By Rich TenorioJOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

Sukkot begins Friday night, and despite the pan-demic, Phil Blue of Lynnfield plans to host guests during the holiday to enjoy spiced cider and a sweet potato lentil curry stew his wife only pre-pares for the festival.

“I don’t think we are going to have a party with, like 20 people, like we’ve had open-ing night before, but, you know, of the 30 people we usu-ally have for Rosh Hashanah, we can instead invite them over for different nights on Sukkot,” said Blue.

By Ethan M. FormanJOURNAL STAFF

As Americans mourned the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg – the most influential female judge in U.S. history – Jews in Greater Boston also paused to reflect on the seminal figure who devoted most of her life to protecting the rights of all citizens.

“I think we’ve lost a great justice and a great Jewish justice,” said U.S. District Court Senior Judge Mark Wolf. Ginsburg was as an example and an inspiration for women lawyers and others, he said.

Ginsburg died on Sept. 18 — Erev Rosh Hashanah — at age 87. A week later, she became the first woman, and the first Jewish person, to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol. Her casket was set on the same platform built for the casket of President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination in 1865.

“The Torah is relentless in reminding and instructing and commanding that we never forget those who live in the shadows, those whose freedom and opportunity are not guaranteed,” said Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt of the Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C., while eulogiz-ing Ginsburg as she lay in repose in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court.

Ginsburg was a superhero to Rabbi Alison Adler, the spiritual leader of Temple B’nai Abraham in Beverly.

“For Hanukkah, my husband got me a Ruth Bader Ginsburg action figure that’s sitting in my office,” Adler said. She said she spoke with her son, as kids are into comic book figures like the Avengers, about how Ginsburg was someone who fought for justice.

“That was what she was to me, a superhero,” Adler said. The rabbi admired Ginsburg for the way she broke through barriers, and for the clever way she brought gender discrimination cases forward that eventually

changed the way women are viewed in the American workplace and society.

In her more than 27 years on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg was often in the dissent as she fought for equal treatment of women and men under the law.

She has become an inspiration to established judges, attorneys, and those in law school as a tireless judge, law-yer, and mother who balanced family and work life, and for being a Jewish woman who broke barriers to sit on the nation’s highest court. She also suffered her share of gen-der discrimination as she began her law career, they said.

Ginsburg, who was the first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court, took pride in her heritage in its call for justice.

Adler said she had written a sermon in advance of the High Holidays on the topic of search for meaning, and when Ginsburg died, she talked about the late justice’s

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Jewish teachers learn lessons about perseverance during pandemic

JUSTICE FOR ALL: GINSBURG SET AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL TO FOLLOW

Ruth Bader Ginsburg lying in repose outside of the U.S. Supreme Court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the first Jewish female justice of the Supreme Court.

continued on page 16

continued on page 9

OCTOBER 1, 2020 – 13 TISHRI 5781

VOL 45, NO 3 JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG

By Ethan M. FormanJOURNAL STAFF

With schools across the region

reopening for the fall, some remotely, some with a mix of in-person and virtual instruction, Jewish teachers are learning how to teach during a pandemic.

The going can be frustrating at times, they said. But some said their faith helps inform them when it comes to being a teacher during these challenging times.

Larry Lodgen has been teaching for 42 years. But these days, the fourth-grade teacher at the Washington S.T.E.M. Elementary School in Lynn feels like a newbie as he navigates how best to teach remotely during the COVID-19 pandem-ic.

Lodgen, who formerly taught at the

“My biggest concern is getting the kids engaged in the lessons,” says Larry Lodgen, who recently set up his desk outside of the Washington school in Lynn. continued on page 16

For safety’s sake, most plan small gatherings for Sukkot

Lynnfield’s Phil Blue marked Sukkot with his children Talia and Shalev in their sukkah last year.

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By Ethan M. FormanJOURNAL STAFF

PEABODY – In the days lead-ing up to the High Holidays, the caretaker for a cemetery belong-ing to Temple Tiferet Shalom off Route 128 discovered two granite memorial benches that appeared to have been smashed with a sledgehammer.

The temple said last week police are investigating what it is calling an apparent hate crime and increasing surveil-lance of the cemetery prop-erty, which also contains two other Jewish cemeteries along a stretch of Route 128 north near the Danvers line.

“The congregation has noti-fied the families who donated the benches in memory of their dear ones,” the temple said. “The temple has received expressions of support and concern from civic leaders, and has informed local Jewish organizations, who are increasing vigilance at syna-gogue buildings and other facili-ties.”

In a statement, Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt called the vandalism an act of hate.

“Destruction of the memo-rial benches at the temple cem-etery is an act of hate which has absolutely no place in Peabody,” said Bettencourt. “This desecra-tion is an affront to the families of those who are memorialized at the cemetery, to our Jewish community, and to all Peabody residents.”

In an email, Rabbi David Kudan, the temple’s spiritual leader, informed the congrega-tion “of the sad and senseless act which occurred at the holiest time in the Jewish calendar.”

The temple has set up a fund to assist with the restoration of the benches and “to contribute to educational efforts to combat rising expressions of anti-Semi-tism and bigotry.”

Raising awareness of such acts is important, Kudan said.

“It’s just a constant struggle to educate people and respond,” said Kudan. The vandal-ism occurred during the High Holidays, when Jews go to the cemetery to pay their respects to their loved ones.

Kudan said he spoke with Debbie Coltin, a Peabody resi-dent and executive director of the Lappin Foundation in Salem, about the incident.

“It is disheartening,” said Coltin, who recalled what hap-pened earlier this month when a virtual gathering of a Lappin Teen Fellows program was ‘Zoom bombed’ by someone making vulgar and anti-Semit-ic remarks. While the incident became a teachable moment for the young fellows, it was some-thing she reported to the Anti-Defamation League and the police, who told her “they are seeing an increase of neo-Nazi activity in the area.”

Coltin said it’s important to speak up when someone perpe-trates such hate and there needs to be more education about what’s going on. The foundation is hosting a virtual program with philanthropist Adam Milstein called “Anti-Semitism is here: What can we do about it,” on Oct. 7, she said. (For more informa-tion about the free program on Zoom, contact Susan Feinstein at 978-740-4431 or sfeinstein@lappinfoundation.org.)

In relation to another

apparent hate incident, the Associated Clergy of Cape Ann, including Rabbi Steven Lewis of Temple Ahavat Achim and the Rev. Sue Koehler-Arsenault of Annisquam Village Church, both located in Gloucester, hosted a “Repairing Our Spirit of Connection” event on Sept. 21.

The gathering was “in response to rising instances of public expression of hate, in cluding a large swastika recent-ly found drawn in the sand at Good Harbor Beach,” accord-ing to the Facebook invite. The Gloucester Daily Times reported the drawing was found on Sept. 1.

“My response to these inci-dents and threats is to bring the community together and find solidarity,” Lewis said in a brief interview.

Danvers resident and former Select Board member David McKenna, who runs the cem-etery caretaker business of John M. Ross and Son, said he was at the cemetery on Sept. 12 flagging graves for the High Holidays. That’s when he noticed a broken bench. It looked as though it had been backed into by a car.

On Sept. 17, two workers were mowing the lawn and reported seeing a second bench that had a crack in it, with a mark on the top that looked like it had been struck by a sledgehammer. McKenna said it was obvious the damage was intentional.

Peabody Police Captain Dennis Bonaiuto said that according to the report, when the first damaged bench was reinspected, it bore the same mark consistent with being struck with a blunt object, pos-sibly a hammer.

The benches will probably

have to be replaced at an esti-mate of over $1,600, McKenna said.

Sam Tabasky of Middleton serves as president of the Lebanon-Tiferet Shalom Cemetery Association. The cemetery belonged to the for-mer Temple Tifereth Israel in Malden when the Reform tem-

ple merged with Temple Beth Shalom in Peabody in 2015 to form Temple Tiferet Shalom.

“We are obviously quite upset about it,” Tabasky said.

“It had to be done with a sledgehammer.”

Anyone with information can call Peabody police at 978-531-1212 and ask for a supervisor.

Courtesy photoOne of two benches damaged at a Jewish cemetery in Peabody in the days leading up to the High Holidays.

Benches smashed at Peabody cemetery among recent reports of anti-Semitism

By Steven A. RosenbergJOURNAL STAFF

BOSTON – The Jewish Advocate, which played a major role in connecting the Boston Jewish community for much of the last century, announced it would no longer print its weekly paper last week.

The paper, which was started 118 years ago, was one of the leading secular English Jewish publications in America for much of the last century. In its Sept. 25 edition, the paper attributed its closure to a decline in advertising revenue during the pandemic.

The paper was started by Jacob de Haas in 1902. Over the years, it was best known for its coverage of Zionism, Israel and the Soviet Jewry movement. The paper joins several other Jewish publications that have either closed or moved online since the pandemic began.

With its suspension of operations, the Jewish Journal is now the largest Jewish publication in Greater Boston.

Jewish Advocate ends 118-year run; suspends its publication

By Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

There is an age-old connection between Judaism and law. For centuries, rabbis and other Jewish scholars have studied, restud-

ied, and ceaselessly interpreted the Talmud. These studies have produced a vast corpus of juridical writing. Jews have been called “the people of the book,” reflecting their placement of learning first among cultural values.

The Jewish tradition prized the scholarship of judges and lawyers, and when anti-Semitic occupational restrictions were lifted, Jews were drawn to the learned professions of the countries in which they lived. In the United States, law became a bulwark against the kind of oppression Jews had endured in many lands and for count-less generations. Jews in large numbers became lawyers, some eventually became judges, and the best of these jurists used the law to secure justice for others.

Laws as protectors of the oppressed, the poor, the loner, is evident in the work of my Jewish predecessors on the Supreme Court. The Biblical command: justice, justice shalt thou pursue, is a strand that ties them together. I keep those words on the wall of my chambers, as an ever present reminder of what judges must do “that they may thrive.”

The late Supreme Court justice (and former American Jewish Committee President) Arthur

Goldberg once said: “My concern for justice, for peace, for enlightenment, all stem from my heri-tage.” I am fortunate to be linked to that heritage.

