Curtain Rises on the 8th Annual NH Jewish Film Festival

Transcription

Published by the
Jewish Federation of
New Hampshire
Volume 36, Number 6
March 2016
Adar 5776
Curtain Rises on the 8th Annual NH Jewish Film Festival
By Linda L. Gerson, Co-Chair & Co-Artistic Director
It’s showtime, movie lovers! Please join us often for
the 8th Annual NH Jewish Film Festival from Thursday,
March 31, through Sunday, April 10, 2016.
The 2016 lineup presents outstanding New Hampshire and New England Premiere films showcasing Jewish values, culture, and community from the United
States, Israel, and around the world. The NH Jewish
Film Festival will present 18 screenings of 9 top-flight
films in 11 days in 7 NH cities.
For 2016, we’ve created a brand new Film Festival
website that features all the information you’ll need on
our 2016 season, including our statewide film screenings,
events, and more. Check out this informative site at
www.nhjewishfilmfestival.org. For your ease in planning
your film attendance, we are providing our Festival
Schedule at a Glance, see page 12.
Ticket sales began early, in the first week of February,
for Season 8. For our audience’s convenience, there are
multiple ways to get advance tickets. You can purchase
movie and event tickets from Brown Paper Tickets 24
hours a day, seven days a week, online or by calling 800838-3006, extension 1, a toll-free number. Go to www.
brownpapertickets.com/profile/833384 or www.nhjew-
Calendar 4
From the Bimah
5
Your Federation at Work
6
Israel 7
In the Community
World Jewry
8
10
Mitzvahs11
Arts & Entertainment
17
Book Review
19
Education20
Jews in NH
21
Recent Events
22
Obituaries24
Tributes25
Business & Professional
Services
26
Noam Katz Band Performs at TBA on Saturday, March 12
Nashua — Temple Beth Abraham, in conjunction with the Boston Jewish Arts Collaborative, presents the Noam Katz Band
on Saturday, March 12, at 8 PM at the temple,
4 Raymond Street in Nashua.
Noam Katz is one of the most exciting voices in contemporary Jewish music. He shares
his high-flying energy and soulful melodies
with Jewish and interfaith audiences throughout North America, Africa, and Israel.
A longtime song leader at URJ Eisner and
Kutz Camps, Noam has performed at the
URJ Biennial, CAJE, BBYO International,
Limmud-England, NFTY Convention, and
countless summer camps and congregations.
Currently, he is completing the rabbinic/ed.
program at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles.
Noam’s debut recording, Rakia, is a collec-
tion of 12 original Hebrew and English melodies ideal for Shabbat and Havdalah. His second album, Mirembe, Salaam V’Shalom, features guest musicians from Africa and the
Middle East and includes his Ugandan-inspired Am Yisrael Chai. Noam’s latest release,
A Drum in Hand, blends elements of the
prayer service with energetic hand percussion and rhythms from
around the globe.
In 2003, Noam embarked on the most exciting journey of his life, spending three
months with the Abayudaya Jews of Uganda.
He shares their powerful story and music with
audiences young and old, incorporating the
message of Jewish unity and tikkun olam
wherever he goes. Temple Beth Abraham invites the community to enjoy an evening of
uplifting music that is as energetic as it is
heartfelt. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10
for students, and are available at the JARTS
or the TBA website.
For more information, visit www.jartsboston.org or www.tbanashua.org.
The New Hampshire Jewish Reporter
Jewish Federation of New Hampshire
1361 Elm Street, Suite 403
Manchester, NH 03101
3
connect with attendees from our statewide community.
Special guests will join us for the Festival. Meet Chef
Michael Solomonov, a James Beard award winner, along
with Emmy-award-winning filmmaker Roger Sherman, and enjoy a post-screening
Q&A for Opening Night’s In Search of Israeli Cuisine. Chef Mike’s noted cookbook, Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking,
will be available for purchase and signing
at the screening.
Rick and Laura Brown and Cary
and Yari Wolinsky will be in residence
for a Q&A at the screening of nationally acclaimed documentary Raise
the Roof.
Many other special film events
and guest speakers will enhance
your movie-going experience and
are listed in our Festival brochure, included as a pullout in this edition of The Reporter.
Special thanks go to our valued Sponsors, Friends of
the Festival, dedicated Festival Committee members,
JFNH Board, Executive Director Laurie Tishler Mindlin, and the JFNH staff. All have made this season possible. Heartfelt thanks also go to our statewide audience
for their extraordinary support and ongoing attendance
each and every season. We look forward with enthusiasm to welcoming everyone at the movies!
Change Service Requested
Federation Voices
ishfilmfestival.org, which will link you to the ticketing
site to book and get your tickets. In addition, you can go
to the JFNH box office Tuesday–Thursday, 9 AM–2 PM
to purchase tickets.
The Festival films are the stars of the show,
featuring a wide range of Jewish
comedies, dramas, and compelling documentaries, with a
focus
on
contemporary
themes. Take a cinematic journey to Israel with four compelling films. In these unique films,
you will experience Israeli cuisine, culture, and community.
Enjoy the Jewish experience in
English-speaking countries -- the
United States, South Africa, and
England -- in four of our film presentations. From France, you’ll be
inspired by the award-winning drama Once in a Lifetime, based on a
true story.
Not to be missed is our highly anticipated Gala Night
on the Town annual event. The engaging film selection,
Dough, features noted international stars Jonathan
Pryce and Pauline Collins. Following the screening, enjoy a sumptuous wine and sweet/savory dessert reception. The Gala provides the opportunity to socialize and
PERMIT NO. 1174
MANCHESTER, NH
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ORGANIZATION
NON-PROFIT
CONGREGATIONS
JRF: Jewish Reconstructionist Federation URJ: Union for Reform Judaism
USCJ: United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Volume
3, Number
Number6
Volume 36,
AMHERST
HANOVER
MANCHESTER
CONGREGATION BETENU
Rebekah Goldman (Rabbinic Intern)
5 Northern Blvd., Unit 1, Amherst
Reform, Affiliated URJ
(603) 886-1633
www.betenu.org
Services: Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat
services at 7:30 PM
Saturday morning twice a month, 9:30 AM
CHABAD AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
Rabbi Moshe Gray
22a School Street, Hanover
Orthodox, Chabad
(603) 643-9821
www.dartmouthchabad.com
chabad@dartmouth.edu
Services: Friday Evening Shabbat services
and Dinner
Shabbat morning services
Call for times
CHABAD LUBAVITCH
Rabbi Levi Krinsky
7 Camelot Place, Manchester
Orthodox, Chabad
(603) 647-0204
www.Lubavitchnh.com
rabbi@lubavitchnh.com
Services: Shabbat Services
Saturday morning at 9:30 AM
Sunday morning minyan at 9 AM
BETHLEHEM
BETHLEHEM HEBREW CONGREGATION
39 Strawberry Hill Road
PO Box 395, Bethlehem
Unaffiliated-Egalitarian
(603) 869-5465
www.bethlehemsynagogue.org
davegoldstone1@gmail.com
Services: Contact for Date/Time Info
President Dave Goldstone (516) 592-1462
or Eileen Regen – (603) 823-7711
Weekly Services: July through Simchat Torah
Friday: 6:30 PM; Saturday: 10 AM
CLAREMONT
TEMPLE MEYER DAVID
25 Putnam Street, Claremont
Conservative
(603) 542-6773
Services: Generally the second Friday of
the month, 6:15 PM, April to November.
CONCORD
TEMPLE BETH JACOB
Rabbi Robin Nafshi
67 Broadway, Concord
(603) 228-8581
www.tbjconcord.org
office@tbjconcord.org
Services: Friday night - 7 PM
Saturday morning - 9:30 AM
DERRY
ETZ HAYIM SYNAGOGUE
Rabbi Peter Levy
1½ Hood Road, Derry
(603) 432-0004
www.etzhayim.org
office@etzhayim.org, rabbi@etzhayim.org
Services: Fridays 7:15 PM
Please check the website for the Shabbat
Morning schedule
PAGE 2
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
UPPER VALLEY JEWISH COMMUNITY
Rabbi Edward S. Boraz
Roth Center for Jewish Life
5 Occom Ridge, Hanover
Nondenominational, Unaffiliated
(603) 646-0460
www.uvjc.org
uvjc@valley.net
Services: Friday night Shabbat services
at 6 PM, led by Dartmouth Hillel
Saturday morning Shabbat services at
9:30 AM, led by Rabbi Boraz
KEENE
CONGREGATION AHAVAS ACHIM
Rabbi Amy Loewenthal
84 Hastings Avenue, Keene
Reconstructionist, Affiliated JRF
(603) 352-6747
www.keene-synagogue.org
rabbi.ahavas.achim@gmail.com
Services: Regular Friday night services at
7 PM
Monthly Shabbat morning services at 9:30 AM
Check the website for time variations
LACONIA
TEMPLE B’NAI ISRAEL
Rabbi Boaz Heilman
210 Court Street, Laconia
(603) 524-7044
www.tbinh.org
Services: Every other Friday
night at 7:30 PM
TEMPLE ADATH YESHURUN
Rabbi Beth D. Davidson
152 Prospect Street, Manchester
(603) 669-5650
www.taynh.org
templeadathy@comcast.net
Services: Shabbat services the first Friday
of the month at 6 PM
All other Friday nights at 7 PM
with some exceptions.
Alternating Shabbat services or Torah
study Saturday mornings at 10 AM
TEMPLE ISRAEL
Rabbi Eric Cohen
66 Salmon Street, Manchester
Conservative
(603) 622-6171
office@templeisraelmht.org
Services: Friday night 7:15 PM
Saturday 9:30 AM
Tues., Thur., Fri. 7 AM minyan
NASHUA
TEMPLE BETH ABRAHAM
Rabbi Jon Spira-Savett
4 Raymond Street, Nashua
Conservative, Affiliated USCJ
(603) 883-8184
www.tbanashua.org
rabbi@tbanashua.org
office@tbanashua.org
Services: Friday night services 8 PM
1st Friday family service 7 PM
Saturday morning 9:30 AM
Mon. - Thur. minyan 7:30 PM
.
MARCH 2016
* Adar 5776
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March 11
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March 25
The New Hampshire
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Adar 5776 • March 2016
Seeking the Way Forward at a Time of Rapid Change
A study performed by The Pew Research Center in 2013 on Jewish American identity is instructive about the ways
in which the U.S. Jewish community is
rapidly changing. The Pew study shows
that the Jewish population in our country is undergoing change, and I believe
that the changes afoot in our nation as a
whole are readily apparent right here in
New Hampshire.
Many individuals are looking for new
and relevant ways to experience and express their Jewish heritage. Here are a
few of the conclusions gleaned from the
study appearing on the Pew Center’s
website:
•American Jews overwhelmingly say
they are proud to be Jewish and have a
strong sense of belonging to the Jewish
people.
• Jewish identity is changing in America, where one-in-five Jews (22%) now
describe themselves as having no religion.
• The changing nature of Jewish identity stands out sharply when the survey’s
results are analyzed by generation.
93% of Jews in the aging Greatest
Generation identify as Jewish on the
basis of religion, and just 7% describe
themselves as having no religion. In
contrast, among Jews in the youngest
generation of U.S. adults -- the Millennials -- 68% identify as Jews by religion, while 32% describe themselves as
Jeff Crocker
Message from
the Co-Chair
having no religion and identify as Jewish on the basis of ancestry, ethnicity,
or culture.
• Despite the changes in Jewish identity
in America, 94% of U.S. Jews (including 97% of Jews by religion and 83% of
Jews of no religion) say they are proud
to be Jewish. Three-quarters of U.S.
Jews (including 85% of Jews by religion and 42% of Jews of no religion)
also say they have “a strong sense of
belonging to the Jewish people.” Moreover, emotional attachment to Israel
has not waned discernibly among
American Jews in the past decade,
though it is markedly stronger among
Jews by religion (and older Jews in general) than among Jews of no religion
(and younger Jews in general).
What do these trends mean for Jewish
organizations and Jewish communities
throughout North America, and specifically here in New Hampshire? I think
that our Executive Director, Laurie
Tischler Mindlin, has been courageously
and perceptively addressing this question. Several months ago in this paper,
Laurie wrote: “Our Jewish Federation,
along with most Jewish institutions, can
operate no longer within our historical
frames of reference. The people we serve
are different, with changing needs, interests and expectations. If we wish to build
community, foster Jewish life, and care
for people in need locally, in Israel, and
around the world, we must find new ways
to both convey our messages and achieve
our goals.”
Over the course of the coming months,
the Board of Directors of the New
Hampshire Jewish Federation will be
confronting the question of how our organization can lead the effort to encourage, create, and assist in the implementation of new and innovative ways to enrich Jewish life, nurture our population,
and build community in our state and
globally. Our Board members are already identifying interesting and important questions and topics. Here are some
of the questions and topics that I am inspired to offer for consideration:
• The role of our Federation in the creation and delivery of programs and
services to promote Jewish identity
and education
•How we can foster connections between the Jewish community and nonreligious Jews, interfaith families, and
members of the Millennial generation
• Identifying ways in which we can contribute to building Jewish connections
across ethnic and denominational
boundaries
• How we can support efforts to involve
and engage Jewish youth during transitional life stages
• Developing new ways to engage young
people with innovative programs that
encourage and inspire participation in
Jewish life and community
• Promoting the next generation of Jewish community leadership to preserve
the Jewish values that bind us together
•Building capacity and encouraging
collaboration among Jewish organizations throughout our state to provide
opportunities for networking, skill
building, and professional advancement, with the aim of leading to a
stronger, better-supported, better-networked statewide Jewish community
in New Hampshire
•Encouraging innovative ideas, programs and projects that extend beyond
the membership base of our synagogues, that promote Jewish values,
connect Jewish people, educate and
strengthen the community, mobilize
the community, encourage collaboration among Jewish organizations, and
enhance Jewish life
We would be grateful for your ideas
and input in this process. Please join us
as we embark on this new journey together. Tell us about the ideas that motivate and energize you.
