Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By simmons on August 25, 2017

Michal Levy and her three children, with Debbie Ashkenazi, right, of IFCJ, at Ben Gurion Airport.

As the political and economic situation in Venezuela becomes increasingly unstable, Jews are fleeing the South American nation, with many choosing to immigrate to Israel.

Conditions in Venezuela began deteriorating in 2013 following the death of the countrys former president, Hugo Chavez, and the ascension of his chosen successor Nicolas Maduro, a former bus driver.

Chavez aspired to dictatorship and was harshly anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. During the past four years of his successors rule, inflation has skyrocketed, leading to shortages in food and basic supplies such as medicine and toilet paper. Venezuelans stand in long lines sometimes for 12 hours just to obtain bare essentials.

There is no value to life right now in Venezuela, Adele Tarrab, a Venezuelan Jew who moved to Israel with her family in 2015, told JNS. Ive actually seen people get killed for bread.

Venezuela was once home to a thriving Jewish community, one of the largest in South America, with around 25,000 members in 1999. The crumbling economy caused many of the countrys Jews to flee, most to Miami, Mexico and Panama. Some 9,000 Jews are believed to still reside in Venezuela.

We love Venezuela, Tarrab said. Its a beautiful country. We still have family there, but they want to leave.

In late July, a group of 26 new Venezuelan immigrants arrived in Israel, with the Israeli government and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) facilitating their aliyah.

IFCJ says it is the only organization on the ground in Venezuela assisting the Jewish community with aliyah. During the past 18 months, the organization has brought 153 Venezuelan Jews to Israel, and has helped the immigrants obtain thousands of dollars in support to get on their feet.

In the past four years weve seen a deterioration in the situation of the people of Venezuela, IFCJs founder and president, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, says. Many of the olim (immigrants) that we have brought to Israel have not been able, literally, to put bread on the table.

Most of them are coming to Israel literally with the shirts on their backs, no luggage, he says.

IFCJ aids elderly and less affluent Jews who remain in Venezuela, as the majority of wealthy members of the countrys Jewish community already left for Miami before the situation deteriorated, Eckstein says.

According to Eckstein, amid the lack of law and order in Venezuela, Jews are increasingly targeted for kidnappings by criminal gangs who hold them for ransom.

Since the Jewish community has this image of being more affluent due to stereotypes about Jews, kidnappings of Jewish community members are more common, he says.

Tarrab says that Venezuela is like a jail. You dont leave your house because its very dangerous to go out, she says.

Tarrab recalls a 2009 incident in which 15 armed attackers broke into the main synagogue in Caracas on a Friday night and urinated on the Torah scrolls. It was shocking.

The assailants scrawled anti-Semitic graffiti on the synagogues walls and prevented the community from holding Friday night services.

She also detailed an incident in which government forces confiscated the central gold market in Caracas, where many of her family members, including her father Maurice, owned jewelry stores for more than 30 years.

Chavez knew that many of the stores were owned by the Jewish community. It was shocking and very sad, Tarrab said.

Venezuelas Jewish leaders dont want to present the current economic situation as a crisis, but it really is, Eckstein says.

Despite the lifeline of moving to Israel, Tarrab said the South American immigrants face many new challenges in the Jewish state. They are often frustrated by the lack of help from the Israeli government and encounter intense bureaucracy.

The government should make the process smoother, says Tarrab.

Israels Ministry of Immigration and Absorption this month announced an increase in aid to Venezuelan immigrants.

Total state benefits now amount to $9,700 for couples; $8,200 for single-parent families; $5,100 for singles; $3,000 for children up to age four; $2,200 for children ages four-18; and $2,600 for immigrants ages 18-21.

Soon after arriving in Israel, Tarrab and her family settled in the coastal city of Netanya and opened a restaurant, Rustikana, that serves home-style Venezuelan food. The family imports fresh kosher meat from South American countries such as Argentina to provide authentic flavors.

My family and I came to Israel with con las ganas, the willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed, says Tarrab.

