An Atlanta Weekend

An Atlanta Weekend by Aaron Ginsburg

Rabbi Marc Mandel asked me to write about my visit last weekend to Atlanta. I went to Atlanta for the bar mitzvah of Adam Haber, son of Larry and Marcia Haber, grandson of Charles and Miriam Lasky z.l.  With Marcia’s brother’s Marc, Jay, and Robert, their children, my brother-in-law and sister Alan and Beth Levine, and the Haber relatives, I could have easily been at a family event in Newport, where most of us were born. And not only did we have star-power, we had minyan power!

Temple Beth Tikvah Roswell, GA Sanctuary

The Bar Mitzvah was at Temple Beth Tikvah in Roswell, Georgia. I was told it was modeled after a Chabad synagogue design. If so, it had much more finesse, with pink stone and a translucent dome. And with stadium seating there was not a bad seat in the house.

The Rabbi’s sermon would not have been out of place at Touro Synagogue. The theme was the official Olympic motto, Citius, Altius, Fortius. Faster, Higher, Better.  Although it sounds ancient, the motto was composed by Dominican preacher Henri Didon, 1840-1900, for a sports competition. His friend, Pierre de Coubertin proposed it as the official motto of the Olympics. 

Temple Beth Tikvah, Roswell, GA lobby

Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner pointed out that the motto was “not fastest, hIghest, strongest. In other words, it’s not just about the destination, its about the journey.” In terms of the parsha, Parashat Vaetchanan, Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11, Moses desperately wanted to enter Israel, and complained to the Almighty that it wasn’t fair. G-d replied, “Rav lecha, Enough! Go up to the Pisgah and see the valley (and all the people stretched below). Look at all that YOU have accomplished, and that you have mattered to all those whom you have carried all these years…

The Olympians are the ones who had the commitment, dedication to forge on, who never gave up and managed to go where others could only dream. And that was the real prize.”

She quoted Rabbi Harold Kushner, “Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth or power. Our souls are hungry for meaning…”  She commented, “There is a difference between success and significance. When we look at our own life’s journeys-what will we discover? Are we only looking to be faster, higher or stronger-OR is there something more?"

The Temple Synagogue, Atlanta

While I was in Atlanta I met with some Dokshitz descendants. Many Jewish Newport families, including mine, trace their origin to this shtetl, now in Belarus. One of the places we considered meeting was at a synagogue called “The Temple.” The congregation was the first official one in Atlanta, founded in 1867. Leo Frank, a member of the congregation, was lynched in 1913 by an anti-semitic mob. The Jewish community lived in a climate of fear for many years. 

Rabbi and Mayor after
Temple Synagogue bombing

Times change, and forty years later Temple senior Rabbi Jacob Rothschild was an outspoken opponent of segregation. On October 12, 1958, a bomb consisting of 50 sticks of dynamite was placed at the Temple’s north entrance, and did $100,000 worth of damage. The reaction was overwhelmingly supportive, unlike in 1913.  Mayor William Hartsfield posed with the Rabbi in the rubble. Atlantans raised $140,000 to repair the damage. A half-hearted attempt to convict the perpetrators failed.

Accompanied by my sister Beth Levine and her husband Alan, I met with cousins Caryl Paller and Donna Darrocot. Their grandfather, Hyman Kaminkovitz, was born in Dokshitz. Their great Aunt Sarah Shleifer was married to Hyman’s brother Ruben.  Her brother Jacob Schleifer married Sarah Kusinitz, a cousin of the Newport Kusinitzes. Hyman changed his last name to Minkovitz; Ruben changed his last name to Mink. I got to know them after I discovered Hyman’s 1915 naturalization petition, where he declared that he was born in Dokshitz. When I contacted them, they knew about the name change, but not about Dokshitz.

Also present were cousins Robbie Dokson and Stanley Baum. Robbie’s great-grandparents, Barnet Dokson( Dokshizkyn), and Sarah Markman were also born In Dokshitz. Robbie and Stanley are related thorough their great great Dokshizkyn grandparents, and Stanley's grandmother Lena Dokson was a sister of Robbie’s grandmother  Manie Dokson Dokson (she was married to a cousin). 

