from our spiritual leader coming events cantor henry ... · 3/4/2017 · particular themes. two...

March/April 2017 Adar/Nissan/Iyar 5777 Volume 21, Issue 2

From Our Spiritual Leader

Cantor Henry Shapiro

Something (even more) Special We all know that Shabbat is special, that it’s one of the defining things about Judaism. Not only is it one of the 10 commandments, it’s also the ‘clock’ around which we set our week. If you look at the psalms that are read at the end of the weekday morning prayers, they are numbered in relation to Shabbat. Not to mention that most of our synagogue attendance and rituals revolve around Shabbat. You would think that because it occurs once a week, 52 times a year, that Shabbat is less important than holidays that happen less frequently or even just once a year, but no. The common practice, or the default mode if you will, is to do things and prayers like Shabbat on Festivals or other holy days. Only adding special prayers, songs or melodies for the holiday around the ‘Shabbat skeleton’. If you’re in shul on a Festival, you can hear the nusakh - the melody for the service - switch back and forth from Shabbat mode to the specifics of the holiday. Even when that holiday falls on a weekday. That being said, there are Shabbatot that are noteworthy because they fall at certain times, precede a holiday or period, or even are associated with a particular Torah reading. Shabbat Tsuvah for example is the name of the Shabbat that falls between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Shabbat Shirah is when the Torah is read about the parting of the Red Sea. Relevant to this time of year are what are known as the 4 Parshiyot, four

Coming Events

Friday Night Shabbat Services - 6:00 PM Saturday Morning Shabbat Services - 9:30 AM April 9nd Search for Chometz at Home - After Sundown April 10th Fast of the First Born Dispose Chometz by 10:00 AM Last time for Chometz Sale Form 12:00 Noon April 11th 1st Day of Passover Morning Services 9:30 AM April 12th 2nd Day of Passover Morning No Services April 17th Evening Memorial Service w/Yizkor 7 PM April 18th Last day of Passover Services 9:30 AM Yizkor @ 11:00 AM April 23rd Yom HaShoah Observances Temple David, 11AM - 12 noon Community-Wide Program, 6PM Squirrel Hill JCC April 23rd Service of Unity - Monroeville Interfaith Ministerium Good Shepard Lutheran Church

Parkway Jewish Center

March/April 2017 Adar/Nissan/Iyar 5777

Shabbatot that are grouped together because they set the mood and anticipate the next holidays. They are related to the Torah portions and have special Haftarah readings that go along with their particular themes. Two fall before Purim and two before Pesach. We just had Shabbat Shkelim, referring the half-shekel contribution given to support the Mishkan and Temple. The week before Purim was Shabbat Zachor, when we are obligated to remember what King Amalek did to the Israelites. Haman was one of his descendants which is one of the tie ins to Purim. Shabbat Parah refers to the red heifer that was part of the Temple ritual. Finally Shabbat HaChodesh begins right before the month of Nisan.

And just when you thought that was all, for a little bit of extra this time of year we have Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Shabbat, which immediately proceeds Passover.

Now that the weather is warming up and it’s getting lighter, we hope to see you at one of our ‘Special Shabbats’. Cantor Henry Shapiro ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Yom HaShoah Observances April 23rd, 2017 Temple David, 11AM - 12 noon Temple David will hold a Yom HaShoah program. Speakers and other details to follow. Yom HaShoah Commemoration Community-Wide Program, 6PM Squirrel Hill JCC 5738 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh 15217 https://www.jfedpgh.org/Yom-Hashoah //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Personal Studies at PJC with Cantor Have you wanted to learn something about the liturgy or lead some part of the service, such as writing a dvar, learning some prayers, or leyning Torah or Haftarah? Contact Cantor Shapiro for personal coaching and to schedule a one-time or regular session.



New Parkway Members PJC has two new members, Cathy and Steve Frank. Steve is a real estate appraiser and owns his own business, Steve Frank Appraisal Services, in Regent Square. He grew up in Kingston, Pa., in the same Jewish community as Cantor Shapiro. Cathy Cohen Frank grew up in Squirrel Hill and has had a lifelong passion for art. She is a professional craftsperson and artist specializing in ornamental jewelry and Judaica. Among her accomplishments is an award from the Holocaust Museum Houston. Her design of the “Generations Lost” mezuzah in honor of children perished in the Holocaust is in their permanent collection. http://www.joyousjudaica.com Cathy and Steve have two adult children, Hannah and Jason. They enjoy hiking, gardening, blues music, and yoga. We welcome them to our PJC family.

