Marblehead and Boca Began Work Changing Tires at Porter Chevrolet in Raton, Fla
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APRIL 4, 2019 – 28 ADAR, 5779 JEWISHVOL 43, NO 17 JOURNAL JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG MITZVAH ON THE MOUNTAIN: WOMEN MARK RITE OF PASSAGE ATOP MASADA Photo by Penny Schwartz) A pair of 18th century handcrafted silver torah ornaments, or rimo- nim, have been on loan and on view at the Museum of Fine Arts. What will become of Touro’s Newly minted b’not mitzvah celebrate at the top of Masada alongside Rabbi Moshe Elbaz. $7.4 million Torah Rimonim? By Michael Wittner a few began to cry. to Israel in March. By Penny Schwartz JOURNAL STAFF “Every song that we sang, Trip leader Rachel Jacobson JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT every time we held hands, just – the 10th woman in the group In a shady alcove atop looking into the radiant faces hug atop Masada – conceived A pair of historic, handcrafted silver Torah bells has been at the Masada, in what was once the of the other women … they of the idea after speaking to center of an acrimonious, seven-year-long legal dispute between courtyard of a Roman home, 10 just looked to me like angels. many women who never had two venerable Jewish religious institutions over ownership of the women with garlands of white It meant so much to them. the opportunity to have bat Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I., the country’s oldest synagogue. flowers adorning their heads Their hearts were so full,” said mitzvah ceremonies when they On March 18, that dispute ended when the US Supreme Court huddled under a tallit and put Mary Lenhardt of Manchester- were teens. declined to hear an appeal by Newport’s Congregation Jeshuat Israel their arms around one anoth- by-the-Sea, who shared this “As an educator for many to review a previous court decision that granted ownership of the er. As the desert sun streamed transcendent moment with years on the North Shore, Touro and its contents to New York City’s Congregation Shearith through a crack in the ancient the other eight women who I realized that a lot of peo- Israel. Founded in 1654, Shearith Israel is the country’s oldest Jewish sand wall, they sang “Mi shebei- became b’not mitzvah on top of ple didn’t have a bat mitzvah congregation. rach,” a prayer for healing, and Masada as part of an 11-day trip continued on page 19 continued on page 11 Ira Rosenberg, 1937-2019 Car dealer, philanthropist, rose from modest roots By Steven A. Rosenberg last year. JOURNAL STAFF When he was 17, Rosenberg joined the Navy. He was stationed on the USS Forrestal for two Ira Rosenberg, who rose from modest roots years. He rose to the rank of third class Aviation in Malden to own a chain of auto dealerships in Boatswain’s Mate before returning to Malden. Greater Boston and in Maine, died last week. He He then enrolled at Suffolk University and also was 82, and had homes in Marblehead and Boca began work changing tires at Porter Chevrolet in Raton, Fla. Cambridge. In 1958, he left school and worked “Ira was a sweetheart,” said Arthur Epstein, a at Porter full time. “The first car I sold was a ’59 close friend who first met Rosenberg when they Chevy Impala, with a white painted roof and tur- were children growing up in Malden. “He loved quoise bottom. I sold it for full price. I said, ‘This people, all kinds of people. He didn’t honestly care isn’t so hard,’” he said. if you were a garbage collector or the president of In the early 1960s, his wife Judy referred him to a bank. Everyone got the same treatment and he a job at Sea Crest Cadillac Pontiac on the Lynnway. liked to help people.” After waiting three days for an interview, he was The son of a butcher, Rosenberg faced daily hired and soon became the dealer’s top salesman. anti-Semitism as a child to and from school. He then decided to go into business for himself, “There was always a group of non-Jews ready to and used his last paycheck of $140 to open a small beat us up and call us names. I don’t believe Jews used car lot on Highland Ave. in Salem. His inven- should turn the other cheek; they should fight tory included two borrowed used cars. Photo courtesy of Prime Motor Group back,” he told the Jewish Journal in an interview continued on page 21 “You’ve got to love selling, and people, and it’s got to be genuine,” said Rosenberg in a 2018 Journal interview. The Jewish Journal MA is a nonprofit newspaper supported by generous readers, committed advertisers and organizations. Email [email protected]. 