the tulsa jewish reviewthe most universally observed holiday ritual among jews. the passover meal is...
TRANSCRIPT
The Tulsa Jewish Review
JewishTulsa.org
March 2010 • Adar 5770Volume 81, Number 3
Jews andFoodThe GalvestonCONNECTIONOCCJ InterfaIth trIalOgue
fIner WIns advIsOr Of the Year
Festival Israel April 25th
Founded in 1930 by Tulsa Section, National Council of Jewish Women • Published by the Jewish Federation of Tulsa
Dear Friends,While my family and I are looking forward to Passover and Fes-
tival Israel, we realize our time in Tulsa is coming to a close. Soon, Tulsa will be welcoming a new Shaliach (or Schlicha) and we’ll be on our way back to Israel.
It’s hard to believe that when we arrived four years ago, our daughters spoke next to no English. Now, Yuval speaks like a US native and Peleg (Salomon Bloch BBG’s newest Gizbarit) is taking Speech and Debate. Can you imagine your child taking Speech and Debate in Hebrew after four years in Israel?
Through our daughters activties in Midrasha, Temple Israel and Congregation B’nai Emunah, we’ve met some wonderful teens. We feel like they’re part of our family. And we’re excited to know we’re going to have at least two visitors from Tulsa — young women who are studying in Israel next year. They’ve already informed us
they’re going to make our home their home, at least on weekends and holidays. We hope that they are just the first of many from Tulsa who will visit.
Festival Israel April 25thThis will be my last Festival Israel, and I think perhaps the best
I’ve been involved with. Many thanks go to Michele Sotkin who has chaired the event over the last four years, and many thanks also to Jeff Bonem who is chairing this year.
As always, Festival Israel will be filled with the sights, sounds and tastes of Israel. Look for new exhibits and new kids’ activities, as well as classes and demonstrations by Israeli Chefs.
The only thing that could make this event any better is your participation. If you haven’t volunteered yet, please call the Jewish Federation of Tulsa at 495-1100.
Itai Lavi
IsrAelI AId group opens chIld center In hAItI
We’d like to thank donors who, through the Jewish Federa-tion of Tulsa, have to date donated over $18,000 to bring emer-gency aid to victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti.
The funds donated to the JFT are being administered by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). The JDC has raised $5.25 million to date, both from Federation do-nors and its own fundraising efforts.
We’re continuing to accept donations, 100% of which go directly to the relief effort. Your help is still desperately needed.Send your payments to:haiti relief Fund • Jewish Federation of tulsa, 2021 E. 71st St., Tulsa, OK 74136 or call 918-495-1100.
FederAtIon Fund For hAItI
JERUSALEM (JTA) An Israeli aid agency has established a child education center in a refugee camp in Haiti.
IsraAID partnered with local aid agencies to open the center in the Petionville Refugee Camp, the largest refugee camp in Port-au-Prince, on the site of a former golf course.
The camp has 60,000 Haitians living under the patronage of the American ambassador. The Israeli team has provided medical post-trauma treatment to thousands of refugees in the camp.
The child education center is operating in tents donated by the Israel Defense Forces. Activities such as teaching, music, sports and earthquake readiness training are being held for children living in the camp.
IsraAID is expected to open additional centers at other refu-gee sites.
The IsraAID missions to Haiti are funded by the American Jewish Committee and UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, B’nai B’rith International and the Jewish Federation of Metro-politan Chicago, as well as a number of other Jewish federa-tions, including Los Angeles, Cleveland, St. Louis, San Fran-cisco, New York and Miami.
Photo by United N
ations Developm
ent Programm
e used under Creative C
omm
ons
shAlIAch report
(ISSN # 1521-5482) is published monthly by the Jewish Federation of Tulsa
2021 E. 71st St., Tulsa, OK 74136.Periodicals Postage Paid at Tulsa, OK
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:Jewish Federation of Tulsa, 2021 E. 71st St., Tulsa, OK 74136
BarrY a. aBelsExecutive Director
davId BernsteInDirector, Community Relations
JasOn BrImerEditor
marCIa WeInsteInAdvertising [email protected]
918-746-0478
COntrIBute tOdaY tO a Jft fund!
charlotte Miller March of the living Fund
Scholarships for March of the Living trips to Auschwitz and Israel
JFt Building Facility endowment Fund
Enables enhancements and capital improvements to Center Building
david Finer BBYoscholarship Fund
Helps cover the cost of special conferences for B’nai B’rith Youth
“Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” — Howard Zinn
The Tulsa Jewish Review
The Mission of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa is to preserve and enhance Jewish life and well-being in Eastern Oklahoma, Israel, and the entire world.
to submit story Ideas, letters and Opinions
to the editor:Jason Brimer918.852.3838
www.JewishTulsa.orgThe Food IssueBarrY aBelsEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,JEWISH FEDERATION OF TULSA
Food. It is a Jewish thing. Whether it’s Sephardic, Ashkenazi, Moroccan - or any number of other influences - food plays a very huge role in our culture.
From a faith perspective, we have Kashrut laws, the blessings before eating, grace after a meal, as well as various blessings for eating anything. This places the act of eating on a special plane. Food is more than just sustenance and enjoyment; it is about sanctification of a life that was taken to support our own and about making something that might be considered mundane, holy.
From a cultural perspective, food is almost synonymous with being Jewish. Who doesn’t extol the virtues of Jewish chicken soup to cure all ills? And everyone’s bubbe made the world’s best (you fill in the blank). Food surrounds us and fills us with joy.
More than likely, you’re in the early stages of gearing up for Passover. Surveys of the observant and the non-observant consistently show that the Passover Seder is the most universally observed holiday ritual among Jews. The Passover meal is a true point of Jewish identification.
Food is an important aspect of what happens here at the CSJCC. With Purim cel-ebrations, Museum galas, Festival Israel, B’nai Mitzvah parties and other events, our kitchen is seeing an increased amount of activity.
