, that attraction continue to grow. In Virginia Beach, Leibowitz followed her jewelry passion and went to work at Either Ore Jewelers. After working at the store for 13 years, she purchased it, transitioning from employee to owner.
“I realized I had a natural ability to sell jewelry because I love helping people, and every piece of jewelry has a story to tell,” she says. But there’s more to selling jewelry than just making the sale, so Leibowitz learned about repairs, measuring diamonds, and redesigning pieces.
“My niche at the store became refashioning older pieces into something new. I became intrigued with custom work ever since I redesigned my own engagement ring and other jewelry pieces I owned.”
Either Ore resets stones in a piece of jewelry with more modern style. Leibowitz says she listens to what the customer wants and does not try to sell inventory out of the case. That is her specialty. Plus, she has added affordable fashion jewelry for gifts, vegan handbags, and a large variety of gold and diamond jewelry.
Leibowitz says she is “delighted with the current trend of resetting and custom- designing jewelry using large halo diamonds on rings.”
Her personal mantra is “Do all the good you can, for all the people you can, in every way you can.”
Virginia Beach —Ronald Steven Jacobson, 71, of the 200 block of 70th Street in Virginia Beach died May 11, 2018 in his home.
Born in Newport News, Virginia, he was the son of the late Joe Jacobson and Margot Moritz Jacobson.
Mr. Jacobson retired from the United States Coast Guard.
Survivors include his wife of 44 years, Marilyn V. Jacobson, a daughter, Margo Jacobson of Virginia Beach, a son Jason Jacobson and his wife Michelle of Leesburg, Virginia, and his grandson Evan Jacobson. Mr. Jacobson is also survived by a sister Susan Karlip and her husband Elliott of Marietta, Georgia as well as many cousins, extended family, and friends.
A graveside service was conducted at Forest Lawn Cemetery by Rabbi Jeffrey Arnowitz and Cantor Wendi Fried.
Mr. Jacobson was a caring family man and a wonderful husband and father, he will be sorely missed.
Memorial donations may be made to the S.P.C.A. or to a charity of choice.
Virginia Beach —Lyla Rubin Longman passed away unexpectedly May 10, 2018.
She was born to Harry Rubin and Rebecca Rothstein Rubin in Norfolk, Va. She attended Taylor Elementary, Blair Jr., and Maury High School. She graduated from William and Mary with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and teaching.
She is survived by her husband, Dr. Bruce Longman. They were married 61 years after becoming high school sweethearts. She had five children, 15 grandchildren, three great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends, and all of the “family” that made their way under her tent throughout the years. She loved deeply and showed that love through acts of kindness and generosity that are beyond measure. She taught her children, grandchildren, and anyone else who might be watching, a quiet and selfless way to navigate this world in a meaningful way that makes a lasting impression on others. She looked for the good in others and found it. She gave her time, her love, her attention, and her support to her family, friends, and strangers alike.
She had a remarkable 61 years of marriage, friendship, and total adoration with her husband, Bruce, raising five children, running his dental practice, and managing all of the details of their life together. They traveled together throughout the world, participated as members in Brith Sholom and Ohef Sholom Temple, and enjoyed socializing with friends and family.
She is also survived by her children, Robert (Becky Beddard), Susan (Johnny Parker), Elana (Dov Frand), Amy (Mark Wolf), and Bari (Donald Eanes), and their children and grandchildren.
A graveside service was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery. H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts. Online condolences may be offered to the family at hdoliver.com.
Virginia Beach —Sydelle Roistacher (Gurspan) was born September 4, 1935 in New York, N.Y. to two loving parents, Herman and Rose (Entelis) Gurspan.
An inspirational and beautiful person, Sydelle enjoyed life to the fullest. She had a tremendous work ethic, working as a bookkeeper, real estate agent, and insurance broker, all while raising two successful children, Randi and Ronnie. When trying times came her way, she persevered and continued to see all of life’s sweetest blessings with a positive outlook. Sydelle was always the life of the party with her incredible sense of humor. She never ceased to make others feel welcome and appreciated. She was sincere when she shared her wisdom, but always sprinkled it with a little humor and love, oftentimes making a moment of truth feel more like a moment to treasure.
Sydelle loved her Chinese food, visiting grandkids in their college towns, and going shopping for anything and everything. But the only thing she loved more than life itself was her family that she shared it with. Sydelle accomplished many things in life, but her role as a wife, sister, mother, and grandmother was a remarkable testament to her character. Sydelle’s love knew no bounds – she cared deeply about others and encapsulated the very essence of the phrase “I love you.” Her wisdom, emotional strength, ability to forgive, charming personality, and positive attitude laid the foundation for her family for generations to come. But, the more incredible a person is, the harder it is to say goodbye. Her legacy will live on, but there will never again be another Sydelle Roistacher. Her soul was truly a gift from God.
“Delly,” a nickname her friends and family called her, touched the lives of many people. Her family will continue to appreciate life and others by carrying on through her imparted wisdom. Sydelle rejoins her family, including her mother Rose and father Herman, her loving husband of 30 years Norman, her brother Theodore (Teddy) and others who left this Earth before her.
