June 28, 2024 | 22 Sivan 5784
Candlelighting 8:36 p.m. | Havdalah 9:44 p.m. | Vol. 67, No. 26 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
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LOCAL Lenda volorei ciendi non re nus Believing women
Tree of Life Inc. breaks ground for new building on site of deadliest antisemitic incident in U.S. history
Community partners screen “Screams Before Silence” andae amusam Et odictiumqui quistium si de net voloritat LOCAL
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The passing of a community stalwart LOCAL
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Hebrew Union College announces plans to accept rabbinical students with non-Jewish partners
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Sy Holzer dies at 75 Page 3
LOCAL Fodictiumqui aut entis andae asimuss Still going strong at 125
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Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
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Ladies Hospital Aid Society continues mission Page 4
LOCAL Playing it Forward Lenda nus dolorum re pro mi, cuptati ntibus.
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Fox Chapel Jewish teens rally for a cause Page 5
eneath an overcast sky, a crowd of more than 400 invited guests gathered on Sunday, June 23, at the corner of Shady and Wilkins avenues to witness the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Tree of Life building. Survivors, family members of some of the victims, first responders, interfaith religious leaders, politicians, dignitaries and other community members braved humid temperatures and strong winds to hear from a litany of speakers that included Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff. The groundbreaking took place on the site of the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, where a gunman entered the building that housed three synagogues — Congregation Dor Hadash, New Light Congregation and Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha — and murdered Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil and David Rosenthal, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax and Irving Younger.
Photo by Dale Lazar
With much of the building razed, the vacant lot continues to be surrounded by fencing but will soon be home to construction vehicles and contractors, as the work on the new building begins. The ceremony began with a short performance by members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra before survivors Audrey Glickman and Rabbi Jeffrey Myers blew the shofar along with local children wearing black shirts emblazoned with a yellow ribbon graphic in honor of the hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7 and still held in Gaza by the terrorist group Hamas. Diane Rosenthal, sister of Cecil and David Rosenthal, then offered words that would become a theme of the event: remembering the victims and survivors while moving beyond the tragedy. Cecil and David, she said, will forever be linked to the horror of their deaths but “we want them to be remembered for how they lived their beautiful lives. “ Her brothers thought of the Tree of Life as Please see Tree of Life, page 10
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion has announced plans to accept students with non-Jewish partners.
Photo by ajay_suresh via Wikimedia Commons
By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
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antor Kalix Jacobson remembered the advice given by a friend who learned of their decision to attend Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. “Brush up on your Hebrew, read the sheet music, interpret it without embellishment, and, oh yeah, he said, ‘Be careful who you date,’” Jacobson recalled. The friend warned, “If you are dating someone who isn’t Jewish, hide it.” Those remarks were offered as part of Jacobson’s d’var Torah at Temple Emanuel of South Hills just one day after HUC-JIR, the Reform movement’s rabbinic seminary, announced that it would begin admitting and ordaining students in relationships with non-Jews. In a June 20 online statement, President Please see College, page 10
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Lessons from Israel
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Rosé all day
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