Welcome to Tikvah Connects, a new publication of the National Ramah Commission, connecting you several times a year with news about members of the Tikvah community and exciting Tikvah events.
Nearly every Rosh Hashanah and Passover since 1984, I have received beautiful handwritten cards from Matthew, a former Tikvah camper. Several Friday afternoons and erev chags a year, I receive lovely phone calls from Jeremy, another former camper from Camp Ramah in New England. Matthew, Jeremy, and hundreds of other former Tikvah campers from across the United States and Canada have grown in so many ways since their camp years.
Members of the larger Tikvah community are quite diverse. They work part time, full time, and volunteer. They live in apartments, group residences, and houses. They participate in various social and recreational activities. Yet, they all have one thing in common: They cherish precious memories of summers in various Tikvah programs. They feel deeply connected to Tikvah and Ramah, and many are looking for ways to stay connected.
Tikvah is truly special! There has been so much growth in the world of inclusive camping since Herb and Barbara Greenberg started the first Tikvah program (with 8 campers!) in Glen Spey, NY, in 1970. The Tikvah program soon moved to Ramah New England. Now, all of our Ramah camps include campers with disabilities. Each time I travel to Israel, I am fortunate to visit with the Greenbergs in their home in Ra’anana. They are delighted when I share stories of Tikvah’s ongoing development. So much has happened in 47 years!
Our Tikvah programs offer camping, vocational training, employment opportunities, family camps, Israel trips and more!
Our National Ramah Tikvah Network, founded in 2011, connects Ramah staff, families, and alumni from across camps and from across the decades. Our alumni staff, campers, and families live in many parts of the US, Canada, Israel, and even other countries around the world. We have had successful local reunions in such places as Washington, DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, and at Camp Ramah in Ojai, California. Some of our camps hold weekly or regular video chats with such names as “Shabbos Is Calling” and “Shavua Tov.”
We are particularly excited to share our inaugural issue of Tikvah Connects at this time. Just this week, Tikvah staff members for summer 2017 met for training at the National Ramah Spring Leadership Training Conference (“Winer”) at Ramah New England. And earlier this month, 101 representatives of our Ramah camps participated in our 4th Ramah Israel Bike Ride and Hiking Trip and have thus far raised almost $470,000 to support our Ramah Tikvah programs.Three of our Tikvah Directors (Ralph Schwartz, Wisconsin; Orlee Krass, Poconos; and Howard Blas, Northern California/NRC) were riders! There’s still time to support this important cause.
Enjoy this inaugural issue of Tikvah Connects. In each issue, we will share news of staff, alumni, and programs. Feel free to send ideas, feedback, and updates to me at howard@campramah.org or (413) 374-7210.
Two players’ journeys from Yale to the Red Sox to Team Israel
Like many Yale baseball fans, head Bulldogs coach John Stuper recalls watching in August 2012 as one of his former stars, Craig Breslow ’02, pitched to another, catcher Ryan Lavarnway ’09. This wasn’t some Yale baseball reunion; they were in the Bronx, on national TV. The pair were the only two Yale alumni in the major league at the time, and it was the first time a Yalie pitcher had worked with a Yalie catcher in a big-league game since 1883. Breslow got the third out in the eighth inning for the Boston Red Sox, who beat the Yankees.
This past September, the duo worked together again at MCU Park in Coney Island, New York. This time, instead of Boston B’s, they were wearing bright blue caps embroidered with a Star of David, part of the uniform of the Israeli national baseball team. They played against Great Britain in two of their three qualifying games for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
“I am extremely proud of my guys,” says Stuper. “It is quite an honor for them and for Yale baseball.”
The World Baseball Classic is a 16-team international tournament played every four years—baseball’s nascent version of soccer’s World Cup. Although neither Breslow nor Lavarnway are Israeli citizens, they are eligible for the team because they are Jewish. Eight other current and former major leaguers from the United States (among them New Haven native Josh Zeid) are also playing for Israel this year, part of the first Israeli team to qualify for the 16-team tournament since it was established in 2006.
Breslow, who is competing for a spot on the Minnesota Twins during spring training this year, is a journeyman left-hander who has pitched for eight major league teams. (A molecular biophysics and biochemistry major at Yale, he was also once declared the smartest man in baseball by the Sporting News.) The father of 22-month-old twins says he was thrilled to play for Israel in the qualifiers; he appeared twice as a relief pitcher. “I am proud of my Jewish heritage,” he says. “I enjoyed playing alongside the most notable Jewish players of my generation. This tournament impacts two things very near to me.”
Margo Sugarman, secretary general of the Israel Association of Baseball, calls Breslow “a highly intelligent player and a real asset to Team Israel,” adding that Lavarnway, for his part, cemented Israel’s lead in the final game with a home run.