Sydelle always knew that her legacy will endure and flourish through her family. Those who will carry on cherishing her memory include her daughter Randi Strelitz, son-in-law EJ Strelitz, grandchildren Nathan, Jacob, and Jessica; her son Ronald Roistacher (Ronnie), daughter-in-law Bari Roistacher, grandson Noah; her partner Harold Bate, daughter-in-laws Beth and Jennifer, son in- law Larry, and grandchildren Spencer, Justin, Trevor and Jordan.
NEW YORK (JTA)—Rabbi Andrea Weiss, an associate professor of Bible at the New York campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and its incoming provost, remembers the joy that Rabbi Aaron Panken brought to his work. Weiss recalls how Panken would pop into his colleagues’ offices asking if they were having fun.
“He had this very serious position as president of a very large institution, and he approached it with such joy and with kind of a boyish enthusiasm. He really loved his work,” she says.
Friends and colleagues of Panken, the president of HUC who died Saturday, May 5 in a plane crash, remembers him as a strong leader who was passionate about Israel and, above all, loved what he did as the leader of the Reform movement’s flagship seminary and its campuses in New York, Jerusalem, Cincinnati, and Los Angeles.
Jean Bloch Rosensaft, the school’s assistant vice president for communications and public affairs, says Panken embodied “the best of the Reform movement.”
“The college was his whole life. He was a real product of the Reform movement, and he was proud of it,” Rosensaft says.
Panken, who had led HUC since 2014, was killed while piloting a small aircraft near Wawayanda, New York, near the New Jersey border. A passenger, Frank Reiss, a flight instructor, was injured in the crash, whose cause is unclear pending investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. Panken was a licensed pilot.
Prior to serving as HUC president, the native New Yorker held senior positions at the school, including vice president for strategic initiatives, dean of the New York campus, and dean of students.
HUC held memorial services on all of its campuses and livestreamed his funeral.
Rosensaft says Panken was passionate about Israel, working to improve ties between American Jews and the Jewish state, and strengthen Reform Judaism there.
“This was the mission of his life, and he really lived it with every fiber of his being,” she says.
Panken worked to expand the HUC rabbinical program in Israel and its Jerusalem campus and recently ordained its 100th graduate. “He was so full of pride and excitement about what these men and women are trying to achieve in Israel,” Marmur says. Panken started several Israel-related programs, including one that brings Israeli rabbinical students and graduates to visit the U.S. to learn more about Jewish life here. Another program, in partnership with the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Israel, strengthens ties between young Reform Jewish leaders and Israeli political and key cultural figures. He also created a program that brings Jewish, Christian, and Muslim schoolteachers in Israel to the HUC Jerusalem campus to learn about tolerance.
“He was creating change and working toward positive change in Israeli society in order to strengthen Israel,” Rosensaft says.
Rabbi Joseph Skloot, an assistant professor of modern Jewish intellectual history at HUC, remembered how friendly Panken was on their first meeting, when Skloot was 18 and a counselor at the Union for Reform Judaism Eisner Camp.
“Aaron had a gigantic heart and no artifice, and he was curious and engaged and wanted to get to know you,” Skloot says.
Later, when Skloot attended the HUC rabbinical school, he was struck by Panken’s engaging teaching style and mastery of rabbinic literature.
“His love of the Talmud and the rabbinic texts was unusual for someone who grew up in the Reform movement, where unlike in Orthodoxy where young people are trained in those texts from a very young age, we aren’t,” he says.
Skloot says Panken was able to convey that passion for the Talmud to his students.
“He was able to take students of different levels and backgrounds and show them the technical complexity, the inspirational wisdom at the heart of a basic sugya [passage] of the Talmud,” he says.
Marmur, who worked with Panken for some 20 years, says Panken had a talent for making others excited about what was happening at HUC.
“He was one of those rare people who could really get people on board and get them excited about a vision for this place. He was tireless,” Marmur says.
Weiss says Panken was dedicated to supporting the HUC faculty. She recalls speaking to him about an idea for a project to have 100 religious leaders write letters about American core values to President Trump to be delivered on the first 100 days of the new administration.
The following day, he returned and wholeheartedly threw his support behind it.
“He was the kind of person who really helped nurture people to be their best and helped people grow professionally,” Weiss says.
Marmur also remembers Panken as “a very devoted friend and incredibly devoted family man.”
Panken lived with his family in Scarsdale, New York, and was a member of the Westchester Reform Temple, where he had previously served as a rabbinic intern.
He is survived by his wife, Lisa Messinger; his children; Eli and Samantha; his parents, Beverly and Peter; and his sister, Rabbi Melinda Panken of Congregation Shaari Emeth in Manalapan, New Jersey.
- Josefin Dolsten
The last thing anyone wants to hear after surgery or any other procedure that requires post-op rehabilitation, is that it is necessary to return to the hospital for more treatment.
Today, neither does the rehab facility. The healthcare landscape is evolving from a “fee for service” based reimbursement to a more value-based payment model. As opposed to providers and systems billing for individual, and sometimes duplicated services, the government now encourages collaboration to enhance outcomes.
