Eight Chicago Jews leave home and family and head to serve in the

Transcription

JEWISH NEWS
THE CHICAGO
Aug. 21-27, 2015/6 Elul 5775
www.chicagojewishnews.com
One Dollar
LONE
SOLDIERS
Eight Chicago Jews
leave home and
family and
head to serve
in the Israeli army
Can you identify this
Chicago bride?
High Holiday Synagogue
Focus section
Rabbi Gordon on always
pursuing justice
Bernie Sanders on Israel
2
Chicago Jewish News - Aug. 21-27, 2015
10 years on, Katrina echoes for Mississippi Jews
By Josh Tapper
JTA
BILOXI, Miss. – Standing
on an empty lot at the corner of
Camellia Street and Southern
Avenue, Brad Kessie wistfully inspected one of two sago palms
that marked the pathway to
Congregation Beth Israel, which
had stood here for nearly five
decades before Hurricane Kat-
rina struck 10 years ago this
month.
The circular, two-story brick
building’s framework and sanctuary survived the storm, although
devastating winds ripped apart its
roof and facade. The synagogue
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in this coastal city of roughly
45,000 was razed in 2008, but a
“For Sale” sign remains on the
property.
“Know anyone looking to
buy?” said Kessie, 49, a longtime
congregant and the synagogue’s
president. He can afford that sort
of wry humor; the Jewish community here is still standing,
even if its original home is not.
Jewish settlement in Mississippi dates back to the mid-19th
century, when Central and Eastern European merchants arrived
in the city of Natchez – the socalled “Antebellum Capital of
the World” – and began selling dry goods to local farmers.
Jews made their way south to
Biloxi and neighboring Gulfport
around the same time, but no
congregation formed until Beth
Israel did so in 1953. Members
erected the synagogue five years
later less than a mile from the
Gulf of Mexico, the first along
the 145-mile stretch of coast between New Orleans and Mobile,
Alabama, and the only Conservative congregation in the state.
In 2005, Beth Israel served
about 100 people from Biloxi and
Gulfport (total population
71,000) – less than 10 percent of
the state’s roughly 1,500 Jews,
the majority of whom live 170
miles north in the capital city of
Jackson. Rabbi Akiva Hall, 25,
the Chabad emissary in Gulfport,
grew up in nearby Ocean
Springs, Mississippi, and attended Beth Israel as a teenager.
“It seemed to me to be an
active community,” Hall said. “I
had some wonderful experiences
there.”
Thirteen of Beth Israel’s 65
or so families saw their homes destroyed when Katrina slammed
Mississippi’s shores on Aug. 29,
2005. Nearly all were displaced.
Kessie, an on-camera reporter at
the local WLOX-TV at the time
of the storm – he’s now the news
director at the station – recalled
Biloxi as a sort of post-apocalyptic wasteland. Many of the
coastal highway’s boardwalks,
restaurants, Civil War-era homes
and casinos, mainstays of the re-
gion’s tourism industry, were severely damaged. Debris was scattered across the white-sand
beachfront. The storm claimed
238 lives in Mississippi.
Like most area residents, the
Jews here were traumatized, said
Noah Farkas, who visited the
devastated congregation more
than 50 times between 2006 and
2008, when he was a rabbinical
student at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
“You could set someone off
very easily,” said Farkas, now the
rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom, in
Encino, California. ”Everyone
was just trying to get their stuff
done.”
Despite the overall devestation and the destruction at Beth
Israel, the community as a whole
was in a relatively good place,
said Steve Richer, 68, Beth Israel’s president at the time.
Before Katrina made landfall, Beth Israel’s caretaker, who
lived in an apartment above the
sanctuary, had managed to save
the Torah scrolls. Several synagogue fixtures, including the
stained glass windows and memorial plaques, were later
deemed salvageable.
Richer, who retired as executive director of the Mississippi
Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau in 2007, noted that
many of the Jewish volunteers
who descended on the Gulf
Coast were redirected to hard-hit
towns like Bay St. Louis and
Waveland, where there were no
Jews.
“I think we had consensus
about that,” he said. “We did it
in the way that our religion
teaches us to do it: You put
everybody out there first.”
For three years after the
storm, the homeless congregation held Sabbath services at
Beauvoir United Methodist
Church and High Holidays in a
chapel at Keesler Air Force Base,
both in Biloxi. Farkas, who slept
on a blow-up mattress in a Beauvoir classroom during his visits
from New York, led a minyan on
Friday nights and a small Torah
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Brad Kessie signing the Congregation Beth Israel foundation at a
groundbreaking ceremony. (JTA)
3
Where does Bernie Sanders, the Jewish candidate for president, stand on Israel?
By Ron Kampeas
JTA
WASHINGTON – Bernie
Sanders’ best friend is a Zionist
who teaches Jewish philosophy,
he had a formative experience on
a kibbutz and “Saturday Night
Live” dubbed him the “old Jew.”
Still, Sanders can’t get away
from the inevitable “But where is
he on Israel?” question, especially
now that the Democratic presidential contender, an Independent senator from Vermont who
caucuses with Democrats, has
pulled ahead of Hillary Rodham
Clinton in New Hampshire, the
first primary state.
“Do you view yourself as a
Zionist?” the left-leaning online
magazine Vox asked Sanders in
an interview.
It’s a funny question for
Sanders, who if there were an
“out and proud” metric for Jews
in politics would score high.
Sanders, 73, is best friends
with Richard Sugarman, a professor of Jewish philosophy at the
University of Vermont who
champions Zionism to his leftleaning students. His other best
friend – and former chief of staff
– is Huck Gutman, a University
of Vermont professor of literature
who is a passionate aficionado of
the poetry of Yehuda Amichai.
When the comedian Sarah
Silverman introduced Sanders at
a rally in Los Angeles, she
shunted aside for a moment her
caustic Jewish shtick.
“His moral compass and
sense of values inspires me,” she
said. “He always seems to be on
the right side of history.”
Silverman ticked off a list of
Sanders’ qualifications that align
him with positions that polls
show American Jews overwhelmingly favor: for same-sex
marriage, for civil rights, against
the Iraq war. She might have
added favoring universally available health care.
“He is a man of the people,”
Silverman said. “He has to be;
his name is Bernie.”
Fresh out of the University
of Chicago and already deeply
involved in left-wing activism,
Sanders spent several months in
the mid-1960s on a. The Brooklyn-born and accented Sanders
has been shaped by the murder of
his father’s extended family in
the Holocaust.
“As everyone in this room
knows, I am a Jew, an old Jew,”
actor Fred Armisen said while
playing Sanders in a 2013 “Saturday Night Live” sketch.
Sanders’ well-known pique
surfaced in June when Diane
Rehm, the NPR talk show host,
declaratively told him he had
dual U.S.-Israel citizenship, citing an anti-Semitic meme circulating on the Internet.
“Well, no, I do not have
dual citizenship with Israel,”
Sanders said. “I’m an American.
I don’t know where that question
came from. I am an American
citizen, and I have visited Israel
on a couple of occasions. No, I’m
an American citizen, period.”
So where does Bernie
Sanders stand on Israel? Here’s a
review.
He backs Israel, but he believes in spending less on defense
assistance to Israel and more on
economic assistance in the Middle East.
Is Sanders a Zionist? Here’s
what he told Vox’s Ezra Klein:
“A Zionist? What does that
mean? Want to define what the
word is? Do I think Israel has the
right to exist? Yeah, I do. Do I believe that the United States
should be playing an even-handed
role in terms of its dealings with
the Palestinian community in Israel? Absolutely I do.
“Again, I think that you have
volatile regions in the world, the
Middle East is one of them, and
the United States has got to
work with other countries
around the world to fight for Israel’s security and existence at
the same time as we fight for a
Palestinian state where the people in that country can enjoy a
decent standard of living, which
is certainly not the case right
now. My long-term hope is that
instead of pouring so much military aid into Israel, into Egypt,
we can provide more economic
aid to help improve the standard
of living of the people in that
area.”
He will defend Israel to a
hostile crowd, but will also fault
Israel – and will shout down
hecklers.
At a town hall in Cabot,
Vermont, during last summer’s
Gaza war, a constituent com-
Sen. Bernie Sanders speaking at the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding in
Clear Lake. (JTA)
mended Sanders for not signing
onto a Senate resolution that
solely blamed Hamas for the conflict, but wondered if he would
“go further.”
“Has Israel overreacted?
Have they bombed U.N. faciliSEE SANDERS
ON
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4
Contents
Jewish News
■ A 91-year-old Israeli Holocaust survivor won a world championship for senior runners of his age category in France. Semion
Simkin, who is legally blind, became world champion in Lyon
after running 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles, in 1 hour, 20 minutes.
His impaired vision means he cannot identify objects that are farther away than 9 feet. “This is a scenario I never even dreamed of.
I hope that in the future I will still have the strength to continue
and to bring honor to Israel,” Simkin said. Originally from what
today is Belarus, Simkin has two children, four grandchildren and
six great-grandchildren.
■ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied
reports that Israel has been negotiating with Hamas. A statement
from his office was in response to media reports claiming that direct talks took place recently and were in their final stages. “Israel
officially clarifies that there have been no meetings with Hamas.
