Oh, hello! Three current and former presidents of the Village of Fox Point stumbled upon one another at the same performance of “The Chosen,” unaware that the other two were also attending. The current president of the village of Fox Point, and her two predecessors, attended the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre’s performance on March 29, 2024. From left to right are Mike West, current Village President Christine Symchych and Douglas Frazer. Photo by Karen Anne Hebert. 

Five-star ratings for Jewish Home 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have awarded the Jewish Home and Care Center, of Ovation Communities, with five-star ratings in the areas of quality measures and staffing.  

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid created the five-star quality rating system to help consumers, their families, and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily and to help identify areas of which the consumer may have questions, according to a press release.  

The five-star rating for quality measures relates to nursing home performance, for both short- and long-stay residents. 

The five-star rating for staffing is based on staff turnover and hours worked by staff. Higher staffing levels and lower staffing turnover, as at the Jewish Home and Care Center, can mean a higher quality of care for residents. 

Nicolet students gather for hostages 

Students gathered at the CTeen house, near Nicolet High School, to advocate for the hostages still held by Hamas and its allies in Gaza.  

More than 40 students attended the April 8 event. 

A student speaker talked about “brothers and sisters … taken from their homes,” and called to “bring them home!” 

Rabbi Shafrin leads in St. Louis  

Rabbi Scott Shafrin has been named executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis.  

Shafrin is a Milwaukee native, having attended Congregation Shalom. Shafrin previously served as the St. Louis JCRC’s deputy director and is the Lee & Milford Bohm director of Social Justice, according to the St. Louis Jewish Light.  

Shafrin started April 15. 

Margolis named chair of pediatrics 

The Medical College of Wisconsin named David A. Margolis, MD, chair of pediatrics. In addition, Margolis will serve concurrently as pediatrician-in-chief at Children’s Wisconsin (Children’s).  

He will also hold the Barri L. and David J. Drury chair in pediatrics and currently holds the David A. Margolis Chair in pediatric bone marrow transplant research at Children’s. 

“We’re grateful for Dr. Margolis’s leadership and unwavering commitment to providing the best care for kids and their families well into the future,” said Joseph E. Kerschner, MD, provost and executive vice president of Medical College of Wisconsin. 

Alyson Lippman launches Midlife Midwife 

Midlife Midwife MKE is a new women’s health practice opening May 1, to address gaps in care for women in midlife who are looking to have their voices heard, questions answered, hormones explained, and changes understood.  

Alyson Lippman is launching the practice. Lippman is a past Milwaukee Jewish Day School board member and a current Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun board member. Lippman teaches women’s health and nursing leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

Empowering individuals navigating midlife with compassionate, personalized care, Midlife Midwife MKE specializes in perimenopause, menopause, gynecological and sexual health, and is focused on enhancing overall quality of life, according to a press release. Lippman is a certified nurse midwife and prescriber. Visit MidlifeMidwifeMke.com. 

Chronicle seeks journalist writers 

If you’ve got training and experience as a professional journalist, and an interest in Jewish community, the Chronicle may have some part-time or freelance work for you. If this is of interest, contact RobG@MilwaukeeJewish.org. 

Hansher is Ozaukee County supervisor 

Jeffrey Hansher was elected Ozaukee County supervisor, district 24, in the spring 2024 election. He defeated the incumbent.  

Hansher is also the district #4 alderman for the City of Mequon, since 2019. He is a retired elementary and special education teacher from the Wauwatosa School District, where he taught for 33 years. He also is secretary of the Frank L. Weyenberg Board in the Mequon-Thiensville District. 

Milwaukee Jewish Federation is offering “microgrants” for organizers of programming related to Israel or antisemitism. 

The Israel and Overseas Committee of Milwaukee Jewish Federation is offering the microgrants. Organizations can apply for microgrants ranging from $500 to $2,000 per group. If organizations partner with one another, those amounts can double. Programs must be held by June 30, so applications should be filed soon. 

Eileen Graves, who serves on a microgrants subcommittee and is the chair-elect for the Israel and Overseas Committee, said applications will be reviewed carefully, keeping in mind the mission to support Israel or combat antisemitism. 

