Sept - Jewish Federation of Tulsa

Elul / Tishrei 5774
September 2014
Mizel Students Reach Out to Israel / Elul, You, and Your Car
High Holiday Greetings
CONTENTS
“WHY HER
FUTURE
september 2014 • elul / tishrei 5774
volum e 85 • num ber 9
5
LO O K S S O
6
R O S I E .”
Rosie came to Holland Hall in 3rd
grade from the International School of
Brussels, Belgium. Her parents chose
Holland Hall because it most closely
resembled her international school,
with its small class sizes and exposure
to varied learning opportunities.
18
21
22
An avid writer, Rosie recently interned
at This Land Press, and was excited to
find her writing on par with that of
college interns.
“I feel like a Holland Hall education
really pays off in the long run,” Rosie
said. “The payoff might be a college
scholarship, or simply finding your
passion. Either way, the skills you learn
here will take you so far.”
– Rosie L.,
Holland Hall Senior
4From the Editor by Melissa Schnur
5Leon Botstein to Deliver Frank Memorial Lecture
5
Gabi Torianyk: In His Own Words by David Bernstein
6From Generation to Generation by Suzie Bogle
Start your future today. Contact Olivia
Martin, Director of Admission, at
(918) 481-1111.
9Mizel Students Reach Out to Israel by Lillian Hellman
10100 Women of Moxie
12September Community Events
14Israel Making Positive Strides on the Information Front by Alexa Laz and Dmitriy Shapiro
17Kids Korner: The Greatest Challenge by Eliyahu Krigel
18It Started in Sighet by Louis Davidson
21Elul, You, and Your Car by Rabbi Charles P. Sherman
22Return Again by Co-Rabbis Karen and Micah Citrin
22Mazels
www.hollandhall.org
2 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
24High Holiday Greetings
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
3 Gabi Torianyk:
In His Own Words
From the Editor
by David Bernstein
Founded in 1930 by Tulsa Section,
National Council of Jewish Women
(ISSN# 2154-0209)
Tulsa Jewish Review
(USPS 016-928) is published monthly by
jewish federation of tulsa
2021 E. 71st St., Tulsa, OK 74136.
Periodicals postage paid at Tulsa, OK.
STAFF
EXECUTI VE DIRECTOR
Drew Diamond
execdir@jewishtulsa.org | 918.495.1100
EDITOR
Melissa Schnur
editor@jewishtulsa.org | 918.495.1100
ADVERTI S I NG MA NAGE R
Mindy Prescott
mprescott@jewishtulsa.org
ADVERTI S I NG RE P RESE NTATIVES
Lee Hubby
This September brings with it the month
of Elul and the time in the Jewish calendar
for teshuvah or return. It’s a time to make
restitution and to begin the return to our
true selves in preparation for the High
Holy Days. The month of Elul is always a reflective time for me. My beloved
father passed away ten years ago during this time, so it is always a somewhat
melancholy time for me. Since his death, I always spend my father’s yartzheit
at the synagogue saying kaddish. Often times when I attend the weekly minyan
to say kaddish, it is the first time in a long-time, sometimes even months, that I
have attended a service. It sparks in me renewed introspection with its themes
of the greatness of G-d. It sparks in me the desire to return to what I know
is right, to return to goodness. Some years my process of teshuvah is more
concentrated than others—asking formal forgiveness for those I remember
wronging, saying simply, “I’m sorry.” Other years, it is more of an internal,
intellectual process where I wage a battle within myself to seek forgiveness
by doing better or to forgive someone who has hurt me even if the apology
has never come. But one thing I do know for sure is that when the Days of
Awe come again this year, is that I will find peace, holiness and comfort in our
wonderful Tulsa Jewish community.
L’Shanah Tovah,
Melissa
leehubby@cox.net
Marcia Weinstein
metmama@cox.net
BOARD
P R ES I DENT, J EWI S H FE DE RATION OF TU LSA
Dr. Myron Katz
A RT
MAG AZI NE D ESIGN BY
Bhadri Verduzco, Verduzco Design
bhadriv@gmail.com | verduzcodesign.com
Postmaster: Send address changes to
Tulsa Jewish Review, 2021 E. 71st St., Tulsa, OK 74136
4 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
D
security situation, a charter flight of Nefesh B’Nefesh
took off in late July for Israel with 228 North American Olim (new
immigrants), including 29 families and a remarkable 100 children (39
girls and 61 boys). The flight was facilitated in cooperation with Israel’s
Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, The Jewish Agency for Israel and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and JNF-USA. Among the Olim making Aliyah (moving to Israel) is
Gabriel Torianyk from Tulsa, OK. He is a Lone Soldier, which means he is moving
to Israel to join the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and will serve in the unit Golani.
The talk of the town has been Gabriel (Gabi) Torianyk’s decision to move to
Israel after his recent graduation from Jenks High School in order to join the Israel
Defense Forces. Although Gabi was actually born in Montreal, Canada, he moved
to Tulsa with his parents and two sisters in 2002. Gabi has never lived in Israel, but
his mother’s family lives there and over the years he would visit and stay with his
grandmother for short periods of time. But Gabi said that his deep involvement
with BBYO, and especially his attending the “March of the Living” in 2012 had a
lasting influence on him.
espite the tense
Gilcrease Elementary Thanks You
Nearly 40 students at Gilcrease Elementary School are heading
back to class with much needed clothing, shoes, and toiletries,
thanks to a combined effort by the Jewish Federation of Tulsa
and Covenant Family Church. Easing the strain on these children
and their families, many of whom are unable to provide these
essentials, helps clear the way for the kids to be able to focus on
learning and be on a path to future success. Thank you to all who
participated in our back-to-school drive by donating items or
funding the purchase of supplies. You have helped give the gift of
self-confidence and a sense of security to Tulsa children in need.
Thank you for your support!
Leon Botstein
to Deliver
Frank
Memorial
Lecture
L
of
Bard College, will deliver the sixth
annual Irvin and Sharna Frank
Memorial Lecture in Judaism and
Contemporary Issues. Botstein’s lecture
is entitled “Beyond the Fiddler on the
Roof: The European Jewish Experience
before 1933 and Contemporary European
Anti-Semitism.” The lecture will take place
in the Sylvan Auditorium of the Charles
Schusterman JCC at 7:30 p.m. on Sun.,
Sept. 7, and will be followed by a reception.
Botstein became the youngest college
president in U.S. history at age 23, serving
from 1970 to 1975 at the now-defunct
Franconia College, after which he was
named president of Bard College. He
currently serves as the music director
and principal conductor of the American
Symphony Orchestra and the Jerusalem
Symphony Orchestra. A leading advocate of progressive education, he is the
author of Jefferson’s Children: Education
and the Promise of American Culture and
Judentum und Modernität (Judaism and
Modernity), and has published widely on
music, education, history, and culture.
The Sharna and Irvin Frank Memorial
Lecture honors Irv and Sharna’s creative
vision and foresight by providing a forum
for the serious exploration of Judaism
and contemporary issues. The lecture is
hosted by the Jewish Federation of Tulsa.
For more information about the lecture,
please call Debbie at 918.495.1100 or
e-mail federation@jewishtulsa.org. ■
eon botstein , president
Gabriel Torianyk at JFK airport
Photo: Shahar Azran
Gabi related: “The week in Poland visiting the concentration camps and the
various work and death camps was moving, as well as very sad. But then after a
week in Poland, my getting on the plane to go from Poland to Israel for the second
week, it felt like it was my first time in Israel again. I couldn’t sleep on the plane,
and I got goose bumps when I landed, especially since it was around Independence
Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut,). When we first landed, I mean, it was like being in Israel
for the first time, that’s when I felt a major strong connection.”