Not directly, not through another country and not through intermediaries,” the statement said. Hours earlier, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that direct talks between
Israel and Hamas took place recently in an African country. The
same day, Haaretz quoted a Turkish official saying that Israel and
Hamas are in the final stages of negotiating a long-term truce that
would end Israel’s naval blockade on Gaza in exchange for an end
to Hamas attacks on Israel.
■ American Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu spoke out against
the organizers of a Spanish festival that canceled his performance
because he refused to endorse Palestinian statehood. On his Facebook page a day after festival organizers announced that he was no
longer invited to perform there, Matisyahu said the festival organizers had asked him “to write a letter, or make a video, stating
my positions on Zionism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to
pacify the BDS people.” However, he wrote, “My music speaks
for itself, and I do not insert politics into my music.” Matisyahu,
who for many years was a Hasidic Jew, added that he felt “pressure
to agree with the BDS political agenda.” “Honestly it was appalling and offensive, that as the one publicly Jewish-American
artist scheduled for the festival they were trying to coerce me into
political statements,” he added. “Were any of the other artists
scheduled to perform asked to make political statements in order
to perform? No artist deserves to be put in such a situation simply to perform his or her art. Regardless of race, creed, country,
cultural background, etc, my goal is to play music for all people.”
■ Indian officials are urging the tens of thousands of Indian
Jews living in Israel to visit their home country. To encourage
Jewish and Israeli tourism in India, the Indian government has
funded the renovation of the country’s Jewish heritage sites. The
government recently renovated the Paravoor and Chennamangalam synagogues in Cochin, in southern India. Some 25,000
Cochin Jews live in Israel among 85,000 total Indian-Israelis. “We
want to tell the world proudly about the rich Jewish life in India,”
Indian Ambassador to Israel Jaideep Sarkar said at the National
Convention of Indian Jews in Israel. “With your efforts we are
working to preserve the Jewish heritage in India. We hope to have
a package tour to Jewish heritage sites in Mumbai and elsewhere
by early next year.” Later this year, Narendra Modi plans to be
the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel.
■ A Jewish woman lost her arm to a severe alligator bite while
she was swimming alone in a Florida river. Rachael Lilienthal,
37, of Orlando, was attacked by an alligator in the Wekiva River
in central Florida. According to media reports, Lilienthal was repeatedly pulled underwater and bitten by the alligator. Kayakers
rescued her by fighting off the alligator, which was nearly 9 feet
long, with their paddles. Lilienthal also was bitten on her back
and abdomen. Florida Fish and Wildlife Officials caught the alligator and euthanized it.
■ An Israeli badminton player blamed his loss in the world
championships on the last-minute granting of a visa by Indonesia. Moshe Zilberman, ranked 44th in the world, lost in the first
round of the World Badminton Championship in Jakarta to Hsu
Jen Hao of Taiwan. The visa for Zilberman, 26, was approved the
day before. Zilberman applied for the visa six months prior to the
championship and had been waiting in Singapore, a short flight
to Jakarta, for two weeks hoping it would come through before
the start of competition. “On one hand I was happy that I could
be here, but on the other, I was disappointed as I could not
demonstrate even 50 percent of my ability. I did not train in the
past five days,” Zilberman said. Arab and Muslim countries have
repeatedly barred Israeli athletes from attending matches. JTA
JEWISH NEWS
THE CHICAGO
Vol. 21 No. 46
Joseph Aaron
Editor/Publisher
6
Torah Portion
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8
Cover Story
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and Associates
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High Holiday Synagogue Focus
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Webmaster
12
Community Calendar
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Administrative Assistant
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Death Notices
14
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On Greek isle of Rhodes, Jews return to celebrate ancient community all but wiped out
By Gavin Rabinowitz
JTA
RHODES, Greece – Each
summer, tens of thousands of
tourists descend on Rhodes,
Greece’s easternmost island.
They are drawn by the sandy
beaches, the turquoise waters of
the Aegean Sea, the casino resorts and the prospect of exploring the medieval walled old city
that was built by Crusader
knights. On a clear day, you can
see Turkey in the distance.
But for a few, it’s an annual
pilgrimage, a homecoming that
commemorates the Jews of this
Mediterranean island who lived
here for 2,000 years – up until
July 23, 1944, when the last
among them were deported to
Auschwitz. This annual gathering, including Holocaust survivors and descendants, is a
testament to the success of efforts
to keep alive the spirit and identity of the community.
“What is it about Rhodes
that is so attractive that we were
driven to create the same community wherever we went – to
Congo, in Rhodesia, in Seattle
and California? What is it that
was so special, that unites all
these people?” said 91-year-old
Stella Levi, who survived
Auschwitz and later settled in
New York. “I think it was because we were all one family, and
that’s what we are trying to pass
on to the new generation.”
That bond has allowed the
“Rhodeslis,” or descendants of
the Jews of Rhodes, to keep alive
contacts between far-flung communities and return to the island
for family functions like bar mitzvahs and weddings. And in recent years, dozens of Rhodeslis
families visit each year for cultural events and memorial services that mark the anniversary of
the Nazi deportation.
This year’s event saw more
than 500 people attend a concert
of Ladino, Yiddish and Hebrew
songs performed in the courtyard
of the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, an
imposing Gothic fortress.
“What my father transmit-
ted to me and my sister was the
atmosphere that was here, the
happiness of being together, living with doors that were open,
with hearts that were open,” said
Giovanna Coen, whose father
was the oldest member of the
community to survive the death
camps. Coen, who now lives in
Rome, has been bringing her
family back to Rhodes since 1984
to explore their roots and meet
other descendants.
Her father was born into a
vibrant cosmopolitan Jewish
community of traders and craftsmen that lived in the Jewish
quarter of Rhodes, La Juderia – a
warren of narrow cobblestone alleys behind the great stone
fortress walls and moat of the old
port city.
Rhodes is both the name of
the island and its main city,
where the Jewish quarter is located.
The Jewish community of
Rhodes traces its history back to
the second century B.C.E., but
most of the community members
were descendants of the Sephardi
Jews expelled from Spain and
spoke Judeo-Spanish, or Ladino,
in their daily lives. The community largely thrived under Ottoman rule, reaching a peak in
the 1920s with some 4,000 Jews,
a quarter of the total town population. It had four synagogues, a
Jewish school and a yeshiva.
But the community fell into
a decline, coinciding with the island’s transfer to Italian rule in
1912. Many emigrated to find
better economic opportunities,
with most going to the United
States and to what was then the
Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and
Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in
Africa. Emigration increased
after the Italian dictator Benito
Mussolini passed a series of laws
in 1938 that curtailed Jews’ civil
rights and barred them from public office and higher education.
By the time German forces occupied Rhodes in September 1943,
fewer than 2,000 Jews remained.
They had survived for more
than a year after the rest of the
Jews of Greece had been deported to their deaths, although
several were killed and La Juderia
was badly damaged in British
bombings that targeted the island’s port. As the end of World
War II approached, the Germans
rounded up the Jews from
Rhodes and the nearby island of
Kos.
“We never thought the Germans would come to this godforsaken island in the Aegean to
take 1,700 mostly old people for
the simple reason to exterminate
every last one of the Jewish population in Europe,” Levi said.
In what became known as
“the longest journey,” the Jews of
Rhodes spent nine days on a
cargo boat to Athens, followed
by 13 days in cattle wagons to
Auschwitz. That was the last
group of Greek Jews sent to the
camps.
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Bubbe knows best
As Torah tells us,
we must always
pursue justice
By Rabbi James M. Gordon
Torah Columnist
Torah Portion: Shoftim
Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9
Shortly after the November
1976 general election in Cook
County, Ill., a group of newly
elected judges were sworn in to
office at a downtown Chicago
site.
Although
numerous
speeches were delivered and
well-wishes conveyed that day by
many dignitaries, the most important and relevant words were
articulated by an 87-year-old
woman who spoke a broken English. At the conclusion of the
ceremony she uttered a short
piece of (unsolicited) advice to
one of the newly installed judges,
who also happened to be her son.
Although intended only for her
middle-aged son to hear, as is the
case with many hard-of-hearing
individuals, her words could be
clearly heard by anyone and
everyone within a half mile.
In a polished Yiddish, while
pointing a firm but loving index
finger towards her son, in a
booming voice the diminutive,
erudite woman from Minsk (Belarus) said: “Nu Yaysephkeh,
g’denk: Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof –
Nu Joe, remember: “Justice Justice
you
shall
pursue.”
(Deuteronomy 16:20).
This wise, feisty octogenarian told her son (the youngest of
nine children), listen, just because you’re now a big shot
judge, don’t become full of yourself. Remember, you have an extraordinarily important, serious
job; that is, to always conduct
yourself and judge in a manner
that is judicious, fair and beyond
reproach. You must always pursue
justice.
The sagacious lady happened to be my bubbe, Rebbetzin
Esther Rivka Gordon. The judge
was my Uncle Joe, or as he was
known professionally at the time
of his untimely death in 2012,
(Illinois Appellate Court) Justice
Joseph Gordon.