You cannot come to Israel with the same mentality we had in Venezuela. Every day is challenging, she said.

Every day I have to fight, I am always on the defensive. Its tiring, but I love Israel. I feel safe here, and I feel like this is my country.

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Economy crumbles, Venezuela's Jews emigrate - Intermountain Jewish News

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Posted By admin on August 25, 2017

A judge in Belarus approved the construction of apartments atop two former Jewish cemeteries. Separately, unidentified individuals smashed 24 headstones in a Jewish cemetery in Ukraine.

Eduard Dolinsky, the director of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, in a statement wrote that the incident in Ukraine was discovered Tuesday at the Jewish cemetery of Svaliava in the countrys west. The incident was reported to police, who currently have no suspects.

Earlier this month, a mass grave was discovered during construction near the Ukrainian city ofIvano-Frankivsk. Locals initially ignored the find because they assumed the bones belonged to Jews buried in a nearby cemetery, Radio Svoboda reported, but the works were stopped because the bones were thought to be of non-Jews purged by communist authorities.

In a ruling on a motion seeking an injunction against planned construction on the former Jewish cemetery in the eastern city of Gomel, the judge of the Tsentralny District Court in Belarus on Monday stated the court lacks jurisdiction to take any action, clearing the path for the planned construction, Radio Svaboda reported Monday.

The motion was filed by Yakov Goodman, a Belarus-born American Jewish activist for the preservation of Jewish heritage sites in Belarus. Local authorities last year approved a project for the construction of two luxury apartment buildings on the grounds of a former cemetery on Sozhskaya Street. The motion also pertained to earthworks already underway in the city of Mozyr at another former Jewish cemetery, as per permits issued in 2015, according to the World Association of Belarusian Jews, which Goodman heads.

Both projects mean that bones of Jews buried in those two cemeteries will end up in city dumpsters, Goodman told JTA earlier this week.

Belarusian official have vowed to protect Jewish heritage sites in Belarus, including cemeteries.

Last year, Belarusian Foreign MinisterVladimir Makaiand Lesley Weiss, chair of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of Americas Heritage Abroad, signed a joint declaration at the World Jewish Congress headquarters stating that: Each party will take appropriate steps to protect and preserve properties that represent the cultural heritage of all national, religious, or ethnic groups that reside or resided in its territory.

The singing only encouraged authorities to further attacks on Jewish heritage sites, Goodman said.

Before the signing of the document, Goodmans association accused Belarusian authorities under the countrys authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, of destroying three synagogues one in Luban and two others in the capital Minsk and at least two Jewish cemeteries in addition to Gomel and Mozyr.

Local activists are afraid, understandably to put up a fight in local courts, said Goodman, who was briefly arrested in 2004 in Belarus for his activism. Under Lukashenko, Jewish heritage suffered irreparable losses, said Goodman, who added he may appeal the ruling Monday.

In replying to the motion on construction in Gomel, the citys urban housing and communal services department told the court that: There is no information about the location of the cemetery in this place.

But this assertion was disputed by several historians, including Evgeny Malikov, who wrote earlier this year in a report that the planned construction is strictly prohibited also by Belarusian laws. Both he and Goodman accused authorities of discriminating against Jewish buildings while showing more sensitivity to Christian ones.

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Belarus court OKs luxury flats atop former Jewish cemeteries - Cleveland Jewish News

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Posted By richards on August 25, 2017

BBC News

Trump economic aide Gary Cohn chides him on Charlottesville BBC News US President Donald Trump's top economic adviser has criticised the White House's response to a far-right rally this month in Virginia. National Economic Council director Gary Cohn told the ... In his FT interview, Mr Cohn said: "As a Jewish American ... and more »

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Trump economic aide Gary Cohn chides him on Charlottesville - BBC News

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Posted By simmons on August 25, 2017

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation unveiled a historical marker at Crescenta Valley Community Regional Park in La Crescenta on Aug. 18that includes an explanation of the parks historical ties to Nazis.