Andrew Dietz,who grew up in Connecticut, also joined us. Dietz and Teitz are different ways of spelling the same name, from the first letters of the words Dayan Tzedek, righteous judge. Andrew’s grandfather Shmuel Dietz was born in Dokshitz. In 1912 he settled in Springfield, MA.

Andrew and Robbie met at a Southeast Region Anti-Defamation-League board retreat. They were paired in an icebreaker. Andrew told Robbie that his grandfather was born in Dokshitz. An astonished Robbie replied, “Hold it buddy!” 

We met at a pub/restaurant called Gordon Biersch in downtown Atlanta. Although beer was featured on the menu, most of us ordered iced tea.  I reviewed the recent activities of the Friends of Jewish Dokshitsy.

The Swan Hous at the Atlanta History Center

Before catching my flight Monday evening, I visited the Atlanta History Center. The 33 acre site includes a museum devoted to Atlanta history, a circa 1850 farm, and a 1928 mansion. The mansion reminded me of Bellevue Avenue, although by Newport standards,  it was pint sized. With the exception of one maid, all of the servants commuted to work. 

Atlanta is a large amorphous blob spreading over the red Georgia soil. Tomorrow I will commute from my apartment in Foxboro to The Jewel of Aquidneck Island, Touro Synagogue and join the Kehillah Kedusha in service to the Ubershter.

At Touro Synagogue, August 21-22, 2016 A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

At Touro Synagogue, August 21-22, 2016  

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

by Aaron Ginsburg

On Shabbat shul was so crowded that Saul Schweber was unable to sit in his usual seat. Now that is unusual. Also unusual was the temperate weather.

It was Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort.  The haftarah (Isaiah 40, 1-26) is the first of seven haftarahs of consolation that follow the 9th of Av, the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction.

At my desk is the Hertz Chumash I received at my Bar Mitzvah at Touro Synagogue a few years ago from the Sisterhood of Temple Shalom, Louise Ehrlich, president. My favorite phrase is in verse  21, “Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? Don’t you get it…?” In plain English, the Ubershter is saying, “Get with the program!” 

The haftarah begins, “Comfort ye, comfort Ye my people, Saith your G-d). J. Hertz explains that this command to comfort Israel is directed to the prophets and all those who comfort Israel. Rabbi Marc Mandel observed that the law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel provided comfort to the Touro community during the recent challenging time.

The tented Kiddish was sponsored by Amy and Bob Book and Jeanie and Jay Schottenstein. Jay thanked Rabbi Mandel for increasing the ruach of the Newport Jewish community, and thanked the law firm for its help and dedication to Touro. Jay turned to  his friend Bob Book for the name of a law firm. The firm did at least one million dollars of pro bono work for Touro Synagogue. That's not bupkis! The Yiddish word bupkis has nothing to do with pastry. It may be derived from a Polish word meaning animal droppings.

Jay also said that all Jewish communities should visit Israel, and hoped that Touro Synagogue would soon visit.

In the afternoon, attorney Floyd Abrams spoke about the First Amendment to the constitution, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” 

Floyd started with the fact that Washington discussed religious freedom 236 years ago.  He mentioned that at the Constitutional Convention, a Bill of rights was voted down. James Madison, the prime mover behind the Constitution, was among those opposed, believing that the Constitution did not threaten basic rights. He changed his mind at the end of the Convention, realizing that many would oppose the Constitution without a Bill of Rights, ran for Congress on that basis, and started pushing for passage  of the Bill of Rights immediately after Washington was inaugurated.

Bob Book thanked the law firm, and attorney Gary Naftalis accepted a Ben Shahn print that was a gift from the Congregation to the firm for the dedication and hard work. Now I would say that picture is worth a thousand thousand words! 

Park Service Brochure illustrated by Ben Shahn

According to the New York Times, Gary  Naftalis is known as Columbo with a law degree. He favors rumpled, not high-priced, suits. His ironic, fact-seeking approach wins.  Gary often keeps his clients out of court by pointing to out when cases are illogical or unfairly singled out his client. If the case does go to court, rather than dazzle with tactics, maneuvers, and histrionics, he makes his point with facts that disarm witnesses to the chagrin of the prosecuting attorney.