As an accomplished, brilliant trial lawyer and law professor, with impeccable professional
qualifications and integrity, my
humble, apolitical uncle was
drafted to run for judge in an effort to help raise the level of the
judiciary during a very dark period in Cook County history. Reluctant to relinquish his love of
the practice and teaching of law,
Rabbi James M. Gordon
my uncle had to be persuaded by
the chairman of the Cook
County Democratic Party. When
Uncle Joe told the chairman,
who was none other than
Chicago’s legendary Mayor
Richard J. Daley, that he wasn’t
ready yet to become a judge,
“Hizzoner” turned to him and
said: “Joe, now is the time.” (The
mayor was right, as on Dec. 20,
1976 – in the midst of a busy
work day – the senior Daley
dropped dead from a massive
heart attack.)
Although my uncle – who
had also received semikha (rabbinic ordination) at age 20 from
the Hebrew Theological College
– was very familiar with and had
internalized long ago this Torah
statement and its enormous ramifications, as a Jewish mother
(and educator), my bubbe did
the right thing. Not only was my
Uncle Joe reminded of the awesome responsibilities that came
with his new position, but, more
importantly, so were all the other
judges in attendance, many of
whom learned that day their first
complete Yiddish/Hebrew sentence.
Now (and always) is the
time for tzedek (justice). This is
what the Torah teaches in this
week’s Sidra (Parashat Shoftim):
“Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof.”
After the mabul (flood), all
descendants (in perpetuity) of
Noah were commanded to observe seven Torah Commandments (Sheva Mitzvot B’nei
Noach). One of the seven
Noahide Laws is to establish a
(just) legal system. The abovestated, bold, three-word mantra
provides the overarching philosophy on how to manage all judicial systems, with the exemplar
being the one identified in the
Torah and described in greater
detail in the halachic codes.
Some of the elements of a
just judicial system, stated in
Parashat Shoftim include: (1)
the requirement to appoint
highly qualified judges (Deuteronomy 16:18-19); (2) the obligation for judges to apply equal, fair
standards to all litigants (Deuteronomy 16:19); (3) the stern
warning against the dangers of
bribes (ibid.); and (4) the vital
necessity of giving probative
value only to the testimony of
(multiple) reliable witnesses
(Deuteronomy 17:6). By repeating (a rarity in the world’s most
terse tome) the word tzedek, not
only is the Almighty emphasizing the importance of achieving
justice, but He is also teaching
that the means used to pursue
tzedek must also be just (attributed to Rabbi Bunam of P’shischa, 1765-1827); and that
litigants should do all they can to
choose a venue with the most
highly qualified judges (Rashi
based up Sanhedrin 32b &
Sifrei).
According to Maimonides in
his magnus opus (Mishneh Torah,
Hilkhot Sanhedrin 2:7), in order
to be considered qualified to sit as
a judge, a candidate must possess
the following seven midot (character traits): (1) Chawkhma/Wisdom; (2) Anivut/Humility; (3)
Yira/Reverence (for the Almighty); (4) Sinat Mamon (“hatred of money” – i.e., utter disdain
for bribes); (5) Ahavat HaEmet/
Love of the Truth); (6) Ahavat
HaB’riyot/Love of Fellow Human
Beings; and (7) Bahahl Shem
Tov/Bearer of a Good Name.
While judges and attorneys
have the opportunity to promote
justice in the American legal system on a daily basis, the ordinary
citizen has the chance to contribute at every judicial election.
Arguably the elected officials
that have the biggest impact on
our day-to-day lives are state
judges. While we make it a priority (as we should) to learn a great
deal about the candidates for federal and state offices, many citizens who choose to exercise their
right to vote (sadly, not too
many), devote little if any time
to learning about the judicial
candidates and their qualifications.
The way that the average
citizen can pursue justice in the
American legal system is by taking the time to learn more about
those running for judge, and
then voting for the most qualified candidates. This is the best
method to realize the words of
the Almighty (which were later
quoted by my Bubbe of blessed
memory): “Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof
– Justice justice you shall pursue.” (Deuteronomy 16:20).
Rabbi James M. Gordon is the
assistant rabbi of Lincolnwood Jewish Congregation A.G. Beth Israel
(Traditional-Orthodox) in Lincolnwood.
7
THEMaven
Chicago Jewish News
ISRAELI TEAM AT
UNITED CENTER…
■ For the first time ever, two
Euroleague professional basketball teams will play on North
American soil. On Oct. 1, sixtime European Champs Maccabi Tel Aviv will play
three-time Euro champs Armani Exchange Milan at
Chicago’s United Center. The
Euro Classic game between the
long-time rivals will begin at 7
p.m.
The teams have united to
launch a “Give Back Ticket
Program to battle violence.”
Over 4,000 tickets for this game
from the 200 and 300 levels at
the United Center are on sale
at a special price of $25.
Half the proceeds from this
program will aid Breakthrough’s
Coaches United Against Violence Program (CUAV). The
program has 18 public league
coaches that work with students
in the community and in
schools to learn how to resolve
conflicts peacefully. Maccabi
also has chosen to support Perspectives Charter Schools and
Positive Coaching Alliance for
their dedication to Chicago’s
youth and anti-violence initiatives.
“Maccabi Tel Aviv and Armani Milan are proud to give
back to Chicago, to battle violence issues that are truly a
global problem,” said both
teams in a joint statement.
“Both our franchises have benefited from great Chicago-grown
players. Chicago is a world class
city that we care deeply about
and with this program, we hope
to make an impact in the community.”
“The initial purpose of
CUAV was to gather a small
group of influencers and take a
collective stand against a problem many of our student athletes and their friends face in
communities across Chicago,”
said Bill Curry, Chief Program
Officer of Breakthrough Youth
Network. “We appreciate the
interest and support from Euroleague powerhouses Maccabi
Tel-Aviv and Armani Milan. It
is fitting because we live in a
global community. Our hope is
that the lessons we learn here
about leadership, unity and conflict resolution will become as
popular and universal as the
game we all love to play. It is
possible! Sports have that type
of influence.”
Featured players in the
games include former LA Laker
and two-time NBA Champion
Jordan Farmar and former All
Big 10 performers Trevor
Mbakwe and Robbie Hummel.
Some of Maccabi’s former players who came out of the
Chicago area are Anthony
Parker, Will Bynum, Jeremy
Pargo, Rashard Griffith and
Deon Thomas. Armani Milan
enjoyed the play of David Moss,
Mason Rocca and Kiwane Garris.
Tickets are available through
the United Center Box Office,
group sales or through Ticketmaster. To purchase the discounted
group tickets, use the offer code
“giveback.” People are encouraged
to buy these tickets for themselves
or donate to allow Chicago students, who otherwise would not be
able to afford the price of admission, to enjoy a “World Cup” experience at the home of the
Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks.
DO YOU KNOW
THIS BRIDE? …
■ The little boy, ring bearer
in short pants and a wide
sailor collar, peers out from
the picture, looking a bit puzzled at what is going on
around him.
What that is is a Jewish
wedding in Chicago in 1947
or 1948, and apparently a
fairly lavish one at that, with
10 bridesmaids and a tall,
stately-looking bride.
The ring bearer is Arnie
Reisman, a filmmaker and poet
who lived in Chicago for the
first 10 years of his life. But
who are the others in the picture?
That’s what Reisman, who
now lives on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, where
he is the island’s official poet
laureate, is trying to find out.
He hopes Chicago Jewish
News readers might be able to
help.
He found the photo
this pic?” he writes.
He has recently had a
book of poetry published,
“Clara Bow Died for Our Sins”
(available at Amazon and
Summerset Press), in which
one poem, “Keepsake,” is about
the mysterious wedding photo.
If anyone has any information about the photo, they can
contact Chicago Jewish News at
(847) 966-0606 or managing editor Pauline Yearwood at
paulinecjn@aol.com.
Keepsake
Sometimes I think we live
With an etymology born out
of wedlock
Take the bastard “keepsake”
Too often to me it means
For goodness sake why do I
keep this?
Like family photos
Usually handed down without
any provenance
Without any history, oral or
written
Only to become a cornerstone
In the landfill of uncertainty,
the graveyard of forgotten
When my mother died
Among the detritus of her life
I found a large photo among
her albums
Twelve inches wide, eleven
inches high,
Matte and matted
A posed wedding photo
Where faces no longer hold
meaning or memory
Just what you would expect
from an old wedding party
The bride, maid of honor,
assorted bridesmaids, ring bearer
All in sepia, the color of aged
Scotch Tape, of dead skin
Fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv cheer on their team.
among his mother’s possessions
after she died in 2001. “The
only person who can be identified by what remains of my
family is the little boy on the
left, the ring bearer. That’s me.
I showed (the photo) to her
disintegrating sister and
brother, now both gone, and
they could not recognize any of
the women. I spent my first 10
years in Chicago, 1942-52.