Lavarnway, who is interrupting spring training with the Oakland A’s to play in the Classic, started all three qualifying games as catcher for Team Israel. He says he is looking for “any way we can grow the game in Israel and show Israel in a positive light. I just want to spread positivity as much as possible.”
After sweeping Great Britain and Brazil in the qualifiers, the team is off to Seoul in early March for the first round against Korea, Chinese Taipei, and the Netherlands. They hope to advance to the second round in Japan and to the championship in Los Angeles.
NEW ORLEANS—Ask Malkie Rivkin and the volunteers who are preparing hundreds of mishloach manot food baskets at the Btesh Family Chabad House in New Orleans three days before Purim what makes the holiday unique in New Orleans, and they almost don’t understand the question.
“It’s like any other Chabad House around the world!” exclaims Rivkin, co-director of programs for Chabad-Lubavitch of Louisiana with her husband, Rabbi Mendel Rivkin. “I’m sure people right now are doing the same thing we are,” she tells Chabad.org.
One thing that makes Purim special in New Orleans is that “people here are good at getting dressed up in costumes,” says Rabbi Mendel Rivkin. “New Orleans is a costume town. People don’t shy away from them.”
Volunteer Jill Halpern, looks up for a moment from rolling hundreds of little paper scrolls with the mitzvahs of Purimwritten on them, and agrees: “The Rivkins always have the best costumes,” chimes in Halpern. “When the theme was France, the whole family came dressed up as French’s mustard.”
The scrolls that Halperin are rolling will accompany each food gift bag and box. She and other volunteers will help deliver more than 275 packages all over New Orleans.
“The mishloach manot program is a win for Chabad, a win for the person who receives it and a win for the person who does the mitzvah of giving,” says Malkie Rivkin. “And people who get one this year are more likely to give to others next year.”
Halpern, whose father settled in New Orleans from the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., in the 1950s, proudly says: “I love Chabad. Wherever they need me, I am here.”
Rabbi Yochanan Rivkin, director of the Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center at Tulane University, is looking forward to the Megillah reading and sharing the other mitzvahs of Purim with his students. He points out that some fraternity and sorority members are in the habit of baking hamantaschen as well.
One place where the Jewish community comes together on Purim is at the yearly themed party. “Chabad Uptown and Metairie join together,” notes Malkie Rivkin. This year, it’s one big city to another: “Purim in the Big Apple.” Past themes included “Purim in Outer Space” and “Purim in France.”
Katrina ‘Part of Our Consciousness’
When Hurricane Katrina raked through New Orleans in August 2005, Chabad helped the community cope by adding a little comic relief to the Jewish community the following Purim.
“Everyone remembers the images of people being rescued from the rooftops of their homes,” says the rabbi. “We actually chose a hurricane theme—‘Purim on the Blue Roof’—a little satire for the times. Katrina is part of our consciousness, but it is not something to be brought up every year. We may be recovered, but there are still pockets in the city not rebuilt.”
Guests hear the Megillah and enjoy the festivities at a past Purim party sponsored by Chabad-Lubavitch of Louisiana.
Malkie Rivkin notes that the party themes are well-chosen to make the holiday entertaining and inclusive for everyone. “One nice thing about Purim is that even the adults get involved; it’s not just for kids.”
One unique aspect of the Purim party is the entertainment, which is provided by a special member of the Jewish community. New Orleans is home to Ochsner Medical Center, a world-renown facility for liver transplants. The piano player for the Purim celebration is in town from Israel as he awaits a transplant. “Many Israelis come to our community for months at a time as they await liver transplants,” she explains. “We have a strong relationship with the Israeli families. There are four Israeli families here now; one just received a transplant.”
Rabbi Zelig Rivkin, head Chabad-Lubavitch emissary of Louisiana, could be seen this week “making the rounds” as volunteers assembled the mishloach manot. He was a little reluctant to comment much since he feels that the other emissaries, many of them his own family members, are now doing the day-to-day work of serving the needs of Jewish residents throughout the state. He and his wife, Bluma, were sent there on shlichus in November 1975 by the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.
Rivkin and Chabad of New Orleans have especially strong connections this time of the year. “We opened this Chabad House on Purim of 1976. We made some renovations to the building and were ready to open for the holiday. We started with college students—and have been making Purim here every year since!”
Chabad in New Orleans has also expanded ever since.
