Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 26, 2020

Time was when square dancing was a popular pastime for many folks in Owatonna. I even produced a radio show on KRFO with square dance music and news of square dances from an Owatonna square dance club member. For years square dancers drew large crowds of onlookers when the square dancers took the stage.

Now days, one never hears about square dancing and the current day and age has led to the demise of two Owatonna square dance clubs, namely the Do-Si-Do and the Steele Steppers. I visited with Owatonnas Harlan Holzerland, who called square dancing for close to 60 years all over southern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Like so many other dances popular in the 40s through the 70s, square dancing slowly diminished and today there is only one square dance club in our area, that being in Albert Lea. Both Owatonna Clubs threw in the towel due to lack of interest. The history of square dancing in Steele County is an interesting one, involving well known Owatonna personalities. Let me digress:

The year 1948 was the first year that an organized square dance club was formed in Owatonna. There were actually two clubs in Owatonna. In 1999, the oldest of the two, the Do-Si-Do club celebrated its 50th anniversary with a Sunday afternoon dance at Senior Place.

The Do-Si-Do club was founded by an Owatonna couple, Walter and Lois White, who, while visiting relatives in Arizona attended several square dance festivals. They brought their enthusiasm back to Owatonna along with a couple of instruction records. During the summer of 1949, they gathered a few friends and began instructing and dancing at the Mineral Springs pavilion. Spectators came and the interest grew and that fall the group decided to set a regular meeting night for interested couples. Alex Schmanski was the first caller. Later the club hired a youngster called named Arden Johnson, a junior at the University of Minnesota who earned income for school expenses by calling square dances. The interest in square dancing was gaining in parts of Minnesota and Arden was kept very busy. He taught the Owatonna members many folks dances between square dancing and later round dancing which gradually replaced the folk dancing.

Do-Si-Do charter members

Looking through some old files, I ran across a listing of the charter members of the Do-Si-Do Club. Youll recognize many of those names. Axel and Mildred Anderson served as the first club presidents followed by Malcolm and Connie Stephenson. Charter members included Dick and Jean Brindmore, Heber and Zelda Boyette, Fritz and Hazel Lenker, Al and Jo Wenner, Allen and Agnes Kasper, Valdimar and Olga Kasper, Chet and Audrey Hoffert, and Bob and Dorothy Rowley. Others who joined shortly after the club formed included Bob and Helen Shimpach, the Monty Kubalskis, Kenneth Srprungs, Connie and Helen Hanson, the Gordy Paffraths and the Walter Whites.

The club first danced at the fire hall, then after a year moved to the Auditorium Hall on North Cedar. A year later the club moved to the ZCBJ Hall south of town, then to the Park and Recreation headquarters on Mill Street and later to West Hills.

In 1950, the Do-Si-Do club became a member of the Folk-Dance Federation of Minnesota. In June of that year, the Owatonna Club hosted a state festival at Dartts Park on a Saturday afternoon. The club sponsored many regional festivals through the 50s and 60s which were usually held at the Monterey Ballroom. The name of the state organization was later changed to The Square Dance Federation of Minnesota and Owatonnans Heber and Zelda Boyette served as co-presidents in 1958-59. LeRoy and Kathryn Henning of Claremont served as co-presidents in 1989-90. Don Wesely and Darrel Lennon wrote and published a square dance monthly newsletter. Many locals became callers and served the club including Heber Boyette, Howard Ellsworth from Austin and Bill Morton of Rochester. Around 1970, Owatonnas Everett Jacobson began calling and he was joined later by Wayne Kubicek. It was Kubicek and I who produced the weekly radio show.

The Do-Si-Do club also hosted a festival linked to the Pumpkin-Fest in Owatonna. One year, a famous national caller named Cal Golden. Six people were designated as Honorary Members of the Do-Si-Do club. They included Alan and Agnes Kasper, Heber and Zelda Boyette and Everett and Luverne Jacobson.

The end of the Do-Si-Dos

The Do-Si-Do Square Dance Club dissolved shortly after observing its 50th anniversary. In 1974, a second square dance club was formed called the Steele Steppers. Roger Borchardt was the first president. Harlan Holzerland called for that club until he retired in 1986. He was followed by Wayne Kubicek. The Steele Steppers dissolved in 2007. This club hosted the square dance night at the fair.

A coveted award

for Holzerland

Harlan Holzerland received the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award from the State Square Dance Federation in 2007. The award is rarely given out and recognized Holzerlandnewss contribution to square dancing for close to 60 years.

Alexander apartment

memories

A few weeks ago I wrote about a police raid at the Alexander Apartments, located at the corner of Main and Elm. The raid was in connection with suspects who were supposedly using an apartment in the building in connection with a kidnapping and stolen alcohol.

I ran across a column I wrote about the apartments when I received a letter from Helen Sorenson Petterson, who at the time was 92. She lived at the apartments. The contents of her letter sheds some light on the apartment complex and who lived there in its early days.

She wrote: My earliest memory of the Alexander Apartments was when I was about 14 years old and I came to visit my sister who worked at Federated. She and a friend shared a room at the Alexander apartment. What fascinated me about that room was that they had a Murphy bed that came down from the ceiling. Behind a small door on a wall was a mechanism that was manually operated to bring the bed down from the ceiling at night. The four legs lay parallel on the bed until brought down a couple of feet from the floor. The girls had to take each leg and set it on each corner of the bed perpendicularly so that they all rested on the floor. The bedding remained on the bed when they sent it back up to the ceiling in the morning.

One day while I was living at the Alexander apartments I was coming down a staircase when I met a young girl coming up from the basement and she was weeping. I went to her and asked what was the matter. She said her father was very sick. I put my arm around her and together we descended the stairway from which she had just come. Half way down I saw Hans Muillenberg sitting on a chair attended by Dr. John McIntyre. He died of heart failure. It was a real sad experience.