Each time I visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, I am reminded that Hitler’s evil king-dom, his “Holocaust kingdom,” was a kingdom full of laws. Leading jurists from Germany’s highly educated legal community willingly assisted in drafting the laws of the Third Reich. After serving as draftsmen, those jurists shunned the human consequences of the new laws by retreating into a heartless professionalism. They were, by their accounts, simply serving and enforcing law and order.

We must learn from that dreadful past, and strive to ensure against its repetition. In bad times, in oppressive societies, our humanity should cause us to hold fast to our human decency, so that never, in the service of political leaders, will we administer laws that deny humanity or the human dignity of others.

I am a judge born, raised, and proud of being a Jew. The demand for justice runs through the entirety of the Jewish tradition. I hope, in my years on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States I will have the strength and courage to remain constant in the service of that demand.

(Adapted from Justice Ginsburg’s address to the Annual Meeting of the American Jewish Committee, May, 1995.)

4 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020 EDITORIAL

The fast is over and the new year of 5781 has begun. When historians look back on this Yom Kippur, they will note

how American Jews marked the day and how technology was used to fill the void of communal prayer. Most Jews who observed the holiday adhered to public health experts’ guidance and stayed home. For those who wanted to connect to God through Zoom, it seemed at times like a sociological experiment. While synagogues that offered streaming services did their best to virtually transport people back into temple – making extraordinary efforts to guide congregants through every last prayer – it could not be the same because prayer, in so many ways, is a shared experience.

The pandemic has upended our shared experience. Instead of dealing collectively with all it has wrought – the death of more than 206,000 Americans, and the 7 million other citizens who have contracted the disease; and an economy that may take years to recover – most of us (save for essential workers) are faced with an existential experience. And with this comes the question, what can we do?

Yom Kippur reminds us of just how fleeting

life is. With this understanding comes an opportunity to make our world a better place. At a time when political division and polarization has swept through our society, we must step back from the divisive rhetoric and remind ourselves that there is more to life than political ideology. People make their own decisions in life, and it is rare that an argument will change a person’s vote. If we are to have public discourse, it should be civil and consistent with our democratic principles. Above all, we need to conduct our conversations with respect and dignity.

With so much technology embedded in our lives, it is easy to forget that we are human beings – filled with emotions, love, ideals and the capability to perform acts of loving kindness to strangers, friends, neighbors and families. This time of year – when we review our lives and reassess our priorities – is an opportunity to break free of the solitude that has gripped our nation over the last seven months. Many of us have been given much in this life and asked very little in return. We can show our gratitude in many different ways to our fellow man, but let us start with common respect.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

JEWISH JOURNALSteven A. Rosenberg

PUBLISHER/EDITOR

Common respect

I can’t put my finger on the day I found out that the JCC pools were open, but I will never forget the sense of joy and relief I felt at finally being able to workout in the pool. Runners can run, walkers can walk, and weight lifters can lift weights, but you need a pool to swim laps, so trying to stay well and sane during a pandemic, you need water (unless you’re an ocean swimmer, which I’m not)!

Thank you Marty Schneer, executive director; thank you

Andrew Dalton, membership director; thank you Ashley Vieira, aquatics director. And of course, thanks to the fabulous lifeguards who protect us as we swim.

I am grateful to the JCC for setting up a program and safe-guards which has kept us safe, well and wet. I think I can speak for all of us who are so grateful for your efforts. Thank you.

Sylvia Belkin Swampscott

In the Sept. 10 edition of the Jewish Journal, veteran Saul Heller makes the general state-ment in his letter that “draft-dodgers do not love their coun-try.” I’m tired of this oversimpli-fication.

“Vietnam” was a very unpop-ular war and I was brought up a pacifist. A high school friend once told me he would fight in WW II, but not in Vietnam. Did those who hid children in WW II hate Germany, or hate what had

happened to Germany?My stepfather was one of

those hidden children. I have the highest respect for my father-in-law, and nephew who did serve, and am fortunate I was not sub-ject to the draft. I did however have to register for Selective Service, but I did that after much thought and consideration. I did not do it on my 18th birthday as the law demanded.

Jonas S. GreenSalem

The war has left a bloody trail and many deep wounds not too easily healed. Many people have been left with scars that take a long time to pass away. We must never forget the horrors which our breth-ren were subjected to in Bergen-Belsen and other Nazi concentra-tion camps. Then, too, we must try hard to understand that for righteous people hate and preju-dice are neither good occupations nor fit companions. Rabbi Alfred Bettleheim once said: “Prejudice saves us a painful trouble, the trouble of thinking.” In our beloved land families were not scattered, communities not erased nor our nation destroyed by the ravages of the World War.

Yet, dare we be at ease? We are part of a world whose unity has been almost completely shattered.

No one can feel free from danger and destruction until the many torn threads of civilization are bound together again. We cannot feel safer until every nation, regard-less of weapons or power, will meet together in good faith, the people worthy of mutual association.

There can be a happy world and there will be once again, when men create a strong bond towards one another, a bond unbreakable by a studied prejudice or a pass-ing circumstance. Then and only then shall we have a world built on the foundation of the Fatherhood of God and whose structure is the Brotherhood of Man.

Ruth Bader, Grade VIII

At age 13, Ruth Bader wrote this for The Bulletin of the East Midwood Jewish Center.

Can draftdodgers love their country?

Reader thanks JCC

What being Jewish means to me

One People– Ruth Bader, Grade 8

OPINION THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020 5

By Jack M. Beermann

About 30 years ago, I had the privi-lege of calling Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the phone for a ref-

erence on a former law clerk who was being considered for a position on my faculty. I knew her by reputation as the woman who led the fight for women’s equal rights before the law, and she was already a distinguished judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. She gave her clerk a glowing reputation, so glowing that when Judge Ginsburg was nominated to the Supreme Court, I told my now-colleague that she was going to call him to clerk for her on the high court if she was confirmed. Sure enough, she was confirmed and he got the call and spent a year on leave from the faculty to assist Justice Ginsburg once again.

What I remember most about the phone call, however, is not what she said about her law clerk but her courtesy, her modesty, and even her enthusiasm for hearing about me and my work. I felt like I had made a new friend even over a 400-mile wire. A couple of years later when she came to Boston University Law School for an event, I had the honor of being seated next to her and her hus-band, Marty Ginsburg, at dinner. She was even more impressive in person: friendly, clearly brilliant, and charming. I was thrilled to have a chance to converse with one of the great lawyers in the his-tory of our country, and as our (pretty mediocre) dinner was served, it turned out that instead of the mysteries and subtleties of jurisprudence, we talked about food and Marty’s cooking, which I later learned was legendary. I did get to play a bit of Jewish geography with him. He was a distinguished tax lawyer, and my cousin’s father-in-law was also at the top of that field in Washington, so I was not surprised to learn that Marty Ginsburg was well acquainted with my sort-of relative.

When I learned during pre-Rosh Hashanah dinner that Justice Ginsburg had passed away, my thoughts turned to her stellar reputation as a lawyer and her incomparable performance as a justice of the Supreme Court. She accomplished for women what it took a cadre of distin-guished lawyers – including Thurgood Marshall, Spottswood Robinson, and Charles Hamilton Houston – to do for African-Americans.

I recall the indignities my mother suf-fered in the early 1970s when, after she

and my father were divorced, insurance companies and others did not want to do business with an unmarried woman. Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s efforts helped put a stop to that sort of discrimination. Of course, she did not do it alone, but if her career had ended there, she would still deserve to be known as one of the great lawyers, male or female, of the 20th cen-tury. Even before she became a judge, she deserved the moniker “Notorious RBG.”

It is impossible to overstate her accomplishments as a justice of the Supreme Court. I’ll focus on two of her opinions, one for a majority and the other in dissent. In 1996, she wrote the court’s majority opinion forbidding the State of Virginia from denying women admission to the Virginia Military Institute based solely on their gender. As Justice Ginsburg explained, the court had previously determined that “par-ties who seek to defend gender-based government action must demonstrate an ‘exceedingly persuasive justification’ for that action,” which Virginia failed to do. The heart of Justice Ginsburg’s opinion was its careful exposition of how Virginia’s reasons for barring women were founded upon stereotypes that had been used historically to justify the exclusion of women from activities such as practicing law and medicine and from admission to federal military academies. As Justice Ginsburg said, these stereo-types had been exposed as founded on

discriminatory motives rather than rea-son and could not justify exclusion of women from VMI.

When the Supreme Court in 2007 rejected Lilly Ledbetter’s lawsuit after she discovered that her employer, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., had paid her less than men performing the same functions, Justice Ginsburg wrote the dissenting opinion on behalf of a four-Justice liberal minority. The majority’s decision was founded upon its view that Ms. Ledbetter had sued too late, she should have sued within 180 days of the onset of the discrimination, even though she did not discover it until years later. Justice Ginsburg’s dissent carefully explained that the majority had erected an impossible burden for women like Ms. Ledbetter, who have no way of knowing – or even suspecting – that they were con-sistently receiving smaller pay increases than their male counterparts. Congress agreed with Justice Ginsburg, and the first bill signed into law by President Barack Obama was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, a measure inspired by Justice Ginsburg’s dissent, that made

it possible for employees to prevail when they discover they had been victimized by discriminatory compensation deci-sions over a long period.

These opinions are consistent with Justice Ginsburg’s career on the Court. She carefully set out a clear, consistent, and principled jurisprudence designed to protect the rights of those who needed protection, and she was consistently the most sensible, well-spoken, and mod-erate – in tone – member of the Court. Her reasoning was so persuasive, she never found it necessary to engage in the histrionics favored by some of her colleagues. Just on that score, the Court will miss her.

Of course, it is impossible to mark

her passing without commenting on the controversy that has already erupt-ed over her replacement. Only naiveté would have led anyone to believe that the party in power would follow the rule that it created out of thin air in 2016 to deny President Obama the right to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat in the last year of his presidency. With the abolition of the filibuster for Supreme Court con-firmations, and the apparent decision by almost all Republican senators to fol-low Mitch McConnell’s instructions and vote to confirm President Trump’s nomi-nee – Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett – it seems likely that Justice Ginsburg will be quickly replaced by a super-conservative justice.

