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Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Pittsfield, MA Berkshire Permit No. 19 JEWISHA publication of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, serving V the Berkshires and surrounding ICE NY, CT and VT Vol. 23, No. 5 Sivan/Tammuz 5775 June 1 to July 16, 2015 jewishberkshires.org Highlights of 75 Years of Federation Honor Your Father in the Berkshires to be Celebrated With a new Housatonic gallery, writer Jonathan Baumbach is trying to revive popular recognition of his father’s painting at Major Donors Breakfast, July 12 Major Donors breakfast co-chairs Sergey and Natalya Yantovsky, with sons Ari and Ilya As the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires celebrates its 75th anni- versary throughout this year, it also marks the 25th anniversary of one its proudest accomplishments – the resettlement of Jews from the former Soviet Union in our local community. Their arrival changed and enriched Jewish life in the Berkshires, and gave several extended families the opportu- nity to live Jewish lives while pursuing the American Dream. This year’s Major Donors break- fast, which will take place July 12 at Cranwell Resort, Spa, & Golf Club, will be co-chaired by Natalya and Sergey BAUMBACH GALLERY COURTESY Yantovsky, who arrived in Pittsfield Novelist Jonathan Baumbach, father of filmmaker Noah Baumbach, has recently Natalya and Sergey with Ilya in opened The Baumbach Gallery to showcase the artwork of his father, the brilliantly Pittsfield, on their first day on MAJOR DONORS, continued on page 16 talented but self-sabotaging painter Harold Baumbach. More on the new art space American soil. and the unusual story of the Baumbach family can be found on page 32. (Pictured: Harold Baumbach’s “Shock of Color” [1980]). “Talmudic Rabbis and Jewish Sorceresses: Strange Bedfellows” 6th Annual Summer Celebration Novelist Maggie Anton Discusses of Jewish Music Brings Good Her Latest Work at the July 24 Sounds and New Music to the Knosh & Knowledge GREAT BARRINGTON – On Friday, Berkshires July 24, at Hevreh of Southern Berk- To present day enthusiasts, the shire, the Jewish Federation of the they performed their service accord- Jewish musical tradition seems so Berkshires presents historical novel- ing to their order”), and once the rich and wide ranging, it is surpris- ist Maggie Anton, who will talk about Temple was no more, it wasn’t clear ing to find out that for centuries, the the research behind her new book, what role music should have. “This role of music was problematic within Enchantress: A Novel of Rav Hisda’s ancient ban had a profound effect the Jewish community. Explains Daughter. This Knosh & Knowledge Jewish music,” says Green. “Early Paul Green, clarinetist and organizer program starts at 10:45 a.m. and will church music is what developed into of this June’s 6th annual Summer be followed by a farm fresh lunch by art music, but that didn’t happen Celebration of Jewish Music, that Freund’s Farm. with synagogue music. Consequent- while the Tanakh exhorts believers ly, Jewish music played catch up.” to extol God with song and music, How Jewish composers and Inside after the destruction of the Second musicians caught up will be the Annual Meeting .......................................5 Temple, rabbis placed a prohibition theme of Green’s June 10 lecture/ on music in the public realm. performance at Congregation Beth Set in Babylonia and Your Federation Presents .........5-10, 16, 17 “The Bible is very specific in its Israel, which is titled “What is Jew- Roman Palestine during the Fourth details about who does what,” he ish Music – And How Did It Become Features and Local News ...................11-15 Century, a critical period in the history explains (e.g., Chronicles 6:32 – Jewish?”. It’s one of three events of monotheistic religions, this histori- Israel Feeds the World ...........................20 “[The Levites] ministered with song in this year’s festival, along with cal novel focuses on rabbinic families before the tabernacle of the tent World & National News ...................19-25 “The Artist’s Torah” multimedia struggling to establish new Jewish of meeting until Solomon built the Culture & Arts ..................................28-32 house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and SUMMER MUSIC, continued on page 11 KNOSH & KNOWLEDGE, continued on page 7 Page 2 Berkshire Jewish Voice • jewishberkshires.org June 1 to July 16, 2015 In My View Celebrating the Past by Committing to the Future By Dara Kafuman I was recently delivering Federation files credible time in the history of this community and the Jewish world. to an offsite storage unit, when I came across The Maccabeats, America’s premier Jewish a cappella singing group, will some old albums that contained faded pictures be joining us on August 2 at our annual concert. What better way