There were lots of bats in the building and the lady who lived next to me had a surprise when she came home from work one night. She had left a screenless window open and a squirrel had entered her room, ripping her curtains to ribbons, knocking the radio off of a stand and messing up her room entirely.

Don and I were married just across the street in the old Trinity Lutheran Church. We continued to live in the Alexander apartments for another year and a half. I think Bill and Bernie Reisenauer took over our apartment when we left. I was a resident of the Alexander apartments from April 1, 1944 to December 1, 1951.

In her letter, Helen listed those who lived in the Alexander apartments during the years she was a resident. The included Marian Nelson and Luella Kestle, Norine Peterson, Lorena Schrupp, Mr. and Mrs. Guy Cleftonk, Miss Fritch, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Kiley, Mrs. Hunter (Lester Bickfords mother), Mrs. E.K.Whiting, Sally Davis, Margaret Kessen and Freda Bell Haberman. (When Freda got married, Margaret invited Helen Sorenson to share the apartment with her. Margaret got married a month later and Helen had several roommates including Ruth Boots, Clarissa Swanson, and Arlene Rothi. Arlene lived there until she married Frank Anderson. Other residents included Judge Bernard McGovern, Osborne Partridge, Mrs. Rochford, Pearl Johnson, Esther Eliason Larson and daughter, Hans and Grace Muillenberg. Eli Eliason was the custodian for the entire building.

No Straight River Days

this year

The Medford Civic Club has announced that the annual Straight River Days celebration, scheduled for June 17-20 has been canceled for this year. Erin Sammon, Medford Civic Club president said, Its hard to plan for the unknown. Basically, every small town around us had already canceled their big events, so we felt it was time to do the inevitable. The club intends to host Straight River Days events throughout the summer.

Other cancellations

A review of already canceled events: Smokin in Steele BBQ and Blues Festival in Owatonna, Faribault Heritage Days, Dam Days in Morristown and Bullhead Days in Waterville, Big Brothers/Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake postponed till fall. Rotary Club shredding canceled, Exchange Club Book of Golden Deeds banquet postponed until fall.

Deadline for SCHS Preservation Awards coming

May 1 is the deadline date for nominations for the Steele County Historical Society Preservation Awards. This award recognizes Steele County buildings or properties for outstanding preservation and restoration efforts. To nominate, submit a letter explaining why you have chosen this property, some background information, the propertys historic significance, a photograph and a contact number. To submit a nomination, e-mail a message or mail a suggestion to SCHS, 1700 Austin Road, Owatonna, Mn. 55060. Honorees in the past have included Toreys Restaurant, Jefts Hall at Pillsbury, Kottke Jewelers, KIK Graphics, Lerbergs in Ellendale, Owatonna Public Utilities, First Baptist Church, the Zamboni Building, the Alexander home and many others.

Airport name honors Owatonna aviation pioneer

In 1987, the Owatonna Municipal Airport was re-named Degner Field, honoring Glenn Degner, who along with Tom Walsh and Joe Dulak, founded the Owatonna airport in a cornfield south of town. Degner went on to manage airport operations for decades besides running Degner Travel Service. Mary and I escorted cruises arranged by Degner. Ill always remember when we held an informational meeting regarding a cruise we escorted, Degner said, If something goes wrong, dont get your bowels in an uproar. Well handle any problems you may encounter. Glenn and wife Billie had their booth reserved for them every noon at Jerrys Supper Club.

A wonderful lady,

Ann Barker

Ann Barker passed away in her mid-nineties. She was indeed a wonderful, kind lady. I used to pick her up for church on the Trinity Lutheran bus on Sunday mornings. We had great chats about her past. She was born Ann Prokopec in Blooming Prairie. After receiving normal training in Owatonna she began teaching in rural school. She taught for about six years before becoming a full-time housewife. Theres lot of concern about class size today, but when Ann taught in District 13, Aurora Township, she had 48 kids in her class! When I interviewed Ann on her 91st birthday she said, My life has been people. I just enjoy my friends every day!

Joke of the week

The Presbyterian church called a meeting to decide what to do about their squirrel infestation. After much prayer and consideration, they concluded that the squirrels were predestined to be there and they shouldnt interfere with Gods divine will. At the Baptist Church the squirrels had taken an interest in the baptistery. The deacons met and decided to put a water-slide on the baptistery and let the squirrels drown themselves. The squirrels liked the slide and unfortunately, knew instinctively how to swim, so twice as many squirrels showed up the following week. The Lutheran church decided that that were not in a position to harm any of Gods creatures. So, they humanely trapped their squirrels and set them free near the Baptist church. Two weeks later the squirrels were back when the Baptists took down the water-slide. The Episcopalians tried a much more unique path by setting out pans of whiskey around their church in an effort to kill the squirrels with alcohol poisoning. They sadly learned how much damage a band of drunk squirrels can do.

The Catholic church came up with a very creative strategy! They baptized all the squirrels and made them members of the church. Now they only see them at Christmas and Easter. Not much was heard from the Jewish synagogue. They took the first squirrel and circumcised him. They havent seen a squirrel since!

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TODD HALE: Where have all the square dancers gone? More on the Alexander Apartments - Southernminn.com

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Posted By admin on April 26, 2020

With events and parades officially canceled through June 2020, New York will experience a summer unlike any other in order to control the coronavirus outbreak.

This is a developing story. For up-to-date information on traveling during the coronavirus outbreak, visit the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

Even though New York Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the states coronavirus lockdown efforts through May 15, that doesnt mean life in NYC will immediately go back to normal on that date. In fact, summer in the city will look very different in 2020 compared to previous years.

