September 23, 2022 | 27 Elul 5782
Candlelighting 6:57 p.m. | Havdalah 7:54 p.m. | Vol. 65, No. 38 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
Eradicate Hate Global Summit implores attendees to not only study but act
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Free holiday options abound
Local congregations get creative for the High Holidays
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F have lost and, perhaps through our actions, to provide some small measure of comfort to those who continue to mourn,” summit co-chair Mark Nordenberg said. While praising Pittsburgh’s “better angels,” Nordenberg highlighted the efforts of several local residents, including Wasi Mohammed, former executive director of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh; David Shapira, who chaired the independent committee established by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to determine the distribution of donated funds after the massacre; and Michele Rosenthal, whose brothers, Cecil and David Rosenthal, were among the 11 Jews murdered on Oct. 27, 2018. In the lead-up to this year’s summit, organizers asked Rosenthal, a consultant and former community relations manager for the Pittsburgh Steelers, to head a working group focusing on hate and sports. The group, Rosenthal told the Chronicle, built on an earlier United Nations’ strategy and plan of action. Launched by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in 2019, the strategy and plan called hate speech “one of the clearest guides” to atrocity crimes and genocide — including the
or Rabbi Seth Adelson of Squirrel Hill’s Congregation Beth Shalom, writing his High Holiday sermons — his most widely heard sermons of the year — is a months-long affair. “First of all, my theme, I settle on six or eight months earlier,” Adelson told the Chronicle. “My theme this year is ‘Being There.’ As we are emerging from the pandemic, gathering together in person … is extremely important. “I think about these sermons much more carefully because of their visibility,” Adelson said. “I think of them as a series — it’s like writing a book. People do resonate with a theme, and some do come to hear how they all fit together. People appreciate that I put a lot of thought and care and planning into putting together a coherent message.” Adelson, like several other area clergy the Chronicle spoke to about their High Holiday sermons, is focusing on a challenge met — be it weathering the pandemic or dealing with society’s socio-political stressors. Rabbi Aaron C. Meyer of Temple Emanuel of the South Hills said he believes the best High Holiday sermons “combine the insights of Jewish tradition with that which is immediate and relevant in people’s lives.” “Hoping to address the needs of the modern Jewish community in the same style, I will be offering insights into retaining our ethics and highest values in the
Please see Summit, page 27
Please see Sermon, page 27
Meet Shaare Torah’s new rabbi
The Eradicate Hate Global Summit 2022 welcomed nearly 260 thought leaders.
Photo by Adam Reinherz
By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer
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LOCAL A twist on a holiday favorite
Date and orange honey cake
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Gathering together, meeting challenges are common sermon themes this High Holiday season By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle
LOCAL
Rabbi Yitzi Genack settles into life in Pittsburgh
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our years after the largest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, researchers, activists and thought leaders implored colleagues to combat hate in a call for action at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit, a deliberate evolution from last year’s event. As opposed to merely convening experts for a Pittsburgh-based discussion on theoretics, organizers asked hundreds of change agents to do more than simply study. “Each of you in this room come from all different disciplines, all parts of the world,” summit co-chair Laura Ellsworth told the hundreds of people gathered at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Sept. 19, and those watching online. “And yet each of you have something unique and precious that we want you to bring to the table.” The purpose of the three-day event, she continued, was to “set that table, to lay out the possibilities for you and invite you to come and join with us in this global movement.” Although a significant focus was placed on deliverables, organizers remained committed to remembering the 11 people murdered on Oct. 27, 2018, at the Tree of Life building and respecting their families. “One of our missions is to honor those we
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Shana Tova!