Dear Friends,

In honor of Tu Bishvat, which was last Thursday, I wanted to share a few thoughts about trees and about how things grow. Tu Bishvat first appears in a famous Mishnah enumerating the four Jewish new years. These include the first of Elul, which is the new year of the animal tithe, the first of Tishrei, which is Rosh Hashanah, the first Nisan, which is the date used to compute the reign of kings, and, of course, the 15th of Shevat, Tu Bishvat, the new year of the trees. 

Originally Tu Bishvat was a tax day, not unlike April 15, which allowed Jews to calculate the age of fruit bearing trees so that, in keeping with a biblical interdiction, they could avoid eating fruit that grew within the first three years of a tree's life. If a tree was planted before Tu Bishvat, even if by only a few weeks, its first birthday would take place on Tu Bishvat. Conversely, if a tree was planted after Tu Bishvat, even if only by a day, its first birthday would not occur for an entire calendar year. Because of the way Jewish law and Jewish history unfolded, for about 1000 years, the only real upshot of Tu Bishvat, from a ritual perspective, was the abrogation of tachanun, the daily supplicatory prayers that we tend to skip on festive occasions. 

But that is not where the story of Tu Bishvat ends and for the past five hundred years it has undergone a remarkable rebirth and metamorphosis. The revitalization of Tu Bishvat began with the Kabbalists of 16th century Tzfat, who used the idea of the birthday of trees as an occasion to contemplate a mystical ascent into the Tree of Life, creating the Tu Bishvat seder, which offers a meditative encounter with fruit and wine. Some four hundred years after that, Tu Bishvat became a Zionist holiday, a tree planting festival, and an impetus for our people to reconnect with the Land. And so the desert began to bloom. Even more recently, mostly in the diaspora, Tu Bishvat has been reimagined anew as Jewish Earth Day, offering opportunity for us not only to affirm our attachments to Israel and to Zion, but also a dedicated time to think about our place is wider world and to emphasize our responsibility to be responsible stewards of the environment.  

This history is fascinating in its own right. But what has been particularly alive for me this year is not so much the trajectory of Tu Bishvat’s transformations but instead the fact of those transformations, whatever their direction. Over Shabbat, I shared a poem of great, elemental power by the American poet Gallway Kinnell, who, in poem called “Little Sleep’s-Head Sprouting Hair In The Moonlight,” wrote as follows to his daughter:

You scream, waking from a nightmare.

When I sleepwalk

into your room, and pick you up,

and hold you up in the moonlight, you cling to me 

hard,

as if clinging could save us. I think

you think

I will never die, I think I exude

to you the permanence of smoke or stars,

even as

my broken arms heal themselves around you.

I have heard you tell

the sun, don't go down, I have stood by

as you told the flower, don't grow old,

don't die. Little Maud,

I would blow the flame out of your silver cup,

I would suck the rot from your fingernail,

I would brush your sprouting hair of the dying light,

I would scrape the rust off your ivory bones,

I would help death escape through the little ribs of your body,

I would alchemize the ashes of your cradle back into wood,

I would let nothing of you go, ever […]

The poem, which goes on for a few more pages, is about fatherhood and about mortality and about immortality. I’ve thought about it a lot over the course of my life and I was thinking about it in particular this year in the run up to Tu Bishvat because Tu Bishvat itself seems to me to be an extraordinary representation of the child’s commanding presence, as imagined by the poet. As Jews, over many generations, we took this ancient, half-forgotten thing—this day that, though precious to our ancestors, had fallen into cultural and spiritual dereliction—and we said in many voices over many hundreds of years “Don’t die,” “Don’t grow old.” We commanded the sun to shine again on the birthday of the trees and so it has. 

That is an extraordinary and inspiring accomplishment. And I believe it encompasses much of what it means to lead a Jewish life. We are here to make deserts bloom and to care for the land and the people in it and we are here to say that what is old can be made new, thus affirming the words of another great poet-king, ancient but still alive among us, “They will be yet fertile in old age, they will remain ever fresh and fragrant, to declare Adonai is just, my rock who has no imperfection” (the Psalm for Shabbat).