On April 17, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all concerts, festivals, and other non-essential permitted events will be canceled through the month of June, calling it a decision we have to make in order to keep people safe.

As for visitors hoping to travel to New York this summer, NYC hotels previously stated theyre hoping to reopen this July, but are basing their projections on the curve the virus has taken in other countries and not on any official announcement from the government. Currently, thousands of NYC hotel rooms are being used to accommodate health workers, recovering COVID patients, and the homeless.

While de Blasio said that most of the citys summer events will be rescheduled later in the year, New Yorkers should not anticipate traditional summer-in-the-city activities. Heres what we know so far about what events have been canceled, what beach and pool access may look like, and what the citys Fourth of July celebration could look like.

For the first time in its half-century history, New York City Pride has been canceled, along with all in-person events on the NYC Pride 2020 roster, originally scheduled for June 1428, 2020.

Pride is a staple in New York City, and is oftentimes a safe space for many, David A. Correa, Heritage of Pride interim executive director, said in a statement. This weighed on our members, board, and staff, knowing that we serve as a haven for vulnerable communities. It was not easy to arrive at the decision to cancel pride . . . but our top priority remains the health and well-being of all those that participate with us.

NBC New York reported that Mayor de Blasio said Pride events could be rescheduled for the fall, but some events will occur virtually this summer.

WABC Channel 7 will continue to support Heritage of Pride this year by broadcasting a special NYC Pride programming event in June to all communities across the NYC and tri-state area, said Debra OConnell, president and general manager of WABC-TV, the broadcast partner of Pride in NYC.

The 56th Celebrate Israel Parade, originally scheduled for June 7, 2020, has also been canceled. With the largest Jewish population outside Israel, NYC hosts the annual parade, which usually draws more than 40,000 marchers, including American and Israeli community leaders and celebrities.

Parade organizers said in light of the cancellation, they have decided to host a virtual event in lieu of the Fifth Avenue parade. More specific details will be announced on a later date, but the online event will have a theme of todah (thank you in Hebrew), to express gratitude to all the healthcare, first responder, and other frontline workers in New York, across the United States, in Israel, and around the world.

The 63rd Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade was originally scheduled for June 14, 2020. Since New York is home to the largest Puerto Rican community off the island, its one of the citys biggest events of the year, typically drawing 1.5 million spectators and marchers to Fifth Avenue to celebrate the people of Puerto Rico.

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While this years parade will not happen in June . . . we look forward to seeing everyone on Fifth Avenue at a later date, once city, state, and health officials give the green light to hold large-scale gatherings in our beloved city, parade organizers said in a statement on nprdpinc.org.

Originally scheduled for June 20, 2020, the 38th annual Mermaid Parade in Coney Island will be moved to a later date in August or this fall. If events are put on hold for longer, Dick Zigun, the founder of Coney Island USA, says he and the parades other organizers plan to move the mermaid parade online.

The Public Theaters free Shakespeare in the Park 2020 season, held at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, has been canceled. In addition to planned productions of Richard II and As You Like It, the theater company will also be suspending the remaining season of programs and events, including Cullud Wattah and all performances at Joes Pub in its flagship home at Astor Place through August 31, 2020.

The 50th edition of Lincoln Center Out of Doors, which brings free performances to the Lincoln Center Plaza, has been canceled for summer 2020. However, the performing arts center has virtual opportunities available right now and plans for other in-person events later on.

It is our intention, when it is safe again to gather in-person, to stage a free pop-up festival in a celebration of our great city, and the selfless first responders and healthcare workers who are giving so much during this crisis, Lincoln Center said in a statement. Currently, and for the foreseeable future, were taking our work online with Lincoln Center at Home, our new portal helping families and communities keep the performing arts front and center.

The 2020 edition of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but event organizers are looking at ways to bring the annual summer concerts online.

Each year 200,000 people come together to be part of the beautiful and unique community of our BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, but sadly this year, we will not be reunited at the Bandshell, event organizers said in a statement. We have been working hard to imagine what a remote Festival could look like instead, and we are committed to bringing performances to your home. In the coming weeks, well announce our full plans.

Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage is New Yorks largest free outdoor performing arts festival, producing more than 100 performances in 16 parks throughout the five boroughs each summer. Per city restrictions, none of its events will be taking place this May or June. However, the City Parks Foundations is hopeful that it will be able to present SummerStage performances later in the summer or fall if and when public gatherings are allowed, according to a statement on its website.

In the meantime, it will be adding new live performances to its website to bring SummerStage concerts directly to your home. For updates, visit cityparksfoundation.org/summerstage.

Governors Ball Music Festival (Gov Ball), which was scheduled to take place on Randalls Island from June 57, 2020, has canceled its 2020 event and will not be rescheduling it for later in the year.

Over the past few weeks, we have gone to great lengths to find a postponement date that works for all parties involved. Due to a myriad of planning and logistical issues, we have come to the conclusion that there are no sufficient options available to us, the festivalwrote in a statement. We are pushing ahead, and are already jumping into plans for 2021.

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On Thursday, April 16, Mayor de Blasio announced that city pools will not open this summer, and a similar decision on beaches is likely soon to come. De Blasio saidthat he couldnt see beaches opening any time soon,saying that theres no plan to open city beaches like Coney Island, Orchard Beach, and Rockaway, which are typically open from Memorial Day weekend through the second week in September.

The TD Five Boro Bike Tour, a 40-mile ride across all five boroughs, is being postponed from its original date on May 3, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While New York City officials marshal every available resource to slow the spread of the virus and save lives, we continue to discuss alternative dates for later in the year. Well keep you apprised as these discussions progress, Ken Podziba, Bike New York president and CEO, said in a statement.

