1.With a Little Help From My Friends

It is the way of many small communities and ours is no different. Nearly 11 years ago our Federation asked me to become its first very part-time executive director. Stu Forman and Ellen Hull (and others) presented a goal: carry us for five more years.

In the past few weeks our community institutions have changed even more. The Jewish Convalescent Home was sold to a private entity (a sign of the times) and while its name remains, it is no longer a Jewish organization. Perhaps more significant is the departure of Rabbi Kanter after 27 years at Tifereth Israel. It is the ways things are in many small communities around the country and like other congregations TI and our community will need to adjust. 

It is not only because of the Beatles theme that I give TI tremendous credit for the September 13 Shabbat program featuring the Shireinu Choir and Cantor Gluck (from Bristol, RI). With 11 years of community programming under my belt - Ed Asner, Nancy Spielberg, David Broza to name but a few - I like this one and will sit in the back (possibly with my guitar) in two weeks’ time. I hope you will join me. At our Federation’s last annual meeting, anticipating the changes at TI, we made a commitment to every program in our greater New Bedford community sponsored by TI, BCC, UMassD, Federation and PJ Library. It’s our new "circle the wagons" approach. On September 13 at 7:00 PM, while my guitar gently weeps, I hope you lend Shireinu your ears as we all try not to sing out of key.

2.Get Back

“The place I was in — I wouldn’t wish on anybody. So do everything — demonstrations, everything — to get the people home,” Farhan al-Qadi said. “It doesn’t matter if they are Arab or Jewish, all have a family waiting for them. They also want to feel the joy. I hope, I pray for an end to this,” he added, saying he had delivered the same message in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after returning to Israel.

"Al-Qadi was rescued Tuesday as troops combed a tunnel network in southern Gaza in search of hostages, the IDF said. The father of 11 was abducted on October 7 from Kibbutz Magen, near the Gaza border, where he worked as a security guard at a packaging plant.

"It is believed that 104 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. The shock assault saw thousands of Hamas-led terrorists storm southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people."

Read more in "Rescued captive calls to 'put an end' to hostage saga as crowd cheers his return home" in The Times of Israel.

3.It's All Too Much

Back to school should be a time of excitement and possibility, not hard choices and raised awareness. Yet Jews fear showing their identity amid the spike in antisemitism on US college campuses.

Yesterday I spent an hour on a Zoom meeting sponsored by the Jewish Agency to discuss the coming school year. The forum will meet every two weeks for updates.

An anonymous student at the University of California in Los Angeles shared: "I’m from UCLA, where Jewish students, including many people I know, were assaulted and harassed for weeks and weren’t protected by school response. I’ve heard of people running around with knives for Jewish students or posting pig-related artwork to represent Jews. It is insane and rampant."

At USC, only a few miles away, my son began his senior year on Monday. I hope to not have to share his experiences this year.

4.Don't Let Me Down

Max Lazar (Phillies Jewish pitcher) made his Major League Baseball debut coming on in the 7th inning against Arizona. He faced Joc Pedersen (we’ve covered his Jewishness in the Bulletin many times). Making the situation even more unique was Phillies catcher Garrett Stubs who is also Jewish. The Phillies won 11 to 1. Fewer than 1% of MLB players have been Jewish - making this game (and everything Sandy Koufax) a bigger story than it really is. Read all about it in Forward's "A Jewish baseball event so rare it has only ever happened three times before."

5.(I) Should Have Known Better

There are parenting fails and then there are parenting fails. News that a 4-year-old accidentally smashed a Bronze Age jar in an Israeli museum made me cringe - and I have no connection to the child or place.

"The ancient artifact, which experts say was at least 3,500 years old, was on display without a glass case near the institution’s entrance at the time of the incident. In a statement emailed to CNN on Wednesday, the Hecht Museum defended its decision to present certain objects without protective glass, adding that its founder Reuben Hecht had emphasized making artifacts accessible to the public."

6.Ask Me Why

I had to make it six Beatles song titles in a row, that's why. "Cinnamon has many uses in the kitchen, in both sweet and savory dishes. It is widely used to flavor all kinds of cakes, cookies, bread (especially toast), puddings, pies, fruits, and drinks. Cinnamon appears in numerous Jewish dishes, from Ashkenazi honey cakes, sweet fritters, auflaufs (souffles), and kugels, to Sephardic vegetable stews—usually with eggplant or pumpkin—and honey-soaked cakes and pastries like tishpisti, travados, and baklava."

For more on the spice everyone loves, check out this Tablet Magazine article and the recipes below.

For Your Calendar

Through September 2

"Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away."

For its regional premiere, the most comprehensive exhibition ever presented on Auschwitz is coming to Boston and The Saunders Castle. The exhibition features more than 700 artifacts of immense value to world history and all of humanity.

Tickets at The Castle at Park Plaza