The objective is to improve quality and reduce avoidable hospital readmissions while delivering care within an appropriate length of time and in the right place. That’s why Wendy Burton, LPTA, Beth Sholom Village Rehab director, and her team of physical and occupational therapists know it’s important to “get it right the first time.”
“All downstream providers have to be accountable, which is why we work hard with patients to get them back on their feet after knee or hip surgery or relearn basic skills after a stroke,” says David Abraham, Beth Sholom Village CEO. “Our goal is to lower the cost and length of their stay with us while also ensuring that they will not have to go back to the hospital for reasons that could have been prevented.”
Local real estate agent Sandy Preiser saw all of that first hand after falling in a home she was listing in Chesapeake, breaking her femur in the process. “ I knew immediately it was a significant injury,” she recalls.
After a week in the hospital, Preiser was ready for rehab, but faced the question of where to go. She had options and previous experience with other local centers, but this time, it was Passover and that meant just one choice if she wanted matzah and kosher food: the Gifford Rehabilitation Pavilion at Beth Sholom Village.
“I couldn’t have asked for better care,” says Preiser. “The physical therapists were wonderful and so encouraging. I thought it was going to take a while to be able to walk again, but I was out of there in less than two weeks.”
Not every rehab facility is making the grade. Hospital systems are narrowing their collaborations to the most appropriate, high-quality partners, like Beth Sholom Village, who are achieving favorable outcomes. Indeed they are becoming more involved in informing patients of their preferred partner sites and agencies.
“We are committed to this value- based shift so we can remain an integral partner to our local health systems and most importantly, our patients and residents,” says Burton. “We offer full rehabilitative services seven days a week so our patients receive the treatment they need every day and transition to their next level of care, including going home, as soon and as seamlessly as possible.”
“The days of automatic Medicare covered 21-day rehab stays are a thing of the past,” adds Abraham. “The government is more focused on the quality of the treatment, not the length of it. Patients and families need to know this and work with us to help their loved ones in the recovery process.” Rehab at BSV is about to get a rehab itself, with some new equipment and a refreshed look as a result of the ongoing refurbishment of the Berger-Goldrich skilled care center.
To learn more about Rehab at BSV, call 757-420-2512.
- Joel Rubin
WASHINGTON (JTA)—A fight over who was and wasn’t invited to the U.S. Embassy dedication in Jerusalem last month is becoming yet another battle in the war between Republicans and Democrats over Israel. Top Jewish Democrats in Congress are suggesting the embassy bash was rigged to keep them out and make them look weak on Israel. David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, says that Democrats could have come if they wanted and if their party looks weak on Israel, it’s because, well, it is.
Israel and its supporters have long insisted that Israel remain a bipartisan issue, although that cardinal principle has taken a beating in recent years. Moving the embassy to Jerusalem, a move resisted by President Donald Trump’s Republican and Democratic predecessors, was bound to be divisive. The dispute over the guest list has shown the administration to be more than happy to politicize support for Israel and put the Democrats on the defensive.
Let’s recap.
Days before the May 14 opening, the White House announced that the U.S. delegation to the ceremony would include a relatively short list of six: Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan would lead a celebration that included Friedman; Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin; Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser; Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and adviser; and Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s top Middle East negotiator. All but Sullivan are Jewish.
Also attending were 10 Republicans from the House Armed Services Committee and four Republican senators, who went of their own volition. All the senators are known for their closeness to the positions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Ted Cruz of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Dean Heller of Nevada, and Mike Lee of Utah. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for the Republican nod for Senate in his state, was there, too.
Who was and wasn’t on hand quickly became political thanks to Cruz, who was quoted by the Times of Israel as saying on the morning of the event, “I don’t know why the Democrats will not be here, chose not to come. Every member of Congress had the option before them to come and be here. There was no way on earth we could have inaugurated this embassy without my being here to celebrate it. It’s too important.”
Friedman subsequently told Axios a week later, on May 23, that he would have been glad to assist any Congress member who wanted to come.
“We would have been delighted to host as many Democratic congressmen and senators as would have come,” he said, adding that the absence of Democrats “concerned” him. “The invitation was open to all, or I should actually say we made it clear that everybody was welcome. We didn’t specifically invite anyone. The Republican congressmen and senators who came did not come on the basis of a specific invitation. They reached out and they came.”
A spokeswoman for Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who organized the House trip, said his office reached out to 50 or 60 Democrats—but, according to the spokeswoman, many appeared to have legitimate conflicts. One reliably pro-Israel Jewish Democrat, Jerrold Nadler, told Jewish Insider that he did not hear from Wilson.
Six Democrats did make an issue of it in a May 28 letter to Friedman first obtained by Jewish Insider. Four are Jewish members of the House of Representatives and leaders in their party’s pro-Israel wing: Eliot Engel of New York, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Ted Deutch of Florida, the senior Democrat on its Middle East subcommittee; Brad Sherman of California; and Brad Schneider of Illinois. All six have backed moving the embassy to Jerusalem. (The other two signatories were Reps. Albio Sires of New Jersey and Thomas Suozzi of New York.)
Their argument was that the White House should have, as other administrations have done before when planning Israel outings, assembled a delegation that included Congress members from both parties.