A section of the French Quarter. Rabbi Zelig and Bluma Rivkin opened a Chabad House in the city in 1976, just in time for Purim. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
The Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center next door, directed by Rabbi Leibel and Mushka Lipskier, serves students from Tulane University, Loyola University and the University of New Orleans. Rabbi Yochanan and Sarah Rivkin oversee a special division for graduate students. Rabbi Mendel and Malkie Rivkin direct programs for Chabad-Lubavitch of Louisiana. There are also Chabad centers in the nearby suburb of Metairie and in Baton Rouge, and Chabad Lubavitch of Southern Mississippi in Biloxi falls under their auspices.
As for community member Jill Halpern, she just loves Purim in the Big Easy: “Here, Jews are such a minority. Purim gives the Jewish community a chance to be together. You are with Jews en masse. I can’t tell you how much it makes me kvell!”
ST. THOMAS, V.I.—The questions, both halachic and practical, start early on this 32-square-mile island in the Caribbean Sea.
Rabbi Asher Federman, director of Chabad Lubavitch of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas, begins his daily routine of mustering up men well before the start of morning minyan at 7:30 a.m.
At 6:45, I am the first to be picked up at Sapphire Bay West Condos at Crystal Cove. Four of the rabbi’s sons are having a great time in the back of a black minivan. We pass through the Red Hook section of town on the east side of St. Thomas (named for the red-roofed homes and businesses along a rolling coastline), where boats depart for the nearby island of St. John. We stop for a New Jersey father and son outside their timeshare at the Ritz-Carlton. They are here during a vacation break from yeshivah and bring our minyan count to four.
Neil Sosland from Kansas City, Mo.—an elderly gentleman Rabbi Federman refers to as “Reb Neil,” a longtime seasonal resident—is waiting in front of his condo, tallis and tefillin in hand. He has been coming to St. Thomas since 1985. We’re up to five.
The conversation on the 30-minute hilly ride downtown is pleasant and educational. The New Jersey man asks if a shuttle that goes around the mountainous, windy island picking up people for davening would theoretically be possible on Shabbat. His 14-year-old son asks: “When can we pick up our challah for Shabbat?” The rabbi’s boys proudly tell of the time they walked seven miles on Rosh Hashanah from their home in the East End to the capital of Charlotte Amalie to blow shofar for various Jews along the way. “Remember, ‘Mr. P’ didn’t want to hear shofar at first?” one boy says. The rabbi good-naturedly corroborates the story.
“Sometimes, his neshamah is hiding,” the rabbi tells Chabad.org (using the Hebrew word for “soul”). “He didn’t want to hear shofar, but when he heard that we walked three-and-a-half hours from the East End, he asked us in to blow shofar.”
Just another day in the life of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries serving the Jewish people.
As we arrive at the Chabad Welcome Center on Upper 4B Norre Gade, in comes Jonathon from Teaneck, N.J., increasing our total to six. Federman is all smiles, unfazed by the extensive pre-minyan routine every morning. He explains: “Main Street is the Fifth Avenue of St. Thomas; it’s near the businesses and the ships.”
We look up and spot a number of cruise ships in port. On Wednesday alone, six arrived. On Thursday and Friday, ships with such names as the Nieuw Amsterdam, the Royal Princess and the Grandeur of the Seal are in town. The steady flow of tourists on board makes congregants with livelihoods like selling cosmetics, T-shirts and jewelry very happy. Federman likes his current daily minyan location. While quite a trek from the Chabad House, proximity to businesses means that Jewish merchants can drop in. On Chanukah, the rabbi notes, “we give out menorahs right here in front of the post office.”
During my two weekday mornings in St. Thomas, Federman had complete faith that there would be a minyan. Little by little, an eclectic group of good-natured men finds their way up the steps to Chabad. A man in the jewelry business from Uruguay, who spent time in Miami before settling in St. Thomas 27 years ago, is number seven.
The rabbi personally greets, hugs and thanks each person. His boys have their jobs as well: leading the first part of morning prayers, serving as gabbais during the Torah reading and depositing tzedakah in the free-standing charity box, about 4 feet tall.
Federman is the master of the niggun. Some days, he simply needs to sing a little longer—to allow for the 10th man to find his way.
And sure enough, reliable men eventually wander in: Moshe and Yaniv, two young Israelis in the cosmetics business; Ernesto, a photographer from Brazil who arrived in St. Thomas via a long stint in Hawaii; an Israeli 20-something from Tzfat who studied at a yeshivah in Brooklyn, N.Y., and operates a business here; and various others. The rabbi takes pride in the fact that “the locals are all new tefillin,” explaining that most minyan attendees did not grow up observant and are new to wearing tefillin, having purchased them within the last eight years.