Gary is part of a team that included fellow attorneys Jonathan Wagner and Tobias Jacoby. When I spoke to Jonathan he reiterated that, “We agreed to represent Touro Synagogue and Congregation Jeshuat Israel because we believed that the cause was a worthy and just one—one worth fighting for, the preservation of a vibrant congregation and synagogue that is the cradle of religious liberty in the United States.  We were proud and honored to have represented Congregation Jeshuat Israel in a once-in-a-lifetime trial and on behalf of one of the crown jewels of the state of Rhode Island and  one of the American Jewish community’s  great treasures.”

On a personal note Jonathan added, “I am saying Kaddish for my father, and standing  on the amud and reciting the Haftarah was a wonderful experience in such a  historic synagogue, and among the many highlights of the weekend for me.”

Rabbi Dr. Marc Mandel, Rabbi of Touro Synagogue speaks at GW Letter Reading

On Sunday, after Rabbi Marc Mandel offered the benediction, and, along with Touro leaders, offered words of greeting,  the Moses Seixas  letter to George Washington  was read by Fall River, Massachusetts State Senator Michael Rodrigues.  Michael and others in both Fall River and the Azores have worked for years to restore the Sahar Hawamain (Gates of Heaven) Synagogue in Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal which was build in 1820. Read part of this moving story in a Fall River Herald article. 

Wes Fastiff, brother of Selma Klein, spoke after Gary Naftalis read the George Washington letter. As most speakers do, Wes wondered what insight he could bring following the long line of learned speakers including Supreme Court Justices. Wes read George Washington’s letter carefully, and focused on,…”May the father of all mercies scatter light,and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here , and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy.”

Wes’s professional career for 57 years has been in the field of labor and employment law. Here was George Washington emphasizing equal opportunity in employment for everyone 250 years ago! How different this was for Jews who for years had been restricted from many occupations by guilds and governments. 

Many Jews, depending on their prosperity level, were forced to   choose money lending, which was considered unChristian, and a few other tolerated occupations, such as tax farming, managing the estates of landowners,  peddling, and petty trading. This often put them in an adversarial role to the peasants, a resentment that was in addition to religious based anti-Jewish attitudes.  

In Wes’s words, “Washington’s reference to occupational freedom for everyone in our new Nation held out a concept of exceptional importance.…For our new Nation to truly offer a society where all, including Jews, could be “in our several vocations useful here,” the New World had to reject the Old World’s occupational prejudice and bigotry.”

With the exception of Ulysses S Grant’s General Order No 11, which expelled Jews from the area he controlled, and prohibited Jews from getting licenses to do business with the army, The United States federal government has never restricted the occupations of Jews. 

The order was quickly countermanded by President Lincoln as being unconstitutional.  As he also demonstrated in the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln was very much in tune with the intentions of our forefathers, especially those who signed the Declaration of Independence and who crafted the Constitution.

When Wes’s father Jacob, came to Fall River in 1920, he started as a fruit peddler. Jacob and Wes’s mother Ida, who arrived in 1921, became shopkeepers. No legal impediment stopped their son Wesley from becoming an attorney.

Wes continued, “Beginning with the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964-enacted five years after I began my career, followed by other federal legislation such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act…

We now have laws on both the federal and state level that seek to ensure equal employment opportunity — which is simply a modern name for occupational liberty-not only on the basis of religion, but also race, Sex, age, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, physical or mental disabilities, medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic Information, military and veteran status, and still others.”

Concluded Wes, “George Washington’s vision of two-hundred and twenty-five years ago is still a reality today.”

Among the attendees were Shirley Saunders and her sister Beverly Bavly of Massachusetts. Beverly’s granddaughter Ariel Bavly sang “America” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”  As Shirley Saunders succinctly put it,  “It was a beautiful day and a beautiful event.”

At Touro Synagogue Saturday, August 13, 2016 Its been “Yuge!”

At Touro Synagogue Saturday, August 13, 2016

Its been “Yuge!”

by Aaron Ginsburg

What is the most distinctive architectural element at Touro Synagogue? The ark? The bimah? The chandeliers? How about the windows? Today they allowed seagulls to join us. 

Rabbi Marc Mandel recounted a conversation last week with a visitor from France. By an open window, the visitor explained that in a French  synagogue, people are afraid to sit by a window, lest they become a target. Today French Jews live in a climate of fear. Armed soldiers stand by for their protection. 