Gabi continued, “I mean the trip was tough to go through. In Israel there was
one day, it was on Memorial Day, when they took us on a ceremony at an old tank
base which they turned into a memorial. They had like a slideshow and a presentation for all the soldiers who came and fought for Israel. I mean, that’s when the
connection really hit me...that’s when I really just felt like this was my home pretty
much. I felt more connectedto Israel than I had.” ■
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
5 As we walked slowly
through the darkness,
the names, ages and
nationalities of 1.5
million Jewish children
were slowly read aloud
... it struck me that if not
for a set of very unlikely
circumstances, Eva
would not be standing
there in front of me.
Instead, her name would
be one of those read
aloud in that space.
The author and Eva.
From Generation
to Generation
by Suzie Bogle, Director
of Holocaust Education
I
recently had the privilege of traveling to Israel with Eva Unterman to
attend the 9th Annual Conference on
Holocaust Education at Yad Vashem.
Among the 400 delegates from 50 different countries were Eva’s son Steve, his
wife Ellen, and their daughters Sophie
and Phoebe. The conference topic was,
“Through Our Own Lens: Reflecting on
the Holocaust from Generation to Generation” and sessions were led by big names
in Holocaust studies, such as Daniel Goldhagen, Yehuda Bauer, Serge Klarsfeld, and
Alexandra Zapruder. Each gave inspiring
presentations, and I was particularly
moved to hear Justice Gabriel Bach, one
of the three principal prosecutors of Adolf
Eichmann, speak about what it meant to
gather evidence for the prosecution and
to hear the verdict read in an Israeli courtroom. By far the most compelling aspect
of the trip, however, was being at Yad
Vashem with Eva.
6 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
As far as Holocaust survivors go, Eva
is an anomaly. She has vivid memories of
the Łódź Ghetto, three different concentration camps, forced labor, the bombing
of Dresden, a death march and life after
liberation. Yet unlike most people with
such memories, she is comparatively
young in age and extremely young at heart.
In Israel she made friends on the bus, at
lunch, in taxis, and in the hotel elevator.
By the second day of the conference
word had spread that she and her family
would be leading a workshop, and that
Phoebe had written a book about Eva’s
experience in the Shoah (Through Eva’s
Eyes, 2009). Teachers and students from
Australia, Switzerland and Sweden ditched
the workshops they had signed up for so
that they could come to the Untermans’
presentation.
They were not disappointed. The workshop title was “A Family Dialogue” and
the mood was upbeat as Steve, Sophie
and Phoebe shared stories of a trip they
took with Eva to Poland, Germany and
the Czech Republic in 2011. Sitting in the
front row were two very attentive ladies
that were ostensibly older than Eva. Both
were also child survivors who had eventually made aliyah. Their experiences as
hidden children were very different from
Eva’s, yet they were drawn together by an
unspoken bond. It was like a reunion of
people who knew each other in a different
life. After the workshop the three women
were reluctant to part. Eva often talks
about “connections” and the connection
between these three women was tangible.
Earlier that afternoon, Eva, her family
and I had visited the Children’s Memorial at Yad Vashem. As we walked slowly
through the darkness, the names, ages and
nationalities of 1.5 million Jewish children
were slowly read aloud. I was a little ahead
of Eva in the memorial, and as I looked
Bob McCormac places a
stone painted by Eva on
Grandma Wolman’s grave.
back at her in the darkness, it struck me
that if not for a set of very unlikely circumstances, Eva would not be standing there
in front of me. Instead, her name would
be one of those read aloud in that space.
Ellen and I would certainly have no reason
to be in Israel, and there would simply
be no Steve, no Sophie, no Phoebe, and
no Michelle or Jacob (Eva’s daughter and
grandson). We tend to want to record life’s
significant moments by taking a picture,
but in the darkness, when photography
would have been both inappropriate and
impractical; I tried to sear the image of
Eva into my memory so as not to lose it
with time. I hope I can always recall what
it felt like to be in that space with Eva and
her family, and to contemplate the families
that never were, because so many children
never grew up.
While we were in Israel, another
chapter in Eva’s story was being written
in Poland. A group of teachers from
the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance
Teachers’ Program were visiting the Jewish
cemetery in Łódź, where Eva’s paternal
grandmother, who died in the Ghetto, is
buried. In this group was Bob McCormac
from Metro Christian Academy, a veteran
teacher of the Shoah. He had with him a
small stone, decorated by Eva, and a map
of the cemetery showing the location of
Grandma Wolman’s grave. A few years ago,
while on her trip with Steve, Sophie and
Phoebe, Eva had arranged for a headstone
to be placed there, but she had never seen
it. Until last week, that is. Bob not only
placed the stone, but also said Kaddish
for Grandma Wolman and had a fellow
teacher record it on video for Eva. As we
watched the video, I was struck by the
unlikely ways in which a Polish grandmother and a teacher from Tulsa are
connected.
The purpose of the conference was how
to responsibly pass the torch from the
survivor generation to the future custodians of their history. Before we went to
the conference I had naively thought that
the Holocaust began with Eva’s generation. They were, after all, the youngest to
experience it first-hand. What I realized
while I was in Israel and afterwards is that
the Shoah does not start with Eva’s generation. It starts with Grandma Wolman’s
generation. Eva is not only a grandmother
passing the torch to her grandchildren;
she is a granddaughter who received that
torch from her own grandmother. Across
five generations, three continents, and
seven decades, a family and a network of
teachers are carefully making sure that it
burns brightly for those that will come
after us. ■
At Magen David Adom,
saving lives is what we do.
Whether the emergency is a rocket attack or a heart attack, the
paramedics of Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical
response and blood-banking agency, save lives in Israel every day.
As we enter the new year hoping for peace, we must continue to
prepare for routine and terror-related emergencies, replenishing
supplies depleted during Operation Protective Edge. If you’re looking
to make a difference for Israel and secure the nation’s health and
safety for the coming year, there’s no better way than through a gift
to MDA. Please give today. Shanah Tovah.
AFMDA Midwest Region
3175 Commercial Avenue, Suite 101
Northbrook, IL 60062
Toll-Free: 888.674.4871 • midwest@afmda.org
www.afmda.org
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
7 Mizel Students Reach
Out to Israel
n sunday august 10, at
our annual “Back to School
Party,” the students of Mizel
Jewish Community Day
School, along with their parents’ help,
participated in a special art program at
The other night I was watching a news
program that featured an interview with
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Muslim woman from
Somalia, who bravely articulated the
extreme differences of values held by
Hamas and Israel. Hamas reveres death,
placing their missiles in schools and
hospitals; using its citizens as human
shields for their weapons. Israel holds
the exact opposite viewpoint. In an
we found it and becoming generous and
caring human beings.
When I was a young girl, I distinctly
remember that when my parents lost a
friend or relative, they made certain that
my sister and I did not attend the funeral
or graveside service. In addition, we
were never allowed to attend the Yizkor
(memorial) service during Yom Kippur,
again with the goal to shield us from
death and instead, celebrate life.
This year, our theme for our all-school
unit on Jewish Values, will be “A Year
of Compassion.” The values taught will
encourage respect and empathy for
one another, the earth, animals and
The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish
Art. Planned by museum Education Coordinator Tracey Herst-Woods in the
new Sharna Newman Frank Education
Gallery donated by Lori Frank, parents
and children together created postcards
of hope to be sent to Israeli soldiers. This
small gesture was our way of telling these
brave men and women, that we are
thinking of them in this time of trouble
and to teach our children that we love
Israel and want all the Israeli soldiers
to understand that we honor their service, their commitment to their country,
but most of all we honor and cherish
their lives.
effort to diminish civilian casualties
and save lives, Israel takes great pains
to warn Gazans of incoming bombs. She
understood the consequences of these
two juxtaposed values and concluded
that the civilized nations of the world
must stand with Israel.
This made me think about the Jewish
values that we teach at Mizel and how
we encourage and often demand an
emphasis on life and all the facets that
living a full life encompasses. We do not
dwell upon death or expect our children
to comprehend the consequences of loss.