“On many previous occasions of importance to the United States and Israel, such as funerals or other national ceremonies, the White House has organized bipartisan participation of members of Congress,” they said.
Republicans lashed out, saying the letter was disingenuous.
“Rep. Wilson and Sen. Lindsey Graham, who organized the Senate [congressional delegation], made every effort to make the delegations bipartisan,” the Republican Jewish Coalition’s director, Matt Brooks. “Both have stated publicly that they wanted the delegations to be bipartisan in order to represent the traditionally bipartisan American support for Israel, but they were rebuffed by the Democrats that they reached out to.”
Nadler in his Jewish Insider interview said that going at Wilson’s behest would have been impracticable and against protocol, even if he had received the invitation. Traditionally such a request “goes through the Speaker’s office and the Minority Leader’s office, and somebody decides how big the delegation will be,” he said. Additionally, Nadler said, an ad hoc delegation would not have been guaranteed security clearance.
Engel in an email to JTA doubled down on his argument that protocol was not followed.
“The Administration planned this event,” he said. “If the White House wanted a bipartisan delegation, it would have been bipartisan. There would have been serious outreach to Democrats and Democrats would have attended. That didn’t happen. Saying after the fact ‘everyone was invited’ doesn’t cut it. I have worked for 30 years to make sure support for Israel is bipartisan, and I’ll continue to do so.”
Deutch separately has said that he did reach out to the administration for an invitation.
“Congressman Deutch spoke personally with officials at the White House,” a spokesman said in an email, and was told there were no invitations to members of Congress.
“If Congressman Deutch was invited on the White House delegation, YES he would have attended,” the email said.
Contradictions appear to be packed into the competing claims: Despite Friedman’s insistence that Congress members should have understood it was open house, previous administrations had been careful to issue formal invitations to lawmakers from both parties on previous visits to Israel: Bill Clinton attending the funeral for Yitzhak Rabin in 1995; George W. Bush attending Israel’s 60th anniversary in 2008; Barack Obama’s 2013 visit and his attendance at the funeral for Shimon Peres in 2016.
On the other hand, Nadler’s concerns about protocol and security are belied by the fact that Wilson, Cruz, and others attended the event.
Friedman criticized the Democrats who complained about not being invited in an interview he gave to the Times of Israel, saying that Democrats should have called him instead of going public with their complaints.
“Where I come from, you want to accomplish something, you pick up the phone and you call,” he said. “You don’t write a letter to somebody and then publish it in the newspaper before they even have a chance to respond. I don’t do business that way.”
It’s not clear who leaked the letter to Jewish Insider.
Friedman didn’t appear interested in tamping down the partisan nature of the dispute.
“The argument that I hear from some Democrats that Republicans are seizing the pro-Israel mantle is true, to a certain extent,” he said. “There’s no question Republicans support Israel more than Democrats. What the Democrats are not doing is looking at themselves critically and acknowledging the fact that they have not been able to create support within their constituency for Israel at the same levels that the Republicans have.”
It’s a credible argument and well articulated— were it made by a Republican or an analyst. Critics pointed out that Friedman is an ambassador with whom government officials of both parties are supposed to be comfortable. (He noted in the same interview that in March, he helped organize a successful visit led by House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.) “It is truly unprecedented for a sitting U.S. Ambassador to Israel to engage in explicitly partisan rhetoric and behavior,” Ron Klein, the chairman of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said. “Ambassador Friedman must remember that he is not the head of the Republican National Committee or the Republican Jewish Coalition political organization. He is the U.S. Ambassador, as confirmed by the U.S. Senate, to represent all Americans in Israel—not just those of one party, or those who share his political views.”
- Ron Kampeas
(Kveller via JTA)— Earlier this year, my son’s elementary school hosted its winter band and choral concert. While waiting for the fifth- and sixth grade musicians to finish tuning their instruments, I scanned the brightly colored program to find my son’s name misspelled. Instead of Ben Marx, he was now mistakenly dubbed “Ben Tharx.”
After the concert, I reassured my chagrined son that “The Tharx” sounded like a superhero—possibly one who seeks justice for the downtrodden using his “tharxian” powers, whatever they might be (but likely involving a saxophone).
I was empathetic to his irritation about the misprint. When I was growing up, my last name, Forman, was constantly misspelled with an additional vowel, suggesting that I might be related to a renowned boxer and grilling specialist. And although it might be exciting to be George Foreman’s relative, I trace my roots to a different family tree. (To this day, when I spell my name aloud, I automatically add, “No ‘e,’” as if warding off nuts offered to someone with food allergies.)
A few days after tucking away the concert program into my son’s box of keepsakes, I received an unexpected package from my dad, Rabbi Lawrence Forman. At 82, my father seems to be on a mission to divest himself of worldly goods. Every time he comes to visit, he produces artifacts from the trunk of his car: photo albums, diplomas, books, and last time, a small statute of a Roman centurion.
In his latest package, I discovered copies of passenger lists from steamships with names like The Patricia and The Lapland, which had transported my great-grandparents to this country. There were also registration forms from the U.S Army draft during World War I, copies of pages from the 1920 census, applications for American citizenship and even a copy of my grandparents’ 1935 marriage license.
