Rusted Root has Cantorial Roots

In July 2005 I saw one of my favorite bands, Rusted Root, in concert at The House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. Following the show, the members of the group signed autographs and met with their fans as they usually do. The first one to come sign autographs was Liz Berlin (in photo), one of the singers of the group.

I spoke to her for a few minutes and she signed a CD insert to "Rabbi Jason." One might think that signing an autograph for a rabbi would prompt her to mention that her father is a cantor (a Conservative cantor no less).

I only learned that her dad was a cantor after getting a link to an article about her on the PittsburghLive.com website. I received the link in a Google Alert because the words "Jewish Theological Seminary" appeared in the article. Apparently, Liz Berlin's dad, Rick Berlin, decided to attend cantorial school at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1996. That means that we must have overlapped by a couple years since I started rabbinical school in 1998. I searched the Web for a photo of Cantor Rick Berlin (in photo) and sure enough... I remember him. He was ordained in 2000.

I'm not sure if Liz Berlin is Jewish or not (mother is Mary), but in the article she is quoted as saying that she realizes her wedding ceremony to her husband, Mike Speranzo, several years after the birth of their child was "not the Christian thing or the religious thing, according to standard religious practices, as far as the dynamics of the family, to do it that way."

Here's the section about her dad the cantor:

Before she could pursue music, however, she had to convince her parents it was the right thing to do. That turned out to be surprisingly easy. Rick and Mary Berlin attended the group's second show -- at the Graffiti Rock Challenge in 1991 -- and realized Rusted Root was not a whim or indulgence.

"It was the first time we heard the band, and they'd only been together a week or so," Mary Berlin says. "Sometimes you know something is special. I knew Rusted Root was going to make it. I just knew it. I had that intuition."

"She was absolutely right in dropping out," Rick Berlin says.

So inspired was Berlin by his daughter's success -- he calls Liz "my hero" -- that he decided to change his career.

"It was because of her willingness to take a chance that I decided to take my risk in 1996," says Rick Berlin, who shut down a business to attend the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York to become an ordained cantor. "There were risks, and it wasn't easy, but her success was one of the things that made me take that chance."

Florence Melton, Of Blessed Memory

One of the first things I knew I needed to do when I moved to Columbus to become rabbi of Congregation Agudas Achim was to meet with Florence Melton. Florence was one of the greatest gifts to Jewish education in recent time. Sitting in her apartment, I was extremely impressed not only with her intellect and concern about Jewish education, but with her innovative ideas as well. I am grateful for that meeting with Florence and to my congregant Don Ruben, her neighbor who helped organize the meeting.

At the time of our meeting, she was planning to leave the next day for her winter in Florida where she would celebrate her 95th birthday at the end of January and be honored in Boca Raton. Rather than prepare herself for the trip, she spent well over an hour with a young, new rabbi in town (and his wife). She asked about my own pedagogical philosophy, my view on day school education versus synagogue religious school, and what I thought should make up the curriculum of a Jewish high school student. She certainly didn't show her age -- she was sharp and witty. She was a beautiful woman with deep insight and a passion for the Jewish people. I am fortunate to have met her and to have taught in the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School in Detroit.

Several weeks ago, I received a message that Florence would like me to call her in Florida. She was writing an article about her "Communiteen" educational program for high school students in Columbus and wanted my assistance. By the time I picked up the phone to call her, her son Gordy informed me that she had gone into a hospice program. I didn't get to have that conversation with her, but I will be certain to make sure her article is published.

May the legacy of Florence Melton continue to be a source of inspiration and blessing for all who knew her. May her lifetime of work for Jewish learning continue to bear fruit for generations to come.

---

From the Columbus Dispatch

Florence Zacks Melton, successful inventor, entrepreneur, philanthropist and advocate for Jewish education, died tonight in Florida. She was 95.

Melton, formerly of Grandview Heights, had been living in Boca Raton, Fla., for the past couple years and had taken ill recently.

Born in Philadelphia to Russian immigrants, Melton grew up too poor to have dolls, she once said, so instead she imagined.

That creativity sparked practical inventions such as foam-rubber slippers and innovative Jewish education programs.

At R.G. Barry Corp., which she co-founded in 1947 with her first husband, Aaron Zacks, Melton invented a type of women's shoulder pad that snapped into a bra strap, simplifying a popular fashion item of that era.

She also created a line of chair pads, adjustable car seat covers and neck pillows. A few years later, R.G. Barry would take off after the idea for foam-rubber slippers came to her.