Instead we encourage giving back to the
world, leaving it a better place than when
more, and always with an emphasis on
improving and elevating life.
Therefore, I am hoping that the simple
activity of writing to Israeli soldiers will
allow our students and parents to learn
a valuable lesson, the lesson that we all
learned growing up. That life is be cherished, it should be directed to helping
our fellow man and we must focus our
efforts and intelligence on areas that will
improve all mankind. We will continue
to teach our children the opposite of
what Hamas teaches their children, and
instill the values and traditions of our
people that have been accepted and time
honored by all of civilization. ■
by Lillian Hellman, Executive
Director
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JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
9 100 Women of Moxie
T
o celebrate its 100th birthday, long-time champion of social justice, YWCA Tulsa is celebrating “100
Women of Moxie.” Originally a Yiddish term, “moxie” is
defined as courage, daring, spirit, strength, initiative—a
quality not in short supply among Tulsa’s Jewish women who
strive to make a difference in their community. As you can see
in the list below, the Tulsa Jewish community is well represented
among the honorees.
Since 1914, the YWCA has been a trailblazer for inclusion and empowerment. Members of our Jewish community
have worked alongside, hand in hand with gutsy women of all
faiths and backgrounds, united in a common goal of equality.
The list of honorees was published in the Tulsa World in
July, and a special event to recognize those honored is scheduled for December 2, to be hosted by the YWCA and civic
leader Sharon King Davis.
More than 200 women were nominated. The final selections were made by an independent committee of community
members, honoring extraordinary women from different eras
who share the core values of the YWCA.
Caroline Abbott
Alison Anthony
Dr. Laura Arrowsmith
Pat Bailey
Lena Bennett
Betty Boyd
Jo Bright
Yolanda Charney
Jane Heard Clinton
Felicia Collins Correia
Opal Dargan
Sharon King Davis
Nancy Day
Julie DelCour
Lo Detrich
Dorothy DeWitty
Sharon Doty
Norma Eagleton
Rachel Caroline Eaton
Susan Ellerbach
Nancy Feldman
Mollie Parker Franklin
Linda Frazier
Sharon Gallagher
Eddie Faye Gates
Helen Gates
Inez Kinney Gaylord
Regina Goodwin
Shan Goshorn
Risha Grant
Pearl Stewart Graves
Pocahontas Greadington
Ruth Hardman
10 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
Joy Harjo
Susan Harris
Peggy Helmerich
Clydella Hentschel
Eleanor Hill
Mary Ann Hille
Fern Holland
Maxine Cissel Horner
Kasey Hughart
Lynn Jones
Judy Kishner
Missy Kruse
Gail Lapidus
Moscelyne Larkin
Roberta Campbell Lawson
Lilia Lee
Hazel Leitch
Lilah Denton Lindsey
Mabel Little
Georgia Hayden Lloyd Jones
Frances Lockwood
Jane Malone
Paula Marshall
Rep. Jeannie McDaniel
Nancy McDonald
Dr. Dannette McIntosh
Judy Eason McIntyre
Dale McNamara
Madeline Manning Mims
Ruth Nelson
Lillian Norberg
Dr. Cecilia Palmer
Dr. Jocelyn Payne
Fall Semester
Oct. 27 - Dec. 8
All classes will be held
Monday nights at
Congregation B’nai Emunah ~
1719 S Owasso
Co-sponsored by: Congregation B’nai
Emunah, Temple Israel and the Charles
Schusterman Jewish Community Center
Lynn Schusterman
Members of our Jewish community
have worked alongside, hand in
hand with gutsy women of all faiths
and backgrounds, united in a
common goal of equality.
Whitney Pearson
Janet Pearson
Dr. Wennette Pegues
Mona Pittenger
Edna Pyle
Dixie Reppe
Mable Rice
Gail Richards
Anna Roth
Sharon Saied
Amy Santee
Dr. Barbara Santee
M. Susan Savage
Lynn Schusterman
Claudette Selph
Deborah Shallcross
Heera Sheikh
Sheryl Siddiqui
Carmelita Skeeter
Jill Zink Tarbel
Kathy Taylor
Margarita Vega Trevino
Mother Grace Tucker
Eva Unterman
Maybelle Wallace
Suzanne Warren
Kathleen Patton Westby
Carlisha Williams
Mollie Wiliford
Patti Johnson Wilson
Emily Wood
Anne Zarrow
Maxine Zarrow
Janet Zink
Kick off the fall institute on
Mon., Oct. 20 by joining us at
Circle Cinema for the 1st Annual
Oklahoma Jewish Film Festival.
Institute Students will receive
1/2 off the Monday film.
sbovasso@mcgrawok.com
918.605.2995
4105 S Rockford Ave
Tulsa, OK 74105
(918)592-6000
fax (918)398-5396
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JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
11 S E P T E M B E R CO M M U N I T Y E V E N T S
Jewish Federation of Tulsa
Men’s Club • Wed., Sept. 10 • Noon • A
delicious lunch will be followed by our guest
speaker, Eliyahu Krigel, Director of Education,
Congregation B’nai Emunah. Eliyahu’s topic will
be Ayeka, the first question asked of Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden, “Where are you?” and
is based on the text called Soulful Education by
Rabbi Aryeh ben Davidwhom, whom Eliyahu
recently studied with in Israel. To learn more
about Ayeka, visit www.ayeka.org.il. Cost of the
luncheon is $7. RSVP to Falisha at 918.495.1100 or
mprescott@jewishtulsa.org by noon on Sept. 9.
Ladies Who Lunch • Mon., Sept. 15 • Noon • Come enjoy pleasant conversation and
great food at Olive Garden, 1954 Utica Square.
Each person pays her own check. Please RSVP to
Mindy at 918.935.3662 or mprescott@jewishtulsa.
org no later than Fri., Sept. 12.
The Sherwin Miller Museum
of Jewish Art
Exhibit: Theodore Fried—Pivotal Moments
in 20th Century Art • Now–Sept. 7 • Theodore Fried's career intersected with the major
movements in modern art during the 20th century.
From 1920s Paris to post-WWII New York, Fried
was a member of the School of Paris and the
Society of Modern Painters and Sculptors in New
York. After his safe arrival in New York in 1942, he
explored subject matter in the city such as Central
Park and neighborhood life. Fried's modern
paintings, garnered recognition of his figurative
works and color compositions. Following his
death, he appointed a trust to perpetuate his
work, and in 2005, the SMMJA received his estate.
Now mounting the first extensive retrospective
of his work, this original, self-curated show
demonstrates how Fried’s work and life bridged
the Holocaust experience and encompassed early
to mid-20th century fine art, drawing from the
large collection of original art work and other
archival material.
Congregation B’nai Emunah
Sisterhood: Farm to Table Dinner • Thurs., Sept. 4 • 7 p.m. • How about a sixcourse dinner? Join the Sisterhood for a delicious,
organic vegetarian dinner at the Living Kitchen
Farm in Depew, OK. A well-known destination
for the local-food conscious crowd, the farm is
just a 45-minute drive from Tulsa. The program is
chaired by Dr. Sara-Anne Henning Shumann.
Shabbat for Everyone • Fri., Sept. 12 • 6:15
p.m. Dinner • 7 p.m. Service • From Israel to
Colorado to Camp Sabra, we spread far and wide
to connect to amazing informal Jewish education
opportunities. Join us for a special evening
welcoming home all of our kids from their
summer adventures. Enjoy dinner and a rockin'
good time! A joyful and lively musical service led
by Klei Kodesh, the Synagogue’s musical group,
will lift your spirits and send you singing into a
restful weekend. No reservation is needed for the
service, but contact 918.935.3373 or reservations@
bnaiemunah.com by Wed., Sept. 10 to guarantee
your place at the dinner table.