Building Community One Person at a Time
With the blessing of our Federation
Board of Directors, I’ve been thinking a
lot about how our organization can lead
our statewide Jewish community to an
even brighter future. I’ve just returned
from attending the Small Federation Executive Institute (SFEI), where I had the
opportunity to meet with colleagues,
consultants, and senior professionals
from our central organization, the Jewish Federations of North America
(JFNA). I find our annual Institute most
refreshing. It is exciting to acquire new
knowledge and to envision how it might
be useful to our community. The cost of
my participation is being shared equally
with the Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation.
The SFEI sessions included a broad
variety of topics: the new Jewish education and engagement initiative at JFNA;
Relational Judaism; the secrets of
Chabad; Federation’s leadership role in
Israel advocacy; creating a culture of security; Federations’ role in sustaining
Laurie Tishler
Mindlin
Executive
Director
Jewish life in a rapidly changing world;
boycott, divestment, and sanctions efforts and responses; the new FedCentral
(website and electronic communications); and a full day focusing on financial resource development. In addition,
we had two sessions just for sharing
among ourselves. One was called “Oys
and Joys” and the other was “Best Practices and Programs.” I was delighted to
have been asked to run a session. In
“Leadership with Laurie,” I discussed
both how I am approaching my work in
New Hampshire and some ideas about a
Jewish professional code of ethics.
Our first evening was spent with
JFNA officers and staff celebrating the
The New Hampshire
historic Israeli Cabinet vote to approve
the creation of an egalitarian prayer
space at the Western Wall. Jewish Federations, along with the Conservative
and Reform movements and others, including Women of the Wall, Jewish
Agency for Israel chairman Natan
Sharansky, and Israeli Cabinet secretary
Avichai Mandelblit, have been deeply involved in this effort for years, as we have
long called for one wall for one people.
It was most moving when Natan Sharansky stood at our meeting to thank JFNA
CEO Jerry Silverman and all the North
American Jewish Federations for our
leadership and vigilance in support of
pluralism in Israel.
While listening to the various speakers
at the SFEI, I began to synthesize the information into key themes. One I’ll call
“Build Community One Person at a
Time” or, as a colleague from El Paso
exclaimed in 1890s verbiage, “Yiddle by
Yiddle.” Like much of my take home
from the Institute, this concept is not
Jewish Reporter
shockingly new; however, I think its reconsideration is useful in the context of
the challenges facing Jewish organizations and Jewish life today. At a time
when Jews are anything but homogeneous and are eschewing both the restaurants and menu items being served
today, it is time to return to the basics of
building human relationships and the
essence of creating compelling communities. If we can focus specifically on developing meaningful, relevant, purposeful, and enduring relationships, I believe
that we will be able to create new paradigms of connection inside and out of
today’s Jewish organizational space.
In his outstanding book Relational
Judaism, Ron Wolfson shares, “We need
to turn our engagement model upside
down. Rather than spending all our time
planning events and hoping people show
up, let’s begin with the people: Welcome
them, hear their stories, identify their
talents and passions, care about them
Building continued on page 5
PAGE 3
Thursday, March 3
Thursday, March 10
Saturday, March 19
Mega Challah Bake - Loaves of Love
Hadassah chapter meeting
Lunch and Learn
7:30 PM, Radisson Hotel, Manchester
Learn the art of baking and shaping Challah. There
will be live musical entertainment. Online registration
is $20 and at the door is $25. RSVP to Challah@
lubavitchnh.com. More information: 647-0204.
1 PM, JFNH Office, Manchester
More information: Michele Bank at michele.bank@
gmail.com or 488-5657.
Noon, Temple Beth Abraham, Nashua
More information: 883-8184
Saturday, March 12
TAY Brotherhood - Purim Carnival
Saturday, March 5
Musical Havdalah
7:30 PM, Bedford
This will be a community musical Havdalah service
with cellist Leah Millnicoff. Following Havdalah, the
movie Above & Beyond will be shown. There will be a
dairy dinner buffet and desserts. More information and
to RSVP: chanchie@lubavitchnh.com.
Sunday, March 6
Guy Mendilow Ensemble: Three Sides to
Every Story
2 PM, Temple Israel, 200 State Street, Portsmouth
The award-winning Guy Mendilow Ensemble is joined
by the acclaimed Philadelphia Girls Choir to present
this semi-theatrical collection of music and stories
that take us through the Balkans from Sarajevo to the
Middle East with songs of celebration, struggle, and
redemption. This show, presenting songs in Ladino
and English, tugs at the heartstrings. Sponsored by
the Boston Jewish Arts Collaborative, with support
from Temple Israel, Greater Seacoast Jewish
Federation. Tickets $23 adults, $13 children, $53
family maximum, $25 at the door. Tickets online at
JArtsBoston.org.
Boston Jewish Arts Collaborative: The Noam
Katz Band
8 PM, Temple Beth Abraham, Nashua
Noam Katz is one of the most exciting voices in
contemporary Jewish music. He shares his high-flying
energy and soulful melodies with Jewish and interfaith
audiences throughout North America, Africa, and Israel.
Temple Beth Abraham invites the community to enjoy
an evening of uplifting music that is as energetic as it is
heartfelt. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for
students and are available at the JARTS website:
www.jartsboston.org or the TBA website: www.tbanashua.org
Thursday, March 17
Interfaith Women Meeting
6:45 PM, St. Catherine Church, 207 Hemlock St.,
Manchester
A discussion of the book “I am Malala: The Girl Who
Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.”
RSVP: interfaithwomennh@gmail.com or 623-7461.
More information: www.interfaithwomennh.org.
Sunday, March 20
11 AM, Temple Adath Yeshurun, Manchester
Reservations required by March 15 for nonmembers:
669-5650. More information: www.taynh.org.
Purim Shpiel
10 AM, Temple Beth Abraham, Nashua
It will be a Harry Potter Purim! Please contact Heidi
Lovitz if you would like to participate: 883-9844 or
director@tbanashua.org.
Wednesday, March 23
Purim Celebration
6 PM, Temple Israel, Manchester
Reservations required by 1 PM on March 18, call
Christine at 622-6171.
Friday, March 25
Purim Shpiel
7 PM, Temple Adath Yeshurun, Manchester
More information: www.taynh.org.
9:30 AM, Temple Beth Abraham, Nashua
More information: 883-8184.
Sunday, March 6
Free Demo Class of Music Together with
Hebrew Program
Temple Beth Abraham, Nashua
For children ages birth through 5 years old. For
more information and to register, contact Olga
Fain at 888-0783 or olga@fainmusicstudio.com.
Saturday, March 12
Junior Congregation
10 AM, Temple Beth Abraham, Nashua
Saturday, March 19
7:15 PM, Etz Hayim Synagogue, Derry
Shabbat service begins at 7:15, followed by kiddush,
music, and Israeli dancing. Additional Israeli Dance
Nights are scheduled for April 29 and June 3.
Jr. Congregation – Catered
Hadassah Service
Sunday, March 27
7PM, Temple Adath Yeshurun, Manchester
More information: www.taynh.org.
Purim Celebration
Thursday, March 24
Friday, March 18
Noon, Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation, Bethlehem
There will be food, music and dancing. More
information: www.bethlehemsynagogue.org.
NH Jewish Film Festival - Opening Night and
New England Premiere of In Search of Israeli
Cuisine
7:30 PM, Southern NH University, Mara Lecture Hall,
Manchester
Admission: $10 per person. Sponsored by: Southern
NH University. More information:
www.nhjewishfilmfestival.org
Saturday, April 2
NH Jewish Film Festival Gala Night on the
Town: Film Dough and Reception
8 PM, SERESC, Bedford
Admission: $42.50 per person ($55 after March 24),
includes Gala Night on the Town Wine and Sweet/
Savory Dessert Reception. More information:
www.nhjewishfilmfestival.org.
Sunday, April 3
Southern NH Jewish Men’s Club Breakfast
9:30–11:30 AM, Temple Beth Abraham, Nashua
Cost is $5 for paid up members and $10 for others.
More information: www.snhjmc.org.
A Celebration of Passover Customs From
Around the World
3:30 PM, Temple Beth Abraham, Nashua
Does your family have a special Passover tradition
from another culture or country? Volunteer presenters
are invited to share your customs at a special
Passover fair including food, music and fun activities
for the whole family! If you are interested in hosting a
booth, please contact Heidi Lovitz. 883-9844 or
Teen Lunch and Learn
Israeli Dance Night
Thursday, March 31
PAGE 4
Saturday, March 5
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter 9:30 AM, Temple Israel, Manchester
Reservations required by 1 PM on March 16, call
Christine at 622-6171.
Purim Family Workshop
9:30 AM - 11:30 AM, Jewish Federation
Preschool, Manchester
Sunday, March 27
Music Together with Hebrew classes
Temple Beth Abraham, Nashua
For children ages birth through 5 years old. For
more information and to register, contact Olga
Fain at 888-0783 or olga@fainmusicstudio.com.
Jewish Communities of Vermont Summit
2016
Stowe, VT
The theme is “Mind, Body and Soul” and we expect
attendees who are immersed in their Jewish
organizations as well as those who don’t yet know
how they want to connect to the Jewish community.
More info and to register: www.
jewishcommunitiesofvermont.org.
Friday, April 8
Shabbat Evening Service in Peterborough
with Rabbi Amy Loewenthal of Congregation
Ahavas Achim
7 PM, Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm
There will be an Oneg. RSVP is preferred, but not
absolutely required to info@monadnockhavurah.org
or rabbi.ahavas.achim@gmail.com. All are invited.
Please direct all questions to info@
monadnockhavurah.org or markwisan@gmail.com.
See what’s happening in the
community at www.jewishnh.org
Reflections on the Challenges and Lessons of Assimilation
This month we observe the holiday of
Purim. Purim celebrates the victory of
relatively assimilated Jews over their enemies (Esther and Mordechai are originally Persian names, not Jewish ones). The
holiday marks the rise of the Jewish community to a relatively high status within
the ancient Persian empire. It is customary to do a Purim “spiel,” a play, during
which we re-enact the story. About a
month ago, I saw another play. The play,
Disgraced, raised questions for me about
the place Jews have taken in American society, and how we might relate to others
as they try to find their own places.
The play centers around the character
of a successful corporate lawyer, Amir,
who has tried hard to live down his Pakistani and Muslim origins. He describes
himself as an apostate. His wife, however,
an American of Christian and European
descent, finds much inspiration for her
art in various aspects of Islamic culture.
The other characters in the play are another married couple: an African-American woman who works in the same law
firm as Amir, and her husband, a Jewish
art dealer, who knows Amir’s wife from
the art world.
While Amir finds his wife’s artistic inspirations amusing, he disparages Islam
as a religion of the desert, relevant only
in a society 1,000 years ago. When his
nephew becomes increasingly attracted
to traditional expressions of Islam, Amir
is dragged into a court case in which a local imam is accused of raising money for
a terrorist organization. The imam denies
the charge, the nephew supports him,
and our main character is inadvertently
identified as part of the imam’s defense
team, even though he is not. The highpowered law firm that employs Amir gets
wind of this, and our protagonist’s career
goes into a tail spin. Alongside these
events, Amir’s complex relationship with
his past, his family, and his faith tradition unwind before our eyes. Is there a
way to be Muslim and American in the
21st century? Must religion be an all-ornothing deal?
How familiar these challenges are! A
few generations ago, we Jews were asking
similar questions. How can we be Jewish
in America? What would that look like?
The Jewish character in this play appears
to have it figured out. He points out that,
for example, Jews never used to eat lobster. But, he says, “I love lobster! Who
doesn’t love lobster?” His observation
suggests that Amir can find a similar entry into American culture and society.
Rabbi in the House
Rabbi Eric Cohen
Temple Israel
Maybe so, but the art specialist does not
remember how long it took for Jews to be
accepted in this country, and how hard
they had to work at it. He also doesn’t
have a sense of what he (we) may have
lost along the way. Interestingly, Amir
knows a bit more about the Jewish faith
tradition than his Jewish friend. He
praises the Talmud and rabbinic reasoning for offering Jews a means to cope
with the different circumstances they encounter. Amir reminds (teaches?) our
Jewish colleague that the Jewish Diaspora has inherited wonderful tools with
which to navigate the swirling waters of
societal and cultural change.
Indeed, Purim reminds us that our ancient ancestors, Esther and Mordechai,
could successfully combine their Persian
and Jewish selves. Perhaps we may credit
them with teaching us how to survive in
the Diaspora among disparate peoples.
Indeed, the Babylonian Talmud was created in the Persian empire by rabbis who
saw themselves as their descendants.
Amir believes that these Jewish “compasses,” such as the Talmud and the Purim story, are lacking from the Muslim
experience. I do not know enough about
Muslim culture to say whether he is correct. But I have met Muslims who do engage with contemporary society while remaining faithful to their traditions. They
make difficult choices every day, just as
observant Jews do, just as our ancestors
did. Yet, there is no denying the challenges that Amir faces.
It’s not just rabbinic reasoning, and the
lessons learned from the Purim story,
that inform Jews’ successful acculturation in the United States. There is also
the fact that most Jews in the United
States came from Europe. Our origins are
in societies that, for two centuries, wrestled with the place of religion in an eversecularizing culture. Whatever path Jews
chose in America, there was precedence
for it, and our Christian neighbors were
making similar choices. A Jew could drop
all religious affiliation and choose to be
“culturally” Jewish. We could fully assimilate, and reject any Jewish identification. If we wanted a religious affiliation,
The New Hampshire
we could choose among the burgeoning
Jewish denominations in this country.
Amir’s roots are not in such a culture.
In a very short period, he and his family
were thrust from a traditional culture
into modern and secular societies. There
was no movement toward a secular society in his native Pakistan. Such concepts
as “secularism” were part and parcel of a
European colonialism that disparaged Islamic culture and faith. What was liberating on one continent was identified
with oppression on another. Amir can
choose to be an apostate (there have always been “bad” Muslims, as there have
always been “bad” Jews), and his nephew
can choose to become increasingly religious. But the territory between these
two options is generally uncharted for
Amir and his nephew. In addition, they
have to cope with extremists among their
co-religionists for whom any engagement
other than a violent one is anathema.
Our ancestors did not have that challenge.