Grant administrators are open to different kinds of ideas. The grants are “an invitation for organizations to get creative and really think outside the box as to how to structure their program,” said Darla Flemming, director of community planning for Milwaukee Jewish Federation. 

Organizations that have already been approved for microgrant funding include Hillel Milwaukee, Chabad of Waukesha and the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, among others.  

To find out how to apply for a microgrant, contact Darla Flemming at darlaf@milwaukeejewish.org or 414-390-5769. 

Relationships between mothers and their children are complicated. Our mothers are our first teachers, intentionally and unintentionally showing us how to be good people, how to treat and care for others, how to navigate the world, and how to overcome challenges. If you are as lucky as I have been, your mother will also teach you how to cook, clean, iron, and stand on your own two feet.  

Our mothers are our most enduring, and most indelible guides.  

My mother always said that no matter how old either of us lived to be, I would always be her child. I know that I am not the only woman on earth who had wished, often, that my mother would treat me as the adult I had become instead of the child that I was. My mother never stopped giving advice, expressing concern, and telling me that, in general, I was on the wrong track. “I told you so” was a consistent and all-too-familiar refrain.  

Much to my chagrin, my mother was frequently right about my being frequently wrong. This was always deeply annoying to me, since on some level it proved the correctness of her assertion that I’d never be entirely grown up and would likely need round-the-clock supervision for the rest of my life. 

Conversely, my mother was also my greatest cheerleader and champion. There was no personal product or artifact too mediocre not to be lauded as a work of genius. I often thought that if I were to floss my teeth in front of her, she would bronze the floss and have it framed, evidence of my sheer exceptionality. In her eyes, I occupied that unique position in the Great Chain of Being that fell somewhere between idiot and savant. Since the needle often pointed more in the direction of idiot, she always felt free to remind me that my native brilliance left plenty of room for improvement. 

My mother died last summer. She was diagnosed with stage four cancer on June 5, 2023. By June 7 I had flown to Nevada, where she lived, to provide whatever level of care she needed. That her diagnosis coincided with my retirement was a miracle—a miracle for which I am profoundly grateful. Not having to navigate work obligations when your mother is dying allows you the luxury of providing undivided time and attention. 

I brought her home from the hospital on June 9. In a matter of three weeks, I watched her health decline precipitously. We went from managing her pain with Tylenol and CBD oil to managing her pain with Morphine and Haldol and Ativan. By the fourth week she no longer ate or drank, and she slept close to 24 hours a day. I slept in her bedroom with her because I was terrified that she would fall if she tried to get up during the night, or die alone without me there to hold her hand and kiss her goodbye. 

I had hospice on speed dial. I contacted the funeral home in Las Vegas that was to retrieve her remains, and the funeral home in Milwaukee to which she would be sent so that she could be buried beside my father. I notified her friends and relatives that she was terminally ill. I hovered. I cried. I prayed for her to go peacefully and painlessly. I wondered what would become of me after she died, when I would at last be free to live my life without anxiety, guilt, concern, and obligation. More than that, I wondered what my life would be like when someone I had loved so deeply, for so long, was gone. 

Now she has passed, and I am out of a job—a job that I tried to do well but never did perfectly. For 66 years I tried to be a good daughter, often falling short of the mark, to a mom who loved me more than any other person on earth ever has or ever will again. 

She often warned me that I would miss her someday. I would always raise one eyebrow as if to say, “Don’t be so sure, Mom.”  

It only took a few days for me to realize how much I already missed her, in ways I could never have imagined before. I ran one last load of her laundry, and as I folded her pajamas, I felt an unexpected surge of tenderness and emptiness and grief—and in that moment, I could hear her saying, quite clearly and with mom-like emphasis, “I told you so.”  

One final proof that she was right all along. 

* * *

About Writer Vickie Shufton 

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Vickie Shufton had a 35-year career in public education. She is a columnist for the Berkshire Edge and resident of Great Barrington, Mass. “Soon to return to my hometown to live out the rest of my days,” Shufton said. “I should be moving back within the next year or so.” 