12 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
Smart Conversations from the 92|Y –
Opening Night: Ian McEwan • Mon.,
Sept. 15 • 7 p.m. • In his new novel, The Children
Act, Ian McEwan examines the intersection
of faith, family and law through the story of
a judge overseeing a difficult case involving
parents who refuse treatment for their sick child.
Smart Conversations 2014 features dynamic
and visionary thinkers, newsmakers, and
entertainers in live conversation via satellite from
Manhattan. Tickets for the single lecture cost
$10. Students are admitted free of charge. Coffee,
treats, and conversation precede and follow each
performance. To purchase tickets or for more
information, call the Synagogue at 918.935.3373
or email reservations@bnaiemunah.com.
BiBi-DiBi:Babies+Blessings+Dinner+
Bedtime • Fri., Sept. 19 • 6 p.m. • Singing,
dancing, games, and fun abound at this month’s
edition of Bibi-DiBi. It’s a special time each month
for a community of babies and their parents to
gather and celebrate Shabbat in a safe, welcoming
and friendly environment. Fitzerman and Kaiman
Catering Co. will prepare a delicious kid-friendly
meal. Contact 918.935.3373 or reservations@
bnaiemunah.com by Sept. 18, to reserve your spot
on the floor.
Selichot and New Member Welcome • Sat., Sept. 20 • 7 p.m. • Selichot Services are the
traditional prelude to the High Holidays. Coming
a week before Rosh Ha-Shanah, Selichot is part
of the season of turning, a transition which calls
for focus and readiness. The evening begins
with a final Shabbat meal which serves as the
congregation’s official welcome to all who have
affiliated in the previous calendar year. Following,
is a joyful Selichot program designed to slowly
begin the transition into the Selichot service. The
evening will conclude with an hour-long service
which introduces the motifs of the High Holidays
and setting the musical mood of the liturgy.
It is punctuated by the blowing of the shofar
by a large group of volunteer shofar blowers.
Reservations for this meal may be made by calling
the Synagogue at 918.935.3373 or emailing
reservations@bnaiemunah.com.
High Holiday Celebration • Beginning
Wed., Sept. 24 • 6 p.m. • The Synagogue will run
a full range of services for the holidays beginning
with a short, beautiful service on the eve of
Rosh Ha-Shanah, Sept. 24. Services continue the
following two days at 9 a.m. and resume on the
eve of Yom Kippur. A full schedule is available
at the Synagogue website: www.tulsagogue.com.
There are no charges of any kind, and all are
welcome to join in song, learning, and celebration.
Smart Conversations from the 92|Y –
The Glass Cage: Nicholas Carr and Tim
Wu • Tues., Sept. 30 • 7:15 p.m. • What kind
of world are we building for ourselves? That’s the
question bestselling author Nicholas Carr tackles
in his urgent new book, The Glass Cage, about
the human consequences of automation. Join
Carr as he discusses this increasingly crucial topic
with public advocate and Columbia Law School
professor Tim Wu, who developed the highlyinfluential Net Neutrality theory. Tickets for the
single lecture cost $10. Students are admitted free
of charge. Coffee, treats, and conversation precede
and follow each performance. To purchase tickets
or for more info., contact the Synagogue at
918.935.3373 or reservations@bnaiemunah.com.
Temple Israel
TGIS (Thank God It’s Shabbat!) • Fri.,
Sept. 5 • 6 p.m. • Welcome Shabbat with joyful
prayer and warm community. Come at 5:30 for
savory pre-Oneg treats, join in a participatory
musical service for all ages, followed by a catered
Shabbat dinner (contact the Temple office to
RSVP).
Women’s Torah Study Resumes • Wed.,
Sept. 10 • Noon • Bring your lunch and The
Women’s Torah Commentary (if you have a copy),
as we resume our study with a special focus on
biblical women. All are welcome.
Outdoor Picnic Shabbat • Fri., Sept. 12 •
6:30 p.m. • Bring your own picnic dinner or
contact the Temple office to be included in pizza/
salad at 5:45 p.m. Followed by a warm and lively
Shabbat Service. Outdoors weather permitting.
ShalomFest • Sun., Sept. 14 • 11:30 a.m.–
5 p.m. • Come join in Temple Israel’s celebration
of Jewish food, music, arts, culture and more!
In its 21st year, and under the leadership of
Co-Chairs Lori Lieb-Rosas and Dianne Selco,
ShalomFest 2014 is sure to be a fun afternoon for
the whole family. For the entertainment schedule,
food and bakery menus, and schedule of the day’s
happenings, please visit www.ShalomFest.com
or contact the Temple office. We hope to see you
there! Email Lynn Goldberg goldbergs4@cox.net
to volunteer.
ENTS:
CHAMBER MUSIC TULSA PRES
LYsander PiAno Trio
“ . . . a trio with brio . . . ” - N E W YO R K DA I LY N E WS
Sunday
September 21, 2014
3:00 p.m.
(2:15 p.m. pre-concert lecture)
Williams Theatre, Tulsa PAC
Formed at Juilliard, this trio of
Israeli and Eastern European
musicians plays Shostakovich
and Tchaikovsky
or
TiCkeTs: 918.596.7111
chambermusictulsa.org
Butterflies
Honoring Donors
to the Tulsa Jewish
Retirement &
Health Center
GENERAL FUND
FROM
Gerry & David Bernstein
Alice Blue & Rabbi Marc Fitzerman
Joan & Curtis Green
Frieda Grossbard
Marsha Hampton
Phyllis Lustgarten
Susan Morgan & Robert Smith
Barbara Rambach & Sam Brenner
WELLNESS FUND
Howard Alexander
35TH WEDDING ANNIVERARY
Janis & David Finer
SPEEDY RECOVERY
Francis Kessler
Chuck Walton
IN MEMORY
Morris Glazer
Shelley Katz
IN HONOR
Randy Cogburn
Tot Shabbat • Sat., Sept. 20 • 9 a.m. • A
short, spirited service specially geared for infants
through young elementary school-age children
and their families. Wake up with songs, stories,
and celebrating Shabbat together. Followed by a
Shabbat snack, good coffee, and a craft activity.
Meet, Greet, and Eat: Young Kehillah’s
Pre-Selichot Dinner • Sat., Sept. 20 • 6 p.m. •
Te Kei’s • You are welcome to join the Temple’s
Young Kehillah for our annual Pre-Selichot
tradition. We’ll enjoy good food and friends,
then we’ll head over to Temple for a beautiful
Havdallah and Selichot service and dessert.
Babysitting is available. RSVP to Rabbi Micah at
rabbimicah@templetulsa.com or call 918.747.1309.
Tashlich • Sun., Sept. 28 • 11 a.m. • River
West Festival Park • Tashlich, meaning “to cast
away” in Hebrew, is a ceremony in which we rid
ourselves of the wrong doings we committed
during the previous year. We will meet by
flowing water to cast bread crumbs, our symbolic
transgressions, into the stream as we think about
how we can act differently in the coming year. All
are welcome! Go to www.templetulsa.com or call
the Temple office for the full schedule of High
Holy Day Services.
Save the Date! Dan Nichols at Temple • Fri., Oct. 10 & Sat., Oct. 11 • Nationally
acclaimed Jewish musician Dan Nichols will
lead us in moving and uplifting Shabbat worship
and share his amazing musical gifts with our
community. Not to be missed!
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
13 An Israeli hasbara (public
diplomacy) graphic for the
current conflict in Gaza. Credit:
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Israel Making Positive
Strides on the
Information Front
by Alexa Laz and Dmitriy
Shapiro, JNS.org/Washington
Jewish Week
I
s r a e l h as b e e n taking its licks
in the international arena since it
launched Operation Protective Edge
against Hamas in Gaza on July 8. But
criticism of the Jewish state was actually
worse during its last battle with Hamas in
2012 and the Second Lebanon War in the
summer of 2006, experts say.