The play is gripping, and at some moments, disturbing. I was frequently uncomfortable, because I began to see in
myself many of the prejudices that became explicit in the conversations on
stage. I also silently bemoaned the lack
of knowledge or affiliation of the Jewish
character. Is this the resolution of our
American and Jewish heritages? Are we
the victims of our own success? Our predecessors, Esther and Mordechai, managed to keep Judaism alive and well in
Building continued from page 3
and for them -- and then craft programs
that engage them with the Jewish experience.” Professor Wolfson speaks to all
Jewish leaders and organizations when
he implores us to be market focused and
to get to know, through deliberate personal interaction, the individuals we
hope to engage and serve.
As your Jewish Federation looks to
the future, we are committed to forging
new relationships and deepening those
we currently enjoy. We have begun outreach efforts to the over 200 young families participating in our PJ Library program and are reigniting a Young Leadership Division for people in their 20s
and 30s. I, along with members of our
Board of Directors, will undertake a
“listening tour,” hoping to visit our area
the Persian empire. Our contemporary
Jewish institutions and leaders, however,
are having difficulties articulating the relevance of Judaism and the meaning and
support it can offer Jews in a modern
world. Like Amir, many American Jews
see little or no value in a faith tradition
that was invented 3,000 years ago in a
desert far, far away. Yet, at the same time,
I retained a sense of profound gratitude
for our ancestors’ efforts. They managed
to acculturate in the United States, and
yet Jews remain a distinct element in
American society. Perhaps the great irony
is that, with all the animosity and disagreements among Jews and Muslims, we
have provided a model for surviving,
even flourishing, in this country, which
other groups could (with modifications?)
adopt.
Disgraced teaches us to appreciate the
circumstances of Amir. Unlike our Purim story, however, the play does not offer any answers for the deep fears and
complex questions it raises. It does make
these explicit, and, in doing so, forces us
to sit with them. There’s an old saying
that you can’t totally hate people whose
story you know. If that is true, the play
has done us a favor. Disgraced also reminds us of the path(s) Jews have walked
over the generations. It reminds us of
what we have gained, what we have lost,
and what challenges remain for us to
confront within our communities and
without. May we continue to embrace
the work we must do.
congregations and chavurot and to meet
with others who wish to share their
views and desires for the Federation
agenda.
It is much easier to arrange conversations with people who are participants
in congregations, chavurot, and other
Jewish organizations than to identify
and reach folks who once were or never
would be attendees. Throughout our innovation planning process, your Federation truly wishes to explore opportunities for meeting the needs and interests
of both participants and uninvolved
Jews. Please help us meet with as many
people as possible and pass this message
along to anyone you know whom we
should contact during our listening tour.
Our hope is to Sh’ma Yisrael -- Hear all
Israel -- and respond.
www.jewishnh.org
Jewish Reporter
PAGE 5
JFNH Preschool Thrives in New Location
By Alane Sabel, Preschool Director
Manchester — Preschool is now half
way through the year in the new location, and what a whirlwind it has been.
So much has happened during our transition to the new building. Thank you to
all my supportive families, staff, and
Temple Adath Yeshurun for all their patience and understanding during our
summer-long renovation projects.
Sprinklers, cabinets, paint, carpets,
and relicensing all happened in record
time to allow us to open in September as
planned. A new playground went in a
month later, making our renovations
complete.
Success can only be measured by the
positive feedback from our families.
With all of our families returning next
Alane Sabel enjoys the first ride down
the JFNH Preschool’s new slide
year, I would say Preschool has been a
huge success, and we look forward to
the future.
Preschool director Alane Sabel officially cuts the ribbon to inaugurate the JFNH
Preschool in its new location.
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Inclusive environment for kids ages 8 – 15
from all Jewish backgrounds
Now offering two-week program for first-time campers… Call for more details
Ask us about discounts and special fees for first-time campers!
Camp Young Judaea, Amherst, New Hampshire
Jamie Marks and Marcy Kornreich, Co-Directors
cyjnh@aol.com • www.cyj.org • 781 237-9410
www.jewishnh.org
PAGE 6
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
The Western Wall Prayer Decision
and the Shifting Israel-Diaspora Paradigm
By Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman/JNS.org
(reprinted with permission of JNS)
The Israeli government’s passage of
legislation that authorizes egalitarian
prayer
in
a
soon-to-be-created
9,700-square-foot, NIS 35 million ($8.85
million) section adjacent to the southern
part of the Western Wall (Kotel in Hebrew) has been called groundbreaking,
empowering, dramatic, and unprecedented. The section could be ready in as
soon as a few months or up to two years
from now.
“This is a fair and creative solution,”
said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the 15-5 vote on the measure by
his cabinet.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), said
the decision would “connect world Jewry to the State of Israel.” Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of
North America (JFNA), called it a “major step forward.” Member of Knesset
Merav Michaeli (Zionist Union) said
the Kotel was “liberated” again, this
time not by soldiers, but by women in
Jewish prayer shawls.
Anat Hoffman, leader of the Women of the Wall group, speaks with members of the
media near the Western Wall on Jan. 31, reacting to the Israeli government’s passage of a new plan on egalitarian prayer rights at the Jewish holy site. Credit: Hadas
Parush/Flash90.
Indeed, for 27 years, the Women of said more than just an agreement has
the Wall group pushed for women’s been achieved: “The vision of the new
equality at the Kotel. Formal negotia- section of the Kotel is a physical and
tions have been going on for almost conceptual space open to all forms of
three years. In a statement, the group Jewish prayer. Instead of splitting up
the existing pie into ever more divided,
smaller pieces, we are making the pie
much larger.”
The new section, which will qualify
for government funding, will be managed by a public council, governed by a
committee headed by the chairman of
the Jewish agency and comprised of representatives from the Reform and
Masorti (Conservative Judaism in Israel) movements, JFNA, and Women of
the Wall. An administrator for the section will be appointed by the Prime
Minister’s Office.
Beyond the blueprints, the ratified
plan is a powerful statement about the
overt impact Diaspora Jewry and global
Jewish leaders could have on Israeli decision-making. This is a paradigm shift.
U.S. Jews have traditionally served as
a political lifeline for Israel, lobbying
American governments on behalf of the
Jewish state. Recent occurrences have
shifted the relationship between the
American and Israeli Jewish communities into one of semi-equality, which includes American Jewish leaders objectively discussing Israel’s policies rather
than blindly supporting them.
A Joint Statement on the Western Wall Decision
By Jerry Silverman, President & CEO,
The Jewish Federations of North
America
Rabbi Steven C. Wernick, CEO, United
Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union
for Reform Judaism
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, Executive Vice
President, Rabbinical Assembly
streams, in which men and women pray
together.
The new prayer space will be jointly
governed by a new body that will include
Women of the Wall and the Masorti and
Reform movements and will be led by the
Chair of the Executive of The Jewish
Agency for Israel.
The decision sends a powerful message
to Israelis and Jews across the Diaspora
about the permanent value of Jewish pluralism and about what we can do when
we work together. Though much work
regarding the implementation of this decision still remains, it is because of our
perseverance and commitment to Jewish
peoplehood that we are measurably closer today to the ultimate symbol of that
reality — one Wall for one people.
We are grateful to Women of the Wall
and Anat Hoffman, who spent 27 years
working toward this moment in our collective history. Without their efforts this
historic achievement would not have
been realized. The role of Jewish Agency
Chairman of the Executive Natan
Sharansky also cannot be overstated. We
thank Israeli Cabinet Secretary Avichai
Mandelblit and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
We applaud Israel’s historic decision to
create a permanent egalitarian prayer
space at the Western Wall. The Cabinet’s
approval Sunday of the new space is a
dramatic, unprecedented and critical acknowledgement by the State of Israel
that Judaism’s holiest site — the Kotel —
should incorporate the traditions of the
Masorti (Conservative) and Reform
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PAGE 7
NH4Israel Reviews 50 Years of Israeli History
By Ken Kowalchek
Manchester — On January 6, Emil
Campeanu, an Israeli member of NH4Israel, presented “The Ingathering,” Part II
of the multipart Tkuma series on the rebirth of Israel and its first 50 years. The
segment covered the return of the Jews in
the Diaspora from 1948 to 1998, when
the country counted some 6.5 million
Jews and 1.8 million Arabs. The greatest
periods of immigration were the period
immediately following WWII and a second big wave following Israel’s rebirth.
The former were survivors of the Holocaust; the latter were evicted from Muslim countries following Israel’s independence. Particularly gripping was the
plight of the Yemeni Jews, who trekked
on foot through the desert via Saudi Arabia, suffering many casualties along the
way. This led to Israel’s first massive airlift, Operation Magic Carpet, lifting Diaspora Jews from Yemen back to the
land of their forefathers’ forefathers.
Israeli airlifts also brought back entire
communities of Ethiopian Jews. Despite
the fact that Israel’s immigrants were
Jews one and all, multiculturalism took
some wrestling with Jacobs descendents
to be called one Israel. Those who came
from European cultures might have
thought themselves “more cultured” than
their North African and Middle Eastern
brethren, those Sephardic Jews who for
generations lived in the Holy Land.
The documentary narrates in detail Israel’s housing (and water, sewage, and
utility) shortage for the new immigrants.
Yet the newcomers did not look back;
they knew life would be uphill from these
beginnings. Most importantly, regardless
of their material quality of life, in Israel
they felt safe.
On Jan. 20, Emil hosted the Tkuma
portion on the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF). The IDF is truly a “people’s
army,” since both males and females are
conscripted: males for 36 months, females for 21. Israel is the only country
that conscripts its young women. The Israeli military, moreover, is based on the
small conscripted force with reserve
forces (of those who completed their ser-
vice). Their small force of younger soldiers has proven to be up to the job of
defending the country if there is no invasion. And Israel was the first to use small
elite units to attack as uniformed commandos. This proved highly effective in
taking the battles across the “Green
Line” in the form of raids. The commando’s commander, young Ariel Sharon,
chose the number 101st for the commando unit in order to make Arab armies
think there might be one hundred more
such indefatigable units.
The viewer becomes a true spectator
during the coverage of the rest of Israel’s
battles of the 20th century, as the technology of battlefield cinematography advanced. Footage moved from shades of
grey to color to make Israel’s many wars
seem very real. Every decade saw struggle. There was the Suez Crisis in the fifties. Then the sixties brought the successes of the 1967 Six-Day War, only to be
cemented with near defeat at one point in
the Yom Kippur War of 1973. The seventies saw massacres by Israel’s enemies at
European airports and the Munich
Olympic Games. Hijackings did not always end like the successful Entebbe raid
of 1976. The eighties saw the war with
Lebanon and the destruction of Iraq’s
nuclear program. And the nineties saw
Israel suffer from Iraqi scud missiles,
which miraculously saw one casualty,
and that was from a heart attack caused
indirectly from missiles.
More lectures on the Tkuma series and
other educational films on Israel are
planned for the 2016 season. Find out
more and sign up for email updates at
NH4Israel.org.
With the exception of holiday conflicts
and summer break, NH4Israel hosts biweekly talks with refreshments at Manchester’s Temple Israel at 6:30PM on alternate Wednesdays. If other venues and
weekdays are scheduled, word of the
change will be publicized in advance as
well as posted on the calendar of events at
NH4Israel.org. NH4Israel guest speakers
generally address current issues surrounding the state of Israel as well as historical
analyses of topics such as the Diaspora,
Jew-hatred, and the making of Israel.
Oh, What A Night!
Manchester — About 170 hungry folks
entered Temple Adath Yeshurun (TAY)
for the 29th annual TAY Brotherhood
Deli Night on Saturday night, January
30. They did not leave hungry. They were
treated to plenty of appetizers, pastrami,
corned beef, tongue, sliced turkey, salami, macaroni salad, cole slaw, potato salad, fresh salad, sour pickles and tomatoes, mustard, rye bread, cookies, cake,
and rugelach.
Entertainment was provided, not only
by musical group Sun Dogs and by Boston-based comedian Paul Gilligan, but
also by David Penchansky and Ted
Yegerman. David played the Jewish superhero Deli Man, in a great costume,
with Ted as his comedic foil.
It was a lively evening with a packed
house. Hats (and yarmulkes) off to the
TAY Brotherhood Kitchen Krew for all
their hard work setting up the room, running a very successful raffle, and preparing, slicing, portioning out, and serving
(and cleaning up).
Jeffrey Meyers, with proud daughters Hallie and Ahvni and proud mom JoAnn
Meyers, joins Governor Hassan at his swearing-in ceremony for NH Commissioner
of Health and Welfare at the State House on February 2
TAY Deli Deli Man (aka David Penchansky) with comedy mate Ted Yegerman
Deli Night is always a night of camaraderie and fun -- a night that brings the
community together -- and that is what it
is all about.
Learn more about JFNH
by visiting www.jewishnh.org
PAGE 8
The New Hampshire
Jeffrey Meyers Appointed
Commissioner Of Health And Welfare
Attorney Jeffrey Meyers of Concord
was sworn in as New Hampshire Commissioner of Health and Welfare by Governor Maggie Hassan at the State House in
Concord on February 1, 2016. Present at
the event were proud daughters Ahvni
and Hallie and proud mother JoAnn
Meyers. (His proud wife, Superior Court
Judge Amy Ignatius, was unable to attend
Jewish Reporter
as she was called to preside over a trial
that day.
Jeffrey is a member of Temple Beth Jacob and grew up as a member of Temple
Adath Yeshurun. JoAnn is a member of
both congregations.
We wish Jeffrey all the best as he assumes one of the most important and
challenging roles in our state government.
Etz Hayim Celebrates Tu B’Shevat
Derry — Tu B’Shevat, or the “New
Year of the Trees,” is Jewish Arbor Day.
The holiday is observed on the 15th (tu)
of the Hebrew month of Shevat. Scholars
believe that originally Tu B’Shevat was an
agricultural festival marking the emergence of spring. In the 17th century, Kabbalists created a ritual for Tu B’Shevat
that is similar to a Passover seder. Today,
many Jews hold a modern version of the
Tu B’Shevat seder each year. The holiday
also has become a tree-planting festival,
in which Israelis and Jews around the
world plant trees in honor or in memory
of loved ones and friends.
On a sunny, crisp, Sunday in January,
Rabbi Peter Levy and his wife Amy hosted
a warm, sparkling, joyous birthday party
for the trees. It was a Tu B’Shevat seder
following the traditions of Passover. There
were four cups of wine, with various mixtures of white and dark wine. The seder
featured a seder plate provided by Amy,
with a variety of different types of fruits:
fruit with hard not edible covers, fruits
with hard pits, and fruit totally edible. The
fruits included bananas, almonds, oranges, olives, apples, dates, and figs.
