Mourning Jewish Martyrs in Pittsburgh
Last Sunday, watching a color guard move solemnly down the aisle of Pittsburgh’s Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall, I reflected on the significance of mourning Jewish martyrs, killed in synagogue on a Shabbat morning in these United States.
I would like to focus my remarks this evening on a passage that stands at the very center of the Yom Kippur service—one that has been on my mind even more than usual as I approached this High Holiday season, my last as the chancellor of JTS.
Director, PGIM Real Estate, New Jersey
Most of the year, Lisa Mamaysky works at PGIM Real Estate in New Jersey. But come summer, she pulls out her shorts and sneakers and heads to Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, where she and her husband, Isaac, run Camp Zeke, a Jewish overnight camp focused on celebrating healthy, active living through fitness, sports, cooking, and gourmet food.
Director of Jewish Engagement & Adult Programs, St. Louis Jewish Community Center;
Co-Founder and Co-Director of Songleader Bootcamp
“I keep the J in the JCC,” says Rabbi Brad Horwitz, director of Jewish Engagement and Adult Programs at the St. Louis Jewish Community Center (the J). With over 12,000 members and one million touch points per year, Horwitz jokes that he has the largest “congregation” in the city.
Senior Rabbi, B’nai Torah Congregation, Boca Raton, Florida
For Rabbi David Steinhardt, social justice is one of the most powerful ways to inspire the next generation. “The future of Judaism demands that we translate the tradition’s values into a calling that resonates with young people” says Steinhardt, rabbi of B’nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton, Florida, which has over 1,400 families.
Music Director, Congregation Beth Sholom, Teaneck, NJ
“I was a public school kid who hated Hebrew school,” says Cantor Ronit Wolff Hanan, “but I later discovered that Jewish knowledge and spirit can be nurtured through the arts, not just in a traditional educational setting. Music provided me with the path to reconnect to my Judaism in a powerful way.”
Operations Manager—ELNET-Israel; Former Spokeswoman, Israel Defense Forces
“As soon as I decided to make Israel my home, I joined the army, because that is where I felt I could make a difference for the state.” In her previous work as a spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces, Lt. Tamara Epelbaum was responsible for the development and execution of the IDF’s media strategy for international audiences, including dozens of leading news outlets all over the world.
Head of Charles E. Smith Day School of Greater Washington DC
Rabbi Mitchel Malkus says that attending a Jewish day school strengthened not only his Jewish identity but that of his family. “My parents became involved in leadership at the school, and they started advancing their own Jewish education because of it,” recalls Malkus. “That’s why I do this work, because I believe it’s the most significant Jewish educational endeavor that exists in the United States.”
