September 15, 2023 | 29 Elul 5783
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL A survivor, witness and spiritual leader reflects back and looks ahead
A conversation with Tree of Life’s Rabbi Jeffrey Myers LOCAL
Candlelighting 7:11 p.m. | Havdalah 8:08 p.m. | Vol. 66, No. 37 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
‘Looking back and looking forward’: Pittsburgh’s Jewish clergy prepare Rosh Hashanah messages
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Chabad Jewish Center of Monroeville dedicates a new Torah
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Community collaboration for the greater good Mindy Norman and Rabbi Mendy Schapiro observe as Rabbi Dovid Lipschitz fills in the letters of a new Torah dedicated in honor of Norman’s late husband, Martin Ira Norman. Photo by David Rullo By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
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necessarily Moses’ inability to masterfully elocute, Shapiro said, but what it says about the parties. Moses — like Miriam, Aaron and every human — was made “b’tzelem Elohim” in the image of God; by choosing Moses to convey divine instruction, she explained, God indicates that humans are not only physically and emotionally diverse, but that their differences were also created in God’s image. Being made in God’s image, she continued, “doesn’t mean that we’re endowed with a divine perfection of sorts, but rather that we are who we are.” When Moses serves as God’s mouthpiece, the lesson isn’t about power or ability, but rather — for both God and humanity — “we are all who we are,” Shapiro said. Rabbi Elchonon Friedman of Bnai Emunoh Chabad in Greenfield said one Please see Rosh Hashanah, page 16
Please see Torah, page 16
The Holiday Series, Rosh Hashanah (1948), New Canaan, Connecticut
Image by Arthur Szyk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A kosher coffeehouse comes to campus
By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer
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The Zebra Lounge opens at Carnegie Mellon University Page 5
he shrill sound of the shofar blast signals the start of a new year. This Rosh Hashanah, local spiritual leaders are looking to emulate the auditory effect and similarly impact those nearby. Through sermons and conversations, Pittsburgh’s Jewish clergy hope to prompt reflection and action this holiday season. Cantor Rena Shapiro of Beth Samuel Jewish Center in Ambridge said she is addressing “inclusion” and focusing on Moses to generate an awareness of self, others and the divine. Within Exodus 4:10, Moses tells the Lord, “I have never been a man of words, either in times past or now that You have spoken to Your servant; I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Generations of commentators have parsed the passage. The takeaway isn’t
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indy Norman told the crowd assembled at the Gateway Hall in Monroeville that her golden years gave her the opportunity for an amazing journey. Unlike others her age, though, her voyage didn’t include a trip around the world, seeing the Grand Canyon or chasing a passion she abandoned in her 20s or 30s. “In my golden years, I traveled an amazing journey of commissioning a Torah,” she told the more than 100 community members who skipped the Steelers’ home opener for something a little more significant, even in Pittsburgh: the dedication of a Torah. The new Torah is the second in roughly three years for the Chabad Jewish Center of Monroeville — or, as Rabbi Mendy Schapiro said, “A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that’s happened twice.” Norman and Schapiro initially discussed creating a second Torah after the 2021 dedication of the center’s first Torah. Both thought there were occasions when one wouldn’t be enough. “A shul should have more than one Torah,”
Yeshiva boys temporarily housed in vacant JAA facility
L ’Shana Tova!
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