While the kitchen facility itself is in good order, we need to upgrade and resupply our cookware — utensils, pans, food processors and cutlery. Jeff Bonem, a volunteer from our board, is inventorying our kitchen equipment and determining what it will take to bring us up to speed.
We’re also looking for volunteers to act as kitchen mavens who can help oth-ers use the kitchen properly. If you would like to help with this project, call or email Mindy at 918-495-1100 or [email protected]. We want to see our kitchen, like any good Jewish kitchen, fully stocked, ready for lots of naches, and the hub of culinary delight.
Thank You to the Mizel FamilyThank you to the Mizel Family for underwriting the 2010 Jewish United Fund
Campaign Opening Dinner.The Federation appreciates their many years of support, ensuring that anyone from the
community is able to attend this important event.Dinner attendees gave generously with increases in their pledges ranging from 5 to
10% when compared with last year. Over $23,000 dollars were raised that night, making for a strong opening to the 2010 Annual Campaign. Mazel Tov Zella Borg
Zella Borg, long-time community member, was honored last month at Temple Israel with the Queen Esther Award. The Queen Esther Award is presented annually in recognition of service to the Sisterhood, Temple Israel and the community. Become a Fan of JewishTulsa: The Tulsa Jewish Review
Dial up the JewishTulsa: The Tulsa Jewish Review fan page on Facebook, and you’ll find photos, links and briefs about upcoming stories. Use the Discussion tab to start a thread about happenings in the Tulsa Jewish Community, or leave a comment on our Wall. Become our Facebook Fan today.
2 JewishTulsa
The Jewish sections of Oklahoma’s seven largest cemeteries now join over 2,500 other cemeteries in the Jewish Online World-wide Burial Registry (JOWBR). With over 1.3 million records, the JOWBR offers visitors searchable information and photos of gravestones from 45 countries.
Photographing all of the Jewish headstones at Rose Hill in Tulsa, Rest Haven in Ponca City, Greenhill in Muskogee, Mt. Zion
in Ardmore, and Temple B’nai Israel Memorial, Emanuel Hebrew and Fairlawn in Oklahoma City was quite an undertaking accord-ing to Phil Goldfarb, President of the Genealogy Society for Tulsa. Goldfarb especially noted the hard work and dedication of Debra Wolraich, Genealogy Society member and coordinator for the Oklahoma City area. The link to view the gravestones is: www.jewishgen.org/databases/Cemetery/.
Super Sunday, played this year at the CSJCC on Feb-ruary 7th, was a blowout. Eric Cohn, playing for Hillel of Northeast Oklahoma, and new draft pick Stephanie Singer coached over 70 team members through a vari-ety of plays, including phone calling, bookkeeping and cheerleading. BBYO runners kept the action going on the playing field.
The crowd roared as students from the Mizel Jewish Community Day School did a handoff of tzedakah mon-ey they’d saved during the whole year. Their donation was split between the Annual Campaign and the Haiti Relief Campaign.
From a fundraising standpoint, the event was a touch-down, scoring over $63,000 in about the same amount of time it took New Orleans to beat Indiana.
Above: Klara Bode calls an audible.On the right: Mizel students make a great play!
OKlahOma JeWIsh gravestOnes OnlIne
YOung artIsts COmpetItIOnThe Oklahoma Israel Exchange (OKIE) presents the closing
recital of its 2010 Young Artists Competition on Saturday, April 10th, at 8 p.m. in the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Liddy Doeng-es Theatre. Along with the 2009 and 2010 Young Artists Competi-tion winners the concert will feature renowned guest musicians Yossi Arnheim, Principal Flutist of the Israel Philharmonic, and Irit Rub, widely held to be one of Israel’s finest pianists. Arnheim will perform a prelude on Middle Eastern and Israeli themes and the Bizet/Borne Carmen Fantasy with Rub accompanying him on the piano.
The concert culminates a statewide competition for pianists 21 to 28 years old who are currently enrolled in or have gradu-ated from an Oklahoma institution of higher education. This year’s competition will be April 9th and 10th at University of Tulsa. The 2010 winner will be announced and will perform at
the Saturday concert.The Young Artists Competition is a project of OKIE in col-
laboration with the University of Tulsa, the Jewish Federations of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Blumenthal Music Center of Tel Aviv, and The Tulsa Global Alliance. Additional support is provided by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foun-dation, Kerr Foundation, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust, Oklahoma Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. OKIE’s mission is to develop joint projects between the States of Oklahoma and Israel in the areas of commerce, cul-ture, agriculture, and education.
Tickets for the concert are $15 for adults and $5 for students. All events are open to the public. For concert tickets call the Tulsa PAC ticket office at 918-596-7111, visit a Tulsa Reasor’s store or www.myticketoffice.com.
BY JASON GORDON, GOLD COAST REGIONAs has been tradition at past International Conventions, Matt
Grossman, on behalf of BBYO, presented the Annual Advisor of the Year Award—this year to David Finer of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Finer, an honorary district 7 Aleph Godol, who during his BBYO career as a teen, battled cancer, graciously received the award which is known as the “David Bittker Unsung Hero Award” after a prelude speech by board member and sister Judith Finer
Freedman. After an emotional and eloquent speech about his service in the Tulsa community, and the importance of the award, the entire room stood and cheered as David walked down from the podium. Following this presentation was a video slideshow of the last year in international BBYO history and a dance.
Congratulations David! To see David accept his award go to: http://bbyoicblog.org/david-finer-wins-advisor-of-the-year-award/
Anncharlene Dresner, 64, a Jewish Community Center direc-tor for many years, passed away Jan. 26, 2010, after a long illness. Anncharlene was born and raised in Bangor, Maine. She gradu-ated University of Maine and went on to receive a master’s degree in social work from Boston University and a second master’s de-
gree from Hebrew Union College in California. Dresner was the Director of the the Tulsa Jewish Community Center from 1973 through 1976. Graveside services were held February 1st, at Beth Israel Cemetery, Bangor.
fIner WIns advIsOr Of the Year
annCharlene dresner
As Rabbi Sherman pointed out at the opening of the 21st annual Joint Board Institute, Jewish Tulsans are active lay leaders in our community, with over 161 board members mak-ing up seven boards. The February 11th Joint Board Institute, facilitated by Carol Weisman, was an opportu-nity for the over 70 of those board members to learn how to be effective leaders and to become “fundraising superheroes.”