Nearly 105 years ago to the day, my great-grandfather arrived in New York City from an Eastern European region known as Bessarabia. His town, then called Vadul-Rascov, or even Wodrashchkow, is now a part of Moldova, though it may have belonged to Russia at that moment in February 1913 when he landed on these shores. While other passengers’ nationalities were registered as Slovenian, Lithuanian, Polish or German, my relatives were labeled as “Hebrews.”
After studying these documents, I realized that my great-grandfather, Nathan Forman—who lived as a boarder with a family in Portland, Oregon, for seven years before having enough money to bring his wife and two sons over to this country—did not start off as Nathan Forman without an “e.” Rather he was Nussen Fuhrmann—a 36-year-old man poor in money but rich in the letters “s” and “n.” By 1929, when he filed naturalization papers, he was calling himself Nathan Forman, which had morphed from the 1920 census report listing him as Nathan Furman.
Did my great-grandfather care one bit about how his name looked in English? Probably not. He was a full-grown man when he came to the U.S. He was raised speaking and writing Yiddish, and probably had never written many letters in English.
For weeks after receiving the package, I stared at his signature on a 1926 declaration of intention from the Naturalization Service. My great-grandfather was 49 at the time that he applied for permanent residency. Described officially as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with brown hair and gray eyes, this humble man managed to save his family from almost certain death, as in 1941 the Jews of his homeland were murdered by fascists. I keep examining his signature, with the painstaking twirls of the upper and lower case “n.” His capital “F” falls below a line, and the name Fuhrmann ascends with each successive letter.
For him to leave his familiar life behind—to be apart from his young wife and two little boys for almost a decade, to start off fresh in a country without relatives, or a profession, or even a grasp of the language—his existence must have been pretty grim in Bessarabia. My dad told me that his grandmother—left on her own while her husband was in America— used to row the family across the Dniester River to escape from marauding bands of raiders who would regularly antagonize the Jewish villagers. They would hide in the forest across the water until the raids had died down, then row back to their homes.
Therefore, it was worth it for my great-grandfather to make his way to America, to start at zero.
I think my great-grandfather, whom I never met, would have chuckled at the way Forman is frequently misspelled in English today. After all, we were “Hebrews”—and the name, using the Hebrew alphabet, was originally spelled Fey, Vav, Reish, Mem and final Nun. I can imagine his bewilderment over my keeping the family name—with or without the “e” or “u” or extra “n”s— even after I married. It never occurred to me to change my name, especially as I married in my 30s. Nathan Forman changed his name enough for all of us.
I think he would tell me to treasure this country, and to not let the door close behind us—rather to hold it open for the next guy who needs a safe harbor. It’s a big country. It’s a golden country. There is plenty of space for a family—and a name—to grow.
Rabbi Sharon G. Forman, a Norfolk native, has published Honest Answers to Your Child’s Jewish Questions (URJ Press), a chapter on the connection between Judaism and breastfeeding in Lisa Grushcow’s The Sacred Encounter (CCAR Press) and, most recently, The Baseball Haggadah: A Festival of Freedom and Springtime in 15 Innings. She has served as the director of education at New York City’s Temple Shaaray Tefila.
Kveller is a thriving community of women and parents who convene online to share, celebrate and commiserate their experiences of raising kids through a Jewish lens. Visit Kveller.com.
- Sharon G. Forman
Shelby Brown, Mattisyahu Loiterman, and Audrey Peck—three Tidewater teens—will head to Israel with the support of a grant from Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s Simon Family Passport to Israel program.
Brown, a rising senior at Norfolk Academy, will spend three weeks in Israel at BBYO’s International Leadership Seminar. She says she has “been itching to go to Israel” since learning about it as an elementary school student at Hebrew Academy. Brown says she looks forward to immersing herself into the experience and learning as much as possible.
Loiterman, a senior at Yeshivas Aish Kodesh, will spend a year studying at Yeshivas Toras Moshe, an elite learning institution in Israel. Loiterman’s brother attended the same institution and he says he also looks forward to receiving an excellent Jewish education there.
Peck, a rising junior at Norfolk Academy, will travel to Israel with Camp Pinemere, where she has spent the past six summers. Peck hopes to gain a deeper connection with Israel through this trip and “leave wanting only to return to the Holy Land.”
The Simon Family Passport to Israel program was created to encourage and enable Jewish youth to go to Israel. Another opportunity for Passport to Israel grants will take place in the Fall. Visit http://jewishva.org/tjf-passport-to-israel or contact Barb Gelb at bgelb@ujft.org for more information.
- Barb Gelb
Norfolk —Mona Lee Goldwasser, 89, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 26, 2018 with her family by her side.
She was retired from Eastern Virginia Medical School as a standardized patient having served for many years. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she was the daughter of the late Harriet Gerstman Garten and Saul Garten.
Mona Lee received her bachelor’s degree from New York University and her master’s degree from Brooklyn College. She was a physical education teacher on Long Island for more than 25 years and a longtime member of Temple Israel.