One reason for this shift is the revelation of the cross-border tunnels Hamas
14 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
has built to infiltrate Israel, according to
Ilana Stein, spokesperson for the Israeli
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Built of
concrete at a great expense relative to
Gaza’s general state of poverty, the tunnels
reportedly contain not just weapons, but
also tranquilizers and handcuffs, presumably to subdue Israeli hostages.
“For years, our diplomats around the
world have been saying that Hamas is a
terrorist organization,” said Stein. “The
international community didn’t understand why we wouldn’t let Hamas bring in
cement to Gaza a few years ago. Now you
all know why. So that’s a success for us.”
Score one for Israeli “hasbara” or
public diplomacy. Despite its military
success against Hamas and Hezbollah in
Lebanon, Israel has never been able to win
the information war against its adversaries.
Now, Israel appears to have learned from
past hasbara mistakes and has improved
the way it delivers its message to the media
and the public, both in the United States
and internationally.
A Pew Research Center survey
published July 28 bears this out. Asked
if Israel’s response to Hamas is “proportional” a plurality of 35% of Americans
surveyed answered that Israel’s actions
were “about right.” An additional 15% said
that Israel is “not going far enough,” while
25% answered Israel has gone too far and
24% “don’t know.”
Another reason Israel’s hasbara (the
Hebrew word means information) has
improved is that Israel and pro-Israel
organizations have become more sophisticated with their messages and have
learned to share information in real time,
according to Omri Ceren of The Israel
Project, which disseminates information
Israel appears to have
learned from past
hasbara mistakes and
has improved the way
it delivers its message
to the media and the
public, both in the
United States and
internationally.
about Israel to reporters and policymakers
in Washington D.C.
“It has to be fast, it has to be accurate,
you have to put it in the hands of people
who can use it,” Ceren said.
In the past, Israel’s hasbara efforts have
been reactive, attempting to explain its
actions rather than promote its cause to
supporters who are looking to disseminate
the Israeli narrative and convince those
who are undecided about Israel’s various
conflicts with its neighbors.
Now, Israel’s official bodies, including
the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit and the Foreign Ministry,
have invested in professional design and
communications teams to improve on the
content from previous military engagements. No longer does the IDF respond
to critics in the media with long-winded
explanations about its missions. Rather, it
has been able to make its messages more
attractive with sleek graphics and simple,
direct slogans.
Those involved in hasbara say it is
important to provide media outlets with
accurate information proactively, rather
than criticize them. Still, reporting that
is biased against Israel abounds in mainstream media outlets in the U.S. and
internationally.
“It’s a very depressing, sobering time
to sit and watch the media if you’re an
Israel supporter,” said Ronn Torossian,
founder and chief executive officer of
New York-based 5W Public Relations. “I
think that this has certainly been a case
that no matter what Israel does, they’re
the bad guy.”
“Many in the world look at Israel as the
big bad guys and the Palestinians as the
innocents, and it’s very hard to counter
the narrative of, ‘Well, this many Palestinians were killed and this many Jews were
killed,’” Torossian added. “In a way the
world is saying, ‘Well, if the Iron Dome
[missile defense system] didn’t work and
100 Jews were killed each day, that would
be OK, then the war would be fair.’”
Although Torossian believes that
winning the PR battle is important in
modern warfare, he said that there may
not be much more Israel can do, and that
events on the ground should remain the
top priority.
“I saw Prime Minister Netanyahu, who
is a master of the media, saying that, ‘We
might lose the PR war and that’s OK, but
to lose the military war is not OK,’” said
Torossian.
The Jewish state is doing as well as it
can “in a terrible situation,” said Steven
Greenberg, owner of Israel-based SDG
Communications.
“It is a losing battle because we can’t
compete with dead children in Gaza
from a picture point of view. It makes it
look like a disproportionate conflict. The
more dead kids [media outlets] show, the
more damage they can do,” Greenberg said,
adding, “If Israel was my client, I wouldn’t
do [things] much differently.”
mr. and mrs. middle america
Greenberg stressed the importance
of “putting the conflict in the context of
people who need to understand it.”
“For Mr. and Mrs. Middle America it’s
about putting it in local terms,” for them
to understand if it was their neighborhood
or state having rockets launched at it all
day, he said.
Chief among Israel’s hasbara weapons,
according to Greenberg and Torossian, are
Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer,
and his predecessor, Michael Oren. Both
U.S.-born Israeli diplomats have gone on
the offensive to criticize bias against Israel
and are ubiquitous in the media, unlike
Israeli spokespeople in previous conflicts,
said Torossian and others.
“I think that Ron Dermer has done a
phenomenal job,” Torossian said. “I think
he’s been a great voice for Israel.”
Much of Israel’s new hasbara landscape
has its roots in 2012’s Operation Pillar
of Defense—one of the first conflicts in
which where traditional newspapers and
TV stations began losing influence to
Internet-based social media such as blogs,
Facebook, and Twitter.
In addition to official social media
units, a hasbara movement began to take
shape among Israel’s tech-savvy students,
who organized social media campaigns
on Israel’s behalf.
The Foreign Ministry’s Stein said the
Israeli government prefers that university students initiate the campaigns
because “anything a government writes
is mistrusted by people.”
“They say it’s the government so it must
not be how the people really feel. But when
you have university students writing, it’s
more personal, more true,” said Stein.
Since 2012, the reach and importance
of social media have grown, and so has
Israel’s corps of volunteer publicists, with
war room-style facilities being opened and
supported at many Israeli higher education institutions.
North of Tel Aviv, the teenagers of
Scouts for Peace created a PR war room
to get Israel’s message out to the world,
Greenberg said.
“They sit with their laptops 24/7 and
work with the IDF spokesperson to
disseminate information,” he said.
Ro Yeger, a student at Bar-Ilan University, sees a big difference this time around
from efforts she participated in during
Operation Pillar of Defense.
“I think that we have seen an improvement in the quality of materials being
produced,” said Yeger. “It may simply be
because the story just gets crazier as time
goes by but the hasbara has focused more
on personal stories, so people can relate,
which then ups the support for Israel’s
right to defend itself. I think people can
now picture what it really means to live
life under fire.”
The Israel Project’s Ceren explained
that when it comes to messaging, “You
have to ask yourself, what you are trying
to accomplish?”
“The number of people who get their
news from Twitter, is actually not very big,”
he said. “But, there’s nothing wrong with
occasionally preaching to the choir. It’s the
only way you’re going to get them to sing.” ■
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
15 Kids Korner:
The Greatest Challenge
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I
n genesis 4:8, one of the greatest
challenges of Torah presents itself
when Cain kills his brother Abel.
Do you sometimes have that Cain
voice within that emphasizes doubt over
faith or skepticism over trust? When we
listen with all of our senses by asking
Legend and lore tell us of a time when
Rabbi Hayyim of Zanz was a young man
just learning the ways of the tradition
when he met his own greatest challenge.
His goal in life was to get rid of evil from
this world. His experience was that evil
was his greatest challenge, and he thought
the question what journey are we all on,
we recognize we all are a work in progress. Rabbi Akiva in the Talmud says the
foundation of Torah is the ability to love
the stranger as ourselves, which can be
one of our greatest challenges that is referenced in Leviticus 19:34, ve’ahavta lo
chamocha. As the modern State of Israel
continues to courageously endure, being
commanded to love has the potential to
ignite resistance and discomfort in a very
challenging way. The Rambam (1135–
1204), Rabbi Mosheh ben Maimon, the
premiere Sephardic Jewish Sage from the
Middle Ages, speaks of getting to know
someone as the way to cross this bridge
distancing ourselves from others. You
have to know it. Rabbi Samson Raphael
Hirsch (1808–1888) from Germany says
the way to command this kind of love is
to train our minds to self-actualize the
best we can be by acting lovingly. Just do
it. The Safed Emet (1847–1905), Rabbi
Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter from Poland,
encourages us to let go of our internal
buttons that might be pressed and love
everyone. Simply love it.
if there was no evil in the world, then
peace and security would abound for
everyone. On his 30th birthday, he felt
his task was unfinished because he still
witnessed evil in the world. He knew he
was commanded to love his neighbor, but
he felt that was such a huge challenge to
overcome. He said to himself, “Maybe
I was too eager to solve all the world’s
problems. I will now concentrate only
on getting the evil out of my own province.” But when he turned 40 just ten
short years later, he looked around and
still saw evil and suffering in the world.