The seder consisted of asking and answering four questions about trees,
spring, the growing season, planting,
ecology, and community environmental
responsibility. The participants sang a
number of songs, one of which involved
making waves likes a tree’s branches. The
seder ended with members taking home
cups of soil with parsley seeds. Later,
when the ground is not frozen, folks will
plant them. Then, when the seeds grow
into parsley, that parsley will become
part of their Passover seder plate. So
with snow on the ground, we are already
looking forward and planning to celebrate Passover.
TBA Hosts Israeli Consul General
to New England on April 9
Nashua — Yehuda Yaakov, the Israeli
Consul General to New England, will
speak during Shabbat services on April 9
at Temple Beth Abraham (TBA), 4 Raymond Street in Nashua.
TBA’s Lifelong Learning Committee
will host a “Lunch & Learn” discussion
with Consul General Yaakov following
the Saturday morning services, which begin at 9:30 AM.
Yehuda Yaakov has been the Consul
General of Israel to New England since
February 2014. He focuses on strengthening business, academic, and social justice partnerships between Israel and New
England.
Consul General Yaakov spent most of
his diplomatic career focusing on Israel’s
security issues. He was head of the Israeli
Foreign Ministry’s department for nonconventional weapons prevention from
2004 to 2007, and he ran the homeland
security and counter-terrorism unit from
2001 to 2004. He also
served outside Israel in
New York and New
Zealand. Consul General Yaakov grew up in Queens,
New York, and received a BA in journalYehuda
ism and international
Yaakov,
Israeli Consul relations from Syracuse
University in 1982. The
General to
New England following year, he
moved to Israel, where
he served in the Israel Defense Forces.
He and his wife, Ofra, have two adult
daughters. Anyone who would like to suggest a
topic for the Consul General to discuss
during the Lunch & Learn may email
Jeff Masors at lifelonglearning@tbanashua.org, Rabbi Jon Spira-Savett at rabbi@tbanashua.org, or Heidi Lovitz at
Etz Hayim Plans 2nd Night Seder
Derry — Etz Hayim Synagogue of Derry
will host a Second Night Passover Seder for
the community on Saturday, April 23, at
6:30 PM, starting with a Havdalah service.
Rabbi Peter Levy will conduct a rich,
meaningful, and involving seder. The
menu will include a vegetarian option.
The cost is $28 for adult Etz Hayim
members, $38 for nonmembers, $14 for
member children 10 or younger, and $19
for nonmember children.
To reserve, please send a check in payment by April 8. Etz Hayim invites everyone to visit and experience our warm
welcome. The synagogue is located at 1 ½
Hood Road in Derry, NH, 03038. For
more information, see www.etzhayim.
org or call (603) 432-0004.
Hadassah Plans Service March 18
Manchester — The next Manchester
Chapter of Hadassah meeting will be held
on Thursday, March 10, at 1 PM at the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire office.
Members of the chapter will participate
in a Hadassah Shabbat Service and Oneg
at Temple Adath Yeshurun on Friday,
March 18. Rabbi Beth Davidson will prepare the service, which will feature participation by many Hadassah members. All
are invited to attend this spiritual evening.
The chapters book club will discuss The
Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg on Thursday, April 14. The meeting will take place
at the JFNH office at 7 PM.
On Sunday, June 26, the chapter’s Annual Brunch will be at the Manchester
Country Club in Bedford. There will be a
scrumptious brunch and interesting program that includes Doreen Dove, noted
image consultant. Doreen is a dynamic
speaker, personal style coach, and author.
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
PAGE 9
Rome’s Jewish Community Welcomes Pope Francis
By Elie Hirschfeld (The following is a personal account of
Pope Francis’s historic visit to Rome’s
Great Synagogue on Jan. 17, 2016.
Reprinted by permission of the author.)
When the leader of the Park East Synagogue, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, asked me
come to see him, I was enthusiastic about
sitting with the man who has done so
much good for Jewish people throughout
his life, but I had no idea what he wanted.
With a little trepidation, I went to see
him and was humbled by his request. He
asked if my wife Sarah and I would go to
Rome and represent him and Park East
at the Great Synagogue of Rome for the
visit of Pope Francis. This was only the
third time in recent history that a pope
visited the synagogue in Rome, with the
two previous occasions John Paul II in
1986 and Benedict XVI in 2010. Sarah naturally said yes, and a few
days later, we were on our way to Rome.
Sarah had never been to Rome, and my
last visit was 45 years ago. So, this trip
was not only a wonderful vacation, but
an opportunity of a lifetime. Once we arrived, we were immediately overwhelmed
by the beauty and architecture of this ancient city. We passed the Great Coliseum
and our hotel was adjacent to the Pantheon, truly another magnificent wonder.
Greeting us at the hotel as old friends
was Dr. Giacomo Mocati, vice president of
the Rome Jewish Community. As a representative of Rabbi Schneier, we were taken
in as family of this wonderful Jewish Community of Rome. We took a tour through
the Ghetto area, the Great Synagogue, and
through The Jewish Museum and immediately became overwhelmed to learn that
this warm family in that took us in dates
back some 2,200 years to when the Roman
Empire had an alliance with Judea under
the leadership of Judah Maccabee. PAGE 10
Elie and Sarah Hirschfield in front of
the Great Synagogue of Rome
For a real estate developer, this fact did
not go unnoticed. The Great Synagogue
is said to be the tallest synagogue in the
world, and I was impressed with its grandeur. Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, the chief
Rabbi of Rome, who, like Maimonides is
also a physician, greeted us before the afternoon Mincha service. We then went to
dinner in the Ghetto area. Of course, this is no ghetto anymore, it is
more of a chic, stylish neighborhood like
Soho, Tribeca, and even what the Lower
East Side has now become and has a conservable amount of kosher restaurants. Shabbat came, and I discovered
through a unique and beautiful Kabbalat
Shabbat service that these Jews prayed
neither in Ashkanazic or Sephardic, because the customs of Rome date back
further than both of these ethnicities. We
The New Hampshire
enjoyed a Shabbat dinner at the home of
Vito Arbib, the brother of deputy chief
Rabbi Joseph Arbib. Joining us were
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the Chief
Rabbi of Moscow (the father of Park
East’s Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt),
Professor Daniel Sperber, and other rabbis from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel,
and Ruth Dureghello, the president of
Rome’s Jewish community. Needless to
say, it was a meaningful Shabbat.
Sunday came, and we awoke to begin
our day preparing for the much anticipated Papal visit. Despite being only one
mile from Vatican, these visits are as
meaningful as they are infrequent, and
the audience was in reverence. Now, I
have been to so many “special” events
and visits by dignitaries, and we all began
to settle in for a great procession to precede the Pope’s entry as we have come to
expect, yet that is not what followed.
Instead, the doors opened and there
stood only the Pope and Chief Rabbi di
Segni -- walking shoulder to shoulder.
The warmth between these two men was
demonstrable, and Pope Francis started
walking through the synagogue, aisle by
aisle, shaking almost everyone’s hand
and hugging some. This was something
special, and nothing I had expected. The
Pope stopped and talked with so many,
as if he felt like one of the people. His
humbleness was refreshing, his affability
enviable. People are drawn to him and he,
in return, draws himself right into their
hands. We were so close that we felt
his charm, and right after being near Sarah and me, Pope Francis and Rabbi Segni
walked up to the bimah (stage).
As the only Americans in the synagogue, we were seated right by the side of
the bimah (stage). Rabbi di Segni explained that the Pope wanted this event to
be specifically for his Jewish neighbors in
Rome and not for world Jewry. We were
Jewish Reporter
invited because Park East is the sister synagogue of the Rome synagogue, and Rabbi Schneier is a close friend to di Segni. A handful of Italian survivors of concentration camps sat in the front row,
and when they were introduced, the Pope
rose with the congregation in a standing
ovation. “Their tears should never be forgotten,” Pope Francis said. He continued: “The Shoah teaches us that we need
the maximum vigilance in order to intervene quickly in defense of human dignity
and peace. Jews and Christians must,
therefore, feel like brothers united by the
same God and by a rich common spiritual heritage,” Catholic-Jewish relations
are far from perfect, but it is clear this
Pope seeks to build relations between our
two faiths. While in Rome I reflected on how honored I am to be in the presence of this man,
but Rabbi Goldschmidt suggested the opposite -- how honored is the Pope to be in
the presence of the Jewish community.
Think about that. Jews are on earth in
large measure to inspire, and as G-d said
in Isaiah 42: 6-7, to be Am L’or Goyim, a
light unto other nations. We did that well
that Sunday, both in the way the Pope was
welcomed as a friend, and in the words
that President Dureghello spoke, forcefully urging the Pope to lead the fights against
anti-Semitism and against indiscriminant,
largely Muslim, terror, at which everyone,
even the Pope, stood and applauded.
Sarah and I traveled to Rome honored
to be in the presence of Pope Francis, a
warm and good man. But we left Rome
honored to meet the Rome Jewish community and to have become an even closer part of their family. Most of all, it
made me more proud to be a Jew.
Elie Hirschfeld serves as president
of Hirschfeld Properties LLC, a leading New
York-based real estate development firm.
Jewish Women Unite for 2nd Mega Challah Bake
Manchester — A bag of flour here,
some eggs there, a package of yeast, salt,
water … and what do you get? Eventually, delicious challah. And in one particular instance, lots and lots and lots of it.
That’s what will rise in bulk at the Mega
Challah Bake on March 3 at 7:30 PM at
the Radisson Hotel in Manchester.
At the event, spearheaded by Chabad
of New Hampshire, participants will
unite, knead, connect and share:
• Unite
Unite with Jewish women and girls
(ages 8+) from across the entire Jewish
community.
• Knead
Discover the art of challah making from
scratch and the mystique of this uniquely
feminine, time-honored tradition.
• Connect
Connect with many voices and one
heart as we pray for peace in Israel, for
ourselves, and for each other, and enjoy
musical entertainment by cellist Leah
Melnicoff.
• Share Loaves of Love
Share the beauty of Shabbat with
friends and family. Take home two readyto-bake loaves: one for your family and
one for someone that can use some love.
On Thursday, March 3, women and
girls from all walks of life and all backgrounds will gather together to share this
experience. This will be an exciting opportunity for all those who attend to make
their own challahs to enjoy on Shabbos.
There will be inspirational words, a dessert buffet, live music, and an amazing at-
mosphere of community spirit.
Baking challah is a special mitzvah
dating back to our Matriarchs. It is
taught that when a woman bakes challah
and makes the appropriate blessings on
the dough, she is bringing additional
blessing into her home and into the food
that she lovingly prepares for family and
friends. It is a time for women to pray for
their personal needs, the needs of their
families and their communities. Challah
in its more widely known usage refers to
a braided bread traditionally eaten at
Shabbat and other holidays, and is considered one of the most famous Jewish
foods. But in its more basic, Biblical
meaning, challah is the piece of dough
that is traditionally separated and consecrated to G-d while baking bread, a cus-
Etz Hayim Synagogue Holds CPR-AED Class
By Steve Soreff, MD
Derry — On an unseasonably warm
Sunday, January 31, Etz Hayim Synagogue members participated in an American Heart Association (AHA) cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated
external defibrillator (CPR-AED) class.
Last year the synagogue acquired an
AED defibrillator through the generosity
of one its members, the Rabbi’s fund,
and the Derry Fire Department.
In the fall, members of the congregation attended and participated in a Deerfield performance, during which a fiddler
suffered a cardiac arrest and was revived
by members of the audience through
CPR and the use of an AED defibrilla-
Part of the class working with manikins
as Darin Brown provides instruction
tor. With memory of that action and its
effectiveness, the synagogue realized it
was time for its members to be more familiar with its own equipment. Midge
Goldberg, a member of Etz Hayim who
attended the Deerfield concert, works at
Zoll Medical Corporation in Chelmsford, which donated this class. The actual
class was conducted by Darin Brown of
Life Support Systems from Dedham.
In this class, participants learned how
to give CPR to adults, children, and infants, and how to use an AED. In addition, they found out how to help a choking adult, child, or infant, including one
who stops responding. At the successful
completion of the class, those who qualified received an AHA CPR-AED certification card. Eleven member of Etz Hayim attended this class. Future training in
AED is planned for the Etz Hayim teachers and Board of Directors.
tom that has been performed by Jewish
women for more than 100 generations.
Last year’s event was a rousing success. Over 60 women had a mega time at
the Mega Challah Bake. Don’t miss it
this year.
The event is open to the public, for
more information and to RSVP, visit
www.lubavitchnh.com. Or call Chabad:
603-647-0204 Online registration is $20 an
adult, $15 a child. Pay at the door is $25
Mazel Tovs
Temple Israel in Manchester is happy to announce that two Hebrew
school students will be called to Torah this March. Congratulations to
Samuel Izsak (March 12) and Jamie
Danklefs (March 26).
Send your mazel tovs to thereporter@jewishnh.org for publication in a
future issue.
Join Us for a Special Event
Gala Night
on the Town
FILM AND RECEPTION
DOUGH
New Hampshire Premiere
Saturday, April 2, 2016, 8 pm
SERESC, Bedford, NH
includes film and Gala Wine
and Sweet/Savory Dessert
Reception
Jonathan Pryce stars as an old
Jewish baker whose faltering
business is inadvertently saved
by his cannabis-dealing teenage Muslim apprentice
in this British comedy. Dough is a warm-hearted and
humorous story about overcoming prejudice.
Opening Night, 2015 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Sold Out Selection, 2015 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
See what’s happening in the community at www.jewishnh.org
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
Advance tickets for the GALA and ALL
screenings may be purchased: Online at
www.brownpapertickets.com/profile/833384.
Online at www.nhjewishfilmfestival.org.
By phone at 800-838-3006 extension 1.
At JFNH box office Tuesday-Thursday 9 am-2 pm.
For information, call 603-627-7679.