Could it ever be possible to
find out who anyone else is in
All sharing a tradition, a stop
on life’s trajectory
Even ethnicity seems to serve
as a theme
A rotogravure of a time warp
All caressing flower bouquets
Except the little ring bearer, a
boy with a box
Eleven females and me, the
youngest
About 5 years old, little lord of
the rings
A head full of curls, whipped
upward like dark meringue
I would know me anywhere
The women, however, are
eleven questions
My navy blue sailor suit looks
black
So do my short pants
In a sea of white and off-white
gowns
All that’s white on me are my
shoes,
A hint of collar, a breast
pocket hanky peak
Every woman is smiling
This seems to worry me:
Who are these women?
Am I in the right group?
Should I be in a dress?
Showed it to my mother’s sister
But she barely knew who was
Showing her the photograph
Showed it to my mother’s
brother
Who had his wits about him
But couldn’t identify one
single person
Not even the ring bearer
A keepsake down to
one-twelfth of a memory
Is there another copy of this
photo somewhere
Where everyone in it is
known
Except the ring bearer, little
Jude the Obscure?
A souvenir, a memento, a
moment captured for all eternity
But perhaps no one alive to
remember why
Eleven women in waiting
Waiting for a reason to be
saved
And a little child shall lead
them
An old photograph
Is as confining as a grave
A keepsake in the earth
Borders, limits, walls all around
Life kept out
Photo albums become
cemeteries
Little plots holding little secrets
Secrets made more
unfathomable
By worn away headstones
Defining lettering eaten by time
Rubbed into anonymity
Unrecognizable
Fading, fading
Photographs and graves
Evolving into the junk mail of
life’s ecology
Like milestones of postal
offerings
Heartbreakingly addressed to
“Occupant”
– Arnie Reisman
8
LONE SOLDIERS
Eight Chicago Jews leave home and family
and head to serve in the Israeli army
By Pauline Dubkin Yearwood
Managing Editor
This week the population of
Israel will swell by some 230 people and the ranks of the Israeli
Defense Forces by at least 60.
Eight of them are from the
Chicago area, including Samuel
Eisenberg, 19, and Joshua Swatez, 19, of Skokie; Yael Gargir,
18, of Northbrook; Avraham
Gutstein, 19, and Ryan Macks,
23, of Lincolnwood; Ori Kulbak,
18, of Highland Park; and Jeremy
Weinstock, 18, and Nir Zaslavsky, 18, of Deerfield.
They were among a group of
potential soldiers on a so-called
soldiers flight organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh, a non-profit organization that promotes aliyah
to Israel and helps new olim
(those making aliyah) in cooperation with the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency for
Israel.
The future soldiers landed
on Tuesday, Aug. 17 (see a video
of their arrival on the Nefesh
B’Nefesh website); most will
spend three months on a kibbutz,
strengthening their Hebrew and
Joshua Swatez
getting used to Israeli life, before
joining the IDF in November.
Among them was Jeremy
Weinstock, who just graduated
from Deerfield High School. Unlike some of the other recruits, he
never lived in Israel but took a
semester there while in high
school.
He refers to that time as “the
solidification of me wanting to
live in Israel, join the army and
protect the Jewish people. I fell
in love with the culture, the people, the language and wanted to
go back.”
Although his upbringing
was Reform and his family “wasn’t overly religious,” his parents
“were all for” his move, he said
during a telephone interview as
he and the other young recruits
were getting ready to leave.
“They completely supported it,”
he says. “Their feeling is, if this is
what makes you happy we’ll support you all the way. It was awesome. Some other people’s
parents were not too supportive,
but I wasn’t surprised that mine
were.”
Among his friends from
high school, “some of my peers
were surprised that I wanted to
serve in the army. But knowing
me (they knew I wanted to do)
something new rather than the
same old thing and be a typical
teen from high school.” An older
brother feels Jeremy “is a role
model for other people,” he says.
In the IDF, Weinstock will
be a so-called Lone Soldier –
someone who has no family living in the Jewish state. There are
special provisions for housing,
Jewish holidays and other needs
for such soldiers.
Weinstock calls himself “a
lone wolf with no family in Israel.”
He’ll live on a kibbutz,
studying at an ulpan (Hebrew
language school) while he awaits
his army orders in November. He
doesn’t yet know what unit he’ll
be assigned to, but wants to go
into a “challenging unit. Wherever the army decides to place
me, I’m going in with an open
mind,” he says.
Joining him on the flight
was Avraham Gutstein, an Ida
Crown Jewish Academy graduate
who has already lived in Israel for
two years studying at a yeshiva in
the Old City of Jerusalem. He’ll
be joining the IDF in March or
April.
His yeshiva community, especially its head, Rav Aharon
Bina, was influential in helping
Gutstein come to his decision to
make aliyah and join the IDF, he
says.
“At the yeshiva, they
stressed the importance of the
land of Israel, living in Israel,
that it’s really the place for the
Jewish people to be,” he says. “I
really saw the land and the history. We went on trips. Everything was very clear there. We
were like a big family. It’s very
homey. I feel very at home and
comfortable” in Israel.
Rav Bina, he says, “stressed
the importance (of living in Israel). He was very strong about
it.” Another person who was influential to his thinking was his
dorm counselor, Tamir Jacobs, he
says.
Another influence, Gutstein says, was his yeshiva’s
chesed (kindness, charity) program.
“Every Thursday afternoon,
we got a bunch of guys (from the
Avraham Gutstein
yeshiva), wore bright green shirts
and helped people in the shuk
(marketplace),” he says. “We
called ourselves the shuk shleppers. We walked around the
shuk, generally targeting older
customers, helped with their
bags, took them to the train or
bus, whatever they needed.”
This experience, he explains, “makes you feel like
you’re part of Israeli society.
Everyone says, you should move
to Israel too. You meet a lot of
people. One guy I met helped
liberate the Old City.”
Gutstein himself grew up in
Lincolnwood, the seventh of 10
children. His oldest brother
made aliyah in May and he has
many cousins living in Israel.
His parents, he says, “are
very supportive of my decision,
very happy for me to move on.”
In fact, he says, “the whole
family wants to make aliyah, but
it’s not really possible right now.”
His sister will be going to a seminary in Israel this year though.
As an Israeli citizen, Gutstein will have to join the army
but he says he also feels an obligation to do so. “I have to do my
part,” he says.
He hopes to join an army
unit called Netzach Yehuda, a religious unit.
As for what he’s looking forward to the most when he gets to
Israel, “I really just enjoy being
part of Israeli society, being there
spiritually, religiously,” he says. “I
feel much better connected
there. Everything is much
clearer. I really love Israel.”
or Nir Zaslavsky, moving to
Israel might be like going
backwards. But he doesn’t
see it that way.
Zaslavsky, who recently
graduated from Deerfield High
School, moved to Israel with his
family from the former Soviet
Union in 1991. When he was
eight years old, the family moved
to the United States.
Growing up in a settlement
in East Jerusalem, “I wanted to be
an Israeli soldier since I was a
kid,” he says. “I always looked up
to those guys.” But his parents,
along with an older brother, had
moved to the United States to
give the family a better life, so
moving back to Israel was
F
9
nowhere in his thoughts.
That began to change during his junior and senior years in
high school, Zaslavsky says.
“When it really came down to,
my decision about what I would
do after high school, I really
started thinking about it seriously,” he says.
There were a number of reasons. “After seeing what happened with Operation Protective
Edge last summer, and my upbringing, growing up in Israel I
believe so much in the Jewish
state,” he says. “I want to give my
own contribution to the cause.
I’m one person but I feel like I
owe something. I joined the IDF
to fulfill that.”
He originally planned to
continue his studies in the
United States, as his brother had,
but then decided “I wanted to be
absorbed back into Israeli society
and culture,” he says. “It was a
debate for me in the beginning –
do like everybody else in Israel
does, (go into the army) at 18
years old? I can study after.”
At first, Zaslavsky says, he
had a difficult time with his parents.
“They lived through the
Second Intifada, through constant fear and war, and they took
the opportunity to move here
and give me a better life, and I almost took the opportunity to
undo that,” he says. “It was really
hard at first. (My parents) didn’t
see eye to eye with me on this decision. It’s gotten a little better,
but I’m still going into a conflicted region.”
After they met other parents
at a going-away party and saw
they weren’t the only ones feeling that way, their attitude became a little more positive, he
says.
During the last three
months, Zaslavsky has set up a
group of about 25 kids his age,
half girls and half guys, who grad-
Ori Kulbak and Jeremy Weinstock
uated high school together and
will start their military service in
November. Most will be Lone
Soldiers.
“We’ll go through an absorption process and bond as a
group,” he says. “I’ll be a Lone
Soldier, and this will be my family. It really helps. This group really lifts you up and keeps you
together.”
So far members have held
four seminars in which they
talked about Israel and got to
know each other. “You get to
know who you’re going with, get
used to each other, talk about
what life will be like,” he says.
When he does join the army
he would like to go into a combat unit but doesn’t know if it
will be possible.
“I don’t want to be a (socalled) jobnik, have a desk job.
That doesn’t help much,” he
says. “I want to contribute as
much as I can, get the most out
of it and give the most. I’m
shooting high. I’m a big supporter of Israel and this is a big
decision, but I thought it through
well. It was hard to make, but I
decided what was best for me.”
amuel Eisenberg actually
surprised himself by deciding
to make aliyah and join the
army.