The new marker takes note of the parks past, acknowledging that in the years before World War II and as Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power in Germany, supporters of Hitler at times paraded in this park.

[Peter Dreier: A tale of two cities Charlottesville and La Crescenta]

The unveiling followed a controversy that arose last year from the installation, and subsequent removal, of a previous sign at the entrance that read, Welcome to Hindenburg Park, recognizing former German President Paul von Hindenburg, a World War I hero who appointed Hitler as chancellor in 1933. The installation of that sign angered Jewish community members who knew of Hindenburgs history.

Mona Field, an Eagle Rock resident and former member of the L.A. Community College District board of trustees, who is Jewish, was among those who advocated for the removal of the Hindenburg Park sign, which was paid for by the Tricentennial Foundation, a nonprofit German-American heritage organization, with the countys approval. The sign was removed last May, about one month after its installation.

Hans Eberhard, 85, the German-born chairman of the Tricentennial Foundation, was 17 when he immigrated to the United States in 1949. At that time, Crescenta Valley Community Regional Park was a private park owned by the German-American League. As Hindenburg Park, it was the setting for dances, picnics and other community events for Germans in the area.

Probably in the late 50s, I started to go to the Hindenburg Park, he said. When I first came [to Los Angeles], I didnt know anybody here. People get to know you and find out youre from Germany, that youre German, [and say] We have an affair, come on down.

By paying for the earlier sign, Eberhard said he was attempting to honor the parks history. But part of that history in the years before World War II, during Hitlers rise to power included rallies staged by the German American Bund, a pro-Nazi group.

Following the removal of Eberhards sign, the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations appointed an ad hoc task force to create a replacement historical marker. Eberhard and Field, who both attended the unveiling, were among the people on the task force.

Field was instrumental in developing the language for the new marker, which features text, photographs and captions. It is titled German-American History at Crescenta Valley Community Regional Park. The photographs include an image showing members of the Bund party, in 1936, posing before a flag with a giant swastika. The photo is courtesy of the special collections and archives of the Oviatt Library at Cal State Northridge, which maintains an archive titled In Our Own Backyard: Resisting Nazi Propaganda in Southern California, 1933-1945.

Eberhard, who is not Jewish, is concerned that the image of the swastika could foment anti-Semitism.

The history [as depicted by the marker] is OK. What I dont like is the picture with the big swastika. I think that attracts undesirable elements. Thats a little offensive, dont you think? he said, suggesting that there might be other ways to convey what happened in the past.

Field said she did her best in working with multiple interests in creating a marker that reflects a part of history that has implications today as the United States debates the ascension of neo-Nazis.

My thing is not to confront people, she said. My thing is to fix a problem.

Jason Moss, executive director of The Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, also attended the new signs unveiling. He said he was pleased that after more than a year of debate, Fields and Eberhards task force overcame differences and created something tangible.

What I love about the marker is that it captures the true history of what took place at the park, he said. The ad hoc committee was able to come together and work through something that was very difficult, and in the end, I dont think history was whitewashed.

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La Crescenta Park's Nazi ties reflected in new historical marker - Jewish Journal

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Posted By simmons on August 25, 2017

KKK members in Charlottesville, VA. Steve Helber/AP

In absence of leadership from the White House, says the director of the Anti-Defamation League, cities need to step up.

Our nation has a long history of presidents standing up to bigotry and hate. But President Trump did the opposite in response to the largest gathering of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and KKK members in more than a decade. The bigotry-fueled violence led to the death of an innocent woman and two state troopers, dozens injured, and a deeply rattled country.

The events in Charlottesville are just the latest time in recent memory where we have seen an escalation of a hatred and bigotry in America. Recently, there has been an increase in violence and hate incidents targeting Muslims, Jews, and other minorities. Hateful rhetoric that once lived in the darkest corners of society has crept into the mainstream. We all must push back loudly to show such vile language and actions are unacceptable in our communities.