In response, the Democrats’ only option might be – assuming the party takes both the presidency and the Senate in November – to increase the number of Supreme Court justices and restore the balance destroyed by the two “stolen seats.”

It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court is so political. It sticks its nose into many areas in which, in a democracy, it does not belong. But please, do not be misled into thinking this is a new phe-nomenon. The post-Civil War Supreme Court dismantled Congress’s plan for Reconstruction and paved the way for a century of Jim Crow discrimination against African-Americans. In the early 20th century, the Court actively inter-vened to prevent pro-labor and other economic reforms, and backed down only in the face of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s own court-packing plan.

In this light, Justice Ginsburg was a relative moderate, joining an activ-ist court only when necessary to pro-tect fundamental rights, and steadfastly refusing to allow the Supreme Court to undercut beneficial laws that are con-stantly under attack from the business and industry groups that support the party in power. It will be a shame if her replacement unleashes the destruction of laws protecting women, minorities, workers, immigrants, and all of us who care about health care and a healthy environment.

Right about now, the country could use someone with the determination and ability of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, may her memory be a blessing.

Professor Jack M. Beermann is the Harry Elwood Warren Scholar at the Boston University School of Law.

RBG’s legacy and the future of our democracy

By Jamie Ehrlich

While attending the University of Chicago in 2018, I had the good

fortune to have a part-time job as a community outreach coordinator for the soon-to-be-released “RBG” documentary. On premiere night at the Gold Coast Theatre, the Chicagoans I had come to know turned out in force.

The gray-haired justice book group was followed by some little girls with their mothers. Film buffs, law students, elected officials, and a church group were all present and excited to learn more about this notori-ous intellectual giant. Everyone was moved by her story. The little girl who went in wearing an RBG costume came out stand-ing a little taller in her black robe and white jabot. This was the power of Ginsburg’s transcen-dent appeal.

More recently, as a CNN associate producer covering the Supreme Court, I was assigned a retrospective story about Justice Ginsburg’s most impactful deci-

sions during her long career. I wrote the story factually and objectively, with no fanfare, and placed it in reserve for what I hoped would be a very long time.

But she deserves the fanfare. Like Thurgood Marshall – the

Court’s first African-American justice – before her, Ginsburg spent much of her time on the bench in the minority. She gave voice to underdogs and oppressed minorities. She wrote blistering dissents, sometimes breaking with tradition to read them aloud, that packed a punch from the losing side. Through the sheer force of her dissent-ing opinion on a landmark equal pay case, she successfully pushed the other two branches of government into action after Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in 2006-2007, lead-ing to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009.

I admired her disdain for injustice and discrimination in her prescient dissent in the 2013 voting rights case, Shelby County v. Holder, which sought to defang federal enforcement

of the Voting Rights Act. She pointed out the paradox of the majority opinion, writing that “throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is con-tinuing to work to stop discrimi-natory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rain-storm because you are not get-ting wet.”

Her feminism was well-earned. As only the second female and sixth Jewish per-son on the Supreme Court, her journey was often beset by discrimination and challenged by societal norms. “When I’m sometimes asked when there will be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, ‘When there are nine,’ people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody ever raised a question about that,” she said. This underdog sensi-bility was well-reflected with a majority opinion in the seminal 1996 case, U.S. v. Virginia, which forced the Virginia Military Institute to admit women. Her words set important precedent for gender equality.

I so greatly admired her quiet

ferocity and “small c” conser-vative approach. She was easy to underestimate. That was, of course, her secret weapon. Like a literary ninja, her argu-ments and responses were con-structed with artful precision for maximum impact. As the court drifted right, this clear-thinking liberal lioness seemed to be car-rying the weight of justice on her tiny shoulders.

Her grounded authenticity and delight in mentorship is how she inspired little girls in RBG costumes and aspiring lawyers. Speaking with law students, she once had this to say: “If you are going to be a lawyer and just practice your profession, you have a skill – very much like a plumber. But if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself … something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you.”

While reporting during these tumultuous times, I have been heartened to see thoughtful lawyers rushing to defend the Constitution. I have seen law-yers at CNN defending press

access to the White House and Congressional counsel drafting oversight subpoenas. Heroes are the compassionate pro bono lawyers who greet recent immi-grants at airports and travel to the U.S./Mexican border to reunite children with their fami-lies. Their tireless advocacy and selfless humanity is a counter-measure to some of the most pernicious forces in our society. Their work is also very much in the spirit of Ginsburg’s dissent.

A great American voice has been silenced, but she left us a written roadmap to a more just society. As we mourn and navigate the politics of filling her seat, we must simultaneously grab the baton and continue her fight, because the fight is ours. It is, in large part, up to the legal profession to keep us from los-ing sight of what we stand for.

May her memory be a revolu-tion.

Jamie Ehrlich grew up in Marblehead and attends Boston College Law School.

RBG: May her memory be a revolution

Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ginsburg carefully set out a clear, consistent, and

principled jurisprudence designed to protect the

rights of those who needed protection, and she was

consistently the most sensible, well-spoken, and moderate – in tone – member of the Court.

Jewish groups reacted imme-diately against U.S. President Donald Trump’s refusal to con-demn white supremacists dur-ing the first 2020 presidential debate on Tuesday in Cleveland.

“Are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacists and militia groups, and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence at a number of these cities, as we

saw in Kenosha and as we’ve seen in Portland?” modera-tor and Fox News anchor Chris Wallace asked Trump during Tuesday night’s debate.

“Sure, I’m willing to do that, but I would say that almost everything I see is from the left-wing, not from the right-wing. I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace,” said Trump.

“Well, then, do it, sir,” replied

Wallace.“Say it,” Biden interjected.

“Do it. Say it.”“You want to call them, what

do you want to call them?” Trump replied. “Give me a name. Go ahead, who would you like me to condemn?”

“White supremacists,” Wallace interjected.

“Proud Boys,” Biden interject-ed, referring to the far-right group.

“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” said Trump. “But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem.”

Jewish groups slammed Trump passing on the opportu-nity to condemn white suprem-acists.

“It’s astonishing that, when asked a simple question, will you condemn white supremacists, @POTUS responded “The Proud Boys should stand back and stand by.” Trying to determine if this was an answer or an admis-sion. @POTUS owes America an apology or an explanation. Now,” tweeted Anti-Defamation League national director and CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

The American Jewish Committee tweeted, “@potus – Bigots, racists, and antisem-ites are rejoicing at your refusal to condemn white supremacy. There can be no ambiguity on this issue. White supremacists should not just be told to ‘stand by’ – they need to be renounced completely.”

“Tonight Trump refused to condemn white nationalists. He issued a dog whistle to bigots. He refused to concede power if he lost. He intentionally cast doubt on the integrity of the election. How can anyone pos-sibly support him, including the @RJC? He’s an absolute and utter shame,” tweeted Jewish Democratic Council of America executive director Halie Soifer, putting her organization’s coun-terpart, the Republican Jewish Coalition, on the spot.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, however, came to Trump’s defense.

“The president has been very clear on denouncing anti-Semitism and racism in all forms,” tweeted RJC, providing a link to a page that documents Trump’s past of calling out white supremacism and other bigotry.

– JNS.org

JERUSALEM – Almost 5,000 Israelis have tested positive for the coronavirus since Tuesday, bringing the country’s overall tally since the start of the pan-demic to 240,000 cases, accord-ing to Israel’s Health Ministry. In addition, on average, 15 percent of those screened have tested positive.

As of Wednesday, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 1,547 patients, while 173,109 have recovered.

Health Ministry Director General Hezi Levy has instruct-ed hospital administrators to prepare an additional 1,500 beds for patients. In recent days, sev-eral hospitals warned that their coronavirus wards were near-ing full capacity, and that more beds were necessary to ensure patients received adequate care.

The Health Ministry plans to open 750 beds by Oct. 5 and another 750 by mid-month, said Levy. He added that 80 percent of the beds will be for patients in critical condition and the rest for patients who do not need respiratory support.

In an interview on Israeli TV this week, he urged Israelis with other health complaints not

to avoid seeking medical care, saying that hospitals nation-wide are fully equipped to treat all patients, especially in life-threatening situations, such as heart attacks and strokes. Also on Tuesday, Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef issued a decree barring mass gatherings next week during the Sukkot and Simchat Torah holidays.

In a dramatic departure from custom over the pandemic, Yosef has barred the traditional Simchat Torah hakafot (“laps” or dancing with the Torah scroll) and ordered followers not to attend the Priestly Blessing – a rite held annually at the Western

Wall in Jerusalem that custom-arily draws tens of thousands of Jews from Israel and abroad.

As the service is broadcast by various media outlets, Yosef has decreed that this year, wor-shippers could watch the prayer service on television.

Meanwhile, Israel’s daily tally of coronavirus deaths per mil-lion people surpassed that of the United States on Tuesday for the first time since the onset of the global pandemic. According to a report by a task force formed by the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate, the number of Israelis who test positive for COVID-19 on a daily

basis is currently the highest in the world. The daily deaths per capita are calculated as an average over the past week. According to the data, Israel’s daily death rate over the last week has been 3.5 per million people, while the U.S. rate was some 2.2 per million.

While Israel was praised for quelling the outbreak success-fully when it first hit, recent weeks have seen morbidity and mortality spike, requiring the government to impose a sec-ond nationwide lockdown in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said that it was high-ly likely that the nationwide lockdown imposed before the High Holidays will be extended past its current Oct. 10 dead-line. Edelstein also made it clear that this time, lockdown mea-sures would be lifted much more gradually than in May.

“The lockdown will not be lifted unequivocally. There is no scenario that in 10 days we will lift all of them [the restrictions] and say, ‘everything is over, everything is fine,’ ” he said.

– JNS.org

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6 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020

Israel’s COVID lockdown could extend past Oct. 10; rabbis to limit crowds during priestly blessing

Photo: Nati Shohat/Flash90Staff at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem work in the hospital’s COVID-19 ward.

Jewish groups slam Trump’s responses on white supremacists

BOSTON – In a time of social distancing and social turmoil, The Shape of Play encourages us to listen, connect, and play.

