Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Sivan / Tammuz 5776July 2016
The Blessings of Being a ParentKeeping a PromiseCelebrating Israel for 68 Years
CONTENTS july 2016 • sivan / tammuz 5776volume 87 • number 7
4 From the Editor
5 What’s Nu? News Briefs
6 The Blessings of Being a Parent by Lillian Hellman
8 July Community Events
10 A New Symbol of How Far We’ve Come by Rabbi Charles P. Sherman
12 Passing the Torch by Heather Lewin
13 Butterflies
14 Keeping a Promise by Mickel Yantz
16 Guilt Free Greek Island Vacationing by Louis Davidson
18 Celebrating Israel for 68 Years by Shiri Achiasaf-West
20 Jews in the Russian Military 1827–1917 by Phil Goldfarb
22 Temple Israel Welcomes Interim Rabbi Jim Simon by Lesley Bumgarner
14
6
17
10
JEWISHTULSA.ORG 3
The world is theirs to explore.T h e a d v e n T u r e b e g i n s aT h o l l a n d h a l l.
HollandHall.orgFollow the journey on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @HollandHall
JEWISHTULSA.ORG 5 4 JEWISHTULSA.ORG
What’s Nu? News Briefs from JNS.orgThe U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously passed a resolution calling on Germany to increase restitution support for Holocaust survivors. The resolution, sponsored by U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), will “. . . fulfill its moral responsi-bility to Holocaust survivors and urgently provide the financial resources necessary to ensure that Survivors live in dignity and comfort in their remaining years,” according to a description of the resolu-tion, which passed with 363-0. “Today, the House once again demonstrated its commitment to achieving justice for all Holocaust survivors in overwhelmingly passing the resolution Ted and I intro-duced, urging Germany to honor its obligations to Holocaust survivors,” Ros-Lehtinen said after the resolution passed.
—Foreign investment in Israeli assets has tripled since the launch of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) move-ment in 2005, demonstrating that BDS has not significantly harmed the Israeli economy, according to new data published by Bloomberg News. “We don’t have a problem with foreign investment in Israel—on the contrary,” said Yoel Naveh, chief economist at Israel’s Finance Ministry. In 2015, Israel’s industrial high-tech exports grew 13 percent from the previous year. Israeli start-ups raised $3.76 billion last year from non-Israeli investors, according to the IVC Research Center. This year, Israel’s economic growth is projected to reach 2.8 percent, higher than the growth rates in both the U.S. and the European Union.
—Neo-Nazis and white supremacists have been using a Google Chrome plugin called
“Coincidence Detector” to compile and expose the identities of Jews online. While the users are browsing the Internet through the Chrome browser, the extension encases the names of Jewish individuals listed on websites in three sets of parentheses—for instance, (((Fleishman)))—the news website Mic reported. White supremacists had already been using the three-paren-theses construction—which they call
“(((echo)))”—to single out Jewish figures in media and entertainment for harassment online. “Coincidence Detector” received the top rating on a five-star scale in the Google Chrome store, with its description boasting that it “. . . can help you detect total coincidences about who has been involved in certain political movements and media empires.” The plugin was removed from the Chrome store following Mic’s report. It was accessed by 2,473 users before being removed.
—It is “difficult to overstate the importance of the American Jewish people to the State of Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at an event in late May in the Israeli Knesset that honored U.S. Jewry’s 100 years of contributions to Israel.
“American Jewry’s contribution to the state has been enormous and it will continue to be important to the future of the Israeli people,” said Netanyahu. “We must be more familiar with American Jewry and
we must know more about them, and I’m convinced we will continue to see many young Americans making aliyah (immi-gration to Israel).” The first-of-its-kind Knesset ceremony was organized by the Ruderman Family Foundation, which focuses on strengthening Israel-Dias-pora relations. For the last four years, the foundation has sponsored delegations of Knesset members on trips to the U.S. to help them gain a deeper understanding of American Jewry.
“American Jewry’s contribution to the state has been enormous and
it will continue to be important to the future of the Israeli people,”
said Netanyahu.
From the Editor
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
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Drew Diamond
[email protected] | 918.495.1100
EDITOR
Melissa Schnur
[email protected] | 918.495.1100
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Mindy Prescott
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES
Lee Hubby
Marcia Weinstein
BOARD
PRESIDENT, JEWISH FEDERATION OF TULSA
Lori M. Frank
DESIGN
MAGAZINE DESIGN BY
Bhadri Verduzco, Verduzco Design
[email protected] | verduzcodesign.com
Postmaster: Send address changes to
Tulsa Jewish Review, 2021 E. 71st St., Tulsa, OK 74136
I had originally planned to devote this
month’s column to thoughts about my
father and patriotism. July after all marks
not only the birthplace of our nation but
was also the month my father was born.
The column was all written and ready for publication. However, all that changed as I sat in an airport one bright Sunday morning.
The Sunday morning was June 12, and the airport was the Orlando Inter-national Airport. After making a last-minute trip to Durham, North Carolina for the weekend, my options for my flight back to Tulsa took a most circuitous route—first stopping in Orlando and then Houston before continuing back home to Tulsa. The first leg of my journey started too early for me, and I was running short on time before heading to the airport. I barely had enough time to have my morning coffee and breakfast, which left no time for checking the latest news online before departure. So, as we all tend to do in this digital age of instant news, one of the first things that I did after landing was to check to see what was new in the world via Facebook on my phone. Imagine my surprise when the first thing that popped up when I opened the app was a
“Safety Check” option. Based on my location, Facebook noticed that I was in the area affected by the horrific shooting and offered me the option to mark myself safe. That’s how I found out about the shooting at the LGBT nightclub in Orlando that has been described as the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in our nation’s history.