He saw people without enough food.
He witnessed people who didn’t have
proper shelter or clothing. He saw people
stealing from one another. Worst of all he
saw people who judged other people in
an unloving way. He then said, “I think
I was too ambitious. Now I will focus on
getting evil out of my own community
instead of thinking so broadly!” On his
50th birthday however, he looked up
and saw evil still resided even in his own
community. Then he thought, “I should
just focus on my own family.” But when
his family moved away when his children grew older, he found failure in that
endeavor as well. Finally, after years of
determination and motivation to meet
and beat this greatest challenge, he realized that he must begin only with himself.
He then spent the concluding days of his
life focusing on his own attitude which is
the only true thing we can control in life.
Only by working to perfect his own soul
was he then able to begin to help others
eradicate evil from their midst as well.
While we are all concerned with
many challenges in life, by focusing on
our own internal growth first, we are all
truly giving ourselves the opportunity
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16 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
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for sustained transformation. Rabbi
Hayyim’s greatest challenge of working
to make the world a better place only
became realistic when he realized he had
to first start making himself a vessel for
As the modern State
of Israel continues to
courageously endure,
being commanded to
love has the potential
to ignite resistance and
discomfort in a very
challenging way.
holiness. In this Jewish New Year, may we
all have the courage and strength needed
to confront our own internal and external
greatest challenges through working
together by focusing on ourselves as individuals and also as contributing members
of a diverse and loving society! ■
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
17 It Started in Sighet
Sighet, Romania
Synagoge exterior
The Brasov
Synagogue
by Louis Davidson
W
h e n yo u ’ v e p h oto -
more than
300 synagogues in 35
countries, people ask
how it started. It started in Sighet, Romania, the hometown of my late father-in-law,
Louis Kahan, longtime member of the
Tulsa Jewish Community. He emigrated
from Sighet, Hungary to the United States
in 1920 and never went back. Eighty-three
years later, in 2003, my wife, Ronnie, and I
decided to visit. Her father had always said
that he was from Hungary, but when planning our trip, we found that due to The
Treaty of Trianon, which resulted from
World War I, the border had moved and
his Hungarian home was now in Romania.
In 2003, Romania was still a very primitive, horse and buggy, agrarian economy
because it had only become liberated from
the yoke of Ceausescu’s virulent Communist regime a few years before. (Photos
of our visits to Romania were displayed
in a 2006 exhibit at The Sherwin Miller
Museum of Jewish Art.) There are always
things that parents don’t tell their children.
When we arrived in Sighet, we learned
there was a great deal my father-in-law
had not told his daughter. As a matter of
fact, he’d told her nothing about Sighet
except that he had left.
He hadn’t told her that Sighet was in
Transylvania, the mystical land made
famous by Bram Stoker’s book, Dracula,
or that gypsies (aka Roma) roamed
the countryside wearing their unique
costumes, living as transients in caravans,
or that before WWII Sighet’s population
of 40,000 was more than half Jewish. Most
importantly, he didn’t tell her that Sighet
was effectively ruled by two opposing
Jewish clans, the Teitelbaums and the
Kahans (her ancestral family). It is legend
that the relationship between the two clans
was so acrimonious that there was once
a fist fight in the synagogue between the
Teitelbaums and the Kahans, so famous
that it is remembered a century later.
To serve that robust Jewish population there were six grand synagogues and
more than 100 prayer houses. Today there
remains a Jewish population of only about
120 and a single synagogue, the Kahan
graphed
18 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
Synagogue, where my wife’s ancestor had
been the chief rabbi. We were fascinated
by the building’s brightly painted interior
and fanciful woodwork all curved and
curlicued, artfully combining Victorian
and Art-Deco themes. This was not like
any synagogue we had seen before.
We set out by car to see this fascinating
land and wherever there was a synagogue,
we stopped to visit and ogle. The variety
of architectural styles was amazing. Some
of their interiors were playfully painted
with wild animals. Two synagogues had
bold red-striped exteriors while others
were magnificent in more serious genres.
There was one thing most of them had
in common: neglect. Except for a few
major synagogues, this treasure trove of
wonderful buildings, our Jewish heritage,
was disintegrating before our very eyes.
In more than one fine old building, we
found birds fowling and fouling, as well
as destruction due to other creatures,
and decay due to time. These romantic
old buildings now suffered from a lack of
Jewish population or, in other cases, a lack
of money for maintenance.
Would I be guilty of hyperbole if I said
that we fell in love with Romania’s dying
synagogues? We resolved to save these
buildings. Recognizing that it was not
fiscally possible to physically save them,
we decided to save them for posterity with
360° virtual reality photography which
would allow future generations to virtually put themselves in these synagogues.
After a good bit of technical and logistical
planning, we began the actual process of
photographing Romanian synagogues in
July 2006. It wasn’t easy. Arriving in a town
where there was supposed to be a synagogue, we went directly to the building.
Usually it would be locked. Then we would
begin the process of canvassing the neighbors, using Ronnie’s pidgin Romanian
and lots of sign language, trying to find
someone to give us access.
Here’s a typical scenario: In Tậrgu
Mureş, a city with a gorgeous antique
synagogue but no Jews, a passing pedestrian acted as an interpreter facilitating our
conversation with an elderly woman who
lived in a house adjacent to the synagogue.
Sighet, Romania
Synagoge interior
Sighet, Romania
Synagoge interior
detail showing
curlicues and
fanciful woodwork
In this roundabout way, we learned that
the woman’s English speaking daughter
would be home from school in two hours
and she could let us into the synagogue.
We didn’t understand why we had to wait
for a schoolgirl to come home, but if that’s
what we had to do, we’d do it. About 5:30
p.m., a young lady in her middle twenties
arrived on her bicycle and went into the
house. Shortly, she emerged explaining
that she was an English teacher at the
school, and that her mother, who was
blind, had told her of our mission. It was
by persevering through similar circuitous circumstances that we were able
to photographically preserve so many of
Romania’s synagogues. Imagine, a synagogue looked after by a blind woman in
a city without Jews.
After several weeks crisscrossing
Romania, we pointed our car west
and north, photographing synagogues
through the Slovak and Czech Republics,
Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The rural
village of Pilviskiai, Lithuania was of
special interest to me as it was my grandfather’s hometown. After a morning of
fruitlessly looking for anything Jewish in
Pilviskiai, we obtained lunch at the delicounter of the village’s general store. A
conversation developed with Edwardius,
a delightful, English fluent high-school
senior who was making our sandwiches.
He volunteered to take us on a Jewish tour
of Pilviskiai. As we rode through town,
he pointed out several homes and buildings that had once been owned by Jews.
Then, Edwardius asked us to drive about
a kilometer out of town to a point where
we turned off the highway. We bounced
along dirt tracks across a field, parking
at the edge of a grove of trees. Leaving
the car, we walked across a pasture of
contented bovines, all the while being
careful where we stepped. After a few
minutes, we came to a waist-high fence
enclosing a mound about the width of a
car and the length of a basketball court.
There was a small stone monument with
a bronze plaque that said, “In this place,
in August of 1941, Hitler’s Fascists and
Lithuanian bourgeois nationalists killed
1,000 citizens of Pilviskiai. In Everlasting
Remembrance of the Victims of Fascism.”
Edwardius explained that his parents
had painted a clearer picture for him; a
picture that included the forced march of
Pilviskiai’s Jews to this place where they
were murdered and pushed into this pit.
