Metro Briefs May 3
Jewish Family & Children’s Service will hold its annual meeting Tuesday, May 15, 6:30 p.m., at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Shadyside.
At that time, Joel Rosenthal will be presented with the 2012 Mermelstein Leadership Award, and Barbara Wollman will receive the Staff Service Award. Special recognition will be given to the Consecutive Giving Club.
A certified public accountant, shareholder and director of the Advisory Services Group of Schneider Downs, Rosenthal joined the JF&CS board of directors in 2007 and has since served as assistant treasurer, treasurer, vice chair and chair. He also served for many years as a committee member for JF&CS’s Central Scholarship & Loan Referral Service.
A licensed clinical social worker with more than 30 years of experience, Wollman is the longest tenured JF&CS employee. A certified play therapy supervisor, her work has improved the lives of many children, helping them to overcome emotional and behavioral challenges.
Women of Temple Sinai will present “All That Jazz: An Evening of Jazz at Temple Sinai,” Sunday, May 6, 7 p.m., at the synagogue.
The show will feature vocal performances by Donna Bailey, Chris Laitta, Temple Sinai vocalist Sara Stock Mayo, Allison Grodin and Chuck Mahon. Joe DeFazio will accompany, and all-female jazz group Cool Breeze and the CAPA Jazz Ensemble will perform instrumental sets.
There is a $30 charge at the door for the program, which includes hors d’oeuvres, wine and desserts.
Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee will honor Carnegie Mellon University President Jared L. Cohon and University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg with the 2012 Community Impact Award, recognizing their professional achievements and contributions to Pittsburgh and its economy.
The ceremony will take place Thursday, May 31, at the Fairmont Hotel, Downtown.
“These two visionaries, scholars and bridge builders, have done so much to uplift our community — culturally, economically and socially at the regional and international levels,” Marshall Dayan, president of the PAJC board of directors, said in a prepared statement.
David and Cindy Shapira and Eva Tansky Blum are co-chairs, and Jim Roddey will act as master of ceremonies.
Rev. Donald Green, executive director of Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, will be presented the Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Award for his efforts to build interfaith alliances that have strengthened and unified the Pittsburgh community. Green chairs the Allegheny County FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter board and serves on the Committee for the Oversight of Organ Transplantation. He has led missions to Kenya, Zambia, India and Puerto Rico to assist in aid relief efforts.
Contact PAJC at 412-605-0816 or pajc@pajc.net for tickets.
Jamie Dixon and Dick Groat will speak on “Preparing for Success and Overcoming Adversity,” at the Family Sports Dinner at Tree of Life*
Or L’Simcha Congregation at the corner of Wilkins and Shady avenues in Squirrel Hill, Sunday, May 6, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Dixon is the men’s basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh; Groat is a Pitt basketball radio analyst, a two-time NCAA basketball All-American and shortstop for the 1960 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.
John Meyer, sports anchor at WTAE-TV, will serve as master of ceremonies.
The event is co-sponsored by Temple Sinai Brotherhood and will include a dinner of ballpark/arena food (dietary laws observed) and a silent auction of sports memorabilia.
Part of the proceeds will go to The Maggie Dixon Foundation and Pirates Charities.
Admission is $20 for adults, $15 per child under age 13 and $70 for a family of four.
Contact Robin Friedman at 412-592-4982 or rj142@aol.com to register.
Laurie Zittrain Eisenberg, a professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University and a historian on the modern Middle East, will speak on the subject “The Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: Prospects for Egyptian-Israeli Relations,” Wednesday, May 9, 7 p.m., at Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation, Squirrel Hill.
The lecture is part of the Omer Institute Adult Education Speaker Series.
The program is free to the community. Call Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha at 412-521-6788 for more information.
Pittsburgh City Council has declared April 25 the city’s official Yom Hashoa Day.
The resolution, which was co-sponsored by Councilmen William Peduto and Corey O’Connor, was approved at council’s April 25 regular meeting.
“The Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend and recognize the Holocaust Center of Greater Pittsburgh for standing steadfast in its mission and for giving meaning to the clarion call, Never Again,” the proclamation reads.