At the time of this writing it has only been a few days since it occurred, and by the time this issue goes to print, even more details will have emerged about the shooter and his motivations. However, it has already been called domestic terrorism and a hate crime. Right now my emotions are still in over-drive. I think of my many friends in the LGBT community, and the fear and sadness they feel seems immeasurable to me. They know they were targeted because of who they are and who they love. I am saddened by the loss of life. I am saddened by the hate that drove the shooter to his actions. I am saddened that once again, we as a nation are mourning together after more senseless deaths from gun violence. I wonder how we all move forward to prevent more tragedies like this in the future. I am not sure that there is one right answer as to how we can overcome, but I know that I, for one, cannot remain silent in my sadness anymore. It is time that we all come together and work for a country where hate does not flourish but tolerance becomes the norm. We must continue the work of our nation’s forefathers to “… form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity …”
–Melissa
6 JEWISHTULSA.ORG JEWISHTULSA.ORG 7
At Mizel JCDS, we focus much of our time on educating our students in both academics and Jewish values; inspiring them to become caring, thoughtful, appreciative individuals, ready to take on the challenges of growing up.
Though our teachers are exceptional, their task of educating the students is not a solitary one. Their special partnership with our parents helps mold the whole child, but parents need training and instruction, too.
The powerful book The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children by Wendy Mogel, Ph.D., employs a framework of nine “blessings” to guide parents as they navigate the challenges of child rearing. Dr. Mogel draws from the wisdom of the Torah, the Talmud, and important Jewish teachings to provide parents with a new set of priorities to help them raise resourceful, compassionate, and ethical children.
Each chapter or “blessing” is devoted to an aspect of parenting that is crucial to raising children:
1Accept that
your children are both
unique and ordinary. We often expect
them to be like us (only better,
smarter, and more
ambitious). But if the
pressure to be special gets too intense, children end
up in the therapist’s
office suffering from sleep and eating disorders,
chronic stomachaches,
depression, and other ailments.
5Teach them
to make their table an altar. They should
approach food with an attitude of
moderation, celebration,
and sanctification.
2Teach them
to honor their parents and to respect others.
The Fifth Command-
ment, “Honor your father
and your mother” is about
behavior, not feelings.
Many parents have an aver-sion to being
authority figures. Chil-dren are not our equals,
and they don’t want to be. A democratic
system in the home doesn’t
work very well; it just makes children feel
insecure.
8Teach them to accept rules
and to exercise self-control. The purpose
of discipline is to teach both new attitudes
and new behaviors. A
good formula for doing this
is applying one-third love, one-
third law (be really tough), and one-third sitting on your
hands (pick your battles
well).
3Teach them
to be resilient, self-reliant and coura-
geous. Unless your child
ventures forth into the world,
he won’t get a chance to learn how to master it and find his place.
Having the courage not to
pamper and overprotect your child
means that sometimes he will be uncom-fortable; but if they don’t
have the chance to fail,
they can’t learn.
4Teach them to be grateful for their blessings. Children who get most of their desires
satisfied right away don’t
have a chance to form an “attitude of gratitude.” Teach your children to
redirect their longings,
accept “no” graciously and appreciate the blessings they
do have.
9Teach them about God. The word
Yisrael liter-ally means
“person who struggles with God.” Abraham
Joshua Heschel once
wrote that Judaism does
not ask its followers to
take a leap of faith, it asks
them to take a leap of action.
You aren’t expected
to work out your theology
before you begin to live a spiritual
life—“you will do and you will
understand.”
7Teach them the value of work. Chil-
dren need two skills: compe-
tence to do what is good and motiva-tion—the will
to take on responsibility.
Doing chores—looking after themselves and helping the family—are their first good deeds
and gives them survival
skills.
10If you don’t want to get caught up in the anxiety, materialism, and competi-
tion all around us, you must choose some path to walk on with your children. You must name it, follow it,
and plan the curriculum for their spiritual education as thoughtfully
and intel-ligently as
you plan their academic education. Mizel is the
perfect partner in this impor-tant journey.
by Lillian Hellman, Director Mizel Jewish Community Day School
THE
OF BEING A PARENT“Blessings”
6Teach them
the precious-ness of the
present moment.
Find time to connect with your child—
really listen to them. Make
sure your children have a chance to
get bored, so they can learn
to entertain themselves.
For more information, call the Mizel office: 918.494.0953.
8 JEWISHTULSA.ORG JEWISHTULSA.ORG 9
JULY COMMUNITY EVENTS
Jewish Federation of TulsaMen’s Club • Wed., July 13 • Noon • A delicious lunch will be followed by a representative from Oklahoma Natural Gas. The topic will be Energy Efficiency. Cost of the luncheon is $8. Please RSVP to Falisha at 918.495.1100 or [email protected] by noon, July 12.
Israeli Scout Caravan • Tues., July 12 • 7 p.m. • The community is invited to this free evening of family entertainment by the Israeli Scout Caravan. For more information, call 918.495.1111 or email [email protected]. Dive-in Movie: Goosebumps • Sat., July 16 Dusk • Bring your swimsuit and enjoy a movie by the pool. No charge for JCC members. Questions? Call 918.495.1111.
Dive-in Movie: Goosebumps • Sat., July 16 • Dusk • Bring your swimsuit and enjoy a movie by the pool. No charge for JCC members. Questions? Call 918.495.1111.
Ladies Who Lunch • Mon., July 18 • Noon • Come enjoy pleasant conversation and great food at the Warren Duck Club, 6110 S. Yale Ave., located in the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, Warren Place. Each person pays her own check. Please RSVP to Mindy at 918.935.3662 or [email protected] no later than Fri., July 15.