I signed up for the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Solidarity Mission to Israel because I wanted to bear witness to the atrocities of Oct 7. As a second-generation speaker for The Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center, I teach students to bear witness to Nazi atrocities. I needed to go. I wanted to bear witness myself!  
 
The first day of our mission brought me face-to-face with the terror and horror. I was walking on the very soil that a few short months ago was covered in blood. I could almost still smell the death. And I could almost hear the screams of the innocents. 
 
At Kibbutz Kfar Aza, as I looked into Gaza five short kilometers away, it was not difficult to see how an invasion could have unfolded. The people in the kibbutzim closest to Gaza were the ones invested in a two-state solution and trying to live harmoniously. The violation cut deeply. A resident in the kibbutz, who lost friends and family and  is still waiting for her hostage friends to be released, talked to us for over an hour. We respectfully entered the charred homes and bore witness to the bullet and grenade holes throughout the rooms, the disarray, the signs of violence, with clothes strewn around, furniture tossed, and shelves emptied. We saw the markings on the buildings by the Israel Defense Forces, ZAKA Search and Rescue, and other agencies. I was there. It happened! I saw it with my own eyes!  
 
At the Nova Music Festival site, there was an area with names, pictures and candles. On Oct. 7, this area hosted peace-loving music lovers as they danced to the sounds of entertainers. Bomb shelters where people were slaughtered have already been painted white to try to clean the site, but it did not hide the scene in my mind. 
 
And at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, just down the road from the music festival site, we heard from residents of this kibbutz and the very brave head of security who held off the terrorists. This kibbutz was never physically violated but the 900 residents who lived there on Oct. 7 are now only 350 strong. The school is empty, the sounds of children are missing, and the remaining residents are not sure about its future. I ate lunch across the table from the head of security. He wore a loose sweatshirt-like shirt, pants like the one I wore, and a pair of leather shoes. I was there and saw him. I talked to him, and I hugged him. That is what a hero looks like!  
 
It was hard to wrap my head around what I was experiencing, but I did see it, as did the other 14 members of our group. We are all still processing, and we may always be. We were there. 
 
And just like Israeli society, in the days after experiencing the sites, we turned to trauma relief, support and how they live today.  
 

Our first stop was the JDC, the Joint Distribution Committee. They were priority setting and taking existing programs and applying them to today’s problems. They were nimble enough to do this, putting money and answers where they are needed quickly. This is how Israel pivots and adapts. 

United Hatzalah, a community-based volunteer emergency medical service organization, works to provide medical treatment with an average response time of three minutes or less. Posters in their lobby tell the story that two of their people are currently hostages. 

We volunteered at  Leket Israel, the leading food rescue organization in Israel, which  rescues healthy, surplus agricultural produce and is now helping the farmers who have lost two planting cycles. Their workers and fields need help, and we made packets of food for those in need with Colel Chabad – Pantry Packers. We went to NATAL, Israel’s trauma and resiliency center where they have had to teach the therapists how to deal with the tsunami of requests, all while knowing the therapists have their own Oct. 7 trauma.   

At the Tzafon Medical Center in the Milwaukee area’s partnership region, Sovev Kinneret, about 12 miles from the Syrian border, they have created an app for doctors in the field who must practice medicine differently than they practice civilian healthcare. They have created a doctor-to-doctor app to help provide the best medicine they can in trauma situations. They also created a patient-to-physician WhatsApp group, for when personal touches weren’t available. 

There are new and groundbreaking therapies being developed at Loewenstein Hospital, Israel’s leading hospital in the field of rehabilitation medicine.  We heard about innovative therapies that are being copied in hospitals worldwide, and we heard from a hero from the war. 

We were witness to a ‘pop-up’ school for the evacuees of the Sovev Kinneret area. Those evacuated due to the war (Jewish refugees) are not expected to return to their homes before December 2024, and we are talking about 20,000 people. We saw a ‘campus’ of 36 mobile classrooms, shelters, a playground, canteen, high school and grade school that didn’t exist in September 2023. It was built in a parking lot. This area teaches 800 students. We had the privilege of listening to four young teenagers as they shared how their lives have changed since the beginning of the war. 

Every place that I mentioned are among the places funded in part by either the Milwaukee Jewish Federation Annual Campaign or the Israel Emergency Campaign.  We were all witness to the very good use of our dollars. 