“The Shape of Play,” a new temporary public art installa-tion by artist Sari Carel, com-missioned by the Jewish Arts Collaborative ( JArts), and curated and produced by Now + There, will run through Oct. 31 at Boston’s Waterfront Park. It poses a provocative question: Do you feel free to play? This engaging multi-sensory work invites people to reflect on the connections between play and the universal search for free-dom through sight and sound.

“The Shape of Play” fuses an ambient, multi-channel sound-scape – created by Carel using structures and play equipment at Boston-area playgrounds as her instruments – with a col-orful, architectural sculpture evocative of children’s wooden building blocks. The multi-channel soundscape emitted by the sculpture is at points whimsical, energetic, buoyant, and ethereal. It offers moments of respite and delight, creates a communal experience of shared listening, and reminds us that the ability to play and the sense of freedom are closely linked.

Originally conceived in the pre-pandemic world and planned for display last spring during Passover, the project has taken on new importance in a city where play spaces were padlocked this spring, and calls us to break down the barriers to freedom our society has built.

“When we first commis-sioned Sari, we were excited about her vision to talk about freedom through play, some-thing so innate in the Jewish values,” says JArts Executive Director Laura Mandel. “We had hoped to display the work during Passover because it is

the time in the Jewish calendar where we celebrate and reflect on the meaning of freedom – and not just for the Jewish people, but for all. Now, as we struggle with unprecedented levels of cultural and social

change across our country and community, we are especially proud that we can bring this project to life this fall.”

Carel’s work seeks to uncov-er the underlying connections between our senses, play and freedom. “A whole new world opens up as we train our ears on the sounds all around us,” says Carel. “Sound, like freedom, is invisible, to be felt more than seen. The feeling of freedom is essential to play, and this proj-ect articulates that connection in a sensorial experience of both sound and freedom. My idea for this project came from listening to playgrounds being played as instruments as they were used for actual play.”

Playgrounds, widely con-sidered to be among our most egalitarian of public spaces, are places open to people of all ages, cultures, races, and social groups Now + There Executive

Director Kate Gilbert said, “As with many of our public spaces, the ability to play, speak, and move freely in our playgrounds and parks can be inhibited by the very social forces and insti-tutions that have shaped our neighborhoods – the forces of poverty, race, politics and social inequity. These are also the sys-tems we create public art within and interrogate.”

As part of the mounting of this work, JArts and Now + There are working with sev-eral community organizations and individuals to conduct a series of open dialogues on the issues this project presents and confronts, including freedom, play, public space, equity and how art impacts our commu-nity.

More information can be found on www.jartsboston.org.

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COMMUNITY NEWS THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020 7

Tickets are selling fast for Epstein Hillel School’s 32nd Annual Gala, to be held virtually on Oct. 22.

The event will feature a live private performance by Broadway star Shoshana Bean. This year, Lynn resident Bob Goldman is being awarded the Dr. Bennett I. Solomon Community Leadership Award based upon his lifelong com-mitment to Hillel and his out-standing philanthropy to the Jewish community on the North Shore.

Bob loves introducing every-one to his husband, Jose Paiva Goldman, and his sons, Sam

(’06) and Asher (’08). Both grad-uated from Epstein Hillel School back in the Cohen Hillel days and continued their academic lives at Marblehead High School and Northwestern University. Bob and Jose are equally proud of their daughter, Camila Paiva, a talented singer-songwriter, and they are actively helping to raise Camila’s son, Godric. Bob was a longtime board member, past-president, and is now a trustee of Hillel.

After a long career at large law firms, Bob opened his own law office in Salem in 2012. An engagement of which Bob is very proud was his representa-

tion of the Jewish Federation of the North Shore in its merg-er with Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Bob is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Bob and Jose are volunteers for The Haven Project, cook-ing dinners for unsupervised youth and hosting several of them in their home for three-month stints of transitional housing. Bob currently serves as a Trustee of the Essex County Community Foundation and is a recent past board member of North Shore Alliance for GLBTQ Youth, where he remains active raising funds by running 8-mile

Tough Mudders. Along with his former wife, Barbara Goldman, he is the founder and a boost-er of Friends of Yemin Orde (now ImpactIsrael), supporting the Yemin Orde Youth Village and Village Way Educational Initiatives.

Gala tickets are available at many price points and most include a gift bag with sweets and sips to be delivered to your door. The highest ticket level includes a private Zoom Q&A with Shoshana Bean.

For tickets, please visit epsteinhillel.org/gala-2020-or-der-form or call 781-639-2880.

Epstein Hillel to hold virtual Gala on Oct. 22

Bob Goldman

Public ArtWork mounts at Waterfront Park

Photo: Nir Landau“The Shape of Play” runs through Oct. 31 in Boston.

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8 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020 COMMUNITY NEWS

By Michael WittnerJOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

What is your Jewish background?

Both of my parents are Jewish, and I was raised in a pretty Conservative Jewish household. We lit Shabbat candles every Friday, I went to Hebrew school, to Jewish summer camp, kept kosher. Now that I’m living on my own, I don’t keep kosher or go to services as much as my mom would like me to do, but I am Jewish, and I have a mezuzah hanging on my doorpost. It keeps me ground-ed – I think it’s a cool thing to have a Jewish historical background, to draw from.

How did you get into video editing?

In college, I was learning television production. So my background was in all sorts of different areas of entertainment. I learned how to write a script properly, I learned live direction, I learned what it was like to work in a control room and go to Camera 1, Camera 2, networking skills in production. So when I graduated I had an idea that I wanted to do some behind-the-scenes work in entertainment, but I wasn’t exactly sure what, and I was working as a production assistant, which is pretty common – everyone starts out getting coffee – and I was getting more and more work. I found that I had a passion for creating on the level of video editing, and as time went on I refined that skill, I took a class at the Harvard Extension School to galvanize all that knowl-edge. I really fell in love with it, and ever since then, I’ve been working in a professional capacity as a video editor.

What are you doing now? In January, I wrapped up my time with Refinery29,

which is an online news magazine for young profes-sional women. Right before the pandemic, I was sup-posed to start a job at another production company doing some editing work for a reality show, but that was canceled. To step back a bit, when you think of how mov-ies are made, there’s definitely steps to it. First, you got to get a whole bunch of people together to make whatever content they’re making. After it’s made, it’s reviewed by

the producers, and then the very last thing that happens to the medium before it goes on air or on the Internet is it goes to me or someone in post-production. So I am the very last step, pandemic or not. I’m the person who assembles the media and makes it pretty. So with my job, and I’ve talked to other editors about this, it’s definitely like we have one sense of, OK, work is not going to come back for a while on a steady basis, because people can’t assemble to put on big-scale productions. Things are all bottlenecked up in production right now, so it’s going to be a while before people like me are able to edit on a more regular basis. I’m able to get by, but the days are definitely longer than they were before – money is just a part of it, it’s sort of the whole atmosphere of uncertainty.

So what are you working on now?

During the pandemic I got into Twitch streaming, which was originally a website for people who play games who share their gameplay with other people who are into that hobby and chat with them. But after the pandemic, some friends of mine were using it as almost a local television network, like public access. They would watch videos, react to their friends, and I realized ‘Oh, I can use this as broadcast software,’ and I started posting a movie night Monday nights on my channel at the beginning of the pandemic, and I’m almost at 300 followers now, and I have about 30 people tuning in every Monday night to watch a movie and hang out, and later in the week I play video games on the channel. We watch samurai movies and movies starring Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, who Western audiences know from “Rashomon” and the 1980 mini-series, “Shogun.” He was a very prolific actor and I love him – he’s my favorite actor of all time.

How would you describe your personal editing style?

I’m still sort of finding my style. I do very well in series or content that has established style already, but when I’m working, I find that I really like a lot of color, I like a lot of snappy dialogue, I don’t like a lot of dead air, so I would rather work with a scripted show than with real-ity, with people ‘umming’ and ‘uhhing’ and looking off-camera.

Job: Video editor

Hebrew name: Sarah GabriellaHometown: SwampscottCurrently living in: Gowanus, Brooklyn, N.Y.Alma maters: Swampscott High School ’09, Ithaca College ’13

Favorite food: KimchiFavorite music: I’m really into one K-pop girl group called Twice

Favorite movie: “The Thing”Favorite TV show: “The Venture Bros.” on Adult Swim

Favorite book: “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John MandelFavorite travel destination: JapanFavorite North Shore spot: Kell’s Kreme, SwampscottFavorite Jewish holiday: PassoverFavorite Jewish person not in your family: Bernie Sanders

Millennials: Sarah Low, 28

The

While some, like Blue, are determined to social distance in sukkahs, area synagogues now face a new challenge when it comes to the COVID-19 response.

Experts with backgrounds in public health or urban plan-ning have been contemplating best practices for the harvest holiday. Their prevailing opin-ion seems to be that large-scale celebrations in a sukkah are better left for a time when COVID-19 is no longer around.

“We felt that the restric-tions that would have to be in place would make it very cumbersome to set up the suk-kah, decorate it, and to partici-pate,” said Dr. Jeffrey Newton, a physician specializing in lung diseases who is part of a group advising Peabody’s Temple Ner Tamid of the North Shore, where he is a member of the board of directors.

Ner Tamid has been virtual for the past six months, includ-ing the recent High Holidays. Newton, who said that he is mostly retired, has been dis-cussing policies with his fellow board members, Rabbi Richard Perlman, Associate Rabbi Bernie Horowitz, and temple president Adele Lubarsky. According to Newton, Sukkot at the temple would have includ-ed a small number of people inside the sukkah, based on a reservation system. The holi-day has a tradition of entering the sukkah, making a bless-ing, and having food and drink inside – which would involve participants removing their masks.

The holiday represents an unusual situation. From res-taurants to schools to syna-gogues, policymakers have discussed how to hold indoor events and outdoor options safely during the COVID-19 response. Yet a sukkah is some-

thing of a hybrid: an outdoor space enclosed with walls and a roof, a holiday evocation of the huts the biblical Israelites built in the wilderness.

“It is an outside-type activ-ity,” Newton said. “However, it’s not totally outside … It has to have some walls.”

