Page 32 - Jewish News_August-2020

32 August 2020 COMMENTARY

On my mind

By Joel Kreiss
s an atheist studying Torah, I slaved people for 430 years. Prior to heard of any. Certainly, they were not an “A” and entered into a business
wonder if that fact gives me an that they were a tribal nomadic people worldly, not having traveled to other arrangement with the Church called
Aadvantage. Perhaps it allows who somehow ended up in Egypt, countries and cultures. “The Divine Right of Kings” (and less-
me to interpret the Torah a bit differ- prospered, enslaved and finally set free So now we have the Exodus, and er Aristocrats). All people were now,
ently, I really don’t know, but as a re- as written in Exodus. Those 430 years we know about that, which brings us ipso facto, subjects of this group and
sult, and after decades of study, I was were as either slaves or something oth- to Leviticus – an important section existed only for their welfare and bet-
suddenly struck by the similarities and er, but not free Egyptians. They were because in this chapter we became terment. Good deal for the haves, not
parallels of the Jewish and our Found- these “others” with no base or cultural the Jewish People. Out of nothing re- so good for the others. This went on for
ing Fathers’ experience. Let me try to identity save for that which they de- ally, a code of behavior, laws, gov- quite a long time, with the Jew being
explain it as I see it. veloped in Egypt. There were no laws, ernment structure and a religion were a good foil to keep order and atten-
The Jewish experience briefly: As separate government or moral code invented and put into practice. To me, tion from these Aristocrats and Church
we know it, our ancestors were an en- that we know of. At least I have never that is what is amazing, and what has muck-a-mucks. But I digress.
captivated me. There was nothing like These Founding Fathers “invent-
what they developed. Suddenly, with ed” a form of government totally dif-
AFTER THE came up with a cultural system unlike system was going to be created around
AFTER THE
ferent from anything prior. This new
no seeming model to guide them, they
the concept that government was re-
any other anywhere in the world. Cer-
tainly, the autocratic hereditary succes-
sponsible to the people and working
sion of unquestioning authority was
for the good of people. It was to be a
CURTAIN
CURT AIN all they experienced and knew. I have “People’s Government” of, by and for
been reminded that there were some
the people. And it was! We are still liv-
cultures that had a more advanced sys-
ing with that system and it, like our
Judaism, has spawned countless other
tem, but I am sure this was unknown to
HAS CLOSED them at that time. religions and governments throughout
HAS CL
OSED
So for about 5,800 or so years we
the world.
They are, and have been, the nu-
have lived and followed, as best we
cleus around which improvements can
could, this model. We have studied
texts, amended, interpreted and turned
tion, rather than the sole purview of a
ourselves upside down trying to under- be made for the betterment of civiliza-
stand them, but they are still with us few dominating all for their own selfish
and we are still, in many ways, living ends.
We study, debate, amend, tweet
You can still watch by them. That’s pretty amazing! and argue the pros and cons of each,
Our country has the same story to
many of our programs at tell. For, out of nothing, our Founding and only because we have those sys-
tems in place can we do all the above.
Fathers developed a system of govern-
JFEDSRQ.org/ProgramRecordings ment totally different from anything It’s a never-ending experiment, excit-
ecordings
.org/ProgramR
JFEDSRQ
before. The history governance at that
ing, frustrating and challenging, with
time was ruling under an authoritarian no end in sight, and that is good. And
umbrella of the Church and the power that’s why I like being Jewish!
group called the aristocracy. The aris- Joel Kreiss is a past president of the
tocracy decided to make the “a” into Jewish Congregation of Venice.
280 kosher characters
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March 2019 - Adar 5779 www.jfedsrq.org Volume 49, Number 3
Building and planning for a
vibrant Jewish future…together!
needs to the architects who will create
drawings and accompanying budgets.
members sitting on these committees.
The construction work will be per-
ing, etc. In order to accomplish all the
formed in phases, with the first three
work that needs to be done, the utiliza-
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Staff report planning for our Larry Greenspon Fam- theater, security, kitchens and cater- In all, there are over 70 community
tion committee has been broken down
e know that many of you
into four sub-committees, which report
phases taking precedence:
Phase 1 will address infrastructure
needs, including access for emergency
are eager for a ‘behind the
11 Community Focus
their findings back to the overall group.
18 Jewish Happenings
33 Israel & the Jewish World Wscenes’ look at what we are
vehicles and additional parking.