Purim at PJC



2015 Penn Corner Farm Share The Penns Corner Farm Share, CSA Community Supported Agriculture, is now open to sign up for the coming season. As you may recall, PJC and Eastmont Lutheran Church are hosting the Penn Hills/Wilkins/Monroeville area pickup site at the Eastmont Church parking lot. For more information on food subscriptions and to sign up, see: http://www.pennscorner.com //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Please also note: We have slimmed down our festival services, having them just on the 1st and last day. On the second day of Shavuot, we will join Congregations New Light and Tree of Light in Squirrel Hill. Please come, it's a nice way to daven and meet some nice Sq. Hill folks. PJC Shavuot Evening Memorial Service w/Yizkor May 30th, 2017 - 7PM A Word on Yikzor Services - Traditionally, Yizkor services are held during morning service on the last day of a festival. Because many people couldn't make a weekday morning service, PJC instituted the practice of having an evening memorial service before the day we would normally have Yizkor. We are continuing this practice and we hope you can make the evening or daytime minyan. Tikkun Leil Shavuot Community Evening Learning, 10pm-1am, JCC Usually 2-300+ people attending with 30+ lectures, well worth going to. And they serve cheesecake!! May 31st, PJC 1st Day Shavuot Morning Services w/Yizkor - 9:30AM June 1st, 2nd day Shavuot - we will join Congregation New Light and Tree of Life in Squirrel Hill for a joint morning service, usually 9:15AM at New Light, 1700 Beechwood Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 The OU Passover Guide is available at PJC.



From the President’s Desk………………………….Robert E. Korfin Whenever I thank people from the bema, it feels like I’m “losing the room.” People tend to tune-out but that’s okay because most people are still listening. So often I’ve made sure to thank Leslie Rubin and Diane Bloomfield for all they do in managing the kitchen at PJC. There’s more….they put out a spread on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings following Shabbat Services that rivals the offerings at my Bar Mitzvah 56 years ago (I can see you now doing the math). So I need to shout out to this dynamic duo a hearty “Thank You.” There is another very special member of our Parkway Family and good friend to me, Charlie Rubin. If it wasn’t for Charlie, there’s a good chance we may not be here today and this article would be moot. When we didn’t have a Rabbi, there was Charlie. When we didn’t have a Cantor, there was Charlie. He’s become a close confidant and good friend. A couple of years ago, Charlie took a sabbatical from his teaching duties at Duquesne University to spend the academic year at prestigious Princeton University. For me it was the longest year ever and I couldn’t wait for his return. It felt like a year of Passover. Well, it’s going to happen all over again as Charlie is returning to dear old Princeton. He will be a Fellow in the James Madison Program in America Ideals and Institutions. In this position, Charlie will be doing research as well as writing to complete his book that concerns what can be learned from some of the famous man-made monsters in literature (including the *Golem). Charlie hopes that his book will help us to understand the promise and threats of upcoming developments in biotechnology and robotics. When Charlie leaves Pittsburgh for Princeton University next September, it will be another long year and we will miss him terribly. At the same time we should all “kvell” that our Charlie is so honored with this prestigious opportunity. But there’s more….what’s worse, just got worser (is that a word?) (no, it is not-editor) Charlie isn’t going to New Jersey alone. Leslie will be accompanying her hubby on this year at Princeton too. So we will miss them both on Friday evenings, Saturday mornings and just about every day of the year until they return. We wish them the very best… *What’s a Golem? (see page 17-editor) Do your own research and then we’ll talk again….



Kiddush & Oneg Shabbat Sponsors PJC Sisterhood Michael and Susan Tell Roz Markovitz Ruth Daniels Denise Goppman Cantor Shapiro Edy Dickman Leslie Rubin Diane Bloomfield Faye Fischman Bernie Bernstein

Kiddush Oneg Sponsorships Sisterhood invites you to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other Simchas by sponsoring an Oneg Shabbat or Saturday Morning Kiddush. You can also sponsor in memory of a loved one’s Yahrzeit. For more information, call Diane Bloomfield at 412-373-9240 or Leslie Rubin at 412-371-8437

Donation Contacts: Donations to the Marilyn Markowitz/Phyllis Stein Memorial Library Fund can be made by calling the shul office. Mazel Tov to: Charlie Rubin on becoming a Full Professor at Duquesne University, and a visiting Professor at Princeton University for the 2017 - 2018 academic year. (see page 5) Shirley H. and Allan Schwartz, on the Bar Mitzvah of their Grandson, Avi Rosen Elaine and Efrem Schwartz on the birth of their Great Granddaughter, Nora Jane Schwartz