Sharon Cameron, the city of Peabody’s director of health and human services, said she would look at a sukkah as an indoor space under the state guidelines. She likened the sit-uation to that of restaurants with outdoor dining environ-ments. Two-walled spaces are classified as outdoor, while three-walled ones are indoor.

“My understanding of the constructs [of a sukkah is] usu-ally at least three sides and a vegetative roof,” Cameron said.

The state guidelines for houses of worship holding indoor services require no more than 10 people per 1,000 square feet, with everyone socially distancing at least six feet apart unless they are in the same family. Masks are man-datory. If food and beverages are involved, a sukkah gather-ing might be placed into the category of an event, with a cap of 25 people added to the preexisting limit of 10 or fewer people per 1,000 square feet.

“There would have been “only a very small number of people at a time,” Newton said of a sukkah at the temple.

“We encourage people to have an individual sukkah. A family can utilize them. Since people are living together, the same restrictions do not apply to a cohesive group of people.”

Marc Draisen, a reopening advisory committee member at Temple Israel in Boston, sees things similarly.

“I think if you’re at home with your family, or very close friends or neighbors, I think it’s probably a good idea,” Draisen said. “I think it’s fine if you wish to do that ... I think the idea of going into a sukkah at a temple, a synagogue, another location, [with a] large gather-ing of unrelated individuals is probably not a good idea.”

Draisen has been help-ing with coronavirus aware-ness efforts through his role as executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a regional planning agency that advocates for

communities across Eastern Massachusetts, including on the North Shore. He’s also help-ing advise Temple Israel on its ongoing COVID-19 response.

“I think I don’t have space that’s particularly good for a sukkah at my house,” Draisen said. “I do expect I will be participating in some sort of

Temple Israel virtual service. I’ll pray for hopefully an early end to the pandemic. I’ll pray for us to be over this by next fall.”

As for this fall, he noted that some people are planning a new twist on their sukkah dec-orations. Interspersed with the traditional fruits and squash,

they will hang bottles of hand sanitizer and face masks.

“I think it’s in the spirit of having a little humor we could all use,” Draisen said. “It’s prob-ably not a bad idea.”

Journal Associate Editor Ethan M. Forman contributed to this article.

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COMMUNITY NEWS THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020 9

For safety’s sake, most plan small gatherings for Sukkotfrom page 1

Photo: Ethan M. Forman/Journal StaffDon Ganz, Temple Emanu-El’s baal tekiah, with his masked shofar stands alongside Marblehead dentist Jeffrey Dornbush during Tashlich at Preston Beach on Sept. 19. Held at low tide, about 200 people attended and were able to social distance during the event.

The state guidelines for houses of worship

holding indoor services require no more than

10 people per thousand square feet.

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10 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020 COMMUNITY NEWS

TUESDAY, OCT 6JEWISH BOOK MONTH, 7 p.m., JCCNS presents: “My Wife Said You Want to Marry Me,” by Jason Rosenthal. $6 JCCNS members; $9 community members. Visit jccns.org for more info and for tickets.

WEDNESDAY, OCT 7ANTI-SEMITISM IS HERE: WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT, 7:30 p.m. A presentation led by Adam Milstein, who will explore the modern mutation of anti-Semitism, the world’s oldest hatred, and suggest what we can do to combat it. Contact sfeinstein@lappinfoundation.org with any questions or visit jccns.org to register.

TUESDAY, OCT 13JEWISH BOOK MONTH, 7 p.m., JCCNS presents: “On My Watch, A Memoir,” by Virginia Buckingham. As the nation came together in the aftermath of 9/11, local Marblehead resident Virginia Buckingham, the head of Boston’s Logan International Airport at the time, was publicly singled out for blame and forced to resign. The memoir shares her struggles to rebuild her life and come to terms with being blamed for an unimaginable tragedy that occurred on her watch. $6 JCCNS members; $9 community members. Visit jccns.org for more info and for tickets.

WEDNESDAY, OCT 14FINDING MOSES, Elie Wiesel Memorial Lectures, 12:30 p.m. Avivah Zornberg will present “The Sense of an Ending: Finding Moses in Midrashic literature.” Free, open to the public. Registration is required to receive the link at: bu.edu/jewishstudies.

MEDICARE 101, 1 p.m. If you are new to, or already enrolled in Medicare, join us for an informational overview to help you make informed decisions concerning health coverage options to maximize coverage and reduce out of pocket costs. The session will cover dates, costs, coverage, penalties and options. Visit jccns.org for more information.

THURSDAY, OCT 15JEWISH BOOK MONTH, 7 p.m., “A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred Year History of America Hurricanes,” by Eric Jay Dolin. From the moment European colonists laid claim to this land, hurricanes have had a profound and visceral impact on American history. Eric Jay Dolin presents the intriguing 500-year-story of American hurricanes, from the nameless storms that threatened Columbus’ New World voyages to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. $6 JCCNS members; $9 community members. Visit jccns.org for more info and for tickets.

Upcoming

OCT 15 - NOV 12SPIRITUALITY & MENTAL HEALTH: A Discussion Series. Presented by Congregation Shirat Hayam. Zoom discussion led by Hadassah Margolis, MSW, LICSW. This is an educational and community-building discussion, not a treatment group. Adults (18+). Limited to 10 participants. All religions and levels of faith welcomed. $18 for all five weeks. To register, call 781-500-8005, X11 or email Barri at barri@shirathayam.org.

SUNDAY, OCT 18HOHORABLE MENSCHIONS GALA 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. The Jewish Journal will hold its fourth annual Gala to honor members of our community who have made great contributions through their work, volunteer efforts and through their philanthropy. This year, our Gala will be held online. The Gala will also serve as the Journal’s major fundraiser in 2020.For further information or assistance, contact Steve at 978-745-4111 x130, or email Rosenberg@jewishjournal.org.

BEGINNER’S WORKSHOP ON JEWISH GENEALOGY, 10 a.m. Carol Clingan and Debbie Lerner, who together have more than 30 years of genealogy research experience, will present a workshop tailored for beginners on the process of researching your family tree. Register at: jgsgb.org/event/begworkshop-jewishgen20.

MONDAY, OCT 19JCCNS WOMEN'S BOOK CLUB led by Bea Paul; 1 p.m. Open to all! Bea will be discussing “The Huntress,” by Kate Quinn. RSVP to Sara Ewing at sewing@jccns.com for Zoom Link.

TUESDAY, OCT 20JEWISH BOOK MONTH, 7 p.m., JCCNS presents: “The Wartime Sisters,” by Lynda Cohen Loigman. Visit jccns.org for more information and for tickets.

WEDNESDAY, OCT 21MUSIC WITH MARCY, 1 p.m. Join Marcy Yellin as she sings favorites from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Visit jccns.org for Zoom link.

CONCEPTS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ISRAEL, ZIONISM AND JEWS, 7:30 p.m. Presented by Lappin Foundation. The community is invited to a live presentation by Charlotte Korchak, Senior Educator at StandWithUs. Korchak will discuss the core concepts and misconceptions regarding Israel, Zionism, and the Jewish people, and

provide the tools needed to explain these topics to those less informed. Free and open to the public. For information how to register, email sfeinstein@lappinfoundation.org or call 978-740-4431.

SUNDAY, OCT 25JEWISH BOOK MONTH, 7 p.m., JCCNS presents: “Red Sea Spies: The True Story of Mossad's Fake Diving Resort,” by Raffi Berg. Visit jccns.org for more information and for tickets.

VIRTUAL FALL 2020 AUTHOR MINI-SERIES, 4 p.m. Temple Emanu-El of Haverhill presents: “The Book of V.,” by Anna Solomon. The book traces the stories of three women — Esther, heroine of the Purim story; Vivian, a political wife in Watergate-era Washington, D.C.; and Lily, a wife, mother, and aspiring writer in 2016 Brooklyn — as they overlap and ultimately collide, illuminating how women’s lives have and have not changed over thousands of years. Register at https://bit.ly/TEAnnaSolomon. For more info, email: Nancy@TempleEmanu-El.org.

MONDAY, OCT 26BUILDING CONNECTIONS IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD, 7 - 8:30 p.m. Presented by Lappin Foundation. This experiential workshop for teachers, rabbis, community leaders and professionals models creative techniques for virtual engagement, facilitation, and community-building. Free and open to the public. For information how to register, email sfeinstein@lappinfoundation.org or call 978-740-4431.

TUESDAY, OCT 27PAPER MOSAIC WORKSHOP FOR ADULTS & TEENS, 7:30 p.m. Presented by Lappin Foundation. Give yourself a creative break and join Israel-based mosaic muralist Mia Schon for a one-hour paper mosaic workshop. Participants will learn how to creatively repurpose paper step-by-step to design their own unique and beautiful themed collage using supplies from home. All you need is a glue stick, scissors, some printer paper and some magazines. Free and open to the public. For information how to register, email sfeinstein@lappinfoundation.org or call 978-740-4431.

THURSDAY, OCT 29JEWISH BOOK MONTH, 7 p.m., JCCNS presents: “What We Will Become: A Mother, A Son, And a Journey of Transformation,” by Mimi Lemay. Visit jccns.org for more information and for tickets.

MONDAY, NOV 2FINDING MOSES, Elie Wiesel Memorial Lectures. 7:30 p.m. Shari Lowin will present: “Moses in the Qur’an and the Early Muslim Israiliyyaat.” Free, open to the public. Registration is required to receive the link at: bu.edu/jewishstudies.

SUNDAY, NOV 15 VIRTUAL FALL 2020 AUTHOR MINI-SERIES, 4 p.m. Temple Emanu-El of Haverhill presents: “What We Will Become: A Mother, a Son, and a Journey of Transformation,” by Mimi Lemay. Author recounts her child’s journey through gender transition, and her own transition out of the ultra-Orthodox Judaism in which she was raised. Register at bit.ly/TEMimiLemay. For more info, email: Nancy@TempleEmanu-El.org.

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Richard Rosen, of Swamp-scott, entered into rest, sur-rounded by his loving family, on September 11, 2020 at the age of 87.

Beloved husband of Roberta (Jaffee) Rosen, with whom he shared 57 years of marriage. Devoted father of Amy, Pamela, and Bradley and his wife Tassy. Cherished grandfather of Alexander Rosen. He was pre-deceased by brothers and sis-ters Dr. Sidney Rosen, Winifred Moller, Leslie Rosen, and Lois Grossman. He was the dear son of the late Lewis and Augusta (Gordon) Rosen.