Instead of postponing its original May 710 dates, the Frieze New York contemporary art fair on Randalls Island is officially canceled.

The 10th annual New York City Poetry Festival, which was scheduled to take place on Governors Island July 2526, 2020, has been officially postponed to July 2021.

In a video posted to Twitter on April 22, Mayor de Blasio said Macys Fourth of July Fireworks show will go on, but in a different way that is still yet to be determined.

We may not be able to do it the way we historically have, de Blasio said in the announcement. One way or another, the show will go on. One way or another, were going to celebrate the Fourth of July in a very special way in New York City. Theres definitely going to be fireworks. How we do them, where we do them, how we do them in a way thats safe and keeps New Yorkers safe, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered between now and then.

As of now, many other events scheduled for later this summer like Nathans Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4 and Brooklyns West Indian Day Parade held on Labor Day are still uncertain whether or not they will have to cancel. Earlier in April, Mayor de Blasio previously stated that NYC cant allow sporting events with large crowds until individual cases of coronavirus can be tracked, which puts the Yankees and Mets season on hold for now.

As for the citys museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the Guggenheim, and many others are all closed until further notice. While most of New Yorks performing arts institutions had to cancel the remainder of their spring seasons through June, it is unclear yet if the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and the New York Philharmonic will return as scheduled for their fall seasons.

With so much uncertainty, it can be hard to have hope. But Mayor de Blasio promises that when the city does reopen, the first major event will be a ticker tape parade in honor of health-care workers and first responders.

When the day comes that we can restart the vibrant beautiful life of this city again, the first thing we will do is we will have a ticker tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes for our health-care workers and our first responders, de Blasio said during a press conference. We will honor those who saved us.

>> Next:Will We Be Able to Travel This Summer?

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What Will This Summer Look Like in New York City? - AFAR Media

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Posted By admin on April 26, 2020

On the last day of Passover in 2019, a gunman entered the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California, and opened fire. The April 27 attack claimed the life of a woman and left three others injured including the rabbi.

In the aftermath, police arrested a 19-year-old man who, according to a federal affidavit, said that Jewish people are destroying the white race.A document under the accused shooters name was found online. It was filled with racist slurs and white nationalist conspiracy theories.

Almost a year later, the Poway attack remains a sobering reminder of the lethal threat posed by the white nationalist movement. It occurred only six months after a similar attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh left 11 dead and seven injured, and just six weeks after the shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, left 51 dead and 49 injured.

These are not the only terror attacks launched by white nationalists. Throughout 2019, we documented a string of domestic terror attacks fueled by white supremacy.

And earlier this year, when the SPLC released its findings for the 2019 Year In Hate and Extremism report, we found a 55% increase in white nationalist hate groups since 2017, despite an overall decline in hate groups.

On this anniversary, lets honor the memory of the lives lost at the hands of white nationalist violence by recognizing the deadly threat this movement poses and committing to oppose it within our communities and across our nation.

Photo by AP Photo/Denis Poroy

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Remembering the deadly Poway shooting one year later - Southern Poverty Law Center

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Posted By admin on April 26, 2020

Many of us are shocked when we read news stories about some Haredim not following social distancing policies to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. (Haredim is often mistranslated as Ultra-Orthodox, which many Haredim consider a pejorative. The better translation is those who tremble before God.) We see these individuals endangering themselves, their typically-large families, their communities and countless others, and we ask why. How can people who purport to be intensely religious engage in such behavior? Is not Judaisms central teaching, Pikuach Nefesh, the saving and preservation of human life (Talmud Yoma 84b)?

First let us be clear that many Haredi rabbis and their adherents are in compliance with the rules of social distancing. The Agudath Israelof America, a Haredi umbrella organization, has a rabbinic leadership council known as the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah (Council of great Torah Sages), which comprises the leading Haredimrabbis in America. They issued the following decree: It is obvious that every person is obligated to obey the instructions of the government and medical professionals. Jewish families must be exceedingly careful not to err in issues which could endanger people, heaven forbid.

Beyond complying with social distancing rules. There are Haredim who are giving of themselves, to save lives. Thousands of Haredim in the New York area have donated blood plasma, after recovering from the Coronavirus, which could potentially treat people with Covid-19. Mount Sinai Hospital received more than half of their blood plasma donations from Haredim.

However, it is also fair to say that a number of Haredi schools and synagogues closed later than the majority of institutions in the Jewish community. While this is not a defense of their position, it is important to note that at the time before the closure of their institutions, many businesses and public schools were still open. Furthermore, we were hearing mixed messages from federal, state, and local governments with regard to how to handle the Coronavirus. Even today, we are seeing a lack of a centralized response to this issue.

While social distancing is now being practiced by many in the Haredi community, there are a number who are still not in compliance. To understand this phenomenon, we must first appreciate that the very practices that prevented the Haredim from assimilating and ensured their continuity are in fact endangering them during the Coronavirus pandemic. Haredim tend to limit their use of technology, specifically the internet, and social media. Television is also problematic. Media in general is a challenge for them. They often fear secular society and cooperating with governmental agencies. Beyond fear, they sometimes fail to recognize, or even oppose, secular authorities. (Although, this is not always true; they have been excellent at making connections, at every level of government, to further issues they value.) This has caused a significant number of Haredi Jews to be unaware, or not take seriously, the warnings of public health officials.

Their lives revolve around Tefilah (prayer), which is performed with people standing right next to each other, often in crowded synagogues. Similarly, when engaging in religious study, many Haredim sit in pairs in a large room called a Beit Midrash (House of Learning). Huge communal events are also mainstay of Haredi life.

Why do these experiences continue when their own rabbis have issued a decree against such practices. Is not the word of the Gadolay HaTorah, (an idiom for the great rabbis), absolute for this community? I think four different phenomena are transpiring.

