JULY 2024
SIVAN / TAMMUZ 5784
SPRINGFIELD, OH
MAZAL TOV...

Our congratulations to Jane Fischer on her recent promotion to the position of executive director of the Heritage Center. Jane came to Springfield three years ago as development director of the Clark County Historical Society. She is a native of Philadelphia. Jane assumed her new role as the Executive Director on June 4, 2024. She is a member of Springfield Rotary and the Greater Springfield Association of Fundraising Professionals.

~ CONGREGATIONAL REPORT ~
Thank you to everyone who attended the 2024 Annual Meeting that was held on Sunday, June 9. A review of the Trust Fund, Financial status, and House activities was presented. Rabbi Kozberg talked about our service attendance, membership changes, security, and adult education classes that are offered thru Zoom. A meeting on Sunday, August 18 at 10:00 was set up to talk about the temple's survival and any plans for the future of our building. We hope many of you will plan to attend and share your ideas and concerns. Please contact the Temple office so that we can include these items in the agenda for that meeting.

~ RABBI'S CORNER ~
IS THE VACATION OVER?
The first group of Jews in North America arrived in what was Dutch New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1654 - 122 years before this nation was founded. The group was made up of 23 Jews of Sephardic background whose families had fled persecution from the Portuguese Inquisition after Portugal conquered Dutch Brazil. Their arrival marked the beginning of American Jewish history.
They were followed by other Jews who made their way to the New World, many to the area of the Caribbean. Jews coming to the New World enjoyed both economic and religious freedoms heretofore not granted to them. They formed communities and, in large part because of the political and philosophical ideas coming out of the European Enlightenment, flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries.
As we prepare to celebrate the 248th anniversary of this nation's founding, it's fitting that we remember the role that Jews played in this monumental historical event. To be sure, Jews made up a very tiny segment of the total colonial population, and therefore what they contributed is often, with a few notable exceptions, largely unrecognized. Like other colonial Americans, their loyalties were divided, but a sizeable majority favored the Patriot vision of an independent nation.
Many Jews in colonial times were merchants; and when the British passed the onerous Stamp Act in 1765, the signatures of those merchants appeared in the various non-importation resolutions adopted by the various colonies. Like other colonials, they opposed the power of the British Parliament to tax the colonies without the colonies being properly represented. On the other hand, there were Jews who appreciated the freedoms they enjoyed under British rule and therefore remained loyal to the Crown. One of them, Isaac Touro, spiritual leader of the synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island (home to the largest concentration of Jews in the colonies), was among the Loyalists and eventually made his way with his family to Jamaica, where he lived out his days. Sometimes opposing loyalties divided families: David Franks was the King's sole agent in the northern colonies providing food and supplies to British troops; but other members of the Franks family, David Salisbury Franks and Isaac Franks, served as officers in the Continental Army.
Historians estimate that around 100 Jews fought in the American Revolution. For Jews, participation in the war marked the first time since their exile from Jerusalem that they could legally take up arms, and they proudly fought alongside their Christian neighbors as equals in the fight for liberty. Jews were present at Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, and other battle sites throughout the colonies. Behind the scenes, they provided logistic support by equipping soldiers, shipping supplies, and raising funds. Ship owners, such as Isaac Moses of Philadelphia, outfitted privateers to harass British shipping; and their ships engaged in running the British blockade to provide necessary provisions to the needy Revolutionary forces.
For some merchants, their support of the Patriot cause meant dislocation and reverses and losing their personal fortunes. Best known among these individuals was Haym Salomon, who later gained fame as the mythic ''Jewish financier of the Revolution''. Solomon began the war as a wealthy merchant; and, as the war continued, so did his financial sacrifices. Ultimately, he died penniless.
Francis Salvador was the first Jew to die fighting the British. Ironically, he was also the first Jew to hold an elected public office in the colonies, having been elected to the South Carolina General Assembly in 1773.
Mordecai Sheftall of Savannah, Georgia, was the head of the local revolutionary committee and was responsible for provisioning soldiers. In 1778, he was appointed Deputy Commissary General for Federal troops; but, before Congress could approve, the British captured and imprisoned both him and his son in December, 1778. They were taken to a notorious British prison ship, the Nancy, where they were treated poorly. Eventually paroled to a town under British supervision where local Tories beat and killed Patriots as British troops evacuated under fire from American forces, both father and son escaped by sea, only to be recaptured and sent to Antigua. They were freed in 1780 and made their way to Philadelphia to rejoin their family.
Upon hearing of the Battle of Lexington, Reuben Etting of Baltimore headed to Massachusetts. The British took him prisoner; and, when they learned he was Jewish, he was given only pork to eat - which he refused. He survived for a while on scraps of permitted food given to him by other prisoners but died shortly after being released. He had a cousin who bore the same name who also fought in the Revolutionary war and was later appointed as a U.S. marshal by President Thomas Jefferson in 1801.
As the war progressed, British advances forced residents, including Jews, from the cities of Philadelphia, Boston, Charleston, and Newport, R.I. to flee. Aaron Lopez was one of about 200 Jews in Newport. He led his family and the Rivera and Mendes families to settle temporarily in Leicester, Massachusetts. The Newport synagogue, which closed during the war, is still a landmark of American Jewish history.
Upon the arrival of the British fleet in New York City harbor, Reverend Gershom Seixas called a meeting of his congregants to the Mill Street synagogue. Before evacuating the city, he encouraged them to remain true to the Patriot cause. While others also fled the city, a small number remained and together with the few Jews who remained loyal to Britain, kept the synagogue open. During the war, the congregation was first led by a Tory sympathizer and then (interestingly enough) by a Jewish Hessian officer (!) who fought with the British and remained after the war concluded.
The history of Jews in America has been one of patriotism and good citizenship. Jews have answered the call to military service in every war and conflict since the American Revolution. Indeed, the words of President George Washington to the Jews of Newport, R.I., have become our mantra:

For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

He concluded his letter with these words:
May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.

Up to now, we have - by and large - merited and enjoyed the good will of other ''Inhabitants.'' Up to now...
But currently this is increasingly not the case; there are many who are making us afraid. Thus, even as we recall our past, we must contemplate our future. Will American Jews continue to ''sit in safety under their own vine and fig trees''? Or is this ''vacation'' from our long history of oppression and persecution coming to an end?
-Rabbi Cary Kozberg

~ CONTRIBUTIONS ~
GOLD
-In memory of Bertha Beloff, mother of Larry, from Larry and Frayda Beloff
-In memory of Anne Blumberg, mother of Frayda, from Larry and Frayda Beloff
-In honor of the yahrzeit of Dr. Erika Garfunkel from Itzca Zohar

SILVER
-In memory of my mother Rose Richardson from Laurel Richardson

~ YAHRZEIT LIST ~
JULY 5: Sophie Friedland, Morris M. Levinson, Sidney William Rich, William Rich, Ben Rubinoff, William B. Zitsman, Pia Friedman, Arthur Marcus (father of Faye Flack), Jean Roeth (mother of Jo Marenberg)

JULY 12: Hyman Adler, Henry Kempler, Rose Edith Lapinsky, Helen Weiser, Willis Rider, Dorothy Banks Steed

JULY 19: Ethel S. Freed, Albert M. Bandman, Frank Friedsam, Anna Margolis, Jack Watts (stepfather of Bill Dixon), Robert A. Wile, Richard Melnick Wolf

JULY 26: Ethel Arnovitz, Ida Friedman (mother of Jay Friedman), Manya Haas Klein (mother of Sandy Silverstein), Reda Singer, Harry M. Stadler, Mollie Flack (mother of Sanford Flack), Dorothy Spier (mother of Ron Spier)

AUG 2: Anne Arnovitz, Ben Broock, Maisie Demmel, Samuel M. Draisen (brother of Bernice Goldman), Allan Silverstein (brother of Marvin Silverstein)