2 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – APRIL 4, 2019 COMMUNITY NEWS The Millennials WHAT WAS YOUR JEWISH of them have played hockey before. I worked it out BACKGROUND GROWING UP? with the rink manager to get the ice time and skates for free. We do 10 weeks – nine sessions from the fall I was raised Conservative. We went to Chabad to the spring with about 30 students, and for our last of the North Shore my whole life and celebrated all session we did a big banquet. They started out not the holidays, and all that good stuff, and I was bar knowing how to skate, and now we play capture the mitzvahed and I have three brothers who were bar flag, red light/green light – they’re not able to play mitzvahed, too. After my bar mitzvah – kind of a hockey yet, but they skate backwards, they’re spin- common thing for a lot of Jewish kids – we kind of ning – they definitely improved a ton from when we started slacking and it wasn’t really as important to got on the ice. us. I recently went on Birthright and it definitely HOW HAS THIS PROJECT changed everything. It was absolutely amazing. I met so many friends – I didn’t realize how diverse AFFECTED YOU? Jewish people were, but I met Indian Jews, Ethiopian I spent a lot of time working on it, and just see- Jews, Asian Jews … it was really cool. Ever since then ing it all play out – putting in that work really makes Cameron Segal, 21 – because my dad does tefillin and davens every a difference to those kids makes it worth it – seeing HEBREW NAME: Aria Lev Yidul morning and I watched him doing that growing up – everyone smiling, and having a good time. It’s been so ever since I came back from Birthright in January, HOMETOWN: Wenham great to see my big project come to life. I’ve been doing tefillin and listening to the Torah CURRENTLY LIVING IN: New London, portion each morning and going to the Hillel House Conn. at my school. DID YOUR JEWISH IDENTITY SCHOOLS: Pingree School ’16, Connecticut MOTIVATE THIS PROJECT? College ’20 CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE I think definitely, because from the time I was FAVORITE FOOD: Chicken pot pie HOCKEY PROGRAM YOU little my parents talked about tikkun olam – repair the world – and always thinking about what we can FAVORITE MUSIC: John Mayer, Matisyahu, STARTED, “LEARN TO SKATE?” do to help make the world a better place and do Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson I’ve been playing hockey since second grade. something good for other people, and I think that FAVORITE BOOK: “The Keeper” and Hockey is a really white sport and there’s a lot of definitely helped power the project. “The Great Gatsby” reasons for that. The few African-American players FAVORITE MOVIE: “Miracle on Ice” who are in the NHL right now – they’re not always WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN received that well. There was an event where the FAVORITE TV SHOW: “The Office” fans started chanting “basketball” at Devante Smith- THE FUTURE? FAVORITE TRAVEL Pelly of the Washington Capitals, and I just thought This summer I’m going to be working at Loomis DESTINATIONS: Favorite place I’ve been to that was the worst thing ever. Chaffee – which is a boarding school in Connecticut is Israel; place I’d like to go is Iceland. So I’m in a pathways program at my school, – and hopefully after I graduate I’ll be able to work at FAVORITE JEWISH PEOPLE NOT which is kind of like a major, and it allows you to a boarding school, because I work in residential life work on an animating question that you think is now – I’m the head resident assistant – I hope to be a IN YOUR FAMILY: Omri Casspi (the really interesting, and try to do something to help teacher, a coach in hockey, soccer, and baseball, and Israeli basketball player who has played 10 years the cause. I wanted to show that hockey and skating also be a dorm dad. in the NBA). are for everybody. We work with students in grades FAVORITE JEWISH HOLIDAY: 6 through 8 at a school in New London, and none – Michael Wittner Hanukkah ANNUAL POMEGRANATE SOCIETY & FRIENDS EVENT Featuring Lisa Edelstein MONDAY, MAY 6 | 6:30 P.M. | BOSTON MARRIOTT NEWTON 2345 COMMONWEALTH AVENUE, NEWTON RSVP BY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24 AT CJP.ORG/POMEGRANATE. SPACE IS LIMITED — RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY! Join us for the Annual Pomegranate Society & Friends event, where we’ll take charge of our future together. Actress Lisa Edelstein will inspire us with stories of challenges and successes, and will be joined on stage for a conversation with The Boston Globe’s Meredith Goldstein. This event is open to all women who give $500 or more to CJP’s 2019 Annual Campaign, either in their own name or as part of a family gift.