Eisenberg, a Skokie native,
attended Solomon Schechter
Day School through eighth
grade, then elected to go to a
public high school, Niles North,
even though his older brother
and sister went to Chicagoland
Jewish High School.
“After eighth grade I was really disillusioned with Judaism,”
Eisenberg says. “I had a great
time in high school but I always
connected to Judaism through
(Camp) Ramah.”
At some point, “I realized I
don’t want to live just a secular
lifestyle,” he says. “I’m not very
S
religious but I don’t want to live
a lifestyle devoid of a culture, a
Jewish community to live with. I
could tell the way I wanted to
live my life.”
Eisenberg participated in a
program called Right On for Israel, which, he says, combined
study, advocacy, history and politics and culminated in a trip to
the Jewish state. There the group
met with politicians, journalists
and opinion-makers.
“It was very educational,
and at that point I really became
enthused by Israel, inspired by
it,” he says. He also volunteered
at a summer camp where Jews
and Arabs lived together.
“It was an amazing experience, one of the best of my life,”
he says. “The place is something
special. I went home for my senior year in high school and decided I wanted to go on Nativ
(the Conservative movement’s
yearlong Israel program). I didn’t
rule out whether I wanted to live
in Israel.”
But, he says, he knew that
“if I went to college I would
never have the opportunity to
move to Israel and do the army
in a full way. I wasn’t ready to
give that up. I really believe in
the right of Israel to exist as a
democratic and free state where
Jews from all over the world can
go and live.”
Eisenberg has spent the last
year on the Nativ program,
where he takes classes at Hebrew
University and also volunteers in
maintenance and auto shop at a
youth village. He graduated from
Niles North but decided to participate in the Nativ leadership
program rather than his original
plan, to go to the University of
Illinois college of business than,
after graduation, make aliyah
and join the IDF.
“I knew I wanted to spend
my gap year in Israel, and after a
couple of months of the gap year
I decided” to follow his present
course, he says.
His parents have been supportive. “They’ve always let me
make my own decisions,” he says.
“But they were surprised at first.
My dad was a Lone Soldier too.
They wanted me to go to university first but they knew (his decision) wasn’t out of left field.
They knew it was on my mind.”
His dad made aliyah in 1970, he
reports, then came back to the
United States after four years.
Like many of the other potential army recruits, Eisenberg
will be joining the Garin Tzabar
program, which helps Lone Soldiers from all over the world prepare for their army experience
and for living in Israel. During
the three-month program he’ll
be living on a kibbutz in the
north, near the border with
Lebanon, and will enlist in the
army in November.
He hopes to try out for a
combat unit, “the best one I can
get into.”
As for going to college, he
Nir Zaslavsky
says he’ll decide about that when
he finishes his army service. “In
two and a half years (the average
length of army service) I’ll be a
different person.”
t took Ryan Macks a while to
decide what he wanted to do
with his life After graduating
from Ida Crown Jewish Academy, the Lincolnwood native
completed a master’s degree in
public finance and city management at Indiana University.
He had been to Israel during
high school and “fell in love with
the people and the culture
there,” he says. He went back
after high school and spent a year
there.
“It was the first time I really
started getting to know the
place,” he says. “But I thought
about it for a long time and decided to go to college first. Now
I
Samuel Eisenberg
I’m going to Israel.”
His reasons, he says, included “always feeling I wanted
to give back in some way. This is
what I felt the most connected
to. I always felt very proud of
what the State of Israel stands
for, that the Jewish people have
a homeland. I thought about it
for a long time and I’m finally
getting to do it.”
Like many other Lone Soldiers, he’ll live on a kibbutz for
three months then enter the
army, where he hopes to be assigned to an engineering unit, in
November.
His parents support his decision, although “my mom is
scared that I’m joining the IDF,
but still very proud. I’ve been
thankful they stood behind me,”
he says. “It’s not the typical route
to go.”
10
H I G H H O L I D AY
SYNAGOGUE FOCUS
Wishes for A Peaceful
NewYear 5776
from
Congregation Kol Emeth
Join us for
High Holiday
& Year-Round Services,
Programs and Classes
Congregation Kol Emeth
5130 W. Touhy Ave., Skokie IL 60077
(2 blocks west of Edens Expressway)
847/673-3370
office@kolemethskokie.org
www.kolemethskokie.org
Rabbi Barry Schechter
Part of Chicagoland’s Jewish Community
for almost 50 years
Dear Friends,
Have you heard the news about Skokie’s First Orthodox Big Tent?
An inclusive Orthodox synagogue? Right here, in Skokie? A “big
tent” for a variety of views and tradi ons – and all within the
boundaries of Halacha?
Have you visited the re-energized Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob
yet? Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob has welcomed new voices from
every corner of Orthodoxy and academia. We’ve hosted speakers
and leaders from Yeshiva University, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, SAR
High School, Yeshivat Maharat, Har’el Beit Midrash, University of
Chicago, Bar Ilan University and the Catholic Theological Union. At
Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob we are just as likely to learn Torah
from
fr a doctor, mother, accountant, academic, student or neighbor
as from a rabbi. The role of women has expanded in both
leadership and par cipa on. An ac ve youth program is in place
and growing. Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob offers a long history, a
mul purpose facility, no building fund, and the exper se of
Halachik Advisor, Rabbi Seth Winberg and Pastoral Counsel, Rabbi
Joseph Ozarowski.
We invite you to call, email or just drop in and demand our
a"en on! Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob is the most affordable and
welcoming Orthodox congrega on in the area. Please join us for
Shabbat, holidays, celebra ons or weekday services in a “tent”
that offers each of us an opportunity to express the vitality and
enthusiasm that defines us as Jews. We’d love to include you!
Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue
8825 East Prairie Road, Skokie, IL 60076
847.674.3473 • www.svaj.org • membership@svaj.org
Being Jewish beyond the holidays
By Sally Abrams
Kveller via JTA
If a stranger followed you
around for a few days, how long
would it take for him to figure
out that you are Jewish?
This question was posed to
me in a parenting discussion
group many years ago and has intrigued me ever since.
My husband and I put everything we had into creating a Jewish home and raising our four
children to be strongly, proudly
Jewish. Now it is their turn to
raise Jewish children. And so I
ponder the question again, this
time from the vantage point of a
grandparent of infants and toddlers. The question has changed
only slightly:
If a stranger spent a few days
at your home, how would he know
that a Jewish family lives there?
Perhaps the answer can be
found in this sweet story.
For 15 years I taught Hebrew
at Jewish day schools and for college credit in supplementary
schools. A dozen years ago I
planned a special end-of-the-year
activity for my eighth-grade Hebrew class: We would learn how
to prepare falafel and Israeli salad
using Hebrew recipes and then
use them to make lunch at my
house.
The students eagerly learned
the recipes, and when the day
came, set about cooking together, speaking only in Hebrew.
We devoured the delicious food
they prepared and continued
chatting through lunch in Hebrew.
After lunch came a surprise
activity – a scavenger hunt! I
paired off the students and gave
each pair a list of items to find,
items that I had strategically
placed all over the house. Tallitot (prayer shawls) and kippot
(head coverings) on the coffee
table; a yad next to the spice
rack; the seder plate on the pool
table; a chumash (Torah) rested
on the piano.
The hunt included more
than just ritual objects. The list
also included items that emphasized Israel, Zionism, kashrut
(kosher), Jewish culture and peoplehood. Would the kids spot the
family photos from trips to Israel?
Israeli music CDs? Israeli films
on DVD? The Hebrew-English
keyboard? The kosher cookbooks? Biographies of Jewish heroes? The Jewish calendar? How
many mezuzot would they count
on doorposts throughout the
house?
Most of all, I wondered if
the kids would notice the
tzedakah box sitting on the
clothes dryer, and if they would
realize why it was in the laundry
room, of all places.
The students raced through
the house, checking off each
item and where they found it.
How fun it was to hear them exclaim over each find! At last
they finished and I gathered
them all on the porch to talk.
“Why do you think we did
this activity?” I asked.
“Because it was fun!” one
student replied immediately.
“I’m really glad that it was fun,” I
said, “but that was not the only
reason. What else?”
“Because you wanted us to
see that you have really nice
things,” said another.
“I’ll bet that all of you have
nice Jewish objects at home, too.
What else?”
Little by little the discussion
led them to the lesson I wanted
to teach: that if you are serious
about being Jewish, you will find
signs of it everywhere in your
home. Because Judaism is, most
of all, about doing – the rituals
and behaviors that elevate, that
enable us to bring a spark of holiness to even the most mundane
activities.
Which led me to ask them
one final question: Why was
there a tzedakah box in the laundry room?
“Because lots of change falls
out of pockets in the dryer,” said
one girl.
I waited to see what might
come next.
At last, someone said, “Because thinking of tzedakah while
you do the laundry makes doing
laundry more than just a chore.”
“Exactly,” I said. “It’s a Jewish way of doing laundry.”
It got the kids thinking. As
eighth-graders they were one
year post-bar/bat mitzvah, the
highwater mark of their Jewish
experience. My goal was that our
simple activity would remind
them that between the momentous occasions of the bris, bar/bat
mitzvah, and the chuppah lie
countless opportunities to enrich
and elevate their Jewish lives.