And we went to Hostages Square, where we were in a small group with 22-year-old hostage Omer Neutra’s grandparents. His grandmother told us his story, as she knew it. She has not heard from him nor heard anything about him since he was taken hostage. The uncertainty is breathtaking. And as a grandmother myself, I wept. We need to keep saying his name, and the name of the other hostages, so society doesn’t forget their names. 

What really stood out to me was how the entire Israeli society is touched. In this small nation, everyone is affected. The person who is giving help has their own trauma, too. Soldiers come and go to their units and families. Our tour guide’s 25-year-old daughter who traveled with us one day, had been in Gaza and was a tank commander. The man in shorts running on the promenade along the beach was a war hero. The person providing security for us on the mission, two weeks earlier, had been in Gaza. When we went to Mount Herzl and paid our respects to those buried there, this Golani Brigade soldier was seeing the names of his friends. The trauma that this man must have been feeling as he made a living for his family, protecting us as we went place to place, is something to wrap a head around. I always said ‘thank you’ to him at least once each day and often after each stop. 

We were thanked over and over by Israelis for making this trip and supporting them. Just by us being there and bearing witness gave them a measure of support. Life goes on in Israel. 

I thought that I was going to Israel to bear witness to the atrocities, and I did. But today’s story is really about bearing witness to the resilience of Israeli society and its people. There is a new sense of unity in Israel and solidarity among Jews across the world.  
 
The Mission of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation is to care for the needs of the Jewish people and to build a vibrant Jewish future in Milwaukee, Israel and around the world. Never have these words held more meaning for me.  Kol Yisrael arevim zen bazeh – all of Israel are responsible for each other. And through the MJF annual campaign and Israel emergency campaign we are most definitely taking care of the needs of the Jewish people! 
 
I have chosen to see the world through Jewish eyes. One of my favorite teachings is found in Parashat Nitzavim. It is the famous commandment to choose life. We read in (Deut. 30:19): “I call heaven and earth to witness you today: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse — therefore choose life!” The people of Israel choose life!  

Just like the students that I teach, by reading my story, you are now bearing witness to the truth. And just like the students, you now carry these words into the future. 

* * *

Writer Nancy Kennedy Barnett attended the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Solidarity Trip to Israel in March. Barnett is a long-time Jewish community volunteer.

Nicolet High School offered kosher-for-Passover meals at prom, on April 27, toward the end of the Passover week. 

Nicolet is a public school, with one of the largest Jewish populations in the state.  

“We’re trying to be accommodating of the front end,” Superintendent Greg Kabara said. He credited the staff: “When students ask or say, ‘are you doing something’ or ‘can you do something,’ they’re not resisting.” 

The date of prom was moved to accommodate a robotics competition, landing it on April 27. When the Passover conflict came to school officials’ attention, they arranged to offer kosher-for-Passover meals, from Milwaukee caterer Hannah’s Kitchen. The option functioned similarly to a vegan or vegetarian option, Kabara said. 

Marilyn K. Franklin, a member of the Nicolet School Board, is impressed with the district’s record on diversity. She recalled how the grand reopening of the school after renovations was moved to accommodate a Jewish holiday. 

“I find that amazing. I really do. When I went to school, there was no such thing as days off for Jewish holidays. Period,” Franklin said. 

“We do build our calendar to try to accommodate those religious observations, like we would for typical Christian holidays as well,” Kabara said.  

Gov. Tony Evers signed a bill to allocate $400,000 to Milwaukee’s Holocaust education center, over a two-year period, to help train educators statewide. 

The bill was approved unanimously by the state legislature after representatives of the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center testified at hearings in Madison. The state Senate passed the bill 32-0 and the Assembly passed it 97-0. 

The state funding comes after 2021 legislation requiring Holocaust and genocide education in schools led to increased demand for educator training and resources, which was fulfilled successfully by HERC, said executive director Samantha Abramson.  

HERC representatives told legislators how they had developed new lesson plans and training programs for educators, and that funding from the state would help HERC continue to expand its support for schools statewide. HERC is a program of Milwaukee Jewish Federation.  