Phase 2 will be the renovation of
Youth and Family Programming
Those sub-committees are:
the existing recreation and teen center
28 Jewish Interest
ily Campus for Jewish Life. Our staff
areas) for the needs of Community Day
vendors and potential campus partners
Outdoor/Sports Facilities
School, which will relocate to our cam-
34 Commentary
to discover all our options for creating a
Meeting Space
vibrant Jewish campus: sports and well-
These sub-committees have been
Phase 3 will be the renovation and
Israel and Holocaust
37 Focus on Youth
‹
ness, summer day camp, culinary arts
meeting regularly to discuss how to
pus in June 2021.
expansion of the Flanzer-Weinberg
best use the space for current and fu-
and so much more. Though this campus
39 Life Cycle and leadership are busy meeting with ‹ ‹ Performing Arts, Event and buildings (gymnasium and surrounding THA T’S FIT TO PRINT!
‹
ture programs, and what kind of space
continued on page 2
plan is still a work in progress, we are
excited to share some details with you!
is required; conducting research on
MARCH
We have a well-established utili-
similar spaces in other cities; meeting
with professionals; and conveying their
Meet the dynamic duos behind
Black and Randon Carvel, which con-
sists of members of the community and
2 zation committee, co-chaired by Ian 16-21
Federation board members who have
Building Our Future…Together!
Hershorin Schiff Community backgrounds in construction, building,
By Su Byron 201 5
Day School leaders power
vision for the future
he Larry Greenspon Family
Campus for Jewish Life pres-
Lion of Judah & Pomegranate Tents an innovative and exciting
eration is the heart of our Jewish com- hope everyone will take ownership in
opportunity to take our community to
6
Ben & Stacy Hanan, Tom & Karen Bernstein, Patti & David Wertheimer, Julie & Josh Green
a new level of programming and en-
The Jewish Federation’s
gagement. To help fund this monumen-
tal initiative, four couples have come
Ben and Stacy Hanan are excited
New Torah dedication ANNUAL
together to launch a capital campaign:
to leave a legacy for future generations
Building Our Future…Together! We
Luncheon
its future.”
shine a spotlight on them in this piece.
munity and we believe in its mission,”
of Jews in our community. “The idea of
Tom and Karen Bernstein are
a campus for Jewish life energizes us,”
says Ben. “Stacy grew up in a commu-
says Josh. “The most exciting part of
enthused about spreading the word
this campaign is that we are building a
nity with a very vibrant JCC. Although
about the project. Tom, who is also a
center for the future of the Jewish com-
this won’t be a JCC, it will provide a
Federation board member, says he is
munity that will have a generational
16
place for all things Jewish. There are
positively passionate about describing
impact.” Julie, who serves on the Fed-
Building Our Future…Together! to
so many exciting opportunities that
prospective investors. “It will become
eration’s board, adds that the initia-
come along with this.” Stacy agrees.
the cornerstone of the Jewish commu-
“The new campus will serve as a con-
tive, “will bring the mission to a higher
Jewish life, provide for those in need
at Congregation Kol
and promote Israel. In order to keep
continued on page 2
Day School on campus.” Karen says
HaNeshama
that, as residents of the region for 25
up with changing times and fulfill our
years, they’re thrilled to be part of a
vision for a vibrant campus for Jewish
project that will enhance the region for
t Watch
▼ Watch
life, this campaign is necessary. We
Battery
Battery
& Bands
generations to come.
& Bands
Josh and Julie Green say they
were honored to be asked to spearhead
t Pearl
▼ Pearl
such an important project. “The Fed-
38 nity, especially with the Community level, offering even more to strengthen sistent reminder of the importance of
▼ Fine
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@ Main Street (across from Hollywood 11) @ Jacaranda Public Library @ Palmetto Library • Davidson’s Drugs, South Siesta Key
@ Medical Arts Building @ Jewish Congregation of Venice @ Publix at LWR Shopping Center
Its
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Our Community Shows Us Jewish
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@ Nellie’s Deli @ Venice Community Center @ San Marco Plaza Pride
See more on page 18
@ Osprey & Hillview @ Venice Public Library @ Temple Beth El Bradenton
@ Palm Aire Clubhouse @ Venice YMCA @ The Al Katz Center Celebrating Jewish Life in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Israel and the World
P U B L I S H E D B Y
@ Plymouth Harbor @ The Family Jeweler FEDERATION NEWS 50 The Jewish
Federation
OF SARASOTA-MANATEE
We suggest contacting the location nearest you to know if it is open. Celebrating Years THE LARRY & MARY GREENSPON
Your community. Your newspaper. Your Jewish News. July 2020 - Tammuz/Av 5780 www.jfedsrq.org Volume 50, Number 6
FAMILY CAMPUS FOR JEWISH LIFE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Federation moves quickly in response
Would you rather get your copy by mail? 13 Community Focus to Coronavirus crisis stepped up our regular weekly eblast to
twice a week in an effort to keep our
32 Israel & the Jewish World TheJewishNews.org
demic. We were also still in our event
isolated community connected. There
is a lot of collaboration between these
season, so I also had concerns about
By Gayle Guynup
21 Jewish Happenings
how we would continue to provide pro-
two teams and that has been one of our
s we moved through February
and into March, the Coronavi-
26 Jewish Interest
.
keys to success,” Adler said.
gramming virtually,” she said.