Men’s Club • Wed., July 27 • Noon • A delicious lunch will be followed by socializing. Cost of the luncheon is $8. Please RSVP to Falisha at 918.495.1100 or [email protected] by noon, July 26.
Enjoy the Rosh Hashanah Tradition of Dipping Apples in Honey • Order deadline July 29 • Send your friends and family a gift of pure, certified Kosher honey to support programming at the Charles Schusterman JCC. Just $11 for an 8 oz. jar with gift card (in the U.S.) To order contact Mindy Prescott at 918.935.3662 or [email protected].
End of Summer Pool Party/Farewell to Summer Shlichim • Sat., Aug. 6 • 6 p.m. • Join us as we say farewell to Dor and Michal, and celebrate the end of Camp Shalom. This family-friendly night features music by Something Steel and a feast of foods by Chef Dan. Members: No charge. Non-Members: $25/per family. RSVP by Aug. 3 to 918.495.1111.
The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art
Exhibit: 12 Tribes • Now-Summer • This exhibit showcases paintings by Ft. Gibson artist Carla Weston who painted them after living on two different kibbutzim in Israel where she studied Hebrew, taught high school English during the Yom Kippur War, and survived a terrorist attack shortly after the war. Each painting uses Hebrew and symbolism juxtaposed for a unique modern effect.
Exhibit: Yaacov Agam • Now-Nov. 16 • We are happy to showcase the SMMJA permanent collection of Israeli sculptor and experimental artist Yaacov Agam. Best known for his contributions to optical and kinetic art, the museum has a variety of samples from various donors of Agam’s work that splash color and visual stimuli throughout the Sanditen Gallery.
Exhibit: Besa-Muslims Who Saved Jews in World War II • Now–Sept. 25 • Besa is a code of honor deeply rooted in Albanian culture and incorporated in the faith of Albanian Muslims. It dictates a moral behavior so absolute that nonadherence brings shame and dishonor to one’s self and one’s family. This exhibition showcases photographs in Albania and Kosovo where Muslims sheltered, at grave risk to themselves and their families, not only the Jews of their cities and villages, but thousands of Jews fleeing the Nazis from other European countries.
Exhibit: Fluid Expression: The Prints of Helen Frankenthaler • July 7–Sept. 18 • Opening Reception: Thurs., July 7 • 5 p.m. • An influential figure in American art of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Helen Frankenthaler is a leading abstract expressionist painter, sculptor, and printmaker. One of the early abstract expressionists, she was also a pioneer in the development of color-field painting.
Save the Date: Golden Gala • Sun., Oct. 30 • Catered by James Shrader of the Palace Café, this year’s event is honoring the past, celebrating the present and building the future. More information will be available soon. For patron information, please contact Tracey Herst-Woods, Director of Development and Programs at 918.492.1818.
Congregation B’nai EmunahErev Shabbat: Aufruf Edition • Fri., July 8 • 7 p.m. Celebration/8 p.m. Reception • A prelude moment of blessing for Nina Fitzerman-Blue and Daniel Sterba, who will soon celebrate their wedding. A musical Shabbat celebration will begin in the Sanctuary with an abundance of sweets and good things to drink following the service. Please call the Synagogue at 918.935.3373 to let us know that you will be present, or find your way to the reservations page at the Synagogue website (tulsagogue.com). Your presence is your gift. No other gesture is necessary.
Seventeenth Street Delicatessen • Sun., July 17 • 6 p.m. • A destination for summer dining, our Jewish Deli opens its doors to any eager to experience the smells and tastes of Jewish culture. It’s a magnificent meal and in the style of the Altamont Bakery, we’re providing meaningful employment to some of Tulsa’s neediest population. You can make your reservations by visiting www.tulsadeli.org or calling the Synagogue office. Don’t forget, our Blend Family Market and Bakery is always ready to sell you a fresh rye bread, a pound of pastrami or a bucket of pickles in the days following each month’s dinner.
BiBi-DiBi: Babies + Blessings + Dinner + Bedtime • Fri., July 22 • 6 p.m. • Once a month, babies and their families gather in the Synagogue atrium for a delightful, intimate, Shabbat experience. Parachutes, rattles and toys sit at the center of our circle while parents and kids share in the blessings of a peaceful Shabbat. It’s in this circle that we build relationships that will last a lifetime. A delicious, kid-friendly Shabbat dinner accompanies this program. RSVP by contacting the Synagogue office.
Faces: Portrait of a Congregation • Sun., July 31 • 7 p.m. • The next event on our unfolding Centennial Calendar will feature a reading from The Rabbis, a group of essays by Danny Kraft on the history of rabbinic leadership at the Synagogue. The essays are the product of Danny’s research over the past several months. A champagne reception will follow, along with a preliminary look at the pictorial archive of the congregation. No reservations are necessary and all are welcome.
Temple IsraelShabbat Morning at TI • Sat., July 9 • 10:30 a.m. • Participatory Shabbat morning worship for all and Torah study followed by a potluck lunch. If possible, bring a dish to share.
TI Goes to the Drillers Game • Sat., July 9 • 7:05 p.m. • Come join your Temple Israel family as we cheer on the Tulsa Drillers! Tickets are $13 each. Checks can be made out to Temple Israel Brotherhood. Email Peter Rao at [email protected] to let him know how many tickets you would like to reserve by July 1. All are welcome!
Welcome for Rabbi Simon • Fri., July 22 • 7:30 p.m. • We are pleased to welcome Rabbi Simon to Temple Israel. Celebrate Shabbat with your Temple Israel family, and join us for a special Oneg as we extend a warm welcome to our Interim Rabbi.