When minyan is over, Federman turns off the lights, gates the windows, locks the door, and everyone files down the steps back to the van for the return ride back. “I need to get the kinderlach to cheder,” he says, meaning back home, where they will study as part of an online school program for the children of Chabad emissaries around the world. And, of course, tourists will get busy as well, with days of tennis, swimming and snorkeling ahead; St. Thomas is world-famous for its beautiful beaches and sea life.
Kosher Meals, Torah, Sand and Sea
Like the other islands in the U.S. Territories (St. John and St. Croix), and the British Virgin Islands to the north and east, St. Thomas has a rich history, Jewish and otherwise.
Christopher Columbus passed by St. Thomas, St. John and Tortola on his second voyage westward. These islands remained untouched by Europeans for nearly 150 years until certain countries placed their flags here—Denmark in St. Thomas, France on St. Croix and England in Tortola. The Danish later claimed St. John, bought St. Croix and built the Danish West Indies into a thriving sugarcane business and trading area.
Jews first settled in the Virgin Islands in 1655, when it was ruled by Denmark, mainly serving as traders in sugarcane, rum and molasses. They purchased a cemetery in 1750 and founded the first congregation in 1796. The synagogue was built in 1803 and burned down a year later. Following a long history that included additional fires and rebuilding, the present structure—on Synagogue Hill in downtown Charlotte Amalie—was dedicated in 1833. In 1917, the United States purchased the Danish West Indies. Residents of the Virgin Islands are American citizens, with the U.S. dollar its official currency.
What’s the backstory behind Rabbi Asher and Henya Federman’s arrival in St. Thomas in 2005? After their wedding in June 2003, they Googled “Jewish communities with no Chabad Houses” and several popped up. They considered such countries as Luxembourg, Vietnam, even Bahrain and Cuba.
“We weren’t looking for comfort,” states Federman. “We were looking for a place no one wanted to go.” Then, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch—the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement—suggested the Virgin Islands.
“When we got here,” relates Federman, “it was a tiny rock in the middle of the ocean. We didn’t know the extent of Jewish life. We were told that there was a small Jewish community and a few tourists. And we were ready to do it. As it turns out, there were more Jews than we expected with deep-rooted connections to the island—timeshare-holders, vacationers, businesspeople and more.” He estimates between 400 and 500 full-time Jewish residents in St. Thomas, not to mention tourists year-round.
Coming to St. Thomas has mostly been a wonderful experience for the Federmans, though not without its challenges. “Living here has its difficulties, especially for a Torah-observant family. You take it in stride and make the best of it.” By now, they declare, more than a decade later, with four children born there and their oldest just a baby when they arrived, they feel like locals: “We consider ourselves St. Thomians.”
The rabbi appreciates that life is much simpler here. “It is less materialistic than in other parts of the States. And the kids learn to be creative—to occupy themselves, enjoy nature and have a wholesome way of living.” One son, Itche, describes with excitement one of his favorite activities: night kayaking in a glass-bottomed boat. (“We can see fish and even pirate treasures!”)
Federman is constantly strengthened by the Rebbe’s “uncompromising and unrelenting call to reach out to every Jew, wherever they may be.” Even, and maybe especially, on islands in the middle of the sea.
In their manifold efforts to encourage Jewish life and practice, in addition to all the programming and activities, Henya prepares kosher meals that can be ordered online and delivered to all parts of the island. The rabbi teaches classes for short- or long-term periods, depending on a person’s stay. He himself learns regularly with Rabbi Michael Harvey of the historic St. Thomas Synagogue.
And then comes Shabbat.
Time in the Federman home, with nine children, is a one-of-a-kind experience. On a typical Friday night, tourists and locals pray inside then proceed outside to the driveway for Shabbat dinner. There are not many Chabad Houses in places where the weather is a consistent 85 degrees, complete with spectacular views of harbored leisure boats.
On Shabbat morning, guests are greeted with refreshing cold water after their long walk to Chabad in the hot sun. Timeshare owners—from New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles—join local residents, the Federmans and two Argentinian female volunteers from Chabad. On my trip, everyone excitedly greeted a 14-year-old tourist who arrived alone, number nine in the minyan. So the rabbi began those niggunim as we awaited the arrival of number 10: John, a jeweler from Paris who lives nearby with his wife. After our prayers, Federman went right to Minchah—just to be sure we davened with a minyan.
After a delicious lunch of deli subs, schnitzel, Israel salads, kugel, cholent and more, in between words of Torah, the guests walked out the way they arrived.
“Reb Neil” sums up the work of the Federmans quite nicely: “Chabad provides important religious support for St. Thomas and the entire U.S. Virgin Islands. This includes traditional services, classes and programs, as well as kosher food. It merits significant support from the entire Jewish community involved in this location in any way.”