Brachot,

Rabbi Benjamin Resnick 

Ben

“And so, I shall go to the king and if I am to perish I shall perish” (Megillat Esther 4:16).

Courage is often defined not by words but by actions taken in the face of grave danger. Aner Shapira, a 22-year-old Israeli who heroically protected others during the brutal Hamas attack, embodies the same selfless bravery we find in the Purim story with Queen Esther. Both risked their lives for the sake of others, demonstrating the highest form of Jewish values: self-sacrifice and responsibility for one’s people. Their stories, though separated by millennia, are connected by a shared legacy of Jewish heroism that continues to inspire generations.

Aner Shapira’s final act was one of extraordinary bravery. Trapped inside a bomb shelter with others at the Nova festival on October 7, he repeatedly threw back grenades lobbed in by Hamas terrorists, ultimately sacrificing himself so that those around him might live. His selflessness mirrors Queen Esther’s decision to risk her life by approaching King Ahasuerus uninvited, knowing that doing so could result in her execution. She put the fate of her people above her own safety, just as Aner did in that moment of crisis.

This week, one of the hostages released by Hamas, Or Levy, was revealed to be a survivor of the very shelter that Aner defended with his life. However, two more survivors from that shelter, Alon Ohel and Elyiah Cohen, remain in captivity, a painful reminder that the struggle is not over. Tragically, another survivor, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was Aner’s close friend, was murdered by Hamas this past September, after surviving almost a whole year in captivity. Despite the horror of that day, eleven people survived the shelter attack, bearing witness to Aner’s heroism and recounting the events that saved their lives.

Yet, as remarkable as Aner’s bravery was, it is just one example of the incredible acts of heroism that took place on October 7 and throughout Jewish history. Many Israelis—soldiers, police officers, first responders, and ordinary civilians—demonstrated extraordinary courage that day, risking and sacrificing their lives to protect others. Parents shielded their children, kibbutz members defended their homes, and entire communities stood together in the face of terror. This selfless heroism is not unique to one individual or one moment; it is part of a long-standing tradition of Jewish bravery that stretches back thousands of years.

We tell the story of Purim year after year to remind ourselves—and to teach our children—what true bravery looks like. The Megillah recounts how Esther, at first hesitant, ultimately embraced her role in saving the Jewish people after being urged by Mordechai with the famous words: “Perhaps you have attained your royal position for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). These words resonate through history, reminding Jews that when the moment of decision comes, standing up for others is not just an option but an obligation. Aner Shapira lived by this principle, proving that the call to heroism is not confined to the past but remains deeply relevant today.

Jewish education plays a central role in preserving this legacy of courage. The study of Purim and other foundational Jewish stories is not just a matter of historical curiosity but a key pillar of Jewish identity. By teaching children about Queen Esther’s bravery, Jewish communities instill in future generations the values of responsibility, moral strength, and self-sacrifice. The Purim story is filled with lessons of resilience, faith, and the power of individuals to shape history—lessons that have guided Jewish survival for thousands of years. Even today, as Jews face new threats, the commitment to learning and remembering our history ensures that the spirit of Esther, Mordechai, and modern heroes like Aner Shapira continues to inspire.

One of the most powerful ways to ensure this lesson is passed down is to bring our children together with their parents to hear the communal reading of the Megillah. The experience of listening to the Purim story as a family, alongside the larger community, reinforces the importance of knowing our history and internalizing its lessons. The Megillah is not just a story—it is a call to action, a reminder that courage, unity, and faith can change the course of history. When children hear the tale of Esther’s bravery read aloud in the presence of their families, they become active participants in the tradition, ensuring that Jewish resilience and heroism are carried forward to future generations.

This year we hope to have our children and their families come together with the larger PJC community for the Megillah reading, on Thursday, March 13, and make this a memorable and meaningful event for our future generations. We can’t wait to see our children and their families come in costume to celebrate Purim together with the whole PJC community!

And may all our hostages return to their families without delay!

Ana

“Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress: Working hard for

something we love is called passion.”