Richard will be forever loved and missed by his family. He was born in Lynn, grew up in Everett, and graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in marketing. He was the co-owner of Chelsea Floor Covering for all of his profes-

sional career. He enjoyed work-ing in the Chelsea community and stayed involved with daily business right up until the end.

Richard was a devoted par-ent, grandfather, and husband.

Family was most important to him. For 57 years, he raised his family in Marblehead and Swampscott and he loved spending time planning adven-tures and fishing with his chil-dren.

He was involved in the Jewish community of St. Croix, where he was a supporting member of the Congregation of B’nai Or. It was a place where he and Roberta spent their winters among friends and family.

Richard will be greatly missed and forever loved by his family.

Due to regulation imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic, a private graveside service was held at Swampscott Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in Richard’s memory to Jewish Community of St. Croix, P.O. Box 223260, Christiansted, St. Croix USVI 00820. Arrangements were handled by Stanetsky-Hymanson Memorial Chapel, Salem. For more information or to register in the online guest-book, visit stanetskymanson-salem.com.

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12 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020 OBITUARIES

Erma A. (Aronson) Levy, 90, a lifelong resident of Winthrop, and the beloved wife of the late David Levy, with whom she shared 67 years of marriage, died on September 18, 2020 at the Kaplan Family Hospice House, Danvers.

Devoted mother of Howard and Angela Levy and Ellen and Richard Halperin. Loving daughter of the late Sumner

and Shirley (Yoffa) Aronson. Dear sister of the late Arthur Aronson. Loving Nana of Scott Rosen, Eric Halperin, and Adam Halperin.

Erma was a past president of Temple Tifereth Israel of Winthrop Sisterhood.

Private graveside services were held at Vilkomir Cemetery, Melrose. Contributions in Erma’s memory may be made

to Tifereth Israel of Winthrop, 93 Veterans Road, Winthrop, MA 02152, or Care Dimensions, 75 Sylvan St., Danvers, MA 01923.

Sharing written remem-brances and condolences dur-ing this time will be essential in helping the Levy family reminisce, celebrate, and heal. We encourage you to share your memories by visiting torffuneral service.com.

Erma A. (Aronson) Levy, 90, of Winthrop

James H. Lewis, age 91, of Swampscott, passed away on July 21, 2020 of complications due to cancer.

He was the beloved and devoted husband of Toni Lewis, and the loving father of Tracy Cassidy, Edward (Tracey) Lewis, and Scott (Denise) Lewis. He was the dear brother of Alan (Judy) Lewis. James is also sur-vived by seven loved grand-children: Devon, Cole, Brittany, Brad, Amanda, Jack, and Crysta, as well as a cherished group of family and friends.

Jim was a graduate of the University of Miami and a member of the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity. He served his country as a distinguished veteran of the Florida Air National Guard

and the US Air Force. He was an executive in the leather indus-try, an avid traveler, a collector of antiques and art, and was a fan of sports, music, and film.

Intelligent, quick-witted, articulate, and loyal, Jim will

be remembered fondly as a kind and gentle member of the Congregation Shirat Hayam of the North Shore and the com-munity of Swampscott.

The family would like to thank the caring staff of Vitas Hospice and United Dialysis Center, who took great care of him during his battle.

Jim will be laid to rest at a private family service in Florida. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to Congregation Shirat Hayam, c/o Rabbi Michael Ragozin’s discretionary fund, 55 Atlantic Ave., Swampscott, MA 01907 ( C s h @ s h i r a t h a y a m . o r g ) . Arrangements were handled by Riverside-Stanetsky Memorial Chapel, Delray Beach, Fla.

James H. Lewis, 91, of Swampscott

Richard Rosen, 87, of Swampscott

The Jewish Journal prints brief notices for free, if space allows. Biographical sketches up to 200 words cost $100;

longer submissions will be charged accordingly.

Photographs cost $25 each; emailed photos should be sent as jpeg or tiff files.

Submissions are subject to editing for style and space

limitations. For further information, contact your

local funeral home, or email andrew@jewishjournal.org.

NOTICES

By Penny SchwartzJOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

In late December 2015, Justice Ralph D. Gants, the first Jewish chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in its 328-year history, spoke at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center. It was a time of high-pitched anti-Muslim sentiment across the country.

“I asked to speak with you because I know this is a difficult time for persons who practice the Islamic faith in this country and I am here to assure you that you do not stand alone,” he told Muslim worshippers before their Friday afternoon prayers.

Gants noted that his Jewish ancestors – along with other groups of immigrants – also were unwelcome in the United States. He assured them that the Massachusetts Constitution would protect their rights to practice their faith.

Those stirring remarks were among the remembrances of the judge whose sudden death, at age 65, was announced on Sept. 14 by the SJC. He had been hospitalized after suffering a heart attack and undergoing surgery 10 days earlier.

“That kind of gesture and heartfelt statement to people he knew were vulnerable or targeted, that is so the essence of Ralph Gants,” said Jeffrey S. Robbins, a longtime friend of the judge. Robbins, who served as chairperson of the New England Anti-Defamation League, said that Gants spoke at many ADL programs.

“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of

Chief Justice Ralph Gants,” Gov. Charlie Baker said. “He was a dedicated public servant of the highest order and sought to do justice his entire 40-year legal career.” Baker ordered flags at all state buildings to be flown at half-staff. Courthouses across the state closed Friday, Sept. 18, in his honor.

Revered across the political spectrum as a giant in the judi-cial system, Gants was admired for his humility, compassion, wit, and devotion to pursuing equal justice.

Just days before he died, Harvard Law School issued a widely anticipated report on racial disparities in the state court system that Gants requested in 2016 after confer-ring with Martha Minow, then dean of the law school.

“He was fearless about facing historic injustices,” Minow told Harvard Law Today.

A graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School, the New Rochelle, New York-born Gants worked for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston and later in private practice. In 2009, after serving 11 years as a Superior Court judge, he was appointed associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. He was elevated to chief justice by former Gov. Deval Patrick in 2014.

He lived in Lexington with his wife, Deborah Ramirez, a law professor at Northeastern University, and also is survived by two children, Rachel Ramirez Gants and Michael Ramirez Gants.

“It is a devastating loss. We are still reeling,” Judge Mark Green, chief justice of the

Massachusetts Appeals Court, said of the impact of Gants’ unexpected death. Green, a decades-long close personal friend of Gants, marveled at his leadership and energy. He launched countless initiatives to improve the workings of the courts and was passionate

about leveling the playing field for those who would not oth-erwise have access to quality representation, Green said.

Green and his wife, Superior Court Judge Karen Green, were among a group of judges who visited Israel in June 2019 on a private trip Gants organized

after a member of Israel’s Supreme Court visited Gants at his Boston office the year before.

The group met with their counterparts at Israel’s high court and visited historic sites, Ziv Medical Center in Safed, and Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial.

For Gants, his first trip to Israel was very meaningful. The visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem was clearly a high-light, said Green, who snapped a photo of his friend at the holy site.

Rabbi Yosef Zaklos, of the Chabad of Downtown Boston, remembers working up the courage to invite Gants to be the lead speaker at a symposium on the Talmud and the law.

“He was very gracious,” Zaklos recalled.

For that session, in 2013, Gants chose to explore the issue of juvenile justice, a complex subject that was under review by the state’s highest court; he addressed the civil law and the rabbi presented the Talmudic perspective.

“I felt he was trying to broad-en his view,” to understand what ancient legal systems had to say, Zaklos said.

Over the years, Zaklos brought the judge handmade matzo at Passover and honey cake for Rosh Hashanah. Last year, the judge led another Chabad-sponsored symposium on criminal justice reform.

He was inquisitive, very approachable, and generous with his time, Zaklos said.

“It’s a definite loss for all of us. He had a very good neshama,” using the Hebrew word for soul.

THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020 13

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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants at the Western Wall in 2019. Justice Gants, the first Jewish SJC chief justice in the court’s history, organized the private trip that included other Massachusetts judges.

Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, 65, remembered as a giant of the Supreme Judicial Court

BENDELL, Lorraine, 102 – late of Malden, Died on September 25, 2020. Wife of the late Jack Bendell. Mother of Miriam and the late Edward R. Cohen, Robert and Catherine Bendell, the late Aaron Bendell. Grandmother of Gary and Carolyn Cohen, Caryn and Howard Eichenbaum, David Cohen, and Sarah Bendell. Great-grandmother of Rachel, Michaela, Charlotte, and Samara Cohen, and Raya Eichenbaum. Sister of the late Margarete Tarr, Rose Smith, Lillian Malone, Phyllis Alessandro, and George DelConte. (Goldman)

NITISHIN, Gladys A. (Mil-groom), 96 – late of Revere, formerly of Everett and Boston. Died on September 18, 2020. Wife of the late Irving Nitishin. Daughter of the late Fisher and Mary (Abend) Milgroom. Mother of Robert Nitishin and his wife Esther of Ga., Paul Nitishin of E. Sandwich, and David Nitishin of Lynn. Grandmother of Rebecca, Jenne, Dax, Abbey, and Sophie. (Torf)

WHITE, Daniel L., 87 – late of Swampscott. Died on September 23, 2020. Husband of Judy White. Father of Marc and Lisa White, Melanie and Rich Femino, Matthew and Darlene White, Rick and Tammy Rosenblatt, Gary Rhodes, and Ron Rosenblatt. Brother of Maynard White and his wife Roberta, the late Beverly Meyers, and brother-in-law of Barbara Spiegel. (Stanetsky-Hymanson)

Несколько месяцев назад Культурно-оздоровительный Центр Best Choice, как и другие подобные центры, закрылся в связи с COVID-19.

Наконец 31 августа состоялось долгожданное событие. Центр, который многие пожилые люди считают своим “вторым домом”, вновь открыл двери для своих клиентов. Это действительно стало праздником для тех, кто хочет проводить свои дни насыщенно, интересно и с пользой. Этого дня долго ждали все – и посетители, и коллектив Центра. В этот день здесь снова встретились сотрудники, посетители, люди, которые здесь познакомились и сдружились. Все радовались тому, что после долгих месяцев карантина жизнь постепенно налаживается и входит в прежнее русло, а у людей снова появилась возможность непосредственного челове-ческого общения.