Fire is often a symbol of holiness in Judaism. Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:24 describes God as a fire. However, just as a fire can burn out of control, so can holiness. Sometimes extreme fervor for Judaism and God can lead to wrongful acts that conflict with Halacha and are a Chilul Hashem (a desecration of Gods name). Keeping a synagogue open now is such an act. Furthermore, just because a synagogue building is closed does not mean the synagogue is closed, so long as the synagogue continues its mission. Perhaps, the most important mission of a synagogue now (more important than offering learning and prayer through zoom and Facebook), is teaching the Mitzvah (commandment) of Pikuach Nefesh. When a Synagogue does this it is an essential business.

This weeks Torah portion is Acharei Mot-Kedoshim. Kedoshim opens with the phrase, You shall be holy Vayikra (Levitcus) 19:2. How should we achieve holiness in this situation? Vayikra 19:16-19 explain, You shall not stand aside while your fellows blood is shed-I am the LORD. You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you shall critique your fellow and not bear sin because of them. You shall not take revenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, you shall love your fellow as yourself: I am the LORD. We cannot stand by, while people are dying. We must teach the Torah of Pikuach Nefesh. We must do this with no hate for anyone in our heart. If criticism is necessary, then it should be done without being vengeful nor bearing any grudges. Let us love our fellow as we love ourselves.

Rabbi David Kalb is the Rabbi of Jewish Learning Center of New York where he is responsible for the creative, educational, spiritual, and programmatic direction of the organization.

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Haredim and social distancing | David Kalb - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on April 24, 2020

When the coronavirus starts to recede, Jewish life across the United States will look a lot like it already does in Fargo.

Only 150 Jews live in the biggest city in North Dakota, but its one of the few places in the country where the governor hasnt ordered people to stay home, or put attendance caps on houses of worship.

This means that the states three synagogues have the legal right to openly hold Shabbat services. But theyre all choosing to stay shut anyway making the city, most famous as the namesake of a beloved Coen brothers movie, a kind of leading indicator for when American Jews can go back to synagogue.

In the Jewish tradition, sanctity of life takes precedence over anything else, said Rabbi Yonah Grossman, co-director of the Chabad Jewish Center of North Dakota. If theres room to be cautious its important for us to take that step in our own community.

Literally 99% of American Jews live in states that have forbidden leaving the house to go pray at synagogues, forcing the holy spaces to close. This has been painful for untold numbers of worshippers. But the experience of the remaining 1% shows that even when the rules eventually loosen, Jewish institutions will likely be slow to reopen their doors.

There are five states - Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, and North and South Dakota - that have declined to implement stay-at-home measures. Based in part on data shared by the major American Jewish denominations, the Forward was able to identify 30 synagogues in those states.

All 30 of them have chosen to shut down as if there actually was a government order mandating it, according to either their websites or interviews with communal leaders. This means that there are no synagogues legally operating anywhere in the United States.

Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, said that this is almost surely the first time that thats ever happened.

Outbreaks of yellow fever and cholera in the 17th through 19th centuries, which often caused Jews of means to flee their homes, only affected some cities but not others; even during the 1918 flu pandemic, some synagogues in some cities closed, but it was not well understood that the best way to treat a pandemic was to be at home, he explained.

Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, for example, has stayed continuously open since the American Revolution until now.

It was a point of pride, especially among older synagogues, that they maintained a minyan, and nothing closed them down, he said. There are synagogues that had great pride that amidst a blizzard, 10 people who lived near the synagogue gathered to maintain the minyan. So it does represent a tremendous change in thinking, that the proper thing to do is to actually shelter at home and shutter a synagogue.

The combined Jewish population of those five states is 17,500, fewer than the number of Jews in Sacramento alone, according to the 2019 American Jewish Year Book, an annual academic study. In small towns where services are only held monthly, and even some of the bigger cities like Omaha and Little Rock where Jews still make up a tiny minority, synagogues are some of the only places where local Jews can find fellowship. But rabbis and lay leaders are choosing to prioritize communal health over communal connection.

Besides, said Sophie Homanoff, the director of education at the Des Moines Jewish Federation, most Iowans are following stay-at-home guidelines despite not being required to.

Closing the synagogues was absolutely a community decision to keep everyone safe, following the scientists thinking and recommendations, she added. While there were a few congregants in the citys two egalitarian synagogues who wanted the doors to stay open, it was overruled by the boards.

According to Lubavitch of Iowa director Rabbi Yossi Jacobson, Orthodox synagogues throughout the state are closed too, including in Postville, home to the countrys largest kosher slaughterhouse. No ones playing around, he said.

Even in the smallest of towns, houses of worship are taking precautions. In Jefferson County, Iowa (population 18,000), there have only been seven COVID-19 diagnoses. But Congregation Beth Shalom is taking no chances, hosting Shabbat services on Zoom.

Sure has alleviated any concerns we had about synagogue security, shul president Marc Berkowitz wrote by email. Every cloud has a silver lining, you know.

Still, such decisions can be difficult and even heart-wrenching. Because of the lack of a minyan, Jacobson hasnt been able to say Kaddish for his brother, who died from coronavirus just before Passover the same day he was packing and shipping hundreds of Seder packages, many intended for people who had never had to host their own Seders before. On that day, Jacobson said, he felt that his mission from heaven is, youre needed to supply the Passover Seder plate.

The stringencies are unlikely to be relaxed. The Orthodox Union, the Union for Reform Judaism and Chabad-Lubavitch all told the Forward that decisions to reopen synagogues would be based on health considerations, not changes in state policy. (The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism didnt respond to a request for comment).