Shabbat Summer Series: Be Happy, It’s Shabbat! • Fri., July 29 • 7:30 p.m. • After bringing in Shabbat together, we will enjoy an Oneg Musical Performance by Cantor Faith Steinsnyder, TI Cantor in Residence. Stay following the service as she continues to share her talent and love of Shabbat music. Come listen and sing along!
This Month’s AdvertisersThis publication is brought to you each month thanks
to the support of our advertisers. Please be sure to
use their products and services and mention that
you found them in the Tulsa Jewish Review.
Broken Arrow Eyesight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 74 3 . 9 9 1 8
The Burger Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 2 3 1 . 6 7 5 5
Charles Pest Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 5 8 4 . 3 3 2 3
Chinowth & Cohen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 3 9 2 . 9 9 0 0
Circle Cinema. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 5 9 2 . 3 4 5 6
Fitzgerald’s Funeral Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 5 8 5 . 1 1 5 1
Holland Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 4 8 1 . 1 1 1 1
Kitchen Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 .7 7 9 . 4 4 8 0
La Mode Cleaners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 6 2 2 . 5 2 5 5
Papa Ganouj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 .7 9 4 . 8 4 1 3
Dr. Bernard Robinowitz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 4 9 2 . 8 9 8 0
Saffa Compounding Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 4 9 2 . 4 2 4 2
Shohat Heating & Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 9 5 1 . 1 6 1 8
Tulsa Bone & Joint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 3 9 2 . 1 4 0 0
The Wild Fork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 8 . 74 2 . 0 7 1 2
In Utica Square • For Reservations: 918.742.0712 • wildfork.com
Come Discover
A RestaurantLike No Other
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Are You PRESSED For Time?
We pickup and deliver the very best dry cleaning service
to your door.
Why PickUp & Delivery?• Hassle-free convenience• One less errand• No need to call• No need to be home
• No order too small• Twice a week service• Home or office• Our service is FREE!
One Standard: Quality918.622.5255LaModeCleaners.com
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.
918.585.1151
10 JEWISHTULSA.ORG JEWISHTULSA.ORG 11
A New Symbol of How Far We’ve Come
by Rabbi Charles P. Sherman
When pope john XXIII convoked the Second Vatican Council in 1959, it was not simply to bring about an updating of the Church’s rela-tions with the world. It was also to come to
terms with the Catholic teaching of contempt for the Jewish people, which was in part responsible for the eventual destruction of European Jewry. The Pope wanted to face up to the Holocaust.
Nostra Aetate (in our time) issued at the end of 1965 was indeed a revolution, particularly with reference to Jews and Judaism. First, it moved from a theology of a dead, outdated, and superseded Judaism to a theology of a living Judaism. Second, it rejected the idea that all forms of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism could in any way be founded on Christian or scriptural teaching. Third, and most importantly, the Church came to understand that God’s covenant with the Jewish people is irrevocable and that Jews continue to be “the chosen people.”
Twenty years later, Pope John Paul II, addressing representa-tives of the Jewish community of Venezuela, stated, “Nostra Aetate . . . remains always for us, for the Catholic Church . . . and for the Pope, a teaching which must be followed—a teaching which it is necessary to accept not merely as something fitting, but much more as an expression of the faith, as an inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as a word of the Divine Wisdom.”
Pope John Paul II dramatized these teachings through his 1986 visit to the Great Synagogue of Rome, repeating the basic message of Nostra Aetate. He said there that the Catholic Church was against anti-Semitism created by anyone, in any place, at any time.
Now we have Pope Francis. While still a Cardinal he wrote a book with his Buenos Aires friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka, which clearly dealt with the Shoah, claiming that, “Every Jew who was killed was a slap against the living God in the name of Idols.” He has declared as Pope that no good Catholic could be an anti-Semite.
If one picture is worth a thousand words, then what about a prominent sculpture? Last September during his visit to the United States, Pope Francis made a surprise change of schedule on his final day here to further convey his own message of respect for the Jewish people. In an unannounced event, the Pontiff stopped to bless a sculpture commissioned by the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. At his side was Rabbi Abraham Skorka who had flown in from Buenos Aires to be the keynote speaker at the dedication of the work two days earlier. That the Pontiff would bless the sculpture with holy water was another example of both their friend-ship and their shared commitment to bridging their distinct religious beliefs.
Titled Synagoga and Ecclesia in Our Time, the sculpture is of two women seated next to each other—much like two sisters. One holds a book, the other a scroll, and they are looking at each other’s sacred texts in mutual respect.
The work was designed to counter a medieval motif depicting the triumph of Christianity over Judaism. In ancient sculptures found in churches all over Europe, the Christian “Ecclesia” stands proudly wearing a crown, while the defeated “Synagoga” is blindfolded by a
serpent, her staff broken, and her tablets slipping from her hand.
The pedestal of the new sculpture bears a quote from Pope Francis, “There exists a rich complementarity between the church and the Jewish people that allows us to help one another mine the riches of God’s Word.”
Catholic-Jewish relations have dramat-ically changed for the better in the last half-century, and it is important for us Jews to understand and appreciate this fact.
If one picture is worth a thousand words, then what about a
prominent sculpture? Last September during his visit to the United States, Pope Francis
made a surprise change of schedule on
his final day here to further convey his own message of respect for
the Jewish people.
Pope Francis blesses a sculpture commissioned by the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
REALTOR ASSOCIATE®
SaraRichHomes.com
CCOklahoma.com
Find Your Home this Summer!
With Chinowth and Cohen’s award-winning marketing, 3-D home tours, Elite Magazine, and
Elite TV, we give sellers a winning edge, and home buyers the tools
they need to find the perfect home! Call me today for all your
Real Estate needs!