--Simon Sinek

On Saturday, Jan 25, The PJC Refugee Resettlement Group sponsored Kiddush. Matt Marcus, PJC Board Trustee and Social Action Chair, has been leading this group for the last few years. On that Shabbat, he spoke beautifully and passionately about their work, including a brief tutorial on the nuances and intricacies of maintaining refugee status.

I was moved by his words and thought they should have a broader audience.

As such, I am turning this month’s Hakol article over to Matt, as I can’t

begin to properly speak for him and his team.

So thank you to Matt, Maria, Adam Abeshouse (of blessed memory), Mike Dvorkin, Marjut Herzog, Carey Samuels (of blessed memory) and Mark Hochberg, Jon Kasper, Rabbi Ben Resnick, Rhonda Singer, David Sasson, Jacqueline Stein, Melanie Stern and Liz Tzetzo for this, your passion

and example of service for others.

“Shortly after inauguration, the Trump administration ordered a stop to all

international refugee arrivals, including a large group of Afghans (some of whom were

U.S. military allies) that were prepared to board a flight. The order also affected

thousands of refugees from Central America, East Asia and Africa that were awaiting

authorization to travel and be reunited with family living here. A subsequent executive

order put a stop to all federally-funded work related to refugee resettlement.



For those of us at the PJC who have been involved in refugee settlement work or

the past two or more years, these decisions were a wallop to the gut. It is important to

understand that refugees are, by definition, permanent legal residents of the countries in which they settle. To achieve refugee status, an individual must be living outside of their

native country for reasons of safety and security and go through a lengthy process of

vetting by the United Nations and various state agencies. The patience, persistence

motivation required to achieve refugee status and make arrangements for travel means

that refugees tend to be just the sort of resourceful, diligent and grounded people we

want more, not fewer of, in this country. The decision to pause refugee admissions has

nothing to do with security or pragmatics and much to do with nativism and white

nationalism.

That said, these executive orders do not stop anybody from continuing to support

refugees already living in our communities. Several years ago, a few members of the

PJC began working with Hearts and Homes for Refugees, a charitable non-profit that

helps to resettle refugees throughout Westchester. Resettlement involves assisting

newcomers with all aspects of adjusting to life in their new homeland, from finding jobs

and housing to acquiring driver’s licenses and automobiles. This work takes a good bit

of time, energy and steadfastness, but the rewards are intrinsic to the process, in the form of a sense of accomplishment and, better still, forging lasting friendships with the

newcomers.

In 2023, a group of about ten PJC members were among the first in the country

to sponsor a refugee through the newly formed Welcome Corps program. In September

of that year, after months of fundraising and preparation, we welcomed Bella

Nyangabere, a young woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo. With support

from the sponsor group and other community members, we were able to find Bella long-

term housing and a job as a home health aid. She also became a lifelong friend to

those of us who know her. Currently Bella is living in Yonkers and is in the process of

applying for her Green Card. Bella is happy to be working in health care but also made

it known that she would love to find a wealthy husband. If anybody has any leads on

single wealthy men in their thirties.... OK, moving on.

In 2024, our sponsor group, in partnership with Hearts and Homes, agreed to

take on the case of a lovely young family from Venezuela: Johandry, Elianny and their

baby, Alessia. We were fortunate to find them a (relatively) affordable apartment in

Yonkers and Johandry was hired as a building supervisor in Fleetwood. Our volunteers

have also provided ESOL tutoring, help dealing with medical and legal matters, among

other forms of support for which the family expresses humbling levels of gratitude.

More recently, the family has found a nearby daycare for Alessia so employment for

Elianny. And Johandry acquired his driver’s license and purchased an SUV. Once the

family has completed their first year here, we will help them with their Green Card

applications.

The sponsor group had been waiting on another young woman from Venezuela,

Wilmary, whose partner is living in Yonkers. In fact, we had rented a room in the same

house where he lives, expecting her to arrive by the end of 2024. But the bureaucratic

wheels turned slowly, and the executive orders came to pass, leaving Wilmary, like

many thousands of other refugees, without a clear future. One bright spot amidst this

disappointment is that Ahmad, a 21-year-old refugee from Afghanistan was able to rent

the room we’d been holding, so at least the space is being used by a refugee. Ahmad

currently works at a bakery and is planning to pursue further education.