PAGE 11
NH Jewish
Film Festival
Festival Schedule
Festival Schedule
At A Glance
At A Glance
Thursday, March 31
Thursday,
March
31
In Search of Israeli
Cuisine
In
ofLecture
Israeli Hall,
Cuisine
7:30Search
pm, Mara
7:30
pm, Hall,
MaraSNHU,
Lecture
Hall,
Webster
Manchester
Webster
Hall,
SNHU,
Manchester
Special Guests: Chef Michael Solomonov
Special
Guests: Roger
Chef Michael
Solomonov
and filmmaker
Sherman
and filmmaker Roger Sherman
Saturday, April 2
Saturday, April 2
Dough
Dough
8:00 pm, SERESC, Bedford
8:00
SERESC,
GALApm,
NIGHT
ONBedford
THE TOWN
GALA
ON THE TOWN
EVENTNIGHT
& RECEPTION
EVENT & RECEPTION
Sunday, April 3
Sunday,
April
3
Apples from
the Desert
Apples
from the Merrimack
Desert
1:00 pm, Cinemagic,
1:00 pm, Cinemagic, Merrimack
Frank vs. God
Frank
God Arts Lecture Hall,
1:00
pm,vs.
Putnam
1:00
pm, Keene
Putnam Arts Lecture Hall,
Redfern,
Redfern, Keene
Rock in the Red Zone
Rockpm,
inThe
theMusic
Red Hall
Zone
1:00
Loft, Portsmouth
Temple B’nai Israel Continues “We Care”
Entertainment and Fund Raising Programs
Laconia — An imaginative approach
to joint charitable fund raising has
emerged from the root of the We Care
program, sponsored by Temple B’nai Israel in Laconia. This year, ticket sales for
two musical productions will go to selected social services that will also benefit
from working with each other and garnering the joint public awareness of the
critical community work these organizations perform.
Temple B’nai Israel president Marsha
Ostrow reports that the We Care program, begun just two years ago, has already donated in excess of $10,000 to local nonprofit organizations.
The program has selected the following
nonprofit partners for 2016:
An essential community partner for
over 40 years, Lakes Region Community
Services (LRCS) provides supports and
services to individuals with developmental disabilities and/or acquired brain disorders and their families. LRCS is a statedesignated Area Agency serving residents
of Belknap and Southern Grafton counties, with offices in Laconia and Plymouth. The mission of LRCS is promoting
independence, dignity, and opportunity.
LRCS’s comprehensive services and
wide-ranging programs provide supports
from birth throughout the lifespan.
LRCS’s Family Resource Center (FRC)
is a community-based center available to
anyone seeking programs, resources, activities, or supports designed to strengthen families. The FRC mission is to
strengthen families and their communities by enhancing social connections and
offering programs and services, with a
primary goal of strengthening adult capacities to improve child outcomes.
Founded in 1991, New BeginningsWithout Violence and Abuse began as a
grassroots organization committed to
ending domestic and sexual violence
through service provision to victims,
community education, and prevention
work focused on breaking the generational cycle of violence. New Beginnings
1:00 pm, The Music Hall Loft, Portsmouth
Once in a Lifetime
Once
a Lifetime
3:30
pm,inThe
Music Hall Loft, Portsmouth
Music
HallLecture
Loft, Portsmouth
3:30 pm, The
Putnam
Arts
Hall,
3:30
pm, Keene
Redfern,
Redfern,
Keeneat Keene: TBA
Special Guest
Special Guest at Keene: TBA
Soft Vengeance
Softpm,
Vengeance
3:30
Cinemagic, Merrimack
3:30
pm,Guest:
Cinemagic,
Special
TBA Merrimack
Special Guest: TBA
Thursday, April 7
Thursday,
April 7
Once
in a Lifetime
Once
a Lifetime
7:00 pm,inRed
River, Concord
7:00 pm, Red River, Concord
Saturday, April 9
Saturday,
Frank vs. GodApril 9
Frank
God
8:00 pm,vs.
Red
River, Concord
Sunday, April 10
Sunday,
April 10
Raise the Roof
Raise
theRed
Roof
12:30 pm,
River, Concord
12:30
Red River,
Specialpm,
Guests:
artistsConcord
Rick and Laura
Special
Brown, Guests: artists Rick and Laura
Brown,
filmmakers Cary and Yari Wolinsky
filmmakers Cary and Yari Wolinsky
Is That You?
Is That
3:00
pm,You?
Red River, Concord
Rock in the Red Zone
Rockpm,
inRed
theRiver,
RedConcord
Zone
5:00
5:00
pm,Guest:
Red River,
Special
TBA Concord
Special
TBAWRAP PARTY
FILM & Guest:
FESTIVAL
FILM & FESTIVAL WRAP PARTY
PAGE 12
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
is the only domestic and sexual violence
crisis center serving Belknap County. Today New Beginnings is a full service support center providing comprehensive,
confidential services to those affected by
domestic, sexual, stalking, and human
trafficking violence. The agency offers
24-hour services and support, including a
crisis line, emergency shelter, and accompaniment to area hospitals and police departments. Trauma-responsive and culturally competent advocates provide peer
counseling, support groups for all ages,
and advocacy within the criminal justice
and social services systems. New Beginnings has age-appropriate prevention education programming in schools
throughout Belknap County. Community education and outreach presentations
are available to all sectors and stakeholders. There are no fees for service.
Voices Against Violence is a crisis services agency serving 18 towns in Grafton
County. Over the past year, its professional staff helped more than 700 people,
providing information and support to
victims, their family and friends, community members and professionals. In addition to working with adults, the agency
serves children and teens, helping them
understand that violence around them is
not their fault and is not acceptable, even
if that is all they have ever known. Voices
also operates a 24-hour crisis hotline and
a safe shelter that can house up to four
families at a time, and too often it is full.
All of its services are free and confidential. It is estimated that 33% of women
and 24% of men in New Hampshire have
experienced a physical assault by an intimate partner. Last year Voices and other
New Hampshire crisis centers had to
turn away more than 1,100 people seeking shelter or advocacy. Voices shares a
very common belief that all people,
young and old alike, are worthy of respect and dignity and deserve to live a life
free of violence.
In 2015 the TBI We Care team worked
with Central NH VNA and Hospice as
well as Genesis Behavioral Health and
raised funds through two musical events
held at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse.
Both events were sell outs and featured
North Shore Acapella and the Boston
College Jazz band, BC Bop. Stand by for
the dates and venues for the 2016 events.
There will be ample time to schedule a
grand social evening for you, your friends
for the benefit of your community!
E
I
G
H
T
H
A
N
N
U
A
L
APPLES FROM THE DESERT
DOUGH
FRANK VS. GOD
IN SEARCH OF ISRAELI CUISINE
IS THAT YOU?
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
RAISE THE ROOF
ROCK IN THE RED ZONE
SOFT VENGEANCE
MARCH 31 - APRIL 10, 2016
BEDFORD I CONCORD I KEENE I MANCHESTER I MERRIMACK I PORTSMOUTH
PURCHASE TICKETS
Presented by
Advance tickets for ALL screenings may be purchased online at
www.brownpapertickets.com/profile/833384 or www.nhjewishfilmfestival.org. By phone at 800-838-3006 extension 1.
For information, call 603-627-7679. Visit JFNH and NH Jewish Film Festival for the latest on Facebook.
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
PAGE 13
Welcome!
It’s showtime! Thank you for joining us for the 8th Annual NH Jewish Film Festival. The 2016 lineup
presents outstanding new films showcasing Jewish values, culture, and community from the
United States, Israel, and around the world.
The NH Jewish Film Festival will present 18 screenings of 9 top-flight films in 11 days in 7 NH cities.
Jewish Federation
of New Hampshire
Tel: 603-627-7679
Fax: 603-627-7963
e-mail: info@jewishnh.org
www.nhjewishfilmfestival.org
Festival films are the stars of the show, featuring a wide range of Jewish comedies, dramas, and
compelling documentaries, with a focus on contemporary themes. Take a cinematic journey to
Israel and experience its cuisine, culture, and community. Enjoy the Jewish experience in
English-speaking countries—the United States, South Africa, and England. From France, you’ll be
inspired by the award-winning drama Once in a Lifetime, based on a true story.
Festival Committee
Linda L. Gerson
Marketing, Publicity and Sponsorship,
Co-Chair & Co-Artistic Director
Not to be missed is Dough, featuring international film stars, is presented as our Gala Night film
selection followed by a sumptuous reception. Exciting speakers and special guests join us for this
year’s Festival. Meet Chef Michael Solomonov, a James Beard award winner, along with Emmyaward-winning filmmaker Roger Sherman, for Opening Night’s In Search of Israeli Cuisine. Rick and
Laura Brown and Cary and Yari Wolinsky will be in residence for a Q&A at the screening of
nationally acclaimed documentary Raise the Roof. Many other special film events and guest
speakers are listed in this guide to enhance your movie-going experience.
Patricia Kalik
Screening and Venue,
Co-Chair & Co-Artistic Director
Jeff Crocker
Co-President, JFNH
Special thanks to our valued Sponsors, Friends of the Festival, dedicated Festival Committee members,
JFNH Board, Executive Director Laurie Tishler Mindlin, and JFNH staff. All have made this season
possible. Our heartfelt thanks to our audience for your attendance each season. We look forward to
welcoming everyone at the movies!
Robert Selig
Co-President, JFNH
Laurie Tishler Mindlin
Executive Director, JFNH
Graphic Design
Grinley Creative
Linda L. Gerson & Pat Kalik
Co-Chairs & Co-Artistic Directors, NH Jewish Film Festival
Printing
NH Print & Mail Services
THANKS TO OUR 2016
FESTIVAL COMMITTEE
VOLUNTEERS
Mark Biletch
Mary Ellen Biletch
Roslyn Block
Rikki Bornstein
Roberta Brayer
Kathy Brodsky
Deborah DePasse
Pam Englander*
Ann Fabian
Martin Fabian
Darren Garnick
Marsha Gintzler
Loretta Greenberg
Susan Israel
Bob Jolton z”l
Arlene Kershaw
Ken Kowalchek
Rachel Kurshan
Richard Kudler
Andy Kushner
JoAnn Meyers
Evelyn Miller
Barbara Paster
Barrie Paster
Kim Pratt
Audrey Rando
Reva Rovner
Karin Rubin
Barbara Scotch*
Brenda Shadick
Rachel Spierer
Audrey Steinberg
Abner Taub
Pat Trionfo
Daniella Yitzchak
*Subcommittee Chair
Special thanks to
Tammy Dorris, JFNH
office assistant
SPONSORS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
The MCR Foundation
PRODUCERS
Dr. and Mrs.
Michael Miller
FILM SOCIETY
DIRECTORS & FILM STAR SPONSORS
15
Lewis Physical Medicine Associates, P.A.
PAGE 14
We
bs
te r
Stre
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25
3-6
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an ch est
e r, NH 03104
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Lou Fink & Pam Grich I Elizabeth & Larry Eckman I Joy & Michael Sydney I Anonymous
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
8th Annual New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival
March 31–April 10, 2016
GALA NIGHT ON THE TOWN
FILM AND RECEPTION
CLOSING EVENT FILM AND
FESTIVAL WRAP PARTY
DOUGH
Saturday, April 2, 2016, 8:00 pm
SERESC, Bedford, NH
Sunday, April 10, 2016, 5:00 pm
Red River Theatres, Concord, NH
English, 2015 Comedy/Drama
94 minutes
Director: John Goldschmidt, UK, Hungary
English and Hebrew
w/English subtitles
2014 Documentary
87 minutes
Director: Laura Bialis, Israel
Contains violence
includes film and Gala Wine and Sweet/
Savory Dessert Reception
Admission: $15.00 per person,
includes film and Festival Wrap Party
Jonathan Pryce stars as an old Jewish
baker whose faltering business is
inadvertently saved by his cannabis-dealing
teenage Muslim apprentice in this British
comedy. Dough is a warm-hearted and
humorous story about overcoming prejudice.
Special Guest : TBA
This stunning documentary portrays the lives of
the rock musicians of Sderot, a city on the Gaza border, directly in the path
of Hamas rockets. Working from underground bomb shelters, the children of
refugees from North Africa and the Middle East create a unique Sderot sound
that has transformed Israeli music.
Opening Night, 2015 San Francisco
Jewish Film Festival
Sold Out Selection, 2015 Atlanta Jewish
Film Festival
“One of the best Israeli docs ... ever.”
—David Brinn, The Jerusalem Post (on Twitter)
Best Documentary Audience Award, Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival 2015
Enjoy a Gala Night on the Town with a
Wine and Sweet/Savory Dessert Reception
following the film.
Join us for the Festival Wrap Party included with your ticket after the film.
Enjoy delicious refreshments and celebrate the close of the 8th Annual NH
Jewish Film Festival.
Theater Addresses
Cinemagic Stadium Theaters
11 Executive Park Drive, Merrimack, NH 03054
603-423-0240
www.cinemagicmovies.com
The Music Hall Loft
131 Congress Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801
603-436-2400
www.themusichall.org
SERESC
29 Commerce Drive , Bedford, NH 03110
603-206-6800
www.seresc.net
Red River Theatres
11 S. Main Street
Concord, NH 03301
603-224-4600
www.redrivertheatres.org
Redfern Arts Center
Putnam Arts Lecture Hall
Keene State College
229 Main Street, Keene, NH 03435
603-358-2168
www.keene.edu/racbp
Southern NH University
Mara Lecture Hall, Webster Hall
2500 North River Road
800-668-1249
www.snhu.edu
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
PAGE 15
APPLES FROM THE DESERT
RAISE THE ROOF
Merrimack, NH
Rivkah, the only daughter of an Orthodox
Jewish family, lives in Jerusalem. Unhappy with
her life, she becomes interested in the secular
world and runs away with a young man to a
kibbutz in the desert.
Hebrew w/English subtitles
2014 Drama/Romance
96 minutes
Directors: Matti Harari and Arik Lubetzky, Israel
Mature content
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature,
Admission: $10 per person
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 2015
Best Feature, Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema 2015
FRANK VS. GOD
English & Polish w/English subtitles
2015 Feature Documentary
85 minutes
Director: Yari Wolinsky, Poland
Recommended for teens and older
Sponsored by
Lewis Physical Medicine Associates, P.A.
Putnam Arts Lecture Hall, Redfern Arts
Center, Keene, NH
David Frank (Henry Ian Cusick) is still mourning
the loss of his wife when a tornado destroys
his house and he loses his beloved dog. After
the insurance company deems the loss “an
act of God,” Frank decides to serve God ... with
a lawsuit.
