Published Articles

Original Article Published On the JNS

Judaica artist Jeanette Kuvin Oren calls the stamp the “culmination of a lifelong dream.”

American Judaica artist Jeanette Kuvin Oren is well-known for her work in many media. She designs unique Torah mantles, ark curtains, chuppah wedding canopies, ketubah marriage contracts, papercuts, stained glass and nearly any ritual object or decoration a synagogue, Jewish home or family would ever need.

On Oct. 20, Kuvin Oren added “designer of a U.S. Postal Service stamp” to her impressive résumé. The “Hanukkah Forever” postage stamp is based on one of Kuvin Oren’s works.

“Jeanette’s art came to my attention several years ago and I am very happy to be able to bring her work to a very wide audience,” Ethel Kessler of Kessler Design, who serves as art director for stamps at the USPS, says enthusiastically. “Her work has a glowing and joyful spirit and that’s what I wanted to add to our U.S. Hanukkah series.”

A first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the stamp was held last Thursday at Temple Emanu El in Orange Village, Ohio, an eastern suburb of Cleveland. This year, Hanukkah begins on the evening of Dec. 18.

Kessler adds, “Stamps are a joy for me to art direct. What it entails is getting familiar with people across the country who are making interesting art that can be used at stamp size.”

The USPS states, “The stamp art features the design from an original wall-hanging. The fiber art was hand-dyed, appliquéd and quilted to form an abstract image of a hanukkiah.”

The stamp is being issued in panes of 20. It will always be equal in value to the current First Class Mail one-ounce price (currently 60 cents). Kessler acknowledges, “First class mail may have dropped off in the past decade…But we still print over 10 million Hanukkah celebration stamps.”

Kuvin Oren has now received an education in stamp collecting and stamp releases. She explains that the first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony took place in Cleveland since the USPS wanted it to be in the Midwest. And Emanu El was enthusiastic to host.”

She has also learned that the stamp date and location will appear on every 6-3/4 inch envelope with the state and date of issue and location. Stamp collectors traditionally go to the post office to buy new stamps, put them on a clean white blank envelope and mail them for a first-day-of-issue cancellation. These are known as first-day covers. Many aficionados also collect cachets, an illustration usually on the left side of the envelope.

“The USPS doesn’t create a cachet so it is up to the artist or a dealer to create one. It is a nice souvenir for the first day of issue so I created my own,” reports Kuvin Oren.

Kuvin Oren, a resident of Connecticut and Jerusalem, recently offered a tour of her home studio in Woodbridge, Conn., and enthusiastically shared her many works in progress and stories of her artwork with JNS.

In describing the process of being discovered by the USPS, she reports, “I sent a piece 30 years ago to the USPS and always had a dream of being on a stamp—this is the culmination of a lifelong dream. I am very honored and it is very emotional to see my artwork there. It is something so historical.”

Kuvin Oren explains that a small wall hanging of her stamp will hang in the National Postal Museum in Washington. “It will be Hanukkah forever!”

Jeanette Kuvin Oren presents her “Hanukkah Forever” postage stamp at Temple Emanu El in Orange Village, Ohio, Oct. 20. Credit: Courtesy Jeanette Kuvin Oren.

The artist, a graduate of Princeton and Yale universities, has talents in many areas. She completed a master’s degree in public health and most of her doctorate in epidemiology. Since deciding in 1984 to work on commissioned art and graphic design full-time, she has created installation pieces for more than 400 houses of worship, schools, community centers and camps around the world. She specializes in large installations of glass, mosaic, metal, fiber art, calligraphy, paper-cutting and painting. Her Torah covers, ark covers, ark curtains and wall hangings may be seen in homes and Jewish institutions around the world.

Kuvin Oren shares with great excitement a donor recognition art wall project she recently worked on for a synagogue in Miami. She demonstrated the special equipment and process (in her basement studio) needed to produce 40 Torah covers for a shul that has three sanctuaries.

She has also shared her talents close to home—at her beloved synagogue, Congregation B’nai Jacob in Woodbridge. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped create a video of departed members of the synagogue; the faces of each person were incorporated into the video, which was shown as part of the Yizkor memorial service.

Kuvin Oren plans to use the Hanukkah postage stamps on the invitations to the wedding of one of her daughters, which will take place in March 2023.

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Original Article Published In The JP

Argentine-Jewish tennis star Diego Schwartzman shared his thoughts with The Jerusalem Post after his maiden trip to Israel for a recent tournament.

Diego Schwartzman, the highest-ranked Jewish tennis player in the world, finally made it to Israel.

He liked it so much that he can’t wait to come back and explore more.