So how would a stranger
know that a Jewish family lives at
your house? Like everything Jewish, it all begins with asking a
question.
H I G H H O L I D AY
SYNAGOGUE FOCUS
During days of introspection, how
to get back on the proper path
By Steve Bayar
My Jewish Learning via JTA
We live with a practical tradition. We begin the Jewish New
Year with 10 days devoted to introspection. Between Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur we
are asked to review our past failures and victories, to evaluate
our relationships and how we can
make things better for ourselves
and those we care for. We take
stock of our lives and try to put
ourselves back on the right path.
“Chet” is the Hebrew word
commonly translated as “sin.” It
is derived from the term that
means “to miss the target.” The
assumption is that sin is a mistake; an action we would correct,
if possible. It is human to make
mistakes – it is brave to try to
correct them. This makes “teshuvah” – translated as “to return” –
an attainable task. We are not
expected to be perfect, but we are
expected to clean up the messes
we have made.
Our tradition identifies two
categories of relationships: those
we have with each other and
those we have with G-d. The
mistakes we make fall into these
categories as well: the ways in
which we hurt others and the
ways in which we hurt G-d.
Isn’t it incredible that we
can hurt G-d? Some may disagree
and ask, “How can a perfect G-d
be concerned with our sins?” In
my opinion, it is a measure of Gd’s love for us that G-d created a
relationship in which G-d is affected by our actions. While
some may say this is only a
metaphor, I’m not so sure. If one
truly believes in the concept of
tikkun olam, and recognizes our
responsibility to fix the world,
how can G-d not be disappointed
and hurt when we fail?
This interplay between
teshuvah and chet, our relationship to others, creates a very involved dynamic and ideally
forces us to face our frailties and
responsibilities. We have made
mistakes – how can we atone for
them? We are always in need of
repentance and atonement.
We learn from the Midrash
(Mishle 6:6): The students of
Rabbi Akiva asked him, “Which
is greater, teshuvah or tzedakah?”
He answered, “Teshuvah, because sometimes one gives
tzedakah to one who does not
need it. However, teshuvah
comes from within (it is always
needed).”
The students said, “Rabbi,
have we not already found that
tzedakah is greater than teshuvah?”
In this text, Rabbi Akiva
places emphasis on the necessity
of teshuvah – we are always in
need of repentance and atonement. Yet the students refuse to
accept his answer. The text doesn’t provide a resolution to the debate and seemingly leaves the
matter for us to decide.
This text identifies some of
the most important issues in our
community today: How does one
explore Judaism and derive deep
meaning from it? What if you
want to strengthen your Jewish
identity? One way is through introspection and to find yourself
in intense moments that we create through silent ritual and
prayer. This is the essence of
teshuvah, the “return to one’s
tradition.” This is one way, and it
is a good way. But it is not the
only way.
I can tell you this: When I
am alone and feel in the dark,
when I am scared and aware of
my mortality, or when I am in
pain, it is the tzedakah experiences that I dust off and recall.
They bring me back. Ritual and
prayer are vital expressions of my
identity and form the basis of my
observance, but my humanity
comes from tzedakah.
11
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OPEN TO THE PUBLIC DAILY from 4:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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847-467-4455
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Rosh Hashanah Monday, Sept. 14 at 2:30pm
Yom Kippur Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 2:30pm
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Rosh Hashanah: Sunday, 9/13 – Tuesday, 9/15
Rosh Hashanah:
9/13 – Tuesday, 9/15
Kol Nidre:Sunday,
Tuesday, 9/22
Yom
Kippur:
Wednesday,
9/23
Kol Nidre: Tuesday, 9/22
An Egalitarian,
led by Jacob
Cytryn & Rich Moline
YomConservative
Kippur: Service
Wednesday,
9/23
$125 per adult
Introductory membership
included with ticket purchase.
An Egalitarian,
Conservative
Service
led by Jacob Cytryn & Rich Moline
Email your reservation to holidaytix@kehillatshalom.org
For complete information and
service
$125
pertimes
adultvisit www.kehillatshalom.org
8610 Niles
Center Road, Skokie, IL • (847) 679-6513
Introductory membership included with ticket purchase.
BJBE | 847.940.7575 | bjbe.org
1201 Lake Cook Road | Deerfield, IL60015
Email your reservation to holidaytix@kehillatshalom.org
For complete information and service times
visit www.kehillatshalom.org
8610 Niles Center Road, Skokie, IL • (847) 679-6513
12
Community Calendar
Saturday
August 22
Jewish comedian Debbie
Sue Goodman appears at
Let Them Eat Chocolate. 78:30 p.m., 5306 N. Damen,
Chicago. (773) 334-2626.
Sunday
August 23
Chicago Jewish Historical
Society holds day trip to
Lincoln and the Jews exhibit in Springfield via motor coach. 7:45 a.m.-9 p.m.,
Bernard Horwich JCC, 3003
W. Touhy, Chicago or 8:15
a.m.- 8:30 p.m., Marriott
Hotel, 540 N. Michigan,
Chicago. $75 members; $85
non-members. Reservations, www.chicagojewishhistory.org or (847) 4327003.
Maot Chitim volunteers
pack 150,000 pounds of
food to feed 12,000 during
High Holy Days. 9:30 a.m.- 2
p.m., 1808 Holste Road,
Northbrook. To volunteer
or donate, call (847) 6743224.
Lincolnwood Jewish Congregation A.G. Beth Israel
holds “Settlers of Catan”
Tournament. 11 a.m.-5
p.m., 7117 N. Crawford, Lincolnwood. $18. Register,
JewishSettlersTourney@gm
ail.com
StandWithUs Chicago presents “A Taste of India and
Israel” featuring economist
Subramanian Swamy, Israel
senior policy advisor Robert
Schwartz and Hindu activist
Rajiv Malhotra. 4-6:30 p.m.,
101 S. Church Road,
Bensenville.
standwithus.com
Temple Judea Mizpah hosts
summer barbecue. 4-6 p.m.,
8610 Niles Center Road,
Skokie. $3, $10 family for
members. Free to prospective members. RSVP,
tjm@templejm.org or (847)
676-1566.
Chicago Shidduch Group
hosts Simcha Expo for
women tailored to the religious consumer making a
wedding, bar/bat mitzvah or
other family celebration,
with guest speaker Miryam
Swerdlov speaking on “Six
Steps from Stress to Serenity.” 6:30 p.m., Congregation Bnei Ruven, 6350 N.
Whipple, Chicago. $18.
csgsimchaexpo2015@gmail.
com.
Tuesday
August 25
Ketura Hadassah holds
open meeting featuring
cookbook author Lynn
Kirche Shapiro. 12:30 p.m.,
Mayer Kaplan JCC, 5050
Church, Skokie. $3. (847)
673-0773.
Friday
August 28
Call synagogue office for
time of service. 1185 Sheridan Road, Glencoe. (847)
835-0724.
Beth Hillel Congregation
Bnai Emunah presents
Shabbat in the Shade,
block party featuring challah and lemonade making,
corn husking and crafts followed by musical Shabbat
service and barbecue dinner. 5:15 p.m., 3220 Big
Tree Lane, Wilmette. $10
suggested donation per
family. Reservations, (847)
256-1213.
Congregation Solel hosts
barbecue and Shabbat
service for prospective
members. 5:30-7 p.m., 1301
Clavey Road, Highland
park. RSVP, (847) 433-3555
Ext. 221.
Congregation B’nai Tikvah
holds Kabbalat Shabbat
Service with instrumental
accompaniment on its patio
followed by Oneg. 6:30
p.m., 1558 Wilmot Road,
Deerfield. (847) 945-0470.
Congregation Ahavat Olam
presents Amy Miller, AJC assistant director of international affairs and
communications, speaking
on the Iran deal at Taste of
Shabbat service led by Cantor Nancy Landsman. 7:30
p.m. Christ United Methodist Church, Parlor Room,
600 Deerfield Road, Deerfield. (312) 431-3632.
North Shore Congregation
Israel holds installation of
Rabbi Wendy Geffen at its
Shabbat evening service.
Sunday
August 30
Temple Beth Israel presents
“Elulpalooza” with a puppet show featuring “Jews
in Space,” barbecue picnic,
face painting, moon walk
and more. 9 a.m.-noon,
3601 W. Dempster, Skokie.
Food costs $5, $20 family.
tbiskokie or (847) 675-0951.
Congregation Beth Tikvah
Sisterhood holds Mah Jong
Tournament with raffles,
prizes and snacks. 10:30
a.m.- 3 p.m., 300 Hillcrest
Blvd., Hoffman Estates. $36
members, $40 non-members. sisterhood@beth-tikvah.org or (847) 885-4545.
Friendship Circle of Illinois
holds “Walk 4 Friendship.”
Noon, Wood Oaks Green
Park. Information and registration, www.ILwalk.com.
Temple Beth-El hosts Jewish
Genealogical Society of Illinois meeting featuring
Murray Brilliant, Ph.D.
speaking on “Jewish Genetics.” 2 p.m., 3610 Dundee
Road, Northbrook (Library
opens at 12:30 p.m. for research and questions.)
jgsi.org or (312) 666-0100.