Saturday, April 9, 2016, 8:00 pm
“Deals with issues of God and existence in a humorous and artfully
endearing way”—Ginny Prior, San Jose Mercury News
Audience Award, Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival 2014
IN SEARCH OF ISRAELI CUISINE
Opening Night and New England Premiere
Thursday, March 31, 2016, 7:30 pm
Southern NH University,
Mara Lecture Hall, Manchester
English, 2016 Documentary
97 minutes
Director: Roger Sherman, USA
Special Guests: Chef Michael Solomonov and filmmaker Roger Sherman
will lead a post-film discussion and Q & A. Copies of Chef Mike’s acclaimed
cookbook, Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking, will be available for purchase
and signing.
This exploration of the food culture of Israel,
which draws from the more than 100 cultures
that make up Israel today, profiles chefs, home
cooks, farmers, vintners, and cheese makers. The
chef/narrator is Michael Solomonov, the James
Beard award-winning chef/owner of Zahav
in Philadelphia.
Sponsored by
Selection, Palm Springs International Film Festival 2016
Closing Night Selection, Miami Jewish Film Festival 2016
IS THAT YOU?
The Music Hall Loft, Portsmouth, NH
In this romantic road trip, Ronnie, a 60-year-old
Israeli film projectionist who has been fired
from his job, goes to the United States in search
of Rachel, the love of his youth.
Best Indie Film of 2014, Israeli Academy
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
Redfern Arts Center, Keene, NH
Special Guest: TBA
(Keene screening only)
The Music Hall Loft, Portsmouth, NH
Thursday, April 7, 2016, 7:00 pm
When a class of multicultural, often unruly,
French high school students reluctantly undertakes a project on the theme of child victims of
the Nazi concentration camps, the outcomes
are surprising. This feature is based on actual
events in contemporary France.
Audience Award, Boston Jewish Film Festival 2015
Best Narrative Film, Toronto Jewish Film Festival 2015
French w/English subtitles, 2014 Drama
105 minutes
Director: Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, France
Recommended for teens and older
Admission:
PAGE 16$10 per person
The New Hampshire
This stunning documentary portrays the lives
of the rock musicians of Sderot, a city on the
Gaza border, directly in the path of Hamas
rockets. Working from underground bomb
shelters, the children of refugees from North
Africa and the Middle East create a unique
Sderot sound that has transformed Israeli music.
(Festival Wrap Party follows film)
Special Guest at Closing Event: TBA
English and Hebrew w/English subtitles
2014 Documentary
87 minutes
Director: Laura Bialis, Israel
Contains violence
Admission: $10 per person (Portsmouth),
$15 per person (Concord, includes Festival
Wrap Party)
“One of the best Israeli docs ... ever.”—David Brinn,
The Jerusalem Post (on Twitter)
Best Documentary Audience Award,
Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival 2015
SOFT VENGEANCE: ALBIE SACHS AND THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA
Merrimack, NH
English, 2014 Documentary
84 minutes
Directors: Abby Ginzberg, Rick Goldsmith
South Africa, USA
Contains violence
Inspired by images of the magnificent wooden
synagogues of 18th-century Poland—the last
of which were destroyed by the Nazis—artists
Rick and Laura Brown, along with 300 volunteers from around the world, spend 10 years
hand-building a show-stopping reconstruction
of the art-filled Gwozdziec synagogue.
Best Documentary Audience Choice, Rutgers Jewish Film Festival
Best Film Audience Award, Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
English and Hebrew w/English subtitles
2014 Drama/Romance
81 minutes
Director: Dani Menkin, Israel
Mature content
Special Guests: Massachusetts College of Art and Design professors and
artists Rick and Laura Brown and filmmakers Cary and Yari Wolinsky will
host a post-film discussion and Q&A.
English, 2014 Comedy/Drama/Romance
100 minutes
Director: Stewart Schill, USA
Mature content
Distributed by National Center for Jewish Film
Special Guest: TBA
This inspirational documentary tells the story
of Albie Sachs, a lawyer, writer, and art lover
who has spent his life confronting apartheid
and injustice in South Africa. Rejecting the violence that had physically maimed him, Sachs
achieved “soft vengeance” through democracy
and the rule of law.
“A stunning documentary”—Linda Holmes, NPR.org
Audience Award, Best International Film, Encounters Film Festival
Purchase Tickets
Advance tickets for ALL screenings may be purchased:
• Online at www.brownpapertickets.com/profile/833384
• Online at www.nhjewishfilmfestival.org
• By phone at 800-838-3006 extension 1
• At Jewish Federation of New Hampshire box office, Tuesday–Thursday, 9 am–2 pm
For information, call 603-627-7679.
On Facebook, visit JFNH and NH Jewish Film Festival for the latest on the NH Jewish Film Festival.
General Information
PRICING: $10 per person, except Gala Night on the Town ($42.50 through March 24, $55.00 after March 24) and
Closing Night Festival Wrap Party ($15.00).
SEATING: Seating is not assigned. Seats are limited.
Advanced ticket purchase is highly recommended.
GROUP RATES: Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available for all screenings except Gala Night on the Town
and Closing Night. Visit www.brownpapertickets.com/profile/833384 for information.
SEASON PASS: $115.00 season subscription for one person to the 2016 Film Festival series, nontransferable. Nine films,
including Gala Night on the Town and Closing Night Wrap Party.
ACCESSIBILITY: All programs are handicap-accessible.
PARKING: Free parking is available in public lots.
TICKETS AT THE DOOR: Additional tickets may be available at the door prior to the show. In the event of a sellout,
a rush line will be formed 30 minutes before show time.
All ticket sales are final. No refunds and no exceptions. Refunds will only be given if programs are canceled or
rescheduled. Schedule is subject to change. Go to www.brownpapertickets.com/profile/833384 for program notices.
PHOTOGRAPHY: By your presence, you consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded. Your
participation constitutes your consent to such photography, filming, and/or recording and to any use, in any and all
media, of your appearance, voice, and name for any purpose whatsoever.
Jewish Reporter
Guy Mendilow Ensemble and Philadelphia Girls Choir
Bring Stunning Piece to Portsmouth
Portsmouth — Award-winning multiethnic musical group The Guy Mendilow
Ensemble brings a unique and compelling
musical drama, Three Sides To Every
Story, to Portsmouth’s Temple Israel, on
Sunday, March 6, at 2 PM. Sponsored by
Boston’s Jewish
Arts Collaborative (JArts) and
cosponsored by
Temple Israel, the event also features the
acclaimed Philadelphia Girls Choir.
Tickets are available at the JArts web site,
www.jartsboston.org, at $20 adults, $10
students, and $50 family maximum ($25
at the door).
The multi-faceted piece is a journey
through the Balkans to the Mid-East beginning in Sarajevo and winding through
war-torn Salonica. Three Sides to Every
Story is a sonic adventure masterfully
brought to life by the Guy Mendilow Ensemble, a world-class quintet featuring musicians from Israel, Palestine, Argentina,
and the United States, and the Philadelphia
Girls’ Choir, quickly establishing itself as
one of the foremost American girls’ choirs
for the purity and warmth of its sound.
Jointly created by Guy Mendilow and
Nathan Wadley, Three Sides to Every
Story features a semitheatrical collection
of vignettes of struggle, redemption, and
celebration of Ladino culture -- a Jewish/
Spanish language and culture originating
in Spain in the 15th century and spread
after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492.
Ladino language and culture spread to
North Africa, the Mediterranean, and
Europe following this diaspora, lasting in
Sarajevo and other cities but then nearly
extinguished during the Holocaust.
The show focuses on the pulls and
tugs of irony, the tensions in stories that
should be utterly dark and yet somehow
contain bold hope, and moments of
peaceful, picturesque beauty with an
underlying despair running just skin
deep. From epic to stark to irreverently
funny, Three Sides to Every Story explores the ways that contradictions
come together to flesh out a story in
greater depth and humanity.
To commemorate the 70th anniversary
of the end of World War II, this show includes new arrangements of pieces written
both during and about wartime experiences, including seldom-heard Ladino songs
giving voice to experiences historically left
out of World War II conversations, as well
as new arrangements of children’s poetry
from the Terezin concentration camp.
The Jewish Arts Collaborative explores
and presents the rich, diverse, and creative world of Jewish arts and culture -past, present, and future -- to the widest
possible audience, in venues across
Greater Boston. Through a broad range
of programming spanning the traditional
to the innovative, JArts presents the finest local, national, and international talent creating artistic work with a distinctive Jewish voice.
Temple Israel is a Conservation Jewish
congregation located in a historic building at 200 State Street in Portsmouth. All
are welcome at this performance. For information and advance tickets, visit www.
jartsboston.org.
Temple Beth Jacob and Temple Adath Yeshurun Make Music Together
By Cantor Shira Nafshi
On Friday, January 15, 2016, Cantor
Shira Nafshi, who serves as cantor at both
Temple Beth Jacob (Concord) and Temple
Adath Yeshurun (Manchester), led services at TAY in Manchester with combined
choirs from TAY and TBJ. The following
week, on January 22 (Shabbat Shirah),
the combined choirs joined Cantor Shira
for services at TBJ. Cantor Shira writes
below about her part in bringing people,
music, liturgy, and community together.
With the help of Temple Adath Yeshurun (TAY) and Temple Beth Jacob (TBJ),
I was blessed to be able to attend the
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) Biennial convention in Orlando, Florida, in
November 2015. The Biennial convention brings together around 5,000 lay
leaders, rabbis, cantors, educators, and
congregants from the URJ’s 900 congregations around the United States and
Canada for four days of study, song,
prayer, and community.
On this occasion, I did as I have done
at many other Biennial conventions I
have attended: I participated in the Bien-
nial choir -- a choir made up of more
than 80 voices who sign up ahead of
time, committing to arrive a day early in
order to fit in 12 hours of rehearsal time
before Shabbat services.
This year, the Biennial choir was led by
my teacher, Merri Lovinger Arian. I have
known Merri since I was 14, and she is
responsible for everything I know about
how to lead a choir. My purposes in participating in the choir were threefold: I
wanted to once again enjoy the directorship of one of the most talented choir
leaders I have ever known and pick up a
few tips; I wanted to acquire music that I
could use for my own choir at TBJ (and
for the TAY choir); and I wanted to have
the opportunity to sing as part of a choir
rather than as the leader of one. For me,
that is a rare experience.
The music I brought to the combined
choirs for the two Shabbat services was
mostly the music presented to the Biennial
choir for Shabbat worship. The arrangements were specifically done to allow a
choir to make music with minimal rehearsal time. (Yes, 12 hours is considered
minimal rehearsal to form a choir out of a
group of strangers so that they don’t
The New Hampshire
sound like a bunch of individual soloists.)
I also selected pieces that would be easily learned by the congregation, even
without formal teaching. Call and response/repeat arrangements or newer arrangements for pieces that were already
generally known were combined with
other pieces meant for the congregation
to participate through listening as well as
other pieces in which the refrain allowed
the congregation to join in because of
repetition. This combination of styles
and arrangements provided for a worship
experience that was rich and varied musically, where participation could be both
through listening and through singing.
Musical selection was only half of this
endeavor, however. I first conceived of
the idea of a joint choir several years ago.
When I was working as a full-time cantor
in New Jersey, my choir participated in a
regional event that happened annually: a
choir festival, comprised of all the congregational choirs in the Northern New
Jersey area (and that is NOT a small
number of choirs).
As far as I know, nothing like that exists in NH, or in the greater Boston area,
but it was something I really miss. I also
Jewish Reporter
wanted to do something to bring the two
congregations closer together. As I am a
common link between TBJ and TAY, I
thought that this would be a wonderful
way to share music together in a new way.
This is the first year the schedule allowed
for it, and I am hopeful it will continue in
the coming years.
One of the many blessings I receive as
a cantor is the opportunity to work with
those who love music -- specifically, Jewish music -- as much as I do. Each and
every person who belongs to the choir
helps to enrich the service, but they will
all tell you that they, themselves, receive
just as much as they give. Rehearsals give
people the chance to forge connections
with one another, the music, and the liturgy, as well as the chance to forget their
worries and the stresses of the day and
just sing for a while.
Thank you, TBJ and TAY, for providing the space and opportunity to combine the choirs and allow music to make
magic happen. Thank you for being open
to strengthening the connections between
our congregations, and for allowing me
to serve you both. May we continue to go
from strength to strength in song.
PAGE 17
31
h
c
r
a
M
,
0
1
l
i
r
-Ap
2016
8th
annual
Playing in theaters statewide:
Manchester, Merrimack, bedford,
Concord, Portsmouth, Keene, Hanover
BECOME A FRIEND
OF THE FESTIVAL
SUPPORT THE 2016
NEW HAMPSHIRE
JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
All contributions of $25 and more will be recognized
in the Jewish Reporter
YES, I want to support the 8
Annual
NH Jewish Film Festival and
be a Friend of the Festival:
th
Dinner and Movie to Follow
Musical Havdalah
Manchester — Join Chabad for an uplifting and inspiring community Musical
Havdalah with cellist Leah Melnicoff.
Havdalah (separation) is the Jewish religious ceremony that marks the end of
Shabbat and Jewish holidays, and ushers
in the new week. The ritual involves a
prayer, lighting a special Havdalah candle with several wicks, blessing a cup of
wine, and smelling sweet spices. When
darkness falls and the beauty of Shabbat
fades, our hearts grow heavy. Restore
your spirit with a sing-along musical
Havdalah that is sure to energize your
coming week.
Havdalah will be followed by a dairy
dinner buffet and desserts and a screening of Above and Beyond, a featurelength documentary.
In 1948, just three years after the liber-
ation of the Nazi death camps, a group
of Jewish American pilots answered a
call for help. In secret and at great personal risk, they smuggled planes out of
the United States, trained behind the
Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia, and flew
for Israel in its War of Independence. As
members of Machal -- “volunteers from
abroad” -- this ragtag band of brothers
not only turned the tide of the war; they
also embarked on personal journeys of
discovery and renewed Jewish pride.
Above and Beyond is their story.
Havdalah will take place at the home
of the Bergers, 33 Strafford Lane in Bedford. Bring your own musical instrument
if you would like to play along. Please
contact Chanchie@lubavitchnh.com for
sheet music and/or to RSVP for this
event or call Chabad at 603-647-0204.