On that photo-safari, we continued
digitally capturing synagogues all the
way back to Milan, Italy, where we
caught our flight home. After that exposure to synagogues across a broad swath
of Europe, we began to see the project
in a wider sense: that synagogues are
an endangered species and our preservation efforts should not be limited to
Eastern Europe. Even here in the United
States, historic synagogues are being
sold-off or turning to dust as their populations migrate to bigger cities and their
suburbs. Our mission is to preserve this
magnificent heritage before it is irretrievably lost. ■
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
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Elul, You, and Your Car
might involve inner-reflection or perhaps
even some therapy. If the misalignment is
with others, it means making the call and
creating the time and space to work on the
by Rabbi Charles P. Sherman
issue(s). And if we’re out of alignment with
God, sincere prayer may still be the best
technology available.
read an interesting column by
the course of a year, we may have fallen
Finally, Rabbi Bookman suggests a
my colleague and friend, Rabbi Terry
out of alignment with ourselves, i.e., our
step which we don’t always think about
Bookman of Florida, which provides
values, our integrity; with our friends or —letting go, which means forgiving myself
a novel way of approaching our High
loved ones; with God. So the period before
and forgiving others. This is not the same
Holydays. You see, the real point of the
the Holydays is aimed at helping us realign. as forgetting; some things we cannot or
Holydays is based on the premise that we
The process is simple and straight- ought not forget. It also does not mean
human beings are not perfect. And since
forward, but not necessarily easy. First, we are letting someone off the hook; they
we are not, we might want to work on re- we must recognize that we are indeed out
have to deal with their own conscience.
pairing, correcting, and/or fixing some
of alignment. Since we are all capable of And it does not mean that the relationship
thing(s) in our lives. Now, if you are per- living in denial, ignoring symptoms, ratio- will necessarily be reconciled or restored.
fect, you need not read any further. In fact, nalizing and making excuses, of wishing
Sometimes relationships endthat is true
you probably deserve an exemption from
and hoping it will “just go away”—it’s not
in all of our lives.
the High Holydays altogether. But if you
so easy.
But what it does mean is that I no
are like me, then please read the rest of
But, once we have recognized that we
longer have to schlep this burden around,
this column.
are out of alignment, the second step is
weighing myself down, bending my back,
Rabbi Bookman suggests the idea of
taking responsibility, owning it. I co-create
keeping me out of alignment. It also
“alignment.” When our cars or our bodies
all of my relationships. It’s easy to blame
means that we can start the New Year fresh,
are out of alignment, we are not able to
others and resent them but—in this step
unburdened by the past, committed to do
function properly. If left untreated, it
two—we take responsibility for our lives. better.
could even result in illness or breakdown
Step three is rapprochement. If I am out
It’s Elul—time to prepare for a New
altogether. Since we are imperfect during
of alignment with myself, rapprochement Year. How’s YOUR alignment? ■
I
Please note that the telephone number listed in the 2014 Tulsa Jewish
Community Directory is incorrect. We apologize for any inconvenience.
The correct number for Fitzgerald Funeral Service is 918-585-1151.
20 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
21 Return Again
by Co-Rabbis Karen and Micah
Citrin, Temple Israel
T
Nobel Laureate S.
Y. Agnon relates the follow Hasidic
story in his masterful anthology of
Jewish wisdom for the High Holidays, Days of Awe:
There was once a poor countrywoman who
had many children. They were always begging
for food, but she had none to give them. One day
she found an egg. She called her children and
said, “Children, children, we’ve got nothing to
worry about anymore; I’ve found an egg. And,
being a provident woman, I’ll not eat the egg,
but shall ask my neighbor for permission to set
it under her setting hen, until a chick is hatched.
For I am a provident woman! And we’ll not
eat the chick, but will set her on eggs, and the
eggs will hatch into chickens. And the chickens
in their turn will hatch many eggs, and we’ll
have many chickens and many eggs. But I’m a
provident woman, I am! I’ll not eat the chickens
and not eat the eggs, but shall sell them and buy
me a heifer. And I’ll not eat the heifer, but shall
raise it to a cow, and not eat the cow until it
has calves. And I’ll not eat it then, either, and
we’ll have cows and calves. For I’m a provident
woman! And I’ll sell the cows and calves and
buy a field, and we’ll have fields and cows and
calves, and we won’t need anything anymore!”
The countrywoman was speaking in this
fashion and playing with the egg, when it fell
out of her hands and broke.
Said our master:“That is how we are. When
the Holy Days arrive, every person resolves to
do Teshuvah, thinking in his heart, ‘I’ll do this,
and I’ll do that.’ But the days slip by in mere
deliberation, and thought doesn’t lead to action.”
Our High Holiday season is a time for us
to make good on our intentions. We allow our
actions to lead us back to our true selves, the
best version of who we are. It is a time to come
home to a sense of peace within ourselves,
with others, and with God. As we gather in
community to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur, we give one another encouragement not to be like the woman with her egg,
not to squander our chance to do teshuvah
(returning to goodness). May we all return and
renew our spirit with the warmth of prayer,
family, and community. We look forward to
seeing you during the High Holidays, and
wishing you a healthy and sweet New Year. ■
he late israeli
22 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
You dream it —
we’ll make it happen.
Mazels
AUDIO
Continues through
november 30, 2014
HOME AUTOMATION
LIGHTING
VIDEO
Alexandre Hogue, Chisos Mountains, Northwest Face
1979, oil on canvas, 38" x 56", (detail), The Stark Museum of Art, Orange, TX
Bat Mitzvah: Olivia Butkin
O
livia Marie Butkin, daughter of Nina and Robert Butkin, will become a
Bat Mitzvah at Congregation B’nai Emunah on Sat., Sept. 6 at 9:00 in the
morning. A seventh grade student at Holland Hall, Olivia enjoys tennis,
field hockey, volunteering in the community, reading, and getting together
with her friends. Celebrating with Olivia will be her sisters Julie and Clare,
and grandparents Dr. Herbert and Harriet Aaronson, together with her aunts,
uncles, cousins and friends. The community is invited to join Olivia and her
family for services and the Kiddush luncheon immediately following.
Organized by the Rockwell Museum of Western Art, Corning, New York.
Title sponsor of the Gilcrease Museum 2014 exhibition season is
the Sherman E. Smith Family Foundation.
smart homes • home theaters • licensed security
surveillance systems • licensed electrical
commercial & residential
918.251.6303
www.customtechplus.com
Open Tues. – sun. 918-596-2700 Gilcrease.uTulsa.edu
1400 n. Gilcrease MuseuM rd. Tulsa, OK Tu is an eeO/aa insTiTuTiOn.
THX Certified • Control 4 Dealer • Cedia Certified
Member: Homebuilders Association • Better Business Bureau (A+)
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
23 h i g h holiday greet ings
The Jewish
Federation
of Tulsa
Wishes You
a Sweet
5775!
The Synagogue
Please join us for the holidays.
Beautiful music, warm welcome, no charges.
Come home this year to B’nai Emunah.
hi gh holi day greetings
Holiday
Greetings
Dr. & Mrs. Steve
Adelson
& Family
Mr. & Mrs. Stephen
Heyman
& Family
See our full schedule at www.tulsagogue.com
The Synagogue: Peoria at Seventeenth.
918.583.7121
Celebrate the Holidays with Your Temple Family
Bring your family. Connect with community. Renew your spirit.
FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
1914-2014
Happy New Year
Fred, Sharon
& Jonathan
Benjamin
Happy New Year
Joy Bankoff &
Family
We welcome all generations - members, guests, and newcomers to join us!
No charge.