За эти короткие недели с момента открытия Центр уже успел отметить несколько праздников.

19 сентября в BEST CHOICE праздновали Рош Ашана. В концерте, подготовленном совместными усилиями со- трудников и посетителей Центра, прозвучали еврейские песни. В концерте приняли участие Директор программы Наталия Бургун, музыканты Клавдия Уварова, Лариса Амбарцумян и Виктор Раскин. К сожелению, популярный

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В этот день на обед были поданы традиционные для Рош Ашана блюда – фаршированная рыба, хумус, форшмак, цимес, бабка из мацы, и другие угощения.

21 сентября все дружно отмечали День Независимости Армении. В этот день директор культурных программ Центра Карина Аладжян рассказала об основных событиях из истории армянского народа, затем состоялся концерт, во время которого прозвучали армянские народные мелодии и произведения Арно Бабаджаняна и Арама Хачатуряна, и был подан праздничный обед с армянскими традиционными блюдами.

28 сентября в День Искупления, или Иом Кипур, в BEST CHOICE посетительница Центра София Пазина рассказала о значении и символизме одного из самых важных дней в еврейской традиции.

Жизнь продолжается, и в Центре BEST CHOICE планируется отметить еще немало праздников и памятных дней, таких как Международный День музыки, еврейский праздник Суккот, День Учителя, Международный День врача, День Колумба, и даже Национальный День чизкейка. Ну и конечно же - традиционный Халувин. Будут организованы различные мероприятия и тематические вечера, программы, концерты.

Участники программы могут быть уверенны что будет продолжаться и их любимый праздник – День Именинника. Отметить день рождения с друзьями в Центре BEST CHOICE это всегда приятное событие, которое сопровождается концертами и выступлениями, сюрпризами и подарками.

– Инесса Мириджанян

Культурно-оздоровительный Центр

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14 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020 COMMUNITY NEWS

Русская Хроника ~ Russian Chronicleрекламно-информационный выпуск, том 44, номер 3

Редактор выпускаЮлия Жорова

yulia@jewishjournal.org978-745-4111 доб. 172

Воссоединение друзей в Best Choice

n this week’s issue of the Journal’s Russian Chronicle, we report about the upcoming Jewish Holidays, Sukkot and Simchat Torah. We also have a feature about an Adult Day Care Center that recently reopened with new regulations and safety restrictions. We also invite our readers to attend a Zoom play performed by Russian-speaking actors from the Andover Outing community.

English Summary

Суккот, Праздник кущей, один из основных праздников еврейского народа, начинается 15 числа месяца Тишрей (в этом году вечером 2 октября) и продолжается семь дней. В это время по традиции следует выходить из дома и жить семь дней в сукке (т.е. шатре, куще), вспоминая о блуждании евреев по Синайской пустыне .

“Каждый Израильтянин – заповедано Торой – должен жить в кущах, чтобы знали роды ваши, что в кущах поселил Я сынов Израилевых, когда вывел их из земли Египетской.”

Праздник, наступающий сразу после Суккот, называет-ся Шмини-Ацерет – “Восьмой День Сбора”. Еврейскийе мудрецы рассказывают удивительную притчу: Когда-то жил царь, который устроил большой пир и пригласил на него в свой дворец принцев и принцесс. Проведя вместе несколько счастливых дней, гости стали готовиться к отъезду. Но царь им сказал: “Пожалуйста, останьтесь со мною еще один день, — мне очень трудно с вами расстаться”.

Также и с нами, заключают

Мудрецы свою притчу. Мы провели много счастливых дней в доме Г-спода — синагоге. Некоторые из богомольцев являются, к несчастью, очень редкими посетителями. Поэ-тому Б-г хочет нас видеть еще один день и ради этого Он дал нам еще один праздник — Шмини Ацерет.

Вслед за ним наступает праздник Симхас Тора, “Веселая Тора,” во время которого завершается цикл чтений недельных глав Торы и начинается чтение первой главы. То есть чтение Торы начинается заново.

Начало нового цикла чтения Торы для евреев самый радостный и веселый день в году.

Суккот, вообще, единст-венный праздник, который действительно заповедал евреям радоваться.

Все еврейские праздники всегда имеют символические смыслы и так или иначе несут в себе идею сосуществования наших душ со Вс-вышним.

В Суккот выполняют особый ритуал — благо-дарственное “вознесение лулава” – набора из четырех растений, каждое из которых

символизирует определенный тип людей. Этрог, обладаю-щий и вкусом, и запахом, — это евреи, знающие Тору и совершающие добрые дела. Лист финиковой пальмы, дающей плод сладкий, но без запаха, — это евреи, обладающие знанием Торы, но не совершающие добрых дел. Мирт — растение несъедобное, но приятно пахнущее — это евреи, от которых, как аромат, исходят добрые дела. Ива, у которой нет ни вкуса, ни запаха, — это евреи, которые не знают Тору и не делают добра.

И все-таки Б-г соединил всех евреев в единый народ.

Воодушевленные успехом пьесы “Туристическое Агент- тство” актеры Andover Outing Community Theater решили поставить комедию Михаила Хейфеца “Четыре Рабиновича” в формате ZOOM Play.

Приуроченная к еврейским праздникам, пьеса-комедия на тему исхода рассказывает о нескольких еврейских семьях, застрявших в аэропорту неизвестного острова. По воле судьбы все герои мужского пола оказались Рабиновичами, и немудренно – все они покинули Советский Союз под предлогом выезда в Израиль. Несмотря на одинаковые фамилии, их видение мира оказалось совершенно разным. И не все из них собирались в Израиль... Смешные и знакомые си- туации, шутки в одесском стиле и житейская еврейская философия делает этот спектакль динамичным.

Показ пьесы – это также и акция помощи молодежному театру в г. Ариель в Израиле. Община Andover Outing на протяжении многих лет поддерживает работу этого театра.

Спектакль состоится в воскресенье, 4 октября в 7:30 вечера. Чтобы получить zoom линк, участники спектакля просят сделать дотацию в $18 (или больше) на сайте: rjcf.com/donate/?name=Ariel.Никому не будет отказано в просмотре, если вы не можете заплатить за “билет”. По вопросам обращайтесь к srav-vina1@gmail.com или elena.ulanovski@gmail.com.

Суккот – Праздник кущей

Не пропустите: “ Четыре

Рабиновича”

Royal Rehabilitation and Nursing Center

781-848-3678 • 95 Commercial St., Braintree

Директор Русской

программыЕлена

Зелигер

Заведующая медицинской частью доктор Зинаида Левина

Сотрудники

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всех своих клиентов

и их близких с

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PEOPLE THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020 15

The Anti-Defamation League has elected Joseph S. Berman as the new Board Chair for its New England Region. Berman brings his extensive expertise in law, stra-tegic planning, development, and fundraising to the posi-tion, and was handed the gavel by his predecessor, Deborah Shalom, at the ADL New England Regional Board meet-ing on Sept. 16. His term will extend through 2022.

“I am thrilled to be the chair of the ADL New England board,” said Berman. “Now more than ever, ADL’s 107-year old mission statement reso-nates with me: ‘To stop the def-amation of the Jewish people and secure just and fair treat-ment to all.’ I look forward to working with our community partners in ways we can work toward a world without hate.”

“Joe has made his mark on the Boston legal and civil rights communities and beyond, dis-tinguishing himself as an expe-rienced leader and advocate for justice, equity and equal-ity,” said ADL New England Regional Director Robert Trestan.

Berman is the General Counsel of the Board of Bar Overseers of the Supreme Judicial Court, serving in that role since 2017. As General Counsel, Berman oversees the enforcement of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct. Berman graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1986 and cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 1990.

He has long been active in ADL and currently serves as National Chair of ADL’s Legal Affairs Committee, and most recently served as Vice-Chair of the New England Region.

Berman to chair ADL New England Region

Leon Remis and Deborah Shelkan Remis are thrilled to announce the engagement of their daughter, Rebecca Shelkan Remis, to Samuel Isaac Pashall, son of Ellen Minkoff Pashall of Newton and Michael Pashall of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Remis family announces engagement

Samuel I. Pashall and Rebecca S. Remis

Deutsches Altenheim, a non-profit provider of nursing home, assisted living and adult day health services in West Roxbury, and Legacy Lifecare, a nonprofit management resources collab-orative that includes Chelsea Jewish Lifecare of Chelsea and Peabody and JGS Lifecare of Longmeadow, announced last week that the two organizations have reached an agreement to affiliate. By joining Legacy Lifecare, Deutsches Altenheim will benefit from being a mem-ber of a system with other non-profit senior care providers while retaining its name, identity, mis-sion, and governance. Legacy Lifecare has begun providing management services, and the parties intend to consummate the rest of the affiliation, which requires regulatory approval, at the beginning of 2021.

“We are excited to be a part of the Legacy Lifecare orga-nization,” said Genevieve MacLellan, president of the Board of Trustees of Deutsches Altenheim. “By joining a net-work of nonprofit elder care organizations, we are better prepared to deal with today’s increasingly complex healthcare

landscape while retaining our mission and community focus. We are confident this collabo-ration will strongly benefit our residents, employees, and sur-rounding community.”

With this affiliation, the Deutsches Altenheim Board of Trustees will continue to over-see overall operations, strate-gic planning, and fundraising. Legacy Lifecare will provide executive leadership and gen-eral management services. Deutsches Altenheim’s cam-pus in West Roxbury includes German Centre for Extended Care, a 133-bed skilled nurs-ing facility; Edelweiss Village, a 62-apartment assisted living community; and Senior Place, an adult day health center.

“Deutsches Altenheim is the ideal fit for Legacy Lifecare,” said Adam Berman, President and CEO of Legacy Lifecare. “Like all our members, Deutsches Altenheim is a high-quality, mis-sion-driven organization whose board is committed to seeing its legacy preserved for genera-tions to come.” Added Berman, “We are thrilled to welcome Deutsches Altenheim into the Legacy Lifecare family.”