This synopsis probably does not do justice to the dedication of the volunteers

who have been engaged in this work and cannot begin to do justice to the struggles and

accomplishments of the refugees themselves. The current politics regarding immigrants

is, to say the least, disheartening, but no orders will stop us from welcoming and

supporting refugees and other immigrants every way we can.

I

Lisa & Matt

Dear Friends,

On wintry, snowy days like these, I gravitate to a comfy chair with a good book. With this in mind, Rabbi Resnick and I are planning a Contemporary Jewish Literature Speaker Series for the Fall. We have tentatively lined up a Professor of Jewish Literature as a Scholar-In- Residence for a Shabbat weekend. We have also contacted two young Jewish novelists who are eager to come to the PJC, speak to the community and sign their books.

What we need is your participation. It won't look good if only a handful of congregants show up when we have guests coming from different locations. Before we can solidify plans, it would be helpful to know that there is interest in the program. We are thinking the Scholar-in-Residence weekend will take place after the chagim (High Holidays) at the end of October. Additional visits from the novelists and a poet could take place as single events on a week day evening or Sunday morning.

We want to hear from you. We will need some volunteers to advertise the program to the PJC community as well as to synagogues in the Westchester area. The more people we can count on, the more likely the program will be a success.

Please let me know if you are interested in this program. You can email me at: madamadam1955@gmail.com.

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Barbara

Songs For The Broken Hearted

by Ayelet Tsabari

It's not surprising that Ayelet Tsabari won the 2025 Jewish Book Council Award in Fiction for her first novel, Songs For The Broken Hearted. As in her collection of short stories, The Best Place on Earth, Tsabari depicts the Yemenite Israeli experience with warmth, humor and astute observation. Her characters are achingly alive. Thinking about the attachment of the Yemeni Jews to Israel despite second class citizenship, Yaqub muses, "Israel is a desired woman they never stopped pining over. No wonder the reality was such a slap in the face."

The unexpected death of the matriarch, Saida, sets the stage for a family saga that starts in a Yemenite transit camp in the newly founded state of Israel in 1950 and follows her children and grandchildren up to the time of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 by a young, ultra-right win, Yemenite lawyer.

Zohara, Saida's feisty and independent daughter, has been living in New York City - a place that feels much less complicated than Israel, where she grew up wishing that her skin was lighter, her illiterate mother's Yemenite music was quieter, and that the father who always favored her was alive. She hasn't looked back since leaving home, rarely in touch with her mother and older sister, Lizzie, and missing out on her nephew, Yoni's childhood. When Lizzie calls to say that their mother died, Zohara boards a plane to Israel without a return ticket.

Thirty-something Zohara finds herself on an unexpected path leading to shocking truths about her family: dangers that lurk for impressionable young men and secrets that force her to re-evaluate everything she once believed about her parents, her heritage and her own future.

Ayelet Tsabar's story-telling is breath-taking. You will not be able to put this book down.

Barbara

Making Mitzvot More Beautiful

With the Women’s Group

"One should always try to fulfill a mitzvah with the choicest means at his disposal… Be lovely before God according to the means graciously granted you.”

The Women’s Group meets monthly after kiddush. All women are invited. For the first ten to fifteen minutes, members chat about their life over the past month. Then one woman leads the 45 minute discussion on a Jewish topic of her choice. 

This past month we learned about the ketubah, the Jewish marriage contract, and examined ketubot shared by our members.  

A ketubah is a document used in accordance with Jewish religious law to record the marriage and traditionally stipulates the husband’s financial obligations toward his wife, particularly with respect to divorce or death. From the early Middle Ages, it was the custom among European Jewish communities to decorate the ketubah, which were often on parchment with an illuminated border depicting Biblical images and Jewish symbols and even figures. Middle And Near Eastern ketubot followed local practices and avoided human figures but instead used geometric patterns or fauna and flora. 