MARCH ANNIVERSARIES

1 Elaine and Efrem Schwartz 7 Amy and Norman Mayer

20 Lynda and Marvin Heyman MARCH BIRTHDAYS

2 Linda Tashbook Rick Sternberg

4 Marlene Zukerman 5 Edyth Dickman

6 Rob Reiner 7 Rachel Weisz

10 Betty Bernstein 12 Denise Lederman

14 Laurie Barnett Levine Albert Einstein

Billy Crystal 16 Jerry Lewis 22 Chico Marx

William Shatner 23 Debi Drummond 26 Leonard Nimoy

James Caan 28 David Sternberg

APRIL ANNIVERSARIES 13 Joanie and Mike Jacob 15 Lila and Martin Cooper

27 Debbie and Gary Moidel APRIL BIRTHDAYS

3 Lee Moldovan 4 David Blaine

5 Susan Tell 9 Nicholas Forman

10 Risa Kosko Laynie Tell

Elyssa Sternberg 13 Ben Kraska

14 Sarah Michelle Gellar 16 Susan Mazer Helen Naimark

22 Aaron Spelling 24 Barbra Streisand

25 Gail Levine 26 Alan Arkin

28 Mathew Lederman 29 Cathy Frank Jerry Seinfeld



March Yahrzeits

Week of February 24, 2017 - 28 Shevet Albert Cooper, Fannie Valinsky, Anita Ruth,Elinoff Leff, Chana Schwartz, Louis Klein, Benjamin Hackman, Hyman Korfin, Louis Shefsky, Allan Goppman, Bessie Herer,Sidney Leonard, Harry Yudelowitz, Ruth Katz, Ethel Rubin, Louis Lenchner, Ruth Zinman, Sadie Weisman, Marko Zuckerman, Rosa Schwartz, Doris Shapiro, Ida Moidel Week of March 3, 2017 - 5 Adar Leonard Gottlob, Samuel Lucker, Tillie Feinberg, Bessie Lotz, Jerome N. Schiff, Genevie Bliwas, Daniel James Kramer, Benjamin Gluckman, Isadore Renner, Leon Kroll, Sima Goodman, Harry Green, Debbie Lucker, Susan Gelber, Sarah Fiedler, Harley Rosenberg, Florence Stock Week of March 10, 2017 - 12 Adar Doris Lynn Gordon, Louis H. Mazer, Sarah S. Greenfield, Fannie Pepper, Hilda Finkel, Abraham Eisner, Cecil Eisner, William Val Narvol, Sylvia Solomon, Bill Lucker, Zelda Kaplitz, Razy Farkas Samuel Herer, Ben Cohen, Jack Brown, Jacqueline Marcus, Dr. Alexander A. Eisner, Gary Paul Zilber, Edith Schaer, Walter Gottlieb, Stuart Bliwas, Ezekiel Moses Cohen, Esther Eta Goldstein, Pearl Kline Week of March 17, 2017 - 19 Adar Max G. Maysels, Faye Sigal Kotys, Paul Meyer, Gertrude Steinberg, Rabbi Jacob Kraft, Moses Silverstein, Paul Reifman, Lillian Fischman, Betty Rubin, Howard Kaufman, Mollie Zimmerman, Edward Levine, Ursula Infeld, Lena Goldstein, Gussie Levenson, Rev. Harry J. Perlman, Bari Sternberg Week of March 24, 2017 - 26 Adar Miriam Boston, Nicholas Bergsman, Bess Fisher, George Weissman, Anne Cooper, Mildred Loundy, Arline Goodman, Shirley Gottlob, Marie Friedman, Abraham Kinast, Solomon Rosenfield, Annie Tatar, Sarah Merenstein, Fannie Cohen, Sylvia Horn, Jeannette Korfin, Bella Newman, William Davis, Rebecca Wolfson, Pearl Gertrude Zilber, Seymour Weisman, Hildreth Rosenberg Week of March 31, 2017 - 4 Nisan Harold Gold, Marie Gross, Celia Kaye, Paul Kaplitz, Norman Bernstein, Cynthia Goodman, Al Greenberg, Fannie Katz, Selig Shapiro, Freddy Landay, Jennie Schiff, John Felser, Anna