Many are leaving for Netanya, Jerusalem, Miami, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. As a leader of his synagogue, our visitor is torn. Should he follow his compatriots? Our visitor challenged us, “Do American Jews really appreciate what it means to be able to sit by an open window at Touro Synagogue.”

Kiddish today was sponsored Naftali and Rhonda Sabo in honor of honor their 45th anniversary and of Naftali’s birthday and. Before reciting the Haftarah, Tal observed that the prophet Isaiah was the person Israel needed when the First Temple was destroyed. Isaiah issued words of warning and words of comfort. 

Today's Haftarah Isaiah 1:1-27 always precedes Tisha B’av.  Isaiah condemns the hypocritical observances of his time, “What need have I of all your sacrifices?…Your new moons and fixed seasons Fill Me with loathing; They are become a burden to Me, I cannot endure them.” What does the Almighty want? “Learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; Aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan; Defend the cause of the widow.”

At Kiddish, Rhonda Sabo spoke. Her topic was “Crossing the Bridge to the World of the Other (and what I have learned from Martin Buber)”. 

Come in Houston,"Is that
 Rhonda's (from Niles, IL) footprint?
We hear she is flying high
after seeing Naftali. Please confirm."

In 1969, when the Apollo mission was headed for the moon, Rhonda read  Martin Buber in her Psychology 101 class. But Buber did not make much of an impression! She had just met a prince sitting on a white horse, Naftali Sabo, sitting on her cousin’s  white couch. This did not go unnoticed in the heavens: Sky high Rhonda was undoubtedly  encountered by the Apollo mission. 

Like all relationships, their marriage has had ups and downs. We were happy to celebrate with them today. As Donald Trump might say, it's been "Yuge." Rhonda does not usually quote from the Trump but it fits. Bernie Saunders also says, “Yuge.” Bernie and Donald were both born in Brooklyn and tawk like New Yawkers.

Rhonda wanted to be a couple therapist. But her early experiences discouraged her. She either was not good at it, or the approaches she tried weren’t effective. 

Rhonda  devoted over 20 years of work career to helping patients with Multiple Personality Disorder(Dissociative Identity Disorder). The disorder follows a trauma; psychotherapy is a recognized treatment. 

A few years ago  Mona, a friend, suggested that the dissociative personalities were starting to rub off. Perhaps Rhonda should revisit couples therapy. New models of treatment emphasized the relationship between a man and a women, rather than their individual issues.

These approaches owe a lot to Martin Buber. In his book I and Thou, I-it is a relationship that looks at the second party as an object, while I-Thou looks at a relationship as including the whole of its members. Buber is over my head.  Let’s say in I-Thou we merge, while in I-it we remain separate.

Was Buber was thinking of Shakespeare's sonnet 116,  “Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit  impediment?” Shakespeare's love takes on a life of its own that's eternal and strong enough to survive the storms and tempests that we encounter.

Rumi, (Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī) 1207-1273, formulated the idea,  

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing 

and rightdoing there is a field.”

Rumi is one of the most published poets in the United State. He founded the Whirling Dervish sect. Whirling Dervishes, famous for their dance, take a vow of poverty and beg to learn humility. The funds cannot be for themselves but must be used for charity. The Whirling Dervishes were suppressed by Turkey in the 1920s and were only allowed to resume their activities in the 1950s when the government realized they were a tourist attraction.

Sometimes even the strongest building needs maintenance. That's where relational couples therapy comes in. Rhonda now devotes herself to strengthening a couple’s relationship. Strengthening the relationship will lift the partners, helping them deal with their personal issues.  

Rhonda and Naftali in 1969

Did Rhonda know that while she prepared her talk Tal was preparing some photos of the highlights of their relationship, from when they just met in 1969 to a wedding two years later,  to their son’s wedding, and to their two grandsons? A good relationship is an adventure. After 45 years  it's been “Yuge!"  

At Touro Synagogue, Saturday, July 30, 2016 Coffee Milk, Cocoa Puffs, The Democratic Convention and Who is a Choctaw?