Notice the lively traditional floral border and English version of the contemporary ketubah from the marriage of Jason Cohen to Tracie Hoffman below. 

With their precisely dated and detailed information concerning the bride and groom, the ketubah is an important and reliable historical source of genealogy and geographical information. Although a legal document, ketubot form a significant genre of Jewish art.

The Freedman-Yelsey ketubah with the handwritten dates in both versions and traditional wording. 

Look for the traditional floral styling with birds that symbolize love and fertility, the lions of Judah, and Aramaic of the Lanoil ketubah. 

The Herzog ketubah was hand painted and written by a female sofer, (scribe) who produced a large number of those for the community in Caracas Venezuela. A ketubah can be written by a female scribe. 

The last ketubah, the Saunders-Adams ketubah depicts a biblical scene.

Ketubot also demonstrate an English adaptation of the Conservative “Lieberman Clause”, a protocol for obtaining a get (bill of divorce) in the case of dissolution of the marriage as an example of a means to avoid the major problem of the agunah, the woman who is not given a get or is unable to receive a get because of unfortunate circumstances of death including military action or the current hostage situation. 

Every month there is a different Women's Group leader who selects a fascinating topic of her choice. We you will join us next month. 

Marjut



One Tiny Seed

by Rachel Goldberg-Polin

Mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin

There is a Yiddish lullaby that says “Your mother will cry a

Thousand tears before you grow to be a man.”

I have cried a million tears in the last 67 days. …

Our sea of tears

They all taste the same.

Can we take them gather them up, and remove the salt,

And then pour them over our desert of despair …

And plant one tiny seed

A seed wrapped in pain, trauma, fear and hope?

"Share a Simcha" allows congregants to share their news with our PJC community. Please submit news about family members -- engagements, births, job updates, kid achievements, community acknowledgements and any other milestones -- to the HaKol Editor, Barbara Saunders-Adams.

. Mazal Tov to our February Birthday Celebrants:

Ethan Rothberg, Jeanne Radvany, Gary Trachten, Nate Bazeli, Andrea Rothberg, Margot Bazeli, Loren Cecil, Jacqueline Stein, Alexandra Herzog, Jed Klebanow, Amy Hersh, Robert Jacobson, Naomi Schwartz, Spencer Barback, Barbara Saunders-Adams, Sam Temes, Matthew Marcus, Liam Cepler, Scarlett Cepler, Marc Prager. David Ploski, Laura Temes, Doris-Patt Smith, Robert Kasten, Jacqueline Schachter, Aviv Eliezer, Jason Cohen, Gary Schwartz, Daniel Cohen, Jacob Cecil, Mary Holtzman

. Mazal Tov to the Israelis released from Gaza this month: Sagui Dekel-Chen, Iair Horn, Sasha Troufanov, Romi Gonen, Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy, Yarden Bibas, Ofer Calderon, Keith Siegel

Share a Simcha is a regular HaKol feature, so keep your news and updates coming!

Tributes

Donations made to Leket in honor of Gloria and Sheldon Horowitz's anniversary

• Barry and Jill Goldenberg
• Mindell Patchen

Donations made in Honor of Lisa Neubardt's Bat Mitzvah

• Mitch and Julie Cepler

Donations to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund

• Marjut and Jonathan Herzog
• Alain and Joan Sasson
• Barry and Jill Goldenberg
• Lisa and Andy Neubardt

Billing statements are emailed monthly. 

Checks made out to the Pelham Jewish Center can be mailed to Pelham Jewish Center, P.O. Box 418, Montvale, NJ 07645. Credit card payment instructions are on your monthly emailed billing statement, or go to https://thepjc.shulcloud.com/payment.php. 

If you are interested in paying via appreciated securities or IRA distributions, please email Mitch Cepler.

It is the policy of the Pelham Jewish Center to make every effort to assist members experiencing financial challenges. Financial challenges should never be a barrier to being an active member of the PJC community. You can reach out to President, Lisa Neubardt, Treasurer, Mitchell Cepler or Rabbi Benjamin Resnick to speak confidentially concerning your ability to pay PJC dues and Learning Center tuition.