A group of 11 Orthodox rabbis in Dallas wrote a joint statement explaining that even if their governor allowed houses of worship to open as essential services, they would still stay shut. We agree that shuls are essential, they wrote, but the value of pikuach nefesh preserving life is even more essential.

Once health experts agree that synagogues can operate safely, the urge to return will be strong for many. Indeed, there have been isolated reports from New York and New Jersey of secret illegal services in violation of state law.

At times of danger and hardship, normally Jews come to synagogue, Sarna said. And even during the cholera epidemic, when Rabbi Yisroel Salanter a legendary 19th century Lithuanian rabbi is supposed to have gotten up on Yom Kippur and eaten and told other people to eat, remember, he did that in a synagogue.

But others will probably be hesitant for a while. Jacobson said that his grandson was born last month just before his brother died. The same source that is returning life to Him is returning life to us, he said.

On the babys eighth day, the Jacobsons had a bris. Normally such ceremonies are occasions for large gatherings, but the Jacobsons decided that the only non-family member there would be the mohel. This was done for health reasons, the rabbi said. But then again, he admitted, No one wanted to be invited.

Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at pink@forward.com or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink

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For the first time, there are literally no synagogues legally open in America - Forward

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Posted By admin on April 24, 2020

The road to reopening for houses of worship has been paved in a handful of states, even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to kill more than 1,500 Americans a day.

But synagogues in the Republican-led states that are relaxing some restrictions including Georgia, Texas and South Carolina appear unlikely to take advantage of their governors permission to open anytime soon.

We are very sensitive to the fact that people are being economically impacted by the closures, but were more concerned about the possible loss of life if theres a second wave so soon, said Rabbi Joshua Heller of Congregation Bnai Torah in Sandy Springs, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.

Georgias governor, Brian Kemp, announced earlier this week that some businesses could begin reopening, and houses of worship could resume services this weekend. He said he had come to the conclusion that the pandemics toll on employment outweighed the public health benefits of keeping businesses closed.

But medical experts including the countrys top doctor, Anthony Fauci say the reopenings are inadvisable right now, just as social distancing appears to be cutting down on new infections in many places.

That could be setting us back, Faucitold The New York Timesthis week.

Even President Donald Trump, who himself has called for the economy to reopen in short order,criticized Kemps decision on Wednesday.

Most synagogues appear to be declining the invitation to reopen, saying they believe that staying closed is necessary for the health of their congregants and communities.

In Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott has announced plans to roll back restrictions in early May, 11 Orthodox rabbis in Dallas issued a collective letter Tuesday explaining their decision to keep their synagogues closed.

Religious communities, with their heavily social communal lives, are at greater risk for reinfection during this pandemic, and its members are most likely to represent vectors for the spread of the disease once again to the general population,the letter says. As such, it is premature to reopen shuls at this time.

One of the signatories, Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky, said the rabbis had consulted with medical experts in their communities before issuing the letter.

It was a clear decision that we arrived at unanimously, said Rackovsky, who works at Congregation Shaare Tefila, a Modern Orthodox synagogue.

Even as the response in the community has been overwhelmingly positive, Rackovsky said some community members initially questioned whether the decision to remain closed was a political one targeting the states Republican governor.

Once we explained ourselves in writing and in conversations Ive had with people privately, they not only understand but they support the decision, he said.

For Orthodox Jews, the question of when in-person activity can resume comes with higher religious stakes: Due to prohibitions on using electricity on Shabbat, their synagogues are notlivestreaming serviceson the Sabbath. And while some rabbis in other denominations have begun allowing prayer quorums to be formed virtually, Orthodox rabbis have not, meaning that Orthodox Jews have been unable to hear the Torah read or say the Mourners Kaddish prayer.

We are very sensitive to the fact that people are being economically impacted by the closures, but were more concerned about the possible loss of life

But at Congregation Ohr HaTorah, an Orthodox synagogue in Atlanta, rather than embracing the opportunity to reopen, many members are unhappy with Kemps move to reopen the state, according to Rabbi Adam Starr.

It seems to be the overwhelming perspective that people are really disappointed and upset at this decision to reopen at this time, he said.

The response was the same at Congregation Or Hadash, a Conservative synagogue in Sandy Springs.

So far everybody is taking it in a very, very positive way, actually praising our decision to remain closed, said Rabbi Analia Bortz, who is also a medical doctor.

Jewish communities are not unique in responding skeptically to the reopen plans. Polls have shown thatthe vast majority of Americans favor continued distancing. That is especially true for people who identify Democrats, which includes about two-thirds of American Jews.

That doesnt mean that feelings about the prospect of reopening are straightforward in Jewish communities.

At Hellers synagogue outside Atlanta, deaths among congregants more than doubled over the usual rate in recent weeks due to the coronavirus. At the same time, some congregants are also struggling financially and have received assistance from the synagogue.

I have not had a lot of voices within my congregation calling in favor of reopening in-person worship, the rabbi said. I think by and large the people who I am talking to, even some of those who are in favor of the reopening on principle, are not actually themselves leaving their homes.

And Rabbi Adam Rosenbaum of Synagogue Emanu-El in Charleston, South Carolina, said members had been supportive until now of the decision to remain closed, but that he wasnt sure if that support could wane over time.

Im not sure what necessarily will happen if we start getting pressure from people to gather, he said. Because, please know, Id like to be able to gather again. I miss shaking hands and embracing friends and being able to really enjoy everybodys company. I wish we could all go back to normal. I am very reluctant to say that Im ready, though.

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Synagogues decline some governors' invitations to reopen - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on April 24, 2020

(JTA) Midway through Lila Dukes bat mitzvah ceremony, her familys cat made an appearance.

Minnies interruption was one of many ways that Lilas coming-of-age ceremony was different from what she had expected.