Matthew Ozment, O.D., Dipl ABO
2500 W New Orleans 3338 East 51st Street Broken Arrow, OK 74011 Tulsa, OK 74135
(918) 893-3769 (918) 743-9918 www.BAEyeSite.com www.OptiqueEyeCareTulsa.com
S AV E T H E D AT ES U N D AY | O C TO B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 6
Featuring James Shrader of the Palace Café
H O N O R I N G T H E P A S T | C E L E B R A T I N G T H E P R E S E N T | B U I L D I N G T H E F U T U R E
12 JEWISHTULSA.ORG JEWISHTULSA.ORG 13
Passing the Torchby Heather Lewin, Director of Commu-
nity Development
More than 130 people gathered at the Federation’s 2016 Annual Meeting. Community members joined together on June 1 to mark the passing of the
torch from one Board President to the next and to welcome a special guest, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer.
Thanking outgoing president Dr. Myron Katz for his service and dedication, newly-elected president Lori Frank spoke from the heart about her memory of the campus we see today having been simply a sketch on a napkin on her parents’ coffee table. She challenged the current group of leaders—and those up and coming—to join her in a vision of involve-ment, ownership, and progress for the Federation’s future.
Ambassador Dermer engaged the crowd, sharing his perspective on today’s Israel, while drawing upon the history of the Jewish people to highlight the nation’s challenges and modern accomplishments. Dermer’s message culminated in a reminder of what he called the greatest gift Israel has given us: in today’s world, Jews can defend themselves.
Our community continues its tradition of strong support for Israel. Each year, 30% of our Annual Campaign—approximately $450,000—goes to our work in Israel and overseas through our national organization, JFNA.
Your gift to the Tulsa Jewish United Fund Annual Campaign makes possible events like this, and the fulfillment of our commitment to help those in need in Israel and 70 countries around the world. If you have not yet made your 2016 pledge, please contact Heather Lewin at 918.495.1100 or [email protected]. You may also make a contribution online at jewishtulsa.org, now made even simpler with a mobile-friendly view on your tablet or smartphone!
Each year, 30% of our Annual Campaign—approximately
$450,000—goes to our work in Israel and overseas
through our national organization, JFNA.
Newly-elected president Lori Frank thanking outgoing president Mickey Katz for his
service and dedication.
Ambassador Dermer engaged the crowd,
sharing his perspective on today’s Israel.
General FundFROMLinda & Andy BartVellie Paula BlochJoan & Curtis GreenFrieda GrossbardSue & David HalpernKate LoganShirley & Norman LevinDebbie O’HearnCarol OlsonBessie Speyer
Speedy RecoveryMerv AptakBea Newman
50th Wedding AnniversaryVicki & David Hurewitz
BirthdayDavid Bernstein
MemorySylvia ObersteinIrene Berneice Tillman
Wellness FundRodney & Jane StrainMiller Hospice FundNancy C. Phillips
MemoryGlenn A. Wright
Butterflies Honoring Donors to the Tulsa Jewish Retirement & Health Center
Dermatology Bernard Robinowitz, M.D.
We’ve moved !!
9245 S. Mingo Road Tulsa, OK 74133 Phone 918.492.8980 Fax 918.495.0607
www.UticaParkClinic.com
14 JEWISHTULSA.ORG JEWISHTULSA.ORG 15
photo essay on righteous gentiles in 2002. The next year, he traveled to Albania and Kosovo to chronicle the tales of the righ-teous Albanians and their devotion to besa. By 2004, Gershman had discovered close
to 150 Muslim families who had rescued Jews. With its thoroughly researched history and its profoundly emotional images, this exhibit challenges some of the most fundamental assumptions about
the presumed enmity between Islam and Judaism and eloquently reminds us of the power of good people to transform the way we view our world.
In Gershman’s meetings with righteous Albanians, each photo subject referenced his or her besadash (faith and honor) as the source of personal courage in rescuing Jewish people during the Holocaust. The photographs serve as representations of the character of each individual depicted, as well as historical documentation of the Albanian Resistance. The portraits, which often illuminate the presence of artifacts, are accompanied by personal statements of the individuals’ honorable acts.
When post-World War II Europe was devastated by the loss of its Jewish popu-lation, Albania was the only country to boast a larger number of Jewish people than it had prior to the Holocaust. Over 2,000 Jews from Albania, Greece, Austria, and Italy were hidden in the homes of Albanian Muslim families throughout the War.
The exhibition comes from the Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Reli-gion Museum in New York City. The SMMJA will host this exhibition through September 25, 2016.
Keeping a Promiseby Mickel Yantz, SMMJA Director of Collections and Exhibitions
Besa Is an Albanian code of honor that holds a person’s oath as sacred. This ancient code requires an Albanian to
endanger his own life, if necessary, to save the life of anyone seeking asylum. The code is uniquely Albanian and is cited as the main reason that Albanians opened their borders and their homes during World War II to displaced Jews when many others in Europe turned them away. The code is fueled in part by the tenets of Islam under which saving a life is
a blessed act. The word besa traces back to a collection of laws which regulate Alba-nian social, economic and religious lives, together with traditional customs and cultural practices of the Albanian society from 1400 through today.
BESA: Albanian Muslim Rescuers During the Holocaust, Photographs by Norman Gershman is the new exhibit at The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art this month. This previously untold story of the men and women of Albania, almost all of them Muslims, who faced the Nazi army only with their traditional honor code of besa and saved the lives of nearly 2,000 Jews, was nearly lost forever in the communist decades that followed World War II. This incredible exhibit showcases 31 black and white photographs that document the men and woman who put their lives on the line to protect complete strangers.