to honor the of past events – Super Sundays, concerts, an- Federation’s 75th anniversary than by underwriting and attending this year’s nual meetings, Israel celebrations, and senior concert, the proceeds of which will benefit the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Fund for lunches. There were images of religious school Victims of Terror. children and staff, along with lots and lots Finally, we are partnering with the Berkshire Immigrant Center and the Berk- of volunteers smiling up from those yellowed shire Museum in screening the new film Stateless, which documents the plight pages. From the faces I recognized and to judge of thousands of Soviet Jews whose lives were plunged into limbo after fleeing the from the style of clothing and haircuts, I’d say former Soviet Union. the photos go back some 20 years. Everyone While honoring our past is important, I can’t help wondering- what will the I saw embodied the joint spirit of caring for next 75 years look like for our Jewish community and for Jews around the world? others and living an engaged Jewish life in the Our annual campaign will continue to play a critical role in providing for the Berkshires. ever-changing needs of this community, as well as our ability to help Jews in With our upcoming annual meeting, the need beyond our borders. But we also need to recognize that our demograph- Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will be ics are changing. Statistics show that there are fewer and fewer donors and that celebrating 75 years of building, strengthening, and caring for our Jewish com- younger generations, including mine, are give significantly less than past genera- munity and mobilizing its resources to help Jews in need throughout the world. tions. It is impossible to quantify the impact our Federation has had on the lives of In my opinion, legacy gifts are the key to our future sustainability. This 75th others during that time, but I imagine that we have touched hundreds of thou- anniversary year is the perfect opportunity for you to think about your personal sands, if not millions of lives over our long and proud history. legacy in this community and consider including the Federation in your estate We have a number of wonderful events planned to help mark this special anni- planning. versary. On June 23, we will kick off our 75th annual meeting with a celebratory Whatever the future holds, I know Federation will continue to be at the fore- dessert reception at Seven Hills Inn in Lenox. Our guest speaker will be Robert front – bringing people together, shaping a communal vision, assessing needs, Trestan, the New England director of the Anti-Defamation League, who will dis- devising programs and services to meet those needs, and raising the funds to im- cuss the current state of anti-Semitism. This event is free and open to the entire plement them. It is Federation’s leadership and collaborative approach that have Jewish community. served this community for over 75 years. By working together, we will continue to On July 12, we will host acclaimed violinist Yevgeny Kutik at our Major Donors build its future for many generations to come. Breakfast, which is being co-chaired by Natalya and Sergey Yantovsky. All three of these folks came to the Berkshires as part of our the Federation’s resettlement Dara Kaufman is the executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires. of Soviet Jews in the early 1990s, and their personal stories will recount an in- Rabbi Reflections The Power of One Good Deed By Rabbi Levi Volovik Receiving the Torah represented a unique The events on Mt. Sinai enmeshed the physical and the spiritual. moment, the single occasion on which there A shattering corollary can be deduced from this astonishing fact – not only has been a revelation of G-dliness to a vast were worldly objects suddenly infused with spiritual power, but the spiritual was group of people. Throughout the ages, many in- actually affected by what was done in the physical realm. Each mitzvah of the dividuals have laid claim to having had sensory 613 commanded by G-d correlated to a higher dimension. When a Jew puts on contact with the Almighty. Perhaps they have. tefillin, the mere act of putting on that tefillin effects spiritual change. The tefillin Clearly, there is always room in such cases for strap forever remains holy instead of losing its spirituality as soon as the Shema skepticism. However, on one unique occasion in is said. history, 3 million people experienced something The Lubavitcher Rebbe repeatedly emphasized that good deeds done in the extraordinary that has been carefully recorded physical world can affect the person positively and bring numerous blessings to and reproduced from generation to generation him/her, as well as to the entire world. Imagine the power of one good deed, a – the giving of the Torah. Moreover, we have an single good word.