“Our programming team took im-
Program Director Trudi Krames
Arus global pandemic reached
Contact 941.371.4546 x 0 34 Commentary its invisible tentacles across the globe mediate steps to connect with our na- and the team began pivoting its pro-
tional organizations, such as The Jewish
– from China, into Europe and the
gramming in mid-March, when it was
Federations of North America, and
United States – and our lives changed.
37 Focus on Youth
Words like social distancing became
other Federations and JCCs to share
part of our daily lexicon as we locked
39 Life Cycle
our doors and watched the daily num-
Locally, it could not have come
ber of cases rise.
at a worse time, at the start of high
season on the Gulf Coast. Social
one after another, and the tourists
8 and cultural events were cancelled,
A changing of the guard for our that annually flock to our shores Federation staff adapted quickly to working from home and communicating via Zoom
were absent, leaving an economic
mark that we are still feeling today.
Federation LIFE & LEGACY™ team
The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-
apparent they were going to have to
Manatee stepped up in response to
this unprecedented crisis, finding in-
and glean resources and alternatives
novative and out-of-the-box ways
Looking for something to do in your spare time? Visit jfedsrq.org/volunteers adapt the Jewish Film Festival to the Published by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee • www.jfedsrq.org
“We didn’t want to just abandon
to pivot toward a “new normal.”
for virtual programs. Our communica-
new reality.
tions team definitely rose to the chal-
the whole festival because we weren’t
As the Coronavirus crisis unfolded,
Federation Chief Operating Officer
lenge, quickly creating a resource page
going to be able to see the films in
Kim Adler said her immediate con-
on our website for Coronavirus news,
continued on page 2
11
ed in a work-from-home environment,
Jewish partners and more. They also
Baking challah for a cause cerns were “keeping our team motivat- Jewish programming, links to our local
Joint statement from Federation
technology hurdles and the lack of any
at Gulf Coast Hillel playbook for operating during a pan- work together for the enhancement of
Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
from this difficult period with a re-
The Federation and Community
newed sense of purpose and dedication
n September 2018, The Jewish
Day have carefully considered the toll
to the Jewish community.
13 and Community Day School Jewish life and identity, and to emerge
Federation of Sarasota-Manatee
The need for and importance of a
of this pandemic on both of our orga-
programming in response Iand Hershorin Schiff Community nizations, and on our entire commu- Jewish day school in Sarasota-Man-
Jewish agencies pivot their
atee remain unchanged. Community
Day School entered into a lease for a
nity. In the midst of such challenging
new school building on The Larry &
Day School will continue to operate
and uncertain times, it is not possible to
at its current location on the Temple
proceed with the Campus development
Mary Greenspon Family Campus for
to Coronavirus pandemic
project as planned. Accordingly, the
Beth Sholom Campus for the 2020-21
Jewish Life. Together, we began work-
school year while exploring options for
ing on plans for the construction of a
Federation and Community Day School
We know that the community
Community Day that would include
will not move onto the Campus.
While the Federation and Com-
classrooms, a chapel, art spaces, a kib-
will share our mutual disappointment.
butz-style garden, athletic fields and
munity Day School will not share a
However, we also know that our com-
munity is resilient and steadfast. We
more. To finance the development of
campus, we remain committed to our
38 state-of-the-art learning facility for will terminate their lease, and the school future expansion.
panding Jewish educational opportu-
nization in any way you can, and join
Temple Emanu-El Religious the school buildings and the renovation aligned Jewish values, including ex- hope that you will support each orga-
and expansion of other Campus facili-
ties, the Federation undertook a vig-
nities for the more than 3,000 Jewish
School ends year with spirit
us in strengthening the Federation and
PAID POLITICAL
forward to collaborating on long-term
goal: to make the Campus a center for
ADVERTISEMENT orous Capital Campaign. Our shared children in Sarasota-Manatee. We look Community Day School for genera-
lifelong Jewish learning. Our plans
options that will enable the Federation
tions to come.
and the school to continue to thrive, to
DISCLAIMER
were proceeding well, with Communi-
This issue of The Jewish News contains paid ty Day School scheduled to move onto
political advertisements. The ads do not
reflect the views of, or serve as endorsement the Federation Campus in July 2021.
by, the staff or leadership of The Jewish
Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.
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