Board members representing the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, the Sher-win Miller Museum of Jewish Art, Mizel Jewish Community Day School, the Tulsa Jewish Retirement and Health Care Center, Temple Israel, Congregation B’nai Emunah and Hillel were guided through a series of exercises by Weisman, who works with non-profit boards around the country. Weisman gave advice on board skills, fundraising techniques and the respon-sibilities (and limits) of being a good board member.
JOInt BOard InstItute
PANEL PRESENTATION AND COMMUNITY READING FEATURING
“The Inextinguishable Symphony” BY MARTIN GOLDSMITHMonday, March 22 • 7 p.m.Jewish Federation of Tulsa Zarrow Campus, Sylvan Auditorium • 2021 E. 71st St.Panel discussion moderated by Dr. Jacob Howland, philosophy professor, University of Tulsa. Copies of the book will be available for checkout through the Tulsa City-County Library.
SAVE THE DATE2010 Interfaith Holocaust Commemoration“Captive Melodies: Musical Voices From the Holocaust”Thursday, May 6 • 7 p.m. • Temple Israel * 2004 E. 22nd Place
Sponsored by the Council for Holocaust Education of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, in partnership with the Tulsa City-County Library and other community organizations.
For the past 27 years, The Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice has brought together Tulsans of various faiths for the annual Interfaith Trialogue. The series seeks to tackle tough issues in a way that helps us live together with our deepest differences.
“The views expressed are sometimes deeply unsettling, and it feels healthy to confront our differences and to expose ourselves to views that are powerfully divergent,” says Rabbi Marc Boone Fitzerman. “It’s a never-ending conversation. Over and over again, it’s honest conversations on some of the most difficult issues in society. It’s a fearless project. The topics we have engaged in the past quarter of a century reflect that – violence, immigration, the relationship between religion and state.”
Over the years, a broad variety of themes have been addressed. Sheryl Siddiqui, director of Community Relations and American Outreach for the Islamic Society of Tulsa says, “Religion is one
of the things that could bring us together, but it also divides us. OCCJ helps address the ills of our community in our interper-sonal relationships.”
The Rev. Dr. Bill Crowell, associate minister at Boston Avenue United Methodist Church and chair of the series for the 4th con-secutive year, says of the planning committee, “We’re reaching out to the young population and young professionals, to involve them more.”
The third in a series of Trialogue events, Creating Strong Youth Communities of Faith: What Works? What Doesn’t? will be held on March 7 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Peace Academy, 4620 S. Irvington. Featured speakers are Ken Coughlin, Bishop Kelley High School; David Finer, B’nai B’rith Youth Organization; and Audra Fogle, Boston Avenue United Methodist Church.
OCCJ InterfaIth trIalOgue
Carol Weisman transforms ordinary people into “Fundraising Superheroes!”
Michael Knigin: Remembrance 2000Commemorating the dead and living heroes of the Holocaust.
On display at the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art
4 JewishTulsa
In the early 1900s, philanthropist Jacob Schiff and others created the Galveston Immigration Plan, which was intended to settle Jews away from the poverty and anti-Semitism of the East Coast ghettos—especially the Lower East side, where two-thirds of the country’s Jews lived. The Jewish Immigrant Infor-mation Bureau (JIIB) was formed as a branch of the Industrial Removal Organization, which had been established to divert Jewish immigrants to smaller Jewish communities by receiving them in Galveston and sending them on to towns and cities throughout the U.S. These and other organizations distributed pamphlets aimed at convincing Russian Jews to come to the U.S. via Germany, entering at the port of Galveston instead of New York City. Once in Texas, the JIIB cared for them, gave these immigrants money, and dispersed them.
This was the story of many JewishTulsans, including Bessie Fedman Blend, mother of Gertrude (Gete) Weisman and Rose Schlanger. Bessie was from a shtetl west of Kiev called Khodor-kov. Bessie’s passport was not her own. It was bought from a non-Jewish neighbor whose daughter had died. Bessie traveled steerage on the ship La Reine to Galveston. She was sixteen, and she was beautiful. Bessie and her dear friend Sophie were approached by a Jewish man speaking Yiddish who offered to show them around Galveston before their train departed. The girls had just accepted his offer when some members of the National Council of Jewish Women intervened. Apparently the man had intended to sell them into prostitution. The NCJW rescued the girls and escorted them to their train to Omaha, which was their destination.
Reportedly, Harry Fadem was on the same ship as Bessie, as was Oscar Stavinsky. Harry, grandfather of Bruce and Lloyd Fadem, arrived around 1904 and moved to St. Louis, where
he worked in a successful tailor shop. He then moved with his family to Arkansas, where they encountered a great deal of anti-Semitism. After six difficult years, they moved to Tulsa, which at the time had only one other Jewish tailor. Oscar Stav-insky also became a tailor in Tulsa.
Samuel J. Singer (Shmilik Zagranichny) and Morris Singer (Schnir Zalman Zagranichny)—the father and the uncle, re-spectively, of Alex Singer—came from Korostyshiv, a shtetl west of Kiev, just 34 kilometers from Bessie Blend’s village. Morris came through Galveston in 1905, Samuel followed two years later. In 1921, Morris returned to Rovno, Poland, where his mother had fled after a pogrom, in order to escort her to America.