Norman Gershman, a Jewish Amer-ican photographer for over 30 years, discovered this unique story of Albanian bravery during WWII while researching a
BESA: Albanian Muslim Rescuers
During the Holocaust, Photographs by
Norman Gershman is the new exhibit at The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish
Art this month.
Haxhi Dede Reshat
2004 by Norman Gershman
Haxhi Dede Reshat
2004 by Norman Gershman
Norman Gershman 2004 by unknown
5936 S. Lewis Ave I Tulsa, OK 74105 I 918-779-4480 I kitchenconceptstulsa.com
16 JEWISHTULSA.ORG JEWISHTULSA.ORG 17
by Louis Davidson
PlannIng your vacatIon to the Greek Islands? Of course you’re looking forward to visiting the sun-drenched beaches, pictur-
esque villages, and eating scrumptious Greek cuisine laced with olives, lemons and feta cheese all washed down with copious quantities of Retsina. When not indulging in those sybaritic pleasures, you might want to partake in some Jewish tourism as a guilt-reducing cul-tural component to your travels. There are marvelous historic synagogues to visit on the islands of Delos, Rhodes, and Corfu.
The ancient city of Delos is the site of the oldest synagogue in the Diaspora. It is a magnificent archeological ruin on Delos Island, only two kilometers from Mykonos, the popular tourist destination. Nowadays there is neither Jewish popula-tion nor any permanent population on the island because it lacks potable water. The existence of a Jewish community on Delos was mentioned in the New Testa-ment and confirmed by five inscriptions from the late 2nd and early 1st century B.C.E. found in the island’s synagogue.
The synagogue is not difficult to find. Dock your boat at the waterfront and stroll about a half-mile through the ruins of the old city. Remembering to take plenty of drinking water and sunscreen, follow the main path out of the city for another half mile until it dead ends on the opposite side of the island. There, only a stone’s throw from the sparkling azure Aegean Sea, you’ll find the remnants of the ancient two-room synagogue. Was this Juderia (Jewish neighborhood) set at a distance from the main city as an early form of discrimination in housing or, even then, did Jews prefer beautiful seaside sites? Regardless of the reason for the spectacular location, there are benches lining the western wall of the synagogue’s
northernmost room and a fine arch still stands above the mikvah. Feet tired? Have a seat on the Throne of Moses, a throne and footstool crafted from the same marble as the synagogue’s columns and walls. The crumbling synagogue, its incredible picture postcard setting, and the whole experience of the boat ride and hike across the island of Delos is an unfor-gettable outing.
For more than a thousand years the island of Corfu had a small Jewish community. It ballooned in size during the Inquisition when approximately 6,000 Jews fled Spain to settle in Corfu. The community thrived, establishing Jewish schools, kosher markets, and synagogues. In the 16th century, two synagogues were built: one Italian and one Romaniote. The Italian Synagogue was destroyed by bombs during World War II while the Romaniote Greca Synagogue still serves the small Jewish community. The customs of Romaniote Jews are distinct from those of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews, more similar to those of Italian Jews. A possi-bility is that Romaniote Jews used the Jerusalem Talmud instead of the Baby-lonian Talmud and spoke Greek, not Hebrew or Yiddish.
Over the years, many of Corfu’s Jews moved to larger cities in Europe and America. By the time of the Holocaust, there were about 2,000 Jews remaining on Corfu. The Nazis shipped most of them off to Auschwitz where only 180 survived. Under the heroic protection of the Bishop of Zakynthos and Corfu’s mayor, 125 Jews survived on the island. After the war, more than half made Aliyah to Israel. Today there are only about 60 Jews left on Corfu.
The island of Rhodes was once home to about 4,500 Jews which in the 1920s were one-third of the island’s total popu-lation. The 16th-century Kahal Shalom Synagogue is the only remaining syna-gogue used for services on Rhodes and is the oldest functioning synagogue in all of
Greece. The Jews of Rhodes are primarily Sephardic, descendants of Jews who fled Spain and Portugal during those countries’ inquisitions. With that heritage, it’s not surprising that the synagogue was built in the traditional Sephardic style with the teva (pulpit) in the center of the sanctuary facing Jerusalem. What is surprising is that on both sides of the synagogue’s central entrance door there is an Ehal, a marble niche, where the Torahs are kept. This unusual dual Ehal arrangement was to accommodate simultaneous worship by two groups who could not agree on the minhag (traditions) or nusach (order and form of rite). Like oil and water, the two groups coexisted in the same container but didn’t mix. Imagine the tzimmes when opposing rabbis collided at the teva at the same moment. Oy vey!
Tzimmes aside, Kahal Shalom’s sanc-tuary is a lovely, airy space spanned with graceful arches, decorated with crystal chandeliers and religious paintings on the walls. Its floor is embellished with intri-cate black and white mosaic stone patterns employing distinctive design motifs used throughout the Old City of Rhodes.
During the Ottoman Empire, the Jews of Rhodes spoke mainly their own Judeo-Spanish language. It was a combination of Castilian dialect and Hebrew, as well as Turkish and Greek words and phrases. Known as Ladino, the language has been kept alive by Sephardic minorities in more than 30 countries, although it has no offi-cial status in any country.
Sit on the Throne of Moses, be lulled by the mellifluous Ladino language, regale in Romaniote rite, enjoy the scenery and sun, food and fun. It doesn’t get better than this.
For more than a thousand years
the island of Corfu had a small Jewish
community. It ballooned in size
during the Inquisition when approximately
6,000 Jews fled Spain to settle in Corfu.