Times like these require both moral leadership and strong action. It was profoundly disturbing when President Trump equated racist white supremacists in Charlottesville with counter-protesters who were there to stand up against hate. The entire Unite the Right rally was built on racial and conspiratorial anti-Semitism. There is no rationalizing white supremacy and no room for this vile bigotry. It is un-American and it needs to be condemned without hesitation. The president has equivocated on something unequivocal.

Moreover, the presidents inability to take action to prevent such events from happening again is unacceptable. He needs to direct the Department of Justice and the FBI to ensure all law enforcement is trained on how to deal with hate and extremists. He needs to task the Department of Education to prioritize anti-bias and anti-hate content so kids learn that in America our differences are cherished, not seized upon. He needs to engage the Department of Homeland Security to re-fund the countering violent extremism grant program, and ensure it fights all forms of extremism. But he has done none of this.

Fortunately, mayors across the country are stepping up.

For decades, Americas mayors have taken a strong position in support of civil rights and in opposition to racism and discrimination of all kinds. They have spoken out against injustice and worked to build tolerance and understanding within their communities. They have undertaken efforts to integrate immigrants and have adopted a variety of policies to ensure their LGBT residents are treated equitably. Mayors have condemned the bigotry and violence seen in Charlottesville, and have now come together to do what is needed to heal their communities -- and to ensure that the U.S. continues the progress weve made as a country in the five decades since the murder of Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi, the bombing that killed four young girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and the March on Washington led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Together, the Anti-Defamation League and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have announced a Mayors Compact to Combat Hate, Extremism and Bigotry that will become a key component of a broad new Alliance Against Hate. Through the partnership, mayors will take advantage of ADLs expertise, including its renowned anti-hate education program for grade schools, and the anti-bias training it delivers to law enforcement agencies, including every new FBI agent.

More than 270 mayors have already signed the Mayors Compact to Combat Hate, Extremism and Bigotry and pledged to implement the joint plan. They will take a fresh, comprehensive approach to unwind divisive forces in their cities, stop hate crimes, and work to create new bonds in their communities. They have pledged to vigorously speak out against all acts of hate; insist that bias-motivated violence be punished to the fullest extent of the law; promote law enforcement training on hate crimes and anti-bias education in schools; encourage community activities that celebrate cultural and ethnic diversity; and advocate for aggressive enforcement of civil rights laws and strengthening of hate crimes laws. They will ensure public safety, while safeguarding freedom of speech and other fundamental rights protected by the Constitution.

Regardless of leadership in the White House, we have the power to enact meaningful and lasting change at the local level.

Mayors and their cities will be a beacon for inclusion, tolerance, and respect for all. We will continue to build stronger cultures of kindness in our communities, and ensure those responsible for extremist and bias-motivated criminal conduct are brought to justice. Together, we will find a path forward and restore our great nation.

Jonathan Greenblatt is the CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League.

The small Wisconsin city is enjoying a cultural revival, thanks to its gorgeous setting, a few well-placed boosters, and a knack for smart development.

When inequality goes up, so, too, does the rent burdenespecially for the lowest income residents.

Some of the monuments in this small Pennsylvania town arent telling the truth about the battle that was fought here.

The catastrophic fire that killed at least 80 in London was the inevitable byproduct of an ideology that vilified the poor.

A speedy transition to wind, water, and solar could avert catastrophic climate change. For the 139 countries that backed the Paris agreement, its within reach.

CityLab is committed to telling the story of the worlds cities: how they work, the challenges they face, and the solutions they need.

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How Mayors Can Fight Hate - CityLab

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Posted By admin on August 25, 2017

BALTIMORE - Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh is one of 200 mayors nationwide to pledge to fight bigotry and build tolerance.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors and The Anti-defamation League announced the joint plan to fight extremism and promote equality following the violent protest in Charlottesville, Virginia that left one woman dead and dozens hurt.