David Rich’s grandfather, Samuel Toplitsky, had lived in the Crimean Peninsula in Russia (present day Ukraine). The Cos-sacks would come through the village and cart off young men to fight in the army. Jewish families conspired to send their young men out of Russia to avoid conscription, which could be extended for a lifetime and in which Jewish religious ob-servance was nearly impossible. Samuel Toplitsky, unable to get a visa to the U.S., instead got a visa to Cuba. From Cuba he obtained a visa to the U.S. and came in through the port of Galveston. Samuel did not like the taste of the water in Galves-ton, so he went to Houston. Although he knew little English, he was a skilled cabinetmaker and so was able to get work building railroad cars. He saved up his money, and after nearly ten years, sent for his family. He had never seen his youngest son because his wife had been pregnant when he left. By then Samuel had saved enough money to bring his family over first class. But the Russian Revolution had started, and his family endured many hardships (such as escaping marauding Cos-
The Galveston Connectionby Jennifer Howland
sacks who shot at them) in order to make it to their ship for the transatlantic voyage. The first time Samuel’s wife, Fannie, and her three children—including Tillie, David’s mother—ever saw a banana was when they arrived in the U.S. via Ellis Island. From New York they made their way to Houston, where Samu-el had become a furniture restorer.
There were other stories about bananas. Steven Dow’s pa-ternal grandmother, Lily Rosenbaum, left Kishinev in Russia (present-day Chisinau, capital of Moldova) as a young girl after the Kishinev pogroms in 1903 and 1905. When she got off the ship at Galveston, she was offered a banana by a native Texan. But Lily’s mother had never seen or tasted a banana and wouldn’t let Lily eat it because she feared it was treif. Steven’s grandfather, Harry Yedidowitz, came in through Galveston around 1903. He was a tailor at a men’s clothing store in Hous-ton. The salesmen had a hard time pronouncing his name and began calling him Dow.
Abe M. Mehl, grandfather of Stephen Zeligson, came from Lithuania with his family and landed in Galveston around 1900. They settled in Fort Worth and opened a shoe store. His brother B. Max Mehl became an extremely successful and fa-mous numismatist. Abe was in the stamp business for a while, and the family became big in retail shoes. Abe had four sons and one daughter, Ethel, who was Steve’s mother.
Harry Matles, father of Sid Matles and father-in-law of Don-na, came from Russia when he was about 16 years old, through the port of Galveston. He made part of the journey to Pawhus-ka using a hand railroad car. Harry worked for Ike Schuman, who had a store in Pawhuska. For every $2 Harry earned, he took $1 to the bank to send to his mother back in Russia. When bank founder, Harris Brenner, heard that Harry was sav-ing his money for his mother, he said in Yiddish, “What a good boy!” He became Harry’s patron and offered to match every dollar Harry saved. Harry spoke Russian, Yiddish, and Osage before he ever learned English. He went into women’s apparel and sold clothing to the Osage. His store, The Pioneer Store, was located in Hominy. Harry and his wife adopted Osage chil-dren, in addition to having Sid. When Sid was born, the Osage gave him a headdress and a blanket as part of his birthright in honor of his father.
Jay Weinstein’s great-grandfather, Louis Weinstein, whose name was not originally Weinstein, settled in Galveston, though recollections differ as to whether he first went through New York. According to one story, when a ship arrived, the passengers would first be visited on board by Jewish women who often brought food and supplies. These women spoke Yiddish and acted as translators for the government workers. One of the women gave a banana to Louis, which he ate whole because no one had told him to peel it. Not surprisingly, he did not like the taste. The customs officers allowed the passengers to debark only if they had a sponsor; otherwise, they would be sent back. Louis was frightened because he did not have a sponsor. When the government workers began calling out the names of the people who had sponsors, one of the first names they called out was “Weinstein.” When no one immediately responded, Louis raised his hand and walked off the boat. He called himself Weinstein for the rest of his life. Only very late in his life did he tell his family that his name was not actually Weinstein.
Nathan Dundee (originally Donde), grandfather of Gary Dundee, came through Galveston around 1913 from Rezekne in eastern Latvia, which at the time was called Rezhitsa and
was part of Russia. His brother, Hymie, had come over earlier, and brother Berel, the father of Alvin Dundee, came over later. When Hymie travelled back to Latvia in 1930, his mother told him to take Alvin (originally Judel Donde) and his sister Sylvia back with him to the U.S. All of them came through the port of Galveston. Alvin Dundee was the father of Janet Dundee, Shirley Burger, and Michael Dundee. Alvin’s father had a tailor shop in downtown Tulsa, and his brother was a tailor as well.
Pearl Gordon, whose maiden name was Finkelstein, fol-lowed her father from Poland when she was 7 or 8 years old. Then six or seven other children came over before, finally, her mother was able to come. All of them arrived through the port of Galveston. Pearl took a train to Bristow when she arrived, and she grew up there and in the Sapulpa area. She married Phil Gordon, who owned a pawn shop in Tulsa, when she was 16 years old. She was the first Jewish woman in Tulsa to have her own dress shop. Unbeknownst to Phil, Pearl got involved in real estate and started building homes. He was unaware of his wife’s entrepreneurship until Pearl had accumulated quite a bit of money.
Others who came through Galveston include the following: Sam Kantor, grandfather of Jon Kantor; Abraham and Lena Gordon, grandparents of Norm Levin; and Samuel Corman, great-grandfather of Leah Clayman.
Many thanks to Diana Aaronson for sharing her excellent mem-ory and giving guidance about leads to follow. Thanks also to Karen York of the Sherwin Miller Museum for her help and to the families and friends of the Galveston immigrants.
The author and the editor apologize for errors and omissions from this article. If you have a Galveston Connection story you’d like to add, please email [email protected].
The Immigranta benefit for Mizel JCDS
Mizel Jewish Community Day School will host a benefit performance of The Immigrant - A New American Musical on March 7th, 2010 at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. This event is dedicated to supporting the academic, social and physical development of the preschool through fifth grade children enrolled at Mizel JCDS. Proceeds from the event will be directly allocated to support the children enrolled at Mizel.