She is survived by her beloved husband of 68 years, Norman Goldwasser; her daughter, Ellen Krieger and husband, David of Monroe, N.Y.; a son, Bobby Goldwasser and wife, Denise of Norfolk; a sister, Irma Scherz and husband, Michael Schwartz of Middletown, N.Y.; a brotherin- law, Eddie Goldwasser and wife, Iris of Florida; six grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren; and a number of nieces and nephews.
Mona will be remembered as a kind, loving, caring woman. She will be missed by all.
A graveside funeral service was conducted in Forest Lawn Cemetery with Rabbi Michael Panitz officiating. H. D. Oliver Funeral Apts. Online condolences may be sent through www.hdoliver.com.
Norfolk —Norman Goldwasser, 90, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 4, 2018 with his family at his side.
He was the recent widower of Mona Lee Goldwasser and was the oldest son of the late Pauline and Murray Goldwasser.
Norman worked as an accountant for many different corporations during his lifetime and completed many of his grandchildren’s income tax returns as recent as this past April.
Norman served as a corporate officer of the Algonquin House, where he and Mona resided, and was a longtime member of Temple Israel.
He is survived by his daughter, Ellen Krieger and husband, David of Monroe, N.Y.; a son, Bobby Goldwasser and wife, Denise of Norfolk; brother, Eddie and sister-in-law Iris; six grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren; and a number of nieces and nephews.
A graveside funeral service was conducted in Forest Lawn Cemetery with Rabbi Michael Panitz officiating. H. D. Oliver Funeral Apts. Online condolences may be sent through www.hdoliver.com.
Virginia Beach —Iris B. Goodman, 91, died peacefully on June 2, 2018.
Beloved wife of Larry, loving mother of Jerilyn Goodman, Jeffrey and Jeannie Goodman and Rebecca and Ron Stone, grandmother of Jared Goodman and Becky Seel and Sarah Goodman and Umair Khan, great-grandmother of Lena and Jonah Goodman.
Born in Bayonne, N.J. to Judge David and Mary Berman, sister of Edward.
Loved by many for her warmth, intelligence, self-deprecating sense of humor and amazing culinary talents, Iris was a woman of many talents and unmatched energy who poured both into her family, friends, and community. After graduating from Cornell, Iris joined the staff of the Newark Star Ledger as a reporter, later writing a syndicated column on baby and child care under the pen name Iris Lane.
Iris and Larry raised their family in Springfield, N.J. and spent their last years in Virginia Beach, Va. Always reading and learning, Iris spent countless hours helping others do the same, teaching English to new immigrants, reading books for the blind, taking courses, joining book clubs, volunteering with the League of Women Voters and PTAs, and serving as president of the Springfield chapter of Hadassah.
Iris and her children are indebted to the staff at Beth Sholom Village and the many personal aides who cared for her with love and selfless dedication. Words can’t express how much their devotion, friendship and professionalism are appreciated. She will be remembered for the warmest embraces, the kindest gestures, the funniest words, the most delicious desserts, the smoothest tennis stroke, the greatest smile, and the inherent goodness that made her unique.
May her memory be a blessing to all who loved her. Interment in New Jersey. Online condolences may be offered to the family at hdoliver.com.
Williamsburg —Selma (Cis) Epstein Posner passed away peacefully on June 4 at the age of 88 surrounded by her family.
The daughter of Benjamin and Helen Nachman Epstein, she was a native of Newport News and was graduated from Newport News High School and Virginia Commonwealth University. She is survived by her husband, Marvin Posner; daughters Starr Zarin (Harry) of Rockville, Md. and Susan Becker (Jon) of Norfolk, Va.; grandchildren Lisa Klinger (Zamir), Amy Becker, Jennifer Friedman (Nachi), Katie Lazarus (Yoni), and Jordan Lanczycki (Mike); and 11 great grandchildren. She is also survived by her sisters Audrey Workman and Faye Feinbaum, and her brother, Dr. Arnold Epstein.
After graduation from college, Cis taught elementary education at the George Wythe School in Hampton. She was a tireless and devoted volunteer in the local Jewish community, serving as a board member and president of the Sisterhood of Rodef Sholom Temple, and was active in the annual Cabaret. She worked for many years on the United Jewish Appeal’s annual campaign, serving as chairman of the woman’s division and on the women’s cabinet.
Moving to Williamsburg in 1978, Cis and Marvin were early residents of the Kingsmill community. Cis became a longtime volunteer at the Kingsmill annual PGA tournament, serving in many capacities including press coordinator.
Cis had a sharp, insightful sense of humor. She was a welcoming and thoughtful neighbor and friend. She had a keen sense of fashion. Devoted to her family, Cis was a warm and loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She and Marvin shared 67 years of marriage, delighting in each other’s company and together bringing laughter to everyone. Her warm heart and generous spirit will be missed by all of those she touched.
The funeral service was held at Rodef Sholom Temple. Burial followed in The Jewish Cemetery of the Virginia Peninsula.
Contributions to Rodef Sholom Temple, the Endowment of the United Jewish Community, or a charity of the donor’s choice. Peninsula Funeral Home.
Shoshana Cardin, a Baltimore philanthropist who was the first woman to chair her city’s Jewish federation, the national umbrella body of the Jewish federation movement and the powerful Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, has died.