Tuesday
September 1
CJE SeniorLife presents vocalist Larry Levin. 2-3 p.m.,
Weinberg Community for
Senior Living, 1551 Lake
Cook Road, Deerfield. (847)
236-7852.
CJE SeniorLife holds
Crosstown Karaoke Pizza
Party for adults with disabilities and their families.
JCFS Joy Faith Knapp Center, 3145 W. Pratt, Chicago.
Registration required, mariana.sanchez@cje.net or
(773) 508-1106.
Wednesday
September 2
Ezra-Habonim, the Niles
Township Jewish Congregation Sisterhood hosts
Luncheon and Fashion
Show. 11:30 a.m., 4500 W.
Dempster, Skokie. $18
members, $23 guests, $25
door. Reservations, (847)
675-4141.
Decalogue Society of
Lawyers presents ACLU Illinois Executive Director
Colleen Connell speaking
on “Religious Conscience
Laws: When Religious Freedom and Public Accommodations Collide.” Bring own
bag lunch. CLE credits available. Noon-1:30 p.m., 160
N. LaSalle, Room 1808,
Chicago. Registration required, decaloguesociety.
org.
Lubavitch Chabad of Skokie
presents “Chicago Mega
Challah 1000” for women
and girls ages 16 and over
kneading, braiding and
praying together. 7:30 p.m.,
Holiday Inn, 5300 W. Touhy,
Skokie. $18. RSVP required.
www.ChicagoChallah.com.
Questions, (773) 562-0455
or (773) 828-1842.
Friday
September 4
“
★★★★ MESMERIZING.
Congregation Beth Shalom
holds Storybook Shabbat
and Dinner. 6:45 p.m., 3433
Walters Ave., Northbrook.
$25. RSVP, dmoore@beth
shalomnb.org or (847) 4984100.
OUT OF THE ASHES OF SUMMER MOVIEGOING
EMERGES A MASTERPIECE.”
-JAKE COYLE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
‘‘
A HAUNTING THRILLER.”
-A.O. SCOTT, THE NEW YORK TIMES
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13
By Joseph Aaron
CONTINUED
F RO M PAG E
14
But worst of all by far is The Bibi’s choice to be Israel’s next ambassador to the United Nations, meaning the man who will represent
Israel in the forum of the world’s countries, be Israel’s face and voice
to the entire planet.
His choice is someone named Danny Danon and he is one of the
most right-wing politicians in Israel, so right-wing that even though
he is a member of The Bibi’s own Likud party, he actually challenged
The Bibi for leadership of the party because he thought The Bibi was
not right-wing enough.
Which is why The Bibi is sending him to New York. Danon is
young, charismatic, has a following, has a lot of support in Likud. Meaning he is a threat to The Bibi. Meaning what better thing for The Bibi
to do, not for Israel but for himself, then send Danon seven thousand
miles away to deal with the UN and be cut off from Israeli politics.
Danon is such a horrible choice that even right-wing Israeli
journalist David Horovitz was scathing in his reaction to Danon’s appointment. Noting Danon’s longstanding and “fierce opposition to any
two-state solution,” he noted that Danon has said he hopes to “gain
sovereignty over the majority of the land” in the West Bank, “with the
minimum number of Palestinians.” Israel made a mistake by not annexing major parts of the West Bank after capturing them in 1967,
Danon has said, “But it’s not too late.”
As Horovitz put, “This is the man whom Netanyahu now wants
to represent Israel in the inevitable future bitter debates about the occupation, settlements, and Palestinian rights, at the world’s problemsolving forum.”
Added Horovitz, “Danon’s appointment appears to confirm
everything Netanyahu’s critics at home and abroad have asserted
about his true intentions with respect to the Palestinians. And since
those critics are headed by the president of Israel’s main ally … it is
hard to conceive of a more short-sighted, shameful, self-defeating and
damaging appointment. Not just for Netanyahu and his government,
but for all of Israel.”
That’s The Bibi. Doing what’s good for him no matter what it
does to Israel.
With The Bibi’s irrational, psychopathic behavior regarding the
Iran deal, a deal agreed to not only by the United States, but by
Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and the
United Nations, Israel more than ever needs people who can represent it well around the world. It is getting the opposite.
But the truth is, as much as that worries me, what worries me
more is how vicious has become the Jewish infighting in America over
the deal. A poll showed that a majority of American Jews support the
deal. But tell that to the minority who don’t and who will say anything, be as vicious as possible to not only oppose the deal, but to rip
to pieces any Jew who dares be in favor of it.
I know. Let me share with you a bit of my mail, since, as I think
I’ve made clear, I am very much in favor of the Iran deal. As are a whole
bunch of Israeli military officers, the most senior Jew in the House, five
Jewish senators so far, 29 of America’s best nuclear physicists.
Writes Arnie: “The more I read your articles it is obvious that u
r a typical uber liberal delusional person. Your arguments r flawed. Your
prejudices blind your thought process U feel that u can make an agreement with someone, Iran, that u can’t trust is ridiculous. The Joseph
makes no sense!!”
Then there was Ralph: “It seems somewhat ludicrous that everyone but Joseph Aaron in the Jewish community finds this agreement
abhorrent. If you really know something that the rest of us do not
please let us know. You lost family in the Holocaust which followed
Munich, and it is my personal opinion that perhaps Mr. Kerry’s real
name is Chamberlain.”
And then there was Lawyer Joel. Referring to a column by Fareed Zakaria I sent him making strong arguments in favor of the deal,
Lawyer Joel wrote me, “Is the Obama/Moshiach school of capitulation
so desperate for arguments that you peddle the rantings of a Muslim
flack for the White House … Have a good shabbes worshipping
BHO….& remember to bow down to Sheikh Fareed.”
But taking the cake and perfectly summing up how ugly this has
all become, how those on the right think they are protecting Israel
from a second Holocaust and so are more than happy to savage Jews
who don’t see things as they do, there was this from Jack about Jews
like me who support the Iran deal: “there is a line in Torah. ‘You must
drive the evil from your midst.’ It isn’t about differing opinions it’s
about a lack of respect for our people and our G-d.”
Wow, seems we can’t have different opinions, agree to disagree.
No, either you are a good Jew and against the deal, like Joel and Jack,
or you are for the deal, like me, in which case you are, to use Joel’s
words, “a kapo” or you are, to use Jack’s words, “evil” and have a lack
of respect for our people and our G-d.
The Iran debate will be over in about a month. The lingering
damage to the relationship between Israel and the world, between Jews
and Jews, will be around a lot longer.
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14
Death Notices
Marcella Bulmash, nee Weinhouse, age 94. Beloved wife
of Sidney for 71 years. Cherished mother of Ann (Rick)
Selin, Ellen (Mickey) Kaplan,
and the late Sherwin, (survived by Marilyn) Bulmash.
Devoted grandmother to
Frani (Brian) Sherman, Carolyn Bulmash, Rebecca (Joshua) Taub, Brad (Marissa) Kaplan, and great-grandchildren
Brenna, Sammy, Alma, Esther
and Taren. Dear sister of the
late Jerry (Shirley) Weinhouse. Loving aunt of many.
Special cousins of Rozanne
and Steve Epstein. Dear
friend to all who met her.
Marcey, along with Sidney,
Bill and Babs Bulmash, established the business, Mr. B.
Store for Men on 87th Street
in South Shore. Marcella was
the matriarch of her family.
Her loving kindness will be
missed! Memorials in Marcey’s
memory can be made to the
American Jewish World Service, 45 West 36th Street, New
York, NY 10018, ajws@ajws.
org. or charities of your
choice. Arrangements by
Mitzvah Memorial Funerals.
Mildred “Mickie” Ogulnick,
nee Peller. Beloved wife of
the late Joseph Ogulnick.
Loving mother of Mark
(Dorothy) Ogulnick, Keith
Ogulnick, and Michael (Car-
rie) Ogulnick. Cherished
grandmother of Jamie (Kyle),
Julie, Megan, Joel, Amanda,
Joshua, and Zachary. Adored
great-grandmother of Connor. Dear and special friend
of Lisa Bracker and Donna
Ogulnick. In lieu of flowers
remembrances to your preferred charity would be appreciated. Arrangements by
Mitzvah Memorial Funerals.
Orna Porat, grande dame of Israeli theater
(JTA) – Orna Porat, a German convert to Judaism who became a grande dame of Israeli
theater, died at the age of 91.
Porat won the prestigious Israel Prize in 1979 for a lifetime of
achievement in theater as well as
Yedioth Acharonot’s Kinor
David Prize in 1970, 1974 and
1980.
Born in Germany as Irene
Klein, she moved to prestate Israel with her Jewish husband in
1947. In Germany, she had studied acting and eventually began
working at a theater in Schleswig.
Porat’s husband, Yossef, was
an employee of Israel’s foreign intelligence service, the Mossad.
He passed away in 1996.
During her time at the
Cameri Theater of Tel Aviv,
where she began performing in
1948, Porat created and managed
its children’s theater from 1965
to 1970. After it closed, she created another, the Orna Porat
Theater for Children and Youth.