The Immigrant is a story of a Young Russian Jew, fleeing the pogroms of Czarist Russia in 1909, who gets off the boat at Galveston and pushes his banana cart into the tiny Baptist town of Hamilton, Texas. It is a uniquely American saga of struggle, faith, hope and ultimate triumph over adversity.
Mizel JCDS has created a special exhibit of photographs and artifacts of Jewish Tulsans who immigrated to the United States through the Port of Galveston. This exhibit ties together the story in the play with experiences of Tulsans who helped establish a community of Jews in Tulsa. Descendants of these immigrants were among the founders and first supporters of Mizel School. Related to the exhibit will be classroom discus-sions of this history along with student interviews with mem-bers of the community and their children who immigrated through the Galveston Port.
Opportunities for Patron Support are available by contact-ing Mizel JCDS office at 918-494-0953. Individual tickets to this benefit matinee performance on March 7th can also be purchased through the school office. Deadline for reserved seats is March 3, 2010.
6 JewishTulsa
What is it with Jews and food? JewishTulsa: The Tulsa Jewish Review asked that question to several restauranteurs who have devoted
their lives to making us the food we love. Below are their first-person testimonials — their thoughts on cooking, koshering and loving food.
Susan Surchev, director of Food ServicesTulsa Jewish Retirement & Health Care Center
When I was a teenager, my father told me to get into a business where you can always make a living. He traveled and spoke six languages. “With culinary arts,” he said, “you can go anywhere and always make a living.”
Before I immigrated, I went to four years of culinary academy and two years of teaching academy. I’ve been in the kitchen now since 1973 and I am the kosher restaurant in Tulsa. We feed about three hundred people a day.
I started hiring BBYO kids. For most, it’s their first job. They learn to interact with the elderly, with people, on a professional basis.
Anything you can make in a non-kosher restaurant, you can make in a kosher restaurant. We know the tricks of the trade. We can make beef stroganoff taste like it has sour cream in it. Whatever food you can dream of, we can make it.
We eat when we’re happy. We eat when we cry. Eat, eat eat. It’s something that warms our hearts.
Philip and Miranda Kaiser, Owners, Cosmo CafeOriginally we were going to open an internet cafe in Jerusalem
with the idea of some computers, maybe some sandwiches and drinks. Miranda built out the menu and it sort of evolved into some-thing a little more complicated than that. We brought Cosmo to Tulsa in 2003.
I enjoy the immediate satisfaction of someone saying, “That was the best sandwich I’ve had for years!” At least ten times a day some-one says “I love what you do.” It’s so nice to be told you’re wonderful.
We each put in between fifty and seventy hours a week. We overlap. When we have school in session it makes it easier — we tag team.
We do between two and four hundred tables a day. We have about thirty-five people working for us.
What is it with Jews and food? It’s tradition, family, ceremony. It’s all the times in history we didn’t have any. It’s an old-world cultural thing. It’s the same with Italians and Greeks and others who came over from very family-oriented cultures. Life revolves around food.
Michelle Goldsteinowner, Buns and Roses
I don’t think I could sit and be stuck in an office. It’s not who I am. I tried retail, I tried court reporting, but I always have come back to food.
I’ve been in Tulsa nine years working in the restaurant business. I was managing Panera, but I’ve always wanted a restaurant of my own. My mom said “do you want to be a thirty-five year old waitress? Just do it.” She
and my stepdad helped me open Buns and Roses.My grandmother’s name was Gloria, but my grandfather always
called her Honeybuns. That got shortened by the grandkids to Buns. My other grandmother’s name was Rose. When I was fifteen I started talking about opening a restaurant and calling it Buns and Roses. Here it is today.
I have tons of regulars. We know them by name, we know them by sandwich.
We do kugel, matzah balls, hummus, tabouli. All home made. We make an everything bagel with salmon, cream cheese and capers. People can’t get enough of it.
It’s a celebration. For me, it’s a passion.
Jews and Food
The Tulsa Jewish Review 7
How I Learned to
by Raeshelle Sharpnack
It all started with my doctor’s caring yet stern words as he reviewed the dangerously high results of my blood work: “You really need to lose weight.”
I thought I had always eaten healthy, or at least I was a healthy eater. How was I going to make a change?
I came across an ad for a way to lose weight quickly and permanently. After meeting with the dietician, I decided to try the program. The program raises the eyebrows of some and is endorsed by others. All I know is, it worked for me.
It started with a 30-day detoxification — no bread, no sugar. I felt like I was being handed a jail sentence!
I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I became ac-customed to the diet. I was shocked to find I actually liked the taste of rice milk, and I didn’t miss bread (well, maybe challah). By the end of the first month I’d lost 5 pounds. A small taste of chocolate bar made my stomach turn. I was on the road to resetting my metabolism.
At first, my warped self-image prevented me from seeing the results of the program. I was shocked when my dieti-cian pointed out that my clothes were hanging off me. I looked in the mirror and saw my t-shirt hanging like I was playing dress up in my father’s shirt.
My biggest test was a family Bar Mitzvah. Facing some of the best pastries in the world, I was amazed that I didn’t feel the least bit tempted.
The final 40 days of my diet came just in time for Thanksgiving and Hanukah. By this time I’d lost almost 50 pounds and went from a size 14 to a size 4. I made it through the holidays with no weight gain.
I’d been an emotional eater, but I no longer found myself wanting to eat out of emotions. I learned that I no longer loved food; I loved my health.
Not Love Food
Jerry Bonus, Restauranteur, My Pi PizzaWe opened My Pi at 59th and Lewis in September 1974 with Har-
vey Chosen. We also had one in Oklahoma City.It was a family business. My daughter worked for me, my son
worked for me.There was a fellow who cooked for us in Oklahoma City named
Randy Camp. He was the best cook I ever had. Now he owns Johnny Carrino’s.
I used to taste everything. A day didn’t go by that I didn’t have at least half a small pizza to check quality.