18 JEWISHTULSA.ORG JEWISHTULSA.ORG 19
Celebrating Israel for 68 Yearsby Shiri Achiasaf-West, Shlicha
For the past few years for our Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations, the Jewish Federation of Tulsa’s Israel Committee has sponsored
a cultural exchange with our Partner-ship2Gether Region, Sovev Kinneret. To celebrate Israel’s birthday, we have brought musicians, artists, poets, and more from our culturally-rich partners in Israel. This year we were proud to have the Synopsis Dance Group, Tiberias’s official dance company, at our celebration.
When I first came across these amazing dancers from Tiberias, it was at
the beginning of my time in Tulsa. I was previously unaware of Synopsis and their immense talent. The group calls City Stage of the Tiberias Center of Excellence for Performing Arts for Dance and Theater their home, and has grown to include approximately 300 dancers and actors who make up their eight dance groups and two breakdance groups which are divided according to age.
The company takes part in various events, representing Tiberias locally, nationally, and internationally in many festivals, competitions, and performances. Their repertoire is diverse and includes dances and movements suited for any event. Their performances incorporate
unique musical arrangements, impressive costumes, and stage props that create a special cultural experience for the audi-ence. Synopsis has formulated its own movement language, combining past and present, tradition and modernity. The themes of the dances play in between these axes while dealing with Israeli, Jewish, and International narratives. They are led by their choreographer Doron Gueta.
During their time in Tulsa, they made many stops. Their first event after arriving in Tulsa was the Annual Inter-faith Holocaust Commemoration. Next on the schedule were performances at Thoreau Demonstration Academy and our sister-school Carver Middle School.
Synopsis also performed at Guthrie Green in downtown Tulsa, as well as a perfor-mance in Oklahoma City. The group also held a master class for Tulsa Ballet and attended their school’s recital. In addition to their many dance performances, we were honored to have one of the dancers sing at the Federation’s Yom Ha’Zikaron ceremony for Israel’s Memorial Day. The time in Oklahoma culminated with their spectacular performance to celebrate Israel’s 68th birthday.
They say, “It takes a village,” and many people were involved with helping the group during their time as our guests. Tulsans (Jewish and non-Jewish alike) welcomed them with open arms, and the village came together to drive them to their performances, host them for meals, and open their homes to our Israeli guests. It was truly a community experience, and the dancers had an unforgettable time here.
20 JEWISHTULSA.ORG JEWISHTULSA.ORG 21
Jews in the Russian Military 1827–1917
by Phil Goldfarb
August 26, 1827, was a pivotal date: Czar Nicholas I issued his Statute on Conscription Duty making Jews in Russia liable
for personal army service. He held that Jews should be made soldiers: in the mili-tary they would learn not only Russian but also useful skills and crafts, and eventually they would become his loyal subjects.
This 1827 Statute was seemingly for the equal distribution of military burdens amongst all Russian citizens, but the government was also motivated by the desire to detach a large number of Jews from Jewish society; transport them else-where on Russian soil as to deprive them of Jewish influence; and where practical, baptize them. According to these rules, Jews were to provide as many conscripts as required from the Russian tax-paying estate to which they belonged—usually four conscripts from each thousand subjects.
All recruits, including Jews, had to serve 25 years in the army, and, if they married, their offspring—as children of Russian soldiers—became the “prop-erty” of the military and were destined to attend schools for soldiers’ children called cantonists’ institutions. Jews were legally entitled to religious freedom, including the right to celebrate most of the important religious holidays, if their observances did not interfere with their training schedules. Yet some differences between Jews and non-Jews applied: most significantly, Jews were required to provide conscripts between the ages of 12 and 25, whereas other conscripts were between 18 and 35.
The first 1827 draft involved some 1,800 Jewish conscripts, half of whom, upon the decision of the kahal, were children. With the exception of the Crimean War period, the figure of 2,000 to 3,000 Jewish conscripts per draft remained unchanged for the pre-reform Russian army but figure that grew five to six times toward the end of the 19th century.
After 1827, communal leaders found themselves authorized to compose the draft lists and select conscripts. Seeking to protect the economic, social, and moral integrity of Jewish society, communal elders first interceded with the military authorities and the tsar to make sure that the privilege for Jewish soldiers to prac-tice Judaism was enforced, especially for minors. Second, they did their best to include “non-useful Jews” in the draft lists
so that the heads of tax-paying, middle-class families were predominantly exempt from conscription, whereas single Jews, as well as heretics, beggars, outcasts, and orphaned children were drafted. Third, they used their power to suppress protests and intimidate potential informers who sought to expose the arbitrariness of the kahal to the Russian government. In some cases, communal elders had the most threatening informers murdered.
By the late 1840s and early 1850s, with the quota doubled for Russians and quadrupled for Jews, and especially during the Crimean War of 1854–1855, Jewish communal leaders had long exhausted their pool of non-useful subjects. In order to fill the ever-growing quota, kahal elders resorted to the help of khapers (Yiddish meaning catchers)—Jews who caught their brethren of any age and of any status and handed them to conscription centers.
In 1843, after the extension of the conscription system to the Kingdom of Poland, some 1,500–2,000 adult Polish Jews per draft joined other Jewish soldiers from the Pale of Settlement. Jews who were 18 years of age and older were distributed to navy and army regiments, while chil-dren at the age of 8 to 13 years old were sent to some 25 cantonist schools. For all cantonists, the 25-year term of service began after the soldiers reached age 18 and were distributed into the army. Military
authorities rejected the pleas of children’s relatives and denied Jewish cantonists the privilege of separate kosher cuisine and, in many cases, of practicing Judaism.
Separated from their families and communities, Jewish lower ranks, espe-cially those who served beyond the Pale, were neither fully observant Jews nor fully assimilated into the Russian Orthodox. Most Jewish soldiers kept together, helping one another preserve traces of communal identity. This partially explains the low level of baptisms among
them (a maximum of 2% in any given year between 1827 and 1874).
