Jewish Federation of NEPA Non-profit Organization 601 Jefferson Ave. U.S. POSTAGE PAID The Scranton, PA 18510 Permit # 184 Watertown, NY Change Service Requested Published by the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania VOLUME X, NUMBER 18 SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 Federation alert Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund established The following memorandum on the We know that several Jewish communal County’s 1,800 square miles has been volunteers from partner groups like the establishment of the Hurricane Harvey institutions that flooded two years ago flooded. The police chief reported that Jewish Response to Disaster. The actual Relief Fund was issued from the Jewish have flooded again, but communities in authorities have received about 70,000 rebuilding and renovating will come in Federations of North America by e-mail the affected areas won’t be able to start as- calls for help. Houston’s Mayor Sylvester the months ahead. on August 28 to the presidents of each and sessing the scope of damage to institutions Turner says the city’s focus now is on Sincerest thanks for your support. every Jewish organization in Lackawanna, and members of their communities until rescue and not on damage assessment or Mark Silverberg, executive director Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties as well the rain stops and roads become passable. recovery at the moment. Jewish Federation of Northeastern as by e-mail to each member of the Jewish Should members of the Jewish commu- The Houston Jewish Community has Pennsylvania communities of NEPA. It was also posted nities of Northeastern Pennsylvania wish been hit especially hard by the storm. The UPDATED AS OF SEPTEMBER 5 on the front page of the Federation’s to donate to the mounting toll of the storm devastation is unimaginable, and the Jew- While the JFNA is keeping an eye on website (www.jewishnepa.org). by contributing to the Hurricane Harvey ish Federation of Houston and Houston’s South Florida and Hurricane Irma, its work The Jewish Federations of North Amer- Relief Fund, visit www.jewishnepa.org Jewish Family Service facilities, as well as with Houston continued throughout the ica has opened an Emergency Relief Fund or www.jewishfederations.org/Hurricane- at least one large Orthodox synagogue, are weekend. The central area of the sprawl- to support communities and individuals in HarveyRelief, or send a check payable to flooded, but the full extent of the damage ing Houston region is in the “mucking Houston, San Antonio, Galveston, Corpus JFNA to the Jewish Federations of North is not yet known. Seventy-one percent of out phase” (clearing out furnishings and Christi and other areas that have been America, Wall Street Station, P.O. Box the Jewish community (including nearly damaged plaster). hammered by Hurricane Harvey. With 157, New York, NY 10268. 12,000 elderly members) lives in areas None of it can be removed from in record-breaking volumes of rain having We will continue to update you as the that have seen massive flooding. front of a house until insurance adjusters fallen, extensive damage is continuing storm subsides and the needs in the affected JFNA’s Emergency Committee met and FEMA representatives have come to to mount. communities become clearer. on August 31 and approved the first grant verify the damage. Other parts of Hous- Lee Wunsch, CEO of the Houston Sincerest thanks for your support. of $500,000 to the Houston Federation ton are still under water and inaccessible. Federation, reports that the amount of rain Mark Silverberg, executive director to support the immediate relief and re- For that reason, JFNA doesn’t have and resulting flooding has surpassed that of Jewish Federation of Northeastern covery efforts of the local community. much information about the damage to the massive storm two years ago. Bayous Pennsylvania The funds will be used to assist displaced the four congregations and JCC annex and tributaries are flooding beyond their UPDATED AS OF AUGUST 30: families with temporary housing, food located in West Houston because they banks and roads are impassable. People HURRICANE HARVEY RELIEF and supplies to clean up an estimated are still inaccessible. whose homes are flooding are being ad- FUND ESTABLISHED 1,000 homes of Jewish community JFNA’s Emergency Committee has vised to go up to their roofs so they can In parts of the Houston area, Hurricane members that sustained severe flood allocated an additional $250,000, which be evacuated; emergency workers were Harvey has set a record for the most rainfall damage. The Jewish Federations of brings total allocations to $750,000. evacuating stranded residents through from a single storm anywhere in the U.S. North America has convened the same These funds cover cash assistance to the night. It is reported that 25-30 percent of Harris network of disaster response organiza- flood victims (distributed through the tions that helped coordinate the overall local Jewish Family Service), extended Jewish response to Hurricane