State Rep. Jon Plumer and Sen. Dan Knodl were key advocates for the bill, among others. “It was just an incredible show of bipartisan support,” Abramson said. 

“Prior to 2021, HERC was operating under a much smaller budget. We had about a $400,000 budget and three and a half full-time staff. And we were mostly serving Milwaukee and its surrounding suburbs,” Abramson said. Then, Jewish community advocates and allies worked towards a bill mandating Holocaust and genocide education in schools. It became law in 2021. Legislators wrote into the law that Wisconsin has a Holocaust center, widely understood to be HERC, that could help implement the education initiatives. 

“The scope of HERC’s mission suddenly changed,” recalled Richard Rocamora, who was treasurer of HERC at the time and is now chair of the HERC board. Rocamora said HERC shifted its focus to “hire staff and professional educators, to meet with educators around the state and educate them.” 

To date, HERC is the primary mechanism for implementing the Holocaust and genocide education requirement, and it has reached almost 80 percent of Wisconsin school districts, according to the governor’s office.  

Those efforts may have helped solidify HERC’s role. “We really are being looked at by the lawmakers in Madison, and by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, as the lead on providing education on the Holocaust and other genocides,” Abramson said. “And it means our budget has more than doubled and our staff has more than doubled. And we’re probably not done growing.” HERC’s staff is now the largest in its history, with seven full-time employees.  

Growth or support is expected for current work: HERC leads seminars for teachers and other educators, maintains a growing database of lesson plans, and sends speakers to schools. Add to that an emerging expense – security for traveling speakers from HERC’s Holocaust speaker’s bureau.  

HERC’s education team is also developing a plan to create hundreds of “trunks” – containers of Holocaust-related materials that will reside at schools, for educator use. The trunks could include copies of documents and photos from Wisconsin’s families with Holocaust histories. 

Lindsay McBride, a social studies teacher in the Northern Ozaukee School District, has been an advocate for HERC and for state funding and serves on HERC’s Teacher Advisory Group.  In addition to having her students meet Holocaust survivors, she told the Chronicle, “HERC has allowed my students the opportunity to hear from experts in the field of genocide education and literacy, both at my school and through field trips with students from other schools at no cost to our districts. HERC staff have also led restorative conversations with my students after antisemitic incidents that have occurred in our school.” 

Wisconsin ranks highest in Holocaust awareness among U.S. millennials and Gen Z, according to a 2020 survey conducted by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Wisconsin’s leadership in Holocaust education is due in large part to the strong educational programming provided by HERC, according to the governor’s office.  

And yet, Abramson noted, “Antisemitism reported in middle and high school settings is the highest it’s been. It’s the fastest growing category of antisemitic incidents within Wisconsin right now.”  

“Making sure that we have these resources available in Wisconsin classrooms is just going to be a tremendous asset, not only for the Jewish community, but really for the state as a whole, because Holocaust education is a universal issue. Holocaust education really is something we invest in to make the next generation stronger, more empathetic and ready to take on the many forms of hate, discrimination, and challenges of the world.” 

According to data from HERC, from 2022 to 2023, HERC reached 336 of Wisconsin’s 421 school districts, trained 775 educators through workshops, and impacted more than 135,000 students. HERC advocates say that now, with state funding of $200,000 annually, over two years, they can maintain and even grow their work. 

“The Holocaust Education Resource Center does critically important work to educate and inform Wisconsinites about the Holocaust and to help build a more inclusive, accepting, and welcoming state,” the governor said, in a statement. 

In the post Oct. 7 era, a time of increased antisemitism, when being Jewish in America can at times feel like walking a tightrope, the first rabbi-chaplain president of a major rabbinical association could be perfect timing.  

Rabbi Renée Bauer, a Madison-based chaplain, is the new president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. The Association is the rabbinical arm of the Reconstructionist movement, serving 380 rabbis. Bauer started as president of the Association – with most members in the U.S., but some in Canada, Europe and Israel – in March.  

Bauer will be the first rabbi who works primarily as a chaplain to serve as president of any of the three largest non-Orthodox rabbinical associations in North America. The other rabbinical associations represent Reform and Conservative rabbis.  