 At Touro Synagogue, Saturday, July 30, 2016

Coffee Milk, Cocoa Puffs, The Democratic Convention and Who is a Choctaw? by Aaron Ginsburg

Cocoa Puffs

On the way to Newport I remembered that when the Ginsburg family drove by the farms on the East Main and West Main roads,  my sisters, Judy and Beth, and I categorized the cows by color…there were white milk cows, chocolate milk cows, and coffee milk cows. Coffee milk was my favorite, while my sisters preferred chocolate.  Get the lowdown about coffee milk at http://quahog.org/factsfolklore/index.php?id=56 

As lovers of chocolate milk, my sisters were in seventh heaven when Cocoa Puff cereal was introduced.  The bottoms of the boxes  became trains that inspired us to repeat the slogan, “Cocoa Puff, Cocoa Puff, Cocoa Puff.” I am still repeating it. 

Women of America and Israel

Our Torah reading, was Parshat Pinchas, Numbers 25:10 - 30:1. During his sermon, Rabbi Marc Mandel carefully brought up the Democratic Convention. Hillary Clinton is the first female presidential nominee of a major American political party. 

Speaking of Pinchas, my great-grandparents were Penny(Pinchas) and Jennie Pokross(originally Pokrassa). Penny and Jennie and three of their children, including my grandfather Jacob Pokross, immigrated to Fall River, Massachusetts from Gorodishche, Ukraine. The Pokross family are Levis. I’m aware of three other families from the Gorodishche area (Cherkassy and Zlatopol) that  have a Pinchas Pokrassa among their ancestors. Two of the families are levis, and two lived in Gorodishche at the same time as my family. Chances are good that the four Pokrassa families are related. As if I didn’t already have enough relatives!

Rabbi Marc Mandel pointed out that in the parsha four women  stood up for themselves and others. The daughters of Zelophehad, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah said to Moses,

“Our father died in the wilderness. He was not one of the faction, Korah’s faction, which banded together against the LORD, but died for his own sin; and he has left no sons.Let not our father’s name be lost to his clan just because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father’s kinsmen!”

Moses did what he usually did in a tough spot. To correct the blooper, he used the Moses-Ubershter hotline to consult Higher Authority.

Golda Meir in 1914
 in Milwaukee

“The plea of Zelophehad’s daughters is just: you should give them a hereditary holding among their father’s kinsmen; transfer their father’s share to them. Further, speak to the Israelite people as follows: ‘If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall transfer his property to his daughter…”

This was all about dividing the still unconquered Land of Israel. Jay Schottenstein and the Rabbi had been discussing Israel, and Jay said, “Israel needs people’s love and support.”

Rabbi Mandel mentioned another lover of Israel, Golda Meir. When she was smuggled into Jordan to meet King Abdullah, he asked that the Proclamation of the State of Israel be delayed . She replied, "We've been waiting for 2,000 years. Is that hurrying?”

Who is a Choctow?

The Kiddish was sponsored by Dr. Morton and Irene, Ph.D., about "Living in the Choctaw Nation 1962-1964.” Morton is a family physician and Irene is an anthropologist.  

When Morton was a medical student in New York City, he wanted to go into family medicine. But medicine in New York was highly specialized, and all he heard from his teachers was, “No way.” 

In 1962 young Morton and Irene escaped New York. He joined five other physicians and staff manning a 150 bed hospital in The Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma. He delivered many babies and although not a surgeon, assisted during many surgeries. 

Irene was a musician in her pre-anthropology days. I immediately thought of my anthropology professor, Colin Turnbull.  As a musician he became acquainted with the music of the African pygmies. He went on to become a noted anthropologist.  He told us that when he was a young man he did not follow his father’s wishes for his future. His father took him out to the backyard with a chest containing the family papers, and proceeded to chop the chest to bits with an axe!

In 1830 Mosholatubbee sought to be elected
to the Congress of the United States. 1834,
Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Choctaw Nation was expelled from the Southeast in the 1830s and sent to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears after signing an unequal treaty. During the Civil War they chose the Confederate side. They paid a heavy price.

During World War I American Choctaw soldiers became code talkers after being overheard speaking the Choctaw language. This prevented the Germans who tapped into American lines from understanding what they were hearing, which contributed to several American victories in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign in France.

Among Morton and Irene’s neighbors was the Macleod family. Years later, when the Glassers attended a Scottish clan event they mentioned the Choctaw Macleods to clan members, who were very aware of the Choctaw compatriots. The Choctaws have a broad definition of who is a Choctaw and they now number over 200,000.

Over the years, as American policy has changed, the Choctaw’s rights and status have changed. It is only in the last 60 years or so that they have been able to reestablish themselves after years of suppression at both the state and federal levels.