While the 12-year-old still read her Torah portion in front of more than 100 people, still got to wear a pretty dress and still was showered with candy, she was at home with her parents, Susan and Jon, and younger siblings, Naomi and Ezra, not at her familys Atlanta-area synagogue.

Lila addressed community members on Zoom rather than giving her sermon in a sanctuary. She read the Torah portion she had been practicing for a year from a book instead of a scroll and therefore wasnt able to recite the blessings she had been practicing. And at one point, Minnie jumped up on the table where the family had perched a computer on top of several stacked puzzle boxes and her mom had to rush to get the animal out of the way.

Such is the bat mitzvah in the coronavirus era.

With synagogues closed and gatherings prohibited, traditional bar and bat mitzvah celebrations which typically include participation in communal services and big, sometimes splashy parties have become impossible.

Its different right? Everyone has their bat mitzvah or whatever, but not everyone has had a Zoom bat mitzvah, Lila said in a phone interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency a few days after the rite. I was sad I didnt get to have a party though.

Lilas family plans to have a party for her once it is deemed safe. But even though parties can be postponed, it is harder to delay the service itself. Most kids spend a year training to chant the Torah portion for their specific date, and choosing another date would mean they would have to learn a different reading.

So as with so many events these days, many families are opting instead to do the service virtually, sometimes with drive-by, socially distanced celebrations as well. (Orthodox synagogues do not allow livestreaming on Shabbat). One event planning company has even started offering virtual bar and bat mitzvah planning services, including helping to organize a virtual party complete with party favors and hora dancing.

Lila participates in her bat mitzvah service with her parents, Jon and Susan. (Courtesy of the Dukes)

In Lilas case, going virtual meant making some tweaks.

At a typical bat mitzvah, a number of family members are called to the Torah to say a blessing ahead of the scroll reading. Since Lila was reading from a book rather than a scroll, however, the Hebrew blessings could not be said. Instead, family members prepared short blessings in English to mimic the traditional order.

The Dukes set up two monitors in their living room, so they could watch both the service leader and the congregants tuning in. Susan Duke had decorated the room with orchids, peonies, tulips and roses from a local florist to make it look festive.

Guests typically shower the bat mitzvah with candy after she completes the haftarah reading. In Lilas case, her parents and siblings threw Hersheys kisses at her, while the congregants threw sweets at their computer screens and sent her candy emojis in the Zoom chat. Her parents also hoisted her up on a chair after the reading, as is customary during Jewish celebrations.

And just because the guests werent meeting in person didnt mean they didnt dress up, though the Duke family opted to go without shoes since they werent leaving the house and Lila wore a comfortable cotton dress rather than the long satin gown she had initially picked out.

Following the three-hour service, Lilas family recited the kiddush and ate the French toast casserole that her mother had cooked as they video chatted with a smaller group of relatives.

Rabbi Analia Bortz, who with her husband, Rabbi Mario Karpuj, leads Congregation Or Hadash, the Conservative synagogue where the Dukes are members, had worried originally about whether there would be technical difficulties. But she left the service impressed by how well it worked out and how the community came together to celebrate Lilas special day.

In 30 years in the pulpit, many things have changed and have left a big hallmark in our lives, most of the time for good reasons, but this one was one of the highlights of our careers, Bortz said. It was very, very special.

Susan Duke said the service exceeded the familys expectations.

We just thought wed try it, and it was so much more intimate and personal and successful than I imagined it could be, the bat mitzvah mom said.

One unexpected perk of doing the service on Zoom was that Lila, who had been anxious about doing her Torah reading in front of a large audience, felt less nervous.

I didnt have a bunch of people watching me doing scary stuff, she said. They were there but they were on the screen. I felt it wouldnt be as big of a deal as if I was actually there in front of everyone.

Meanwhile, Lila hopes she can serve as a model for other kids who will have to do their coming-of-age ceremonies virtually, too, as it becomes increasingly clear that limitations on large gatherings wont be lifted imminently.

People were watching me, other people who are going to probably do the same thing, she said. They wanted to know what it was like.

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Throwing candy at the computer: What celebrating your bat mitzvah looks like in the time of the coronavirus - JTA News

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Posted By admin on April 24, 2020

People all over our city and the world are struggling with the notion of worship from home. Connectivity issues, appropriate equipment to view or hear and user challenges pale in comparison to the uncomfortable feeling that the inside of our homes are not the inside of the church.

Churchgoers have always equated staying at home on Sunday with being separated from the church. Invariably, those that were home on Sunday got a phone call from their pastor, minister or fellow members stating, We missed you at church today. Now many are missing church for health and safety reason.

Worship is not at church. Fellowship is not happening like it did at church. Funerals are not at church. We dont hug each other, shake hands or sit with our neighbor at church like we used to. Preachers cant pull the congregations participation into the sermon by shouting turn to your neighbor, or touch your neighbor or give your neighbor a high five. Why? Because for many, the preaching, the preacher and the people are not at church.

In Walter Earl Flukers book, The Ground Has Shifted, in 2016, Fluker asks the question that all impacted Churches must ask: What does this new season of worldwide struggle mean for us, for this nation and for the world? How will pastors visit the sick if they cannot be approached? How will the programs to feed the hungry, clothe the poor and support students go on if the doors of the church are not open? How will the church be able to pay its bills if the people who normally support it are struggling themselves?

We have either been a people in a shift, preparing for a shift, or dealing with the results of a shift. Historically and biblically, there have always been major changes to the way people congregate.

In the Old Testament, when the children of Israel were released from bondage, God called for a moving, yet singular place for worship called the Tabernacle (Dt. 12). When peace and unity came after years of internal conflict in Israel, God commissioned Davids son Solomon to build the First Temple (1 Chr. 28) for Yahweh. After its destruction, the Second Temple was built (Ezra 1) only to be augmented by King Herod in the time of Jesus.