The Argentina-born Schwartzman, 30 years old and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, is the 17th-ranked men’s player in the world. He briefly visited Israel over the past few weeks while participating in the Tel Aviv Watergen Open, which took place from September 26 to October 2. While Schwartzman did not have an opportunity to travel outside of Tel Aviv, he extensively explored the city on foot. And he loved it.

“I was surprised by Tel Aviv in a good way. I didn’t expect it to be so amazing. It is for sure one of my top-three best cities in the world.”

Diego Schwartzman

“I was surprised by Tel Aviv in a good way. I didn’t expect it to be so amazing. It is for sure one of my top-three best cities in the world,” Schwartzman shared with The Jerusalem Post via Zoom from his car in Buenos Aires.

Schwartzman, the tournament’s No. 3 seed (behind Novak Djokovic and Marin Cilic) had a bye in the first round before losing to Arthur Rinderknech of France 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 and quickly returned to Argentina. He was enjoying a rare visit home where he was spending time at the mall playing games with nieces and nephews and looking forward to spending Yom Kippur with family in Buenos Aires. He planned to join them for synagogue services and break-fast.

Diego Schwartzman plays a shot against Stefanos Tsitsipas in his Laver Cup Tennis match. (credit: PETER VAN DEN BERG-USA TODAY SPORTS/VIA REUTERS)

Schwartzman’s expectations of Israel vs. reality

Schwartzman was still feeling excited and enthusiastic about his first visit to Israel.

“From what you see on TV, you expect different things,” said Schwarzman. “I walked on different days for a long time to almost every part of the city. That’s why I can tell you it’s an amazing city. There were so many amazing things – young people, so many bars, good restaurants, coffee places, green spaces like squares, and beaches – the combination of city and new and modern and old traditions. I liked the freedom of the young people and the way people live there.”

Schwartzman expected to see “more religious people” in Tel Aviv. He definitely interacted with observant Jews in Tel Aviv, but noted “some follow a religious lifestyle, but in a modern way.”

Schwartzman’s parents, Ricardo and Silvana, also visited Israel for the first time.

“My family got to go to Jerusalem. They got to take a very nice walk.”

Competing in the event definitely limited Schwartzman’s chances to be a tourist.

“I arrived Monday, on Rosh Hashanah, and you could feel Rosh Hashanah in the air – not too much was open Monday, or Tuesday or Friday or Shabbat. I had to play on Thursday.”

He has already studied the map and internet and has identified places he’d like to visit on a future visit.

“I want to come back as a tourist and visit other places. I see everything is close, like the Dead Sea and Haifa. Right now there is peace and no conflict. It is a good time to come. I will be back for sure!”

While Schwartzman – who reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 8 in the world in October 2020 – experienced an earlier-than-expected departure during the Tel Aviv Watergen Open, he was very impressed with the tournament’s organization and atmosphere.

“They did amazing work – they built the place [at Expo Tel Aviv] four days before the tournament and it was well organized.”

Schwartzman has had the greatest success on clay and would have preferred playing outdoors, in a stadium.

“It is difficult to have tournaments indoors.” He is hopeful that future tournaments will have “a bigger court one, more practice courts and maybe a bigger stadium.”

Schwartzman was pleased with the crowds and their enthusiasm in general and for him.

“Novak was there and people wanted to go see him,” said Schwartzman. “It was great to see a full stadium. The crowd was good and the support for me was amazing. I felt like I was at home. People were fighting for me.

“I had a match point and almost came back. I was not playing my best. That’s why I want to come back!”

Schwartzman had several other meaningful experiences at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open. He enjoyed seeing Israeli tennis friends, including Israel’s Davis Cup team member Edan Leshem and retired player Amir Weintraub.

“He beat me in the third round of the qualifiers at the Australian Open,” Schwartzman jokingly said of Weintraub.

Indeed, Weintraub defeated Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 at the 2013 Australian Open qualifiers in Melbourne. Weintraub entered the main draw and lost in the second round. The two also got to know each other at the 2014 Davis Cup, when Israel played Argentina in Sunrise, Florida.

Schwartzman was also excited to learn about tournament sponsor Watergen’s products.

“The owner of Watergen showed me everything and how they take water from the air. It is crazy how this high tech keeps improving every year.”

He also had an opportunity to try playing tennis in a wheelchair with one of Israel’s all-time great wheelchair tennis players, Noam Gershony.

“I was very bad. I can’t move. I don’t know how they do it! When you try, you realize how difficult it is for them – not just to play but to move and hit how they do. It was nice to share a moment with wheelchair players.”

Schwartzman enjoyed his first taste of Israel. And he can’t wait to come back. Israel will be equally happy to welcome Schwartzman and his family back for a longer visit, and for now, will continue to take pride in his accomplishments on the court across the globe.