Who is a Jew?

It is easy to leap from “Who is a Choctaw?” to “Who is a Jew?”  Today, according to Halacha, a Jew is a child of a Jewish mother or a convert who has had to jumped through numerous hoops. But Biblical times were pre-halachic. Ruth, a Moabite, joined Israel because she wanted to, and that was that. What hath 3300 years wrought? 

At Touro Synagogue August 6, 2016 The Periodic Table and Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer by Aaron Ginsburg

At Touro Synagogue August 6, 2016 

The Periodic Table and Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer 

by Aaron Ginsburg

On Saturday, Shul was crowded. Unusual for this summer, there was enough of a breeze to blow off my yarmulka. Ralph and Delia Klingbeil sponsored the Kiddish in honor of their 50th wedding anniversary and their daughter Jennifer and George Borhegyi's 20th wedding anniversary, and their daughter Abigail and David Zipkin's 10th wedding anniversary. 

A few weeks ago I wrote how Avi Weiss, son of Rabbi Lowell Weiss, pulled out the trick drawer of the talesim out a little too far and the drawer landed on the floor. This week, Rabbi Weiss was accompanied by his son Yoni who lives in Israel. Sure enough, the drawer fell out again, although Yoni was not the culprit. There were so many visitors that we ran out of talesim. Soon a cardboard box labeled Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer appeared, laden with talesim. Many of us would have appreciated it if there were a few bottles of brew, preferably chilled, in the box too.

After introducing our visitors, Rabbi Marc Mandel announced Ralph’s topic for Kiddish, “Anniversaries and the Periodic Table.” Amused murmuring arose from the congregation. Ralph is a physicist, as is my brother-in-law Alan Levine. Knowing Al, I expected something witty,sparkling and slightly droll. Visitors came from Baltimore, Westchester, Paris, Israel, and included the Defining Moments Group, a group of Jewish National Fund leaders. The group was supported by Jennie and Jay Schottenstein.

The Defining Moments Group’s scholar-in-residence, Erica Brown, also attended services. Rabbi Mandel pointed out that many of Erica’s books were in sync with the Parsha and the Jewish calendar. http://www.ericabrown.com For example, “Inspired Jewish Leadership” described our visitors from the JNF, “Leadership in the Wilderness” reflected the book of Numbers (Bamidbar-In the Wilderness) that we completed today. “In the Narrow Places, Daily Inspiration for the Three Weeks” was written for the period between the 17th of Tammuz, when the walls of the Second and possibly the First Temple Jerusalem,were breached, to the Ninth of Av, when both the First and Second Temples were destroyed.  Erica hit a home run, and we did not even hear from her!  

At the Kiddish, Ralph said he and Delia met at a physics lab at Hofstra University. Delia was a student and Ralph was an aide. Ralph noticed that Delia’s lab partner was having some trouble with the concepts. Delia said that, “Force is force, and 1 newton(a measurement of force) is equal to 105 dynes.” Her succinct explanation, to the fifth power, no less, got Ralph’s attention. They were married two years later. Ladies, study your physics!  Incidentally, Delia is a mathematician.

Ralph started his talk by describing Primo Levi’s book, The Periodic Table. Levi uses the elements to describe his experiences in Aushwitz. For example he relates Argon, “Inert and satisfied with its condition” which “does not combine with any other element” to the Jewish people.

Ralph was inspired to use the Periodic table in a different way. He relates the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom to a year, and the characteristics of that element to a person or event. So his grandchildren are in their “ boron(5), nitrogen(7), magnesium(12) and phosphorous(15) years.” Ralph is in his “Hafnium year-lustrous and silvery gray. Delia is in her lutetium year-she resists corrosion in dry, but not moist air and is counted among the rare earths.”

Ralph continued, “Somebody wonderful married me back in 1966 and we have reached our tin-year anniversary, #50. Tin has low toxicity and is malleable. Next year, our #51, is our antimony year. Antimony is stable in air but reacts with oxygen if heated.”

“This year you may be a rare earth or a a noble metal or a rare gas or something else. Maybe you will be more malleable and less brittle, or perhaps less gaseous. I wish each of you a healthy, joyful and meaningful journey through your lifetime on the periodic table.”