Condolences: Arnie Levine, on the passing of his Mother, Syma Levine



April Yahrzeits

Week of April 7, 2017 - 11 Nisan Morris Bonn, Frances Izenson, Jennie Langbaum, Mark Silberman, Ruth Cohen, Samuel Genesen, Rose Lipsitz, Ari Melnick, Rosa Klawansky, Thomas Schmidt, Dora Caplan, Salomon Peritz, Sarah Phillips, Mollie Weiss Week of April 14, 2017 - 18 Nisan Hilda Abramovitz Leff, Sadie Edelstein, Mendel Tannenbaum, Philip Goldberg, Charles Kroll, Ida Barnett, Sophie Meyers, Ruth Bernstein, Himen H. Levenson, Jacob Katz, Albert Shefsky, Philip Cohen, Benjamin Melnick, Morris Perelstine Week of April 21, 2017 - 25 Nisan William Schiff, Rae Eisner, Harry Feinberg, Israel Rudoy, Max Kalser, Allison Krause, Jacob Langbaum, Murray Davis, Esther Davis, Fannie Lillian Mervis, James Sloan, Harriet Silberman, Anne Bluestone, Israel Rosenzweig, Sara L. Dickman, Joseph Farkas, Joseph Feder, Albert Malhmood, Miriyam Kass, Simon Perelstine Week of April 28, 2017 - 2 Iyar Rose Gross, Chaia Schwartz, Beau Seidenstein, Saul Mandel, Shirley Lederman, Minnie Gabriel Peritz, Gunther Peritz, Lena Silber Schreiber, Reb Josef Schreiber, Adolf Rosenwasser, Bertha Schreiber Rosenwasser, Louis Rosenwasser, Isaak Rosenwasser, Judith Rosenwasser, Laura Rozensky, Bertha Silverblatt, Victor Katz, Nathan Miller, Abraham R. Schwartz, Susan Regina Klein, Joseph Loundy, Martha Peritz, Samuel Price ****************************************************************** Service of Unity - The Monroeville Interfaith Ministerium Sunday, April 30th, 4PM Good Shepherd Lutheran Church 4503 Old Wm. Penn Hwy Monroeville, PA 15146 With all the recent disturbing incidences of vandalism and threats in the Jewish, Moslem and other religious and ethnic communities, MIM is organizing a service followed by a potluck dinner.



Library News

In times of the ancient Mesopotamians --2000 BCE--March 20 was the date of the New Year and not January 1st. It was the month of Spring heralding the renewal of the earth. And in this spirit of Spring newness I want to remind you of recent books placed in the PJC library. Please take time to check out this reading material....remember detailed reviews were presented in previous Scribe articles. NON FICTION Thank You for Being Late by Thomas Freidman FICTION Moonglow by Michael Chabon The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem by Sarit Yishai-Levi As Close to Us As Breathing by Elizabeth Poliner

I want to THANK YOU for your continued support of the PJC Library with your monetary contributions. For additional information about Jewish books go to: www.tabletmagazine.com or www.jewishbookcouncil.com. If you have any suggestions for a book I would love to hear from you......724-864-2344 or [email protected]. See you in the library,

Betty Ann



Yom Hashoah V’hag’vurah

A day of Zachor

Remember the six million . . .

The Conservative Shuls in Pittsburgh have organized and are distributing Yahrzeit candles for Yom HaShoah. Parkway Jewish Center will be distributing them to our membership. You may either pick them at the shul or let us know and we can mail them to you.

Light your candle on Sunday night, April 23, 2017. Place it in your window to remind everyone that the Holocaust did happen.

Contributions will be accepted for this tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and to help us sustain our various activities.

A percentage of the money collected will be donated to the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh.

———————————————————————————————

$10___ $18___ $25___ $36___ $50___ $100___

Name ______________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________

Thank you for your support



Syma Levine Mr. and Mrs. Parkway, That’s what Joe and Syma Levine were called. Founding and charter members of Parkway Jewish Center, they did an amazing amount of work for the shul. Syma and Joe taught, cooked, planned, fixed, painted, gardened, decorated and more. You name it, they did it. You could legitimately say they spent more time at Parkway than at home. Syma started running the kitchen in 1963 and ran it for 50 years. She taught in the religious school. Look around, a lot of what you see is the result of her work and the classroom projects she organized. Syma, Mrs. Parkway, was sometimes even called the Queen of Parkway. You know how she referred to herself? Syma called herself the ‘Lady Shamas’. Now there are two meanings for Shamas. The first refers to the person that provides various services for a synagogue, often one who manages and runs the day-to-day affairs. The second meaning we know comes from the Hanukkah menorah, the hanukkiyah. The candle that lights the other candles, that is slightly higher and off to one side or in the middle, that is the shamas. It symbolizes Syma even more than she might have realized. In this week’s parsha, indeed in the parshiot we’ve been reading for the last weeks and in this book of the Torah, we learn about various contributions made to build and maintain the Mishkan, the Tabernacle and later the Temple. There were two types, the regular required one which was the half shekel contribution by everyone, rich and poor - the dues if you would. And a voluntary contribution mentioned for building the tabernacle. In the Dorash Dovid, a book by Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter, in the chapter on The Nobility of Encouraging Others to Perform Mitvos, he poses the question, ‘Why do the sages teach that the act of encouraging others to give tzedukah is greater than giving tzedukah yourself?’ We can find an answer in the Torah mentioned above, in Exodus chapter 35, where people who donated to the Mishkan are mentioned