We had a great run, 11 years. But the business changed. Pizza places started growing as chains. Mazzio’s delivery made a huge change. Our type of pizza wouldn’t have worked as delivery.
Jews love food. I haven’t met one who didn’t like food.
Orr Nalp, Owner, Just Catering by OrrWhen I immigrated here from Turkey in 1973, I was in my third
year of dentistry college, but as an immigrant, the easiest job for me to get was in the restaurant business. I was a dishwasher.
In 1974 I started at the Fountains as a busboy and grew with it. Eventually, I became a manager, and in 1982, I bought the Foun-tains. I sold it in 1999 and got into the catering business.
Irv Frank got me involved with the Jewish Federation. Then, I did my first meal at the Synagogue, a Passover, when Ron Kreigsman was the president. It was a big flop. The matzah balls were like golf-balls. It was a learning experience.
Over the years I’ve learned the Jewish culture — the religion, the food.
The kitchen staff I have has been with me for at least ten years, so they know what we can use and what we can’t use and still get the taste right. They understand the concept of kosher.
Jewish food is really fairly simple, but it has to be very good. Bris-ket has to be tender. Chicken stays on the bone because the taste is much better. Things have to be absolutely correct, not overcooked, not undercooked. It needs to be really tasty.
Jews and Food
Jacob “Koby” Alexander Abels, the son of Barry and Jackie Abels, will be called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 13th, 2010 at Congregation B’nai Emunah at 9:00 a.m.
Koby was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he attended religious school at Congregation Beth Israel until the age of 10. He attended Mizel Jewish Community Day School during his 4th and 5th grade years where he received a solid foundation in Judaic and Hebrew studies. Koby is a 7th grade honor stu-dent at Jenks Middle School.
Koby has been an avid student of military history since the age of 6 and is currently a civil war re-enactor with the Second Colorado Infantry, out of Stillwater, Oklahoma. He has per-formed in re-enactments both in Stillwater and Wichita. He also enjoys fencing, playing poker, airsoft, paintball, spending time with his friends, and skeet shooting with his cousins in Arkansas. Koby has been a volunteer with Camp Shalom and Festival Israel.
Joining Koby for his simcha is his brother Leland, along with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends from across the country.
Koby is proud to be supporting two mitzvah projects that are pro-grams of the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council aimed at helping the more than 10,000 Jewish men and women who serve in our military: “Torahs for Troops” commissions small, lightweight but fully kosher Sifrei Torah that can be taken into the field; and an ongoing project that provides Jewish holiday and Shabbat packages as well as essential needs packages for Jewish soldiers.
Koby is especially grateful to Debbye Zanerhaft for countless hours spent guiding and preparing him for this special day. He also wishes to thank Eliyahu Krigel for imparting his knowl-edge and words of wisdom.
Koby and his family invite the community to celebrate with them at services, followed by a Kiddush luncheon.
aBels Bar mItzvah marCh 13th at CBe
CharneY Bar mItzvah CeleBrated
Celebrations
Jacob “Koby” AbelsMarch 13th at CBE
8 JewishTulsa
On Saturday, February 13, 2010, corre-sponding with the Hebrew date, 29 Shevat 5770 (Shabbat Shekalim), first cousins, Joseph Paul Charney, son of David and Randee Char-ney, and Melanie Francine Farfel, daughter of Howard and Stacey Farfel, celebrated their B’nai Mitzvah at Congregation Beth Am in San Diego, California.
Joseph and Melanie were joined by their grandparents Sully and Barbara Farfel of Rancho Santa Fe, California, Joseph’s grand-parents, Harold and Yolanda Charney of
Owasso, Oklahoma, and Melanie’s grandpar-ents, Stan and Lee Sultar. Joining Joseph and Melanie for this double simcha were siblings/cousins, Natalie, Evan, Alex and Jack, and many family and friends from around the country, including Tulsa. Both Joseph and Melanie enthusiastically embraced the oppor-tunity to share the spotlight selflessly so they could celebrate together and maximize the gathering of their significant, extended family in one place for this special simcha.
In advance of playwright Tony Kushner’s April 18th appearance at The Synagogue, the Circle Cinema will screen Angels in Ameri-ca over three consecutive evenings: Sunday, March 21st, Monday, March 22nd and Tuesday, March 23rd. All showings will begin at 8:00 p.m. at no charge.
Friday, March 26th, The Synagogue presents Shabbos in Shul featuring a Theater Club performance of Kushner Excerpts, scenes from the playwright’s works. Directed by Vern Stefanic, the eve-
ning will showcase Kushner’s strengths as a dramatist and the issues that form the core of his work. The evening will begin with Shabbat Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Kushner Excerpts will begin at 8:00 p.m. Please call the Synagogue Office for dinner reservations at $12 per person, with children’s meals priced accordingly. No res-ervations are necessary for Friday evening services, and the Kush-ner Excerpts is free and open to the public.
WaItIng fOr tOnY: CBe events In advanCe Of Kushner appearanCe
Mark you calendars for the cancer survivorship symposium Celebrating the Art of Healing, Saturday, April 10th at Monte Cassino School from 9:00 am until 2:30 pm. This year’s theme is A Family Journey. Keynote speaker Dr. Dan Shapiro is a cancer survivor and Chair of the Humanities Department at Pennsylva-
nia State College of Medicine. He uses his experiences “on both sides of the bed,” as a consultant for the hit television series Grey’s Anatomy. Space is limited. Participants may register by calling St. John PulseLine, 918-744-0123.
CeleBratIng the art Of healIng
This is a call to all JewishTulsans to volunteer for Festival Israel. Your involvement will only make this event better. Volunteer posi-tions for the old, the young and the rest of us are available.