Legacy Lifecare and Deutsches Altenheim announce affiliation

Legacy Lifecare President Adam Berman meets with Genevieve MacLellan, president of the Board of Trustees of Deutsches Altenheim, and Hans P. Birl, vice president of the Board of Trustees of Deutsches Altenheim.

Email your PEOPLE

news to the editor at

rosenberg@ jewishjournal.org

Joseph S. Berman

16 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – OCTOBER 1, 2020

legacy. “We all can commit to the

basic idea of bringing more kind-ness into the world,” Adler said. “That’s one of the things that she taught.”

Wolf, who served as the chief judge for the District of Massachusetts from 2006 through 2012 and continues to hear important cases, did not know Ginsburg well. But, in 2016 he attended a program with her at Brandeis University to mark the 100th anniversary of the nomi-nation of the first Jewish justice to the Supreme Court, Louis D. Brandeis.

A video of the event shows the “Notorious RBG” being greeted like a rock star before she spoke about the lessons she learned as a lawyer and a judge from Justice Brandeis, according to a video of the event posted on YouTube.

Wolf said they spent an after-noon and evening together. The dinner was especially memora-ble, because Wolf was with his wife, Lynne, and his daughter-in-law, attorney Chanda Ouk – a graduate of Brandeis and of Northeastern University School of Law.

“Her history, A., she was

Jewish,” Wolf said, “but B., she had a lot of diversity in her own life, and certainly it was extreme-ly difficult for women lawyers.”

“I think that gave her a lot of experience and empathy, as I said, for people who were disad-vantaged, or powerless, or dis-criminated against,” Wolf said.

Ginsburg attended Harvard Law for two years, one of nine women in a class of more than 500. After her second year, Ginsburg went to New York to be with her husband, Martin, after he took a job at a law firm. She transferred to Columbia Law School, and was tops in her class. She was awarded an honorary degree from Harvard in 2011.

State Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem of Newton spoke about the spiritual connotation of Ginsburg’s passing on Erev Rosh Hashanah, and how people found out about her death at a time of year when Jews take into account “who shall live and who shall die.”

Creem said she also experi-enced the kind of gender dis-crimination that Ginsburg suf-fered when she found it difficult to find a job after graduating from law school. It was not easy

being a woman and being Jewish, she said.

“For me,” Creem said, “I’m a lawyer and I’ve experienced simi-lar things in not being able to get a job.”

Creem said Ginsburg was able to persevere.

“Her whole life was spent in changing American jurispru-dence,” Creem said.

Ginsburg was on the frontlines for those who had been tradi-tionally left behind in the legal system. They included women, people of color, those with dis-abilities, and the LGBTQ com-munity. And she did it one case at a time.

“To appreciate her, you had to read her decisions to see how she felt,” Creem said.

Creem said Ginsburg was able to excel and not shy away from her Jewish identity at a time when people may have been nervous about it. But Ginsburg’s Judaism was a profound part of her and a public part of her, setting an example Creem said she follows.

In a statement, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Judge Scott Kafker of Swampscott said: “I extend my deepest condolenc-es to the Ginsburg family and to

the Justices of the Supreme Court on the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”

“We on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts,” Kafker said, “just lost our own beloved Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants last Monday (Sept. 14) and even as we continue to mourn his sudden death, we were saddened still fur-ther to learn of Justice Ginsburg’s death.”

Kafker noted that they lost “two bright stars in the legal com-munity in the same week” who embodied Jewish values.

“Not knowing much about Justice Ginsburg’s personal observance, I can say that she represents values that are cen-tral to Judaism – to live a life in pursuit of human rights, equal-ity and justice for all. I under-stand from doing a little research that she had signs in her cham-bers that an artist rendered the Hebrew letters for the command from Deuteronomy: “Justice, jus-tice shall you pursue.”

“It was such a punch in the gut to lose her on Rosh Hashanah,” said state Representative Lori Ehrlich of Marblehead. “But through her writings and the example she set, we must all go

on dissenting in her memory.”Said Ehrlich, “RBG, and her

Jewish peers born pre-World War II grew up seeing the con-sequences of rampant discrimi-nation and internalizing lessons of the Holocaust. It’s not at all surprising that, like Thurgood Marshall, she became most well-known for her powerful dissents. Underdogs like immigrants, the disabled, and the environment had a reliable advocate in her.”

Ginsburg has also inspired up-and-coming lawyers like Emily Chazen, a second-year student at Harvard Law School who comes from northern New Jersey.

“As a young Jewish woman navigating law school,” Chazen said in an email, “I know that everything I am able to do is because women like Ruth Bader Ginsburg paved the way. Her work inspires me every day to look injustice in the face and ask: What can I do to change this? The world lost a bright light with the loss of Justice Ginsburg, and I think I speak for most when I say she truly changed my life.”

Journal Editor Steven A. Rosenberg contributed to this article.

former Cohen Hillel Academy in Marblehead (now Epstein Hillel School), said Lynn started off the school year remotely because the city has been designated by the state as being at high risk for spread of the virus.

“Today was our first full day teaching remotely,” Lodgen said in an email. “It was a great day. My students are so cute and so happy to be ‘back in school.’ My work day now is about 12 hours long. I am still learn-ing the Schoology platform, teaching the kids the platform, and the planning and apply-ing everything for the next day takes hours.”

Lodgen worries about how he will keep students whom he has not met in person absorbed in the curriculum. “My big-gest concern is getting the kids engaged in the lessons and my other concern is meeting the needs of each one of these little kids,” he said.

For many students, remote learning from home lacks the structure of in-person classes.

“Some of the homes are not the best set up environment to sit in front of the computer screen for six hours,” he said.

A member of Temple Sinai in Marblehead, Lodgen said his Jewish identity plays a role

when it comes to thinking about the challenges of teach-ing nowadays.

“I make it very clear to my students that I’m Jewish,” he said.

When he talks to his class about culture and various holi-days, he will bring in pictures from his bar mitzvah or a shofar.

Pauline Katz teaches at Revere High. She is doing her best to teach immigrant stu-dents history and English amid balky Internet connections as she works to master the new learning technology.

Katz grew up speaking Yiddish with her family in Somerville and attended the progressive Jewish social jus-tice and cultural organization called the Workers Circle (for-merly the Workmen’s Circle) in Brookline, where she teaches Sunday school.

Katz said there are “a hundred reasons” why remote learning is hard for students and teachers.

School started remotely in mid-September as Revere is “firmly in the red” as a high-risk community for COVID-19.

“Just getting on the computer and having the space and the distraction-less area is very dif-ficult for the students,” Katz said. Teachers are required to

teach from the school three days a week, and Katz has been teaching with her mask on from her classroom due to concerns about the school’s outdated ven-tilation system.

Also, at the start of the year, her Chromebook was so new the school did not have an adapter to hook it up to an older-mod-el Smartboard to give her an enlarged monitor to display to her remote students.

Katz sees the connection between the commitment Jews make to better themselves dur-ing the High Holidays to the start of the new school year. “It is a great reminder that although we make plans to be better this year, we will not achieve our goals. But working hard to achieve them is still our task,” Katz said.

Jason Stark teaches his-tory, psychology, and genocide studies at Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School in Danvers. As an educa-tor in a school district that mixes remote and in-person learning, Stark thinks the administration is doing its best.

Stark, of Peabody, said the school began this fall with a mix

of in-person and remote instruc-tion.

Freshmen and seniors are in school one week while sopho-mores and juniors are learning remotely, and then the follow-ing week, the sophomores and juniors attend school on cam-pus while freshmen and seniors learn remotely.

When students are in class, they practice social distancing and wear masks. The desktops are cleaned throughout the school day.

The hardest thing Stark has had to deal with is changing a teaching style that depends on interaction, moving about the classroom, or having students break into small groups.

“Everything about the way I teach my class is about building relationships,” Stark said.

His students are sitting in rows, facing forward, and it’s hard to see their expressions under their masks, he said. Ironically, when students are online, he can see their faces better.

“It’s almost like on the remote days, I feel like I get more of the conversation when I talk with kids,” he said.

However, his students are glad to be back, Stark said, including some juniors he had last year who are seniors this year.

“I saw the seniors today, and I talked with them, they are so happy that they are here.”

Stark draws this adage from his religion when it comes to teaching during the pandemic and the need to keep everyone safe: “To save one life is to save them all.”

Jodi Coburn is now working as a paraprofessional on an eighth-grade team at Masconomet Regional Middle School in Boxford because of budget cuts that eliminated her former posi-tion as the school’s writing tutor. Coburn, of Peabody, believes the coronavirus will not last forever and “we will persist.”

Still, she is cautious and wor-ries about the health crisis. “I’m doubly worried about being in the middle school while students are in there. I am terrified of get-ting COVID from them,” said Coburn, who takes immunosup-pressant drugs to treat a medi-cal condition. Staff came back on Sept. 22, while students are learning remotely until Oct. 19, she said.

“It’s brutal to try to create a sense of community when you only see people on the comput-er screen, so this affects public school, as well as temple,” said Coburn, the vice president of the board at Temple Tiferet Shalom in Peabody. “In the school sense, kids can’t really make friends or become a cohesive class when their interaction is so limited.”

However, Coburn said her students are taking things “in stride.”

“One good thing to keep in the back of our minds, though,” Coburn added, “is that we know we will persist. COVID won’t last forever, and at some point, this will all be in the rearview mirror. One way or another, we will all get through this, and Judaism will be there for us always.”

JUSTICE FOR ALL: GINSBURG SET AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL TO FOLLOWfrom page 1

Jewish teachers learn lessons about perseverance during pandemicfrom page 1

“Just getting on the computer and having the space and the distrac-tion-less area is very difficult for the students,” said Pauline Katz, who teaches in Revere.

JOIN US!The Jewish Journal will hold its annual

“Honorable Menschions” Gala on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

This year, our Gala will be held online and we will honor all of the mensches that were featured

in the Journal over the last year.

The Gala will also serve as the Journal’s major fundraiser in 2020.

For further information or assistance, please contact Steve at 978-745-4111 x130,

or email Rosenberg@jewishjournal.org.