Katrina day camp for programs that provide safe (2005) and Superstorm Sandy (2012). places for children, grants to rabbis for Its focus will be to maximize resources congregant families in need, a grant to the and minimize duplication of effort. For Houston Hebrew Free Loan Association now, JFNA is coordinating all donated to supplement the loan pool for hurri- goods and volunteer offers. cane-specific needs and matching dollars JFNA’s priority is to provide support pledged by four other large Hebrew Free that the Houston community most needs. Loan Associations. Funds will be deployed to address im- GEARING UP FOR WHAT COMES mediate relief needs like locating and NEXT relocating residents, and ensuring they JFNA anticipates the following items have the basics: food, blankets, clothes will be significant parts of what it is and a satellite phone to reach their loved See “Harvey” on page 3 ones. It will also provide emergency cash grants from donated funds to assist fam- ilies who have been displaced and need temporary housing, food, shelter and other Federation basic needs. Funding will be allocated to local and national agencies, as well, that need addi- on Facebook tional resources to provide critical services, The Jewish Federation of Northeast- such as trauma counseling and logistical ern Pennsylvania now has a page on support to victims of the hurricane. Facebook to let community members When the scope of the damage and know about upcoming events and keep needs have been assessed, it will broaden connected. its focus to include aiding individuals and families who require short-term or Candle lighting W ! longer-term assistance with housing, r is a helping local Jewish institutions resume September 20 ............................ 6:45 pm h e operations, and mobilizing and supporting in Y September 21 .................. after 7:44 pm g volunteers who are coming to Houston w September 22..............................6:41 pm yo e to help. u l N September 29 ............................ 6:29 pm a fu The next step will focus on homes: ha ce October 4 ......................................6:21 pm ppy pea removing water, mud and furniture; , healthy & ripping out drywall; and pulling out October 5 .......................... after 7:20 pm floorboards – a process that, for just one October 6 ......................................6:18 pm home, means several days of work for 10 October 11 ................................... 6:09 pm October 12 ........................ after 7:09 pm October 13 ................................... 6:06 pm INSIDE THIS ISSUE October 20 .................................. 5:56 pm Jewish food scene Holiday round-up PLUS The new Jewish Food Society aims to A look at Ethiopian Rosh Hashanah customs and an Israeli Opinion .......................................................2 archive Jewish recipes; a pastry chef shofar factory; a d’var on Shabbat Shuvah; twists on traditional Personal Greetings .................................7 starts a knish company. holiday rituals; and a Yom Kippur traidtion in Amsterdam. D’var Torah ...............................................8 Stories on page 4 Stories on pages 7-11 Community Institutions .................10-11 2 THE REPORTER ■ SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 A MATTER OF OPINION “Judenrein” The following article was originally leaned forward and, looking the grand he added, “They and their ideas rule the pire in southern Spain produced leaders, published in 2003 at a time when duke directly in the eyes, replied, “Well sir, world by proxy.” philosophers, mathematicians, chemists antisemitism was raising its ugly presence perhaps you and I should visit Japan, that This is not a man who is especially and astrologers who encouraged their in many countries around the world. way, they would have a sample of each!” interested in inter-faith dialogue! followers to experiment and to challenge The passage of time has not altered History tells us that the level of an- Yet, even his crudely antisemitic re- established norms; scholars who coined these events. If anything, they have only tisemitism in any society is a barometer marks aren’t the real problem. The real the terms al-gebr-wa (or algebra) and worsened. But beyond this irrational of that society’s health. If so, I would say problem is that 57 other world leaders al-kamiya (or alchemy – the forerunner of hatred, there are that the United States is in pretty good applauded him. A politician making such chemistry); who created the first celestial certain truths about shape, that Europe is developing a serious remarks about Jews at an international map (check the names of the stars and note the Jewish people summit is a man with a prob- that many are in Arabic); who adapted and Israel that time lem. But when 57 Muslim Hindu numerals (now known as “Arabic cannot erase and the FROM THE DESK OF THE world leaders applaud him, numerals”) to mathematics; and who laid antisemites of the world that’s a clash of civilizations the foundations for the European Renais- cannot ignore.