Under the The 10 point plan, mayors commit to vigorously speak out against all acts of hate; punish bias-motivated violence to the fullest extent of the law; encourage more anti-bias and anti-hate education in schools and police forces, using ADL experts and resources for both; encourage community activities that celebrate their population's cultural and ethnic diversity; and ensure civil rights laws are aggressively enforced and hate crimes laws are as strong as possible.

Mayor Pugh is one of 18 city leaders in the Maryland, DC, Virginia and North Carolina to commit to the plan. So far, more than 200 mayors have pledged to carry out the plan across the country.

List of Signatories in Maryland, DC, Virginia, North Carolina:

Muriel Bowser, Washington, District of Columbia Catherine E. Pugh, Baltimore, Maryland Patrick L. Wojahn, College Park, Maryland Candace B. Hollingsworth, Hyattsville, Maryland Jacob R. Day, Salisbury, Maryland Jeffrey Z. Slavin, Somerset, Maryland Esther E. Manheimer, Asheville, North Carolina Lydia Lavelle, Carrboro, North Carolina Jennifer W. Roberts, Charlotte, North Carolina William 'Bill' V. Bell, Durham, North Carolina Nancy Barakat Vaughan, Greensboro, North Carolina Miles Atkins, Mooresville, North Carolina Nancy McFarlane, Raleigh, North Carolina James Allen Joines, Winston-Salem, North Carolina Allison Silberberg, Alexandria, Virginia Mike Signer, Charlottesville, Virginia McKinley L. Price DDS, Newport News

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Mayor Pugh pledges to fight bigotry, build tolerance in Baltimore - ABC2 News

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Posted By simmons on August 24, 2017

Birds of a feather: White supremacy and Zionism Middle East Eye But the reasoning behind the linking of the two symbols - white supremacy and Zionism - is far from torturous. The two are not strange bedfellows, but rather natural allies. Both represent a desire to establish and maintain a homogeneous society that ...

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Birds of a feather: White supremacy and Zionism - Middle East Eye

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Posted By simmons on August 24, 2017

May these words of Torah serve as a merit leiluy nishmat Menachem Mendel ben Harav Yoel David Balk, ah.

This week we learned Sanhedrin 33 and 35. These are some highlights.

Sanhedrin 33: Why cant a contemporary rabbi rule against the conclusions of a rabbi in the Talmud?

Our gemara teaches that when a rabbi or court issues a ruling and then discovers that the ruling is against a mishnah, the ruling is reversed. A sage cannot rule against a mishnah. The Gemara adds Rav and Shmuel and the Talmud to this category. A rabbi cannot rule against Rav and Shmuel or against the conclusions in the Talmudwritten by Ravina and Rav Ashi. Why is this so? Why cant a contemporary sage rule against the rulings of earlier rabbis?

Kessef Mishna (Hilchot Mamrim 2:1) suggests that when the Mishnah and Talmud were completed they were accepted by the entire Jewish community as the last and final word. The sages of the time accepted that no one would dispute the conclusions of the Mishnah and Talmud. Chazon Ish (Kovetz Inyanim Hearot Hachazon Ish ot 2) adds that the sages of those times, based on truth, accepted that the issues dealt with by the Mishnah and Talmud could not be reopened. They acknowledged how they were inferior intellectually to the rabbis of the Talmud and Mishnah. If I cannot reach the intellectual levels of my predecessors I cannot argue with them. Only someone who understands fully as much as someone else can engage in a dispute. The sages right after the Talmud and Mishnah all saw that they were not on the level of the rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmud. The laws of those rabbis therefore cannot be overturned. According to Raavad, it is not only the Talmud and Mishnah. Later sages, such as Rishonim, cannot disagree with a sage of an earlier and greater level, such as a Gaon (Rosh Siman 6). Contemporary rabbis are nowhere near the level of Geonim or Rishonim. We cannot issue a ruling against their conclusions.