Give tours. Serve meals. Schmooze and have fun! Call Michele Sotkin at 918-810-4971 or email at [email protected] to volunteer.
festIval Israel sCheduled fOr aprIl 25 - vOlunteers needed
raBBI Charles p. shermanThe Passover holiday still has an emotional hold upon the
Jew – young and old. Sociologists tell us that it is the most universally observed Jewish holiday. The beautiful seder surroundings, symbols, and the remarkable Haggadah text bring a universal and eternally relevant theme to attract the mind and heart of every Jew. No other table gathering brings together the members of the family closer than does the seder. Failure to celebrate the seder properly can weaken the family unit and diminish the meaning of the holiday.
Once upon a time, grandparent, parents and children united around the same table, experiencing the emotions of the seder in different degrees – but in unity. I have a picture of four generations in my family at the seder table. Reading the words of the Haggadah meant discussing responsibility toward the poor, freedom from slavery, the purpose of a nation, and the dreams of the ultimate goal of the Jewish People. Grandparents were a crucial ingredient in the impact of the seder experience.
Too often today, instead of sharing the seder with the family,
grandparents either remain in Florida and go to some hotel for the seder or even take a Pesach cruise. Who can blame our young folks who say – if the seder is not important enough for Grandpa and Grandma to come, why should I give up college classes to come home?
I believe that we are living in crucial times for American Jewry. Extra efforts are demanded from the old and the young. May we make this a bigger Passover experience and a better seder than any before. Let us prepare for Passover in all its details. Let young people experience the full emotional impact of the holiday. Let’s make it significant and relevant for all ages at our table. Read up on the Haggadah and the symbols and the practices. One never knows what words in the Haggadah, what symbols, what deeds at a seder can “turn on” our sons and daughters. May all of us have a sweet Pesach together – generations, side by side, sharing our People’s experience.
This year the first seder is on a Monday night. Grandparents and college students can come in for the whole weekend and help with all of the Passover preparations, making the seder even more of a family experience.
dO YOu KnOW Where YOur grandparents are?
Join Chabad for A Seder for You! Held on the first two nights of Passover, these seders are a welcoming experience where you will be able to learn what the various elements of the seder mean to you personally.
The food is all home-made from scratch, and the Matzah is the hand-made “original recipe” variety — nothing artificial here. People who’ve enjoyed these seders in the past have been known to say “It starts late, it runs late, but it’s worth it!”
The seders will take place at Chabad, 6622 S. Utica Avenue, on
Monday and Tuesday evenings, March 29th and 30th, each at 8:30 p.m. Reservations are greatly appreciated. The cost is $12 for adults, $6 for seniors, college students, and children, or by donation. Please call 918-492-4499 or email [email protected] to reserve.
You can also purchase hand-made matzah to enhance your own seder. The cost is $16 for a pound (approx. 7 large matzot) or $10 for a box of 3. Please call Chabad to place you order.
ChaBad fOr passOver
Mothers, bring your daughters! Daughters, bring your mothers! All are welcome to celebrate our holiday of liberation in a new way. Temple Israel Sisterhood will sponsor the third annual Wom-en’s Seder on March 7th. We’ll prepare for the upcoming Passover holiday by experiencing our journey from slavery to freedom from a feminine point of view. The afternoon will feature singing, dancing, lots of discussion, crafts for the kids and fabulous Pesach
desserts from the Sisterhood’s new cookbook, L’Dor V’dor. We’ll even provide timbrels for dancing!
The cost is $7 for adults, $5 for children with a $15 immediate family maximum. To reserve your place at the seder table, contact Jeanne Jacobs at [email protected] or 918-392-8475 by Wednesday, March 3rd.
WOmen’s seder at temple Israel
Congregation B’nai Emunah’s annual Second Seder at the Synagogue is scheduled for Tuesday, March 30th beginning at 6:00 p.m. The event is open to the entire community, with a special welcome to Tulsa newcomers and those whose families are far away. Join Synagogue members and friends for a joyful celebration.
The seder will feature the Synagogue’s instrumental ensem-ble, Klay Kodesh, and participants will enjoy a festive mixture of Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions.
Seating is limited and your reservations need to be con-firmed by check. Cost for adults, age 13 and up is $27.00; for children ages 6-12 $14.00; and for children ages 2-5 $7.00.
Thanks to the generosity of B’nai B’rith, and the Sam Marks
Helping Hand Fund of the Synagogue, we would be glad to accommodate those for whom the price of attending poses a challenge.
Please call the Synagogue Office at 918-583-7121 or write us at [email protected] to assure your place.
Also, please call the Synagogue if you’d like a sale-of-chamaytz form for Passover. We’d be glad to help you with this traditional ritual transaction.
seCOnd seder at the sYnagOgue
The Tulsa Jewish Retirement and Health Care Center extends an invitation to the Jewish community to participate in its annual First Night Passover Seder, Monday, March 29th.
The Seder begins at 5:30 p.m. at Zarrow Manor. Call Susan at 918-496-8333 for reservations.
fIrst nIght passOver seder
Personal & Business Services
Maximize your day
Bobbi and Bob Warshaw Office 918.747.3807; Cell 918.852.5302
www.errands-to-go.com
'Call Charles' 'Call Charles' 'Call Charles'
P.O. Box 471100Tulsa, OK 74147-1100
7647 East 46th Place
(918) 584-3323Fax - 918 584-7378
TM
Terry and Madelyn RosenthalB o v a s s o & B e a l T e a m
BovassoandBeal.comSharna [email protected]
Dee Ann [email protected]
918.688.5467
4105 S Rockford AveTulsa, OK 74105(918)592-6000fax (918)398-5396
McGrawR E A L T O R S ®
A beautiful smile makesa difference in your life.