SUMMER
PROGRAMS
@ The Derryfield School for
students entering grades 1–12
Name:
Whether you want to discover your
inner Thespian, polish your college
essay, or build a robot, we’ve got you
covered this summer!
Address:
Phone:
Email:
Contribution: T $25
T $50
T $100
T $180+
Contributions accepted by check mailed to:
JFNH
1361 Elm Street, Suite #403
or by calling the office at (603) 627-7679
Sponsorship Opportunities are available
for this highly anticipated cultural event.
For details, contact Linda Gerson at (603) 627-7679
or email office@jewishnh.org .
The Derryfield School is a
coed, independent,
college-preparatory day school
in Manchester, NH,
for students in grades 6–12.
• Scenes for the Stage & Screen
• Jump Start Your College Essay
• SAT Prep
• Letgo Your Mind
• Gametastic Coders
• Magic Touch Soccer Academy
• Derryfield Repertory Theatre
and many more!
REGISTER NOW!
www.derryfield.org/summer
SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS
Tell Them You Saw Their Ad in The Reporter!
PAGE 18
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
Book Review
Reviewed by Merle Carrus
Ally: Michael Oren Examines the U.S.-Israel Relationship
As we listen to the news and watch the
debates preparing for the upcoming Presidential election, one of the important issues to Jewish people in New Hampshire
and around the country is how will the
new President relate to the Israeli leaders.
What is their position on the situation in
the Middle East? Are they in favor of a
two-state solution or not? Also, what do
the Israeli leaders think about what is
happening in America and will they be
happy with the next President of the
United States? “History has this humbling habit of diminishing the events we
see as monumental and of reducing our
roles in them to footnotes,” writes Michael Oren in Ally. “Our responsibility is
to strive for the objectives we see as faithful for our time.”
Ally: My Journey Across the AmericanIsraeli Divide (Random House, 2015),
written by Michael Oren, former Israeli
Ambassador to the United States, represents so incredibly the relationship between the United States and Israel in
modern times. He presents the history
leading up to our relationship today and
he gives perspective on how the relationship between our two countries affects
and is impacted by the rest of the world.
Oren says he is convinced “that the US–
Israel relationship is essential to both
countries’ interests. It assures a modicum
of Mideast stability and sends a message
of American dependability to the world.”
The main message of this book is that
Israel has an irrepressible desire for peace.
Yet, there are many reasons throughout
history that continue today that keep that
dream so far from reality. Oren gives examples and reports his efforts to try to
negotiate between Israel’s leaders and the
American leaders. He is constantly trying
to make sure the true message is being
portrayed in the U.S. media. He spends
his time attending meetings and social
functions to ensure that a positive view of
Israel and its relationship with the United
States is maintained.
In 1973 Life Magazine featured
an article about the Jewish state
for its 25th anniversary. Back
then the Jewish state was far more
militaristic. It was less democratic
and tolerant, and yet it was
praised as a paragon of righteousness and creativity. Something has changed over the intervening
years. Today, Jews are associated with the
worst traits in the world: namely, militarism, racism, and colonialism Ratings are
the reason for the bad press about Israel,
according to Oren and others.
“Israel sells: Arabs massacring Arabs,
say in Syria, is a footnote, while a Palestinian child shot by an Israeli soldier is a
scoop. The racist undertones are clear but
the reality irrefutable, and nobody understands it better than the terrorists, Hamas
and Hezbollah. If they fire at Israeli civilians, Israel will retaliate and unintentionally kill the Lebanese and Palestinian civilians behind whom the terrorists hide.
The pictures will be gruesome, and if not
sufficiently so, the terrorists will manufacture them exhuming bodies from
morgues and graveyards.”
This is a book that I can really relate
to. Michael Oren is about my age and
grew up as I did in New Jersey at a time
when the United States was feeling very
connected to Israel. Jews in America
were feeling secure in their Judaism and
not afraid to say out loud that the Holocaust had been horrific, and “Never
again” was a chant that was shouted as
we marched in New York City with Jewish youth groups for the Israel Independence Day parade. It was a time when
Nazi hunters were bringing Nazi leaders
to trial and Israel was winning miraculous battles, including the Six Day War
and the Yom Kippur War. Michael Oren
early in life decided his dream was to be
an Ambassador to Israel.
Oren feels that it is finally time
for us all to face the reality of life
in Israel: “It’s time that American
Jews see Israel not as a Hollywood
or Hebrew school fantasy but
what it was and still is: a real country made of bona fide humans,
faults and all, albeit humans
caught in inhuman circumstances. It’s time
they stop judging Israelis by the standards
of the American Jewish experience and
start trying to understand the Israeli experience. Tired after two wars in which the vast
majority didn’t fight? Try dealing with eight
or so, one every few years, together with
thousands of rockets raining on your cities,
countless bombs blowing up buses and
malls and intersections, and an absolutely
relentless total threat.”
After finishing his term as ambassador
and being elected to the Knesset, “he commits to uphold the laws of the State.” Michael Oren reflects back on his journey:
“Beginning with the day I descended from
the bus to Kibbutz Gan Shmuel, how could
I have seen, squinting through the dust,
that someday I would be elected to the first
sovereign Jewish parliament in 2,000 years.
Who could have imagined the tortuous
route ahead and the divides between
American and Israeli yet to be crossed.”
Ally is a book of wonderful quotes and
an incredible amount of information
about the political world that shapes the
outcome of Israel’s future. For Oren, who
achieved his lifelong dream, serving as
the emissary was a rewarding experience.
He leaves the position with a positive attitude and hope for the future. In high
school Oren played Don Quixote in The
Man of La Mancha, who dreamed the
“Impossible Dream.” He grew up to fulfill his own impossible dream.
Michael Oren, born Michael Scott
Bornstein on May 20, 1955, is an American-born Israeli historian, author, politician, former ambassador to the United
States (2009-2013), and current member
of the Knesset for the Kulanu party. He is
married to Sally Edelstein, and they have
three grown children.
Oren has written books, articles, and essays on Middle Eastern history. He is the
author of the New York Times best-selling Power, Faith and Fantasy and Six
Days of War: June 1967. He also wrote
Making of the Modern Middle East,
which won the Los Angeles Times History
Book of the Year Award and the National
Jewish Book Award. Oren has been a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, and
Georgetown universities in the United
States and at Tel Aviv and Hebrew universities in Israel. He was a Distinguished
Fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem
and a contributing editor to The New Republic. Oren was named one of the five
most influential American Jews by The
Forward newspaper, and The Jerusalem
Post listed him as one of the world’s ten
most influential Jews.
if you love life, life will love you back.
- quoted from Arthur Rubinstein
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PAGE 19
Hadassah Northeast and Jewish Women International Offer
Financial Education Workshops for Women
Andover, MA — Hadassah Northeast
is partnering with Jewish Women International (JWI) to sponsor three “Know
Your Worth (KYW): Own Your Future”
financial education workshops for women beginning March 6 in Andover, MA.
The KYW workshops will help women
explore how to ensure long-term eco-
Keeping you connected
eNEWS
jewishnh.org
PAGE 20
The New Hampshire
nomic security, including managing income streams; honing your financial and
negotiating skills; investing and growing
your money; all in the context of the Jewish values that underlie these decisions.
The KYW workshop is targeted at women between the ages of 40 and 60.
The March 6 KYW workshop takes
place 10 AM – 4 PM At Andover Inn,
Andover, MA. Subsequent KYW workshops are scheduled for Sunday, March
13, in Milford, MA, and Sunday, March
20, in Newton Centre, MA.
MA State Treasurer Deborah B.
Goldberg, who will provide opening remarks at the March 6 KYW workshop,
states, “I am looking forward to participating in the ‘Know Your Worth: Own
Your Future’ series. It is critical to provide women with the financial skills and
resources they need to navigate a changing economy.”
Jewish Reporter
KYW workshop topics include: income streams in retirement; paying for
health care; creating a financial plan for
retirement; and end-of-life financial decisions. The KYW workshop will also explore the many ways to ensure long-term
economic security including developing
and enhancing financial and negotiating
skills, philanthropy, debt, pension plans,
supporting adult children, caring for aging parents, inheritance tax and more.
The workshop will take place at
the Andover Inn, 4 Chapel Avenue, Andover, MA, on the campus of Phillips
Academy. Registration is $50 per person. RSVP to www.hadassah.org/
events/KYW or mail a check to Hadassah Northeast, 1320 Centre Street,
#205, Newton Centre, MA 02459, Attention: Know Your Worth. For questions contact Hadassah Northeast
at hne@hadassah.org or 781-455-9055.
Who Are the Jews of New Hampshire?
By Uriel Heilman, JTA (Reprinted by permission)
Though home to just one-third of 1%
of all Americans, New Hampshire long
has played an outsized role in the U.S.
presidential nominating process.
Just who are the Jews of the Granite
State? Here a few highlights.
About 10,000 Jews live among white,
mostly old New Hampshirites.
A few characteristics distinguish the
1.3 million residents of New Hampshire.
They’re old, with a median age of 41.9
(third-oldest in the country), and 94%
white (fourth-whitest state in America).
Fewer than 20,000 of the state’s residents
are black.
There aren’t too many Jews, either.
Jewish federation officials say they know
of 3,000 households with at least one
Jewish person, leading them to an estimate of 10,000 Jews in all of the state.
“It’s not easy being Jewish in New
Hampshire compared to New York,” said
Joel Funk, who grew up in New Jersey
and moved to the Granite State in 1975.
“You have to make it happen.”
Among the better-known Jews from
New Hampshire are comedians Adam
Sandler, who moved to Manchester from
Brooklyn at age 6, and Sarah Silverman,
who was born and raised in the Manchester area. Among the lesser-known:
the late Warren Rudman, who served as a
U.S. senator from New Hampshire from
1980 to 1993.
The first Jew to make New Hampshire
his home arrived in 1693 from Palestine,
settling in New Castle, according to the
Strawbery Banke museum of living history in Portsmouth.
Though New Hampshire is a geographic mirror image of neighboring
Vermont, the two states have very different cultures and reputations. Vermont is
known as more hippie-dippy, tourist
friendly and progressive. The state, home
to Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders — an avowed democratic socialist — has voted Democrat in every
presidential election since 1992. Granite
Staters tend to be more libertarian and
gruff, and they are twice as numerous as
Vermonters. With no state income tax or
sales tax, New Hampshire draws the kind
of people who want government to leave
them alone.
“There’s a rugged individualism that
permeates New Hampshire,” said Rabbi
Robin Nafshi, who moved to New Hampshire nearly six years ago to lead Temple
Beth Jacob, a Reform synagogue in Concord. “The state motto, ‘Live free or die,’ is
taken very seriously here. People don’t like
to be told how or what to do.”
Nobody moves to New Hampshire for
its Jewish life, and some have left because
of its dearth. But the state still has pockets of Jewish vibrancy.
New Hampshire boasts about a dozen
synagogues representing all the non-Orthodox Jewish movements, from Reform
and Conservative to Reconstructionist
and unaffiliated. The only year-round
Orthodox presence in the state is a pair
of Chabad centers, in Manchester and at
Dartmouth College in Hanover.
In the summer, however, the northern
town of Bethlehem fills with Satmar Hasidim who have been coming to the White
Mountains for a century to escape the
heat and foul air in New York. Hasidim
stricken with allergies began coming to
New Hampshire as early as 1916 to escape the pollen in their hometowns.
Bethlehem, home to the National Hay
Fever Relief Association, is reputed to be
pollen-free.
The town’s longtime kosher hotel, a
rundown B&B called the Arlington, shut
down a few years ago. A new kosher hotel is being built in its place.
A century-old mikvah in Portsmouth
was unearthed in 2014 by archaeologists
working in a neighborhood that used to
be home to Russian Jewish immigrant
families. The ritual bath there is one of
only four historic mikvahs unearthed in
the Northeast, according to the Strawbery Banke Museum, which manages the
historic site where the mikvah was found.
Among the two dozen or so historic
buildings at Strawbery Banke is Shapiro
House, a living-history museum where
visitors can learn about what life was like
for early 20th-century Jewish immigrants
in Portsmouth through re-enactments
performed by actors dressed in period
costume.
Descendants of the Shapiros, who
owned the house, still live in the area and
are members of nearby Temple Israel, a
Conservative synagogue established in
1905.
Among the major events on the Jewish
communal calendar are an annual Jewish
film festival each spring, the National
Havurah Institute’s weeklong summer
program in Rindge, and the annual Jewish food festival hosted by Temple B’nai
Israel in Laconia. Nashua’s Raymond
Street Klezmer Band, led by a retired
doctor who is also a mohel, Alan Green,
The New Hampshire
is a point of pride for local Jews.
Aside from the synagogues and a single
Jewish federation that serves the entire
state, New Hampshire has no other Jewish institutions. There is a small federation-run preschool but no Jewish day
school, no JCC, no Jewish senior center
and no Jewish family services — signs
both of the dearth of Jewish New Hampshirites and the high degree to which local Jews are assimilated, longtime Jewish
locals say.
“It’s pretty much an assimilated community here,” said Steve Clayman of
Manchester. “We moved here from New
York over 30 years ago because of the
lifestyle, to live in an area closer to the
outdoors-related things we love to do. It’s
a challenge to connect with Jewish life.”
New Hampshire also has several Jewish summer camps, but they primarily
serve kids from elsewhere.
Dartmouth College is home to the
state’s only kosher eatery: a dining hall
called The Pavilion that serves kosher
and halal meals and was conceived jointly by Jewish and Muslim students. If you
want kosher food elsewhere, you’ll have
to go to Trader Joe’s, which carries Empire kosher chicken, challah and some
kosher cheeses.
Dartmouth is also home to one of the
only full-fledged Hillel college chapters
in the state. One other New Hampshire
school, New England College in Henniker, is served by the Hillel Council of
New England.
New Hampshire’s first state constitution, ratified in 1784, did not allow Jews
(or any non-Protestants) to hold elected
office. Restricted Jew-free hotels persisted
in New Hampshire’s White Mountains
until the mid-20th century. Until four
years ago, the tiny town of Mont Vernon
had a recreational water hole with the offensive-sounding name Jew Pond — residents voted to change it in 2012.