Happy New Year
Sheldon & Molly
Berger
Michael & Sarah
Wishing All
a Happy
& Healthy
New Year
Jon, Linda
Kasey & Jay
Kantor
Best Wishes
For A Happy
& Healthy
New Year
Malcolm & Paula
Milsten
Dr. Marc & Mary
Milsten & Family
Alan & Julie
Halpern & Family
Happy New Year
John & Leah
Clayman
Stephen, Jacob &
David
L’Shanah Tovah
Willie & Shirley
Burger
BEST WISHES
& greetings from
Connecticut
Gay & Will Clarkson
L’Shana Tovah
John & Klara Bode
& Family
Best wishes for a
Happy, Healthy
New Year
April and Richard Borg
L’shanah Tovah U’Metukah - We wish you a good and sweet New Year!
Havdalah & Selichot Service, September 20, 8:00 p.m.
Erev Rosh HaShanah, September 24, 7:30 p.m. • Rosh HaShanah Morning, September 25, 10:00 a.m.
Rosh HaShanah Children’s Service, September 25, 3:30 p.m. (for families with young children)
Tashlich, September 28, 11:00 a.m. at River West Festival Park
Kol Nidre, October 3, 7:30 p.m. • Yom Kippur Morning, October 4, 10:00 a.m.
Yom Kippur Afternoon/Neilah, October 4, 1:30 - 6:00 p.m. (study, music and meditation, Yizkor, Neilah)
2004 East 22nd Place • Tulsa, OK 74114 • South of Utica Square • 918.747.1309 • templetulsa.com
A Reform Congregation affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism
24 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
L’Shanah Tova
Zella Borg
L’Shanah Tovah Richard & Emily
Bolusky & Family
L'Shanah Tovah
Linda Brown
lindabrownsells@
gmail.com
918-298-9527
Best Wishes
For a
Happy New Year
Judith Ungerman
& Family
Holiday Greetings
Marilyn & Louis
Diamond
L’shana Tovah
Diana & Milt Wolff
Cindy & Andrew
Zelby
Elaine, Karen &
Allison
Stuart & Ursula
Wolff
Alex, Isabelle &
Max
Have a Happy,
Healthy
New Year
Susan Fenster
& Family
L’Shanah Tovah
Julie Frank
Charles Swanson
Jason Swanson
L’Shanah Tovah
Ginny Katz,
Rabbi Sandra Katz,
William,
Michelle & Ruby
Holiday
Greetings
Janet & Mort
Cohen
The Kaye Family
Harley & Melissa
Cohen Carson
L’Shanah Tovah
Avi & Karen
Mintz,
Jonah, Zachary
& Ethan
Holiday Greetings
from the
Joe Degen Family
L’Shana Tova
Isrella Taxon, Mindy,
Harris, Rachel, Alex,
& Ari Prescott
Happy New Year
from
Estelle & Norm
Fabes
Wishing You
a Good,
Sweet Year
from
The Fell Family
A Happy, Healthy
New Year
Irene & Irving
Fenster
& Family
L’Shana Tova
Jeanette
Altman
& Family
L’ Shanah Tovah
Leah Friedman
& Family
L’ Shanah Tovah
Curtis & Joan
Green & Family
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
25 h i g h holiday greet ings
Happy New
Year
Leona Glazer
& Family
hi gh holi day greetings
L’Shanah Tovah
Alex & Karen
Goldberg
& Family
L’Shanah Tovah
Eva Unterman
& Family
L’Shanah Tovah
Melissa Schnur
Holiday Greetings
The Newman Family
L’ Shana Tova
Nancy & Mark
Lobo
Sincere Best Wishes
For Happiness, Peace,
and Good Health
Carol Miller & Family
Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Magoon
& Family
Mr. & Mrs. Joel Jankowsky
& Family
Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Sue McCoy & Family
San Jose, CA
The Chozen Families
26 J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
L’Shanah Tovah
Art, Jackie & Anna
Lasky
L’Shanah Tovah
Jared & Kelly
Goldfarb & Family
Happy New Year
Mary Sanditen
Schwartz
& Family
L’Shanah Tovah
Sam & Jennifer
Joels
Eliana & Sarah
L’Shanah Tovah
Michael & Maura
Pollak & Family
Happy New Year
Ed & Ree Kaplan
New Year
Greetings
Rose & Sheldon
Miller
New Year Greetings
Sylvia Oberstein
& Family
Happy
New Year
Phyllis
Zeligson
Debbie &
Danny
Zeligson
Kate
Karen
Happy New Year
Dean & Carol
Mandlebaum
Maxine Zarrow
Kip & Gail Richards
Eric & Shannon Richards
Dylan Rose
Rebecca Richards &
Matt Kutcher
Annabelle & Daniel
Kathy Zarrow
Hilary Zarrow
Alison & Rachel
L’Shana Tova
Nancy & Phil
Stolper
Angie & Jon
Stolper
Nathan &
Matthew
Wishing you all a
Happy & Healthy
New Year
Wilfred & Jean
Sanditen
Harold &
Thanasis
Jolene & Jim
Leslie
Brad & Adria
Will & Sam
A Happy New Year
Filled with Good
Health & Peace
Bryan & Patty Watt
Kym & Ken Watt
Henry
Karen Watt Roubal
Zachary
Happy New Year
Barbara & Dave
Sylvan
Debbie & Robert
deLeeuw
Chicago
A Healthy & Happy
New Year
Fred Strauss
& Family
Happy New Year From
Our best wishes to all
for a happy & healthy New Year
Stuart & Gaye Lynn Zarrow
Lisa Zarrow
Mark & Beth Zarrow
Kannon Henry
Ted Zarrow &
Carey Bertrand
Theodora & Charles
Tom & Judy Kishner
Julie Cohen
Will & Theo
Jay & Dana Wohlgemuth
Jack, Charlie, Henry & Lila
Hillary Kishner
Jude Kishner
Cynthia
L’Shanah Tovah
Mona Smith
Best Wishes For
The New Year
Irene & Stan
Burnstein
Teri Burnstein
Dan Burnstein &
Martin Martinez
Kim & Rob Coretz
Adam, Mindy,
Tyler, Ryan, & Amy
Coretz
L’Shanah Tovah!
Warm wishes for a sweet and healthy new year.
Lynn Schusterman, Stacy Schusterman and Steven Dow, Abby,
Rachel and Hannah, Mary Lee and Jay Schusterman, Lauren and Haley
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
27 h i g h holiday greet ings
GOOD
YOM
TOV!
Stuart & Sherri
Goodall
Michael
& Denise
Glimcher
Leah, Grant, &
Blair
Kevin Goodall
Happy
New Year
Shirley Klar &
Karen Goodson
L’Shana Tova
Betsy & Joel
Zeligson
Lauren, Scott
& Miles Zeligson
Jill & Brad
Brenner
L’Shanah Tovah
Phyllis & Stephen
Zeligson
Wendy & Robert Adler
Nikki, Jason & Katie
Brad & Lauren Zeligson
Brittany, Emma & Jack
Andrew & Jennifer
Zeligson
Kevin, Brett & Lance
L’Shanah Tovah
& Best Wishes
From the
Wolov Family
GOOD YOM TOV
Mrs. Edgar Sanditen
Leo & Linda Warner
Jessie, Ethan &
Holly
L’Shanah Tovah
Sharon & Drew Diamond
Janie Kolman
Austin Corley
Mike Sanditen
Judy Sanditen
Jacob
Happy New Year
Marilyn Sylvan Kirk
and Valerie
Holly Helps Personal
Concierge and Event
Coordinator Holly@
hollyhelps.com
Happy New Year
Ryan Welner
L'Shanah Tovah from
The Lieberman
Family
Happy New Year
Donna Matles
and Family
Best Wishes for a
Happy New Year
Nanette &
Larry Peck
L’ Shana Tova
Frieda Grossbard
Marilyn & Jack
Metzger
Asher, Maya,
Lia & Noa
Paul & Lauren
Grossbard
Evelyn & Roger
Medvin
Seth, Sara & David
Chertoff
Eitan Moshe
L'Shanah Tovah
Rosalyn Borg—
St. Louis,
and Family
L’Shana Tovah
Bob & Gloria
Estlin