Holocaust Center Director Joy Braunstein accepted the proclamation in honor of survivor Leslie Banos, who died Sunday, April 22. He was 88.
Dr. Elliot Cosgrove, recently named to Newsweek magazine’s list of America’s Top 50 Rabbis for 2012, will speak on “What About Me? Personal Meaning and My Future in Our Jewish Community,” Tuesday, May 15, at 5:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, Squirrel Hill, as part of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s lecture series, The two-year speaker series featuring internationally-renowned authors and educators, is coordinated in partnership with the Agency for Jewish Learning and funded by the Centennial Fund for a Jewish Future, an endowment campaign by the federation’s Jewish Community Foundation.
Cosgrove is rabbi of Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan, and was recently invited by the Anti-Defamation League to serve as its rabbinical adviser on interfaith affairs and co-chair its National Outreach and Interfaith Committee.
Previously Associate Rabbi at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago, he has authored, edited and contributed to several books and scholarly articles. Cosgrove’s synagogue has published three collections of his sermons, and he is the editor of “Jewish Theology in Our Time: A New Generation Explores the Foundations and Future of Jewish Belief.”
There is a charge. Visit jfedpgh.org to register.
Contact Amy Karp at AJL at 412-521-1101, ext. 3204 or akarp@ajlpittsburgh.org for more information.
Community Day School will hold a book signing and reading by contributing author and CDS parent Dorit Sasson Wednesday, May 16, from 8 to 9 a.m.
In “Pebbles in the Pond: Transforming the World One Person at a Time,” Dorit Sasson shares her story of how one transformed life causes ripples that reach out into the world — just like a pebble in a pond.
Books will be available for signing and purchase and a portion of the proceeds will benefit CDS.
Visit pebblesinthepondbook.com for more information on the book, which can be preordered on Sasson’s site, GivingVoicetoVoicelessBook.com. All pre-orders will receive a bonus transformational pack.
Contact srothaus@comday.org or 412-521-1100, ext. 2115 for more information.
The Hadassah Travel Club invites the community on a trip to the Meadows Casino and Tanger Outlets Thursday, May 17. The bus will leave from the Hadassah office at 9:30 a.m., and leave the Meadows at 4 p.m. There is a $36 charge, which includes $20 casino and $5 lunch credit.
Reservation checks must be received by May 9. Call Hadassah at 412-421-8919 for information and to sign up.
The 55th Pittsburgh International Folk Festival celebrates the city’s ethnic diversity, with 27 ethnic cultures that will provide food, entertainment, as well as cultural traditions and crafts.
The festival will be at the Monroeville Convention Center Friday, May 18, from 4 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, May 19, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, May 20, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This year’s theme is famous ancestors. Visit the Israel booth to learn what the Jewish people have contributed to civilization.
Service personnel with ID or DD214 or dog tags will be admitted free along with their spouse and dependents. Sunday, May 20, there will be a special ceremony thanking the military for their service. The 6th regiment USCT Drum Corps from Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall will open the ceremony, and the 911 Air Wing Honor Guard will present the colors. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald will express appreciation from the people of southwestern Pennsylvania.
Discount tickets are available from Lee Feldman at 412-561-0321 before May 11.
Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee will sponsor the new South Hills Christian-Jewish Dialogue. The first session will be held Thursday, May 17, at noon at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
The topic, “Life and Life Eternal: Where Christianity and Judaism Converge,” will be presented by Rabbi Alex Greenbaum and Rev. Jim Gilchrist. Jewish and Christian texts will be studied. The regular monthly conveners are Father Brian Noel, Rabbi Mark Mahler, Greenbaum, Rabbi Howard Stein and Gilchrist. The program is free and open to the public.
Contact the PAJC office at (412) 605-0816 or at pajc@pajc.net for more information.
Peabody High School’s Class of ’62 50th reunion will take place, Friday, June 29, beginning with a cocktail party; followed by the reunion, Saturday, June 30; and Sunday brunch July 1. All activities will be held at the Monroeville Double Tree Hotel.
Visit peabodyclassof1962.org or contact Peppy Lindner at 412-551-3938 for information. Other classes are welcome to attend.
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