Though the military failed to abide by its obligation to dispatch rabbis to regi-ments with more than 300 Jewish soldiers, local regimental authorities routinely allotted Jews room for prayer groups, to conduct services on the Sabbath and the festivals, and even to raise money for the purchase of Torah scrolls of their own. Jews who served in regiments billeted in the Pale were individually and collectively allowed to stay in touch with nearby Jewish communities. Those who spent army service beyond the Pale were allowed to settle there permanently upon their transfer into the reserve and to estab-lish Jewish communities of their own.
Despite the extraordinary missionary efforts and arbitrariness of some battalion commanders aimed at baptizing Jewish cantonists, the most optimistic reports showed significant resistance to Chris-tianization. With the ascent of Alexander II and the Russian entitlement transfor-mation of the institutions of cantonists into military schools, hundreds of Jewish cantonists who had been baptized under duress, publicly rejected their baptism, reclaimed their Jewish names and iden-tity, and organized collective protests that scandalized the Russian military.
Alexander II’s reforms and the 1874 statute on universal military duty radi-cally modified Nicholas’s conscription,
establishing a six-year term of service, extending military duty to all estates, and introducing a relatively transparent system of exemptions.
Between 1874 and 1914, there were more Jews in the Russian army than non-Jews in proportion to the general population. For example, in 1907, Jewish soldiers constituted almost 5 percent of the entire military but only 4 percent of the population of the empire.
According to the 1874 regulations, Jews were allowed to serve in regiments stationed near their permanent places of residence. Most Jews in the armed forces, about 90%, served in combat positions: 75% in infantry regiments, between 7–20% in artillery, and 2–4% in cavalry.
There were 300,000 Jews who served in the Russian army during World War I. Despite a vehement anti-alien campaign that blamed Russian military failures on Jews in general and on the Jewish popu-lation, Jewish soldiers shared patriotic enthusiasm with their Russian parallels.
After the February Revolution of 1917, the provisional government canceled all anti-Jewish regulations in the military, allowing upper mobility to the Jews and opening the doors of officers’ schools to them.Phil Goldfarb is President of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Tulsa: [email protected].
Between 1874 and 1914, there were more Jews in the Russian army than non-Jews in proportion to the general population.
22 JEWISHTULSA.ORG JEWISHTULSA.ORG 23
Temple Israel Welcomes Interim Rabbi Jim Simonby Lesley Bumgarner,
Temple Israel President
As we bId farewell to Rabbis Karen and Micah Citrin and wish them every blessing in their new congregation, we
also welcome Rabbi Jim Simon to Temple Israel as Interim Rabbi. Rabbi Simon comes to Tulsa from Miami, Florida. In his 33 years as a rabbi, he has served congre-gations in Miami, Florida, North Miami Beach, Florida and Worcester, Massa-chusetts. During that time, Rabbi Simon also served as the Regional Director of the Mid-West Council for the UAHC (now
URJ-Union for Reform Judaism) from 1986–2002. His region encompassed nine states and 70 congregations.
In 2009–2010, Rabbi Simon became part of the first cohort of Reform Rabbis to be trained as Interim Rabbis by the Interim Ministry Network (IMN) and the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). Interim Rabbis are ordained rabbis who also receive additional training in order to serve congregations under-going significant change and to provide help and expertise during times of tran-sition. Rabbi Simon has served as an Interim Rabbi in Sanibel Island, Florida, Closter, New Jersey, and most recently Park City, Utah. To strengthen his skills
as an Interim Rabbi, Rabbi Simon received additional training as a certified mediator in family law. Prior to his decision to enter the Rabbinate, Rabbi Simon practiced law in California for two years in the 1970s.
Rabbi Simon and his wife, Rebecca, have three grown children. Rebecca works as a nurse at Doctors’ Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida. Their oldest child, Jaclyn, lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her family and works as a first grade teacher. Their daughter, Deborah, works as a nanny in New York. Their youngest child, Daniel, works for HBO in Los Angeles.
Rabbi Simon is a warm and engaging man who will provide a wealth of experi-ence and expertise to help guide Temple Israel through a time of continued transi-tion. He begins his work with us on July 1. The community is invited to Shabbat Services at Temple Israel to officially welcome Rabbi Simon to Tulsa on Friday evening, July 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Interim Rabbi Jim Simon
Yes—and it’s FREE!
Perhaps you didn’t know that Saffa Compounding Pharmacy not only offers full service compounding, but is also a retail phar-macy that delivers free within the Tulsa metro area. And …
Saffa has a large inventory of medical supplies/equipment. Saffa fills prescriptions for the family as well as your pets! Saffa works in partnership with your physicians. Saffa provides personalized service and consultations. Saffa offers price matching on most local prescriptions.
Don’t deprive yourself. The best drug store in town is just a call away!
918-492-4242 Mon-Fri 9am-6pm Sat 9am-1pm / www.saffarx.com
Listen to us LIVE on Sundays @ 9am!
8002 S Sheridan Tulsa, OK 74133
It’s a honey of a deal!
Please contactMindy Prescott at 918.935.3662 or [email protected] place your order by July 29.
Send your friends and familya gift of pure, certified Kosher honey
to support programming at theCharles Schusterman JCC.
Just $11 for an 8 oz. jar with gift card (in the U.S.)
to wish them a sweet new year!
Located in the Pearl District, Papa Ganouj features classic Lebanese favorites made from the heart.
Regional wine, beer, and spirits as well.
Open Tuesday through Saturday: Lunch: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm Dinner: 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
For reservations: 918-794-8413
1328 East 6th Street, Tulsa / Pearl District www.TulsaPapaGanouj.com
