Cecil. David. Rose. Joyce. Sylvan. Bernice. Last Saturday, those six, along with seven other worshippers killed inside the Tree of Life synagogue building on October 27, became part of the long list of Jewish martyrs. But before that, they were six friendly faces that the middle schoolers of nearby Community Day School knew from attending…
It started three years ago. I was the lone staff member welcoming guests to Jewish Museum Milwaukee (JMM) on an Air Show Sunday. It had been a pretty slow day. My office was filled with the droning of jet engines, and people who weren’t into watching the Blue Angels were avoiding the Milwaukee Lakefront. I…
2018 is Austria’s Gedenkjahr, 12 months of landmarks, anniversaries and commemorations that reach their zenith and nadir in November. The 11th and 12th of this month mark 100 years since the abdication of the last emperor, Charles I, and the declaration of the Republic of German-Austria. November 9 and 10, however, will be 80 years…
The Life of Saul Bellow: Love and Strife, 1965-2005 By Zachary Leader Knopf, 784 pp, $40 By Steven G. Kellman In 1998, when the Modern Library polled readers to determine the 100 best novels in English, two books by Saul Bellow — “Henderson the Rain King” and “The Adventures of Augie March” — made the…
Author’s note: This article is based on reporting from Friday evening and Saturday morning services at synagogues in Pittsburgh. I informed all people quoted in conversation that I am a reporter and have been reporting in Pittsburgh, and honored pre-arranged requests to keep public statements given at the gatherings off the record. “We mourn for…
On Friday afternoon, the community laid Rose Mallinger, the oldest victim of Saturday’s massacre, to rest. That means the city’s procession of funerals ended with just enough time to let the community prepare for the first Sabbath after the shooting. Friday evening, a number of special services are planned throughout the city, in addition to…
When President Trump claimed that the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh could have been prevented if there had been “protection” inside, reactions in the Jewish community were split. Many liberal Jews — including the family of a man injured in the massacre — felt he was blaming the synagogue for the…
PITTSBURGH — Signs of life began to appear on the fifth day of mourning in Pittsburgh, even amid the onslaught of funerals, shiva calls and community gatherings. Parent-teacher conferences were held at the Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh girls’ building. The Community Day School celebrated a bar mitzvah at its morning prayers. And Pinsker’s Judaica Center…
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