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Original Article Published On The Jewish Times

Dean Kremer recently completed his best season ever with the Baltimore Orioles—and the Jewish star-wearing pitcher can tell you about it in Hebrew, if you ask him. The right-handed starter went 8-7 in his third season with the O’s. He pitched 119 innings in 22 games, had 87 strikeouts and a 3.23 ERA, and is thrilled to be in Baltimore. Kremer spoke with the “Baltimore Jewish Times” the day after his final start (a loss) on Oct. 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The 26-year-old playfully reported that it was a “long season” and that it’s “hard to remember” details. While he acknowledged that there were “some fun and some frustrations,” he said the season was strong all around. At one point early on, Kremer was on the IL (injured list). Once revved up, he pitched an incredible 23 straight scoreless innings. His personal highlight of the season was a September game against the Houston Astros where he pitched a complete nine-inning game and gave up only four hits in the 6-0 victory. He faced several star players, including José Altuve and fellow Jewish player Alex Bregman, who went 0 for 4.

Kremer did not have to face the issue of pitching on Rosh Hashanah or in Toronto on Yom Kippur, the last game of the season when the Orioles faced the Blue Jays in a double-header, losing one and winning one to end the season with an 83-79 record, a 31-game improvement over 2021. (Jewish Major Leaguers are often asked whether or not they’d play on the High Holidays.) He noted that “it has never come up—I hope it stays that way.”

The Israeli-American pitcher said he has been enjoying his time in Baltimore: “The city is awesome, and I like the area [near the Inner Harbor] that I live in.”

He did note that “there’s not much time to explore. We spend half of the season away, and when we are home, we have long nights and early mornings.” He pointed out that the local Jewish community has reached out to him, though “I haven’t had any chances to meet them yet. I am looking forward to that in the future.”

Kremer grew up in California to two Israeli parents and traveled to Israel frequently until the demands of baseball got too great. “We went to Israel two times a year until I was in high school—for one or two months in the summer and over the winter.” He and his two brothers celebrated their bar mitzvahs in Tel Aviv, where his grandparents are involved. The Kremers speak Hebrew at home—“most of the time.”

Kremer has had a long history with Team Israel. Peter Kurz, general manager of Israel’s Olympic and National baseball teams, has known Kremer for many years and is proud of his accomplishments. “We are very excited to have Dean Kremer on board for the upcoming World Baseball Championship in March and hope he can be the tournament MVP like he was for Team Israel in his first European championship back in 2014 in Lubliana, Slovenia. He went 2-0 with a 0.00 era! And he was 18 years old at the time.”

Kremer looks back fondly on his past experiences with Team Israel with an uncanny memory for the details of his involvement. “My first experience with them was when I played for Team USA in the 2013 Maccabiah, then I played with them for three tournaments in 2014 and ’15 to help the team advance. Then I was drafted”—the first Israeli drafted to a Major League Baseball team—“and could not play until the World Baseball Qualifiers in 2016 and 2017. Each time, I wore the uniform, I had a blast!”

In March, Kremer will join such current Major Leaguers as Joc Pederson (San Francisco Giants), Harrison Bader (New York Yankees), Kevin Pillar (Los Angeles Dodgers) and fellow pitcher Miami Marlins reliever Richard Bleier. The team will be managed by former star second baseman Ian Kinsler, who played on Israel’s 2020 Olympic baseball team. Team Israel is in Pool D and will face off against Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and an additional team to be determined. All three teams are considered to be tough. Team Israel is currently ranked 20th in the world.

The official announcement of Kremer’s participation on Team Israel in the off-season was made in early October. He said when his Orioles teammates heard the news, they congratulated him—“they were super happy.” He also said they have always been aware of his close ties to Judaism and Israel.

For now, Kremer will enjoy a little R&R before joining Team Israel for the World Baseball Classic qualifiers in March. Looking back to last season and ahead to the next, he offered: “Overall, it was a good one, and I am looking forward to the future.”

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Original Article Published On The JP

“I hope to maintain these relationships I formed at yeshiva. I think it will help me at university. I hope to continue actively and passively including people at all times.”

When Rabbi Shmuel Reiner learned from a mother at his local synagogue in Israel that her autistic son had no options for studying in a yeshiva, he grew frustrated. 

“He wants to learn in a yeshiva, and his parents want him to learn in a yeshiva. And there was no yeshiva for him? That upset me,” reports Rabbi Reiner, founder and yeshiva head at Yeshivat Ma’aleh Gilboa, located on the summit of Mount Gilboa.

An inclusive yeshiva

Shiluv Hameshalev, the yeshiva study and community service program, was founded in 2012, and currently includes 10 young men on the autism spectrum. 