Cardin, who was in failing health in recent years, was 91, according to JmoreLiving.com.
Known for her intellect and leadership capabilities, she was from 1988 to 1992 chairwoman of the National Conference of Soviet Jewry, during a time when the priorities of the Soviet Jewry movement shifted from campaigns to free Soviet Jews to efforts to help resettle them in Israel.
Prior to that she was president of the Council of Jewish Federations, the representative body of 200 community federations in the United States and Canada.
Cardin also gained prominence in the autumn of 1988 for spearheading opposition to efforts in the Israeli Knesset to amend the Law of Return.
The so-called “Who Is a Jew” amendment, which would have denied Israeli citizenship to immigrants whose conversion to Judaism did not meet Orthodox standards, was ultimately withdrawn in the face of overwhelming pressure from American Jews.
Born Shoshana Shoubin to Latvian parents in what was then British-controlled Palestine, Cardin arrived at age two in Baltimore, where she later became active in local Jewish affairs.
One of her first major leadership roles in the Jewish community was as president of the Federation of Jewish Women’s Organizations of Maryland from 1965 to 1967.
She was the first woman to chair the Associated Jewish Charities and Welfare Fund of Baltimore, and she served on the boards of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, United Israel Appeal and United Jewish Appeal,
She was also president of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency from 1999 until 2001.
According to the Jewish Women’s Archive, she earned a B.A. in English at the University of California, Los Angeles, after three years at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins. She married Jerome Cardin, an attorney, real estate developer and first cousin to the current Democratic U.S. senator from Maryland, Benjamin Cardin. She taught school in the Baltimore public school system.
“Pregnant women were not allowed to teach, so Cardin quit when she was expecting the first of her four children: Steven, Ilene, Nina, and Sanford,” according to the JWA.
Jerome Cardin died in 1993 at age 69. In addition to her involvement in Jewish affairs, she was heavily involved in state civic politics, serving in 1967 as a delegate to Maryland’s Constitutional Convention, and from 1974 to 1979 as chair of Maryland’s Commission for Women.
In 1984 she became the first woman elected president of the Council of Jewish Federations, a precursor to what is now the Jewish Federations of North America.
In December 1990, she was elected to head the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, at a time when the umbrella body was working to secure Israel’s position with the U.S. administration, a task complicated by President George H.W. Bush’s struggle to maintain good relations with the Arab partners in his international campaign to oust Iraqi troops from Kuwait.
She was conference chair when, in November 1991, Bush offered what she described as a heartfelt apology for making statements that September that were perceived by the Jewish community to be a direct attack on the pro-Israel lobby.
Earlier that year, Jewish groups had been upset over his tough stand on an Israeli request for U.S. guarantees covering $10 billion in loans needed for immigrant resettlement. Referring to some 1,000 pro-Israel activists who had arrived in Washington to lobby on behalf of the loan guarantees, Bush angered critics by saying in September that he was one “lonely” guy “up against some powerful political forces.”
(JTA)— LGBT activist Constance Kurtz, whose lawsuit against the New York City Board of Education led eventually to domestic partner benefits for all New York City employees in 1994, has died.
Kurtz, known as Connie, died in the West Palm Beach, Florida, home that she shared with her life partner, Ruthie Berman, on Sunday, May 27. She was 81.
In 2017, then-U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida reintroduced the LGBT Elder Americans Act, which he renamed the Ruth and Connie Act in honor of Kurtz and Berman, in recognition of the battle they fought for LGBT rights for nearly 30 years.
Kurtz, a Brooklyn native, moved with her then-husband and two children to Israel in 1970, and lived there for four years. When she returned to the United States, she reconnected with Berman, her longtime friend. They fell in love, divorced their respective husbands, and became a couple.
Kurtz, a bookkeeper and eating disorder therapist, and Berman, a guidance counselor and physical education teacher at Sheepshead Bay High School in Brooklyn, along with two other couples, sued the New York City Board of Education for domestic partner benefits in 1988, eventually winning such rights for all New York City employees six years later. The couple went on The Phil Donahue Show, where in 1988 they came out, and Geraldo to talk about the case.
The couple, who are both certified counselors, started branches of Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG, in Florida and New York, and in 2000 they began serving as co-chairs of the New York State NOW Lesbian Rights Task Force. They founded The Answer is Loving Counseling Center and worked there for over 20 years. In 2016, they received the SAGE Pioneer Award presented by Services & Advocacy For GLBT Elders, the country’s largest and oldest organization for LGBT seniors.
Kurtz and Berman were married in a Jewish ceremony on May 20, 2000, when it was still illegal for lesbians to marry in a civil wedding. They were legally married on July 26, 2011, two days after marriage for same-sex couples became legal in New York state. Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, the senior rabbi at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in Manhattan, officiated at both ceremonies.
The couple were featured in a 2002 documentary about their lives titled Ruthie & Connie: Every Room in the House.
“Connie was a force of nature,” Kleinbaum said in a statement. “Everyone who encountered her—even for the first time and even briefly—felt her passion, her love, her fierceness and her humor. Connie and her love Ruthie changed the world, and never lost the love of life, of art, and of all of her people. I am sending my love to Ruthie and all who are in grief over this terrible loss. A great light has gone out in our world. May her memory forever bless us and may our lives be forever a blessing to her memory.”