By 1980, R.G. Barry was the world's largest producer of comfort footwear. Her son, Gordon Zacks, was CEO at the time.

Several years after Aaron Zacks died, Florence married Samuel M. Melton. Together they helped establish Ohio State's Melton Center for Jewish Studies in 1976, and also spearheaded other charitable efforts geared mainly toward education.

In 1980, she developed a two-year adult Jewish literacy program affiliated with Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Today, the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, as it is known, operates in more than 70 communities in North America and Australia. Melton was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1994. She was preceded in death by both husbands and son, Barry Zacks. She is survived by son Gordon Zacks of Bexley.

Another Kosher Subway Restaurant

My wife and I ate at the Kosher Subway restaurant located at the Cleveland Ohio JCC a few months ago when we were in town for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces and Cleveland Cavaliers/Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball game. In addition to getting the chance to see our friend Rabbi Steve Weiss of B'nai Jeshurun, we really enjoyed being able to order a meatball and [parve] "cheese" sub and a sub loaded with delicious deli meats.

I thought it was much better than the Subway experience I remember from Jerusalem in 1996 when there was still a Subway restaurant on Jaffa Street downtown.

Well, it looks like a new Subway restaurant is set to open this April in Los Angeles.

Hopefully there will be more Kosher Subway restaurants opening soon in Jewish communities like Chicago, Atlanta or Detroit.

Arnie Eisen's Listening Tour Makes News

I was surprised to see one article in the Wall Street Journal incorporate three organizations I've been involved with: The Jewish Theological Seminary, Hillel, and the STAR Foundation's Synaplex.

This is a great article about how Jewish organizations are finally going out and learning what the people want. If I wrote this article (and I'm not sure why I didn't), I would have included the same institutions that this author does. I commend Prof. Arnie Eisen, the new chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary for following through on what he promised (in meetings I had with him in both Detroit and Columbus) by conducting a listening tour throughout the Conservative movement to determine what matters most to Conservative Jews. I'm glad to see his devotion to the cause is getting this type of exposure.

I was also happy to see Rabbi Hayim Herring interviewed for this article. Rabbi Herring is the executive director of the STAR Foundation, which runs two programs that I am very much involved with -- Synaplex and PEER. Like the author of this article recognizes in her subtitle, "consultant speak" has definitely found its way into organized religion (or at least Judaism).

Reviving Judaism
BY NAOMI SCHAEFER RILEY
WALL STREET JOURNAL

A few weeks ago, Hillary Clinton got started on a new "listening tour." Her first one, during the 2000 Senate campaign, was aimed at soliciting the ideas of New York voters on what legislative issues were important to them. This one is aimed at hearing the thoughts of Democratic strategists on the subject of her presidential run. But the idea behind the tours remained the same: Find out what the people want--and, if possible, give it to them.
In politics, such an approach has an irrefutable democratic logic. But is it well suited to religion? Arnold Eisen, the chancellor-elect of the Jewish Theological Seminary, has spent the past few months on a "listening tour" of his own, holding town-hall meetings around the country to figure out how to reinvigorate Conservative Judaism. Mr. Eisen is looking to find out what Jews want--and, if possible, give it to them.

Trying to make Judaism more popular is not a new idea. Jewish leaders have worried for decades that high rates of intermarriage and assimilation are causing the Jewish population to diminish dramatically. And they are right. Between 1990 and 2000, the American Jewish population declined to 5.2 million from 5.5 million. With Jewish women getting married later in life and having fewer children, this trend is likely only to accelerate.

But the most recent response to this crisis has been less than inspiring. The Jewish Week recently published "17 Seriously Cool Ideas to Remake New York's Jewish Community." These included creating a Jewish culinary institute, building a kibbutz in the Big Apple, providing high-quality Jewish toddler care, hosting a hipper Israeli Independence Day parade, and baking better kosher pizza.

Perhaps these ideas were meant to be a little tongue-in-cheek, but other ideas are not--and probably should be. Take a new project called Synaplex. Sponsored by the Star Foundation, Synaplex is, according to its Web site, "designed to provide people with new reasons to make the synagogue the place to be on Shabbat." About 125 synagogues are already "enabling people to celebrate Shabbat the way they want to."

What does that mean? Instead of attending a traditional service, Rabbi Hayim Herring, Star's executive director, tells me, some people would do "Medi-Torah" or "Torah and Yoga." Others might attend a lecture or go to a musical service followed by a "latte cart." And still others might prefer to attend a Friday night wine-and-cheese reception. [Continue Reading]

Rest in Peace Mayor Teddy (1911-2007)

I've met a few big city mayors in my life (Detroit's Dennis Archer, Ed Koch of NYC, and Michael Coleman of Columbus), but no one will ever surpass Jerusalem's Mayor Teddy Kollek, may his memory be for a blessing) in popularity, sincerity, or menschlichkeit.