twice. Once as people ‘whose hearts inspired them’, and once as people ‘whose spirits made them generous’. R. Hofstedter suggests these two phrases give two instructions. The first, a person should give themselves for the construction of the Mishkan and secondly, they do their best to persuade and encourage others to do so. It may seem that asking others to give diminishes one’s own contribution and one’s own credit for the mitzvah of giving. In fact, showing concern for others spiritual gain when it appears at to be at the expense of one’s own spiritual gain is the highest form of the Jewish principal, ‘kol Yisroel areivim zeh lazeh’, each member of Yisroel is responsible for all others. We are responsible not only materially, but spiritually. And a real mensch, one who deserves our true respect, is someone who is willing to forego for the common good. So you see the candle that lights the others does not fade to the background, but stands tall and represents our highest Jewish ideals. Syma not only encouraged, but led by doing. Authentic leadership is leading by example and children will accept and understand guidance when they see deeds by their parents and adults. And what did they see when they were at Parkway? There was nothing Syma and Joe wouldn't do for the shul. Furthermore, Syma is more than a personal memory for us at Parkway. There is a phrase, ‘institutional memory’, which is used in organizations and business. It represents a continuum, the information and the way to do things that maintain its identity. In Judaism that continuum, our institutional memory, is zikaron and yizkor, the ways of remembering and the rituals and observances around them. Syma is more than our individual memories, she is a collective memory. More than anyone here, she built the very foundations of PJC and what it is and represents. By sharing memories of her and her deeds, and doing those things she taught, you honor in the very best way her memory. There is one other thing about the shamas on the menorah. The shamas actually has two functions. The first we know is to light the candles



for the menorah. Then why don't we put out the candle afterwards or use a smaller candle or large match just for lighting? Because the menorah candles are not to provide illumination. Those Hanukkah candles do what is called pirsumei nisa, they publicize the miracle of Hanukkah. The shamas is placed on the menorah to provide light for the practical. That’s why it’s placed higher. While the 8 candles tell the story of the holiday, the candle on top is there to give light to see - to see others in the room, the faces of the children and family, and all the beauty in a Jewish home and synagogue. Syma Levine, Shleyma Getzel bat Shmuel Moishe v’Zelotta, zichrona livracha - may your memory be for a blessing - for you and for us. Cantor Henry Shapiro, 3/17/17



*Golem: An example:



Parkway Jewish Center 300 Princeton Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15235

DATED MATERIAL PLEASE DO NOT DELAY

Or Current Resident

Congregation Sha’ar HaShamayim 412-823-4338 www.parkwayjewishcenter.org

Cantor Henry Shapiro, Spiritual Leader ([email protected] or [email protected])

Officers President Bob Korfin

Board Members Marvin Heyman Mike Jacob Ira Mazer Harold Bloomfield Donna Wolfson Committee Chair Persons

House Chair Alan Levine Ritual Chair Hal Lederman Cemetery Chair Arnie Levine & Syma Levine

Office Administrator Gail Levine

Sisterhood Officers President Laurie Barnett Levine Vice Presidents

Membership Susan Mazer Program Vera Greenberg Fundraising Vacant Catering Leslie Rubin & Diane Bloomfield

Corresponding Secretary Vacant Financial Secretary Amy Mayer Treasurer Lynda Heyman Auditor Lynda Heyman

Scribe Staff Editor Harold Bloomfield

PUBLISHED MONTHLY VOLUME 21, ISSUE 2

MARCH/APRIL 2017 [email protected]

NON-PROFIT ORG U.S.POSTAGE PAID PITTSBURGH, PA PERMIT NO. 3000

from our spiritual leader coming events cantor henry ... · 3/4/2017 · particular themes. two...

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