Rav Elchanan Wasserman (there) disagrees with this explanation. He points out that sometimes a contemporary sage is greater than those who preceded him. It is said that Rav Chaim of Volozhin testified that his teacher, the Gra, was as great as the Rashba and possibly on the level of the Ramban. Rav Hai Gaon was the youngest of the Geonim yet he was greater than all the other Geonim. Rav Elchanan therefore argues that the Gra was entitled to argue with Rishonim. No one can argue with the Talmud and Mishnah, for the acceptance of the Jewish nation is the equivalent of a ruling of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin represent the entire Jewish nation. Rambam writes that when the entire Jewish nation agrees to make one sage a musmach, the chain of semicha can restart. The reason for this is that the entire Jewish nation together has the status of the Sanhedrin and the ordained sages. The acceptance of the Mishnah and Talmud right away by all the Jews of the time rendered the compositions rulings of the Sanhedrin. No one can overturn conclusions of the Sanhedrin.

In Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 25:1) we are taught that a judge cannot issue a ruling against an established halacha. If poskim of earlier generations, such as Rama or Beit Yosef, have ruled on an issue and their ruling has been widely accepted, a contemporary sage does not have the power to rule against them (Meorot Daf Hayomi).

Sanhedrin 35: Is lifting the hands necessary for the priestly blessing?

Kohanim bless us by lifting their hands and reciting three verses to the community. Shut Noda BeYehuda (Kama Orach Chaim Siman 5) was asked about a kohen whose hands shook and was unable to lift his hands. Could the priest recite the blessing with his hands down? Is lifting the hands an essential component of Birkat Kohanim?

Noda BeYehuda quotes Shut Shevut Yaakov (Chelek Bet Siman Aleph) who addresses this question. Shevut Yaakov rules that it is only in the Mikdash where there is a necessity to lift hands. Outside of the holy Temple, a priest can recite the Birkat Kohanim with a blessing and not lift his hands when it is impossible for him to lift his hands. Shut Haradbaz (Chelek Vav Siman 117) also allows a kohen who cannot lift his hands to recite the blessing.

Noda BeYehuda disagrees. He feels that just as it is a requirement to stand, it is an absolute necessity to lift the hands. If the priest cannot lift his hands he cannot recite the blessing. Minchat Kenaot (Sota 38a) seeks to prove Noda BeYehuda correct from Tosafot on our daf. Tosafot (s.v. Sheneemar) say that a priest who killed is allowed to perform the service of sacrifices. He is only disqualified from duchaning. Duchaning is done with the hands. We have a rule: the prosecutor cannot also serve as the defense advocate, . To lift hands in blessing that are soiled with spilled innocent blood is impossible. The murderer cannot bless; however, he may perform sacrificial services. It emerges from Tosafot that the essence of the priestly blessing is the raising of the hands. If Shevut Yaakov is right, why is the kohen who killed always disqualified from blessing the community? Let him bless the community without lifting his hands. From Tosafot, Minchat Kenaot argues that a priest who cannot lift his hands cannot recite the priestly blessing.

Magen Avraham (Orach Chaim 128:21) rules that lifting hands is a necessity for the priestly blessing. Shulchan Aruch Harav (OC 128:23), Birkei Yosef in Shiyurei Beracha (128:1), and Mishna Berura (128:52) all rule against the Shevut Yaakov and require lifting hands for Birkat Kohanim (Mesivta).

By Rabbi Zev Reichman

Rabbi Zev Reichman teaches Daf Yomi in his shul, East Hill Synagogue.

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Sanhedrin 33 and 35 - Jewish Link of New Jersey

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Posted By simmons on August 24, 2017

Rabbi Mychal Copeland took over as spiritual leader of Congregation Shaar Zahav in July. (Norm Levin/J. The Jewish News of Northern California)

SAN FRANCISCO (J. The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) At Congregation Shaar Zahav in San Francisco, Rabbi Mychal Copeland leads Shabbat services with a rainbow tallit around her shoulders. The synagogue newsletter is called The Jewish Gaily Forward.