“In New Hampshire, unless you were
born here or your grandparents or greatgrandparents were born here, you’re left
to feel like you’re an outsider,” Temple
Beth Jacob’s Rabbi Nafshi said. “If
you’re not a white Christian, you’re welcomed here to an extent, but you’re never
really fully integrated into the society.”
Jews who live in New Hampshire today
say they don’t encounter much anti-Semitism, just lack of awareness. Schools
routinely schedule tests or picture days
on Jewish holy days. Nafshi recalls a
child in her congregation being benched
from his school’s basketball games beJewish Reporter
cause he missed two practices due to religious conflicts — the first night of Hanukkah and the Friday evening his religious school class led Shabbat services.
“It’s a complete lack of knowledge or
sensitivity to the Jewish community,”
Nafshi said. “It often makes our kids
make feel lesser or outside the norm.”
The rabbi recalled the story of a second-grader from her congregation whose
best friend came to school one day and
told him they couldn’t be friends anymore because “you killed Jesus.” The
Jewish family soon decided to leave New
Hampshire, according to Nafshi.
Nevertheless, the state has unusually
strong Holocaust education programming in the public schools, thanks to the
efforts of the Cohen Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Keene State
College, which provides educational materials and runs public workshops. The
center is run by non-Jewish leadership.
The Jewish federation recently sold its
building and is retooling.
When the Jewish Federation of New
Hampshire sold its building last year in
the heart of Manchester and moved into
rented space, there were rumors around
town that the state’s largest Jewish charity was teetering. In addition to the sale,
the federation has been downsizing, and
last summer replaced a full-time executive director with a shared director, Lauren Tishler Mindlin, who splits her time
between New Hampshire and the other
small federation she runs in Massachusetts’ Merrimack Valley.
But lay leaders at federation, which netted about $1 million from the real estate
deal, said the sale was more of a strategic
decision to unload an underutilized building with rising costs, use the proceeds to
strengthen the federation’s endowment
and focus more on programming. Serving
such a widespread area, the federation
wants to become a convener of Jewish institutions in New Hampshire.
“We’re trying to define ourselves really
meaningfully as a statewide organization,” Jeff Crocker, the federation cochair, told JTA. “We’re talking about
what that means. We want to enhance
collaboration between Jewish institutions
in the state, to fill the voids where necessary. We try to provide some leadership.
We help them think about ways to be innovative and try new things.”
Uriel Heilman is JTA’s senior writer
and former managing editor. Follow him
on Twitter at @urielheilman.
PAGE 21
Want to see your organization’s photos here? Send them to thereporter@jewishnh.org.
Children celebrated the birthday of the trees with an art project at Congregation
Betenu
Families participated in a Tu B’Shevat seder at Congregation Betenu
On February 6, members of The FAB, the Etz Hayim
Synagogue’s women’s group, went for an invigorating
hike in newly-fallen snow.
TAY Deli Kitchen Krew members Howard Tocman, Steve Goldberg, Steve Rothstein, Bob Katchen, Joel Gordon, David Penchansky, Sol Rockenmacher, Steve
Short, and David Rosenzweig
PAGE 22
On Friday, January 22, members of Etz Hayim Synagogue’s women’s group led the
synagogue in worship, song, and dance in celebration of Shabbat Shirah. For more
information about the EHS women’s group, email fabwomen@etzhayim.org.
The New Hampshire
The Etz Hayim Synagogue men’s group learned some
blacksmithing skills at the Prospect Hill Forge in
Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information,
please visit etzhayim.org.
Folks dig in to delicious food at the TAY Deli Night.
Jewish Reporter
The 3rd and 4th graders of Temple Israel’s Hebrew School learned about the Jewish
wedding ceremony; they made miniature chuppahs and filled out imitation ketubahs.
Photo by Aida Koocher
eNEWS
Temple Beth Jacob’s 3rd grade class celebrated Havdalah after a month-long study
unit including making Havdalah candles and spice boxes and learning prayers. After Rabbi Robin, Cantor Shira, Nancy Jo, and Joel helped lead Havdalah, students,
teachers, parents, grandparents, and congregants enjoyed dinner, a song session led
by Cantor Shira, lots of special desserts, and activities.
jewishnh.org
6DWXUGD\0DUFK
Do you live in
Keene, Laconia,
Bethlehem,
Hanover,
or another
NH community
and want to help
produce the
Jewish Reporter?
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NESGD A@XTC@X@)DVR$MINX@M
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We are looking for people
all over the state who are
interested in writing about
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To get involved, contact
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in the community at
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Tickets: JArtsBoston.org / 617-531-4610
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
PAGE 23
CAMP SUPER AWESOME!
JCC Camp Kingswood in southern
Maine is the ultimate
camp experience.
overnight
A Eulogy for Bob Jolton
By Sol Rockenmacher
This eulogy was delivered at the funeral of Bob Jolton, whose obituary was published in
the February 2016 issue of The Reporter.
It is indeed an honor to be asked to speak for my, our, Brothers about Bob on behalf
of the Temple Adath Yeshurun Brotherhood.
When his Brothers remember Bob, a trifecta of words come to mind: beloved, admired, respected. And we Jews have our own Yiddish translations for these words:
beloved is gelibt, admired is bavunderned, respected is khoshev. That is how, in a nutshell, we think of Bob: beloved, admired, and respected.
Here is Bob, from tiny Lamar (population now 7,500), on the plains of eastern
Colorado, 125 miles east of Pueblo, near the Kansas border, married to beautiful Judith, from Gadsden, Alabama, 26 miles northeast of Birmingham (and I always tell
her that she is the closest match to Dinah Shore that I know)..At Brotherhood, he was
always surrounded by a bevy of city guys, from Manchester, New York City, New
Jersey, Boston, Providence, and Worcester, but he more than held his own.
Tributes from Brothers have already come in from far and wide. From Brothers Paul
Fishbein and Norm White from Florida. Norm wrote, “Bob’s passing is a profound
loss both to our Brotherhood and to the Jewish community as well. His kindness,
warmth, and generosity will be sorely missed. We have truly lost a pillar of our community.” As co-President David Penchansky said, “He was always there when you
needed him. Whenever we needed volunteers for our events, Bob’s hand would always
go up with his positive attitude like ‘Did you expect me not to volunteer?’ His giving
was an investment in happiness for others, and he viewed the world through a positive
lens and will truly be missed.”
Bob’s place in Brotherhood will be hard to fill. Not only because he was a constant
as our Treasurer for many years, but, more significantly, because he was a constant as
a kind sage, helping us to keep on track with a positive attitude to our tasks and, more
importantly, to keep on track with a positive attitude to each other. He exemplified the
warmth and closeness of true companionship and camaraderie of Brotherhood. As
Mark Granoff said so well for all of us, “Bob was such a gentleman and a true mensch.
I will miss him as we all will.”
Our Bob Jolton: We will always remember him with those three not-so-little words:
beloved, admired, respected. May the memory of this righteous one be a blessing.
• Beautiful lakefront setting
• Make lifelong friends
• Gain self-confidence
For boys and girls
entering grades 3-11
2- to 7-week sessions available
kingswood.org
info@kingswood.org
617-558-6531
BOSTON
JCC
PAGE 24
eNEWS
An overnight camp of the
Jewish Community Centers
of Greater Boston
jewishnh.org
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
JFNH Tributes
Received by February 10, 2016
NH Jewish Film Festival
Roslyn Block in memory of Bob Jolton
PJ Library
Elizabeth Sommers
Senior Programming
Michael Rosenblum in memory of Bob Jolton
Letters to the Editor may be sent to
thereporter@jewishnh.org.
Letters must be signed
with full name and address.
SOCIAL SERVICE PROGRAM
Free and confidential
Emergency financial assistance
603-627-7679
Aging and eldercare issues
Make your check payable to “Jewish Federation of NH”
and mail with this form to: Jewish Federation of NH
1361 Elm Street, Suite 403, Manchester, NH 03101
Lifeline devices
Linkage and Referral
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
PAGE 25
AUTOBODY REPAIR
Prestige Auto Body, Inc.
200 Frontage Rd., Manchester
(603) 669-0015
Technology meets craftsmanship
www.prestigeab.com
DENTAL SERVICES
ENDODONTICS
Douglas J. Katz, DMD, PC
Katz Endodontics
1310 Hooksett Rd., Hookset
Dougrct@comcast.net
(603) 628-2891
GENERAL DENTISTRY
Henniker Family Dentistry
John S. Echternach, DDS
144 Hall Ave.
Henniker, NH 03242
(603) 428-3419
Sarah K. Katz, DMD
Bow Family Dentistry
514 South St., Bow
(603) 224-3151
www.BowFamilyDentistry.com
Richard Kudler, DMD
97 West Merrimack St., Manchester
(603) 669-8678
drkudler@kudler.com
www.drkudler.com
Heidi Lindner Kurland, DMD Lindner Dental Assoc., PC 72 South River Rd, Bedford (603) 624-3900
Rochelle H. Lindner, DMD
Lindner Dental Assoc., PC
72 So. River Rd., Bedford
(603) 624-3900
Elizabeth Sandler Spindel, DMD
Victoria Spindel, DMD
862 Union St., Manchester
(603) 669-9049
ORTHODONTICS
Gary S. Lindner, DMD, DMSc.
(603) 624-3900
Tracy Pogal-Sussman, MS, DMD
(603) 624-3900
PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY
Luis S. Englander, DMD
(603) 624-3900
James B. Haas, DDS
Haas Dental Associates
4 Manchester Ave.
Derry, NH 03038
(603) 434-1586
Gary S. Lindner, DMD, DMSc.
(603) 624-3900
FINANCIAL SERVICES
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS
Daniel Cohen, CFP
CEO & Chief Investment Officer
Cohen Investment Advisors, LLC
264 South River Rd., Suite 520, Bedford
(603) 232-8351
www.investwithcohen.com
Mark B. Severs, CFP
Family Wealth Director
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
203 Heater Road, Lebanon, NH 03766
(603) 442-7900
mark.b.severs@morganstanley.com
www.morganstanleyfa.com/hanovergroup
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
Penchansky & Co., PLLC
David Penchansky, CPA
Certified Public Accountants
70 Stark Street, Manchester
davidp@penchansky.com
(603) 647-2400
JUDAICA BOOKS AND GIFTS
Israel Book Shop, Inc.
“New England’s Judaica superstore”
1 day shipping to N.H.
410 Harvard St. Brookline, MA 02446
617-566-7113, Toll Free 800-323-7723
www.israelbookshop.com
LEGAL SERVICES
ATTORNEYS
Devine, Millimet & Branch, P.A.
Steven Cohen, Esq., CPA, LLM
111 Amherst St., Manchester
scohen@devinemillimet.com
(603) 695-8504
PERSONAL INJURY LAW
Stephen E. Borofsky, Esq.
Borofsky, Amodeo-Vickery & Bandazian, P.A.
708 Pine Street, Manchester
(603) 625-6441
sborofsky@e-atty.com
(MEDICAL
SERVICES
PLASTIC SURGERY
Robert Feins, MD
144 Tarrytown Road, Manchester
(603) 647-4430
www.drfeins.net
PRINTING SERVICES
NH Print & Mail Service
Cheryl & Kevin Boyarsky
30 Terrill Park Dr., Concord
info@nhprintmail.com
(603) 226-4300
www.nhprintmail.com
Advertise in our
Business & Professional
Services Directory.
SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS
Call JFNH office at 603-627-7679
or contact one of our sales reps.
Tell Them
You Saw
Their Ad in
The Reporter!
PAGE 26
JUDAICA
Michelle Harrison
(603) 437-0167
RunFree94@yahoo.com
Rachel Spierer
(603) 682-3845
rachel3rdlife@gmail.com
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter
W
COFFEE
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NIT Y •
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European Hospitality
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257 Bridge Street Manchester, NH 03104
info@tromblyplumbing.com www.tromblyplumbing.com
Locally Sourced Menu
Inspired by the
Mediterranean
Specializing in Seafood
from the Atlantic Coast
Alan J Green, MD
Certified Mohel
lnxun kvun
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
7 Days
9 am - 10 pm
1069 Elm St. Manchester, NH
Eric M. LaFleur
Jonathan E. Baron
603-440-3444
www.mohelNH.com
Over 38 years of experience in New England
New Office Address
143 Essex Street, Suite 709
Haverhill, MA 01832
Phone: 978.373.1010
www.NECompServices.com
Eric M. LaFleur
Jonathan E. Baron
Haverhill, MA 01832
Phone: 978.373.1010
eNEWS
Haverhill, MA 01832
Phone: 9
www.NE
SUPPORT
OUR
ADVERTISERS
Eric M. LaFleur
Tell Them
Jonathan E. Baron
You Saw
Their Ad
in The
Reporter!
Haverhill, MA 01832
Phone: 9
www.NE
jewishnh.org
Eric M. LaFleur
Jonathan E. Baron
Haverhill, MA 01832
Phone: 978.373.1010
Eric M. LaFleur
Jonathan E. Baron
Haverhill, MA 01832
Eric M. LaFleur
Jonathan E. Baron
The New Hampshire
Phone: 978.373.1010
Jewish Reporter
Eric M. LaFleur
Jonathan E. Baron
Haverhill, MA 01832
Phone: 9
www.NE
Eric M. LaFleur
Jonathan E. Baron
Haverhill, MA 01832
PAGE 27
Phone: 9
www.NE
E
I
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APPLES FROM THE DESERT I DOUGH I FRANK VS. GOD
IN SEARCH OF ISRAELI CUISINE I IS THAT YOU? I ONCE IN A LIFETIME
RAISE THE ROOF I ROCK THE RED ZONE I SOFT VENGEANCE
MARCH 31 - APRIL 10, 2016
BEDFORD I CONCORD I KEENE I MANCHESTER I MERRIMACK I PORTSMOUTH
PURCHASE TICKETS
Presented by
Advance tickets for ALL screenings may be purchased online at
www.brownpapertickets.com/profile/833384 or www.nhjewishfilmfestival.org. By phone at 800-838-3006 extension 1.
For information, call 603-627-7679. Visit JFNH and NH Jewish Film Festival on Facebook.
SPONSORS
PAGE 28
The New Hampshire
Jewish Reporter

Curtain Rises on the 8th Annual NH Jewish Film Festival

Transcription

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