A challenging time 

When not serving as president of her movement’s Association, Bauer’s role is director of spiritual care and outreach at Jewish Social Services in Madison. At the Association’s convention in March, when Bauer was installed as the group’s first rabbi-chaplain leader, the moment was not lost on her fellow rabbis. They said things to her like “this is a time [when] we need this,” or “it makes sense that right now we need a chaplain.” 

On her mind, she said, is “how do we listen to each other? And how do we come together and maintain community even when there’s difference of opinion …?” 

Bauer sees an arc of time, starting with the pandemic, when rabbis, and others outside the rabbinate, suddenly had to figure out how to serve in a new landscape. Then, as the pandemic ebbed, rabbis for small congregations worked to offer both live and Zoom options, while trying to get people back together in person.  

“That was just starting to get a little calmer,” she said, when the horrific attacks of Oct. 7 took place. To that, add the growth in antisemitism and the rise of Christian nationalism in elections, she said. Meanwhile, some Jews are feeling politically homeless. 

“And that’s why I feel like, in so many ways, how do we support rabbis in this really complicated moment, where I really think American Judaism is in a huge moment of change?” Bauer said. “What does it mean to be Jewish in America? I think that will look really different in 20 years. And I don’t think we know yet. But I think that the only way we can do it well is by staying together with each other.” 

Israel and differences 

Bauer believes in “modeling being together in difference, in community.” 

At the Association’s convention in Atlanta, with 130 rabbis present, the clergy engaged in collegial and nuanced conversations about Israel, Bauer said. 

“I hear it all the time that people think, ‘oh, Reconstructionist, it’s anti-Zionist,’ and that feels like some assumption that is out there in the media,” she said. But to characterize Reconstructionism as anti-Zionist would be “totally unfair,” she said.  

“There are rabbis who hold certain positions that are part of our Association, but that doesn’t make that the statement of our Association,” she said. 

“We need to be able to talk to each other. And I guess that’s the chaplain piece, too. I want to hear what people have to say. I don’t feel scared to hear difference,” she said. “We are holding each other together as people work through who they are in this new reality, and how they’re Jewish in this new reality. And we are trying to create a space where people can explore that change, be together and be committed to serving the Jewish people  ….” 

Bauer noted the movement’s connections with Israel. The Association always financially supports the attendance of Israeli colleagues at its convention, and it did so for two attendees to the March convention in Atlanta, she said.  

“They shared their stories,” she said. “They shared their work. They shared about their communities.” An Israeli, with a son in Israel Defense Forces, is on the Assocation’s executive board. “We hear tears,” Bauer said.  

Rabbis from Europe came to the convention, too. 

Bauer said there is a generational divide, but that doesn’t necessarily refer to Israel. She refers to “a spiritual crisis for our people of, who are we? What does it all mean to us? What does it mean to be Jewish in this country?” What does it mean, she asks rhetorically, when a door to a Jewish institution must be locked during the day? “The pain around that, both what’s happening in Israel and what’s happening here – let’s discuss that, because that’s where we are; that’s where we have commonality. I don’t think anybody’s feeling good about all this.” 

About the Association 

“We support initiatives and programs that help rabbis continue to learn, support them through challenging times, such as these are, and connect them with each other for support,” Bauer said. The Association offers a space where rabbis can spend time with other rabbis, including at conventions. For clergy who are knee-high in work for their communities, this can be an important chance to step away. The Association also helps rabbis connect with opportunities – many serve as congregational rabbis, but 65 percent of the Association’s members work in other roles 

Bauer sees this as part of a shift from a more congregation-focused rabbinate. “I don’t think it’s diminishing. I think it’s an expansive view of the rabbinate,” she said. “We serve in different places; we meet people in different places.” 

The executive director of the Association is stepping away from that role, and one of Bauer’s first tasks will be the search for a replacement. 

Reconstructionism may be less well-known than the Reform or Conservative denominations. Its hallmarks can be described as ties to tradition; the empowerment of community through democratic decision-making in a world that seems increasingly drawn to individualism; and a progressive emphasis.  