But the shul, which since its 1977 founding has been known as San Franciscos gay synagogue, is now reaching out to a broader community and de-emphasizing its identity as an LGBT-specific congregation.

A similar transformation is occurring at other LGBT synagogues. Notably, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City now identifies itself as an LGBTQS shul the S standing for straight that serves Jews of all genders and sexual identifications, according to Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum. The synagogue was founded in 1973 as a home and haven for LGBTQ Jews, according to its website.

At the same time, there has been an evolution in attitudes toward LGBT people in the greater Jewish community. Many synagogues today have become increasingly welcome to homosexual, bisexual and transgender congregants and clergy.

This year were marking 40 years, and thats a significant number in Judaism, said Michael Chertok, the president of Shaar Zahav and a member since 1993. Its hard to say weve come into the Promised Land, but were really in a new place as far as LGBT rights in this country.

Arthur Slepian, who joined Shaar Zahav in 1989 and has served as its president, said he is proud of the Reform synagogues leading role in the move to greater inclusiveness in the Jewish community and happy it can now broaden its appeal.

I think that there are always going to be people that feel a bit marginalized or not completely at home at other places, and I think Shaar Zahav is striving to always be the home for that part of the community, said Slepian, founder of A Wider Bridge, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that supports Israels LGBT community. And I think its a great thing for the Jewish world that people who are not LGBT will walk through the doors of Shaar Zahav and celebrate its history.

Still, the congregation intends to keep its queer values core. The changes, which include three new board members who dont identify as LGBT, do not mean Shaar Zahav is ready to toss out its rainbow flags or stop participating in Pride Week events. Occasions such as the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance will continue to be a congregational focus.

The stained glass on one side of Shaar Zahavs ark has the Hebrew inscription Hinei mah tov umanayim, shevet achim gam yachad (How good and pleasant it is to sit together as brothers). On the other side, the inscription is the same except the word achot (sisters) replaces achim (brothers).

So much has changed in 40 years, especially in the Bay Area, with regards to inclusion of LGBT people, said Copeland, whose tenure as Shaar Zehav spiritual leader began July 1. At the same time, I see this as not necessarily a break in any way in what this community has been doing for so many years.

I want to be sitting with and praying with and learning with anyone who wishes to be in a Jewish space, exploring life together.

Founded four decades ago as a home for gay and lesbian Jews, the synagogue was a leader in the 1980s in caring for those with AIDS. In recent years, it has openly welcomed people who are transgender.

Leaders of the 250-family congregation decided in 2012 to begin a strategic planning process to guide it forward in a Bay Area that had become younger, less religious and more diverse. In 2015, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund awarded Shaar Zahav a grant to further explore its evolving identity and the synagogue hired interim Rabbi Ted Riter, who specializes in transforming synagogues, to lead it through the process.

When we look back at our history, we recognize that our synagogue has committed to a multigenerational exploration of what it means to be queer, reads a case study of the changes. The Shaar Zahav that is emerging is nourished by our LGBT-specific roots, while also recognizing that what unifies us runs so much deeper than sexual orientation and gender identity.

Members of Congregation Shaar Zahav march in the San Francisco Pride parade. (Courtesy of Congregation Shaar Zahav)

Both Chertok and Copeland say queer values emphasize a refusal to conform and a questioning of authority, even while honoring tradition. Those values include support for refugees and reaching out to interfaith families.

Queer values overlap with some deep-seated Jewish values such as otherness, always looking out for whos not being treated well, whos being oppressed, Copeland said. Those values were imbedded in the founding of Shaar Zahav as a place where gay and lesbian Jews could come and pray at a time when that was very difficult.

Still Kleinbaum, who has served at New Yorks Beit Simchat Torah since 1992, noted that focusing on self-identification misses the point: Shaar Zahav doesnt have to worry about gay Jews flocking to other San Francisco shuls. She said the larger problem is that most LGBT Jews avoid synagogue altogether.