Initially, worship only occurred in one place, but eventually it expanded to several. In the shadow of the Second Temple, synagogues flourished. They eventually spread across to other parts of the world where Jews migrated. It was clear to the community that while synagogues were different, they and the Temple were both places for people to honor the same God.

The impact of Jesus in the world furthered this shift. He unveiled a people who would be children of God through following him. Jesus called those people the Church (Mt. 16:13-18). It is comprised of three components: Jesus, the people, and the confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. The ground had shifted. In one motion, Jesus opened the doors of the Temple and the synagogue, and once again expanded worship from exclusively indoors to wherever the people congregate. Certainly, the New Testament is replete with places that people congregated from the upper room in Jerusalem to the center of the empire in Rome.

There is no discounting that people have always congregated in a place, but it has never been a requirement that the place be indoors. When Jesus announced the church, he did not denounce the continuation of the Temple or the synagogue. In fact, he and his disciples attended both. However, while the tradition was upheld, the movement of his day for a new wave of believers was to become the Church.

Therefore, what are we to say today about Facebook Live, IGTV, Zoom and free conference call numbers? Is that church? It is certainly not the place we have called church all of our lives; but those who believe and follow Jesus as their Savior and come together to worship him are the Church.

The Rev. Cecil L. Williams Jr. is pastor of St. John AME Church at Pine Bluff.

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Leaning into the shift - News - Pine Bluff Commercial

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Posted By admin on April 24, 2020

(JTA) Yom Kippur had just ended and the members of his synagogue were preparing to go home to eat after a long day of fasting when Alex Klein walked up to the Holy Ark, placed his hand on it, and began speaking directly to God. He stood that way for the better part of an hour.

It was descriptive of his belief that you speak to God and God listens, his daughter, Devora Klein-Freeman, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Her father, she said, was a man of tremendous faith who went to synagogue three times a day without fail and taught his children to create a personal relationship with God.

Klein died in New York of COVID-19 on March 28. He was 70.

Born in 1949 to Holocaust survivors in what is today the Ukrainian city of Mukachevo, Klein spent his early years living a life of deprivation in the Soviet Union. Soon after his college graduation, Klein fled to Israel to avoid being drafted into the Red Army and ended up working in the hotel industry for several years.

He moved to the United States in 1975, where he built a large Brooklyn-based kosher catering business and enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren, the youngest of whom was born just two months ago.

He called his kids three or four times a day, so not to be able to speak to him anymore is very difficult, another daughter, Ronit Rubinoff, recalled. He would spend an hour every Friday on the phone with my daughter. It was very special for her.

Kleins children werent the only one he made time for regularly. Rubinoff said Klein would ask the doorman in his building about his family and wind up talking to him for half an hour.

He had so much patience and curiosity to learn about peoples lives, Rubinoff said. I really admired him for what he accomplished. I would go places and give my name and people would go Alex Klein is your dad? I was in such awe of him.

Klein is survived by his wife, Miriam Gutwein-Klein, three children and four grandchildren.

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Alex Klein, 70, kosher caterer whose prayers stormed the heavens - JTA News

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Posted By admin on April 24, 2020

Courtesy of JewishLIVE

Joseph Schwartz, host of The Idra Hour, a new podcast from JewishLIVE, compares cocktails with guest Jeffrey Israel.

For some of us, the hardest part about quarantine is missing out on gabfests with friends at synagogue IRL, not online. Others may be interested in counting the omer, but have no idea how to do it. Still more might not have had a synagogue community before the coronavirus pandemic, and now really wish they had one to kvetch with.

No matter how involved (or not) you were in Jewish life during that time before #quarantinelife, there will probably be something to interest you on JewishLIVE, a new clearinghouse of virtual Jewish events created by the team behind the podcast Judaism Unbound. Longtime denizens of the digital world, the podcasts creators realized in early March that, like it or not, the entire Jewish community was about to join them online. To help their fellow Jews through this latest migration, they created a platform to collect existing resources, create new ones and, in the words of Executive Director Dan Libenson, serve as an airport to this new land of digital Judaism.

If youre looking to dip your toes into the brave new world of online Judaism, heres a few features from JewishLIVE that might help.

Live Experiences Calendar

This evolving calendar collates online events hosted by Jewish organizations across the country. Wish you were outside right now? Read Torah with the folks at Wilderness Torah, who wish they were outside too. Tired of watching Frozen with your kids? Sign them up for the Kids Tanakh Club (Zooms mute function has never been so handy). Is it 11pm and, for some crazy reason, youre still willing to be on Zoom? Join ritual maven Marilyn Heiss for a daily counting of the Omer.

New podcasts

Besides functioning as a directory to events hosted by other organizations, JewishLIVE has started to release its own podcasts. Offerings range from academic explorations of the Torah with biblical scholar Richard Elliot Friedman to a series on diaspora Jewish languages. A show hosted by Sarah Hurwitz, a former speechwriter for President Obama, is in the works.

Jewish Digital Culture Festival

Between content theyve created and events in partnership with other organizations, the founders of JewishLIVE hope to eventually stream events 24/7. Just like concerts at now-cancelled music festivals across the country, events are held on virtual stages devoted to different topics, from spirituality to environmentalism. Its just (OK, it bears a passing resemblance to) Coachella.

Directory of online services

Who said synagogue shopping has to stop for coronavirus? JewishLIVEs service-finding feature recommends synagogues known for the sparkling online offerings, and lists smaller events hosted by congregations around the country.

Irene Katz Connelly is an editorial fellow at the Forward. You can contact her at connelly@forward.com.

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Not sure where on the world wide web to go for Shabbat? This website is your guide. - Forward

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