Kurtz is survived by Berman; a sister, Sally Silverman; a daughter, Eileen Ben Or, and a son, Moishe Kurtz, who live with their families in Israel; 14 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren.
I recently returned from leading my 38th Birthright Israel trip. Virginia-based students on this trip were from William and Mary, Christopher Newport University, and Old Dominion University.
Students always ask if the trip gets old for me. After all, we go to mostly the same places, see the same things, and just about keep the same itinerary. So, what makes the trips unique every season?
Each Birthright Israel trip starts with bonding programs, which bring students who do not know each other together and gives them a sense that for the next 10 days they are not coming from different places with differing backgrounds, but rather they are one family, trying to achieve the same goal. With 40 participants it is easy to see 40 different faces, but it is important for them to feel like they are one group and that their experiences are shared and common. One of the main goals of the trip, therefore, is to bond together 40 random Jewish people and help them see that there is the Jew and then there is the Jewish people. The trip is a microcosm of that. For the first time in many of their personal Jewish experiences, participants often feel like there is a larger purpose to being Jewish than their own isolated Jewish experience. By being in Israel, immersing in the experience, and being willing and open to see a different side of the Jewish experience, doors open that most students never knew existed. To me, seeing those doors open for 40 Jewish students is why I continue to lead these trips.
This past trip was also unique as we were in Israel during a difficult time. While we were safely traveling in the north, through central Israel and in the central Negev regions, kites were burning acres of Jewish land and our brothers and sisters in the IDF were in harm’s way. While we were dancing at the Western Wall, learning about our ancient past in our ancient homeland, riots were taking place on the Gaza border. While we were hiking Ein Gedi, climbing Massada, and overlooking Mitzpeh Ramon, terrorists were trying to dig tunnels or cut through a border fence. For American students who have never experienced an existential threat at home, this was very disconcerting.
One of the experiences of Birthright Israel is to spend some of the trip with Israelis who are the same age as the students. For Americans to spend seven days with eight Israelis who are 18–22 years old, can be very inspiring. While most of our American students are enjoying campus life, going to parties and football games, and building their social lives, many young Israeli adults are carrying weapons, walking borders, jumping out of planes, or stopping incendiary kites. They are saving Jewish lives. Lessons learned from taking personal responsibility for a country at age 18 or 19 are invaluable.
Students also met young Jewish adults who have committed themselves to Torah study. This is also a foreign concept to most of our youth. Why would someone devote years of their lives to studying ancient wisdom? Why would hundreds of thousands of young men and women devote their formative years to the study of our people and our traditions? Stopping on the side of the road and seeing a tank with Jews praying around it or stopping at a local grocery store and being asked to join an afternoon service in the meat section is not something that happens in America. But in Israel, when Judaism is life, and the land is your heritage, the Jewish experience shifts. It is that shift that all Jews need to experience.
Birthright participants experience Jewish learning, insights in to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, and hiking throughout Israel, all of which build a deep and personal love for the land, and much more.
The students who travel with me to Israel return to campus invigorated and hopefully ready to lead others. From Israel advocacy to Jewish learning and personal growth, this trip helps today’s Jewish student become tomorrow’s Jewish leader. My hope and prayer is that all of the students who travel with me will pay it forward to others and carry the lessons they learned with them.
Any young Jewish adult who wants an Israel experience is encouraged to contact me as I am more than happy to help them get to or back to Israel if they have already been.
Rabbi Gershon Litt is an adjunct professor at CNU, rabbi at Adath Jeshurun Synagogue, director of the Hillels at William and Mary, CNU, and ODU, and rabbi of the Commodore Levy Chapel at Naval Station Norfolk.
- Rabbi Gershon Litt
When Jewish Family Service of Tidewater’s nurse’s aide Tiphaney Powell speaks about her clients, she does so with a great deal of respect, love, and admiration. After all, when your clients are two 93-year-old women and a 96-year-old man, a lot of life lessons may be learned from them.
Powell was recently honored at JFS’ Employee Appreciation Dinner as “Home Health Aide of the Year,” and for good reason. “I feel it’s my job to love my clients—to make them comfortable and get them to smile,” she says.
As Powell shared stories of her clients, the mutual love and care is very evident. “One of my clients has told me I can never leave her. She loves to talk and has confided in me. Though my gentleman client is very independent, he knows I’m there to assist him so he can continue to stay at home.”
So dedicated to her clients, Powell spent four straight days with one of them during a blizzard this past winter. While the power was out for more than 15 hours, Powell even bundled up with her client to keep her warm so her body temperature wouldn’t drop.
Powell moved to Tidewater from Maryland in 1995 and finished her education at a local CNA program. She started working with JFS in 2003. “I can’t imagine doing anything else,” says Powell. “I love what I do and feel I’m called to do it. My clients see me as their confidant and more of a listener than a caretaker.”
An active mother of four and grandmother of two “lights of her life,” Powell knows the importance of family. “When I’m with my clients, I try to provide the best care I can, as if they are my own family. I love my clients; they are a blessing to me,” she says.