Specializing in Adult andChildren’s Orthodontics• Offering the newest, fastest, most comfortable braces • Featuring Invisalign
918-749-6448 • TulsaBraces.com • 4543 S. Harvard
Boulder at Fourteenth
David Dopp
585-1151
10 JewishTulsa
Butterflies
ButterfliesRECOVERYHerman FeldmanHarriet LevinsonVoyd MahewDavid RichDave Sylvan
HONORINGJerry & Sherry Heller
IN MEMORYBob BermanJean BorochoffChuck Wisotsky
TJRHCC’s WELLNESS PROGRAM
Lawrence & Patricia KilgoreBIRTHDAYS Dr. David AdelsonDick BolksJeanette FriedenBarbara JohnsonShirley KlarIrene LaneRae Roberts
SPEEDY RECOVERY OF HERMAN FELDMAN
Gertrude Weisman
CHARLOTTE & GERALD RICHARDS ACTIVITY ENDOWMENT FUND
IN MEMORY OF JEAN BOROCHOFF
E. C. BuckminsterMichael & Marilyn Greenwood Alan L. StovitzGertrude WeismanCONTRIBUTIONS
RECEIVED FROMJulius & Joy BankoffVera Y. BerlinDavid & Gerry BernsteinDr. Marcel BinstockJohn & Leah ClaymanRob & Kim CoretzBob & Betsy Dubofsky Dr. and Mrs. Norman DunitzDr. and Mrs. Scott DunitzJeanette FriedenMorris GlazerRobert GoldMarty & Frieda GrossbardJerry & Sherry HellerHenry & Helen KatzDon & Sallye MannFranklyn & Madelyn Moskowitz Fred & Martha StraussJerry & Marion Sussman
“Light to Life” Tribute Fund Helping to Keep the Light Burning
honoring donors to thetulsa Jewish retirement & health Care Center
2 x 6_Bellissima_AdSlick.indd 1 1/22/2010 12:04:03 PM
Exc l u s i v e l y a t Swee t Too th
youngat
heartA social club for singlesand couples 55+
For more information, please call 495-1100.
SUNDAY, MARCH 21 ~ 2 p.m.
“THE CLEAN HOUSE”
Program hosts, Lou and Marilyn Diamond,invite you to join the Young at Hearts at Heller Theater
All reservations must be received by Monday, March 15.Your check is your reservation!
Checks can be mailed to the CSJCC, 2021 E. 71st St, Tulsa, OK 74136 or call 495.1100 to have the ticket price
charged to your credit card.*After the play, please join us for dinner at Cosmo Cafe and Bar, 3334 S. Peoria.
Everyone is responsible for their own transportation and dinner check.
Henthorne Recreation Center4825 S. Quaker, Tulsa
Ticket price:$7.00 per person
The Clean House is a fresh comedy about love, the power of a good joke, and the virtues of a really clean house! Matilde, a Brazilian housekeeper, is keen to stretch her funny bone, but can’t muster any elbow grease for her domestic duties. Her employers’ house is not in order and neither are their personal lives.
CHARLES SCHUSTERMAN JCC
MARCH EVENTS
Day Event Description Location Time
1 INSTITUTE of ADULT JEWISH STUDIES
Winter Classes continue. CSJCC 7:15 pm
4 YIDDISHBUDDIES
Yiddish with Jack Zanerhaft. CSJCC 3:00 pm
8 INSTITUTE of ADULT JEWISH STUDIES
Final evening of classes for the 2010 Winter session.
CSJCC 7:15 pm
10 RETIRED MEN'S CLUB Guest speaker and luncheon.This will be the only Men's Club in March.
CSJCC 12:00 Noon
15 thru 19
SPRINGBREAKCAMP
A week of fun for ages 3-12. Registration deadline March 5. Register online csjcc.org!
CSJCC 9 am – 4 pm
21 YOUNG AT HEARTSOCIAL CLUB
"The Clean House" by Heller Theater. More information in this issue of the Review.
HenthorneRec. Center
2:00 pm
28 HEBREWCLUB
Meet and speak Hebrew!For more information, call 495.1111.
CSJCC 1 – 2 pm
29 PASSOVER BEGINSAT SUNSET
Charles Schusterman JCC closes at 5:00 p.m. CSJCC
30 and 31
PASSOVER Jewish Federation offi ces and the Charles Schusterman JCC closed.
JFT / CSJCC
Check out the events happening this month at your local JCC! For more information on any event, call 495.1111 or go online to csjcc.org.
MARCHS M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 67 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 2021 22 23 24 25 26 2728 29 30 31
As spring approaches, so does hazardous weather. Now is a good time to have a family meeting to review storm safety. Know where your safe room is located, and what to do in the event of a storm.Every family should have a 3-day emergency pack that includes: p Flashlights and extra batteries p cell phonep first aid kit p heavy soled shoesp battery powered weather radiop water - 1 gallon of water per day per personp canned food and can opener p pet food p medications
Plan ahead for a safe spring!
stOrm seasOn readIness
Stop by the Charles Schusterman Jewish Community Center and complete an application.
Interviews will be held in late April.
For more information, please contact the Camp Shalom office at 918.495.1111.
Charles Schusterman JCC2021 East 71st Street
www.csjcc.org
Enroll for CampONLINEcsjcc.org
Enrollmentbegins
March 1!
For more information, contact the Camp Shalom officeat 918.495.1111 or visit www.csjcc.org.
2010
Staff member, counselor and C.I.T. applications now being accepted for
Camp Shalom 2010June 1 – August 6
March 15 —19Registration DeadlineFRIDAY, MARCH 5
Register Online! www.csjcc.org
Positions AvailableSUMMER 2010
LIFEGUARDS andSNACK BAR
Charles Schusterman JCC2021 E. 71st Street
For more information, call 495.1111 and speak toAmy Underwood, Health and Wellness Director.
Sunday, April 2512 Noon – 5 p.m.
Festival Israel
CELEBRATEISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY!Featuring the sights,sounds and tastesof Israel !
zarrow campuscharles schusterman jcc2021 east 71st street
CELEBR
freeadmission
jcc
VANELiSee the Spring and Summer VANELi Collection Now at Brouse’s
Where We Specialize in Selection, Service, Sizes and Quality
BROUSE’S 1718 Utica Square • Tulsa,OK 74114 • 918-742-3301
Happy Passover From Jenny R. Brouse and Brian E. Brouse