Shabbat Shalom and thanks to Ralph Klingbeil for sharing his talk with me. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/oct/09/primo-levi-periodic-table

At Touro Synagogue, July 23, 2016 The View from the Bridge, Three Jays, and Rabbi Mandel Discusses Politics

The view from the Sakonnet River Bridge
source:google maps
We could have used the air conditioning repair
man at shul.

The View from the Bridge, Three Jays, and Rabbi Mandel Discusses Politics

by Aaron Ginsburg

I drive to Newport via Fall River to avoid the toll on the Newport Bridge. The view from the Sakonnet River Bridge always takes my breath away. There is the water below the bridge (the Sakonnet River), the water above (Mt Hope Bay), and towards the west, the Mt Hope Bridge. If that is not enough, once on the island  of Aquidneck there’s a watery view of Island Park.

Island Park brings pleasant memories of the cottage that belonged to my Fall River grandparents, Jacob and Sarah Karnowsky Pokross. In addition to my grandparents, my parents and sisters, I remember spending time with my aunt, Celia Dress, and her daughter, Miriam, z.l. who married Charles Lasky.

The view from the Sakonnet River Bridge prefigured Balaam’s blessing in the Parsha Balak, “How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel! Like palm-groves that stretch out, Like gardens beside a river, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the water;Their boughs drip with moisture, Their roots have abundant water. Their king shall rise above Agag, Their kingdom shall be exalted…”

I sprinted from my car to the shul, which was in suspended animation. I had arrived during a hiatus while the congregation awaited a minyan. Greeted warmly by a congregant with a hand shake, and a comment about my cold (from the car's air conditioning) hand, Rabbi Mandel thanked me for being tenth. Soon I was anything but cold in the sweltering 93 degree heat.

Jay, Jay, Jay is the sound of the bird. At Touro three Jays had Aliyahs, kiddish sponsor Jay Nisberg, my cousin Jay Lasky, and Jay Schottenstein. Jay Schottenstein recited the Haftarah from Micah. As he ended with, “He has told you, O man, what is good, And what the LORD requires of you: Only to do justice And to love goodness, And to walk modestly with your G-d,” a butterfly fluttered about the bimah. Was a celestial being visiting Touro Synagogue to hear to the words of the Prophet Micah?

My Uncle Arthur Green, who taught English at Chelsea High School, told me about the derivation of the word “butterfly.” It was originally “flutterby.” During the Middle Ages, when literacy depended on a few monks, one of them transposed “by” and “flutter.” Although the error was pointed out, he was stubborn and would not correct it.

Rabbi Mandel began his sermon by talking about the Republican Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Ohio is a bellwether state, and has voted for the winner in Presidential elections since 1964. When Donald Trump asked Ted Cruz to speak, he was expecting an endorsement. But people don’t always perform according to the script. The same thing happened in the Parsha, when Balaam blessed Israel rather than cursing it at the behest of Balak, King of the Moab. The events at the convention might have just been politics, bur Rabbi Mark Mandel pointed out that Balak and Balaam really did intend for harm to come to Israel.

Also in the Parsha the talking mule certainly was not sticking to the script!

Jay Nisberg, a prominent accountant, spoke at the Kiddish. Mindful of Rabbi Mandel’s request to speak for ten minutes, Jay movingly described an incident he, with his wife and other family members, witnessed at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem. Mistakenly informed that a terrorist incident was unfolding, many of the 300-400 people in the dining room panicked as they looked for someplace safe to hide. The foreign visitors were particularly panic-stricken, while at least some of the Israelis seemed to be more stoic. What struck Sally, Jay’s wife, was the overwhelming fear that parents felt as they worried about their children, and the pressure that Israelis live under. Both Jim and Sally were asked if they would return, and their unhesitant answer was, “Of course we’re going back.”

At Touro Synagogue, Saturday, July 16, 2016 Three Marks and Three Immortals by Aaron Ginsburg

             

Three Marks

Touro Synagogue was both welcoming and wilting, with shirts and hair dripping and drooping. 

When I arrived, Rabbi Marc Mandel pointed out Mark Salzberg, from Newton, Massachusetts, and wondered if I knew him. I said no, then learned from Mark that his brother is Stuart Salzberg. I see Stuart most mornings at Temple Israel of Sharon, Massachusetts where he is saying Kaddish for their father. Mark was visiting with his wife Dina.