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By
Joseph
Aaron
Against the world
Having destroyed the relationship between Israel and the American government, The Bibi has now moved on to do the same with
the governments of the world.
Nothing evidently is sacred to The Bibi, except for his staying in
office. That clearly comes before all else. If he has to needlessly scare the
Israeli public, foolishly offend leaders of other countries, wrongly allocate Israel’s budget not based on need but on placating his political allies, whatever it takes for him to stay prime minister, he will do it.
One of the things Israel has always been very wise about is the
diplomats it sends to represent it around the globe. Though Israel has
always been and continues to be inexplicably incapable of doing effective public relations, it has known that the people it sends to be its
ambassadors must be top quality, for they are the face of Israel in the
places they serve.
But that no longer seems to be the case under the reign of King
Bibi. Now, like with everything, it’s all about politics.
There is no other way to explain his decision to send the incredibly inappropriate Ron Dermer to be Israel’s ambassador to the
United States. Instead of winning friends and influencing people, as
Israel’s ambassador to this country is supposed to do, Dermer has managed to totally alienate the Obama administration and to offend a
whole lot of Democrats in Congress, has badly damaged the traditionally bi-partisan support Israel has always enjoyed.
Dermer was an insane choice from the beginning. His family includes several Republican office holders and he was a staunch Republican when he lived in this country. Nothing wrong with that, of
course, except for the fact that in case you didn’t notice, the current
American administration is headed by a Democratic president.
Why Israel would send a longtime Republican operative to be its
voice to a Democratic administration is very hard to figure. But The
Bibi doesn’t think logically. Dermer was a longtime political aide to
Bibi, a loyal member of his staff, and so that mattered more than anything, more than the fact that he has absolutely no diplomatic experience. And yet, he was sent to Israel’s most important diplomatic post.
His Republican background and his desire to put The Bibi above
all else, showed itself loudly and clearly when he did the unthinkable,
namely go behind the administration’s back and cut a deal with the Republican speaker of the House to have The Bibi address Congress and
tear into Obama’s Iran deal. Not only did Dermer arrange the speech
without consulting the administration, a major breach of protocol, but
he didn’t even give it a heads up before it was publicly announced.
Then to make matters even worse, Dermer actually met with Republican members of Congress to lobby them to vote against the Iran
deal. Dermer seems to have forgotten he is no longer a Republican operative but the representative of a foreign country, and so sticking his
nose in American domestic politics is not the way to go. Especially not
the way to go is lobbying the Congress to oppose the president.
But alienating Israel’s most important friend is not enough for The
Bibi. He’s just made some other diplomatic appointments that can
only leave you scratching your head and wiping away your tears.
As ambassador to Brazil, the seventh largest economy in the
world, he is sending one Dani Dayan, who for many years served as
head of the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea and Samaria,
making him the top settler. He was a member of the Jewish Home
party which opposes a Palestinian state.
You know, right before the Israeli election a few months ago, The
Bibi, eager to win over the most extreme right-wing voters, said there
would not be a Palestinian state as long as he was prime minister. Even
though he had pledged years ago and reiterated many times since that
he was committed to a two-state solution. Once he won the election,
of course, he said, oh yes I’m for that two-state thing after all.
But we see he is not. His appointment of Dayan shows that. And
then there is his choice to be the next ambassador to Great Britain,
a permanent member of the Security Council. Israel’s most recent ambassador there, Daniel Taub not only was himself British-born, but
upon leaving his post, Prime Minister David Cameron showered
praise on him.
So who did The Bibi choose to replace him? Another political
hack. Like with Dermer, The Bibi is sending someone who’s been on
his staff for years, has been his spokesman. Someone, I can tell you from
talking to a number of Israel-based reporters, who has managed to alienate many journalists with his arrogant manner and condescending tone.
And now he’s going to be Israel’s voice in very polite England.
SEE BY JOSEPH
AARON
ON
PAG E 1 3
15
Katrina
CONTINUED
F RO M PAG E
2
study on Saturday mornings.
With the church occupied on
Sunday, Hebrew school classes
occupied the offices of a company that sold housecleaning
products. The congregation grew
closer. It was an environment,
said Lori Beth Susman, a magazine editor who moved to Gulfport from Las Vegas two decades
ago, where everyone knew everyone.
When it came time for the
community to address its own
damage, there was less unanimity than before. Many felt it
Sanders
CONTINUED
F RO M PAG E
3
ties? The answer is yes, and that
is terribly, terribly wrong,”
Sanders said.
“On the other hand – and
there is another hand – you have
a situation where Hamas is sending missiles into Israel – a fact –
and you know where some of
those missiles are coming from.
They’re coming from populated
areas; that’s a fact. Hamas is using
money that came into Gaza for
construction purposes – and G-d
knows they need roads and all
the things that they need – and
made the most sense to build a
new synagogue far from the
coast. Several elderly congregants insisted that Beth Israel
renovate the old site, even
though it was in a recognized
flood zone and construction
would cost more than the community’s $1.2 million budget.
“There were a lot of people
who felt that this was the home
of the Jewish community, and it
was an area that we didn’t want
to leave,” said Kessie, a Chicago
native who moved here in 1988.
In the end, the congregation
decided to plant new roots in
Gulfport, about 15 miles from
the old Biloxi site, on land donated by the Goldins, a prominent Jewish family in the area. It
opened in May 2009.
Behind a wide lawn, on a
leafy street lined with churches,
the pillared synagogue looks
more like a stately suburban
home than a place of worship.
Accouterments from the old
building – the Shabbat lamp and
the memorial plaques in the
front foyer – can be found
throughout. There are two classrooms for Hebrew school students, ages 4 to 13, and a
pergola-covered patio abuts a
kosher kitchen.
Only 45 or so dues-paying
families make up the current
congregation, and 10 students
are signed up for Hebrew school
in the fall. While Beth Israel’s
membership has declined about
30 percent since Katrina, and lay
leaders conduct the weekly serv-
ices – the synagogue has never
had a full-time rabbi – there is
little worry that Jewish life on
Mississippi’s Gulf Coast will
begin to fade.
Hall, who opened the Chabad center in Gulfport last year,
hopes he can help. He said 30
people attended an event he organized for the Shavuot holiday
earlier this year, and he studies
with 12 or so people on a weekly
basis. Chabad’s goal, Hall said, is
to complement Beth Israel, not
to compete with it.
“As a rule, we do not schedule conflicting events or publicize Friday night services in
deference to Beth Israel,” the
rabbi said. “There are not
enough Jewish people here for
two communities. We have this
in mind whatever we do. We are
interested in serving the greater
Jewish community, not creating
our own.”
More than anything, the
new synagogue represents permanence for Beth Israel. And the
residential design, Susman said,
is affirmation that Beth Israel,
however small, is “one big family.”
In fact, the groundbreaking
ceremony in October 2008 reminded some of a family reunion. Dressed in suits and
dresses, congregants took turns
signing chunks of the synagogue’s
cinderblock foundation.
“Those signed stones,”
Kessie said, “are something we
hope and pray we never see
again.”
used some of that money to build
these very sophisticated tunnels
into Israel for military purposes.”
Hecklers interrupted, some
shouting epithets.
“Excuse me, shut up, you
don’t have the microphone,”
Sanders said. “You asked the
question, I’m answering it. This
is called democracy. I am answering a question and I do not want
to be disturbed.”
His critical but supportive
posture on Israel has been consistent and has included using
assistance as leverage.
As mayor of Burlington,
Vermont, in 1988, Sanders was
asked if he backed then-candidate for president Jesse Jackson’s
support for the Palestinians dur-
ing the first intifada. Sanders excoriated what he depicted as Israeli brutality as well as Arab
extremism.
“What is going on in the
Middle East right now is obviously a tragedy, there’s no question about it. The sight of Israeli
soldiers breaking the arms and
legs of Arabs is reprehensible.
The idea of Israel closing
down towns and sealing them off
is unacceptable,” he said at a
news conference, according to
video unearthed by Alternet
writer Zaid Jilani. “You have had
a crisis there for 30 years, you
have had people at war for 30
years, you have a situation with
some Arab countries where there
are still some Arab leadership
calling for the destruction of the
State of Israel and the murder of
Israeli citizens.”
Sanders said the United
States should exercise the prerogative it has as an economic
power.
“We are pouring billions of
dollars in arms into Arab countries. We have the clout to demand they and Israel, who we’re
also heavily financing, to begin
to sit down and work out a sensible solution to the problem
which would guarantee the existence of the State of Israel and
which would also protect Palestinian rights,” he said.
He doesn’t think the Iran
nuclear deal is perfect, but he
backs it.
“It’s so easy to be critical of
an agreement which is not perfect,” he told CBS News. “But
the United States has to negotiate with, you know, other countries. We have to negotiate with
Iran. And the alternative of not
reaching an agreement, you
know what it is? It’s war. Do we
really want another war, a war
with Iran? An asymmetrical warfare that will take place all over
this world, threatening American troops? So I think we go as
far as we possibly can in trying to
give peace a chance, if you like.
Trying to see if this agreement
will work. And I will support it.”
OCTOBER 1
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Eight Chicago Jews leave home and family and head to serve in the

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