Along with the convention in Atlanta, she said: “There was an add-on trip to Montgomery, to the EJI (Equal Justice Initiative) Museum and the Lynching Memorial. That was really powerful. I had read about it a lot. But I think I was surprised how much it moved me and how much it keeps kind of playing in my head.” 

Rabbis and their family members took the two-hour bus trip to the site. This is her rabbinical family, which she serves and leads. 

“I feel excited and honored,” she said. 

The work of psychotherapists and other mental health counselors has seen rising importance in recent years, especially since the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.  

On May 13, Israeli Eitan Spiegel, who performs such services, will visit Milwaukee to discuss his work as part of the annual commemoration of Yom HaZikaron. The day serves as Israel’s national day of remembrance.  

Spiegel is based in Kfar Tavor, in the Galilee region, which is Milwaukee’s partnership region in Israel. Spiegel, the founder of a psychotherapy center, is also an Israeli Defense Forces reserve officer who serves in the army’s mental health department. As you might imagine, he’s had much to do in the last six months.  

“I’m a clinical psychologist,” said Spiegel, a married father of three. “For the last ten years, I’ve been doing private practice. My area of interest is [with] very young children with their parents, and elderly people… what I specialize in, among the regular things that psychologists do… I have a lot of experience in treating PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).”  

At times, Spiegel will treat soldiers just hours after they experience traumatic events.  

“We are treating them there because that’s the way we are helping them to reduce the chances of developing PTSD,” he said. “I see them in the field and in the clinic.”  

Spiegel was invited to Wisconsin in part due to the partnership region relationship, according to Noa Gerassi, the Milwaukee community shlicha with the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. It will mark Spiegel’s first visit to the U.S.  

“Every year, we bring a different speaker for Yom Ha’Zikaron,” Gerassi said. “And this year, we felt that one of the main issues that the community is interested to hear about is mental health and resilience in Israel right now. This is why we chose to invite Eitan, and we all want to better understand what’s going on in Israel right now and how we as individuals can help ourselves in this situation.”  

Spiegel will deliver the keynote address. He said he will share his experiences “as an Israeli and a psychologist, and as a psychologist in the army.” He’s also happy to answer questions from the community. His itinerary will also include a visit with Jewish Family Services and talks at synagogues and elsewhere. 

“I’m coming to speak. I’m coming to listen. I’m coming to understand,” he added. “I’m very interested about Judaism in America… I’m coming as a visitor and also as a learner.”  

He said that he will share “anecdotes from the things I’ve done the past half year.”  

The event is set for May 13 at 6:45 p.m. at the Daniel M. Soref Community Hall at the Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC in Whitefish Bay. Bobbi Rector and Tehila Cohen are co-chairs of the event.  

For security purposes, RSVPs are required at MilwaukeeJewish.org/Yamim 

* * *

What: Yom HaZikaron – Israel’s day of remembrance
When: Monday, May 13, 6:45 p.m.
Where: Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, Whitefish Bay – Daniel M. Soref Community Hall
For security purposes, RSVP is required at MilwaukeeJewish.org/Yamim 

Comedian and climate activist Josh Burstein is to speak at the Tikkun Olam Shabbat at Congregation Shalom, May 17 at 6 p.m.  

Burstein is an Emmy Award winner and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Burstein will speak at 6 p.m., after the 4:30 showing of “The Last Glimpse,” a documentary about the Maldives, an island-nation threatened by rising sea levels and the deterioration of its coral reef barrier.   

Burstein will introduce the film, then hold a question-and-answer session.   

Burstein has toured with Wisconsin’s Charlie Berens and performs in live comedy venues in New York and Los Angeles. He writes, interviews and produces “U Need To Know This,” a comedic roundup of the week’s top stories from the news site Mashable, and other late-night-style shows centered around social issues.  

The Tikkun Olam Shabbat is hosted by Congregation Shalom’s Social Action Committee, Dayenu Circle and Voices for Justice. At a “green” Oneg Shabbat following services, there will be tables featuring nonprofit organizations. A catered meal during the film is available for a fee, with registration. Shalom families will offer no-bake desserts, as part of a green theme.    

For further information contact the Congregation Shalom office at 414-352-9288 or dwolfson625@gmail.com. Or visit cong-shalom.org.