In July 1996, I was walking in front of Jerusalem's King David Hotel with my dad and his friend Lazer Dorfman. Lazer pointed to the short, old man standing in front of a car with the car alarm blaring and said, "That's Teddy Kollek, the old mayor of Jerusalem." We went up to say hi and he shook our hands explaining that his driver was inside and he accidentally set off the car alarm. I took the keys and quickly turned off the alarm. Mayor Teddy was very thankful for our help and we talked until hisdriver returned.

Whenever I tell this story to a native Israeli, their face lights up and they tell their own story of what a nice guy and great mayor Teddy Kollek was. He will sorely be missed.

Urban Entrepreneurial Academy

Detroit entrepreneur Dan Gilbert, majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena, recently created an urban entrepreneurial academy called Bizdom U. Set to launch next month, Bizdom U will be a full-time, two-year program designed to produce entrepreneurs who will start up and lead successful Detroit-based businesses.

The goal is to provide graduates of urban high schools who do not plan to pursue a four-year degree with an alternative education in entrepreneurship. Those who graduate from Bizdom U can expect between $25,000 and $500,000 to be invested over time, based on milestones and performance, into their companies. This is a wonderful contribution to Michigan's economy and will greatly benefit many young people in Detroit who could create tomorrow's companies. More information on the project is available at the TechTownWSU site.

Dan Gilbert is a pretty remarkable business man. He founded the Michigan-headquartered Rock Financial in 1985 as a 22-year-old, first-year law student, growing it into one of the largest independent mortgage banks in the country taking it public in 1998. In 1999, Intuit purchased Rock Financial and the national web operation was renamed Quicken Loans Inc. With Dan staying on as CEO, Quicken Loans quickly became the leading provider of home loans on the Internet and about two years later Gilbert bought Quicken Loans Inc. back from Intuit.

Dan is also a partner in the private investment group Camelot Ventures, which recently invested in my cousin's company, ePrize. Camelot also owns and operates FlashSeat, a company which has created technology and processes that replaces physical tickets for large sports and entertainment events with an electronic approach. Dan was Rawlings Sporting Goods' largest shareholder and was instrumental in effecting the sale of Rawlings to K2 in March 2003.

I first met Dan because of his involvement in JARC, a non-profit organization that provides housing and services to the developmentally disabled, where he served as President when my mother was the Secretary of the board. JARC is one of my favorite charities and continuously receives awards for being one of the nation's best non-profits. The photo above was taken at a Cleveland benefit for Friends of the Israel Defense Forces in which Dan Gilbert and his business partner David Katzman were honored.

Bo Schembechler, May he rest in peace

GLENN "BO" SCHEMBECHLER
(1929-2006)

I guess he wanted to watch the big game tomorrow with Woody Hayes.

Great Quote on Christmas

I'm not sure if the holiday season has officially started, but if it has then here is the BEST QUOTE OF THE 2006 HOLIDAY SEASON:

Stephen Colbert on "The Colbert Report"

Christmas is not a time to fight each other. It's a time to band together against the real enemy... Retailers who won't wish you Merry Christmas.

I'm talking to you Eichler's Judaica! Would it kill you?!?

Borat Speaks Hebrew

With Sasha Baron Cohen's new movie "Borat" coming out Friday, he has been all over the news. I saw him on the Today show the other day and heard him on Howard Stern today. I've certainly heard Cohen use Hebrew in the past. His most notable use of Hebrew is his mispronounciation of the Hebrew b'vakasha ("thank you") when in character as "Ali G." His "boo-ya-ka-sha" has become a favorite expression for millions of teenagers

As Borat on "Da Ali G. Show," rather than actually sing the Kazakh national anthem at a Savannah Sand Gnats game, he kept on repeating a famous Israeli folk song: (kum bachur atzel ve'tze la'avoda - "get up lazy guy and go to work."

Never have I heard Sasha Baron Cohen use as much Hebrew as he did on the Howard Stern Show today. His Hebrew is actually pretty good! He must have attended a Jewish day school.

Here's the link to the JTA article about Borat's use of Hebrew.

Progressive Barbie

Looks like Matel, the makers of the Barbie Doll, has embraced Egalitarian Judaism! This Tefillin Barbie was created by Jen Taylor Friedman, a female soferet (Torah scribe).