June 7, 2024 | 1 Sivan 5784
Candlelighting 8:31 p.m. | Havdalah 9:39 p.m. | Vol. 67, No. 23 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
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LOCAL Lendaadults volorei ciendi non re nus Older and transportation
The sunsetting of Elder Express Et odictiumqui andae amusam Page 2 quistium si de net voloritat LOCAL Page X A new encampment at Pitt LOCAL
Making broken pieces whole: Community readies for Community members, survivors and family of 10/27 cheesecake, Torah and coffee victims create mosaic with at Tikkun Leil tiles from Tree of Life Shavuot By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
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personal objects to add to the mural. Among the tiles are many embedded figures and seashells and, the longer you look, the more pieces you find. It’s a constellation of sentimentality: a key, letters spelling names and words like “love,” a bottle cap, a pattern of four-leaf clovers — objects that mean something to someone. As Dyen worked on the mural, she found a shattered mirror in storage. It was a gift for her 60th birthday, and many of her friends had signed the back. Rabinowitz, one of the victims, had written on it. She took those shattered pieces and added them to the mosaic. She connected it to the day of the shooting, where she and Root had planned to enter the synagogue but stopped because they saw shattered glass. “It’s one of those sort of deep connections, you know. What occurred to me to bring personally was my own mirror pieces, but then I realized that it really is connected to the 10/27 [shooting],” she said. “It was glass that kept us
abbi Danny Schiff knows not to tinker too much with a good thing. Case in point: the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s annual Tikkun Leil Shavuot celebration, which takes place on June 11 beginning at 10 p.m. Each year, the community gathers at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh in Squirrel Hill to learn from a bevy of teachers spanning the spectrum of denominations and leadership roles. “My criteria for who teaches is not the title in front of their name, but can do they do a really good job and bring Torah to the community,” said Schiff, the Gefsky scholar for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, who organizes the event. This year’s instructors include stalwarts like Rabbi Levi Langer and Danielle Kranjec as well as some new additions — the Chronicle’s Adam Reinherz will lead a session along with Rabbi Sharyn Henry of Rodef Shalom Congregation titled “Judaism is About Love: A Conversation About Rabbi Shai Held’s New Idea About Judaism.” There are two changes this year. The first is slight: There will be an additional session offered during the 11 p.m. hour and one fewer at midnight. The second change is more significant. More Orthodox women will lead sessions, which Schiff said will enhance the program. When it was pointed out to him that there are Orthodox women in the community “who are outstanding teachers,” and that Orthodox women previously had not been included as instructors in the program, Schiff was determined to rectify that omission, he said. A wide range of topics will be presented.
Please see Mosaic, page 10
Please see Tikkun, page 10
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Protesters demand divestment from Israel Page 4
LOCAL Fodictiumqui aut entis andae asimuss A new face at Yeshiva Schools
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Community members view the recently installed mosaic mural at the Frick Environmental Center. Photo by Abigail Hakas By Abigail Hakas | Special to the Chronicle
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Meet Bayla Blumstein Page 7
FOOD Say “cheesecake!” Lenda nus dolorum re pro mi, cuptati ntibus.
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An untraditional twist on a holiday favorite
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s birds chirped and mellow music flooded the Frick Environmental Center, Squirrel Hill community members took turns passing by a newly installed mosaic mural, placing their hands against the tiles and saying a blessing, a solemn recognition of the mural as a quiet, safe place for grief. The tiles were taken from the Tree of Life building, where a gunman killed 11 worshippers on Oct. 27, 2018: Joyce Fienberg, Dr. Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal, David Rosenthal, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax and Irving Younger. Each community member spent six weeks working on the mural until its debut at Frick on June 2. Some lost loved ones in the shooting. Some survived it. For survivors and married couple Rabbi Doris Dyen and Deane Root, the mural meant taking the pain of the shooting and transforming it. Participants were encouraged to bring
Happy Shavuot! tomertu/ adobe stock