“Torah must go with moral sensitivity,” Rabbi Yehuda Gilad, the program and the yeshiva’s co-founder and co-rosh yeshiva, offers. “It is win/win for all learners.”

Both rabbis were committed to the project from the beginning, but were keenly aware of the limitations of their professional areas of expertise. 

LEARNING AT THE Ma’ale Gilboa Yeshiva. (credit: Ma’ale Gilboa)

“I am a rabbi, not a social worker,” Reiner notes.

Experts in the special education community advised him to “decide on a population [of disability types],” noting that each disability requires specialized support.

Reiner and his colleagues were aware of the social challenges students on the autism spectrum might face, but felt this demographic would have a high likelihood of success if the yeshiva program was designed thoughtfully and with the appropriate accommodations. 

Program director Dr. David Lester, a bibliotherapist and teacher, describes Shiluv as filling a gap for religious boys who graduate high school without a suitable framework. 

“The uniqueness of the program is that it is not a hostel or a therapeutic setting, but a yeshiva program integrated into a normative community,” he said.

A key tenet of the two-year program is that study is integrated. Reiner feels strongly that students on the autism spectrum should not study separately from the other yeshiva students. 

Students in the Shiluv program spend mornings performing community service and studying for one or two hours daily with their typically developing peers. They pray together, eat breakfast, and work on an educational agricultural farm until noon. After the lunch break, some Shiluv students participate in classes given to the general yeshiva, and some gather in study groups designed for them. 

The Shiluv students meet once a week with a therapist for individual and group therapy sessions. Electives offered by kibbutz volunteers include music, creative writing and computers. Men in the program are often hosted by kibbutz members for Shabbat meals.

Gateway to National Service

This year, some students will also work on a farm at nearby Kibbutz Ein Hanatziv. Their work on both farms is considered equivalent to National Service. Participants thereby fulfill Israel’s requirement imposed on young men to serve their country through either military service or community service.

Yosef Zaner, 21, a student in the Shiluv program who made aliyah with his family from Atlanta nine years ago, was drawn to the yeshiva in part for the reason that it would allow him to fulfill his requirement for National Service. 

Zaner was not eligible for full army service, due to his disability, but, through the program, worked on the farm, where he assisted with planting, farming, carpentry and woodworking. 

“I built stuff for the farm – and I made a big puzzle – like the game Rush Hour, inspired by watching the Survivor TV show.”

A mutually beneficial relationship

When Davi Frank of Riverdale, New York, was considering studying at Ma’aleh Gilboa, he saw the yeshiva’s brochure where, in small print, it mentioned the opportunity of studying together with people with disabilities. 

“At the time, it seemed nice, [but] then [I] didn’t think more about it,” Davi says. “I learned at Ma’aleh Gilboa for two years, and it became a crucial element of both years!” 

As Frank became more established in the yeshiva, he began leading a habura class for students in the Shiluv program. It didn’t take him long to appreciate how amazing his students – and his peers – were. 

“They are so smart and so engaged. You see quickly that they are here to grow and have similar goals as us. They make such an effort to learn.”

The relationship among the yeshiva, its students and the Shiluv participants is mutually beneficial. 

Reiner appreciates Zaner’s many gifts and level of commitment to the yeshiva. “He was a hazan (prayer leader) and Torah reader, and you could see his confidence. He was not shy in the yeshiva.”

Challenges for students

While each Shiluv student presents many strengths, there are also challenges. As an example, many on the autism spectrum have difficulties with changes of routines, loud noises and sarcasm. 

Frank recalls one Purim when a Shiluv student became overwhelmed, appeared to having a panic attack, and began screaming at Davi during a good-natured skit. Davi was able to calm down the young man. 

“It was scary for a few minutes,” Frank recalls. 

Heidi Zaner, Yosef’s mother, appreciates the yeshiva’s ability to understand her son’s level of required support. 

“He sometimes talks beyond the time that people want to listen, and the students understand how to be kind, and how to rotate in and out as havrutas [study partners].”

The Shiluv program also creates other challenges. As Reiner notes, “logistics are sometimes complex, and the intensive staffing and small class size comes at a financial cost.”

Long-lasting benefits

Davi Frank, who started his college studies at Princeton University after two years at Ma’aleh Gilboa, looks forward to applying in college, and in life in general, the lessons he learned about inclusion. 

“I hope to maintain these relationships I formed at yeshiva. I think it will help me at university. I hope to continue actively and passively including people at all times,” he said. “Once you become used to including people, it becomes automatic.”

Getting out the word

While the program has been in existence for 10 years and has the potential to serve as a model for other study programs, it continues to be not very well known in the yeshiva world in Israel or in the United States.

Additional information can be found online at https://www.israelnextyear.org/israel-programs/Ma’aleh-gilboa and on YouTube.

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