Visitor Mark Appel told me he had owned a vacant building in New York City and used it to found the The Bridge Multicultural Advocacy Project  whose "mission is to unite and energize people of every racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious group across New York City and  the United States…” for more information go to  http://www.thebridgemcp.com

  

Also visiting was Newport native Phillip Margolis and his wife Susan. My sister Beth used to babysit for Phillip.  Susan's sister Lynn is married to David Arons. The Arons live in Sharon and often visit Touro during Memorial Day weekend. 

Rabbi Mandel greeted people beginning with Mike Josephson. Mike's family was one of the first to come to Newport and reopen Touro after the colonial Jewish families had left. He thanked the Congregation for keeping Touro Synagogue going. He greeted and thanked a visiting surgeon from New Jersey, Dr. Jonathan Lewin, for sponsoring and speaking at the kiddish lunch and for being part of the greater Touro family.

He greeted Jay Schottenstein.  The Schottenstein family is renowned for their philanthropy. Jay's father Jerome's generosity  helped create Artscroll’s Schottenstein  Babylonian Talmud  in memory of his father Ephraim. After Jerome's death his widow Geraldine, Jay and his siblings continued to generously support the Talmud, in memory of both Ephraim and Jerome.  

 Three Immortals

Judah Touro

The Rabbi recognized Judah Touro as the first American Jew to make a major donation to the Jews in Palestine. This led to the building in 1860 of Mishkenot Sha'ananim, the first dwellings outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City. An inscription on the building  reads, "Mishkenot Sha'ananim was established with the money bequeathed by the benefactor Judah Touro, may his soul rejoice in Eden, in the holy community of New Orleans, May God protect it, in America, by Sir Moses Montefiore, in the year 5620 of the Creation."

History gave Moses Montefiore the credit, and the role of Judah Touro and his advisor and executor Gershom Kursheedt was largely forgotten. During his lifetime his support for Jewish causes was modest but by his bequests, including those to Touro Synagogue, he became an immortal paradigm of Jewish philanthropy. 

Rabbi Mandel then turned to the parsha. In parashat Chukat both Aaron and Miriam die, and Moses learns that he would not accompany his people into the promised land. Rashi thought that this was because Moses struck the rock in anger, rather than use his voice to bring forth water as he had been commanded. So Moses, Miriam and Aaron did not enter the promised land, nor did they have the opportunity to help build it up, an opportunity that Judah Touro took advantage of. We are in a position to follow in Judah Touro's footsteps. Will we rise to the occasion?

At the kiddish, Jonathan Lewin feigned reluctance to speak. Would he be able to measure up to Rabbi Mandel's glowing introduction? He then continued with insights into the parsha.  

The parsha begins with the law of the red heifer, which states that to restore ritual purity to a person  who comes in contact with a dead body, a red heifer must be sacrificed and its ashes be sprinkled on the person. But if the sprinkling is not done the right way it also results in ritual impurity. 

Our Rabbis were concerned that people would use the red heifer to discredit Judaism by punching holes in the story of the holy cow. Some Roman writers examined Jewish writings with a fine toothed comb in hope of discrediting the people of the book, who were widely admired and thus feared. 

When discussing the parsha with his children Jonathan often finds that it's not necessary to go beyond the first few sentences. Chukat's second verse begins "This is the law of the Torah." זֹ֚את חֻקַּ֣ת הַתּוֹרָ֔ה  But why doesn't it say, "This is the law of the red heifer?"  Chazel teaches that this was to emphasize that that the law of the red heifer is a command from the Almighty. We may not understand it, but we must obey it. To acknowledge that something is illogical is very logical. Our immortal Torah, including the red heifer, withstood the brickbats of the Ancient Roman literati. 

LeBron James

Speaking of immortals, Jonathan concluded by quoting basketball superstar LeBron James. When asked why the Cleveland Cavaliers title, and the Finals Most Valuable Player award felt different from the ones he earned as a member of the Miami Heat, Cleveland native LeBron said, "I'm home, This is what I came back for.” Jonathan came back to visit Touro Synagogue because it feels like home.

Jay Schottenstein listened approvingly. Did Jonathan Lewin know that Jay and LeBron are acquainted?

"I'm home, This is what I came back for."