Our competition is not other synagogues that are opening to LGBT folks, Kleinbaum said. Our real competition is the fact that most LGBT folks dont care about synagogues. So the issue is how were going to make ourselves relevant for the 90 to 95 percent of LGBT Jews who dont go to a synagogue.

Nonetheless, that doesnt diminish the role the synagogue played in helping lead an evolution within the Jewish community.

Shaar Zahav was born out of a sense of necessity that there wasnt any other place LGBT people could go and feel included, Slepian said. But out of that necessity, something holy was created. Shaar Zahav and many other gay shuls really elevated the Jewish world by setting an example of what it meant to be inclusive.

I think [de-emphasizing its identity as an LGBT-specific congregation] is just whats needed today, and I think it is a sign of progress that there are many places that LGBT people can go in the Jewish world and feel welcomed and celebrated. I dont know many LGBT people in their 20s and 30s who feel compelled to be part of an all-LGBT community. We live in a very different world.

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This iconic San Francisco synagogue is no longer 'just' for LGBT Jews - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Posted By richards on August 24, 2017

Mitzvahs recently abounded at Temple Beth Torah Sha'aray Tzedek in Tamarac.

Some of the projects the volunteers participated in during TBTST's recent mitzvah day/open house included decorating Rosh Hashanah apple plates for needy Jewish residents, bringing school supplies for children in foster care and assembling sandwiches for a local feeding program.

Jody Glass, a coordinator for this mitzvah day/open house, said, "We started doing the combination of the open house/mitzvah day three years ago because we realized that just having an open house doesn't really show who we are."

"By having the community come in, since this is open to everybody, they get a chance to do something good for the community, see what we do for the community and meet us," Glass continued.

The congregation was happy with the event's turnout of approximately 150 people.

"We have our youth group, our sisterhood, our Hebrew school and our younger children all here and having them all here on a variety of projects puts us in a good light," said Rabbi Michael Gold, the synagogue's spiritual leader.

Some of the local organizations the congregation and the volunteers helped that day included Covenant House Florida, Broward Partnership for the Homeless, Broward Cooperate Feeding Service and Harvest Drive.

"We're helping all these different organizations and we have people in the temple who are volunteers for these different organizations that we're helping," Glass said.

Another organization that the congregation helped during the event was Goodman Family Services of Broward County's The Cupboard, a kosher food pantry aiming to help wipe out Jewish hunger in the county. Volunteers made 75 apple plates for the needy Jewish residents served by The Cupboard so they can enjoy them for Rosh Hashanah.

"Many Jewish families will buy a new item to place on their holiday table to enhance the beauty of the table. These items are handed down from generation to generation to continue to beautify the next generation's table and to remember those who passed and are no longer around your holiday table," Glass said regarding the apple plate project. "I feel that someone who, due to their circumstances, needs to ask for help to put food on their table will appreciate that another person has not only provided the essentials but also provided that one item that will make their holiday special."

Volunteers who participated in this apple plate project commented on their experience.

"This is going to help somebody have a meal on their dinner table and it feels good to do this mitzvah that is also fun," said Amy Dockler, adviser for the congregation's United Synagogue Youth.

Hunter Gold of Plantation said, "It makes me feel empowered to know that others are going to get helped as well."

Robin Wyckoff of Coral Springs said, "I'm an artist so this is great and it's extra special for me that this is going for a good cause."

Another project the event's volunteers took part in was creating dog shoes for dogs at the Humane Society of Broward County.

Jackie Jaffe, 17, of Plantation who took part in this project, said, "I volunteer there so I know that making dogs feel more at home at the Humane Society makes me feel good."

Lawrence Jaffe, Jackie's father who also took part in this project, said, "I'm very proud that my daughter is spending time from her busy schedule to come here and it's very good to support the temple on Mitzvah Day and it's very important for the Humane Society."

Visit tbtst.org or call 954-721-7660 for more information on the congregation and its programs.

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Good deeds performed during Tamarac synagogue's Mitzvah Day - Sun Sentinel

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